42 Naturalist at Large 



(Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij) poked their noses 

 in and out of scores upon scores of out-of-the-way har- 

 bors. Finally, on January 24, 1907, we set forth. 



Our passage was leisurely, loading and unloading was 

 slow, and there were always letters to be waited for or 

 merchants whose affairs dragged on, as always when one is 

 dealing with Orientals. First came Bali, a very different Bali 

 from the island as it is, or was a short time ago. The Dutch 

 had just conquered it, and the natives were still pretty well 

 unpacified. Then Lombok, chiefly memorable as producing 

 a new toad which I named Biifo cavator. Then Macassar, 

 Buru, Ambon, Ceram, Obi, and lovely Ternate. 



Here came a real thrill, for I was stopped in the street 

 one day as my wife and I were preparing to climb up to 

 the Crater Lake. With us were Ah Woo with his butterfly 

 net, Indit and Bandoung, our well-trained Javanese col- 

 lectors, with shotguns, cloth bags, and a vasculum for car- 

 rying the birds. We were stopped by a wizened old Malay 

 man. I can see him now, with a faded blue fez on his head. 

 He said, "I am Ali Wallace." I knew at once that there 

 stood before me Wallace's faithful companion of many 

 years, the boy who not only helped him collect but nursed 

 him when he was sick. We took his photograph and sent 

 it to Wallace when we got home. He wrote me a delightful 

 letter acknowledging it and reminiscing over the time 

 when Ali had saved his life, nursing him through a terrific 

 attack of malaria. This letter I have managed to lose, to my 

 eternal chagrin. 



The voyage continued all the way around the great 

 spidery mass of the island of Helmahera, one of the love- 

 liest in all the world. The only rough night I remember 



