( 499 ) 



moiiDtaius. New butterflies and moths at high elevations. Short visit to Sumba, 

 etc. Reach island of Alor ; cnrious fair at Morn.* Attacked and burnt out at 

 Kalabahi by the Leiiidohi savages. Escape and go to island of Fura, between Alor 



* In a letter to Mr. Doncaster occur the following notes :— " I found Alor 

 (Ombay or Maluwa) a bad jilace for insects, the island being almost wholly cleared 

 of forest, and the people one of the fiercest and rudest races I have ever seen 

 — except those on the barren little peninsula of Alor Kichil. I visited Kalabahi, 

 on the north coast of the great bay, and there stayed some days at Leindola, 

 15(10 feet high in the hills. The natives set fire to my abode, and I was glad 

 enough to get away alive. I went then to Blalang and Morn, sleeping in our 

 prahu ! I next tried the island of Pura, a volcano 4000 feet high. We camped 

 out at 3000 feet, water being brought np from the seaside— most horrible water, 

 my boys nearly dying of thirst before they would touch it. We obtained a 

 TIn/sonotis and a number of a fine new Delias, both sexes. I then tried Pantar, 

 touched at Pandai, where I got nothing, and tried to double a point to reach Kabir, 

 where I had heard there was jungle. After some hours of tacking, however, I got 

 discouraged, and ran down before the east wind to Adonara, one of the two Solor 

 islands. Here again the coast was a burning waste, and I had to settle down in 

 the forest at 2000 feet, near the villages of Lemburang, Labunarang, Gerko, and 

 Pohu, in the centre of the island. The people were good enough to us, but 

 fighting was going on all round, and this crippled our work a good deal. Here and 

 in Alor and Pnra I had to do nearly all the catching myself, the country being 

 fearfully stony and thorny. The black basalt rock got heated so as to burn 

 my feet through my heavy boots ; my men, wlio had only their shoes or sandals, 

 sufi"ered much and aecomiilished very little. From Solor I went to Larentuka, in 

 Flores, and after a day there — very few insects were seen — came to Timor Kupang 

 in the liesident's steam yacht. AVe settled down at Oinanissa, at 2000 ft. elevation, 

 not far from Fatu Leo, tiie highest peak of S.W. Timor, 40 miles from Kupang, in 

 sight of both seas. In the low country there seemed to be no insects, and altogether 

 my list of butterflies only ran up to 88 species, counting unicpies and ragged 

 specimens, whereas iu Alor and Solor we must have got nearly 140. Butterflies 

 are usually more shy in the off season, but we never saw anything like their 

 shyness in Timor, perhaps owing to the very great number of birds, which were 

 more numerous and frequent in Timor than anywhere else. All the trees were in 

 flower, and the insects flew generally high out of reach, while the weak-flying 

 species had the inconvenient habit of sitting hidden among the leaves at a great 

 height, and this in full sunshine ! My men worked well, and I was agreeably 

 surprised with the people, who proved as mild as milk. I slept without fear in my 

 tent outside the village, just within call of my men. 



" My expenses are alarming. Over and above my losses by robbery iu Celebes, 

 I have sjient well over £200 in the last seven months, yet 1 lived like a native 

 nearly all the time. The question arises in my mind whether I do well in covering 

 so much ground. You know German collectors usually stay six months, or even a 

 year, in one place, which is, of course, considerably cheaper, and the life is infinitely 

 easier and quieter."' (There is no doubt, and we have often impressed on our poor 

 friend the fact, that he did not stay long enough in most places ; but he was very 

 fond of moving from place to place.) 



