43 
We are finding the routine physical examinations to be boring and 
of little yield. Ferber and Roos have had most of them to do and they 
are disgruntled from this. The yield seems at times to be very meagre, 
but it is in this way we have located those with large spleens, moluscum 
contagiosum and neurological syndromes. I am trying to let everyone have 
interesting jobs to do and I let Paul and the others take over the WBCs, 
Hgb, and thick and thin smears. The people are very ammenable to all 
our disturbance of their lives and have submitted to all of our procedures, 
ranging from the venepunctures to the 9-antigen skin tests and the WBCs, 
Hgb’s. Only the toddlers have raised an understandable fuss. 
The basin or lagoon in which we are landing and embarking is called 
Matvaghvugh and the tricky passage into it is called Laselap (Lesulab) and the 
stone wall that separates it from the sea is Lemetsa. 
One old lady here has peripheral neuropathy with anesthesia and paralysis 
below the knees without fasciculations and without any other neurological 
signs elsewhere. We do not know the cause of her chronic illness. FranQolse 
and Raymond are studying her carefully. 
Captain Buchanski of the M.V . Roclnante arrived today on return from 
Espiritu Santo, where he left Don Bowdin with our blood specimens for the 
Jeep trip down to Santo. Since I did not want the dressers to give BCG 
or 'triple antigen while we are doing Hgb, CBCs, and skin tests, hey 
departed to do their work on Merelava and to return here in a few days. 
Although Captain Buchanski has been here 12 years he has never sailed 
to the Banks and Torres before. He seems to be having no problems. 
Lavolvol, Merig Island September 26, 1972 
Paul, Jean and I are alone on Merig tonight. At about 4 p.m. we sent 
everyone else on board ship and no one was really reluctant to go, although 
several had planned to stay ashore. Since high tide only permits safe 
leaving of the "lagoon", we must be out by 8:30-9:30 a.m. tomorrow so 
we have sent most of the supplies on board already and only the three 
of us and our supplies for the night need to be taken off. 
I spent the last hour before dark on the small strip — or rather, hill 
of sand on one end of the lagoon or basin (Matrughrugh) playing with Steven 
Tsai, Steven Rangley, Supel, Veronica, Erema, Juliette and Linsey Goodwin, 
all children of 6 to 11 years. Supei of 7 and Lindsey of 6 go about 
naked among the girls, but Stephen Tsai of 10 does not. The children 
built enormous trenches and holes and walls to hold off the rising 
tide, unsuccessfully, of course. 
We have been given three varieties of boiled sweet potato', well-cooked 
flying fox, and a fine sweet potato laplap cooked in coconut milk. Now 
with tea we are really set and comfortable. Insect repellant for small 
mosquitos and flies has been very handy here, where insects are moderate- 
ly bad pests. 
