136 TRAVELS THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



cones to get at tlie bait withiu. If the openmg had 

 not been much larger than usual, it cotdd not possi- 

 bly have got in. It was at once placed in a can con- 

 taining strong arrack. I then offered twice as much 

 for a duplicate specimen, and hundretls of natives 

 tried and tried, but in vain^ to procure another dming 

 the five months I was in those seas. They are so rare 

 even there, that a gentleman, who had made large coh 

 lections of shells, assm'ed me that I ought not to expect 

 to obtain another if I were to remain at Amboina 

 three years. Eumphius, who usually is remarkably 

 accurate in his descriptions of tbe liabits of the mol- 

 lusks he figures, says it sometimes sfwims on the sea ; 

 but this statement he probably received from the nar 

 tives, who made such a mistake because many empty 

 shells are frequently found floating on tbe ocean. 

 When the animal dies and becomes separated from 

 the shell, the latter rises to the smface of the sea on 

 account of the air or other gas contained in the 

 chambers. It is then swept away by the wind and 

 tide to the shore of a neighboring island. When the 

 natives are questioned as to where these sbells come 

 from, they invariably reply, " The sea ; and as to 

 where tbe animal lives, tbey merely answer, " Balam^'^ 

 In the deep," The dead shells are so abundant on 

 these islands, that they can be purchased in any quan- 

 tity at from four to ten cents apiece. 



My first excursion from the city of Amboina was 

 with a gentleman to a large cocoa-garden, whicb be 

 had lately planted on the high hills on the Hitu side. 

 A nice boat or orm-gbai — literally, " a good fellow " 

 — toot us over the bay to the little village of Ruma 



