166 A NATURALIST'S WANDERINGS 



depredations but a few hours before my coming. Tlie village 

 people in these districts complained of the constant ravages 

 done by them in their fields and pepper gardens, while the 

 forest everywhere abounded with their tracks. Of the rhino- 

 ceros, on the other hand, I saw traces only a few times. 



Some miles on in the forest we came upon a large stone by 

 the side of the path, supposed to possess some influence over 

 things terrestrial, for, as each of the porters passed it, he 

 plucked a handful of leaves and, placing them on the stone, 

 prayed for a dry day and good luck.* Whether it was through 

 the influence of the stone or not we got a dry day, and I 

 only wished that we had met Avith it somewhat sooner. All 

 tliat day we pushed on by the side of the Semangkft, which 

 glided past us deep and noiselessly through a level plateau, 

 crossing more than once from the one side to the other by 

 some giant tree that had fallen from bank to bank, through 

 dense forest in a sombre winding lane, beyond which we 

 could see nothing but blinks of the sky, except where now 

 and then it opened out on pretty sandy beaches which swarmed 

 with species of metallic tiger-beetles and sand-bees, and where 

 Sulphur (Tertas) and Swallow- tailed butterflies {Charaxes and 

 Appias), in gyrating flocks played on the damp ground by the 

 water's edge. ^ 



Towards evening, emerging from the forest, our eyes were 

 delighted by the sight of a small cluster of houses, the village 

 of Bumi-padang, " the field of the world," lying a mile off, in 

 a large open alluvial amphitheatre. But, the path suddenly 

 giving out, presently we found ourselves floundering to the 

 thighs at every step in a deep morass swarming with enormous 

 leeches, out of which we could not extricate ourselves, as it 

 seemed to stretch in every direction except behind us. On 

 observing us the head of the marga and his chieflings, with 

 the usual crowd following, came out to welcome and attend us 

 back to the village. They came to the edge of the bog and 

 sat down to await us ; and doubtless the sight of our scattered 

 cavalcade floundering in the slough afforded them not a little 

 amusement — it was ludicrous enough to ourselves. 



Here I dismissed the porters brought from the coast, and 

 with a new retinue pressed forward with the break of day. 

 * Sec below in the closing Chaptei? of this book. 



