430 TWO YEARS IN THE JUNGLE. 



greater grief, Le Tiac has also struck on the same grounds and there 

 is a coolness between us. He was somewhat surprised when I told 

 him I should not want him any more. 



'^November list. — Leaving the Djaks to amuse themselves in- 

 doors as they saw fit, Dobah and I went out hunting and killed a 

 gibbon with the rifle at rather long range. The wa}' these animals 

 can swing along is something marvellous. To-day I saw one going 

 down hill through the tree-tops where the forest was rather open, 

 and, for fifty yards, he went as straight as though he had been shot 

 out of a cannon. He flew straight along without an instant's pause 

 or hesitation, always turning end over end. Talk about the ' po- 

 etry of motion,' this is poetry set to music. A gibbon seems to pro- 

 gress entirely by the sole act of his will, and without taking the 

 least thought as to the means. 



"November '22d. — Two more argus pheasants in the morning, 

 and rain in the afternoon. 



" November 23c?. — A boil which has been coming on my elbow 

 has at last ai'rived in full force, and I am quite demoralized. A ham- 

 mock and a boil do not go well together, especially when the latter 

 is on so salient a point as one's elbow. Spent all last night and 

 to-day in trying to make the thing comfortable. Noticed, very dis- 

 interestedly, a great number of butterflies flitting about the wet 

 gi'ound underneath the house. There were at least a dozen species 

 — all large and brilliantly colored. An entomologist would have a 

 fine time of it among them, and the Dyaks would bring him hun- 

 dreds at one cent each. To me they are no temptation. It is im- 

 possible to collect and care for small objects, like insects, except at 

 the expense of large and important ones, like mammals. It is so 

 far my policy to shun small things, that I do not even pretend to 

 shoot and skin small birds. 



"November 24</i. — The boil and I are more comfortable. Spent 

 the day reading Mairry's ' Physical Geography of the Sea ' — one of 

 the most charming books I ever I'ead, deep but clear, like Lake Tahoe. 

 What a pity all writers on scientific subjects have not Maury's won- 

 derful ability to write clearly and to the point. 



"November 25th. — When I started out in the morning, with 

 Dobah, Le Tiac repented and offered to go with me on the terms 

 of our old agreement, so we took him. Started out to make some 

 sketches in the jungle, but took my rifle on general principles, 

 though not expecting to use it. After a long and skilfully con- 

 ducted chase of a ti-oop of gibbons, they finally eluded us altogether. 



