Evening star., 1948-05-12
By Harry Lever
$tor Stoff CorTsspondsnt

THE EVERGLADES, Fla, May
IA poisonous water moccasin
for breakfast, with its fishy taste
is part Of a strange daily diet for
the Air Rescue Services tropical
survival experts and students In
this forbiddihg and inaccessible area
Dinner is an equally deadly rat
tlesnake and supper a wildcat or
alligator, perhaps garnished with
snails, turtle eggs and palm cab
bage, which is the meat Of the
palm tree and tastes like noodles
when cooked.
The young doctors, medical corps
men and rescue teams who are TAX
ing this jungle course with the 5th
Air Rescue Squadron here are
proving that II a flyer cracks up
In this vast, gloomy swampland, he
can survive comfortably-well, any
way, he can survive-on snakes and
animals and edible plants, until he
is rescued.
HelicOpter Entry Easier.
Armed to the teeth with carbines,
45-caliber automatics, knives and
machetes, the rescuers can penetrate
the fearful area for some distance
by cutting across country. But ap-
parently the most practical way to
get in, if it has to be done, is to
be dropped by helicopter and hauled
out again by the same method.
The palms rise high here, and
there is scrub oak, tall reeds. quick
sand, enormous clumps of sharp
saw grass" and plenty OF taro and
arrowroot which, if eaten raw, or
incorrectly cooked, may fatally
poison the eater with its potassium
cyanide crystals.
The air rescue survival specialists
teach their students how to identify
lethal plants and also how to stalk
and trail the moccasinS. rattlers.
venomous coral snakes. the pan
theirs, wildcats and opposum and
anything else they may come across
in the way of potential food.
Flowers Provide Food.
Even flowers are edible when 1t
comes to sustaining existence, after
they have been cleaned of the
special Everglades-type scorpions
and black widow spiders.
The experts and their students are
based near Immokalee, a small
habitation on the fringe of the Ever
gladss. When they complete their
training and additional survival
work off the Florida coast, in Alaska
and at a desert area, they will be
used to reach crashed planes in any
part of the country.
Planes have crashed in this jungle
and have never been found.S Hunt
ing or exploration parties are re-
ported to have entered the dismal
sWampland. from time to time and
have never been seen again.
We formed a special party of
seven to explore the jungle at night
about Is miles from the base to find
out whether it was as bad as pic
tured. 1t was. Especially since
Sergt. Henry Erben of Wyomissing,
Pa, told us you have to sink into
the swamps up to your hips in
hunting the cotton mouth.
Three Local Men in Group.
Three local men were in the
overnight group. They were 1t.
Emil Wengel of Braddock Heights.
Alexandria. Va, head of the Still
Picture Unit Of Air Force Public
Relations: s. SiSergt. Robert w.
Weaver. a survival expert stationed
at Air Rescue Headquarters at Ma
tlonal Airport, and Edgar w. Wein-
berger of 434 Mellon street Sc, Air
Force Photographer.
injured my ankle and wrenched
my back and arm when I let go too
soon and fell about feet into q
gully while being lowered by hell
copter.
The minute we pitched camp
toward nightfall trouble piled up
for the swelling ankle. The sup
porting cords of my hammock broke
twice during the night and dropped
me to the ground to accompanying