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

xsxi.] ARU ISLANDS.—RESIDEXCE IX THE IXTERIOR. 337CHAPTER XXXI.THE ARU ISLAISTDS.—JOTJRXEY AND RESIDENCE IN THE INTERIOR,(march to may 1857.)My boat was at length ready, and ha^'ing obtained two menbesides my own. servants, after an enormous amount of talk andtrouble, we left Dobbo on the morning of ]\rarcli 13th for tliemainland of Aru. By noon we I'eached tlie moutli of a smallriver or creek, wliich we ascended, winding among mangroveswamps, with here and there a glimpse of dry land. Iii twohours we reached a house, or rather small shed, of the mostmiserable description, which our steersman, the " Orang-kaya"of Wamma, said was the place we were to stay at, and wliere hehad assured me we could get every kind of bird and beast to befound in Aru. The shed was occupied by about a dozen men,women, and children ; two cooking fires were burning in it, andthere seemed little prospect of my oljtaining any accommodation.I however deferred inquiry till I had seen tlie neiglibouringforest, and immediately started off with two men, net, andguns, along a path at the back of the house. In an hour's walkI saw enough to make me determine to give the place a trial,and on my return, finding the " Oi'ang-kaya was "'in a sti'ongfever-fit and unable to do anything, I entei-ed into negotiationswith the owner of the house for the use of a slip at one end ofit about five feet wide, for a week, and agreed to pay as rentone "parang," or chopping-knife. I then'immediately got myboxes and bedding out of tlie boat, hung up a shelf "for mybird-skins and insects, and got all ready for work next morning.My own boys slept in the boat to guard the remainder of myproperty ;a cooking place sheltered by a few mats was arrangedunder a tree close by, and I felt tliat degree of satisfaction andenjoyment which I always experience wlien, after much troubleand delay, I am on the point of beginning work in a newlocality.One of my first objects was to inquire for the people who areaccustomed to shoot the paradise birds. They lived at somedi^stance_in the jungle, and a man was sent to call tliem. Whenthey arrived, we had a talk by means of the "Orang-kaya" asinterpreter, and they said they thought they could get some.They explained that they shoot the birds with a bow and arrow,the arrow having a conical wooden cap fitted to the end as largeas a teacup, so as to kill the bird by the violence of the blowwithout making any wound or shedding any blood.The treesfrequented by the birds are very lofty ;"it is therefore necessaryto erect a small leafy covering or hut among the branches, towhich the hunter mounts before daylight in the morning andz