ch. xin.] A Fish Dinner. 245 



down, and fell asleep, but was soon awakened by a con- 

 sternation among the men, and much shouting. A 

 refractory fish was the cause of all the noise, the steers- 

 man having hooked him ; but the fish was large, and 

 objected to come on board. After much trouble they 

 hauled in their capture, and a fine fellow it was, fully 

 thirty pounds weight. 



We were very comfortable in our new craft, which 

 sailed well ; and although the wind slackened consider- 

 ably about noon, we reached Pulo Tiga before sunset, 

 and went ashore to cook our dinner and lay in a fresh 

 stock of firewood and water. Half-a-dozen fires were 

 soon alight, and we took our guns, and went for a walk, 

 but failed to get a shot. We caught sight of some large 

 hornbills; they were, however, too wary to allow us 

 within range. 



This island is a large one, without any inhabitants, 

 except now and then a few Chinese woodcutters, or native 

 fishermen. Native boats from Sulu or Palawan fre- 

 quently call for wood and water; and the remains of 

 numerous fires occur among the drift wood along the 

 beach. Wild pigs are very plentiful, and turtle are 

 also found here. From a distance the island is seen to 

 consist of three rounded hills, covered with forest ; hence 

 its native name " tiga," or " teega," signifying three in 

 the Malay language. We returned to dinner with hearty 

 appetites, and thoroughly enjoyed a portion of the fish 

 we had captured in the morning. My " boy," who acted 

 as cook, had forgotten to inquire how he should prepare 

 it; and so, to make sure, he had divided our share, 

 boiling one-half, and the other he cleverly roasted over 

 the cKan embers of a wood-tire. 



Hungry as we were, salmon from an Irish stream, 

 cooked fresh over a tire of strawberry-tree wood (Arbutus), 



