CHAP. XXX.] FEOGEJSSS OF MT COLLECTIONS. 431 



dering about the half-deaerted streets of Dobbo ofifering 

 their little bit of merchandke for sale- 

 Living ill a trader's bouse everything is braught to me 

 well as to the rest,— buudles of smoked tripang, or " b^che 

 de nier," looking like sausages which have been rolled In 

 mud and then thrown uj) the chimney ; dried sharks' tins, 

 mother-of-pearl ghells, as well as Birds of Paradise, which, 

 however, afe so dirty and so badly preserved that 1 have as 

 yet found no specimens worth purchasing. When I liardly 

 look at the articles, and make no otVer for them, they seem 

 incredulous, and, as if feanng they have misunderstood 

 me, again offer them, and declare what they want in ret\im 

 — knives, or tobacco, or s^o, or handkercliiefs. I then 

 have to endeavour to explain, through any interpreter who 

 maybe at hand, that neither tripang nor pearl oyster shells 

 have any charms for me, and that 1 even tlecline to specu- 

 late in tortoiseshell, but that anj-thing eatable 1 will buy — 

 fish, or turtle, or vegetables of any sui't. Almost the only 

 food, however, that we can obtain with any regularity, are 

 fish and cockles of very good quality, and to supply our 

 daily wants it is absolutely necessary to be always pro- 

 vided with four articles— tobacco, knives, sago-cakes, and 

 Dutch copper doits — because when the particular thing 

 asked for is not forthcoming, the hsh pass on to the next 

 house, and we may go tliat day without a dinner. It is 

 curious to see the baskets and buckets used here. The 

 cockles are brought in large volute shells, probably the 

 Cymbium ducale, while gigantic helmet-shells, a species of 

 Cassis, suspended by a mttan handle, form the vessels in 

 which fresh water is daily carried past my door. It is 

 painfid. to a naturalist to see these splendid shells with 

 their inner whorls rutlilessly broken away to fit them for 

 their ignoble me. 



My collections, however, got on but slowly, owing to 

 the unexpectedly bad weather, violent wind.s with heavy 

 showei-s having been so continuous as only to give me four 

 good collecting days out of the first sixteen 1 spent here- 

 Yet enough had been colle^ited io show me tliat with time 

 and fine weather I might expect to do something got>cL 

 From the natives I obtained some y&jj fine insects and a 

 few pretty laiul-shells ; and of the small number of birds 



