34 A NATURALIST IN CANNIBAL LAND 



trees and caves are sometimes used by the blacks, 

 although caves are not in much favour because they 

 are often credited with being haunted by evil spirits. 

 When many natives happen to camp together, there 

 are recognised camp rules. All boys and uninitiated 

 young men sleep at a distance from the huts of the 

 adults. Each inmate or family has a separate fire 

 or several fires. 



After we had exhausted the resources of the Johnson 

 River, we decided to make a move on to the Bloom- 

 field River. We chartered a small cutter to take us 

 along the coast. The party at the time consisted of 

 Barnard, myself, and an aboriginal boy named 

 Tommy, who was very faithful to me and who 

 turned out to be a very skilful collector. 



On arrival at the Bloomfield River we found our- 

 selves in country where the white man was almost 

 unknown. The aboriginals were very numerous. We 

 made a camp in a pocket of grass close to a jungle 

 scrub seven miles to the north of the Bloomfield 

 River. By this time I had abandoned the collection 

 of mammals and confined my attention to lepidoptera 

 and birds. One of the finest birds found there was 

 the Pitta, of which I secured many specimens. 1 The 

 aboriginals of the district were very clever with their 

 spears, and could usually bring down a bird that 

 was put up out of the scrub by a dog. I have seen 



1 This is the species known as Pitta strepitans. E. H. 



