LirTLE-KXOWX MAMMALS FROM ('UfXA 



523 



The small carnivoros, such as civets, 

 genets, polecats, and palm civets, are 

 fairly common in certain localities, and 

 at our camp on the tropical Xam-ting 

 River we obtained a number of very 

 interesting species. The tents were 

 pitched under two huge banyan trees 

 on the edge of a deserted rice clearing 

 in the midst of the jungle. It was de- 

 lightful weather, warm in the daytime, 

 but cool enough in the evening to make 

 a Idazing wood fire very acceptable. 

 While Mr. Heller attended to the small 

 mammals, my wife and 1 put out a line 

 of thirty-five steel traps. Every morn- 

 ing and evening we made the rounds, 

 always with the pleasurable anticipa- 

 tion of finding some new animal. One 

 day a civet walked into camj) and l^egan 

 to eat the scraps about the cook Ijox, 

 regardless of the shouts of the mule- 

 teers, who were imploring Mr. Heller to 

 bring his gun. They finally convinced 

 him that there really was some cause 

 for their excitement, and lie shot the 

 animal. It was probably ill. for its 

 flesh was dry and yellow, but the skin 

 was in excellent condition. This was 

 our only experience, however, of hav- 

 ing an animal walk into camp to be 

 killed. 



Every morning while on the Xam- 

 ting River we heard querulous notes 

 which sounded much like the squealing 

 of very young puppies and which were 

 often followed by a long-drawn siren- 

 like wail. The natives assured us that 

 this noise was made by monkeys, which 

 we later found to be small yellow gib- 

 bons. These animals were in fairly 

 large troops, and would climb into the 

 top of a dead tree and call across the 

 Jungle for an hour or more almost 

 every morning. As soon as the sun 

 was well up the noise usually ceased, 

 but if there was a heavy fog or rain, it 

 would continue until ten or eleven 

 o'clock in the morning. The jungle 

 was so thick that it was well-nigh im- 

 possible to find the monkeys except 

 when thev were calliiiii'. and <'ven then 



one was by no means sure of getting a 

 shot. The aiiiiiials were exceedinglv 

 wiM. and iVdin thcii- lookout in the top 

 of a dead tree could see every move- 

 ment of the heavy brush beneath them, 

 so that they would l)e ofi' at tojj speed 

 through the jungle before one could get 

 within shooting distance. Then it 

 meant a wild scramble through the 

 bushes, o\er rocks and logs, with the 

 possibility of a shot at long range as 

 the gibbons went swinging through 

 the tree tops. Sometimes they would 

 lie quietly along a branch, and if 

 one remained absolutely motionless, 

 in half an hour or so the monkeys 

 would try to steal away without being 

 seen. 



Later, while in cam]) on Hu-mu-slui 

 Pass, we hunted a large black gibbon, 

 which is quite a difterent species from 

 the one on the Xam-ting River. These 

 animals were even more difficult to kill 

 than the yellow ones. At the slightest 

 sound they would throw themselves 

 through the tree tops at incredible 

 speed. I never have beeii more sur- 

 prised in mv life than the first time we 

 tried to follow a troop of gibbons down 

 hill through an open forest. Within 

 two hundred yards the animals had dis- 

 tanced us l)y fifty or sixty yards, even 

 though my wife and I were running at 

 top speed. The monkeys would swing 

 on a l)ranch and throw themselves fif- 

 teen or twenty feet into the next tree 

 with unerring precision. These gib- 

 bons had quite a different call from 

 those of the Xam-ting River, very much 

 loudei'. and with less of the siren-like 

 note so characteristic of the other 

 species. They would call only for about 

 half an honi- in the morning, and it 

 was necessary to locate them immedi- 

 ately if they were to be found at all. 

 The expedition ol)tained several other 

 s]K'cies of monkeys, such as baboons 

 and Ijig grav langurs, but the gibbons 

 were very much more interesting to 

 hunt than any of the others. 



Altlioiiiz'h sanibur must have been 



