CAXAL TO BAGCALA BAY. 171 



or never enter it, as tlie road off the city is so far 

 from the mouth of the bay that it is veiy seldom any 

 considerable swell rolls in from the ocean, and more- 

 over, the shores of this bay are considered extremely 

 unhealthy on account of fevers, while sickness of that 

 kind is very rare at the outer anchorage. On the 

 eastern or Laitimur side of the bay there are several 

 kampongs upon the low land along the shore. Back 

 from the low land, on the Hitu side, there is a grad- 

 ual ascent to mountains a mile or two back. One of 

 them, Salhutu, rises twelve hundred metres above 

 the sea, and is the highest j^eak on the island. In 

 the shallow water around the head of the bay grow 

 many mangrove-trees {RliizopliorcB). A low isthmus 

 of sand and allu'dum, only some thirteen hundred 

 yards broad, and but a few feet above high- water 

 level, connects Laitimur with Hitu. Through this a 

 canal was cut in 1827 to the large bay of Baguala 

 in order that the praus bound from Ceram to Am 

 boina might avoid the long route round the danger 

 ous shores of Laitimur ; but in twelve years this pas 

 sage became so filled up with sand as to be impas 

 sable, except for small boats, and now they can only 

 go to and fro during high tide, and thus \vhatever 

 there is to be transported must be carried on the 

 backs of coolies. It is very painful to see such valu- 

 able improvements neglected and becoming useless, 

 for it shows that the whole tendency in this region, 

 instead of being toward progress, is only toward 

 decay. Crossing this isthmus, we continued along 

 the sandy shores on the north side of Baguala Bay, 

 for this is the only highway between the city of Am- 



