Sat. Oct. 27: A considerable amount of rain in early morning, before dawn. More or less showery day. Weather from about east. Botanized, for very little, the hills on N side of the valley of Mabu Creek. Have seldom seen so little flowering and fruiting in a forest. This is annoffsea-son for plants, The flora is poorer then that of any of the other is, we have wroked. A mail in this afternoon by the mission boat "Morning Star" brought a new Leica camera from The National Geographic. The focusing gear failed long ago in the camera I brought out with me. Tomorrow will be our last day in Jinju and I will probably spend it largely in trying to get close-up pictures. The same results, or lack of results, from expedition trap lines. The hospital boy brought in only one ruber this morning (he has been using coconut as bait). Yesterday, however, the Methodist teacher, not to be outdone, asked for two traps to set in his house in the village. This morning he brought in 13 ruber and two Musi. He did not say how long he sat up to make the catch. Lionel this morning, with a local guide, investigated a bat cave we have long known about. Really a crack among jumbled rocks, about 20 minutes up Mabu Creek. Crack narrow and hard to get into. Caught 5 small Hipposideros of the species we already have for the island. Called on Father Earle in the evening (hd returned from Nimos on the Morning Star). One thing discussed was the early history of the Catholic Mission in these parts. Nothing seems to be known about the end of the Marist mission which went to Woodlark about 1840-50. Recently, however, a priest visited the mated site of the mission and, digging, unearthed a chalice which is now in Sydney. The inference was that the priest who probably buried it must have been a bad way. There is a legend on Rossel that, long ago, a white man came to the island who made the sign of the cross. He had only a shovel, with which he leveled ground for a house. Finally he was eaten. Sunday Oct. 28: Some small snowers, and much good bright sunshine. Several severe black squalls from the East. Stayed in camp to attend to collections and correspondence and sent my boys into the field, mainly to collect the gum tree (Vetiva) of Rossel. This is the same that occurs on Sudest. It is very abundant on river flats and the lower ridges at Abaleti, on the south side of the island. Here it is anything but common, and, as everywhere else where I have seen it, the leaves, especially of the elder trees, are very badly eaten by insects. Botanical collections for this camp number only 95, a poor total for seven days of field work. Herbarium sheets number 620. As previously noted this is an off season for flowering and fruiting, and the flora of the island is poor. It is especially poor in ferns and orchids, groups which generally are well re-presented. Another big batch of rats (seven) from the Methodist teacher. Nothing in other traps. Ten cuscus and several bats shot last night by Kim and Tinker. Aus jackals for nothing, in early evening. The boys did not start out until after 830. Following an announcement in church this morning by Father Earle, who has done us more than one good turn, a regular flood of artifacts came in for sale during the day. I bought shell money, pearlshell scrapers and spoons, hair combs, a nose-bone, and three types of baskets. Perhaps the Methodists will be in the morning. Theirs is a strict non-conformist Sunday. Thought today that I would be able to get pictures of village activities, but there weren't any. There was even any cooking of food. The hamlet of Jinju appears to be straight Methodist.