December 29, 1949 
Maj. Gen. Willis H. Hale, 
Ninth Air Force Base, 
Langley Air Force Base, Va. 
Dear General Hale: 
I know that you will not be surprised to learn that 
I am looking again toward Panama and in fact 1 am scheduled 
now to leave Washington for the south on February 4, so that 
I should be in the Zone by the end of the first week in 
February. I have the usual matters of business there con¬ 
cerned with the Barro Colorado Island Laboratory and then 
have in mind further field work with the birds on the Pacific 
side of the Republic. 
My plans are to go from Balboa to the little town of 
Chiman which is located a little over a 100 miles east, at the 
mouth of the Chiman River. I have learned that from here I 
can get access by one or two trails to the low mountain range 
in the interior where no ornithologist has ever been. 
You may recall that last May just prior to my de¬ 
parture from the Zone you were kind enough to arrange to send 
me out on a C-47 on reconnaissance of this area. My plans have 
all been developed from data secured during that flight. 
As I indicated above access to Chiman is by water. 
I will appreciate your advice as to whether you believe that it 
would be possible for me to arrange for the use of some small 
craft such as a crash boat for transportation from Balboa to 
Chiman. Mr. Perrygo would be with me. I also expect to have 
with me Ratibor Hartman who worked for me last year and who 
is now on the staff of the Gorges Memorial Laboratory. We 
would have about 1400 pounds of field equipment in small parcels 
and perhaps 400 to 500 pounds of food and other gear. 1 will 
have to take some food into that region as there will not be much 
