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late. The only very serious problem is that of water. Food is 

 abundant provided one is willing to cast aside prejudices and 

 go on a diet of wild ducks, doves and conch meat and is willing 

 to eat these unseasoned and cooked over a fire of brush. There 

 are even a number of herbs which produce excellent tea, some 

 of these are very sweet and refreshing. 



The shoe problem was my first concern and I solved it by 

 throwing away the useless uppers which were chafing my feet 

 and by making a set of moccasins from a scrap of canvas which 

 I found buried in the sand near the pile of ashes. This canvas 

 I recognized as a portion of our hatch cover; it was heavy, well 

 waterproofed, and yet was soft and yielding to the flesh. With 

 a little experimentation I cut a shape that folded satisfactorily 

 and tied it with a strip peeled from a green thatch palm. When 

 the moccasins were finished I was quite proud of them; they 

 were very comfortable and gave the pleasant feeling of walk- 

 ing barefooted. At the same time I cut an extra pair and stuffed 

 them into the grass bag along with the preserved Hzards. 



For breakfast I shot six tobacco doves and two sandpipers. 

 The doves proved to be sweet but slightly tough. The first 

 mouthfuls were dreadfully flat but a few crumbs of sea salt 

 gathered from a tidepool supplied the necessary condiment. 

 They were infinitely better than corned beef but when skinned 

 and cleaned were hardly larger than sparrows. The sandpipers, 

 however, were a disappointment, for they tasted fishy and were 

 as unyielding as seasoned leather. 



The breakfast of fresh meat served to ease my mind about 

 the food problem; I felt I could proceed, checking the ter- 

 rain carefully without danger of going hungry. After eating I 

 walked down to the beach, washed my greasy hands and took 

 a swim in the laoroon. The sun and wind soon dried me and I 

 put on my soiled shirt and ragged ducks. I was amazed how 

 refreshed I felt after the dejection of the evening before; the 



