they had passed, to avoid a catastrophe which would increase
the dislike with which I was already regarded. Every
day about noon the buffaloes were brought into the village
and were tethered in the shade around the houses; and
then I had to creep about like a thief by back ways, for
no one could tell what mischief they might do to children
and houses were I to walk among them. If I came suddenly
upon a well where women were drawing water or
children bathing, a sudden flight was the certain result;
which things occurring day after day, were very unpleasant
to a person who does not like to be disliked, and who had
never been accustomed to be treated as an ogre.
About the middle of November, finding my health no
better, and insects, birds, and shells all veyy scarce, I determined
to return to Mamajam, and pack up my collections
before the heavy rains commenced. The wind had already
begun to blow from the west, and many signs indicated
that the rainy season might set in earlier than usual; and
then everything becomes very damp, and it is almost
impossible to dry collections properly. My kind friend
Mr. Mesman again lent me his pack-horses, and with the
assistance of a few men to carry my birds and insects,
which I did not like to trust on horses’ backs, we got
everything home safe. Few can imagine the luxury it was
to stretch myself on a sofa, and to take my supper comfortably
at table seated in'my easy bamboo chair, after
having for five weeks taken all my meals uncomfortably
on the floor. Such things are trifles in health, but when
the body is weakened by disease the habits of a lifetime
cannot be so easily set aside.
My house, like all bamboo structures in this country,
was a leaning one, the strong westerly winds of the wet
season having set all its posts out of the perpendicular to
such a degree, as to make me think it might some day
possibly go over altogether. It is a remarkable thing that
the natives of Celebes have not discovered the use of
diagonal struts in strengthening buildings. I doubt if
there is a native house in the country two years old and
at all exposed to the wind, which stands upright; and no
wonder, as they merely consist of posts and joists all
placed upright or horizontal, and fastened rudely together
with rattans. They may be seen in every stage of the
process of tumbling down, from the first slight inclination,
to such a dangerous slope that it becomes a notice to quit
to the occupiers.
The mechanical geniuses of the country have only discovered
two ways of remedying the evil. One is, after it
has commenced, to tie the house to a post in the ground
on the windward side by a rattan or bamboo cable. The
other is a preventive, but how they ever found it out and
did not discover the true way is a mystery. This plan is,
to build the house in the usual way, but instead of having