(91) is not to be expected, although there are certainly species present on Bougainville that are not found here. I told both the boys to keep a sharp look- out for pignut parrots, but they have not seen any yet. Buka Island has no high elevation - nothing exceeding 1300 feet. Its dimensions are 30 miles long x 8 miles at the greatest breadth. The northern half is mostly low land. There are no large rivers suitable for small boats, on the west coast. Reached the Passage at noon and I visited the D.O., leaving instructions about receiving our guns from Kieta. He could not take them be- cause permits had not come through. Friend Vivian would like very much to accompany us up Bali' and inferred we should have little success without the "big fella Kiep" and his police boys. He has too many taxes to glean. King George makes between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds a year on this - a rather raw deal from the natives' point of view. All villages in the so- called "controlled areas" must pay the 10 shillings a head. Very few receive yearly visits either by medical patrol or police patrol, and when they are so fortunate it is simply to collect taxes in areas or to take census. This shows how many have died, which means less work for the Doctor & his assistant, and how many have been born which means more tax money. A few are sent to the hospital if they can be caught; medicines are left with the medical tut-tut. Conditions are much better in Southern Bougainville (Buin-Siwai-Kieta districts). It is unfortun- ately true that all the villages with govt. kokorais which are situated above the coconut-growing level (a little under 2000 feet) are totally ignored. Having no cocoanuts from which to make copra to sell, they