JUNGLE AN D

DESERT

EMERGENCIES
JUNGLE AND DESERT

EMERGENCIES

UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES

DIRECTORATE OF AIR TRAFFIC AND SAFETY,
AND DIRECTORATE OF SAFETY EDUCATION
FOREWORD ON FORETHOUGHT

TO BAIL OR NOT TO BAIL

A CONTROLLED CRASH LAND-

ING, WITH FUEL TO SPARE, IS PREFERABLE TO BAILING
out because:
The intact outline of your airplane will help
searching parties to find you.
The airplane will provide shelter.
Residual fuel and oil can be drained and burned
for warmth and to supply smoke or signals to guide
searchers.
Material will be available for improvised sun hel-
mets, fish spears, shelter, bush knives, signalling de-
vices, etc.
3
IF, HOWEVER, IT IS NECESSARY TO BAIL OUT, YOU
SHOULD ATTEMPT TO ;

Tuck your maps and emergency rations inside your

clothes.
Make your way to the wrecked airplane if it is
not too far away.
Prepare some sort of signalling device for instant
use.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS ON PREPAREDNESS:
Wear, or carry with you, appropriate clothing for
the trip.
Wear shoes that you can walk home in.

4
JUNGLE

DON’T RUSH

THINK THINGS OUT, THEN ACT

SLEEP AND FOOD ARE IMPORTANT,

DON’T FOREGO THEM IN YOUR

EAGERNESS TO GET OUT

5
DON’T FEAR THE JUNGLE

A man can live for weeks in the jungle

with safety if he will avoid panic and use
his head.

GOOD FOOD AND GOOD WATER are

fairly plentiful in the jungle if you know
where to look for them.

MOST WILD ANIMALS won’t bother you

unless you bother them.

There is little more chance of being bitten

by a POISONOUS SNAKE than there is of
being struck by lightning back home. There
are no poisonous snakes in Polynesia and
in Malaysia they are rare.

With the exception of those of New Guinea

and Assam, JUNGLE NATIVES will be
friendly if you make friendly approaches
to them. DON’T TRY TO BULLY THEM.

MALARIA is your worst enemy. If you have

your first-aid kit, start immediately to take
preventive doses of Quinine or Atabrine.

6
 If you were able to land or crash-land
your plane in an open clearing, plan to stay with it
for a few days. If you crash-landed in the trees,
make a temporary camp near the wreckage. If you
were following your normal flight course when you
were forced down, your plane will be much easier
for searchers to locate than you will be.
In a multi-place plane, good quarters can be set
up inside the plane by covering the door and cockpit
openings with mosquito netting or with your para-
chutes.

SIGNALS
If your plane is intact, and there is some chance
that you may be able to fly it out, your first job is
to secure it by digging hub-deep holes for the land-
ing wheels and staking down the wings and tail. If
you have no staking kit, improvised stakes can be
made by burying oil cans or two or three-foot sec-
tions of tree branches.
Your second job is to attempt to establish radio
contact and to set up signals.

7
 WATER OIL

SIGNAL F/RE-
0/1 FOP SMUDGE,
WATER FOR WHITE
CLOUDS OF STEAM

BURIED CAN
MAKES A GOOD
MOOR/NG "DEADMAN *
 BURIED LOG
SIGNAL FIRE MAKES A
GOOD MOORING
\"DEADMAN “

UW.r'Y ■ •***/,**■ .

ENGINE- COWL
CREFLECTORS
>:

y
HUB-DEEP
HOLES FOR CHOCKS
IF YOUR PLANE
IS TO SFRYERS
L/Y/N6 QUARTERS
COYER OPEN DOORS
AND HATCHES
WITH MOSQUITO
NETTING OR A
SINGLE THICKNESS
OF YOUR
PARACHUTE
 Place bright-colored or reflecting objects on the
wings and around the plane. Cowl panels removed
from the engine nacelles and placed upside-down
with their unpainted surfaces pointing up form good
reflectors. Line them up side-by-side on the wings
where they can reflect the sun and will be readily
visible from the air.
Lay several fires within a few hundred feet of the
plane, so they can be lighted when a rescue plane is
sighted during the day or heard at night. Place a
small can of engine oil and a can of water near one
of the fires —engine oil thrown on a fire will produce
black smoke, water will send up billows of steam.
Do everything that you can to make the plane
stand out against its background. Remember, your
plane is a green-brown that by design is a good
match for the ground. Objects whose colors contrast
with that of the trees and grass, such as orange life-
preserver cushions, will stand out against the back-
ground if they are put out on the fuselage and
wings where they can be seen.
If you have an emergency kit or a life-raft kit,
use the large yellow-and-blue panel to signal to rescue
planes. Fold over the corners of the panel as shown
on the following pages to transmit the corresponding
messages.
10
PANEL
SIGNALS

Need Gasoline and Oil Need Tools

Plane is Flyable Plane is Flyable

Need Medical O K to Land Arrow

—

Attention Shows Landing Direction

Blue
Do Not Attempt Indicate Direction of
Landing Nearest Civilization
Yellow
11
 PANEL
SIGNALS

Need First-Ai< Need Quinine

Supplies or Atabrine

(■USE BLUE
ON LIGHT
BACKGROUND

Should We Wait Need Food

For Rescue Plane? and Water

Blue
Need Warm Have Abandoned Plane,
Clothing Walking in this
Direction Yellow
12
BODY Once you have sighted a
SIGNALS rescue plane and attracted
the attention of the pilot,
the body signals on this and
the following page can be
Need Medical Assistance
URGENT used to transmit messages.

All O K Can Proceed Shortly Need Mechanical Help

Do Not Wait Wait If Practicable or Parts—Long Delay

Pick Us Up— Do Not Attempt Land Here (Point in

Plane Abandoned To Land Here Direction of Landing)

13
Our Receiver Use Drop Affirmative
Is Operating Message (Yes)

Affirmative (Yes)
Negative (No)

BODY SIGNALS

Negative (No)

14
MIRROR SIGNALS
When the sun is shining, a mirror or any piece of
shiny metal—your rear-vision mirror, a food tin, or
a piece of metal from the plane—can be used as one
of the best of all signalling devices. However, the
mirror must be accurately aimed if the reflection
of the sun in the mirror is to be seen by the pilot
of a passing plane. One of the simplest ways to aim
a mirror is to use an aiming stake as shown below.
Any piece of wood four or five feet long can serve

rescue
PLANE

MIRPOP
OR SHINT
PIECE OF
.

METAL /
TOP OEM/PROP
MUST BE L/NED
UP WITH TOP OF
AIMING STICK AND
RESCUE PLANE

How on aiming stake can be used to aim a mirror for signalling

15
as the stake, or one of your party can stand in posi-
tion.
Hold the mirror so you can sight along its upper
edge. Change your position until the top end of the
stick and the plane line up, then adjust the angle
of the mirror until the beam of light reflected by
the mirror hits the top of the stick. If stick and plane
are then kept in the sighting line, the reflection will
be visible from the plane.
Some emergency kits are now fitted with a special
signalling mirror, which is a double-faced mirror

If your kit contains a mirror with a hole in it, use as above

16
( i.e mirrored on both sides) and provided with a
.

sighting or aiming hole. If you have one of these

mirrors, use it as shown on the opposite page.
Hold the mirror about three inches away from
your face and sight at the plane through the sighting
hole. The light from the sun shining through the
hole will form a light spot on your face and this
spot will be reflected in the rear surface of the mirror.
Then, still sighting on the plane through the hole,
adjust the angle of the mirror until the reflection of
the light spot on your face in the rear mirror just
coincides with the hole. In other words, when the
reflected spot disappears and the plane is still visible
through the hole you can be sure that the reflected
light from the sun is accurately aimed at the plane.
Divide the general duties among your crew. It
will help to prevent fears and panic. Post a guard
every night. If you are reasonably sure that you are
not within, or dangerously near, enemy-held terri-
tory, the guard should keep a signal fire going con-
tinuously. This will conserve your signal-pistol am-
munition or flares for the more important job of
signalling a rescue plane when it is actually heard
or sighted.
Fix your location by compass, octant, or the stars.
Make scouting trips out from the plane in search of
17
STRA/GNT AREAD

TURN R/GHT

TURN LEFT

Mark a trail, it will keep you from wandering around in circles

streams, making sure to mark a trail in the form of

knife cuts on trees, bent branches, arrows, or bits
of paper or cloth. Never go any distance from the
plane without laying some sort of trail that can be
followed back.
IT IS VERY EASY TO ROAM IN CIRCLES IN THICK
FOREST OR JUNGLE.
WATER
If you find a stream, make careful note of its di-
rection and position from your camp. It will not only
provide you with water for drinking, washing, and
18
cooking, but it may lead you to civilization when you
decide to give up hope of rescue and start to walk
your way out.
If you can’t locate a stream for drinking water,
dig a hole in the lowest depression near your camp.
If you don’t strike water down three or four feet,
try another spot. Unless you are on high ground,
water should be located in a few trys.
Animal trails will eventually lead you to water if
you are careful not to get lost in the maze of inter-
secting paths.
ALL ANIMALS, WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, TRAVEL
TOWARDS WATER AT DAWN AND DUSK.
WARNING : All water for drinking must be puri-
fied either by boiling for three minutes or by treat-
ment with Halazone tablets (or iodine if Halazone
tablets are not available).
Although not as effective as Halazone, tincture of
iodine can be used as an emergency water purifier.
Add three drops of iodine to every quart of water
which has previously been boiled and cooled. After
adding the iodine, stir the water thoroughly and
allow it to stand for thirty minutes before drinking.
Be especially suspicious of , water around native
villages or what looks like the remains of a native
village. The water is probably polluted.
19
PURIFYING WATER WITH HALAZONE. Pour water into a canteen
or other container until it is within a few inches of the top. Then
drop one Halazone tablet in for each quart of water, insert stop-
per, and shake the container. After a half hour, shake the con-
tainer and remove the stopper. If a slight odor of chlorine can be
detected, the water is ready for drinking. If chlorine cannot be
detected, add one or two more tablets and repeat the process.
Keep your supply of Halazone tablets in a dark, dry place mois-
—

ture and exposure to light cause them to lose their strength.

20
 If no natural source of water can be found imme-
diately, two common jungle plants will provide wat-
ery saps that are thirst quenchers.

A water substitute can be found Grape vines, above, and large

in the stems of Lianas, above... rattans. Cut stem, drink sap

Rain water can be collected by After a rain, water can be col-

digging hole, lining with’chute lected from tips of large leaves

21
 The stems of Lianas, Jungle grape vines, and large
rattans contain a good water substitute. Cut them
near the ground and drink the sap.
In forests, rain water often can be collected by
digging a hole and lining it with your parachute.
Also, the large lower leaves of trees collect a great
deal of water which can be drained off after a heavy
rain.

PARACHUTE
Save your parachute, or as much of it as you can.
The shrouds cut loose can be braided into a strong
rope and the canopy can be cut and folded to form
a good tent. A single parachute shroud line has a
minimum breaking strength of several hundred
pounds, so a double strand will be strong enough to
carry your weight with plenty of strength to spare.
However, shroud line will chafe easily when run
over rocks or tree bark.
Save your parachute pack —it can be converted
into a handy knapsack for carrying tent, kit, and
other supplies. The pack forms the base of the knap-
sack and the web straps form the shoulder straps.
Additional equipment can be carried in your gas-
mask bag.

22
 SAVE YOUR PARACHUTE—the canopy makes up into a good tent

.
.
. and the pack makes a knapsack by cutting off the shaded parts

23
Don’t wear wet clothes. Dry them on a drying rack of crossed sticks

CLOTHING
If you were able to land your plane, check your
equipment carefully before leaving for your trek back
to civilization. In jungle travel it is important to keep
as dry as possible. If you have them, include extra
shirt, pants, underwear, and socks in your kit in
spite of the weight they add. The jungle’s high tem-
peratures and high relative humidity will make you
sweat freely and any rapid cooling of your sweat-wet
body should be avoided. Chilling due to the rapid
evaporation of the sweat reduces body resistance and
24
can be the cause of pneumonia, bronchitis, stomach
cramps, and skin infections like fungus and prickly
heat.
Wet clothing should be changed for dry as soon
as practical. If you have no change of clothing, build
a fire, strip, rub your body, arms, and legs vigorously
to dry them and increase the circulation of your
blood and then remain naked until your clothes dry.
Avoid tight-fitting clothing it is hot and con-
—

stricts your movements. If you have your choice,

cotton shirts are better than wool, they are cooler
and more resistant to snagging and fungus rot.

Bundles of food or life rafts can be carried on a pole by two men

25
 If you have a pair of gloves, take them with you.
They will protect your hands against burrs and
nettles and also provide mosquito protection.

LIFE RAFTS
If you are travelling as a group, take your life
rafts with you. They can be floated on jungle streams
and can be used for transporting equipment if not
yourselves. They can be separately wrapped in can-
vas and swung on poles that can be carried by two
men.

BEFORE LEAVING YOUR PLANE BURN ALL

PAPERS, TECHNICAL ORDERS, AND TRIP
DATA THAT MIGHT BE RESTRICTED, CON-
FIDENTIAL, OR CLASSIFIED. SECRET IN-
STRUMENTS SHOULD BE SMASHED AND
THE PARTS BURIED.

IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR ENEMY TERRI

TORY, BURN THE PLANE.

26
PART THE JUNGLE,
DON’T TRY TO PUSH THROUGH IT
Travel in the jungle forests is slow. Try to follow
a stream downstream, and try as far as possible to
stick to natural trails, or native trails. Don’t try to
break your way through. Blundering ahead only
leads to bangs on the head and thorn scratches on
your face. You will get through faster if you watch
your step and pick your way. Keep your head up
and your chin in.
If you can’t find a stream or a native trail, follow
the swampy hollows which generally run in chains
and eventually join a stream.
In hilly country, the ridges are easier to follow
than the valleys, but precipices may make long de-
tours necessary.
In elephant country, follow the elephant trails.
Elephants do not wander aimlessly. If a track shows
frequent use, follow it. Elephants never go where
they are likely to fall or get bogged. Elephant trails
are 3 or 4 feet wide, other game trails are a foot
to 18 inches wide.
You can’t look through the jungle, but sometimes
you can look under it. The heavy growth of foliage
generally ends about a foot above the ground. Often
27
You can't see through the jungle, but often you can see under it

you can see much more of your surroundings by

getting flat on your stomach than you can by stand-
ing up.
Rely on your compass and your map, but don’t
try to follow a direct compass line. It will take too
long and be too tiring.
Do your walking early in the day. Darkness comes
early in the jungle. By five in the afternoon very
little light can penetrate through the thick foliage.
Start looking for a place to camp around three or
four.

28
 Take plenty of time for sleep and rest. Don’t
force yourself beyond your physical limits.

CAMPS
In picking a camp each night, avoid the banks
of streams and rivers. Pitch your tent back a few
hundred feet. Try to find a slight rise in the ground.
Half way up a hill is a good place to camp. If
jungle growth separates you from the stream or
river, all the better.
Build yourself a fire every night. Wood is plentiful,

A simple fire maker. Fuzz scraped from palm leaves is good

tinder. At right, a log reflector increases the heat from a fire

29
and even in rain forests comparatively dry wood can
be found hanging in the network of vines and rat-
tans. Any standing dead trees will be dry even if it
is raining, only the outside will be wet. Wet wood
can be used by splitting it and digging out the heart
wood. For tinder, if you are in palm country, simply
scrape the fuzz from the bottom sides of palm leaves.
A simple fire maker can be made from a flat stick
of soft wood and a foot and a half length of fairly
hard sapling about %-in. in diameter. Bore a cone-
shaped hole in the stick with your knife and whittle
a similarly shaped point on the end of the sapling.
To start a fire put the point of the sapling in the
hole, pile your palm leaf tinder around it, and twirl
the stick back and forth between the palms of your
hands until the tinder catches.
Before settling down for the night, gather a good
supply of wood for the fire and stow it inside the
tent where it will be protected from the rain.
Build your fire small. It will take less wood and
yet furnish enough heat for cooking. Any one of a
number of types of fires can be used. Nearly all
natives in the tropics—African, Australian, and East
Indian—arrange the wood in a radiating pattern,
like the spokes of a wheel. Such an arrangement
provides a steady uniform fire.
30
WILD ANIMALS
In just about ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,
jungle animals will be just as frightened of you as
you are of them. They will hear you long before
you can see them and in most cases they will do
their best to keep out of your path. If you are trav-
eling alone and want some form of protection at
night in a particular area where you feel large ani-
mals are present, build a fire and pile on bamboos.
They will go off like gunshots and make enough noise
to scare away any animals that may be nearby. In

Another type of parachute tent. In districts where there are ground

bugs, fold the ’chute to form a floor covering

31
an emergency, a shot from your signal pistol will
scare off an angry elephant or a tiger.
WARNING: One of your worst enemies in the
jungle is the mosquito. Never go to sleep without
some sort of protection—regular netting if you have
it or your parachute. Either cover the upper part of
your body with it, taking care to see that your hands
and face don’t touch the netting, or use it as a cov-
ering for the door to your tent. If it is used as a door
covering, be sure to kill all mosquitoes inside the tent
after you have closed the netting door. As an addi-
tional precaution, apply mosquito repellant to your
face and hands if you have it. Put a good quantity
behind your ears.

32
NATURAL FOOD
Natural food is plentiful in most jungles if
you know where to look for it and are able
to distinguish between the edible and the
poisonous. There are only three general
rules beyond definite recognition—
EAT NOTHING THAT HAS A BITTER TASTE UN-
LESS YOU ARE SURE WHAT IT IS.

AVOID ALL PLANTS THAT HAVE A MILKY SAP.

ANYTHING THAT YOU SEE MONKEYS EAT, YOU

CAN EAT.

33
CASHEW
A small or medium-size tree. The upper, yellow-
ish or purplish fruit, with the exception of the ex-
treme lower tip, is refreshing and can be eaten raw
WARNING: The lower seed, the cashew nut
should be roasted before eating.

34
CASSAVA
A shrubby plant about four feet high with tuber-
ous rootsrich in starch. WARNING: There are two
kinds of cassava—bitter cassava and sweet cassava.
Sweet cassava roots can be eaten raw. BITTER
CASSAVA IS POISONOUS RAW, IT MUST BE
COOKED

35
GUANABANO TORETE
Guanabano, a tree that grows to a height of
twenty-five feet, is common in Central America. The
fruit, which has a brown skin, orange-colored meat,
and large flat seeds can be eaten raw. It is neither
meaty nor overly nutritious.

36
HOGPLUM OR CIRUELO
The hogplum tree bears fruit that is reddish orange
when ripe and resembles a small plum. It can be
eaten either raw or cooked. It is most common in
Central America.

37
NISPERO
The tree grows about fifty feet high and has dark
green leaves. The fruit is small and ball-shaped and
has a thin brown skin. It can be eaten raw only.
Although the milky sap of the tree is not poisonous,
it is NOT A GOOD SUBSTITUTE FOR WATER.

38
STAR APPLE
The star apple tree grows to a height of about sixty
feet and has dark green, shiny leaves. The fruit re-
sembles a small apple and when cut through its
brown seeds form a star. It can be eaten raw only
and has a sweet taste.

39
WATER CHESTNUT
Water chestnuts, common to the Far East, grow
in swampy watery places. Their stalks grow to a
height of about three feet. The chestnuts are a part
of the root system. They are best when eaten cooked.

40
YAMS OR YAMPI
A vinelike plant common in the forests, not unlike
the sweet potato. Their large tuberous roots can be
eaten when cooked.

41
BANANA
The banana tree is easily identified by its large
long leaves and its familiar cluster of fruit. Green
bananas make a good substitute for potatoes when
they are boiled.
42
MAMEY
The tree often grows to a height of sixty feet and
has a top of glossy leaves. The fruit is brown, has a
yellow or reddish meat, and resembles a peach in
taste. It can be eaten raw or cooked.

43
PAPAYA OR PAPAW
A straight-trunked tree bearing melon-shaped fruits
in clusters like coconuts. The fruit is excellent food
and can be eaten raw or cooked. The young leaves
and stems also can be eaten if boiled in several water
changes to remove the bitter taste.

44
PINEAPPLE
Although generally cultivated, pineapples are often
found growing wild in Central and South America.
The fruit is located in the center of the plant.

45
RATTAN
Rattans are a good source of both food and a sub-
stitute for water. The tender spike at the upper end
of the vine is edible both raw and cooked and the
sap of the larger vines is drinkable. A man can exist
for a considerable time on nothing but rattans.

46
PALM CABBAGE
The spike or terminal bud in the center of the leaf
cluster of a palm tree is called the “palm cabbage.”
Like the rattan spike it forms a plentiful source of
food. It can be eaten either raw or cooked.

47
BAMBOO SHOOTS
Bamboo shoots are the spikelike young shoots grow-
ing out from the base of the bamboo. The shoots can
be cut off at the ground level. They can be eaten
raw but are best when cooked.

48
BREADFRUIT
The breadfruit tree often grows to a height of
forty feet. The fruit, about a half-foot in diameter,
grows near the ends of the tree’s branches. It is
starchy and provides a good substitute for potatoes.
Baked, the fruit resembles bread.
49
COCONUTS
Besides the meat and drinkable milk of the coconut
itself, the coconut palm also provides a good source
of food in the form of its large terminal bud or
shoot in the center of its leaf cluster. This bud is
the “cabbage” and can be eaten raw or cooked.

50
DURIAN

Durian are plentiful on most East Indian Islands.

The eight-inch fruit has a prickly rind and a soft
creamy pulp that is not only edible but considered
a delicacy. Don’t let the odor of the pulp bother
you. The seeds can be roasted and eaten.

51
GROUND FERNS

The young shoots of

most ferns growing
along swift streams and
rivers are edible. Boiled,
they resemble spinach in
taste. They also can be
eaten raw.

52
SWEET POTATO
Although generally cultivated, sweet potatoes often
can be found growing wild. In addition to the edible
tubers or roots which can be eaten either raw or
cooked, the young shoots and leaves when boiled re-
semble spinach in taste.

53
FISH
Fish are easy to catch in most tropical streams. A
hook and line will generally bring results, but since
many tropical fish are suckers, a spear made by
whittling sharp double points on a bamboo shaft or
a small sappling will yield more food in less time.
If both of these methods fail, your parachute-tent
can be used as a fish net. On small streams it can be
spread across a narrow portion to trap fish as they
swim downstream.

Your parachute can serve as a fish net and a spear can be made
from bamboo

54
 Don’t eat any fish that have spiny or leathery skins.
Skin all fish and frogs before cooking.
fish should always be boiled. Boiling is not
only a precaution against infection due to pollution
of the water in which the fish was caught, but it
retains more of the food and vitamin value of the
fish than either frying or baking.

BIRDS AND ANIMALS

Ground birds and small jungle animals provide
a good food source, but they require more time to
catch and prepare than fish. The most common are
ground pigeons, turkeys, jungle rats, and monkeys.
Simple snares and traps are about the best means
of catching these animals. They can be set out at
night when you make camp and taken up in the
morning before setting out again.
Don’t overcook your meat, and use as much of the
animal or bird as you can. Entrails, the heart, the
liver, and the kidney contain essential vitamins that
will make up for any possible lack of greens and
roughage in your diet. .

As with fish, meat should be stewed rather than

fried or baked. Chunks of meat one or two inches
across should be dropped into a pot of cold water
over the fire. Two minutes after the water has come
55
to a boil remove the pot from the fire and place it
to one side to cool to eating temperature. This per-
mits the meat to cook thoroughly yet prevents over-
cooking.

Three monkey traps. Top, a coconut with a small hole in each

end and fastened to the ground by wire or cord. Bait is placed
inside. Monkey reaches in, closes fist, and won’t let go even
though he can’t pull fist through hole. Bottom left, tip-up trap
—

monkey climbs inclined pole to reach food hanging on cord,

pole lips up dropping him into pit. Bottom right. Monkey reaches
for bait, trips trap, sapling springs back holding monkey. Bail
should be walled in at back and sides with rocks or logs to force
monkey to reach in through the loop.

56
 If you have no cooking pots, food can be baked
by wrapping it in several layers of green leaves and
burying it in hot ashes, keeping the fire on top burn-
ing until cooking is completed.
A similar but cleaner method is to place a number
of stones which have been heated very hot in a fire
in the bottom of a shallow, dry trench scooped in
the ground. Cover the stones with green leaves, place
the leaf-wrapped food on the leaves, surround it
closely with other hot stones, and cover the whole
thing with more hot stones and a light topping of
dirt. It will take about two hours for most foods to
cook.
GAME OR FISH can be cooked on an improvised
spit or stick.

FAT
Fat should be part of your diet. Save unused fat
from animals killed. Don’t waste it. Starchy foods
are easily obtained in most jungles, but proteins and
fats are not. It may not always be possible to get
birds and animals, so a reserve of protein and fat
should be carried. Melt the excess fat in a pan, boil
it for a few minutes, skim off any solid material, and
pour it into a small can with a tight-fitting top —

one or two empty friction-top coffee containers from

57
 MEAT DIRT
TRAPPED
IN LEAVES
■

HOT
STONES

58
your emergency ration kit will serve nicely. The fat
then can be used for preparing starch plants and
other foods.

EDIBLE INSECTS
In emergencies, two groups of jungle
insects form a nourishing food source—
TERMITES

After removing the wings, termites can be eaten raw or cooked

Grasshoppers and crickets also can be eaten raw or cooked.

and BEETLE GRUBS

Beetle grubs can be eaten either boiled, fried, or dried. They are
generally found inside dead stumps and rotted fallen trees.
59
 In most clearings and grasslands Termites emerge
from the ground and can be picked up by the hand-
ful after a heavy rain. After removing the wings
they can be eaten raw or can be fried in fat. Con-
sidered delicacies by jungle natives and many ex-
plorers, they not only provide considerable nourish-
ment, but raw or cooked have a taste like roasted
chestnuts. Grasshoppers and crickets also can be
eaten.
Beetle grubs are also a favorite native food. They
can be found easily by hunting out dead stumps and
fallen trees and listening for the scratchings of grubs
inside the wood. Once grubs are located, split the
log with your jungle knife and remove them. Dried
in a pan suspended over a fire, they can be eaten as
they are, as part of stew made up of one of the
starch root plants, or they can be fried with a little
salt and fat.

60
POISONOUS PLANTS

The number of poisonous plants is not

great, and few are common in the jungles
and forests. Four are shown on the follow-
ing pages. A safe rule to follow is to eat
nothing that a monkey won’t eat, and avoid
all those that have a milky sap or a disagree-
able taste.

61
 POISONOUS
SANBOX
The tree grows tall and has a trunk covered with
spines. The fruit is about four inches in diameter and
resembles a small pumpkin, being green when unripe
and brown when ripe. The seeds contain an oil that
is a violent cathartic.

62
MANZANILLO
Manzanillo is found near the seacoasts along
beaches. The bark is smooth and tan, the leaves are
green, and the fruit resembles a small green apple.
The fruit is poisonous and even the sap of the tree
can cause severe inflammation and irritation.

POISONOUS
63
COWITCH
A plant common in thickets. The beanlike pods
are not edible and should not be touched. They are
covered with short, fine detachable hairs that will
stick into your skin, become detached from the pod,
and cause severe irritation.

POISONOUS

64
 VERY POISONOUS

STRYCHNOS
A slender, woody vine bearing ball-shaped fruit
about two inches in diameter. It contains one of the
deadliest poisons known —

a small amount in the

blood stream being sufficient to paralyze the nerves
and cause death. Common in South America, it has
been used by natives to poison arrows.
65
JUNGLE HEALTH

Three things are absolutely necessary to

your health in the jungle—periodic doses of
Quinine or Atabrine, a Quinine substitute,
the use of some sort of mosquito protection,
and daily doses of salt or salt tablets to re-
place the salt removed from the body by
excessive sweating.

66
MALARIA
Atabrine must be taken for protection against the
fever symptoms of malaria. Take the first dose (i tab-
let) in the morning, and the second dose (i tablet) in
the evening on the first day you are in the jungle. Skip
three days, then repeat the doses as on the first day.
Keep this up as long as you are in a malarial area.
(This dosage for i/ 2 gr. Atabrine tablets.)
If Quinine is in the jungle kit instead of Atabrine,
take two 5 gr. tablets each day, as long as you are
in a malarial area.

DYSENTERY
Dysentery is caused by impure drinking water or
food and is very likely to occur in the jungle. It can
be avoided by purifying all drinking water, and by
eating only food which has just been cooked or
taken from a sealed container. If you become ill
with dysentery, take only liquid foods and stay as
quiet as possible until you are well. Add two salt
tablets to each canteenful of drinking water.
If your first aid kit contains sulfaguanadine tab-
lets take 4 tablets every 4 hours, day and night, until
your bowel movements are normal. If there is no
improvement in 4 days, stop taking the tablets.
67
SNAKE BITE
Snake venom acts rapidly. First-aid must be given
quickly to prevent the poison from spreading
throughout the body.
Put a tourniquet on at once, placing it between
the body and the bite. Apply it above the knee in
foot or leg bites, above the elbow in hand and arm
bites. A necktie, belt, handkerchief, or bandage can
be used as a tourniquet.
THE TOURNIQUET SHOULD BE LOOSENED FOR TEN
OR FIFTEEN SECONDS EVERY TWENTY MINUTES,
Apply iodine around the bite, treat your pocket
knife blade tip or razor blade with iodine, and make
cross incisions }4-inch long and *4-inch deep across
each fang mark. Then apply suction to the wound
for twenty minutes before loosening tourniquet and
keep up suction for at least three twenty-minute
periods. This can be done by mouth if you have no
snake bite kit. Spit fluid out.
After the wound has been sucked for an hour,
remove the tourniquet, apply iodine or sulfanilamide
powder if you have it, and apply a clean bandage.

68
JUNGLE PESTS
Mosquitoes as carriers of malaria, yellow fever,
dengue (or breakbone fever), and filariasis are not
the only jungle insects that should be guarded
against. Ticks, fleas, body lice, mites or chiggers,
kissing bugs, and botflies are other common jungle
pests that carry diseases or cause painful sores. Al-
though not insects, leeches and vampire bats (only
in South America) also are dangerous.
REMOVE YOUR CLOTHING TWICE A DAY AND INSPECT
IT AND YOUR BODY FOR ANY TRACE OF VERMIN.

TICKS can be identified by their flat oval

body, small head, and comparatively large
abdomen. They are carriers of relapsing
fever and typhus.
Ticks do not always attach themselves immediately
after coming in contact with your skin. Even after
the biting members are attached, infection usually
does not occur until the tick has remained in place
for six hours or longer.
Never squash a tick on the skin or attempt to
pull it out. Instead, cover it with a good coating of
spit. The tick will free itself and be easy to remove.
If you try to pull the tick out, his mouth will be
left under your skin. Apply iodine to the bite.
69
 FLEAS are small wingless brown
or black insects with a flat body,
small head, and large legs.
The rat flea found in native vil-
lages and storehouses is a carrier of
bubonic plague and typhus. Avoid native huts and
use your insect repeliant.
MITES OR CHIGGERS, very small
insects resembling fleas, are common in
the American tropics and in parts of West
Africa and India. They are carriers of
typhus. As with fleas, use repellant and avoid native
huts.
Chiggers bore under the skin. They should be re-
moved with a sterile knife-point. The bite should
be treated with iodine.
BODY LICE are small, gray, flattened,
six-legged, and wingless. They are carriers
of typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever.
To keep from getting lice, avoid close con-
tact with natives and stay out of native huts. It is
easy to kill the lice, but the eggs are more resistant.
Steaming of the clothing, especially the
seams, generally will be effective.
KISSING BUGS are large, dark
brown or black, have a narrow cone-
70
shaped head, oval body, long legs, and well developed
wings. Common in Yucatan and Central America,
they are carriers of Chagas’ disease. Avoid native
huts and abandoned buildings. They usually bite you
on the face, so again mosquito netting is an important
protection.
BOTFLIES, common in
the American and African
tropics, are dangerous be-
cause of their larvae. The
maggot burrows into the skin and causes a painful
swelling that looks like a boil. A coating of oil or
kerosene placed over the hole every few hours will
generally cause the larvae to come to the surface of
the skin where it can be expelled by squeezing the
skin. Frequent applications of wet tobacco will also
kill the larva which can then be squeezed out.
LEECHES, common to ponds or sluggish streams
and the East Indian tropics where they cling to low-
lying brush and attach themselves to a passing man
or animal, look like thick short worms. Unless re-
moved carefully, their bites can produce painful in-
fections.
Do not try to remove
a leech by pulling. In-
stead apply iodine, salt,
71
or tobacco juice, and it will release its hold and
drop off.
VAMPIRE BATS, found in
Yucatan and tropical America,
often bite humans and are car-
riers of rabies and other animal
diseases that infect humans. Im-
mediate first-aid treatment consists of cauterization
of the wound and applications of tannic acid oint-
ment and a tight compression bandage.

JUNGLE NATIVES
With the exception of those in New Guinea and
in parts of Assam, there are few dangerous jungle
natives. When you encounter natives, try to appear
confident but not aggressive. Stay away from the
women. All natives are superstitious and suspicious.
Through generations they have learned to trust no
one. You can only win their confidence by appear-
ing openhanded.
String tricks—the cat’s cradles and spider webs
that you did when you were a kid—are an almost
universal pastime with jungle natives all over the
world. If you remember any of them, pick up a
piece of pliable vine and demonstrate them to natives
you meet. In most cases it will serve as an immediate
bond between you and them. If you can’t do a string
trick, go through the motions to arouse their curi-
osity.
Be particularly careful of your treatment of natives
if you are in or near enemy territory. If they want
to, they can help you get back to your lines. Don’t
try to use terrorist methods to get them to work for
you or conceal you. Jungle natives move about a
great deal, but if they are not threatened or abused
they will seldom rush news of your presence to the
enemy.
Eat native food only when it has been well and
freshly cooked and be sure all water offered you by
natives has been boiled. Under no conditions sleep
in or near native camps or bathe in nearby streams.
Avoid close contact with any native. Don’t go around
barefoot.

73
DESERT

IF YOU ARE

FORCED DOWN IN THE DESERT

DON’T GET PANICKY.

YOUR CHANCES OF RESCUE

ARE GOOD

75
LAND YOUR PLANE

If you get lost over the desert, and your

fuel supply is low, don’t fly on aimlessly in the hope
of getting your bearings, Almost any place in the
desert provides terrain for a good landing and a
landing under full control with fuel in reserve stands
every chance of success. A forced landing with a
dead stick is just as dangerous in the desert as it is
in any other kind of country.
Prevailing ground wind directions generally can
be ascertained by studying the formation of the sand
dunes as you fly over them. Dunes, like ocean waves,
usually run roughly at right angles to the direction
of the prevailing wind.
Desert weather is variable with temperatures rang-
ing from 125 deg. F. midday in the summer to 25
deg. F. in the early morning hours of the winter.
Winds seldom if ever reach hurricane velocities, but
winds of 35 miles an hour are common and velocities
of 50 miles an hour do occur occasionally. Rains are
infrequent, but may be of cloudburst intensity when
they do occur. Hailstorms are rare. Thin low ground
76
fogs occur occasionaly in the early morning hours,
but they almost invariably clear up when the sun rises.
In general, desert flying weather is uniformly good.
Sandstorms are a hazard of desert flying, but land-
ings during a sandstorm are no more difficult than
landings during a heavy rain. Such landings invari-
ably will be made into the face of a wind with a
velocity of 35 miles an hour or greater—a fact that
makes landings even in rough desert terrain possible.
Your actual landing speed will be low, and your roll
after landing will be short.
If you can land your plane, do so. Even a wrecked
plane can provide you with a good many things
that will make it easier for you to walk your way
out if rescue fails.

77
 c
Wtay near your plane until nightfall, or
longer, if you expect a search to be made for you.
If you bailed out, and your wrecked plane is not
too far away, make your way to it—the plane will
be easier for rescuers to locate than you.

SIGNALS
Most of the signals suggested in the jungle section
on page 7 will serve equally well in the desert. An
additional groundstrip type of signal can also be used.
It consists of scratching shallow trenches in the sand
to form large letters, pouring gasoline into the trench,
and lighting it when a rescue plane is sighted. The
smudge formed will be visible from the air as a mes-
sage.
If you are equipped with an emergency parachute
kit, use the colored signal marker as outlined on page
10. If a plane is heard at night, light your signal
fires or flares or fire your signal pistol. If a plane is
sighted during the day, signal it with a mirror or
any piece of shiny metal. Properly aimed it will be
more effective than fires. (See page 15.)

78
 GO OVER YOUR PLANE CAREFULLY, there
are a number of things that you can take with you
to make travel easier.
DON’T FORGET:
ALL WATER AND FOOD . and water is
. .

more important than food.

SUN GLASSES. They will protect your eyes
from the sun and from blowing sand.
SALT TABLETS.
MAPS.
MATCHES.
EMERGENCY KIT.
FIRST-AID KIT.
SIGNAL PISTOL OR FLARES.
WARM CLOTHES OR A BLANKET. In
spite of the terrific heat during the day, night
temperatures often drop as low as 25 deg. F.
in the winter.
OCTANT AND COMPASS. If the small com-
pass in your kit has been broken or lost, remove
the compass from the instrument panel of your
plane. The desert is one place where you can’t
trust to instinct. To get where you want to go,
you will need all the navigation aids available.
79
 Slay under cover during the day. Use your 'chute as a tent

Cut away the shaded parts to make a knapsack from a 'chute pack

80
 A good tent can be made either by folding your
parachute canopy or by cutting a ten-foot square
from it. Save the shrouds, they can be used as stake
lines, bindings for an improvised knapsack made
from your parachute harness, and as a line for bail-
ing water out of Bedouin wells which sometimes are
more than 200 feet deep.

CLOTHES
Don’t let the midday heat of the desert fool you.
The desert sun can burn you quickly, and desert
nights can be cold. In consequence, wear light clothes
that cover your body when it is necessary for you to
be out in the sun during the day, and wear something
warm at night. Your parachute can serve a double
purpose here —as a shelter from the sun during the
day and as a shawl for warmth during the night.
One very important piece of clothing is an impro-
vised woolen band that can be worn around your
middle and over your stomach to prevent stomach
chills. This is particularly important in summer, and
the hotter the day the more important it is. The
purpose of the band is to absorb your perspiration
and prevent any rapid chilling of your stomach due
to sudden evaporation.
Take care of your shoes, and wear two pairs of

81
socks if you have them. The condition of your feet
may mean the difference between getting back and
not getting back. Keep your shoes free of sand and
take them off during the day when you are resting
under the shelter so they can dry out.
If your shoes are thin, reinforce them by lacing
on an outer sole improvised from the rubber floor
matting in the cockpit.
Unless you are wearing boots or high shoes,
fashion a pair of gaiters or leggings from strips of
fabric torn from your parachute or from your plane.
Roll the strips spiral-puttee fashion so they cover an
inch or two of the shoe tops and two or three inches

Spiral gaiters of parachute cloth will keep sand out of your shoes

82
 A length of shroud line or fish line con be used
to hold it on your head

of your legs. These improvised wrap leggings will

keep the sand out of your shoes.
An effective sun hat can be made from a seat
cushion. Slit it open between the seams on two ad-
jacent sides. Slit through the stuffing, and mold a
hollow for your head in the filling. A piece of shroud
line, or a length of fishing line from your emergency
kit, can be used as a chin strap to hold it on your
head. It may make a funny looking hat, but it will
protect your head from the sun when it is necessary
for you to be out in the open during the day.

83
GETTING OUT
When you feel there is no longer any hope of
rescue, lay out a plan of travel and then make up
your mind to stick to it. Distances in the desert are
deceptive. Once you have established your position,
consult your maps and plan to make your way
toward some known route of travel, a source of
water, or an inhabited area. Follow the easiest
route possible. Avoid soft sand and rough terrain.
Before you leave your plane, make sure that you
have the things you will need. If it is a question of
carrying either food or water, LEAVE THE FOOD
AND TAKE THE WATER. You can live on a mini-
mum of food, but you can’t live in the desert with-
out water.

BEFORE LEAVING YOUR PLANE BURN ALL

PAPERS, TECHNICAL ORDERS, AND TRIP
DATA THAT MIGHT BE RESTRICTED, CON-
FIDENTIAL, OR CLASSIFIED. SECRET IN-
STRUMENTS fHOULD BE SMASHED AND
THE PARTS BJRIED.
IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR ENEMY TERRI-
TORY BURN THE PLANE.
84
 Do your walking at night and stay out of the sun
and rest during the day. Stay under the shelter of
your improvised tent, particularly during midday.
Conserve your strength. The slightest exertion will
increase your sweating and increased sweating will
increase your thirst.
If you get caught in a sandstorm, put on your
sun glasses, cover your nose and mouth with cloth
(a strip of your parachute will do) and try to get
in the lee of any shelter that may be available. If
you lie down, move about frequently so you won’t
be buried under the swirling sand.

WATER
Your life in the desert depends on your water
supply. Protect it and conserve it. Sip water, never
gulp it. Your first cravings can be lessened by merely
moistening your mouth and throat at intervals. Water
consumed rapidly is merely thrown off as excessive
sweating and therefore wasted. Take your salt tablets
regularly if you have them with you, the salt will
make up for the loss of body fluids. If you begin to
feel particularly weak add two salt tablets to your
canteen of water.
Don’t smoke, particularly during the day. Smoking
only increases your thirst.
85
 Water from desert water holes and wells should
be purified either by boiling for more than three
minutes or by dissolving at least one Halazone tablet
to each quart (more than one tablet may be neces-
sary) Iodine also can be used as a purifier if you
.

have no Halazone tablets. (See page 20.)

FOOD
Food spoils quickly in the desert. Canned emergen-
cy rations should be eaten as soon as the cans are
opened.
Unfortunately, game is neither abundant nor uni-
formly distributed in the desert. In the immediate
vicinity of a water hole, or where there is a light
growth of brush, such game as rabbits, antelope, and
birds may be found in limited numbers. However, in
localities where there is nothing but drifting sterile
sand, not even snakes and lizards can survive.
Palms around water holes do provide a good source
of food in the form of the palm cabbage, a tender
shoot which extends up from the top of the trunk
at the point where the leaves spread out. (See page
47.) It can be eaten raw or cooked.
When you get to a native camp or inhabited area,
avoid native foods prepared by natives. Instead buy
or barter for raw food and prepare it yourself by

86
boiling. Almost all native-grown fruits and vegetables
are contaminated; boiling will make them safe for
eating. Likewise, milk as well as water provided by
natives should be boiled before drinking.

DESERT HEALTH
heatstroke, or sunstroke as it is sometimes called,
usually is caused by exposure to the direct rays of
the hot desert sun, but it can hit a person who has
been under cover. The symptoms are headache, dizzi-
ness, red and purple spots before the eyes, and very
often vomiting and unconsciousness. The skin is hot
and dry, and the face is flushed and feverish. Gen-
erally, the pupils of the eyes will be smaller than
usual.
A heatstroke victim should be placed in the shade
and all clothing with the exception of his underwear,
should be removed. He should be placed on his back
with his shoulders raised and should be cooled by
pouring whatever water can be spared over his body
and fanning him to increase the evaporation. His
arms, legs, thighs, and trunk should be rubbed
briskly. When he regains consciousness he should be
given cool water containing two salt tablets to a
canteenful. If his skin gets hot again, the process
should be repeated.
87
 heat exhaustion. An all-in feeling, dizziness,
nausea, and weakness are the first signs of heat ex-
haustion. The face is pale and the skin cold. There
is severe sweating. Fainting may occur.
A heat-exhaustion victim should be removed to the
coolest, shadiest place available, placed on his back,
and given from three to five canteenfuls of cool
salt water ( two salt tablets to each canteenful) during
the next twelve hours.
heat cramps. Heat cramps usually occur after a
person has been sweating a great deal, especially if
extra amounts of salt have not been taken. They
bring on shallow breathing, vomiting, severe weak-
ness, and dizziness.
Heat cramps can be prevented by the addition of
salt to the diet, especially on days when you have
been sweating a great deal. If cramps already have
developed, rest in the coolest place you can find and
drink from three to five canteenfuls of salt water
(two tablets to every canteenful) during the next
twelve hours.
SEE JUNGLE HEALTH (PAGE 66).

88