They Are Made From A Few Inches To Two Or Three
Feet Long, And Being Much Esteemed By The Malay As Clothes-Boxes,
Are A Regular Article Of Export From Aru.
The natives use the
smaller ones for tobacco or betel-nut, but seldom have clothes
enough to require the larger ones, which are only made for sale.
Among the domestic animals which may generally be seen in native
houses, are gaudy parrots, green, red, and blue, a few domestic
fowls, which have baskets hung for them to lay in under the
eaves, and who sleep on the ridge, and several half-starved
wolfish-baking dogs. Instead of rats and mice there are curious
little marsupial animals about the same size, which run about at
night and nibble anything eatable that may be left uncovered.
Four or five different kinds of ants attack everything not
isolated by water, and one kind even swims across that; great
spiders lurk in baskets and boxes, or hide in the folds of my
mosquito curtain; centipedes and millepedes are found everywhere.
I have caught them under my pillow and on my bead; while in every
box, and under every hoard which has lain for some days
undisturbed, little scorpions are sure to be found snugly
ensconced, with their formidable tails quickly turned up ready
for attack or defence. Such companions seem very alarming and
dangerous, but all combined are not so bad as the irritation of
mosquitoes, or of the insect pests often found at home.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 233 of 412
Words from 62592 to 62843
of 111511
