The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

XXIII.] VOYAGE TO BATCHIAX. 249all rabout a hundred species, of which forty were new to me.There were forty-four species of Longicorns among them, andon the last day I took _twenty-eight species of Longicorns, ofwhich five were new to nie.My boys were less fortunate in shooting. The only birds atall common were the great red parrot (Eclectus grandis), foundin most of the Moluccas, a crow, and a Megapodius, or moundmaker.A few of the pretty racquet-tailed kingfisliers werealso obtained, but in very poor plumage. They proved, however,to be of a different species from those found in the otherislands, and come nearest to the bird originally described byLinnaeus under the name of Alcedo dea, and which came fromTernate. This would indicate that the small chain of islandsparallel to Gilolo have a few peculiar species in common, a factwhich certainly occurs in insects.The people of Kaioa interested me much. They are evidentlya mixed race, having Malay and PajDuan affinities, and areallied to the peoples of Ternate and of Gilolo. They possess apeculiar language, somewhat resembling those of the surroundingislands, but quite distinct. They are now Mahometans,and are subject to Ternate. The only fruits seen here werepapaws and pine-apples, the rocky soil and dry climate beingunfavourable. Eice, maize, and plantains flourish well, exceptthat they suffer from occasional dry seasons like the presentone. There is a little cotton gown, from which the womenweave sarongs (Malay petticoats). There is only one well ofgood water on the islands, situated close to the landing-place,to which all the inhabitants come for drinking water. Themen are good boat-builders, and they make a regular trade ofit and seem to be very well off.After five days at Kaioa we continued our journey, and soongot among the narrow straits and islands which lead down tothe town of Batchian. In the evening we stayed at a settlementof Galela men. These are natives of a district in the extremenorth of Gilolo, and are great w^anderers over this part of theArchipelago. They build large and roomy praus with outriggers,and settle on any coast or island they take a fancy for.They hunt deer and wild pig, drying the meat ; they catchturtle and tripang ; they cut down the forest and plant rice ormaize, and are altogether remarkably energetic and industrious.They ai-e very fine people, of light comijlexion, tall, and withPapuan features, coming nearer to the drawings and descriptionsof the true Polynesians of Tahiti and Owyhee than any I haveseen.During this voyage I had several times had an opportunityof seeing my men get fire by friction. A sharp-edged piece ofbamboo is rubbed across the convex sui'face of another piece,on which a small notch is first cut. The rubbing is slow at firstand gradually quicker, till it becomes very rapid, and the finepowder rubbed off ignites and falls through the hole which the