XV.] CASSOWARIES. 349 



doubt, the freedom permitted to the cassowaries, who roamed from 

 end to end of the ship, devoming now a himp of coal, now the 

 bread or biscuit from the dinner-table. "We had, at one time, four 

 of these creatures, but two of them, which were little more than 

 nestlings, soon died. Our largest bird (C. hicarunculatiis) was 

 obtained in Aru, and judging by his size must have been ■\-er}- 

 nearly adult, although the bright Ijlue colouring of the neck, which 

 seems to be the final sign of maturity, was not quite fully de- 

 veloped. His appetite was excellent. Coming up suddenly from 

 below, I once discovered him in the act of devouring one of a 

 number of bird-skins I had spread out in the sun to dry. A 

 swelling in his neck revealed the position of my specimen, and 1 

 m vain endeavoured to effect its regurgitation, both for my own 

 and his sake, for the skin was liberally dressed with arsenic soap. 

 The l^ird and his oesophagus were, however, equally opposed to this, 

 and I had eventually to assist its progress in the other direction. 



Our Dorei Bay cassowary was much younger. He had none of 

 the solemn imperturbability of the other, but was as playful as a 

 puppy. His favourite diversion was to get up a sham-fight with a 

 ventilator, dancing round it in the most approved pugilistic style, 

 now feinting, now getting in a right and left. The blows were 

 delivered by kickmg out in front, and appeared to he almost 

 ineffective, and quite unlike the really formidable method of attack 

 adopted by the ostrich. The decorum of our service on Sundays 

 was often considerably disturbed by his appearance among the 

 congregation, engaged in a lively skirmish with a kangaroo, — an 

 amusement which invariably drew a select gathering of our dingo 

 " Bang^^ey," various dogs, and a tame pig to see fair play. 



Of our four-legged pets perhaps the most graceful was a little 

 Flying Phalanger {Bclideus hreviceps), which we had obtained in 

 Waigiou. These creatures are common to New Guinea and 

 Xorthern Australia, and are chiefly nocturnal in their habits, 

 haunting the thick foliage at the crowns of palms. The tail is not 

 prehensile as in the true Phalangers, but the stout, sharp claws are 



