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Ch. 7: Sooloo Archipelago

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The Sooloo Archipelago.                   135
and sirih, delights in labial and guttural consonants, eschewing dental sounds to a great extent.
It is notable that the Sooloo people have preserved the tradition of Sarah and Abraham, as recorded on pp. 32, 33.
The commerce of the group of Sooloo Islands is carried on through the medium of Chinese traders who exchange Manchester goods, opium, tobacco and other articles for Pearls and Pearl-shell, sharks' fins, bêche-de-mer and native-manufactured cordage. Of these articles Pearl-shell forms by far the largest proportion of the trade, and is sold in London as " Manila " shell.
Pearls also find their way out of the country, but to a great extent by stealth, as it is as much as a man's head is worth to sell any Pearl over a certain size, these being the Sultan's perquisites. The Pearls from Sooloo have ever been renowned as being the finest in the world, and may be said to be found in very " high bred " shells, in deep, clear and rapid tide-ways.
When the father of the present Sultan died in 1879, he left a box full of Pearls of large size and fine quality. At his death the contents of this box met with foul play ; a portion of these
Ch. 7: Sooloo Archipelago Page of 341 Ch. 7: Sooloo Archipelago
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