14 Alfred Russel Wallace – The Voyage to the Aru Islands
From Lombok, Wallace secured passage on a small schooner for the voyage
northward towards Sulawesi (Celebes) and its main town of Macassar. This was the
first predominantly Dutch town he visited in the East Indies and he found it prettier
and cleaner than any he had seen elsewhere in the East:
The Dutch have some admirable local regulations. All European houses must be kept well
whitewashed, and every person must, at four in the afternoon, water the road in front of his
house. The streets are kept clear of refuse and covered drains carry away all the impurities ...
The town consists chiefly of one long, narrow street along the seaside, devoted to business,
and principally occupied by the Dutch and Chinese merchants’ offices and warehouses, and
the native shops or bazaars ... This street is usually thronged with a native population of
Bugis or Macassan men wearing cotton trousers about twelve inches long, covering from142The Malay kampong in Macassar, C.W.M. Van de Velde, Gezigten uit Neêrlands Indiëhttp://www.ebook3000.com