464 CHARACTER OF THE NATIVES. 



by one, they call the Rajah bird, whose motions 

 they follow.* 



During the absence of the trading boats, the rest 

 of the crews are employed making chinam of lime, 

 from the coral which abounds on the beach, which 

 fetches a good price at Banda, where fuel is expensive. 



As soon as the S. E. monsoon is fairly set in, 

 the junks are hauled up on the western side of the 

 sandy spit at high water spring tides, a sort of dam 

 is then built round them, with bamboos, and a kind 

 of mat the Malays call kadgang, banked up with 

 sand ; from this the water is bailed out by hand, so 

 as to form a dry dock in which they clean and coat 

 the bottom with chinam which lasts till the next 

 season. 



The cargo, as it is brought in by the different 

 trading boats, is carefully dried and stowed away 

 in the different store houses on the point. 



Of the natives of the islands we had not on this 

 occasion an opportunity of seeing much, but the 

 traders on the whole gave them a good character 

 for honestv, and described them as a harmless race 

 very much scattered. They used formerly to bring 

 their articles of barter to Dobbo, but discontinued 

 it within the last few years, in consequence of having 

 been ill used by the Bughis. Many of them profess 

 Christianitv, havino^ been converted bv Dutch 

 Missionaries sent from Amboyna. 



* This is also mentioned by Pennant in his work on the 

 Malayan Ai'chipelago, published in 1800. 



