A PORTABLE FOUNTAIN. 149 



natives had. brouglit over from tlie ueigliboring coast 

 of Ceram. They are quite similar to the TvitonB of 

 the Mediterranean, which in mythological times were 

 fancied to be the trumpets used by Neptune's attend- 

 ants to herald the apj^roach of the grim god, when 

 he came up from the depths of the ocean, and was 

 whirled by foaming steeds over its placid surface. 

 The next village we visited was completely de- 

 serted, except by the rajah and his family. The 

 cause of this strange exodus was some misunder- 

 standing between the rajah and his people ; and as 

 the Dutch Government claims the right to appoint 

 each native prince, and had refused to remove this 

 rajah, all his people had deserted their homes and 

 moved off to the various neighboring hampongSj a 

 quiet and probably an effective mode of remon- 

 strance. Near all these villages the beaches are 

 lined with cocoa-nut palms, and this is frequently 

 the only indication that you are approaching a ham- 

 pong^ unless, as occasionally happens, a thin column 

 of smoke is observed slowly rising from out the tall 

 tree-tops. When I wished to take water with me in 

 our canoe, I naturally asked the rajah if he could 

 provide us with a bottle, but he only smiled to think 

 I could be so unaccustomed to tropical life, and 

 ordered a servant to climb one of the cocoa-nut palms 

 above us, and cut off some of its clusters of large 

 green fruit. These we could carry anywhere, and 

 open when we pleased, and a few strokes with a 

 heavy cleaver at once furnished us -svith a sparkling 

 fountain. 



At Assilulu, the next village, I found the rajah 



