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

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Journal of Matthew Stirling
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May 5, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River


May 5th

Today the Albatross' motor boat went down stream to put up some markers for the rocks near Scholten Island. She was gone all day on the job. Tomorrow the Albatross is returning to Soeroe to meet the Fomalhout and take over her cargo and also that of the K.P.M. steamer Van Noord, with Capt. Posthumous and the remainder of the expedition personnel aboard. Dick and I are going back with her to accompany Hans on our first flight from the mouth of the Mamberamo to Albatross camp. Our Dyak with pneumonia is worse and was brought ashore to the tent hospital this afternoon. Jordan, Dick and Stan all have colds. Today as Dick, le Roux, Van Leeuwen and I were returning to the ship, the "engineer" killed his motor and we drifted down stream at a 6 mile-an-hour rate. We had some Dyaks aboard and they grabbed paddles and worked us in to the ship where we tied up while the motor was repaired. I hear the engineer was recently a 2nd cook.




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