-48- Friday 4/24/53 Early morning cloudy and threatening. SE breeze began and started to clear about 7:30. Bright clear weather after that, and into the night. Ken's second night hunt in the Arorara River Forests was almost as unprofitable as the first. His party brought back one Petaurus. Tonight he is out in the direction of Baniara, while two boys have gone along the coast toward Banapa. With Hoogland for company botanized again in the rain forests of t the Arozara valley. As expected, the collection was small, but it in- cluded such interesting plants as climbing yellow-flowered Caesalpina? 22052, and common big tree Sapotaceae 22061. A very large Platycerium, common as an epiphyte in the forest, and remarkable in having a mass of short laciniate processes about the base of the leaves, was sterile and therefore not collected at this time. Another striking epiphytic fern, Ophioglossum sp. with pendant leaves 3 feet long, was on too big a tree to be collected. The Platycerium resembles P. grande. Bunting's boat "Betty Ann" came in during the morning to load copra at Spiller's plantation and departed in the afternoon, taking mails of ours to Samarai. We learn indirectly that the "Ruru", which is supposed to move us from here in 10 days time, is laid up in Samarai, awaiting spare engine parts from Australia. The villagers are staging tonight a dance in our honor. Fourteen dancers with drums performing in the lamplight in front of the rest- house. Several women taking part, always behind the men. This is "pay back" for a feast Ken Wynn put on for the locals to celebrate his Maneau trip. After the first couple of weeks our relations have been good with the locals. This morning as I botanized near a garden house in the forest, the owner came along with a hand of sweet bananas for our re- freshment, and later presented my boys with a whole bunch of ripe cookingbananas. I returned the gift with some of my cut tobacco. Saturday 4/25/53. Anzac Day. A holiday, but our work went on. Boys given their Sunday pay, and tonight several have metal-bound tobacco pipes bought at the trade store. Fine clear day. Moderate southeaster, freshening at night. Collected in sago swamps and to the head of the creek behind Spiller's plantation. A very deep gorge on the righthand branch of the creek, which I followed. Very little in the forests up there. Most interesting plants for the day a fine "staghorn fern" "Platy- cerium 22070, and the sago palm Metroxylon 22064. The Menapi people manufacture sago, but apparently only when other foods are in short supply. Saw a number of over-mature trees. Six sago-making troughs stood around the remains of one big palm, and the sour smell of the refuse pulp pervaded the air. The palms are cut just before the flowere open on the great terminal inflorescence. Police Officer Peter O'Sullivan walked up from Baniara to visit us and stayed the night.