Sickness. 507 



weeks, till I was almost driven to despair — for the weather 

 was at length fine, and I was tantalized by seeing grand but- 

 terflies flying past niy door, and thinking of the twenty or 

 thirty new species of insects that I ought to be getting every 

 day. And this, too, in New Guinea ! — a country which I 

 might never visit again — a country which no naturalist had 

 ever resided in before — a country which contained more 

 strange and new and beautiful natural objects than any other 

 part of the globe. The naturalist will be able to appreciate 

 my feelings, sitting from morning to night in my little hut, 

 unable to move without a crutch, and my only solace the birds 

 my hunters brought in every afternoon, and the few insects 

 caught by my Ternate man, Lahagi, who now went out daily 

 in my place, but who of course did not get a fourth part of 

 what I should have obtained. To add to my troubles all my 

 men were more or less ill, some with fever, others with dysen- 

 tery or ague ; at one time there were three of them besides my- 

 self all helpless, the cook alone being well, and having enough to 

 do to wait upon us. The Prince of Tidore and the Resident of 

 Banda were both on board the steamer, and were seeking birds 

 of paradise, sending men round in every direction, so that 

 there was no chance of my getting even native skins of the 

 rarer kinds ; and any birds, insects, or animals theDorey peo- 

 ple had to sell were taken on board the steamer, where pur- 

 chasers were found for every thing, and where a larger variety 

 of articles were offered in exchange than I had to show. 



After a month's close confinement in the house I was at 

 length able to go out a little, and about the same time I suc- 

 ceeded in getting a boat and six natives to take Ali and La- 

 hagi to Amberbaki, and to bring them back at the end of a 

 month, Ali was charged to buy all the birds of paradise he 

 could get, and to shoot and skin all other rare or new birds ; 

 and Lahagi was to collect insects, which I hoped might be 

 more abundant than at Dorey. When I recommenced my 

 daily walks in search of insects, I found a great change in the 

 neighborhood, and one very agreeable t© me. All the time I 

 had been laid up the ship's crew and the Javanese soldiers 

 who had been brought in a tender (a sailing-ship which had 

 arrived soon after the JEtna), had been employed cutting 

 down, sawing, and splitting large trees for firewood, to enable 



