-124- Botanized close to camp and down the north slopes for very encouraging results. The very prevalent climbing bamboo is not thick enough to prevent fairly free travel in the forest. An oak dominates the forest of the ridge crest; the finest of the ravine is a mixture of other species in which a small-leaved Croton ? is important. Many plant species appear identical with those of Mt. Dayman, but many are unfamiliar to me. Friday, October 9, 1953: Wet weather in bamboo-entangled mossy forest! Heavy rain began at 12:30 last night and kept on until near daylight. Mist and showers 10:30 to mid-afternoon. Tonight clear, and colder. Six P.M. temperature 58 F. Collected down to the upper end of the long grass and spur at 1550 m. until driven back by rain. Grasses there give place to dense 2-3 ft. high tangles of Gleichenia and bracken in which a tall Cladium-like sedge is plentiful, also a Seaevola and a shrubby Haloragis. The habitat undoubtedly secondary. Van's traps last night yielded one very drenched small rat. It was new to the collection and at least we know that rats are here. Two Dobsonia fruit bats brought in by the Wakonai constable yesterday. Van now has 15 mammal species for the island. So far as our records go, only 5 species were previously known and of these we have but three. In a couple of weeks Van has tripled the known mammal fauna of the island. Ken opened a trail down to the creek with the long name and returned with about 30 frogs [illegible] of 3 species. Padi and a small boy who has been with us returned to Wakonai today. Perhaps the weather was too much for Padi, although he is an old hand in the bush. We loaned him two blankets. Padi has Irish features. Worked for years for a government officer ("George Ireland"), and for gold prospectors, including Jack Hides. He has been careful to explain that he has not "worked" for whites, but has signed on as cook or shoot-boy. Saturday, October 10, 1953: Temperature at 6 A.M. 58 F. Gusty wind late last night. Fine clear morning; cloud off and on from noon to dusk. Clear tonight. With Ken and my two boys I followed the track he cut a couple days ago and found it stopped well short of the crest of the range at about 1370 m. Most of it on slopes badly tangled with scrambling bamboo and Gleichenia fern, on which one walked without putting a foot on ground. Today we cut to the crest of the spur in low, bamboo-grown forest, and followed it to the top of the range. Actual divide 1715 m. by aneroid; highest point on spur 1725 m. On the 1-mile map, the range top eminence we were on is enclosed in the 5900 ft. form line. If that altitude is correct, my aneroid registered 240 ft. (or more), too low. Had excellent views of four of the central peaks, and for a few minutes the NW