SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



291 



banks of oozy mud overhung and covered with 

 trees ; as one got lower down stream mostly 

 mangroves and attap palms. We saw about a 

 dozen crocodiles altogether, big and small, their 

 colouring was most vivid yellow and black ; a good 

 case of protective mimicry, as under the chequered 

 light which came through the foliage they were 

 very hard to see. Possibly, by being so incon- 

 spicuous, the monkeys walk within reach of their 

 jaws while they wander on the mud looking for 

 food. My friend shot one with his Martini ; it was 

 between three and four feet long. We were getting 

 down towards the mouth of the river, and that was 

 all our bag, when, as we swept past a projecting 

 tree, the sailor in front of me exclaimed in an 

 excited whisper, " Boya bazar boya ! tuan " 

 (crocodile, a great crocodile, sir), so we put about 

 smartly and got above the tree again where I saw 

 under the trees the head of an enormous looking 

 animal about eight yards off; it being end on I 

 could not get a good shot, but hit it in the side of 

 the neck, where the bullet must have raked it fore 

 and aft, and, unless turned by a bone, should have 

 got to its heart. Anyway, it rolled over and kicked 

 and lashed its tail about in a way grand to behold, 

 then, righting itself, it rushed across the mud right 

 at the boat ; if my rifle had only been reloadable, I 

 think we would have bagged it ; as it was, I had the 

 pleasure of looking into the open mouth of the 

 wild creature at close quarters, as he was 

 coming for the stern of the boat. My friend 

 had a good view of him from his post in the 

 bows, and fired his Martini bullet into him at 

 about three or four yards range ; this knocked him 

 sideways again. But again he was up, dived into 

 the water and rose against the side of the boat with 

 a substantial bang. Very luckily we were in a high- 

 sided boat, for if it had been a native canoe very 

 probably it would have capsized. I tried to reload, 

 but my friend got in another shot ; standing up in 

 the boat he fired down into its back, muzzle almost 

 touching. If we had had a harpoon or boat-hook, 

 we might have secured it ; as it was, it disappeared 

 in the water, probably to die at the bottom. I 

 think it was really about twelve feet long, but being 

 so close to one and so lively it seemed bigger. We 

 saw no more till we reached Kwala Kedah, where 

 we got out of the boat and had several hours to 

 wait for a steamer. 



I had plenty of time to explore Kwala ; the old 

 Dutch fort was very interesting as a fine example of 

 Dutch architecture. It seemed like a bit of Holland, 

 stuck down in this out-of-the-way corner of the 

 world. There were two very handsome gateways, 

 the workmanship was excellent — a little good red 

 brick and well-carved stone, and a good deal of it 

 granite. Except these gateways, nearly everything 

 was in complete ruin. About the fort were eight 

 or nine old rusting cannon ; one was still mounted 



on the decayed remains of a wooden carriage, which 

 some of the present inhabitants consider sacred. 

 It was ornamented with coloured ribbon and a 

 holy flag, and joss-sticks were being burnt in front 

 of it. In the space enclosed by the old walls was 

 a modern lighthouse, maintained by the Kedah 

 Government. I went over it, and all seemed clean 

 and satisfactory. About 200 yards from the 

 fort was a wooden Malay house, the harbour- 

 master's office, which also acted as coast- 

 guard station, police station, post office, custom 

 house, etc. I inspected this, and found the post- 

 master had run out of both stamps and postcards. 

 The coastguards were pukka Malays, dressed like 

 English sailors. The station was armed with two 

 small guns, a few sniders with bayonets, and a lot 

 of brass-hilted cutlasses. At one end of a room 

 were stocks with a prisoner in them, and he looked 

 very dejected. 



The surrounding country was quite flat, all a 

 great mangrove swamp. I saw many pretty little 

 birds about and in the fort, and sunning themselves 

 on the old brickwork were lizards of three different 

 genera, Calotes, Mabuia, and Varanus. Everywhere 

 the ground, which was more or less dry mud, 

 swarmed with little crabs, many being brightly 

 coloured. At length, the " Flying Dragon " appeared, 

 and we embarked ; but even then our adventures 

 had not ceased, as she had a load of live cattle on 

 board, which got frightened and all crowded to 

 port, and we stood a fair chance of capsizing. 

 When the cattle were secured, we stood out to sea, 

 and came in for a strong cross-wind, which also 

 nearly sent the old boat on her beam-ends ; how- 

 ever, she always righted herself in a wonderful 

 way, and, as I was not sea-sick, I enjoyed the voyage, 

 and eventually we cast anchor off Georgetown, in 

 the dark, about 8 p.m., and got on shore in 

 sampans, when I drove home in a rickshaw. 



Fifth (Northumberland) Fusiliers, Penang, 

 Straits Settlements ; April, 1895. 



Newspaper Natural History. -—The follow- 

 ing paragraph recently appeared in the London 

 "Evening News" under the heading of "A Tame 

 Butterfly." Comment is unnecessary. " I found in 

 my garden a magnificent butterfly, says a French 

 lady, quite numb with cold. Taking it into the 

 house and putting it into a box for two hours 

 revived the little thing. Then I dipped its antennas 

 in a solution of syrup and sugar, and continued this 

 treatment for three days. On the fourth dav the 

 creature fluttered on to my hand and sucked the 

 liquor of its own accord, and after this it became 

 perfectly tame. I put flowers into my room, and it 

 fed on them, and was perfectly happy. When it 

 sat on the table I could pass my hand down its back 

 without the slightest fear the butterfly might take 

 to the wing. In fact, it arched its back as does a 

 cat when pleased. After three weeks of perfect 

 tameness its colours faded, its wings shrivelled up, 

 and it died." 



