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

XXV.] CERAM, GORAM, AND THE MATABELLO ISLANDS. 283of delicious flavour abound in the tropical forests, and they willno doubt be surprised to learn that the truly wild fruits of thisgrand and luxuriant archipelago, the vegetation of which willvie with that of any part of tlie world, are in almost everyisland inferior in abundance and quality to those of Britain.Wild strawberries and raspberries are found in some places, butthey are such poor tasteless things as to be hardly worth eating,and there is notliing to compare with our blackberries andwhortleberries. The kanary-nut may be considered equal to ahazel-nut, but I have met with nothing else superior to our crabs,our haws, beech-nuts, wild plums, and acorns ; fruits whichwould be highly esteemed by the natives of these islands, andwould form an important jDart of their sustenance. All the finetropical fi-uits are as much cultivated productions as our apples,peaches, and plums, and their wild prototypes, when found, aregenerally either tasteless or uneatable.The people of Matabello, like those of most of the Mahometanvillages of East Ceram and Goi^am, amused me much by theirstrange ideas concerning the Russian war. They believe tliatthe Russians were not only most thoroughly beaten by theTurks, but were absolutely conquered, and all converted toIslamism ! And they can hardly be convinced that such is notthe case, and that had it not been for the assistance of Franceand England, the poor Sultan would liave fared ill. Another oftheir notions is, that the Turks are the largest and strongestpeople in the world—in fact a race of giants ; that they eatenormous quantities of meat, and are a most ferocious and irresistiblenation. Whence such strangely incorrect opinions couldhave arisen it is difficult to understand, unless they are derivedfrom Arab priests, or had j is returned fi^om Mecca, who may liaveheard of the ancient i^rowess of the Turkish armies when theymade all Europe tremble, and suppose that their character andwarlike capacity must be the same at the present time.GORAM.A steady south-east wind having set in, we returned toManowolko on the 25th of April, and the day after crossed overto Ondor, the chief village of Goram.Around this island extends, with few interruptions, anencircling coral reef about a quarter of a mile from the shore,visible as a stripe of jDale green water, but only at very lowestebb-tides showing any rock above the surface. There areseveral deep entrances through this reef, and inside it there isgood auchoi'age in all weathers. The land rises graduallyto a moderate height, and numerous small streams descend onall sides. The mere existence of these streams would provethat the island was not entirely coralline, as in tliat case allthe water would sink through the porous rock as it does atManowolko and Matabello ; but we have more positive proof in