A Forest Desert. 363 



groups of insects, except butterflies, there Avas the same pover- 

 ty. I had hoped to find some rai"e tiger beetles, as I had done 

 in similar situations in Celebes ; but, though I searched close- 

 ly in forest, river-bed, and mountain-brook, I could find noth- 

 ing but the two common Amboyna species. Other beetles 

 there were absolutely none. 



The constant walking in water, and over rocks and pebbles, 

 quite destroyed the two pair of shoes I brought with me, so 

 that, on my return, they actually fell to pieces, and the last 

 day I had to walk in my stockings very painfully, and reached 

 home quite lame. On our way back from Makariki, as on our 

 way there, we had storm and rain at sea, and we arrived at 

 Awaiya late in the evening, with all our baggage drenched, 

 and ourselves thoroughly uncomfortable. All the time I had 

 been in Ceram I had suffered much from the irritating bites 

 of an invisible acarus, which is worse than mosquitoes, ants, 

 and every other pest, because it is impossible to guard against 

 them. This last journey in the forest left me covered from 

 head to foot with inflamed lumps, which, after my return to 

 Amboyna, produced a serious disease, confining me to the 

 house for nearly two months — a not very pleasant memento of 

 my first visit to Ceram, which termmated with the year 1859. 



It was not till the 24th of February, 1860, that I started 

 again, intending to pass fi"om village to village along the 

 coast, staying where I found a suitable locality. I had a letter 

 from the Governor of the Moluccas, requesting all the chiefs 

 to supply me with boats and men to carry me on my journey. 

 The first boat took me in two days to Amahay, on the oppo- 

 site side of the bay to Awaiya. The chief here, wonderful to 

 relate, did not make any excuses for delay, but immediately 

 ordered out the boat which was to carry me on, put my bag- 

 gage on boai'd, set up mast and sails after dark, and had the 

 men ready that night ; so that we were actually on our way 

 at five the next morning, — a display of energy and activity I 

 scarcely ever saw before in a native chief on such an occasion. 

 "We touched at Cepa, and staid for the night at Tamilan, the 

 first two Mohammedan villages on the south coast of Ceram. 

 The next day about noon we reached Hoy a, which was as far 

 as my present boat and crew were going to take me. The 

 anchorage is about a mile east of the village, which is faced 



