be found everywhere, and when seen, not
so easily caught or shot. There are some large quadrupeds too, as the
Indian rhinoceros, and the Sumatran tapir; and although the flesh of
these great thick-skinned animals is neither tender nor delicate, yet
men who can get no other soon find themselves in a position to relish
it, despite its toughness and its coarse texture. But neither
rhinoceros nor tapir was seen by our castaways; neither seemed to
frequent that part of the coast, as no tracks of them were observed
during their excursions. If they had fallen in with a rhinoceros, they
would have had some difficulty in killing it; seeing that this enormous
brute is as large as a small elephant, its body protected by a thick
hide embossed with hard knob-like protuberances, like those upon
shields, giving to the animal the appearance of being encased in a full
suit of ancient armour.

The Sumatran tapir, too, is a creature that does not readily succumb to
its assailant, being larger and stronger than its namesake of South
America.

There are two species of deer known in Borneo; one of them, the "rusa,"
a fine large animal.

Captain Redwood was in hopes he might meet with an individual of either
species; and with this object in view, he continued to make short
excursions into the woods, taking his rifle along with him, occasionally
accompanied by Murtagh, with the ship's musket.

But they always returned empty-handed, and a good deal down-hearted,
having seen nothing that could be converted into venison.

Saloo had again tried for eggs and shell-fish, but was unsuccessful in
his search after both; evidently there were no more depositories of
maleos' eggs, nor Singapore oysters, nor, indeed, any kind of
shell-fish, on that part of the shore. They did not again see any of
the mound-making birds--not even those they had despoiled; for it is not
the habit of the megapodes to return to their eggs, but to leave them to
be hatched under the hot sand, and the chicks to scratch their way
upward to the surface, thus taking care of themselves from the very
moment of their birth, and, indeed, we may say, before it, since it can
scarcely be said they are born before breaking through the shell; and
this they have to do for themselves, else they would never see daylight.
Talk of precocious chicks! There are none anywhere to be compared with
the megapodean pullets of the Malayan Archipelago, no birds half so
"early" as they.

For s