BRITISH NEW GUINEA. 433 



not Jnstifiofl in believing that it wonkl be obtainable in pay- 

 able quantities. 



Althouo'li thunderstorms were nsnal after 2 or 3 o'clock in 

 the atiernoon, thei'e appeared to be no regular rainy season. 

 The tenij)erature ranged fi'oni 85deg. to 90deg. Fahr. during 

 the daytime ; at night, howevei-, the thermometer fell to from 

 72deg. to 76deg. Fahr., a change that Sir William MacGregor 

 could only account for by assuming that colder currents were 

 wafted from the snowy mountains of Dutch New Guinea. 

 The highland regions enjoy comparative imnuinity from mos- 

 quitoes and sandflies. I'wo cases of sickness per day was the 

 average condition of the health of a party of J 9. In all only 

 one of these gave the leader any anxiety. No evidence was 

 obtained of the existence of an intei-ior race distinct from the 

 coastal nat'i\'es. The dialects of the upjier and lower tribes 

 differ entirely. They are agriculturists and live in settled com- 

 numities on the lower part of the river ; in the middle region 

 they are nomadic, owing to the low, swampy condition of the 

 country and the occuiTence of floods ; the dwellers of the 

 upland zone are apparently fixed cultivators of the soil. Tlieii* 

 weapons consist of the ))0W and arrow. The women clothe 

 themselves with the usual ])etticoats, and the bodies of the men 

 are tattooed. The most favouraljle season to explore the Fly 

 basin would be during the months of June and July. It 

 would then Ije possible to obtain information upon the climate 

 during the south-east monsoons. The birds would then appear 

 in their most goi-geous plumage, and the collections for scientific 

 jHu-poses would in consequence be more valuable. It was a 

 source of very great satisfaction to the leader that during the 

 progress of the expedition the relations maintained with the 

 natives were of the most friendly character, exc^-pting in one 

 instance, in which no reason can be assigned for the hostility 

 offered at Lario Bank. 



Concurrently with the Fly River exploration tlie Administrator 

 extended his examination to the western country, towards the 

 Anglo-Dutch boundary. Part of this region, within the 

 boundary of the Kawa Kussa delta, had formerly been 

 visited by various exploration j^arties, so that no remarkable 

 new geographical features were discovered by this expedition. 

 Carefid examination, however, threw some light upon formerly 

 obscure questions concerning the geography of the numerous 

 water channels aljounding in this locality. Advantage was 

 taken of this occasion to examine the hill of Mabuadauan, at 

 the mouth of the Kawa Kussa River. Upon this prominence. 



