HOLOTHUROIDE. 295 
visited me. He approached and examined all the instruments used 
in the observatory with great attention, seeking to discover their use. 
I showed him a gun with percussion cap, which astonished him 
greatly, especially when I pointed out to him its great superiority 
over the flint-lock. He assured me that these arms were still un- 
known in the Celebes, his country ; but he failed to convince me of 
that. He questioned me as to the places we had visited, and where 
we were going. I endeavoured to sketch a map of New Holland, 
New Zealand, and New Guinea upon a leaf. He then took my 
pencil, and added to it the Indian Archipelago, the coasts of China 
and Japan, and the Philippine Islands. Surprised in my turn, I 
asked him if he had visited all these places. He replied in the 
negative, but added that he knew their position perfectly, and could 
easily take his vessel to any of them. Finally, the interview termi- 
nated by his asking for a glass of arrack. I do not know if this 
intelligent Malay professed the Mahometan religion, but I do know 
that he drank half a bottle of wine and a quarter of a pint of arrack 
without being at all the worse for it. He then offered me some pre- 
pared trepang, inviting me to taste it, which I did; to me it appeared 
to resemble the lobster in taste. My men liked it, and thankfully 
accepted the captain’s offer ; for my part, I felt an utter repugnance 
even to taste it. 
“ According to the account I had from the Malay captain, the 
price of trepang in the Chinese markets was fifteen rupees (about thirty 
shillings) the pekoul, or a hundred and twenty-five pounds. He est- 
mated his cargo to be worth about a hundred and twenty pounds. 
The fishing had occupied him and his crew three months. From the 
earliest times this commerce has belonged exclusively to the Malay 
fishermen, and it will always be difficult for Europeans to compete 
with them. The Malay vessels are equipped on the most economical 
principle, and the men are wanting neither in sobriety, intelligence, 
or activity. 
It was nearly four o’clock when the Malays finished their operations, 
In less than half an hour they had embarked their cargo ; the tents 
were struck, and, together with the boilers, carried back to the boats, 
which were already preparing to set sail. At eight o'clock in the 
evening they hoisted sail and left the bay.” 
Some idea may be formed of the extent and importance of the 
Holothuria fishing by the number of ships which it attracts in this part 
of the East. Captain King assures us that 200 vessels annually 
leave Madagascar to fish for the sea séug, as it is sometimes called. 
Captain Flinders, being on the coast of Australia, learnt that a fleet 
