Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
for an hour in an uncomfortable state till the first instalment of my baggage arrived, which
luckily contained my clothes, while the rest did not come in till midnight.
This being the district inhabited by that singular animal the Babirusa (hog-deer) I inquired
about skulls, and soon obtained several in tolerable condition, as well as a fine one of the
rare and curious 'Sapi-utan' (Anoa depressicornis). Of this animal I had seen two living spe-
cimens at Menado, and was surprised at their great resemblance to small cattle, or still more
to the Eland of South Africa. Their Malay name signifies 'forest ox,' and they differ from
very small high-bred oxen principally by the low-hanging dewlap, and straight pointed
horns which slope back over the neck. I did not find the forest here so rich in insects as I had
expected, and my hunters got me very few birds, but what they did obtain were very inter-
esting. Among these were the rare forest Kingfisher (Cittura cyanotis), a small new species
of Megapodius, and one specimen of the large and interesting Maleo (Megacephalon rub-
ripes), to obtain which was one of my chief reasons for visiting this district. Getting no
more, however, after ten days' search I removed to Licoupang, at the extremity of the penin-
sula, a place celebrated for these birds, as well as for the Babirúsa and Sapi-utan. I found
here Mr. Goldmann, the eldest son of the Governor of the Moluccas, who was superintend-
ing the establishment of some Government salt-works. This was a better locality, and I ob-
tained some fine butterflies and very good birds, among which was one more specimen of
the rare ground dove (Phlegænas tristigmata), which I had first obtained near the Máros wa-
terfall in South Celebes.
Hearing what I was particularly in search of, Mr. Goldmann kindly offered to make a
hunting-party to the place where the 'Maleos' are most abundant, a remote and uninhabited
sea-beach about twenty miles distant. The climate here was quite different to that on the
mountains, not a drop of rain having fallen for four months; so I made arrangements to stay
on the beach a week, in order to secure a good number of specimens. We went partly by
boat and partly through the forest, accompanied by the Major or head-man of Licoupang,
with a dozen natives and about twenty dogs. On the way they caught a young Sapi-utan and
five wild pigs. Of the former I preserved the head. This animal is entirely confined to the re-
mote mountain forests of Celebes and one or two adjacent islands which form part of the
same group. In the adults the head is black, with a white mark over each eye, one on each
cheek and another on the throat. The horns are very smooth and sharp when young, but be-
come thicker and ridged at the bottom with age. Most naturalists consider this curious anim-
al to be a small ox, but from the character of the horns, the fine coat of hair and the descend-
ing dewlap, it seemed closely to approach the antelopes.
