The Noise Of The Evening
Before Was Now Explained.
A python had climbed up one of the
posts of the house, and had made his way under the thatch within
a yard of my head, and taken up a comfortable position in the
roof - and I had slept soundly all night directly under him.
I called to my two boys who were skinning birds below and said,
"Here's a big snake in the roof;" but as soon as I had shown it
to them they rushed out of the house and begged me to come out
directly. Finding they were too much afraid to do anything, we
called some of the labourers in the plantation, and soon had half
a dozen men in consultation outside. One of these, a native of
Bouru, where there are a great many snakes, said he would get him
out, and proceeded to work in a businesslike manner. He made a
strong noose of rattan, and with a long pole in the other hand
poked at the snake, who then began slowly to uncoil itself. He
then managed to slip the noose over its head, and getting it well
on to the body, dragged the animal down. There was a great
scuffle as the snake coiled round the chairs and posts to resist
his enemy, but at length the man caught hold of its tail, rushed
out of the house (running so quick that the creature seemed quite
confounded), and tried to strike its head against a tree. He
missed however, and let go, and the snake got under a dead trunk
close by. It was again poked out, and again the Bourn man caught
hold of its tail, and running away quickly dashed its head with a
swing against a tree, and it was then easily killed with a
hatchet. It was about twelve feet long and very thick, capable of
doing much mischief and of swallowing a dog or a child.
I did not get a great many birds here. The most remarkable were
the fine crimson lory, Eos rubra - a brush-tongued parroquet of a
vivid crimson colour, which was very abundant. Large flocks of
them came about the plantation, and formed a magnificent object
when they settled down upon some flowering tree, on the nectar of
which lories feed. I also obtained one or two specimens of the
fine racquet-tailed kingfisher of Amboyna, Tanysiptera nais, one
of the most singular and beautiful of that beautiful family.
These birds differ from all other kingfishers (which have usually
short tails) by having the two middle tail-feathers immensely
lengthened and very narrowly webbed, but terminated by a spoon-
shaped enlargement, as in the motmots and some of the humming-
birds. They belong to that division of the family termed king-
hunters, living chiefly on insects and small land-molluscs, which
they dart down upon and pick up from the ground, just as a
kingfisher picks a fish out of the water. They are confined to a
very limited area, comprising the Moluccas, New Guinea and
Northern Australia. About ten species of these birds are now
known, all much resembling each other, but yet sufficiently
distinguishable in every locality. The Amboynese species, of
which a very accurate representation is here given, is one of the
largest and handsomest. It is full seventeen inches long to the
tips of the tail-feathers; the bill is coral red, the under-
surface pure white, the back and wings deep purple, while the
shoulders, head and nape, and some spots on the upper part of the
back and wings, are pure azure blue; the tail is white, with the
feathers narrowly blue-edged, but the narrow part of the long
feathers is rich blue. This was an entirely new species, and has
been well named after an ocean goddess, by Mr. R. G. Gray.
On Christmas eve I returned to Amboyna, where I stayed about ten
days with my kind friend Dr. Mohnike. Considering that I had been
away only twenty days, and that on five or six of those I was
prevented doing any thing by wet weather and slight attacks of
fever, I had made a very nice collection of insects, comprising a
much larger proportion of large and brilliant species than I had
ever before obtained in so short a time. Of the beautiful
metallic Buprestidae I had about a dozen handsome species, yet in
the doctor's collection I observed four or five more very fine
ones, so that Amboyna is unusually rich in this elegant group.
During my stay here I had a good opportunity of seeing how
Europeans live in the Dutch colonies, and where they have adopted
customs far more in accordance with the climate than we have done
in our tropical possessions. Almost all business is transacted in
the morning between the hours of seven and twelve, the afternoon
being given up to repose, and the evening to visiting. When in
the house during the heat of the day, and even at dinner, they
use a loose cotton dress, only putting on a suit of thin
European-made clothes for out of doors and evening wear. They
often walk about after sunset bareheaded, reserving the black hat
for visits of ceremony. Life is thus made far more agreeable, and
the fatigue and discomfort incident to the climate greatly
diminished. Christmas day is not made much of, but on New Year's
day official and complimentary visits are paid, and about sunset
we went to the Governor's, where a large party of ladies and
gentlemen were assembled. Tea and coffee were handed around, as is
almost universal during a visit, as well as cigars, for on no
occasion is smoking prohibited in Dutch colonies, cigars being
generally lighted before the cloth is withdrawn at dinner, even
though half the company are ladies. I here saw for the first time
the rare black lory from New Guinea, Chalcopsitta atra. The
plumage is rather glossy, and slightly tinged with yellowish and
purple, the bill and feet being entirely black.
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