a good offing from Sanguir.
He did not intend to bear up for Menado until daylight. It was
important that we should reach it without delay to land our passengers,
as they would soon exhaust our water and provisions. We did our best to
attend to the poor people, but they would not be comforted. They
thought of their homes and relatives destroyed, and knew not what
hardships they might have to endure. As we got to a distance from the
island we could see far away to the southward another bright blaze which
rose from the volcano of Sias, also in a state of eruption. On looking
at the chart we saw that there was a line of many others, some in the
northern end of Celebes, others in Gillolo, extending northward and all
the way round to the west through Java. We could only hope that those
in the direction to which we were steering might not also burst forth.
The wind continued favourable and moderate. When the people heard from
Ned where we were going they were in a great fright, declaring that the
inhabitants were "head hunters," and that they should all be killed.

When Ned told me this I inquired of the captain if they had any
foundation for their fears. He replied that formerly the inhabitants of
that part of Celebes were as savage as those of other portions, but that
the Dutch have used every possible means to civilise them by giving them
employment, introducing commerce, establishing schools, and sending
missionaries among them, and that thus a wilderness, inhabited by naked
savages, who were wont to garnish their rude houses with human heads,
had been converted into a smiling region, with a civilised community.

The next day we made the northern end of Celebes, for which we were
steering, and before dark anchored off the pretty little town of Menado.
As we looked at it from our anchorage we could see rows of rustic
houses, with broad paths between them forming streets, mostly at right
angles with each other.

In several directions roads branched off towards the interior, also
lined by a succession of cottages surrounded by gardens and plantations.
The captain and Blyth immediately went on shore to visit the President
or Governor, who, on hearing what had happened, allowed us to land our
passengers, promising to look after them, and give them plenty of
employment if they were inclined to labour. We were thankful to get
them out of the brig, and their fears being dissipated when they saw the
civilised state of t