thought that it did not fall to the good lot of every
hunter to live in the midst of such a wondrous vegetation
and feast on parrots. In the evening, a full
moon shed broad oscillating bands of silver light
through the large polished leaves of the bananas
around our dwelling, as they slowly waved to and
fro in the cool, refreshing breeze. Then the low
cooing of doves came up out of the dark forest, and
the tree-toads piped out their long, shrill notes.
That universal pest, the mosquito, was also there,
singing his same bloodthirsty tune in our ears. Our
beds were perched on poles, high above the floor of
the hut, that we might avoid such unpleasant bedfellows
as large snakes, which are very common and
most unceremonious visitors. That night we were
disturbed but once, and then by a loud rattling of iron
pots and a general crashing of crockery; instantly
I awoke with an indefinite apprehension that we
were experiencing one of the frightful earthquakes
which my friend had been vividly picturing before
we retired. The natives set up a loud hooting and
shouting, and finally the cause of the whole disturbance
was found to be a lean, hungry dog that was
attempting to satisfy his appetite on what remained
of our parrot-stew.
My chief object on this excursion was to collect
insects; and among some white-leaved shrubs, near
the shore, I found many magnificent specimens of a
very large, richly-colored PcupiUo. The general color
of the upper surface of its wings was a blue-black,
and beneath were large patches of bright red. Another
was a blue-black above, with large spots of
bright blue. The wings of these butterflies expand
five or six inches, and they seem almost like small
birds as they flit by. , .
It was my desire not only to obtain the same
shells that Rumphius figures, but to procure them
from the same points and bays, so that there could be
no doubt about the identity of my specimens with
his drawings. I therefore proposed to travel along all
the shores of Amboina and the neighboring islands,
and trade with the natives of every village, so as to be
sure of the localities myself, and, moreover, get specimens
of all the species alive, and thus have amp e
material for studying their anatomy I now reabzed
the value of the letter with which His Excellency
the Governor-General had honored me at Batavia
I had only to apply to the assistant resident, and
he at once kindly ordered a boat and coolies for me
at the same rate as if they were employed by ithe
government, which was frequently less than half
what I should have been obliged to pay if I had
hired them myself; a n d besides, many times I could
not have obtained boats nor coolies at any price,
and when the Resident ordered them to come at a
certain hour, I always found them ready _
My first excursion along the shores of the lslan
was on the north coast of Hitu. Two servants accompanied
me, to aid in arranging the shells, an
carrying bottles of alcohol to contain the amm .
From tie A y of Amboina, a lo a t to o t us over the
bay to Ruma Tiga, where several coolies were wait,
ing with a “ chair” to carry me over the high hills
A . mmosite store. This “ chair,” or palanquin, is