2096 The Zoologist — April, 1870. 



"Abolitionist:" lie is quite prepared for the carrying out of the 

 Abolition-of-Slaves Law, and is most anxious for it to be passed: his 

 hospitality to us has been excessive, and whenever we are near him 

 the best of bed and board are always at our service, with a hearty and 

 pressing invitation to remain with him. Tlie necessity lor an Aboli- 

 tion Law was strongly impressed upon us the other day by the causeless 

 flogging of a poor negress ; her cries made our blood run cold : she 

 besought us to let her have a gun, on which the monster who flogged 

 her fled as fast as he could : the laws restrained us from punishing 

 him, so we could only remonstrate, but as far as we could judge this 

 saved her from further outrage. Morality seems at the lowest ebb 

 here ; there are no places of worship whatever, and nothing tomark 

 one day from another all the year round. 



The noises one hears in the forest are very various, and extra- 

 ordinary to those unaccustomed to tropical life — the "clang-clang'* of 

 the blacksmith-frog is most interesting; then the noise of tlie Cicadas, 

 which I can compare to nothing but the whistle of so many steam- 

 engines, while the illumination at night from fireflies is magnificent. 

 We have just been successful in tracing to its cause one of these 

 strange forest sounds — one which the natives told us was caused by 

 an evil spirit: it was like the sound of a heavy sledge-hammer struck 

 by a strong hand against some hollow substance : we were determined 

 to find out the cause, in spile of the natives who warned us that we 

 should never return from our search ; not one of them dared to 

 accompany us. After some hard work, and by proceeding very 

 stealthily, we got close to where the sound seemed to come from, and 

 saw a large and beautiful woodpecker hammering with its beak with 

 all its force at a hollow tree : the sound produced must be heard to be 

 believed, no description can give any just idea of it ; so much for the 

 evil spirit. Another sound — a peculiarly strange and unearthly one — 

 is often heard: it always occurs just before or just after dark: some 

 of the natives think it is made by a bird, but others shake their heads 

 ominously and say *' no good." Every one has heard it, but none 

 have ever ascertained its cause ; I can compare this sound to nothing 

 except to the sound produced by what children call a " Hum-buzz " — 

 i.e., a piece of wood notched on both edges, and whirled swiftly round 

 by a string tied to one of its ends. The noise I speak of, however", is 

 infinitely louder ; at one moment it seems almost in one's face, at the 

 next, at one's feet, and then instantly high up in the air. I had often 

 thought it must be caused by some insect, and I hope that we have 



