CHAPTER XVI.
CELEBES.
(MACASSAR. JULY TO NOVEMBER, 1857.)
established myself in my old quarters at Mamajam, to
sort, arrange, clean, and pack up my Aru collections. This
occupied me a month; and having shipped them off for
Singapore, had my guns repaired, and received a new one
from England, together with a stock> of pins, arsenic, and
other collecting requisites, I began to feel eager for work
again, and had to consider where I should spend my time
till the end of the year. I had left Macassar, seven
months before, a flooded marsh being ploughed up for the
rice-sowing. The rains had continued for five months, yet
now all the rice was cut, and dry and dusty stubbles
covered the country just as when 1 had first arrived there.
After much inquiry I determined to visit the district of
Maros, about thirty miles north of Macassar, where Mr.
Jacob Mesman, a brother of my friend, resided, who had
kindly offered to find me house-room and give me assistance
should I feel inclined to visit him. I accordingly
obtained a pass from the Resident, and having hired a
boat set off one evening for Maros. My boy Ali was so
ill with fever that I was obliged to leave him in the
hospital, under the care of iny friend the German doctor,
and I had to make shift with two new servants utterly
ignorant of everything. We coasted along during the
night, and at daybreak entered the Maros river, and by
three in the afternoon reached the village. I immediately
visited the Assistant Resident, and applied for ten men to
carry my baggage, and a horse for myself. These were
promised to be ready that night, so that I could start as
soon as I liked in the morning. After having taken a cup
of tea I took my leave, and slept in the boat. Some of the
men came at night as promised, but others did not arrive
till the next morning. It took some time to divide my
baggage fairly among them, as they all wanted to shirk
the heavy boxes, and would seize hold of some light
article and march off with it, till made to come back and
wait till the whole had been fairly apportioned. At length
about eight o’clock all was arranged, and we started for
our walk to Mr. M.’s farm.
The country was at first a uniform plain of burnt-up
rice-grounds, but at a few miles’ distance precipitous hills
appeared, backed by the lofty central range of the peninsula.
Towards these our path lay, and after having
gone six or eight miles the hills began to advance into