CHAP. XXXI.] MIXTURE OF RACES, 451 



once iiTitlerstood tbat some early Portugese tradei's had 

 penetrated to these islands, and mLxed with the natives, 

 ioflueQcing their language, and leaving in their descendants 

 for many generations the visible cha^act^:!^stics of their 

 race. If to this we add the occasional mixture of ^ilalay, 

 Dutch, and Chinese witli the iudigenoos Papuans, we have 

 no reason to wrtnder at the curious varieties of form and 

 feature occasionally to be met with in Am In this very 

 liouse tliere was a Macassar man, with an Am wife and a 

 faniily of mixed cldldren. In Doy>l»o I saw a Javanese and 

 an And>03'na man, each with an Ai'U wife and family ; and 

 as this kind of mixture iiaa been g'^hjg on for at least 

 tliree hundred years, and probably mncli longer, it has 

 jToduced a decided effect on the physical characteriBtics 

 of a considerable portion of the population of the islands, 

 more especially in Dobbo and the parts nearest to it. 



March 2%th. — ^The "Orang-kaya" being very ill with 

 fever had begged to go home, and had arranged with one of 

 the men of the house to go on with me as his substitute. 

 Now that I wanted to move, the bugbear of the pirates was 

 brought up, and it was prononnced unsafe to go further 

 tlian the next small river. This would not suit mo, as I 

 had determined to traverse the channel called Watelai to 

 the " blakang-tana but my guide wjis fi.rm in his dread 

 of pii-ates, of which I knew there was now no danger, as 

 several vessels had gone in search of thera, as well as a 

 Dutch gunboat which had arrived since I left Dobbo. I 

 had, fortunately, by this time heard that the Dutch "Com- 

 missie'* had really arrived, and therefoi-e tln-eatened that if 

 my guide did not go with me immediately, I would appeal 

 to the authorities, and he would certainly be obliged to give 

 back the cloth which the Oraug-kaya" liad transterred 

 to bim in prepayment This had the desired effect ; matters 

 were soon airanged, and we started the next moraing. 

 The wind, however, was dead against ua, and after rowing 

 hard till midday we put in to a small river where there were 

 a few huts, to "cook our dinners. The place did not look 

 very promising, but as we could not reach our destination, 

 the Watelai river, owing to the contrary wind, 1 thought we 

 might as well wait here a day or two. I therefore paid a 

 chopper for the use of a small shed, and got my bed aad 



G G 3 



