CRUISE IN THE SOUTHERN CHINA SEA. 75 



The Dato's was a well built house, the largest in the place, 

 with a flag staff in front. We were given the rarely used chairs 

 brought out, as always, from somewhere in the roof and seated 

 on these awaited the Dato who was making himself presentable. 

 He was a rather big man with an Irish countenance and wore a 

 "baju tangan kanching" having a ridiculous resemblance to the 

 obsolete night shirt, and a purple smoking cap whose large black 

 tassel persisted in lying in his right eye. There were only a few 

 people in the audience and after the Dato had stumbled through 

 the Saltan's letter and the scholar of the party recorded our visit 

 in the brown-paper- covered archives of Jimaja, conversation 

 took a zoological turn and we were told also of two deep lakes 

 with waterfalls that existed up in the hills of the interior, the 

 description being such as to give one an idea of something 

 impressive. 



We collected first on the south side of the bay with no great 

 result; the ground was very steep and difficult and the forest 

 small having evidently been cleared at some former period. 

 However, a new species of rat — Mus ftavivmter — was obtained 

 and we came across parrots (Paleornis longicauda) for the first 

 time. Every day flocks crossed the bay and passed near the sum- 

 mit of some steep rocks where I several times lay hid in the vain 

 hope that they might stop. It was interesting to note how the 

 parrots' call as they flew by always drew a loud response from 

 all the small birds roosting in the bushes. 



On the other side of the bay we found a good path running 

 for some distance through a former mangrove swamp now 

 planted with coconuts, and afterwards up hill amongst most 

 beautiful jungle. It crossed two small streams of perfectly 

 clear water one running among granite boulders and the other, 

 about a foot deep, in a smooth sandy bed. Toward midday 

 nothing was more pleasant after five or six hours' tramping in 

 the forest than to find a round stone for pillow and recline full- 

 length in the flowing water of the latter until thoroughly re- 

 freshed by its coolness. But beside providing pleasure of this 

 sort we also obtained good specimens along its banks. 



Our third collecting ground was along the river failing in- 

 to the head of the bay. At first this was bordered by broad 

 growths of tall mangrove, but after a mile or so where the current 



R- A. Soc, No. 41, 1903. 



