The day after our arrival we began the building of a proper camp. We felled trees, erected a stockade and also a platform some little distance above the ground; over this last we threw the fly-tent, making a floor to it of split bamboo. Inside the tent we arranged to have a fire in the native manner. We put down a wooden frame, inside which we laid earth closely patted down to form a hearth in the Papuan style. After building our abode we had to discover another spot where we could carry on our work at night. When this was found, a further task awaited us, for the forest came so close that we had to open up a space to enable our lamp to shine out and thus attract the moths. To do this we had to fell more trees, and the precipitous nature of the ground rendered our task all the harder, for once when we had allowed a large newly-felled trunk to slide, it got out of hand and careered three or four hundred yards down the precipice, taking other trees with it. Finally, however, we managed to open up a gap towards the camp, which left us an excellent clearing for scientific purposes. Here we built our collecting verandah, and thither we repaired every night, a little journey requiring some self-sacrifice, for as we went those dreadful leeches I have already described attacked our feet and legs unmercifully.
We had to do a good deal of our work unassisted, for our natives were not willing to accompany us, as they feared the Mafulu people. We knew perfectly well there was some risk, and never went up to the verandah without taking our revolvers. As we worked there through the small hours, our position was brilliantly lighted up by our lamp, so that, had the Mafulu people wished to do so, they would have had every opportunity of taking a good aim at us. Fortunately, however, they did not realise that while our lamp made us very visible to them, it rendered them entirely invisible to us, and although we sometimes felt rather uneasy, we never received any unpleasant reminder in the shape of a hurtling spear. Had they known, however, how entirely we were at their mercy, we might not have escaped.
As we pursued our collecting here, it was interesting to note the Alpine signs in insects and flowers. On the trees grew a very fragrant rhododendron. Moths were plentiful, but butterflies were not, for everything in this dense forest was struggling for light, and the butterflies had accordingly retired to the tops of the trees. Here I counted at least twelve different species of paradise birds.
SOME UNKNOWN SPECIES DISCOVERED BY THE AUTHOR IN NEW GUINEA.
1.—A new Reptile—Lygosama Pratti. 2.—Another new Reptile—Toxicolamus Stanleyanus. 3.—A new fish of the Gobiid Genus Rhiacichthys.
By permission of the Zoological Society of London.
We had not been long at Mafulu when we were faced with another trouble. Our food supply began to run low. We found that the tinned provisions had been tampered with, and suspected native thieves; our suspicions one day being confirmed, when our dog Yule brought in from the forest two empty meat tins which had been broken open with the axe. This evidence was incontestable, for we ourselves always used the tin-opener. Of course, when we taxed our Papuans they were ignorant of the whole affair. This theft did not improve our larder; meat ran out, we had very little tea and no sugar, only a scanty supply of flour, and, worst of all, no salt. We were accordingly dependent upon sweet potatoes and yams, which we purchased from the Mafulu people, and occasionally a few bananas were obtainable. The boys soon began to grumble about the cold and lack of food, but the real reason of their discontent was, of course, fear of the Mafulu people. Every day deputations waited on Sam and myself and threatened to leave. It was evident that the discontent was stirred up by two ringleaders, so we found out who these were and talked to them very severely, telling them they might go; but two men would not dare to venture back to their own village through a hostile country, so, of course, our permission to leave was not taken. These troubles were very annoying, for we wanted to remain as long as we could, as we were getting admirable specimens, but about the fourteenth day of our stay matters had come to such a pass that we had to give the men a definite promise that we would leave in a week.
With such a state of things constant vigilance became necessary, and we had to divide the nights into watches. Sam would take three hours and then I would take three hours, and some of the natives were always awake for fear of other natives. It was very lonely in camp, but we passed the time smoking and watching a few sweet potatoes baking in the embers. As our own fellows were disaffected, it was necessary also to keep them under constant observation. From the tent we could watch their quarters, and Sam made a bamboo bed in the men’s shelter. They, poor fellows, had rather a rough time of it, apart from their fears and discontent, for one night a tremendous deluge of rain swamped their quarters. Next day they went into the forest and cut a large quantity of bamboo leaves, with which they made a splendid rain-tight roof about 6 inches thick. As it would have been a pity to have left without doing our best to get specimens of the paradise bird, we sent all our shooting boys away and allowed them to take a tent with them. The long-tail paradise birds frequent the Pandanus trees when they are in seed, and when the shooters found a tree in that condition they would camp near it and lie in wait for the birds. While this little expedition was out, Sam, Harry, myself, and a boy remained alone in considerable anxiety, for while the guns were away none of us had any sleep.
THE AUTHOR AND SOME NATIVE COLLECTORS.
I cannot say that we had any actual threats, but the country round about us was disturbed, and great numbers of the Kabadi people, who had been to trade with Mafulu, and were returning home, began to stream through our camp. They came through in strings, at intervals of an hour or longer. Some of them carried pigs that they had received from the Mafulu people after dances and entertainments. These companies consisted of men, women, and a very few children. Several of them were painted as for a festival, and they always passed through the camp as quickly as possible, taking no notice of us. The Mafulu people used to visit us a good deal with the ostensible purpose of trading, but they always took care to come armed with spears. This I did not like at all, so I directed them to lay down their arms before they entered, and if they came to visit me after dark, I said they must light torches and hail me from the edge of the clearing as they approached. This they did, but they seldom came at night after I had put this restriction on them. The few times, however, that they did come with their torches, the sight was weirdly picturesque as the lights came glinting through the trees, and then congregated at the edge of the clearing, the flickering glare throwing up the lithe, bronze figures of the warriors into fine relief as they stood there waiting for permission to enter the white man’s enclosure. They seemed to have a lot of intimate conversation with our people, although only one of our men knew their language. They were, however, content to do their talking through the interpreter.