190 CELEBES. [chap. 



thorns of the tree in passmg through the forest, has the consolation 

 of knowing that he can quench his thirst from it at any moment. 



We saw no further sign of game, and, making a detour, struck 

 the sea and marched back to camp along the beach, which glared 

 in the afternoon sun as only a tropic beach can glare. There is 

 never any lack of life along such shores, however hot the sun may 

 be. The little pools of water and the huge tree-trunks that have 

 been washed ashore would prove a paradise for the marine zoologist. 

 As we pursue our way hundreds of the little Land-crabs {Gclasimus) 

 dart away in every direction, their single large claw uplifted. 

 Enormous numbers of them may sometimes be seen congregated 

 around some dead fish or other dainty morsel washed up by the 

 tide, or gathered on the slimy ooze beneath the arching roots of the 

 mangroves, the neighbouring banks being honey-combed with their 

 holes. They are the most striking feature of the seashore, with 

 the exception perhaps of a bull -headed, gudgeon -like little fish 

 (Periojjhthahmis), which lives, apparently, as much out of the water 

 as in it, and startles the pedestrian by hopping out beneath his feet 

 and making for the nearest water by a series of sudden jumps. 

 This curious method of progression is apparently effected by the 

 action of the pectoral fins, and is so rapid that it is only with great 

 difficulty that the fish can Ije caught. 



On reaching camp I found that one of our party had been 

 fortunate enough to secure a male Babirusa.^ It was a good 

 specimen, although not very old. From tip to tip it measured 58 

 inches, of which 12 had to Ije deducted for the length of the tail. 

 The greatest girth of the chest was 39 inches, the height at the 

 shoulder 29 inches, and the upper and lower tusks measured 

 respectively 7f and 4| inches round the curve. 



The Babirusa, according to the natives, generally has one or 

 two young at a birth; more often one, but sometimes, though 



^ A JIalay name ; babi meaning pig, and ncsa deer. The animal is, of course, a 

 true pig, and has only acquired its second name from the peculiar hornlike gi'owth 

 of the tusks of the upper jav,-. 



