THE KE ISLANDS. 



381 



was also a dance of two performers with pieces of sticks, to 

 represent a combat with swords. The whole was closely like 

 the dancing of the Lutaos which we saw later at Zamboangan in 

 the Philippine Islands, but not so elaborate. 



The ship moved to an anchorage off the small town of Ke 

 Dulan. The houses were all raised on posts, except the Mahom- 

 medan Mosque, which building shows a curious development of 

 the high-peaked Malay roof into a sort of half tower, half spire, 

 representing no doubt an equivalent of the dome. Under the 

 caves of the houses baskets were hung up for 

 the fowls to nest in. 



Some boys were playing near the village, 

 and, as a toy, they had a very ingeniously 

 made model of a spring gun, or rather spring 

 bow, a trap by which a large arrow is shot 

 into a wild pig, on its setting loose a catch. 



Our guide, a boy, wearing a turban, placed his 



hand on his turban and said, " Mahommed," and 



explained to Captain Tizard that the small 



boys at play, whose heads were bare, were not 



such as he, but heathen. He was evidently 



very proud of his religion. 



The Ke Islanders, besides arrows like those 



of the Aru Islanders, use others which are 



peculiar. They are light thin narrow strips cut 



out of the long leaves of what I believe is a 



species of Canna. The strips are so cut that 



the stiff midrib of the leaf forms the shaft of 



the arrow, and portions of the wings of the leaf 



are left on at the base of the arrow to act as 



feathers. The point is simply sharpened with 



the knife. 



These leaf arrows when dry are hard and 



stiff. They are very easily made by a few 



strokes of the knife, and a large bundle of them 



is carried by the archer. They are shot away 



at a bird in the bush without the trouble being taken to find 



them again, as in the case of other arrows. They are so small 



ARROW CUT OUT OF A 

 CANNA LEAF. 



