ECHINODERMATA. 
299 
are of wood, for iron is 
are made of ratan fibre ; 
tbe proas, accompanied by M. Eoquemauel. We were leceived 
"'itb much politeness, and even cordiality, by the captain or padione 
the boats. He showed us over his little ship. The heel appealed 
to Rs sufficiently solid; even the lines did not want elegance; but 
hi'eat disorder seemed to reign in the stowage department. From a hind 
°f bridge, formed by hurdles of bamboos and junh, we saw the cabin, 
^hich loohed lihe a poultry-house ; bags of rice, pachets, and boxes 
' ? ere huddled together. Below was the store of water, of cured 
tre Pang, and the sailors’ berths. Each boat was furnished with two 
'udders, one at each end, which lifted itself when the boat touched the 
bottom. The craft was furnished with two masts, without shrouds, 
Uhich. could be lowered on to the bridge at will by means of a hinge ; 
tbe y carry the ordinary sail ; the anchors 
rai ’ e ly used by the Malays; their cables 
tbe crew of each bark consists of about thirty- seven, each shore-boat 
Wing a crew 0 f gi x mc n. At the moment of our visit they were 
a U occupied in fishing operations, some of them being anchored 
Ver y near to us. Seven or eight of their number, nearly naked, were 
div ing for trepang ; the padrone alone was unoccupied. An ardent 
s: "u darted his rays upon their heads without appearing to incommode 
tbe m, an exposure which no European could hold up under. It was 
tlea r mid-day, and the moment, as our Malay captain assured us, most 
Pourable for the fishing. In fact, we saw that each diver returned 
*° the surface with at least one fish and sometimes two in his hands, 
^ appeara that the higher the sun is above the horizon, the more 
e asily i s the creature distinguished at the bottom. The divers were so 
l ' a Pid in their movements that they scarcely touched the boat into which 
tll,; y threw the fish before they dived again. When the boat was 
j| lle d with fish, it proceeded to the shore, and its place was supplied 
y an empty one. I followed ono of these, to witness the process of 
Cur 'ng which they adopted. 
“ The Holothuria of Baffle’s Bay is from five to six inches long and 
alj0l >t two in diameter ; it is a gross fleshy mass, somewhat cylindrical 
111 &rm, hut no external organ is visible. The mollusc glues itself to 
tlle rocks at the bottom of the sea, and, as it can only move very 
slowly, the Malay divers seize it readily. The greatest merit of a 
jlsherman is to have a practised eye, to distinguish the animal at the 
bott om, and to dive directly to the spot where it lies. To preserve 
