e, venomous snake was right in front of me! Erect, with
open mouth and protruding tongue, the embodiment of hatred, it was
there, prompt for an assault. My case was desperate and only a miracle
of _sang-froid_ could save me. Fixing my eyes steadily upon those of the
serpent, very gradually and with the slowest possible movement I bent my
knees and crouched down towards the ground, where, in an equally slow
and methodical way I groped for some sort of stick with which to strike
my adversary. Having found what I wanted, I drew myself up in the same
cautious manner and with a sudden, rapid gesture I hit the beast with
all my might. Fortunately for me, my blow told and I had an addition to
my collection of jungle foes.

The traveller in Malay who is not a thorough alien to timorous feelings
would do well to never leave his comfortable post in the railway
carriage between one place and another or at least to keep within a safe
distance of the forest, for although its perils have been greatly
exaggerated there are some, all the same, that require a stout heart and
firm nerves.

When there is no big game to put your courage and your pulse to the test
there is always a troop of smaller animals that make game of you and
prove your force of resistance. A rat bites your heel whilst you are
asleep; the leeches suck your blood; all sorts of insects sting you.
These little annoying incidents irritate flesh and spirit and may be the
cause of feverishness, but a dose of quinine and a compress over the
wound soon have a good effect.

* * * * *

But it is not sufficient to bravely face bodily danger, support physical
pain and endure with grace the mortifications inflicted upon one's flesh
by the more minute inhabitants of those regions, for the jungle also
exacts certain moral virtues which civilization does not always
appreciate or admire, nay, on the contrary, that it often laughs at.

The great Sorceress, for whom one feels a strange nostalgia after having
once known her magnificence and her horrors, kills the man who is not
temperate in his habits.

Moderation in eating is the first consideration for prolonging life in
the forest. The stomach must never be overladen and no strong drinks
must be used.

By following this method of living and allowing myself very rarely even
a glass of wine I managed to keep in excellent health in 1889 when an
epidemic raged violently in the island of Nias and made