46 MALACCA. [chap. hi. 



a little brandy, with blankets, a change of clothes, insect 

 and bird boxes, nets guns and ammunition. The dis- 

 tance from Ayer-panas was supposed to be about thirty 

 miles. Our first day's inarch lay through patches of 

 forest, clearings, and Malay villages, and was pleasant 

 enough. At night we slept at the house of a Malay chief, 

 who lent us a verandah, and gave us a fowl and some 

 eggs. The next day the country got wilder and more 

 hilly. We passed through extensive forests, along paths 

 often up to our knees in mud, and were much annoyed 

 by the leeches for which this district is famous. These 

 little creatures infest the leaves and herbage by the side of 

 the paths, and when a passenger comes along they stretch 

 themselves out at full length, and if they touch any part of 

 his dress or body, quit their leaf and adhere to it. They 

 then creep on to his feet, legs, or other part of his body 

 and suck their fill, the first puncture being rarely felt 

 during the excitement of walking. On bathing in the 

 evening we generally found half a dozen or a dozen on 

 each of us, most frequently on our legs, but sometimes on 

 our bodies, and I had one who sucked his fill from the side 

 of my neck, but who luckily missed the jugular vein. 

 There are many species of these forest leeches. All are 

 small, but some are beautifully marked with stripes of 

 bright yellow. They probably attach themselves to deer or 

 other animals which frequent the forest paths, and have 



