ill call of pea-hens, the cooing of pigeons, high above all of which
was the pertinacious chattering of monkeys, while parrots and other
gaily-coloured birds flew from bough to bough, and gigantic butterflies
with brilliant wings skimmed over the surface of the stream. The
monkeys followed us as we proceeded, or else the banks must have been
thickly inhabited with them; some throwing themselves frantically from
bough to bough, coming close down to our heads, others uttering hoarse
cries, as if to frighten us away from their neighbourhood. Oftentimes I
could not help fancying that some natives were watching us, so
human-like did the faces of the larger monkeys appear. Now and then we
interrupted a little family enjoying themselves in a clear space at the
base of a tree, the patriarch sitting calmly watching the proceedings of
his progeny, while the mother was gambolling with her young one, or
seeking food among the grass, or under the roots of a tree; and then she
would come with her prize, and commence playing with her infant, and
caressing him like any human mother, tumbling about perhaps in rather a
strange fashion. As we came more in sight, the whole family would
scamper off, a few remaining to the last, grinning fiercely at us,
hooting and chattering hoarsely, and shaking the boughs in their
indignation at our unwelcome appearance. Anxious as I was, I could not
help being amused at these things; but Ali was utterly indifferent to
them.

On we glided, till at a fresh turn of the river I saw rising above the
bank some buildings on poles, extending a considerable way along it.
The buildings we were approaching were raised eight or ten feet above
the water on strong posts. There were wide platforms of bamboo before
them, over part of which projected the roofs of the verandahs. Several
ladders hung down from the platforms to enable the inhabitants to ascend
from their boats. They were somewhat similar to those we had seen in
Papua, but far more substantial, and built in a much more elegant style.
The inhabitants, apparently, had only lately risen, and came out on the
platforms as we approached. The men were dressed in waistcloths of blue
cotton, hanging down behind, mostly bordered with red, blue, and white.
Some had handkerchiefs of the same colour bound round their heads, and
one or two were ornamented with gold lace. They wore also ear-rings of
brass, and moon-shaped, with heavy necklaces of white and black b