CH. IV.] A Bad Dinner. 57 



remaining in the wound, which will often cause it 

 to become iaflamed, and to fester in a troublesome 

 manner. 



We suffered a good deal from mosquitoes during the 

 night ; indeed sleep was nearly impossible, and in very- 

 shaded parts of the forest to-day the little pests fixed on 

 our hands and faces with a persistency that was very 

 annoying. We saw very few birds. A gorgeously attired 

 bee-eater was secured by Mr. Treacher as we paddled up 

 the creek; and " Bongsur," who used an old Tower 

 musket as a fowHng-piece, secured a tiny spotted owl and 

 one or two other small birds common to this district. 

 "VVe distinctly heard the whoops and yells of the Muruts, 

 who were out pig-huntiag, as we came along, but did not 

 fall in with them. Just as we crossed the stream one of 

 the men picked up a fruit of one of the several varieties 

 of durian, which are here indigenous. It was about 

 the size of a cricket-ball, and only contained two of its 

 chesnut-like, pulp-covered seeds. The seeds were very 

 large in proportion to the quantity of pulp, but the 

 flavour was very delicious. 



We had a long walk back to the creek where we had 

 left our canoes, and reached the village about three 

 o'clock, just before the commencement of a heavy shower. 

 As it cleared up a little about five o'clock we took our 

 guns and had a stroll across the padi fields behind the 

 houses, retm'ning to dinner about sunset. I shall not 

 soon forget that dinner. Mr. Treacher had brought his 

 Chinese " boy " who had cooked the previous day. My 

 "boy" was a Madras Telinga to whom, of com-se, the 

 lard or pork fat which the Chinese use in cooking is an 

 abomination, so that my ingenious fellow, as it was his 

 turn to prepare dinner, made us a fowl curry, using 

 rancid cocoa-nut lamp oil ia which to cook the fowl. 



