136 Pearls. 



Pearls remained in the possession of his son and 

 successor the late Sultan Buderoodin, who died in 

 March, 1884, and these were sold by him in 1882, 

 to defray expenses on his trip to Mecca. His 

 mother, who is still living (1886) and is the most 

 influential personage in the country, retains a 

 number of these Pearls, and can with difficulty be 

 persuaded to show any of them. 



Whenever she is induced to offer a Pearl for 

 sale — a most unusual event — she sets a higher price 

 on it than it would be worth in London, and she 

 abates but very little from it. She does not wish 

 to sell at all and always remarks **Why should I 

 sell my Pearls } if the Spaniards come to attack 

 us I can put my Pearls into my handkerchief and 

 go into the hills, but if I have dollars I should 

 need a number of men to carry them." Where the 

 stolen portion of the box went, still remains a 

 mystery. 



The native population of Sooloo may be divided 

 into two classes — the hillmen {tan gimba) the tillers 

 of the soil, and the coast people {tan Bajan) the 

 toilers of the sea. The former cultivate rice, tapioca 

 and other food plants, and breed horses, cattle and 

 water-buffaloes. There are twenty varieties of rice 

 from the island of Sooloo now at the Royal Botanic 



