183 



8th February. — The boys had a very bad night, for board paddling madly and the boys on shore desperately 

 the country hereabouts is infested with mosquitoes, and paying out and running down the bank to take the 

 this pest is in such numbers as to make sleep without weight off the tail rope. So fierce was the current that 



the protection of a net, impossible. Even so, any net 

 made of anything less fine-meshed than cheese-cloth will 

 not keep this species of mosquito out. The police (I 

 had three armed police boys with me), are all right, 

 for I saw that they had fine nets before we started, and 



all attempts of the boys aboard 10 drive the unwieldy 

 craft over to the ciher side, failed and then the weight 

 of the tail rope would drag her back. Finally she would 



be bi ought up against the same bank from which she 

 started, but 200 yards down. Then would start the 



though theirs are much smaller than mine, they are laborious task of getting her back to the tributary, 

 safe from bites, which I am not, for there seemed more 

 mosquitoes insde my net this morning than there were 



outside. He is a long sharp-headed, meagre mosquito, 



brown in colour, with grey wings, and his skin is tough. 



They are so desperately persistent in their search for 



food, and so wholly oblivious of all but their craving for sitting on board wondering where they would stop, while 



blood, that you literally wipe them off arms and face, the rest of us panted after them along the muddy 



and their thick hides break with a crack as you wipe. bank. We fooind th^m all safe in the next bend and 



which was obviously the only place from which to re- 

 start her with a fresh crew on board. After I do not 

 knew how many attempts, the tail rope parted and 

 our raft careered down stream with 100 yards of rattan 

 following behind and four somewhat frightened natives 



They will penetrate thickish khaki, and I was very 

 thankful I brought flannel trousers and mosquito boots 

 with me. The eight boys I had kept were very dull 

 and lethargic when I started them on the job of making 

 a big raft. I had to turn in again to get my tempera- 

 ture down to normal, which I did by evening, when 



the boys reported that the " big feller bed " 

 finished. 



9th February. — Viewed the raft, and Angep demon- 

 strated to me the method he thought would get the 

 jraft across and back. It would hold at most four boys 

 and Kanta (rattan) was to be used as rope to pull the night here, 

 raft back after each journey across. So all boys were 



was 



en our side of the river. That finished the attempt 

 and we all got back to camp. The river at this place 

 is impossible to cross with a raft at this season and 

 even with canoes it would be very difficult. So T have 

 decided to return to the village on the hills called 

 Nauna, there to get further information as to crossings, 

 for I feel sure that somewhere about here there must 

 be communication across the river. 



February 12th. — Sent police for carriers while 1 T set 

 up wireless and made ready to get observations to-night. 

 Packed gear. The boys are glad that it is their last 



sent off to make good paddles, and get long lengths of 

 Kanta while I settled down to my survey computations 



which are in arrear 



Sunday, 10th February. — 1 had served blankets out 

 to the boys in which they roll themselves to keep out 



mosquitoes. The blankets were for the high mountain 



work, and, as will be understood, are pretty hot eover- 



February 13th. — Got good sigs. at midnight, and good 

 sights of Beta Leonis and Alpha Orionis before and 

 after the time signal; also good N. & S. stars for lati- 

 tude.* Got away late, as carriers from I'sina didn't 



turn up till 10.30 and there were not enough of them. 

 Going back took only three hours, which shows whai a 



difference a cut track makes. On reaching Ksina, we 



found 36 wild looking devils waiting and apparent lv 



nig for this level (the height of the camp is 260 feet, very pleased with themselves. They had run away and 



and it IB 10 feet above the Ramu River), so the boys then thought better of it and returned to see the white 



man. I only hope they will be here to-morrow, for the 



police boys had to carry the heavier loads from the 

 river. Police boy Jack is ahead ai Nauna getting more 

 boys, so that we may atari ell" with a fresh lot. Usma 



consists of two large houses and boats, a Luluai, who 

 was given his authority and the red-band hat thai is 



the insignia of office by Captain Tutton. The people, 



however, counl hi in small beer and so live Mattered 

 around without any definite or central village. They 

 are unpn possessing people and their lack of looks is 



rather accentuated by their facial ornaments — save the 



mark. The Kuku or Papua wears two long fibres struck 

 in his nostrils like antennae of some great coleoptera, 

 but the upper Ramu dude has his nose bristling with 

 short spines. ]t is fortunate that greetings in New 



Guinea are not accompanied by nose rubbing a>s in other 



lands. 



February 14. — They didn't run away and we got off 



lie and sweat until they can bear the heat no mom, 

 and then throw off their blankets, and suffer the attacks 

 of the mosquitoes until the blankets seem more bearable. 

 All night they toss and turn and flick themselves with 

 their loin cloths. Some have made little platforms, 

 about 5 feet off the ground, and on these they sleep 

 with a smudge of fire burning underneath. -I gave them 

 a holiday to-day, and they are now all asleep, and their 



plana of going after pig and cassowary have been 



abandoned. I botanised a little, lead a little, and 

 managed to get my temperature right down at last. 



11th February. — Found that the rattan obtained on 

 Saturday was not long or strong enough and sent boys 

 for mere while I examined the country up the main 

 stream. There was no difference in the class of trees 

 and the country was of the same wet nature. On the 

 bank itself, some high forest occurred and Octwneles, 

 /'ometico, several Fie us Planchonia. Dractamel 



UN) 



P/erocarpus, Laportea, Pterocymhiiim, Sarcocephalvs, at 7.15 and made Nauna at 11.30. Jack had failed to 



several Garetnia, Hcrxfi* Jtlia^ Alston ia occurred. There 

 were big breaks of rattan forming dense, almost im- 



get carriers and Nauna was deserted, the inhabitants 

 having gone bush, all except some old nun and a very 



penetrable jungle and stands of bread fruit trees; con- explanatory Till Tul,f so I sent Jack and Anirep to 



vex bends were grassed with wild sugar and here and }I o n n tung whenee they eventually got the hoys ba< k. It 



there a bread fruit or young Octameles was shooting up. 

 The land was reticulated with streams the direction of 



seems they thought I was a recruiter. There 18 a grand 

 view of the valley of the Ramu and of the Bismarck 



which was generally parallel with the Ramu for seme range ail( ] t | 1(4 grass \. [W \ at r)l( > f oot f tlie su |, si- 



diary range below. Particularly plain is a grass triangle, 

 the apex going up into the forest country some 2,000 



way until a depression in the bank gave an opportunity 

 for their outflow into the main stream. All afternoon 



we spent trying to get the raft across the river and f ee t, while the base conns down to the swamp land op- 



failed. The current was altogether too swift and the 

 efforts of the paddling natives, too puny to work tin- 

 raft across. Time after time we tried. Started it off 

 down the tributary with four boys paddling hard and 



boys on shore paving out the rattan tail rope. The 

 raft would get out well into the stream, helped by the 

 flew of the Biraka, but then the big river would catch 

 hold and away she would go like a streak — the boys on 



posite my old swamp camp. The grass knoll near that 



camp bears 17^ (leg. magnetic from this village 



A 



* II if calculations and other data oi ti position win- l<-t. I miMiiihr, 

 however, that l made thii camponh i very little south i i thi old <■< iman t ; top 

 (l.ajrr p», 5 35', :<» g. Lat.), which make- tin- present position as narked on 



Mr. Tutton '8 in.. (■ tun far north. 



t A Luluai is t n« in adman ol the * Ullage and though chosen by the GkW n ment, 

 te the i epted leader. The Tultnl is chosen by the (Jovcrnmenl for his usefulne? 



as a go-betweec and interpreter. The Luluai very often cannot *peak English 

 rhc Turtul alwny- .-an. 



