"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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August 14, 1926 : Head Camp (Lower & Upper) ; Rouffaer River


August 14

The water dropped all during the day yesterday, but last night it rose again. Le Roux was supposed to return to camp yesterday afternoon but did not. He had no food or bedding with him. We expected that he would surely return today, but {p. 213} darkness brought no sign of him. Van Leeuwen reported that he was feeling feverish this evening. The Dyaks have been busy all day gathering palm leaves and materials and made a storehouse and a permanent house for themselves. The land here stretches back quite level to the mountains and the jungle growth is very dense. The river water is quite cold and to my surprise, contains an astonishing amount of sediment. Since even here it runs through rock walls over a bed of stones it is quite a mystery where it picks up the sediment. There seems to be a lot of rain, which is probably normal as this is the foot of the high mountains.




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