Dutch Jungle-Watcher

{Continued from page 48)

landed at Lake Paniai, It had been de cided that the post should be evacuated by unessential personnel, and those who did not wish to remain; and, in the suc ceeding months, these people were taken off in Catalinas, leaving behind de Bruijn, a corporal, named Berger, Rudy Gout (the radio operator) and six Indo nesians. All had volunteered for the party, which was thenceforth to be known as “Oaktree.”

Without delay they abandoned Enaro tali, leaving only burnt buildings and de stroyed vegetable gardens, and made for a secret jungle hide-out about 12 miles away—and not before time. Two days later the Japs arrived at the lakes.

Now de Bruijn’s friendship with local natives paid dividends and, as in other parts of the South-west Pacific, these

people almost automatically became valu able spies. They would mingle with the Japanese—who appeared to treat them with no more suspicion than they did the rest of the scenery—and then would re port back to de Bruijn with detailed accounts of Jap strength and equipment.

This information was, in turn, relayed to Allied headquarters.

IT was May, 1943, when they moved out of Enarotali; and, apart from a few “drops” of supplies, their radio re mained their only link with their own kind until February, 1944.

Then they were informed that they would be joined by a new party, consist ing of a Lieutenant Overweel, a radio operator, Brink, and two Indonesians, The party duly arrived, towards the end of the month, by parachute; and from that time on affairs moved quickly to wards a climax.

Gout at this time had become ill, apparently with a gastric ulcer, with which they, with their limited knowledge and few supplies, were incompetent to deal.

In early March, 1944, a message was received from headquarters stating that an attempt would be made to evacuate the sick man from Lake Hagers, far to the north of their camp. It was obvious to de Bruijn that headquarters had little idea of the obstacles of terrain that had to be overcome in getting Gout to the rendezvous, which was fixed for April 10 (they finally made it late in July); but, leaving Overweel in charge, he determined to make the effort.

At this time, however, the Japs, too, were moving eastward from the Wissel Lakes, hard on the heels of the Dutch

men; and, in the hasty destruction of one camp. Brink, the other radio operator, had been badly burned. The parties were now hampered by two sick men.

At the beginning of May, de Bruijn, then preparing for the final trek to Lake Hagers with Gout, received further orders from headquarters. Due to “tactical and political” reasons, all per sonnel were to be evacuated. They were ordered to make haste to Lake Hagers forthwith.

Slowly de Bruijn and Overweel. their Indonesians, the two sick men and the 30 Papuans—who had left their homes with de Bruijn a year before —struggled down the long valley of the Rouffaer River, towards the lake. But now their chance of escape was threatened by an other development.

THE Americans had leap-frogged from Hollandia, and now were firmly estab lished on the north coast, and on Biak Island; the Japanese, consequently, were fleeing southwards, and were flood ing into the country around Lake Hagers.

De Bruijn and his men were between two fires and for a while he seriously contemplated trying to find his way out through Archbold’s Grand Valley.

The idea was eventually dismissed; it seemed too hazardous a journey with two sick men so . . .“Gradually day by day, they went forward, over the now low rolling, grassy country, through swamps and uninhabited, barren lands. There were no trails and no villages, for the people are a nomadic race, and live and move only in their canoes on the great river.

“Somewhere in the north was Hagers Lake. No one knew much about it.

Lieutenant Hagers had discovered it only a few months previously, while flying over to make photo-strips. No land party had been there. Le Roux, in 1926, and van

Eechoud, in 1937, had both by-passed it.

Strangely enough, this goal to which they were making as their sole hope of evacua tion was only known by photo-strips.”

More and more Japanese were moving in from the north, but headquarters had not entirely forgotten its little party mov ing in from the south, and, in the final days, they had the unexpected support of the sth US Air Force, which straffed the area ahead.

So passing through the swamps and the plagues of mosquitoes that nearly drove them mad, they came to Lake Hagers. On the morning of July 26, a few of them took rafts out into the middle of the lake and arranged the recognised signal. At 8.30, two Catalinas came down and settled on the water. In their small, collapsible canoes—which had been dropped to them—the men left the shore in small numbers and boarded the planes.

By 10.30 they were air-borne.

“Oaktree” was no more.—J.T. (“Jungle Pimpernel,” published by Hodder & Stoughton, for 18/3, Australian.) Mr. Harold Markham, of Marovo Lagoon, British Solomon Islands, one of the best known of the older planters of the group, arrived in Suva early in July on his way to Christmas Island, where he has accepted a temporary appointment as Government Agent under the Gilbert and Ellice Colony. Mr. Markham re turned to his plantation in 1946 (he was one of the voyagers on the “Southern Cross,” on her never-to-be-forgotten first trip after she was released by the navy)* but in the succeeding months he found the labour conditions and the difficulties of shipment and supply so great as to prevent rehabilitation. Therefore he has gone to Christmas Island for a few months in the hope that conditions in the Solomons will be better in 1948