a long talk; but when I begged for a boat and
men to take me on to Ke, he made a host of difficulties. There were no
praus, as all had gone to Ke or Aim; and even if one were found, there
were no men, as it was the season when all were away trading. But he
promised to see about it, and I was obliged to wait. For the next two or
three days there was more talking and more difficulties were raised, and
I had time to make an examination of the island and the people.

Manowolko is about fifteen miles long, and is a mere; upraised
coral-reef. Two or three hundred yards inland rise cliffs of coral rock,
in many parts perpendicular, and one or two hundred feet high; and this,
I was informed, is characteristic of the whole island, in which there is
no other kind of rock, and no stream of water. A few cracks and chasms
furnish paths to the top of these cliffs, where there is an open
undulating country, in which the chief vegetable grounds of the
inhabitants are situated.

The people here--at least the chief men--were of a much purer Malay race
than the Mahometans of the mainland of Ceram, which is perhaps due to
there having been no indigenes on these small islands when the
first settlers arrived. In Ceram, the Alfuros of Papuan race are the
predominant type, the Malay physiognomy being seldom well marked;
whereas here the reverse is the case, and a slight infusion of Papuan
on a mixture of Malay and Bugis has produced a very good-looking set of
people. The lower class of the population consist almost entirely of
the indigenes of the adjacent island. They are a fine race, with
strongly-marked Papuan features, frizzly hair, and brown complexions.
The Goram language is spoken also at the east end of Ceram, and in
the adjacent islands. It has a general resemblance to the languages of
Ceram, but possesses a peculiar element which I have not met with in
other languages of the Archipelago.

After great delay, considering the importance of every day at this
time of year, a miserable boat and five men were found, and with
some difficulty I stowed away in it such baggage as it was absolutely
necessary for me to take, leaving scarcely sitting or sleeping room.
The sailing qualities of the boat were highly vaunted, and I was assured
that at this season a small one was much more likely to succeed in
making the journey. We first coasted along the island, reaching its
eastern extremity the following morning (April 11th), and found a
strong