( 474 ) 



refused, and Mr. Meek, in spite of his illness (apparent!}' a kind of dropsy), left 

 for tlie coast on December 16, 1910, and joined the Island River Expedition. 



In his book, on pages 219-21, Meek writes about this jonrney as follows :— 



" The Island River is a very fine stream, which, on nearing the coast, splits 

 Jts great volume into branches, forming an extensive delta. It is possible to travel 

 up the river by steamer 150 miles inland. When we had got that far by steamer 

 we disembarked on to a hulk which had been moored there as a supply base for 

 the expedition. At this hulk we repacked our stores, and went up by steam launch 

 a fnrther two days' journey. Then from this ' Launch Camp ' we were carried by 

 canoes for four days up the stream. The rapid character of the stream at this 

 stage can be best judged from the fact that over a hundred rapids are encountered 

 during the four days' journey, and that a distance which needs four days' hard 

 travelling on the ascent can be covered withiu six hours in descending. The 

 officers of the Dutch expedition were very hospitable to me, especially a naval 

 officer. Captain van der Veu. 



" At the ' Canoe Camp,' which marked the head of the navigable river, I 

 started up towards the mountains again, using my own boys as carriers, as it was 

 impossible to enlist any help from the natives around, who were very timid and 

 not at all friendly. We journeyed four days into the interior, every day marking 

 a great increase in elevation, for there were no foot-hills to be traversed. Finally 

 I fixed a camp at the height of 6500 ft., or thereabouts, and sent the greater 

 number of my boys back for more stores. Then I got the others to make a large 

 clearing in the bush. Partly the purpose of this was to serve to attract moths 

 at night ; partly it was to make a more comfortable camping place for ourselves. 

 The climate in this hill district is damp and miserable. When it is not raining 

 one is liable to be soaked through and through by tlie great bodies of mist which 

 come down from the rnonntain tops. The trees and shrubs drip constantly with 

 wet. Insect life is abundant. It would thus have been imjjossible to have camped 

 in any comfort without clearing away the forest and the undergrowth. I did 

 not know that the clearing would have been so strongly resented by the natives 

 of the district as it was ; but had I known I should still have had to take the 

 risk. Life there was particularly miserable. At night the cold was intense — a 

 damp, moist cold like that during the worst of a London fog. By day the weather 

 was, when not cold and damp, humid. Never was there a clear, bright air. The 

 forest trees festooned with mosses, which hung from the branches down to the 

 very ground ; the soil covered with lichens, which gave a foothold such as a 

 soaking-wet sponge would — these gave always an impression of damp unwholesome- 

 ness. It was rare to be dry. Tlie earth was wet, the trees wet, the atmosphere 

 dripping always. To add to our hardships, the food supply was necessarily poor. 

 It was impossible to obtain any provisions locally. All that we ate had to be 

 carried a four-days' march from the Canoe Camp. 



"On the other hand, the collecting was simply glorious. The very first bird I 

 shot was a new species of Bird of Paradise. I collected there also sjieciraens of the 

 most beautiful Bird of Paradise that I know — the Asfraj/ia sj>li'm/ii//ssima." 



Unfortunately some of Mr. Meek's men contracted beri-beri, and the whole 

 party was getting rather miserable and into a low state of health. Meek ascribed 

 this to the want of any food except a small allowance of rice and tinned meat. 

 Eventually one and later on two more of his natives died. Therefore lie made no 

 attempt to reach still greater heights, broke up camp, and descended to the coast. 



