208 A NATURALIST IN CANNIBAL LAND 



a great branch of coral in its teeth. They seem to 

 have very little brains, however, and I do not think 

 they attempt to defend themselves. If you encounter 

 a bite from one it is by way of accident. The flesh of 

 roast turtle is very like beef. I do not care to eat the 

 green fat which is prized so much by some as a 

 delicacy for soup. 



From Tara Cay, making an early start we ran along 

 until three o'clock the next morning, when by log 

 reckoning I calculated that we must be near Merauke, 

 and so I hove to. My calculations proved to be 

 correct, for the next morning at dawn we picked up 

 the land, which is very low-lying. The first thing I 

 saw was a grass fire which had been made by the 

 natives for the purpose of hunting game. The chart 

 I had, as I had discovered before at Tara Cay, was an 

 old-fashioned one, and I could not quite identify the 

 indications for the Port of Merauke. But I noticed 

 a small boat going up a river and followed it in. It 

 was Sunday, and everybody seemed to be making 

 holiday and no one took any particular notice of our 

 arrival. I understood that I should have to get 

 pratique from the Port doctor, so I ran up a blue flag, 

 which was the flag asking for a doctor in my signal 

 book. That, like the chart, however, was out of 

 date. I should have run up a yellow flag. 



There came no reply to my blue flag, so I went 

 ashore and encountered a Eurasian official who was 

 puzzling over the blue flag, and referring to his signal 



