and as possessing a large population both of Mahometans
and Alfuros, which latter race I much wished to seéA I
set off one morning to examine, this place myself, expecting
to pass through some extent of forest on my way. In
this however I was much disappointed, as the whole road
lies through grass and scrubby thickets, and it was only
after reaching the village of Sahoe that some high forest
land was perceived stretching towards the mountains to
the north of it. About half-way we had to pass a deep
river on a bamboo raft, which almost sunk beneath us.
This stream was said to rise a long way off to the
northward.
Although Sahoe did not at all appear what I expected,
I determined to give it a trial, and a few days afterwards
obtained a boat to carry my things by sea while I walked
overland, A large house on the beach belonging to the
Sultan was given me. It stood alone, and was quite open
on every side, so that little privacy could be had, but as
I only intended to stay a short time I made it do, A very
few days dispelled all hopes I might have entertained of
making good collections in this place. Nothing was to
be found in every direction but interminable tracts of
reedy grass, eight or ten feet high, traversed by narrow
paths, often almost impassable. Here and there were
clumps of fruit trees, patches of low wood, and abundance
of plantations and rice grounds, all of which are, in tropical
regions, a very desert for the entomologist. The virgin
forest that I was in search of, existed only on the summits
and on the steep rocky sides of the mountains a long way
off, and in inaccessible situations. In the suburbs of the
village I found a fair number of bees and wasps, and some
small but interesting beetles. Two or three new birds
were obtained by my hunters, and by incessant inquiries
and promises I succeeded in getting the natives to bring
me some land shells, among which was a very fine and
handsome one, Helix pyrostoma. I was, however, completely
wasting my time here compared with what I might
be doing in a good locality, and after a week returned to
Ternate, quite disappointed with my first attempts at collecting
in Gilolo.
In the country round about Sahoe, and in the interior,
there is a large population of indigenes, numbers of whom
came daily into the village, bringing their produce for sale,
while others were engaged as labourers by the Chinese
and Ternate traders. A careful examination convinced me
that these people are radically distinct from all the Malay
races. Their stature and their features, as well as their
disposition and habits, are almost the same as those of thè
Papuans ; their hair is semi-Papuan—neither straight,
smooth, and glossy, like all true Malays’, nor so frizzly and
woolly as the perfect Papuan type, but always crisp,
waved, and rough, such as often occurs among the true
e 2