THE ISLAND OF JAVA. 199 
distance of a hundred miles, there is neither tree nor shrul^, 
except a few stunted heaths or shrivelled Everlastings thinly 
scattered over the barren surface. In such situations v\^here 
I have hunted and taken them, it would certainly be no easy 
matter for the Babp^oiissa to find a peg to hang its head upon. 
It would be endless to attempt an enumeration of the wild 
animals with which this island abounds ; of the leopards, and 
wild cats, and squirrels, and monkies innumerable from the 
Ourang-Outang to the little flying Lemur. For one species 
of the monkey genus, called the TFow-JVow, the Javanese 
pretend to have a kind of fellow feeling; there being a 
tradition among them, that their ancestors originally sprung 
from this species of ape. 
The insect tribes, as in all warm climates, arc here very 
numerous, and the nmltitude of snakes, centipedes, scolo- 
pendras, scorpions, and spiders, with white ants^ mosquitoes, 
fire flies, and a thousand other dangerous, disgusting, and 
troublesome vermin, swarm in the streets and in the houses, 
infesting even the sleeping rooms. The sting of the scorpion 
is considered to be very dangerous, and sometimes f ital ; but 
the Javanese are persuaded, like the Hottentots in Africa 
and the Romans of old, , that the topical application of the 
same animal Avhich gave the wound will heal it. A 
venomous spider is very common in the thickets of Java. 
The diameter of the body is near two inches, and the lengtli 
of the fore legs or claws near four inches, covered with hair, 
the colour black, and the mouth red. The webs spun by 
this animal gave us considerable trouble, as we ti-aversed tlie 
woods about Anjerie point. Birds are said to be frequently 
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