THE SHOOTING ARRANGEMENTS.

When they all arrived I counted fifty armed men.  There were some whose grey hairs proclaimed their lengthened years; though there was a keenness in their eyes that revealed that the principle of vitality was strong within them yet; in others all the dash and vigour of youth was perceptible; many had a truly wild appearance, with their long bushy hair and ever restless eye.  It was a picturesque sight to behold fifty such fine fellows scattered about in small groups in the deep shade of these solitudes.

All the necessary arrangements being made, we once more started.  An hour’s walk brought us to a rather large plain, where I and my companions were stationed, about a hundred yards asunder, whilst the rest of the party formed a circle, driving all the game in our direction.  Unfortunately those on the left commenced hallooing before those on the right, in which latter direction the only three deer in the circle ran from the noise, instead of towards us.  Two of them were shot, and by the stone bolts above mentioned.  We now went to fresh ground, when, provoking to say, the same thing happened again, not without our suspicions being raised that this was purposely contrived; so that after all we were obliged to leave without a single shot.  Each deer, the largest of which, a doe, must have weighed a hundred pounds, was shot STANDING, for the natives have a peculiar cry, which arrests the animal’s progress for a moment, while they fire.

THE JAVANESE COMMANDANT.

The deer were all brought up to the commandant, who begged our acceptance of them.  We thanked him, and took the two smallest.  By the time we reached Pritie they were skinned and hung up, ready to be put into the boats.  The persons who had shot them had received their stone bolts again very little injured; the hole they make is enormous.  We rewarded these people; but to the commandant we were really at a loss how to express our obligations.  At length we thought of giving him some powder and shot, which was a present he seemed right glad to receive.  I afterwards learnt the history of this excellent old Javanese, and was surprised and grieved to hear that a person so universally esteemed had been banished from Java and his family for some trifling political offence.  His property was sold to purchase his freedom, and the proceeds were entrusted to the captain of a ship, who ran off with the whole, thus at once ruining a most worthy family, and reducing my good friend the commandant to the necessity of remaining in exile.  I was glad to hear, on my second visit to Timor, that he was still alive and well, though without any prospect of an alleviation to his condition.

Wishing him farewell, we left Pritie with some regret.  By dark we had crossed Babao Bay, and reached the ship at half-past eight.  It may be as well to mention that, looking from Coepang, the valley of Pritie is situated immediately under Timor Peak, the highest over the northern shore of Babao Bay.  A small hut, on a projecting shingle point, close to the westward, marks the landing place, where several canoes are generally to be seen hauled up.  At high tide a boat can get in; but, as we have already said, there is a long mud flat at low-water.