Just As We Had Cleared Away And Packed Up
For The Night, A Strange Beast Was Brought, Which Had Been Shot
By The Natives.
It resembled in size, and in its white woolly
covering, a small fat lamb, but had short legs, hand-like feet
with large claws, and a long prehensile tail.
It was a Cuscus (C.
maculatus), one of the curious marsupial animals of the Papuan
region, and I was very desirous to obtain the skin. The owners,
however, said they wanted to eat it; and though I offered them a
good price, and promised to give them all the meat, there was
grout hesitation. Suspecting the reason, I offered, though it was
night, to set to work immediately and get out the body for them,
to which they agreed. The creature was much hacked about, and the
two hind feet almost cut off; but it was the largest and finest
specimen of the kind I had seen; and after an hour's hard work I
handed over the body to the owners, who immediately cut it up and
roasted it for supper.
As this was a very good place for birds, I determined to remain a
month longer, and took the opportunity of a native boat going to
Dobbo, to send Ali for a fresh supply of ammunition and
provisions. They started on the 10th of April, and the house was
crowded with about a hundred men, boys, women, and girls,
bringing their loads of sugar-cane, plantains, sirih-leaf, yams,
&c.; one lad going from each house to sell the produce and make
purchases.
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