-93- Thursday, August 7, 1952: Max. 34.5, Min. 17 C. Relative Humidity 6:30 A.M. 91%. Clear dawn followed by hot sunny A.M. and overcast and sultry afternoon. Thunder and black clouds to SE over mountain late in the day. No rain. Day spent in camp catching up on plant preparations which were interrupted by the arrival of mail yesterday. Boys out cutting trees previously observed, including one occupied by the brilliant red-flowered "D'Albertis Creeper". At least five species of this plant are known from New Guinea, not including those of the genus (Iucuna) with green flowers. The local species is common in the forests but at this season there are few flowers. Further information from Ken on recent developments of cargo cult in connection with our presence in this area. We are supposed to have erected a cross on the summit of the mountain. At Easter time when we were in this general area, there was great activity on the part of the Anglican Mission in putting up crosses. In our present neighborhood there are new wooden crosses, about 10 feet high, in Kwagira, Buidag and Biniguni villages. Our alleged cross and those of the mission are believed by the natives to be preliminaries to something big that is going to happen. That is, the return of the Americans to New Guinea in force! We are the advance party. There appears to be a definite connection between cargo cut and wrongly assimilated mission teaching. Heaven, and the pie-in-the-sky of the have-notes, are very similar ideas. Our runner has returned from Beniare with another small mail from the States dated around the middle of July. Friday, August 8, 1953: Max. 36.5, Min. 17 C. Hot, almost cloudless day. The softer plants in the forest are wilting from heat and want of rain. Mosses on the trees are crumbly-dry. Spent a long morning collecting on the Cinus River about 1½ miles east of camp. The bouldery bed of the stream dry except where small feeders drop in series of falls and cascades from the mountain side. Few plants of much interest. Three spp. of Ficus including one of the little, horizontally branched, flood resistant stream bed trees frequently found in the foothills. A surprising find was Thespiea growing 20 m. tall on the rocky edge of a pool and looking like a natural element of the rain forest. It can hardly be the common strand species of the coast. Geoff having good collecting here. Themammal take from traps and shooting continues very poor. Small nativeboys help out the situation by bringing in Pogonomys which they find in hollows in trees. Ken out tonight with Local natives on a hunt for water rats somewhere on the west coast side of the Mai-U River. Sunday, August 9, 1952: Max. -- Min. 16 C. Relative humidity: 6:30 A.M. (clear) 91%; 1 P.M. 55%. Clear until about noon, then broken clouds and toward 4 o'clock overcast with spots of rain. Stars out tonight. Morning spent in camp on yesterday's gatherings and getting dried material ready for transport to the coast. Field work downstream across river in afternoon. Mostly plants of the second growth rain forest, including 3 spp. of Maceranga.