Eea.g&i' > f/Wd f/eet f'/j yt/t^ NORTH CELEBES PRINTED ET SrOTTIBWOODB AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON PERtOPHTHALMUS KOELREUTERI (Natural size) NATURALIST IN NORTH CELEBES A NABEATIVE OP TRAVELS IN MINAHASSA, THE SANGIR AND TALAUT ISLANDS, WITH NOTICES OP THE PAUNA, PLORA AND ETHNOLOGY OF THE DISTRICTS VISITED By SYDNEY J. HICKSON M.A. (CANTAB.), D.Sc. (LOND.), M.A. (OXON.) HON. CAUS. FELLOW OF DOWNING COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE : FELLOW OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY * To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell, To slowly trace the forest's shady scene,. Where things that own not man's dominion dwell, And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been; To climb the trackless mountain all unseen, "With the wild flock that never needs a fold ; Alone o'er steeps and falling foams to lean ; This is not Solitude ; 'tis but to hold Converse with Nature's charms, and view her stores unrolled ' Childe Harold WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTBATIONS LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 1889 All rights reserved E. T 88T PREFACE The journey I took to the Malay Archipelago in the year 1885 with the object of investigating the anatomy and, if possible, the development of certain corals, afforded me opportunities of studying the general fauna of some of the small islands in the tropical seas, and of learning something of the races of human beings I came in contact with. I have brought together in this volume some ex tracts from the journal of my wanderings in North Celebes, the Sangir and Talaut Islands, a more de tailed account of the fauna of the small island called Talisse, situated in the Straits of Banka, and a sum mary of our knowledge of the ethnology of the district of Minahassa. So much of the ground I travelled over during my visit to the Malay Archipelago has been made familiar to English readers by the works of Wallace, Forbes, and Guillemard, that I have but a small area left to describe from the pages of my own journal. But, though the area is small, it is from its geo graphical position one of striking interest alike to the biologist, the geologist, and the ethnologist. In describing the fauna of the forests and coral A NATURALIST IN CELEBES reefs at Talisse I have avoided as far as possible technical details of form and structure. The animals I call attention to are those I came across in my daily excursions in the forests and on the reefs. I have not attempted to give a complete list of species known to occur in Celebes of any order of the animal king dom. Such lists may be found in the works of some of the eminent naturalists mentioned in the biblio graphy at the end of the book. During the few months I was resident in any particular district, it was impossible for me to acquire more than a few words of the local dialects, and I could consequently learn but little of the various prevalent myths, songs, and customs directly from the natives. I am indebted to the kindness of many of the missionaries, officials, and Malay-speaking natives for the few scraps of information I am able to record as new. The greater part of the ethnological portion of the book is borrowed from the valuable writings to be found in many of the reports of missionary and other societies, and in Dutch periodicals. Although many of the stories and poems have undoubtedly suffered considerably in the double translation from the local dialect into Dutch and from Dutch into English, I hope they remain suffi ciently true to the originals to indicate to the reader their general characteristics. For the convenience of students I have given a classification of all the animals and plants I have re ferred to in these pages, and a list of the more im- PREFACE \ portant books and papers from which I have borrowed materials. In the Index I have given translations of many of the Dutch, Malay, and local words and ex pressions to be found in the text. The kindness and assistance I received from the Dutch officials and merchants, wherever I travelled, contributed greatly to my comfort and opportunities for research. It would be impossible for me to mention here the names of all those who directly or indirectly assisted me in my work, but I am more particularly indebted to the Jkhr. van der Wyck, formerly Eesident of Manado ; the Dominie Wielandt, the Controleur van Kouveroy van Meuwaal, Mr. de Vries of Manado, and Mr. Eijkschroeff of Kelelonde. In preparing this volume for the press I have been greatly aided by the valuable advice and assistance of many of my friends. Of these I am specially indebted to Dr. E. B. Tylor of Oxford, Professors Wilken and Eiedel, Captain ' Maclear, E.N., the late Eev. Tenison- Woods, Dr. Guillemard, and Dr. G. H. Fowler. I have also to thank many kind friends in the museums and libraries of Amsterdam, Eotterdam, Leiden, and Utrecht; the officials of the British Museum and the library of the India Office ; and the Directors of the Moluksche Handels Vennootschap, for much valuable help and many useful suggestions. Downing College, Cambridge : October 1889. CONTENTS CHAPTER I FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES PAGE Arrival at Makassar— Objects of my visit to Celebes— Area and physical features of the island— Makassar — Private theatricals — ' Running amuck ' — Sail for Manado— Beauty of the coast scenery — Manado Bay— Interview with the Resident of Manado— Etiquette -News of H.M.S. 'Flying Pish '—The Government of the district— The inhabitants — Start for Talisse — Unpunctuality of the Malay races —Whistling for the wind— Talisse coral reefs — Koa— H.M.S. 'Fly ing Fish ' 1 CHAPTER II ON BOAKD H.M.S. ' FLYING FISH ' The characteristics of Talisse Sea — Babirusa hunt — Characters of the forest — The flora — The fauna — Luncheon on the sea-shore — Sand pipers—Race with a native prau— Visit toBohoi Promontory — The shore platform — The character of the coral reefs — Conditions favourable to coral growth — Practical importance of the knowledge of the conditions favourable to coral growth — Bohoi Bay — Flight of the natives — Jumping crabs and fishes — Periophthalnrus — Limbe Island — Batu Kapal — Rooper Point — Wallace Bay — Manado . . 17 CHAPTER III ON BOAED H.M.S. ' FLYING FISH ' — continued Sail for Ruang — Visit to the Rajah and the missionary of Tagulandang — Return to Tindela — Back again to the Ruang — ' Loods ' — Attempt to walk round the Ruang Island — Maleos — Ascent of the volcano — Fauna of the woods — The' lip of the crater — Magnificent view of the neighbouring islands — Refusal of our guides to proceed to the A NATURALIST IN CELEBES PASE highest point— Recent history of the Ruang— The lava roads— The descent— Difficulties of the collector— Biarro— TanjongAros— Caves —Edible birds' nests— The foam of the sea— Pollicipes— Distieho- pora — Farewell to the ' Flying Fish ' 37 CHAPTER IV TALISSE ISLAND Reasons for settling in this island— Inhabitants and topography of the island— E very-day life in the island— Surface dredging — The ' Pan- churan' — Work on the reefs — Food — Temperature and barometric pressure — Insect pests — Evening amusements— The coolies — Diseases of the natives — My house — Attap — The gardens — Deer- kraal — Hill climbing — Mangrove swamps — Collecting orchids — The plantations — Planting coco-nuts — Ebony — Kinabohutan — Pirates — Banka, Tindela, and Ganga — Absence of coral reefs on shores ex posed to the N.N.E. — Our visitors— The post prau— Native songs — The ' Minahassa ' — An Arab 55 CHAPTER V FAUNA OF TALISSE Mammals — Babirusa and sapiutan both absent — The baboon — The cus- cus — Bats — Parrots — Eagles — Kingfishers — Eurystomus — Swifts — Crows — Shrikes — Starlings — Nectar-birds — Pigeons — Maleos — Sandpipers — Egrets — Reptiles — Amphibia — Insects — Spiders — Centipedes — Phosphorescent millipede . . .... 81 CHAPTER VI MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES Depth of Talisse Sea — Shore gradients — Fauna of the sea-bottom — Structure of corals — Principal types of corals — A ramble on the coral reefs — Fauna of the lagoon — Fauna of the mangrove swamp — The food of corals— The colour of corals 106 CHAPTER VII TO SANGIR AND TALAUT Arrival of the ' Ternate ' at Talisse — Lirung — Saha Islands — The rajah of Pulutan — Nanusa Archipelago — Kampong Earaton — Raised coral reefs — Legend of Mengampit — Alaoruru — Mangarang — Abundanc'e of butterflies — Beo — Terrible sickness — Glorious sunset — Sangir — CONTENTS PAGE Coco-nut palms — Taruna — Manganitu— Mr, Steller's house and gardens — Koffo — Curious mode of keeping time — Visit to the coral reefs — Trip to the interior — Reception of the Resident at Manganitu — Siauw — Tagulandang again— Talisse 152 CHAPTER VIII CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS Holy islands — The islands between Celebes and the Philippines — Facilities for the distribution of animals — The avi-fauna — Legend of a former land communication with Sangir — History of Sangir — The Sangirese race — Slavery — Food— Diseases — Religions — Marriage customs — Funeral customs — Fishing implements — Weapons — Dress — Physiognomy — Language 187 CHAPTER IX JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA Minahassa — The capital Manado — Heerendienst — Manado as a port — Exports — Start for the interior — Tondano — Condition of affairs a century ago — Ballottos — The Great Lake — Atya Wyckii — Kakas and Langowan — Arrival, at Kelelonde— The coffee garden — Mapalus — The Tompusu pass — The forests of Minahassa .... 205 CHAPTER X MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS Stone implements — Cosmologies — Legend of the origin of sun, moon, and stars — Story of Wailan-wangko — Religion — Story of Warereh — List of the principal Gods — Spirits — Native Prayers — Demons — Priests — Holy Birds — Fossos — Shamans— Giants — Story of Parepej —Story of Utahagi 238 CHAPTER XI CUSTOMS OF THE MINAHASSERS Marriage customs — Infant betrothal — Courtship — Use of the betel-nut in courtship — The harta or dowry — Laws of inheritance — Shunning the parents-in-law — Teknonymy — Divorce— Adoption of children — Comparison of the marriage laws of Minahassa with those of other parts of the Archipelago — Birth customs— Makehet— Sickness — Death— Burial customs— Driving away the spirit .... 268 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CHAPTER XII SONGS AND ROMANCE IN OLD MINAHASSA PAGE Love songs — Stories — Story of Maengkom — Story of Matindas — Story of Kawalusan — Stories [_about apes — Hair stories — Riddles — Proverbs 301 CHAPTER XIII HISTORY OF AND USEFUL PLANTS IN MINAHASSA Early history of European settlements in Minahassa — Account of the Dutch settlement — The Sagoweer palm — Coco-nut pearls — The Betel-nut palm — The Corypha palm— Woods — Kapok — The Musa vvmdanensis — Edible fruits — Rice — Legend of the rice — Art of the Alfiirs 323 CHAPTER XIV MANADO Every-daylife in Manado— Chinese New Year's Day— The King's birth day— A grand ball— An oath— The story of Makalew— Last visit to Talisse — Farewell to Celebes 339 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (Engraved by J. D. Cooper) FIG. Periophthalmus Koelreuteri. (Drawn from, specimens by Miss A. W. Hickson) Frontispiece 1. Native Double Out-rigged Canoe or ' Londi.' (From a model : A. W. Hickson) page 22 2. Schematic Section of Shore Platform, Swamp, and Reef. (The Author) 24 3. Sketch of Butterfly Bay and Batu Kapal, in Limbe Is land. (From a sketch by the Author : Mr. Percival Skelton) To face p. 33 4. Sketch Map of North Limbe. (The Author) . . .34 5. The Ruang Volcano. (From a sketch by the Author) . 42 6. Coral Reefs of Passiac and Tagulandang. (From a sketch by the Author : Mr. Percival Skelton) . . To face p. 45 7. Pollicipes. (From a specimen : A. W. Hickson) . . .51 8. Galacea Esperi. (From a photograph) . . . .53 9. The Panchuran at Talisse. (From a photograph : Miss Lydia King) To face p. 59 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES EIG. PAGE 10. The Strait between Talisse and Kinabohutan. (From a sketch by the Author : Mr. Percival Skelton) . To face p. 75 11. Cynopithecus nigrescens. (From the Zoology of the Voyage of the ' Astrolabe ' (78) : A. W. Hickson) To face p. 83 12. Diagram to illustrate the Average Shore Slopes in the Neighbourhood op Talisse Pier, Manado, and Mananinta, compared with the Inclination op Talisse Hill. (The Author) 107 13. Diagram to illustrate the Anatomy op Qalacea Esperi. (Dr. G. H. Fowler) 120 14. Diagram op Transverse Sections through a Polype of Qalacea Esperi. (Dr. G. H. Fowler) .... 122 15. Schematic Drawing of a Polype of a Colonial Perforate Coral. (Dr. G. H. Fowler) 123 16. Clavularia viridis. (A. W. Hickson) 125 17. Coral Reef and Lagoon near Koa. (From photographs and sketches by the Author : Mr. Percival Skelton) To face p. 137 18. Large House in Karaton. (From a sketch by the Author : A. W. Hickson) 161 19. Tampat Got. (From a specimen : A. Robinson) . . . 162 20. Sakit Canoe. (From a specimen : A. W. Hickson) . . 164 21. Wooden Spears from Beo. (From a photograph) . . 171 22. Wooden Shield from Beo. (From a specimen: A. W. Hickson) in-. 23. TJro, a Coco-nut Fetich. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) •••.... 17c 24. Ceremonial Shield of Sentry at Taruna. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) .... 1 77 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv FIG. PAGE 25. Hat of Sentry at Taruna. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) 177 26. Notched Sticks for Keeping Time in Manganitu. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) ...... 180 27. A Sago Chopper. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) . 195 28. Fishing Floats from Sangir and Santa Cruz. (From photographs of specimens in the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Oxford) .201 29. The Head of a Malay Fishing Spear. (From a photo graph) . 30. Club from Taruna. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) . 203 31. Boto. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) . . . 216 32. Atya Wyckii. (Copied from the 'Annals and Magazine of Natural History ' (38) : drawn by A. W. Hickson) . 222 33. A Spear from Bwool. (From a photograph) . . 326 34. Pattern on a Langowan Mat. (From the specimen : A. W. Hickson) 334 35. Tommy Kwack. (From a photograph) . ... 357 MAPS I. Minahassa To face p. 13 II. The Islands between the Philippines and Celebes „ 157 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CHAPTER I FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES Arrival at Makassar — Objects of my visit to Celebes — Area and physical features of the island — Makassar — Private theatricals — ' Running amuck ' — Sail for Manado — Beauty of the coast scenery —Manado Bay — Interview with the Resident of Manado — Etiquette — News of H.M.S. ' Flying Fish ' — The Government 0f the district — The inhabitants — Start for Talisse — Unpunctuality of the Malay races — Whistling for the wind — Talisse coral reefs— Koa— H.M.S. ' Flying Fish.' Early in the morning of Friday, July 24, 1885, the passengers on board the Nederland India s.s. ' Generaal Pell ' could see amid the purple mist of the horizon the conical summit of Mount Bonthain rising as it were out of the sea. It was a lovely morning ; not a breath of wind disturbed the pond-like surface of the brilliantly blue sea ; not a cloud broke the monotony of the equally clear blue sky above our heads ; and as we gradually approached the coast of Celebes and the forest-clad hills and fertile plains exposed themselves to view, a feeling came over me that a veritable earthly Paradise lay before me in that beautiful island. Before introducing the reader, however, to Celebes and the Celebeans, I must pause a while to explain the objects I had in view in visiting this island in the tropics. My main object was the investigation of certain problems connected with marine zoology. B A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Of all the branches of Natural History, not one has made so much progress within the last ten years as that of marine zoology. The vast improvements in the microscope, the new means for anatomical and embryological research, and the beautiful methods of killing and preserving the de licate inhabitants of the sea, have given a great stimulus to this branch of study; and it is needless to say that the results obtained by investigators have been of the greatest interest and importance. Having directed my attention for some years to questions connected with marine zoology, I deter mined to undertake, when time and opportunity served, a voyage to that most generous of hunting grounds — the coral reef — to devote some time to the study of such ques tions under the most favourable conditions. It is perhaps unnecessary for me to relate the series of reasons which induced me to choose Manado, in North Celebes, for my head-quarters. The three conditions ne cessary for the continued and uninterrupted pursuit of my work — a calm sea free from serious typhoons and storms, a friendly and tolerably intelligent race of natives, and a re putation for general salubrity — were coexistent, I knew, in that region ; and the writings of naturalists who had pre viously visited the spot are so full of glowing accounts of the beauty and luxuriance of land and sea that I longed to observe for myself the wonders they describe so well. The long voyage from England, through the Mediterra nean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Bed Sea and Indian Ocean, full of interest and excitement as it was and ever must be to a lover and observer of nature, I must pass over without comment. Nor can I pause to relate my impressions of Java, with its densely populated towns, its wondrous forests and its awe-inspiring volcanoes. These parts of the world have been well described by other travellers far better acquainted with them than I am FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES and I could add but httle that would be of interest to the general reader or valuable to scientific men. My own travels and researches were mainly carried on in the Minahassa district of North Celebes and the chain of little islands connecting it with Mindanao. To those regions, therefore, I will endeavour to confine myself in these pages. Anyone glancing at a map of the Malay Archipelago must be struck with the curious spider-like shape of the island called Celebes. It is divided into four long peninsulas or arms and a central continent or nucleus by three deep bays— the Bay of Tomini and the Bay of Tomori, facing east, and the Bay of Boni, facing south. It has an area of 70,000 square miles, being in this respect rather larger than England and Wales. Its greatest length is 800 miles, rather longer than Great Britain, and it has the enormous coast line of 2,000 miles. Its population — who can estimate its peoples ? The central continent of the island has not yet seen the face of the white man, and by far the greater part of the four peninsulas is almost unknown and undescribed; in fact, the only parts which are thoroughly explored and utilised by Europeans are not much larger in area than the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man. It may seem strange to those who live in crowded cities, where the struggle for mere existence is ever keen and bitter, that there still exists a land nearly as large as Great Britain itself, famous for its healthy equable climate and capable of producing in abundance all the necessities and most of the luxuries of our life, still unknown, unclaimed, unfilled. It is true that the Dutch flag flies in name over the whole island, but the only parts which are really governed by the Dutch are a small region round Makassar in the south, Minahassa in the north, and the district of Gorontalo in the B 2 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Bay of Tomini. These parts are, however, as nothing com pared with the wide acres of land still covered with virgin forest and calling no one master but the untutored savage. Makassar is the first port the steamers call at in their passage to the Moluccas. It is a large and busy place, with a mixed population of Makassarese, Buginese, Dutch, Chinese, and Arabs. It is the centre of the trade with the Moluccas and by far the most important port east of Java. It has been aptly termed the ' Hong Kong ' of the Dutch in the East Indies (25*). The country round Makassar is low and swampy, and the distant range of mountains crowned by Bonthain (10,000 feet), famous for its coffee gardens, is frequently hidden in the dense mist which rises from the surrounding plains. The water as we approached Makassar was of that milky green colour which so often betokens shallows and sandbanks, but the presence of several large ship buoys indicates to the mariner the course that must be taken to bring him safely to his destination. As the ' Generaal Pell ' cautiously picked her way through the shallows to take up her position alongside the little iron pier, we had ample* opportunities of observing the various craft of steam and sail which lay at anchor in the roads. Drawn up along the beach were several of the curious sailing praus of about twenty to forty tons apiece belonging to the Buginese traders, a race of wandering Malays to be found in almost every port of the Eastern isles. When we were safely berthed, and the crowd of Orientals and Europeans who were awaiting our arrival had come aboard to hear the latest news and transact their business, I took the opportunity of going ashore to gain my first experience of Celebes.[* These figures throughout text refer to Bibliography at the end of work.] FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES The principal street in Makassar, running parallel with the coast line, is nearly a mile in length and very narrow all the way. In the business quarter of the town it is lined by the warehouses of the European merchants, a few good general shops, and the smaller tokos of the China men and Arabs. Here may be purchased to the greatest advantage all the products of the Moluccas, from such things as spice and copra, coffee and cocoa to living birds of Paradise and ethnological curios. For the traveller, too, who is bound for little-known parts, where the stolid Holland dollar (2^ f.) is valuable only as a lump of silver, there is no market like this ; for here he may obtain the surest information about the form of ' trade ' which is most likely to be favoured by the tribes with whom he comes in contact. Beads and looking-glasses, wooden combs, knives and cloths may be purchased in Makassar at a price but little higher than that which is charged for them in Birmingham or Manchester. Makassar is the seat of the Governor of Celebes, whose substantial whitewashed palace forms a conspicuous object on the wide plain behind Fort Orange. Close by the palace is the club ' Harmonie,' where, after the heat of the day, the civil and official Dutchmen meet together to play a game of billiards or to gossip over their cigars and ' pijtjes.' One of the most striking features of Makassar is. a magnificent avenue of tamarind trees which throws a grateful shade over the long road running from the ' plein ' through the ' villadom ' of the town. On the evening of our arrival I was invited to attend a social entertainment at the Vereeniging Unitas, a large whitewashed hall in the tamarind avenue. Two short farces were performed by amateurs with much spirit and no little dramatic force. They were en- 6 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. i titled ' Lente's eerstelingen ' and ' Eens gekocht blijft gekocht.' When the curtain fell on the last of these the chairs were cleared away and the company began to dance. ' Na afloop bal,' as the programme curtly put it. These entertainments in Dutch East India usually go on until the early hours of the morning ; but, as I was a perfect stranger in a crowd of people who were very well acquainted with one another, I soon grew tired of the gay and festive throng and left a little after midnight. I was accompanied by a young officer of artillery, a fellow-passenger of the ' Generaal Pell,' who soon afterwards, I was told, fell a victim to the fever in Amboyna. As we made our way through the quiet and deserted thoroughfares towards the pier, we were challenged at intervals by the villainous looking ' djagas ' or night watchmen, who, armed with long forked ' thief- catcher ' spears, dodged in and out like bogeys from pitch- dark corners and recesses. I must confess that at the time I experienced a creepy feeling of insecurity in those lonely streets, brought on perhaps by exaggerated or un truthful rumours of the dangers of Makassar streets at night. Makassar has an unenviable reputation for that strange form of religious frenzy known as ' running amuck.' I dare say this reputation is undeserved, and there are no more ' Amooks ' in Makassar than in other large Eastern towns with a Mohammedan population ; but, nevertheless, the possibility of the thing occurring is apt to come forcibly before one on a dark moonless night, and remind one of the insecurity of human life even when accompanied, as I was, by a military officer with a glittering sword. Although this form of religious fanaticism, which leads the fanatic to murder indiscriminately every one he comes across until he himself is captured or shot down, is un doubtedly of the greatest possible interest to the anthro- FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES pologist, I felt it was too dark perhaps that night to welcome an Amook as a subject for scientific study. We stayed two days in Makassar, and then, shortly after sunrise on Sunday, July 26, we sailed for the northern coasts of Celebes. This, the last part of my long journey from Europe, was in many ways the most interesting and enjoyable, due in no small degree to the clearness and calmness of the atmo sphere, which, free from mist and cloud, enabled us to see with perfect ease the bold and beauteous scenery of the coast. As we threaded our way through the thousand little islands of the Straits of Makassar, we were able to gain some idea of the great extent and extreme fertility of this beautiful country. The lofty mountains standing out in bold relief against the clear blue sky are covered with dense forest from their summits to the level of the sea. Scarcely a rock or field of grass can be discovered to break the monotony of the sea of trees from Makassar to Manado. Everywhere, on island or on strand, on mountain, plain, and dale, are signs of a richness and fertility of soil unsur passed perhaps in any part of the habitable world. The little islands of the coast through which we pass add considerably to the beauty of the scene. The little patch of forest with which each one is covered is bordered in some cases by rows of coco-nuts or banana plantations, and the huts of a few families of wandering fishermen may be seen nestling in their shade. Around each island is a narrow strip of sand formed of coral and shell detritus, which glistens and sparkles in the sunshine, and then the shallow milky green water covering the coral reefs blends with the blue waters of the deeper sea beyond it. The traveller cannot fail to be impressed, on such a trip as this, with the clearness and brilliancy of colours in 8 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. i tropical nature. The blue of sea and sky, the various shades of green of the forest, the glistening whiteness of the coral strand, and the glowing shades of gold and red of a fine sunset in the tropics, are colours that we rarely see in our sober temperate climes. I cannot linger now to describe the passing glimpses I obtained of the little villages of Pari-pari, Toli-toli, Dongola, and the more important Amurang, for the steamer stayed but long enough to leave the mails and a little cargo, and was off before I had a chance to go ashore. Three days after we left Makassar we steamed into Manado Bay. There can be no question that Manado Bay is extremely beautiful, and upon this morning of July 29, as we cut our way through the perfectly calm and glassy water, leaving a long streak of placid foam in our wake, we saw it to the best advantage. To the north, like a sentinel at the gate, stands Manado- tuwa, one of those perfectly conical island mountains not unfrequently met with in volcanic regions, and in its immediate neighbourhood lie one or two perfectly flat coral islands covered with swamp and morass. The coast of the bay is flat, but the land gradually rises a short distance from the sea and slopes away to form the mountainous back bone of the peninsula. In the distance stands the Klabat (6,694 feet), one of the most beautiful and imposing peaks in the island. In the middle of the bay the Manado Biver brings its muddy sulphurous waters to the sea. But where is Manado ? By carefully scanning the coast with a field glass, a few poor native huts may be seen on the north bank of the river mouth, and on the south of it, with greater difficulty, a small wooden pier and a fort. The town itself, with its residency, prison, Government offices, church, and warehouses, lies buried amongst the lofty trees and dense ground foliage of the strand. FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES There is unfortunately no iron pier at Manado for the steamers to come alongside as at Makassar, and the anchorage in the roads is not of the best. When the anchor was dropped, the ship swung round with her stern shorewards, and two stout iron hawsers were sent off to make her fast to the shore. This precaution is necessary at Manado on account of the steepness of the anchorage and the insecure character of the sandy bottom. At one end of the ship there may be sixty fathoms of water, and at the other only twelve, so that, unless special precau tions are taken, a stiff breeze from the shore may drag the anchor into deep waters, and leave the ship to the mercy of the winds and tides. As soon as the ship was snug, I sent a letter to the Resident, announcing my arrival, and requesting an inter view with him for the purpose of presenting my papers and permits. Having received a favourable reply, I was put ashore in the steam-cutter attached to the steamer, and made my way to the Residency, where I found the Resident van der Wyck entertaining some of his friends in the verandah. Having introduced myself and presented my papers, I joined the little party of gentlemen and ladies and entered (so far as my limited knowledge of the Dutch language permitted me) into the conversation. Let me pause a moment here to give a slight sketch of the etiquette of visiting in the Dutch East Indies. When a stranger comes to settle in a town, he must first of all call upon the residents with whom he wishes to become acquainted. It is as well to send a note at once to say that Mr. X. will give himself the pleasure of calling upon Weledelgestreng. Heer This or Weledelen Heer van That on such a day, and then, if he receives in reply a letter saying that -he will be received, the visitor must assume a 10 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. i black tail-coat, a white shirt with a black tie, a white pair of pants, and, pro forma, a hat. The visit should take place between six and seven o'clock in the evening, when it is presumed the ladies and the gentlemen of the household have put aside the usual deshabille in which they spend a considerable portion of the day, and are ' dressed ' in the more civilised but uncomfortable European costume. On arrival at the house he will probably find his host sitting in the ' voorgallerij ' or verandah ; if not, he must shout ' Spada,' a contraction of 'Siap'ada' (Who's there!) until some one comes. In the verandah is a round table bearing a num ber of wine decanters and a box of cigars. The decanters contain Geneva, port wine, Madeira, and bitters. To any one accustomed to English ideas of diet, it does not seem quite natural to partake of these strong drinks and smoke cigars immediately before dinner, but the Dutchman looks upon his ' pijtje ' before dinner as one of the necessities of life in the East, and seems none the worse for it. I never became quite naturalised to ' gin and bitters,' nor could I believe that it is a prophylactic against fever and other tropical diseases, as some of its admirers wished me to, nevertheless I think it is quite as wholesome as any other form of spirits imported into the East. The first visit should not last longer than an hour, and is usually brought to a conclusion by a friendly shake of the hands and a stiff German bow. A few days after the introductory visit, the gentleman, if he wishes to maintain the acquaintance, returns the call, and then the friendship is cemented by card parties, drives, or other entertainments. To return now to my introductory visit to the Resi dent of Manado. He talked English correctly, but with some difficulty, and I was then unable to maintain a conversation in Dutch, so that we were some little time in understanding one another. However, I soon learnt that ch. i FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES 11 he was willing to help me to the best of his ability, and was himself a man of some powers of observation and fully interested in many of the scientific problems afforded by the district over which he ruled. Subsequent experience fully confirmed my anticipations, and his kindness, help, and hospitality to me was far in excess of anything I had a right to expect. He was a type of the Dutch official in Malayia — kind and courtly, intelligent and hospitable. When my visit should have terminated — I was inexperi enced then — he warmly welcomed me to dinner and after wards conducted me to the ' Pasangrahan,' or hotel, if it might be dignified by such a name, where I was temporarily .to reside. Upon my arrival in Manado I received a very welcome piece of intelligence. A letter was presented to me by the Resident from Captain Maclear, R.N., telling me that H.M.S. 'Flying Fish' had just arrived in Banka Strait for surveying purposes, and that I should be heartily welcomed if I could find an opportunity to join her. The chances that were thus open to me of choosing a suitable locality for my work and investigating a large extent of coral reef before I finally settled down were such as any naturalist in these regions might dream of for years without realising, and consequently I took the earhest opportunity that offered of joining the ship at Banka. Among my letters of introduction was one to the chief agent of the Molucca Trading Company (Moluksche Handel- vennootschap), a company which owns the little island called Talisse, in the Banka Straits. He was about to pay a visit to the coco-nut plantations in the island, and very kindly offered to take me and my luggage with him in his barkas (long-boat), an offer I thankfully accepted. During the two days that I spent in Manado previous to my depar ture for Talisse I was able to form but an imperfect idea 12 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES of the beautiful country lying round the town and of the society of the little colony of Europeans in this remote corner of the globe. I will leave, therefore, what I have to say about Manado and the Minahassers to a later chapter, mentioning only a few facts which are necessary for a proper understanding of the extent and management of the colony. The district which comes under the jurisdiction of the Resident of Manado includes the whole of the northern peninsula of the island, the coasts and islands of the Tomini Bay, a portion of the south-east peninsula, and the islands which lie between Celebes and Mindanao. Of this enormous territory the only parts which have yet been brought under the ' direkt bestuur ' of the Dutch Govern ment are the province of Minahassa and a small district round the port of Gorontalo in the Tomini Bay. The rest of the country is governed by native rajahs and chiefs, some of whom are appointed by the Resident of Manado and pay a small annual tribute to the Government. Minahassa itself is in many respects a perfect specimen of the well-governed, peaceful, and contented Dutch colony. In addition to the Resident, who is supreme in the district, there are four Controleurs stationed at Manado, Tondano, Kema, and Amurang, who act as magistrates, collectors of the taxes, and overseers of the Government plantations. Several European missionaries, schoolmasters and mis tresses are resident in different parts of Minahassa, and the religious training and secular education are sound and simple. The natives are as a general rule well-dressed, clean, respectful, honest, sober, and contented ; they live in tidy little wooden houses in well-regulated villages, and are diligent in their attendance at both church and school. When young, both men and women are often very handsome, Map I ,to face page 12 ZonzLam, ,' JoTm-Murray } Albemarle Street ch. i FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES 13 but they soon begin to look crabbed and wizen as they advance in age. Of a pale yellowish brown complexion, perhaps paler than the majority of the Malay races, with high cheek bones and oval eyes, long straight jet black hair, and, when she does not indulge in the practice of betel chewing, perfect pearl-like teeth, the young Minahassa girl is sometimes very pretty, and even among the older people there are types occasionally seen which may be called quite handsome. There is nothing repulsive or offen sive to European taste about the ordinary inhabitants of Minahassa. In matters of adornment they are simple- minded : no hideous grotesque rings, bracelets, clothes, or coiffures mar their personal appearance ; no revolting malformations or mutilations of lips, ears or nostrils shock the European's sense of what is right and proper. I am never likely to forget the first few days I spent in this fascinating region — the first glimpses of the warm luxuriant scenery, the neat and well-regulated villages and streets, or the quiet and respectful inhabitants. My im pressions of the place were extremely pleasant, and though in later days I came across some customs, habits, laws, and regulations open to serious criticism, I still believe that this little Dutch colony is fully worthy of the praise and admiration it has excited in every traveller who has visited it and written down his experiences there. I had arranged to start with the agent for Talisse at six o'clock in the morning of August 4, but for some reason' or another the boat was not ready for us until nine o'clock in the evening. Coming straight from European cities, where trains and boats, engagements and appointments, are timed to the minute, the traveller is often much annoyed by the un reasonable unpunctuality of the Eastern races ; but a few months' experience teaches him that no man's word can be 14 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. i relied upon in the tropics as far as appointments are con cerned, and he becomes accustomed to it. There is no word for ' punctual ' in the Malay language. That we did succeed in leaving Manado only fifteen hours late was something to be thankful for. When we left the river mouth that night it was pitch dark in Manado Bay, and I wondered how it was possible for our captain, a Manilla man who could talk a little broken English, to direct our course. For the first few hours we were favoured by the so- called land-wind, a rush of cold air from the highlands to the sea which blows with great constancy from sunset to mid night at this time of the year, and we made rapid progress towards Tanjong Piso, or Knife Cape, at the northern extremity of Manado Bay. No sooner had we rounded the cape than the wind dropped and we nearly came to a standstill. Our ' kamudi ' — i.e. captain and steersman — did the best he could for us, but in vain ; we were doomed to drift about for some hours without much progress. He would whistle softly and enticingly, or would change his tone and with pouted lips whistle angrily and viciously for the wind that would not come to help us on. I have often wondered what can have been the origin of this almost universal custom of whistling for the wind. That the custom is of undoubted practical utility is the firm belief of many races of seafarers, from the English sea-captain to the humble Malay kamudi. I was on one occasion very roughly spoken to by a captain in the Irish Channel for casually whistling in a gale of wind. He thought it a piece of gross carelessness on my part which might lead to serious consequences. Here in Celebes, too, I was warned to be careful not to laugh when the kamudi screwed his face up into an intensely ludicrous expression of feigned passion and whistled angrily for the wind to come, for the ch. i FIRST GLIMPSES OF CELEBES 15 Malay seaman's belief in the efficacy of this mode of raising the wind is a serious one and will not brook being made an object of derision. Soon after midnight a favourable breeze sprang up, and by sunrise we were passing the little islands of Ganga and Tindela. A little later we struck the strong current running through the straits which separate Tindela from Talisse, at the time in our favour, and soon after we were bumping on the coral reefs which fringe the shores of the latter island. This was my first introduction to a coral reef, and, notwithstanding the fatigue of a sleep less night journey and an intense desire to reach my desti nation, I could not help gazing with wonder and admiration on the marvellous sight that was to be seen at the bottom of the transparent shallow waters of the reef. I had ex pected to see a wonderful variety of graceful shapes in the branching madrepores and the fan-like, feather-like alcyona- rians, for these may be seen in any large museum which pos sesses a collection of such things, but I was not prepared to find such brilliancy and variety of colour on the reefs. The madrepores, which in the dried collections are uniformly white, in the living state are of a bright olive brown colour, with growing points and polypes of bright emerald green or violet, and the pale-yellow or white starfishes of our museums seem to be studded here with rare jewels which shine and sparkle with all the colours of the rainbow. Soon after we struck the reef of Talisse, the tide turned with a current of some five or six knots against us ; our kamudi wished to drop an anchor until the following tide, but as we could already see the steam- cutters of the ' Flying Fish ' taking off the surveying parties to different points upon the straits, we urged our men to further exertions with the paddles and succeeded in reach ing the little wooden pier at Koa before midday. The 16 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. i place, which is called Koa in the map, is not, as might be supposed, worthy of the name of village. It consists simply of the house of the Opzichter or overseer, the mandurs or foremen, a gudang or store for rice and other things, and some half-dozen houses of the labourers in the plan tations. It is, however, if I might so call it, the port of Talisse, for here the passing praus and sailing vessels stop for water and for shelter on their way from Sangir to Manado. Unimportant as it is to the world at large, it was of considerable interest and importance to me, for here I lived for some months when I commenced my studies of the fauna of the forests and the reefs. There was, at the time of my arrival — it has tumbled down long since — a rickety wooden pier which stretched from the shore to a distance of some fifteen or sixteen yards beyond the edge of the coral reef. H.M.S. 'Flying Fish,' a composite sloop of 950 tons, carrying two guns instead of her complement of four as she was on surveying service, was lying at anchor two or three cables from the pier at Koa ; and as soon as I had enjoyed a refreshing bath in the beautiful little stream that issues from the mountain-side and breakfasted at the Opzichter's house, I went on board. I was most heartily and kindly welcomed by all on board, and soon became involved in a running conversation on English politics in general and my own adventures in the past and plans for the future in particular. My subsequent connection with this vessel was in every way a very happy and particularly fortunate one for me, and I cannot more appropriately close this my introductory chapter than by recording my. heartfelt thanks to Captain Maclear and the other officers of the ' Flying Fish ' for then- great hospitality and kindness and for the hearty assist ance they gave me in my work. ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 17 CHAPTER II ON BOARD H.M.S. ' FLYING FISH ' The characteristics of Talisse sea — Babirusa hunt — Characters of the forest — The flora — The fauna — Luncheon on the sea-shore— Sandpipers — Race with a native prau — Visit to Bohoi Promontory — The shore platform — The character of the coral reefs — Conditions favourable to coral growth — Practical importance of the knowledge of the conditions favourable to coral growth — Bohoi Bay — Flight of the natives — Jumping crabs and fishes — Periophthalmus — Limbe Island — Batu Eapal — Rooper Point — Wallace Bay — Manado. The little sea which I shall call Talisse sea is enclosed by the islands of Banka on the north-east, Kinabohutan, Talisse, Tindela, and Ganga on the north and north-west, and the coast of the northern peninsula of Celebes on the south. In many respects it is a particularly favourable locality for the marine naturalist, for its waters are only on the rarest occasions too rough for an open boat, and frequently as smooth as a mill-pond and as clear as glass. The shores being of three kinds — namely, coral reefs, steep rocks, and river-sand — present every variation of the tropical shallow- water fauna ; and, as the bottom is fairly smooth and even, and the water nowhere more than twenty fathoms deep, trawls and dredges may be used with impunity. Outside, the sea is very deep, 200 fathoms being found quite close to the reefs on the west side of Talisse, and 560 fathoms close to the rocks on the east side of Banka, so that the naturahst, if he be fortunate enough to possess the necessary appliances, can investigate the mysteries of the deep seas within an easy distance from his home. c 18 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii During the first few days I was busily engaged unpack ing my trunks and arranging all my bottles and reagents as conveniently as I could for future use, but I also had several opportunities of cursorily examining the reefs and shores in the immediate neighbourhood of the place I after wards chose to be my head-quarters. On August 9 the ' Flying Fish ' lay at anchor off Likupang, and the chief agent of the company engaged a party of hunters from the village to serve as guides on a babirusa hunt in the neighbouring forests. We left the vessel early in the morning and rowed towards a little bay which lies about half way between Likupang and Cape Coffin, and then, dividing into three parties, we searched the forests for our game; but babirusas were not to be seen that day, and we returned to the coast with an empty bag. I must confess to a certain feeling of disappointment at our bad fortune, for I was curious to see a specimen of this interesting pig, whose enormous tusks curl back over its head, in a wild state, and I was anxious to solve the difficult problem of the use they may be to the animal in his native jungle. Nevertheless I was glad to have had an opportunity of visiting this particular part of the Celebean forest, for the accounts of its grandeur and magnificence given by Wallace and Guillemard, both of whom had visited it for the purpose of hunting the babirusa, had made a great impression on my mind. Had we only shot a babirusa, I might say that in no respect was I disappointed. The enormous size of many of the ordinary timber trees, the handsome Livistonia palms, the graceful loops of the unending rattans as, stretching from tree to tree, they carried with them endless varieties of other climbers, or supported in their folds large ferns and orchids, formed a framework for the scene which was as ch. n ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 19 interesting for its richness and variety as it was impressive in its size and grandeur. One might suppose that, having once seen a small portion of the forest, one has, as it were, sampled the forests of the low-lying districts of the country ; but this is by no means the case. The more of the forest I visited, the more I became impressed with the fact that it varies in detail in different places almost as much as the coral reefs, and that to sample it is an impossibility. This particular part, for example, differs in some important respects from any other part of the forests of the continent or the islands I visited. The trees are finer and taller, and the undergrowth of shrubs and herbs is, comparatively speaking, more poorly developed here than in Talisse. That most beautiful palm, the Livistonia rotundifolia, whose leaves are so useful to the Malay for making umbrellas, fans, baskets, and a hundred other things, is abundant here, but in other parts of the forest I have wandered for hours without finding a single speci men. One of the commonest of the climbing plants here is the well-known ' tali ayer ' of the Malays, and probably the Uncaria lanosa of botanists, which invariably contains in its internodes a delicious draught of clear pure water. I cannot remember finding it anywhere else. On the other hand, the ebony tree and the Sagoweer palm (Arenga sdcchariferum) , so abundant in some of the forests, are here but rarely seen. Of the animal kingdom in this spot I do not feel competent to speak. A naturalist who visits a place in the tropics only for a few hours in the middle of the day may come away with the impression that it is singularly poor in animal life, whereas another visiting it in the early hours of the morning, or an hour before and after sunset, ; c 2 20 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii may find the whole forest ahve with birds and insects and the air filled with their songs and cries. The only birds I remember to have seen were the Horn- bills (Buceros exaratus). These heavy awkward creatures, aroused by our visit from their midday slumbers, shrieked at us through their long yellow beaks and flapped about from bough to bough in short clumsy flights. There were a few pigeons also far away and almost out of sight in the highest branches of the trees. Several of the large handsome baboons (the Cynopi- thecus nigrescens) were to be seen. These baboons are peculiar to the northern part of Celebes and some of the neighbouring islands, where they are very common and abundant. This region may be considered to be an out post of monkeyland, for no monkeys are found either east or south of this district. After wandering through the forest for some hours, our guides brought us together at the sea-shore, where we spent a welcome hour of rest after our toilsome march up-hill and down-dale in the stifling heat of the forest. The spot we chose for our lunch was one of those beautifully clean white tracts of sand so frequently met with on the shores of coral islands and coasts with fringing reefs. The fine white sand was composed of coral detritus, foraminiferous shells and larger lumps of water-worn madrepores and tubiporas, with a litter of mangrove fruits, catapang nut shells, husks of coco-nuts and other forest debris left by the last spring tides. Whilst we were at lunch the tide was slowly ebbing, and when the waters of the lagoon became sufficiently shallow, numerous little sandpipers appeared to seek their prey. These little birds afterwards proved good friends to me, for whenever my supply of chickens ran short in Talisse I ch. ii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 21 could always rely upon a brace of them to help me through with my meal of rice and curry. They should have had a more sentimental claim upon my attention than this, for they are also inhabitants of the British Isles. Two Celebean birds — and I believe I am right in saying only two — can hardly be distinguished by ornithologists from British species. One is the common sandpiper (Tringoides hypoleucus), and the other the cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) . Of the cuckoo, Guillemard says (24) : ' Its skin cannot be distinguished from European skins in plumage.' No thing is at present known of the nesting habits of the bird in Celebes, so that we cannot yet assert that it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. Although it was abundant in Talisse, I never heard the familiar cry of ' cuckoo,' which is so welcome to us in spring in England. It is possible that it utters this cry in the breeding season and is silent for the rest of the year. On our way back to the ship we were participators in an exciting and interesting race. The lunch, provided for us by the agent of the company, had arrived from Talisse in one of the Malay double-outrigged canoes called by the natives 'londi.' This canoe and the two whalers of the * Flying Fish ' crossed the reefs and hoisted sails almost simultaneously. The Malay sail is oblong in shape, stretched by two yards and hoisted by means of a halyard attached towards the foremost end of the upper yard. Two ropes attached to the port and starboard ends of the upper yard are made fast to branched wooden belaying pins fixed to the outriggers. In sailing, the rope on the windward side is used as a main sheet and hauled fast, so that the sail comes to stand nearly upright almost parallel with the mast, while the other rope is used as a tack to keep the sail steady. 22 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii The starboard and port sides are called ' lakki-lakki,' or man, and ' perampuan,' or woman, respectively. The canoe itself is simply a ' dug-out.' It is sometimes twenty-five or thirty feet long, with a beam of only thirty inches. Fia. 1. — Model of a native double-outrigged canoe or 'londi.' The outriggers are generally made of two or three pieces of thick bamboo firmly lashed together and attached to cross pieces of some light strong wood which run right across the canoe. With a fair wind, these canoes carry a great deal of sail and can go very fast ; but they are awkward to tack and cannot sail very close to the wind. ch. ii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 23 On this occasion the race ended somewhat in favour of the canoe, but had the wind been a little more abeam the result would have been very different. The following day I accompanied one of the surveying officers to a promontory on the north coast to the west of Likupang. This promontory is flat and bordered by a belt of mangrove swamp. I cannot give an accurate estimate of the breadth of this swamp, for it stretched away inland far beyond our sight, and none of the maps nor charts give any plan of the true coast line. The occurrence of a broad shore plain bordered by a broad belt of mangrove swamp is by no means a rare one in these climates. It is, in fact, such a common feature that it deserves a few words of explanation. In the first place it cannot for a moment be supposed that these broad level plains on the sea-coast represent the true bearing of the hill rocks. It is inconceivable that broad plains of the primitive volcanic rocks should be found at precisely the same (sea) level in so many places. We are bound, therefore, to believe that they were built up of some secondary formation at a much later period. What, then, is the probable nature of this formation ? In nearly every case where we find a dense mangrove swamp on the sea-coast we find a vigorous coral ree beyond it. Taking for granted at present — for I shall re turn to argue this point in a later chapter — that coral reefs under certain favourable circumstances have a tendency slowly to grow out seawards, we must believe that the soil between the reef and the rising slopes of the hills is com posed of coral sand and debris resting on a substratum of coral rock. This area is covered with water at all times except at low water of the spring tides, but on the shore side banks of sand are formed by the continual ebb and flow of the tides. The mangrove trees flourish best in such a soil 24 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CH. ii of coral detritus, where they are washed by a perpetual flow of shallow water. On the shore side, the heavy rains bringing down from the mountain slopes an abundance of vegetable mould and soil by degrees raise the shore banks above the level of high- water mark, and then the mangroves are replaced by ordinary forest trees and jungle. In this manner a shore plain never submerged and covered with ordinary forest is gradually formed. Upon examining the reefs at this promontory, I found a very marked difference between the vigour of coral life upon Fig. 2. — Schematic section of shore platform, swamp, and coral reef. A, primitive rock ; B, shore platform covered with ordinary forest trees ; C, mangrove swamp ; D, lagoon ; E, edge of coral reef ; P, talus of reef. the extreme seaward point and the sides of the promontory. Where the reefs projected furthest into the sea the corals were few in number, small in size, and separated by considerable intervals of sand. On the northern and southern sides, however, I found the reefs in a very vigor ous condition. Madrepores, tubiporas, sarcophytums, and sponges were growing in such abundance and profusion that it was impossible to put one's foot down on anything save living zoophytes. This condition of affairs at the time astonished me, for I had supposed that those corals which grow upon the most projecting reefs would be likely to receive the greatest ch. it ON BOARD 'H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 25 quantity of food, and in consequence would thrive the best, and I thought that some exceptional and unexpected flow of the tides and currents must cause the languishing con dition of the projecting reefs of the Bohoi Promontory and the prosperity of the reefs of its sides. Before I had been long at work, however, at Talisse, I came to the conclusion that what I had observed at Bohoi was rather a rule than an exception, for I never found in any single instance that the most vigorous coral growth was to be found upon those points of the coast line which project furthest into the sea. The vigorous growth of reef-corals seems to be de pendent upon a great many conditions, the absence of any one of which causes very obvious modifications in the number of specimens, the number of species, and the size and vigour of corals found upon the reef. First, as is well known, reef-building corals will only grow in the warm waters of the tropical seas ; secondly, they will only grow in water which is less than twenty or twenty-five fathoms deep ; and, thirdly, in flowing water which is neither too swift nor too stagnant, and bears the kind of food which is necessary for their proper nourish ment. Unfortunately we have at present but little information upon the rapidity of the flow of water which is most favour able for the growth of corals and but few observations on the character of the food which the coral polypes like best. At Tanjong Aros, at the north of Talisse Island, I found that, although a few Astrseas could be seen growing at a depth of two or three fathoms, no true reef was formed. At this point the tide race sometimes runs at six or seven knots an hour. At a point upon the reefs of Talisse oppo site the island of Kinabohutan, where the tides flow at 26 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii times with considerable rapidity, the corals are not growing vigorously and well, and in many other places I could refer to I found that luxuriant coral growth is not consistent with very lively water. Again, in deep bays or inlets, where tidal and ocean currents are scarcely felt, there is but little vigour in the reef, and the presence of fresh-water streams entirely destroys all the coral life upon it. The best places for the collector and observer of these forms are always to be found at the sides of reefs or promontories which project some distance into the sea. It is not difficult to find an explanation of the fact that corals will not grow in very rapid water. In the first place, their food, whatever it may be, cannot be easily captured when it is rushed past them as in a millstream ; and in the second place, the embryos which they discharge are carried away by the currents into less lively waters, where they can fix themselves upon the reef and grow. It would not, I think, be a very difficult thing to determine with some considerable accuracy the rapidity of the current most favourable for coral growth, but, to be trustworthy, the observations must be undertaken by a naturalist who is familiar with the fauna of the coral reefs, assisted by practical seamen who are competent to determine the rate of tidal currents, and have the command of steam. The result of such an investigation would not only be of considerable interest to scientific men, but would in all probability lead to several important cautions to the navi gators of coral seas. Vessels are constantly being lost upon coral reefs in different parts of the world,1 and many accidents are due to 1 Two sailing-ships were lost on the coral reefs near Manado during the eleven months I was in Celebes. ch. ii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 27 the inaccuracy of our charts and the want of knowledge about the tides which sweep the reefs. We have abundant evidence to show that charts of coral reefs made one year are almost valueless twenty years afterwards ; and nevertheless we have at present absolutely no experimental results to indicate to the navigator or the naturalist in what places the reefs are growing seaward, and where they are gradually breaking down. In such a passage as Banka Strait, the force of the tide is strongest near the middle of the channel, and feebler towards the shores. Let us now suppose that at some point upon the coast the average tidal rate was the most favourable one for coral growth. This particular point would have a tendency, I believe, to grow out slowly into the strait. The rate of growth would be more rapid in shallow water than in deep water, but under all conditions it would grow until it reached that part of the current which was too strong to be favourable to coral growth, and there it would stop ; while the sides of the projecting reef thus formed would grow until they reached the same strong currents. A change in the force or direction of the tides of the strait due to the change of reef in other places, or volcanic disturbances, might cause this reef to progress still further into the strait, or, on the other hand, to com pletely die and become diminished by solution and erosion. My object in referring at such length to the subject of the supposed growth of coral reefs has been to endeavour to show that, apart from any movements of elevation and subsidence of the earth's crust, the coral reefs should be looked upon not as simple stationary structures, but as living moving things, ever changing their form and aspect. Sometimes they obtain a mastery over the waves and en croach upon the domains of the sea ; sometimes they are beaten back by the tides, eroded and dissolved ; whilst at 28 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii times the water and the reef seem to assume a position of armed neutrality towards one another, and each one holds his own for years together. Whilst the surveying officer was engaged in taking his observations, I wandered about upon the slimy muddy shores and coral reefs, watching the active little squillas darting about amongst the corals, admiring the gorgeous colours with which the polypes are painted, and selecting a number of rare or interesting creatures for future examination. It was an immense pleasure to be at last upon a living coral reef, to be able to see for myself hundreds of the forms of animal life I had read about in books at home, and to correct by personal observation some of the many erroneous impressions I had gained by arm chair work. I think that the fact which most astonished me was the extreme variety to be seen about me, the immense number of things of all kinds and of every description which lie about in such a spot as this. If the accounts given of coral reefs fail to convey a true conception of what a coral reef is like, it is, perhaps, because they are more accurate in certain details than comprehensive. There are many animals quite unknown to the average reader, and I might say the ordinary traveller, bearing no names that convey any concrete idea to any one who is not a specialist in the particular branch of Natural History to which they belong. A long list of the Latin names of the corals of a reef, for example, conveys no impression even to many zoologists of the infinite variations of form, struc ture, and colour which those corals actually present in the living state ; and the same might be said of the members of every other group of the animal kingdom. A coral reef cannot be properly described. It must be seen to be thoroughly appreciated. Our work upon the promontory finished, we started in ch. ii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 29 the steam-cutter for a little inlet hard by called Bohoi Bay. The two sides of the bay are very different in appearance. On the north side there is a steep, rocky shore without any trace of coral reef. On the south a broad belt of mangrove swamp and a typical fringing reef. At the base of the inlet, which receives a little mountain stream, there was an elaborate arrangement of bamboo fishing-stakes, and, nestling amongst the trees on the northern shore, a few small houses. No wonder that when the natives saw our little ' skuchi api,' or fire-boat, ploughing through the water towards their home, they thought discretion was the better part of valour and retired into the bush. It must have seemed to them passing strange that a party of apparently sane Europeans should find it worth their while to pay a visit to Bohoi Bay. We landed upon the northern shore and walked along towards a huge basaltic boulder which marked the entrance to the bay.3 Between the volcanic rocks and boulders along the shore is a fine white foraminiferous sand, mainly composed of Calcarina shells and Orbitolites. The rocks which lie below high-water mark are covered with a fine layer of acorn shells. Upon them may be seen a number of brilliant httle green and yellow crabs and jumping fishes. The crabs are called by naturalists Grapsus varins. They are curiously marked with dark olive-green stripes alter nating with bright yellow stripes and spots, and they are capable of making the most extraordinary leaps and bounds I have ever seen in crab-life. They would spring from rock to rock with the greatest skill and precision, and when a broad expanse of bare rock allowed it they would scamper along at such a rate that I found it impossible to catch them. 2 The rocks of the volcanic regions of North Celebes belong to the augite- andesite series. 30 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii Not being endowed with the wisdom of the crab, I wondered why, to escape from such an enemy as they evidently took me for, they did not immediately plunge into the water and hide beneath the rocks. Perhaps they have found that it is safer to trust to their powers of flight from rock to rock, which were, it is true, good enough for such an enemy as I was, than by plunging in the waters, to run the risk of falling victims to larger crabs and other foes that lurk in the rocky pools. The little jumping fishes (vide Frontispiece) are well known upon the shores of all the Indian seas. They, like their crab-comrades, appear to consider that their safety lies above the water rather than in it, for they never attempt to save themselves when disturbed by plunging into the sea. Their position is usually one of clinging to the edge of the rocks or mangrove roots by their fins, with their tails only in the water. When alarmed they make a spring by means of their bent, muscular, pectoral fins, and then skim across the water by a succession of short jumps until they reach a place of safety. The fact that they live the greater part of their lives with their head and gills out of water suggested to me an investigation of their respiratory organs, as I thought it pos sible that they might possess some interesting modifications of the swim-bladder to enable them to breathe the air. It was not, however, until the Meeting of the British Association at Manchester in 1887 that an explanation of the mystery of their respiration occurred to me — namely, that the respi ration is mainly performed by the tail. Since then Professor Haddon has been carrying on some experiments in Torres Straits and has shown that this explanation is correct (29). It seems at first sight a very extraordinary thing that a fish should have become so modified by change of habit as ch. n ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 31 actually to have transferred the chief part of its respiratory functions from its gills to its tail. It is a well-known and generally recognised fact, however, that in all the Amphibia the skin plays a very important part as an organ of respira tion, and it is quite possible that the thin skin between the fin-rays of many fishes also acts as an accessory to the gills and performs the same function. If this is proved to be the case we should have to look upon the tail of Peri- ophthalmus as an example of an organ discharging a function which is performed in a lesser degree by the tails of many if not of all fishes. Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of Perioph- thalmus is the curious pah of goggle-eyes. They stand up out of their sockets in a very uncouth manner, and are capable of very extensive rotatory movements. I have examined the anatomy of these eyes in some detail, and can say they are, in accordance with their supra-aquatic existence, more like the eyes of frogs than of ordinary fishes. Periophthalmuses feed upon small crabs and other Crustacea, but I have also frequently found in their stomachs flies and mosquitoes. From the fact that they live almost invariably upon uneven, broken ground, and are extremely active and shy, they are exceedingly difficult to catch, and I may as well acknowledge that on this the first day of my acquaintance with them I failed to make a single capture. Some weeks afterwards, when I was at work in Talisse, I tried again. The butterfly-net method failed, however, and so did my attempt to catch them fly-fishing, and at last I was obliged to say to my boy severely, ' Go, Manuel, and catch me fifty ikan chicchak,' as the natives call them. ' Tida boleh tuan ' (' It can't be done, sir '), replied Manuel, who had been an eye-witness of all my failures ; and there- 32 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii upon I assumed my most serious tone and said, ' Manuel, I shall be very angry with you if you do not bring fifty ikan chicchak to-morrow morning.' Manuel left me, and by breakfast time on the following day he brought me fifty Periophthalmuses alive in a large glass vessel. The secret of his success is soon told. When he left me he consulted another boy of mine named Marcus, who, having been born and bred in the country districts, was well acquainted with all the snares and dodges used by boys for catching every living thing that flies, runs, or swims. Now Marcus always had at hand a small bamboo blow-pipe, and in a moment he could manufacture a little dart out of a piece of stick and a plug of cotton wool. In the early morning the two boys sallied out armed with this weapon, and in an hour or two they had succeeded in capturing some fifty specimens. They were all slightly wounded, it is true, but still they lived for some time in a glass bowl upon my table. They are, of course, excellent and rapid swimmers, but nevertheless they preferred to fix themselves to the sides of the bowl with their heads above the water and stare about them with their extraordinary goggle eyes. Having finished our work in Bohoi Bay, we returned to the little village, and found that some of the native men had ventured from their retreat. We presented the chief with a handful of tobacco for having thus unceremoniously intruded upon his property, and then steamed away to rejoin the ship. Two or three days after our visit to Bohoi Bay the ' Flying Fish ' anchored off the northern point of Limbe Island. It is a wild, inhospitable spot, with a strong tide running in and out of the Straits of Limbe. Steep cliffs of basalt rise almost perpendicularly from the water a£&r- Fig. 3.-SKETCH OF BUTTERFLY BAY AND BATTJ KAPAL, IN LIMBE ISLAND. ch. ii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 33 on the coast of the island facing us, and a reef of sharp steep rocks project from the promontory into the sea. At a distance of a couple of cables from this rises a great rock, called the Batu Kapal, or Ship Rock, white with the guano of numerous sea-birds. As the sun slowly sank on the horizon that night a crowd of frigate birds and boobies flew round and round the ship, making the evening hideous with their shrieks and screams. When darkness set in, however, they gradually became quiet, and went away to roost, we believed, on Batu Kapal. The following morning, when Lieutenant Rooper3 and I scrambled up the almost precipitous sides of the rocks to take some observations and plant the little white surveying flag upon its summit, the birds were all gone. Not a single one remained behind to guard their island home. We found the rock to be covered with guano, but with the exception of half an old egg-shell I could see no other signs of nests or eggs. The only plant I could find upon the island was a small species of Ficus (F. nitida) ,4 and it was a wonder to me how it could possibly keep a foothold in the crevices and holes of such a barren and inhospitable soil. After seeing all that there was to be seen on the rock, I put off in the whaler for a low sandy beach which lies to the south of it, and spent the morning in wandering through the forest and on the hill-sides. In the afternoon Rooper joined me, and we lunched together in a grove of screw pines near the beach. Among the screw pines there were a few young palm trees and some large aroids. The mid rib of the leaf of one of these aroids was thirty-six inches 3 This gallant officer soon afterwards lost his life by the accidental dis charge of a pistol whilst surveying off Murray Island, in Australia. His sad loss was keenly felt by all who knew his open-hearted amiable character and sterling abilities. 4 Ficus nitida, Bl. = Urostigma microcarpa, Mia.. 34 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES in length. During our meal we noticed a rustling among the leaves near us, and, for a moment only, saw the head of an enormous lizard. Before we could seize our guns the beast had disappeared. This was the largest lizard I came across during my travels. At a rough guess it was probably five or six feet long, the largest one I shot in Talisse being only 3 ft. 6 in. I believe it was a Varanus bivittatus, one of the monitor lizards, so called because they are supposed to give warning of the approach of crocodiles. After lunch we started together upon a little exploring expedition along the coast. When we had crossed the little ^YlltOi'M plying nr..-. POOPER POINT Fig. 4. — Sketch map of the Northern portion of the East Coast of Limbe Island. point which I have called Rooper Point, we came to a broad sandy bay left almost dry by the ebb tide, and this we found communicated with a wide marshy lagoon, which, running in a northerly direction, was only separated from the sea of Butterfly Bay by a narrow sandy bar. There can be no doubt, I think, that at one time Rooper Point was an island, that some years ago the northern end of the connecting strait was blocked by a sand-bank, and that, now, the rest of the channel is gradually filling up. In time, perhaps, the lagoon and 'Flying Fish' Bay will become dry land covered with dense forest. ch. ii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 35 In many respects the most interesting part of the expedition was the walk across the great sandy flat of ' Flying Fish ' Bay. It was composed of a mixture of coral detritus and a black stinking mud. Running across it were a number of shallow streamlets draining the water from the lagoon. Where the sand was dry a few Calappa crabs, a few starfishes and gelatinous hydroids, were the only representatives of the animal kingdom ; but in the channels of running water there were some large pale green or yellow lumps of the pponge-like Alcyonarian Sarcophytum, a few corals, and here and there a large Fungia, while above our heads a huge fish-eagle (Halicetus lencogaster) circled around. In one of the little channels Rooper shot a good-sized conger, probably Bleeker's Conger anagoides. On the opposite side of the bay we came across a magnificent natural arch in the rocks, and under it lay a little pool of beautifully clear water in which I caught a pair of brilliantly coloured prawns (Stenopus hispidus). The broad bands of bright red across the cephalothorax and abdomen, the remarkably long striped antennae, and the tiny little thorns with which the whole body is beset, give these animals a most gaudy and grotesque appearance. Like many of the brilliantly coloured fishes of the coral reefs, when removed from then: proper environment they seem as if they were specially attired to be seen ; but in reality their colours are their protection, because they make them inconspicuous. Amongst a crowd of wedding guests it is the unfortunate man without a wedding garment who is conspicuous ; and so amongst the gay colours and strange forms of the coral reef, the sombre-coloured fish or prawn would be most readily observed and fall a prey to its enemies. When we returned to the whaler, which lay off Butterfly D 2 36 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ii Bay, the ship was already flying signals for our recall, so we started immediately and went on board. We an chored for the night in Wallace Bay. August 14. — I stayed on board to-day, owing to a slight injury to my foot, and thus missed the only opportunity I had of visiting the black sandy beach where the maleos lay their eggs. These birds and their strange habits have already been so well described by Wallace and Guillemard (25 and 83) that I must refer the reader to the works of these authors for an account of them. We anchored for the night in Banka Strait. August 15. — Early this morning we left the Banka Strait for Manado, sounding occasionally on the way. ch. iii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 37 CHAPTER III on board h.m.s. ' flying fish ' — continued. Sail for Huang — Visit to the Kajah and the missionary at Tagulandang — Beturn to Tindela — Back again to the Ruang — ' Loods ' — Attempt to walk round the Euang Island — Maleos — Ascent of the volcano — Fauna of the woods— The lip of the crater — Magnificent view of the neighbour ing islands — Refusal of our guides to proceed to the highest point — Becent history of the Huang — The lava roads — The descent — Difficulties of the collector — Biarro — Tanjong Aros — Caves — Edible birds' nests — The foam of the sea — Pollicipes — Distichopora — Farewell to the ' Flying Fish.' August 17. — We left Manado this morning for Tagulandang, a small island about fifty miles distant in an easterly direction. Close to the island, and separated from it only by a narrow channel, lies the Ruang volcano, whose slopes, now partially covered with vegetation, are marked by great roads of black lava and debris stretching from the lip of the crater to the sea-shore. On our arrival, some of the principal natives came off in a canoe to meet us, and they seemed very much astonished when, instead of coming as near as possible to their village, we anchored for the night close to the foot of the Ruang. August 18. — I went ashore this morning on Tagulandang with Mr. de Vries, a Dutch merchant who had accompanied us from Manado. We were received upon the beach by the Rajah of the islands and his principal officers attired in the correct costume of a black frock coat and white trousers, and by a crowd of natives beating little drums. The Rajah's house, to which we were forthwith invited, is built 38 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi entirely of wood and raised on wooden piles about five feet above the level of the ground. It consists apparently of one large room, which may be temporarily divided into several smaller ones by great cotton sheets stretched across it. As we sat and talked to the Rajah, the room gradually began to fill with native men and boys, who squatted upon the floor or crowded along the walls silently watching our every movement with the greatest interest. After a little, finding that we could not get much information from the Rajah, we left his house and walked through the village to pay a visit to the missionary. The houses of the village are situated on either side of a pretty broad road, and with their little garden patches and banana groves have a very neat and tidy appearance. We found Mr. Kelling, the missionary, at home in his little house at the other end of the village. He is a German by birth, but at an early age he left his home and native country to take service under the Dutch as a pioneer of Christianity in the far East. Long past the prime of life now, he has buried two faithful companions who came to share his labours and anxieties; he has suffered terribly from the effects of insufficient nourishment and the ma larious climate ; a witness of the terrible eruptions of 1871 and 1874, by which he lost many of the faithful members of his congregation, he nevertheless seems willing and contented to pass the rest of his days in sohtude and hard ship for the sake of the sacred cause he has at heart. No one who has seen these faithful men at the scenes of their labour can fail to admire the simple-minded- courage and determination with which they spread the first principles of a higher civilisation amongst a savage people. It is true that there are some black sheep even in this noble flock who do an immense amount of mischief amongst the people they are sent to minister unto ; but, as a rule, the traveller ch. iii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 39 can see in a moment both in the bearing of the natives and the regularity of their homes and villages the beneficent influence of the minister they are fortunate enough to have in their midst. An hour spent with Mr. Kelling, who talked to us in German both of the troubles and anxieties in his work and of the natural history of his highland home, passed pleasantly enough, and then he took us through a grove of screw pines and another of coco-nut palms to a little hill from which we were able to obtain a magnificent view over part of the island, the Ruang volcano, and the sea. Returning to the shore, we found our time was up, so, bidding good-bye to Mr. Kelling, we hurried on board the ' Flying Fish ' and were soon under way again for our observation island, Tindela. We stayed less than twenty-four hours at Tindela, the object of that flying visit to our observation spot being only to correct by it the determination of the longitude of the Ruang volcano. The spot that Captain Maclear had chosen was a low sandy spit on the southern side of Tindela. It combined the advantage for astronomical work of a considerable sea horizon with an uninterrupted view of many of the most important islands, capes, and headlands in the Straits. It was an interesting place in many other respects, and I have often wandered up and down the sandy shore when the officers were taking observations, watching the crowds of hermit crabs crawling along the sand at high tide or picking up the lumps of water-worn coral and other debris with which the beach is littered. When the observations were concluded, we hastened back to Tagulandang, and once more we dropped our anchor off the Ruang as the sun was setting. 40 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi Before leaving Manado we had taken on board a native of the Gulf of Tomini, named Motiara, who from his knowledge of the navigation of all these islands was em ployed to make himself as useful as he could as a pilot. He came on board with a large leaf hat, which was painted red all over and had the word ' Loods ' (pilot) printed in large white letters in front. This man, whose utility as a pilot was very slight, mainly amused himself while on board by painting and repainting his wonderful hat with any of the ship's paints he could get hold of, and, under the guidance of the blue-jackets, who were much more adept with the needle than he, in mending the many rents in his scanty garments. As I was anxious to see if the eruption of the Ruang in 1874 had completely destroyed all traces of coral reef round the island, I asked Motiara if it were possible to walk all round the island, and he told me that it was. With the permission of Captain Maclear, he and I started in the afternoon to attempt the walk, but before we had got half way round we came to a low cliff standing well out into the sea. Motiara thereupon calmly informed me that it was impossible to cross that cliff before sunset, and that we must go back. Before finally abandoning the attempt, however, I made the ascent of this cliff alone, leaving my guide contentedly smoking a pipe on the trunk of a tree that had been washed ashore. I struggled on for some distance through a dense growth of leguminous herbs and Cyperaeese, but at last, finding that my progress was very slow and that the vegetation, already up to my waist, was becoming deeper and denser as I advanced, I was obliged reluctantly to retrace my steps. Although I did not succeed in my attempt, I gained some insight into the character of the shore of this remarkable island volcano and I can pretty confidently assert that no coral reef has, ch. iii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 41 as yet, formed on any part of it. The beach is composed of a fine black volcanic sand, upon which may be seen scattered lumps of water- worn tubiporas, astraeas, fungias, and other corals. In many places I found the footprints of the maleos, and several little pits where they may have deposited their eggs, but as the island had quite recently been visited by a number of natives from Tagulandang, none of the eggs were to be found. On the following morning (August 21), accompanied by two of the officers of the ' Flying Fish,' a small party of blue-jackets, two native guides and the schoolmaster of Tagulandang, I made the ascent of the Ruang. Plunging at once into the thick undergrowth of leguminous herbs which seems to form a belt surrounding the island just above high- water mark, we soon came to a small thicket of young trees profusely festooned with creepers. Then we came to a broad bare lava road consisting of large lumps of dried mud which broke into a fine black dust as we trod upon them. Leaving this lava road, we plunged again into a wood of young trees with a profuse undergrowth of ferns and grasses. As our guides were frequently occupied for some minutes in cutting a way through the undergrowth, we had ample opportunity of looking around us at the various natural objects that presented themselves. The maleos seemed to be here quite tame, for they would calmly watch us from the branches of the trees until we got within thirty or forty yards of them, and then only, slowly and clumsily flew on a few yards further. Pigeons were in the woods, too, in great numbers. There was the handsome bronze- winged pigeon, Carpophaga paidina, and the beautiful little green dove with a bright red tail. Large and brilliant Epeira spiders hung in the centre of their huge coarse webs. Butterflies and diurnal moths flitted in countless 42 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi numbers through the dense foliage, and brilliantly coloured flies fed upon the greenish -white umbels of a small shrub. Now the ascent became steeper and steeper, the under growth became less dense, the trees farther apart, and at last we emerged upon the bare black rocks and stones of the crater-lip. Five or six minutes more of hard climbing over loose and difficult ground, by far the most tiresome part of the journey, and at last, footsore and weary, we were able to look into the great crater of the Ruang, and rest awhile after our exertions. The crater-cup is not particularly deep, and only a Fig. 5. — The Buang Volcano. dozen small jets of smoke were issuing from its sides, but there is a restless and uncanny look about it, which seems to suggest the evil deeds it has done in the past and is capable of doing in the future. The little jets of smoke flicker and spurt from time to time, and, without warning, great slices of the friable walls of the crater dash down the slopes into the cup-shaped bottom accompanied by a dull rushing sound and a cloud of dust. Turning from this scene of restless volcanic energy to the peaceful sea at our feet, a magnificent view rewarded us for the toils of the morning. ch. in ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 43 Just across the strait lay the forest-clad slopes of Tagulan dang, and close by it the little island of Passiac, while in the same direction we could see in the far distance the summit of the Siauw volcano, with the ever-present cloud of smoke hovering over its conical peak. We could not see, however, from that position the mountains of Celebes, for the opposite walls of the crater hid them from view. Our barometers told us that we had reached the height of approximately 1,700 feet, but there was a peak a little to the southward of our position, some 500 feet higher, which rose like the pinnacle of a temple from the edge of the cup. From this point and this alone could we hope to obtain our true bearings with the mountains and islands of Celebes, and consequently we called upon our guides to lead the way to this summit. The guides, however, who imagined that they had already fulfilled their mission, refused, and by telling us that it was not possible, and then that it was not lucky to go there, tried to dissuade us from the attempt. This they did not succeed in doing, for very shortly they had the mortification, or disappointment shall I say, of seeing our little white surveying flag floating upon the highest point of the volcano. It was by no means an easy task to attain this summit, for nearly every step we took sent showers of sand and stones down the slopes of the mountain, and the heat caused by the midday sun shining upon this black soil was intense. On hands and knees we scrambled up, here surmounting a great black boulder, and there crossing a small patch of soft white ash, but at last we reached the summit, a small plateau not more than fifty square yards in area, with all the sides precipitous except the one by which we had approached it. We were, in all probability, the first who had ever reached the summit of this peak, for the natives have neither the courage nor the curiosity to make the ascent, and white visitors are 44 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES oh. in almost unknown in these parts. But even if we were not the first, we were at any rate to be the last, for upon visiting the Ruang a month afterwards I noticed that the greater part of the turret-shaped peak had given way and rolled down into the crater. From this plateau we obtained a view of the sea in all directions, and were able to make such observations as were necessary of the relative positions of the neighbouring islands. It is impossible for me to describe the beauty of the view from this commanding position, for no words of mine can do justice to the richness and variety of the colouring or the tone and boldness of the outline. The clearness of the atmosphere in the dry summer months of this tropical region not only renders objects at a distance re markably clear and distinct, but seems also to exaggerate the intensity of colouring of sea and forest. The wide expanse of the sea at our feet, of that deep sapphire blue colour which is only met with in the deep waters of the great oceans, framed by the greenish blue water of the shores and coral lagoons, the great expanse of the blue heavens, broken only by a single cloud stationary over the distant Siauw volcano, the infinite variety of green and brown foliage on the forest slopes of the neighbouring island, and then in the far distance the azure mountains of Minahassa in one direc tion and of the Sangir Islands in another, presented one of those magnificent panoramic pictures which it has rarely been my good fortune to see, and which once seen can never be forgotten. The little island of Passiac, which, as may be seen by reference to the chart, lies only about four miles from the Ruang, was of particular interest to me. The part above water and covered with trees is only a small arc of the rim of a large almost ring-shaped atoll stretching out towards a very wide barrier or fringing reef on the coast FIG. 6.-C0BAL BEEFS OF PASSIAC AND TAGULANDANG, FKOM THE SUMMIT OF THE BUANG The strait between the two islands has been purposely reduced in breadth to bring them into the same illustration. ch. iii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 45 of Tagulandang. The presence of atolls and barrier reefs in the neighbourhood of active volcanoes is by no means a common occurrence, and Darwin was inclined to beheve that, as volcanoes are usually situated in regions of elevation, this fact was consistent with his famous theory that atolls and barrier reefs are only formed during subsidence of the land. For many reasons which I cannot enter into now I am persuaded that the subsidence theory is not sufficient to account for all the facts, and that the presence of such an atoll as the Passiac so close to a region of quite recent and considerable volcanic activity is difficult to account for under this theory. But, as I have spoken so frequently of the volcanic energy of the Ruang, I may be allowed to digress here a little, to relate the story of the recent eruptions as told me by Mr. Kelling, the missionary at Tagulandang. The first recorded eruption was in the year 1811, but that and another in 1835 seem to have done but little damage. On March 3, 1871, there was a terrible explosion, the top of the mountain being blown into a thousand atoms. This was accompanied by a terrible seaquake, the water rising over fourteen fathoms, sweeping away several villages on the coasts of the islands, and followed by a shower of stones and ashes which de stroyed many lives and the greater part of the crops. It was said that over 400 persons lost their lives by drowning and by the showers of hot stones and ashes. Finally, there was an eruption in 1874, when another fall of stones ruined many of the trees and huts, but no lives were lost. It is very probable that during the eruption of 1871 the whole of the forest on the Ruang was completely destroyed, for there are now none of the large forest trees standing, such as those found growing over every one of the neighbouring islands. The stones and ashes thrown out by the volcano, upon falling again on the mountain slopes, were arranged by the 46 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi action of gravity into broad streaks or roads radiating from the crater outwards to the sea-coast. These roads are composed either of large blocks, big stones or lumps as big as a man's fist, or of a fine powdery dust. Now those composed of the last material retained the moisture on the surface longer than the others, and consequently seeds brought by the wind, by birds, and other agencies, germinated upon them first and in a very short time the beginnings of a new forest made their appearance. The roads made up of blocks and lumps are, however, not so favourable for the germination of seeds, because the rain soon soaks through them and the sun quickly dries them up again. They thus remain barren for several years after the forest has become established upon the finer soil. In 1885 the slopes of the Ruang were mapped out as in a crude pattern with stripes of young forest and stripes of stones and blocks, presenting a very curious and strange appearance when viewed either from the summit or from the sea (see fig. 5). For some reason, the vegetation ceased about 200 feet below the lip of the crater, and I could find nothing growing there but a few blades of a grass (Imperata arundinacea) and here and there a fern (Blechnum orientale) . The wonder is, however, that anything could grow there at all, for the heat of the soil at midday is intense. Many of the lumps of rock were so hot that it was impossible for me to keep my hand upon them for any length of time. Not withstanding the intense heat, the absolute dryness, and the absence of vegetation, these higher regions were simply alive with insects of all kinds, whose brilliant colours were very conspicuous against the black rocks and stones. These in sects were preyed upon by numerous swifts, whose shrill cries alone broke the absolute silence of that desolate spot. The condition of the summit of the Ruang seems to be character istic of the peaks of the volcanic islands in these regions. ch. iii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 47 Professor Moseley records the same abundance of insect life on the heights of the Gunong api of Banda and the volcano of Ternate (49). I was on the point of leaving the officers, whose work was not concluded by the time I had finished all that I wished to do, when we saw a little way below us the showers of dust and stones which marked the footsteps of a visitor. Strange as it may seem, the visitor was no other than one of our guides who, braving the wrath of the spirits of his ancestors who dwell for ever at the summit of the mountain, had come to beg a drop of water to quench his thirst. Un fortunately, our own throats were in the same condition as his, and we had not the wherewithal to satisfy them, so that it did not require much pressure upon my part to persuade him to return with me to the ship. The descent was quickly accomplished, and a plateful of good soup prepared by the excellent Chinese cook soon re lieved me of my thirst and fatigue. Two hours later the rest of the party arrived, none the worse for the hard day's work. When I look back upon this visit to the Ruang I feel that in many ways I had greater opportunities for collecting specimens of botany and terrestrial zoology there than I had in the same space of time at any other period of my stay in the tropics. The absence of any old forest trees and the presence of a considerable undergrowth bring the flowers, the birds, and insects, and in fact all objects of natural history, much closer to the hands of the naturalist than they are usually in tropical forests. I regret now exceedingly that my collections from the Ruang are not more extensive, but I admit that at the time I did not appreciate the value of my opportunity, and my anxiety not to be separated from the party during the ascent and the cravings of my flesh for water during, the descent 48 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi rather cooled, I am afraid, my enthusiasm for adding to my collections. I had hoped before leaving Celebes to have another opportunity of visiting the Ruang and making some collections more at my leisure, but the opportunity never came, and my investigations were consequently never concluded. Such feelings as these, however, are common to the travel ling naturalist. He always feels, I imagine, dissatisfied with what he has done upon any particular coast or island, and always hopes that fate will bring him there again to com plete his work. He forgets in his contemplations the difficulties and hardships he laboured under and the thou sand trifling details which absorbed his time and attention, and perhaps he does scant justice in blaming himself for things he has left undone. It takes a great deal of time and energy to collect plants and birds, butterflies and shells, flies and spiders in a new and difficult country, and one who makes but a rapid march through it cannot expect to obtain many specimens. The feelings of the naturalist upon leaving such a country must be something like those of the visitors to King Solomon's mines, who left with only one pocketful of dia monds. August 22. — After cruising about all day taking sound ings we arrived at about five o'clock off the island Biarro. We found a very good anchorage on the northern side in about twelve fathoms. The time was now fast approaching when the ' Flying Fish ' was to leave these waters for the South, and, in the interval, Captain Maclear very kindly gave me several opportunities of dredging in the Talisse Sea from one of the steam-cutters. I propose in a later chapter to give a slight sketch of the results I obtained from these investiga tions, but I have still to describe before concluding this chapter one other little expedition we made to Tanjong Aros, ch. iii ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 49 or Stream Cape, the northernmost extremity of the island Talisse. Starting at five o'clock on the morning of August 28, we reached the extreme point of the island before six o'clock. The rugged rocks stand straight up out of the sea, and are capped by a low forest of screw pines and other trees, in which numbers of black baboons were disporting themselves. Al though the water is not particularly deep, there is no reef off Tanjong Aros, and this may be accounted for, I believe, by the very strong tide which rushes past and gives the name to the point. It must not be understood, however, that because there is no reef there are no corals, for, in the beautifully clear water I could easily distinguish clumps of sarcophytum, brain corals, astrseas, and others resting, at intervals, on the white sandy bottom. All that I wish to imply is that the strong tides prevent the corals from growing in such luxury and abundance as to form a reef. The same may be said of the coast from this point to the Kinabohutan Straits, where the upright basaltic cliffs and the great caves and grottoes tell the story of the scouring action of the tides and waves. Immediately to the east of Tanjong Aros there is a little bay, at the side of which are two splendid caves. The one to the north must be about fourteen feet in height, and its walls are whitewashed with the excreta of the bats and birds inhabiting it. The other one is much lower, and we had some difficulty in getting into it in the dingy. It was inhabited by countless swifts of two species of those which build the edible nests (Collocallia esculenta and fused). These delicate little creatures, terribly agitated by our visit, flitted about in a perfect cloud around our heads. The walls of the cave were simply lined with their nests ; and if I had been so disposed I could have gathered thousands of them in a very short 50 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. in space of time. Contenting myself, however, with a dozen nests and eggs, and two or three specimens of the birds for future identification, I was glad to get away from the stifling atmosphere of the cave, and the heart-rending shrieks of the terrified parents, into the purer air outside. I found that the nests were of a very inferior quality — from a commercial point of view — that is to say, they were com posed of a very large proportion of vegetable fibre and feathers, and a very small proportion of the consolidated saliva of the bird. These nests were in bygone times of some value, and the cave used to be the ' property ' of the Rajah of Manado. Of recent years, however, there has been some dispute as to the ownership of this cave, and I believe that at the present time no one actually claims the sole right to take the nests. As the approach to the cave is not without danger, and the Chinese in Manado now import large quantities of the nests from Borneo and the Philippines, where they can be obtained of very much better quality, the value of this cave has very much diminished, and I believe it is now worth very little. At any rate, I tried to persuade myself that I had not been guilty of committing the heinous crime of poaching on another man's preserves. There has been a considerable discussion as to the way in which these little birds manufacture their nests ; but there can be no doubt now that they are formed by the consolidation of the mucous secretion of the salivary glands. The belief that the little bird makes them by the mastica tion of a particular kind of sea-weed is now known to be erroneous. The natives, however, have an explanation of the formation of this material which is novel, if not plausible. They pointed out to me that in July and August, when the birds are building, the waves of the sea are fre quently capped with crests of foam. Thousands of the ch. iii ON BOARD H.M.S. ' FLYING FISH ' 51 little swifts may be seen skimming over the waves, and as they go they are said to collect a certain quantity of the foam in their mouths, from which they manufacture the mucilaginous material which helps to consolidate their nests. It is strange how many things have been supposed by the unlearned of every race and clime to have been born of the sea-foam. I suppose its graceful, ever-changing beauty, both of form and colour, has induced the poetical and fanciful mind to believe that it must contain something that is more than air and water. In our own country it Fig. 7. — Pollicipes. was generally believed that the Alcyoniwm digitatum, or Dead-men's fingers, of our coasts is formed by the churning of the waves, as butter is produced from milk; and the eggs of the common whelk, the eggs of cuttle-fishes, and many other objects which are thrown upon the sand by heavy seas, were said to have been born of the ocean's foam. Aphrodite herself, goddess of love and beauty, was born of the foam of the sea ; and many other examples might be quoted from history, legend, and myth, in which similar ideas may be traced. E 2 52 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi In the neighbourhood of these bat and bird caves there were several broad ledges of rock covered, of course, with barnacles and limpets, but often bearing small shallow pools containing specimens of the fauna and flora of the sea-bottom. In one of these I obtained half a dozen specimens of the curious barnacle Pollicipes ; in another I found a few small specimens of the purple Distichopora. As this was the first time — and, as it happened, the last — I had found Distichopora, I was very anxious to see the polypes alive and expanded, but I was disappointed, for they were all retracted. I fancy that in these shallow pools the polypes are generally expanded only at night or in the early morning, for the sun soon raises the temperature of the water to such a degree that their movements, if expanded, would be sluggish and uncertain. The Distichopora does not belong to the same class of the animal kingdom as the ordinary corals. The animals which build up the vast masses of madrepores, astraeas, and other reef-building corals, are allied to the sea-anemones, but the animals which build up the arborescent skeleton of Distichopora and the great laminae of the millepores are more nearly re lated to the common fresh-water polype Hydra and its allies. They exhibit, however, a very curious division of labour in their colonies, as Professor Moseley discovered. Some of them are simply stomachs for the reception and digestion of food, while others are simply feelers for catching it. As all the individuals of such a colony are united together by a very complicated system of canals, this arrangement for catching and digesting the food benefits all alike, and is no doubt extremely efficient. The majority of the forms in these pools were, however, true corals. I remember a beautiful piece of a coral called Galacea, most splendidly decorated with bright-green ten tacles, and a mass of Astraea whose polypes were marked ch. in ON BOARD H.M.S. 'FLYING FISH' 53 with gold and purple colours. But it would take a chapter to describe all the forms of interest and beauty which were to be found within these sea pools. Each was a mine of wealth for the naturalist. Unfortunately my supply of spirit was at the time not very large, and I was unable to preserve more than a limited number of them ; but never theless I was extremely sorry when my time was up and I ^^^^^^^w^a ..irv/'5BJ ^^S^^^al %^^t-SfyvmI^ivW^^h^^T^ "'-^m m ^^^^&^^»^MkP^^^^i& ^^^^^w^^zfm *P^Awk ^^igffl Jf^ mm H HUl !-'-'^Mm\ Fig. 8. — Portion of the skeleton of Galacea Esperi, reduced to half diameter. was obliged to leave these interesting places to rejoin the cutter. Two or three days after this little expedition to Tanjong Aros the surveying work of the ' Flying Fish ' in the Banka Straits was finished, and the time had at last arrived when I was to part for a time from my kind and hospitable friends. A farewell dinner in the ward-room, a hearty exchange 54 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi of well-wishes for good health and success, and my ex tremely enjoyable and interesting cruise on board H.M.S. ' Flying Fish ' came to an end. I was put ashore in the dingy, and for the first time I passed the night on Talisse Island. The next morning when I awoke the ' Flying Fish ' had departed. TALISSE ISLAND 55 CHAPTER IV TALISSE ISLAND Reasons for settling in this island — Inhabitants and topography of the island — Every-day life in the island — Surface dredging — The ' Panchuran ' — Work on the reefs — Food— Temperature and barometric pressure — In sect pests — Evening amusements — The coolies — Diseases of the natives — My house — Attap — The gardens — Deer-kraal — Hill-climbing — Mangrove swamps — Collecting orchids — The plantations — Planting coco-nuts — Ebony — Kinabohutan — Pirates — Banka, Tindela, and Ganga — Absence of coral reefs on shores exposed to the N.N.E. — Our visitors — The post prau — Native songs — The ' Minahassa ' — An Arab. Before describing my life and surroundings in the little island of Talisse I must explain why it was I fixed upon that island for my head-quarters. I required for my in vestigations a good, vigorous coral reef, not far from my house ; I required a sea shallow enough for me to dredge, but at the same time not exposed to monsoons ; I also wished to be near a primitive forest and a mangrove swamp, and not too far away from Manado. As all these conditions were fulfilled in Talisse, and as I had already acquired a considerable knowledge of the topography of the Talisse Sea during my stay on board the ' Flying Fish,' I thought that I could not do better than make it my head-quarters. I believe now I made the best choice, and that Talisse possesses greater advantages in these respects than any other place on the coast or islands of the north part of Celebes. There is a fringing coral reef varying in vigour and size nearly all round the island. On the east side it is washed by the Talisse Sea, which is over twenty •56 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv square miles in area, in no place deeper than forty fathoms, and fairly protected in all winds and seasons ; there is a considerable mangrove swamp in many places on the coast, and more than half the island is still covered with primitive forest. A canoe in the Dutch postal service calls about once a week, and the agent of the Moluksche Handels Vennootschap, a Dutch company that owns the coco-nut plantations on the island, calls on a tour of inspection about once a month. The only disadvantage that I found was the difficulty of hiring for a reasonable price a good seaworthy boat for my investigations upon the sea. Another time I should be careful to hire a boat at the principal town of the district before fixing upon my headquarters; Talisse Island is situated in lat. 1° 49' 30" N., long. 125° 4' 19" E., and is bounded on the north-west by the Celebes Sea, south by the Straits of Tindela, and east by the Talisse Sea and the Straits of Kinabohutan. It is about seven miles long from north to south, and about three miles broad at its .widest part. With the exception of a small portion at the northern extremity, which contains the birds'-nest caves, the whole island is owned by the Moluksche Handels Vennootschap, a Dutch trading and culture company, with its head agency at Manado. The company has a resident ' opzichter,' or overseer, on the island, whose duty it is to superintend the clearance of the forest and the planting of the coco-nuts by a band of some eighty to one hundred coolies. Besides the coolies there are a few wandering fishermen belonging to the Sangirese race, who reside temporarily in little tumble-down huts at various places on the coast. In addition to these, the island is from time to time visited by the canoes of those strange, gipsy-like people, the Wadjorese, who wander from place to place, subsisting ch. rv TALISSE ISLAND 57 alone on the fish they can catch to eat or barter, and seem to know no home but their frail little outrigged canoes (54). Running down the middle line of the island there is a range of hills from 1,000 to 1,300 feet in height, and from the foot of the hills to the sea-shore there is in many parts of the island a level plain from 100 to 200 yards in breadth. The presence of this broad level plain surrounding the hill sides cannot be accounted for entirely by any theory of elevation, but rather by the accumulation of soil from the hill-slopes advancing on the mangrove swamps, as I have explained above in Chapter II. Although I searched care fully in the watercourses, I could find no evidence of any considerable elevation of the land in this region, nor do I believe that these coasts and islands have undergone any subsidence. The presence of a broad shore platform proves, I imagine, that the land has remained stationary for some considerable time. There are only two constant streams in the island — one at Koa, where I lived, and one on the opposite side of the hill. In the rainy season there are many watercourses. These completely dry up in the summer. The water of our stream was cool, clear, and tasteless, but I always took the precaution to boil it before drinking. The agent of the company allowed me to live in the house of the opzichter for the first few weeks of my resi dence in the island, but subsequently he kindly provided me with a small but comfortable little house in the imme diate vicinity containing three rooms. A slight sketch of my daily life in Talisse may not be uninteresting to those whose travels have not taken them so far or into such strange surroundings. Being situated only 2° north of the equator, the difference of the duration of daylight between summer and winter is 58 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES hardly appreciable. For all practical purposes we may say that the sun rises and sets at six o'clock in the morning and evening. My usual custom was to rise between half-past five and six. My flannel sleeping costume was quite suffi cient dress for the fashions of the island, so that I could, without any fear of losing my social status, read or write for an hour or two before my bath over a cup of coffee without the trouble of further dressing. I had not been long in the island before I found that reading and writing were not to be indulged in at that early hour ; it was much too precious for other work, for not only are the birds and insects, which disappear as the sun becomes more powerful, particularly visible at that hour, but it is the time of the day above all others when the surface of the sea teems with animal life. I remember well my disappointment when I first got into tropical waters at finding that my surface-net invariably came up almost empty. It was not until I had been at work some time that I made the very simple dis covery that in the early morning hours every sweep of the net brings up countless pelagic forms of all sizes and de scriptions. This may be due to the change in the tempera ture of the water. The temperature of the surface-waters off the reefs in the middle of the day was as high as 80° F. ; in the early morning hours it was often below 70° F. It is very probable that when the temperature of the surface rises above 70° F. these forms sink to a cooler zone a little below the surface, and that they could be readily caught in a tow-net sunk to a proper depth at all times of the day. Thus, after a time, I used to forsake my books and diaries in the early morning for expeditions after birds and insects, or for excursions in a canoe for surface dredgings. At 8 o'clock a.m. one of the two great treats of the day was in store for me. This was the morning bath. Within a ¦mm Fig. 9.— THE PANCHUBAN. TALISSE ISLAND 59 hundred yards of my house a little stream of water emerged from the hillside, and close by its source a long wooden gutter had been arranged to make a spout, or ' panchuran,' as the natives called it. The ' panchuran ' had been surrounded by a palisade of split bamboos, and thus a primitive bathing retreat was formed, free from the gaze of the inquisitive natives, who seemed to be always pleased to get a glimpse of the white skin of the ' tuan puti,' or white gentleman, as I was sometimes called. The ' panchuran ' was overshadowed by lofty forest trees and the great leaves of some young sagoweer palms, and these were the favourite resort in the dry season of many of the most beautiful birds of the island. There I often saw that extremely handsome red kingfisher, called by the natives the ' rajah udan,' or ' king of the forest ; ' the beautiful parrot (Tanygnathus Miilleri), with its dark green wings and bright Cambridge blue back, and many other familiar friends of my rambles in the forest. How delicious it was to allow the cool fresh water to trickle over me, or to order Manuel to pour bucketfuls down my back ! After my bath I went back to my house to breakfast, which usually con sisted of boiled rice and chicken. From breakfast until lunch I employed myself in microscope work, in skinning birds, or otherwise attending to my collections ; but when there were spring tides I had to prepare in the mornings for my expeditions to the coral reefs. Low water at spring tides is at Talisse in the middle of the day, and I found that I could work upon the reef for an hour or two, two days before and after the lowest spring tide. On these days (five every fortnight), Manuel and I would start off a little after eleven o'clock, armed with two or three iron buckets, a small case of collecting bottles, a crowbar, and other implements that were useful or necessary for our work. I protected my feet and legs with a pair of water-tight 60 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv Magdala boots, and Manuel wore an old pair of boots I had given him for these occasions, for even his tough feet could not stand the wounds and lacerations caused by this rough work upon the reefs. As soon as the ebbing tide permitted, we waded across the shallow sandy lagoon towards the edge of the reef, and worked away as hard as we could until the flowing tide compelled us to retreat. It was extremely hot work in the middle of the day, with the sun pouring down upon our heads, but as I was generally pretty well wet through all over, and constantly put my head in the water to keep it cool, I was never any the worse for it. I used to enjoy these excursions, however, notwithstanding their great physical discomfort, for the variety and interest there is in every square yard of a vigorous coral reef affords ceaseless amuse ment and wonder, the difficulty being to devote one's attention to any particular form or problem, and not to fritter away the time in watching the active movements of the brightly coloured reef fishes, the slow and steady march of the great sea-slugs and star-fishes, the slow and graceful waving movements of the Alcyonarian polypes, or the darting frightened scrambles of the crabs and squillas. I was never sorry when the time came to turn our faces homewards, for, notwithstanding the excitement, this reef- work is extremely exhausting. Sometimes I would fling off my wet clothes when I reached home, and fall fast asleep for an hour or so before lunch ; but as I had always a great many things to attend to, I tried to avoid this as often as possible, and get my corals and other things properly preserved at once. In such a climate I could rely upon nothing to keep for an hour. When the thermometer stands at 90° in the shade, a bucketful of water soon reaches a temperature at which all its living contents languish and die, and as soon as anything is dead putrefaction sets in TALISSE ISLAND 61 immediately and kills the rest. It was absolutely necessary, therefore, to attend to my collections as soon as I returned to my hut, and to keep only one or two choice creatures alive in separate glass jars in the coolest places I could find. At first I was inclined to be dissatisfied that I could utilise only five days on the reefs in the fortnight, but after a time I found that, during those five days, I could obtain more material to work upon than would last for two fortnights ; in fact, the difficulty was to finish the examination and preservation of the material I obtained at one tide before it was time to work upon the next. But, besides this, I found it very important to keep well up to date as far as my writing was concerned. It is surprising how very soon one forgets facts and details which have made such an impression at the time that one fondly imagines they will never be forgotten. Letters, diaries, notes, and labels take up a great deal of time and energy, and it was as much as I could do to keep abreast with the times in that respect. The morning's work done, I would have my luncheon brought in. I need not enter into particulars : lunch was the same as breakfast, and breakfast the same as dinner. Each meal consisted of boiled rice flavoured with curry and whatever fish, flesh, or fowl I could get. I generally kept a stock of chickens, but, as many of them would run wild in the woods, or be killed by snakes at night, or otherwise disappear, and as my commissariat arrangements with Likupang and Manado were not always in working order, I sometimes ran short of these useful fowls, and then I had to rely upon the produce of my gun. I have tried at times very many kinds of game for food, such as baboons, bats, parrots, sandpipers, pigeons, bivalves of many kinds, and cuttlefish, but, as the resources of my kitchen were limited, I can only say with varying success. Monkey is not bad — I could recommend it as an entree, but it is too tasty and 62 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES oh. iv strong for a hungry person. Bats, when thoroughly imbued with Spanish pepper (chillies) so as to disguise completely their own peculiar flavour, are excellent, but great care is required in the cooking of them. The wild bronze-winged pigeons (Carpophaga paulina) are very good, and so are the sandpipers. They can be made palatable even by an inex perienced cook ; but parrots are inferior as an article of food. The bivalves are not very bad, but, like the fish, are quite inferior to those of colder climates. The natives spoke very highly of the quality of the cuttlefish, but from the specimen I tried — it may have been improperly cooked or of inferior quality, it is true — I should think that first-class india-rubber would be more palatable and digestible. I was not always so badly off as this, however ; for after my visit to Manado at the > beginning of October I had a supply of tinned soups and vegetables, and a large sack of potatoes, which enabled me to add considerable variety to my table. After lunch was cleared away I often followed the custom of the colonial Dutchman, and turned into bed for a good midday sleep. I found this rest a useful and refreshing one when I was not on any of my expeditions, for it was an excellent way of getting through the hottest and quietest hours of the day, and at the same time a valuable stimulus to the exertions of the afternoon and evening. I spoke just now of the ' hottest part ' of the day. Perhaps I ought to explain this more accurately. It would never be considered very hot in Talisse by those who are accustomed to the heat of Egypt, British India, or even Java. The average temperature in my hut in the middle of the day was 85°-5 F.— that it is to say, about as warm as it is in England on an exceptionally hot summer's day. I kept regular records of both temperature and barometric pressure, but there is so very httle change from day to ch. iv TALISSE ISLAND 63 day that the record is uninteresting and monotonous. My aneroid registered 29-9 inches of mercury pretty constantly at nine o'clock in the morning, and 30-0 inches in the middle of the day during the dry season, and rose to 30-1 inches in the middle of the day during the rainy season. The advent of the rainy season was not marked by any dis turbance of the barometer. So regular, in fact, is the rise and fall of the barometer in these parts, that it is almost possible to tell the time of day by a good aneroid. After my afternoon slumber I would call my boy and start off for a walk in the forest. There were three paths open to me — one running northwards for about a couple of miles, one running southwards, and one across the hill to the other side of the island. Along one of these paths I would start, and plunge into the forest or the mangrove swamp in search of birds and insects. Sometimes I came back quite empty-handed, but I generally had a few new butterflies or some birds either for my larder or my collection. I had practically to do all the collecting myself. I found that Manuel, although a fair shot and expert with the butterfly-net, was not in dependent enough to do any work for himself. If I had the gun and he the net, he would be much more anxious to find birds for me to shoot than to look out for butterflies himself ; and vice versa, if he had the gun and I the net, he seemed desperately desirous of catching butterflies. On my return from these shooting excursions I would indulge in another bath at the panchuran, and then settle down to write my letters and the notes and observations for the day. Writing is not in these coast places an unmixed pleasure after the sun has set, for the scribe is pestered by all kinds of winged abominations, which, attracted by the light and half-killed by the heat of the lamp, perform their 64 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv dying gymnastics in the ink and on the paper. I remember well on one occasion I was visited by a swarm of flying termites that fairly drove me out to seek another occupa tion. These horrible insects alighted on my table, dropped their wings, and then chased one another on foot over my paper, up my pen, over my hands, and up my shirt-sleeves in such numbers that it was almost impossible to make a legible mark upon the paper. Fortunately this was quite an exceptional visitation. But the pests that were not exceptional were the mosquitoes. When I first landed in Java I suffered severely from the bites of one or two mosquitoes, but afterwards I found that they became less irritating at the time, and left no lasting discomfort ; but I was always cognisant of their presence, and the constant humming and pricking of these little brutes were always more or less distracting to me when engaged in any serious work. When my writing was pretty well up to date I would often stroll round to the opzichter's house, and spend an hour or two with Mr. Cursham. Fortunately I had on the voyage out learned to speak a little Dutch, so that I could converse with him in a language that was not Malay, of which at the time I knew only a few sentences. But our repertoire of amusements for spending a quiet evening was not very extensive. He had a backgammon board — and many and many a game I played with him in the verandah of his house— and a fairly good musical box ; but even back gammon becomes tiresome after a time, and the dulcet strains of ' Home, Sweet Home ' and the ' Blue Danube ' (with a few notes missing) fail to charm. On moonlight nights such indoor recreations, however, were hardly necessary, for a stroll on the rickety little pier in the delicious cool evening breeze, listening to the rippling music of the ebbing waters, was a far greater attraction. TALISSE ISLAND As a rule, the sea at Talisse is not particularly phosphor escent, not more so than it is on the coast of Scotland, foi example — nor did I ever see any such milky-white seas as 1 afterwards saw in the Banda Sea ; but nevertheless the path of a small shark or other predaceous fish was frequently marked out in lines of fire even on moonlight nights, so that there was constantly something to divert my attention. I was always on perfectly friendly terms with the natives of the island, and could generally make myself understood, either by signs or language, even by those who were not acquainted with Malay, and many a hearty laugh have we had together in trying to understand one another. The ' coolies,' as they were collectively called, varied in number from forty to a hundred or more. They were recruited from Manado, Tidore, Sangir, Talaut, and other places, and often arrived in a half-starved, fever -stricken condition. The Company always had a great difficulty in getting them to stop for any length of time upon the island, for as soon as they had had a few good meals of rice, and had earned a little money, they were anxious to be off again to their wives and freedom — a ' Freedom ' which, as a philanthropist, I ought to spell with a capital 'F,' but which is, as a matter of fact, synonymous with idleness, sickness, and general unhappiness. Of course, the Company makes contracts with these men to stay so many months, but, as the Government officials are very anxious that there should be no whispered suspicions of slavery in the relations between European individuals and the natives, these contracts are broken with impunity, and the coolies often calmly run away after a few weeks' work, with some portion of their wages paid in advance. The coolies were under the supervision of two mandurs or foremen, natives of Minahassa, both of whom had lived on the island and served the Company faithfully and well F 66 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv for some years. The wives of these two mandurs were my most constant visitors, and would often spend the greater part of the day chatting with my boys and super intending the cooking. I soon acquired the reputation of being a medicine-man, and my small medicine chest was a valuable aid to me in establishing friendly relations with these simple-minded people. Their complaints were usually fevers, diarrhoea, boils, and ulcers, all of which I could treat with considerable success ; but a very prevalent disease of the eye, consisting of a clouding of the cornea, was beyond my skill. The Sangirese men were very often afflicted with a form of ichthyosis, and were constantly scratching themselves like monkeys, but they never sought relief for it nor seemed to consider it anything but natural. I never saw any cases of measles or scarlet-fever, small pox, or of any other zymotic disease, nor any traces of syphilis acquired or inherited. Such complaints, however, do, I believe, occur. The natives have a great many medi cines of their own, obtained by the infusion and decoction of various herbs and fruits, and many of the Europeans who have been a long time in the country, and the half- castes are firmly persuaded that they are much more effective than the drugs of our European pharmacopoeias ; but as the native doctors are able to extract live lizards, nails, and all sorts of things out of a patient's head when he is afflicted with a headache, I should not feel disposed to place too much reliance on their efficacy. A thorough and systematic study, however, of native medicines might lead to some valuable results. The natives have but little idea of some of the simplest laws of sanitation, and allow themselves to get extremely ill before they seek for assistance. It is wonderful, some- ch. iv TALISSE ISLAND 67 times, what a simple remedy will do for them, and how quickly their skin will heal when wounded. I remember on one occasion a man came to me whose legs were nearly covered with large vicious-looking ulcers. He was ex tremely dirty, and the wounds had been seriously irritated by flies and mosquitoes. I first of all sent him to the ' panchuran ' to wash himself, and then I covered the sores with strips of rag soaked in a weak solution of carbolic acid. On the following morning the ulcers were nicely granulating, and two days later he went to work again, and troubled me no more. As this man was exceptionally dirty when he came to me, I ought, in justice to the Minahassers, to notify the fact that he was Sangirese. I never saw or heard of such a case amongst the Minahassers, partly because they are accustomed to a more plentiful supply of wholesome and nourishing food, and partly because they are more cleanly and particular in their habits. The natives often suffer terribly from large boils, but they come and disappear again in a day or two. The house in which I lived after leaving the opzichter's was raised above the level of the ground about four feet six inches on piles. The piles and framework were of some kind of hard wood, probably the Eusideroxylon Zwageri, the famous ' belian ' iron-wood of commerce ; the walls and doors were made of a plait- work of young split bamboos, suspended on frames of thicker bamboos or other wood. This was sufficient to make the rooms quite dark in the daytime, but it would have been but little protection against draughts, if there had been any in the island to be avoided. It was quite possible to pry into the house through the interstices of this bamboo plait-work; and at night, when the rooms were illuminated with oil-lamps, it looked from outside not unlike a large hamper. The floor was made of strips of Arenga wood, tied together by an ill- F 2 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv prepared string, made from the gumutu or leaf fibres of the same palm. These strips of wood were of various thicknesses, and consequently the floor was very uneven and irregular. The roof was very large, and covered with ordinary attap of Arenga palm-leaves. In some parts of Java attap is made from the allang-allang grasses, but in Celebes invariably from palm-leaves, in the fol lowing manner. The pinnae of the leaves are first of all separated from the mid-rib. The Arenga palm -leaves are often fifteen to twenty feet in length, bearing 100 or more pinnae on each side of the mid-rib. The pinnas are about four feet in length, and from three to four inches broad when fresh. A lath or rod of split bamboo or reed about six feet long is then chosen and placed in a convenient position, with each end resting on a wooden stool or support. The pinnae are then folded evenly over the lath, care being taken that each one slightly overlaps its neigh bour, and sewn together in position by rattan strings or gumutu fibres. Each strip thus prepared is called ' faras katu' (22). It is carefully dried in the sun and then put aside until required for use. When a roof is made, several hundreds of these ' faras katu ' are placed overlapping one another like the slates upon an ordinary European roof, and it is then called ' attap.' An attap roof is a far better protection against sun and rain than slates or tiles, the only serious disadvantage it possesses being that it affords a cosy retreat for spiders, mosquitoes, and other vermin. My house contained three rooms, one of which I used as a bedroom, the front one as a dining and sitting-room, and the middle one, which was the darkest and coolest of the three, as a library and store. All round the house was a narrow verandah — well protected by the enormous roof in which I had a couple of tables set apart for microscope work and writing. I had every reason to be satisfied with ch. iv TALISSE ISLAND 69 my abode, although it was very much infested with the white ants, and so rickety that a single footstep made the whole house shake, for I might have been much worse off in such an out-of-the-way island. In front of my house was a sandy path which ran a distance of fifty paces to the sea in one direction, and to the panchuran, a distance of a hundred yards or thereabouts, in the other ; joining these were the footpaths to the other parts of the island. By the sea-shore ran a path past Cursham's house to the pier. On either side of this path had been planted a number of aloes (?), yuccas, hibiscus shrubs, and other garden plants, and it was shaded by two splendid casuarinas, an Acacia ccesia, and a number of sour lemon trees. At the back of the two houses were some banana plants, and in a clearing round the flagstaff, which stood in front of the opzichter's house, a number of pineapples had been planted by Mr. Rijkschroeff, a former opzichter. Immediately in front of my house was a large bamboo kraal, in which two stags and three does of the Cervus moluccensis were con fined, and in another, next to it, a fine specimen of the babirusa pig. There was great excitement when, at the beginning of September, the does gave birth to young ones ; but the excitement was changed to disgust and disappointment when the unnatural mothers stamped the young to death. In every case, soon after the young was born, the mother, in a fit of puerperal frenzy, stamped upon her offspring with her fore-feet, and in this murderous intent she was immediately joined by the other does and stags. At no little risk — for the animals were all more or less vicious when the young were born — Manuel rescued for me one of the young, and I tried for some days to feed it with bananas, hoping that in time the mother would take kindly to her offspring, but it was no good ; the doe remained inexorable, 70 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv and the young one was killed like the others. If I had been able to obtain a good supply of fresh cow's milk, I would have tried to feed it with an artificial nipple, but that was just what I could not get, and so I was obliged to try again the affections of the parent, with the painful result just mentioned. Besides the companionship of one of my boys, Manuel or Marcus, Mr. Cursham, the half-caste opzichter of the plantations, often accompanied me on my expeditions, and I learned a good deal from his wide and varied know ledge about some of the details of animal and plant life in these forests. His experience in these matters often left me in the lurch, however, for in swarming up the hill sides, or in breaking through a bush tangle, he and Manuel could get along so much faster than I could, that I was left a long way in the rear, while they were potting merrily at the birds, baboons, or kusis far ahead. The chief difficulty I experienced in getting along was that the leather soles of my boots became so slippery by walking on the dry leaves that I was obliged to plant my feet with the greatest deliberation and caution to avoid falling down. On some occasions I took off my boots, and went with naked feet, like Cursham and the boys, and then I found I could keep up pretty well ; but this is not a plan I should advise a European to adopt too readily, for our feet perspire much more than native feet, and consequently our skin is much more liable to abrasions, and to suffer from the attacks of flies and mosquitoes, than is the hard, dry skin of the feet of coloured men. India-rubber canvas shoes are ex tremely valuable when climbing up the slopes of a forest- clad mountain ; they give almost as much grip as the naked feet, and are for a time cool and comfortable. When I became more experienced in forest work, I always carried a pair of these with me, and put them on in place of my TALISSE ISLAND 71 ordinary boots on rising ground or where it was particu larly slippery with dried fallen leaves. Work in the mangrove swamps was always rather depressing and disgusting. The damp, stifling, stinking atmosphere, the muddy slippery ground, and the swarms of ants, flies, mosquitoes, and other abominations, made the work tiresome and annoying. The mixture, however, of marine and terrestrial faunas, and the varied conditions of life the swamp affords, make it an important locality for the naturalist. The best swamps on the east coast of Talisse — that is to say, those that were the broadest and most luxu riant — are situated opposite the southern point of Kina bohutan Island, and about half-way down the coast between Koa and Tindela Straits. The best place, as far as numbers go, to collect orchids is the sandy beach on the shore side of the swamp, where there are usually a number of young or stunted forest trees, bearing parasitic ferns and orchids which are not beyond the reach of a good long pole or rake. Of the many heart-rending disappointments it was my fate to undergo, I think that my experience as an orchid collector was the chief. When I first arrived, and was well enough to search for such things, there were few orchids — in ac cessible places, at any rate — in flower. The only one I obtained was a species of Grammatophyllum. I set to work to collect a number of the bulbs to send to England. Now, collecting orchid bulbs in the region of the swamps may be an entertaining amusement to other people who are looking on, but it is an unpleasant sport for the naturalist ; so disagreeable is it, indeed, that Manuel, after one day's experience of it, refused to help me any further. The reason is that, as one pulls away the orchid from the tree to which it clings, numbers of large red ants, which are always running over them, turn round and fiercely attack the would-be orchid collector. 72 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv These ants ran up my arms, down my neck, up my trousers, and in a short space of time no part of my body was free from their sharp painful nips. An hour spent in collecting orchids in the swamps made me as angry and uncomfortable as two or three hours of ordinary forest work, and the irritating thing about it was that Manuel, who, no wonder, refused to help me in it, would stand aside and grow gradually more cheerful and amused as my pains and aches increased. By the time the rains commenced I had a tolerably large collection of orchid bulbs to send home, but they were neglected when I fell ill in December, and had finally to be thrown away, as they had become quite useless for transport to Europe. The plantations of Talisse were mainly, as I have said above, plantations of coco-nut palms. Coffee and cocoa had been tried, but, with the exception of one or two small patches at the foot of the hills, the soil was not sufficiently favourable to raise a paying crop. The first process necessary for the formation of a coco nut plantation is the destruction of the primitive forest. Strips of forest are selected, about two or three hundred yards broad, stretching from the crest of the hill to the sea shore. The wild trees are then ringed by the coolies, with a kind of hatchet knife, and when the leaves are withered, and a favourable breeze is blowing, the forest is fired. The dried trees burn for about a week, the subterranean roots sometimes remaining glowing for months after the fire is apparently extinguished. The strip thus cleared in the dry season is left until the end of the rains, and then the young coco-nuts are planted. The coco-huts are imported from the mainland or from Sangir in the autumn ; a small piece of the outer husk is chopped off with a hatchet to allow the plumule to protrude, and then they are arranged in rows under the opzichter' s TALISSE ISLAND 73 house until the ground is ready for them to be planted out. I must confess I do not see the utility of thus allowing the coco-nut to germinate before it is planted. The opzichter told me that unless they did so the palm might grow up crooked. This is undoubtedly absurd. It is probable, on the other hand, that if they were not thus partially husked before the rains actually begin, the risk they run of drying up and dying before they are planted would be considerably lessened. When once fairly started, the young coco-nuts grow rapidly and in five years bear fruit. In ten years they are in full fruit, and give but little further trouble. For the first few years of their growth the planter allows a certain number of the young forest trees to grow up with them, so as to afford them shade and shelter. In three or four years these are ringed again and allowed to wither and die. The forest is prepared in strips as described above to afford protection to the young and tender palms from strong driving winds. When a coco-nut plantation is once well established, it is perhaps as good a class of property as could be wished for in the tropics. The trees require little or no care, are free from any serious diseases, and the copra can be easily prepared for export by unskilled labour. The copra-market, too, is fairly constant, and always returns a good profit to the grower. The most annoying parts of coco-nut planting are the initial stages, when many of the young palms and nuts are destroyed by droughts and other unforeseen cir cumstances, and the fact that there is always a period of some five or six years when there is absolutely no return for the capital invested. In ten years' time, when the 54,500 coco-nut palms which had in 1886 and previous years been planted in Talisse and Kinabohutan are full grown and bearing fruit, they will yield a handsome profit to the M.H.V. In the meantime 74 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv the most valuable produce of the island is the ebony wood, the Kayu hitam of the local Malay, Diospyros Ebenum of bota nists. There are several of these trees on Talisse, their long straight, dark unbranched trunks being very conspicuous objects in the forests. The trunks are cut into lengths of two metres each and then carried down to the shore. These logs of ebony are very heavy ; it takes fifteen to twenty coolies to carry one of them. The chatter, noise, and hub bub they make about the job is very ludicrous. The wood is taken down to the inner side of the coral reef, where it is allowed to remain for some weeks or months seasoning in the water. When a ship arrives bound for Europe, a large raft is formed of light- wood logs and the ebony is floated on it to the vessel. The little island, Kinabohutan, is said to have derived its name from having been used in former years as the burying place of the pirates. Not being an authority in any sense of the word upon the languages and dialects of the Eastern races, I simply record this saying without at tempting to refer it to any language or to vouch for the truth of the assertion. The word Talisse is, I fancy, derived from the Buginese word ^~N^*^^C~0 Talisey, which signifies, according to Matthes (45), the Katapang (Ter- minalia Catappa), a tree which is common in the island. According to Filet (17), however, the word Talisseij (Mak.) refers to (Barringtonia speciosa), a tall tree common on the coast of most of the islands' of the Indian Archipelago. Whatever may be the etymological derivation of the word Kinabohutan, there seems to be no doubt that it was originally used by the pirates as a burying-ground. Scarcely twenty years ago the Straits of Banka were literally haunted with pirates from the Sulu Archipelago, and, it is said, from the Gulf of Tomini. It was commonly reported to be Fig. 10.— THE STEAIT BETWEEN TALISSE AND KINABOHUTAN. On the left the mangrove swamr of the ooast of Talisse. ch. iv TALISSE ISLAND 75 one of the most dangerous passages in that part of the eastern seas. The island Banka was their chief resting- place, whilst Limbe, Cape Coffin, Ganga, and Talisse offered convenient places for concealment and retreat. It must indeed have been an ideal place for the Malay pirate-king and his dauntless followers. The coral reefs and shallows, the racing tides and currents must have been of great ad vantage to those possessing local knowledge and resource, and the wide extent of primitive forest, reaching from the hill tops to the sea- shore, must have afforded them endless opportunities for complete concealment and escape on the approach of men-of-war. Thanks, however, to the vigorous conduct of the Dutch navy, piracy in these seas is now practically extinct. We hear no more of those bloody but exciting sea fights such as are found recorded in the voyage of H.M.'S. ' Samarang ' at Ternate in 1845, and the European sailing vessels and the native rorehis, sopis and praus sail these seas without encountering any dangers but those of the winds and tides. The change in this respect has been brought about by the vigorous action of the Dutchmen, and is almost as marvellous as the change in the character of society in the highlands of Minahassa, which I shall presently describe. The pirates are practically extinct now in the northern parts of Celebes, and, although the stranger may occasion ally see in Manado or upon the seas a dusky individual with a thin black beard and a certain air of disputed chief tainship about him, that rumour says was once a captain of the pirates, his life is more likely to be that of a prosaic scoundrel of the nineteenth century than one flavoured with the freedom and romance of a ' Paul Jones ' type of hero. Banka is no longer the haunt of pirates and sea-robbers. At Djiko Sago there is a small village of peaceful people who have taken advantage of the two little streams of 76 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv fresh water and the fairly good anchorage afforded by the bay, to carry on their peaceful agricultural and fishing pursuits unmolested and unmolesting. When the herrings come, a certain number of wandering fishermen from Sangir and elsewhere follow them to the bay called Djiko Calimata, and at other seasons some of these same people may often be seen at other parts of the island (21). Kinabohutan now belongs to the M.H.V., and is covered with young coco-nut trees. The neighbouring islands, Ganga and Tindela, do not call for much comment. Ganga has a small village on the western coast, Tindela is uninhabited. They are both covered with bush and scrub. The most interesting fea ture about them, and one which puzzled me considerably at the time, is that there are no coral reefs on the eastern shores at all, whilst on the western sides the reef is extensive and vigorous. Without more definitive information than I have at my command it is with some hesitation I put forward now the view that this is due to the scouring action of the tide which sets in through the Straits between Kinabohutan and Banka across Talisse Sea and out through the Straits of Tindela and Ganga. Having experienced the effect of this current so often in canoes and sailing ships, I can testify to its strength and regularity, and it is a pity I cannot be more accurate and give in figures its measurement and average duration. Whatever may be the cause of the absence of the coral reef on the eastern shore of Ganga and the vigour and extent of its growth upon the west, it seems to act upon nearly all the promontories of the coasts and islands ex posed to the N.N.E. If the reader will refer to Map II. he will notice that no coral reefs are marked on the east ern shores of Ganga and Tindela, at Tanjong Aros and a TALISSE ISLAND 77 considerable portion of the eastern coast of Talisse be tween T. Aros and Kinabohutan, at the eastern promontory of Banka Island, at Cape Coffin and the southern shores of Wallace Bay, the northern and eastern coasts of Limbe. From personal experience I can vouch for the accuracy of the Admiralty chart in this respect in most of these places . To carry the problem into other regions, we find it stated by those who have visited these places — and their testi mony is supported by official charts — that on the eastern side of the peninsula the shores are steep and rocky, with very few extensive mangrove swamps and coral reefs facing seawards. Contrast this with the western coasts of the peninsula. From the North Cape to Cape Piso there are many wide and extensive coral reefs and swamps, and the same at Tanawangko, on the other side of Manado Bay. The obvious conclusion to be drawn from these facts is that for some reason or another — I will not enter into that now — direct exposure to the flood-tide from the open ocean is unfavourable for coral growth. Although our life in Talisse was solitary enough, it must not be supposed that we were entirely without visitors. Once and sometimes twice a week a little post prau from Likupang might be seen coming across the Straits. It was manned by two natives, who announced as officially as they could their approach by sounding the classic triton-shell and flying the flag of Holland. They brought my mails in a thick bamboo to shelter them from the wet, and they always presented them to me with a graceful Oriental obeisance — a form of respect due to one who had so much communication with the outside world. Then there were the fishermen who frequently called for drinking water or to gather bark to twist into impromptu string for their rowlocks. These men would sometimes do 78 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES oh. iv me the great favour of selling me some fish, but more frequently they would plead that they were taking them to the market at Manado, and my attempts to trade with them were unsuccessful. Then there were the sopis from the Sangir Islands, bringing perhaps a rajah on his way to pay a visit to the Resident of Manado. It was always interesting to see new faces ; and so strong was the sense of security in the island that we never felt the least anxiety about our property when these wandering seamen came to visit us in our settlement. I wonder where else in the world a small colony of planters, almost unprotected and perfectly unprepared, would welcome as we did boat-loads of dusky-looking villains such as these. I may say that my house was often left entirely unguarded ; and yet, with two exceptions, I never lost a single article of any value to me during my ten months' residence in the island ; and of the two exceptions I may say that it is quite as likely as not that the things were taken away by a misunderstanding of my instructions rather than by wilful theft. Just behind my house there was a large shed, where frequently the crews of passing vessels would make a fire to roast their pig or cook a turtle or simply boil their rice and spend the evening in a sing-song. For many hours of an evening the wild plaintive songs of the Sangirese sailors would continue, now rising and swelling in a general chorus, now sinking to a low, half-muffled solo. The Sangirese music affected me at first, as I suppose most Oriental music does English ears, as painfully nasal and discordant ; but after listening to it carefully for several even ings together, and at last recognising the several songs as they were sung, I began to feel their weird spirit and power and even to look forward to hearing them again. The curious and annoying thing about their music was that I found it ch. iv TALISSE ISLAND 79 quite impossible to repeat. I tried in vain to remember one of the most frequent and familiar tunes, but by hum ming, whistling, or singing I could make no tune at all resembling theirs. Whether this is entirely due to my deficiency of ' ear ' or to a different number of the notes in the Sangirese musical bar to ours, I do not know, but the fact remains that, although the music of those sing-songs is still ringing in my ears even as I write these pages, I cannot make a sound even now that in any way resembles it. We had but few European visitors to Talisse besides the agent of the M.H.V. The visits of the ' Flying Fish ' and ' Ternate ' were, of course, of exceptional importance and interest to all of us. There was a little schooner called the 'Minahassa,' belonging to the M.H.V., which came occasionally. The captain and the mate of this vessel were Dutchmen. Then a German brig named the ' Claus ' and a Danish brig, the 'Louise,' came to take a cargo of ebony wood for Europe. One day in December a brig came to Talisse with a cargo of rattans from the Tomini Bay. She flew the English flag, as she belonged to Singapore, but she was the property of the old Arab trader who always sailed with her as skipper. The captain had a harem of five wives on board, all of them Malay women from various parts of the Archipelago ; the crew were mostly Arabs and Malays, the others being Chinamen. This captain often came ashore to see me, and told me many interesting things about the people of the Tomini Bay. He had spent the greater part of his life cruising about the Malay Archipelago, barter ing his clothes and knives and beads for rattans, copra, copal, and whatever other produce he could procure. I was told that he had amassed a very considerable fortune in this trade, and I dare say it is true. But, like so many of the wanderers over the face of the earth, he could not 80 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv bring himself, even in his old age, to settle down to a life of retirement and inactivity. I should like to have before me a true history of the experiences of one of these Arab traders. Like all Moham medans, they seem to have facilities for travelling in un known, unexplored regions of the world which are effectually closed to Europeans ; and I feel certain that some of their experiences amongst the wild Malays must be full of interest and adventure. This Arab captain who visited me in Talisse told me about places in the Tomini Bay which are still blank spaces in the maps, and others which are said to be inhabited by savages dangerous to deal with. It might be said that perhaps my friend the captain was not telling me the truth, and it is quite likely that if there had been anything to gain by it he would not have hesitated to ' draw the long bow ; ' but there was absolutely no reason why he should not tell me all he knew, for he was perfectly well aware that I had no connection but a friendly one with the Company he was dealing with. When he had discharged his cargo and there was really nothing I knew of to detain him, he was an amazingly long time getting off. On Friday he could not go because it wasn't lucky ; on Saturday the wind was not strong ; on Sunday it was not lucky, and on Monday he was not ready. Thus for a whole week he postponed his departure, for one cause or another, from day to day, and every day he came ashore and told me most decidedly he would sail on the morrow. I mention this incident, not because it affected me in any way whatsoever, but as an example of the dilatory life that is led by the Orientals in these regions of the world. I must now bring this general account of Talisse to a close, and pass on to consider some of the most striking features presented by its fauna. ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 81 CHAPTER V FAUNA OP TALISSE Mammals— Babirusa and sapiutan both absent— The baboon— The cuscus —Bats — Parrots —Eagles— Kingfishers— Eurystomus— Swifts — Crows — Shrikes — Starlings — Nectar-birds — Pigeons — Maleos —Sandpipers — Egrets — Eeptiles — Amphibia — Insects — Spiders — Centipedes — Phos phorescent millipede. Having described the details of my daily life in Talisse, I must now devote a chapter to' a consideration of the fauna of the island. As might be expected, there are not many terrestrial mammals. Neither the babirusa pig nor the sapiutan is found wild there, although fairly common near Cape Coffin, on the opposite shore of the mainland. As these two animals are among the most characteristic of the Celebean mammals, I cannot pass them by without some notice. The babirusa (Sus babirusa) is a hog which, while closely resembhng in colour the ordinary wild pigs, is characterised by possessing a very curious modification of the tusks. The tusks of the lower jaw are very long and sharp, while those of the upper jaw are curved upwards and backwards over the snout as far as the level of the eyes. It has always been a puzzle to naturalists to account for this curious modification of the tusks of babirusa. We had a full-grown male specimen in captivity at Talisse, and I watched it carefully for some months, in hope of being able to solve the difficulty ; but I must confess that I was unable G 82 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v to observe the animal use them for any particular purpose. I am inclined to believe that they are only useful to the animal when fighting; the tusks of the lower jaw being most valuable weapons of offence, and those of the upper jaw, by protecting the eyes and the fore part of the head, serve as excellent weapons of defence. The babirusa has only been found on the seaward slopes of the Klabat and ' Two Sisters ' hills of North Celebes, but I was informed by Mr. Rijkschroeff that it is also to be met with on the Kelelonde and Saputan mountains of the interior. It is also stated that it may be found in the island of Buru. It is a very shy animal, and never comes near any of the native villages and huts (25), but is nevertheless active and ferocious. Of the Anoa depressicornis Wallace says : ' The sapi-utan, or wild cow, of the Malays is an animal which has been the cause of much controversy as to whether it should be classed as ox, buffalo, or antelope. It is smaller than any other wild cattle, and in many respects seems to approach some of the ox-like antelopes of Africa. It is found only in the mountains, and is said never to inhabit places where there are deer. It is somewhat smaller than a small High land cow, and has long straight horns, which are ringed at the base and slope backwards over the neck ' (83). It is fairly common on the slopes of the Batu Angus in Wallace Bay, and also lives on the more desolate slopes of the moun tains of the interior. A jet-black baboon (Cynopithecus nigrescens) (fio-. \\\ with small red ischial callosities and a stumpy tail is as common in the forests of Talisse as it is upon the mainland A full-grown male measures twenty-three niches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, eighteen inches from the hips to the tips of the toes, and has a span of sixty-four inches. If it were to stand erect, therefore, it would be a Fig. 11.— CYNOPITHECUS NIGEESCENS. ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 83 little under three feet in height. These baboons are usually seen in pairs, but sometimes a family of seven or eight may be found together feeding in a tree. Such families invariably consist of a pair of adults and a number of young ones. The natives told me that these baboons, when once paired, remain faithful to one another until separated by death. I should not like to place too much confidence in the veracity of this story ; but at the same time I should like to point out that any information we can obtain concerning the social arrangements of the Quadrumana is likely to be of the greatest possible interest. Ethnologists have now acquired a very considerable knowledge of the marriage laws and customs of the most savage races of mankind, ancient and modern ; but at present we are almost entirely ignorant of the degree of conjugal fidelity of any of the genera or species of the anthropoid apes and monkeys, and consequently considerable controversy exists as to what systems should be considered primitive and what degenerate. I believe, for example, that if we knew more of the habits of the apes, we should find that a system of polyandry never occurs amongst them. The baboons of Talisse are usually to be found in the branches of the trees feeding upon leaves and fruits, grubs and insects of various kinds, but when the tide is low they may often be seen walking over the roots of the mangrove trees picking up and munching the mollusks and small crabs they find in the swamps. A fairly common mammal in Talisse is the Cuscus celebensis, a slow, awkward, nocturnal, frugivorous animal, rather larger than a cat. It lives entirely an arboreal life, and can only move slowly and awkwardly when placed upon the ground. It usually hangs suspended from the underside of the branches by its four feet and long prehensile tail. The young are carried on the back of the female with their g a 84 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v tails firmly twisted round hers. The flesh of the cuscus is rather tough, but quite palatable. When I was in Manado, a native brought me a male, a female, and a young one alive, but they refused to eat the fruits and leaves I offered them, and soon sickened and died. It is rather strange that in this little island the only conspicuous mammals inhabiting the forests should be representatives of two widely distant great zoological regions. The tailless baboons are characteristic of the African fauna, the cuscus of the Australian region. The island of Celebes is the northern limit of the genus Cuscus, and with the exception of the island of Batjan, where it may have been introduced by man, the southern lhnit of the genus Cynopithecus, and yet here we find them, living together in the same forests, and the only large mammals of the island . A small squirrel (Sciurus murium) is fairly common, but, as it is very sharp and shy, I could only obtain one or two specimens. There are several species of bats to be obtained. A large fruit-eating bat (Pteropus Wattacei?) maybe seen fly ing about amongst the trees every evening as the sun is setting. The Cynony uteris minor is also very common, and I obtained a fine specimen of a female Harpyia cephalotes with a young one clinging to its mother's nipple by its mouth, and holding on firmly to the hair of her breast by its little claws. This species is readily distinguished by the bright yellow spots on its wings and body, which, however, lose much of their brightness after a long immersion in spirit. It is a very curious fact that whilst the specimens of Harpyia cephalotes obtained in Celebes have longer forearms than those obtained from any other parts of the world, the ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 85 average measurements of the forearms of Cephalotes peronii are smaller in the specimens from Manado than those from other parts of the Archipelago (see Appendix A). It is difficult to form any very consistent theory to account for these remarkable facts. It may be, however, that the struggle for existence among bats is so keen in Celebes that only the extremely long-winged forms and the extremely short-winged forms have been able to compete in the conditions of life. One clay, as I was passing the house of one of the man durs, I saw a little boy with a beautiful little bat attached to a piece of string. For a small consideration I persuaded him to give it to me, and the next day he brought me another of the same kind. This bat has a body not much larger than that of a mouse, covered with long bright reddish brown hair, and the iris is quite white. It belongs to the variety fulvus of the species Phyllorhina bicolor. It has a very wide distribution, occurring in Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, Amoy, Celebes, Amboyna, but the colour varies from bright yellow to dusky brown. The specimens I obtained in Talisse are decidedly redder than any of those in the British Museum or the Rijks Museum at Ley den. A few field notes on the birds of Talisse may not be out of place in this chapter. It is true I cannot add a single new species to the known birds of Celebes, nor can I say much about any birds that are not well known to the orni thologist, but my excuse must be that while naturalists in these regions have endeavoured to make their lists of the avifauna as complete as possible, they generally fail to give an idea to the general reader of the birds in any particular spot which are common and of every-day occurrence. My object, then, will not be to give a complete list of the birds known to inhabit the island of Celebes — for that has already been done by such competent ornithologists as 86 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v Lord Walden (80) and Blasius (6) — but rather to say a few words about the feathered friends I met on my daily walks, as one 1 would describe the blackbirds and thrushes, the sparrows and martins, the rooks and magpies of our own country. The only parrots on the island belong to the species Tanygnathus Miilleri. They are handsome green birds, with a patch of light creamy blue on their backs. They are very common towards sunset in the lower branches of the trees, and keep up a constant chattering noise until past midnight. The adult males can be readily dis tinguished by their bright scarlet bills, the bills of the hen birds being almost invariably white. Some ornithologists consider that there are really two species of this parrot because a few specimens of hen birds have been found with a scarlet bill and some cock birds with a white one, but I must agree with Meyer (46) that this view is erroneous. My boys and I shot a great many of these birds, partly to settle this vexed question and partly for food, and I found without exception that those with scarlet bills were males, and those with white bills were females. They live together in the same trees and fly about together in the same coveys, so that I feel perfectly convinced that they belong to the same species. It is very rarely that we find birds of two species so closely allied as these would be living together in any numbers. The struggle for existence is so keen in the tropical world that the laws of natural selection would soon pick out that species which was the better fitted for the environment and the other would go to the wall. We should, therefore, not expect to find that there are two closely allied species of this genus of parrots living together and feeding on the same fruits in this little island, and the burden of the proof goes to show that there is really only one. I am surprised to read that Mr. Wallace (82) found that ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 87 the natives universally recognised these birds as two species, because my experience is that the natives of Celebes uni versally recognise them as the same bird ; and, moreover, look upon the one with the scarlet bill as the ' lakki-lakki,' or cock bird, and the one with the white bill as the ' peram- puan,' or hen bird. Dr. Meyer considers the parrots with white bills to be younger specimens, and that the scarlet bill is a sign of age. I have seen some hens with a bill slightly tinged with red, and it is very possible that they may have been older birds than the others ; but if the bills of the hens do eventually turn scarlet, I should think, from the large number of them I obtained without any such tint, they must change very much later in life than those of the cock birds. The natives call this bird the ' Burong Kakatua,' but this name, it must be remembered, is applied by them to all parrots and cockatoos in general. There are several large birds of prey in Talisse, but, as they have wonderfully keen sight and are very shy of human beings, it is very difficult to get within range of them. The great osprey (Pandion leucocephalus) has an expanse of wing of four feet. I saw several of them hovering over the forest of Talisse, but I never got a shot at one. The only specimen I obtained was shot for me by the Dominie of Manado in a rather remarkable way. It was on one of the Saha islands in the Talaut group. A small party from the ' Ternate ' had landed on the island to shoot birds for me, and the Dominie was armed with one of the Government rifles used by the colonial navy. As we pro ceeded through the bush, two or three of these huge birds rose from the trees and whirled round and round some con siderable distance above our heads, uttering the most piercing cries. The Dominie fired, and at the third shot brought down one of them. Now to hit a bird on the wing with a rifle bullet is at all times a difficult task, but the conditions A NATURALIST IN CELEBES of this shot were so exceptional that it is worthy of being classified as a ' crack ' shot, and should be recorded with a certain amount of respect. At the same time, I cannot recommend to ornithologists the Dutch naval rifle as the best weapon for use in collecting specimens, for the bullet is apt to derange the feathers. I found in the crop of this specimen a partially digested starling (Calornis neglecta), but both this great osprey and the sea-eagle (Halicetus leu- cogaster), which is very common in these parts, mainly prey upon fish. I have often watched them for hours from the pier at Talisse fishing in the shallow waters of the reefs. They hover over the water for some time and then suddenly splash into it, seize an unfortunate fish with their claws, and sail away majestically to their home in the forests. A bird, often seen on the orange trees and the higher branches of the trees in the mangrove swamps, is the beautiful brown falcon (Erythrospiza trinotata). The only specimen I obtained was shot for me by Cursham's boy on an orange tree just in front of my hut. I had been out shooting all the afternoon, and on my return I found this bird lying dead upon my table with a little skewer of wood through its breast. The boy, who boasted of the name of ' Solomon,' noticed the bird as he passed my hut on his way to the panchuran, and, finding that I was out, hastily manufactured a blowpipe from a piece of bamboo-, and using a dart of the same wood and a little plug of cotton wool, at the first shot pierced the bird through the heart. Now this was not only an excellent example of the ease and accuracy with which the natives of these islands can use the blowpipe, but, as not a single feather was displaced in the operation, and scarcely a drop of blood spilt, an instance of the superiority of the weapon in many respects over fire-arms for collecting specimens. I am afraid, however, that it will never come into general ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 89 use, for it would require much patience and practice for a European to use the weapon with such accuracy as this, and the natives, when opportunities arise, infinitely prefer the pomp and vanity of fire-arms. Another falcon, rather larger than this (Spilornis rufi- pectus), is also fairly common in the mangrove swamps. I saw one of these birds nearly every day not far from my house, but could never get a shot at it until at last one day I managed to break its wing as it rose from a mangrove tree. I had started out that afternoon with the intention of collecting insects only, and had left my guns behind, taking with me only some nets and collecting bottles. As I passed this tree, however, I saw the falcon within easy range of my gun, and instead of flying away, as he usually did when I approached, he calmly sat and looked at me first with one eye and then with the other, as if he were making quite certain that I had no dangerous weapon about me. This was too much for me, so I hurried back to my hut and returned with my gun just in time to indicate to him that he had been for once a little too bold and that I wished to add him to my collection. I saw several other specimens afterwards, but never one that was anxious to repeat the experiment. The Poliornis indicus is not so often met with in Talisse as the other rapacious birds, and is, I fancy, purely a forest dweller. I never saw one in the swamps on any occasion, and the few specimens I found were usually some two or three hundred feet above the sea in the depths of the forest. The general native name for all the large birds of prey is Koheba : thus, the sea-eagle is usually called the Koheba besar, or big eagle ; the osprey, Koheba gunong, or osprey of the mountains, and so on ; the Erythrospiza, however, is usually called the ' Sikip abuabu.' Some of the most beautiful of the many beautiful birds 90 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v of the Malay islands are the blue kingfishers. They are seen in nearly every field and road-side, and their plaintive cry of ' kiss-kiss ' is one of the most familiar sounds to the field-naturalist. The commonest species in Celebes is the Sauropatis chloris, a beautiful little bird with a white body, bright blue wings, and a long jet black bill. On nearly all my walks near the swamps or water-courses I found them skipping about on the huge leaves of the young coco-nut trees or feeding among the roots of the mangroves. They were by no means shy birds, and I could often get quite close to the trees upon which they were perched and watch them for some minutes before they became frightened and flew away. The natives call them 'Kiss-kiss,' from their cry. A less common but by no means rare bird is the Halcyon coromancla, one of the most beautiful of the king fishers, called by the natives ' Rajah udan,' or king of the forest. One of these, which I never had the heart to shoot, was nearly always to be seen perched on the bamboo palings of the panchuran when I took my morning bath. It has a dull red body and wings, with a patch of very brilliant light blue in the middle of its back. The bill is very long and thick, and has the same dull red colour. My boys shot a specimen for me one day, but I found it by no means an easy task to make a good skin of it, as its bill was so large and awkward to pass through the neck. Another little kingfisher (Alceclo bengalensis) I occasion ally met with in the mangrove swamps, but it is not so often seen as the other two. The cuckoo to which I have already referred and the Eurystomus orientalis are occasionally met with. The Eurystomus is one of the most fearless birds in the island. He will sit upon his perch in a low tree or shrub flapping his wings and uttering a series of ' kiak-kiak ' cries while his enemy approaches and he seems to have no fear of any ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 91 consequences that may ensue. On the first occasion I came across this bird he was sitting on the top of a small dead stump a few yards only from the spot where I had cut my way out of the mangrove swamp, and he was really so close to me that I was afraid of injuring the specimen. I waited a few minutes to slip into my gun a cartridge lightly loaded and with very small shot. I had plenty of time, however, to take deliberate aim, and the bird came down uttering most piercing shrieks. At the sound of his cry four or five scissor-tailed birds, which I had not noticed before, came out to join in the hubbub, and from the noise they made I assumed that they were rejoicing over the death of an old enemy. My boys called this bird ' Koko- taka,' but Meyer (46) says that the native name is ' Tjetje.' Three kinds of swifts are very common in Talisse — two of the birds which build the edible nests (the Collocallia escidenta and fusca), and a larger bird with very long wings, the Macropteryx Wallacei. They may frequently be seen perching on the trees of the mangrove swamps or skimming over the waves of the sea in search of food. The two Collocallias build their nests in the almost inacces sible caves of the sea-shore, as described in a previous chapter, but I searched in vain, both in Talisse and else where, for the nests of the Macropteryx. The native name for the Macropteryx is ' Pavas.' The Corvus .enca is a crow very commonly seen in the coco-nut plantations. In size, shape, and cry it very closely resembles our English crow. But the Celebean bird seems to be rather smaller than those from Java, Sumatra, and Borneo (24). The native name for it is ' Woka-woka.' A shrike called by the natives ' Burong maspas,' or ' Kuku inewahat' (24), and the handsome black drongo- shrike or scissor-tailed bird, Chibia leucops, or 'Burong 92 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES oh. v gunting,' are as common as the blackbirds and thrushes of our English woods. The latter is a very handsome jet black bird, with two long tails which open and shut during flight like a pair of scissors in action. There is a starling, too (Calornis neglecta), frequently seen in thousands upon the dead trees of the forest. It is of a uniformly dark colour, with a brilliant orange-red iris. The native name is ' Sie.' It is but rarely seen in the forests and fields of the main island, but is nevertheless quite the commonest bird met with throughout the islands which lie between Celebes and the Philippines. I found it in numbers in Tagulandang, Siauw, Sangir, Talaut islands, and the Nanusa islands.1 A beautiful golden oriole (Oriolus celebensis), reminding one of the English bird, is occasionally seen. It is called the yellow bird, ' Burong kuning/ by the natives. The smallest and at the same time the most domesti cated of the birds of Talisse are the beautiful little nectar- birds (the Anthothreptes celebensis), called by the natives ' Burong chuwi.' They may be seen upon nearly every hibiscus shrub in the gardens behind my hut, and seem to be always so busy searching for insects upon the leaves and flower stalks that they hardly know what it is to be shy. The male has a most brilliant little head of green and pink and brilliant metallic colours ; the throat is dull brick red, the breast pale yellow, and the back covered with a bright violet and green metallic gloss. Every specimen is a perfect little bird gem. The female chuwi is not nearly so brilliant, the back and breast being of a rusty pink and the wings of a dull golden green colour. There were several kinds of pigeons, the commonest and at the same time the most conspicuous being the 1 The variety of this bird found in these islands is regarded by some ornithologists as a separate species (67). ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 93 large fruit-eating bronze wing (Carpophaga paulina). The breast is of a creamy pink colour, and the wings dark green, with a very well marked reddish-copper gloss. Its native name is ' Kum-kum,' which approximately describes in words its deep musical cooing song, which is not unlike that of our common wood-pigeons. I usually found them in pairs, perched on some of the highest branches of the trees, and many an anxious moment have I spent, when my cupboard was bare, waiting to see if my fowling- piece would be effective at such a distance. The feelings of a hungry naturalist when he sees a really edible bird calmly waiting for the next shot are better imagined than described. The grey pigeon, ' Kum-kum putih ' (Myristicivora luc- tuosa), is not very common in Talisse, although it abounds in the neighbouring islands. A pair of these birds was given to me alive by the missionary at Mangarang, in the Talaut islands, and they were for some weeks my household pets ; but they disappeared when I went over to Manado in December, and my boy declared they had died because something he had given them to eat had stuck in their throats. I wonder if the cause of death was that they had stuck in his throat. A beautiful green dove (the Ptilopus melanocephalus) , with bright red and yellow feathers in its tail, is fre quently met with amongst the lower branches of the trees. It is one of the most difficult birds of the forest to see, for its colour exactly matches the foliage in which it lives. Many a time has Manuel said to me, pointing to a branch, ' Burong wakian tuan,' and I have looked and looked at the spot he indicated without being able to discover the bird, and been obliged eventually to hand him the gun to bring it down. Unlike the other pigeons, this bird is nearly always alone, or, perhaps I ought to say, I never could see its mate. 94 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v The well-known Turtur tigrina, found all over the Malay Archipelago, is also found in Talisse. It may be that it has been imported within recent years from Java, for it is everywhere a domestic pet in the colonial house hold. These birds are invariably found in pairs, and usually they perch so close to one another that it is impossible to shoot one without the other. The natives call it the ' Burong kuku.' The bird which perhaps gave me more trouble than any other was the little brush-turkey (Megapodius Gilberti), called by the natives ' Maleo ketjil,' or small maleo. It seems to be particularly fond of the bamboo woods, and I scarcely ever walked through a little clump of bamboos about a quarter of a mile along the path to the south of my hut without seeing or hearing a ' maleo.' But seeing and hearing these birds are not shoot ing them, and when hours have been spent in. chasing or endeavouring to stalk them in vain, one is almost inclined to wish sometimes that they would keep out of sight and hearing. The ground in the woods is usually covered with the crisp leaves of the bamboos, which make a loud crackling sound when trodden upon, and very effectively give warning to any bird or beast in the vicinity that danger is at hand. Approaching the wood along the little path very cautiously, a rustling sound in the leaves would frequently be heard, and Manuel would whisper to me, ' Burong maleo tuan ' ; but before I could get time to have a shot the bird would scamper away among the thickets and be lost to me. I tried several times to have the birds driven up towards me, and sent my boys round the bush with sticks to beat them up to where I was stand ing ; but it was all in vain— they always managed to evade us and disappear in the undergrowth before I could get a shot. The only specimen I obtained was shot for me by ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 95 Mr. Cursham in the neighbouring island, Tindela. It is of a fairly uniform brownish-black colour, with black legs and claws. It is devoid of the handsome red crest which dis tinguishes the other maleo (Megacephalon maleo). I can not understand why Dr. Meyer insists so strongly that the natives call these birds ' Moleo ' and not ' Maleo.' It is always a matter of some difficulty to arrive at the correct vowel to use in spelling native words, for illiterate persons do not recognise such sharp distinction between vowels as those who are accustomed to constant reading and writing ; but it would be impossible for anyone to distinguish the vowel used in the first syllable of the word ' maleo ' and that in the word ' Malay,' and I am inclined to think that the sound employed by the majority of the natives is more correctly expressed by the letter ' a ' than the letter ' o.' The bird lays its eggs in the forest, under a heap of decaying leaves, and takes no further care of them. It is possible that the heat generated by the fermentation of the leaves is sufficient to hatch them, as is the case with the eggs of the Australian Megapode, which has a similar habit. Mr. Kelling told me that in Tagulandang a small maleo digs holes in the sand, and leaves its eggs in them to hatch ; while a larger maleo, called there by the natives ' Mamunga,' lays its eggs in the holes made by the smaller bird. The larger bird is perhaps the Megapodius sanghirensis of Schlegel, a brush-turkey, which is bigger than the Mega cephalon, and extends over the Sangir islands (69). The great birds of prey mentioned at the beginning of this section are not the only birds which take advantage of the splendid fishing grounds of the lagoon. The common sandpiper (Tringoides hypoleucus) is always present upon the sands and the roots of the mangrove trees as the tide is ebbing, and more rarely that handsome whimbrel, 96 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v Numenius phazopus, with its breast covered with brown spots and its long curved bill, and the ashy egret (Demi- egretta sacra) may be seen wading in the shallow waters, making a splendid meal off the millions of tiny fish left in the pools at low water. The native name for the whimbrels is ' Kerombek.' Meyer says that they ' assemble at sunset in flocks of hundreds, and are very noisy before they go to rest. They also cry at night on the seashore. They run quickly, and are only to be found on the seashore. They feed on Crustacea. Nests on small trees, very simple, of leaves and twigs ; two eggs' (46). These birds do not, I believe, either rest or breed on Talisse, and this perhaps accounts for the fact that I never saw more than one at a time, and never heard them at night. Their food is certainly not confined to Crustacea, for the crop of the specimen I shot was full of small fishes. The native name for the egret is ' Sueko ' ; but it must be mentioned that this is only a general name applied to all herons. In a small island such as Talisse there is seldom a rich fauna of reptiles. The Crocodilas biporcatus, which is common at the mouths of the large rivers of the mainland of Celebes, and about which there are probably more legends and fables than about any animal except the monkey, is never seen on these small islands. A large lizard (Varanus bivittatus), occasionally seen in the man grove swamps of Talisse, and the common httle gecko (Platydactylus monorchis) , found running all over the native huts, are the only two representatives of the order Lacertilia I could find in the island. I believe we were quite free from poisonous snakes in Talisse ; and the sole genus which could be considered in ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 97 any way dangerous was the large python (Pytho reticulatus) , or ' ular patjola,' as it is called here by the natives, which has been known occasionally to attack and attempt to swallow a full-grown man. The only specimen I came across myself measured 13 ft. 1 in. in length, and was about as thick as a man's arm. I encountered it on an expedition I made one day towards the north end of the island. My gun was loaded with slugs, as I had just seen a cuscus and was hoping to get a shot at him, but Manuel's gun was loaded with No. 6 for birds. We came to four pits which had been dug for water, and upon looking into one of them I saw the red and yellow tail-feathers of the wakian pigeon. I retreated a few steps and signalled to Manuel to come up to shoot the bird, but as soon as he reached the pit he instantly saw that the bird was in the jaws of a large python, which lay curled up in the pit. At first he was frightened and in clined to run away, but when I offered to change guns and shoot the snake, he immediately plucked up courage and shot the reptile through the head. A few days after this a man brought me another python of the same species that was just over twelve feet in length. A bright green snake (Tragops prasinus) , about three feet in length, was a constant visitor to my hut, and I often found it on the bamboo palings of the deer kraal just opposite. It was an amusing sight to see Marcus attempt to catch one of these creatures for me. Manuel was always inclined to be frightened of snakes, but Marcus would never hesitate to go for them with his hands. The difficulty he had was to catch hold of them at all, for they climb the palings with such speed, and their bodies are so smooth, that they would often slip through his fingers before he could get a good grip upon them ; but having once caught them it was no easy matter to unwind them, for as soon as the head end was 98 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v free the tail end was tightly coiled up, and vice versa. We sometimes had half an hour's exciting chase before a specimen was safely deposited in my pickle jar. Another snake, the Dendrophis picta, was a great nuisance to me, for it would come by night and kill my chickens ; but it is a beau tiful creature, of a warm brown colour, brilliantly orna mented with spots and stripes of a bright bluish-green sheen. I saw one or two specimens of the sea-snake (Hydro- phis) on the coral reef, but never succeeded in securing one. They are dangerous creatures to meddle with, for their bite is said to be very poisonous, and, equipped as I was on my reef expeditions only with weapons for collecting corals, echinoderms, and the like, I thought it better on the whole to let them go their own way. It must not be supposed, however, that because there are no terres trial poisonous snakes in Talisse that they are also wanting in Celebes. It is true there are very few really dangerous snakes in that island, and very few cases are on record of natives having been mortally or even dangerously bitten ; but, nevertheless, I was told that in elevated plains and forests there is a timid black snake which is greatly feared by the natives, whose bite is said to be extremely poisonous. There were not many places in Talisse favourable for amphibia, but in a muddy stinking pool some distance from my hut a hoarse croaking, followed by a hasty splash, proclaimed the existence of some kind of frog. From the glimpses I caught of this animal, I believe it was the Rana macrodon (Kuhl), but I should not like to pin my faith to this. If I had possessed at the time a proper keenness for herpetology, I should have raked that pond with a net until I caught one ; but, to tell the truth, the stench was so offensive when undisturbed, and spoke so loudly of the dread miasmas of the tropics, that I thought it wiser to direct my energies to other pursuits until more favourable opportunities presented themselves. ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 99 Concerning the invertebrate land fauna of the island, I have but few notes of interest to record, as the greater part of my collections was destroyed by insect pests after my hurried departure from the islands. The butterflies that fly about in the island at all seasons of the year are not distinguished by any very striking beauty of colouration or form. The most beautiful butterfly I captured in Celebes was the handsome swallow-tailed Papilio Blumei, a large swaUow-tailed species distinguished by its extremely brilliant blue and green metallic wings and body. ' This very fine species comes nearest to Papilio dcedalus from Luzon, Philippine Islands, but is much larger in size, and is con spicuous by its brilliantly- coloured tails ' (81). I could not find this species in Talisse nor other coast places of the mainland ; the only specimen I obtained was at Kelelonde, 3,000 feet above the sea. When I first arrived in Talisse in September, the commonest butterflies were the large white Pieridae. They flew about in great numbers round the hibiscus shrubs and other flowering plants in the neighbourhood of the settlement. They are slow and clumsy flyers, and were consequently easily caught by Manuel, who was told off to entomological pursuits during my absence in the 'Flying Fish.' At first he brought me nothing but the ' whites,' thinking, I suppose, that I was a dealer in quantity rather than in quality. They were usually considerably damaged, partly by insectivorous birds before their capture, and partly by the clumsy fingers of. the collector. There was another very good reason that Manuel caught me only whites at first : the whites were at that season by far the commonest Lepidoptera on the island, and when I first set seriously to work to collect other kinds, I found it by no means so easy as I ex pected. The first Papilio I caught was at the beginning of November, near a little pool of water in the bed of an H 2 100 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v old watercourse in the forest. It has been called Papilio polytes, and is perhaps the second female form of P. pammon, a species of very wide distribution extending from Ceylon to China (81). When the rains commenced in November and December the Pierides became less plentiful, their place being taken by Papilios. When I returned to Talisse in April — that is, at the end of the rainy season — the Pierides were again making their appearance in great numbers. Professor Westwood has described two new species from the collection I brought home with me — Terias talissa and Tachyris phestus. It occurred to me at the time, and I have no reason to doubt it as a general statement, that the disappearance of the ' whites ' in the rainy season was associated with the large size of their wings and their slow and laboured flight. A butterfly which cannot get to shelter with ease and rapidity when a heavy shower of rain comes on is obviously liable to be beaten down and killed by terrestrial animals or drowned, and, consequently, the time of year best fitted for their flight is the dry season. It might be said that even the strong-flying Papilios would be liable to similar disasters in the heavy showers of the tropics. That is perfectly true. I have seen on more than one occasion a Papilio struggling on the ground in a shower of rain, but perhaps this disadvantage is counterbalanced by the advantages gained by the larger number of flowers in blossom in that season and the cor respondingly larger supply of food for them. I was not particularly successful as a beetle-catcher, but whether this was due to my own stupidity or a dearth of beetles I cannot say. I found a few brilliant little cockchafers (Parastia) on the young coco-nut palms, and I often amused myself with catching the large black stag- beetles (Odontolabis celebensis, 40) soon after the sun had set. ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 101 It was in the months of September and October they were most plentiful ; in the rainy seasons they were not so common. The method of procedure was as follows : I took up a position in the middle of the path opposite my house armed with a butterfly-net with a long stick. Presently I heard the beetles coming — bur-r-r-r. I made a plunge in the dark ness overhead in the direction the sound came from, and — thud — the beast was in the net, or, more frequently the case, was not. Sometimes in this way I would catch three or four beetles of an evening, bu often none at all. It was an amusing form of sport, but very fatal to the net, which was torn and gashed by beetles in a pitiable manner. The commonest form of Longicorn is the Batocera celebiana of Thomson (73). The two yellow spots on the thorax and bright red spots on the elytra are very bright in the living animal, but lose a great deal of their brilliancy and effect when kept in spirits. I pulled off the elytra of one of my specimens one day with the purpose of dissecting it to see what food was in its stomach, when, to my surprise, I discovered a large number of small parasites fixed on to the wings, which turned out to be Chelifers, or tailless scorpions. I caught one specimen of the wax insect (Flata marginata var.), but it was in a very much damaged condition, and I never saw it in sufficient numbers to be of any commercial value. Around all the huts in Talisse I noticed soon after my arrival a number of little pits about an inch in diameter in the loose sandy soil. These I soon found were the pitfalls of a little ant-lion. They are situated immediately under the edge of the roof, and appear to a casual observer to be caused by the constant dripping of water or some small bodies falling from it. I was not a little surprised to see the precise and regular way in which these little insects 102 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v arrange their falls in perfectly straight lines along the sand immediately vertically below the line of the roof. I suppose that a number of small insects and other food particles are constantly falling from the attap roofs, and the ant-lions feed upon them, but it would be interesting to know how the ant-lions discover these favourable places. As a rule the ant-lion cannot be seen in his pit, but by a careful examination one can sometimes distinguish his sickle-shaped mandibles at the bottom of it. I was amused to see one day a small boy entertaining himself by fishing for ant-lions. He took a small twig of a shrub that had a very sweet sap, and, breaking a fragment of it away from the rest, but still attached to it by a thin shred of the bark, he lowered it gently into the pit as one would a fishhook into the water. The ant-lion seized the sweet morsel, and was immediately drawn out of the pit by the boy. If I were able to record in these pages all the numerous insect pests which visited me in my little hut in Talisse this chapter would have to be increased inordinately in length. The many quaint and curious creatures that fell from my lamp as I sat writing in my journal of an evening might have been made the subject of a separate memoir, if I had had the patience to collect and label them ; and the numerous little beasts I found from time to time in my boxes, bed, and boots might have served me with zoological study for the rest of my life. The two enemies I most dreaded were the white ants and the large brown hairy spider, which Mr. Cambridge tells me is Heteropoda sana toria, Linn. — ' a spider found in all tropical regions.' The danger to be feared from the white ants was that their attacks upon the piles on which my house was built might so weaken them that the house would fall. I had seen houses in the island fall from this cause —in fact, I had often lent my dredging-rope to the natives to pull them up ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 103 again on to new piles, and, with my large collections of jars and glass bottles, I was naturally anxious that no such accident should happen to mine. I was not long in dis covering that it is almost impossible to cope with these active and industrious termites. As is well known to every one who has travelled in the tropical East, the white ants make little sand or mud tunnels up the trunks of trees or through the beams and piles of dwelling-houses. One of these tunnels ran from the ground to the roof of my house, and I tried the experiment of destroying it completely every morn ing for about three weeks to see if I could induce the colony to desert my house. Every morning the tunnel and some hundreds of the blind, stupid-looking termites were destroyed, but they never swerved an inch from what they considered to be their path of duty, and immediately set to work to build a new tunnel in precisely the same place. Smearing the pile with turpentine caused them to divert the course of the tunnel to one side or the other. I thought that I had won the battle when I painted a ring of turpentine round the pile, but two or three days afterwards the busy little crea tures had surmounted the obstacle and the tunnel was complete. One evening in the month of September I was visited by a swarm of the winged sexual forms of these termites. I was writing in my inner room when they arrived, and, on account of the great numbers of them which fell on the table, dropped their wings, and then pro ceeded to chase one another over paper, pens, and into the ink, I was obliged to desist. The great Heteropoda spiders were a great nuisance on account of their predaceous habits. When I was arranging or labelling my insect collections and left the table for a moment, I was sure to find on my return one of these ugly brutes running off with my most cherished specimens. They were perfectly fearless, and frequently annoyed me by 104 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. v coming as unbidden guests to my dinner-table. If they had confined their attentions to my sitting-room I might have forgiven them, but the sight of them crawling up the walls of my bedroom as I lay ill in bed was enough to banish all friendly feeling. Many of them carried a large silken sack of eggs or young ones, and nothing would induce them to let go of this till they expired in my collecting bottles. Some of the large web-making spiders I came across in my excursions through the plantations of Talisse are beau tifully coloured. They build large regular webs similar in design to those of our own English Epeiras. I have often noticed in their webs a number of very small spiders of another kind altogether, and these I imagine act as scaven gers by devouring all the small insects that the owners refuse to notice. I was not aware at the time that Belt had observed the same thing in the webs of the large spiders of Nicaragua (4). My efforts to obtain scorpions were unsuccessful. I hunted high and low for them in places which I thought were favourable, and I endeavoured to enlist the services of my boys and the natives of the island in the search by showing them pictures of scorpions and offering rewards for them ; but it was aU in vain. Whether they actually do occur in the northern peninsula of Celebes and th islands I am unable to say, but at present I have no evidence to show that they do. In hunting for scorpions I often came across large centipedes belonging to the genus Scolopendra. They were formidable uncanny-looking creatures, some of them six or seven inches long and three-quarters of an inch across the back. I was rather surprised that the natives seem to have but little fear of them, although they must be capable of giving a very painful and poisonous bite. In dissecting one of these large Scolopendras soon after I had killed it in chloroform, I was rather surprised to find the ch. v FAUNA OF TALISSE 105 tissues in some places turning a bright blue colour. This was due to the escaped blood, which in these animals is white in the vessels but turns blue when brought into contact with the oxygen of the air. Blood of this kind occurs in some Crustacea, Mollusca, scorpions, the king-crab (Limidus), and elsewhere in the animal kingdom ; but it is not gene rally known that it also occurs in centipedes. Some of the Myriapoda are known to be phosphorescent, but there is one little creature not uncommonly found in parts of Celebes which is really remarkable in this respect. It is apparently allied to the genus Siphonophora, and is called by the natives ' Kala moyang.' I found two or three specimens on the mosquito curtains of my bed in Talisse. It is about an inch in length, and as it progresses leaves a trail of some highly phosphorescent secretion behind. It is really astonishing what a bright blue light this thin streak of matter can give. The little pool of water at the Panchuran contained many forms of animal life of considerable interest. The banks were bored by land-crabs belonging to the genus Sesarma, a crab that wanders all over the low-lying districts of the island. My boys caught for me in the pool a few specimens of the large fresh-water prawn (Palcemon omatus), and sometimes the water was quite black with hundreds of the larvae of dragon-flies and gnats. The Mollusks at the Panchuran were the same as those found in the marshes and swamps. I must now leave the subject of the land fauna to consider that of the sea and coasts. I would that I could feel in closing this chapter that I have really done justice to a subject of such vast and varied interest ; but in a country such as this, where the life-histories and habits of the animals have not yet been seriously studied by anyone, the field of work which lies before the travelling zoologist is so large that it is quite necessary for him to confine himself within definite limits in order to produce any useful results. 106 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CHAPTER VI MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHOEES Depth of Talisse Sea— Shore gradients — Fauna of the sea-bottom — Structure of corals — Principal types of corals — A ramble on the coral reefs — Eauna of the lagoon — Fauna of the mangrove swamp — The food of corals — The colour of corals. The marine fauna of this region may conveniently be con sidered under four headings — the sea bottom of Talisse Sea, the coral reef, the lagoon, and the mangrove swamp. I am sorry that I can give no account of the marine fauna of the bottom in the deeper waters outside the group of islands, but I found the difficulties in the way of investigat ing the greater depths insuperable, and I was reluctantly obliged to relinquish the attempt. The main difficulties were the impossibility of obtaining a suitable boat for such work and the rapidity of the tides which sweep round the islands. For deep-sea dredging in these seas it is quite necessary to have steam, and an almost unlimited supply of good manilla hemp-rope ; without them the naturalist runs the risk of losing much valuable time and apparatus, and obtaining no results. I was able, however, on several occasions to dredge in the shallow waters of Talisse Sea, and thereby gain a glimpse of the character of the sea-bottom. From the edge of the coral reef off Talisse Pier the water rapidly deepens to 12 fathoms, and then less rapidly to 19 and 20 fathoms — a depth which is maintained with out much variation over the whole of the Talisse Sea. ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 107 It must not be supposed that the shores of the island are really so very precipitous as coral shores seem to be in some regions of the world. If Talisse Sea were to become dry we should have a great plain, which, with the exception of one or two low hillocks, and a slight depression here and there, would appear to the observer on the island as a tolerably level plateau. At the approaches of what is now dry land there would be a slight incline to a low cliff (the edge of the coral reef) not more than 12 or 14 feet in height. This incline is not much more than one in seventeen — a gdod stiff gradient for a railway, but not what a pedestrian would consider a serious climb. It is a mistake to suppose that if we could imagine a passenger walking along the bottom of the ocean Fig. 12. — Diagram to illustrate the average shore slopes in the neighbourhood of Talisse Pier, Manado, and Mananinta, compared with the inclination of Talisse Hill, in the neighbourhood of Koa. he would come to a precipitous impassable barrier at the foot of the reefs. He would find nothing more than a gradual slope perfectly easy to surmount. Let me take an example to illustrate my meaning. The hill at the back of my house in Talisse was a good stiff climb ; no one could call it precipitous ; and yet it was not easy to negotiate without occasionally using hands and knees. The incline was here certainly not less that one in every three and a half. Let us suppose now a traveller approaching the coral reef at Mananinta from the bottom of the Celebes sea. He would find an incline of not more than one in four and a half. At Manado, which has the reputation of being very steep, not more than one in seven, In fact, if he wished to reach 108 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi what is now dry land, he would probably find in but few places walls of coral reef so difficult to climb as Talisse Hill. Perhaps the only precipices are in places where there are no coral reefs, such as at the eastern point of Banka, in the neighbourhood of Cape Coffin, and the northern portions of Limbe, Batu Kapal. There is, in fact, in this region off every coral reef a talus of bits of dead and broken coral, which extends as a steep but not precipitous slope into the deep water of the ocean. I dredged up several samples of this talus at the spot, about three cables from the end of the pier, where the ' Flying Fish ' usually anchored. It consisted mainly of broken pieces of various branching corals, such as the fan- shaped madrepores, pocilloporas, seriatoporas, and others, and a coarse gravel of broken shells and coral skeletons. Living corals were not common, although the water was not more than twelve fathoms deep — a fact which rather astonished me ; the only ones that were alive were rounded lumps of astraeas, and occasionally branches of the grace ful and delicate Seriatopora tenuicornis (18). Of other life in these depths the encrusting Alcyonaria were the most in teresting to me. Whenever a branch of dead and broken coral came up it was pretty sure to be partially covered by a number of anastomosing, ribbon-like bands of a soft, brownish, gelatinous, fleshy substance ; and standing upon these at intervals were a few delicate alcyonarian polyps. Occasionally a fragment of a Gorgonian came up, in tex ture not unlike a piece of solid gutta-percha cord, such as is used for making catapult strings, of a dirty brown colour. I never succeeded in getting the polypes to expand. I also caught several large ophiurids, or brittle stars. They were always the liveliest inhabitants of the dredge, crawling about when they were turned out upon the deck with amazing speed over the coral debris. Lastly, a few of those graceful ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 109 and delicate creatures the feather-stars (Crinoids) were occasionally found in the dredge. It was impossible to capture a single perfect specimen of these. Their long, graceful arms and delicate pinnae were invariably more or less broken in the journey from the bottom of the sea, and when I handled them for examination or preservation it was never unattended by further damage. One day, off Likupang, I thought I would keep one of these feather-stars to watch and observe in the living state ; so I put it in a large bucket of water and left it in the darkest, coolest place I could find on board until the afternoon. When I came back again to look at it, I found my Antedon had broken itself into a thousand little pieces ; every joint of its long arms had separated from its neighbour, and there the beautiful creature lay, at the bottom of the bucket, like the block puzzles of the nursery, every piece in its right position, and yet with no cohesion between the pieces. One of the most striking peculiarities of the feather-stars is their brilliant colour. -Anyone who has seen a living specimen of our own British feather-star, Antedon rosaceus — a form which often comes up with the trawls and lobster-pots on the western coast of Scotland, and is not uncommon in some localities in the English Channel — must have been struck with its brilliant rosy colour. This colouring-matter is sol uble in alcohol, so that when the animal is preserved in spirit all its colour is dissolved out into the alcohol. The colour ing-matter of Antedon has received the name antedonin. Similarly, the deep-sea crinoids have a colouring-matter of their own, which has been called pentacrinin, after Penta- crinus, one of the stalked crinoids found in deep water. The crinoids of Talisse Sea are not less conspicuous for their brilliant colours, some being rosy red like Antedon, Borne of a deep rich claret colour, and some of a bright green chlorophyll colour. As I am now upon the subject 110 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi of the crinoids, I may be allowed to digress, to say a few words about the crinoids of the reefs. It was my impression at the time — an erroneous one, as it happens — that the feather-stars were never found between the tide marks. Great was my surprise, then, when I found one day as I was wading on the reefs a number of bright green crinoids crawling on a fan-shaped madrepo- rian coral, in water that was certainly not more than two or three feet deep. A still more astonishing thing to me was a feather-star, lively and happy apparently, climbing on a pile of Talisse Pier a couple of feet above the level of the water. I think I am right in saying that this is the first recorded instance of a crinoid living a semi-amphibious existence like a star-fish or a sea-cucumber. The green colour of the reef crinoid is soluble in alcohol like pentacrinin and antedonin, and it would be interesting to know what spectrum it gives. Unfortunately, the bottle containing a sample of this brilliant green colouring-matter got broken on the way home, and I must consequently leave the problem to others who may be fortunate enough to find this feather-star on the coral reefs of Malayia. The sea-bottom varies in character very considerably in different parts of Talisse Sea. I was fortunately able on board the ' Flying Fish ' to make a large number of obser vations as to its character by examining the grease-patch put upon the bottom of the sounding-lead. For a distance of some three or four cables from the edge of the reef, the bottom is mostly composed of broken bits of coral, with a few living ones, sponges, alcyonarians, and the like. Further out the bottom is composed of a coarse sand or shingle of broken coral and shells ; in still deeper water in the straits the sand is much finer, and contains a considerable number of foraminifera shells, and a few black grains, probably, of augite. From a few soundings we made in water ranging ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 111 from 112 to 648 fathoms off the northern point of Limbe, and the east of Banka Strait, my impression is that on the bottom of the deeper waters there is a much larger propor tion of black sand mixed with the calcareous deposits than there is in the deeper parts of the straits which never reach to more than 40 fathoms. It should be mentioned, how ever, that the region in which these observations were made is not a good one for giving a fair account of the character of the deep-sea bottom, owing to a recent eruption of the Batu angus, which must have' sent tons of black soil to the bottom of the sea in this region. At the mouth of the river at Likupang there are a number of extensive sand-banks covered by a few fathoms of water. I dredged in that neighbourhood on several occasions, but found very little animal life there ; in fact, as far as I can remember, the only thing I caught was a fine large claret-coloured feather-star. Whether this re markable absence of life upon the Likupang sand-banks is due solely to the stream of fresh water, or is connected with the sulphur which is said to be brought down in considerable quantities by the Likupang river, I have no evidence to determine. Turning now to the fauna of the coral reef. The fishes which actually live among the living corals must be distinguished from those which live in the lagoon at high tide, and among the corals or in deeper water when the tide is low. The former are, without exception, I be lieve, most brilliantly coloured; the latter are not. The brilliant colours of the reef fishes were first noted by Captain Cook, and form one of the most striking features of the fauna of the tropical shores. Very few of them can be called beautiful, however, although their colours are so rich and brilliant. They are more quaint than pretty, more grotesque than beautiful. 112 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi Some of those curious flattened fish with rather pointed projecting jaws, the Chaetodons, may frequently be seen swimming about on the edges of the reef, apparently feed ing upon the younger branches of the corals. Most of them are of a bright yellow or orange colour, marked with blotches of black and blue or stripes of red and purple, or covered with small spots of the same colours. I have often watched the Chaetodons for hours from the pier. One species in particular (C ephippium ?) was very commonly to be seen feeding on the zoophytes which grow upon the wooden piles on which the pier is built. Like many other fishes, the greater part of their lives seems to be passed in hovering or resting in the water, just slightly moving their tails to keep themselves in the same position, with then heads towards the quarter from which the tide is flowing. They will rest for hours without feeding, or even noticing the actions of the swarms of little fishes which are swimming round them. When doing this they invari ably swim in an upright position, that is to say, dorso- ventrally upright like an ordinary fish ; but when feeding or frightened by an enemy they often turn upon their sides, and have then an appearance not unlike that of an ordinary flat fish. Some of the Serranidae and Mesoprions fairly common in some places on the reefs are also very brilliantly and beautifully marked. A red mesoprion is said to be one of the finest fish brought to the Manado market-place. I have often tasted it, but cannot say that it is anything to boast about. Fishes caught in tropical waters are never very tasty. Nor must I omit to mention the trigger-fishes, easily recognised by the curious trigger-like arrangement of the dorsal spines and their sharp-pointed incisor-like teeth. A small specimen of Balistes aculeatus was one of the first ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 113 coloured reef fishes that I caught, and I am never likely to forget the excitement and pleasure I experienced noting its brilliant colours. Its body was of a dark green colour verging into pink below from the middle to the tail, and bore in this region four pale blue stripes running nearly parallel with one another across the back. Its head and shoulders were of a brighter colour, and bore three stripes of bluish-green, the middle one of which spectacled across the bright orange-pink eyes. On each side of the tail there were three rows of bright transparent spines, each of them standing on a pit of dark brown pigment, so that they had the appearance when casually examined of small eye-spots. In the tail region the nerve of the lateral line on either side divides into three branches, one of which lies immediately beneath each of these rows of spines : and I have traced a small nerve from these branches running to each of the pits or rings of pigment on which the spiny scales stand. Whether in the youngest stages, when the spines are quite transparent, these organs can be affected by the rays of light, and thus function as rudimentary optic organs, cannot at present be determined, but I am inclined to believe that they do. Whatever their exact function may be, however, there can be no doubt from their nerve-supply that they are very highly sensitive organs. In the older and larger trigger-fishes the spines become long, hard, pointed, and bent over towards the head. They are then undoubtedly used as organs of defence. It is a curious thing that, besides the Balistidae, nearly all the fishes of the genera Naseus and Acanthurus, also reef- feeding fishes, are similarly provided with defensive spines upon then tails. There is some mystery about them, though, which requires to be cleared up. If, as may be supposed, their enemies catch them by the tail when they are browsing among the 114 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi coral branches, why are the spines directed forwards ? The spines would act, surely, like ordinary fish-hooks, and not only prevent the enemy from disgorging his prey, but actually help it in its passage down his gullet. If, on the other hand, their enemies catch them by the head, why are the hooks not situated there instead of on the tail ? At the best of times the old trigger-fishes cannot be a satisfactory or savoury meal; for the scales form a very complete tuberculated armour which covers the whole body, and the file-like trigger spine must be an awkward morsel to swallow and digest. The jaws are armed with eight strong, chisel-shaped teeth, by means of which they are able to browse upon the hard coral branches or break through the shells of mollusks to feed upon the soft parts within. It is said that the trigger-fishes cause an immense amount of damage to the pearl-fisheries. Another Balistes (B. lineatus) I often saw, but never succeeded in capturing. It is marked with a number of thin transverse lines of a bright red colour, giving the fish a most curious bizarre appearance. Those curious fishes the sea-horses (Hippocampi) are sometimes found upon the reefs or in the vicinity. I never caught any of them myself, but have seen them in the collection of the resident of Manado. Another very interesting fish, which I have often seen upon the reefs, and succeeded in capturing on one or two occasions, is the ' ikan sapi,' or cow-fish, of the natives (Ostracion Arcus, Bl.). It possesses two long, sharp spines above its head not unlike the horns of a cow, and its projecting mouth and thick lips resemble in a way the mouth and lips of a ruminant. The body is protected with a firm and unresisting box-like armour of thick scales. In colour this fish is, when quite fresh, uniformly greenish- brown on the dorsal surface, gradually changing to a pale ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 115 blue shot with pink on the ventral surface and the fins. When removed from the water it seemed to me that the colours faded almost more rapidly than those of other reef fishes ; whether this is a sign that the ostracions are able to change their colours during life with greater rapidity than other coloured fishes, I am unable to say. A very instructive series of investigations might be made by some naturalist in the tropics upon the powers that the reef fishes possess of changing their colours. It is well known that trout, minnows, and many other English fish do considerably alter in appearance when placed amid different surroundings. It would be very interesting, then, to see how far or how rapidly the bright red, blue, and yellow spots and stripes of these tropical fishes are capable of altering when kept alive under more sombre circumstances than the life amid the gay colours of the coral reefs. Such experiments, I am afraid, can only be made on some well- fitted vessel where a constant supply of fresh sea-water can be kept running through the aquaria. A large blue sting-ray (Aetobatis ?) was given to me by a sailor soon after I arrived in Talisse. He had caught it while fishing off the pier. It came as a timely warning never to attempt to wade upon the reef with naked feet, for the large, serrated, stinging spine on its tail looked capable of inflicting a very dangerous wound. Its back was covered with large round patches of a dull prussian- blue colour. This was the only elasmobranch fish I obtained during my stay in the tropics. I must now leave these brightly-coloured fishes of the reefs. It would serve no useful purpose for me to attempt to give in this volume a complete list or description of the varieties of the fish of Celebean waters. Those of my readers who are particularly interested in the subject will find a very complete account of the ichthyology of these 12 116 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi islands in the writings of the distinguished naturalist Bleeker (8). There were a considerable number of cuttle-fishes swimming about in the regions of the reef, and they possessed, perhaps to even a still greater degree than European cephalopods, the same remarkable power of adapting the colour of their skin to the colour of the surrounding objects. When I was waiting for the tide to leave the reef, so that I could start upon my expeditions, I would often amuse myself by sitting on the lowest of the pier steps watching the movements and habits of the various animals that were swimming about amongst the brilliant-coloured corals and sponges. On such occasions I often saw advancing slowly over the sea-gardens, in parties of from four to six, a group of cuttle-fish, swimming with an even backward movement, the fringes of their mantles and their arms trembling, and their colour gradually changing to what seemed to me to be an almost infinite variety of hues as they passed over the various beds of the sea-bottom. Then suddenly there would be a commotion in what was previously a calm and placid scene, the striped and speckled reef fishes would be seen darting away in all directions, and of the cuttle-fishes all that remained were four or five clouds of ink in the clear water. The appearance in the neighbourhood of a small shark or other kind of voracious fish was the cause of this sudden agitation, and the cuttle-fishes, after squirt ing out a cloud of ink to ' throw dust in the eyes ' of their enemy, had, by violent contractions of their mantle, made off. I tried to find out what kinds of fish they were that caused such dismay among the inhabitants of the coral reefs, but the rapidity with which they dart into the shallow water and out again renders it impossible to make even a general determination of then: zoological position, ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 117 and the various attempts I made to catch them with a hook and line were unsuccessful, so that I procured no specimens to bring home for identification. Several species of dog fishes (Scyllium, Chiloscyllium) and sharks (Carcharias) have been described by Bleeker (9) that occur in the seas around Celebes, and it is quite probable that they are the chief disturbers of the peace on the coral reefs of Talisse. People have often asked me if there are sharks in Celebes, meaning thereby sharks that are large and hungry enough to attack human beings who by accident or design find themselves in the water. There can be no doubt that there are, and it would be an extremely imprudent thing for anyone to attempt to swim from one island to another if he could possibly avoid it. Really large dangerous sharks are, however, but rarely seen, and the natives will bathe freely and fearlessly even in tolerably deep water. I have never seen large sharks swimming round a vessel in N. Celebes as I have at Banda and Timor and within the breakwater at Colombo, nor have I seen them in the hands of fishermen nor in the market-place. Of the corals themselves which flourish on and form the reef I must now speak, and I am aware that the task before me is one of no ordinary difficulty. Many of the genera and even orders of the corals are so unfamiliar to English readers that we have no English words for them in common use. My description must consequently be hampered with many long and cumbrous Greek and Latin words, which, even when translated into English, convey a very slight and imperfect description of the objects they stand for. First, let me explain for the benefit of those of my readers who have not dipped into this branch of natural science some of the essential features of the coral structure, that they may be able to follow me more clearly when I 118 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi describe the varieties that are found. The hard and complicated calcareous structures we see in our museums under the heading Zoantharia are the shells, or skeletons as they are more generally called, secreted by and sup porting a number of small anemone-like animals called the polypes. The polypes are not ' insects ' nor anything like insects ; they are simply sea-anemones, provided with an elongated slit-like mouth surrounded by a crown of simple tentacles. The reason that one hears so many people talk about coral insects is that until quite modern times a perfectly erroneous doctrine had been current about the relation of the coral polypes to their shells. Many people supposed that the relation between them was the same as that between the bees and the honeycomb, that the coral was of the nature of a hive or nest in which the coral ' insects ' could take refuge. If we must make any comparison at all with other orders of the animal kingdom, we might say that the coral skeleton is like the shell of a whelk, with this difference, that whereas every whelk has its own separate and independent shell, the coral shell is Yeij often a colonial one, being formed by and giving shelter to a multitude of polypes, each of which, though housed in its own compartment, is to a degree con- • nected with its neighbours. The hard parts of the coral, it must be understood, are formed outside the body of the polypes like a mollusc shell, not inside like a vertebrate skeleton, and this is why it might perhaps be more consis tent to call them coral ' shells ' instead of coral ' skeletons,' as is more generally done. Here, again, it is possible a misunderstanding may arise. Although the calcareous shell is truly formed outside the coral polypes, it very frequently has the appearance of being inside and enclosed by them. This is entirely due to the overlapping of the soft parts over the complex ridges of the ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 119 skeleton. When a glass vase is filled with a profusion of drooping flowers it may be partially or completely hidden by them, and yet we are accustomed to say that the flowers are inside the vase. So it is with a coral ; the fleshy parts may overlap and hide the hard parts, yet, as a fact, the hard parts are anatomically outside the soft. As the colony of polypes grows and increases by budding, more and more of the calcareous skeleton is formed, new cups, septa and other structures are laid down layer upon layer over the old, and new branches grow out from the old ones. Endless are the varieties of form the coral skeleton may take. Every specimen the naturalist handles differs from every other in the mode of branching, in the number of its branches, in the arrangement of the spines, warts, blotches, septa and canals with which it is covered, just as every oak is different from every other oak, and every beech- tree from every other beech. This immense variety in the form of coral skeletons has led some authorities to make of them an immense number of different species. Now, as thespeciesare usuallynamed and separated from one another by specialists at home who have at their command only the dried hard parts to examine, we have very meagre accounts of the varieties of the colour, structure, and reproduction of the polypes. If these details were better recorded by those who collect corals for museums, I am sure we should be able to reduce immensely the number of species which have been made by an examination of the hard parts only. Imagine a party of botanists starting off to name the species of British oaks and beeches in the depth of winter. With only the form of the bark and stem and the mode of branching to guide them, without flowers, fruit or leaves, they would probably make a great many more species than the botanists who undertook the work in summer. So it is with corals ; the naturalists who have named the species 120 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vr have had altogether insufficient information to work upon, and have in consequence raised to the dignity of separate species many forms which it is only necessary to consider as local varieties of the same. M Fig. 13.— Diagram to illustrate anatomy of Galacea Esperi. A , a full-grown polype divided longitudinally to exhibit the internal anatomy and the rela tion of the hard parts to the soft. B, a young bud divided transversely and the upper portion removed. b.p., basal plate ot lime ; th, theca, and S S, septa of lime ; 1 1, tentacles ; M, mouth ; St, stomodasum or throat ; G c, general cavity of the polype ; m, mesentery ; m. f., me senterial filament ; /. l., fleshy lamina covering the upper surface of the basal plate'. A description of the accompanying diagrammatic figures will perhaps make the complicated organisation of these polypes a little clearer. The skeleton or hard parts of an imperforate coral Galacea consists of a basal or encrusting plate (b.p.) upon which stands a number of cylindrical cups ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 121 or thecae (th) which give support to the coral polypes. Each theca is supported by a number of vertical plates project ing centripetally from the inner side of the cup. These are called the septa (S). They serve as buttresses to give strength to the theca. All this skeleton is composed of nearly pure carbonate of lime (a salt present in solution in all sea-water), which is absorbed from the water by the coral polypes and secreted again by them as the solid skeleton. The soft or fleshy parts . of the coral completely cover the skeleton, following all the ridges, septa and other ir regularities, so that if we could imagine the soft parts drawn or pulled off from the hard, they would bear an exact impression on their under side of the surface of the skeleton. On the outside of the cups and on the connect ing basal plate the soft parts are composed of a simple flat plate of fleshy substance (/.?.). Within the cups are situated the polypes, which are directly continuous with the fleshy lamina covering the rest of the coral. The main points in the anatomy of a coral polype are soon described. On the upper disc there is a crown of tentacles (t t) sur rounding a slit-shaped mouth (M), as in a sea-anemone. The mouth leads into a short flattened throat (St) tech nically known as the stomodaeum, and this opens below into the general cavity (G c) of the polype. The general cavity of the polype is divided into a number of chambers or compartments by the septa and mesenteries, the arrange ment of which may best be studied in the diagrammatic transverse section, fig. 14. The upper half of the dia gram represents a section of the theca in the region of the dotted line x x' . The mesenteries (ra m) are here seen to be thin vertical plates of flesh connecting the walls of the theca with the throat; the septa (SS), composed of vertical plates of lime covered with a thin layer of 122 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES flesh, do not project so far towards the centre. The lower half of the diagram represents a transverse section of the theca in the region of the dotted line z z' , fig. 13. In this region it may be noticed that the edges of the mesenteries are free, so that there may be complete communication between the intermesenterial chambers of the central por tion of the general cavity of the polype. At the edge of each St Fig. 14.— Diagram of transverse sections through a polype of Galacea Esperi. The upper portion of the diagram represents a transverse section in the region indicated by the dotted line x a.1 in fig. 13. The lower portion printed in dotted lines indicates a transverse section in the region zz1 in fig. 13. The reference letters are the same as they are in fig. 13. mesentery there is a coiled thread, mf, the so-called me senterial filament, which plays an active and important part in the processes of digestion. It is not my purpose in these pages to trouble the reader with the species of corals that are found upon the reefs at Talisse ; but I must refer just briefly to the most important characters which separate the larger groups, in order that ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 123 the general reader may follow me in my description of the reefs. Of the true or Zoantharian corals, the most important and largely represented family is that of the Madreporinae. The madrepores may be readily distinguished by the fact that they possess distinct cups for the polypes, and that these cups, together with the rest of the cor ahum, are thoroughly perforated in all directions by numerous pores and anastomosing canals. Fig. 15. — Schematic drawing of a single polype of a colonial perforate coral and of the surrounding tissues after the skeleton has been removed by acid, showing the system of tubes by means of which the digestive cavities of the polypes communicate with one another. In fig. 15 is drawn a small portion of the soft fleshy parts of a Madrepore after the removal of the coral skeleton by acid. While the general structure is the same as that of Galacea, a large number of fleshy tubes lead from the body space of one polype to that of its neighbours, so that a com plete circulation is maintained throughout the whole colony. These tubes ramify according to a fairly definite system, passing through a corresponding system of stony channels in the coral skeleton. Many of them have extremely grace- 124 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi ful and beautiful forms, being sometimes fan-shaped, some times considerably branched like a small bush or shrub, sometimes multilobate like a number of blunt fingers standing upon a swollen wrist. The Turbinarias are like the madrepores in general structure, but they usually form thin plate-like coralla which frequently become cup or saucer or plate-shaped. The Fungias are large solitary forms, sometimes nine to ten inches across. Each is composed of a large fleshy polype resting on an oval mushroom-shaped skeleton. The remaining Zoantharians are distinguished from those corals just described by secreting a skeleton which is never perforated throughout by canals and pores. To this order belongs the enormous family of the star corals, As- traeidae, most of which form large solid stone-like masses marked by a perfect system of star-like thecae. It also in cludes the well-known brain corals (Mceandrinas) , the mussas, galaceas, and many others. The Pocilloporas and Seriatoporas, which must be in cluded in the order Imperforata, although their exact zoological position has not yet been accurately determined, form branched bush or shrub -like structures not unlike some of the madrepores in form, but their surface is smoother and the thecae not nearly so conspicuous as they are in those corals. Besides the Zoantharia two other classes of animals form complicated and massive calcareous skeletons which help to build up the coral reefs in tropical seas. Among the so-called Alcyonaria two genera alone in tropical seas form solid calcareous skeletons. The first of these is the blue coral (Heliopora ccertdea), which forms thick folds and plates of spongy limestone of a pale blue colour, and the organ-pipe coral (Tubipora musica), which builds up huge red clumps of small pipes traversing layer upon layer of ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 125 transverse plates. The precious coral of commerce (Coral- Hum rubrum) belongs to this order ; but it is never found in warm tropical waters. The remaining Alcyonarians possess a skeletal support of loose spicules disconnected with one another, which, when the soft parts are dissolved away, fall to the 'ground as fine granules of lime. Many i '. 1 , f.J .*• 1 JM^~- aS^ Fig 16.— Clavularia viridis, an Alcyonarian coral growing upon a dead branch of a Madrepore. of the Alcyonarians, however, are supported by other skeletal substances than lime. The flexible corals (Gor- gonidce), for example, possess a solid core of horny sub stance, and several of the creeping stoloniferous Alcyonarians have their walls strengthened by a hard horny substance of uncertain chemical affinities. 126 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi The Alcyonarian polypes can be readily and easily dis tinguished from the Zoantharian polypes. Whilst the Zoantharian polype possesses simple finger-like tentacles, the Alcyonarian polype's tentacles are invariably provided with a number of small processes or pinnae ; they are in fact feathered or pinnate tentacles. The Alcyonarian polypes, moreover, have without exception eight tentacles, no more, no less ; the Zoantharian may have very many tentacles, or in some cases only ten or twelve, but rarely eight. Nearly all the Alcyonaria possess the calcareous spicules characteristic of the order. Heliopora, a few of the stolon- ifera, and some of the pennatulids or sea-pens, are the only exceptions. The organ-pipe coral and the precious coral are the only two in which the spicules become fused together to form a solid skeleton. Besides the Zoantharia and the Alcyonaria, some members of the order of the Hydrocorallinae form large masses of calcareous skeleton, viz. the Millepores, which may be ramified or plate-like in form. They may be dis tinguished from all others by the fact that the pores are very small and arranged in systems, seven or eight smaller pores surrounding a somewhat larger one in each system. The smaller pores (dactylopores) shelter the small tentacle like zooids which catch the food, the larger pores (gastro- pores) shelter the stomach zooids which digest it. The natural history and structure of these forms have been so well described by Prof. Moseley (51), who first discovered their true affinities, that it is not necessary for me to again describe them. To this order also belongs Distichopora, a beautiful purple, and in some cases red hydrocoralline, common on many reefs, but it is rarely found upon the shores of Talisse. The Bryozoa or Polyzoa too sometimes build beautiful basket-like skeletons of lime, but as these do not form a ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 127 very conspicuous feature of the Talisse reefs, I shall not make further reference to them. Having thus briefly explained the principal differences between the large groups of corals, I will ask the reader to accompany me in imagination upon one of my reef expe ditions. Armed with a large net and stout walking-stick, clothed in a thin flannel shirt and trousers, my head covered by a large leaf hat, and my feet and legs protected by a thick pair of Magdala boots, I start off across the sandy lagoon accompanied by one or two boys carrying crowbars, buckets, bottles, and small boxes. The sun is pouring down its fiery rays upon our heads, and when the water first penetrates our boots and clothes it strikes warm, or almost hot instead of cold. Upon the wooden piles of the pier itself may be seen a large number of interesting things. Some beautiful branches of an Alcyonarian called Isis, whose flesh is of a brilliant colour on account of the millions of blood-red spicules with which it is beset, a few little graceful basket like bryozoan skeletons clinging to the wood, and here and there a large brush-like tuft of a gorgonian, like a bit of seaweed in colour and texture, hanging down into the water ; but slimy masses of sponge and a few barnacles are the principal things which cover the piles in the water that is shallow enough for me to venture into. Leaving the pier I pick my way along the edge of the coral reef, now stumbling into a hole that douses me to the neck ; now standing firm upon a great mass of fan-shaped madrepore. I pause a moment to make a note of this splendid specimen. It is a true madrepore, springing from a root-stalk that is as thick as a man's arm. It is fan-shaped, the root forming the hilus or axis, the anastomosing branch ing substance of the fan being at right angles to the stalk, and parallel to the sea-surface. Upon its broad expanse — 128 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi it is just three feet across — stand up a number of blunt processes or tubercles an inch or two in length and half an inch in diameter, bearing the youngest polypes. The whole coral is dark, dull, orange green, but the growing points and polypes are distinguished by a brighter yellow colour. A little further on there is a dirty white lump of Millepora plicata in the form of four leaves or plates with their upper edges slightly turned over towards the deeper water. I wonder if the delicate hydroid polypes are ex panded there in their natural position, so planting my feet firmly on the ground and handing Manuel my hat, I take a deep breath and plunge my head and shoulders into the water to see. But they are not, and my trouble and dis comfort is for nought. A few paces further on another madrepore of a different species attracts my attention. It is of a different shape to the last, and is of a deeper reddish- brown colour, the growing points being delicate violet or purple. All this time I have been wading along the outer edge of the reef among the growing corals, but I never feel satisfied unless I examine at the same time the fauna of the inside of the reef ; i.e. that part of the reef which at the lowest spring-tides is left partially or completely uncovered. This region is usually strikingly different to the outer edge, which is never uncovered, and is very gene rally the best locality for Tubiporas and Clavularias, that in some places literally carpet the ground. When the polypes are fully expanded it is not easy to distinguish the Tubiporas from the Clavularias. All that the naturalist sees of them is a waving mass of deep-brown polypes with pinnate tentacles so closely situated to one another that it is impossible to see anything between them. The lumps of Tubipora are sometimes a foot or more in breadth across ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 129 the surface, and several inches deep. On the outer edge of the reef, where they are always covered with water, I have frequently found them twice or three times as large as this. The colour of the polypes is usually uniformly deep brown, but many specimens may be found in which the tentacles are tipped and speckled with a delicate emerald- green. When the masses are covered with water every polype is fully expanded, and they contract only very gradually and slowly when touched or moved. Sometimes a lump of Tubipora is found half in the water and half out of it, and then may be seen every stage of contraction, from the polypes that are tightly contracted and completely withdrawn into the red tubes of the skeleton to those which are still only half in and half out of it. It is very probable that this power of complete retraction into solid calcareous tubes enables the organ-pipe coral to live in places which are at times left partially dry at low water. Most of the Zoantharian corals would in all probability suffer, and perhaps die immediately under similar circumstances. Before leaving the organ-pipe coral I must say a word or two about the species of this genus. By collecting a large number of specimens and making careful notes of the colours of the polypes, I hoped to be able to arrive at some trustworthy basis for the separation of species. The more specimens I collected, the more surely was I driven to the conclusion that there is only one true species to be found on the reefs of Talisse. The length and diameter of the tubes and the appearance of the horizontal platforms are the features which are usually used by naturalists for the separation of species of Tubipora. These, however, are not, I am persuaded, sufficiently trustworthy for the pur pose. My investigations proved conclusively that the length and diameter of the tubes depend entirely upon the position of the coral on the reefs. If it is found on the K 130 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES oh. vi inside of the reef, where there is plenty of room for it, and, comparatively speaking, little competition for the floating food, the tubes are large and long. If, on the contrary, it is found amongst a crowd of other corals on the outer edge of the reef, the tubes are small and short. Every possible variety exists upon the shore intermediate between the extremes of largeness and smallness ; and I feel perfectly certain that had I devoted myself exclusively to this one problem, I could have brought home with me from the reefs within a few miles from my hut in Talisse examples of every species of Tubipora that have yet been described. My conclusion is, then, that there is only one species of Tubipora at present known, and this it is best to call T. musica. The varieties of Clavularia found, as I have said, usually on the inside of the reef, were of considerable interest to me. Clavularia (fig. 16) differs from Tubipora principally in the character of its hard or skeletal parts. Instead of having a skeleton composed of fused spicules as Tubipora has, its walls are strengthened by a few long isolated spicules imbedded in a hard horny substance. The polypes re semble those of Tubipora in shape and size, but the colour rarely varies from the deep brown previously mentioned. I discovered that some varieties of Clavularia possess a curious mode of branching and budding resembling that of the ex tinct Syringopora (33, 34, 53). Now, this genus of fossil corals has been tossed about from the group Zoantharia to the Alcyonaria by different authorities, but this last observa tion of mine supports the view Professor Moseley has main tained, that Syringopora was undoubtedly an Alcyonarian. Besides the Alcyonarians, however, a few living Zoan tharian corals may be found upon the inside of the reef. These are chiefly the brain corals, fungias, and perhaps a ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 131 few small seriatoporas. They are found almost exclusively in the pools. When I found them uncovered and exposed to the sun, they were almost invariably dead and putrefying. Nearly everyone who visits a coral reef for the first time at low water notices an unpleasant stench everywhere in the immediate vicinity. After a time I got quite accustomed to it and did not notice it ; my recollection of it is, that it resembles the stench of decaying sea-weed, but is rather more offensive. It is due, I believe, to the fact that when ever the water leaves the inner side of the reef exposed, a considerable number of corals, star-fishes, worms, and other things are killed by the fierce heat of the midday sun, and in the warm damp atmosphere begin to putrefy almost immediately. The coral reef is not alone to blame for the malarias of the tropical coasts ; the mangrove swamp, which I shall presently describe, is the principal offender in this respect, the parent and nurse of all manner of noxious vapours and fell diseases. But to return from this digression to my expedition on the Talisse reefs. I have now, let us suppose, wandered half a mile in a northerly direction towards Kinabohutan straits. The reef is here quite different in appearance to what it is near the pier. Not only is it nearly twice as far from the shore, but it is also much more densely crowded with coral growth of every sort and description. Here on the outer edge are huge specimens of the common fan- shaped madrepore, great bushes of seriatoporas and mille- poras (M . alcicornis) , and hundreds of different kinds of corals too numerous to mention. No specimen is here that is not fine and well-grown, and not a square inch of ground can be seen that is not covered with some vigorous and flourishing coral growth. The inside of the reef is very much the same as it is nearer home, but I find here a large armless star-fish (Cidcita) like a great pentagonal leather K 2 132 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi bun, which I have not seen elsewhere on the Talisse reefs. There are also plenty of large Holothurians, the black trepang of commerce for which these islands were at one time famous, and the long snake-like Synapta, of a grey mottled appearance. These and every other sign indicate that this part is what I have previously called a ' vigorous reef,' the con ditions of the water ; the rapidity of the tides, the food supply, or whatsoever it may be, are most favourable for coral growth, and the reef is probably growing slowly but surely seawards. Passing still further northwards, I find the reef gradually diminishing in size and vigour, and before 1 have traversed another quarter of a mile it has disappeared, the deep water of the strait being close alongside of the sandy beach of the shore. Curiously enough, this was the only part of the reefs where I could find the bright green feather-stars. Returning now to the pier from which I started, and wading in the opposite direction, I notice that the character of the reef is rather different to that of the other side. It is true there are to be found many of the same familiar corals as before, but the specimens are, if anything, smaller in size and more weakly in growth, and at the same time there is a preponderance of soft fleshy creatures such as Sponges, Alcyoniums, and Sarcophytums. None of the sponges here grow to the enormous size they do in some places, but some of them present the brightest colours that are to be seen upon the reefs. One of them, I can remem ber, was of a very brilliant orange colour, and others were bright red and green. These colours are all soluble in strong spirit. The shapes of the sponges are very varied ; some form branching or multilobate masses not unlike the Madrepores, others form solid clumps like puff-balls, while others are but thin crusting lamellae on the surface of ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 133 dead coral stones. The Sarcophytums are extremely in teresting things as far as their anatomy and zoological relationships are concerned, but I must confess rather unpleasant things to look at and to handle. They are Alcyonarians allied to the alcyoniums, common enough on English coasts under the name of 'dead men's fingers,' but instead of the polypes being all alike as they are in Alcyonium, there is an interesting dimorphism to be observed amongst them. Some of the polypes attain their full development and act as the food-catchers and food- digesters for the colony. These are called the autozooids. The majority of the polypes, however, are arrested in their development, and neve possess tentacles. These are called the siphonozoids, and by means of a groove on one side of their stomachs (siphonoglyphe) armed with long powerful cilia they act as pumps to produce currents of water, which circulate through the complicated system of canals, by which the mass is perforated (32). The Sarcophytums are like huge toadstools in shape, in many cases as much as two or three feet across the disc. They are of a sickly yellow or yellowish-green colour, and very slimy to the touch. In the course of my wanderings I must have slipped down into the water several dozens of times, scratching myself, tearing my clothes, and frequently stinging my hands severely at each disaster. Clavularia was very often the cause of my loss of equilibrium, but the chief culprit was undoubtedly Sarcophytum, whose broad, smooth, and slippery surface never offered a sure foothold for one moment. Before leaving Sarcophytum, I must note my disappointment at never finding any of the autozooids properly expanded. The polypes were frequently to be seen only partially retracted, but I never saw them with their tentacles all spread out, as they are so frequently seen in Tubipora and Clavularia. I could frame no theory that would account for the fact that 134 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi on the coral reef some polypes seem to be always expanded, at low water, and others are always retracted. Passing on then from the pier towards the southern cape of Talisse, noticing how wonderfully the reef changes in appearance and in vigour in different localities, I come at last to a great prize in the rare and beautiful Heliopora ccerulea. Coral reef work has many personal discomforts and intellectual disappointments, but this can be said in its favour, that when a prize is found it is usually found in great abundance. Nature does not reward the naturalist with a little tiny specimen that must be labelled carefully and put away in a pill-box in a cabinet, but provides him with a sufficient quantity to make a cartload if he wishes it. I had been hunting everywhere for Heliopora, and should have been thankful for a smaller piece, but here at last I come across a mass that it would take twenty strong men to lift and carry away. Fortunately, there are several smaller masses in the immediate vicinity, and I am conse quently able to take away with me sufficient for my purpose without calling in the aid of the coolies from the plantation. Heliopora is in many respects one of the most interest ing corals of the reefs, for it is as it were a representative of prehistoric times, a survival of a generation that has long since passed away. Heliopora itself did not appear until Eocene times, but its allies, Heliolites, Plasmopora, Propora, Thecia and others, together with Syringopora, Halysites and others that were probably allied to Tubipora, were the main factors of the coral reefs of Silurian and Devonian times. If a naturalist could have walked along those prehistoric shores he would have found scarcely a single Zoantharian coral, the majority of forms being Alcyonarian in structure allied to the modern Tubipora and Heliopora. The intro duction of the Zoantharia at the close of the Devonian period caused a rapid decrease in the stony Alcyonaria, until at ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 185 the present day there are only two of them left, viz. Tubipora and Heliopora, that can fairly be called reef-building corals. The reef-building Alcyonarians have, in other words, yielded their places in the struggle for existence to the victorious Madrepores and Astraeids. Now, in connection with this history, it is an interesting fact that the only part of the reef where I ever found a Heliopora was a remarkably poor one. Large patches of sand separated the different lumps of feeble Madrepores and other corals, and every sign was present that there the reef was in anything but a flourishing and vigorous condition. Whatever may have been the struggle for existence here, the competition with Zoantha- rians was reduced to a minimum and Heliopora flourished. Not far from the spot where Heliopora is living I come across one of the most beautiful corals I have ever seen. It is called Galacea and belongs to the group of the Imperforata (fig. 8, p. 53). The polype cups, or thecae as they are called, are raised -g-J inch above the general sur face of the corallum, and contain most beautiful emerald- green polypes united with one another by delicate fleshy strands of the same colour. When I first saw it the polypes were as fully expanded as, I believe, they are capable of being, and the mass looked like some handsome ornament studded with emeralds of the finest quality. This general account of a ramble on the reefs of Talisse is perhaps sufficient to indicate the immense variety of form and colour of living corals that may be observed in different places, but it would take a separate volume to describe in detail all the different creatures, their marks and colours, their movements and their habits, which are to be found upon a hundred yards of such a coast. I have said nothing about the mollusks of the reef, the handsome white Cyprio, covered by its coal-black mantle, the polished tiger cowry (Cyprcea tigrina), bivalves with their beautifully marked 136 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi fringed mantles and tentacles, the long-spined purple sea- urchins, the brittle stars, the green and purple squillas darting in and out among the coral branches, the octopuses marked with large blue blotches, the prawns and shrimps of every kind of colour and variety of spots and stripes. Any attempt I might make to describe all these things would lead me far beyond the purpose I have now in view, and I know that my notes are quite insufficient to enable me to do ample justice to the subject. The third section of this chapter must be devoted to a brief description of the fauna of the lagoons. In places where there are barrier reefs a distance of a mile or more from the shore, the area that lies between the reef and the shore is in the strictest sense of the word a lagoon. It is covered with a few fathoms of water at all states of the tide. In places where there are fringing reefs, however, the lagoon is at low spring-tides almost dry, and then perhaps the word is not strictly applicable. I prefer, however, to use the word lagoon in all cases for this region, rather than invent a new one, for this might lead to the erroneous notion that there is an essential geological difference between the lagoon of a barrier and a fringing reef. Darwin long ago pointed out that every intermediate form between the two extremes can be found in different parts of the world ; and whatever view they may take of the mode of origin of coral reefs in general, all naturalists and geologists are agreed that the latter is rightly considered to be a younger or less developed con dition of the former. When the tide ebbed at Talisse the first thing that appeared was a streak of hard dry sand, lying alongside of the steep sandy beach of the shore. Then in the distance there appeared a few lumps of coral indicating the position of the inner edge of the reef, and afterwards a broad streak Fig. 17.— CORAL REEF AND LAGOON NEAR KOA, IN TALISSE ISLAND, AT LOW WATER. On the left a mangrove tree. In the distance Banka Island. The edge of the coral reef may be seen above the water just beyond the sand-banks of the lagoon. ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 137 of sand appeared upon the shoreward side of this which gradually increased in breadth until it joined or nearly joined the sands of the coast itself. At the lowest tides there was thus formed in many places a continuous stretch of dry sand leading from the shore to the edge of the reef, but in others this was broken by large pools of water an inch or two in depth. At high tide the water of the lagoon was six or seven feet deep, and then it was the resort of swarms of fishes of various kinds and descriptions. The herrings (Clupea atricauda), whose peregrinations I have previously referred to, were there sometimes in countless thousands, and they could easily be caught from the pier by the ordinary circular throw-nets. Pipe-fishes too, easily recognised by their long pike-like snouts and small terminal mouths, were not unfrequently to be seen in small shoals containing a dozen or more, and many other fishes whose names or relations I was unable to determine. The interesting point about the fishes of the lagoon, how ever, is that, in striking contrast to those who feed upon the reef, they were all, when looked at from above, of a uniform dull colour. None of them possessed brilliant spots, stripes and curves, but they were, as far as I could see, without exception soberly dressed. When the tide went down most of these fishes crossed the reef in time and disappeared in the deeper waters beyond it, but swarms of tiny fry were always left in the pools to fall an easy prey - to the whimbrels and egrets. I have sometimes seen these pools crowded with little fishes, and in a little hand-net that Manuel made for me I have been able to catch in a few minutes enough of them to make a handsome dish of whitebait for my dinner. Now the reason that the lagoon fishes are of this uniform colour is of course its resem blance to the lagoon bottom when that is seen through five or six feet of water. The bottom is a vast expanse of 138 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi white coral sand covered with a sparse vegetation of green weeds. When covered with water this has a uniformly greenish-grey colour. If it were asked why it is that these fishes unconsciously imitate the colour of the sea- bottom, the answer would be that the lagoon is the favourite fishing ground of the fish eagles and hawks, and any fish that were not so coloured would be most obvious to these enemies and be the first to be devoured. The lagoon fishes have, however, many other enemies : large sharks and other voracious fishes often dart across the reef to snatch a hasty meal and retreat again, but it is rather difficult to imagine the colour that would be protective against such enemies as these. Man can probably form a tolerably accurate idea of what colours look like to any other air-breathing animals such as birds, but I doubt whether he can form any idea of the powers of vision of aquatic animals. If a man opens his eyes under water he can see scarcely any distance in front of him. His vision must be vastly inferior in that element to that of fishes, and consequently, I think, we are justified in saying that we can know nothing accurately of the way in which fish are protected from fish enemies by their colour. We know that many of our shore and river fishes in England are very differently coloured on their dorsal side and on their ventral side. They present, in fact, one colour to the enemy who approaches them from above, and another to the enemy who approaches them from below. How far this latter colour is one of protective imitation we have no means of knowing until we are better acquainted with the powers of vision of fishes. Besides fishes there are but few objects of interest for the naturalist in the lagoon. A small variety of the bright- green zostera and a few corallines are usually the only seaweeds that grow there, and animals are few and far ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 139 between. In some places where the green weeds are pretty thick, the ancient brachiopod Lingula may be found. The natives being fond of it as an article of food are very chary of showing anyone the places where it lives. There are considerable numbers of orbitolites, calcarinas, and other foraminifera, and very frequently the large and beautiful star -fishes Pentaceros and Ophidiaster may be found drying on the sand or slowly moving in the shallow pools. The sands are perforated by holes which I believe are the retreats of crabs, but I really did not give them the attention they perhaps deserved. I had inadvertently forgotten to bring with me from England a good iron spade, and con sequently I postponed from time to time the investigation of these holes until it was too late. The only time I did any spade-digging on lagoon sands was when I was in search of the owner of some long thin tentacular filaments which may be seen in some places stretching for long distances across the sands. I found several of these upon some damp loose sand north of the spot marked Parigi in the map, but I cannot say that I have satisfactorily made out their mean ing. As soon as I began to dig, these filaments contracted, and the shorter and thicker they became, the more they resembled anemone tentacles, but I did not succeed in digging up the animal to which they belonged. I may be excused for mentioning this zoological failure of mine here, because it may attract the attention of other naturalists travelling in these countries, and induce them to make another attempt to solve the difficulty. Since my return I have been informed that these filamentous bodies are frequently to be seen on tropical sands, and I know of no investigations that have at present been made which will explain them. There is one little crab very com monly found upon the sands of the lagoon, belonging to 140 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi the genus Calappa, and when at rest it has a remarkable resemblance to a lump of old water-worn coral stone. This protective resemblance is brought about by the chelae being large and rugged, and fitting tightly to the carapace, which is also very uneven in appearance. On many occasions, when I saw these little fellows lying half-buried in the sand I was at a loss to know whether they were really crabs or only stones, until I turned them over with a stick. I must now pass on to the fourth section of this chap ter — the Mangrove Swamps. When the naturalist first enters the mangrove swamp he cannot fail to be impressed with two things : the enormous field for investigation in animal and vegetable life that it affords, and the extreme difficulty and discomfort of doing any work there. The various kinds of mangrove trees bearing creepers, orchids, and parasitic ferns, the swarms of ants, termites, flies, mosquitoes, and other creatures of the air ; the snakes;, birds, fishes, crabs, anemones, and worms afford endless themes for investigation and research. On the other hand, the damp, stifling, malarious atmosphere and the insect pests are quite sufficient to drive away even the enthusiastic naturalist to purer air and more wholesome places. In localities where the swamp is tolerably broad, the trees on the shoreward side are very lofty, but they gradually become shorter as they approach the seaward limit, where they are in many cases not more than ten or fifteen feet in height. The swampy ground is covered with a network of root-branches averaging about a couple of inches in diameter, and in the intervals between them there is a black slimy mud, with patches here and there of hard dry sand, and several shallow pools and puddles. It is not an easy place to walk about in, for one has to be extremely careful when treading on the slimy roots not to slip over, and not to leave a boot behind in the soft sticky mud ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 141 between them. I often had the unpleasant reflection before me that such a ground is not an unlikely place to break a leg, and a dread thought of the savage surgery which might one day be in store for me. The ground is perforated in all directions by the holes of the gelasimus crabs. These have been well described by Adams in his account of the zoology of the Samarang, and as I can confirm in every respect his description, I cannot do better than quote it here (1). ' Near Manado there is a woody tract not far from the town which abounds in Gelasimi of the most beautiful colours. I have described and figured one species allied to G. bellator of a green colour with black markings ; another black with two bright ultramarine spots in the centre of the carapace ; and another grey, marbled with white, with an enormous yellow chela. These cover the ground by thousands, stalking about and holding up their claws in a most ridiculous manner. Notwithstanding they appear to be overburdened with this unwieldy member, they are by no means easy to capture, but on the slightest attempt on their liberty they run quickly to the mouths of their burrows for protection, where they will boldly wait and see if their enemy makes any further advances ; and, if he does, they retreat quickly backwards, holding out their pincer as a weapon of defence.' In Talisse many of the grey varieties had the large chela of a very bright purple colour, and when a number of these were together on a stretch of sand or mud, it was a curious sight to see them dart into their burrows one by one, holding up their chela in much the same way as a prize-fighter holds his right arm when he begins a maul. The only mollusk that was at all common on the ground was the common Pyrazus palustris, distinguished by its straight tubular canal. 142 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi Over the roots and across the dry mud in some places are to be seen long marches of the large red ants, whose vicious bites caused me perhaps more pain and annoyance than the swarms of . flies and mosquitoes with which the air is filled. As soon as the tide is out these ants come down from their nests in the trees in thousands, and rapidly scavenger about in all directions for any little fishes and other marine animals that are left helpless, stranded on the mud. The mosquitoes are born and bred in the waters of the swamp, but what they actually feed upon in the imago or flying stage, when there are no human beings about, is a mystery to me. It is possible they may obtain a scanty nourishment from the slimy ooze upon the surface of the mud and mangrove roots, but then it is difficult to under stand the advantage of their piercing mouth parts. It may be that of the millions hatched only a few actually deposit fertile eggs, and those may be the lucky ones who have had a draught of blood of the mammals and birds in the swamps. All that I can say about their feeding is that when we met they seemed to be invariably hungry, and when they fed were never satisfied. In many of the pools in the swamps thousands of the swimming, or rather jumping, larvae of the mosquitoes may be seen. I was rather surprised at this, because in my ignorance I thought that none of the gnats and flies could stand sea-water. I was inclined to doubt it at first, and fancied that they must be the larvae of some other creatures ; but there could be no doubt of their nature when I came to examine them more carefully, and I had an opportunity of definitely settling the matter before I left. I had two large tubs near my house, which I filled with sea-water in the hope of keeping, in them some animals alive for a while, to study, if possible, their development. ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 143 In a few days, however, notwithstanding every care and precaution, the tubs were slightly putrid, and then they swarmed with these jumping larvae. I watched the larger ones carefully for some hours, and actually saw the mos quitoes emerge from them. In some of the low small islands near Manado the air is black with mosquitoes, and yet there is not a drop of fresh or even brackish water. The mosquitoes must, then, in such places pass their larval stages of existence in salt water. Upon the outskirts of the swamp the jumping fish, Periophthalmus, is very common. It rarely penetrates very far into the swamp, and is never seen in such numbers as it is upon the more rocky coasts, such as we find at Bohoi and the north end of Limbe. Where I found Peri ophthalmus in the swamp, I also observed a curious and interesting form of sea-anemone, with bright green tuber- culated tentacles, apparently allied to the Corallimorphidae, Thelaceros rhizophora (47 A). It might be thought that it is the simplest thing in the world to ' collect ' a sea-anemone, but I had a fine struggle before I succeeded in obtaining a perfect specimen of this one. It is usually found in shallow pools near the roots of the mangrove trees, and when frightened, rapidly retreats below the roots. It is necessary to use both spade and hatchet to effect a capture, and even then one has to be pretty sharp to prevent it sinking altogether out of reach. It might seem rather ludicrous to see two men starting off with axe and spade to catch a ' sea-anemone,' but I would defy anyone who was not so armed to catch this beautiful actinian. Of the birds that may be shot in the swamps those most commonly seen are the swifts (Macropteryx and Collocallia) feeding in their rapid flight upon the thousands of winged insects that abound, kingfishers perching on the roots or lower branches of the trees, cuckoos, and occasionally, but 144 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi rarely, a Eurystomus. Pigeons and doves are often seen in the higher branches, and the larger birds of prey waiting for the tide to leave the shore or resting after their labours of the day. Of the mammals, the baboons occasionally come down from the hills to feed upon the molluskB and small crabs, and numerous small bats may be seen, as the sun begins to sink, flitting about among the trees. The conditions of life in the mangrove swamp are so extraordinary that if examples of all the animals found within a given area of it were collected, it would be dis covered not only that a very large number of the genera, but nearly every one of the classes of the animal kingdom were represented. Mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, mollusks, insects, Crustacea, worms, echinoderms, coelenterata, and protozoa live and thrive within its limits. The same cannot be' said of any other region on dry land or in the waters. We find, in fact, a curious combination here of the land, the sea and fresh-water fauna brought about by the peculiar advantages the swamp affords to various animals of different habits to live and find their food. The flow of sea-water over the ground twice in every twenty-four hours brings a fresh supply of small fishes and other marine animals to be caught in the meshes of the mangrove roots and left as food, when the tide goes down, for the terrestrial forms. The constant rain of leaves and fruit from the great trees and their parasites, together with the numbers of little insects which tumble from them into the waters, form an animal and vegetable pabulum for aquatic creatures. Ants and crabs, the scavengers of sea and land, find an abundance to devour. The insectivorous bats and birds are well supplied in the swarms of flies and mosquitoes that abound. The larger birds of prey, the kingfishers, ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 145 snakes, and lizards have not far to seek their food. In fact, to cut a long story short, nearly all the forms of animal life, whether they crawl upon the earth, fly in the air, or swim in the waters, whether they breathe the air or water or are amphibious, whether they are animal, vege table, or carrion feeders, can live and find their proper food within the limits of the mangrove swamp. There are no droughts, floods, sandstorms, or other disasters to check at times the increase of their numbers, and the dense canopy of leaves which shelters them from the burning rays of the midday sun forms a mighty blanket to protect them from the cool breezes of the night. The struggles between the animals and the elements are, in fact, reduced there to a minimum ; there are no great variations of temperature to be prepared for, no scarcity with change of season, no extraordinary conditions of the elements, but the animals are able to devote their vital energies entirely to their own interests and the struggles for existence with one another. The mangrove swamp not only forms a field of striking interest to the biologist, but should enter largely into all considerations of the geology of these coasts. A very noticeable feature of the coasts of Celebes is the fact that nearly all the coral reefs are fringing reefs and not barrier reefs ; or, in other words, the reefs are rarely more than a few hundred yards from the shore, and separated from it by a lagoon which is only a few inches deep at low water. This may, to a very large extent, be due to the steepness of the shores, but not entirely. It is partly due to the growth of the shore platform. Some of the reefs would, I believe, have had the characters of true barrier reefs if they had not been followed in their seaward exten sion by the mangrove swamp and shore platform. I have already indicated in a previous chapter (p. 23) the line of i> 146 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi argument I adopt. The roots of the mangrove trees form a large natural breakwater, which retains the soil brought down from the mountain-slopes and the sand washed up by the tides. In this way the floor of the mangrove swamp is gradually being raised to form the shore platform where ordinary forest trees supplant the mangroves. If there had been no mangrove swamps in these regions I believe there would be no shore platforms, and the coral reef, instead of being only a hundred or two hundred yards from the shore, would be a mile or two in many places, and could then be called a barrier reef. On the island of Talisse itself we have not many good examples of this, but at the southern cape opposite Tindela Straits, the reef is at least three-quarters of a mile from the nearest rising ground, and on many places on the west coast it must be over half a mile from it. On the northern coast of the peninsula there are better examples. Nearly the whole way from Cape Papal- empungen to Cape Piso there is a broad shore platform, in many places several miles across, and a similar condition may be observed along the shore from Manado to Tana- wangko. Here then, I believe, if there had not been a mangrove swamp to form new land upon the shore as the coral reefs extended seawards, we should have had a barrier reef with perhaps a deep lagoon. Before leaving the fauna of the coral reefs of Talisse, two points in connection with the vital economy of the polypes claim our attention. In the first place, is it possi ble to state with any degree of certainty what the corals feed upon ? It has been usually assumed that their food consists almost exclusively of small free-swimming pelagic animals which they catch with their tentacles as the tides flow over them. There can be no doubt that, broadly speaking, this assumption is true. The batteries of stinging cells — nematocysts — found upon their tentacles must be for ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 14T the purpose of paralysing or killing small organisms which come in contact with them, and from the analogy of our own sea-anemones we are justified in assuming thai; organisms thus killed are conveyed to the mouth by the tentacles and swallowed. On the other hand, I have care fully examined sections of reef polypes of various kinds and, with the exception of Millepora, I have not yet been able to discover any remnants of animal food in the body, cavity, or throat of any of them, and moreover two authorities I have spoken to on this subject, both of whom have examined far greater numbers of these forms than I have, assure me that their experience in this respect coincides with mine. It seems probable therefore that their meals of animal food, of a size large enough to be distinguished with the microscope, are few and far between. I do not think we are justified in assuming that the corals are dependent entirely upon the small Crustacea and the like which are brought to them by the tides. The currents of water which are constantly kept up in and around the throat by the action of thousands of minute cilia must bring with them numerous extremely mmute organisms upon which the corals may feed. But food which is brought to the polypes by this means must be of a very heterogeneous description and mixed with parti cles of sediment floating in the water. Now, in the water which flows over the reef there is in many places in sus pension the scourings of the mangrove swamps. Fruits, leaves, and wood undergoing decomposition and disintegra tion fill the water with shreds of vegetable matter which gradually sink to the bottom. Some of these must find their way into the throats of the thousands of little polypes on the coral reefs. Particles of vegetable fibre are fre quently found on the mesenterial filaments of the Alcyo narians I have examined, and it may be they also occur in l2 148 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi the same positions in some of the Zoantharian corals, al though I have no evidence to show that they do. There is then some reason for believing that many of the corals may be partially at least vegetable feeders, and herein we see the possibility of a relationship between the mangrove swamp and the coral reef which has not been previously recognised. If the food of corals is to a certain extent supplied by debris from the trees of the mangrove swamps, we can see why coral banks in the neighbourhood of extensive swamps are often so much more vigorous than those which fringe the steeper shores. The old coral reefs of the shore form, as I have previously pomted out, a sub stratum for the mangrove swamp, and in return the swamp supplies a certain amount of vegetable food for the living corals. Perhaps this is not the only service it renders the living corals. Corals are dependent for their normal growth not only upon their food, but also upon the carbonate of lime in solution in the water, which supplies them with the material for building up their skeletons. But carbonate of lime is only slightly soluble in pure water, the amount which any quantity of water will hold in solution depending upon the amount of free carbonic acid it contains. Now the water which flows through the mangrove swamps must become highly impregnated with carbonic acid and thus become capable of dissolving a comparatively speaking large amount of the carbonate of lime which exists in abundance in the millions of foraminiferous shells and lumps of coral skeletons with which the coasts are littered. The sea- water then which flows through the swamps must be highly charged with carbonate of lime, and therefore particularly favourable for the increase and growth of coral. Another problem of considerable interest and import ance in connection with coral reefs is the meaning of the ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 149 brilliant colours which so many of them display. It is not sufficient, in these days, simply to state as a fact that cer tain animals or plants possess certain colours, but it is necessary, if possible, to discover the meaning of the colours and the part they play in the economy of the individual or in the struggle for existence of the species. Colours and colouring substances perform various functions in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Some times the colours of animals serve to attract, sometimes to repel, sometimes they 'are merely signs of disease or weak ness. Some colouring matters, again, perform, important pihysiological functions such as the haemoglobin of the blood, others are signs that a chemical or physiological change in certain substances has taken place. It is not necessary for me to run through here all the various meanings of colour in the animal kingdom, suffice it to say that the colour of corals has probably a physiological meaning and is intimately connected with some chemical change constantly taking place in the coral organisms. The only other alternative to this would be that it is use ful as a protection against enemies, but it is impossible to see how the colours of any of the corals can act in this way. The enemies of the corals, such as the reef fishes which are said to browse upon them, would be attracted rather than repelled or deceived by the bright colours of the young grow ing points of the Zoantharia or the plumed tentacles of the Alcyonaria. If we admit, and I think we must, that the colours have a physiological function, we have two, and as far as our knowledge goes at present only two, alternatives before us. They may either be respiratory in function or of the nature of the green colouring matter in plants assimilating carbonic acid from the water for purposes of nutrition. I do not deny that many of the colouring matters in corals may be 150 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vi respiratory in function, but it is my opinion that the most widely distributed colours will eventually be proved to be allied to chlorophyl, the green colouring matter of plants, and perform a very similar if not precisely identical physiological function. It is not my purpose to enter here into all the reasons which have led me to this conclusion, although a sketch of the line of argument may be interest ing to the general reader. The prevailing colour on the coral reefs is a deep greenish-brown colour, and next to that the commonest tint is a bright green. The latter occurs most frequently on young actively growing branches, the former upon the older branches and larger clumps. Some of these colours dissolved in alcohol have been submitted to spectrum analysis by competent authorities, and in many cases the report is that they cannot be distinguished from, or are very closely allied to chlorophyl. If in the future it can be proved, as I believe it will be proved, that a very large majority of the corals on the coral reefs do possess a colouring matter allied to chlorophyl, which performs a physiological function very similar to that performed by the chlorophyl of plants, we shall have an explanation of some of the anomalies of life upon the reefs. It is a recognised axiom in biology that all living things are directly or indirectly dependent upon the physiological action of chlorophyl for many of the most important elements of their food, and in accordance with this we find in every locality which supports life, whether it be in rivers, ponds,' the sea, the tropics, the deserts or the arctic regions, a fairly even proportion of animals and plants. The one striking exception to this general rule is afforded by the coral reefs where animal life is far in excess of vegetable life. Extraordinarily rich in many forms of animal life, they are exceptionally poor in varieties of sea weeds and other marine plants. If then it can be shown ch. vi MARINE FAUNA OF TALISSE SHORES 151 that the corals themselves provide the substance which is analogous in function to the chlorophyl of plants, this anomaly receives its explanation. A discussion of the vexed question of the origin of barrier reefs and atolls would hardly be in place in this volume, for the coasts of N. Celebes and the neighbouring islands present but few examples of those characteristic forms upon which the most important theories are based. I have already stated the views I hold upon the subject in a paper I read before the British Association in 1888, and in the opinions I have expressed in the preceding pages it is evident that I am not a believer in what is known as the ' general subsidence theory ' (12). Mr. Murray's view (52) that coral reefs can, under favourable circumstances, grow out into deep sea-water upon the talus of their own debris seems to me to be supported by sufficient evidence, and is fully confirmed by the phenomena of the reefs I visited in this region. I searched for evidences of recent elevation or subsi dence of the land, but could find none anywhere, save in the Talaut and Nanusa islands, where there has been a recent slight elevation. In fact, the presence of consider able shore platforms in many regions on the coast indicates that for a considerable number of years the land has been stationary. There can be but little doubt, I think, that coral reefs are constantly altering their shape, in some places growing out seaward, in others dissolving and retreating shoreward, and that these processes may go on without any movement of the rocks on which they stand. But a discussion of this wide and far-reaching subject would take me beyond the limits of this book. 152 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii CHAPTER VII TO SANGIR AND TALAUT Arrival of the ' Ternate ' at Talisse — Lirung — Saha islands — The rajah of Pulutan — NanusaArchipelago — Kampong Karaton — Eaisedeoral reefs — Legend of Mengampit — Alaoruru — Mangarang — Abundance of butterflies — Beo — Terrible sickness — Glorious sunset — Sangir — Coco-nut palms— Taruna — Manganitu — Mr. Steller's house and gardens — Koffo— Curious mode of keeping time — Visit to the coral reefs — Trip to the interior — Eeception of the Eesident at Manganitu — Siauw — Tagulandang again — Talisse. On Sunday, November 8, the little post-prau from Manado brought us a letter from the agent of the Company, telling us to prepare for the reception of no less a personage than the Resident of Manado. From time to time it is the duty of the Resident to make an official tour to the coasts and islands which are under his control in a steamer provided for him by the Government. As there had been rumours for some months of very severe sickness and distress in the Sangir and Talaut islands, the Resident had urged upon the Government the necessity of sending him a steamer as soon as possible to enable him to make the necessary inquiries and carry medicine and food to the afflicted districts. After some delay the Government had sent him the ' Gouvernement's stoomschip ' ' Ternate ' and the tour was to commence with a visit to Talisse for the purpose of coaling. It is hardly necessary to say that this news caused no little excitement in our colony. The visit of H.M. S. ' Flying Fish ' had been an event of the greatest importance, but that ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 153 the Resident of Manado, the representative of the great King William III., should honour the island with his presence was of sufficient importance to mark an epoch in the history of the island. During the three days that passed between the arrival of the news and the appearance of the smoke of the ' Ternate ' over the island of Ganga, the coolies were busily employed in trimming the hibiscus shrubs, in cutting away the dead leaves of the agaves which were planted along the terrace in front of Cursham's house, in raking and weeding the aforesaid path, in cleaning up and making orderly the house — in fact, in doing everything that would be likely to catch the eye and take the fancy of such a potentate. We had routed out from among the stores two little brass cannon, and we were prepared to fire a salute of thirteen guns the moment the Resident put foot upon the island. The ' Ternate ' arrived at twelve o'clock on the following Wednesday, and as she took up her position at the end of our little pier we made the customary salute with an enormous Dutch flag we had hoisted to the top of our flagstaff. After lunch I went on board, and was received with the greatest cordiality by my old friends the Resident, the Controleur, and the Dominie of Manado, and by the captain of the ' Ternate,' van Eyck. I was invited to accompany them to the islands on the ' Ternate,' an invitation I was only too pleased to accept. The agent of the Company had accompanied the Resident to Talisse in order to explain to him the natural resources of the island and the prospects of the Company's plantations, and he invited him with the Controleur, the captain, and myself to a sumptuous feast in the Opzichter's house that evening. It was a strange sensation to be again feasting in a civilised manner with a small company of European gentle men, and to be drinking the wines of Burgundy and Cham- 154 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii pagne and smoking the cigars of Havanna in that cranky old house, whose timbers were bored by solitary bees and beetles and whose beams were rotten with white ants ; but it was really an extremely pleasant experience, and the feast was a credit to our host's hospitality. Captain van Eyck, an excellent and careful seaman, of what we should call a typically Dutch figure and physique, was the life of the party. His unending series of anecdotes of sea and land, his jokes and quibbles, and even his hearty laughter itself, kept us in a state of perpetual merriment until the early hours of the morning. The next two days were spent in the unpleasant occupa tion of coaling the ship, and it was not until an early hour in the morning of Saturday, the 14th, that we left Talisse for the northern islands. It was one of those beautiful mornings which are rather the rule than the exception in those parts of the world, and the refreshing sea-breeze we met as we passed through the straits between Kinabohutan and Banka gave us addi tional zest for the enjoyment of the lovely little bits of coast scenery and the glimpses of the distant azure moun tain peaks of the islands and the mainland. The sun was shining brightly in a clear blue, cloudless sky, and the caves and grottoes of the Tanjong Aros stood out in bold relief against the familiar forests of the island, and the broad white sands of Kinabohutan glistening in the sunshine afforded a striking contrast to the deep blue waves that broke upon them. I was in the mood then for the enjoy ment of the beautiful scenes of the tropical seas, for the pleasant winds of the open sea in the early morning hours were a wonderful relief from the stifling and ever-present heat and moisture of my little island home, and it really seemed as if for a time at least I could gaze upon the brilliant colours of sea and sky and land with about the ch. vn TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 155 same wonder and appreciation as when I for the first time sailed amongst the coral-girt islands of the Javanese waters. For the first part of the voyage we made no prolonged stay anywhere, but merely stopped at Tagulandang, at Siauw, and at Petta in Sangir to leave word that the Resident commanded the attendance of the rajahs on his return. We arrived at the Talaut islands on Monday morning, and let go our anchor off the little village of Lirung in Salibabu. I went ashore immediately with the Controleur and my boy, and strolled along the beach for some distance in search of birds, insects, and plants, hoping that, as it was still early, there might be a few living things about. I saw a few birds about of the same species as those I was accustomed to see in Talisse, such as the sandpipers, the starlings,1 the green parrots, the nectar birds, and so forth; but a very brilliant little red and blue lory, which I had never seen before, was very abundant. Before we left Lirung the natives had sold and presented to members of our staff and crew at least three score of these pretty little creatures ; but the mortality among them on our voyage was tremendous, and I believe that not a half-dozen reached Manado alive. Three specimens were presented to me, but they all died, apparently of cramp, before we reached Sangir. It is a very curious fact that this bird, which goes by the name of Eos indica, should be so abundant in these islands, comparatively rare in the neighbouring islands of Sangir, and unknown in the great continent of Celebes. There is not much to be seen in the village of Lirung. There are not more than a dozen houses, each capable of holding three or four families, and a small ' toko, or shop, on the coast, which is, of course, run by a Chinaman, where the commonest kinds of cloths, iron, tools, and crockery may be purchased, or, I should say, received in exchange 1 Vide note, p. 92. 156 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii for produce. At one spot near the coast we were shown the tomb of an ancient chief, half hidden by shrubs and creepers. It was a massive structure, composed of the usual concrete of sand and burnt corals ; at one end of it was a rudely carved crocodile, and at the other a model of an old-fashioned European sailing ship. I could obtain no details of the life of this worthy chief, whose deeds were so remarkable as to merit this unusual and extraordinary monument, nor could I obtain any trust worthy information as to the date of his decease. The savage hero went down to his grave mourned by a race who speedily forgot him, and the people he sought to save from wild beasts or the freebooters of a barbarous civilisation are reminded only by this tomb of the enemies he encountered for their sake. The silent tomb of this unknown hero recalled to my mind the words of Sir Thomas Browne : ' To subsist in bones and be but pyramidally extant is a fallacy of duration.' On the following day I received permission to land on one of the Saha islands. These are two small islands lying off Lirung in the Karkelang Straits, the larger of which is about three-quarters of a mile in diameter, and the other about half as large. My attention was called to these islands by a flock of lories, consisting of many hundred individuals, which flew from the main island to the larger of them as the sun was setting on the previous evening. I was in hopes that I might discover the nests of the Eos or of some other birds on these small islands, although my experience on Talisse had taught me that very few birds were nesting at that time of the year. Anyone who has looked through the ornithological papers dealing with the birds of these regions must have been struck with the small amount of information contained in them concern ing birds' nests and birds' eggs, and I was surprised to find Id aj> 11 . '-o £i£epagc!56 'orudon.; JohrvMurray, Albemarle Street ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 157 that the Malay hunters are almost as ignorant of these things as our European authorities. We must accuse the baboons and snakes of being the chief cause of our want of knowledge, for they are able to carry on their predatory habits in all the nooks and crannies of the branches of lofty trees which are inaccessible to human beings, and consequently the birds are compelled for self- preservation to hide their nests and their precious contents in some of the secret places of the forests free from the visits of unwelcome visitors, and at present beyond our ken. As a bird's-nesting expedition, however, my visit to the island was a failure ; but there were many things in the dense jungle covering the island which I am sure would have repaid further investigations had time and opportunity permitted. The island is surrounded. by a strand of white coral debris, upon which is found, as usual, lumps of water- worn organ-pipe coral, blue coral, shells and bits of drift wood, and nuts of various kinds, but presented nothing that was new or particularly interesting to me. For some time our little party, consisting of the Dominie Wielandt, the second mate of the ' Ternate,' and a small party of Malay sailors and attendants could find no entrance to the thick jungle of vines and creepers which formed an en circling barrier round the forest, but at last Manuel found a track leading to a small plantation of bananas in the centre of the island. In many respects the jungle was different from any that I had seen, for some heavy rains had brought out in flower a number of the herbs and creepers, and these again had attracted from their hiding countless beautiful butterflies, diurnal moths, and other insects, which in their turn kept a number of birds in a state of agitation. Our advent into this wild island jungle was not hailed then by the usual deadly silence of the orests I had previously visited, but by a cloud of brilliant 158 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii flies, moths, beetles, by the shrieks and screams of the parrots, starlings, and scissor-tailed birds. If I had only had with me a few companions willing to devote themselves to the collection of different specimens, we should have made a magnificent collection of new and interesting animals, but the interest of the party was nearly the whole time concentrated upon the efforts of the Dominie to bring down with his needle-gun one of the three or four large ospreys that were soaring above our heads, and even when he had succeeded, and presented me with the mangled remains of the bird I had often wished for, I had the greatest difficulty in stimulating the ornithological enthusiasm of Manuel to a proper pitch. The most interesting bird I obtained upon this little island was a fine specimen of the handsome parrot, Tanygnathiis megalorhynchus. It is not uncommon in the Talaut and Sangir Islands, but, like its little ally the Eos indica, is almost unknown in Celebes. Meyer (46) says that he obtained one specimen on the little island Mantehage, near Manado, but other ornithologists have failed to obtain any specimens from Celebes at all. It has a fairly wide geo graphical distribution extending as far south as New Guinea. It is an interesting fact that the wing-coverts gradually change from a deep green colour to a brilliant metallic blue as we approach the southernmost limit of the species. The specimens I obtained have quite green covert feathers, and those from New Guinea, in the Leiden Museum, are blue. Intermediate varieties of these two colours are found in the islands which lie between these two extremes. On the following day I visited the smaller Saha island, but found fewer birds and butterflies there than on the larger one. The woods were very damp, and there were many screw pines, mangroves, and other marsh trees, but, per haps owing to the greater scarcity of birds, a great many helices and other land and swamp molluska were found. ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 159 On Thursday, the 29th, we left our anchorage at Lirung and steamed towards the Nanusa Archipelago. On our way we brought to off the village Pulutan, and sent a boat ashore to fetch the rajah. He came on board, accompanied by three or four of his principal officers, and conversed for some time with the Resident of Manado through an interpreter. The rajah spoke in Talautese, and his remarks were translated into Malay by the ' capitain laut ' of Lirung, whom the Resident had brought with him to act as interpreter. The languages spoken in the Talaut islands are, accord ing to the best authorities, closely allied to the language spoken in Great Sangir. The Rajah of Pulutan and his people were miserable- looking, half-starved individuals, and were all bent half double with awe or fright as they approached the Resident. They seemed to be more comfortable when they were squatting in a row on the deck, and supporting one another shoulder to shoulder, like a group of monkeys. The rajah's hair was long, black, and rather crimped, and his head was covered with a dirty cloth fashioned like a turban, which he removed when he came on board. He was clothed in a loose-hanging garment of native manufacture, and judging from his appearance must have had very little contact, at any time, with Europeans or European manufactures. Steaming along the coast of Karkelang all that after noon we crossed to the Nanusa islands before sunset, and came to anchor in twelve fathoms at six o'clock off the little village of Karaton. It was too dark for me to go ashore that evening, but I had an interesting anthropological study in a group of natives who came aboard in a large canoe, loaded up to the water-line. Some fifteen or sixteen of them came on to the deck, and immediately squatted down on their heels, while the others swarmed up the hatchway, and 160 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii tried to get a glimpse of those on deck. Nobody seemed to take any notice of them, and they seemed to take no notice of anybody; they asked no questions, made no com plaints, uttered only a few whispered words to one another, and, in fact, seemed to me as if their purpose in coming aboard was to be seen rather than to see. The quiet, in offensive, phlegmatic character of the Malay seemed exemplified in these poor miserable inhabitants of the remote islands. They must be fatalists to the backbone to show so little curiosity in a fine modern steamship, which had nominally come to save them from sickness and starvation. Early the next morning I went ashore with the Resident and other officials to inspect the village. It is only a few paces from the shore, but is completely hidden by a grove of dense forest trees, amongst which I noticed some fine specimens of the famous waringin (Urostigma benjamineum), with its long pendulous aerial roots. There were eight large houses built to enclose a consider able oblong quadrangle, and the whole was surrounded by a low concrete wall. Each house accommodated several families, and I was told that in some cases as many as five hundred individuals were crowded into one of these dwellings. They were built upon wooden piles, many of them seven feet above the level of the ground, and the refuse of the kitchen and all manner of filth had accumulated for years beneath each house so as to diffuse a stench which is beyond my powers of description. Had the village been visited by a sanitary inspector with the necessary powers instead of by a Resident without, there can be no doubt of the first step he would have taken to restore the village to a fairly sanitary condition. It is useless to recommend such people to remove their rubbish ; their spirit of conservatism is so strong that they look upon their refuse accumulations as they would upon any other relics of a departed generation, TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 161 and would as soon remove the bones of their ancestors as the debris they left behind them. Our entrance into the village caused no little interest and excitement, and we were followed about wherever we went by a crowd of half-naked men and boys. The women, of whom we saw very little, wore only a sarong folded round the waist — no bracelets, necklaces, or hairpins of any description. Their long dirty black hair was simply tied in a knot on the top of the head. They all ran into the Fig. 18 Large house in Earaton. houses as we approached the village, and all we could see of them afterwards was a row of their uncomely heads watch ing us over the balustrades, or peeping at us through the chinks in the walls. After some little delay we were invited into the house of a miserable shrivelled-up old man, clad in a long cloak of the native koffo cloth of the simplest ' cut,' who, I believe, was the chief of the village. The house was dirty, dark, and of evil odour, and the crowd of men and boys who followed us in made it rather M 162 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES difficult for me to see as much as I should have wished. The house was approached by a ladder of some nine or ten steps, and was divided into a number of compartments by Fig. 19.— Tampat Got. a series of wooden partitions, the one at the top of the ladder being probably the largest, and serving as a common room or entrance hall. When we entered, the chief sat down on the floor in front of one of the principal pillars ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 163 which supports the roof, and the djugugus, capitains laut, and other officers stood around him facing us. Suspended to a rafter above our heads, I noticed a number of little painted canoes hung with the torn leaves of coco-nut palms, and in the middle of them was a pyra midal cage made of short wooden sticks like a European boy's birdtrap, covered with the spathes of the banana flowers, and decorated with coco-nut leaves like the canoes. The canoes are undoubtedly for the spirits of sickness, and I believe, although I could obtain no information on this point, that the ' tampat Got,' or god-cage, as Manuel always called it, was a temple for the protecting spirit — corresponding with the Empung rengarengan of the Alfurs of Minahassa — of the house. The use of the fetich canoes may be explained in this way. The natives of Nanusa, and, in fact, of most of these regions, believe that when a man is ill his own spirit is released from his body and is replaced by the Sakit, or spirit of sickness. In accordance with this view, their cures consist of various attempts to call the spirit of the patient back again into his body and to drive out the Sakit. The obvious means of preventing sickness, then, is to provide some resting-place for the Sakit in their houses which is more attractive to him than the body of man. Being islanders and spending the greater part of their lives upon the water, these simple people naturally suppose that the spirits, both good and evil, are mariners, and consequently will be more attracted by a handsome and gorgeous canoe than by anything else. I was very anxious to obtain these canoes and the god- cage for our museums in England, and consequently the first business I had to transact in this house was an attempt to barter some Manchester sheetings for them. One of the lads in the house who could talk a little Malay tried to persuade me that they were very poor things after M 2 164 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CH. VII all, and produced an old and very dirty model of an ancient Spanish whaler, which he said was very beautiful and could be sold. I bought this as a preliminary to further negotia tions, for it was of very little interest to me compared with Fig. 20.— Sakit canoe. the other more valuable canoes hanging from the rafter. Subsequently I was successful in purchasing, for many yards of cloth, the god-cage and all the fetish praus, and immediately gave them to my boy to be carried back to the ' Ternate.' I hope sincerely that our visit to Karaton was ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 165 not followed by a severe epidemic, because if it had been, I am sure these poor people must have called down upon my head all manner of curses for having robbed them of, or rather bought from them, their most potent preventive medicines. As soon as I had finished negotiations about the canoes I wished to penetrate into the other compartments in search of an altar, which I was told was to be found somewhere in the house ; but as I was warned that I should frighten the women, who were there in great numbers watching our movements through the chinks in the walls and over the partitions, and that I should seriously displease the rajah if I went any further, I was persuaded not to, and thus I left this interesting but extremely dirty house with only a view of the entrance hall. Before the boat came to take us off, I had an opportunity of examining the coast-line for a few minutes, and was surprised to find a great reef of hard coral limestone just below high-water mark. I had had suspicions in Lirung that the Talaut islands have been slightly elevated, from the wide marshy plains raised a few feet above the sea-level which extend from the hill slopes to the seashore, and that they could not have been formed in the same way as the shore plains of Talisse and the north of Celebes, as there is no vigorous coral reef nor mangrove swamps. This reef, then, of old coral limestone, raised about some eight or nine feet above the level of coral growth, was of great interest to me, as it confirmed the view I had tentatively held that the Talaut islands are being, or perhaps I ought to say have been, slowly elevated. I should not like to assert that the Sangir islands and the northern portions of Celebes are not also being slowly elevated, as is very commonly the case in volcanic regions, but so far as I am aware we have no conclusive proof of it, and for many 166 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii reasons I am inclined to believe that those lands have for several years, at least, been in a state of rest. The same afternoon we weighed anchor and returned to Lirung. Of the seven islands in the Nanusa Archipelago only Karaton, Mengampit, and Ourata are inhabited ; and, as it is said that there is no other anchorage in the archipelago, Karaton is probably the only island that has ever been visited by Europeans. Karaton is a flat island with a hill about 200 feet high on the north side. Mengampit is a conical island, very probably an extinct - volcano, and its highest point is 800 feet above the sea- level. Mengnupu is low and covered with forest. The legendary story of Mengampit is as follows : — In olden times there were two bees on the island Mahampi,2 of which one was a male and the other a female. The female bee conceived and brought forth a human female child, who was called Ansalina. Not far off there was an island called Pulu Pate, inhabited by a man named Bidadarie, who fell in love with Ansalina, and eventually became her husband. From the children of Ansalina and Bidadarie all the people of Nanusa trace their descent. The principal deity of the Nanusa islanders is called Alaoruru, and two minor gods are called Ada and Tewah. The first seems to indicate a Mahomedan influence, and the last two names so closely resemble the Judaic Adam and Eve that we cannot help suspecting the influence of the old Spanish Catholic priest. In a later chapter I shall point out that similar names are found in the mythology of the Alfurs of Minahassa. The people also believe in a devil and witches. When a woman is discovered to be a 2 This legend was obtained for me by the Eesident of Manado. Mahampi is another way of spelling Mengampit. ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 167 witch she is buried alive. Circumcision is practised in the Nanusa Archipelago. At the age of twelve the boys are taken into the bush by their father and a friend, and the opera tion performed there. It is not the occasion for any feasts. /, Some of the men are tatooed on the breasts and the ' / women on the hands, the commonest figure being a cross ct with the lines crossed/ A?. When a man marries in Nanusa he leaves his own village, or the house of his parents, and goes to live in the house of his wife's parents. There seems to be no law of exogamy — that is to say, a man is allowed to marry a woman of his own tribe. Polygamy is infrequent amongst the best people. We only stayed one night at anchor in Lirung, and then sailed for Mangarang in Kabrukan. Mangarang is one of the largest villages in the Talaut islands, and is famous for the large sailing canoes (sopis) built there. There is no safe anchorage known near this village, so that the captain of the ' Ternate ' simply laid to and put us off in a boat. We walked through the long straggling village, and came at last to the house of a German missionary of the name of Gunther. His house is prettily situated at the foot of a small hill, and commands a good view of a fine avenue of trees which runs through that part of the village. He did not seem to be quite satisfied with the condition of affairs, and complained bitterly of the unhealthiness of the climate and the ir religion of the natives. The people seemed to me to be clean and their houses tolerably well kept, and I should have thought that a capable missionary would have made some impression upon them. It is true they were not well clothed, and were not particularly diligent in their attendance at the services held in the little wooden church, but these qualities depend more upon the minister than upon the natives. They will 168 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii not spontaneously clothe themselves and go to church on the appearance of a missionary in their midst. They must be taught to do these things. Mr. Gunther was married to a native wife, and I believe that, to a very great extent, his want of success was due to this. There can be no doubt that the native does not have so much respect for a European who is related to him by marriage as for one who successfully resists the charms of the native beauties. It was evident that Mangarang had not suffered as we had in Talisse for want of rain, for the long grass was quite green and there was an abundance of flowering herbs and shrubs in the avenues of coco-nut palms, pala trees (Myris- tica), nangka trees (Artocarpus), and waringins. There were simply thousands of large convolvulus and hibiscus flowers on all sides, and in some places the ground was covered with the yellow flowers of a species of water-melon called sambiki by the Malays. As a botanist my opportunities there were immense, but then my zeal as a zoologist was also excited by the hundreds of brilliant butterflies and moths that were visiting the flowers, and the slugs and snails that were enjoying their herbaceous repast in the warm damp vegetation. I believe I did right in devoting the short space of time at my disposal to the zoological world, for the shore plants of these small islands are usually the same throughout a given area, and the botanist is very seldom rewarded with anything new or very rare unless he journeys to the mountains and hills of the interior. Insects and land mollusca, on the other hand, often manage to exist in remote islands, which would immediately or rapidly succumb in the struggle for existence in larger islands or continental lands. My great prize in Mangarang was a large clumsy brown butterfly (Liphyra brassolis) with a thick heavy body like a moth. Professor Westwood informs me that some ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 169 entomologists have mistaken it for a moth, but that my specimen proves beyond doubt that it is a true butterfly, and that its nearest allies, curiously enough, are the little ' blues.' We left Mangarang the same day, and a few hours afterwards arrived at Beo. Here the ' capitain laut ' came on board, and told us a terrible story of sickness and death. Out of a population of nearly nine thousand in the neighbourhood no fewer than three thousand had died within the space of a few months. The rajah was dead ; the president rajah, the djugugu, the father, mother, and the brothers and sisters of the capitain laut were all dead ; and the village was still stricken with severe sickness. I went ashore with the Resident and Controleur to inspect the village, and to see if anything could be done to relieve the suffering people. We first visited an old German missionary named Richter, who had spent the greater part of his life in that remote and fever-stricken mission. He expressed no par ticular wish to leave his exile even for a time, nor any desire to revisit his fatherland and civilisation, but seemed quite content to live the remainder of his life and to die on the scene of his lifelong labours. Poor man, his visit from us was destined to be the last he received from any white man, for a few weeks or months after we left the news arrived that he had fallen a victim to the fever in Beo. The walk through the village and the glimpses I caught of the people were perhaps as depressing as anything I had experienced in the East Indies. The numerous deserted and tumble-down huts, the long rank vegetation even in the principal paths of the village, and the still heavy pestilential atmosphere seemed to whisper death and dis ease at every step ; and the lean gaunt figures of the men and women, with their painfully slow and weary move ments, told only too eloquently the story of their sufferings. 170 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii But I should be sorry to accuse the climate of Talaut of being exceptionally bad, without first of all trying the effect of a few simple sanitary experiments. If a strong native government could insist upon a general destruction of all those huge foliaceous trees which retain the heavy moisture and prevent the free play of the sea-breezes, and a general clearance of the long rank vegetation which chokes the paths through the village and of the accumulated filth and rubbish beneath the huts, I believe that Beo might become as healthy a spot as any in the archipelago. There are no vast pestilential mangrove swamps in the neighbourhood, there are no stagnant ponds nor slow-flowing rivers to keep the district damp and fever- stricken, but there are cool breezes every evening from the hill ranges, and refreshing winds from the sea-coast to clear the country of evil vapours. It is, I believe, the indolence and filthy habits of man alone which cause the frightful calamities in these remote districts, and I believe that a few simple lessons in sanitary conditions would do far more good than thousands of war-ships bringing quinine and other medicines. The Dutch Government has established elementary schools throughout the colonies under their direct control, and even in Beo I saw signs of an attempt on the part of a native teacher to impart an elementary education. Would it not be possible for the Government to instruct these teachers in the first principles of sanitary science, and give them powers to carry their principles into practice ? We went from hut to hut in this dreary village, hearing the same story of sickness and death until we were heartily tired of it, and felt quite relieved when we were once more on the way back to the ' Ternate.' In one house we entered we found a woman sitting on a mat in the middle of the floor with a crowd of her rela tives and friends around her. We were told that people TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 171 came from long distances in Talaut to see this woman, and I fancy that she supposed that she had been the main object of our visit to Beo. She was an emaciated old woman who had suffered severely from fever a few weeks previously, but seemed quite pleased to receive her distinguished visitors. !ii Fig. 21. — Wooden spears from Beo. Fig. 22.- -Wooden shield from Beo. She exhibited the curious and interesting abnormality of two functional nipples on each of her breasts. I tried to find out if there was a history of the same abnormality in her family, and she told me that her grandfather had had four and the child of one of her sisters four also, but could think of no other instances. 172 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii In passing through the village I noticed in one of the huts some curious spears and shields entirely made of wood. The spears are about seven feet long, and made of some hard wood with a piece of bamboo cut in a wedge-shaped fashion to a sharp point lashed on the end by a piece of rattan ; the shield is about five feet long by one broad, and is composed of three pieces sewn together by coarse stitches of rattan, a middle piece with a large central boss and two wings. These are to the present day the principal weapons used by the natives of the Talaut islands both for warfare and the chase. The Talautese are, in fact, living in what might be called a ' wooden age.' All their imple ments, weapons, utensils, and tools are made of wood and leaves, and they are destined to remain in that condition until the advent of civilised man : for in those islands, built up in the sea by volcanic and coral action, there are no stones that could be fashioned to form knives and no iron and no copper. It will not be possible for them to pass through a stone age, a bronze age, an iron age, as our own savage ancestors have done ; they must wait until circum stances allow them to pass directly from the wooden to the civilised condition. Before I left one of the men showed me the way they procure fire in those parts. He took a piece of bamboo and split it in two pieces, and then cut a small slit-shaped hole in the middle of one of them. Placing this one on the ground with the concave side downwards, he rubbed the edge of the other one over the hole with a jerky sawing motion until a considerable quantity of smoke appeared. Rapidly removing the piece of bamboo from the ground, he fanned the little heap of smoking sawdust that had been formed with the other bamboo stick, and in a very few minutes the heap began to smoulder and burst into flame. The whole process was done so quickly and so simply ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 173 that when I had secured the sticks I thought I had also secured the method, but I soon found out my mistake, and notwithstanding long and diligent practice with those two bamboo sticks, I have never yet succeeded in producing a spark by rubbing them together. By the time we had finished our inspection of Beo the sun was sinking on to the horizon, and as we rowed back to the ' Ternate ' the whole sea and sky was illumined by one of those brilliant rosy-red sunsets so frequently seen in tropical lands. The long coast-line of Karkelang and its undulating plains and hill ranges were lighted up by the brilliant colours of the sunset. The whole scene was as gorgeous and beautiful as could be well imagined, and everything seemed to speak of peace, of quietness and beauty. It was hard to believe we were leaving a district haunted with deadly miasmas, and that the elements were shedding a pall of colour and beauty, as it were, over a scene of human suffering and death but rarely paralleled even in these fever- stricken climes. We left Beo at about half-past six in the evening of Saturday, November 21, and steamed half-speed all night towards Great Sangir. At daylight the next morning we were close to the northern shore of that island, and in sight of the great Awu volcano, whose slopes are broken up by magnificent ravines and gorges. This volcano has been, perhaps, more destructive than any in the Moluccas. We have records of a most terrible eruption which lasted from December 10 to December 16 in the year 1711. Sjamsialam and his son, the Princess Lorolabo and her daughter Sara- banong, and over two thousand people of the kingdom of Kandahar were killed (42). On March 2, 1856, there was another fearful eruption, which lasted until March 17, and nearly three thousand human lives were lost (14). The streams of boiling water 174 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii and of steam, which poured down the mountain slopes, rather than the flow of lava, caused the enormous mortality of this second eruption. After the eruption of 1711 it seems that a large lake of water was formed in the crater, and a certain privileged class of Sangirese were allowed by the gods to visit this lake every three or four months to test the water with their rice. If the water was hot enough to cook their rice, they took it for a sign that an eruption would shortly follow. The eruption came in 1856. The waters of the lake began to boil, burst their banks, and flowed clown the side of the mountain towards Tabukan and Taruna, causing immense destruction of human lives and property. As we were passing Kandahar, we noticed a large prau coming out towards us, flying the Dutch flag, so we stopped to allow the rajah who was in her to come on board. He wore a curious cap, in shape not unlike a ' glengarry,' made of black cloth, and he carried a beautiful blue umbrella. His business did not seem to be very urgent or important, so we soon left him behind in his big canoe and continued on our way to Taruna, which we reached shortly after mid day. Taruna may be said to be the capital of Great Sangir, for not only is it the seat of one of the most powerful rajahs of the island, but it is also the headquarters of the Con troleur of the Sangir and Talaut islands, and the port of call for the steamers of the Ned. Ind. Stoomvaart Maatschappij. A considerable trade is carried on by a few Chinese merchants, who barter European cloths and other articles for copra and other native products. Sangir may be considered to be the home of the coco nut in these parts. All along the shores of the islands the traveller sees rows and rows of these handsome palms, and on entering the Bay of Taruna the hills and shores seem to be almost destitute of any other trees. The natives are fully ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT lib aware by this time of their commercial value, and in every Sangirese village the traveUer notices and his nostrils are offended by the stench of the copra, the white fleshy part of the nut, which is laid out in rows in the sun to dry. From the abundance of this palm in some lands, and the fact that it requires absolutely no care in its cultivation after the first few years of its growth, it is quite easy to understand how the European sailor in olden times looked upon it as a forest tree, the property of the first comer, and had in consequence no compunction in cutting it down for his own use and enjoyment. I believe that if we could trace the cause of all the many troubles that our sailors have had with the natives in tropical lands, we should find that one of the commonest of them is the destruction of the coco-nut trees, followed by the natural resentment of the ' extremely savage ' owner. It should be taken as a maxim by the traveller that every coco-nut palm he sees in the tropics belongs to some one, and that he is committing a theft if he steals the fruit thereof. It might well be asked, how does the owner of coco-nut palms protect his property from native thieves? There can be no doubt that anything of the nature of police regulations would be absolutely useless, and consequently society has discovered a method which is both more effec tive and less expensive. The native owner simply hangs up in the tree a little fetich doll (uro), which I suppose has previously been properly endowed with power by the walian, or priest, and then anyone who steals a fruit from that tree becomes immediately afterwards violently ill. This method is found by experience to answer extremely well, and pro perty in the wild forests and desolate sea-coasts of Sangir is probably as well protected as it is anywhere in the world. It may be said that this is simply gross superstition, and that we should pity the poor native for his ignorance, 176 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CH. VII but I have no pity for a man who is superstitious where the superstition is his protection. In our more highly organised European communities we can afford to dispense with such i primitive ideas, and even to dis- . courage them as mischievous, but among savage races these superstitions are essential fea tures of their social system, and their sudden abolition without anything to replace them might lead to endless mischief in their communities. A little while after we came to anchor I went ashore with the Resident of Manado, the Dominie, and Controleur. After k a considerable walk along a nar- Hj| row path in a field of allang- ' allang grass (Imperata arundi- ., „„ ~~ nacea), kussu-kussu grass (Chry- Fig. 23.— Uro, a coco-nut fetich ' -, , ™ from Sangir. sopogon), and glaga (Phragmi- tas), we came to a nice broad road lined by groves of coco-nut palms leading to the village. We passed the house of the rajah, which was decorated with festoons of palm leaves, and protected by four sentries, each of whom wore curious grass hats, shaped like an old-fashioned ' chimney-pot ' with a tuft of chicken's feathers stuck jauntily on one side of it, and armed with wooden spears and curious little wooden shields ; and then we came to the church, a large substantial building of coral concrete, well seated and well lighted. The village was tolerably tidy and clean, but did not present the same signs of progress and prosperity that I have seen in other Sangirese villages. The next morning the Dominie Wielandt and I left the CH. VII TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 177' ' Ternate ' for Manganitu in a small boat. We had not got out of the bay before we met five large praus filled with men beating drums and making a ter rible noise. We hailed the largest of them and spoke to the rajah of Man ganitu, who was on board. He told us that Mr. Steller, the German missionary, was at home, and that we could stay in the village until the arrival of the ' Ternate.' It took us three hours to row to Manganitu, but as it was not oppres sively hot at that early hour in the morning, we could thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the lovely coast scenery as we passed along, or gaze with wonder and admiration on the displays of colour Fig. 24. — Ceremonial shield of sentry at Taruna. Of the numerous sea-gardens on the Tins sMeiaisoniy 21m. long. The sides are decorated sea-bottom. with spu* Palm leaTes- Manganitu is, like Taruna, situated at the end of a deep bay, but it does not, unfortunately, possess the same natural advantages as a port, for the bay is much more open and exposed to westerly gales, and a great barrier of coral reef prevents any approach to the village nearer than six cables. The tide being nearly high when we reached our destination, we were able to Fig. 25.— Hat of ,.,,-, i j. .1 i .-I • • sentry at Taruna. force our little boat through the opening in the reef made by a stream of water which runs through the village, and thus gain the shore without wetting our feet. The village of Manganitu is very pleasantly situatep at the foot of the range of hills which forms the backbone of the island of Great Sangir, and the wide roads and well- N 178 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vir kept compounds round the houses give it a very neat and tidy appearance. There are very few large trees actually in the village, and this, I believe, accounts for its remark able salubrity compared with many of the other villages in the island. As soon as we had landed we were conducted to the house of Mr. Steller, the missionary, a very pleasant and picturesque little home at the head of the village. Beds were provided for us at the house of the rajah, and we were invited to take our meals during our stay with Mr. Steller's family. I can never forget the kindness and hos pitality of these good people, and perhaps the two days I spent at Manganitu were the most enjoyable and interesting of the whole cruise. I had often felt dissatisfied in other places with the results of missionary work — I thought that the benefits that accrued to the natives were hardly worth the expense and sacrifice incurred ; but in Manganitu I began to feel differently about it, for Mr. Steller's beneficial influence upon the people was to be seen on every hand, and the practical value of his teaching was to be observed in every corner of the village. A missionary such as Mr. Steller, who teaches the use of some of the simpler arts of the civilised races, and by cultivating the soil himself brings home to the native mind the practical value of the land he lives upon, undoubtedly increases the happiness and prosperity of the people. The missionary who merely indulges in evangelical dreams, and devotes himself only to the destruction of practices and beliefs which he classifies as 'pagan,' is to my mind worse than useless. After we had partaken of some lunch we were introduced to the taan bohki, the rajah's wife, and she took us to her house to see the room that had been prepared for us. The house was a very large one, and consisted of a large ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 179 central hall or reception room, as it might be called, and a number of little partitions or retiring rooms opening from it. One of these was reserved for the Dominie Wielandt and me, but as it was thought to be inconsistent with European customs for two gentlemen to sleep in one room, a large curtain was hung across it between the two beds, so as to give each of us a separate compartment. The whole house was hung with an amazing quantity of the native koffo curtains, giving it the appearance of a small ethnological museum. These curtains are made from the fibre of the wild banana,3 which is found in considerable abundance in the Sangirese forests. The Malays call the cloth they make from it ' koffo,' a word which has been imported from the Philippines. The tuan bohki explained to me the way in which the cloth was woven, and I thought at the time that I fully understood it, but in trying to repeat the explanation on a loom I obtained from Sangir I broke down, and the process still remains a mystery to me. Some of the threads are used quite plain, but others are coloured to form a pattern. The colours used are blue, red, yellow, and black. The blue colour is obtained from the Indigo/era tinctoria, the red colour is obtained from the roots of a plant called by the natives seha, the black colour from the bark of trees called palenti 4 and from the flowers of the hibiscus, the yellow colour from the Curcuma longa. The loom is apparently of the same construction as that used in the Philippine islands. In front of the house there was a roomy verandah 3 Musa mindanensis, the pisang utan of the Malays. It has not a very wide geographical distribution, but extends from the Philippines to Gilolo and Celebes. The Sangirese word for Musa mindanensis is horti ; for the koffo dorundung. 4 The native boy who accompanied me into the country could not show me a seha tree nor a palenti, so that I am unable to identify them. n 2 180 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii situated on the ground. It was furnished with two large tables, upon which the tuan bohki had placed some vases containing beautiful bouquets of wild flowers, and a number of chairs of European design. In a corner of the verandah stood a sentry, or djaga, , Fig. 26. — Notched sticks for keeping time in Manganitu. The numbers read from right to left. The time indicated in the illustration is between twelve and one. whose business it was to keep the time for the village. The way in which the time is kept is as follows : Two beer bottles are firmly lashed together, mouth to mouth, and fixed in a wooden frame, which is made to stand upright in two positions. A quantity of black volcanic sand runs from one bottle into the other in just half an hour, and when the upper bottle is empty the frame is reversed. ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 181 Twelve short sticks are hung upon a string, marked with notches from one to twelve, and a hook is placed between the stick bearing the number of notches corre sponding to the hour which was last struck and the next one. The hours are struck by the djaga on a large gong. Unfortunately my watch had stopped, so that I was unable to test the accuracy of this primitive sand-glass, but Mr. Steller told me that it kept very good time. When we returned to bed that evening, after spending the day with the Stellers, we found the rajah and his wife waiting to receive us. The house was lighted by ordinary paraffin lamps, and the numerous attendants and retainers of the court who had retired to rest were lying asleep all over the floor of the entrance hall. We picked our way to our compartment over the prostrate sleeping forms, and to the music of the concerted snores of some hundred people we soon fell asleep. The following morning, after a delicious bath in the cool stream behind the mission house, I started off, in a canoe lent to me for the purpose by Mr. Steller, for an inspection of the coral reef. After dragging the canoe over the sandbanks at the mouth of the river, I skirted along the reef until I came to a spot where a number of women were collecting shellfish, and then I ran the canoe on to the reef and got out. Although the reefs are very much the same as they are in some places on the coast of Talisse, I found a few things which were new to me. The chief peculiarity was an extraordinary number of brittle stars, some of them ornamented with the most brilliant colours. I remember one in particular, with its arms striped with broad green and yellow bands, the disc being marked with spots and streaks of the same colours. For the first time I found on this reef one of those 182 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii chitons whose shells are provided with a number of small eye-spots (Chiton incisus) . As these eyes had never been ob served before in the living animal, and some conchologists were formerly sceptical about their optical nature, I examined these brilliant little spots with great care and interest. The surfaces of the lenses only are visible without dissection, but they are very clear and transparent, and although I could not detect any rosy (or other) colour in the spots which disappeared after death, I am nevertheless perfectly con vinced from Moseley's anatomical investigations that they are really true eyes (50). After working some two hours on the reefs in the excessive heat of the mid-day, I was glad to return to the village to dinner. In the afternoon, a boy, who, I suppose, had seen me or heard that I was collecting things on the reefs, brought me a couple of Lingulas. Lingula is a bra chiopod, and one of the few animals which has been living in this world almost unchanged since Cambrian times. I was particularly anxious to see the animal alive in its native habitat, but I never succeeded. The fact is that the natives are very fond of it as an article of food, and although they would bring me a few specimens now and then for my collection, they were afraid to let me poach on their preserves. There can be httle or no doubt that it lives near the corals, and it would be really very remarkable if it could be shown that this animal, which has come down to us from such remote epochs, has been all the time an inhabitant of the shallow tropical seas, where, perhaps, the struggle for existence is keener than it is in any other area of the globe. The next morning after breakfast Mr. Steller placed a horse at my disposal to take me to his garden in the moun tains. ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 183 The glimpses I got of the country and the seashore as we slowly toiled up the tortuous mountain path were extremely beautiful ; every view I obtained of the mountains and valleys, or of the wide expanse of blue sea with its little green islands, seemed more perfect than the last. At one time we passed through a low bush and undergrowth, to which the golden flowers and white bracts of the Mussaenda frondosa gave colour and variety ; at another time we plunged into a wood of lofty trees, where the banks of the path were covered with a profusion of moss and ferns, and at another we passed by wide fields of rice and maize or groves of bananas. At last we came to Mr. Steller's garden, where a pretty little house was being built for him. A stroll among the young trees in the garden in search of birds and insects, and after lunch a bath in a deliciously cool brook, brought my visit to this delightful spot to a close, and it was with great reluctance that I retraced my steps clown the moun tain side towards Manganitu. The general aspect of the country of Great Sangir is very similar to that of North Celebes. There is a bird in Great Sangir which the natives call the ' burong mas,' or gold bird. I was told that it only occurs in this island. I tried in vain to obtain a specimen during my short stay in the island, but since my return home I have, through the kindness of the Resident of Manado, received a skin in a very fair state of preservation. It turns out to be the Nicobar pigeon (Calcenas nicobarica). The only specimens of this handsome ground pigeon found in Minahassa were, I believe, obtained by the late Mr. van Musschenbroek, a former Resident of Manado. It is, however, extremely rare on the main island. Several specimens have been obtained by different naturalists in the Sangir islands, where it is not so very rare. Mr. Wallace 184 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii (83) has pointed out that this bird has very long powerful wings in proportion to its body, and is consequently pecu liarly fitted for island life. ' Being a ground-feeder,' he says, ' it is subject to the attacks of carnivorous quadrupeds which are not found in the very small islands.' Soon after I reached Manganitu the news arrived that the ' Ternate ' was in sight, and in a few minutes the village was in a state of unwonted excitement and commotion. The rajah assembled all the able-bodied men about him, and harangued them on the plans for the reception of the Resident, and these in turn rushed about collecting guns and drums and spears and shields and all manner of things that would make a noise or appear decorative and pleasing to their honoured guest. After waiting about for some time on the sea-coast we saw a boat approaching us from the ' Ternate ' containing the Resident and Controleur of Manado. They were received by the rajah and Mr. Steller amid a fiendish noise from the guns and drums of the villagers, and then we all passed in procession to the verandah of the rajah's house, where we sat in solemn conclave for upwards of an hour. Had a stranger suddenly appeared during that hour he might have supposed that we were discussing affairs of the most vital importance to the state. The Resident, the Controleur, the Dominie, the rajah, president rajah, and myself were seated round a long table, while the djugugus and other officials stood at the opposite end of the verandah, and the natives of all classes crowded round gazing at us with deep interest and curiosity. It might then readily have been supposed that matters of importance for the welfare of the state were, under discussion, but it was not so. As far as I can remember the conversation, not a word was said bearing upon the politics of the Sangir islands from the beginning to the end of the visit, and the incident ch. vii TO SANGIR AND TALAUT 185 closed without reference to the burning questions of the day in the little state of Manganitu. All these questions I understood were discussed at the meeting of the rajahs at Taruna, and this visit of the Resident to Manganitu was purely a formal one. Early the next morning we parted with our kind host and rejoined the ' Ternate.' We reached Ulu in Siauw the same day, and I went ashore to visit the beautiful and famous spring at the head of the village. In the early history of the Sangir islands Siauw played a very important part. The rajahs of the island have been for centuries extremely powerful, owning considerable pro perty in Great Sangir and drawing levies of warriors and ships from the distant Talaut and Nanusa islands. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was the scene of several conflicts between the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the native rajahs. Soon after I landed I came across a large white stone slab, bearing the monogram of the old Dutch East Indian Company and a date which was only partially legible. The figures 16 and half of the figure 8 were sufficient to indicate that the year the stone commemorated was within the 1680-1690 decade, and ' D. i. Janev ' indicated that the day was New Year's day. Siauw was made over to the Dutch by the king of Ternate in 1677, and it is probable that this stone was placed there by the officers of the Company to commemorate the event a few years afterwards. Ulu was formerly the seat of a European missionary, but for some years previous to my visit there had been no European on the island, and the people had to a certain extent degenerated in consequence. The village, however, looked tolerably clean and respectable, and the delightful bathing-place at the springs shadowed by glorious forest 186 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vii trees was evidently extensively used and enjoyed by the people. The village was overrun with pigs, some of the young ones being curiously striped with transverse bars of gold and slate. The great volcano was in a fairly active condition, the crater sending up towards evening volumes of dense black smoke which showered down a fine ashy dust over the deck. In the morning the rajah of Siauw come on board — a fine handsome man, well dressed in black European clothes and bearing the gold-knobbed cane of office. The Resident seemed to be very angry with him about something I did not understand, and I can well imagine that in dealing with this proud and powerful monarch any official might feel that his hands were full. We left Siauw for Tagulandang the next morning, but our stay there was very brief, as the only business we had to do was to confirm the appointment of a new rajah, and to fire a salute of seven guns in his honour. We steamed away the same afternoon, and as the sun was setting that evening we were once more at anchor off the little wooden pier at Talisse. ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 187 CHAPTER VIII CHAEACTEEISTICS OF THE SANGIK ISLANDS Holy islands — The islands between Celebes and the Philippines— Facilities for the distribution of animals — The avi-fauna — Legend of a former land communication with Sangir — History of Sangir — The Sangirese race — Slavery — Food — Diseases — Eeligions —Marriage customs — Funeral cus toms — Fishing implements — Weapons — Dress — Physiognomy — Lan guage. Great Sangir, situated between lat. 3° and 4° N., long. 143° E., is about twenty -five miles long, and in its broadest part about fifteen miles across. It is exceedingly mountainous throughout, the greatest height * being reached by the Awu volcano in the north. The land is everywhere very fertile, and where it is uncultivated is covered by luxuriant forest growth. Between Sangir and the Talaut group there are several small islands, but their exact number and position has never yet been very accurately recorded. Of these the Cabiu islands are the largest, and their position is from one and a half to two miles to the east of the northern extremity of Sangir. One of these islands, called Cabiu lusu, is considered by the natives to be holy, and they leave from time to time goats and chickens on the island as offerings to the spirits (79). The island is used by the natives as a refuge where they can wait . until the wind is favourable and weather clear for their passages to Talaut, and this is perhaps the original cause of the islands being considered sacred. 1 I can find no accurate determination of the height of this volcano, but I should think it must be over 5,000 feet. 188 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii Several of the small islands are recognised as holy throughout the Eastern seas. There is an island called Massape,2 near Siauw, which has been considered sacred from very ancient times. The natives not only bring their offer ings there to secure a favourable wind, fine weather, or other seamen's blessings, but even when they are ill or unlucky they make a pilgrimage to Massape, and by offering a goat or a few chickens to the presiding spirits they hope to be speedily cured or to secure better luck. The islands Mandako 2 and Mahangetang, lying between Great Sangir and Siauw, are also looked upon as holy. They believe that a great doctor lives there who can cure everything. He is considered to be either an ampuang (deity) or an orang petenong (priest) (14). Sangir is connected with Celebes by a very complete chain of islands, so that even small canoes can by creep ing along from island to island make very long voyages. The widest passages to be crossed are the Siauw passage between Siauw and Tagulandang, ten miles, and the Banka passage between Biarro and Talisse, eighteen miles. But even in making these short passages canoes are not infre quently drifted many miles out of their course by the strong sea currents and contrary winds. Unfortunately so few soundings have yet been taken between and in the neighbourhood of these islands that we are unable to say for certain whether they are connected by submarine banks or not — whether, in fact, they should be looked upon as the peaks of mountain ranges now sunk beneath the sea, which formerly perhaps connected the ranges of Minahassa with those of Mindanao, or simply as volcanic peaks rising from the bed of the ocean. The only soundings we have are those taken by the ' Flying Fish ' in Banka passage, and one taken by the 2 I am unable to give the position of these islands. ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 189 ' Challenger ' in the Sea of Celebes, about thirty miles west of Siauw. The fact that in the passage the sea was in places as shallow as 232 fathoms, and that nothing deeper than 930 fathoms was found, whilst in the open sea the lead went down to the enormous depth of 2,150 fathoms, suggests that when these seas have been more thoroughly surveyed it will be found that there is a continuous submarine range running between Mindanao and Minahassa, which appears above water as the Sangir and Siauw chain of islands. It is, however, by no means necessary to assume that there was at any time any land communication between Celebes and the Philippines. To obtain complete land com munication between the two we should require an eleva tion of at least 6,000 feet, or in other words, if we believe that Celebes and the Philippines were at one time con nected by dry land, we must presume that the land has sunk at least 6,000 feet — a presumption we are not justified in making, especially in a volcanic region, without some very good reason. The fauna and flora of the two islands do not afford us evidence sufficiently weighty to justify any such theory. If we found any striking correspondence between the heavy ground-feeding mammals of the two islands we might think differently, but we do not. The babirusa and sapiutan (31 and 70) of Celebes are not known to occur in the Philippines, nor is the Cervus hippelephas, whilst on the other hand there is no true cat, porcupine, shrew, or tragulus in Celebes. The fact that many of the squirrels, rats, and bats are identical or very similar in the two islands is not to be wondered at, for these could easily be drifted across the narrow straits separating the links in the chain of connecting islands on drifting timber. The opportunities afforded to arboreal animals to migrate from one island to another in these regions are not so in- 190 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii frequent as might be supposed. During the heavy rains of 1882 the Manado river brought down vast numbers of mighty forest trees, and many of these must have drifted far out to sea with a very considerable crew of squirrels, mice, caterpillars, and other animals. Around the active volcanoes whole forests of trees are occasionally floated off into the sea. Dr. Guillemard told me that at the Batu Angus opposite to the island of Limbe he has seen trees standing in the lava which had flowed from the volcano, and that these trees were so burnt round their bases that they could be toppled over by a push. It is quite certain that during the eruption of the island volcanoes, numbers of trees are in this manner carried down the hillsides by the lava and floated off into the sea. It might be urged that the animals which are accustomed to live in the trees would under the circumstances of a violent volcanic explosion all be killed by the heat or by sulphurous fumes. It is possible that this is so in very many cases, but not always. Some days after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 a female green monkey was found floating on some drifting timber in the Sunda Straits. She was terribly scorched, but completely recovered, and is, I believe, still alive. We cannot fairly deduce any argument either for or against any former land communication between Celebes and the Philippines from the evidence afforded by the distri bution of birds. The straits between the several islands are so narrow that they afford no insuperable geographical barrier to the passage of even the smaller birds, and many of the peculiarities of the avi-fauna of the Sangir islands must probably be attributed partly to the absence of certain mammals, such as the apes and the paradoxurus, and partly to the peculiarities of the vegetation. There are, according to Blasius (5), twelve birds peculiar to Sangir and one to Siauw. Some of these, such as the ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 191 starling (Calornis sanghirensis) are little more than varieties of Celebean birds, but only one (Oriolus formosus) is closely allied to a Philippine species. It is not going too far to say that of the peculiar Sangirese birds, the majority show stronger affinities with the birds of Celebes than with the birds of the Philippines. Let us see how these facts are supported by other peculiarities in the avi-fauna. There are, as is well known, several birds in Celebes which, having but a limited geographical distribution beyond the main island, may be said to be characteristic Celebean birds. Of these no fewer than ten are found in the Sangir islands. These include the scissor-tailed bird (Chibia leucops), the green parrot (Tanygnathus Mulleri), the maleo, and the ' Maspas ' shrike (Graucalus leucopygius) . Of characteristic Philippine birds, on the other hand, there are only three found in Sangir : the lucon parrot (Tanygnathus luconensis) , a nectar bird, and a variety of the Mindanao Eudynamis. From these facts, we can say that the greater por tion of the birds of the Sangir islands have been derived from Celebes, a smaller portion only having come across the straits from the southern peninsula of Mindanao. The fauna of these islands, then, does not afford nearly sufficient evidence to enable us to decide whether there ever was a former land communication between Celebes and Mindanao or not. To attempt to solve this problem we must have far greater knowledge of the character of the sea-bottom between the islands than at present we possess. But while we must be content to wait for the solution of the problem, some of the natives of Celebes are quite prepared with an explanation. ' In olden times,' they say (63), ' when Makapoedellock, the son of Batahansorong, was datu or prince of Mahan- getang, a great part of the land was sunk into the depths of the sea because he had outraged his sister Taroara. 192 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii Since this time only the highest land has been inhabited, which the people call Sangir, or Soemangi, tears from the lamentations of the great disaster.' Concerning the early history of the islands of the Sangir group there is, as might be expected, much obscurity, and the brief account I give below, compiled with some difficulty from the accounts of several writers, can only be regarded as approximately correct. Originally the island of Great Sangir was ruled by only two kings, those of Kalongan and Tabukan, but towards the close of the seventeenth century it was split up into six kingdoms and a vice-royalty under the king of Siauw. These were the names of the kingdoms : Taruna, Manga nitu, Cajuis, Limau, Tabukan, and Saban, and Tamakko, under the king of Siauw. These were subsequently reduced to four — Candahar, Manganitu, Taruna, and Tabukan, Tamakko still remaining under the king of Siauw (79) . The kings of Sangir were for many years the rulers of the greater part of the Talaut islands, and were able in time of war to draw from them a considerable number of fighting men as auxiliaries. It is doubtful when Europeans first came to Sangir, but it is interesting to note that some of the ships which had discovered the route to the Spice islands by way of Cape Horn under the gallant and enterprising Magellan were among the earliest arrivals on the scene (74). Magellan died in the Philippine islands on April 27, 1521, and after his death the Spaniards sailed to Cagayan, Sulu and Borneo, but returned to Mindanao, and thence sailed to Sangir and Tidore (74). ' We reached a beautiful island called Sanghir,' we find recorded in the journal (44) of the voyage. In 1525 one of the ships of D"Elcano's fleet was wrecked on Sangir, and from the treatment the sailors received at the hands ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 193 of the natives, the Sangirese obtained for many years an evil reputation. In 1563 or 1568, the Portuguese priest P. Diogo Magalhaens was sent to Manado by Pedro Mascarenhas, Bishop of Ternate. He found the natives of Manado a warlike people, and the terror of the district. From Manado he went to Siauw, where he baptized the rajah and six thousand warriors. From Siauw he went to Sangir, where he baptized the king and queen of Kalongan and raised a large wooden cross. At the beginning of the seventeenth century there was trouble between the Dutch and the Spaniards at Siauw. The brave and famous Kaitsjil Ali, admiral of the fleet of the Sultan of Ternate, rendered valuable aid to the Dutch against the Spaniards. In 1614 the combined forces of the Ternatees and the Dutch drove the Spaniards out of Siauw, but the natives fled into the forests, because they could not remain as Christians under the Ternatees. Two years later there seems to have been an attack upon the natives by the Dutch, when many of them were barbar ously murdered and others captured (74). In the year 1646 Governor Seroyen placed a garrison in Tagulandang, and commanded the natives to plant cloves ; but the trees were destroyed in 1653 by order of the Governor of the Moluccas (54) . The final act by which Siauw was made over to the Dutch by King Amsterdam of Ternate was signed on November 2, 1677. The Sangirese people are divided into nobles (papung or bangsa), free men (kaivance) and slaves (lang). The nobles are again divided into the papung tuwas, the children or grandchildren of rajahs lawfully begotten by their wives of royal blood ; the papung beka, the illegitimate children of rajahs by slaves ; papung timbang, the children of the papung beka by slaves ; and the bobatos, or chiefs of lower rank (14). The upper classes have no special privi- 194 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii leges except at feasts. The slaves are well treated, and either live with the prince as servants or simply bring a share of their produce to their masters. The oldest and most trustworthy slaves get the title sahada manjura or marinjo (39 A). Mr. Steller told me that in Manganitu there are two kinds of slaves, the slaves that are bought (budak-budak pemblian) and the slaves that are simply inherited (budak- budak pusaka). It seems, according to his account, that men were made slaves for comparatively trifling offences. Thus the process of the preparation of sago 3 is done in secret, as it is thought that a stranger takes away its spirit. If a man passed by the boat-shaped trough in which the rajah's sago was being prepared, he and his whole family were seized and made slaves. Again, the ground over which a fisherman was accustomed to fish becomes after his death pilih, or holy, and if anyone fished there, or even went over the place in a canoe, he was seized by the family of the deceased and brought before the rajah, who gener ally condemned him to be a slave of the deceased man's family. When a prince died the whole village went into mourn ing ; umbrellas and all finery were laid aside and the women wore their hair loose down their backs. If any of these signs of mourning were abandoned before the proper time the offenders were liable to be seized as slaves. The system of slavery which still persists in many parts of these islands where the Dutch flag flies is, however, a form of slavery of the very mildest character ; and it is the opinion of those who are competent to judge that the slaves are just as happy as the faithful attendants of their princes as they would be as free men. 3 This is most probably not the true sago, but the pith of the Arenga cachariferuin. ch. viii. CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 195 Right and proper as it undoubtedly is to abolish every form of slavery, however mild it may be, I cannot help thinking that the Dutch are wise and just to allow the system to remain in Sangir until the people have more fully benefited by the influence of civilisation. A sudden and sweeping reform in this direction might lead to political catastrophes, which would throw the natives back for generations and lead to untold mischief to the prestige of the Dutch Government. By the establishment of elemen tary schools and the encouragement of missionary work, the Governinent is preparing the way for a certain and permanent reform in the future, and I have no doubt that in a few generations slavery will be extinct in Sangir, as it is in many of the more thoroughly colonised possessions of the Dutch in the East Indies. The food of the Sangirese consists of trepang, turtle, various kinds of fish, the pith of the sagoweer palm, rice, Indian corn, papaya (kowle—Carica papaya), batatas (B. edidis), a kind of pea called siafu (probably a species of phaseolus), and yams. A curious implement (fig. 27) is used by the Sangirese for flaking out the pith of the arenga palm. It is made of bamboo, and is held in both hands like a chopper or axe. When the native has felled his tree and split it in two halves, he sits down across the half which retains the Fi( ,. . Bam|)oo iiijp!em:rn ^ , y u SagO or pith, and plies Sangirese for flaking out the pith from . . , the trunk of the sagoweer palm. his sago chopper. By striking rapidly and sharply with the edge formed where the bamboo has been cut across transversely, the pith is o 2 196 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii separated in thin flakes, and in that condition it is ready to be cooked and eaten. On special occasions such as feasts the natives eat pigs and chickens and other forms of animal food. The Sangirese suffer from many kinds of disease. Besides the ordinary forms of fever and dysentery, the most prevalent and terrible diseases are the boba and the kaskade himpank. ¦ The first shows itself at first as small sores like pock-marks all over the body, and this is followed by a swelling of the joints, which subsequently ulcerate. The kaskade begins with a peeling of the skin of the hands and feet, and this spreads over the whole body. As a remedy against fever they use a decoction of the leaves of the daun bari muda (Cratceva magna), and they rub their bodies with sap of a species of Psychotria. They also use the mushroom Pachyma tuber-regium as a remedy for diarrhoea, fever, and other complaints. For kaskade they use an ointment made of leaves of the daun burong (Rhinacanthus communis) mixed with sulphur and lemon juice, and they drink a decoction of the root of the same plant (14). I have not been able to find any very clear account of the religions of these islands ; but the natives seem to believe in the existence of a number of spirits, the Ampuangs, who are probably mythical ancestors like the Empongs of the Minahassers. There are a number of priests who perform certain quasi-religious functions, and that their office is probably inherited appears from the following account of a custom given by Van Doren. They maintain that anyone who is so inquisitive as to climb up the mountains must atone for it by death. An exception to this rule, however, was made in the case of certain persons whose forefathers were permitted by the gods to climb the mountains and to work miracles. People belonging to this ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 197 family made a pilgrimage every three or four months to the top of the Awu volcano, and tested by means of a stick the heat of the water of the lake which is found in the crater. If the water was hot enough to boil their rice they considered it to be a sign that an eruption would soon follow. The marriage customs throughout the Sangir, Talaut, and Siauw archipelago are based on the old matriarchal system — that is, when a man is married he becomes a member of his wife's family, and must leave his own and go to live in the village or the house of his wife's parents. There seems to be no law of exogamy, for a man may marry a woman belonging to his own village or not, as he pleases ; but in Nanusa I understood that marriage was not permitted between members of the same household. The enormous households of the Nanusa archipelago are pro bably the remnants of a much more complete system of intra-tribal clanships, which has become almost obliterated in the more highly developed races of Sangir and Siauw. Before a man is able to take a wife, however, he is obliged to bring a certain amount of property — or, to use the common Malay word, harta — to the parents of his fiancee. The amount of the harta varies of course with the locality and the rank of the contracting parties. Thus a rajah's daughter in some parts of Sangir expects a dowry of twelve slaves, twelve gongs, twelve shirts, twelve china plates, one hundred small plates, twelve swords, and one kati of gold, or its equivalent in money (35). Divorce is by no means an uncommon proceeding, and is very readily granted. Mr. Gunther told me that in Mangarang a man is sometimes married two or three times in the course of the year. The rajah of Morong in the Talaut islands told me that in case of a divorce the children go 'where they do not cry,' and in the case of 198 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii the wife's adultery the offending man must pay a fine to her parents. In Great Sangir if a man lives with another man's wife he must pay the husband the full harta ; but if he is unable to do this, and his friends will not help him, then both he and the woman become the slaves of the husband. The only persons who are free from the matriarchal system are the sons of the rajahs, who do as they please about following their wives. The dignity of rajah passes from father to son, but not necessarily to the eldest son. If, for example, there are three legitimate sons, the people are called together and the most fitting son is chosen as the future rajah. Property is inherited communally by the children (14). On the death of a rajah the body is placed in a coffin, but is not buried at once. For some days it is watched by a number of young maidens of good family, and all the people put on black garments and exhibit other signs of mourning. A great feast is also held, and the days are passed in eating and drinking and frolic of different kinds. At last the body is placed in an outer coffin, and carried to the grave with considerable ceremony. Murder and homicide were formerly punished in Man ganitu by death, the form of death being the same as that of the deed. In other parts the death punishment was by hanging to a gallows. Small thefts were punished by fines, or by cutting off the fingers, or by flogging with a rattan cane, and the punishment for incest was drowning, the vic tim being thrown into the sea with a stone tied round his neck. The Sangirese have been from time immemorial a hardy and fearless race of mariners, as might be expected from the insular nature of their country. Their forests abounding in excellent timber for shipbuilding, they construct not ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 199 only the little double outrigged coasting canoes, called lepa- lepa, but also large sailing vessels of some 4,000 lbs. freight, called koyangs, which are able to go long journeys and stand very considerable seas. Being great mariners they are also great fishermen, and wonderful and ingenious are the numerous methods by which they ensnare and capture the many kinds of edible fish. One of the most important fisheries is that of a species of herring (Clupea atricauda). These herring pass in very large numbers along a constant and well-defined route, and a party of Sangirese follow them from place to place, catching large numbers of them with an ordinary round throw-net in the shallow shore waters. I cannot, unfortunately, give any accurate account of the movements of these fish, for my various informers gave me very different, and in many cases con tradictory, reports. All that I know is that they appear on the coasts of Talisse during the month of January or February, and disappear again in March or April. During the herring season, if I might so call it, the favourite place for the fishermen is a little shallow sandy bay facing due west at the northern end of the island Banka. The fish, when caught, are laid out by the women in rows on strips of wood to dry, and are protected from sun and rain by a thin attap roof. Flying-fish are considered by these people, and with justice, to be very palatable, and several methods are employed to catch them. One method is of great interest, as it seems to be precisely the same in its details as a method employed by the natives of Santa Cruz in the Solomon islands. A considerable number of wooden floats are connected together by a string, and to each is attached a line and a single unbaited hook. Each float is weighted at one end 200 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii by a stone, fastened to it by a rattan binding, and the other end is fashioned into an angular odd figure exhibiting many variations. They are called lawak by the natives. I have reason to believe that originally the figure carved on these floats was that of a long-necked sea-bird, such as a heron or whimbrel, and the figure we now find is merely a conventional representation that has gradually come to be used instead of the more elaborate carving. ' Another common method of fishing,' says Guppy in his book on the Solomon islands, ' which resembles in its idea that of the kite-fishing, consists in the use of a float of wood about three feet in length, and rather bigger than a walking-stick. It is weighted by a stone at one end, so that it floats upright in the water. The upper end of the float, which is out of the water, is rudely cut in imitation of a wading bird, and here we have the same idea exhibited which I have described above in the case of kite-fishing, the figure of the bird being supposed to attract the larger fish. There is, however, this difference : a glance at the figure will convince anyone that a fish is not likely to be deceived by such a sorry representation of a bird. Doubtless we have here an instance of a survival of a more effective mode of fishing, in which the idea has been retained, but the utility has been lost. This plan is in fact nothing more than the employment of a float which is thrown into the water by the fisherman, who follows it up in his canoe and looks out for its bob ' (28) . In the figure the two floats on the right-hand side are from the Sangir islands, the two on the left from Santa Cruz. It will be seen at once that the bird design is much better preserved in the larger specimen from Santa Cruz than in either of those from Sangir. The hook is a simple piece of bent twig. It is precisely similar in shape to that used by the natives of Santa Cruz, where it is made of bone or tortoiseshell. No bait is used. ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 201 The movement of the sea causes the floats, the lines, and hooks to be in a constant state of agitation. The ordinary fishing spear, common to nearly all the Malay races, is also used in Sangir. This consists of a I Fig. 28. — Fishing floats from San gir and from Santa Cruz in the Solomon islands. The two on the right from Sangir, those on the left from Santa Cruz. Fig. 29. — The head of a Malay fishing spear. A very common implement, used through out the archipelago. bundle of short hard pieces of pointed wood, fastened on to the end of a stick, so as to be separated from one another at the end by wedge-shaped spaces. This is thrown with con siderable force into shallow water, where there are shoals of 202 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii small fish disporting themselves, on the chance that some of them may be wedged in between the pieces of wood or pierced by them. At best it is not a very effective weapon. The Sangirese also fish with the hook and line in water as deep as two hundred fathoms. The line is made of twisted gumutu from the arenga palm, and for bait they use pieces of pork and chicken. The fish they catch by this means are often very large. I have seen some in the hands of Sangirese fishermen that must have weighed as much as fifteen or twenty (English) pounds (14). I am not able to give a complete account of the weapons used by the Sangirese, for when the Resident of Manado is in the neighbourhood the natives keep their fighting imple ments in the background. The most important weapon, however, both for fighting and hunting, seems to have been and to be the spear. As it is impossible to obtain iron, or indeed any other form of metal, in their own country, those who can afford it are obliged to buy or steal iron-pointed spears from other islands, but the majority of the people are contented with the wooden spears mentioned above (see fig. 21). Bows and arrows are not seriously employed by any of the Malays. In some parts of Minahassa (22) bows and arrows are used as a game for children, and this may be also the use of similar weapons that have been brought from Talaut (10). In some parts of Sumatra the Malays use the bow and arrow for killing small game and fish, and for shooting fire-balls at the gods of sickness (48), but I have not yet come across an account of any people, undoubtedly belong ing to the Malay race, who use them as their principal weapons in battle, as the Papuans do. Iron swords are possessed in Sangir by those who can ch. viii CHARACTERISTICS OF SANGIR ISLANDS 203 afford them, and heavy wooden clubs are sometimes used by the lower classes. The club in fig. 30 was taken from a man who, the police asserted, was lying in ambush to murder one of the Dutch officials as he passed by. It is made of a heavy black palm-tree wood, and remarkable for the ornamentation on the handle of the Roman capital letters A and B. It is not an uncommon thing to find savage men copying the white man's ' pictures ' on to his own weapons and implements. The Sangirese are slow in their movements and thoroughly phlegmatic in their disposition. They are but rarely seen to laugh or to become animated in conversation, and their expression is generally one of vague wonder or weary sad ness. Their skin is of a light brown colour, of rather a darker tint than that of the Alfurs of Minahassa. Originally the dress of both men „ FlG- 30- Palm wood and women was probably a simple robe of club from native-made koffo, hanging from the shoulders Sanght' ' and reaching to the knees, but since the intro duction of cotton goods by the Chinese traders the men wear a pair of cotton trousers, and the women a sarong of dark blue or black material wound round the waist, and in the more civilised parts a jacket or kabaya of the same material. The more brilliantly coloured materials are, I was told, only worn by the wives and concubines of the Chinese. The women, when young, are occasionally rather good- looking, but both men and women are greatly disfigured by a very prominent upper lip, produced by the constant habit of betel chewing. With us the quid of tobacco, when not in actual use, is commonly held in the cheeks, but the Sangirese hold the betel quid between the upper lip and the front 204 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. viii teeth, and hence comes the hideous disfigurement of the mouth which may be seen in nearly all adults in these islands. The women usually wear their long black hair tied in a loose knot, called botto, on the top of the head. Many of the men I saw had shaved the back of the head, and wore only a fringe of hair, called paku, reaching from ear to ear over the forehead. In some districts the children have the hair shaved off a patch on the top of the head, which they call kusi. The custom of shaving off part of the hair of young children is found in many other parts of the Malay archipelago. Thus the missionaries Wilken and Schwartz relate that amongst the natives of the Bolang Mongondu, which lies to the west of Minahassa, the same custom prevails, and the lock of hair is hung up in a young coco-nut under the front roof of the hut (90). The opportunities I had of learning the Sangirese lan guages were so few that I must refrain from suggesting on my own responsibility any possibilities of their relationships, and for the same reason I must withhold from publication the short vocabularies of words I collected for my own use. The gospel of St. Luke has been translated into Sangirese by Mr. Kelling, of Tagulandang, and published by our British and Foreign Bible Society in London, and I under stand that the whole Bible is now being translated into the same language by the daughter of Mr. Steller, of Manganitu. JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 205 CHAPTER IX JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA Minahassa — The capital Manado — Heerendienst — Manado as a port — Ex ports — Start for the interior — Tondano — Condition of affairs a century ago— Ballottos — The Great Lake — Atya Wyckii — Eakas andLangowan — Arrival at Kelelonde — The coffee garden — Mapalus — The Tompusu pass — The forests of Minahassa. After my return from the Sangir islands I remained on Talisse island and continued my work in the forests and on the reefs, but in the beginning of January I was obliged to leave for Manado on account of an illness I contracted at the commencement of the rains, which required not only proper medical advice, but also better fare than I was able to obtain in my little island home. I will not weary the reader with an account of my long and tedious con valescence ; suffice it to say that I returned twice to Talisse, once with the vain hope of being able to continue my work and a second time to pack up what remained of my col lections. From January 1886 until September, when I finally left Celebes for my journey home, I lived either in Manado itself or in the mountains, and it is my purpose in the concluding chapters of this book to give a brief summary of my travels and some account of the present condition of Minahassa, together with a description of some of the customs, legends, and fables of the inhabitants, both in the past and present time. The word Minahassa means a country that has been formed by the binding together of a number of territories into one. The principal word in it is derived from ' asa,' 206 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. rx meaning ' one ' ; the verb ' mahasa ' signifies ' to join into one,' whilst the prefix ' ni ' turns the verb into a sub stantive. The original form, Nimahasa, has since become changed into Minahassa. The chief town is Manado, or Menado, as it is more commonly spelt, pleasantly situated on the shores of a wide open bay of the same name, and divided into two parts by the river which brings the over flow waters from Lake Tondano to the sea. Its position was approximately determined by P. de Lange to be 124° 49' 44" E. by 1° 29' 39" N. It is divided into five districts : Manado and Bantik on the north bank of the river ; Aris, Klabat bawah, and Negori baru on the south. The most important of these and the centre of the trade and govern ment is Aris. Here we find the church, the schools, the fort, the prison, the government offices, and the houses of all the principal Europeans. The business quarter, where the market, the tokos, or shops, of the Chinese and Arab traders, and the establish ments of the two principal European merchants are situated, lies on the river side of Aris ; the Chinese quarter extends from the market out towards the Klabat bawah district, whilst the official residences and offices extend along the shore towards Negori baru. The market is always a scene of activity and animation, and the gay garments of the women lend colour and brightness to a spectacle which is never devoid of a certain picturesqueness and beauty. The fruit-sellers stalls are filled with the produce of the season — bananas, oranges, rambutans,1 mangoes, pineapples, and the evil-smelling but delicious dorians. The fishmongers exhibit their stock of fish,2 many of them coloured with every colour of the 1 Nephelium lappaceum. 2 The fish commonly seen in the market-place at Manado belong, ac cording to Bleeker, to the following genera: Mesoprion, Lithrinus, Sicydium Julis, Leptocephalus (7). ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 207 rainbow. The cloth-sellers exhibit their sheetings from Manchester, and the red and blue kains printed with won derful and grotesque patterns for the sarongs and tjelanas for the fashionable natives. But besides those who are occupied with the business of the market, there may always be seen a number of loafers who have been attracted simply by idle curiosity or a desire to indulge in a mild dissipation. These may be found standing or squatting in little groups playing at top or drinking sagoweer, the native wine of the country, from the long bamboo vessels of the sagoweer sellers. Then there are the Chinese pedlars with their long pigtails, the Arab traders with their gorgeous turbans, an occasional European in his white duck suit and straw hat, and a crowd of car-drivers, country folk, servants, soldiers, and policemen. Stretching from the market-place up towards the district of Klabat bawah is the Chinese quarter, and at the head of it is the little Chinese temple where dwells the Tapi-kong. The dwellings of the principal Europeans are, as I men tioned above, situated in the centre of Aris in the neigh bourhood of the church and residency. They are well built and roomy timber houses, each surrounded by a little compound or garden, which is often prettily laid out with roses, hibiscus shrubs, crotons, and other foliage plants, whilst palms and other lofty trees afford a welcome and pleasing shade from the fierce rays of the mid-day sun. The population of Manado consists of a very small percentage of white Europeans, a number of half-castes who are also called Europeans, Chinese, Arabs, Christian and a few Mahomedan natives, and the Bantiks, a race of Alfurs who still retain their old religion. Most of the Mahomedans and the Bantiks live on the right bank of the river in the districts Manado and Bantik. 208 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix It is impossible to give the exact numbers, but I should judge that the population of Manado must be between five and six thousand. Two fine roads run out of Manado, one to Kema on the opposite side of the peninsula, and another to Lotta and the mountains of the Tondano district. These roads were well made in the first instance, and are kept in good order partly by the prisoners and partly by the heerendienst, a service which the free men of the country are obliged to perform as part of their taxation. The system of heerendienst has been very severely criticised by many well-meaning persons as tyrannical and unjust, but I cannot help thinking that everyone who is really acquainted with the circumstances of these colonies and the character and condition of the people must admit that it is a service which is both necessary and just. The Dutch Government has brought to the people of Minahassa not only the blessings of peace and security, but also the possibilities of a very considerable civilisation and commercial prosperity. The natives are now able to sow their rice in perfect confidence that they will gather the harvest in due season ; they are able to send their corn, their chickens, and other produce to the markets without fear of being plundered on the road and without expe riencing the horrors of war and bloodshed ; they pass their lives in peace and quietude from the cradle to the grave. In return for this it is only just that every able-bodied man should be compelled to lend a hand in maintaining this happy condition of affairs. In a land where the necessities of life are so easily obtained, and the wants of the people are few, poverty is inexcusable, and starvation unknown. Under such circumstances it would be impossible for the Government to obtain a sufficient number of men to labour on the roads at a reasonable wage, and in consequence they ¦ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 209 would be either neglected or extremely costly to maintain. The heerendienst is, then, the only system by which the roads can be kept in a proper state of repair without over burdening the exchequer or increasing the taxation of the people beyond their capabilities. If it is true that some of the Dutch officials have occasionally used the heerendienst for their own personal service, it is the abuse of the system we should deprecate, not the system itself. Turning our attention for a moment from the land com munications to the sea, it seems strange that the government of a nation such as the Dutch, famous for many centuries for their nautical genius and their marine enterprises, should have paid so httle attention to the necessities of Manado as a port. It is true that the bay is and always must be an ex ceedingly unfavourable one for the locality of a great port, owing to the very limited and difficult anchorage it affords, and any considerable quay works would be extremely costly. But it is quite possible, at comparatively small expense, to remedy two very great disadvantages from which Manado suffers. The first of these is that none of the lights of the town are visible from the sea. On several occasions I have arrived at Manado by sea after dark, and on each occasion I noticed that not a light of any sort or description was to be seen until we were quite close to the shore. No wonder, then, that the steamers which visit Manado often waste hours in the bay waiting for the daylight to show them the way to their anchorage. If two lights were fixed, one at the river-mouth and the other in the Negori baru, they would be of great service to steamers approaching Manado by night, as they would indicate to the captains at least the locality of the roads. Of very great service too to mariners, especially to the masters of sailing vessels, would be a few firmly fixed buoys in the roads. 210 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix I remember watching a German barque approaching Manado one evening as the sun was setting, and wondering if she would be able to make fast before the darkness set in. She approached within a few yards of the anchorage, and I was expecting to hear every moment the rattle of the chain, when the land wind set in, and she drifted out to sea again. The next morning at sunrise she was far away on the horizon, but by the evening was again within a few yards of her anchorage. Again she failed, and again ; and it was not until the fourth night after her first appearance that she reached the anchorage and made fast. The captain afterwards told me that had there been a buoy in the roads to which he could have fastened a hawser he would have been able to get in on each of the four occa sions. It was only the fear of the land wind getting the upper hand before he was able to send his hawser ashore that compelled him on each occasion to go out again into the bay. Manado, it must be remembered, is not only the chief town of an extremely fertile and promising land, but is also within a few miles of the direct route between the centres of commercial activity of China and Australia, and it is quite possible that if a little more attention were paid by the Dutch to the development of the marine accommo dation of this town it might lead to a very considerable increase in her commercial prosperity. At present the exports from Minahassa are copra, coffee, cocoa, nutmegs, vanilla, and a few other spices, rattan, copal, ebony, and other wood, and it is quite possible that within a few years tobacco and perhaps tea will be added to the list. But Minahassa is capable of doing more than this, and with a better service of steamers trading directly with the civilised world, might in time become one of the principal centres of the trade in tropical produce. ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 211 At the beginning of April 1886 I received an invitation from a gentleman named Rijkschroeff, a former opzichter of the M. H. V. in Talisse, to visit the coffee garden of which he was then the manager, at a little village on the slopes of the Kelelonde mountain in the Tondano district. I was very glad to be able to accept this invitation, for I was very anxious to see something of the beautiful mountain scenery of Minahassa before I left, and I also had hopes that the cool breezes of that high district would so restore my health as to enable me to return to my work on the coral reefs of the coast. The Resident of Manado kindly offered me a seat in a carriage that was to take him and two of the government officials to Tondano and the neighbourhood. We started at about ten o'clock from Manado on April 3, and after a long and rather tedious journey we reached the house of Mr. Broers, the Controleur of Tondano, at about eight o'clock the same evening. Starting from Manado in a small carriage drawn by two oxen, passing by the little market-place of Negori baru, and the nutmeg and vanilla gardens of some of the leading planters, we arrived at Lotta, our first halting-place, a distance of six paals,3 in about two hours. The road from Lotta to the next station, Tomohon, is very steep, and runs circuitously along the slopes of the Lokon mountains. Some of the views the traveller gets as he is slowly dragged along are extremely magnificent. At one spot the wide expanse of Manado Bay, with its deep blue waters and evergreen guardian islands, Manado tuwa, Siladen, and Bunakin, spreads out beneath his feet ; at another the broad and fertile plains of the river valley, extending from the Lokon to the distant Klabat mountains, form a magnifi cent panorama of fine rich scenery ; and a little farther on ! One paal is approximately equivalent to one English mile. p 2 212 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix he passes along the brink of a deep ravine filled with lofty palms and other trees. In many ways this portion of the road between Lotta and Tomohon affords more magnificent views of hill and dale, of plains and distant mountains, of coast and sea than any I can remember to have seen. If it has a rival anywhere, it is the road from Kakas to Remboken, where the waters of Lake Tondano take the place of what would otherwise be missed in sea and coast scenery. Our journey was not without incident, for before we had proceeded more than half-way one of the six oxen we had brought with us from Lotta fell clown exhausted with the heat. Soon afterwards another fell, and, as a final blow to our misfortunes, the shaft broke about two miles from Tomohon, and we were obliged to complete the distance on foot. Perhaps our misfortune was as disappointing to the natives as to us, for many of the leading people had come out to meet us on horseback, and in honour of the Resident had decorated their houses and the roadside with numbers of Dutch national flags. It must have been a disappointment to many of them that our entrance into their village was so unceremonious. After a meal with a German trader and a cup of tea in the beautiful and taste fully-decorated house of the Hukum besar (chief of the district), we proceeded on our way to Tondano, but, as it was quite dark and a light misty ram was falling, we saw nothing of the beautiful scenery of this part of the road. Tondano is a large and prosperous town situated on the banks of the river which carries off the overflow waters of the great lake. It is the centre of the coffee district, and the wide fertile plains on the shores of the lake produce an abundance of rice and Indian corn to support the large and thriving population. ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 213 The Tondanese were in olden times true lake-dwellers ; they lived in houses built on piles driven into the shallow waters of the lake. The name Tondano is composed of toil, men, and dano, water, the letter u indicating, accord ing to Graafland, a form of the genitive. The Tondanese, then, are the 'men of the water.'4 They are a branch of the great family of Minahassers, who were called Touloiirs, or ' men of the lake.' They were brave and warlike people, and, with perhaps the exception of the Bantiks, were the last of the Minahassers to accept the yoke of the Dutch. Unable to attack them on the land, the Dutch, under Commander Weintre (56), with the help of the natives of other districts, brought praus and corra- corras from Manado and Tanawangko, and met them on the lake. The Tondanese were eventually completely de feated after a siege which lasted nine months, and their lake-dwellings burned to the water's edge. This was at the beginning of the present century (1809) , and ever since then they have, with the exception of a couple of smaller troubles in later times, remained peaceful and quiet subjects of the Dutch Government. The introduction of Christianity and civilisation by the missionary pioneers has reduced them to a condition of obedience and subjection which to colonists in many parts of the world might truly be considered to be ideal. What a wonderful change has come over these people within the last century ! As I walked through the town of Tondano on that lovely Sunday morning (April 4, 1886), enjoying the bright sunshine and cool crisp air, I could not but be deeply impressed with the order, peacefulness, and beauty of the place. The rows of pretty little houses, each one — almost a model of neatness and cleanliness — surrounded by a garden of flowers and shrubs, the quiet 1 The old form Toudano or Todano has become changed to Tondano. 214 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES and respectful demeanour of the people, who raised their hats and greeted us with ' Tabeh, tuan ' 5 as they passed, the busy little market-place, and the great church with its huge bell calling the pious and sombre-clad Christian natives to the morning service, were but symbols of the general condition of peace and prosperity of the country on the Tondano lake. Almost within the memory of some of the older in habitants this same country was in a perpetual state of trouble and disorder. Let us pause a moment to consider the condition of these people before the advent of the Dutch East Indian Company. The Touloiirs were the people of the lake, and most of them lived in pile-dwellings built in the shallower waters of its shores, while the Tombulus, or the ' people of the bamboo,' dwelt in houses grouped together in small ham lets hidden far away in the recesses of the forests and the mountains. The Toiilour houses were protected from the attacks of their enemies by their position on the waters, whilst the houses of the Tombulus were defended by pointed sticks of bamboo stuck in the ground all round the village, and by festoons of thorns wound round the tall piles on which their houses were built. In time of war — and it was nearly always war-time in those days — every man's house was, indeed, his castle, and no one dared to go outside the village unless accompanied by a band of armed companions. The houses were large, as they are to the present day in Nanusa, and the compartments in which the ten or more families lived were separated from one another by mats or cloths suspended on ropes stretched across the room. On the east side of the house a spot was set apart for a square altar (temboan) made of bamboo sticks, and to the corners of this strings adorned with young coco-nut 5 The universal salutation of the Malays : ' Good morrow, sir.' ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 215 leaves were attached, which were connected with an open space in the roof of the hut or a neighbouring tree (91). These strings were, in fact, god-ladders. They were for the purpose of allowing the gods to slide or step down from the tree or the roof to the altar. Every opportunity was taken to hold a feast, or fosso, as it was called, whether it was to celebrate a victory won, or to implore the assistance of the gods in an expedition that was about to start, to save the life of anyone who was dangerously ill, or to initiate a youth into the duties and responsibilities of manhood. On such occasions the members of the family were called together, food and wine with betel-nut and its acces sories were placed upon the altar for the refreshment of the gods, and the walian, or chief priest, took up his position in the centre of the group as the director and master of the ceremonies. When everyone was silent, the children ceased their play and laughter, the walian commenced by calling all the gods to be present on the occasion, and inviting them to eat and drink and to chew the betel. Then he worked himself into a state of frenzy; his own spirit, it was supposed, left him, and its place was temporarily taken by the spirit of one of the gods. Then in this half-un conscious hypnotic state, when all around were thrilled with feelings of awe, he would utter the commands of the gods, springing bodily with gigantic leaps into the air, or swaying his arms, filled with long palm leaves, delivering his words in a dull monotonous sing-song voice or yelling them out with vigour. At last he fell exhausted on his stomach and lay as one dead. The spirit of the gods had fled, and left him without one. Then another priest endeavoured to charm back his spirit by whistling for it as one would for a dog. Then they waited until he again sprang up, this time in a dazed condition, but dumb until after he had drunk 216 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CH. IX ii copious draughts of sagoweer and silently chewed the betel. Thanksgiving for the recovery of the priest concluded the ceremony, and the evening passed in feasting, dancing, and debauchery. The fossos were often the occa sions of the most revolting barbarity. A human head, or the body of a child, specially obtained for the purpose, had to be placed beneath the principal pile of every new house, and when the house was finished a fresh head had to be obtained to hang up in the roof (102) . Victory was celebrated by the drinking of the blood of the captured enemy, or cutting his body into fine pieces (tumuktok) (22). Before every expedition the locks of hair (boto) of an enemy previously slain were stirred up in boiling water to extract the courage, and this infu sion of human courage was drunk by the warriors. Those, however, were the days of song and romance, and specimens of a rude art, characterised by what ap pears to us as gross obscenity, have been found. We can picture to ourselves those terrible raids. The half-naked savages starting out by night armed with iron swords and bamboo-tipped spears, and narrow shields rather broader at the ends than in the middle, creeping silently through the forests, and re- \ \ I Fig. 31.— Boto, a tuft of the hair of an enemy, usually fastened to the sago-sago, or sword of the priests, atthe fossos. ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 217 turning wounded and blood-stained, laden with the ghastly spoils of human heads or scalps, and dragging with them piteous little children in their wake. When we remember that this was the condition of affairs at the commence ment of the nineteenth century, and that at the present day life and property are quite as secure in the district of Tondano as they are in any civilised country in the world, we may well wonder at the change. There are but few Europeans in Tondano besides the Controleur, the missionary, and a few other officials. The inhabitants are nearly all the descendants of the old Tonda nese who dwelt in savage days in the old pile-dwellings on the lake. They are typical Malays in feature, remarkably fair for Orientals, strong, tall, handsome, and upright. With a curiously sad, but at the same time not unhappy or discontented, look, they are, nevertheless, far more energetic in word and action than the natives of the low-lying dis tricts of the coast. For two days I enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. Broers, the Controleur, and the light invigorating breezes of Tondano, and then I left for Kelelonde. The canoes that are in common use on the lake are of the most primitive and unstable type. They simply consist of a semi-cylinder, hollowed out of a tree stem, with the ends filled up with mud and grass. These canoes are called blotto or ballotto by the natives. They are not only extremely easily capsized, but require, even in the calmest weather, constant baling to keep the water out. They are of every size, from the child's blotto of ten or fifteen feet in length to the fisherman's craft of fifty. The rowers stand to their work, balancing themselves and the canoes at every stroke. The paddles are from six to eight feet long, provided with a flat round blade made usually of wanga wood (Metroxylon datum) (56). It is really an extraordi nary thing that a people so advanced in some respects 218 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix should be so conservative as still to construct and use such obsolete canoes. It is true that even boys amongst them can navigate these frail vessels with astounding skill and speed, but there can be no question that a more stable and secure canoe might safely be introduced to the notice of the Tondanese with considerable advantage to them. As an ethnological curiosity and relic of the past they are ex tremely interesting, and it is to be hoped that one of the controleurs who is stationed at Tondano will take care, before they are supplanted by more modern types, to pre serve a few examples of the blottos for the national and colonial museums. It was happily unnecessary for me to think of crossing the lake in one of these, for Mr. Bakker, the President of the Landraad at Manado, was about to cross the lake in a well- built European gig, lent to him by the Major of Tondano, and he very kindly offered to take me with him. The only outlet to Lake Tondano is at its northern end. Here a lacustrine delta is found, consisting of a number of low marshy eyots and a couple of shallow channels which unite together to form the swift Tondano river. The river passes through the village of Tondano, where it is called the Temberan (22), literally ' swift flowing,' and then plunges from a height of over sixty feet into the dense jungle of the ravine, forming the famous waterfall of Tonsea lama, one of the many beauty spots of Minahassa. From Tonsea lama the river takes a northerly course to Ajer-madidi, and then bends to the west and discharges its waters in the sea at Manado. Leaving a little landing-place on the river just opposite the house of Mr. Broers at seven o'clock in the morning, our boatmen rowed against the rapid stream towards the lake, showing us thereby how easy it is for them to learn to manage a European boat. Passing through the shal- ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 219 lower waters of the mazes of the lacustrine delta, where our course was shaded by the gigantic leaves of palms and lofty timber trees, where kingfishers and other birds of brilliant plumage, startled by our oars, flew across the bows and disappeared in the dense luxuriant foliage of the banks, we came at last to the great lake itself, a glorious expanse of calm green water, surrounded on every side by fine mountain ranges, glistening and sparkling in the rays of the morning sun. At the northern end of the lake the water is generally very shallow, and even our experienced kamudi had some difficulty in steering clear of the numerous sandbanks which are formed there. In places, too, great tangled masses of a green confervoid growth hampered our move ments and impeded progress. Upon these floating islands of green weed and on many of the sandbanks stood troops of handsome white and grey herons (Bubidcus coromandus), majestically preening their feathers or fishing leisurely in the shallow waters. A little farther on and we were free from all obstacles and difficulties, and as our boat sped over the deep waters of the lake to wards Kakas, our kamudi started one of the old and weird Alfur boating songs, and the rowers as they plied their oars took up the melancholy refrain. I am absolutely ignorant of the Tondanese dialects, so I cannot teU for certain what they were singing about ; but it was probably somewhat to this effect if translated literally into English : Pull now and let her go, eh-h-h-h-h, For the waves are high, eh-h-h-h-h. Forward our boat With lightning speed, eh-h-h-h . 220 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES And then as we approached the shore : Give honour, all ye villagers, eh-h-h. Here comes the great Tuan, eh-h-h-h.6 The lake, although situated among mountains of vol canic origin, is probably not an old crater, as some persons have supposed. It is about nine miles long from Tondano to Kakas, by about three and a half broad at Remboken. It is 696 metres above the sea-level — that is, approximately 2,000 feet. The depth is said to be nowhere more than ninety feet, and over the greater part of the area the waters are very shallow. These facts suggest then that the lake is simply a portion of the tableland of the central mountain range, which lies at a rather lower level than the land immediately surrounding it, and has in conse quence accumulated the waters of the neighbouring water sheds, and thereby formed a lake. The crater theory is not supported by any feature that I can call to mind. It has been pointed out that it would not be a matter of insuperable difficulty to drain the lake, leaving in its place a vast plain of fertile land admirably suited for coffee, rice, or Indian corn culture. No one can truly say that the district of Tondano is as yet so densely populated that it is necessary, or even desirable, to undertake any such stupendous engineering work for the sake of a few square miles of fertile land. Apart from questions of economy, however, what a pity it would be to interfere in any way with this beauteous spot ! The thought of turning this 6 Molemo wo mapatoromo eh Maam bangko im balolongan eh Eh londej nami Tember i pamajang Sumigi eh makawanua eh Ijaimo si Tuwan wangko eh.— (22) ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 221 lovely lake into a gigantic Dutch polder is enough to give the Enghsh traveller a shock. It may be that, when a Dutchman visits for the first time a great expanse of inland water such as this, his national emotions overcome him, and he thinks unconsciously of a plan to drain the water off, and intersect it with rectangular dykes and ditches, and pictures to himself a score or more of green and white windmills, ever pumping water in or out, and a floating population of bargees, armed with long punting- poles. Whatever may be the feelings of the traveller, however, the resident Dutchmen of Celebes are proud of their Lake Tondano ; they love its calm peaceful waters and the panorama of the surrounding hills and mountains of unrivalled beauty and luxuriance, and they like to spend their holidays in the cool invigorating climate of its shores, and rest awhile from the cares and worries of official duties in the tropical heat of Manado in a region where everything speaks of peace and contentment. We may safely predict then that Lake Tondano will remain ' a thing of beauty ' for many generations yet to come, and we may add a fervent hope-that it may remain to Dutchmen a 'joy for ever.' Three kinds of fishes are commonly caught in Lake Tondano. The kebos (Ophiocephalus striatus) sometimes reaches a length of two feet. It is characterised by pos sessing a covering of large scales over its head and by remarkably long pointed dorsal and anal fins ; the betok, here called geteh-geteh, is the well-known climbing perch (Anabas scandens) ; and there is also a species of eel (Anguilla Elphinstonei). All of these fishes are very generally dis tributed over the East Indies. In many parts of the Tondano river the large prawns previously mentioned as occurring in Talisse are found, but I have no certain information that they occur in the river above the Tonsea lama falls. 222 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES In the lake itself, however, there are found in great numbers a small fresh-water prawn, which I have named after the Jkhr van der Wyck, Resident of Manado, Atya Wyckii (38). This species differs very considerably from other species of the genus Atya, and some carcinologists have expressed an opinion that it should be separated from them in another genus. The species of fresh-water prawns which are collected together in the genus Atya have a very wide geographical distribution, being found in Mexico, West Indian Islands, Fig. 32. — Atya Wyckii, a small prawn found in Lake Tondano. 2. The same, natural size. Cape Verde Islands, the Moluccas, Philippines, Samoa, Tahiti, and elsewhere. A curious feature of their distri bution is that they are but rarely found in continental rivers and lakes. The cause, whatever it may be, which confines them to the fresh water of the islands has not yet come to light. Our information is at present unfortu nately not very exact as to the localities inhabited by these curious forms. Atya sulcatipes is said to live at a height of 300 feet above the sea-level at San Nicalao, in ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 223 the Cape Verde Islands, but I cannot find it mentioned anywhere that any other species lives as high above the sea-level as my species from Tondano. One of the most interesting points about these Crustacea is the curious tuft of hairs found on each of the pincers of the first two pairs of claws. If these hairs be examined with the microscope, it will be found that every one of them is provided with a number of tiny recurved hairlets, shaped like a sickle. As every hair is provided with some thirty or forty of these hairlets, the tufts at the end of each pincer must act as a very efficient scouring-brush, every tiny particle of dirt and every microscopic animal and plant with which they come in contact being retained in the hairy mesh. It is very probable that the animal feeds by means of these tufts of hair, first scouring the water- weeds and mud for particles of food, and then, with the help of its hairy mandibles and maxillae, cleaning them off into its mouth. In correlation with this habit of eating tolerably small and soft food is the structure of the mandible, which is much more delicate and hairy than most of the mandibles of the sea- prawns. Atya Wyckii differs from other species of the same genus in its small size and in the structure of the chelse. The entire length of the largest specimens is not more than seven-eighths of an inch, the females being usually one- eighth of an inch longer than the males. The next largest Atya is the Atya bisulcata, which is nearly an inch and a half long ; many of the other species being twice or even three times as large. In Atya Wyckii the chela is set straight on end on to the carpal joint, as it is in a lobster or a prawn, but in all the other species the carpal joint is somewhere near the middle of the chela, so that its long axis lies almost at right angles to the long axis of the limb. It may be that the prawn in Tondano, isolated in this mountain 224 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix lake, 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, with few com petitors in the struggle for existence and plenty of food, has retained the primitive condition of its fore-limbs, whilst the others, situated in places where the struggle is more keen, have undergone certain modifications of structure to fit them better for their environment. In other words it is quite possible that the Atya Wyckii more closely resembles in structure the original ancestral type of the genus than any of the other species, all of which have, within comparatively speaking recent generations, become considerably modified. As an article of food these small prawns are much prized by the natives, and the Dutchman is very glad to add the kleine garnalen to his list of comestibles at the rijsttafel. As our boat approached the wooden pier at Kakas many interesting and beautiful sights were to be seen in the shallow weedy waters at this end of the lake. Besides the little prawns above mentioned there were countless numbers of small creatures skimming through the waters. In some places the water was quite black with mosquito and gnat larvae, and in others hundreds of swift dragon-fly larvae could be seen darting amongst the water reeds and weeds. What an immense field for research there is in this lake ! I dare say that the life-history of not a single one of these numerous larvae has yet been worked out, and there must be thousands of minute forms of animal and vegetable life that if brought to light would be of immense interest and importance. It was my hope and desire at the time to return again to Lake Tondano to investigate the fauna of its shallow waters, but, for reasons it is unnecessary to enter into here, I was never able to do so. To continue the narrative of my journey. Arrived at ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 225 Kakas, we were received and hospitably entertained by Mr. Veen, Jun., who kindly helped me to engage a carriage to convey me to my destination, Kelelonde. I have so often spoken of the genial and hospitable character of the Dutch men in the Indies that it is hardly necessary to add that Mr. Veen's kindness and hospitality to me was not exceptional. The road from Kakas to Langowan might be called uninteresting were it not for the fact that it presented a remarkably different type of country to any I had yet traversed in Minahassa. The road is broad, level, and straight. On either side of it there are vast fields of corn and plains of wild grass. There are but few patches of forest land, and those that remain are rapidly being cleared for plantations of coffee. Of the familiar palms the traveller notices that the sagoweer palm grows well and in abundance, but the coco-nut is scarce, and the few specimens there are seem weak and slender compared with those of the warmer regions of the coast. Birds, as might be expected, are there in thousands. Turtle-doves and pigeons, crows and scissor-tailed birds, thousands of little rice-birds, and many other kinds may be seen on every side. It was without exception the richest district for birds I had hitherto been in. As a naturalist and sportsman I was eager to examine the avi-fauna with greater care than was possible when driving along the road in a little gig, but it was necessary to reach my .destination before sunset, and I was conse quently obliged to press on. Even if I had been able to study birds in this region, it is more than probable that I should not have found a single new form, for a former Resi dent of Manado, the late S. C. Van Musschenbroek, made such a sweeping investigation of the ornithology of Mina hassa that but little more remains to be done. Langowan is a pretty little village, and like all the other Q 226 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix villages in this region composed of well-built comfortable looking houses. In the middle of .the high road at the centre of the village is a handsome wooden church, in some respects one of the most pleasing edifices in Minahassa, and not far from this are one or two large houses belonging to the planters and the village chiefs. In nearly every com pound round the houses of the natives may be seen a number of healthy coffee-trees, some of them well-trimmed and neat, others growing in wild and disorderly profusion. In some of the better gardens there are seen roses, poin- settias, bougainvilleas, castor-oil plants, with pansies and many seedlings sent from Europe, whilst potatoes, beans, asparagus, and other vegetables are cultivated for the table. One gentleman whose garden I visited had a fine collection of birds in large wire cages, and prided him self on the great variety of flowers, shrubs, and vegetables he was able to raise. Not far from Langowan there are some hot- water springs, and these, together with the numerous deposits of sulphur which abound in many places, tell the story of the volcanic nature of the district. Soon after leaving Langowan there is a low steep hill of a fine golden gravelly soil, and beyond that the road gradually slopes up to the highest level of the Saputan Pass. This little hill of gravel looks very much like a former lake beach, and I think it is very probable that Lake Tondano, now nearly five miles off, once reached across the plains of Langowan as far as this point. The aspect of the whole country round the lake had previously caused me to believe that it must have been at one time far more exten sive than it is now, but I had no evidence before of the position of its former banks. Three miles and a half from Langowan we turned off from the high road into a track which led through the ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 227 forest to Kelelonde. The track was a very bad one for a light gig such as ours, and we jolted and pitched about in a manner that was anything but pleasant after a long day's journey. We reached Kelelonde shortly after sun set, and were received by our host, Mr. Rijkschroeff, the opzichter of the coffee garden, and the only European in the little mountain settlement. Before retiring to bed that night we played a game of cards, the recognised method of spending a pleasant evening in the Dutch East Indies. The company I cannot forget, for it struck me at the time as perhaps the queerest mixture of nationalities it had ever been my good fortune to be in. There was a Chinese trader, a friend of Mr. Rijkschroeff, who made, I fancy, a handsome income by peddling goods among the native people of the mountain districts. His partner in the game was the Arab Omar, who had driven me over from Kakas in his gig. My friend and partner Rijkschroeff was a Dutchman, born in the Indies, but nevertheless well educated and intelligent. He had served as a soldier in South Africa and Sumatra, and was full of stories and anecdotes of the varied scenes of his life and adventures. We four then — an Arab, a Chinaman, a Dutchman, and an Englishman — sat down together to play at whist in the little village of Kelelonde, situated in the heart of the pri mitive forest of the mountains of Celebes. We played steadily until the early hours of the morning, and the end of it all was that the Chinaman came off victorious. The next morning Omar and the Chinaman went away, and I was left alone with my kind host and the little party of native plantation labourers. The village consisted of some eight or nine houses, and a shed-like hut that was used for a school on weekdays and a church on Sundays. I do not propose to give a detailed account of my life and experiences at Kelelonde. I was very weak and poorly a 2 228 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix the greater part of the time I was there, so that .my oppor tunities for investigating the natural history of the forests were limited. The coffee garden is situated upon the moun tain slopes about a quarter of a mile from the village. The path to it through the forest is extremely grand, the trees being as tall and magnificent as they are in the forests of the low-lying lands, and, owing, perhaps, to the greater humidity of the climate, their trunks are even more richly covered with parasitic ferns and orchids than they are elsewhere. A coffee-plantation is formed by clearing the forest with fire and axe, and then allowing a certain number of young wild trees to grow again until they reach the height of ten or twenty feet. These trees are for the purpose of protect ing the young coffee-trees from sun and heavy rain, those most valued for this purpose being the common walantakka trees (Erythrina lithosperma) (17). The young coffee-trees are planted in circular beds about six feet in diameter, which are carefully kept clear of weeds. The coffee berries are first of all allowed to germinate in properly sheltered and protected places, and the young seedlings, called the bibits, are then transplanted to the coffee beds. It is said that if the radicle is able to grow straight down into the soil, the tree will probably become a strong and healthy one, but if it becomes deflected by a stone or root, then the tree is usually found to be a poor one and liable to disease. If the bibit shows itself to be weak and sickly after twelve months' trial, it is taken up and a new one planted close to the same spot. A coffee bed is not abandoned until it has been tried two or three times, and it is a curious fact that very often after two or three failures the same bed will support an exceptionally good tree. The coffee-trees are allowed to grow to the height of six feet, and then the tops are cut off, so as to strengthen the growth of the lateral branches which bear the fruits. ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 229 The most favourable soil for coffee is the rich black vol canic ash that covers the mountain slopes in many parts of North Celebes. The trees grow and produce fine large berries up to 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. The finest and largest plantations are in the Tondano district, at a height of between 1,500 and 2,500 feet. Until quite recently, coffee was a Government monopoly in Minahassa. The plantations were chosen by and in the charge of the Controleur s, all the labour being, performed by the natives under the direction of their local chiefs. The Government paid the chiefs a certain price per pikul for the coffee, sufficient to pay the wages of the labourers and leave a small surplus for their own benefit, and then it was brought down to the magazines in Manado and shipped to Holland. At the present time there are a few plantations held by private firms, but the majority of. them still belong to the Government. First-class Manado coffee is said to be the finest the world produces. It certainly commands a very high price in the Amsterdam market,, where the Austrian and Russian buyers compete with, one another to obtain it. A few years ago Minahassa was quite free from' that; terrible scourge, the ' coffee-leaf disease,' but it has since made its appearance in the southern districts, and notwith standing the efforts that are being made to stamp it out, it is greatly to be feared that it will spread. Besides the fungus disease, the coffee has many other enemies. In the Kelelonde gardens rats and mice were a great scourge. These rodents seem to have a fancy for the succulent stalks of the berries when they are nearly ripe,. and they nibble at them until the berries fall. The large long-haired black rat (Mus xanthurus) is one of the worst offenders in this respect. In every garden there are a certain number of ordinary ¦230 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix cats which have run wild, and these, it may be supposed, have a tendency to keep the numbers of the rodents down. The natives are unfortunately very fond of cats, not as pets, but as articles of food, and it is consequently necessary to make a strict rule in every plantation that the labourers are not allowed to catch and eat them. Unless he knew beforehand the links in the chain of argument, a stranger might be considerably puzzled should he be asked to explain what harm it would do the coffee if the natives were allowed to eat cats. Kelelonde is about 4,000 feet above the sea, and it takes its name from the mountain peak on the slopes of which it stands. Mr. Rijkschroeff told me that Kelelonde literally means ' a canoe turned upside down ' ; but I must confess that I could see but little resemblance to such an object in the broad flat peak of the mountain. The whole range is very volcanic. Hot-water springs ¦and sulphur deposits, found in many places in the district, tell only too plainly the tale of the hidden fires ; but, if further evidence were needed, it could easily be found in the fine old crater of the sister peak, where dwells the god Saputan, the Vulcan of the Alfur's mythology, whose mighty hammer may be heard from time to time as he works in his mountain smithy. I stayed at Kelelonde about a fortnight without mate rially benefiting my health, and then returned in Omar's gig to Manado. Just before we came to Kakas we met a man waving a large Dutch flag, followed by two others beating drums and a crowd of natives. I asked Omar what the fuss was all about. He told me it was a rnapalu. The mapalus are very interesting gatherings, and, as they play an important part in the life of the natives of ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 231 these parts, I must ask for the attention of the reader while I endeavour to explain their meaning. The mapalu may be briefly stated to be a gathering of the natives to work gratuitously in the fields of a neighbour — to sow, to reap, or to dig for a member of the village community without receiving any reward beyond a certain amount of food and hospitality. The mapalu system is so closely connected with the idea of communal or tribal possession of the land, that it will be well first of all to consider the laws of land tenure of the Minahassers. It seems probable that in early times the ancestors of the Malay races which at the present day inhabit the peninsula of North Celebes wrere divided into a number of tribes, or rather large family clans, each of them inhabiting certain given districts with definite limits. They lived upon the fish they caught, the produce of the chase, and what fruits and roots they could gather in the primeval forest. Every individual member of the clan had the absolute and complete right to anything he could capture or find within the limits of the district. There was no division of the wild uncultivated land, but all the members of the clan had equal rights to enjoy its benefits. Li time of war they joined together under the leadership of the elder or chief to defend the common property, and with one heart and hand they often fought together to steal a portion of their neighbours'. With the development of the territorial idea there came a rude form of agri culture. Portions of the forest were cleared and cultivated, and new laws were introduced to regulate the possession of the land thus opened up. It must have been at about this stage in the history of their social development that the simple family clans grew to be more complicated tribes. The land laws were, however, still based upon the central idea that the land belonged communally to the people, and they 232 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES oh. ix conceded only certain rights of use and profit to individuals and their heirs for ever under certain definite conditions. We find, then, under those conditions of society that the district was divided into (a) lands which had never been opened up and cultivated, i.e. primitive forest, called talun, and (b) lands which had at one time been cultivated, called wiimaan, which were again divided into (1) lands which were actually at the time in cultivation (uma) ; (2) lands which had lain fallow for one or two years (rekat) ; (3) lands which had lain waste for four, five, or six years, and were yielding crops of young short wood (sawukaw) ; and (4) lands which had lain waste for many years, and were already covered again with large forest trees (kakaian). All the members of the tribe had equal rights over all the talun, or primitive forest, in their district. In this respect the noblemen and chiefs were no better off than the humblest individual. It was never sold to members of a neighbouring tribe, and could only be let to them for a year at a time by the consent of all the people. Every man could demand a portion of the forest to culti vate, and it then became his own private property, and was inherited by his heirs. He could not make any claim upon it unless he opened it up. No man had any claim to any portion of the primitive forest he had not cleared and cultivated. If any portion of the land remained un cultivated for many years after it had once been opened up it reverted to the tribe. In former times cultivated land was usually held com munally by families in the tribes. This was owing to the prevailing custom that when a man who had opened up a piece of forest land died, the real property was not divided among his children, but descended undivided and com munally to them as the pusaka. Nowadays, however, it is becoming much more common to divide the real ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 233 property among the heirs, and it then remains the private property of individuals, or tanah pasini. But traces of the old family system still remain in the custom of leaving a small portion of the property communally to the heirs to form a bond of union between the members of the family. It must not be supposed that even in olden times a man could seize upon any piece of forest that he fancied, and forthwith commence to clear and cultivate it. The choosing of the ground was always left to the agri cultural priests, who were guided in their choice by the cries of birds. In modern times it rests with the administra tive chief under the Controleur to allot new land to the people. The pusaka, or land held as common property by all the members of a family, was under the same kind of control as the talun of the tribe. It could not be let or sold to anyone without the consent of all the members of the family, and, furthermore, the tribe always retained the right to forbid the families to sell or let their property to persons of another district (98). With this general conception of the unity of family and tribal life running through all the laws of the people of Minahassa, the system of the mapalus is perfectly con sistent. It must be a survival of the days when a man regarded all the members of his village as his relations, and was as willing to help them in their work and wars as they were to help him. ' We must be careful,' said the beautiful Mogogunoi to the King of Bolang, who wished to abduct her, ' for the whole population of the district belongs to the family of (my husband) Matindas ' (see p. 310) . When anyone finds it necessary, then, to sow or reap or plough his field, he does not hire labourers for a wage, but he goes all round the district carrying a large Dutch flag, followed by his sons or brothers beating drums (Ufa) . 234 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix and gongs (kolintang). The men and women of his village — for field-labour is by no means restricted to the sterner sex — come to join him, and, when there are enough of them, they proceed with songs and laughter to the field, where each one has his work allotted to him. When the sun sinks to rest, and work for the day is done, the merry party of free labourers repair to the house of the owner of the field. A pig is killed for the occasion, a sumptuous allowance of rice and sagoweer provided for each guest, and the evening is spent in feasting, singing, dancing, and general fun and frolic. The social part of the proceedings in the evening is no doubt considered by the younger people to be the most important part of the mapalu. It is on such occasions that the young maidens win the hearts of their faithful swains ; it is then they learn to dance, to sing, and to recite ; at mapalus they learn the gossip of the district. All the old songs of love, romance, of peaceful agriculture and terrible war are repeated, the legends of their ancestors and the stories of their gods are recited, the village poet reads his compositions, the musician plays his variations on the bamboo flute, while the walians, or priests, sanction by their presence the proceedings of the night, and secure the blessings of the gods on the labours of the day. When we reached Kakas Omar changed his horse and brought with him a spare one for the journey. For the first few miles our road ran between low marshy fields, where several men and women could be seen up to their knees in mud, sowing rice or trudging leisurely beside the buffaloes that dragged the plough. Approaching the village of Paso the road began to rise a little, affording pretty glimpses of the surrounding country, but it was not until we had passed Remboken and were mounting the hillside which leads to the Tompusu Pass that the glorious panorama of the lake, ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 235 the forests, and the mountains burst upon us in its full magnificence. Nowhere in the wide world, I thought, can there be a scene which equals this. The brightness of the blue sky and the broad waters of the lake, bearing an image of every fleecy cloud that crossed the arch above it, were each perfect of their kind ; and then the green luxuriance of the plains, the endless forests stretching over hill and dale, and melting in the purple mists of the distant mountain-tops, which stood like giant guardians of the land, together formed a picture that no pen can adequately describe. Everyone, however dull and emotionless he may be, must at times be moved by noble scenery, and I know of none which fills the breast with livelier feelings of hope and happiness than does the mountain scenery in the tropics. It was on the crest of the crater of the Gedeh in Java, when the rising sun first tipped the clouds below us with red and golden crests, and then burst in all its glory upon the wide expanse of rich and fertile fields of that happy land — it was there I first experienced the feelings that were afterwards to be repeated on Tondano lake. The snowy fields and imposing precipices of the Nor wegian fiords, the bold and fascinating scenery of the west of Scotland, the wild mountain ranges of the north of Wales, grand and glorious as they are, did not affect me in precisely the same way. It is perhaps the sense of vast and unexplored resources in these lands of vigorous and luxuriant growth, the prospect of a future for humanity in these wild domains, a feeling that with all its misery and troubles the world is not exhausted yet of things which lead to happiness and prosperity, which makes the traveller's heart beat quicker with a sense of gladness as he gazes on a scene like that from the Tompusu hill. The sun was shining brightly as we harnessed the fresh horse to the gig, and drove in tandem up the steep hill. 236 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES As we crossed the pass, however, we saw some heavy clouds hovering over the fields around Tondano, and by the time we reached Tomohon the rain came down in torrents. During the worst part of this shower we were fortu nately able to take refuge under the roof of a little bridge which crossed a rivulet. It often strikes people who visit these regions for the first time as a strange thing that all the bridges should be protected by roofs of attap, but one can readily see the necessity for it. Exposure to the cold and soaking rains and the burning rays of the tropical sun would soon work irreparable mischief even to a well- built wooden bridge. An ample roof of attap, although it cannot defend them from insect pests, protects from the worst effects of exposure to sun and rain, and keeps them safe and sound for several years. As we drove past the wild forests of the Tompusu Pass, and then descended into the more cultivated plains around Tomohon, I could not but deplore my lack of botanical knowledge. Most of the trees, many of them strikingly beautiful in growth and foliage, were absolutely strange to me, and I cannot even indicate to the reader their position in the vegetable kingdom. An oak tree (Quercus moluc- censis) could be recognised, and a small tree with poplar like leaves, which I took to be Reinwardt's Carumbium popidifolium. The difficulty which the naturalist has to contend with in such a country as Celebes is that the forests are composed of a large variety of trees belonging to different orders, and it is only with the greatest difficulty he can obtain specimens of the leaves and flowers for identification. The forests are not mainly composed, as is usually the case in Europe, of a number of trees belonging to one or two species only, but it is really not an exaggera tion to say that every tree one comes across in the Celebean forests is specifically different to all its immediate neighbours. ch. ix JOURNEY THROUGH MINAHASSA 237 A square mile of forest in Celebes is as a patch of turf in England, composed of many different genera and species belonging to widely different natural orders (11). The reason of this may be that the soil and climate of the mountain slopes in the tropics are particularly and equally favourable for the growth of forest trees ; and as the struggle for existence in a given area is known to be more severe between plants of the same species than between plants which are not, the forests have in the course of time, by a process of natural selection, assumed their present heterogeneous aspect. It is only in areas where it requires some special or extraordinary power of the trees to resist unfavourable conditions that we find one species or genus flourishing in large numbers in the same forest. Thus but few trees in the world possess the power of resisting the action of salt water ; and consequently we find that the mangrove forests are composed of, comparatively speaking, few species, and in that respect offer a striking contrast to the neighbouring forests on the dry land. It is, perhaps, some exceptional power possessed by the pines, firs, oaks, &c, to resist cold or heavy winds or to subsist on a poor soil which has caused the paucity of species in the forests of cold and temperate climes. It is a curious thing that at present our knowledge of the botany of North Celebes is very scanty. The orni thology and' entomology of Minahassa have been very thoroughly investigated by several competent naturalists ; but since the time of Reinwardt scarcely a single botanist has devoted himself to a study of the plants of this district. Considering the unexampled facilities the colony offers for quiet and uninterrupted work in natural history, and the many forest-clad mountain peaks which probably support a flora of exceptional interest, it is to be hoped that this hiatus in our knowledge will soon be filled up. 238 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CHAPTER X MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS Stone implements— Cosmologies— Legend of the origin of sun, moon, and stars — Story of Wailan wangko — Eeligion — Story of Warereh — List of the principal gods — Spirits — Native prayers — Demons — Priests — Holy birds— Fossos — Shamans — Giants— Story Parepej — Story of Utahagi. In the previous chapter I have referred to the marvellous changes which have taken place in Minahassa since the arrival of the Dutch colonists. Wars, assassinations, and revolting savage customs have disappeared, and the people have now become peaceful, industrious, and law-abiding. Much of this improvement must be attributed to the wise administration of the Dutch officials, but the burden of the task has fallen on the shoulders of the missionaries, whose heroic and self-sacrificing efforts to civilise and educate the native population have produced results un equalled in the history of Christian missions. It is not the native only, however, who owes a debt of gratitude to these noble men, for our scholars are indebted to them for the painstaking way in which they have collected and recorded the myths, legends, anecdotes, and fables of the heathen period, and thus saved from inevitable destruction a mass of facts of ever-increasing interest and importance. I am not exaggerating when I speak of the ' inevitable destruction ' of these things, for the rapidity with which savage man forgets not only the myths and religions of his forefathers, but even their customs and appliances, is really surprising. The Indians of Guiana, for example, are ignorant of the ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 239 use and even meaning of the stone implements which were actually used by their ancestors only three generations ago, and Professor Haddon (30) has recently called attention to the remarkably rapid pace at which the natives of Torres Straits are losing all acquaintance with their former cus toms and weapons. We have an example of this forgetfulness of the natives of the weapons of their ancestors in the so-called lightning stones (watu-ing kilat) of the Minahassers. These are un doubtedly stone implements that must have been used by former inhabitants of the country, but are now said to be found in bamboos which have been split by lightning. In some districts they are wrapped up in dry leaves and placed in a pot of water to cause rain (66), but by the Tombulus and Mongondus they are used as preventives against lightning (55). This shows conclusively that the Minahassers have so forgotten the use of these stone imple ments as actually to attribute to them a supernatural origin. We are, it is true, not perfectly certain that the ancestors of the natives now living in this peninsula ever used stone implements. It is more than probable that the stone men did not inherit the iron weapons, but were defeated, and possibly destroyed, by them ; but, nevertheless, the Malay who conquered must have also seen and probably felt the use of the stone weapons, and it really is remarkable that he left no record of them in the stories or romances he handed down to his descendants. Not the least interesting of the many queer things which seem to cast a halo of interest around the old stone implements is the fact that so many races have considered them to be in some way or another connected with the thunderstorm. Here in Minahassa we find them called lightning stones ; in England, even to the present day, there are many good '240 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x country folk who firmly believe that the flint implements that they from time to time find upon their fields are thunderbolts. Strange as it may at first seem to many of us, this is but one example out of many which help to sup port the view that the fundamental ideas of primitive man are the same all the world over. Just as the little black baby of the negro, the brown baby of the Malay, the yellow baby of the Chinaman are in face and form, in gestures and habits, as well as in the first articulate sounds they mutter, very much alike, so the mind of man, whether he be Aryan or Malay, Mongolian or Negrito, has in the course of its evolution passed through stages which are prac tically identical. In the intellectual childhood of mankind natural phenomena, or some other causes of which we are at present ignorant, have induced thoughts, stories, legends, and myths that in their essentials are identical among all the races of the world with which we are acquainted. The first series of beliefs I shall deal with are those concerning the origin of the world, of mankind, and of the heavenly bodies, and the current ideas concerning the present support or basis of the world. In other words I shall now briefly describe the cosmogony and cosmology of the Minahassers. The first legend is, or rather was, for most of the natives are Christians now, current in the northern districts of Minahassa. It may be thought a very unsatisfactory explanation of the origin of the world on account of the vague reference in the beginning to Lumimuut's home and parents, but after all it is quite as good as any other explanation offered by primitive man. The mind is finite and the universe is infinite, and consequently it is necessary for man when he attempts to explain universal problems to draw the line somewhere. The line is most generally drawn between the ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 241 god who made the world and his parents. It is so in this cosmogony. It is so in many others. The story of Lumimuut, then, is as follows : When Lumimuut could walk she left her parents and birthplace in a canoe, taking with her a handful of earth, which she threw on the sea to the great god, saying, ' If I am indeed your offspring let a great land arise where I can live.' And immediately there sprang up out of the sea a ¦ great land. The ground, however, was soft and slippery. Thereupon she struck a great rock, which split in two, and out of the split came forth Kareima. ' Who are you ? ' said Lumimuut. ' I am the priestess Kareima,' said she. 'But who are you?' asked Kareima. ' I am called Lumimuut. ' ' How many people are with you ? ' asked the priestess. ' I am alone,' was the answer of Lumimuut. After some days Kareima said to Lumimuut, ' Turn your face to the south ! ' While she did this the priestess prayed, ' 0 Cause of the east wind, fertilise this woman.' Lumimuut, however, perceived nothing. Then, on the command of the priestess, she turned to the east, to the north, and finally to the west, and each time the priestess prayed that the deity of the wind would fertilise her. Her prayer was answered, and Lumimuut by the god of the west wind begat a son named Toar. When Toar grew up Kareima took two sticks, one of the plant called tuis and one of the plant called assa, and cutting them of the same length gave one (tuis) to Lumimuut and one to Toar (assa) saying, ' See here are two sticks of the same length. Go you, Lumimuut, to the right and you, Toar, to the left, and whenever you meet anyone measure sticks. Then if they are of the same length you are mother and son, but if one is longer than the other come to me immediately at the centre of the earth.' Both went on their way, but after a time Lumimuut R 242 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x and Toar met without knowing one another, and on measuring sticks they found that Lumimuiit's stick was longer than Toar's, for the tuis stick had sprouted out and grown. Thereupon they returned to Kareima, and when she had measured the sticks she said, ' You are not mother and son, therefore you must become man and wife. Be fruitful and populate the earth.' So Lumimuut and Toar became man and wife. They begat many children, ' twice nine, three times seven, and once three.' The ' three ' are the Pasijowan, of whom one was the priest Leleen at Waren- dukan in the air, from the other two the people of Minahassa trace their descent. When these children had multiplied and spread over the earth, Lumimuut called them together at Pinahawetengan, and divided the country amongst them. One quarter in the north-west she gave to the Tombulus, another quarter in the north-east to the Tonseas, another in the south-east to the Toiitumaratas, and the fourth quarter to the Toutem- boan (22). This legend of the origin of the earth and its people is full of interest to the student of cosmogonies. The story of the conception of Lumimuut by the god of the west wind, as Wilken (91) shows, exhibits traces of the very common myth of the marriage of Heaven and Earth. Lumimuut is the earth goddess, the fruitful mother of all things ; the west wind is the one which brings the rain and fertilises the earth. The people of Minahassa seem to have kept very com plete genealogies, and traced their descent directly from Lumimuut, the mother of all men. Wilken was able to give the complete genealogy of Albert Waworuntu, the Majoor of Sarongsong, and of Roland Ngantung, the Majoor of Tomohon. These genealogies commence in precisely the same way, and prove conclusively that, although the ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 243 custom has now changed, these people originally traced descent through the mother. Thus, commencing with Lumimuiit, we find in the family tree of Waworuntu, that her daughter Pasijowan by her husband Eumengan begat Kinaambangan, Kinaambangan ,, Mokointempai begat Manembu ; and then the genealogy changes, and the descent is traced through the father : Manembu by his wife Retawene begat Winutaan, Winutaan ,, Roror begat Pandeirot, &c. &c. And in the genealogy of Ngantung we find precisely the same thing : Pasijowan by her husband Palapa begat Rinengan, Rinengan ,, Lumainang begat Rindengan, Rindengan by his wife Intoring begat Menembu, Menembu ,, Kinetar begat Waturijamassen. In the cosmology of the Minahassers we find it mentioned that the whole earth is borne by a pig belonging to the god Makawalang, who dwells in the under-world. Earthquakes are caused by the pig rubbing himself against the trees. Another version of the story, however, says that the world does not stand on the pig itself, but on a number of piles, and the earthquakes are caused by the pig rubbing himself against them (91). A similar belief to this occurs in the cosmology of many of the Malay races of the Archipelago. Thus the Bolang- Mongondus believe that the world rests on the horns of a great buffalo, and whenever a fly settles on his ears he shakes his head, and so causes the earth to quake (90). According to the inhabitants of Roti island, the Niasers, the Bataks, and even the Fijians, the earth rests upon a gigantic snake. The Menangkabawan Malays of Mid- 244 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x Sumatra believe that the earth rests upon an ox, and that the ox stands upon an egg, which is borne by a fish, which swims in the water contained in a stone cup (91). This is the story of the origin of the sun, the moon, and the stars (89). ' Lingkambene lived at Kinupit with his daughter Pandagian. During the celebration of the Mahatatamb- ulelen it happened one evening that Pandagian remained at home and took no part in the fun. Her mother rebuked her for this, saying, "Are you satisfied to see only the shoulders and backs of your friends who are amusing them selves with singing and dancing ? " Then Pandagian arose, went to her acquaintances and joined in the fun. When the fun was over after midnight she returned home, but found the ladder drawn up. Then she cried, " Mother, mother, let the ladder down"; her mother replied, "Ask your father." "Father, father," she cried, " let the ladder down"; he replied, "Ask your grandfather"; but her grandfather bade her ask her grandmother. Her grand mother referred her to her eldest brother, but, as he would not help, she besought in turn her younger brothers, her sisters, her uncle, her aunt, and so on through all her family. Receiving no help, she laid some leaves one upon the other, and began to pray, saying, " 0 Rimasa, lower the ladder for me. 0 Rimasa, lower the ladder for me." After she had said this three times she heard a noise coming from above like the sound of golden chains, and saw a golden chair suspended by golden chains lowered from the sky. Having seated herself on the golden chair she prayed, " 0 Rimasa, take me on high.'' Having reached the height of the windows of her parents' house, she cried out, " Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncle and aunt, none of you would help me ; now I have no longer need of you, remain where you are." ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 245 ' When she had reached the top of the house she again cried out words to the same effect. Then the whole family came out from the house deeply distressed at seeing her carried away on high, and cried, " 0 Pandagian ! come down again ; here are nine pigs that shall be slaughtered for you." Then she answered, " It is too late, too late, I have no more need of them," and as she said this she rose higher and higher in the air, until at length she disappeared from sight. ' When she arrived at the heavenly village Kasendukan, her hands and her feet were bound together, and a stick of the Lahendong tree passed through them, and thus she was carried to the river and there washed.1 Then she was killed, roasted, scraped, again washed, cut open and her entrails removed — treated, in fact, just like a slaughtered pig. But all this painful treatment redounded to her honour. For from her forehead and face arose the sun, from the back of her head arose the moon (the spots on the moon are the wounds she had on her head), her right eye became the star of the year, her left eye the star Pamusis, her heart the morning star, her liver became the three stars, her lungs the seven stars, and her body, which was chopped into fine pieces, became the other stars. The glow-worms received their lights from the scraps that fell from the chopping- block.' In many of the legends of the people of Minahassa, we find traces of the influence of the Catholic priests. This influence seems to have caused in many cases both a change in the names of the heroes and a considerable modifica tion in the character of the legends. The following legend is an example of this (22) : ' The 1 This is a method of binding pigs, which was formerly employed in Minahassa. A picture in the narrative of the voyage of the ' Astrolabe ' (78) shows a babirusa pig bound in this way. 246 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x empung 2 Wailan wangko was alone in the world. Then an island became visible which rose from the water. A coco nut tree was cast upon the island, and a tree grew there called Mahawatu. Then the empung Wailan wangko took the coco-nut tree which had been driven ashore and broke it in two, when lo ! a man came out, whom the god called Wangi. ' Then the god Wailan wangko spoke to Wangi and said, "You remain now upon the earth whilst I climb into the tree Mahawatu." Then said Wangi, " It is good." But Wangi considered with himself, and climbed up into the tree Mahawatu and said to the god, " I have come to ask Wailan wangko why I must remain all alone upon the earth." ' Then the empung answered him and said, " Go back again and take some earth and make two figures, one a man and the other a woman." This Wangi did, therefore, and both the figures were human, and they could walk about, but they could not speak. When this was done, Wangi again climbed into the tree and asked the empung Wailan wangko, " How now ! both the figures are well made but they cannot speak." ' Then the empung Wailan wangko said to Wangi, " Take this ginger and blow it into the skulls and ears of your figures that they may speak and give them names also ; to the man you shall give the name Adam, and to the woman the name Ewa." ' The Wailan wangko of this myth is the great god of the southern districts of Minahassa. He is generally nameless, the ' I am that I am ' of the Alfur, the Almighty Lord who made the Earth. He is sometimes represented as sitting in a tree on an island from the principal event in the above legends (23). 2 ' Empung ' literally means a grandfather, and is used as the generic name for the gods. ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 247 It is a curious circumstance that whilst in the northern districts the principal deity and her first offspring are re presented as women, in the southern districts both the Wailan wangko, the great god, and the miraculously formed first human being, Wangi, are both men. It should be noted, however, that in the story of Wailan wangko no attempt is made to trace any blood-relationship between him and Wangi, nor between Wangi and Adam and Ewa, so that the natives of the southern districts do not trace their descent from the first gods as they do in the north. From this fact, and the undoubted traces of some Christian influence, it seems probable that the story of Wailan wangko has been profoundly modified within com paratively speaking modern times, that, in fact, some of the teachings of the old Catholic priests have become grafted on to the native myth, and some of the names of the native heroes changed to those of the Hebrew scriptures. The religion of the Minahassers was a differentiated form of animism. They believed not only that certain trees, rocks, waterfalls and other objects were possessed of souls, but also in a number of free wandering spiritual forms of various ranks, powers, and capabilities for good or evil. There is little reason to doubt that the origin of the religions of savage races may be traced to a form of fetich- ism, a belief that every natural object with which the savage came into daily contact possessed a soul or fetich. These fetiches were the cause of the growth, the flowering and the fruiting of the trees, the sound of the waterfall, the dangers of the rocks, and the perils of the mountains. It was the belief in them which caused, under certain circum stances, the tabu of the South-sea islanders, and the same thing occurs in Sangir under the name 'pilih,' and in Minahassa and Bolang Mongondu under the names ' lii ' or ' poton.' 248 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x A further advance was marked by the introduction into their spiritual world of the spirits of deceased chiefs who lived for ever, not in the form of the fetiches of places so much as in the form of wandering ghosts haunting the scenes of their former triumphs and experiences. Then, when men began to record with greater accuracy their genealogy, their remote ancestors were elevated to the rank of powerful gods dwelling in the heavens or the under- world, to whom prayers must be said and sacrifices offered to avert disasters and secure blessings, and a crowd of lesser deities and spirits introduced from some of those who were more recently deceased. It was in this stage of religious belief that the mission aries found the people of Minahassa. They believed in a series of ancestral ghosts of the rank of first-class gods, in a crowd of lesser deities, protecting spirits and demons and a few fetiches connected with certain holy trees, the forests, dangerous or prominent rocks and cliffs, noted waterfalls and streams and other natural objects. The principal god of the natives of the northern dis tricts was Lumimuut, the universal mother of all men ; and next to her came her first-born children, the twice nine group of the Makaruwa sijow, the thrice seven group of the Makatelu pitu and the three Pasijowan. These were the principal empungs or gods. Most of them dwell in four villages in the heavens called Kasosoran, Kalawakan, Kasendukan, and Karondoran (89). In for mer times it appears the gods were not exclusive, but would at times leave their heavenly abodes to walk amongst mankind on earth. The following legend of the bold bad Warereh explains the reason of their latter-day exclusive- ness (58) : ' Once upon a time the Lokon was very much higher than it is now, in fact so high that it reached into the ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 249 heavens. In those days the gods frequently turned their steps earthward to walk amongst mortals, and rich blessings ever followed in their footsteps. ' " I wonder what it is like above there in the dwell ings of the immortals ? " said the proud and inquisitive Warereh. ' His curiosity gained the mastery over his prudence, and he went to the Lokon to see. Higher and higher he climbed over the rocky and difficult ground, until at last he reached the top and gazed on the noble mansions of the heavenly choir. Prouder than ever he returned to earth and boasted of all he had seen. But he always wished to make the ascent again and gaze once more on the pleasant places of the gods. At last he was discovered and the immortals swore to be avenged. But Warereh fled and hid himself in the mountains for a long time. Eventually he felt a superhuman strength in his limbs and dared to venture forth to meet the angry gods. ' Armed with a terribly long sword he hastened to the mountain, and with one lusty stroke the top of the Lokon was cut off. Taking it up on his shoulders he carried it beyond the Tonsea and set it up as the mountain which is now called Klabat. Not satisfied with this exploit, he tried another stroke, and the portion he cut off he threw into the sea near Wenang (the modern Manado), and there it remains to this day as the Manado tuwa Island. ' The punishment for his misdeeds, however, speedily followed. Shunned and hated by all men, he had to pass the remainder of his days in solitude. ' Ever since the time of the bold and wicked Warereh the immortals have lived their lives apart from mortals, and the blessings which followed on their footsteps are sought by men in vain.' According to another legend (89), it was the Klabat 250 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x mountain that was formerly the way from the earth to the heavenly village Kasendukan. ' In olden times, there was no rice in Minahassa, but a certain man, Tuleng by name, heard a rumour that this cereal was grown in Kasendukan, so he paid the gods a visit to see if he could persuade them to sell him a few seeds. After several fruitless attempts to buy them, he at last decided to steal some. He succeeded in doing this, and brought the stolen grains to earth. When, afterwards, the dwellers in Kasendukan heard of the theft, they determined to kill Tuleng ; but before they had started for this purpose, Sumangi, the brother of Tuleng, succeeded in cutting off the top of the Klabat and thus effectually- frustrated the immortals in the execution of their fell de sign.' It must not, however, be supposed that all the empungs dwell in the heavenly villages. Thus, the Makawalang dwells in the under- world, Saputan dwells in the volcano of that name, Rumengan dwells in the Mahawu, and Pinou- toan up the Lokon. Other gods of considerable importance were : Muntuuntu, in some places recognised as the chief of the gods. He seems also to have been the guardian of the gate of the heavenly village Kasendukan. Lembej was the distributor of riches. The empung Totokai was the patron of the head-hunters. Tingkulengdeng, the herald of the will of the gods, and Mualongan, the empung who combated the evil spirits or sakits (16). One of the most important of the gods was Mandej (22), the first-born of the Makaruwa sijow. He dwelt at Lamperan in Tomohon, and had the control of agriculture. He was born at Tuiir-in-tanah, literally the "tree of the earth,' and had one true wife Rawembene, by whom he begat five children, Reko, Menso, Runtulumingkan, Runturu- mosok, Porong nimiles. ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 251 The agriculturist always found it of the greatest im portance to pay due reverence to Mandej, and on every important occasion to give great fossos or feasts in his honour. In the neighbourhood of the fields the priests placed holy stones about a foot in height, upon which the little quadrangular altars or paposanan rested, and anyone who violated those holy places, or neglected to bring to them the necessary offerings, was liable to bad fortune, violent sick ness, or even death. Of the minor spirits, we find two well-marked classes, the empung-rengarengan, who were the protecting or household gods, and the demons — se sakit — the evil spirits of sickness and bad luck. Each man had an empung- rengarengan, who was born with him and grew up with him, who accompanied him on all his journeys, and was ever present to protect him against injury, evil spirits and sickness. The empung-rengarengan literally mean the gods of the same age (91). As Wilken points out, they correspond very closely with the ' genii ' of the Romans. These guardian spirits are constantly referred to by the natives for protection and advice, and are appealed to in their prayers after the true and mighty gods. Some examples will serve at the same time to illustrate this point and to show the character of the native prayers. 0 empung e wailan ! 0 empung-rengarengan ! Turuan-ei u lalan karondoran, wo tija u lalan kaengkolan. 0 mighty gods ! 0 protecting spirits ! Show us the right way, and turn not from us. 0 empung e wailan ! 0 empung-rengarengan ! Kuman wo melep wo lumema — Pikipikian an sakit, wo kelu-kelungan ung kelung ijow watu ; — wo jajo-ajo mange witi si Lokon telu katuaan wo kalakawir nami. 0 mighty gods ! 0 protecting spirits ! Eat, drink and chew 252 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x the betel-nut. Turn away sickness and protect us as with a shield of stone. May our lives be as long, and our years as lucky, as the three Lokons (23). The last part of this prayer refers to the three crests of the Lokon mountain, whose crowns are as bald as an old man's head. The evil spirits or demons are called se sakits. They are the cause of all disasters, sickness and mischief. They are powerful, wicked and vindictive ; but, as the following legend shows, they are not devoid of some of the elementary principles of fair play. The place where Kakaskassan now stands with the Lokon mountain on the west, and the lofty peak of the Rumengan on the east, was in olden times the abode of the gods. It is a wide and extensive plateau, admirably suited both for agriculture and for residence. The ground is fertile, water continually flowing, and the climate is invigorating and healthy. No wonder then that a band of our forefathers chose this spot for rest and peace, and in time raised a magnificent city inhabited entirely by Tombulus. This was Kenilo, of wide and proud reputation amongst the ancients and feared by all the neighbouring tribes on account of the mighty deeds of the thousands of her braves. Notwithstanding her glory and her deeds of war, there was one enemy who was a terror to both old and young. He struck his blows both by day and night, and no one could withstand him. This enemy was — se sakit — of the race of demons. He brought sickness and death to the camp, and, although the elders were consulted about leaves, and barks, and roots, nothing could be found to resist him. Kiolor the chief was at last roused to anger, and called all his warriors together ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 253 to try to remedy the evil ; but when they arrived and he wished to count them, he was embarrassed, for the number was so extremely large. In order to form an approximate estimation of the numbers of his host, he adopted a method which has been in use from the oldest times. A large waringin tree was felled in full leaf, and then as they passed by every warrior plucked one leaf from it. Only a portion of the warriors had done this when the supply of leaves came to an end, so the remaining ones each took up a handful of earth and threw it on the ground. Before the counting was over a mountain of earth had arisen from the plain. Such a great multitude could well engage in conflict with any enemy, however cunning, so when everything was prepared they challenged the sakit to commence the war wherever and whenever he pleased. The enemy, notwithstanding his bloodthirsty nature, was not without a certain pride, and before beginning the conflict he gave them a piece of salutary advice. ' It is not possible,' se sakit cried, ' for you to combat with us here as if we were like men. We can see you, and you cannot see us, so that the combat would not be fair and we should most certainly win. Go therefore out in the open plain and wait until you see the assa (a species of reed) trembling, and then you will know by that sign that I am present and you can wage war on me. Moreover the best weapons you can use are not your swords, but the rere (leaf-stalks of the seho — a palm).' Thereupon Kiolor commanded the people to gather the reres, and when the warriors were all armed with these the host started out once more to meet the enemy. When the sign was given the Tombulus fell to, and with shouts and screams they thrashed the waving reeds. At last drops of blood appeared on the rere and the assa, and then Kiolor knew that the sakit had been struck. 254 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x At last, the people grew tired of trying to murder one sakit and turned homewards, whilst the sakit fled away to bring the news of his defeat to the others. But now followed the vengeance of the sakits. That night scarce a house in the camp was free from mourning, for of the thousands that had fought the fight not a tenth part remained alive, and thus the splendour and renown of Kenilo passed away. And now follows the moral of the story, ' Henceforth, No ! There shall be no more fights between men and the sakits. In future men shall look for comfort only to the gods, and, by duly honouring and propitiating them at feasts, hope to check the power of the demons (23).' In a religion such as this, with a formidable array of deities and spirits, whose wills have to be made known from time to time to erring humanity, we have, as might be expected, a number of priests, who officiate at the feasts and religious ceremonies, and act as mouthpieces of the gods. In early times it was only the members of the oldest families who officiated at the services, but with the gradual distribution of the clans over a wider area, and the increase in the number of ceremonies and liturgies, priestcraft became a profession, practised only by those who had given a considerable time to the study of the gods and their ceremonies. In the northern districts the priests were chiefly men, but in the south they were principally women. The chief priests were the walians, whose duty it was to preside over the fossos, to lead the singing-declamation of the names of the gods and their history, to teach the young, to advise and help the sick, to maintain the holy fire, and to officiate at all ceremonies of a religious nature. As a symbol of their office, they carried a notched stick, by which they ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 255 could reckon the number of days since the last fosso, and the time the next was due. In payment for their services they received large presents of rice, flesh, linen, pottery, and other things, so that they frequently became the richest as well as the most influential people of the tribe. The minor priests were the Tounahas, whose business it was to listen to and note the cry of the birds, for the guidance of the hunters ; the Teterusan, the chiefs of the braves or headhunters, who played an important part in many of the fossos ; and the Potu-usan, or elders, who were consulted upon the mysteries of religion, the meaning of the extraordinary cries of birds, the tracing of poisonings or thefts, and on other occasions (23). The Mawasal (89) was the priest who presided over the funeral cere monies. He made a small sacrifice for the dead, gave him half a betel-nut to chew, threw the rest of it away, and drove away his spirit with a sword. His services were paid by a gantang of rice (3^ lbs.) . The Weeres was also a funeral priest. He recounted the ancestral histories on the last night of the mourning. The Menanalinga was the priest who listened for the cries of birds. His help was re quired at the commencement of wars, and at the selection of sites for new fields and houses. The Tumutungep looked after the opening of the rice fields. The Leleen was the peculiar priest of the rice fields actually in cultivation. His work commenced a month before the seed was sown, and ended when the grain was garnered. He sowed in every garden of his division the first seeds, and gathered the first ears when the rice was ripe. The principal holy birds were the Totonbara or Bakeke, the foreteller by day (Phaenicophaes calorhynchus), the foreteller by night (Eudynamis melanorhyncha), and the ' year bird ' (Cranorrhinus cassidix). The fossos, posos, or feasts of the Minahassers were so 256 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x numerous that it would be only wearisome to the reader if I were to attempt to give a list of them. They were given not only in honour of the gods and to secure good fortune in war, or in more peaceful pursuits to drive away sickness and secure the blessings of good health and worldly prosperity, but on the opening of every new field or garden, the build ing of a new house, and, in fact, upon every occasion that offered itself. Some of the feasts lasted from twelve to fourteen days, and during the whole of that time all work was at a standstill, and the whole population gave them selves to the dancing, singing, feasting, playing, scrambling or praying that composed the fosso. The following account of a feast at Sondei is given in the ' Life of Riedel ' (58) : ' The man who had arranged the feast was one of the richest men in the country. Shortly before he had bought at great cost a third wife, who was quite thirty years younger than himself. Fourteen days after the wedding- feast she had run away, in order to try and gain for her parents a repetition of the sum of money her husband had paid for her. This had made him so angry that he had struck her, and, a divorce following, he was obliged to con tent himself with his other two wives, one of whom was already an elderly matron. ' Shortly afterwards his son was killed by head- hunters in the forest, and his second wife became sick unto death. ' Then the walians threatened him with the anger of the gods, and said that unless he gave a fosso other and greater disasters would follow. ' This he had now done to save the life of his second wife. ' The feast was in full swing and had already lasted four whole days. ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 257 ' In front of the house of the feast-giver there was a quadrangular footstool made of bamboo, and to this a cord was attached, decorated with flowers and leaves, which stretched to a neighbouring tree. This was to allow the gods to come down from the tree to receive the offerings. Within the house were all the friends and relatives of the old man, attired in holiday costume, and in the midst of them were several walians, of whom one was obviously the chief. The chief priest danced about on two planks like a lunatic, singing the while, and swaying bunches of palm leaves hither and thither. I was told that he was possessed of the god Lembej, and had been in that condition already five hours. At last, he fell exhausted to the ground. " He is now dead," cried the spectators. Four other walians covered him with a cloth, and the people said that they should now see a wonder — that they would cut off a piece of his tongue. It is true that they showed a piece of red flesh which they threw into the air and caught again, but in a moment I could see that it was only a piece of a cock's comb. Then one of the walians swung a censer calling upon the god Lembej, in a mumbling tone, to give him back his life, and then they began to whistle for his soul to come back again. ' But the soul seemed to be still unwilling to hear them, for the chief priest, stupid with sagoweer wine and heavy with sleep, snored aloud. ' At last he awoke and sprang up, but for a consider able time remained as if he were dumb. Afterwards, amidst smoking and singing, the missing piece was fastened on to his tongue again. He then chewed betel for a while, and finally raised his voice to thank the gods for his de liverance. 'All this time the sick woman lay upon a mat in a corner, but nobody troubled about her. She was in the s 258 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x last stage of consumption. In the evening there was a great feast, and later the gongs and kolintangs were heard, and the people began a shameless dance. ' The following day the sacrificial feast came to an end. Nine pigs were slaughtered with much ceremony, and a piece of the heart of each of them was placed by the priests upon the altar, that the gods might bless the giver of the feast with long life, sound health, and many children. There upon each of the walians received one pig, and the chief walian two, and the evening was spent by all in the grossest forms of debauchery. ' The following morning the woman was dead.' The central idea in the above is that the priest acts as the mouthpiece of the god Lembej. He works himself up in a condition of hypnotism by monotonous songs, the powerful perfume of incenses, and the regular swaying of his limbs. When he is in that state it is supposed that his own spirit has fled, and is replaced by the spirit of the god. When the god leaves him he falls to the ground like a dead man, and the other priests have to coax back his own soul by whistling for it, as one would for a dog. It is quite possible that during a considerable part of the cere mony the walian is really in a state of unconsciousness, and that he is afterwards quite ignorant of what he has been saying or doing as the medium of the god. He is in a mesmeric sleep, and performs in that state, and without knowing it, a series of antics, similar to those he has seen performed by other priests on like occasions, and utters the same incoherent and unintelligible sentences that have been handed down from generation to generation. Amongst illiterate races language probably changes very much more rapidly than it does amongst the literate ones, and it is quite possible that within a few generations a language may become so altered as to be quite unintelli- CH. X MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 259 gible even to the direct descendants of those who originally spoke it. Now, we find it mentioned that amongst many of the Malay races the language used by the Shamans or mediums is quite unintelligible to their audiences. We find this to be .the case amongst the Bataks, the Olo-Ngadjus, the Buginese, and the Malays of Malaka (92). Amongst the Minahassers I was told by several authorities that the lan guage used by the walians was frequently not completely understood by the people, owing to the use of many words which are now no longer spoken. This is quite consistent with the view that the utter ances of the priest, when supposed to be possessed of the god- spirit, are merely repetitions of phrases used by the older priests, and in no way, either consciously or unconsciously, the real thoughts or opinions of the man who utters them. The wild and senseless antics of the Shaman during the utterances have frequently been compared to the tricks of a lunatic. How is it that such grotesque performances should be regarded as a part of a solemn religious ceremony? The reason for this can only be discovered by a comparative study of the various forms of Shamanism found throughout the world, and this leads us to believe that the antics of the walian are really derived from the antics of real lunatics. Among the ancient Egyptians, many Arab tribes, the ancient Greeks and Russians, and many savage races of the present day (92) , lunatics and idiots are held in, high honour, as being specially favoured by the gods ; and those who suffer from the many forms of hysteria and epilepsy are believed to possess the gift of prophecy. We can readily understand, then, why it is that the Shamans, when they wish to be possessed of the spirit of the god, work themselves up into a hypnotic state resembling epilepsy or the different phases of lunacy. It may be going too far to say that the office of the priest was origin- s 2 260 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x ally held by the lunatic, but it is nevertheless true that many of the actions and gestures of those who act as mediums between the gods and mankind may be dis tinctly traced to the unconscious movements of the mentally afflicted. Besides true supernatural beings, such as the gods, spirits and demons described above, we have evidence to show that the Minahassers also believed in giants, hob goblins, and fairies. Of the race of giants Parepej is perhaps the most famous. He is described in the following legend (22) : ' Many years ago there lived a man in the mountains, named Parepej. He was a man of extraordinary strength and courage, and the pride of his native town Remboken. The people there had never any fear of war or feud, for Parepej, their great and powerful champion, was always with' them to decide the fortunes of the fray. Remboken might well look to him for aid, for he was of the race of giants, and all men paled and fled before his sword. His head was in the middle two feet broad, and his arms, like the banana' tree, bore ten dread fingers which spread fright and conster nation amongst those who gazed upon them. His feet were, as long as banana leaves, and as they trod the earth they made it vibrate as beneath the fall of heavy weights, frightening both friend and foe. Now, in the time of Parepej a war broke out between Remboken and Tomo hon because the giant was always encroaching on his enemies' territory, robbing them of anything he could lay hands upon, devastating their possessions, and causing great grief and sorrow to the people of Tomohon. For a time no one dared to attack a giant one sweep of whose sword would annihilate ten ordinary men; but at last Tomalun, to the great joy of the people of Tomohon, determined to avenge his people and kill the giant. But ch. x MYTHOLOGY OF THE MINAHASSERS 261 such an undertaking could not be heedlessly begun. First of all they must carefully train their hero, and give him the fat of the land. Day by day Tomahin waxed, stronger and braver, and joyfully anticipated the combat. He swore to humiliate the giant and set his people free. ' Now followed proofs of the hero's strength and agility. First he struck at the soft banana tree, and with one blow his swift and glittering blade cleft through the stem and buried its point in the ground. Then they selected another pisang tree,, smaller in size but of harder wood. This Tomalun with gigantic force also cleft in twain, and his sword once more was buried in the earth. Next they chose the seho tree, whose wood is as hard as that of any tree. With breathless anxiety the people watched this proof of his strength, and great was their joy and admiration when the sword went again through the stem, and the seho tree came tumbling to the ground. ' Lastly, he had to cleave a bamboo filled with the gumutu of the seho tree, a feat which was to be the crown on his former exploits, and a sign for the people to go to war. This, to the astonishment of everyone, he successfully accomplished, and the people felt prepared to face the enemy. ' The crowds shouted at every proof of Tomalun's strength and agility, the gongs sounded, and copious draughts of the divine sagoweer wine raised their spirits to enthusiasm. ' It was then determined to commence the war, the field of battle was chosen, and the people anxiously awaited the result. It was agreed that it was better to let the war be decided by a duel between Parepej and Tomalun than to fill the battlefield with dead bodies and with blood. ' The night hung heavily on the slumbering earth when gongs and drums announced the commencement of the v battle. Parepej the strong, dreaming only of victory, 262 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. x knowing no fear, afraid of no danger, came bellowing and snorting at the head of Remboken's united bands. ' Who was this who ventured to measure swords with him ? What mortal dared to defy the giant Parepej who was feared alike by friend :and by foe ? ' The two heroes, both of them eager for the fray, eyed ¦one another with curiosity for some time. ' " What earth-worm dares to put himself in front of me?" said Parepej . " What do you want, you dwarf ? I am ashamed to fight with anyone I can crush like I can .crush you. Cannot I annihilate you with the end of my finger ? One of my feet will cover :the whole of your body. I will trample you to the dust. Cut of my sight,, you dwarf, or the hour of your death has come." ' " I know very well," said Tomalun, " that Lam smaller than you ane:; but I am not afraid either of your bellowing voice or your sharp sword, for you must learn that any arm has also shown its strength, and the virtue of my sword has been tried. It is true your fame has resounded from afar, .and I am small and insignificant ; but look up at the Kios yonder, a mountain which is smaU and light but still plucky " ' The ruse succeeded. The giant was taken off his guard. A javelin pierced his foot, and with terrible rage the monster tumbled ,to the earth. With lightning speed the glittering steel cleft through Parepej 's neck, .-and the point give me only a name and I will do what you wish.' When Mamanua had given him the name of Tampanisi- walian, he and his son mounted on the back of the bird. The bird's strength failing him, however, he was brought no farther than the top of the papulandang tree. Mamanua wandered with his son still farther until he came to a very high tree. ' Will you help us to Kasendukan ? ' said he to the tree. ' If so, I will give you a handsome present of linen and rice.' ' Give me only a name,' answered the tree, ' and your wish shall be fulfilled.' 'Moihow shall be your name, for you will become the loftiest of all the trees.' Higher and higher climbed Ma manua and his son in the tree, higher and still higher grew the tree, but before they had reached Kasendukan there came a strong wind which blew the tree over. Farther and still farther marched the disappointed spouse, until he came to a long thick rattan, t6 whom he said, ' Will you lead me to Kasendukan, to Lumalundung, the mother of Walasendou ? If so, I will reward you with a present of fine linen and rice.' ' You need not hire me,' said the rattan ; ' come now, I will bring you there.' Ma- ch. xii SONGS AND ROMANCE IN OLD MINAHASSA 317 manua and his son mounted on the rattan, which grew and grew and grew until it reached the expanse of heaven, where, pushing against a stone pillar and finding no support, it turned down again and grew towards the east, where the sun rises. ' Wait here,' said he to Mamanua, ' until the sun begins his upward journey, and follow him ' to Kasendukan.' He had not long to wait, for soon he met a man named Makarehak going before the sun, who said to him, ' Why are you here ? ' 'I wish to mount into the sky with the sun,' was the answer. ' Very well ; but if you do not wish to be burnt with the sun's rays, you must be provided with nine banana and nine arenga stalks.' Having no time to do this, Mamanua let the sun pass without using him, and waited for the moon instead. ' Why are you here ? ' asked the moon. ' I wish by your help to go to Kasendukan,' said he. ' Your wish shall be granted, but you will suffer considerably during the voyage, for a stinking vapour exhales from me as I move.' They thereupon commenced the journey, and soon came to Kasendukan. Here Muntuuntu stood in the way ; asking him, ' Why have you come here ? ' ' I am searching for the mother of Walasendou,' said Mamanua. Then Muntuuntu took some assa (a reed), and, sharpening it to a point, thrust it at Mamanua ; but as he could not strike him even once with it, he said, ' You evidently are a friend of ours. Go your way in peace. In the middle of the country you will find a great house which belongs to Marinojo, father of Lumalundung.' Mamanua, however, saw on all sides fine houses and was per plexed, not being able to find with certainty the house he wanted. A great fly settling on his head, he said to it, ' Show me the house of Marinojo, and I will give you fine linen and rice.' ' Give me only a name,' it said, ' and I will put you right.' ' Your name shall be Lalerlumeno (bright or shining fly), and if your dung be laid in wounds, in flesh, in pig's flesh, or in fish, it shall breed maggots.' ' Follow me,' continued the fly, ' and note well upon whose forehead of the nine sisters in the house of Marinojo 2 I settle, for she is Lumalundung. Take Walasendou to her that she may embrace him'. So said, so done. Lumalun- 1 The sun is masculine and the moon feminine in the native languages 2 Marinojo seems to have been an agricultural deity. 318 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xii dung, seeing her son, fell in joy upon his neck, took him to her chamber, and shut Mamanua out. Being thus left alone and knowing not what to do, he saw fortunately a rat, to whom he said, ' Help me and open the door for me, and I will give you a quantity of linen and rice.' ' I do not want these gifts ; give me only a name,' said the rat. ' Gnawing rat shall be your name, for you shall gnaw through every thing.' ' Take care,' answered the rat, ' and as soon as you hear me gnaw at the door for the third time, push against it and it shall fly, open.' Mamanua did so, the door flew open, and he discovered Lumalundung embracing her son Walasendou. Lumalundung now prepared a meal, but she used only the, ' vapour of the rice. Mamanua ate as usual. This food is, how ever, for those who dwell in Kasendukan a deadly poison, so that he died. Afterwards she prayed to the Empung Tumon- tulus of the Klabat to restore him to life ; and when he was alive again, he ate nothing but the rice vapour even as his wife did, and lived with her happily ever after. in Kasendukan. Their son, however, did not thrive there, and notwithstanding that he was constantly nursed by his mother he grew thin and weak. Mamanua and his wife determined therefore to send him back to earth, but Walasendou, hearing of this plan, asked his parents whom he should marry at Mondolung. ' You will find,' answered his father, ' a large egg of a wood-pigeon in a climbing plant on the buwis tree. Break this egg, and a woman shall come out called Matinempun. She shall be your wife.' Wala. sendou then went down to earth, and it happened just as his father had said. Walasendou and Matinempun became man and wife and begat three sons and one daughter, who dwelt at Mondolung, in the Tateli district. A very common and favourite pastime with the natives of North Celebes is the invention and solution of conun drums. The following story told in Bolang Mongondu (90) will give an idea of the nature of the Celebean conundrum: Once upon a time there dwelt in a mountainous district a rich and beautiful princess who had a wonderful talent for asking and ch. xii SONGS AND ROMANCE IN OLD MINAHASSA 319 answering conundrums. Attracted by her beauty and riches, many princes sought her hand ; but no one could captivate her. In order to check the stream of suitors, she declared that she would never marry anyone who could not beat her in asking and answering conundrums ; and furthermore, whoever failed to guess the answer to her riddle, or gave her a riddle that she could guess, would be immediately hanged. Many noble princes fell victims to this cruel proclamation. Far away from the dwelling of the princess there lived a king who had an only son, named Salmon. When he was a child, his parents had allowed him to become the playfellow of a slave of the same age, named Louis. Both youths were brought up with the greatest caution, and they scarcely knew that the world was any larger than their own little kingdom. It was with the greatest wonder therefore that they saw from time to time columns of smoke arise in the distance into the blue sky, and a burning desire came over them to climb the mountains to see what lay beyond. The distance, however, was so great that they could not reach the mountains on foot, and the king had care fully hidden his horses away that they might not use them. One day the king sent Louis into the forest to fetch his horse whilst he himself went into the fields. The slave quickly fetched it, and then sought for Salmon that they might ride away to the mountains together. The mother asked thern before they started where they were going. ' We are going,' answered the son, ' to see what it is like on the other side of yonder mountain.' Then the mother cried aloud and threatened them with punishment, but it was of no avail. ' You and father have shut us up long enough, and now we will no longer put up with it,' said the son. ' Then is it better that my son should die,' said the mother, and at the same time tried to throw over them a strong poison. The youths, however, were already seated and moving off, so that it fell only on the hind-quarters of the horse. But the poison soon began to work, and before they had got • very far the horse fell dead by the wayside. The youths waited for some time to see what would happen to the dead horse. Soon afterwards two gluttonous crows that had been feeding on the carcase fell dead to earth. Salmon and his playfellow took these crows, cut them each in half, smoked them over a fire, and, wrapping them in woka leaves, started off on foot. When 320 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xii they had passed the last mountain, they came to some large houses where they received a friendly welcome. The appearance of the people, however, did not favourably impress Louis, who warned Salmon to be careful. ' These people will rob us when we fall asleep, and perhaps murder us ; we must therefore be on our guard and watch by turns.' The prince was a bad watchman and sleep overcame him, and while they both slept they were robbed of all their possessions. The thieves ate up the crows , they had stolen from the lads, and as these were poisoned by the horse-flesh, the thieves to the number of forty died. The two travellers then went on their way, and at last they came to the dwelling of the cruel but beautiful princess, and were received with much hospitality. The first evening the princess turned the conversation to her favourite pastime, but the young prince became uneasy, and was about to say that he was not clever at asking or guessing conundrums when Louis whispered in his ear that he should ask the princess to allow them to leave her presence for a moment. ' Now,' said the slave to Salmon when they were alone, ' first ask her this riddle : " One dead kills two, and two dead kill forty," and don't give her the slightest clue to the answer or she will ask you a conundrum. Returning to the princess, Salmon said, ' One dead kills two, and two dead kill forty.' The princess could not of course give an answer to this conundrum at once, but she determined to spare no trouble to find out what it was. Louis, suspecting that she might use un fair means to obtain the answer, said to his master, ' To-night probably the princess will send some one to find out the answer from me. Keep awake, therefore, and when you hear me cough come out angrily and ask who is making such a noise.' Every thing happened as Louis had foreseen, for no sooner did the household suppose that the prince was asleep that night than the wife of one of the chiefs came to Louis, and tempted him with a sack of money and caresses to give her the answer to the riddle. Louis coughed loudly, and Salmon came to the door and in an angry voice asked him who was making such a noise. The woman rushed away frightened, leaving behind her the sack of money and her sarong, which Louis had held on to. The same thing occurred on four nights ; each time the wife of a different chief came to find out the secret. On the fifth night Louis said ch. xii SONGS AND ROMANCE IN OLD MINAHASSA 321 to the prince, ' This evening the princess herself will come ; you must therefore sleep in my place outside the door.' The princess came as the slave said, and on being disturbed left be hind her in like manner her money and her sarong, She had, however, learned from the prince that he and his slave had left their home on a horse, and this was a sufficient clue for her to guess the conundrum. On the following morning she gave her answer, ' One poisoned horse kills two crows, and two poisoned crows kill forty men.' The prince had now forfeited his life, and was ordered to be hanged. When he came to the place of execution he asked per mission to give his slave Louis a message to take to his parents. Permission was granted, and he said, ' We caught a deer with one copper and one silver horn. Show the horns.' Louis showed the two first sarongs and the two sacks full of money. ' Again we caught a deer with one silver horn and one golden horn. Show the horns.' Louis showed the other two sarongs and bags full of money. Then the four women who had left these fled away, for their husbands were present and they were greatly ashamed. ' Further,' the prince went on, ' we caught a deer with one golden horn and one diamond horn. Show the horns, Louis.' ' Never mind,' cried the princess. ' I see now that you are destined to be my husband.' So the prince came down triumphantly from the place of exe cution, and became the husband of the rich and beautiful princess. Here the story unfortunately ends. We do not know if the princess gave up her bad habit of asking riddles, but at any rate we may presume that they lived happily ever afterwards. Closely related to the conundrums are the proverbs. Their meaning is at first sight so obscure that it seems very probable that they were conundrums that, by constant repetition, have come to be regarded as proverbs. Thus : ' Atedu mepe si kooko,' ' The egg breaks open the chicken,' seems at first sight mere nonsense, for our common experience of eggs and chickens is that it is the &¦ thicken which breaks open the egg. When used as a Y 322 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xii proverbial saying to express any marked reversal of natural phenomena its meaning is clear. Similarly when children rebel against the authority of their parents the native says, ' Tampanisi tumongko uwak,' ' The tampanisi (a kind of dove) defies the uwak (the great hornbill).' But besides proverbs there are numerous maxims in common use amongst the people, some of them distinguished by remarkably fine and noble sentiments. Here are some examples : — • 'Do not enrich yourself with the sweat of others.' ' If one could cut off flowing water, then could one break the bonds of brotherhood.' ' One must suffer heat and rain to receive joy ' (23). ch. xiii HISTORY OF MINAHASSA 323 CHAPTER XIII HISTORY OF AND USEFUL PLANTS IN MINAHASSA Early history of European settlements in Minahassa — Account of] the Dutch settlement — The Sagoweer palm — Coco-nut pearls — The Betel-nut palm — The Corypha palm — Woods — Kapok — The Musa mindanensis — ¦ Edible fruits — Eice — Legend of the rice — Art of the Alfurs. In many of the legends of Celebes we find, as I have already mentioned, numerous traces of contact with European ideas. It is consequently necessary before bringing my description of the Minahassa races to a close just to run through as briefly as possible the scanty history we have of European conquest in this region. Before the advent of the Portuguese the place now known as Manado was called Wenang, and the island Manado tuwa was called Bobantohe (22). The natives of the country now called Minahassa were under the dominion of the cruel and warlike kings of Bolang Mongondu. The inhabitants of Bobantohe had been successful in resisting all attempts at subjugation, and were a free and indepen dent people numbering some 300 warriors and about 700 non-combatants. For many generations these brave people, who said they were descended from the baboons which swarmed in the forests of the island, maintained their independence, but at last they found themselves in dire distress, owing partly to want of water, partly to internal dissensions, and partly to the- loss of their crops by the Voracious apes, and were obliged to migrate to Wenang and T 2 324 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xiii surrender to the queen of Bolang, who reigned in Minahassa as the deputy of her husband (79). It is not yet known for certain when the Portuguese first discovered the ' Pulah Salebih,' or ' Many Islands,' but, as mentioned above, in the year 1563 Mascarenhas sent a priest from Ternate, named P. Diogo Magalhaens, to preach Christianity to the people of Manado. He says that the Manadeese were a brave and warlike people and a terror in the neighbourhood ; but his remarks probably apply, not to the Manado people, but to the Bantiks, who formed at the time a large and powerful tribe. From Manado Magalhaens went to Siauw, and for nearly a century afterwards the pioneers of civilisation and Chris tianity devoted their best energies to the chain of islands extending from Mindanao to Tagulandang, partly because they are on the direct route from the Philippines to the Moluccas or Spice Islands, and partly because the natives offered less combined resistance to their encroachments. The Portuguese were succeeded in these waters by the Spaniards, and there seems to be no doubt that for a time at least part of the eastern peninsula was under the yoke of Castile. The Dutchmen appeared upon the scene for the first time in 1655. They established themselves in a stone fortress they built at Manado. They soon drove out the Spaniards, and by the help of the famous Amsterdam Sultan of Ternate they, in the year 1677, defeated and routed the king of Bolang Mongondu. From that time the power of the Dutchmen and the ex tent of their dominion gradually increased. They could soon reckon upon over 4,000 fighting men from Manado, Klabat, Tomohon and Kakas, and numerous kingdoms of the Tomini Bay and north coast came under the dominion nominally of the Sultan of Ternate, but actually of the Dutch. ch. xiii HISTORY OF MINAHASSA 325 Soon after the Dutchmen had established themselves in Celebes they commenced to spread amongst the natives the doctrines of the Reformed Church. For a long time Christianity seems to have made but little progress, and it was not until Dominie Kam arrived in 1817 and was followed by Lenting, Lammers, and Muller, that any very great impression was made upon those natives who had not previously accepted the Romanism of the Spaniards and Portuguese. Nine or ten years later came HoUendoorn, who set to work to learn the languages and preach the gospel in the dialects that were in actual familiar use amongst the natives, instead of using the conventional form of Malay. HoUendoorn may fairly be considered the first of that race of distinguished missionaries of which Riedel, Wilken, Schwartz, and Graafland were such brilliant ex amples. It may truly be said that they have achieved greater success in their mission than any missionaries at any time in any part of the world. In Minahassa alone there are at the present time about 114,000 Christians out of a population of 135,000. There have been one or two attempts to re-establish Roman Catholicism in Minahassa. We have in the writ ings of Wiersma (87 A) very bitter comments on the doings of the Catholics. During my visit to Celebes a Roman Catholic priest arrived, and terrible were the scandals that arose as to his objects and peregrinations. It certainly seems a pity that the odium theologicum should be allowed to intrude itself upon such an obviously good piece of work, and, although I am inclined to believe that Roman Catholicism would have been a more suitable form of Christianity for the natives than the reformed religion, it would be the greatest mistake in the world to allow the present system to be disturbed until the Celebeans are better 326 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CH. Xltf able to understand and appreciate the religion which suits them best. Since the commencement of the colonisation of Mina hassa the sway of the Dutch Government has been dis tinguished by a remarkable share of peace and prosperity. There have been one or two affairs with the Bantiks, that brave and independent race of people living near Manado, and in 1809 the Dutchmen were obliged to carry a flotilla of boats to Lake Tondano and suppress the revolt of the Tondanese. About thirteen years ago, too, there was trouble with some natives from the district Bwool, who came in some twenty large praus one morning early, and before the military could disperse them slaugh tered in cold blood a num ber of peaceful citizens in the market-place, attempted to burn the Residency, and actually tried to storm the fort itself. History does not give us details of the numbers of these poor mis guided wretches who fell be fore the fire of the soldiers' rifles, nor of the number who escaped to tell their friends the story of their bold but disastrous attack upon the stronghold of the ' Orang blanda.' Through the kindness of Mr. Harmsen, of Manado, I Fig. 33. — Spear used by the natives of Bwool. ch. xiii HISTORY OF MINAHASSA 327 was able to obtain one of the spears these people left behind them when they were driven off. The blade is of iron, the handle is of a heavy black wood about three feet in length. Around the neck of the spear there is a band of brass orna mented with a conventional floral design (fig. 33). With these exceptions the rule of the Dutch in Mina hassa has been a peaceful one, and the progress of the colony towards a condition of civilisation has been remark able, thanks to the humanising efforts of the missionaries, the abolition of slavery by Resident Roos in 1819, the spread of an elementary education, and the wise and just govern ment of the officials. Minahassa has at various times been visited by many eminent naturalists and travellers. Van Rosenberg, Wal lace, Reinwardt, Bleeker, Meyer, Platin, and others have sojourned in the peninsula for the purpose of investigating the natural history. Resident Musschenbroek made consider able additions to our knowledge of the fauna, and Controleur Riedel 1 did much valuable scientific work at Tondano. A great deal of useful work was done by the naturalists on board the French man-of-war ' L'Astrolabe,' which visited Manado in the year 1827. The British surveying vessel, the ' Samarang,' under the command of Captain Sir E. Belcher, spent some days in North Celebes in the year 1844, and there is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the fauna of this and other regions visited by the vessel in the volume on the zoology of the voyage edited by the distinguished naturalist Adams. Notwithstanding the labours of all these naturalists, a great deal still remains to be done both in the botany and zoology of the district before we can form any accurate idea of the value of the treasures it contains. Some groups of the animal kingdom have not yet been looked at, and 1 Afterwards Besident of Amboyna. 328 A NATURALIST IN' CELEBES ch. xiii there can be no doubt that many valuable trees and flower ing plants at present unknown to scientific men lie hidden away in the deep reeesses of the forests. Perhaps one of the most important lessons a naturalist learns when he lives for a few months with wild men in their native forests is the extraordinary value of the vege table productions to them. The numerous little devices they have for making traps, baskets, cages, string or rope, pro jectiles of various kinds, out of leaves, bark, sticks, and the like, often struck me as extremely ingenious. In my expeditions in the forest I was frequently at a loss to know how to proceed for the want of some trifling article such as a piece of string, a pin, a little box or basket to carry some thing home in, or a trap to catch some strange creature with ; and I was amazed sometimes at the ready resource shown by my boys in helping me out of such difficulties with materials ready to hand in the forest. With the progress of civilisation and the specialisation of manufacture we have grown to be so dependent upon articles which can be bought in shops that we have lost much of our independence in small matters. If a native of North Celebes, on the other hand, can buy or borrow a knife, he will be his own tailor, hatter, house-builder, boat- builder, and purveyor; and he will manufacture all the string, rope, nails, pins, baskets, weapons of offence and defence, that he requires from the natural productions of his fields and the forests. In these respects there are some plants which are undoubtedly of much more value than others. These are carefully preserved in the neighbourhood of the villages, and are regarded in some cases with especial reverence as the gift or discovery of their popular deities or heroes. Of the bamboo it is hardly necessary for me to speak, for the importance of this grass has been already referred ch. xiii USEFUL PLANTS IN MINAHASSA 329 to by nearly every traveller in the East Indies ; and many of its uses must be familiar to everyone. It has with great justice been said that ' the bamboo is one of the most wonderful and most beautiful productions of the tropics, and one of Nature's most valuable gifts to uncivilised man ' (83). Next to the bamboo the most useful plant in Celebes is the sagoweer palm (Arenga sacchariferum). It extends all over the archipelago, from Sumatra in the west to Cochin China and the Philippines in the east. In Minahassa it is very common in the valleys and forests. Its sap provides the famous sagoweer wine, the drink of the gods in the heavenly village Kasendukan — a clear, sweet, and pleasant beverage when fresh, but bitter and intoxicating when it has been allowed to ferment. The sap is procured in the following way : — When the palm is four or five years old, spicate inflorescences appear among the young leaves. A little while afterwards a soft pad of vegetable tissue filled with sap is formed in the neighbourhood of the older inflorescences. This pad is called the majang. It is probably a young bud, which if allowed to develop further would form another inflorescence. When the blossoms fall from the tree, it is known that the majang is ready to be operated upon, and the native who finds the tree leans a bamboo, with the internodal septa knocked out, against it as a sign of ownership. The majang is first struck several times with a flat wooden club, and forcibly manipulated with the hand, so as to give the sap free passage in the pulpy mass. The tree is then left for three or four days to allow the sap to accumulate. A piece of the majang is next cut off, and if the native sees that it is ready, the sap is allowed to drip into a long bamboo suspended to it. This part of the work is called makehet. The original discovery of this process of wine-making 330 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xiii is surrounded with a cloak of reverential myth. It is very generally attributed to the god Kiriwaerong, who presides over the ' seho ' tree, as> it is called in the native language. In some places in Minahassa, and more generally in Java, a coarse black sugar or treacle is made from the sap of this palm. But besides wine and sugar the arenga palm provides many other useful products. The dense plexus of hairy fibres given off by the leaf-stalks is useful as a tow for making ropes, strings, and brooms. This is called the gumutu or wursan in the Tondano dialect (56). The fibres are black, coarse, and rather brittle, and cannot in consequence be used with the- same confidence as the more valuable manilla hemp fibres, but nevertheless they make very good thick ropes, especially valuable on board ship as hawsers, on account of their power of resisting the dele terious effects of constant soaking in sea-water. The wood of the seho tree is hard and strong, and is frequently used by the natives for the floors of their houses. The half-ripe fruits when peeled aind then baked form a not unpleasant article of food. The young buds can also be eaten as a vegetable. When the trees have ceased to provide a sufficiently copious supply of sap they are cut down, and the pith chopped out and used as an inferior kind of sago. It is not considered to be a first-rate form of food, and is rarely used when there is a good supply of rice or Indian corn. The true sago palm is not so commonly found in Minahassa as it is in Amboyna and some of the other islands of the Moluccas. Except in the Tonsawang dis trict (22), it is not very highly valued for its pith ; but its leaves are everywhere considered to make the very best ' attap ' roofs. They are prepared in the same way as those of the arenga described in a previous chapter. ch. xiii USEFUL PLANTS IN MINAHASSA 331 The coco-nut palms are very extensively grown in Minahassa, as in other islands of the tropics, and in many places form the most valuable possessions of the native families. The white fleshy part of the nut is largely used in the preparation of curries for the table and for other flavouring purposes, but the amount thus used is but a small proportion of the copra annually produced. The young leaves of the coco-nut palm are employed for purposes of decoration in times of festivity. To give the leaves a more bushy appearance the pinnules are some times cut half-way through at their bases and then partially split, as seen in figs. 19 and 20. It is commonly reported that small pearls or stones of carbonate of lime are occasionally found in the fleshy substance of the coco-nut. When found they are highly valued by the natives as a charm against disease and evil spirits. The common Malay name for them is Mustica calappa. In the southern parts of Celebes several different kinds of charm-stones are kept by the natives. The Buginese word for them is ulawu (45). Thus there is the ulawu of the bambo, probably tabasheer, the ulawu of the belawa-wood (Gluta benghas), of the tamarind tree, the ulawu of the snake, the ulawu of the centipede, and many others. All of these are stones occasionally found in the trees or animals from which they derive their name, and are treasured by the natives as giving them the power to hold a spell over another person, to gain riches for themselves and for other purposes (91). I have to thank the Resident of Manado for two excellent specimens of coco-nut pearls; one is pear-shaped, and may now be seen in the museum at Kew Gardens, and the other is spherical. Half of this one was submitted to chemical analysis and the other half remains in my posses sion. They are of a uniform milky- white colour, hard, and 332 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xiii capable of taking a polish like pure white marble. Chemi cally they were found by Dr. Kimmins to consist of pure calcium carbonate without any traces of other salts or vegetable products (36). The larger spherical specimen is half an inch in diameter, the other pear-shaped one rather smaller. It has been supposed by some naturalists that these pearls, first described by Rumphius (66), are not really the pro duct of coco-nuts, but are perhaps the concretions formed in the shells of tridacnas or other large bivalves. I have had the opportunity of comparing my specimens with some true tridacna pearls. The difference between them both in appearance and texture is considerable, and I feel confident that they cannot be the product of the same animal. There is, however, but little reason for us to disbelieve in their coco-nut origin, for Dr. Riedel, writing to Nature (65), says, ' I have a collection of fourteen coco-nut pearls (one of them I myself found in 1866 at Holontalo, N. Celebes, in the endosperm of the seed of the coco-nut).' The pinang, betel-nut, or areca palm, one of the hand somest of the many handsome palms of the East Indies, with its smooth ringed stem and terminal crown of large green leaves, is also highly valued by the Alfurs of Minahassa. It provides them with one of the principal in gredients of the bolus or quid which many of them are in the habit of chewing. So important has the practice of betel- chewing become to the Malays that in many regions no business, no religious or other ceremony, no love-making, can be carried on until the betel has been chewed in silence for some minutes. If the traveller in the wild parts of Malayia wishes to gain the confidence of and become really friendly with the native rajahs he comes in contact with, he should learn to chew the betel at the bitjaras, or conferences, without expressing disgust or pleasure. He may find it a very ch. xiii USEFUL PLANTS IN MINAHASSA 333 unpleasant task, especially when a bolus is handed round a large assembly of native chiefs before it reaches him ; but the accomplishment will often prove of great use. In places where all the ingredients can be easily procured the bolus is composed of sirih leaves ; the leaves of some species of the genus Chavica belonging to the order Piperacese, the pinang-nut, gambir, obtained from the Uncaria gambir, belonging to the order Rubiaceae, chalk, usually obtained by burning coral, and some tobacco. To make a bolus in the most approved fashion the Malay first takes a sirih leaf and spreads upon it some powdered chalk; he then places on it a small piece of gambir and a piece of betel-nut. He next folds the sirih leaf twice over the other ingredients and places it in his mouth, and when it has become sodden and partially masti cated he adds a small bolus of tobacco (23 A). The Corypha umbraculifera is another palm which provides the Alfur with many useful products. It is a tall handsome tree, the terminal crown composed of large fan- shaped leaves supported by long thick leaf-stalks. Some of the leaves are over six feet long in the mid-rib. The leaves of the Corypha are very extensively used for making baskets, cigar-cases, trays, mats, hats, and other woven articles. When dry they are of a light yellow colour. They are soaked in water to make them pliable, and then boiled with colouring matter according to fancy. A very beautiful yellow enamelled appearance may be pro duced by a subsequent process of boiling, the exact details of which I was unable to learn. In weaving together the different coloured strips various patterns are formed, but they are mostly angular and uninteresting. In the Langowan district, where mat- making has become a speciality, a few curious conventional designs of birds (fig. 34) and human figures are woven 34 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CH. XIII into the patterns, but they are very crude and have but little artistic merit. The leaves of the Corypha are also • sometimes used for making attap roofs. JfL, The stem of this # palm provides a hard Fra. 34. — Bird-pattern on a Langowan mat. and useful wood, and the pith is sometimes used as sago. The native drums — Ufa — are almost invariably made from hollowed- out portions of its stem. The young leaves are sometimes eaten as a vegetable, and a native remedy against dysentery is prepared from the roots. For making baskets, water-bowls, -and umbrellas the leaves of the woka or lontar palm (Livistonia rotundifolia) are largely used. The cultivation of the wild banana (Musa mindanensis) for Manilla hemp was at one time very considerable in Mina hassa. In the year 1855 there were, according to Bleeker, over a hundred thousand trees in cultivation ; but of recent years the industry has considerably diminished, so that it is now of little moment. The only place -in Minahassa where I saw string being made from this material was in the Bantik village on the northern bank of the Manado river. The plants grow well in Minahassa, and produce threads of good length and quality, but unless the capital is forth coming for the purchase of necessary appliances, the in dustry must fail in the competition with the large factories in the Philippine Islands. The forests of Celebes provide many kinds of hard and valuable woods, a splendid collection of which has been placed in the museum at Haarlem. The most valuable of these CH. xin USEFUL PLANTS IN MINAHASSA 335 is the kayu-hitam, or black ebony of the Diospyros ebenum tree. Djati is the name given to various kinds of wood from trees of the order Verbenaceee. The true teak (Tectona grandis) occurs in the neighbourhood of Manado, but it is not found in very great abundance in the moun tainous country of the interior. The valuable iron-wood tree (Eusideroxylon zivageri) grows in many places on the coasts and extends some distance up the mountain slopes. The cotton tree or kapok (Eriodendron anfractuosum) provides the natives with an inferior kind of wool, and the Brousonettia provides them with a bast from which they make — or rather used to make — their jackets (tjidakos), and a coarse kind of paper. Many kinds of luscious tropical fruits are sold in the market-places of Minahassa, some of the numerous varieties of bananas and mangoes, pineapples, durians, mangostens, rhumbutans, catapangs, oranges and lemons, and others, but it is difficult to say which of these are really natives of the country, and which have been brought by man from other regions. Spanish pepper, the native tjabeh besar (Capsicum frutes- cens), originally imported from America, now grows wild and in abundance in waste places. As a flavouring for his daily meal of lice it has almost become an article of neces sity to the Malay. Agar-agar, a light-blue jelly-like substance obtained from the Sphceroccus lichenoides, is largely used as a cool ing drink. The staple article of food in Minahassa, as in most parts of Malayia, is rice. This useful cereal is cultivated in dry fields (kebon kring), and in wet fields (kebon petjeh). On the dry grounds the rice is sown at the beginning of the west monsoon in December or January. The harvest is on the coast in April, and in the mountains in May or June. 336 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xiii The legend of the introduction of rice into Minahassa is as follows (22) :— In olden times men had no rice to eat. They were satisfied with the fruit of a certain plant called klijat, which was found in the forests. This fruit was very much like the banana. They roasted it and ate it as there was no rice, and with it they drank sagoweer. Now there lived at one time a very old man, who walked one day until he came to the centre of the earth. There he found a stone, which he took along with him with some difficulty. Then he saw a deep pit, and a leaf of a tree called puti weren. (The wereng-kusaj of the Alfurs is the Ficus minahassae) (17). He also saw a ladder which was only a long rattan. When the old man got to the bottom of the pit he found there a race of men who were quite different to those above, for their noses were flat on their faces, instead of being straight and well-formed. Then the old man went for a walk, and he saw for the first time padi — unthreshed rice — which was lying in the sun to dry, so he took some grains of it and hid them in the waist-band of his tjidako and climbed up to earth again. When he looked behind, however, he saw a number of men with flat noses coming after him, so he cut the rattan and they all fell down again into the pit, but he could not see whether they were killed or not. Then he shut up the pit, and went away to sow the padi. Thus was rice first in troduced into Minahassa, and now it has spread all over the country. There are other legends in some districts which relate that the rice was first stolen from the heavenly village Kasendukan. Indian corn is also grown in many districts of Minahassa, and forms an important article of food. On the coast it is planted in August, in the mountain districts rather earlier. ch. xiii ART IN MINAHASSA 337 I have referred briefly to the traces of a primitive art found in some places in Minahassa ; but, like all the Malays, the inhabitants of North Celebes are not artistic in spirit. If we compare the Malays throughout the archipelago with their neighbours, the Papuans of the eastern or Dutch portion of New Guinea, we cannot fail to be impressed with the wide difference that exists between the two races in this respect. The Malay uses spears, shields, swords, canoes, and other weapons and implements which are often entirely without ornament, and the coloured designs on his clothes, his ceremonial shields, &c, are of the simplest geometrical patterns. The Papuan, on the other hand, covers everything he possesses with strange figures of men and animals, and fills up all the interstices between them with conventional designs of great regularity and beauty. The wooden idols, the ' Korowaars ' of the Papuans, and the gigantic human figures carved on the piles of some of their temples, although to a certain extent conventionalised, show artistic powers of a remarkably high order. The fact that many of their patterns can be traced through a series of well-marked stages back to designs of human and animal figures is a point of great interest, as it shows that their artistic talent must have been exercised for many generations by a very considerable number of the people (37). Among the wild Malays we but rarely find any attempt to draw or carve the human figure or the figures of ani mals. Those we do find are very rough and childish, and show no signs of becoming conventionalised. There can be no doubt that the Malays are quite capable of learning the art of other races. The ruins of magnificent Buddhist temples and many beautiful designs on cloths of various kinds found in Java and Sumatra speak only too plainly of the readiness with which they 838 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xin learnt the art of the races of the Asiatic continent. I was quite astonished, moreover, at the skill displayed by my own servants in Celebes in copying some of the rough sketches I made in my notebooks. There is no evidence that in Minahassa there was at any time a true written language ; but some years ago two remarkable specimens of what seem to be picture- message writings were brought to light. One of these is a piece of wood with certain figures carved on both sides, the cavities being filled up with chalk. There are some human figures, apparently in the act of fighting, some crosses, circles, and horizontal strokes, and also some figures which may be meant for banana trees. Judging from the appearance of these carvings, it is quite possible that this piece of wood is a message-stick, similar to the message-sticks of the Australians, and that it conveyed news of a war that was progressing, with directions as to the way succour might be sent. The other example is a piece of coarse paper with the figures drawn in charcoal on both sides. The designs on this are rather more ambitious, and in many of the human figures there is a good deal of action ; but there is wanting, in all the sketches, that touch and feeling which makes the Papuan art so much superior to that of the Malays. There is throughout an absence of all those graceful regular curves and other conventionalisms which are so well marked in many of the ordinary carvings and fretwork of the Papuans (2) . ch. xi-v EVERY-DAY LIFE IN MANADO 339 CHAPTER XIV MANADO Every-day life in Manado— Chinese New Year's Day— The King's birthday —A grand ball— An oath— The story of Makalew— Last visit to Talisse — Farewell to Celebes. It would not, I am afraid, be of any great interest to the reader if I gave the details of my life in Minahassa after I left Talisse. Much of the time I could have employed in interesting work I was obliged to devote to the necessities of a convalescence after my severe illness ; and much of it was spent in the still more monotonous work of drying, labelling, skinning, and pickling the specimens I was able to add to my collection. I cannot pass on, however, with out expressing a word of heartfelt gratitude for the kindness and hospitality shown me by the Dutch residents of Manado. Weak- and depressed by a long and tedious illness, a perfect stranger at first in a foreign land, I derived as much comfort from the friendly care and consideration of those with whom I came in daily contact as if they were my own countrymen or friends of long standing. I was made an honorary member of the little club by the sea-shore, and I could, whenever I felt so disposed, join in a game of billiards or cards or glance through the leading journals of the European capitals. It might be said with, some truth that, to one accus tomed to life in large towns, Manado was dull. In a few weeks I seemed to know all the principal people of the z 2 340 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xrv colony, and in the absence of daily newspapers and letters conversation on the topics of the day was soon exhausted. But Manado was not without its occasional excitements, and the varied beauties of sea and sky and land which bountiful Nature provides in this favoured region afford unending themes for contemplation and enjoyment. Day after day I would wander down to the sea-coast, as the sun was setting, to watch the glorious effects of red and gold upon the sea and the giant beams of burning light which formed a great celestial fan behind Manado tuwa peak ; or in the evening, when the moon rose and cast a streak of rippling silver over the inky waters, I would join a little group of club-men from, the ' Soc ' upon the pier, and enjoy for a while the refreshing breezes of the land wind. One day in February I shall not forget. There was great excitement in our little colony. It was Chinese New Year's Day, and it was announced that the Tapi Kong would walk that evening. All day long business in Manado was suspended. Everybody ' who was anybody ' paid visits of congratulation to the leading Chinamen. Champagne and tea with little biscuits from 'Reading' were on the tables of the Chinese and their friends, and everything was en fete. Now in writing about this religious festival of the Chinese in Manado, I -am painfully aware that I am writing on a subject about which I know nothing. I knew nothing about the religions of China at the time, and I know very little more now; but the religions of the Chinese in China and the religions of the Chinese in Manado are probably very different. The Chinamen in the Dutch colonies are, it must be under stood, purely traders, and as the Government will not allow Chinawomen to enter the country, there is little more of the ' Celestial ' about many of them than the pigtail. It ch. xiv CHINESE FEAST IN MANADO 341 is natural then that as a class they should have forgotten the details of their religion, and I found to my surprise that not one Chmaman in ten could give a consistent story of his religious beliefs. At one end of the Chinese Kampong stands the temple, a handsome little building of wood, sumptuously decorated inside with fine silks, quaint and curious wood-carving, and painting and gilt ornamental work in a characteristic Chinese style. It contains the shrines of the three deities, of whom the Tapi Kong, occupying the central place, is in every respect the most important. Of the other two, one is a goddess whose name I have forgotten, and the other is called Li-Hong. Before each shrine there is a table bearing the food and drinks of the gods, little tiny saucers containing rice and chilis, pork and durian, and three tiny cups containing tea. The Tapi Kong having signified to the chief priest that, owing to the prevalence of sickness amongst the Chinamen and the commercial depression, he would graciously consent to walk abroad in the evening of the Chinese New Year's Day, elaborate preparations were made to celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner. Just after sunset the preparations were completed, and then Mr. De Vries and I made our way to the temple through the noisy crowd of Chinamen who filled the streets of the Kampong, and by hiding away at the side of the temple when the ceremony commenced we were able to see all that went on. When the allegorical designs, the snakes, lanterns, and other things to be carried in the procession were all ready to start, the priest advanced to the central shrine, and moving his two extended hands first to the right, then to the left, and lastly to his forehead, reverently removed the little wooden image of the Tapi Kong from the shrine to a 342 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xrv gorgeous little ' sedan chair ' temple, to be carried in the procession by some of the leading Chinamen of Manado. I was unable to get a very good view of the Tapi Kong, but my impression is that he is a wooden figure of a Chinaman about one foot in height, in a sitting attitude, gorgeously dressed in coloured silks. When the Tapi Kong had been safely housed and carried off by his bearers, the other two deities were similarly re moved, and then the procession started. In order to get a good view of it we ran round to another part of the village, and waited in the house of a friendly Chinaman to see the fun. It was accompanied by a great crowd of men bearing torches and firing off squibs, crackers, and guns, or beating drums and cymbals, and making as much noise and con fusion as possible. First of all came some cars containing coarse and clumsy artificial green foliage and flowers and some three or four gorgeously dressed Chinese children, sitting upon invisible seats in the leaves and flowers as in a pantomime. Then came a tremendous dragon, which must have been fifty or sixty feet long, with a gaping mouth, armed with fearful teeth and great red eyes shooting flames, enough to give a child the nightmare for weeks. If it had not been so obviously a gigantic Chinese lantern, borne upon the shoulders of the faithful, it might have reminded one perhaps of the Latin Grammar quotation : Monstrum horrendum informe ingens, although it certainly had no lumen ademptum. After this came a man borne on a platform, naked to the waist, with his pigtail tied up round his head, who was supposed to be slashing his back with a naked sword. Long streaks of red paint represented the gashes he did not make in his religious fervour. CHINESE FEAST IN MANADO 343 At last came the Tapi Kong and his companions, and finally more allegorical set pieces, flags, umbrellas, and every conceivable thing that could add splendour, dignity, and noise to the proceedings. As the long procession slowly marched through the streets, the Chinese and many others who took an interest in the proceedings illuminated their houses with lanterns and coloured fires, and added to the confusion of the occasion by letting off fireworks and guns. It was a strange weird orgy; the smell of gunpowder, the clouds of dust, and the din and noise of fireworks and guns and drums and bells were overpowering ; but nevertheless there was order in the chaos, good-humour and fun prevailed, and when the lamps had burnt out and the Tapi Kong was once more safely at home in his little shrine in the Chinese temple, Manado assumed once more its mantle of peace and quietness. It is really an astonishing example of the success of the Dutch system of government that a procession such as the one I have just described, ostensibly of a religious character, could take place amongst a mixed population of Mohammedans, Chinese, Christians, and heathens with out a single case of riot or disorder. Where in the civilised world, it might well be asked, could a small portion of the community parade in the streets their own peculiar religious observances without incurring the active inter ference of those holding different opinions ? The day after the Chinese New Year another gala was held, but this was in honour of King William's birthday. One hundred and one shots were fired as a salute from guns on the fort, the Schuttery had a special church parade, and the Europeans called to congratulate the Resident as the representative in Manado of the great king. In the evening a grand ball was given by the Schutters in a large tent erected in a compound near the church. 344 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xrv The Schuttery or militia of Minahassa is composed of the natives whose ancestors volunteered in bygone days for military service in Java and other regions of the Dutch dominions. Their military service as Schutters frees them from the heerendienst. The officers are chosen from the Europeans in resi dence in Manado. I must confess that I was not particularly impressed with their drill or discipline, but nevertheless, armed as most of them are with modern rifles, they form a body of men capable of rendering effective service against poorly armed and half-naked savages. The ball was attended by about a hundred of the non commissioned officers and their wives and daughters, and most of the European residents put in an appearance for a few hours. At one end of the tent was a raised dais with chairs for the principal guests, and against the wall at this end of the ballroom was a full-length representation of the King of Holland. The dances were mostly the round and square dances of Holland, the orders for the latter being given in the French language by one of the masters of the ceremonies. I can assure the reader that French is not an easy language to understand when it is spoken by a Malay sergeant of Schuttery in North Celebes. The women were dressed in the native fashion, a simple coloured sarong round the waist and a little spotlessly clean white jacket or kabaia ; their beautiful straight black hair was gracefully done up on their heads, fastened with silver filigree pins, and decorated with white orange and lemon blossoms ; upon their naked feet they wore slippers ornamented with coloured beads and embroidery. It would, I fancy, astonish our English ladies could they pay a visit to one of these Manado parties, and see the graceful way in which Malay girls dance ch. xiv A GRAND BALL 345 the round dances under what would be called in England distressing circumstances. To dance well upon the turf is by no means an easy thing to do, but to dance upon the turf in slippers which cover only the toes would seem an impossibility, and yet I can give my word for it that some of the Malay women valse as elegantly and lightly as any girl in an English ballroom. A still more surprising fact is that the ballroom is not the place for pleasant conversations and flirtations. The love-sick swain must find other opportunities than the dance affords to whisper his sentiments into the ear of his charmer. During the intervals the women sit in a row upon benches ranged along the walls of the tent, and the men stand about in crowds at either end smoking. The intervals are pretty long, and when the next dance is announced, the men, placing their unfinished cigars in a place of .security so that they may find them again at the next pause, make a bow to the girls they wish to have as partners, and take up their positions for the dance. The orders are then shouted out in French by the M.C., the band strikes up, and the dance begins. Everything is performed with the greatest precision and decorum, and scarcely a word passes between the partners from the beginning to the end. The ball lasts from six o'clock in the evening until six o'clock the next morning, and then, as the rising sun begins to make the lamps look pale, the party is adjourned to the beach, where three large canoes are in readiness to take the guests for a cruise in the bay in the cool breezes of the early morning. But even now the decorum does not break down ; the band goes in one canoe, the gentlemen in the next, and the ladies in the last, and then, wafted by the gentle zephyrs of the' early morn, illuminated by the splendours of the tropical sunrise, and lulled by the music 346 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xrv of the rippling waves, the revellers return to their homes, and snatch an hour's rest before the business of the day begins. One day the Resident invited me to be present at the formal oath-taking of a native of the Lotta district. The case to be considered by the magistrate was one in which there was a dispute as to the ownership of a piece of land, and the reputed owner was to swear in the old Alfur manner that this land belonged to him. The parties who were to take part in this oath assembled on the grass plot in front of the Government building, and when the Resident and other officials appeared the ceremony began. Now it must be understood that in these parts of the world the taking of an oath is not a simple formality, performed upon the spur of the moment without hesitation as it is in civilised communities, but is an extremely solemn mystical ceremony, transacted not only in the presence of earthly witnesses but before an audience of the heavenly hosts, the gods who dwell above, the gods who dwell below, and all the devils and evil genii. The false swearer, moreover, may be subject to all the horrible torment ing forms of death which can be conceived by the deities of a barbarous race, as well as to the ordinary legal punish ments should he be found out. When the ceremony began, a space was cleared and a piece of white cloth deposited on the ground, two swords crossed were placed upon it, and a loaded musket beside it. The witness, supported by two friends, took his stand opposite the cloth, and two priests, dressed in long em broidered cloaks and wearing caps with drooping white feathers in them, attended to deliver the invocations. The opening address or invocation delivered by the chief priest was a very lengthy and vigorous discourse, delivered in a local dialect, and many of the words he spoke have, I was AN ALFUR OATH 347 informed, fallen into disuse, and were probably quite un intelligible to his audience. I am indebted to the Hoofd- djaksa of Manado for a copy of part of this invocation, and to Mr. Graafland, of Amboyna, and Mr. Riedel, of Utrecht, for help in translating it into English. The priest began with the usual formula (see p. 251) : ' 0 Wailan, 0 Empung Rengarengan, we have assembled together to take an oath, and we ask you, if the witness lies, to take him with the walian (priest) to the house with seven plains on the west side, the borders of which are very populous, where dwells the wailan Walintukan, the wailan who is looking to the moon, and the younger empungs, the noisy, lively empungs who make a noise like that of falling stones and the murmur of heavy showers of rain — to the empungs who are in company with Lokontamburian, Rarurmantang, Worangtua, Worangwatah, Rarangtumundo, Gumelenggeleng, Marenkeyo, Marenketalang, Rarangpon- gajow, all of whom are fond of swallowing the heart and liver. ' I invoke now the walian Mananakul, who likes to catch men in a snare, and the empungs who delight in teasing men, such as Mameleng, Maminura, Mamisan, Mamisow, Mamirah, Mangengeles, Manondang, and Mananatar. I call upon you, if the witness refuses to speak the truth, to let him explode like the discharge of this gun, to vanish like the smoke, drip away like the water, fade and become yellow like this white linen. ' I call upon the gods who eat men to seize and swallow up the false witness. I call upon the gods who dwell in the great waterfalls, such as Lumanka, Rumambus, Lumeklek, to seize him. ' I call upon the wailans living on the Rumengan moun tain to let the perjurer be eaten up by mosquitoes, by worms, and by snakes, to flog him, and to hang him in the moun- 348 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xiv tain gorges, to swallow him up as a bird swallows the fish ; but, if the witness tells the truth, let him be rewarded with a long life and a profusion of blessings. I call upon you also, 0 wailan Muntuuntu, the chief of all the gods who dwell in the heavens above and the depths of the earth below, to con sider both the greatest and the smallest of those who stand before you, to look upon the gun and the swords when the witness is stepping over them, to look also upon the white linen that is laid before the witness. ' I invoke you also, Manembo and Mamoto, worst of all the gods, that if the witness lies Mamoto may repress him, that the wailan Rumaha may drink his blood, and all the wailans who dwell on yellow grounds may deliver him to be swallowed up by the wailans Makatepehminahak, Makauweuran, Makapitiktampel, who long to swallow up bad people. And the wailan, charged with the duty of. cutting short a man's life, may he also cut short the life of the false witness. ' I who invoke you now, I am the drawer of the sword that will not hurt me ; ' my ancestors were also the drawers (of the sword) before perjurers. My forefathers Rumambi Sinangsang and Rumambi Ungkenawan in olden times witnessed the oaths of men on the left side and on the right side ; my forefather Kaenton, who liked to make a hubbub, and who shook the earth, my forefathers Makiohlor . . .' (here follows a list of thirteen ancestors) , ' they were all drawers of the sword, as were also my forefathers Matindas . . .' (here follows another list of twenty-four ancestors). ' I invoke also the wailans Langkai and Tauliwatu, who were dressed in red cloth, and the wailan Walansendouw, the brother of Pikpik and Pujuh, both standing on the mountain ranges holding each other's hands, looking for 1 This is probably an Alfiir expression for the priest whose business it is to attend the swearing in of witnesses. CH. xiv AN ALFUR OATH 349 false witnesses. If there is one here, let him be taken within nine days from now and be used as food for the wailan. One ! two ! three ! four ! five ! six ! seven ! eight ! nine ! ' After this long address the priests stepped over the crossed swords three times, followed by the witness and his two friends. This was to me the most interesting part of the cere mony, for it was the only part of it I could understand. The priests and the two assisting friends stepped across the swords with dignity and ease, but the poor witness showed by every movement that he was passing through a terrible ordeal. The first time he went with a certain amount of confidence, though he stepped high and carefully, and was evidently very much relieved when he was safely over. In like manner the second time, but the third time it required all his courage to bring him to the scratch. He chattered volubly and defiantly, he danced about from one foot to the other, and then at last with a terrific rush he cleared the swords at a bound. When he was safely over for the third time he raised a yell of triumph, shook his fists in the air, and laughed and shouted with delight. After this the gun was discharged in the air, and one of the priests said, ' The wailan Muntuuntu has heard the shot and has looked upon the witness.' The piece of white linen was then taken by the priests as payment for their services, and the ceremony concluded. This ' ordeal-oath,' as it may be called, is of great interest to us, in the consideration of the development of our own modern oaths and ordeals. Oaths remain, it is true, in general use in the form of mere rudimentary, or, to use a more explicit word, vestigial formalities. Ordeals, on the other hand, survive only in remote country districts, 350 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xiv and even there they are rapidly dying out. ' The ordeals and the oaths are not only allied in their fundamental principles, but they continually run into one another. Oaths are made to act as ordeals, and ordeals are brought in to act as tests to oaths ' (76). There can be little doubt that in the old days true ordeals were in common use in Minahassa. Thus, there were those of placing the hand in boiling water, of taking fire into the mouth, of taking poison, of washing the face in water which contained finely chopped Spanish pepper. The following amusing and vigorous legend may be taken as an example of another form of ordeal, namely, that by diving : — In olden times when there was a doubtful case the people had recourse to ordeals, which always spoke the truth. No one who wished to fly from death or punish ment could escape these, for by them the gods showed who was guilty, and the innocent man was protected from tricks and suspicion. Makalew was a mighty hunter who spent most of his time, both by day and by night, hunting in the forest. At home he had a loving wife, who passed her life alone stamping the rice and weaving koffo. She seldom saw her husband, and when she did he was usually surly and taci turn. Makalew admired her beauty, but the demon of jealousy had hardened his heart, and he sought for some pretext to bring an accusation against his true and devoted wife. At last he thought he had discovered the partner of her infidelity. 'It can be no other than my slave,' he said, ' who has stolen my wife's heart by his extreme docility, by cunning, and by trickery. Why is he so dili gent in performing all that she bids him, and why is she so considerate for the lot of a mere slave ? ' ch. xiv MATILALEM 351 The demon of jealousy tormented him now more than ever, and he fled away into the forest to free himself from its oppression. But even there he obtained no rest, and with the thought of the slave ever before him he felt that his heart would burst with vengeance. ' What a scandal it is,' he thought, ' that my wife should be in love with my own slave ! ' No, he could not punish him for that ; he must seek for some other cause to give him his deserts. At last a plan occurred to him by which he could bring the matter to a crisis. ' Thief and slave are synonymous terms ; I will hide my betel-nut box here ' — a valuable piece of work mounted in silver. Returning home he shouted, ' Wehe mei u lelemaan ! ' (' Here, bring me my pinang box, slave ! ') ' Sulah wela ' — ' Sapristi, wife, bring me my pinang box.' They sought for the box high and low, but of course in vain. Then said Makalew, ' The slave has stolen it ; he must be punished.' ' No, don't say that,' pleaded his wife ; ' the slave is inno cent. Perhaps the box is hidden away somewhere, and you have forgotten where it was put.' ' Ah,' said the hunter, ' you would try to screen him. I thought as much, but nevertheless he shall be punished as he deserves.' ' Fi ! ' said his wife, 'punish him without cause? That is cer tainly not the will of the gods. First prove that he is guilty in the approved Tombulu fashion.' * Good,' said the hunter, ' matilalem ' (the ordeal by dipping) ' shall decide between us three— the husband, the wife, and the slave.' Departing then together, they sought a place in the depths of the forest where the gods should decide between them. ' I am not guilty,' said the slave, ' but the gods will decide justly between us. I will willingly undergo the matilalem with you, and the result of it will prove my honour.' 352 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES CH. xiv In the depths of the forest there was a piece of clear water, and the silence and solemnity of the surroundings were sufficient proof that the gods were present to judge the case. ' Now to the water,' said the hunter. ' I will count nine, and then you must immediately plunge into the water, and whichever one of us comes to the surface first is in the wrong. ' Nine ! ' shouted Makalew, and the slave plunged into the water. The hunter, however, only put his spear in, and it seemed certain that he must win, for the ordeal was not a fair one. But the gods are ever ready to shelter the innocent here below. Lo ! a pig suddenly ap peared and darted into the wood. The hunter's love for the chase could not endure the sight, so seizing his spear from the water he started into the wood in pursuit. When the slave came out of the water and saw that Makalew had disappeared, he claimed that matilalem had decided justly, and that he was proved to be innocent. Makalew would not, however, consent to this, but demanded a second trial of the ordeal. This time Makalew only put his feet into the water, and again it seemed that he must win. But the gods once more came to help the slave, for a crab caught hold of Makalew's toe, and caused him such intense pain that he rushed out of the brook in agony. ' Now,' said the slave, ' it must be evident to you that I am no thief in your house, for matilalem has twice decided in my favour.' ' Yes,' said Makalew, ' I am satisfied. You are safe from punishment. Now fetch me a leaf of the lolonga to bind round this wound on my toe ' (23). On my return from Mr. Rijkschroeff' s coffee plantation in the mountains I was advised, on account of continued ill- health, to prepare to leave for Europe. One more visit to Talisse was necessary, however, before ch. xiv RETURN TO TALISSE 353 I left, to pack what remained of the collections I had made upon the island, my instruments, reagents, books, and other things. With some difficulty I hired a canoe to take me to Talisse, and after a long and tiresome journey, fighting with contrary winds and currents, we came in sight once more of the little wooden pier at Koa. To my surprise and delight I found the ' Flying Fish ' at anchor there, and was enabled to renew my acquaintance with my old friends on board of her. By their help I completed my packing in half the time I should otherwise have taken, and enjoyed meanwhile the pleasure of their society. I found that my boy Marcus who had been left in charge of my house had faithfully discharged his duties to the best of his ability, but nevertheless white ants, spiders and rats had played havoc with many of the plants, birds, and other collections. I think I saved about one-fourth of my Lepidoptera, one-tenth of my plants ; but I was able to bring away all the birds I had collected, although many of the skins .were in a very damaged condition. Some of the corals I had left under the house to dry were broken and destroyed, and numbers of the mollusc shells I had left for the ants to clean were missing. My boots and clothes were covered with mould, many of my books were bored and nibbled by insects and mice, my instruments were in a terribly rusty condition, and several of my spirit bottles had run dry. Nevertheless I was able in a few days to save a good deal, and with the kind help I received from my friends of the 'Flying Fish' my cases were soon nailed up and ready to be shipped to Manado. One of the most unpleasant duties I had to perform was an attempt to collect together the bones of my old friend the babirusa. During my absence the poor beast had died, and Cursham, knowing that I was anxious if possible to have its skeleton, A A 354 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xrv had buried it in the sandy soil in front of his house. It was a very disagreeable job, and by no means easy to release the bones from the rotten and putrescent flesh, and although I sifted with the greatest care the sand I dug up from the grave, I found that many of the smaller bones of the tail and wrist were missing, owing perhaps to the depredations of crabs and worms. Three days of packing and my task was done. I saw all my cases safely on board a Sangirese sopi bound for Manado, and on the evening of June 10 1 said farewell for the last time both to the ' Flying Fish ' and Talisse island. It was with feelings of considerable remorse that I left Talisse, the work I had commenced being in an unfinished and imperfect condition. The little island, typical in every respect of the fertile, hilly, coral-girt islands of this volcanic region of the tropical world, had afforded me many pleasant rambles, abundance of material for observation and research, and many interesting studies of Malay character and habit. It would be unfair indeed if, from what I have said above, my little island home should gain a character for unhealthi- ness that it does not deserve. It would be ridiculous to assert that an island in the tropics with extensive mangrove swamps and coral reefs can be considered at any time or in any region very salubrious ; but the miasmas of such places, under ordinary circumstances and with a little experience, may be successfully encountered by the European for many years, as has been conclusively proved by the lives of the missionaries who labour there. The close of the year 1885 was, however, an exception ally unhealthy time, owing, it was said, to the long delay of the rains, and many persons sickened and died in Celebes then who had up to that time enjoyed good health. It is not only possible, but I believe even probable, that if in the future another English naturalist should take up his resi- THE ' VENDUTIE ' 355 dence in Talisse, he would escape the unhappy experiences I passed through during the last month of my stay there, and I can say without hesitation that if it should be my good fortune at any future time to revisit the Malay archipelago as a naturalist, I should ask once more the Moluksche Handels Vennootschap to permit me to reside in their little island Talisse. The time was now fast approaching when I was to leave Celebes for home again, and for some days I was busy in collecting together the things I intended to take with me, and also those I would get rid of in a vendutie, or auction sale, in Manado. The vendutie system of the Dutch in the East Indian colonies is managed on an exceedingly sound and useful plan. In places where there are military and civil officers who may be changed from one part of the archipelago to another with very little notice, it is of great importance that there should be a system of sale by auction which does not involve risks or delays of payment. For the convenience therefore of its public servants, and it should be added for its own pecuniary benefit, the Government becomes the auctioneer. A Government official appoints the time for the sale, and a friend of the vendor acts as ' Cheap Jack ' to sell the goods to the best advantage. When the sale is concluded the Government is the debtor to the vendor for the amount the sale has realised, and the purchasers are debtors to the Government. The Government pays the vendor the amount in six months, and the purchasers pay the Government in three months. By this arrangement any one leaving the colony can realise on his effects at once, for the Government bond is always negotiable; and the Government gains three months' interest on the total amount the sale has realised in addition to certain com missions charged to the purchasers. A A 2 356 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. xrv The venduties in Manado were always looked for ward to with interest by the inhabitants. The 'friend' who officiated was expected to provide the company with jokes and playful exaggerations of the value of the goods to be sold ; the people laughed and talked over the pijtjes and cigars, and frequently amused themselves by running a trifling article up to a fancy price. When the vendutie was over and the mail steamer ' Japara,' which was to take me back to Batavia, was in sight, I paid my final visits to my friends in Manado. Sorry as I was to leave Manado and all the kind friends I had made there, I was filled with excitement in anticipation of the many wonderful and beautiful places I was to see in the month's cruise round the Moluccas to Batavia. I may perhaps be allowed to say that my anticipations were fully realised. The wild forest of Gilolo, the fire-mountains of Ternate and Motir, the glorious harbour of Amboyna, the milky seas of Banda, Timor, Bali, one of the last remaining homes of Buddhism in the archipelago, and my old friend Makassar, were all beautiful and interesting. I could almost fill another volume with my notes and letters from these enchanting spots ; but my impressions there, I fear, were only those of an inexperienced globe-trotter, and are hardly worth recording. I was pleased to find among the passengers Mr. Graafland and his family, who were leaving Celebes for Amboyna. Dominie Graafland is perhaps better known in Europe for the valuable works he has published on the ethnology of the Alfurs of Minahassa than any of the band of noble and intelligent missionaries who have worked in that favoured land. Having laboured in the country for some six-and-thirty years, he is a master of some of the native dialects. His works are characterised ch. xiv FAREWELL TO CELEBES 357 by a clear appreciation of the scientific value of the facts he records and a deep insight into the character and feel ing of the natives. The ' Japara ' left Manado at eleven o'clock on the morning of July 10, 1886, and by midday we were off the prim cone of Manado tuwa, trying with our kijkers to discover the herds of baboons which it is currently reported swarm in the forests of the island. Later in the day we passed the wreck of the German barque ' Mathilde,' which had floated on to the reef in a calm a few days before. And then, as we slowly steamed towards Taruna, the coasts and forests of Celebes gradually sank from view, and when the sun was setting in the sea that evening, the well-known peaks of Celebes, the Klabat, the Lokon, and the Two Sisters gradually faded away into the purple mist of the horizon. Fig. 35. — Tommy Kwack, a Manado dog, mj friend and companion in many of the adventures recorded in this volume. APPENDIX A Length of forearm of Haepyia cephalotes in centimetres. Manado, 7'6, 6-5, 6-3 (skel.). Amboyna, 6-3, 6-2. Ternate, 5-8. Timor Laut, 6"5. Cape York, 5-6. Admiralty Is., 5-6. Length of forearm of Cephalotes peeonii in centimetres. Manado, 10-4 (average measurement). Timor, 11-8, 10-9, 10-3. Misool, 11-2, 10-6. Mefoor, 11-5. Rau, 12-0, 11-6, 11-1. Ceram, 13'4. Amboyna, 12-2, 12-9, 12-8, 13-9, 13-2, 10-5, 11-5. Morotai, 12-7, 12-2. Waigiou, 13-7, 14-1. Batjan, 12-6, 12-2. Buru, 13-2. Banda, 12-6, 12-2. Andai, 15*1. Solomons, 10-2. Ugi, 10-5, 11-0. 360 APPENDIX B CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMALS MENTIONED in this volume Mammalia. Peimates : Cynopithecus nigrescens (a baboon), 20, 49, 82. Cheieopteea (bats) : Pteropus Wallacei, 84 ; Cynonycteris minor, 84 ; Cephalotes Peronii, 85 ; Harpyia cephalotes, 84 ; Phyllorhina bicolor, 85. Rodentia : Mus xanthurus (a rat), 229 ; Sciurus murinus (a squirrel), 84. Ungulata : Sus babirusa (a pig), 18 ; Cervus moluccensis, 69 ; C. hippelephas (deer), 189 ; Anoa depressicomis (the sapiutan), 82. Maesupialia : Cuscus celebensis, 83. Aves. Falconid^; (the true falcons, hawks, buzzards, and eagles) : Halicetus leucogaster, 35 ; Spilornis rufipectus, 89 ; Erythro- spiza trinotata, 87 ; Poliornis indicus, 89. The Ospeet : Pandion leucocephalus, 88, 158. Psittaci (parrots) : Tanygnathus Millleri, 59, 86, 155 ; Tany gnathus megalorhynchus, 158. Eos indica (lory), 155. Cuculid^; (cuckoos) : Cuculus canorus, 21, 143 ; Phcenicophaes calorhynchus, 255 ; Eudynamis melanorhyncha, 255. ALCEDiNiDiE (kingfishers) : Sauropatis chloris, 90. Halcyon coromanda, 90 ; Alcedo bengalensis, 90. APPENDIX B 361 Buceeotid^e (hornbills) : Buceros exaratus, 20 ; Cranorrhinus cassidix, 255. Coeaciad^ (rollers) : Eurystomus orientalis, 90. Cypselid.ei (swifts) : Collocallia esculenta, 91 ; G. fusca, 91 ; Macropteryx Wallacei, 91. Coevid^! (crows) : Corvus enca, 91. Oeiolid^ (orioles): Oriolus celebensis, 92; 0. formosus, 191. Diceueid^ (drongos) : Chibia leucops, 91. CAMPOPHAGiDiE (cuckoo-shrikes) : Graucalus leucopygius, 91. NECTABiNinxE (nectar birds) : Anthothreptes celebensis, 92. FEiNGiLLnxa: (finches) : Rice birds, 225. Stuenid^: (starlings) : Calornis neglecta, 88 ; G. sanghirensis, 92, 191. Columbdoe (pigeons and doves) : Calaenas nicobarica, 183 ; Myristicivora luctuosa, 93 ; Carpophaga paulina, 41, 93 ; Ptilopus melanocephalus, 93 ; Turtur tigrina, 94. Megapodidsi (brush turkeys) : Megapodius Gilberti, 94 ; M. sanghirensis, 95; Megacephalon maleo (the maleo), 95. Scolopacid^ (snipe) ; Numenius phceopus (whimbrel), 96 ; Tringoides hypoleucus (sand piper), 21. Abdeid^i (herons) : Demiegretta sacra (an egret), 96 ; Bubulcus coromandus, 219. Reptiles. Ceocodilia : Crocodilus biporcatus, 96. Laceetilia (lizards) : Platydactylus monorchis (gecko), 96 Varanus bivittatus (monitor lizard), 34. Ophidia (snakes) : Pytho reticulatus, 97 ; Denclrophis picta, 98 ; Tragops prasinu Hydrophis, 98. Amphibia. Feog : Bana macrodon, 98. Pisces. Elasmobeanchii (Sharks, Rays, and Dog-fishes) : Scyllium, 117 ; Chiloscyllium, 117 ; Carcharias, 117 ; Aetobatis (sting ray), 115. 362 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Teleostei (bony fishes). Sea Peeches : Serranidce, 112 ; Mesoprion, 112. Coeal-fishes : Chaetodon, G. ephippium, 112. Suegeons : Naseus, Acanthurus, 113. Gobies : Sicydium, 206 (note) ; Periophthalmus, 30. Ophiocephaluxe : Ophiocephalus striatus, 221. Climbing peech : Anabas scandens, 221. Weasses : Julis, 206 (note). Flying fish : Exoccetus, 199. Heeeings : Clupea atriaauda, 137. Eels : Anguilla Elphinstonei, 221 ; Conger anagoides, 35. Inceeta sedis : Leptocephalus, 206 (note); Lithrinus, 206 (note). Pipe-fishes : Syngnathina, 137. Sea-hoeses : Hippocampus, 114. File-fishes : Batistes aculeatus, 112 ; B. lineatus, 114. Coffee-fishes : Ostracion arcus, 114. Mollu&ka. Cephalopoda Octopuses, 136 ; Octopus lunulatus, 136. Cuttlefishes, 61, 116. Gasteropoda Cypeio, 135 ; Gyprcea tigrina (cowry), 135 ; Pyrazus palustris, 141 ; Helix, 158 ; Chiton incisus, 182. Lamellibranchiata Bivalves, 61, 135 : pearls in tridacnas, 332. Aetheopoda. Crustacea Ceabs : Grapsus varius, 29 ; Sesarma, 105 ; Calappa, 35, 140 ; Gelasimus bellator, 141. Peawns: Palcemon ornatus, 105; Atya Wyckii, 222; A. sulca- tipes, 222 ; A. bisulcata, 223 ; Stenopus hispidus, 35. Pagueid^; (hermit crabs), 39. APPENDIX B 363 Stomatopoda : Sguilla, 60, 136. Cieeipedia : Acorn shells (balanidce), 29 ; Barnacles, 127 ; Pollicipes, 52. Arachnida Spidees : Heteropoda sanatoria, 102 ; Epeira, 41, 104. Scoepions, absence of, 104 : chelifers, 101. Myriapoda Centipedes : Scolopendra gigantea, 104. Millepedes : Siphonophora, 105. Hexapoda — Orthoptera Teemitid^; (white ants), 64, 102. Deagon-flies, 105, 224. Neuroptera Myemeleon (Ant hons), 101. Hemiptera Cicadaeia : Flata marginata (Wax insect), 101. Diptera Flies, 46. Culicid^; (Mosquitoes and Gnats), 64, 142, 224. Lepidoptera (butterflies) Papilionidjb : Papilio Blumei, P. daedalus, 99 ; P. polytes, P. pammon, 100. Pieeid^i : Terias talissa, Tachyris phestus, 100. LvcAENiDiE : Liphyra brassolis, 168. Moths, 41. Coleoptera (beetles) Cockchafees : Parastia, 100. Stag beetles : Odontolabis celebensis, 100. Longicoens : Batocera celebiana, 101. 364 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Hymenoptera Ants, 140, 142. Bryozoa or Polyzoa, 126. Brachiopoda Lingula, 139, 182. Echinodermata Ceinoidea (feather stars) : Antedon, 109 ; Pentacrinus, 109. Asteeoidea (star fishes) : Pentaceros, 139 ; Ophidiaster, 139 ; Gulcita, 181. Ophiueoidea (brittle stars), 108, 136. Echinoidea (sea-urchins), 136. Holothueoidea (sea slugs and cucumbers) : Synapta, 132 ; Holothuria (trepang), 195. COELENTEEATA. Hydrozoa Hydeoidea, 35 : Hydra, 52. HYDEOcOEALLiNiE : Millepora plicata, 128 ; M. alcicornis, 131 ; Distichopora, 52, 126. Anthozoa zoantharia Actiniaria (sea anemones) Coeallimoephid^ : Thelaceros rhizophorce, 143. Madreporaria perforata Madbepobins; (madrepores), 15, 24, 108, 123. tuebinaeias, 124. Fungias, 124. Madreporaria imperforata Pocillopoeas, 108, 124. Seeiatopoeas, 108, 124, 131 ; S. tenuicornis, 108. Asteaeid^; (star corals) : Astraea, 12*4 ; Maeandrina (brain coral), 124 ; Mussa, 1-24 : Galacea, 124. APPENDIX B 365 Anthozoa Alcyonaria Stolonifeba : Tubipora musica (organ pipe coral), 124 ; Syrin gopora, 134 ; Halysites, 134 ; Clavularia viridis, 125, 128, 130. Alcyonidjs : Alcyonium digitatum, 51 ; Sarcophytum, 24, 35, 49, 133 ; Heliopora coerulea (blue coral), 124, 134 ; Helio- lites, 134 ; Plasmopora, 134 ; Propora, 134 ; Thecia, 134 Isis, 127 ; Corallium rubrum, 125. Goegonid^ (flexible corals), 125 : Gorgonia, 108. Porifera (sponges), 24, 132. Peotozoa. Foeaminifeea : Calcarina, 29 ; Orbitolites, 29. 3G6 APPENDIX C CLASSIFICATION OF THE PLANTS Phaneeogamia. Violace.e (pansies), 226. Cappaeidace.351 (the caper order) : Cratceva magna, 196. Malvace^: (the mallow order) : Hibiscus, 69, 168. Byttneeiace-SI : Theobroma cacao (cocoa), 210. Steeculiace^; : Eriodendron anfractuosum, 335 ; Durio zibe- thinus (dorian), 206. Camelliace^ (the camellia order) : Thea chinensis (tea), 210. Guttifee^; : Garcinia (mangostens), 206. Sapindaces; (soap worts) : Nephelium lappaceum, 206. AuBANTiACEa: (the orange order) contains the various genera and species of orange and lemon trees. Anacabdiace^j (the sumach order) : Mangifera (mangoes), 206 ; Gluta benghas, 331. Leguminos^] : Erythrina lithosperma, 228 ; Beans, 226 ; Phaseo- lus, 195 ; Tamarindus indica (tamarind tree), 5 ; Acacia casia, 69 ; Indigofera, tinctoria, 179. Rosacea (roses), 207, 226. MYBTACEiE (the myrtle order) : Barring tonia speciosa, 74. Rhizophoeace.e (mangroves) : Bhizophora and Bruguiera. CoMBEETACEiE : Terminalia catappa (the Katapang), 74. Papayace.se (the papaya order) : Garica papaya, 1 95. Cucuebitace^; (the cucumber order) ; Gucumis melo 1 168 (watermelons). APPENDIX C 367 Rubiaceje (the madder order) : Mussaenda frondosa, 183 ; Cojfea arabica (coffee), 210 ; Uncaria lanosa, 19 ; U. gambir, 333 ; Psychotria, 196. Ebenace.si (the ebony order) : Diospyros ebenum, 74, 210, 335. CoNvoLVULACEiE (the bindweed order), 168 ; Convolvulus, 168 ; Batatas edulis, 195. Solanace^; (nightshades) : Capsicum frutescens (Spanish pepper or chillies), 335 ; Nicotiana (tobacco), 210 ; Potatoes, 226. Veebenace^: (the vervain order) : Tectona grandis, 335. Acanthace.e : Bhinacanthus communis, 196. Nyctaginace^: (the marvel-of-Peru order) : Bougainvillea, 226. Laueace^; (the bay order) : Eusideroxylon zwageri, 67, 335. Myeisticace^! (the nutmeg order) : Myristica, 168. Thymelace^i (the lace-bark order) : Hernandia, 292. Euphobbiace^j (the spurge order) : Garumbium popidifolium, 236 ; Ricinus communis (castor oil plant), 226 ; Poinsettia, 226 ; Crotons, 207. ABTOCAEPACEiE : Ficus nitida, 33 ; Ficus minahassa, 336 ; Urostigma benjamineum, 160 ; Artocarpus, 168 ; Brou- sonettia, 335. Cupulifeb^ (the oak order) : Quercus moluccensis, 236. Casuabinaceji : Gasuarina, 69. Pipebace^ (the pepper order) : Chavica betle, 333. Palmaceje (palms) : Areca (betel nut), 273, 332 ; Arenga sacchariferum, 19, 329 ; Livistonia rotundifolia, 19, 296, 334 ; Metroxylon elatum, 217 ; Corypha umbraculifera, 333 ; Cocos nucifera (coco-nut), 331 ; Calamus (rattan), 18. Pandanace.e (screw pines) : Pandanus, 33. Aboide.si (the aroids), 83. Liliace2e (lilies) : Yucca, 69 ; Aloe, 69 ; Asparagus, 226. Dioscoeiace^i (yams), 195. Oechidace^i (orchids) : Grammatophyllum, 71 ; Vanilla, 210. Zingibeeaoe^: : Curcuma longa, 179. Musace^j (bananas), 69 : Musa mindanensis, 179, 334. Beomeliace^: (the pineapple order) : Ananassa, 69, 206. Naiadaceje (the pondweed order) : Zostera marina, 138. 368 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Geaminacej; (grasses) : Imperata arundinacea, 46, 176 ; Chry- sopogon, 176 ; Phragmitas, 176 ; Bambusa, 94 ; Oryza sativa (rice) ; Zea mays (maize). Cypeeacej: (sedges), 40. Ceyptogamia. Filices (ferns) : Blechnum orientale, 46. Algj; : Corallines, 138 ; Sphcerococcus, 335. Fungi : Pachyma tuber-regium, 196. BIBLIOGRAPHY The following abbreviations are used : — a.m.h. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, a.m.g. Annali del Museo Civieo di Storia Naturale di Genova (Genoa), b.t.l.v. Bijdragen tot de Taal, Land en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indie, m.z.g. 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Life in the Forests of the Far East. Second edition, 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1863. Stanley, Lord, of Alderley. Vide 44. 72. Tendeloo. De toestand der vrouw in de Minahassa, m.z.g. 1873, jg. xvii. p. 21. 73. Thomson, J. Archives Entomologiques, vol. i. pi. xx. p. 453. Paris, 1857. 74. Tiele, P. A. De Europeers in den Maleischen Archipel, b.t.l.v. 4° volgreeks, deel i. 1878, p. 321 et seq. 75. Twist, A. J. Duymaer van. Aanteekeningen betreffende eene reis door de-Molukken. Nijhoff, Amsterdam, 1856. Dumayer van Twist was a governor-general of the Netherlands India. The volume is mainly official and statistical. 76. Tylor, E. B. Ordeals and Oaths. Lecture at the Boyal Institu tion, April 7, 1876. 77. Tylor, E. B. On a Method of Investigating the Development of Institutions, applied to Laws of Marriage and Descent, ' Jour nal of the Anthropological Institute,' February 1889. 78. Urville, M. J. Dumont d'. Voyage de Decouvertes de 'L' Astro labe,' execute par ordre du Boi pendant les annees 1826-29. Text 374 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES 8 vols. 8vo. Atlas 3 vols, folio. Paris, 1830-35. Zoologie, par MM. Quoy et Gairnard. 79. Valentijn, Francois. Oud en nieuw Oost Indien,uitgegeven door Mr. S. Keizer. Second edition. Amsterdam, 1862. 80. Walden, Viscount Arthur. A List of the Birds known to inhabit the Island of Celebes, t.z.s. 1872, vol. viii. part ii. 81. Wallace, A. E. On the Phenomena of Variation and Geographical Distribution, as illustrated by the Papilionidse of the Malayan Begion, t.z.s. xxv. 1865. 82. Wallace, A. E. List of Birds from the Sula Islands (East of Celebes), with Descriptions of New Species, p.z.s. 1862, p. 333. 83. Wallace, A. B. The Malay Archipelago. 8vo. Macmillan, 1883. 84. Westwood, J. 0. List of Diurnal Lepidoptera collected in N. Celebes by Dr. Hickson, ' Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,' 1888, part iii. (October). 85. Wiedersheim, B. On the Torpid State of Protopterus, r.b.a. 1887, p. 739. 86. Wiersma, J. N. Mededeelingen omtrent de Alfoersche taa van Noord-Oost Celebes, b.t.l.v., 3° volgreeks, deel iv. pp. 205, 400 (1870) ; deel v. pp. 70, 195 (1870-71). 87. Wiersma, J. N. Geschiedenissen van Batahan en Passan, b.t.l.v. 3° volgreeks, deel vi. 1872, p. 204. 87a. Wiersma, J. N. Ervaringen gedurende mijne twaalfjarig zen- dingsleven. Botterdam, 1876. 88. Wilken, N. P. De Godsdienst en godsdienstplegtigheden van de Alfoeren in de Minahassa, t.n.i. 1849, deel ii. p. 387. 89. Wilken, N. P. Bijdragen tot de kennis van de zeden engewoonten der Alfoeren en de Minahassa, m.z.g. 1863, jg. vii. pp. 117, 289, 371. 90. Wilken, N. P., en J. A. Schwartz. Allerlei over het land en volk van Bolaang-Mongondou, m.z.g. 1867, jg. xi. p. 284. 91. Wilken, G. A. Hetanimisme bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel, 2 vols. 1st vol., De Bussy, Amsterdam, 1884 ; 2nd vol., Brill, Leiden, 1885. Eeprinted from ' De Indische Gids,' jaarg. 1884, deel i. p. 925, and deel ii. p. 19, and jaarg. 1885, deel i. pp. 13 and 191. 92. Wilken, G. A. Het shamanisme bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel, b.t.l.v. 5° volgreeks, deel ii. 1887, p. 427. 93. Wilken, G. A. De Simsonsage, ' De Gids,' jaarg. 1888, deel ii. p. 303. 94. Wilken, G. A. Plechtigheden en Gebruiken bij Verlovingen en Huwelijken bij de Volken van den Indischen Archipel. Nijhoff, 's Hage, 1886-89. Eeprinted from b.t.l.v., 5° volgreeks, deel i. 1886, p. 140, and deel iv. 1889, p. 380. BIBLIOGRAPHY 875 95. Wilken, G. A. De verbreiding van het matriarchaat op Sumatra, b.tx.v. 5° volgreeks, deel iii. 1888, p. 163. 96. Wilken, G. A. Over de Verwantschap en het huwelijks en erfrecht bij de volken van het maleische ras. De Bussy, Amster dam, 1883. Eeprinted from ' De Indische Gids,' jaarg. 1883, deel i. p. 656. 97. Wilken, G. A. Het afplatten van het voorhoofd bij de Alfoeren van de Minahassa, t.t.l.v., deel xxi. 1874, p. 374. 98. Wilken, G. A. Het land bezit in de Minahassa, m.z.g. deel xvii. 1873, p. 107. 99. Wilken, G. A. Jets over naamgevoing en eigennamen bij de Alfoeren van de Minahassa, t.t.l.v. deel xxii. 1874, p. 363. 100. Wilken, G. A. De besnijdenis bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel, b.t.l.v. 4° volgreeks, deel x. 1885, p. 165. 101. Wilken, G. A. Ueber das Haaropfer und einige andere Trauer- gebrauche bei den Volkern Indonesien's, ' Eevue Coloniale Internationale,' 1886, tome ii. p. 225, and 1887, tome i. p. 345. 102. Wilken, G. A. Jets over Schedelvereermg bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel, b.t.l.v. 5° volgreeks, deel iv. 1889, p. 89. 103. Wilken, G. A. Jets over de mutilatie der Tanden bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel, b.t.l.v. 5° volgreeks, deel iii. 1888, p. 472. 104. Wubben, F. A. Ebbinge. Die Nanusa-Inseln, ' Petermann's Mittheilungen,' 1888, part v. p. 136. Te verwachten uitbarsting van den werkenden vulkaan van het kleine eiland Eoeang, ' Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Neder landsch Indie,' xii. 3° s. ii. 1856-57, p. 503. Uitbarsting van den Vulkaan Awoe op Groot Sangir gedurende Maart 1856, ' Java Courant,' April 23, May 17, 1856. Bepertorium op de Koloniale Litterateur in mengelwerken en Tijdschriften van 1595 tot 1865 uitgegeven, by J. C. Hooykaas. Amsterdam, 1877-80. INDEX The numbers in brackets refer to the numbers of the Bibliography. (Z) refers to Zoo logical classification, Appendix B. (B) refers to Botanical classification, Appendix C. (Mai.) after a word signifies that it is Malay ; (Dutch) Dutch ; (Alf.) one of the Alfur dialects of N. Celebes ; (Sang.) Sangirese ; (Bug.) Buginese ; (Bat.) Batak language. ABNORMALITY Abnobmality of a woman's breasts at Beo, 171 Acacia ccrsia (B), 69 Acanthurus (Z), 113 Acorn shells (Z), 29 Ada, 166 Adam, 166, 246 Adams' description of Gelasimus crabs (1), 141, 327 Adjiganti, a goblin, 263 Adoption of children in Minahassa, 282 Adultery, punishment for, 197 Aetobatis (Z), 115 Agar-agar jelly, 335 Agricultural priests, 233, 255 Ajer-madidi (lit. bubbling water) (Map I. p. 12), 218, 265 Alaoruru, the principal deity of the Nanusa islanders, 166 Alcedo bengalensis (Z), 90 Alcyonaria (Z), 15, 60, 108, 124, 132 ; anatomy of, 126 Alcyonium digitatum (Z), 51 Alfur, Alfour, Alfuru, or Alifur, « general term applied to the natives of the interior in the Malay archipelago. For etymo logy, see Crawford (10 A) Allang-AUang (Mai.), Imperata arundinacea (B), a grass, 68, 176 Aloes ? (B), 69 Altar, in Nanusa, see Ebbinge Wiibben (104), 165; in Mina hassa, 214, 251 Ampuang, a deity, 188 ART Amsterdam, king or sultan of Ter nate, 193, 324 Amuck, Amook, 6 Amurang, (Map I. p. 12), 8 ; con troleur of, 12 Anabas scandens (Z), 221 Anchorage at Manado, 9 ; at Biarro, 48 Andamanese, the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal, 300 Anemone in the swamps, 143 Anguilla JBlphinstonei (Z), 221 Animism, 247 Anoa depressicornis (Z), the sapi utan, or wild cow, 82 Ansalina, 166 Antedon (Z), 109 ; A. rosaceus, 109 Antedonin, 109 Anthothreptes celebensis (Z), 92 Ant-lions (Z), 101 Ants in the swamps, 140, 142 Ape and the turtle story, 306, 307 ; Apes and crocodiles, 312 Aphrodite, 51 Arab brig visits Talisse, 79 Arabs in Manado, 206 ; Omar, 227 Areca palm (B), 332 Arenga sacchariferum (B), 19, 329 ; wood, 67 Aris, a district of Manado (Map I. p. 12), 206 Aroids (B), 33 ; enormous size of leaves of, 33 Aros, cape in Talisse (Map I. p. 12), 25 ; visit to, 48 Art in Minahassa, art of the wild INDEX 377 ARTOCARPUS Malays compared with that of the Papuans, 337 Artocarpus (B), 168 Asparagus (B), 226 Assa, a kind of reed ? 241, 253 Astrcea (Z), 25, 41, 49, 53, 108 Astrseidse, 124 L'Astrolabe visits Celebes, 327 Atjeans, the natives of Atjeh, in North Sumatra, 270 Attap (Mai.), roofing made of palm- leaves or grass, 68 ; manufac ture of, 68 Atya Wyckii (Z), 222 ; A. sulcatipes, 222 ; A. bisulcata, 223 Augite-andesite series of rocks, 29 Autozooids of Sarcophytum, 133 Avenue of tamarind trees at Makassar, 5 Avi-fauna of the Sangir Islands, 190 ; of Talisse, 85 Avoidance of parents-in-law, 279 Awu volcano, Sangir (Map II. p. 156), 173 Babae archipelago, 8° S. 130°E., 288 Babirusa (Z), hunting for, 18; captive, 69, 81 ; collecting the bones of, 353 Baboons (Cynopithecus nigrescens) (Z), 20, 49, 82, 144 ; on Manado tuwa, 323 Bakker, Mr., President of the Landraad, 218 Bali, an island east of Java, 356 Balian or Walian, from balik or walik (Mai.), to turn or return. Hence balian, he who turns the spirit, a priest (92), 215, 254 Balistes (Z), B. aculeatus, 112 ; B. lineatus, 114 Ball in honour of the King's birth day, 344 Bamboo (B), 328 Bamboo-wood, 94 Bananas (B), 69, 206 Banda, a group of islands south of Ceram, 356 Bangsa (Sang.), a nobleman, 193 Banka Strait (Map I. p. 12), 11, 27 ; island, 75 Bantik, a district of Manado (Map I. p. 12), 206 Bantiks, a tribe of Alfurs of Mina hassa, 213, 326. See Schippers (68 A) BLOTTO Barometric pressure in Talisse, 63 Barringtonia speciosa (B), 74 Bataks, a race of men living in Sumatra, 243, 259, 285, 288 Batatas, B. edulis (B), 195 Bathing after a funeral, 298 Batocera celebiana (Z), 101 Bats (Z), 49, 84, 144 Batu or Watu (Mai.) = a rock, stone Batu Angus (Mai.) = fire-rock, 60 ; hill in N. Celebes (Map I. p. 12), 82 Batu Kapal = ship-rock (Map I. p. 12, sketch map, p. 34), 33 Bays, Bohoi, 29 ; Boni, 3 ; butter fly, 34 ; Manado, 8, 211 ; Tomini, 3 ; Tomori, 3 ; Wallace, 36 Beans (B), 226 Beena marriage (Maclennan), when the husband follows his wife and lives in her house and village, 286, 288 Beetles (Z), 100 Belawa wood from the Gluta benghas (B), 331 Belian wood (Eusideroxylon Zwa- geri B), 67, 335 Belt (4), observations on scavenger spiders in Nicaragua, 104 Bentenan, on the coast of Afd. Belang (Map I. p. 12), 293 Beo, a village in Karkelang (Map I. p. 156), 169 Betel-chewing in Sangir, 203 Betel-nut = pinang (B), 273, 297, 332 Biarro island (see Map II. p. 156), 48 Bidadarie, 166 Birds' nests in the tropics, 156 Birds on the road to Langowan, 225 ; holy, 255 Birth customs in Minahassa, 291 Birthday of King Willam, 343 Bitjara (Mai.) = a conference, 332 Bivalves (Z), 62, 135 Blackening the face in Minahassa, 298 Blechnum orientale (B), a fern, 46 Bleeker, "works on Malay fishes (8, 9), 116, 117 Blood of Scolopendra, 105 Blood-drinking, 216 Blotto or Balotto, the canoes on Lake Tondano, 217 378 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Blue blood of Scolopendra, 105 Blue coral (Z), 124, 134 Boba, a disease, its remedies, 196 Bobantohe, the original name of Manado tuwa, 323 Bobato (Sang.), a chief, 193 Bohoi promontory (Map I. p. 12), 23 ; shore platform and man grove swamp at, 23 ; fauna of coral reef at, 24 ; bay, 29 Boils in Talisse, 66 Bolang Mongondu, a kingdom W. of Minahassa, marriage laws, 287 ; stories, 262, 313, 318 ; kings of, 323 Boni, bay of, 3 Bonthian, a mountain in S. Celebes, 1, 4 Botany of Celebes little known, 237 Boto (Alf.), literally means to cut off in haste, as in the chase, hence that which is cut off in haste, the lock of hair of an enemy used for extracting ' berani ' or courage, 216 Botto, knot of hair of the women of Sangir, 204 Bottom of Talisse Sea, 110 Bougainvillea (B), 226 Bows and arrows, 202 Brain corals (Z), 49, 124, 130 Breakfast in Talisse, 61 Bridges in Minahassa, 236 Brigs that visited Talisse, 79 Brittle-stars (Z), 108, 136, 181 Broers, Controleur of Tondano, 211, 217 Brousonettia (B), 335 Bryozoa (Z), 126 Bubulcus coromandus (Z), 219 Buceros exaratus (Z), 20 Budak pemblian (Mai.), bought slaves ; Budak pusaka, inherited slaves, 194 Buffalo story, 263 Buginese, a race of mariners living chiefly in South Celebes, 4, 259, Bunakin island (Map I. p. 12) 211 Burial customs in Sangir Islands, 198 ; in Minahassa, 296 Burong (Mai.) = a bird. B. ka- katua, 87; B. koheba, 89; B. sikip abuabu, 89 ; B. kiss-kiss, 90 ; B. rajah udan, 90 ; B. kokotaka or Tjetje, 91 ; B. pavas, 91 ; B. woka-woka, 91 ; B. maspas or kuku inewahat, 91 ; B. gunting, 92 ; B. sie, 92 ; B. kuning, 92 ; B. chuwi, 92 ; kum-kum, 93 ; B. wakian, 93 ; B. kuku, 94 ; B. maleo, 94 ; B. mamunga, 95 ; B. kerombek, 96 ; B. sUeko, 96 ; B. mas, 183 Butterflies (Z), 41 ; in Talisse, 99 Butterfly Bay (sketch map, p. 34), 34 Bwool, a town and district on the north coast of the North penin sula of Celebes, long. 122° E., 326 Cabiu Islands, Cabiu lusu (Map II. p. 156), 187 Calcsnas nicobarica (Z), 183 Calappa crabs, (Z), 35, 140 Calcarina (Z), 29, 139 Calcium carbonate = Carbonate of lime, 121 Calling back the soul of a patient, 295 Calornis neglecta (Z), 92; C. san ghirensis, 92 foot-note, 191 Canoes, londi, 21 ; fetich or ' sakit,' 163 Capitain laut (Mai.), literally sea- captain, the native officials next in rank to the djugugu, 159 Captain Maclear, 11 Carbonate of lime, 121; in solu tion in sea- water, 148 Carbonic acid in solution in sea water, 148 Carcharias (Z), 117 Carcinologist, a zoologist who has made a special study of the Crustacea, 222 Carica papaya (B), 195 Carpopliagapaulina, (Z), a pigeon, 41, 93 Carumbium populifolium (B), 236 Castor oil plants (B), 226 Casuarina (B), 69 Catching the soul of a patient, 295 Catholic priests, influence of Spanish, 166 ; attempts to re establish Catholicism in Mina hassa, 325 ; influence of, on legends, 245, 269 Caves in Talisse, 49 Celebes, pronounced Selibes, ety mology doubtful ; sula (Mai.) = INDEX 379 CENTIPEDES island and besi (Mai.) = iron has been suggested, vide also Crawford (IOA) ; size and shape of Celebes, 3 Centipedes (Z), 104 Cephalopods (Z), 116 Cephalotes Peronii (Z), 85 Ceremony of seeking for a mouse, 271, 276 Cervus moluccensis (Z), 69; C. hippelephas, 189 Chsetodons (Z), 112; C. ephip- pium, 112 Chavica (B) leaves, ' sirih,' 333 Chelifers (Z), under the wings of Batocera, 101 Chibia Uucops (Z), 91, 191, 225 Chiloscyllium (Z), 117 Chmese at Lirung, 155 ; at Taruna, 174 ; at Manado, 206 Chinese festival in Manado, 340 Chiton incisus, 182 Chlorophyl (Z), 150 Christians in Minahassa, number of, 325 Chrysovogon (B), 176 Church at Taruna, 176 ; Manado, 206 ; Toudano, 214 ; Langowan, 226 Circumcision in Nanusa, 167 ; in Minahassa, 294 Claus, a German brig visits Talisse, 79 Clavulariaviridis (Z), 125, 12ti, 130 Climbing perch (Z), 221 Cloth-sellers, 207 Clubs used in Sangir, 203 Clupea atricauda (Z), 137, 199 Cockchafers (Z), 100 Cocoa (B), 210 Coco-nut fetich, 175 Coco-nut palms, 168, 174, 331; pearls, 331 Coco-nut plantations in Talisse, 72 Cocos nucifera (B), the coco-nut palm, 331 Coelenterata (Z) Coffee (B), 210; planting, 228; disease, 229 Cognate relationship (Latin Cog- natio), relationship by birth whether male or female, as dis tinguished from agnate relation ship (Latin Agnatio), or consan guinity on the male side only, 284 Collocallia esculenta (Z), 49, 91, 143; fusca (Z), 49, 91 CRAT^VA Colour of the Crinoids, 109 ; of reef fishes, 111, 115 ; of cuttle fishes, 116 ; of corals, 149 Colours used for staining koffo, 179 Conger anagoides (Z), an eel, 35 Controleur (Dutch), an official governing a district under a Besident, 12 ; of Sangir, 174 ; Broers of Tondano, 211, 217; Biedel, 327 Conundrum in Celebes, 318 Convolvulus (B), 168 Coolies in Talisse, 65 Copal, 210 Copra, the fleshy part of the coco nut, 175, 210 Coral reefs. First sight of Talisse coral reefs, 15 ; brilliant colours of the reefs, 15 ; at Bohoi, 24 ; conditions favouring growth of, 25 ; no coral reefs at T. aros, 24, 49 ; practical importance of the investigations of, 26 ; natural selection on the, 35 ; absence of reefs exposed to N.N.E., 76 ; coral talus, 108 ; fauna of Talisse, 111 ; stench of, 131 ; Silurian and Devonian coral reefs, 134; Molluska of, 135; at Manganitu, 181 Coral, blue, 124 ; organ pipe, 124 ; precious, 125 ; brain, 124 ; star, 124 ; flexible, 125 Corallimorphidte (Z), 143 Corallines (B), 138 Corallium rubrum (Z), 125 Corallum, the hard parts of a coral, 123 Corals, polypes, 118 ; skeleton or shell of, 118 ; species of, 119 ; food of, 146 ; colours of, 148 Cornea, disease of the, 66 Corvus enca (Z), 91 Corypha umbraculifera (B), 333 Cosmogony, the science of the origin of the universe, 240 Cosmology, the science of the universe, 243 Cotton tree (Eriodendron) , 335 Courtship in Minahassa, 272 Cow-fish = Ostracion arcus (Z), 114 Cowry (Z), 135 Crabs (Z), 29, 60 ; hermit crabs, 39 Cranorrhinus cassidix (Z), 255 Cratceva magna (B), 196 380 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Crinoids (Z), 109 Crocodilus biporcatus (Z), 96 ; stories about crocodiles, 304, 312 Crow (Z), 91, 225 Crustacea (Z) Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus (Z), 21, 143 Culcita (Z), 131 Curcuma longa (B), 179 Cursham, Mr., opzichter, M.H.V., 64, 70 Cuscus celebensis (Z), marsupial sloth, 83 Cuttle-fishes (Z), 116; eggs of, 51 Cynonycteris minor (Z), 84 Cynopithecus nigrescens (Z), 20, 82 Cyperacece (B), 40 Cyprcsa tigrina (Z), 135 Cyprio (Z), 135 Dactylopores of Hydrocorallince, 126 Dancing in Manado, 344 Datu (Mai.) = grandparent, hence prince, 191 Daun or Dawon (Mai.) = a leaf, hence frequently used to signify a tree or plant ; D. barimuda (Cratceva magna) (B), 196 ; D. burong (Rhinacanthus commu nis) (B), 196 Deega marriage (Maclennan), when the woman follows the man, 277 Demiegretta sacra (Z), 96 Dendrophis picta (Z), 98 Devil in Nanusa, 166 Devonian coral reefs, 134 Diarrhoea in Talisse, 66 Dinner in Talisse, 61 Diospyros ebenum (B), ebony tree, 74, 335 Direkt bestuur (Dutch) = direct control, 12 Diseases in Talisse, 66 ; in Sangir, 196 ; in Minahassa, 294 Distichopora (Z), 52, 126 Divorce in the Sangir and Talaut islands, 197 ; in Minahassa, 281 Djaga (Mai.) = a sentry, policeman or guard, 6, 180 Djati (Mai.), teak, 335 Djiko Calimata, a bay in Banka I. (Map I. p. 12), 76 Djiko Sago, a bay in Banka I. (Map I. p. 12), 75 ERYTHROSPIZA Djugugu, a native official, next in rank to the President rajah, 169 Doctor Jawa, a native Malay educated in medicine in Java, 295 Dog-fishes (Z), 117 Dominie Wielandt. The Dominie of Manado is the head of the missionaries working in the do minions under the control of the Besident of Manado, 153, 176 Dongola, a small village on the N. coast of Celebes, 8 Doren, van, writings of, 196 Dorian or Durian (B), 206 Dorundung (Sang.) = koffo, 179 Dowry of a rajah's daughter, 197 ; in Minahassa, 270, 275 Dredging in Talisse sea, 106 Driving away the ghost, 299 Drums, 233 ; made from the Cory pha umbraculifera, 334 Dua sudara (Mai.) = two sisters, mountains in N. Celebes (Map I. p. 12), 82 Dutchmen in Manado, 324 Dyaks, a race of people in Borneo, 286 Eagle, great sea eagle (Z) , Halimtus leucogaster, 88 Ebony = kayu hitam (Mai.), wood of the Diospyros ebenum (B), 74, 210, 335 Echinoderms (Z) Edible nests of Collocallia, 50 Eel (Z), 221 Eens gekocht blijft gekocht (Dutch) = Once bought always bought. The name of a farce performed in Makassar, 6 Egrets (Z), 96 Elevation of the land at Karaton and Lirung, 165 Empung, literally ' a grandfather,' hence an ancestral hero, a god, a spirit, 250 ; E. rengarengan = protecting spirits, 251 Endogamy or 'marrying in,' the law which compels a man or woman to marry inside his own clan or totem, 277 Epeira spiders (Z), 41, 104 Eriodendron anfractuosum (B), kapok, 335 Eruptions, Buang, 45 ; Awu, 173 Erythrospiza trinotata (Z), 88 INDEX 881 ETIQUETTE Etiquette of visiting in the Dutoh East Indies, 9 Eudynamis (Z), 191 ; E. melano rhyncha, 255 Eurystomus orientalis (Z), a roller, 90, 144 Eusideroxylon Zwageri (B), 67, 335 Eve, 166 Exogamy or ' marrying out ' (J. F. Maclennan, ' Primitive Mar riage '), the law that compels a man or woman to marry outside his own clan or ' totem,' 167, 197, 285 Exports from Minahassa, 210 Ewa, 166, 246 Eyck, van, captain of the Dutch steamer ' Ternate,' since de ceased, 154 Eyes of Chiton, 182 Fables in Minahassa, 304 Face-blackening in Minahassa, 298 Falconidse (Z), 88 Faras katu (Mai.), strips or lathes of attap, 68 Fauna, land fauna of Talisse, Chap. V. ; marine fauna of Talisse, Chap. VI. ; of coral reef, 111 ; of the lagoon, 136 ; of the I swamp, 140 ; of the Sangir Islands, 189 ; of Lake Tondano, 221 Feather-stars (Z), 109 ; green, 110, 132 Fetiches, 247 ; canoes, 163 ; coco nut, 175 Fevers in Talisse, 66 Ficus nitida (B), 33 ; F. Minahassce, 336 Filaments in the sand of the lagoon, 139 Fire-making at Beo, 172 Fishermen calling at Talisse, 77 Fishes of the reefs, 60 ; of the lagoons, 137 ; in the market, 206 ; of Lake Tondano, 221 Fishing in Sangir, 199 Fishing stakes, 29 Plata marginata (Z), 101 Flexible corals (Z), 125 Flies (Z), 42, 142 Flying-fish Bay, 34 ' Flying Fish,' H.M.S., 16,353 Flying-fish (Z), methods of capture GOUVERNMENT in Sangir and Solomon Islands, 199 Foam of the sea, 51 Food of corals, 146 ; of the San girese, 195 Foraminifera (Z), 139 Foraminiferous sand, 29 Forest, character of the forest near Likupang, 19 ; variation of the character of the forests, 19 ; multiplicity of species in, 237 Fort Orange in Makassar, 5 Fosso, poso, a feast, 215, 256 Fruits in the Manado market, 206 ; in Minahassa, 335 Fungia (Z), 35, 41, 124 Galacea (Z), 53, 135 ; anatomy of, 120 Gambir, from the Uncaria Gambir (B), 333 Games, top, 207 Ganga, an island in Banka Strait (Map I. p. 12), 76 Gardens, Mr. Steller's, in Sangir, 183 ; at Langowan, 226 Garnaal (Dutch) = a shrimp, a prawn, 224 Gastropores of HydrocoraUinss, 126 Gecko (Z), 96 Gedeh, a volcano in the Preanger, Java, 235 Gelasimus (Z), G. bellator, 141 Genealogy of Albert Waworuntu and Boland Ngantung, 243 ' Generaal Pell,' s.s., 1 General cavity of a coral, 121 General subsidence theory, 151 Genii, 251 Geteh-geteh, Anabas scandens (Z), 221 Giants, 260 Glaga (Mai.) = Phragmitas (B), 176 Gluta benghas (B), 331 Goblins, 263 God-cage, 163 ; ladders, 215 Gods, the names of some of the principal ones in Minahassa, 250 Gongs, 234 Gorgonia (Z), 108 GorgonidiE (Z), 125 Gorontalo, a settlement in the bay of Tomini, 4, 12 Gouvernment's stoomschip (Dutch) = Government steamer, 152 382 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES GRAAFLAND Graafland's researches (22, 23), 273 Gradients of the shore at Talisse, Manado, Mananinta, 107 Grammatophyllum (B), an orchid, 71 Grapsus varius (Z), 29 Grasses (B), allang-allang (Mai.), Imperata arundinacea, kussu- kussu (Mai.), Chrysopogon, Glaga (Mai.), Phragmitas, 176 Graucalus leucopygius (Z) = mas- pas, 91 Gravel beds near Langowan, 226 Graves in Minahassa, 297 Green Crinoid, 109, 132 Gumutu (Mai.), the network of fibres formed by the leaf-stalks of the Arenga palm, 68, 202, 330 Gunther, Mr., missionary at Man- garung, 167 Guppy, on a method of catching Flying-fish in the Solomon Islands, 200 History of Sangir, 192 ; of Siauw 193 ; of Minahassa, 323 H.M.S. 'Flying Fish,' 16, 353; Cruise in, Chap. II. and III. H.M.S. 'Samarang,' fight with pirates at Ternate, 75 Holothurians (Z), 132 Holy islands near Sangir, 187 Holy stones, 251 Horti (Sang.) = Musa mindanesis (B), 179 Hot-water springs at Langowan, 226 House in Talisse, 67 House of the rajah of Manganitu, 179 Houses at Karaton, 162 ; of the Tondanese, 214 Hukum (chief) besar (big) (Mai.) = chief of a district, 212 Hunting for babirusas, 18 Hydrocorallina? (Z), 126 Hydroids (Z), 35 Bydrophis (Z), 98 Haddon, researches on Periophthal- mus, 30; ethnology of Torres Straits, 239 Hair, courage in the, 216 Hair stories, 314 Halcyon coromanda (Z), 90 Haliceius leucogaster (Z), a fish- eagle, 35, 88 Halo round the moon, 299 Halysites (Z), 134 Harmonie, the Societeit or club at Makassar, 5 Harmsen, Mr., of Manado, 326 Harpyia cephalotes (Z), 84 Harta (Mai.) = dowry, 275 Hats of the sentries at Taruna, 176 Heads, human, at the fossos, 216 ; at funerals, 298 ; hunters, 275 Heavenly villages, 248 Heerendienst (Dutch), 208 Heliolites (Z), 134 Heliopora cceritlea (Z), 124, 134 Hermit crabs (Z), 39 Hernandia (B), 292 Herons (Z) of Lake Tondano, 219 ; story, 313 Herrings (Z), 76, 137, 199 Heteropoda sanatoria (Z), 102 Hibiscus (B), 69, 168, 179 Hippocampus (Z), 114 Ichthyosis in Talisse, 66 Ikan chicchak (Mai.) = Perioph- thalmus, 31 ; I.sapi (Mal.) = Os- tracion (Z), 114 Imperata arundinacea (B), a grass, 46, 176 Imperforata (Z), 124 Importance of the investigation of coral reefs, 26 Indian corn in Minahassa, 336 Indigofera tinctoria (B), 179 Inheritance laws in Minahassa, 279 Insect pests in Talisse, 63, 102, 353 ; in the swamps, 140 Irokor si okki (Alf.), the bringing down of the child, 292 Iron-wood, Eusideroxylon (B), 335 Isis (Z), 127 ' Japaea,' S.S., 357 Jkhr (short for Jonkheer, a Dutch title of nobility) van der Wyck, Besident of Manado, 222 Julis (Z), 206 Kabaia (Mai.) = a loose jacket, 270 Kain (Mai.) = cloth, 207 Kaitsjil Ali, admiral of the Sultan of Ternate, 193 INDEX 383 Kakas (Map I. p. 12), 219, 224, 234 Kakaskassan, a village and dis trict near Tomohon, 252 Kala nioyang (Mai.), a small myria- pod, 105 Kamudi (Mai.) = a steersman, hence captain of a small boat, 14, 219 Kandahar, a village in Sangir (Map II. p. 156), 174 Kapok (Eriodendron) , 335 Karaton, in the Nanusa archipelago (Map II. p. 156), 159 Karkelang, Talaut Islands (Map II. p. 156), 159 Kasendukan, a heavenly village, 250 Kaskade himpank, a disease, 196 Katapang (Mai.) = Terminalia ca- tappa (B), 74 Kati (Mai.) = 9,984 grains, 197 Kawanse (Sang.) = free men, 193 Kawulusan, story of, 310 Kayu hitam (Mai.) = black wood = ebony, Diospyros ebenum (B), 74, 335 Kebos (Ophioeephalus striatus) (Z), 221 Kelelonde, mountain in North Ce lebes (Map I. p. 12), 82, 211 ; arrival at, 227 ; etymology, 230 Kelling, a missionary, 38 Kema (Map I. p. 12), Controleur of, 12 Kemiri, an oily nut, 292 Kenilo (Map I. p. 12), 252 Kesar Islands, west of the Babar archipelago, 8° 30'S., 127° 20'E., 289 Kijkers (Dutch) = field glasses, 357 Kilat (Mai.) = lightning Kimmins, analysis of coconut pearl, 332 Kinabohutan island (Map I. p. 12), 76; coral reefs opposite, 25 ; de rivation of the name, 74 King Amsterdam, 193, 324 King William III.'s birthday, 343 Kingfishers (Z),90, 143; red king fisher (Halcyon coromanda), 59, 90 Kiolor and the sakits legend, 252 Kiriwaerong, the deity of the Arenga palm, 330 _ _ Klabat or Klobat, a mountain in Minahassa (Map I. p. 12), 6,694 feet, 8, 82, 249, 357 Klabat bawah, a district of Manado (Map I. p. 12), 206 Kleine garnalen (Dutch) = small prawns, 224 Koa (Map I. p. 12), arrival at, 15, 107, 353 Koffo, 161, 179 ; manufacture of, 179 Koheba, a bird of prey, 89 Kolintang (Alf.) = a gong, 234 Korowaars, wooden idols of the Papuans, see Guillemard (25), 337 Kowle (Sang.), Carica papaya (B), 195 Koyang (Sang.) = a sailing-vessel, 199 Kusi (Mai.) = Cuscus celebensis (Z), 70 Kusi, bald patch on head of chil dren of Sangir, 204 Kussu-kussu (Mai.) = Chrysopogon, (B), 176 Ladders for the gods, 215 Lagoon, fauna of the, 136 Lake Tondano, 218 Lake-dwellings of the Tondanese, 214 Lakki-lakki (Mai.) =husband,man, male, 22, 87 Lamentations, 296 Land tenure in Minahassa, 231 Landraad (Dutch), a provincial court of justice, 218 Lang (Sang.) = slaves, 193 Langowan (Alf.), poisoned (there is a story that at one time the ripe fruits of a certain poisonous tree fell into a well, and many persons were thereby poisoned) (Map I. p. 12), 225 _ Language of the Sangirese, 204 Large houses in Nanusa, 162 ; formerly so in Minahassa, 214, 277 ; in Borneo, 286 Larvse of dragon-flies and gnats, 105 ; mosquitoes, 142 ; in Ton dano Lake, 224 Lava of the Buang, 41 Law of exogamy, see Exogamy Legend of Mahampi, 166 ; of the flood in Sangir, 191, see Stories Leguminous herbs, 40 Lembej, an empung, the distribu tor of riches, 257 Lemon trees, 69 384 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Lente's eerstelingen (Dutch) = First fruits of spring, the name of a farce performed in Makassar, 6 Lepa-lepa (Sang.) = small coast ing canoe, 199 Leptocephalus (Z), 206 Life in Manado, 339 Lightning stones, 239 Li-Hong, one of the Chinese gods, 341 Lii (Alf.) = holy or tabud, 247, 299 Likupang (Map I. p. 12), 18, 111 ; river and sand-banks, 111 Limbe Island (Map I. p. 12), 32 Lime, carbonate of, 121 Lingula (Z), 139, 182 Liphyra brassolis (Z), 168 Lirung, a village in Salibabu (Map II. p. 156), 155, 167 Lithrinus (Z), 206 Livistona rotundifolia (B), 18, 296, 334 Lizard (Z),34, 96 Lokon, mountain (Map I. p. 12), 211, 249, 252 Londi, a double-outrigged canoe, 21 Longicorn beetles (Z), 101 Lontar palm (Livistonia), 334 Loods (Dutch) = pilot, 40 Loom for weaving koffo 179 Lory, Eos indica (Z), 155 Lotta (Alf.) = muddy (see Map I. p. 12), 211 'Louise,' a Danish brig, visits Talisse, 79 Love songs in Minahassa, 301 Lumeleutut (I cannot give the exact position of this rock), 308 Lumimuut, legend of, 241, 248 Lunch in Talisse, 61 Luzon, the north island of the Philippines, 300 Maaeom negori (I cannot give the exact position of this), 309 Maclear, Captain of H.M.S. ' Flying Fish,' 11, 16 Macropteryx Wallacei (Z), 91, 143 Madrepores (Z), 15, 24, 108, 127 ; anatomy of, 123 Mceandrina (Z), 124 Maeng-kom, a Celebean Baron Munchausen, 308 Magalhaens, P. Diogo, 193, 324 MANGARANG Magellan, 192 Mahangetang, a holy island near Siauw (Map II. p. 156), 188 Mahapasoosoh, bathing after a funeral, 298 Mahatatambulelen, a singing dance in the evening at the time of the rice harvest (89), 244 Mahawu, a mountain in Minahassa sometimes called Mount Bumen- gan, 250 Mahawuwuringan, face blackening, 298 Mahomedan influence in Nanusa, 166 Maize in Minahassa, 336 Majang (Mai.), the soft pad of the arenga palm from which the sagoweer is obtained, 329 Makalew story, 350 Makassar, 4, 356 ; the market, 5 Makawalang, one of the gods of the under world, 250 Makehet (Alf.) = the process of ob taining wine from the sagoweer palm, 293, 329 Maki-oki, maki-uran, maki-anak, the custom of adopting children, 282 Malay art, 337 Maleo = Megacephalon maleo (Z), a brush turkey, 41, 95 Mamanua and the heavenly nymphs, 315 Mammals (Z), of Talisse, 81; of Sangir, 189 Manado or Menado, formerly We nang, 9, 12, 206 ; the bay, 8, 209 ; the anchorage, 9 ; the residency, 12; controleur, 12; as a port, 209 ; original name, 323 ; history of, 323 Manado tuwa, i.e., old Manado, an extinct volcano island, near Manado, 8, 211 ; origin of, 249 ; original name, 323 Mananinta (Map I. p. 12), 107 Mandako, a holy island near Siauw, 188 Mandej, a god of agriculture, 250 Mandur = a foreman, 16, 65 Manempeh, the fosso for the calling back of the soul, 295 Manganitu in Sangir (Map II. p 156), 177 Mangarang in Kabrukan (Map II. p. 156), 167 INDEX 385 MANGOES Mangoes (B), 206 Mangrove swamp ; at Bohoi Point, 23 ; in Talisse, 71, 140 ; condi tions for animal life in, 145 Mangrove tree (B), 140 Manilla hemp, 334 Mantehage, an island near Manado (Map. I. p. 12), 158 Manuel, 32 Mapalu, 230 Marcus, 32 Marga (Bat.) = a clan, 286 Marine fauna of Talisse shores, Chap. VI., 106 Market at Makassar, 5 ; at Manado, 206 Marriage laws in Nanusa, 167 ; in Sangir Islands, 197 ; in Mina hassa, 268 ; between persons of different ranks, 278 Marsupial sloth, 83 Mascarenhas, Pedro, Bishop of Ternate (1563), 193, 324 Massape, a holy island near Siauw, 188 Mat-making at Tondano, 333 Matilalem, the ordeal by dipping, 350 Matindas, story of, 309 Matriarchal system. The mother the head of the family, the hus band lives in the wife's village, and, in some cases, house, descent traced through female line, 197 Maxims, 322 Medicine in Talisse, native medi cines, 66 Megacephalon maleo (Z), 41, 95 Megapodius Gilberti (Z), 94 ; M. sanghirensis, 95 Melon (B), 168 Menangkabawer Malays of the W. coasts of Sumatra, 270 Mengampit or Mahampi, an island in the Nanusa archipelago (Map II. p. 156), 166 ; legend of, 166 Mengnupu, an island in the Nanusa archipelago (Map II. p, 156), 166 Mesenterial filaments of corals, 122 Mesenteries of corals, 121 Mesoprion (Z), 112, 206 Metroxykm elatum (B), 217 Migration of the Malays, 269 Millepora plicata (Z), 128; M. alci cornis, 131 ; food of, 147 MUMU Millepores (Z), 126 Minahassa, 3, 4 ; natives of, 12 ; journey through, Chapter IX.; etymology of the word, 205 ' Minahassa,' schooner, 79 Missionaries, influence of the, 38, 167, 178 ; history of the, 325 Missionaries : Kelling, 38 Gunther, 167 ; Eichter, 169 ; SteUer, 177; Wilken and Schwartz, 204 ; Graafland, 356 ; Portuguese, 193, 324 Mode of keeping time in Man ganitu, 180 Molluska (Z) of the Panchuran, 105 ; of the reefs, 135 ; of saha, 158 M. H. V., Moluksche Handels Vennootschap (Molucca Trading Company), Offices in the Kromme Binnenkant, Amsterdam, 11, 56 Mongondu, W. of Minahassa, see Bolang Mongondu Mongondus, the inhabitants of Bolang Mongondu, 243 Monitor lizard (Z), 34 Moon, sun, and. stars, origin of, 244 Moseley, researches on Hydro- corallinffi, 52 (51) ; on the rela tions of Syringopora, 130 ; on eyes of Chiton, (50), 182 Mosquitoes (Z), 64, 142 ; larvae of, 142 Moths (Z), 41 Motiara, loods = pilot, 40 Motir, an island south of Ternate, 356 Mountains : Awu (about 5,000 ft. ?), 173; Bonthain (10,850 Amst. feet), 1, 4 ; Batu Angus, (3,846 feet), 82 ; Gedeh (10,587 Amst. feet), 235; Klabat (6,694 feet), 8, 82 ; Lokon (1,592-4 metres), 211 ; Kelelonde (1,827-1 metres), 82, 211 ; Manado tuwa (2,737 feet), 8, 211 ; Mahawu or Bumengan (? feet), 250 ; Buang (2,330 feet), 41 ; Saputan (? feet), 82 ; Siauw volcano, (5,924 feet), 155, 185; Two Sisters (4,300 feet), 357 Mouth of corals, 121 Mourning customs in Minahassa, 296 Mumu, official sticks made from C 0 386 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES the gumutu of the Arenga palm, 296 Murray's views on origin of barrier reefs, &o. (52), 151 Musa mindanensis (B), 179, 334 Mushroom, Pachyma tuber-re- gium (B), 196 Music, Sangirese, 78 Mussa (Z), 124 Mussaenda frondosa (B), 183 Musschenbroek, van, formerly Re sident of Manado, 183, 225, 327 Mustica (Mai.) = a charm ; M. calappa, a coco-nut pearl, 331 Mus xanthurus (Z), 229 Myriapoda (Z), 105 Myristica (B), the nutmeg tree, 168 Myristicivora luctuosa (Z), 93 Mythology of the Minahassers, Chap. X. Na afloop bal (Dutch) = At the con clusion, a ball, 6 Nangka (Mai.) trees = Artocarpus (B), 168 Nanusa Islands (Map II., p. 156), 159 ; evidence of recent eleva tion of, 165 ; marriage laws, 167, 287 Naseus (Z), 113 Native medicines, 66 Natives of Minahassa, 12 Naturalists and travellers in Mina hassa, 327 Nectar birds (Z), 92, 155 Negori v. negari (Mai.) = a small district or a suburb Negori baru, a district of Manado (Map I. p. 12), 206 Nematocysts, the stinging cells of Coelenterata, 146 Neplielium lappaeeum (B), 206 Nests (edible) of Collocallia, 50; birds' nests in the tropics, 156 Niasers, inhabitants of Nias island W. of Sumatra, lat. 1°N., 243 Nicobar pigeon, 183 Nisos, king of Megara, story, 315 Nocturnal visits in courtship, 272 Numenius phceopus, (Z), 96 Nutmegs (B), 210 Oak (B), 236 Oath-taking in Manado, 346 PARANG Observation spot, Tindela island, 39 Octopus (Z), 136 Odontolabis celebensis (Z), 100 Omar, an Arab, 227, 230 Olo-Ngadjus, a race of men living in South-East Borneo, 259, 300 Ophidiaster (Z), 139 Ophiocephalus striatus (Z), 221 Ophiurids (Z), 108 Opzichter (Dutch), overseer or superintendent, 16, 56 Orang (Mai.) = a m> a, 0. petenong, a priest, 188 Orang blanda (Mai.), Dutchmen : ' blanda ' is a Malay corruption of the word Hollanda, 326 Orange, fort in Makassar, 5 Oranges (B),206 Orbitolites (Z), 29, 139 Orchids, best place for, 71 Ordeals in Minahassa, 350 Oriolus celebensis (Z), 92 : O. for mosus, 191 Organ pipe coral (Z), 124 Osprey (Pandion leucocephalus (Z), 87, 158 Ostracion arcus (Z), 114 Ourata, an island in the Nanusa Archipelago (Map II. p. 156), 166 Paal (Dutch), literally apole, hence the distance between two poles, nearly one English mile, 211 Pachyma tuber-regium (B), 196 Paku (Sang.), fringe of hair worn by men of Sangir, 204 Pala (Mai.) trees = Myristica (B), 168 Palcemon ornatus (Z), 105, 221 Palenti trees, 179 Panchuran (Mai.) = a water-spout, 59, 105 Pandion leucocephalus (Z), 87, 158 Pansies (B), 226 Papaya, Carica papaya (B), 195 Papilio Blumei (Z), 99; P. daedalus, 99 ; P. polytes, 100 ; P. pam mon, 100 Paposanan, an altar, 251 Papuan art, 337 Papung (Sang.), a nobleman, p. tuwas, p. beka, p. timbang, 193 Parastia (Z), 100 Parang (Mai.), a short sword or dagger, 266 INDEX 387 PAREPEJ Parepej, 260 Pari-Pari, a small village on the S.W. coast of Celebes, 8 Parrots (Z), 59, 86, 155 Pasanbangko (I cannot give the exact position of this), 310 Pasangrahan, panugrahan (pinu- grahan), anugrah., a rest-house or small hotel subsidised by the government, 11 Paso (Map I. p. 12), 234 Passan in the Afd. Belang (Map I. p. 12), i9&- Passiac (Map L. p. 156), 43, 44 Pata-besi, a giant of Ternate, 263 Paths in Talisse, 69 Patriarchy, the man the head of the household, the wife lives in the village of her husband ; descent traced through the male line, 285 Pelagic life, 58 ' Pell, Generaal,' s.s., 1 Pentacrinus (Z), 109 Pentaceros (Z), 139 Pentacrinin, 109 Perch, climbing, 221 Periophthalmus (Z), Frontispiece ; habits, 30 ; food, 30 ; mode of capture, 32 ; in Talisse, 143 Perplexing the ghost, 299 Pesendeen (Alf.), sham infant marriage, 270 Petenong, a priest, 188 Petta, a village in Sangir (Map II. p. 156), 155 Phcenicophaes calorhynchus (Z), 255 Phaseolus (B), 195 Phosphorescence of the sea in Talisse, Banda, and Scotland, 65; of Myriapoda, 105 Phyllorhina bicolor, var. fulvus (Z), 85 Physiography of the Sangir Is lands, 188 Pieridse (Z), 99 Pigeons in the Likupang forest, 20 ; on the Buang, 41 ; in Talisse, 92 ; in the swamps, 144 ; at Langowan, 225 Pijtjes, a word used by Dutchmen in the Indies for gin and bitters, derived irompaMt (Mai.) = bitter, 5, 10 Pile dwellings of the Tondanese, 214 Pilih (Sang.) = holy or tabud, 194, 247 Pinang (Mai.), a betel-nut (B), 332; use in courtship, 273 Pineapples (B), 69, 206 Pinoutoan, the name of the god who dwells in the Lokon moun tain, 250 Pipe-fishes (Z), 137 Pirates in the Banka Straits, 74 Pisang (Mai.), a banana. P. utan = Musa mindanensis (B), 179 Pits of the ant-lions, 101 Plasmopora (Z), 134 Platydactylus monorchis (Z), 96 Plein (Dutch), a public field, a square, 5 Pocillopora (Z), 108, 124 Poinsettia (B), 226 Polder (Dutch), a piece of land re claimed from a marsh or lake, 221 Poliornis indicus (Z), 89 Pollicipes (Z) (figure on p. 51), 52 Polygamy, 167 ; in Babar archip., 288 Polypes, structure of, 118 ; differ ence between Alcyonarian and Zoantharian, 126 Polyzoa (Z), 126 Port of Manado, 209 Posan (Alf.), forbidden, 279 Post prau to Talisse, 77 Potatoes (B), 226 Poton (Alf.) = holy or tabud, Prau or Prahu (Mai.) = a boat or canoe; race with a native canoe, 21 Prawns, freshwater, 105, 221 ; coral reef, 35, 137 Prayers, 251 President rajah, a native official next in rank to the rajah, 169 Priests in Sangir, 196 ; in Mina hassa, 254 Produce of Minahassa, 210 Products of the Sangir Islands, 195 Propora (Z), 134 Property, inheritance and posses sion of, in Sangir, 198 ; in Mina hassa, 232, 278 Protozoa (Z) Proverbs in Celebes, 321 Psychotria (B), 196 Pteropus Wallacei (Z), 84 Ptilopus melanocephalus (Z), 93 Pulu Pate, a mythical island in the Nanusa Archipelago, 166 c c 2 388 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES PULUTAN Pulutan in Kabruang (Map II. p. 156), 159 Punishments for crime in Sangir, 198 Pusaka, the common property of a family, 232, 278 Pyrazus palustris (Z), 141 Pytho reticulatus (Z), 97 Quereus moluccensis (B), 236 Bace with a Londi, 21 Bajah of Manado, 50 ; rajah udan (Mai.) = king of the forest, 59; rajah of Pulutan, 159 ; of Kara- ton, 162 ; of Kandahar, 174 ; of Manganitu, 177 ; of Siauw, 186 Bambutans = fruits of Nephelium (B), 206 Rana macrodon (Z), 98 Bat (Z), 229 Batahan in the Afd. Belang (Map I. p. 12), 293 Battan, or Bottan (B), 18 = Cala mus, sp., 210 Reception of the Besident at Man ganitu, 184 ; at Tomohon, 212 Beef work, 60 Beef fishes, 60, 111 Beinwardt, botanist, &c, 237 Beligion in Sangir Islands little known, 196 ; in Minahassa, chap. X. Bemboken (Map I. p. 12), 234, 260 Bemedies for disease in Sangir, 196 Beptiles of Talisse, 96 Besident of Manado, Jkhr. van der Wyck, 9, 152 Besident Boos abolishes slavery in Minahassa, 1819, 327 Rhinacanthus communis (B), 196 Bice, cultivation of, 335 ; legend of the, 336 Bice birds (Z), 225 Eichter, missionary at Beo, 169 Biddies in Celebes, 320 Biedel, Controleur of Tondano, 327 Big of a Londi, 21 Eijkschroeff, Mr., formerly op zichter in Talisse, 69, 211, 227 Eijsttaffel (Dutch), the midday meal of rice, curry, &c, of the Indies, 224 Rimbah and Koingotan story, 304 SAPUTAN Eoads in Minahassa, 208 Boiler, Eurystomus orientalis (Z), 90 Booper, Lieut., B.N., 33 Booper Point, 34 Eopes made of gumutu, 330 ; of Manilla hemp, 334 Eorehi, a large Moluecan sailing boat, 75 Eoses (B), 226 Eoti island, S.W. of Timor, 243 Euang volcano (Map II. p. 156), 37 ; attempted walk round, 40 ; ascent of, 41 ; eruptions of, 45 Rumengan or Mahawu, a mountain in Minahassa (Map I. p. 12), 250 Eumengan, the name of the god who dwells in the mountain of that name, 250 Eunning amuck, 6 Sago prepared from the pith of the Arenga, 330 ; true sago palm, 330 ; from the Corypha, 334 Sago chopper, 195 Sago-sago (Alf.) = the sword of the priests, 216, 296 Sagoweer wine, prepared from the sap of the Arenga (B) palm, 207 ; method of preparation, 329 Saha Islands (Map II. p. 156), 156 Sahadamanjura (Sang.) = old and trustworthy slaves, 194 Sakit (Mai.), a sickness or disease, hence a devil, 163, 252 Salibabu, one of the Talaut Islands (Map II. p. 156), 155 ' Samarang,' H.M.S., 75, 327 Sambiki (B) = a melon, 168 Samson and Delilah, 314 Sanatotoan (Alf.), those who have sucked the same milk, 284 Sand of the shore near Likupang, 20 ; foraminiferous, 29 ; of Flying-fish Bay, 35 ; banks at Likupang, 111 Sandpipers v. Trinqoides hypo- leucus (Z), 20, 21, 95, 165 Sangir (Map II. p. 156), 16 Sangir Islands, visit to, Chapter VII., marriage laws, 197, 288 Sangirese, 56 ; music, 78 Sapi utan = wild cow (Anoa de- pressicornis, Z), 82 Saputan, mountain in N. Celebes (see Map I. p. 12), 82, 230 INDEX 389 SAPUTAN Saputan, the god who dwells in the mountain, 250 Sarcophytum (Z), 24, 35, 49, 132 ; structure of, 133 Sarong (Mai.), a cloth wound round the waist, 270, 295 Sauropatis chloris (Z), 90 Scenery of the road to Tondano, 211 ; at Tompusu, 234 Schooner ' Minahassa,' 79 Schutterij, the Dutch militia, 344 Scissor-tailed birds = Chibia leu- cops (Z), 91, 225 Sciurus murinus (Z), 84 Scolopendra (Z), 104 ; blood of, 105 Scorpions (Z), 104 Screw-pines = Pandanus (B), 33 Scyllium (Z), 117 Sea-urchins (Z), 136 Sea-currents in Talisse Sea, 76 ; bottom in Talisse Sea, 110 ; horses, 114 ; anemone, 143 Security of property in Talisse, 78 Seho or Seha (Arenga saccharife- rum, B), 253, 330 Sentries at Taruna, 176 Septa, 121 Seriatopora (Z), 108, 124, 131 ; S. tenuicornis, 108 Seroyen, Governor, 193 Serranidse (Z), 112 Sesarma (Z), 105 Shaman, a medium, 259 Sharks (Z), 117, 138 Shell or skeleton of corals, 118 Shields at Beo, 172 ; at Taruna, 176 Ship-building in Sangir, 199 Shore plains, at Bohoi Point, 23 ; formation of, 24, 145 Shore sand near Likupang, 20; shore gradients, 107 Shunning the parents in law, 279 Siafu (a Phaseolus ?) (B), 195 Siauw island (Map II. p. 156), 155, 185, 193 Sickness at Beo, 169 Sicydium (Z), 206 note Siladen island (Map I. p. 12), 211 Silurian coral reefs, 134 Siphonoglyphe, 133 Siphonophora (Z), 105 Siphonozooids of Sarcophytum, 133 Sirih leaves (Chavica, B), 333 Sisters, Two, mountains in Mina hassa, 82, 357 STORIES Skeleton of corals, mode of forma tion, 118 Skuchi api (Mai.), fire-boat ; skuchi = a small ship or boat, 29 Slaves and slavery in Sangir, 194 Snakes (Z), 96 Soc, short for ' Societeit ' (Dutch) = club, 340 Soft or fleshy part of corals, 121 Sondei, perhaps » misprint for Sonder (Map I. p. 12), 256 Song on Lake Tondano, 219 Songs in Minahassa, 301 Spada (Mai.) = Siap'ada = Siapa (who), ada (is), 10 Sphcerococcus lichenoides (B), 335 Spears at Beo, 172 ; at Taruna, 176 ; in -Sangir, 202 ; of the people of Bwool, 326 Species of corals, 119 Spencer St. John on love-making in Borneo, 274 Spiders (Z), 102 ; scavenger spiders in Epeira webs, 104 Spilornis ruflpectus (Z), 89 Spines of Trigger-fishes, 113 Sponges (Z), 24, 132 Squilla (Z), 28, 60, 136 Squirrels (Z), 84 Stag-beetles (Z), 100 Star-corals (Z), 124 Star-fishes (Z), 15, 35, 60, 139; armless, 131 Starlings (Z), 92, 155 Stars, origin of, legend, 244 Steller, missionary at Manganitu, 177 Stench of coral reefs, 131 Stenopus hispidus (Z) (prawns), 35 Sting ray (Z), 115 Stinging cells of Ccelenterata (Nematocysts), 146 Stone implements, 239 Stones, holy, 251 Stories : of the flood, 191 ; Lumi- muiit, 241 ; origin of the sun, moon, and stars, 244 ; Wailan wangko, 246 ; Warereh, 248 ; Tuleng, 250 ; Parepej, 260 ; the ape, the buffalo, and the weris, 263; Utahagi, 265; Walasin douw, 265 ; Bimbah and Koin gotan, 304 ; widow and her two sons, 305 ; apes, 306 ; apes and crocodiles, 312 ; Maeng Kom, 308 ; Matindas, 309 ; Kawalu- 390 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES STOMODjEUM san, 310 ; hair, 315 ; ordeal by diving, 350 Stomodaiurn = throat, of a coral, 121 Stream Cape, T. aros (Map I. p. 12), 49 Stone with inscription at Ulu, 185 Subsidence theory, 151 Suiten (position doubtful), 308 Sulu Islands, S.W. of the Philip pine group, 300 Sulphur deposits, 230 Sun, moon, and stars, origin of, legend, 244 Sundanese, a race inhabiting the west of Java, 270 Surface netting, 58 Sus babirusa (Z), 18, 69, 81 Swifts (Z), 49, 91, 143 Swords in Sangir, 202 ; of the priests in Minahassa, 216 Synapta (Z), 132 Syringopora (Z), 130, 134 Tabasheer, concretions of flint occasionally formed in the inter- nodes of the bamboo, 331 Tabeh or Tabik (Mai.), a salutation, 214 Tachyris phestus (Z), 100 Tagulandang (Map II. p. 156), 37, 155, 186 ; rajah of, 37 Talaut Islands (Map II. p. 156), visit to, Chapter VII. ; evidence of recent elevation of, 151 ; marriage laws, 167, 287 Taleran (Bentenansch) = head flattening, 293 Talisse (Map I. p. 12), arrival at, 11 ; topography of, 55 ; ety mology of the name, 74 Talisse Sea, limits, depth, and bottom of, 17 (Map I. p. 12), bottom and depth, 110 Talus of dead coral, 108 Tamarind trees (B), avenue of, at Makassar, 5 Tampat Got (Mai.) = God cage, 163 Tana- wangko (Map I. p. 12), 213 Tanah (Mai.) = land Tanjong (Mai.) = a cape ; T. piso (a knife) (Map I. p. 12), 14; T. aros (stream), 25 Tanygnathus Mulleri (Z), 59, 86, 191 ; T. megalorhynchus, 158 ; T. luconensis, 191 TOMOHON Tapi Kong, Chinese idol in Manado, 207, 341 Taruna, the capital of Sangir (Map II. p. 156), 174 Tatooing in Nanusa, 167 Tea (B), 210 Tectona grandis (teak), 335 Teeteken (Alf.) = circumcision, 294 Teknonymy in Minahassa, 281 Temberan, the 'upper portion of the Tondano river, 218 Temboan (Alf.) = an altar, 214 Temperature of the sea, 58 ; of the air in Talisse, 62 Temple of the Chinese in Manado, 207 Tendeloo, researches, 283 Tentacles of corals, 121 ; of an anemone (?), 139 Terminalia catappa (B), 74 Termites, flying (Z), 64 ' Ternate,' steamer in the service of the colonial government, 152 Terias talissa (Z), 100 Thecse or coral cups, 121 Thecia (Z), 134 Thelaceros rhizophom (Z), 143 Tifa (Alf.) = a drum, 233, 334 Time, mode of keeping, in Man ganitu, 180 Timorese, the inhabitants of Timor island, 9° S., 125 E°, 288 Tindela (Map I. p. 12), 15, 39, 76 Tindong, a funeral hat worn in Minahassa, 299 Tjabeh besar (Mai.) = the large tjabeh (Capsicum frutescens), 335 Tjelana (Mai.) = trousers, 207 Tjidako (Mai.) = a jacket, 335 Tobacco (B), 210 Toko, a shop or store, 155 Toli-toli, a small village on the N. coast of Celebes, 8 Tolian, a district close to Tondano village, 277 Tolimambot, a district close to Tondano village, 277 Tomalun, the giant-killer of Tomo hon, 260 Tomb of a chief in Lirung, 156 Tombs in Minahassa, 297 Tombulus, 214, 239, 242, 252, 305 Tomini Bay in Celebes, 3, 79 Tomohon, Toumuhum (Alf.) = men of the river Mouhoum (Map I. p. 12), 212, 260 INDEX 391 TOMPUSU Tompusu Pass, 235 Tondano (Map I. p. 12), 212 ; ety mology, 213; the lake, 218; fauna of the lake, 221 Tondano, Controleur of, 12, 217 Tondanese, 213, 217 Tonsawang, a district in the Afdeeling Belang, 277 Tonsea district lies N. of Kema (Map I. p. 12), 249 Tonsea Lama, the famous water fall near Tondano, 218 Top playing, 207 Totems, i.e. animal or vegetable crests or names, 305 Toulembo, perhaps Tolimambot, 308 Toulours, etymology, 213 Tragops prasinus (Z), 97 Transverse section of a coral, 122 Trepang = Holothuria (Z), 195 Trigger-fishes (Z), 112 Tringoides hypoleucus (Z), v. Sand pipers, 20, 95 Tuan (Mai.) = sir, master ; T. puti = white gentleman, 59 Tuan bohki = the wife of the rajah, at Manganitu, 178 Tubipora (Z), 24, 41, 128; T. musica, lii ; species of, 129 Tuis, 241 Tuleng, legend of, 250 Tumuktok (Alf.) = the practice of cutting the body of an enemy into fine pieces, 216 Turbinaria (Z), Vii Turtle, 195 Turtle and ape story, 306, 307 Turtur tigrina (Z), 94 Tusks of babirusa, 81 Two Sisters, mountains in Mina hassa, 82, 357 Tylor' s researches on marriage laws (77), 280 Ular. (Mai.) === a snake or worm, U. patjola = Pytho reticulatus, 97 Ulawu (Bug), a charm, 331 Ulcers in Talisse, 66 Ulu in Siauw (Map II. p. 156), 185 Uncaria (B), 19 ; U. gambir, 333 Unpunctuality of the Malays, 14 Uro (Sang.), a coco-nut fetish, 175 Urostigma microcarpa (B), 33 n.\ U. benjamineum, 160 Utahagi, story of, 265, 315 WIELANDT Vanilla (B), 210 Varanus bivittatus (Z), 34 Vendutie (Dutch) = a sale by auction, 355 Verbenaceee (the vervain order), 335 Vereeniging (Dutch), an associa tion. Y. Unitas at Makassar, 5 Vigour of coral growth, at Bohoi, 24 ; in Talisse, 132 Volcanic eruptions, 38, 45, 173 Volcanoes : Buang, 37, 45 ; Awu, 173 ; Siauw, 186 ; Saputan, 230 Voyage from Makassar to Manado, 8 Vries, Mr. de, 37, 341 Wadjorese, 56 Wailan Wangko, the deity of the Southern Minahassers, 246 Walantakka tree (Erythrina litho sperma, B), 228 Walian, vide Balian, 257 : female, 292 Wallace Bay (Map I. p. 12), 36 Wanga wood (Metroxylon elatum, B), 217 Warereh, legend of. 248 Waringin (Mai.) tree = Urostigma benjamineum (B), 160, 168, 253 Watu or Batu (Mai.) = a stone Watu-ing kilat (Mai.) = lightning stones, 239 Watu merah (Mai.), red rock (Map I. p. 12), 308 Wax insects (Z), 101 Wedding in Minahassa, 276 Weintre, commander, defeated the Tondanese 1809, 213 Weledelen (Dutch), a courtesy title used in addressing private indi viduals, 9 Weledelgestreng (Dutch), a courtesy title used in addressing Dutch officials, 9 Wenang, the original name for Manado, 323 Wetar Islands, W. of the Kesar Islands, 8° S., 126° E., 289 Whelk, eggs of the, 51 Whimbrels (Z), 96 Whistling for the wind, 14 White ants (termites, Z), 64, 102 Widow and her two sons, story, 305 Wielandt, Dominie of Manado, 176 392 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES Wilken, A. G., researches, 242 (line 23), 251, 268 Wilken, G. N. (the elder), 242 (line 30) Wilken and Schwartz (90), re searches in Bolang Mongondu, 204 William III. of Holland, birthday celebration in Manado, 343 Wind, whistling for the, 14 Witches, 166 Woka palm, Livistona (B), 296 334 Wooden spears and shields at Beo, 172 Woman, status of, in Minahassa, 290 ZOSTERA Woods of Celebes, 334 Wursan (Tond.), gumutu, 330 Work on the reef s , Wyck, Jkhr. van der, Besident of Manado, 10, 222 Yams (B), 195 Yuccas (B), 69 Zoantharia (Z), 118, 130 ; anatomy of, 120, 124 Zoophytes, a general term applied to animals of plant-like growth and habit, 24 Zostera (B), 138 PRINTED Br srorris iVoode and co., new-street square LONDON YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 08837 0318 ? --- :¦ ' mm A' w^ *A m m M. aM» -'-a;;;' i»* -^ Ai^*fr.7W)W