(01 Oct. 86) The day was clear and the sun’s brightness was intensified by its reflection off the water. I went out to the man-made ditch in the coral on the Pacific side of Gagan and checked out the creatures inside at low tide.
1300 – Thousands of sardines have taken refuge around the pier on the lagoon side. A school of goatfish made a tour of the area enclosed by the jetties and then retired to the shade underneath the pier. I also followed a gray eel as it slithered through the clear water and disappeared behind some coral next to the shoreline, waiting for some food to pass by.
1800 – Airam said that another constable was poisoned by eating a reef fish he had caught off of Gellinam and was evacuated by chopper to the hospital on Kwajalein Island. The sickness, called bep bep by the locals, affects the nervous system. The affected person becomes disoriented and can’t stand up. Some victims also become sick to their stomach. That happened to me once but it was from something else. And no where near a coral reef.
The illness is carried by a toxin in the coral that is injested by reef-feeding fish which are unaffected by the poison. Marshallese say they know which areas of the reef are safe but there is speculation by some that changing conditions on the reef, such as sections of coral breaking off, may expose more fish to the hazard.
Speaking of things unpleasant, Airam brought in a large shell with the creature still inside. Yes. Another adventure at the microwave. He placed the shell in our microwave and set the timer for two minutes. A minute had passed when flesh and other repulsive looking parts began popping out of the shell and hitting the sides of the microwave.
He cut the oven off and pulled the warm shell out. A sickening odor spread quickly throughout the room. The closest description I can arrive at is a combination of decaying flesh, cheap perfume and melting plastic.
Airam cleaned out the microwave, then extracted the remainder of the meat. He decided to throw this in the trash although it is delicious if boiled, he added.
I picked up a couple of Chuuk Sooks in the Mike Shop at the Kwajalein airport terminal recently. The Chuuk Islands are far to the west of Kwajalein, on the edge of Micronesia. The natives were known as fierce warriors and gave the early white explorers a hostile welcome, either by throwing coral rocks at high velocity with accuracy or by utilizing simple but deadly hand weapons. The Chuuk Sook is an ancient weapon that’s made from a hardwood carved into a round handgrip with sharp points on each end. A strap made from local binding protects your striking hand. A number of shark teeth are embedded on the outer edge of the binding. The sharp wooden points can cause blunt trauma to the skull area and the teeth can slice every vein and artery within seconds. I was told they aren’t legal where they’re made so I might have the only two. They are dangerous and I cut myself slightly the first time I tried holding it. With this weapon you always need to be alert.
Filed under: Almost Paradise Volume 1
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