Evening star., 1940-01-31
CannibaI Islands
Expedition Given
President S Blessing
The Fuhnestocks Will
Record Primitive Music,
Make Naval Surveys
3y the Associated Press.

~ the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Jan. 31.-Those foot
loose Fahnestocks, mamma and her
two strapping sons. are heading for
little known cannibal islands Of the
South Seas with President Roose-
velt's blessing.
They plan to sail today on two
year voyage aboard a 137-foot racing
schooner with Diesel engine, two
seated airplane and powerful radio
equipment for broadcasts to America.
A letter from President Roosevelt
is already framed and on prominent
display aboard ship. Addressed to
Dear Bruce and Sheridan" it says:
II am terribly interested in your
projected expedition to the South
Seas to record primitive music and
to bring back scientific data for the
American Museum of Natural His
tory. I hope you will keep me ad-
vised as to your progress and your
needs in connection with this trip"
To Survey Islands for Navy.
Bruce, 20, and Sheridan, Is, al
ready renowned as two of the best
light-sail men in Eastern waters,
explained that the President has
also approved plans to survey little
known islands in the Pacific for the
Navy.
"These are islands that have been
enormously mapped by previous ex-
plorers," they said.
Sixteen young men and gray
haired, plump Mrs. Bruce Fahne-
stock. ST., are the crew. Mama" t"
who achieved fame six years ago
after the death of her husband, a
noted inventor-by running away to
sea with her boys, is chief cook. She
has % tons of food aboard.
She said the cannibal islands were
the Santa Cruz and New Hebrides
and some of the Solomon group
On their last expedition the boys
put her off the ship before calling
at those islands.
II guess they don't care if I get
eaten, now," she said.
Carrying No Arms.
1--WE feel safer this time" ex-
planned Bruce, because Chief
Mepula of the Ndeni tribe invited
us back, provided we bring him a
knife as a gift. We're not carrying
any rifles or sidearms, only couple
of shotguns. It's safer to be un-
armed with primitive people. Then
they are not suspicious and
frightened.
I'VE went hunting wild COWS on
the island with the chief and he
stopped us after we shot one. His
tribesmen then made a COW look
like porcupine, every arrow hitting
its mark. We got the point he was
trying to put across right away"
About 100 years ago a Comdr.
Goodenough of the Navy provided
a meal for the Ndeni tribe, Bruce
said, and schoolteacher was eaten
by the big Nambas on Mela Kula
Island in the New Hebrides on the
same day the last Fahnestock ex-
pedition arrived there.
Drums 30 Feet Long.
"We want to make broadcasts and
recordings of the music of the wild
Ndeni tribesmen, who have weird
bamboo instruments and drums
made of tree trunks up to 30 feet
high" he said. "By lever system
they beat the sides of the hollow
trunks with giant sticks.
"Only two recordings have been
made of this music, worth $4,000
each now" he said. They were
done by Templeton Crocker of San
Francisco. Hawaiian guitars are
getting to the islands now and we
want to record the native music
before it is corrupted"
The wives of the Fahnestock boys
and of George Folster of Chicago,
assistant director of the expedition,
will join their husbands in Panama
in February and, later, in the Fiji
Islands.