adult living animal, I will give a sketch of its general habits,
and any other facts connected with it. The Orangutan is known to
inhabit Sumatra and Borneo, and there is every reason to believe
that it is confined to these two great islands, in the former of
which, however, it seems to be much more rare. In Borneo it has a
wide range, inhabiting many districts on the southwest,
southeast, northeast, and northwest coasts, but appears to be
chiefly confined to the low and swampy forests. It seems, at
first sight, very inexplicable that the Mias should be quite
unknown in the Sarawak valley, while it is abundant in Sambas, on
the west, and Sadong, on the east. But when we know the habits
and mode of life of the animal, we see a sufficient reason for
this apparent anomaly in the physical features of the Sarawak
district. In the Sadong, where I observed it, the Mias is only
found when the country is low level and swampy, and at the same
time covered with a lofty virgin forest. From these swamps rise
many isolated mountains, on some of which the Dyaks have settled
and covered with plantations of fruit trees. These are a great
attraction to the Mias, which comes to feed on the unripe fruits,
but always retires to the swamp at night. Where the country
becomes slightly elevated, and the soil dry, the Mias is no
longer to be found. For example, in all the lower part of the
Sadong valley it abounds, but as soon as we ascend above the
limits of the tides, where the country, though still flat, is
high enough to be dry, it disappears. Now the Sarawak valley has
this peculiarity--the lower portion though swampy, is not
covered with a continuous lofty forest, but is principally
occupied by the Nipa palm; and near the town of Sarawak where the
country becomes dry, it is greatly undulated in many parts, and
covered with small patches of virgin forest, and much second-