416 BATS AND OTHER ANIMALS. 



the knees in a bent position ; and the flesh was mummi- 

 fied and adhering firmly to the bone ; the ligament con- 

 necting the hyoid bone to the styloid process, and also 

 the thyroid and cricoid cartilages were completely ossified; 

 the hair was thin, and the alveolar processes of the jaws 

 absorbed, thus proving the extreme old age of the ex- 

 humed. 



I was very much astonished at the great numbers of 

 bats which were here concealed in the heads of the Ba- 

 nana trees, and which flew forth, when disturbed, on feeble, 

 fluttering wings, many among them having a couple of 

 little ones clinging tenaciously to the pectoral mammae of 

 their mothers. The swampy ground in the neighbour- 

 hood abounded in Assiminea, small univalve Mollusks, 

 and was covered in many places by the foot-prints of 

 deer and wild hogs. On raising a tablet suspended 

 to an old tombstone, to endeavour to decipher the in- 

 scription, I made captive an enormous black scorpion, 

 which had there taken up his quarters. 



Upon passing the first portion of Bulungan, we were 

 desired to proceed no further, or the Sultan would fire 

 upon us. Disregarding these admonitory warnings, 

 however, the boats continued their rapid progress up the 

 river, and finally came to an anchor immediately opposite 

 the palace of the Sultan Before this edifice was an open 

 space, planted with numerous pieces of cannon, some of 

 large calibre, but old, and badly mounted ; these were 

 manned by crowds of brown-skinned warriors, while 

 hundreds of excited armed men thronged the banks in 

 readiness to throw the spear and blow the deadly sumpit. 

 After an attempt to intimidate us by a pretence to fire, 



