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lory swing from home-made perches over the doorway. The snakes are in bags that are hung on our clothes rack (no klambo here for clothes and every time you pick a dress off the hook mosquitoes fly out).
A lovely little gecko (tjitjak) with a yellow stripe down his back escaped from a bamboo cage during the night. And Bill and I beam at each other and say "This is like the good old days; now we are getting somewhere." A hornbill was brought in to us, but the ownr wanted F1.3, which seemed too much to pay in this part of the world, as we can get them for F1. 2.50 in Macassar. We bargained and failed to get it, but will later. Satu - strengah has been established as the regular price for birds - one guilder and a half.

Williams was feeling rotten this morning, and we sent for the doctor. He is a native from [[strikethrough]] Soe [[/strikethrough]] Sapoeroea, but trained in Ambon, and the government doctor here. He seemed a bright young chap, and prescribed various remedies for Williams' persistent cough - he has been ill ever since we were in Batavia.   W. got up in the afternoon, and although he has declared himself violently un-zoological on the whole trip he at last capitulated, and made friends with the green lory and with the young cuscus. He even didn't mind much when one of the Mandoer's hens laid an egg on top of his wardrobe. (Make a note to send Dr. Poetiray a sample of Urea to try on tropical sores; both frambosis and malaria are bad here.)

April 25 - Ceram

We had planned to go for a collecting walk this morning, but were so harassed by our shortage of cages, and by the increase in specimens - more turtles, a tame baby cuscus, another green lory - that we stuck around camp all morning. About nine a weary young Catholic priest came up the path. He had walked for four hours out of the jungle this morning, and was badly in need of refreshment. He ordered coffee, but seemed to enjoy the whisky and cigar that Bill gave him. He was accompanied by his boy, carrying his worldly goods in tin boxes loaded on a carrying pole. He has been here 13 years, and before that in New Guinea for ten years, without ever a vacation in Europe.

One gecko got lost last night, escaped out of the sago palm cage that a native had made for it. The young pigeons, after being force-fed, are perking up considerably. Some of the lories are fighting, and some of the cuscus  making friends. Buitenbos bicycles to a village ten kilmoeters away to tell them to collect for us. We fear that we have exhausted the resources of Piroe but say hopefully that there are still the outlying districts to be heard from.

Piroe has no automobile, electric light, [[insertion]] ^[[movie house,]] telephone or cable. [[insertion]] ^[[only radio & occasional mail]] [[/insertion]]. A swell place to camp - the nearest approach to being really in the wilds that we have had yet.

Williams is feeling better, and planning to take color photographs of some of the parrots.