L. 14, P. 4 hour there is a dog fight: usually a multiple fight, about five against one. The fight lasts at most about thirty seconds, then each participant goes about his business. The children here (and there are lots of them) are always at play. Marbles is perhaps the most popular game, but just chasing about, or running back and forth through puddles (they aren't overburdened with clothes) or hunting for mangos just fallen from the trees. One little fellow had his Father's fish spear and was busily jabbing the toes of all the bigger children. Sun. Apr. 19. Fair all night. The southeast seems to be establishing itself gradually. So the paths should begin to dry up a bit today. Everything until now has been under water. Four R. ringens and one Melomys muscalis were brought in this morning. Bright sunshine all morning. After clearing up the skinning went out taking photos. In spite of possessing their own Church, no service is held because the Samoan missionary who normally presides here is away. I asked one of the "councillors" whether they held the service ever. He said that if the missionary had left instructions so to do that they would have done it. The councillorship, it seems, descends from father to son. Egoego shooting boy brought in a female wallaby (M. agilis). Blue was very funny about it. He took possession of it as though to say "that's the wallaby I've been hunting for days", and growled at all the boys who came near it. The animal appears identical to those I shot at Dogwa. 't was taken a few miles outside Mabaduane on the tree savannas. The boy said he saw others. In the afternoon took a walk out towards the "port", where we first came ashore. Also went a short way along trail to east of hill leading through second growth grasslands to gardens. Found the water considerably reduced. Hope that by another 24 hours, if dry weather continues, walking and collecting will be much improved. Mon. Apr. 20. Shotan Eptesicus Pipistrellus at dusk last night; and in the small hours, about 2 a.m. heard the heavy swish-swish of flying-fox's wings. They turned out to be Dobsonia, two of which I shot. The eyes of Dobsonia shine strongly with an orange light, and I distinctly saw one feeding: A mango hung at the end of a long stalk, and the bat hung by its hind legs from the base of the stalk so that its mouth came on a level with the fruit. I begin to suspect that the eyes of the other fruit bat genus, Pteropus either do not shine at all or glow much less brightly. Brass has gone out to the savanna taking his lunch with him today. My boys probably skimped the rebaiting of their traps yesterday (Sunday), as only two animals, R. brachyrhinus and Melomys muscalis were brought in. It is to be noted that in Dobsonia the pubic arch of the male is as in most animals completely fused. In the female however the pubes remain widely separated, connection being gained solely by means of an elastic ligament, which joins the inferior (anterior) tips of the pubes. Checked up Aia's trapline this afternoon. Also give him a single-barrel shotgun for the first time. He declares he knows all about shooting. We'll see. Brass came in to report that botanically the savanna is very uninteresting, being very limited in numbers of species. He brought a fish, shot with shotgun. Tonight a Kiwai canoe or two arrived from Daru. Turtle is being cooked here and there about the village. Little boy accompanied by hist father came to present a coconut to us. Expremely shy and departed with all haste. Tues. Apr. 21. Traps caught one R. brachyrhinus, one R. ringens. Another Macroglossus in the bat net, but this one caught in corner close to tree where net tied and attacked and killed by ants.