When the inhabitants of these islands go to Ternate, Banda, Amboina, or any of the Moluccas, in order to sell their salt pork, amber,[5] gold-dust, and other merchandise, they always carry some of these Birds-of-Paradise, which they constantly sell dead, affirming that they find them so, and that they know not whence they come or where they breed.  This bird is always seen very high in the air.  It is extremely light, as its bulk consists mostly of feathers, which are extremely beautiful, rendering it one of the greatest curiosities in the world.  The plumage of the head is as bright as burnished gold; that of the neck resembles the neck of a drake; and those of the wings and tail are like those of a peacock.  In beak and form, this bird comes nearest to a swallow, though considerably larger.  Such as deal in them endeavour to persuade strangers that they have no feet, and that they hang themselves, when they sleep, to the boughs of trees by means of their feathers.  But, in reality, these traders cut off their feet, to render them the more wonderful.  They also pretend that the male has a cavity on his back, where the female lodges her young till they are able to fly.  They always cut off the feet of these birds so close to the body, that the flesh dries in such a manner that the skin and feathers perfectly unite, making it impossible to perceive the smallest scar.  They also assert, that these birds are perpetually on the wing, subsisting on birds and insects, which they catch in the air.  The feathers of the male are much brighter than those of the female.  In the east, this bird is usually called Mancodiata, or the Bird-of-God.  Great numbers of them are sent to Batavia, where they generally sell for three crowns each.  The Moors, Arabians, and Persians are anxious to procure these birds, with which they adorn their saddles and housings, often mixing with them pearls and diamonds.  They wear them also in their turbans, especially on going to war, having a superstitious notion that they act as a charm or talisman, capable of preserving them from wounds.  Formerly, the Shah and Mogul used to present their favourites with one of these birds, as a mark of esteem or favour.

[Footnote 5:  Perhaps ambergris ought to be here understood.—­E.]

Besides their girdle and bracelets, formerly mentioned, the Popoes, or inhabitants of the Thousand Isles, wear a bit of stick, the size of a tobacco-pipe and the length of a finger, thrust through the gristle of the nose, which they think renders them terrible to their enemies, as some Europeans consider mustachios.  They are the worst and most savage people in all the South Seas.  The continent of New Guinea appeared a high country, extremely full of trees and plants of a vast variety of kinds, so that, in sailing 400 leagues along its coast, they did not observe one barren spot.  Our author thinks that it probably contains many precious commodities, as rich metals