■^g"''] Dodd, A Naturalist in New Guinea. 139 



the elusiveness of Cicadas generally, grabbed and caught them. 

 We each caught one, and a " pop " was the result. We had 

 burst the poor things, for, in singing, the body is distended to 

 at least three times the normal size. We found these insects 

 were to be easily caught, and after the abdomen contracted 

 I blew up several, but had no means of keeping them distended 

 then. We took several pairs, the female being the darker of 

 the two. 



We changed our camp several times, went 19 miles further 

 to Sogeri rubber plantation, owned by the British New Guinea 

 Development Co., employing 220 to sometimes 240 natives, all 

 kept in order by a manager and two assistants. It was amusing 

 the day we started off from Hombron, bound for Sogeri, we 

 forming quite a procession. Our property, made up in 50 to 

 80-lb. parcels, was carried by natives, the men's loads on poles 

 resting on their bare shoulders, the silly fellows disdaining 

 pads ; consequently, many complained of sore or chafed 

 shoulders. Some women were of the party, they taking good 

 loads, such as two kerosene tins of odds and ends, in a netted 

 dilly-bag resting on their bent back and supported from the 

 forehead with a band. An old pipe-stem-legged fellow was in 

 charge of the females, he looking quite imposing with our lamp- 

 shade on his head, with a cockatoo feather projecting from the 

 top. We got to Bisiatabu Mission Station (eight miles) the 

 first day, finishing the journey the next. On the second day 

 we passed Koitaki plantation, with many trees being tapped. 

 This property is a paying one. Here we saw a small herd of 

 fine cattle in splendid condition. At Sogeri, in a big grass 

 house, surrounded by young rubber trees, and in the midst 

 of acres of sweet potatoes, we passed a pleasant and interesting 

 six weeks, fresh species being captured, as we were in richer 

 country. My companion roamed the district, often being out 

 alone at night with an acetylene lamp, or sometimes with one 

 of our boys, always hunting, and perfectly satisfied with a 

 good day's or night's sport. The natives had a great respect 

 for the man who, alone, would wander through tracks and 

 along scrub margins by himself at night, but we learnt that we 

 had reputations as snake-men, that being spread by Mrs. 

 Jensen, the kindly wife of the manager of the plantation (whom 

 we had met during our sojourn in the Herberton district seven 

 years ago), we being credited as being proof against snake-bite. 

 When we went to the house after our journey we were announced 

 as " Two snake-man, two snake-man come." So we often had 

 a snake dangling near our door, and my companion would 

 frequently tie one to his butterfly net on his shoulder when 

 coming home, and — accidentally, of course — incline it towards 

 any passing blacks, with excellent effect. When a snake was 



