182 TRAVEL.^ IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



tobacco is cut so fine that it exactly resembles tlie 

 "fine cut" of civilized lands; and long threads of 

 the fibrous, oakum-like substance are always seen 

 hanging out of the mouths of the natives, and 

 completing their disgusting appearance. This re- 

 volting habit prevails not only among the men, 

 but also among the women, and whenever a nmnber 

 come together to gossip, as in other countries, a 

 box containing the necessary articles is always seen 

 near by, and a tall, urn-shaped spit-box of brass is 

 either in the midst of the circle or passing from one 

 to another, that each may fi'ee her mouth from sur- 

 plus saliva. Whenever one native calls on another, 

 or a stranger is received from abroad, invariably the 

 first article that is offered him is the siri-box. 



From Tulahu w^e crossed a strait al^out half 

 a mile broad, and came under the lee of the 

 north side of Haruku, an oblong island, with a 

 long j)oint on the east and southwest. Its extreme 

 length is about two and a quarter geographical 

 miles, its greatest width one and a quarter, and 

 its entire area eight square geographical miles. 

 The sui'face abounds in hills, but the highest is 

 not a thousand feet above the sea. Its population 

 is upward of seven thousand, and is distributed 

 in eleven villages, and about evenly divided be- 

 tween Christianity and Mohammedanism. Its geo- 

 logical structure is probably like the neighboring 

 parts of Laitimur. It is quite surrounded by a plat- 

 form of coral, which must be bare in some places at 

 low water. We kept near the shore, so that I could 

 look down deep into the clear water, and distinctly 



