BOUTON, or BOOTEN, or BUTTON, one of the Celebesian Isles, situated about twelve miles to the south-east of Celebes. The island is large, woody, and tolerably high. It is about thirty miles in length and eight broad, stretches from north to south, and is separated by the straits of Bouton from the small er Island Pangasane, which lies between it anu Ce lebes. The King of Boutun, to whom the neigh bouring islands are subject, was in alliance with the Dutch East India company, who paid him an yearly salary of 1.32 : 14 : 6, that he might assist in the ex tirpation of all the clove trees in this and the adja cent islands. With this view a serjeant, styled the Extirpator, was sent out every year by the company ; and, attended by guides and interpreters provided by the king, he laid waste all the clove trees in Bouton and its dependent isles. The sovereign of Bouton, however, tired of the system of annual destruction, refused to lend his usual assistance, and in the year 1775, when Stavorinus visited the island, the Company withheld their salary, in order to force a compliance with their wishes.
To the east of Bouton is an immense cluster of little islands, called Toucan-bessis, connected or sur rounded with rocky shoals. The passage between Bouton and this cluster is very dangerous. " Along the shore of Bouton," says Stavorinus, " there is no danger to avoid but the land itself, but in the nar rowest part of the passage begins a large bay, which runs into the land west and north, into which there is much danger of being drawn by the currents which set into the bay, if the point opposite to thc Toucan hessis be approached too near in calm weather ; and if von have once fallen into the bay, there is no getting out till the west monsoon sets in again. The go vernor of Banda was once detained a whole year in this vexatious gulf, which, on this account, received the name of Divaal, or ;NI istake Bay." The capital of Bouton is Cullasusurf, which is situated on the top of a hill about a mile from the sea, and surround ed with walls. According to Bougainville, the in habitants, who are small, and of a dark olive com plexion, cultivate rice, maize, yams, and other roots, besides cocoa nuts, citrons, and pine-apples. They carry on a considerable commerce in pearls, cloths, and slaves. The inhabitants, who are I\ lahometans,
are gentle and faithful. They work a kind of co loured cotton stuff, and obtain their spicerics from Ceram and Banda. See Stavorinus' Voyage to the East Indies, vol. ii. p. 297-301 ; and Bougainville's Voyage. (H) BOW, a well known offensive weapon, which has been used in war and hunting from times of the most remote antiquity. Although the invention of the bow is, at first sight, extremely obvious and simple, yet the application of a missile body along with it, renders the use of it more complicated. Hence the rudest class of savages are entirely unacquainted with its properties, though they possess weapons appa rently of more difficult construction.
The form and substance of the bow have been greatly diversified in different countries: wood, horn, and steel, have all been successively adopted ; but the first, from convenience, is in most general es timation. In Tartary, Persia, and other eastern re gions, bows are manufactured from the horns of the antelope, and beautifully ornamented. They are sometimes composed of wood and horn, two pieces of equal length being applied parallel to each other, bound together by catgut, and then covered with the smooth bark of a tree, which receives suitable decorations, and a coat of varnish. The Laplanders are said to frame their bows of two fiat pieces of birch and fir glued together ; and in England, the modern bows are constructed of yew or cocoa wood, with a slip of ash, or some other elastic wood, glued on the back.
The figure of the bow has undergone many altera tions. To judge from the coins and sculptures of the ancients, it was straight in the middle, and curved at each end : the modern Tartar bow unstrung, nearly resembles an incomplete ellipse, and is recurved until the ends almost meet. The Saxon how was partly curved, but that of our English predecessors straight. However, it is not improbable that the fashions of different countries have, at various periods, resembled each other ; and we find in fact both the figure of the Saxon how, and the loose play of the string being unconfined in notches, among some relics of those eastern nations which claim the highest antiquity.