Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-14

of us get a certain satisfaction
from HaZel's Bible reading. / lei
90 with more than one prayer In
that jungle, and the others told me
later they did too.
It's almost 1880 $3.50 p. m.)
now. The light is fading. We
haven't got much longer.
Just before dusk we find a
creek. And an abandoned leaf
rooted hut. The leaf-roof Is drip
ping with ants and insects. This
must have been logger's tempo
rary shelter.
STOP FOR THE NIGHT
We stop for the night and in the
little stream wash away the CRIME
and dust of the jungle. Hundreds
Of minnows swarmed about in the
stream. We have TO be careful
when we duck our heads under
water that we don't come up with
a mouthful of them.
Dinner that night: cold baked
beans, tomatoes. corned beef.
We post a guard that night.
The jungle is noisy place. In
spires awe, somehow.
JULY IL
Down 10 one meal day.
We send out scouting parties
through old lumberjack trails
which we know must lead 10 the
river.
No luck.
Lack OF food Is beginning to tell
Six days now since we had a de-
cent meal. Evidently we're still
miles away from a free-running
body where we can float the life
RATS.
We try TO catch fish. but the
fish won't go for our bait, flies and
big ants. Our tempers are a little
short. To hell with the fish, wei
shoot them. So we takesthe rifle
and shoot fish.
Over a fire, they're cooked well.
We have no salt, no butter, but
still they're fresh food. and We eat
them out of our mess kits.
Anderson and Pennington are
excited about the way the creek
widens downstream. And we talk
about 1t till we go to sleep that
night.
The jungle makes a lot OF noise.
sleep lightly.
JULY Is
We leave the logger's camp and
start down the creek bed shortly
after dawn.
Finally we reach a corduroy
trail. II leads TO a stream. Now
the water is deep enough TO launch
our RATS. We christen. them Off
cially. The boats are four feet
wide and eight feet long. There are
five OF us on each of them, and
that Is a lot OF humanity for such
small boats.
It Is treacherous going. Rubber
Is not steel or even wood, and jag
ged sturnps Turk everywhere in the
creek bed. The RATS may be pune
tured at any moment.
FIRST SIGN OF LIFE
First sign OF life! About 400 q
D. M that afternoon, we meet a
native and his wife padding a
homemade canoe up a branch of
the creek. They are not very social,
and paddle away, but we feel
better.
It's a good thing we feel better,
for ives got trouble now, real
trouble. The creek has narowred
down 10 a bare eight-foot wide
stream, running through miles Oh
toreboding bullrushes.
We know that IL we don't get
out by nightfall we don't get out
at all.
It is not a comforting thought
and we paddle as earnestly and
steadily as our waning strength
permits.
Just before nightfall, luck comes
our way again. We break through
the bullrushes into clearing
where we camp for the night.
None Of us sleep very well, we
are wet and cold and tired.
JULY 10
The stream widens. We pass a
few scattered huts. 1t is Sunday.
The huts are all deserted. Some
body suggests the natives may be
at church.
Finally, we find a hut that Is
occupied. Crowded into ii are a
man. three women, girl and five
children.
Just whose husband the man
was we never found out. don't
guess it made much difference. We
want 10 buy their pigs, but are
afraid Of trichinosis. We finally
decide 10 buy chickens. but the
chickens have other ideas. They
scamper off into the jungle.
FIND ANOTHER HUT
We compromise on a couple OF
Joze,, oranges and take off again.