IJOUllGA STRAIT, 
21 
Mr. Modera*3 account of the irjonkey-likc gambols in 
the trees may probably excite a smile of incredulity in the 
reader. Nevertheless, the faet of the Papuans being able 
to proeeed with wonderful rapidity through the man- 
grove thickets which line the sea-sborcs, is well authenti- 
cated, and has been long known to those acquainted with 
the habits of the wilder tribes ^ but no British tra- 
veller, with the fate of Abyssinian Bruce before bis eyes, 
would have ventured to promulgate such a statement, 
unless he could bring forward incontestible evidence to 
♦support it. The sea coasts of alluvial districts in tropical 
regions are invariably lined by belts of mangroves, which 
sometimes extend into the sea for miles beyond the level 
of high water ; and in New Guinea, as ^ell as on the 
northern coasts of Australiaj the mangroves assume the 
character of forest trees about the upper parts, while tlie 
lowfer consist of a network of strong fibrous roots, 
which is absolutely impenetrable without the aid of an 
axe I and even then it is impossible to proceed unless 
the mud has sufficient consistency to support the weight of 
the body, whicb is rarely the case except at dead low-water. 
Aa the coast tribes, who derive their chief suhaiatenoe 
from the sea, have to crass this belt almost daily, they 
naturally prefer scrambling through the upper branches, 
which are strong enough to afford secure footing, while, 
at the same time, they intertwine with each other in so 
peculiar a manner, that, with a little practice, this sin- 
gular mode of travelling can even he adopted by Eu- 
ropeans. Indeed, the writer, on more than one occasion, 
has seen a file of Marines, with muskets on their shoul- 
ders, steadily making their way over mangrove swampa iu 
