beetles of the family Buprestidae of six different species, one of which was new
to me. I then reached a path in the swampy forest where I hoped to find some
butterflies, but was disappointed. Being now pretty well exhausted by the intense
heat, I thought it wise to return and reserve further exploration for the next day.
When I sat down in the afternoon to arrange my insects, the louse was
surrounded by men, women, and children, lost in amazement at my
unaccountable proceedings; and when, after pinning out the specimens, I
proceeded to write the name of the place on small circular tickets, and attach one
to each, even the old Kapala, the Mahometan priest, and some Malay traders
could not repress signs of astonishment. If they had known a little more about
the ways and opinions of white men, they would probably have looked upon me
as a fool or a madman, but in their ignorance they accepted my operations as
worthy of all respect, although utterly beyond their comprehension.
The next day (October 16th) I went beyond the swamp, and found a place
where a new clearing was being made in the virgin forest. It was a long and hot
walk, and the search among the fallen trunks and branches was very fatiguing,
but I was rewarded by obtaining about seventy distinct species of beetles, of
which at least a dozen were new to me, and many others rare and interesting. I
have never in my life seen beetles so abundant as they were on this spot. Some
dozen species of good-sized golden Buprestidae, green rose-chafers
(Lomaptera), and long-horned weevils (Anthribidae), were so abundant that they
rose up in swarms as I walked along, filling the air with a loud buzzing hum.
Along with these, several fine Longicorns were almost equally common,
forming such au assemblage as for once to realize that idea of tropical luxuriance
which one obtains by looking over the drawers of a well-filled cabinet. On the
under sides of the trunks clung numbers of smaller or more sluggish Longicorns,
while on the branches at the edge of the clearing others could be detected sitting
with outstretched antenna ready to take flight at the least alarm. It was a glorious
spot, and one which will always live in my memory as exhibiting the insect-life
of the tropics in unexampled luxuriance. For the three following days I
continued to visit this locality, adding each time many new species to my
collection-the following notes of which may be interesting to entomologists.
October 15th, 33 species of beetles; 16th, 70 species; 17th, 47 species; 18th, 40
species; 19th, 56 species—in all about a hundred species, of which forty were
new to me. There were forty-four species of Longicorns among them, and on the
last day I took twenty-eight species of Longicorns, of which five were new to
me.
My boys were less fortunate in shooting. The only birds at all common were