"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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June 20, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River


Sunday
June 20
1926

Another Sunday, and like the previous Sundays the weather was Sunday weather. We slept later than usual. Everybody was happy. Cleaning of guns and pipes was the most important work of the day. Dick printed many pictures which he had taken previously and the prints are all good. We have some interesting pictures even from here. We should get many more inside. It rained heavily in the afternoon and as I write another big rain storm is coming up. And how it rained. We got a large quantity of rain water which was cool and made good drinking water. It was a change from the boiled water we have been having. We have many empty gasoline tins now and the convicts placed them around the house and caught fifteen tins full. {F1.121} It looked so inviting and cool – the other water from the river and the spring a short distance away is always warm – that I immediately had a bath with a tin of it. It was refreshing. The rain cooled the air materially and it was very comfortable during the Sunday evening meal. Wrote [about] the Dyaks night trip through the rapids so to have it ready for Aneta in the morning. Will make a good yarn in the states. After dinner we played bridge with Korteman and Leroux. Prince joined for Doc felt in the need of sleep. Korteman is very nice and always has something in the line of cookies, cigars or wine to offer us. The last few evenings have been spent very pleasantly. It breaks the monotony of the regular day and evening camp life to play bridge and we enjoy it.




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