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ITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


EOS     INSITLARIS. 


THE 

CKUISE  OF  THE  MARCHESA 


TO 


KAMSCHATia  &  NEW  GUINEA 

WITH   NOTICES   OF   FORMOSA,  LIU-KIU,  AND   VAEIOUS 
ISLANDS   OF   THE   MALAY   ARCHIPELAGO 


By  F.  H.  H.  GUILLEMAED 

M.A.,   M.D.   (CANTAB.) 

FELLOW    OF   THE    LISNEAN   SOCIETY  ;    FELLOW   OF  THE   KOYAL  OEOGKAPHICAL   SOCIETY 

FELLOW   OF   THE   ZOOLOGICAL   SOCIETY,  ETC.  ETC. 


OSttf)  fHaps  ani  nunurous  3I23ooticuts 

DRAWN    BY    J.    KECLE3IASS,    C.    V\HY-\lP£ft^- AND    OTHERS 
AND    ENGRAVED    BY    EDWARD    WHYMPER 


Ignotis  errare  locis,  ignota  \'idere 

Flumina  gaudebat,  studio  minuente  laboreni ' 

Ovid.  Metam.  iv.  294 


IN  TWO   VOLUMES— VOL.  IL 

LONDON 
JOHN   MUERAY,   ALBEMAELE   STREET 

1886 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  Ci-ARK,  Edinburgh. 


J)5 
sol 


c 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE   I. 

CAGAYAN  SULU. 

Anchor  off  Lamery,  Island  of  Luzon — Taal  volcano — Bancoran — Cagayan  Sulu — 
ilalay  dress — Proceedings  of  the  Spaniards  with  regard  to  the  island — Birds — 
The  crater-lakes — Extraordinary  natural  phenomenon — The  Pangerang's  house 
— A  Sulu  cradle — Discover  a  third  crater-lake — Particulars  of  the  island — Curious 
habits  of  the  Whimbrel — Yacht  Bay — Zoological  characteristics  of  Cagayan 
Sulu  .  .  .......       Page  1 

CHAPTER   11. 

THE    SULU   ISLANDS. 

AVe  embark  a  Rajah  —  A  perfect  calm  —  Arrive  at  Meiinbun  —  Scenes  on  the 
Meimbun  River — The  Sultan's  Istana — The  Sultan  of  Sulu — Unsettled  state  of 
the  island — Visit  of  the  Sultan  to  the  Marchcsa — Parangs  and  spears — Natural 
history  rambles  on  the  island — Beauty  of  the  scenery — Sun-birds  and  other 
birds — Cinnyris  jidiic — ^The  Rajah's  village — A  Sulu  cemetery — Second  visit  of 
the  Sultan  with  his  Avives — Domestic  broils — The  ladies  of  the  harem — Cockatoo 
shooting     ........  Page  21 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE  SULU  ISLANDS  {continued). 

We  leave  for  Parang — The  Panglima  Dammang — Parang  and  its  surroundings — 
Tulian  Island — Jolo,  the  Spanish  settlement — Life  in  the  town — Marine  fireworks 


479383 


CONTENTS. 


—  The  watering-place  —  A  narrow  escape  —  Pig-hunting  —  Our  life  in  Sulu — 
Climate — Unhealthiness  of  Jolo — The  Spaniards  and  the  Sulus — Jummentados 
— Return  to  Meimbun — Sulu  praus — Carving — Photographing  the  Sultan — 
Meimbun  market — Ancient  chain  armour — New  species  of  birds — Revisit  Parang 
— Pearl-divers — Lukut  Lapas — Captain  Schiick— Products  of  the  estate — Jungle 
fowl — Tobacco  cultivation       ......       Page  42 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  SULU  ISLANDS  {confAnucd). 

We  visit  the  Panglima  Danimang — Battle  between  the  Panglima  and  ilaharajah 
Tahil  —  The  Panglima  shows  his  teeth  —  An  unpleasant  predicament  —  The 
convicts  in  Jolo  —  A  serio-comic  drama  —  Pangasinan  Island  —  A  bull-fight  — 
Siassi  Island  —  Cholera  epidemic  —  Lapac  —  Leave  for  Tawi-tawi  Island  —  The 
Spanish  settlement  at  Tataan — An  unpleasant  companion — Tawi-tawi  pirates — 
Fauna  and  flora  of  the  Philippines  and  Borneo  contrasted — Consideration  of 
the  Sulu  fauna — The  Sulu  Archijielago  zoographically  purely  Philippine — The 
Sibutu  Passage  forms  the  boundary  line — The  Sulu  language — History  of  Sulu 
—Treaty  of  1885  .  .  .  .  .  T  .       Page  65 


CHAPTER  V. 

BRITISH   NORTH    BORNEO. 

The  ]>ritish  North  Borneo  Company — Its  formation — Land  grants  from  the  Sultans 
of  Brunei  and  Sulu — Territory  acquired — Sandakan  Bay — Elopura — Poorness  of 
the  soil — Silam — Ascend  the  Sigaliud  River — Narrow  escape  of  the  Vigilant — 
Forest  scenery — Graves  of  the  Buludupis — Legend  of  the  origin  of  the  tribe — 
Birds  of  the  jungle — Exports  of  Sandakan — Edible  birds'  nests — Sport  in  North 
Borneo — Proceed  to  Kudat — Murders  at  Bongon — Visit  to  Bongon  with  H.II.S. 
Fly—hu'A  caught  in  spider's  web — We  are  presented  with  a  "while  man" — 
Leave  for  Banguey  Island — The  German  Borneo  Company — Massacre  of  the 
English  at  Balembangan  in  1775 — The  Abai  and  Tampassuk  Rivers — Gaya — 
Kimanis — Terrible  epidemic  of  cholera— Floods — Advantages  of  Sarawak. 

Page  83 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

LABUAX   AND    BRUXEI. 

Victoria  Harbour — The  home  of  pluralism — A  walk  across  the  island — Retrogression 
of  the  Colony — A  deserted  town — The  coal-mines — Mine  at  Moaro — Facts  about 
Labuan — Histor}^  of  the  occupation — Visit  to  Brunei — The  Venice  of  the  East — 
John  Chinaman — Native  manufactures — Brunei  market — The  Sultan's  palace — 
Interview  with  the  Sultan — "Crabbed  age  and  youth " — Departure  for  Sarawak. 

Pasce  117 


CHAPTER   VII. 

SUMBAWA. 

Arrive  at  Batavia  —  Cholera  again  —  Lombok  Peak  —  Anchor  in  Sumbawa  Bay  — 
Parched  aspect  of  the  country — Sumbawan  huts — Trade  in  ponies — We  start 
for  the  capital — The  natives — Spears  and  krisses — Characteristics  of  the  vegeta- 
tion— Birds — Prevalence  of  Australian  forms — The  town  of  Sumbawa — Bichara 
with  the  Tungku  Jirewi — The  Istana — The  Sultan  of  Sumliawa — Leave  Sumbawa 
Bay — Labuan  Penakan — The  Tambora  volcano — Its  eruption  in  1815 — Arrive  at 
Bima — Languages  of  the  island — A  six  months'  drought — Tombs  of  the  Sultans 
of  Bima  —  Gunong  Api  Island  —  New  species  of  quail  —  Leave  Sumbawa  for 
Celebes         ........         Page  131 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CELEBE.'^. 

Macassar — Visits  of  ceremony — Dress  of  the  Dutch  ladies — "Floating  the  liver" — 
Life  in  Macassar — The  King  of  Goa's  house -v/arming — Bandit  and  butler — 
Cock-fighting — Visit  to  Maros — A  beautiful  valley — Sail  for  Northern  Celebes — 
The  Spermonde  Archipelago — Menado — Stranding  of  the  Marcliesa — Start  for 
the  mountain  district — Lotta — The  "Major"  of  Tomohon — Arrive  at  Tondano — 
The  coffee  industry — A  doubtful  delicacy — Languages  of  Minahasa — Tondano 
waterfall — Nutmegs  and  Vanilla —The  Kanari  nut — Anoa  depressicornis — Birds 
of  Celebes — Mr.  Wallace  on  the  Dutch  .system         .  .  .         Page  153 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEK   IX. 

CELEBES  (continued). 

Tarsius  spectrum — Talisse  Island — Extensile  bill  of  Carjmphaga — Likoupang — Waim 
Bay — Forest  scenes — Hornbills — The  Livistonia  palm — Useful  property  of  the 
rattan  —  Characteristics  of  the  sea-beach  —  The  Babinisa — The  Sapi-utan — ^'A 
(lance  at  Likoupang — Wallace  Bay — The  Celebean  Mound-builder — Description 
of  the  breeding-grounds — Theory  as  to  the  enormous  size  of  the  egg — Limbe 
Strait  and  Island — Dangerous  anchorage  —  Kema — Babirusa  toWa/^  on  Limbe 
Island  —  Boat  accident — Result  of  the  hunt  —  Leave  Kema  for  Gorontalo  — 
Kettlewell  Bay — Gorontalo — The  Limboto  Lake — News  of  the  Krakatau  erup- 
tion—  Smallpox  —  Pogoyania  —  Existence  of  gold — Singular  burial-pit  —  Zoo- 
logical peculiarities  of  Celebes — We  leave  for  the  Moluccas  .         Page  183 


CHAPTEE   X. 

THE    MOLUCCAS. 

Teniate — The  town — The  Resident's  aviary- — Live  Birds  of  Paradise — History  of 
the  island — Remains  of  the  old  forts — Climate — Moluccan  birds — The  trade  in 
Paradise  Birds — We  enlist  our  hunters — Arrival  of  the  monthly  mail — Leave 
for  Batchian  —  Passage  of  the  Herberg  Strait — The  "  Kapten  Laut  " — Obi 
Major — Tanysiptera  obiensis — Birds  of  the  Obi  group — Ruins  on  the  deserted 
island — We  explore  the  west  coast — Obi  Latu  Island — Dead  mangrove  swamp 
— Bisa  Island — Return  to  Batchian — Dance  given  by  the  Sultan  of  Batchian — 
Fort  Barneveld — Wallace's  Bird  of  Paradise  —  A  deer  hunt  —  Sago -making — 
Visit  to  the  "Weda  Islands-  -Sail  for  New  Guinea     .  .  .         Page  216 


CHAPTEE    XL 

NEW    GUIXEA. 

Division  of  New  Guinea — The  Rajah  amixd — Land  on  Salwatti — An  anxious  night 
— Our  first  Bird  of  Paradise — Batanta  Island — The  natives — Discover  Marchesa 
Bay  —  Obtain  Wilson's  Bird  of  Paradise — The  Batanta  Papuans  —  Momos, 
Waigiou  Island — Ascend  the  "Waigiou  Gulf — Pigeons  and  parrots — Alfuros  of 
Waigiou — The  Red  Bird  of  Paradise — Night  in  the  forest — Scenery  of  the  Gulf 
— Rambles  round  Momos — A  regal  trader — Napriboi — Zoological  characteristics 
of  Batanta  and  Waigiou — Sail  for  Geelvink  Bay      .  .  .         Page  248 


GONTJENTS. 


CHAPTEE    XII. 

NEW  GUINEA  (continued). 

Arrive  at  Dorei  Bay — Dutch  missionaries — Mansinam — The  Krakatau  eruption 
audible  in  Xew  Guinea-^The  Papuans  of  Dorei  Bay — Amulets — The  Manucn 
— Houses  of  the  natives— ^oroifaar- — The  idol-houses — A  snake  myth — The 
legend  of  ]\Iaugundi — A  cosmopolitan  forge — Feasts  and  dancing — ^Marriage 
customs — Government — Survival  of  the  unfittest — Andai — The  climate  of  the 
coast — Malarial  fever — The  Hatam  Papuans — Birds  of  the  Arfak  ^Mountains — 
Burial  customs — Height  of  the  Arfak  range — "We  sail  for  Jobi  Island — Our 
pilot  Kawari    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     Page  272 


CHAPTEE    XIII. 

NEW  GUINEA  {continuccT). 

Faknik — Arrive  at  Ansus — Signification  of  the  native  comb — Dress  of  the  women — 
Paperipi — Paradisea  minor — The  King-bird  —  Development  of  its  plumes  — 
Canoes  and  their  decoration — Skulls  and  corpses  in  the  trees — Narvoii — Cascadu 
—  Cooking  a  corpse — Koroicaar — An  unpleasant  adventure  —  Return  of  our 
hunters — AVooden  pillows — Return  to  Waigiou — Leave  for  Salwatti — How  the 
Rajah  lost  his  nose — We  secure  a  live  Seleitcides — Method  of  catching  them — 
Character  of  the  Papuan — Leave  for  Misol  Island — Uncertainties  of  navigation 
— ^Anchor  at  Efbe — Northern  limit  of  the  Eucalyptus  .  .     Page  301 


CHAPTEE   XIV. 

AMBOINA,    BANDA,   AND   THE   AKU   ISLANDS, 

Amboina — The  toAvn — Tomb  of  Rumpliius — The  clove  trade — "Sea-gardens" — The 
climate — Microylossus — Banda — The  harbour  and  volcano — View  from  Papenberg 
— Xutmegs — Banda  Neira  and  its  forts — Leave  for  Aru — Non-existent  islands — 
Dobbo — The  village  and  its  trade — The  pearl-fisherj^ — Paradisea  apoda — Trading 
praus — Fruit-eating  pigeons — Perils  of  a  collector — Ornithoptera  arruana — Our 
hunters  return  from  Wanumbai — We  begin  the  homeward  voyage    .     Page  326 


CONTENTS: 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE   HOMEWARD   VOYAGE. 

Our  floating  menagerie — The  Twelve-wired  Bird  of  Paradise — Paradisea  minor — 
Pigeons  and  parrots — Cassowaries — Flying  Phalanger — "Clnigs" — Tree  kan- 
garoos— We  return  to  Misol  Island — Seurvj' — Death  of  the  boatswain — Arrive 
at  Batchian — Ternate — Beri-beri — Touch  at  North  Celebes — The  black  Paradise 
birds — Sulu — A  successful  amok — A  farewell  ilalagueria — Home  .         Page  346 


APPENDIX    I. 


Page 

THE  SuLu  Archipelago 

361 

Northern  Borneo 

362 

Cagayan  Sulu 

363 

SUMBAWA      . 

364 

Celebes 

364 

Molucca  Islands    . 

366 

New  Guinea 

367 

APPENDIX    II. 

List  op  Shells  collected  during  the  Voyage  op  the  Marchesa        372 

APPENDIX    III. 

List  of  Rhopalocera  collected  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago     .       374 


APPENDIX    IV. 

Vocabulary  op  the  Sulu  Language 


378 


CONTENTS. 


APPENDIX    V. 

Languages  of  Waigiou  .  .  .  .  .383 


APPENDIX    VI. 

Page 
Languages  op  Jobi  Island  .  .  .  .  ,386 


APPENDIX    VII. 

Table  of  the  Total  Export  of  the  Chief  Articles  of  Produce 

FOR  the  whole  of  THE  NETHERLANDS'  InDIA  IN  1884        .    390 

Table  op  the  Amount  op  the  Chief  Exports  op  North  and 

South  Celebes,  Amboina,  and  Tern  ate  for  the  Year  1884    391 

Index    ........   393 


ILLUSTEATIONS. 


1.  Eos  Insularis  .....         Frontispiece 

PAGE 

2.  SuLU  Parang  .  .  ....  4 

3.  Jack-tree  {Artocmjmsintegrifolia)  ....  6 

4.  Cagayan  Sulu  ......  8 

5.  Lakes  Singuan  and  Jiwata  prom  the  East     .  .  .11 

6.  Pandanus         .  .  .  .  .  .  .15 

7.  Meimbun,  Sulu  IsLxVND  ....    to  face  page  24 

8.  Mohammed  Budderooddin,  Sultan  of  Sulu     .  .  .28 

9.  The  Sultana's  Spear  .  .  .  .  .  .31 

10.  Sarcops  Calvus  .  .  .  .  .  .34 

11.  A  Sulu  Grave  ......         37 

12.  Village  of  Parang     ......         43 

13.  A  Street  in  Jolo         ......  48 

14.  Carved  Stone,  Meimbun  .  .  .  .  .54 

15.  The  Market-place,  Meimbun  .  .  .    to  face  page  bl 

16.  Spanish  Block-house  near  Jolo  .  .  .  .59 

17.  A  Native  of  Sulu        ......  68 

18.  Scene  on  the  Meimbun  Eiver  {Caryota  with  inflorescence,  and 

Nipa  Palms)  .  .  .  .  .  .73 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


19.  Macronus  Kettlewelli  ....    to  fare  pmje  1 S 

20.  A  SuLU  Girl   .......         80 

21.  Elopdra,  Sandakax  Bat,  British  North  Borneo  .    to  face  pa/je  87 

22.  BuLUDDPi  Huts,  Sigaliud  Eiver          .              .  .              .92 

23.  Forest-clearing  and  Large  Tree  near  Sandakan  .             .         98 

24.  "Bongon"        .              .              .              .              .  .              .105 

25.  Kin  A  Balu  from  above  the  Tampassuk  River  .to  face  2}(ige  111 
2G.   A  Malay  "  Man-catcher  "        .              .              .  .              .125 

27.  Brunei              .....  .to  face  page  121 

28.  A  SuMBAWAN  House    .             .             .             .  .             .135 

29.  SuMBAWAN  Kris            .              .              .              .  .              .137 

30.  Kris  with  Worked  Gold  Scabbard,  Suiibawa  139 

31.  The  Tungku  Jirewi     .              .              .              .  .              .141 

32.  Sujibawan  Chief,  Bima            .              .              .  .tofaceixuje  147 

33.  View  in  Bima  .              .              .              .              .  .              .148 

34.  GcNONG  Api     .              .              .              .              .  .              .150 

35.  A  Native  Street,  Macassar    .             .             .  .             .157 

36.  A  GoA  Chief   .              .              .              .              .  .              .159 

37.  Falls  of  the  Maros  River      .              .              .  .              .161 

38.  On  the  Road  to  Tondano        .              .              .  .              .169 

39.  Fruit  and  Flower  of  the  Coffee-tree            .  .             .174 

40.  \Yaterfall  near  Tondano       .              .              .  .              .178 

41.  The  Tarsier  {Tarsius  spectrum)               .              .  .              .184 

42.  The  Maleo  {Megacephalon  maleo)            .             .  .             .195 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


43.  MouxT  Klabat  from  Kema 

44.  Our  Huxters'  Camp,  Limbe  Islaxd,  Celebes  . 

45.  Skull  of  Babirusa  {Sus  habirusa) 

46.  Sapi-utan  {Anoa  depressicornis) 

47.  Pesquet's  Parrot  (Dasyptilus  pesqueti)  . 

48.  Portuguese  Fort  at  the  North  Exd  of  Terxate 

49.  TiDOR  Volcano  from  Terxate 

50.  Tahirux  ..... 

51.  USMAX  ..... 

52.  Prau  of  the  Sultax  of  Batchiax 

53.  Kacquet-tailed  Kixgfisher  {Tanysiptera  ohiensi<) 

54.  MOXOGRAM  OF  UxiTED  E.  I.  C'OMPAXY     . 

55.  Gate  of  the  Sultan's  House,  Batchiax 

56.  Wilson's  Bird  of  Paradise  (Diphyllodes  loilsoni) 

57.  Spoox  used  for  Stirrixg  Sago 

58.  MoMOS,  Waigiou  Island 

59.  Scene  in  Chabrol  Bat,  "Waigiou  Island 

60.  Aerial-rooted  Tree,  Waigiou 

61.  At  Xapriboi    ..... 

62.  Mansinam  Village  and  the  Arfak  Eaxge,  Dorei  Bay 

63.  Native  of  Ambobridoi,  Dorei  Bat 

64.  Papuan  Amulets  .... 

65.  korowaar       ..... 

66.  korowaar       ..... 


PAGE 

200 
.to  face parje  202 
204 
211 
219 
224 
.to  face  page  226 
229 
230 
234 

to  face  page  237 
239 
242 

to  face  page  255 
257 

to  face  page  260 

to  face  page  266 
267 
269 

to  face  page  275 
277 
278 
281 
286 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

67.  Hut  near  Axdai  ......        290 

68.  Native  of  Hatam         .  .  .  .  .       '       .        294 

69.  Papuan  Girl,  Hatam  .  .  .  .       295 

70.  Head    of    Great    Black    Cockatoo    {Microglossus    aterrimiis). 

Natural  Size         .  .  .  .  .  .296 

71.  Bruijn's  Pygmy  Parrot  (Nasitcrna  hruijni).     Natural  Size      .       297 

72.  Caxoe,  Ansus  Harbour  .....       302 

73.  Waterixg-place  xear  Axsus  ....       303 

74.  Comb  of  Axsu.s  Max    ......       305 

75.  Caxoe,  Axsus  ;  with  "Womax  wearing  Mournixg  Mat  .        306 

76.  Cypripedium  Gardixeri  .  .  .  .  .310 

77.  Fretwork  Figure-heads,  JoBi  Island  .  .  .311 

78.  korowaar       .  .  .  .  .  .  .313 

79.  Native  of  Jobi  .  .  .  .  .  .       315 

80.  Papuan  Head-rest       .  .  .  .  .  .316 

81.  BRVijy'fi  Y,cniBy A  {Proechidna  bruijni)  .  .  .to  face  fage  Z\l 

82.  Twelve-wired  Bird  of  Paradise  {Seleucides  nigricans)  .to  face  ixige  319 

83.  Fruit  of  the  Nutmeg,  Splittixg  and  Showing  Mace  .       334 

84.  A  Street  in  Dobbo      .  .  .  .  .  .339 

85.  BuGis  Prau,  Dobbo      .  .  .  .  .  .342 

86.  Belideus  Breviceps     ......        350 

87.  Superb  Bird  of  Paradise  [Loiiihorhina  supei-ha)  .to  face  page  357 

88.  Six-plumed  Bird  of  Paradise  (Parotia  sexpennis)  .to  face  page  358 

89.  The  Marchesa  ......       360 


MAPS. 


» » — 


1.  Track  Chart  of  the  Marchesa's  Cruise  in  the  Malay 

Archipelago  .  .  .  .  .to  face  page     1 

2.  Map  of  Cagayan  Sulu  ......  8 

3.  Hydrographic  Chart  of  the  Sulu  Archipelago           .          „  21 

4.  Coloured  Map  of  Borneo,  to  show  Divisions  .             .          „  83 

5.  Map  of  Sumbawa            .              .              .              .              .           „  131 

6.  Map  of  North  Celebes              .              .              .              .          „  165 

7.  Map  of  the  Moluccas  .              .              .              .              .          „  216 

8.  Outline  Map  of  New  Guinea    .                           .              .          „  248 

9.  Map  of  Western  New  Guinea               .             .             .          „  250 


CKUISE   OF   THE  YACHT  MAECHESA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CAGAYAN  SULU. 

Anchor  off  Lamery,  Island  of  Luzon — Taal  volcano — Bancoran — Cagayan  Sulu — 
Malay  dress — Proceedings  of  the  Spaniards  with  regard  to  the  island — Birds — 
The  crater-lakes — Extraordinary  natural  phenomenon — The  Pangerang's  house 
— A  Sulu  cradle — Discover  a  third  crater-lake — Particulars  of  the  island — Curious 
habits  of  the  Whimbrel — Yacht  Bay — Zoological  characteristics  of  Cagayan 
Sulu. 

On  the  21st  of  March,  1883,  the  Marchesa  left  Hongkong  for 
the  Malay  Islands  and  New  Guinea,  having  spent  a  few  weeks  at 
Foochow  and  other  treaty  ports  of  China — well-trodden  paths 
into  which  I  will  not  ask  my  reader  to  accompany  me.  Our 
original  intention  was  to  visit  the  new  English  colony  in  North 
Borneo,  and  thence  to  proceed  vid  the  Sulu  Archipelago  and 
Celebes  to  the  Moluccas.  At  a  later  period  the  plan  of  the  voyage 
was  slightly  altered,  and  after  leaving  Sulu  we  returned  to  Singapore 
to  refit  and  take  in  stores  before  finally  sailing  on  our  Papuan 
cruise. 

Within  two  hours  of  leaving  our  anchorage  in  Victoria  Harbour 
we  were  meeting  half  a  gale  of  wind  from  the  east,  accompanied 
by  an  unpleasantly  rough  sea.  On  the  following  day  the  wind  had 
backed  to  the  N.E.,  the  sea  had  run  down,  and  things  were  more 
comfortable,  and  on  Easter  Sunday,  March  25th,  we  came  to 
anchor  off"  Lamery  in  the  island  of  Luzon,  some  forty  or  fifty  miles 
to  the  south  of  Manila. 

VOL.  II.  B 


CAGAYAN  SULU.  [chap. 


Lamery  is  as  fertile-looking  a  spot  as  one  could  hope  to  meet 
with  even  amid  these  isles  of  perpetual  summer.  Sloping  gradually 
upwards  from  the  sea,  it  is  backed  by  a  conical  volcano  of  no  great 
size,  which  appears  to  be  extinct.  The  ground  is  highly  cultivated, 
and  the  sugar-cane — the  principal  crop — looked  wonderfully  well 
at  the  time  of  our  visit,  covering  the  country  with  a  mantle  of  the 
richest  green.  From  here  Taal,  with  its  extraordinary  lake  volcano, 
is  barely  an  hour  distant.  From  the  middle  of  a  mountain-lake 
fifteen  miles  long,  surrounded  by  very  high  hills,  and  probably 
itself  an  extinct  crater,  this  volcano  rises  to  the  height  of  two 
thousand  feet.  Eeaching  the  summit  of  the  island  thus  curiously 
formed,  the  bottom  of  its  crater  is  seen  to  be  covered  by  a  sheet  of 
water  nearly  a  mile  across.  The  country  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Lamery  seemed  thickly  inhabited,  and  we  learnt  from  a  half-caste 
that  the  combined  population  of  the  Taal  and  Lamery  districts  w^as  as 
much  as  46,000.  The  latter  village  is  of  somewhat  peculiar  aspect, 
for  though  the  houses  are  almost  all  of  the  type  usually  met  with 
in  the  Philippine  Islands — that  is  to  say,  of  palm-leaf  mats  with 
high-pointed  roofs — they  surround  a  most  solid -looking  and  in- 
congruous cathedral,  built  of  stone,  and  nearly  100  feet  in  height, 
which  is  visible  at  sea  from  a  distance  of  ten  miles  or  more. 

Our  stay  in  this  beautiful  district,  whose  only  drawback  seemed 
to  be  the  existence  of  cholera,  was  limited  to  a  few  hours  only,  and 
on  the  following  day  we  weighed  anchor,  and  rounding  Cape 
Calavite,  ran  down  the  western  side  of  Mindoro  into  the  Sulu  Sea. 
These  waters  are  studded  with  numerous  shoals  and  small  islands, 
the  position  of  which,  owing  to  the  imperfect  survey,  is  in  many 
cases  doubtful,  and  for  the  first  time  we  had  a  man  at  the  mast- 
head on  the  look-out.  From  this  elevation  shoal  water  is  readily 
detected  by  the  difference  in  colour,  and  for  many  months  subse- 
quently this  precaution  w^as  as  regularly  observed  as  the  manning 
of  the  "  crow's  nest "  in  an  Arctic  vessel.  On  the  28th  March  we 
passed  close  to  Bancoran — a  lonely  lagoon  islet  of  the  San  Miguel 
group — whose  lofty  trees  appeared  literally  covered  with  thousands 


I.]  BANGORAN  ISLAND.  3 

of  snow-white  birds,  which  from  their  colour  and  flight  could  have 
been  none  other  than  the  Bornean  Nutmeg  Pigeon  {Myristicivora 
hicolor).  The  calm  lagoon  and  the  refreshing  green  of  the  trees, 
as  well  as  the  promise  of  abundant  sport,  tempted  us  sorely  to  try 
our  fortune  ashore,  but  time  presses  even  in  the  Sulu  Sea,  and  we 
decided  on  continuing  our  course.  Shortly  after  midnight  we 
dropped  anchor  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  island  of  Cagayan  Sulu. 

If  the  reader  consult  a  map  of  this  part  of  the  world  he  will 
notice  that  the  north-eastern  part  of  Borneo  presents  a  more  or 
less  straight  coast -line,  from  the  eastern  end  of  which  the  Sulu 
Archipelago  rims  like  a  chain  connecting  it  with  the  Philippines, 
while  the  long  island  of  Palawan  and  others  of  lesser  note  form  a 
similar  link  at  the  western  extremity.  The  space  thus  enclosed  is 
known  as  the  Sulu  or  Mindoro  Sea,  within  which,  in  a  nearly 
central  position,  lies  Cagayan  Sulu.  The  island  is  practically 
independent,  although  nominally  under  the  authority  of  the  Sultan 
of  Sulu.  We  had  been  led  to  visit  it  for  several  reasons.  To  the 
naturalist  its  isolated  position  between  two  countries  possessed  of 
such  a  different  fauna  as  the  Philippines  and  Borneo,  offered  an 
interesting  problem,  wliile  of  the  great  beauty  of  its  scenery  we 
had  read  in  Admiral  Keppel's  "  Cruise  of  the  Mmandcr."  At  the 
time  of  his  visit,  in  company  with  Eajah  Brooke,  two  curious  crater- 
lakes  had  been  discovered  on  the  south  coast,  but  since  then,  with 
the  exception  of  a  visit  of  H.M.S.  Nassau  for  surveying  purposes 
in  1871,  few  vessels  seem  to  have  anchored  off  its  shores. 

Shortly  after  daybreak  on  the  morning  after  our  arrival  the 
Pangerang  or  chief  came  on  board — a  quiet,  domestic-looking  old 
man  without  followers  of  any  kind,  with  the  exception  of  half  a 
dozen  men  who  had  paddled  him  to  the  ship.  He  was  dressed  in 
ordinary  Malay  costume,  which  is  simple  and  comfortable  enough 
in  climates  such  as  these.  Pound  the  waist  is  worn  the  sarong,  a 
silk  or  cotton  garment  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  small  table- 
cloth, which  is  simply  wound  twice  round  the  body  and  the  end 
tucked  in.     It  falls  like  a  petticoat  nearly  to  the  feet.     A  short 


C AG  A  VAX  SULU. 


[chap. 


jacket,  the  haju,  is  usiiaUy  the  only  upper  garmeut,  and  is  often 
left  open  clown  the  front.  The  head-dress  differs  according  to  the 
locality,  but  the  mrong  and  haju  are  invariable,  and 
are  worn  alike  by  rich  and  poor  throughout  I\Ialaysia. 
The  latter  garment  is  often  of  unornamented  black 
silk,  or  some  equally  plain  material,  even  among  the 
most  wealthy,  but  the  sarongs  of  those  of  high  rank 
are  generally  of  most  beautiful  workmanship,  ablaze 
with  gold  thread,  and  of  great  weight  and  value. 
Our  visitor,  however,  wore  nothing  of  this  description, 
and  was  evidently  a  man  of  more  intelligence  than 
wealth,  but  he  carried  a  beautiful  imrang — a  most 
murderous-looking  weapon  of  a  shape  peculiar  to  this 
island  and  those  of  the  Sulu  Archipelago.  It  has 
the  appearance  of  a  sharp -pointed  meat-chopper 
stri^^ng  by  a  process  of  evolution  to  become  a  sword, 
and  with  its  gTcat  weight  and  razor- like  edge,  is 
capable  of  cutting  a  man's  body  completely  through 
at  a  stroke.  Fortunately  these  weapons  are  more 
frequently  used  for  other  purposes,  and  are  admirably 
adapted  for  clearing  a  path  in  the  thick  jungle  or  for 
openmg  coconuts.  Some  that  we  saw  afterwards 
in  Sulu  had  well-carved  ivory  handles,  and  the  hilts 
were  in  many  instances  of  silver.  They  appear  to 
be  all  made  by  the  native  workmen  in  Sulu  Island, 
and  are  worn  by  every  male  almost  from  the  time 
when  he  is  strong  enough  to  carry  one. 

The  Pangerang  smoked  small  cigarettes  of  Chinese 
tobacco  rolled  in  the  thin  dried  leaf  of  the  Nipa 
palm,  and  chatted  in  jNIalay  to  one  of  us  who  was 
conversant  with  that  language.  He  told  us  that 
the  Spanish  gun-boat  Sirenia  had  visited  the  island  in  April, 
1882,  and  had  given  him  two  docimients,  of  the  contents  of 
which  he  was  ignorant.      He  brought  them  for  our  inspection. 


SULU    PARAXG. 


I.]  ACTIOX  OF  THE  SPAXISH.  5 

and  we  found  one  of  them  to  be  a  certificate  addressed  to  Spanish 
ships,  and  stating  that  the  Pangerang  was  to  be  trusted ;  while  the 
other  was  a  sort  of  passport  to  enable  the  latter  to  visit  any  of  the 
Spanish  possessions.  On  learning  our  nationality  the  old  fellow 
became  communicative,  and  confided  to  us  his  dislike  of  the 
"  Castillans."  It  appeared  that  the  captain  of  the  Sircnia  had 
given  him  a  Spanish  flag  with  instructions  to  hoist  it  on  the  arrival 
of  a  vessel,  telling  him  at  the  same  time  that  the  island  was  a 
Spanish  possession,  and  that  the  flag  had  been  sent  by  the  Sultan  of 
Sulu  himself.^  He  said  that  for  his  own  part  he  acknowledged  no 
sovereignty  but  the  Sultan's,  but  added  that  he  would  be  afraid 
not  to  hoist  the  flag  in  the  event  of  a  visit  of  a  Spanish  man-of- 
war. 

Beautiful  as  are  almost  all  tropical  islands,  I  do  not  think 
I  have  ever  seen  one  more  captivating  than  Cagayan  Sulu.  ]\Ir. 
St.  John  calls  it  a  "true  gem  of  the  ocean";  and  as  the  boat 
glided  over  the  coral-gardens,  bright  with  vividly-coloured  fish,  and 
landed  me,  gun  and  collecting-box  in  hand,  on  the  snowy  sand,  I  felt 
as  if  I  could  cast  off  civilisation  and  European  clothes  alike,  and 
cultivate  my  mealie  patch  and  grove  of  coconuts  wdth  the  natives 
for  the  remainder  of  my  natural  life.  It  is  the  feeling  that  every 
lover  of  Xature  doubtless  has  on  revisiting  scenes  like  these,  but 
in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  we  should  soon  find  our- 
selves sighing  for  our  morning  papers,  and  calling  the  place  a 
"vvretched  hole,"  were  we  to  try  the  experiment.  The  sauce  of 
life  is  variety,  and  just  as  the  restraints  and  conventionalities  of 
civilisation  become  after  a  time  unbearable  to  those  of  us  who  have 
once  tasted  of  the  sweets  of  rough  travel,  so  there  are  occasionally 
moments  when,  even  in  Palm-grove  and  Coral  Land,  the  thoufrht  of 
a  high  hat  and  a  white  shirt  is  actually  not  unpleasing.  Habit  is, 
after  all,  too  strong  for  us,  and  however  often  we  may  succeed  in 
breaking  its  bonds,  there  must  sooner  or  later  come  a  tune  when 

^  We  learnt  afterwards  from  the  Sultan  that  this  was  a  pure  invention  on  the 
part  of  the  Spaniards. 


C AG  AY  AN  SULU. 


[chap. 


^^e   aie   willing    once 
more    to    adjust    the  L 
noose  aiound  oui  iieck>5  with  oui 
own  hand=!, 

I  had  no  wi<^h  of  this  natuie  in  j^k^ 
Cagayan  Sulu,  nor  indeed  have  I  k^-  Tr 
e\ei    felt    it    except    when  '  ~ 

suffeimg   from   illne=is,  and 
I  passed  through  the  thick 
coconut    glo^e=;,  and    found  ^ 
myself   in    the    open    bush 
country  be}  ond,  w  ith  all  the 


JACt.  TREE.     {Aitocarjnis  iiiterji 


ifulia) 


I.]  CHARACTERS  OF  THE  ISLAND.  7 

pleasurable  feelings  of  a  naturalist  when  he  knows  that  he  is  on 
untrodden  ground.  The  island,  which  is  about  five  miles  in  length 
by  four  in  breadth,  is  purely  volcanic,  and  the  soil,  to  all  appear- 
ances, very  rich.  It  is  for  the  most  part  low  and  undulating,  the 
highest  elevation  being  only  1100  feet,  but  several  extinct  volcanoes 
of  small  size  exist,  whose  sides,  strewn  with  lumps  of  slag  and 
scoriae,  permit  only  of  the  growth  of  coarse  lalang  grass.  In  the 
little  valleys,  or  along  the  seashore,  the  mat-shed  houses,  elevated 
on  piles,  are  shaded  in  pleasant  groves  of  banana,  coconut,  jack- 
fruit,  and  durian  trees.  Cultivation  appears  to  be  but  little  mider- 
taken,  and  though  yam,  sweet-potato,  and  tapioca  are  gi'own,  it  is 
not  to  any  great  extent,  and  the  islanders  seem  to  live  chiefly  upon 
fruit  and  fish.  The  latter  are  caught  in  great  numbers,  for,  the 
island  being  surrounded  by  a  fringmg  reef,  the  natives  can  coast 
its  shores  in  all  weathers  in  tolerably  smooth  water. 

I  found  both  birds  and  insects  scarce  during  my  ramble,  so  far 
at  least  as  regards  the  number  of  species.  A  beautiful  Glossy 
Starling  (Calornis  panayensis,  Scop.),  with  a  blood-red  iris  and  the 
plumage  metallic  green  shot  with  \'iolet,  haunted  the  coconut  groves' 
in  some  numbers.  Its  occurrence  was  interesting  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  a  Philippine  bu'd,  which  is  not  found  in  Borneo.  On  the  beach 
the  Blue-and-white  Kingfisher  {Halcyon  chloris,  Bodd.)  was  equally 
abundant,  sitting  motionless  on  the  branches  of  the  trees  overhang- 
ing the  sea,  and  from  time  to  time  uttering  its  loud,  laughing  note. 
One  of  the  most  generally  distributed  of  all  birds  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  it  is  found  from  the  Eed  Sea  to  the  farther  side  of  New  Guinea, 
and  the  little  patch  of  turquoise  blue  that  reveals  its  presence  is  one 
of  the  most  famihar  objects  to  the  naturalist  as  he  skirts  the  man- 
grove-girt creeks  of  the  islands  of  the  ]\Ialay  Archipelago.  Other 
bu-ds  were  few  and  shy,  and  as  it  shortly  afterwards  came  on  to 
rain  hea%dly,  I  returned  to  the  ship.  At  this  time, — the  changing 
of  the  monsoons, — there  is  a  good  deal  of  wet  weather  on  the  island, 
and  the  temperature  is  comparatively  low  during  cloudy  days.  In 
the  cabins  on  board  the  thermometer  registered  from  78-80°  Fahr. 


D 
CO 

z 
< 

>■ 
< 

< 
o 


I.]  THE  GRATER-LAKES.  9 

Our  first  expedition  to  the  crater  -  lakes,  one  of  the  most 
interesting  natural  phenomena  we  met  with  in  these  Eastern  seas, 
was  unsuccessful  owing  to  bad  weather,  but  the  next  day  being  fine, 
we  started  early  in  the  steam  launch  to  visit  them  again.  They 
are  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  about  four  miles  distant 
from  the  south-west  point  off  wliich  we  had  anchored,  and  running 
'along  shore  inside  the  coral-reef,  it  was  not  long  before  we  found 
ourselves  at  the  entrance.  It  was  barely  a  couple  of  hundred  yards 
across,  and  as  we  glided  slowly  in,  the  pale  milky-blue  of  the  water 
on  the  reef  suddenly  gave  place  to  the  deepest  sapphire.  We  had 
altered  our  depth  from  three  feet  to  between  fifty  and  sixty  fathoms, 
and  it  hardly  needed  a  glance  at  the  high  surrounding  walls  and 
circular  shape  of  the  basin  to  tell  us  that  we  were  in  the  crater 
of  an  extinct  volcano  into  which  the  sea  had  at  some  later  period 
irrupted.  A  little  island  at  the  entrance  marks  its  original  boundary 
on  the  side  towards  the  sea,  and  from  this  and  the  almost  unbroken 
regularity  of  the  basin's  circle  it  is  evident  that,  if  the  land  were 
at  the  same  level  then  as  now,  the  sea  had  to  encroach  but  little 
to  burst  into  the  deep  hollow  which  it  fills  at  the  present  tune. 

The  little  lake  and  its  surroundings  were  fairy-like  in  their 
beauty,  but  so  peculiar  in  character,  and  so  rich  in  the  troj)ical 
luxuriance  of  foliage  as  to  give  an  almost  theatrical  effect.  Around 
us  the  dense  jungle  overhung  the  water,  completely  precluding  any 
attempt  to  land,  and  clothed  the  steep  walls  of  the  crater  to  a  height 
of  two  hundred  feet  or  more.  Giant  creepers  had  sprung  from  tree 
to  tree,  and,  choking  the  struggling  vegetable  life  beneath  them 
with  an  impenetrable  mass  of  foliage,  hung  in  long  trailers  towards 
the  margin  of  the  water  below, — a  wealth  of  green  of  every  imagin- 
able shade.  It  has  been  said  over  and  over  again  by  travellers 
that  the  great  masses  of  colour  so  often  seen  in  the  landscapes  of 
the  temperate  zone  are  in  the  tropics  rare  in  the  extreme.  In 
the  dense  forests  of  the  latter  the  glorious  orchids  and  other  flowers 
which  are  the  pride  of  our  hothouses  at  home  are  not  in  reality 
uncommon.     But  they  are  for  the  most  part  hidden  l^y  the  thick 


10  CAGAYAN  SULU.  [chap. 

vegetation,  or  perched  far  out  of  sight  in  the  forks  of  some 
gigantic  tree  overhead.  The  explorer  who  penetrates  the  true 
primeval  forest  in  a  country  such  as  Borneo  finds  himself  at  the 
bottom  of  a  subarboreal  world,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expression, 
with  whose  surface  all  communication  is  absolutely  cut  off.  Yet 
it  is  just  there  that  all  life,  whether  animal  or  vegetable,  centres. 
The  tiny  lorikeets  are  feeding  on  the  figs  or  other  fruit,  and  the 
Arachnotheras  searching  the  corollas  of  some  hea\dly-blossomed 
tree  for  their  insect  prey.  But  they  are  almost  out  of  sight,  and 
far  beyond  the  range  of  the  gun  of  the  naturalist.  Beneath,  the 
forest  seems  gloomy,  dank,  and  devoid  of  life.  Everything  is 
fiirhtincr  for  the  sun  and  air,  in  which  alone  most  flowers  will  come 
to  perfection,  and  could  we  only  transform  ourselves  into  monkeys, 
and  swing  from  branch  to  branch  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  from 
the  ground,  we  should  doubtless  get  a  much  more  favourable  idea 
of  the  richness  of  the  flora  of  the  tropics  than  our  limited  powers 
of  locomotion  permit  us  to  obtain  at  the  foot  of  the  trees.  The 
fact  remains,  however,  that  but  few  flowers  present  themselves 
to  the  eye,  and  those  who  expect  to  find  the  blaze  of  colour  that  a 
field  of  buttercups  exhibits  in  England,  or  an  anemone-clothed  hill 
in  Greece,  will,  as  Mr.  Wallace  and  other  naturalists  have  already 
told  us,  be  much  disappointed.  But  every  one  who  sees  tropical 
vegetation  for  the  first  time  must  be  struck  by  the  great  variety  of 
tint  in  the  foliage.  At  home  our  trees  have  but  little  range  in  the 
gamut  of  green.  Here  they  run  from  a  falsetto  of  vi^ad  greenish- 
yellow  to  an  ut  de  ijoitrine  of  a  colour  that  is  only  just  not  black. 

"We  steamed  across  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  crater,  and  made 
the  launch  fast  to  a  huge  fallen  tree  which  jutted  far  out  over  the 
water.  It  was  half  buried  in  the  rich  soil  at  one  end,  and  was 
covered  with  a  wealth  of  ferns  and  epiphytes.  Above  us  a  large 
creeper  with  inconspicuous  whitish  flowers  had  attracted  an 
enormous  quantity  of  yellow  butterflies,  which  were  apparently 
limited  to  that  one  spot.  They  were  far  beyond  our  reach,  and,  from 
a  collector's  point  of  view,  might  just  as  well  have  been  in  the  other 


!•] 


LAKES  SINGUAN  AND  JITVATA. 


11 


hemisphere.     We  had  brought  with  us  a  trained  fishing  cormorant 
we  had  got  some  months  before  in  Japan.     Life  on  board  ship  was 


LAKES    SINGUAN    AND    JIWATA    FROM    THE    EAST. 


evidently  a  burden  to  him,  and  it  was  resolved  to  release  him  here, 
so  while  we  enjoyed  our  tifiin  he  was  put  overboard  to  seek  his 


12  C AG  AY  AN  SULU.  [chap. 

own.  Immediately  above  iis  a  gap  in  the  cliff  revealed  the 
probable  position  of  the  second  lake,  and  scrambling  up  by  an 
ascent  so  steep  that,  but  for  the  jungle,  it  would  have  been  im- 
practicable, we  found  ourselves  on  a  knife  edge  of  rock  dividing 
the  two  craters.  The  scene  was  a  very  curious  one,  and  we  could 
realise  at  once  the  delight  of  Admiral  Keppel  on  his  discovery  of 
such  an  extraordinary  natural  curiosity.  The  second  lake,  though 
of  somewhat  smaller  size,  is  more  perfectly  circular  than  the 
western  one,  and  though  its  southern  wall  is  only  a  few  yards 
distant  from  the  beach,  the  sea  has,  as  yet,  left  it  unbroken.  The 
level  of  the  water,  which  is  perfectly  fresh,  must  be  fully  forty  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  but  for  the  lessened  height  of  the  surrounding 
walls  the  second  lake  is  almost  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  first. 
Our  only  disappointment  was  that  owing  to  the  denseness  of  the 
vegetation  we  could  obtain  no  photograph  giving  any  idea  of  the 
extraordinary  scene  that  lay  before  us. 

We  scrambled  down  again  in  considerably  less  time  than  we 
had  taken  over  the  ascent,  and  row^ed  round  to  the  sea  side  with 
the  intention  of  hauling  our  "  Berthon  "  boat  through  the  jungle  and 
launching  it  on  the  second  lake.  But  after  a  hard  struggle  we  had 
to  relinquish  the  idea;  the  heat  and  dense  tangle  of  creepers 
proving  too  much  for  us.  The  view  from  the  southern  side  was 
even  more  striking  than  that  we  had  first  obtained,  though  limited 
by  the  masses  of  foliage  which,  combined  with  the  steepness  of  the 
cliffs,  prevented  our  descent  to  the  water's  edge.  Opposite  to  where 
we  stood  the  almost  perpendicular  crater  wall  was  hidden  by 
enormous  creepers,  but  to  our  left  the  deep  gap  by  which  we  had 
ascended  from  the  western  lake  stood  out  bare  and  rocky,  the  cliffs 
rising  a  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  little  pass.  The  water 
below  us  lacked  the  deep  sapphire  blue  of  the  other  basin.  We 
watched  its  unruffled  surface  in  vain  for  any  trace  of  the  crocodiles 
which  are  said  by  the  natives  to  haunt  it  in  abundance. 

Our  search  for  shells  and  beetles  was  rather  unproductive.  Of 
the  former  only  some  common  species  and  a  single  valve  of  a  huge 


I.]  BIGHARA   WITH  THE  PANGEEANG.  13 

Tridacna  were  found.  I  had  never  met  with  this  except  on  the 
floor  of  a  museum,  and  the  first  sight  of  the  monstrous  shell  on  a 
lonely  sea -beach  is  one  not  easily  forgotten.  We  were  more 
fortunate  with  the  birds,  and  though  a  good  many  were  lost  in  the 
jungle,  we  shot  a  large  fruit-eating  pigeon  which  I  had  hoped  might 
prove  to  be  a  new  species  {CariKypliaga  23ickeringi,  Cass.)  It  had, 
however,  I  afterwards  found,  been  once  before  obtained  upon  a 
small  island  off  the  Bornean  coast  by  the  United  States  Exploring 
Expedition.  On  the  shore  of  the  outer  lake,  close  to  the  sea,  we 
found  some  curious  masses  of  coarse  conglomerate,  and  several 
blocks  of  scoriaceous  rock  of  large  size. 

The  land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  crater-lakes  seemed  to  be 
but  little  inhabited,  and  the  only  hut  we  saw  was  a  miserable 
tumble -down  aftair,  open  on  two  sides.  Near  our  anchorage, 
however,  the  groves  of  fruit-trees  and  coconuts  hid  a  good  number 
of  scattered  dwellings  which,  like  almost  every  hut  throughout 
Malaysia  from  the  Nicobars  to  New  Guinea,  were  built  upon  piles. 
The  house  of  the  Pangerang  would  have  been  pleasant  enough  even 
for  a  European  to  live  in,  for  in  a  climate  where  it  is  "always 
afternoon  "  domestic  wants  are  few.  On  our  return  visit  to  him 
he  welcomed  us  with  evident  pleasure,  and  we  sat  down  to  tobacco 
and  a  long  hicliara}  Although  not  dressed  in  any  way  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  the  other  natives,  with  the  exception  of  his 
turban,  he  was  intellectually  of  a  very  different  stamp.  In  his 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca, — for  he  was  a  Hadji, — he  had  seen  men  and 
things,  and  evidently  felt  his  superiority  to  the  rest  of  the  islanders. 
He  offered  us  guides  for  our  excursions,  and  talked  long  about  the 
Spaniards,  whose  reputation  for  cruelty  still  seems  to  linger  here, 
adding  that  he  wished  the  English  would  take  the  island  instead. 

^  Tlie  meaning  of  this  word  the  traveller  in  the  Malay  Islands  is  not  long  in 
learning.  It  corresponds  to  the  African  palaver,  and,  whether  for  business  or 
pleasure,  is  met  with  under  different  names  in  most  countries  in  the  world.  Its 
great  art  lies  in  saying  as  little  as  possible  in  the  most  protracted  time.  The 
information  usually  obtained  in  a  bichara  of  ordinary  length  would  "boil  down,"  to 
use  the  language  of  the  Fourth  Estate,  into  half  a  dozen  lines  of  letterpress. 


14  CAGAYAN  SULU.  [chap. 

Two  or  three  of  his  wives  sat  wdth  us  in  the  hut  and  spoke 
occasionally,  for  though  the  people  of  Cagayan  Sulu  are  ]\Ioham- 
medans,  as  is  the  case  throughout  the  islands  of  the  Indian 
Archipelago  wherever  semi -civilisation  and  the  ]\Ialay  element 
prevail,  the  position  of  woman  is  very  different  to  that  which 
she  occupies  in  Turkey.  Here,  unveiled,  and  free  to  go  about 
wherever  she  pleases,  she  is  a  distinct  personage  in  the  household. 

We  noticed  at  one  end  of  the  room  an  ingenious  contrivance  to 
produce  the  sam'e  effect  as  a  rocking-cradle  does  upon  a  European 
baby.  The  little  basket- woven  cot  was  suspended  in  the  middle  of 
a  long  bamboo,  which  rested  horizontally  two  or  three  feet  from 
the  floor,  supported  at  the  two  ends  only.  A  slight  downward  pull 
produced  a  vertical  motion,  which,  owing  to  the  great  elasticity  of 
the  bamboo  pole,  lasted  for  a  considerable  time.  We  afterwards 
saw  a  similar  method  adopted  in  the  Sulu  Archipelago. 

On  the  31st  of  March  we  paid  a  third  visit  to  the  craters  in 
company  with  the  Pangerang.  We  had  heard  rumours  of  the  exist- 
ence of  a  third  lake  resembling  the  other  two,  and  were  anxious  to 
investigate  the  truth  of  them.  But  as  it  w^as  said  to  be  in  close 
proximity  to  the  others,  we  hardly  thought  that  it  could  be  anything 
of  importance.  Not  only  had  Admiral  Keppel  visited  the  lakes  on 
two  occasions,  but  Captain  Chimmo,  during  the  visit  of  H.M.S. 
Nassau  m  1871,  had  completed  an  apparently  accurate  survey  of 
the  island,  so  there  was  but  little  chance  of  any  further  discoveries. 
Skirting  the  mangrove  and  pandanus-lined  shores,  we  reached  the 
lakes  in  heav}^  rain,  and  forced  our  way  througli  the  dripping  jungle 
to  the  eastward,  when,  to  our  astonishment,  at  a  distance  of  a  few 
yards  only  from  the  second  lake,  w^e  came  upon  yet  another  of  an 
almost  exactly  similar  nature.  It  was  of  rather  smaller  size  than 
the  others,  being  two -fifths  instead  of  three -fifths  of  a  mile  in 
diameter,  but  the  basin  was  perfectly  circular,  and  filled  with  water 
to  about  the  level  of  the  second  lake.  Thick  jungle  clothed  the 
precipitous  sides,  but  the  latter,  instead  of  running  sheer  down  into 
the  water,  left  room  for  a  small  beach,  on  which  some  wild  bananas 


I.] 


DISCOVER  A   THIRD  CRATER-LAKE. 


15 


were  growing.  "We  had  no  means  of  trying  the  depth  of  the  water, 
but  in  the  other  two  Admiral  Keppel  foimd  bottom  at  fifty-five 
and  thirty -nine  fathoms  respectively.  The  torrents  of  ram  that 
descended  prevented  our  attempting  photography,  but  we  returned 
to  the  sliip  much  pleaded  at  our  unexpected  discovery. 


PANDAXUS. 


From  our  friend  the  Pangerang  and  other  sources  we  obtained 
some  general  information  on  the  island.  Colonised  originally  from 
Sulu,  though  at  what  date  appears  uncertain,  there  is  still  a  certain 
amoimt  of  communication  with  that  group  of  islands  as  well  as 
with  Sandakan  at  the  north-east  end  of  Borneo.  The  lan^uase  is 
purely  Sulu,  but  many  of  the  people  speak  JNIalay,  the  lingua 
franca  of  the  Indian  Archipelago.  Some  years  ago  they  suffered 
much  from  the  raids  of  Sulu  pirates,  the  last  of  which  occurred  in 


16  CAGAYAN  SULU.  [chap. 

1863,  but  these  pests,  who  established  tlieir  stronghold  among  the 
labyrinth  of  shoals  on  the  south  of  Tawi-tawi  Island,  have  of  late 
been  held  in  check  by  the  Spanish,  and  before  long  will,  no  doubt, 
have  entirely  disappeared.  The  only  trade  is  in  coconut  oil,  but 
the  yam,  banana,  sweet-potato,  cotton-tree,  and  tobacco  are 
cultivated.  Liberian  coffee,  cacao,  and  sugar  ought  all  to  do  well, 
and  the  soil  appears  to  be  particularly  adapted  for  gTowing  the  two 
former,  but  we  saw  none  upon  the  island.  The  greater  part  of  the 
agricultural  work  is  done  by  the  women,  while  the  men  employ 
themselves  in  fishing,  managing  their  crank  dug-out  canoes  with 
great  dexterity.  They  also  make  use  of  rafts  made  of  large 
bamboos  lashed  together — a  species  of  craft  that  I  do  not  remember 
to  have  seen  anywhere  else  in  tliis  part  of  the  world. 

There  are  apparently  no  horses,  in  spite  of  their  being  so  abun- 
dant in  Sulu,  but  cattle  of  a  small  breed  are  much  used  for  riding 
purposes.  They  are  never  milked,  but  the  Pangerang  informed 
us  that  this  was  merely  because  no  one  knew^  how  to  perform  the 
operation.  The  island  is  said  to  be  very  healthy,  but  in  1873 
smallpox  appeared,  and  almost  exterminated  the  people.  During 
this  terrible  scourge,  in  many  villages  of  thirty  or  forty  souls  but 
one  or  two  were  left  alive,  and  as  many  as  1000  are  said  to  have 
perished.    At  the  present  time  the  population  is  probably  under  3000. 

Eare  as  the  visit  of  a  ship  of  any  kind  must  be,  our  appearance 
seemed  to  ■  excite  but  little  curiosity  among  the  natives,  and  we 
wandered  about  the  island  almost  unnoticed.  Our  men  were 
allowed  a  run  ashore,  and  were  full  of  yarns  on  their  return.  One, 
a  new  hand  in  the  tropics,  to  whom  the  lex  non  scri2)ta  which 
declares  coconuts  to  be  invariably  private  property  was  unknown, 
ascended  a  palm  and  proceeded  to  possess  himself  of  the  spoil. 
The  result  we  afterwards  overheard  in  a  fo'c'sle  conversation,  "  Well, 
mates,  ye  see  I  was  just  a  reachin'  out  of  my  hand  for  to  grab  'em, 
when.  Lord  save  me,  if  there  wer'n't  a  fox  came  and  poked  his 
nose  out  just  agen  mine !  I  reckon  I  fetched  down  again  pretty 
quick.     Blessed  if  ever  I  see  such  a  rummy  country  afore,  where 


I.]  ASCENT  OF  A   VOLCANO.  17 

the  foxes  runs  up  trees!"  The  dragon  guarding  Jack's  golden 
apples  was,  I  need  hardly  say,  a  Pteropus  or  Mymg  Fox, — one  of  the 
large  frugivorous  bats  so  abundant  throughout  the  Malay  Islands. 

One  of  our  excursions  was  to  the  summit  of  a  small  volcano  on 
the  west  side  of  the  island.  Our  path  led  through  the  coconut 
plantation,  where,  if  we  chose  to  stand  and  watch  steadily  the 
crowns  of  the  palms  some  forty  feet  or  more  above  our  heads,  the 
restless  movements  of  numbers  of  brilliant  little  sun- birds  could  be 
noticed,  their  dark  forms  changing  momentarily  into  a  flash  of 
metallic  violet  as  they  passed  from  beneath  the  shadow  of  the 
fronds.  They  were  all  of  one  species,  Antliothreptes  malaccensis, 
a  common  bird  which,  with  slight  variations  in  plumage,  is  found 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  Malaysia.  The  hill — for  being  only 
400  feet  in  height,  the  volcano  cannot  be  dignified  by  any  more 
imposing  title — rises  gently  in  the  form  of  an  abruptly-truncated 
cone,  and  bears  evidence  of  tolerably  recent  formation,  for  its 
slopes  were  covered  by  the  bright  green  lalang  grass  only,  and  the 
jungle  had  not  as  yet  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  footing.  In 
countries  farther  removed  from  the  equator  the  traces  of  volcanic 
eruptions  may  remain  almost  unaltered  for  centuries,  but  in  these 
lands  of  perpetual  summer  the  combined  action  of  a  powerful  sun 
and  heavy  rain  rapidly  disintegrates  the  lavas,  and  prepares  a 
surface  soil  for  the  reception  of  seeds.  Ere  long  the  sea  of  tropical 
vegetation  has  closed  over  the  spot,  and  the  smaller  size  of  the 
jungle  trees  alone  reveals  it  to  the  traveller's  eye.  Some  months 
later,  while  in  the  island  of  Sumbawa,  we  came  across  a  well- 
marked  instance  of  this  kind  on  the  slopes  of  the  huge  Tambora 
volcano,  whose  terrific  eruption  in  April,  1815,  caused  the  death  of 
12,000  people.  The  wavy  course  of  a  lava-stream,  though  doubtless 
unrecognisable  on  the  spot  itself,  could  be  traced  with  the  greatest 
ease  from  the  ship.  Nature's  wound  had  no  doubt  skinned  over 
rapidly  enough,  but  the  scar  still  remained. 

Arriving  at  the  summit  we  found  an  evenly-shaped  crater 
nearly  100  feet  in  depth,  its  sides  clothed  with  trees  of  no  great 
VOL.  II.  c 


^ 


CAGAYAN  SULU.  [chaf. 


size.  To  the  south,  and  quite  close  to  us,  lay  two  other  hills,  also 
evidently  volcanic.  Our  elevation,  though  little  enough,  was 
sufficient  to  afford  us  a  good  view  of  the  island,  which  in  every 
direction  appeared  to  he  comparatively  free  from  jungle,  though 
scattered  belts  of  palms  and  fruit-trees  were  abundant.  Ledan^ 
a  curiously-shaped  mountain,  rising  like  a  bold  hump  of  rock 
abruptly  from  the  level  country  around  it,  was  a  very  striking 
object  to  the  east,  and  farther  to  the  right  a  sharper  peak,  hollowed 
on  its  southern  face,  indicated  the  position  of  the  tlu-ee  crater-lakes. 
On  our  return  we  gathered  large  bunches  of  a  Jessamine  almost 
exactly  resembling  our  own,  but  with  slightly  larger  and  more 
fragTant  flowers.  The  Mussccnda,  with  its  striking  wliite  bracts 
contrasting  with  the  green  foliage  and  orange  flowers,  was  also  very 
abundant. 

In  the  course  of  one  of  our  conversations  with  the  Pangerang 
he  had  mentioned  the  fact  that  diu'ing  the  months  of  April,  IMay, 
and  June  there  are  often  strong  winds  from  the  S.W.,  and  on  our 
inquiring  for  the  best  anchorage  at  this  season,  he  told  us  that 
there  was  an  excellent  harbour  on  the  north  coast.  We  were 
provided  with  Captain.  Chimmo's  chart,  but  beyond  a  mere  un- 
protected anchorage  on  this  side  of  the  island,  nothing  of  the  sort  was 
indicated  in  it,  and  we  told  our  friend  that  we  thought  he  was  prob- 
ably mistaken.  He  stuck  to  his  point,  however,  and  accordingly  one 
afternoon  we  set  off  in  the  steam  launch  with  him  to  explore.  The 
western  point  of  the  island  is  apparently  formed  by  an  abrupt 
headland  known  to  the  natives  as  Tanjong  Tavo-tavo,  but  in  reality 
an  intervening  creek  forms  it  into  an  islet.  Entering  this  channel 
we  found  that  it  expanded  into  a  small  lagoon  'with  a  little  island 
in  the  centre — if  indeed  a  clump  of  trees  growing  straight  from  the 
water  can  be  termed  an  island.  It  was  crowded  with  '\'\liimbrels 
{Numenius  uropygialis,  Gould.),  who  were  balancing  themselves  un- 
easily upon  the  branches, — a  common  habit  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  Xothing  is  more  curious  than  the  adoption  by  certain  bu'ds 
of  habits   which,   from  anatomical    reasons,   we    know   must    be 


I.]  YACHT  BAY.  19 

extremely  inconvenient  to  tlieni.  Without  power  of  grasping  in 
its  foot,  and  with  its  great  length  of  leg,  few  birds  would  seem  less 
adapted  for  an  arboreal  life  than  the  whimbrel.  But  in  these 
regions,  as  in  others,  necessity  has  no  law^s.  The  dense  growth  of 
mangrove  has  here  overrun  the  sandy  beaches  and  oozy  fiats  which 
are  the  favourite  haunts  of  this  genus  in  temperate  countries,  and 
hence,  in  company  with  our  Common  Sandpiper  and  the  equally 
wide-ranoing  Turnstone,  both  of  which  were  also  abundant  in  this 
locality,  no  other  choice  of  a  resting-place  is  offered  them.^ 

Beyond  the  lagoon  the  channel  became  so  narrow  as  hardly 
to  admit  of  the  passage  of  the  launch,  and  finally  opened  out  on 
the  north  side  of  the  island  into  what  would  have  been,  but  for 
the  presence  of  a  coral-reef  completely  across  the  entrance,  a  most 
admirable  harbour.  We  were  quite  prepared  to  have  this  pointed 
out  to  us  as  the  object  of  our  search,  but  the  Pangerang  made  no 
sign,  and  turning  eastwards,  w^e  pursued  our  course  for  about  half 
a  mile,  until  we  suddenly  came  upon  it.  It  was  as  good  a  harbour 
as  could  be  desired  during  the  south-west  monsoon,  well  protected 
to  the  east  and  west  by  reefs,  and  having  an  average  depth  of  fifteen 
fathoms,  with  a  sandy  bottom.  That  it  had  pre^dously  escaped 
observation  was  no  doubt  due  to  the  fact  of  its  being  formed  princi- 
pally by  the  coral-reefs. 

Our  discovery,  although  perhaps  not  so  interesting  as  that  of 
the  third  crater-lake,  was  a  useful  one,  and  we  devoted  the  re- 
mainder of  that  and  the  whole  of  the  following  day  to  making  a 
sketch  survey.  The  shore  of  Yacht  Bay,  as  we  named  it,  was 
sandy — somewhat  of  a  rarity  on  the  coral  and  mangTove-gut  coasts 
of  the  island — and  formed  an  ideal  place  for  a  picnic.  Beliind  us 
the  tall  jungle  threw  a  pleasant  shade  over  the  little  beach,  whose 
margin  was  lapped  by  a  waveless  sea,  its  only  sign  of  hfe  the  almost 
inaudible  swish  with  wliich  it  advanced  or  retired  over  the  cool 
white  sand.     We  ate  our  tiffin  beneath  a  large  Barringtonia,  whose 

^  The  whimbrel  has  been  said  {"  Ibis,"'  1879,  p.  142)  to  build  its  nest  in  trees  in 
some  parts  of  Celebes.     The  statement,  however,  is  one  which  requires  confirmation. 


20  CAGAYAN  SULU.  [chap.  i. 

branches,  thickly  clothed  with  broad  fleshy  leaves,  stretched  far 
out  over  the  water.  The  tree  w^as  in  fruit  and  flower,  and  its 
bright-stamened,  tassel-like  blossoms  and  large  quadrangular  nuts 
carpeted  the  ground  below.  The  latter  is  a  "  common  object  of  the 
seashore "  in  the  Malay  Islands,  and  is  much  used  by  natives  to 
catch  flsh.  The  fruit  is  pounded  and  thrown  into  the  water,  and 
the  fish,  rising  to  the  surface  in  a  stupefied  condition,  are  easily 
secured. 

We  were  too  much  occupied  to  spend  our  time  in  searching  for 
objects  of  natural  history,  but  the  forest  by  the  beach  seemed 
silent  and  deserted.  Animal  life  indeed,  so  far  as  we  could  judge 
from  our  short  visit,  appeared  singularly  meagre  in  Cagayan  Sulu, 
a  fact  that  is  perhaps  accounted  for  by  the  island  being,  geologically 
speaking,  of  comparatively  recent  formation.  Crocodiles  and 
Hydrosauri  of  course  exist,  and,  according  to  the  natives,  the  rat 
and  the  Kraw  {Macacus  cynomolgus),  a  common  Bornean  monkey. 
We  did  not,  however,  obtain  either  of  the  two  latter.  With  regard 
to  the  birds,  the  few  species  we  collected  or  identified  were 
interesting,  as  showing  the  island  to  have  been  peopled  with 
immigrants  both  from  the  Philippines  and  Borneo,  though,  as 
might  be  expected  from  its  proximity,  chiefly  from  the  latter 
country.-^  We  were  fortunate  enough,  in  spite  of  the  comparative 
paucity  of  birds,  to  find  one  new  species — a  pretty  thrush-breasted 
Mixornis — closely  allied  to  a  Bornean  bird  of  that  genus ;  and  on 
the  whole,  taking  into  consideration  our  two  other  discoveries,  we 
felt  that  our  visit  to  this  little-known  "  gem  of  the  ocean  "  had  not 
been  entirely  unsuccessful. 

^  Cf.  Paper  by  the  author  on  Cagayan  Sulu  :  "  Proceedings  Zoolog.  Soc. ."  1885, 
p.  417. 


^JXf- 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    SULU   ISLANDS. 

"We  embark  a  Rajah  —  A  perfect  calm  —  Arrive  at  Meimbun  —  Scenes  on  the 
ileimbun  River — The  Sultan's  Istana — The  Sultan  of  Sulu — Unsettled  state  of 
the  island — Visit  of  the  Sultan  to  the  MarcJiesa — Parangs  and  spears — Xatural 
history  rambles  on  the  island — Beauty  of  the  scenery — Sun-birds  and  other 
birds — C'innyris  jiclicc — The  Rajah's  village — A  Sulu  cemetery — Second  visit  of 
the  Sultan  with  his  wives — Domestic  broils — The  ladies  of  the  harem — Cockatoo 
shooting. 

"We  Ijade  adieu  to  our  Mend  Hadji  Usman,  the  Pangerang,  and 
left  Cagavan  Sulu  on  the  3rd  of  April.  Our  destination  was 
Sandakan  Bay,  about  fifty  or  sixty  miles  due  south,  where  there  is 
a  settlement  of  the  Xorth  Borneo  Company.  Here  and  in  the 
neighbourhood  we  spent  about  a  fortnight,  luit  as  we  afterwards 
returned  for  a  more  lengthened  visit,  I  will  leave  my  account  of 
the  new  territory  and  the  doings  of  the  somewhat  anomalous  form 
of  government  which  administers  it  for  the  present,  and  proceed 
to  the  more  attractive  islands  of  the  Sulu  Archipelago. 

Our  ship's  company  had  increased  in  numbers  since  our 
northern  cruise.  Before  lea\dng  Hongkong  we  had  been  fortunate 
enough  to  obtain  the  ser\dces  of  Mr.  Griffith,  the  well-known 
photographer  in  that  city,  and  it  is  chiefly  from  the  beautiful 
negatives  obtained  by  him  on  our  cruise  in  these  waters  that  my 
illustrations  of  tropical  types  and  scenery  are  engTaved.  At 
Sandakan  we  made  friends  with  a  little  so-called  Piajah,  to  whom, 
with  his  suite  of  three  Sulu  attendants,  we  gave  a  passage  to 


22  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

Meimbun  in  Sulu  Island.  He  was  a  lively  little  youngster  of  about 
fourteen,  who  had  been  a  great  favourite  of  the  last  Sultan  of  Sulu, 
and  had  apparently  acquired  a  good  many  of  his  sovereign's 
despotic  habits,  for  the  way  in  wliich  he  ordered  about  his 
followers  was  most  amusing.  He  smoked  native  rokos  or  cigarettes 
incessantly  when  he  could  not  get  ours,  and  his  chief  amusement 
seemed  to  be  the  rapt  contemplation  of  the  two  or  three  tinsel  and 
gold  embroidered  hajus  that  constituted  his  wardrobe.  Our  own 
native  servants  were  two  in  number ;  Ismail,  a  Singapore  Malay, 
and  a  Sulu  boy  named  Usman,  both  of  whom  we  had  taught  to 
collect  and  skin  bu'ds. 

We  left  the  shores  of  Borneo  behind  us  on  the  afternoon  of 
April  19th,  and  set  our  course  westward  for  Sulu.  The  northern 
part  of  this  extensive  archipelago  is  but  little  known,  and  the 
curi'ents  are  strong  and  uncertain,  and  hence  it  is  necessary  to  be 
careful  not  to  approach  the  network  of  shoals  and  islands  before 
daylight.  The  following  morning  we  found  that  we  had  been  set 
considerably  to  the  northward  by  the  current,  instead  of  to  the 
south,  as  we  had  been  informed  by  the  Sandakan  people  would  be 
the  case.  The  mountains  of  the  island  of  Sulu,  among  which 
Buat  Timantangis  was  especially  conspicuous,  were  \isible  far  away 
to  the  E.S.E.,  and  altering  course  so  as  to  pass  through  the 
Pangutarang  Channel,  we  rapidly  approached  them.  I  have  never, 
in  the  whole  course  of  my  wanderings,  seen  a  calmer  sea  than  that 
wliich  lay  before  us.  Not  only  was  its  burnished  surface  unbroken 
by  a  single  breath  of  air,  but  no  trace  of  a  swell  was  visible  to  mar 
the  glassy  plane.  Everything  was  aglow  with  the  heat.  The  little 
puffs  of  white  cloud  were  reflected  in  the  oily  mirror  with  mar- 
vellous distinctness,  and  sea  and  sky  blended  in  a  shade  of  silvery 
grey  towards  the  in^dsible  horizon.  A  mile  or  more  away  the 
flying-fish  were  visible,  little  dark  specks  that  regained  the  sea 
only  to  leave  a  larger,  darker  speck  behind  them — the  ripples 
:ihat  marked  their  disappearance ;  and  far  astern  of  us  we  could 
see  our  track  widening  almost  to  infinity — a  series  of  parallel  black 


II.]  SULU  ISLAND.  23 

streaks  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  other  merely  a  trace  of  grey. 
It  was  a  relief  to  turn  and  watch  the  land  we  were  approaching ; 
a  second  and  almost  more  beautiful  edition  of  Cagayan  Sulu.  A 
dark  mass  of  jungle-covered  mountain,  half  hidden  in  mist  and 
rain-cloud,  dimly  overtopped  the  lower  slopes,  where  the  bright 
green  lalang  grass  was  dotted  here  and  there  with  trees,  or  varied 
by  patches  of  a  deep  brownish-red,  which  marked  the  plots  of 
cultivated  gTOund.  Farther  to  the  south  the  cone-shaped  peak  of 
Mount  Tulipan  proclaimed  itself  a  volcano,  and  as  the  Marchesa 
rounded  the  western  point  and  made  for  the  harbour  of  Meimbun 
on  the  south  side,  the  thick  plantations  of  coconuts  and  fruit- 
trees  that  lined  the  shore  spoke  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The 
praus  that  lay  becalmed  around  us  had  their  sails  of  the  most 
glowing  colours,  in  stripes  of  red  and  blue  and  orange,  and  seen 
under  the  light  of  an  afternoon  sun  with  their  details  softened  by 
the  haze,  the  effect  was  quite  as  Venetian  as  Venice,  where,  alas ! 
these  beauty-spots  of  the  landscape  are  now  no  longer  common 
except  upon  an  artist's  canvas. 

AVe  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  little  river  on  which  the 
village  of  Meimbun  is  built,  and  a  few  canoes  with  bamboo 
outriggers  on  both  sides  came  round  us  somewhat  mistrustfully. 
The  Spaniards  are  hated  by  the  Sulus,  and  there  has  been  war 
a  outrance  between  them  for  a  couple  of  centuries  or  more,  with  but 
few  intervals  of  peace.  The  sight  of  their  fellow-countrymen  on 
board  our  vessel  soon  allayed  the  suspicions  of  the  natives,  and 
ha\ing  established  our  nationality,  we  put  our  little  Eajah  and  his 
followers  into  one  of  our  boats,  and  rowed  ashore  to  explore  the 
village. 

Had  I  to  introduce  my  reader  to  the  most  un-European  scene 
I  know  of,  I  think  I  should  ask  him  to  take  a  seat  with  me  in  a 
native  canoe,  and  paddle  up  the  graceful  windings  of  the  Meimbun 
Eiver.  At  its  mouth  the  huts,  built  on  sea- weed-covered  piles,  form 
each  a  separate  island.  Their  floors  are  raised  a  bare  three  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  water,  and  one  needs  no  better  e^ddence  of 


24  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

the  fact  that  here,  at  least,  we  are  in  stormless  seas.  On  the  pahu- 
stem  platforms  in  front  of  the  entrance  the  natives  squat,  while 
around  are  playing  half  a  dozen  naked  little  cupids,  now  plunging 
into  the  water,  now  paddling  races  in  miniature  canoes.  A  little 
farther  and  we  enter  the  river,  whose  water  is  so  clear  and  pure 
and  bright  that  one  longs  to  tumble  in,  clothes  and  all,  and  squatter 
about  in  it  with  the  brown-skinned  little  urchins  around  us.  Close 
to  the  banks  lies  the  market-place,  a  picturesque  jumble  of  ponies, 
ripe  bananas,  red  sarongs,  palm -leaf  stalls,  and  flashing  spears. 
Beyond,  the  sea-going  praus  are  hauled  up  on  shore,  their  unwieldy 
sterns  a  mass  of  quaint  car\dng.  Then  through  a  tiny  reach 
bordered  by  the  jSTipa  palm,  whose  graceful  fronds,  thirty  or  forty 
feet  in  length,  spring  directly  from  the  stream,  and  we  find 
ourselves  in  a  sort  of  upper  town,  where  the  houses  are  built  with 
seeming  indifference  either  in  or  out  of  the  water.  The  place  is 
the  absolute  perfection  of  beauty  and  untidiness.  Overhead  the 
eye  rests  on  a  wealth  of  verdure — bamboo,  banana,  durian,  jack- 
fruit,  and  the  arrowy  betel-palm  with  its  golden  egg-like  nuts.  In 
these  happy  climes  man's  needs  grow  at  his  very  door.  Cold  and 
hunger,  misery  and  want,  are  words  without  a  meaning.  Civilisa- 
tion is  far  off  indeed,  and,  for  the  moment  at  least,  we  have  no 
desire  for  it. 

Before  us  lie  the  houses.  They  are  rickety  enough  certainly, 
and  their  walls  of  yellow  attap  gape  sufhciently  to  show  us  a 
slumbering  Sulu  within,  his  murderous-looking  kris  at  his  hip. 
But  there  are  no  north -casters  here,  and  he  is  doubtless  quite 
happy.  That  man  should  live  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  is  true 
here  in  its  most  literal  sense.  But  it  is  not  so  metaphorically,  and 
our  sleeping  friend  will  not  even  have  to  get  up  and  feed  the  pigs 
and  chickens  that  are  routing  around  the  piles  of  his  hut.  Bounti- 
ful Nature  supplies  food  for  them  also,  and,  in  domestic  language, 
they  have  to  "  find  themselves." 

A  little  bridge  spans  the  river  at  this  point.  It  is  constructed 
of  a  single  plank  of  the  ISTibong  palm,  with  a  light  bamboo  handrail. 


II.]  MEIMBUN.  25 

and  is  in  keeping  with  the  quaint  novehy  of  the  scene  around. 
Were  I  to  land  my  reader  here,  with  the  not  unnecessary  i^recaution 
of  informing  the  natives  that  he  is  an  orang  Ingris,  and  not  an 
orang  Castillan,  he  might  wander  unharmed  about  the  village. 
But  the  river  beyond  is  too  tempting  to  leave  unexplored.  Once 
past  the  huts  the  vegetation  closes  in  on  either  side,  forming  a 
picture-frame  of  tropical  foliage  around  the  cone-shaped  summit  of 
Buat  Timantangis.  A  brilliant  flash  of  blue  shoots  arrow -like 
across  the  stream.  It  is  a  kingfisher,  whose  close  resemblance  to 
our  own  well-known  species  is  the  only  link  in  our  surroundings 
connecting  us  with  home.  The  little  white  cockatoos,  diminutive 
brethren  of  the  familiar  Australian  bird,  fly  in  small  parties  over 
our  heads,  and  here  and  there  a  golden  oriole  sits  like  some  brilliant 
yellow  blossom  amid  the  mass  of  foliage.  Ere  my  reader  disem- 
barks with  me  at  the  Istana,  and  walks  up  to  pay  a  visit  to  the 
Sultan,  he  will — or  ought  to — allow  that  as  far  as  regards  beauty 
of  scenery,  there  are  few  places  more  favoured  than  the  island 
of  Sulu. 

On  the  occasion  of  our  first  landing  we  did  not  go  far.  Leaving 
the  river  we  struck  off  to  the  right  into  an  open  country,  where  a 
number  of  young  teak -trees  were  growing.  The  ground  was 
covered  with  small  lumps  of  lava  and  scoria?,  the  relics  of  some 
former  eruption,  and  luit  for  the  thick  growth  of  grass  above  it, 
walking  would  have  been  far  from  pleasant.  The  views  of  the 
country  inland  were  lovely,  but  the  ardour  of  our  chase  after  the 
many  new  objects  of  natural  history  around  us  was  a  little  damped 
by  our  Sulu  boy,  Usman,  who,  after  wandering  aljout  in  a  state  of 
perturbation  from  one  to  the  other  of  us,  finally  begged  that  we 
would  keep  together  and  not  go  far  from  him.  The  Sulus,  we 
learnt,  were  apt  to  be  unnecessarily  hasty  in  their  actions,  and 
might  not  perhaps  allow  us  sufficient  time  for  explanations  were 
they  to  meet  us.  We  had  every  desire  to  keep  our  heads  upon 
our  shoulders,  and  it  was  therefore  thought  better  to  pay  our 
respects  to  the  Sultan,  and  make  ourselves  generally  known  in  our 


26  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

ordinaiy  umiiangled  condition.  In  Sulu  every  prospect  pleases 
with  the  single  exception  of  being  mistaken  for  a  Spaniard. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  found  ourselves  at  the  Istana, — the 
Sultan's  residence, — an  unmterestmg  building  enough  from  the 
outside.  It  is  placed  close  to  the  river,  and  opposite,  across  a 
short  stretch  of  turf,  is  a  long,  low  building  with  latticed  windows 
devoted  to  the  ladies  of  his  harem.  The  door  of  the  Istana  was 
guarded  by  two  Sikhs,  bushy-whiskered  and  moustached.  In  the 
Malay  Archipelago  one  gets  accustomed  to  rubbing  against  men  of 
almost  every  race  and  language  under  the  sun,  always  excepting 
Europeans,  who  are  rarities.  Chinese,  Goa  Portuguese — the  curious 
nondescripts  that  are  classed  under  the  name  of  burghers  in  Ceylon, 
the  orang  sirani  or  Xazarenes  of  the  Malays — Sikhs,  Bombay 
tamhis,  nay,  even  Swahilis,  all  these  I  have  met  with.  One  would 
not  be  astonished  at  the  appearance  of  a  Hottentot  or  a  Xorth 
American  Indian,  but  if  the  Sultan  had  any  in  his  suite  he  did  not 
show  them.  Two  curiosities,  howev^er,  there  w^ere  at  the  palace 
doors  which  seemed  more  incongruous  still, — a  couple  of  carriages 
which  had  been  presented  to  the  late  sultan.  There  are  no  roads 
in  the  island,  and  they  were  rotting  slowly  away  imder  the  action 
of  the  weather,  just  as  the  Sulu  power  is  rotting  before  that  of 
Spain. 

AVe  were  told  that  the  Sultan  would  see  us,  and  entered  to  find 
ourselves  in  a  large  room.  It  was  floored  in  the  rudest  manner, 
but  the  walls  and  ceiluig  were  hung  wdth  coloiu-ed  cloth.  In  the 
centre  was  a  large  Turkish  lamp,  such  as  one  sees  in  the  bazaars  at 
Constantinople,  but  it  was  ahnost  the  only  ornamental  article 
^dsible.  An  old  "four-poster"  bedstead  occupied  one  corner, 
e\'idently  a  production  of  the  country,  and  with  the  footboard 
rather  well  carved ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  room  was  taken  up 
by  a  gigantic  divan  about  fourteen  feet  square,  covered  with  carpet, 
and  with  seats  round  the  tlu'ee  sides. 

We  waited  a  good  half  hour  in  company  with  about  thirty 
natives,  who  probably   belonged   m   some   way  to  the   Sultan's 


II.]  THE  SULTAN  OF  SULU.  27 

retinue.  They  were  armed,  as  indeed  is  almost  every  Sulu,  with 
spear  and  ^jorrni//,  and  looked  as  if  they  might  be  unpleasant 
enough  if  called  upon  to  use  them.  One  or  two  who  spoke  Malay 
came  forward  and  chatted,  and  we  were  amused  by  the  intense 
astonishment  that  they  expressed  at  our  walking-stick  guns,  which 
we  had  brought  instead  of  our  usual  12-bores  for  fear  of  creating 
an  alarm.  Presently  a  stir  was  heard  and  the  Sultan  entered.  He 
was  dressed  in  a  purple  velvet  jacket  trimmed  with  gold  lace,  a 
gold-embroidered  flat  Malay  fez  with  a  turban  round  it,  a  coloui'ed 
silk  sarong,  and  European  trousers.  His  age  appeared  to  be  not 
more  than  nineteen  or  twenty,  and  his  expression,  though  somewhat 
nervous,  was  not  unpleasing.  Behind  him  came  an  unprepossessing 
individual  with  a  revolver  in  his  hand,  loaded  and  cocked,  the 
muzzle  of  which  he  happily  kept  directed  towards  the  ceiling,  and 
a  numerous  retinue  of  hangers-on,  among  whom  was  an  attendant 
bearing  a  silver  betel-box,  and  a  small  case  which  contained  Chinese 
tobacco  and  the  thin  Xipa  leaves  which,  in  these  countries,  are  the 
substitutes  for  cigarette  papers. 

The  Sultan's  title  is  Paduka  Baginda  yang  di  per  Tuan  Maulana 
Sultan  Mohammed  Budderooddin,  but  he  advanced  and  shook 
hands.  Doubtless  he  is  a  Lord  of  Elephants,  Emperor  of  Pearls, 
and  the  like,  Ijut  the  above  is  the  correct  designation  of  His  Ptoyal 
Highness,  accordmg  to  his  \-isiting-card, — a  packet  of  these  not 
very  necessary  articles  havmg  been  sent  to  him  by  the  Spaniards 
as  a  present.  He  was  a  little  suspicious  of  us  at  first,  but  gradually 
became  more  at  ease.  AVe  asked  him  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  yacht, 
Ijvit  he  said  that  he  was  afraid  he  could  not  do  so  unless  she  were 
iDrought  alongside  the  small  jamhatan  or  pier  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  With  our  large  draught  of  water  this  was  impossible,  and  we 
told  him  so.  AVe  afterwards  found  out  that  he  was  mistrustful  of 
us,  fearing  that  we  were  m  league  with  the  Spaniards,  and  that  our 
design  was  to  carry  him  off  to  Manila.  It  was  ultimately  settled 
that  two  Turks  who  formed  his  bodyguard  should  return  with  us 
to  the  ship  to  inspect, — he  having,  apparently,  much  confidence 


28  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

in  them.  In  the  meantime  refreslunents  had  been  brought  for 
us  in  the  shape  of  European  biscuits  and  some  really  excellent 
chocolate — the  latter  the  produce  of  the  island.  Xipa-leaf  cigarettes 
were  also  handed,  which,  in  spite  of  their  being  most  beautifully 
rolled,  would  hardly  commend  themselves  to  the  gilded  youth  of 
St.  James's  Street.     There  is  such  a  marked  bonfire  flavour  about 


MOHAMMED    BUDDEROODDIN,    SULTAX    OF    SULU. 

the  palm-lea^■es  that  it  completely  masks  that  of  the  tobacco,  and 
the  presence  of  the  latter  appears  entu-ely  unnecessary. 

Regaining  our  boat  we  found  that  our  men  had  got  on  very  well 
with  the  natives.  Fruit  and  fowls  had  been  brought  for  sale  and 
barter.  The  price  of  the  latter  was  one  dollar  for  eight,  but  at  a 
later  period  of  our  ^dsit  we  got  them  cheaper.  The  young  Sultan 
has  hit  upon  a  most  simple  plan  of  increasing  his  revenue.  The 
currency  consists  of  dollars,  cents,  and  "  cash  "  of  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, or  Hongkong.     He  buys   120  cents,  or  its  equivalent  in 


ir.]  INSECURITY  OF  THE  ISLAND.  29 

"  cash,"  with  his  doUar  in  these  countries,  and  has  fixed  the  rate  of 
exchange  at  80  cents  in  his  own  dominions,  thus  making  a  clear 
o-ain  of  40  per  cent.  "We  noticed  a  few  days  later  that  a  guard  was 
placed  over  a  small  trading  vessel  from  the  North  Borneo  Company's 
territory  to  prevent  any  smuggling  of  cents. 

The  authority  of  the  Sultan  of  Sulu  is  practically  limited  by 
the  four  walls  of  his  harem.     Indeed,  as  we  discovered  at  a  later 
period,  it  does  not  seem  absolutely  undisputed  even  there.    Formerly 
he  ruled  over  all  the  islands  of  the  archipelago  excepting  Basilan, 
together  with  Cagayan  Sulu  and  a  large  extent  of  country  at  the 
north  of  Borneo,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sandakan  and  Darvel 
Bay.     Of  this  latter  portion  the  Xorth  Borneo  Company  have 
become  the  possessors,  in  consideration  of  an  annual  payment  to 
the  Sultan  and  his  heirs  in^erpetuo  of  five  thousand  dollars.     His 
influence  over  the  chiefs  in  the  other  islands  is  of  the  slightest. 
In  Sulu  itself  even  it  is  doubtful,  for  the  people  are  split  up  into 
innumerable  factions.     The  island  is  only  thirty-three  miles  long 
by  twelve  in  its  extreme  breadth, — smaller  than  the  Isle  of  Wight 
in  fact, — yet  it  appears  always  to  be,  and  to  have  been,  in  the 
condition  of  Europe  m  feudal  times,  when  every  man's  hand  was 
against   his   neighbour.     The   eastern   peninsula  is  governed — if 
indeed  such  a  term  can  in  any  sense  be  used  in  connection  with 
the  Sulus — by  the  Maharajah  of  Loc,  while  at  the  extreme  west 
lives  the  Panglima  Dammang,  a  bloodthirsty  old  ruflian,  who  is 
constantly  fighting  with  the  Maharajah  Tahil.     The  latter  warrior 
has  his  headquarters  at  the  foot  of  Buat  Timantangis,  barely  a 
couple  of  miles  from  his  enemy.     AU  are  more  or  less  at  war  with 
one  another,  but  all  join  in  a  common  hatred  of  the  Castillan.    The 
lovely  island,  with  its  glorious  wealth  of  fruit  and  flower,  with  a 
soil  as  fertile  as  any  in  the  world,  with  its  shores  lapped  by  a 
stormless  sea,  ought,  one  would  imagine,  to  drive  all  thoughts  of 
murder  from  man's  breast.     But  the  land  streams  with  Sulu  blood, 
shed  for  the  most  part  by  Sulu  hands,  and  poison  appears  to  be 
used  with  as  much  indifference  as  the  ixtrang.     The  people  are. 


30  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

apparently,  hopelessly  turljulent  and  regardless  of  life,  yet  in  our 
five  weeks'  intercourse  with  them,  walking  or  riding  alone  in 
almost  all  parts  of  the  island,  we  met  with  the  greatest  ci"sdlity 
everywhere,  except  in  one  instance  to  which  I  shall  presently 
refer. 

The  inspection  of  the  Ifaixhesa  by  the  two  Turks  must  have 
been  satisfactory,  for  on  paying  another  visit  to  the  Sultan  on  the 
following  day  we  learnt  from  hmi  that  he  would  come  on  board  in 
state  that  afternoon.  "We  accordingly  returned  to  make  arrange- 
ments, as  it  had  been  delicately  hinted  that  His  Eoyal  Highness 
would  expect  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns,  and  we  were  rather  un- 
certam  as  to  the  efficiency  of  our  armament.  At  3  p.m.  our  boats 
were  seen  making  for  the  ship,  literally  crammed  with  people,  whose 
brilliantly-coloured  sarongs  and  jackets  gave  our  lifeboat,  gig,  and 
cutter  the  appearance  of  three  Crystal  Palace  flower-beds.  Before 
long  our  decks  were  crowded.  The  Sultan  was  in  a  different  dress 
from  that  in  which  we  had  first  seen  him.  He  wore  a  flat  fez  of 
black  silk  hea\TLly  embroidered  with  gold  lace,  a  short  cloth  coat 
also  much  embroidered,  and  a  white  silk  sarong.  His  dress  was 
decidedly  eft'ective  and  in  good  taste,  and  although  we  knew  him 
to  be  a  man  of  the  weakest  character,  with  no  thoughts  beyond  his 
harem  and  his  opium  pipe,  he  comported  himself  with  a  quiet 
dignity  and  perfect  good-breeding  which  made  us  all  like  him.  It 
is  no  doubt  a  common  enough  characteristic  among  those  of  ]\Ialay 
race,  but  for  all  that  it  is  none  the  less  pleasmg,  especially  when 
accompanied,  as  it  w^as  in  his  case,  by  a  smiling  unreserve  which  is 
not  so  often  met  with,  and  an  e^ddent  sense  of  pleasure  at  the 
novel  objects  by  which  he  found  hunself  surrounded. 

The  crowd  of  Sulu  warriors  that  thronged  our  decks  were  all 
armed,  but  the  Sultan  carried  no  weapons  of  any  kind.  He  was, 
however,  closely  followed  by  an  attendant  who  bore  his  imrang — a 
beautiful  weapon  of  razor-like  sharpness,  gold-liilted,  and  with  its 
ivory  handle  inlaid  with  eight  pearls.  There  were  other  personal 
attendants  whose  Sulu  titles  I  am  not  acquainted  with.    Anglicised 


II.] 


VISIT  OF  THE  SULTAN. 


31 


they  would  be  the  "  Betel  Box  m  AVaitmg,"  and  the  "  Bearer  m 

Ordinary  of  the  Tobacco  Case."     The  "  Gentleman  Usher  of  the 

Eevolver"  was  happily  absent,  for  the  way  in 

which  liis  forefinger  had  trifled  with  the  trigger 

on  the  pre\'ious  day  had  filled  us  with  alarm. 

But  the  most  important  of  all  these  people  were 

two  men  who  bore  the  spears  of  the  Sultan  and 

Sultana.     These  weapons,  like  the  imrangs,  are 

of  Sulu  manufacture,  and  even  those  carried  by 

the  common  people  are  wonderfully  well  made. 

The   Sultan's  were,  of  course,   of  still   better 

quality.    Of  \f&xj  steel,  rough  and  without  any 

trace  of  pohsh,  as  are  all  the  best  blades  of 

Malay  make,  they  were  very  sharp,  and  were 

fitted  with  a  hilt  of  embossed  silver  about  a 

foot   in   length.     The   Sultana's   spear  was   of 

curious   shape;    double -bladed,  with   the   two 

blades  meeting  at  the  hilt.     The  shafts  of  these 

weapons  appear  to  be  usually  made  of  the  wood 

of  the  Areca  palm,  the  toughness  and  density 

of  which  renders  it  a  favourite  material  for  this 

purpose  throughout  Malaysia  and  the  Pacific 

Islands. 

There  were  perhaps  forty  or  fifty  other 
Sulus  on  board,  besides  the  two  Turks  and  a 
Sikh  of  gigantic  stature.  The  former  w^ere  mostly  of  inferior  rank, 
but  almost  all  were  dressed  m  embroidered  jackets  of  different 
colours,  with  Chinese  gold  buttons.  They  wore  turbans  of  silk  or 
cotton,  worked  with  gold  thread.  All  these  are  made  on  the  island, 
and  are  good,  but .  too  gaudy,  one  of  the  favourite  colours  being  a 
bright  green.  A  tight-fittmg  cotton  garment,  much  like  a  pah  of 
ridmg  breeches,  seemed  to  usurp  the  place  of  the  sarong  in  a  great 
number  of  cases,  reaching  to  the  ankle,  and  leaving  the  feet  bare. 
The  inevitable  parang  is  stuck  in  a  twisted  cotton  belt. 


THE   SULTANA  S   SPEAR. 


THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 


Our  guest  was  much  pleased  with  the  mechanism  of  a  Norden- 
felt  gun  we  carried,  and  his  astonishment  when  we  showed  him  its 
rapid  action  with  ball  practice  was  considerable.  He  inquired  the 
price,  and  asked  if  we  could  get  him  one,  adding  that  it  would  be 
a  capital  thing  in  the  case  of  any  further  row  with  the  Spaniards  ! 
He  wandered  over  the  ship,  exhibiting  considerable  interest  in 
what  he  saw,  but  his  chief  source  of  pleasure  seemed  to  be  the 
piano,  to  the  music  of  which  he  insisted  on  dancing.  I  must  clear 
the  imperial  character  by  adding  that  he  had  partaken  of  nothing 
stronger  than  lemonade. 

We  sped  the  parting  guest  with  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns, 
and  were  not  sorry  to  get  our  decks  clear  of  his  numerous  ad- 
herents. As  a  matter  of  fact,  four  hours  of  a  sultan  is  quite 
sufficient.  We  had  on  many  subsequent  occasions  to  entertain 
these  small  potentates, — "  Eajah  days  "  they  used  to  be  called  by 
the  sailors, — and  very  fatiguing  and  monotonous  work  we  found 
it.  Not  only  were  our  meals  disorganised  and  the  routine  of  the 
ship  interfered  with,  but  the  decks  were  generally  found  liberally 
bespattered  with  the  ineradicable  stains  of  betel  juice,  greatly  to 
the  disgust  both  of  officers  and  men.  It  speaks  well  for  the 
character  of  our  guests  that  we  never  had  any  article  stolen. 

During  our  stay  at  Meimbun,  and  again  on  subsequent  visits, 
the  time  passed  pleasantly  enough.  Subjects  for  the  camera  were 
abundant,  and  collecting  and  preserving  birds  and  other  specimens 
took  up  a  large  portion  of  the  day.  Every  morning,  shortly  after 
sunrise,  we  disembarked  from  our  boat  at  the  little  bridge  by  the 
upper  village,  and  were  welcomed  by  a  small  crowd  of  stark-naked 
little  Sulus  of  both  sexes,  who  fought  for  the  honour  of  carrying 
our  game-bags  and  cartridge-belts.  None  spoke  Malay,  and  so  our 
conversation  had  to  be  carried  on  by  signs,  but  it  never  flagged,  at 
least  on  their  part,  and  we  had  some  difficulty  in  keeping  it  within 
bounds  when,  as  often  happened,  a  party  of  ten  or  a  dozen 
accompanied  each  gun.  The  young  ladies  showed  as  much  keen- 
ness in  the  sport  as  their  companions.      The  Eoman  fair  ones 


ir.]  SCENERY  OF  THE  ISLAND.  33 

jpoUice  verso,  were,  we  know,  always  willing  for  the  death  of  the 
combatant;  and  a  bright-eyed  little  maiden  who,  clad  in  the  simple 
garb  of  a  cartridge-bag,  used  generally  to  accompany  me  in  my 
rambles,  was  invariably  much  disgusted  when  I  refused  to  shoot 
some  bird  of  which  I  already  had  a  sufl&cient  number  of  specimens. 
If  the  truth  were  known  I  daresay  some  of  these  merry  little 
urchins  had  seen  bigger  game  bite  the  dust.  I  recollect  seeing 
one  whose  only  garment  was  one  of  the  razor-edged  2^cirangs, 
attached  to  his  waist  by  a  belt  of  twisted  cotton. 

One  of  our  favourite  excursions  was  towards  the  foot  of  Buat 
Tulipan,  to  the  west  of  Meunbun.  It  is  a  cone  of  rather  over 
2000  feet,  and  is  cultivated  in  patches  almost  to  the  sununit,  for  it 
has  long  been  extinct,  and  neither  it  nor  its  fellows  trouble  the 
island  even  with  an  earthquake.  Such  diversity  of  scenery  as  Sulu 
affords  is  seldom  seen  in  a  tropical  island.  The  old  jungle  has 
been  for  the  most  part  cleared  away,  but  long,  dark  patches  of  it 
still  exist  in  the  small  gullies,  or  cover  the  sides  of  the  mountains. 
Nearly  everywhere  the  eye  is  greeted  by  what  an  auctioneer  would 
describe  as  "  an  extensive  and  park-like  view."  If  we  stand  on  one 
of  the  many  hills  which  tend  to  make  the  island  look  far  larger 
than  it  really  is,  we  see  before  us  a  stretch  of  hill  and  dale  covered 
with  bright  green  grass,  and  dotted  with  little  spinneys  or  solitary, 
well-grown  trees, — just  such  a  view,  indeed,  as  one  might  get  from 
a  country-house  in  England,  were  it  not  for  the  suspiciously  sharp 
cone  of  some  volcano  cropping  up  on  the  horizon.  Here  and 
there,  where  the  soil  has  been  freshly  turned  by  the  rude  wooden 
ploughs  employed  by  the  natives,  it  seems  as  if  some  huge  ruddy- 
coloured  blanket  had  been  spread  out  in  the  sun  to  dry.  Few  huts 
are  to  be  seen.  Most  of  them  are  buried  in  little  groves  of  cocos, 
or  amid  the  dark  foliage  of  the  durian  or  Artocarpus,  and  the 
"  warm  blue  breathings  of  the  hidden  hearth "  alone  reveal  their 
presence.  In  these  open  glades  there  is  but  little  bird-life,  but 
in  the  other  localities  we  had  for  many  days  no  difficulty  in 
procuring  specimens.  Perhaps  the  commonest,  or  at  least  the 
VOL.  11.  D 


34  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

most  conspicuous  bird  is  the  Scarlet- vented  Cockatoo  {Cacatua 
hcematuropygia),  which  possesses  a  single  rose-coloured  feather  for 
its  crest.  This  species  is  occasionally  tamed  by  the  Sulus,  and 
apparently  can  be  taught  to  talk,  although  not  readily.  We 
ourselves  did  not  succeed  with  our  pets,  but  in  one  instance  I 
found  a  much  dissipated-looking  specimen  in  a  native  hut,  w^ho 
seemed  to  have  half  forgotten  some  language  w4iich,  we  were 
assured,  was  Sulu. 

Overhead,  in  the  open  clearings,  the  Wood-swallow  (Artamus 


Sarco^js  calvus. 

leiicorhynchus)  hawks  unceasingly.  Square-tailed  and  with  short, 
stumpy-looking  wings,  it  has  a  somewhat  clumsy  appearance,  but 
its  beautiful  silver-grey  back  and  snowy  under-surface  atone  for  it. 
Its  habits  are  curiously  swallow-like,  whether  sitting  huddled  up 
in  company  with  half  a  dozen  others  on  a  bare  bough,  or  whirling 
round  in  wide  circles  with  an  incessant  twittering  cry ;  but  in 
reality  it  is  a  species  of  Slu'ike,  and  has  as  little  affinity  with  the 
Hirundinidce  as  our  so-called  sea-swallow,  the  tern.  The  curious 
Sarcops — a  bird  the  size  of  a  thrush,  with  black  and  silver  plumage, 
and  a  large  fleshy  wattle  of  a  bright  pink  colour  round  the  eye — is 


II.]  CINNYBIS  JULI^.  35 

also  an  abundant  species,  haunting  the  large  fruit-trees  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  native  huts ;  and  though  not  so  conspicuous 
as  the  blue  and  green  parrots,  or  the  brilliantly-coloured  Lorikeet 
(Loriculus  honajpartci) — a  little  glowmg  ball  of  vivid  crimson, 
yellow,  and  green — its  peculiar  appearance  is  even  more  striking 
to  a  naturalist's  eye.  But  of  all  the  ornithological  spoil  we 
obtained  from  the  archipelago,  the  tiny  little  Sun-bird  {Cinnyris 
j'ulicc)  was  perhaps  the  most  brilliant  and  the  most  beautiful.  The 
head  and  tail  are  metallic  green,  the  back  a  deep  red,  and  on  the 
under-surface  the  brilliant  magenta  of  the  throat  gives  place  to  a 
rich  orange  on  the  breast  and  abdomen.  These  lovely  little  creatures 
were  not  common,  but  a  particular  clump  of  low,  flowering  shrubs 
close  to  the  village  of  Meimbun  was  a  favourite  spot  for  them. 
They  were  fearless  enough  of  our  presence,  and  as  they  flitted  from 
flower  to  flower  with  a  short,  jerky  flight,  or  hung  head  downwards, 
rifling  the  blossoms  of  their  insects  or  nectar,  their  throats  shone 
like  living  rubies  in  the  blaze  of  sunshine.  The  habits  of  this 
genus  are  very  much  alike,  and  as  I  used  to  watch  them  my 
thoughts  often  went  back  to  a  well-remembered  spot  on  the  Flats 
of  the  Cape  Town  peninsula,  whither  some  years  ago  I  used  to 
stroll  every  morning  to  see  the  Nectarinias  (C.  chalyhccus)  feasting 
on  a  huge  bush  of  Erica  in  full  flower.  In  spite  of  their  beauty  of 
plumage,  however,  these  birds  are  not  the  best  of  characters, 
constantly  quarrelling  and  fighting,  and  driving  away  their 
weaker  brethren,  just  as  is  the  case  among  the  humming-birds. 
Their  many  moral  imperfections  somewhat  quieted  my  conscience 
whenever  I  transferred  a  fine  specimen  to  the  collecting  -  bag. 
They  were,  moreover,  great  rarities,  having  previously  only  been 
discovered  in  the  island  of  Mindanao  by  the  naturalists  of  the 
Challenger. 

South  of  Buat  Tulipan  was  a  picturesque  little  village,  where 
our  friend  the  young  Eajah  lived.  It  was  built  half  in,  half  out 
of  what  appeared  to  be  a  lake,  but  was  in  reality  a  creek  running 
up  from  the  sea,  its  entrance  hidden  by  the  mangroves.     These 


36  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

places  always  have  the  strongest  fascination  for  me.  It  is  pleasant 
to  lie  at  full  length  on  a  palm-leaf,  taking  deep  draughts  from  a 
coconut  and  watcliing  the  picture  of  savage  life  and  its  surround- 
ings. Here  a  Sulu — -^:>a?Ym^-girded,  and  with  liis  spear  stuck  handy 
in  the  sand — is  drying  fish  in  the  sun.  They  have  been  already 
smoked,  and  now,  tied  in  small  bundles,  are  being  stocked  away  on 
beautifully  neat  bamboo  frames  placed  one  above  the  other.  A 
couple  of  old  women  are  dipping  water  with  long  bamboos  from 
the  well,  leaning  over  the  blocks  of  white  coral  of  which  its  parapet 
is  built.  In  these  climates  man  is  amphibious  up  to  the  age  of  ten, 
and  a  dozen  or  more  little  warriors  and  their  wives  in  futuro  are 
splashing  and  spluttering  about  in  front  of  the  houses,  or  climbing 
into  the  carved  praus  drawn  up  on  the  grey  sandy  earth  which 
forms  the  beach.  Over  the  tops  of  the  mangroves  the  sea  is 
visible  to  the  right,  in  \d\dd  patches  of  bright  green,  wliite,  or  blue, 
according  to  its  depth.  Everything  is  sunmering  in  the  heat.  Our 
coconut  is  finished,  and  we  look  longingly  at  a  mass  of  the  yellow 
fruit  above  our  heads.  The  little  Eajah  who  has  come  out  to  see 
us  motions  to  a  boy  close  by,  and  the  young  monkey,  climbing 
like  a  cat  by  the  aid  of  the  notches  cut  in  the  tree,  throws  us 
down  another  to  refresh  us  before  we  start  once  more  upon  our 
rambles. 

Among  the  big  durian  and  jack-fruit  trees  at  the  back  of  the 
village  lay  the  little  cemetery.  The  carved  wooden  headstones  were 
closely  packed  together,  some  flat  and  in  the  shape  of  a  conven- 
tional leaf;  others  straight  and  post -like,  carved  to  represent  a 
series  of  superimposed  cubes.  Overhead  the  Michelia — the  dead 
man's  flower,  as  the  Sulus  call  it — dropped  its  deliciously-scented 
blossoms,  and  the  graves  were  strewn  with  the  flowers  of  the  Areca 
palm.  Buddhist  and  Mohammedan  alike  plant  the  Champac  above 
their  dead.  So  should  we  too,  I  think,  did  our  clunate  permit  it. 
Day  after  day  throughout  the  year  the  tree  blossoms.  Day  after 
day  the  delicately- creamy  corollas  fall  entire  upon  the  grave, 
retaining  both  their  freshness  and  their  fragrance,  unlike  any  other 


"•] 


SULU  GRAVES. 


37 


flower.  For  how  long  after  they  have  closed  over  our  loved  ones 
are  our  graves  decorated,  I  wonder  ?  Here  Nature,  kindlier-hearted 
and  unforgetful,  year  after  year  lays  her  daily  offering  of  Champac 
blossoms  upon  the  tomb. 

A  few  days  after  our  arrival  the  Sultan  intimated  that  he 
would  like  to  brincj  his  wives  on  board  with  him  when  next  he 


A    SCLU    GRAVE. 


visited  us.  He  was  said  to  have  six,  but  we  could  not  ascertain 
the  exact  number,  as  it  is  of  course  contrary  to  the  rules  of 
etiquette  to  allude  to  them.  The  first  wife,  a  Sulu  woman  much 
older  than  the  Sultan,  was,  we  soon  found  out,  not  the  favourite. 
Wliat  little  affection  he  had  to  give  was  bestowed  upon  a  rather 
nice-looking  gui  with  a  good  figure,  who  had  been  taken  but  a 
short  time  before  from  a  Datu  or  chief  at  the  east  end  of  the  island. 
War  had  broken  out  in  consequence,  and  both  parties  were  shortly 


38  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

to  take  the  field.  His  august  Majesty  is  not  supposed  to  engage  in 
warfare,  so  lie  gets  some  one  to  do  his  fighting  for  hiin.  There  is 
usually  not  much  difficulty  about  these  matters  in  Sulu,  and  in  this 
case  a  lean  and  unpleasing-looking  warrior  who  came  to  ^dsit  us  on 
board  was  about  to  act  as  generalissimo  of  the  forces.  The  causa 
belli  apparently  led  a  miserable  life  among  the  other  members  of 
the  harem,  who  were  intensely  jealous  of  her.  She  had  been 
chosen  by  the  Sultan  to  be  the  bearer  of  his  present,  which  so 
enraged  the  second  favourite,  a  Chinese  gui,  that  she  slapped  His 
Majesty's  face,  and  altogether  declined  to  be  present  on  the  occasion. 
Some  little  time  after,  before  our  second  ^^sit  to  Meimbun,  this 
favourite  wife  died  suddenly  of  poison,  "  administered  by  some 
person  or  persons  unknown,"  but  there  was  very  little  doubt  that 
the  Chinese  girl,  if  not  the  actual  administrator  of  the  drug,  was  at 
any  rate  the  instigator  of  the  crime. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  the  Sultan's  party  should  arrive  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  w^e  had  fondly  hoped  to  get  rid  of 
them  before  tiffin.  But  potentates  and  punctuality  have  no  con- 
nection in  the  far  East,  and  it  was  not  till  four  hours  later  that  the 
beauties  of  the  harem  appeared.  We  were  then  novices  at  these 
ceremonies,  and  had  put  off"  our  meal  from  time  to  time,  expectmg 
our  guests  every  moment.  We  were,  I  regret  to  say,  both  hungry 
and  short-tempered.  But  later,  when  we  got  to  be  aware  that 
these  imperial  idiosyncrasies  were  always  to  be  depended  upon, 
we  took  action  accordingly,  and  received  our  visitors  a  few  hours 
after  their  appointed  tune  with  the  easy  smile  begotten  of  the 
post-prandial  cheroot. 

In  due  course  of  time  five  large  boats  discharged  their  brilliantly- 
coloured  cargo  on  board,  and  our  decks  were  soon  so  crow^ded  that 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  move.  The  Chinese  wife  had  thought 
better  of  her  resolution,  and  had  condescended  to  be  present  after 
all,  but  another  of  them  was  in  a  fit  of  the  tantrums,  and  had 
refused  to  come.  Wliether  in  or  out  of  the  harem  the  Sultan 
appeared  to  be  equally  in  a  state  of  broil,  and  the  fear  of  poison, 


n.]  THE  SULTAN'S  WIVES  39 

the  intrusion  of  the  Spaniards,  and  opium-smoking,  no  doubt  all 
combined  to  shorten  his  life.^  He  was  also  considerably  in  debt  at 
Singapore,  but  with  an  elastic  conscience  and  plenty  of  his  warriors 
at  hand,  he  was  less  likely  to  suffer  from  anxiety  on  this  account 
than  his  creditors.  He  would  be  a  bold  dun  indeed  who  would 
venture  to  go  to  Sulu  in  search  of  his  money. 

To  European  eyes  the  Sultan's  wives  were  not  very  attractive, 
in  spite  of  the  brilliancy  of  their  attire.  All  wore  gold-embroidered 
Turkish  slippers,  and  silk  stockings,  which  in  some  cases  were 
covered  with  spangles.  Their  dress  was  a  loose  sacque  reaching 
nearly  to  the  feet,  of  silk  or  stuff  of  bright  colour.  Over  this  was 
a  loose  jacket  buttoned  a  la  chinoisc,  and  the  head  and  shoulders 
were  enveloped  by  shawls  of  shiny  gauze  with  a  gold  fringe.  One 
— the  Chinese  girl — wore  hers  as  a  yashmak,  but  her  reason 
became  apparent  when,  on  removing  it  to  drink  some  lemonade, 
she  disclosed  a  bruised  lip,  which  may  or  may  not  have  been  the 
result  of  personal  chastisement  administered  by  her  lord  and 
master.  Their  hands  were  covered  with  rings,  for  the  most  part 
set  with  pearls,  which  are  the  chief  product  of  the  island. 
It  was  amusing  to  see  them  looking  over  a  photograph  book, 
where  the  jewellery  to  be  seen  in  the  portraits  was  the  only 
thing  that  interested  them.  Their  opinion  of  English  ladies 
was  evidently  lowered  when  they  discovered  that  they  wore  so 
little. 

Although   only  three  wives  had   come  on  board,  they  were 

^  He  died  in  the  beginning  ot  1884.  The  usual  difficulty  as  to  his  successor 
arose,  one  party  declaring  for  his  brother, — the  rightful  heir, — another  for  an  old  uncle 
Avith  whom  he  had  been  on  anything  but  friendly  terms.  In  May,  1886,  the  date  of 
our  last  intelligence  from  the  island,  the  late  Sultan's  brother  appeared  likely  to  gain 
the  throne,  but  the  matter  was  still  unsettled.  In  spite  of  the  disturbed  condition 
of  the  country,  Captain  Schiick,  the  German  planter,  had  been  unmolested.  Desultory 
fighting  still  continued.  Any  surplus  in  the  population  has  no  doubt  been  consider- 
ably lessened,  and  the  Spaniards  behind  the  loop-holed  walls  of  Jolo  on  the  north  of 
the  island  are  probably  biding  their  time,  and  will  step  in  when  both  parties  are 
exhausted.  Their  project  of  getting  the  young  Sultan  to  go  to  Manila,  ' '  in  order  to 
be  invested  with  his  title,"  has  failed. 


40  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

accompanied  by  numbers  of  female  attendants.  There  was  also  a 
large  gathering  of  Sulii  warriors,  but  on  this  occasion  they  kept  to 
one  side  of  the  ship,  leaving  the  other  to  the  ladies,  who  ranged 
themselves  along  the  bulwarks  like  an  ornamental  border  in  a 
flower-garden.  Most  of  them  were  plump  little  damsels  with 
bright  eyes,  and  though  not  so  good-looking  as  the  Dyak  women — 
who  are,  I  think,  the  most  attractive  of  all  those  of  Malay  race 
that  I  have  seen — they  had  more  claims  to  beauty  than  their 
mistresses.  We  regaled  them  with  lemonade  and  preserved  fruits, 
and  supplied  them  with  cigarettes,  wdiich  they  appeared  to  enjoy 
thoroughly.  Unfortunately  they  were  themselves  provided  with 
betel,  and  before  we  could  interfere,  our  spotless  decks  were 
covered  with  the  juice.  The  Sultan  left  his  wives  to  take  care  of 
themselves,  and  wandered  about  the  ship  inspecting  our  arms  and 
machinery,  returning  now  and  again  to  the  fascinations  of  a  musical- 
box,  with  which  he  was  greatly  delighted.  It  w^as  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  we  induced  him  to  come  on  deck  to  be  photographed. 
We  arranged  a  group  of  the  three  wives  and  the  slave  bearing 
their  betel -box,  the  Sultan  and  his  Tobacco  Box  in  Waiting, 
the  two  Turks  and  other  exalted  personages,  but  although  we 
explained  the  operation,  nothing  would  induce  them  to  remain 
quiet  for  a  single  instant,  and  the  patience  both  of  the  operator 
and  sitters  was  fairly  exhausted  before  we  obtained  a  successful 
negative. 

After  the  departure  of  our  guests  some  of  our  party  proceeded 
in  the  cutter  to  Parang  to  stay  with  the  Panglima  Dammang,  with 
whom  we  had  already  made  acquaintance.  The  distance  was 
barely  ten  miles,  and  aided  by  a  light  breeze  off'  the  land,  it  was 
not  long  before  we  arrived  at  our  destination.  Others  of  iis 
remained  behind  at  Meimbun,  to  indulge  in  our  favourite  flight- 
shooting  among  the  parrots.  Every  evening  small  flocks  of  green 
parrots  {Tanygnatlmis)  and  the  little  white  cockatoo  fly  from 
west  to  east  over  the  village  about  half  an  hour  before  sundown, 
affording   capital   sport.      The   former,   of  which   there   are   two 


II.]  PARROT  SHOOTING.  41 

species/  are  only  of  value  to  the  naturalist,  but  the  latter  are 
capital  eating,  and  are  free  from  the  bitterness  that  is  characteristic 
of  many  of  the  parrots.  Cockatoo  pie,  I  can  assure  my  readers,  is 
really  excellent. 

^  One  of  these,  Tanygnathus  hurhidgei,  is,  as  far  as  is  known,  peculiar  to  the 
Sulu  Archipelago. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  SULU  ISLANDS  (continued). 

We  leave  for  Parang — The  Panglima  Dammang — Parang  and  its  surroundings — 
Tulian  Island — Jolo,  the  Spanish  settlement — Life  in  the  town — Marine  fire- 
works— The  watering-place — A  narrow  escape — Pig-hunting — Our  life  in  Sulu — 
Climate — Unhealthiness  of  Jolo — The  Spaniards  and  the  Sulus — Juramentados 
— Return  to  Meimbun — Sulu  praus — Carving — Photographing  the  Sultan — 
Meimbun  market — Ancient  chain  armour — New  species  of  birds — Revisit  Parang 
— Pearl  divers — Lukut  Lapas — Captain  Schiick — Products  of  the  estate — Jungle 
fowl — Tobacco  cultivation. 

OiN  the  day  following  that  of  the  visit  of  the  Sultan  and  his  wives 
the  Marcliesa  anchored  off  Parang.  The  village,  consisting  of  thirty 
or  forty  houses  in  line,  is  built  on  piles  in  the  sea,  each  house  being 
connected  with  the  shore  by  a  separate  bridge  of  palm-stems. 
Although  this  method  is  in  use  among  most  Malay  peoples  in 
rivers  or  estuaries,  it  is  seldom  that  the  houses  are  entirely  exposed 
to  the  sea  as  they  are  here  and  in  New  Guinea.  Their  shape  and 
mode  of  construction  in  the  latter  country  are,  however,  quite 
different.  Here  they  are  mere  huts  with  rather  high-pitched 
gables,  the  walls  made  of  roughly-constructed  attccps  or  mats  of 
palm-leaves. 

The  Marcliesa  was  probably  the  first  European  ship  that  had 
visited  the  village,  for  the  Spaniards  afterwards  told  us  that  they 
had  never  been  there.  The  people  do  not  bear  a  very  good  name 
even  among  the  Sulus  themselves,  and  the  Panglima  was  a  person- 
age with  whom  few  would  have  dared  to  trifle.  He  came  on  board 
with  his  chief  men  and  attendants  very  soon  after  our  arrival,  as 


CHAP.  III.]  THE  PANGLIMA   OF  PARAXG.  43 

had  been  previously  arranged,  and  although  Meiinbun  and  Parang 
are  only  a  few  miles  apart,  the  difference  between  his  suite  and 
that  of  the  Sultan  was  considerable.  They  boarded  the  yacht  in 
crowds,  and  though  they  behaved  well,  and  we  had  no  contretemjjs 
of  any  kind,  it  was  evident  that  they  were,  on  the  whole,  a  very 
pretty  set  of  ruffians.  The  Panglima  Dammang  had  returned  on 
the  previous  day  from  a  battle  with  his  old  enemy,  the  Maharajah 
Taliil,  in  which  nine  men  had  fallen ;   but  though  he  had  been 


VILLAGE   OF   PARANG. 


victorious,  he  did  not  seem  by  any  means  in  a  good  temper. 
Although  he  could  have  seen  nothing  of  the  kind  before,  he  paid 
not  the  smallest  attention  to  the  yacht  or  her  fittings,  and  indeed 
took  no  interest  in  anything  except  some  champagne,  of  which  he 
drank  two  tumblers.  He  wore  his  favourite  'parang,  with  which, 
we  were  told,  he  had  killed  thirty  men ;  and  as  he  sat  scowling  in 
a  corner  of  the  saloon,  the  thought  how  easily  he  might  enlarge 
the  number  and  add  the  Marchcsa  to  his  navy  if  he  chose  passed 
through  our  minds.  Possibly  the  same  idea  occurred  to  our  guest 
also,  but  if  it  did  he  was  far  too  wise  to  act  upon  it. 

There  was  a  little  sea  running  when  the  first  detaclunent  of  his 
people  left  for  the  shore,  and  the  prau,  being  overloaded,  filled  and 
sank  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  ship.     There  was  in  reality 


44  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

not  the  smallest  danger,  for  the  men  all  swam  like  ducks,  and  the 
boat,  relieved  of  its  load,  floated  awash  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  Panglima,  hearing  the  shouting,  rushed  at  once  on  deck,  and 
seeing  what  had  happened,  jumped  into  our  lifeboat  with  half  a 
dozen  of  his  men,  and  pushed  off  to  the  rescue.  It  was  the  only 
pleasing  trait  that  we  ever  saw  him  exhibit. 

The  country  round  Parang,  though  perhaps  not  so  pretty  as  the 
neighbourhood  of  Meunbun,  was  very  pleasant  under  the  rays  of 
the  early  morning  sun,  when  the  grass  was  sparkling  with  the 
heavy  dew.  N'ot  only  is  this  time  the  most  enjoyable  of  the  whole 
day  in  the  tropics,  but  it  is  by  far  the  best  for  the  collector.  A 
few  hours  later,  when  the  freshness  of  the  morning  has  disappeared 
before  the  blazing  heat  of  mid-day,  animal  life  has  also  gone,  and 
bird  and  beast  hide  themselves  in  the  thicker  jungle  till  evening. 
Parang,  however,  did  not  appear  to  be  a  good  place  for  the  naturalist, 
in  spite  of  the  considerable  amount  of  cultivated  ground  and  fruit 
groves.  The  soil  was  wonderfully  good — a  rich,  dark  loam  of  great 
depth — and  the  jack-fruit  was  of  a  larger  size  here  than  I  have 
ever  seen  it  elsewhere.  The  Papaw  (Carica  papaya),  with  its  palm- 
like  crown  of  large  deeply-cut  leaves  and  bright  yellow  melon-like 
fruit,  was  growing  wild,  or — more  correctly — uncultivated,  in  the 
forest.  It  is  curious  how  little  this  really  excellent  fruit  is  used. 
Not  only  is  it  of  delicious  flavour,  but  it  is  actually  a  digestive  of 
considerable  power.  In  the  "West  Indies  alone  does  it  seem  to  be 
properly  appreciated.  In  the  Straits  Settlements  it  appears  but 
rarely  at  table,  while  in  Java  and  the  Malay  Islands  there  is  an 
idea  among  the  Dutch  that  it  is  absolutely  harmful. 

"We  came  upon  a  great  number  of  graves  in  the  forest,  some  of 
them  collected  in  groups  and  surrounded  by  a  ditch  six  feet  or 
more  in  depth  to  keep  off  the  wild  pigs,  others  lonely  and  over- 
grown with  vegetation.  Even  over  the  latter,  though  long  neglected, 
the  Champac  flowered  and  strewed  its  blossoms.  Many  of  the 
headposts  w^ere  very  tastefully  carved,  but  there  were  no  inscrip- 
tions of  any  kuid.     Nearer  the  village  were  the  tombs  of  a  former 


III.]  OUR  LIFE  IN  SULU.  45 

Datii  and  Ms  wives,  built  of  stones  piled  into  a  dome,  and  mounted 
on  a  slightly-raised  platform.  A  square  of  bamboos  erected  above 
the  graves  was  decorated  with  strips  of  white  cotton.  On  the 
whole,  perhaps,  these  tombs  were  the  most  common  objects  observ- 
able in  Parang.  It  would  have  been  interesting  to  learn  what 
proportion  of  the  occupants  had  died  in  their  boots,  or  rather  would 
have  done  so  were  such  articles  in  general  use  in  Sulu. 

The  visit  of  the  yacht  on  this  occasion  was  a  short  one,  but  we 
returned  again  overland  a  few  days  later.  Indeed  our  movements 
during  the  time  of  our  residence  among  these  interesting,  but 
perhaps  rather  untrustworthy  people  were  rather  erratic.  At  one 
time  we  were  the  guests  of  the  Sultan,  at  another  engaging  in  a  series 
of  pig-hunts  with  the  Panglima  of  Parang.  Then,  after  a  few  days 
in  Jolo  among  the  Spaniards,  we  would  ride  out  to  the  middle  of 
the  island,  where  a  solitary  German — a  prominent  iigure  in  Sulu 
history — has  established  himself,  and  still  continues  to  live,  in 
spite  of  the  ceaseless  fighting  that  goes  on  around  him.  The  eastern 
peninsula  of  the  island  was  the  only  part  into  which  we  did  not 
penetrate.  The  Maharajah  of  Loc  and  his  adherents  were  too  un- 
certain for  us  to  care  to  trust  ourselves  in  their  hands. 

From  Parang  to  the  Spanish  settlement  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  island  is  not  much  more  than  fifteen  miles  by  sea,  and  as  we 
steamed  along  close  to  the  shore  we  passed  many  canoes,  whose 
occupants  shouted  at  us,  and  held  up  some  object  in  their  hands 
that  we  could  not  make  out.  We  stopped  and  found  that  they 
were  pearl-divers,  and  the  articles  they  wished  to  dispose  of  were  the 
beautiful  iridescent  shells  in  which  the  pearls  are  found.  The 
banks  in  and  around  the  Sulu  Archipelago  are  almost  as  well 
known  as  those  of  Torres  Straits,  and  the  Sulus  are  probably  the 
best  divers  in  the  world.  I  have  seen  few  men  better  proportioned  or 
more  athletic-looking — none  certainly  in  this  part  of  the  world — and 
clad  only  in  a  sharp-peaked  Bornean  hat  and  a  narrow  waistcloth, 
their  lithe  figures  showed  to  the  best  advantage.  They  had  no  pearls 
for  sale,  and  the  prices  they  asked  for  the  shells  were  too  high 


46  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

for  us  to  come  to  terms,  so  we  resumed  our  course.  About  seven  miles 
west  of  Jolo,  and  little  more  than  a  mile  off  shore,  the  small  island  of 
Tulian  is  passed  on  the  port  hand.  A  few  years  ago  the  Spaniards 
had  a  small  detachment  of  soldiers  here,  a  sort  of  outpost  to  keep 
a  watch  upon  the  movements  of  praus.  It  was  a  constant  source 
of  employment  to  the  Sulus,  who  for  a  long  time  made  frequent, 
and  invariably  successful  attacks  upon  it  by  night,  cutting  down 
the  sentries  and  slaughtering  the  cattle  without  the  loss  of  a  single 
man  on  their  side.  So  silently  were  these  raids  carried  out,  and 
so  demoralising  was  their  effect,  that  the  Spaniards  eventually 
abandoned  the  post,  and  the  island  is  now  deserted. 

Jolo,  as  it  is  spelt  by  the  Spaniards,  rejoices  in  many 
names.  It  appears  as  Sulu  m  the  English  charts,  but  the 
Bornean  traders  speak  of  it  as  Spanish  Town.  To  the  natives  it  is 
Tiangi,  —  "the  market-place,"  while  Admiral  Keppel  and  Sir 
Edward  Belcher  mention  it  as  Soog,  though  this  latter  name,  with 
its  varied  spellings  of  Sugh  and  Soung,  has  long  disappeared.  The 
town  was  in  old  days  the  capital  of  the  island  and  the  residence 
of  the  Sultan,  and  at  the  time  of  Belcher's  visit  was  built  much  in 
the  same  manner  as  Brunei,  the  "Venice  of  the  East."  The 
buildings  ran  out  in  three  Imes  into  the  sea,  the  piles  of  the  outer 
houses  being  in  twenty -four  feet  of  water,  and  the  intervals 
between  the  rows  admitting  of  H.M.S.  Samarcmg  being  secured 
at  the  mouth  of  the  main  street.^  Hardly  a  trace  of  this  native 
town  now  remains.  The  Spaniards,  who  permanently  established 
themselves  here  in  1878,  completely  destroyed  it,  and  set  to  work 
to  build  a  fortified  town,  which  should  give  them,  once  and  for  all, 
a  secure  footing  on  the  island. 

"We  arrived  off  the  settlement  at  mid-day.  It  is  a  taking  place 
at  first  sight,  as  indeed  any  place  in  the  island  must  be.  To  the 
right  rise  the  graceful  slopes  of  Buat  Timantangis,  while  the  white 
houses  and  grassy  glades  give  a  homelike  appearance  to  the  little 
town,  wliich  is  in  itseK  attractive.     We  were  a  little  uncertain  as 

1  "Voyage  of  H.M.S.  Samarang,"  Belcher,  vol.  i. 


III.]  ARRIVAL  AT  JOLO. 


to  our  reception  by  the  Spaniards,  for  we  knew  that  the  relations 
between  them  and  the  natives,  with  whom  we  were  on  intimate 
terms,  were  anything  but  cordial.  But  we  were  destined  to  be 
most  agreeably  disappointed,  and  I  may  here  say  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  meet  with  greater  kindness  than  was  shown  us 
during  our  \isit  by  the  Governor — Don  Julian  Parrado — and  his 
officers.  We  anchored  in  ten  fathoms  not  far  from  the  shore. 
There  is  no  harbour,  but  gales  are  of  great  rarity  in  the  archi- 
pelago, and  the  anchorage  is  protected  to  the  north  by  the  Panga- 
sinan  group  of  islands.  Our  anchor  was  hardly  down  before  a 
pleasant  -  looking  young  Spanish  officer  boarded  us,  with  the 
compliments  of  the  Governor  and  offers  of  ser\dce,  and  the 
information  that  the  band  would  play  at  five  o'clock.  We  replied 
with  such  suitable  Spanish  politenesses  as  our  vocabulary 
mustered,  and  rowed  ashore  at  the  hour  appointed. 

I  doubt  whether  any  island  in  the  world  presents  such  curious 
anomalies  as  Sulu.  At  the  south  a  semi-barbarous  court,  with  a 
boy  sultan  of  sensual  habits,  and  an  authority  that  is  practically 
nil.  The  rest  of  the  island  in  a  feudal  condition,  parcelled  out 
among  half  a  dozen  or  more  petty  despots  who  are  little  better  than 
savages,  and  eternally  at  war  with  one  another.  On  the  north  a 
large  prison,  some  acres  in  extent,  outside  of  which  no  Spaniard 
dare  show  his  nose.  Here  are  cafes,  two  or  three  billiard-tables,  a 
band  that  one  would  listen  to  in  Vienna  or  London  with  pleasure, 
fever  and  dysentery,  and  complete  and  hopeless  ennui.  And  in  the 
middle  of  the  island,  somewhat  mistrusted  by  the  Spaniards, 
although  a  friend  of  the  present  Governor,  but  admired  and 
respected  by  the  Sulus  in  spite  of  sundry  fights  he  has  had  with 
them,  lives  the  German  sea-captain,  Schiick,  leading  a  planter's 
existence  among  groves  of  cacao,  coifee,  and  Manila  hemp. 

We  landed  at  an  excellent  wooden  pier  which  runs  out  into 
the  sea  for  three  or  four  hundred  yards  or  more,  and  has  a  light- 
house built  at  its  extremity.  The  Governor,  whom  we  found  living 
in  a  house  constructed  entirely  of  corrugated  zinc — an  arrangement 


48 


THE  SULU  ISLANDS. 


[chap. 


which  seemed  admirably  adapted  for  raising  the  temperature 
within  to  fever  heat — received  us  very  kindly,  and  showed  us  over 
the  town.  It  is  completely  surrounded  by  a  loop-holed  wall 
about  twenty  feet  in  height,  behind  which  sentries  pace  incessantly. 
The  gates  are  shut  at  sundown,  after  which  no  one  is  permitted  to 
enter.  On  the  seaward  side  there  is  no  wall,  but  a  gun-boat  is 
always  stationed  at  the  anchorage,  and  the  pier  and  shores  are 


A   STREET   !>•   JOLO. 


patrolled  by  soldiers.  Thus  closely  imprisoned,  the  Spaniards 
have  wisely  kept  their  men  employed  to  the  utmost  of  their  power. 
They  have  recovered  a  great  deal  of  ground  from  the  sea  by 
building  dykes  and  filling  in  the  ground  beliind  them.  Hospitals 
and  barracks  have  been  constructed  on  piles  over  the  sea,  but  no 
plantations  have  ever  been  attempted  except  by  one  man,  who  laid 
out  a  small  sugar  estate  close  to  the  walls,  only  to  have  it 
completely  destroyed  by  the  Sulus  in  the  following  year.  In  spite 
of  the  youth  of  the  settlement,  the  three  or  four  streets  wliich  it 


III.]  LIFE  IN  JOLO.  49 

possesses  look  not  only  extremely  neat  and  clean,  but  even 
picturesque,  planted  as  they  are  by  rows  of  bananas  and  cotton- 
trees  on  either  side.  There  is  a  market-place  formed  of  palm-leaf 
sheds,  beneath  which  the  ]\Ianila  men  chatter  and  discuss  the 
merits  of  then-  fighting  cocks,  which,  slung  up  in  handkerchiefs 
with  their  legs  protruding,  or  tied  to  a  post  of  the  stall,  are  visible 
in  aU  du'ections,  for  cock-fighting  is  as  much  a  ruling  passion  here 
as  it  is  in  Cuba,  and  at  any  street-corner  one  may  see  a  couple  of 
natives  putting  their  birds  together  for  half  a  minute's  friendly 
spar  without  spurs. 

The  Governor,  who  was  a  colonel  in  the  army,  chatted  to  us  in 
excellent  French,  and  gave  us  some  information  about  the  town. 
Life  in  it  must  indeed  be  monotonous  and  trying  to  a  degTce;  a  mere 
vegetative  existence,  with  little  or  nothmg  novel  to  break  the  dull 
round  save  the  advent  of  cholera  or  a  Sulu  running  amok.  Except 
in  parties  of  ten  or  a  dozen  fully  armed,  no  one  leaves  the  town ; 
and  the  evening  promenade  in  the  Plaza  to  listen  to  the  band,  the 
Sunday  cock-fighting,  and  an  occasional  water-party  appear  to  be 
the  only  amusements.  The  garrison  is  composed  of  six  companies 
of  the  Manila  native  regmients,  under  a  commandant  and  about 
twenty-five  officers.  These  latter,  with  their  wives  and  children 
and  sixteen  artillerymen,  are  the  only  Europeans.  They  number 
about  120.  The  rest  of  the  inhabitants  are  made  up  of  a  very 
large  number  of  con^dcts,  sent  from  Manila  and  other  parts  of  the 
Philippines.  They  seemed  tolerably  happy  and  contented,  wore 
no  chains,  and  were  said  to  be  very  harmless. 

Waiting  for  our  boat  to  take  us  off  to  the  ship,  we  witnessed  a 
marine  phenomenon  as  pretty  as  it  was  extraordinary.  The  calm 
water  around  the  pier,  itself  not  phosphorescent,  was  full  of  a 
Pyrosoma,  of  some  such  creature,  that  was  most  strongly  so. 
These  creatures  progressed  slowly  in  a  very  irregular  serpentine 
fashion,  leaving  behind  a  vi\dd  phosphorescent  train  which  lasted 
for  some  little  time.  There  were  great  numbers  of  them,  and  the 
effect  was  as  if  the  water  were  full  of  fiery  snakes.  "We  did  not 
VOL.  II.  E 


50  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

succeed  in  catching  the  author  of  these  "  sea  fireworks,"  as  our 
sailors  called  them,  and  during  our  six  weeks'  stay  in  these  waters 
we  never  noticed  the  phenomenon  again. 

There  are  several  wells  within  the  town  of  Jolo,  but  the  water 
is  not  particularly  good,  and  the  best  is  obtained  from  a  spring  on 
the  beach  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  eastward.  Its 
situation  is  a  curious  one,  the  water  bubbling  up  in  a  strong 
stream  between  high  and  low  water  mark^  into  a  sort  of  rocky 
basin,  overhung  by  the  gnarled  branches  of  a  large  Ficus,  which 
must  be  of  gi-eat  age.  The  Governor  had  cautioned  us  as  to  the 
character  of  the  natives  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  told  us  that 
several  of  their  men  had  been  krissed  or  speared  while  watering, 
which  operation  was  as  a  rule  undertaken  with  a  strong  guard. 
Apparently,  however,  the  relations  between  the  contending  parties 
are  of  the  politest  character,  for  he  added  that  he  would  send  a 
message  to  the  chief,  informing  him  that  we  were  English,  and 
asking  him  not  to  molest  us.  Either  this  or  the  northern  fairness 
of  our  skins  was  sufficient,  and  we  landed  to  shoot  and  get  water 
for  the  ship  on  several  occasions  without  any  contretemps.  A  little 
incident  nevertheless  took  place  on  our  first  visit  which  showed  us 
that  the  Governor's  caution  was  not  unnecessary.  One  of  us, 
noticing  a  rare  bird  alight  in  a  tree  close  by,  jumped  hastily  out 
of  the  boat  and  went  tow^ards  it.  Several  natives  were  standing 
round,  and  apparently  knew  who  we  were,  but  another  suddenly 
appearing  on  the  scene,  and  probably  mistaking  us  for  Spaniards, 
marked  his  man,  and  feeling  for  his  parang,  went  on  the  track  of 
the  unsuspecting  sportsman.  Before  he  had  gone  two  steps  he  was 
stopped  by  the  others,  but,  had  he  only  been  a  little  nearer,  the 
number  of  our  ship's  company  would  probably  have  been  reduced 
by  one. 

Our  stay  at  Jolo  was  varied  by  excursions  into  the  interior  of 

^  This,  though  a  curious,  is  not  a  very  unusual  phenomenon.  Such  a  spring 
exists  at  Walvisch  Bay  in  South-West  Africa,  and  I  have  also  seen  them  in  Sunibawa 
and  other  places  in  the  Malay  Archipelago. 


III.]  PIGSTICKING.  51 

the  island  and  several  pig-hunts  with  the  Sultan  and  the  Panglima 
of  Parang.  The  latter  was  as  keen  a  sportsman  as  he  was  a  for- 
midable warrior,  and  with  good  weather  and  plenty  of  pigs  we  had 
one  or  two  capital  days,  although  we  did  not  on  any  occasion  kill 
more  than  eight.  Few  sights  could  well  be  more  picturesque  than 
our  "  meets  "  on  the  park-like  uplands  of  the  beautiful  island.  The 
brilliant  colours  of  the  dresses ;  the  scowling  face  of  the  old  Pang- 
lima gi\^ng  his  orders ;  the  advance  of  the  line  through  the  long 
grass ;  the  spears  glittering  in  the  blaze  of  sunshine ;  the  excitement 
and  rush  when  piggy  broke  cover ;  the  ride  homeward  by  moonlight 
to  Meimbun,  or  to  the  stockaded  house  of  the  Pangluna;  the  strange- 
ness of  our  surroundings  as  we  dropped  off  to  sleep  on  the  cool 
hard  mats, — all  these  are  among  our  most  vivid  recollections  of 
Sulu.  The  natives  are  most  fearless  riders,  and  mounted  on 
their  sure-footed  little  ponies,  will  go  at  full  gallop  over  the  roughest 
ground.  Like  almost  every  wild  tribe  I  have  seen,  the  people  ride 
with  the  big  toe  only  in  the  stirrup,  which  here  is  usually  a  simple 
loop  of  rope. 

We  were  even  better  friends  with  the  Spaniards  than  with  the 
Sulus,  and  it  was  curious  thus  to  alternate  between  two  races  who 
had  been  bitter  enemies  for  nearly  three  centuries  ;  on  one  day  in 
almost  complete  savagery,  the  next  drinking  coffee  and  listening  to 
selections  from  Wagner  rendered  by  a  band  which  only  a  few 
months  previously,  before  the  advent  of  cholera,  had  been  nearly 
100  strong.  All  the  performers,  with  the  exception  of  the  con- 
ductor, were  of  native  or  mixed  blood,  from  Manila,  and  their 
instruments  had  been  sent  out  from  Paris.  Sitting  in  the  little 
creeper-covered  arbour  in  the  public  gardens,  with  our  excellent 
friend  the  Governor  pouring  out  a  string  of  amusing  absurdities 
between  the  pieces,  we  could  shut  our  eyes  and  fancy  ourselves  in 
Nice,  or  some  other  like  haunt  of  fashion  in  far-away  Europe.  If 
we  opened  them  the  illusion  vanished  quickly  enough.  At  the 
end  of  the  street  the  sentry  paced  up  and  down  behind  the  loop- 
holed  walls,  and  between  selections  from  the  "  Nozze  "  and  "  Ptobert 


52  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

le  Diable  "  the  sergeant  of  the  guard  placed  the  heavy  key  of  the 
gates  in  the  Governor's  hand. 

The  northern  side  of  the  island  is  said  to  have  a  greater  rainfall 
than  the  southern.  The  Spaniards  had  not  taken  any  observations, 
but  we  gathered  that  it  was  considerable.  The  first  three  months 
of  the  year  are  on  the  whole  fine  and  dry,  but  at  the  end  of  April 
or  the  beginning  of  May  the  rains  come,  and  the  monsoon  changes. 
Part  of  July  and  September  and  the  whole  of  August  are  again  fine, 
but  in  the  middle  of  September  the  second  rains  usually  begm,  and 
last  until  the  end  of  the  year.  The  easterly  monsoon  does  not  set 
in  steadily  before  November.  During  our  visit  in  April  and  May 
the  thermometer  on  board  ship  stood  pretty  steadily  at  80°  or  81°. 
Inland  the  temperature  was  three  or  four  degrees  higher.  Cholera 
had  visited  Jolo  durmg  the  previous  year,  doubtless  imported  from 
Manila,  for  as  far  as  we  could  learn  only  a  few  cases  occurred  on 
the  island  generally.  In  the  town  itself,  however,  a  large  number 
of  people  fell  victims,  and,  sanitarily  speaking,  it  was  in  very  bad 
condition  at  the  time  of  the  3farchesa's  visit,  although  the  streets 
and  houses  were  beautifully  clean.  The  garrison  were  dying  at 
the  rate  of  one  man  a  day,  chiefly  from  dysentery  and  fever,  the 
latter  disease  being  especially  rife,  owing  no  doubt  to  the  amount 
of  digging  always  gomg  on  within  the  precincts  of  the  town.  This 
mortality  is,  however,  no  criterion  whatever  of  the  healthiness  of 
Sulu  itself,  which  appears  to  be  equal  to  that  of  any  tropical  island 
in  this  part  of  the  world,  and  far  superior  to  that  of  Xorthern 
Borneo.  The  crowding,  the  disturbance  of  the  soil,  and  the  con- 
dition of  hopeless  ennui  resulting  from  the  prison -Hfe  of  Jolo, — 
each  of  these  is  sufficient  alone  to  make  any  tropical  station 
unhealthy.  When  they  are  combined  the  only  wonder  is  that  the 
death-rate  is  not  higher. 

Our  friend  Don  Julian,  always  bright  and  cheerful  in  spite  of 
his  ill-health,  and  with  a  mixed  vein  of  keen  humour  and  kindly 
cynicism  in  his  manner  which  rendered  him  a  charmmg  companion, 
seemed  alone  to  prevent  Jolo  from  falling  into  a  condition  of  utter 


m.]  SPANIARDS  AND  SULUS.  53 

Stagnation.  He  was  doing  his  very  utmost  to  conciliate  the  natives, 
but  his  efforts  had  apparently  been  almost  fruitless,  for  though  he 
might  succeed  for  a  time,  fresh  outrages  and  murders  would  soon 
place  the  two  parties  on  theu'  old  hostile  footing.  It  is  curious  to 
note  how  quickly  the  neighboming  Philippine  islanders  submitted 
to  Spain's  yoke,  and  how  prosperous  and  contented  they  are  at  the 
present  day  in  spite  of  earthquakes,  typhoons,  and  tidal  waves. 
But  with  the  treacherous  and  fanatical  Sulus, — possibly  from  their 
religion, — little  or  no  progi'ess  has  been  made.  During  the  war  of 
succession  in  1881 — -for  in  Sulu  the  death  of  the  Sultan  is  always 
the  occasion  of  a  general  outbreak — the  natives  came  up  to  the 
very  walls  of  Jolo,  and  tried  to  carry  it  by  assault,  with  the  result 
that  a  few  Spaniards  and  a  large  number  of  their  enemies  were 
killed  and  wounded.  Affairs  were  quiet  for  a  time,  but  the  people 
of  Loc — with  whom  the  Sultan,  at  the  period  of  our  visit,  was 
himself  at  war — ha^dng  been  constantly  successful  in  lying  in  wait 
for  and  spearing  the  Spanish  just  outside  the  walls  of  Jolo,  an 
expedition  was  organised  at  the  end  of  1882,  and  in  the  engage- 
ment which  took  place  about  tliirty  Sulus  fell.  Just  previous  to 
this  a  Loc  man,  armed  with  his  ijcirang,  had  succeeded  in  getting 
into  Jolo  unperceived.^  AValkmg  to  the  Plaza  he  drew  his  weapon, 
and  rushing  upon  the  people  began  cutting  down  men,  women,  and 
cliildren  indiscriminately.  Although  almost  every  one  goes  armed 
in  the  town,  he  was  with  some  difficulty  overpowered,  and  he 
had  killed  no  less  than  seventeen  persons  before  he  was  finally 
despatched !  Truly  it  can  be  said  that  even  life  in  Jolo  is  not 
without  its  excitements. 

On  the  1st  of  May  we  found  ourselves  again  at  Meunbun,  after 
another  day's  pig-sticking  with  the  Pangiima  Dammang,  m  which 
six  pigs  had  bit  the  dust.  As  we  rowed  up  the  little  stream  we 
noticed  some  of  the  natives  busily  engaged  in  repairing  their  large 
praus,  which  were  hauled  up  on  the  mud  close  to  the  market-place. 
The  Sulu  boats  are  of  two  kinds  only.     The  clapang,  or  smaller  one 

^  The  Sulus  are  allowed  to  enter  the  town,  but  are  searched  for  arms  at  the  gates. 


54 


THE  SULU  ISLANDS. 


[chap. 


is  usually  a  "  dug-out,"  with  its  freeboard  heightened  by  planks. 
So  far  it  is  a  common  enough  model  in  Malay  waters,  but  its 
peculiarity  consists  in  both  bow  and  stern  being  cigar-shaped. 
Above  the  "  ram  "  thus  formed  the  two  top  planks  are  l^ent  sharply 
outwards,  making  a  deeply-flanged  bow  of  very  characteristic 
shape.  These  boats  are  provided  with  large  bamboo  outriggers  on 
both  sides,  and  will  stand  tolerably  heavy  weather.  The  larger 
praus,  which  are  used  for  voyages  to  North  Borneo,  Samboanga, 
and  other  more  distant  parts,  are  from  12  to  20  tons'  burden,  and 


>Ml/'       I' 


CABVED   STOXE,  MEIMBUN. 


are  strongly,  though  rather  clumsily  built.  Their  sterns  are  often 
highly  ornamented  with  carving.  We  were  much  struck  by  Sulu 
taste  and  execution  in  this  way,  wdiether  displayed  on  tombstones, 
praus,  or  house  decoration.  Over  the  door  of  the  Sultan's  harem 
was  a  very  pretty  bit  of  scroll  lattice-work,  but  the  best  example  of 
stone-carving  that  we  saw  on  the  island  was  a  large  slab  which 
lay  half  buried  in  the  mud  and  coarse  vegetation  of  the  river-bank 
just  below  the  Sultan's  house.  The  people  were  rather  amused 
at  my  sketching  it,  but  I  could  not  get  them  to  tell  me  what  it 
was.  Most  probably  it  was  originally  intended  for  a  gravestone, 
but  when  we  were  there  the  washerwomen  of  the  household  used 


III.]  PHOTOGRAPHING  THE  SULTAN.  55 

it  as  a  slab  on  which  to  knock  off  the  buttons  of  the  imperial 
shirts. 

The  Sultan  had  on  several  occasions  expressed  his  desire  to  be 
photographed,  and  accordingly  one  morning,  having  previously 
made  an  appointment  at  nine  o'clock,  we  rowed  ashore,  and,  after  two 
or  three  hours'  collecting,  arrived  at  the  Istana  at  half-past  ten. 
We  were  a  good  half  hour  too  early.  The  Sultan,  dressed  in  an 
ordinary  Oxford  shirt,  with  a  short  silk  sarong  and  European 
trousers,  made  his  appearance  with  the  charming  nonchalance  that 
characterises  all  well-bred  people  who  are  late.  We  sat  and  drank 
chocolate  for  some  time,  and  at  length,  after  a  few  delicate  hints 
on  our  part  that  we  were  quite  ready,  he  again  retired  for  half  an 
hour  or  so,  reappearing  in  full  Sulu  costume  of  bright  yellow 
trousers  fitting  close  to  the  skin,  a  magenta  velvet  coat  covered 
with  small  gold  plaques  set  with  pearls  and  emeralds,  and  a  small 
turban.  The  latter  was  of  a  kind  peculiar  to  Sulu — of  brilliant 
crimson  silk  worked  alike  on  both  sides  with  flowers,  and  not  much 
larger  than  a  good-sized  handkerchief.  We  congratulated  ourselves 
on  this  unusual  rapidity,  and  were  preparing  our  plate  when  we 
discovered  that  His  Eoyal  Highness  had  not  the  smallest  intention 
of  being  photographed  in  this  costume,  but  was  merely  waiting 
until  another  was  ready.  This  turned  out  to  be  a  quasi-European 
dress,  of  dark  blue  cloth  jacket  and  trousers  embroidered  with  gold. 
But  as  the  straight  gold  stripes  upon  the  trousers  did  not  seem 
sufficiently  decorative,  he  set  his  wives  to  work  to  make  an 
additional  looped  trefoil  border  of  the  same  material,  and  retired 
into  the  other  room.  The  hours  passed  on  and  still  the  members 
of  the  harem  sat  stitching  away,  so,  tired  of  waiting,  we  went  to 
talk  to  them.  They  were  evidently  as  much  disgusted  as  we  were, 
and  anxious  to  know  if  the  job  could  be  done  quicker,  they  put 
the  imperial  unmentionables  into  our  hands,  and  told  us  that  they 
would  be  delighted  if  we  would  finish  them.  The  design,  we 
found,  had  not  even  reached  the  knee,  and  feeling  that  active 
measures  were  necessary,  we  again  interviewed  His  Majesty,  and 


56  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

represented  to  him  that  he  looked  more  than  usually  charming  in 
his  Sulu  dress,  that  he  would  look  even  better  in  the  photograph, 
and  finally  that,  in  European  countries,  curls  and  twiddles  of  gold 
lace  were  only  worn  down  the  leg  by  people  of  low  rank,  such  as 
the  Betel  Boxes  in  "Waiting  and  the  like.  Happily  we  succeeded  in 
persuading  him,  and  after  he  had  again  retired  to  make  a  few 
additions  to  his  jewellery,  we  managed  at  length  to  form  a  group. 
Everything  was  going  swmimingly  ;  the  hand  was  on  the  cap 
waiting  for  the  Sultan's  eye  to  fix  itself  upon  the  spot  indicated, 
when  suddenly  jimiping  up,  and  clappmg  his  hands,  he  declared 
that  he  would  be  taken  on  horseback!  " Baik  sakali  itu!"  A 
capital  idea !  The  whole  operation  had  to  be  gone  through  from 
the  beginning  again. 

In  spite  of  the  irresolution  of  the  Sultan,  it  appears  that  he  can 
occasionally  make  up  his  mind.  A  short  time  before  our  arrival  a 
burglarious  Sulu  entered  the  house  of  a  Chinaman, — a  few  of  that 
race  being  permitted  to  live  and  trade  at  Meimbun.  It  is  not 
often  that  Johnny  is  caught  napping,  and  tliis  one  was  no  exception 
to  the  rule.  But  instead  of  takmg  to  flight,  the  Sulu  cut  down  the 
unfortunate  householder  with  his  ])arang.  On  recovering,  the 
Chinaman  laid  a  complaint  before  the  Sultan,  who,  on  hearing  the 
e^'idence,  at  once  ordered  the  Sulu  to  be  decapitated. 

At  Meimbun  we  once  more  resumed  our  old  plan  of  collecting, 
and  every  morning,  shortly  after  daybreak,  the  little  crowd  of 
children  awaited  our  arrival  at  the  bamboo  bridge.  Our  way 
generally  took  us  for  a  short  distance  over  a  well-trodden  path 
leading  to  the  market,  and  we  used  to  meet  and  exchange  saluta- 
tions with  small  parties  of  Sulu  warriors  and  their  wives  coming 
in  laden  with  fruit  and  other  produce.  The  gTcater  number  were 
mounted  on  the  sturdy  little  ponies  for  which  the  island  is  famous, 
and  at  the  ends  of  their  spears  dangled  a  couple  of  fowls  or  a  bunch 
of  bananas.  The  market  itself  would  have  rejoiced  an  artist's  eye. 
The  bright  yellow  of  the  areca  and  coconuts  against  the  fresh 
green  sireh  leaf ;  the  picturesque  groups  of  natives  bargaining  round 


III.]  NEIF  BIRDS. 


the  stalls ;  the  little  piles  of  spears  leant  up  against  the  corners  of 
the  attap  sheds;  the  Chinamen  with  their  large  Bornean  hats 
sitting  behind  their  shelves  of  "  notions  ";  the  swarms  of  butterflies 
hovering  over  the  dSris  of  jack-fruit  husks  and  the  like,  together 
formed  a  scene  which  was  always  novel  and  amusing.  No  descrip- 
tion that  I  could  give  would  convey  to  my  reader  any  idea  of  its 
busy  life  and  brilliant  colouring. 

Mr.  Burbidge,  who  paid  a  short  visit  to  Sulu  a  few  years  ago, 
mentions  the  fact  of  some  of  the  natives  being  provided  with  shirts 
of  chain  armour.^  In  spite  of  our  being  on  the  look-out  for  them 
we  saw  very  few,  but  at  a  later  period  we  succeeded  in  obtaining 
two.  They  were  without  the  brass  breastplate  described  by  Mr. 
Burbidge.  These  articles  are  undoubtedly  of  European  manu- 
facture, and  it  is  extremely  probable  that  they  were  taken  in 
bygone  years  by  the  Sulus  from  their  old  enemies  the  Spaniards. 
Where  spear  and  kris  are  as  yet  unsupplanted  by  the  rifle,  as  is 
the  case  among  these  islands,  they  must,  I  should  think,  be 
extremely  useful. 

Our  ornitholosfical  rambles  during  this,  our  second  visit  to 
Meimbun  were  productive  of  several  species  which  we  had  not 
previously  obtained;  among  others  of  two  or  three  rare  pigeons. 
Of  all  parts  of  the  world  the  New  Guinea  region  is  perhaps  the 
richest  in  these  birds,  but  we  found  them  tolerably  abundant  here, 
and  obtained  no  less  than  eleven  different  kinds.  But  our  greatest 
prizes  were  two  birds  hitherto  unknown  to  ornithologists.  The 
first,  a  bush-shrike  of  brilliant  colouring,  with  the  head  and 
shoulders  shining  bluish-black  and  the  rest  of  the  plumage  bright 
orange-yellow,  I  afterwards  named  after  the  yacht  (Pcricrocotus 
niarcliescc,  vide  Frontispiece,  vol.  i.)  The  other  bird  {Macronus 
hettlcwdli),  a  babbler,  with  a  curious  tuft  of  white,  hair-like  feathers 
springing  from  the  back,  was  an  interesting  sjDCcies,  of  which  we 
unfortunately  obtained  a  single  specimen  only.^ 

1  "The  Gardens  of  the  Sun,"  p.  206. 

2  Vide  paper  by  the  author,  A  Provisional  List  of  the  Birds  inhabiting  the  Sulu 
Archipelago,  "Proc.  Zool.  Soc."  1885,  p.  247. 


58  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

A  clay  or  two  afterwards  we  returned  to  Parang  on  our  way  to 
Jolo,  and  the  ship,  as  on  the  former  occasion,  was  visited  by  crowds 
of  natives,  among  them  being  a  Datu  or  chief  who  was  not  upon 
the  best  of  terms  with  the  Panglima  Danimang.  We  learnt, 
in  fact,  that  hostilities  were  frequently  apt  to  break  out  between 
them.  The  most  amusing  of  our  visitors  was  a  very  fat,  good- 
natured-looking  old  Sulu,  who  was  said  to  have  been  the  most 
renowned  pearl-diver  in  the  archipelago.  He  had  on  one  occasion 
reached  a  depth  of  twenty-seven  fathoms.  The  Sulus  are  probably 
the  best  divers  in  the  world,  and  think  nothing  of  depths  of  less  than 
seventeen  or  eighteen  fathoms.  "We  were  anchored  at  the  time  in 
about  fifty  feet  of  water,  and  noticed  that  the  natives  went  down  to 
bring  up  the  old  tins  and  empty  bottles  we  had  thrown  overboard. 
They  do  not  use  any  weight,  but  swim  straight  downwards. 

Keturning  from  a  shooting  excursion  next  morning,  we  took 
refuge  in  the  Datu's  house  to  avoid  a  heavy  showier  of  rain.  He 
received  our  invasion  with  calm  reserve,  apparently  not  being  too 
pleased  to  see  us,  but  after  a  time  he  became  more  friendly.  His 
house,  like  the  others,  was  built  on  piles  over  the  sea,  with  a 
rickety  bridge  about  eighty  yards  in  length  connecting  it  with  the 
shore.  The  floor  was,  as  usual,  constructed  of  split  1  jamboos,  which 
were  so  far  apart  that  I  nearly  broke  my  leg  by  putting  it  through 
a  more  than  ordinarily  large  gap.  Among  a  little  pile  of  spears  in 
the  corner  of  the  room  were  three  guns,  one  of  which  was  a 
magazine  rifle  of  American  make  !  Our  host  was  without  cartridges 
for  it,  happily  for  the  Panglima,  and  we  had  neither  the  wish  nor 
the  ability  to  assist  hun. 

On  the  day  following  our  arrival  at  Jolo  we  were  astonished  to 
see  a  large  man-of-war  approaching  the  anchorage.  She  proved  to 
be-  the  Wolf,  a  German  corvette,  the  officers  of  which  were  very 
anxious  to  get  information  as  to  the  doings  of  the  Sj)anish  authorities 
in  the  archipelago.  This  we  left  them  to  obtain  first  hand,  and 
contented  ourselves  with  lending  them  a  couple  of  charts,  of  which 
they  w^ere  in  need.     The  Germans  were  at  that  time  extremely 


III.] 


LUKUT  LAP  AS. 


59 


jealous  of  Spanish  influence  in  these  and  other  neighbouring- 
islands,  and — somewhat  maliciously  I  fear — we  asked  them  if  they 
recognised  the  sovereignty  of  Spain  in  Sulu.  They  told  us  that 
they  were  unable  to  answer  the  question.  By  the  treaty  of  March 
7th,  1885,  they  have  since  admitted  it. 

We  had  returned  to  Jolo  with  the  intention  of  staying  a  few  days 
at  Captain  Schiick's  plantation.     The  path  thither  leads  straight 


SPANISH   BLOCK-HOUSE   NEAR   JOLO. 


out  from  the  back  of  the  town  towards  the  centre  of  the  island, 
and  about  four  hundred  yards  from  the  gates  passes  a  small  block 
house  which  the  Spaniards  have  established  as  an  advanced  post. 
The  country  is  but  little  cultivated  in  this  part,  owing  to  its 
disturbed  condition,  but  after  passing  through  a  picturesque  little 
valley,  signs  of  agriculture  become  more  frequent,  and  in  less  than 
a  couple  of  miles  the  bungalow,  Lukut  Lapas,  is  reached — a  large, 
rambling  building  surrounded  by  several  outhouses  and  Sulu  huts. 
The  view  is  an  extremely  pretty  one,  with  the  thick  plantations 
around  the  house,  and  a  bright  little  rivulet  dividing  it  from  the 


60  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

jungle-covered  hills  to  the  westward.  Captam  Schiick  had  been 
settled  there  for  four  years,  and  after  a  short  period  of  squabbles 
and  fights  with  the  natives,  in  wliich  on  more  than  one  occasion 
he  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life,  he  had  at  length  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  footing,  and  had  made  himself  respected  and  looked 
up  to  by  the  people  in  no  common  degi^ee.  Two  years  later  his 
wife  and  family — eight  in  number,  and  all  under  seventeen — had 
joined  him.  His  history  had  been  one  of  many  vicissitudes.  At 
one  time  a  trader,  he  had  visited  most  parts  of  the  ]\Ialay  Archi- 
pelago, and  had  been  shipwrecked,  captured  by  pirates — both 
Chinese  and  Sulu — and  exposed  to  many  other  mischances.  Coming 
to  Sulu  and  espousing  the  cause  of  the  natives  against  the  Spaniards, 
he  took  to  "  gun-running,"  had  his  vessel  confiscated,  and  was  hun- 
self  taken  as  prisoner  to  IManila.  The  German  Government  took 
up  his  case ;  the  Spaniards  were  compelled  to  release  him,  and 
he  was  ultimately  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  £1000  as  compensa- 
tion. Such  is  the  respect  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  Sulus  that 
during  Ms  absence  his  family  live  unharmed  among  them,  in 
spite  of  their  lawless  nature  and  the  many  factions  into  which 
they  are  split.  In  great  measure  this  is  no  doubt  owing  to  his  up- 
right and  fearless  conduct,  and  to  his  ha\'ing  taken  his  own  line 
boldly.  As  an  instance  I  may  quote  the  following  case.  Two 
women  working  on  his  estate  having  been  murdered  by  a  couple 
of  their-  fellow-countr}'men,  he  called  a  meeting  of  the  chiefs,  and 
obtaining  their  consent,  rode  over  to  the  house  of  one  of  the 
murderers,  secured  him,  and  shot  him  with  his  own  hand.  For 
the  other  he  searched  every  prau  on  the  coast,  and  having  at  length 
found  him,  brought  him  to  the  chiefs,  by  whom  he  was  immediately 
krissed. 

Captain  Schiick's  son,  a  merry  boy  of  seventeen,  we  found  not 
only  a  most  useful,  but  an  extremely  agTeeable  companion.  He 
accompanied  us  everywhere,  and  with  his  knowledge  of  the  people 
and  their  habits,  and  his  extraordinary  command  of  languages,  was 
of  the   ga^eatest   assistance   to   us.     He   spoke   German,   English, 


III.]  MANILA  HEMP.  61 

]\Ialay,  and  Sulu  with  perfect  fluency,  and  was  tolerably  well 
acquainted  with  Bisaya  and  French.  It  was  amusing  to  see  his 
easy  familiarity  with  the  Sultan,  and  how  he  was  called  in  to  quiet 
the  domestic  jars  among  the  beauties  of  the  harem. 

I  have  rarely  seen  better  soil  than  that  of  Lukut  Lapas.  The 
lanook,  or  so-called  IManila  hemp  {Musa  tcxtilis),  was  growing  with 
wonderful  luxuriance.  It  is  a  plant  closely  resembling  the  banana 
in  appearance,  but  of  a  darker  green,  and  its  cultivation  is  almost 
exclusively  confined  to  the  southern  islands  of  the  Philippines. 
The  fibre  is  of  considerable  value,  being  very  strong  and  flexible, 
and  but  for  the  fact  that  the  tree  is  said  not  to  flourish  out  of  the 
latitudes  above  named,  it  is  extraordinary  that  it  should  not 
hitherto  have  been  more  cultivated.  Like  the  banana,  the  lanook 
is  trunkless,  its  spurious  stem  being  formed  by  layers  of  the 
ensheathing  petioles.  As  the  older  stems,  wdiich  are  the  chief 
source  of  the  fibre,  are  cut  down,  new  suckers  spring  up  with  great 
rapidity  from  the  parent  root.  The  fibre  is  separated  by  scraping 
away  the  pulp  with  a  blunt  knife  or  piece  of  hoop-iron,  and  after  a 
certain  amount  of  preparation,  is  sorted  according  to  its  fineness, 
the  coarser  quality  being  made  into  cordage,  the  finer  spun  into  a 
substance  which,  in  the  Philippines,  is  woven  with  silk  or  cotton 
to  make  dress  fabrics.  Exported,  it  is  chiefly  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  paper.  The  coffee  plantation  was  by  no  means  so  flourishing 
as  the  lanook.  The  trees  were  affected  by  mould,  and  with  a  leaf 
disease  very  similar  to,  if  not  actually  identical  with  that  produced 
by  the  Hemileia  vastatrix  in  Ceylon  and  other  countries.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  Sulu  is  adapted  for  coffee-growdng.  It  was  only 
to  be  expected  that  the  Coffea  arahica — the  sole  kind  that  Captain 
Schlick  had  tried — would  prove  a  failure,  but  it  is  possible  that 
the  Liberian  variety,  which  has  succeeded  well  at  low  elevations 
in  Ceylon,  might  also  do  so  here.  Cacao  and  tapioca  were  the 
only  other  vegetable  products  grown.  The  former  was  doing 
extremely  well.  The  tree,  which  was  introduced  into  the  Philippines 
by  the  Spaniards  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  appears 


62  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

to  have  found  a  thoroughly  congenial  soil,  and  I  have  seldom 
tasted  more  delicious  chocolate  than  that  we  drank  in  Sulu. 
Usually  the  trees  do  not  begin  to  bear  until  they  are  four  years 
old,  but  Captam  Schiick  informed  us  that  at  Lukut  Lapas  they  had 
borne  well  on  the  third  year.  The  young  cacao  always  requu'ing 
shade,  the  plantations  are  generally  made  beneath  the  Artocarpus 
or  other  thick-foliaged  trees,  large  clumps  of  wliich  are  so  plentiful 
throughout  the  island  that  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  getting 
suitable  ground  for  planting. 

Wandermg  about  in  the  pleasant  fruit -groves  and  open 
clearings,  we  were  able  to  add  considerably  to  our  collections.  In 
the  long  lalang  gi'ass  the  large  ground  Cuckoo  {Centrococcyx)  rose 
before  one's  feet  with  a  flapping,  laboured  flight.  The  tiny  Button- 
quail  (^irm(/'actoHa.  cAmewsis) haunted  the  same  ground  in  abundance, 
lying  in  twos  and  threes.  The  natives  net  them  in  great  numbers, 
and  used  often  to  bring  them  to  us  for  sale.  They  live  well  in 
captivity  in  spite  of  theu'  pugnacity,  but  the  top  of  the  cage  must 
be  made  of  a  piece  of  loosely-stretched  linen  or  sacking,  or  the 
birds'  constant  habit  of  springing  upwards  soon  causes  their  death. 
The  common  Jungle-fowl  of  the  Indo- Malayan  region  {Gallus 
hankiva),  identical  in  appearance  with  our  "  black-breasted  red " 
game  fowl,  is  very  numerous  throughout  the  island,  but,  owing  to 
its  haunting  the  thicker  jungle  and  being  very  shy,  it  is  rarely 
seen.  The  Sulus  have  a  plan  of  catching  it  which  seems  to  be 
very  successful.  They  tie  up  a  captive  in  the  most  frequented 
haunts  of  the  species,  and  surround  liim  with  springes.  The  wild 
bu'ds,  attracted  by  his  crowing,  come  down  to  fight,  and  are 
quickly  caught.  In  tliis  manner  it  is  only  the  cock  bird  that  is 
ever  secured,  and  thus,  although  at  one  time  we  had  as  many  as 
ten  cocks  tied  up  to  the  posts  of  the  verandah,  we  never  even  saw 
the  hen.  After  a  few  days'  captivity  they  readily  permit  them- 
selves to  be  caught  and  carried  about,  and  become  far  tamer  even 
than  domestic  fowls,  with  which  they  are  freely  crossed  by  the 
natives.     The  cock  bird  has  sickle  feathers  of  extraordinary  length. 


III.]  TOBACCO  CULTIVATION.  63 

There  is  one  crop  deserving  of  special  mention  for  which  Sulu 
seems  particularly  suited.  The  tobacco  used  by  the  natives  is 
almost  entirely  of  Chinese  manufacture,  as  they  are  apparently 
ignorant  of  the  method  of  preparation  of  the  leaf,  but  in  the  few 
places  in  which  we  found  it  growing,  it  appeared  to  be  of  remark- 
ably good  quality.  It  is  a  fact  not  generally  known  that  the 
outside  leaves — or  "  wrappers,"  as  they  are  technically  termed — of 
the  better  qualities  of  Havana  cigars  are  grown  at  Deli,  in 
Sumatra,  and  that  there  are  but  few  soils  capable  of  producing 
them.  In  October,  1884,  the  managers  of  the  German  Borneo  ■ 
Company  landed  in  Sulu,  and,  struck  with  the  appearance  of  the 
island,  determined  on  planting  tobacco.  The  result  of  the  first 
year's  work  was  200  pimls,  valued  at  £10  per  jjtc?^/.  This  year 
(1886)  100  "fields"  are  under  cultivation,  which  are  expected 
to  yield  800  ^j-icii/s — in  other  words,  about  100,000  lbs.  The 
labourers  are  Chinese  from  Singapore,  where  they  are  engaged 
before  the  Government  Agency,  and  receive  their  passage  and  an 
advance,  together  equivalent  to  860,  the  half  of  which  only  is 
charged  to  them.  The  method  of  cultivation  is  as  follows.  In 
December  the  felling  of  the  forest  and  clearing  of  the  land 
commences.  In  April  the  nurseries  are  prepared,  and  the  seed, 
mixed  with  ashes,  sown  on  the  raised  beds.  The  young  plants 
gi'ow  rapidly,  and  in  early  May  —  the  beginning  of  the  rainy 
season — they  are  pricked  out  in  "  fields  "  of  300  by  20  yards,  each 
of  which  is  looked  after  by  its  own  coolie.  The  soil  is  banked  up 
around  the  stalk  of  the  plant,  and  the  leaves  are  carefully  searched 
for  insects.  At  the  beginning  of  August  the  tobacco  is  fit  for 
cutting.  This  is  done  an  inch  or  two  below  the  first  leaf,  and  the 
plants  are  hung  up  head  downwards  in  the  drying-sheds  until  the 
stalks  become  dry,  when  the  leaves  are  cut  off,  packed  in  bundles, 
and  caiTied  to  the  fermenting-shed.  Here  they  are  formed  into 
"  staples " — pyramidal  heaps  in  which  fermentation  takes  place 
— the  heat  being  carefully  noted  by  thermometers.  Wlien  the 
desired  temperature  is  reached  the    "  staple "  is  rebuilt,  the  outer 


64  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap.  hi. 

bundles  being  now  placed  in  the  centre.  When  the  leaves  are 
considered  fit,  they  are  carried  to  another  shed,  where,  after  being- 
sorted  and  pressed,  they  are  made  into  bales  ready  for  shipment. 
The  stalks  left  after  the  first  cutting  grow  again,  and  yield  a  second 
and  a  third  crop,  which,  though  inferior  in  weight,  show  no 
deterioration  in  quality. 

The  industry  thus  recently  established  in  Sulu  Island  has, 
apparently,  every  prospect  of  success.  By  the  manager  of  the 
Deli  Maatschappij  the  soil  was  pronounced  superior  to  the  best 
■  Siimatran  ground.  The  natives,  though  sworn  enemies  of  the 
Spaniards,  are  tolerably  friendly  with  the  Germans  and  English, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  when  foreign  capital  is  employed  and 
Spanish  influence  has  become  greater,  the  conversion  of  the  jMrang 
into  the  ploughshare  may  be  not  far  distant,  and  that  Sulu,  from 
a  land  of  bloodshed  and  rapine,  may  in  time  become  as  peaceful 
and  agricultural  as  the  Philippines. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  SULU  ISLANDS  (continued). 

We  visit  the  Panglima  Danimang — Battle  between  the  Panglima  and  Maharajah 
Tahil  —  The  Panglima  shows  his  teeth  —  An  unpleasant  predicament  —  The 
convicts  in  Jolo — A  serio-comic  drama  —  Pangasinan  Island  —  A  buU-iight  — 
Siassi  Island — Cholera  epidemic — Lapac — Leave  for  Tawi-tawi  Island  —  The 
Spanish  settlement  at  Tataan — An  unpleasant  companion — Tawi-tawi  pirates — 
Fauna  and  flora  of  the  Philippines  and  Borneo  contrasted — Consideration  of 
the  Sulu  fauna — The  Sulu  Archipelago  zoographically  purely  Philippine — The 
Sibutu  Passage  forms  the  boundary  line — The  Sulu  language — History  of  Sulu 
—Treaty  of  1885. 

We  rode  out  one  afternoon  from  Lukut  Lapas  to  the  house  of  the 
Pangihna  Dammang.  There  had  been  some  talk  about  another 
day's  pig-stickmg,  but  we  were  uncertain  about  it,  as  the  natives 
brought  in  the  news  that  on  the  previous  day  he  had  summoned 
all  his  men  to  proceed  against  the  Maharajah  Tahil.  We  learnt 
that  he  had  sent  a  challenge  to  this  potentate,  asking  him  to  "  come 
down  and  fight,"  and  that  the  Maharajah,  ever  ready  to  oblige  him, 
had  replied  that  he  would  be  delighted.  "  I  will  fight,"  he  said, 
"  but  not  with  guns.  Let  us  fight  man  against  man ;  spear  to  speai', 
and  kris  to  kris."  The  event,  we  believed,  had  come  off  that 
morning,  but  we  could  learn  nothing  certain,  and  when  we  pulled 
up  our  horses  at  nine  o'clock  at  night  outside  the  Pangiima's 
stockades  we  were  not  at  all  sure  if  His  Excellency  had  returned 
from  the  battlefield. 

It   was   some   little   time   before   they  removed   the   bamboo 
barricades  and  admitted  us,  and  riding  into  the  court,  which  was 
VOL.  IL  F 


66  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

Ml  of  Sulu  warriors,  we  off-saddled  the  horses,  aud  entered  the 
house.  It  consisted — as  do  most  of  the  houses  in  Sulu,  even  of 
those  of  high  rank — of  a  single  large  room.  In  the  centre  was  a 
raised  platform  suiTOunded  with  curtains.  This  was  the  bedroom 
of  the  Pangluna  and  Ms  two  wives,  the  remainder  of  the  apartment, 
which  was  carpeted  with  grass  mats,  forming  his  living  and  reception- 
room.  Spears  and  guns  were  arranged  on  one  side,  and  against  the 
wall  a  few  slightly-raised  platforms  served  as  sleeping-places  for 
his  head  men  or  guests.  We  took  possession  of  two  or  tlu'ee  of  these 
berths,  where  we  had  often  slept  before,  and,  producing  our  supper, 
discussed  the  events  of  the  day.  The  Panglima,  we  learnt,  had 
gained  a  complete  victory.  Thirty  houses  had  been  burnt,  many 
of  the  enemy  killed,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  loot  obtained, 
and,  concluding  that  our  host  would  be  in  the  best  of  tempers  for 
a  hunt  on  the  following  morning,  we  chatted  away  merrily  over 
our  chocolate  and  pipes. 

Presently  the  curtains  opened  and  the  Panglima  appeared,  and 
squatted  down  without  a  word  upon  the  dais.  A  glance  at  him 
told  us  that  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  be  trifled  with,  for  he 
looked  as  black  as  thunder  and  took  no  notice  whatever  of  us.  It 
was  in  vain  that  we  made  our  salutations,  in  vain  that  our  clever 
little  interpreter  clad  our  congratulations  on  his  \'ictory  in  all  the 
poetic  unagery  of  the  East.  Conversation  falls  flat  if  carried  on  on 
one  side  with  a  series  of  giimts,  and  we  soon  saw  that  it  would  be 
wisest  for  us  to  retire  for  the  night  as  quietly  as  we  coidd. 

The  next  day  began  with  an  amusing  incident.  An  old  woman 
entered  the  room  with  such  a  guilty  look  and  melodramatic  step 
that  the  only  one  of  our  party  who  was  awake  immediately  "  played 
'possum."  Having  satisfied  herself  by  close  inspection  that  we  were 
all  asleep,  she  made  for  oui'  bag,  abstracted  a  Turkish  towel,  and, 
tucking  it  under  her  sai'ong,  disappeared  with  great  rapidity.  Soon 
after  tliis  little  occurrence  the  rest  of  our  party  woke,  and  the 
Panglima  also  appeared.  Neither  sleep  nor  the  slaughter' of  his 
enemies  had  exercised  any  softening  effect  uj)on  him,  and  he  looked 


IV.]  THE  PANGLIMA  SHOWS  HIS  TEETH.  67 

in  an  even  worse  temper  than  that  of  the  night  before.  On  our  last 
visit  the  relations  between  ns  had  become  rather  strained,  but  we 
hoped  that  the  difficulties  had  passed  over.  We  had  lost  several 
small  articles  while  in  his  house,  and  some  dollars  had  been  stolen 
from  our  clothes  during  the  night.  But  the  chief  bone  of  conten- 
tion was  with  regard  to  some  horses  and  silver -hilted  spears  that 
we  had  bought.  The  money  had  been  counted  twice  by  us  before 
paying  it,  but  almost  immediately  afterwards  the  Panglima  had 
declared  that  it  was  eight  dollars  short.  Tliis  we  had  at  once 
denied,  and  the  matter  had  been  allowed  to  drop,  but  now  our  host 
returned  again  to  the  charge,  and  roughly  demanded  the  money. 
We  were  half  inclined  to  make  a  compromise  by  tendering  four 
dollars,  but  feeling  that  it  would  show  weakness,  and  that  he 
might  think  that  we  gave  it  through  fear,  we  decided  not  to  do  so, 
and  told  him  of  the  morning's  theft.  The  woman  was  sent  for,  and 
finding  the  evidence  too  strong  for  her,  confessed,  producing  the 
towel  amid  the  laughter  of  the  Sulus  standing  round,  who  evidently 
regarded  her  with  great  contempt  for  having  been  found  out. 
Among  these  people  the  Italian  proverb,  "  Peccato  celato  e  mezzo 
perdonato,"  is  true  if  we  leave  out  the  arithmetic,  and  it  was  quite 
within  the  bounds  of  probability  that  the  delinquent  had  only  been 
acting  under  orders.  This  incident,  and  our  firm  refusal  to  pay  the 
money  claimed,  did  not  tend  further  to  improve  the  Panglima's 
temper,  and  he  growled  out  that  "  we  English  were  liars,  and  that 
he  would  have  nothmg  further  to  do  with  us."  In  polite  society  it 
is,  I  believe,  the  generally- accepted  rule  that  the  application  of 
this  term  compels  the  insulted  person  to  strike  his  opponent  with 
violence  in  the  eye.  We  were  not,  however,  in  a  position  to  take 
this  measure,  but  replied  politely  that  we  should  be  pleased  if  he 
would  consider  our  intercourse  at  an  end,  inwardly  hopmg  most 
sincerely  that  it  might  be.  We  then  saddled  our  horses  and  rode 
slowly  out  of  the  stockade.  It  was  crowded  with  people,  and  we 
should  have  had  little  chance  had  they  attacked  us.  Fortunately, 
however,  we  were  not  intercepted.     It  was  an  unpleasant  predica- 


68 


THE  SULC  ISLANDS. 


[chap. 


ment,  from  which  we  congratulated  ourselves  on  ha\'ing  escaped 
with  whole  skins. 

Our  friend  the  Panglima  we  never  saw  again.  In  the  war  of 
succession  in  1885  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  fall.  AYliile  leading 
his  men  he  received  a  spear-wound  in  the  left  eye,  and  thus  Sulu 


A    NATIVE    OF    SULl'. 


was  rid  of  one  of  the  most  unmitigated  scoundrels  that  ever  trod 
its  soil. 

On  rejoining  the  yacht  at  Jolo  we  found  a  Manila  man  on 
board  who  had  escaped  from  the  town.  He  spoke  a  few  words 
only  of  Spanish,  but  complained  of  being  cruelly  treated  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  begged  most  piteously  to  be  allowed  to  remain.  It 
is  a  most  difficult  thing  to  judge  of  such  cases.  From  our  own 
observation,  and  from  our  constant  intercourse  with  the  Spanish 
officers, — whom  we  invariably  found  to  be,  as  far  as  we  could  judge, 
gentlemen  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  term, — we  were  inclined 
entirely  to  disbelieve  his  story.  The  fact,  however,  remains  that 
the  convicts,  possibly  weary  of  the  monotony  of  the  life  or  in 
dread  of  the  fever  and  dysentery  that  carries  off  their  comrades 


IV.]  VISIT  TO  PAXGASINAN.  69 

day  by  day,  constantly  attempt  to  escape,  although  they  well  know 
that  such  attempts  are  almost  invariably  fatal.  Unless  he  can 
manage  to  secure  a  prau,  and  put  to  sea  on  the  hazardous  chance  of 
reaching  some  one  of  the  Philippine  Islands  where  he  may  be  safe, 
the  refugee  is  certain  to  be  krissed  by  one  of  the  Sulus  who  are  for 
ever  on  the  watch  for  such  chances  around  the  walls  of  Jolo.  A 
reward  is  offered  for  the  recovery  of  these  men,  but  the  Sulus 
apparently  do  not  often  claim  it.  We  ourselves,  while  at  Lukut 
Lapas,  were  witnesses  of  a  little  drama  in  which  three  actors 
played  a  part  unconscious  of  our  presence.  It  may  perhaps  be 
best  described  as  a  rapid  procession  in  Indian  file,  with  an  escaped 
convict  leading.  Behind  him  came  a  Chinaman,  anxious  to  secure 
his  man  and  the  reward,  and  behind  him  again  a  Sulu,  parang  in 
hand,  and  probably  indifferent  which  of  the  two  he  brought  to  bag. 
It  was  a  serio-comic  drama  in  real  life,  but  what  was  its  last  act 
we  never  discovered.  The  company  vanished  in  the  bushes  and 
we  pursued  our  way. 

Don  Julian  Parrado  was  very  anxious  for  us  to  visit  the  island 
of  Pangasinan,  four  or  five  miles  to  the  north  of  Jolo,  where,  he 
told  us,  there  were  three  curious  circular  lakes  connected  by  canals 
— a  sort  of  second  edition  of  the  crater-lakes  of  Cagayan  Sulu,  as 
far  as  we  could  gather.  A  picnic  was  accordingly  arranged,  the 
Spaniards  being  delighted  at  the  prospect  of  a  day's  outing  without 
danger ;  and  we  started  one  morning  shortly  after  sunrise  with  our 
guests  and  about  five  and  thirty  of  the  band,  whose  instrimients 
were,  I  am  afraid,  somewhat  stronger  than  our  Spanish.  The  three 
lakes  proved  to  be  a  complete  disappointment.  They  were  merely 
mangrove  inlets,  and  though  perhaps  a  novelty  to  some  of  our 
guests,  were  by  no  means  so  to  us.  Their  size,  however,  was  very 
unusual,  and  the  complete  concealment  of  the  passages  from  one 
to  the  other  showed  us  what  a  perfectly  impregnable  pirate  haunt 
it  would  have  made.  We  learnt  that  it  had  actually  served  this 
purpose  until  quite  lately,  but  that  the  settlement  of  the  Spanish 
at  Jolo  had  proved  too  much  for  the  occupants.     After  poling  our 


THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 


way  through  the  tortuous  chaunels,  which,  but  for  the  aid  of  a 
native  we  had  with  us,  we  should  nevei'  have  found,  we  arri^"ed 
at  the  farthest  lake,  where,  in  the  very  centre,  half  a  dozen  pile- 
built  huts  were  picturesquely  grouped.  An  incident  occurred 
here  which,  trivial  though  it  was,  showed  that  the  feeling  of  the 
Spaniards  towards  the  natives  was,  in  some  instances  at  least, 
kindly  enough.  They  found  a  "  Moro  "  ill  in  one  of  the  huts,  and 
asked  me  to  see  him.  He  had  fractured  a  rib  by  falling  on  the 
end  of  a  pile,  and  while  I  was  debating  wdiat  substitute  I  should 
use  for  a  bandage,  one  of  the  officers  standing  by  took  oft'  his 
cholera-belt  and  handed  it  to  me.  I  fear  this  little  act  of  kindness 
was  lost  upon  the  patient.  The  Sulu  character  has  no  doubt 
many  good  points,  but,  as  among  most  other  native  tribes  with 
which  I  have  been  brought  in  contact,  kindness  and  weakness  are 
regarded  as  being  very  nearly  synonymous  terms. 

It  was  a  matter  of  great  distress  to  our  friends  at  Jolo  that 
they  could  not  show  us  any  hospitality.  I  use  the  word  in  its 
restricted  British  sense,  which  implies  that  the  only  way  of  enter- 
taining a  guest  is  to  feed  him.  "  On  ne  dine  jamais  ici ;  on  mange," 
said  Don  Julian,  deploring  his  inability  to  bid  us  to  a  feast  of  any 
kind.  In  default  of  meats  for  a  dinner  and  partners  for  a  ball, 
our  indefatigaljle  little  friend  had  insisted  on  getting  up  a  bull- 
fight in  our  honour,  in  spite  of  all  we  could  do  to  prevent  it.  None 
of  us  had  any  love  for  these  performances,  and  it  was  with  con- 
siderable regret  that  we  received  our  in^dtation,  as  we  could  not, 
of  course,  refuse  to  be  present.  The  con\icts  had  been  at  work  for 
some  days  at  the  ring,  and  Jolo  had  been  ransacked  from  end  to 
end  for  suitable  costumes,  and  when  we  arrived  on  the  Plaza  on 
the  appointed  afternoon,  we  were  astonished  to  find  how  admmibly 
the  aftair  had  been  got  up.  Gaily-dressed  caballeros  pranced 
around  the  entrance  as  w^e  made  our  way  to  the  grand  box. 
Opposite  to  us  was  the  band  in  its  full  strength,  and  to  our  right 
the  dite  of  Jolo  were  assembled  in  another  box.  Crowds  of  Sulus 
and  Manila  men,  gay  with  coloured  sarong  and  haju,  occupied 


IV.]  A  BULL -FIGHT.  71 

every  available  point  of  observation ;  flags  fluttered  from  the  tops 
of  a  hundred  bamboos,  and  the  few  ladies  whose  unlucky  fate  had 
condemned  them  to  a  residence  in  Jolo  came  out  in  the  dernid7-es 
nouveauUs  from  Madrid.  The  boxes  were  beautifully  decorated 
with  flowers,  the  uprights  being  covered  with  palm-leaves,  with  a 
single  blossom  of  the  frangipane  impaled  upon  each  leaflet  of  the 
frond. 

Bull-fighting  is  a  form  of  amusement  to  which  I  have  never  as 
yet  succeeded  in  accustoming  myself,  and  of  this  particular  per- 
formance the  less  said  the  better.  It  was,  I  think,  the  cruellest  I 
ever  saw.  The  pretty  little  Sulu  bulls  are  such  as  can  safely  be 
approached  and  patted,  and  are  without  a  particle  of  fight  in  their 
whole  composition.  Could  we  only  have  substituted  the  Pangiima 
Dammang  and  half  a  dozen  of  his  chief  warriors  for  them,  we  might, 
no  doubt,  have  had  some  good  sport  and  benefited  the  island  at 
large.  Maddened  with  the  pain  of  the  darts  and  impelled  by  the 
sole  idea  of  escaping  from  its  tormentors,  the  first  bull  rushed 
round  and  round  the  ring  seeking  for  some  place  of  exit,  and  from 
this  arose  the  only  amusing  incident  of  the  performance.  At  the 
corners  were  erected  barriers  to  serve  for  the  protection  of  the 
intrepid  handerilleros, — fahlas,  I  believe,  in  the  phraseology  of  the 
bull-ring.  It  soon  became  evident  that  they  were  unnecessary, 
and  crowds  of  natives  accordingly  took  possession,  some  perched 
on  the  top  and  others  peeping  between  the  boards.  Behind  one  of 
these  the  bull,  in  his  frantic  efforts  to  escape,  succeeded  in  forcing 
his  way.  A  scene  of  dire  confusion  followed.  A  heaving  mass, 
from  which  legs  and  arms,  horns  and  tail,  protruded,  was  all  that 
was  to  be  seen  by  the  spectators.  At  length  some  bold  individual 
succeeded  in  obtaining  possession  of  the  animal's  tail,  and  by 
bringing  it  up  with  a  sharp  turn  against  the  corner  of  the  Ijarrier, 
his  further  progress  was  temporarily  checked  and  the  people  extri- 
cated. Finally,  however,  he  effected  his  escape,  and  his  murder 
happily  took  place  out  of  sight. 

T  need  not  describe  the  details  of  the  rest  of  the  entertainment. 


72  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

Given  tame  bulls  aud  a  tyro  cspada,  they  are  better  left  to  the 
imagination.  One  thing,  however,  deserves  to  be  recorded.  The 
third  and  last  bull  was — hear  it,  0  ye  champions  of  the  rmg 
who  lounge  in  the  Puerta — a  con:/  I  was  pleased  to  find  the 
Governor  at  the  back  of  the  box,  whither  I  retired.  "I  do  not 
like  bull-fights,"  he  said.     I  confessed  myself  of  the  same  opinion. 

On  the  16th  of  May  we  returned  to  Meimbun  en  route  for 
Siassi  and  the  islands  to  the  south-west.  All  our  Spanish  friends 
had  come  oif  to  bid  us  adieu,  and  we  were  most  heartily  sorry  to 
part  with  them.  The  Governor  especially,  with  his  unvarying 
bonhomie,  his  keen  sense  of  humour,  and  his  quaint  philosophy,  had 
endeared  himself  to  all  of  us,  and  we  should  have  liked  to  take 
him  away  from  the  prison  where  he  had  still  many  more  months 
to  serve.  Life  in  Jolo  seemed  to  us  to  be  little,  if  at  all,  better  than 
penal  ser\'itude.  It  is  certainly  more  unhealthy,  and,  as  we  dipped 
our  ensign,  and  the  farewell  strains  of  the  band  gradually  faded  in 
the  distance,  we  wondered  how  many  of  our  friends  would  welcome 
us  should  chance  lead  us  again  to  the  shores  of  Sulu  on  our  return 
voyage. 

Siassi,  which,  with  the  neighbouring  island  of  Lapac,  forms  an 
excellent  harbour,  lies  about  five  and  twenty  miles  to  the  south- 
south-west  of  Sulu.  A  Spanish  settlement  was  formed  upon  it  in 
October,  1882,  and  we  found  no  less  than  three  small  vessels 
anchored  off  it,  engaged  in  transporting  stores  and  building 
materials.  The  settlement  consisted  of  a  block-house  for  troops, 
two  or  three  houses  for  the  ofticials,  and  a  dozen  or  so  of  native 
huts,  among  which  that  of  the  ineAitable  Chinaman  was  of  course 
to  be  found.  It  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  island  immedi- 
ately opposite  Lapac,  and  is  under  the  command  of  a  "  Comandante 
Politico  y  Militar,"  Don  Jorge  Gordojuela,  who  proved  a  very 
pleasant  companion,  and  rendered  us  every  assistance  in  his  power 
during  our  two  days'  ^^sit,  Up  to  that  time  they  had  had  no 
fighting  with  the  natives,  but  apparently  did  not  put  any  very 
great  confidence  in  them.     A  few  months  previously  the  cholera 


IV.] 


CHOLERA  IX  LAP  AC  AXD  SIASSL 


had   literally  decimated  the   inhaljitants.     Out   of  a   population 


SCENE   ON   THE   MEIMBUN   RIVER. 
(Caryota  with  inflorescence,  and  Nipa  Palms.) 


Comandante  told  us  that  in  one  village  he  had  seen  one  hundred 


74  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

and  twenty-live  corpses  laid  out  side  by  side.  It  is  the  custom  to 
keep  the  dead  imburied  for  five  or  six  days,  and  the  consequences 
in  a  climate  such  as  these  islands  possess  is  better  imagined  than 
described.  The  account  was  given  us  by  our  informant  with  a 
minuteness  of  detail  that  rendered  it  perfectly  horrible.  It  would 
seem  that  liere,  as  elsewhere  in  the  Malay  Arcliipelago,  Europeans 
are  but  rarely  attacked  by  the  disease. 

Both  Lapac  and  Siassi  are  volcanic,  and  are  much  denuded  of 
forest,  so  much  so,  indeed,  as  to  be  almost  bare  in  some  parts. 
The  rainy  season  too  had  fairly  set  in,  and  heavy  tropical  showers 
fell  at  intervals  during  our  stay,  so  that  we  were  unable  to  add 
many  specimens  to  our  collections,  and  thinking  that  Tawi-tawi — an 
island  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  the  south-west — would  probably 
prove  a  more  interesting  locality,  we  weighed  anchor  and  left  on 
May  19th.  We  directed  our  course  towards  the  northern  shore,  for 
one  of  our  chief  reasons  for  visiting  the  island  was  to  see  what 
progress  had  been  made  by  a  Spanish  settlement  that  had  been 
recently  established  on  it.  We  kept  a  good  look-out,  for  this  part 
of  the  archipelago  is  entirely  unsurveyed,  and  early  in  the  after- 
noon arrived  at  our  destination,  which  was  revealed  at  some  little 
distance  by  the  presence  of  a  small  gun-boat  anchored  off  the 
settlement.  Seawards,  Tataan  is  protected  by  a  chain  of  reefs  and 
banks  which,  as  we  steamed  into  the  large  harbour  thus  formed, 
were  \'isible  for  an  immense  distance  ahead,  the  yellow  sand 
glaring  in  the  hot  afternoon  sun.  As  we  approached  the  ship,  a  boat 
put  off  and  the  captain  came  on  board.  He  was  in  the  confidential 
stage  of  intoxication,  and  moimting  the  bridge  wanted  to  pilot  us 
to  our  anchorage,  intimating  afterwards  that  he  would  be  glad  of  a  fee 
for  his  serAices  •  This  we  pretended  not  to  understand,  and  con- 
gratulated ourselves  shortly  afterwards  on  having  got  rid  of  him. 

Tataan  had  been  founded  five  months  before  our  visit.  It 
was  the  first  attempt  of  the  Spaniards  to  gain  a  footing  on  Tawi- 
tawi,  an  island  where  the  natives  have  a  bad  name  even  for  Sulus. 
By  no  stretch  of  the  imagination  could  it  be  called  a  taking  place. 


IV.]  TATAAN.  75 

A  broad,  sandy  path  led  from  the  shore  to  the  large  barrack- 
house,  which  was  flanked  on  either  side  by  two  small  buildings  for 
the  Commandant  and  his  lieutenants.  A  force  of  eighty  coloured 
soldiers  were  stationed  here,  but  how  they  were  employed  or 
amused  it  would  be  difficult  to  say,  for  they  could  not  go  more 
than  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  barracks  in  any  dii-ection, 
the  dense  jungle  ha\'ing  only  been  cleared  for  that  distance  round 
the  buildings.  The  Sulus  were  supposed  to  haunt  the  bush,  and 
the  garrison  had  already  lost  one  or  two  men,  of  whom  no  trace 
had  been  discovered.  Either  they  had  been  krissed  or  had  lost 
their  way  in  the  jungle.  Existence  here  seemed,  if  possible,  several 
degrees  w^orse  than  at  Jolo.  The  only  amusement  was  to  bathe  in 
a  pretty,  creeper -covered  little  bath-house,  through  which  the 
streamlet  of  clear  water  that  supplied  the  settlement  had  been  led. 

The  Commandant  was  pleased  enough  to  have  the  dull 
monotony  of  his  life  interrupted  by  our  arrival.  He  spoke 
Portugu.ese  fluently,  and  aided  by  our  letter  of  introduction  from 
Don  Julian  Parrado,  we  were  becoming  very  good  friends  when 
the  door  opened  and  the  captain  of  the  gun-boat  reeled  in.  He 
helped  himself  to  the  Vermouth  unasked,  and  turning  round  on  us, 
abused  us  in  the  most  violent  terms  for  not  having  called  on  him 
before  the  Commandant — he  "  would  teach  the  English  to  be  as 
insolent  to  him  again,"  and  so  on,  the  greater  part  of  the  harangue 
being,  in  the  language  of  the  police-courts,  unfit  for  publication. 
He  finally  concluded  by  spitting  in  the  Commandant's  face.  We 
were  on  the  eve  of  a  row,  for  the  brute  was  not  sufficiently  drunk 
to  be  harmless,  but  it  happily  passed  over,  and  we  left  the  house 
at  once  without  further  incident.  The  sight  was  scarcely  an 
edifying  one  to  the  native  soldiers  by  whom  we  were  surrounded.^ 

Tawi-tawi  is,  and  has  been  from  time  immemorial,  the  haunt 
of  pirates.     In  these  days  of  steam  few  large  vessels  fall  into  their 

^  We  wrote  to  our  friend  the  Governor  of  Jolo  about  this  individual,  and  on  our 
return  from  New  Guinea  learnt  that  he  had  been  dismissed  his  ship.  From  what 
we  saw  of  the  Spanish  officers,  I  am  bound  to  say  that  such  an  instance  as  the  above 
must  be  regarded  as  absolutely  exceptional. 


76  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

liaiids,  but  for  praiis  and  small  sailing  ships  insufficiently  armed 
the  locality  is  a  dangerous  one.  The  chief  strongholds  of  these 
people  are  in  the  mangrove-lined  shores  of  the  southern  part  of 
the  island,  where,  guarded  by  a  network  of  reefs  and  shoals,  they 
can  bid  defiance  to  any  gun-boat  sent  against  them.  The  Spanish 
settlement  at  Tataan  is  but  a  small  beginning,  but  now  that  the 
supremacy  of  Spain  in  these  seas  is  recognised  by  the  European 
Powers,  and  the  establishment  of  the  North  Borneo  Company  close 
at  hand  has  caused  a  considerable  development  of  trade,  the 
islands  have  ceased  to  be  the  no-man's-land  that  they  have  hitherto 
remained,  and  the  days  of  piracy  are  practically  numbered.  Tawi- 
tawi  is  about  forty  miles  in  length,  is  possessed  of  several  good 
harbours  and  an  excellent  soil,  but  as  yet  it  has  been  little 
cultivated.  The  northern  coast  appeared  everywhere  covered  with 
dense  jungle,  but  the  south  side  is  said  to  abound  in  natural 
clearings  and  to  resemble  Sulu  Island.  In  the  neighbourhood 
pearl-fishing  is  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  the  pearls 
are  stated  to  be  of  no  great  size. 

In  spite  of  the  comparative  proximity  of  the  two  countries  the 
fauna  and  flora  of  Borneo  are  remarkably  distinct  from  those  of 
the  Philippine  Islands.  Borneo,  as  we  know,  is  almost  typically 
Indo- Malayan  in  its  zoological  characteristics,  much  more  so 
indeed  than  Java,  in  spite  of  the  far  greater  extent  of  sea  which 
separates  it  from  the  ]\ialay  peninsula.  Its  flora  shows  an  equally 
great  similarity  to  that  of  the  latter  country,  and,  if  we  pass  to  its 
physical  aspect,  .we  find  that  not  only  is  the  island  devoid  of  recent 
volcanoes,  but  its  geology  is  entirely  continental.  "Were  we  to 
look  at  a  chart  we  should  see  that,  like  Java  and  Sumatra,  it  is 
connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  submarine  bank  of  vast  extent, 
on  which  the  soundings  are  everywhere  extremely  shallow.  In 
sliort,  it  can  be  affirmed  with  the  most  absolute  certainty  that  at 
one  period  of  the  world's  history — geologically  speaking,  a  com- 
paratively recent  one — Borneo  was  united  with,  and  formed  the 
south-eastern  limit  of  the  great  Asiatic  continent. 


IV.]  FLOE  A  AND  FAUNA   OF  THE  PHILIPPINES.  77 

The  Philippine  Islands,  on  the  other  hand,  are  in  every  way  of 
a  difierent  character.  Taking  the  mammalia  first,  we  find  that 
only  one  monkey  inhabits  the  archipelago  as  against  the  numerous 
species  of  this  order  found  m  Borneo  and  the  other  Indo-Malayan 
Islands.  There  are  no  elephants,  rhinoceros,  tapirs,  sun-bears  or 
tigers,  and  but  very  few  small  rodents.  Among  the  birds  a  large 
number  of  characteristic  Malayan  genera  are  absent.  On  the 
other  hand  cockatoos  and  Brush-turkeys  {Mcgcq)odius),  both  of 
which  are  peculiar  to  the  Austro-]\Ialayan  sub-region,  inhabit  the 
islands,  together  with  numerous  species  of  pigeons,  whose  abundance 
is  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  same  zoographic  subdivision.  The 
flora,  so  far  as  is  known,  shows  similar  peculiarities,  for,  in  addition 
to  the  absence  of  many  typical  Malayan  genera,  a  large  Australian 
and  Austro- Malayan  element  is  present  in  the  archipelago.-^ 
Geologically  also  the  Philippines  present  very  distinct  features. 
Although  the  occurrence  of  gold  in  quartz  veins,  together  with 
lead  and  copper,  indicate  the  presence  in  some  places  of  rocks  of 
an  ancient  epoch,  the  islands  are  to  a  great  extent  purely  volcanic 
and  tolerably  recent.-  Their  geographical  history  is  a  difficult  one 
to  decipher.  That  they  were  at  some  period  more  or  less  connected 
with  the  Indo-Malayan  continent  is  most  probable,  for  in  no  other 
w^ay  is  it  easy  to  explain  the  presence  of  many  well-marked  Indian 
forms.  Such  a  comiection,  supposing  it  to  have  existed,  may 
possibly  have  been  through  Formosa  with  the  northern  limit  of 
the  Indo-Malayan  sub-region,  which  would  in  a  measure  account 
for  the  absence  of  many  of  the  larger  mammals.  This  supposition 
is  somewhat  borne  out  by  the  existence  of  a  shallow  submarine 
bank  between  Luzon  and  Formosa  by  way  of  the  Bashee 
Islands,  and  by  the  presence  of  a  very  marked  northern  element 
both  in  the  fauna  and  flora.  A  similar  submarine  connection, 
however,  also  exists  with  Borneo  through  Palawan,  and  from  the 
little  we  know  of  the  latter  island  it  would  seem  as  if  the  Bornean 

^  On  the  Flora  of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  its  probable  Derivation,   R.  A. 
Rolfe.      "Journal  Linn.  Soc."  vol.  xxi.  p.  295. 

-  Stanford's  Compendium,  "Australasia,"  Fourth  Edition,  p.  268. 


78  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

and  Philippine  faunas  here  commingled.  But  at  whatever  point 
to  the  south  and  west  tliis  junction  with  the  mainland  may  have 
occurred,  it  is  most  probable  that  it  was  of  a  more  or  less  temporary 
nature, — insufficient  at  least  to  permit  the  immigration  of  any  but 
a  few  species.  There  is  a  final  hypothesis — perhaps  more  tenable 
than  either  of  the  preceding — that  the  absence  of  Malayan  forms 
is  due  to  subsidence  of  the  islands  at  a  period  subsequent  to  their 
separation  from  the  continent.  Be  this  as  it  may,  however,  the 
fact  remains  that  the  Philippines  are  markedly  insular  in  their 
fauna  and  flora,  and  have  been  peopled  to  a  considerable  extent 
from  the  Austro-Malayan  region.^ 

Connecting  then,  as  they  do,  two  countries  between  which  such 
considerable  differences  exist,  the  Sulu  Islands  offered  us  most 
interesting  problems  for  solution.  Previous  to  the  ^dsit  of  the 
Marchesa  little  or  nothmg  was  known  of  the  zoology  of  the 
archipelago,  although  a  few  bu'ds  had  been  brought  home  by  Mr. 
Burbidge,  the  well-known  botanist.  Our  own  ornithological 
collection  numbered  considerably  over  two  hundred  specmiens  and 
comprised  sixty-four  species.  This  list  is  of  course  by  no  means 
an  exhaustive  one,  but,  as  will  be  seen,  it  is  more  than  sufficient  to 
show  the  main  source  from  wliich  the  bird-life  of  the  archipelago 
is  derived. 

If  from  these  sixty-four  species  we  deduct  those — for  the  most 
part  of  wide  distribution — which  are  common  alike  to  Borneo  and 
the  Philippines,  we  have  thirty-eight  species  left.  Of  these  two 
were  entirely  new,  and  one  (Carpophaga  pickeringi)  appears  to  be 
confined  to  Sulu  and  a  few  small  islands  to  the  north  of  Borneo. 
Tln'ee  others  {Dicrurus  piectoralis,  Ptilopus  formosus,  and  Artamid.es 
'pollens)  are  Celebean  and  Moluccan  birds.  Of  the  thirty-two 
species  remaining  two  only  aie  Bornean  and /no  less  than  thirty 
Pliilippine. 

1  Anoa  depressicornis — a  most  peculiar  form  of  wild  ox  supposed  to  be  confined 
to  Celebes — (see  p.  211)  is  reported  to  be  found  also  in  Mindoro,  but  this  fact  has 
not  as  yet  been  proved. 


IV.]  SULU  ZOOGBAPHICALLY  PHILIPPINE.  79 

The  same  evidences  of  absence  of  a  former  connection  with,  or 
at  least  t)f  a  long  separation  from,  Borneo  are  apparent  if  we  turn 
to  the  mammals.  The  pig  is,  in  all  probability,  an  introduced 
species.  A  monkey  is  said  to  be  found  on  Sulu  w^hich  is  probably 
Macaciis  cynomolgus,  but  we  did  not  shoot  it,  and  the  only  species  of 
deer  existent  on  the  island  we  were  unfortunate  enough  to  fail  in 
obtaining.  No  other  animals,  except  the  rat  and  various  Pteropi, 
came  under  our  notice  during  the  whole  of  our  visit.  In  Borneo 
the  naturalist  might  obtain  twice  as  many  species  in  a  single  day. 
Mr.  Burbidge's  researches  in  the  botany  of  the  archipelago  tell  the 
same  tale.  "  In  Sulu,"  he  says,  "  the  flora  showed  a  marked 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  Philippine  and  Celebes  groups."  ^ 

Zoographically,  then,  Sulu  is  purely  Philippine,  just  as  it  is 
politically  by  the  treaty  of  1885.  If  we  consult  the  charts  of  the 
islands  we  shall  see  the  explanation  of  it.  The  Strait  of  Basilan 
shows  soundings  of  from  thirty  to  forty  fathoms  only,  and  from  that 
island  south-westwards  to  Tawi-tawi  the  depths  are  such  that  a  ship 
could  easily  anchor  at  almost  any  point  on  the  submarine  bank 
connecting  the  group.  West  of  Tawi-tawi,  however,  the  level  of 
the  sea-bottom  completely  changes,  depths  of  100  fathoms  or  more 
being  obtained  close  in-shore,  while  in  the  fairway  of  the  Strait, 
which  is  known  as  the  Sibutu  Passage,  Captain  Chimnio  was 
unable  to  get  bottom  at  500  fathoms.  The  distance  across  the 
Strait  is  about  eighteen  miles,  and  the  surveys  hitherto  made  seem 
to  show  an  equally  precipitous  slope  of  the  eastern  shores  of  Sibutu 
Island.  There  is  at  present  no  exact  information  with  regard  to 
the  soundings  between  Sibutu  and  Borneo,  one  point  of  which, 
Tanjong  Labian,  is  distant  only  twenty  miles,  but  since  many 
islets,  reefs,  and  sand -cays  are  known  to  intervene,  it  is  almost 
certain  that  they  are  not  of  any  great  depth.  The  Sibutu  Passage 
thus  seems  to  be  the  natural  delimitation  of  the  Philippine  Archi- 
pelago, and  the  traveller  crossing  it  eastwards  from  Borneo 
experiences  a  change  in  the  nature  of  his  surroundings,  which, 
1  "The  Gardens  of  the  Sun,"  by  F.  AV.  Burbidge,  p.  343. 


80  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

although  perhaps  not  actually  regional,  is  quite  as  striking  as  that 
which  Mr.  Wallace  has  shown  to  exist  at  the  Lombok  Strait. 

]\Ir.  Burl)idge,  in  the  work  already  quoted,  states  that  the  Sulu 
language  "  approaches  that  spoken  by  the  inland  tribes  of  North 
Borneo,"  ^  a  statement  in  which  I  venture  to  think  that  he  was 
mistaken.  It  appears  to  be  closely  allied  to  the  Tagalog,  and  the 
so-called  Bisayan  of  the  riiilippine  Islands,  but  to  abound  with 


A   SULU   GIRL. 


Malay  and  Javanese  words,  which  have  doubtless  been  introduced 
with  Mohammedanism.  The  Arabic  character  is,  I  believe,  the 
only  one  in  use  in  the  archipelago,  but  there  are  probably  not 
many  of  the  natives  who  are  acquainted  with  the  art  of  writing. 
Malay  is  very  generally  spoken  by  the  coast  dwellers,  especially  on 
the  western  side  of  the  island,  but  in  the  interior  it  is  little  known 
except  by  the  chiefs." 

The  history  of  the  archipelago,  were  it  written,  would  consist  of 

^  There  are  of  course  many  settlements  of  the  Sulus  in  North  Borneo,  especiall}- 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Kiuabatangan.  Perhaps  it  is  to  these  that  Mv. 
Burbidge  refers. 

2   Fide  Appendix  lA^.  on  the  Sulu  language. 


IV.]  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARCHIPELAGO.  81 

little  else  but  an  account  of  the  constant  civil  wars  which  have 
raged  on  the  island,  and  the  almost  equally  constant  struggle  with  the 
hated  "  Castillans,"  who,  almost  from  the  very  date  of  their  seizure 
of  the  Philippines,  sought  to  establish  their  power  in  Sulu,  Three 
centuries  have  passed  away  since  that  time,  and  it  cannot  be  said 
even  now  that  they  have  advanced  much  l)eyond  "  suzerainty  "  in 
the  English  latter-day  acceptation  of  the  term.  "Wearied  of  con- 
stant feuds,  the  Spaniards  directed  large  expeditions  against  the 
island  in  1628  and  1637,  but  their  efforts  were  fruitless,  and  in 
1646  they  concluded  a  treaty  by  which,  under  certain  conditions, 
they  agreed  to  evacuate  the  main  island  and  retire  to  Tapul,  Siassi, 
and  Pangiitarang.  In  reality  they  were  making  a  virtue  of 
necessity,  for  at  this  period  they  were  in  constant  dread  lest  their 
enemies  should  call  in  the  Dutch  to  their  assistance.  The  treaty 
was  hardly  concluded  ere  it  was  broken,  but  it  was  not  until  many 
years  later  that  any  decisive  steps  were  again  taken  for  the  con- 
quest of  the  islands.  In  1731  a  fleet  of  thirty  Spanish  vessels 
attacked  Sugh,  anticipating  an  easy  victory,  but  so  well  did  the 
Sulus  fight  that  they  succeeded  in  capturing  their  enemies'  colours, 
and  the  fleet  shortly  afterwards  sailed  away.  A  few  years  later 
the  Spaniards  were  again  established  upon  the  island  with  a 
garrison  of  100  men,  and  made  renewed  but  fruitless  attempts  to 
subdue  this  warlike  and  untamable  race. 

In  our  own  time,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  foregoing  pages, 
matters  have  been  little,  if  at  all,  more  settled.  In  1871  an  attack  in 
force  was  once  more  directed  against  the  chief  island,  and  fourteen 
gun-boats  and  other  vessels  bombarded  and  destroyed  the  large 
native  town  where  Jolo  now  stands,  and  afterwards  burnt  some 
villages  on  the  coast.  A  blockade  was  established,  and  the 
Spaniards  commenced  building  Jolo  and  its  fortifications.  In 
February,  1876,  their  flag  was  hoisted.  It  floats  at  only  three  other 
settlements  in  the  archipelago — Siassi  and  Tataan,  to  which  I  have 
already  alluded,  and  Ysabela  in  the  island  of  Basilan. 

By  the  Agreement  concluded  March  7th,  1885,  between  England, 
VOL.  II.  G 


82  THE  SULU  ISLANDS.  [chap.  iv. 

Spain,  and  Germany,  with  reference  tc»  the  8uhi  ArchipeLago  and 
North  Borneo,  the  sovereignty  of  Spain  is  recognised  over  the 
entu-e  archijDelago,  by  which  is  understood  all  the  islands  lying 
between  Mindanao  and  the  Bornean  coast.  Spain  renounces  all 
claims  to  Xorth  Borneo  and  the  islands  of  Banguey  and  Balem- 
bangan,  together  with  those  of  the  Malawall^  Channel,  in  favour  of 
England,  and  also  acknowledges  British  sovereignty  over  all  the 
islands  within  three  miles  of  the  mainland  of  Xorth  Borneo.  It  is 
stipulated  that  there  shall  be  perfect  freedom  of  commerce  and 
navigation  in  the  Sulu  Archipelago.  Xeither  export  nor  import 
duties  are  to  be  levied,  and  the  British  Government  undertakes 
similar  obligations  with  regard  to  the  territories  of  the  Xorth 
Borneo  Company. 


J 


3 


CHAPTER    V. 

BEITISH   XOKTH   BORXEO. 

The  Britisli  North  Borneo  Company — Its  formation — Land  grants  from  the  Sultans 
of  Brunei  and  Sulu — Territory  acquired — Sandakan  Bay — Elopura — Poorness  of 
the  soil — Silam — Ascend  the  Sigaliud  River — Narrow  escape  of  the  Vigilant — 
Forest  scenery — Graves  of  the  Buludupis — Legend  of  the  origin  of  the  tribe — 
Birds  of  the  jungle — Exports  of  Sandakan — Edible  birds'  nests — Sport  in  North 
Borneo — Proceed  to  Kudat — Murders  at  Bongon — Visit  to  Bongon  with  H.M.S. 
Fly — Bird  caught  in  spider's  web — "We  are  presented  Avith  a  "while  man" — 
Leave  for  Banguey  Island — The  German  Borneo  Company — Massacre  of  the 
English  at  Balembangan  in  1775 — The  Abai  and  Tampassuk  Rivers — Gaya — 
Kimanis — Terrible  epidemic  of  cholera — Floods — Advantages  of  Sarawak. 

Some  four  or  five  years  ago  the  British  public  learnt, — with  some 
interest  perhaps,  and  certainly  with  no  little  astonishment, — 
that  in  a  remote  corner  of  Borneo,  the  very  coast-line  of  which 
was  hardly  known,  a  "  Xew  Kepublic  "  had  suddenly  sprung  into 
existence ;  a  private  company  established  by  Eoyal  Charter,  a 
nineteenth  century  East  India  Company  on  a  small  scale  wliich,  it 
was  said,  was  destined  to  revolutionise  the  East,  and  to  open  up  a 
new  and  salubrious  field  for  the  superabundant  agricultural  talent 
wliich  is  generally  believed  to  be  the  endowment  of  most  young 
Englishmen,  and  to  be  evidenced  by  a  love  of  out-door  exercise,  a 
tendency  to  smoke  short  pipes,  and  a  disinclination  for  all  except 
the  most  cheerfully-bound  literature. 

The  Executive  was  formed  upon  the  most  approved  principles. 
There  were  residents  and  assistant  residents,  immigration 
commissioners,  surveyors,  superintendents  of  agTiculture  and  the 


84  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

like,  and  there  was  certainly  no  lack  of  room  for  them  to  exercise 
their  proper  functions.  The  British  North  Borneo  Company's 
steamship  Leila,  276  tons  (Thames  measurement),  formed  the 
nucleus  of  a  future  navy.  Cannon  were  imported,  and  Sikh 
policemen  to  discharge  them.  More  peaceful  avocations  were  not 
discouraged.  The  Sabah  Mutual  Supply  Association  was  formed, 
upon  whose  premises  various  intoxicating  liquors  were  permitted 
to  be  consumed,  and  the  presence  of  billiard-tables  soon  rendered 
civilisation  altogether  complete. 

With  all  these,  and  many  other  advantages,  it  was  not  to  be 
supposed  that  British  North  Borneo,  or  Sabah,  as  it  is  more  tersely 
called,  would  be  content  to  remain  unseen  and  unknown.  The 
Company  hen  had  laid  its  egg,  and  was  wisely  determined  that 
the  world  at  large  should  become  fully  aware  of  the  fact.  A  book 
was  produced  which  set  forth  the  many  advantages  of  the  country. 
Various  contributors  to  the  journals  of  Hongkong  and  the  treaty 
ports  of  China  visited  the  new  territory,  and  were  astonished  to 
discover  that  the  soil,  as  well  as  could  be  judged  from  the  samples 
submitted  to  their  examination  in  biscuit -tins,  appeared  to  be 
peculiarly  adapted  for  the  growth  of  every  kind  of  tropical  produce. 
The  dangers  of  the  return  voyage  over,  they  wrote  in  glowing 
terms  of  the  "  New  Eldorado,"  and  spoke  of  the  great  future  that 
lay  before  it.  Their  exertions  were  not  without  result.  A  stream 
of  Chinese  immigration  set  in,  wliich  rapidly  increased  in  volume. 
The  value  of  land  in  the  settlements  rose  enormously.  At  the 
beginning  of  1883,  urban  lots  in  Sandakan  which,  but  a  couple  of 
years  before,  were  dense  jungle  where  a  white  man  had  never 
set  foot,  fetched  as  much  as  £896  per  acre,  and  in  April  of  the 
same  year  the  Chinese  were  pou.rmg  in  in  shoals,  and  land- 
speculation  had  reached  its  height. 

Before  enlarging  further  upon  the  achievements  and  vicissitudes 
of  the  Company,  and  describing  our  experiences  of  the  new 
territory,  a  few  words  on  the  history  of  its  foundation  are  necessary. 
In  bygone   days  the  whole  of  Borneo  was,  nominally  at  least. 


v.]  FORMATION  OF  THE  COMPANY.  85 

under  the  authority  of  the  Sultan  of  Brunei, — the  former  name 
being  merely  a  corruption  of  the  latter.  At  the  present  time  his 
possessions  have  waned  to  almost  infinitesimal  proportions. 
Brunei  is  now  no  longer  synonymous  with  Borneo.  The  Dutch 
own  the  southern  three-fourths  of  the  island,  and  of  the  remainder 
the  larger  portion  to  the  west  is  under  the  rule  of  the  Eajah  of 
Sarawak,  who  has  now  extended  liis  dominions  as  far  eastwards  as 
Barram  Point.  The  British  North  Borneo  Company  occupy  the 
extreme  north-east,  and  the  Sultan's  country  is  thus  sandwiched 
between  two  English  states,  with  one  of  which  it  will  doubtless 
before  long  become  amalgamated. 

In  December,  1877,  a  Mr.  Alfred  Dent,  in  conjunction  with 
a  certain  Baron  von  Overbeck,  concluded  negotiations  with  the 
Sultan  of  Brunei  for  the  transfer  of  the  latter's  right  of  possession 
of  the  district  from  Papar  on  the  north-west  coast  to  the  eastern 
limit  of  the  island,  together  with  certain  islands  adjacent.  On  the 
same  day  a  similar  agreement  was  entered  into  with  the  Pangerang 
Tumonggong — the  Sultan's  heir — for  the  cession  of  the  districts  of 
the  Kimanis  and  Benoni  Pavers,  which  formed  his  own  private 
estate.  It  was  not  the  first  time  that  such  a  grant  had  been 
made.  Twelve  years  before,  in  1865,  the  American  Consul  in 
Brunei  obtained  certain  land  concessions  from  the  Sultan,  which, 
if  not  actually  co-extensive  with  the  territory  acquired  by  Mr. 
Dent,  at  least  comprised  a  very  large  portion  of  it.  The  result 
was  the  formation  of  the  American  Trading  Company  of  Borneo, 
and  a  large  number  of  Chinese  having  been  imported,  a  settlement 
was  founded  on  the  Kimanis  Eivei'.  The  venture  was  a  failure ; 
the  Chinese  settlement  was  not  long  afterwards  abandoned,  and 
in  1877  the  Americans  formally  ceded  their  rights  to  the  new 
Company. 

Much  of  the  land  thus  granted,  however,  was  also  claimed  by 
the  Sultan  of  Sulu.  It  would  have  been  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  settle  the  validity  of  the  title  of  each  claimant,  and  hence  an 
agreement  of  a  similar  cliaracter  to  that  made  with  the  Brunei  Sultan 


86  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

was  entered  into  with  the  Suhi  potentate,  by  which,  for  the  sum  of 
£1000  paid  annually,  he  agreed  to  convey  the  district  to  the 
grantees  in  fee  simple.  The  annual  sum  of  £3000  was  to  be  paid 
to  the  Sultan  of  Brunei  and  the  Pangerang  Tumonggong  under  the 
same  conditions.  A  provisional  clause  inserted  at  the  instance  of 
the  British  Consul  for  Borneo  stipulated  that  "  the  rights  and 
privileges  conferred  by  the  grant  should  never  be  transferred  to  any 
other  nation,  or  company  of  foreign  nationality,  without  the  sanction 
of  our  Government  being  first  obtained."  These  arrangements 
having  been  settled  and  a  provisional  Company  formed,  a  Eoyal 
Charter  was  applied  for.  It  was  granted,  and  on  the  1st  November, 
1881,  the  British  North  Borneo  Company,  with  a  nominal  capital 
of  £400,000,  commenced  its  existence. 

The  territory  thus  acquired  occupies  the  northern  extremity  of 
Borneo,  and  is  said  to  have  an  area  of  about  24,000  square  miles. 
From  its  position  it  is  completely  surrounded  by  the  sea  except  to 
the  south  and  south-west,  and  the  coast-line,  which  is  extremely 
irregular,  is  believed  to  be  over  600  miles  in  length.  There  are 
several  most  excellent  harbours :  the  Kina  Eiver  is  navigable  for  a 
distance  of  200  miles  by  large  steam  launches  ;  and  the  great 
mountain  of  Borneo,  Kina  Balu,  the  height  of  which  is  estimated  at 
13,700  feet,  lies  within  the  territory.  The  Company  have  five 
settlements.  Silam  lies  on  the  east  coast  and  is  unimportant ; 
Sandakan,  and  Kudat  in  Marudu  Bay,  the  two  chief  places,  are  on 
the  north ;  and  Gaya,  Papar,  and  Kimanis,  all  of  which  are  of  no 
great  size,  are  situated  on  the  west  coast. 

To  those  who  look  for  the  low,  mangrove-lined  shores  that  are 
a  leading  characteristic  of  many  parts  of  Borneo,  and,  indeed,  of 
most  tropical  countries,  the  first  view  of  the  entrance  of  Sandakan 
Bay  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  an  agreeable  disappointment.  Mangrove 
swamps,  indeed,  there  are  in  abundance,  but  they  keep  pleasantly 
in  the  background,  and  on  rounding  the  north-west  headland 
the  fine  red  sandstone  bluffs  of  Pulo  Balhalla  greet  the  eye  in 
their   stead.      They   rise  almost   perpendicularly  to   a   height   of 


v.]  SAND AK AX  BAY.  87 

six  hundred  feet  or  more,  and  in  the  far  recesses  of  the  many 
caves  with  which  they  are  pierced  the  so-called  "  Edible  Swallow  " 
(Collocalia  lincJiii)  constructs  the  nests,  winch  are  destined  in  due 
season  to  be  gathered  by  strong-headed  natives,  and  to  serve  as 
dainties  for  the  table  of  some  rich  Chinese.  The  little  township  of 
Elopura  soon  comes  into  view,  placed  on  the  north-west  shore  of 
the  bay,  but  long  before  the  anchor  is  down  one  has  time  to  realise 
the  fact  that  Sandakan  is  a  magnificent  harbour, — the  best,  perhaps, 
in  the  whole  of  Borneo.  With  an  entrance  a  mile  in  width,  it  has 
a  length  of  sixteen  and  a  varymg  breadth  of  from  three  to  ten 
miles.  One  eighth  of  the  bay  only  has  been  fully  charted, — that 
portion  nearest  the  entrance,  but  a  running  survey  of  the  remainder 
shows  that  there  is  an  abundant  depth  of  water  to  its  very  head. 
Once  well  wdthin  it  the  favourable  impression  given  by  the  cliffs 
of  Balhalla  Island  is  somewhat  dissipated.  The  low,  flat  land 
stretches  in  every  direction,  nearly  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach, 
unbroken  save  by  the  little  island  of  Bai  and  the  hills  which  form 
the  immediate  background  of  the  settlement,  and  though  several 
rivers  are  said  to  debouch  into  the  bay,  there  is  no  ocular  evidence 
of  any  one  of  them. 

Elopura,  I  believe,  means  "the  beautiful  city."  There  is  a 
wealth  of  Oriental  imagery  in  many  of  these  Sanskrit  words ;  a 
luxuriance  of  poetical  idea  which  the  unromantic  Westerner  oc- 
casionally finds  a  little  startling.  The  most  imaginative  of  travellers 
would  hardly  have  hit  upon  the  name  as  an  appropriate  one.  The 
township,  which,  by  the  more  sanguine  of  its  inhabitants  was  even 
at  tlie  time  of  our  visit  regarded  as  the  possible  future  capital, 
presents  itself  as  an  uninteresting  forest-clearing  about  a  mile  in 
length,  traversed  by  yellow  paths  whose  colour  is  derived  from  the 
soft  sandstone  which  appears  commonly  to  form  the  soil  in  this 
neighbourhood.  The  tree-trunks  lay  where  they  had  been  felled, 
but  where  the  ground  had  been  cleared  it  was  carpeted  with  bright 
green  but  coarse  grass.  In  front,  built  entu-ely  on  piles,  half  over 
the  sea  and  half  over  fetid  black  mud,  is  the  native  town,  composed 


88  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

of  Malay  and  L'liiuese  huts.  The  former  race  comprises  individuals 
of  many  nations, — Borneans,  Sulus,  true  Malays  from  the  Straits 
Settlements,  and  "  Manila  men,"  as  the  natives  of  the  Philippines 
are  called — but  of  all  these  the  Sulus  were,  at  the  period  of  our  visit, 
by  far  the  most  numerous,  though  compared  with  the  Chinese  they 
were  in  the  minority.  The  huts  are  mere  sheds  built  with  mats 
or  "  attaps "  of  Nipa  leaves,  and  the  streets  between,  if  streets 
they  can  be  called,  are  palm-stem  gangways,  elevated  on  piles  to  a 
height  of  six  or  eight  feet  above  the  water. 

We  disembarked — I  had  almost  said  landed — on  one  of  these 
erections  late  in  the  afternoon  of  April  3rd,  and  made  our  way 
landwards  with  a  certain  sense  of  insecurity  as  the  pliant  palm- 
laths  bent  beneath  our  feet.  Clattering  over  these  somewhat  rickety 
roads  through  a  motley  crowd  of  natives  congregated  around  the 
little  booths  where  vendors  of  dried  fish,  bananas,  and  Chinese 
small  o-oods  were  drivino-  a  brisk  trade,  it  seemed  some  tune  before 
we  reached  terra  jirma,  for  the  houses  are  built  for  a  considerable 
distance  over  the  water,  and  the  odours  that  arose  from  the  sea  of 
black  mud  beneath  us  were  none  of  the  pleasantest.  We  found 
some  friends  whom  we  had  pre^'iously  met  in  Singapore,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  we  had  exliausted  all  the  sights  of  Elopura.  Behind 
the  native  town  the  hills  rise  steeply  to  the  height  of  a  couple  of 
hundred  feet  or  more,  and  were  being  cleared  of  the  jungle  as  fast 
as  possible,  the  sound  of  the  axe  and  the  crash  of  falling  timber 
being  audible  in  all  directions.  The  houses  of  the  Europeans 
were  placed  upon  the  hill-side.  They  were  built,  like  those  of 
the  natives,  of  palm-leaf  mats,  and  were  about  ten  or  twelve  in 
number.  "  Government  House,"  which  served  the  purpose  of  a 
dak -bungalow,  or  rest-house,  was  a  more  pretentious  building, 
but  the  palm  was  borne  by  the  store  of  the  Sabah  Mutual  Supply 
Association,  gay  with  tins  of  potted  meats  within,  and  proud  in  the 
consciousness  of  its  corrugated  zinc  roof.  Cliinamen  were  trotting 
about  in  every  direction  with  an  affair^  au\  The  town  was 
neither  picturesque  nor  beautiful,  and  even  for  a  new  settlement 


v.]  ELOPURA.  89 

was  as  imtidy  as  any  I  have  ever  seen ;  but  it  was  most  certainly 
busy.^ 

Thanks  to  the  exertions  of  the  late  Sir  Walter  Medhurst,  the 
Immigration  Commissioner  in  Hongkong,  Chinese  from  that  city 
and  Singapore  reached  the  new  country  in  great  numbers.  At 
the  beginning  of  1882  the  population  of  Elopura  was  not  more 
than  2000.  In  April  of  the  following  year  it  had  reached  5000. 
Up  to  that  date  the  passage-money  of  the  coolies  had  either  been 
paid  or  advanced,  but  this  practice  was  afterwards  discontinued. 
Labour,  nevertheless,  was  extremely  high.  The  lowest  price 
at  which  it  was  obtainable  was  33  cents  (one  shilling  and  four- 
pence)  per  diem,  bvit  50  cents  was  more  usual.  Such  wages 
were  of  course  well-nigh  proliibitive  of  remunerative  farming, 
and  though  they  have  possibly  decreased  since,  it  is  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable  that  labour  will  ever  be  obtainable  at  as  low  a 
figure  as  it  is  in  Ceylon,  or  even  anything  approaching  it.  Yet 
there  is  no  lack  of  steam  communication.  A  subsidised  steamer 
arrives  every  tliree  weeks  from  Hongkong,  and  the  Singapore  mail 
is  due  at  intervals  of  about  eight  days. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Elopura  reminds  a  traveller  to  whom 
"  rushes  "  are  not  unfamiliar  of  other  townships  he  has  seen  spring 
up,  even  more  quickly,  in  a  "  diamondiferous "  or  gold-bearing 
locality.  There  the  interest  not  unnaturally  centres  in  the  precious 
stone  or  metal  which  has  brought  them  to  the  place.  In  British 
North  Borneo  the  great  fertility  of  the  soil  was  the  nominal 
inducement.  Yet  it  was  singiilar  to  note  how  little  people  seemed 
to  trouble  themselves  about  it,  and  how  slow  they  were  to  profit  by 
the  advantages  which,  we  were  told,  surrounded  them  on  all  sides. 
On  our  arrival  little  or  no  actual  planting  had  been  commenced, 
but  about  a  mile  behind  the  town  a  large  forest-clearing  was  being 
made.  Some  sucjar-cane  had  been  tried,  but  the  soil  was  un- 
suited  for  its  growth,  the  canes  being  small  and  scrubby,  and  with 
very  short  internodes.     Lanook  {Musa  tcxtilis)  was  doing  faudy 

^  In  April,  1886,  almost  the  wliole  of  the  lower  town  was  destroyed  by  fire. 


90  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

well,  but  the  few  oranges  and  pummaloes  that  had  been  tried  were 
covered  with  blight.  The  soil  appeared  poor,  and  the  judicious 
planting  (in  a  metaphorical  sense)  of  a  town  lot  must,  no  doubt, 
have  been  a  far  more  profitable  employment. 

At  Silam,  in  Darvel  Bay,  the  best  land  in  Sabah  is  said  to  be 
met  with.  Thirty  acres  were  cleared  shortly  after  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Company,  and  planted  experimentally  with  tea,  coffee, 
cinchona,  cacao,  sugar,  and  other  products.  Of  these  coffee  and 
sugar  seem  to  have  done  well,  far  better  indeed  than  the  four 
Europeans  who  were  looking  after  the  plantation.  As  we  arrived 
in  Sandakan  we  found  the  doctor  starting  to  their  assistance, 
intelligence  having  just  arrived  that  they  were  all  down  with  fever. 
We  did  not  visit  the  settlement,  and  had  consequently  no  oppor- 
tunity of  judging  of  its  success,  but  although  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco  was  recommended,  that  of  cinchona  and  blue-gum  trees 
would  also  appear  to  be  not  inadvisable. 

We  had  heard  a  good  deal  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  Sandakan 
Bay,  and  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  that  formed  their  banks.  On 
the  11th  of  April  we  accordingly  started  for  the  Sigaliud  in  a 
heavy  steam  launch  drawing  nearly  seven  feet  of  water  aft,  pro- 
visioned for  a  four  or  five  days'  absence.  The  river  is  a  large  one, 
and  debouching  at  the  head  of  the  bay  is  nearly  fifteen  miles 
distant  from  Elopura.  With  the  Marchesas  cutter  and  skiff  in 
tow  we  reached  the  mouth  in  a  couple  of  hours'  steaming,  passing 
a  picturesque  native  "village  at  the  entrance.  There  is  a  depth  of 
sixteen  feet  on  the  bar  at  low  water,  and  the  stream  is  navigable 
for  barges  and  such  craft  for  about  thirty  miles  from  the  mouth. 
There  is  a  striking  and  wearisome  monotony  in  all  these  Bornean 
rivers.  At  first  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  mangroves.  The  actual 
breadth  of  the  river  it  is  impossible  to  guess,  for  land  and  water 
merge  imperceptibly  into  one  another  behind  the  thick  curtain  of 
dull,  lifeless  green.  Four  or  five  miles  are  passed  thus,  and  then  a 
stray  Nipa  palm  rises  here  and  there  from  the  hot  and  muddy 
stream.     It  is  just  as  much  a  water  plant  as  the  mangrove,  and 


v.]  THE  SIGALIUD  RIVER.  91 

its  huge  fronds  are  not  only  among  the  most  graceful  of  tropic 
forms,  but  have  the  additional  advantage  of  utility.  From  them 
the  attaps  are  made, — the  large  mats  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  native  huts.  The  young  and  tender  leaves  supply  the  place  of 
cigarette  papers,  and  the  heart  of  the  palm,  like  that  of  many 
others  in  this  part  of  the  world,  makes  an  excellent  "cabbage," 
which,  either  raw  or  dressed,  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised  even 
by  the  most  fastidious.  Soon  the  dreary-looking  mangrove  swamps 
become  almost  entirely  replaced  by  this  tree,  and  ere  long  a 
glimpse  of  the  bank  is  caught,  and  the  huge  forest-trees  close  in 
on  either  hand,  forming  walls  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  in  height, 
between  which  the  stagnant-looking  river  is  dwarfed  almost  to  a 
ditch.  The  heat  increases,  and  but  few  signs  of  animal-life  are 
evident.  The  inevitable  whimbrel  of  course  is  to  be  found,  and 
the  Common  Sandpiper  {T.  hypohiicus)  flies  past  with  its  clear 
note  of  alarm.  Were  the  traveller  to  confine  himself  to  the  lower 
portion  of  these  rivers,  he  would  find  the  exploration  of  one  of  them 
quite  sufficient  for  a  sample. 

We  steamed  steadily  up  stream  for  five  and  twenty  miles  or 
more  without  incident,  except  on  one  occasion,  when  an  unusually 
sharp  bend  proved  too  much  for  the  steering  capabilities  of  the 
Vigilant,  and  we  found  ourselves  crashing  full  tilt  into  the  jungle. 
It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  attempted  to  navigate  a  forest 
with  a  steam  launch,  and  our  utter  helplessness  as  the  heavy  craft 
was  brought  up  all  standing  among  the  Nipas  was  rather  laughable. 
However,  we  at  length  managed  to  disentangle  ourselves,  and 
once  more  proceeded  on  our  course.  No  signs  of  human  habitation 
or  clearings  were  to  be  seen  until  we  reached  our  destination — 
the  highest  point  that  the  7-foot  draught  of  the  Vigilant  permitted 
her  to  attain.  Here  we  found  a  couple  of  huts,  wliicli  were  inhabited 
by  some  natives  of  the  Buludupi  tribe,  and  made  fast  our  craft  a 
short  distance  farther  up  stream.  It  was  high  water  at  the  time, 
but  as  we  were  assured  that  there  was  only  a  rise  and  fall  of 
eighteen  inches,  we  did  not  regard  our  proximity  to  the  bank  with 


92 


BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO. 


[chap. 


any  appreliension,  and  left  in  the  cutter  for  a  cruise  in  search  of 
natural  history  and  photographic  objects. 

On  our  return  we  found  that  the  captain  and  owner  of  our 
vessel,  as  well  as  others  who  had  accompanied  hun,  was  fast  becoming 
hilarious.     We  had  hardly  finished  dinner  before  it  became  evident 


BULUDUFI    HUTS,   SIGALIUD    KIVER. 


that  the  Vigilant  had  taken  the  ground — a  proceeding  that  was  in 
no  way  necessary,  as  we  had  carried  three  fathoms  of  water  the 
greater  part  of  the  run  up,  and  had  still  a  depth  of  twelve  or 
fourteen  feet  in  mid-stream.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  the  affair 
might  become  serious  for  the  owner  of  the  craft,  as  she  careened 
over  more  and  more,  her  list  being  unfortunately  towards  the  centre 
of  the  river.  If  the  tide  only  fell  low  enough  her  fate  was  merely 
a  matter  of  time,  for  the  banks  sloped  at  an  angle  of  many  degrees. 


v.]  A   CONTRETEMPS.  93 

and  while  there  was  six  feet  of  water  on  one  side  of  the  vessel, 
we  found  six  inches  only  on  the  other.  Soon  everything  began 
falling  over  to  leeward,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  cook's  galley, 
live  coals  and  all,  went  across  the  deck  with  a  crash.  The  impedi- 
menta of  our  party  lay  in  a  confused  pile  mixed  up  with  chairs 
and  the  debris  of  our  dinner,  and  we  set  to  work  to  rescue  what  we 
could  with  all  despatch, — an  affair  of  some  difficulty,  as  we  were 
no  longer  able  to  stand  upon  the  deck.  Meanwhile  the  gallant 
captain  was  engaged  in  a  full-flavoured  altercation  with  the  mate 
and  crew  concerning  the  making  fast  of  certain  hawsers  to  the 
trees,  which  we  had  advised  hmi  to  do  some  time  before.  From 
our  point  of  view,  the  incident  was  ludicrous  enough  as  we  crawled 
about  the  deck  on  all  fours  in  search  of  our  property,  but  judging 
from  the  expletive  richness  of  the  captain's  language,  the  comic 
element  of  the  affair  was  evidently  lost  upon  him.  At  length, 
however,  the  tide  turned,  and  with  the  young  flood  all  doubts  were 
at  an  end.  Before  daylight  the  Vigilant  was  once  more  on  an  even 
keel,  and  we  were  all  comfortably  turned  in. 

A  dense,  sluggish  mist  hung  over  the  river  in  the  early  morning, 
and  did  not  entirely  clear  off  until  nine  o'clock.  It  reminded  one 
unpleasantly  of  Africa,  and  was  immediately  suggestive  of  quinine. 
Two  of  our  party  started  at  once  for  Batang  Ipil, — the  farthest 
point  to  which  the  Sigaliud  is  practicable  for  small  boats, — in  the 
liopes  of  obtaining  wild  cattle,  which  were  said  to  be  numerous  in 
the  neighbourhood.  As  the  sun  got  higher  the  heat  became 
tremendous,  and  at  mid-day,  flnding  it  almost  insupportable  ashore, 
I  returned  from  a  collecting  trip  in  the  jungle,  hoping  to  find  a 
breath  of  air  in  mid-stream.  The  cabin  temperature  was  95°  Fahr., 
but  it  was  distinctly  cooler.  What  heat  of  this  kind  is,  in  a  damp 
climate  like  that  of  Borneo,  can  only  be  realised  by  those  who  have 
experienced  it.  The  far  higher  thermometric  temperatures  in  dry 
climates,  such  as  Australia  and  Africa,  are  child's  play  in  comparison. 

In  the  afternoon  I  explored  a  small  tributary  stream  which 
joined  the  Sigaliud  a  mile  or  two  above  tlie  Buludupi  huts.     It  is 


94  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chaf. 

a  mistake  to  suppose  that  all  tropical  rivers  are  alike,  and,  as  I 
Heated  gently  up  stream  on  a  rising  tide,  I  could  not  help 
feeling  how  much  more  to  my  taste  were  others  I  had  seen  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  in  spite  of  the  undoubted  beauty  of  the  jungle 
and  the  enormous  height  of  the  trees.  The  stream,  forty  or  fifty 
feet  in  width,  looked  a  mere  runlet  beneath  the  huge  forest  giants 
rising  so  abruptly  from  its  banks.  Towering  up  as  clean,  straight, 
branchless  trunks,  often  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  or  more,  their 
tops  were  merged  in  those  of  others  by  the  dense  masses  of  creeper 
which  had  sprung  from  branch  to  branch  and  overwhelmed  them. 
The  roots  of  these  monsters  of  the  vegetable  world  are  strengthened 
in  their  hold  by  buttresses  of  corresponding  size,  smooth  and  fiat 
as  though  constructed  by  the  hand  of  man,  and  supporting  the 
stem  for  a  distance  of  perhaps  thirty  feet  from  the  ground.  Doubt- 
less also  the  creepers  which  bind  the  trees  together  at  their 
summits  help  in  no  small  degree  as  a  support,  but  in  this  region 
there  are  few  high  winds,  and  typhoons  are  non-existent.  High 
up,  in  the  forks  of  the  branches  dozens  of  yards  above  our  heads, 
are  thick  dark  masses  which  the  glasses  reveal  as  clumps  of  the 
Birds'-nest  Fern  {Neottopteris),  or  the  still  more  curious  Platyccrium 
or  Elk's  Horn,  whose  upper  fronds,  deeply  dentate,  cling  to  the 
trunk  with  their  base,  from  which  the  long,  seaweed-like,  fertile 
fronds  hang  pendulous.  Orchids,  too,  there  are  in  abundance, 
could  we  only  see  them,  but  their  flowers  are  too  small,  or,  like  the 
G-rammatophyllum,  too  dull  in  colour  for  us  to  distinguish  them 
with  ease.  Not  a  breath  of  air  stirs  leaf  or  water,  and  the  oily,  pea- 
soup-coloured  river  with  its  oozy  banks  looks  untempting  enough 
beneath  a  sun  whose  heat  seems  to  penetrate  to  one's  very  marrow. 
Few  visible  signs  of  life  appear  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  scene, 
save  when  a  flash  of  vivid  cobalt  blue  tells  us  that  an  Irena  has 
crossed  the  stream,  or  a  party  of  monkeys  swing  chattering  from 
bough  to  bough.  But  if  there  is  rest  for  the  eye  there  is  little  oi- 
none  for  the  ear.  The  forest  is  alive  with  sound,  from  the  dull, 
hoarse  cry  of  the  hornl)ill  and  the  slow  sioish,  sunsh  of  its  powerful 


v.]  BULUDUPIS.  95 

wings,  to  the  loud  booming  note  of  the  large  Fruit-eating  Pigeons 
{Carpophaga)  and  the  ceaseless  and  ear-piercing  whir-r-r  of 
thousands  of  cicadas.  It  is  tropical  nature  indeed,  but  in  its  least 
pleasing  aspects,  and,  lying  sweltering  between  the  walls  of 
vegetation  that  shut  him  in  on  either  hand,  almost  too  inert  to  lift 
the  gun  to  his  shoulder,  the  traveller  longs  for  a  less  vehement 
nature, — for  the  restfulness  of  an  English 

..."  liiddeii  brook 
In  the  leafy  month  of  June 
That  to  the  sleeping  woods  all  night 
Singeth  a  quiet  tune." 

Coolness  of  a  comparative  sort  conies  with  the  setting  sun,  and  the 
nights  are  more  pleasant  with  a  light  blanket  than  without,  but 
the  heat  we  experienced  in  these  Bornean  rivers  during  the  day 
was  almost  as  trying  as  that  of  New  Guinea  or  West  Africa. 

The  following  morning  we  started  early  upon  a  photographic 
tour.  The  Buludupi  huts  were  our  first  object,  but  we  tried  in 
vain  for  a  long  time  to  get  a  photograph  of  one  of  the  dug-out 
canoes  of  these  people,  which  was  manned  by  four  little  heathens 
in  a  state  of  nature.  Some  of  the  children  had  their  heads 
completely  shaved,  but  in  others  a  small  tuft  of  hair  was  allowed 
to  grow  over  the  forehead,  after  the  manner  of  Chinese  small  boys. 
I  do  not  know  whether  this  custom  is  general  among  any  of  the 
interior  tribes,  but  the  fact  seems  interesting  when  the  connection 
between  China  and  Borneo  in  bygone  times  is  borne  in  mind.^ 
Proceeding  up  stream  for  some  distance  we  noticed  traces  of  an 
old  footpath  upon  the  bank,  and  on  landing  and  following  it  into 
the  forest,  we  came  upon  a  clearing  which  was  evidently  a  burial- 
ground  of  the  Buludupis.  It  contained  about  a  dozen  graves. 
Oblong  pieces  of  wood  with  a  narrow  mortice  cut  longitudinally 
through  them  lay  upon  the  slightly-raised  mounds,  and  at  the 
head  was  a  small  wooden  post,  roughly  carved  after  the  Malay 

^  Many  instances  of  this  connection  might  be  adduced  in  Bornean  nomenclature, 
such  as  Kina-hahx  (Chinese  widow),  Kina-ha,tB,nga,i\  (Chinese  river),  etc.  etc. 


96  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

fashion.  By  the  side  of  several  graves  was  placed  a  sort  of  rude 
bier,  vipoii  which  the  corpse  had  evidently  been  carried  to  its 
last  resting-place,  and  here  and  there  a  miniature  bamboo  flagstaff 
was  planted,  from  the  top  of  which  still  hung  a  few  tattered  rags 
of  linen. 

The  scene  was  beautiful  as  well  as  quaint,  for  the  ground  had 
been  liberally  planted  with  crotons  and  dracajnas,  whose  coloured 
leaves  stood  out  in  bold  relief  against  the  heavy  dark  green  of  the 
forest  around.  Close  by,  a  few  arecas  and  an  old  coco-palm 
revealed  the  age  of  the  clearing.  A  few  years  ago,  when  the  pirate 
fleets  from  the  Sulu  Islands  ravaged  the  countries  far  and  near, 
the  natives  lived  far  up  the  rivers,  where  they  were  safer  from 
attack,  better  able  to  defend  themselves,  and  more  free  to  grow 
their  crops.  Now  that  security  is  greater,  many  of  the  clearings 
are  deserted,  and  have  become  rapidly  overgrown. 

The  Buludupis  have  a  curious  account  of  their  origin.  An 
old  woman — but  of  what  nation  history  does  not  inform  us — one 
day  instructed  her  daughter  to  light  a  fire.  Again  and  again  the 
young  woman  tried ;  again  and  again  she  failed.  At  length, 
wearied  by  her  non-success,  and  by  the  abuse  of  her  mamma,  who, 
as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  judge  of  historical  personages,  seems  to 
have  l3een  a  woman  of  violent  temper,  she  exclaimed,  "  The  Fire 
Fiend  may  take  me,  if  he  will  only  let  me  get  this  alight."  No 
sooner  had  she  spoken  than  her  wish  was  gratified,  but  at  the 
same  instant  she  disappeared  from  view.  Time  passed  by,  and  at 
length  she  returned  from  the  lower  regions,  and  interesting  as 
must  have  been  her  adventures,  of  which,  by  the  way,  history  gives 
us  no  account,  they  were  not  more  so  than  her  condition.  In  a 
few  days  she  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  was  the  progenitor  of  the 
Buludupi  tribe. 

We  continued  our  voyage  up  stream  after  having  taken 
photographs  of  the  burial-ground,  and  constantly  passed  the  re- 
mains of  old  clearings.  The  river  had  become  much  narrower,  and 
the  forest-trees  were  laru'er  than  I  ever  recollect  seeing;  them  in 


v.]  BIRDS  OF  THE  JUNGLE.  97 

any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  heat  was  perhaps  slightly  more 
bearable  than  on  the  preceding  day,  but  a  succession  of  tremend- 
ously heavy  rain-showers  drenched  us  to  the  skin.  Such  weather 
is  always  most  unfavourable  to  the  naturalist,  not  only  as  regards 
his  health  and  comfort,  but  his  work  also.  Beasts,  birds,  and 
beetles  alike  take  shelter  from  the  pitiless  rain,  and  photography 
becomes  an  impossibility.  Between  the  showers,  however,  we 
managed  to  obtain  a  few  birds,  conspicuous  among  which  was  the 
exquisite  Irena, — the  whole  of  its  upper  surface  of  the  most  vivid 
cobalt  blue.  The  feathers  of  this  bird  are  sent  from  Borneo  to 
Canton,  where  the  Chinese  use  them  for  making  a  very  effective 
blue  enamel  in  articles  of  jewellery.  Hanging  back  downwards  in 
all  sorts  of  attitudes,  searching  the  blossoms  of  the  flowering  trees 
for  insects,  the  little  so-called  Spider-hunters  (ArachnotJiera)  were 
common  enough,  but  difficult  to  shoot,  owing  to  the  great  height  of 
the  trees  they  frequented.  They  are  remarkable  for  the  great 
size  of  the  beak,  which  in  some  species  is  nearly  as  long  as  the 
body.  This  abnormal  development  is  no  doubt  of  the  greatest 
assistance  to  them  in  searching  the  deep  corollas  for  their  insect 
prey.  The  Racquet-tailed  Drongo  -  shrike  (B.  hrachyphorus),  a 
striking,  but  tolerably  common  object  in  the  forests  of  Borneo, 
also  fell  to  my  gun.  In  many  of  the  drongos  the  two  outer  tail 
feathers  show  a  greater  or  less  amount  of  corkscrew  twist,  but 
in  this  species  the  shaft  is  prolonged  to  a  length  of  twelve  or 
fourteen  inches,  and  is  perfectly  bare  except  at  the  end,  which 
presents  a  small,  curved  spatula  of  a  blue-black  colour. 

The  soil  along  the  banks  of  the  Sigaliud  was,  as  might  be 
expected,  of  far  better  quality  than  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Elopura.  As  we  floated  back  to  the  Vigilant  its  many  advantages 
for  sugar-raising  were  being  expatiated  on  at  length  by  a  land- 
prospector  who  formed  one  of  our  party.  The  moment  chosen, 
however,  was  not  a  very  lucky  one  for  the  advocate  of  river-side 
planting.  At  that  instant  we  happened  to  be  passing  beneath  an 
overhanging  tree,  in  the  branches  of  which,  twenty  feet  or  more 
VOL.  II.  H 


98 


BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO. 


[chap. 


above  our  heads,  an  irrefutable  argument  in  the  shape  of  a  lump  of 
grass  and  driftwood  had  stuck.  The  country  round  is  for  the 
most  part  low  and  flat,  and  of  the  effect  of  the  floods  in  the  rainy- 
season  we  had  afterwards  a  good  opportunity  of  judging  during  our 


FOREST-CLEARING   AND   LARGE   TREE   NE.VR   SANDAKAN. 


visit  to  the  Papar-Kunanis  district.  Towards  evening  the  rest  of 
our  party  returned  from  Batang  Ipil,  having  been  unsuccessful  in 
the  way  of  sport,  although  much  spoor  had  been  seen.  The 
following  morning  we  retm^ned  to  Elopura. 

The  export  trade  of  the  Sandakan  district  at  the  time  of  our 
visit  lay  entirely  in  the  natural  products  of  the  country.  Eattan- 
canes,  gutta,  daimnar,  camphor,  sharks'-fin,  beche  de  mer,  and  pearl- 
shells  were  the  chief,  and  the  supjaly  of  all  these  in  the  forests 


v.]  THE  ''BIRDS' -NEST  SWALLOW."  99 

and  seas  of  the  Company's  territory  is,  with  the  exception  perhaps 
of  gutta,  practically  inexhaustible.  But  of  all  the  exports  the 
edible  birds'  nests  are  by  far  the  most  important.  The  Gomanton 
Hill,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Sapugaya  Eiver,  alone  produces 
enormous  quantities, — to  the  annual  value,  indeed,  of  over  £5000. 
The  caves  of  Bodmadai  in  Darvel  Bay  are  reported  to  be  nearly 
as  valuable,  and  there  are  eight  or  ten  others  which  are  for  the 
most  part  either  indifferently  worked  or  as  yet  unexplored.  The 
nests  are  di\T.ded,  according  to  their  colour  and  purity,  into  three 
qualities,  puti,  manas,  and  itam  (white,  medium,  and  black),  which 
at  a  low  estimate  are  severally  worth  about  eleven  hundred  dollars, 
two  hundred  dollars,  and  ninety  dollars  per  ])icul  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty -three  pounds.  That  the  value  of  this  article  of 
commerce  is  considerable  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  for  the 
half-year  ending  June,  1882,  the  duties  on  birds'  nests  exported 
from  Elopura  at  five  per  cent  amounted  to  a  sum  of  eleven 
hundred  dollars.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1883,  the  duty  was 
raised  to  ten  p^  cent. 

The  "Birds' -nest  Swallow"  is  essentially  a  gregarious  bird, 
roosting  and  building  in  huge  caves  which  it  shares  with  vast 
quantities  of  bats.  It  does  not  invariably  breed  thus,  for  I  have 
seen  a  couple  of  nests  built  close  together  on  the  face  of  a  small 
cliff  barely  ten  feet  from  the  sea-beach,  exposed  to  the  full  glare  of 
daylight.  Such  instances,  however,  are  exceptional.  In  the  vast 
majority  of  cases  the  nests  are  placed  on  the  sides  and  roofs  of 
caves  where  the  light  is  generally  dim,  and  often  entirely  absent. 
We  were  unable  to  visit  the  Gomanton  Hill  as  we  had  intended, 
but  I  am  indebted  to  my  friend  ]\Ir.  Bampfylde — one  of  the  few 
Europeans  who  has  explored  it — for  the  following  account  of  the 
method  of  collecting : — 

"  The  nests  being  situated  in  sucli  awkward  positions,  at  a  great  height, 
much  skill  and  ingenuity  is  employed,  and  only  skilled  collectors  can  collect. 
The  rule  is  to  have  one  head-collector  (Tukang)  for  each  cave,  wdth  three  or 
four  coolie  collectors  to  assist  him,  though  all  the  caves  cannot  require  so 


100  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

many,  and  I  fancy,  Avitli  a  proper  dmsion  of  labour,  ten  head-men  with  fifty 
coolies  would  be  sufficient  to  collect  at  Gromanton.  The  higher  the  nests  are 
situated  the  better  they  are,  being  drier  and  freer  from  dampness.  For  taking 
the  nests  situated  lower  do^^^l,  and  for  getting  those  out  of  arm's-reach,  a  very 
long  bamboo,  spiked,  and  with  a  candle  near  the  spiked  end,  is  used  ;  with 
this  they  can  see  and  detach  the  nests.  Those  situated  higher  up,  and 
consequently  the  most  valuable,  being  the  majority  of  them  situated  in  such 
dizzy  heights  (up  to  600  feet),  are  taken  by  means  of  rattans  or  rattan-ladders 
lowered  down  between  holes  and  small  outlets,  some  of  them  too  small  to 
permit  a  man  to  pass  through,  of  which  there  are  many.  Where  a  man  can 
pass  through,  they  employ  a  rattan  or  ladder  long  enough  to  reach  do^^^l  to 
the  nests,  otherwise  a  ladder  long  enough  to  reach  the  ground  is  let  do-wn,  so 
that  the  collector  can  ascend.  By  using  sticks  and  bamboos  inserted  in 
cre\ices  and  holes  they  can,  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner,  work  their  way 
along  the  faces  of  these  precipices  to  a  recjuired  point,  and  in  one  or  two 
places  I  have  seen  stages  fixed  right  on  to  the  roof,  where  it  would  seem 
utterly  impossible  for  a  man  to  work  his  way.  One  I  noted  about  300 
feet  from  the  ground,  with  no  outlet  close  to  it,  and  situated  equidistant  from 
the  walls,  right  in  the  middle  of  the  roof,  to  get  to  which,  by  means  of 
rigging  a  stage  or  up  the  walls,  would  seem  to  be  impossible. 

"  Long  bamboos  with  steps  up  them,  and  secured  by  rattan  stays,  wdth 
sitting  stages,  are  also  employed  to  work  from  the  ground.  The  caves  can 
be  worked  equally  as  well  by  night  as  by  day,  without  any  fear  of  scaring 
the  birds. 

"  The  natives  collect  in  a  slovenly  manner,  and  not  always  in  the  proper 
season.  Great  care  should  always  be  taken  after  detaching  the  nests  to  sweep 
the  various  lodgments  so  as  to  remove  all  mess  and  feathers,  which  would 
otherwise  adhere  to  the  next  lot  of  nests,  and  deteriorate  them  in  value. 
This  is  invariably  done  by  the  Sarawak  Land  Dyaks,  and  owing  to  superior 
knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  collectors,  and  more  careful  management,  the 
nests  from  the  caves  on  the  Sarawak  River  are  very  valuable,  though  the 
caves,  and  consequently  the  amovmts  produced,  are  greatly  inferior  to  those 
of  Gomanton. 

"  For  some  years  back  there  appear  to  have  been  only  two  seasons  for 
collecting,  ^iz.  the  Papas  and  Kampala;  one  about  March,  and  the  other 
about  two  months  later,  I  am,  however,  informed,  on  the  authority  of 
experienced  collectors  and  others,  that  the  most  remimerative  way  is  to  divide 
the  year  into  four  seasons,  as  formerly  done.  Xo  fixed  date  can  be  given  for 
these  seasons,  and  the  gathering  depends  on  the  laying  of  the  eggs,  and  when 
this  commences  the  nests  must  be  taken.  The  natives  say  that  the  birds  will 
lay  four  times  a  year  if  four  collections  are  made,  but  if  there  are  only  two 


v.]  TRADE  OF  SANDAKAX.  101 

collections  they  lay  twice  only.  The  first  three  seasons  always  produce  white 
nests,  the  last  only  manas  and  itam  (the  medium  and  hlack  qualities),  but  it 
must  be  worked  to  insure  a  good  harvest  for  the  next  coming  Papas  season. 

"  By  these  means  a  larger  quantity  and  a  far  finer  quality  of  nests  are 
obtained  than  by  dividing  the  year  into  two  seasons  only,  when  the  birds  are 
allowed  to  add  and  add  on  to  their  old  nests, — as  they  will  invariably  do, — 
which  rapidly  deteriorate,  becoming  dirty  and  of  low  value.  As  the  nests 
are  taken  only  when  the  eggs  are  laid,  a  danger  of  over-collecting  might  be 
apprehended,  but  I  am  assured  no  such  danger  exists,  as  the  birds  carry  on 
the  breed  in  nooks  and  crannies  inaccessible  to  the  collectors." 

The  trade  of  Sandakan,  as  well  as  of  the  other  ports  of  British 
North  Borneo,  appears  to  be  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Chinese.  The  following  figures  represent  the  value  of  the  exports 
and  imports  of  Elopura  from  1881  to  1884  inclusive  : — 


Imports. 

Exports. 

1881 

8160,658 

$145,443 

1882 

269,597 

133,665 

1883 

428,919 

159,127 

1884 

377,885 

184,173 

The  sport  to  be  obtamed  in  Xorth  Borneo  is  not  such  as  would 
repay  a  visit.  Elephant  and  rlmioceros  are  both  to  be  found,  as 
are  also  the  tapir  and  the  Malayan  Husa,  but  for  many  reasons  the 
sportsman's  bag  is  not  likely  to  be  a  heavy  one.  The  elephant,  as 
far  as  is  known,  is  confined  to  this,  the  north-east  promontory  of 
the  island,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  introduced  by  man.  It  is 
now  chiefly  to  be  found  in  the  Darvel  Bay  district.  Gaur  are 
said  to  exist,  and  there  are,  no  doubt,  great  quantities  of  pig.  But 
it  is  worthy  of  note  that  two  English  oflicers,  both  of  them  well- 
known  sportsmen,  who  devoted  four  months  to  big-game  shooting 
in  British  North  Borneo  in  1883,  returned  to  Hongkong  entirely 
unsuccessful.  Game,  no  doubt,  there  is,  but  it  is  quite  another 
thing  to  shoot  it.  The  climate  is  by  no  means  a  healthy  one,  and 
there  is  considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining  transport  and  provisions. 
There  are  no  trained  shikaris,  for  hunting  does  not  seem  to  be 


102  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

taken  up  as  a  regular  pursuit  by  any  of  the  natives,  as  is  the  case 
in  India  and  Africa.  If  big -game  shooting  in  this  part  of  the 
world  be  contemplated,  there  are  no  advantages  in  Borneo  which 
Java,  Sumatra,  or  the  Malay  Peninsula  could  not  show,  while  for 
variety  of  game,  easy  accessibility,  and  comfort  in  travel,  the  latter 
countries  are  to  be  preferred. 

During  our  visit  to  the  new  colony  we  made  no  attempt  at  any 
larger  game  than  pig  and  deer,  preferring  the  acquisition  of  some 
knowledge  of  the  various  settlements  and  their  prospects  to  the 
shadowy  possibilities  of  an  elephant.  Libarran  Island,  which  lies 
some  twenty  miles  or  more  to  the  north  of  Sandakan  Bay,  is 
believed  to  be,  and  no  doubt  really  is,  full  of  deer,  but  an  excursion 
we  made  thither  in  search  of  them  was  unsuccessful,  owing  chiefly 
to  inefficient  beating,  and  we  had  to  be  content  with  the  inspection 
of  their  numerous  tracks.  Ornithologically  speaking,  however,  the 
visit  was  not  unproductive,  and  we  added  several  species  to  our 
collections.  Among  them  was  an  exquisite  little  black  Sun-bird 
(Chalcostetha  insignis),  its  head  and  throat  glittering  with  metallic 
emerald  and  ruby.  It  is  a  not  uncommon  species,  but  during  the 
whole  of  our  visit  to  North  Borneo  we  never  met  with  it  elsewhere. 

We  left  Elopura  for  the  second  time  on  the  22nd  of  May,  in 
company  with  H.M.S.  Fly,  and  proceeded  to  Kudat,  which  at  the 
time  of  our  visit  was  the  seat  of  Government  and  the  headquarters 
of  the  Company.  The  present  capital  is  Elopura,  in  which  place, 
ever  since  its  foundation,  trade  has  centred.  Kudat  is  situated  in 
a  small  harbour  on  the  western  shore  of  Marudu  Bay,  and  is, 
roughly  speaking,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Sandakan 
by  sea.  Between  the  two  settlements  lies  the  difficult  Mallawall^ 
Channel,  a  network  of  reefs  and  shoals  which  is  only  navigable  by 
day,  and  even  then  only  with  great  care.  Kudat  has,  therefore, 
the  double  advantage  of  greater  proximity  to  Hongkong  and 
Singapore  and  absence  of  risks  in  navigation.  The  latter  can 
certainly  be  avoided  by  taking  a  more  northerly  passage,  but  only 
at  the  expense  of  several  hours.     The  visitor's  first  impression  of 


v.]  VISIT  TO  BONGON.  103 

the  township  is  a  favourable  one.  Its  situation  is  far  prettier  than 
that  of  Elopura;  it  is  neater  and  cleaner,  and  the  bungalows, 
instead  of  being  constructed  with  palm-leaf  attcqjs,  have  here  their 
walls  of  wood.  There  are  walks  and  woodland  roads  in  many 
directions ;  there  is  a  splendid  sea-beach  extending  for  miles,  and, 
wonderful  to  relate,  we  actually  found  some  attempts  at  gardening. 
Happily,  too, — though  doubtless  unfortunately,  from  the  colonial 
point  of  view — there  is  a  paucity  of  Chinese  population.  In  point 
of  size  Kudat  is  not  great.  It  boasts  of  little  more  than  a  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  its  trade  is,  or  rather  was, — for  in  speaking  of  a 
new  country  it  is  at  least  polite  to  put  these  facts  in  the  past  tense, 
— comparatively  insignificant.  Bad  water  and  alleged  unhealthi- 
ness  have  made  the  settlement  an  unpopular  one  with  the  Chinese, 
and  though  the  former  evil  has  been  remedied,  and  the  climate  is 
at  least  no  worse  than  that  of  Elopura,  the  latter  town  has  remained 
the  favourite  in  the  eye  of  the  Celestial,  and,  in  consequence,  much 
the  same  feeling  exists  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  places 
as  that  between  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  or  the  "Eastern"  and 
"  Western  "  districts  in  South  Africa. 

We  celebrated  the  Queen's  birthday  in  the  most  approved 
colonial  fashion.  H.M.S.  Fit/  and  the  yacht  were  gaily  dressed ; 
the  royal  standard  was  saluted  from  "The  Battery;"  a  cricket 
match  (the  Marchesans  and  Borneans  v.  the  Flies)  was  played; 
a  tug-of-war  between  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  two  ships  con- 
tested, and  our  kind  host.  Sir  Walter  Medhurst,  then  Acting 
Governor,  entertained  us  at  tiffin.  Loyalty,  public  spirit — and 
the  temperature — were  at  fever  heat. 

The  Fly's  visit  to  Marudu  Bay  was  on  particular  business. 
Just  two  months  previously  a  Chinaman  had  accidentally  shot  a 
Bajau  woman  at  Bongon,  a  small  village  at  the  head  of  the  bay. 
He  was  immediately  seized  by  the  natives,  and  though  intelligence 
of  the  disturbance  was  at  once  sent  to  Kudat,  the  wretched  man 
was  despatched  with  kris  and  spear.  A  small  body  of  Sikh  police 
was  sent  to  the  spot  to  arrest  the  murderers,  but  the  latter  refused 


104  BRITISH  XORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

to  give  themselves  up,  and  attacked  the  Silvhs  unexpectedly.  In 
the  skirmish  that  ensued  three  Bajaus  and  two  of  the  police  were 
killed,  and  hoth  parties  withdrew.  Ten  days  later  a  larger  force  of 
Sikhs  was  sent  to  the  village,  and  a  fine  of  SI  00  miposed,  which 
was  eventually  paid.  It  was  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  the  state 
of  affairs  that  the  Fly — with  Mr.  Gueritz,  Eesident  of  Kudat,  on 
board — sailed  for  Bongon  on  the  25th  of  May,  in  company  with 
the  Marchesa.  "We  anchored  nearly  three  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  river  on  which  the  callage  is  placed,  for  the  bay  is  here  very 
shallow,  and  the  rise  and  fall  of  tide  considerable.  It  is,  indeed, 
facetiously  related  that  early  one  morning  one  of  the  watch  of  a 
certain  gun-boat  reported  that  the  "  anchor  was  in  sight  two  points 
on  the  port  bow  on  a  mud-bank."  We  proceeded  in  the  cutter  and 
steam  launch  to  the  village,  and  were  well  received,  the  natives 
flymg  little  white  flags  on  their  huts  in  token  of  submission ;  and 
from  what  we  learnt  there  was  no  doubt  that  the  disturbance  had 
no  political  significance  whatever.  In  the  eyes  of  these  natives 
the  taking  of  a  human  life  is  a  little  thmg.  When  they  realise 
the  fact  that  each  Sikh  policeman  brought  to  bag  costs  fifty  dollars, 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  may  relinquish  the  sport. 

The  pleasant  jungle  walks  and  long  stretches  of  beach  fringed 
with  Cycas  and  Casuarina  proved  a  source  of  great  enjoyment  to  us 
during  our  week's  stay  at  Kudat,  and  we  added  considerably  to 
our  collection.  In  one  of  my  morning  rambles  I  came  across  a 
small  bird  {Mixornis  hornensis)  fast  entangled  in  the  we])  of  a 
spider  of  the  genus  Nephila.  These  structures  in  the  tropical 
forests  of  this  part  of  the  world  are  often  of  large  size  and  gTeat 
strength,  but  I  w^as  astonished  to  find  that  they  were  sufliciently 
strong  to  capture  a  bird  which,  in  this  instance,  was  as  large  as  a 
goldfinch.  For  the  moment  my  feelings  of  humanity  overpowered 
me,  and  I  released  the  captive,  but  directly  afterwards  I  regretted 
that  I  had  done  so,  as  the  conclusion  of  the  drama  might  have  been 
of  interest.  The  spider,  though  evidently  somewhat  deterred  by 
his  unusually  large  capture  and  the  violent  shakings  of  the  web. 


v.] 


BIRD -EATING  SPIDERS. 


105 


showed  no  intention  of  flight,  and  quietly  watched  the  issue  of 
events  close  by.  I  am  not  aware  that  this  genus  is  avivorous,  but 
the  huge  Mygale  is  supposed  to  be.  One  of  these  is  a  common  species 
in  Borneo,  living  in  holes  in  banks.  The  entrance  is  perfectly 
circular  and  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  smooth  tunnel 
leads  backwards  to  a  small  chamber  eighteen  inches  or  more  from 
the  mouth.     This  creature  is  of  enormous  size — the  body  as  much 


•'  BONGON. 


as  three  inches  long,  by  an  inch  in  width,  and  it  is  no  doubt  quite 
strong  enough  to  cope,  not  merely  with  a  callow  nestling,  but  even 
with  an  adult  bird  of  small  size. 

A  day  or  two  after  our  Bongon  expedition  we  became  the 
fortunate  possessors  of  the  best  pet  that  ever  took  up  his  quarters 
on  board  the  Marchesa.  He  was  a  present  from  Mr.  Gueritz,  the 
Eesident  of  Kudat,  who  received  him  from  an  English-speaking 
Malay  in  the  Company's  service,  accompanied  by  the  following 
note  announcino'  his  arrival : — 


106  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

"My  bast  Compliments  to  yau.  I  was  sent  yau  27  faowels  and  One 
while  man.  Plice  Eecived  By  the  Bearar  and  Plice  Fed  the  Bord  Hayar, 
and  I  was  sick.  A.  C.  Pitchy." 

The  "  while  man,"  I  need  scarcely  say,  was  an  orang-utan, — 
a  formidable-looking  beast  enclosed  in  a  large  wooden  cage.  We 
had  at  first  the  greatest  respect  for  him,  and  he  was  fed  through 
the  bars  with  all  possible  precaution.  One  day,  however,  he 
managed  to  escape,  and  we  suddenly  discovered  that  he  was  of  the 
most  harmless  and  tractable  disposition.  From  that  moment 
"  Bongon  "  became  the  pet  of  the  ship,  and  was  spoilt  alike  by  the 
crew  and  ourselves.  Indirectly  this  was,  no  doubt,  the  cause  of 
his  death, — a  much-deplored  event  that  took  place  some  months 
later  on  the  coast  of  Celebes. 

We  left  Kudat  May  30th.  The  northern  part  of  Borneo  is  by 
no  means  plentifully  supplied  with  good  water,  and  we  tried  in 
vain  to  fill  our  tanks  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cape  Sampanmangio. 
We  were  equally  unsuccessful  in  our  search  along  the  coast  beyond, 
and  as  our  supply  was  nearly  finished  we  decided  to  return  east- 
wards and  try  Banguey  Island.  It  is  the  most  northern  possession 
of  the  Company,  and  but  little  is  as  yet  known  of  it,  though 
Balembangan — an  island  in  close  proximity  to  it — was  in  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  an  English  settlement.  We  anchored  a 
little  to  the  south  of  Banguey  Peak — a  conspicuous,  sharp  cone  of 
nearly  2000  feet,  which  is  believed  to  be  an  extinct  volcano — and 
were  fortunate  enough  to  hit  off  the  entrance  of  a  small  river,  the 
existence  of  which,  though  not  discovered  by  Belcher  and  other  ex- 
plorers of  these  seas,  had  been  made  known  to  us  by  some  of  the 
officers  of  the  North  Borneo  Company.  The  mouth  was  completely 
hidden  from  tlie  ship  by  a  long  strip  of  sand  running  out  from  the 
left  bank,  and  on  entering  we  found  ourselves  surrounded  by  pretty 
scenery,  which  was  the  more  striking  from  the  absence  of  man- 
groves. We  were  able  to  row  up  stream  for  nearly  a  mile,  when 
we  came  to  a  sudden  bend  where  the  stream  ran  briskly  over 
pebbly  shallows.     The  water  was  clear  and  good,  and  we  at  once 


v.]  BANGUEY  ISLAND.  107 

began  filling  the  lifeboat  and  cutter.  The  knowledge  of  this  stream 
would  be  most  useful  to  those  cruising  off  this  part  of  the  Bornean 
coast,  for  to  the  south-west  there  are  few,  if  any,  places  where  good 
water  can  be  obtained. 

The  contrast  between  the  island  and  the  coast  we  had  just  left 
—for  the  mainland  of  Borneo  is  only  eight  miles  distant — was 
rather  striking.  Banguey  Peak  is  almost  certainly  volcanic, 
although  we  did  not  examine  the  crater  which  is  said  by  the 
natives  to  exist  at  its  summit.  N"ear  the  entrance  of  the  river  is  a 
cliff  of  red  granitic  rock,  and  pebbles  of  mica -schist  and  quartz 
were  abundant  in  the  stream,  with  large  lumps  of  "  pudding-stone  " 
conglomerate.  Mr.  Dalrymple,  who  had  visited  this  spot  in  the 
preceding  month  and  had  explored  some  distance  inland,  found 
micaceous  schist,  talcose  and  gneiss  formations,  and  red  and  blue 
clay  slates.  The  vegetation  also  was  a  little  unfamiliar,  and  I 
noticed  two  species  of  Pandanus  which  I  had  not  seen  before. 
AlonjT  the  river  there  were  no  signs  of  human  life.  The  island 
indeed  is  but  thinly  peopled.  A  few  Dusuns — about  two  or  three 
hundred,  we  were  told — had  migrated  thither  from  the  mainland, 
and  to  the  south  some  Bajaus,  the  roving  sea -gipsies  of  Borneo, 
trade  with  them  for  bees'  wax,  which  appears  to  be  very  plentiful. 
The  season  for  gathering  it  begins  in  August,  and,  according  to  Mr. 
Dalr}TQple,  each  man  reckons  on  collecting  about  a  ^Jtcwi  (133  lbs.), 
for  which  the  Bajaus  pay  barter  to  the  nominal  value  of  £5. 

We  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  Mr.  Gueritz  with  us,  and 
guided  by  one  of  his  men — a  Dusun  Dyak  who  was  himself  an  old 
inhabitant  of  the  island — we  ascended  the  river  for  some  distance, 
and  striking  inland,  followed  a  narrow  jungle  path  for  a  mile  or 
more.  Birds  were  few,  and  all  those  we  noticed  or  that  fell  to  our 
guns  were  species  that  were  familiar  to  us  in  Borneo,  but  flowering 
trees  and  a  beautiful  white  jessamine  seemed  abundant.  We 
arrived  at  length  at  a  tiny  hamlet,  but  the  male  portion  of  the 
population  were  away,  and  five  Dyak  women  were  the  only 
inhabitants.     They  did  not  appear  at  all  afraid  of  us,  and  brought 


108  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

water  to  us  as  we  ate  our  tiffin.  Some  attempts  at  cultivation  had 
been  made  near  the  huts,  and  the  soil  here — as  indeed  elsewhere 
upon  the  island — appeared  tolerably  rich.  Some  of  the  sugar- 
cane was  good  and  heavy,  and  tobacco  also  was  doing  well,  but  the 
food  of  these  people  is  chiefly  fish  and  rice  obtained  from  the 
Bajaus.     The  only  cereal  grown  is  maize. 

Not  many  months  after  our  visit  to  Banguey  the  "  German 
Borneo  Company  "  took  up  10,000  acres  upon  the  island,  with  the 
intention  of  growing  tobacco.  The  manager  was  a  German  familiar 
with  tobacco -cultivation  in  Smnatra,  where,  as  I  have  already 
mentioned,  the  "wrappers"  of  many  of  the  good  Havana  cigars 
are  grown.  Labour  was  imported,  and  the  prospects  appearing 
excellent,  they  claimed  the  option  of  selecting  another  10,000 
acres.  Disturbances  with  the  natives  ensued,  however,  and  in 
a  fracas  with  the  coolies  two  of  the  latter  were  shot  by  the 
whites.  Wliether  the  venture  was  given  up  or  not  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  German  Borneo  Company  appear  to  have  since 
transferred  their  attentions  to  Sulu  Island,  where  they  have 
obtained  land  grants  from  the  Spanish,  and,  in  September,  1885, 
— as  stated  on  a  former  page, — they  had  commenced  tobacco- 
growing  with  every  prospect  of  success. 

We  left  a  few  little  presents  with  our  hostesses,  and  struck 
westwards  through  the  jungle  to  the  sea.  At  the  edge  of  the 
beach  spoor  of  wild  pig,  and  of,  probably,  the  little  muntjac,-  was 
abundant.  During  our  walk  we  were  attracted  by  dismal  bowlings, 
and  on  searching  in  the  forest  came  across  a  small  puppy  who  had 
lost  his  way.  We  carried  him  off  to  add  to  the  numljer  of  our 
pets,  and  "  Banguey,"  as  he  was  afterwards  named,  exchanged  the 
precarious  existence  of  a  life  among  the  Dyaks  for  the  cerde  of 
Newfoundlands  and  Dachshunds  on  the  Marchesa.  With  his  queer 
appearance  and  the  absurd  gravity  of  his  manner  he  soon  became 
a  favourite,  and  would  play  sadly  with  the  parrots  and  monkeys, 
with  whom  he  seemed  to  have  more  in  common  than  his  own  kind. 
But  he  was  a  Bohemian  and  vauricn  by  birth,  and  the  aviari 


v.]  ENGLISH  OCCUPATION  OF  BALEMBANGAN.  109 

aliqtdd  doubtless  lingered  even  in  the  flesh-pots  of  civilisation,  for 
whenever  he  was  given  "  shore-leave  "  he  immediately  did  his  best 
to  lose  himself  in  the  jungle. 

From  the  shore  the  magnificent  outline  of  Kina  Balu,  the  great 
mountain  of  Borneo,  was  visible  to  the  S.S.W.,  eighty  miles 
away,  but  our  attention  and  interest  was  directed  to  a  nearer 
object — the  island  of  Balembangan — where,  a  hundred  years 
before,  the  inhabitants  of  the  East  India  Company's  settlement 
had  been  massacred  almost  to  a  man.  In  those  days  neither 
Singapore,  Malacca,  nor  Penang  was  English,  and  it  was  considered 
above  all  things  important  to  establish  posts  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  China.  Accordingly,  when,  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
the  Sultan  of  Sulu  was  found  imprisoned  in  Manila  on  the  occupa- 
tion of  that  city  by  the  English,  Admiral  Drake  succeeded  in 
obtaining  from  him  the  cession  of  Balembangan  as  a  reward  for  his 
release.  A  post  was  established  there  in  1763,  which  acted  in  some 
degree  as  a  check  upon  the  pirates  with  which  these  seas  at  that 
time  swarmed.  The  garrison  at  first  numbered  nearly  four  hundred 
men,  composed  of  Sepoys  and  Europeans,  in  addition  to  Bugis  traders 
and  others,  but  at  the  time  of  the  massacre  in  1775  the  climate 
had  told  so  severely  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  little  settlement  that 
only  seventy-five  infantry  and  twenty-eight  gunners  were  left  to 
defend  it.  The  position  was  a  tolerably  strong  one,  but  the  guns 
all  pointed  seawards,  and  in  rear  the  fort  was  but  little  protected. 

The  Spanish  were  at  this  time  intriguing  against  the  English  in 
Sulu,  where  opinion  seems  to  have  been  divided  among  the  Datus, 
some  being  in  favour  of  the  English  while  others  wished  to  expel 
them.  The  Datu  Tenteng,  together  with  his  cousin  the  Datu 
Dakula,  belonged  to  the  latter  party,  and  as  much  with  the  hope 
of  obtaining  a  heavy  booty  as  from  any  political  reason,  determined 
on  attacking  the  English.  His  force  consisted  of  three  hundred 
men,  most  of  whom  were  Sulu  and  Illanun  pirates.  The  sequel  of 
the  story  is  best  given  in  the  words  of  a  Spanish  historian,  which  I 
extract  from  Belcher's  "  Voyage  of  the  Samarang  " : — 


110  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

"  Tenteng  and  his  people  knew  that  it  wouhl  he  easy  to  attack  the 
battery  from  the  forest  in  rear,  where  his  people  could  unite  and  hide 
themselves,  and  thus  they  took  advantage  of  this  want  of  care  of  the  English, 
who  had  neglected  to  defend  that  side,  not  dreaming  of  an  attack  from  a 
point  from  whence  they  did  not  expect  an  enemy.  In  the  meantime  those  at 
Banguey  exerted  themselves,  transporting  the  people  across  the  sea  to  the 
woods  of  Balambangan,  and  without  being  discovered  by  the  English.  The 
natives  had  oidy  three  small  boats,  each  of  which  would  scarcely  convey 
seven  persons,  but  these  boats,  after  many  trips,  succeeded  in  transporting  all 
the  people  to  Balambangan,  disembarking  them  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
island,  where  the  English  were  established,  and  in  this  manner  they  ap- 
proached silently,  concealing  themselves  in  the  wood  immediately  behind  the  fort. 

"  The  English  little  dreamed  of  what  was  about  to  happen,  and  the 
officers  slept  profoundly,  having  enjoyed  themselves  at  a  fete  given  the  day 
and  night  preceding  in  celeliration  of  the  Governor's  birthday. 

"At  dawn  on  the  5th  of  March,  1775,  they  formed  in  three  divisions, 
attacked  and  burned  simultaneously  the  Governor's  house,  fort,  and  barracks ; 
shouts  and  shrieks  on  both  sides  were  dreadfid,  those  who  died  from  wounds, 
as  well  as  those  who  conquered,  seemed  to  unite  in  fearful  din  to  celebrate 
this  easy  conquest.  At  that  period  there  were  in  the  port  two  brigs,  two 
pontoons  unladen,  and  a  large  bark  belonging  to  the  English  ;  the  Governor 
always  had  a  small  boat  in  readiness  at  the  gate  of  his  house  ;  he,  with  six 
men,  escaped  to  one  of  these  brigs,  and  those  that  were  armed  with  guns 
opened  a  brisk  cannonade  towards  the  land.  The  Chief,  Dakula,  who  had 
made  himself  master  of  the  fort,  returned  this  fire,  and  by  a  chance  shot 
cut  away  the  only  cable  of  one  of  the  brigs,  which  was  anchored  nearest  the 
land.  The  sea-breeze  driving  her  on  shore,  the  crew  jumped  overboard  ;  some 
were  drowned,  and  a  few  gained  the  other  brig,  where  they  met  the  Governor. 
A  flag  of  truce  was  hoisted,  but  he  did  not  succeed  in  saving  any  of  those 
remaining  on  shore,  therefore,  making  sail,  he  quitted  the  smoking  ruins  of 
this  position,  over  which  he  now  ceased  to  have  command. 

"  Tenteng  captured  forty-five  cannon,  two  hundred  and  eight  cwt. 
of  powder,  two  hundred  and  fifty  muskets,  twenty -two  thousand  shot,  a 
great  deal  of  iron,  lead,  tin,  and  gold  in  bars,  more  than  fourteen  thousand 
dollars  (Spanish)  in  coined  silver,  a  large  quantity  of  muslins  and  other 
kinds  of  merchandise,  the  whole  valued  at  one  million  Spanish  dollars." 

The  Sultan  of  Siilu,  although  nominally  repudiatmg  this  act, 
received  a  great  part  of  the  spoil,  and  no  reparation  appears  to 
have  been  exacted  by  the  English.  Some  little  time  afterwards 
the  settlement  was  re-established,  but  it  was  again  abandoned  in 


v.]  VISIT  TO  THE  TINGILAN  DYAKS.  Ill 

1803.     A  few  overgrown  ruins  and  traces  of  the  old  clearings  are 
all  that  now  remain  to  mark  the  spot. 

We  left  Banguey  behind  us,  and  set  our  course  westward  once 
more  for  the  Abai  Kiver.  As  morning  broke  Kina  Balu  defined 
itself  above  the  mists  as  a  wall  of  clear  dark  purple.  At  sunset 
the  night  before  it  had  been  dyed  a  glorious  pink.  "We  anchored 
before  mid-day  off  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  started  shortly  after- 
wards on  a  little  expedition,  intending  to  ascend  the  stream  for 
some  distance,  cross  the  lower  spurs  of  the  mountains,  and  return 
l3y  the  Tampassuk  Eiver.  It  was  in  reality  an  official  trip.  The 
Tingilan  Dyaks  had  raided  on  the  Tawarrans,  and  had  succeeded 
in  taking  two  heads,  which  the  North  Borneo  Company's  Govern- 
ment had  ordered  to  be  returned,  but  apparently  w^ithout  much 
success.  Mr.  Gueritz  was  accordingly  anxious  to  meet  the  Chief 
of  the  former  tribe  and  have  a  hichara  upon  the  subject.  We 
started  in  the  cutter  and  skiff,  but  at  the  entrance  of  the  river 
were  told  that  the  two  heads  had  been  brought  down  to  the  coast 
about  eighteen  miles  farther  to  the  south-west.  We  afterwards 
found  that  this  was  true,  but  Mr.  Gueritz  thought  it  better  to  push 
on  to  the  Datu's  house.  We  rowed  about  five  or  six  miles  up 
stream  between  the  usual  dreary  mangrove-swamps  before  arri\'ing 
at  Abai  village  —  a  place  of  about  200  inhabitants.  Here  the 
scenery  changed  suddenly,  and  abrupt  hills  and  grassy  slopes 
met  our  view,  with  many  cultivated  plots  of  land.  Leaving  the 
river  here,  we  started  at  once  for  the  Datu's  house,  which  we 
reached  before  nightfall,  drenched  to  the  skin,  for  the  rain  had 
fallen  in  incessant  sheets  for  some  hours.  The  Chief  was  away, 
but  we  took  possession  of  his  house,  and  having  brought  some  food 
and  a  change  of  clothes  with  us,  we  soon  made  ourselves  pretty 
comfortable  on  mats  spread  on  the  split  bamboo  flooring.  Next 
morning  the  rain  had  cleared  off,  and  we  obtained  a  magnificent 
view  of  Kina  Balu,  which  stood  out  cloudless  beyond  a  sea  of  hills 
and  valleys  to  the  south-east.  We  started  on  our  journey  without 
delay,  and  in  a  short  time  reached  the  summit  of  a  range  of  hills 


112  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

about  1000  feet  in  height,  whence  the  view  was  even  grander. 
The  country  here  was  quite  different  from  that  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Sandakan  and  Marudu  Bay.  Instead  of  the  dense,  inter- 
minable forest,  a  vast  extent  of  park-like  country  lay  before  us, 
with  wide  stretches  of  clearing.  On  the  farther  side  of  the  hill  we 
descended  into  a  marshy  plain,  intersected  by  sluggish,  muddy 
streams  of  no  great  size.  Here,  struggling  almost  to  our  waists  in 
mud  and  water,  we  lost  our  way,  and  our  party  separated,  two 
eventually  gaining  the  coast  on  buffalos  and  two  in  canoes.  On 
comparing  notes,  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  former  were 
the  preferable  means  of  conveyance.  They  seemed  to  go  indiffer- 
ently through  either  mud  or  water.  The  canoes,  even  in  a 
Bajau's  hands,  were  not  equally  amphibious. 

Next  morning  it  was  blowing  fresh  from  the  south-west,  and  as 
we  rolled  heavily  at  our  anchorage,  we  decided  on  shifting  round  into 
Usukan  Bay,  which  was  within  a  mile  of  us,  and  afforded  perfect 
shelter.  On  the  following  afternoon  the  Datu  came  off  to  us  here, 
accompanied  by  several  very  unprepossessing  retainers,  and  the 
matter  of  the  two  heads  was  settled.  In  the  evening  we  sailed  for 
Gaya  Bay,  having  said  good-bye  to  Mr.  Gueritz,  who  intended  to 
make  the  return  voyage  to  Kudat  in  a  native  prau.  We  afterwards 
heard  that  he  had  been  picked  up  by  H.M.S.  Magpie,  at  that  time 
engaged  in  a  survey  of  the  coast.  It  was  fortunate  for  him,  for  he 
had  encountered  very  bad  weather  and  run  short  of  food. 

Gaya  is  beautifully  situated  under  the  western  side  of  Ivina 
Balu,  whose  height  here  appears  increased  by  its  presenting  only 
its  lesser  diameter  to  the  view.  At  the  time  of  our  visit  the  settle- 
ment had  only  been  in  existence  for  nine  months,  and  consisted  of 
a  couple  of  rows  of  attap  huts,  a  resident's  house  perched  half  way 
up  a  steep  hill  at  the  back,  and  a  little  barrack  and  battery  of 
three  guns.  The  police  department  numbered  ten  men  of  Dyak 
and  Malay  nationality.  The  settlers  had  not  been  idle;  for  a 
beautifully -made  pier  ran  out  a  distance  of  over  three  hundred 
yards  from  the  shore,  solidly  constructed  of  the  trunks  of  the 


v.]  GAY  A.  113 

Nibong  palm.  At  the  end  of  it  there  was  a  depth  of  four  fathoms 
at  low  water.  The  township  is  placed  on  the  little  island  of  Gaya, 
which  with  the  mainland,  sundry  reefs,  and  another  island,  forms  a 
line  harbour,  even  more  protected  than  Sandakan.  Native  canoes 
can  cross  to  the  mainland  in  all  weathers.  The  soil  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood is  not  particularly  good,  and  no  attempts  at  planting 
had  been  made.  What  trade  existed  was  chiefly  in  rattan,  bees'  wax, 
dammar,  and  other  natural  products.  Since  then,  however,  a 
number  of  Chinese  have  immigrated  from  Singapore,  and  a  sago 
factory  has  been  established.  The  population  in  1885  had  in- 
creased to  1000,  nearly  half  of  them  being  Chinese.  The  place 
was  said  to  be  tolerably  healthy.  It  was  at  any  rate  quite  as  much 
so  as  could  be  expected,  for  the  clearing  of  jungle  and  erection  of 
houses  must  almost  inevitably  be  followed  by  more  or  less  malarial 
fever  in  the  tropics.  There  were  a  few  cases  only  during  our  visit, 
one  of  which  proved  fatal. 

In  places  such  as  these  I  cannot  hope  to  interest  the  general 
reader,  unblessed  with  the  love  of  dry  facts  and  still  drier  figures. 
The  struggle  between  ci\dlisation  and  Nature  in  a  new  country, 
however  interesting  to  a  traveller,  is  rarely  so  when  put  on  paper. 
I  confess  to  a  slight  predilection  in  favovir  of  the  latter  of  the  two 
opposing  forces,  but  I  will  take  no  unfair  advantage  by  filling  my 
pages  with  statistics.  These  can  be  obtained  by  consulting  the 
pages  of  the  "  China  Directory,"  or  the  official  publications  of  the 
North  Borneo  Company.  I  should,  however,  say  that  from  its 
admirable  harbour,  and  for  other  reasons,  Gaya  is  likely  to  prove  the 
most  important  post  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Company's  territory. 

Some  twenty-five  and  thirty  miles  farther  to  the  south-west 
are  the  settlements  of  Papar  and  Kimanis,  both  situated  on  rivers 
of  the  same  name.  The  coast  here  is  low  and  flat,  and  subject  to 
heavy  rollers  in  the  north-east  monsoon,  and,  as  there  are  no 
harbours,  both  these  stations  labour  under  considerable  disad- 
vantages, the  bars  of  the  rivers  being  dangerous  at  that  season. 
Between  them  lies  the  Benoni  Eiver,  winding  through  a  flat  plain 
VOL.  II.  I 


114  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap. 

covered  with  thick  forest.  We  were  anxious  to  take  in  water,  but 
though  we  searched  along  the  coast  in  this  neighbourhood  for  some 
miles  it  was  without  success,^  and  we  resolved  on  trying  the 
Kimanis  Eiver,  off  the  mouth  of  which  we  accordmgly  anchored 
late  one  afternoon.  A  strong  breeze  was  blowing  as  we  started  in 
the  lifeboat  to  row  up  the  river,  and  we  were  prepared  for  a  good 
wetting,  if  not  something  worse,  in  going  over  the  bar,  which  is 
rather  an  awkward  one.  Fortune  favoured  us,  however,  and  we 
crossed  without  mishap.  The  river  runs  between  mangroves  and 
Mpa  palms  for  tlu-ee  or  four  miles,  but  the  scenery  is  saved  from 
monotony  by  pretty  peeps  of  distant  blue  hills.  We  found  the 
Eesidency  a  carefully-kept  and  really  attractive  bungalow,  inhabited 
by  a  solitary  European.  A  neatly-trimmed  lawn  with  flower-beds 
and  sandy  paths  sloped  down  to  the  river,  and  the  verandahs,  hung 
with  ferns  and  orchids,  gave  an  air  of  comfort  and  homeliness  to 
the  place  wliich  was  all  the  more  attractive  from  its  having  been 
entirely  unexpected.  Beyond,  on  either  side  of  the  river,  stretch 
the  native  huts, — the  usual  pile-supported  buildings  of  the  country. 
The  station  had  barely  recovered  from  a  blow  which  at  one  time 
bade  fair  to  anniliilate  it  altogether.  In  August,  1882, — some  ten 
months  before  our  visit, — cholera  broke  out,  and  in  a  short  time 
one  half  of  the  entire  ])opulation  had  fallen  victims.  Before  its 
advent  Kimanis  numbered  just  under  three  hundred  souls,  and  of 
these  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  were  attacked,  and  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  died.  All  trade  ceased,  and  the  inhabitants 
could  scarcely  be  got  out  of  their  houses.  Mr.  Dalrymple,  the  then 
Eesident,  and  the  sole  European  in  the  settlement,  exerted  liimseK 
with  the  greatest  courage  and  devotion  in  aid  of  the  sufferers,  but 
was  eventually  obliged  to  go  for  assistance  to  the  nearest  station. 
The  monsoon  was  blowing  strong  at  the  time,  and  the  native  boat 

1  The  watering-place  spoken  of  in  Findlay's  "Directory"  (Indian  Archipelago, 
1878,  p.  503)  is  not  to  be  relied  on,  for  the  water,  like  a  great  deal  of  that  to  be 
found  on  this  part  of  the  coast,  is  of  a  rich  peaty  brown,  and  though  perfectly 
clear,  cannot  be  used  with  safety,  owing  to  its  liability  to  cause  fever  aud  to  turn 
bad  in  the  tanks. 


v.]  PAPAR  AXD  KIMANIS.  115 

capsizing  upon  the  bar  of  the  river,  the  occupants  were  nearly 
drowned.  On  the  passage  one  of  the  crew  died  of  cholera.  Aid 
and  medicine  were  at  length  obtained,  and  the  epidemic  shortly 
afterwards  ceased. 

Hardly  recovered  from  this  calamity,  however,  Kimanis  was 
visited  by  yet  another.  On  the  night  of  the  31st  of  December  of 
the  same  year  a  tremendous  flood  canied  away  a  nmnber  of  houses, 
and  the  neighbouring  district  of  Papar  suffered  even  more  severely, 
over  sixty  natives  being  drowned.  The  crops  were  either  entirely 
destroyed  or  greatly  injured,  and  the  course  of  the  river  so  altered 
that  it  now  debouches  by  another  mouth.  Such  disasters  as  these 
would  seem  almost  sufficient  to  prove  the  death-blow  of  a  young 
settlement,  but  the  station  had  already  begmi  to  recover  itself. 
The  population  had  risen  again  to  nearly  two  hundred,  and  trade 
had  re-commenced. 

At  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  North  Borneo  Company 

the  Kimanis  formed  the  limit  of  their  territory  to  the  south-west. 

Lately,  however,  they  have  acquired  an  additional  tract  of  land 

which  extends  their  boundary  to  the  Sipitong,  a  small   stream 

emptying   itself  into   Brunei  Bay.     This  acquisition  adds  about 

sixty  miles  of  coast-line  to  the  Company's  territories,  and  includes 

what  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  richest  mineral  districts  in 

Borneo.      Grave    accusations    have,   however,   lately   been   made 

against  the  Company  in  the  English  journals,  and  the  action  by 

which  their  Government  seized  and  condemned  to  penal  servitude 

certain  chiefs  who  resisted  their  annexation  of  the  new  territory 

was,  if  the  facts  have  been  accurately  stated,  at  least  high-handed.^ 

The   experiment   of  permitting   the   foundation   of  a  nineteenth 

century  East  India  Company  in  such  an  out-of-the-way  corner  of 

the  world  was  a  somewhat  risky  one,  for  the  British  Government 

is  morally  responsible  for  its  acts.     That  it  is  a  good  thing  that 

^  A  check  has  been  lately  placed  on  any  further  annexation  by  the  Company. 
The  Rajah  of  Sarawak  has  acquired  the  belt  of  country  which  is  drained  by  the 
Trusun  and  Panderuan  Rivers,  and  intervenes  between  British  North  Borneo  and 
the  now  fast-disappearing  Kingdom  of  Brunei. 


116  BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO.  [chap.  v. 

this  part  of  Borneo,  rich  in  natural  prockicts  and  furnished  with 
magnificent  harbours,  should  come  under  British  rule  none — except 
such  as  are  of  the  "  perish  India  "  school — will  deny.  But  whether 
such  a  'territory  is  best  administered  by  a  private  Company  is 
altogether  another  question.  Were  England  to  take  it  over  she 
would  have  a  most  excellent  bargain,  and  I  do  not  imagine  the 
shareholders  would  contemplate  the  possibility  of  such  a  proceeding 
with  any  great  alarm.  The  country,  as  I  have  already  said, 
abounds  in  birds'  nests,  gutta,  camphor,  rattans,  pearl-shells,  coal, 
and  a  hundred  other  articles  of  export  that  a  bountiful  Nature 
has  provided  ready  to  hand.  Worked  under  the  wise  Dutch 
system  with  native  agriculturists,  the  land  would  doubtless  also 
produce  sugar,  coffee,  and  other  tropical  vegetable  products  with 
advantage.  But  that  it  will  ever  prove  a  suitable  field  for  white 
planters  is  very  improbable.  Close  at  hand,  Sarawak  offers  easy 
communication  with  Singapore ;  it  is  three  days  nearer  England, 
and  its  climate  is  at  least  as  good  as  that  of  North  Borneo.  In 
point  of  civilisation,  it  is  nearly  forty  years  in  advance  of  the  latter 
territory.  It  offers  nearly  double  the  extent  of  land  to  choose 
from,  with  a  soil  that  is  quite  as  good,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  some 
judges,  better.  Land,  labour,  and  living  are  alike  cheaper.  The 
Kajali  of  Sarawak  is  willing  to  make  free  grants  of  land  under 
certain  conditions,  and,  if  a  planter  has  definitely  resolved  on 
choosing  this  part  of  the  world  as  a  field  for  his  labours,  it  is 
difficult  to  see  what  possible  reason  he  could  have  for  preferring 
British  North  Borneo  to  Sarawak. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

LABUAN   AXD    BRUXEI. 

Victoria  Harbour — The  home  of  phiralism — -A  walk  across  the  island — Retrogression 
of  the  Colony — A  deserted  town — The  coal  mines — Mine  at  Moaro — Facts  about 
Labuan — Historj'  of  the  occupation — Visit  to  Brunei — The  Venice  of  the  East — 
John  Chinaman — Native  manufactures — Brunei  market — The  Sultan's  palace — 
Interview  with  the  Sultan — "  Crabbed  age  and  youth  " — Departure  for  Sarawak. 

We  entered  A'^ictoria  Harl;)Oui"  Labuan,  in  the  swelterinfr  heat  of 
an  afternoon  sun  on  the  7  th  of  June,  and  were  delighted  to  find 
our  old  friends  of  the  China  station — H.M.S,  Champion  and  Magpie 
— at  anchor.  Two  days  later  the  Sheldrake  arrived,  and  an 
unwonted  air  of  business  pervaded  the  little  settlement,  for  it  was 
a  long  time  since  four  ships  had  been  seen  together  in  the  port. 
Laljuan  is  a  small  colony  and  a  modest ;  it  has  but  little  com- 
munication with  the  outer  world,  and  to  the  globe-trotter  it  is  as 
yet  an  undiscovered  country. 

Looking  from  the  sea,  the  leading  idea  impressed  upon  the 
mind  is  one  of  heat.  Broad  stretches  of  white  sand,  rows  of  white 
huts,  and  a  few  low,  white  bungalows  meet  the  eye.  Everything 
seems  flat  and  white  and  hot,  and  the  view  is  rather  African  than 
Bornean.  To  the  right  a  level  plain  of  short  turf,  dotted  with 
casuarina  trees,  stretches  away  from  the  beach  for  nearly  a  mile. 
Forest  there  is  none,  but  below  and  on  either  side  of  the  little 
church  some  cool-looking  dark  greenery,  on  which  the  eye  is  glad 
to  rest,  betokens  the  houses  of  the  few  Europeans  who  inhabit  the 
island.     How  few  of  these   unfortunate   individuals   there   were 


118  LABUAN  AXD  BRUNEI.  [chap. 

we  had  no  idea  until  our  arrival.  We  had  pictured  to  ourselves 
an  English  society  of  not  more  than  a  hundred  perhaps,  but 
still  large  enough  for  a  dance,  a  picnic,  or  some  such  form  of 
entertainment,  and  had  misgivings  as  to  the  state  of  our  ward- 
robe. "VVe  might  have  spared  ourselves  our  anxiety :  to  the  best 
of  my  recollection  there  were  but  four  Englishmen  in  the  whole 
colony. 

Labuan  is  the  home  of  pluralism.  Anchoring  in  the  harbour, 
one  is  of  course  boarded  by  the  Captain  of  the  Port,  with  whom 
the  latest  news  is  discussed  before  proceeding  ashore  to  make  the 
customary  calls.  At  the  bungalow  of  the  Colonial  Treasurer  we 
meet  him  again,  and  discover,  to  our  surprise,  that  he  is  the  master 
of  the  house.  Eeferred  to  the  Postmaster  General  on  a  question 
anent  the  mails,  we  once  more  find  our  friend  in  a  new  capacity. 
He  is  like  the  public  building  in  the  famous  story  of  Theodore 
Hook,  and,  were  the  office  of  Lord  High  Executioner  existent  on 
the  island,  he  would  doubtless  fill  it  as  efficiently  as  his  other 
posts.  No  one,  I  feel  sure,  could  object  to  being  ushered  out  of  the 
world  by  such  a  pleasant  and  interesting  companion.  The  revenue 
having  for  some  years  fallen  short  of  the  expenditure,  a  considerable 
reduction  in  the  staff  was  made.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  rcductio  oxl 
absurdum. 

Next  day  we  made  an  excursion  to  the  farther  end  of  the  island. 
Here,  at  the  extreme  northern  point,  are  the  now  deserted  coal- 
mines, wliich  were  the  chief  inducement  to  the  English  occupation. 
Horses  not  being  obtainable,  we  were  reduced  to  walking,  and 
though  nine  miles  in  such  a  clunate,  with  no  forest  to  keep  off  the 
sun's  rays,  is  somewhat  of  an  undertaking,  we  were  well  repaid  for 
our  trouble.  Labuan  is  so  un-Bornean  that  that  reason  alone 
wovild  make  it  interesting  for  a  change.  But  at  the  same  time  it 
is  decidedly  attractive.  Beliind  the  level  plain  by  the  sea-beach 
the  road,  thickly  overgrown  with  grass,  leads  for  nearly  a  mile 
through  an  avenue  of  shady  trees  to  the  church.  In  spite  of 
Labuan  having  been  once  an  Episcopal  see,  there  is  not  a  single 


VI.]  DESERTED  COAL-MINES.  119 

clergyman  in  the  colony,  and  no  services  are  held.  For  a  long- 
time the  congregation  consisted  of  two  or  tliree  persons  only. 
Wlien  it  dwindled  still  further  the  church  was  closed.  Around, 
scattered  over  the  slopes  of  the  little  hill,  are  the  bungalows  of  the 
Europeans,  many  of  which  are  now  deserted.  The  colony,  in 
official  language,  "has  only  partially  fulfilled  the  expectations 
formed  of  it."  An  American  would  say  that  it  was  "  played  out." 
Yet  it  was  here  that  Low,  with  incalculable  care  and  trouble, 
formed  one  of  the  finest  fruit  gardens  in  the  East.  Even  crime 
has  fallen  into  desuetude.  In  the  country  the  sole  guardian  of  the 
peace  is  a  policeman  who  has  lost  both  his  arms :  in  the  town 
twenty-five  Sikhs  form  the  only  force. 

The  island  is  low  and  flat  for  the  greater  part  of  its  extent,  but 
rises  slightly  towards  its  northern  end.  The  forest  with  wliich  it 
was  once  covered  has,  for  the  most  part,  been  cut  down  or  burnt, 
especially  on  the  eastern  side,  and  a  low  undergrow"th,  in  which  a 
small  rhododendron -like  plant  forms  a  conspicuous  feature,  has 
sprung  up  in  its  stead.  Here  and  there  some  wliite-stemmed  trees 
are  left  standing,  and  the  landscape  bears  a  curious  resemblance  to 
that  in  many  parts  of  Australia.  The  road,  w^hich  in  the  palmy  days 
of  the  coal-mines  was  well  kept,  is  now  rapidly  becoming  over- 
grown. From  time  to  time  it  leads  along  the  beach,  where  the  sea 
idly  laps  the  blocks  of  white  coral,  and  washes  the  roots  of  the 
trees  that  overhang  it.  Soon  the  low  sandstone  bluffs  of  Koubong 
Point  come  into  \dew,  and  crossing  the  brow  of  one  of  the  few  hills 
of  which  the  island  boasts,  one  comes  suddenly  upon  a  small  valley 
filled  with  huts  and  deserted  bungalows.  We  found  the  little 
railway  overgrown  with  grass,  and  in  the  sheds  the  engines  stood 
rusting,  jiist  as  they  had  been  left  when  work  had  ceased.  Close 
by  were  the  workmen's  "lines,"  where  at  one  time  over  five 
hundred  coolies  lived ;  and  on  the  cliffs  overlooking  the  sea,  sur- 
rounded by  a  pretty  garden  and  orchards,  stood  a  charming  bunga- 
low, formerly  the  residence  of  the  manager.  It  was  tenanted 
by  a  solitary  native,  the  only  inhabitant  of  the  place.     All  around 


120  LABUAN  AND  BRUNEI.  [chap. 

lay  the  ruins  of  ironwork  and  gear  of  various  descriptions.  The 
place  seemed  a  second  Pompeii. 

The  mines  have  proved  the  ruin  of  no  less  than  three  companies, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  coal  is  both  good  and  abundant.  The 
right  of  mining  was  leased  by  Government  at  an  annual  rental  of 
£1000,  but  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  workings  clear  of  water 
has  hitherto  alone  proved  an  insuperable  bar  to  success,  although 
other  circumstances  have  combined  to  produce  the  failures.  The 
seams  apparently  extend  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
island,  and  have  been  found  as  much  as  eleven  feet  in  thickness. 
The  dip  is  not  great,  and  the  coal  obtained,  though  burning  very 
fast,  is  extremely  good.  The  output  in  1876  was  about  6000 
tons,  but  in  1881  only  800  tons  were  raised.  With  more 
efficient  engines  and  Chinese  labour,  there  is  apparently  no  reason 
why  the  mines  should  not  be  remunerative. 

Some  twenty  miles  from  Labuan,  opposite  the  island  of  Moaro 
at  the  entrance  of  the  Brunei  Eiver,  another  coal-mine  was  opened 
in  the  autumn  of  1882.  Three  seams  of  great  thickness  had  been 
found,  running  north  and  south,  and  the  coal  was  of  excellent 
quality.  Although  the  workings  had  only  been  in  operation  for 
nine  months,  a  considerable  quantity  had  been  raised,  and  the 
captain  of  the  Royalist,  who  had  traded  on  the  coast  for  some 
years,  and  was  largely  interested  in  the  venture,  spoke  most 
hopefully  of  its  success.  From  what  we  saw  during  our  day's 
visit  to  the  place,  his  anticipations  seemed  well  founded.  The 
price  of  the  coal  at  the  pit's  mouth  was  $4  per  ton ;  at  Labuan  $6. 

The  island  of  Labuan,  which  has  been  an  English  colony  for 
forty  years,  is  well  situated  on  the  north-west  coast  of  Borneo,  and 
guards  the  entrance  to  Brunei  Bay.  It  is  about  ten  miles  in  length, 
by  five  in  extreme  breadth,  and  is  distant  700  miles  from  Singapore. 
Its  population  is  under  6000,  and  the  bulk  of  the  inhabitants  are 
of  Malay  race.  Nearly  all  the  trade,  however,  is  carried  on  by 
Chinese,  of  whom  there  are  over  a  thousand  on  the  island.  It  taps 
the  neighbouring  coast  of  Borneo,  the  Sulu  Islands,  and  Palawan, 


VI.]  FACTS  ABOUT  L  ABU  AN.  121 

but  the  establisliment  of  the  North  Borneo  Company  has  consider- 
ably affected  it.  There  is  little  doubt  that  Sandakan  will  prove 
the  future  market  of  the  greater  part  of  this  district,  even  if  it  has 
not  already  done  so.  Victoria  Harbour  is  an  excellent  one,  well 
protected  in  both  monsoons,  but  the  heat  of  it  is  excessive.  The 
climate,  at  the  period  of  the  first  occupation  by  the  British,  was 
extremely  unhealthy,  but  owing  to  the  clearing  of  the  jungle  it  has 
now  much  improved.  In  spite  of  the  destruction  of  the  forests  the 
rainfall  is  still  enormous. 

A  large  portion  of  the  island  is  unfit  for  cultivation,  and  the 
soil  is,  on  the  whole,  extremely  poor.  The  low  and  marshy  ground 
forming  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  acreage  is,  nevertheless,  well 
suited  for  growing  the  sago  palm,  and  rice  is  largely  cultivated. 
Coconuts  are  also  grown,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  oil 
exported,  and  lately  a  plantation  of  the  West  African  oil  palm  has 
been  established  on  Daat  Island  off  Victoria  Harbour.  A  fine 
specimen  of  this  tree  grows  near  the  beach,  in  front  of  the  town 
battery.  The  value  of  the  oil  is  £41  per  ton, — about  £8  higher 
than  the  price  obtained  for  coconut  oil.  Sago  factories,  where 
the  raw  product  as  used  by  the  natives  is  washed  and  dried  into 
the  European  commercial  article,  have  been  established  for  many 
years.  The  flour  thus  obtained  is  sent  to  Singapore,  and  forms  the 
principal  item  in  the  list  of  exports.  Over  £30,000  worth  leaves 
the  island  annually.  In  1881  the  imports  amounted  to  the  value 
of  £182,113,  the  exports  to  £194,904.  In  1884  both  had  decreased 
enormously — the  imports  amounting  only  to  £84,874,  and  the 
exports  to  £85,741.  In  the  same  year  the  revenue  exceeded  the 
expenditure,  the  former  being  £4589,  the  latter  £4216. 

The  Government  is  administered  by  a  Governor  appointed  by 
the  Crown  and  a  nominated  Legislative  Council ;  but  for  the 
present  the  post  of  Governor  is  unfilled,  and  his  duties  are  taken 
by  the  Acting  Governor,  Dr.  Leys.  The  Legislative  Council  is 
apparently  permanently  convened  in  the  person — I  use  the  singular 
advisedly — of  the  Colonial  Treasurer,  the  Captain  of  the  Port,  and 


122  LABUAN  AND  BRUNEI.  [chap. 

the  Postmaster  General.  There  has  been  no  garrison  on  the 
island  since  1871. 

To  the  ornitholooist  Labiian  is  interestino;  as  beinc:  the  western 
limit  of  the  Megapodes  or  Mound -builders,^  a  genus  that  is 
peculiarly  Australian.  The  bird  {Mcgapodius  loioi)  seems  to  be 
chiefly  confined  to  the  Kuraman  Islands,  at  the  south-west  end  of 
Labuan,  although  its  nests  are  occasionally  found  on  the  main 
island.  We  were  unable  to  \isit  the  breeding  localities,  but  the 
nests  were  described  to  me  as  large  mounds,  ten  or  twelve  feet  in 
diameter,  built  at  the  junction  of  the  forest  with  the  beach,  just  as 
in  the  case  of  many  other  species  of  this  genus.  The  eggs  are 
hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  soil.  The  Labuan  Megapode  is  very 
closely  allied  to  the  Philippine  species  {M.  cumingi),  and  has  also 
been  found  on  Balabac  and  Mindanao.  A  further  investigation 
would  probably  reveal  its  existence  in  the  little-known  islands  at 
the  north  of  Borneo. 

The  history  of  the  occupation  of  Labuan  by  the  English  is  to 
a  great  extent  mixed  up  with  that  of  Borneo  in  Eajah  Brooke's 
time,  which  is  too  lengthy  for  recapitulation.  The  main  facts, 
however,  are  these.  The  Sultan  of  Brunei — Omar  Ali — had  been 
guilty  of  endless  acts  of  piracy,  and  of  an  attempt  to  murder  an 
English  naval  officer,  and  in  consequence  the  town  of  Brunei  was 
bombarded  by  the  English.  In  a  treaty  subsequently  signed  the 
Sultan  engaged  to  put  an  end  to  piracy,  and  to  cede  the  island  of 
Labuan  to  the  British.  On  the  24th  of  December,  1846,— H.M.S. 
Iris  and  Wolf  lying  in  Victoria  Harbour, — the  ceremony  of  annexa- 
tion was  performed,  and  a  stone  was  placed  at  the  foot  of  the 
flagstaff  on  the  plain  to  commemorate  the  event.  It  still  remains, 
and  bears  the  following  inscription : — 

"Oil  tlie  24tli  December,  1846,  this  island  -was  taken  possession  of,  in 
the  name  of  Victoria,  Qiieen,  hj  order  of  Sir  Thomas  Cochrane  and  Captain 
E.  Mundy  of  H.M.S.  Irisr 

^  The  Megapode  of  the  Nicobar  Islands  is  considered  by  Mr.  Wallace  to  have 
been  introduced  by  man.  That  this  is  not  impossible  must  be  evident  to  every 
traveller  in  the  Malay  Archipelago,  for  birds  of  this  genus  are  often  seen  in  captivity. 


VI.]  BRUNEI.  123 

In  the  following  year  Sir  James  Brooke  was  appointed  the 
first  Governor. 

Some  four  hundred  years  ago  the  great  island  of  Borneo  was 
conquered  by  the  Malays.  To  be  strictly  accurate  I  ought,  per- 
haps, to  say  that  it  was  re -conquered,  for  the  Dyaks  are  them- 
selves of  Malayan  stock,  and  have  probably  only  supplanted  a 
previous  race,  of  which  nothing  certain  is  at  present  known. 
The  new-comers  did  not  penetrate  very  far  into  the  interior,  but 
established  themselves  at  various  places  on  the  coast,  and  of  these 
settlements  Brunei  rapidly  rose  to  be  the  chief  From  its  size  and 
importance  it  was  naturally  the  first  place  with  which  Europeans 
became  acquainted,  and  hence  it  came  about  that  the  great  water 
city  of  the  East  and  the  island  on  which  it  was  situated  were 
known  by  one  and  the  same  name.  Its  large  size  and  the  extra- 
ordinary manner  in  which  it  is  built  have  astonished  travellers  for 
the  past  three  hundred  years.  Pigafetta  and  other  old  voyagers 
have  described  it,  and  in  later  times  it  has  become  familiar  to  those 
who  have  read  the  works  of  St.  John,  Keppel,  and  Earl.  Even  in 
these  days  of  easy  steam  communication,  however,  Brunei  is  but 
little  visited,  and  it  is  remarkable  as  being  one  of  the  largest 
places  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  and  at  the  same  time  destitute 
of  a  single  European  inhabitant. 

We  had,  of  course,  determined  on  visiting  the  city,  and  since 
the  Marchesa  had  too  large  a  draught  to  permit  of  her  entering  the 
river,  -^v^e  gladly  accepted  the  loan  of  a  large  steam  launch  belong- 
ing to  the  North  Borneo  Company,  which  the  Governor,  Mr. 
Treacher,  kindly  placed  at  our  service.  From  the  harbour  at 
Labuan  to  Moaro  at  the  entrance  of  the  Brunei  Eiver  is  a  distance 
of  about  nineteen  miles,  and  the  city  lies  fifteen  miles  farther  up 
stream.  Unlike  most  Bornean  rivers,  it  has  no  mangroves  or  Nipa 
palms  along  its  banks,  or  so  few  that  they  do  not  attract  attention. 
There  is  high  land  on  either  side,  and  the  range  of  hills  on  the  left 
bank  is  believed  to  be  very  largely  carboniferous,  since  there  are 
surface  outcrops  of  coal  in  many  places.     The  scenery  is  in  no  way 


124  LABUAN  AND  BRUNEI.  [chap. 

characteristic  of  the  tropics.  Eonndiiio;  a  sharp  bend,  we  suddenly 
came  in  sight  of  the  city,  and  a  few  minutes  later  we  were  safely 
at  anchor  in  the  main  street. 

Scarcely  a  traveller  has  described  Brunei  without  speaking  of 
it  as  the  "  Venice  of  the  East,"  and  it  is,  on  the  whole,  a  not  inapt 
comparison.  The  palaces,  it  is  true,  are  of  a  somewhat  different 
order,  and  their  architecture  decidedly  utilitarian,  but  the  main 
features  of  the  "  Queen  of  the  Waters "  are  there.  The  Grand 
Canal,  crowded  with  boats,  intersects  the  city,  and  tlie  vii  are 
represented  Ijy  side -canals  of  a  similarly  puzzling  nature.  The 
life,  indeed,  is  even  more  aquatic  than  in  Venice,  for  it  is  generally 
uupossible  to  enter  or  leave  a  house  except  by  canoe.  As  for 
mal-odourousness,  it  is  perhaps  one  of  the  few  points  in  which  the 
resemblance  between  the  two  cities  fails.  Venice  can  hardly  be 
called  deficient  in  tliis  respect,  but  even  the  worst  vio  cannot 
approach  the  horrors  of  low  tide  in  the  main  street  of  the  Bornean 
capital. 

The  vast  collection  of  houses,  which  is  said  to  give  shelter  to  a 
population  of  between  twenty  and  thiity  thousand  people,  lies  in 
the  middle  of  a  lake -like  expansion  of  the  river,  shut  in  on  all 
sides  by  hills,  which,  though  of  insignificant  height,  are  not  un- 
picturesque.  But  the  most  striking  \\&vf  is  of  course  obtained 
when  looking  down  from  them  upon  the  city  below.  Hardly  any- 
where is  an  inch  of  ground  to  be  seen,  and  many  of  the  houses  are 
l)uilt  in  deep  water.  To  the  north  some  large  patches  of  man- 
gTOves  mark  out  the  position  of  a  shallow  bank,  and  here  and 
there  a  coco  palm,  which  is  presumably  rooted  in  dry  ground,  rises 
above  the  sea  of  huts.  MjTiads  of  canoes  dart  about  in  every 
direction,  from  the  Pangerang's  barges  propelled  by  twenty  paddles, 
to  the  little  flat  "  dusj-out "  with  a  bare  inch  of  freeboard,  manned 
by  a  solitary  naked  native.  The  Brunei  people  are  practically 
amphibious,  and  the  children  cruise  about  in  miniature  canoes 
almost  before  they  are  weaned.  The  safety  of  these  craft  is  per- 
fectly immaterial.     At  the  age  of  five  or  six  these  little  urchins 


VI.] 


AN  EASTERN  VENICE. 


125 


have  done  far  more  swimming  than  walking,  and  their  chief 
amusement  seems  to  be  the  capsizing  of  each  other's  boats.  What 
a  Brunei  man  does  when  he  is  desirous  of  "  running  amok  "  I  have 
no  idea.  If  practised  in  a  canoe — which  seems  the  only  course 
open — his  opportunities  must  be  restricted.     In  any  case,  however, 


A   MALAY    "MAX-CATCHER." 


there  can  be  no  need  for  peaceful  householders  to  keep  the  in- 
genious instrument  used  in  securing  individuals  engaged  in  this 
pastime  which  we  found  in  Macassar.  This  article — as  will  be 
seen  from  the  annexed  illustrations — is  of  most  sunple  construction, 
and,  no  doubt,  effective  enough  when  once  applied.  But  I  should 
imagine  the  adjustment  of  it  a  somewhat  risky  proceeding. 

We  had  anchored  close  to  the  wharf  of  the  leading  Chinese 
merchant,  the  agent  for  the  Xorth  Borneo  Company,  and  our  first 
visit  was  to  his  house.     He  had  been  made  a  Datu,  and  was  a 


126  LABUAX  AXD  BRUXEI.  [chap. 

personage  of  considerable  importance.  Throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Malaysia  the  Chinaman  has  made  his  way.  How  he 
swarms  in  Singapore  we  are  all  aware,  but  that  he  is  equally  at 
home  in  the  Aru  Islands,  and  bids  fau'  to  monopolise  the  trade  of 
the  Philippines  is,  perhaps,  not  so  generally  known.  At  Macassar 
he  shares  the  mercantile  plum  with  the  German.  In  the  Moluccas, 
the  vast  amount  of  graves  around  Ternate  testify  to  the  number  of 
his  race  who  liave  lived  and  died  there.  In  Xew  Guinea  alone  he 
is  not  to  be  found,  for  neither  white  man  nor  Malay  has,  as  yet, 
fairly  established  himself  there,  and  the  Celestial  is  rarely  or  never 
a  pioneer.  Every  one  who  has  visited  Australia  and  California  has 
seen  what  he  can  do  where  competition  runs  high,  and  money- 
making  is  the  chief  object,  and  should  chance  lead  the  traveller 
afterwards  to  the  islands  of  the  Malay  Archipelago,  the  almost 
universal  success  of  the  Chinese  population  will  cause  him  but 
little  astonishment.  The  free-masonry  existmg  among  their  race 
obtains  work  for  the  new-comer  from  the  moment  of  his  arrival, 
and  as  soon  as  he  is  able  he  embarks  in  trade.  The  indolent, 
dreamy  Malay  is  as  a  child  in  his  hands.  Little  by  little  his 
money-bags  gTOw.  Soon  he  has  a  clerk,  and  ceases  to  pare  his 
finger-nails.  An  air  of  commercial  prosperity  beams  upon  his 
countenance,  and  he  is  clad  in  purple  and  fine  linen.  It  is  not 
long  before  he  is  owner  of  a  highly-ornamented  house,  a  small,  but 
select  harem,  and  the  best  brands  of  Champagne.  He  has  reached 
the  summit  of  all  eartlily  ambition,  and  life  has  nothing  further  to 
offer. 

Our  host  had  long  ago  acquired  this  furniture  of  a  terrestrial 
paradise,  and  produced  some  of  it  in  the  shape  of  a  bottle  of 
excellent  Jules  Mumm,  which  we  discussed  while  chatting  over 
Brunei  politics  and  examining  his  goods.  The  city  is  renowned 
for  its  sarongs  and  krisses,  and  the  goldsmiths'  work  is  also 
tolerably  good.  The  latter  is,  however,  chiefly  limited  to  cylindrical 
earrings,  kris  hilts  or  sheaths — which,  by  the  way,  have  a  large 
admixture  of  silver  in  their  composition — and  thin  gold  plaques. 


VI.]  SCENES  IX  THE  CITY.  127 

worn  round  the  neck  by  the  children  of  those  of  high  rank,  and 
inscribed  with  sentences  from  the  Koran.  Both  the  sarongs  and 
krisses  seemed  very  dear.  The  former  w^ere  in  many  instances 
liberally  worked  with  gold  thread,  so  liberally  indeed  as  to  make 
them  extremely  heavy,  and  for  these  as  much  as  $40  was  asked. 
Good  krisses  will  cost  even  more,  especially  if  the  handle  be  much 
decorated  with  gold,  but  inferior  weapons  can  be  obtained  for  a 
couple  of  dollars  or  less.  Brunei  gongs  are  likewise  celebrated, 
their  tone  being  supposed  to  be  peculiarly  sweet,  but  the  traveller 
in  this  part  of  the  world  has  generally  suffered  too  much  from  their 
incessant  noise  to  be  at  all  anxious  to  purchase  them. 

We  made  our  first  acquaintance  with  the  city  in  a  "  dug-out " 
procured  for  us  by  our  friend  the  Datu.  It  was  manned  by  four 
paddlers  and  a  steersman,  and  giving  ourselves  up  to  their  guidance, 
we  threaded  our  way  through  the  narrow  and  crowded  thorough- 
fares with  a  speed  and  skill  which  would  have  astonished  a 
Venetian  gondolier.  I  have  never  seen  anything  equal  to  the 
dexterity  with  which  our  men  worked  their  paddles.  From  a 
rapid  and  beautifully  clean  stroke  of  forty  or  more  to  the  minute, 
they  would  drop  instantaneously  to  a  long  steady  swing  of  twenty, 
without  any  apparent  signal  having  been  given,  and  without  a 
hair's  breadth  of  deviation  from  the  perfect  time. 

There  is  but  little  to  see  in  Brunei  with  the  exception  of  the 
market ;  little  at  least  for  a  traveller  to  whom  the  Malay  pile- built 
dwellings  are  no  longer  a  novelty.  Eickety  huts  with  slippery 
steps  leading  to  their  dilapidated  entrances,  canoes  of  all  shapes  and 
sizes,  stretches  of  fishing-stakes,  Chinese  stores,  little  brown  urchins 
gambolling  and  splashing  in  the  water,  and  a  multiplicity  of 
intolerable  stenches, — these  are  the  most  strilving  features  of  the 
city.  A  little  round  island  with  coconuts  on  it  is  nearly  the  only 
break  m  the  regular  monotony  of  the  huts.  Here  and  there  a  tall 
cross  raised  above  the  platform  of  one  of  them  tells,  not  of  the 
Christianity  of  the  occupants,  but  of  their  industry  in  fishing. 
Here  and  there  too  a  light  bamboo  bridge  connects  one  group  of 


128  LABUAN  AND  BRUNEI.  [chap. 

buildings  with  another,  but  for  the  most  part  all  communication  is 
by  water.  The  market  is  probably  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
sights  that  the  East  has  to  show.  Each  stall  is  a  canoe,  and  it 
would  puzzle  an  onlooker  to  form  any  estimate  of  their  numbers, 
for  the  water  is  covered  with  craft  of  all  sizes  in  incessant  motion. 
At  one  moment  there  is  a  dense  pack  around  some  Chinaman  or 
other  trader,  and  each  vociferates  the  prices  of  the  produce  on  sale. 
At  another  there  is  a  rush  in  the  opposite  dhection,  and  the  former 
buyer  is  deserted.  Earely,  except  perhaps  in  the  Bourse  at  Con- 
stantinople, have  I  come  across  such  an  animated  scene.  The 
occupants  of  the  canoes  are  almost  without  exception  women,  and 
for  the  most  part  old  and  ugly.  Each  wears  a  palm-leaf  hat  of 
enormous^ size,  which  serves  the  purpose  indeed  of  an  umbrella 
also,  for  it  is  large  enough  to  protect  the  whole  body  from  either 
sun  or  rain. 

Our  first  night  in  Brunei  was  not  a  pleasant  one.  "Whether  the 
heat,  the  stenches,  the  mosquitos,  or  the  incessant  tom-toms  were 
the  most  unbearable  it  was  hard  to  say,  but  any  one  of  them  would 
alone  have  been  sufficient  to  banish  sleep.  On  the  following- 
afternoon  we  had  an  interview  with  the  Sultan.  His  palace  is  a 
dilapidated  old  building,  only  to  be  distinguished  from  the  sun-ound- 
ing  houses  by  its  decoration  of  a  dozen  or  so  of  small  flags,  and  by 
the  presence  of  a  few  antiquated  Malay  guns  upon  the  platform. 
In  front  of  the  house  lay  the  royal  barge  at  anchor.  It  is  almost 
too  large  to  be  paddled,  and  when  the  Sultan  goes  yachting,  it  is 
generally  towed  by  a  steam  launch.  Amidships  is  a  sort  of  carved 
cupola,  but  otherwise  there  is  no  attempt  at  decoration,  unless 
mdeed  the  figure-head  be  excepted.  This  is  no  beauteous  dame 
with  bosom  bared  to  the  ocean  breezes,  no  stately  goddess  with 
proudly-extended  hand,  such  as  one  sees  in  back  yards  at  Portsmouth 
or  Greenwich.  It  is  something  more  refined,  and  at  the  same  tune 
more  fitting,  for,  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  the  poor  old  Sultan  was 
far  advanced  in  his  second  infancy ,■• — it  is  a  child's  rocking-horse  • 

^  He  (lied  in  1884,  in  his  hundredth  j'ear. 


VI.]  THE  SULTAN  OF  BRUNEI.  129 

We  entered  the  palace  and  were  shown  into  the  audience 
chamber.  Happy  is  it  for  Mrs.  Loftie  that  fate  has  never  led  her 
to  Brunei.  The  room  was  a  poor,  whitewashed  apartment  some- 
what like  a  church,  with  a  sloping  roof  and  two  side  aisles.  At  the 
farther  end  was  a  triptych -shaped  door  opening  into  a  small 
chamber  which  contained  the  throne — a  piece  of  furniture  composed 
of  an  arm-chair  mounted  on  a  carved  and  gilded  sofa.  We  were 
given  seats  in  the  nave,  and  had  time  to  take  stock  of  our 
surroundings  before  the  Sultan  appeared.  There  were  two  rough 
tables  covered  with  red  tablecloths.  The  leg  of  one  of  them  had 
been  knocked  off,  and  its  place  was  supplied  by  a  piece  of  rough 
planking.  Two  strips  of  dirty  stair-carpet  covered  the  floor, 
flanked  by  two  other  strips  of  kamptulicon.  On  the  walls  the 
only  decorations  were  eight  dilapidated  old  mirrors  which  had  once 
been  gilt. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  Sultan  made  his  appearance,  and  we 
were  struck  at  once  by  his  likeness  to  Pio  Nono,  which  has  been 
remarked  by  former  travellers.  He  entered  half  pushed,  half 
supported  by  his  attendants,  and  after  shaking  hands  with  us,  was 
hoisted  on  to  his  throne,  where  he  sat  pufiing  away  at  his  roko. 
He  was  little  better  than  an  imbecile,  and  was  evidently  unable  to 
realise  our  visit  or  to  understand  what  was  going  on,  and  in  a 
short  time  he  was  shuffled  off  again  on  the  plea  of  a  bad  headache. 
Few  of  us  look  forward  to  becoming  a  bridegroom  at  the  age  of 
ninety-eight,  yet  we  were  told  that  barely  a  fortnight  previously 
he  had  married  a  girl  of  fifteen. 

Some  disturbances  had  been  anticipated  upon  the  death  of  the 
Sultan,  more  especially  between  the  Pangerang  Anak  Besar — a 
well-known  character  in  the  court  at  Brunei — and  the  Datu 
Tumonggong,  who  was  the  rightful  heir  according  to  Bornean  law ; 
but  happily  these  anticipations  have  since  proved  incorrect.  We 
could  not  help  pitying  the  poor  old  Sultan,  who,  if  he  had  any 
capability  for  reflection  left,  must  have  sighed  over  the  gradual 
absorption  of  his  kingdom.  On  the  one  side  the  North  Borneo 
VOL.  II.  K 


130  L  ABU  AN  AND  BRUNEI.  [chap.  vi. 

Company  were  seeking  fresh  territory  beyond  the  Kinianis  Eiver ; 
on  the  other  the  Eajah  of  Sarawak  had  extended  his  dominions  as 
far  as  Barram  Point.  He  must  have  felt  it  time  that  he  should  be 
gathered  to  his  fathers. 

We  left  Brunei  for  Labuan  shortly  afterwards,  and  on  the 
following  day  sailed  for  Singapore  vid  Sarawak,  at  which  latter 
place,  thanks  to  the  kindness  of  the  Eajah  and  other  friends,  we 
spent  a  most  enjoyable  fortnight.  So  short  a  stay  in  so  well- 
known  a  country  reqviires  no  description,  and  I  shall  ask  my 
readers  to  accompany  me  to  the  less  frequently  visited  islands  of 
the  Malay  Archipelago. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SUMBAWA. 

Arrive  at  Batavia  —  Cholera  again  —  Lombok  Peak — Anchor  in  Sumbawa  Baj' — 
Parched  aspect  of  the  country — Sumbawan  huts — Trade  in  ponies — "We  start 
for  the  capital — The  natives — Spears  and  krisses — Characteristics  of  the  vegeta- 
tion— Birds — Prevalence  of  Australian  forms — The  town  of  Sumbawa — Bichara 
with  the  Tungku  Jirewi — The  Istana — The  Sultan  of  Sumbawa — Leave  Sumbawa 
Bay — Labuan  Penakan — -The  Tambora  volcano — Its  eruption  in  1815 — Arrive  at 
Bima — Languages  of  the  island — A  six  months'  drought — Tombs  of  the  Sultans 
of  Bima — Gunong  Api  Island — New  species  of  quail — Leave  Sumbawa  for 
Celebes. 

We  picked  up  our  mails  and  took  in  stores  at  Singapore,  and  on 
the  26th  of  July  sailed  for  Batavia.  Passing  through  the  Ehio  and 
Banka  Straits,  and  threading  our  way  between  myriads  of  islands 
of  all  sizes,  we  found  ourselves  at  length  in  the  Java  Sea,  and  early 
on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  came  to  anchor  in  Batavia  roads. 
We  were  the  bearers  of  letters  of  introduction  to  H.E.  the 
Governor  General  of  the  Netherlands  India,  a  post  from  which 
our  Viceroy  of  India  only  differs  in  the  lesser  amount  of  ceremonial 
attending  him,  and  our  chief,  if  not  sole  reason  for  \dsiting  Java 
was  to  present  them.  Our  future  route  lay  entirely  in  Dutch 
waters,  and  without  letters  from  the  authorities  we  should 
doubtless  have  found  the  way  less  smooth.  The  Governor  General 
was  kind  enough  to  furnish  us  with  a  general  letter,  requesting 
any  Dutch  Kesidents  or  Kontroleurs  with  whom  we  might  be 
brought  m  contact  to  assist  us.  An  order  to  supply  us  with  any 
coal  we  might  need  from  the  various  naval  coal  depots  was  also 


132  SUMBA1FA.  [chap. 

siven  us,  and  fortified  with  these  and  all  the  Dutch  charts  that  we 
could  obtain — for  the  English  surveys  of  this  part  of  the  world  are 
bat  few — we  felt  prepared  against  all  emergencies.  I  may  here  say 
that  these  recommendations  were  of  the  greatest  service,  and  that 
we  found  the  Dutch  officials  not  only  cultured  and  interesting 
companions,  but  also  the  kindest  and  most  obliging  hosts.  Every 
facility  appears  to  be  given  to  naturalists  \isiting  the  archipelago, 
of  whatever  nationality  they  may  be,  but  it  is  of  the  first  import- 
ance that  they  should  obtain  proper  letters  of  introduction  from 
Batavia  before  starting. 

Cholera  was  very  prevalent  in  the  port  at  the  time  of  our 
arrival,  and,  as  we  heard  in  the  following  year  on  our  return  to 
Singapore,  it  developed  a  little  later  into  an  unusually  severe 
epidemic,  which  carried  off  several  of  the  Europeans.  We  were 
anchored  next  to  one  of  the  guard-ships,  an  old  hulk  which  was 
no  doubt  in  an  insanitary  condition,  and,  as  eight  or  ten  fresh 
cases  were  occurring  every  day,  she  was  paid  off  and  broken  up, 
and  we  met  her  sailors  on  their  way  to  new  quarters  a  week  later 
as  we  returned  from  the  beautiful  hill  station  of  Buitenzorg.  We 
called  upon  our  Consul,  and  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
epidemic.  With  a  gesture  he  indicated  an  unconscious  Javanese 
who  was  busily  engaged  in  uncorking  a  bottle  of  soda-water  for 
our  benefit.  "Tliis  man,"  he  quietly  remarked,  "is  the  third  I 
have  had  this  week  1" 

The  easterly  monsoon  was  blowing  fresh  as  we  left  Batavia, 
and  we  hugged  the  coast  as  closely  as  possible  in  order  to  avoid  it. 
Passing  between  Raas  and  Sapudi  Islands  at  the  east  end  of 
Madiu-a,  we  lay  an  E.S.E.  course  towards  Bali.  The  mountains  on 
this  part  of  the  coast  of  Java  are  very  fine ;  the  Kendang  range, 
close  to  the  Bali  Strait,  attaining  11,000  feet.  At  daybreak  on 
the  9th  of  August  we  were  close  to  Lombok.  The  height  of  the 
Peak  of  Lombok  is  given  as  12,460  feet  in  the  charts,  and  a  rough 
sextant  measurement  that  we  took  made  it  nearly  the  same,  but  it 
seemed  to  us  hardly  to  look  its  height,  and  it  is  certainly  far  less 


VII.]  SUMBAWA  BAY.  133 

striking  than  the  Peak  of  Tenerife,  with  which  it  has  been  com- 
pared. Late  in  the  afternoon  we  entered  Sumbawa  Bay — an 
unimportant  indentation  of  the  coast  on  the  north  side  of  the 
island  of  that  name — and  anchored  off  a  little  village  at  its  head. 

Sumbawa,  which  together  with  the  neighbouring  islands  of 
Flores  and  Sumba  is  but  little  known  to  Europeans,  is  of  consider- 
able size.  From  our  accepted  English  custom  of  representing  the 
whole  East  Indian  Archipelago  in  one  map,  most  of  us  have 
acquired  extremely  erroneous  notions  of  the  extent  of  the  Dutch 
possessions,  and  have  equally  under-estimated  their  size  and  value. 
Though  insignificant  enough  by  the  side  of  Java  or  Borneo,  Sumbawa 
is,  nevertheless,  over  170  miles  in  length,  and  is  tolerably 
thickly  populated,  chiefly  with  people  of  Malay  race.  In  the 
interior  there  is  said  to  be  a  tribe  of  aborigines  who  are  most 
probably  of  Papuan  or  Negrito  stock,  but  no  scientific  account  of 
them  has  hitherto  been  published.  Previous  to  the  great  eruption 
of  the  Tambora  volcano  in  1815  there  were  believed  to  be  about 
170,000  inhabitants,  but  this  number  was  very  largely  reduced  by 
the  catastrophe.  That  only  25,000  of  them  sur\dved,  as  stated  by 
Mr.  Van  den  Broek,  is,  however,  probably  an  exaggeration.  Some 
years  afterwards  there  was  a  large  uumigration  of  Bugis  people 
from  the  south  of  Celebes.  They  established  themselves  cliiefly 
on  the  north  side  of  the  island,  and  the  rice  is  once  more  crrowins 
over  what,  a  few  decades  back,  was  a  scene  of  desolation.  There 
are  two  Sultanates — Sumbawa  and  Bima — the  latter  includinsr  the 
almost  unknown  island  of  Komodo  to  the  eastward  and  part  of 
Flores,  and  over  both  the  Dutch  exercise  a  certain  amount  of 
authority.  It  is  administered  by  a  Kontroleur  who  resides  at 
Bima — the  sole  European  upon  the  island. 

Sumbawa  Bay,  we  foimd,  afforded  us  tolerable  protection,  but 
during  the  westerly  monsoon  it  must  be  decidedly  unsafe.  The 
surrounding  country  was  parched  to  a  degree,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  trees  seemed  as  devoid  of  foliage  as  they  would  be  during 
an  English  winter.     A  greater  difference  than  that  existing  between 


134  SUMBAJVA.  [chap. 

the  islands  of  the  Sunda  chain  and  those  of  the  Siilu  group  which 
we  had  left  only  a  month  or  two  before,  could  hardly  be  found. 
Here  the  south-east  winds,  sweeping  over  the  dry  desert  lands  of 
Australia,  parch  up  the  countries  that  lie  in  their  path  as  far  as 
Java,  and  from  April  to  July  little  or  no  rain  falls.  The  effects 
were  obvious  enough,  and  even  from  our  anchorage  we  could  see 
the  buffaloes  moving  in  little  clouds  of  dust. 

The  village  was  composed  of  a  few  huts  only,  but  over  one  of 
them,  very  shortly  after  our  arrival,  a  Dutch  flag  was  hoisted. 
Eowing  ashore  we  found  a  half-breed,  Omar  by  name,  who  spoke 
Malay  and  a  few  words  of  Dutch,  and  appeared  to  be  the  chief 
man  of  the  place.  From  him  we  learnt  that  the  town  of  Sumbawa, 
the  residence  of  the  Sultan,  lay  a  few  miles  inland,  and  we 
accordingly  despatched  messengers  to  inform  the  latter  that  we 
were  desirous  of  paying  him  a  visit  on  the  followmg  day.  It  was 
just  sunset,  and  we  had  but  little  tmie  to  explore  our  surroundings, 
but  close  to  the  kampong^  we  found  a  pretty  little  dove  (Geojjelia 
maugei)  in  great  abundance,  and  also  shot  the  Malayan  Goatsucker 
(C.  macrurus),  a  bird  of  general  distribution  from  India  to  New 
Guinea. 

We  were  ashore  early  next  morning,  but  there  was  some 
difficulty  in  getting  bearers,  and  we  loitered  about  for  an  hour  or 
more  before  starting.  The  shores  of  the  bay  were  of  dark  brown 
sand,  which  seemed  to  be  entirely  composed  of  disintegrated  lava 
and  scoriae.  Close  to  the  sea,  and  along  the  bank  of  the  shallow 
but  bright  little  stream  which  debouches  at  this  spot,  the  kampong 
is  built.  Each  hut  had  the  roof  overlapping  considerably  at 
the  gable,  and  beneath  it  two  other  little  roofs  protected 
the  end  of  the  building, — an  arrangement  that  we  found  almost 
invariable  throughout  the  island.  Eecurved  and  carved  gable 
finials,  such  as,  I  believe,  are  to  be  seen  in  Sumatran  houses,  were 
very  general,  and  some  of  the  lintels  of  the  entrance -doors  were 

^  Kampong  is  the  Malay  word  for  village.     Its  corruption  "  conipouud  "  has,  iu 
the  Straits  and  British  India,  got  to  mean  a  garden  or  enclosure. 


VII.] 


NATIVE  HOUSES. 


135 


rudely  painted  in  dull  red.  The  houses  were  raised  on  piles, 
according  to  the  invariable  custom,  but,  owing  to  the  space  below 
the  flooring  being  enclosed  by  bamboo  fencing  or  mats,  they  had  a 
more  solid  appearance  than  the  usual  style  of  dwellings  to  which 
the  Eastern  traveller  is  accustomed.  Almost  all  were  roofed  with 
beautiful  neatness  by  tiles  made  from  split  bamboo  ;  little  slips 
raised  from  the  under  surface  sufficing  to  hang  them  on. 

At  a  shady  corner  a  little  market  was  going  on.     There  were 


A   SUMBAWAN    HOUSE. 


barely  half  a  dozen  vendors,  and  one  of  them,  to  our  great  astonish- 
ment, we  found  to  be  an  old  Swaliili  woman,  a  type  that,  though 
familiar  enough  to  us  at  Zanzibar,  seemed  incongruous  in  Malaysia. 
Many  of  the  people  were  importations,  and  though  the  inevitable 
Chinaman  was  absent,  there  were  Banjermassin  men,  Buginese 
from  Celebes,  and  even  Klings.  The  marketables  were  chiefly 
dried  fish,  bananas,  and  tobacco.  The  greater  part  of  the  latter 
comes  from  Lombok,  and  is  excellent  in  quality  and  well  cut. 
That  grown  on  the  island  would  no  doubt  be  equally  good  if 
properly  cured,  but  the  natives  apparently  did  not  know  how  to 
prepare  it.     A  few  common  Chinese  and  even  English  plates  and 


136  BUMBAWA.  [chap. 

cups  were  also  for  sale,  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  bananas,  no 
fruit  was  to  be  had. 

Omar  met  us  in  brilliant  attire,  ornamented  for  the  occasion 
with  a  bright  silk  sarong,  and  having  a  large  naval  sword  dangling 
from  his  waist.  He  showed  us  a  couple  of  letters  signed  with 
French  names,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  he  was  to  be  trusted. 
It  appears,  singularly  enough,  that  a  ship  comes  to  this  place  every 
year  from  Mauritius  to  buy  ponies.  With  the  exception  of  the 
monthly  steamer  to  Bima,  it  is  probable  that  not  another  vessel 
worthy  of  the  name  visits  the  island.  Both  Sandalwood  and 
Timor,  however,  export  a  good  number  of  ponies.  The  Sumbawan 
animals  are  admirable  little  beasts,  standing  about  twelve  hands, 
and  generally  brown  or  skewbald.  They  are  of  good  shape,  and 
in  spite  of  their  small  size  seem  to  carry  almost  any  weight.  Their 
price  ranges  from  twelve  to  fifty  dollars.  Buffaloes  were  numerous 
in  the  fields,  and  sheep  and  goats  were  also  kept  by  the  natives, 
who  asked  as  much  as  four  dollars  each  for  them.  Tame  pigeons, 
very  much  like  our  English  runts,  were  housed  in  pigeon -cots 
elevated  on  poles — doubtless  a  wise  precaution,  as  rats  were  said 
to  be  very  abundant. 

Our  bearers  liaving  at  length  appeared,  we  at  once  started. 
Several  stray  natives  had  joined  us,  and  we  formed  a  large  party. 
The  road  was  broad  enough  to  have  admitted  three  carriages 
abreast,  but  we  saw  no  wheeled  vehicles  on  the  island.  It  led 
straight  southward  through  a  plain  yellow  with  ripe  padi.  Every- 
where great  numbers  of  the  natives  were  to  be  seen.  Many  were 
engaged  in  the  fields,  cutting  rice  and  stacking  it  on  the  backs  of 
the  ponies.  Groups  of  them  met  or  overtook  us,  all  of  whom  were 
mounted,  and  all,  whether  at  work  in  the  fields  or  riding,  were 
armed  with  spear  and  kris.  The  latter  weapons  are  of  excellent 
workmanship.  The  steel  is  purposely  left  impolished,  and  is,  in 
fact,  quite  rough.  The  blades  are  valued  according  to  the  "  twist," 
which  is  often  as  well  worked  as  in  a  pair  of  Damascus  barrels  by 
a  o-ood  EnsHsh  {lunmaker.     Most  of  them  have  a  sinuous  curve  and 


VII.]      ZOOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  SUNDA  ISLANDS.       137 


pistol-shaped  or  right-angled  handles ;  none  the  beautifully-shaped 
grips  of  the  Sulu  parangs,  which  are  in  reality  far  more  effective 
weapons,  though  less  murderous-look- 
ing. The  spears,  even  of  those  of  the 
lowest  rank,  had  hilts  of  worked  silver 
reaching  down  the  shaft  for  eight  or 
ten  inches  from  the  insertion  of  the 
blade. 

A  mile  or  two  after  leaving  the  sea 
we  again  struck  the  Sumbawa  Eiver, 
which,  in  spite  of  the  long-continued 
drought,  was  still  running  as  a  stream 
of  clear  water  about  a  foot  in  depth. 
Many  of  the  Sumbawan  rivers,  we  were 
told,  fail  altogether  in  the  dry  season. 
Leaving  the  more  cultivated  land  be- 
hind us,  we  came  to  a  wilder  part,  with 
occasional  patches  of  thorny  thicket, 
and  it  was  here  that  I  was  able  to 
realise  for  the  first  time  that  we  were 
in  a  totally  different  zoograpliical 
region  from  Java  and  the  other  great 
Malay  Islands.  How^ever  well  one 
may    be    acquainted    with    the    facts 

of  regional  division,  and  with  the  zoological  and  other  charac- 
teristics of  the  various  parts  of  the  Malay  Archipelago  which 
have  been  so  admirably  described  by  Mr.  Wallace,  the  personal 
realisation  of  them  gives  an  amount  of  pleasure  to  a  naturalist 
which  few  people  can  imagine.  Java  was  the  last  country  we  had 
visited,  but  here  the  vegetation  was  of  quite  a  different  type. 
Euphorbias  of  two  or  three  species  were  abundant,  and  it  was 
scarcely  possible  to  enter  the  dry  and  scrubby  jimgle  without 
being  brought  constantly  to  a  standstill  by  the  thorns.  In  the 
Malayan  jungle  the  rattan  is  almost  the  sole  impediment  of  this 


SUMBAWAN   KRIS. 


138  SUMBAJVA.  [chap. 

kind.  The  forest-trees  were  unfamiliar,  and  owing  to  the  leafless- 
uess  of  many  of  them,  there  was  a  remarkable  absence  of  colour  in 
the  landscape.  Here  and  there  only  a  Bombax  caught  the  eye,  its 
crimson  flowers  conspicuous  at  the  ends  of  the  bare  branches. 
The  prickly  pear  was  growing  everywhere,  and  to  judge  from  its 
abundance,  must  have  been  introduced  into  the  island  many  years 
ago.  No  rain  had  fallen  for  five  months,  and  the  heat  and  dust 
were  intolerable.  The  latter  lay  thick  upon  the  trees  and  plants, 
and  enveloped  us  in  a  light  impalpable  cloud  as  we  walked.  Our 
surroundings  were  indeed  different  to  the  eternal  verdure  of  a 
Bornean  forest. 

Among  the  birds  too  there  was  a  strong  element  of  novelty. 
Two  species  especially  obtruded  themselves  on  our  notice  that  were 
eminently  of  Australian  type, — one,  the  Lemon-crested  Cockatoo 
(C.  sulphur cci),  whose  snowy  plumage  rendered  it  very  conspicuous, 
the  other  a  singularly  ugly  Meliphagine  bird  {Tropidorhynchus 
timoriensis),  of  uniformly  dull  brown  plimiage,  and  with  a  bare  neck 
and  face,  which,  in  small  flocks  of  eight  or  ten,  kept  up  a  continuous 
and  most  discordant  chatter  in  almost  every  thicket.  Several 
specimens  of  a  lovely  golden  oriole  {Oriolus  hroderipi)  also  fell  to 
our  guns,  the  male  of  which  is  of  a  brilliant  orange  yellow.  It  is 
a  species  peculiar  to  the  islands  eastwards  of  Bali. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  arrived  at  what  was  called  the  Bugis 
kampong,  a  straggling  village  nearly  a  mile  long,  which  closely 
adjoins  the  town  of  Sumbawa.  It  is  entirely  occupied  by  these 
people,  and  we  were  told  that  there  were  only  three  Buginese  in 
the  capital  itself.  Every  "compound"  was  fenced  in  with  the 
greatest  care,  as  were  all  the  fields  also,  and  there  were  many 
evidences  of  high  cultivation.  We  saw  a  considerable  quantity  of 
tobacco  growing.  It  was  topped  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  in 
America  and  other  countries  where  it  is  grown  for  trade — from 
eighteen  to  twenty  leaves  only  being  allowed  to  remain. 

We  entered  the  town,  which  was  apparently  without  palisades 
or  fortifications  of  any  kind,  and  a  large  number  of  natives  turned 


VII.] 


TOJFN  OF  SUMBAJFA. 


139 


out  to  stare  at  us  as  we  passed.  All  were  armed  with  spears, 
which  one  w^ould  have  imagined  no  little  hindrance  to  them  in 
their  ordinary  avocations,  but  they  appeared  rarely  or  never  to 


KRIS    WITH    WORKED    GOLD    SCABBARD,    SUMBAWA. 


leave  their  hands.  One  party  we  surprised  were  screaming  with 
laughter  and  splashing  one  another  with  water,  old  and  young 
alike, — rather  contrary  to  the  usual  quiet  and  undemonstrative 
haljits  of  those  of  Malav  race.     We  were  informed  that  the  Sultan 


140  SUMBAJVA.  [chap. 

was  asleep,  and  were  accordingly  led  by  Omar  to  the  house  of  the 
Tungku  Jirewi,  It  consisted  of  three  small  rooms,  in  the  outer 
one  of  which,  adjoining  the  balcony  on  either  side  of  the  wooden 
steps,  he  received  us.  He  was  a  little  man,  wasted  ahnost  to  a 
skeleton  by  opium-smoking,  and  was  dressed  m  the  usual  bright- 
coloured  silk  sarong  and  haju.  He  wore  a  flat  cap  of  plain  black 
silk,  of  the  shape  which  used  five  and  twenty  years  back  to  be 
termed  a  "  pork-pie."  It  was  decorated  with  a  gold  band,  not  of 
lace,  but  a  thin  plate  of  the  metal  itself.  A  large  gold  stomacher 
nearly  the  size  of  an  octavo  book  adorned  the  region  of  his  waist- 
coat, and  a  kris,  with  its  sheath  and  handle  covered  with  the 
same  metal,  hung  at  his  side.  A  dozen  or  more  old  muskets,  mostly 
with  flint  locks,  stood  in  a  rack  at  the  back  of  the  room  together 
with  some  spears,  one  of  which  was  beautifully  hilted  with  worked 
gold.  There  is,  of  coiu'se,  no  ivory  in  the  island,  but  both  this  and 
gold  are  imported,  and  largely  used  for  kris  and  spear  decoration. 
These  weapons  excited  our  admiration  as  much  as  our  guns  did 
theirs,  but  although  we  tried  on  several  occasions  to  buy  them,  we 
were  seldom  able  to  come  to  terms.  Many  of  them  were  hehiooms, 
and  the  prices  asked  were  in  all  cases  very  large.  Omar  told  us 
that  he  had  known  two  hundred  dollars  offered  for  a  spear  blade 
only,  so  highly  prized  are  some  methods  of  working  the  steel. 

After  a  long  hichara  of  the  usual  character,  we  asked  the 
Tungku's  permission  to  eat  in  his  house,  and  he  retired  meanwhile 
into  the  adjoining  room,  whence  sounds  of  various  female  voices 
were  audible.  From  time  to  time  an  eye  peeped  through  a  chink 
in  the  bamboo  wall,  and  it  was  evident  that  we  were  being  freely 
inspected  and  criticised  by  the  ladies  of  the  harem,  who  in  these 
islands  have  not  the  freedom  permitted  to  those  in  Sulu.  We  had 
brought  with  us  a  couple  of  bottles  of  champagne,  which  experience 
had  long  ago  taught  us  to  have  even  more  power  than  music  in 
soothing  the  breast  of  Oriental  potentates,  and,  disregarding  the 
Koran,  we  sent  some  in  to  our  host  and  his  companions.  It  had 
the  effect  of  bringing  him  out  for  some  more,  and  we  prevailed  on 


VII.] 


THE  TUNGKU  JIREWI. 


141 


him  to  share  our  tiffin,  which,  however,  was  evidently  less  to  his 
taste  than  the  wine.  We  were  anxious  to  get  him  to  sit  for  his 
photograph,  and  on  the  operation  being  explained  he  readily 
consented,  and  retired  to  get  himself  up  for  the  occasion.  He 
reappeared  arrayed  in  a  large  gold  crown  which  must  have  been 


THE    TUNGKU    JIKEWI. 


nearly  a  foot  across,  and  was  made  of  the  pure  metal,  although 
not  much  thicker  than  a  sheet  of  stout  brown  paper.  His  state 
umbrella  was  held  over  him,  his  spearmen  gTouped  on  either  side, 
and  two  antiquated  cannon  guarding  the  house  placed  in  a  con- 
spicuous position,  but,  with  all  these  martial  and  gilded  accessories, 
the  effect  was  not  imposing,  and  Thackeray's  delightful  sketch  of 
"Eex. — Ludovicus. — Ludovicus  Eex"  occurred  at  once  to  one's  mind. 


142  SUMBAWA.  [chap. 

Our  noble  sitter  was  shrivelled  to  a  mummy,  and  his  one  request 
was  for  "  some  medicine  to  make  him  fat." 

We  adjourned  to  the  house  of  the  Datu  Banda,  where  we 
had  Chinese  tea  offered  us,  and  were  informed  that  the  Sultan  had 
gone  Jca  igrcja — a  phrase  that  required  no  knowledge  of  Malay  to 
translate,  so  we  went  out  to  inspect  the  town.  In  a  large  open 
square  beneath  trees,  and  adjoining  a  cemetery  which  was  planted 
selon  regie  with  champacs,  a  crowded  market  was  going  on.  The 
vendors  w^ere  all  women,  and  w^ere  guarded  by  spearmen,  who 
permitted  none  of  the  sterner  sex  to  enter,  and  would  make  no 
exception  in  our  favour,  greatly  to  our  disappointment.  Eeaching 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Sultan's  Palace  we  were  again  stopped. 
It  appears  to  be  against  etiquette,  if  not  worse,  to  approach  it. 
On  the  outskirts  of  the  town  we  came  upon  a  veritable  Aceldama, 
— a  small  field  where  all  the  animals  of  the  town  appeared  to  be 
slaughtered.  It  was  covered  with  ox-bones  and  dried  blood,  and 
was  a  gruesome  sight, 

Eeturning  to  the  Datu  Banda's,  we  were  told  that  the  Sultan 
would  see  us,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  the  Palace.  It  was  a 
wooden  building  of  considerable  size,  surrounded  by  a  low  stone 
wall  and  double  gates.  A  small  guard  of  spearmen  occupied  an 
open  bamboo  guardhouse  near  the  entrance.  Entering,  we  found 
a  long  flight  of  covered  wooden  steps,  up  which  we  were  conducted 
to  the  reception-room,  a  large  hall  with  its  roof  supported  by 
massive  wooden  pillars,  which,  like  the  doors,  were  painted  a  bright 
pea  green.  The  walls  were  of  plaited  bamboo,  and  had  five  or  six 
large  kites  hung  against  them,  made,  as  is  the  custom  here,  in  the 
shape  of  birds.  At  the  farther  end  of  the  room  were  evidences  of 
European  civilisation  in  the  shape  of  a  table  and  some  chairs, 
behind  which  stood  racks  of  flint  lock,  and  percussion  guns. 

The  Sultan,  who  was  nearly  seventy-four  years  of  age,  had 
evidently  been  a  good-looking  man  in  his  day,  and  was  comically 
like  a  benevolent  old  English  lady,  the  resemblance  being  heightened 
by  liis  wearing  his  grey  hair  in  side  puffs  over  the  ears.     He 


vii.]  A   VISIT  TO  THE  SULTAN.  143 

received  us  pleasantly,  and  told  us  that  the  English  were  a  good 
people,  and  that  their  Queen  had  sent  him  a  gun,  which  was 
brought  for  our  inspection.  As  it  was  evidently  of  Belgian  make, 
we  had  our  doubts  as  to  the  donor,  but  did  not,  of  course,  un- 
deceive him.  ^  Tea,  cakes  of  banana  meal,  and  a  sort  of  wine  were 
brought  in  for  us,  and  our  objects  and  reasons  for  visiting  Suml^awa 
demanded,  though  in  the  politest  manner.  Such  questions,  as  may  be 
imagined,  are  extremely  difficult  to  answer  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
be  comprehended  by  the  nati^'e  intellect.  The  naturalist  travelling 
alone  is,  perhaps,  within  their  grasp,  but  that  any  one  would  sail 
about  the  w^orld  in  a  large  ship  merely  for  the  purpose  of  travel 
and  natural  history  is  too  much  to  expect  any  one  to  believe, 
and  our  explanations  were  received  with  a  politeness  which  only 
half  concealed  the  underlying  doubt.  As  usual  on  these  occasions, 
we  were  the  "  cynosure  of  neighbouring  eyes,"  which  watched  us 
unremittingly  from  the  tiny  little  windows  of  the  ladies'  apartment, 
and  behind  us  row  after  row  of  natives,  for  the  most  part  wearing 
a  sarong  and  kris  only,  squatted  on  their  haunches  listening  to  the 
conversation.  Our  interview  ended  by  the  Sultan  arranging  to 
return  our  visit  on  the  following  day,  and  we  eventually  left  the 
town  for  our  homeward  ride  late  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  long 
after  dark  when  we  arrived  at  the  beach. 

Next  day  our  time  and  energies  were  devoted  almost  exclusively 
to  the  entertainment  of  our  guests.  The  Sultan,  who  had  previously 
bargained  for  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns,  made  his  appearance  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  remained  on  board  for  some 
hours.  After  his  departure  the  Tungku  Jirewi,  who  also  intimated 
by  a  special  messenger  that  his  rank  required  seven  guns,  came  off 
to  the  ship,  and  it  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  we  finally  got 
rid  of  our  \isitors.     A  shooting  excursion  that  we  had  previously 

^  We  afterwards  found  out  from  the  authorities  at  ]\Iacassar  that  the  storj^  was  in 
the  main  correct.  The  ship  Invcrerne  having  been  lost  on  the  coast  of  Sumbawa, 
the  Sultan  had  taken  charge  of  the  crew,  and  treated  them  kindly  until  they  were 
taken  off  the  island.  The  Dutch  authorities  had  been  commissioned  to  present  him 
with  the  gun. 


144  SUMBATFA.  [chap. 

planned  was  consequently  a  failure,  and  we  got  neither  deer  nor  pig, 
altliough  both  are  said  to  be  fairly  abundant  in  the  neighbourhood. 
The  low  jungle  wliich  we  beat  looked  quite  dead,  but  the  natives 
told  us  that  in  the  rainy  season  it  would  soon  be  in  full  leaf.  It 
was  ankle-deep  in  powdery  dust,  which  iloated  round  us  in  little 
clovids  as  we  walked.  After  sundown  nightjars  of  two  species 
(C.  macrurus  and  G.  affinis)  hawked  over  the  dried -up  padi  fields 
in  hundreds.  In  no  other  part  of  the  world  have  I  ever  seen  birds 
of  this  genus  in  such  extraordinary  abundance. 

On  the  12th  of  August  we  sailed  at  daybreak  for  the  coast  to 
the  eastward,  as  it  was  our  intention,  if  possible,  to  ascend  the 
great  Tambora  volcano.  We  passed  to  the  south  of  Majo  Island, 
and  crossed  the  mouth  of  the  Salee  Giilf,  which  divides  Sumbawa 
almost  in  half.  The  land  to  the  south  is  low,  and  the  monsoon, 
crossing  it,  blew  strong  from  the  south-east.  Majo,  like  the  country 
round  the  town  of  Sumbawa,  looked  dried  up  and  withered  to  the 
last  degree.  The  gulf  is  even  now  the  haunt  of  pirates,  and  its 
shores  are  more  or  less  deserted  for  some  distance  inland,  where 
the  natives  live  in  fear  and  trembhng  within  stockaded  towns. 
The  first  sight  of  Tambora — one  of  the  most  tremendous  volcanoes 
in  the  world,  witli  a  crater  eight  miles  in  diameter — is  not  a 
very  striking  one,  omng  perhaps  to  the  very  breadth  of  its 
summit,  but  the  forests  on  its  slopes  were  beautifully  green 
and  fresh -looking,  contrasting  strongly  with  what  we  had  until 
then  seen  of  Sumbawan  vegetation.  We  slowly  approached  the 
land,  and  passing  to  the  south  of  the  little  island  of  Setonda,  wdiich 
is  what  the  Sicilians  would  call  a  son  of  Tambora,  and  merely  a 
crater  sticking  up  from  the  sea,  we  anchored  to  the  east  of  a 
small  bay,  with  the  centre  of  the  great  volcano  bearing  about  S.E. 

This  place — known  to  the  natives  as  Labuan  Penakan — had 
been  spoken  of  by  the  Sultan  as  being  a  possible  locality  for 
obtaining  help  in  the  ascent  of  the  mountain.  A  few  huts  were 
visible  on  the  beach,  and  soon  after  our  arrival  a  dug-out  canoe 
came  off,  manned  by  two  men,  who  brought  the  carcase  of  a  deer 


VII.]  TAMBORA   VOLCANO.  145 

{Cervus  tivioriensis),  which  they  wished  to  sell  for  rice.  We  had 
none  of  this  to  dispose  of,  but  we  eventually  bought  the  animal 
for  six  yards  of  "  Turkey  red  "  ^  and  a  small  packet  of  tobacco.  It 
was  unfortunately  not  entire,  and  we  were  therefore  unable  to  add 
its  skeleton  to  our  collection. 

From  the  natives  we  learnt  that  the  ascent  of  Tambora  from 
this  side  was  impracticable,  or  at  least  attended  with  so  many 
difficulties  as  to  be  nearly  so.  There  was  no  track  whatever,  and 
we  should  have  had  to  cut  our  way  through  the  jungle,  which  was 
very  dense  and  thorny,  for  three  or  four  days.  We  therefore  re- 
linquished the  idea,  and  occupied  ourselves  by  exploring  and 
making  a  rough  sketch  survey  of  the  little  bay,  which  afforded 
good  anchorage  in  the  east  monsoon,  and  had  a  beautiful  stream  of 
clear  water  at  its  head. 

We  took  two  or  three  photographs  of  Tambora,  and  on  the 
following  day  sailed  for  Bima.  Slowly  rounding  the  northern  and 
eastern  sides  of  the  volcano,  we  had  a  good  opportunity  of  admir- 
ing its  vastness  and  solidity.  Although  over  9000  feet,  it  appears 
of  much  less  height,  and  is  devoid  of  the  graceful  pyramidal  shape 
generally  seen  in  volcanoes  which  have  been  slowly  built  up  by 
less  violent  but  unceasing  action.  Its  slope  is  a  very  gradual  one, 
more  especially  on  the  south-east  side.  This,  I  believe,  is  where 
the  Dutch  traveller,  Dr.  Zollinger,  attempted  the  ascent,  and,  as 
far  as  it  was  possible  to  judge,  it  seemed  the  most  practicable 
approach,  being  devoid  of  forest,  which  is  the  case  nowhere  else. 
On  the  northern  side  there  is  an  enormous  gap  in  the  lip  of  the 
crater,  through  which  a  stream  of  lava  has  burst,  and  torn  its 
way  through  the  forest  to  the  sea.  It  was  hard  to  believe  that 
only  seventy  years  had  elapsed  since  the  occurrence  of  the  most 
appalling  eruption  known  in  modern  times.  The  rank  vegetation 
of  the  tropics  soon  hides  the  scars  which  in  Europe  would  remain 
for  centuries. 

^  "Turkey  red"  is  a  thin  cotton  cloth,  largely  used  for  trade  and  barter  both 
in  Africa  and  the  East  Indian  Archipelago. 

VOL.  II.  L 


146  SUM  BA  IF  A.  [chap. 

What  that  eruption  was  can  best  be  gathered  from  Mr.  Wallace's 
account : — 

"The  great  eruption  began  on  April  5th,  1815,  was  most  violent  on  the 
11th  and  12th,  and  did  not  entirely  cease  until  the  following  July.  The 
sound  of  the  explosions  was  heard  at  Bencoolen  in  Sumatra,  a  distance  of 
over  1100  miles  in  one  direction,  and  at  Ternate,  a  distance  of  over  900 
miles  in  a  nearly  opposite  direction.  Violent  whirlwinds  carried  up  men, 
horses,  cattle,  and  whatever  else  came  within  their  influence,  into  the  air  ; 
tore  up  the  largest  trees  by  the  roots,  and  covered  the  sea  with  floating 
timber.  Many  streams  of  lava  issued  from  the  crater,  and  flowed  in  different 
directions  to  the  sea,  destroying  everything  in  their  course.  Even  more 
destructive  were  the  ashes,  which  fell  in  such  quantities  that  they  broke  into 
the  Resident's  house  at  Bima,  more  than  sixty  miles  to  the  eastward,  and 
rendered  most  of  the  houses  in  that  tovm.  uninhabitable.  On  the  west 
towards  Java,  and  on  the  north  towards  Celebes,  the  ashes  darkened  the  air 
to  a  distance  of  300  miles,  while  fine  ashes  fell  in  Amboina  and  Banda, 
more  than  800  miles  distant  ;  and  in  such  cj^uantity  at  Bruni,  the  capital  of 
Borneo,  more  than  900  miles  north,  that  the  event  is  remembered  and  used 
as  a  date-reckoner  to  this  day.  To  the  west  of  Sumbawa  the  sea  was  covered 
with  a  floating  mass  of  fine  ashes  2  feet  thick,  through  which  ships  forced 
their  way  with  difficulty.  The  darkness  caused  by  the  ashes  in  the  day- 
time was  more  profoimd  than  that  of  the  darkest  nights,  and  this  horrid 
pitchy  gloom  extended  a  distance  of  300  miles  to  the  westward  into  Java. 
Along  the  sea-coast  of  Sumbawa  and  the  neighbouring  islands  the  sea  rose 
suddenly  to  the  height  of  from  2  to  12  feet,  so  that  every  vessel  was  forced 
from  its  anchorage  and  driven  on  shore.  The  town  of  Tambora  sank  beneath 
the  sea,  and  remained  permanently  18  feet  deep  where  there  had  been  dry 
land  before.  The  noises,  the  tremors  of  the  earth,  and  the  fall  of  ashes  from 
this  eruption  extended  over  a  circle  of  more  than  2000  miles  in  diameter, 
and  out  of  a  population  of  12,000  persons  who  inhabited  the  province  of 
Tambora  previous  to  the  eruption,  it  is  said  that  only  26  individuals 
survived.^ 

Bima  Bay,  a  narrow  inlet  running  north  and  south,  and  nearly 
fifteen  miles  in  length,  has  been  a  settlement  of  the  Dutch  since 
1660,  if  indeed  that  term  can  be  applied  to  a  post  where  one 
European  and  a  handful  of  coloured  soldiers  drag  out  a  miserable 
existence.     The  bay  forms  an  excellent  harbour,  protected  from 

1  "Australasia,"  Stanford's  Compendium,  p.  425. 


SUMBAWAN    CHIEF,   BIMA. 


Page  147 


VII.]  BIMA.  147 

all  winds,  and  the  town,  placed  on  its  eastern  shore,  is  of  course 
provided  with  its  little  fort  and  large  flagstaff — two  objects  that  in 
our  subsequent  wanderings  among  these  islands  we  found,  together 
with  low  white  bungalows,  gin  and  bitters,  Manila  cheroots,  and 
complete  ennui,  to  be  the  leading  characteristics  of  a  Dutch  settle- 
ment in  Malaysia.  The  country  round  the  entrance  to  the  bay 
was  as  parched  and  dusty-looking  as  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Sum- 
bawa,  but  as  we  steamed  down  the  narrow  fjord-like  inlet  every 
little  cove  revealed  itself  as  an  oasis  of  coco  palms  in  the  desert 
around.  Two  forts,  each  as  large  as  a  good-sized  room,  guard  the 
narrowest  part,  which  is  hardly  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
breadth.  They  were  unoccupied,  but  a  few  rusty  old  cannon  peeped 
out  of  the  embrasures.  Beyond  these  narrows  the  bay  expands  to 
a  considerable  size ;  to  the  west  a  fine  range  of  mountains,  6000 
feet  in  height,  shuts  it  in,  and  southward,  seven  miles  away,  some 
dark  blue,  Scotch-looking. hills  indicate  its  farthest  limits. 

The  town  is  placed  on  a  flat,  which  in  the  west  monsoon  be- 
comes a  swamp,  and  hence  fever,  generally  of  a  severe  type,  is 
prevalent,  more  especially  on  the  advent  of  the  rains.  We  got 
ashore  with  some  difficulty, — for  a  mud-bank  with  an  inch  or  two 
of  water  on  it  makes  landing  anywhere  opposite  the  town  an 
impossibility, — and  paid  our  respects  to  Mr.  Diepenhorst,  the 
Resident.  He  welcomed  us  with  such  evident  pleasure  that  it 
expressed,  better  than  any  words  could  have,  the  monotony  of  the 
life  he  led.  He  talked  English  fluently,  and  had  not  been  away 
from  civilisation  long  enough  to  have  lost  his  interest  in  the  world's 
affairs.  His  house  was  entirely  open  in  front,  with  no  other 
security  than  blinds,  yet  he  assured  us  that  he  felt  perfectly  secure, 
and  had  never  lost  any  of  his  property.  He  accounted  for  it  by 
the  fact  of  there  being  only  tliree  Cliinese  in  Bima,  but  the  700 
Klings  who  were  said  to  be  settled  in  the  district  must  have  been 
of  unusually  immaculate  character.  Mr.  Diepenhorst  estimated 
the  entire  population  of  the  island  at  about  70,000,  of  which  5000 
live  in  Bima.     About  the  same  number,  the  Sultan  had  informed 


148 


SUMBAJVA. 


[chap 


US,  inhabited  the  town  of  Sumbawa.  Crawfurd  ^  speaks  of  three 
languages  as  existing  in  the  island, — the  Buna,  the  Sumbawa,  and 
the  Tambora, — all  of  which  are  written  in  Bugis  character.  Two 
of  them,  the  first  and  last,  are  very  distinct,  and  have  but  a  slight 
admixture  of  words  of  foreign  origin.     Mr.  Diepenhorst,  however. 


VIEW    IN    BIMA. 


who  was  a  good  linguist,  informed  us  that  there  is  a  fourth,  and 
perfectly  distinct  language  spoken  in  Dompo,  a  district  to  the 
south-west  of  Bima,  and  that  m  the  country  around  Bima  itself 
two  widely-different  dialects  exist. 

There  had  been  no  rain  in  the  town  for  six  months — a  period 
of  drought   unusual  even  in   Sumbawa.      The  water  has  in   all 
^  "Grammar  and  Dictionary  of  the  Malay  Language,"  vol.  i.  p.  92. 


VII.]  BIRDS  OF  THE  ISLAND.  149 

seasons  to  be  brought  from  the  hills  by  coolies,  an  affair  necessitating 
much  labour,  as  the  spring  is  five  miles  distant.  In  the  vicinity 
of  the  town  large  quantities  of  rice  are  grown,  the  low-lying  land 
lending  itself  especially  to  its  cultivation,  and  an  elaborate  system 
of  irrigation  exists,  the  water-supply  being  drawn  from  a  small 
river,  the  mouth  of  which  is  close  to  the  town.  Coffee  is  cul- 
tivated in  the  hills,  but  it  is  of  poor  quality,  and  fetches  less 
than  half  the  price  of  that  grown  in  Northern  Celebes. 

Birds  were  numerous  in  the  fruit  gardens  in  and  around  Bima, 
and  placed  as  Sumbawa  is  on  the  outskn-ts  of  the  Austro-Malayan 
sub-region,  it  was  interesting  to  note  the  mingling  of  the  Indian 
and  Australian  forms.  The  Ashy  Tit  (Parus  cinercus),  which  has 
extended  as  far  eastward  as  Mores,  was  one  of  the  first  birds  that 
attracted  my  attention ;  its  clear  and  unmistakable  note  almost 
exactly  resembling  that  of  our  own  Great  Tit.  A  small  wood- 
pecker {Yungipicus  grandis,  Hargitt) — another  alien  genus  in  this 
region — was  far  less  common.  Side  by  side  with  these  Indian 
forms  occurred  other  genera  of  Australian  origin, — Pachycephala, 
Stigmatops,  Geoffroyus,  and  a  beautiful  brush-tongued  lory  {Triclio- 
glossus  forsteni),  which  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  the  island.  Our  bag 
at  the  end  of  a  long  day  contained  over  sixty  specimens,  and  we 
sat  up  skinning  them  until  it  was  nearly  daybreak,  for  in  such  a 
climate  the  heat  admits  of  no  delay  in  these  matters.  Among 
them  was  a  Zosterojjs  new  to  science,  with  a  brownish  head  and 
the  rest  of  the  body  a  pretty  golden  yellow.-^ 

The  most  productive  shooting-ground  was  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  a  large  cemetery  at  the  back  of  the  town.  The  tombstones  were 
for  the  most  part  smooth  and  club-shaped,  and  were  placed  at  the 
head  and  foot  of  the  grave,  the  outline  of  the  latter  being  marked 
by  pebbles.  Three  tombs  however — those  of  the  old  Sultans  of 
Bima — were  conspicuous  among  the  rest ;  large  oven-shaped 
erections  of  red  brick  covered  with  plaster.  A  low  entrance  with 
stone  lintels  deeply  carved  with  inscriptions  led  into  a  little 
1  Z.  sunibavensis.      Vide  "  Proc.  Zoolog.  Soc."  1885,  p.  501. 


150 


SUMBATFA. 


[chap. 


chamber  in  which  was  a  raised  wooden  grave  of  an  ordinary  ]\Ialay 
type — much  like  a  child's  cot.  These  tombs  were  said  to  be  about 
200  years  old,  and  were  much  dilapidated  and  cracked,  no  doubt 
in  great  part  owing  to  the  earthquakes  and  eruption  of  1815. 

At  the  north-east  end  of  Sumbawa,  and  barely  six  miles  from 
its  shores,  lies  the  island  of  Gunong  Api^  or  Sangeang.  The 
distance  at  which  we  had  sighted  it  had  led  us  to  doubt   the 


accuracy  of  the  chart,  in  which  its 
height  is  given  at  2040  feet,  and  on 
taking  measurements  as  we  approached,  we  found  it  to  be  slightly 
over  6000  feet, — a  great  elevation  upon  so  small  a  base,  for  the 
island  is  less  than  seven  miles  in  breadth.  The  coast  is  steep- 
to  on  the  western  side,  and  as  we  steamed  slowly  along,  almost 
within  gunshot  of  the  beach,  in  search  of  an  anchorage,  we  had 
plenty  of  time  to  admire  the  fine  scenery  it  afforded.  From  a 
shore  of  black  konstone  sand  the  mountain  rises  steeply  up,  at 
first  as  a  series  of  hummocky  hills,  covered  with  green  and  yellow 
lalang  grass,  and  separated  from  one  another  by  narrow  gullies 
filled  with  dark-foliaged  trees.     Beyond,  a  sharp  slope  of  dense 

1  A  Malay  name  (G^mcmg,  mountain  ;  ajn,  fire)  applied  to  two  or  three  different 
volcanic  islands  in  tlie  Eastern  Archipelago. 


vil]  GUNONG  API.  151 

forest  reaches  nearly  to  the  summit,  which  is  formed  by  two  bare 
peaks.  The  diversity  of  colouring  was  wonderful,  and  both  in  this 
and  other  respects  the  island  bore  a  singular  resemblance  to 
Madeira.  The  presence  of  a  few  white  houses  dotted  over  the 
hills  was  alone  wanting  to  make  it  almost  complete. 

Our  object  in  visiting  the  island  was  chiefly  to  procure  water, 
for  that  obtainable  in  Macassar,  which  was  to  be  our  next  port, 
was,  we  were  warned,  of  bad  quality,  and  in  cruising  in  these 
climates  it  is  of  the  first  importance  that  the  drinking  water 
should  be  pure.  We  tried  at  two  or  three  places  without  success, 
but  on  despatching  a  boat  ashore  when  off  the  W.N.W.  point,  the 
boatswain  retiu'ned  with  the  intelligence  that  there  was  a  spring 
close  to  the  sea,  so  we  at  once  landed  to  inspect  it.  The 
ground  was  dry  and  dusty  even  in  the  gullies,  but  between  high 
and  low  water  mark  rapid  runlets  of  clear  water  streamed  out  for 
a  distance  of  three  or  four  hundred  yards  along  the  beach.  It 
would,  however,  have  taken  a  long  time  to  fill  our  tanks,  and  we 
decided  to  defer  that  operation  until  we  discovered  a  better  place. 
We  found  many  natives  on  the  island,  and  one  of  those  we  met 
was  able  to  understand  Malay.  They  are  Sumbawans  who  have 
immigrated  from  the  adjoining  coast,  and  speak  one  of  the  two 
Bima  dialects.  We  picked  up  the  skull  of  a  large  pig,  and  the 
natives  also  told  us  that  there  were  numbers  of  deer  on  the  island. 
That  snakes  of  a  very  respectable  size  also  existed  we  infen^ed  from 
our  finding  a  piece  of  the  shed  skin  of  one  of  them,  which  measured 
over  seven  feet  in  length.  Among  our  ornithological  spoil  was  a 
quail  of  a  new  species  {Turnix  powelli),  which  I  have  since  named 
after  my  friend  Lieut.  E.  ff.  Powell,  E.N.,  who  accompanied  the 
Marchesa  in  her  voyages  to  Kamschatka  and  New  Guinea. 

At  our  next  anchorage,  about  two  miles  farther  along  the  coast, 
we  were  more  fortunate  in  our  search  for  water,  the  proximity  of 
which  was  evident  from  the  presence  of  a  rather  large  \Tllage  of 
scattered  huts.  The  most  marked  feature  in  the  vegetation  here 
was  the  large  number  of  Palmyra  palms  {Borassus), — a  rather  coarse- 


152  S  UMBA  WA .  [chap.  vii. 

stemmed  tree  crowned  with  a  disproportionately  small  bvmch  of 
fan -shaped  fronds, — which,  though  conspicuous  enough  in  those 
parts  of  the  island  that  we  visited,  more  especially  from  the  fact 
that  dead  ones  were  exceedingly  numerous,  do  not  so  often  attract 
the  notice  of  the  traveller  in  the  islands  farther  west.  Like  some 
other  palms,  it  flowers  but  once,  and  dies  immediately  afterwards. 
Behind  the  village  a  tremendous  gorge  leads  steeply  upwards 
towards  the  peaks,  through  which  in  the  rainy  season  a  large  body 
of  water  must  find  its  way  to  the  sea.  The  prolonged  drought  had 
reduced  the  stream  to  a  mere  rivulet,  which  flowed  through  a 
wilderness  of  huge  boulders,  but  we  found  enough  water  for  our 
purpose,  and  a  few  hours'  hard  work  sufficed  to  fill  our  tanks.  On 
the  following  day  we  weighed  anchor  and  set  our  course  N.N.E.  for 
Macassar.  Our  visit  to  Sumbawa  had  been  too  short  to  get  any- 
thing more  than  a  passing  glunpse  of  the  country,  and  we  had  been 
disappointed  in  our  plan  of  ascending  Tambora,  but  we  had  added 
considerably  to  the  number  of  our  photographs,  and  by  diligent 
collecting  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  forty  species  of  birds,  two  of 
which,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  were  new  to  science. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CELEBES. 

Macassar — Visits  of  ceremony — Dress  of  the  Dutch  ladies — "Floating  the  liver" — 
Life  in  Macassar — The  King  of  Goa's  house-warming — Bandit  and  butler- — 
Cock-fighting — Visit  to  Maros — A  beautiful  valley — Sail  for  Northern  Celebes — 
The  Spermonde  Archipelago — Menado — Stranding  of  the  Marchesa — Start  for 
the  mountain  district — Lotta — The  "Major  "  of  Tomohon — Arrive  at  Tondano — 
The  coffee  industry — A  doubtful  delicacy — Languages  of  Minahasa — Tondano 
waterfall — Nutmegs  and  Vanilla — The  Kanari  nut — Anoa  depressicornis — Birds 
of  Celebes — Mr.  Wallace  on  the  Dutch  system. 

The  southern  part  of  Celebes  is  affected  by  the  easterly  monsoon 
quite  as  much  as  the  islands  lying  to  the  south  of  it,  and,  as  we 
neared  the  coast,  the  thick  haze  characteristic  of  the  dry  season 
rendered  our  position  a  matter  of  some  uncertainty.  We  at  length 
recognised  the  small  island  of  Tana-keke,  and  passing  through  the 
network  of  shoals  which  here  and  to  the  north  present  considerable 
difficulties  to  navigation,  we  came  to  anchor  in  the  roadstead  of 
Macassar.  We  had  passed  the  guardship  on  entering,  and  two  or 
three  vessels  only  lay  off  the  town,  but  everywhere  innumerable 
praus  were  to  be  seen,  from  the  large  Aru  trader  of  forty  tons  or 
more  to  small  dug-out  canoes.  The  Buginese  are  the  orang  Jchalasi 
— the  seamen — of  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  and  trade  as  far  east- 
ward as  New  Guinea. 

Macassar  is  not  attractive  from  the  sea.  The  land  around  is 
low  and  flat,  and  as  we  landed  the  place  fairly  grilled  in  the  heat, 
which  the  whitewashed  houses  and  the  thick,  greenish-white  water 
of  the  anchorage  helped,  in  appearance  at  all  events,  to  increase. 


154  CELEBES.  [chap. 

But  putting  Java  aside,  it  is  the  most  important  town  in  the  whole 
of  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  the  centre  of  trade  of  a  vast  extent 
of  country.  Ternate,  Amboina,  and  Banda  are  the  only  other 
places  worthy  of  the  name  of  town  ia  Netherlands  India,  but 
though  the  former  of  these  was  settled  earlier  by  the  Portuguese,^ 
and  the  spice  trade  of  the  others  has  been  renowned  for  centuries, 
they  will  always  remain  of  inferior  importance  as  compared  with 
the  more  western  town.  Bata\da  is  the  Singapore  of  the  Dutch ; 
Macassar  their  Hongkong. 

It  is  seldom  that  an  Englisliman  is  found  in  these  regions,  and, 
indeed,  the  traveller,  if  he  be  of  that  nationality,  may  safely 
calcidate  on  seeing  the  last  of  his  countrymen  for  some  time  to 
come  on  leaving  Bata^da  for  a  voyage  to  Celebes  and  the  Moluccas. 
Our  sliips  rarely  cruise  in  these  waters,  but,  just  pre\dous  to  our 
arrival,  H.]\I.S.  Cliampion  had  ^dsited  ]\Iacassar,^the  first  English 
man-of-war,  it  was  said,  that  had  entered  the  port  for  tliii'ty 
years.  AVliether  this  is  accurate  I  do  not  know,  but  the  sliip  was 
received  with  such  kindness  that  the  interval  might  w^ell  have 
been  a  century,  and  the  letters  of  introduction  we  carried  from 
her  officers  ensured  us  a  warmth  of  hospitality  that  was  as  pleasant 
as  it  was  unexpected.  Oui-  first  call  after  presenting  these  was 
upon  the  Governor,  and  though  we  were  more  or  less  acquainted 
with  the  etiquette  to  be  observed  on  these  occasions,  it  is  probable 
that  my  reader  is  not,  and  I  may  as  well  describe  it  once  for  all. 

A  ceremonial  call  is  generally  paid  at  7  p.m.,  dinner  being 
at  a  quarter  or  half-past  eight,  and  a  black  coat  with  tails  is  a  sine 
qud  non.  A  dress-coat  and  waistcoat  are  considered  dc  rigueur,  but 
a  frock-coat  or  even  a  "  cutaway  "  may  be  worn  without  a  breach  of 
decorum.      Tads,  howcA'^er,  are   absolutely  essential,  and   a   coat 

^  A  few  Portuguese  apparently  settled  near  Slacassar  in  1512,  tlie  year  following 
Albuquerque's  conquest  of  Malacca,  but  it  does  not  appear  tbat  tbey  fairly  established 
themselves  until  many  years  later,  whereas  Ternate  had  been  garrisoned  by  De  Brito 
in  1521,  and  was  held  continuously  for  sixty  years.  The  Dutch  occupation  of 
Celebes  dates  from  1660,  in  which  year  they  destroyed  six  Portuguese  ships  off 
Macassar,  captured  their  fort,  and  concluded  an  alliance  with  the  King  of  Goa. 


viri.]  .    DRESS  AND  CUSTOMS  IN  MACASSAR.  155 

destitute  of  these  ornaments,  even  if  black,  would  fail  to  guarantee 
one's  respectability.  The  trousers  should  be  white,  and  a  hat,  even 
if  only  carried,  is  indispensable.  To  Englishmen  this  latter  rule  may 
appear  superfluous,  but  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  no  head-covering 
of  any  kind  is  worn  after  sunset  by  either  sex.  The  guests  on 
arrival  are  seated  round  a  table,  generally  in  the  verandah,  and 
Port,  Madeira,  Hollands,  and  bitters  are  placed  before  them — drinks 
that,  in  defiance  of  the  climate,  no  well-regulated  Dutchman  would 
dream  of  omitting  as  a  prelude  to  dinner.  Manila  chei'oots  are 
handed,  for  smoking  is  of  course  universal,  and  behind  the  master 
of  the  house  squats  a  native  with  a  firestick,  ready  to  respond  to 
the  "  kasi  api  "  of  any  guest  who  may  require  a  light. 

He  must  be  "  robur  et  cvs  tripleo:"  who  would  venture  upon 
gin  and  such  like  fiery  liquids  in  these  latitudes  before  dinner, 
but  the  Dutch  customs  in  Malaysia  are  not  all  so  unsuitable.  In 
the  way  of  dress  especially  the  ladies  are  far  in  advance  of  their 
Anglo-Indian  sisters.  In  the  morning  they  appear  in  native 
costume.  A  short  lace-edged  kibaya  of  thin  white  linen  buttons  up 
to  the  throat,  and  a  silk  sarong  reaches  to  the  feet,  which  are  with- 
out stockings,  and  clad  only  in  a  pair  of  gold-embroidered  Turkish 
slippers.  The  effect,  although  perhaps  at  first  a  little  startling  to 
European  eyes,  is  decidedly  good,  especially  in  a  young  and  pretty 
woman,  and  in  the  way  of  comfort  and  coolness  there  is  little  to 
be  desired.  English  prejudices  are,  I  fear,  too  strong  to  admit  of 
the  adoption  of  such  sensible  garments  in  om-  own  tropical  settle- 
ments, where,  alas !  corsets  and  black  dress-coats  have  taken  too 
deep  a  root  in  the  fashions  to  be  easily  got  rid  of. 

The  society  in  Macassar  was  very  pleasant,  and  not  less  so 
from  the  fact  that  almost  every  one  spoke  English  or  French  nearly 
as  well  as  their  own  language.  One  of  the  first  entertainments  to 
which  we  were  iuAdted  was  a  private  theatrical  performance  fol- 
lowed by  a  ball.  It  was  given  in  a  public  hall,  which  on  Sundays 
served  the  purposes  of  a  church !  A  large  number  of  people  were 
present,  and  we  were  astonished  at  the  abundance  of  the  fair  sex. 


156  CELEBES.  [chap. 

if  indeed  the  "  chocolate  ladies,"  as  they  are  here  termed,  can  be 
included  in  that  category.  There  appeared  to  be  none  of  that 
separation  of  colour  which  is  so  marked  a  feature  where  Briton 
meets  Eurasian.  The  reason  no  doubt  lies  in  the  fact  that,  after  a 
time,  life  in  these  regions  renders  a  return  to  the  gloomy  skies  and 
winter  of  the  north  a  pain  rather  than  a  pleasure.  The  official  in 
Netherlands  India,  condemned  to  a  preposterous  length  of  service 
before  he  can  obtain  furlough,^  feels  that  his  lot  must  be  to  live 
and  die  there,  and  that  his  Fatherland  is  as  impossible  to  him  as 
to  the  Lotus-eaters  : — 

"  For  surely  now  oi;r  liouseliold  hearths  are  cohl  : 
.  .  .  our  looks  are  strange ; 
And  we  should  come  like  ghosts  to  trouble  joy." 

And  so  he  marries  ;  not  perhaps  a  half-caste,  but  some  one  whose 
dark  hair  and  rich  warm  colouring  betray  the  presence  of  other 
than  European  blood.  Should  his  constitution  survive  the  ante- 
prandial port  and  bitters,  he  retires  to  Batavia  or  Buitenzorg  on 
the  completion  of  his  term  of  service,  and  spends  the  remainder  of 
his  life  in  the  society  of  his  fellows. 

The  acting  was  good,  but  the  Uijspel  rather  heavy.  After  it 
was  over  the  seats  were  removed  and  dancing  began.  Champagne 
appears  to  be  a  favourite  wine  with  the  Dutch,  and  the  supply  of 
it  was  inexhaustible.  It  had,  we  learnt,  a  prophylactic  power  of 
which  we  had  till  then  been  ignorant.  The  advent  of  cholera  was 
expected,  and  we  were  instructed  how  to  avoid  it.  "Float  the 
liver,  my  dear  sir ;  keep  your  liver  constantly  floating  in  champagne, 
and  you  will  never  catch  the  cholera,"  was  the  advice  given  us,  and 
every  one  certainly  seemed  to  act  up  to  it  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

The  town  is  much  as  other  Dutch  Malayan  towns.  A  row  of 
white  shops  and  merchants'  offices  lines  the  sea,  and  dust  of  a 
lightness  and  powderiness  that  is  not  excelled  even  in  California 
or  the  Diamond  Fields  covers  the  streets  to  the  depth  of  an  inch 

^  It  is — I  believe  I  am  right  in  saying — as  much  as  fifteen  years. 


VIII.] 


TOWN  OF  MACASSAR. 


157 


or  more.  These  are  otherwise  clean  enough,  and  the  spare  time  of 
the  native  servants — and  they  appear  to  have  plenty  of  it — is 
occupied  in  perpetual  watering.  There  is,  of  course,  a  fort,  and 
equally  of  course,  a  jj/cm.  The  cemetery  is  significantly  full. 
Almost  all  the  tombs  are  kept  whitewashed,  and,  as  many  of 
them  are  curious  chapel-like  erections  with  flying  buttresses,  the 


A    NATIVE    STREET MACASSAR. 


effect  at  a  distance  is  something  between  an  ice -palace  and 
a  clothes'  drying -ground.  The  houses  of  the  Dutch  residents, 
shadowed  in  peepul  or  galela  trees,  stand  back  a  little  distance 
from  the  road — long,  low,  and  cool,  with  thick  white  posts  at  their 
entrance-^ates.  A  Ion"'  avenue  of  magnificent  overarchino;  trees 
leads  eastward  from  the  pier,  adown  which  the  Governor  may  be 
seen  driving  any  afternoon  in  a  four-in-hand  with  sky-blue  reins. 
It  is  lighted  by  means  of  lamps  hung  midway  between  the  trees, 
for  the  Hollander,  even  although  gas  may  be  unattainable,  considers 
civilisation  incomplete  without  these  adjuncts.     Then,  too,  there  is 


158  CELEBES.  [chap. 

the  club,  with  its  zinc-topped  tables  set  out  cafe-fashion  beneath 
the  trees.  It  is  called  the  "  Harmonic,"  as  is  every  Dutch  club  in 
Malaysia,  and  within  all  is  dark  and  cool  and  deserted  during  the 
mid-day  heat.  The  servants  are  curled  up  asleep  behind  the  bar  or 
in  the  corners  of  the  rooms,  and  would  stare  in  dumb  astonishment 
at  the  apparition  of  a  European,  for  the  early  business  of  the  day 
over,  and  the  rijst  tafel  or  lunch  despatched,  the  white  residents 
get  into  their  pyjamas,  and  take  a  siesta  till  three  or  four  o'clock. 
A  couple  of  hours  or  so  are  then  devoted  to  business,  and  towards 
sunset  the  male  portion  of  the  population  meet  at  the  "  Harmonic  " 
to  chat  and  drink  'pV^J*^^-  Billiards  is  the  most  violent  exercise 
taken  ;  cricket,  bowls,  and  lawn-tennis  are  unknown. 

While  we  were  at  Macassar  the  King  of  Goa  gave  a  house- 
warmincc,  to  which  most  of  the  Dutch  and  German  residents  were 
invited.  This  monarch,  although  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Dutch, 
occasions  them  a  considerable  amount  of  inconvenience  from  the 
proximity  of  his  dominions  to  the  town,  and  robberies  by  his 
people  are  not  uncommon.  We  drove  over  in  company  with  some 
of  our  Dutch  friends  through  mile  after  mile  of  padi  field  and  dense 
clouds  of  dust,  which  the  excessive  heat  did  not  render  more  bear- 
able. As  we  neared  our  destination  the  large  number  of  natives 
proceeding  in  the  same  direction  betokened  a  general  holiday. 
The  palace,  which  was  built  of  wood,  was  the  work  of  a  Chinese 
architect,  and  its  exterior  was  gay  with  gold  and  colours.  We 
entered  a  large  room  on  the  first  floor  by  means  of  a  covered  stair- 
way, and  were  duly  introduced  to  royalty.  The  king  and  members 
of  his  family  were  conspicuous  by  wearing  plain  black  satin  sarongs 
without  trace  of  ornamentation,  but  their  hajus  and  caps  were  gold- 
laced,  and  they  carried  krisses  with  beautifully- worked  gold  sheaths. 
Several  Dutch  officials  and  their  wives  had  preceded  us,  and 
numerous  servants  passed  noiselessly  from  guest  to  guest  handing 
trays  of  sweetmeats,  tea,  and  coffee.  Various  hangers-on,  naked 
save  their  caps  and  sarongs,  squatted  in  the  corners  of  the  room, 
and   the   grandchildren   of  the  king,  clad   in   little   else   except 


VIII.]  A  BANDIT  BUTLER.  159 

bracelets  and  rows  of  gold  plaques  hung  upon  the  breast,  trotted 
about  with  evident  delight.  These  latter  ornaments,  which  are 
inscribed  in  rehef  with  verses  from  the  Koran  written  in  Bugis 
character,  are  made  in  Macassar,  and  are  often  of  beautiful  work- 
manship. 

We  learnt  from  an  initiated  Dutchman  that  lager  beer  and 
sagucir  were  being  dispensed  to  a  favoured  few  in  a  corner.     The 


A    GOA    CHIEF. 


latter  is  a  sweet  palm  wine,  not  unlike  cider,  and  is  made  from  the 
juice  of  Arenga  saccharifcra, — a  tree  which,  with  its  thick  fronds 
and  heavy  pendulous  masses  of  globular  green  fruit,  soon  becomes 
a  familiar  object  to  the  traveller  in  Celebes  and  the  Moluccas. 
Our  servitor  had  a  history.  Now  the  major-domo  of  the  king,  and 
a  most  important  personage  in  his  way,  he  had  seen  many  vicissi- 
tudes. By  birth  he  was  apparently  part  Malay,  part  Portuguese, 
and  part  negro,  but  of  however  many  nationalities  he  may  have 
been,  he  was  at  one  time  in  affluent  circumstances.  An  unlucky 
speculation  lost  him  all  his  money — nearly  £4000 — and  he  took  to 
the  road,  or  rather  to  the  mountains,  where  for  eight  years  he 


160  CELEBES.  [chap. 

manacfed  to  elude  the  authorities  and  to  earu  his  livelihood.  At 
length,  however,  he  had  to  give  in,  in  consequence  of  the 
number  of  Dutch  troops  sent  out  against  him.  History  does  not 
relate  the  cause  of  his  being  pardoned,  but  a  more  respectable- 
looking  butler  than  he  appeared  while  directing  the  management 
of  his  cellar  I  never  saw. 

Our  tiffin  was  evidently  intended  to  be  equally  suited  to  Malay 
and  European  tastes.  Various  little  rissoles,  coloured  rice  cakes, 
and  half  a  hundred  other  indescribable  comestibles  were  done  up 
in  neatly -plaited  bamboo  cases  hardly  bigger  than  one's  finger, 
while  a  few  joints  of  mutton  represented  the  cuisine  of  the  West, 
Champagne  and  claret,  both  far  better  than  could  have  been 
expected,  were  handed,  and  after  a  couple  of  speeches  from  the 
Governor  and  their  replies,  we  escaped  gladly  from  a  durian-eating 
neighbour  into  the  fresh  aii-  outside. 

Our  entertainment  terminated,  as  a  matter  of  course,  with 
cockfighting,  a  sport  beloved  by  all  of  Malay  race.  The  spurs 
used  were  about  three  inches  long,  and  made  of  the  blades  of 
razors,  ground  down  to  excessive  thinness.  With  such  weapons 
there  is  but  little  cruelty  in  the  affair.  We  waited  to  see  a  main 
fought  before  we  left.  The  king  and  other  royal  personages  made 
their  bets  ;  the  combatants  w^ere  placed  opposite  to  one  another ; 
they  made  two  feints,  and  in  less  than  half  a  dozen  seconds  the 
vanquished  buxl  lay  motionless  on  the  ground.  Had  he  met  his 
fate  legitimately  at  the  hands  of  the  poulterer  his  death  could  not 
have  been  more  rapidly  effected. 

The  descriptions  of  our  Dutch  friends,  and  the  account  given  by 
Mr.  Wallace  in  his  "  ]\Ialay  Archipelago,"  made  us  anxious  to  pay 
a  visit  to  Maros,  a  district  lying  twenty  or  thirty  miles  north  of 
Macassar,  and  early  one  morning  a  sinall  party  of  us  started  in  a 
steam  launch  kindly  lent  us  for  the  occasion.  We  ran  along  the 
coast  for  some  miles  until  the  mouth  of  the  JMaros  Paver  was  reached, 
but  owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the  water  on  the  bar,  we  had  to 
transliip  into  small  native  boats  to  convey  us  for  the  rest  of  our 


VIII.] 


MAEOS. 


161 


journey,  and  it  was  long  after 
dark  when  we  arrived  at  the 
village,  which  lies  many  miles 
up  stream.  A  small  fort, 
built  in  bygone  days  by  the 
Dutch,  acted  as  a  sort  of  rest- 
house,  but  there  were  only 
two  rooms  and  two  beds,  and 
with  bare  boards 
and  no  mosquito 
nets,  most  of  us 
spent  an  uncom- 
fortable night.  The 
gorge  and  waterfall 


FALLS   OF   THE   MABUS   RIVER 


VOL.   II. 


M 


162  CELEBES.  [chap. 

for  which  Maros  is  famous,  lie  a  considerable  distance  beyond  the 
village,  and  the  path  thither  leads  over  a  vast  plain  stretching 
from  the  sea  to  the  base  of  the  limestone  cliffs,  which  rise 
with  extraordinary  abruptness  from  the  level  rice-fields.  A 
depression  of  a  few  feet  only  would  submerge  a  vast  area  of 
land,  and  brmg  the  sea  to  the  foot  of  these  almost  vertical  walls, 
and  in  past  ages  such  a  condition  no  doubt  actually  existed. 
Curious  outlying  rocks — islands  indeed  they  might  be  called — 
guard  the  entrance  of  the  gorge  from  which  the  river  debouches, 
and  near  one  of  these  we  were  shown  the  site  of  a  battlefield 
where  the  British  forces  encountered  the  natives  at  the  beuinnino- 
of  the  present  century,^ 

I  have  seldom  seen  quainter  scenery  in  the  tropics  than  that 
within  the  gorge.  The  perpendicular  sides  close  in  very  rapidly 
after  passing  the  entrance,  and  become  in  some  places  overhanging, 
with  curious  protuberant  stalagmites  of  huge  size.  The  level 
bottom  of  the  valley,  clothed  at  first  with  bush  and  small  trees, 
soon  becomes  narrow  and  uneven,  hardly  admitting  of  a  path  beside 
the  little  river.  It  is  closed  in  by  a  fall  of  about  fifty  feet  in 
height,  the  water  of  which  slides  gracefully  over  a  half  dome  of 
smooth  basaltic  rock,  which  here,  as  Mr.  Wallace  has  remarked," 
underlies  the  limestone  formation.  Scrambling  up  by  the  side  of  the 
waterfall,  an  upper  gorge  is  reached,  the  scenery  of  which  is  very 
pretty.  The  placid  little  stream  of  milky  blue  water  flows  between 
an  avenue  formed  by  perpendicular  bush-covered  cliffs,  and  half  a 
mile  beyond  there  is  a  second  fall,  in  the  basin  of  which  we  had  a 
most  refreshing  bathe.  Still  farther  the  gorge  contracts  almost  to  a 
fissure,  with  walls  of  great  height. 

The  house  in  which  Mr.  Wallace  had  taken  up  his  quarters  five 
and  twenty  years  before  still  stood  at  the  mouth  of  the  valley, 
although  uninhabited  and  much  out  of  repair.     In  these  countries, 

^  The  Dutch  colonies,  like  the  mother  country,  became  absorbed  in  the  French 
Empire,  and  the  French  Governor-general  of  Java  having  capitulated  to  the  British 
in  1811,  Celebes  was  also  occupied.     It  was  restored  to  the  Dutch  in  1816. 

-  "  Malay  Archipelago, "  Seventh  Edition,  p.  238. 


VIII.]  A   CROCODILE  FARM.  163 

however,  where  palm-leaves  are  plentiful,  it  does  not  take  long  to 
make  a  habitation  comfortable,  provided  the  uprights  are  still 
standing,  and  it  would  be  difficult  for  a  naturalist  to  tind  a 
pleasanter  collecting-ground.  Birds  were  tolerably  abundant,  and 
butterflies  extraordinarily  so,  but  among  the  thousands  that  fluttered 
around  the  pools  we  looked  in  vain  for  the  large  Swallow-tail 
(P.  androdes),  which  is  one  of  the  finest  of  its  genus.  Our  time 
was  too  limited  for  any  serious  collecting,  and  our  naturalists'  bag 
was  a  hght  one  as  we  paddled  down  the  Maros  Eiver  on  our  way 
l^ack  to  Macassar.  We  had  an  opportunity  of  making  a  large 
addition  to  it  in  the  shape  of  a  young  crocodile,  which  we  suddenly 
encountered  lying  asleep  on  the  bank  with  its  mouth  partially 
open.  Our  bullets  failed  to  stop  it,  and  it  instantly  disappeared. 
A  good  story  with  regard  to  these  animals  is  told  of  a  certain  Dutch 
gentleman  whose  name  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  "Malay 
Archipelago."     The  Grovernment  had  offered  a  reward  of  two  dollars 

for  every  crocodile  killed,  and  Mr.  X not  infrequently  claimed 

it.  In  process  of  time  these  claims  became  so  extraordinarily 
numerous  as  to  lead  to  an  investigation,  when  it  was  discovered 
that  he  had  established  a  most  successful  breeding-ground  by  staking 
a  small  reach  of  river  at  some  distance  from  civilisation,  and  that 
his  stock  of  Saurians  was  nearly  as  profitable  as  an  American  cattle- 
ranche  appears  to  be  in  a  prospectus. 

On  Sunday,  the  26th  of  August,  1883 — memorable  in  the 
annals  of  the  East  Indian  Archipelago  as  the  date  of  the  appallmg 
eruption  of  Krakatau  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda — we  left  Macassar 
for  the  north  of  Celebes.  For  forty  miles  or  more  northwards  from 
the  roads  the  coast  is  guarded  by  a  complex  network  of  islands, 
reefs,  and  shoals,  the  navigation  of  which  is  always  avoided  by 
ships,  A  survey  of  this  Spermonde  Archipelago,  as  it  is  called,  had 
just  been  completed  by  the  Dutch,  and  we  resolved  to  attempt  the 
passage.  We  found  the  charts  admirable,  and  had  no  difficulty 
whatever  in  getting  through.  The  route  is  a  great  saving  in  point 
of  distance,  and  can  easily  be  attempted  by  a  steamer,  but  day- 


164  CELEBES.  [chap. 

light  is  necessary.  The  islands  were  all  low  and  sandy,  and 
evidently  supported  a  large  population,  for  they  were  crowded  with 
huts  and  coconut  palms. 

In  spite  of  the  large  size  of  the  island,  and  the  immense  extent 
of  seaboard  it  affords,  the  Dutch  have  practically  no  settlements  in 
Celebes  except  at  Macassar  in  the  south  and  the  district  of  Mina- 
hasa  at  the  extreme  north.  The  former,  as  I  have  already  stated, 
is  chiefly  a  port  of  trade,  but  the  country  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Menado  and  Kema  included  under  the  latter  name  is  one  of  the 
best  coffee -growing  districts  in  the  world,  and  it  was  with  the 
intention  of  seeing  something  of  the  Dutch  system  of  management, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  adding  to  our  zoological  collections,  that 
we  resolved  on  spending  a  month  or  so  in  this  part  of  the  island, 
of  which  Mr.  Wallace's  descriptions  had  led  us  to  form  the  highest 
expectations.  Eealisation  in  these  cases  is  very  often  disappointing, 
but  in  this  instance  it  happily  was  not,  and  I  may  anticipate  by 
saying  that  there  were  few  places  in  our  IMalaysian  cruise  with 
which  we  were  better  pleased. 

On  leaving  the  port  of  Macassar  for  Menado  the  mariner  has, 
roughly  speaking,  to  steer  north  for  four  hundred  and  twenty  miles, 
and  then  east  for  another  three  hundred  before  arriving  at  his 
destination,  and  during  that  time  he  will  have  materially  altered 
his  climate.  He  will  have  crossed  the  equator  and  passed  beyond 
the  Australian  influence  of  the  south-east  monsoon,  and  instead  of 
the  arid  rice-flelds  and  their  attendant  powdery  dust,  he  will  find 
himself  once  more  in  a  region  which,  although  occasionally  sul^ject 
to  drought,  is  practically  one  of  perennial  verdure.  In  our  voyage 
north  our  course  led  us  from  time  to  time  within  sight  of  the  coast, 
an-d  the  mountains  of  the  interior  were  usually  shrouded  in  heavy 
mist  or  rain-cloud,  beneath  which  the  dense  jungle  loomed  out  a 
sombre  green.  Farther  east,  towards  the  end  of  the  peninsula,  the 
land  is  of  lower  elevation,  and  here  we  experienced  better  weather, 
bright  sunshine  alternating  with  heavy  showers.  On  the  morning 
of  the  fourth  day  we  arrived  off  Menado. 


Xainl. 


Loiijjitu.de  East  125'  of  GrcenM-ich 


Stan/ants,  Geay'' l^jih'landen. 


VIII.]  STRAXDIXG  OF  THE  MARCHESA.  165 

The  entrance  to  the  roadstead  is  a  picturesque  one.  Eastward 
the  Klabat  volcano  stands  up  boldly,  its  graceful  cone  nearly  7000 
feet  in  height ;  while  to  the  north  the  little  volcanic  island  of  Tua 
]\Ienado  forms  a  shapely  pp-amid  which  reminded  us  of  Gunong 
Api.  On  the  left  bank  of  a  small  river,  behind  a  bright  sandy 
beach,  the  white  houses  peep  out  here  and  there  between  the  dense 
foliage  of  fruit-trees  and  palms.  But  we  had  little  time  for  ad- 
miring the  scenery,  for  an  event  occurred  on  our  arrival  which  was 
within  an  ace  of  bringing  the  cruise  of  the  Marchesa  to  an  abrupt 
termination. 

The  anchorage  off  JNIenado  is  an  exceedingly  bad  one,  and  is 
only  available  for  ships  during  the  south-east  monsoon.  The 
westerly  monsoon  sends  a  heavy  sea  into  the  bay,  which  is  com- 
pletely exposed,  and  hence,  at  the  latter  season,  any  vessel  A'isiting 
this  part  of  Celebes  is  obliged  to  anchor  at  Kema,  a  small  port  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  peninsula,  whence  the  goods  are  conveyed 
overland  to  Menado.  The  two  towns,  although  only  twenty  miles 
apart  as  the  crow  flies,  are  really  considerably  more  by  road,  owing 
to  the  moimtainous  country  which  has  to  be  traversed.  But  even 
during  the  south-east  monsoon,  the  anchorage  at  Menado  is  ex- 
tremely unsafe,  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  bottom — the  soundings 
decreasing  within  a  few  cables  from  150  to  2  fathoms.  For  this 
reason  hawsers  have  to  be  laid  out  astern  and  made  fast  on  shore,  or 
the  first  puff  of  the  land  wind  drives  the  vessel  off  into  deep  water. 

We  were  about  to  take  up  a  position  which  we  afterwards 
discovered  was  the  Ijest,  when  a  boat  rowed  out  to  us  with  a  half- 
caste  on  board,  who  professed  to  act  as  harbour-master,  and  offered 
to  show  us  the  anchorage  usually  taken  up  by  the  Dutch  gun-boats. 
.  It  did  not  appear  correct  by  our  chart,  but  as  he  seemed  perfectly 
confident,  w^e  dropped  gently  astern  towards  the  place  in  com- 
pliance with  his  instructions.  Directly  afterwards  a  native  lie 
had  brought  on  board  spoke  to  him,  when  he  turned  round 
hurriedly  and  said,  "  Niet  meer  achter," — no  more  astern.  The 
engines  were  put  at  full  speed  ahead  before  he  spoke,  but  it  was 


166  CELEBES.  [chap. 

too  late  and  we  took  the  ground.  The  sea-breeze  blowing  fresh  at 
the  time  the  ship's  head  rapidly  payed  off,  and  in  less  than  a 
minnte  we  were  aground  stem  and  stern. 

A  small  brig  was  lying  a  short  distance  from  us,  and  as  quickly 
as  possible  we  got  hawsers  out  to  her,  and,  when  fast,  weighed  our 
anchor — which  we  had  vainly  let  go  in  the  hope  of  stopping  the 
vessel's  head  from  smnging  round — and  commenced  hauling  off'. 
To  our  dismay,  however,  the  hawser  carried  away,  and  our  bow  was 
in  consequence  driven  farther  on  the  bank  by  the  sea,  which  had 
by  this  time  somewhat  increased.  We  now  began  to  bump  heavily, 
— a  most  unpleasant  sensation — and  as  every  send  of  the  sea 
ground  us  down  more  and  more  into  the  bank,  we  feared  lest  the 
ship  might  become  firmly  fixed  before  we  could  adopt  further 
means  for  getting  her  afloat.  We  sent  ashore  for  large  boats  and 
hands  to  aid  in  getting  out  our  bower  anchor,  and  meanwhile  laid 
our  stream  anchor  out  to  sea  and  got  another  hawser  to  the  brig. 
We  hauled  on  both  only  to  meet  with  another  failure,  for  the 
anchor  "came  home,"  and  for  the  second  time  the  hawser  gave 
under  the  strain.  We  had  now  but  one  chance  left  us, — that  of 
getting  out  our  bower  anchor — which  we  had  been  unable  to  try 
before,  owing  to  the  lack  of  proper  boats.  By  this  time,  however, 
we  had  obtained  a  small  barge,  to  the  stern  of  which  we  slung  the 
anchor,  putting  in  eighty  fathoms  of  chain  cable.  The  cutter  took 
another  thirty,  and  the  two  boats  proceeding  seaward  let  go  in 
twenty-three  fathoms,  an  operation  attended  with  some  difficulty, 
owing  to  the  uncomfortable  sea  running  at  the  time.  This  time 
we  were  successful,  and  between  2  and  3  p.m.  the  Marcliesa  floated 
off  into  deep  water,  ha^dng  been  ashore  five  hours. 

Our  troubles  were  nevertheless  not  yet  over,  for  the  cable  smashed 
at  a  shackle  when  anchoring  for  the  second  time,  and  we  lost  our 
anchor.  We  were  more  fortunate  on  the  third  trial,  letting  go  in 
55  fathoms  and  veering  to  145  fathoms.  We  then  made  fast  with 
two  hawsers  to  the  shore,  and  felt  that  we  had  earned  some  rest. 
All  hands  w^ere  fairly  tired  out. 


VIII.]  MEN  ADO.  167 

We  had  been  told  that  the  wind  would  drop  about  noon,  but 
this  prognostication  proved  incorrect,  for  it  increased  in  violence 
during  the  day,  and  in  the  evening  the  surf  was  so  heavy  that  two 
of  our  party  who  had  gone  ashore  were  unable  to  get  off  to  the 
ship.  Had  we  failed  in  our  final  endeavour  the  Marclicsa  w^ould 
have  made  her  last  voyage.  The  natives  of  the  place,  who  had 
seen  more  than  one  vessel  lost  here,  were  rather  surprised  at  our 
good  fortune.  The  so-called  harbour -master,  who  had  been  the 
sole  cause  of  the  occurrence,  took  good  care  to  keep  out  of  our  way. 
Our  only  consolation  was  that  the  yacht,  which  was  a  very  strongly- 
built  vessel,  appeared  to  be  quite  uninjured.^ 

Our  misfortunes  had  caused  us  early  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  chief  Dutch  residents  in  the  place,  and  through  their 
kindness  we  had  but  little  difficulty  in  procuring  horses  and  oxen 
to  take  us  to  the  Tondano  lake,  which  lies  in  the  mountainous 
district  in  the  middle  of  the  peninsula.  We  started  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  1st  of  September,  and  as  we  crawled  slowly  through 
the  village  in  an  ox  waggon  we  had  every  opportunity  of  admiring 
its  beauties.  It  is,  I  think,  the  prettiest  settlement  in  the  whole 
of  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  Each  little  cottage  is  surrounded  with 
its  garden  and  fruit  orchard,  and  the  neatly-trimmed  hedges  fairly 
blaze  with  scarlet  hibiscus.  Pink  ixoras  and  magnificent  crotons 
of  many  varieties,  some  of  them  five  and  twenty  feet  or  more  in 
height,  add  to  the  colouring.  The  village  is  in  reality  a  vast 
garden,  and  an  exceedingly  productive  one  to  boot. 

The  road  for  nearly  five  miles  was  excellent,  and  we  walked 
along  shooting  by  the  way,  for  our  bullocks  went  but  slowly, 
and  the  gardens  of  fruit-trees,  nutmegs,  and  cacao  were  full  of 
birds.      The   latter   tree  has   lately  been   a  failure,  owing  to   a 

-  ,  ^  The  method  adopted  by  the  captain  of  the  brig  foi*  anchoring  in  Menado  ■will 
amuse  my  nautical  readers.  On  approaching  the  port — with  which  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted— he  let  down  his  anchor  with  60  fathoms  of  cable  attached  and  went  in 
under  all  plain  sail.  Directly  the  anchor  took  the  ground  he  shortened  sail,  and 
as  the  ship  swung  to  the  sea-breeze,  the  hawsers  were  got  out,  and  she  was  soon  fast 
head  and  stern. 


168  CELEBES.  [chap. 

peculiar  disease  whicli  causes  the  pod  to  shrivel  up  after  it  has 
been  fully  formed,  and  it  is  in  consequence  no  longer  planted. 
One  of  the  commonest  birds  we  found  was  a  kind  of  starling 
(Scissirostrum  cluhium),  with  a  most  peculiar  bill,  and  with  the 
feathers  of  the  rump  tipped  with  scarlet,  in  a  manner  somewhat 
resembling  the  wing  of  the  Bohemian  waxwing.  It  appeared  to 
be  very  abundant,  packing  m  small  flocks  and  frequenting  the 
tops  of  trees.  This  bird  is  peculiar  to  Celebes,  and  it  was  with 
the  greatest  interest  that  I  watched  it  for  the  first  time,  for,  as 
I\Ir.  Wallace  has  long  ago  remarked,  it  has  no  representative  in 
any  of  the  surrounding  islands,  and  is  perhaps  more  closely  allied 
to  the  tick-eating  Buphaga  of  Southern  Africa  than  to  any  other 
bird.  Another  equally  interesting  bird  which  fell  to  our  guns  was 
the  Eacquet-tailed  Parrot  {Prioniturus  platurus),  a  genus  which  is 
confined  to  Celebes  and  the  Philippines.  On  our  way  we  met  a 
man  carrying  a  small  animal  with  thick  woolly  fur — a  little 
Phalanger  {Cuscus),  peculiar  to  Celebes,  which,  after  some  dis- 
cussion, he  consented  to  part  with  for  a  guilder.  These  animals, 
which  are  characteristic  of  the  Austro-]Malayan  svib-region,  make 
very  engaging  pets,  and  we  had  two  or  three  different  species  of 
them  on  board  the  yacht  during  her  cruise  in  the  archipelago. 
They  are  about  the  size  of  a  rabbit,  and  appear  to  be  entirely 
arboreal  in  their  habits,  climbing  slowly  about  among  the  branches 
of  the  trees  on  which  they  feed,  aided  by  their  long  claws  and 
prehensile  tail,  which  is  completely  bare  for  some  inches  at 
the  tip. 

Our  road  led  southward,  and  about  a  couple  of  miles  before 
reaching  Lotta,  a  pretty  little  village  with  about  two  hundred 
inhabitants,  we  commenced  a  steady  ascent,  and  left  the  gardens 
of  Menado  behind  us.  Our  bullocks  were  so  poor  that  it  soon 
became  doubtful  whether  we  should  reach  Tondano  that  evening, 
although  it  was  only  twenty -two  miles  from  our  starting-place 
and  we  were  provided  with  relays.  As  we  went  on  the  road 
became  still  steeper,  and  our  dak  not  having  been  well  laid,  in 


VIII.J 


THE  ROAD  TO   TOXDAXO. 


169 


Anglo-Indian  phraseology,  the  doubt  soon  resolved  itself  into  a 
certainty.  At  sunset  we  had  made  little  more  than  ten  miles,  the 
steep  climb  and  bad  road  having  obliged  us  several  times  to  out- 
span  and  rest  our  bullocks.  We  had  reached  an  altitude  of  two  or 
three  thousand  feet  on  the  shoulder  of  the  Lokon  volcano,  and  the 
road,  skirting  a  deep  ravine  filled  with  a  wild  tangle  of  jungle, 
gave  us  a  magnificent  view  of  the  country.     Opposite  to  us,  across 


ON   THE   ROAD   TO    TONDAXO. 


the  gorge.  Mount  Klabat  hid  the  Gunong  Sodara  and  other  volcanoes 
from  our  sight,  its  summit  touched  by  the  settmg  sun ;  and  to  our 
left  lay  the  Bay  of  Menado,  where  we  could  just  discern  the  two 
ships  lying  at  anchor.  Large  tree-ferns  were  very  abundant  here, 
and  formed  a  marked  feature  in  the  foreground  of  our  landscape. 
The  dampness  and  mossiness  of  the  forest  indicated  the  heavy 
rainfall  that  these  elevated  regions  experience,  and  the  trees  were 
covered  with  a  marvellously  luxuriant  growth  of  parasitic  plants 
and  creepers. 

For  more  than  an  hour  we  trudo-ed  on  through  the  darkness 


170  CELEBES.  [chap. 

before  reaching  the  village  of  Tomohou,  where  we  inquired  for  a 
night's  lodging  at  the  house  of  the  "Major."^  From  Mr.  Wallace's 
description  of  the  "Major"  of  this  identical  village  just  a  quarter  of 
a  century  before,  we  were  not  unprepared  for  the  reception  we  ex- 
perienced. Our  host  was  a  new  one,  but  the  house  perhaps  was  the 
same.  It  was  a  pretty  cottage  standing  in  a  little  garden  bright 
with  flowers,  with  a  deep  verandahed  room  leading  to  another 
sitting-room  beyond.  Behind  these  were  four  bedrooms  and  the 
kitchen  and  offices.  The  sitting-room  was  furnished  just  as  a 
Swedish  post-house  might  be : — white-painted  walls  and  floor, 
white  muslin  curtains,  a  duplex  lamp,  two  sofas,  a  circular  table 
with  books,  a  portrait  of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  and  a 
large  six-tune  musical -box.  We  were  reminded  of  Mr.  Wallace's 
description,  and  felt  with  him  how  difficult  it  was  to  believe  that 
our  host's  grandfather  had  worn  "a  strip  of  bark  as  his  sole 
costume,  and  lived  in  a  rude  hut  abundantly  decorated  wdth  human 
heads." 

Much  of  the  neatness  and  nice  appearance  of  the  house  was  no 
doubt  owing  to  our  hostess,  a  pretty  but  rather  shy  little  Dutcli 
girl  who  had  married  the  "  ]\Iajor  "  only  a  few  weeks  jDreviously ; 
he  having  settled  the  sum  of  5000  guilders  on  her  parents.  Xeither 
of  them  seemed  to  regret  this  somewhat  extraordinary  transaction, 
and  they  were  evidently  a  most  attached  couple.  The  Major  was 
a  bit  of  a  musician  in  Ms  way,  and  favoured  us  after  dinner  with  a 
tune  on  the  accordion  when  the  large  musical-box  had  exhausted 
its  repertoire.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  this  was  almost  the 
only  occasion  in  Netherlands  India  on  which  we  were  called  upon 
to  speak  Dutch,  for  our  hostess  was  unacquainted  with  any  language 
but  her  own  and  Malay,  and  our  knowledge  of  the  latter  was  hardly 
sufficient  for  conversational  purposes. 

The  high  elevation  of  Tomohon  caused  us  to  feel  the  night  and 

^  "Major"  is  tlie  title  given  by  the  Dutch  to  the  village  chiefs  in  these  districts. 
They  superintend  the  coffee  industry  in  their  own  parishes,  and  receive  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  produce. 


viil]  TOMOHON.  171 

early  morning  air  almost  too  cold  to  be  pleasant,  and  though  the 
thermometer  could  not  have  been  much,  if  at  all,  below  7*0°  Fahr. 
we  were  glad  of  a  thick  blanket.  We  bade  our  kind  host  and 
hostess  adieu  after  a  cup  of  excellent  coffee,  and  continued  our 
journey.  Nothing  can  be  more  absolutely  neat  and  clean  than 
these  Minahasa  villages.  Indeed  their  perfection  of  tidiness  would 
be  almost  irritating  were  it  not  for  the  beauty  of  the  flowers  and 
the  tropical  vegetation.  The  roads  are  ditched  on  either  side,  and 
beyond  are  the  bamboo  fences  of  the  gardens,  all  aligned  with  the 
greatest  care  and  regularity.  Above  them,  topped  down  with 
whimsical  preciseness  to  the  same  level,  rise  the  hedges  of  coleus 
or  holly-hock,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  cottager.  Here  and 
there  the  hedge  is  of  climbing  roses,  but  these  are  evidently  con- 
sidered too  untidy  to  be  adopted  by  the  well-regulated  majority. 
As  I  picked  a  bud,  and  looked  over  into  one  of  the  gardens,  which 
seemed  as  carefully  tended  as  that  of  a  suburban  villa,  I  felt  it 
hard  to  realise  the  fact  that  the  owner  was  what  an  Englishman, 
in  the  expressive  language  of  his  country,  would  term  a  nigger. 

Just  beyond  the  village  of  Tomohon  the  ground  is  swampy,  and 
is  given  up  to  tlie  cultivation  of  the  Sagueir  palm.  To  the  wine 
obtained  by  the  fermentation  of  its  juice  I  have  alluded  on  a  previous 
page,  but  it  is  also  largely  used  for  making  sugar.  This  tree 
when  young  has  a  leaf- sheathed  trunk  of  tolerable  height,  but 
when  full  grown  the  stem  is  straight  and  smooth  at  the  base. 
Another  palm,  apparently  a  species  of  Borassus,  was  also  growing 
in  some  abundance.  About  a  mile  farther  on  our  road  we  came 
upon  the  first  regular  coffee-plantations  we  had  seen  in  the  hills. 
The  trees  were  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  high,  planted  very 
closely  together  beneath  a  thin  shade  of  tall,  bare-stemmed  forest- 
trees.  There  was  an  abundance  of  berries,  many  of  which  were 
turning  red.  The  ground  beneath  was  carefully  cleared,  but  the 
trees  themselves  were  in  most  instances  covered  with  moss  and 
small  ferns.  In  other  plantations  we  found  a  much  better  cultiva- 
tion, the  trees  well  pruned  and  planted  at  wider  intervals.     They 


172  CELEBES.  [chap. 

were   looking   well,  and   there  was   no  trace   of  disease   of  any 
kind. 

After  a  slight  ascent  we  rounded  a  sudden  corner  and  the  lake 
of  Tondano  lay  below  us,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  about  eight 
miles  long.  The  mist  of  the  morning  had  cleared  away,  and  the 
view  was  lovely.  Northwards  a  long  stretch  of  yellow  padi  field 
bounded  the  lake,  which  on  the  western  side  was  shut  in  Ijy  steep 
hills  clothed  with  thick  jungle.  A  quick  descent  on  a  good  road 
brought  us  to  the  little  village  of  Tata-aran  Tomohon — hardly 
longer  than  its  name,  and  shortly  before  noon  we  drew  up  before  a 
pleasant-looking  house,  the  residence  of  the  Kontroleur  of  Tondano, 
whose  guests  we  were  to  be. 

Our  host  was  a  very  handsome  man  of  about  five  and  thirty, 
who  had  been  specially  appointed  to  the  district  by  the  Dutch 
Government  on  account  of  his  knowledge  of  coffee-planting.  We 
found  him  reading  the  "  Eevue  des  Deux  Mondes,"  and  soon  dis- 
covered that  his  ideas  were  by  no  means  exclusively  centred  in 
coffee.  Keenly  interested  in  European  aftairs,  in  politics,  and  in 
art,  he  proved  a  most  pleasant  companion,  and,  by  his  kindness  and 
readiness  to  show  us  the  district,  made  our  visit  a  most  agreeable 
one.  In  addition  to  his  own  language  he  spoke  Malay,  Javanese, 
and  Tondano,  besides  English,  French,  and  German, 

The  coffee-tree  was  first  introduced  into  the  Minahasa  district 
in  1822,  and  thirty  years  later  about  five  million  trees  had  been 
planted.  It  has  been  the  means  of  converting  the  country  from  a 
wilderness  of  jungle,  peopled  by  head-huntmg  savages,  into  a 
well-cultivated  garden  tilled  by  natives  who  are  almost  without 
exception  Christians.  Yet  this  result  has  been  brought  about  by  a 
system  which  most  Englishmen  would  condemn  untried — that  of 
enforced  labour.  Any  person  of  the  peasant  class  not  having  a 
trade  is  compelled  by  law  to  plant  coffee.  Each  must,  if  required, 
plant  twenty-five  trees  every  year,  but  the  number  depends  on  his 
last  year's  production,  and  is  regulated  by  the  Kontroleur,  who 
can  order  him  to  plant  more,  or  less,  or  none  at  all,  according  to 


VIII.]  THE  COFFEE  INDUSTRY.  173 

circumstances.  There  are  Government  plantations  in  every  village, 
and  both  the  land  and  the  seedlings  are  supplied  by  the  State. 
The  tree  does  remarkably  well,  being  unaffected  as  yet  by  disease 
of  any  consequence,  and  gives  two  or  three  heavy  crops  in  the  year. 
This  is  in  great  measure  owing  to  the  equable  rainfall,  the  north  of 
Celebes  herein  differing  greatly  from  Java,  which  is  exposed  to  a 
long-continued  drought  during  the  easterly  monsoon  and  excessive 
rains  in  tlie  wet  season.  The  berry  is  of  particularly  good  flavour, 
and  finds  its  market  chiefly  in  Eussia,  fetching  a  far  higher  price 
than  that  produced  in  Java. 

All  the  coffee  thus  grown  by  the  natives  has  to  be  sold  to 
Government  at  a  fixed  price.  It  is  divided  into  two  qualities,  for 
which  fourteen  and  seven  guilders  -^  are  respectively  paid  per  ^Jt'ci// 
of  133  lbs.  This  price  is,  however,  not  all  that  it  actually  costs 
the  Dutch  Government,  since  presents  have  to  be  given  to  the 
head-men,  and,  as  the  money  is  paid  for  the  produce  on  the  spot, 
the  cost  of  transit  is  very  considerable.  Of  these  two  qualities 
the  best  is  sold  by  Government  at  seventy  guilders  the  ^jzc?^/.  It 
is  apparently  entirely  for  export,  as  it  is  not  to  be  bought  in 
Menado,  and  the  Government  guarantee  the  quality,  so  that  a 
European  grower  cannot  obtain  more  than  sixty  guilders  for  the 
same  article.  The  second  quality,  which  is  drunk  throughout 
Minahasa,  is  so  little  inferior  that  it  needs  a  connoisseur  to  detect 
the  difference,  yet  it  is  obtainable  for  fifteen  guilders. 

The  annual  produce  of  the  j\Iinahasa  district  amounts  to  about 
15,000  jj-icM^s — roughly  speaking,  2,000,000  lbs.  At  the  present 
time  the  industry  is  by  no  means  so  lucrative  as  it  used  to  be,  not 
from  any  failure  in  the  crop,  but  chiefly  from  the  fact  that  much 
money  has  been  lately  expended  in  opening  up  the  country  and 
making  roads.  Another  reason  lies  in  the  scarcity  of  labour,  which 
seems  principally  owing  to  the  great  mortality  among  the  children. 
Thus  it  is  not  common  for  a  woman  to  rear  more  than  one  or 

^  The  guilder  is  nearly  equivalent  to  the  rupee  ;  twelve  and  a  lialf  at  that  time 
making  the  English  sovereign. 


174 


CELEBES. 


[chap. 


two  children,  yet  they  often  bear  eight  or  ten.  The  "  Major "  of 
Tomohon,  for  example,  was  the  last  of  a  family  of  thirteen.  Our 
friend  ]\Ir.  Van  de  Ven,  the  Kontroleur,  ascribed  tliis  large  mfant 


FKCIT   A^'D   FLOWER   OF   THE   COFFEE-TREE. 


mortality  to  a  form  of  malarial  fever  which  is  said  to  be  not  un- 
common in  the  low  land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  lake,  but  it  did 
not  seem  to  me  that  this  accounted  for  it  satisfactorily.  In  Mr. 
Wallace's  time  the  death-rate  appears  to  have  been  equally  high. 


VIII.]  VARIETY  OF  LANGUAGES  IN  MINAHASA.  175 

Should  a  Dutchman  wish  to  plant  coffee,  he  is  permitted  to  do 
so,  the  system  being  only  a  Government  monopoly  as  far  as  the 
natives  are  concerned.  He  is  allowed  to  take  up  land  at  a  rental 
of  one  guilder  per  houw,  and  pays  a  head  tax  of  a  dollar  on  his 
coolies.  The  wages  of  the  latter  are  six  guilders  a  month,  and  a 
catty  (1|  lbs.)  of  rice  per  diem.  Every  adult  male  is,  however, 
compelled  to  give  thirty-six  days  in  the  year  to  the  service  of  the 
Government,  for  road  repair  and  work  of  a  like  nature,  or  else  to 
pro\dde  a  substitute. 

Mr.  Van  de  Yen  told  us  a  curious  fact  about  the  Minahasa 
coffee.  There  is  an  insect  peculiar  to  the  district — or  at  least  not 
found  in  Java — which  eats  its  way  into  the  bean.  The  berries 
thus  attacked  are  much  esteemed  for  their  flavour,  and  are  picked 
separately  and  sold  at  a  high  price.  We  were  unable  to  procure 
a  specimen  of  this  grub.  Still  more  curious  is  a  similar  fact 
occurring  in  some  parts  of  Java,  for  the  authenticity  of  which  the 
Kontroleur  vouched.  A  "  species  of  wild  cat "  (probably  Vivcrra 
tangalunrja)  is  said  to  eat  the  berry  for  the  sake  of  its  fleshy  peri- 
carp. The  bean  remains  undigested,  and  is  gathered  as  a  great 
delicacy. 

That  the  languages  of  the  ]\Ialay  Archipelago  are  innumerable 
can  nowhere  be  better  realised  than  in  the  north  of  Celebes.  Here, 
ill  a  small  tract  of  country  sixty  miles  by  twenty,  more  than  a 
dozen  are  spoken.  Some  of  these  may  perhaps  be  more  or  less 
dialectic,  but  the  majority  are  said  to  be  quite  distinct,  and  the 
people  of  the  different  tribes  cannot  make  themselves  understood 
except  through  the  medium  of  INIalay,  although,  perhaps,  their 
\dllages  may  be  within  three  miles  of  one  another.  Lying  as  it  does 
in  such  a  central  position  in  the  archipelago,  Celebes  appears  to 
have  drawn  its  languages  from  several  sources :  from  the  Philippines, 
from  the  Malay  Islands  to  the  west  and  south,  from  the  Papuan 
region,  and,  possibly,  from  some  of  the  islands  of  North  Polynesia.^ 
But  whatever  may  have  been  their  origin,  there  is  no  doubt  that  at 

1  Wallace,  "The  Malay  Archipelago,"  Seventh  Edition,  pp.  262  and  605. 


176  CELEBES.  [chap. 

one  time,  not  veiy  long  ago,  there  were  three  distmct  and  powerful 
tribes  living  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Tondano  lake,  without 
taking  into  consideration  others  established  on  the  east  coast. 
They  were  the  Tondano,  Tonbulu,  and  Tonsaya, — the  "  men  of  the 
lake,"  "  men  of  the  bamboo,"  and  "  strangers."  The  Tonsaya  lived 
to  the  south  of  the  lake,  and,  as  their  name  implies,  were  later 
comers,  while  the  Tonbulu,  so  called  from  the  legend  that  their 
ancestors  sprang  from  a  bamboo — inhabited  Tomohon,  which  word 
has  the  same  meaning.  Until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
or  even  later,  these  tribes  were  always  at  war  with  each  other,  and 
even  now,  although  they  are  on  perfectly  friendly  terms,  no  inter- 
marriage ever  takes  place,  and  each  man  keeps  to  the  villages  of 
his  tribe.  This  custom  tends,  of  course,  to  preserve  the  type  as 
well  as  the  language,  and  Mr,  Van  de  Ven  told  us  that  he  could  at 
a  glance  distinguish  between  individuals  of  the  different  tribes,  but 
I  was  unable  to  do  so  myself.  That  it  takes  some  little  time  to 
learn  the  alphabet  of  physiognomy  among  new  peoples  I  knew 
from  my  own  experience  in  other  countries,  but  when  once  learnt 
the  student  probably  w^onders  how  he  could  have  failed  to  discern 
what  he  now  perceives  to  be  strongly -marked  characteristics. 
Similarities  or  dissimilarities,  as  noticed  by  a  passing  traveller, 
are  as  a  rule  of  little  value.  To  us  the  people  of  all  these  districts 
appeared  pleasant-looking,  and  some  of  the  women  were  decidedly 
pretty.  The  faces  were  broader,  but  less  flat  than  the  usual  Malay 
type.  Their  contented  look  struck  us  greatly.  Every  one  saluted 
us  smilingly,  but  perfectly  naturally  and  independently,  and  with- 
out a  trace  of  cringing. 

On  Sunday  we  visited  the  church.  It  was  a  Ijuilding  of  the 
most  severely  simple  style ;  a  large,  square,  whitewashed  room 
filled  with  pews,  and  with  a  print  of  Ecce  Homo  where  the  altar 
would  have  been  in  an  English  church.  There  was  a  congregation 
of  about  450  people,  who  were  listening  attentively  to  the  preacher 
— himself  a  native.  The  centre  of  the  church  was  occupied  chiefly 
by  women ;  the  back  and  sides  by  the  men,  but  this  arrangement 


VIII.]  NATIONAL  SCHOOLS.  177 

was  apparently  optional.  ^Ir.  A'an  de  Yen  told  us  that  when  the 
Dutch  missionary  preached  there  were  often  as  many  as  700 
people  present.  The  increase  in  attendance  had  necessitated  the 
construction  of  a  new  chapel,  which  was  then  nearly  finished. 
The  service  in  use  was  that  of  the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church. 

Schools  are  also  established  in  all  these  villaqes,  and  at  Tomohon 
we  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  one.  As  far  as  appliances 
were  concerned,  it  was  superior  to  an  English  national  school,  but 
it  was  empty  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  and  w^e  saw  notliing  of  the 
teaching.*  The  schoolmistress  was  a  pleasant  Dutch  woman,  who, 
in  addition  to  two  native  languages,  spoke  English,  French,  and 
German.  Before  we  left  the  Netherlands'  India  we  began  to  feel 
almost  aggTieved  at  meeting  any  one  unable  to  converse  with  us  in 
our  own  language. 

The  waterfall  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tondano  is  one  of  the 
lions  of  Celebes,  although  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  no 
tourists  to  visit  it.  A  small  river  about  fifteen  yards  broad  and 
four  or  five  feet  deep  fiows  out  of  the  north  end  of  the  lake, 
and  after  a  rapid  course  of  a  mile  through  the  richest  vegetation, 
precipitates  itself  into  a  gorge — which  must  be  six  or  seven  hundred 
feet  in  depth — to  reach  the  plain  Ijelow,  ultimately  joining  the 
sea  at  ]Menado.  The  river  descends  in  a  series  of  falls,  of  wdiich 
the  uppermost  is  alone  accessible.  It  is  not  more  than  100  feet  in 
height,  but  the  scene  is  one  of  great  beauty,  owing  to  the  luxuriant 
gTOwth  of  vegetation  around,  tree-ferns  and  tangled  masses  of 
giant  creeper  hiding  tlie  perpendicular  clifts  from  view.  Below, 
the  stream  dashes  through  a  narrow,  rugged  gorge  to  another  fall, 
which  is  invisible  from  above.  The  xi^w  from  the  plain  beneath 
must  be  magnificent,  Ijut  the  descent  offered  such  difficulties,  owing 
to  the  thickness  of  the  jungle,  that  we  had  to  abandon  it. 

We  spent  three  or  four  days  very  pleasantly  in  ]\Ienado,  chiefly 

occupied  in  collecting  in  the  beautiful  plantations  round  the  ^^llage. 

Xutmegs  and  vanilla  were  the  most  important  crops,  and  the  long 

black  pods  of  the  latter  filled  the  air  with  a  delicious  fragrance  as 

VOL.  II.  N 


178 


CELEBES. 


[CHAl- 


they  lay  drying  on  large  trays  round  the  houses.     The  nutmeg, 
which  is  a  fine  shrubby  tree  with  polished  dark  green  leaves,  bears 


WATERFALL    NEAR    TOXDAXO. 


a  yellowish,  fleshy  fruit  not  unlike  a  peach.  When  ripe  it  splits 
longitudinally,  disclosing  the  scarlet  network  of  mace  within,  wliich 
in  its  turn  overlies  an  inner  husk  enclosino-  the  nutmes  as  it  is 


viir.]  THE  KAXARI  NUT.  179 

known  to  us  in  Europe.  Both  nutmegs  and  mace  are  sent  to  the 
Singapore  market,  and  it  is  essential  that  the  latter  should  arrive 
before  it  has  lost  its  scarlet  colour  and  faded  to  yellow,  which  is 
the  condition  in  which  it  eventually  reaches  London.  The  nutmegs 
are  sliipped  to  Singapore  m  their  inner  shells,  which  are  there 
removed  before  they  are  despatched  to  Europe.^ 

It  was  in  Menado  that  we  made  our  lEirst  acquaintance  with  the 
Kanari  nut — an  event  to  be  remembered,  for  when  eaten  fresh  it 
is,  I  think,  incomparably  superior  to  any  nut  I  ever  tasted.  The 
Kanari- tree  grows  to  a  very  great  height,  and  bears  a  fleshy  fruit 
enclosing  a  shell  of  extreme  hardness — so  hard  indeed  that  it  needs 
a  heavy  hammer  to  break  it.  Witlihi  are  from  one  to  three  kernels, 
covered  with  a  thin  skin,  and  on  this  being  removed  the  nut  falls 
into  a  number  of  irregular  flakes,  snowy  white,  and  of  delicious 
flavour.  The  flesh  of  the  Kanari  is  eaten  by  large  pigeons,  but  the 
gTeat  Black  Cockatoo  of  Xew  Guinea  {Microglossus  aterrimus),  by 
means  of  his  enormously  powerful  beak,  is  able  to  open  the  nut 
itself.  The  labour  is  considerable,  but  the  bird  may  be  considered 
to  be  amply  rewarded. 

Our  collections  grew  apace  in  tliis  part  of  Celebes,  one  of  the 
most  noteworthy  additions  being  a  young  bull  Sapi-utan  (Anoa 
depresdcornis)  which  we  obtained  alive  from  a  native.  This  animal, 
one  of  the  many  peculiar  Celebesian  forms,  though  considered  by 
anatomists  to  be  most  closely  allied  to  the  buffaloes,  has  no  gTeat 
resemblance  to  any  of  the  wild  oxen,  and  is  rather  antelopean  in 
appearance.  The  horns  are  short  and  lather  slender,  depressed, 
ringed  at  the  base,  and  pointing  nearly  straight  backwards;  the 
body  small  but  powerful ;  the  limbs  clean.  The  little  creature, 
which  appeared  to  be  about  two  years  old,  and  was  very  tame  and 
tractable,  was  destined  for  the  Zoological  Gardens,  but  he  never 
reached  England,  succumbing  in  the  following  year  to  the  effects  of 
a  gale  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

Many  of  the  birds  of  Celebes  are  of  great  beauty,  although 

'    Vide  illustration  on  p.  211. 


180  CELEBES.  [chap. 

several  of  the  more  vividly-coloured  forms  met  with  in  Borneo, 
Java,  and  the  Malay  Peninsula  are  wanting.     Perhaps  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  is  a  tiny  Pigeon  (Ptilojnis  melanoccphalus),  with 
shining  green  body  and  French  grey  head.     At  the  nuque  is  a 
small  black  velvety  patch,  the  throat  and  vent  are  bright  yellow, 
and  the  under  tail-coverts  crimson.     New  Guinea  is  the  home  of 
many  species  of  this  genus,  which  are  yet  more  brilliantly  coloured. 
The  plantations  abounded  with  a  species  of  Golden  Oriole,  bright 
green  Lorikeets  with  scarlet  heads  {Loriculus  stigmatus),  and  a  Brush- 
tongued  Lory  (TrkJwglossus  ornatus),  gay  in  a  dress  of  dark  blue, 
scarlet,  yellow,  and  green.     This  last  bird  is  the  most  western 
representative  of  a  Papuan  genus  of  parrots  possessed  of  extensile 
tongues,  with  the  tip  formed  by  a  bunch  of  fine  filaments  which 
are  admirably  adapted  for  sucking  up  the  juices  of  the  soft  fruits 
on  which  these  creatures  live.     Kingfishers  were  very  numerous  on 
the  river  and  in  the  forest,  and  we  obtained  no  less  than  ten  dif- 
ferent kinds  during  our  stay  in  the  north  of  Celebes.     Temminck's 
Pioller  (Coracias  temmincJci)  also  fell  to  our  guns, — a  dark  sapphire- 
coloured  bird,  with  the  head  and  upper  tail-coverts  of  pale  greenish 
blue, — especially  interesting  as  an  instance  of  discontinuous  dis- 
tribution, for  no  other  Piollers  are  found  in  the  Malayan  region. 

We  had  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  any  of  the  curious 
Megapodes  or  Mound-builders,  whose  method  of  nestmg  we  were 
very  anxious  to  see,  and  accordingly  we  determined  on  visiting 
the  islands  and  coast  to  the  north  with  that  object.  But  before 
lea\Ting  Menado  and  the  coffee  districts,  with  their  "iniquitous 
system "  of  management  by  the  Dutch,  I  cannot  forbear  quoting 
Mr.  Wallace's  words  ^  upon  this  subject,  with  which,  so  far  as  our 
limited  visit  permitted  of  a  judgment,  I  confess  I  entirely  agree : — 

"  No  clovibt  the  system  seems  open  to  serious  objection.     It  is  to  a  ceitain 
extent  despotic,  and  interferes  with  free  trade,  free  labour,  and  free  communi- 
cation.    A  native  cannot  leave  his  village  without  a  pass,  and  cannot  engage 
himself  to  any  merchant  or  captain  without  a  Government  permit.      The 
1  "Wallace,  o^).  cit.  p.  256. 


viir.]  MR.    WALLACE  ON  TEE  DUTCH  SYSTEM.  181 

coffee  has  all  to  be  sold  to  Government  at  less  than  half  the  price  that  the 
local  merchant  would  give  for  it,  and  he  consequently  cries  out  loudly 
against  'monopoly'  and  'oppression.'  He  forgets,  however,  that  the 
coffee -plantations  were  established  by  the  Government  at  great  outlay  of 
capital  and  skill  ;  that  it  gives  free  education  to  the  people,  and  that  the 
monopoly  is  in  lieu  of  taxation.  He  forgets  that  the  product  he  wants  to 
purchase  and  make  a  profit  by  is  the  creation  of  the  Government,  without 
whom  the  people  would  stiU  be  savages.  He  knows  very  well  that  free  trade 
would,  as  its  first  result,  lead  to  the  importation  of  whole  cargoes  of  arrack, 
which  would  be  carried  over  the  country  and  exchanged  for  coffee  ;  that 
drunkenness  and  poverty  would  spread  over  the  land  ;  that  the  public  coffee- 
plantations  woiLld  not  be  kept  up  ;  that  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the 
coffee  woidd  soon  deteriorate  ;  that  traders  and  merchants  would  get  rich, 
Ijut  that  the  people  would  I'elapse  into  poverty  and  barbarism.  That  such  is 
invariably  the  result  of  free  trade  with  any  savage  tribes  who  possess  a 
valuable  product,  native  or  cultivated,  is  well  known  to  those  who  have 
visited  such  people  ;  but  we  might  even  anticipate  from  general  principles 
that  e\al  results  would  happen.  If  there  is  one  thing  rather  than  another  to 
which  the  grand  law  of  continuity  or  development  will  apply,  it  is  to  human 
progress.  There  are  certain  stages  through  which  society  must  pass  in  its 
onward  march  from  barbarism  to  civilisation.  Now  one  of  these  stages  has 
always  been  some  form  or  other  of  despotism,  such  as  feudalism  or  serWtude 
or  a  despotic  paternal  Government,  and  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
it  is  not  possible  for  humanity  to  leap  over  tlris  transition  epoch,  and  pass  at 
once  from  pure  savagery  to  free  civilisation.  The  Dutch  system  attemjits  to 
supply  this  missing  link,  and  to  Ijring  the  people  on  by  gradual  steps  to  that 
higher  civilisation  which  we  (the  English)  try  to  force  upon  them  at  once. 
Our  system  has  always  failed.  We  demoralise  and  we  extirpate,  but  we 
never  really  ci\dlise.  Whether  the  Dutch  system  can  permanently  succeed  is 
bi\t  doubtful,  since  it  may  not  be  possible  to  compress  the  work  of  ten 
centuries  into  one  ;  but  at  all  events  it  takes  nature  as  a  guide,  and  is 
therefore  more  deserving  of  success,  and  more  likely  to  succeed,  than  ours." 

Wherever  we  went  in  Minahasa  we  found  a  contented,  happy 
people,  amongst  whom  drunkenness  and  crime  were  almost  non- 
existent. The  land  was  higlily  cultivated,  the  -sTllages  neater  and 
cleaner  than  I  have  seen  them  in  any  part  of  the  ciWKsed  world. 
Schools  were  established  in  every  district,  and  the  natives  were 
almost  without  exception  Christians.  Where  can  we,  who  call 
ourselves  the  greatest  colonising  nation  in  the  world,  point  to  a 


182  CELEBES.  [chap.  viii. 

like  result  ?  What  is  the  condition  of  the  natives  in  our  colonies  ; 
in  Australia,  in  New  Zealand,  in  "Western  Africa  ?  Year  by  year 
hundreds  of  Englishmen  travel  round  the  world,  just  as  the  former 
generation  made  the  "  grand  tour."  But  they  follow  one  another 
like  sheep  in  the  beaten  track,  and  hardly  any  turn  aside  into  the 
by-paths.  It  is,  of  course,  almost  an  absurdity  to  suppose  that  an 
Englishman  could  have  anything  to  learn  from  the  management  of 
another  nation's  colonies,  but  those  who  have  not  this  idea  too 
deeply  rooted  may  visit  Northern  Celebes  with  advantage. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CELEBES  {continued). 

Tardus  spectrum — Talisse  Island — Extensile  bill  of  C«r^q2;7irt(/a— Likoupang — Maim 
Bay — Forest  scenes — Hornbills — The  Livistonia  palm — Useful  property  of  the 
rattan — Characteristics  of  the  sea-beach — The  Babirusa — The  Sapi-utan — A 
dance  at  Likoupang — Wallace  Bay — The  Celebean  Mound-builder — Description 
of  the  breeding-grounds — Theory  as  to  the  enormous  size  of  the  egg — Limbe 
Strait  and  Island — Dangerous  anchorage — Kema — Babirusa  kcdclah  on  Limbe 
Island — Boat  accident — Result  of  the  hunt — Leave  Kema  for  Gorontalo — 
Kettlewell  Bay — Gorontalo — The  Limboto  Lake — News  of  the  Krakatau  erup- 
tion—  Smallpox — Pogoyama  —  Existence  of  gold — Singular  burial-pit — Zoo- 
logical peculiarities  of  Celebes — We  leave  for  the  Moluccas. 

Our  collection  of  live  birds  and  animals,  which,  at  a  later  period 
of  onr  cruise,  almost  turned  the  Marchcsa  into  a  floating  Zoological 
Gardens,  made  its  first  real  commencement  in  Northern  Celebes. 
Here,  in  addition  to  the  Cuscus — of  which  we  had  two  or  three 
specimens — and  the  Anoa,  we  became  the  possessors  of  several 
Fruit-eating  Pigeons  {Carpopliarja),  to  which  I  shall  presently 
allude,  and  four  of  the  beautiful  Calocnas,  a  ground-loving  pigeon 
we  afterwards  obtained  in  the  Moluccas,  which  from  its  long  and 
pointed  neck-hackles  has  at  a  first  glance  almost  the  appearance 
of  a  gallinaceous  bird.  But  the  most  interesting  addition  to 
our  menagerie  was  a  tiny  Lemuroid  animal  (Tarsius  spectrum) 
brought  to  us  by  a  native,  by  whom  it  was  said  to  have  been 
caught  upon  the  mainland.  These  little  creatures,  which  are 
arboreal  and  of  nocturnal  habits,  are  about  the  size  of  a  small  rat, 
and  are  covered  with  remarkably  thick  woolly  fur,  which  is  very 


184 


CELEBES. 


[chap. 


soft.  The  tail  is  long,  and  covered  with  hair  at  the  root  and  tip, 
while  the  middle  portion  of  it  is  nearly  bare.  The  eyes  are 
enormous,  and  indeed  seem,  together  with  the  equally  large  ears,  to 
constitute  the  greater  part  of  the  face,  for  the  jaw  and  nose  are  very 
small,  and  the  latter  is  set  on,  like  that  of  a  pug  dog,  almost  at  a 


THE  TAKSIEK.     {Tursius  speciraiii.) 

risht  angle.  The  hind  limb  at  once  attracts  attention  from  the 
great  length  of  the  tarsal  bones,  and  the  hand  is  equally  noticeable 
for  its  length,  the  curious  claws  with  which  it  is  provided,  and  the 
extraordinary  disc-shaped  pulps  on  the  palmar  surface  of  the 
fingers,  which  probably  enable  the  animal  to  retain  its  hold  in 
almost  any  position.  This  weird-looking  little  creature  we  were 
unable  to  keep  long  in  capti^ity,  for  we  could  not  get  it  to  eat  the 
cockroaches  wdiich  were  almost  the  onlv  food  with  which  we  could 


IX.]  TALISSE  ISLAND.  185 

supply  it.  It  remained  still  by  clay  in  its  darkened  cage,  but  at 
night,  especially  if  disturbed,  it  would  spring  vertically  upwards  in 
an  odd  mechanical  manner,  not  unlike  the  hopping  of  a  flea.  On 
the  third  day  it  found  a  grave  in  a  pickle-bottle,  and  was  duly  con- 
signed to  a  shelf  in  the  Marchesa's  Columbarium. 

Our  destination  on  leaving  Menado  was  Talisse  Island,  wrongly 
called  Salice  on  the  English  charts.  It  lies  at  the  extreme  north 
end  of  Celebes,  and  is  distant  some  five  and  twenty  miles  N.W. 
from  Menado.  Lately  some  Dutclimen  in  the  latter  village  have 
established  a  small  plantation  on  it,  and  we  were  anxious  to  see 
the  results  of  the  venture,  as  well  as  to  secure  some  of  the  peculiar 
]\Iound- builders  or  Maleos  {Mcgaccplmlon  malco),  which  were 
reported  to  be  found  there  in  some  abundance.  We  made  for  the 
southern  point  of  the  island,  Ijut  our  charts  gave  no  indications 
whatever  as  to  the  depth  of  water,  and  on  approaching  the  little 
island  of  Tindila,  wliich  lies  immediately  to  the  south  of  it,  the 
passage  between  the  two  appeared  so  narrow  that  we  hardly  liked 
to  try  it.  The  southern  and  safer  route  would,  however,  have 
cost  us  another  hour  or  two,  so,  we  decided  in  favour  of  the  attempt. 
At  the  entrance  we  encountered  a  heavy  tide  race,  running  from 
six  to  seven  knots,  in  which  a  sailing  vessel  would  have  been 
unmanageable,  but  putting  the  engines  at  full  speed,  we  came 
through  slowly  without  mishap,  and  shortly  after  anchored  in 
about  fifteen  fathoms  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island.  This 
anchorage  is  really  the  best  in  this  part  of  Celebes,  being  more  or 
less  protected  in  both  monsoons.  It  is  without  reefs,  and  a  small 
stream  of  good  water  is  accessible  close  to  the  beach. 

We  went  ashore  and  introduced  ourselves  to  the  manager  of 
the  estate,  a  half-caste  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Kijkschroeff, 
whom  we  found  reading  a  life  of  Drydeu  m  Dutch !  He  was  a 
most  pleasant  fellow,  had  been  wounded  in  the  Atjeh  war,  and 
had  seen  many  vicissitudes.  His  life  upon  the  island  must  have 
been  lonely  enough,  but  the  neatness  of  his  house  and  its  sur- 
roundings showed  that  this  had  had  but  little  effect  upon  his  energy. 


186  CELEBES.  [chap. 

From  liiiu  we  soon  learnt  the  few  facts  of  interest  connected  with 
the  plantation.  Cacao,  coffee,  bananas,  and  coconuts  had  been 
tried,  and  the  former  was  doing  well.  The  island,  which  is  neai^ly 
seven  miles  long,  and  rises  into  a  central  lofty  ridge  about  twelve 
hundred  feet  in  height,  supports  a  native  population  of  400 
people,  150  of  whom  are  engaged  on  the  plantation.  They  are 
almost  all  of  the  Talautse  or  Sanghir  tribes,  and  speak  a  language 
distinct  from  any  found  in  Celebes. 

Talisse  was  the  haunt  of  numbers  of  the  large  Fruit-eating 
Pigeons,  Carjjophaga  radiata  and  C.  'paulina.  The  latter  is  a  fine 
bird,  weighing  a  pound  and  a  quarter  or  even  more,  and  its  metallic 
green  back  shot  with  bronze,  and  a  curious  tawny  patch  upon  the 
nuque,  render  it  conspicuously  handsome.  The  lower  mandible  of 
birds  of  this  genus  is  capable  of  being  expanded  laterally  to  an 
enormous  extent, — a  special  adaptation  to  enable  them  to  feed  on 
the  various  large  fruits  of  the  forest-trees.  The  size  of  those  they 
manage  to  swallow  is  astonishing.  I  have  found  fruits  nearly  as 
large  as  a  small  Tangerine  orange  in  their  crops.  The  only  other 
bird  of  interest  that  we  met  with  on  the  island  was  a  Glossy  Starling 
{Ccdornis  ncglecta),  a  genus  supposed  by  Mr.  Wallace  to  be  absent 
from  Celebes. 

Mr.  EijkschroefiP  told  us  that  there  were  but  few  Maleos  upon 
the  island,  so  after  a  couple  of  days'  stay  we  left  for  Likoupang,  a 
village  on  the  mainland  about  ten  miles  to  the  south.  Our  host 
accompanied  us,  together  with  a  native  who  was  supposed  to  have 
a  good  knowledge  of  the  coast,  and  who,  when  a  child  of  six,  had 
been  rescued  from  the  pirates  of  lUanun.  We  found  the  anchorage 
a  tolerably  good  one,  though  with  many  surrounding  reefs  and 
sandbanks,  and  lay  about  a  mile  oft'  the  mouth  of  a  little  river,  on 
the  banks  of  which  the  village  is  situated.  Huts  were  too  plentiful 
in  the  surrounding  forest  for  us  to  expect  to  obtain  either  the 
Anoa  or  Babirusa,  so  we  made  arrangements  to  visit  Maim  Bay — 
an  uninhabited  part  of  the  coast  four  or  five  miles  farther  east — 
having  previously  asked  the  chief  for  men  to  act  as  guides.     We 


IX.]  A  FOREST  GIANT.  187 

embarked  in  the  lifeboat  and  two  native  praus  on  the  evening  of 
September  8th,  and  after  a  rather  unpleasant  passage,  owing  to 
the  frequent  squalls  from  the  land,  arrived  at  our  destination  at 
midnight,  and  finding  a  ruined  attap-shed,  spent  the  remainder  of 
the  night  beneath  its  shelter  as  comfortably  as  the  unceasing 
attacks  of  sandflies  and  mosquitoes  would  permit. 

The  Hukum  Kadua — in  other  words,  the  chief — had  himself 
accompanied  us,  as  being  one  of  the  greatest  sportsmen  of  Likou- 
paug,  and  we  left  him  to  settle  the  plan  of  action.  It  was  simple 
enough,  being  merely  what  a  Dutchman  would  term  "  be-creeping  " 
the  animals,  the  ground  by  its  conformation  not  lending  itself  to 
beating,  especially  with  our  limited  number  of  native  followers. 
Accordingly  each  of  us  took  the  bush  separately,  attended  by  two 
men,  one  of  whom  went  in  advance,  clearing  a  path  through  the 
creepers  by  means  of  his  razor-edged  kris,  while  the  other  followed, 
bearing  our  lunch  of  biscuit  and  coconuts.  I  have  seldom  seen  a 
finer  forest  than  that  in  this  neighbourhood.  The  buttressed  trees 
were  magnificent.  One  especially,  which  seemed  to  be  quite 
familiar  to  my  guide,  who  had  often  hunted  the  Babirusa  in  these 
jungles,  struck  me  as  being  the  largest  I  had  ever  met  with.  The 
buttresses  sprang  from  the  trunk  fully  thirty  feet  from  the  ground. 
On  one  side  two  had  grown  at  right  angles  to  one  another,  and 
one  of  them  turning  sharply  again  at  a  right  angle,  a  sort  of  walled 
enclosure  was  formed,  which  might  with  very  little  difficulty  have 
been  turned  into  a  hut  of  respectable  size.  The  thickness  of  the 
foliage  around  only  permitted  us  to  see  that  the  tall,  straight  trunk 
rose  at  least  a  hundred  feet  before  sending  off  a  branch.  What 
the  entire  height  of  the  tree  might  have  been  it  was  impossible  to 
estimate,  for  less  than  a  dozen  yards  away  this  giant  of  the  forest 
was  completely  invisible. 

The  rattans,  of  which  the  natives  told  us  there  were  nine  or 
ten  species  here,  formed  the  chief  obstacle  to  our  progress.  This 
climbing  palm  is  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  a  Malayan 
forest,  and  its  sharp,  hooked  thorns  bring  the  traveller  to  a  stand- 


188  CELEBES.  [chap. 

still  as   effectually   as   the    ivacht-cen-bietje   of  Southern   Africa. 
Starting  as  a  trimk  as  thick  as  a  man's  leg,  it  winds  erratically 
through  the  forest,  now  wrapping  a  tree  in  its  folds  like  some 
gigantic   snake,  now  descendiag  again   to   earth,  and   trailing  a 
sinuous  course  along  the  ground.     This  sub-arboreal  growth,  how- 
ever, is  unnatural  to  it,  and  has  probably  only  been  produced  by 
the  fall  of  some  tree  to  which  it  has  been  attached.     Like  every- 
thing else,  it  is  striving  upwards  for  the  light  and  air,  and,  if  it 
were  possible  to  follow  the  windings  of  any  one  particular  palm, 
its  terminal  spike  would,  in  all  probability  be  found  shooting  up 
like  a  miniature  flagstaff  a  dozen  feet  or  more  above  the  summit 
of  the  trees.     A  tliick  layer  of  dead  leaves  covered  the  gTOimd, 
some  of  them  of  enormous  size.     As  these  fell,  striking  from  time 
to  time  against  some  bough,  they  made  a  clattering  sound  audible 
at  no  little  distance  in  the  airless  forest,  and  on  the  ground  their 
dry  condition  when   newly  fallen  rendered   noiseless  walking  a 
matter  of  considerable  difficulty.     Some  were  blood-red  in  colour, 
but  for  the  most  part  there  were  few  departures  from  the  varying 
shades  of  green  in  which  every  ]\Ialayan  forest  is  clothed.     Large 
RapliidopliorcB  and  other  dendrophilous  plants   swarmed  up   the 
tree-trunks  and  shrouded  them  with  their  fleshy,  fenestrated  leaves, 
and  here  and  there,  in  damp  localities,  deep  beds  of  various  species 
of  Selaginella  covered  the  ground.     As  we  were  in  quest  of  nobler 
game   we    left    the   birds    unmolested,    but    numerous    hornbills 
tempted  us  to  add  them  to  our  collection.     These  birds  {Cranor- 
rhinus  cassidix)  are  of  large  size,  measuring  as  much  as  three  feet 
six  inches  in  length,  and  their  plumage,  although  not  iDrilliant,  is 
atoned  for,  as  far  as  regards  colour,  by  the  orange -yellow  of  the 
gigantic  bill,  and  the  bright  cobalt-blue  bare  throat.     They  confine 
themselves  usually  to  the  tops  of  the  highest  trees,  and  are  con- 
sequently difficult  to  shoot.     When  taking  to  flight  their  wings 
make  a  noise  which  is  really  much  like  the  starting  of  a  locomotive 
— as  described  in  the  imaginary  travels  of  "  Captain  Lawson  "  in 
New  Guinea — a  serious  of  loud  puffs  increasing  in  quickness  as 


IX.]  THE  LIVISTONIA  PALM.  189 

the  bird  gets  fairly  on  the  wing.  Their  note  when  disturbed 
resembles  the  single  bark  of  a  dog — wov: ;  v:qvj  ;  woio — and  is 
audible  at  a  gxeat  distance. 

We  saw  plenty  of  spoor  and  droppings  both  of  the  Babirusa 
and  Anoa,  and  before  long  came  suddenly  upon  two  of  the  latter. 
Theii'  appearance,  however,  was  only  momentary,  and  I  did  not 
catch  sight  of  them  myself.  Very  shortly  afterwards  we  disturbed 
a  Babirusa  much  in  the  same  way,  and  it  was  evident  that,  in  spite 
of  our  precautions  as  to  noiseless  walking  and  the  sharp  eyes  of  the 
natives,  our  game  had  decidedly  the  advantage  of  us.  The  forest 
had  occasional  little  muddy  clearings  about  forty  or  fifty  yards 
across,  which  appeared  to  be  the  favourite  haunts  of  these  animals 
and  wild  pigs,  and  at  one  of  these  I  at  length  obtained  a  shot — the 
only  one  that  offered  throughout  the  day — and  secured  a  nearly 
full-grown  specimen  of  Sus  celehciisis,  a  species  which,  like  most  of 
the  Celebes  mammals,  is  peculiar  to  the  island. 

I  ate  my  tiffin  beneath  a  gigantic  iiokok  sila,  as  the  nati^'es 
here  call  the  Livistonia  rotMndifolia,  the  most  magnificent  palm  of 
the  Eastern  tropics.  Like  the  aloe,  it  flowers  only  to  die.  The 
trunk  of  this  one,  nearly  two  feet  and  a  quarter  in  diameter,  rose 
like  an  arrow  for  at  least  140  feet,  bearing  little  at  the  crown  but 
the  dark  inflorescence  and  a  few  dead  leaves.  A  leaf  of  the  same 
species,  circular  and  with  deeply-toothed  edges,  formed  my  seat, 
and  as  I  extended  myself  at  full  length  upon  it  to  search  the 
summits  of  the  trees  above  me  with  my  glasses,  there  was  at  least  a 
foot  to  spare  at  my  head  and  feet.  These  leaves  are  much  used 
for  thatching  by  the  natives,  and,  I  daresay,  for  a  dozen  other 
purposes  undreamt  of  by  the  European,  to  whom  the  infinite 
possibilities  of  palms  and  bamboos  are  unknown.  Were  he  to  visit 
these  jungles  he  would  learn  another,  and  far  more  pleasant  use  of 
the  rattan  than  that  with  which,  as  an  errmg  schoolboy,  he  may 
have  become  acquainted.  A  piece  of  tliis,  six  or  eight  feet  long, 
will  supply  a  good  tumblerful  of  pure  water,  and  the  traveller  in 
the  Malayan  Archipelago,  however  much  he  may  suffer  from  the 


190  CELEBES.  [chap. 

thorns  of  the  tree  in  passmg  through  the  forest,  has  the  consolation 
of  knowing  that  he  can  quench  his  thirst  from  it  at  any  moment. 

We  saw  no  further  sign  of  game,  and,  making  a  detour,  struck 
the  sea  and  marched  back  to  camp  along  the  beach,  which  glared 
in  the  afternoon  sun  as  only  a  tropic  beach  can  glare.  There  is 
never  any  lack  of  life  along  such  shores,  however  hot  the  sun  may 
be.  The  little  pools  of  water  and  the  huge  tree-trunks  that  have 
been  washed  ashore  would  prove  a  paradise  for  the  marine  zoologist. 
As  we  pursue  our  way  hundreds  of  the  little  Land-crabs  {Gclasimus) 
dart  away  in  every  direction,  their  single  large  claw  uplifted. 
Enormous  numbers  of  them  may  sometimes  be  seen  congregated 
around  some  dead  fish  or  other  dainty  morsel  washed  up  by  the 
tide,  or  gathered  on  the  slimy  ooze  beneath  the  arching  roots  of  the 
mangroves,  the  neighbouring  banks  being  honey-combed  with  their 
holes.  They  are  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  seashore,  with 
the  exception  perhaps  of  a  bull -headed,  gudgeon -like  little  fish 
(Periojjhthahmis),  which  lives,  apparently,  as  much  out  of  the  water 
as  in  it,  and  startles  the  pedestrian  by  hopping  out  beneath  his  feet 
and  making  for  the  nearest  water  by  a  series  of  sudden  jumps. 
This  curious  method  of  progression  is  apparently  effected  by  the 
action  of  the  pectoral  fins,  and  is  so  rapid  that  it  is  only  with  great 
difficulty  that  the  fish  can  Ije  caught. 

On  reaching  camp  I  found  that  one  of  our  party  had  been 
fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  male  Babirusa.^  It  was  a  good 
specimen,  although  not  very  old.  From  tip  to  tip  it  measured  58 
inches,  of  which  12  had  to  Ije  deducted  for  the  length  of  the  tail. 
The  greatest  girth  of  the  chest  was  39  inches,  the  height  at  the 
shoulder  29  inches,  and  the  upper  and  lower  tusks  measured 
respectively  7f  and  4|  inches  round  the  curve. 

The  Babirusa,  according  to  the  natives,  generally  has  one  or 
two  young  at  a  birth;   more  often   one,  but  sometimes,  though 

^  A  JIalay  name  ;  babi  meaning  pig,  and  ncsa  deer.  The  animal  is,  of  course,  a 
true  pig,  and  has  only  acquired  its  second  name  from  the  peculiar  hornlike  gi'owth 
of  the  tusks  of  the  upper  jav,-. 


IX.J  THE  ANOA   OR  SAPI-UTAN.  191 

rarely,  three.  They  are  born  in  the  months  of  November,  Decem- 
ber, and  January,  and  the  sow  makes  a  small  underground 
hole  for  their  reception,  lining  it  with  leaves — generally  of  the 
Li\dstonia.  The  young,  however,  are  able  to  move  about  on  the 
second  day  of  their  existence.  We  were  told  that  they  were  of 
two  colours — -nearly  black  and  light  brown — and  that  the  female 
can  have  young  of  both  these  colours  just  as  a  sow  has  black  and 
white  pigs,  a  statement  which,  if  true,  is  very  curious.  These 
colours  were  said  to  approximate  with  age,  but  the  natives  spoke 
of  "  white "  and  "  black  Babiru.sas  "  even  in  the  adult  stage,  and 
the  one  I  have  just  mentioned  was  certainly  lighter  in  colour  than 
others  we  afterwards  killed  on  Lunbe  Island.  Our  hunters  also 
told  us  that,  when  assailed  by  dogs,  the  animal  sometimes  ascended 
the  procumbent  trunks  of  trees,  and  got  out  upon  the  large  lower 
branches, — a  story  which,  it  is  almost  needless  to  say,  we  entirely 
disbelieved.  A  week  or  two  later,  however,  we  ourselves  actually 
saw  a  Babirusa  attempt,  though  only  partially  succeed  in,  this 
feat,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  presently  to  relate. 

Chatting  over  these  subjects  naturally  led  us  to  talk  of  the 
Sapi-vitan, — the  only  other  game  of  any  size  foimd  in  the  forests  of 
Celebes.  It  has  one  calf  only,  which  may  be  born  at  any  time 
of  the  year.  Before  the  teeth  are  grown  the  young  are  reddish 
yellow  in  colour,  but  in  the  adult  the  liaLr  is  brownish  black. 
The  horns  of  "s^ery  old  males  are  sometimes  as  much  as  two 
feet  in  length,  and  it  is  said  to  be  possible  to  distinguish  the  age 
by  the  number  of  rings  at  the  base.  The  female  also  has  horns, 
]jut  they  are  small,  and  seldom  more  than  six  inches  long. 

We  spent  two  or  three  days  at  Maim  Bay  without  shooting 
anything  except  wild  boar,  and  adding  a  few  species  to  our  collec- 
tion of  birds,  and,  as  it  did  not  appear  a  particularly  good  locality, 
we  arranged  to  return  to  Likoupang  and  proceed  farther  along  the 
coast  to  a  beach  where,  some  years  before,  Mr.  Wallace  had  succeeded 
in  obtaining  many  of  the  Brush-turkeys  or  Maleos,  in  search  of 
which  we  had  hitherto  been  entirelv  unsuccessful.     On  arri\ing  at 


192  CELEBES.  [chap. 

the  village  we  found  that  a  dance  had  been  got  up  to  welcome  our 
return,  apparently  at  the  instigation  of  our  friend  j\Ir.  Eijkschroeft". 
There  were  no  Dutch  in  Likoupang,  and  the  guests  consisted 
almost  entirely  of  half-castes,  known  in  many  parts  of  ]\Ialaysia  as 
the  orang  sirani  or  Nazarenes,  a  term  which  seems  to  include  all 
those  descended  from  white  parents  whether  Dutch  or  Portuguese. 
They  correspond  more  or  less  to  the  "  burghers  "  of  Ceylon,  but 
differ  socially  in  forming,  here  at  least,  the  upper  stratum  of  society. 
Mr.  Wallace  has  noticed^  the  occurrence  of  Portuguese  w^ords 
among  the  natives  of  Amboina  and  tlie  Ke  Islands,  and  I  was 
astonished  to  find  several  traces  of  this  language — with  which  a 
previous  residence  in  j\Iadeira  had  made  me  tolerably  familiar — in 
Likoupang,  although  I  was  unaware  at  the  time,  and  have  not 
since  been  able  to  discover,  that  the  Portuguese  ever  had  a  settle- 
ment in  this  part  of  Celebes.  The  dance  was  held  in  a  roomy 
apartment  in  the  largest  house  in  the  village,  and  five  and  twenty 
or  tliirty  people  were  present.  The  gentlemen,  dressed  in  black 
jackets  and  white  trousers,  occupied  the  verandah,  and  on  the 
music  striking  up  went  in  search  of  theii'  partners,  who,  wearing 
Malay  dress,  sat  inside  round  the  ballroom.  Some  of  tlie  latter  were 
decidedly  pretty,  but  it  was  altogether  a  new  sensation  to  dance  with 
a  sarong-cla,d  young  lady  whose  stockingless  feet  were  protected 
only  by  Turkish  slippers.  Their  upper  garments  were  of  lace- 
edged  linen, — garment,  however,  I  ought  to  say,  for  in  most  cases 
one  only  was  worn.  In  the  rare  instances  where  there  were  two 
the  kihaya  was  transparent,  and  revealed  another  garment  bordered 
with  "  insertion  "  trimming.  Polkas,  a  species  of  quadrille,  lancers, 
and  mazurkas  formed  the  programme,  and  the  dance  was  kept  up 
until  two  or  three  o'clock  m  the  morning. 

Mr.  Eijkschroeft'  was  obliged  to  return  to  Talisse  Island  next 
day,  but  the  Hukum  Kadua,  the  pilot,  and  several  natives  went  on 
with  us  to  the  nameless  beach  where,  in  1859,  Mr.  "Wallace  camped 
and  observed  the  curious  habits  of  the  Maleos.     It  was  not  difficult 

^  Oj).  cit.  pp.  300  and  425. 


IX.]  THE  MALEO.  193 

to  find  the  place, — a  shallow  bay  some  ten  miles  across.  At  the 
head  is  a  steep  beach  of  very  coarse  black  sand,  a  couple  of  miles 
in  length,  bounded  at  each  end  hj  high  gi'ound  and  by  the  dry  bed 
of  a  stream.  We  crept  slowly  in,  but  altering  our  depth  very 
rapidly  from  45  to  12  fathoms,  we  thought  it  best  to  anchor, 
although  nearly  half  a  mile  from  shore,  as  we  had  no  desire  to 
repeat  our  Menado  experiences,  and  the  coast  was,  of  course,  en- 
tirely uusurveyed.  We  afterwards  discovered  that  our  caution 
was  unnecessary,  and  that  we  could  have  carried  six  fathoms 
almost  to  within  stone's  throw  of  the  beach.  It  was  at  once 
evident  that  we  had  hit  upon  the  right  place,  for  numbers  of  the 
birds  could  be  seen  vigorously  diggmg  on  the  shore,  and  with  our 
glasses  we  could  distinguish  their  every  movement. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  were  in  pursuit,  and  not  long  either 
before  we  discovered  that  the  birds  were  by  no  means  so  easy  to 
bring  to  bag  as  we  had  anticipated.  Sinking  above  our  ankles  at 
every  step  in  the  loose  gravel,  and  perspiring  beneath  the  rays  of 
a  blazing  sun,  we  ploughed  wearily  along,  while  our  quarry  trotted 
lightly  into  the  jungle  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  ahead  of  us.  The 
bush  was  too  dense  to  admit  of  our  taking  them  in  flank,  and  it 
was  only  after  some  hours'  hard  work  and  manoeuvring  that  we 
succeeded  in  shooting  two  birds  before  we  returned  to  the  ship. 
We  were  disgusted  with  our  failure,  and  feared  that  we  had  dis- 
turbed the  birds  so  effectually  that  they  would  not  return  to  theii- 
haunts  for  some  time  to  come. 

Next  morning,  however,  we  could  see  them  digging  away  in 
imdiminished  numbers,  and  landing  shortly  after  daybreak,  we 
accidentally  hit  upon  the  only  successful  plan  of  shooting  them, 
which  is  to  approach  as  near  as  possible  without  being  seen,  then 
suddenly  to  run  in  upon  them,  shouting,  waving  one's  arms,  and 
firing.  The  birds,  instead  of  runnmg  away,  take  to  flight,  and 
perch  almost  immediately  upon  the  trees  at  the  edge  of  the  beach. 
The  perspiring  sportsman  can  now  rest  himself  to  recover  his 
breath  and  shake  the  gravel  out  of  his  putties,  and,  reloading  his 
VOL.  ir.  o  ■ 


194  CELEBES.  [chap. 

gun,  may  take  matters  as  leisurely  as  he  pleases ;  for,  once  in  the 
trees,  the  Maleo  seems  to  consider  itself  secure  from  all  clanger, 
and  can  be  shot  without  even  putting  to  flight  a  fellow  victim  on 
the  same  branch.  There  is,  of  course,  no  sport  in  the  matter,  but 
to  obtain  a  good  series  of  skins,  and  to  supply  our  party  with  as 
much  of  the  delicious  meat  as  we  could  get,  overpowered  such 
considerations. 

The  Maleo  (Majacqjhalon  maleo)  is  about  the  size  of  a  small 
turkey,  being  twenty-four  inches  in  length,  and  having  an  average 
weight  of  3  lbs.  8  oz.  Of  a  large  series  we  obtained  the  lightest 
was  3  lbs.  1  oz.,  the  heaviest  3  lbs.  14  oz.,  but  the  weight  of  the 
hen  birds  varies  according  as  an  egg  has  or  has  not  been  just  laid, 
for  the  latter  is  enormous,  and  quite  disproportionate  to  the  size  of 
the  bird.  Male  and  female  are  alike  in  plumage,  or,  at  least,  so 
closely  resemble  one  another  as  to  be  difficult  to  distinguish.  They 
are  of  an  entire  brownish  black,  with  the  exception  of  the  breast 
and  under  parts,  which  are  of  a  beautiful  rosy  pink  or  salmon  colour. 
The  head,  throat,  and  neck  are  bare  of  feathers,  and  the  occiput  is 
furnished  with  a  large  casque,  which  in  the  female  bird  is  slightly 
smaller  than  in  the  male.  The  bill  is  bright  pea-gi'een,  blood-red 
at  the  base.  From  our  anchorage,  which  was  immediately  opposite 
the  beach  where  the  birds  were  incessantly  engaged  in  digging,  we 
had  abundant  opportunities  of  watching  them.  Their  gait  is  slow" 
and  stately,  and  the  tail  is  kept  much  elevated  and  slightly  spread, 
but  even  on  the  loose  gravel  they  can  run  with  tolerable  quickness, 
— sufficiently  fast,  at  all  events,  in  spite  of  their  weight,  to  outstrip 
a  man  with  ease.  When  once  on  the  hard  ground  of  the  jungle, 
they  dart  off"  with  lightning-like  rapidity. 

Sole  representative  of  its  genus,  the  Maleo  is  peculiar  to  the 
island  of  Celebes.  It  belongs  to  the  family  of  Megapodes  or 
Mound -builders, — gallinaceous  birds  which  are  eminently  charac- 
teristic of  the  Australian  region, — but  it  differs  from  them  in  its 
habits  by  using  the  gravel  of  the  sea -beach  alone  to  hatch  its 
eggs,  instead  of  constructing  a  mound  of  sticks,  sand,  and  leaves. 


IX.] 


NESTING  HABITS  OF  THE  MALEO. 


195 


as  do  most  of  the  Australian  and  Papuan  "brush-turkeys."     At 
a   certain   season   of  the   year^   the   birds  come  down   in   large 


THE  MALEO.     {Megacephcilon  maleo.) 

numbers  from  the  forests  of  the  interior  to  the  sea,  almost  always 

^  Mr.  Wallace  ("Malay  Archipelago,"  \k  265)  says  "the  months  of  August  and 
September,"  but,  according  to  the  natives,  the  period  was  much  more  extended. 


196  CELEBES.  [chap. 

to  lixed  localities  as  clearly  marked  as  a  fur- seal's  "hauling- 
grounds."  Here  they  remain  during  the  breeding  period,  and  may 
be  seen  from  dawn  till  sunset  busily  engaged  in  laying  and 
covering  their  eggs.  The  breeding -grounds  at  Wallace  Bay,  as 
we  called  the  hitherto  nameless  beach  off  which  we  were  anchored, 
extend  for  a  distance  of  two  miles  and  a  half  along  the  shore,  and, 
as  that  distinguished  naturalist  has  remarked,  define  accurately 
the  limits  of  an  ancient  lava  stream,  for  the  forest  behind  is 
deficient  in  large  trees,  and  on  either  side  the  shore  is  of  white 
coral  sand,  not,  like  the  nesting -ground,  of  fine  black  gravel. 
Immediately  above  high -water  mark  is  a  strip  of  beach  about 
forty  yards  in  width,  and  on  this  little  groups  of  birds,  from  two 
or  three  up  to  ten  or  a  dozen  in  number,  are  always  to  be  found 
at  work.  No  regular  mounds  are  made,  but  the  beach  presents  a 
series  of  irregular  elevations  and  depressions  which  in  appearance 
I  can  compare  to  nothing  better  than  the  surface  of  a  rough, 
confused  sea.  As  in  the  case  of  some  other  of  the  Megapodes, 
the  nests  appear  to  be  used  in  common  by  many  of  the  females,  or, 
more  probably  still,  the  bird  lays  its  egg  on  any  part  of  the  beach 
that  suits  its  fancy.  The  natives  would  never  look  for  eggs  at  the 
bottom  of  the  deepest  depressions,  or  on  the  summit  of  a  mound, 
but  shallow  trenches  and  the  slopes  of  the  irregular  hummocks 
seemed  to  be  always  preferred  in  searching  for  them.  Although 
we  personally  found  it  extremely  hard  to  discover  them,  our  men 
were  adepts  in  the  art.  The  method  is  gently  to  probe  the  gravel 
with  a  fine  stick.  Where  the  egg  has  just  been  covered  this  is,  of 
course,  much  looser,  and  the  stick  passes  in  readily.  The  gravel  is 
then  scraped  away,  the  stick  again  used  to  make  certain  of  the 
direction,  and  finally  the  egg  is  disinterred,  often  at  the  depth  of  a 
yard  or  more  below  the  surface.  The  heat  of  the  beach,  on  which 
the  sun  is  always  shining,  is  considerable. 

To  the  size  of  the  egg  I  have  abeady  alluded.  It  is  four  inches 
and  a  quarter  long  by  two  and  a  half  in  breadth,  and  weighs  from 
8|  to  9h  ozs.     On  dissecting  a  bird  the  next  egg  is  found  to  be 


rx.]  THEORY  EXPLAINING  SIZE  OF  THE  EGG.  197 

about  as  large  as  a  cheny,  and  it  is  probable  that  some  days 
elapse  before  it  is  ready  for  extrusion.  As  far  as  can  be  judged 
from  an  inspection  of  the  ovary,  about  sixteen  or  eighteen  are  laid 
during  the  season.  In  colour  they  are  of  a  pale  reddish  buft' 
resembling  the  eggs  of  the  black  Cochin- China  fowl,  and  their 
flavour,  though  rich,  is  excellent.  During  the  operation  of  covering 
them  with  the  loose  black  sand  on  which  they  are  deposited,  the 
cock  bird  digs  as  well  as  the  hen,  and  it  is  a  most  curious  sight  to 
watch  them  at  work,  the  sand  being  thrown  up  in  perfect  fountains 
at  each  stroke  of  the  powerful  foot.  The  ]\Ialeo  does  not  scratch 
in  the  same  way  as  the  common  fowl, — two  strokes  alternately  with 
each  foot, — but,  poising  himself  on  one  leg,  gives  several  rapid  digs 
with  the  other,  and  the  large  foot,  broad-soled  and  slightly  webbed 
at  the  base  of  the  toes,  is  nearly  as  effective  as  a  man's  hand 
would  be. 

That  the  abnormal  size  of  the  egg  is  closely  connected  with  the 
nesting  habits  of  the  Maleo  there  can  he,  no  doubt,  but  it  seems  to 
me  that  Mr.  Wallace's  theory — that  the  instincts  of  the  bird  have 
been  made  to  suit  its  unusual  ovulation — is  an  improbable  one,  and 
that  it  is  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  latter  is  dependent 
upon  habits  which  have  doubtless  been  adopted  for  the  preservation 
of  the  species.  In  a  country  such  as  Celebes  the  eggs  of  large 
ground-nesting  birds  would  be  exposed  to  much  risk.  But  buried 
beneath  a  layer  of  sand,  or  within  a  mound  such  as  is  constructed 
by  Mcgapodius,  they  are  safe  from  the  attacks  of  depredators.  As 
I  have  already  mentioned,  the  dej)tli  at  which  these  eggs  are  found 
is  often  three  feet  or  more.  If  the  weight  of  a  superincumbent 
mass  of  gravel  of  this  thickness  be  taken  into  consideration,  it  will 
be  seen  that  it  must  be  such  that  no  chick  of  ordinary  size  could 
force  its  way  through  it  to  the  surface,  and  hence  it  appears  to  me 
far  more  probable  that  the  strength  and  enormous  size  of  the  egg 
are  adapted  to  the  peculiar  nesting  habits  of  the  species,  rather 
than  that  the  unusual  nidification  is  due  to  an  aberrant  reproduc- 
tive organisation. 


198  CELEBES.  [chap. 

We  spent  three  days  at  Wallace  Bay,  and  obtained  no  less  than 
forty-two  Maleos,  of  which  we  preserved  a  large  series.  We  also 
shot  a  rare  Kingfisher  (Ccycojjsis  fallax) — an  exqnisite  little  species, 
the  head  spotted  with  bright  blue  and  the  back  a  brilliant  ultra- 
marine. The  peculiar  Baboon-like  Monkey  {Cynointhccus  nigrcscens) 
was  very  common  in  the  ibrest,  swinging  from  bough  to  bough  at 
the  tops  of  the  trees  in  small  flocks.  It  is  also  found  in  the  island 
of  Batchian,  but  it  is  supposed  by  Mr.  Wallace  to  have  been  intro- 
duced there  by  man,  and  to  be  really  peculiar  to  Celebes,  an  island 
wliicli  is  remarkably  rich  in  isolated  forms.  Hitherto  we  had  not 
succeeded  in  meeting  with  the  Anoa,  and  had  only  shot  a  single 
specimen  of  the  Babirusa,  and  hearing  that  Limbe,  an  island  lying 
close  to  the  extreme  eastern  point  of  Celebes,  abounded  in  these 
latter  animals,  we  determined  on  visiting  it,  first  calling  at  Kenia, 
a  village  on  the  mainland  just  beyond  it,  in  order  to  pick  up  some 
natives  to  help  us  in  our  expedition. 

We  weighed  anchor  on  the  14th  of  September,  but  encountered 
such  a  strong  head  wind  and  sea  on  rounding  the  northern  point 
of  Limbe  Island  that  we  decided  on  anchoring  in  the  straits 
formed  between  that  island  and  the  mainland — a  narrow  passage 
about  nine  miles  in  lencjth.  The  northern  entrance  is  rather 
striking  from  the  bare  and  desolate  appearance  of  Verbrandte 
Hoek,  as  the  Dutch  have  called  a  small  crater  that  has  opened  on 
the  eastern  slope  of  an  unnamed  volcano  at  the  north  end  of  the 
strait.  It  is  a  cone  of  ashes  of  regular  shape,  whence  a  small  lava 
stream  has  issued,  carving  its  way  through  the  forest  to  the  sea. 
That  it  is  of  quite  recent  date  is  evident,  for  the  ashes  and  lava 
are  devoid  of  all  vegetation  save  a  few  patches  of  coarse  grass. 
Visiting  it  a  few  days  later  we  found  that  burnt  trees  were  in  many 
instances  still  standing  in  the  lava  stream,  so  charred  at  the  base 
of  the  trunk  that  we  could  easily  push  them  down.  The  cone, 
which  is  entirely  composed  of  loose  ashes,  is  distant  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  sea,  and  its  summit  has  an  altitude  of  rather 
over    1600   feet.     Beyond  this   desolate   scene   rise   the    Gunong 


IX.]  LIMBE  STRAIT  AND  KEMA.  199 

Suclara,  twin  volcanic  peaks  of  bold  outline,  and  still  farther  to 
the  south-west  the  summit  of  Klabat — 6700  feet  in  height — over- 
tops them.  The  narrowness  of  the  strait,  the  high  and  rugged 
peaks  of  Limbe,  and  the  luxuriance  of  vegetation  comljine  to  make 
the  view  a  very  fine  one. 

The  Dutch  charts  of  this  place,  although  sufficiently  good  to 
make  the  passage  with,^  are  of  little  use  otherwise,  and  we  had 
some  difficulty  in  anchoring.  This  operation  among  the  coral  reefs 
and  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago  is  often  a  very  ticklish  one, 
but  before  long  we  all  got  accustomed  to  letting  go  our  anchors  in 
thirty  fatlioms  or  more,  within  stone's  throw  of  the  beach.  Two 
hawsers  were  always  aft  in  readiness  to  make  the  vessel  fast  on 
shore,  and  Jack  of  course  was  equally  prepared  with  some  time- 
honoured  joke  about  "  tying  her  up  to  a  tree."  In  this  instance 
we  were  even  nearer  the  shore  than  usual,  and  might  with  ease 
have  shot  birds  in  the  branches  of  the  large  trees  which  overhung 
the  water.  In  this  part  of  the  world  there  would  be  little  diffi- 
culty in  performing  Timothy  Tailtackle's  exploit  in  "Tom  Cringle," 
and  exploring  the  forest  from  the  rigging  ! 

The  wind  continued  to  blow  for  two  days  so  strongly  from 
the  S.E.  that,  knowing  the  exposed  nature  of  Kema  roads,  we 
thought  it  better  to  remain  where  we  were.  Even  in  the  straits  it 
blew  sufficiently  hard  to  make  boat -sailing  both  dangerous  and 
unpleasant.  Two  of  our  party  crossed  to  Limbe  in  search  of 
Babirusa,  but  were  unsuccessful,  and  the  only  object  of  interest 
noticed  was  a  small  cliff  said  to  be  of  chalk,  curiously  localised, 
and  forming  a  conspicuous  landmark. 

We  anchored  in  Kema  roads  on  the  16th  of  September.  The 
village,  spread  thinly  along  the  shores  of  a  shallow  bay,  is  laid  out 
with  the  usual  neatness  of  the  Dutch.  It  is  hemmed  in  by  marshes 
at  the  back,  but  is  said,  nevertheless,  to  be  extremely  healthy. 

^  The  strong  tides  and  violent  and  uncertain  winds  prevalent  in  Limbe  Strait 
render  the  passage  unsafe  for  sailing  ships  and  vessels  of  large  draught,  but  there 
is  good  anchorage  and  shelter  in  its  southern  part. 


•200 


CELEBES. 


[chap. 


For  some  little  distance  inland  the  country  is  flat,  more  or  less 
cleared,  and  dotted  here  and  there  with  palms.  Six  miles  north- 
north-east  is  Klabat,  a  noble-looking  mountain  of  regular  shape, 
whose  steadily-rising  slopes  give  it  an  appearance  of  more  than  its 


-MOUNT    KL\B\T    HIOM    KEM.V. 

actual  height.  There  is  not 
much  coffee  cultivation  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the 
village.  Kema  is  in  reality 
merely  a  complemental  port  of 
Menado,  according  to  the  pre- 
valent monsoon.  From  April 
until  November  ships  anchor  off  the  latter  place,  which  is  quite 
protected  from  easterly  and  southerly  gales,  while  from  November 
to  April  the  anchorage  at  Kema  alone  is  used.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  season,  however,  we  found  two  craft  at  anchor  in  the 
roads.  One  of  these,  a  schooner,  was  taking  cattle  to  Ternate ; 
the  other,  a  small  barque,  had  just  brought  300  tons  of  coal 
from  Sourabava.     There  is  but  little  trade  in  Northern  Celebes, 


IX.]  A  BABIRUSA  "  OURRAL"  201 

for,  despite  the  march  of  ci\alisation,  the  wants  of  the  people  appear 
to  be  but  few. 

The  Kontroleur  of  Kema,  to  whom  we  had  ah-eady  sent  letters 
overland,  was  fully  prepared  with  native  hunters,  and  having 
collected  nearly  fifty,  we  took  about  half  that  number  on  board  the 
yacht,  and  despatched  the  rest  in  praus  to  Limbe  Island,  whither 
we  ourselves  followed  next  day.  Anchoring  was  attended  by  the 
usual  difficulties,  which  were  in  no  way  lightened  by  foul  and 
rocky  ground  and  an  absence  of  any  chart  to  aid  us,  but  we 
eventually  found  a  tolerably  secure  berth  just  within  the  northern 
entrance  of  the  straits,  and  landed  our  hunters.  In  a  tropical 
country  it  does  not  take  long  to  construct  efficient  shelter  of  some 
kmd  or  other.  Before  many  hours  had  elapsed  some  admirably- 
contrived  huts  had  been  built  beneath  a  gnarled  old  forest-tree, 
whose  trunk  was  clothed  with  masses  of  fern  and  A'egetable  para- 
sites, and,  having  fixed  roofs  constructed  of  the  large  leaves  of  the 
Livistonia,  the  natives  departed  for  a  certain  spot  known  to  them 
about  two  miles  farther  to  the  north,  wdiich  was  destined  to  be  the 
scene  of  operations. 

The  hunt  was  to  be  carried  out  upon  kcdda.k  principles, 
dependent  upon  the  fact  that  the  island  here  contracts  to  a  narrow 
isthmus  barely  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  across,  instead  of  being, 
as  represented  in  the  Dutcli  and  English  charts,  about  two  miles 
in  breadth.  It  was  arranged  to  bar  this  neck  of  land  across  as  far 
as  it  was  possible  to  do  so,  and  to  l^eat  towards  it  from  the  north 
end  of  the  island,  a  distance  of  nearly  three  miles.  On  the  third 
day  the  preparations  were  complete,  and  we  started  soon  after 
daybreak  in  the  boats  to  sail  up  the  straits  to  the  spot  wdiere  the 
Jccddah  had  been  built.  It  was  blowing  hard  from  the  southward, 
with  an  uncomfortable  sea  runnmg,  and  when  about  a  mile  from 
our  destination  an  accident  occurred  wliich  m  any  other  of  oui- 
boats  would  have  been  a  serious  affam  We  had  not  all  shifted 
our  places  before  gybing,  and  a  little  stronger  puff  happening  to 
catch  us  just  at  the  moment,  we  were  swamped  in  an  instant. 


202  CELEBES.  [chap. 

Fortunately  the  water-tight  compartments  with  which  the  boat  was 
fitted  sufficed  to  keep  her  afloat,  and  getting  her  head  to  wind  and 
throwing  overboard  our  ballast,  we  managed  at  length  to  reduce 
the  water  by  baling  hard  with  our  helmets,  and  eventually  got 
ashore  without  further  misadventure.  Occurrences  such  as  these 
are  apt  to  interfere  with  accuracy  in  shooting,  and  we  were  not 
sorry  to  learn  that  we  should  in  all  probability  have  few  oppor- 
tunities of  using  a  rifle.  Two  of  us,  from  exposure  to  the  wmd  in 
wet  clothes,  were  afterwards  attacked  by  malarial  fever,  which  in 
one  instance  was  of  an  unusually  severe  type. 

Landing  on  a  rocky  beach  we  scrambled  up  a  steep  cliff  about 
eighty  feet  high,  and  a  few  yards  inland  found  oiirselves  on  a  small 
ridoe  which  formed  the  backbone  of  the  isthmus.  From  here  the 
ground  fell  away  in  a  gradual  slope  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
island,  which  w^as  not  much  more  than  a  hundred  yards  away,  and 
the  open  character  of  the  forest  allowed  of  any  passing  game  being 
seen  almost  at  that  distance.  The  natives  told  us,  however,  and,  as 
it  proved,  quite  correctly,  that  almost  all  the  Babirusa  would  come 
along  the  ridge,  and  acting  on  this  knowledge,  the  "  curral "  had 
been  constructed  on  its  flat  summit,  its  V-shaped  mouth  embracing 
the  ground  from  the  steep  cliff  to  the  commencement  of  the  slope 
on  the  eastern  side.  Just  at  this  point  a  gigantic  mahogany-tree 
had  been  felled,  and  on  its  prostrate  trunk  a  sort  of  grand  stand, 
built  of  rough  logs  and  elevated  six  or  eight  feet  from  the  ground, 
had  been  erected  for  our  benefit.  A  stout,  large -meshed  net 
blocked  the  small  gap  intervening  between  the  foot  of  our  tree  and 
the  "  curral,"  and  adown  the  slope  a  line  of  netting  of  a  somewhat 
finer  kind  stretched  to  within  thirty  yards  of  the  eastern  shore. 
This  part  was  left  entirely  unguarded. 

We  had  plenty  of  time  to  wait  before  the  sport  began,  and 
meanwhile  the  natives  arranged  themselves  at  their  posts.  One 
stood  at  the  door  of  the  "  curral "  ready  to  close  it  directly  any 
animal  rushed  in,  others  took  up  their  places  on  either  side  of  the 
wide  entrance,  wdiile  the  remainder  crouched  in  front  of  the  long 


IX.]  CHARGE  OF  BOAR  BABIRUSA.  203 

net  at  intervals  of  a  few  yards,  each  grasping  his  spear,  and  hidden 
from  view  by  a  huge  Livistonia  frond  planted  in  the  ground  before 
him.  We  had  not  long  been  settled  before  a  peculiar  barking 
grunt  in  the  distance  announced  the  arrival  of  the  first  victim. 
Every  one  was  instantly  motionless,  and  directly  afterwards  a  dark 
object  dashed  up  at  great  speed  and  buried  itself  in  the  net  a  short 
distance  down  the  slope.  The  staking  had  been  purposely  left 
loose,  so  that  the  animals  should  not  be  barred  by,  but  become 
entangled  in  the  net,  the  top  of  which  was  instantly  pulled  over  by 
the  nearest  native.  There  was  a  short  struggle,  and  in  less  than 
five  minutes  the  captive — a  full-grown  female  Babirusa — was 
quietly  reposing  on  her  back  with  her  legs  tied  together  with 
rattan,  and  we  were  once  more  in  ambush  for  the  next  comer. 

We  were  hardly  quiet  before  the  same  peculiar  sound  was 
heard  rapidly  approaching,  and  the  next  moment  a  magnificent 
old  boar  Babirusa  rushed  past  within  five  yards  of  us,  and  plunged 
into  the  net  between  our  tree  and  the  entrance  to  the  "  curral." 
His  long  tusks  became  entangled  in  the  meshes,  and  the  natives 
ran  up  to  spear  him.  Just  at  this  moment,  however,  he  broke 
loose,  and  turning  on  his  antagonists,  scattered  them  in  all  direc- 
tions. It  was  a  most  determined  charge,  and,  as  we  were  unable 
to  fire  for  fear  of  hitting  some  of  our  men,  it  might  have  proved  a 
serious  affair  for  the  native  he  singled  out.  Luckily  a  convenient 
tree  was  close  at  hand,  and  the  man  lost  no  time  in  taking  ad- 
vantage of  it.  The  Babirusa  pulled  up  at  the  bottom,  and,  to  our 
intense  astonishment,  proceeded  to  verify  the  statement  made  to 
us  by  the  Hukum  Kadua  at  Likoupang,  by  trying  to  scramble  up 
the  sloping  trunk  after  his  antagonist.  How  far  he  could  have 
ascended  we  unfortunately  never  had  the  opportunity  of  knowing, 
for  he  had  hardly  got  his  feet  off  the  ground  before  his  progress 
was  stopped  by  a  ludicrous  incident.  Anxious  to  escape,  the  man 
had  got  too  far  out  upon  a  branch.  It  gave  way,  and  the  unlucky 
hunter  was  suddenly  deposited  on  his  back  within  a  yard  or  two 
of  the  formidable,  needle -pointed  tusks  of  his  adversary.     Fortu- 


204 


CELEBES. 


[chap. 


nately  for  him,  the  attention  of  the  latter  was  diverted  by  another 
native,  whom  he  immediately  charged.  The  man  stood  his  ground 
in  the  most  plucky  manner,  crouching,  and  receiving  tlie  charge  at 
the  point  of  his  razor-edged  spear.  It  entered  just  in  front  of  the 
shoulder,  and  although  nearly  knocked   over   by  the  shock,  he 


SKULL  OF  BABiRUSA.     {Sus  babintstt.) 


contrived  to  keep  the  animal  off  for  the  few  seconds  necessary  for 
his  companions  to  run  to  his  assistance.  Even  with  four  spears 
buried  in  his  body  the  old  boar  died  game,  striving  to  the  very 
last  to  stet  at  his  antagonists. 

This  incident  was  the  clou  of  the  day's  proceedings,  for  we 
killed  nothing  of  any  importance  afterwards.  A  small  pig  was 
safely  "curralled,"  and  a  little  later  another  charged  the  net 
simultaneously  with  a  female  Babirusa.  The  latter  was  secured 
alive,  but  the  pig  escaped,  as  did  another  Babirusa,  by  getting 


IX.] 


KETTLEWELL  BAY. 


205 


through  the  net.  The  drive  was  ended  hj  the  successful  "curralling" 
of  a  second  pig,  and  in  half  an  hour's  time  the  beaters  arrived. 
They  had  speared  a  wild  boar  and  a  yovmg  pig  en  route,  but  the 
breadth  of  the  island  had  allowed  a  considerable  quantity  of  game 
to  break  back.  Counting  our  bag  we  found  that  we  had  one  boar 
and  two  sow  Babirusa,  and  a  wild  boar  and  three  pigs,  which, 
added  to  the  game  our  natives  had  speared  on  the  preceding  day, 
made  a  total  of  ten  head,  six  of  which  were  wild  pigs  and  four 
Babirusa.^ 

We  returned  to  Kema  on  the  following  day,  and  having  paid  oft" 
our  hunters,  again  weighed  anchor,  with  the  intention  of  proceeding 
up  the  Gulf  of  Tomini  or  Gorontalo  to  the  village  of  the  latter 
name,  which  is  situated  on  its  northern  shore.  When  off  Cape 
Flesko,  however,  we  encountered  a  strong  current  setting  out  of 
the  gulf,  which,  combined  with  a  stiff  south-westerly  breeze, 
decided  us  to  run  in  towards  the  coast.  Closing  the  land  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  cape,  we  made  out  the  entrance  of 
two  bays,  unmarked  in  the  charts,  which  seemed  likely  to  afford 
such  good  shelter  that  we  resolved  to  explore  farther.  We  steamed 
slowly  ahead,  the  lifeboat  preceding  us  to  take  soundings,  and 
passing  between  the  mainland  and  some  islands,  steered  north  for 


^  The  large  male  Babirusa  we  killed  was  a  dirty  fleshy  grey  in  colour  ;  the  whole 
body  devoid  of  hair,  excepting  at  the  very  tip  of  the  tail,  where  there  were  twenty 
or  thirty  stiff'  bristles  about  two  inches  in  length.  The  surface  of  the  body  was 
covered — thickly  on  the  back,  but  scantily  elsewhere — with  very  fine  yellowish  down, 
about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  length,  which  was  peculiarly  soft  and  velvety  to  the 
touch.  The  measurements  (in  inches)  of  this  animal  and  a  full-grown  female  were 
as  follows : — 

Tip  of  snout  to  eye    . 

Eye  to  meatus  of  ear 

Tip  of  snout  to  root  of  tail 

Length  of  tail 

Girth  at  shoulder 

Height  at  shoulder    . 

Lower  tusk    . 

Upper  tusk     . 

Weight 


Male. 

Female. 

9 

7i 

H 

3i 

47 

40 

13i 

12 

39 

33 

27i 

2.54 

7 

144 

128  lbs. 

85  1b 

206  CELEBES.  [chap. 

the  entrance  of  the  easternmost  inlet.  We  were  not  disappointed 
in  onr  expectations,  for  on  entering  we  found  ourselves  in  a 
beautiful  little  bay  affording  perfect  shelter  from  every  wind. 
East  and  west  two  secondary  inlets  stretched  back,  apparently  free 
from  shoals,  and  choosing  the  latter  of  these  we  anchored  in  twenty- 
five  fathoms  about  four  hundred  yards  from  shore,  the  water  of  the 
bay  being  as  smooth  as  glass.  It  was  by  far  the  best  anchorage 
we  had  met  with  on  the  coast  of  Celebes. 

Around  the  bay  steep  hills  rose  picturesquely,  from  a  thousand 
to  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  height,  clothed  in  thick  vegetation  to 
their  summits.  A  belt  of  yellow  sand  bordered  the  forest,  and 
opposite  our  anchorage  a  httle  patch  of  Nipa  palms  revealed  the 
presence  of  a  stream  of  fresh  water.  Tracing  this  up  w^e  found  a 
narrow  ravine  down  which  the  little  rivulet  leapt  clear  and 
sparkling  from  rock  to  rock,  half  buried  here  and  there  in  a 
wealth  of  greenery.  No  trace  of  human  habitation,  past  or 
present,  was  to  be  seen.  Seldom,  even  in  these  nature-favoured 
islands,  have  I  seen  a  more  pleasant  spot,  and  if  any  of  us  had  a 
desire  for  a  Eobinson  Crusoe  life,  it  might  doubtless  have  been 
passed  as  comfortably  here  as  on  Juan  Fernandez.  There  is  some- 
thing wonderfully  fascinating  about  these  places.  London  with 
her  crowds  and  misery ;  the  squalor  and  teeming  population  of  the 
vast  cities  of  China,  seem  almost  to  belong  to  another  planet.  Yet 
one  thinks  more  about  them  under  such  circumstances  perhaps  than 
one  would  elsewhere.  Surely,  so  long  as  the  world  has  places  such 
as  these,  where  the  foot  of  man  has  rarely  trod,  rich  in  soil  and 
natural  products,  waiting  only  for  the  cultivator  to  give  birth  to  a 
harvest,  the  want  and  misery  that  meet  us  at  every  step  in  the 
crowded  cities  of  Europe  should  not  occur.  Surely,  if  we  wish  to 
relieve  that  want  and  misery,  we  can  do  so  only  by  adjusting  our 
population.  England  has  land  enough  and  to  spare  in  every 
quarter  of  the  globe  waiting  for  willing  hands  to  work  it,  yet  it 
seems  as  if  we  were  ready  to  attempt  any  solution  of  the  difficulty 
rather  than  the  only  and  most  obvious  one. 


IX.]  GORONTALO.  207 

We  left  our  bay — of  which  we  made  a  sketch  survey  ^ — by  the 
same  track,  and  proceeded  for  Gorontalo.  The  coast  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood is  bare  and  rather  lofty,  and  the  Gorontalo  Pdver  has  cut 
its  way  through  it  so  abruptly  that  from  seawards  the  entrance 
looks  like  a  deep  ditch.  ISTearing  it,  this  appearance  becomes  still 
more  marked,  and  the  place  reminds  one  strongly  of  Jamestown  in 
St,  Helena,  though  the  little  river  here  usurps  the  place  of  the 
valley  thickly  dotted  with  white  houses.  The  anchorage,  which  is 
just  within  the  river's  mouth  and  entirely  unprotected  to  the 
south,  is,  as  usual,  a  bad  one,  and  the  soundings  drop  suddenly 
from  twenty  or  thirty  fathoms  to  as  many  inches.  A  small  Dutch 
brigantine  that  we  found  loading  with  copra  had  fourteen  fathoms 
of  water  at  her  bow,  and  thirteen  feet  over  the  taffrail,  and  we  had 
to  anchor  with  the  usual  hawsers  made  fast  astern. 

The  Dutch  have  had  a  settlement  in  Gorontalo  for  nearly  as 
long  a  period  as  they  have  held  Menado,  but  it  has  been  left  pretty 
much  to  itself,  and,  excepting  copra,  little  besides  natural  products 
— gum  copal,  tripang,  wax,  and  tortoiseshell — are  shipped.  The 
town  lies  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  anchoraae,  and  though 
possessing  the  ever  fresh  beauty  common  to  all  Dutch  Malayan 
settlements, — its  houses  buried  amid  luxuriant  fruit-trees,  its  path- 
ways neatly  bordered  with  bamboo  hedges, — it  has  little  else  to 
show,  with  the  exception  of  some  ruinous  and  moss-grown  walls, 
which  are  said  to  have  been  built  in  bygone  days  by  the  Portuguese. 
There  are  a  bare  half  dozen  of  Europeans  in  this  far  away  sleepy 
hollow,  and  among  them,  as  a  matter  of  course,  is  the  inevitable 
German.  He  is  to  be  found  wherever  "dark  continents"  have 
been  penetrated  by  the  white  man,  and  is  as  invariable  a  sign  of 
advancing  civilisation  as  an  empty  sardine  tin,  a  missionary,  or  a 
broken  Bass  bottle.     Most  of  us  know  that  he  bids  fair  to  take  the 

^  Admiralty  chart.  No.  930.  The  Dutch  charts— as  also  the  English,  which  are 
copied  from  them — are  quite  unreliable  for  the  coast  line  in  this  neighbourhood. 
Kalapa  Island,  marked  in  the  chart  as  off  Cape  Flesko,  does  not  exist,  and  the 
islands  and  coast  beyond  appear  to  have  been  laid  down  at  haphazard.  Bv  our 
sights  we  also  made  Gorontalo  eight  miles  east  of  its  assigned  position. 


208  CELEBES.  [chap. 

trade  out  of  our  hands  in  the  Chinese  ports  and  in  man}'  of  oui- 
colonies,  but  he  does  not  confine  himself  to  the  British  flag.  After 
leaving  Batavia  not  an  Englishman  is  to  be  found  in  the  whole  of 
the  Netherlands  India,  but  there  are  Germans  at  almost  every 
settlement.  Although  personally  often  the  best  of  friends  with 
the  Dutch,  the  latter  have,  nationally,  the  strongest  feeling  against 
them,  and  the  subject  is  one  upon  which  every  Hollander  is  ready 
to  dilate  ad  libitum. 

The  Gorontalo  Eiver  drains  the  Limboto  Lake,  and  has  a  course 
of  barely  a  dozen  miles  before  reaching  the  sea.  We  had  a  gTeat 
wish  to  see  the  lake,  and  accordingly  started  early  one  morning  for 
that  purpose.  Leaving  the  harbour,  the  road  leads  northward 
through  the  curious  ditch-like  vaUey  to  the  town,  and  then  emerges 
on  to  a  level  plam  of  considerable  extent,  which  is  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  mountains.  Looking  back,  the  deep  gully  appears  to 
be  almost  equally  well  marked  from  this  side,  and  it  is  evident 
that  in  past  times  the  whole  plain  was  a  vast  lake,  of  which  it 
formed  the  outlet.  "VVe  crossed  a  small  affluent  of  the  Gorontalo, 
and  in  another  mile  or  two  reached  the  east  end  of  the  lake.  It  is 
a  fine  sheet  of  water  about  seven  miles  long,  but  apparently  of  no 
great  depth.  The  water  is  muddy  and  of  a  peculiar  pinkish  colour, 
and  the  shores  are  bordered  by  reeds  in  which  there  was  an 
abundance  of  wild-fowl.  Our  time,  unfortunately,  was  too  Imiited 
to  permit  us  to  pay  much  attention  to  these,  or  to  ^-isit  some  hot 
springs  which  are  said  to  exist  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake, 
but  we  obtained  a  few  characteristic  birds  at  our  embarking  and 
landing  places.  The  most  conspicuous  was  a  Stilt  {Himantopus 
leucocephcdus),  which  occurred  in  some  abundance,  stalking  about  in 
the  sandy  ooze  far  more  gracefully  than,  from  its  gigantic  length  of 
leg,  would  be  thought  possible.  A  beautiful  Jacana  {Hydrcdedor 
gallinaceus)  with  a  reddish-yellow  comb — also  an  native  of  Australia 
— fell  to  our  guns,  and  we  found  the  handsome  purple  Coot 
{Porplujrio  indicus)  common  in  the  reeds.  Had  we  been  able 
to  stay  in  the  neighbourhood  we   might,  no  doubt,  have  added 


IX.]  ERUPTION  OF  KEAKATAU.  209 

largely  to  oiu-  collectious,  for  the  lake  appeared  to  swarm  with 
water-bu-ds  and  waders. 

From  the  little  hamlet  of  Limboto  on  the  northern  shore  a 
track  leads  over  the  mountains  to  Kwandang,  a  \dllage  on  the  other 
side  of  the  peninsula,  and  by  this  means,  and  the  help  of  native 
praus,  communication  is  kept  up  with  Menado  during  the  prevalence 
of  the  south-east  monsoon.  Of  its  use  we  had  evidence  while  we 
were  at  G-orontalo,  for  from  a  letter  sent  overland  in  this  manner 
we  got  our  first  intelligence  of  the  appalling  eruption  of  Krakatau. 
The  inhabitants  of  Macassar  had  heard  it  plainly,  and,  as  we  had 
sailed  on  the  same  morning  with  the  intention  of  passing  tlu'ough 
the  intricate  Spermonde  Archipelago,  it  was  surmised  that  the 
JIarchcsa  had  gone  ashore  and  was  firing  guns  for  assistance,  and  a 
prau  was  accordingly  sent  to  discover  oiu'  whereabouts.  We  learnt 
that  the  eruption  had  also  been  heard  at  sea  off  the  island  of 
Bouton.  At  a  later  period  of  the  voyage  we  found  that  the  sound 
of  the  explosions  had  actually  reached  Xew  Guinea. 

The  coast  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Gorontalo 
Eiver  is  utterly  imtropical  in  appearance,  and  as  different  from 
every  other  part  of  Celebes  that  we  had  seen  as  could  well  be 
imagined.  Bold,  rocky  promontories,  and  headlands  on  which 
there  is  but  little  vegetation,  replace  the  usual  sandy  beaches  where 
the  dense  jungle  hangs  over  the  water,  and  the  wavelets  break 
in  short,  crisp  plashes.  Here  the  formation  is  granitic,  and 
enormous  blocks  of  that  rock,  often  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  height, 
line  the  shore,  which  at  this  season  is  washed  by  a  sea  sufficiently 
rough  to  make  landing  in  a  small  boat  diflficiilt,  if  not  impossible. 
It  is  only  some  distance  inland,  or  in  the  deeper  gullies,  that  any 
patches  of  woodland  occur.  Pandani  of  a  species  we  had  not  seen 
before  grew  here — large,  and  with  thick  ringed  trunks,  and  at  a 
distance  looking  like  the  Candelabra  Euphorbia.  Xor  are  the 
inhabitants  less  different.  Instead  of  the  short,  broad-faced  natives 
of  the  Tondano  district,  we  found  a  taller  and  darker  people 
of  mixed  blood,  many  of  whom  had  the  piercing  look  of  a 
VOL.  II.  P 


210  CELEBES.  [chap. 

Kling.      The  language  prevailing  is  quite  distinct  from  any  in 
Minahasa. 

The  people  of  the  ^dllage  of  Liatto,  a  short  distance  eastwards 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Gorontalo,  are  Mohammedans,  as  indeed  are 
all  the  natives  in  this  district  who  are  not  Pagans,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, we  found  wild  boars  abundant  and  unmolested  in  their 
plantations,  and  were  able  to  shoot  several  of  them.  Here  and  in 
Gorontalo  small-pox  was  very  prevalent,  and  at  one  village  of  no 
sreat  size  the  chief  told  us  that  there  were  over  a  hundred  cases. 
The  Dutch  have  not  introduced  vaccination  here  as  they  have  in 
Minahasa,  and  the  disease  was  consequently  very  fatal.  In 
Gorontalo  itself,  where  the  population  is  more  mixed,  and  includes 
Bugis,  Klings,  and  other  races,  in  addition  to  over  a  hundred 
Chinese,  the  death-rate  was  not  nearly  so  high. 

Thanks  to  the  kindness  of  one  of  our  German  friends,  we  made 
an  addition  to  tlie  Marchesas  menagerie  in  the  shape  of  another 
Sapi-utan.  It  was  a  young  bull  only  a  few  months  old,  and 
scarcely  more  than  twenty-four  inches  high,  its  body  covered  with 
a  light  yellowish-brown  woolly  hair,  and  the  horns  three  inches  in 
length.  It  remained  with  us  until  we  reached  Ternate,  when  we 
despatched  it  to  England,  but,  like  the  other  we  had  obtained  at 
Menado,  it  unfortunately  did  not  live  to  reach  its  destination. 

The  Kontroleur  of  Gorontalo  was  anxious  to  visit  Pogoyama, 
a  village  lying  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  five  and  twenty  miles  farther 
up  the  gulf,  his  principal  object  being  to  secure  a  man  who  had 
recently  committed  a  murder,  or  at  least  to  put  such  pressure  upon 
the  chiefs  as  would  ensure  his  being  eventually  delivered  up  to 
justice.  We  therefore  arranged  to  proceed  to  the  place  in  the 
yacht,  and  the  party — which  consisted  of  the  Kontroleur  and  half 
a  dozen  coloured  police — having  been  got  aboard  at  an  early  hour, 
we  sailed  before  daybreak  for  our  destination.  Native  authority 
also  was  to  be  represented,  and  we  carried  the  son  of  the  late 
Sultan  of  Gorontalo  and  his  attendants — a  title,  by  the  way,  which 
has  been  abolished  by  the  Dutch.     We  arrived  off  the  entrance  of 


IX.] 


POGOYAMA. 


211 


the  river  after   four  hours'  pleasant  steaming,  for  the  sea-breeze 
had  not   sprung   up,  and  tlie  surface  of  the  water  was   almost 


SAPI-UTAN.     (Anoa  dejjressicornis.) 
Froiji  a  Photograph  of  a  Seven-year-old  Male  in  the  Rotterdam  Gardens. 

unruffled.^     As  we  crept  cautiously  in,  for  we  had  no  charts  to  aid 

1  At  Gorontalo  the  sea-breeze  at  this  season  sets  in  from  the  S.S.E.  about  9.30 
A.M.  and  blows  strong  until  3  p.m.  or  even  later.  The  land-breeze  begins  regularly 
at  6  P.M.  It  blows  steadily  through  the  night,  and  is  very  cool.  Although  Gorontalo 
is  almost  on  the  equator,  the  thermometer  between  decks  during  our  visit  invariably 
sank  to  78°. 


212  CELEBES.  [chap. 

us,  we  eucouiitered  a  strong  stream  of  the  colour  of  pea -soup, 
which  led  us  to  conclude  that  a  considerable  body  of  water  was 
debouchmg  here.  On  reversing  the  engines,  however,  the  screw 
suddenly  revealed  deep  water  of  a  clear  sapphire  blue,  having 
washed  aside  wliat  proved  to  be  merely  a  shallow  surface  layer  of 
the  muddy  river.  Anchoring  was  even  more  anxious  work  than 
usual,  owing  to  the  depth  of  water  and  its  sudden  shoaling,  and  the 
strong  eddies  we  experienced,  but  we  eventually  found  ourselves 
in  a  fairly  secure,  although  somewhat  extraordinary  berth.  We 
had  seven  fathoms  of  water  at  our  bow,  and  six  at  the  stern,  whilst 
amidships  our  keel  must  have  been  almost  touching.  Astern  of  us 
the  trees  were  less  than  twenty  yards  off,  and  within  thirty  feet,  on 
our  starboard  side,  the  water  was  only  ankle  deep  !  Truly,  one  be- 
comes acquainted  with  strange  anchorages  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
Landing  the  Kontroleur  and  his  policemen  for  their  interview 
with  the  chief,  we  continued  our  way  up  the  river  in  the  boats. 
The  scenery  w^as  extremely  pretty.  The  bareness  of  the  country 
round  Gorontalo  had  disappeared,  and  we  found  ourselves  once  more 
in  the  midst  of  tropical  vegetation  of  the  usual  type.  The  river 
flowed  between  abrupt,  forest-clad  hills  of  considerable  height,  but 
at  a  distance  of  about  four  or  five  miles  from  the  mouth  became 
beset  with  rapids  and  shallows,  the  passage  of  wliich  was  difficult 
even  in  a  native  canoe.  There  was  no  distinct  \illage,  the  houses 
being  scattered  at  intervals  along  the  banks.  They  were  built  on 
land,  but  each  was  pro%ided  with  a  little  stage  or  pier  erected  over 
the  stream,  where  the  natives  could  be  seen  embarking  and  dis- 
embarking in  their  canoes,  or  dipping  up  water  from  the  river  b}' 
means  of  a  long  bamboo.  The  Pogoyama  people  speak  a  dialect 
of  the  Gorontalo  language,  and,  though  probably  free  from  any 
admixture  of  Papuan  blood,  seemed  to  us  taller  and  darker  than  is 
usual  among  those  of  Malayan  race.  Those  whom  we  saw  were  not 
of  particularly  prepossessing  appearance,  and  offered  a  marked  con- 
trast to  the  mild-eyed  Minahasans  we  had  left  only  three  or  four 
weeks  before. 


IX.]  ANCIEXT  BURIAL-PIT.  213 

AVe  found  a  nimiber  of  quartz  pebbles  in  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
and  on  our  return  rejoined  the  Kontroleur,  who  had  with  him 
a  small  nut  half  full  of  gold  dust,  which  had  been  obtained  by 
panning  out  the  river  sand.  The  natives  here  and  at  l*agowat — a 
\illage  thirty  miles  farther  up  the  gulf — pay  their  tax  to  the  Dutch 
Govermnent  in  gold,  and  are  allowed  twelve  guilders  for  as  much 
as  will  balance  a  one  guilder  piece.  All  this  gold  is  alhuial,  the 
natives  being  unacquainted  with  the  art  of  quartz-crushing,  but,  if 
their  statements  were  to  be  believed,  they  knew  of  gold-bearing 
rock  at  a  place  some  miles  distant  inland ;  "  a  face  of  rock,"  to  use 
the  words  of  my  informant,  "  where  the  gold  could  be  seen  like  the 
veins  on  a  man's  hand."  The  Government  appears  to  take  little 
or  no  interest  in  the  subject,  and  some  time  before  our  ^^sit  had 
readily  granted  a  concession  to  a  Dutchman  to  work  the  district. 
He  died  shortly  afterwards  in  the  island  of  Batchian,  and  no  steps 
have  been  taken,  either  before  or  since,  to  explore  the  locality. 

We  heard  a  curious  story  of  a  deep  pit  which  exists  at  the  west 
point  of  the  bay,  about  four  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  This 
pit  is  said  to  contain  a  great  number  of  huuian  bones,  and  the  legend 
ran  that,  in  ancient  times,  some  great  chief  suspected  the  presence  of 
gold  at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  sent  a  number  of  men  down  to  obtain 
it  for  him.  The  Spirit  protecting  the  treasure,  indignant  at  its 
possession  being  thus  rudely  attempted  without  some  propitiatory 
offering,  revenged  herself  by  slaughtering  the  intruders,  and  their 
bones  remain  as  a  warning  to  the  present  day.  As  our  time  was 
limited  to  a  single  day,  and  we  wished  to  explore  the  river,  we 
had  to  be  content  with  despatching  some  men  to  the  place  with 
instructions  to  bring  us  perfect  crania,  or,  failing  these,  the  best 
specimens  that  they  could  obtain.  They  returned  in  the  evening 
with  several  femora  and  other  bones,  but  only  fragments  of  skulls. 
All  were  of  adults,  and  some  of  women.  The  men  told  us  that 
there  was  no  pit,  and  that  they  had  found  them  near  the  shore,  but 
a  native  at  once  said  that  they  had  not  discovered  the  right  place, 
and  that  the  pit,  which  was  a  very  deep  one,  was  in  the  forest, 


214  CELEBES.  [chap. 

It  was  unfortunate  that  we  could  not  visit  tlie  place  ourselves.  The 
tlieory  that  the  story  was  in  the  main  correct,  and  the  ^dctims  had 
met  their  death  from  the  presence  of  carbonic  acid  gas  at  the 
bottom  of  the  cave,  of  course  presented  itself,  but  it  seems  more 
probable  that  it  was  merely  some  ancient  burying-place.  Although 
I  am  not  aware  that  cave  sepulture  exists  in  Celebes,  it  is  know^n 
to  do  so  in  Luzon  and  other  islands  of  the  Phihppines. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  Celebesian  fauna  and  their  interpreta- 
tion have  been  most  alily  expounded  by  ]\Ir.  "Wallace  in  his  "  i\Ialay 
Archipelago,"  and  are  known  to  every  zoologist.  To  my  non- 
naturalist  readers,  however,  I  may  perhaps  be  permitted  Iniefly  to 
mention  them.  Celebes  is  singularly  poor  in  mammals,  but  putting 
aside  those  that  have  most  prol)ably  been  introduced  l3y  man,  an 
extraordinarily  large  proportion  of  them  are  found  to  be  peculiar  to 
the  island,  and  many — such  as  the  Anoa,  the  Babirusa,  and  the 
black,  baboon-like  ape^ — are  without  near  allies  in  any  of  the 
neighbouring  islands.  The  birds,  too,  are  remarkable  for  the  same 
reason.  Scissirostncm,  the  peculiar  starling  to  wdiich  I  have  alluded 
(p.  168),  and  another  with  a  curious,  laterally-compressed  crest  of 
steely  blue  feathers  {Basilornis)  ;  two  black  and  white  magpie-like 
birds  {Streptocitta) — known  to  the  nati^•es  as  the  hurong  pajidita  or 
missionary  birds,  from  their  sober  plumage  and  white  collar ;  the 
beautiful  blue  EoUer,  and  still  more  lovely  Kingfisher,  Ceyco2)sis 
fallax ;  the  Maleo,  and  many  others,  are  forms  characteristic  of 
Celebes  alone.^  Like  peculiarities  are  found  among  the  butterflies 
and  other  insects,  and  for  these  and  other  reasons  there  is  but  little 
doubt  that  Celebes,  in  spite  of  the  proximity  of  the  surrounding 

^  Mr.  "Wallace  ("Geographical  Distiibution  of  Animals,"  vol.  i.,  p.  427)  says, 
"  there  is  some  doubt  about  the  allied  species  or  variety  {Cijno2nt1iecii,s  nigcr)  of  the 
Philippines  being  really  indigenous  there." 

-'  The  Maleo,  the  Babirusa,  and  other  peculiar  Celebesian  forms  were  remarked 
upon  by  the  old  Spanish  voj-agers.  Purehas  says  of  the  island  of  Batchian,  which 
seems  to  have  been  confused  with  Celebes,  that  "  tliere  be  here  small  Hennes  which  lay 
their  egges  vnder  the  ground  aboue  a  Fathome  and  a  halfe,  and  the  egges  are  bigger 
than  Duck's  egges.  .  .  .  There  are  Hogs  also  with  homes  and  parats  which  prattle 
much. " 


IX.]  ANTIQUITY  OF  CELEBES.  215 

lands,  became  isolated  at  an  exceedingly  remote  geological  epoch. 
"  It  probably  dates,"  says  Mr.  Wallace,  "  from  a  period  not  only 
anterior  to  that  when  Borneo,  Java,  and  Sumatra  were  separated 
from  the  continent,  but  from  that  still  more  remote  epoch  when  the 
land  that  now  constitutes  these  islands  had  not  risen  above  the 
ocean." 

We  left  Pogoyama  early  on  the  day  following  our  arrival,  and 
dropping  our  friend  the  Kontroleur  and  his  policemen  and  our 
other  passengers  at  Gorontalo,  sailed  the  same  evening  for  Ternate. 
AVe  had  been  very  fortunate  in  our  collections,  and  had  added  two 
birds  {Astur  trivirgatvs  and  Alccdo  lengalensis)  to  the  list  of  the 
Celebesian  a\'ifauna ;  we  had  had  excellent  weather  and  good  sport, 
and  had  met  with  many  kind  acquaintances  and  friends.  But 
foremost  among  our  pleasant  memories  of  the  tune  we  spent  in 
Celebes  were  those  of  smiling  faces  and  rose-bedecked  cottages  in 
the  mountains  of  ]\Iinahasa. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE   MOLUCCAS. 

Ternate — The  town — The  Resident's  aviaiy — Live  Birds  of  Paradise — History  of 
the  island — Remains  of  the  old  forts — Climate — Moluccan  birds — The  trade  in 
Paradise  Birds — We  enlist  our  huntei-s — Arrival  of  the  monthly  mail — Leave 
for  Batchian — Passage  of  the  Herberg  Strait — The  "Kapten  Laut  " — Obi 
Major — Tanysiptcra  dbierms — Birds  of  the  Obi  group — Ruins  on  the  deserted 
island — "We  explore  the  west  coast — Obi  Latu  Island — Dead  mangrove  swamp 
— Bisa  Island — Retiu'n  to  Batchian — Dance  given  by  the  Sultan  of  Batchian — 
Fort  Barneveld — Wallace's  Bird  of  Paradise — A  deer  hunt— Sago-making — 
Visit  to  the  Weda  Islands — Sail  for  New  Guinea. 

East  of  Northern  Celebes,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  hundred 
miles  or  more  of  deep  sea,  lie  the  Spice  Islands.  I  had  nearly 
said  the  Moluccas,  but  this  name,  restricted  in  former  days  to  the 
little  chain  of  volcanic  islets  lying  off  the  western  coast  of  Gilolo, 
of  which  Ternate  is  the  chief,  now  includes  all  the  islands  between 
Celebes  and  the  Papuan  group.  Our  passage  over  tliis  strip  of  blue 
water,  which  the  soundings  tell  us  to  have  existed  for  countless 
ages,  was  pleasant  enough  despite  the  S.E.  monsoon,  for  here  the 
latter,  becoming  diverted  from  its  course,  blows  from  the  south  or 
even  the  south-west,  and  what  little  wind  we  experienced  was  in  our 
favour.  Approaching  from  the  west  we  rounded  the  small  island 
of  Mitara,  and  early  on  the  mornmg  of  tlie  28th  of  September 
dropped  anchor  off  Ternate. 

As  far  as  regards  magnificence  of  scenery,  Ternate  is  perhaps 
the  finest  harbour  in  the  Dutch  Indies,  for  it  boasts  of  two  volcanic 
peaks — both  of  them  about  six  thousand  feet  in  height — wliich  are 


St3jiford:s    GtoQ^  Estah^,  Lo 


CHAP.  X.]  TERN  ATE.  217 

of  wonderfully  graceful  outline.  That  of  the  island  of  Tidor,  which 
shelters  the  anchorage  to  the  south,  rises  majestically  from  a  mass 
of  wild  and  gloomy-looking  hills,  but  Ternate  consists  of  the 
volcano  alone,  which  leaves  little  room  for  the  town  to  nestle  at 
its  foot.  Eastward,  across  a  wide  strait,  are  the  rugged  blue 
mountains  of  the  island  of  Gilolo,  or  Halmaheira  as  the  Dutch 
call  it,  whose  quaint  and  spidery  shape  is  almost  a  replica  of 
Celebes  upon  a  small  scale.  The  view  is  a  very  beautiful  one, 
and  it  was  none  the  less  appreciated  by  us  from  the  fact  that,  for 
once  in  our  lives,  we  were  not  obliged  to  lay  out  anchors  all  round 
the  ship,  or  to  "  tie  her  up  to  a  tree." 

Were  a  traveller  placed  at  haphazard  in  any  one  of  these  Dutch 
Malaysian  villages — for  one  can  hardly  dignify  even  Ternate  by 
the  name  of  town — he  would,  I  am  sure,  have  no  little  difficulty 
in  discovering  his  whereabouts  for  a  moment  or  two,  even  if  a 
native  of  the  place.  If  he  were  to  catch  sight  of  the  volcano — for 
there  is  always  one  close  at  hand — he  would,  of  course,  soon  get  his 
bearings,  as  he  would  too  if  he  were  to  come  across  the  white- 
washed "  Harmonic "  where  the  Dutchmen  are  drinking  their 
pijtjes.  But  the  streets  themselves  present  an  iteration  of  tropical 
vegetation  and  native  huts,  of  bamboo-fenced  compounds  and  low, 
verandahed  houses  that  would  baffle  even  a  resident.  Ternate  has 
its  avenue — a  magnificent  row  of  yellow-leaved,  scarlet-blossomed 
Galdas — winding  along  close  to  the  edge  of  the  sea,  so  close  indeed 
that  the  waves  lap  the  roots  of  the  outer  trees,  beneath  whose 
shade  are  pulled  up  praus  of  all  sizes,  from  the  smallest  "  dug-out " 
to  the  large  Ceram  or  Banda  trader.  Opposite,  facing  seaward,  are 
the  houses  of  the  Europeans,  with  coloured  glass  balls,  and  yet 
more  atrocious  red  and  white  striped  tlower-pots,  in  their  front 
gardens.  Walking  inland,  past  the  dark,  cool  fruit-orchards  where 
mangoes,  durians,  citrons,  and  a  dozen  other  tropical  fruits  are 
growing,  we  come  to  a  vast  collection  of  old  tombs  —  Dutch, 
Chinese,  Portuguese,  even  Spanish  perliaps,  for  they  too  are  among 
the  alien  races  who  spilt  their  blood  in  the  struggle  for  wealth 


218  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

which  devastated  this  pleasant  Eden  three  centuries  ago.  Over- 
grown with  grass  and  rank  vegetation,  they  lie  unheeded,  waiting 
for  entire  obhteration  at  the  hands  of  Xature.  Even  of  the  large 
Chinese  tombs  little  remains  in  many  cases  but  the  merest  traces 
of  tlieir  horseshoe-shaped  walls. 

From  these  memorials  of  now  happily  bygone  times  a  slightly- 
rising  stretch  of  smooth  turf,  dotted  with  fruit-trees  of  every  descrip- 
tion, leads  up  to  jom  the  lower  slopes  of  the  momitain,  which  is 
clothed  with  vegetation  almost  to  its  simamit,  and  scarred  with 
deep  furrows.  The  actual  apex  of  the  volcano,  from  which  floats  a 
light  stream  of  smoke,  appears  blunt  and  iiTCgular  from  the  town, 
but  seen  from  Sidangoli  on  the  coast  of  Gilolo,  we  found  it  even 
shai^per  than  the  peak  of  Tidor.  Eor  all  its  seeming  peacefulness, 
however,  Ternate  has  been  the  scene  of  many  eruptions— of  no  less 
than  fourteen  since  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  we 
are  told ;  and  earthquakes,  slight  though  they  may  be,  still  keep  its 
presence  constantly  in  mind.  The  Ternatians  have  a  quamt  legend 
about  it, — that  whenever  the  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  island 
exceeds  the  height  of  the  volcano  an  eruption  is  not  long  in  coming. 
Such  a  condition  existed  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  but  we  were  not 
fortunate  enough  to  be  witnesses  of  what  the  Dutch  expressively 
term  an  uitlarsting. 

One  of  our  first  visits  was  to  the  Eesident,  Mr.  Van  Bruijn 
Morris.  He  had  just  returned  from  a  voyage  to  New  Guinea,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  had  been  as  far  east  as  Humboldt  Bay,  the 
extreme  Imiit  of  the  Dutch  claim  on  the  northern  coast.  The 
Challenger,  it  will  be  remembered,  touched  at  this  spot  on  her 
way  to  the  Philippines,  and,  like  the  officers  of  that  ship,  the 
Eesident  had  not  met  with  a  very  pleasant  reception,  although  no 
actual  fighting  with  the  natives  had  ensued.  "VYe  obtamed  from 
him,  and  from  the  captain  of  his  yacht — the  Sing-Tjin — some 
useful  information  on  the  localities  we  intended  to  visit,  together 
with  some  Dutch  charts  and  hydrogi-aphical  notes,  which  we  after- 
wards found  of  great  assistance.     Fonnal  calls  having  been  ex- 


X.J 


THE  RESIDE  NT'S  AVIARY. 


219 


changed,  we  soon  Ijeeame  intimate ;  with  the  more  readiness, 
perhaps,  on  finding  that  Mr.  Morris  took  great  interest  in  birds,  of 
which  he  had  made  a  large  collection  on  his  travels.  His  aviary,  a 
large  and  well-lighted  room,  kept  with  great  care,  contained  a  great 
variety  of  the  rarest  and  most  beautifnl  of  the  parrots  of  the 
Papuan    region  —  the    gigantic  -  beaked    Microglossus,   sombre  ^  of 


'  //' 


HEAD  OF  1'ESQUEt's  I'AKUOT.     {DasyptUus  pesqiieti.)\ 


plumage  and  slow  of  movement;  the  long -tailed  Aprosmidus 
dorsalis,  of  wonderfully  vivid  hues;  numbers  of  brush -tougued 
lories  of  every  shade  of  colour ;  the  jetty-plumaged  Chalcopsittacus 
atcr ;  and  lastly,  most  singular  of  all  its  kind,  the  rare  Pesquet's 
I'arrot  (Dasyptilus  2)i'squcfi),  half  vulturine  in  appearance,  and  with 
the  face  and  throat  bare — a  native  of  the  mainland  of  New  Guinea. 
But  the  gems  of  the  collection  were  two  superb  specimens — both 
full-plumaged  males — of  the  Twelve -wired  Bird  of  Paradise 
{Seleucidcs).  The  native-prepared  skins  seen  in  European  museums 
give  no  idea  of  the  glorious  beauty  of  the  living  bird.  The  sub- 
alar  plumes,  wdiose  prolonged  and  wire-like  shafts  have  given  the 


220  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap 

bird  its  English  name,  are  of  a  rich  golden  yellow,  and  tlie  pectoral 
shield,  when  spread,  shows  to  advantage  its  tipping  of  metallic 
emerald.  These  exquisite  creatures  were  fed  on  the  fruit  of  the 
Pandanus,  with  an  occasional  cockroach  as  a  honne  houchc.  In 
devouring  the  insects,  which  they  did  by  throwing  them  in  the  air 
and  catching  them  again,  they  displayed  the  wonderful  grass-green 
colouring  of  the  inside  of  the  mouth  and  throat.  The  feelings  of 
admiration  with  which  I  watched  these  birds,  which  are  among 
the  most  exquisitely  beautiful  of  all  li\'ing  beings,  I  need  not 
attempt  to  descril^e.  My  reader,  if  a  naturalist,  will  divine  them ; 
if  not,  no  description  of  mme  w^ould  ever  make  him  realise  the 
intense  pleasure  of  the  first  sight  of  such  masterpieces  of  colouring. 
As  we  were  anxious  to  overhaul  gear  and  get  some  small  repairs 
and  alterations  done  on  board,  w^e  endeavoured  to  find  some  Icind 
of  cottage  or  house  in  the  town  in  which  we  might  instal  ourselves 
until  we  were  ready  to  put  to  sea.  Only  one  was  available,  and, 
as  it  was  actually  unfinished,  as  well  as  unfurnished  and  very  damp, 
we  found  ourselves  in  a  difficulty,  from  which,  however,  we  were 
at  once  relieved  by  one  of  our  kind  Dutch  friends — Mr.  de  Bruijn 
Prince — who  took  us  bag  and  baggage  to  his  house,  and  made  us 
his  guests  until  our  departure.  I  mention  this  as  only  one  of  the 
many  acts  of  kindness  we  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the  Dutch 
merchants  and  officials  in  the  Malay  Archipelago, — kindness  to 
which  our  very  pleasant  recollections  of  civilisation  in  these  parts 
are  in  no  small  degree  due.  In  this  instance  it  was  of  the  greatest 
service  to  us,  enabling  us  to  dry  and  arrange  the  specimens  we 
had  already  collected,  and  to  clear  the  ship  of  useless  lumber  in 
order  to  make  room  for  the  "trade"  it  was  necessary  to  lay  in 
before  starting  for  the  New  Guinea  region.^     The  house  stood  at 

^  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  articles  with  which  we  were  provided  : — 


30  pieces  Turkey  red 
50      ,,      prints 
20      ,,      dark  blue  cotton 
30  cotton  shirts 
10,000  needles 


Reels  of  cotton 

2  gross  packets  of  pins 

6  doz.  axes 

12  bottles  of  sweets 

Beads,  assorted 


X.]  HISTORY  OF  TERN  ATE.  221 

the  back  of  the  town  iu  a  little  compound,  with  the  usual  large 
whitewashed  pillars  at  the  entrance-gates.  Here  in  the  Moluccas 
the  Nipa-leaf  attaps,  which  in  Borneo  and  Sulu  form  the  sides  and 
partitions  of  the  native  huts,  or  even  the  residences  of  the  Europeans, 
are  replaced  by  the  gala-gaba — the  leaf-stalk  of  the  sago  palm. 
In  section  these  stalks  or  midribs  are  V-shaped,  and  hence,  when 
placed  upright  and  one  against  the  other,  they  form  an  imbricated 
wall  of  considerable  strength,  which,  when  smoothed  and  painted 
white,  looks  fairly  neat. 

The  gardens  and  woods  surrounding  us,  though  doubtless  a 
paradise  for  the  botanist,  were  singularly  devoid  of  bird-life,  and 
even  our  rambles  farther  afield  to  the  coffee  and  other  plantations 
on  the  slopes  of  the  volcano  were  equally  unproductive.  But 
walks  in  Ternate  were  nevertheless  enjoyable  from  the  history 
associated  with  the  island,  and  the  moss-grown  ruins  of  old  walls 
which  ever  and  anon  crop  up  to  remind  one  of  the  bygone 
struggles  of  the  Spanish,  Portuguese,  and  Dutch  for  its  possession. 
Xow  an  air  of  placid  somnolence  pervades  the  place,  and  will 
remain,  probably,  for  all  time,  except  it  be  for  the  mighty  forces 
which  lie  dormant  within  the  huge  volcanic  cone.  At  this 
distance   of  time   we    catch   ourselves   wondering   how   it   could 


Coloured  scarves  and  handkerchiefs 

Vl\  doz.  clasp-knives 

500  round  gold  Chinese  buttons 

6  gross  Chinese  buttons 

220  Chinese  looking-glasses 

6  small  musical-boxes 


150  lbs.  Chinese  tobacco 
50  lbs.  American      ,, 
12  bars  of  iron 
Brass-wire 
Fish-hooks 
Malay  sarongs 

Besides  these  Ave  carried  muskets  and  gunpowder,  not  for  bartering  vnXh.  the  untrust- 
worthy natives  of  the  mainland,  which  would  have  been  contrary  to  Dutch  law  as 
well  as  our  own  principles,  but  for  exchange  Avith  the  half  Malay  hunters  of  the 
Puijah  ampat,  as  the  district  over  Avhich  the  Sultan  of  Tidor  claims  authority  is 
named.  Perhaps  the  most  marketable  of  all  the  above  articles  were  the  Chinese 
gold  buttons,  of  which  the  natives  made  eamngs,  but  the  axes  and  iron  were  also  a 
good  deal  run  after.  The  "Turkej-  red"  and  cottons  were  almost  useless,  for  the 
Papuan  is — from  a  medical  point  of  view — a  wise  man,  and  does  not  set  his  affections 
on  clothing.  Curiously  enough,  the  natives  did  not  seem  to  care  for  the  fish-liooks, 
although  their  own,  which  are  generally  cut  out  of  the  clam  or  some  other  shell,  are 
very  clumsy. 


222  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

possibly  have  come  about  that  the  trade  in  such  insignificant 
objects  as  cloves  and  nutmegs  should  have  been  considered  as  of 
almost  equal  importance  with  the  riches  of  the  Xew  World. 
Yet  Ternate  for  nearly  two  centuries  was  the  scene  of  as  much 
bloodshed  and  cruelty  as  any  spot  on  the  surface  of  the  globe. 
So  long  ago  as  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  spices  of  the 
Moluccas  were  made  known  to  the  civilised  world  by  the  Bugis 
and  other  native  traders,  but  it  was  not  until  1511  that  Antonio 
d'Abreu  sailed  into  these  unknown  waters  and  returned  with  his 
laden  galleon  from  Amboina.  His  accounts  excited  the  cupidity 
of  the  Portuguese,  liut  the  constant  fighting  that  their  conquests 
in  Malacca  and  Sumatra  entailed  obliged  them  to  postpone  their 
designs  on  these  still  more  distant  regions.  Ten  years  later — the 
year  of  the  discovery  of  the  Philippines  by  ]\Iagellan  on  his 
memorable  voyage  round  the  world — an  expedition  was  fitted  out 
under  Antonio  de  Brito.  It  reached  Ternate,  and  finding  the 
Trinitie — one  of  the  ships  of  Magellan's  squadi-on — in  the  port, 
seized  her  and  sent  her  crew  as  prisoners  to  JMalacca.  De  Brito 
and  his  people  were  received  with  the  greatest  kindness  by  the 
Ternatians,  and  before  the  year  was  out  had  built  a  fort  upon  the 
island.  Once  fairly  established  there  was  no  longer  need  for  the 
conceahnent  of  their  designs,  and  they  commenced  the  hateful 
policy  which,  in  those  days,  characterised  the  Dutch  and  Portu- 
guese alike.  For  more  than  sixty  years  the  history  of  the  islands 
is  little  else  than  a  record  of  the  most  atrocious  cruelties  and  the 
vilest  acts  of  treachery.  At  the  end  of  that  time  their  power, 
which  had  been  gradually  waning,  was  practically  crushed  by  a 
rising  of  the  islanders  and  the  capture  of  their  forts.  ]\Ieanwhile 
the  Spaniards,  in  spite  of  having  agreed  in  1529  to  renounce  their 
claim  to  the  Moluccas  for  the  sum  of  350,000  ducats,  had  not  only 
intrigued  against  the  authority  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  islands, 
but  had  even  fitted  out  expeditions  against  them,  although  without 
success.  In  1606,  however,  a  squadron  from  Manila  succeeded  in 
taking  both  Tidor  and  Ternate,  but,  strangely  enough,  no  garrison 


X.]  RUINED  PORTUGUESE  FORTS.  223 

appears  to  have  been  established.  The  unhappy  natives  were 
nevertheless  not  destined  to  be  left  long  undisturbed.  The 
intrigues  of  the  Dutch,  whose  vessels  had  for  years  hamited 
Moluccan  waters,  were  at  length  successful,  and  in  1613  they 
contrived  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  Sultan  of  Ternate,  by 
which  the  latter  agreed  that  the  trade  in  cloves  should  be  the 
exclusive  pri^dlege  of  Holland.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  end, — 
a  jump  from  the  Portuguese  fr}-ing-pan  into  the  Dutch  fire, — for 
once  furnished  with  a  handle  so  convenient  as  the  treaty  atibrded, 
the  latter  nation  did  not  scruple  to  use  it.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  a  strict  adherence  to  the  terms  of  the  agi'eement  was  practically 
impossible  for  the  natives,  and  under  the  pretext  of  their  infraction 
the  various  islands  were  reduced  with  short  ceremony.  Thus,  bit 
by  bit,  the  Moluccas  passed  into  Dutch  hands,  and  their  miserable 
inhabitants  were  not  long  in  discovering  that  Dutch  treachery  and 
Dutch  cruelties  were  even  worse  than  those  of  the  Portuguese 
rule.  lievolt  after  revolt  occurred,  the  intervals  between  each 
becoming  longer  as  the  grip  of  HoUand  tightened,  Ijut  in  1681 
the  last  expiring  effort  was  made,  and  thenceforward  the  Spice 
Islands  sank  gradually  into  the  condition  of  dreamy  laisscr  aller 
which  characterises  them  at  the  present  day. 

Signs  of  these  ceaseless  struggles,  in  the  shape  of  ruined  walls 
and  gateways,  are  visible,  as  I  have  mentioned,  at  almost  every 
step  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  but  in  most  cases  little  enough 
can  be  made  out  of  them,  so  tumble-down  is  their  condition.  Three 
forts,  however,  still  remain.  The  largest,  which  is  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  town,  about  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  from  the  sea, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  partly  built  by  the  Portuguese,  is  still 
garrisoned  by  the  Dutch,  and  bears  its  name — "  Fort  Oranje  " — 
over  the  gateway.  At  the  extreme  north  of  the  town,  perched  on 
a  little  promontory  just  above  the  beach,  is  a  small  blockhouse 
which  probably  dates  back  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
It  is  now  in  a  half-ruined  condition,  in  spite  of  attempts  having 
been  made  in  later  times  to  repair  it,  and  vegetation  sprouts  from 


224 


THE  MOLUCCAS. 


[chap. 


the  fissures  iu  its  walls.  The  view  from  it  is  magnificent.  A 
beach  of  dark  sand  and  pebbles,  lined  with  picturesque  huts  half- 
hidden  in  masses  of  banana  and  fruit-trees,  stretches  away  to  the 
south,  and  leads  the  eye  up  to  the  rugged  hills  and  great  peak  of 
Tidor,  which  with  its  sister  cone  of  Ternate  dominates  the  calm 
blue  waters  of  the  harbour.  From  this  point  the  last  of  the  three 
forts  must  be  four  or  five  miles  distant,  situated  as  it  is  beyond 


PORTUGUESE  FORT  AT  THE  NORTH  END  OF  TERXATE. 


the  outskirts  of  the  town  on  the  south  side.  We  came  upon  it 
quite  unexpectedly  during  one  of  our  ornithological  rambles,  for 
though  we  had  asked  our  Dutch  friends  if  there  were  any  ruins  in 
the  neighbourhood,  it  had  not  been  thought  worthy  of  mention. 
Although  considerably  larger  than  the  northern  fort,  it  is  of  no 
great  size,  but  it  appears  to  have  been  built  with  gTeat  care  and 
skill,  to  judge  from  the  perfect  laying  of  the  heavy  masonry  of  the 
embrasures,  and  in  those  days  must  have  been  well-nigh  im- 
pregnable. It  is  no  doubt  contemporaneous  with  the  Portuguese 
occupation;  possibly  indeed  the  first  fort  they  built  on  landing 


x]  PALACE  OF  THE  SULTAN.  225 

here  in  1521.  Now  the  jungle  has  left  it  nothing  but  a  picturesque 
ruin,  almost  invisible  at  a  little  distance  amid  the  confused  mass 
of  greenery.  Trees  grow  within  the  walls,  and,  with  the  rank 
tropical  undergrowth,  have  almost  choked  the  old  chambers.  It 
was  a  snake-suggesting  place,  and  its  exploration  did  not  appear 
to  us  particularly  tempting.  Nor  were  we  repaid  for  our  trouble, 
for  neither  date  nor  inscription  nor  anythmg  else  of  interest 
was  to  be  found.  In  the  blockhouse,  of  which  I  give  an  illustra- 
tion, two  coats  of  arms  were  cut  in  the  masonry  just  within  the 
doorway. 

The  Sultan's  palace,  a  dilapidated-looking  house  in  the  European 
style,  is  the  most  conspicuous  building  in  Ternate.  It  is  perched 
on  the  summit  of  a  small  hill,  and  overlooks  an  expanse  of 
thoroughly  English -looking  grassy  common  reaching  to  the  sea, 
on  whose  shore,  hauled  up  beneath  a  large  open  shed,  lay  the 
imperial  prau.  This  boat,  which  was  canoe -like  in  form  with  a 
cabin  amidships,  and  about  sixty  feet  in  length,  was  a  most 
shapely  craft.  It  was  provided  with  double -banked  outriggers 
on  either  side,  thus  permitting  the  paddlers  to  be  seated  out- 
board. This  form  of  prau  is  common  enough  in  various  parts  of 
the  arcliipelago,  but  we  had  never  seen  one  of  finer  lines.  Just 
below  the  palace  is  a  guard-house,  where,  hanging  up  on  the  walls, 
we  found  some  quaint  old  hats  which  had  belonged,  no  doubt,  to 
the  Dutch  troops  in  bygone  days.  They  were  of  two  kinds ;  one 
of  much  the  same  shape  as  the  hat  worn  by  some  of  our  own 
soldiers  at  the  beginning  of  this  century — like  our  own  "  stove- 
pipe "  shorn  of  its  brim,  provided  with  a  peak,  and  of  considerably 
larger  diameter  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom.  The  other  may 
perhaps  be  best  described  as  a  flat-topped  "pot -hat,"  brimless  at 
the  side,  but  cocked  back  and  front.  Both  of  these  head-coverings, 
leaving  the  nape  of  the  neck  entirely  unprotected,  must  have  ex- 
posed their  wearers  to  every  chance  of  sunstroke.  We  were  told 
that  they  were  still  worn  on  grand  occasions  by  the  Sultan's  guard. 

Although  eight  years'  meteorological  observations  taken  by  the 
VOL.  II.  Q 


226  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

Dutch  at  Ternate  show  that  rain  falls  on  the  average  on  216  days 
in  the  year,  and  that  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  80°  Fahr.,  the 
climate  is  on  the  whole  said  to  be  a  very  pleasant  one,  for,  except 
in  the  montlis  of  December  and  January,  the  rain  for  the  most  part 
occurs  in  heavy  showers  which  alternate  with  liright  sunshine. 
Those  who  spend  their  lives  under  England's  gloomy  skies  can 
hardly  realise  the  fact  that  a  high  rainfall  does  not  necessarily  mean 
an  unpleasant  climate,  and  that  the  British  half-inch  of  rain  is 
attended  with  more  gloom  and  discomfort  than  half  a  foot  would 
be  in  most  tropical  climates.  "We  had  several  extremely  heavy 
showers  during  our  visit,  but  no  day  that  was  not  sunny  and 
bright,  and  with  the  constant  light  sea-breeze  the  temperature 
seemed  delightful.  "VVe  made  l)ut  two  excursions  worthy  of  the 
name ;  one  to  Sidangoli  on  the  coast  of  Gilolo,  where,  in  company 
with  some  of  our  Dutch  friends,  we  went  in  pursuit  of  deer,  of 
which,  in  spite  of  their  abundance,  we  failed  to  shoot  a  single  one  ; 
the  other  to  Tenoto,  half-way  up  the  volcano,  whence,  after  an 
uncomfortable  struggle  up  a  steep  slope  of  plantations,  we  obtained 
a  superb  view  : — a  wonderful  panorama  of  island,  strait,  and  volcano 
as  beautiful  in  its  outline  as  in  the  richness  of  its  ever -varying 
colour. 

"We  added  but  few  birds  and  still  fewer  insects  to  our  collec- 
tions, partly  owing  to  our  time  being  occupied  in  other  ways, 
partly  because  Ternate  is  not  apparently  rich  in  either.  Perhajts 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  birds  on  the  island — one  at  least  which 
would  be  most  likely  to  catch  the  traveller's  eye — is  a  Sun-bird 
(Cinnyris  cmrice2:)s)  of  velvety  black  plumage,  the  head  metallic 
emerald,  the  back  and  throat  of  equally  brilliant  steely  blue.  This 
lovely  little  species  haunts  flowering  shrubs  and  the  crowns  of  the 
coco  palms,  and  is  inconspicuous  enough  till  its  emerald  head 
flashes  back  a  ray  of  sunlight.  A  Ijrilliant  blue  Kingfisher  {Halcyon 
diops)  inhabits  the  island  in  abundance,  the  female  dift'ering  from 
the  male  in  having  a  pectoral  band  of  dull  cobalt ;  but  a  still  more 
strikingly-coloured  Ceyx  {G.  lepida) — coral-billed,  the  under  surface 


X.]  THE  BIRDS  OF  PARADISE.  227 

reddish  orange,  and  the  rump  bright  ultramarine,  we  found  mucli 
rarer.  Gilolo  produced  us  two  of  the  rarer  Pigmy  Doves  {Ptilopus 
monachus  and  ionogaster),  their  grass -green  phimage  varied  with 
shades  of  lavender,  yellow,  and  magenta,  and  the  magnificent 
Ground-thrush  {Pitta  maxima),  the  giant  of  its  genus.  This  Ijird 
is,  like  all  the  Pittas,  of  the  brightest  plumage,  but,  as  it  runs 
along  the  ground,  these  colours  are  invisible,  the  whole  of  the  upper 
surftice  being  a  deep  velvety  black.  Beneath,  the  abdomen  is 
crimson,  and  the  breast  snowy  white  faintly  shot  with  blue  in 
some  lights,  while  the  shoulders  are  of  pale  metalHc  blue  of  extra- 
ordinary brilliancy. 

The  true  Birds  of  Paradise  are,  as  my  reader  is  perhaps  aware, 
entirely  confined  to  New  Guinea  and  its  islands.  A  solitary  ex- 
ception exists  to  prove  the  rule  in  Wallace's  Standard- wing,  which, 
as  far  as  is  yet  known,  occurs  only  in  the  two  Moluccan  Islands 
— Gilolo  and  Batchian.-^  But  though  we  could  look  for  no  li^'in^■ 
Paradiseidie  in  the  forests  and  plantations  of  Ternate,  we  found 
an  abundance  of  their  skins  in  the  cabinets  of  Mr.  Bruijn,  a 
collector  who  nearly  every  year  sends  hunters  to  the  little-known 
regions  of  New  Guinea.  Some  of  them  had  only  recently  returned, 
and  as  the  expedition  had  Ijeen  a  fortunate  one,  we  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  examining  several  of  the  rarer  species  with  which  we 
were  destined  later  to  become  better  acquainted.  The  skins  were 
beautifully  prepared — no  easy  matter  in  damp  climates  such  as  these, 

^  From  the  earliest  writers  up  to  those  of  the  present  day  the  erroneous  state- 
ment is  constantly  made  that  the  Birds  of  Paradise  are  found  in  the  Malay  Islands. 
Camoens  may  be  allowed  a  poet's  licence  when  he  sings — 

"  Olha  ca  pelos  mares  do  Orieute 
As  iutinitas  illias  espalhadas  ; 
Ve  Tidor,  e  Ternate  .   .   . 

Aqui  ha  as  aureus  aves,  que  uao  decem 
Nunca  a  terra,  e  so  mortas  apparecem." 

{Cant.  X.  cxxxii.) 

but  Miss  Bird,  in  her  "Golden  Chersonese,"  brings  them  another  thousand  miles 
farther  west,  and  tells  us  of  their  existence  in  the  Malay  Peninsula  ! 


228  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

where  they  often  remain  limp  for  weeks  after  they  have  been 
removed  from  the  birds'  bodies.  This  difficulty  is  obviated  by  the 
universal  custom  in  vogue  among  Malay  hunters  of  fixing  a  small 
stick  in  the  base  of  the  skull,  the  other  end  of  which  is  allowed  to 
protrude  at  the  vent,  thus  keeping  the  head  and  neck  in  good 
position.  The  skins  of  Birds  of  Paradise,  as  an  article  of  trade,  are 
prepared  in  quite  a  different  manner,  and  ahnost  always  by  Papuan 
natives,  not  by  Malays.  Stripped  off  with  little  or  no  care,  the 
legs  cut  away  and  the  skull  removed,  the  skin  is  pressed  fiat 
between  two  strips  of  bamboo,  and  smoke-dried ;  and,  when  finished, 
it  bears  as  little  resemblance  to  a  bird  as  can  well  be  imagined. 
These  specimens  are,  of  course,  useless  for  the  cabinets  of  a 
naturalist,  even  if  they  are  not  largely  moth-eaten,  as  is  usually 
the  case,  but  great  quantities  of  them  are  sent  to  Europe  for  dress 
and  hat  decoration.  The  trade,  which  has  existed  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years,  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Chinamen,  and 
the  largest  markets  in  the  East  are  Macassar  and  Ternate ;  Am- 
Ijoina  sendmg  a  few  only  to  Batavia, 

Through  the  kind  assistance  of  Mr.  Bruijn,  we  were  able  to 
engage  hunters  for  our  approaching  visit,  to  New  Guinea.  We 
had  already  three  Malays  on  board,  one  an  English-speaking  Singa- 
pore "  boy "  who  skinned  fairly  well,  the  others  two  hunters  we 
had  brought  from  Malacca — JVIomin  and  Achi  by  name,  the  latter 
of  whom  was  an  excellent  fellow  and  a  good  observer.  We  now 
added  nine  others,  in  two  lots  of  five  and  four,  the  one  headed  by 
Usman,  a  native  of  Ternate,  the  other  by  Tahirun,  a  Gilolo  man, 
and  one  of  the  most  unmitigated  scoundrels  in  appearance  I  ever 
came  across.  Never  did  any  one's  face  belie  their  character  more. 
He  was  an  untiring  hunter  and  a  good  naturalist,  spoke  two  New 
Guinea  languages,  and  skinned  well,  and  after  a  little  instruction 
I  found  that  I  could  depend  upon  his  measurements,  accounts  of 
the  habits  of  the  birds,  and  other  details  as  well  as  if  I  had  made 
the  observations  myself.  Of  the  remainder  of  the  men  two  had 
visited  New  Guinea  before,  and  were  fairly  good  shots  and  skinners. 


X.] 


OUR  HUNTERS. 


229 


two  were  perfectly  useless,  and  the  other  three  neither  good  nor 
bad.  A  youth  of  about  sixteen,  some  relation  of  one  of  our  hunters, 
asked  permission  to  accompany  us,  which  we  gave  him.  He  was 
of  assistance  in  carrying  the  birds  while  shooting  in  the  forests, 
and  before  long  became  an  adept  in  the  use  of  the  butterfly-net 
and  a  good  beetle-hunter.     Our  natives,  of  whom  there  were  thus 


thirteen,  had  a  separate  part  of  the  ship's  deck  assigned  to  them, 
where  they  managed  to  live  and  do  their  work  pretty  comfortably. 
By  our  sailors  this  was  always  known  as  "  Queer  Street,"  or  the 
"  Malay  quarter." 

In  Ternate  people  take  life  easily.  A  "  dreamful  ease  "  lulls  one 
in  these  islands  which  renders  exertion  an  impertinence,  and  I 
remember  that  I  was  five  days  in  getting  together  the  ingredients 
for  some  arsenic  soap.  Nearly  every  article  belonged  to  a  different 
owner,  and  though  careful  to  avoid  siesta-time  for  my  calls,  the 
usual  answer  given  me  by  the  Malay  servant,  in  reply  to  my 
inquiry  if  his  master  was  at  home,  was, "  Trada,  tuan :  dia  tidor  " — 
"  He  is  asleep,  sir."     Sleep,  indeed,  appears  to  be  the  chief  occupa- 


230  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

tion  in  the  IMoluccas,  until  it  is  cool  enough  in  the  evening  to  walk 
down  to  the  "  Harmonie  "  and  drink  pijtjes.  The  Malays  are  more 
energetic  than  their  masters,  and  pass  their  time  in  kite-flying,  an 
amusement  which  is  of  absorbing  interest  to  almost  every  one  of 
that  race.  It  is  a  decorous  sport,  demanding  no  great  exertion, 
and  as  such,  I  suppose,  commends  itself  to  tlie  imjDassive  Malay 


character.  The  kites  are  of  many  shapes,  but  in  Ternate  birds  did 
not  appear  to  be  in  fashion  as  in  Sumbawa.  One  very  pretty  one 
I  noticed  was  a  butterfly,  whose  wings  quivered  and  fluttered  in  a 
very  lifelike  manner.  Most  simj)le  of  all  was  that  patronised  by 
the  little  fisher- boys — a  single  leaf  of  large  size,  with  a  tail  of 
bunches  of  bamboo-leaves. 

On  the  7th  of  October  the  monthly  mail  came  in,  and  Ternate 
leapt  suddenly  into  life.  Coolies  hurried  to  and  fro  with  bales  of 
copal,  bundles  of  deers'  horns,  tortoise-shell,  and  other  products ; 
the  merchants,  foregoing  tlieir  siesta,  checked  the  number  of 
the  packages  that  left  their  stores,  and  the  avenue  was  crowded 
with  carts  and  natives  passing  and  repassing.     At  the  pier  a  sort 


X.]  SAIL  FOR  BATCHIAN.  231 

of  fair  in  miniature  was  held,  and  Malays  squatted  in  all  directions 
selling  food  and  cigarettes  for  the  coolies,  cockatoos  and  lories  of 
every  hue  and  size.  Bird  of  Paradise  skins,  and  the  huge  Crowned 
Pigeons  of  New  Guinea.  Cockatoos  screamed,  officers  shouted 
their  orders,  the  donkey  engine  rattled,  and  an  endless  stream  of 
l)ales  and  packages  clattered  over  the  rickety  pier.  By  and  by 
the  steamer  gave  its  final  whistle,  and  the  gangway  w^as  cast  off; 
the  crowd  waited  to  see  her  slowly  disappear,  and  half  an  hour 
later  the  town  was  once  more  plunged  in  its  wonted  condition  of 
somnolence.     The  monthly  transformation  scene  was  over. 

]Mr.  Van  Bruijn  ]Morris  having  to  pay  an  official  visit  to  the 
island  of  Batchian,  and  the  Kontroleur — ]Mr.  Monod  de  Froideville 
— bein<T  also  bound  south  with  the  intention  of  searchincj  for  coal 
reported  to  exist  in  the  uninhabited  Obi  group,  we  arranged  to 
sail  in  company.  Accordingly  we  weighed  anchor  at  5.30  p.m.  on 
the  evening  of  October  9th,  running  up  the  Dutch  ensign  at  the 
fore  as  the  Resident  stepped  aboard.  His  yacht,  the  Sing-Tjin, 
preceded  us  with  the  Kontroleur,  and  we  steered  our  course 
between  the  little  chain  of  islands  to  which  I  have  alluded  and 
the  coast  of  Halmaheii'a.  From  a  little  to  the  south  the  volcano 
of  Ternate  revealed  itself  as  a  mathematically  accurate  and 
business-like  looking  cone.  A  band  of  fleecy  cloud  hung  half-way 
down  the  mountain,  and  from  the  summit,  which  was  just  tipped 
by  the  setting  sun,  a  light  streamer,  more  of  steam  than  smoke, 
floated  away  to  the  north-west.  The  sea  was  as  calm  as  glass,  and 
as  we  steamed  past  Mare,  ]\Iotir,  and  Makian  their  outlmes  show^ed 
sharp  and  clear  in  the  bright  moonlight.  The  two  former  are 
extinct  volcanic  islands,  but  jMakian  was  in  1862  the  scene  of  a 
frightful  eruption,  in  which  nearly  4000  people  lost  their  lives. 
]\I(ist  of  them,  however,  were  not  actually  killed  by  the  eruption, 
but  perished  by  drowning,  overcrowding  the  praus  in  their  frantic 
efforts  to  escape.  The  mountain  had  been  quiescent  for  more  than 
two  centuries,  and,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  but  little  warning  of  the 
outburst  was  given.     Xow  it  has  returned  to  its  former  peacefu 


232  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

condition,  and  not  a  trace  of  sinoke  was  visible  at  its  rugged 
snnnnit. 

This  chain  of  islands,  with  Batchian,  w^ere  the  "  Molnccoes  "  of 
the  old  geographers ;  the  natural  home  of  the  clove.  The  tree  is 
not  much  grow^n  now,  although  in  Batchian  its  cultivation  has 
been  recommenced.  In  1652  the  Dutch  compelled  the  "King  of 
Terenate  "  to  destroy  every  clove-tree  in  his  dominions,  and,  in  order 
to  obtain  the  entke  monopoly  of  the  spice,  restricted  the  plantations 
to  Amboina,  which  has  until  lately  supplied  Europe  to  the  almost 
entire  exclusion  of  other  localities.  It  is  curious  that,  although 
there  is  but  little  difference  in  latitude,  and  apparently  none  in 
soil,  the  clove  has  never  flourished  in  its  new  so  w^ell  as  in  its  old 
home. 

The  \allage  of  Batchian — our  destination — lies  in  the  middle  of 

the  western  side  of  the  island  of  that  name,  and  more  for  the 

pleasure  of  an  exciting  bit  of  navigation  than  with  any  idea  of 

saving  time,  we  resolved  to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  Herberg 

Strait,  a  narrow  channel  dividing  Batchian  from  numerous  islands 

lying  to  the  westward.-^     It  was  still  dark  when  w^e  arrived  off  the 

entrance,  and  we  therefore  lay  to  and  awaited  daylight.     The  Sing- 

Tjin  then  intunated  that  she  would  give  us  a  lead,  but  before  long, 

as  we  were  much  superior  in  speed,  we  decided  to  pass  her,  wliich 

we  did,  in  spite  of  our  excellent  friend  the  captain's  loud  shouts  of 

disapproval.     During  the  passage  of  the  narrowest  part,  desperate 

but  illegible  signals  were  hoisted  by  the  other  ship,  which  were  meant 

to  signify  that  the  total  loss  of  the  Marchesa  was  imminent,  but 

secure  in  a  good  look-out  and  perfectly  clear  water,  we  carried  on, 

and  in  another  half  hour  came  safely  to  anchor  off  the  village. 

^  The  Herberg  or  Batchian  Straits,  -which  are  over  forty  miles  in  length,  are 
but  little  known  and  are  unsurvej^ed.  AVe  found  them  apparently  devoid  of  danger, 
holding  a  mid-cliannel  course  throughout,  but  a  large  ship  might  have  some  difficulty 
in  passing  the  first  narrows,  owing  to  the  sharp  turn  necessary  for  entering  them  and 
the  strong  currents  generally  experienced.  The  passage  is  easiest  from  south  to 
north,  as  we  afterwards  discovered  on  our  homeward]  voyage.  At  the  south  end  of 
the  northern  part  of  the  strait  are  two  islands  i;nmarked  even  in  the  Dutch  charts, 
which  still  further  narrow  the  channel. 


X.]  BATCHIAN.  233 

The  Herberg  Straits,  although  possessed  of  no  grand  scenery, 
are  extremely  picturesque,  and  as  fascinating  as  narrows  where 
one  steams  almost  wdthiu  stone's  throw  of  the  land  must  always  be. 
Eounding  a  corner  the  great  mass  of  Labua  looms  up  as  a  huge 
wall,  its  summit  hidden  in  the  clouds.  It  rises  a  few  miles  behind 
the  village,  shutting  it  in  much  as  Table  Mountain  shuts  in  Cape 
Town,  though  with  an  even  gTeater  altitude,  for  it  is  over  7000 
feet  in  height.  "VYe  were  astonished  to  find  the  wreck  of  a  fine 
iron  sliip  of  about  fifteen  hundred  tons  in  a  place  so  far  from  the 
great  ocean  highways.  Five  years  before,  while  on  her  voyage 
from  China  to  Australia,  she  had  taken  the  ground  near  Gebi 
Island,  and  being  afterwards  beached  at  Batchian,  had  become  a 
total  loss.  Her  hull  formed  a  favourite  resort  for  crocodiles,  who 
sunned  themselves  on  the  sloping  deck,  and  a  fishing-ground  for 
the  natives,  who  had  long  ago  despoiled  her  of  everything  movable. 

Our  anchor  was  hardly  down  before  the  Sultan's  prau  put  off — 
a  large,  outrigged  boat  manned  by  six  and  thirty  paddlers.  Many 
hangers-on  crowded  her  with  colour,  and  she  fiew  ten  or  a  dozen 
little  flags  in  addition  to  a  large  Dutch  ensign.  It  would  be 
pleasant  enough  travelling  in  the  boats  of  these  native  potentates 
but  for  the  incessant  tom-tom  accompaniment  that  it  is  considered 
obligatory  to  keep  up  without  a  second's  intermission  while  under 
way.  RUm-tUm-tum,  rum-tum ;  rum-tibm-tum,  rwn-tum  and  so 
on,  da  capo,  soon  arouses  the  most  long-suifering  individual.  Some 
music,  we  know,  excites  feelings  too  deep  for  words.  That  pro- 
duced by  the  tom-tom  is  of  tliis  kind.  I  have  heard  it  in  many 
parts  of  the  world,  but  I  will  fearlessly  assert  the  Malayan  instru- 
ment to  be  more  provocative  of  bad  temper  than  any  other,  though 
it  must  be  confessed  that  the  Indian  music  of  this  class  is  not  far 
behind  it. 

The  Sultan  did  not  come  off  to  the  ship  in  person,  but  sent  his 
Kapten  laut  or  Admiral  as  his  representative,  one  of  the  queerest 
and  most  comical  little  individuals  w^e  ever  had  the  pleasure  of 
entertaining.     He  was  a  lively  young  spark  of  seventy  or  there- 


234 


THE  MOLUCCAS. 


[chap. 


abouts,  and  was  dressed  in  a  little  coat  of  navy  blue  faced  with 
scarlet,  and  furnished  with  miniature  tails  which  stuck  out  in  a 
most  ridiculous  manner  behind.  Large  gold  epaulets  decorated  his 
shrivelled  old  shoulders,  and  a  middy's  dirk  dangled  at  his  hip. 
He  had  a  debonair  appearance  about  him  that  was  delightful,  and 
one  felt  at  once  that  he  must  necessarily  regard  Batchian  with 
contempt.     His  proper  s]ihere  undoubtedly  was  the  Eow,  where 


FRAU    OF   THE   SCLTAX   OF   BATCHIAX. 


with  a  good  boot  and  an  eyeglass  he  would  have  been  a  complete 
success.  With  him  came  the  Kontroleur,  Mr.  Storme,  for  Batchian 
had  at  that  time  l)een  recently  made  a  Dutch  station,  and, 
wonderful  to  relate,  an  Englishman — the  first  and  last  we  met 
with  in  our  travels  in  this  part  of  the  w^orld — an  old  Carthusian 
whose  wanderings  had  extended  even  to  Xew  Guinea,  Under  his 
guidance  we  explored  the  town.  At  the  back  is  a  river,  which  we 
crossed  by  a  neat  bridge  of  split  areca  palm-trunks,  and  followed 
a  narrow  path  leading  through  a  dense  sago  swamp  for  a  mile 
or  more,  which  brought  us  to  some  plantations,  both  native 
and  European.      The  Bafjan  Maatschappij  have  coffee  and  cacao 


X.]  OBI  MAJOR.  235 

growing  here.  Oi  the  latter  there  was  a  considerable  quantity, 
and  it  was  looked  upon  as  likely  to  prove  highly  remunerative. 
Like  that  in  Celebes  and  other  parts  of  the  Dutch  Indies,  however, 
it  had  sutiered  from  a  disease  which  causes  the  fruit  to  shrivel  and 
drop  off  even  after  it  has  reached  its  full  size.  At  the  season  of 
our  visit  there  had  been  an  improvement,  and  w^e  found  many  of 
the  trees  looking  extremely  well  and  loaded  with  pods.  These 
plantations  were  excellent  collecting-grounds  both  for  birds  and 
insects,  and  we  visited  them  several  times  on  this  occasion,  and 
also  on  our  return  from  New  Guinea. 

We  divided  forces  at  Batchian,  and  two  of  us  taking  Tahirun, 
Usman,  and  three  other  hunters,  sailed  for  Obi  with  M.  Monod  de 
Froideville  in  the  Sing-Tjin.  The  night  was  perfect  in  its  loveli- 
ness, and  the  moon,  which  shone  with  a  brightness  unusual  in  ilie 
tropics,  was  mirrored  almost  unbroken  in  the  surface  of  a  wonder- 
fully calm  sea.  Under  such  circumstances  even  the  thought  of 
bed  is  a  direct  insult  to  Nature,  and  w^e  sat  up  far  into  the  morning 
watching  the  faint  loom  of  the  dark  mountain  masses  of  the  central 
island  as  we  circled  round  it,  for  we  had  decided  to  land  on  the 
southern  side.  At  daybreak  we  were  able  to  run  in  towards  the 
land,  and  a  couple  of  hours  later  we  anchored  oft'  the  mouth  of  a 
small  river,  in  a  perfectly  unprotected  position,  for,  as  far  as  is  yet 
known,  the  island  is  without  harbours. 

Obi  ]\lajor,  the  chief  of  the  group,  is  a  fine  island  about  forty- 
five  miles  in  length  by  twenty  in  breadth.  The  mountains  of  the 
interior  reach  a  height  of  5000  feet  or  more,  but  appear  to  be 
clothed  with  forest  to  their  summits,  as  indeed  is  the  whole  island. 
Its  shores  abound  in  tempting-looking  beaches,  and  the  land  is 
apparently  both  fertile  and  healthy.  Yet,  oddly  enough,  the  group 
is  totally  luiinhabited,  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  in  the  whole 
of  the  East  Indian  Archipelago,  and  that  too  in  spite  of  its  central 
position.  Now  and  then  it  is  visited  by  Malay  fishermen  from 
Batchian,  who  build  huts  and  remain  for  a  week  or  two  to  smoke 
fish  or  catch  turtle,  but  no  permanent  settlement  exists,  and  it  does 


236  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

not  appear  that  any  people  of  Papuan  race  ever  established  them- 
selves here,  as  was  the  case  m  Gilolo  to  tlie  north,  and  the  islands 
of  Bouru  and  Ceram  to  the  south. 

The  spot  where  we  landed  had  been  contemplated  as  the  site  of 
a  future  settlement,  and  with  that  end  in  view  some  tomatoes  and 
pmnpkins,  as  well  as  a  few  coconut  palms,  had  been  planted  by 
the  Kontroleur  on  a  former  visit.  He  was  anxious  to  inspect  them, 
and  also  to  explore  the  forest  for  gutta  and  other  trees  of  commercial 
value,  and  we  started  up  the  river  at  once.  Although  nearly  sixty 
yards  broad  at  the  mouth,  it  soon  became  so  shoal  that  we  were 
unable  to  ascend  it  for  more  than  a  few  hundred  yards,  and  we 
accordingly  disembarked  and  scattered  in  various  directions  through 
the  jungle.  Birds  were  numerous,  and  conspicuous  among  them 
small  flocks  of  a  little  scarlet  lory  common  enough  in  the  Moluccas 
{Eos  riciniata)  tiew  from  tree-top  to  tree-top,  far  beyond  the  range 
of  a  gun.  Another  lory  of  brilliant  colouring  (LoriusJlai-o-jMlliatus), 
peculiar  to  Batchian  and  the  Obi  group — crimson  and  olive,  with  a 
splash  of  golden  yellow  in  the  centre  of  the  back — I  could  perceive 
in  little  parties  of  half  a  dozen  or  so,  busily  engaged  in  devouring 
the  soft  fruits  of  some  species  of  Ficus  just  then  ripenmg,  and 
before  many  minutes  I  had  a  couple  of  specimens  in  line  plumage 
in  my  collecting -bag.  But  for  a  long  time  I  could  see  nothing  of 
the  magnificent  racquet-tailed  kingfisher  of  wliich  I  was  in  search.^ 
I  tried  some  marshy  gTOund  by  the  river  in  vain,  and  was  on  my 
way  to  the  seashore  when  I  suddenly  came  across  Usman,  and  to 
my  great  delight  saw  that  he  had  got  two  of  these  rare  and  lovely 
bu'ds  slung  at  his  breast — the  method  of  carrying  their  spoil  that 
the  Malay  hunters  almost  invariably  adopt.  I  soon  reached  the 
spot  where  he  had  shot  them.     It  was  an  untempting-looking  bit 

1  This  genus  ( Tanysiptcra),  -which  is  so  remarkable  for  beauty  of  colouring  and 
the  extraordinary  length  and  shape  of  the  tail,  is  confined  entirely  to  the  Pai)uan 
and  iloluccan  regions,  and  includes  a  dozen  or  more  dififerent  species,  almost  all  of 
which  have  the  plumage  of  various  shades  of  blue.  Obi  is  furnished  with  a  peculiar 
species — as  it  is  in  several  other  genera — discovered  bj'  Bernstein,  the  first  and  only 
naturalist  visitor  to  its  shores. 


KACQUET  -  TAILED   KINGFISHER. 
(Tanysiptera  dbieiisis.) 


Page  237 


X.]  BIRDS  OF  THE  OBI  GROUP.  237 

of  forest,  dark  and  damp  and  fever-suggesting,  just  at  the  edge  of  a 
mangrove  swamp,  whose  trees  were  fightmg  with  the  jungle  for 
mastery.  The  ground,  bare  of  vegetation,  was  covered  with  a  layer 
of  greasy  black  mud,  riddled  in  all  directions  with  the  holes  of  the 
little  Gelasimi  or  Calling  Crabs,  who  scattered  before  me  in  dozens 
at  my  approach,  cracking  their  claws  defiantly  with  that  peculiar 
tiny  snapping  sound  which  alone  would  suffice  to  recall  to  one's 
mental  \'ision  with  lifelike  ^ividness  every  characteristic  in  such  a 
scene  as  these  mangrove -clad  tropic  shores  present,  I  perched 
myself  on  a  dry  root  clear  of  the  fetid  mud  and  waited.  This  time 
it  w^as  not  in  vain,  for  before  I  rejoined  my  companions  on  the 
beach  I  had  shot  tliree  specimens  of  my  much-desired  prize.  The 
Obi  Island  Tanysiptera  has  the  head  and  wing  coverts  brilliant 
ultramarine,  and  the  rest  of  the  back  and  wings  deep  indigo.  The 
entire  imder- surface  of  the  body  is  creamy  white,  and  the  beak 
vermilion,  while  the  median  pair  of  tail  feathers  are  gTeatly 
prolonged — to  a  length,  perhaps,  of  nme  or  ten  inches  in  full 
plumage.  They  are  dark  ultramarine  in  colour  and  vei'y  narrow, 
but  terminate  in  a  racquet-shaped  expansion  of  snowy  whiteness. 
I  watched  the  bird  sitting  on  the  boughs  a  few  feet  only  above  the 
ground,  motionless  but  for  an  occasional  rapid  movement  of  the 
head.  Suddenly  there  was  a  flash  as  of  a  blue  meteor  descendmg 
to  the  ground,  and  a  moment  later  the  lovely  creature  had  returned 
to  his  perch,  and  sat  hammering  away  at  the  small  crustacean  he 
had  found ;  the  whole  action  remmdmg  me  strongly  of  that  of 
the  Bee-eaters. 

Our  hunters  turned  up  one  after  another  on  the  beach,  and 
almost  all  of  them  had  obtained  the  TanydjpUra,  which  must  exist 
in  tolerable  abundance  on  the  island.  They  had  also  several 
species  peculiar  to  the  Obi  group,  most  noticeable  among  which 
was  a  gaily-coloured  Parrot  {Geoff roy us  oMensis)  closely  allied  to 
its  congener  (G.  cyanicollis)  of  Batchian  and  Gilolo,  and  a  miniature 
crow  approaching  the  Paradiseidae  in  form  {Lycocorax  ohiensis), 
a  curious  genus  exclusively  confined  to  the  Moluccas.     Presently 


238  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

the  Kontroleur  appeared,  his  natives  carrying  samples  of  gutta,  of 
which,  together  with  the  dammar-producing  tree,  he  had  found  an 
abundance.  The  only  one  of  us  who  had  met  with  any  adventure 
was  the  captain's  little  dog  "Tommy," — a  general  favourite  on 
board— who  appeared  in  a  dismal  plight.  He  had  accompanied  me 
in  my  rambles,  and  while  1  was  watching  for  the  kingfishers, 
terrific  bowlings  from  an  adjoining  swamp  had  brought  me  to  his 
assistance  just  in  time  to  see  a  small  crocodile  flop  back  into  the 
oozy  water,  leaving  Master  Tommy  with  a  much  lacerated  hind 
leg,  lucky  enough  to  have  escaped  with  his  life. 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  river  we  found  three  deserted  huts,  which 
had  evidently  been  built  by  fishermen  paying  a  passing  visit  to  the 
island.  Two  of  them  were  in  ruins  and  half- overgrown  with 
vegetation,  but  the  other  was  in  tolerable  repair,  and  was  furnished 
with  raised  sleeping-places  and  a  quantity  of  bamboo  shelves  for 
drying  fish.  On  the  attap-wall  a  little  cheap  German  print  of  a 
mother  weeping  over  the  dead  body  of  her  child  still  hung  —  a 
qviaint  and  unexpected  relic  to  find  in  a  deserted  hut  on  a  deserted 
island. 

We  anchored  next  day  in  a  bay  at  the  west  end  of  Obi,  our 
object  being  to  search  for  the  ruins  of  an  old  fort  supposed  to  have 
been  built  by  the  Dutch  about  two  hundred  years  ago,  of  the 
existence  of  which  the  Kontroleur  had  heard  from  a  native  of 
Batchian  who  accompanied  us.  It  was  near  a  small  river,  for 
which  we  searched  in  vain  from  the  ship,  but  landing  and  walking 
along  the  beach  we  at  length  struck  it.  On  its  right  bank,  hardly 
fifty  yards  from  the  shore,  but  completely  hidden  from  observation, 
we  suddenly  came  upon  the  ruin.  It  was  a  small  building,  hardly 
fifteen  yards  square,  but  the  walls  were  fully  three  feet  thick,  and, 
with  their  height  of  nearly  eighteen  feet,  must  have  been  strong 
enough  to  withstand  any  attacks  by  natives.  A  few  fruit-trees 
still  existed,  and  faint  traces  of  a  path  to  the  stream  close  by 
seemed  to  indicate  that  the  place  had  been  inhabited  in  later 
times,  but  now  it  was  the  picture  of  desolation.     The  jungle  had 


X.]  SEARCH  FOR  COAL.  239 

carried   the   fortress,   and   huge   creepers   had   scaled   the    walls. 

Everything  was  dreary,  dark,  and  dripping,  and  it  was  a  relief  to 

turn  our  backs  on  the  place  and   emerge  once  more  from  the 

gloomy  forest  into  the  bright  tropical  sun-  .  . 

light.     We  looked  in  vain  for  any  date — 

which   it   used   to   be   the   custom  of  the 

Dutch  to  place  over  the  gatew^ay — or  for 

the  later  monogram  of  the  "  Vereendigde 

Oost-indische  Compagnie."     It  is  said  that 

years  ago  there  were  many  people  living  monogram  of 

on  the  island,  but  that  the  pirates  caused      "^'"^^  ^-  ^-  company. 

its  desertion.     Our  hunters  were  very  unwilling  to  visit  the  group 

alone,  though  whether  on  this  account,  or  from  fear  of  ghosts  or 

fever,  I  could  not  discover. 

This  end  of  the  island  yielded  us  very  little,  our  progress 
inland  being  stopped  in  several  places  by  sago  swamps,  which, 
from  the  traces  of  felled  trees  and  the  remains  of  old  paths, 
appeared  to  be  occasionally  visited  and  worked.  We  shot  a  few 
small  birds,  but  saw  no  more  of  the  racquet-tailed  kingfisher,  and 
our  only  prize  was  a  grand  orchid  of  huge  size,  which  was  new  to 
us — its  long  sprays  of  pea-green  flowers  spotted  with  black  and 
yellow. 

The  Kontroleur,  finding  his  explorations  in  search  of  gutta 
and  camphor  thus  stopped,  resolved  to  anchor  farther  to  the 
north.  We  weighed  and  proceeded  cautiously  under  the  direction 
of  the  old  native  I  have  mentioned,  passing  between  the  mainland 
and  Mala-mala,  which,  instead  of  a  rock,  as  marked  on  the  chart,  we 
discovered  to  be  an  island  at  least  three  miles  in  length.  It  forms 
a  breakwater  to  the  east,  but  we  were  unable  to  find  an  even 
passable  anchorage,  and  eventually  let  go  in  an  awkward  position 
off  a  small  sandy  beach,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which,  according 
to  our  guide,  both  coal  and  iron  existed.  The  former  turned  out  to 
be  lignite,  of  easy  ignition  and  very  light,  and  quartz  rock  con- 
taining an  abundance  of  iron  pyrites  was  common.     From  other 


240  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

parts  of  the  island  we  brought  away  specimens  of  hard  granitic  rocks, 
hornblende,  mica,  and  micaceous  schist  and  jasper,  and  at  one  spot 
pure  alum  in  tolerable  quantity  was  found  by  one  of  our  party. 

Obi  Latu — an  island  lying  at  the  north-west  end  of  Obi  Major — 
was  our  next  destination,  and  here  we  found  an  excellent  bay, 
guarded  at  the  mouth  by  an  island,  unmarked  even  in  our  Dutch 
chart,  which  the  native  called  Pulo  Kuching,  or  Cat  Island.  It  was 
exciting  work  entering,  the  crystal-clear  water,  which  was  hardly 
more  than  four  fathoms  deep,  showing  large  jagged  rocks  on  the 
bottom,  against  which  we  momentarily  expected  to  run,  for  the 
glare  of  the  sun  prevented  our  seeing  any  distance  aheatl.  Luckily 
— for  in  these  waters  chance  has  considerably  more  to  do  with 
navigation  than  in  our  own — we  reached  our  anchorage  safely.  It 
was  a  good  one ;  well  protected  in  all  except  easterly  winds,  and  of 
importance  as  being  the  only,  harbour  we  found  in  the  group.  Our 
old  guide,  however,  spoke  of  the  existence  of  another,  and  a  still 
better  one,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Tapa  Island. 

We  landed  our  hunters  on  Obi  Latu,  and  rowed  out  to  Pulo 
Kuching,  which  a  nearer  investigation  showed  to  consist  of  two 
islands  in  process  of  union  by  the  action  of  the  inevitable  mangrove. 
At  one  part  these  trees  had  perished  for  a  distance  of  a  couple  of 
hundred  yards  or  more,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  any- 
thing more  grotesquely  horrible  than  the  scene  they  presented. 
The  trunks  were  as  black  as  if  they  had  suffered  from  the  ravages 
of  a  forest  fire ;  dank,  greasy,  and  covered  with  fungus.  Some  had 
fallen,  and  lay  with  their  gaunt  dead  branches  locked  together  to 
form  an  almost  impenetralDle  barrier.  Others  still  stood ;  so  rotten 
that  the  slishtest  touch  sent  them  crashing  into  the  fetid  ooze. 
The  weird,  gnarled  roots — tougher  than  the  trunks — still  remained, 
forming  a  precarious  network,  which  from  its  decayed  condition 
was  well-nigh  impossible  to  traverse.  Scrambling  over  these, 
bathed  in  perspiration  and  battling  with  swarms  of  mosquitoes 
that  attacked  me,  at  one  moment  slipping  into  the  inky  mud, 
at  another  creepmg  hazardously  along  a  single  overarching  root,  it 


X.]  EISA  ISLAND.  241 

seemed  to  me  that  I  had  never  got  into  a  more  horrible  place.  A 
living  mangrove  swamp  at  low  tide  is  unpleasant  enough,  but,  to 
enable  my  reader  to  realise  a  dead  one,  I  should  need  the  pencil  of 
Dore,  or  the  pen  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe. 

Leaving  Cat  Island  we  coasted  round  our  newly-discovered  bay, 
and  found  it  to  be  apparently  quite  free  from  shoals.  At  one 
spot,  just  inside  the  jungle,  we  came  across  a  little  hut  containing 
an  unmense  store  of  dried  fish,  left  there  no  doubt  by  some  Batchian 
fisherman  until  he  could  carry  it  off  in  a  large  prau.  There  were 
great  quantities  of  a  little  sardine-like  fish,  done  up  for  smoking  in 
small  bamboo  frames,  and  our  natives  at  once  set  to  work  and 
purloined  hard,  completely  loading  our  boat  with  the  spoil.  Our 
excellent  friend  and  skipper.  Captain  Hakkers,  watched  them, 
placidly  smoking.  Wlien  they  had  quite  finished,  he  made  them 
return  it  all,  even  to  the  last  fish ! 

We  sailed  on  the  following  day  for  Bisa,  and  landed  at  its 
extreme  westerly  point.  It  is  a  low  and  densely-jungied  island, 
thus  differing  conspicuously  from  Obi  and  Obi  Latu,  the  latter  of 
which  has  some  curiously  sharp  peaks,  undoubtedly  of  limestone  rock, 
at  its  northern  end.  The  dried-up  bed  of  a  small  stream  permitted 
us  to  penetrate  some  distance  into  the  forest,  and  we  obtained  some 
good  birds,  among  them  a  brilliant  yellow  Thickhead  (Fachycephala 
ohiensis)  and  a  couple  of  the  fine  Nicobar  pigeon — a  generally 
distributed,  but  at  the  same  time  uncommon  bird  in  the  Eastern 
Archipelago.  It  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  small  islands,  where 
it  is  safer  from  the  attacks  to  which  its  heavy  build  and  terrestrial 
habits  expose  it.  Its  coppery  green  plumage  and  snow-white  tail 
render  it  strikingly  handsome,  but  the  great  development  of  the 
neck  feathers,  which  are  elongated  into  drooping  hackles  of  con- 
siderable length,  make  it  appear  to  the  casual  observer  more  like 
a  gallinaceous  bird  than  a  pigeon.  We  stopped  two  or  three  hours 
only  at  Bisa,  and  arrived  at  Batchian  the  same  night,  having  had  a 
most  enjoyable  cruise ;  none  the  less  pleasant  from  the  sea  having 
been  of  unruffled  calmness  throughout. 

VOL.  II.  R 


242 


THE  MOLUCCAS. 


[chap. 


The  Sultan  of  Batchian  gave  a  dance  in  our  honour  upon  our 
return.  It  was  held  in  a  long,  attap-roofed  room  open  on  three 
sides,  but  capable  of  being  closed  by  tatties  of  native  cloth.  At 
the  upper  end  was  a  semicircle  of  seats,  the  centre  one  occupied  by 
the  Sultan,  those  to  liis  left  reserved  for  the  bare  half  dozen  of 


GATE   OF   THE   SULTAX  S   HOUSE,    BATCHIA>r. 


Eiu-opeans  living  in  Batcliian.  Before  our  host  a  table  was  placed, 
with  a  quantity  of  excellent  Manila  cheroots,  and  some  curious 
wines  which  claimed  to  have  come  from  Bordeaux.  The  sides  of 
the  room  were  lined  with  seats  two  or  three  deep,  those  opposite 
the  entrance  being  reserved  for  the  ladies,  and  those  facing  them 
for  the  gentlemen.  Eank  is  everything  even  in  the  island  of 
Batchian,  and  a  gap  in  the  row  of  chairs  served  not  so  much  to 


X.]  DANCE  GIVEN  BY  THE  SULTAN.  243 

permit  of  people  passing  into  the  next  room  as  to  separate  the 
ladies  of  royal  blood  from  those  of  inferior  rank.  Each  of  the 
former  had  an  attendant  sitting  behind  her,  and  was  dressed  in  the 
usual  kibaya  and  sarong,  and  covered  with  bracelets  and  other  orna- 
ments. Many  of  them  were  decidedly  good-looking,  and  their 
magnificent  gold-embroidered  sarongs  put  the  European  dresses 
quite  into  the  shade.  The  ]\Ialay  races  have  almost  everywhere 
adopted  dances  similar  to  om^  own,  or  at  least  adaptations  of  them, 
and  a  square  dance  resembling  a  quadrille,  a  sort  of  mazurka,  and 
a  "  hop  "  waltz  wMch  formed  the  programme  w^ere  not  beyond  our 
powers.  It  was  an  amusing  experience  to  make  the  "  ladies'  chain  " 
in  company  mth  a  kris-begirt  warrior  smoking  a  ]\Ianila,  but  it 
was  still  more  comic  to  watch  our  friend  the  Kapten  Laut.  The 
way  the  old  gentleman  flirted  with  his  various  partners,  the 
desperate  energy  with  which  he  danced,  and  the  convulsive 
wagglings  of  the  epaulets  and  middy's  dii'k  on  his  shrivelled  old 
body  kept  us  in  fits  of  suppressed  laughter  for  the  whole  of  the 
evening. 

The  rest  of  our  party  had  not  been  idle  durmg  our  absence  in 
the  Obi  Islands.  Thanks  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Storme,  the 
Ivontroleur,  we  had  been  permitted  to  take  in  a  fresh  supply  of 
coal  from  the  Government  stores — the  last  that  we  could  expect 
to  get  to  serve  us  for  our  New  Guinea  voyage.  Some  observations 
for  the  longitude  corroborated  those  of  the  Dutch,  placing  "  Fort 
Barneveld"^  in  Lono-.  127°  27'  30"  E.;  two  miles  eastward  of  the 
position  assigned  to  it  in  the  English  chart.  The  anchorage  off  the 
village  affords  good  holding  gTOimd,  and  is  free  of  shoals.  It  is 
well  protected  except  to  the  S.S.W.,  but  a  hea^^  swell  not  in- 
frequently sets  in  from  that  quarter  during  the  prevalence  of  the 

^  A  fort  was  established  by  the  Portuguese  at  this  spot  in  the  earl}-  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  but  it  fell  into  Dutch  hands  in  1539.  The  present  building, 
which  is  of  very  small  size  and  manned  by  half  a  dozen  coloured  soldiers,  bears  the 
date  1615  and  the  arms  of  Zeeland  over  the  gateway.  Just  previous  to  our  visit  a 
lire  had  occurred  during  the  unaccustomed  business  of  saluting  the  Resident  of 
Ternate,  and  little  was  left  but  the  four  bare  walls. 


244  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

southerly  monsoon.  Excellent  water  is  obtainable,  and  we  took 
advantage  of  it  to  fill  up  our  tanks  before  our  departure.  The 
birds  and  insects  collected  had  not  been  numerous,  but  we  were 
more  than  satisfied  with  them,  as  among  the  former  were  several 
specimens  of  the  Bird  of  Paradise  discovered  here  in  1858  by  Mr. 
Wallace — Semioptera  wallacei,  Wallace's  Standard-wing — the  only 
one  of  the  Paradiseidse  found  out  of  New  Guinea  and  the  true 
Papuan  Islands,  This  bird  is  singularly  unlike  most  of  its  family 
both  in  form  and  colouring.  It  is  of  a  more  or  less  uniform  caf4- 
au-lait  brown,  fading  on  the  wings  into  a  delicate  creamy  buft". 
On  the  throat  and  breast  is  a  shield  of  metallic  feathers  of  emerald 
green  colour,  and  of  remarkable  brilliancy,  terminating  on  either 
side  in  a  sharply-pointed  tuft.  But  the  leading  feature  of  the  bird 
— the  striking  peculiarity  from  which  it  takes  its  generic  name — 
consists  in  two  long  oar-like  feathers  of  creamy  wliite  springing 
from  each  shoulder,  which,  by  means  of  a  small  muscle  attached 
to  the  papilla  of  the  feather-case,  can  be  erected  or  depressed  at 
will. 

We  obtained  sixteen  specimens  of  this  curious  and  beautiful 
bird,  which  seemed  to  be  fairly  abundant  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  village.  The  natives  told  us,  however,  that  it  was  very 
local,  frequenting  certain  parts  of  the  forest  only,  as  is  the  case 
with  some  others  of  the  Paradiseidse.  It  is  also  found  in  Gilolo, 
and,  although  our  search  for  it  proved  unsuccessfid,  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  a  further  exploration  of  Obi  Major,  which  by  its 
geological  and  other  characteristics  seems  to  be  closely  allied  to 
Batchian,  would  add  either  this  species  or  one  nearly  resembling  it 
to  its  avifauna. 

The  common  Malayan  deer  was  numerous  in  the  forest  and 
plantations  at  this  part  of  the  island.  It  furnishes  a  permanent 
livelihood  to  a  tribe  of  Gilolo  Alfuros,  who  have  been  settled  in 
Batchian  for  many  generations.  Living  for  the  most  part  in  the  hills, 
they  kill  and  smoke  the  deer,  and  bring  the  meat  into  the  villages 
for  sale.     We  were  fortunate  enough  to  witness  and  assist  at  one 


X.]  STAG-HUNTING  ON  FOOT.  245 

of  their  hunts,  in  which  no  other  weapon  bvit  the  spear  is  used. 
The  side  of  a  large  ravine  which  had  been  partially  cleared,  and 
presented  a  confused  jumble  of  "fallen  trees  and  low  brushwood, 
was  assigned  to  us  as  our  post,  and  from  the  extensive  view  it 
commanded  we  were  able  later  in  the  day  to  watch  one  run  almost 
from  start  to  finish,  although  at  first  the  sport  appeared  to  be 
successful  in  every  direction  but  our  own.  At  length  a  stag  broke 
cover  about  five  hundred  yards  above  us,  and  descended  the  slopes 
of  the  ravine,  but  shortly  afterwards  turned  and  made  for  the 
forest  again.  He  was  met  l^y  some  of  the  hunters  and  driven 
back,  but  the  dogs  were  now  in  full  cry,  and  pressed  him  hard,  the 
hunters  meanwhile  racing  at  their  utmost  speed  above,  in  order  to 
prevent  his  regaining  the  jungle.  He  now  altered  his  direction, 
and  turned  down  once  more  towards  us,  but  the  fallen  trees  were 
here  so  thick  that  the  dogs  rapidly  gained  on  him.  He  made  one 
more  effort  for  his  life  by  doubling,  but  it  was  too  late,  and  in 
another  moment  the  dogs  and  hunters  had  fairly  run  him  down. 

The  natives  who  make  their  living  in  this  manner  are,  as  may 
he  imagined,  capable  of  undergoing  a  great  amount  of  fatigue,  but 
it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  them  to  die  of  sheer  exhaustion 
during  a  hunt.  One  of  our  Batchian  friends  told  us  that  he  had 
actually  witnessed  such  a  case  himself,  and  had  also  been  present 
on  another  occasion  when  a  hunter  had  died  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. They  apparently  begin  to  learn  their  trade  early, 
for  we  noticed  among  our  party  two  boys  of  nine  or  ten  years  of 
age,  who,  unencumbered  with  any  clothing  whatsoever,  and 
carrying  a  little  spear,  managed  to  keep  up  with  the  others,  and 
to  be  in  at  the  death  of  the  stag.  The  dogs  are  most  carefully 
trained,  and  are  always  rewarded  by  the  head  of  the  animal, 
and  it  was  only  after  much  discussion  that  we  were  in  this  case 
allowed  to  take  the  trophy. 

It  was  at  Batchian  that  we  first  saw  sago  in  process  of  manu- 
facture by  the  natives,  and  it  was  interesting  to  note  that  the 
method  employed  was  almost  identical  with  that  described  by  Mr 


246  ,  THE  MOLUCCAS.  [chap. 

Wallace  as  in  use  in  Ceram.  The  tree  itself  furnishes  almost  all 
the  necessary  apparatus.  One  of  the  large  leaf-stalks  ensheathing 
the  trunk  at  the  base,  when  placed  horizontally  and  supported  two 
or  three  feet  above  the  ground,  forms  a  deep  trough,  at  one  end  of 
which  is  a  sieve  or  strainer.  This  is  very  ingeniously  constructed 
from  the  dense  mat  of  dark  fibrous  substance  found  at  the  base  of 
the  leaf- stalks.  Scraped  and  teased  out  until  of  the  necessary 
mesh,  it  is  kept  stretched  tense  by  means  of  an  elastic  stick  bent 
over  and  fastened  to  the  top.  The  crushed  pith  is  mixed  with 
water  in  the  trough,  stirred  up  and  down,  and  pushed  toward  this 
sieve.  Passing  this,  it  runs  along  another  palm-stem  gutter,  which 
is  blocked  at  the  farther  end  by  a  handful  of  the  same  con-like 
substance  as  that  forming  the  first  strainer,  and  the  liquid  then 
falls  into  a  canoe,  slightly  tilted  so  that  an  overflow  of  tolerably 
clear  water  takes  place  at  one  end,  while  the  sago  is  deposited  as  a 
pasty  substance  at  the  bottom.  The  raw  starch  thus  obtained  is 
afterwards  dried  and  baked  into  small  cakes  or  biscuits  five  or  six 
inches  square,  which  are  tolerably  palatable  and  well  adapted  for  a 
traveller's  use,  owing  to  their  portability  and  the  amount  of 
nourishment  they  contain,  but  the  flavour  is  very  dift'erent  from 
that  of  European  sago.  The  double  washing,  granulating,  and 
roasting  which  the  latter  undergoes  renders  it  more  attractive  in 
appearance,  but  robs  it  somewhat  of  the  characteristic  taste  of  the 
native  article. 

We  had  obtained  but  two  specimens  of  the  Kicobar  pigeon 
during  our  ^'isit  to  Obi,  and  hearing  from  a  native  that  the  Weda 
Islands,  upon  which  he  had  once  landed  while  on  a  fisliing  ex- 
peditiou,  abounded  in  these  birds,  we  determined  to  \isit  them  on 
lea\dng  Batchian.  They  are  an  uninhabited  group  of  coral  islands 
lying  a  few  miles  off  the  southern  extremity  of  Gilolo,  very 
numerous,  but  of  no  grreat  size,  the  largest — as  far  as  is  known — 
being  not  more  than  four  or  five  miles  in  length.  Theii-  position 
being  purely  conjectural,  we  approached  them  with  caution,  but  it 
was  to  all  appearances  unnecessary,  for  there  were  no  signs  of 


X.]  THE  WEDA  ISLANDS.  247 

outlying  reefs,  and  the  deep  blue  water  ran  up  to  the  very  edge 
of  the  coral.  "We  sought  for  an  anchorage  in  vain.  For  some 
time  we  obtained  no  bottom  at  one  hundred  fathoms,  and  as  our 
best  cast  only  offered  us  a  depth  of  fifty-two  fathoms  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  reef,  we  had  to  be  content  to  land  for  a  few  hours, 
while  the  yacht  remained  under  way  a  mile  or  two  off  the  coast. 

The  little  archipelago  extended  to  the  west  and  north ;  a  nest 
of  low  and  thickly -wooded  islands  with  belts  of  yellow  sand 
surrounding  them.  That  on  which  we  landed  was  of  no  great 
breadth,  and  on  crossing  to  the  farther  shore  we  found  that  a  reef, 
just  flush  with  the  water,  ran  apparently  for  an  interminable 
distance  to  the  eastwards,  dotted  here  and  there  with  tiny  islets. 
Three  or  four  miles  away  a  faint  white  line  was  \dsible,  and  a  dull 
roar  as  of  distant  thunder  told  us — the  chart  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding— that  it  indicated  the  limit  of  the  group  in  that 
direction.  There  is  always  a  strong  element  of  fascination  about 
an  uninhabited  island,  more  especially  if  it  be  unknown  or  nearly  so, 
and  our  ramble  was  a  very  enjoyable  one,  although  hardly  as 
productive  as  might  have  been  expected.  We  did  not  find  a 
single  specimen  of  Caloenas,  as  we  had  hoped,  but  other  pigeons 
were  extremely  abundant.  iSTotable  among  these  was  a  Cari:)0^1iaga 
of  large  size  and  shining  gTcen  plumage  (C.  myristicivorci),  interest- 
ing from  the  fact  that  it  has  liitherto  been  supposed  to  be  confined  to 
New  Guinea  and  the  true  Papuan  Islands.  We  shot  two  specimens 
of  a  cuckoo  almost  identical  with  our  own  well-known  bird — its 
Eastern  representative,  in  fact — but  our  chief  prize  was  a  new 
scarlet  lory  of  great  beauty,  closely  allied  to  Eos  riciniata  of  the 
Moluccas,  and  intermediate  between  the  latter  and  a  bird  of  the 
same  genus  discovered  by  Mr.  Wallace  in  Waigiou.^  With  this 
single  novelty  we  had  to  be  content,  for  without  an  anchorage  a 
longer  stay  on  the  islands  was  impracticable.  We  therefore  re- 
embarked  and  sailed  the  same  evening,  setting  our  course  between 
Popa  and  the  Kommerust  group  for  the  islands  of  New  Guinea. 
1   Vide  frontispiece,  vol.  ii. 


CHAPTER   XL 

NEW   GUINEA. 

Division  of  New  Guinea — The  Itajah  anijjat  —  Land  on  Sahvatti  —  An  anxious 
night — Our  first  Bird  of  Paradise — Batanta  Island — The  natives — Discover 
Marchesa  Bay — Obtain  Wilson's  Bii-d  of  Paradise — The  Batanta  Papuans — 
Momos,  Waigiou  Island — Ascend  the  AVaigiou  Gulf — Pigeons  and  parrots — 
Alfuros  of  Waigiou — The  Red  Bird  of  Paradise- -Night  in  the  forest — Scenery 
of  the  Gulf— Rambles  round  JIomos^A  regal  trader — Napriboi— Zoological 
characteristics  of  Batanta  and  Waigiou — Sail  for  Geelvink  Bay. 

OuK  visit  to  New  Guinea  was  to  be  confined  to  that  portion 
claimed  by  the  Dutch — the  western  half — which,  from  the  varia- 
tion in  species  from  island  to  island  and  the  peculiarity  in  the 
distribution  of  the  Birds  of  Paradise,  is  perhaps  the  most  interest- 
ing to  a  naturalist.  It  is  here  too  that  the  Papuan  exists  as  a  pure 
type,  unmixed  with  Mahori  blood,  as  is  the  case  in  some  places  in 
the  Eastern  peninsula.  Another,  and  not  the  least  important  of 
our  reasons  for  selecting  Dutch  New  Guinea,  was  that  it  was  the 
nearest  and  most  accessible  part  of  the  island.  The  Marchesa  had 
already  been  two  years  in  commission,  and  we  were  anxious  to  lose 
no  time. 

The  Dutch  boundary  line,  which  coincides  with  the  141st 
degree  of  E.  longitude,  includes  what  is  without  doubt  the  finest 
portion  of  the  island.  Although  but  little  explored,  it  is  known  to 
abound  in  excellent  harbours ;  the  coast-line  is  deeply  indented  by 
the  Macluer  Gulf  and  Geehdnk  Bay ;  it  boasts  of  several  rivers, 
one  of  which — the  Amberno — is  of  great  size ;  and  the  interior  is 
traversed  by  mountain  ranges  which  in  the  distant  future  are  no 


CHAP.  XL]  DIVISIONS  OF  NEW  GUINEA.  249 

doubt  destined  to  be  the  site  of  plantations  equal  in  value  to  those 
of  Java.  The  Arfak  range  which  lines  the  western  shore  of 
Geelvink  Bay  attains  a  height  of  about  10,000  feet,  and  the  Charles 
Louis  mountains  are  the  only  instances  in  tropical  Asia  where  the 
limit  of  perpetual  snow  is  reached.  British  New  Guinea,  the 
southern  division  of  the  eastern  half  of  the  island,  has  also  a  high 
range  in  the  interior  of  the  south-eastern  peninsula — the  Ow^en 
Stanley  mountains,  but  the  rest  of  the  country  is  for  the  most  part 
flat  and  unhealthy,  and  the  coast  is  encumbered  with  coral-reefs. 
Of  the  German  territory  little  is  at  present  known,  except  that  a 
vast  stretch  of  mountain  and  table  land  exists  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  sea. 

A  glance  at  the  map  shows  four  large  islands  lying  off  the 
north-west  extremity  of  Dutch  New  Guinea — Waigiou,  Batanta, 
Salwatti,  and  Misol — all  truly  Papuan,  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
shallowness  of  the  water  separating  them  from  the  mainland,  and 
by  the  character  of  their  fauna.  These,  together  with  a  certain 
portion  of  the  adjacent  northern  coast,  are  known  as  the  Bajah 
aiivjjat,^  and  are  nominally  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Eajah  of 
Gebi — an  island  lying  a  little  farther  to  the  west.  This  potentate 
holds  his  authority  from  the  Sultan  of  Tidor,  who  in  his  turn  is  a 
vassal  of  the  Dutch,  and  it  was  chiefly  in  virtue  of  this  fact  that 
the  latter  assumed  the  suzerainty  of  Western  New  Guinea,  to  which, 
however,  the  voyages  and  explorations  of  Schouten,  Vink,  Joannes 
Keijts,  and  a  host  of  other  navigators  thoroughly  entitle  them. 

In  the  whole  of  the  vast  extent  of  country  which  thus  forms 
the  eastern  limit  of  the  Netherlands  India  there  is  not  a  single 
Dutch  settlement  of  any  kind.  In  1828  a  post  was  established  at 
Triton  Bay,  but  the  unhealthiness  of  the  clunate  and  other  reasons 
caused  its  abandonment  seven  years  later,  and,  though  it  is 
occasionally  visited,  it  has  never  since  been  permanently  kept  up. 

^  Tlie  Rajah  ampat,  or  four  Rajahs,  are  those  of  Waigiou,  Salwatti,  and  Lelinta 
and  Waigamma  in  the  island  of  Misol,  but  the  term  has  come  to  be  applied  to  the 
districts  owning  their  authority. 


250  NEW  GUINEA.  [chap. 

But  at  Dorei,  in  Geelvink  Bay,  a  mission  has  been  in  existence 
since  1855,  and,  in  spite  of  the  converts  haA-ing  been  little  in  excess 
of  those  who  have  sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  cause,  still  continues 
its  work.  Here  and  in  the  neighbourhood  are  five  Dutch 
missionaries — the  only  Europeans  in  the  country — whose  acquaint- 
ance we  made  at  a  later  period  of  the  voyage.  Shattered  in 
constitution  from  the  pernicious  climate,  and  depressed  by  the  non- 
success  of  their  work,  their  condition  appeared  to  us  deplorable, 
and  one  could  not  help  regretting  that  their  labours  were  not 
transferred  to  some  more  satisfactory  field. 

The  long  and  lofty  island  of  Batanta,  which  is  separated  from 
Salwatti  by  the  narrow  Pitt  Strait,  was  the  first  land  we  made 
after  leaving  the  Moluccas, — a  dark  green,  shoreless  mass  of  jungle 
looming  through  heavy  rain -clouds.  It  is  supposed  to  be  un- 
inhabited, but  two  or  three  huts  were  visible  at  the  south-west 
end,  and  a  further  acquaintance  with  the  island  revealed  the 
existence  of  two  other  small  villages.  Our  intention  was  to  anchor 
off  Sagoien,  an  island  at  the  entrance  of  the  strait  Ij'ing  close  to 
Salwatti,  but  not  finding  any  anchorage,  we  eventually  let  go  in 
the  narrow  strait  which  separated  them, — a  strip  of  water  hardly 
three  hundred  yards  across — and  shortly  afterwards  I  stepped  ashore 
for  the  first  tune  in  the  land  of  the  Bird  of  Paradise,  an  event  to 
which — without  any  hope  of  its  being  ultimately  realised — I  had 
looked  forward  from  my  earliest  childhood. 

As  is  usually  the  case  under  these  circumstances  the  actuality 
was  disappointing.  The  woods  were  gloomy  and  dripping,  and 
birds  were  to  all  appearances  non-existent,  for  owing  to  some 
difficulties  we  had  with  our  hunters,  the  best  part  of  the  day  was 
over.  They  had  refused  to  go  ashore,  alleging  that  the  natives 
were  not  to  be  trusted  at  this  place,  the  malcontents  being  headed 
by  Lokman,  a  man  whom  we  afterwards  found  out  to  be  a  most 
incorrigible  shirker.  Luckily,  however,  we  were  helped  out  of  our 
difficulty  by  Tahirun,  who  declared  without  much  circumlocution 
that  he  lied,  and  we  packed  them  off  at  once,  telling  them  that 


130 


130 


Longitude     East    13i 


c 


-  c 


XI.]  AN  ANXIOUS  NIGHT.  251 

supplied  as  they  were  with  guns  and  "  gun-medicine,'  ^  they  should 
be  more  than  a  match  for  any  number  of  Papuans. 

On  entering  the  strait  we  had  encountered  a  very  strong  tide 
flowing  westward,  but  finding  slack  water  at  the  anchorage,  w^e  had 
not  anticipated  any  danger  on  this  account,  although  the  precau- 
tion of  laying  out  hawsers  astern  had  been  taken.  We  turned  in 
early,  but  were  not  destined  to  remain  long  undisturbed,  the  watch 
calling  us  on  deck  just  after  midnight.  A  current  like  a  mill-race 
was  setting  past  us,  and  catching  the  yacht  on  the  port  side,  put 
such  a  tremendous  stram  on  our  stern  haw^sers  that  we  were  obliged 
at  once  to  let  them  go.  We  then  began  sheering  about  in  the 
wildest  manner,  tugging  and  strainmg  at  our  anchors  most  un- 
pleasantly, and  dragging  them  from  time  to  time.  After  a  little 
while,  however,  they  appeared  to  hold,  and  in  an  hour  or  two  the 
tide  slackened,  for  which  we  were  not  sorry.  Our  first  night  in 
New  Guinea  waters  was  an  uncomfortable  and  anxious  one,  and  it 
was  nearly  5  A.M.  before  we  were  able  to  turn  into  our  bunks  again. 

Our  hunters  next  morning  were  more  fortunate  in  their  shootmg, 
and  among  other  birds  brought  in  a  young  male  of  the  exquisite 
little  King  Bird  of  Paradise,  wearing  a  sober  coat  of  dull  brown 
like  the  female,  instead  of  the  brilliant  red  and  metallic  green  of 
the  adult  bird.  Usman  appeared  tottering  beneath  the  weight  of 
a  large  Cassowary  (C  unoappendiculatus),  its  hair  like  plumage 
almost  black  over  the  back ;  the  neck  and  throat  blue.  The  single 
small  wattle  and  the  lower  part  of  the  neck  were  yellow.  It  was 
the  only  bird  of  this  genus  that  our  hunters  shot  in  New  Guinea, 
but  we  afterwards  obtained  three  live  specimens  in  Andai  and  the 
Aru  Islands. 

In  spite  of  these  successes,  we  were  anxious  to  leave  so 
insecure  an  anchorage  as  soon  as  possible,  as  the  tide  had  again 
begun  to  make  with  great  strength,  and  weighing  shortly  after 
mid-day,  we  crossed  the  strait  to  Batanta  in  search  of  shelter.  We 
cruised  along  slowly,  as  close  inshore  as  we  dared,  and  after  one 
^  Uhat-bedil,  Ht.  gun -medicine,  is  the  Malay  term  for  ammunition. 


252  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

or  two  unsuccessful  attempts,  at  length  found  an  excellent  little 
harbour  in  a  small  bay  protected  by  a  reef  at  the  entrance.  Here 
we  anchored  in  perfect  safety  in  seventeen  fathoms,  within  stone's 
throw  of  the  shore. 

From  a  little  village  a  short  distance  to  the  eastward  a  few 
canoes  put  off  to  ^dsit  the  ship,  and  we  made  acquaintance  for  the 
first  time  with  the  true  mop-headed  Papuan.  No  better  description 
of  his  character  could  be  given  than  that  in  Mr.  Wallace's  "  Malay 
Archipelago."  Arriving  in  New  Guinea  after  a  prolonged  "\dsit  to 
the  Malayan  region,  the  differences  between  the  two  races  are  strik- 
ing to  a  degree.  These  men,  at  first  a  little  mistrustful,  soon  shook 
off  whatever  shjTiess  they  were  possessed  of,  and  clambering  boldly 
up  the  side,  overran  the  deck,  talking  and  shoutmg  loudly,  and  ex- 
amining the  many  novel  objects  they  saw  around  them.  The 
striking  of  the  ship's  bell  astonished  them  greatly,  and  was  the 
signal  for  a  burst  of  cheering,  or  for  a  noise  which  doubtless  served 
as  such  in  Batanta  "  meetings."  They  were  apparently  only  ac- 
quainted with  two  ]\Ialay  words,  one  of  which — if  I  may  be  allowed 
the  Hibernicism — was  Portuguese  {faca,  knife)  and  the  other 
cosmopolitan  (temhal'u),  but  for  both  of  these  articles  they  seemed 
anxious  to  barter  some  shells  of  the  common  Pearl  Nautilus,  and 
half  a  dozen  coconuts — the  latter  a  rarity  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
A  roughly-carved  wooden  pillow  or  head-rest,  much  like  what  may 
be  met  with  in  any  hut  among  the  Zulus,  lay  in  one  of  the  praus 
alongside,  and  I  began  to  bargain  for  it.  The  owner  unmediately 
asked  for  three  knives,  and  on  my  refusing  with  an  emphatic 
tida,  indicative  of  astonislunent  and  disgust  at  the  exorbitant 
demand,  the  bystanders  mimicked  voice  and  gesture  to  perfection, 
and  burst  into  shouts  of  laughter.  The  bump  of  veneration  appears 
to  be  entirely  absent  from  the  cranium  of  the  Papuan,  who,  as  far 
as  the  white  man  can  judge,  is  a  noisy,  ebullient  gentleman  of 
distinct  socialistic  tendencies,  though  not  without  a  pretty  humour 
of  his  own,  as  the  following  story  will  show.  Its  truth  was  vouched 
for  by  some  of  our  Dutch  friends. 


XL]  MARCHESA  BAY.  253 

During  a  cruise  of  a  certain  gun-boat  on  the  northern  coast  of 
New  Guinea  a  village  was  touched  at  which,  up  to  that  time,  had 
never  been  visited  by  Europeans.  The  captain,  anxious  to  impress 
the  untutored  savage,  arrayed  himself  in  full  uniform  and  landed 
in  company  with  the  surgeon,  who  was  similarly  attired.  The 
natives  crowded  down  to  meet  them  in  hundreds,  and  appeared 
tolerably  trustworthy,  but  before  long  intimated  that  they  were  to 
pay  a  visit  to  the  chiefs  house.  This  the  captam  resisted,  fearing 
treachery,  but  in  spite  of  his  endeavours  they  were  carried  off,  and 
his  guard  prevented  from  following.  The  hours  passed  away 
without  a  sign  of  the  officers,  and  the  boat's  crew  waiting  for  them 
began  to  fear  the  worst.  Suddenly  a  crowd  was  seen  approaching. 
It  parted,  and  disclosed  the  gallant  captain  to  his  astonished  sailors, 
bereft  of  his  uniform  and  dressed  in  alternate  stripes  of  red  and 
white  paint ! 

The  south  coast  of  Batanta  yielded  us  very  little  m  the  shape 
of  birds  or  insects,  the  jungle  being  so  thick  as  to  bar  our  pro- 
gress at  every  step.  Collecting  in  localities  of  this  kind  is  use- 
less, and  we  weighed  anchor  on  the  following  day  to  try  farther  to 
the  eastward,  coasting  slowly  along  about  a  mile  from  the  shore. 
At  the  extreme  east  end  an  unexpected  gap  in  the  coast  revealed  a 
deep  bay  beyond,  but  the  entrance  when  ^dewed  from  the  mast- 
head was  e\idently  impassable,  being  beset  with  reefs  and  shoals. 
Steaming  still  farther,  however,  we  were  delighted  to  find  another 
entrance  devoid  of  dangers,  and  on  steering  in,  we  passed  the  island 
at  the  mouth  on  the  port  hand  and  entered  a  fine  bay  nearly 
four  miles  in  depth.  On  its  northern  shore  were,  as  we  afterwards 
discovered,  three  admirable  secondary  harbours,  but  wishing  to 
take  advantage  of  every  breath  of  air,  we  anchored  at  the  head  of 
the  bay  in  seventeen  fathoms,  in  as  snug  a  berth  as  could  be 
wished  for.^ 

'■  This  bay,  which  we  named  after  the  yacht  (Admiralty  chart,  No.  912),  is  a  most 
useful  anchorage  for  vessels  going  through  Pitt  Strait,  where  the  tides  are  so  strong 
that,  if  adverse,  the  passage  is  almost  impossible. 


254  XEJF  GUINEA.  [chaf. 

Our  first  ramble  ou  shore  was  attended  with  but  little  success. 
We  searched  in  vain  in  one  of  the  lesser  bays  for  a  patch  of  beach 
on  which  to  disembark,  but  the  mangroves,  which  in  these  regions 
obliterate  utterly  all  boundary  between  sea  and  land,  met  us  at 
every  turn,  and  ultimately,  scrambling  over  their  slimy  roots  and 
struggling  up  to  our  knees  in  the  liquid  ooze,  we  had  to  reach  terra 
f/TTna  as  best  we  could.  The  land  rose  steeply  from  the  sea,  and 
the  jungle,  dripping  wet  from  the  heavy  rain  which  we  had  almost 
constantly  experienced  since  our  arrival  in  New  Guinea,  rendered 
our  progress  anything  but  comfortable.  Forest  rambles  such  as 
these,  it  must  be  confessed,  are  somewhat  trying  to  the  temper. 
"Wet  through  with  perspiration,  each  yard  makes  the  already 
streaming  traveller,  if  possible,  still  wetter,  for  every  leaf  en- 
countered pours  a  little  bucket  of  water  upon  him  as  he  struggles 
through  the  mass  of  creepers  that  bar  his  path.  Shootmg  and 
walking  cannot  be  combined  under  such  conditions,  and  almost  the 
only  method  for  the  naturalist  to  obtain  specimens  is  to  post  him- 
self under  some  tree  in  fruit,  and  to  wait  patiently  until  the  iDirds 
that  are  feeding  upon  its  summit  happen  to  come  within  range  of 
his  gun. 

We  returned  rather  disappointed  to  the  yacht,  and  found  that 
some  of  the  hunters  had  already  got  back.  They  had  shot  nothing 
of  any  particular  interest.  Presently,  however,  Usman  and  his 
coiiipagnon  dc  chassc  appeared,  triumphant,  carefully  carrying  a 
prize  that  we  had  hoped,  but  hardly  expected  to  obtain — the 
curious  and  exquisitely  lovely  little  Diphyllodcs  vAlsoni,  smallest 
of  all  the  Bu'ds  of  Paradise.  Behind  the  head  a  ruff  of  canary- 
coloured  feathers  stands  erect  above  the  scarlet  back  and  wings. 
The  breast  is  covered  by  a  shield  of  glossy  gTcen  plumes,  which 
towards  the  throat  are  marked  with  metallic  green  and  violet  spots 
of  extraordinary  brilliancj'.  The  two  centre  feathers  of  the  tail, 
prolonged  for  five  or  six  inches  beyond  the  others,  cross  one  another, 
and  are  curved  into  a  complete  circle  of  bright  steely  purple.  But 
the  chief  peculiarity  of  the  bird  is  in  the  head,  which  is  bald  from 


WILSON  S   BIRD   OF   PARADISE. 
(Diphyllodes  wilsoni.) 


Page  255. 


XL]  TVILSON'S  BIRD  OF  PARADISE.  255 

the  vertex  backwards,  the  bare  skin  being  of  the  brightest  imagin- 
able cobalt  blue.^  The  hizarre  effect  thus  produced  is  still  further 
heightened  by  two  fine  lines  of  feathers,  wliich,  running  length- 
ways and  from  side  to  side,  form  a  dark  cross  upon  the  brilliant 
azure  background.  I  could  hardly  make  up  my  mind  to  skin  this 
little  ornithological  rainbow,  whose  exquisite  plumage  it  seemed 
almost  a  sacrilege  to  disarrange,  but  the  climate  of  New  Guinea 
allows  of  but  little  delay  in  this  operation,  and  I  set  about  my  task 
at  once.  The  bird  had  been  scarcely  injured  by  the  shot,  and  I 
succeeded  in  making  a  perfect  skin  of  it.  We  also  added  a  hen 
bird  of  the  same  species  to  our  collection.  Its  plumage  is  of  a 
sober  brown,  as  is  the  case  with  the  females  of  all  the  Paradiseidae, 
but  like  the  male,  the  bare  head  is  blue,  although  not  nearly  of  so 
bright  a  colour. 

Wilson's  Bird  of  Paradise,  which  we  had  thus  been  the  first 
Englishmen  to  obtain — the  naturalists  Beccari  and  Bernstein  beins 
the  only  others  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  meet  wdth  it  in 
its  native  haunts — is  entirely  confined  to  Batanta  and  Waigiou 
Islands,  but  though  we  afterwards  shot  it  on  the  latter,  it  would 
seem  to  be  much  rarer  there,  and  during  Mr.  Wallace's  two  months' 
visit  he  failed  to  obtain  it.  We  found  it  frequenting  trees  of  no 
great  height  at  an  altitude  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that,  like  many  of  the  family  to  which  it 
belongs,  it  is  very  local  in  its  distribution.  This  localisation  is  not 
necessarily  permanent,  but  seems  to  be  dependent  rather  upon  the 
abundance  in  certain  spots  of  the  fruit  in  season,  for  most  of  the 
Birds  of  Paradise  are  in  the  main  frugivorous,  although  occasionally 
varymg  their  diet  with  insects. 

We  remained  four  or  five  days  in  Marchesa  Bay,  and  were 

fortunate  enough  to  secure  ten  specimens  of  the  Dipliyllodes.     Of 

the  Eed  Bird  of  Paradise  {Paradisea  rubra),  which  also  inhabits 

^  The  figure  in  Gould's  ' '  Birds  of  New  Guinea  "  gives  no  notion  of  the  extreme 
brilliancy  of  the  colouring  of  this  part.  It  begins  to  fade  almost  immediately  after 
death,  is  quite  dull  in  four  or  five  hours,  and  by  next  da}'  has  become  entirely 
black. 


256  yEJF  GUIXEA.  [chap. 

Batanta,  we  shot  four  females  and  a  young  male.  The  full-plumaged 
male  appears  almost  always  to  keep  separate  from  the  females,  and 
we  did  not  meet  with  a  single  one.  Our  spare  time  was  fully  oc- 
cupied in  makmg  a  sketch  survey  of  the  bay.  Xear  its  southern 
shore  is  a  small  islet,  where  a  few  Papuans  had  established  them- 
selves in  a  couple  of  little  huts,  which  bore  no  resemblance  whatever 
to  the  large,  turtle-backed  structures  characteristic  of  the  dwellers  on 
the  mainland  and  in  Jobi  Island.  These  men,  who  were  evidently  of 
unmixed  blood,  averaged  from  five  feet  seven  to  five  feet  nine  inches 
in  height,  and  were  well  built  about  the  chest.  The  hair,  though 
worn  in  the  usual  mop,  was  perhaps  hardly  as  full  as  that  of  the 
natives  farther  east.  These  huge  crisp  mops,  which  in  their  fullest 
development  are  as  large  as  a  guardsman's  bearskin,  and  not  unlike 
it,  are  alone  sufficient  to  prove  racially  the  distinctness  of  the 
Papuan.  The  hair  is  curiously  stiff  and  wire-like,  so  much  so 
that  if  the  hand  be  laid  on  one  of  these  compact  and  elaborately- 
tended  coiffures,  it  meets  with  almost  as  much  resistance  as  it 
would  if  pressed  against  a  short-clipped  European  beard.  The 
nose  would  be  prominent  if  Xatiu^e  allowed  it,  but,  though  it  is  in 
no  way  flattened,  the  tip  is  rapidly  compressed  towards  the  face, 
and  the  alee  nasi,  being  attached  at  a  higher  level  than  in  the 
European,  leave  exposed  a  large  surface  of  the  septum,  and  the 
result  is  a  certam  Mephistophelian  expression  which  is  somewhat 
unpleasant.  The  legs,  forearm,  and  chest  are  partially  covered  with 
short  crisp  hair,  but  the  beard  and  moustache  are  scanty.  One 
man  in  Marchesa  Bay  had  a  pair  of  pincers  and  plucked  out  any 
hair  that  displeased  him,  being  evidently  well  acquainted  with  the 
looking-glass,  but  one  of  the  sailors  happening  to  show  a  mirror  to 
a  native  on  the  south  coast,  the  man  gave  a  yell  of  terror  which 
showed  that  it  was  his  first  experience  of  the  article.  None  of  the 
Batanta  natives  had  the  nose  bored,  but  the  ears  were  pierced  and 
ornamented  with  small  earrings  of  brass  wire.  The  dress  was  a 
mere  T-bandage  of  Malay  cloth,  the  end  passed  once  again  round 
the  body  and  left  dangling  in  front  or  at  the  side.     Of  that  of  the 


XL]  THE  BATANTA  PAPUANS.  257 

women  I  cannot  speak,  as  they  were  kept  carefully  out  of  our  sight. 
The  only  tattooing  that  adorned  their  dark  chocolate-brown  bodies 
consisted  in  a  few  raised  moxa-produced  marks  upon  the  chest, 
whose  meaning,  if  they  had  any,  we  did  not  discover.  In  Dorei 
Bay  they  were  a  mark  of  distinction,  only  borne  by  those  who  had 
been  on  voyages  or  expeditions  against  their  enemies. 

The  Papuan  tj'pe  is,  on  the  whole,  by  no  means  a  bad  one,  the 
jaw  being  far  less  prognathous  than  in  the  African  negro,  and  the 
lips  much  thinner.  The  muscles  of  the  leg,  however,  as  in  the 
latter  people,  are  very  ill-developed,  though  the  foot  is  but  little 


WOODEN    IXSTEUJIEXT    FOR    STIRRING    SAGO. 


spur-heeled.  One  characteristic  of  the  race  has  not,  as  far  as  I 
know,  iDeen  remarked  upon — the  peculiar  odour  attaching  to  the 
individual.  This  is  quite  sui  rjencris,  so  far  as  my  experience  of 
natives  goes,  and  utterly  unlike  that  of  the  African.  There  would 
not  be  the  smallest  difficultv  in  recognising  them  in  the  dark 
merely  by  the  sense  of  smell. 

The  ornaments  of  the  Batanta  Papuans  were  limited.  They 
wore  shell  bracelets  made  from  the  Tridacna  or  Conus,  and  tight 
armlets  of  finely  plaited  grass,  two  or  tlu'ee  inches  in  width,  above 
the  biceps.  These  served  in  lieu  of  pockets,  for  beneath  them 
they  tucked  any  little  article  they  obtained  from  us,  or  their 
cigarettes,  which,  like  the  ordinary  Malay  rohos,  were  rolled  in  the 
delicate  young  leaf  of  some  species  of  palm.  One  or  two  firebrands 
at  which  to  light  them  were  carried  in  every  canoe.  The  canoes 
were  outrigged  on  both  sides,  and  provided  in  the  bows  with 
VOL.  II.  s 


258  XETV  GUINEA.  [chap. 

a  turtle  harpoon  aud  line,  the  latter  coiled  up  neatly  in  a  little 
basket.  Amidships  lay  the  bamboo  fish-spears,  of  a  kind  in  use 
in  most  islands  from  the  South  Seas  to  Singapore,  split  at  the 
top  mto  five  or  six  points,  which  are  pro^'ided  with  barbs  pointing 
inwards.  They  can  either  be  shot  from  a  bow,  thrown,  or  used  for 
stabbing.  A  bow  and  a  bundle  of  arrows  almost  invariably  com- 
pleted the  equipment. 

"While  in  Marchesa  Bay  we  got  quite  friendly  with  an  elderly 
and  mild-mannered  savage,  who  had  also  visited  us  at  our  former 
anchorage.  He  came  on  board  every  day  and  spent  hours  in 
examming  the  ship  and  her  fittings,  carrying  his  little  son  on  his 
back  meanwhile,  as  the  sight  of  Dick,  our  large  black  retriever, 
terrified  him  gi-eatly.  "VYe  tried  two  or  three  times  to  photograph 
them,  but  they  evidently  did  not  like  the  operation,  and  our  plates 
were  failures.  Finally  we  succeeded  in  getting  an  instantaneous 
portrait  of  them  as  they  sat  m  the  canoe,  unconscious  of  what  was 
taking  place.  From  this  old  fellow,  who  knew  a  few  words  of 
Malay,  I  obtained  a  small  vocabulary.  The  language,  as  I  after- 
wards found,  is  identical  with  that  spoken  on  the  neighbouring 
coasts  of  the  mainland,  and  the  islands  of  Misol  and  Salwatti.^ 

On  the  23rd  of  October  we  left  Batanta  for  Waigiou.  In  the 
Dutch  chart  the  ominous  word  Gevaren?  (dangers)  and  a  little 
phalanx  of  dots  and  crosses  indicated  that  for  more  than  eight 
miles  off  the  east  end  of  the  former  island  a  network  of  rocks  and 
reefs  was  supposed  to  extend.  Captain  Hakkers  of  the  Sing-Tjin 
had,  nevertheless,  told  us  that  the  passage  northwards  was  feasible 
by  keeping  tolerably  close  to  the  island,  and  we  resolved  to  attempt 
it.  Just  at  the  most  doubtful  part,  ha\ing  caught  sight  of  the 
bottom  beneath  the  ship,  a  tremendous  storm  of  rain  burst  upon 
us,  so  thick  that  we  could  hardly  see  a  dozen  yards  ahead.  We 
had  been  going  dead  slow  before,  but  now  stopped  entirely  until 
the  weather  cleared.  This  it  did  shortly  afterwards,  and  we 
proceeded  without  further  incident.  The  passage  is  probably  fairly 
1  Vide  Appendix  V.  p.  383. 


XI.]  MOMOS.  259 

clear,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  shallow  water  connects  Batanta 
with  the  reef  that  is  kn(jwn  to  exist  seven  or  eight  miles  farther 
to  the  east. 

Our  course  lay  due  north  to  Momos,  a  village  on  the  south 
coast  of  Waigiou  just  east  of  the  entrance  of  Chabrol  Bay,  a  narrow 
gulf  twenty- six  miles  in  depth  which  almost  cuts  the  island  in 
two.  It  is  the  residence  of  the  Eajah,  who,  with  a  handful  of 
Malays,  leads  a  miserable  existence,  living  upon  a  diet  that  is 
hardly  better  than  that  of  the  Papuans  around  him.  The  traveller 
in  Xew  Guinea  who  is  dependent  upon  the  country  for  his  food, 
must  make  up  his  mind  to  a  fare  which  is  probably  unequalled  in 
its  meagreness  by  that  of  any  country  in  the  world.  Eice,  fowls, 
eggs,  coconuts,  bananas,  and  half  a  score  of  other  pleasant  fruits — 
all  these,  which  in  the  ]\Ialay  region  are  easily  obtainable,  are  here 
unknown,  at  all  events  in  those  parts  where  Malay  influence  has 
not  penetrated,  and  the  menu  is  reduced  to  sago  and  fish,  with  not 
too  much  of  the  latter.  In  Momos,  however,  there  are  a  few  fowls 
and  such  like  delicacies,  and  we  had  not  been  long  anchored  before 
two  or  three  praus  visited  us  with  what  little  was  to  be  obtained 
in  the  way  of  food.  Bartering  is  a  tiring  business.  One  man, 
perhaps,  brings  two  eggs,  another  a  lime,  and  so  on.  Batanta, 
if  I  remember  rightly,  produced  us  four  eggs,  for  which  we  paid  a 
needle  apiece.  At  ]Momos  they  were  rather  dearer,  but  for  a 
common  fourpenny  clasp-knife  we  readily  obtained  two  fowls. 

The  Eajah  was  away  at  the  time  of  our  arrival,  ha\dng  gone  on 
a  cruise  to  Saonek  and  Xapriboi,  two  villages  farther  west  along 
the  coast,  but  he  returned  on  the  following  day,  and  we  handed 
him  our  letter  from  the  Sultan  of  Tidor — an  important -looking 
missive  enclosed  in  a  yellow  silk  cover.  We  requested  him  at  the 
same  tune  to  provide  us  with  a  large  native  prau  and  men,  in  order 
that  we  might  ascend  the  Chabrol  Gulf.  He  seemed  anxious  to 
help  us  m  every  way,  and  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  start 
the  next  evening. 

The  village  of  Momos  is  a  miserable-looking  place,  boasting  of 


260  NETF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

fifteen  or  twenty  huts  only,  all  of  which  are  built  on  shore,  con- 
trary to  the  usual  custom  in  this  part  of  the  world.  The  sea 
appears  to  be  gaining  on  the  land  at  this  spot,  for  the  black  stumps 
(jf  trees  of  some  size  can  be  seen  beneath  the  water  a  few  yards 
from  the  beach.  The  village  had  only  been  in  existence  three 
years,  and  neither  coconuts  nor  bananas  were  to  be  had,  although 
both  were  in  course  of  cultivation.  The  clearing  was  only  a  few 
acres  in  extent,  and  a  small  swamp  and  dense  jungle  hemmed 
it  in  at  the  back.  On  the  outskirts,  where  the  fallen  trees  had  re- 
mained unburnt,  beetles  were  abundant,  and  we  added  several 
interesting  species  to  our  collection.  One  of  the  handsomest  of  all 
the  Eastern  bird -winged  butterflies  (0.  poseidon,  or  some  closely- 
allied  species)  was  out  in  some  numbers,  and  we  caught  several, 
though  unfortunately  their  magnificent  golden-green  wings  were 
in  most  cases  torn  and  dilapidated.  Butterfly -hunting  in  New 
Guinea,  or  indeed  in  any  tropical  jungles,  is  of  all  pursuits  the 
most  trying  to  the  temper.  These  strong -winged  Ornithoptera 
dash  through  the  woods  at  a  pace  that  seems  intended  as  a  direct 
insult  to  the  unhappy  naturalist,  who,  with  every  movement 
hampered  by  rattans  and  other  climbers,  can  hardly,  even  by  a 
stretch  of  the  imagination,  be  said  to  be  in  pursuit  of  them.  In 
some  ways,  perhaps,  it  is  less  tiring  than  shooting.  Given  a 
thick  jungle,  trees  200  feet  high,  and  a  mushroom -helmeted 
sportsman,  it  will  be  seen  that  comfort  and  a  large  bag  are 
incompatible.  A  long  training  in  the  Sistine  Chapel  is  necessary 
for  this  work.  Absurd  as  it  may  seem,  my  spine  in  the  region  of 
the  neck  eventually  became  so  sore  that  I  was  on  more  than  one 
occasion  compelled  to  give  myself  a  rest. 

In  the  afternoon  the  Eajali  came  oti'  in  his  prau,  flags  flying 
and  tom-toms  beating  in  the  usual  approved  fashion.  He  was 
accompanied  by  his  only  child,  evidently  a  great  pet, — a  nice 
little  fellow,  whose  heart  we  won  by  the  present  of  a  small  musical - 
box.  We  had  a  long  hichara,  and  learnt  that  the  praus — for  we 
were  to  have  two — were  to  be  ready  for  us  the  same  evening.     We 


XL]  EXPLORATION  OF  CHABROL  BAY.  261 

had  settled  to  divide  our  party,  one  of  us  remaining  with  the  yacht 
at  Monios,  while  the  others,  taking  six  of  the  hunters,  were  to 
explore  Chabrol  Bay ;  and  accordingly  just  before  midnight  we  got 
our  necessaries  on  board  the  boats  and  started. 

Our  prau  was  manned  by  ten  men,  two  of  whom  were  jMalays, 
the  rest  coast  Papuans  of  mixed  descent,  and  half-breeds  of  Papuan 
and  Malay  parentage.  We  w^ere  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  monotonous 
splash  of  the  paddles,  and  early  on  the  following  morning  awoke  to 
find  ourselves  lying  in  a  small  mangrove  harbour  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  gulf,  at  the  mouth  of  a  little  stream.  We  worked  the 
forest  from  sunrise  till  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  on  reassembling 
at  the  praus  and  laying  out  our  spoil  found  that  w^e  had  not  done 
badly.  Among  the  parrots  were  the  curious  Aprosmictus  {A. 
dorsalis),  gorgeous  in  crimson  and  cobalt  dress,  with  a  broad  and 
graduated  tail  nine  or  ten  inches  in  length ;  the  still  more  brilliant 
Lorius  lory,  which  was  perhaps  the  most  common  of  any ;  and 
Wallace's  Eos — a  brush-tongued  lory  of  great  beauty.  In  New 
Guinea  the  pigeons,  equally  with  the  parrots,  have  their  fountain- 
head,  and  the  number  of  species  is  marvellous.  The  Pigmy  Doves 
are  especially  numerous,  and  exhibit  a  diversity  of  colouring  that 
an  Englishman  accustomed  only  to  the  sober  plumage  of  European 
species  would  hardly  credit.  The  "  lively  iris  "  which  "  changes  on  the 
burnished  dove  "  is  indeed  almost  entirely  absent  from  the  tropical 
genus  (Fiilopus)  to  wdiich  I  refer,  but  it  is  replaced  by  yellow, 
orange,  scarlet,  mauve,  magenta,  and  a  score  of  other  shades  which 
perhaps  are  not  equalled  in  any  other  family  for  variety.  On  this 
occasion  we  had  the  largest  and  the  smallest  of  the  pigeons  among 
our  collection — the  huge  Goura  or  Crowned  Pigeon,  now  a  familiar 
object  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  of  almost  every  capital,  weighing 
perhaps  four  or  five  pounds,  and  a  tiny  l*tilopus  (P.  pulchellus),  the 
size  of  a  lark,  grass-green  in  colour,  with  the  forehead  bright 
magenta. 

Two  or  three  hours  before  daybreak  we  again  started,  in  spite 
of  having  been  up  far  into  the  night  skinning  and  making  notes  of 


262  XETF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

our  specimens,  and  after  some  hours'  paddling  arrived  at  a  little 
village  of  four  huts  built  over  the  water  and  connected  with  the 
shore  by  rough  bridges.  The  inhabitants  were  Papuans,  apparently 
of  pure  blood.  Tliis  place  which  hes  about  eighteen  or  twenty 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  gulf  and  on  its  western  shore,  also 
afforded  us  some  good  birds,  Ijut  as  we  could  see  and  hear  nothing 
of  the  Eed  Bird  of  Paradise,  of  which  we  were  in  search,  we  left  it 
late  in  the  evening  and  crossed  the  gulf  in  a  south-easterly  direc- 
tion for  a  small  river  known  to  our  men.  The  weather  had 
hitherto  been  favouraljle — a  rarity  in  these  islands,  where  daily 
rain  appears  to  be  as  much  the  rule  as  the  exception, — but  when 
half-way  across  a  heavy  thunderstonn  burst  over  us,  and  the  rain 
descended  in  a  perfect  deluge.  AVe  had  taken  the  precaution  of 
getting  most  of  our  belongings  under  cover  before  it  began,  but 
even  in  the  steamy  heat  of  the  New  Guinea  clunate  rain  is  almost 
as  unpleasant  and  chilling  as  it  is  elsewhere,  and  we  were  glad 
enough  when  it  had  ceased.  A  little  later  we  sighted  the  shore 
through  the  darkness  and  came  to  anchor. 

At  daylight  we  found  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which,  as  far  as 
we  could  judge,  appeared  to  be  the  Ham  Pdver  of  the  officers  of  the 
Coquille}  We  ascended  the  stream,  which  was  of  no  great  size,  for 
about  two  miles,  and  came  to  a  village  of  four  huts.  The  natives 
here  were  Alfuros  ^  or  aborigines,  distinct  even  from  the  Waigiou 
Papuans  of  unmixed  blood,  but  dressed  in  the  same  way  and  wear- 
ing the  same  ornaments  of  plaited  grass  and  clam  shell,  which 
indeed  seem  to  be  common  to  all  of  this  race.  Mr.  "Wallace  did 
not  meet  with  these  people,  and  indeed  tells  us  that  Waigiou 
"  possesses  no  Alfuros,"^  but  there  is  no  doubt  of  their  existence, 
and  I  was  able  to  obtain  a  small  vocabulary  of  their  language. 
There  are  altogether  three  langTiages  or  dialects  spoken  in  Waigiou. 

^  Dupeney,  during  his  voyage  in  this  ship,  partially  explored  Chahrol  Bay,  but 
it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  visited  since. 

-  This  is  the  general  term  in  use  in  the  East  Indian  Archipelago  for  aborigines, 
and  has  no  ethnological  signification. 

3  Op.  cit.  p.  528. 


XI.]  THE  BED  BIRD  OF  PARADISE.  263 

The  coast  patois  I  have  abeady  alluded  to.  It  supplies,  as  it  were, 
the  place  of  Malay  as  a  general  means  of  communication,  and  is  in 
use  on  the  seaboard  of  the  greater  part  of  North-west  New  Guinea. 
It  appears  to  be  Xufoor  with  an  admixture  of  various  foreign 
words.  But,  in  addition,  most  of  the  islands — "VYaigiou  among  the 
number — have  each  a  distinct  language  spoken  by  the  coast  dwellers, 
which  in  its  turn  differs  from  that  of  the  Alfuros  or  wild  inhabitants 
of  the  interior.  I  was  unfortunate  enough  to  lose  the  greater 
portion  of  the  vocabularies  collected  in  AVaigiou,  but  the  few  words 
I  have  given  in  the  Appendix  show  sufficiently  the  distinctness  of 
these  tlu*ee  languages. 

These  Alfuros  were  phtheirophagous,  going  over  the  dense  mat 
adorning  their  lieads  with  the  most  praiseworthy  perseverance  ; 
layer  after  layer  being  worked  through  systematically  with  the  aid 
of  a  long  bamboo  comb.  Their  method  of  obtaining  fire  was  new 
to  all  of  us,  the  spark  being  struck  from  the  hard,  siliceous  exterior 
of  the  bamboo  and  a  fragment  of  pottery,  which  latter  article  they 
liad  probably  obtained  from  the  coast  tribe. 

We  searched  the  woods  in  vain  for  adult  males  of  the  Red  Bird 
of  Paradise.  Females  and  young  males,  which  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished from  one  another,  were  to  be  met  with  tolerably 
frequently,  and  we  shot  several,  but  of  the  lovely  full-plumaged 
male  we  never  even  caught  a  glimpse.  We  had  nevertheless  no 
cause  to  grumble,  for  we  succeeded  later,  and  our  cruise  up  the 
gulf,  short  as  it  was,  was  so  far  fortunate  in  that  it  furnished  us 
witli  specimens  in  nearly  every  stage  of  development,  and  before 
we  left  the  island  we  had  a  complete  series,  showing  the  various 
changes  in  the  plumage  from  the  sober-coloured  young  bird  to  tlie 
beautiful  and  quaintly  ornamented  adult. 

The  Eed  Bird  of  Paradise  is,  like  Wilson's  Diphyllodes,  entirely 
confined  to  the  two  islands  of  Batanta  and  Waigiou.  It  is  an  allied 
species  to  the  well-known  Paradisea  apoda  of  the  Aru  Islands,  and 
several  other  kinds,^  of  which  one  of  the  most  beautiful  is  a  recently- 

^  Paradisea  minor  in  Nortli-west  New  Guinea  and  the  islands  of  Misol  and  Jobi ; 


264  NEJV  GUINEA.  [chap. 

discovered  species  from  the  D'Entrecasteaux  Islands  of  South-east 
New  Guinea,  but  the  long  sub-alar  plumes — the  cliief  ornament  of 
this  genus — are  in  the  Eed  Bird  hardly  so  much  developed.  Their 
colour,  however — a  deep  crimson  with  snow-white  tip.s — is  not  less 
beautiful.  The  cliief  peculiarity  of  the  bird  lies  in  the  extraordinary 
development  of  the  two  median  tail-feathers.  In  the  allied  species 
these  are  prolonged  into  two  nearly  straight  wire-like  appendages, 
but  in  the  Eed  Bird  of  Paradise  they  are  ribbon-like  in  form,  much 
resembling  split  quills,  and  hang  in  a  graceful  double  curve  ibr 
nearly  two  feet  beyond  the  rest  of  the  tail-feathers.  The  series  of 
young  birds  we  obtained  in  Batanta  and  "VVaigiou  enabled  us  to 
follow  out  the  development  of  these  curious  ornaments.  The  two 
middle  tail-feathers  are  at  first  in  no  way  different  from  the  rest, 
but  presently  they  begin  to  elongate,  and  after  a  time  the  web  of 
the  feather  becomes  eroded  along  the  shaft,  though  still  remaining 
webbed  in  the  form  of  a  little  spatula  at  the  apex.  This  spatula 
indeed  may  sometimes  be  seen  in  the  full,  or  nearly  full,  plumaged 
bii'd.  In  the  process  of  elongation  the  now  bare  shaft  becomes  thin 
and  widened,  though  still  remaining  of  a  brown  colour.  Finally  its 
sides  gTadually  incurve  until  the  quill  in  section  presents  a  half-cu-cle, 
and  the  brown  shade  turning  into  a  jetty  black  completes  the  change. 
Of  the  nesting  habits  of  this,  as  indeed  of  the  other  birds  of 
Paradise,  we  in  vain  tried  to  discover  anything  definite,  and  though 
both  here  and  in  other  parts  of  New  Guinea  we  offered  large  rewards 
to  any  one  who  would  show  us  a  nest,  the  eggs  and  nidification  still 
remam  as  much  unknown  as  when  Peter  Heylyn  wrote  his 
"  Cosmography  "  and  spoke  of  "  the  bird  called  Monicodiata,  which 
ha^dng  no  feet  is  in  eontinuall  motion :  and  (it  is  said)  that  there 
is  a  hole  in  the  back  of  the  Cock,  in  which  the  Hen  doth  lay  her 
eggs,  and  hatch  her  young  ones.  I  bid  no  man  to  believe  these 
Piclations,"  he  writes ;  "  for  my  part,  I  say  with  Horace, 
"  '  Quodcunqiie  ostendis  niihi  .sic  incrediilus  odi' " 

P.  novce  guincoe  in  the  region  of  the  Fly  River  ;  P.  raggiana  in  the  south-east  penin- 
sula ;  and  P.  decora  in  the  D'Entrecasteaux  group. 


XI.]  NIGHT  IN  THE  FOREST.  265 

We  devoted  the  day  to  collecting  and  the  evening  to  skinning, 
according  to  the  usual  routine,  and  at  night  our  praus,  illuminated 
by  dammar  torches,  presented  a  busy  scene  until  a  late  hour.  The 
tall  trees  of  the  jungle  caught  the  light  here  and  there  and  stood 
out  in  strong  relief  against  the  inky  darkness  of  the  forest  beyond. 
Our  Malay  hunters,  squatting  on  the  ground,  held  the  heads  of  the 
birds  they  were  skinning  between  their  toes  like  monkeys,  and 
worked  away  steadily,  hardly  uttering  a  word,  while  the  woolly-haired 
Papuans  sat  watching  them,  smoking  their  palm-leaf  cigarettes  and 
jabbering  noisily.  Now  and  again  the  weird  cry  of  some  night- 
bird  silenced  them  for  a  while.  The  whole  scene  was  romantic 
enough,  or  would  have  been  had  not  certain  realities  of  existence 
prevented  it.  The  night  was  suffocatingly  hot,  and  we  did  not  need 
to  be  reminded  that  we  were  within  a  mile  or  two  of  the  equator. 
The  mosquitoes  descended  upon  us  in  swarms,  effectually  banishing 
sleep,  and,  to  crown  our  discomfort,  our  legs  were  covered  with 
quantities  of  ticks  of  almost  microscopic  minuteness,  which,  in  the 
amount  of  irritation  they  produce,  beat  the  very  similar  little  Ixodes 
which  haunts  the  coast  of  South-east  Africa.  Tu-ed,  irritable,  and 
bathed  in  perspiration  we  greeted  the  appearance  of  day  with 
delight. 

We  started  early  on  our  return  journey  to  Momos,  and  for  the 
first  time  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  scenery  of  the  gulf. 
The  most  striking  part  is  just  within  the  entrance,  where  innumer- 
able rocks  and  islets  dot  the  calm  surface  of  the  water.  Some  of 
these  are  quaintly  box-like  in  shape,  with  peipendicular  coralline 
cliffs,  which  at  the  base  are  in  many  cases  deeply  undermined  by  tlie 
sea.  For  nearly  two  miles  we  passed  through  a  perfect  nest  of 
these  jungle-clad  islands,  the  average  breadth  of  the  strait  being 
from  two  to  five  hundred  yards.  Lookmg  back,  the  "  Cone  de 
Buttle "  of  Duperrey  was  visible,  rising  as  a  sharp  peak  to  the 
northward  above  the  little  archipelago,  the  varied  beauties  of 
which  made  us  regret  that  we  had  not  more  time  to  explore  them. 

We   were   desirous   of   taking   in   water   at   Momos,   and   on 


266  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

inquiring  of  the  llajali  he  tokl  us  of  a  small  stream  whicli  ran  into 
the  gulf  on  the  eastern  side,  just  within  the  entrance.  Its  mouth 
was  hardly  visible  from  the  sea,  but  we  at  length  discovered  it, 
and  entering  a  narrow  channel  completely  overarched  by  trees 
found  a  little  stream  of  good  water  running  brightly  over  a  pebbly 
bed.  Up  this  we  poled  our  dinghy,  and  hearing  the  noise  of  a 
waterfall  in  the  distance,  I  left  the  boat  and  walked  to  it  through 
the  forest.  It  was  only  a  few  feet  in  height,  but  the  richness  of 
tlie  ferns  and  other  vegetation  combined  to  render  it  one  of  the 
most  charming  spots  I  saw  in  our  New  Guinea  cruise.  It  will 
always  remain  deeply  impressed  on  my  memory,  for  such  places 
are  after  all  rare  in  these  regions,  or  at  least  rarer  than  is  generally 
supposed  by  those  to  whom  the  tropics  are  unknown.  The 
individual  beauty  of  any  one  plant  or  tree  may  be  absolutely 
perfect,  but  the  very  exuljerance  of  the  vegetation — the  cmharras 
dc  richesses — spoils  all,  and  the  traveller  is  chieily  conscious  of  a 
tangled  mass  of  greenery  presenting  few  characteristics,  except 
impenetrability,  to  his  mind. 

Next  day,  the  boats  having  gone  round  to  the  watering-place,  I 
endeavoured  to  reach  it  overland  with  a  half-caste  Papuan  as 
guide.  As  I  was  starting  one  of  our  hunters  came  in,  bringing  a 
male  Faradisea  ruhra  which,  with  the  exception  of  the  beautiful 
red  tufts,  was  in  full  plumage,  and  I  learnt  that  he  had  seen  others 
at  no  great  distance  I'rom  the  village.  The  forest,  however,  hardly 
yielded  me  a  single  biid  for  a  long  time,  with  the  exception  of  a 
Tanysiptera  (T.  galatea),  a  lovely  racquet-tailed  kingfisher  not  un- 
common in  North-west  Papua.  Presently  a  male  Paradise  bird  flew 
past  me,  with  long  tail-feathers,  but,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  with  the 
side  plumes  only  partially  developed.  My  guide  now  commenced 
calling  the  birds,  placing  his  hand  to  his  mouth  and  producing  a  sort 
of  plaintive  croak,  loud,  and  of  rather  high  pitch — an  almost  exact 
imitation  of  their  note.  We  waited  silently  and  with  no  result  for 
some  little  time,  and  then  continued  our  way,  but  I  had  hardly 
started  Ijefore  a  fuU-plumaged  male  bird  perclied  upon  a  bough 


XI.] 


PARADISE  BIRDS. 


>67 


within  twenty  yards  of  nie.     These  are  the  moments  when  one  is, 
as  a  matter  of  couise 


entirely  unprepaied  1 
was  climbing  the  face 
of  a  little  precipice  ten 
or  twelve  feet  high, 
liolding  on  with  one 
hand,  and  long  befoie  I 
could  get  free  the  bud 
had  flown.  It  was — alas ' 
the  only  chance  I  had 

during  the  rest    | 

of  our  stay.  On 
(jur  way  l3ack  to 
Momoswecame 
across  a  tree 
with  wonder- 
fully-developed 
aerial      roots. 


THEE    WITH    AERIAL    ROOTS,    WAIGIOU. 


268  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

larger  than  any  1  had  ever  seen  before,  and  rismg  in  a  tliick  mass 
to  a  height  of  about  forty  feet  from  the  ground.  It  was  impossible 
to  allow  such  a  good  specimen  to  pass,  and  accordingly,  with  some 
little  trouble,  we  took  the  camera  there  on  the  following  day  and 
photographed  it. 

Xext  day  the  Eajah  came  on  l)oard  early,  accompanied  by  a  son 
of  the  Sultan  of  Tidor,  who  had  just  arrived  in  a  prau  from  the  coast 
of  the  mainland  in  the  neiglibourhood  of  the  ]\Iacluer  Clulf.  In- 
stead of  wearing  the  usual  Malay  dress,  which  is  both  dignified  and 
becoming,  he  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  rusty  black  cut  in  European 
style,  and  the  eft'ect  was  anythmg  but  imposing.  He  was  owner 
of  two  or  three  small  praus  which  traded  in  dammar,  tortoise-shell, 
and  Paradise  birds  on  the  Xew  Guinea  coast,  and  hearing  that  he 
had  brought  some  birds'  skins  to  Xapriboi — a  village  beyond 
Saonek  which  we  were  desirous  of  ^isiting — we  arranged  to  go 
there  without  loss  of  time,  and  weighed  anchor  shortly  after  mid- 
day. A  great  part  of  the  south  coast  of  "Waigiou  is  guarded  by  a 
barrier-reef,  inside  of  which  we  kept  for  the  whole  distance,  at 
times  approaching  the  shore  ahnost  within  stone's  throw.  Abreast 
of  Saonek  Island  we  altered  course  to  the  northward,  and  shortly 
afterwards  came  to  anchor  in  the  little  bay  of  Xapriboi. 

Xapriboi,  which,  if  not  identical  with  ]\Ir.  Wallace's  Muka,  must 
be  very  close  to  it,  was  in  every  respect  a  more  attractive  place 
than  Momos.  It  consisted  of  half  a  dozen  huts  built  over  the 
waters  of  the  bay,  remarkable  for  having  high-pitched  roofs,  an 
unusual  shape  for  huts  among  the  Papuans.  In  one  of  these 
the  Eajali  Mudah  had  his  collection  of  birds,  which  were  of  four 
species  only — the  Lesser  Bird  of  Paradise,  the  Twelve -wired 
Seleucides,  the  little  scarlet  King  Bird,  and  the  ]\Iagnificent  {JDiphyl- 
lodes  magnifica) — none  of  which  we  had  as  yet  obtained  in  full 
plumage,  although  we  had  shot  some  females  and  immature  males 
of  the  King  Bird.  They  had  all  been  lirought  from  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Macluer  Gulf,  and  ha\dng  been  skinned  by  the  natives, 
were  perfectly  useless  to  us,  tlie  legs  of  nearly  every  one  having 


XI.] 


XAPRIBOT. 


269 


been  cut  off'  and  the  skins  being  much  moth-eaten.  I  had  hoped 
possibly  to  find  some  rarity  among  them,  but  was  doomed  to 
(Usappointment. 

Around  Xapriboi  but  little  clearing  had  been  done,  for  the 
Papuan,  unlike  those  of  INIalay  race,  is  no  agriculturist,  and  is 
content  to  live  from  liand  to  mouth  on  sago  and  what  few  fish  or 


AT   NAPRIBOI. 


turtle  he  can  manage  to  catch.  A  few  coco  palms,  however,  had 
Ijeen  planted,  and  it  was  a  treat  to  us  to  get  some  of  the  fresh 
young  nuts,  the  "  milk  "  of  which  is  the  healthiest  and  at  the  same 
time  the  most  agreeable  drink  in  the  tropics.  The  forest  was  an 
open  one,  and  not  good  for  collecting,  but  the  isolation  of  the  trees 
afforded  us  opportunities  for  photography  which  do  not  often  occur 
in  these  islands. 

Looking  southwards  towards  Batanta  across  Dampier  Strait, 
the  dark  hummocks  of  King  William  Island  or  Mios  Mansuar 
are  visible,  surrounded  by  a  little  archipelago  of  lesser  islets.     The 


270  XEJV  GUINEA.  [chap. 

intervening  sea,  little  known  to  Europeans,  is  a  network  of  shoals 
which  render  the  northern  passage  extremely  dangerous,  and  the  few 
ships  which  pass  these  wild  and  lonely  shores  always  hug  the  line 
of  reefs  on  the  Batanta  coast.  In  the  case  of  Batanta  and  Waigiou 
we  have  an  excellent  example  of  the  rule — to  wliich  there  are  few 
exceptions — that  the  length  of  time  that  any  island  has  l^een 
separated  from  the  mainland  bears  more  or  less  relation  to  the 
depth  of  the  intervening  sea.  Batanta  is  in  close  proximity  to 
Salwatti — abordiug  it  for  a  distance  of  more  than  twenty  miles, 
the  strait  at  no  part  being  more  than  five,  and  in  some  places  not 
more  than  two  miles  across.  Waigiou,  on  the  other  hand,  has  five 
and  twenty  miles  of  intervening  sea  between  its  nearest  point  and 
Batanta.  It  might  reasonably  be  supposed  that  the  fauna  of 
Batanta  would  correspond  closely  with  that  of  Salwatti  did  we  not 
know  that  the  existence  of  a  strait,  however  naiTOw,  is  an  almost 
insuperable  barrier  to  the  passage  of  most  of  the  forest-haunting 
species.  The  great  depth  of  water  in  Pitt  Strait  renders  it  probable 
that  the  separation  of  Batanta  took  place  at  some  long  past  period, 
while  the  shallow  soundings  and  numerous  reefs  existing  in 
Dampier  Strait,  together  with  the  fact  that  Waigiou  shows  signs 
of  recent  subsidence,  indicate  that  the  latter  island  was  connected 
with  Batanta  at  no  very  remote  date.  A  consideration  of  the 
a\dfauna  of  the  two  islands  bears  out  this  theory  completely. 
Several  species,  which  do  not  exist  in  Salwatti — among  them  the 
Birds  of  Paradise  to  which  I  have  alluded — are  found  in  Batanta, 
Ijut  they  also  occur  in  Waigiou,  and,  ornithologically  speaking,  the 
two  latter  islands  are  practically  identical. 

Eeturning  next  day  to  Momos,  we  prepared  for  our  departure 
and  paid  off  the  men  who  had  accompanied  us  to  Chabrol  Bay. 

^  The  wide-rauging  King  Bird  (Cicinmcrus  rcgiiis)  is  not  found  in  Waigiou,  but 
it  is  believed  to  exist  in  Batanta.  While  in  the  latter  island  we  on  two  occasions 
saw  a  bird  closely  resembling  it,  but  it  may  possibly  have  been  the  lovely  Rhipidwnis 
Guliclmi  tertii,  which — although  its  native  country  is  still  uncertain — is  supposed  to 
be  found  in  Waigiou.  Only  four  specimens  of  this  bird  have  ever  been  obtained,  and 
oiu-  search  for  it  and  inquiries  among  the  natives  were  fruitless. 


xr.]  SAIL  FOR  GEELVINK  BAY.  271 

We  had  got  beyond  the  range  of  money,  and  they  received  their 
wages  in  cloth,  tobacco,  and  knives.  We  left  two  hunters  behind 
us  with  strict  injunctions  to  search  for  the  Ehipidornis  and  full- 
plumaged  specimens  of  the  Eed  Bird  of  Paradise,  and  at  the  same 
time  made  arrangements  to  send  Lokman — a  lazy  rascal  who  never 
shot  more  than  six  birds  a  week — in  a  prau  with  another  hunter 
to  Salwatti  Island.  They  carried  a  letter  to  the  Eajah  of  Samati, 
requesting  him  to  send  out  natives  to  try  and  secure  us  living 
specimens  of  the  Twelve-wired  Paradise  Bird,  and  intimating  our 
intention  of  visiting  the  island  on  our  return.  To  our  friend  the 
Eajah  of  Waigiou,  who,  accompanied  as  usual  by  his  little  boy,  had 
come  to  bid  us  adieu,  we  gave  some  Japanese  silk  and  a  few 
l;)ottles  of  Hollands.  The  old  gentleman  was  pleased,  but  evidently 
had  something  on  his  mind.  At  last  it  came  out.  "  Could  we 
give  him  an  old  coat,  or  even  a  pair  of  trousers  ?"  A  long  course 
of  travel  has  made  me  intimate  with  several  kings  and  other  such 
exalted  personages,  but  most  of  them  have  disdained  these  garments 
like  the  rest  of  their  subjects,  and  we  did  not  carry  them  among 
our  "trade."  A  search  among  our  wardrobes  was,  however,  at 
length  successful,  and  as  we  slowly  moved  from  our  anchorage 
en  route  for  Geelvink  Bay,  the  Eajah  stepped  on  board  his  prau 
amid  a  burst  of  tom-tom  playing,  carrying  a  pair  of  Savile  Eow 
inexpressibles  beneath  his  arm. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

NEW  GUINEA  {continued). 

Arrive  at  Dorei  Bay  —  Dutch  missionaries  —  Maiisiiiain — The  Krakatau  eruption 
audible  in  New  Guinea — -The  Papuans  of  Dorei  Bay— Amulets — The  Manuen 
— Houses  of  the  natives — Korowaar — The  idol-houses — A  snake  myth  —  The 
legend  of  Mangundi — A  cosmopolitan  forge — ^Feasts  and  dancing — Marriage 
customs — Government — Survival  of  the  unfittest — Andai — The  climate  of  the 
coast — Malarial  fever — The  Hatam  Papuans — Birds  of  the  Arfak  Mountains — 
Burial  customs — Height  of  the  Arfak  range — We  sail  for  Jobi  Island — Our 
pilot  Kawari. 

East  of  Dampier  Strait  high  seas  are  frequently  met  with,  the 
coast  of  New  Guinea  being  here  exposed  to  the  North  Pacific,  and 
on  clearing  the  protection  afforded  us  by  Waigiou  we  encountered 
worse  weather  than  we  had  had  for  many  weeks.  The  gloomy  sky, 
rough  sea,  and  sheets  of  rain  might  have  recalled  the  English 
Channel  in  November  had  it  not  been  for  the  thermometer,  whose 
steady  register  of  85°  was  sufficient  to  dispel  any  such  illusion. 
At  daylight  on  the  1st  of  November  we  found  we  had  slightly 
overrun  our  distance,  and  altering  our  course  to  S.S.W.  we  soon 
made  out  the  island  of  Manaswari  at  the  entrance  of  Dorei  Bay. 
As  we  approached,  the  weather  grew  brighter,  and  we  caught  sight 
of  the  Arfak  Mountains,  which  had  hitherto  been  hidden  in  gloomy 
clouds.  Rounding  Cape  Mamori,  on  which  the  sea  was  breaking 
heavily,  we  ran  immediately  into  smooth  water,  and  a  little  later 
anchored  in  twenty  fathoms  close  to  the  three  villages  of  Dorei. 
Dorei    Bay,    well    known    as    the    settlement   of    the    Dutch 


CHAP.  XII.]  THE  DUTCH  MISSIONARIES.  273 

missionaries  and  the  residence  of  Mr.  Wallace  in  1858,  is  protected 
on  the  east  by  the  islands  of  Manaswari  and  Meosmapi.  The 
latter  is  uninhabited,  but  on  Manaswari  are  the  three  villages 
Menubabor,  Mansinam,  and  Saraundibu,  and  the  house  of  Mr,  Van 
Hasselt,  the  oldest  missionary.  Dorei  itseK  includes  the  villages 
of  Ambobridoi,  Kwawe,  and  Easamberi,  and  is  placed  on  the 
northern  shore  of  the  harbour  about  two  miles  distant  from  the 
island.  Here  Mr.  Jens  and  Mr.  Van  Balen  are  settled,  and  a  mile 
beyond — close  to  the  head  of  the  bay — is  Mr.  Bink's  house,  behind 
the  villages  of  Eode  and  Monokware.  The  whole  native  population 
numbers,  or  is  supposed  to  number,  over  three  thousand  persons. 

We  were  soon  surrounded  by  native  praus  and  boarded  by 
Messrs.  Jens  and  Van  Balen.  We  had  brought  a  mail  for  them, 
which  had  been  waiting  for  weeks  at  Ternate  before  it  got  into 
our  hands.  Wlien  they  had  received  the  last  one  we  did  not 
inquire,  but  it  was  quite  touching  to  see  the  poor  fellows  rush  at 
their  letters,  excitedly  exclaiming,  "  This  is  from  my  mother !" 
"  Here  is  a  book  from  my  sister !"  and  so  on,  as  they  held  them 
up.  All  these  missionaries  have  been  chosen  from  the  working- 
class,  as  being  more  fitted  to  instruct  the  natives  in  the  useful 
arts,  and  can  speak  little  but  their  own  and  the  Nufoor  language. 
Mr.  Van  Hasselt,  however,  having  married  a  German  lady,  spoke 
that  language  fluently,  and  could  also  manage  a  little  French  and 
English.  He  had  lived  no  less  than  twenty  years  at  Dorei,  but 
the  terrible  effects  of  the  clunate  were  only  too  plainly  apparent. 
Bent  nearly  double,  and  so  enfeebled  by  repeated  attacks  of  fever 
and  other  tropical  disorders  as  to  be  incapable  of  much  exertion, 
he  appeared  to  us  to  be  over  seventy  years  of  age,  and  we  were 
astonished  to  learn  that  he  was  only  forty-seven.  The  continued 
heat  and  excessive  rainfall  of  this  part  of  New  Guinea,  especially 
when  combined  with  poor  diet,  make  it  almost  as  unhealthy  as 
West  Africa,  and  the  list  of  names  of  the  missionaries  who  have 
died  here  is  a  long  one.  I  am,  of  course,  speaking  only  of  the 
pestilential  mangrove -clad  coasts.      Inland,  on  the  slopes  of  the 

VOL.  II.  T 


274  KEir  GUINEA.  [chap. 

great  mountains,  the  climate  is  no  doubt  very  niucli  healthier, 
although  the  rainfall  at  certain  seasons  must  be  enormous. 

Mr.  Van  Hasselt's  house  on  Manaswari  is  the  sole  bit  of 
ci\'ilisation  in  Dutch  Xew  Guinea.  Built  a  few  yards  only  above 
a  pleasant  coral-beach  in  the  middle  of  a  grove  of  coco  pabns,  the 
neatness  and  order  prevailing  ought  at  least  to  have  had  some 
effect  as  an  example  to  the  natives.  Flowers  are  planted  round 
the  house,  and  ferns  and  orchids  hang  in  the  verandah.  In  front 
is  a  small  lawn  and  a  flagstaft",  and  at  the  back  a  good  vegetable 
garden  and  a  cattle  kraal.  At  a  little  distance  stands  the  small 
building  which  acts  as  church  and  schoolroom,  erected  by  ]\Ir. 
Bink  and  Mr.  Van  Hasselt  with  their  own  hands.  A  few  children 
were  brought  out  for  our  inspection.  They  sang  hjTuns  remark- 
ably well,  and  could  read  and  write,  but  it  seemed  to  us  a  pity 
that  the  lesson  of  our  Saviour's  life  on  earth  was  less  taught  than 
the  dry  details  of  Old  Testament  history. 

Judging  merely  from  the  inside  of  the  schoolroom,  the  Dorei 
mission  would  appear  to  be  a  success,  but  in  reality  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  it  is  not  so.  The  entire  result  of  twenty-eight  years  of  mission- 
work  and  the  sacrifice  of  many  lives  is  but  sixteen  adult  and 
twenty-six  child  converts.  Children  are  bought  by  the  missionaries 
whenever  possible,  and  brought  up  as  Christians  from  their  earliest 
infancy,  and  it  is  in  this  way  alone  that  any  real  success  is  possible. 
It  is  not  easy  to  obtain  them,  however,  since  the  natives  are  un- 
willing to  sell  then-  own,  and  hence  orphans  or  the  offspring  of 
slaves  alone  come  into  the  hands  of  the  missionaries.  The  Papuan 
is  bold,  self-reliant,  and  independent,  and  no  rapid  conversion  to 
Cliristianity,  as  has  been  the  case  m  some  of  the  Pacific  Islands,  is 
ever  Hkely  to  take  place  in  Xew  Guinea.  As  far  as  our  short 
experience  of  Dorei  permitted  us  to  form  an  opinion,  it  seemed  to 
us  that  the  mission  had  little  or  no  influence  over  the  natives. 
The  latter  have,  of  course,  become  quite  accustomed  to  Europeans, 
'and  leave  them  unmolested,  but  their  habits  and  customs  remain 
imchanged,  and  at  the  time  of  our  ^'isit  the  Bum-slam  or  idol- 


xil]  the  ER  UPTION  OF  KB  A  KA  TA  U.  275 

house  at  Monokware,  which  had  been  accidentally  destroyed  by  fire, 
was  being  rebuilt  in  all  its  former  hideousness  and  indecency. 

Mr.  Van  Hasselt  was  eager  to  learn  what  news  we  could  give 
of  the  civilised  world.  We  had  little  enough  to  tell,  with  the 
exception  of  the  eruption  of  Krakatau.  Of  the  appalling  amount 
of  destruction  it  had  caused  we  were  at  the  time  unaware,  but 
we  gave  him  the  few  particulars  which  had  reached  Gorontalo. 
He  at  once  told  us,  greatly  to  our  astonishment,  that  the  noise  of  the 
explosions  had  been  audible  at  Dorei,  and  going  into  the  next  room 
brought  his  diary,  in  which,  under  date  of  August  27th,  an  entry 
had  been  made  to  the  effect  that  sounds  as  of  distant  cannonading, 
which  they  had  imagined  to  proceed  from  some  volcanic  eruption, 
had  been  heard  on  that  day.  The  natives,  we  were  told,  had  also 
noticed  it  on  the  previous  day — when,  in  fact,  the  outburst  was 
at  its  height.  By  the  missionaries  the  volcano  at  Ternate  or 
in  some  part  of  the  Moluccas  was  supposed  to  be  in  action.  It 
enables  one  partially  to  realise  the  terrific  nature  of  the  eruption 
when  the  map  shows  Dorei  to  be  distant  1710  miles  from  Krakatau. 
It  seems  almost  incredible  that  explosions  proceeding  from  Hecla 
could  be  audible  in  Eome,  or  that  if  a  volcano  were  suddenly  to 
make  its  appearance  in  Timbuctoo  we  might  be  conscious  of  the 
fact  in  England.^ 

We  spent  a  good  deal  of  our  time  in  Dorei  Bay  in  trading  and 
visiting  the  houses  of  the  natives,  and  each  day  our  decks  were 
crowded  with  dozens  of  mop -headed  and  nearly  naked  savages, 
anxious  to  obtain  our  cloth  and  other  goods  in  exchange  for  spears, 
bows  and  arrows,  live  lories  and  cockatoos,  and  little  carved  wooden 
gods.  The  arrows  are  unfeathered,  but  the  little  boys,  who  are 
constantly  practising  with  miniature  bows  and  arrows,  make  some 
attempt  at  feathering  the  latter — which  are  constructed  from  the 
mid-rib  of  a  palm  frond— by  leaving  some  of  the  leaf  at  the  base. 
No  poison  is  used,  except  among  the  Arfak  tribes.     The  arrow- 

•^  When  at  Salwatti  Island  at  a  later  period  of  our  voyage  we  learnt  that  the 
eruption  had  been  very  plainly  heard  there  also. 


276  NEW  GUINEA.  [chap. 

points  are  of  cassowary  or  human  bone,  or  of  hard  wood,  but  the 
most  effective  are  made  of  the  needle-pointed  and  barbed  prickle  of 
some  species  of  Sting  Eay.  At  Dorei  iron-tipped  spears  were  not 
uncommon,  but  the  points  were  more  frequently  of  bamboo,  not 
unlike  a  cheese-scoop  in  shape.  Yery  few  skins  of  the  Paradise 
birds  were  brought  off  for  sale,  but  the  numerous  parrots  we 
bought  soon  gave  the  ship  the  appearance  of  a  large  apiary.  Most 
of  them  were  the  common  wliite  Cockatoo  (C.  triton)  and  the  still 
commoner  Trichogiossus  which  is  found  over  the  whole  of  this 
part  of  Kew  Guinea,  but  among  them  we  found  a  rare  bird  of  the 
latter  genus  (Trichogiossus  rosenbergi),  and  several  other  beautiful 
lories,  which  we  were  glad  enough  to  obtain  for  coloured  cotton 
handkercliiefs  or  a  yard  or  two  of  "  Turkey  red." 

The  Dorei  Papuans  vary  so  much  in  colour  and  in  type  of 
feature  that  it  is  evident  that  many  are  of  mixed  race.  Some 
wear  the  nose-bar,  which  is  about  an  inch  in  length  and  of  the 
thickness  of  a  quill.  It  is  known  as  the  hoor  or  Tceru,  according  as 
it  is  made  of  bone  or  shell.  Among  Europeans  its  use  would 
in  very  few  indi^dduals  be  possible  without  discomfort,  for  it  is 
thrust  through  the  septum  of  the  nose,  and  protrudes  as  far  as  the 
al(B  nasi  on  either  side,  but,  as  I  have  ah'eady  mentioned,  the  high 
attachment  of  the  latter  on  the  cheek  in  the  Papuan  race  leaves 
plenty  of  room  for  the  ornament.^  A  still  more  striking  feature 
is  the  comb,  which  is  rarely  or  never  absent  from  the  heads  of 
those  who  are  possessed  of  a  well-grown  chevelure — a  bamboo  stick 
about  two  feet  long  split  at  the  end  into  five  prongs.  The  handle 
projects  far  over  the  forehead,  and  is  ornamented  with  feathers  or 
round  discs  of  pith  threaded  edge  to  edge  on  a  secondary  stick. 
Across  the  chest,  bandolier-fashion,  is  slung  the  sar4  or  shoulder- 
strap,  a  woven  band  of  coloured  grass  half  an  inch  in  width,  and 
clam-shell  bracelets  and  tightly -fitting  armlets  complete  the 
decoration,  as  in  the   case   of  the   Batanta   natives.     In   almost 

^  This  peculiar  shape  of  the  nose  is  -R-ell  represented  in  their  koroxvaar  or  so- 
called  gods,  and  all  carvings  in  which  the  human  features  are  rej)roduced. 


XII.] 


TATTOOING. 


277 


eveiy  part  of  New  Guinea  that  we  visited  individuals  with  quite 
short  hair  were  often  to  be  seen.  Some  of  these  were  perhaps 
unable  to  grow  the  enormous  mop  from  which   the  Papuans — 


XATIVE   OF   AMBOBRIDOI,   DOREI   BAT. 


"the   frizzly- haired   people" — derive   their   name,  but  in   many 
cases  it  is  a  sim  of  mourninor. 

Although  tattooing,  as  we  understand  it,  is  not  common, 
numbers  of  the  Nufoor  people^  are  decorated  with  raised  scars, 
such  as  may  be  seen  in  many  African  tribes.  These  are  produced 
by  the  repeated  application  of  red-hot  pointed  sticks — the  con- 
tinuous moxa  producing  a  lump  of  gristly  hardness  beneath  the 
skin.  A  favourite  seat  appears  to  be  the  shoulder,  whence  they 
are  sometimes  extended  downwards  so  as  to  meet  on  the  breast  in 

^  Dorei  Bay  is,  as  it  were,  the  capital  of  the  Nufoor  tribe.  They  inhabit  the  north- 
west coast  and  some  of  the  islands  in  Geelvink  Bay,  and,  according  to  their  legend, 
originally  came  from  Nufoor  Island  (Long  Island  of  the  English  charts).  They  claim 
to  have  been  the  first  discoverers  of  fire,  which  was  given  to  their  ancestors  by  a 
magician.  On  seeing  it  they  immediately  exclaimed  "Nufoor," — foor  meaning 
fire,  and  mt  being  the  dual  "  we  two." 


278 


NETV  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


a  V-shaped  pattern.  After  voyages  or  feats  of  prowess  they  add 
one  or  two  of  these  marks,  and  we  noticed  that  a  young  man  from 
the  island  of  Biak,  who  appeared  to  be  regarded  as  a  person  of 

some  importance,  and  was  cer- 
tainly a  very  fine-looking  fellow, 
was  liberally  decorated  with  them. 
The  equipment  of  a  Papuan 
would  not  be  considered  complete 
without  certain  amulets  slung 
around  his  neck.  These  are  small 
sticks  about  six  inches  long,  carved 
at  the  upper  end  in  rough  unita- 
tion  of  the  human  figure.  One  is 
to  guard  them  in  a  land  journey, 
another  on  a  voyage;  one  wards 
off  the  e\'il  designs  of  the  dreaded 
Manuen — the  malicious  spirit ;  a 
fourth  preserves  them  from  sick- 
ness, and  so  on,  until  the  wearer 
is  carefully  protected  from  each 
and  all  of  the  "  thousand  natural 
shocks  that  flesh  is  heir  to."  But 
in  order  that  they  should  be 
efficacious,  he  must  be  able  m 
a  certain  measure  to  predict  these  misfortunes,  for  the  peculiar 
^drtue  of  which  the  amulets  are  possessed  is  only  exerted  when 
they  dangle  between  his  shoulder-blades,  where  it  is  not  considered 
proper  habitually  to  carry  them.  Thus,  although  the  owner  cannot 
always  have  his  Manuen  charm  at  work,  he  may  look  out  his 
amulet  for  a  voyage  on  starting  for  it,  or  put  the  one  suitable  for  a 
headache  in  action  after  having  dined  unwisely.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  sliipwreck,  illness,  or  any  misfortune  which  may  occur  is  not 
due  to  the  inefficiency  of  these  useful  Httle  articles : — it  is  merely 
the  result  of  their  not  having  been  put  in  use  at  the  right  moment. 


PAPUAN   AMULETS. 


XII.]  HOUSES  OF  THE  PAPUANS,  279 

The  Manueii  are  the  Papuan  bogies, — evil  sprites  who  lurk  in 
the  woods  and  hire  the  passer-by  to  destruction.  Once  under 
their  spell  the  unhappy  victim  is  beyond  human  aid.  The  Manuen 
changes  his  arms  into  his  legs,  and  in  tliis  reversed  position  the 
doomed  native  is  compelled  to  dance.  He  is  then  released  and 
disenchanted,  but  returns  home  only  to  die.  In  spite  of  their 
power  to  enter  houses  and,  unseen,  to  strike  the  inhabitants  with 
sickness,  the  Manuen  are  only  able  to  exert  their  evil  influence 
over  a  restricted  area,  and  many  localities  are  said  to  be  free  of 
them.  In  one  form,  indeed,  they  are  not  unknown  to  European 
physicians.  "WTiien  the  mists  rise  in  the  evening  the  little  children 
are  brought  into  the  huts  lest  the  ]\Ianuen — the  malaria,  as  w^e  call 
him — should  touch  them.  He  is,  no  doubt,  the  same  spirit  who 
compels  the  Dusuns  of  Borneo  to  build  their  houses  on  slender 
piles — to  make  them  temporary,  not  permanent  residences,  in 
other  words. 

Below  the  mission-house  on  Manaswari  are  the  three  villages 
I  have  mentioned  on  a  pre^dous  page.  They  are  so  closely  situated 
as  in  reality  to  constitute  but  one,  and  stand  fifty  yards  or  more 
from  the  shore,  to  which  each  house  is  connected  by  a  bridge  of  so 
sketchy  and  insecure  a  nature  as  to  render  its  passage  by  a  booted 
European  almost  impossible.  Even  more  dilapidated  still  are  the 
houses  themselves,  built  as  they  are  of  rotten  mats,  bits  of  old 
praus,  gciba-gciba,  or  anything  that  comes  to  hand.  So  treacherous 
is  the  floor,  with  its  gaping  holes  and  the  loose  sticks  of  which  it  is 
composed,  that,  as  one  of  our  sailors  remarked,  one  should  be 
"  bird-rigged  "  before  trusting  to  it ;  but  this  feature  is  not  without 
its  advantages,  for  dirt  and  rubbish  of  all  kinds  can  easily  be 
dropj)ed  through  into  the  sea  beneath.  These  rickety  dwellings  are 
of  very  large  size — for,  like  the  Dyaks,  several  families  live  under 
one  roof — and  their  appearance  is  peculiar  owing  to  their  resem- 
blance to  a  turtle's  back,  from  which,  indeed,  it  is  said  that  the 
idea  for  their  construction  is  borrowed.  To  each  house  there  are 
two  landing  platforms — that  nearest  the  shore  for  the  women,  who 


280  NEW  GUINEA.  [chap. 

gather  there  to  chat  and  busy  themselves  over  their  domestic  duties  ; 
the  other  for  the  men  and  boys.  A  broad  alley- way,  which  serves 
as  a  sleeping-place  for  strangers,  divides  the  building  in  half,  and 
from  it  open  out  the  rooms,  like  the  cabins  in  a  steamer. 

If  my  reader  were  to  enter  one  of  these  apartments  he 
would  have  no  wish  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  a  Papuan  host. 
It  is  unlighted  probably,  except  for  some  accidental  gap  in  the 
dilapidated  wall,  and  the  smoke  of  the  fire — which  is  placed  on  a 
large  flat  stone — finds  its  way  through  the  roof  as  best  it  can.  The 
furniture  is  not  extensive.  A  wooden  drum,  a  few  mats,  some  fish- 
spears,  an  abundance  of  bows  and  arrows,  some  native-made  pots 
and  wooden  bowls,  and  a  couple  of  admirably  carved  head-rests  or 
pillows  would  be  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  a  full  inventory.  The 
wants  of  a  Papuan  are  few.  The  heavy  tropical  rain  must  stream 
through  the  ill-kept  roof,  but  he  does  not  mind,  for  there  is 
no  carpet  to  damage,  and  the  water  has  but  little  more  difficulty  in 
finding  its  way  into  the  sea  beneath.  He  is  apparently  quite 
satisfied  as  long  as  the  holes  in  the  floor  are  not  so  large  as  to 
permit  of  his  disappearing  in  like  fashion  in  his  sleep. 

One  article  of  furniture  there  is  which  is  found  in  every  room 
— the  koroivaar,  a  carved  wooden  image  a  foot  or  so  in  height,  the 
hands  generally  represented  as  resting  on  a  shield,  which,  like 
many  of  the  Papuan  carvings,  is  often  of  very  good  design.  These 
are  not  idols,  as  they  have  been  represented  to  be  by  some 
travellers,^  but  the  media  by  which  the  living  hold  communication 
with,  and  are  kept  in  memory  of,  the  dead.  If  any  individual  die 
a  koroivaar  is  immediately  constructed,  for  unprovided  with  an 
earthly  habitation  his  spirit  could  not  rest.  On  the  commencement 
of  the  carving  a  feast  is  held,  and  as  each  portion  of  the  image  is 
completed  a  dance  commemorates  the  occasion.     When  finished 

^  The  rarity  of  idols — I  use  the  word  in  its  English  and  not  in  its  classical  meaning 
— must  strike  every  one  who  has  been  brought  much  in  contact  with  savage  tribes. 
In  almost  every  case  the  images  are  merely  representations  of  the  deity  worshipped, 
like  our  own  crucifixes,  and  are  not  supposed  in  themselves  to  be  possessed  of  any 
supernatural  power. 


XII.] 


THE  IDOL-HOUSES  OF  DOREI  BAY. 


281 


the  image  is  either  placed  on  the  grave  or  carried  to  the  home  of 
the  nearest  relation,  where  it  is  treated  with  great  respect.  On 
every  occasion  of  importance — on  fishing  excursions,  in  sickness,  on 
undertaking  a  journey,  and  so  forth — it  is  consulted,  and  if  nothing 
take  place  it  is  considered  a  sign 
of  the  approbation  of  the  deceased. 
This  is  not  always  the  case,  as 
might  be  supposed,  for  the  consult- 
ant sometimes  holds  the  korowaar 
in  his  hand  while  propounding 
his  question.  Presently  his  arm 
vibrates  ;  it  shakes  more  and  more 
until  the  whole  limb  is  in  a  state 
of  convulsive  agitation.  "He 
speaks ;  he  speaks,"  is  the  cry,  and 
the  disapproval  of  the  departed 
spirit  is  evident.  Should  the 
answer  turn  out  incorrect  the 
augur  not  infrequently  loses  his 
temper,  and  the  unlucky  image 
receives  a  blow  which  knocks  him 

KOROWAAR. 

from  one  end  of  the  hut  to  the 

other.  But  in  spite  of  these  disappointments  the  natives  do  not 
lose  their  faith  in  their  horowaar,  and  those  that  are  brought  for 
barter  have  generally  belonged  to  some  one  who  has  died,  or  are 
old  ones  whose  names  have  long  ago  been  forgotten.^ 

Two  Bum-slam  or  "  idol-houses  "  were  in  existence  until  lately 
in  Dorei  Bay,  one  at  Mansinam  and  the  other  at  Monokware,  but 
the  former  was  destroyed  by  an  earthquake  and  the  latter  by  fire, 

^  Mr.  "Wilfred  Powell  ("Wanderings  in  a  Wild  Country,"  p.  248)  mentions  tlie 
existence  of  images  similar  to  the  korowaar  in  New  Ireland.  Unlike  those  of  the 
natives  of  North-west  New  Guinea  they  are  of  chalk,  and  are  kept  in  a  small  "mor- 
tuary chapel."  The  same  superstition — "  That  the  ghost  must  have  some  habitation 
on  earth  or  it  will  haunt  the  survivors  of  its  late  family  " — is,  however,  the  cause  of 
their  construction. 


282  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

— events  of  which  the  missionaries  have  naturally  not  been  slow  to 
take  advantage,  for  they  have  extorted  a  promise  that,  should  a  like 
fate  befall  the  new  idol-house  wliich  was  being  constructed  at 
Monokwar^  at  the  time  of  our  "^asit,  no  attempt  at  rebuilding 
it  for  the  third  time  would  be  made.  A  single  pile  of  the  old 
temple  was  alone  standing  when  we  examined  the  spot — a  gigantic 
human  figure  entwined  by  a  snake.  We  learnt  from  Mr.  Bink  that 
all  the  piles  were  of  like  nature,  and  that  the  temple  was  thus 
supported  by  a  series  of  aquatic  Caryatides,  alternately  male  and 
female.^  Within  were  other  carved  w^ooden  figures  of  much  the 
same  kind — grotesque  and  indecent — intended  to  represent  the 
ancestors  of  the  Nufoor  tribe,  and  known  as  the  3fon  or  "first 
peoj)le." 

The  construction  of  these  Bum-slam  and  the  carving  necessary 
for  the  piles  is,  as  may  be  imagined,  an  affair  of  some  time,  and  the 
images  had  not  all  been  finished  when  we  were  at  Dorei.  At  a 
house  in  the  village  of  Eode  we  found  two  lying  in  the  centre 
passage, — huge  tree-trunks  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  length  carved  in 
representation  of  a  male  and  a  female  figure.  Like  the  solitary 
statue  to  wliich  I  have  just  alluded,  the  latter  had  a  snake  encu'cling 
her  neck,  its  head  lying  upon  her  breast.  This  was  Gobini,  a 
mythological  character,  whose  history  w^e  learnt  from  one  of  the 
natives  standmg  by.  Young  and  beautiful,  her  hand  was  sought  in 
marriage  by  many  suitors,  but  in  vain.  One  day,  however,  per- 
mitting a  snake  to  share  her  couch,  she  became  pregnant,  and  was 
driven  from  home  by  her  parents.  She  resolved  to  seek  her  fortune 
in  distant  lands,  and  embarking  in  a  small  prau  set  sail,  with  Nori 
the  snake  on  the  look-out  in  the  bows,  bearing  Ambepon,  at  the 
head  of  Geelvmk  Bay,  Gobini  perceived  a  large  oyster  with  a  pearl 
in  it  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  told  Xori  to  jump  overboard 
and  get  it.  Yielding  to  her  wish  he  did  so,  but  paid  for  his  rash- 
ness with  his  life,  for  the  oyster,  closing  his  shell,  caught  the  snake 

^  Stabat  ex  utraque  parte  templi,  ab  aditu  paullo  distans,  simulacrum  ingens 
maris  feminseque  in  ipso  coitu  junctorum. 


xiL]  LEGEND  OF  MANGUNDI.  283 

by  the  head,  so  that  he  struggled  in  vain  to  escape.  Now  the  land 
in  the  neighbourhood  ran  out  into  a  promontory,  which  was  very 
narrow,  and  in  the  \'ig;orous  lashincj  of  his  tail  to  ci'et  free  Nori 
cut  it  through,  "  And  the  truth  of  this  everybody  knows,"  con- 
cluded our  informant,  "for  Ambepon  remains  an  island  to  this 
very  day." 

This  story  led  to  another,  which  I  afterwards  learnt  to  be  a 
favourite  legend  of  the  Nufoor  people.  The  native,  perching  him- 
self upon  Gobini's  statue,  related  it  at  full  length  to  Mr.  Bink, 
who  translated  it  for  us,  sentence  by  sentence,  into  Dutch.  It  ran 
somewhat  as  follows : — 

Years  ago,  "years  and  years  before  any  one  can  remember," 
there  lived  upon  the  island  of  Anki  ^  an  old  man  caUed  Mansaakri. 
He  was  old  and  ugly,  and  so  covered  with  cascado  as  to  gain  for 
hull  his  pseudonym — "the  itching  old  man."  All  day  long  he 
clmibed  the  sagueir  trees  and  made  palm-wine,  and,  dirtied  from 
head  to  foot  with  the  sap,  returned  at  night  to  his  sohtary  hut,  for 
his  presence  was  shunned  by  the  rest  of  his  tribe.  By  these  pre- 
carious means  he  contrived  to  support  himself,  until  he  began  to 
notice  a  gradual  diminution  in  the  peld  of  juice.  His  suspicions 
were  aroused,  but  for  a  long  time  he  was  unable  to  discover  the 
thief.  At  last,  having  watched  all  one  night,  he  sees  Samfari,  the 
morning  star,  descend  and  drink  his  fill.  He  immediately  seizes 
him  and  demands  recompense,  with  the  result  that  Samfari  endows 
him  with  supernatural  powers,  although  to  outward  appearance  he 
remains  unchanged.  At  the  same  time  he  presents  him  with  a 
magic  fruit,  which,  on  being  thrown  at  a  ^'irgin,  will  cause  her  to 
become  pregnant.  Mansaakri  releases  the  delinquent,  and  shortly 
afterwards,  captivated  with  the  charms  of  a  maiden  of  the  village, 
makes  use  of  his  present.  In  due  time  a  cliild  is  born,  who  is 
endowed  with  the  power  of  speech  from  the  moment  of  his  birth, 
and  declaring  Mansaakri  to  be  his  father,  receives  the  name  of 

^  Anki  is  one  of  the  Isles  des  Traitres — a  group  Ij'ing  to  the  north  of  Jobi  Island 
in  Geelviuk  Bay. 


284  NETF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

Konur  or  "  the  magician."  ^  He  is  not  believed,  however,  in  spite 
of  Mangundi  or  "  he  himself  " — as  the  old  man  becomes  afterwards 
named— performing  many  miraculous  acts,  and  accordingly  the 
latter  resolves  to  leave  Anki  for  ever.  Going  down  to  the  sea- 
shore he  draws  the  outline  of  a  prau  upon  the  sand,  and  lo ! — 
immediately  one  lies  before  hun.  In  it  he  embarks,  together  with 
his  wife  and  child,  and  after  a  short  voyage  lands  upon  Nufoor, 
which  by  a  wave  of  the  hand  he  changes  from  a  barren  rock  into  a 
fertile  and  forest-covered  island.  He  then  takes  sixteen  stakes  and 
forms  four  squares,  which  in  the  morning  have  become  four  large 
villages  filled  with  people.  Here  he  lives  happily  enough,  but  his 
wife  upbraids  him  unceasingly  for  his  dirtiness  and  neglect,  his 
personal  appearance  having  remained  unchanged.  Her  remon- 
strances at  length  succeed ;  he  retires  to  the  woods  and  makes  a 
huge  pyre  on  which  he  sacrifices  liimself.  But  instead  of  dying  he 
springs  Phoenix -like  from  the  ashes,  young  and  handsome,  and 
the  full  power  of  the  gTeat  Mangundi  is  at  length  acknowledged. 
Tliis  is  the  climax — the  closing  scene  of  the  story.  Mangundi 
lectures  the  people  on  their  want  of  faith,  and  disappears.  But  all 
look  for  his  return,  and  with  it  the  coming  of  a  Nufoor  millennium, 
when  labour  shall  cease  and  food  become  abundant,  when  sickness 
and  death  shall  be  no  more,  and  earth  become  a  Paradise. 

Mr.  Bink,  who  had  been  a  carpenter  by  trade,  had  built  himself 
a  most  comfortable  and  neatly-ordered  house,  and  had  planted  an 
orchard  in  which  many  Malayan  fruits  were  doing  well.  Small 
coral-paths,  models  of  Dutch  neatness,  intersected  the  flower- 
garden,  which  was  gay  with  an  abundance  of  ferns  and  tropical 
plants.  It  was  an  ideal  bungalow,  but  for  all  its  brightness  it  must 
have  been  full  enough  of  sad  memories  for  the  poor  missionary  and 
his  wife — a  kindly-looking  woman  whose  pale,  worn  face  spoke  of 
the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate  and  the  sufferings  she  had  under- 
gone.    Of  their  five  children  but  one  survived,  and  that  one — 

^  Konur  is  the  name  by  wliicli  the  "medicine  men"  or  shamauns  are  known 
among  the  Nufoor  Papuans. 


XII.]  A  PAPUAN  FORGE.  '2Sb 

alas  !  for  the  poor  mother — was  sinking  slowly  but  surely  from  an 
incurable  malady.  We  were  glad  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Bmk  was 
soon  to  return  to  Europe,  her  husband  and  Mr.  Van  Balen  having 
been  ordered  to  Eon  and  Meoswaar,  two  islands  at  the  head  of 
Geelvink  Bay  where  a  mission  has  been  established  since  1867.-^ 

Some  of  the  Dorei  Bay  natives  are  acquainted  with  the  art  of 
working  in  iron.  They  have  learnt  it  from  the  Gebi  islanders,  but 
the  knowledge  remains  confined  to  one  or  two  families  only.  These 
smiths  do  not  eat  pigs'  flesh  ;  not  that  they  are  Mohammedans,  but 
purely  from  the  superstitious  belief  that  the  transgression  of  this 
rule  would  affect  the  goodness  of  their  work.  Behind  Monokware 
we  one  day  came  upon  one  of  their  forges.  The  bellows  were 
composed  of  two  upright  bamboo  tubes,  about  a  yard  high  and  five 
inches  in  diameter.  In  these  worked  two  valved  pistons  tightly 
packed  with  cassowary  feathers,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  cyhnders 
two  nozzles  led  Y-fashion  into  one,  which,  in  order  to  prevent  its 
being  charred  by  the  heat,  was  passed  through  a  hollow  stone.  A 
little  boy  sat  on  a  high  bench,  and  grasping  a  piston  rod  in  each 
hand,  worked  them  alternately.  The  whole  apparatus  (which  was 
of  course  of  Malayan,  not  Papuan,  origin)  was  almost  identical  with 
that  I  have  seen  employed  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  and  I  believe 
that  it  is  also  found  in  South  America. 

Pottery-making  is  a  more  widely-known  art ;  and  many  of  the 
women — for  the  wives  and  female  slaves  alone  engage  m  this  work 
— are  tolerably  clever  at  it.  Vessels  of  excellent  shape  are  often 
to  be  seen,  but  there  is  no  great  variety,  and  cooking-pots  and  bowls,, 
all  of  which  are  unglazed,  seem  to  be  the  chief  articles  made.  The 
only  other  manufactures  are  plaited  bags  or  baskets  of  grass  fibre 
which  are  often  stained  with  bright  colours,  and  silver  bangles, 
beaten  out  of  Dutch  dollars  obtained  from  the  Malay  traders. 

While  we  were  in  Dorei  Bay  a  feast  was  held  one  night  in  one 

1  There  is  reported  to  be  a  boiling  spring  on  the  island  of  Meoswaar,  but  as  far 
as  is  known  there  are  no  evidences  of  recent  volcanic  action  in  the  neighbourhood, 
or  indeed  in  any  part  of  North-west  New  Guinea. 


286 


NEIF  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


of  the  houses  at  Sarauiidibu.  Among  the  Papuans  suiging  and 
dancing  are  favourite  amusements,  and  ahnost  any  event,  joyful  or 
sorrowful,  important  or  trivial,  serves  as  an  excuse  to  indulge  in 
them.     The  great  feasts  are  for  the  completion  of  a  korowaar,  or 

for  the  successive  steps  in  the  carving 
of  one  of  the  great  images  of  the  idol- 
house — the  Mon  or  ancestors.  In  these 
cases  dancing  and  singing  are  kept  up 
the  whole  night  through  for  se^'eral 
successive  days— the  performers  rest- 
ing during  the  day  and  recommencing 
at  sunset.  We  had  no  opportunity  of 
seeing  a  feast  of  this  nature,  but  Mr. 
Van  Hasselt  told  us  that  a  barn  is 
often  specially  built  on  shore  for  the 
purpose.  The  men  sit  apart  from  the 
women,  much  decorated  with  coloured 
leaves  and  flowers  of  the  scarlet 
hibiscus,  which  are  tucked  under  their 
armlets  and  necklaces,  and  affixed  to 
their  mop-like  hair  by  bamboo  hair- 
pins. The  masters  of  the  ceremony  are  the  Maiiibris  or  "champions" 
— men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  ever-recurring 
intertribal  wars.  Sago,  sagueir,  tobacco,  and  gambler  are  provided, 
and  the  entertainment  only  ceases  with  the  dawn.  The  singing  is 
monotonous  in  the  extreme,  and  the  wooden  drums  are  beaten 
without  cessation.  These,  combined  with  the  dancing,  which  is  so 
\'iolent  as  nearly  to  shake  the  house  down,  produce  a  terrific  noise 
— all  the  more  pleasing  to  a  Papuan,  as  he  knows  it  to  be  most 
effective  in  guarding  him  from  the  evil  influence  of  the  Manuen. 
In  the  lesser  feasts  there  is  no  dancing,  the  entertainment  being 
confined  to  singing,  with  the  usual  drum  accompaniment. 

Whatever  may  be  the  case  in  Eastern  New  G-uinea,  the  woman 
is  little  more  than  the  slave  of  the  man  among  the  Nufoor  Papuans. 


KOROWAAR. 


XII.]  MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  NUFOOREANS.  287 

She  has  to  make  his  sago  and  cook  his  food,  to  draw  the  water, 
make  pottery  and  fibre  baskets,  and  often  to  submit  to  ill-usage 
and  the  position  of  a  wife  is  hardly  bettered  by  the  fact  of  her 
being  under  the  authority  of  her  husband's' mother  and  sisters. 
Polygamy  is  common,  but  it  is  not  usual  for  a  man  to  have  more 
than  three  or  four  wives.  Should  a  woman  prove  childless  she  is 
sent  away,  and  the  husband  marries  again.  Children  are  betrothed 
when  very  young,  and  when  the  contract  is  closed  the  parents  of 
the  future  bridegroom  pay  those  of  the  bride  a  part  of  the  bargain 
agreed  upon,  for,  as  in  many  savage  tribes,  w^oman  has  a  certain 
market-value.  A  very  curious  custom  exists  resembling  one  of  the 
forms  of  Hlonijya  among  the  Zulus,  whereby  the  bride  and  her 
near  relations  must  avoid  the  sight  of  the  bridegroom  and  his 
people  until  the  marriage.  The  betrothal  is  not  binding,  and  if 
the  man  does  not  approve  of  his  parents'  choice  he  need  not  fulfil 
the  contract.  At  a  wedding  at  which  Mr.  Van  Hasselt  was  present 
the  bridegroom  went  to  the  bride's  house,  preceded  by  a  crowd  of 
women,  each  of  whom  bore  a  small  present  in  her  hand.  Arriving 
at  the  room  set  apart  for  the  ceremony,  the  young  couple  were 
placed  back  to  back,  the  bystanders  meanwhile  taking  up  their 
position  round  them — the  men  on  one  side  and  the  women  on  the 
other.  The  ceremony  is  usually  performed  by  the  oldest  relation, 
and  in  this  instance  an  old  man  undertook  the  office.  Joining 
their  right  hands  he  took  a  mouthful  of  water  and  spurted  it  over 
them  with  the  words,  "  May  no  enemy  kill  you,  and  no  evil  spirit 
affect  you  with  sickness."  Sago  was  then  brought  in  and  given  first 
to  the  newly-married  couple  and  then  to  the  guests. 

Even  after  the  ceremony  various  customs  have  to  be  strictly 
observed.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  must  sit  up  all  night.  If 
sleep  threatens  them  they  are  immediately  aroused,  for  the  belief 
of  the  people  is  that  in  remaining  awake  they  will  have  a  long  and 
happy  life.  This  continues  for  four  nights.  By  day  they  are 
permitted  to  sleep,  but  the  husband  must  return  to  his  own  house. 
Not  until  the  fifth  day  may  they  meet  each  other  alone,  but  even 


288  NEW  GUINEA.  [chap. 

then  only  by  night,  and  for  four  days  more  the  husband  must 
leave  his  wife's  chamber  before  daybreak,^ 

At  the  maniage  of  widows  there  is  little  or  no  ceremony.  The 
bride  w^alks  into  the  jungle  with  her  husband,  attended  by  a  widow 
or  a  married  woman,  whose  duty  it  is  to  break  off  twigs  and  pelt  the 
bride  with  them — an  operation  which  is  supposed  to  drive  away 
the  ghost  of  the  late  husband.  The  widow  must  leave  off  wearing 
her  old  tjidako,  or  sarong,  and  hand  it  over  to  another  widow,  and 
with  the  giving  of  some  small  present  to  the  attendant  who  has 
successfully  laid  the  ghost  the  whole  affair  is  ended. 

Families  with  more  than  three  or  four  children  are  not  often 
seen,  infanticide  and  the  procuring  of  abortion  being  common. 
The  use  of  ecbolics  appears  to  be  unknown,  and  force  alone  is 
resorted  to.     All  deformed  children  are  mercilessly  killed. 

On  the  death  of  her  husband  the  wife  is  confined  to  her  house 
for  some  time,  for  if  the  ghost  of  the  deceased  individual  were  to 
see  her  going  about,  he  would  immediately  strike  down  people  with 
sickness.  Her  hair  must  be  cut  close  as  a  sign  of  mourning,  and 
her  tjidako  must  be  of  the  plainest  description.  Should  any  brother 
of  her  late  husband  be  alive,  he  is  obliged  to  marry  her ;  if  not, 
she  returns  to  her  own  family.  The  women  are  kept  much  secluded 
from  strangers,  and  though  the  MarcJiesa  was  crowded  with  natives 
both  at  Dorei  and  in  Jobi  Island,  none  ever  came  on  board.  In 
their  own  houses  they  were  rather  less  shy,  but  it  was  only  among 
the  Arfak  people  we  met  at  Andai  that  they  seemed  to  be  on  any- 
thing like  an  equal  footing  with  the  men.  With  the  Nufooreans 
they  are  little  better  than  slaves.  Adultery  is  punishable  by 
death,  but  the  Papuan  has  a  great  eye  to  the  main  chance,  and  as 
a  rule  prefers  to  exact  a  fine,  a  portion  of  which  has  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  heads  of  the  different  families  in  his  \allage. 

There  are  apparently  no  chiefs  or  kings  among  the  natives  of 

^  For  these  and  other  notes  on  the  customs  of  the  Nufoor  Papuans  I  am  indebted 
to  Mr.  Van  Hasselt,  whose  twenty  years'  residence  in  New  Guinea  has  made  him 
thoroughly  acquainted  \vith  the  people  and  their  language. 


XII.]  TIIIAL  BY  ORDEAL.  .  289 

this  part  of  New  Guinea.  Each  village  forms  a  small  republic, 
which  among  a  primitive  people  seems  to  be  the  most  successful 
form  of  government.  The  old  men  and  the  heads  of  every  family 
meet  to  discuss  public  matters,  and  adjudge  the  punishment  of 
any  delinquent.  This  almost  always  takes  the  shape  of  a  line. 
Murder,  adultery,  assault,  theft,  and  so  on  are  punished  in  this 
wa}',  but  their  list  of  offences  against  the  law  is  more  extended 
than  ours.  The  Papuans  have  a  saying  that  "  What  the  eye  sees 
not  and  the  ear  hears  not,  that  must  no  man  say,"  and  hence 
every  one  who  speaks  ill  of  or  slanders  his  neighbour  is  lialile  to 
be  fined.  Fortunately  there  is  not  much  chance  of  our  forming 
our  code  upon  the  Papuan  model,  or  the  effect  of  such  a  law  upon 
the  pleasant  social  intercourse  which  enlivens  our  five  o'clock  tea- 
tables  would  be  too  terrible  to  contemplate. 

In  cases  of  dispute  as  to  guilt,  trial  by  ordeal  is  sometimes 
used  among  the  Nufooreans.  The  suspected  person  has  to  dip  his 
hand  into  boiling  water,  and,  should  no  blisters  result,  is  held  to 
be  innocent.  If  suspicion  fall  equally  upon  two  people,  they  are 
taken  each  to  a  pile  of  one  of  the  sea-built  houses,  and  made  to 
duck  simultaneously  beneath  the  water.  Whoever  comes  up  first 
is  the  guilty  person.  It  is  not  only  in  civilised  communities 
that  the  thick-skinned  and  long-winded  flourish  as  the  green 
l^ay-tree ! 

Some  few  miles  south  of  Dorei  Bay  is  Andai,  a  small  village 
nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  Arfak  Mountains.  No  huts  or  houses  of 
any  kind  are  visible  from  the  sea,  and  the  view  consists  of  range 
beyond  range  of  dark  jungle-clad  mountains,  which  at  the  period 
oi  our  visit  were  gloomy  and  rainy-looking  in  the  extreme.  At 
the  village  there  are  but  few  inhabitants.  They  are  a  people  quite 
distinct  from  those  in  Dorei  Bay,  and  speak  a  different  language. 
Their  houses,  too,  are  different.  A  short  distance  up  the  little 
river  which  joins  the  sea  at  this  spot,  the  two  or  three  of  which 
the  village  is  composed  come  in  sight  on  the  left  bank.  They  are 
built  on  the  land,  but  are  supported  by  piles  so  closely  placed 
VOL.  11.  u 


290 


NE1V  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


together  that  it  woukl  be  an  aftair  of  some  difficulty  to  pass  between 
them.  These  poles  raise  the  house  to  a  height  of  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet  from  the  ground,  and  access  to  the  building  is  afforded 
by  a  notched  tree-trunk  leant  against  the  platform.  Its  ascent 
requires  considerable  caution,  but  the  miserable,  half-starved  native 
dogs  manage  in  some  way  to  accomplish  it.      These  huts  differ 


HUT    NEAR    ANDAI. 


from  the  turtle-backed  dwellings  of  the  Dorei  Bay  people  in  being 
quite  small,  and  in  having  a  high-pitched  roof,  but  the  main 
features — the  platform  and  the  central  alley-way — are  the  same. 

We  gazed  at  the  rain-swept  peaks  which  lay  before  us  with  no 
little  interest,  for  the  dense  forests  that  clothed  them  were,  we 
knew,  the  favoured  haunts  of  the  rare  and  magnificent  birds  of 
Paradise  for  which  IVlr.  Wallace  had  searched  in  vain.  There  was 
the  great  velvet-black  Epimachus,  with  its  tail  a  yard  in  length ; 
the  Astrapia  in  its  uniform  of  dark  A'iolet  faced  with  golden- 
green  and  copper ;  and  the  orange-coloured  Xanthomelus.     There 


XII.]  CLIMATIC  DISAGREEABLES.  291 

D'All:)ertis  had  shot  his  Drepanornis,  with  its  two  fan-like  tufts, 
one  flame -coloured,  the  other  tipped  with  metallic  violet,  and 
there  Beccari  braved  the  climate  to  form  the  splendid  collections 
in  botany  and  zoology  with  which  he  returned  to  Europe.  The 
summits  of  the  mountains  were  less  than  ten  miles  from  where  we 
stood,  yet  although  we  might  send  our  hunters  on  their  slopes  we 
could  not  explore  them  ourselves,  as  we  had  settled  to  visit  both 
Jobi  and  the  Aru  Islands  before  leaving  the  Papuan  region,  and 
the  time  allotted  to  the  Marchesas  cruise  was  fast  approaching 
completion.  We  now  regretted  that  we  had  delayed  so  long  in 
Northern  Borneo,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it.  The  crew  had 
only  signed  articles  for  a  specified  time  and  were  already  grum- 
bling at  its  being  exceeded.  It  was  hardly  to  be  wondered  at,  for 
the  mangrove-swamps,  incessant  rain,  and  sweltering  heat  of  Xew 
Guinea  offered  them  few  attractions,  and  many  of  them  were 
suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  climate.  In  addition,  their 
provisions  had  run  short,  and  they  had  no  biscuit  remaining. 
We  ourselves  were  much  in  the  same  condition,  for  our  flour, 
which  was  in  tins,  had  all  gone  bad,  and  we  were  reduced  to 
rice  and  sago. 

Between  us  we  had  been  in  most  of  the  torrid  regions  of  the 
earth's  surface,  but  we  agreed  that,  perhaps  with  the  exception  of 
the  Persian  Gulf  in  summer,  the  climate  of  New  Guinea  was  the  most 
trying  of  them  all.  Bathed  in  perspiration  from  morning  till  night 
and  from  night  till  morning,  we  woke  utterly  unrefreshed  by 
sleep.  The  temperature,  which  in  a  dry  climate  would  not  have 
been  unpleasant — for  it  was  rarely  above  90°  Pahr. — was  in- 
tolerable. Everything  to  which  damp  could  cling  became  mouldy, 
and  our  boots,  if  put  on  one  side  for  a  day  or  two,  grew  a  crop  of 
mildew  nearly  half  an  inch  in  thickness.  We  were  covered  from 
head  to  foot  with  prickly  heat,  and  those  who  had  been  unfortunate 
enoufTh  to  suffer  from  "  liver "  in  other  hot  climates  began  to  feel 
the  sharp  pains  in  the  side  and  shortness  of  breath  which  speak 
so  plainly  and  unpleasantly  of  an   enlargement  of  that  organ. 


292  XEJl^  GUINEA.  [chap. 

Both  meutal  and  physical  exertion  is  under  these  circumstances 
distasteful  enough,  but  it  is  by  active  exercise  alone  that  one  is 
able  to  keep  in  health,  and  we  took  care  to  give  ourselves  plenty 
of  it.  The  mornings  were  generally  devoted  to  coUectmg  in  the 
jungle,  the  afternoons  to  labellmg  specimens,  surveying,  and  small 
jobs,  the  evenings  to  skinning  and  journal- writing.  In  preserving 
our  specimens  we  had  need  of  all  tlie  patience  that  prickly  heat 
and  other  small  worries  had  left  us.  All  the  bird-skins  liad  to  be 
dried  in  the  sun  or  by  artificial  heat  and  soldered  up  in  tin  boxes. 
The  yacht  swarmed  with  cockroaches  and  minute  ants,  from  which 
we  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  keeping  them.  At  meals  there 
were  seldom  less  than  a  dozen  or  so  of  the  former  on  the  table  at 
any  given  moment,  but  they  gave  us  less  trouble  than  the  ants. 
These  were  not  often  visible,  but  a  dead  bird  or  butterfly  left  for 
five  minutes  in  any  part  of  the  ship  would  be  covered  by  them  in 
hundreds,  and  nothing  was  safe  from  their  ravages.  For  many 
weeks,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  a  constant  stream  of  these  little 
creatures  ascended  and  descended  the  foremast,  climbing  to  the  very 
summit  of  the  foretopmast.  Many  of  our  crew  suffered  from  malarial 
fever,  which,  although  not  actually  serious,  was  in  two  cases  toleral)ly 
severe.  It  was  chiefly  of  a  remittent  type  with  a  concuiTcnt  affec- 
tion of  the  liver,  and  left  the  patient  weak  and  unfit  for  work  for  a 
considerable  time.  We  ourselves,  although  more  exposed  from 
constant  work  in  the  jungle,  were  less  affected  by  it,  mainly  owing 
to  the  gTeater  precautions  we  took.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  get 
an  English  sailor — especially  if  it  be  his  first  experience  of  the 
tropics — to  take  even  ordinary  care  of  himself.  One  or  more  of 
our  hunters  was  always  on  the  sick  list,  either  from  deep  ulcers  in 
the  feet  and  legs,  caused  by  wounds  and  scratches  got  while  shooting 
in  the  forest,  or  else  from  fever,  but  with  them  the  latter  was  of  a 
mild  type.  The  ulcers  were  a  very  different  affaii',  owing  to  the 
obstinacy  with  which  they  refused  to  heal,  and  one  of  our  men  was 
incapacitated  by  them  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time  that  he  was 
with  us. 


xil.]  ANDAI.  293 

My  reader  will,  I  hope,  pardon  this  digression.  It  is  not  "  the 
hairbreadth  'scapes,"  "  the  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field  " — 
of  which,  by  the  way,  I  have  few  or  none  to  recount — but  rather, 
as  in  civilisation,  the  lesser  worries  of  existence  that  are  the  draw- 
backs of  a  traveller's  life.  It  is  the  mosquitoes,  illness,  bad  food, 
and  the  like,  of  which  he  has  the  most  unpleasant  recollections, 
and  as  one  or  other  of  these  formed  a  part  of  our  daily  experiences 
in  these  regions,  they  ought  not,  perhaps,  to  go  unrecorded. 

A  short  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  Andai  we 
came  upon  the  hut  of  a  Dutch  missionary,  Mr.  Woelders,  who  had 
been  established  there  for  some  little  time.  His  predecessor  had 
been  ]\Ir.  Jens,  whose  wife,  a  victim  to  the  climate,  lies  buried  in 
the  little  garden  adjoinmg.  j\lr.  "VVoelders  greeted  us  with  effusion 
in  his  native  tongue, — the  only  European  language  with  which  he 
was  acquainted, — and  we  had  little  difficulty  in  understanding  how 
welcome  must  be  the  sight  of  a  white  face  in  such  a  remote  cornei- 
of  the  earth.  The  mission,  we  learnt,  had  not  been  attended  with 
much  success,  but  to  have  got  the  natives  accustomed  to  having  a 
European  li^'ing  among  them  was,  no  doulit,  a  point  gained.  Mr. 
Woelders  had  a  small  printing-press,  and  occupied  himself  in 
prmting  a  little  book  of  hymns  in  the  Xufoor  language  for  the  use 
of  the  mission  at  Mansinam. 

The  heat  was  excessive,  and  the  hot  steam  wliich  rose  from  a 
little  tract  of  marshy  forest  surrounding  the  house  was  unpleasantly 
suggestive  of  malaria.  "We  were  glad  to  rest  in  the  house  and  chat 
with  our  liost.  He  took,  we  discovered,  a  (pecuniary)  interest  in 
birds,  and  told  us  that  he  had  two  native  hunters  collecting  for 
liim  at  Hatam,  a  village  a  few  miles  off  on  the  slopes  of  the 
mountains,  where  Beccari  and  D'Albertis  had  gathered  their  rich 
harvests  in  botany  and  ornithology.  They  were  expected  to  return 
at  any  moment,  and  an  hour  or  two  later  the  distant  firing  of  guns 
announced  their  approach.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  number 
of  the  Hatam  people  who  had  assisted  them,  and  were  come  to 
claim  payment  in  "  trade  "  from  Mr.  Woelders, — -old  and  young 


294 


NEJV  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


men,  women  with  babies  strapped  upon  their  backs,  girls,  and 

sundry  children  of  both  sexes ; 
indeed,  when  hunting,  the  master 
of  the  house  appears  to  be  at- 
tended en  masse  by  his  whole 
family.  The  men  were  sinewy 
fellows  of  medium  height,  and  by 
no  means  attractive -looking,  but 
they  did  not  seem  to  differ  much 
from  some  of  the  Nufoor  people. 
They  were  all  armed  with  bows 
and  arrows,  and  long  spears  tipped 
with  cassowary  or  human  bone  or 
hardened  bamboo,  and  ornamented 
with  a  tuft  of  cassowary  feathers. 
All  the  men  wore  the  nose -bar, 
and  the  usual  Papuan  ornaments 
I  have  already  described,  but 
their  hair  was  dressed  in  a  manner 
we  had  not  seen  before  either  at 
Dorei  or  in  the  islands.  Instead 
of  the  usual  mop  it  was  either 
formed  into  three  great  tufts  or 
gathered  circumferentially  into 
about  a  dozen  bundles,  which, 
almost  exactly  resembling  the 
tassels  of  a  window -blind,  hung 
down  all  round  the  head,  one 
alone  projecting  horn -like  from 
the  crown.  One  individual  wore 
a  frontlet  composed  of  a  double 
row  of  dog's  teeth,  and  several 
had  tlie  long  tail-feathers  of  the  Epimachus  stuck  in  their  frizzly 
hair.     In  the  women  the  dress  was  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and 


NATIVE    OF   HATAM. 


XTL] 


NATIVES  OF  HAT  AM. 


295 


very  few  ornaments  were  worn.     One  girl  had  distinct  pretensions 
to  good  looks,  but  she  formed  a  marked  exception  to  the  others, 
whose  faces   and  figures  were  equally  unattractive.      A  mainly 
vegetable  diet  interferes  considerably 
with  gracefulness  of  shape. 

The  albino  girl  mentioned  by 
D'Albertis  in  his  narrative  was  to 
have  been  of  the  party,  but  an  attack 
of  fever  had  kept  her  at  Hatani,  and 
greatly  to  our  regret  we  did  not  see 
her.  We  proceeded,  however,  to 
make  use  of  the  excellent  types  at 
hand,  and  spent  the  greater  part  of 
the  day  in  photographing,  an  opera- 
tion which  the  Arfak  men  did  not 
at  first  seem  inclined  to  submit  to. 
It  required  unlimited  patience  and 
the  use  of  sundry  interpreters  to 
explain  matters,  our  wishes  and 
directions  having  to  filter  through 
the  Dutch,  Nufoor,  and  Arfak  lan- 
guages before  reaching  their  destination,  but  we  at  length  succeeded 
in  obtaining  some  tolerably  satisfactory  negatives.  It  was  hard 
enough  to  get  the  people  to  sit  at  all,  and  harder  still  to  make 
them  understand  that  they  were  to  keep  motionless. 

We  ourselves,  as  I  have  mentioned,  had  been  obliged  to  give  up 
all  idea  of  shooting  in  this  locality,  but  our  first  care  on  arrival  at 
Andai  had  been  to  send  off  three  of  our  hunters  with  a  guide,  and 
we  were  of  course  anxious  to  inspect  the  collection  which  had  just 
arrived  for  ]\Ir.  Woelders.  It  contained  some  beautiful  specimens 
of  the  rarer  birds  of  Paradise,  among  them  Epimachus,  D'Albertis's 
Drepanornis,  Astrapia,  and  the  curious  Wattled  Bird  of  Paradise 
(ParadigaUa  caruncidata).  The  latter,  whose  plumage  is  of  an 
entire  jet-black,  has  the  appearance  of  being  faintly  ]30wdered  over 


PAPUAN    GIRL,   HATAM. 


296 


NEJF  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


with  a  hronze-violet  dust,  and  is  provided  with  a  trilobate  caruncle 


HEAD  OF  GREAT  DLACK  COCKATOO.     {MicToijlossus  atevvimns.)     Natural  sizc. 


on  either  side  of  the  face,  the  upper,  middle,  and  lower  parts  of 
which  are  coloured  orange,  leaf- green,  and  scarlet   respectively. 


XII.] 


''FOB  THE  GOOD  CAUSE/' 


297 


The  collection  was  rich  in  parrots  of  ^'arious  species,  among  which 
were  several  specimens  of  a  brilliant  Charmosyna  {C.  2'^ctpucnsis) 
and  the  wonderfully  minute  Nadtcrna  hruijni — pygmy  of  its  tribe — 
less  than  four  inches  in  extreme  length,  and  not  so  large  as  the  bill 
of  the  great  Microglossus  !  There  were  other  birds  of  interest  and 
rarity,  and  as  we  were  anxious  to  obtain  some  of  them,  we  broached 


bruijn's  pygmy  farkot.     {Xasiterna  Jrridjni.)     Natui-al  size. 

the  subject  to  Mr.  Woelders.  He  informed  us  that  he  would  part 
with  them  "  for  the  sake  of  the  good  cause,"  and  asked  us  to  make 
an  estimate  of  their  value,  which  we  accordingly  did  on — as  we 
considered — the  most  liberal  terms.  To  our  astonishment  our  ofter 
was  refused,  and  a  sum  demanded  which  was  more  than  double 
what  the  collection  would  have  been  worth  in  Europe.  As  politely 
as  we  w^ere  able  we  intimated  that  the  state  of  our  purses  did  not 
admit  of  the  expenditure  of  such  an  amount — even  for  the  "  good 
cause,"  and  the  matter  dropped.  At  a  later  period,  however,  as 
one  of  us  was  particularly  anxious  for  certain  of  the  specimens,  we 


298  XEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

raised  our  Lid  slightly,  but  with  no  eti'ect,  and  no  more  was  said 
until  our  departure.  The  anchor  was  a-weigh  and  the  yaclit  just 
leaving  when  a  canoe  was  made  out  paddling  hard  after  us.  AVe 
waited,  and  a  letter  was  handed  up.  "  Bij  zoo  vcel  vriendschap  en 
licfdc  moet  ik  met  liefde  hetcden  " — and  we  might  have  the  birds  ! 
In  this  affair  it  must  be  confessed  that  our  faith  in  missionaries 
sustained  a  somewhat  severe  shock. 

Both  the  Dorei  Bay  and  Andai  people  inter  their  dead,  and 
have  not  the  custom  of  keeping  their  ancestors  dried  and  smoked 
in  their  houses,  as  is  in  vogue  among  some  Papuan  tribes.  Here 
the  graves  are  piled  with  stones  in  order  to  keep  off  the  dogs  and 
wild  pigs,  or  suiTOunded  with  a  deep  trench  for  the  same  purpose.^ 
]Vlr.  Jens  informed  us  that  at  the  death  of  any  adult,  hired  mourners, 
who  are  generally  widows,  are  employed.  These  keep  up  an  in- 
cessant song  of  lamentation,  and  recount  the  deeds  and  virtues  of 
the  dead  man.  The  body  is  doubled  up  in  a  sitting  posture  for 
burial,  and  bound  round  with  mats,  and  with  it  are  inteiTed  bows 
and  arrows,  or  cooking-pots  and  other  household  utensils,  according 
to  the  sex  of  the  deceased  person,  for  the  Papuans  believe  in  a 
future  life,  and  hold  that  it  is  not  much  different  from  the  present. 
Its  situation  is  beneath  the  earth ;  it  is  a  happier  world  than  ours, 
and  in  it  food  is  abundant  and  labour  reduced  to  a  minimum.  The 
ghosts  of  the  dead,  how^ever,  do  not  confine  themselves  to  tliis 
abode,  but  have  the  power  of  returning  to  earth  to  rest  in  the 
korawaar,  or  haunt  their  living  relatives  and  friends.  Persons  who 
have  attended  a  funeral  must  bathe  immediately  afterwards,  or  the 
ghost  of  the  deceased  would  kill  them.  The  spirits  of  the  dead 
are  everywhere,  and  no  better  field  for  the  researches  of  the 
Psychical  Society  could  be  imagined. 

On  our  way  back  to  Dorei  Bay  we  took  the  height  of  what  we 
considered  to  be  the  loftiest  peak  of  the  Arfak  range,  steaming 
four  miles  for  our  base  line.     The  observations  gave  us  9046  feet, 

^  We  learnt  from  Mr.  Yau  Hasselt  that  staked  pitfalls  are  used  by  the  Nufoo 
people  to  catch  wild  pigs  and  cassowaries. 


XII.]  LEAVE  FOR  JOBI.  299 

but — though  unlikely — it  is  possible  that  there  may  be  a  still 
liigher  mountain  lying  beyond.  This  peak  lies  16'7  miles 
S.W.  Ijy  S.  of  Mansinam.  From  November  till  April  —  the 
period  of  the  west  monsoon,  and  the  season  of  the  heaviest 
rains — the  Arfak  range  is  said  by  the  missionaries  to  be  seldom 
clear. 

Eeaching  ]\Iansinam  we  found  a  bullock  ready  for  us,  a 
welcome  change  in  our  monotonous  diet.  We  had  wished  to 
obtain  another  live  one  to  take  on  board,  but  it  had  been  found 
impossible  to  catch  it.  ]Mr.  A^an  Hasselt  had  some  time  back 
permitted  his  cattle  to  roam  at  large  on  Manaswari  Island,  and 
they  had  in  consequence  become  cpiite  wild  and  almost  useless  to 
him.  The  same  evening  we  weighed  anchor  and  proceeded  for 
Jobi,  a  large  island  over  a  hundred  miles  in  length,  which  stretches 
half  across  the  mouth  of  Geelvink  Bay.  We  had  three  additions 
to  our  ship's  company ;  Mr.  Jens,  whose  knowledge  of  the  Xufoor 
language  was  most  useful  to  us,  an  old  Papuan  named  Kawari, 
and  his  son.  Kawari,  who  spoke  a  few  words  of  Malay,  and  from 
his  knowledge  of  the  coast  and  out-lymg  reefs  of  Jobi  Island  was 
taken  by  us  as  a  sort  of  pilot,  was  a  character  in  his  way.  He  was 
evidently  immensely  impressed  with  the  importance  of  his  position 
and  the  size  and  beauty  of  the  "  big  fire-ship,"  of  which  he  sup- 
posed himself  to  be  in  entire  charge,  and  his  appearance  on  the 
bridge,  clad  chiefly  in  amulets,  was  a  source  of  much  amusement 
to  the  crew.  On  leaving  Dorei  Bay  the  night  was  very  dark,  and 
wishing  to  test  his  knowledge,  we  asked  him  in  which  direction 
Jobi  lav.  AVliat  followed  was  somewhat  amusing.  Mr.  Jens, 
happening  to  come  up  at  the  time,  also  had  a  guess,  and  differed 
some  three  or  four  points  from  the  old  man.  We  thought  no 
more  about  the  matter,  but  shortly  afterwards  discovered  Kawari 
in  a  state  of  great  perturbation,  of  the  cause  of  which  we  were  not 
left  long  in  ignorance.  Taking  us  on  one  side,  he  implored  us  not 
to  believe  ]\Ir.  Jens — "  Tuaii  pandita  ticla  tau,  sahaya.  tau"  he  kept 
repeating — "  the  missionary  doesn't  know ;    /  know,"  patting  his 


300  NEIV  GUINEA.  [chaf.  xii. 

fat  stomach.  As  gravely  as  we  were  able  we  assured  him  that, 
though  we  had  had  evidence  of  missionary  infallibility  on  land, 
we  thought  it  possible  that  they  might  occasionally  be  deceived 
in  nautical  matters,  and  with  the  assurance  of  our  entire  trust  in 
his  navigation  the  old  fellow  returned  comforted  to  his  post. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

NEW   GUINEA   (contimiccl). 

akiiik — Arrive  at  Ansus — Signification  of  the  native  comb — Dress  of  the  women — 
Paperipi  —  Paradisca  minor — The  King-bird  —  Development  of  its  plumes — 
Canoes  and  their  decoration — Skulls  and  corpses  in  the  trees — Narvoii — Cascado 
— Cooking  a  corpse  —  Koroicaar — An  unpleasant  adventure  —  Return  of  our 
hunters — Wooden  pillows — Return  to  AVaigiou — Leave  for  Sahvatti — How  the 
Rajah  lost  his  nose — We  secure  a  live  Scleucidcs — Method  of  catching  them — • 
Character  of  the  Papuan — Leave  for  Misol  Island — Uncertainties  of  navigation 
— Anchor  at  Efbe — Northern  limit  of  the  Eucalyptus. 

To  ensure  the  safety  of  the  ship  on  her  voyage  old  Kawari  had 
looked  out  the  necessary  amulet  from  the  bunch  that  hung  on  his 
chest,  and  placed  it  at  its  post  of  action  between  his  shoulder-blades. 
AVe  were  therefore  protected  from  the  malevolent  designs  of  the 
Faknik- — evil  spirits  who  are  the  cause  of  storms  and  adverse 
winds,  and  whose  dwellings  are  the  caves  by  the  seashore.  They 
are  ever  on  the  alert  to  drown  the  mariner,  and  to  cause  him — as 
does  the  Manuen  on  land — every  kind  of  misfortune  and  distress. 
A  good  amulet,  we  were  glad  to  learn,  is  most  efficacious  against 
their  spell,  and  we  were  further  protected  by  a  very  liberal  supply 
of  tobacco  which,  if  thrown  into  the  sea  as  an  offering,  is  often, 
Kawari  told  us,  of  the  greatest  use  in  the  event  of  an  amulet 
proving  inefficient.  The  old  pilot's  charm,  however,  was  by  one  of 
the  best  makers  in  Dorei,  and  at  the  end  of  our  voyage  the  tobacco 
was  intact. 

The  village  of  Ansus  lies  on  the  south  shore  of  Jobi  Island,  at 
the  head  of  a  deep  channel  formed  by  various  islands  and  coral- 


302 


NEW  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


reefs.  The  approach  is  a  dangerous  one,  and  without  Ivawari  we 
should  most  probably  have  got  into  difficulties,  for,  contrary  to  the 
usual  rule  in  these  clear  waters,  there  are  many  shoals  and  rocks  of 
which  the  best  look-out  gives  no  warning. 

Ascending  the  channel  for  a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles,  a 
sudden  turn  brought  us  in  view  of  the  \dllage.     It  was  of  large 


CANOE,    ANSDS    HAKBOUR. 

size,  comprising  no  less  than  forty-seven  of  the  enormous  houses 
with  which  we  had  become  familiar  in  Dorei  Bay.  Here,  however, 
they  were  true  lake-dwellings,  having  no  bridges  to  connect  them 
with  the  shore,  the  position  of  which  was  a  matter  of  uncertainty 
from  the  dense  growth  of  dreary  mangroves  around  the  creek. 
Although  built  in  close  proximity  to  one  another,  each  house  was 
completely  isolated,  and  access  was  only  possible  by  means  of  one 
of  the  numerous  dug-outs  tied  up  in  front  of  the  platforms.  Our 
arrival  created  no  little  excitement,  and  the  anchor  was  hardly 


XIII.] 


ANSUS. 


303 


down  ere  we  were  com- 
pletely surrounded  with 
canoes,  the  numbers  of 
which  were  almost  every 
moment  reinforced  b}' 
fresh  arrivals.  All  the 
natives  were  armed  with 
bows  and  arrows,  and 
with  long  spears  tipped, 
as  among  the  Nufoor- 
eans,  with  bone.  These 
people  a  few  years  ago 
bore  the  worst  of  char- 
acters, and  although 
they  have  much  im- 
proved, are  even  now  by 
no  means  entirely  to 


WATEIUXG  -  PLACE   NEAR   ANSUS. 


304  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

be  trusted.  Kawari  was  in  a  comic  state  of  alarm  durinj^-  our  stay 
lest  we  should  come  to  some  harm  while  out  shooting,  but  on 
our  first  acquaiutauce  the  natives  appeared  good-humoured  enough, 
and  were  soon  perched  in  numbers  on  the  bulwarks,  shouting  and 
yelling  at  the  top  of  their  voices  and  making  such  a  noise  as  can 
only  be  produced  by  Papuans,  In  circumstances  such  as  these 
"  Dick  "  was  of  the  gTcatest  use  to  us,  for  he  alone  was  able  to  clear 
our  decks.  His  size  and  blackness,  his  gleammg  wliite  teeth,  and, 
above  all,  his  deep  bark, — for  the  native  dogs  apparently  do  not 
bark, — effectually  frightened  our  invaders,  and  they  scattered  like 
a  flock  of  sheep  at  his  approach,  tumljling  overboard  or  running  up 
the  rigging  in  thek  frantic  endeavours  to  escape.  Xo  women  were 
to  be  seen  for  the  first  day  or  two  of  our  \'isit,  and  little  or  nothing 
in  the  way  of  barter  was  brought  oft'.  Our  stores  of  cloth  and 
Turkey  red  did  not  tempt  them  in  the  least,  and  almost  the  only 
things  we  found  marketable  were  Chinese  buttons  and  silver 
dollars — the  latter  being  in  great  request  for  the  purpose  of  making 
bangles.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  demand  for  garments,  the 
clothing  was  even  more  scanty  than  that  worn  by  the  Arfak  people, 
and  some  of  the  younger  men  were  guiltless  of  a  single  rag.  At 
Yamna,  a  village  on  the  mainland  farther  to  the  east,  both  sexes, 
we  were  told,  go  entirely  naked. 

The  natives  wore  the  usual  long  bamboo  comb  projecting  over 
the  forehead,  ornamented  with  feathers  of  the  white  cockatoo  or 
Edectiis  thrust  vertically  into  the  handle.  I  had  noticed  that  in 
some  cases  the  most  conspicuous  feather  was  not  an  entire  shaft, 
but  built  up,  as  it  were,  of  two  or  more  different  pieces,  and  on  in- 
quiring the  reason  one  mornmg  from  a  formidable-looking  wanior 
who  was  perched  upon  our  bulwarks,  I  learnt  that  each  piece 
signified  that  the  owner  had  disposed  of  an  enemy.  The  coast 
people,  it  appears,  are  always  at  war  with  the  interior  tribes,  who 
from  time  to  time  come  down  from  the  mountains  and  make  raids, 
in  which  the  w^omen  and  children  are  carried  oif  as  slaves.  One 
of  these  descents  had  taken  place  only  a  short  time  before,  and 


xni.]  DRESS  OF  JOBI  MEN.  305 

some  of  the  relatives  of  my  informant  had  been  killed.  Eeprisals, 
however,  were  being  planned,  and  from  the  way  in  which  he  spoke 
of  them,  it  was  evident  that  he  looked  forward  with  no  little 
pleasure  to  the  chance  of  elongatmg  his  feather. 

The  Jobi  men  are  much  disfigured  by  the  moxa  tattooing  to 
which  I  have  alluded  on  a  former  page,  and  seem  to  be  even  fonder 
of  decoration  than  the  people  of  Dorei  Bay.  Necklaces  of  the 
common  cowrie,  with  a  single  pendant  of  the  snowy  Ovidum  ovum 


COJtB    OF   AN'SUS   MAN. 


on  the  chest,  are  worn  by  every  one,  and  the  bracelets,  armlets, 
and  shoulder-straps  are  extremely  well  worked.  The  few  women 
that  we  saw  were  very  shy,  and  could  not  be  induced  to  come  on 
board,  or  to  remain  when  we  entered  the  houses.  They  wore 
nothing  but  a  piece  of  native-worked  cloth  resembling  the  tappa  of 
the  Polynesians.  Several  were  tattooed  with  faint  blue  lines  above 
and  on  the  breasts,  to  form  a  diagonal  "diamond -pane"  pattern, 
and  all  wore  mats  of  a  most  peculiar  cowl-like  shape  over  the  head 
and  shoulders.  In  one  or  two  instances  we  also  saw  men  with 
them.  Mr.  Jens  told  us  that,  as  far  as  he  could  learn,  these  were 
worn  as  mom^ning  for  the  death  of  a  relative.  A  very  similar  dress 
exists  among  the  Dorei  Bay  people,  but  it  is  only  seen  on  women 
who  have  been  recently  confined,  the  idea  being  that  the  sun  must 
not  shine  upon  their  heads,  or  it  will  cause  the  death  of  some  near 
VOL.  n.  X 


306 


NEJV  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


relation.     After  a  certain  period  has  elapsed  a  feast  is  given  and 
the  mat  discarded. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  at  Ansus  we  had  made  friends  with  a 
pleasant-faced,  nose-barred  savage,  who,  by  the  size  and  finish  of 
his  mop  and  the  character  of  his  ornaments,  was  evidently  not  a 
little  of  a  dandy.  He  was  of  particularly  fine  physique,  and  the 
ease  and  grace  of  his  carriage  rendered  him  conspicuous  among  the 
others,  for  the  Papuans,  unlike  most  of  the  African  negroes,  are  not 


CANOE,    ANSUS  ;    WITH   WOMAN   WEARING   MOURNING   MAT. 

remarkable  in  this  respect.  The  hunting  of  the  Birds  of  Paradise 
is  but  little  practised  in  Jobi,  but  Paperipi,  as  he  was  named, 
appeared  to  be  the  greatest  authority  on  the  subject,  and  after  a 
long  discussion,  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  take  all  our  avail- 
able hunters,  headed  by  Tahirun,  to  the  best  ground  he  knew  of. 
This  lay  rather  more  than  a  day's  journey  to  the  E.N.E.,  and  we 
accordingly  fitted  them  out  with  provision  and  ammunition  for  a 
week's  absence,  and  sent  them  away  without  loss  of  time.  They 
were  accompanied  by  a  small  escort  of  Ansus  men,  in  case  of  a 
meeting  with  any  of  the  hill  people,  but  we  ourselves  remained 
behind,  as  we  were  desirous  of  getting  a  sketch  survey  of  the 
harbour  and  its  approaches,  while  there  was  at  the  same  time 
abundant  material  to  employ  us  close  at  hand  without  leaving  the 


XIII.]  THE  LESSER  BIRD  OF  PARADISE.  307 

ship   for   any  length   of  time,  which  we  were   not   particularly 
anxious  to  do. 

We  had  intended  to  make  our  first  excursion  to  Kaiari,  a 
small  island  close  to  our  anchorage,  but  the  natives  rather  eagerly 
dissuaded  us  from  doing  so,  saying  that  it  was  staked  in  every 
direction  with  sharp -pointed  bamboos  in  case  of  raids  by  the 
Alfuros.  We  did  not  believe  the  story  at  the  time,  and  afterwards 
discovered  that  they  buried,  or  rather  exposed,  their  dead  upon  the 
island,  which  was  possibly  the  cause  of  their  unwillingness  to  let 
us  shoot  there.  Our  first  search  was  for  water,  and  we  were 
rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  a  clear  stream  on  the  mainland  not 
far  from  the  mouth  of  the  channel,  in  close  proximity  to  which 
sago-washing  had  been  carried  on  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as 
we  had  remarked  in  Batchian.^  The  forest  w^as  tolerably  open, 
and  here  for  the  first  time  we  saw  the  Lesser  Bird  of  Paradise  (P. 
minor)  streaming  through  the  trees  like  a  golden  comet.  Its 
restless  habits  render  it  most  difficult  to  shoot.  Like  the  closely- 
allied  and  well-known  Faradisea  apoda  of  the  Aru  Islands,  it  has 
regular  "play  trees,"  where  in  the  breeding- season  the  males 
assemble  and  display  their  exquisite  plumage  before  an  admiring 
circle  of  females ;  but  neither  here  nor  in  Waigiou,  where,  according 
to  the  natives,  the  Eed  Bird  of  Paradise  has  the  same  habits,  were 
we  fortunate  enough  to  witness  this  extraordinary  sight.  We  also 
came  across  the  little  King-bird,  which  Mr.  Wallace  has  described 
as  "  one  of  the  most  perfectly  lovely  of  the  many  lovely  productions 
of  Nature,"  "  a  gem  of  the  first  water,"  and  indeed  in  writing  of  the 
happily -named  birds  of  Paradise — perhaps  the  most  exquisitely 
beautiful  of  all  living  creatures — each  of  which  seems  to  surpass 
the  last  in  the  glory  of  its  colouring  and  the  marvellous  eccentricity 
of  its  plumage,  it  is  difficult  to  find  words  to  express  the  sense  of 
admiration  they  arouse  when  seen  for  the  first  time  in  their  native 
land.     As  the  naturalist  tenderly  and  lovingly  handles  some  new 

1  Among  the  Geelviiik  Bay  Papuans  sago  is  eaten  by  means  of  two  rough  cliop- 
sticks  very  much  like  those  used  by  the  Chinese. 


308  NEJV  GUINEA.  [chap. 

and  long-covetecl  species  of  which  he  has  hitherto  only  seen  some 
deformed  and  wretched  caricature  on  the  shelves  of  a  museum,  he 
realises  the  inadequacy  of  superlatives.  He  can  only  feel  that  the 
little  creature  that  lies  before  him  is  perfect  and  without  fault ; 
so  perfect  indeed  that,  in  spite  of  the  rarity  of  his  prize,  he  cannot 
help  wishing  that  he  could  give  it  back  its  life. 

The  King -bird  of  Paradise  {Cicinmirus  rcgius),  of  which  we 
obtained  numerous  specimens  during  the  Marchesas  cruise  in  New 
Guinea  waters,  is  the  most  generally  distributed  of  all  the 
Paradiseidce.  As  is  always  the  case  in  the  birds  of  this  family,  the 
females  and  young  males  are  alike,  and  of  the  most  sober  colouring, 
— mouse-brown,  with  faint  barring  on  the  breast  and  abdomen  ^ — 
contrasting  strongly  with  the  brilliant  plumage  of  the  adult  male, 
in  whom  the  entire  upper  surface  is  of  a  rich,  glossy  red  shading 
into  orange  on  the  head.  An  emerald  green  band  crosses  the 
breast,  below  which  the  plumage  is  creamy  white.  But  the  chief 
beauty  of  the  bird  lies,  as  in  many  of  its  kind,  in  the  strange 
development  of  the  central  tail-feathers  and  the  tuft  of  sub-alar 
plumes.  The  former  are  prolonged  for  five  or  six  inches  as  grace- 
fully-curved wires  of  extreme  fineness,  and  terminate  in  brilliant 
metallic  green  discs  about  the  size  of  a  sixpence.  Concealed 
beneath  the  wing,  but  capable  of  being  expanded  into  fans  of 
wonderfully  regular  shape  at  will,  are  two  greyish  tufts  of  feathers, 
tipped  in  the  same  way  with  glittering  emerald. 

The  gradual  development  of  these  singular  and  strikingi}' 
beautiful  tail-feathers  we  were  able  to  trace  in  the  admirable  series 
of  skins  we  obtained.  At  first  brown  and  of  the  same  length  as 
the  others,  they  gradually  acquire  a  red  tinge,  and,  when  an  inch 

^  Tins  type  of  coloration  in  the  female  is  adhered  to,  with  more  or  less  variation, 
in  all  the  birds  of  Paradise,  with  the  exception  of  Paradisea  and  Paradigalla,  a 
curious  fact  when  the  great  dissimilarity  between  the  males  is  taken  into  considei'a- 
tion.  There  is  little  enough  resemblance  between  the  Twelve-wired  Bird  of  Paradise 
and  the  New  Guinea  Rifle-bird  {CrasiKdoj^liorct  magnifica)  in  the  male,  but  the  females 
are  so  much  alike  that  by  the  plumage  alone  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  distinguish 
them. 


XIII.]  CYPRIPEDIUM  GAEDINERI.  309 

or  two  longer,  become  eroded  on  the  inner  web,  and  somewhat 
curved,  so  that  the  feather  is  sickle -shaped.  This  curvature 
becomes  after  a  tune  more  pronounced,  ultimately  assuming  the 
shape  of  the  perfect  feather,  though  its  colour  still  remains  un- 
changed. The  shaft  then  becomes  completely  denuded  of  feather, 
and  the  terminal  disc  acquires  the  brilliant  metallic  green  colouring 
of  the  perfect  plume.  This  process  occurs  only  during  tlie  first 
change  of  plumage  from  the  immature  state — a  change  which  is 
produced  by  the  gradual  assumption  of  colour  in  previously  existing 
feathers,  and  not  by  moult.  Afterwards,  at  the  yearly  moult,  the 
prolonged  tail-feathers  make  their  appearance  in  very  peculiar 
hook -shaped  feather -cases,  on  the  rupture  of  which  the  plume 
discloses  itself  in  its  complete  state. 

In  the  jungle  near  the  village  there  were  few  striking  flowers, 
or  at  least  few  that  we  had  not  met  with  elsewhere.  A  Nepenthes, 
which  grew  in  some  abundance,  with  dwarfed  and  ungracefully- 
shaped  pitchers,  was,  however,  new  to  us,  as  was  also  a  Cypripedium, 
of  which  we  found  a  single  specimen  only,  growing  at  the  iDottom 
of  a  large  tree.  This  latter  orchid  was  very  handsome  both  as 
regards  shape  and  colouring,  the  flower-stalk  bearing  three  or  four 
blossoms  with  pendulous  ribbon-shaped  petals,  twisted  into  a 
graceful  spiral,  and  tinged  with  purple.  The  dorsal  sepal  was 
marked  with  alternate  stripes  of  dark  brown  and  yellow,  while  the 
lip  was  of  a  paler  shade  of  the  same  colour,  less  distinctly  striated.^ 

Numbers  of  canoes  surrounded  the  Marchcsa  from  morning  till 
night  during  our  visit.  Such  a  thing  as  a  built  boat  is  unknown, 
and  all  are  "  dug-outs,"  made  by  burning  out  the  trunks  of  trees 
with  charcoal.  This  is  an  operation  over  which  much  time  and 
labour  is  spent,  and  after  the  finishing  touches  have  been  put  to 

^  This  orchid,  which  I  have  since  learnt  to  be  a  species  new  to  science,  is  allied 
to  Cijpripcdium  philippinense  (Reichb. ),  figured  in  the  "  Bot.  Mag."  pi.  5508,  but 
the  twisted  petals  are  very  much  shorter,  being  only  twice  the  length  of  the  lip,  and 
the  colouring  of  the  sepal  of  a  far  brighter  yellow.  I  have  named  it  C'ljpi'ipcdmm 
(jardineri  after  my  friend  Mr.  Walter  Gardiner  of  Clare  College,  Cambridge.  The 
genus  Cypripedium,  I  believe,  has  not  been  previously  recorded  from  New  Guinea. 


310 


NEir  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


the  craft,  they  are  tilled  with  water  and  kept  sunk  for  a  time,  in 
order  to  counteract  the  tendency  to  split.     They  are  outrigged 


CYPKIPEDIUM   GAKDINERI. 


almost  without  exception  on  one  side  only,  and  though  the  out- 
riggers are  but  clumsily  constructed  as  compared  with  those  of  the 
Dorei  Bay  people,  the  Ansus  men  are  much  more  given  to  adorning 
their  boats  than  their  western  neighbours.     Bits  of  red  and  white 


NATIVE  CARVING. 


311 


rag,  coloured  leaves  or  flowers,  and  various  shells  are  constantly 
used  for  this  purpose,  and  the  bows  of  the  craft  are  sometimes 
ornamented  with  fretwork  figure-heads,  which,  with  the  limited  tools 
the  natives  have  at  conunand,  must  have  cost  infinite  labour  to 
produce.     Many  of  these   are  of  designs   that   would  be   really 


FRETWORK   FIGURE-HEADS,  JOBl    laLANO. 

creditable  to  a  pupil  in  a  school  of  art,  and  they  are  especially 
remarkable  from  the  fact  that  no  two  of  them  appear  to  be  alike. 
The  decoration  of  the  praus  is  apparently  most  frequent  on  the 
occasion  of  a  feast,  when  the  natives  themselves  appear  adorned 
with  the  red  flowers  of  the  hibiscus,  or  with  yellow  leaves  tucked 
beneath  their  armlets,  which  have  by  no  means  so  innocent  a 
meaning  as  might  be  imagined.^ 

Wandering  one  day  in  the  forest  at  the  back  of  the  village,  we 
came  upon  a  skull  wedged  in  the  branch  of  a  tree,  with  a  well-worn 
^  Quot  hostium  virgines  per  vim  stupraverunt,  tot  folia  aurea  gerere  illis  mos  est. 


312  NEJV  GUINEA  [chap. 

path  leading  up  to  it.  WHiat  it  was,  whether  the  spoil  of  some 
encounter  with  the  Alfuros  or  not,  we  did  not  learn,  but  on  another 
occasion  we  found  a  small  box  containing  the  skeleton  of  a  young 
cliild  in  a  like  situation.  It  was  an  offering  to  Narvoii — a  spirit 
in  whom  the  Jobi  islanders  believe  in  common  with  the  Dorei 
people.  Narvoii  is  no  malicious  demon  like  the  Manuen,  but  a 
good  spirit,  whose  abode  is  in  the  mists  and  the  tops  of  giant  forest- 
trees,  where  he  lives  in  company  with  a  female  spirit  named  Ingira. 
He  is  a  little  mannikin  with  long  white  hair,  old  and  decrepid;  who 
wanders  ceaselessly  at  night  in  the  forest  and  haunts  the  outskirts 
of  the  villages,  ever  on  the  watch  for  children,  whom  he  kills 
because  he  loves  them  and  likes  to  have  them  always  with  him. 
All  young  children  who  die,  and  even  those  who  are  killed  by 
their  mothers  at  biith,  are  offered  to  Narvoii  in  the  manner  I  have 
described,  in  the  hope  that  he  will  be  thus  propitiated,  and  refrain 
from  killing  others. 

In  Jobi,  as  in  other  parts  of  Xew  Guinea,  there  is  no  lack  of 
malaria,  and  though  the  sea-dweUings  and  consequent  canoe-life  of 
the  people  is  no  doubt  a  great  safeguard  against  it,  they  are  by  no 
means  exempt  from  its  effects.  Of  other  diseases  we  saw  little  or 
nothing,  with  the  single  exception  of  a  skin  affection  which,  though 
not  uncommon  in  jSTorth-west  Xew  Guinea  and,  I  believe,  in  otlier 
parts  of  the  island  and  Polynesia  also,  appeared  to  be  very  frequent 
at  Ansus ;  so  frequent  indeed  that  probably  not  less  than  fifteen  or 
twenty  per  cent  of  the  population  were  affected.  It  is  a  form  of 
gyrate  psoriasis,  which,  spreading  from  various  centres,  covers  the 
skin  with  circles  of  extraordinary  accuracy  of  outline.  In  time 
these  meet,  and  ultimately  the  greater  part,  or  even  the  whole  of 
the  body,  becomes  covered  with  these  marks,  ring  forming  within 
ring  much  as  the  wavelets  caused  by  the  splash  of  a  pebble  in  a 
pool.  Individuals  suffering  from  this  disorder,  which  would  seem 
to  be  of  a  most  obstinate  character,  if  not  actually  incurable,  are 
conspicuous  at  some  little  distance,  owing  to  the  whitish  and  scaly 
appearance  presented  by  the  skin.     The  patterns  formed  by  this 


XIII.] 


COOKING  A  CORPSE. 


313 


unpleasant  but  curious  disease,  which  is  commonly  known  as 
Cascado,  are  sometimes  almost  ornamental,  and  when  seen  at  a 
little  distance  give  the  effect  of  tattooing. 

On  the  day  after  our  arrival  one  of  us  had  been  greeted  by  a 
most  horrible  smell  while  passing  a  house  in  the  village,  but  it  was 
not  until  some  little  time  afterwards — when  it  was  of  a  yet  more 
unbearable  nature — that  w^e  learnt  its  origin.  They  were  drying 
the  corpse  of  a  man  over  a  fire — an  operation  which  took  nine  days  ! 
In  a  climate  like  that  of  New  Guinea  the  effect  of  these  funeral 
ceremonies  is  better  unagined  than  described.  The  custom  is 
apparently  in  vogue  among  several  of  the  Papuan  tribes,  and  in 
some  cases,  when  the  body  is  sufficiently  dried  and  smoked,  it  is 
preserved  in  the  house.  The  Ansus  people  have  another  method  of 
disposing  of  it,  and  do  not  furnish  their  dwellings  with  their 
deceased  relatives.  On  the  tenth  day  the  body  in  question  was 
rowed  across  to  Kaiari  Island  and  placed  upon  a  platform  of  sticks 
among  the  mangroves,  where  we  had 
no  difficulty  in  recognising  its  presence 
within  a  consideraljle  radius  for  the 
remainder  of  our  \\sit}  A  pole  with 
a  piece  of  rag  fluttering  at  its  extremity 
indicated  the  mouth  of  the  creek  where 
the  bodies  w^ere  placed,  and  conches, 
shell  necklaces,  and  other  articles  were 
hung  up  in  the  branches  hard  by. 

Koroivaar,  or  images  of  the  deceased, 
are  constructed  as  at  Dorei  Bay,  some 
of  them  of  most  ludicrous  appearance.  ^ 
One  that  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  ob- 
tain— whose  likeness  I  here  present 
to  my  reader — was  especially  so.     The  mop  was  imitated  by  Little 

^  Mr.  A^an  Hasselt  afterwards  told  us  that  some  of  the  Arfak  tribes  also  diy  the 
bodies  of  their  dead  iu  the  above  manner,  and  that  it  is  the  custom  that  the  sub- 
stance which  drips  from  the  corpse  in  the  process  should  be  tasted  by  the  widow, 
under  pain  of  death  ! 


KOROWAAR. 


314  NEW  GUINEA.  [chap. 

tufts  of  cassowary  feathers,  and  the  individual  was  represented 
sitting  with  his  chin  resting  on  his  hands,  and  a  comic  air  of 
determination  in  his  wooden  features.  Images  of  this  nature  must 
have  existed  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  for  Purchas  makes 
mention  of  them.  "  There  is  heere,"  he  says,  "  a  Bird  as  bigge  as  a 
Crane,  liee  flyeth  not,  nor  hath  any  Winges  wherewith  to  flie,  he 
runneth  on  the  ground  like  a  Deere :  of  theii'  small  feathers  they 
doe  make  haire  for  theu"  Idols."  ^ 

In  spite  of  the  cemetery  and  the  recent  highly-flavoured  addition 
to  it,  we  did  not  hesitate  to  land  on  Kaiari  to  take  some  observations. 
At  its  western  end  we  found  a  pole  bearing  the  Dutch  arms.  At 
the  north-east  point  a  small  oft-lying  shelf  of  rocks  not  \dsible  from 
the  \'illage  gave  us  an  excellent  post  to  connect  various  bearings 
we  had  taken  for  om'  rough  survey  of  the  bay  and  its  islands. 
Ha\dng  finished  this,  and  wishing  to  estimate  the  distance  across 
the  bay  to  the  south  point  of  the  island,  I  remained  behind  to  fire 
guns  while  my  companions  rowed  over  to  the  other  side,  a  mile 
and  a  half  away,  to  time  the  reports, — a  plan  of  judging  distance 
which  with  care  gives  sufficient  accuracy  for  all  practical  purposes. 
The  operation  is  usually  unexciting  enough,  but  in  this  instance  it 
was  attended  with  results  I  had  not  foreseen.  I  had  hardly  finished 
my  series  of  half  a  dozen  discharges  before  I  heard  the  splash  of 
paddles  and  a  large  canoe  shot  round  the  corner,  filled  with  an 
excited,  jabbering  crowd  of  natives  with  theu^  bows  drawn  at  me  in 
what  seemed  to  me  an  unpleasant  and  quite  unnecessary  manner. 
They  had  barely  made  their  appearance  when — splash,  splash — and 
a  second  came  into  view ;  then  another  and  another,  until  I  was 
surrounded  by  quite  a  little  fleet,  and  an  amount  of  shouting  and 
jabbering  that  even  from  a  Papuan's  point  of  view  must  have 
seemed  excessive.  Old  Kawari's  caution  and  a  certain  sentence  in 
Mr.  Wallace's  "  Llalay  Archipelago  " — "  Jobi  is  a  very  dangerous 
place,  and  people  are  often  attacked  and  murdered  while  on  shore" — 
occuiTcd  to  my  mmd,  and  at  the  moment  I  wished  that  my 
^  "Purchas  hys  Pilgrimes,"  vol.  ii.  p.  1682. 


xiii.]  RETURN  OF  THE  HUNTERS.  315 

companions  were  a  little  nearer.  It  would  have  been  difficult  to 
resort  to  the  proverbial  remedy  of  writing  to  the  Times,  so  I 
waved  my  hand  amicably  and  opened  a  conversation  in  English  on 
the  subject  of  the  weather.  The  scene  would  have  been  irresistibly 
ludicrous  to  a  spectator,  but  I  should  probably  have  enjoyed  it  more 
myself  had  I  been  a  disinterested  party,  and  I  was  not  sorry  to  see 


KATIVE    OF   JOBI. 


our  boat  approaching.  The  natives  saw  it  too,  and  quietly  dispersed. 
Most  probably  the  frequent  reports  of  my  gun  had  led  them  to  the 
conclusion  that  our  party  had  come  into  collision  with  some  of  their 
own  people,  and  they  were  reassured  on  learning  that  such  was  not 
the  case.  The  unsophisticated  Papuan,  however,  is  such  an  excitable 
indi\ddual  that  good  temper  and  caution  are  all-essential  in  dealing 
with  him.-^ 

Tahirun  and  the  other  hunters  returned  successful  from  their 
expedition  at  the  end  of  five   days.      Of  the  beautiful  golden- 

^  The  mi-irder  of  the  captain  and  four  of  the  crew  of  the  trader  Koredo  at  Biak,  in 
July,  1886,  has  since  proved  that  the  natives  of  this  group  are  by  no  means  entirely 
to  be  trusted. 


316 


NEW  GUINEA. 


[chap. 


plumed  Paradisca  minor  they  had  obtained  forty-two,  and  of  the 
King-bird  nine  skins ;  the  former,  together  with  those  we  had  shot 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Ansus,  completing  a  perfect 
series  in  different  stages  of  plumage.  The  abundance  of  this  bird 
in  Jobi  was  remarkable,  but  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  there  was  not 
a  single  female  in  our  collection.  The  segTegation  of  the  males 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  partially  explams  it,  but  there  is, 
I  think,  no  doubt  that  in  this  species,  and  indeed  among  the 
ParadiseidiB  generally,  a  considerable  preponderance  m  numbers 
in  favour  of  the  male  sex  exists.  Among  the  other  birds  the 
most  noticeable  were  three  skins  of  a  species  of  Crowned  Pigeon 
peculiar  to  the  island,  not  greatly  differing  from  the  one  we  had 
already  obtained,  but  conspicuous  by  the  star-like  white  tipping 
of  the  crest.  Of  this  bird  {Goura  victoricc)  we  also  obtained  two 
living  specimens,  but,  unlike  its  congener,  it  did  not  seem  to  be 
at  all  abundant. 

The  payment  of  the  Ansus  escort  was  an  affair  of  some  difficulty, 
for,  like  most  natives,  however  much  they  may  have  desired  any 

given  object  a  few  moments 
before,  possession  failed  to 
show  them  its  \di'tue,  and 
they  immediately  wanted 
to  exchange  it  for  some- 
thing else.  We  eventually 
settled  the  matter  by 
giving  them  a  sarong  and 
a  knife  apiece,  besides 
some  smaller  presents, 
while  Paperipi's  heart  was 
gladdened  with  a  bar  of 
iron  and  some  cloth.  He 
brought  us  some  excel- 
lently-carved wooden  pillows  or  head -rests  for  exchange,  all  of 
different  design  but  of  very  similar  plan,  representing  two  conven- 


PAPUAN   HEAD-REST. 


xm.]  BRUIJN'S  ECHIDNA.  317 

tional  human  figures  lying  on  their  stomachs  and  supporting  the 
curved  bar  on  which  the  neck  is  intended  to  rest.  It  is  curious 
that  such  an  exceedingly  uncomfortable  article  should  Ije  in 
use  among  such  different  and  widely -separated  peoples  as  it 
is.  The  Zulus  and  other  South  African  tribes  use  it,  and  even 
the  Japanese  have  not  discovered  anything  better.  In  Egypt 
it  is  probably  contemporaneous  with  the  construction  of  the 
Pyramids ! 

We  returned  to  Dorei  Bay  on  the  13th,  merely  waiting  long 
enough  to  pick  up  our  ornithological  spoil  from  the  Arfak  district, 
and  to  get  our  hunters  on  board,  and  our  time  was  for  some  days 
afterwards  fully  occupied  in  the  labelling  and  arrangement  of  our 
collections. 

Among  them  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  prize, — the 
rare  and  extraordinary  Echidna  that  has  quite  recently  been 
discovered  in  Northern  New  Guinea  (Proechidna  hruijni).  This 
curious  animal  in  outward  appearance  resembles  the  Hedgehogs 
in  its  spine -covered  body  and  the  Ant-eaters  in  its  long  and 
tapermg  snout.  The  latter  is  incapable  of  being  opened,  and  the 
mouth  consists  of  a  small  hole  at  the  apex  through  which  the 
long  and  vermiform- tongue  is  protruded.  The  spines  are  short 
and  stout,  but  of  needle-like  sharpness,  and  spring  from  a  thick 
coat  of  dark  brown  fur.  The  fore  foot  is  furnished  with  three 
broad  and  nail-shaped  claws,  while  those  of  the  hinder  lunlj  are 
long,  sickle-like,  and  very  sharp.  Worked  by  the  powerful  muscles 
with  which  the  creature  is  provided,  these  are  admirably  adapted 
for  digging.  The  tail  is  rudimentary.  Bruijn's  Echidna,  which  is 
over  two  feet  in  length,  and  is  thus  considerably  larger  than  its 
Australian  representative,  is  said  by  the  natives  to  live  in  burrows 
in  rocky  ground. 

On  the  15th  we  again  arrived  at  Momos  in  Waigiou.  Our 
friend  the  Eajah  came  off  almost  before  we  had  let  go  our  anchor, 
followed  directly  afterwards  by  the  two  hunters  we  had  left  behind 
to  collect  for  us.     They  had  not  obtained  the  PJiipidornis,  as  we 


318  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

had  hoped,  but  we  were  pleased  to  find  seven  specimens  of  the 
Red  Bh'd  of  Paradise  in  full  plumage  among  the  skins. 

Leaving  Momos  early  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  we  steered 
south  for  Samati,  a  village  at  the  north-east  point  of  Salwatti,  and, 
the  eastern  limit  of  the  Batanta  reef  being  a  matter  of  uncertainty, 
took  our  old  course  over  the  shoal  close  to  the  latter  island.  The 
approaches  to  Samati  are  difficult,  and  but  for  the  instructions  we 
liad  obtained  from  Captain  Hakkers  we  might  easily  have  got  into 
trouble.  Shoal  water  extends  for  a  considerable  distance  off  shore, 
and  the  deep  draught  of  the  Marchesa  obliged  us  to  anchor  fully 
three  miles  from  the  village.  Presently  a  large  prau  with  the 
usual  complement  of  flags  and  tom-toms  announced  the  arrival 
of  the  Eajah — the  second  of  the  potentates  of  the  Rajah  Ampat. 
He  was  accompanied  by  the  son  of  the  Sultan  of  Tidor,  our 
acquaintance  of  Xapriboi,  who  was  about  to  start  on  his  return 
voyage  on  the  following  day. 

The  Rajah  of  Samati  was  a  rather  pleasing-looking  Malay,  or 
at  least  would  have  been  so  but  for  the  loss  of  the  greater  portion 
of  the  right  side  of  his  nose.  He  is  fond  of  telling  the  story  of  his 
disfigurement.  The  Papuans  of  Saonek  in  Waigiou  had  stolen  a 
brass  coat -of- arms — the  insignia  placed  by  the  Dutch  on  most  of 
the  islands  claimed  by  them  in  this  part  of  the  world — and  the 
Rajah  visited  them  in  his  prau  to  demand  its  restitution.  It  was 
refused,  and  the  Papuans  suddenly  attacked  them.  The  Rajah, 
unarmed  and  unsupported,  for  his  men  were  all  engaged  in 
defending  themselves,  had  a  desperate  struggle  with  a  man  in 
attempting  to  regain  the  prau.  To  prevent  him  using  his  spear 
the  Rajah  caught  him  by  the  wrists,  and  the  native,  foiled  in  his 
attempt,  fastened  on  to  his  antagonist's  nose  with  his  teeth.  Both 
held  on  for  their  lives,  but  the  Rajah  getting  free  first — at  the 
expense  of  the  portion  of  the  aforesaid  organ — kept  the  less 
fortunate  Papuan  beneath  the  water  till  he  finished  him. 

We  took  advantage  of  the  Rajah's  prau  to  land,  and  the  tom- 
toms were  beaten  more  energetically  than  ever  in  our  honour. 


TWELVE-WIRED    BIRD    OF    PARADISE. 

(Selevcides  nigricans.) 


XIII.]  METHOD  OF  CATCHING  SELEUGIDES.  319 

These  boats  are  wonderfully  built,  no  nails  of  any  kind  being  used 
in  their  construction.  Each  plank  is  furnished  with  studs  at 
regular  intervals,  left  in  cutting  it  out  of  the  tree.  A  hole  is 
bored  through  these,  and  cross  thwarts  and  strong  knees  ha\Tiig 
been  fitted,  the  whole  is  tied  together  with  coir  rope.  The  result 
is  as  strong  a  craft  as  can  well  be  constructed,  albeit  somewhat 
clumsy. 

Samati  is  unlike  the  ordinary  type  of  Xew  Guinea  village. 
Marks  of  Malay  influence  were  visible  in  the  shape  of  a  small  herd 
of  cattle  pasturing  near  the  shore,  and  many  of  the  houses  were  built 
on  land.  The  Eajah's  was  among  the  number,  and  on  the  verandah 
four  chairs,  a  paraffine  lamp,  and  a  table  covered  wiXh.  a  red  cloth 
almost  brought  us  within  touch  of  civilisation.  Cigars  and  rokos 
were  brought,  and  on  inquiring  about  our  hunters  we  learnt  that 
the  Papuans  we  had  asked  the  Eajah  to  employ  had  succeeded  in 
catching  a  live  specimen  of  the  Twelve -wired  Bird  of  Paradise 
(Scleucides),  and  were  still  away  in  the  mountains  in  search  of 
others.  The  bird,  a  male  in  full  plumage  and  already  tolerably 
tame,  was  brought  in  m  its  bamboo  cage,  and  although  we  had 
previously  seen  this  species  alive  in  the  aviary  of  the  Kesident  of 
Teruate,  we  could  hardly  keep  our  eyes  off  our  new  acquisition,  so 
striking  was  its  beauty. 

The  method  employed  by  the  natives  in  catching  the  Seleucides 
appears  almost  incredible.  Patiently  searching  the  forest  until  he 
has  discovered  the  usual  roosting -place  of  the  bird,  the  hunter 
conceals  himself  beneath  the  tree,  and  ha^'ing  noted  the  exact 
branch  chosen,  climbs  up  at  night  and  quietly  places  a  cloth  over 
his  unsuspecting  quarry.  The  species  being  exceedingly  fond  of 
the  scarlet  fruit  of  the  Pandanus,  the  roosting -places  are  easily 
recognised  by  the  dejecta.  The  plan  would,  perhaps,  by  most  of  us 
be  regarded  as  very  similar  to  that  counselled  by  our  nurses,  in 
which  a  pinch  of  salt  is  the  only  requisite,  but  the  noiseless  move- 
ments of  the  native  hunters  overcome  all  difficulties,  and  the  tree 
once  discovered,  the  chances  are  said  to  be  considerably  against 


320  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

the  bird.  Finding  the  tree  is,  however,  not  so  easy,  and  the  month 
spent  by  our  natives  in  the  forest  resulted  in  the  capture  of  only 
one  bird.  Four  days  after  our  arrival  they  returned  again,  but 
this  time  empty-handed.  They  had  discovered  a  second  tree,  but 
one  of  the  Alfuros  of  the  interior  had  interfered  and  shot  the  bird 
with  his  lilunt  arrow.  In  the  discussion  that  ensued  our  man 
got  the  worst  of  it  and  retired  from  the  field,  having  very  nai'rowly 
escaped  being  added  to  his  enemy's  bag. 

We  spent  our  time  at  Samati  in  our  usual  work  of  collecting 
and  skinning.  Lokman,  the  hunter  we  had  sent  over  from  Waigiou, 
had  of  course  done  nothing,  and  came  to  us  in  his  usual  deprecatory 
way,  with  a  full  powder-horn  and  half  a  dozen  of  the  commonest 
birds.  The  Eajah,  too,  rather  disappointed  us,  and  we  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  noseless  and  unprepossessing  side  of  his  face  was 
a  truer  index  to  liis  character  than  the  other.  The  men  he  had 
supplied  to  shoot  for  us  with  the  guns  we  had  sent  over  by 
Lokman  had,  he  told  us,  obtained  nothing,  and  as  Lokman  himself 
declared  he  knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  we  had  to  let  it  rest,  and 
permit  recently-killed  birds,  which  were  no  doubt  our  own,  to  be 
brought  to  us  for  barter.  There  was  but  little  new  to  us  among 
them,  but  we  were  able  to  complete  a  fair  series  of  the  Seleucides, 
and  also  obtained  a  rare  and  interesting  Lory  with  plumage  of  an 
almost  uniform  black  (Chalcojysittacus  ater). 

The  Salwatti  Papuans,  and  indeed  those  of  the  Eajah  Ampat 
generally,  do  not  seem  to  evmce  any  very  great  desire  for  the  clothes 
and  ci\dlisation  of  the  western  w^orld,  and  are  on  the  whole  an 
unprogressive  lace,  holding  closely  to  the  customs  of  their  fore- 
fathers. This  apathy  to  improvement  has  no  doubt  been  the 
chief  cause  of  the  non-success  of  the  missionaries  in  Dorei  Bay. 
Wonderful  to  relate,  it  does  not  even  appear  that  all  are  open  to 
the  seductions  of  traders'  rum,  which,  as  we  all  know,  usually 
appeals  to  the  crudest  and  most  undeveloped  mind,  and  is  a  power- 
ful factor  in  the  advance  of  ci\llisation  and  geographical  knowledge. 
The  Papuan  strikes  the  traveller  as  an  individual  with  no  little 


xni.]  DECREASE  OF  TRADE.  321 

backbone  in  liim ;  one,  in  short,  who  is  by  no  means  likely  to 
disappear  on  contact  with  the  wliite  man,  and  in  other  ways  besides 
liis  cheeriness  and  boldness  is  not  unlike  the  African.  But  in  spite 
of  this  and  the  supposed  denseuess  of  population,  it  is  not  probable 
that  New  Guinea  will  form  a  market  for  European  goods  for  many 
a  year  to  come.  We  learnt  in  Ternate  that  the  trade  mth  the 
island  had  fallen  off  considerably,  and  that  it  now  no  longer  paid 
to  send  schooners  to  tlie  northern  coast  for  pearl-shell  and  gum- 
dammar.  So  little,  indeed,  do  the  natives  value  the  cloth  which 
they  obtain  in  exchange,  and  which  is  for  the  most  part  stored  up 
unused,  that  an  enterprising  merchant,  aware  of  the  natives'  love 
for  silver  ornaments,  recently  despatched  a  schooner  to  buy  it 
back  with  Dutch  dollars,  and  it  was  currently  reported  that  he 
had  made  a  remarkably  successful  venture. 

The  Salwatti  people  are  good  sailors,  and  are  especially  renowned 
for  their  boat-building.  They  construct  large  praus  in  the  manner 
I  have  just  described,  in  which  voyages  of  considerable  length  can 
be  undertaken,  and  these  craft  are  even  purchased  by  the  Papuans 
of  Dorei  Bay.  The  possession  of  a  good  vessel  is  of  some  import- 
ance in  this  locality,  for  Samati  and  the  neighbouring  coast  is 
entirely  exposed  to  the  Pacific,  and  bad  weather  is  not  infrequently 
experienced.  During  the  last  day  of  our  visit  a  very  heavy  sea 
was  runnmg  off  the  entrance  to  the  Galewo  Straits,  wliich  would 
have  been  far  too  much  for  any  small  prau  to  face. 

We  induced  the  Eajah  to  let  us  have  one  of  his  bullocks, 
for  which  we  paid  him  100  guilders,  or  rather  more  than  £8. 
Wliether  it  was  owing  to  our  prolonged  rice  diet  or  not  I  cannot 
say,  but  the  beef  appeared  to  us  to  be  equal  to  any  we  had  ever 
tasted  in  England.  Both  here  and  at  Mansinam  the  cattle  were  in 
excellent  condition. 

Leaving  Samati  on  the  19th  of  November,  we  swung  ship  and 

steered  westward  through  Pitt  Strait,  where  we  encountered  very 

heavy  rainstorms  and  the  usual  strong  currents.     We  were  bound 

for   Misol — an  island  lying  to  the   south-west  of  Salwatti,  at  a 

VOL.  II.  Y 


322  NEJF  GUINEA.  [chap. 

considerable  distance  from  the  mainland,  to  which,  however,  it  is 
connected  by  shallow  soundings  and  innumerable  reefs  and  islets. 
In  order  to  reach  it  on  the  following  day  we  decided  not  to  anchor 
for  the  night,  as  we  had  hitherto  done  on  almost  every  occasion  in 
New  Guinea  waters,  and  therefore  steered  S.W.  by  W.  on  clearing 
Pitt  Strait,  so  as  to  pass  midway  between  Popa  and  Misol,  a  course 
that  would  apparently  lead  us  well  clear  of  all  dangers.  An  hour 
or  two  later,  on.  referring  to  a  manuscript  chart  we  had  got  from 
Captain  Hakkers,  we  were  rather  disconcerted  to  find  a  rock  marked 
exactly  in  the  path  of  the  A'essel,  midway  between  Popa  and  the 
Vienna  Islands — a  small  group  to  the  north  of  ]\Iisol.  It  was  not 
indicated  on  two  other  Dutch  cliarts  in  our  possession,  and  as  the 
night  was  dark  and  the  passage  not  too  wide  when  the  doubtful 
cartography  and  strong  currents  of  these  regions  were  taken  into 
consideration,  we  resolved  to  trust  to  Providence  and  ignore  it. 
Wliat  its  position,  if  any,  may  be  I  cannot  say.  Fortunately  for  us 
it  was  not  determined  at  the  expense  of  the  Marchcsa. 

At  daylight  next  morning  we  were  rather  surprised  to  find 
wdiat  appeared  to  be  a  small  island  bearing  nearly  west.  We  had 
expected  to  have  cleared  the  group  some  time  before,  and,  conclud- 
ing that  we  had  probably  encountered  a  strong  current,  we  kept  on 
our  course.  Our  morning  sights,  however,  placed  us  so  far  to  the 
west  that  we  thought  we  had  made  a  mistake,  and  took  another 
set.  They  confirmed  the  others,  and  shortly  afterwards  we  sighted 
high  land  far  ahead,  which  we  knew  could  be  nothing  else  than  the 
large  island  of  Cerani.  Instead  of  encountering  the  current,  we 
had  thus  had  it  with  us,  and  had  far  overrun  our  distance.  Navi- 
gation in  these  waters  is  exciting  work,  attended  as  it  is  by  a 
glorious  uncertainty  which  keeps  all  one's  faculties  on  the  alert. 
In  this  case  we  had  to  begin  with  Ijeen  led  into  error  l)y  Great 
Canary  Island,  partly  owing  to  its  wrong  position  on  the  chart, 
and  partly  to  its  being  of  such  low  elevation  that  only  a  very 
small  portion  of  it  was  visible  above  the  horizon,  Wliat  at  day- 
break we  had  taken  to  be  a  small  island,  was  in  reality  Misol  itself, 


XIII.]  MISOL.  323 

which  is  triangular  in  shape,  and  presents  a  sharp  apex  to  the 
west,  and  the  land  beyond  being,  like  Great  Canary  Island,  too  low 
to  be  visible,  our  mistake  was  easily  made. 

Misol  lies  far  from  the  track  of  vessels,  and  is  little  known  or 
visited  even  by  the  Malay  traders.  It  is  about  forty-five  miles 
long  by  twenty  in  breadth,  and  is  covered  everywhere  by  dense 
jungle.  The  interior  is  inhabited  by  wild  Alfuros  speaking  a 
language  distinct  from  the  coast  people,  among  whom  a  partial 
civilisation  lias  been  introduced  by  the  Malays.  Two  so-called 
Eajahs  live  upon  the  island,  at  Waigamma  on  the  north-east,  and 
Lelinta  on  the  south  coast,  and  a  few  miles  westward  of  the  latter 
village  is  the  small  island  and  kampong  of  Efbe,  which  was 
visited  by  Captain  Forrest  in  1775.  It  was  for  this  place  that  we 
were  bound,  but  charts  and  directions  being  non-existent,  we  had 
to  find  our  way  between  a  group  of  small  islands  and  the  mainland 
as  Ijest  we  could,  fearing  lest  the  night  should  come  on  before  we 
could  anchor,  yet  at  the  same  time  not  liking  to  go  at  any  speed 
on  account  of  our  total  ignorance  of  the  water.  Just  before  sunset 
we  approached  the  island,  and  on  firing  a  gun  a  prau  came  off  to 
meet  us  manned  by  two  or  three  Papuans  under  the  direction  of  a 
Bugis  settler.  A  little  later  we  dropped  anchor  within  stone's 
throw  of  the  shore  in  a  small  but  beautifully  protected  harbour, 
whose  waters  were  as  smooth  as  glass.  It  is  formed  by  the  south 
coast  of  Misol  and  Efl^e — the  latter  a  half- moon  shaped  island 
with  its  concavity  facing  north,  a  narrow  passage  past  the  reefs 
off'  its  points  being  the  only  entrance  to  the  circular  basin  thus 
formed. 

It  was  our  intention  to  leave  eight  of  our  hunters  in  Misol, 
picking  them  up  on  our  return  from  the  Aru  Islands,  and  in  order 
that  every  assistance  should  be  given  them,  it  was  necessary  for  us 
to  see  the  Eajah,  who,  we  learnt,  was  at  Lelinta.  With  these  people 
it  is  not  impolitic  se  faire  valoir,  and  we  therefore  sent  a  message 
requesting  him  to  visit  us.  He  came  next  day — a  half-civilised 
Malay,  who  was  not  nearly  so  important  a  personage  as  Tahirun, 


324  NEW  GUINEA.  [chap. 

either  in  luaniier  or  appearance.  He  could  not  read,  but  the 
sight  of  the  Sultan  of  Tidor's  letter  encased  in  its  yellow  silk 
cover  was  sufficient,  and  he  agreed  to  take  charge  of  our  men, 
and  if  necessary  to  supply  them  with  praus  to  take  them  to 
Waigamma. 

The  village  of  Efl^e  is  composed  of  four  houses  only,  despite 
the  fact  that  it  has  been  in  existence  for  more  than  a  hundred  years. 
It  is  placed  in  a  grove  of  coconut  palms,  an  uncommon  sight  in 
Western  New  Guinea,  where  this  most  useful  of  trees  is  but  rarely 
met  with,  for  even  in  those  places  where  the  Malays  have  estab- 
lished themselves  they  seem  to  have  paid  Ijut  little  attention  tt) 
its  cultivation.  Looking  to  the  south  and  east  from  the  southern 
shore,  myriads  of  islands  are  seen  to  dot  the  water  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach ;  not  low,  irregular,  and  with  temptmg  sandy  bays, 
such  as  one  sees  in  the  little  archipelagos  in  some  parts  of  the 
Philippines,  or  off  the  Bornean  coast,  but  for  the  most  part  small, 
square,  and  block-like ;  devoid  of  beach  and  with  perpendicular 
or  even  overhanging  cliffs,  reminding  us  of  the  nests  of  islands 
we  had  found  in  the  Waigiou  Gulf.  All  are  of  hard,  ringing, 
coralline  limestone  which  here  and  there  assumes  the  most  fan- 
tastic shapes,  running  up  into  wondrous  spires  and  pinnacles  like 
some  Gothic  cathedral  gone  mad,  —  quaint  and  mipossible  in 
outline,  and  from  its  knife-like  edges  utterly  destructive  to  one's 
boots. 

Wliile  making  a  rough  survey  of  the  harbour,  we  were  as- 
tonished to  come  across  several  Eucalyptus  trees.  Although 
they  extend  as  far  westward  as  the  Timor  group,  it  is  probable 
that  Misol  is  the  extreme  northern  limit  of  this  typically  Australian 
genus.  Upon  Efbe  we  found  a  rare  black  Lory  {Chalcopsittacus) 
rather  abundant,  closely  resembling  the  species  I  have  already  alluded 
to  as  having  been  obtained  by  us  in  Salwatti,  but  exhibiting  such 
differences  in  plumage  as  almost  entitle  it  to  separate  specific  rank. 
Another  interesting  bird  which  we  here  added  to  our  collection  was 
a  large  Graucalus  {G.  melanops),  which  had  not  previously  been 


XIII.]  BIRDS  OF  MISOL.  325 

known  to  inhabit  the  north-west  islands  of  New  Guinea.  The 
birds  of  Misol  are  very  much  the  same  as  those  of  Salwatti,  but 
while  the  latter  island  is  noteworthy  for  the  gorgeous  Seleucides, 
and  for  the  absence  of  the  Lesser  Bird  of  Paradise,  the  latter  bird 
is  fairly  abundant  in  Misol  and  the  Sekucides  unknown. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

AMBOIXA,  BAXDA,  AND   THE   AEU   ISLANDS. 

Amboina — The  town— Tomb  of  Rumphius— The  clove  trade — "  Sea-gardens  "—The 
climate — Microcjlossus — Banda — The  harbour  and  volcano — View  from  Papenberg 
— Nutmegs — Banda  Neira  and  its  forts — Leave  for  Aru— Non-existent  islands — 
Dobbo — The  village  and  its  trade — The  pearl-fishery — Paradisea  a2)oda — Trading 
praus — Fruit-eating  pigeons — Perils  of  a  collector — Ornithojdera  arnicma — Our 
hunters  return  from  "Wanumbai — We  begin  the  homeward  voyage. 

Leaving  Misol  and  our  hunters  beliind  us,  it  was  not  long  before  a 
W.S.W.  course  brought  us  in  sight  of  the  great  island  of  Ceram, 
with  whose  high  mountains  we  had  previously  but  uninten- 
tionally made  acquaintance  on  our  voyage  to  Ef  be.  We  rounded 
its  western  end,  and  gliding  almost  motionless  over  a  glassy  sea 
which  reflected  the  blaze  of  sunshine  too  accurately  for  pleasure, 
arrived  in  tliii'ty-six  hours'  steaming  at  Amboina. 

The  town,  which,  par  jMrentMsc,  gives  its  name  to  the  whole 
island,  lies  some  little  distance  up  an  inlet,  whose  surrounding 
gi-assy  hills  are  a  relief  to  the  heavy  jungle  that  nearly  every- 
where in  Malaysia  greets  the  traveller's  eye.  Such  harbours  hold 
out  a  prospect  of  good  anchorage,  but  we  were  destmed  to  be 
disappointed,  and  the  usual  operation  of  running  a  cable  ashore, 
so  as  to  make  fast  head  and  stern,  had  to  be  gone  through.  The 
Dutch  gun -boats  Merapi  and  Samarang  lay  at  anchor  near  us. 
Their  of&cers  were  by  this  time  old  friends  of  ours,  for  we  had 
met  in  several  ports  of  the  archipelago.  We  did  not  venture  to 
disturb  them,  for  it  was  siesta  time,  and  we  knew  that,  clad  in 


CHAP.  XIV.]  AMBOINA.  327 

pyjamas,  tliey  were  slumberiug  peacefully  in  their  cabins  until  the 
hour  of  the  ante-prandial  "  pijtje  "  should  arrive.  The  climate  had 
not  been  without  its  effect  even  upon  ourselves,  but  the  desire  to 
get  our  mails,  and  to  taste  bread  and  vegetables  once  more  was  too 
strong  for  us,  and  we  landed  in  the  full  glare  of  the  early  afternoon 
sun  intent  on  this  and  other  business.  "We  might  have  saved  our- 
selves the  trouble.  Amboina  slept,  and  we  did  but  get  hot  and 
impatient. 

Our  walk  was  not  quite  fruitless,  however.  The  town  boasts  of 
a  hackney  carriage,  which  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  secure, 
and  we  drove  in  it  later  to  pay  our  visit  to  the  Eesident.  Almost 
all  the  Dutch  officials  are  excellent  linguists,  and  we  were  therefore 
rather  surprised  to  find  that  our  host  spoke  no  English,  and  only  a 
few  words  of  French.  Our  chief  concern  was  to  secure  coal,  for 
the  supply  in  our  bunkers  was  nearly  exhausted,  but  it  was  at  first 
refused  us,  and  we  were  referred  to  the  Netherlands  India  Shipping 
Company,  though,  thanks  to  the  letters  we  carried  from  the  Dutch 
Admiral,  we  eventually  succeeded  in  obtaining  it.  Officialism — 
contrary  to  what  we  had  experienced  in  Ternate  and  elsewhere — 
appeared  to  be  in  the  ascendant  at  Amboina,  and,  like  the 
Challengers  people,  we  did  not  succeed  in  foregathering  with  the 
authorities.  The  Eesident  indeed,  possibly  deterred  by  linguistic 
difficulties,  did  not  even  return  our  call.  Perhaps  there  were 
other  reasons,  for  the  society  in  the  town  had  been  for  some  time 
rent  by  many  schisms,  owing  to  a  feud  existing  between  the  civil 
and  military  authorities,  while  the  third  class,  the  merchants, 
occupied  an  uncomfortable  position  between  the  two. 

The  town  itself  and  its  surroundings — the  old  fort  through 
which  one  passes  to  emerge  on  the  wide  green  plein ;  the  red 
laterite  roads  leading  past  the  cool-looking  huts,  well-nigh  hidden 
by  the  masses  of  dark  green  foliage  of  the  fruit-trees ;  the  orang 
Sirani,  in  whose  veins  flows  the  blood  of  half  a  dozen  nations — 
Portuguese,  Malay,  Dutch,  Chinese  and  Kling,  dressed  in  their 
gloomy  and  utterly  unsuitable  costume  of  black, — all  these  have 


328  AMBOINA.  [chap. 

been  too  often  described  to  need  repetition.  Within  the  limits  of 
the  town  may  be  seen  growing  ahnost  every  kind  of  fruit  or 
vegetable  product  that  these  pleasant  islands  of  IMalaysia  yield. 
In  a  garden  to  the  south,  fittingly  overshadowed  by  the  wealth 
of  tropical  verdure  which,  in  his  lifetime,  he  loved  to  describe, 
stands  the  tomb  of  Eumphius.  He  was  buried  in  the  grounds  of 
his  house,  wliicli  is,  of  course,  no  longer  in  existence,  although 
another  has  been  built  in  its  place.  The  monument,  a  tasteless 
affair  of  brick  and  plaster,  w^as  erected  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  at  some  little  distance  from  the  spot  where  the 
body  lies,  and  bears,  in  somewhat  curious  Latin,  the  following 
inscription : — 

M.  s. 
GEORCII  EVERARDI 

RUMPHII 

DE   EE   EOT.    ET   HIST.    N'AT. 
OPT.    MEK. 

TUMULUM 

DIEA   TEMP.    CALAM.    ET    SACEIL.    MANU    FEEE 

DIEVTUM 

MAX  IB.    PLACATIS 

EESTIT.    JT7SSIT 

ET 

PIET.    EEVEEEXT.    PUEL.    TESTIF. 

H.  M. 

IPSE   CONSECR. 

GODARDUS  ALEXANDER 

GERARDUS  PHILIPPUS 

LIBER   BARO  A  CAPELLEX 

TOT.    IND.    BELG. 

PE^F.    REG. 


AMBOINA   A.D.    MEXS.    APE. 
A.D.    MDCCCXXIV. 


XIV.]  THE  CLOVE  TRADE.  329 

The  clove  is  now  no  longer  a  monopoly  of  the  island  as  in 
old  days.  The  trade  appears  to  be  growing  less  from  year  to  year, 
and  the  official  return  for  1884  shows  an  export  of  2158  kilos  only. 
This,  however,  it  should  be  said,  is  the  private  trade  only.  That  of 
the  Government  is  not  specified  in  the  official  publication.  Java 
grows  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  spice,  and  4495  kilos  of  the 
14,637  exported  by  private  indi\aduals  from  the  entire  Netherlands 
India  come  from  that  island.  The  tree  was  not  only  cultivated 
upon  Amboina,  but  also  upon  the  three  islands,  Saparua,  Nusa,  and 
Haruku,  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  Xow  the  chief  form  in  which 
the  ordinary  traveller  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  article  is  in 
the  shape  of  toy-ships  whose  huU,  masts,  and  rigging  are  entu^ely 
composed  of  the  little  dried  black  buds.  These  curiosities,  which, 
as  may  be  imagined,  are  more  peculiar  than  beautiful,  are  brought 
on  board  every  ship  that  anchors  in  the  port,  and  find  purchasers 
in  the  fo'c'sle,  for  Jack  would  think  his  list  incomplete  without 
one  of  these  and  a  few  of  the  wonderful  shells  with  which  the 
praus  that  come  alongside  are  laden.  Amboina  shells,  or  rather 
the  shells  sold  in  Amboina — for  they  are  gathered  from  the  sur- 
rounding islands  far  and  near — have  been  celebrated  for  the  last 
two  centuries,  and  most  of  those  to  be  seen  on  the  praus  wdiicli 
tempt  the  P.  and  0.  passenger  at  Singapore  have  passed  through 
the  hands  of  Ambonese  fishermen. 

We  remained  nearly  a  week  in  the  harbour,  glad  of  rest  and 
fresh  vegetables,  for  we  had  not  had  much  of  either  in  Xew  Guinea. 
Just  beyond  the  town  the  inlet  contracts  suddenly,  and  then, 
widening  out,  forms  a  second  or  inner  harboiu-,  which  is  not  much 
used  by  shipping.  Here  are  the  "  sea-gardens  "  described  by  Mr. 
Wallace — "  the  bottom  being  absolutely  hidden  by  a  continuous 
series  of  corals,  sponges,  actiniic,  and  other  marine  productions 
of  magnificent  dimensions,  varied  forms,  and  brilliant  colours." 
Other  writers  have  given  glowing  accounts  of  the  same  spot, 
and  the  impression  conveyed  to  the  reader  is  that  at  Amboina  alone 
can  be  seen  the  submarine  fairyland  which  they  describe,  but  of 


330  AMBOINA.  [chap. 

which,  in  truth,  it  woukl  liattie  any  pen  or  pencil  to  give  an  idea. 
Nature  is  not  so  miserly  in  her  gifts.  In  each  and  all  of  the  coral 
islands  of  these  seas  there  are  a  thousand  creeks  where  we  may 
lean  over  the  boat's  side  and  make  ourselves  for  the  moment 
inhabitants  of  an  earthly  Paradise  teeming  with  the  same  exquisite 
corals,  the  same  rainbow-banded  fish.  It  is  merely  the  fact  that 
Amboina  is  a  port  of  call  for  steamers  which  has  given  her  this 
undeserved  reputation. 

It  was  the  Centering  or  change  of  the  winds  during  the  peiiocl 
of  our  stay,  and  the  north-west  monsoon  had  just  begun  to  set  in. 
This  season,  which  lasts  until  INIay,  is  the  driest,  or,  to  speak  more 
accurately,  the  least  wet,  for  the  rainfall  is  enormous.  Meteoro- 
logical records  kept  at  the  station  show  it  to  be  as  much  as  191 
inches.  Judging  from  a  day  we  experienced  ourselves,  we  had  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  register.  The  wet  months  are 
said  to  have  an  average  of  twenty-two  days'  rain,  and  with  the 
steady  high  temperature  prevailing  it  might  be  imagined  that  the 
island  would  be  particularly  trying  to  Europeans.  This  does  not, 
however,  appear  to  be  the  case.  Slight  attacks  of  fever  are 
common,  but  the  hospital — a  wonderfully  well-kept  and  cleanly 
building — ^was  by  no  means  significantly  full. 

One  of  the  hospital  officials,  who  took  an  interest  in  birds,  told 
us  that  he  had  some  tame  specimens  of  the  Great  Black  Cockatoo, 
and  we  accordingly  went  with  him  to  his  house  to  see  them.  We 
had  shot  these  birds  in  New  Guinea — to  which  region  they  are 
entirely  confined — but  had  tried  in  vain  to  obtain  them  alive,  and, 
though  parrots  of  perhaps  a  dozen  species  or  more  were  to  be 
found  in  the  Marchcsas  menagerie,  the  Microglossus  was  not 
among  them.  It  was  therefore  with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  we 
watched  these  peculiar  and  interesting  creatures.  There  were 
three  of  them,  but  one  only  was  perfectly  adult.  They  were  per- 
mitted to  go  at  liberty  about  the  room,  and  I  was  struck  at  once 
by  the  extreme  slowness,  as  well  as  by  the  clumsiness,  of  their 
movements.      The  common  white  Cockatoos  (C.  alba  and  triton) 


XIV.]  THE  MARKET.  331 

are  deliberate  enough  in  movement,  at  least  in  captivity,  but, 
compared  with  Microglossus,  they  are  rapid.  The  huge  head  and 
beak  are  rendered  more  conspicuous  by  the  meagre  size  of  the 
body,  and  the  pectoral  muscles  are  so  little  proportionate  to  the 
size  of  the  bird  as  to  render  it  probable  that  it  resorts  to  flight  as 
little  as  it  can.  It  exists  solely  Ijy  virtue  of  its  gigantic  beak,  for, 
as  ]\Ir,  Wallace  has  pointed  out,  no  other  bird  is  able  to  open  the 
Kanari  nut,  which  forms  its  chief  food.  We  should  much  have 
liked  one  of  these  birds  to  add  to  our  collection,  but  we  could  not 
prevail  upon  the  owner  to  part  with  them. 

Amboina  market  is  an  excellent  one,  and  the  quantity  and 
variety  of  fishes  to  be  seen  m  a  morning's  stroll  through  it  are 
astonishing,  so  much  so  that  one  no  lono;er  wonders  at  the  seven 
hundred  and  eighty  species  recorded  by  Dr.  Bleeker  as  inhabiting 
tlie  waters  of  the  island.  Fruits,  too,  are  abundant,  and  among 
tlieni  was  a  wonderful  banana,  which  none  of  us  had  tasted  before, 
pure  white,  not  creamy,  in  the  colour  of  the  flesh,  and  in  flavour 
something  between  a  pine-apple  and  a  "pear-drop."  Out  of  the 
many  dozen  varieties  of  this  plant  to  be  met  with,  from  the  large 
15-inch  long  "horse  plantain"  to  the  tiny  "silver  banana,"  I  have 
never  eaten  anything  at  all  like  it.  It  was  delicious,  but  no 
trace  whatever  of  the  banana  flavour  was  to  l^e  detected  in  it. 

We  left  Amboina  late  one  night  and  dropped  slowly  down  the 
inlet.  Around  us,  in  every  direction,  were  the  lights  of  innumer- 
able praus  engaged  in  fishing,  causing  us  no  little  anxiety  from 
their  numbers,  which  was  not  lessened  by  the  fact  that  in  many 
eases  the  fishermen  deferred  the  lighting  of  their  torches  until  we 
were  close  upon  them.  Fortunately  w^e  passed  through  without 
accident,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  the  Marchcsa 
anchored  in  Banda  harbour. 

Banda,  the  most  eastern  settlement  of  the  Dutch,  lies  due  south 
of  Ceram,  and  about  sixty  miles  distant  from  its  coasts.  For  all 
practical  purposes  the  group  may  be  said  to  consist  of  the  three  islands 
which  form  the  harbour — Gunong  Api,  Banda  Xeira,  and  Banda 


332  BANDA.  [chap. 

Lontoir.  The  latter  is  half-moon  shaped,  and  produces  the  nutmegs 
which  for  the  past  three  centuries  have  made  its  name  famous. 
Opposite  its  conca\dty  lie  the  two  other  islands,  almost  touching 
one  another,  the  first  one,  as  its  name  implies,  being  the  volcano, 
the  other  ha^'ing  built  upon  it  the  town  with  its  three  old  forts. 

Those  who  are  learned  in  such  matters  have  suggested  that 
Banda  Lontoir  forms  part  of  the  lip  of  an  ancient  crater  of  pro- 
digious size,  from  whose  centre  the  present  cone  of  Gunong  Api 
has  since  arisen,  and  the  appearance  of  the  former  with  its  steep 
sides  and  semicircular  shape  is  certainly  strongly  in  favour  of 
the  theory.  One  would  have  imagined  that  the  thought  of 
living  in  the  very  centre  of  a  crater  would  have  been  a  trial  even 
to  the  strongest -nerved.  But,  though  they  have  had  no  little 
experience  in  the  way  of  earthquakes  and  eruptions,  the  islanders 
do  not  seem  to  disquiet  themselves  with  possibilities.  The  usually- 
smokmg  peak  of  Gunong  Api  showed  its  head  in  unclouded 
clearness  during  our  visit.  It  had  not  given  any  sign  of  acti\dty 
for  some  little  time,  and  the  people  told  us  that  if  it  remained 
quiescent  much  longer  an  eruption  or  a  severe  earthquake  would 
probably  result.  The  information  was  given  with  the  off'- hand 
manner  in  which  an  Englishman  would  predict  a  wet  day  on  the 
morrow.  The  volcano  is  of  insignificant  size — little,  if  at  all,  above 
2000  feet  in  altitude — but  the  bareness  of  its  slopes  and  the 
sharpness  and  regularity  of  the  cone  make  it  look  much  higher. 
Its  base  is  about  two  miles  in  diameter.  The  summit — to  which 
our  energetic  chief  engineer,  j\Ir.  Flowers,  was  the  only  one  of  us 
to  ascend — has  a  crater  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  yards  across, 
and  of  no  great  depth.  From  it  small  clouds  of  steam  arose  in 
various  places,  and  the  stones  around  were  thickly  coated  with 
layers  of  pure  sulphur. 

A  narrow  creek — the  "  Zonnegat " — only  na\dgable  by  small 
craft,  separates  Gunong  Api  from  Banda  Xeira.  It  is  on  this  island 
that  the  town  is  jDlaced,  its  cool  white  houses  overshadowed  by 
dark-foliaged  trees  dottincj  the  whole  length  of  the  southern  shore. 


XIV.]  VIEJF  FROM  PAPENBERG.  333 

JS'eira  is  about  two  miles  in  length,  and  with  the  exception  of 
Papenberg  or  Flagstaff  Hill — an  abrupt  jungle-covered  rock  of  700 
feet  which  dominates  the  town — is  of  no  great  elevation.  To  this 
uithijh  we  one  day  climbed, — a  steep  ascent  through  an  almost 
uninterrupted  series  of  nutmeg  plantations.  The  view,  looking 
down  upon  the  harbour,  is  very  beautiful,  and,  indeed,  what  \-iews 
are  not  in  these  favoured  islands  ?  It  has  not,  of  course,  the  grandeur 
of  Ternate,  with  the  noble  peak  of  Tidor  and  the  mountains  of 
Gilolo  glowing  a  deep  blue  across  the  magnificent  sweep  of  lake-like 
sea,  but  in  an  unpretentious  way  it  is  nearly  as  lovely.  At  our 
feet  lay  the  town — the  houses  of  the  better  class  with  red-tiled 
roofs,  but  all  furnished  with  the  snowy  white  pillars  and  stoeiis  that 
are  the  leading  characteristics  of  Dutch  ]\Ialaysia,  Across  the 
landlocked  harbour  rose  the  steep  precipices  of  Banda  Lontou\  dark 
with  the  large  forest-trees  shading  its  nutmeg  "  parks  "  and  fringed 
with  broad  shores  of  sandy  mud.  Westwards  we  looked  down  on 
the  Zonnegat  dotted  with  fishing  praus,  the  slopes  of  the  volcano 
rising  steeply  from  its  farther  bank.  Behind  us,  from  the  foot  of 
an  almost  perpendicular  cliff",  the  open  sea  stretched  away  to  the 
horizon,  with  the  little  island  of  Suangi  in  the  distance.  A  lovely 
view  indeed,  bathed  in  the  soft  haze  that  enhances  the  beauty  of 
every  tropic  landscape.  So  peaceful  and  quiet  was  it  that  it  was 
hard  to  realise  the  loss  of  life  and  property  caused  by  past 
eruptions,  and  to  reflect  that  others  quite  as  terrible  and  destructive 
are,  in  all  human  probability,  in  store  for  the  unfortunate  islanders. 
The  Krakatau  eruption,  we  were  told,  was  felt  here  as  a  kind  of  tidal 
wave  rushing  through  the  harbour  from  west  to  east,  but  no 
damage  of  any  importance  was  caused  by  it. 

Although,  as  I  have  akeady  mentioned,  considerable  quantities 
of  nutmegs  are  grown  upon  Banda  Xeira,  it  is  upon  Banda  Lontoir 
that  they  are  chiefly  cultivated.  They  are  articles  of  export  from 
many  settlements  in  the  vast  possessions  of  Holland  in  these  seas, 
but  nowhere  do  they  grow  to  such  perfection  as  in  the  Banda  group, 
for  the  tree  is  here  indigenous,  and  is  attacked  by  few  of  the 


334 


BANDA. 


[chap. 


diseases  that  impede  its  growth  in  other  places.     All  the  year  round 
— as  seems  fitting  in  these  Gardens  of  Eden — it  is  in  fruit  and 


FRUIT   OF   THE   NUTMEG,    SPLITTING   AND   SHOWING   MACE. 

flower,  and  any  and  every  day  the  natives  may  be  seen  gathering 
the  peach-like-looking  spice.  This  is  done  with  a  special 
instrument — a  bamboo  pole  with  a  hook,  and  a  basket  near  the  top 
which  catches  the  fruit  as  it  is  detached.     The  fleshy  exocarp  is  for 


XIV.]  NUTMEGS.  335 

the  most  part  wasted ;  the  mace  is  removed  and  dried  in  ovens,  and 
the  nut  is  kept  to  dry,  enclosed  in  its  outer  sliell,  until  it  is  ready 
for  export.  The  tree  requires  shade  and  protection,  and  is  con- 
sequently grown  beneath  the  lofty  Kanari,  the  noblest  nut-tree  in 
the  world.  It  is  an  ideal  cultivation,  this  nutmeg-growing, — a  sort 
of  high-art  agriculture  befitting  the  perfumed  product  and  the 
sunny  isles  in  which  it  ripens. 

The  Government  monopoly  has  long  since  been  given  up,  and 
every  one  is  permitted  to  plant  and  sell  as  he  pleases.  But  the 
industry,  so  far  as  we  could  learn,  is  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  large 
proprietors.  The  official  "  Statistiek "  gives  no  information  as 
regards  Banda,  the  exports  of  which  are  apparently  included  in 
those  of  Amboina,  but  from  this  latter  port  635,491  kilos  of  nut- 
megs were  shipped  to  Holland  in  1884,  their  value  amounting  to 
£76,258. 

The  neatly-roaded  town  with  its  white  houses  and  cool,  shady 
avenues,  the  sloping  beach  dotted  with  canoes  with  quaint  up- 
turned peaks  at  the  stem  and  stern,  were  only  such  as  we  had  met 
with  half  a  dozen  times  before  at  the  various  Dutch  East  Indian 
ports,  unless,  perhaps,  the  roads  were  a  shade  neater,  the  peaks  of 
the  praus  slightly  more  elevated.  To  the  west,  almost  under  the 
volcano,  is  an  old  fort,  now  turned  into  a  "  Pakhuis  "  or  magazine. 
Near  it  are  the  houses  of  the  Chinese  merchants,  dealers  in  and 
exporters  of  the  various  products  of  the  Malay  Archipelago,  in  the 
stores  of  one  of  whom  we  found  a  tolerably  large  collection  of 
Paradise  and  other  birds'  skins  from  the  Papuan  region,  interesting 
enough  to  examine,  but  for  the  most  part  useless  except  to  the 
plumassier,  from  their  mutilated  and  moth-eaten  condition.  Entire 
carapaces  of  tortoise-shell  were  here  too,  some  of  them  of  great 
thickness  and  beauty,  and  numbers  of  pearls,  for  one  of  which,  as. 
large  as  one's  little  finger-nail,  we  bargained  in  vain.  Eastwards, 
the  town  follows  the  shore  almost  to  the  end  of  the  island,  where 
it  eventually  loses  itself  among  the  nutmeg -trees.  It  is  large 
enough,  we  learnt,  to  contain  about   7000  inhabitants.     Of  how 


336  BAND  A.  [chap. 

many  races  and  nationalities  these  may  be  I  would  not  venture — 
in  this  strangely  peopled  Malaysia — to  guess. 

Banda  is  full  of  forts,  relics  of  the  times  when  spices  were 
things  to  be  fought  for.  The  "  Pakhuis,"  whicli  I  have  just  men- 
tioned, was  one,  and  on  the  western  horn  of  Banda  Lontoir  are 
the  remains  of  another,  erected  about  three  centuries  ago  by  the 
Portuguese.  In  the  middle  of  the  town,  and  close  to  the  beach, 
stands  Fort  Nassau,  built  by  the  Dutch  in  1609.  But  the  largest 
and  most  important  of  all,  the  most  conspicuous  building  on  the 
island,  both  from  its  size  and  position,  is  Fort  Belgica,  perched  on 
a  little  plateau  just  above  Fort  Xassau.  Like  the  latter,  it  was 
built  at  the  time  of  tlie  first  settlement  by  the  Dutch,  and  has 
remained  almost  unharmed  through  half  a  score  eruptions  and 
earthquakes,  so  solidly  has  it  been  constructed.  The  steep  slope 
of  grass-covered  glaeis  leads  up  to  heavily-built  walls,  within  which 
stands  the  fort  itself,  pentagonal  in  shape,  and  with  a  large  round 
tower  at  each  angle.  It  is  painted  white  from  base  to  battlement, 
and  at  a  distance  is  as  imposmg  as  Windsor  Castle,  but  its  arma- 
ment is  by  no  means  on  a  corresponding  scale.  Lord  George 
Campbell,  indeed,  m  his  amusing  "  Log  Letters,"  tells  us  that  there 
were  only  two  guns  capable  of  returning  the  Challenger  s  salute, 
and  that  one  of  them  was  placed  hors  dc  comhat  at  the  second 
round ! 

The  Banda  group  would  probably  prove  an  interesting  locality 
for  the  naturalist,  for  many  species  are  peculiar  to  it,  and  there 
are  doubtless  many  others  that  yet  remain  to  be  discovered.  Such 
work,  however,  demands  time,  and  we  had  none  to  spare.  We  had 
determined  on  visiting  the  Aru  Islands  to  shoot  the  Great  Bird  of 
Paradise,  and  therefore  restricted  ourselves  to  mere  sight-seeing. 
To  those  already  acquainted  with  the  ]\Ialay  Archipelago  Banda 
has  not  much — except  its  beauty — to  show.  The  nutmegs  and  the 
mountain  are  its  only  lions,  and  our  three  days'  stay  sufficed  to  see 
the  spice -groves  and  to  make  as  close  an  acquaintance  with  the 
volcano  as  we  desired. 


XIV.]  DOBBO.  337 

We  left  the  harbour  by  the  eastern  entrance  on  the  night  of 
December  1st,  and  set  our  course  east  by  south  so  as  to  pass  to  the 
north  of  the  Xusa  Tello  Islands,  a  little-known  group  lying  west- 
ward of  the  Ke  Islands.  Two  islands — Topper's  Hoedje  and  Little 
Fortune — were  marked  in  the  English  chart  as  lying  in  our  track, 
but  we  passed  almost  over  their  assigned  position  without  sighting 
them,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  do  not  exist.  On  the 
morning  of  the  3rd  we  made  the  Aru  Islands,  and  little  more  than 
an  hour  later  came  to  anchor  in  Dobbo  Harbour. 

The  Aru  Islands,  which  are  connected  by  shoal  water  with 
New  Guinea  and  have  a  strictly  Papuan  fauna,  are  very  numerous, 
although  closely  grouped  together.  They  run  north  and  south 
Ijetween  the  5th  and  8th  parallels  of  S.  latitude,  and  have  an 
average  breadth  perhaps  of  thirty  or  forty  miles.  As  we  neared 
our  destination  the  low  flat  land  was  seen  stretching  away  on 
either  hand  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  thickly  clothed  with 
lofty  forest -trees.  Dobbo  is  placed  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
small  island  of  Wamma,  and  rounding  the  point  we  found  a  good 
anchorage  between  it  and  Wokan,  the  largest  of  the  northern 
group.  Except  to  the  north-west,  from  which  direction  we  had 
entered,  the  monotonous  line  of  heavy  jungle  surrounded  us  on 
every  side.  The  surface  of  the  water  was  without  a  ripple,  and 
the  lifeless,  steamy  air  reminded  us  of  the  climate  of  Ansus,  whose 
gloomy,  mangrove -lined  creeks  and  oppressive  heat  had  already 
reduced  our  stock  of  energy  to  a  minimum. 

The  Posthouder,  who  came  off  to  visit  us  shortly  after  we  had 
anchored,  had  little  or  nothing  to  say  in  favour  of  the  place.  He 
was  suffering  from  fever,  and  told  us  that  he  considered  the  islands 
to  be  most  unhealthy  for  Europeans.  The  water  is  deficient  both  in 
quantity  and  quality,  and,  during  the  annual  influx  of  traders,  cases 
of  Beri-beri  are  very  common, — so  common,  indeed,  that  seventy- 
three  persons  had  died  in  the  season  of  1883.  The  Posthouder 
was  going  through  the  process  of  acclimatisation,  having  arrived 
but  a  short  time  l^efore, — the  first  Dutch  official  sent  to  Aru.  We 
VOL.  II.  z 


338  THE  ABU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

had  not  heard  that  a  post  had  been  established  here,  and  were 
much  astonished  at  being  greeted  by  a  white  man.  He,  I  imagme, 
was  not  sorry  to  see  us,  for  the  life  to  any  one  but  a  naturalist 
must  be  terrible.  A  mail  reaches  Dobbo  four  times  a  year.  Other- 
wise there  is  no  communication  with  the  outer  world  except  such 
as  is  afforded  by  the  trading  praus  at  the  change  of  the  monsoon. 

The  \dllage  of  Dobbo  is  quite  sui  generis.  From  the  northern 
end  of  Wamma  a  fiat,  wedge-shaped  spit  of  yellow  sand  juts  out 
into  the  sea  for  a  distance  of  a  couple  of  hundred  yards.  The  apex 
forms  a  sort  of  Piazza  del  Popolo,  from  which  radiate  the  three 
rows  of  houses  and  two  streets  that  form  the  settlement,  flanked 
by  the  two  prau-covered  beaches.  The  houses  have  high-pitched 
roofs,  and  the  usual  untidy  appearance  that  attap  walls  alone 
produce  m  perfection.  They  are  really  all  shops,  as  I  shall  shortly 
explain,  but  there  is  not  much  sign  of  this  from  the  street.  At 
the  end  of  what  might  be  termed  the  Corso,  and  facing  us,  stands 
the  Posthouder's  house,  over  which  wave  the  graceful  fronds  of 
half  a  dozen  coco  palms.  A  few  pigs  and  chickens  are  routing  in 
the  sandy  streets,  two  or  three  enormous-hatted  Chinamen  squat 
at  the  doors  of  their  huts,  and  a  little  group  of  small  black  imps 
with  large  stomachs  and  stick-like  legs  play  at  a  corner.  This  is 
all  that  we  see  on  first  landmg,  and  nearly  all  that  the  place  has 
got  to  show.     It  is  not  the  trading  season,  and  Dobbo  is  deserted. 

The  place  is  the  Nischni  Novogorod  of  Malaysia.  The  ex- 
istence of  some  general  mart  at  the  extreme  confines  of  civilisation, 
where  the  products  of  human  brain  and  hand  could  be  bartered  for 
those  of  Nature,  became  a  necessity  years  ago,  and  Ai'u,  whose 
pearls  and  Paradise  birds  have  been  articles  of  trade  for  the  last 
two  centuries,  gradually  established  itself  as  the  commercial  centre.^ 
Prom  Java,  from  Southern  Celebes — home  of  the  Bugis  trader, — 
from  Bouru,  Ceram,  and  Timor,  from  a  dozen  other  places  in  these 
island -covered  seas,  so  soon  as  the  west  monsoon  has  faiiiy  set 

^  The  little  island  of  Kihvaru,  between  Gissa  and  Ceram  Laut,  at  the  east  end 
of  Ceram,  is  another  trading  place  of  this  kind,  but  of  much  less  importance. 


XIV.] 


THE  TRADING  SEASON. 


339 


in,  come  the  praus,  laden  with  rice,  calico,  gin,  hardware,  and  the 
various  products  of  the  "West.  By  the  end  of  January  trade  is  in 
full  swing,  lasting  till,  in  July,  the  east  monsoon  is  sufficiently 


A   STREET   IN   DOBBO. 


established  to  enable  the  traders  to  depart,  taking  with  them  the 
tripang,  pearls  and  pearl-shell,  sharks'  fin,  birds'  nest,  tortoise-shell, 
and  birds  of  Paradise,  which  form  the  chief  articles  of  produce  of 
these  and  still  more  eastern  regions.     Dobbo  during  this  season,  as 


340  THE  ABU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

has  been  so  admirably  described  by  ]\Ir.  Wallace  in  his  "  Malay 
Archipelago,"  is  busy  enough,  but  at  the  period  of  our  \'isit  there 
was  about  as  much  life  in  it  as  in  a  Belgravian  street  at  the  end 
of  August. 

We  walked  up  to  the  Posthouder's  house,  and  chatted  with  him 
over  the  ine^dtable  cheroot.  Previous  to  his  arrival  all  disputes  or 
crimes  occurring  among  the  people  were  tried  among  themselves, 
but  Dutch  authority  having  stepped  in,  a  gaol  was  considered 
necessary,  and  this,  together  with  the  other  desideratum  of  Dobbo, 
— a  market-place — he  was  engaged  in  constructing.  Ironwood 
alone  was  to  be  used,  owing  to  the  abundance  of  white  ants.  We 
watched  the  few  Buginese  engaged  in  the  w^ork ;  they  used  the 
adze  with  the  dexterity  of  a  European,  but  leisurely,  and  as  if 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  their  work.  We  felt  that  we 
should  have  done  the  same.  Dobbo  is  not  the  place  for  any 
violent  physical  exertion. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  foresaw  that  our  stay  in  Aru  would 
be  a  short  one.  We  had  come  at  the  wrong  season  to  see  the 
trading  life  of  the  place,  and  this,  of  course,  we  were  prepared  for. 
But  we  had  not  expected  to  find — as  we  were  assured  on  all  hands 
was  the  case — that  the  Great  Bird  of  Paradise  was  out  of  plumage 
at  this  time  of  year,  and  would  not  assume  its  full  dress  until 
April.  Every  one  told  us  the  same  story,  and  that  the  beautiful 
plumes  remained  for  not  more  than  two  or  three  months.^  This 
was  a  great  disappointment,  as  we  had  looked  forward  to  adding 
the  bird  to  the  already  large  list  of  Paradiseidffi  we  had  collected, 
and  w^ere  anxious  to  watch  its  curious  habit  of  courtship,  when 
perched,  a  dozen  or  more  at  a  time,  in  the  "  play  trees,"  the 
males  display  their  lovely  plumage  to  the  sober-coloured  females 
around.  We  had  come,  in  fact,  chiefly  for  this  very  purpose,  and 
now  that  we  had  failed  in  it,  there  was  little  to  keep  us  in  the 

^  It  is  curious  to  note  that,  iu  the  closely  allied  Paradisea  minor,  of  which  we 
had  obtained  so  man}'  specimens  on  Jobi  Island,  the  full  plumage  is  not  merely  a 
breeding  dress,  but  is  retained  the  whole  year  round. 


siv.]  THE  PEARL  FISHERY  341 

Ai'us.  We  had  no  time  to  devote  to  real  work  in  the  islands ;  two 
or  three  of  our  men  were  suffering  considerably  from  fever  and 
other  tropical  disorders ;  and  it  was  therefore  settled  that  we 
should  commence  our  homeward  voyage  in  a  week's  time.  Mean- 
while we  sent  a  prau  with  our  two  remaining  hunters  to  Wanumbai, 
a  village  to  the  south  of  "Wokan,  with  instructions  to  shoot  and 
collect  what  they  could. 

The  eastern  shores  of  the  Aru  group — the  diUakang  tana  or 
"  back  country,"  as  it  is  called  in  Malay — form  the  chief  locality 
for  the  pearl-fisheries,  an  important  industry  of  the  islands.  They 
are  unsurveyed,  and  unvisited  by  European  vessels,  few  of  which 
indeed  come  even  to  Dobbo.  ]\Iany  praus  were  away  fishing  at  the 
time  of  our  \dsit,  and  as  we  were  anxious  to  learn  the  whereabouts 
of  the  fleet,  and  if  possible  to  obtain  some  pearls,  we  despatched  a 
canoe  to  Batulei,  a  little  island  on  the  north-east  side,  for  informa- 
tion. In  Dobbo  there  were  no  pearls  for  sale.  Those  we  had  seen 
at  Macassar  from  these  fisheries  were  for  the  most  part  small  and 
not  of  very  good  colour,  but  some  were  of  a  beautiful  deep  bronze 
shade. 

It  rained  heavily  and  often  during  our  \dsit,  and  we  understood 
the  reason  why  advantage  was  taken  by  the  Dobbo  people  of 
every  sunny  day  to  expose  their  goods  on  mats  before  their  doors. 
It  was  tantalising  to  see  the  skins  of  the  Paradise  birds  thus 
drying,  then-  golden  plumes  glittering  in  the  sun,  and  to  reflect  that 
we  should  have  to  be  satisfied  with  buying  them.  From  the  accounts 
we  received  it  seems  that  this  bird  (P.  ajgodcC)  is  decreasing  in 
numbers  in  the  Arus,  or  at  any  rate  in  the  northern  islands. 
The  '■'  play  trees,"  on  which  the  gi-eater  number  of  them  are  shot, 
are  known  over  a  wide  extent  of  country,  and  each  belongs  to  the 
native  who  has  discovered  it.  The  claim  to  the  tree  having  once 
been  established  by  the  mark  of  the  finder,  his  rights  are  duly 
respected,  and  all  poaching  is  by  general  agreement  avoided.  The 
market  price  of  the  hurong  mati  has  risen  considerably  of  late 
years,  and  while  Mr.  Wallace,  in  1857,  paid  as  little  as  sixpence 


342 


THE  ABU  ISLANDS. 


[chap. 


for  the  native -prepared  skins,  they  cannot  now  be  obtained  at 
Dobbo  under  seventeen  times  that  suni.^ 

There  were  but  fifty  people  in  the  whole  ^Tllage,  we  learnt,  but 
the  Posthouder  told  us  that,  at  the  height  of  the  trading  season, 
there  would  be  between  four  and  five  thousand.    How  they  can  all 


BUGIS   PRAU,    DOBBO. 


find  accommodation  it  is  difficult  to  understand,  for  there  is  cer- 
tainly not  house-room  for  half  that  number.     Many  must  sleep  in 

1  The  prices  of  the  six  kinds  of  Birds  of  Paradise  used  in  trade  vary  considerably 
at  the  different  islands.  They  appeared  highest  at  Ternate.  The  folloAving  are  the 
prices  per  "  koddy  "  of  twenty  skins  at  that  place  and  Macassar,  together  with  those 
asked  by  the  Rajah  of  Salwatti  :- 

"Males"  (P.  apoda) 
"¥eraa.\es"  (P.  minor) 
"Red  birds"  (P.  rubra)    . 
"  Many- wires  "  (5'.  «Z6a)    . 
"Green  birds"  (D.  speciosa) 
"King-birds"  (C.  rcgius)  . 
These  prices  are  in  gulden  of  one  shilling  and  eightpence. 


Macassar. 

Ternate. 

Salwatti. 

90-100 

70-90 

85-120 

80-90 

80-110 

100 

110-130 

170 

140-150 

50-70 

30 

30-40 

20-30 

XIV.]  SHOOTING  IN  THE  FOREST.  343 

the  curious  lumbering  praus  that  bring  them  to  the  island.  Ten  or 
a  dozen  of  these  we  found  hauled  up  on  the  sandy  beach.  They 
were  about  the  size  of  a  fifty-ton  yacht,  and  were  all  more  or  less 
out  of  repair. 

We  spent  a  long  day  in  the  forest  on  "VVokan  Island,  in  chase  of 
the  Paradise  birds.  The  little  King-bird  seemed  not  uncommon, 
but,  though  we  heard  the  loud,  rough  cry  of  Paradisea  a^oda  on 
several  occasions,  we  could  not  get  even  a  glimpse  of  it.  The  deep 
hocmi  of  the  large  fruit-eating  pigeons  is  a  characteristic  sound  in 
the  forests  of  the  Papuan  region.  The  sense  of  hearing  is  perhaps 
almost  equally  powerful  with  the  sense  of  smell  in  recalling  past 
cenes  to  the  mind,  and  I  am  sure  that  notliing  would  more  quickly 
conjure  up  before  my  mental  vision  the  picture  of  these  magnificent 
jungles,  and  the  varied  and  beautiful  forms  that  they  display  than 
the  sound  of  this  curious  and  most  undove-like  note.  We  obtained 
here  two  species  of  the  genus  that  we  had  not  met  with  before — 
Carpopliaga  zoecc  and  muelleri — fine  biixls  about  eighteen  inches  in 
length,  whose  bodies  appeared  at  our  dinner-table,  while  their  skins 
were  in  due  course  packed  carefully  away  in  our  collecting-boxes. 

Immediately  beliind  the  Posthouder's  house  the  forest  rose  like 
a  wall.  It  was  impenetrable  on  account  of  a  small  swamp,  and  we 
had  to  take  to  the  beach  for  some  distance  before  beginning  to 
shoot.  A  species  of  Cycas  grows  very  abundantly  along  the  shore, 
as  well  as  great  quantities  of  Pandanus,  whose  bright  scarlet  fruit 
we  gathered  every  morning  for  our  Twelve-wired  Bird  of  Paradise, 
for  he  had  got  rather  tired  of  his  usual  cockroach  diet.  About  a 
mile  from  Dobbo  is  a  large  plantation  owned  by  the  Kapten  Laut, 
the  chief  Malay  of  the  place,  and  the  outskirts  of  this  furnished  us 
with  a  fair  collecting  ground.  It  was  interesting  to  observe  how 
wonderfully  the  bananas  flourished,  although  the  soil  in  w^hich 
they  were  growing  was  apparently  composed  almost  entirely  of 
shells  and  broken  coral. 

Although  there  were  always  half  a  dozen  small  dusky  beaters 
to  assist  us  in  our  shooting  excursions,  and  to  carrv  our  cartridges 


344  THE  ARU  ISLANDS.  [chap. 

or  collecting-stick,  scarcely  a  single  pure  bred  Papuan  was  to  be 
seen  at  Dobbo.  Chinese  and  Malays  of  various  tribes  were  the 
chief  inhabitants,  and  in  the  stores  of  the  former  we  managed  to 
pick  up  a  few  skins  of  P.  apoda  in  fairly  good  condition,  but  there 
was  nothing  except  these  to  interest  the  traveller — naturalist  or 
otherwise — who  cared  to  penetrate  the  gloomy,  Chinaman-perfumed 
interiors  of  the  huts.  Every  building  in  Dobbo  is  a  store,  if  we 
except  two  or  three  little  mosques  or  chapels  near  the  landward 
end  of  the  village — quaint  little  edifices  built  of  attap,  and  with  a 
sort  of  box  in  the  centre,  covered  with  a  white  cotton  canopy,  much 
like  a  Datu's  tomb  in  Sulu,  Here  everybody,  no  matter  of  what 
religion,  makes  his  prayers  before  departmg  on  his  homeward 
voyage.  A  little  farther  towards  the  forest  was  the  graveyard, 
over  which  spot  the  pretty  Brush -tongued  Lories  {Trichoglossus 
nigrigularis)  passed  every  night  at  sunset,  their  line  as  unvarying 
as  that  of  ducks  at  flight-time. 

Achi,  an  excellent  boy  whom  we  had  brought  from  Malacca, 
collected  daily  for  us  in  the  forest,  and  usually  returned  with  his 
satchel  full  of  pill-boxes,  each  tenanted  by  a  creature  or  creatures 
unknown.  The  opening  of  these  was,  I  confess,  somewhat  of  an 
ordeal  to  me.  Within  might  be  some  harmless  and  lovely  butterfly, 
but  the  occupant  was  quite  as  likely  to  be  a  formidable  centipede 
six  or  eight  inches  in  length,  or  some  great  spider  carrying  about 
with  it,  beneath  the  abdomen,  a  disc-shaped  egg-case  as  large  as  a 
shilling.  The  adventures  we  met  with  in  disposing  of  our  captures 
were  numberless,  and  after  a  few  of  them  I  found  it  quite  unneces- 
sary to  caution  anybody  against  opening  any  stray  pill-box  they 
might  come  across. 

The  magnificent  bird-winged  butterfly,  known,  I  believe,  to 
entomologists  as  Ornithoptera  arruana — an  animated  emerald  some 
seven  inches  across — was  apparently  abundant  in  Aru,  and  Achi 
brought  in  four  nearly  uninjured  specimens  one  morning.  We 
were  also  fortunate  in  getting  many  pupte  of  these  exquisite 
creatures.     I  discovered  that  it  was  necessary  to  suspend  these  in 


XIV.]  HOMEWARD-BOUND.  345 

a  vertical  position — a  fact  of  which  I  had  not  been  previously 
aware.  Unless  this  is  done,  the  meconium  or  liquid  in  the  pupa- 
case — of  which  there  is  nearly  a  teaspoonful — entirely  ruins  the 
beautiful  plumage.  I  lost  several  specimens  in  this  way  liefore 
discovering  the  remedy. 

On  the  8th  of  December  our  hunters  returned  from  Wanumbai, 
and  we  learnt  that  two  German  collectors,  of  whom  we  had  heard 
from  the  Posthouder,  were  in  that  neighbourhood.  They  had 
been  nine  months  in  the  islands,  and  were  said  to  have  suffered 
terribly  from  the  effects  of  the  climate.  Our  men  brought  very 
few  specimens,  and  those  of  no  great  interest.  The  natives  who 
had  been  over  to  Batulei  also  returned  with  the  information  that 
the  praus  had,  up  to  that  time,  got  few  or  no  pearls,  owing  to  a 
continuance  of  bad  weather.  AVe  therefore  determined  to  sail  at 
once.  It  was  a  disappointment  to  have  to  limit  ourselves  to  the 
mere  tourist's  view  of  the  Arus  that  we  had  thus  obtained,  but  the 
season  was  unfavourable  for  us,  and  it  was  doubtful  whether,  under 
any  circumstances,  we  should  be  able  to  reach  England  before  the 
summer,  as  we  desired. 

Our  departure  was  delayed  by  a  final  attempt  to  get  a  bird  we 
had  long  coveted,  but  bid  for  in  vain.  It  was  a  tame  specimen  of 
the  rare  Blue-streaked  Crimson  Lory  {Eos  cyanostriatus) — a  native 
of  the  little-known  Timor  Laut  gi'oup,  which  lies  to  the  westward 
of  the  Aru  Islands.  Its  owner  had  always  refused  to  sell  it,  but 
at  the  last  moment  he  changed  his  mind  and  paddled  off  with  it 
to  the  yacht.  The  price  asked  was,  however,  so  exorbitant  that 
our  negotiations  again  fell  through,  and  the  lory  and  its  owner 
departed  for  the  shore.  The  only  unpleasant  reminiscence  I  have 
of  the  Aru  Islands  is  that  of  the  little  spot  of  red  fading  rapidly  in 
the  distance.  A  few  moments  later  we  were  dropping  slowly  out 
of  the  harbour — Homeward-bound. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THE   HOMEWARD   VOYAGE. 

Our  floating  menagerie — The  Twelve-wired  Bird  of  Paradise — Paradisea  minor — 
Pigeons  and  parrots — Cassowaries — Flying  Phalanger — "Chugs" — Tree  kan- 
garoos— We  retui-n  to  Misol  Island — Scurvy — Death  of  the  boatswain — Arrive 
at  Batchian — Ternate — Beri-beri — Touch  at  North  Celebes — The  black  Paradise 
birds — Sulu — A  successful  amok — A  farewell  Mcdagueiia — Home. 

If  my  travelled  reader  has  ever  chanced  to  be  a  passenger  on 
board  a  West  African  steamer — where,  from  the  nmnber  of 
monkeys,  parrots,  snakes,  Wliydah  bu'ds,  and  other  creatures 
around  hun,  he  will  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  almost 
as  much  trade  in  zoological  specimens  as  in  palm  oil — he  %vill  be 
able  to  form  some  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  Marclusas  decks 
at  this  period  of  her  cruise.  The  burly  form  of  "  ]\Iisky" — happily 
for  our  peace  of  mind — was  no  longer  to  be  seen  vainly  engaged  in 
trying  to  annihilate  his  enemy  the  mongoose.  He  had  taken  his 
passage  for  England  from  Hongkong,  and  had  long  ago  reached  his 
destination — the  Zoological  Society's  Gardens — whither  the  two 
Anoas  were  follo\ving  him.  We  missed,  too,  the  solemn  face  of 
"  Bongon  "  the  orang-utan,  who,  seated  in  his  arm-chair,  with  his 
blanket  drawn  tightly  round  him,  was  always  to  be  found  in  his 
favourite  position  near  the  wheel.  Their  places  were  filled  by  fresh 
additions  to  our  menagerie,  to  many  of  which  I  have  not  yet 
alluded. 

The  gem  of  our  collection  was,  of  course,  the  Twelve -wired 
Bird  of  Paradise.      He  had  got  tame  very  quickly,  and  would 


CHAP.  XV.]  OUR  BIRDS  OF  PARADISE.  347 

readily  eat  from  our  hands.  By  day  he  usually  remained  more  or 
less  quiet,  and  was  fond  of  resting  motionless  with  the  head  sunk 
low  on  the  chest,  but  in  the  morning  and  evening  he  moved  rest- 
lessly from  perch  to  perch  with  a  peculiar  bounding  hop.  His 
manner  of  feeding  was  wonderfully  neat.  Any  cockroach  that 
ventured  into  his  cage  he  would  catch  with  lightning  rapidity, 
seizing  it  across  the  body  with  his  long,  sharp  beak.  Then,  giving 
it  a  sudden  snap,  he  would  throw  it  in  the  air  and  catch  it  length- 
ways, displaying  the  vivid  grass-green  colouring  of  his  mouth  and 
throat  in  the  operation.  The  only  note  he  ever  uttered  was  a 
single  unmelodious  croak.  The  least  fall  in  temperature  seemed 
to  be  felt  by  this  beautiful  creature,  and  though  every  care  was 
taken  of  him,  he  died  before  we  got  beyond  the  tropic. 

Of  the  Lesser  Bird  of  Paradise  we  had  four  living  specimens, 
of  which  we  succeeded  in  bringing  three  to  England.^  They 
gave  us,  perhaps,  more  trouble  than  any  of  our  pets,  owing  to  the 
constant  care  they  required  and  the  size  of  the  cages  with  which 
they  had  to  be  provided,  but  we  were  amply  rewarded  by  our 
success  in  bringing  them  to  Europe,  and  by  the  opportunity  they 
afforded  us  in  watching  the  development  of  their  plumes.  They 
were  without  these  when  we  first  obtained  them,  and  soon  after- 
wards the  feathers  of  the  head  dropped  off,  leaving  them  partially 
bald,  and  in  anything  but  an  ornamental  condition.  New  feathers, 
however,  rapidly  appeared.  They  were  almost  white  at  first,  but 
soon  assumed  the  delicate  yellow  shade  of  the  adult  dress.  The 
long,  splendidly-coloured  side  plumes,  which  give  the  appearance 
of  a  golden  meteor  to  the  male  bird  as  he  flashes  through  the  forest, 
came  rapidly  at  first,  but  their  later  growth  was  extremely  slow. 
These  birds — which  we  did  not  succeed  in  gettmg  as  tame  as  the 
Seleucides — were  fed  on  boiled  rice,  cockroaches,  and  banana,  with 
an  occasional  meal  of  chopped  meat. 

^  One  of  the  three  has  since  died,  but  the  others  are  alive  and  in  excellent  health 
in  the  Gardens  of  the  Zoological  Society,  where  they  have  now  been  for  more  than 
two  years. 


348  THE  HOMEWARD   VOYAGE.  [chap. 

The  East  Iiidiau  Archipelago  is  pre-eminently  the  home  of  the 
pigeon,  the  parrot,  and  the  kingfisher.  Bu'ds  of  the  latter  family 
are,  of  eoiu'se,  seldom  to  be  obtained  alive,  but  we  had  numberless 
specimens  of  the  others  in  our  aviary.  The  magnificent  Crowned 
Pigeons  {Goura  coronata  and  vidorice)  are  very  lethargic  in  their 
habits,  and  soon  get  tame  in  confinement,  but  we  were  unable  to 
give  sufficient  room  to  the  number  we  had,  and  in  spite  of  their 
being  very  hardy  birds,  only  six  or  seven  reached  England  out  of 
the  twenty-five  we  had  collected.  By  theu'  side  the  large  Carpo- 
phagas,  of  which  we  had  tln^ee  or  four  species,  looked  almost 
pygmies.  The  little  doves  of  the  genus  Ptilojncs,  conspicuous  even 
more  for  their  extraordinary  colouring  than  their  tiny  size,  we  did 
not  succeed  m  obtaining  alive. 

Noisiest  of  all  our  pets  were  the  paiTots.  During  the  mid-day 
heat  we  were  left  in  comparative  peace,  except  when  a  quarrel 
arose  between  the  occupants  of  two  adjacent  perches.  But  in  the 
early  morning,  and  for  an  hour  or  more  before  sunset,  the  ship  was 
a  perfect  pandemonium.  Cockatoos  swore  and  chattered;  lories 
fought  and  flapped  their  wings  and  shrieked  at  the  top  of  their 
voices,  and  the  dull,  hea\'y  Edcctus — birds  as  stupid  and  uninterest- 
ing as  they  are  gaudy  in  colour — alone  sat  motionless,  adding  theb 
monotonous  scream  from  time  to  time  to  the  tumult.  "Writing  was 
almost  as  impossible  during  these  hours  as  it  would  have  been  in 
the  parrot-house  of  the  Zoological  Gardens.  As  we  got  westward 
the  noise  duninished  day  by  day.  The  brilliant  coloured  lories  of 
New  Guinea  seem  little  able  to  bear  change  of  temperature  or 
confinement,  and  long  before  we  arrived  at  Singapore  fully  half  of 
them  were  dead.  AVe  missed  most  of  all  the  rare  Black  Lory  from 
Misol  {Chalcopsittcicus  ater),  whose  absurdly  extravagant  demon- 
strations of  affection  had  made  us  all  ^■ery  fond  of  him. 

Forward  of  the  bridge,  the  decks  presented  still  more  the 
appearance  of  a  menagerie.  ]\Ionkeys  sat  gibbering  on  the 
bulwarks,  and  large  white  cockatoos,  with  their  moustaches 
bristling,  sidled  solemnly  up  and  down  their  perches,  envying,  no 


XV.]  CASSOWARIES.  349 

doubt,  the  freedom  permitted  to  the  cassowaries,  who  roamed  from 
end  to  end  of  the  ship,  devoming  now  a  himp  of  coal,  now  the 
bread  or  biscuit  from  the  dinner-table.  "We  had,  at  one  time,  four 
of  these  creatures,  but  two  of  them,  which  were  little  more  than 
nestlings,  soon  died.  Our  largest  bird  (C.  hicarunculatiis)  was 
obtained  in  Aru,  and  judging  by  his  size  must  have  been  ■\-er}- 
nearly  adult,  although  the  bright  Ijlue  colouring  of  the  neck,  which 
seems  to  be  the  final  sign  of  maturity,  was  not  quite  fully  de- 
veloped. His  appetite  was  excellent.  Coming  up  suddenly  from 
below,  I  once  discovered  him  in  the  act  of  devouring  one  of  a 
number  of  bird-skins  I  had  spread  out  in  the  sun  to  dry.  A 
swelling  in  his  neck  revealed  the  position  of  my  specimen,  and  1 
m  vain  endeavoured  to  effect  its  regurgitation,  both  for  my  own 
and  his  sake,  for  the  skin  was  liberally  dressed  with  arsenic  soap. 
The  l^ird  and  his  oesophagus  were,  however,  equally  opposed  to  this, 
and  I  had  eventually  to  assist  its  progress  in  the  other  direction. 

Our  Dorei  Bay  cassowary  was  much  younger.  He  had  none  of 
the  solemn  imperturbability  of  the  other,  but  was  as  playful  as  a 
puppy.  His  favourite  diversion  was  to  get  up  a  sham-fight  with  a 
ventilator,  dancing  round  it  in  the  most  approved  pugilistic  style, 
now  feinting,  now  getting  in  a  right  and  left.  The  blows  were 
delivered  by  kickmg  out  in  front,  and  appeared  to  he  almost 
ineffective,  and  quite  unlike  the  really  formidable  method  of  attack 
adopted  by  the  ostrich.  The  decorum  of  our  service  on  Sundays 
was  often  considerably  disturbed  by  his  appearance  among  the 
congregation,  engaged  in  a  lively  skirmish  with  a  kangaroo, — an 
amusement  which  invariably  drew  a  select  gathering  of  our  dingo 
"  Bang^^ey,"  various  dogs,  and  a  tame  pig  to  see  fair  play. 

Of  our  four-legged  pets  perhaps  the  most  graceful  was  a  little 
Flying  Phalanger  {Bclideus  hreviceps),  which  we  had  obtained  in 
Waigiou.  These  creatures  are  common  to  New  Guinea  and 
Xorthern  Australia,  and  are  chiefly  nocturnal  in  their  habits, 
haunting  the  thick  foliage  at  the  crowns  of  palms.  The  tail  is  not 
prehensile  as  in  the  true  Phalangers,  but  the  stout,  sharp  claws  are 


350 


THE  HOMEWARD  VOYAGE. 


[chap. 


well  adapted  for  clinging  to  the  smoothest  iDark.     The  fur  is  ex- 
quisitely soft  and  of  a  delicate  shade  of  grey,  against  which  the 


BELIDEUS   BEEVICEPS. 


black  dorsal  stripe  and  white  under-surface  show  to  advantage. 
We  quite  failed  to  tame  this  little  animal,  whose  loud  note 
of  alarm  and  anger  when  its  ca2;e  was  disturbed  made  the  sailors 


XV.]  TREE-KANGAROOS.  351 

give  it  the  nickname  of  "  the  clock-work  mouse."  A  whole  page  of 
description  would  not  more  accurately  convey  the  nature  of  the  sound. 

While  in  Dorei  Bay  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  become  the 
possessors  of  a  pig  of  tender  age,  who  had,  perhaps,  more  character 
in  him  than  any  other  member  of  our  menagerie.  In  many  parts 
of  New  Guinea  the  women  make  pets  of  these  animals,  carrying 
them  about  and  suckling  them  with  their  own  babies,  but  I  do  not 
remember  whether  "  Chugs "  had  been  reared  in  this  fasliion  or 
not.  He  was  bestriped  longitudinally  with  alternate  bands  of 
black  and  yellow,  and,  though  hardly  more  than  eight  inches  long 
when  he  first  joined  the  ship,  was  afraid  of  no  livmg  thing  aboard. 
He  roamed  the  deck  from  morning  till  night,  chasmg  the  cock- 
roaches and  devouring  them  with  much  gusto  and  smacking  of 
lips,  grunting  contentedly  the  while.  When  tired,  he  would  nestle 
himself  up  on  the  curly  coat  of  Dick,  the  retriever,  or  alongside 
the  big  cassowary,  who  would  regard  him  wonderingiy,  and  as  if 
debating  his  suitability  for  food.  Chugs  grew  so  rapidly  that  he 
was  soon  nearly  as  big  as  Dick,  but  he  still  continued  to  use  him 
as  a  sleeping  mat,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  voyage  poor  Dick 
hardly  dared  to  lie  down. 

We  had  various  other  animals  in  our  collection,  but,  as  I  am 
not  writing  a  description  of  the  Zoological  Gardens,  I  will  confine 
myself  to  alluding  to  two,  who  were  certainly  the  tamest  and 
most  attractive  of  all  our  pets.  They  were  Tree-kangaroos  of  two 
species  {Dendrolagus  inustus  and  ursinus),  not  larger  than  small 
hares,  but  with  tails  of  great  length.  The  first-named  kind  is  of  a 
uniform  dull  grey ;  the  other,  much  prettier,  dark  brown  with  a 
white  blaze  on  the  face.  It  was  most  interesting  to  watch  the 
habits  of  these  animals,  who  roamed  freely  about  the  sliip,  both 
above  and  below  deck.  In  Australia  we  are  accustomed  to  the 
kangaroo  as  a  terrestrial  animal,  admirably  adapted  to  the  flats  or 
open  forest  country  in  which  it  lives.  But  in  New  Guinea  the  dense 
jungle  necessitates  a  change  in  habit,  and  we  accordingly  find  in 
Dendrolagus  an  instance  of  a  ground  animal  which  is  gradually 


352  THE  HOMEWARD  VOYAGE.  [chap. 

becoming  arboreal  in  its  mode  of  life.  The  hind  limb  is  shortened. 
although  still  of  unsuitable  length,  and  the  claws  are  sufficiently 
developed  to  enable  it  to  cling  strongly  to  any  object.  But 
although  a  tree-haimting  animal,  it  is  as  yet  a  tyro  in  the  art  of 
clunbing,  performing  this  operation  in  the  slowest  and  most 
awkward  manner.  Oiu'  pets,  for  instance,  would  take  a  full 
minute  or  more  in  ascending  the  back  of  a  chair,  but  their  hold 
was  most  secure,  and  if  we  wished  to  pull  them  off  we  had  no  little 
difficulty  in  doing  so,  so  tightly  did  they  cling.^  I  never  saw  any 
creature  tamer  than  ursimis.  He  was  never  happy  unless  at  oui- 
feet,  and  would  follow  our  every  movement.  This  habit  was,  1 
believe,  the  prunary  cause  of  his  death,  for  he  was  tumbled  over  or 
trodden  upon  at  least  half  a  dozen  times  a  day.  The  climate  of 
Europe  proved  too  much  for  his  relative  D.  inustus,  and  he  died  the 
day  before  we  reached  England. 

Leaving  Pobbo  we  set  our  course  N.W.  along  the  deep-sea 
channel  which  separates  the  western  coast  of  New  Guinea  from 
Ceram.  On  the  morning  of  December  10th  we  sighted  a  perfect 
nest  of  small  islands  lying  around  the  southern  shores  of  Misol, 
and,  gi\^ng  them  a  wide  berth,  followed  as  far  as  possible  the  track 
by  which  we  had  previously  approached  the  island.  An  hour  or 
two  later  we  were  once  more  at  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  Efbe. 

"We  sent  a  prau  at  once  in  search  of  our  hunters,  who,  we  heard, 
were  at  Lelinta,  and  the  same  night  they  arrived  on  board.  All 
were  well,  with  the  exception  of  one  man,  who  had  suffered  rather 
severely  from  fever.  They  had  been  well  treated  and  supphed 
with  a  prau  as  we  had  requested,  but  they  told  us  that,  owing  to 
contrary  winds  and  strong  currents,  they  had  been  five  days  in 
reaching  Waigamma  on  the  north-west  coast.  Nearly  150 
specimens  of  birds  had  been  collected,  but  although  there  were 
several  rarities  among  them,  there  was  not  a  single  new  species. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting  bird  was  a  Nasiterna  or  Pygmy  Parrot 

^  The  tail,  although  not  actuallj-  prehensile,  is  used  by  them  to  press  against  the 
branches,  and  is  thus  of  considerable  assistance. 


XV.]  DEATH  OF  THE  BOATSWAIN.  353 

{Nasiterna  fygmccct),  hardly  larger  than  the  species  figured  on  page 
297.  Both  the  King-bird  and  Lesser  Bird  of  Paradise  were  in 
the  collection,  the  former  being  tolerably  abundant,  but  neither  the 
Seleucides  nor  the  Ptiloris,  or  Papuan  Eitle-bird,  had  been  obtained, 
and  there  is  very  little  doubt  that  the  former  bird  does  not  exist 
upon  the  island. 

We  paid  the  men  of  the  prau,  giving  to  each  a  knife,  an  axe,  a 
sarong,  a  coloured  handkerchief,  and  a  small  roll  of  blue  cloth,  and 
towards  midnight  of  the  same  day  sailed  for  Batchian,  being  able 
to  make  our  way  out  of  the  harbour  in  the  dark,  thanks  to  the 
rough  chart  we  had  pre^dously  made  of  it. 

Our  voyage  was  saddened  by  an  unlooked-for  event.  On  the 
11th  December  our  boatswain,  Samuel  Scarff,  of  whom  I  have 
made  mention  on  a  previous  page,  died  of  scurvy.  He  had  been 
ailing  for  some  little  time,  but  had  only  sought  ad^dce  about  three 
weeks  before.  In  spite  of  everything  that  could  be  done  for  him, 
he  got  gradually  w^eaker  from  day  to  day,  and  sank  rapidly  at  the 
end.  The  disease  was  almost  typical  from  its  onset,  except  perhaps 
in  the  rapidity  of  its  course. 

I  had  always  considered,  in  common,  no  doubt,  with  the 
majority  of  physicians,  that  scurvy  was  pre-eminently  the  pre- 
ventible  disease,  and  that — given  the  necessary  antidotes — no  case 
of  it  should  ever  prove  fatal.  Yet  here,  in  a  well-fovmd  yacht, 
which  had  left  a  regular  port  (Banda)  but  ten  days,  and  another 
(Amboina) — at  which  a  week's  stay  had  been  made — only  fourteen, 
we  had  evidence  that  this  rule  is  not  an  invariable  one.  There  are 
certain  cases  of  the  so-called  "  land-scurvy  "  in  which  antiscorbutics 
are  of  little  or  no  avail,  and  the  disease  appears  to  progress  steadily 
towards  a  fatal  termination.  Ovir  poor  shipmate's  case,  which  was 
an  isolated  one,  seemed  to  be  much  of  this  nature,  and  the  vegetable 
diet  which  we  were  able  to  give  him  was  of  no  efiicacy  whatever, 
although  adopted  from  the  very  onset  of  the  disease.  I  have  been 
led  to  mention  the  occurrence  as  we  are  perhaps  rather  too  prone 
to  regard  lime-juice  as  absolutely  prophylactic,  and  to  attach  blame 
VOL.  II.  2  A 


354  THE  HOMEWARD  VOYAGE.  [chap. 

to  the  leaders  of  Arctic  expeditions  in  which  scurvy  has  occurred. 
The  regulations  as  to  the  use  of  antiscorbutics  are  among  the  wisest 
of  those  of  our  mercantile  marine,  hut  it  is  possible  that  in  certain 
rare  cases  the  disease  may — with  our  present  knowledge  at  least — 
be  unavoidable. 

We  spent  an  unpleasant  night.  A  strong  current  had  set  us 
considerably  to  the  southward,  toward  the  Obi  group,  and  from  this 
and  other  causes  we  had  some  difficulty  in  making  out  our  position. 
We  did  not  like  to  turn  in,  but  had  we  done  so  we  should  not  have 
got  much  sleep,  for  hour  after  hour  the  melancholy  tapping  of  the 
carpenter's  hammer  rang  through  the  ship,  only  ceasing  with  the 
dawn.  As  the  sun  rose  the  mist  cleared  off  the  land,  and  the  huge 
mass  of  Labua  revealed  itself  on  our  starboard  hand.  Before  noon 
we  entered  the  straits,  and  took  up  our  old  anchorage  ofi"  the  ^'illage 
of  Batchian. 

In  this  part  of  the  Moluccas  what  little  bad  weather  is  ex- 
perienced appears  usually  to  occur  in  the  months  of  December 
and  January.  At  six  o'clock  on  the  evening  pre^•ious  to  our 
arrival,  a  sudden  and  violent  squall  from  the  S.W.  had  struck  the 
villaue,  unroofinG;  the  house  of  one  of  our  Dutch  friends  and 
burying  his  w^ife  in  the  ruins.  Fortunately  she  escaped  almost 
uninjured.  We  were  told  that  squalls  of  this  nature  were  most 
unusual,  the  northerly  monsoon  having  set  in  steadily.  Two 
days  pre\dously  the  sound  of  distant  explosions,  resembling  those 
heard  during  the  eruption  of  Krakatau  on  the  26th  August,  had 
been  noticed.  We  had  also  heard  them  at  ]\Iisol,  and  thought  it 
probable  that  on  reaching  Singapore  or  Ternate  w^e  should  get 
intelligence  of  some  fresh  volcanic  eruption.  We  were,  however, 
disappointed  in  our  expectations,  and  the  noises  we  heard  must 
either  have  proceeded  from  some  active  volcano  in  the  little-visited 
islands  in  the  du-ection  of  Timor,  or  possibly  from  subterranean 
disturbances  aft'ecting  a  wide  area. 

We  buried  our  poor  comrade  beneath  the  walls  of  the  old  Portu- 
guese fort,  and  sailed  two  days  later  for  Ternate,  passing,  as  before, 


XV.]  BERI-BERI.  355 

through  the  ^alTO^y  and  intricate  Herberg  Straits.  We  had  started 
late,  and  the  passage  of  the  southern  portion  resolved  itself  mto  a 
race  against  time.  Before  darkness  overtook  us  we  emerged  into 
the  stretch  of  open  sea  which  intervenes  between  the  two  narrows, 
and  there  waited  for  the  moon  to  rise.  It  was  a  magnificent  night, 
or  we  should  not  have  ventured  upon  the  rather  risky  bit  of 
navigation  that  lay  before  us,  and  towards  9  p.m.  we  again  proceeded 
on  our  course  through  the  northern  portion  of  the  straits.  The 
scenery  was  not  different  in  any  way  from  that  to  be  met  with  in 
a  thousand  places  in  this  part  of  the  world,  but  the  flood  of  moon- 
light pouring  upon  the  calm  water  and  snowy  coral  beaches,  the 
feathery  outlines  of  the  coco  palms  whose  fronds  hardly  moved  in 
the  still  night  air,  rendered  it  of  almost  fairy-like  beauty,  and  the 
effect  was  still  further  heightened  by  the  singular  narrowness  of 
the  channel  tlirough  which  we  w^ere  passing.  We  arrived  at  the 
entrance  of  the  straits  without  accident,  in  spite  of  the  predictions 
of  our  Batchian  friends,  and  on  the  following  day  came  to  anchor 
in  the  harbour  of  Ternate. 

We  found  very  different  weather  prevailing  from  that  we  had 
experienced  on  our  former  visit.  Strong  winds  from  the  N.  and 
W.,  with  constant  rain-squalls,  continued  during  our  stay,  causing 
a  choppy  sea  in  the  harbour  and  rendering  landing  a  difficulty. 
This  is  the  worst  season  of  the  year  in  Ternate,  and  the  bad  weather 
is  expected  to  last  during  the  greater  part  of  December  and  January. 
Everything  was  damp  and  chilly,  and  the  sun  seldom  broke 
through  the  masses  of  heavy  cloud. 

On  the  day  following  our  arrival  a  trading  schooner  entered 
the  harbour  and  anchored  near  us.  She  came  from  iSTew  Guinea, 
and  from  one  of  her  crew,  who  shipped  with  us  for  the  voyage  to 
England,  we  learnt  some  details  of  her  cruise.  Leaving  Ternate 
almost  at  the  same  time  as  the  Marchesa,  she  had  proceeded  to  the 
Willem  Schouten  Islands  lying  to  the  north  of  Jobi.  Her  crew, 
consistmg  of  two  Europeans  and  eight  Malays,  soon  became  attacked 
with  beri-beri — a  disease  which,  in  spite  of  the  frequency  of  its 


356  THE  HOMEWARD  VOYAGE.  [chap. 

occurrence  in  the  East,  still  owns  an  unknown  cause.  It  is  usually 
of  a  very  fatal  character,  and  proved  to  be  peculiarly  so  in  this 
case,  for  the  natives  had  died  one  by  one,  and  when  the  vessel 
arrived  in  port  there  were  only  three  persons  alive  on  board, — the 
captain,  one  Malay,  and  our  informant — the  latter  being  the  sole 
remaining  individual  of  the  ten  in  health.  It  was  with  the  very 
greatest  difficulty  that  they  had  been  able  to  work  the  ship,  and  had 
they  chanced  to  meet  with  adverse  winds  every  soul  on  board 
would  probably  have  perished. 

Sailing  from  Ternate  December  18th,  we  arrived  at  Kema  in 
Xorth  Celebes  on  the  following  day.  The  Dutch  gun-boat  Mcrapi 
lay  at  anchor,  and  we  were  pleased  to  meet  our  friend  Captain 
Ehnle  again.  The  port  of  Menado  cannot  be  used  at  this  season 
of  the  year,  and  all  goods  have  therefore  to  be  earned  to  and  from 
that  settlement  over  the  twenty  miles  of  indifferent  road  interven- 
ing. The  weather,  we  learnt,  had  been  the  same  here  as  at  Ternate, 
— strong  northerly  and  north- w^esterly  winds  with  much  rain, — and 
there  were  thus  few  inducements  for  us  to  stay,  even  if  we  had 
had  time  to  do  so.  "\Ve  accordingly  got  our  live  stock  on  board — a 
fine  ox  and  a  pig,  for  which  we  paid  40  and  2|  guilders  respectively 
— and  having  eaten  a  farewell  "rice-table"  with  Captain  Ehnle, 
weighed  anchor  and  proceeded  for  Sulu,  passing  to  the  east  of 
Limbc  Island,  with  which  my  reader  is  ah'eady  familiar  as  the 
scene  of  our  Babirusa  hunt. 

Steering  north-west  across  the  little-traversed  Celebes  Sea,  the 
Marchesa  encountered  a  northerly  swell  and  variable  w^inds,  but 
the  weather  was  bright  and  sunny,  and  we  took  advantage  of  it  to 
dry  our  Xew  Guinea  skins  before  finally  soldering  them  up  in  tin- 
cases.  Every  available  sunny  spot  was  covered  with  trays,  and 
the  gorgeous  plumage  of  the  kingfishers,  pigeons,  and  parrots — for 
it  is  to  these  that  the  bright  colours  of  the  liirds  of  this  region  are 
chiefly  confined — gave  the  decks  the  appearance  of  a  flower-bed. 
The  Paradise  birds  attract  attention  less  by  the  brilliancy  than  by 
the  extraordinary  development  of  their  plumes.     From  the  Arfak 


SUPERB    BIUD    OK    PARADISE. 

{LophorJi ina  superha.) 


Paf'e  357 


XV.]  THE  SUPERB  BIRD  OF  PARADISE.  357 

range  we  had  obtained  several  species,  which  at  a  little  distance 
look  a  uniform  black.  Two  of  these — Lojyhorhina  and  Pctrotia — are 
furnished  w^ith  appendages  wliich  are,  perhaps,  as  striking  as  any 
with  which  long  ages  of  sexual  selection  have  pro^dded  the  birds 
of  this  group,  but  until  the  specimen  is  taken  up  in  the  hand  they 
may  pass  unnoticed.  In  the  former  ^  an  immense  plume  of  feathers 
springs  from  the  occipital  region,  and  reaches  to  the  end  of  the 
tail.  It  is  of  the  deepest  velvety  black,  shot  in  some  lights  with 
oily -green  reflections,  and  with  the  outermost  feathers  slightly 
recurved  towards  the  tip.  The  top  of  the  head  is  covered  with 
scale -like  feathers  of  metallic  green,  and  a  shield  of  the  same 
colour  and  nature,  but  of  a  still  brighter  shade,  adorns  the  breast. 
The  rest  of  the  body  is  dull  black.  Any  further  ornament  or 
colour  would  be  out  of  place,  and  one  feels  that  the  beautiful 
creature  fully  deserves  its  appellation  of  the  Superb  Bird  of 
Paradise. 

Almost  more  beautiful  still  is  Parotia  sexpennis,  the  Six-shafted 
Bird  of  Paradise,  which  Signor  D'Albertis  was  the  first  European 
to  observe  in  its  native  jungle.  The  curious  plumes  which  give 
the  bird  its  specific  name  lie  so  close  to  the  neck  in  the  dried  skin 
as  to  be  almost  invisible.  They  consist  of  three  slender  filaments 
springing  from  each  side  of  the  head  and  terminated  by  a  spatulate 
expansion.  A  bar  of  ^ivid  steely  green  across  the  vertex,  and  a 
peculiar  tuft  of  metallic  silver  at  the  base  of  the  beak — a  colour 
which,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  unique  in  the  bird- world — completes  the 
head  decoration.  Like  Lophorhina,  the  rest  of  the  plumage  is 
almost  entirely  black,  except  at  the  upper  part  of  the  breast, 
which  is  furnished  with  a  collar  of  green  and  bronze  feathers.    The 

^  The  impossibility  of  giving  all  the  features  of  this  curious  bird  in  a  single 
illustration  has  led  to  its  representation  in  a  position  which  is  quite  possibly  in- 
correct. As  far  as  could  be  gathered  from  the  natives,  the  enormous  crest  as  it 
appears  displayed  during  the  courtship  of  the  female  is  spread  more  widely,  in  the 
shape  of  a  fan  opened  out  to  its  fullest  extent,  and  the  pectoral  shield  being  ex- 
panded in  a  similar  manner,  the  head  of  the  bird  forms  the  centre  of  an  irregxdar 
circle  of  feathers  of  velvety  black  and  emerald,  which  completely  hides  the  rest  of 
the  bod}'  when  viewed  from  in  front. 


358  THE  HOMEJFAED   VOYAGE.  [chap. 

tuft  of  silvery  feathers  on  the  forehead  can  be  either  erected, 
as  represented  in  the  engraving,  or  depressed  flat  against  the 
skull,  where  it  forms  a  triangle  of  regular  shape  with  the  apex 
forward. 

Xearing  the  Sulu  Islands  we  experienced  another  instance  of 
the  uncertainties  of  navigation  in  these  seas.  The  night  was  dark, 
and  on  making  the  land  we  found,  after  a  short  period  of  doubt  as 
to  our  position,  that  a  current  had  set  us  considerably  to  the  west- 
ward, and  we  thus  sighted  Pata  Island  broad  on  our  starboard  hand 
instead  of  on  the  port  bow,  as  we  had  calculated.  The  Marchesa 
was  soon  in  familiar  waters,  and  before  daybreak  on  the  morning  of 
December  23rd  we  arrived  off  Jolo. 

The  little  town  had  altered  a  good  deal  since  our  first  visit.  A 
new  hospital  and  barracks  were  in  course  of  erection ;  the  creepers 
had  quite  covered  the  kiosk  m  the  Plaza,  where  it  had  been  our 
custom  to  smoke  and  listen  to  the  band ;  and  the  bananas  had  shot 
up  to  form  quite  respectable  avenues.  The  digging  necessitated  by 
the  improvements  and  the  constant  confinement  of  the  place  had 
not  been  without  their  effect  upon  the  inhabitants.  Our  old  friend 
Don  Julian  Parrado  looked  worn  and  ill,  and  no  less  than  five  of 
the  officers  had  joined  the  great  majority  during  our  absence. 
Three  had  died  of  fever,  but  the  other  two,  we  were  informed,  had 
met  their  deaths  "  accidentally."  Wliile  sipping  their  chocolate  at 
the  little  cafe  represented  in  the  woodcut  on  page  48,  one  of 
the  fanatical  Sulus — the  juramentados,  as  they  are  termed  by  the 
Spanish — who  had  managed  unperceived  to  make  his  way  into  the 
town  with  his  parang,  approached  them  from  behind,  and  in  an 
instant  the  head  of  one  of  them  was  rolling  on  the  ground.  A 
downward  cut  laid  open  the  shoulder  of  his  friend,  and  though  the 
bayonets  of  half  a  dozen  of  the  coloured  soldiers  who  happened  to 
be  near  were  ahnost  innnediately  buried  in  the  Sulu's  body,  it  was 
too  late,  for  the  wound  proved  almost  immediately  fatal.  Calling 
at  the  house  of  one  of  our  friends,  we  were  shown  the  parang,  still 
covered  with  the  blood  of  the  unfortunate  victims.     "  Estci  a  la 


XV.]  A  SUCCESSFUL  AMOK.  359 

disposicion  de  ustcd"  said  our  host  with  a  bow,  but  we  dechned  his 
offer  with  thanks. 

We  spent  our  Christmas  at  Lukut  Lapas.  The  woods  and 
plantations  were  turned  into  temporary  bogs  and  the  paths  into 
Httle  watercourses,  for  it  was  the  end  of  the  wet  season,  and  the 
rain  descended  in  torrents.  The  fine  weather  was  expected  with 
the  New  Year.  In  Suhi  there  are  two  rainy  seasons,  occurring  at 
the  change  of  the  monsoons.  The  first  rains,  which  begin  in  April, 
are  not  nearly  so  heavy  as  those  ushered  in  by  the  easterly  mon- 
soon in  September  or  October. 

The  plantation  had  increased  considerably  since  our  first  visit, 
and  many  Liberian  coffee-trees  had  been  planted.  They  were  in  a 
thriving  condition,  but  the  Arabian  coffee  was  evidently  destined 
to  be  a  failure,  as  indeed  was  only  to  be  expected.  At  the 
bungalow  we  missed  our  hostess's  kindly  face  and  greeting. 
Her  life,  which  had  been  one  of  the  strangest  vicissitudes,  the 
most  stirring  adventures  by  sea  and  land,  was  over,  and  she  lay 
at  rest  beneath  the  shade  of  the  great  durian-trees  behind  the 
house. 

Our  parting  with  our  Spanish  friends  was  an  anuising  one. 
The  Governor  and  his  aide-dc-canvp,  together  with  several  other 
officers,  rowed  oft"  to  the  ship  to  make  their  adieux,  and  we  drank 
— with  every  wish  for  its  fulfilment  on  our  part — to  our  next 
meeting.  But  the  ceremony  was  not  to  end  there.  From  the  end 
of  the  pier  two  huge  canoes  shot  suddenly  out — giant  "  dug-outs  " 
a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  length,  crowded  with  people  bearing 
large  glittering  objects  in  their  hands.  It  was  the  band,  nearly 
sixty  strong,  which  had  been  ordered  by  our  friend  Don  Julian  to 
play  us  out !  The  sea  was  a  little  rough  for  such  craft,  and  it  was 
ludicrous  to  watch  the  desperate  efforts  of  the  musicians  to  retain 
their  equilibrium  and  execute  a  difficult  passage  at  the  same  time, 
for  the  boats  were  rounded  out  smoothly  and  were  unprovided  with 
thwarts  or  seats  of  any  kind.  At  length  they  reached  the  calm 
water  to  leeward  of  the  yacht,  and  for  the  first  time  for  many 


360 


THE  HOMEIFARD  VOYAGE. 


[chap. 


months  we  had  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  some  good  music.  It 
was  not  for  long,  however.  Our  anchor  was  soon  a -weigh,  and 
waving  a  final  farewell  to  our  friends  we  steamed  slowly  out  of  the 
harbour  to  the  strains  of  our  favourite  llalaguefia. 

With  the  homeward  voyage  of  the  Marchesa  I  need  not  weary 
my  readers.  On  the  3rd  of  January  we  arrived  at  Singapore,  and 
two  months  later  found  ourselves  in  the  Suez  Canal.  So  cold 
did  it  seem  to  us  after  the  damp  heat  of  New  Guinea  and  the 
Moluccas  that  we  were  glad  enough  to  put  on  cloth  clothes.  They 
served  to  remind  us  that  we  had  soon  to  resume  other  habits  of 
civilisation.  On  Easter  Monday,  April  14th,  1884,  we  dropped 
anchor  oft'  Southampton,  and  the  Cruise  of  the  Marchesa  was  a 
thing  of  the  past. 


THE    MARCHESA. 


APPENDIX  I. 


LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IN  THE  SULU  ARCHIPELAGO.^ 


1.  Cacatiia  liaematuropygia  (Milll.) 

2.  Tanygnathus  luzoniensis  (Linn.) 

3.  „  Inirbidgei,  Sliarpe 

4.  Loiiculus  l)onapartei,  Sonance. 

5.  Haliastur  intermedins,  Gurney. 

6.  Bntastnr  indicns  (Gni.) 

7.  Circus  ]nelanoleucus,  Forster. 

8.  lyngijiicus  ramsayi,  Hargitt. 

9.  Enrystomns  orientalis  (Linn.) 

10.  Alcedo  bengalensis,  Gm. 

11.  „        asiatica,  Swains. 

12.  Pelargopsis  gigantea,  Wald. 

13.  Sauropatis  chloris  (Bodd.) 

14.  Macropteiy.x  comatus  (Tenini.) 

15.  Centrococcyx  viridis  (Scop.) 

16.  Lanius  ceplialomelas,  Bp. 

1 7.  Ai'tamus  leucorlipichns  (Horsf.) 

18.  Artaniides  pollens  (Salvad.) 

19.  Lalage  dominica  (Mull.) 

20.  Pericrocotus  niaivliesse,  Guilleni. 

21.  Cliibia  pectoralis  (Wall.) 

22.  Rliipidura  nigriton^uis,  Vigors. 

23.  Cyornis  pliilippensis,  Sliarpe. 

24.  Hypotliymis  occipitalis,  Vigors. 

25.  Hirundo  javanica,  Sparrm. 

26.  Oriolus  chinensis,  Linn. 

^  For  a  description  of  the  collections 
papers  by  the  author  in  the  "  Proc.  Zoolog. 


27.  Pycnonotus  goiavier  (Scop.) 

28.  Macronus  kettlewelli,  Guillem. 

29.  Copsyclius  inindanensis  (Gm.) 

30.  Geiygone  fiaveola,  Cab. 

31.  Cisticola  exilis  (Vig.  et  Horsf.) 

32.  Budytes  viridis  (Gm.) 

33.  Parus  elegans,  Less. 

34.  Zosterops  everetti,  Tweedd. 

35.  Dicseum  liypoleucum,  Sliarpe. 

36.  Cinnyris  jugularis  (Linn.) 

37.  „        juli;e,  Tweedd. 

38.  Antliotlireptes  malaccensis  (Scop.) 

39.  Corvus  pliilippinus,  Bp. 

40.  Calornis  panayensis  (Scop.) 

41.  Sarcops  calvus  (Linn.) 

42.  Munia  jagori,  Cab. 

43.  Osmotreron  vernans  (Linn.) 

44.  „  axillaris,  G.  R.  Gr. 

45.  Ptilopus  melanoceplialus,  Forster. 

46.  „        formosus,  G.  R.  Gr. 

47.  Pliabotreron  brevirostris,  Tweedd. 

48.  Carpopliaga  eenea  (Linn.) 

49.  ,,  pickeringi,  Cass. 

50.  Myristicivora  bicolor  (Scop.) 

5 1 .  lantlienas  griseigularis,  Wald.  et  Lay. 

52.  Macropygia  tenuirostris,  G.  R.  Gr. 


made  during  the  Mo,rchesas  voyage,  see  series  of 
,  Soc."  for  1885. 


3G2 


APPENDIX  I. 


53.  Tui'tur  (lussuniieri,  Temm. 

54.  Gallus  baiikiva,  Temm. 

55.  Excalfactoria  chinensis  (Linn.) 

56.  Gallicrex  cinerea  (Gm.) 

57.  Erythra  plicenicura  (Forster). 


58.  Hyiiotaenidia  striata  (Linn.) 

59.  Eallina  euryzonoides  (Lafres.) 

60.  Ardetta  sinensis  (Gm.) 

61.  Demiegretta  sacra  (Gm.) 

62.  Butorides  javaniea  (Horsf.) 


LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IN  NORTHERN  BORNEO. 


1.  Spilornis  pallidus,  Wald. 

2.  Microliierax  latifrons,  Sliarpe. 

3.  Loriculus  galgulus  (Linn.) 

4.  Cliotorea  chrysopsis  (Goffin.) 

5.  „        versicolor  (Raffl.) 

6.  „         mystacoplianus  (Temm.) 

7.  Xantliolfema  duvauceli  (Less.) 

8.  Calorliamplius  fuliginosus(Tenim.) 

9.  lyngipicus  auritus,  Eyton. 

10.  Xylolepes  validus  (Reinw.) 

11.  Caloloplms  pnniceus  (Horsf.) 

12.  „  mentalis  (Temm.) 

13.  Tiga  javanensis  (Ljung.) 

14.  Meiglyptes  tristis  (Horsf.) 

15.  „  tukki  (Less.) 

16.  Sasia  abnormis  (Temm.) 

17.  Coccystes  coromandus  (Linn.) 

1 8.  Endynamis  malayana,  Cab.  et  Hein. 

19.  Rlainortlia  cliloroplia^a  (Raffl.) 

20.  Rliopodytes  sumatranus  (Raffl.) 

21.  Rliampliococcyx      erytlirognatlius 

(Hartl.) 

22.  Centrococcyx  eurycercns  (Hay.) 

23.  Hydrocissa  albirostris  (Shaw). 

24.  Merops  bicolor,  Bodd. 

25.  Nyctiornis  amicta  (Temm.) 

26.  Alcedo  bengalensis,  Gm. 

27.  Pelargopsis  leucocepliala  (Gm.) 

28.  Ceyx  dihvyni,  Sliarpe. 

29.  Halcyon  coromanda  (Latli.) 

30.  „        concreta  (Temm.) 

31.  Calyptomena  viridis,  Raffl. 


32.  Euiyla^mus  javanicus,  Horsf. 

33.  „  ocliromelas,  Raffl. 

34.  Cymliorliynclius    macrorhynchus 

(G]n.) 

35.  Corydon  sumatranus  (Raffl.) 

36.  Batrocliostomus  auritus,  Vig. 

37.  Caprimulgus  macrurus,  Horsf. 

38.  Collocalia  linclii,  Horsf.  et  Moore. 

39.  Macropteryx  comatus  (Temm.) 

40.  Stoporala  tlialassinoides  (Cab.) 

41.  Hypotliymis  occipitalis  (Vig.) 

42.  Rliipidura  javaniea  (Sparrm.) 

43.  Terpsiplione  affinis  (Hay.) 

44.  Pliilentoma  velatum  (Temm.) 

45.  Artamus  leucorliynclius  (Linn.) 

46.  Pericrocotus  igneus,  Blytli. 

47.  Lalage  terat  (Bodd.) 

48.  „      culminata  (Hay.) 

49.  Irena  criniger,  Sliarpe. 

50.  Cliaptia  malayensis,  Hay. 

5 1 .  Dissemurus  bracliypliorus  (Temm.) 

52.  Myiolestes  obscurus  (Horsf.) 

53.  Pacliycepliala  griseola  (Blytli.) 

54.  Sitta  frontalis,  Horsf. 

55.  Dicteum  trigonostigma  (Scop.) 

56.  ^Etliopyga  siparaja  (Raffl.) 

57.  Cinnyris  liasselti  (Temm.) 

58.  Clialcostetlia  insigiiis  (Jard.) 

59.  Antliotlireptes  malaccensis  (Scop.) 

60.  „  liypograminica   (S. 

Miill.) 

61.  „  plicenicotis  (Temm.] 


BIRDS  OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


363 


62.  Araclmothera  cliiysogenys, 

Temiii. 

63.  „  flaviventris  (Eyton). 

64.  „  iiiodesta  (Eyton). 

65.  „  robusta,     Miill.     et 

Schleg. 

66.  „  longii'ostris  (Latli.) 

67.  „  crassirostris 

(Eeiclienl).) 

68.  iEgitliina  viridis  (Bp.) 

69.  Cliloropsis  zosterops,  Vig. 

70.  „  cyanopogon  (Temm.) 

71.  Pycnonotus  pluinosus,  Blytli. 

72.  „  simplex,  Less. 

73.  Rubigula  webberi,  Hume. 

74.  Micropiis  melanoceplialus  (Gm.) 

75.  Hemixiis  malaccensis  (Blytli). 

76.  Criniger  gutturalis  (Miill.) 

77.  „       pliseoceplialus  (Haiti.) 

78.  Pomatorliinus  bornensis,  Calx 

79.  Stacliyris  maculata  (Temm.) 

80.  „        nigricollis  (Temm.) 

81.  Mixornis  bicolor  (Blyth). 

82.  „        cagayanensis,  Guillem. 

83.  Drymocataplius     capistratoides 

(Temm.) 

84.  Keiiopia  striata  (Blytli). 

85.  Erytlirocicla  bicolor  (Less.) 

86.  Pitta  muelleri  (Bp.) 


87.  Pitta  baudii,  Miill.  et  Schleg. 

88.  ,,     scliwaneri,  Temm. 

89.  Gerygone  fiaveola,  Cab. 

90.  Ortliotomus  cineraceus,  Blytli. 

91.  Cittocincla   stricklaiidi  (Mottl.  et 

Dillw.) 

92.  Copsyclius  aiiitt'iius  (Horsf.) 

93.  Turdus  pallens,  Pall. 

94.  Henicurus  leschenaulti,  Vieill. 

95.  Antlius  gustavi,  Swiiili. 

96.  Oriolus  xantlionotus,  Horsf. 

97.  Platysmurus  aterrimus  (Temm.) 

98.  Platyloplius  coronatus  (Eaffl.) 

99.  Osmotreron  vernans  (Linn.) 

100.  „  olax  (Temm.) 

101.  Myristicivora  bicolor  (Scop.) 

102.  Clialcopliaps  indica  (Linn.) 

103.  Argusianus  grayi  (Elliot). 

104.  Euplocomus  nobilis,  Sclat. 

105.  RoUulns  rouloul  (Scop.) 

106.  Excalfactoria  cliinensis  (Linn.) 

107.  iEgialitis  peroni  (Temm.) 

108.  Strepsilas  interjires  (Linn.) 

109.  Tringa  albescens,  Temm. 

110.  Tringoides  liypoleucus  (Linn.) 

111.  Totaniis  incaiuis  (Gm.) 

112.  Numenius  uropygialis,  Gould. 

113.  Gallinago  stenura  (Kulil.) 

114.  Sula  piscator  (Linn.) 


LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IN  CAGAYAN  SULU. 


1.  Tanygnatlius  luzonieiisis  (Linn.) 

2.  Sauropatis  cliloris  (Bodd.) 

3.  Eudynamis  malayana.  Cab. 

4.  Centrococcyx  eurycercus  (Hay.) 

5.  Lalage  terat  (Bodd.) 

6.  Cliibia  pectoralis  (Wall.) 

7.  Hirundo  javanica,  Sparrm. 

8.  Mixornis  cagayanensis,  Guillem. 


9.  Ortliotomus  cineraceus,  Blytli. 

10.  Aiitliotlireptes       malaccensis 

(Scop.) 

11.  Calornis  panayensis  (Scop.) 

12.  Carpopliaga  pickeringi,  Cass. 

13.  Strepsilas  interpres  (Linn.) 

14.  Tringoides  liypoleucus  (Linn.) 

15.  Demiegretta  sacra  (Gm.)  ' 


364 


APPENDIX  I. 


LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IX  SUMBAWA. 


9. 

10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 


Cacatiia  sulphurea,  Vieill. 
Geoflfroyus  juke.si,  G.  R.  Gr. 
Triclioglossus  foi^teni,  Bp. 
Haliastur  intermedins,  Gurney. 
lyngipicus  gi-andis,  Hargitt. 
Merops  pliilippinus,  Linn. 

„       ornatus,  Latli. 
Eurystomus  orientalis  (Linn.) 
Alcedo  bengalen.sis,  Gm. 
Sauropatis  cliloi-is  (Bodd.) 
Caprimulgus  niacrurus,  Horsf. 

„  affinis,  Horsf. 

Centrococcyx  affinis,  Horsf. 
Lanius  bentet,  Horsf. 
Pacliycepliala  fulvotincta.  Wall. 
Artamus  leucorhynclius  (Horsf.) 
Pratincola  caprata,  Linn. 
Lalage  timoriensis  (S.  Miill.) 
Chibia  bimaensis  (Bp.) 


20.  Hygotliymis  occipitalis,  Vig. 

21.  Oriel  us  broderipi,  Bj). 

22.  Parus  cinereus,  Vieill. 

23.  Cinnyris  j^ectoralis  (Horsf.) 

24.  Zosterops  brunneicauda,  Salvad. 

25.  „        sumbavensis,  Guilleni. 

26.  Stigmatops  ocularis  (Gould.) 

27.  „  sp. 

28.  Philemon  timoriensis  (S.  Miill.) 

29.  Calornis  minor  (Miill.) 

30.  Amadina  insularis,  "Wall. 

31.  O.-^motreron  vernans  (Linn.) 

32.  Si)ilopelia  tigrina  (Temm.) 

33.  Streptopelia  bitorcjuata  (Temm.) 

34.  Geojjelia  niaugei  (Temm.) 

35.  Chalcophaps  indica  (Linn.) 

36.  Turnix  powelli,  Guillem. 

37.  Erytlira  leucomelana  (S.  Miill.) 

38.  Ardeola  leucoptera  (Bodd.) 


LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IX  CELEBES. 


1.  Tanygnatlius    muelleri  (^Nltill.  et 

Scbleg.) 

2.  „  albirostris,  "Wall. 

3.  Prioniturus  platurus  (Kulil.) 

4.  ,,  flavicans,  Cass. 

5.  Loriculus    stigmatus    (Miill.    et 

Sclileg.) 

6.  „  exilis,  Scbleg. 

7.  Trichoglossus  ornatus  (Linn.) 

8.  „  meyeri,  Wald. 

9.  Spilornis  rufipectus,  Gould. 

10.  Astur  griseiceps,  Scbleg. 

11.  „     trinotatus,  Bp. 

12.  „     soloensis  (Horsf.) 

13.  „     trivirgatus,  Temm. 


14.  Acci2)iter  rbodogaster  (Sclileg.) 

15.  Limnaetus  lanceolatus,  Bp. 

16.  Halisetus  leucogaster  (Gm.) 

17.  Butastur  indici;s  (Gm.) 

18.  Pernis  celebensis,  Wald. 

19.  Scops  menadensis,  Q.  et  G. 

20.  Ninox  punctulata,  Q.  et  G. 

21.  Strix  rosenbergi,  Scbleg. 

22.  Mulleripicus  fulvus  (Q.  et  G.) 

23.  lyngipicus  temmincki  (Malb.) 

24.  Merops  ornatus.  Lath. 

25.  Coracias  temmincki  (Vieill.) 

26.  Eury.stomus  orientalis  (Linn.) 

27.  Alcedo  bengalensis,  Gm. 

28.  „        moluccensis,  Blyth. 


BIRDS  OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


365 


29.  Pelargopsis     ineLvnorhyiiclia 

(Temm.) 

30.  Monaclialcyon  monaclms  (Temm.) 

31.  Saurojmtis  cliloris  (Bodd.) 

3-2.  „         sanctns  (Vig.  et  Horsf.) 

33.  Halcyon  coromanda  (Latli.) 

34.  „        pileata,  Bodd. 

35.  Cittura  cyanotis  (Temm.) 

36.  Ceycopsis  fallax  (Sclileg.) 

37.  Maeropteryx  -wallacei  (Gould.) 

38.  Collocalia  escxilenta  (Linn.) 

39.  Lyncornis  macropterus,  Bp. 

40.  Cranorrhinus  cassidix  (Temm.) 

41.  Scytlirops  novte-hollandiie,  Latli. 

42.  Plianiicopliaes     calorliyncliu.s 

(Temm.) 

4 3.  Eudynamis  melanorliynclia,  S.  Miill. 

44.  Cacomantis  .sepulcliralis,  S.  Miill. 

45.  ,,  tymbonomus,  S.  Miill. 

46.  Pyrrliocentor  celebensis  (Q.  et  G.) 

47.  Centrococcyx  affinis  (Horsf.) 

48.  Cuculiis  canoi'oides,  Miill. 

49.  Oriolus  celebensis  (Wald.) 

50.  Geociclila  erytlironota,  Sclat. 

51.  Turdinus  celebensis  (Strickland). 

52.  Pitta  celebensis,  Forster. 

53.  Antlius  gustavi,  Swinli. 

54.  Budytes  viridis  (Gm.) 

55.  Hirundo  javanica,  Sparrm. 

56.  Myialestes  lielianthea  (Wall.) 

57.  Hypothymis  puella,  Wall. 

58.  Artamus  monaclius,  Temm. 

59.  „         leucorliynclius  (Linn.) 

60.  Graucalus  leucopygius,  Bp. 

61.  Edoliisoma  morio  (S.  Miill.) 

62.  Lalage  leucopygialis,  Gray. 

63.  Cliiljia  lencops  (AVall.) 

64.  Antliotlireptes  celebensis  (Shelley). 

65.  Cinnyris  frenata  (S.  Miill.) 

66.  „"       grayi  (Wall.) 

67.  iEtliopyga  flavostriata  (Wall.) 


68.  Dicffiuni  celebicum,  S.  Miill. 

69.  Pi'ionocliilus  aureolindjatus,  Wall. 

70.  Zosterops  intermedia,  Wall. 

71.  Munia  molucca  (Linn.) 

72.  Corone  enca,  (Horsf.) 

73.  Streptocitta  torquata  (Temm.) 

74.  Basileornis  celebensis,  Temm. 

75.  Acridotlieres  cinerens,  Miill. 

76.  Calornis  neglecta,  Wald. 

77.  Scissirostrum  dubium  (Latli.) 

78.  Osmotreron  griseicauda  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

79.  Ptilopus  forniosus,  G.  R.  Gr. 

80.  „        melanocephalus,  Gni. 

81.  Carpopliaga  paulina,  Temm. 

82.  „  radiata,  Q.  et  G. 

83.  Myristicivora  luctnosa  (Reinw.) 

84.  ,,  bicolor  (Scop.) 

85.  Macropygia  albicapilla,  Temm. 

86.  Turacwna  menadensis  (Q.  et  G.) 

87.  Spilopelia  tigrina  (Temm.) 

88.  Clialcopliaps  indica  (Linn.) 

89.  Cala'nas  nicobarica  (Linn.) 

90.  Megapodius  gilberti,  G.  R.  Gr. 

91.  Megaceplialon  maleo,  Temm. 

92.  Charadrius  fulvus,  Gm. 

93.  ^Egialitis  geoffroyi  (Wagl.) 

94.  Himantopus  leucocephalus,  Gould. 

95.  Porpliyrio  indicus,  Horsf. 

96.  Hydralector  gallinaceus  (Temm.) 

97.  Gallinula  frontata.  Wall. 

98.  Erytbra  pluenicura  (Forster). 

99.  Hypotsenidia  celebensis  (Q.  et  Gr.) 

100.  „  pliilippensis  (Limi.) 

101.  Numenius    uropygialis,  Gould. 

102.  Tringoides  liypoleucus  (Linn.) 

103.  Totanus  glareola  (Linn.) 

104.  ,,       calidris  (Linn.) 

105.  Ardeola  leucoptera,  Bodd. 

106.  Ardetta  sinensis  (Gm.) 

107.  Demiegretta  sacra  (Gm.) 

108.  Butorides  javanica  (Horsf.) 


366 


APPENDIX  I. 


LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IN  THE  MOLUCCA  ISLANDS. 


1.  Cuneuma  leucogaster  (Gm.) 

2.  Haliastur  iutermedius,  Gurney. 

3.  Tinnimculus  nioluccensis,  ScUeg. 

4.  Cacatua  alba  (Miill.) 

5.  TanygnatliU8     megalorliyncliiis 

(Bodd.) 

6.  GeofFroyus  cyanicoUis  (S.  Miill.) 

7.  „         obiensis  (Fiuscli.) 

8.  Eclectus  roratus  (P.  L.  S.  Miill.) 

9.  Lorius  domicella  (Linn.) 

10.  ,,      flavo-palliatus,  Salvad. 

11.  Eos  riciniata  (Beclist.) 

12.  „    insularis,  Guillem. 

13.  Coripliilus  placens  (Temm.) 

14.  Cuculus  canoroides,  S.  MiiU. 

15.  Nesocentor  goliatli  (Forster). 

16.  Rliytidoceros  plicatus  (Penn.) 

17.  Merops  ornatus,  Lath. 

18.  Alcedo  moluccensis,  Blytli. 

19.  Alcyone  pusilla  (Tenun.) 

20.  Ceyx  lepida,  Teuim. 

2 1 .  Tany.siptera  margaretliai,  Heine. 

22.  „  obiensis,  Salvad. 

23.  „  dea  (Linn.) 

24.  Halcyon  diops,  Temm. 

25.  Sauropatis  sauropliaga  (Gould.) 

26.  „  cliloris  (Bodd.) 

27.  „  sancta  (Vig.  et  Horsf.) 

28.  Eurystomns  orientalis  (Linn.) 

29.  „  aznreus,  G.  R.  Gr. 

30.  Macropteryx  mystacea  (Less.) 

31.  Hirimdo  gutturalis,  Scop. 

32.  Monarcha  inornatus  (Garn.) 

33.  „         clialybeoceplialus(Garn.) 

34.  Sauloprocta  melaleuca  (Q.  et  G.) 


35.  Rliipidnra  obiensis,  Salvad. 

36.  Graucalus  magnirostris,  Forster. 

37.  Campephaga  obiensis  (Salvad.) 

38.  Lalage  aurea  (Temm.) 

39.  Dicruropsis  atroca^nvlea  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

40.  „  sp. 

41.  Pachycepliala  mentalis,  Wall. 

42.  „  obiensis,  Salvad. 

43.  Cinnyris  auriceps  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

44.  „        frenatus  (S.  MiilL) 

45.  Melitograis  giloloensis  (Temm.) 

46.  Criniger  cliloris,  Finscli. 

47.  Pitta  jnaxima,  Forster. 

48.  „     ruiiventris,  Heine. 

49.  Antlius  gusta\'i,  Swinli. 

50.  Erytbrura  trichroa  (Kittl.) 

51.  Calornis  metallica  (Temm.) 

52.  „        obscura  (Forster). 

53.  Corvus  validissimus,  Schleg. 

54.  Lycocorax  obiensis,  Bernst. 

55.  Semioptera  wallacei  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

56.  Ptilopus  superbus  (Temm.) 

57.  „       prasinorrbous,  G.  R.  Gr. 

58.  „        monachus  (Reinw.) 

59.  „        ionogaster  (Reinw.) 

60.  Carpopbaga  myristicivora  (Scop) 

61.  „  basilica,  Sund. 

62.  ]\Iyristicivora  bicolor  (Scop.) 

63.  Reinwardtajnas     reinwardti 

(Temm.) 

64.  Macropygia  batcbianensis,  "Wall. 

65.  Caloenas  nicobarica  (Linn.) 

66.  Megapodius  freycineti,  Q.  et  G. 

67.  Tringa  albescens,  Temm. 

68.  Numenius  uropygialis,  Gould. 


BIRDS  OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


36: 


LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IN  NEW  GUINEA. 


Batanta  Island. 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 


Astur  torquatus  (Cuv.) 
Aprosmictus  dorsalis  (Q.  et  G.) 
Geoffroyus  puclierani,  Bp. 
Eclectus  pectoralis  (P.  L.  S.  Miiller). 
Triclioglossus    cyanogrammus, 

Wagl. 
Alcyone  lessoni,  Cass. 

„       pusilla  (Temm.) 
Tanysiptera  galatea,  G.  R.  Gr. 
Sanroj^atis  sancta  (Vig.  et  Horsf.) 
Sauromarptis  gaudichaudi  (Q.  et  G.) 
Eurystonius  orientalis  (L.) 
Macropteryx  mystacea  (Less.) 
Arses  batantte,  Sharpe. 
Sauloprocta  melaleuca  (Q.  et  G.) 
Cliilna  carbonaria  (S.  Miill.) 
Cracticus  cassicus  (Bodd.) 


17.  Colluricincla  megailiynclia  (Q.  et 

G.) 

18.  Tropidoihynclius  novse  guinete, 

Salv. 

1 9.  Pitta  novae  guine^e,  Miill.  et  Sclileg. 

20.  „     maekloti,  Temm. 

21.  Mine  dumonti,  Less. 

22.  Mimeta  striatus  (Q.  et  G.) 

23.  Paradisea  rubra,  Lacep. 

24.  Dipliyllodes  -vvilsoni  (Cass.) 

25.  iElurcedus  buccoides  (Temm.) 

26.  Megaloj^repia  puella  (Less.) 

27.  Carpophaga  myristicivora  (Scop.) 

28.  ,,  rufiventris,  Salvad. 

29.  „  pinon  (Q.  et  G.) 

30.  Reinwardtsenas  reinwardti  (Temm. 

31.  ^gialitis  mongolica  (Pall.) 


Waigiou  Island. 


1.  Haliastur  girrenei-a  (Yieill.) 

2.  Baza  reinwardti  (Miill.  et  Sclileg.) 

3.  Microglossus  aterrimus  (Gm.) 

4.  Tanygnatlius    niegalorbynclius 

(Bodd.) 

5.  Aprosmictus  dorsalis  (Q.  et  G.) 

6.  Geoffroyus  puclierani,  Bp. 

7.  Eclectus  pectoralis  (P.  L.  S.  Miill.) 

8.  Lorius  lory  (Linn.) 

9.  Eos  wallacei,  Finscli. 

1 0.  Triclioglossuscyanogrammus,  WagL 

11.  Coripliilus  placens  (Temm.) 

12.  Cuculus  canoroides,  S.  Miill. 

13.  Eudynamis  rufi venter  (Less.) 

14.  Rliytidoceros  plicatus  (Penn.) 

15.  Alcyone  pusilla  (Temm.) 

16.  Ceyx  solitaria,  Temm. 


1 7.  Tanysiptera  galatea,  G.  R.  Gr. 

18.  Saiiropatis  sauropbaga  (Gould.) 

19.  „  sancta  (Vig.  et  Horsf.) 

20.  Syma  torotoro.  Less. 

21.  Sauromarptis  gaudicbaudi  (Q.  et  G.) 

22.  Melidora  macrorliina  (Less.) 

23.  Podargus  papuensis,  Q.  et  G. 

24.  „        ocellatus,  Q.  et  G. 

25.  Macropteryx  mystacea  (Less.) 

26.  Peltops  blainvillei  (Less,  et  Garn.) 

27.  Mouarcba  giittulatus  (Garn.) 

28.  „        cbalybeocepbalus  (Garn.) 

29.  Arses  batautse,  Sliarpe. 

30.  Sauloprocta  melaleuca  (Q.  et  G.) 

31.  Rliipidura  setosa  (Q.  et  G.) 

32.  Muscicapa  griseosticta  (S\\-inb.) 

33.  Pcecilodryas  liypoleuca  (G.  R.  Gr.) 


368 


APPENDIX  I. 


34.  Graucalus  magnirostris.     Forsten. 

35.  Edoliisoma  melau  (S.  Mlill.) 

36.  Artamus  leucogaster  (Valeiic.) 

37.  Cliibia  carbonaria  (S.  Miill.) 

38.  Cracticus  ca.s.sicus  (Bodd.) 

39.  „         quoyi  (Less.) 

40.  Rliectes  leucorliyiichus,  G.  R.  Gr. 

41.  CoUuricincla  affinis  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

42.  Cinnyris  aspasiue,  Less. 

43.  „         frenatus  (S.  Miill.) 

44.  Dicieum  pectorale,  Miill  et  Schleg. 

45.  ]Melile.stes  megarliynclius  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

46.  ,,         novte  guinese  (Less.) 

47.  Ptilotis  analoga,  Rclib. 

48.  „       fuseiventris  (Salvad.) 

49.  Tropidorliynclius     nov£e     guinese, 

Salvad. 

50.  Pitta  inackloti,  Temni. 

51.  Calobates  melanope  (Pall.) 

52.  Mino  dumonti,  Less. 

53.  Corvus  orru,  Miill. 

54.  Maiiucodia  atra  (Less.) 


55.  Paradisea  rubra,  Lacep. 

56.  Dipliyllodes  wilsoni  (Cass.) 

57.  Ptilopus  25ulchellus  (Temm.) 

58.  ,,        humeralis,  Wall. 

59.  „        pectoralis  (Wagl.) 

60.  Megaloprepia  j)uella  (Less.) 

61.  Carpopliaga  myristicivora  (Scop.) 

62.  ,,  ruliveiitris,  Salvad. 

63.  „  pinou  (Q.  et  G.) 

64.  Reinwardtfenas  rein  ward  ti  (Temm.) 

65.  Henicophaps  albifrons,  G.  R.  Gr. 

66.  Goura  coronata  (Linn.) 

67.  Calcenas  nicobarica  (Linn.) 

68.  Megapodius  freycineti,  Q.  et  G. 

69.  Cliaradrius  fulvus,  Gm. 

70.  Jjlgialitis  geoifroyi  (Wagl.) 

71.  Tringa  acuminata  (Horsf.) 

72.  Tringoides  hypoleucus  (Linn.) 

73.  Totanus  incanus  (Gm.) 

74.  ,,        glai-eola  (Linn.) 

75.  Tadorna  radjali  (Garn.) 

76.  ]\Iicrocarbo  melanoleucus  (Vieill.) 


Salwatti  Island. 


6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 

13. 

14. 


Cacatua  triton  (Temm.) 
Microglossus  aterrimus  (Gm.) 
Tanygnatlius     megalorliynclius 

(Bodd.) 
Aprosmictus  dorsalis  (Q.  et  G.) 
Cyclopsittacus  occidentalis,  Salvad. 
Lorius  lory  (Linn.) 
Cbalcopsittacus  ater  (Scop.) 
Triclioglossus  cj'^anogrammus,  Wagl. 
Nesocentor  menebiki  (Garn.) 
Ceyx  solitaria,  Temm. 
Syma  torotoro,  Less. 
Sauromarptis       gaudicliaudi      (Q. 

et  G.) 
Sauloprocta  melaleuca  (Q.  et  G.) 
Poccilodryas  bypoleuca  (G.  R.  Gr.) 


15.  Graucalus  papuensis  (Gm.) 

16.  Cracticus  cassicus  (Bodd.) 

17.  ,,  quoyi  (Less.) 

18.  Rliectes  uropygialis,  G.  R.  Gr. 

19.  Ptilotis  cbysotis,  Less. 

20.  Pitta  no  Vie  guinese,  Miill.  et  Sclileg. 

21.  „     mackloti,  Temm. 

22.  Calornis  metallica  (Temm.) 

23.  „        cantoroides,  G.  R.  Gr. 

24.  Melanopyrrlius  anais  (Less.) 

25.  Corvus  orru,  Miill. 

26.  Seleucides  nigricans  (Sliaw). 

27.  Dipliyllodes  magnifica  (Penii.) 

28.  Cicinnurus  regius  (Linn.) 

29.  Jiluredus  buccoides  (Temm.) 

30.  Megaloprepia  puella  (Less.) 


BIRDS  OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


369 


31.  Carpopliaga  rufiventris,  Salvad. 

32.  Phlogoenas  rufigula  (Pucli.  et  Jacq.) 

33.  Calceiias  nicobarica  (Linn.) 


34.  Talegallus  cuvieri,  Less. 

35.  Demiegretta  sacra  (Gni.) 

36.  Nycticorax  caledonicus  (Gni.) 


MisoL  Island. 


1.  Cacatua  triton  (Temm.) 

2.  Nasiterna  pygniEea  (Q.  et  G.) 

3.  Cyclopsittacus  blytlii,  Wall. 

4.  „  diophthalnius 
(Hombr.  et  Jacq.) 

5.  Geoft'royus  puclierani,  Bp. 

6.  Lorius  lory  (Linn.) 

7.  Clialcopsittacus  ater  (Scop.) 

8.  Triclioglossns    cyanograminus, 

Wagl. 

9.  Coriphilus  placens  (Temm.) 

10.  Nesocentor  menebiki  (Garn.) 

11.  Sauropatis  sauropliaga  (Gould.) 

12.  Sauromarptis    gaudicliaudi    (Q.  et 

G.) 

13.  Eury stomas  crassirostris,  Sclat. 

14.  Podargus  ocellatus,  Q.  et  G. 

15.  CoUocalia  esculenta  (Linn.) 

16.  Peltops  blainvillei  (Less,  et  Garn.) 

1 7.  Monarclia  chalybeocephalus  (Garn.) 

18.  „         melanonotus,  Sclat. 

19.  Muscicapa  griseosticta  (Swinli.) 

20.  Graucalus  boyeri  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

21.  „         melanops  (Latli.) 

22.  „         papuensis  (Gm.) 

23.  Edoliisoma  scliisticeps  (G.  R  Gr.) 

24.  Chibia  carbonaria  (S.  Mlill.) 


25.  Cracticus  quoyi  (Less.) 

26.  Rhectes  uropygialis,  G.  R,  Gr. 

27.  Cinnyris  aspasite,  Less. 

28.  „         frenatus  (S.  Miill.) 

29.  Myzomela  eques  (Less.) 

30.  Ptilotis  sonoroides,  G.  R.  Gr. 

3 1 .  Pitta  novse  guinese,  Miill.  et  Sclileg 

32.  „     mackloti,  Temm. 

33.  Pomatorliinus  isidori,  Less. 

34.  Calornis  metallica  (Temm.) 

35.  „        cantoroides,  G.  R.  Gr. 

36.  Corvus  orru,  Miill. 

37.  Manucodia  clialybeata,  Penn. 

38.  ,,  atra  (Less.) 

39.  Paradisea  minor,  Shaw. 

40.  Cicinnurus  regius  (Linn.) 

41.  Ptilopus  superbus  (Temm.) 

42.  „        pulchellus  (Temm.) 

43.  „        pectoralis  (Wagl.) 

44.  Megalojn'epia  puella  (Less.) 

45.  Carpopliaga  rufiventris,  Salvad. 

46.  „  pinon  (Q.  et  G.) 

47.  Goura  coronata  (Linn.) 

48.  Ortliorhamphus      magnirostris 

(Geoffr.) 

49.  Tringoides  liyijoleiicus  (Linn.) 

50.  Microcarbo  melanoleucus  (Vieill.) 


Arfak  Range  and  Mainland. 


1.  Astur  leucosoma  (Sliarpe). 

2.  „      melanoclilamys  (Salvad.) 

3.  Cacatua  triton  (Temm.) 

4.  Microglossus  aterrimus  (Gm.) 

5.  Nasiterna  bruijni,  Salvad. 

VOL.  II. 


6.  Aprosmictus  dorsalis  (Q.  et  G.) 

7.  Psittacella  brehmi  (Rosenb.) 

8.  Dasyptilus  pe.squeti  (Less.) 

9.  Lorius  lory  (Linn.) 
10.  Eos  fuscata,  Blytli. 

2  B 


370 


APPENDIX  I. 


11.  Triclioglossuscyauogi"amnms,Wagl. 

12.  „  rosenbergi,     Schleg. 
(cajitive). 

1 3.  Xeopsittacus    mi;sclienbroeki 

(Rosenb.) 

14.  Coriphilus  wilhelminae  (Meyer). 

15.  Oreopsittacus  arfaki  (Meyer). 

16.  Cliarmo8}Tiopsis  pulcliella  (G.  R. 

Gr.) 

1 7.  Cliarmosyna  papuensis  (Gm.) 

18.  ,,  josepbinai  (Finscb.) 

19.  Chrysococcyx  meyeri  (Salvad.) 

20.  Nesocentor  meuebiki  (Garn.) 

21.  Tanysiptera  galatea,  G.  R.  Gr. 

22.  Sauroj)atis  sauropbaga  (Goiild.) 

23.  Melidora  macroiliina  (Less.) 

24.  Eurystomus      orientali-s,      Linn. 

(var.  ])acificus). 

25.  Podargus  papuensis,  Q.  et.  G. 

26.  „         ocellatus,  Q.  et  G. 

27.  ^Egotbeles  albertisi,  Sclat. 

28.  „  wallacei  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

29.  Pel  tops  bLain^^llei  (Less,  et  Garn.) 

30.  Monarcba  frater,  Sclat. 

31.  „  melanonotus,  Sclat. 

32.  Sauloprocta  melaleuca  (Q.  et  G.) 

33.  ]\IonacbeUa  mulleriana,  Scbleg. 

34.  Machserorbyncbus  albifrons,  G.  R. 

Gr. 

35.  „  nigripectus 
Scbleg. 

36.  Mahirus  alboscapulatus,  Meyer. 

37.  Graucalus  caeruleogriseiis  (G.R.  Gr.) 

38.  Edoliisoma  montanum  (Meyer). 

39.  Lalage  atrovirens  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

40.  Artamus  maximus,  Meyer. 

41.  Cbibia  carbonaria  (S.  Miill.) 

42.  Cracticus  cassicus  (Bodd.) 

43.  Rbectes  dicbrous,  Bp. 

44.  „        cerviniventris,  G.  R.  Gr. 

45.  ,,        ferrugineus,  S.  Miill. 


46.  Pacbycepbala  soror,  Sclat. 

47.  ,,  scblegeli,  Rosenb. 

48.  „  rufinucba,  Sclat. 

49.  Pacbycephalopsis    battamensis 

(Meyer). 

50.  Pacbycare  flavogrisea  (Meyer). 

51.  Climacteris  placens,  Sclat. 

52.  Sitella  papuensis  (Scbleg.) 

53.  Cinnyris  aspasiae,  Less. 

54.  Dicjeum  pectorale,  Miill.  et  Scbleg. 

55.  Pristorbampbus  versteri,  Finscb. 

56.  Oreocbayis  arfaki  (Meyer). 

57.  Myzomela  rosenbergi,  Scbleg. 

58.  „  adolpbince,  Salvad. 

59.  Melipotes  gymnops,  Sclat. 

60.  Melidectes  tor(]^uatus,  Sclat. 

61.  Melirrbopbetes    leucostepbes, 

Meyer. 

62.  Ptilotis  cinerea,  Sclat. 

6  3.  Eutbyrbyncbus  griseigularis,Schleg. 

64.  Zosterops  nova^  guinese,  Salvad. 

65.  Pitta  novae  guinese,  MiUl.  et  Schleg. 

66.  „     niackloti,  Temm. 

67.  Pomatorbinus  isidori,  Less. 

68.  Eupetes  cserulescens,  Temm. 

69.  Melanopyrrbus  ori entails  (Scbleg.) 

70.  Mino  dumonti,  Less. 

71.  Corvus  orru,  Miill. 

72.  Manucodia  atra  (Less.) 

73.  Parotia  sexpennis  (Bodd.) 

74.  Lopborbina  superlja  (Penn.) 

75.  Paradigalla  carunculata.  Less. 

76.  Astrapia  nigra  (Gni.) 

77.  Epimacbus  speciosus  (Bodd.) 

78.  Drepanornis  albertisi,  Sclat. 

79.  „  bruijni,  Oustal. 

80.  Craspedopbora  magnifica  (VieilL) 

81.  Paradisea  minor,  Sbaw. 

82.  Dipbyllodes  cbrysoptera,  Gould. 

83.  Cicinnurus  regius  (Linn.) 

84.  Xantbomelus  aureus  (Linn.) 


BIRDS  OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


371 


85.  xEluredus  biiccoicles  (Temm.) 

86.  Ptilopus  omatus,  Rosenb. 

87.  „         bellus,  Sclat. 

88.  Carpophaga  mfiventris,  Salvad. 

89.  „  clialconota,  Salvad. 

90.  Gymnopliaps  albertisi,  Salvad. 

91.  Macropygia  nigrirostris,  Salvad. 

92.  Phlogoenas    rufigula    (Pucb.    et 

Jacq.) 


93.  Entry gon  terrestris  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

94.  Otidiphaps  nobilis,  Gould. 

95.  Goura  coronata  (Linn.) 

96.  Megapodius    duperreyi,    Less. 

Gam. 

97.  Talegallus  cuvieri,  Less. 

98.  Rallicnla  rubra,  Scbleg. 

99.  Scolopax  rosenbergi,  Scbleg. 
100.  Ardetta  sinensis  (Gm.) 


et 


JoBi  Island. 


1.  Geoffroyus  jobiensis  (Meyer). 

2.  Eud}Tiamis  ruliventer  (Less.) 

3.  Halcyon  nigrocyanea,  Wall. 

4.  Eurystomus  orientalis,  Linn.  (var. 

2yacificiis). 

5.  Podargus  ocellatus,  Q.  et  G. 

6.  Arses  insularis  (Meyer). 

7.  Micrceca  flavovii*escens,  G.  R. 

Gr. 

8.  Graucalus  papuensis  (Gni.) 

9.  Edoliisoma  melan  (S.  Miill.) 

10.  „  incertum  (Meyer). 

11.  Rhectes  jobiensis,  Meyer. 


1 2.  Cinnyris  jobiensis  (Meyer). 

13.  „         frenatus  (S.  Miill.) 

14.  Gymnocorax  senex  (Less.) 

15.  Manucodia  jobiensis,  Salvad. 

16.  Paradisea  minor,  Sbaw. 

17.  Dipbyllodes  cbrysoptera,  Gould. 

18.  Cicinnurus  regius  (Linn.) 

19.  jEluredus  buccoides  (Temm.) 

20.  Ptilopus  geminus,  Salvad. 

21.  Gymnopliaps  albertisi,  Salvad. 

22.  Goura  ^ictori^e  (Eraser). 

23.  Talegallus  jobiensis,  Meyer. 

24.  Tadorna  radjah  (Gam.) 


Aru  Islands. 


1.  Baza  reinwardti  (Miill.  et  Scbleg.) 

2.  Astur  polioceplialus  (G.  R.  Gr.) 

3.  Cyclopsittacus  aruensis  (Scbleg.) 

4.  Eclectus  pectoralis  (P.  L.  S.  Miill.) 

5.  Cbalcopsittacus     scintillatus 

(Temm.) 

6.  Triclioglossus  nigrigularis,  G.  R.  Gr. 

7.  Cuculus  canoroides,  S.  Miill. 

8.  Sauromarptis  gaudicliaudi  (Q.  et  G.) 

9.  Sauloprocta  melaleuca  (Q.  et  G.) 

10.  Cracticus  cassicus  (Bodd.) 

11.  „         quoyi  (Less.) 

12.  Rbectes  aruensis,  Sharpe. 

13.  Cinnyris  aspasise.  Less. 

14.  „        frenatus  (S.  Miill.) 


15.  Myzomela  nigrita,  G.  R.  Gr. 

16.  ,,  erythrocepbala,  Gould. 

17.  „  obsciu'a,  Gould. 

18.  Glycipbila  modesta,  G.  R.  Gr. 

19.  Tropidorbyncbus    novfe    guinese, 

Salvad. 

20.  Calornis  metallica  (Temm.) 

21.  Mino  dumonti.  Less. 

22.  Paradisea  apoda,  Linn. 

23.  Cicinnurus  regius  (Linn.) 

24.  Ptilopus  wallacei,  G.  R.  Gr. 

25.  Carpopliaga  zoere  (Less.) 

26.  „  muelleri  (Temm.) 

27.  „  pinon  (Q.  et  G.) 

28.  Myristicivora  spilorrlioa,  G.  R.  Gr. 


APPENDIX   11. 


LIST  OF  .SHELLS  COLLECTED  DURING  THE  VOYAGE  OF 
THE  MARCHES  A. 


1.  Formosa. 


Cyprpea  anmilus,  L. 

„  arabica,  L. 

„  caput -serpentis,  L. 

„  caurica,  L. 

„  cicercula,  L. 

„  errones,  L. 

„  helvola,  L. 

„  Isabella,  L. 

„  moneta,  L. 

„  neglecta,  L. 

„  tigris,  L. 

,,  vitellus,  L. 


Oliva  tremulina,  Lam. 
Strombus  plicatus,  Lam. 
Harpa  conoidalis,  Lam. 
Columbella  flavicla,  Sowb. 

„  tyleii,  Gray. 

„  versicolor,  Sowb. 

Nassa  picta,  Dunk. 
Engina  lineata,  Reeve. 
Mitra  ustulatu,  Lam. 
Cerithium  bornii,  Sowb. 
Planaxis  sulcata.  Born. 
Monodonta  labeo,  L. 


2.    SUMBAWA. 


Cyprsea  annulus,  L. 

„       arabica,  L. 

„       neglecta,  L. 

„       Isabella,  L. 
Strombus  plicatus.  Lam. 

„         minimus,  L. 
Terebellum  subulatum,  Lam. 
Conns  cinereus,  Hwass. 


Engina  mendicaria,  Lam. 
Sistrum  tuberculatum,  Blain. 
Latirus  turritus,  Gmel. 
Littorina  scabra,  Miill. 
Bulla  ampulla,  L. 
Tellina  virgata,  L. 
Capsella  minor,  Desli. 


SHELLS  OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


373 


3.  XoRTH  Celebes. 


Natica  ala-papilionis,  Cliem. 
Pirena  auiita,  Lam. 
Tympanotouus  microptera,  Kien 


Cyprsea  argus,  L. 

„       mauritiana,  L. 
„       mappa,  L. 
„       talpa,  L. 
„       tigris,  L. 
„       vitellus,  L. 
Ovuluin  ovum,  L. 
Pteroceras  chiragra,  L. 
Murex  adustus,  Lam. 
Harpa  conoidalis,  Lam. 
Olivamaura,  Lam. 

„     sanguinolenta,  Lam. 
Triton  cynoceplialus,  Lam. 
„     pilearis,  Lam. 
„     tritonis,  L. 
„     ti;berosus,  L. 
Cassis  viliex,  L. 
„     glauca,  L. 
Fusus  coins,  L. 
Conns  betulinus. 
„      generalis,  L. 
„      magus,  L. 
„      marmoreus,  L. 
„       inillepunctatus,  L. 

Cyprjea  vitellus,  L. 
Oliva  elegans,  Lam. 
„     maura,  Lam. 
Strombus  isabella,  Lam. 
Pteroceras  cliiragra.  Lam. 
Conus  figulinus,  L. 
Dolium  olearium.  Lam. 
Voluta  vespertilio,  L. 
Trochus  niloticus,  L. 


Tellina  rugosa,  Born. 
Cardium  donaciforme,  Sclir. 
Dione  pliasianella,  Desli. 

4.  Moluccas.! 

Conus  pr^efectus,  Hwass. 

„      tulipa,  L. 
Voluta  vespertilio,  L. 
Pleurotoma  babylonica.  Lam. 
Mitra  adusta,  Lam. 

,,     caftra,  Lam. 

„     episcopalis,  Lam. 

„     vulpecula,  Lam. 
Ceritliium  vertagus,  L. 
jModiola  pliilippinarum,  Haul. 
Turbo  petliolatus,  L. 
Delpliinula  laciniata. 
Auricula  aui-is-judee. 
Pytliia  albivaricosa,  Reeve. 
Tridacna  squamosa.  Lam. 
Tellina  foliacea,  L. 

„       virgata,  L. 

„      vulsella,  L. 
Cardium  cardiosa,  L. 

„      liemicardium,  Lam. 
Tapes  litteratus,  Cliem. 

,,     textrix,  Cliem. 

Helix  pileus,  Mlill. 

5.  Waigiou. 

Turbo  versicolor,  Gmel. 
Littorina  scabra,  Miill. 
Asapliis  deflorata,  L. 
Psammobia  violacea,  Sowb. 
Circe  gibbia,  Lam. 

Helix  aulica,  Pfr. 
„     multizona,  Less. 
„     circumdata,  Fer. 


^  Some  of  these  haviug  been  purchased,  the  locality  cannot  strictly  be  relied  on. 


APPENDIX  III. 


LIST  OF  RHOPALOCERA  COLLECTED  IN  THE  EASTERN 
ARCHIPELAGO.i 


NYMPHALIDiE. 

Danaincc. 
Hestia  blancliarclii,  March.  (Maros, 
Celebes). 
„       Jurvillei,  Bdv.  (Waigiou). 
„       lynceiis,  Drury  (Borneo). 
Ideopsis  daos,  Bdv.   (Borneo). 
„  inimcta,  Butl.   (Jobi). 

Danais  sobrina,  Bdv.    (Dorei). 

7.  ,,        plexippiiH,  L.   (Dorei). 

8.  „        nubila,  Butb   (Waigiou). 

9.  „        mytilene,  Feld.  (Dorei). 

10.  ,,        lotis,  Cr.   (Borneo). 

1 1.  Euploca  callithoe,  Bdv.  var.  fucosa. 

Differs  from  the  typical  form  in 
having  a  large  transverse  blue 
spot,  widest  at  its  upper  end  and 
extending  nearly  across  the  dis- 
coidal  cell  of  the  primaries  ;  the 
discal  series  of  sptits  beyond  the 
cell  are  smaller,  and  both  wings 
are  wdthoiit  marginal  spots. 
Expanse  of  wings,  4|  in.  ^ 
(New  Guinea). 

1 2.  Euploea  mesocala,  Voll.  ?  (Waigiou). 


A  female  specimen  which  I 
refer,  with  some  doubt,  to  this 
fine  species  dift'ers  from  Vollen- 
hoven's  figure  in  having  the 
submarginal  series  of  spots  on 
both  wings  much  smaller  and 
the  marginal  .spots  almost 
obsolete  ;  it  also  has  a  subovate 
ill-defined  blue  spot  below  the 
third  median  branch  of  primaries 
in  place  of  the  sharply -defined 
linear  Avhite  mark  given  in  the 
figure  of  mesocala.  It  is  possible 
that  this  may  Ije  the  female  of 
fucosa,  and  I  should  have  l)een 
inclined  to  regard  it  as  such 
were  the  specimens  not  indicated 
as  coming  from  different  localities. 
13.  Euploea  crameri,  Moore  (Borneo). 


14. 


15. 


16. 


immaculata,   Butl.    (New 

Guinea), 
anthracina,    Butl.     (Am- 

Ijoina). 
pierretii,  Feld.  (Waigiou). 


1  For  the  identification  and  descriiDtion  of  these  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Oliver  Janson. 


RHOPALOGERA   OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


375 


17.  Euplcea  confusa,  Butl.  (Waigiou). 

18.  „       piimila,  Butl.   (Waigiou). 

19.  „       doryca,      Butl.       (Ne^v 

Guinea). 

20.  „       mulciber,  Or.  (Borneo). 

21.  „       lowii,  Butl.  (Borneo). 

22.  Hamadryas  nais,  Guer.   (.Jobi). 

Satyrince. 

23.  Mycalesis  inucia,  Hew.   (Jobi). 

24.  HypocYsta  bygea,  Hbav.   (Jobi.) 

Elymniince. 
2  5.  Elymnias  nigrescens,  Butl.  (Borneo)_ 

Morphina. 

2  6.  Amathusia  pliidippus,  L.   (Borneo). 

27.  Discophora  cbeops,  Feld.   (Borneo). 

28.  Tenaris  catops,  Westw.  (Jobi). 

29.  „  dioptrica,  Voll.  (Jobi). 

30.  „  fulvida,  Butl.  (Mysol). 

31.  „  onesinius,  Butl.   (Jobi). 

32.  „  automolus,  Kirscli.    (Jobi). 

33.  Hyantis  hodeva,  Hew.    (Waigiou). 

Nymjyludina;. 

34.  Cetliosia  liypsea,  Doubld.   (Borneo). 

35.  „        cbrysippe,  Fab.  (Dorei). 


36.  Terinos     terpander,     Hew. 

(Borneo). 

37.  Cirrocliroa    bajadeta,     Moore 

(Borneo). 

38.  „        ducalis,  Wall.  (Dorei). 

39.  Cyntliia  celebensis,  Biitl.   (Maros, 

Celebes). 

40.  „        insularis,  Salv.  and  Godm. 
(Dorei). 

41.  Messaras    eryraanthis,     Drury. 

(Borneo). 

42.  „        turneri,  Butl.   (Jobi). 

43.  Junonia  laoniedia,  L.  (Borneo). 

44.  „       ocyale,  Hb.  (Amboina). 

45.  Precis  ida,  Cr.  (Borneo). 

46.  Rliinopalpa  anielia,  Guer.  (Dorei). 

47.  Hypolimnas  ipliigenia,  Cr.  (Dorei). 

48.  „  alimena,  L.  (Papua). 

49.  Limenitis  procris,  Cr.  (Borneo). 

50.  Pandita  sinoria,  Feld.  (Borneo). 

51.  Neptis  latifasciata,  Butl.   (Aru). 

52.  Atliyma  idita,  Moore  (Borneo). 

53.  Adolias  laverna,  Butl.  (Borneo). 

54.  Symplisedra  aeropus,  L.  (Jolji). 

55.  Cliaraxes  atliamas,   Drury 

(Borneo). 

56.  „        demonax,   Feld.    (Maros, 
Celebes). 


LYCiENIDiE. 


57.  Danis  sebse,  Bdv.  (Waigiou). 

58.  Deudorix    caroli,    n.    sp.     Upper 

side  fuliginous  brown ;  primaries 
•v\dth  a  large  pale  blue  patcli 
between  the  median  nervure  and 
inner  margin,  and  extending 
from  near  the  base  to  about  one- 
fourtli  from  the  outer  margin ; 
secondaries  with  three  fine  tails, 
the    central    one    longest,    anal 


angle  produced  and  black,  a 
fine  marginal  line  between  the 
tails  bluish  white  ;  fringes  of 
both  wings  and  tips  of  the  tails 
white.  Underside  greyish  brown ; 
primaries  ochreous-yellow  at  the 
base  of  the  costa,  the  inner 
margin  broadly  white,  a  longi- 
tudinal stripe  followed  by  an 
ovate  spot  in  the  cell,  an  angu- 


376 


APPENDIX  VII. 


lated  discal  series  of  five  spots, 
of  wliicli  the  central  one  is 
largest  and  nearest  to  tlie  outer 
margin,  a  sliglitly  curved  sub- 
marginal  line  and  a  fine  mar- 
ginal line  white  ;  secondaries 
with  the  costa  at  the  base,  a 
straight  band  across  the  wings 
at  right  angles  with  the  body,  a 
large  spot  near  the  anterior 
angle,  an  irregular  interrupted 
sinuous  line  from  the  abdominal 
margin  to  the  apex  of  the  cell 
and  a  similar  line  Ijeyond  it  to 
the  spot  at  the  anterior  angle, 
white  ;  the  outer  apical  area 
nearly  to  the  anterior  angle 
broadly  fawn-coloured,  margined 
with  greyish  white,  a  fine  white 


line  close  to  the  outer  margin 
and  bordered  inwardly  with  pale 
silvery  blue  above  the  tails ;  a 
large  spot  at  the  anal  angle 
with  an  oblique  linear  mark 
above  it  and  a  round  spot 
between  the  outer  tails,  black. 
Expanse  of  wings,  2  in.  Allied 
to  timoleon,  Stoll.   (Andai). 

59.  Amblypodia    hercules.     Hew. 

(Jobi). 

60.  „  nakula,     Feld. 

(Borneo). 

61.  „  meander,    Bdv. 

(Waigiou). 

62.  „  axiothea.  Hew. 

(Waigiou). 

63.  „  apidanus,     Cr. 

(Borneo). 


PAPILIOXID.E. 


Pierince. 


64.  Terias  harina,  Horsf.   (Waigiou). 

65.  „      photophila,  Butl.   (Aru). 

66.  Pieris  jael,  AVall.   (Batchian). 

67.  Appias     zarinda,      Bdv.      (Maros, 

Celebes). 

68.  Delias  dione,  Drury  (Borneo), 

69.  „     aruna,  Bdv.  (New  Guinea). 

70.  „     hyparete,  L.  (Borneo). 

71.  Catopsilia  crocale,  Cr.  (Borneo). 

72.  „         flava,      Butl.       (j\Iaros, 
Celebes). 

73.  Dercas  gobrias,  Hew.  (Borneo). 

Papilionin(e. 

74.  Ornithoptera  pegasus,      Feld. 

(Waigiou). 

75.  „  aiTuana,  Feld.  (Aru). 


76.  Ornithoptera    flavicollis,  Druce. 

(Borneo). 

77.  Papilio  ptolydorus,    L.    var.    «. 

Wallace  (Aru). 

78.  „      nejitunus,  Guer.  (Borneo). 

79.  „       demolion,  Cr.  (Borneo). 

80.  „      indicatus,  Butl.  (Aru). 

81.  „      nephelus,  Bdv.  (Borneo). 

82.  „      ambrax,  Bdv.  (Dorei). 

83.  „      pandion,      Wall.      (N. 

Guinea). 

84.  „      euchenor,  Guer.  (Aiu). 

85.  „  eutropius,  n.  sj).  Similar 
to  euchenor,  Guer.,  but  with  the 
three  pale  yellow  apical  spots, 
on  primaries  much  larger,  the 
lower  one  dilated  and  continued 
inwardly  to  the  upper  disco-cell- 


RHOPALOGERA   OF  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO.  377 


iilax'  uervule  ;  there  are  also 
two  small  linear  spots  of  tlie 
same  colour  between  the  first 
and  second  radial  l)ranches,  and 
the  discal  band  is  somewhat 
narrower  than  in  eiichenor,  the 
spots  of  which  it  is  formed  being 
shorter.  Expanse  of  wings, 
5  in.    J    (Jobi). 


86.  Papilio    autolycus,      Feld. 

(Waigiou). 

87.  ,,         antiphates,  Cr.   (Borneo), 

88.  „         evemon,  Bdv.  (Borneo). 

89.  „         telephus,     Wall.     (]\Iaros, 

Celebes). 

90.  „       macfarlanei,      Butl. 

(Ternate). 

91.  „      agamemnon,  L.  (Borneo). 


Hesperid^. 


92.  Chajtocneme  thrax,  L.  (Borneo). 

93.  Plesioneura  flavipes,  n.  sp.    Upper 

surface  dark  purple  brown  ;  the 
primaries  crossed  just  l^eyond 
the  middle  by  a  broad  oblique 
white  Ijand  di-\dded  by  the 
nervures  into  five  spots,  the 
first  on  the  costa,  and  the  fifth 
close  to  the  anal  angle,  slightly 
ochreous  and  opaque  ;  the  three 
central  spots  sub -hyaline,  the 
first  of  them,  in  the  cell,  slightly 
narrower  than  the  two  followinti; 


Under  surface  of  wings  of  a 
rather  lighter  colour  than  above, 
otherwise  the  same  ;  legs,  paljji, 
underside  of  the  club  and  a 
small  spot  on  the  other  joints  of 
the  antennae  tawny  yellow.  Ex- 
panse of  wings,  2|-  in.  Allied 
to  feisthamelii,  Bdv.,  and  renardi, 
Obth.,  but  larger,  with  the 
primaries  more  acute  and  with- 
out any  white  spots  near  the 
apex  (New  Guinea), 


APPENDIX  IV. 


VOCABULARY  OF  THE  SULU  LANGUAGE. 


Anchor, 

Bahuji. 

Chaii', 

Sea. 

And, 

Ehan. 

Child, 

Analc  or  batta. 

Animal, 

Satua, 

Clean, 

Malano. 

Arms, 

Sinjata. 

Close, 

Daik. 

Ashes, 

Abu. 

Coarse, 

Maaslak. 

Amit, 

Inaun. 

Corn  (Indian), 

Gandoin. 

Bad, 

Mangi. 

Council, 

Banoa. 

Ball, 

Fonglo. 

Cow, 

Sapi  omagak. 

Bird, 

Manuk 

Current, 

Bug. 

Birth, 

Paganahin. 

Daughter, 

Anak  babai. 

Bitter, 

Maijait. 

Day, 

Adlau. 

Black, 

Itam. 

Daybreak, 

Hiibu-subu. 

Blood, 

Dugu. 

Death, 

Kamatian. 

Boat, 

Sahayan} 

Deep, 

Malaum. 

Body, 

Badcm. 

Deer, 

Usa. 

Bone, 

Bolmlc. 

Dirty, 

Mumi. 

Book, 

Kitab. 

Divorce, 

Fagbugitan. 

Branch, 

Banga. 

Door, 

Lavang. 

Bride, 

Pagantin  bahai. 

Ear, 

Tainga. 

Bridegroom, 

„         ussul: 

Earthquake, 

Linuk. 

Bridle, 

Kahan. 

Ebb-tide, 

Hunas. 

Brother 

(elder), 

Magalang. 

Eclipse, 

Laho. 

)) 

(younger),  Taimanghud. 

Egg, 

Iglo. 

Buffalo, 

Karban. 

Enemy, 

Bantah. 

But, 

Badmaian. 

Enmity, 

Pagbantahan. 

Calm, 

Lenau. 

Evening, 

Hapon. 

Cattle, 

Haiu}). 

^  Bisayau,  saka^ 

Eye, 
/a7i,  to  ride  a  horse. 

Mata. 

VOCABULARY  OF  THE  SULU  LANGUAGE. 


379 


Fare, 

Beiho. 

Long, 

Mahava. 

Far, 

Maio  or  laio. 

Low, 

Habava. 

Father, 

Amma. 

Maid, 

Bujan. 

Fatlier-in-law, 

Ugangan  ussuk. 

Male, 

Ussuk. 

Female, 

Babai. 

Man, 

Tan. 

Finger, 

Gulamai. 

Marriage, 

Pagtiaunan. 

Fire, 

Kayu. 

Master, 

Tuan. 

Fish, 

Iscla. 

Me, 

Kaku. 

Flood-tide, 

Taiih. 

Medicine, 

Ubat. 

Floor, 

Lautei. 

Milk, 

Gatas. 

Flower, 

Sum2nng. 

]\Iistress, 

Dayang. 

Foot, 

Sigge. 

Monkey, 

Amok. 

Fruit, 

Bunga. 

Moon  (or  month). 

Bulan. 

Good, 

Maraiau. 

Full  moon. 

Damlak. 

Grandfather, 

Apo  ussuk. 

New  moon. 

Kasubangan. 

Grandmother, 

AjJo  habai. 

Morning, 

Mahiniiat. 

Grass, 

Baghut. 

Mother, 

Ina. 

Hair, 

Bohuk. 

Mother-in-law, 

Ugangan  babai. 

Hand, 

Lima. 

Mouth, 

Sinnd. 

Handkerchief, 

Saputangan. 

My, 

Ku,  (suffix). 

Harvest, 

Paganian. 

Nearly, 

Daik-daik. 

He, 

Sia. 

Nephew, 

Anakun  ussuk. 

High, 

Mataas  or  haatas. 

Niece, 

, ,        babai. 

Him, 

Sia. 

Night, 

Dum. 

His, 

Nia. 

No, 

Walah  or  De. 

Horse, 

Kiida. 

Noon, 

Lohor. 

Honse, 

Bai. 

Nose, 

Hilong. 

Ho\ve^'er, 

Din-din. 

Oar, 

Dayong. 

Hunger, 

Gutom. 

Outrigger, 

Katik. 

I, 

Aku. 

Owner, 

Dag. 

Ink, 

Dawat. 

Ox, 

Sa2n  viandangan. 

Jacket, 

Baju. 

Paddle, 

Boxei. 

Joists, 

Hanglat. 

Pen, 

Kalam. 

Kettle, 

Anglit. 

Picture, 

Pata. 

Knee, 

Tuhud. 

Pile, 

Hiiag. 

Knife, 

Luring. 

Plank, 

Digbe. 

Kris, 

Kalis. 

Plough, 

Bagdayan. 

Kris  (large), 

Espir. 

Ploughshare, 

Hidap. 

Land, 

Lupa. 

Quick, 

Masumut. 

Leaf, 

Dahun. 

Rafters, 

Kasau. 

Lid, 

Saub. 

Rain, 

Ulan. 

380 


APPENDIX  IV. 


Ripe, 

Hinog. 

Teeth, 

Ipun. 

Road, 

Daan. 

Therefore, 

Amuna. 

Root, 

Gamut. 

Thick, 

Madakmul. 

Rope, 

Lubit. 

Thin, 

Manahut. 

Rudder, 

Bausan. 

Thirst, 

Ohau. 

Sad.Ue, 

Pakul. 

Tongue, 

Dila. 

Sail, 

Layang. 

Tree, 

Pohon  kahui. 

Sand, 

Buhangin. 

Trousers, 

Soal. 

Sea, 

Dagat. 

Uncle, 

Ammmm. 

Ship, 

Kapal. 

Very, 

Tuud. 

Shallow, 

Hahavau. 

View, 

Dagbus. 

Shoe, 

Tompa. 

War, 

Pagbunolian. 

Shot  (bird). 

Hamhul. 

"Water, 

Tubing. 

Shoulder, 

Habaga. 

Wave, 

Alun. 

Sister  (elder). 

Kaka. 

Weak, 

Maoke. 

Sky, 

Lnngit. 

Week, 

Angkapitu. 

Slave, 

I  pun 

WeU  (a). 

Ktipung. 

Slow, 

Maluming. 

What, 

Unu. 

Son, 

Anak  ussihk. 

When, 

Kuunu. 

Soui-, 

Maaslom. 

^^n^(tlv, 

Hadiin. 

Spear, 

Bujak. 

AVhich, 

Unu. 

Spoon, 

StiduJc. 

White, 

Puti. 

Square, 

Pasagit. 

Who, 

Siu. 

Stalk, 

Batan. 

my. 

Meita,  sebal. 

Star, 

BitUun. 

Window, 

Pamandavang. 

Stem  (of  tree). 

Pohon. 

AVise, 

Pandeh. 

Stii'rup, 

(xigikan. 

AVoman, 

Babai. 

Strong, 

Makamdus. 

AA^ood, 

Kahui. 

Stupid, 

Dupang. 

AVork, 

Paghinangan. 

Sun, 

Suga. 

Year, 

Tahun. 

Sweet, 

Memo. 

Yes, 

Hoon. 

Table, 

Lamesahan. 

Youth, 

Subbul. 

Verbs. 


To  answer, 

Makasib. 

To 

climb. 

Makdag. 

ask, 

Makasuvu. 

die. 

Matai. 

beat, 

Maklagut. 

dive. 

Maklurup. 

l5eg. 

Makpangaio. 

eat. 

Kumaun. 

tuy. 

Magbi. 

fall. 

Makuluk. 

call,       ' 

Maktawak. 

fight. 

Makbunoh 

VOCABULARY  OF  THE  SULU  LANGUAGE. 


381 


To  fly. 

Maklupat. 

To  ride. 

Makpanguda. 

get  up, 

Makhangun. 

rob. 

Maktakau. 

give. 

Mahdehel. 

run. 

Makdagan. 

go, 

MakjMnmc. 

saw. 

Bakal. 

hate. 

Mahhinchi. 

sell. 

Hipaghi. 

have, 

Aun. 

sit. 

Maklinkut. 

lend, 

Makhois. 

sleep, 

Maktuk. 

live, 

Bold. 

stand, 

Maktindxik. 

load, 

Maklium. 

steal, 

Manakau. 

lose, 

Kanijapus  ;  malava. 

swim, 

Maklangui. 

love, 

Makasih. 

travel  (by 

sea),  Makboxei. 

owe, 

Makutang. 

try. 

Maksulei. 

pay, 

Makbaiad. 

win. 

Makapus. 

plough. 

Araro. 

wish. 

Mahaia. 

read, 

Mahaia. 

work, 

Makhinang. 

refuse. 

Mahukau. 

write. 

Maksurat. 

Tenses. 


I  go. 

Makpanau  aku. 

I  work. 

Makhinang  aku. 

I  went. 

Makpanaii  na  aku. 

I  worked, 

Makhinang  na  aku. 

I  have  gone, 

Miapanau  na  aku. 

I  have  worked. 

Hiahinang  na  aku. 

I  will  go, 

Mamanau  aku. 

I  will  work. 

Mamahinang  aku. 

I  would  go. 

Mamanau  sa  aku. 

I  would  work, 

Mamahinangsa  aku 

Go! 

Manau  da  kau. 

Work  ! 

Hinang  da  kau. 

Cardinal  Xumbers. 


1. 

Isa. 

20. 

Kauhan. 

2. 

Dua. 

30. 

Katloan. 

3. 

To. 

40. 

Kaapatan. 

4, 

Apat. 

50. 

Kaliman. 

5. 

Lima. 

60. 

Kcianaman 

6. 

A7iam. 

70. 

Kapituan. 

7. 

Pitu. 

80. 

Kaiualuan. 

8. 

Walu. 

90. 

Kasiaman. 

9. 

Siam. 

100. 

Ongkatus. 

10. 

Hangpu. 

1000. 

Ongibu. 

11. 

Hangpu  tak  isa. 

10,000. 

Salaksa. 

The  Ordinal  nuinber.s  are  merely  the  Cardinal  with  the  prefix  ka 
kadua,  etc.  etc. 


-kaisa, 


382  APPENDIX  IV. 


A  consideration  of  the  above  vocabulary  would  at  first  give  the  impression 
that  the  Sulu  language  is  more  nearly  akin  to  ]\Ialay  than  it  really  is.  Many 
of  the  words  are,  no  doubt,  pure  ]\Ialay,  and  I  learnt  from  Captain  Schiick  that 
there  are  also  a  considerable  number  of  Javanese  and  Bugis  words  in  use.  That 
this  might  be  expected  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  Spaniards  on  their  first 
discovery  of  the  Philippines,  now  three  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  found  Malay  a 
generally  spoken  language  on  the  coasts,  while  the  Bugis  have  l)een  ti'aders  in 
these  seas  from  prehistoric  times. 

In  construction,  however,  the  Sulu  language  differs  considerably  from  the 
Malay,  but  resembles  the  Bisaya  and  Tagalog — the  two  languages  most  Avidely 
spoken  in  the  Philippine  Islands  ^ — and  possibly  others  also  of  this  grouj),  but 
of  this  I  have  no  means  of  judging.  There  are  other  verbal  points  of  re- 
semblance. Mr.  CraAvfurd,  contrasting  the  Tagalog  with  Malay  ("  Malay  Gr. 
and  Diet."  vol.  i.  p.  cvi.),  calls  attention  to  the  frequency  of  h  as  an  initial  in 
the  former  language,  while  in  the  latter  it  is  unknown  in  native  words.  The 
letter  v  also,  non-existent  in  Malay,  is  not  uncommon.  The  Sulu  language  has 
both  these — lioon,  hcciiq),  habavau,  lavang,  etc. — and  the  aspii'ate  is  strong.  The 
apposition  of  two  rough  consonants  and  the  cacophonic  terminal  g  are  sho's\ai 
Ijy  Mr.  Crawfurd  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Philippine  languages,  and  impossible 
in  the  soft,  flowing  Malay,  but  they  are  frequent  in  Sulu,  as  in  the  words  clagbus, 
hipagbi,  hinog,  lidag.  As  in  Tagalog,  aiixiliary  prefixes  or  separate  particles  are 
in  use  to  express  tense  in  the  Sulu  verbs,  which  are  apparently  chiefly  formed 
from  I'adicles  by  the  prefixes  male,  ma,  or  nag.  Numbers  of  the  Sulu  words  are 
Bisayan  or  Tagalog,  and,  on  the  whole,  it  would  seem  that  Sulu  is  almost  as 
distinctly  Philippine  in  its  language  as  it  is  in  its  flora  and  fauna,  although  its 
position  has  been  the  cause  of  the  influx  of  a  considerable  number  of  foreign 
words.- 

^  According  to  Mr.  Keaue  ("Australasia,"  Stanford's  Compeudiinn,  p.  623),  Tagalog  is 
con  lined  to  Mindoro  and  certain  provinces  of  Luzon,  while  the  Bisayan  is  spolcen  over  a 
wider  area  to  the  south  :  "  in  Pauay,  Bohol,  Zebu,  Leyte,  Ticao,  Roniblon,  and  Samar 
exclusively,  and  in  parts  of  the  islands  Mindanao  and  Negros." 

-  In  the  vocabulary  given  above  there  are  four  words — larmsahan,  table ;  sea,  chair  or 
stool  ;  esjnr,  large  kris  ;  and  araro,  to  plough — which  have  doubtless  a  Spanish  origin. 


APPENDIX   V. 


LANGUAGES  OF  WAIGIOU. 


The  following  Vocabulaiie.s,  though  short,  are  sufficient  to 
existing  between  the  ordinary  Waigiou  language  and 
"  Alfuros  "  or  inland  d^vellers  of  the  island.  The  "  Coast 
few  words  are  given,  is  the  lingua  franca  of  the  maritime 
and  islands  of  North-west  New  Guinea,  just  as  Malay  i: 
of  the  Indian  Archipelago.  It  is  a  patois  of  the  Nufoor 
words  : — 


show  the  dissimilarity 
that  spoken  by  the 
Language,"  of  which  a 
tribes  of  the  mainland 
■i  in  the  western  i^arts- 
with  many  introduced 


Waigiou. 

Waigiou  ' '  Alfuuos.  " 

Coast  Laxguage. 

Arm, 

Kanncm  lis, 

Kokan  x>on. 

Bramin. 

Arrow, 

Tunuo, 

Tanu, 

Banana, 

Tala, 

Taal, 

Imbief. 

Beetle, 

Kaminiat, 

Bird, 

Mini, 

Mani, 

Black, 

Metem, 

Matem, 

Paisim. 

Blood, 

Lamos, 

Lamo, 

Body, 

Tinlapo, 

Bitino, 

Bow, 

Fan, 

Fan, 

Breast, 

Sus, 

Su, 

■ 

Brother, 

Timfnor, 

No, 

Butterfly, 

Kalibiobon, 

... 

Cassowary, 

Kalo, 

Mani  lau. 

Manchuar. 

Child, 

Maganan, 

Mahai, 

Coconut, 

Nod, 

Ka-id, 

Serai. 

Cold, 

Kabloti, 

Masoi, 

... 

Come, 

Miama, 

Manin, 

... 

Crocodile, 

Viif, 

Lengoai, 

... 

Daughter, 

Maganan  pin, 

Makai  bin. 

... 

384 


APPENDIX  V. 


Waigiov. 

Waigiou  "  Alfuros." 

Coast  Language. 

Dog, 

Kahle, 

Ai, 

Nufan. 

Ear, 

Tanuan, 

Taintuo, 

Kanamin. 

EgS, 

Tolor, 

Talau, 

Eye, 

Tankabulo, 

Tajin, 

Gamor. 

Father, 

Nikmam  or  Pan, 

Mam  or  Mano, 

Mam. 

Fingers, 

Nenkopo, 

Kokantino, 

Prampin. 

Fire, 

Lap, 

Laj), 

Foor. 

Fish, 

lin, 

Dun, 

Ten. 

Go, 

Jaag, 

Njaan, 

Good, 

Fi. 

Fi, 

Ihie. 

Goura, 

Bihi, 

Muni  hopeor. 

Hair, 

Tapalaia, 

Piar, 

Namhuraim. 

Head, 

Kahiitu, 

Kain  galano, 

Bukoia. 

Hot, 

Binis, 

Mari, 

House, 

Urn, 

Nu, 

Eum. 

Iron, 

Lete, 

Late, 

Island, 

I^f, 

le, 

Meois. 

Land, 

Yagle, 

Lil, 

Large, 

Pale, 

Lol, 

Iba. 

Leg, 

Kannem  pap. 

Kohan  pap, 

Wemin . 

Lightning, 

Maliaman, 

Maliaman, 

Man, 

Matumulu, 

Met, 

Moon, 

Payit, 

Tun, 

Paiek. 

Mother, 

Shian, 

Nen, 

Mountain, 

lel, 

HI, 

Nose, 

Sagulun, 

Sontulo, 

Tanikoia. 

Paddle, 

Tap  or  Pos, 

Taap, 

Kaboris. 

Pig, 

Bo, 

Kayau, 

Ben. 

Prau, 

JVaag, 

Waan, 

Wai. 

Kain, 

Crulim, 

Mei, 

Red, 

Tamil, 

Fanandiek. 

River, 

JFayer  pale,^ 

ire  lal,^ 

Roof, 

Laflif, 

Kate, 

... 

Sand, 

Dad, 

CJum, 

Sea, 

Lid, 

Lul, 

See! 

Tern, 

Tern, 

Sister, 

Fnor-pin, 

No-Un, 

Sky, 

Fund, 

N'na, 

1  Literally  "  large  water. " 


LANGUAGES  OF  WAIGIOU. 


385 


Waigiou. 

Waigiou  "Alfuros.' 

Coast  Language. 

Small, 

Palepo, 

Men-men, 

Ibawa. 

Snake, 

Kor, 

Lemdt, 

Son, 

Maganan  man. 

Mahai  man, 

Spear, 

Tabiol, 

Abe  or  Na, 

Star, 

Tidn, 

Kato, 

Stone, 

Katin, 

Sun, 

Lasan, 

Gamiul, 

Eeas. 

Tooth, 

Kalifin, 

Walin-XLxdin, 

NaJioia. 

Thunder, 

Lato, 

Lalor, 

Toes, 

Komjxq), 

Kateyem  j^cip, 

IFimpin. 

Tongue, 

Galan, 

Arena, 

Eamu. 

Tree, 

Ga-kario, 

Aikapoyu, 

Village, 

Nu, 

Kaleiju, 

Water, 

JFaijer, 

'     m  or  TFe, 

IVayer. 

White, 

Bus, 

Ambu, 

Piuper. 

Wind, 

Moro, 

Mara, 

Woman, 

Pin, 

Bin, 

Yellow 

Mani, 

Maniaia 

VOL.  IL 


2c 


APPENDIX  VI. 


LANGUAGES  OF  JOBI  ISLAND. 

From  a  native  of  Ansus  who  spoke  a  little  Malay,  and  througli  others  conversant 
with  Nufoor — a  language  well  known  in  JoLi,  in  which  our  friend  Mr.  Jens, 
the  Dutch  missionary,  was  a  proficient — I  was  able  to  get  together  a  tolerably 
large  vocabulary  of  the  language  spoken  by  the  Natawoi,  an  interior  tribe  of 
"  Alfuros,"  among  whom  one  of  the  Ansus  jnen  had  lived  for  some  time.  The 
greater  part  of  this  I  was  unfortunate  enough  to  lose,  and  I  am  thus  only  able 
to  give  a  much  reduced  list,  together  with  a  few  words  of  the  Ansus  language. 
There  are  said  to  be  seven  tribes  of  Alfuros  in  Jobi,  and  of  these  the  Natawoi 
and  Roba  speak  the  same  language,  as  do  also  the  Papuma  and  Ai'owaba.  Those 
of  the  Marau,  the  Aiomi,  and  the  Ariwawa  are  said  to  be  distinct.  There  are 
thus  live  languages  in  the  island  exclusive  of  those  of  the  coast  dwellers,  and  all 
of  them,  we  were  told,  are  sufficiently  dissimilar  to  be  incomprehensible  to 
persons  of  another  tribe. 


Natawoi  Alfuros 

of  Jobi. 

Ansus. 

Arm, 

Waranduma, 

Arndet, 

Ta. 

Arrow, 

Attopai, 

Bad, 

TVoraba, 

Moiaba. 

Bird, 

Aia. 

Black, 

Rarie, 

Bade. 

Blood, 

Ruuma, 

Ria. 

Body, 

Netarre, 

Bow, 

AiJaix>ai^ 

... 

LANGUAGES  OF  JOBI  ISLAND. 


387 


Natawoi  Alfuros  of  Jobi. 

Ansus. 

Breast  (female), 

Nefi, 

Brother, 

Neeta, 

Cassowary, 

Woonlcei, 

JVoorabai. 

Child, 

Aimioma, 

Cingulum  piidicitise 
(male), 

} 

Ararei, 

Kahoi. 

Cingulum  pudicitiae 
(female), 

\ 

Andau. 

Cockatoo, 

Kara. 

Coconut, 

Ambo, 

Angadi. 

Comb, 

Yu, 

Daughter, 

Karaioi, 

Dog, 

Wona, 

IFona. 

Ear, 

Tarakamh'i, 

Eye, 

Denkami, 

Father, 

Tamani, 

Fingers, 

JFarakeia, 

Finger-nails, 

Warandi, 

Fire, 

Addia. 

Fish, 

Tiia, 

Dia. 

Foot, 

Aimbd, 

Good, 

Biorato, 

Biento.  ■ 

Goura, 

Mambara, 

Mambaru. 

Hair, 

Ruandan, 

Hand, 

War  an  kekeia, 

Head, 

Duando, 

House, 

Mamqn, 

Island, 

Niotakutu. 

Land, 

Wt, 

Large, 

Babapai, 

Baba. 

Leg, 

Aicadd, 

Lightning, 

Bebe'ria, 

Man, 

Boiva, 

Assua. 

Mat, 

Andau, 

Moon, 

Yemhai, 

]\Iother, 

Iniijani, 

Mountain, 

Taioi, 

Wi. 

Mouth, 

Uamintina, 

Neck, 

Rokand, 

388 


APPENDIX  VI. 


Natawoi  Alfuros  of  Jobi. 

Ansus. 

Necklace, 

Korombobi. 

Nose, 

JVoomjmjemo, 

Paddle, 

Bo])ai, 

Paradisca 

•painuma,             Anobatena, 

Aiababa. 

Pig, 

JVonai, 

Tapid. 

Piau, 

TFaap, 

Eain, 

Maman, 

... 

Red, 

Ruuina, 

Airomarai. 

Roof, 

Bandau, 

Sea, 

... 

Bawana. 

Slioulder- 

strap, 

Are. 

Sister, 

Daroivabi, 

Sky, 

Bora, 

Small, 

Poi, 

Amiamanta. 

Son, 

Pot, 

Spear, 

JFanduuba, 

Star, 

Piori, 

Stone, 

Parandi, 

Kami. 

Sun, 

JVopai, 

Teeth, 

Daremo, 

Thnndei', 

Kuidu, 

Toes, 

Ain  Jcea, 

Tongue, 

Orempa, 

Tree, 

Aim, 

Airumu 

Water, 

Mare, 

Maria. 

White, 

Biuvju. 

Wind, 

Waana, 

Woman, 

Pituini, 

Wristlet, 

Tabarare. 

ilr.  Jens  informed  me  that  during  our  stay  in  Jobi  he  recognised  many 
words  of  the  Ansus  language  as  closely  resembling  Nufoor.  The  numeral 
systems  of  the  two  are,  however,  very  different.  Above  ten  in  tlie  last-named 
language  the  method  of  formation  is  quite  regular.  Thus,  forty  is  samfur  di  fiak 
(10  by  4)  ;  eighty,  samfur  di  ivaar  (10  by  8),  and  so  on.  The  Ansus  method  of 
numeration,  on  the  other  hand,  is  very  irregular,  there  being  a  root  word  for 
twenty,  while  the  tens  above  that  number  are  formed  partly  by  multiplication 
and  partly  by  addition,  as  may  be  seeii  from  the  following  table  : — 


LANGUAGES  OF  J  OBI  ISLAND. 


389 


1. 

Ko'iri. 

2. 

Koclu. 

3. 

Torn. 

4. 

Manua. 

5. 

Rim. 

6. 

Wonu. 

7. 

Itu. 

8. 

Indiatoru. 

9. 

Indiatan. 

10. 

lira. 

11. 

Ura  Jcoiri. 

20. 

Pere. 

30. 

Pere  ura. 

40. 

Pia  kod'U. 

50. 

Pia  kodu  ura. 

60. 

Pia  torn. 

70. 

Penitu. 

80. 

Pendiatoru. 

90. 

Pendiatan. 

100. 

Pia  uran. 

APPENDIX    VII. 


TABLE    OF    THE     TOTAL 

PRODUCE       FOR       THE 

IN   1884: 


EXPORT    OF    THE    CHIEF    ARTICLES    of 
WHOLE     OF     THE     NETHERLANDS     INDIA 


Kilos. 

Value  ix  Gulden 

Cloves        .          .          .          .          .              14,637 

14,637 

Mace 

284,916 

427,374 

Nutme<i,s     . 

1,256,334 

1,884,501 

Dammar     . 

4,613,613 

3,229,529 

Rattan 

15,998,767 

3,199,753 

Gutta 

1,670,152 

3,340,304 

Birds'  nests 

153,982 

153,982 

Trij)ang 

583,996 

583,996 

Coconuts     . 

1,762,775 

Siiffar 

359,035,857  1 

71,807,171 

Pejjper 

5,700,934 

2,530,214 

Paradise  birds 

30,730 

Coffee 

41,055,459  2 

19,744,564 

Rice  . 

17,946,117  3 

1,466,833 

^  Of  which  Java  and 
-  Of  which  Java  and 
^  Of  which  Java  and 


Madura  together  export  358,782,140  kilos. 
Madura  together  exijort  24,400,-322  kilcs. 
Madura  together  export  10,505,952  kilos. 


EXPORTS  OF  THE  DUTCH  EAST  INDIES. 


391 


1] 


TABLE  OF  THE  AMOUNT  (in  Kilos  except  where  otlierwise  specified)  of 
THE  CHIEF  EXPORTS  of  NORTH  and  SOUTH  CELEBES,  AM- 
BOINA,  AND  TERNATE  for  the  Year   1884.1 


Celebes 
(South). 

Celebes 
(Jlinahasa). 

Amboina. 

Terxate. 

Tripaiig  . 

480,940 

1,339 

],440 

10,546 

Birds'  nests 

value  in  gulden 

1,360 

2,720 

Mace 

22,175 

10,057 

165,619 

5,323 

Dammar . 

2,022,418 

78,640 

2,103 

128,580 

Copal       . 

value  in  gulden 

137,300 

Gutta       . 

98,977 

Cacao 

34,249 

33,525 

3,200 

5,466 

Coconuts 

value  in  gulden 

180,624 

245 

Coffee       . 

6,182,887 

101,644 

900 

Cloves     . 

6,510 

2,518 

Nutmegs 

181,940 

30,014 

635,491 

26,205 

Rattan     . 

808,884 

515,108 

47,800 

Paradise  birds 
value  in  gulden 

25,880 

50 

4,750 

^  The  official  Statistieh  van  de  In  en  Uitroerrechten  in  Nederlansch- Indie  gives  no  in 
formation  concerning;  Banda. 


INDEX   TO   VOL.   11. 


Abai  River  ami  village,  111. 

Alfuros  of  Waigiou,  262. 

Alum  in  Obi  Major,  240. 

Araboina,  326  ;  sea-gardens  at,  329  ;  cli- 
mate, 330. 

"American  Trading  Company  "  of  Borneo, 
85. 

Amulets,  Papuan,  278. 

Anchorage  at  Batchian,  243. 

Audai,  289,  301. 

Annexation  of  Labuan,  122. 

Aiwa  depressicoi-iiis,  179,  191,  201,  211. 

Ansus,  301. 

Anthothrcptes  malacccnsis,  17. 

Ajirosmidus  dorsalis,  261. 

Araclinothcra,  extraordinary  length  of 
beak  in,  97. 

Areiiga  saccharifera,  159,  171. 

Arfak  range,  height  of,  298  ;  natives  of, 
294. 

Armour,  chain,  in  Sulu,  57. 

Arrows,  Papuan,  278. 

Artamiis  leucorhynchus,  34. 

Aru  Islands,  337. 

Aviar}^  of  Resident  of  Ternate,  218. 

Babiuu.sa,    190  ;  hunt  on   Limbe  Island, 

202  ;  measurement,  190,  205. 
Baju,  4. 
Balembangan   occupied    by    the   English, 

109  ;  garrison  massacred,  110. 
Bampfylde,  Air.,  on  birds'- nest   caves   of 

Gomanton,  99. 
Baucoran  Island,  2. 
Banda,  331. 


"  Banguey,"  108. 

Banguey  Island,  106  ;  cultivation  in,  108. 

Barringtonia,  fruit  of,  used  to  catch  fish, 
20. 

Barter  in  Xew  Guinea,  list  of  articles  for, 
220. 

Batauta,  250,  253. 

Batanta  reef,  258. 

Batavia,  131  ;  cholera  at,  132. 

Batchian,  234,  242,  354. 

Bees'  wax,  gathering,  107. 

Bclideus  hrcvice2is,  349. 

Beri-beri,  337,  355. 

Bichara,  a  Malay,  13. 

Biraa,  146. 

Birds  of  Paradise,  skins  of,  227,  341  ; 
trade  in,  228  ;  Gamoens  on,  227  ;  nidi- 
fication,  264  ;  Wallace's  Standard-wing 
{Seviioptera  wallacci),  244  ;  Six-plumed 
{Parotia sexpennis),Zo7  ;  Superb (ioj^/io?-- 
Mna  supcrha),  357  ;  Wattled  [Paradi- 
galla,  carunculata),  295  ;  Twelve-wired 
[Sclcucides  nigricans),219,  319,  325,  346  ; 
Lesser  (Paradisea  minor),  307,  316,  325 
347  ;  Great  (P.  apoda),  340,  341  ;  Red 
{P.  rubra),  263,  266  ;  Wilson's  [Diphyl- 
lodes  ivilsoni),  254  ;  King  (Cicinnurus 
regius),  308. 

Ijird  caught  in  spider's  web,  104. 

Birds  peculiar  to  Sulu,  78  ;  to  Celebes,  180. 

Birds'  nests,  edible,  99. 

Bisa  Island,  241. 

Block-house,  Spanish,  near  Jolo,  59. 

Boats  used  in  Sulu,  53  ;  in  Salwatti,  319, 
321  ;  ill  Jobi,  309. 


394 


INDEX. 


"  liongon,"  105. 

Bongon,  murders  by  the  natives  at,  103. 

Borassua  jialni,  151. 

Borneo,  fauna  and  flora  of,  76  ;  political 

divisions  of,  85. 
British  North  Borneo,  83,  86. 
' '  British   North   Borneo   Company,"  83  ; 

history  of,  85  ;  territory  and  settlements, 

86  ;  sport  in,    101  ;  recent  annexations 

of,  115. 
Brunei,    123  ;     scenes   iu   the   city,    127  ; 

market,  128  ;  palace  of  the  Sultan  at, 

128  ;  Sultan  of,  129. 
Brunei  River,  123. 

Biigis  immigration  into  Sumbawa,  133. 
Bull-fight  in  Jolo,  70. 
Buludujii  tribe,  huts  of,  91,  92  ;  gi'aves  of, 

95  ;  legend  of  origin,  96. 
Burbidgc,  Mr.,  on  Sulu  flora,  79. 
Burial,  Sulu  mode  of,  36  ;  Nufoor  customs 

of,  298,  313. 
Burial-pit  at  Pogoyaina,  213. 


Cacao  in  Sulu,  61  ;  disease  of,  in  Batchian 

167. 
Cacatua  hcematuropyrjia,  34. 
Cagayan  Sulu,   3  ;  action  of  the  Spanish 

in,   4;  features  of,   7;  weather,   7,  18; 

crater-lakes,  8,  14  ;  trade,  16  ;  a  recent 

island,  20. 
Calornis  pnnaycnsis  occurring  in  Cagayan 

Sulu,  7. 
Camoens  on  the  Birds  of  Paradise,  227. 
Cajrrimulgus   affinis,   144  ;    C.    macrurus, 

ibid. 
Carpo2}haga,   extensile  mandible  of,   186  ; 

note  of,  343. 
Carpophaga   pickeringi,  13 ;   C.    j-jaif/n?/', 

186  ;  C.  viyristicivora,  247. 
Carving  in  Sulu,  54  ;  of  the  Jobi  Papuans, 

311,  316. 
"Cascado,"  313. 

Cassowary  shot  on  Salwatti,  251. 
Cassowaries,  tame,  349. 
Casuarius  imocqypcndiculatus,  251. 
Cathedral  of  Lamery,  2. 
Cattle   in    Dorei   Bay,   299  ;   in   Salwatti, 

321  ;  ridden  in  Cagayan  Sulu,  16. 


Celebes,     Dutch     settlements     in,     164  ; 

zoological  features  of,  214. 
Ceri-ns  timoricnsis,  145. 
Ceycopsis  fallax,  198. 
Chabrol  Gulf,  exploration  of,  261. 
Champac  {Michclia),  36. 
Cliinaman  in  ilalaysia,  the,  126. 
Chinese  in  North  Borneo,  84,  89. 
Cholera    in    Lapac    and    Siassi,    73 ;    at 

Kimanis,  114  ;  at^Batavia,  132. 
"Chugs,"  351. 
Church  at  Tondano,  176. 
Cinnyris  julice,  35  ;  C.  cmriccps,  226. 
Clove-tree  destroj'ed  in  Ternate,  232. 
Cloves,  export  of,  from  Amboina,  329. 
Coal-mines  of  Labuan,  119  ;  near  Brunei, 

120. 
Cockatoo,    Scarlet  -  vented,    34;    Lemon 

crested,  138  ;  Great  Black,  330. 
Cockfight,  a  Malay,  160. 
CoH"ee  in  Minahasa,  171,  172. 
Collocalia  linchii,  edible  nests  of,  99. 
Combs,  Papuan,  276,  304. 
Convicts  in  Jolo,  68. 
Cradle,  a  Sulu,  14. 
Cranorrhinus  cassidix,  188. 
Crater-lakes  of  Cagayan  Sulu,  8,  14. 
Crocodile-farm,  a,  163. 
Crocodiles  in  the  JIaros  River,  163. 
C'uscus,  Celebean,  168. 
Cynopithcci'.s  nigrescens,  198. 
CTfpripiedmm  gardineri,  309. 

Daxce,  Malay,  192,  242. 
Dasyptilns  2)csqucti,  219. 
Deer  in  Sumbawa,  145  ;   in  Gilolo,  226  ; 

run  down  on  foot,  244. 
Dcndrolagus  inustus,  351 ;  D.  ursimis,  ibid. 
Dinner,  Malay,  160. 
iJiphyllodes  %uilsoni,  254. 
Disscmnrus  brachyp)horus,  97. 
Dobbo,  337. 
Dorei   Bay,   272  ;   mission  at,   250,   273  ; 

villages  of,  273. 
Doves,  Pygmy,  227,  261. 
Dress,    Malay,    3  ;    of  the   Sulus,   31  ;    of 

Tiingku  of  Sumbawa,  140  ;  of  the  Dutch 

in  Malaysia,  154,  155. 
Drongo-shrike,  Borneau,  97. 


INDEX. 


395 


Drought  in  Surabawa,  134,  138. 

Dutch  in  Malaysia,  customs  of,  lf>5,  158  ; 

dress  of,  154,  155. 
D3'aks,  Tingilan,  visit  to,  111. 

EcHiDXA,  Bruijn's,  317. 

"  Edible  Swallow,"  87. 

Efbe,  323,  352. 

Elephant  in  Borneo,  101. 

Elopura,  87  ;  "  boom  "  at,  84  ;  town  burnt, 

89  ;  wages  and  population,  ibid. 
Uos  insularis,  247  ;  E.  cyanostriatus,  345. 
Eruption  of  Krakatau,  209,  275,  333  ;  of 

Makian,  231  ;  of  Tambora,  146. 
Eruptions,  volcanic,  noise  of,  heard  in  Misol 

and  Batchian,  354. 
Eucalyptus,    probable  northern  limit   of, 

324. 
Eurasians  in  ^lalaysia,  position  of,  156. 
Erxalf actor ia  chinensis,  62. 

Fakxik,  301. 

Fauna  and  Hora  of  Borneo,  76  ;  of  Sulu, 

78  ;  of  the  Philippines,  77. 
Feasts  of  the  Papuans,  286. 
Fire,  Papuan  method  of  obtaining,  263. 
Fish-spears,  ilalaysian,  258. 
Floods  at  Pa  par  and  Kimauis,  115. 
Fhj.  H.M.S.,  visits  Marudu  Bay,  103. 
Flying  Foxes,  17. 
Forest,  characteristics  of  a  tropical,  9  ;  in 

Borneo,  94  ;   in  Celebes,   188  ;   in  New 

Guinea,  254. 
Forge  used  by  Xufoorean  blacksmiths,  285. 
Fort  Barneveld,  243. 
Fort,  ruined,  on  Obi  Major,  238. 
Forts,  ancient,  in  Ternate,  223  ;  in  Banda, 

336. 
Funeral  customs  of  the  Xufoor  tribe,  298. 

Gaba-gaba,  221. 

Gallus  bankiva,  Sulu  method  of  catching, 

62. 
Gaya  Bay,  settlement  at,  112. 
Gclasimios,  habits  of,  190. 
Geo2)elia  raaugci,  134. 
"German  Borneo  Company,"  108. 
Germans  in  the  Netherlands  India,  207. 
Ghosts,  Papuan  belief  in,  298. 


Goa,  entertainment  given  by  King  of,  158. 
Goatsuckers,  abundance  of,  in  Sumbawa, 

144. 
Gobini,  legend  of,  282. 
Gold  at  Pogoyama,  213. 
Goldsmith's  work  at  Brunei,  126. 
Gomanton,  birds'-nest  caves  of,  99. 
Gorontalo,  207. 
Goura  victorice,  316,  348. 
Graucalus  melanops,  324. 
Graves,  Suln,  36,  44  ;  Sumbawan,  149. 
Grub  attacking  coffee-berry,  175. 
Gudgeon,  jumping  (PeriophtJialmus),  190. 
Gunong  Api  (Sumbawa),  150. 
Gunong  Api  (Banda),  332. 

H.tLcro.y  cnLonis,  7  ;  IT.  diops,  226. 

Ham  River,  Waigiou,  262. 

Harbour  of  Sandakan,  87. 

Hatam,  natives  of,  293. 

Hats  of  Sultan's  guard,  Ternate,  225. 

Hcmilcia  vastatrix  in  Sulu,  61, 

Herberg  Straits,  232,  355. 

Himanto2nis  leucocephalus,  208. 

Hornbills,  188. 

Houses,  Niifoor,  279  ;  Sumbawan,  134  ;  at 

Andai,  290. 
Hijdralcdor  gallinaceus,  208. 

Idol-houses  of  Dorei  Bay,  281. 

Idols  of  the  Papuans,  280. 

Infant  mortality  in  Minahasa,  173. 

Invercrnc  wrecked  on  coast  of  Sum- 
bawa, 142. 

Ircna  criniger,  feathers  of,  used  for  jewel- 
lerj^  97. 

Islands,  Topper's  Hoedje  and  Little  For- 
trme,  non-existent,  337. 

Istana  of  Sultan  of  Sulu,  26. 

Ixodes,  attacks  of,  265. 

Jacaxa,  208. 

Jack-tree,  6. 

Jobi  Island,  301. 

Jolo,   46,  358  ;  life  in,  48  ;  garrison,   49  ; 

Governor  of,  47,  52,   72  ;    attacked  by 

the  Sulus,  53  ;  built,  81. 
Jungle-fowl,  62. 
Juramentados,  53,  358. 


396 


INDEX. 


Kaiari  Island,  307  ;  adventure  on,  314. 

Kanari  nut,  179. 

Kangaroos,  tree,  351. 

Kema,  199,  356. 

Kettlewell  Bay,  206. 

Kilwaru  Island,  338. 

Kimanis  River,  settlement  on,  114. 

Kina  Balu,  Mount,  109. 

Kingfisher,  Racquet-tailed,  237. 

Kites,  Malay,  230. 

Klabat  Volcano,  199,  200. 

Kontroleiir  of  Tondano,  172. 

Korowaar,  280,  313. 

Krakatau  eruption  audible   at   Macassar, 

209 ;    at    Dorei    Baj^    275  ;     wave    at 

Banda,  333. 
Krisses,  Sumbawan,  136,  140. 
Kudat,  102,  104. 

Labour,    enforced,    in    Minahasa,    172  ; 

Chinese  in  Xorth  Borneo,  89. 
Labuan,  117  ;  exports  and  imports  of,  121 ; 

annexation  of,  122. 
Labuan  Penakan,  144. 
Lakes  Jiwata  and  Singuan,  11. 
Lamery,  2. 
Languages  of  Sumbawa,  148  ;  of  Celebes. 

175. 
Lanook  {Musa  textilis),  61. 
Lapae  Island,  72,  73. 
Legends,  Nufoor,  282,  283. 
Liatto,  210. 
Libarran  Island,  102. 
Lignite  in  Obi  ilajor,  239. 
Likoupang,  186  ;  dance  at,  192. 
Limbe  Island,  201. 
Limbe  Straits,  198,  199. 
Limboto  Lake,  208. 
Livistmiia  palm,  189. 
Loc,  a,  juramentado  of,  53. 
Lombok,  Peak  of,  132. 
Lophorhina  supcrha,  357. 
Loricidus  honapartci,  35. 
Lories,  Brush- tongued,  180. 
Lorius  fiavo-palliatus,  236. 
Lukut  Lapas,  59. 

Mac  ACTS  cryoMoiGrs  in  Cagayan  Sulu,  20. 
Macassar,  153. 


Maeronus  kettleioelli,  57. 

Maim  Bay,  187. 

"  Major  "  of  Tomohon,  170. 

Makian,  eruption  of,  231. 

Mala-mala  Island,  239. 

Malay  cigarettes,  4  ;  costume,  3. 

Maleo,   193  ;  nesting  habits,  196  ;  egg  of, 

ibid. 
Mallawalle  Channel,  102. 
Mangrove  swamp,  dead,  240. 
Maugundi,  legend  of,  283. 
Manuen,  279. 

Marchcsa,  stranding  of  the,  165. 
Marchesa  Bay,  253. 
Market  at  Sumbawa  Town,  142. 
Maros  River,  160. 
JLarriage-customs,  Nufoor,  287. 
Mcgaccpludon  malco  {see  Maleo). 
Megapode,  Labuan  {Jlegapodiiis  loici),  122. 
Meimbun,  23,  53  ;  market  at,  24,  56. 
Menado,  165,  167. 
Microglossus  aterrimus,  330. 
Minahasa,  164  ;  villages  of,  171. 
Misol,  323,  352. 
Mission,    Dorei   Bay,    250,    273,    284 ;   at 

Ron  and  Meoswaar,  285  ;  at  Andai,  293. 
Mohammedan  women  in  Malaysia,  14. 
Moluccas,   216. 
Momos,  259. 
Mosques  in  Dobbo,  344. 
Mourning,  mats  worn  as,  by  the  Papuans, 

305. 
Mygale,  Bornean,  105. 
Myristicivora  bicolor,  its  abundance  iu  Ban- 

coran,  2. 

Napriboi,  268. 

Narvoii,  312. 

Nasitcrna  bruijni,  297. 

iSTew  Guinea,  248  ;  climate  of,  291. 

Xicobar  pigeon,  241. 

Nipa  palm  [NijM  fruticans),  24,  91  ;  leaf 

used  for  cigarettes,  28. 
Nose-bar,  Papuan,  276. 
Nufoor,  legend  of  origin  of  name,  277. 
Numenius  iiropyg talis  jierching  on  trees, 

18  ;  nesting  on  trees,  19. 
Nutmeg  Pigeon,  Bornean,  3. 
Nutmeg-tree  and  fruit,  178,  333. 


INDEX. 


39: 


Obi  Latu,  240. 

Obi  ilajor,    235 ;    birds   of,    237  ;    ruined 

fort  on,  238. 
Orang-utan,  tame,  105. 
Orchid,  new  species  of,  309. 
Ordeal,  trial  by,  among  the  Nufoor  tribe, 

289. 
Oriolus  hrodcripi,  138. 
Ornithology  of  Sulu  gi'oup,  78. 
Ornitho2)tera  poscido7i  (pcgasiis),  260  ;    0. 

arruana,  344. 
Ovuluin  ovum,  305. 

Palmyiia  palms,  151. 

Pandauus,  15,  209. 

Pangasiuan  Island,  69. 

Pangerang  Hadji  Usman,  3,  13. 

Pauglima  Dammang,  42,  66  ;  death  of,  68. 

Papaw  fruit,  44. 

Papuan  race,  characteristics  of,  252,  320  ; 

phj'sical  features,  256,  294  ;  ornaments 

of,  257,   276,    294,  305,  311  ;    customs, 

286,  298,  313. 
Paradigalla  carunculata,  295. 
Paradisca    apoda,    340,    341  ;    P.    minor, 

307,  316,  347  ;  P.  rubra,  263. 
Parang,  Sulu,  4. 
Parang  village,  42,  58. 
Parotia  scxpennis,  357. 
Parrado,  Don  Julian,  47,  52,  72. 
Parrot-shooting  in  Sulu,  40. 
Parus  cincrcus  in  Sumbawa,  149. 
Pearl-divers,  Sulu,  45,  58. 
Peaii-fishery  in  Am  Islands,  341. 
Pericrocotus  marchesce,  57. 
Pesquet's  parrot,  219. 
Pets  on  board  the  Marchcsa,  346. 
Philippines,  fauna  and  flora  of  the,  77. 
Phosphorescence  in  Jolo  Harbour,  49. 
Pigs  suckled  by  Papuan  women,  351. 
Pig-sticking  in  Sulu,  51. 
Pigeons,  Crowned,  348  ;  Fruit-eating,  186. 
Pillows,  Papuan,  316. 
Pirates  in  Pangasiuan,  69  ;  of  Tawi-tawi, 

75  ;  in  Sumbawa,  144. 
Pitt  Strait,  270. 
Pitta  maxima,  Til. 

Pogoyama,210;  nativesof,212;  goldat,213. 
Poisoning  of  Sultana  of  Sulu,  38. 


Ponies,  trade  in,  at  Sumbawa,  136. 
Population    of    Cagayan    Sulu,     16  ;     of 

Elopura,  89  ;  of  Sumbawa,  147  ;  of  Taal 

district,  2. 
Porphyrio  indiciis,  208. 
Portuguese  in  Ternate,  222. 
Pottery-making  by  Papuans  of  Dorei,  285. 
Prau    of    Sultan,     at    Ternate,     225 ;    at 

Batcliian,  233  ;  of  Bugis  traders  in  Aru, 

343. 
Prickly  pear  [Opuntia]  in  Sumbawa,  138. 
Proediidna  bruijni,  317. 
Ptilopus    melanoccphahis,    180  ;    P.   ^)i<Z- 

ehellus,  261. 

Quail,  Button,  62  ;  new  species  found  on 
Gnnong  Api,  151. 

Raft.s  used  in  Cagayan  Sulu,  16. 

Rainfall  of  Sulu,  52  ;  of  Ternate,  226. 

Puijah  Ampat,  the,  249. 

Rajah,  a  Sulu,  21. 

Rattan  palm,  187  ;  uses  of,  189. 

Phipidornis,  270. 

Rivers,  characterfstics  of  Bornean,  90. 

Roller,  Temminck's,  ISO. 

Eum-slara,  281. 

Rumphius,  tomb  of,  328. 

Sabah  {see  British  Xorth  Borneo). 

Sago,    native    method    of    making,    245  ; 

factories  at  Labuan,  121. 
Sagueir  wine,  159. 
Salwatti  Island,  318  ;  praus  of  natives  of, 

319. 
Samati,  318,  319  ;  Rajah  of,  ibi<i. 
Sandakan,  84,  86  ;  trade  of,  98,  101. 
Sangeang  Island,  150. 
Sarawak,  recent  extension  of  the  territory, 

115  ;  advantages  of,  over  North  Borneo, 

116. 
Sarcops  calvus,  34. 
Sarongs,  3,  4,  127. 
Schools,  national,  in  Minahasa,  177. 
Schiick,  Captain,  60. 
Scissi rostrum  dubium,  168. 
Scurvy,  fatal  case  of,  on  Marchesa,  353. 
Seleucidcs  nigricans,  219,  319.  346  ;  method 

of  catching,  319. 


398 


INDEX. 


Semioptera  wallacci,  244. 

Setonda  Island,  144. 

Settlements  in  Sulu  Archipelago,  Spanish, 

46,  72,  81. 
Siassi  Island,  72. 

Sibutu  Passage  the  zoographic  boundary- 
line  of  Borneo  and  Sulu,  79. 
Sigaliud  Eiver,  90. 
Silaui,  cultivation  at,  90. 
Sircnia,  visit  of,  to  Cagaj-an  Sulu,  4. 
Skin  -  disease   prevalent   in   New  Guinea, 

312. 
Smallpox  epidemic  in  Cagayau  Sulu,  16  ; 

at  Gorontalo,  210. 
Spaniards   establish    themselves   in   Sulu, 

46  ;  constant  struggles  -with  the  Sulus, 

81  ;     attempt    suzeraintj'    of    Cagayan 

Sulu,  4. 
Spear  of  Sultana  of  Sulu,  31. 
Spermoude  Arcliipelago,  163. 
Spice  Islands,  216. 
Spider,  bird-eating,   105  ;   bird  caught  in 

web  of,  104. 
Spirits    of    the    Papuans  —  Faknik,    301  ; 

Manuen,  279  ;  Narvoii,  312. 
Sport  in  Xorth  Borneo,  101. 
Sultan  of  Brunei,  129. 
Sultan  of  Sulu,  27  ;  territory  of,  29  ;  wives 

of,  39  ;   photographing  the,  55  ;   death 

of,  39. 
Sultan  of  Sumbawa,  142  ;  palace  of,  ibid. 
Sulu  Archipelago,  fauna  and  flora  of,  78  ; 

identical  with  the  Philippines,  79. 
Sulu  Island,  23  ;  scenery  of,  33  ;  Spanish 

settlement   on,    46 ;   rainfall,    52,    359  ; 

boats  of,  53  ;  products  of,  61  ;  tobacco 

cultivation  in,  63. 
Sulu  Sea,  2. 
Sumbawa,    131,    133;    pony -trade    with 

Mauritius,  136  ;  features  of,  137  ;  birds 

of,    149  ;    population,    147  ;    languages, 

148. 
Sumbawa  Bay,  133. 
Sumbawa  Town,  visit  to,  136  ;  population, 

147. 
Sun-birds,  17,  35,  226. 

Taal  Yolcaxo,  2. 
Tahirun,  228. 


Talisse  Island,  185. 

Tamboi'a  Volcano,  144,  145  ;  eruption  of, 
146. 

Tanygnathus  burbidgci,  41. 

Tanysiptcra,  236 ;   T.  obietisis,  237. 

Tarsier  {Tarsiiis  sjpcctrum),  183. 

Tataan,  74. 

Tattooing  among  the  Papuans,  277. 

Tawi-tawi  Island,  74. 

Ternate,  216,  355  ;  tombs  at,  217  ;  volcano, 
2]  8;  history,  222;  old  Portuguese  forts, 
223 ;  Sultan's  palace,  225 ;  naeteorologj', 
226,  355  ;  life  in,  229. 

Tiangi,  46. 

Tobacco  cultivation  in  Sulu,  63  ;  in  Sum- 
bawa,  138. 

Tombs  of  the  Sultans  of  Bima,  149. 

Toniohon,  170. 

Tondano,  road  to,  167;  lake  of,  172  ;  tribes 
in  neighbourhood  of,  176  ;  waterfall 
near,  177. 

Treaty,  Sulu,  81. 

Tree,  gigantic  buttressed,  187  ;  aerial- 
rooted,  267. 

Trichoglossus  orncdus,  ISO. 

Tridacna  gigas,  13. 

Triton  Bay,  Dutch  settlement  at,  249. 

Troj)idorhynchus  timoriensis,  138. 

Tulian  Lsland,  46. 

Tungku  Jirewi,  140. 

Turnix  2}ov:clli,  151. 

Turnstone  adopting  arboreal  habits,  18. 

Unhealthin'ess   of    Jolo,    52 ;    of    New 

Guinea,  273. 
Usukan  Bay,  112. 

Verbrandte  Hoek,  198. 

"  Yereendigde  Oost-indische  Compagnie," 

239. 
Viverra  tangalunga  eating  coffee,  175. 
Volcano     of    Taal,     2  ;     Tambora,     144  ; 

Klabat,  199  ;  Ternate,  218  ;  Banda,  332. 

Waigiou  Island,  259 ;  Alfuros  of,   262  ; 

languages  of,    ibid.;    recent  connection 

with  Batanta,  270. 
Wallace's  Standard-wing,  244. 
Wallace  Bay,  193. 


INDEX. 


399 


Wallace,  Mr.,  on  eruption  of  Tambora, 
146  ;  on  the  Dutch  system,  180  ;  on  the 
antiquity  of  Celebes,  215. 

Water,  scarcity  of,  on  North  Bornean 
coast,  114. 

Waterfall  at  Maros,  162  ;  at  Tondano,  177. 

Week  Islands,  246. 

Whimbrel  adopting  arboreal  habits,  18. 

Wilson's  Bird  of  Paradise,  254. 


Woodpeckers  extending  to  Sunibawa,  149. 
Wood-swallow,  34. 

Yacht  Bay,  19. 
Yungipieus  grandis,  149. 

Zoological  peculiarities  of  Celebes,  214. 
Zoology  of  Cagayan  Sulu,  20. 
Zosterops  sumhavensis,  149. 


THE   END 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  CLARK,  Edinburgh, 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

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