THE PORCUPINE 133 



The man who coolly held the porcupine might not have 

 been killed if wounded, because the quantity of poison 

 used is less in the case of small game than large. The 

 poison is prepared from the sap of the upas tree, anti- 

 aris toxicaria, which is heated until it becomes a dark 

 paste. It is a fortunate fact that these extremely efficient 

 weapons, which noiselessly bring down birds and monkeys 

 from great heights, are not widely distributed over the 

 globe. If one is hit by the dart which is used when des- 

 tined for man or big game, and which has a triangular 

 point, it is said that no remedy will avail. 



Rajimin, the taxidermist, had frequent attacks of 

 malaria with high fever, but fortunately he usually re- 

 covered rapidly. One day I found him skinning birds 

 with his pulse registering one hundred and twenty-five 

 beats a minute. I engaged a Murung to assist in making 

 my zoological collections, and he learned to skin well and 

 carefully, though slowly. Judging from the number of 

 long-nosed monkeys brought in, they must be numerous 

 here. These animals are at times met in droves of a 

 hundred or more passing from branch to branch through 

 the woods. When old they cannot climb. One morning 

 this Dayak returned with three wah-wahs, and related 

 that after the mother had been shot and had fallen from 

 the tree, the father seized the young one and tried to 

 escape, but they were both killed by the same charge. 



On account of adverse weather conditions most of the 

 skins here spoiled, in some degree at least, in spite of all 

 efforts, especially the fleshy noses of the long-nosed 

 monkeys. A special brand of taxidermist's soap from 



