EMMA. "Ceram produces quantities of sago, and contains large forests of those trees: they are extremely profitable, for one tree will sometimes yield as much as five or six hundred pounds of sago! The original inhabitants were called Alfoors, and, as some of the race still exist, I will introduce them. The only dress of the men is a girdle encircling the loins. They fix bunches of palm leaves to their heads, shoulders, and knees, and wear square bucklers, which they ornament with considerable taste. The eyesight of these people is uncommonly acute; and their swiftness is such as to enable them to chase the wild hog with success. Rats and serpents form part of their food. This island is equally fertile with the other Moluccas, and produces spices of all kinds, but particularly cloves and nutmegs. There are, happily, more Christians now to be found in Ceram than there were a few years since: nevertheless the majority are still Mohammedans, and barbarous in their habits."
MR. BARRAUD. "Yes. Very little improvement has taken place in the manners of the Alfoors. The young men, even to this day, adhere to the savage practice of propitiating their intended wives, by presenting them with the heads of five or six of their enemies. In order to seize their victims by surprise, they lie in ambush in the woods, cover themselves with moss, and hold branches of trees in their hands, which they shake in a manner so natural, that they have the appearance of real trees: they then allow the enemy to pass, assassinate him by coming up behind him, and, cutting off his head, carry it away as a trophy. These murderers are received by the people of the village with all the honors of a barbarous triumph."
MR. STANLEY. "These identical Alfoors have a singular method of evincing their respect for friends or visitors: as an instance: One of the kings (for the nation has _three_ to share the government) invited a Dutch missionary to an entertainment. When Mr. Montarnes arrived, he was received with great demonstrations of joy, and treated by the king with the most splendid repast that the resources of the country could afford. When the meal was over, the king ordered a number of men armed with swords to step forward. They performed a war-dance, and, after a few feats of this sort, commenced a serious fight: their swords clashed, blood flowed, and some of their bodies were laid dead on the ground. The peaceful minister of religion, shocked at the horrid spectacle, entreated the king to put a stop to it. 'It is nothing,' was the reply: 'they are my slaves! it is only the death of a few dogs! Happy shall I be if this mark of my high respect convinces you of my eager desire to please you!'"