237 
At sea: Honiara to Ponape 
November 15, 1972 
Dear Bob : 
Apologies and all that, but let me try at least, to calm you down. 
The Western Caroline paper is fine, and I do not see what more you need 
from me on it. I have gone over it carefully and am returning it herewith for 
your submission — unless you have already submitted it. 
I am finished with the New Hebrides and British Solomon Islands 
Protectorate expedition. There were 1519 specimens collected in the New 
Hebrides, under 100 of them from our Tongarikians and the remaining 1400+ from 
Banks and Torres Islanders, with COMPLETE COVERAGE of all the Banks and Torres 
Islands, none omitted! We similarly covered all of the southernmost BSIP 
islands, in the next bleedings; these number 1520-2769 inclusive. Within the 
numbered series are a number of missing numbers or lost or broken or qns 
specimens. . .not many. 
Summary of disposition of specimens; 
Erythrocytes (small volumes of 0. 5-1.5 ml taken into 1 dram vials on 
residual sera from clots and kept at 0® to 4°C until delivered to either you or 
Simons in Singapore). You got two shipments of early NH clots, and the 
remainder of all the NH clots went off directly to Simons from Santa Cruz. He 
apparently complained that they were "inadequate” although Leyshon and Simons 
had managed with such specimens in the past. Thus, in NH we started taking 1.0 
to 1.5 ml as often as possible. His request for 2.5 ml clotted blood overlapped 
with the clots and serum for ourselves and your laboratories. 
The BSIP collection of erythrocytes 1520-2769 has all gone off with John 
Sheridan, at 0-4®C I hope, and you have it. I know that you cannot handle it 
all and that Paul is arranging with Leyshon and/or Simons and others to see who 
can. Since the logistics of getting them off were dreadful, I took the liberty 
of sending them to you via John Sheridan, radioing Paul Brown to decide with you 
in conference by phone (call him, collect) who should get which, and asking you 
to dispatch them accordingly. We will get you some sort of contract funds to 
reimburse you for these expenses. 
RED CELL CLOTS: Residual in vacutainers after removing sera. These were 
promptly frozen in a Revco which should have stayed at -70*C but which did not 
drop below -40®C on the ship and stayed at -38“C unvaryingly the whole time. 
Specimens 1-1897 were so stored without ever being moved! The clots beyond Nos. 
1897, i.e. all numbered 1898-2769 inclusive were Instead placed directly into a 
walk-in freezer running -10® to -15®C and not moved from there until packed in 
some dry ice and quickly transferred to a colder freezer in Honiara until John 
Sheridan took off with them for Canberrra. 
THEN THE TROUBLE STARTED. The next morning, November 14, we found the 
Revco totally thawed although still registering -38®C on the guage. Its 
