half-an-hour before sundown when we returned to the
boat and pulled to the ship for dinner. I was very tired,
but altogether pleased at having secured at least one new
species of orchid as well as two or three birds that I had
never seen before. After dinner I occupied myself in
sketching my new pink orchid and in helping my “ boy ”
skin the birds I wished to preserve.
I was happy in the labour, and no description could
possibly convey any idea of that delight which fills one
when new and beautiful objects of natural history are
discovered for the first time.
CHAPTER X.
A ROYAL P IG -H U N T .
A royal boar bunt—The Sultan of the Sulus—Sultana and ladies of the
court—Sulu costume and arms—Fine breed of ponies—Rough ground
•—Pig sticking—Food for the dogs—A pleasing sight—Invitation to
the Istana—Datu Mahomed—The Sulu “ Prince of Wales ”—Curious
saddles—Pony racing—Meimbong stream—Pleasant evening light—
Birds—Large bats—Abundance of butterflies—Fine fish—Grood
angling—The “ Hill of Tears ”—Sugh, the old capital—Market at
Meimbong — Tobacco — Native produce—Chain armour—Chinese
settlers.
Soon after dinner one of the Sultan’s “ ministers” came
on board to tell us that a grand pig-hunt was to be held
on the morrow, at which the Sultan and suite were to be
present, and as royal boar-hunts are not every-day affairs,
we all made up our minds to get ponies and go to see the
sport. These pig-hunting forays are as popular in Sulu as
a royal stag-hunt at home, only that the Sulus have perhaps
a better reason to hunt their wild pigs, since they do
a deal of damage to the growing crops. About 9 o’clock
in the morning we went down to the headman’s house
at Meimbong and got our ponies saddled, and after a ride
of about half-an-hour through long grass and bushes we
came upon the beaters and dogs in a strip o f . low jungle
at the foot of a little hill. The men were yelling and
shouting so as to frighten the pigs from their covert out
into the grassy plain, where horsemen, each armed with
a long slender-shafted hunting-spear, were waiting in
o