Indian Archipelago. 2125 



space with sand, which it beats down firmly with its hinder fins, and then retires in a 

 tortuous direction, winding and twisting up and down, backward and forward, and 

 finally enters the sea at a distance from its nest. The reason of this precaution is, 

 fear lest its track should serve as a guide to the egg-seekers, who, however, ensconced in 

 a little watch-house at a considerable distance, observe and mark the spots well. The 

 turtle never returns to look for its offspring, a great many of which emerge from the 

 sand and make directly for the water, when they are devoured in vast numbers by the 

 sharks and other fish. 



In Java the custom prevails of eating the flesh of those oxen, horses, deer and goats 

 which have been employed in labour, when maimed or otherwise rendered unfit for 

 service. Among the beasts of prey found in this island are several species of tiger, the 

 wild cat, the leopard, the jackall, and a large species of wild dog ; also the rhinoceros, 

 and alligators as big as crocodiles, to which reverence is paid by the superstitious na- 

 tives. Monkeys, squirrels, stags, deer, wild oxen, buffaloes, and musk animals also 

 abound. 



There exist in Java twenty species of serpents, among which that species of boa 

 constrictor called the Anaconda is the largest. It sometimes grows to the length of 

 thirty feet, and, hanging from the branches of trees, devours monkeys and other ani- 

 mals in great numbers. 



Of birds, two hundred different species have already been discovered in Java. 

 Many of them are of superb plumage and exquisite song. 



Reptiles of all kinds are abundant. 



In the various islands of the Oriental Archipelago are to be found many species of 

 bats, one kind of which it has been said is so large that its wings extended are as much 

 as a man can stretch with both his arms. They are very numerous in the interior 

 woods, and may easily be killed. They are never tamed, as they cannot exist unless 

 in their wild state. 



Almost every island in the Indian Archipelago abounds with buffaloes, oxen and 

 cows, whose flesh is admirable. Were it not for the vast distance intervening between 

 the mother country and the regions of Insular Asia, immense numbers of these ani- 

 mals might be imported, and, even as it is, steam may render this not an impossible 

 result. Pork, too, is one of the most common articles of food. Hogs, as we before 

 observed, multiply so rapidly, that— despite the vast numbers slaughtered in all the 

 islands, where all classes and all castes and sects, not even always excepting the Mus- 

 slemen, eat of their flesh — the woods and jungles are absolutely alive with them. 



Gillolo abounds with buffaloes, goats and deer, also wild hogs; there are but few 

 sheep, and no wild beasts. The wild hogs frequent the place where sago palms have 

 lately been cut down, and the flour or pith has been taken out. There they feast and 

 fatten upon the remains. Seen at a distance in large numbers on these spots, with 

 their young black pigs, they have been compared to flies crowding on a table. 



Among the most gorgeous of the feathered creation of the Indian islands is the 

 bird of paradise, of which there have been already written so many descriptions, that 

 we need not here enter into any details concerning its outward appearance. These 

 birds generally fly in flocks of forty or fifty together, and seldom alight on the ground, 

 as from the singular disposition of their feathers it is difficult for them to rise again. 

 Trees, therefore, form their usual resting-place. They are likewise unable to fly with 

 the wind, which would ruin their plumage, but take their flight constantly against it, 

 VI Z 



