376 NATIVES OF THE MOLUCCAS 



the rocks, like so many animated flowers, gathered the 

 prettiest and most brilliant, leaving the others to pursue 

 their nearly vegetable lives unmolested. 



Among the fish procured by me in the pools left by 

 the tide on the shores of this little island, was a Scorpcena 

 of a dark, mottled brown, with darker grey-brown spots, 

 and a light brown belly ; a Chatodon, of a blue silvery 

 grey, darker, and with a greenish tinge towards the back, 

 and a bright silvery belly ; a Blennius, of a dark olive green, 

 rufous towards the head, and greyish towards the back, and 

 both body and fins covered with vivid, linear, ultramarine 

 spots and markings ; and a species of Hippm, with a 

 blue-grey body, darker towards the dorsal region, and 

 with broad oblique bands of black and white on the tail. 



Our very brief sojourn among the Spice Islands did 

 not enable us to gather much information concerning the 

 inhabitants of that group; but from those I had an 

 opportunity of observing at Ternate and Gilolo, I should 

 say that they are of a darker brown than the Malays, 

 with larger heads, longer upper lips, smaller and more 

 sunken eyes, and broader and flatter noses ; but these 

 observations may not be generally characteristic among 

 the entire population, but apply to individuals only. 

 They are called Malukus of which the term Moluccas 

 appears to be only a corruption. There were many of 

 this race of men among the Illanons on board the fleet of 

 prahus that attacked the Samarang's barge and gig off 

 the Island of Gilolo, as was proved by the capture of 

 their shields which are narrow, bent in the form of an 

 arc, made of hard black wood, inlaid with bits of shell 

 and mother of pearl, and provided with a single handle, 



