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Butterflies here pre numerous and colorful. Greet blue 
end black ones thet look like the Morpho of South America, big 
black and white ones that look like lace, yellow, orange and brown, 
they drift excmisitely through the sunny atmosphere. Under foot 
little lizards skitter out of the path, shining like jewelry, 
coppery, or metallic blue steel, or brown and green. Buitenbos 
stops occasionally to collect orchids from some big tree; his 
best find was a species he had never seen before - a cluster of 
small yellow flowers, about the color of goldenrod . 
S xxix Kxxf x amy iisjnsx fca t smmsviY br in 
At noon, or even later, we come back to the Roemah Sobat. The 
crowd on the street corner, watching for us, trails us back to the 
house, all watching to see what we will do about the one man among 
them who has a lory, or a cuscus, for sale. -A s we approach the 
house we find still others squatting patiently in front of the 
verandah. Small girls hold out beetles on strings, snail boys 
offer us sea shells, one old gentleman has a bamboo pole full o 
millipedes. One man has made such a lovely little woven basket 
for a couple of small and useless geckos that Bill buys them 
anyway. Usually he gives presents to natives for anlma Is he 
cannot justifiably buy. 
Sunday afternoon the Controller, Mr. M. L. Los, comes to call, 
followed by two natives carrying on a pole an enormous cage contain 
ing two full grown cuscus. The next evening, after dark, the 
Assistant Controller, J. W. F. Meijlink, brings three cuscus - one 
pure white, one gray, and one mottled. They are curious ammaxs 
and will make a grand show if we can get them home alive. The 
fur is thick and soft, and on the white ones is especially beauti- 
ful. The white ones are not albinos, their eyes are brown, but 
their ears and feet are pink. The brown cuscus have yellow ears 
and feet, and around their eyes is a circle of red, that gives 
them a peculiarly malevolent expression. The young ones are 
very pretty, with their sharp little noses, big eyes, and soft 
fur, but they are all ready to bite and scratch at the drop of 
a hat. Bill spent an hour and a half one afternoon transferring S 
cuscus from the inadequate bamboo cages in which they had been 
delivered to us into wodden, ire-fronted cages which we had had 
made for them. We have two carpenters working like mad trying 
to keep up with the specimens coming in. We have bought up all 
the wire in the village, and cages have to be devised with wooden 
bars in front. Two cuscus nearly eat their way out one night. 
Buitenbos hears them, and gets up and nails fresh boards over 
them by flashlight. 
B. catches a kingfisher in the rest house one ni L ht by 
swinging a butterfly net over it. The next day Bill lets it 
escape, and mourns. He also lets a beautiful lory, whom Maynard 
has nr ed 'Awkins, slip out of his hands. He had brought it 
out of its cage in order to clip its wings so we could play with 
it - f /wkins was a pet before we got him - and the little bird 
suddenly spread both wings and zipped out of sight. We thought 
it was gone for good, but the Mandoer saw it come back, and caught 
it again for us. Iftl 
Snakes are brought in usually in bamboo poles. Lprger 
specimens are tied to the outside of the poles. We got two 
fairly good-sized ones, a yellow pyfchBH^xjnari boa and Python 
amethystinus, a dark snake with a beautiful purple sheen. 
