their form and structure in detail. Thousands of crows, rather smaller
than our rook, keep up a constant cawing in these plantations; the
curious wood-swallows (Artami), which closely resemble swallows in their
habits and flight but differ much in form and structure, twitter from
the tree-tops; while a lyre-tailed drongo-shrike, with brilliant black
plumage and milk-white eyes, continually deceives the naturalist by the
variety of its unmelodious notes.
In the more shady parts butterflies were tolerably abundant; the most
common being species of Euplaea and Danais, which frequent gardens
and shrubberies, and owing to their weak flight are easily captured. A
beautiful pale blue and black butterfly, which flutters along near the
ground among the thickets, and settles occasionally upon flowers, was
one of the most striking; and scarcely less so, was one with a rich
orange band on a blackish ground--these both belong to the Pieridae, the
group that contains our common white butterflies, although differing
so much from them in appearance. Both were quite new to European
naturalists. [The former has been named Eronia tritaea; the latter
Tachyris ithonae.] Now and then I extended my walks some miles further,
to the only patch of true forest I could find, accompanied by my two
boys with guns and insect-net. We used to start early, taking our
breakfast with us, and eating it wherever we could find shade and water.
At such times my Macassar boys would put a minute fragment of rice and
meat or fish on a leaf, and lay it on a stone or stump as an offering to
the deity of the spot; for though nominal Mahometans the Macassar people
retain many pagan superstitions, and are but lax in their religious
observances. Pork, it is true, they hold in abhorrence, but will
not refuse wine when offered them, and consume immense quantities of
"sagueir," or palm-wine, which is about as intoxicating as ordinary beer
or cider. When well made it is a very refreshing drink, and we often
took a draught at some of the little sheds dignified by the name of
bazaars, which are scattered about the country wherever there is any
traffic.
One day Mr. Mesman told me of a larger piece of forest where he
sometimes went to shoot deer, but he assured me it was much further off,
and that there were no birds. However, I resolved to explore it, and the
next morning at five o'clock we started, carrying our breakfast and some
other provisions with us, and intending to stay the night at a house on
the borders of the wood. To my surprise two hours' hard walking brought
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