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[[strikethrough]] CONFIDENTIAL [[/strikethrough]] We made camp at 3:30 p.m. after steadily plodding along since 8:00. I understand the camels make quite good time at a steady pace. I know we covered at least 25 miles. I was getting quite worried about Weidner for he wasn't with us and hadn't caught up as yet. A runner was sent back, and he came back with Weidner, boy, bedroll, and all. That was about 5:30. Needless to say, Weidner was quite tired. We gave him something hot and had him lie down. He had [[underlined]] walked [[/underlined]] all that distance - 25 miles, at least. That bedroll was a little help, at 1 ast they bundled me in it and took care of me and my pains again all night. It gets so bitter cold. Worse than Alabama in the winter time. I got a little more sleep than the boys. They didn't get any. At 6:00, we were up cooking hot chocolate and waiting for the caravan to pack up. Wednesday - March 17, 1943: We started again at 8:00 and plodded along. Where the Arabs get all their vitality and strength is beyond me. I don't think they sleep for with one sheet and as cold as it is at night, it is impossible. We went through some pretty barren country - sand dunes, rocky hills, rugged plans, etc. It is discouraging sitting up on a camel getting the stuffing bounced out of you, plodding along at 3 miles per, seeing nothing but nothing - and sand - and still two more days to go to Chunguetti. It is enough to have a person shoot himself. The wind was blowing harder than ever from the North. And we kept our leather jackets on during the whole ride. My teeth were acting up more than ever - enough to give the desire to scream bloody murder and pound my fists in the sand. However, I quietly saved the desired and burned up inside. And still two more days to go. We hit the last water hole to Chunguetti at 3:00 o'clock and made camp again shortly thereafter three badly tired and awful disgusted boys started to make camp again hoping the wind would die down - it hasn't and we're mad as hell. We spent a fairly good night. We were so tired that cold or no cold, we had to get some sleep. Weidner, as usual, stayed up most of the night and tended to the fire. We had a fairly decent shelter made from the grain sacks set up on each other in a semi-circle against the wind. As usual, we got up at 5:30 a.m. and puttered around the fire and made hot chocolate and ate chop pork and eggs. One thing, our emergency rations are holding up well and they are keeping us going. I don't know what we would have done without them. The natives provided us with peanuts every time we made camp. At first, we ate only a few for the nuts are raw and didn't taste like the good old American roasted "ball-game" nuts. But then, after the second evening, I think we out-did the natives in eating them, for we certainly put them away. A good thing too, for they are very nourishing. - 5 - [[strikethrough]] CONFIDENTIAL [[/strikethrough]]
