it can catch." I was kindly received by Mr. Carter, an Englishman, who
is one of the Bandars or licensed traders of the port, who offered me
hospitality and every assistance during my stay. His house, storehouses,
and offices were in a yard surrounded by a tall bamboo fence, and
were entirely constructed of bamboo with a thatch of grass, the only
available building materials. Even these were now very scarce, owing to
the great consumption in rebuilding the place since the great fire some
months before, which in an hour or two had destroyed every building in
the town.
The next day I went to see Mr. S., another merchant to whom I had
brought letters of introduction, and who lived about seven miles off.
Mr. Carter kindly lent me a horse, and I was accompanied by a young
Dutch gentleman residing at Ampanam, who offered to be my guide. We
first passed through the town and suburbs along a straight road bordered
by mud walls and a fine avenue of lofty trees; then through rice-fields,
irrigated in the same manner as I had seen them at Bileling; and
afterwards over sandy pastures near the sea, and occasionally along the
beach itself. Mr. S. received us kindly, and offered me a residence at
his house should I think the neighbourhood favourable for my pursuits.
After an early breakfast we went out to explore, taking guns and
insect nets. We reached some low hills which seemed to offer the most
favourable ground, passing over swamps, sandy flats overgrown with
coarse sedges, and through pastures and cultivated grounds, finding
however very little in the way of either birds or insects. On our way we
passed one or two human skeletons, enclosed within a small bamboo
fence, with the clothes, pillow, mat, and betel-box of the unfortunate
individual, who had been either murdered or executed. Returning to the
house, we found a Balinese chief and his followers on a visit. Those of
higher rank sat on chairs, the others squatted on the floor. The chief
very coolly asked for beer and brandy, and helped himself and his
followers, apparently more out of curiosity than anything else as
regards the beer, for it seemed very distasteful to them, while they
drank the brandy in tumblers with much relish.
Returning to Ampanam, I devoted myself for some days to shooting the
birds of the neighbourhood. The fine fig-trees of the avenues, where a
market was held, were tenanted by superb orioles (Oriolus broderpii) of
a rich orange colour, and peculiar to this island and the adjacent ones
of Sumbawa and Flores. All round the town were abundance of the curious
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