27 April. We are somewhat in the doldrums at this moment, a period which is apt to occur more than once in any expedition. We have worked this area out pretty thoroughly in all our departments, we are able to move at a day's notice, but we need that day and we can get no word whatever about any ship to take us out. In such cases it usually happens that something quite unexpected in the way of transpor- tation shows and we make a mad rush to get on board of whatever it happens to be; the only bright spots of that sort are the possibility of the Ruru suddenly getting her necessary parts and being able to leave Samarai, and the arrival of the Judge at Baniara next Thursday, if he gets there. The arrival of the Ruru, and we have no rea- son whatever to expect her, would put us on our planned schedule; and if the Judge reaches Baniara and stays there for a day or so, the Govt. vessel which carries him could easily take us to Baiawa and get back to Baniara in time to take him wherever he wants to go. Both alternatives are quite conjectural. There is a little aftermath to the dance which the villagers put on for us last Saturday; they said at that time that they would lay at our doorstep the next day a lot of fruit and vegetables for which no pay was wanted. (That also was part of the pay-back for previous parties.) They did not do it however, and now they are planning to send the women up about 1600 on Sed- nnesdayto start the cooking, and the dance team will arrive later, dance for us and then eat up all the kai. It is a very nice gesture, of course, and means another disturbed night. This evening a trip up my favorite gully gave me another new specimen, a beauti- fully mottled blue and green butterfly; that gully gives me something new each time I go up it now. The Southeast wind blows strongly every night and nothing comes to the light trap at all. 28 April. As I plan to take a light-trap out this evening to hang in the gully and shall be doing a little jack-lighting at the same time, I am writing the good news now that came in this afternoon. It is to the effect that either the Ruru or some other boat will arrive over the week-end and we should be able to get away either on Monday or Tuesday, which is as we planned and also will put us a week ahead of schedule as planned in New York. That should get us to Baiawa either on Tuesday or Wednesday and we will not then be out of the woods as the question of porters will arise. We will be out of Menapi, though, and in a new collecting area even if we should be stuck in Baiawa for a week or so. And after that, of course, comes the climb to the top of Maneau, which will make the job seem half done. Following the summit camp, there will be two pr perhaps three at other altitudes, then the rest in Samarai and the last step, Good Enough Island and its mountains, which is as high or higher than Maneau. Mails are still a quite uncertain quantity but the good angel i/c expeditions seems to be working well and there will be some kind of solution. Peter may decide to come up himself, or he may send police runners up, or something of the sort will happen. We have decided to cease collecting here on Y Thursday and our supplies and gear have already been broken down for the following camps and certain things, unwanted equipment, completed collections and so on, will be shipped back to Samarai. There is not a great deal of the latter, but we can estimate needs much better now than when we started. And, of course, far better than when we were in New York. Whatever ship comes in is sure to bring the mail which has accumulated in Sama- rai and we shall be able to get replies to that offm anyway. 29 April. This has been a day of orders and counter-orders, packing and repacking, ships reported and ships cancelled. But it ends up with a dance in our honor by the Menapi villagers after they had piled a mass of fruits around the mango tree outside the rest-house. We are expecting to get away perhaps by Saturday and at latest on Mon- day; I think I said yesterday that word had come that the Ruru would be here - that has been cancelled but another ship is supposed to arrive. So we have some hope of getting out. Packing, with many complications, has been completed and what remains, so far as I am concerned, can be finished in an hour. We started packing single carrier loads of 35 pounds, swithched to double carrier loads of 70 pounds, and now are back on the single carrier loads again, I think, but things are liable to change. We should receive mail by whatever boat comes in, and should also be able to get some out when she leaves us wherever she does. I think the most amusing part of the dance is the fact that so many of the dancers are donw up in flowing white drapes and ribbons which turn out, on closer inspection, to be the bandages Peters, the M.O. of Baniara, left with the local medical boy. No doubt tomorrow they will be rolled up again and used for their rightful