198 THE ARU ISLANDS. [chap. xxx. 



which were soon rigged up into a table and shelves. A 

 broad bamboo bench served as sofa and bedstead, my 

 boxes were conveniently arranged, my mats spread on the 

 floor, a window cut in the palm-leaf wall to light my 

 table, and though the place was as miserable and gloomy 

 a shed as could be iruagined, I felt as contented as if 1 

 had obtained a well-furnished mansion, and looked forward 

 to a month's residence in it with unmixed satisfaction. 



The next morning, after an early breakfast, I set off to 

 explore the virgin forests of Aru, anxious to set my mind 

 at rest as to the treasures they were likely to yield, and 

 the probable success of my long-meditated expedition, A 

 little native imp was our guide, seduced by the gift of a 

 German knife, value three-halfpence, and my Macassar 

 boy Baderoon brought his chopper to clear the path if 

 necessary. 



We had to walk about half a mile along the beach, the 

 ground behind the village being mostly swampy, and then 

 turned into the forest along a path which leads to the 

 native village of Wamma, about three miles off on the 

 other side of the island. The path was a narrow one, and 

 very little used, often swampy and obstructed by fallen 

 trees, so that after about a mile we lost it altogether, our 

 guide having turned back, and we were obliged to follow 

 his example. In the meantime, however, I had not been 

 idle, and my day's captures determined the success of my 



