SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 
J\jly 16, 1952 
Dear Dr* Schmitt: 
Your letter of the 15th arrived today. 
I got a second copy of the Curacao book and put it in 
the mail two or three days ago, but it will not reach you probably 
until the mail of the 27th, I sent it registered and asked for a 
return receipt. I did not make a memorandum of packing because I 
was afraid it would make too much commotion. Registering it ought 
to make it safe enough. 
When your other letters came I skbsX went to see Mr, Bryant 
^bout the various matters, and he has stcrted to trail down some 
filters for you. He is not here today, so I have not bee<^able to 
ascertain what success he has had, but I will not mail this until 
I have time to ask him on Monday, I*m sure we will get them in the 
next mail all right. 
You will have received a copy of the letter we wrote to 
Mr, Burkenroad. The morning after we wrote the letter and I put 
away some of his books he wandered in again and said he had been 
sick with ptomaine poisoning. Mr. Shoemaker rather scolded him for 
not letting us know. We showed him a copy of the letter and later 
in the day I extracted the original from the mail. It had not gotten 
out of the mail room. Mr. Burkenroad took it very quietly, cleaned 
up his things, and moved out that very afternoon. Mr, Shoemaker told 
him to finish up his drawings, and that he was welcome to stay until 
your things began to come. But he informed us sadly that he didn't 
feel very well, that he was Tull of castor oilj’ and that he thought 
he'd go. He left a forwarding address, which is only his boarding 
house address which we have had all the time. (Mr. Shoemaker and I 
wonder what there is about us that makes people confide in us that 
they have taken a physic! Mr, Maloney is always telling us when he 
has taken calomel, etc*, and now Mr. Burkenroad tells us that he is 
"full of castor oil.") 
I don't suppose I shall see Mr. Richards until next week, 
but I shall save your letter for a few days in case he comes around. 
If he doesn't. I'll tear it up. I may be wrong in reporting Dr. 
Bartsch's reaction to what Mr. Richards wrote for the annual report. 
I'm not sure whether he tore it up or crossed it oht with a pencil. 
In any case, I don't think it went into the report, Mr. Richards wrote 
