第108章

This evidence of intense heat so near the surface over a large tract of country was very impressive， and I could hardly divest myself of the notion that some terrible catastrophe might at any moment devastate the country. Yet it is probable that all these apertures are really safety-valves， and that the inequalities of the resistance of various parts of the earth's crust will always prevent such an accumulation of force as would be required to upheave and overwhelm any extensive area. About seven miles west of this is a volcano which was in eruption about thirty years before my visit， presenting a magnificent appearance and covering the surrounding country with showers of ashes. The plains around the lake formed by the intermingling and decomposition of volcanic products are of amazing fertility， and with a little management in the rotation of crops might be kept in continual cultivation. Rice is now grown on them for three or four years in succession， when they are left fallow for the same period， after which rice or maize can be again grown. Good rice produces thirty-fold， and coffee trees continue bearing abundantly for ten or fifteen years， without any manure and with scarcely any cultivation.

I was delayed a day by incessant rain， and then proceeded to Panghu， which I reached just before the daily rain began at 11A.M. After leaving the summit level of the lake basin， the road is carried along the slope of a fine forest ravine. The descent is a long one， so that I estimated the village to be not more than 1，500 feet above the sea， yet I found the morning temperature often 69°， the same as at Tondano at least 600 or 700feet higher. I was pleased with the appearance of the place， which had a good deal of forest and wild country around it； and found prepared for me a little house consisting only of a verandah and a back room. This was only intended for visitors to rest in， or to pass a night， but it suited me very well. I was so unfortunate， however， as to lose both my hunters just at this time. One had been left at Tondano with fever and diarrhoea， and the other was attacked at Langówan with inflammation of the chest， and as his case looked rather bad I had him sent back to Menado. The people here were all so busy with their rice-harvest， which was important for them to finish owing to the early rains， that I could get no one to shoot for me.

During the three weeks that I stayed at Panghu it rained nearly everyday， either in the afternoon only， or all day long； but there were generally a few hours' sunshine in the morning， and Itook advantage of these to explore the roads and paths， the rocks and ravines， in search of insects. These were not very abundant， yet I saw enough to convince me that the locality was a good one， had I been there at the beginning instead of at the end of the dry season. The natives brought me daily a few insects obtained at the Sagueir palms， including some fine Cetonias and stag-beetles. Two little boys were very expert with the blowpipe， and brought me a good many small birds， which they shot with pellets of clay. Among these was a pretty little flower-pecker of a new species (Prionochilus aureolimbatus)， and several of the loveliest honeysuckers I had yet seen. My general collection of birds was， however， almost at a standstill； for though I at length obtained a man to shoot for me， he was not good for much， and seldom brought me more than one bird a day. The best thing he shot was the large and rare fruit-pigeon peculiar to Northern Celebes (Carpophaga forsteni)， which I had long been seeking.

I was myself very successful in one beautiful group of insects， the tiger-beetles， which seem more abundant and varied here than anywhere else in the Archipelago. I first met with them on a cutting in the road， where a hard clayey bank was partially overgrown with mosses and small ferns. Here， I found running about， a small olive-green species which never took flight； and more rarely， a fine purplish black wingless insect， which was always found motionless in crevices， and was therefore， probably nocturnal. It appeared to me to form a new genus. About the roads in the forest， I found the large and handsome Cicindela heros， which I had before obtained sparingly at Macassar； but it was in the mountain torrent of the ravine itself that I got my finest things. 0n dead trunks overhanging the water and on the banks and foliage， I obtained three very pretty species of Cicindela， quite distinct in size， form， and colour， but having an almost identical pattern of pale spots. I also found a single specimen of a most curious species with very long antennae. But my finest discovery here was the Cicindela gloriosa， which I found on mossy stones just rising above the water. After obtaining my first specimen of this elegant insect， I used to walk up the stream， watching carefully every moss-covered rock and stone. It was rather shy， and would often lead me on a long chase from stone to stone， becoming invisible every time it settled on the damp moss， owing to its rich velvety green colour. On some days I could only catch a few glimpses of it； on others I got a single specimen； and on a few occasions two， but never without a more or less active pursuit. This and several other species I never saw but in this one ravine.