18 GILOLO. [chap. XXII. 



and as possessing a large population both of Mahometans 

 and Alfuros, which latter race I much wished to see. I 

 set off one morning to examine this place myself, expect- 

 ing to pass through some extent of forest on my way. In 

 this however I was much disappointed, as the whole road 

 lies through grass and scrubby thickets, and it was only 

 after reaching the village of Sahoe that some high forest 

 land was perceived stretching towards the mountains to 

 the north of it. About half-way we had to pass a deey) 

 river on a bamboo raft, which almost sunk beneath us. 



This stream was said to rise a long way off to the 



t 

 northward. 



Although Sahoe did i^ot at all appear what I expected, 



I determined to give it a trial, and a few days afterwards 



obtained a boat to carry my things by sea while I walked 



overland. A large house on the beach belonging to the 



Sultan was given me. It stood alone, and was quite open 



on every side, so that little privacy could be had, but as 



I only intended to stay a short time I made it do. A very 



few days dispelled all hopes I might have entertained of 



making good collections in this place. Nothing was to 



be found in every direction but interminable tracts of 



reedy grass, eight or ten feet high, traversed by narrow 



paths, often almost impassable. Here and there were 



clumps of fruit trees, patches of low wood, and abundance 



of plantations and rice grounds, all of which are, in tropical 



