380 CELEBES. [chap. xvii. 



stroyed by the intermixture of other races, they approach 

 to the ordinary types of the wild inhabitants of the sur- 

 rounding countries. 



In mental and moral characteristics they are also highly 

 peculiar. They are remarkably quiet and gentle in dispo- 

 sition, submissive to the authority of those they consider 

 their superiors, and easily induced to learn and adopt the 

 habits of civilized people. They are clever mechanics, and 

 seem capable of acquiring a considerable amount of intel- 

 lectual education. 



Up to a very recent period these people were thorough 

 savages, and there are persons now living in Menado who 

 remember a state of things identical with that described by 

 the writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 

 The inhabitants of the several villages were distinct tribes, 

 each under its own chief, speaking languages unintelli- 

 gible to each other, and almost always at war. They built 

 their houses elevated upon lofty posts to defend themselves 

 from the attacks of their enemies. They were head 

 hunters like the Dyaks of Borneo, and were said to be 

 sometimes cannibals. When a chief died, his tomb was 

 adorned with two fresh human heads ; and if those of 

 enemies could not be obtained, slaves were killed for the 

 occasion. Human skulls were the great ornaments of the 

 chiefs' houses. Strips of bark were their only dress. The 

 country was a pathless wilderness, with small cultivated 



