174 



FLYING SQUIRREL. 



(and also Bango and Berat.) It is surprising 

 the distance these animals " fly," or spring, 

 aided by the membrane extending from the 

 sides between the fore and hind legs. The 

 little sugar squirrel has been known to leap a 

 distance of forty yards, from an elevation of 

 thirty feet to the butt of a tree, across a river. 

 One of the opossums among the game was 

 a female which had two large-sized young ones 

 in her pouch ; the delicate morsels were at this 

 time broiling, unskinned, and undrawn, upon 

 the fire, whilst the '' old mother" was lying yet 

 unflayed in the basket. 



It was amusing to see with what rapidity and 

 expertness the animals were skinned and em- 

 bowelled by the blacks ; the offal was thrown 

 to the dogs, but as such a waste on the part of 

 the natives does not often take place, we can 

 only presume it is when game, as it was at pre- 

 sent, is very abundant — the dogs are usually in 

 poor condition, from getting a very precarious 

 supply of provender : the liver being extracted, 

 and gall-bladder removed, a stick was thrust 

 through the animal, which was either thrown 

 upon the ashes to broil, or placed upon a wooden 

 spit before the fire to roast ; whether the food 

 was removed from the fire cooked, or only half- 

 dressed, depended entirely on the state of their 



