The Malay Archipelago, vol 2 | Page 6

first
shock, which was not very severe. The second, a few minutes
afterwards, threw down a great many houses, and others, which
continued all night and part of the next day, completed the devastation.
The line of disturbance was very narrow, so that the native town a mile
to the east scarcely suffered at all. The wave passed from north to south,
through the islands of Tidore and Makian, and terminated in Batchian,
where it was not felt till four the following afternoon, thus taking no
less than sixteen hours to travel a hundred miles, or about six miles an
hour. It is singular that on this occasion there was no rushing up of the
tide, or other commotion of the sea, as is usually the case during great
earthquakes.
The people of Ternate are of three well-marked races the Ternate
Malays, the Orang Sirani, and the Dutch. The first are an intrusive
Malay race somewhat allied to the Macassar people, who settled in the
country at a very early epoch, drove out the indigenes, who were no

doubt the same as those of the adjacent mainland of Gilolo, and
established a monarchy. They perhaps obtained many of their wives
from the natives, which will account for the extraordinary language
they speak--in some respects closely allied to that of the natives of
Gilolo, while it contains much that points to a Malayan origin. To most
of these people the Malay language is quite unintelligible, although
such as are engaged in trade are obliged to acquire it. "Orang Sirani," or
Nazarenes, is the name given by the Malays to the Christian
descendants of the Portuguese, who resemble those of Amboyna, and,
like them, speak only Malay. There are also a number of Chinese
merchants, many of them natives of the place, a few Arabs, and a
number of half-breeds between all these races and native women.
Besides these there are some Papuan slaves, and a few natives of other
islands settled here, making up a motley and very puzzling population,
till inquiry and observation have shown the distinct origin of its
component parts.
Soon after my first arrival in Ternate I went to the island of Gilolo,
accompanied by two sons of Mr. Duivenboden, and by a young
Chinaman, a brother of my landlord, who lent us the boat and crew.
These latter were all slaves, mostly Papuans, and at starting I saw
something of the relation of master and slave in this part of the world.
The crew had been ordered to be ready at three in the morning, instead
of which none appeared till five, we having all been kept waiting in the
dark and cold for two hours. When at length they came they were
scolded by their master, but only in a bantering manner, and laughed
and joked with him in reply. Then, just as we were starting, one of the
strongest men refused to go at all, and his master had to beg and
persuade him to go, and only succeeded by assuring him that I would
give him something; so with this promise, and knowing that there
would be plenty to eat and drink and little to do, the black gentleman
was induced to favour us with his company and assistance. In three
hours' rowing and sailing we reached our destination, Sedingole, where
there is a house belonging to the Sultan of Tidore, who sometimes goes
there hunting. It was a dirty ruinous shed, with no furniture but a few
bamboo bedsteads. On taking a walk into the country, I saw at once
that it was no place for me. For many miles extends a plain covered

with coarse high grass, thickly dotted here and there with trees, the
forest country only commencing at the hills a good way in the interior.
Such a place would produce few birds and no insects, and we therefore
arranged to stay only two days, and then go on to Dodinga, at the
narrow central isthmus of Gilolo, whence my friends would return to
Ternate. We amused ourselves shooting parrots, lories, and pigeons,
and trying to shoot deer, of which we saw plenty, but could not get one;
and our crew went out fishing with a net, so we did not want for
provisions. When the time came for us to continue our journey, a fresh
difficulty presented itself, for our gentlemen slaves refused in a body to
go with us; saying very determinedly that they would return to Ternate.
So their masters were obliged to submit, and I was left behind to get to
Dodinga as I could. Luckily I succeeded in hiring a small boat, which
took me there the same night, with my two men and my baggage.
Two or three years after this, and about the same