40 A NATUEALIST IN CELEBES ch. hi 



Before leaving Manado we had taken on board a 

 native of the Gulf of Tomini, named Motiara, who from his 

 knowledge of the navigation of all these islands was em- 

 l^loyed to make himself as useful as he could as a pilot. 

 He came on board with a large leaf hat, which was painted 

 red all over and had the word ' Loods ' (pilot) printed in 

 large white letters in front. This man, whose utility as a 

 pilot was very slight, mainly amused himself whOe on 

 board by painting and repainting his wonderful hat with 

 any of the ship's paints he could get hold of, and, under 

 the guidance of the blue-jackets, who were much more adept 

 with the needle than he, in mending the many rents in his 

 scanty garments. 



As I was anxious to see if the eruption of the Euang 

 in 1874 had completely destroyed all traces of coral 

 reef round the island, I asked Motiara if it were possible 

 to walk all round the island, and he told me that it 

 was. With the permission of Captain Maclear, he and 

 I started in the afternoon to attempt the walk, but 

 before we had got half way round we came to a low 

 cliff standing well out into the sea. Motiara thereupon 

 calmly informed me that it was impossible to cross 

 that cliff before sunset, and that we must go back. Before 

 finally abandoning the attempt, however, I made the ascent 

 of this cliff alone, leaving my guide contentedly smoking a 

 pipe on the trunk of a tree that had been washed ashore. 

 I struggled on for some distance through a dense growth of 

 leguminous herbs and Cyperacese, but at last, finding that 

 my progress was very slow and that the vegetation, aheady up 

 to my waist, was becoming deeper and denser as I advanced, 

 I was obliged reluctantly to retrace my steps. Although 

 I did not succeed in my attempt, I gained some insight into 

 the character of the shore of this remarkable island volcano, 

 and I can pretty confidently assert that no coral reef has, 



