136 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



cones to get at the bait within. If the opening had 

 not been much larger than usual, it could not possi- 

 bly have got in. It was at once placed in a can con- 

 taining strong arrack. I then offered twice as much 

 for a duplicate specimen, and hundreds of natives 

 tried and tried, but in vain, to procure another during 

 the five months I was in those seas. They are so rare 

 even there, that a gentleman, who had made large col- 

 lections of shells, assui^ed me that I ought not to expect 

 to obtain another if I were to remain at Amboina 

 three years. Rumphius, who usually is remarkably 

 accurate in his descrij^tions of the habits of the mol- 

 lusks he figures, says it sometimes s\vims on the sea ; 

 but this statement he probably received from the na- 

 tives, who made such a mistake because many emj^ty 

 shells are frequently found floating on the ocean. 

 When the animal dies and becomes separated from 

 the shell, the latter rises to the surface of the sea on 

 account of the air or other gas contained in the 

 chambers. It is then swept away by the wind and 

 tide to the shore of a neighboring island. When the 

 natives are questioned as to where these shells come 

 from, they invariably reply, " The sea ; " and as to 

 where the animal lives, they merely answer, " Dalam^^'' 

 " In the deep." The dead shells are so abundant on 

 these islands, that they can be purchased in any quan- 

 tity at from four to ten cents apiece. 



My first excursion from the city of Amboina Avas 

 with a gentleman to a large cocoa-garden, which he 

 had lately |)lanted on the high hills on the Hitu side. 

 A nice boat or oraiu/hai — literally, " a good fellow " 

 — -took us over the bav to the little villao;e of Ruma 



