428 



ma Am islands. 



Blicda, a sinall portion of which, next the entraiice, is us&d 

 as a dwelliiiij, while tlie rest is parted off, and often 

 divided by one or two tlooi-s, in order better to stow away 

 merchandise and native produce. 



As we liad anived early in the season, most of the 

 houses were empty, and the place h>oked desolate in the 

 extreme — the wliolc of the inhabitants who received iia 

 on our landing amounting to al»o«t haif-a-dozen Bngis atid 

 Chinese, Our captain, Kerr War^borgen, had promised 

 to obtain a house for me, \mt unforeseen ditliculties pre- 

 senkid themselves. One which was to let had no roof, 

 and the owner, who was budding it on specnlatiou, could 

 not promise to tinish it in less than a montlx. Another, 

 of which the owner was deail, and which t might there- 

 fore take undisputed possession of as the first cozner, 

 wanted considerable repairs, and no one could be found 

 to do the work, although about four times its value was 

 offered. The captain, tlierefore, recommended me to take 

 possa^jsion of a jiretty good house near his own, whose 

 owner was not expected for some weeks ; and as I was 

 anxious to be on shore, I immediately had it cleared out, 

 and by evening had all my things housed, and was 

 regidai'ly installed as an inhabitant of J)obbo. I had 

 brought with me a cane chair, and a few light boards, 

 wluch were soon rigged up into a table and shelves. A 

 broad bamboo bench served as sofa and bedstead, my 

 boxes were conveniently arranged, my mats spread on tl>e 

 floor, a window cut in the palm-leaf wall to light my 

 table, and though the place was as miserable and gloomy 

 a shed as could be imagined, I felt as contented as if I 

 had obtamed a weU-furnished mansion, and looked forward 

 to a month's residence in it with unmixed satisfaction. 



Tlie next murniug, after an early breakfast, I set otf to 

 explore the vii^gin forests of Aru, anxious to set my mind 

 at rest as to the treasures they w^ere likely to yield, and 

 the probable success of my long-meditated expedition. A 

 little native imp was our guide, seduced by tJie gift of a 

 (ierman knife, value three- halfpence, and my Macassar 

 boy Baderoon brought liis chopper to clear the path if 

 necessary. 



We had to walk about half a mile along the beach, the 



