THE TIMOREES. 199 



valley of Pritie is situated immediately under Timor 

 Peak, the highest over the northern shore of Babao 

 Bay. A small hut, on a projecting shingle point, close 

 to the westward, marks the landing place, where 

 several canoes are generally to be seen hauled up. 

 At high tide a boat can get in ; but, as we have 

 already said, there is a long mud flat at low water. 



The Tiraorees do not bear the character of beincf 

 very industrious ; the small portion of land they 

 cultivate is turned up in the following manner: — a 

 slight fence is placed round the part required for 

 the purposes of agriculture and a drove of bullocks 

 is driven furiously backwards and forwards over it ; 

 which very much resembles the mode adopted for 

 thrashing corn in some parts of South America. 



The Rajahs of the western portion of Timor 

 receive their appointment from the Resident at 

 Coepang ; and their installation I am told is rather 

 a grand aifair. Nearly all the Timorees speak 

 Malay, a soft pleasant sounding tongue, apparently 

 easy to be acquired ; but there were few of the 

 Coepang people that spoke the native language. 

 Some of the Timor customs are singular : if a 

 woman, for example, dies in childbirth, she is buried 

 on the spot where she breathes her last. During 

 our stay at Coepang I met the doctor of the Dutch 

 settlement at Triton Bay, on the west coast of New 

 Guinea. He gave me a very poor account of the 

 inhabitants. The Dutch settlers, he says, can 

 scarcely venture out of the fort ; as the natives 



