over to the next island, Teor, and I began to despair of ever
reaching Ke, and determined on returning. We left with a south
wind, which suddenly changed to north-east, and induced me to
turn again southward in the hopes that this was the commencement
of a few days' favourable weather. We sailed on very well in the
direction of Teor for about an hour, after which the wind shifted
to WSW., and we were driven much out of our course, and at
nightfall found ourselves in the open sea, and full ten miles to
leeward of our destination. My men were now all very much
frightened, for if we went on we might be a. week at sea in our
little open boat, laden almost to the water's edge; or we might
drift on to the coast of New Guinea, in which case we should most
likely all be murdered. I could not deny these probabilities, and
although I showed them that we could not get back to our
starting-point with the wind as it was, they insisted upon
returning. We accordingly put about, and found that we could lay
no nearer to Uta than to Teor; however, by great good luck, about
ten o'clock we hit upon a little coral island, and lay under its
lee till morning, when a favourable change of wind brought us
back to Uta, and by evening (April 18th w e reached our first
anchorage in Matabello, where I resolved to stay a few days, and
then return to Goram. It way with much regret that I gave up my
trip to Ke and the intervening islands, which I had looked
forward to as likely to make up for my disappointment in Ceram,
since my short visit on my voyage to Aru had produced me so many
rare and beautiful insects.

The natives of Matabello are almost entirely occupied in making
cocoanut oil, which they sell to the Bugis and Goram traders, who
carry it to Banda and Amboyna. The rugged coral rock seems very