132 A NATURALIST IN CANNIBAL LAND 



villages probably the majority of them would have 

 perished. 



At this high camp I had been able to stay only a 

 fortnight, and I only collected in all 200 specimens. 

 But almost everything I got there was new. It was 

 certainly, from a collecting point of view, the most 

 wonderful fortnight that I had ever had. 



The natives in this district used to bring me great 

 numbers of Birds of Paradise, which they had snared. 

 The birds were brought bound with nooses to long 

 sticks. One day there must have been between 150 

 and 200 birds in my camp of several different species. 

 The sight was a most beautiful one. As a rule I 

 bought the birds from the natives and released the 

 females, keeping only the males for my collections. 



Getting back to the coast I made for Port Moresby, 

 where I paid off my boys, sent home my collections, 

 and went on to Cooktown for a spell. 



The voyage across to Cooktown was somewhat 

 adventurous. My boat had been laid up at Manna 

 Manna for some six or eight months, and when we got 

 to sea we found that the seams had all sprung. I was 

 obliged to caulk them at sea during some rather heavy 

 weather. 



