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It turned out to be the most exhausting jour- mapped. It seemed the expedition and our film, 5
ney that I have ever made. Laurie had managed would have no satisfying conclusion.
to assemble a hundred porters, but even that was And then, one morning, I woke up beneath 10
not enough to carry all the food that we would my tarpaulin and saw outside a group of small section one
need. We would have to have an air-drop of more men, standing within a couple of yards of me.
supplies after about three weeks. We also had to None of them was more than about a metre and a /
travel across the grain of the country. Every morn- half tall. They were naked except for a broad belt
ing soon after dawn, we started walking, cutting of bark into which they had pushed a bunch of
our way through the densest forest I have ever leaves, at the front and the back. Several had what
encountered, hauling ourselves up steep muddy I later discovered were bats’ teeth stuck through David Attenborough
slopes to the crest of a ridge and then slithering holes that they had pierced in the sides of their
down the sodden undergrowth on the other side, noses. Hugh, the cameraman, who always slept
to wade across a small winding river and then with his camera within arm’s reach fully loaded
do the same thing, over and over again. At four and ready to shoot, was already recording. The
o’clock every afternoon we stopped, made camp men stared at us, wide-eyed, as though they had
and put up tarpaulins to give us shelter from the never seen our like before. I doubtless did the
drenching rains that would start promptly at five. same. I had never seen anyone like them either.
After three and a half weeks of this, one of the To my surprise I found that it was not difficult
porters noticed human footprints in the forest to communicate with them. I tried by gestures to
on the edge of the patch we had cleared. Some- indicate that we were short of food. They pointed
one had been close to our camp the previous to their mouths, nodded and opened their string
night, watching us. We followed the tracks. Night bags to show us roots, probably taro, that they
after night, having pitched our tents, we put out had been gathering. I pointed to cakes of salt we
gifts — cakes of salt, knives and packets of glass had brought with us. It is used as currency all
beads. One of the porters was stationed to sit on a over New Guinea. They nodded. We had started
tree stump and call out every few minutes, saying to trade. Laurie then asked them the names of
that we were friends and were bringing gifts. But the nearest rivers. That was more difficult to
it was unlikely that the people we were following, explain, but they eventually understood what he
whoever they were, would understand him for wanted and they began to list them. How many
there are over a thousand mutually incompre- did they know? They counted them, touching
hensible languages spoken in New Guinea. first their fingers one by one, tapping places up
Even small groups had their own distinct lan- their forearm, their elbow, and continuing up
guage. Night after night we called. Morning after the arm and ending on the side of the neck. In
morning, the gifts lay where we had left them. fact, Laurie was not particularly interested in the
After three further weeks of walking, our actual names of the rivers, or how many there
supplies were running low. We made camp and, were. He wanted to know what gestures they
for the next two days, the porters laboriously cut used to indicate number. He knew the counting
down huge trees to create a clearing on which a gestures used by other groups in the area, and
helicopter might drop fresh supplies. The drop the ones used by these little people would tell
was successful and accurate and we set off, him what trading contacts they might have.
the porters once again with reassuringly heavy After ten minutes or so, the men started to
loads — but not complaining, for we had been on wave their arms and roll their eyes, indicating
short rations. Four weeks after we had started, that they were going to leave. We waved back in
we were nearing country that had already been response, trying to invite them to return in
Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample. 157
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
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