dragged, and all the smaller traffic from Ceram and the islands of
Saparua and Haruka, passes through Paso. The canal is not continued
quite through, merely because every spring-tide would throw up just such
a sand-bank as now exists.
I had been informed that the fine butterfly Ornithoptera priamus
was plentiful here, as well as the racquet-tailed kingfisher and the
ring-necked lory. I found, however, that I had missed the time for the
former, and birds of all kinds were very scarce, although I obtained a
few good ones, including one or two of the above-mentioned rarities.
I was much pleased to get here the fine long-armed chafer, Euchirus
longimanus. This extraordinary insect is rarely or never captured except
when it comes to drink the sap of the sugar palms, where it is found by
the natives when they go early in the morning to take away the bamboos
which have been filled during the night. For some time one or two were
brought me every day, generally alive. They are sluggish insects, and
pull themselves lazily along by means of their immense forelegs. A
figure of this and other Moluccan beetles is given in the 27th CHAPTER
of this work.
I was kept at Paso by an inflammatory eruption, brought on by the
constant attacks of small acari-like harvest-bugs, for which the forests
of Ceram are famous, and also by the want of nourishing food while in
that island. At one time I was covered with severe boils. I had them on
my eye, cheek, armpits, elbows, back, thighs, knees, and ankles, so that
I was unable to sit or walk, and had great difficulty in finding a side
to lie upon without pain. These continued for some weeks, fresh ones
coming out as fast as others got well; but good living and sea baths
ultimately cured them.
About the end of January Charles Allen, who had been my assistant in
Malacca and Borneo, again joined me on agreement for three years; and as
soon as I got tolerably well, we had plenty to do laying in stores and
making arrangements for our ensuing campaign. Our greatest difficulty
was in obtaining men, but at last we succeeded in getting two each. An
Amboyna Christian named Theodorus Matakena, who had been some time with
me and had learned to skin birds very well, agreed to go with Allen,
as well as a very quiet and industrious lad named Cornelius, whom I
had brought from Menado. I had two Amboynese, named Petrus Rehatta, and
Mesach Matakena; the latter of whom had two brothers, named respectively
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