According to an old _adat_ or custom, the ships of the Dutch East India Company never anchored off Moa, but remained at Lette, whence the Company's servants were conducted to Moa by a chief of that island, who came over for the purpose; and as I did not wish to make an inroad into old usages, I made known my arrival to the people of Moa, upon which the chief of the village of Tombra came over to welcome me, and to offer his vessel for my accommodation during the proposed expedition. On the 21st of June I departed for Moa, accompanied by several of my officers, and followed by two of our boats carrying the detachment of marines, while a number of native prahus brought up the rear. Having a fair wind, we soon arrived off the west coast of the island, where we found a large crowd of the natives assembled, who gave us a most enthusiastic welcome. I cannot find terms to describe how gratifying it was to us to discover in all these islands, so sincere and unanimous a feeling of attachment towards our Government; for the long period, during which the friendly communication between these inhabitants and the Dutch had been discontinued, appeared only to have added fresh fuel to their attachment. The part of the island at which we had arrived was due east from the village of Batu Mean, and no sooner had we stepped on shore than a number of litters, which had been prepared for us, were brought forward, when there existed no little commotion among the crowd, each wishing that the village to which he belonged should be honoured by our first visit. Here we took a kind farewell of the chiefs of Lette who had accompanied us, when they departed homewards amid repeated mutual congratulations. We now deposited ourselves in the litters, which were provided with curtains of chintz or coloured cotton; our own party, which numbered six, together with the chiefs, being carried in this manner, and as the crowd was very great, the bearers could change frequently during our tolerably long journey to the head village. Behind us walked the detachment of marines, and the domestics who carried the presents, so that our train had a very imposing appearance. Our way lay, for the most part, over level uninhabited land, cultivated in some places, and in others overgrown with _allang-allang_, a sort of wild grass, growing to the height of four or five feet. The foot-path was narrow and bad, and this, combined with the heat of the sun, and the length of the distance, rendered the journey extremely painful, especially to our marines. We had left the landing-place at half-past eight, and owing to these difficulties did not arrive at our destination until one in the afternoon, and as this was too long a period to remain in the litters, we often relieved our cramped limbs by walking.