Escapees from Boven Digoel left an account of their journey across the Fly River in 1929. These men, Sendojo, Diposoekarno, Koesmeni and D. Abdoerachman, encountered Papuans who, despite their reputation for ferocity, left them unharmed. After island-hopping into Queensland territory, they were arrested when trying to get work. After a month in gaol in Queensland, they were handed over to Dutch authorities from Maluku, where they remained imprisoned in 1930, when they were able to get their story as a way of publicising the oppressive nature of Boven Digoel.