Eat the Monkeys, Too

To guide airmen stranded in tropic jungles, the Army last week brought out a new book, Jungle and Desert Emergencies, to go in their bail-out kits.

Basic advice : "Don't rush. Think things out; then act. Sleep and food are important; don't forget them in your eagerness to get out. . . . Good water and food are available in the jungle if you know where to look for them." In the first place, if a pilot possibly can, he is advised to make a controlled crash landing instead of bailing out, not primarily to save the plane but to help save his skin. The plane will help guide searching parties, provide shelter, fuel for warmth and smoke signals, materials to make sun helmets and knives. Other handy equipment in planes: a parachute for a tent, a converted seat cushion for a sun helmet, a parachute pack as a knapsack.

As a man from the city is likely to be nervous in the presence of jungle animals and jungle people, the book strives to reassure him : most animals are harmless unless bothered; except in New Guinea and Assam (India), jungle men are gentle -- in fact, they like to play cat's cradle, and usually, if he treats them kindly, will not betray a man's presence to the enemy.

About food and water: if it is a question of lugging either food or water on the desert, always choose water; in the jungle, water or a water substitute are easily found--animals usually go toward water at dawn and dusk, and there is drinkable stuff in the stems of the heavy jungle vines and rattans. All water should be boiled or purified by adding a chemical.

The guide lists 20 common, edible jungle plants and tells how to prepare them. General rules: eat nothing bitter unless you know what it is; avoid plants with a milky sap. In emergencies only, eat raw termites with the wings off or boiled, dried or fried beetle grubs. Eat anything the monkeys eat. Eat the monkeys, too.

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