Van Straelen, V. 
Filed? Belgian Congo 
INS TIT UT DES PARCS NATIONAUX 
DU CONGO BELGE 
% 
Brussels, January 27, 195$ 
Bear Mr. Schmitt: 
I have certainly not forgotten our last talk, and I had hoped 
to write to you, when your letter of December 31 arrived. I should 
be grateful if you would excuse me because an excess of work involved 
with the end of the year delayed my answering your letter by return 
mail . 
I have carefully examined the program of your trip, and I am 
in complete agreement with you that it will only be able to be 
partly carried out in the course of such a short period. 
In theory, nothing hinders the collection of little animals 
in the territory of the Belgian Congo. For all useful purposes 
am sending you a copy of the work, Animals protected in the Belgian 
Congo, n in which you will find the actual legislation in effect 
regarding hunting. Granted that the proposed collections may be 
made outside the National Parks, I do not believe it important to 
take steps to permit their being made in the reservation. If you 
judge that it will be necessary to assemble some samples of lava 
for Dr. Foshag, a special authorization can be granted you for this 
purpose. All the same it will be essential that you got in touch 
with the Conservateur of the Albert National Park just as soon as 
you arrive, in order to determine the place and the nature of your 
collection. 
So far as the help of an assistant taxidermist is concerned, 
I believe it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for you to 
secure one. The few native ones trained for this work are all 
occupied. 
In regard to your actual trip, we are sending you !t A Guide for 
the Traveler in the Belgian Congo, 11 in which you wi3_l find numerous 
data which can be of interest to you. Unfortunately we do net have 
a recent edition for you. This may be obtained, in Ehglish, from 
the representative of the Office of Tourisme du Congo Beige et du 
Ruanda-Urundi: Sabena, ij22 Madison Square, New York. 
The itinerary which you have sent to me appears to me to be 
too full for you to dream of making collections. The idea of Dr* 
Coustry to sojourn several days in the most interesting places 
appears better to me. The trip can be made by plane from Leopoldville 
to Stanleyville and from Stanleyville to Elizabethville. From there 
you can continue your trip by car to get back to the Kivu by Lake 
Tanganika and then continue toward the north following the itinerary 
that was suggested to you by the International Travel department* 
