Wild Peacocks. 117 



life, that in the very country whei'e, five hundred years ago, 

 these grand works were being yearly executed, the inhabit- 

 ants now only build rude houses of bamboo and thatch, and 

 look upon these relics of their forefathers with ignorant 

 amazement, as the undoubted productions of giants or of 

 demons. It is much to be regretted that the Dutch Govern- 

 ment do not take vigorous steps for the preservation of these 

 ruins from the destroying agency of tropical vegetation, and 

 for the collection of the fine sculptures which are everywhere 

 scattered over the land. 



Wonosalem is situated about a thousand feet above the 

 sea, but unfortunately it is at a distance from the forest, and 

 is surrounded by coffee-plantations, thickets of bamboo and 

 coarse grasses. It was too far to walk back daily to the 

 forest, and in other directions I could find no collecting- 

 ground for insects. The place was, however, famous for pea- 

 cocks, and my boy soon shot several of these magnificent birds, 

 whose flesh we found to be tender, white, and delicate, and 

 similar to that of a turkey. The Java jDcacock is a different 

 species from that of India, the neck being covered with scarlet- 

 like green feathers, and the crest of a different form, but the 

 eyed train is equally large and equally beautiful. It is a sin- 

 gular fact in geographical distribution that the peacock 

 should not be found in Sumatra or Borneo, while the superb 

 Argus, fire-backed, and ocellated pheasants of those islands 

 are equally unknown m Java. Exactly jDarallel is the fact 

 that in Ceylon and Southern India, where the peacock 

 abounds, there are none of the splendid Lophophori and oth- 

 er gorgeous pheasants which inhabit Northern India. It 

 would seem as if the peacock can admit of no rivals in its 

 domain. Were these birds rare in their native country, and 

 unknown alive in Europe, they would assuredly be consider- 

 ed as the true princes of the feathered tribes, and altogether 

 unrivalled for stateliness and beauty. As it is, I suppose 

 scarcely any one, if asked to fix upon the most beautiful bird 

 in the world, would name the peacock, any more than the 

 Papuan savage or the Bugis trader would fix upon the bird 

 of paradise for the same honor. 



Three days after my arrival at Wonosalem my friend Mr. 



