130 Purosa protestant outfit. Gressitt of the Bishop Museum was in the Balim and Swart valleys a year or two ago, collecting insects. Had from Maa my first real news of the Star Mts. Expedition of the Dutch, about which there was so much early publicity. Original plan that all scientific work should be done by Dutch has been adhered to. Brandt tried to join to collect insects for the Bishop but was refused permission. Entomologist friends of Maa at Leiden (not named) refused invitations to take part in the expedition on the ground that it was political rather than scientific. An arrangement for a French movie company to send personnel with the party, in consideration of a large sum of much needed cash which could not be raised in Holland, was cancelled at the last moment because the French were "too commercial minded." Brongesma, herpetologist, is in charge of the show -- at least the scientific part of it. A naval officer commands the military escort. It was obvious that Maa wished to join our party and work with us. There would be conflict of interest in his work and Van's. We have a long standing commitment for Pullen of the CSIRO to spend some time with us next month to learn my botanical methods. Van, who did most of the talking with Maa about ectoparasites, gained the impression that he was sadly ill-equipped for working on his own and is dependent on local help. This help supposed to be given by the kuru people (Gajdusek group) but he has been in their area since the 25th without being able to begin his job. He returns to Kainantu tomorrow to pick up his gear, and camp equipment (for use in Moifa resthouse) from the kuru project. After lunch we returned to Okapa post to inquire about another cave, near there, which Maa's driver spoke about. Leaving Maa at the post, and with an interpreter ("turnem talk") loaned by Carter, we drove down the Okapa Village road some two miles to Ilafo, at 5900 ft. uncorrected. Local guides obtained by John and Van who took them to an apparently large solution cave in limestone. Two Dobsonia shot in the cave (only two seen), and a big lot of two spp. of Miniopterus caught by various means, including one of my butterfly nets. Returning to the post towards six in the evening, we met Carter hurrying out in a Land Rover to investigate a murder which had taken place about half way down the road to Purosa. We stopped on our way home to watch the proceedings. The murder, it developed, had taken place six weeks ago. The two culprits had owned up today and were taken to show the bodies. They had waylaid a woman on the road, One held her down while the other broke in [illegible] her chest with a stone. They then killed the baby in arms the woman was carrying. The bodies were buried in a rock crevice in dense second growth forest near the road. All but a leg of the woman, the bones of which were showing above ground, stripped clean of soft tissues probably by ants. I left after the skull had been exhumed by the murderers, bare handed, under the urging of three native police. I did not witness a thumping the kiap gave the two killers after their horrible job was over. It would hurt them more permanently than a probable jail sentence of 5-7 years, reduced by years for good behavior. The people concerned in the murder had not been under government control more than 6-7 years. But so remarkable has been the job of pacification that none of the police party carried arms. It was unthinkable that anything should happen to them. Quite a day for all, except the botany department. Got only about a dozen numbers, 5 or 6 new to the collection. A patch of [illegible] mile of primary forest on the road a little this side of Okapa Post appears to be of beech mixed mainly with Castanopsis. The bulk of the forest seen beyond Okapa (see above)