CH. XIV BETUBN TO TALIS SE 353 



I left, to pack what remained of the collections I had made 

 upon the island, my instruments, reagents, books, and 

 other things. 



With some difficulty I hired a canoe to take me to 

 TaUsse, and after a long and tiresome journey, fighting with 

 contrary -winds and currents, we came in sight once more of 

 the little wooden pier at Koa. To my surprise and delight 

 I found the ' Flying Fish ' at anchor there, and was enabled 

 to renew my acquaintance with my old friends on board of 

 her. By their help I completed my packing in half the 

 time I should otherwise have taken, and enjoyed meanwhile 

 the pleasure of their society. 



I found that my boy Marcus who had been left in charge 

 of my house had faithfully discharged his duties to the 

 best of his ability, but nevertheless white ants, spiders and 

 rats had played havoc with many of the plants, birds, 

 and other collections. I think I saved about one-fourth 

 of my Lepidoptera, one-tenth of my plants ; but I was able 

 to bring away all the birds I had collected, although many 

 of the skins were in a very damaged condition. Some 

 of the corals I had left under the house to dry were broken 

 and destroyed, and numbers of the moUusc shells I had 

 left for the ants to clean were missing. My boots and 

 clothes were covered with mould, many of my books were 

 bored and nibbled by insects and mice, my instruments 

 were in a terribly rusty condition, and several of my spirit 

 bottles had run dry. Nevertheless I was able in a few 

 days to save a good deal, and with the kind help I received 

 from my friends of the ' Flying Fish ' my cases were soon 

 nailed up and ready to be shipped to Manado. One of the 

 most unpleasant duties I had to perform was an attempt to 

 collect together the bones of my old friend the babirusa. 

 During my absence the poor beast had died, and Cur sham, 

 knowing that I was anxious if possible to have its skeleton, 



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