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HELICOPTERS AID SCIENTISTS 
IN PANAMA JUNGLE EXPEDITION 
For Immediate Release 
Washington, D. C. — Something new has been 
added to the equipment by which the modern archeologist hunts his 
clues to ancient relics. 
It is the "motorcycle of the air," the helicopter, which has 
just been tried out successfully over the jungles of Panama, where an 
expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Societ 3 ? r and the 
Smithsonian Institution is digging into the secrets of remote 
civilizations. 
"In half a day we accomplished what would have taken us up to 
two weeks by canoe and on foot," reports the expedition leader, Dr. 
Matthew W. Stirling, to the Society's headquarters here. 
"The maneuverability of these machines is almost incredible. 
Their use for archeological exploration often has been suggested, but 
to my knowledge this is the first time it actually has been done." 
Work in Pairs 
The site to be investigated was a group of mounds believed to 
exist in the Tigre River region of the jungle east of the Panama 
Canal Zone. Two helicopters were made available for the search by 
the Caribbean Air Command of the U. S. Air Force. A pair of these 
versatile "air buggies," it was explained, usually work together on 
such missions, to provide a spare in case one should be forced down. 
7496 (MORE) 2-23-49 
EXPEDITIONS - 1949 PANAMA 
National Geographic 
News Bulletin 
prepared and issued by the 
National Geographic Society 
Washington 6, D. C. 
