CH. rv TALISSE ISLAND 



75 



one of the most dangerous passages in that part of the 

 eastern seas. The island Banka was their chief resting- 

 place, whilst Limbe, Cape Coffin, Ganga, and Talisse offered 

 convenient places for concealment and retreat. It must 

 indeed have been an ideal place for the Malay pirate-king 

 and his dauntless followers. The coral reefs and shaUows, 

 the racing tides and currents must have been of great ad- 

 vantage to those possessing local knowledge and resom-ce, 

 and the wide extent of primitive forest, reaching from the 

 hill tops to the sea-shore, must have afforded them endless 

 opportunities for complete concealment and escape on the 

 approach of men-of-war. 



Thanks, however, to the vigorous conduct of the Dutch 

 navy, piracy in these seas is now practically extinct. We 

 hear no more of those bloody but exciting sea fights such 

 as are found recorded in the voyage of H.il.S. ' Samarang ' 

 at Ternate in 1845, and the European saUing vessels and 

 the native rorehis, sopis and praus sail these seas without 

 encountering any dangers but those of the winds and tides. 



The change in this respect has been brought about 

 by the vigorous action of the Dutchmen, and is almost as 

 marvellous as the change in the character of society in the 

 highlands of Minahassa, which I shall presently describe. 



The pirates are practically extinct now in the northern 

 parts of Celebes, and, although the stranger may occasion- 

 ally see in Manado or upon the seas a dusky individual 

 with a thin black beard and a certain air of disputed chief- 

 tainship about him, that rumour says was once a captain 

 of the pirates, his hfe is more Hkely to be that of a prosaic 

 scoundrel of the nineteenth century than one flavoured with 

 the freedom and romance of a ' Paul Jones ' type of hero. 



Banka is no longer the haunt of pirates and sea-robbers. 

 At Djiko Sago there is a small village of peaceful people 

 who have taken advantage of the two little streams of 



