CHAP. XXXI.] TO WANU3IBAI. 237 



boats at sea, and from all I could learu Watelai village 

 was not a place to stop at (no Birds of Paradise being 

 found there), I determined to return. and go to a village 

 I had heard of up a tributary of the Watelai river, and 

 situated nearly in the centre of the mainland of Aru. The 

 people there were said to be good, and to be accustomed to 

 hunting and bird-catching, being too far inland to get any 

 part of their food from the sea. While I was deciding 

 this point the squall burst upon us, and soon raised a 

 rolling sea in the shallow water, which upset an oil bottle 

 and a lamp, broke some of my crockery, and threw us all 

 into confusion. Eowing hard we managed to get back 

 into the main river by dusk, and looked out for a place to 

 cook our suppers. It happened to be high water, and a 

 very high tide, so that every piece of sand or beach was 

 covered, and it was with the greatest difficulty, and after 

 much groping in the dark, that we discovered a little 

 sloping piece of rock about two feet square on which to 

 make a fire and cook some rice. The next day we con- 

 tinued our way back, and on the following day entered a 

 stream on the south side of the Watelai river, and ascend- 

 ing to where navigation ceased found the little village of 

 Wanumbai, consisting of two large houses surrounded by 

 plantations, amid the virgin forests of Aru. 



As I liked the look of the place, and was desirous of 

 staying some time, I sent my pilot to try and make a 



