Ross, Dr. Edward S. 
March 5, 19?7 
AIR MAIL 
Dr. Edward S. Boss 
Curator of Insects 
California Academy of Sciences 
Golden Gate Park 
San Francisco 18, Calif. 
Dear Dr. Rossi 
I am certainly glad that you are getting the chance to go to 
the Belgian Congo. Xou will enjoy it and live well doing it, but, 
first of all, look through your medicine chest , even though many 
whites live there very happily and healthfully. Be sure to take 
Chloroquine for malaria, two tablets once a week, beginning two 
weeks before you start and continuing for two weeks after you return. 
This is a sure preventive. Also take Achromycin. This is a cure for 
amoebic dysentery and helps with other dysenteries too. One doctor 
told me, however, it is like taking a hammer to kill a fly if you do 
not have the serious amoebic dysentery. Bactricidin (or Burrows- 
Welcome Polyfax) is excellent for minor infections. I prefer the 
former, but the latter which I had to buy in the Wsst Indies seemed 
to work equally well. Have canteens for your drinking water which 
you can safely and should sterilize with a preparation that we used 
throughout, Tetraglycine Hydroperiodide tablets (Wallace and Tiernan 
Inc., Bellville 9, New Jersey) 1 to a quart of water. Doctor from 
whom we got it said 2 would render same quantity of water sewage 
effluent (or ? sewage) safe to drink. Be sure to get a supply of 
these tablets. Do not forget to take some polyvalent antivenon. V\ 
Through a bit of carelessness I was bitten by an adder , but we had \ 
no antivenon with us. Fortunately, we were able to obtain some from \ 
a nearby National Park superintendent . 
Our experience with roads was mostly in the eastern Congo. We f 
flew from Leopoldville to Stanleyville to save time, though originally 
we had planned to do it by auto. It can be done and is done by auto 
trucks all the time, also auto buses. Being there through April and 
May, we encountered very little rain. I believe I used my raincoat 
once, but several times we escaped wetting during showers that 
occurred while we were driving from one place to another. All roads, 
except in a few of the places are dirt roads, but are kept in fairly 
good condition most of the time, I do not know just how they are in 
the jungle regions , if there are passable roads there at all (see the 
map herewith) in the rainy season. This automobile route map for the 
Belgian Congo is a wonderful one and so very good that when you are 
