:68 



NA TURE 



[October 13, 1892 



and various sore trials, was at last injured by the pesti- 

 lential miasmatic emanations of the mingrove swamps 

 of Engano, and he came away jjst in time to save 

 his life. At the end of July he embarked at Batavia, 

 and by the end of August we had the pleasure of wel- 

 coming him back to Florence. 



He has already given brief accounts of his exploration 

 of the Toba country in letters and in two lectures re- 

 cently delivered at Rome and Florence. He is now busy 

 working out his ethnological materials ; those pertaining to 

 zoology have already been partly examined by specialists. 

 The principal novelties in zoology are, as was to be ex- 

 pected, from Engano. Amongst those already published 

 I recall the following : — Birds : Graucalus ejtganensis, 

 Pericrocotus modi_i{lianii, Zosterops inccria, Geocichla Icu- 

 colcstna, Calorms enganensis^ Gracula enganensis, Carpo- 

 phaga a'Hoihorax, and Macropygia cinnamomea, are 

 new species from Engano, recently described by 

 Count Salvadori ; besides, Modigliani has established 

 the hitherto unknown habitat of a lovely Parroquet 

 {Palaornis modesta). Reptiles : Draco modiglianii, 

 Lycosoma relictum, and Coluber enganensis are new 

 species recently described by Dr. Vinciguerra, also from 

 Engano. 



On the anthropological and ethnological materials col- 

 lected by Dr. Modigliani on this voyage, which are many 

 and of great interest, I intend writing a special report, 

 which will be published elsewhere. I will therefore, in 

 concluding this communication, merely draw attention to 

 their scientific value, mentioning the more important 

 series. 



Amongst the Toba Battaks, Modigliani was not suc- 

 cessful in obtaining human skulls, but, with the \\€[\io{guru 

 Samalain, he was able to take with rare ability and perfec- 

 tion a magnificent series of plaster masks of the face 

 from life, both of men and women. He has made, besides, 

 a splendid collection of photographs illustrating the people 

 and their habits. A most extensive and perfect series of 

 actual specimens and carefully constructed models made 

 on the spot illustrate completely the houses, sopos, and 

 boats, with their ornaments ; the agricultui-al implements, 

 house furniture, dress and personal ornaments ; food and 

 stimulants, with the utensils pertaining thereto ; work- 

 tools, and weapons offensive and defensive ; religion and 

 superstitions, witchcraft and literature. The carvings on 

 the houses, and the patterns of the textile fabrics of the 

 Toba Battaks, are indeed remarkable as specimens of 

 the finest style of ornamentation. Amongst the numer- 

 ous series illustrating the crude religion and manifold 

 superstitions of this singular people, I may mention the 

 carved wooden figures, with movable arms and a square 

 hole in the chest, in which is the sacred relic {pangidu- 

 balang) or talisman containing part of the remains of a 

 sacrificed child ; these figures, of which Modigliani has 

 collected quite a number, are as rudely made as the 

 karwars of North-west New Guinea. Of the remarkable 

 magic staffs, called generically tiingal pagnaluati, but 

 which appear to have individual names, Modigliani has 

 secured seven ; they consist of superposed figures, more 

 or less conventionalized, but beautifully carved in a hard 

 dark wood in most cases, in which the human figure and 

 those of the elephant, buffalo, lizard, and serpent are 

 variously entwined. Modigliani thinks that each of these 

 staffs symbolizes the history of the village or clan to 

 which it belongs, in which case they might be compared 

 to the genealogical Maori staffs, like the one recording 

 the history of the Ngatirangi tribe, now in the British 

 Museum. As samples of the little-known literature of 

 the Battaks, Modigliani was fortunate enough to secure 

 twenty of their books, now rare. They are ancient-looking 

 tomes of various sizes, bound in wooden boards ; the 

 leaves are of beaten bark, the writing minute, mystic figures 

 {hatiha) being occasionally intercalated. These books, 

 -written by learned gurus, are of a sacred, medicinal, 

 NO. TI98. VOL. 46 



and encyclopaedic nature, and much very valuable infor- 

 mation on the Battaks will certainly be gained by their 

 translation. 



At Engano, Modigliani was able to obtain three skulls, 

 and took six excellent plaster casts from the living. 

 His series of photographs is also fine ; but unfortunately 

 some of the best were spoiled by the heat. I have 

 already noted the remarkable resemblance which the 

 natives of Engano show with those of the Nicobar 

 Islands. There are amongst them faces which also 

 recall Polynesian and especially Micronesian types. 

 Thus the photographs taken by my friend, over a hundred, 



Fij. 4. — Battak gemleman. 



are of great ethnological value. The collections illus- 

 trating the ethnography of the Engano islanders are, I 

 should say, complete : besides beautiful models of the 

 singular houses and canoes, and actual specimens of 

 the ornamented portions, viz. doors, cross-seats, &c., 

 the mourning and ceremonial dresses and ornaments, 

 house utensils, weapons, &c., are represented by a great 

 number of carefully selected specimens. 



In conclusion, I can only say that Dr. Modigliani has 

 done much excellent work, and that we may look for- 

 ward with pleasure to the publication of the results of 

 his investigations, both in zoology and in anthropology. 

 Henry H. Giglioli. 



A MODERN REVIVAL OF P ROUTS 

 HYPOTHESISE 



T T frequently happens in the history of science that the 

 ■*■ line of thought engendered by one branch of study 

 proves applicable in a totally distinct field. In accord- 

 ance with this principle a great stimulus is occasionally 

 given in some particular line of research by the encroach- 



' '• On the Origin of Elementary Substances and on some New Relations 

 of their Atomic Weights." By Henry Wilde, F.R.S. (London : Kegan 

 Paul, Trench, Triibner, and Co., 1892.) 



