It Is Universally Believed In Lombock That Some Men Have The
Power To Turn Themselves Into Crocodiles, Which They Do For The
Sake Of Devouring Their Enemies, And Many Strange Tales Are Told
Of Such Transformations.
I was therefore rather surprised one
evening to hear the following curious fact stated, and as it was
not contradicted by any of the persons present, I am inclined to
accept it provisionally as a contribution to the Natural History
of the island.
A Bornean Malay who had been for many years
resident here said to Manuel, "One thing is strange in this
country - the scarcity of ghosts." "How so? "asked Manuel. "Why,
you know," said the Malay, "that in our countries to the
westward, if a man dies or is killed, we dare not pass near the
place at night, for all sorts of noises are heard which show that
ghosts are about. But here there are numbers of men killed, and
their bodies lie unburied in the fields and by the roadside, and
yet you can walk by them at night and never hear or see anything
at all, which is not the case in our country, as you know very
well." "Certainly I do," said Manuel; and so it was settled that
ghosts were very scarce, if not altogether unknown in Lombock. I
would observe, however, that as the evidence is purely negative
we should be wanting in scientific caution if we accepted this
fact as sufficiently well established.
One evening I heard Manuel, Ali, and a Malay man whispering
earnestly together outside the door, and could distinguish
various allusions to "krisses," throat-cutting, heads, etc.
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