ECHINODEEMATA. 297 



of the proas, accompanied by M. Boquemauel. We were received 

 with much politeness, and even cordiality, by the captain or padrone 

 of the boats. He showed us over his little ship. The keel appeared 

 to us sufficiently solid ; even the lines did not want elegance ; but 

 great disorder seemed to reign in the stowage department. From a 

 kind of bridge, formed by hurdles of bamboos and junk, we saw the 

 cabin, which looked like a poultry-house ; bags of rice, packets, and 

 boxes were huddled together. Below was the store of water, of cured 

 trepang, and the sailors' berths. Each boat was furnished with two 

 rudders, one at each end, which lifted itself when the boat touched the 

 bottom. The craft was furnished with two masts, without shrouds, 

 which could be lowered on to the bridge at will by means of a hinge ; 

 they carry the ordinary sail; the anchors are of wood, for iron is 

 rarely used by the Malays ; their cables are made of ratan fibre ; 

 the crew of each bark consists of about thirty-seven, each shore-boat 

 having a crew of six men. At the moment of our visit they were 

 all occupied in fishing operations, some of them being anchored 

 very near to us. Seven or eight of their number, nearly naked, were 

 diving for trepang ; the padrone alone was unoccupied. An ardent 

 sun darted his rays upon their heads without appearing to incommode 

 them, an exposure which no European could hold up under. It was 

 near mid-day, and the moment, as our Malay captain assured us, most 

 favourable for the fishing. In fact, we saw that each diver returned 

 to the surface with at least one animal, and sometimes two, in his hands. 

 It appears that the higher the sun is above the horizon, the more 

 easily is the creature distinguished at the bottom. The divers were so 

 rapid in their movements, that they scarcely touched the boat, into 

 which they threw the animals, before they dived again. When the boat 

 was filled with them, it proceeded to the shore, and its place was sup- 

 plied by an empty one. I followed one of these, to witness the process 

 of curing which they adopted. 



" The Holothuria of Baffles' Bay is from five to six inches long and 

 about two in diameter ; it is a gross fleshy mass, somewhat cylindrical 

 in form, but no external organ is visible. The mollusc glues itself to 

 the rocks at the bottom of the sea, and, as it can only move very 

 slowly, the Malay divers seize it readily. The greatest merit of a 

 fisherman is to have a practised eye, to distinguish the animal at the 

 bottom, and to dive directly to the spot where it lies. To preserve 



