AT FOOT OF THE SNOW MOUNTAINS 211 



" The Goodfellow Expedition is at the Mimika. 

 The captain of the Valk told me that Dr. E. Marshal 

 died there lately, this being the second death of a 

 white member of the party. Until lately they had 

 no boys for transport, and some of the members have 

 been in Fak Fak, while Mr. Goodfellow went to 

 Manaosu trying to get coolies. He has just returned 

 with sixty from Ambou, but only under two months' 

 agreement. The Dutch Government have loaned 

 him two lifeboats and a steam launch, and have also 

 given him forty (40) soldiers, three sergeants and a 

 white officer. The people here do not think he will 

 reach the Snow Mountains. If so it will be a very 

 great pity, after all the trouble and expense that he 

 has incurred." 



I left Merauke on the Dutch patrol boat and we 

 made our way along the coast to the Oetakwa River, 

 some 300 miles in a north-westerly direction, passing 

 through the Marianne Straits between Prince Frederick 

 Henrylsland and the mainland. Off the Oetakwa River 

 we had a very beautiful view of the Snow Mountains in 

 the distance, with the white-covered peaks broken 

 here and there by great patches of black rock. 



At the mouth of the Oetakwa River we disembarked 

 our baggage into launches. The stores for the Dutch 

 expedition filled nine big boats and my stores another 

 big boat. This string of boats was taken into tow 

 by a steam launch, and like a great snake it wound its 

 way up the river, a full day's journey. This was the 



P2 



