378 TRAVELS IN THE EAST IXDIAK ARCOlPELAaO. 



assumed a ricli, scintillating appearance, as if filled 

 with millions of minute crystals of gold. 



The cantroleur^ on board, who travelled with 

 me fi'om Langowan, has been faither into the inte- 

 rior, south of Gorontalo, than any foreigner previ- 

 ously. He found the whole country divided up among 

 Aiany petty tribes, who are waging a continual war- 

 fai'e with each other ; and the immediate object of 

 his dangerous journey was to conciliate two power- 

 ful tribes near the borders of the territory which the 

 Dutch claim as being under their command. He 

 found that all these people ai'e excessively addicted 

 to the use of opiunij which is brought from Singa- 

 pore to the western coast, near Palos, by Mandha- 

 rese and Macassai^s. 



The dress of the people consists of a sarong, 

 made from the inner layei*s of the bark of a tree. 

 They have -large parangs, and value them in pro- 

 portion to the number and minuteness of the damas- 

 cene lines on their blades. Twenty guildei^ is a 

 common price for them. The controlmr gave me a 

 very fine one, which was remarkably well tempered. 

 The most valuable export from this bay is gold, 

 wMcb is found in great quantities, at leaat over 

 the whole northern peninsula, from the Minahassa 

 south to the isthmus of Palos. The amount ex- 

 ported is not known, for, though the Dutch Gov- 

 ernment has a contract with the princes to deliver 

 all the gold obtained in their tei'ritory to it at a 

 certain rate, they are offered a much higher price 

 by the Bugis, and consequently sell it to them. 

 No extensive sm*vey has yet been made in this 



