180 



had regained the source of the Ogai, was all grass land 

 dotted with treeferns and the Sclerophyllous bushes 

 met with yesterday. Even on the top of the south- 

 east crest and within 100 feet of the top of the north- 

 west, one of these heath shrubs flourished (Diptycosia 



mundtUa^ F.v.M.). Here and there were hue clumps 

 of Rhododendron, all in flower, mixed up with the 



taller leather-leafed Styphelia. The grass that 



flourishes here and on the crest of the mountain is the 



of, one might almost say in spite of the past Govern- 

 inenta and the present one, have taught these savages 

 for, after all, it is only fifteen years since they were 

 marauding wild men of the mountains — to grow Euro- 

 pean vegetables and fruits, good tobacco, and to rear 

 sheep, cattle, and pigs of fair breeding. These simple 

 teachers of the Gospel have raised the standard of 

 living in every way, and besides bringing religion and 

 education to the tribes have shown them the value of 



same as what I met with at 7,000 feet. 



It's rhizomes village sanitation and the benefits of a sound system 



It 



as 

 the 



stand out from the ground, black and branched. 

 was subsequently identified by Mr. C. T. White 



I)< < sclhi m pita caespitosa. The annual fires of 

 natives kill the shrubs, but the grass survives and takes 

 the place of the woody plants. 



Failed again to get the 1 p.m. signal, so must face 

 another cold watch to try and bring in the midnight 

 signal. Spent the afternoon collecting botanical 

 material and fixing position of camp with regard to 

 the crests. The boys hunted and got a poor 

 one opossum-like animal and a few kangaroo rats. I 

 questioned them as to wild dogs which have been fre- 

 quently recorded at great heights in similar grass land 

 in the Owen Stanley Range, but they had never heard 

 of any dingo. I found many hunting tracks, and 

 these heights are obviously visited, not onlv bv th< 



bag 



of graded roads. The work of the white missionary 

 has been so well done that to-day the native teach.-; 

 can continue it under light supervision, and yearly th 

 " helper stations/' as these native-taught stations are 

 called, are being established further afield. At present 

 'he mission stations, worked from Madang, art only 

 five days from the furthest back station on the Upper 

 Ramu, and in a few years the two organizations will 

 be linked, and that country between, which to-day i.. 

 not under any control, will, I hope, be brought under 

 the same enlightening influence as the mountainous 

 country I have been describing. 1 had no diili nlt\ 

 in picking up time by wireless at the Busu camp, and 

 was fortunate in getting a good clear view of both 

 crests of Sarawaket from here, and was able 1 to carry 



only by 

 Komba people, Ogeramnang folk, but by villagers on 



the Ogai and along the Finisterre. I pursued a valley 

 dropping to the north-east, through which there was a 



out a small triangulation to fix their position. I left all 

 collecting till this return journey, and I append a lisi 

 of the material collected, and subsequently identified by 

 Mr. White. We avoided a night camp in the ^Ioss 



beautiful view of the sea towards Long Island, but it forest, making a very hard day's march from the Busti 



grew too precipitous and so I returned to camp. At 

 4 p.m., the temperature, which at noon had been 68 

 deg. Fahr., dropped to 49 deg. Fahr., and we were glad 

 to start good fires going. A plentiful supply of wood 

 is at hand on the edges of the forest, where past fires 

 have killed but not entirely consumed the trees. There 



doubt in mv mind 



camp to the Nomi. The last part of this journey was 

 down a 30 deg. limestone slope and landslide; we slept 



We had 



short 



is no 



the 



my mmci that, except for tne very 

 marshy land and the actual cliffs and outcrops of lime- 

 stone, the whole of this mountain top was under a 

 forest of conifers and myrtles. As I write now, the 

 south-east crest wears a halo of fire, which is slowly 



by the banks of that river ai 5,000 feet 

 travelled from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., with a 

 stop in the middle of the day to boil the billy, and so 

 were very tired by the time the camp was pitched. We 

 reached Ogeramnang early next day and in the forests 

 near that village a survey was made. I was lucky in 

 getting a good night for astronomical observations, and 



and checked Sarawaket by 



Ogeramnang 



> 



burning its way up to the to]). It has been lit, go 

 I am told, by the Ogai folk, who are up hunting and 

 preparing for a bigger hunt to come. 



Took observations for time and latitude. 



1 had no trouble with the wireless" time 

 I wish to record the great assistance rendered 



was 

 the 



but 



again 



failed to bring in Cavite's midnight signal. My aerial 

 seems to be in a perpetually charged state. Guam, 

 Honolulu, and Cavite, all such clear stations, were 

 wiped out. 



Just after midnight a 



strong 



rainstorm 



swept the mountain, accompanied by hail, but there 



was no lightning 



so fixed 



azimuth. 



signals. 



me by the mission teacher, Ngezienuc. He it 



who accompanied me to Sarawaket, making all 



carriers' arrangements and smoothing my path as far 



as it was possible to do. 



I stopped at Joangey on the way back and made a 



survey of the forests about there also. There is a 



glorious view 



J unzain turn-off. 



or thunder 



this trail, the 



ar us 



though 



down 



3,000 feet below the lightning flashes all the evening 

 had been visible, and the growl of these distant dis- 

 charges was strong in the ear pieces, but not so bad 



as to make signals unreadable, if I could have brought 

 any in. The rainstorm did not make the 

 any better, and I turned in puzzled by the 

 conditions. The night was much warmer. 



from the high crest before I reached 



When coming up 

 mists were down and I saw nothing, but going back all 



clear. The road does net actually rise to the 



was 



reception 

 "radio " 

 nd th" 



o 



thermometer did not sink below 45 deg. Fahr. 

 • On 20th November we started back, for our food 

 supplies were running short, and so botanizing as we 

 went, returned to Sattelberg. Halts were made a f 

 various places where the forest proved interesting, and 

 details of the results have been given in that portion 

 of this report dealing with the various forest regions. 

 Certain incidents of the journey down are, j>erhaps, of 

 interest, and so I have culled them from the diary. On 

 reaching my old camp on the Busu I found a large 



fruits. 



highest point of the divide, but skirts it with 10 and 

 12 feet side cuts some 200 feet below the top. From 

 here one sees the whole land mapped out to the west 

 and south-west. The height is 4,900 feet, and I took 

 some prismatic angles which are of interest, showin 

 as they do the wide expanse of county in sight : 



o 







Sarawaket, N. crest 

 Sarawaket, S. crest 

 Wooded Peak 



Kulintufu 



* • 



* • • 



■ * 



270 

 272 30 

 270 30 

 261 







bearing 



A better cabbage 



Precipitous rock face on divide between Biding and 

 Kuak close to the junction of those two rivers, 267 deg. 



Highest point on Mongi divide, 293 deg. min. 

 ISTandidiu village, above Kulintufu, 258 deg. 30 min. 



Joangey Tobu and Ogeramnang were hidden by the 

 ranges. The way I had taken was quite clear, and in the 



bright sunlight of that fine day the burnt cap of the 

 southern crest of the big mountain looked blue above 

 the yellow grass which itself was only a narrow strip 

 of light above the dark conifer forests. The forests 

 between Junzain and Ngonduo yielded some interesting 

 in- botanical material; and so I returned to the kind 

 fluence of the Lutheran iMission, who without the help mission folk at Sattleberg, who hospitably entertained 



gathering of Komba natives bearing fruits, tobacco. 



and meat; these I bought gladly. 



I have rarely eaten than this one brought up to me to 



a cam]) at 8,500 feet, and there were tomatoes and 



cape gooseberries, French beans, and 



and a fowl. 



gluttony of my followers and myself that I give the 



above menu, but to show the wonderful 



floury potatoes 

 It is not with the idea of recording the 



ivilizino- 





