L. 11, S. 2 Monday, Mar. 9. Two Rattus brachyrhinus only. Heavy rain last night may have spoiled trapping partly. This morning put thirty tree traps on the coconuts adjoining the place where the canoe was beached in which the new Melomys described yesterday was caught. I rather feel however that the animal have come concealed among packages of sago with which the canoes were loaded from the Bamu River district, north of the Fly River. In that event we shall probably not find that species again at Daru. After lunch started out once more to try to find the great swamp to the southwest of the island. There is a perfect network of trails in places, and the first time I went wrong I recognized the fact after about a quarter of a mile; the next time I never did find the proper way, although I went through a lot of new territory as appears on the new map which I have drawn to illustrate the walk I took. Came to several large new native gardens and a number of abandoned ones. Finally turned due west along a track which brought me out some 300 yards south of Vernon's south fenceline. Plant to go out with Brass tomorrow. He went with a guide the other day. He showed me that I was very near the swamp but missed it at one of the gardens, where the track becomes obscured for a time. The big patch of woods which on the map I have marked as having such bad mosquitos, is from the standpoint of forest the most attractive I have seen yet on Daru. But the the mosquitos are fierce there Last night we had a visitor, a missionary named Standing, of the Unevangelized Christian Mission. His station is on the River Aramea, tributary of the Bamu River. He told a number of tales of going about in overloaded canoes and getting upset or swamped in various uncomfortable places, one of which was at the mouth of the Fly River two miles from shore. The weather has become rather stormy and last night we had a lot of rain again. Tuesday, Mar. 10. The boys brought in two R. brachyrhinus. The coconut sets on the trunks of the trees produced nothing whatever. Took a walk eastwards along the trail among the mangroves. Saw nothing of importance. Beech has just pointed out that rain has been getting into the storeroom and that the bottom bags of rice and brovosions are mouldy. This afternoon I tried once more to reach the great swamp. Last night's rain has put all the tracks under from six inches to a foot of water; and the water in the swamp (which this time I found without trouble) was so high that I should have had to go waist deep to get even to the edge of the clear water. The approach however is distinctive, being composed of dwarfed teatree forest with a ground cover of wide patches of a very short grass or sedge interspersed with the great fern Acrostichum (Brass 6211). Went over to Beech's this evening where found him playing Cribbage with Mr. and Mrs. Leyden. I cut in but I hadn't played the game for at least ten years. Had the cyanide bottle with me and picked up several interesting though small moths during the evening. Weather all night gusty and threatening rain. Wednesday, Mar. 11. No rain after all. It is rather disappointing to find what look like good trapping places unproductive. The twenty sets made in mosquito woods yesterday did no good. Probably the holes around the bases of the trees were made by crabs and not by mammals at all. Two juvenile R. brachyrhinus were secured only. This morning turned in between Maidment's and Beech's places and worked around and out behind the Mission. Found the patch of woods where the Mission ch#ildren are probably catching their butterflies, as I saw a male Ornithoptera a great green and black creature with a sulphur yellow abdomen flitting through the trees.