ch. v.] "Musa." 8 1 



We sent back the Pangeran's boat, and giving our men 

 as much rice each as they could carry, we returned the 

 rest to the other boat and left two men in charge until 

 our return. I am inclined to think his greed was 

 excited by seeing the cloth and goods we had as the men 

 unloaded the boat. 



We now found out the value of the man " Musa," 

 whom we had engaged to superintend our men. He was 

 an old man, but still powerful and active, and he pos- 

 sessed the secret of persuasion to the utmost degree. 

 Under his direction the men were all loaded equally, and 

 to their individual satisfaction, and we set off towards 

 Tamparulie. We saw a pretty white-flowered cucurbit 

 growing over bushes here and there, and bearing spindle- 

 shaped fruits of a scarlet colour and about two inches 

 long. Here and there also the red-berried spikes of an 

 amorphophallus were seen among the tall grass. I 

 and Veitch shouldered our guns, and pushed on across a 

 low grassy plain inhabited for the time by a few black 

 water buffaloes, and then came a long march in single 

 file across a series of wet rice or padi fields, the paths 

 through which were scarcely a foot broad, very uneven, 

 and being of pure clay, the last night's rain had made 

 them as slippery as wet soap. We who had only our 

 guns to carry found it rather hard work floundering about 

 on the greasy tracks ; but the men were in good spirits, 

 and a march of about two hours brought us to the 

 Tawaran, close to the village of Tamparulie which stands 

 on its banks. 



The plain we had just traversed was well cultivated, 

 and very fertile, rice, bananas, cocoa-nut trees, and other 

 vegetation being most luxuriant. Buffaloes were em- 

 ployed to draw the rude ploughs through the rich, moist 

 earth. We saw immense flocks of white "padi birds," 



