302 BOILING THE TREPANG. 



again. When the boats were sufficiently loaded, they 

 returned to the shore, and others took their places. 



The cargo of sea-cucumbers, or sea-slugs, as some 

 authorities call them, being conveyed ashore, the fish 

 were forthwith cast into a caldron of boiling sea-water, 

 and kept constantly stirred, by means of a long pole 

 moving on a forked branch fixed in the earth, so as to act 

 like a lever. The trepang, having poured out all the 

 water it contained, was withdrawn, in about two minutes, 

 from the caldron. A man armed with a large knife then 

 cut it open, extracted the intestines, and flung it into a 

 second caldron, where it was boiled anew, with a very 

 small quantity of water, and some pieces of mimosa bark. 

 As the latter produced a surprising amount of smoke, the 

 object of the second boiling would seem to be to smoke 

 or cure the trepang for the sake of preserving it. After- 

 wards, the trepang was placed on the roof of the bamboo 

 sheds, and allowed to dry in the sun. 



At about two o'clock the divers ceased from their 

 arduous task, and went ashore. In two hours more, 

 the processes of boiling and curing were completed, and 

 the Malays hastened to embark their store, and con- 

 vey on board their caldrons and bamboos. At eight 

 o'clock in the evening they hoisted sail, and slowly 

 quitted the bay. 



Another centre of the trepang-fishery is the Gulf of 

 Manaar, on the coast of Ceylon. After being dried, the 

 trepang is exported to China. There is also a consider- 

 able export from Manilla. But Macassar would seem 

 to be the great depot, upwards of 8000 hundredweight 

 of becke-de-mer, or trepang, being annually sold to the 

 Chinese merchants, at prices varying, according to kind 



