of the Pacific islanders, and equally respected. It is used on the
commonest occasions, and a few palm leaves stuck outside a garden as
a sign of the "pomali" will preserve its produce from thieves as
effectually as the threatening notice of man-traps, spring guns, or a
savage dog would do with us. The dead are placed on a stage, raised six
or eight feet above the ground, sometimes open and sometimes covered
with a roof. Here the body remains until the relatives can afford
to make a feast, when it is buried. The Timorese are generally great
thieves, but are not bloodthirsty. They fight continually among
themselves, and take every opportunity of kidnapping unprotected people
of other tribes for slaves; but Europeans may pass anywhere through the
country in safety. Except for a few half-breeds in the town, there are
no native Christians in the island of Timor. The people retain their
independence in a great measure, and both dislike and despise their
would-be rulers, whether Portuguese or Dutch.
The Portuguese government in Timor is a most miserable one. Nobody seems
to care the least about the improvement of the country, and at this
time, after three hundred years of occupation, there has not been a
mile of road made beyond the town, and there is not a solitary European
resident anywhere in the interior. All the Government officials oppress
and rob the natives as much as they can, and yet there is no care taken
to render the town defensible should the Timorese attempt to attack
it. So ignorant are the military officers, that having received a small
mortar and some shells, no one could be found who knew how to use them;
and during an insurrection of the natives (while I was at Delli) the
officer who expected to be sent against the insurgents was instantly
taken ill! And they were allowed to get possession of an important
pass within three miles of the town, where they could defend themselves
against ten times the force. The result was that no provisions were
brought down from the hills; a famine was imminent; and the Governor had
to send off to beg for supplies from the Dutch Governor of Amboyna.
In its present state Timor is more trouble than profit to its Dutch
and Portuguese rulers, and it will continue to be so unless a different
system is pursued. A few good roads into the elevated districts of the
interior; a conciliatory policy and strict justice towards the natives,
and the introduction of a good system of cultivation as in Java and
northern Celebes, might yet make Timor a productive and valuable island.
Rice grows well on the marshy flats, which often fringe the coast, and
167