372 Matabello. 



left with a south wind, which suddenly changed to north- 

 east, and induced me to turn again southward in the hopes 

 that this was the commencement of a few days' favorable 

 weather. We sailed on very well in the direction of Teor for 

 about an hour, after which the wind shifted to W.S.W., and 

 we were driven much out of our course, and at nightfall found 

 ourselves in the open sea, and full ten miles to leeward of our 

 destination. My men were now all very much frightened, for 

 if we went on we might be a week at sea in our little open 

 boat, laden almost to the water's edge ; or we might drift on 

 to the coast of New Guinea, in which case we should most 

 likely all be murdered, I could not deny these probabilities, 

 and although I showed them that we could not get back to 

 our starting-point with the wind as it was, they insisted upon 

 returning. We accordingly put about, and found that we 

 could lay no nearer to Uta than to Teor ; however, by great 

 good luck, about ten o'clock we hit upon a little coral island, 

 and lay under its lee till morning, when a favorable change of 

 wind brought us back to Uta, and by evening (April 18th) we 

 reached our first anchorage in Matabello, where I resolved to 

 stay a few days, and then return to Goram. It was with much 

 regret that I gave up my trip to Ke and the intervening isl- 

 ands, which I had looked forward to as likely to make up for 

 my disappointment in Ceram, since my short visit on my voy- 

 age to Aru had produced me so many rare and beautiful in- 

 sects. 



The natives of Matabello are almost entirely occupied in 

 making cocoa-nut oil, which they sell to the Bugis and Goram 

 traders, who carry it to Banda and Amboyna. The rugged 

 coral rock seems very favorable to the growth of the cocoa- 

 nut palm, which abounds over the whole island to the very 

 highest points, and produces fruit all the year I'ound, Along 

 with it are great numbers of the areca or betel-nut palm, the 

 nuts of which are sliced, di-ied, and ground into a paste, which 

 is much used by the betel-chewing Malays and Papuans. All 

 the little children here, even such as can just run alone, car- 

 ried between their lips a mass of the nasty-looking red paste, 

 which is even more disgusting than to see them at the same 

 age smoking cigars, which is very common even before they 

 are weaned. Cocoa-nuts, sweet potatoes, an occasional sago 



