252 CURIOUS WEAPON. [1845. 



whether owing to previous severe illness, or to some 

 poisonous quality in those which I had eaten, I was 

 attacked with an illness similar to that resulting from 

 poison, which affected me most severely. The evening after 

 we anchored in this position, the prahu which accom- 

 panied us from Sooloo rejoined her crew, expressing 

 most unequivocal joy at finding themselves again under 

 our protection; and for this they had certainly great 

 cause to be thankful ; for the Nakoda informed me, he 

 had been plundered of all his Rice, as well as water, 

 by the very prahu which had been destroyed by Lieut, 

 Roberton. He was anxious to ascertain what implements 

 had been found on board of her, and upon seeing them, 

 his attention instantly fixed on an instrument, which we 

 had mistaken for " grains," or a " fish-gig," an article 

 used for spearing fish, but which we were now informed 

 was for taking men! This instrument is bifurcate, 

 with a sufficient spread between the points, which are 

 barbed internally, to include the neck of a man; the 

 weapon is thrown with almost unerring aim, so as to 

 secure the victim by the neck, and jerking it back with 

 a sharp motion, fixes him within the barbs, setting all 

 opposition at defiance. Immediately they had examined 

 this weapon, they observed, " then those in the prahu 

 were Orang Lanoon jahat (bad Llanon men), belonging 

 to Tooncoo;" 



On the 2nd February, having failed in finding any other 

 channel than that by which we had entered, we hoisted the 

 prahu of our ally on board, very much to the delight of 

 her crew, and by stationing one of our boats on the 

 shoalest position, reached the offing in safety, but not 



