BREAKING THE GROUND 
few miles further on appears another people, perhaps 
not greatly differing in type, but with another language 
altogether. Thus at Dinawa, where we were en- 
camped for five months on the foot-hills of the 
Owen Stanley range, the native phrase for “ Make 
up the fire” was “Aloba di”; while at Foula, only 
eighteen miles away as the crow flies, but far further 
on foot, the phrase ran ‘“‘ Aukida pute.” It is in 
the statement ‘‘far further on foot,’ of course, that 
the main reason of this linguistic variation is chiefly 
to be found; for travel in the Papuan highlands 
is extraordinarily toilsome, owing to the exceeding 
abruptness of the configuration, and the endless 
succession of almost razor-like ridges. Thus the 
tribes are confined to narrow areas. Long rough 
ascents and descents and devious windings are the 
portion of the wayfarer who wishes to reach some 
spot that may even be visible from his last halting- 
place. This experience, and our entire dependence 
on native carriers to transport our heavy baggage, 
with the various contretemps and difficulties besetting 
the conduct of such a caravan, tempted me at one 
time to call this book ‘“‘Ups and Downs in Papua,” 
as being at once literally and metaphorically true 
and descriptive. 
Despite the difficulty of migration, however, it 
is certain that had our mission been one of explora- 
tion pure and simple we could, during our two years’ 
sojourn, have traversed a far more extensive region 
than we did. But our first concern was the examina- 
tion of the butterflies, moths, and birds of the Owen 
Stanley range, and that within particular and some- 
23 
