The Mosquitoes Were Certainly Very
Plentiful And Vicious.
We spent the following day here, duck-shooting on the lake, and I did
a little natural-history collecting in the adjacent forest.
We had
intended to try and induce two of the Agai Ambu to accompany us back to
Cape Nelson, but most unfortunately they understood that we were going
to take them forcibly away. They became alarmed and all disappeared,
and we were not able to get into communication with them again.
When Sir Francis Winter visited them about a month later they were
evidently quite friendly again, but on the second day of his visit
his native followers demanded a pig of the Agai Ambu in his, Sir
Francis's, name. At this they became alarmed and retreated to the
further village, and he was unable to see any more of them. Since
then I believe nothing more has been seen of these flat-footed people.
We returned to our old camping ground in the Baruga village on the
banks of the Barigi River, and the friendly Baruga people brought
us a big supply of pigs, sago and other native food. The next day
we continued our journey to the coast, and camped at the mouth of
the Barigi River. We had intended making an expedition into the
Hydrographer range of mountains, which we could see from here, and
which were unexplored, but Monckton and Acland were far from well, and
most of our carriers and police were down with fever, and so, greatly
to my disappointment, this had to be abandoned. We resumed our homeward
journey in the whaleboat early the following morning. We started with
a fair breeze, but this changed after a time to a head wind, against
which it was quite impossible to make any headway, so we landed at a
place where there was a small inlet leading into a lagoon. We stayed
here till six p.m., when the wind dropped sufficiently to enable
us to start off again, and, passing the mouth of the Musa River,
we landed about one a.m. in Porlock Bay, where we camped for the night.
We spent the following day shooting, which entailed a lot of wading
amongst the shallow streams, lagoons and small lakes. I had a bit of a
fright here, as I suddenly stepped into some quicksands and felt myself
sinking fast, but, thanks to Arigita and the branch of a tree, I was
able to pull myself out after a great deal of trouble and anxiety,
though if I had not had Arigita with me I should most certainly
have gone under. We got a splendid bag between us of various birds,
chiefly duck and pigeon. One of the police shot a large cassowary,
and also a large wild pig and a wallaby, so there was plenty of food
for all. We sailed again that night at eleven p.m., and got six of
the Okeina canoes to tow us along. This they did not seem to relish,
and before they got into line there was a great deal of angry talking
and shouting, and Monckton had to call them to order by firing a rifle
in the air.
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