258 TRAVELS m THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 



had scarcely touclied the shore when a pai-ty of 

 thein in ambush poured a volley into his boat, 

 wounding him tvvice severely, but not fatally. I 

 now found myself really banished^ for the yacht was 

 needed too much to come and take me away. I 

 therefore resigned myself quietly to my fate^ and de- 

 termined to profit by the opportunity to make a col- 

 lection of the beautiful birds of the Island. My first 

 excursion was to a eliif on the southeast side of the 

 bay, neai" its mouth, which I found was composed of 

 raetamorphic schists, that were very much fissured l>y 

 joints and seams, and fell apart in cubical blocks. 

 Another place I frequently visited was the low mo- 

 rass on the southwest side of the bay, through which 

 flows out a stream of such size that a large canoe can 

 ascend it for three days. Along the canals in this 

 morass is a thick forest, the high branches of which 

 meet above, forming for a considerable distance gi-and 

 covered avenues. Here the kingfishers delight to 

 gather, and, perching on the lower boughs, occasion* 

 ally dart downward, like falling aiTOWB, into the 

 quiet water. It was most delightful, during the heat 

 of the day, to glide along in these cool and shady 

 canals, which ivind to and fro, and in such an endless 

 series of cui'ves and angles, that no one could weary 

 of the rich, almost oppressive, vegetation that con- 

 tinually surrounds him. At the mouth of this small 

 river are long shallow banks of sand, which are bai*e 

 at low tide, and on these ai'e many large snags and 

 logs that have come down the streams and grounded 

 while on their way to the sea. On these wide banks, 

 as the ebbing ceases and the tide begins to flow, long 



