Transcribe Hornaday, W. T. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1878-08-30)

                                 CORRESPONDENCE.

THE SARAWAK MUSEUM. </em To the Editor of the Sarawak Gazette. >

Sir, - I note with pleasure the fact that it is already proposed to have a "Sarawak Museum," and we must set it down to the credit of the Government that the desirabi- pity of having a Museum is acknowledged at this early date. Singapore is in this respect many years "behind the times," inasmuch as she is only now beginning her Museum. In these days of International Exhibitions, Ex- hibitions of Art and Industry, Exhibitions great and Exhibitions small, it behoves every country to </em exhibit > her resources and industries or be left behind in the race.

  Australia is attracting thousands of emigrants

and scores of capitalists simply by vigor- ous and judicious displaying of her minerals, soils and agricultural products at Inter- national Exhibitions. At Philadelphia she had a vast collection of good water-color drawings, showing her plains, forest and mines so beautifully that one could not help wishing to go there and settle. Indeed it is unneces- sary to urge the benefits which a new country, possessing such undeveloped riches as Borneo. can secure by means of well-selected exhibits at the places where nations meet to compare notes.

    Sarawak should have a Museum, and a large

one. It should be so complete an index to all Borneo that the traveller or capitalist could take in its vast resources at a glance. A com- plete display of all the Bornean minerals, all the soils, the rocks, the valuable woods and plants, the agricultural products and native manufactures would so attract the intelligent capitalist and the needy emigrant and so facilitate the work of investigation that Bor- neo would, I firmly believe, presently become a second Ceylon.

    In every new country a Museum is </em the > load-

stone to which every inquiring visitor is ir- resistibly drawn, and when he finds there good specimens of just what he wishes most to see, he is ten times more interested in the country than if he were obliged to hunt up and down for its resources and probably never see more than the half of them. [vertically in the left margin "prepared by request."]

    I wish to urge upon every Officer of the

Sarawak Government the great desirability of establishing forthwith and continually add- ing to the "Sarawak Museum." I will even presume as far, in the interest of Museums generally, as to suggest that every Officer from the greatest to the least, be put under constant contribution to this end. That it might be a Museum of of Science and Industries, or in other words, of Natural History, and Agriculture Manufactures and Ethnology. The depart- ment of Natural History if complete would I think astonished even the natives. It might easily contain the finest collection of Orang Utans in the world, showing the mounted skin, skeleton, and skull, male and female, of each species, a collection which would be worth a trip to Borneo to see, It should contain, in course of time, specimens of every species of Mammal, Bird, Reptile and Fish found in Bor- neo, </s and > ^to^ say nothing here of Invertebrates. It should contain a complete series of the rocks, minerals and fossils, and the more insects and plants the better.

    The Industrial Department should contain

specimens of the grains, fruits, fibres and manufactures,</em particularly all the sources of revenue >, and specimens of the arms, ornaments and household utensils of each of the Dyaks tribes. A series of </em skulls > from all the differ- ent tribes ought to draw Prof. Owen all the way from London to Kuching.

    If the Sarawak Government should enter

heart and soul into the work of building up such a Museum, a grand collection could be got^ten^ up at the minimum of expenses. One ener- getic and well trained scientist as Director or Curator, with native assistants could do all the work in the Museum, and the Government Officers, as so many collecting naturalists, could do the rest. The Director would be the man to get up exhibits for foreign display. We honestly believe that bread cast upon </s the > ^such^ waters would return before many days. "some forty, some sixty, and some a hundred fold;" that the result would be a great stride towards developing the riches of Sarawak by attract- ting the attention of the capitalist, the emigrant and the traveller.

    All of which is respectfully submitted.
                      Wm. T. HORNADAY.
                         --------------------------
    CROCODILES IN AMERICA.

</em To the Editor of the Sarawak Gazette. >

SIR,--I notice in your issue of October 7th a letter copied from the </em Straits Times > on the subject of Crocodiles and Alligators. The writer falls into such a broad error in refer- ring to the geographical distribution of his Saurions that I really must offer a correction. We can easily forgive people for not knowing the differences between crocodiles and alliga- tors, but for their believing there're no crock- diles in America -- no, never. The writer sets forth the differences between the families so clearly and carefully that his error on lo- calities deserves careful correction. He says;

  "Next I must explain the difference be-

tween the crocodiles, which are found in Africa and Asia only, and the alligators, which are only found in America. * * * * No