89 
I am fascinated by these people and am looking forward with immense 
enthusiasm to our work on Tikopia and Anuta. 
I have finished letters to Raglmar and Yavine, and must now write 
to Tamel, Mororui, Mbagintao, Mathias and Maluwetig. It has been dread- 
fully difficult to get any letter writing or paperwork done on this 
trip thus far. 
...At Sea... Santa Cruz (Nande) to Tikopia October 20, 1972 
. . . 1 a " m ... 
The day we hope to land on Tikopia— after all these years 
of hoping and planning. I am restless, and exited and worried, for until 
we succeed in getting ashore safely at both Tikopia and Anuta, the 
major goals of this expedition have not been met. The landings are 
often rough and sometimes, even often, impossible. Thus, we are by no 
means sure of success until we have landed safely. From there on, I 
am confident that we can accomplish much. 
I have written to Steven Wlesenfeld, along with those to my boys 
and have thus my first correspondence of this month off at sea... I 
have many further letters to write. 
The ship rolled sideways all the way from Hiu to Santa Cruz; now 
we are pitching and bucking, but rolling little. 
I browsed today through Raymond Firth's "We the Tikopia", and 
admire him and his work more each time I read him. 
Jean approached me, almost belligerantly , about what I was trying 
to do in my journals. In fact, the major function they serve is done 
once I write them each day, for in so doing I organize my thoughts a bit 
and imprint more firmly on my memory the details I wish to preserve. 
They are, in fact, a stage for catharsis and self-vindication, for 
confession and self-analysis, for trial of crackpot ideas, and appraisal 
of old and new ideas of my own and others, and a record of changing 
values and judgements which help keep me sober and yield to me a more 
solid equanimity after writing than I could have before. I also use 
it as a field notebook and verbal sketch pad, and as such they are 
often poorly organized and filled with undigested minutia. 
I can only then justify them in the knowledge that At the fierce pace 
at which I live I would have little which I noticed or think if I did not 
record as fast as I do. The only alternative is to live slower, do less, 
see less or analyze more and present more critical summaries and more 
abstracted and digested findings...! often do not have the time nor the 
ability to do just that. 
Thus far, it appears that only Don and I may be going on to Ponape 
from Honiara. All the others want to start their tours of Asia and 
New Guinea from Honiara out. 
