PEEFACE 



The journey I took to the Malay Archipelago in 

 the year 1885 with the object of investigating the 

 anatomy and, if possible, the development of certain 

 corals, afforded me opportunities of studying the 

 general fauna of some of the small islands in the 

 tropical seas, and of learning something of the races 

 of human beings I came in contact with. 



I have brought together in this volume some ex- 

 tracts from the journal of my wanderings in North 

 Celebes, the Sangir and Talaut Islands, a more de- 

 tailed account of the fauna of the small island called 

 Talisse, situated in the Straits of Banka, and a sum- 

 mary of our knowledge of the ethnology of the 

 district of Minahassa. 



So much of the ground I travelled over during 

 my visit to the Malay Archipelago has been made 

 familiar to English readers by the works of Wallace, 

 Forbes, and Guillemard, that I have but a small ar^a 

 left to describe from the pages of my own journal. 

 But, though the area is small, it is from its geo- 

 graphical position one of striking interest alike to the 

 biologist, the geologist, and the ethnologist. 



In describing the fauna of the forests and coral 



