133 Purosa-Kainantu beginning 4 miles from Moifa; the forest fragmented by garden clearings, but surviving in considerable area; much of the garden clearing is new. Maa was not at Moifa -- we found him at Sonofi, l2 miles further on. The highest point on the road, 7475 ft. (uncorrected), was reached about a mile on the Sonofi side of Moifa, where extensive secondary grasslands came in on the left hand side. In about another 2 miles we entered old treeless grassland, with relic strips of Castanopsis forest in some gullies, other gullies grassy and carrying a few pandans and tree-ferns. Practically all the top soil eroded away on these old grasslands. Kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) dominant. Low point in this extensive (valley) grassland 6500 ft. uncorrected. Was surprised to find a sub-alpine Stypelia growing in a shallow grassy gully at 6700 ft. Maa, established in Sonofi resthouse, with caves and good forest handy, was in the field when we arrived there at 3:20. Got a local guide and entered a big cave in limestone, close to the road and a few hundred yards on the Kainantu side of the resthouse. No bats in the cave, only swiftlets. Found later that Maa had entered this cave yesterday, and another on the far bank of another creek from the resthouse, and got nothing. (Natives had brought him over 40 bats (2 Miniopteris spp.) but would not say where they got them. In conversation with the local Lutheran mission teacher, we learned of two more caves, close by, with bats in them, but Van, having seen Maa's bats, and been given a few specimens, decided that the other caves were not worth going into, and we drove on to Kainantu. Maa, though short of alcohol (I gave him a little) and trying to trap mammals with bananas and sweet potatoes (Van gave him some special bait), is well equipped and supplied, his gear light weight for air travel. As assistant he has a boy on loan from Dr. Zigas. Arrived in Kainantu about dusk and put up at the Kainantu Hotel. At our table for dinner was Jack Samuels, an Australian mining engineer who is testing a gold lode at Omaura for the King Island Scheelite Company. Big formation up to 40 ft. or more thick, with porphyrite hanging wall and granite footwall. Testing with a churn drill owned by government. Going through laterite up to 200 ft. thick. This fissured at depth; the drill water and much of the sample material with it, escapes. Evidently a big body of iron pyrites carrying c. 2 dwt. of gold. Work has been in progress since April. Samuels believes the gold comes from a depth, but he has been unable to strike the formation at depth. Government geologists believe it is a surface enrichment. Sunday, October 4. Being spent in Kainantu on accounts and correspondence. Tomorrow we will do some replenishment of supplies and set out for the Karanka area, something over 20 miles ESE of Kainantu. This will be in the lower middle (4000-4500 ft.) altitudes. For the past two months we have been working at 6000-7000 ft. base levels. Kananka, if we find conditions suitable for work there, should be in a life zone which we have not yet touched on this expedition.