362 



CERAM. 



[chap. XT?. 



and eovermg ovt»r, and quarrels between the owner and the 

 Ptajah's men, \r}iich occupied more tliau another teo days, 

 during fill which timtj 1 was getting absolutely nothing, 

 finding this part of Cemru a perfect desert in zoologj^, 

 ultliough a most beautiful country^ and with a very luxu- 

 riant vegetation. It was a complete puzzle, which to this 

 day I have not been able to nndei'stand ; the only thing 1 

 obtained worth notice during my month's stay here being a 

 few good land slicdls. 



At length, on April 4tli, we succeeded in getting away 

 in our little boat of about four tons burthen, in wldcb 

 my nnmerous boxes were with difficulty packed so a-s to 

 leave sleeping and cooking room. The craft could not 

 boast an ounce of ii-on or a foot of rope in any part of its 

 conatrLiction, nor a morsel of pit^h or paint in its decora- 

 tion. The phuiks were fiistened together in the usual 

 ingenious way with pegs and rattans. The mast was a 

 bamboo triangle, refpiiring no shrouds, and carrying a long 

 mat siiil; two rudders w^erc Imng on the quarters by rat- 

 tans, tlie anchor was of wood, and a. long and thick rattan 

 served as a cable. Our crew consisted of four men, whose 

 sole accommodation was about three feet by four in the 

 !>ows and stern, with the sk>ping thatch roof to stretch 

 themselves upmi for a cljange. We iiad nearly a hundred 

 ndles to go, fully exposed to the swell of the Banda sea, 

 which is sometimes very considerable; but we luckily liad 

 it ctdm and smooth, so that we made the voyage in com- 

 liai-ative comfort. 



On the second day we pa.ssed the eastern extrenuty of 

 Ceram, formed of a group of liuinmocky limestone lulls; 

 and, sailing by the islmids of Kwammer and Kelhng, bt>tli 

 thickly inhabited, came in sight of the little town of ICil- 

 waru, which appears to rise out of the sea like a rnstic 

 Venice, Til is place has really a most extraordinary ap* 

 jtearance, as not a particle of land or vegetation can be 

 seeuj but a long way out at sea a large village seems to 

 Uoat upon the wuter. Tltere ia of course a small island of 

 several acres in extent; but the houses are built so closely 

 all round it upon jjiles in the water, tliat it is completely 

 hidden. It is a place of great tmllic, being the emporium 

 lot much of the produce of these liastero seas, and is th^ 



