The population of Baba is divided into two portions, one inhabiting the side of the island on which we lay, and the other taking up its residence on the south-east side, the interior being entirely unpeopled. These two parties have been long in a state of war, making frequent plundering excursions against each other, the chief object of these being the acquirement of captives, who are either kept as slaves by the conqueror, or are sold to the traders who visit the island. The population is not very great, but the exact amount cannot be ascertained. Each of the tribes is governed by an Orang Kaya, elected from among the richest and oldest of the inhabitants. Tepa, the village before which we anchored, consisting of no more than twenty-five houses, is considered as the capital of the western tribe; but they also have dwellings on the island Wetang, while many others are scattered among the gardens in the vicinity. The manners, customs, &c. of the people of Baba resemble those of the heathen inhabitants of the islands we had already visited. Their hair is of a reddish, flaxen colour, its natural blackness having been thus changed by rubbing lime into the head, which process is commenced when they are yet in their infancy.[21] The western side of Baba is so precipitous and overgrown with forest, that cultivation has extended but very little; the more fertile island Wetang being selected as a more suitable spot for their plantations of roots, Indian corn and vegetables. The neighbouring waters supply excellent fish, abundance of which were daily caught by our seamen with the seine. The natives, however, pay little heed to the bounty which the sea affords. The interior of the island is overrun with wild cattle, hogs and goats, the woods at the same time being well stocked with feathered game. Among the last was a kind of wood pigeon, which roosted in immense numbers in the trees, and afforded much sport in the morning to myself and the surgeon, who was also a lover of field sports. On the south side of Tepa I met with the remains of a stronghold, but the natives could give me no information concerning the period of its erection. Near the same spot we also found a fine well, enclosed by masonry, which, although now in a state of disrepair, bore evident marks of having been constructed in a superior manner. The water it contained was beautifully clear and pure, so that we took the opportunity of filling up our empty water casks.