SAMA-SANA. 467 



at Batan on the 17th of May, were at Ibugos on the 

 19th, at Bay at on the 20th, sighted Botel Tobago on the 

 2nd of June, and on the 3rd landed and examined the 

 small isolated island of Sama-Sana, of whose existence on 

 the surface of our globe serious doubts had been enter- 

 tained. On landing in the boats we noticed two large 

 junks hauled up high and dry upon the beach, and on 

 inquiry through our Chinese interpreter found that they 

 had just brought emigrants from Chin-Chu and Amoy. 

 On proceeding to their village, while the Captain was en- 

 gaged in fixing the position of the island and taking the 

 necessary observations, I found about two hundred people 

 dressed in the manner of the lower orders of Chinese, 

 with the features of Tartars or Cochin-Chinese, living in 

 houses wretchedly dirty, and constructed in the manner 

 of those of the poorer classes of Pa-tchung-san. With 

 much politeness these poor islanders led me into one of 

 their hovels and brought me Samschiew, rice, boiled lily- 

 roots, dried mollusks (Haliotis), and roasted ground-nuts 

 or pods of the Arachis liypogea. They had brought a beau- 

 tiful valley in the vicinity of their hamlet into an excellent 

 state of cultivation, growing rice, sweet potato (Batatas 

 edulis), Indian corn and ground-nuts, with a little 

 tobacco. They appeared to be much addicted to chewing 

 the areca-nut, and betel-leaf, and were, moreover, almost 

 continually smoking. The women were very ugly, even 

 for members of the Mongolian race, but by no means shy 

 or distant, as is generally the case in these countries. An 

 old man at parting gravely placed upon my finger a ring 

 made from a species of Conus, with the spire and pro- 

 duced part of the body-whorl ground down. In a ramble 



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