Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-10-15

| mr.
EPILOGE:
The shack had a good roof over
lit, made of woven material, ap-
parently coconut. and covered six
or eight inches deep by layers of
coconut leaves laid with the stems
up in a sort of single arrange
'ment.
The framework was formed Of
upright poles tied together by a
fiber that we assumed TO be either
coconut or some other native
growth. The building was about
eight feet wide by 10 feet long.
Some two and a half feet off
the ground were three poles that
ran the width of the shack. There
was nothing under them. There
were two smaller poles connect
ing the uprights. not nailed but
dashed with some sort of native
made string.
COcOnuf GrOce
The shack had a ridgepole and
arch beams, as any other house
would have. The walls were of
mating. Just overhead were
rafters, and resting on them were
three roughly hewn planks about
II feet long by eight feet wide.
On the floor we found a pile Of
coconut mats three feet wide by
eight feet long.
Right outside our shelter there
was a dense grove of coconut
trees, and Gene decided 10 gather
some nuts. When he got outside
| the wind was so strong that he
couldn't stand against it, even by
using his stick 10 lean on. and the
coral hurt his feet, so he had to
give up and come back to the
shack.
II was with reluctance that we
gave up the idea of food that night,
but we thought the wind would die
down by morning.
See z Men
About a half hour later Gene
saw two men approaching up the
beach, perhaps 300 yards away
He thought they saw US. but they
turned and went in the other
direction.
BY now the rising wind was
blowing gusts of rain into our
shelter. so we rugged one Of the
Icoconut mats 10 protect us. We
didn't know it at the time. but
this heavy wind from offshore was
10 develop into a hurricane the
next day.
The next morning early. the
first thing / did was TO look around
the shack and try to patch il
where the wind. during the night
had blown off the siding. In cast
ing about for materials for this
repair. we found several fishlines
in the rafters, with poles, but ]
refused 10 use them.
/ knew how the natives would
feel about our breaking their lines
which were probably not easy Il
lohtain- in these partS-InStead, We
gathered up some coconut leaves
Using the fiber from these. we
Ipatched the mat walls pretty we'll
.Nafice Visitor
While we were still working on
THE patching job. we saw a native
looming toward us from the beach
1t had stopped raining. I grabbed
my police whistle which I hac
laid on the ground the night be.
fore. and blew a loud blast.
The native stopped and looked
at us. evidently aghast. 1t was
obvious that he couldn't under.
stand our being there.
After / blew my whistle two
or three more times, he finally
gathered his wits and ran up tc
see what was going on. We were
Sitting on the floor. leaning against
the wall where we had been patch.
ing the mats.
The native stared, fascinated
We all pointed TO our mouths. try.
ing TO signify that we were hungry
He could see from our emaciatec
condition that we were in a bac
state. so IL didn't take him lonf
to get the idea. He held up his
hand reassuringly. and dashed Of
into the coconut jungle.
In a few minutes he was back
with several coconut kernels.
have never seen this particular
cultivation of coconut anywhere
but on this island. AS I learned
later the baby coconut tree sprout.
from a nut. When it has grown
to height OF perhaps two and {
half feet. the little plant is broker
off. Then the natives crack oper
the nut. and it is filled entirel,
with a white. fibrous, vegetable
like substance.
Gfrps Us Food
The coconut meat as we know
II has entirely disappeared and ha,
been replaced by this new growth
- -