CH. Tn TO SANGIB AND TALAUT 175 



aware by tMs time of their commercial value, and in every 

 Sangirese village the traveller notices and his nostrils are 

 offended by the stench of the copra, the white fleshy part of 

 the nut, which is laid out in rows in the sun to dry. 



From the abundance of this palm in some lands, and 

 the fact that it requires absolutely no care in its cultivation 

 after the first few years of its growth, it is quite easy to 

 understand how the European sailor in olden times looked 

 upon it as a forest tree, the property of the first comer, and 

 had ki consequence no compunction in cutting it down for 

 his own use and enjoyment. I believe that if we could 

 trace the cause of all the many troubles that our sailors 

 have had with the natives in tropical lands, we should find 

 that one of the commonest of them is the destruction of 

 the coco-nut trees, followed by the natural resentment of the 

 ' extremely savage ' owner. It should be taken as a maxim 

 by the traveller that every coco-nut pahn he sees ia the 

 tropics belongs to some one, and that he is committing a 

 theft if he steals the fruit thereof. 



It might weU be asked, how does the owner of coco-nut 

 palms protect his property from native thieves? There 

 can be no doubt that anything of the nature of police 

 regulations would be absolutely useless, and consequently 

 society has discovered a method which is both more effec- 

 tive and less expensive. The native owner simply hangs 

 up in the tree a little fetich doll (urd), which I suppose has 

 previously been properly endowed with power by the walian, 

 or priest, and then anyone who steals a fruit from that tree 

 becomes immediately afterwards violently iU. This method 

 is found by experience to answer extremely weU, and pro- 

 perty in the wild forests and desolate sea-coasts of Sangir is 

 probably as well protected as it is anywhere ia the world. 



It may be said that this is simply gross superstition, 

 and that we should pity the poor native for his ignorance. 



