NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 
665 
Nature. 1 The natives cut solid wheels for their buffalo carts directly out of these 
natural living planks, and the large circular window-like holes left in the roots at the 
bases of the trees are curious features in the forest. When traversing the forest one 
was constantly put on the alert by the rustling of what sounded like some large 
animal amongst the dead leaves, and expected every minute to get a shot at a deer, but 
at last it appeared that the animal disturbing the silence of the forest was a huge Lizard 
(probably Hydrosaurus marmoratus ) which bolted up the trees when approached, and 
sat in a fork to gaze at the intruder. The forest was full of these reptiles. In the same 
forest occurs the well-known aberrant flying insectivorous mammal ( Galeopithecus pjhilip- 
pinensis), which, like a flying squirrel, has membranes of skin (patagia) stretched between 
its legs and out on to its tail ; so that, supported on this as by a parachute, it skims 
through the air in its leaps from tree to tree with a partial flight. On one of a group of 
trees standing isolated, not having been as yet felled in the process of the formation of a 
clearing, after much search, a Kaguan ( Galeopithecus ) was seen hanging to the shady 
side of the tall trunk. It was an object very easily seen, much more so than would be 
expected, and moved up the tree with a shambling jerky gait, hitching itself up appa- 
rently by a series of short springs. It was found when shot to be a female with a young 
one clinging to the breast, and was in a tree at least 40 yards- distant from any other, 
and must have flown that length to reach it. The guide said that numbers of the 
animals were caught when trees were cut down in clearing. They are especially abundant 
at the island of Bohol, north of Mindanao, and their skins were for sale at Zebu at four 
dollars a dozen. 
Close by on some lower trees were seen several Flying Lizards ( Draco volans), which 
similarly have a flying membrane, but in their case supported on extensions of the 
ribs. The little lizards were seen to spring several times from tree to tree and branch to 
branch, but they pass through the air so quickly that the extension of their parachute 
is hardly noticed during the flight. Several of them were kept alive on board the 
ship for a day or two, where they flew from one leg of the table to another. It was 
curious to find two animals so widely different in structure, yet provided with such similar 
means of flight, thus occurring together in the same grove and even on the same tree. 
While the ship was absent at Port Isabella coaling, a party of officers and naturalists, 
with three men, remained at Samboangan and made an excursion to the high land about 
seven miles distant, where they pitched a tent in a beautifully wooded valley and were 
engaged during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th February in various collecting and hunting 
expeditions. 
Monkeys ( Macacus philippensis) and Hornbills were very numerous in the valleys, 
and the woods continually resounded with their cries and calls. A large number of 
specimens were collected. Among twenty- two species of birds preserved were five new 
1 A. R. Wallace, Tropical Nature and other Essays, p. 31, London, 1878. 
