(27) I fully expected to spend the night. But the boys in the crew did not desert me and I soon heard hooting and gun shots that lost no time in finding my stout bellow. I got back to the ship about 7:30 much the worse for wear and thankful not to have to spend a night in the bush because how it did rain before morning. October 22 Yesterday's ordeal made me feel unequal to the climb so I collected northward along a shore trail that took us a mile up in the bush. We picked up two natives who took us to a patch of trees that seemed full of birds. In addition to bald fly-catchers each of us took a female gray-bird, new to us from this island. I also shot a brown fan-tail and three white-eyes. The Doctor took a wag-tail to look for possible variation. In all we brought in 20 birds. G.R. reached the top of Koomba, a smaller mountain to the south of Kela where he found thick heads, honeysuckers, white-eyes, and fan-tails. It is remarkable how scarce the blackhead is on Ganonga; we have only taken one as yet that does show considerable demarcation from the Kulambangra type. This and the yellow-bib dove are the special desiderata here. There is supposed to be a black cockatoo on this island and Vella Lavella as well according to the yarn of some plantation owner. It has not been seen. The long-tail, malau or megapode, and the ordinary red-knobbed and gray pigeon thrive; and the usual parrot and paroquet. For so small an island the fauna is most abundant. Not only the birds but mammals, reptiles, land-snails, and insects are various and plentiful. Three snakes were taken to-day and in the evening natives brought three more on board; there were also six or eight giant frogs and five possums. The latter are very docile for the natives catch them simply by feeling about in tree holes with bare hands. This will give Dr. Raven a good series of the Solomon Island phalanger. The fine yield of the gardens make our dining table resemble a sort of Arcadian feast what with five kinds of vegetables. The natives are eager to trade but are very shrewd depending on one who "savvies too much" for advice on a bargain. G.R. and I spent our time on the possums while Mr. Beck and the Doctor ran out the birds. Two possums were left for to-morrow. October 23 Skinned possum in the morning. After lunch we went ashore to take luxurious bath in the big stream with germicidal soap. I took some photographs around the village. The Doctor performed a neat piece of surgery on one of the old men who had a hand badly infected with blood-poisoning. The courage of the ordinary native under pain is phenomenal; all his relatives and friends stood about exhorting him not to flinch. Returned to the France to write some notes; made a water-color of a kingfisher which in the process of drying was relieved of all its exquisite gamboge by the flies. October 24 Mr. Beck, Hicks, and I climbed the mountain and ran into nothing but rain in torrents. Hicks and I built three makeshift leantos at successive stages of the journey for shelter. My partner is an excellent woodsman as well as an experienced bird-hunter and skinner of the Beck school. One can learn much by watching him. I took very few, a fan-tail, two blackbirds, and a pigmy parrot. Both Hicks and I think we heard cockatoos. The white species is certainly not present or we should have seen it. Hicks claims he saw one of the black ones fly; it could have been anything. While we were getting wet up top the Doctor was busy collecting 28 birds lower down where it rained very little. I took a large lizard on the way back of which only one other like it