Thursday, 20 May 1948. Much of a repetition of yesterday; still no rats for George, though he got a wallaby with one well-frown pouch young last night, and no snakes for me. Two visits to the river resulted in no signs of crocodiles so the reptile department is not doing so well unless Van and Moreton are rolling them in at the saw-mill. The birds around here are plentiful and very beautifully colored for the most part. A drad old emu was roused when we drove in two days ago and endeavored to elude us by running parallel, the stupid creature. After galloping for about two hundred yards, it found out that it could get away by running at right angles to us and did so. The insect department is thriving and I have taken some very lovely things today. It seems rather a shame to do so, though their life would be short anyway and they may give some pleasure to people who examine and look at them at the Museum. It is about 8.30 P.M., and there has been no sign of Jack Cupid; possibly he will arrive tomorrow with Dick but if he intends to cross the Jardine, I want to see how he does it. We shall pull out of here early on Saturday morning and whatever time remains will be spent at Red Island Point. Mosquitoes have been rather bad and most of them are anopheles but there is no reason for thinking that they are carrying anything. There is nothing and nobody from whom then can carry it, fortunately. I suppose the nearest human habitation is Red Island, twenty miles away to the north. To the south probably there is nobody living for about twice that distance and the same thing applies to east and west. The abbos have moved with great docility into the settlements and missions, though there could be one or two strays around somewhere. They avoid contact with people though and have neither the curiosity nor the belligerence of the South American Indian, for instance. Of our boys, Moreton is an old man and would probably creep away and live on rats and bandicoots, if he had to. Possibly he does, just as a memory of old times. The other boys are considerably younger, have been brought up under the protection of white men and, while their natural abilities in the way of finding game and following trail still are active, their desire for primitive living never existed at all, probably. Both of them are timid - Willie has done government work during the war and is more self-reliant than Roy. The latter is a soft-spoken, lazy lad but I think has adopted us and possibly may be pep-ped up a bit. Both, as well as Moreton, want to make the full trip and will do so, provided they return from their visit home over the week-end. Now I have to go out for a while and see if I can catch any spiders. That is about all there is for me in the evening. I am disappointed that the famous death-adder has not put in an appearance at all - this should be his sort of country. Friday, 21 May 1948. So far as collecting goes, this was much the same as the last two days. No animals or reptiles, plenty of plants and insects. Dick arrived here shortly after 5 P.M., bringing with him a friend, Bornholt, from Murwillumbah. Bornholt has served in the South African War and is of course somewhat older than the rest of us. He is not in any way lacking in enthusiasm though and, having brought his rifle, was driven down to the Jardine River for a possible shot at a c crocodile. None appeared, fortunately, because if he had seen and taken one, I think I would cheerfully have strangled him. I have sat on the banks of the river for hours looking for one, even just a small one.