CHAPTER TEN.
BURROWING BIRDS.
The fruit diet, however delicious, was not strengthening. Saloo said
so, and Murtagh agreed with him. The Irishman declared he would rather
have a meal of plain "purtatees and buttermilk," though a bit of bacon,
or even ship's "junk," would be more desirable.
All agreed that a morsel of meat--whether salted or fresh--would be
highly beneficial; indeed, almost necessary to the complete restoration
of their strength.
How was animal food to be procured? The forest, so far as Captain
Redwood had explored it, seemed altogether untenanted by living
creature. He had now been tramping for upwards of an hour among the
trees without seeing either bird or quadruped. And although there were
fish in the stream, and should have been shell-fish along the sea-beach,
neither Murtagh nor Saloo had succeeded in procuring any. A keen
craving for animal food had grown upon them, and they were not without
some regretful thoughts at having permitted the dead gavial to drift out
to sea. Even from the carcass of the saurian they might have obtained
steaks that, if not very dainty or delicate, would at least have been
eatable.
Discouraged by their want of success, and still feeling feeble, they did
not go out again that day, but remained resting under the tree.
While they were munching their evening meal--of durions, as the dinner
had been--the Malay commenced discoursing upon eggs, which set them all
thinking about them. If they only had a few, it would be just the very
thing to nourish and give them strength. But where were the eggs to be
obtained? This was the question asked him by the Irishman, who could at
that moment have eaten a dozen, boiled, fried, poached, in omelette, or
even, as he said himself, have "sucked" them.
"Iggs indade!" he exclaimed, as Saloo made mention of the article; "I'd
loike to see one, an could ate a basketful of them, if they were as big
as swans'. What puts iggs in your head, nigger?"
"Eggs no long way off," rejoined the Malay. "Plenty egg if we knowee
whale find 'em."
"How do you know that? Ye're ravin', Saloo."
"No lavin, Multa. You heal lass night the malee? All night longee he
cly wail."
"Hear the malee. What's that?"
"Biggee fowl like tulkey. Saloo heal him. Make moan likee man go die."
"Och, thair was that, thrue enough. I heerd something scramin' all the
night. I thought it might be a banshee, if thair is that crayther in
this counthry. A bird, you say? What of that? Its squalling won't
give us any iggs, nor lade to its nest nayther."
"Ness not belly fal way. Malee make ness in sand close to sea-shole.
Mollow mornin' I go lookee, maybe findee."
All throughout the previous night they had heard a voice resounding
along the shore in loud, plaintive wailings, and Captain Redwood had
remarked its being a strange note to him, never having heard the like
before. He believed the cries to come from some species of sea-fowl
that frequented the coast, but did not think of the probability of their
nests being close at hand. As day broke he had looked out for them in
hopes of getting a shot. Even had they been gulls, he would have been
glad of one or two for breakfast. But there were no birds in sight, not
even gulls.
Saloo now told them that the screams heard during the night did not come
from sea-fowl, but from birds of a very different kind, that had their
home in the forest, and only came to the sea-coast during their season
of breeding; that their presence was for this purpose, and therefore
denoted the proximity of their nests.
While they were yet speaking on the subject, their eyes were suddenly
attracted to a number of the very birds about which they were in
converse. There was quite a flock of them--nearly fifty in all. They
were not roosted upon the trees, nor flying through the air, but
stepping along the sandy beach with a sedate yet stately tread, just
like barn-door fowl on their march toward a field of freshly-sown grain,
here and there stooping to pick up some stray seed. They were about the
size of Cochin-Chinas, and from their flecked plumage of glossy black
and rose-tinted white colour, as well as from having a combed or
helmeted head, and carrying their tails upright, they bore a very
striking resemblance to a flock of common hens.
They, in fact, belonged to an order of birds closely allied to the
gallinaceous tribe, and representing it on the continent of Australia as
also in several of the Austro-Malayan islands, where the true
gallinaceae do not exist. There are several distinct species of them;
some, as the _tallegalla_ or "brush turkey" of Australia, approaching in
form and general appearance to the turkey, while others resemble the
common fowl, and still others might be regarded as a species of
pheasant. They have the singular habit of depositing their eggs in
mounds of rubbish, which they scrape together for this purpose, and then
leave them to what might appear a sort of spontaneous incubation. Hence
they are usually called "mound-builders," though they do not all adhere
to the habit; some of them choosing a very different though somewhat
analogous mode of getting their eggs hatched. Naturalists have given
them the name of _megapoda_, on account of their very large feet, which,
provided with long curved claws, enable them to scratch the ground
deeply and rake together the rubbish into heaps for the safe deposit of
their eggs.
Sometimes these megapodes, as the Australians call them, for they are as
common in Australia as Borneo, raise heaps of fifteen feet in height,
and not less than sixty feet in circumference at the base.
They are large and heavy birds, unwieldy in their motions, slow and
lumbering in their flight. Their legs are thick, and their toes are
also thick and long.
There is some difference between their nest-building ways and those of
the tallegalla; yet, on the whole, the similarity is very striking, as
may be seen from the following account.
Tracing a circle of considerable radius, says Mr Wood, the birds begin
to travel round it, continually grasping with their large feet the
leaves, and grasses, and dead twigs which are lying about, and flinging
them inwards towards the centre. Each time they finish their rounds
they narrow their circle, so that they soon clear away a large circular
belt, having in its centre a low, irregular heap. By repeating the
operation they decrease the _diameter_ of the mound while increasing its
_height_, until at length a large and rudely conical mound is formed.
Next they scrape out a cavity of about four feet in the middle of the
heap, and here deposit the eggs, which are afterwards covered up, to be
hatched by the combined effects of fermentation and the sun. But the
bird does not thus escape any of the cares of maternity, for the male
watches the eggs carefully, being endowed with a wonderful instinct
which tells him the temperature suitable for them. Sometimes he covers
them thickly with leaves, and sometimes lays them nearly bare, repeating
these operations frequently in the course of a single day.
The eggs at last are hatched, but when the young bird escapes from the
shell it does not leave the mound, remaining therein for at least twelve
hours. Even after a stroll in the open air it withdraws to its mound
toward evening, and is covered up, like the egg, only not to so great a
depth. It is a singular fact that in all cases a nearly cylindrical
hole, or shaft, is preserved in the centre of the heap, obviously
intended to admit the cooling air from without, and to allow of the
escape of the gases fermenting within.
In each nest as much as a bushel of eggs is frequently deposited. As
these are of excellent flavour, they are quite as much esteemed by the
white man as by the aborigine. The tallegalla has a habit of scratching
large holes in the ground while dusting itself, says Mr Wood, after the
manner of gallinaceous birds; and these holes often serve to guide the
egg-hunter towards the nest itself.
After this digression let us return to the megapodes of Borneo, whose
appearance had strongly excited the curiosity of Captain Redwood and his
party.
The birds that had now displayed themselves to the eyes of our party of
castaways were of the species known as "maleos," by Saloo called malee.
They had not just then alighted, but came suddenly into view around the
spur of a "dune," or sand-hill, which up to that moment had hindered
them from being observed.
As the spectators were quietly reclining under the obscure shadow of the
tree, the birds did not notice them, but stalked along the shore about
their own business.
What this business was soon became apparent; for although one or another
of the birds made occasional stop to pick up some worm, weed, or seed,
it was evident they were not making their evening promenade in search of
food. Now and again one would dart quickly away from the flock, running
with the swiftness of a pheasant, then suddenly stop, survey the ground
in every direction, as if submitting it to examination, and finally,
with a cackling note, summon the others to its side. After this a
general cackle would spring up, as if they were engaged in some
consultation that equally regarded the welfare of all.
It was noticed that those taking the initiative in these prospecting
rushes and summonings, differed a little from the others. The casque or
bonnet-shaped protuberance at the back of their heads was larger, as
were also the tubercles at their nostrils; the red upon their naked
cheeks was of brighter and deeper hue; while their plumage was gayer and
more glossy, the rufous-white portion of it being of a more pronounced
rose or salmon colour. These were the male birds or "cocks" of the
flock, though the difference between them and the hens was much less
than that between chanticleer and the ladies of his barn-yard harem, and
only noticeable when they drew very near to the spectators.
They were still two hundred yards from the spot where the latter lay
watching them, and by the direction in which they were going it was not
likely they would come any nearer. Captain Redwood had taken hold of
the musket, intending to load it with some slugs he chanced to have, and
try a long shot into the middle of the flock; but Saloo restrained him
with a word or two spoken in a whisper. They were,--
"Don't try shot, cappen. Too long way off. You miss all. Maybe they
go lookee place for billy eggs. Much betta we waitee while."
Thus cautioned, the captain laid aside the gun, while they all remained
silently watching the maleos, which continued their course, with its
various divergences, still unconscious of being observed.
When they were nearly in front of the camping-place, at a spot where the
sand lay loose and dry, above the reach of the ordinary tidal influx,
all made a stop at the summons of one who, from the superior style of
his plumage and the greater grandeur of his strut, appeared a very
important individual of the tribe--in all likelihood the "cock of the
walk."
Here a much longer period was spent in the cackling consultation, which
at length came to an end, not as before in their passing on to another
place, but by the whole flock setting to, and with their great clawed
feet scratching up the sand, which they scattered in clouds and showers
all around them.
For a time they were scarce visible, the sand dust flying in every
direction, and concealing the greater portion of them beneath its dun
cloud; and this sort of play was continued for nearly half an hour. It
was not intended for play, however, for when it at length came to a
termination the spectators under the tree could perceive that a large
cavity had been hollowed out in the sand, of such extent, as to diameter
and depth, that more than half the flock, when within its circumference,
were invisible from their point of observation.
From that moment it could be noted that several birds were always down
in the pit thus excavated, some going in, others coming out, as if
taking their turn in the performance of a common duty; and it was
further noticed that the ones so occupied were those of less conspicuous
plumage--in fact the hens; while the cocks strutted around, with their
tails elevated high in the air, and with all the pride and importance
usually assumed by masters of a grand ceremonial.
For another hour this singular scene was kept up, Saloo hindering his
companions from making any movement to interrupt it, by promising them a
great reward for non-interference.
The scene at length terminated in another grand scraping match, by which
the sand was flung back into the pit with the accompanying storm of
dust, and then emerging from the cloud there commenced a general
stampede of the megapodes, the birds separating into parties of two and
three, and going in different directions. They rushed away at lightning
speed, some along the smooth sand beach, while others rose right up into
the air, and on loud whirring wings flew off into the forest.
"Now!" said Saloo, with joy gleaming in his dark, Oriental eyes. "Now
we getee pay for patient waitee--we hab egg--better than dulion--belly
bess solt of egg malee."
As there was no need for further concealment or caution, all started to
their feet and hastened out to the spot where the departed fowls had
been at work. There was no longer any signs of a hollow, but a level
surface corresponding with that around, and but for the fresh look of
the recently disturbed sand, and the scoring that told of claws having
disturbed it, no one could have thought that a flock of birds resembling
barn-door fowl had just made such a large cavity in the ground, and then
filled it up again.
Saloo and Murtagh ran down to the pinnace, and each brought back an oar.
With these used as shovels, the loose sand was once more removed, and
nearly three dozen large eggs of a reddish or brick colour were exposed
to view, lying in a sort of irregular stratification. They were of the
usual ovoid form, smaller at one end than the other, though but slightly
elongated. What was most notable was their immense size, considering
the bulk of the birds that voided them; for while the latter were not
larger than common hens, the eggs were as big as those of a goose. The
contents of one which Murtagh, in his careless Hibernian way,
accidentally broke--and which were caught in a tin pannikin that held as
much as a good-sized breakfast cup--filled the pannikin to its brim.
It was quite a seasonable supply. These fine eggs proved not inferior
to those of the common hen; indeed they were thought superior, and in
flavour more like the eggs of a guinea-fowl or turkey.
About a dozen of them were cooked for breakfast, and in more ways than
one. Some were boiled, one of the half shells of the same Singapore
oyster serving for a saucepan; while in the other, used as a frying-pan,
an immense omelette was frittered to perfection. It was quite a change
from the fruit diet of the durion, reversing our present as well as the
old Roman fashion of eating, though not contrary to the custom of some
modern nations--the Spaniards, for example. Instead of being _ab ovo ad
malum_, it was _ab malo ad ovum_. [Note 2.]
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Note 1. The Banshee, or Benshie, sometimes called the Shrieking Woman,
is an imaginary being, supposed by the Irish to predict, by her shrieks
and wails, the death of some member in the family over which she
exercises a kind of supervision. To this fable Moore alludes in one of
his songs--
"How oft has the Benshee cried."
Note 2. The Romans began their noonday meal with eggs, and ended with a
dessert; _ab ovo ad malum_.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
THE LANOONS.
Certainly the most nutritious of all things eatable or drinkable is the
substance, or fluid, called milk. It becomes blood almost immediately,
and then flesh, or muscle, as was designed by the Creator. Hence it is
the first food given to all animated creatures--not alone to the
_mammalia_, but to the oviparous animals--even to the infantile forms of
the vegetable itself. To the first it is presented in the form of
simple milk, or "lacteal fluid;" to the second in the "white" of the
egg; while the young tree or plant, springing from its embryo, finds it
in the farina, or succulent matter, with which it is surrounded, and in
which it has hitherto lain embedded and apparently lifeless, till the
nursing sun calls it into a growing existence. It is albumen, gluten,
and other substances combined, all existing in the udder, in the
egg-shell, in the seed, root, or fruit; from which springs the progeny,
whether it be man or beast, flying bird or swimming fish, creeping
reptile or fast-rooted forest tree.
The meal of oyster-meat had restored to healthy action the long-fasting
stomachs of the castaways; the durion fruit, coming like a _dessert_,
had no doubt acted with an exceedingly beneficial effect; but not till
they had partaken of the true "staff of life"--represented in one of its
elementary forms, the egg--did they feel their blood running in its
right channels, alike restoring their vigour and strength.
Murtagh was one of the first to feel revivified, and declare himself
ready for anything. But they were all much invigorated, and began to
think and talk of plans for the future. The question, of course, was,
how they should quit the shore on which shipwreck, and afterwards a
chance wind, had cast them? So far the coast appeared to be
uninhabited, and although not so very inhospitable, as their experience
had proved, still it would never do for them to remain there.
The American merchant-skipper had no ambition to match the Scotchman
Selkirk, and make a second Crusoe of himself. Neither would Murtagh or
the Malay have cared to act as his man Friday for any very prolonged
period of hermitage, so long as there was a mode of escaping from it.
During the remainder of that evening, therefore, they talked of a change
of quarters, and discussed various plans for bringing this about. It
was a question whether they should take to their boat and again put out
to sea, or endeavour, by an overland expedition, to reach some part of
the coast where they might find a European, and therefore a civilised,
settlement. Captain Redwood knew there were more than one of these on
the great island of Borneo. There were the Dutch residencies of Sambas
and Sarabang; the English government depot on the islet of Labuan; and
the strange heterogeneous settlement--half colony, half kingdom--then
acknowledging the authority of the bold British adventurer, Sir James
Brooke, styled "Rajah of Sarawak." If any of these places could be
attained, either coastwise or across country, our castaways might
consider their sufferings at an end; and it was only a question which
would be the easiest to reach, and what the best way of reaching it.
After due consideration, Labuan was the point decided upon. From that
part of the coast Captain Redwood supposed himself to be, it was by far
the nearest civilised settlement--in fact, the only one that offered a
chance of being reached by travellers circumstanced as they. Of course
they had no intention to start immediately. Their strength was not
sufficiently restored, and they were only discussing the question of a
journey to be undertaken before long, and the probabilities of their
being able to accomplish it.
Although they were now safe on land, and need no longer dread the
"dangers of the deep," they did not yet believe themselves delivered
from all peril. The part of the coast on which they had landed appeared
uninhabited; but it was not this that made them uneasy. On the
contrary, human beings were the very things they did not desire just
then to see. From the place where his ship had been struck by the
typhoon, and the distance and direction in which they had since drifted,
Captain Redwood conjectured--was indeed almost sure of it--that they
were on some part of the north-eastern coast of Borneo, where it fronts
the Celebes Sea; and he had traded long enough among the islands of the
Malayan Archipelago to know that this was a most dangerous locality, not
from beasts of prey, but fierce, predatory men; from pirates, in short.
These sea-robbers, issuing from their hiding-places and strongholds
among the lagoons of many of the Malayan islands--more especially
Mindanao--are to be met with all through the Indian Archipelago; but
their most favourite cruising-grounds are in the seas lying around the
Sooloo isles, and stretching between Borneo and New Guinea.
They are usually known as "Lanoons," from Illanon, the southern
peninsula of Mindanao, their principal place of refuge and residence.
But they have also other haunts and ports where they make rendezvous--
many on the shores of the Celebes Sea, in the island of Celebes itself,
and also along the eastern and northern coast of Borneo. In this last
they are usually known as "Dyak pirates," a name not very correct; since
most of these freebooters are of pure Malayan race, while the Bornean
Dyaks take but little part in their plundering, and are themselves often
its victims.
The craft in which they carry on their nefarious calling are large
junk-like vessels termed "praus," with short, stumpy masts and huge
square sails of woven matting stuff. But they place more dependence
upon their broad paddle-bladed oars and skilled oarsmen, each prau
having from thirty to forty rowers, and some very large ones a much
greater number. These, seated in double rows along each side of the
vessel, take no part in the fighting, which is done by the chiefs and
warriors stationed above on a sort of platform or upper deck that
extends nearly the whole length of the prau. The advantage derived from
the oars is, that in the tropical seas very light winds and calms are of
common occurrence, during either of which the prau can easily overtake
an ordinary sailing-ship. And when a brisk wind arises, and it is
desirable to avoid any vessel that may be endeavouring to come up with
them, they can, by means of their strong rowing force, get to windward
of the chasing craft, and so out of harm's way.
Ships are not always the objects of their piratical cruisings, or they
might at times find it but an unprofitable business. Combined with sea
piracy, they make frequent land expeditions along the coasts of the
different islands, going up the inlets and rivers, and plundering the
towns or other settlements situated on their banks. And their booty
does not always consist of goods, chattels, and money, but of men,
women, and children; for they are men-robbers as well as murderers and
pirates. Their captives are carried off to their places of rendezvous,
and there kept until they can be sold into slavery--a market for this
kind of commodity being easily found in almost every island of the
Malayan Archipelago--whether it be Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, or under
the dominion of its own native rulers, the sultans and rajahs.
Well aware of all these circumstances, Captain Redwood knew the danger
he and his party would incur should they fall into the hands of the
Lanoons. So long as they were out upon the open sea, and in fear of
perishing by starvation, they had never had a thought about pirates.
Then the sight of a prau--even with the certainty of its being a
piratical craft--would have been welcome; since death by the Malay kris,
or slavery to the most cruel taskmaster, would have been a relief from
the sufferings they were enduring, from hunger as from thirst. Now,
however, that these were things of the past, and they were not only safe
delivered from the perils of the deep, but seemed in no farther danger
of starvation, the pirates had become the subject of their gravest
fears, and their eyes were habitually on the alert--now scanning the
sea-shore on both sides, and now directed toward the forest, whenever
any noise from that quarter occurred to excite suspicion.