This Being The District Inhabited By That Singular Annual The
Babirusa (Hog-Deer), I Inquired About Skulls And Soon Obtained
Several In Tolerable Condition, As Well As A Fine One Of The Rare
And Curious "Sapiutan" (Anoa Depressicornis.
Of this animal I had
seen two living specimens at Menado, and was surprised at their
great resemblance to small cattle, or still more to the Eland of
South Africa.
Their Malay name signifies "forest ox," and they
differ from very small highbred oxen principally by the low-
hanging dewlap, and straight, pointed horns which slope back over
the neck. I did not find the forest here so rich in insects as I
had expected, and my hunters got me very few birds, but what they
did obtain were very interesting. Among these were the rare
forest Kingfisher (Cittura cyanotis), a small new species of
Megapodius, and one specimen of the large and interesting Maleo
(Megacephalon rubripes), to obtain which was one of my chief
reasons for visiting this district. Getting no more, however,
after ten days' search, I removed to Licoupang, at the extremity
of the peninsula, a place celebrated for these birds, as well as
for the Babirusa and Sapiutan. I found here Mr. Goldmann, the
eldest son of the Governor of the Moluccas, who was
superintending the establishment of some Government salt-works.
This was a better locality, and I obtained some fine butterflies
and very good birds, among which was one more specimen of the
rare ground dove (Phlegaenas tristigmata), which I had first
obtained near the Maros waterfall in South Celebes.
Hearing what I was particularly in search of, Mr. Goldmann kindly
offered to make a hunting-party to the place where the "Maleos"
are most abundant, a remote and uninhabited sea-beach about
twenty miles distant. The climate here was quite different from
that on the mountains; not a drop of rain having fallen for four
months; so I made arrangements to stay on the beach a week, in
order to secure a good number of specimens. We went partly by
boat and partly through the forest, accompanied by the Major or
head-man of Licoupang, with a dozen natives and about twenty
dogs. On the way they caught a young Sapi-utan and five wild
pigs. Of the former I preserved the head. This animal is entirely
confined to the remote mountain forests of Celebes and one or two
adjacent islands which form part of the same group. In the adults
the head is black, with a white mark over each eye, one on each
cheek and another on the throat. The horns are very smooth and
sharp when young, but become thicker and ridged at the bottom
with age. Most naturalists consider this curious animal to be a
small ox, but from the character of the horns, the fine coat of
hair and the descending dewlap, it seemed closely to approach the
antelopes.
Arrived at our destination, we built a but and prepared for a stay
of some days - I to shoot and skin "Maleos", and Mr. Goldmann and
the Major to hunt wild pigs, Babirusa, and Sapi-utan.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 191 of 219
Words from 99293 to 99817
of 114260
