i] GIGANTIC CICADAS 



the thought struck me that he might take a fancy to my head. 

 Having my gun I felt somewhat reassured ; but I very soon found 

 out that the supposed head-hunter was a very civil fellow. 



It is well known to travellers in the Far East how courteous and 

 gentlemanly the Malays are. This one, who rejoiced in the name 

 of Tuan-ku Yassim, very soon became my best guide in the forest. 

 He was a good hunter, an excellent shot, and perfectly acquainted 

 with jungle life ; 1 quite as much so, indeed, as a Dyak, for to the 

 experience of a true son of the forest he added no small degree 

 of intelligence. His features, except, perhaps, the eyes, scarcely 

 betrayed his Arab descent, but he had no doubt a goodly pro- 

 portion of Malay and Dyak blood in his veins. 



Tuan-ku Yassim, who was always called by us the Tuan-ku of 

 Siul, procured quite a number of animals for our collections : 

 monkeys, squirrels, tupaias, various striking birds, amongst them 

 hornbills and big fruit-pigeons (Carpophaga cenea), the per gam of 

 the Malays, and many others. Living in the midst of the primeval 

 forest, he had the best possible opportunities for collecting. One 

 cannot easily get natives to collect small birds, however, and these 

 were got by Doria. I also helped in such collections, and always 

 carried my gun during my daily excursions in the forest. We also 

 came to know a Javanese, named Sennen, who lived near us — a 

 patient hunter who added many fine birds to our collection. 



Frequently towards evening Doria and I took our guns and 

 went towards the recent clearings, which were full of life at that 

 hour, especially the big isolated trees left standing amongst the 

 pineapple plantations. The waning of the day, usually a silent 

 hour in temperate climes, is in Borneo marked by the commence- 

 ment of a concert of noisy cicadas, who in legions fill the 

 air with their deafening and varied clamour. One species 

 (Pomponia imperatoria ; West.), which the Malays have named 

 " kriang pokul anam," or the " six o'clock cicada," is a 

 giant ; one of the specimens we got measured nearly 7+ inches 

 across the wings. It begins at sunset, and the noise it makes 

 is not unlike the braying of an ass in high treble, and can be 

 heard at a distance of many hundred yards. As soon as the cicadas 

 begin their concert, flights of elegant long-tailed parakeets (Palceomis 

 longicauda) appear in search of a roosting-place on the higher trees. 

 This was also the favourable time for observing a diminutive hawk 

 (Hierax ccerulescens) which, from the top of one of the highest 

 dry branches of a tree, darted forth ever and anon to seize a passing 



1 The " jungle " of Anglo-Indians is not always an exact equivalent for 

 the primeval forest, but often implies a region run wild and covered by- 

 secondary forest-growth. The term is not derived from the Malay language, 

 although it is used in the form of " Jangala." but is the Sanscrit word for 

 wild and desert. 



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