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