CHAPTER m. 



THE FLOBA AND FATTNA OF THE TROPICAL EAST, 



June IBik, — At 8 a. m. we left oiir anchorage off 

 Siiral>aya, and steamed down the Madura Strait for 

 Macassar, the capital of Celebes. Along the shores 

 of the strait were many villages of fishermen, and 

 bamboo weirs extending ont to a distance of five or 

 six miles from both the Java and Madura shores, and 

 showing well how shallow the water must be so 

 far from land During the forenoon it was nearly 

 calm, but the motion of the steamer supplied a 

 pleasant air. In the afternoon the wiad rose to a 

 light breeze from the east At noon we passed Pulo 

 Kambing (" Goat Island a small, low coral island 

 off the south coast of Madura, Near by was a fleet 

 of small fishing-boats, each containing two men, who 

 were only protected from the broiling sim by a hat 

 and a narrow cloth about the loins. These boats 

 and other larger ones farther out to sea were ex- 

 tremely narrow, and provided with outiiggers, 



Madura receives its name fix>m a Hindu legend^ 

 which makes it the abode of the demigod, Baladewa. 

 It has but one mountain-range, and that crosses it 

 from north to south. It is, therefore, not well wa- 



