Evening star., 1934-07-29

removed as pTeCduIiOn against dCC1-
dent as the party stumbled over the
rocks and boulders. Now the entire
party was trapped Time was too short
to load a rifle; the bear was upon them.
The mer tried to frighten the beast
by shouting and otherwise making
noise. But this served only to arouse
the animal. The bear reared on its
hind legs and charged. Grinnell faced
the shaggy brute with an empty rifle
which he tried to use as club. But
with one swoop of its mighty paw the
bear smashed the gun out of the officers
hand Death stared the lieutenant in
the face as those ripping claws ap-
preached him and the red mouth snarled
back at his defiance. Just then rifle
crack rang out. One of the men had
succeeded in loading his rifle and, push
ing it against the bears chest, fired.
But the bear did not fall. 1t only
turned and made its way to nearby
tree, which it climbed. Later it was
killed and in the tree were found two
cubs.
DUNNING shore lines in mango coun-
~ try is perhaps the toughest survey
ing job of the coast survey. These
shore lines are found in the tropics
and consist of miles of mango trees
bordering the ocean. The land is
swampy. Oozy mud is everywhere and
in it are alligators and all other kinds
of amphibian reptile and jungle life. The
closest boat can be brought to these
shore lines is about one-half mile. From
there in the distance has to be waded
with hip boots. 1t is grueling work in
the blazing tropical sun and amid all
kinds of dangerous denizens of the muck
and underground.
In doing triangulation work it Is
necessary to occupy stations on the high
est peaks UP these mountain slopes
the equipment, theodolites and other
material has to be carried pack-back.
The total weight carried oftentimes ex-
ceeds so or 60 pounds. Tents are taken
along for sleeping quarters, as often the
party must stay atop several days to
complete observations.
Up one station on Palawan no trail
whatever exists. The station is located
on the highest peak on the island The
first thousand feet or so has to be cut
through the dense tropical underground,
step by step. Above the 3,00O-foot level
no water exists except what can be had
from the native pitcher plant This
plant has a small reservoir which con-
tains about one-half a glass of water.
On top the weather is icy, compared
with the tropical level below. Natives
and men suffer from the cold, espe-
cially the former who are not used to
the severe change.
The wild people have funny notions
and it is hard to get them to trail along
with surveying party. The mountain
to them is the end of the world. There
legendary creatures live. To get the ma
tiveS to go along at all as cargo-dories
they have to be cajoled and great di-
plomacy used. One favorite way is to
perform magic tricks. These entertain
them and they follow to see the show.
Surveying on this island is very difficult
Alaska is the coolest surveying spot
and the most difficult to make a ship
landing on. The surf is high and boats
are frequently capsized, wrecked against
the rocks and swamped. A landslide
caught a party in Alaska at one time
and all but wiped out an entire party
One man was caught in the slide and
suffered severe injury to his shoulder
His companions rescued him.
DOWN in Texas survey man unrolled
his bunk one evening only to see
rattleSnake roll out of it. The snake