VISIT TO OBOTA 83 



Marshall and I set out in three canoes, taking with us 

 provisions sufficient for a week's journey. Two miles 

 below Wakatimi we entered and began to ascend the 

 Watuka River, of which, as has been noted above (p. 40), 

 the Mimika is but a tributary. After proceeding a mile 

 or two up the Watuka we came to another junction 

 of two rivers, and for the first time we began to realise 

 the extraordinary network of waterways, which traverse 

 the low-lying lands of that part of New Guinea. We 

 learnt afterwards that there are inland channels joining 

 several of the rivers to the East of the Mimika in such a 

 way that it is possible to travel by water from Wakatimi 

 to villages far distant along the coast without going by 

 sea, and no doubt the same is true in a Westerly direction. 



The junction we had then reached was formed by a 

 wide river coming, apparently, from due North and a 

 much smaller branch, not more than ten yards wide, 

 but deep and swift, joining it from the West. It appeared 

 to be quite certain that the river we were in search of 

 must be the Northern branch, and we should have 

 followed it at once had not a number of natives appeared 

 on the bank, and asked us to go and visit their village, 

 which, they explained, was a short distance up the 

 Western branch. 



We soon reached Obota, as the village was called, a 

 collection of about one hundred huts on both banks 

 of the narrow river, and there we were accorded the 

 usual welcome by a large crowd of people. As it was still 

 early in the day we were anxious to continue our journey, 

 and we proposed to go up the Northern branch, but the 

 natives assured us that that led to nowhere and broke 



