CHAP. XXV.] A RUSTIC VENICE. 93 



ingenious way with pegs and rattans. The mast was a 

 bamboo triangle, requiring no shrouds, and carrying a long 

 mat sail ; two rudders were hung on the quarters by rat- 

 tans, the anchor was of wood, and a long and thick rattan 

 served as a cable. Our crew consisted of four men, whose 

 sole accommodation was about three feet by four in the 

 i)Ows and stern, with the sloping thatch roof to stretch 

 themselves upon for a change. We had nearly a hundred 

 miles to go, fully exposed to the swell of the Banda sea, 

 which is sometimes very considerable ; but we luckily had 

 it calm and smooth, so that we made the voyage in com- 

 parative comfort. 



On the second day we passed the eastern extremity of 

 Ceram, formed of a group of hummocky limestone hills ; 

 and, sailing by the islands of Kwammer and Kefdng, both 

 thickly inhabited, came in sight of the little town of Kil- 

 waru, which appears to rise out of the sea like a rustic 

 Venice. This place has really a most extraordinary ap- 

 pearance, as not a particle of land or vegetation can be 

 seen, but a long way out at sea a large village seems to 

 float upon the water. There is of course a small island of 

 several acres in extent ; but the houses are built so closely 

 all round it upon piles in the water, that it is completely 

 hidden. It is a place of great traffic, being the emporium 

 for much of the produce of these Eastern seas, and is the 

 residence of many Bugis and Ceramese traders, and appears 



