Portrait of William Willis

(Original Caption) At the wheel of his balsa raft The Seven Little Sisters is New Yorker William Willis, 61, holding his pet cat, as they arrive at Pago Pago in the Samoan Islands after a four month voyage from Peru. The cat ate the pet parrot, which also started the trip, shorty before the end of the voyage. Willis, who kept his hair cut and shaved daily, changed into clean clothes and ran up the Stars and Stripes when the ship that towed him into port approached the raft off Pago Pago. For a time during the 6,000 mile trip, Willis was though lost. Flown to Suva in the Fiji Islands, he was slated to leave there Oct. 21st for the U.S. The seven trunks of which the raft is made give its name.