morning and I went out afterward, going up beyond the water in-take into virgin scrub. Got plenty of insects but no sign of any retiles until this evening when two snakes came marching right into camp. Both were taken but we do not yet know what they are. They are in formaldehyde and neither of us cares to examine them until they are thoroughly dead. The power house, beside Jim Cobb, possesses three cats and several toads as residents. One of the cats caught and consumed a large cockroach last night, eating up a final leg which had dropped off the roach with gusto and licking its chops. One of the toads came hopping around from wherever it lives and squatted looking at me and pulsing its throat; every now and then it would dark out a long tongue and lick up some insect, again turning its eyes toward me and eyeing my cup of rum and water with a certain amount of contempts. The second engineer, Thompson, came up this morning and is due again some time this evening. Lane returns tomorrow night for his shift of visits and is bringing up some food for us. I have gone to town, ordering a two pound steak, tomatoes, cabbage, etc., and have thought of other things and listed them for Thompson to take back tonight and give to Lane. Len telephones this afternoon (being a power-house, we have a telephone here) while I was out; evidently not very much news but we may see George here on Monday. In addition to the two snakes, there were two lizards in Van's traps early this evening, so it has been a good day for herpetology and entomology. Above the water in-take, the Mossman River rushes and cascades over and among a mass of great boulders. I followed the stream for about a quarter of a mile and then left it, working approximately south from itand forcing my way through a fairly thick scrub; ferns, tree and otherwise, were in abundance and the floor of the forest is much matted with vines and fallen trees and branches. It is advisable to use care as in the event of a broken leg or some such thing, a search party would be required to find a person and there is nobody to form such a party. The trees are fairly tall and many have vines and lianas falling to the ground, as in South America, but they do not attain the great girth of the S. A. trees. However they are laced together with lawyer cane, a thick cane furnished with sharp, barbed spikes, and form a barrier most uncomfortable to be bushed in. Saturday, 13 March, 1948. The morning was much of a repetition of yesterday; I went to the same area and managed to make my way across the river but there is of course no sort of trail on the opposite side and the scrub is such that even if one had some equipment, it would be next to impossible to do anything except lay a trap line. Van got five mice or rats or something in his traps when he went to clear them this morning; in the afternoon I was invited to and made a member of the Mossman Bowling Club and Harold Lane, wife and daughter came up in the evening. Lane is to show us some of the bush trails tomorrow afternoon but I doubt if we shall profit by them very much. The Time is said to have reached Bowen and to be unloading there. The story is well-authenticated and if it is correct she may reach Cairns Thursday and most likely we shall be recalled. Lane brought up some rations w I had asked for and we had a substantial meat dinner tonight. Jim Cobb has gone down to Mossman for today and tomorrow. Mrs. Lane is about the first good-looking woman I have seen, but has the fault of all of them, bad teeth.