106 A COLLECTING TRIP 
half miles from the town and we went out in ricks- 
haws. How the rickshaw coolies could keep up the 
pace they set in that heat is more than I could see; 
they never for a second even stopped running. They 
were Chinamen, dressed in short, blue, baggy trou- 
sers, nothing on their feet, no shirt or coat and a 
queer pointed hat that looked as if it were made out 
of rattan. 
We met two charming Englishmen on board, 
Civil Service officials from India, who are off on 
their vacation. They asked us whither we were 
bound, ete., and Tom teld them New Guinea, where- 
upon they said, ‘‘if it is not butting in can we come 
too?’’ Naturally we were delighted; so today they 
have been looking up accommodations and they start 
with us on January 25. Their names are Pim and 
Shearing. Dr. Treub, the Secretary of Agriculture 
for the Dutch Indian Government and a famous 
botanist, has written us very nice cordial letters 
and we start Friday to see him. 
Now as to answering your questions. We are 
both in perfect health and are as rosy-cheeked as 
we are after we have been in the Adirondacks for 
the summer. The food is fair, and we thrive on it. 
The fruit is simply delicious; it was only today, 
when I was eating a mangosteen, that I said that 
I would give anything if you could only taste one. 
The bananas are small, but as sweet as sugar. Pine- 
apples, well, they are nothing but juice. Oranges 
are most excellent and so are many of the other 
fruits of which I do not know the names. As to 
Sal’s saying to buy more coral, I wish she could 
have seen the rubies I saw in Burma. They come 
