Wednesday
October 13
1926

One of Egoon’s men started building a fire for us at 5:00 and the camp was soon astir. We had breakfast and were soon packed. We decided to continue the relay plan as per yesterday and Leroux and I went ahead with the first transport. Bedding and collection was [sic] first with food only for the noon day meal. Our objective was our camp near a river which we made on the second night up. It wasn’t so far but we had a stiff long climb to make over the highest ridge of the journey. We reached the camp at noon and the carriers had their noon day repast and left for their return at 12:30. It was going to be a strain on their physical endurance to go back and make the trip again with another load. Once up with a load such as they carried was a good day[’]s work in itself. There was nothing else to do, however, for in between the twain offered no site for a satisfactory camp site. At 3:15 the Papuan[s] arrived. They refused to leave when Leroux and I did because they did not want to make the relay as of yesterday. Perhaps they saw thru our plan and they did not want to see us leave so fast. The 2 chaps who had promised to return did and carried their load. Matt and Dick arrived at 4:00 and said it was after three when they met the first of the returning carriers at the river an hour down from our camp. They had decided to leave when the Papuans did and when they reached the river they had not seen the returning carriers so decided it was impossible for the carriers to make it back before dark. The Papuans had gone on ahead so they decided to camp there for the nite to be near the soldiers. When they met the returning carriers later, they came on at a rapid pace. Dick and Doc both had started building a temporary shelter for themselves for the night. When they arrived here they informed us that it would be {F4.32} impossible for the entire second transport to make this camp. One or 2, possibly the 2 Dyaks might make it by dark. We had camp well established when they arrived but not much food. Ate a can of hot potch and some tea. The Papuans built themselves a leanto in short order using the stone axes from our collection, which they promptly returned when they had finished. They used the Dyak style of leanto and covered the top with fern and palm leaves. They soon had a roaring fire going inside and were comfortable. Potatoes which they had brought along made up their entire meal. It was dark at six so we gave up hopes of seing [sic] even one carrier arriving even. At 7:30 or thereabouts we heard a cry yp [sic, = up] the trail. It was pitch dark. Dick took a candle and went up there in the darkness. It is a steep climb up and the trail is not so good. In fact it is the worst part of the going between Tombay and Aeimba. Lo and behold[,] here were Oompah, our faithful boy and Sain, Leroux[’s] convict. They had come thru. It was dark when they came to the top of the ridge and they had come down over that dangerous descent in the dark. One needs two good eyes to make it in daylite and not much bad. [sic] It was a splendid piece of work. They had left the rest at our camp above at 4 when the others decided it couldn’t be done, and came thru. It was a dangerous thing to do. We rewarded them with a bar of chocolate each and they were pleased. A misstep in the dark down that mountain would have meant plunging down to certain death, perhaps, a serious injury at least. They brought us the small amount of food we have left in our personal supply which is not much. It rained heavily during most of the night.