CHAPTER XV. 



ARU. KE. BAND A. AMBOINA. TERN ATE. 



Appearance of the Aru Islands. Trees Transplanted by the Waves. 

 Masses of Drift Wood. Malay Language. Ballasting a Guide. 

 Management of Clothes during Rain. Back Country Natives. Great 

 Height of the Trees. Nests of the Metallic Starling, Parrots and 

 Cockatoos. Bird Winged Butterflies. Shooting Birds of Paradise at 

 Wanumbai. Deposit of Lime in Streams. Boat Crews from the Ke 

 Islands. Fungus Skin Disease. Ke Island Dancing. Houses at Ke 

 Dulan. Leaf Arrows. Bird caught in a Spider's Web. Ascent of 

 the Volcano of Banda. Algae Growing in the Hot Steam Jets. 

 Numerous Insects at the .Summit. Alteration in Sea Level, Marked 

 on Living Corals. Nutmeg Plantations. Transportation of Seeds 

 by Fruit-Pigeons. Saluting at Amboina. Danger to the Eyes in 

 Diving for Corals. Raised Reefs. Myrmecodia and Hj'dnophytum. 

 Moluccan Deer. Ternate Island. Chinese and their Graves. Sale 

 of Birds of Paradise. Ascent of the Volcano. The Mountain Vege- 

 tation. The Terminal Cone. View from the Summit. 



The Aru Islands, September 16th to September 23rd, 1874. — 



On our way to the Aru Islands we crossed the Arafura Sea, 

 which hes to the west of New Guinea. The sea is extremely 

 shallow, being only from 30 to 50 fathoms in depth. After a 

 voyage of six days, from Torres Straits, we sighted the southern 

 part of the Aru Islands, so familiar to naturalists from Mr. 

 Wallace's account of them, in his " Malay Archipelago," and 

 so full of interest to us as the home of Birds of Paradise. 



We sailed along the western coast of the islands. The 

 southern portions are not covered with forest, but appeared in 

 the distance as open grassy downs, and immediately further 

 north similar open country occurs frequently, in patches, 

 amongst the forest. The grass, though it appears like turf in 

 the distance, is probably tall and reed like. A line of cliffs 

 of no great height forms the coast line. The low cliffs are 

 broken at intervals, and there the coast is wooded and shows 

 a white sandy beach. 



The cliffs appear as if formed of a stratified ferruginous red 

 rock. Here and there were conspicuous white patches on the 

 cliffs, the nesting-places of Boobies, of which large flocks were 

 seen flying to roost as evening came on. 



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