Journal of Matthew Stirling

[April 7, 1926 : Java (Soerabaia) ]

April 7, 1926

After the busiest week of our stay in Java, we sailed on schedule this morning at 9 o'clock. The Fomalhout [sic, = Fomalhaut] came to Batavia from Soerabaia day before yesterday and Dick, Hans and Prince came with her. She is a 1000 ton ship with very comfortable cabins. Her entire after superstructure has been cleared away to make a place for the plane which we will pick up Friday at Soerabaia where we will stop only long enough for this, and to take on the rest of our gasoline.

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"Spent part of the day looking over the ship."
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We left Tanjong Priok this morning in a blaze of glory with a military band and the elite of Batavia on hand to give a huzzah as we left, including floral pieces for some of the members. The wives and families of some of our Dutchmen were on hand to shed a tear, so all in all it was a successful affair. Even a number of our Malays had their "Baboes" down to see them off. They stood with their naked children wide eyed and solemn in contrast to the more emotional Europeans[,] and their colored sarongs added a picturesque note to the scene on the pier as we pulled out. A number of our new Dutch friends came down to see us off as well as our two friendliest friends, Captain Davidson, the British war aviator, and his wife. They not only brought us bag and baggage to the dock in their car but loaded us with presents, including a couple of dozen {p. 2} books and magazines and two cases of candy of many sorts in jars, which will no doubt be a pleasant luxury in the jungle.

The Fomalhout is loaded to the plimson [sic, = plimsoll] line. We have forty or fifty tons of food on board, all kinds of camp equipment, 1000 gallons of gasoline (we take on 1500 more at Soerabaia). On the top deck we have, where supplies are not piled, in addition to the captain of the Fomalhout, Stanley, Dick, Hans, Prince and myself; Dr. Docteurs [sic, = Docters] van Leeuwen, le Roux, Dr. Hoffman, the M.D., and Lieut. Jordans. On the lower deck we have in addition to the crew, 40 Malay convicts, 30 soldiers, several Dutch Sergeants, and the wives and families, who live in negligée, of the crew, a few dozen chickens and two cows. At Macassor [sic, = Makassar] we are to pick up 40 of our 70 Dyaks from central Borneo. In addition to all of this we have two motor boats for use in New Guinea and are towing a large motor cruiser and a schooner, both loaded to the gunwhales [sic, = gunwales] with supplies. On April 20th Captain Posthumous will sail with the second detachment of the expedition including 100 convicts, 50 soldiers, and 30 Dyaks, which latter he will also pick up at Macassor.

If we go without delay we will arrive on the Mamberamo about the 21st.

Spent part of the day looking over the ship. She is a trim ship but loaded like Santa Claus' bag on Christmas eve. Went below to look over the live stock. I like the look of our sergeants. One is a veritable giant with the look of an outdoor man stamped on {p. 3} his face. His compatriot boasts the largest moustache I have ever seen, despite his insignificant stature.

The soldiers spent the whole day sharpening their sabers which they have all honed to a razor's edge.

After siesta we listened to the new phonograph and exchanged yarns on the somewhat precarious after[-]deck, from which the railing has been removed.

[April 8, 1926 : Java (Soerabaia) ]

April 8th

A quiet day aboard ship. We have sailed all day with the rugged volcanoes of Java on our starboard side and an occasional small island off our port. No rain today but a little hazy and a brilliant sunset to end the day.

Spent some time looking over the convicts. They are principally from the Island of Madoera and are practically all murderers. As van Leeuwen says, "Murderers are much the best." The crime is an index of character and the murderer is usually a man of decision. As a rule they are good workers and like all Madoerese are handy on boats. Thieves are usually a less desirable class for work of this nature. They are less trustworthy and less industrious.

The Madoerese are a hot tempered lot. They all carry knives and use them with fatal intent upon the slightest provocation. Le Roux talked with some of them this morning. They were very anxious to know where they were going and what it is all about. They had been brought abroad and had not the least idea where they were being taken. {p. 4}

They are a strong, hardy looking lot, having been especially picked for the arduous work they will have to do. Their faces for the most part are pleasant excepting for a few who have a decidedly evil cast of countenance. They have to be treated fairly well to get the best results from them. Good treatment is reciprocated by them in kind, bad treatment is never forgotten. We passed the "Plaucius" this evening at 9 P.M. and she signalled us "Good speed and a successful expedition".

[April 9, 1926 : Java (Soerabaia) ]

April 9th

This morning at daylight we docked at Soerabaia. Dick, Stanley and I went uptown to make a number of necessary purchases and Hans and Prince went to the Navy Flying field to get the plane and bring it to the ship. After we returned to the Fomalhout we found a number of newspaper reporters anxious for interviews, and a little later the governor for Ambon came aboard. He has charge of the whole eastern Dutch Archipelago, including New Guinea.

The plane arrived about 11 A.M. and was hoisted on the after[-]deck without much difficulty. She looked in fine shape and as bright as a new dollar.

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"The plane arrived about 11 A.M. and was hoisted on the after[-]deck without much difficulty."
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As soon as the Ern was aboard we loaded the rest of our aviation gas from a B.P.M. lighter which came alongside for the purpose - most of it under and around the plane. The ship is now loaded from stem to stern with enough gasoline, kerosine, alcohol and dynamite to blow up half the Celebes sea, and now there is no deck space remaining where we may sit in the evening as before. {p. 5} The custom on board is when we finish luncheon, which takes place about 2 P.M., to take a siesta until four or five. Then everyone roams around the ship in pajamas and sandals until 8:30 P.M. when we all put on our whites for dinner. We have been sitting in deck chairs on the after[-]deck, but tonight there is no place to sit except inside.

At Soerabaia we took aboard our 3 Navy radio operators. They are clean and cool looking in their spotless white uniforms which give them a much neater appearance than the army uniforms permit.

We sailed from Soerabaia and through the Straits of Madoera at 12 P.M. The high mountains of eastern Java were a beautiful sight from our starboard beam and by evening, it being a little hazy, no land was to be seen. The afternoon was spent in a [V1: "a" is crossed out] pajama conference wherein our plans were discussed in considerable detail by all hands.

Since from lack of space we were unable to take on the bulk of our foodstuffs and tools, another ship will leave Soerabaia with them tomorrow and will follow us to Ambon where we will also meet the Albatross.

[April 10, 1926 ]

April 10th

At sea all day. We passed a number of small islands with coral beaches backed up with dense vegetation. They look quite enticing and one cannot help wishing to land.

Telegrams were sent out today announcing the final schedule on which our plans will be carried out. It is certainly a convenience to say the least that the governor of the Moluccas {p. 6} is on board as all orders may be radioed direct. We will now have two bases prior to the Mamberamo - one at Ambon and one on the south of the Island of Japen, at a little bay called Servei. The Albatross will wait for the Camphius at Ambon and will then load with the most necessary articles from the Camphius and the Fomalhout. She will then proceed to Pioneer Camp where she will arrive about May 1. After discharging there she will return to Servei on the 7th of May to reload.

In the meantime the Fomalhout will cruise through several of the islands visiting Ternate and other ports and will also arrive at Japen on the 7th to meet the Albatross. There the Fomalhout will continue her trip after discharging all of her remaining expedition cargo except the plane. The Albatross will probably have to make two more trips to Pioneer camp to bring [it] all. The Fomalhout will continue along the north coast of New Guinea and will return to the mouth of the Mamberamo about the tenth of May. The plane will then be put in the water and will fly to Pioneer Camp.

Today Dick developed a lot of films we took of the unloading of the plane. A hot argument developed this evening after supper among the Dutchmen as to whether missionaries did more good or more harm among the natives. No blood was shed. It appears that missionaries are barred from some of the Dutch Islands - most notably, Bali.

[April 11, 1926 : Makassar ]

April 11th

We sailed all day through the oily seas passing at noon the "Brill" light where the strongest winds in the world are recorded {p. 7} each year. There was none of it today, however. Later in the afternoon we sighted the high mountains of Celebes and at sunset, after passing picturesque outrigger boats and looking at a languid shore line of palms and native houses on piles we came to dock at Maccasor. Celebes embodies all that a tropical island should be - clear waters teeming with fish, low jungle clad coast with towering mountains rising in the background and all the color one could ask.

After docking we all went ashore, walked around the town and sat around the "Harmonie" drinking paits; later Van Leeuwen, le Roux, Hoffman, Jordans, Prince and I had dinner there. The Governor, Stan, Dick and Hans came back to the boat for dinner and later Dick went shark fishing. On our walk around town we ran into Anji Ipoei, the leader of our Dyaks. He is a fine looking man and knows the Mamberamo better than any living man, having been head man on all three of the military expeditions from 1907 up to 1922 and now will be the Dyak head man for this expedition. He reports his men all ready - they arrived here from Borneo a week ago. They will come aboard to-morrow. After dinner at the Harmonie, Hoffman, Van Leeuwen, Jordans, Prince and I went to a movie and saw the two most ancient films extant, - one an old German film with Pola Negri, the other a Doug Fairbanks effort of the days before Doug was famous. We got home about 1 A.M.

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"...Anji Ipoei, the leader of our Dyaks."
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When Dick stated his intention of going shark fishing Stan and Hans vowed to eat all of the sharks he caught, provided Dick would drink tea three times a day for the rest of the trip, if he failed to catch any. Dick was still fishing when we reached the ship. {p. 8}

[April 12, 1926 : Makassar ]

April 12th [See Film Selection #3]

Looked over Macassor early this morning by daylight, walking uptown by way of the docks. Macassor is the principal port of the Celebes, and exports copra, rattan, ebony, sandalwood, etc. It is a fairly busy port and several small steamers were at the docks while we were in.

The principal street is lined with Tamarind trees which lead in a double row from the water. The houses are partly adobe-like construction with a kind of balcony along the second story, or native palm thatch houses, rectangular in shape with concave ridge-pole, the gables ornamented and projecting well over each end. The houses as a rule are built upon piles.

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"...Anji Ipoei appeared with his Dyaks; forty of them, each carrying his personal equipment on his back."
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At about 8 o'clock this morning Anji Ipoei appeared with his Dyaks; forty of them, each carrying his personal equipment on his back. Anji Ipoei wore a woven fibre cap with several of the black white-tipped tail feathers of the hornbill waving out behind. In one ear depended a large, elaborately carved ornament made from the red beak of a hornbill. The carvings on it represent leeches. He wore for the occasion a white Dutch jacket on the breast of which is pinned his medal of honor from the Dutch Government. A pair of long cotton drawers disappearing into the tops of a pair of large tan shoes and fastened above the knees with blue garters did not detract so much from his imposing appearance as one might suspect. The rest of the Dyaks were dressed in pure native costume - a loin cloth carried around the {p. 9} waist with a long strip hanging before and behind. Some wore the woven basket caps ornamented with feathers, others a very large painted palm leaf woven hat in the shape of a low cone. All have both ears pierced through the upper part with a round hole somewhat larger than a lead pencil, in which holes are carried small articles that may be thrust through them. The lobes of the ears have been pierced and stretched by weights until they hang half way to the shoulders. Only a few were wearing ornaments in the lobes of the ears[,] in each instance in one ear only. These ornaments were of various sorts, carved, hornbill beaks, pieces of porcelain, carved bits of wood, etc. They are for the most part of rather small stature but very well built and with thick chests and muscular arms and legs. In color they have a somewhat yellowish tinge and are much lighter in complexion than the Malays.

Their bearing is very good and they look one directly in the eye when addressed and have none of the servility about them common to the natives of the other East Indian Islands. Their luggage is interesting; they carry woven baskets with decorations woven in in [sic] black and yellow, sleeping mats, their "mandows" [sic] or knives with elaborately carved wood or bone handles and a wooden sheath. The large knife is used for decapitating the head on their raids, and within the handle of the large knife is a small one used for extracting the brain and soft parts when preparing the head as a trophy. Most of them carry shields carved from wood and decorated with patterns in black. These patterns are similar to the tattooing that many of them have on their thighs. {p. 10} For weapons they use the blow-gun with poisoned darts. They were vaccinated on arrival at Macassor from Borneo and, as a result, five or six of them are sick. They have been camped on a small river near the town awaiting our arrival. They brought 10 canoes with them from Borneo and these were loaded by them aboard the Fomalhout and this being completed we set sail from Macassor at about 11 o'clock this A.M.

Just below the knee, above the bulge of the calf, the Dyaks wear their fish line, which is wrapped about so as to form a leg ornament when not in use. In the afternoon the Dyaks looked over the ship. They are keenly interested in everything, not with the idle curiosity of the Malay who looks just to pass the time, but with an intelligent desire to find what it is all about and particularly to try and discover how certain objects are made and their use. For instance, they were intensely interested in Dick's fish line, which is a woven cord. They examined its structure with the minutest interest. Looking at the dining room aft, the electric lights, the brass work, the graphaphone and all were subjected to careful scrutiny. Many of these things Anji Ipoei had seen before and could explain, but to the majority they were entirely new.

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"The greatest mystery of all however, was the aeroplane..."
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The greatest mystery of all however, was the aeroplane, perched on the after[-]deck. Le Roux explained that it was to fly and did his best to make clear what it was. Anji Ipoei, the sophisticated, studied all of this with grave countenance for some time, then rendered his verdict. "It cannot fly. Only birds can fly. If it can fly, then it is not made by man." Some time later {p. 11} I went forward with Prince and Hans, and the Dyaks showed us their knives, shields and baskets. In my limited Malay aided and abetted by ample gestures, I indicated that Hans was the man who made the great bird to fly. Anji Ipoei communicated this to the rest and they all showed great interest in Hans, even though they are obviously more than skeptical about the whole flying business.

[April 13, 1926 ]

April 13th

This morning we passed by the island of Buton, quite close to the shore, and afterwards past a number of smaller islands. They were all jungle clad and with their strips of white sand beach look quite attractive from close inspection. A curious feature of the islands is that for a couple of hundred feet or more above the sea they are symmetrically terraced, obviously from a succession of elevations the land has here received above sea level. I played bridge all morning and at noon a terrific thunder storm came up. For about an hour lighting flashed close about us and thunder crackled and crashed at intervals of only a few seconds. At least four or five flashes caused our aerials to crackle and the flash and the report in each instance came simultaneously. The skipper, who has been in these parts for almost 30 years, said it was the worst thunder storm he had ever experienced. Since our ship is loaded on the decks from stem to stern with gasoline, it was not a pleasant experience.

There was scarcely any wind accompanying the atmospheric disturbance and the seas remained quite calm. Each evening at sundown we stop and send a small rowboat back to our motor boat {p. 12} which we are towing, in order to refuel and light her lights. This evening they found the motorboat propeller had been turning and had heated up the engine. We lost an hour while it was being fixed. This evening [I] played bridge again until 10:45 P.M.

The part of the Molucca sea in which we are now steaming between Celebes and Boeroe is one of the great deeps of the world. The charts show that it is more than 20,000 feet deep at this place. On practically all of these islands the shore slopes down so steeply that there is no anchorage possible, even very close to land.

[April 14, 1926 ]

April 14th

Plenty of excitement last night; and our first piece of hard luck thus far.

After finishing the bridge game, I turned in to my berth last night at about 11:30. We were steaming along through quiet seas. I was almost asleep when a peculiar rushing, hissing sound seemed to fill the air. I set up in bed wide awake. Then there was a sudden shock, the boat stopped, shuddered and keeled steeply over to starboard. A violent gust of wind slammed the shutter of my stateroom window shut and instantly following this a deluge of salt spray came in between the slats. A great clatter and banging of packing cases and cans could be heard on the decks above and below, followed by yells from the Malays and Dyaks who had been sleeping on the decks. All of us immediately left our staterooms to find the deck partly flooded and the Malays in a great state of excitement. The ship quickly righted herself and we began to pick up headway again. Packing cases, cans, deck chairs and other loose materials were thrown all about the decks. {p. 13} It was black dark and excepting for the illumination cast by ships lights, nothing could be seen. It was a few minutes before we found that we had been hit almost amidships by a waterspout. The captain was asleep in his cabin on the bridge, when he was awakened by the same sound that aroused all of us. He jumped out of bed and onto the bridge. As he did so, he saw what appeared to be a towering column of flame close alongside the ship, extending high above the bridge. His first thought was that the gasoline was afire, and before he had time for a second, he was knocked back into his stateroom by a deluge of salt water.

The second officer on watch had much the same experience and, like captain, did not see the spout until it was illuminated with red by our ship's port light, just a second or two before it struck. The mate reported that just a few minutes before the spout came it suddenly became black dark, as it was when the rest of us came on deck. The darkness continued, with gusty winds and rain for the rest of the night and we were only able to make about 3 miles per hour as visibility was practically nil and the sea was too rough for our boat in tow. When daylight came we had a chance to see what damage had been done.

Twenty yards of the superstructure covering the bridge was wrenched off, breaking a dozen or more heavy wooden girders in doing so. The aeroplane, lashed down in the extreme after part of the ship was fortunately at the farthest point on the ship from the center of impact. It was lashed to the deck by heavy ropes, {p. 14} but had been lifted up off of the deck, in spite of being wedged between over a hundred cases of gasoline, to a height of a few feet and then crashed down on the gasoline cases on the port side. The two main after struts were jammed through the tops of the pontoons and the rope which held them down bit into the pontoon on the port side about four inches. It will be rather a mean job to repair the damage, and will necessitate unloading the plane at Ambon so that two or three days can be spent working on it on shore or on the dock.

However, we feel that we were lucky after all, as if the spout had struck the after part of the ship we would have had no plane left. Another piece of luck was that the ship was not struck in the space between the forward and after cabins where a large number of coolies were sleeping, as well as our European sargeants [sic]. There is no doubt had this happened a number of them would have been carried overboard along with some of our most valuable luggage.

But as the captain said, "What can you expect? It was the 13th. First we had trouble with the motor boat, then we hit a dangerous thunder storm, then comes a water spout. That is the third, so now it is finished."

This morning at sunrise the weather cleared and we have had calm seas and clear skies all day. At 3 P.M. we came in sight of the peaks of Boetoe [sic], so should arrive at Ambon some time early tomorrow morning, if, as Hans says, "We don't get hit by a meteor or something".

Early this afternoon a very large school of porpoises, numbering several hundred came up to the ship. They accompanied {p. 15} us for about 10 minutes, churning up the water for a hundred yards or more around our starboard bow, then they left us still rolling and "porpoising" until all that could be seen of them was a white line of foam on the horizon before they finally disappeared. When there is nothing else to do we amuse ourselves lying on the bow looking for sea snakes. These curious creatures are not eels, but real snakes of a poisonous variety that live entirely in the sea. They are usually about three feet long and have a flattened tail. They swim on the surface like any water snake, their little heads darting from side to side as they go. Their most interesting feature is the surprising range in colors among them; yellow, brown, red and blue are most common but there are others as well, including spotted and striped individuals with several colors.

Yesterday, Dr. Van Leeuwen and le Roux saw a pure white one. All in all they offer a more pleasing variation to the eye than the D.T.'s. "What's the use of a man drinking down here, when you can see things like that sober?" says Hans.

[April 15, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 15th

This morning at about 8 o'clock we entered the beautiful harbour of Ambon. It is a splendid natural deep water land locked harbour and is the oldest port of the East Indies. Now, however, it has but little importance, though it is still the residence of the governor of the Moluccas. When we came in, the cruiser Java and two destroyers were in the harbour. We were greeted at the dock with a military band and were presented to the skipper of the "Java" and the government officials, who gave us the "key to the city". {p. 16}

Ambon itself is only a small village with a very cosmopolitan population. In the natives, for the first time the Melanesian blood is quite evident. Arabs and Chinese constitute most of the business men of the town. The streets are very narrow and the houses, including the hotels are of nipa palm. Earthquakes are very frequent here. Once in fifty years at fairly regular sequence they have a very severe quake which levels everything to the ground. They are expecting the big quake now anytime, as it is already two years overdue. Last night there was a fairly heavy quake here. As a result of the heavy quakes, none of the old 17th and 18th century structures are standing excepting the old fortress.

We moved off the Fomalhout, bag and baggage and are now staying with Hoffman and Jordan at the Hotel Esplanade. This afternoon I took in a football game, along with most of the rest of Ambon, between the sailors of Java and the army post here. During the day most of the cargo was unloaded from the Fomalhout onto the dock where the material for the first trip of the Albatross will be selected. Dick and Prince in response to a bet of 25 guilder cents, dived off the 2nd deck of the Fomalhout with their clothes on, much to the dismay of all spectators who have a wholesome fear of the sharks that infest these waters. Near the old Fort a section of beach is fenced off with a shark-proof bamboo paling, where all swimming is done.

[April 16, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 16th

Today the unloading of the Fomalhout was completed and Hans and Prince worked all day on the repairs to the damaged pontoons. {p. 17} They had to make two new struts as it was found that the ones damaged by the waterspout were broken beyond repair at the fittings. They will probably be able to complete the job tomorrow or the next day. Van Leeuwen, le Roux and I visited the governor's palace today and took a walk with the governor through the gardens. The building, like all in Ambon, is built of nipa palm with thatched roof, on account of earthquakes. It is a pleasure on the dock to watch the brilliant coloured fish playing about the piling in the crystal clear waters. Some of them are flashing jewels: brilliant blue, yellow, purple, black, red, and many combinations of colors in spots and stripes, and as many curious shapes as there are colors. Another pastime equally strenuous is to watch the natives in their dugout, outrigger canoes, fishing and playing about the surface of the bay. Canoes there are of all shapes and sizes, some so narrow a grown man cannot sit in them and some so tiny it hardly seems possible that they can support the paddler. The outriggers are made of the mid-rib of a species of palm, which is as light as cork. Many of the canoes are manned by small boys who play about and sing and have a good time generally, in contrast to the children in Java who are a solemn lot as a rule and play but little.

[April 17, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 17th

This is the rainy season in Ambon and there has been much more time that it is raining than not. It is a curious fact that although this is quite a small island, the wet and dry seasons are exactly the opposite on the north and south coasts. This is the wettest month of the year in Ambon; on the north coast {p. 18} it is the driest. This morning we were all given a convict to act as our personal servant, valet and bodyguard from now until the end of the expedition; as we need someone to carry our cigarette and light a match when it goes out. Mine is a Madoerese murderer who seems quite a fine fellow. He is an ex-policeman and is military to the nth degree. He snaps to attention every time I appear, camps on my door step when I am in the room and follows me like a shadow when I go out anywhere. I lost fully an hour and a half of my daily afternoon siesta today trying to think up something for him to do, but with no success. His sum total of labor for his first day on the job was to open the door for me twice when I returned to the room. However I intend to use him for improving my Malay after he unbends a little and gets the ramrod out of his spine. Stanley and the other 3 of our party are staying in the annex so Stan mustered his squad of four, marched them over and parked one outside each of the four room doors, awaiting the return of Prince, Hans and Dick. Jordan has devised a splendid occupation for his man. He supplied him with a box of matches. He watches Jordan like a hawk and when he reaches for a cigarette or the one he is smoking shows signs of going out, up jumps the valet with a lighted match and remedies the situation. As I am not smoking, this, alas, can't solve my problem.

In New Guinea, however, it will be another matter. The boys will cook, make camp and generally make themselves useful. They are good jungle men and there will be a thousand and one uses for them when we once start inland. {p. 19}

This evening there was a dance at the Eendracht Club. The few women present were in great demand and had a fine time with all the handsome officers from the fleet on the job. I left at 2 A.M. The Governor and the Captain of the Java were both present.

[April 18, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 18th

I got up at 9:30 this morning after my nearly all night session at the club to find my hopeful convict on the job but my brain has not yet devised an occupation for him. I thought he must be lonely spending all this time by himself, as my room is in a far corner of the court. Jordan and Hoffman have adjoining rooms on the opposite side where their two convicts sit together. I told my boy to go and join them, which he did with apparent reluctance and with a hurt look in his eye. This afternoon we went out to the "Panther", one of the destroyers visiting Ambon and looked over the ship. It has been raining all day and it has been difficult to get around very much. Le Roux has brought his phonograph over to the hotel so tonight we had an Edison concert with such optimistic pieces as "It aint gonna rain no more" and "Mr. Gallegher and Mr. Shean".

[April 19, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 19th

Today le Roux and van Leeuwen are not feeling well as there seems to be an epidemic of some sort at the Pasar Barang where they stay. I went this morning with van Leeuwen into the jungle east of the Pasar Barang and we watched the {p. 20} natives making sago. In the islands in the eastern part of the archipelago, sago is the staple food, taking the place of rice and maize, which furnishes food for Java, Sumatra, Borneo, etc. There were 2 Ambonese working on the sago. The sago palms grow in swampy ground. Just before the tree flowers the trunk is filled with starch, preparatory to the shooting up of the flower. Many of the palms are very large and tall. At this stage the tree is felled and the trunk cut into logs about 20 feet long. These logs are split in two by means of wooden wedges. The interior is then disclosed as a pinkish mass of starch and fiber. The worker then uses a peculiar sort of adze made of bamboo and rattan, similar in general appearance to the implement used for the same purpose in New Guinea. The blade is of bamboo and has a "hollow ground" effect. The sago gatherer sits astride the log and after clearing a space to the shell of the trunk in the center[,] works with his adze to each end in turn taking a stroke which shaves off a thin sector of the starchy substance which falls under the adze as a powdery pinkish substance somewhat resembling sawdust. When enough has accumulated it is put in a basket and is then washed out in water. One sago palm and a weeks work on it will feed an entire family for several months.

[April 20, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 20th

We got up this morning before breakfast and in company with the Governor and about 30 naval officers from the Java and the destroyers in the harbor, we sailed from the bay and {p. 21} along the coast of the island for about 3 hours to the kampong of Hoekerilla. We left at 6:30, so that when we arrived at the beautiful little cove on which the kampong is situated, it was about 9:30. A more beautiful setting could scarcely be imagined. The kampong itself is completely concealed in a luxuriant grove of cocoanut palms which back the crescent shaped white sand beach. The cove is bordered at each point of the crescent by rocky promontories, which shelter the deep blue waters of the cove. The land rises rather steeply from the cove, to high mountains on all sides. On the beach were half a dozen or so outrigger canoes - having one outrigger only as distinguished from those here which have two. Against the dark green of the palms we could see the crowds of natives waiting to receive us. The people here are small of stature and darker skinned then those of Java and the islands to the west. The Albatross cast anchor and we came ashore in our whaleboats. As we grounded on the sand, a number of natives came down to hold the boats and help us to land. Even from the beach no house of the kampong was visible though the nearest was not 50 yards away. As we stepped out of the whaleboats a native orchestra struck up a [V1: interlineated: tune; crossed out: time] of its own. The orchestra consisted of about 40 players. Of the instruments, two were drums made of large segments of bamboo with pigskin heads, the rest were all flutes made of bamboo. These flutes have five holes at one end, which are fingered to change the notes and one hole near the other end where the flute is blown. In diameter they varied from 1/2 inch to about 3 inches; the {p. 22} small ones of very shrill tones, the large ones with much deeper notes. The music is very striking and really beautiful. The melodies are sweet and tuneful and the combination of different tones most harmonious. It sounds like nothing else on earth unless it might be compared to the music of a pipe organ. As soon as we were on the beach, a dozen boys in the costume of warriors, carrying shields inlaid with mother of pearl and spears with long handles, came out of the trees onto the path leading to the kampong. They wore on their heads a circular headdress ornamented with tufts of bird of paradise feathers. These headdresses were more than a foot high. They confronted us and began a war dance representing a sham fight. The dance itself was a very savage affair and seems quite Melanesian in origin. They crouched down, leaped up and down, brandishing their weapons and so, leaping and pirouetting, facing us, but always retreating they led us to the [V1: interlineated: tune; crossed out: time] of the flute orchestra between arches of palm leaf set up for the occasion[,] to a cleared space before the house of the chief. Here the dance ended and the Governor was greeted by the chief, who was all dressed up like a Christmas tree in an ancient "Prince Albert" which he wore with obvious discomfort; and which in fact he soon discarded. After greetings had been exchanged, another dance was performed before the house of the chief. This time it was sixteen young women. For costume they wore batik sarongs and very tall headdresses made elaborately from mounted birds of paradise. From most of the headdresses depended a tiger claw on a silver chain. The dance was basically Hindu in style and the music also sounded similar to the native {p. 23} music of Java. The dancing is done primarily with the arms and hands accompanied by a slight swaying of the body and a peculiar progressive motion of the feet. The faces of the dancers are in perfect expressionless repose during the dance. Excepting for the bizarre headdresses, the dance would not look out of place in Java or Sumatra, although it is not the same by any means. When this dance was completed a third was begun. A number of dancers (about a dozen) appeared standing inside of and carrying a ship (presumably the Albatross) fashioned from palm leaves, with the superstructure, smokestack and all. She came steaming up the path towards the chief's house amidst a dozen or so large fish, swimming about her. The fish were most ingeniously formed of woven palm leaves, so fashioned that the diagonal weave simulated scales with remarkable fidelity, while the loose ends formed the fins and tails. The color contrast in the scales was obtained by using alternately the dark green outside surface of the leaves and the light green inside surface. All the while the ship was coming up the path, the dancers were singing. When the ship arrived at the space before the chief's house the crew began fishing. After several futile attempts one of the fish was harpooned, the dancer holding the line in his hand beneath the fish which covered his body. The fisherman would haul his victim almost to the ship, then the fish would take more line and run back several yards. After playing the fish for a few minutes he was finally landed; the boy who wore the fish mask slipping unobtrusively under the ship as the fish was hauled {p. 24} aboard. Three or four other fish were then caught and landed in the same manner. This being done, these fish were brought to market and sold at auction (to the visitors), the bid starting at a guilder and going in each case to five or six guilders. The comedian of the dance was an ink-fish, a useless sort of fish - no good for food, who was discarded by the fishermen in high disdain. At the conclusion of this act, a group of about twenty women gathered in front of us and began singing and dancing a free-for-all dance with no particular unison, each woman improvising her own motions. The music was furnished by a second orchestra, this one consisting of all stringed instruments - guitars and violins carved out of wood by themselves. This music in quite a different way was all weirdly beautiful and sounded quite similar to Hawaiian music. Like the "bamboo orchestra" this one had from 30 to 40 players. All of the men must be musicians, as practically all excepting a few old men, who were running affairs, were playing in the two orchestras.

The women sang as they danced, one would improvise a verse sung in solo and then the rest would join in the chorus. The air of this was most lively and "catchy" and would certainly "go over big" in America and Europe. Then the Dutch officers began one by one to join the dance, improvising in the same manner as the women and so the women, facing us, led, dancing and singing, all the way to the dance house - a palm leaf structure rather too small for the number of dancers. Here each Dutchman and myself as well took a couple of women on either arm {p. 25} and continued the dance in relays for half an hour. It was an interesting sight to see the white clad naval officer, some young ensigns, some bearded commanders, pirouetting like school children with these dusky maidens down the path to the dance place. This becoming too warm a pastime, after a while we all returned to the house of the chief and had refreshments consisting of Mangasteens [sic, = Mangosteens] and other fruits and a kind of sweet starchy cake made from sago. Also there was plenty of kloster beer and pait brought for the occasion from the "Albatross". Finally it was time to go. Again the procession of dancers started slowly down the path towards the beach, the bamboo orchestra leading the parade, the stringed orchestra following from the rear. The women would pick a man and surround him, composing a song about him and singing it as they did so. The older women (unfortunately) were the most aggressive at this pastime, many of them working themselves into a high state of excitement. The younger and prettier girls with coy reserve stood on the sidelines. Now and then an officer would dash out and capture one such and bring her struggling, blushing and protesting, but delighted nevertheless, into the procession. Once entered she would soon fall into the spirit of the dance.

On reaching the beach the dancers separated into groups, singing and dancing harder then ever as one by one a boatload of us left for the Albatross. I waited until the last trip of the whaleboat. As we pulled away from the beach, the strains of music from the orchestras, playing now together, {p. 26} grew fainter and fainter, until when we reached the Albatross we could no longer hear it, but when the ship hauled anchor and sailed away we could see them as far as the eye could follow still grouped on the beach at the foot of the palms, waving their farewells and the music still ringing in our ears from hearing it all day.

In the evening after we had returned, Stanley and I went to a dance aboard the Java where we had a particularly good time and cemented farther our friendship with the many Dutch Naval officers we have met here.

[April 21, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 21st

I visited Mr. Kieviet, Captain of the Fomalhout, at his house here today. He showed me the inner workings of the nutmeg and his wife gave me a basket of alligator pears to bring home. Made friends with Hazel, a little six year old English girl living with them who has forgotten most of her English.

This noon we placed a wreath on the grave of Lieut. Stroeve, who accompanied Doorman on the last expedition to the Rouffar [sic, = Rouffaer] and who was killed there, on the Waipogo river by the Papuans. The little ceremony was quite impressive. Dr. van Leeuwen gave a short talk and the First Officer of the "Java" replied for the Navy, (Stroeve being a naval lieutenant). Van Leeuwen, le Roux, Captain Hoffman, Lieut. Jordans, Stanley and myself were present, as well as the First Officer of the Java. This evening Dick, Hans, Stanley and I went aboard the {p. 27} submarine X9 and were shown over her from stem to stern. The Java and the destroyers sailed from Ambon this morning but subs remain until to-morrow.

[April 22, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 22nd

Today the Albatross came to dock and we loaded most of our luggage aboard. Although loaded to capacity, she can only bring the necessities for the establishing of Pioneer Camp on the Mamberamo. The Albatross is about the same size and type of ship as the Fomalhout, but a little smaller. She can carry as much cargo, but has not the cabin space of the Fomalhout. In the evening Dick, Stan, Hans, Prince and I went aboard the Albatross as guests of one of the officers of the Albatross and the 2nd officer of the Fomalhout. We had a Chinese supper that was extra fine, obtained from a Chinese ethnic place here. There are quite a number of Christians in Ambon, among the natives. They always wear black robes of a particularly ugly cut and about as uncomfortable a costume as it would be possible to devise for the tropics. The Dutch of the better sort discourage the Christianizing of the natives, as the religion does not fit their temperament and they immediately become useless members of society and stop all work when they become Christians. In their mental process they reason that the Dutch are Christians. Therefore when they accept Christianity they become "Blandas" (Dutchmen). Apparently the Dutch do not work - at any event they do not do the sort work of which the natives are capable. Hence their conclusion (immediately acted upon) that they should do no work. {p. 28} The Mohammedans here are still in the majority, however, and keep the ball rolling in Ambon. Those who have been to Mecca can be distinguished by their white Fez or turban.

Each evening before the fishing boats go out, a great din is heard down by the waterfront, beating of cans, drums, etc. Last night as we were sitting on the bridge of the Albatross the usual racket started. The mate volunteered the information that they were fishermen calling for a wind. (It is worthy to note that two minutes after the noise ceased a fresh breeze sprang up!)

Geologists think the bay of Ambon is the huge crater of an extinct volcano as it is very deep - deeper in feet then the water outside. The bay is too deep for the size of the island and the pressure of the water causes the earthquakes here. The natives think the island of Ambon is in the form of a toadstool, supported by a narrow stem. This idea is strengthened by the steep manner in which the coast shelves off into the sea. The earthquakes are caused by the toadstool occasionally wobbling on its stem.

[April 23, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 23

This morning we had a conference with the Governor and arranged plans for communication with Manokweri [sic, = Manokwari] and the Mamberamo. Two months after the Albatross leaves Pioneer Camp she is scheduled to return. We also made arrangements for the sending and receiving of mail, freight and express which may come to Ambon. I went out in the sago swamp this afternoon and {p. 29} watched a couple of natives fell a sago palm, split it with wooden wedges and start to work on it. I took a few pictures. The Albatross is all loaded and we could have sailed this morning but this is Friday and the old superstition holds good with our skipper. This evening we sat on the "Esplanade" veranda and watched chic-chacs [sic, = cicak (plural, Malay) "geckos"] hunting. These little creatures are a never failing source of interest. They are the shape of lizards, from 1 to 7 inches long of a light translucent tan color with large jet black eyes. They are in every house and come out in the evening when the lights are lit, running with equal impartiality on the walls and the ceiling. They select a likely looking territory and defend it against trespassors [sic]. They are quick as lightning when they want to be, but can stalk a fly or a bug with the patience of Job. They wait until they are in range, then a flash and the fly is gone. They get themselves into all sorts of bizarre positions and freeze there is an insect is moving in the vicinity. They will tackle any insect no matter how big and usually get him. They are quite harmless and are often tamed and taken into the mosquito net bed covers to keep them clear of mosquitoes at night. They have a chirping call which gives them their name. They are common in all the East Indian Islands.

[April 24, 1926 : Ambon ]

April 24th

———————
"At 3 P.M. we cast off..."
———————

This morning we packed up our luggage and at 2 P.M. boarded the "Albatross". So did all of our convicts and Dyaks and soldiers, to say nothing of our two cows and a number of wives of our Malay sailors. If the Fomalhout was loaded to the {p. 30} gunwhales [sic], the Albatross is loaded to the masthead. Every inch of available deck space is crowded and the convicts and Dyaks have not room enough to lie on the decks to sleep but must sleep on drums, packing cases and in the motor boat and life boats. We are loaded with highly inflammable "atap" and high test gasoline to say nothing of dynamite. As there are no lifeboats available now, we can only hope no fire starts. Smoking has been prohibited and fire guards posted in all parts of the ship. If the crowd of humanity on board increases the likelihood of fire, it also increases the likelihood of its speedy discovery. Our sides are bulging with the 10 big Dyak canoes lashed on the rail, as well as huge bundles of bamboo poles for erecting the storerooms and barracks at Pioneer Camp. At 3 P.M. we cast off and before a motley assemblage of European Government officials and curious natives, we left the dock of Ambon. Most of our 10 days in Ambon were rather rainy and gloomy but today has been bright sunshine all day. It is a most curious fact that in the little island of Ambon, when it is the wet season in the south, it is dry season on the North only ten or fifteen miles distant; vice versa also holds true. During the afternoon we have sailed along the rugged coast of Ambon and about sunset could see Ceram to the North, Boeroe to the west, and numbers of smaller islands. Tonight we pass through the straits between Boeroe and Ceram. Anji Ipoei has promised le Roux and I each one of his ear ornaments which are most beautifully and intricately carved. We have promised him a rifle when we return. He explained the carvings on the {p. 31} canoes which represent human elbows and leeches. One of the Dyaks who injured his foot while assisting in loading the ship was carried aboard pick-a-back by one of his mates. The strait which we are now passing through was passed through by the Victoria, the last remaining ship of Magellan's fleet on the way to Spain. Among the spectators on the Deck at Ambon as we pulled out, was Hans. He was to leave on the Fomalhout carrying the plane, 3 hours after us. The Fomalhout is going to Ternate and several other ports before meeting the Albatross at Soeroe on the Island of Japen, on her return from her initial trip up the Mamberamo. Our rendezvous at Soeroe is fixed for May 7th. Hans will have quite a cruise in the meanwhile. As soon as we had left the bay of Ambon we were soon all in pajamas and a number of clipped heads were exposed as hats were removed. Ambon is our last touch of civilization, although we have yet to visit Manoekwari [sic], so all formalities have been discarded. Stanley for coolness sake operated his typewriter on the after[-]deck. As he wields a dextrous [sic] set of digits he was soon the center of an admiring group of Malays. Also noticed a group of Dyaks in intense study of a package of wood and [V1: "and" is crossed out] veneer or ply[-]wood which we have for repairing pontoons. They were obviously mystified as to how it could have been made.

[April 25, 1926 ]

April 25

At noon today as we approached the native kampong of Waigama on the Island of Misool; the Albatross gave several warning blasts of her whistle followed by a prolonged wail of her siren which caused the Dyaks a lot of uneasiness. The Kampong {p. 32} which is a small one, it is situated prettily in a grove of cocoanut palms back of a flat beach. The houses are of palm thatch, rectangular in shape with steep gabled roofs. The temple which is in the middle is a pyramidal structure with a sort of cupola on top, which latter appeared to be made of corrugated iron. Running out into the water from the beach is a short pier on piles. Through the glasses it could be noticed that only a few people were visible. Some appeared to be quite nude, others were wearing clothes of European cloth. As we stopped our engines about 1/4 mile off shore, a boat came out, rowed by six paddlers and carrying in the stern sheets the one "European" of the island. He obviously had more native blood than European blood however. The three paddlers in the front of the boat were quite Papuan as to the features and hair but their skins were a reddish brown rather than black. They are visited by a boat only about once in a year. On the last visit which was more than six months ago, it was reported that there was a great deal of sickness. The purpose of our stop was to leave two large cases of medicine which were brought back in the rowboat.

We were not stopped more than 15 minutes when we were again on our way. The island itself is rugged and mountainous but apparently not very high. The natives seem basically of Papuan blood but apparently mixed with Malay. We sailed through a large number of islets during the afternoon, and in the evening we passed between the islands of Batanta and {p. 33} Selawat. Sagewin, the strait between, is quite narrow and we were several hours in passing through. Although the land was close at hand on either side, it was too dark to make out more than that each was mountainous rising land steep from the water's edge. As these waters are rarely navigated and the charts none too complete or accurate, the Captain has been on the bridge all day.

[April 26, 1926 : Manokwari ]

April 26

This morning I got up about 7:30 and found we were about a mile offshore from the "Vogelkop" or Birds Head - the western portion of New Guinea. This first view of New Guinea showed a series of jungle clad mountain ranges rising from the water's {*} edge and reaching an elevation of 10,000 feet in the back ranges. It was raining and streaks and threads of mist partially cloaked the mountains here and there. For the first time we were out of the sheltered seas of the archipelago and the free swell of the Pacific from the North had the Albatross rolling in such a manner that several members were missing from the table at lunch time. The coast line proper is either low rocky cliffs with jungle growing down to the water's edge or narrow strips of sand beach. At one place there was a beautiful water-fall {*} which must have been 1500 feet in height, falling like a strip of lace from the rugged range beside us. In the middle of the afternoon we saw native houses on the shore, some of them built on stilts; and close inshore, canoes were darting up and down apparently watching us. The coast line in places {p. 34} is spectacular with a booming surf crashing against the rocks and raising at such points a mist that rises like a fog over the jungle clad shore line. With the glasses we could distinguish white cockatoos and other birds in the trees. As we rounded the point entering the island sheltered bay on which Manokwari is situated, we could see Papuans crouched on the beach, jet black, with great mops of fuzzy hair on their heads watching us stoically as we steamed past. Ahead of us we could see a fleet of outrigger canoes fishing. At 6 P.M. we warped into the little dock at Manokwari. The pier is short and the ship can come quite close to shore. Manokwari itself is a miscellaneous collection of nipa houses and some of corrugated iron. There are two Europeans here, including a Government magistrate. The shops are all run by Chinese. We got off the boat as soon as she docked and walked ashore in the darkness and the rain. There seemed only one way to go - up the single little street of Chinese and Malay shops. There is only a pathway between and for once the ubiquitous Ford was absent. There is not a motor vehicle in all of New Guinea. We sat on the porch of a Chinese shop and chatted in Malay with the hospitable proprietor who brought out seats for us. We were soon the center of a curious ring of Papuans - black fuzzy haired fellows wearing for the most part only the scantiest of loin cloths. Some of then had shell bracelets on their arms and many were tattooed with totemic devices on their chest. This is the most civilized place in New Guinea, but some of the natives look a long way from being tamed. Some of them followed {p. 35} us down the path. If we turned and looked at them they immediately turned and fled, only to stop and follow again when we continued on our way. This was repeated half a dozen times between the shop and the pier. As it continued to rain steadily we soon returned to the ship and so ended the day on which we first set foot on the great island which we hope to explore.

[April 27, 1926 : Manokwari ]

April 27th

Early this morning the sun was shinning brightly and the clear waters of the green rimmed harbour were a beautiful sight. The mountains surrounding the harbour are very high, one peak rises to 10,000 feet directly from the water with no intervening ranges. As at Ambon, every piling supporting the pier was a veritable aquarium of butterfly colored fish, coral and shellfish. I took a walk ashore to appraise the town by daylight. There is little to the town itself beyond what we saw last night. The Chinese shops are fairly well stocked with calico print goods, tinned foods, knives and other trade goods. I saw some very nice specimens of native handwork - beaded aprons, shell and bone bracelets, in a couple of the shops. Later in the morning Stan and I went to call on a German, Mr. G. F. Schrieber, who has been in New Guinea for 25 years. He has a splendid collection of ceremonial shields and feather pictures from the upper Sepik River. The shields are fringed with cassowary feathers and are inlaid in clay with human skulls, boar's tusks and cowrie shells. It cost him the lives of 10 {p. 36} of his Papuan boys to get them as they are sacred objects representing ghosts from the men's houses of the village they attacked. He is also going to make an effort to obtain a couple of smoked dried Papuans from the Arfak mountains. The natives here are of two types - the rather tall, mop haired fellows of the coast and the small wooly haired people from the mountains. These latter are of very short stature and to me, look like the so called pygmies of central New Guinea. Many of both types here have their hair bleached red by lime. I saw one albino boy of about 12 years of age. His hair and skin were quite white. The small people wear a net bag over their shoulders in which they carry their worldly possessions. Most of the natives are tattooed, especially the women, who are tattooed pretty well all over their bodies. The designs for the most part are quite simple in execution and not nearly so elaborate nor as artistically done as the tattooing on our Dyaks for example. Schrieber introduced us to his woman who is a very pretty, half Papuan from an island east of here. He paid 300 guilders for her. They have a baby 8 months of age who is quite white. The baby has just had his ears pierced and is a little fretful from the effects. She has her own nurse maid, a woman from her own tribe, sent by her family. Schrieber had many interesting stories of his sojourn in New Guinea and many good sidelights on the character of the natives. While we were there, Prince and the local Dutch magistrate, Engels appeared and a bottle of Scotch disappeared. {p. 37}

In the afternoon Dick, Prince and I took a climb into the bush back of town but succeeded only in getting wet. We had hoped to get a birds eye view of the town and harbour, but the jungle shuts off the view. At a little before six we sailed.

[April 28, 1926 : Soeroei (Soeroe), Japen ]

April 28th

During the night we sailed across Geelvink Bay, and this morning skirted the coast of Japen, until about 10 A.M. We pulled into the sheltered cove of Soeroe and cast anchor. Japen has a population purely Papuan and is quite unknown territory for the ethnologist. The island like all we have seen since Ambon, is rugged and mountainous with a broken sea coast indented with numerous little bays and inlets, often sheltered with outlying islets. Before we reached Soeroe, we could see two good sized native villages on the shore, the houses built on piles over the water. Soeroe is the site of a mission and the residence of a Dutch magistrate. Half a dozen small houses of mixed corrugated iron and nipa palm structures constitute the metropolis. These are mainly occupied by Ambonese, although the inevitable Chinese shop keeper has his little stock in one. It is the saying in the East, that wherever there are two Europeans there is a Chinese shop. Thus far we have found it to be true. We left the ship in our row boat and landed on a gently shelving gray gravel beach which gives way to a fertile looking little valley in which the houses of Soeroe are situated. About a mile to the north is the native settlement - all houses {p. 38} built on piles over the water. Le Roux, Dick, Prince, Stan and I walked down the beach a half mile or so where we found a Papuan settlement with natives wild enough, naked enough and dirty enough to suit anyone. All of the women and children and most of the men fled at our approach, but a few hardier men remained behind and after the gift of a little tobacco we took several photographs of them. Their houses were very tiny affairs of very simple construction, rectangular in shape with roof sloping in one direction like a lean-to and built on piles about six feet off the ground. A ladder made from a pole with notches cut into it served as a means of entrance to the house. They are quite without window openings. The houses of this settlement must have been some sort of more or less temporary camp as the regular village houses to the north of Soeroe were much larger and generally more elaborate. Their canoes are both single and double outrigger with elevated prow and stern.

———————
"Their canoes are both single and double outrigger with elevated prow and stern."
———————

The prows are carved with conventional human figures and painted with a yellow and brown paint in rather elaborate geometric patterns. From the elevated portion of the stern four or five large cowrie shells were usually hanging. We saw one canoe complete, paddle and all, for a very small child. It was a most tiny affair being no more then six or seven feet long, narrow in proportion and with a single outrigger. Some of the natives have mop heads, others have their hair short. They wear an ornament consisting of a wooden comb, the long "handle" end of which is decorated with feathers. They also wear plaited bracelets on their arms, of yellow and red straw, and ear ornaments {p. 39} of shells and beads. Many of them have their faces and bodies tattooed. They smoke large cigarettes made with a bark wrapping. Later le Roux and I visited the missionary and made arrangements with him to collect for us until we return from the Mamberamo. We sailed at about 2 P.M. and continued to skirt the south coast of Japen. Just below Soeroe is a large irregular bay with what appears to be a very large native village at the head of it. This bay is sheltered by a chain of islands which stretch across a good part of its mouth. During the rest of the afternoon, as we proceeded, the mountains back of the Waropen Coast of New Guinea could be seen off our starboard beam in the far distance. Partially obscured by mists and hanging clouds they hold a fascination for us, as it is in the regions back of them that we are to explore if our luck holds good. At sunset we cast anchor in the lee of a small island in the straits separating Japen from New Guinea. Perfectly smooth seas, air just cool enough to be refreshing and a brilliant full moon combined to make a perfect tropic night, the kind that are popularly supposed to be the normal thing, but which in reality are quite rare. At midnight we hoisted our anchor and were again on our way, the Captain having done this so as to reach the approach to the river at daylight.

[April 29, 1926 : Mamberamo River ]

April 29th [See Film Selection #5]

Early this morning we found ourselves in muddy seas with considerable driftwood floating about, the detritus of a great river. At about 8 o'clock we could distinguish the entrance {p. 40} to the [V1: interlineated: Mamberamo] river in the low jungle clad coast line. At 9 o'clock we reached Cape D'Urville and entered the mouth of the river. The water is high with considerable vegetation floating down and the banks on both sides appear to be inundated. Although the coast is low at the mouth of the river, it is not a mangrove coast, jungle hardwood trees and beautiful feathery cassowary trees growing to the edge of the sea; great reefs of skeleton logs lodged on the points on either side [of] the mouth bear evidence of the industry of the river. We were quite interested in observing the river with an eye to its use as a landing place for the plane. It is plenty large and the current is not too swift. The only problem in the lower river is to miss the driftwood. We continued up the river until dark, having covered a distance of 45 miles. Curiously enough the river seems to grow larger the farther south we progress. Late in the afternoon we had our first glimpse of the Van Rees mountains, hazy and blue in the distance before us. We were interested in watching the bird life along the river, cockatoos, birds of paradise, white herons, and a kind of small gull were most prevalent.

———————
"...up the river could be seen deserted shelters at the water's edge, built by Papuans."
———————

More abundant than any bird were the flying foxes which could be seen hanging singly or as in 3 or 4 cases, by thousands in a single group of trees. These curious creatures are a sort of giant bat and are descriptively named. They make one think of a flock of pterydactyls [sic, = pterodactyls] in flight. Tonight is another perfect night, even as last night. The surface of the river is smooth as a mirror and a brilliant moon makes a path of silver across it. Here and there as we proceeded {p. 41} up the river could be seen deserted shelters at the water's edge, built by Papuans. Only one such place was inhabited, a group of three houses. When our ship appeared, a half dozen men ran out [of] each one holding something white in the palm of his hand and displaying it to us. Someone on the ship threw an empty cigar box overboard and two of them immediately put out from the house in a canoe. They paddled from a standing position, leaning well forward. The natives at Manokwari and at Japen paddled their canoes from a squatting position.

[April 30, 1926 : Mamberamo River ]

April 30th

[V2: drawing of a house]

This morning at daylight we hoisted anchor and continued on our way. We passed around several big bends in the river and had to stop once and send the motor boat out to explore the channel. We continued on our way until shortly after noon, when we entered the mountains. These mountains thus far have been rather low. At 3 P.M. we came to some sunken rocks in the river and sent the motor boat out for the rest of the afternoon to take soundings and to mark the rocks. We went no farther today and will lie at anchor here until daylight. There is a small island just ahead of us called Scholten Island. The river is very high. It is 20 feet over the top of the banks and the banks on both sides are inundated. During the day we passed about a dozen native villages. A few of them appeared to have been recently abandoned on account of the flood water, others when we first sighted them had smoke rising from them, but immediately when they sighted our ship {p. 42} the fires were evidently extinguished, and all the occupants vanished, leaving their house furnishings behind, however. Three or four of the villages did not desert their houses and ran to the water's edge to watch us as we passed. They wore broad bands of cowrie shells across their foreheads, long pointed bone or wooden pegs through the septum of the nose, bracelets and anklets. The men were nude, or wore a small penis cover, the women wore what appeared to be a bunch of grass drawn between the thighs and fastened to a cord about the waist. One woman had on a broad necklace of blue beads. The men carried long bows with even longer arrows. The houses were all quite small and flimsily built. They consisted of a rough platform of tree branches supported on small pilings and covered by a simple roof of palm leaves (laid over one another, not woven) in the form of an inverted V. At one end of the platform was a sort of table of twigs. Shields, baskets, sago pounders, etc, were scattered about the floors of the platforms. In many cases a small rectangular structure rather tightly built of sections of bark from sago logs was built near the dwelling house. I was unable to determine the purpose of these little structures.

[May 1, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 1st

We started early this morning and continued upstream safely navigating the rocks around Scholten Island. At 9 o'clock this morning we arrived opposite the old Pioneer camp. It is of course, now all covered with jungle and instead of the 40 foot {p. 43} bank which is normally in front of it, the whole site is now flooded with water in many places and the entire river edge is flush with the river surface. As soon as we arrived, I went in the motor boat with Dr. Hoffman, Mr. le Roux., Lieut. Jordan and six native soldiers. We went up the Otken River by the side of the old camp site and landed on the higher land across the stream from Pioneer Camp. With the soldiers cutting the way with their sabers we made a circle of about a mile in this area, but found it to consist of a couple of knife-edged ridges with low swampy ground between and quite unsuited for a camp site. We then went up the river about a mile to Havik {*} Island but found the island to be inundated. Returning along the west bank of the Mamberamo we found a small tributary stream about half way between Havik {*} Island and Pioneer Camp. We entered this stream in the motor boat and found the south side between the creek and the Mamberamo to be about three or four feet above the water, level, firm and dry. We also saw many signs of wild hogs and cassowary tracks in this vicinity. Leaving here, we again crossed the river and explored the land north of old Pioneer Camp, finding it alternately high and low near the river and a few hundred yards back, rising to a rather high ridge. We then explored the site of old Pioneer Camp. There were here and there low hummocks that were dry and in between swampy sump holes. Relics of the old camp in the shape of ruined drainage ditches, empty bottles and a few rusty tins, could be seen. But one small house was standing {p. 44} completely buried beneath creepers and climbing vines and only discovered by a soldier prying between the vines with his saber. The old camp was obviously not very habitable under present conditions. The current too, is much swifter on the east bank, and it is very difficult to land with boats there. All things considered, we chose the new site by the small creek on the west bank and named it Albatross camp. This being decided upon, at two o'clock this afternoon all of the Dyaks[,] Malays and soldiers were sent ashore and began the work of clearing the jungle from the new camp site. The current of the river is very swift and it is all the motor boat can do to cross, it being necessary to get close to the shore and then work upstream close inshore. The Dyaks and convicts thoroughly enjoy the work of clearing and it was a spirited sight to watch them at work. The Dyaks fell the largest trees with their kampilans {*} or sword-like knives. Two men on a tree on opposite sides make short work of the toughest forest giant. The trees are all bound together by parasite growth, vines and interlacing boughs. A dozen or more trees will be cut through but unable to fall. Finally the key tree, usually some particularly large one, will be cut through. A cracking sound is heard, then cries of Awas! Awas! (look out!) All of the choppers in the vicinity rush scrambling back; the big tree leans over, and then with a rending crash, gathering impetus, falls, carrying with a whole half acre of trees in a thundering roar to the accompaniment of triumphant shouts from the Dyaks and Malays. {p. 45} The men have all observed Dr. Van Leeuwen collect insects and he now has a whole camp full of volunteer assistants as every Dyak and Malay on seeing an interesting looking bug, immediately captures him and brings him to Van Leeuwen. Thus far no mosquitoes have put in their appearance at the embryo camp, but large numbers of very efficient wasps, disturbed by the clearing, make their presence felt at all too frequent intervals. At sunset work was discontinued and the workmen, not without difficulty brought back to the Albatross [V1: interlineated: ","] straining like a dog at leash on her two anchors midstream.

[May 2, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 2nd

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"This morning we began the work of unloading the Albatross..."
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This morning we began the work of unloading the Albatross and continued the clearing of the camp site. Leveling was started for our large storage house and the soldiers built a temporary barracks. The soldiers, convicts and Dyaks brought all of their equipment ashore and will stay on shore from now on. Le Roux is busy making a map of the camp site and Van Leeuwen is already collecting. We have been very fortunate thus far in regard to weather. There has been no rain to speak of since we entered the river. On the other hand, the flooded condition of the river makes our work very difficult and will cause delay in starting the canoe transport upstream. It would be impossible to pass through the rapids with the river in its present condition. A lot of interesting insects and snakes were brought to light during the work of clearing. One was a snake with apparently a head at each end. {p. 46} One is not a head, however. Several large insects four or five inches long mimicked green leaves or pieces of rotten bark. The mimicry was perfect even to fungus spots on the leaves. One python of a sort peculiar to New Guinea was found. He was extremely thick and heavy in proportion to his length. The health of the expedition thus far has been quite good. Dick has dengue fever but it will likely be over in a few days. One of our Dyaks has pneumonia, which is the only case of serious illness we have. The river is beginning to drop. Today and yesterday it has lowered about a foot but still has thirty feet to drop before it will be safe to send a canoe transport upstream. The ingenuity of the Dyaks is more and more apparent as they are seen at work in their element. They made tables today using the big slabs cut from the bolsters at the butt of "ficus" trees. By evening our camp was beginning to take form. We have two landing places one in back of the camp on the small creek, the other in front on the main river. Part of our main storage house has been built and temporary shelters for the soldiers, Dyaks and convicts have been erected and are being used tonight. The six mile an hour current make unloading a difficult task.

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"...temporary shelters for the soldiers, Dyaks and convicts have been erected..."
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[May 3, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 3rd

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"Work continued making camp."
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Work continued making camp. The clearing was extended and already the place is taking form. The hospital tent was put up today and further progress made on the big {p. 47} "Chinese barracks" for storing the food. Work was also begun on the radio installation. Two tall trees are being left standing to serve as aerial towers. It is quite a sight to watch the Dyaks climb. They will jump from a tree trunk to a swinging vine a hundred feet from the ground and are as agile as monkeys in this high work. They have been lashing an improvised ladder of cross pieces to the tree for the sailors to use when they put up the aerial. Our convicts are in their element now getting our personal camp installed. Whether it is affection, or a desire to keep out of the heavy working crew unloading the supplies, is hard to tell - probably the latter is the case. In any event they are most anxious to please and finally are able to be put to some real use. They are very handy at building little knic-knacs [sic] about camp - tables, benches and so forth. With 5 men doing nothing but attending to it, our shelter is already looking quite shipshape.

[May 4, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 4th

Today the unloading of the Albatross was completed. No incidents of particular note. The clearing and camp making continues, but naturally there is a lot of confusion yet since most of our man power has been occupied in getting the ship's load on shore. The water in the river is falling very slowly. There is scarcely a perceptible change since our arrival. Our native motor boat engineer knows about as little as possible about a motor with the ability to keep it running. Instead of one man, three are needed to run the motor boat: one at the {p. 48} wheel, one at the throttle and one on the bow to handle the rope in landing. None of our Malays at any rate are capable of doing more then one detail on a job at once. It rained a little today, but on the whole the weather thus far has been quite pleasant and cool and fairly rainless, when it is considered that about 110 inches of rain fall here during the dry season alone.

[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.

[May 6, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 6th

Early this morning Dick and I went ashore in the motor boat, gathered a few belongings and came back on board. {p. 49} At 8 A.M. the Albatross turned around and headed down river for Soeroe; we made the trip down in one day, whereas it required 2-1/2 days to make the trip upstream. It was noticeable that sago palms were absent in all the region where the river went through the mountains, but as soon as we reached the coastal plain, they became abundant. We also saw a cocoanut grove at the mouth of a small stream before we had left the mountains but no signs of habitation around them. We saw more Papuans, or probably some of the same we saw coming upstream. One group saw us in time to send out a canoe with 3 men that came almost alongside by the time we were abreast the village. The wake of our ship as we passed almost swamped them and as the middle paddler lost his balance and fell into the bottom of the canoe, all 3 laughed heartily. At 4 P.M. we entered the ocean and headed for Soeroe where we are due for our rendezvous tomorrow. Dick and I, being the only passengers now, eat in state with the Captain. As we left the river I noticed again the abundance of cassowary trees which brought to mind that I did not see another at any point on the river than right on the coast. The most conspicuous piece of vegetation on the Mamberamo is a beautiful climbing vine with large clusters of crimson blossoms. There are others with white blossoms, yellow blossoms and blue blossoms, but the first is by far the most striking. The variety of trees which comprise the jungle growth is amazing. You can scarcely locate 2 trees of the same species in one sweep of the eyes. About 12 or 15 kilometers up the river are large open spaces, grown {p. 50} over with grasses - principally a saw grass with great white plumes like pampas grass, with here and there a sago palm rearing its head.

[May 7, 1926 : Soeroei (Soeroe), Japen ]

May 7th

This morning at daylight we pulled into the cove at Soeroe to find that the Van Noort and the Fomalhout had preceded us by less than half an hour. With three ships in the cove, Soeroe experienced the busiest day in her history. The unloading of the Van Noort was completed and that of the Fomalhout started, all of the goods being landed on shore where they will be transferred to the Albatross. As there are about 180 tons, the Albatross will not be able to bring it all in one trip. Capt. Posthumous came on the Van Noort and with him the remainder of the personnel of the expedition. Hans came on the Fomalhout after a most interesting cruise up several of the rivers on the Waropen coast of New Guinea and several of the small islands north of here. This afternoon Hans and I found a trail in the jungle and followed it for several miles until it came out on a beach farther up the island. We encountered a number of natives on the way, black mop-headed fellows, naked, carrying bows and arrows. One particularly evil looking fellow fell in behind us as we walked and followed us all the way to the beach. As he was carrying his bow and arrows, we would have preferred him to walk in front if he felt he must accompany us. The women here have astonishingly large mops of frizzy hair, some of them being red with lime. Most of the women wear a sort of cloth sarong about the loins but do not cover the {p. 51} breasts. The men wear a small breach cloth or a small apron about six inches square. Many of the natives were carrying lizard skins. These lizards are quite large - about 3 feet long and the trade in these skins appears to be the principal industry of the island. We saw on the beach a particularly fine canoe with very elaborate bow ornaments of feathers and carved wood. We were told it had just come across from the Waropen coast of New Guinea. The Papuans here are very fond of chewing tobacco. They carry an enormous quid in the mouth. It projects between the lips in a most unsightly manner and appears often to be stuffed between the lower lip and lower teeth. A good many of the men have fairly luxuriant beards. On the whole they are of rather small stature and of slight build. The women when young are fairly good looking but soon become veritable hags. They appear to bathe quite frequently but in spite of this are usually decidedly unclean.

This morning Dick and I took some movie pictures of a big canoe landing. The occupants particularly the younger ones, were quite terrified and burst into loud wailing. Each individual when going anywhere carries his personal belongings in a small net slung over his shoulder. The women are quite as dextrous [sic] in handling the canoes as the men, although we noticed that in a canoe "manned" by women, the stroke paddle was invariably handled by a man. When meeting a group on the trail, the women invariably carried all the load, the man or men walking alongside quite unburdened. It is interesting to note (probably due to the mission influence) quite a number of {p. 52} the men wear a regular American style straw hat, but no other garment of any sort. There are a number of Government officials and residents aboard the Van Noord and the Fomalhout - all dressed immaculately in freshly starched whites and canes. Dick and I, each with 2 weeks growth of beard and grease spotted khaki with no collars or ties, look like a choice pair of tramps. We didn't figure on encountering society here. While Hans and I were making our cross country hike today, we saw a very large tree and stopped to measure it roughly. It was 25 feet in diameter at the base and we estimated 12 feet in diameter 30 feet above the ground.

[May 8, 1926 : Soeroei (Soeroe), Japen ]

May 8th

This morning I went ashore with the resident from Ternate and his secretary. We walked up the valley about a mile and a half above Seroei. There is a plot of cotton of a peculiar sort. It looks quite similar to our cotton but grows on small trees instead of bushes. Furthermore, it is not a perennial plant[,] but one tree grows and bears for years. We encountered a number of natives and saw some carrying a small bow with peculiar small arrows made from the midrib of the leaf of the sago palm. At the small end a small triangle of the leaf was left to act as a guide, the rest of the leaf was stripped off. We had a boy demonstrate and it was astonishing the distance the little arrows would go and the force with which they left the bow. Shooting upwards they would pass from sight. The Magistrate here is experimenting with the {p. 53} natives living in neat houses with yards and gardens of their own. On the whole they appear fairly clean and healthy but there are many with sores, and skin afflictions. Dick and I transferred our luggage at noon to the Fomalhout. In addition to Hans, we have as fellow passengers, the resident from Ternate and two assistants and a Catholic missionary, Pastoor Meyer, who has worked in Dutch New Guinea and vicinity for twenty years. He knows a great deal about the natives. After lunch Dick and Hans and I went ashore and bought a tea kettle, some fish hooks and line and a few trade goods - knives, tobacco, etc., in case of an emergency landing on the river. We will have with us a Springfield rifle in addition to our side arms. If no objections are offered by the Governor at Ambon we will lower the plane in the mouth of the Mamberamo tomorrow and make the first flight up the river. The radio at Pioneer Camp is evidently not yet working so there will be no radio communication with the Fomalhout when we take off. It was originally intended that the Fomalhout should wait 3 or 4 days at Seroei until the Albatross was loaded and then accompany us to the Mamberamo at the same time, the Albatross to follow behind. While this is a "safe and sane" plan it did not seem to us that it justified the big expense of keeping a ship like the Fomalhout for 4 days. It is our intention if we fly tomorrow not to stop at Albatross camp, but to continue above the rapids as far as conditions make it practicable and then return to camp. It will be all right if we don't have a forced landing above the camp. We sent our parachutes back to {p. 54} America on the Van Noort as we need the space and weight for other things. They were a big expense and it was a mistake to bring them. At 3 P.M. today the Fomalhout left Seroei and headed for the mouth of the Mamberamo. All evening we have skirted the coast of Japen and can see the camp fires of the natives burning along the shore. These fires are extinguished as our ship draws abreast. Tomorrow morning we are scheduled at the river's mouth.

[May 9, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Airplane Flights ; Mamberamo River ]

May 9th

This morning at a little after nine o'clock the Fomalhout entered the mouth of the Mamberamo. Here the plane was lowered over the side with the boom. As soon as she was about a foot above the water the Fomalhout dropped anchor and her stern with the plane fastened to it, swung around down stream. As it is a 6 mile an hour current we did not know how it would act on the plane. After the plane was in the water, we filled her with gas and oil for a long trip, put in an emergency food supply of rice, tinned meat, etc., a large box of quinine pills, a Springfield rifle and side arms for each of us. Then Dick, Hans and I put on our flying togs and boarded the plane. Hans climbed into the pilot's seat and Dick and I each climbed out on front of a pontoon with a knife. The Ern was straining at the leash with the current pulling on her. At a signal we both cut the rope fastened to each pontoon at the same instant so she would not swing into the Fomalhout and the current then carried her rapidly away from the Fomalhout. Dick and I then got on the lower wing and worked on the crank starter. {p. 55} It did not start at once and we were worried for fear the current would dash us into the trees along the shore. Meanwhile we worked up a sweat on the crank and were rapidly drifting towards the sea. Finally, the first bark the motor gave, she started, and Dick and I climbed into the front seat. Hans ran around in circles a few times to warm up the motor and to see how the plane handled in the stream. Finally, we headed around toward the sea and Hans gave her the gun. We took off, with 120 gallons of gas and a full load of oil. We rose and circled over the Fomalhout far below us on the river, where we could see them waving to us. The air near the coast was very rough and the plane jerked around like a small boat on a stormy sea. We then turned up the river and for the first time in history a plane headed into Netherlands New Guinea. Below us the great coast[al] plain extended, level as a floor, jungle clad, as far as the eye could reach. Here and there old river courses could be seen. Otherwise, there was little to break up the monotony of the level plain. Far to the East a large river could be seen. Dim in the distance, ahead of us to the south, could be seen the Van Rees mountains stretching from east to west. About half way to the mountains on the east side of the river is a large lake plain, the "Romebebi [sic, = Rombebai] Meer"; it is curiously separated from the river by a narrow strip of jungle not more than thirty yards wide and extending for a mile and a half. One narrow channel connects the lake with the river. From the eastern end of the lake a low series of hills arise[s]. On the west side of the river opposite the lake is a large area of very swampy {p. 56} land. Rising from this, a single low narrow ridge extends in a western direction as far as the eye can see. The Mamberamo meanders through this low plain in a series of loops and cut-offs with here and there an old section of the river bed visible in the jungle. Past here the mountains began, low ranges running east and west with almost geometric parallel precision. The ridges gradually become higher as we progress farther south. Here and there along the river below us we could see the little houses of the Papuans along the river banks. Who can tell what thoughts they had, as our 400 H.P. Liberty roared above them? After 45 minutes of flying with [an] average altitude of between 2000 and 3000 feet[,] we sighted Scholten Island and then old Pioneer Camp, with Albatross Camp across the way. We were able to save much distance by cutting across the necks of the bends in the river. As we passed over Albatross camp we saw a hundred yards to the north the tomb of the Dyak whom we later learned died the same day we sailed on the Albatross.

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"...we passed over Albatross camp..."
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By the boat landing we could see the boom stretching from the shore, which Prince had rigged after we had left, and Prince himself standing on the end of it, waving. The Dyaks, working on their large community house[,] and the Madoerese convicts, stopped work to gaze in astonishment. We circled the camp but did not land, continuing south. Here stretch the higher ranges of the Van Rees mountains through which the Mamberamo breaks in its wild course from the lake plain to the coast {p. 57} plain. Here the native inhabitants are much more numerous than on the coast plain. There are a number of creeks running into the river from either side, and most of them had clearings and houses about 3 miles up them from the river. The houses here are round in shape instead of rectangular as they are on the lower Mamberamo. The settlements are small, two or three houses usually. Some were on the Mamberamo itself at the mouth of these creeks. We passed over the Marine and the Edi cataracts, the rushing waters and great whirlpools being easily distinguished from the air. The river through here is very narrow and swift and with the immense volume of water it carries, must be very deep. About 2/3 of the distance from Albatross camp to the lake plain we discovered two small lakes, one fairly large shallow lake on the east side, with houses and clearings near it; another five miles upstream on the west side was particularly interesting. It is high in the mountains and almost a perfect circle in form and appears to be very deep. Its surface area however is less than that of the other lake. Finally the mountains merge into the great central lake plain. This plain was overhung with rather low clouds which obscure the view of the central mountains. Here the Mamberamo becomes wider, more crooked and its current sluggish. Ahead of us we could see the junction of the Idenburg and Vanderwilligen rivers - the beginning of the Mamberamo. Both of these streams are very wide, sluggish and meander in complicated loops and {p. 58} bends, with old crescent shaped lagoons representing cut-offs making the water vista still more complicated. Cutting off the bends we continued up the Van der Willigen until we could see the junction of the Rouffar and the Van Daalen {*} rivers. Here, the clouds thickening, we turned back and after 2 hours and 20 minutes in the air, landed at Albatross camp, before a highly interested group of Dyaks and Malays. With the motor boat to assist it is very easy to bring the plane to land. Perhaps the most interesting thing we saw from the air was a large elevated plain, west of the Mamberamo, beginning about twenty miles above Albatross camp. This plain which must be about thirty miles long in an east-west direction and twenty miles wide in a north-south direction could be easily reached by any one of the three rocky creeks which flow from it, through the mountains into the Mamberamo. From its elevated position and being as it is quite level, it would probably be healthy and favorable for agriculture.

[May 10, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 10th

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"...the five Americans."
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Everyone has been busy today with various occupations. Hans and Prince are working, on the float for the aeroplane with a bunch of Dyak assistants. Dick is building a dark room for photographic work and for storing photographic supplies. Stanley has fallen heir to the job of chief [V1: interlineated: cook; crossed out: chef] for the five Americans. He has been having a great time breaking in our convicts as chefs. Prince has unexpectedly blossomed out with hidden talent along culinary lines and is chief {p. 59} instructor along the lines of baking and fancy dishes. In addition he has also become head barber. Dick and Hans are now sporting nude crania as devoid of hair as door knobs. Prince was in turn performed upon by Hans and is clipped to the skin excepting for a single long golden, curly forelock in front, "Something to serve as a handle as a convenience to the Papuans in case they collect my head[,]" says Prince. The Dyaks are making good progress on their big house. It is covered with shingles which they make with their knives. They cut a hole in one end of each slab and lash them in place with rattan. It is quite a job to cut the hole in, so Prince produced a bit and brace and demonstrated to Anji Ipoei. The Dyaks were so pleased with it that Prince has promised to give it to Ipoei after the expedition. Incidentally the Dyaks have a natural instinct for tools and mechanics. They learn to use a new tool with no difficulty. When Prince was rigging the boom for the plane, he brought out the chain hoist. The Dyaks were astonished at the way it lifted the heavy log and gave the hoist a careful study. Next day when Prince brought it out they rigged it themselves and did it correctly. Today they have put up two huge elaborately carved wooden ornaments at the gables of their house. They have the same curious curved pattern as the tattooing on their hips.

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"The Dyaks are making good progress on their big house."
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Today I climbed up a high knife edge ridge back of Albatross camp where I had a good view of the river and the mountains on either side, as well as a birds eye view of Havik Island. The ridge falls away in a rather breath taking cliff nearly a thousand feet high to the river and even the opposite {p. 60} slope is so steep as to be descended with difficulty. In spite of its singular formation the ridge is almost entirely clothed with jungle which conceals its true form so that I did not realize the cliff was present until I was on its actual brink. This afternoon Stanley, Hans, Van Leeuwen, le Roux and I discussed plans for establishing a camp at the Upper Rouffar by means of the plane. Today the Dyaks, worried that the river does not go down, set up a wooden rain god in front of their house. Last night the peaceful calm of the evening was disturbed some time around midnight by a war whoop from Stan, who had an encounter in bed with a critter which appeared to be a cross between a scorpion and a centipede. Stanley swore it was a foot long, but he was guilty of gross exaggeration as I saw its carcass this morning and it only measured seven inches. The only damage done was to Stan's mosquito netting as he left his cot without stopping to raise the netting.

[May 11, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 11th

This morning the mist hung low over the mountains but cleared away about 9 A.M. It remained clear and hot until about 5 P.M. when a thunder storm came up. This has been the regular routine for the weather ever since we arrived here. There is not very much wind, which is a good thing as it would not take much to wreck our temporary huts. This afternoon the Albatross announced her return with a series of blasts on her siren which awoke the echoes for miles around. She cast anchor at about 4 P.M. Jordan and I went out to meet her on the motor boat and met Captain Posthumous and Lieut. Cortemann, the supply {p. 61} officer. Their arrival will take a lot of work from Jordan's hands. The Albatross is loaded even heavier then she was on our first trip and will probably have to make two more round trips to Seroei. This evening Anji Ipoei came over to our shack and we spent the evening with him telling what the plane could do and describing the wonders of America as illustrated by the "Saturday Evening Post". He told us that the Dyaks call the aeroplane "Kapal Trabang" [sic, = kapal terbang (Malay)], "flying ship" and Hans and Prince are called by them the "orang burm" [sic, = orang burung (Malay) "bird man"] or manbirds.

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"..."Moon Mullins" who is our "strong arm" man as chief assistant mechanic."
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I think he left us in a bewildered frame of mind, but half an hour later Dick went past the Dyak house, and Anji was sitting on his elevated seat with all of the other Dyaks gathered around, orating with all his might. Hans and Prince have almost completed the float for the plane. They are using Han's convict "Moon Mullins" who is our "strong arm" man as chief assistant mechanic. My boy is mandoer or chief of the boys and also head cook under Stan's able direction. Just heard the story of how my boy happens to be in jail - it's a good one. Le Roux'[s] boy is our only petty criminal. According to his own statement, he found a rope and brought it home. Next morning when he went out to get it, there was a cow attached to it. Our radio has not yet gotten in communication with the outside world. Until the Albatross arrived today they did not know the plane had arrived safely.

[May 12, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 12th

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"...seven empty gasoline drums are put under each side of the float to lift it from the water..."
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The Albatross has been unloading all day and the work on the storehouses continued so as to keep up with our {p. 62} rapidly increasing stock of food supplies. Hans and Prince completed the aeroplane float and the Ern is now sitting on it, high and dry. They devised an ingenious arrangement whereby seven empty gasoline drums are put under each side of the float to lift it from the water and taken out when the float is to be sunk and the plane put in the water. [See Film Selection #9] It was our most difficult hurdle to get past in connection with the use of the plane on the river as the pontoons would soon be water-logged if the plane had to sit continuously on the water.

[May 13, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 13th

Today the Albatross completed her unloading and now the personnel of our camp is doubled. However, the camp was so well started when the Albatross returned that there has been very little confusion in getting all of the men quartered. This afternoon Capt. Posthumous, le Roux, Van Leeuwen and I discussed plans for establishing our upper camp by aeroplane. As the natives of the Rouffar river are an uncertain quantity, there is considerable risk in the first few flights for two reasons. One, the danger of being stranded far from the source of supplies without food or means of return; the second and perhaps the greater, the danger from the natives to a few men. We are hoping that the plane will impress the natives so much that they will not cause us trouble. Saturday morning Hans and I[,] with about 200 kilos of food and other supplies[,] will fly to the upper Rouffar, weather permitting, and select a landing place as far up the river as possible. There we will land and cache our food supply. The next day, we will again {p. 63} make a flight with load and deposit it with the first. Then on the third flight, all going well, Le Roux; Anji Ipoei and I will go up with the plane and remain, establishing the camp. Then the plane will continue bringing food and Dyaks (we hope) until there are 20 men with food for 2 months at the upper camp.

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"Ipoei visited us again last night."
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We were treated to a bigger and better thunder storm than usual tonight and the river was full of floating logs. The river is still falling more rapidly each day. We are hoping it will continue to drop, but Anji says the river is uncertain at best. Tonight my golden locks fell before the clippers, with Prince as amputator. Stanley is now the only one who has not yet joined the order of shaved pates. When we have nothing else to do we fish for catfish in the river. They are quite abundant and furnish a welcome addition to our larder of dengue-dengue [sic, = dendeng], {*} rice and dried fish. Ipoei visited us again last night. He told us that when he left Borneo he had a young wife, but fearing she would not remain true to him over a year's absence, he gave her freedom, so he is now a bachelor. He has had ten wives. He says he will get a new one when he returns. He also told Stanley quite seriously, that he had made a mistake not to have done the same.

[May 14, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Mamberamo River ]

May 14th

Lots of activity today, building barracks, etc. The Dyaks have finished their big house and have topped it off with an elaborately carved wooden ornament at either end. This {p. 64} morning Hans, Prince and I got in the motor boat and went upstream around Havik Island and then downstream to the first bend below camp, Hans looking for the best place to take off. As the river is surrounded with mountains here, it is not so easy. We saw a lot of crowned pigeons that could easily have been shot, if we had brought a shot gun with us. They seem quite tame. Last night a big tree that was floating down the river lodged in the stream right back of the aeroplane float in about the worst place possible for the plane. We tried to move it with the two motor boats but it could not be budged. A long heavy rope was then attached and about 200 men got on the other end on shore and it was hauled out in short order. The motor boats then towed it out in the middle of the current and let it drift downstream. Drifting logs are the worst menace there is to the plane. As many of them are just submerged and as the water is very muddy, there is no chance to see such a log. The water is still dropping quite rapidly and banks are beginning to appear all along the river. Today we selected our cargo for the plane and tomorrow morning Hans and I are scheduled to make our exploration flight to the Upper Rouffar. The weather today has been very bad all day, practically impossible for flying. Unless tomorrow is better, the flight will have to be postponed. Our chief difficulty will be to make a safe landing and come to shore with no one to help us. The results of this flight will have an important bearing on the future of the expedition. {p. 65}

[May 15, 1926 : Albatross Camp (Base Camp) ; Airplane Flights ; Mamberamo River ]

May 15th

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"Prince stood on the wing and cranked her and when the motor started jumped into the motor boat and let us go."
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This morning started with a fog. I woke listening to the drip from the trees on our oil cloth roof. About 8 o'clock it began to clear and Hans and Prince put a hundred gallons of gas in the plane and tried taking the plane off the float for the first time by removing the barrels from beneath it. The launching was successfully accomplished and will be still easier when the convicts and Dyaks learn more of what they are supposed to do in handling it. We then fastened a motor boat on her tail and hauled her out into the stream. I was alone in the front cockpit with about 250 kilos of food and other baggage. Prince stood on the wing and cranked her and when the motor started jumped into the motor boat and let us go. Hans taxied to the front of camp, gave her the gun and we took off over Havik Island, rather heavily owing to the heavy load. We went up the gorge of the Mamberamo gaining altitude slowly. Owing to the drop in the water level, the rocks in the rapids, which were covered on our last trip over, were now sticking their teeth above the water. The whirlpools were still whirling. The river compresses into a surprising narrow channel at places and all the way through the mountains is quite narrow. In 35 minutes we were through the gorge and out on the lake plain. Hans cut across the angle formed by the Van der Willigen and the Mamberamo and we were quickly at the place where Hans, Dick and I turned back on our first flight. At this time the lake plain seemed to stretch indefinitely in all directions, the central mountains being lost in haze. The route is very confusing {p. 65} {sic, = p. 66} at this place because of the meandering junction of 3 rivers and the old cut-off channels which give the impression of rivers of equal size running in all directions. We noticed several tributary streams, which are not indicated on the map, as from here on the country is practically unmapped, only Doorman's brief trip having been previously made in 1912 up the Rouffar. We eventually came to the junction of the Rouffar and Van Daalen {*} rivers. The van Daalen {*} appears to be considerably smaller than the Rouffar. The country below us was largely sago swamp with here and there patches of jungle or tall palms or another sort. Almost any time, flocks of white cockatoos could be seen flashing over the trees below us, bright white against the dark green. There were also frequently larger flocks of a slate blue bird which I took to be wild pigeons. Just above the junction of the Rouffar and Van Daalen {*} is a good sized village on an island, one large structure with steep sloping roof, surrounded by a semi-circle of small houses. From here on houses and villages were very numerous and we saw quite a number of canoes out in the stream. Usually when they sighted us, they made for shore as rapidly as possible. In front of the villages were frequently a dozen or more canoes tied to the bank. By this time the central mountains were plainly visible on our left excepting for the higher summits which were obscured by clouds. The lake plain seems to have a slight slope from the Van Rees mountains towards the Central mountains as the south side of the plain appears to be more swampy than the north side. Finally the course of the river turns almost due south with a nearby right angled bend towards {p. 67} the Central mountains. Ahead of us we could see a gap in the mountains with ragged little hills all around, into which the river disappeared. Finally after two hours in the air, we came to the tributary river "A" which seems to have about the same amount of water as the Rouffar above the junction. Here the Rouffar becomes swifter and the channel much less; A winding mountain stream through a wide sandy bed. We continued upstream into the mountains coming to the tributary river "B" which flows in from the west. Here again the volume of water is halved. We still continued into the mountains up to the point where the Rouffar becomes a mountain torrent. Then, having already used more gas than was safe for our return, we turned back. Hans circled at River "B" and came down, touching his pontoons on the water, but the stream was shallow and very swift and the straightaway not very long so he gave her the gun without landing. Just below river "B" there are two lakes not far from the river on the west side, among the hills, large enough to land on. On the east side, two or three miles from the river is another good sized lake. Hans kept on downstream until we again reached River "A". Here the stream is quite broad and, circling around, we landed, Hans heading in for a low bank with a few yards of clearing behind it. He taxied the pontoons into the bank. I got out on the wing with the anchor rope but it was so long and had gotten so badly snarled it could not be taken ashore. As the motor now stopped we had to act quickly. Hans got out of the cockpit and out on a pontoon to shore, where {p. 68} he held the plane in until I unsnarled enough line to make her fast. We then had a chance to look around us. To our surprise we saw we were moored alongside a rather crudely made dugout canoe with rounded ends. It was obviously made with stone tools at the cost of considerable labor and was fastened to a post on shore with a strip of rattan. In the muddy silt on the bank were fresh, bare foot tracks. Leading into the jungle and up and down the river bank were three or four old trails, which probably owing to the recent high water did not seem to have been used much lately. We then began to hear curious bird like calls in the jungle around us. These calls became louder and more frequent as we searched through the jungle for a good hiding place for our cache of tins and baggage. It was soon evident that these calls were of human origin and it was not pleasant walking through the jungle and feeling prying eyes upon one. Finally we heard voices excitedly talking quite close to us. Then suddenly no more talking, but the calls continued. Therefore we chose a spot about a hundred yards above the plane, into the jungle where there was a clump of tall sawgrass and went back to the plane to unload our cargo of a dozen or so heavy tins of rice and canned goods.

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"...went back to the plane to unload our cargo of a dozen or so heavy tins of rice and canned goods."
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In the meanwhile the calls had been increasing alarmingly, not only in the jungle by us but up the river, and down the river, and on the opposite bank. It was evident that we were being surrounded. When we left the ship we had on our cartridge belts and pistols but now when unloading {p. 69} the plane, we each held a loaded "45" in one hand and handled the tins with the other, Hans lifting them out of the plane