All hands completing the rigging of camp. A very comfortable set-up. Lionel and I have a tent each. Rus is living in the rest house about 1/4 mile along the coast to the east, at Narian village. Natives bringing in small quantities of sweet potatoes, very good bananas, papaws, and Kinai (Canarium) nuts. The latter good eating. Shaped like an almond and about an inch long; cotyledong convolute. The VC named Totewana, a distinguished looking gray-headed, toothless man with with aquiline features. This afternoon we were visited by the two councillors of the village. They and the VC had been summoned to Bwagadia by McLeod and told to help us in every way. US mails in today. They had come from Samarai on Eric Ryan's boat, which, owing to the bad SE weather was 6 days on the way. One of my letters was from Robert P. Gelerier, of Oklahoma A & M, asking for seeds of Andropggoneae for work in experimental taxonomy in connection with their pasture improvement program. Ian McCollum, cadet patrol officer, has been given permission to spend most of his time with us. He is at loggerheads with Patrol Officer Bruce Teague, who seems to be a bit of a bastard. Ian came out on a bike early this morning and returned some time in the night after jacking with Rus. Lionel and I to dinner with Alec Thompson, who lives about a mile past us to the west or northwest. In living with a Misima native woman Niomi, by whom he has an 18-month old son, Eric, who has been legally adopted as his son. Has a comfortable house high on a ridge 1/2 of a mile or so back from the coast. Owns (99 year lease) 514 acres of land. Over 200 acres planted to young coconuts; rest will be planted. Has a trade store at his house and another on the coast nearby. Also sluicing gold. Showed us 50 pounds of amalgam, and some good small nuggets. Gold is worth 15 pounds a fine ounce, plus a bonus of 30/- an ounce for small producers who get less than 500 ounces a year. Friday August 3: No rain again last night or today. Wind southerly and somewhat moderated. It blew strongly before daylight. Collected up Cooktown a mile or better for 23 numbers of plants. A few species of the primary forest, left as relics after the clearing and cultivation of the land by the natives. Only poor low second growths seen. A lot of sago in the narrow valley of the creek. Good travel on the creek; crossed and recrossed many times; gravelly bottom; occasional rocky banks on which Begonia and Elatostema? grew in abundance. Interesting plants were a Barringtonia (TALTAI, SAWA) said to have edible seeds (flowers, yellow), a Terminalia with small leaves and angled dry fruits, and what seems to be a mango (I did not see fruits; the flowers different from those of the cultivated species). Two Rattus ruber in traps; a MacroGLOSSUS in the one bat net set; two Pteropus shot last night by Rus. Camp rigging completed in the morning. Insect collecting begun by Galuwina. I had a fair catch of moths, etc. at t e light trap last night. Ian says that on the Tweed River in Queensland they plant grain sorghum to rid the soil of nemotodon which infest beet crops. All cereals said to be useful for this purpose. Is should be worth trying in Florida. Saturday August 4: Another fine night and day. Heavy wind through the 24 hours, from SW. Threat of showers. Very high thin mackerel clouds drifting from north. Kept to the limestone of the coast this morning and collected 20 numbers. Except for a small sandy and gravelly cove at the mouth of Cooktown (or SAWAIA) Creek, all the coast is of oral limestone. The foreshores are a flat old reef with not much low shrubby and herbaceous growth on it. The headlands between bays rise to perhaps 100 feet hereabouts, and have been cleared and gardened. Some interesting plants survive on the low