Oct. 29, 1964 
Pago Pago, Samoa 
Dear Maryanna, ( j 
0 ‘I** 
somebody eroofed somewhere. The mail for the shir was surposed^to have been 
here when we arrived on the 28 th-it still isn't here. Today ,J/£he word went 
out that 300 pounds of mail will get here sometime on Sunday. 
^t. This means that we won't have much time in which to answer any 
mail we receive. If there cis only 300 pounds on the way I hope that none of 
it belongs to us or the photographer because between us we'll account for about 
200 pounds. At anyrate, if no answers are forthcoming from us you'll have to 
forgive us because there just wasn't sufficient time. 
oJjvla) 
Hold this paper up to the lie-ht. It is what is passed off in Pago Pago as 
typing paper and is the on 1 y thing we could get anywhere in town. A bundle of 
about 100 or so sheets only cost 65*0 so we can hardly complain. It is, however, 
a new experience to use duplicating paper for my number one bond typing paper. 
I almost expected to get a little (perforated) roll of very thin (two-ply, of 
course) paper when the girl said in her most emphatic tones (which would seem 
to indicate that she thought I wag a clod for implying that they might not have 
such a common thing as typing paper here) : "Why, certainly we have typing paper 
here I What color do you want?" 
So far this trir has gone very nicely. No major complications after we 
pulled out of Pearl Harbor. Everything has been in fair share aside from the 
fact that we all (as is normal) feel a little raggedy by now. So far, we have 
hit a fair number of birds and have banded a few more than we had expected to 
(27,000 roughlv) since this is the off-season. 
allowances will be hiked accordingly. 
The Snarf card business hasn’t been too red hot lately. For some reason, 
I have been singularly uninspired and though I’ve tried several times I haven’t 
been able to come up with much of anything. Having eight people along on this 
trup certain 1 y doesn’t help matters a great deal. Evervtime you get up in the 
lab to sit down and do something or simplv to sit and think sriwspt fourteen xiXEndfe 
other people suddenly decide# that they have to do something there too. 
All inspiration leaves when the mob starts pouring through the door of the lab. 
Since we have three more days before putting back to sea for the second half of 
this there is still time for an xxxpri inspiration or two. You’ll know within 
a day or two of receiving this letter whether the Greater Snarf has succeeded 
or failed dismally. 
Recently p red and I have been doing a lot of thinking about the Jan-Mar 
aTF trip. One of the most important items that will be needed for this trip 
wi11 be two brand-new rubber rafts. We are having troubles with the ones we 
have a~ the present time (things like valves blowing out, etc.) and don’t really 
expect either one to be in good enough shape to trust for another trip (the 
same thing probably will arp p y to the two boats that were taken with the 
Shearwater). Without good, dependable boats there isn’t a greet deal, we can do. 
Aside p rom t^is a boat that isn’t in good condition could conceivably fail at 
the wrong time and cause some injuries.... so we need two new boats. 
When ordering centrifuge tubes for the ATF it would help immeasurably if you 
purchased them in boxes of 12 (packed in a gross) as most have been in the past. 
