several months, and there was, in consequence, a great
scarcity of insects, and especially of beetles. I therefore devoted
myself chiefly to obtaining a good set of the birds, and succeeded in
making a tolerable collection. All the peacocks we had hitherto shot
had had short or imperfect tails, but I now obtained two magnificent
specimens more than seven feet long, one of which I preserved entire,
while I kept the train only attached to the tail of two or three others.
When this bird is seen feeding on the ground, it appears wonderful
how it can rise into the air with such a long and cumbersome train of
feathers. It does so however with great ease, by running quickly for a
short distance, and then rising obliquely; and will fly over trees of a
considerable height. I also obtained here a specimen of the rare green
jungle-fowl (Gallus furcatus), whose back and neck are beautifully
scaled with bronzy feathers, and whose smooth-edged oval comb is of
a violet purple colour, changing to green at the base. It is also
remarkable in possessing a single large wattle beneath its throat,
brightly coloured in three patches of red, yellow, and blue. The common
jungle-cock (Gallus bankiva) was also obtained here. It is almost
exactly like a common game-cock, but the voice is different, being much
shorter and more abrupt; hence its native name is Bekeko. Six different
kinds of woodpeckers and four kingfishers were found here, the fine
hornbill, Buceros lunatus, more than four feet long, and the pretty
little lorikeet, Loriculus pusillus, scarcely more than as many inches.

One morning, as I was preparing and arranging specimens, I was told
there was to be a trial; and presently four or five men came in and
squatted down on a mat under the audience-shed in the court. The chief
then came in with his clerk, and sat down opposite them. Each spoke
in turn, telling his own tale, and then I found that those who first
entered were the prisoner, accuser, policemen, and witness, and that the
prisoner was indicated solely by having a loose piece of cord twilled
around his wrists, but not tied. It was a case of robbery, and after the
evidence was given, and a few questions had been asked by the chief, the
accused said a few words, and then sentence was pronounced, which was
a fine. The parties then got up and walked away together, seeming quite
friendly; and throughout there was nothing in the manner of any one
present indicating passion or ill-fee