Sunday
August 29
1926

Today was another day or [sic, = of] rest and we confined our efforts to getting everything in the house shipshape. In the afternoon I had one of the Ambonese soldiers give me several paragraphs of the song “Hurrah Hurrah Chin Chin” and they got quite a kick out of my trying to learn it. It is a very musical piece and with the words written down Dick and I expect to learn it so we can sing it as they do. It will be interesting in America. Of course it rained in the evening, and was cloudy most of the day. We have not had a good look at even the foothills since we arrived. The soldiers said that three days after we left the Papuans had appeared and Doc Hoffman traded with them. Today they are across the river shouting but won’t come over[;] we didn’t go to them for if they were here once they will return again and we don’t want to scare them by going after them. It appears that they are all back now and we should be able to get contact with them again. I hope so, for it will be easier to work with them here than down river or up stream. As we have received our tins of food we are enjoying good things once more such as oatmeal, butter, milk, coco[a,] cheese and some green peas. Rice and deng deng has [sic] been omitted for a meal or two and the addition makes a welcome change. We are packing several tins to send up to Doc on the next transport for he has been on the same diet as we have been since leaving.