we . . . built a hut of poles and palm thatch for our headquarters." 



SURINAM DIARY 



For the past year, Mr. Harry Beatty has been collecting for Chicago 

 Natural History Museum in Surinam (Dutch Guiana). His activities 

 represent the first phase of the field study that the Museum is currently 

 undertaking in that country; in the second phase of the work, Mr. Philip 

 Hershkovitz, Curator of Mammals, will join Mr. Beatty in the field. 

 Recently Mr. Beatty sent his diary to the Museum; the following ex- 

 cerpts from it have been prepared for the Bulletin by Dr. Austin L. Rand, 

 Chief Curator of Zoology. 



On September 30, I960, I left Para- 

 maribo, the capital, by plane, and 

 flew to Kayserberg Airstrip, deep in the 

 interior. The journey of 225 miles took 

 one and one-half hours, thus saving four 

 weeks of up-river travel by canoe. At 

 10,000 feet we passed above fleecy clouds, 

 chains of mountains, unknown rivers, 



and rain forest populated only by wild 

 life. 



I have with me a Javanese cook, Sagi- 

 man by name, and a bush Negro who 

 answers to the name, Napoleon. Both 

 know well how to live in forest country. 

 For camp we selected a place on a small 

 river, the Zuid, in the forest, and built a 



hut of poles and palm thatch for our 

 headquarters. It is now the dry season, 

 which lasts September to December. 



October 1: Our first night in camp. 

 Howler monkeys congregated and all 

 night they roared . . . the nylon bat net 

 made one catch. 



October 2: Collecting starts with the 

 dawn light. 



October 4: A red-headed woodpecker 

 hammering on a dead branch awakened 

 me. On the trail an agouti barked a 

 danger signal, and we heard the strange 

 calls of a lovely black and white hawk 

 trying to find a tree frog, its favorite food. 

 Along a dry creek were tracks of tapir 

 and cat and peccary ... a black spider 

 monkey gave strange, whistling calls. 

 {Continued on page 8) 



December Page 5 



