to persuade the Chinaman and his companion to cut down
the tre e ; hut it was a very large one, and they had been
at work all day, and nothing would induce them to
.attempt it. The next morning, at daybreak, I came to
the place, and found that the Mias was evidently dead, as
his head was visible in exactly the same position as before.
I now offered four Chinamen a day’s wages each to cut the
tree down at once, as a few hours of sunshine would cause
decomposition on the surface of the skin; but, after looking
at it and trying it, they determined that it 'was very big
and very hard, and would not attempt it. Had I doubled
my offer, they would probably have accepted it, as it would
not have been more than two or three hours’ work; and
had I been on a short visit only I would have done so;
but as I was a resident, and intended remaining several
months longer, it would not have answered to begin paying
too exorbitantly, or I should have got nothing done in
future at a lower rate.
For some weeks after, a cloud of flies could be seen
all day, hovering over the body of the dead Mias; but in
about a month all was quiet, and the body was evidently
drying up under the influence of a vertical sun alternating
with tropical rains. Two or three months later two
Malays, on the offer of a dollar, climbed the tree, and
let down the dried remains. The skin was almost entire,
enclosing the skeleton, and inside were millions of the
pupa-cases of flies and other insects, with thousands of two
or three species of small necrophagous beetles. The skull
had been much shattered by balls, but the skeleton was
perfect, except one small wrist-bone, which had probably
dropped out and been carried away by a lizard.
Three days after I had shot this one and lost it, Charles
found three small Orangs feeding together. We had a
long chase after them, and had a good opportunity of
seeing how they make their way from tree to tree, by
always choosing those limbs whose branches are intermingled
with those of some other tree, and then grasping
J
several of the small twigs together before they venture
to swing themselves across. Yet they do this so quickly
and certainly, that they make way among the trees at the
rate of full five or six miles an hour, as we had continually
to run to keep up with them. One of these we shot and
killed, but it remained high up in the fork of a tree; and,
as young animals are of comparatively little interest, I did
not have the tree cut down to get it.
At this time I had the misfortune to slip among some
fallen trees, and hurt my ankle, and, not being careful
enough at first, it became a severe inflamed ulcer, which
would not heal, and kept me a prisoner in the house the
whole of July and part of August. When I could get out
again, I determined to take a trip up a branch of the Simun-
jon River to Semabang, where there was said to be a large
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