e city of Porne, in which King Thedori reigns as paramount chief,
consists of twenty thousand houses, all of which are low-built cabins.
Some of the men who inhabit these dwellings have such long ears that
they reach down to their shoulders, and when we expressed surprise at
this, we were assured that on an island, not far off, there were men
who had such large ears, that with one ear they could, when they liked,
cover the whole of their heads. But Hartog disbelieved this story, nor
would he visit the island when this prodigy was offered to be shown to
him. We were not in, search of monsters, he said, but of treasure.

We had been informed by one of the merchants at Amsterdam that when we
should come to the island of Solo, one of the group of the Molucca
Islands, we would find pearls as large as clove's eggs, but Thedori did
not encourage us when we hinted to him our desire to possess some of
these marvels. They were only to be found, he said, in very deep water,
and this was not the season to obtain them. We decided not to press the
matter, since we desired to leave a favourable impression, but Hartog
promised himself a return visit, when, should friendly overtures prove
of no avail, an appeal, might be made to the King's better judgment
with the aid of our six guns and brass bowchaser. It is certain that
pearls of great size do exist on these islands. The King wore one in
his crown the size of a hen's egg.

On our first night in harbour at the Molucca Islands we witnessed the
most remarkable display I have ever beheld. The islands are well
wooded, and amongst the trees by night, through the whole island, did
show themselves an infinite swarm of fiery worms flying in the air,
whose bodies, being no larger than common house-flies, made such a show
and light as if every twig or tree had been a burning candle. In the
dark recesses of the woods, also, appeared wonderful black bats, with
red eyes, of which the inhabitants of this country stand in
considerable dread. The bats are thought to be the spirits of departed
kings, and none are allowed to molest them.

From the security of our vessel, which lay close to the shore, we were
able to view these marvels without danger, but the natives remained in
their huts, afraid to venture forth, so that nocturnal dances, or
meetings at camp fires, were here conspicuous by their absence.

We now met with an adventure that was destined to influence our future
in a manner we did not,