PITHECHIR MELANURUS. 123 



this at the same time will show to our zealous and disin- 

 terested correspondent how highly we esteem and appre- 

 ciate his observations. 



Pasteur related as follows: » Although Mount Salak, as 

 » nearer to Batavia, offered a much better field to an en- 

 »tomologist, 1 chose the »Karapong" Toegoe (13Ó0 meters 

 » above the level of the sea) for my entomological excur- 

 »sions, solely to investigate after Pithechir melanurus. Toe- 

 »goe is the most remote spot on the slope of the Gedeh 

 » where I could rather easily come with a little cart. And 

 »so I travelled every Sunday or every fortnight 174 kilo- 

 » meters — 120 K. M. by railroad and 54 K. M. by cart 

 »with three horses — to spend at Toegoe four or five 

 » hours with my favorite occupation. Having your colored 

 » drawing always with me I showed it again and again to 

 » numerous natives, giving them rixdollars and instructions. 

 »In short, 1 saw the first specimen of this interesting 

 » species on October 31. It was half past eight in the 

 » evening and quite dark. Dozing I sat down in my little 

 »cart slowly pulled by the panting horses along the steep 

 » slope of the mountain, as I beared a native crying: 

 »toewan, saja dapet itoe tikoes" \ (Sir, I have captured the 

 »rat!) and at the same time he in triumph showed to me 

 »in the light of the lantern one of the iron rat-traps, 

 » which I had given him, wherein I saw the large white 

 » bellied red rat frightened climbing round about! — My 

 » native hunters, having a longing for the promised pre- 

 »mium, rambling day after day along the steep unculti- 

 !i>vated slopes of the Gedeh, believed a certain day to 

 ))remark the red rat running upon a branch of a high 

 »rasamala ') - tree and saw it disappear in what seemed to 

 »be a large nest. One of them mounted on the tree, but 

 »it was an impossibility to reach the nest: so they resol- 

 »ved to destroy the nest with a long stick by which the 

 » frightened animals would be forced to drop down. And 



1) Liquidambar altingia. 



Notes from the Leyden IMuseum , Vol. X.IV. 



