74 A NATUBALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv 



the most valuable produce of the island is the ebony wood, 

 the Kayu hitam of the local MalsujiDiospyros Ebenumoihotai- 

 nists. There are several of these trees on Talisse, their long 

 straight, dark unbranched trunks being very conspicuous 

 objects in the forests. The trunks are cut into lengths of 

 two metres each and then carried down to the shore. These 

 logs of ebony are very heavy; it takes fifteen to twenty 

 coolies to carry one of them. The chatter, noise, and hub- 

 bub they make about the job is very ludicrous. The wood 

 is taken down to the inner side of the coral reef, where it is 

 allowed to remain for some weeks or months seasoning in 

 the water. When a ship arrives bound for Euirope, a large 

 raft is formed of light-wood logs and the ebony is floated on 

 it to the vessel. 



The little island, Kinabohutan, is said to have derived 

 its name from having been used in former years as the 

 burying place of the pirates. Not being an authority in 

 any sense of the word upon the languages and dialects of 

 the Eastern races, I simply record this saying without at- 

 tempting to refer it to any language or to vouch for the 

 truth of the assertion. The word Talisse is, I fancy, derived 



from the Buginese word y'>^ '^;;^ C~Zy Talisey, which 



signifies, according to Matthes (45), the Katapang {Ter- 

 minalia Catappa), a tree which is common in the island. 

 According to Filet (17), however, the word Talisseij (Mak.) 

 refers to {Barringtonia speciosa), a tall tree common on the 

 coast of most of the islands of the Indian Archipelago. 



Whatever may be the etymological derivation of the 

 word Kinabohutan, there seems to be no doubt that it was 

 originally used by the pirates as a burying-ground. Scarcely 

 twenty years ago the Straits of Banka were literally haunted 

 with pirates from the Sulu Archipelago, and, it is said, 

 from the Gulf of Tomini. It was commonly reported to be 



