IN THE EAST INDIES. 123 
below the equator. However on deck there is almost 
always a breeze. The Captain is very pleasant and 
has told us great tales of things and people we are 
still to see. Lombok and Bali, two islands at which we 
have already stopped, were very interesting and the 
people there all carried huge knives in_ polished 
wooden sheaths or else elaborately worked silver 
sheaths. We tried our best to buy one, but they all 
refused to sell. Tom’s collecting has been great and 
he already has a pile of stuff, snakes, fishes, crabs, but- 
terflies, beetles, bugs, ete. We are the only first class 
passengers going to New Guinea and Katherina and I 
will be the first white women the natives have ever 
seen. I bought two beautiful red silk parasols (one 
with a hole in the top and the other badly spotted 
with candle grease) with cherries on the handle of 
one and a beautiful (?) silver handle on the other, 
and I intend to get a good deal in exchange for these. 
At Macassar, our next stop, we shall lay in a good 
supply of things to swap with, beads, colored cloths, 
tobacco, ete. The trip has been a great success so far 
in every way. We are all well. Give my love to every 
one and with a great deal to yourself believe me 
Your affectionate sister, 
Ros. 
I forgot to say that through the kind offices of Dr. 
Treub the head agents of the steamship company at 
Batavia have given Tom permission to delay the ship 
and have it call at several extra places in New Guinea, 
which are very little known, for a very reasonable 
indemnity. 
