378 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCniPELAr:0. 



assumed a rich, scintillating appearance, as if filled 

 witli millions of minute crystals of gold. 



Tlie controleiii\ on board, who travelled with 

 me fi'om Langowan, has been farther into the inte- 

 rior, south of Gorontalo, than any foreigner previ- 

 ously. He found the whole country divided up among 

 many petty tribes, who are waging a continual war- 

 fare with each other; and the immediate object of 

 his dangerous journey was to conciliate two power- 

 ful tribes near the borders of the territory which the 

 Dutch claim as beins; under their command. He 

 found that all these people are excessively addicted 

 to the use of opium, which is brought from Singa- 

 pore to the western coast, near Palos, by Mandha- 

 rese and Macassars. 



The dress of the people consists of a sarong, 

 made from the inner layers of the bark of a tree. 

 They have large parangs, and value them in pro- 

 portion to the number and minuteness of the damas- 

 cene lines on their blades. Twenty guilders is a 

 common price for them. The controleur gave me a 

 very fine one, which was remarkably well tempered. 

 The most valuable export from this bay is gold, 

 which is found in great quantities, at least over 

 the whole noi-thern peninsula, from the Minahassa 

 south to the isthmus of Palos. The amount ex- 

 ported is not known, for, though the Dutch Gov- 

 ernment has a contract with the princes to deliver 

 all the gold obtained in their territory to it at a 

 certain rate, they are offered a much higher price 

 by the Bugis, and consequently sell it to them. 

 No extensive survey has yet been made in this 



