Awake!, September 22, 1961

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The Paralyzing Power of Tradition

PAGE S

Your Automatic Sprinkler System CalledTears

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Weapons That Terrorize

PAGE 20

The Fascinating Fungi World

PAGE 24

SEPTEMBER 22, 1961

THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL

News sources that are able to keep you awake to the vita! Issues of but times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. "AwakeI” has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish focts. It is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; It is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must not be trodden on; it is unprejudiced by traditional creeds. This journal keeps itself free that it may speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth.

"Awake!’’ uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them. Its own correspondents are an all continents, in scores of nations. From the four corners of the earth their uncensored, on-the-scenes reports come to you through these columns. This journal's viewpoint is not narrow, but is international. It is read in many notions, in many languages, by persons of ail ages. Through its pages many fields of knowledge pass in review—government, commerce, religion, history, geography, science, social conditions, natural wonders—why, its coverage is as broad as the earth and as high as the heavens.

"Awake!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of o righteous New World.

Get acquainted with "Awoke!” Keep awoke by reading “Awoke!”

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CONTENTS

Reactions Speak Louder than Words

The Paralyzing Power of Tradition

Your Automatic Sprinkler System

Called Tears

A Surgeon Who Believes in the

Golden Rule

Pioneer of Northern Skyways—the “Bush

Pilot’’

Cockpit Complexity

Fascinating Eating Habits

Guajiros—Indians of South America 17

Global Holocaust

Weapons That Terrorize

The Fascinating Fungi World

Smoking and Premature Babies

“Your Word Is Truth"

Reliable Prophecy

Watching the World

rTTHE man sprawled 1 in the doorway looked more dead than alive. A policeman flashed a light into his eyes. Quickly a blanket was unfolded and drawn up under the man’s chin. Had his

tions of others. Seneca, the Roman philosopher and author, was better mo

tivated: “Let a man be ever so ungrateful or inhuman, he shall never destroy the satisfaction of my having done a

eyes not reacted to the light, it would have been a case for the morgue instead of city hospital. It did not matter that the crowd said he must be dead. Reaction spoke louder than words.

LOUDER THAN WORDS

good office.” He was happy no matter how others behaved.

Reactions also tell on leading nations. Russia and the United States may deny they fear each other. Yet their hoarding nuclear

Our reactions tell on us every day. A thought is advertised by a smile or a frown. Embarrassment lights up the blushing face. Fear speaks the truth about a coward. Poverty tells whether a man thinks it is sometimes right to steal. Reactions tell the lie detector the accused is not telling the truth. With no words and little effort our reactions shout what we might not care to whisper.

Motives are often exposed by common reactions. A well-known columnist once advised his readers not to close the door when leaving a taxi. First settle the fare and tip. “If he thanks you, then shut it. If he doesn’t, let him come around and do it himself.” It was suggested that the cabby might get hit by another car in the process! Such advice is typical of the unhappy reactor who is governed by the acweapons tells a different story. Friends of Uncle Sam say he lacks initiative and a positive program of his own. They base this on his perpetual reaction to the Kremlin’s moves. Belated overtures toward South America and the "emerging” nations are said to indicate more reaction to communism than the doings of a “Good Samaritan.” The Communists also reveal things by reaction. For years they have said that religion is the opium of the people—something that causes sleep. But violent reaction to the underground work of Jehovah’s witnesses shows the Communists really fear the power of religion to wake people up!

Two centuries ago a man said, "If religion does nothing for your temper it has done nothing for your soul.” That is still true and your reactions will quickly tell it. Many persons resemble doors that function by electric eye. Let anyone cross their path and they start swinging. The result is often disastrous. Recently in Brooklyn, New York, a motorist stopped to park. In that instant a second car nosed into the lone parking space. Tempers and fists exploded—down went the second driver, fatally striking his head against the curb. Solomon long ago predicted the results of unbridled reaction: “He that is quick to anger will commit foolishness.”—Prov. 14:17.

No one is saying that all reaction is bad. It is often good, useful and necessary. When you jump at the “honk!" of a car horn or investigate the strange scent of smoke, that is practical and wise. When you thank God for life, hope and your daily bread, you show loving appreciation. When you feel indignant about discrimination and kangaroo courts, credit your sense of justice. When you work to face up to an emergency, that is proper use of power. Your ability to reflect God’s cardinal attributes proves you are made in his image. Unfortunately too many allow the image to fade. They replace it with emotion or raw passion. It was that way in the days of the Latin poet Claudian, who observed: “He is next to the gods whom reason and not passion impels."

The apostle Paul referred to our Creator as a “happy” God. Christ is called the “happy" Potentate. (1 Tim. 1:11; 6:15) How can God be happy when so many creatures break his laws, ignore his word —even deny that he exists? The answer is clear. God is not a perpetual reactor. He says, “I am Jehovah; I have not changed.” (Mal. 3:6) He exercises his wisdom, love, justice and power in perfect balance, regardless of what his creatures do. His every action or reaction is based on discernment, No crisis tempts him to act in haste. He causes the rain to fall upon the thankful and the unthankful. He sends out the good news of his kingdom to all kinds of men. When the due time for Armageddon’s destruction arrives, he will allow it to come, not because he has pleasure in the death of the wicked, but because he loves righteousness. Confident that his will shall be done on earth as in heaven, Jehovah God remains happy. His Son, Christ Jesus, is likewise “the same yesterday and today, and forever.” (Heb. 13:8) He is a mighty God with perfect self-control. Neither insult nor injury to himself or his subjects can make him deviate from truth and righteousness. He too is happy.

We mortals can share this joy by making the effort. Instead of shaking your fist at every unkind remark, “turn the other cheek.” Discard abusive speech and dis-cover the power of a mild answer to turn away rage. Instead of bringing home the day’s irritations to contaminate a pleasant evening, exercise the love that “does not become provoked” and “does not keep account of the injury.” Carefully study and apply the Bible’s inspired principles as your daily guide. In this twilight era between the old world and God’s new world it will prove to be a bright lamp to your foot and a light to your road. Its inspired wisdom will enable you to act positively and react with discernment, as God does. You will develop a personality that wins his approval. It is He who promised: “The one firmly standing for righteousness is in line for life.”—Prov. 11:19.

Your actions and reactions tell God and man what you are and how you think. Be and think right. It is pleasant “listening” when your reactions agree with your deeds and words.

The PARALYZING POWER

Are you captive ’

to the opinions of

z your forefathers?

&Are traditions#

preventing you '

rom progressing

by vain phi-

HOW much of your life t is influenced by what your ancestors did? Do their superstitions make you wary of black cats, spilled salt and walking under ladders? Do their prejudices affect your feelings toward other races and nationalities? Do their religious beliefs, formal-I isms and holy days set the religious pattern that you follow? Some traditional beliefs and practices are beneficial, but others can be detrimental because they confine your thinking within rigid boundaries set losophy of imperfect men or by views that are basically wrong. They can blind you to the truth. That is why the Scriptures warn: “Look out: perhaps there may be someone who will carry you off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ.”—Col. 2:8.

Tradition can be any belief, custom, way of life or attitude that has its roots in your family or national past and that has been passed down to you. It may be that you purposely hold to your traditions because they are very old. Their age has given them an aura of sanctity in your eyes so that it would seem sacrilegious for you to go against them. Note what the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said on this point: “Every tradition grows ever more ven erable—the more remote is its origin, the more confused that origin is. The reverence due to it increases from generation to generation. The tradition finally becomes holy and inspires awe.” Suppose that tradition is a wrong attitude, opinion or belief. Then you would be cher- .

ishing or venerating a lie. You would be bound to a lie by a force that cannot easily be broken. What you need is something by which you can measure the truthfulness and value of a tradition. You have such a measuring rod in God’s written Word, the Holy Bible.

Most traditions appear to be ruts in which people of past ages began walking and in which their descendants have continued to walk without regard for whether they are right or wrong. Perhaps it is from fear to try something new or from an unconscious worshiping of ancestors or reluctance to violate something that has become holy from age that people refuse to break out of these ruts. Whatever the reason may be, traditions that are not in harmony with the Scriptures can exercise a paralyzing power upon your thinking and actions so that you may feel compelled to continue doing what your ancestors did although that may be Scripturally wrong.

Retard Progress

How traditions retard progress and blind people to the religious freedom offered by Jehovah’s written Word can be seen in the country of India. There the traditional attitude toward animals that are considered to be holy places a tremendous burden on the economy of the country and great hardships on the people. It prevents the nation from producing enough food for its rapidly growing population. Commenting on this problem, the magazine C.S. News & World Report observed; “Millions of aged or useless cows, bands of wild monkeys, rats and other animals consume far more food than India imports each year.”

The traditional beliefs of the people there make it seem proper to permit humans to starve rather than reduce the number of animals that devour their food. India has almost one fourth of the cattle population of the world, but tradition does not permit the cattle to be used for food. Although 10 percent of the cows are old and useless, they are allowed to live. The cows consume the output of 40 million of India’s 300 million cultivated acres.

The Indian caste system is another harmful tradition that has been preserved for ages. It restricts relationship between certain classes and eliminates neighbor love as well as fellow feeling. A member of one caste may not accept food or drink from certain other castes, and when he gives food or drink to members of one of these castes he considers the dishes they touch to be defiled. How can this tradition engender love and unity? Because of the paralyzing power of tradition the people of India in general cannot see that the caste system is bad and that the love and human equality taught in Jehovah’s written Word are much better for them.

The people of Christendom can learn much from observing the crippling power of human traditions in India and other nations of the Far East. It should alert them to the imprisoning influence of their own traditions. They should frankly consider how their thinking may be rigidly controlled by racial and religious views that were dogmatically fixed by their forefathers. Like the people of India, they too can be caught in a traditional rut that blinds them to the freedom-bringing truths of the Scriptures.

Condict with Truth

The way man’s Creator wants to be worshiped and the truths about himself that he wants man to know are clearly set out in his written Word. God being the Source of truth, his Word can be trusted. It is the measuring rod of what is right and true. This makes it a higher authority than human traditions. That is why Jesus Christ continually referred to it rather than to the traditions of the elders. But a surprisingly large number of people in Christendom are so captivated by the opinions and beliefs of their ancestors that they set the Bible aside in preference for them. When their traditional beliefs and practices disagree with the Bible, they will claim that they cannot be satisfied with the Bible alone. They will insist that the traditions of their church are of equal value. For such persons traditions of men have blinded them to the truth and taken them captive to the imaginations of their ancestors.

Jesus was confronted with the blinding effect of human tradition when he was doing his Father’s will on earth over 1900 years ago. The Jewish religious leaders insisted on holding to the views and customs handed down to them from their rabbinic predecessors. Because those traditions were the products of human thinking, they frequently contradicted the Word of God. That is why Jesus said to them: “Why is it you also overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition? . . . you have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you, when he said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’ ”—Matt. 15:3, 6-9.

Doctrines and superstitions believed by ancestors are not beyond question. Their being believed for a long time does not make them right. Whether you venerate your ancestors or merely hold them in high respect, you have no reason to imagine that they were infallible in their beliefs. God’s Word assures us that they were imperfect and could make mistakes. Your loyalty should be for what the Scriptures indicate to be the truth rather than for the opinions, beliefs and customs of imperfect forefathers.

As the paralyzing power of tradition blinded the eyes of people in the first century to Scriptural truths and prevented them from accepting the changes that were instituted by Jehovah through his Son, so it blinds people today to Scriptural truths and divine changes. Showing preference for their traditions, people inside Christendom as well as outside of it reject these truths. They persist in believing what their forefathers believed, in performing the same burdensome ceremonies they did and in observing the same holy days they did.

It'matters not to them that God’s Word does not give support to these practices and beliefs. They were born into a traditional rut, and they mistakenly think they must remain in it.

Break Loose to Do God’s Will

Jesus Christ said: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) So it does, if you will listen to it rather than to the opinions and beliefs of ancestors that contradict it. Through his servants, Jehovah calls out “liberty to those taken captive and the wide opening of the eyes even to the prisoners.” (Isa. 61:1) He brings freedom to those imprisoned by traditional beliefs and practices. This he is doing by means of the many eye-opening Scriptural truths that his dedicated witnesses are proclaiming world-wide. They have caused people that were captive to superstitions and burdensome customs to be set free and to begin doing the complete will of God in his New World society.

Why permit the traditions of men to govern your thinking and your life? Why let them spoil your acceptableness to God? Break loose from the paralyzing power of traditions that contradict His Word. Turn from the venerating of dead men and the enslaving dogmas that put you in fear of religious leaders. Climb out of your traditional rut and broaden your view of God’s purposes for man. Be free so you can progress with the increasing light of truth that Jehovah is making available today. “For such freedom Christ set us free. Therefore stand fast, and do not let yourselves be confined again in a yoke of slavery.”—Gal. 5:1.

Look! You have taken delight in truthfulness.—Ps. 51:6.

•x ROWN-UPS are real “cry ba-jK bies,” say eye physicians. They v “cry” all the time. Of course, adults do not always shed ** tears the way children often do, that is, uncontrollably. Nevertheless, they do cry. And fortunate it is for them that they do, because to remain dry-eyed over any long period of time spells serious trouble for the eyes. Therefore, for the health and protection of the eyes, tiny sprinklers, called “tear ducts,” are constantly at work sprinkling refreshing and cleansing dewlike moisture over the eyes every minute of the day and night, only in minute amounts.

Tears are generally associated with sorrow and grief, but it is also true that people shed tears of joy. There are times when fear, anger, frustration and even beautiful scenes and searching music will cause tears to flood the eyes. Therefore, a study of tears is not only fascinating from the viewpoint of their efficiency and purpose, but also is helpful in gaining greater insight and understanding of ourselves and others by looking into the causes of tears. Behind every tear there is usually a reason, for tears are the silent, yet eloquent words of the heart.

Technically speaking, people shed two kinds of tears. Tears that flow in anger, sorrow or pain are said to be made up of chemical ingredients that are slightly different from those that shield the eye from a speck of dirt, cold weather or the irritating spray of an onion peel. Both kinds of tears, however, come from a small gland that lies safely cuddled in a little hollow just behind the upper outer angle of the eye socket. The tear fluid is spread over the eyeball by the normal blinking of the lids. The eyelids close, not only when there is danger, but regularly from three to six times a minute. When they shut for an instant, they carry over the eye a thin mucoid secretion supplied by the inside lining of the lids. This normal “sprinkler and lubrication system” keeps the eye moist. It also prevents friction between eye and lid.

The normal drainage of tears is through a small opening in the skin of the inner corner of the lids. From there the tears make their way down through a narrow channel into the back of the nose and throat. Since the sprinkling process goes on constantly, the drainage system must also be in constant operation. Yet so efficiently does it work that seldom is a person aware of it. It is only when the tear ducts become obstructed, as in older years, or when a person cries and the channels are flooded, that we get to see tears.

It is amazing how great the daily quantity of tears is or how great a quantity can be produced by the normal eye. For example, in deep sorrow when tears flow freely, it might be necessary not only to wipe the eyes but to blow the nose as well to remove the excess product of sorrow. Israel’s king David said of himself: “I have grown weary with my sighing; all night long I make my couch swim; with my tears I make my own divan overflow.” Others speak of being baptized in tears.—Ps. 6:6.

Ready-made Eyewash

While you are having a good cry, you may be doing yourself a lot of good emotionally, but that is not the only function of tears. It is said that the main purpose of tears is to wash the eye and prevent infection.

Tears actually do disinfect the eyes. They contain a substance called lysozyme, which “is an antiseptic able to kill bacteria when it is diluted thousands of times!” This is one of the findings of Dr. Robert Brunish of the University of California. Foreign substances, such as dust, smog and dirt, find their way into the eyes. The body’s eyewash not only cleanses away the foreign matter, but its antiseptic properties also save the eye from serious infection. This it has done many times without your knowledge.

The irritating antiseptic content of tears is easily seen after a person has been crying for a while. The eyes turn red; the eyelids and cheeks become swollen. And yet how remarkable that the delicate tissues lining the eyeball itself, and which are bathed in tears for a lifetime, show no ill effects from the antiseptic properties. The reason why is just another one of the Creator’s little secrets. For “the hearing ear and the seeing eye—Jehovah himself has made even both of them.”—Prov. 20: 12.

A Tear as a Tool

According to Dr. Olive Fedde Erickson of Stanford Medical School, tears may soon become a diagnostic tool in physical checkups as blood tests are nowadays. After analyzing more than 2,000 tear samples, she stated that chemical variations in tears may provide a precise clue to the patient’s health. She said that healthy persons have a balance in the three chemical elements that make up tears, namely, lysozyme, globulins and albumins, but sick people show noticeable changes. When patients underwent severe stress, ate an unbalanced diet, suffered from rheumatic fever or arthritis, the changes in tear chemical content were from subtle to striking.

To provide the doctor with a tear sample, all the patient need do is to insert a small bent filter paper under the lower eyelid. The operation is painless. After the paper absorbs the tears, it is sent to the laboratory, where the contents of the filter paper are examined and the chemistry of the tears is determined. The tests take about seven hours.

Causes Behind Tears

Besides being an excellent eyewash and a barometer of our health, our tears can reveal many things about ourselves. They can tell whether we are harboring secrets, whether we are sympathetic and compassionate. Of them Washington Irving wrote: “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” To trace their source, one must look not only into the eye but deep into the heart. Because in disappointments, in human misery, in sorrow and in joy, these briny riverlets grow.

For example, paging through a family album or reading a few verses from the Bible can bring tears, especially to the eyes of those well along in years. Behind their tears lie important truths. Often such tears tell of the passing of youth, of precious years never to be relived, of the pathetic shortness of life itself, of human suffering, of fond memories and of a happy life lived. Those tears can teach us precious lessons, if we but use them as a stimulus to reflection. They can teach us to suck all the sweetness out of life while it lasts. They can teach us that our greatest happiness comes from ‘fearing the true God and keeping his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.’—Eccl. 12: 13.

Our tears reveal how we feel toward ourselves and others. Recently an elderly man stopped halfway up a flight of stairs. Tears flooded his eyes. “I used to run up these stairs,” he said. “Now look at me. I can’t even walk up.” His tears told of a losing battle against time and death. Tears filled the eyes of a young man who saw the old man’s plight. Later, when the young man was asked, “Why the tears?” he replied: “O because he’s so old, so pathetic, I guess.” He could not find words to express what his tears proclaimed: his great compassion for the man.

Let us have compassion for one another. Let us be loving and tenderhearted, freely forgiving one another, even as God forgave us. Because it will be only too soon when we, too, will be in need of some compassion and sympathy.—Col. 3:12-14; Rom. 3:23.

Fighting Tears

Many people fight tears. They are afraid to show compassion. Many men think it unmanly to cry. They will clear their throats, cough, and go through the strangest antics just to keep from shedding a tear. “Scorn the proud man that is ashamed to weep,” said the poet Young. Jesus Christ, the greatest of men, was not ashamed to weep. Yes, Jesus wept. He “gave way to tears,” says the Bible. His tears were an expression of his great affection for his friend Lazarus, who had died. Do you have tears of affection for your friends?—John 11:35; Mark 1:41; 6:34.

Albert Smith called tears “the safety-valves of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.” It is to our benefit then if we let tears flow. To suppress tears is to deny the body a natural access to relief. This can lead to serious body disorders. A girl who was told not to cry when her father died became ill and died. She was killed by an emotion she would not allow herself to express'.

Frequently chronic colds, sinus trouble, painful shoulders and nightmares are caused from suppressed emotions. A woman who complained about a chronic cold and sinus trouble was told to let herself go and cry when she felt like it. As soon as she did, she found that her colds and sinusitis disappeared.

Bitter Tears and Tears of Joy

There are also bitter tears born of idle or lonely years spent. There are tears over sin, tears of shame and woe, as well as tears of laughter and joy. Emile G. Hirsch wrote: “Only they have to weep bitter tears who know what has come to them is the result of their foolish conduct, their ignorant way, their want of proper understanding of life and what love means.” No doubt most of the tears shed in the world are the result of unwise actions.

When strong men, schooled in the art of war, were confronted with war’s horrifying effects, many of these men broke down and cried like babies. They drowned their bitterness in tears. Their tears were a way of saying that men were not made to hate and kill, that man was made to love and create, to build and to plant, not destroy.

An erring man may shed tears of shame and repentance. A man whose hopes have been shattered may shed tears of dreams unfulfilled. Tears that flood the eyes at the sight of a beautiful mountain or at the sound of lovely music may be tears of unexpressed sadness or of inexpressible joy. Who is there to deny that there are times when tears flow from sheer joy? Sometimes a heart overfilled with appreciation will find no other way to express itself but in tears.

The Bible, however, tells us of a time when God “will wipe out every tear” from men’s eyes. These tears that God will wipe away are not the tears that bathe and protect the eye, but the tears that have resulted from sorrow brought about by Adamic sin. In Jehovah’s new world of righteousness Adamic sin will be done away with, thus tears caused as a result of his sin will be no more. Of that time the prophet wrote: “The Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces. And the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for Jehovah himself has spoken it.”—Rev. 21:4; Isa. 25:8.

So tears are needful, beneficial and certainly nothing to be ashamed of. They tell of our heartaches, our longings, our affections, our compassion, our sympathy, our needs. By letting tears flow we allow the safety valves of our heart to do their work when too much pressure is brought to bear. As after the rain come sunny skies, so with tears come physical relief to ourselves and greater compassion for others.

II Surgeon Who Believes in the Golden Rule

•

"The obstetrician that attended me during my first pregnancy, before I became one of Jehovah's witnesses, refused to render me service because I had asked him to make a notation on my chart that under no circumstances was I to receive a blood transfusion. He said that I was erazy and that all the rest of Jehovah’s witnesses were also crazy. I was also refused by another well-known obstetrician at the same hospital for the same reason. & "Then I learned about ... an obstetrician who practices at another hospital here. On my first visit to his office I found him kind and considerate, a doctor who respects Jehovah’s witnesses as well as the work they are doing. When I presented him with my problem, he said: ‘I notice that the population of Jehovah’s witnesses is growing in this [United

$ States West Coast] city. Someone has to start facing the problem concerning them and blood

$ transfusion. I’ve never run from a fight yet, X so stick with me, and we will work something out. This experience will be a good test for ,£ your faith in your religion as well as a good test for me in the medical field.’

X <g> “He went on to say that he would at once •J* prescribe large amounts of iron tablets to take daily so that I would be extra strong if

X an emergency should arise, even though he *]• did not expect that I would need a blood trans-J. fusion.

■ff <

£ my case, but he stood firm.”

Pioneer of Virtheni Stays

-IteTOIHlOFti

By “AwokeF correspondent in Canada

THE airport announcer calls for all passengers to get aboard. The big plane moves out to the end of the -runway. The <■ green light flash- J es from the control tower. Engines roar, and the beautiful silver-colored machine rises into the air and disappears into northern skies. This is just another regular airline flight across the top of the world to one of the great cities of Europe.

A smartly dressed stewardess takes care of the passengers’ needs as they relax in well-upholstered seats of the warm, pressurized cabin, so no one feels discomfort from the high altitude. In winter travelers can look down on the snowy vastness of the Canadian Arctic, and in summer they view the unending panorama of lovely lakes, rivers and forests until the Arctic Ocean is reached. Here they speed over the land of the midnight sun, so that the plane’s windows frame a picture of that glowing orb as it casts beautiful reflections off the drifting ice fields below. But how much flying in the far north has changed!

The “bush pilots” of earlier years flew aircraft that could be put inside the cabin of the modern giants of the air, with plenty of room left over. Many of these men received their training, skill, ingenuity and resourcefulness in the aerial dogfights of

World War I. They were men who were at home with danger, and so were willing to accept the challenge of making accessible the potential

wealth of Canada’s vast northern hinterland. The key to opening up this territory was transportation—up to this time confined to slow-moving dog teams in winter and sternwheeler river boats in the short open-water season. These pioneers of aviation in Canada saw, in the airplane, a means of quickly and economically transporting mail, freight and passengers into previously inaccessible areas,

Uncharted Territory

In those early years of “bush flying,” it must be remembered, maps of these areas were unreliable, some having large white spots on them marked “Unexplored area.” Besides this, there were no landing fields at intervals with lighted smooth runways, or radio stations to report on weather and keep up two-way voice communication with machines in the air. Even the compasses of these early aircraft were not too reliable, especially when one ventured over areas where there were large bodies of magnetic iron ores, or into the region of the north magnetic pole. So, when over one such area, a bush flier replied to a query as to whether he flew by means of a compass or by landmarks: “By landmarks'. Look, there are millions of them'.” Thus it can be understood why it was often said of these men that they “flew by the seat of their trousers.” A plane would disappear into northern skies and no one would know whether the flight was successful until it returned to its base, sometimes as much as thirty-eight days later.

Such flying encouraged extreme care and resourcefulness on the part of both pilots and engineers, because it was essentially a two-man job.

Pilots had many and varied problems to face. In summer when flying in to uncharted lakes and rivers, there was always the danger of striking hidden reefs or rocks with the pontoons when landing or taxiing. This would mean taking up residence in that spot until repairs could be made or flown in from the base—providing your flying mates knew where to look for you! Landing on a lake or river when there was a dead calm was another hazard. The surface of the water would be just like a mirror, and so it was difficult for the pilot to judge distances correctly. The result might be that the engine would be “cut” too soon and so a “landing” would be made while the machine was still a few feet in the air, making the plane drop hard, incurring damage to the floats or other parts of the machine. Most pilots learned to overcome this “glassy water” hazard by coming over the landing area very low; then by giving the engine full power the slip stream from the propeller would ripple the water, and he would quickly swing around and make a landing.

Skillful Flying

Sometimes prospectors would ask to be taken in to very small lakes. This was always an extremely hazardous operation. Usually it was possible to get down all right, but the taking-off operation was the most difficult, due to the distance needed to get airborne when flying with floats. In such cases a pilot would take the plane to the farthest end of the lake and then would finally just scrape the treetops at the other end of the lake as he soared into the air. In one such instance the pilot tied the tail of his plane to a tree on the shore by a short length of rope and had a man on the shore stand by with a razor-sharp hunting knife till he gave the signal to slash the rope. By the time the rope gave way the pilot had the engine roaring at almost full throttle and so the plane practically shot into the air!

One pilot probably saved the lives of two passengers, his mechanic and himself by a very skillful piece of .flying. While flying over Great Slave Lake, the mechanic noticed that the ski on the right side of the machine was hanging straight down. The shock cord on the front of the ski, which usually keeps it tilted slightly upward, had given way. This machine was equipped with radio, so the pilot contacted the base at Yellowknife to be prepared with fire extinguishers and other crash equipment. The two passengers were instructed to roll themselves up in eider-down sleeping bags. The pilot kept circling the landing area until most of the fuel was gone and then decided to make as good a landing as possible on the one good ski. He cut the engine and put the plane into a side-slip at the same time in order to reduce forward speed. This action released the pressure from the slip stream, and to the joy of the watching mechanic, the troublesome ski slowly came up to a level position. The mechanic yelled to the pilot, who dropped the plane onto the ice to make an almost perfect three-point landing!

There were other usual hazards, such as fog, freezing rain, blizzards and landings on rough ice in the winter. Most of these have now been overcome by means of radio beacons, de-icing equipment on planes, accurate weather forecasts and twoway voice communication. Bush pilots today are seldom out of touch with their bases and most airplanes are now equipped with all the latest aids to safe flying. The rough-ice hazard will likely remain; time and again it has caused the metal surface on the bottom of the skis to be torn, or the ski itself to be broken, and shock absorbers and propellers have come in for their share of damage.

Through the years of bush flying, men and machines have accomplished one of the world’s greatest transportation jobs. Thousands of passengers were carried into the new mining fields of Great Bear Lake and Yellowknife and other areas across Canada’s north country. Thousands of tons of freight were moved, including every conceivable type of mining equipment, ore concentrates, gold bricks, dynamite, coal, oil-well drilling equipment, furs, foodstuffs and other things found necessary to make living in northern regions comfortable. It was through bush flying that the world’s longest and most northerly airmail route up to that time was inaugurated in December, 1929, with a shipment of five tons of mail, including 125,000 letters destined for fur posts along the Mackenzie River and down to the Arctic Ocean. Delivery was accomplished by an armada of four aircraft, which left Fort McMurray early in December and finally all returned by early January.

Most bush fliers of that time were quiet and reserved individuals. Even though newspapers often praised them in glowing words for daring and spectacular flights, yet these men would pass the whole matter off by saying: “We were just doing our job. It was all in the day’s work.” Most of the time they would give the credit to the mechanics who flew with them and faced up to emergencies with courage, determination and co-operation. Such loyalty on the part of the mechanics, who were often referred to as “the black gang,” was greatly responsible for making northern bush flying so free from fatal accidents in those years.

Emergency Repairs

Repairing planes on northern lakes and rivers or on the barren stretches of the Arctic coast was no easy job in summer or in winter. There were no machine shops or well-equipped hangars in those out-of-the-way places. In summer mechanics would often have to make engine or aircraft body or float repairs while fighting off myriads of mosquitoes, black flies and the famous northern “bulldog” (larger than a horsefly and twice as bloodthirsty). In winter he would make repairs while contending with biting Arctic winds and with temperatures as low as 70 degrees below zero. It was not possible to make intricate repairs with gloves on, so most of the work had to be done with bare hands, stopping at times to heat the handles of wrenches in order to alleviate the cold.

An example of mechanical resourcefulness was demonstrated during the search for the lost MacAIpine party in 1929. A plane came down on the rough ice of Bathurst Inlet and wiped off its undercarriage. Repairs were made to the point where only one steel bolt was necessary to make it airworthy again. Undaunted, the mechanics went to work and made one from the handle of a wrench, using just a hammer and a file to fashion it from one of the toughest pieces of steel known. The bolt fit, the plane took off and made the trip back to civilization successfully. During this same vast search a plane broke a short strut; a serviceable replacement was made from the handle of a frying pan! A magneto was repaired with a piece of wire from an old radio set, and compression struts for seaplane floats were repaired by cutting off the top of a steel wireless mast!

One of the best-known repair jobs in the annals of bush flying was accomplished in 1921, the year that bush flying in Canada was born. Two all-metal Junkers aircraft were on their way to Fort Norman, the center of a rich oil strike the previous summer. At Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie River the machines cracked up. The fliers were anxious to get back “outside” before the spring breakup came, so it was decided to repair the plane that was least damaged. All repairs were made successfully except for the most important part— the propeller! What to do?

An old cabinetmaker at the Hudson Bay Post came to the rescue with the suggestion that they make one! Oaken sleigh runners were selected, rubbed smooth, glued with glue made from moose hides and hoofs and then clamped together with old ship’s clamps. Painstakingly the blades were fashioned, using as a pattern the unbroken end of one of the original propellers. The hub was drilled out, holes for the propeller boss were drilled and then it was balanced on the edge of a hunting knife after being finished and dressed with oil. Now for the final test.' Would it pull a two-ton plane through the air at a hundred miles an hour a.distance of eight hundred miles to Edmonton? Would it do its work without vibration at 1,500 rpm while being turned by a 175-horsepower engine? The answer to all these questions came exactly nineteen days after the crack-up. The machine took to the air and flew to Edmonton without a mishap! Later the propeller was tested and found equal to any factory-made job!

What made men take up this occupation of bush flying? Perhaps some would call it “the lure of the north.” But some of these bush fliers might tell you that they had the same vision as a poet of earlier times who wrote:

“Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails,

Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales.” Others enjoyed the adventure of these flying operations and the element of danger that went with them. Still others went into it to satisfy an urge to find out what kind of country existed where the maps showed the large white spots marked “Unexplored area.” So with these urges satisfied, and the job of opening Canada’s north accomplished, many of these veterans of bush flying turned the controls over to younger hands and became top executives of Canada’s leading airlines.

Even though giant liners now roar across polar skies, making scheduled trips to other continents, and Canada’s Northwest Territories have regularly scheduled flights down the Mackenzie River and into Yellowknife and other places, bush flying still has its place. Men still want to be transported to lonely trap lines, and others to out-of-the-way mineral strikes. People still get sick in far-off trading posts and need to be flown to a hospital. Supplies must be flown to mining camps off the beaten track. So while all these things have to be done, a younger generation of bush fliers will carry on, without doubt benefiting much from the experience gained by veterans of former years.

COCKPIT COMPLEXITY

“The Electra, to cite one example of a modern airliner,” says Robert J. Serling in The Probable Cause, "has 86 dials, 141 switches, 46 knobs, 145 warning lights, 450 circuit breakers, 59 radio switches, 14 volume controls, 38 selector switches, 13 radio sets using 21 antennas, five autopilot controls and we haven’t even mentioned the actual manual flight controls such as nose wheel steering, trim tabs, yokes and brakes. The FAA [Federal Aviation Agency] has under development a

device that may reduce the cockpit workload which presently is approaching proportions that would befuddle an octopus.”

FASCINATING

WHEN BEARS GO FISHING

Writing in The National Geographic Magazine, Cecil E. Rhode describes how the huge brown bears of Alaska fish for salmon: “Like humans, these bears had their own individual theories about the best way to catch fish. Some sat on the dry bedrock close to swirling waters and waited. When a salmon darted in close, out shot a paw and pinned it down for sharp teeth to seize. Others stood in the stream closer to their quarry. One old male would walk slowly into the river, turn, and sit down with his back to the current, letting it boil up over his shoulders. There is no doubt m my mind that salmon took him for a natural obstruction in the white water and found refuge, fleeting as it was, in the eddy formed by his huge body. An almost effortless nod of his big head produced a meal.

“There were two fancy divers in the crowd. These fellows ran from the shore or shallows in a burst of speed, took a long, gliding plunge, and submerged. Though they often came up with fish, their purpose seemed more to be fun than food. There was, Fm sorry to report, another kind of fisherman. Having tried various methods and failed in all, he would sneak around and make off with his neighbor’s catch. One fishing practice common to all was silence. They made hardly any noise, only an occasional growl to assert a property right.”

DINNERTIME FOR AN ELECTRIC EEL

“I remember once feeding an electric eel that lived in a large tank in a zoo,” says naturalist Gerald Durrell in Encounters with Animals, “and it was quite fascinating to watch his method of dealing with his prey. He was about five feet long and could cope adequately with a fish of about eight or ten inches in length. These had to be fed to him alive, and as their death was instantaneous, f had no qualms about this. The eel seemed to know when it was feeding-time and he would be patrolling his tank with the mo-

EATING HABITS

’ notonous regularity of a sentry outside Buckingham Palace, As soon as a fish was dropped into his tank he would freeze instantly and apparently watch it as it swam closer and closer. When it was within range, which was about a foot or so, he would suddenly appear to quiver all over as if a dynamo had started within his long dark length. The fish would be, as it were, frozen in its tracks; it was dead before you realised that anything was happening, and then very slowly it would tilt over and start floating belly uppermost. The eel would move a little closer, open his mouth and suck violently, and, as though he were an elongated vacuum-cleaner, the fish would disappear into him.”

HIGH-SPEED HUMUS FACTORY

In Harnessing the Earthworm Thomas J. : Barrett writes: "Taking the earth as we find I it, the creation of humus from dead vegetation and animal life is usually a process measured in terms of weeks and months, or a num-i her of years, with one notable exception: j When a requisition is put in for a few million : tons of humus, to be prepared overnight for emergency plant food for tomorrow, nature I marshals her vast earthworm army to a feast; i and, behold, the miracle is accomplished—the order is filled and the crying children of the plant world are fed—the night-soil of earthworms, castings, is deposited on and near the surface of the earth, ready for immediate use—for earthworms excrete humus. No waiting, no worry, no confusion—just the ordinary j routine, daily transaction of business in the ! humus factories of nature. . , . In the body of the earthworm we find a complete, highspeed humus factory, combining all the proc-i esses—both mechanical and chemical—for

; turning out the finished product, topsoil, prop-j erly conditioned for best root growth and con-f taining in rich proportion and in water-I soluble form all the elements required of the 1 earth for plant nutrition.’’

Job proceeded to answer Jehovah and say: “I have come to know that you are able to do all things, and there is no idea that is unattainable for you."—Job $2:1, 2.

I OOK1HO down as our aircraft drones its monotonous way over the arid desert wastes, we would be justified in thinking that nobody could live on this strange peninsula of land jutting out into the Caribbean Sea on the northernmost tip of South America. But the Guajiros, a copper-hued tribe some 25,000 strong, do. They live as a people with their own habits and customs and seemingly with complete disregard for the international frontier between Venezuela and Colombia that meets in their land. What . interesting people they are!

--- By---- • “Awokel" cor respondent1

an

Short, strong, with good even teeth, thin lips and coarse straight black hair, they are a strikingly attractive people. Little wonder that a Guajira girl showing her status in life. She will also wear a printed head scarf with a bow tied to the side of her head, whereas the married woman will always wear her scarf tied at the nape of the neck or to the front.

Made from bright prints and solidcolored materials, the extremely long native dresses with fingertip sleeves worn by

the womenfolk are well - matched by the equally colorful bellotas, or pompons, that decorate their sandals. These are made by the women according to their own tastes and inventiveness

with wool that may be bright fuschia, yellow, red or even multicolored, and serve the dual purpose of protecting the feet from the blistering sun as well as

won a state-wide beauty contest in competition with Venezuelan girls who are themselves justly famed in Latin America for their beauty. As careful of her complexion as are beauty-conscious women all over the world, the Guajira paints her face with a red or black substance applied on a sheepfat base on a line just below the eyes down to the point of the chin. The unmarried girl decorates her face with designs of circles and swirls in various colors, serving the threefold purpose of protecting her skin against the burning sunrays reflected from the hot sands, adorning her face and supplying a very graceful adornment. The hand-woven purses, again in bold design and bright materials, that the men love to swing from their belts are also the product of the skilled hands of their women.

Family Traditions

An outstanding characteristic of these Indians is that each family is a tightly knit group, wherein all successes and failures are shared. If one commits an offense against another, the whole family of the guilty one feels responsible and helps to right the wrong. This is understandable in the light of the tradition that an offended family can take revenge against any member of an offender’s family. Families are divided into twenty-five or thirty clans, or castas, and all foreigners are considered as belonging to one clan. For this reason, some years ago, white men did not dare enter Guajiro territory for fear they would be killed for the crime of another white man. Among Guajiros, blood is paid for with blood.

The head of the Guajiro household is the maternal uncle. The husband always belongs to his mother’s family and plays an active role in it, but he does not count in the family of his wife. Even the children bear their mother’s family name. A husband is allowed several wives, if he can afford them, but the bride price ranges up to 12,000 Bolivars (approximately $3,000), or forty steers or ten cows with their calves. If the bride price is very high the prospective husband’s family will contribute toward it too. Marriage is indissoluble except for adultery on the part of the wife; in this event the bride price is repaid to the husband, who also has charge of the children of the marriage, and the wife is divorced. If it is thought her adultery was in part due to her husband’s cruel treatment of her, only one child goes to the father and a proportion of the bride price originally paid. In this case her family can collect the price again, this time from her seducer, and demand that he marry her.

Climatic Conditions

Before the arrival of the Spaniards in the sixteenth century, these were an agricultural people who loved to hunt their meat; but with the introduction of domestic cattle, stock raising has become their principal occupation, and their herds now comprise over 150,000 animals and include goats, sheep, horses and burros. Living in a land that can boast of only one constantly flowing river, the Guajiros are for the most part a nomadic people and prove themselves to be tireless walkers and expert horsemen. For a permanent dwelling in good pastures, a simple thatched hut is soon made, but when roaming with their flocks, they are content to have a clump of bushes for a roof. Stakes are driven for their chinchorros, or open-weave hammocks, a cactus fence is set up around the cook fire and then after two or three days stakes are pulled again for the trek to the next pasture.

Have you ever eaten boiled cactus? The chances are that you will never have to do so, but for the Guajiros in times of drought this may become a necessity. In normal circumstances, the food of these Indians will differ very little from the usual Venezuelan menu of bananas, sweet potatoes, various roots and animal flesh, including that of wild animals when available. Chicha, a fermented drink of com or cactus leaves, is a common drink, and a great amount of beer and aguardiente, or cane liquor, is consumed.

Normally the months of drought alternate with short periods of flood, but the dry seasons have been so severe during the past few years that thousands of these people have been forced to migrate to Maracaibo, the colorful second city of Venezuela, in order to get enough to eat. It has been a tragically common sight to see a Guajira woman, maybe with a child by her side, begging from car to car, bar to bar or house to house for food or money. It is encouraging to know that wells and watering places are now being developed under the direction of the Venezuelan authorities, as there is no doubt that good husbandry with modern methods of water conservation and agriculture will do much in the immediate future to alleviate the hardships brought upon the Guajiros by the unpredictable natural elements.

Religious Influence

It is to be expected that the traditional religion of the land would express itself in a god who would manifest himself in rain and sun. This is so, and the deity called Mareigua is worshiped as an invisible supreme being and creator of everything visible. The history of a great flood covering the whole earth is also embodied in their religious teachings, and their beliefs include that of an undying soul, which, it is claimed, lives outside the body and at death goes far away. It is therefore not difficult for some to embrace the so-called Christian religions holding a similar belief, as has in fact happened. Interestingly enough, however, in their primitive worship the Guajiros are not idol worshipers, and images have never been found in examination of their relics from before the advent of Roman Catholicism to their land.

Although the Bible book of Mark is the only part of the Holy Bible at present available in the Guajiro language, many are being helped to study it. During the dry season when some ten to twelve thousand Guajiros migrate to the suburbs of Maracaibo, ministers from one of the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses in the city take the opportunity to visit them frequently, before they return to their own land, and to conduct Bible studies with them with the aid of Spanish-language Bible helps. As the Guajiros themselves take back to their own people the good news of God’s kingdom that they have heard, this preaching work expands.

HOW DOES PROTESTANTISM STAND WITH GOD?

• The Bible, laid alongside the testimony and teachings of the Protestant clergy and the facts of modern history, gives the unmistakable answer. Consider the facts. They affect you.

t Many issues are taken under consideration: the meaning of church membership, attitude toward the Bible, concept of God, attitude toward belief In the Devil, hope held out to believers, effect of the church on the moral stature of Its members, and sectarian division. These are issues on which you opght to be informed.

• Do not fail to obtain and read It.

Ask for the October 8 special issue!

Looking to the

Future

Good progress is also being made in increasing literacy, with schools staffed by bilingual Guajiro teachers, operating under the care of the Venezuelan government. Although the Guajiro language is difficult to master, it has been proved that it is best to teach reading and writing first in this native tongue and later in Spanish. Large-print illustrated primers have been prepared by the Indigene Commission, with a Guajiro-Spanish dictionary in course of preparation for future use. The Guajiros are certainly beginning to feel the effects of their closer association with all those who are endeavoring to help them and they look confidently to continued progress in the future, ।

GLOBAL HOLOCAUST

Alber ico A. Casardi, deputy secretary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was quoted by the New York Times as saying: "The very existence of mankind today depends upon man’s control of his social environment. Man must use his vast new sources of power for constructive purposes. The alternative is the creation of a global holocaust.”

THE afternoon sun was sinking low in the western sky on what had been a spring day of unusual beauty. Even the guns on the front lines near Ypres, Belgium, had been relatively quiet that afternoon of April 22, 1915. Then, suddenly, about five o'clock, the peaceful calm was shattered by an appalling outburst of cannon fire from the German lines. It was soon followed by something unprecedented in warfare. As the Allied troops watched unsuspectingly from their trenches, an ominous bank of vapor emerged from the direction of the German lines and, driven along by a gentle breeze, moved swiftly toward them.

…