1886. | _ Recent Literature. 43 
amese rivers, hopping about over the deep mud, feeding on the 
tiny crustaceans left on the bank by the receding tide; but we 
will let the author tell the story in his own way: 
“ The Malays were thunderstruck when I pulled off my shoes 
and told them to put me ashore. Seeing that I was really going, 
Francis, like a good boy, did not hesitate to follow, and we step- 
ped out of the sampan into mud and water hip deep. 
“We will never know the actual depth of the mud on that 
bank, but we sank into it to our knees at every step, and were 
fortunate enough to stop sinking at that point. What a circus it 
must have been for those who looked on! But, in for a penny in 
for a pound, and bidding Francis choose the largest fish when 
Possible, we went for them. There were probably a dozen in 
sight, hopping spasmodically about, or lying at rest on the mud, 
but when we selected the nearest large specimens and made for 
them, they developed surprising energy and speed, and made 
Straight for their burrows. They progressed by a series of short 
but rapidly repeated jumps, accomplished by bending the hinder 
ird of the body sharply around to the left, then straightening it 
very suddenly, and at the same instant lifting the front half of the 
ly clear of the ground by means of the arm-like pectoral fins 
which act like the front flippers of a sea lion. These fins are al- 
most like arms in their structure and use, the bones being of 
great length, and thus giving the member great freedom of move- 
its Owing to the soft and yielding nature of the mud the 
: PS were short, about six inches being the distance gained each 
me, Dut they were so rapid, the mud so very deep and our pro- 
