XI.] 



XAPRIBOT. 



269 



been cut off' and the skins being much moth-eaten. I had hoped 

 possibly to find some rarity among them, but was doomed to 

 (Usappointment. 



Around Xapriboi but little clearing had been done, for the 

 Papuan, unlike those of INIalay race, is no agriculturist, and is 

 content to live from liand to mouth on sago and what few fish or 



AT NAPRIBOI. 



turtle he can manage to catch. A few coco palms, however, had 

 Ijeen planted, and it was a treat to us to get some of the fresh 

 young nuts, the " milk " of which is the healthiest and at the same 

 time the most agreeable drink in the tropics. The forest was an 

 open one, and not good for collecting, but the isolation of the trees 

 afforded us opportunities for photography which do not often occur 

 in these islands. 



Looking southwards towards Batanta across Dampier Strait, 

 the dark hummocks of King William Island or Mios Mansuar 

 are visible, surrounded by a little archipelago of lesser islets. The 



