206 Mr. C. B. Horsbrugh —Journey to British 
few days* time. From this date till our return to the coast 
the villagers came in daily, bringing us bags of sweet-potatoes, 
bananas, taros, and sugar-cane as food for the camp, and we 
bartered for these commodities tobacco, salt, beads, or small 
strips of cloth. Our two gun-bearers were sent off to collect 
specimens, and I heard them banging away in the depths 
of the jungle. When they returned they proudly displayed 
one or two much-damaged small birds. They were rather 
disgusted when I limited their supply of cartridges and was 
not encouraging in my verdict on their marksmanship. 
Word soon went round the country that a white man had 
arrived with some excellent “ trade " to be bartered for various 
birds and beasts, but I had to wait a few days before serious 
business commenced. 
I did a little butterfly-hunting along the track, but failed 
to secure a good collection. Several large species of 
Orthoptera were fairly common, but usually flew at heights 
far above my reach. The natives call these insects “ Kow- 
pepper," which is a curious sounding name. Aihegetta’s 
party soon left, but were replaced by another of five 
natives accompanied by a policeman. They came in from 
Dilava, and brought me two small snakes and a chameleon 
alive. Aihegetta became sick with fever, but I soon cured 
him by a few grains of quinine, and took a dose myself, 
though as time passed I gave it up and never felt the want 
of it again. 
Before Stalker's advent I had stored all the heavy luggage 
under the house, and I was very glad when he walked into camp 
on the fifth day with the rest of the carriers and many store- 
boxes. He brought in a wounded Paradise-bird (Paradisea 
rayyiana), which unfortunately did not survive the night, 
and a dead Channel-bill Cuckoo (.Scythrops novce-hollandice ), 
both of which he had shot on his way up the mountain. 
The remainder of the carriers were soon paid off with cloth 
and tobacco and left camp, while we skinned the birds, pickled 
the reptiles, and made further arrangements regarding the 
house. The shooting boys were very keen to go afield again, 
but we decided that it would be inadvisable to have the jungle 
