BEASTS.
REPTILES.
FISH.
BIRDS.
INSECTS.
BEASTS.
The animal kingdom claims attention, but, the quadrupeds of the island
being in general the same as are found elsewhere throughout the East,
already well described, I shall do little more than furnish a list of
those which have occurred to my notice; adding a few observations on such
as may appear to require them.
BUFFALO.
The karbau, or buffalo, constituting a principal part of the food of the
natives, and, being the only animal employed in their domestic labours,
it is proper that I should enter into some detail of its qualities and
uses; although it may be found not to differ materially from the buffalo
of Italy, and to be the same with that of Bengal. The individuals of the
species, as is the case with other domesticated cattle, differ extremely
from each other in their degree of perfection, and a judgment is not to
be formed of the superior kinds, from such as are usually furnished as
provision to the ships from Europe. They are distinguished into two
sorts; the black and the white. Both are equally employed in work, but
the latter is seldom killed for food, being considered much inferior in
quality, and by many as unwholesome, occasioning the body to break out in
blotches. If such be really the effect, it may be presumed that the light
flesh-colour is itself the consequence of some original disorder, as in
the case of those of the human species who are termed white negroes. The
hair upon this sort is extremely thin, scarcely serving to cover the
hide; nor have the black buffaloes a coat like the cattle of England. The
legs are shorter than those of the ox, the hoofs larger, and the horns
are quite peculiar, being rather square or flat than round, excepting
near the extremities; and whether pointing backward, as in general, or
forwards, as they often do, are always in the plane of the forehead, and
not at an angle, as those of the cow-kind. They contain much solid
substance, and are valuable in manufacture. The tail hangs down to the
middle joint of the leg only, is small, and terminates in a bunch of
hair. The neck is thick and muscular, nearly round, but somewhat flatted
at top, and has little or no dewlap dependant from it. The organ of
generation in the male has an appearance as if the extremity were cut
off. It is not a salacious animal. The female goes nine months with calf,
which it suckles during six, from four teats. When crossing a river it
exhibits the singular sight of carrying its young one on its back. It has
a weak cry, in a sharp tone, very unlike the lowing of oxen. The most
part of the milk and butter required for the Europeans (the natives not
using either) is supplied by the buffalo, and its milk is richer than
that of the cow, but not yielded in equal quantity. What these latter
produce is also very small compared with the dairies of Europe. At
Batavia, likewise, we are told that their cows are small and lean, from
the scantiness of good pasture, and do not give more than about an
English quart of milk, sixteen of which are required to make a pound of
butter.
The inland people, where the country is tolerably practicable, avail
themselves of the strength of this animal to draw timber felled in the
woods: the Malays and other people on the coast train them to the draft,
and in many places to the plough. Though apparently of a dull, obstinate,
capricious nature, they acquire from habit a surprising docility, and are
taught to lift the shafts of the cart with their horns, and to place the
yoke, which is a curved piece of wood attached to the shafts, across
their necks; needing no further harness than a breast-band, and a string
that is made to pass through the cartilage of the nostrils. They are
also, for the service of Europeans, trained to carry burdens suspended
from each side of a packsaddle, in roads, or rather paths, where
carriages cannot be employed. It is extremely slow, but steady in its
work. The labour it performs, however, falls short of what might be
expected from its size and apparent strength, any extraordinary fatigue,
particularly during the heat of the day, being sufficient to put a period
to its life, which is at all times precarious. The owners frequently
experience the loss of large herds, in a short space of time, by an
epidemic distemper, called bandung (obstruction), that seizes them
suddenly, swells their bodies, and occasions, as it is said, the serum of
the blood to distil through the tubes of the hairs.
The luxury of the buffalo consists in rolling itself in a muddy pool,
which it forms, in any spot, for its convenience, during the rainy
season. This it enjoys in a high degree, dexterously throwing with its
horn the water and slime, when not of a sufficient depth to cover it,
over its back and sides. Their blood is perhaps of a hot temperature,
which may render this indulgence, found to be quite necessary to their
health, so desirable to their feelings; and the mud, at the same time,
forming a crust upon their bodies, preserves them from the attack of
insects, which otherwise prove very troublesome. Their owners light fires
for them in the evening, in order that the smoke may have the same
effect, and they have the instinctive sagacity to lay themselves down to
leeward, that they may enjoy its full benefit.
Although common in every part of the country, they are not understood to
exist in the proper wild or indigenous state, those found in the woods
being termed karbau jalang, or stray buffaloes, and considered as the
subject of property; or if originally wild, they may afterwards, from
their use in labour and food, have been all caught and appropriated by
degrees. They are gregarious, and usually found in large numbers
together, but sometimes met with singly, when they are more dangerous to
passengers. Like the turkey and some other animals they have an antipathy
to a red colour, and are excited by it to mischief. When in a state of
liberty they run with great swiftness, keeping pace with the speed of an
ordinary horse. Upon an attack or alarm they fly to a short distance, and
then suddenly face about and draw up in battle-array with surprising
quickness and regularity; their horns being laid back, and their muzzles
projecting. Upon the nearer approach of the danger that presses on them
they make a second flight, and a second time halt and form; and this
excellent mode of retreat, which but few nations of the human race have
attained to such a degree of discipline as to adopt, they continue till
they gain the fastnesses of a neighbouring wood. Their principal foe,
next to man, is the tiger; but only the weaker sort, and the females fall
a certain prey to this ravager, as the sturdy male buffalo can support
the first vigorous stroke from the tiger's paw, on which the fate of the
battle usually turns.
COW.
The cow, called sapi (in another dialect sampi) and jawi, is obviously a
stranger to the country, and does not appear to be yet naturalized. The
bull is commonly of what is termed the Madagascar breed, with a large
hump upon the shoulders, but from the general small size of the herds I
apprehend that it degenerates, from the want of good pasture, the
spontaneous production of the soil being too rank.
THE HORSE.
The horse, kuda: the breed is small, well made, and hardy. The country
people bring them down in numbers for sale in nearly a wild state;
chiefly from the northward. In the Batta country they are eaten as food;
which is a custom also amongst the people of Celebes.
SHEEP, ETC.
Sheep, biri-biri and domba: small breed, introduced probably from Bengal.
(PLATE 11a. n.2.
1. SKULL OF THE KAMBING-UTAN.
2. SKULL OF THE KIJANG.
W. Bell delt. A. Cardon sc.)
(PLATE 14. n.1. THE KAMBING-UTAN, OR WILD-GOAT.
W. Bell delt.)
Goat, kambing: beside the domestic species, which is in general small and
of a light brown colour, there is the kambing utan, or wild goat. One
which I examined was three feet in height, and four in the length of the
body. It had something of the gazelle in its appearance, and, with the
exception of the horns, which were about six inches long and turned back
with an arch, it did not much resemble the common goat. The hinder parts
were shaped like those of a bear, the rump sloping round off from the
back; the tail was very small, and ended in a point; the legs clumsy; the
hair along the ridge of the back rising coarse and strong, almost like
bristles; no beard; over the shoulder was a large spreading tuft of
greyish hair; the rest of the hair black throughout; the scrotum
globular. Its disposition seemed wild and fierce, and it is said by the
natives to be remarkably swift.
Hog, babi: that breed we call Chinese.
The wild hog, babi utan.
Dog, anjing: those brought from Europe lose in a few years their
distinctive qualities, and degenerate at length into the cur with erect
ears, kuyu, vulgarly called the pariah dog. An instance did not occur of
any one going mad during the period of my residence. Many of them are
affected with a kind of gonorrhoea.
(PLATE 11. n.1. THE ANJING-AYER, Mustela lutra.
W. Bell delt. A. Cardon fc.)
(PLATE 13a. n.2. THE ANJING-AYER.
Sinensis delt. A. Cardon fc.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
Otter, anjing ayer (Mustela lutra).
Cat, kuching: these in every respect resemble our common domestic cat,
excepting that the tails of all are more or less imperfect, with a knob
or hardness at the end, as if they had been cut or twisted off. In some
the tail is not more than a few inches in length, whilst in others it is
so nearly perfect that the defect can be ascertained only by the touch.
Rat, tikus: of the grey kind.
Mouse, tikus kechil.
ELEPHANT.
Elephant, gajah: these huge animals abound in the woods, and from their
gregarious habits usually traversing the country in large troops
together, prove highly destructive to the plantations of the inhabitants,
obliterating the traces of cultivation by merely walking through the
grounds; but they are also fond of the produce of their gardens,
particularly of plantain-trees and the sugar-cane, which they devour with
eagerness. This indulgence of appetite often proves fatal to them, for
the owners, knowing their attachment to these vegetables, have a practice
of poisoning some part of the plantation, by splitting the canes and
putting yellow arsenic into the clefts which the animal unwarily eats of,
and dies. Not being by nature carnivorous, the elephants are not fierce,
and seldom attack a man but when fired at or otherwise provoked.
Excepting a few kept for state by the king of Achin, they are not tamed
in any part of the island.
RHINOCEROS.
The rhinoceros, badak, both that with a single horn and the double-horned
species, are natives of these woods. The latter has been particularly
described by the late ingenious Mr. John Bell (one of the pupils of Mr.
John Hunter) in a paper printed in Volume 83 of the Philosophical
Transactions for 1793. The horn is esteemed an antidote against poison,
and on that account formed into drinking cups. I do not know anything to
warrant the stories told of the mutual antipathy and the desperate
encounters of these two enormous beasts.
HIPPOPOTAMUS.
Hippopotamus, kuda ayer: the existence of this quadruped in the island of
Sumatra having been questioned by M. Cuvier, and not having myself
actually seen it, I think it necessary to state that the immediate
authority upon which I included it in the list of animals found there was
a drawing made by Mr. Whalfeldt, an officer employed on a survey of the
coast, who had met with it at the mouth of one of the southern rivers,
and transmitted the sketch along with his report to the government, of
which I was then secretary. Of its general resemblance to that well-known
animal there could be no doubt. M. Cuvier suspects that I may have
mistaken for it the animal called by naturalists the dugong, and vulgarly
the sea-cow, which will be hereafter mentioned; and it would indeed be a
grievous error to mistake for a beast with four legs, a fish with two
pectoral fins serving the purposes of feet; but, independently of the
authority I have stated, the kuda ayer, or river-horse, is familiarly
known to the natives, as is also the duyong (from which Malayan word the
dugong of naturalists has been corrupted); and I have only to add that,
in a register given by the Philosophical Society of Batavia in the first
Volume of their Transactions for 1799, appears the article "couda aijeer,
rivier paard, hippopotamus" amongst the animals of Java.
BEAR, ETC.
Bear, bruang: generally small and black: climbs the coconut-trees in
order to devour the tender part or cabbage.
(PLATE 12. n.1. THE PALANDOK, A DIMINUTIVE SPECIES OF MOSCHUS.
Sinensis delt. A. Cardon fc.)
(PLATE 12a. n.2. THE KIJANG OR ROE, Cervus muntjak.
W. Bell delt. A. Cardon sc.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
Of the deer kind there are several species: rusa, the stag, of which some
are very large; kijang, the roe, with unbranched horns, the emblem of
swiftness and wildness with the Malayan poets; palandok, napu, and
kanchil, three varieties, of which the last is the smallest, of that most
delicate animal, termed by Buffon the chevrotin, but which belong to the
moschus. Of a kanchil measured at Batavia the extreme length was sixteen
inches, and the height ten behind, and eight at the shoulder.
Babi-rusa, or hog-deer: an animal of the hog kind, with peculiar tusks
resembling horns. Of this there is a representation in Valentyn, Volume 3
page 268 fig. c., and also in the very early travels of Cosmas, published
in Thevenot's Collect. Volume 1 page 2 of the Greek Text.
The varieties of the monkey tribe are innumerable: among them the best
known are the muniet, karra, bru, siamang (or simia gibbon of Buffon),
and lutong. With respect to the appellation of orang utan, or wild man,
it is by no means specific, but applied to any of these animals of a
large size that occasionally walks erect, and bears the most resemblance
to the human figure.
Sloth, ku-kang, ka-malas-an (Lemur tardigradus).
Squirrel, tupei; usually small and dark-coloured.
Teleggo, stinkard.
TIGER.
Tiger, arimau, machang: this beast is here of a very large size, and
proves a destructive foe to man as well as to most other animals. The
heads being frequently brought in to receive the reward given by the East
India Company for killing them, I had an opportunity of measuring one,
which was eighteen inches across the forehead. Many circumstances
respecting their ravages, and the modes of destroying them, will occur in
the course of the work.
Tiger-cat, kuching-rimau (said to feed on vegetables as well as flesh).
Civet-cat, tanggalong (Viverra civetta): the natives take the civet, as
they require it for use, from a peculiar receptacle under the tail of the
animal. It appears from the Ayin Akbari (Volume 1 page 103) that the
civet used at Delhi was imported from Achin.
(PLATE 9a. THE MUSANG, A SPECIES OF VIVERRA.
W. Bell delt. A. Cardon fc.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
Polecat, musang (Viverra fossa, or a new species).
(PLATE 13. n.1. THE LANDAK, Hystrix longicauda.
Sinensis delt. A. Cardon fc.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
Porcupine (Hystrix longicauda) landak, and, for distinction, babi landak.
Hedgehog (erinaceus) landak.
(PLATE 10. THE TANGGILING OR PENG-GOLING-SISIK, A SPECIES OF MANIS.
W. Bell delt. A. Cardon fct.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
PENG-GOLING.
Peng-goling, signifying the animal which rolls itself up; or pangolin of
Buffon: this is distinguished into the peng-goling rambut, or hairy sort
(myrmophaga), and the peng-goling sisik, or scaly sort, called more
properly tanggiling (species of manis); the scales of this are esteemed
by the natives for their medicinal properties. See Asiatic Researches
Volume 1 page 376 and Volume 2 page 353.
(PLATE 9. A SPECIES OF Lemur volans, SUSPENDED FROM THE RAMBEH-TREE.
Sinensis delt. N. Cardon fct.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
BATS.
Of the bat kind there is an extraordinary variety: the churi-churi is the
smallest species, called vulgarly burong tikus, or the mouse-bird; next
to these is the kalalawar; then the kalambit; and the kaluwang (noctilio)
is of considerable size; of these I have observed very large flights
occasionally passing at a great height in the air, as if migrating from
one country to another, and Captain Forrest notices their crossing the
Straits of Sunda from Java Head to Mount Pugong; they are also seen
hanging by hundreds upon trees. The flying-foxes and flying-squirrels
(Lemur volans), which by means of a membrane extending from what may be
termed the forelegs to those behind, are enabled to take short flights,
are also not uncommon.
ALLIGATORS AND OTHER LIZARDS.
Alligators, buaya (Crocodilus biporcatus of Cuvier), abound in most of
the rivers, grow to a large Size, and do much mischief.
The guana, or iguana, biawak (Lacerta iguana) is another animal of the
lizard kind, about three or four feet in length, harmless, excepting to
the poultry and young domestic cattle, and sometimes itself eaten as
food. The bingkarong is next in size, has hard, dark scales on the back,
and is often found under heaps of decayed timber; its bite venomous.
The koke, goke, or toke, as it is variously called, is a lizard, about
ten or twelve inches long, frequenting old buildings, and making a very
singular noise. Between this and the small house-lizard (chichak) are
many gradations in size, chiefly of the grass-lizard kind, which is
smooth and glossy. The former are in length from about four inches down
to an inch or less, and are the largest reptiles that can walk in an
inverted situation: one of these, of size sufficient to devour a
cockroach, runs on the ceiling of a room, and in that situation seizes
its prey with the utmost facility. This they seem to be enabled to do
from the rugose structure of their feet, with which they adhere strongly
to the smoothest surface. Sometimes however, on springing too eagerly at
a fly, they lose their hold, and drop to the floor, on which occasions a
circumstance occurs not undeserving of notice. The tail being frequently
separated from the body by the shock (as it may be at any of the
vertebrae by the slightest force, without loss of blood or evident pain
to the animal, and sometimes, as it would seem, from the effect of fear
alone) within a little time, like the mutilated claw of a lobster, begins
to renew itself. They are produced from eggs about the size of the
wren's, of which the female carries two at a time, one in the lower, and
one in the upper part of the abdomen, on opposite sides; they are always
cold to the touch, and yet the transparency of their bodies gives an
opportunity of observing that their fluids have as brisk a circulation as
those of warm-blooded animals: in none have I seen the peristaltic motion
so obvious as in these. It may not be useless to mention that these
phenomena were best observed at night when the lizard was on the outside
of a pane of glass, with a candle on the inside. There is, I believe, no
class of living creatures in which the gradations can be traced with such
minuteness and regularity as in this; where, from the small animal just
described, to the huge alligator or crocodile, a chain may be traced
containing almost innumerable links, of which the remotest have a
striking resemblance to each other, and seem, at first view, to differ
only in bulk.
CHAMELEON.
The chameleon, gruning: these are about a foot and half long, including
the tail; the colour, green with brown spots, as I had it preserved; when
alive in the woods they are generally green, but not from the reflection
of the leaves, as some have supposed. When first caught they usually turn
brown, apparently the effect of fear or anger, as men become pale or red;
but if undisturbed soon resume a deep green on the back, and a yellow
green on the belly, the tail remaining brown. Along the spine, from the
head to the middle of the back, little membranes stand up like the teeth
of a saw. As others of the genus of lacerta they feed on flies and
grasshoppers, which the large size of their mouths and peculiar structure
of their bony tongues are well adapted for catching.
(PLATE 14a. n.2. THE KUBIN, Draco volans.
Sinensis delt. A. Cardon sc.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
The flying lizard, kubin, or chachak terbang (Draco volans), is about
eight inches in its extreme length, and the membranes which constitute
the wings are about two or three inches in extent. These do not connect
with the fore and hind legs, as in the bat tribe, but are supported by an
elongation of the alternate ribs, as pointed out by my friend Mr. Everard
Home. They have flapped ears, and a singular kind of pouch or alphorges,
under the jaws. In other respects they much resemble the chameleon in
appearance. They do not take distant flights, but merely from tree to
tree, or from one bough to another. The natives take them by springs
fastened to the stems.
FROGS. SNAKES.
With animals of the frog kind (kodok) the swamps everywhere teem; and
their noise upon the approach of rain is tremendous. They furnish prey to
the snakes, which are found here of all sizes and in great variety of
species; the larger proportion harmless, but of some, and those generally
small and dark-coloured, the bite is mortal. If the cobra capelo, or
hooded snake, be a native of the island, as some assert, it must be
extremely rare. The largest of the boa kind (ular sauh) that I had an
opportunity of observing was no more than twelve feet long. This was
killed in a hen-house where it was devouring the poultry. It is very
surprising, but not less true, that snakes will swallow animals of twice
or three times their own apparent circumference; having in their jaws or
throat a compressive force that gradually and by great efforts reduces
the prey to a convenient dimension. I have seen a small snake (ular sini)
with the hinder legs of a frog sticking out of its mouth, each of them
nearly equal to the smaller parts of its own body, which in the thickest
did not exceed a man's little finger. The stories told of their
swallowing deer, and even buffaloes, in Ceylon and Java, almost choke
belief, but I cannot take upon me to pronounce them false; for if a snake
of three inches diameter can gorge a fowl of six, one of thirty feet in
length and proportionate bulk and strength might well be supposed capable
of swallowing a beast of the size of a goat; and I have respectable
authority for the fact that the fawn of a kijang or roe was cut out of
the body of a very large snake killed at one of the southern settlements.
The poisonous kinds are distinguished by the epithet of ular bisa, among
which is the biludak or viper. The ular garang, or sea-snake, is coated
entirely with scales, both on the belly and tail, not differing from
those on the back, which are small and hexagonal; the colour is grey,
with here and there shades of brown. The head and about one-third of the
body from thence is the smallest part, and it increases in bulk towards
the tail, which resembles that of the eel. It has not any dog-fangs.
TORTOISE.
The tortoise, kura-kura, and turtle, katong, are both found in these
seas; the former valuable for its scales, and the latter as food; the
landtortoise (Testudo graeca) is brought from the Seychelles Islands.
There is also an extensive variety of shellfish. The crayfish, udang laut
(Cancer homarus or ecrevisse-de-mer), is as large as the lobster, but
wants its biting claws. The small freshwater crayfish, the prawns and
shrimps (all named udang, with distinctive epithets), are in great
perfection.
The crab, kapiting and katam (cancer), is not equally fine, but exhibits
many extraordinary varieties.
The kima, or gigantic cockle (chama), has been already mentioned.
The oysters, tiram, are by no means so good as those of Europe. The
smaller kind are generally found adhering to the roots of the mangrove,
in the wash of the tide.
The mussel, kupang (mytilus), rimis (donax), kapang (Teredo navalis),
seaegg, bulu babi (echinus), bia papeda (nautilus), ruma gorita
(argonauta), bia unam (murex), bia balang (cuprea), and many others may
be added to the list. The beauty of the madrepores and corallines, of
which the finest specimens are found in the recesses of the Bay of
Tappanuli, is not to be surpassed in any country. Of these a superb
collection is in the possession of Mr. John Griffiths, who has given, in
Volume 96 of the Philosophical Transactions, the Description of a rare
species of Worm-Shells, discovered at an island lying off the North-west
coast of Sumatra. In the same volume is also a Paper by Mr. Everard Home,
containing Observations on the Shell of the Sea Worm found on the Coast
of Sumatra, proving it to belong to a species of Teredo; with an Account
of the Anatomy of the Teredo navalis. The former he proposes to call the
Teredo gigantea. The sea-grass, or ladang laut, concerning which Sir
James Lancaster tells some wonderful stories, partakes of the nature of a
sea-worm and of a coralline; in its original state it is soft and shrinks
into the sand from the touch; but when dry it is quite hard, straight,
and brittle.
FISH.
The duyong is a very large sea-animal or fish, of the order of mammalia,
with two large pectoral fins serving the purposes of feet. By the early
Dutch voyagers it was, without any obvious analogy, called the sea-cow;
and from the circumstance of the head being covered with a kind of shaggy
hair, and the mammae of the female being placed immediately under the
pectus, it has given rise to the stories of mermaids in the tropical
seas. The tusks are applied to the same uses as ivory, especially for the
handles of krises, and being whiter are more prized. It has much general
resemblance to the manatee or lamantin of the West Indies, and has been
confounded with it; but the distinction between them has been ascertained
by M. Cuvier, Annales du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle 22 cahier page 308.*
(*Footnote. "Some time ago (says Captain Forrest) a large fish, with
valuable teeth, being cast ashore in the Illana districts, there arose a
dispute who should have the teeth, but the Magindanoers carried it."
Voyage to New Guinea page 272. See also Valentyn Volume 3 page 341.)
WHALE.
The grampus whale (species of delphinus) is well known to the natives by
the names of pawus and gajah mina; but I do not recollect to have heard
any instance of their being thrown upon the coast.
VOILIER.
Of the ikan layer (genus novum schombro affine) a grand specimen is
preserved in the British Museum, where it was deposited by Sir Joseph
Banks;* and a description of it by the late M. Brousonet, under the name
of le Voilier, is published in the Mem. de l'Acad. de Scien. de Paris for
1786 page 450 plate 10. It derives its appellation from the peculiarity
of its dorsal fin, which rises so high as to suggest the idea of a sail;
but it is most remarkable for what should rather be termed its snout than
its horn, being an elongation of the frontal bone, and the prodigious
force with which it occasionally strikes the bottoms of ships, mistaking
them, as we may presume, for its enemy or prey. A large fragment of one
of these bones, which had transfixed the plank of an East India ship, and
penetrated about eighteen inches, is likewise preserved in the same
national collection, together with the piece of plank, as it was cut out
of the ship's bottom upon her being docked in England. Several accidents
of a similar nature are known to have occurred. There is an excellent
representation of this fish, under the name of fetisso, in Barbot's
Description of the Coasts of Guinea, plate 18, which is copied in
Astley's Collection of Voyages, Volume 2 plate 73.
(*Footnote. This fish was hooked by Mr. John Griffiths near the southern
extremity of the west coast of Sumatra, and was given to Captain Cumming
of the Britannia indiaman, by whom it was presented to Sir Joseph Banks.)
VARIOUS FISH.
To attempt an enumeration of the species of fish with which these seas
abound would exceed my power, and I shall only mention briefly some of
the most obvious; as the shark, hiyu (squalus); skate, ikan pari (raya);
ikan mua (muraena); ikan chanak (gymnotus); ikan gajah (cepole); ikan
karang or bonna (chaetodon), described by Mr. John Bell in Volume 82 of
the Philosophical Transactions. It is remarkable for certain tumours
filled with oil, attached to its bones. There are also the ikan krapo, a
kind of rock-cod or sea-perch; ikan marrang or kitang (teuthis), commonly
named the leather fish, and among the best brought to table; jinnihin, a
rock-fish shaped like a carp; bawal or pomfret (species of chaetodon);
balanak, jumpul, and marra, three fish of the mullet kind (mugil); kuru
(polynemus); ikan lidah, a kind of sole; tingeri, resembles the mackerel;
gagu, catfish; summa, a river fish, resembling the salmon; ringkis,
resembles the trout, and is noted for the size of its roe; ikan tambarah,
I believe the shad of Siak River; ikan gadis, good river fish, about the
size of a carp; ikan bada, small, like white bait; ikan gorito, sepia;
ikan terbang, flying-fish (exocoetus). The little seahorse (Syngnathus
hippocampus) is commonly found here.
BIRDS.
Of birds the variety is considerable, and the following list contains but
a small portion of those that might be discovered in the island by a
qualified person who should confine his researches to that branch of
natural history.
KUWAU.
The kuwau, or Sumatran pheasant (Phasianus argus), is a bird of uncommon
magnificence and beauty; the plumage being perhaps the most rich, without
any mixture of gaudiness, of all the feathered race. It is found
extremely difficult to keep it alive for any considerable time after
catching it in the woods, yet it has in one instance been brought to
England; but, having lost its fine feathers by the voyage, it did not
excite curiosity, and died unnoticed. There is now a good specimen in the
Liverpool Museum. It has in its natural state an antipathy to the light,
and in the open day is quite moped and inanimate. When kept in a darkened
place it seems at its ease, and sometimes makes use of the note or call
from which it takes its name, and which is rather plaintive than harsh.
The flesh, of which I have eaten, perfectly resembles that of the common
pheasant (tugang), also found in the woods, but the body is of much
larger size. I have reason to believe that it is not, as supposed, a
native of the North or any part of China. From the Malayan Islands, of
which it is the boast, it must be frequently carried thither.
PEACOCK, ETC.
The peacock, burong marak (pavo), appears to be well known to the
natives, though I believe not common.
I should say the same of the eagle and the vulture (coracias), to the one
or the other of which the name of raja wali is familiarly applied.
The kite, alang (falco), is very common, as is the crow, gadak (corvus),
and jackdaw, pong (gracula), with several species of the woodpecker.
The kingfisher (alcedo) is named burong buaya, or the alligator-bird.
The bird-of-paradise, burong supan, or elegant-bird, is known here only
in the dried state, as brought from the Moluccas and coast of New Guinea
(tanah papuah).
(PLATE 15. BEAKS OF THE BUCEROS OR HORN-BILL.
M. de Jonville delt. Swaine sc.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
The rhinoceros bird, hornbill, or calao (buceros), called by the natives
anggang and burong taun, is chiefly remarkable for what is termed the
horn, which in the most common species extends halfway down the upper
mandible of its large beak, and then turns up; but the varieties of shape
are numerous. The length of one I measured whilst alive was ten inches
and a half; the breadth, including the horn, six and a half; length from
beak to tail four feet; wings four feet six inches; height one foot;
length of neck one foot; the beak whitish; the horn yellow and red; the
body black; the tail white ringed with black; rump, and feathers on the
legs down to the heel, white; claws three before and one behind; the iris
red. In a hen chick there was no appearance of a horn, and the iris was
whitish. They eat either boiled rice or tender fresh meat. Of the use of
such a singular cavity I could not learn any plausible conjecture. As a
receptacle for water, it must be quite unnecessary in the country of
which it is a native.
STORK, ETC.
Of the stork kind there are several species, some of great height and
otherwise curious, as the burong kambing and burong ular, which frequent
the rice plantations in wet ground.
We find also the heron, burong kuntul (ardea); the snipe, kandidi
(scolopax); the coot, or water-hen, ayam ayer (fulica); and the plover,
cheruling (charadrius).
The cassowary, burong rusa, is brought from the island of Java.
The domestic hen is as common as in most other countries. In some the
bones (or the periostea) are black, and these are at least equally good
as food. The hen of the woods, ayam barugo, or ayam utan (which latter
name is in some places applied to the pheasant), differs little from the
common sort, excepting in the uniformity of its brown colour. In the
Lampong country of Sumatra and western part of Java lying opposite to it
there is a very large breed of fowls, called ayam jago; of these I have
seen a cock peck from off of a common dining table; when inclined to rest
they sit on the first joint of the leg and are then taller than the
ordinary fowls. It is singular if the same country produces likewise the
diminutive breed that goes by the name of bantam.
A species of partridge is called ayam gunong, or mountain hen.
DOVES.
Beside the pigeon, merapeti and burong darah (columba), and two common
species of doves, the one of a light brown or dove-colour, called ballum,
and the other green, called punei, there are of the latter some most
exquisite varieties: the punei jambu is smaller than the usual size of
doves; the back, wings, and tail are green; the breast and crop are
white, but the front of the latter has a slight shade of pink; the
forepart of the head is of a deep pink, resembling the blossom of the
jambu fruit, from whence its name; the white of the breast is continued
in a narrow streak, having the green on one side and the pink on the
other, half round the eye, which is large, full, and yellow; of which
colour is also the beak. It will live upon boiled rice and padi; but its
favourite food, when wild, is the berry of the rumpunnei (Ardisia
coriacea), perhaps from this circumstance so called. The selaya, or punei
andu, another variety, has the body and wings of deep crimson, with the
head, and extremity of its long indented tail, white; the legs red. It
lives on the worms generated in the decayed part of old trees, and is
about the size of a blackbird. Of the same size is the burong sawei, a
bird of a bluish black colour, with a dove-tail, from which extend two
very long feathers, terminating circularly. It seems to be what is called
the widow-bird, and is formidable to the kite.
The burong pipit resembles the sparrow in its appearance, habits,
numbers, and the destruction it causes to the grain.
The quail, puyuh (coturnix); but whether a native or a bird of passage, I
cannot determine.
The starling (sturnus), of which I know not the Malayan name.
The swallow, layang-layang (hirundo), one species of which, called layang
buhi, from its being supposed to collect the froth of the sea, is that
which constructs the edible nests.
The murei, or dial-bird, resembling a small magpie, has a pretty but
short note. There is not any bird in the country that can be said to
sing. The tiyong, or mino, a black bird with yellow gills, has the
faculty of imitating human speech in greater perfection than any other of
the feathered tribe. There is also a yellow species, but not loquacious.
Of the parrot kind the variety is not so great as might be expected, and
consists chiefly of those denominated parakeets. The beautiful luri,
though not uncommon, is brought from the eastward. The kakatua is an
inhabitant chiefly of the southern extremity of the island.
The Indian goose, angsa and gangsa (anser); the duck, bebek and itik
(anas); and the teal, belibi, are common.
INSECTS.
With insects the island may truly be said to swarm; and I doubt whether
there is any part of the world where greater variety is to be found. Of
these I shall only attempt to enumerate a few:
The kunang, or firefly, larger than the common fly, (which it resembles),
with the phosphoric matter in the abdomen, regularly and quickly
intermitting its light, as if by respiration; by holding one of them in
my hand I could see to read at night;
Lipas, the cockroach (blatta); chingkarek, the cricket (gryllus);
Lebah, taun, the bee (apis), whose honey is gathered in the woods;
kumbang, a species of apis, that bores its nest in timber, and thence
acquires the name of the carpenter;
Sumut, the ant (formica), the multitudes of which overrun the country,
and its varieties are not less extraordinary than its numbers. The
following distinctions are the most obvious: the krangga, or great red
ant, about three-fourths of an inch long, bites severely, and usually
leaves its head, as a bee its sting, in the wound; it is found mostly on
trees and bushes, and forms its nest by fastening together, with a
glutinous matter, a collection of the leaves of a branch, as they grow;
the common red ant; the minute red ant; the large black ant, not equal in
size to the krangga, but with a head of disproportioned bulk; the common
black ant; and the minute black ant: they also differ from each other in
a circumstance which I believe has not been attended to; and that is the
sensation with which they affect the taste when put into the mouth, as
frequently happens unintentionally: some are hot and acrid, some bitter,
and some sour. Perhaps this will be attributed to the different kinds of
food they have accidentally devoured; but I never found one which tasted
sweet, though I have caught them in the fact of robbing a sugar or
honey-pot. Each species of ant is a declared enemy of the other, and
never suffers a divided empire. Where one party effects a settlement the
other is expelled; and in general they are powerful in proportion to
their bulk, with the exception of the white-ant, sumut putih (termes),
which is beaten from the field by others of inferior size; and for this
reason it is a common expedient to strew sugar on the floor of a
warehouse in order to allure the formicae to the spot, who do not fail to
combat and overcome the ravaging but unwarlike termites. Of this insect
and its destructive qualities I had intended to give some description,
but the subject is so elaborately treated (though with some degree of
fancy) by Mr. Smeathman, in Volume 71 of the Philosophical Transactions
for 1781, who had an opportunity of observing them in Africa, that I omit
it as superfluous.
Of the wasp kind there are several curious varieties. One of them may be
observed building its nest of moistened clay against a wall, and
inclosing in each of its numerous compartments a living spider; thus
revenging upon this bloodthirsty race the injuries sustained by harmless
flies, and providently securing for its own young a stock of food.
Lalat, the common fly (musca); lalat kuda (tabanus); lalat karbau
(oestrus);
Niamok, agas, the gnat or mosquito (culex), producing a degree of
annoyance equal to the sum of all the other physical plagues of a hot
climate, but even to these I found that habit rendered me almost
indifferent;
Kala-jingking, the scorpion (scorpio), the sting of which is highly
inflammatory and painful, but not dangerous;
Sipasan, centipede (scholopendra), not so venomous as the preceding;
Alipan (jules);
Alintah, water-leech (hirudo); achih, small land-leech, dropping from the
leaves of trees whilst moist with dew, and troublesome to travellers in
passing through the woods.
To this list I shall only add the suala, tripan, or sea-slug
(holothurion), which, being collected from the rocks and dried in the
sun, is exported to China, where it is an article of food.