ON THE GENUS PITTA. 325 



a small channel, and is inhabited, while Rnang is not ; but on its slopes 

 were many plantations, belonging to the inhabitants of Tagulanda. All these 

 were destroyed in a few minutes by the eruption ; and a sea-wave, in conse- 

 quence of it or a simultaneous earthquake, swxpt away the large village on 

 Tagulanda, opposite Ruang. Only a few houses were saved ; of the rest 

 scarcely any thing could be seen. The greater part of the inhabitants were 

 drowned ; and several days after the catastrophe had happened I saw many 

 human bodies bleaching on the strand — a state of things not very inviting for 

 zoological researches. I ascended the still foaming and burning mountain 

 of Ruang, which is 3000 feet high, from the top of which the mountains 

 of N. Celebes and those of Siao and Great Sangi can beobserved. 



"At Likupang, on the north shore of Celebes, the eruption of the 

 Ruang could be seen as a distant fire. Earthquakes were felt near Manado 

 at the same time, and far-off thunder h^ard. From the top of the mountain 

 Klabat, in the north of Celebes (which is about 7000 feet high, and which I 

 also went up in 1871), Siao can be discerned to the north, and Ternate to 

 the east.'' 



I have introduced these observations because they illustrate the 

 difficulty and toil ornithological discoverers undergo; and I am very 

 glad to observe that Dr. A, B. Meyer has, since his return, received 

 the appointment of Director of the Royal Zoological Museum of Dresden, 

 which he so w^ell fills. 



Those of my readers who wish to understand the volcanic chain which 

 runs from Luzon through Mindanao, just touches Celebes at the tip, passes 

 through the Molucca Isles, takes Timor, Flores, and so on, crosses Wallace's 

 line, and runs along Java and Sumatra from end to end, will turn to the 

 ' Malay Archipelago ' (vol. i. p. 11) of that author, and look at the interesting 

 map in which it is marked out. 



Those who care for the birds of these regions will also do well, and 



