In warfare they carry shields, and their usual arms on land are the _campilan_, a kind of short two-handed sword, wide at the tip and narrowing down to the hilt, the _barong_ for close combat, the straight _kris_ for thrusting and cutting, and the waved, serpent-like _kris_ for thrusting only. They are dexterous in the use of arms, and can most skilfully decapitate a foe at a single stroke. At sea they use a sort of assegai, called _bagsacay_ or _simbilin_, about half an inch in diameter, with a sharp point. Some can throw as many as four at a time, and make them spread in the flight; they use these for boarding vessels. They make many of their own domestic utensils of metal, also coats of mail of metal wire and buffalo horn, which resist hand-weapons, but not bullets. The wire probably comes from Singapore. The local trade is chiefly in pearls, mother-of-pearl, shells, shark fins, etc. [66] The Sultan, in Spanish times, had a sovereign right to all pearls found which exceeded a certain size fixed by Sulu law--hence it was very difficult to secure an extraordinary specimen. The Mahometans trade at great distances in their small craft, called _vintas_, for they are wonderfully expert navigators. Their largest vessels do not exceed seven tons, and they go as far as Borneo, and even down to Singapore on rare occasions. I found that almost any coinage was useful for purchasing in the market-places. I need hardly add that the Chinese small traders have found their way to these regions; and it would be an unfavourable sign if a Chinaman were not to be seen there, for where the frugal Celestial cannot earn a living one may well assume there is little prosperity. Small Chinese coins (known as _cash_ in the China Treaty Ports) are current money there, and I think, the most convenient of all copper coins, for, having a hole in the centre, they can be strung together. Chinese began to trade with this island in 1751. The root of the Sulu language is Sanscrit, mixed with Arabic. Each Friday is dedicated to public worship, and the faithful are called to the temple by the beating of a box or hollow piece of wood. All recite the Iman with a plaintive voice in honour of the Great Prophet; a slight gesticulation is then made whilst the _Pandita_ reads a passage from the Mustah. I observed that no young women put in an appearance at the temple on the occasion of my visit.