Saturday
October 2
1926
Left Exploritors camp with Matt, Dick, 2 soldiers, and 9 carriers (8 convicts and 1 Dyak) arrived Damoonarue which is high up on the steep slope of an adjoining mountain – 3 hours[’] hike. All inhabitants of this village apparently were diseased, evidently flambosia [sic, = framboesia]. It was a terrible sight. Two men, one crippled with running sores and swollen joints so that it was impossible for him to move about at all. The other was just as terrible to look at but could still navigate. The children evidently had been born free of the disease but had contracted it from contact with the Mother and from crawling around on filthy ground floors. No one was anxious to stay long and there was a long hard trail ahead of us – by the use of a few cowries we enviegled [sic, = inveigled] the headman of the village who seemed to be more or less free from disease to act as our guide. Awfully hard going, up and down, crawling along precipitous slopes all heavily clothed in tropical jungle, but an excellent trail for New Guinea. Just before dark our Pygmy guide halted us beside a fine clear mountain stream where the convicts under the direction and help of the Dyaks and soldiers, set up camp. In the meantime our pygmy friend had disappeared but [only] to return with great armsful [sic] of fern sprouts and roots that make good eating.
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