SPICY ISLANDS. 185 



mflied their quota of four hundred militia men to the fultan of 

 Ternate. 



The fhipping of the Molucca illes confifts of a fort of veffels Shipping. 

 called Corocoro, with a high arched ftem and ftern like the point 

 of a half moon ; the largeft are of about ten tons burden. On 

 each fide of the veffel are out-riggers or frames made of timber, 

 interfediing each other, and extending like wings far over the 

 water, of different dimenfions, according to the fize of the corO' 

 ' coro. The rowers, or rather paddlers, fit in a moft fingular 

 manner on the interfeitions of the fufpended frames over the 

 water. In a fmooth fea they move with vaft fwiftnefs. Mr. 

 Forrc/? gives figures of feveral of thefe fingular veffels* ; but 

 the mofl: magnificent is a corocoro of Banda, reprefented at p. 13 

 of the old Dutch voyages. Some have banks of rowers, like 

 the Roman trire^nes. M. de Pages f gives a curious defcription 

 and figure of one he faw in the Manilla ifles. 



No Ch'meje veffel is allowed to come farther than Macajfar. 

 The Sooloos veffels trade to Ternate, but nobody dare fend one to 

 Sooloo ; in a word, the moft jealous attention is paid to the pre- 

 vention of fmuggling any of the pretious products of the ifles> 

 The Sooloos may poffibly be the carriers for the Cbinefe ; their 

 lading confifts chiefly of articles from China, and they bring 

 back rice, fuallo, fliark fins, tortoife fliells, fome fmall pearls, 

 and abundance oi Loeri parrots. 



The religion of the ifland is that of Mahomet : here are fome 

 mofques, one Dutch church, and the ruins of feveral once be- 

 longing to the Portuguefe ; but none are permitted to be ufed ; 



* Plates 3. 4. 5. 10. t Voy. vol. i. p. 169. 



Vol. IV. B b and 



