Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
eat, biting off the thick outer rind and dropping it in a continual shower. I had found the
same fruit in the stomach of some others which I had killed. Two shots caused this animal to
loose his hold, but he hung for a considerable time by one hand, and then fell flat on his face
and was half buried in the swamp. For several minutes he lay groaning and panting, while
we stood close round, expecting every breath to be his last. Suddenly, however, by a violent
effort he raised himself up, causing us all to step back a yard or two, when, standing nearly
erect, he caught hold of a small tree, and began to ascend it. Another shot through the back
caused him to fall down dead. A flattened bullet was found in his tongue, having entered the
lower part of the abdomen and completely traversed the body, fracturing the first cervical
vertebra. Yet it was after this fearful wound that he had risen, and begun climbing with con-
siderable facility. This also was a full-grown male of almost exactly the same dimensions as
the other two I had measured.
On June 21st I shot another adult female, which was eating fruit in a low tree, and was the
only one which I ever killed by a single ball.
On June 24th I was called by a Chinaman to shoot a Mias, which, he said, was on a tree
close by his house, at the coal-mines. Arriving at the place, we had some difficulty in find-
ing the animal, as he had gone off into the jungle, which was very rocky and difficult to tra-
verse. At last we found him up a very high tree, and could see that he was a male of the
largest size. As soon as I had fired, he moved higher up the tree, and while he was doing so I
fired again; and we then saw that one arm was broken. He had now reached the very highest
part of an immense tree, and immediately began breaking off boughs all around, and laying
them across and across to make a nest. It was very interesting to see how well he had chosen
his place, and how rapidly he stretched out his unwounded arm in every direction, breaking
off good-sized boughs with the greatest ease, and laying them back across each other, so that
in a few minutes he had formed a compact mass of foliage, which entirely concealed him
from our sight. He was evidently going to pass the night here, and would probably get away
early the next morning, if not wounded too severely. I therefore fired again several times, in
hopes of making him leave his nest; but, though I felt sure I had hit him, as at each shot he
moved a little, he would not go away. At length he raised himself up, so that half his body
was visible, and then gradually sank down, his head alone remaining on the edge of the nest.
I now felt sure he was dead, and tried to persuade the Chinaman and his companion to cut
down the tree; but it was a very large one, and they had been at work all day, and nothing
would induce them to attempt it. The next morning, at daybreak, I came to the place, and
found that the Mias was evidently dead, as his head was visible in exactly the same position
as before. I now offered four Chinamen a day's wages each to cut the tree down at once, as a
