162 
THE FLORA OF JAVA. 
hut has been surrounded with ferocious tigers, howling with ter¬ 
rific fierceness; and, to think of sleeping while labouring under 
the expectation of one of them introducing his unwelcome face 
through the walls of your fragile house, that lias been built in an 
hour from the bamboo and long grass, covered with cocoa-leaves, 
was certainly too much for my philosophy; and not unfrequently 
we have been obliged to seek refuge in the branches of a neigh¬ 
bouring tree to procure a few hours’ sleep. Here, however, it is 
often difficult to effect such a lodgment as will secure your equi¬ 
librium ; but when in the vicinity of the shore, the securest plan 
is to construct a kind of raft, and at night push out to sea a short 
distance; then, by the aid of a rope and a large stone, you may 
anchor at any convenient distance. In this way I have been 
every night for three successive weeks. In such neighbourhoods, 
however, another annoyance arises: it is the most difficult thing 
imaginable to travel with any luggage—even a change of clothing 
can scarce be preserved from the cupidity of the people inhabit¬ 
ing the coasts, and, in consequence of their depredations, I have 
been several times reduced to a pair of trousers and a straw hat, 
and, when at a distance from camp, have had no other covering 
for a week together, which, with a temperature at noon of 115° 
in the shade, and very heavy dews at night, is, to say the least of 
it, rather trying. 
“ The distribution of plants appears to be rather circumscribed, 
certain tribes affecting particular spots, and being scarcely ever 
found in other places, which may be accounted for by the pecu¬ 
liarities of soil and position. Thus, I have only met with Pha- 
Icenopsis amabilis in two places. On the first occasion, myself 
and nine natives had for some hours been rowing along the shore, 
watching the tigers and rhinoceroses, and waiting for an oppor¬ 
tunity to land, when I detected a fine patch of it, and, losing 
all fear under the impulse, rowed in and jumped ashore. One 
spike had upwards of thirty flowers upon it, all expanded to¬ 
gether. It is truly a magnificent thing. On the same island I 
found Grammatophyllum speciosum , with stems full six feet in 
length. This also was a splendid object. I spent eight days on 
this spot, and found it rich in several valuable things, getting 
thence Helcia javanicum, Rhododendron javanicum, several species 
