COOLIES AND GURKHAS 171 



were greatly superior to our first batch of coolies, they 

 were really not fit for the work they had to do, and the 

 majority of them soon became useless to us. 



The steam launch towed the canoes for a short dis- 

 tance up the river once or twice, but it very soon broke 

 down and thenceforward until the middle of June all the 

 transport between Wakatimi and Parimau was done by 

 the coolies themselves. For them it was literally a kill- 

 ing work ; in the first few weeks two men died, one of 

 pneumonia, the other of dysentery, both causes resulting 

 from the circumstances of their work, while several 

 others developed the first signs of beri-beri and had to 

 be sent away at the earliest opportunity. 



About the same time one of the Gurkhas died ; he 

 was from the beginning a very unhealthy man, who 

 ought not to have been engaged for the expedition. Of 

 the other nine Gurkhas three were invalided home before 

 the end of the year and the remaining six stayed with us 

 until we left the country. Although they came from the 

 highlands of Darjeeling — or perhaps for that very reason 

 — our Gurkhas, who were by no means a carefully 

 selected lot, withstood the trials and the climate of the 

 country better than any of the other " native " people in 

 the expedition and, if expense were no drawback, it is 

 probable that an expedition to New Guinea would have 

 the best chance of success if coolies were taken from 

 Northern India. 



That is, however, rather a counsel of perfection, and 

 an expedition to New Guinea must make use of natives 

 of the Malay Archipelago. The Ambonese and the 

 Butonese have been tried and have been found wanting, 



