"By Aeroplane to Pygmyland" Accounts of the 1926 Smithsonian-Dutch Expedition to New Guinea

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Journal of Stanley Hedberg
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May 29, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River


Sunday
May 29
1926

It seems that yesterday’s habitual rain which was absent all day fell all of last night and early this morning. It was rainy [sic, = raining] heavy when we awoke and continued steadily all morning until about 11:30. At that time, however, it stopped although it was still cloudy and old Sol has not yet made its appearance as I write. We sat around all morning and watched it rain. Having nothing else to do Hans, Prince and I made it “pipe cleaning day” and the old Dunhills are sure throwing up a smoke screen all around as I wrote. It seems that a pipe tasts [sic] better on a rainy day and gives more enjoyment or a feeling or [sic, = of] contentment than on any other day. Dick worked on his attachment which he made for taking pictures from the air and finished up on it today. The river is still rising, having come up considerably during the night. The transport which intended to start through the rapids at daylight this morning will have a hard time of it I believe. However, high water is better for the motor boats. We learned that they had carried approximately 3,000 kilos in the 11 canoes[,] about 1500 of that being food and the rest gasoline and motor boat parts in the two motor boats. We heard army sparks sending late last evening but I haven’t seen him as yet today so consequently am unable to say whether he succeeded in conversing with Java or not. They have heard him in Java but not strong enough to establish communication. A Chicago Tribune would be an interesting thing to have with us today and any date from November 20 to the present date would be as interesting as todays’ fresh off the press. The news from Aneta received every morning at about 11:30 is very meager[,] most of it being of Dutch interest. Of course when anything startling occurs in America it comes thru briefly. There has been {F1.25} no American news for several days.

Dr. Hoffman visited us last evening for a time just before supper. Some one of the convicts had stolen one of his surgical knives and he is having the entire camp searched for it. To no avail, however, for it has failed to appear. He said he would give twenty good wacks [sic] with the ratan himself if he caught the man who stole it for he needs it in his work. He is up at 6:30 every morning and is busy until nine with his patients. He has nine cases in the hospital at the present time and they all keep him plenty busy. Most of them are convicts. One Dyak cut himself with his knife, another has the fever and the other one is too old and weak to do much on the transport so he was left behind. It is a lazy cloudy day and not much to do so the time passes slowly. I have written an article for Popular Mechanics on the “Mechanical Woodsman of Boreno [sic]” which I am going to send Webber on the next steamer. Will have some good pictures to illustrate it and it should be interesting. Larry wanted feature stuff and the Dyaks are good feature material. About three o’clock in the afternoon, Hans, Prince and I with Moon, the convict, secured a Dyak canoe and started paddling up the swift stream just “for fun”. It wasn’t fun after a few minutes for it was work and hard work to propell [sic] that log through the water. We progressed all right up past the camp and then decided that we would go to the end of Havic [sic] Island and float down around it and back to camp [sic]. We were about an hour and a half going about a mile. In some places the current was so swift that paddling with all the strength we four had we lost ground. We stock [sic, = stuck] closer to shore and by exerting ourselves and pulling our way whenever we could get a hold of a branch or stump we finally succeeded in getting to the end of the island. We stopped three or four times on the way, however, to rest. Once we ran aground on a huge log and Moon {F1.26} had a hard time shoving her off. When Moon saw us starting out in the canoe he came running up and asked permission to accompany us. Before he was half way to the island he was talking to himself and I bet he won’t be so anxious to go canoeing again. Coming down stream it was the berries and it didn’t take us ten minutes at the most to negotiate that distance. Personally I was well tuckered out. Pushing a heavy canoe up stream is certainly not the best way to get into the interior of this country. The Dyaks of course are skilled in handling them but even they are forced to put their “all” into getting the canoes inside. It struck us more forcefully than ever before that the Dutch should use such obsolete methods in this day and age of flying machines and modern inventions. There is no doubt of the practicability and the efficiency of an aeroplane over canoe transport. It is not only the most practical but the safest as well. It would be as if we were using stage coaches and pack mules over the mountains in the United States. In this day and age it is a wonder to all of us that the Dutch have never used an aeroplane in exploration work in New Guinea. The two flights Hans and Matt have made have more than demonstrated that it can be dome [sic, = done] and done safely. Of course, one needs a good machine and a good pilot. We have both. What this expedition needs is more aeroplanes and it would be a matter of but a few weeks until the entire expedition, food and supplies, would be at Head Camp. It would be safer than the canoe transport, and quicker by months. Still when we arrived in Java we heard that we were crazy to even think of using an aeroplane in Dutch New Guinea. I hope that we have demonstrated to them that it is feasable [sic] and that they will try it on their next expedition. In that manner it wouldn’t take long to explore all of the remaining territory which is unknown in the interior[.] Under the present system, however, it will take many years and much men and money. Money spent as they have been spending it in the last {F1.27} several expeditions[,] if put into aeroplanes[,] would do it much more quickly and they would save money in the long run. However, we are the pioneers and the pioneers are always the ones to be critizied [sic] and to work hard for the benefit of the others who are to follow. It was ever thus in everything that has been done for the first time.

It cleared up slightly during the afternoon, but only slightly for the sun just barely peeped through the clouds and then for a moment or two. It rained again in the evening. We are wondering how Doc and Leroux are getting along with their visit to the Papuans with all this rain. They took their tents with them, but I am fearful that this heavy rain is not making their stay any too pleasant. It is also going to hamper the work of the transport up the rapids. We wondered how far they had got [sic]. After our experience in the canoe we wouldn’t wonder if they hadn’t got [sic] far.




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