254 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



in 1837, migrated to Bachian. The clove-gardens in 

 Bonoa were tlius in danger of being neglected, and 

 tlie man wlio was governor of tlie Moluccas at tliat 

 time therefore sent messengers to induce them to re- 

 turn ; but, when this measure proved unavailing, he 

 went himself in a war-ship, and brought them back. 



From Amboina we passed up the strait between 

 Kilang and Manipa, which is less than a mile wide, 

 and made much narrower by long tongue-shaped reefs 

 of coral which project from several points. A fresh 

 breeze had sprung up from the south, and, under a 

 full head of steam and a good press of canvas, we 

 ploughed through the waves which rolled up against 

 the vsdnd. In all these straits the tidal currents are 

 very strong, and in many places so swift that a good 

 boat cannot make headway against them with oars, 

 and this makes many of these narrow channels very 

 dangerous for the native boats. 



That evening the bright fires built by the fisher- 

 men on the shores of Bonoa were seen on our lar- 

 board side, and the next morning we were near the 

 Seven Brothers, a group of islands on the west side 

 of Sawai Bay. Here are thi'ee dangerous reefs not 

 laid down on the charts, a mile or more from the 

 shore. As we passed, mountains thi^ee or four thou- 

 sand feet in height were seen standing by the sea near 

 the head of the bay. At noon we came to anchor in 

 the little harbor of Wahai, which is formed by coral 

 reefs that are bare at low tide. Unfortunately, it is 

 too small for sailing-ships to enter safely, or it would 

 be visited occasionally by those of our whalers who 

 frequent these seas. The whole village consists of a 



