330 A NATURALIST'S WANDERINGS 



people, would not venture to Kaleobar, and I did not consider 

 it prudent to go alone. We had therefore to bear with 

 equanimity what could not be remedied ; but it was galling 

 to be in a new and unknown country and be tied to a few acres 

 of it, without being able to cross the mainland to the west 

 coast, or to penetrate farther south from want of guides, and 

 especially of carriers to accompany me ; for, contrary to the 

 general statement that there exists a "black frizzly-headed 

 savage people in the interior," * there are absolutely no in- 

 habitants in the interior of Timor-laut. Villages occur pretty 

 thickly along the coasts, except on the northern portion, 

 where there does not appear to be any population at all. 



As the Postholder was about to pay a visit to the outlying 

 islands of Maru and Molu, which were inhabited by a very 

 friendly people, I decided to send with him my two men — as I 

 dared not myself leave my Herbarium to the care of a native, 

 and my stores and collections unguarded — to collect and bring 

 me all the information they could on the points I instructed 

 them on, while I continued my operations on the still fruitful 

 region to which I had access. 



The climate of Timor-laut is one of extreme insalubrity. 

 For the first eighteen to twenty days none of my company 

 suffered in the least ; but that period seemed to be with us all 

 the limit of resistance to the deleterious miasma. The fever, 

 the result in great part of the bad water (there being no 

 streams in the district), and of the strong south-east winds 

 that then supervened was one of great severity. Coming on 

 with sickness, the temperature rose rapidly to 103°-10o° 



accompanied Avith strong delirium, which in A 's case 



continued for nearly three weeks with but short intervals of 

 release. During the continuance of the fever — which happily 

 rarely attacked us both on the same day, a circumstance that 

 enabled us to aid each other — the two most effectual remedies 

 were, besides quinine, salicilate of soda and chloroform, the 

 latter especially very rapidly lowering the temperature and 

 inducing perspiration. 



Neither of us will likely ever forget our fever-attack of 



August 27th. A , wretchedly weak and reduced from weeks 



of almost continuous fever, was assisting me to get up after a 

 * Stanford's Compendium, Aust'alasia, by A. R. Wallace. 



