NORTH BORNEO. 
47 
filling their hair and besmearing their bodies with gore, was a sight to see. The Orang 
Sungei being Mohammedans of course would not touch pig: whenever I and my cook tried 
it we were ill, which Nyhan declared was the unclean animal; but in reality I believe some 
freshwater prawns caused the mischief. 
Sometimes crocodiles would slowly float past our house, almost entirely immersed with 
the exception of their eyes and snout, when they afforded an excellent shot for my rifle. 
During the night these brutes will strike the ground close to the river tremendous blows with 
their tails as they try to knock their prey into the water. My friend Otto one day called to tell 
me that a native had killed a large crocodile, and if I wished he would guide me to see it: 
we started for the spot, and after traversing a swamp we perceived a dreadful smell that could 
only arise from some dead animal, which Otto declared was the crocodile. Shortly we arrived 
at a small pool, in which lay, half in and half out of the water, a large female crocodile. 
Close beside the dead reptile was a large heap of dead leaves and rubbish, in which her 
eggs had been laid, but now covered with broken shells, the eggs being already hatched. 
While we were standing about, the young crocodiles, which were about fifteen inches long, 
kept coming to the surface of a small though deep pool to breathe, and I shot nine with a 
small collecting gun before I left. The mother, having her young with her, attacked a 
native, but was no match on land for this man, who soon disabled her by cutting her tail 
nearly through with his knife: the whole place was on a buzz with blow-flies, which in 
these latitudes often lay live maggots instead of eggs, the quicker to perform the work 
Nature has allotted them. Crocodiles always seek out quiet spots in the swamps for their 
nidification; they collect a quantity of green and dead vegetable matter, making a huge 
heap in which numbers of eggs are deposited, where they are hatched by the heat of the 
fermenting leaves. The female, as a rule, remains in the vicinity, and is now savage and 
bold enough to attack anything. 
On the 10th September our house was violently jolted, so, thinking that a buffalo might 
be rubbing himself against our frail structure, I told one of the boys to drive it away; but 
on going to do so he could see no animal near the house to cause this violent movement. 
When Otto called he asked us if we had felt a shock, as all the people on the river-bank 
had noticed it. This was the only earthquake-shock I felt during my sojourn in North 
Borneo : that island is generally believed to be free from such disturbances. 
On the evening of the 16th September I had just commenced my evening meal, and 
was sitting at my table, a provision-box which served this purpose, admiring the first 
specimen I had ever seen of that finely-coloured Kingfisher Alcedo asicitica, when there arose 
what at first was a confused hubbub of voices, which drew nearer and nearer until a lot of 
excited women and children stampeded past our hut. Not knowing what could cause this 
unusual excitement, as a native campong is always hushed and still soon after dark, Nyhan 
went to the doorway and inquired of the fugitives the reason of this commotion, and 
gathered from these excited people that a man was running “ amok ” a short distance off 
and would probably work his way in our direction. Here was a pretty fix to be in ! liable 
to be attacked at any moment by a bloodthirsty maniac, our house a flimsy leaf hut, and the 
night almost pitch dark : however, the only thing to be done was to load our guns and 
wait for the “ amoker.” We were not kept long in waiting; in a few minutes two men 
