236 Celebes. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



CELEBES. 



MACASSAR. JULY TO NOVEMBER, 1857, 



I REACHED Macassai- again on the 11th of July, and estab- 

 lished myself in my old quarters at Mamajam, to sort, arrange, 

 clean, and pack up my Aru collections. This occupied me a 

 month ; and having shipped them off for Singapore, had my 

 guns repaired, and received a new one from England, together 

 with a stock of pins, arsenic, and other collecting requisites, I 

 began to feel eager for work again, and had to consider where 

 I should sjDcnd my time till the end of the year. I had left 

 Macassar, seven months before, a flooded marsh, being plowed 

 up for the rice-sowing. The rains had continued for five 

 months, yet now all the rice was cut, and dry and dusty stub- 

 bles covered the country just as when I had first arrived there. 



After much inquiry I determined to visit the district of 

 Maros, about thirty miles north of Macassar, where Mr, Jacob 

 Mesman, a brother of my friend, resided, who had kindly offer- 

 ed to find me house-room and give me assistance should I feel 

 inclined to visit him. I accordingly obtained a ipass from the 

 Resident, and having hired a boat, set off one evening for 

 Maros. My boy Ali was so ill with, fever that I was obliged 

 to leave him in the hospital, under the care of my friend the 

 German doctor, and I had to make shift with two new servants 

 utterly ignorant of every thing. We coasted along during 

 the night, and at daybreak entered the Maros River, and by 

 three in the afternoon reached the village. I immediately 

 visited the Assistant Resident, and applied for ten men to 

 carry my baggage, and a horse for myself. These were prom- 

 ised to be ready that night, so that I could start as soon as I 

 liked in the morning. After having taken a cup of tea I took 

 my leave, and slept in the boat. Some of the men came at 

 night as promised, but others did not arrive till the next morn- 

 ing. It took some time to divide my baggage fairly among 

 them, as they all wanted to shirk the heavy boxes, and would 



