112 A COLLECTING TRIP 
Then there were gongs in dozens from five feet in 
diameter, hung up on a stand, to small ones of six 
inches and up in diameter set on a support of fibres 
so as to make them resound. The effect of the playing 
' on these gongs is very solemn and grand, but it is 
spoiled by the beating on ordinary boxes with sticks, 
an inferior kind of melody. 
You ought to see the view from this hotel, the 
Salak voleano, a perfectly even cone and with simply 
glorious vegetation, great bamboos, like waving ostrich 
feathers, a hundred feet long, palms of fifty sorts and 
flowering trees and orchids in great profusion. 
We are very well, as well as we have ever been in 
our lives. Every day almost we find a greater pleas- 
ure than we did the day before. Lately we have been 
so busy fixing specimens that we have had no time for 
taking photographs of the people and places about 
here, which should be so interesting. While we are 
on our journey we shall telegraph you from various 
places and we shall write from Macassar, Ambon, 
Ternate, ete. 
Well, good bye, love to you all from your son 
Tom. 
Buitenzorg, Java, January 16, 1907. 
Dear Mother : 
I have just received your letters and was de- 
hghted to hear from you. We arrived here in Java 
on the 11th. I cabled Mr. Barbour that we had had a 
good trip, although one day it was rough. However, 
Tom and I are getting used to that now. The harbor 
at Batavia is not good, so all beats land at Tandjong 
Priok, about nine miles by train. We had quite a 
