A truly wonderful country! What terrible convulsions of nature there
must have been here ere these great boulders were displaced and rolled
about like mere pebbles! The villages are so built that they are
accessible only on two sides by very narrow tracks. We saw no game of
any kind, yet the cassowary must abound somewhere near, as every one of
the natives wears great head-dresses and neck-ruffs made from the
feathers. Our highest ascent to-day was to 2360 feet above the
sea-level; we call it Mount Bellamy; it stands out alone, and from it we
saw the Astrolabe, Vetura, and Munikahila.
2_nd_.--We left this morning for a pig and cassowary hunt, but were
unsuccessful. We bagged four cockatoos, one green parrot, one brueros,
and three pigeons. Of my travelling in this land, to-day beats all; it
was along mere goat tracks, on the edge of frightful precipices, down
precipitous mountain-sides and up steep ridges, on hands and knees at
times, hanging on to roots and vines, and glad when a tree offered a
little rest and support.
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