The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

146 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.Early in February we made arrangements to stay for a weekat a village called Baliba, situated about four miles otf on themountains, at an elevation of 2,000 feet. We took our baggageand a supj^ly of all necessaries on pack-horses ; and though thedistance by the route we took was not more than six or sevenmiles, we were half a day getting there. The roads were mei-etracks, sometimes up steep rocky stairs, sometimes in narrowgullies worn by the horses' feet, and where it was necessary totuck up our legs on our horses' necks to avoid having themcrushed. At some of these places the baggage had to beunloaded, at others it was knocked off. Sometimes the ascentor descent was so steep that it was easier to walk than to clingto our ponies' backs ; and thus we went up and down, over barehills whose surface was cove red with small pebbles and scatteredover with Eucalypti, reminding me of what I had read ofparts of the interior of Australia rather than of tlie MalayArchipelago.The village consisted of three houses only, with low walls,raised a few feet on jDosts, and very high roofs thatched withgrass hanging down to within two or three feet of tlie ground.A house which was untinished and partly open at the back wasgiven for our use, and in it we rigged up a table, some benches,and a screen, while an inner enclosed portion served us for asleeping apartment. AYe had a splendid view down upon Belliand the sea beyond. The country round was undulating andopen, except in the hollows, where there were some patches offorest, which Mr. Geach, who had been all over the eastern partof Timor, assured me was the most luxuriant he had yet seen inthe island. I was in hopes of finding some insects here, but wasmuch disappointed, owing joerhaps to the dampness of theclimate ; for it was not till the sun was pretty high that themists cleared away, and by noon we were generally clouded upagain, so that there was seldom more than an hour or two offitful sunshine. We searched in every direction for birds andother game, but they were very scarce. On our way I had shotthe fine white-headed pigeon, Ptilonopus cinctus, and the prettylittle lorikeet, Trichoglossus euteles. I got a few more of theseat the blossoms of the Eucalypti, and also the allied speciesTrichoglossus iris, and a few other small but interesting birds.The common jungle-cock of India (Gallus bankiva') was foundhere, and furnished us with some excellent meals ; but we couldget no deer. Potatoes are grown higher up the mountains inabundance, and are very good. We had a sheep killed everyother day, and ate our mutton with much appetite in the coolclimate which rendered a fire always agreeable.Although one-half the European residents in Delli arecontinually ill from fever, and the Portuguese have occupied theplace for three centuries, no one has yet built a house on thesefine hills, which, if a tolerable road were made, would be onlyan hour's ride from the town ; and almost equally good situa-