P O L Y P L E C T R O N T H I B E T A N U M .
and the explorer finds himself brought up in a mass of thorny tangle, or, while plunging knee-deep through a slough of rotting
leaves trips headlong over one of the thousands o f prostrate logs and trunks which, buried* under fallen foliage, lie concealed from
the eye of the most vigilant. Some of these, if fallen on drier ground, are attacked by. termites (white ants), and, in a wonderfully
short space o f time, reduced to a powder as fine as ashes; the outer bark, however, is left untouched, and the log looks,.to all
appearance, as sound as when it grew a flourishing tree, so that the unwary sportsman, stepping nimbly upon so promising a
surface, finds himself taken in and done for with the rapidity of a tragedy ghost. But as if these impedimenta viarum were not
sufficient to deter intrusion, the trees and bushes are beset by enemies formidable by their numbers, and some highly dangerous.
The large grasses and hill bamboos are beset with ticks—villanous creatures, l i | | miniature crabs, which, easily detached from their
perch by any animal that rustles past, drop down on the passenger, find their way to his skin through the interstices o f his clothing,
and cause intense irritation. Leeches swarm in such spots, and fasten on to the legs in a marvellously nimble manner, in spite of leather
leggings and thick long stockings; they are small, and cause itching rather than p a in ; but I have sometimes, on return to camp,
detached four or five from my leg and found my sock soaked in blood. Here and there the intruder may notice large globular
nests or balls of leaves swaying to and fro on the bamboo branches ; and if his face or shoulder should come against one of these,
let him fly incontineut; for in an instant the outside of the nest, with a sudden bristling noise, the recollection o f which, even at
this distance of time, makes my flesh creep, will be seen covered with huge red ants, the bite of one of which burns like a spark
of fire. ? Here also dwells the ‘ Puddoo,’ the dread of the Karen settler, a gigantic hornet, the sting of which has been known to
cause death. It builds a small comb in the hole of a tree, and is happily rare, assembling in parties of npt more than ten o rtwelve.
At Darjeeling, in 1842, there was a nest of t h e m ® the compound of the lamented Rev. F. Fisher (afterwards killed in
the rebellion of 1857) ; and a Lepcha servant o f that gentleman was stung to death by three or four ( I was assured there were
no more) of these hornets. The n e k was uncomfortably near the roadside, and the loud angry buzz of these malignant insects
was plainly audible to the passer-by. But I question whether any o f the above enumerated creatures could cause tortures equal
to those inflicted by a species of caterpillar—tortures of which I was, in 1859, an eye-witness. The incident occurred on a loftjr
mountain-ridge leading to Mooleyit, the highest peak in'- the great Tenasserim range; and I transcribe the àccpimf I wrote o f the
occurrence in an itinerary published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society.
‘“ While brushing through the jungle near Thembauley, one of my people, following with a spare gun, uttered a sudden cry
of pain, and on turning round I saw him writhing in such a way that I felt sure a scorpion had stung him. In about two
minutes he was prostrate and groaning with torture. The Karens seemed to know or guess what had happened ; for they
commeuced afeeag er search in the offending bush, and presently pointed out to me a rectangular-shaped green caterpillar, with a
back bristling with star-headed spines. This they seized between two twigs, smashed all to pieces, arid rubbed upon the spot
where the man had been stung. In two or three minutes the pain ceased, and he continued his journey ! I have myself been stung
by these urticarious abominations ; : but this ohe must have been of a peculiarly malignant species.’
“ It is happily exceedingly ra re ; for I feel convinced that if it were, like some caterpillars, gregarious, a person stung % three
orf tour of them woùld'-dìfc .of nervous- ,iM<|itìòiai.-'Ì80 agonizing is thè pain inflicted by its dorsal spines. I have seen natives stung
by scorpions and centipedes, but never witnessed such acute suffering as my unfortunate servant exhibited.
“ If, undeterred b y f f l these obstacles, the sportsman forces his way down the steep incline, the lower he descends the more
oppressive grows the atmosphere; and the heat at the bottom,0 he can reach so far, is almost stifling. The àir, which, keen and
fresh, waves the lofty branches of the colossal Thengan on the giddy height far above, here scarce circulates. A stony stillness, an
oppressive weight, broods over the deep abyss ; and perpetual shade engenders a chilling deadly damp, in which broods the most
fatal miasma. However, such are the spots where the Polyplectron, the Kallij, the Fireback, and other species o f hill-Pheasants dwell
in the heat of the day, of seek refuge, when disturbed from above. And I may add that such are the only places in which,
durin«- the dry and cold weather, the gaur and the rhinoceros can be found. The Karén will dive into these profound retreats,
and, with his gun, a little ammunition, and a bundle of boiled ricè, pass two o r three nights on a tree, beneath which the gaurs
come to drink, and so perhaps Succeed in shooting pnè of these animals, which affords him and his village a six months’ supply of
dried meat. But no one else, I imagine, could attempt such a feat and live; toy so deadly is the malaria in these spots that g jiJ|
night’s sleep in them would be fatal to any but the most acclimated.
“ I have kept these Peacock Pheasants in captivity, which they appear to bear tolerably ^ 1 1 , but never become thoroughly tame.
Those I observed had a wearisome habit o f running to and fro in their cages, poking their head through the bars until the plumage
was rubbed off. They were incessantly uttering a soft low cluck, but emitted a t times a cry or crow, being the same clucks loudly
and rapidly repeated. Like others of the Pheasant or Peacock family.gSdevours grain, of all kinds, and insects with equal eagerness.
Nothing is known, I believe, o f its eggs or breeding.”
Dr. Jerdon writes me that the wife of the Commissioner of Assam gave him a living Polyplectron thibetanum, which is now in the Zoological
Gardens. “ It is a very timid bird, and does not care for leaves, but is very fond of insects, and will eat greedily of small fish, frogs,
lizards, and raw meat. I t has a peculiarly fine rich whistling call, which it utte rf daily about sunrise and occasionally at other times.”
The male of this, beautiful species has the bea4 covered with a crest, barred narrowly with dark brown and white. Sides o f the
head similarly marked, the white rather more conspicuous. The rest of the body light brown ; the feathers barred with, blackish
brown, the mantle, wings, and tail covered with most beautiful spots or eyes, rich purple in colour, changeable to green in Certain
lights, and surrounded with a broad ring of greyish white. Bill light horn-colour. Feet and tarsi blackish, the tarsi armed with
two, sometimes three, spurs.
• The female resembles the male, but is 'smaller-;' and the spots upon the body are without brilliancy, and are absent from the
tail-coverts. Rest of plumage similar..