VISIT OF THE TRADERS TO THE ARU ISLANDS. 41 



Aru people are not industrious, but they grow 

 some kinds of vegetables, such as yams and plan- 

 tains. They are very fond of shell-fish, and con- 

 sume quantities of cockles. 



Their most fatal propensity is that of drinking 

 a spirituous liquor called arrack. The traders 

 bring the arrack in boxes, each box containing 

 a number of bottles. The Aru man can easily 

 buy the box. He has only to go out fishing, 

 and get a quantity of trepang. The trepang is 

 a sea-slug, and crawls at the bottom of the sea, 

 It is a disagreeable -looking creature, but the 



o o * 



Chinese have a great fancy for it, and cook and 

 eat it as a delicacy. 



The native goes out in a boat, and dives down 

 into the water and picks it up. He dries and 

 prepares it in his hut a process easily managed 

 and gets it ready for the market. And then he 

 can cut ratan, which is a climbing, reed-like palm 

 that grows in the forest. It has long slender 

 stems, armed at every joint with spines, and can 

 run as well as climb. 



Sometimes the stems run along the ground to 



