Viewing page 40 of 83

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

-34-

a whole day of shouting and palaver, the chiefs decided that they were unable to break a precedent of their fathers and grandfathers and could not let us even go near the mountain. We had told them we were not interested in climbing it, nor in investigating any of their sacred places, but all our appeals were in vain.

One incident of the day came up for discussion also in the evening.  We had bought a chicken from a town boy who had hung around the camp a good deal, and been occasionally useful because he spoke quite good English.  We now learned that the chicken, for which we had payed 1/6 (a high price) had been stolen from the wife of the Paramount Chief.

April 14 -

Upon the recommendation of the Chief and various of his henchmen, we started about ten o'clock this morning for Peabody's Town.  We were told that it was an hour and a half walk, and that there was plenty of high bush there, and a mountain almost as high as the Gibi that we wanted to see.  However, with collecting all along the way, and stops in two or three villages to ask for animals, it was after twelve when we reached the town.  Sure enough, a mountain rose up in back of the town, and it was covered with thick jungle.  We took a most miserable trail from the village, through swamps, saw grass that cut our knees and arms, and driver ants, and finally managed to cut a short path for ourselves into a dark and dripping forest.  Here we squatted around our chop box and ate sardines and crackers and jam.  Bill had brought derris root and intended to poison the fish in the stream, but Ralph found where the stream came out of the mountain, a lovely rocky spot with clear little pools of water and small water falls, and we spent an hour or more there, with the boys wading in after the fish were stunned and picking them up in Bill's butterfly net.  He got many different kinds, some of them similar to the ones we got near our village, some of them quite different.  The boys picked up a few snails and frogs which went into Museum jars, and Ralph got a tiny snake and a fair-sized land snail.  Dr. Tengwall found a tiny fern that looked like moss growing on the tree trunks and on the rocks, and two or three plants that he couldn't identify.  I found another species of Polyrhachus, so all in all we considered the day worth the effort.

We started back about three thirty, and clouds soon gathered and threatened rain.  We had taken hammocks with us, but swung on a pole instead of a frame so that two boys could carry them, the trail being so narrow.  However, we are a bit heavy for two boys to carry, and although I had intended to [[strikethrough]]walk mos [[/strikethrough]] ride most of the way back I soon found that it would be far quicker to walk.  After an hour the rain began, and we walked more than half the way in a soaking downpour.  How good it was to get into camp and find that Charlie had hot tea waiting for us, and hot bath water!

Mr. Forte bought a pangolin for us today, and one boy brought an alligator.  The price on the pangolin was fair, but the alligator was too expensive for us!

As usual, we held court all evening on the verandah, with our own boys gathered round as well as most of the villagers.  One of our callers was the chicken thief, who was tethered to his [[page torn]]jai [[/page torn]] by a piece of rattan.  He looked downcast, but stayed [[page torn]]un [[/page torn]] our lights out.

[[end page]]