128 Purosa Our visitors brought mail. Included were six super-fast Extochrome films sent by Dick Archbold for trial. Friday, September 25. Mist again this morning, and some wind with it (NE). Day completely overcast. Few drops of rain from a thunderstorm which passed to the north about 2 p.m.; steady rain from about 7:30 on into night. Botanized up the slopes from camp for a second time, extending John's cut track to the top, 450 feet above camp and about 3/4 mile distant. Gradient easy. Crest of ridge is broad and nearly level. No detectable change in the forest, which is all mixed rain forest. Plants collected included two tree-ferns (Cyathea), and not much else of note. The forest of the upper parts of the ridge distinctly poorer in undergrowth and epiphytes than about camp level. More visitors -- I hope the last for this week. Today Gavin Carter drove down from Okapa to pick up Aurichs and the medical student, and the three lunched together with us. Aurichs says that the Fore people, among whom alone kuru is known definitely, are beginning to leave their home area and journey to places as far as Goroka and Kainantu to work, and they may be expected to spread the kuru gene. A case of kuru, associated in some way with a Fore man, has been reported from Port Moresby. Van working late these nights to keep up mammal preparations. New to the collection today were three Leptomys, the bright reddish brown jumping rat of New Guinea. Saturday, September 26. Misty early morning with some gusty winds. The wind, no doubt, deflected SE trades, blow either up or down the valley. Day more than half overcast. Sharp rain breifly from a thunderstorm to N about 2 p.m. Sent the boys out alone this morning while I worked on specimens on hand. Have been dropping far behind with a number of small jobs on plants and insects. Mammals new for the camp continue to come in steadily by local natives. Today Macruromys and Antechinus were added, bringing the total to 27. The Antechinus is the rather rufous brown species first taken at Gono. Mammals and herps, also food, are being bought for tobacco, salt and beads. Local government policy is to pay in cash only in special cases, and we are following suit. Occasional mammals are bought for cash. It is a great advantage to be in a locality in which the natives bring in mammals in numbers. Most of the rarer things have been got that way. Traps as a rule have yielded few of the hard-to-come-by species. The Mt. Wilhelm camps, Kotuni, and now Purosa have been notable for the numbers of mammals brought to camp by the locals. Fresh food is coming in in good variety and quantity: taro of excellent quality, a bunched yam, sweet potatoes, English potatoes, pumpkins, peanuts, very good tomatoes and shallots, and occasional cabbage and string beans. Tobram the Chimbu, taught how to shoot only recently by Van, brings in a blue pigeon or two most mornings when he returns from his trapline. The cook is a master on pigeon soup.