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THE    UNIVERSITY 

OF   ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 


9/0 


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OF  THE 

•JNIVERSITV of  ILLINOIS. 


THE   EARTH   AND   ITS   INHABITANTS  iLi^ 


S-/M- 


^, 


THE 


UNIVERSAL  GEOGRAPHY 


By  elisee  reclus 


EDITED 

By  A.    H.    KEANE,  B.A. 

VICE-PRESIDENT,   ANTHROP.    INSTITUTE;   COR.   MEMK.    ITALIAN   AND  WASHINGTON   ANTHROP.    SOC. 
PROFESSOR   OF   HINDUSTANI,    UNIVERSITY  COL.,    LONDON;    AUTHOR   OF    "ASIA,"   ETC. 


VOL.   XIV. 

AUSTRALASIA 


ILLUSTRATED     BY    NUMEROUS    ENGRAVINGS    AND    MAPS 


LONDON 
J.    S.   VIRTUE   &:   CO.,   Li.AriTED,    294,   CITY   ROAD 


^5  \o 


nrNTED    BY   J.   S.    VI'iTUR    AND    CO.,    LIMITED 
CITV    EOAD 


CONTENTS. 


The  Oceanic  HEjnspHEEE  1—39 

Extent  and  Fonnation  of  the  Oceanic  Basins,  p.  1.  The  Antarctic  Lands,  p.  4. 
Oceanic  Exploration,  p.  o.  Cook's  Voyages,  p.  10.  Exploration  of  the  Antarctic 
Waters,  p.  12.  Bathymetric  Researches,  p.  16.  Atmospheric  Currents,  p.  20. 
Marine  Currents,  p.  23.  Drift  Ice,  Icebergs,  and  Floes,  p.  25.  Volcanic  Agencies, 
p.  2S.  Coralline  Formations,  Atolls,  p.  30.  Oceanic  Flora,  p.  34.  Inhabitants 
of  the  Oceanic  Regions,  p.  37. 

II.  The  Mascaeenhas — Reiwion,  MATmiTrtrs,  Rodeigites 40 — 03 

Flora  and  Fauna,  p.  41.  .Inhabitants,  p.  42.  Mauritius,  p.  43.  Reunion,  p.  46. 
Rodrigues,  p.  52.  The  Keeling  Islands,  p.  o4.  Christmas,  Amsterdam,  and  St. 
Paul,  p.  56.  The  Austral  Islands,  p.  59.  Marion,  Prince  Edward,  the  Crozets, 
and  Kerguelen,  p   60.     Macdonald  and  Heard,  p.  63. 

III.  Indonesia  (The  Eastern  Aechipelaoo) 64 — 242 

Oeneral  Survey,  p.  64.  Historic  Retrospect,  p.  67.  Progress  of  Exploration,  p.  69. 
Climate,  p.  70.  Flora,  p.  71.  Fauna,  p.  73.  Inhabitants,  p.  76.  Sumatra  and 
Neighbouring  Islands,  p.  79.  Phy.sical  Features  of  Sumatra,  p.  80.  Krakatau, 
p.  87.  Rivers  of  Sumatra,  p.  90.  The  "West  and  East  Sumatran  Islands,  p.  92. 
Flora  and  Fauna,  p.  94.  Inhabitants,  p.  95.  The  Battas,  p.  90.  Tlie  Menangkabaoa 
and  other  Sumatran  Malays,  p.  101.  The  Nias  and  Mentawey  Isl.ands,  p.  103. 
Topography  of  Sumatra,  p.  106.  Administration,  p.  115.  Sunda  Islands  between 
Sumatra  and  Borneo,  p.  115.  Bangka,  p.  117.  BiUiton,  p.  119.  Borneo,  p.  120. 
Exploration,  Political  Divisions,  p.  121.  Physical  Features,  p.  123.  Rivers, 
p.  126."  Climate,  p.  130.  Flora,  p.  131.  Fauna,  Inhabitants,  p.  132.  Dutch 
Borneo,  p  137.  Brunei  and  British  Borneo,  p.  142.  Labuan,  Sufaw.ak,  p.  144. 
North  Borneo,  p.  146.  Java  and  Madura,  p.  149  Volcanoes,  p.  150.  Rivers, 
p.  162.  Climate,  Flora,  Fauna,  p.  164-5.  Inhabitants,  p.  166.  Topography,  p.  182. 
Administration,  p.  193.  Bali,  p.  196.  Lombok,  p.  201.  iSambawa,  p.  203. 
Flores,  Solor,  Allor,  p.  206.  Sumba,  p.  208.  Timor  and  Rotti,  p  209.  Serwatty, 
p.  215.  Tenlmber  and  Kci,  p.  216.  Celebes  and  Adjacent  Lslands,  p.  219. 
Chmate.  Flora,  F.auna,  p  224,  Inhabitants,  p.  224.  The  Southern  Moluccas: 
Burn,  Coram  Amboyna,  Banda,  p.  229.  The  Northern  Moluccas :  Obi,  Bat  jan, 
Tidor,  Temate,  Halmahera,  Morotai,  p.  235. 

IV.  The  Philippines  and  Strnj 243—273 

Climate,  Flora,  Fauna,  p.  252.  Inhabitants,  p.  253.  Topography,  p  261. 
Administration,  p.  270. 

V.  Micronesia 274 — 292 

The  Mariana  (Ladronc)  Islands,  p.  274.  Pelew  (Palaos),  p.  277.  The  Caroline 
Islands,  p.  280. 


^Ib^L 


iv  CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  f-ion 

VI.  New  Guinea  and  Adjacent  Islands  (Papuasia) 293 — 317 

Progress  of  Discovery,  p.  293.  Physical  Features,  p.  297.  Rivers  and  Islands, 
p.  300.  Climate,  Flora,  Fauna,  p.  301.  Inhabitants,  p.  303.  Topography,  p.  306. 
British  New  Guinea,  p.  311.     German  Possessions  in  New  Guinea,  p.  315. 

Melanesia 318 — 351 

Admiralty  Islands,  Bismarck  Archipelago,  Solomon  Islands,  p.  318.  Physical 
Features,  p.  319.  Climate,  Flora,  Fauna,  p.  323.  Inhabitants,  p.  324.  Santa 
Cruz  and  the  New  Hebrides,  p.  330.  Inhabitants,  p.  333.  New  Caledonia  and  the 
Loyalty  Islands,  p.  337.  Climate,  Flora,  Fauna,  p.  341.  Inhabitants,  p.  343. 
Topography,  p.  347. 

VIII.  Atjstkalia  and  Tasmania 352 — 420 

General  Sirrvey,  p.  352.  Progress  of  Discovery,  p.  353.  Physical  Features, 
p.  358.  Rivers  and  Lakes,  p.  365.  Climate,  p.  368.  Flora,  p.  371.  Fauna,  p.  374. 
Inhabitants,  p.  375.  Economic  Condition,  p.  387.  Western  Australia,  p.  395. 
South  Australia,  p.  398.  Queensland,  p  403.  New  South  Wales,  p.  407. 
Victoria,  p.  414.     Tasmania,  p.  418. 

IX.  New  Zealand  and  Neiohboueinq  Islands 421 — 456 

Physical  Features  of  South  Island,  p.  424.  Physical  Features  of  North  Island, 
p.  430.  Climate,  p.  437.  Flora,  p.  438.  Fauna,  p.  439.  Inhabitants,  p.  440. 
Topography,  p.  448. 

X.  The  Fiji  Islands 457—465 

General  Survey,  p.  457.  Climate,  Flora,  Faima,  p.  459.  Inhabitants,  p.  460. 
Topography  and  Administration,  p.  464. 

XL  Equatoeial  Polynesia 466 — 488 

General  Survey,  p.  466.  Climate,  Flora,  Faima,  p.  473.  Inhabitants,  p.  474. 
Tonga,  p.  483.     Samoa,  p.  483.     Tahiti,  p.  485.    Tuamotu,  the  Marquesas,  p.  487. 

XII.  Hawad  (The  Sandwich  Islands) •       .     489—497 

General  Sm-vey,  p-  489.  Mauna-Loa,  p.  490.  Maui,  p.  492.  Flora,  Fauna, 
p.  494-5.     Inhabitants,  p.  495.     Topography,  p.  497. 

Appendix • 498 

Index 505 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


MArS  PRINTED  IN  COLOURS. 


Equatorial  Africa     ......         1 

Sunda  Strait 184 

Australia,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand   .        .     352 


PAGE 

Sydney  and  Environs 408 

New    Zealand    and    the    Smaller    Polynesian 

Groups      .......     456 


PLATES. 


Group  of  Natives,  North  Queensland        Frontispiece 

View  taken  at  Tasman  Peninsula      Tofacepmje        8 

Port  Moresby,  South  Coast  of  New  Guinea 

Louis-Philippe  Land,  Antarctic  Ocean 

Port  Louis — Statue  of  Boui'donnais 

Piton  D'Enchein,  Reunion 

Saint-Denis,  Reunion       .... 

Island  of    St.    Paul — View    taken    from    the 

North-East 

Dayak  DweUings  on  the  Rejang,  West  Borneo 
Palombang- — View   taken  near  the  Kraton  in 

the  Sacred  Grove        ..... 

Dayak  Women,  Borneo    ..... 

The  Bromo  Volcano,  Dasar  District,  Java 
Street  View  in  Bata\-ia     ..... 

Village  of  Tjimatjan,  near  Tjanjui',  Java 

View  taken  from  the  Genting  Bridge,  Surabaya     1 9'i 

General  View  of  Mcnado  ....     22S 

Amboyna  .......     232 

Banda-Niera  and  Great  Banda  .  234 

General  View  of  Mount  Mayon  .  .  .  24G 
Pueblo  of  Civilised  Natives,  Manilla  District  .  252 
Port  of  Manilla — General  View 
Village  of  Saypan— Mariana  Islands 


34 


202 
276 


Group  of  Koyari  Chiefs,  South-East  New 
Guinea      .  .  .  .To  -face  page 

Tambu  and  Group  of  Santa-Ana  Natives, 
Solomon  Archipelago 

General  View  of  Noumea,  taken  from  the  Ar 
tHlery  Barracks  .... 

View  taken  in  the  Blue  Mountains,  Australia 

View    taken     at     Middle  -  Harbom',     Sydney 


Victoria  Scenery — Forest  near  Eemshawe, 
North-East  of  Melbourne 

General  View  of  Sandhurst  (Bendigo),  Vic- 
toria ...... 

General  View  of  Hobart,  Tasmania  . 

General  View  of  Launceston,  Tasmania    . 

Sources  of  the  Waimakariri,  New  Zealand 

The  Pink  Terrace  of  Roto-Mahana  before  the 
Eniptionof  1886         .... 

Queenstown  and  Lake  Wakatipu 

General  View  of  Lo^^J^a,  Fiji  Archipelago 

Landscape  in  the  Tuamotu  Archipelago   . 

View  taken  at  Moorea,  imder  Mount  Rutui, 
Tahiti 

View  of  Waimca,  Kauai  Island,  Hawaii  , 


304 

324 

346 
300 

408 

414 

416 
418 
420 
420 

434 
452 
464 
473 


LIST  OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTKATIONS. 


The  Great  Oceanio  Hemisphere   (Western 

Section) 

The  Great  Oceanic  Hemisphere   (Eastern 

Section) 
Explorations  of  the  Paciiii 
Fii-st  Circumnavigation  of  the  Globe  from 

West  to  East  and  East  to  West 
Dates  of  the  Cliief  Discoveries  in  Oceania 
Explorations  in  the  South  Polar  Waters 
Northern    Promontory    of    the    Antarctii 

Mainland        ..... 

Depths  of  the  Austral  Seas 

Ice  Field  traced  by  Dumont  D'UrviUe 

Volcanoes  of  the  Pacific 

Zone  of  the  Coralline  I.slands 

Mauritius  ...... 

Port  Louis  ..... 

The  Grand  Brule        .... 

The  Three  Cirques      .... 

The  Maeina  of  St.  Denis 

St.  Pierre  

Rodiigues  ..... 

Keeling  Islands  .... 

Amsterdam         .         :         .         .         . 

St.  Paul 

Kerguelen  ..... 

Indonesian  Submarine  Plateau   . 
Comparative    Areas   of   Holland   and   the 

Dutch  East  Indies .... 
Parting  Line  of  the  Indonesian  Faimas 
Inhabitants  of  Indonesia    . 
PuLO  Brass  Liohthouse,  Sumatka    . 
The  Merapi  Volcanic  Range 
Krakatau  and  Neighboiu-ing  Islets  befon 

the  Eruption .... 
Krakatau  and  Neighbouring  Islets   after 

the  Eruption  . 
Range  of  Dispersion  of  the  Ivrakatau  Ashes 
Steamek  boene  on  the   Keakatau  Wave 

INLAND    to  TeLOKH-BeTONO     . 

Alluvial  Plains  of  the  Musi  Basin 

A  Stxmatean  Jungle — View  taken  in  the 

State  of  Deli 
Okano  Batta     .... 
Orang  Atjeh    .... 
Lake  Toba  and  the  Batta  Country 
Inhabitants  of  Simiatra 
Kota-Raja  and  Olch-leh    . 
Padang  and  Environments 
Highlands  East  of  Padang 
Palembang 
DeU   . 


Riouw  Archipelago 
Bangka 
Ivina-Balu 
Barito  Delta 

Scene  in  Bokneo,  neas  Sarawak 

Navigable  Streams   and  Chief   Routes   of 

Explorers  in  Borneo        .... 


3 

53. 

7 

54. 

55. 

0 

58. 

1 

57. 

3 

58. 

59. 

29 

.63 

31 

64 

H 

65 

46 

66 

47 

67 

49 

68 

50 

51 

69 

53 

70 

55 

57 

71 

58 

72 

61 

73 

65 

74 

75 

68 

76 

74 

77 

77 

78 

81 

79 

83 

80 

Dayak  Types,  Borneo    . 
Banjermassin    ..... 

On  the  RrvEK  Amandit,  Dutch  Bokneo 
Lower  Course  of  the  Mahakkam 
Brunei      ...... 

Sarawak  ...... 

Sandakan.         ..... 

Chief  Volcanoes  in  Java    . 

Gede  Volcano   ..... 

Javanese  Landscape — Mount  Gede   . 
Dieng        ...... 

Gunong  Sewu  ..... 

South- West  Slopes  of  Kelut 

Tengger  and  Semeru 

Lemongan        ..... 

Nusa  Kembangan     . 

Inhabitants  of  Java  .... 

Empeeoe  and  Empeess  of  Sukakarta 
Comparative  Increase  of  Poijulation  in  Java 

and  Holland  ..... 
Coffee  Plantation,  Java 
Zones  of  Wet  and  Dry  Rice  Fields  and 

Coffee  Plantations  on  Mount  Sivmbing 
Teak  Forests,  Selnarang  and  Siu'abaya 
Railways  in  Java      .... 

Steamship  Lines  in  Indonesia  . 
Batavia  in  1628         .... 

Batavia  and  Port  of  Tanjong  Priok  . 
Semarang.         ..... 

Magelang  and  Bmni-Budhur    . 
Merapi  and  Jokjokarta     . 

Patjitan 

Surabaya  and  Madura  Strait    . 
Administrative  Divisions  of  Java 
Bali 


109 

96 

110 

97 

111 

98 

114 

99 

116 

100 

118 

101 

124 

102 

128 

103 

129 

104 

Palace  of  the  Sultan  of  Bulelano,  Bali 

Lombok  Strait .... 

Central  Part,  of  Sumbawa 

Larantuka  Strait 

Timor  and  Neighbouring  Islands 

View  in  a  Foeest  near  Kupang,  Timoe 

Kupang    .... 

Tenimber. 

Explored  Regions  of  Celebes 

Saleyer     .... 

Minahassa 

The  Tondano  Cascade,  Minahassa 

Macassar  and  South -we.st  Region  of  Celebes 

Administrative  Divisions  of  Celebes 

Burn         ..... 

Port  of  Amboyna 

KUwaru  ..... 


Banda  Group    ..... 
Empires  of  Temate  and  Tidor  . 
Teniate,  Tidor,  and  Dadinga  Istlmius 
View  taken  at  Teenate      .  . 
Den.sity    of    the    Population     in     Dutch 

Indonesia        ..... 
PoUtical  Divisions  of  Indonesia 


LIST     OF     ILLUSTRATION'S. 


106. 

The  thi-ee  Issthnmses  of  Indunesia  and  the 

163. 

Philippines 

244 

1G4. 

107. 

Southern  Part  of  Lui!on    .... 

247 

165. 

103. 

Central  Part  of  Luzon       .... 

248 

166. 

109. 

Lake  Bombon  ...... 

249 

167. 

no. 

Earthquake  of  1880           .... 

251 

168. 

in. 

Geoup  of  Neqeitoes        .... 

254 

.169. 

112. 

Chief  Inhabitants  of  the  Philippines 

255 

170. 

113. 

lFuo.iO  Indian 

257 

171. 

114. 

Manilla 

202 

172. 

115. 

EnvTTons  of  Manilla          .... 

264 

173. 

116. 

Samar  and  Leyte 

266 

174. 

117. 

Do -Do  and  Strait  of  Gnimaras 

267 

175. 

118. 

Sulu  Archipelago 

209 

176. 

119. 

Density  of  Population  of  the  Philippines . 

271 

177. 

120. 

Provincial  Division.s  of  the  Philippines     . 

272 

178. 

121. 

Mariana  jVrchipelago        .... 

275 

179. 

122. 

Pelew  Islands  .          .                    ... 

278 

180. 

123. 

Geneeal  View  of  UAiAU 

281 

181. 

124. 

Ruk  Islands 

283 

182. 

125. 

Tap 

285 

183. 

126. 

Ponapo                        .  ■      . 

287 

184. 

127. 

Arhno       

289 

185. 

128. 

Marshall  Archipelago        .... 

290 

186. 

129. 

Chief  Explorations  on  the  Coasts  and  in  the 

187. 

Interior  of  New  Guinea 

294 

1 88. 

130. 

Lacustkine  Village  of  Tupuselei,  Motu 

189. 

Tereitoey,  New  Guinea 

295 

190. 

131. 

Mountains  of  New  Guinea 

298 

191. 

132. 

MacCluer  Inlet  and  Onin  Peninsula 

299 

192. 

133. 

Waigeu,  Batanta,  and  Salwaty 

307 

193. 

134. 

Dorei 

308 

194. 

135. 

Port  Moresby  ...... 

312 

195. 

136. 

KOYAEI   DWEIXINO,  NEAR  PoET    MOEESBY, 

196. 

New  Guinea 

313 

197. 

137. 

Astrolabe  Bay 

316 

198. 

138. 

White  Bay 

321 

199. 

139. 

San  Cristobal 

325 

200. 

140. 

Neu-Lauenburg  (York)  Island 

329 

201. 

141. 

Vanikoro           ....'.. 

331 

202. 

142. 

New  Hebrides 

332 

203. 

143. 

Geoup  of  New  Hebeibes  Natives 

334 

204. 

144. 

New  Caledonia 

339 

205. 

145 

Native  of  Maee,  Loyalty  Isles    . 

342 

200. 

146 

Native  of  Maee,  Loyalty  Isles     . 

343 

207. 

147 

New  Caledonian  Man     .... 

344 

208. 

148 

New  Caledonian  Woman 

345 

209. 

149 

Noumea 

348 

210. 

1.50 

Dwelling     of  a  Native    Chief,    New 

211. 

Caledonia 

349 

212. 

151 

Isle  of  Pines 

350 

213. 

152 

Comparative  Areas  of  Australia  and  the 

214. 

British  Isles 

354 

215. 

1.53 

Chief  Routes  of  Australian  Explorers 

355 

216. 

154 

MacDouall's  Itineraries    .... 

357 

217. 

155 

Australian  Alps        .         .        ... 

359 

218. 

156 

Bass  Strait 

363 

219. 

157 

Torres  Strait 

364 

220. 

158 

The  Great  Barrier  Reef    .... 

367 

221. 

159 

Isothermals  of  Alistralia   .... 

309 

222. 

160 

Rainfall  of  East  Australia 

370 

223. 

161 

Inhabitants  and  Languages  of  Australia 

224. 

about  1850     

380 

225. 

102 

Lalla  Rookh,  the  Last  Tasidinian 

384 

226. 

Density  of  the  Australian  Population  .  386 
Increase  of  the  Australian  Population  .  387 
Encampment  op  Austealian  Squattees  .  389 
Gold  Mines  of  South-East  Australia  .  390 
Australian  Railways  at  the  End  of  1887  .  392 
Australian  Colonies  .....  393 
King  George  Sound  .....  394 
Perth  and  its  En\-irons      .         .         .         .396 

Adelaide 400 

Adelaide,  Spencer  and  St.  Vincent  Gulfs  .     401 
Port  Darwin      ......     402 

Brisbane  and  Moreton  Bay        .         .         .     405 

Botany  Bay 40S 

Sydney  in  1802 409 

Newcastle  .         .  .         .         .411 

Norfolk  Island 413 

Melbouene,  View  in  Boceke  Steeet  .  415 
Melbourne  and  Hobson's  Bay  .  .  .417 
Hobart  and  the  Derwent  River  .         .     420 

View  taken  at  Antipodes  Island  .  .423 
Tasman  Glacier  .....  426 
Fiords  of  South- West  New  Zealand  .     428 

Breaksea  and  Dusky  Sounds  .         .429 

Cook  Strait 431 

Lake  Taupo 433 

Lake  Tarawera  .....  435 
Tattooed  Maoei  Chief  ....  442 
King's  Country  .....  444 
Railways  of  New  Zealand  . .  .  .447 
A  Sheep  Pen,  New  Zealand  .448 

Auckland  ......     449 

Kaipara 450 

Christchurch  and  Akaroa  Peninsula  452 

Port  Chalmers  .         .         .  .         -     453 

Chatham  Island        .....     464 

Pro^-inces  of  New  Zealand        .  .     455 

Fiji  Islands       .         .         .         .         .         .458 

The  Royal  Family,  Fiji        .         .         .461 
Suva  and  Lcvuka      .....     4G5 

Trend  of  the  Polynesian  Islands  .  .  467 
Volcanic  Islands  of  Eastern  Polynesia       .     468 

Tonga-Tabu 460 

Samoa       .......     470 

Gambler  Archipelago        .  .  .471 

The  Marquesas  .         .         .         .         .472 

Easter  Island 475 

Tattooed  Native,   Marquesas  Islands  .     476 

Samoan  Women 477 

Religions  of  Oceania  .  .  .  .479 
Inhabitants  of  Oceania  ....  480 
Equatorial  Polynesia,  by  Tupaia  .  .481 
Movements  of  the  Oceanic  Populations     .     482 

Apia 481 

Tahiti  and  Moorea     .....     485 

Papeete 486 

Nuka-Hiva 487 

Political  Dirisions  of  Oceania  .         .         .     488 
Hawaiian  Islands     .....     490 

Craters  of  Mauna-Loa  and  Kilauea  .     491 

,  Lava  Steeams  of  Kilauea      .  .     492 

Ceatee  of  Kilauea,  Hawaii  .         .         .     493 

Hawaii     .......     494 

Honolulu  .         .  .         .495 

General  View  of  Honolulu  .         .         .     497 


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THE    UNIVERSAL    GEOGRAPHY. 


AUSTRALASIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  OCEANIC  HEMISPHERE. 


OMPARED  with  the  collective  body  of  marine  waters,  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  may  be  regarded  as  a  mere  "  Mediterranean,"  or  Inland 
Sea.  As  the  "boundless"  expanse  on  which  the  Greek  mariners 
first  timidly  ventured  was  found  to  be  a  "  closed  sea,"  or  simple 
landlocked  basin,  according  as  seafarers  gradually  explored  its 
contracted  seaboard  between  Europe  and  Africa,  in  the  same  way  the  more  for- 
midable Atlantic  itself,  only  four  centuries  ago  still  held  to  be  limitless,  has  in  its 
turn  proved  to  be  a  mere  winding  valley  between  the  two  halves  of  the  con- 
tinental lands  constituting  the  Old  and  the  New  Worlds.  Northwards  this  deep 
trough  is  separated  by  Greenland  and  Iceland  from  the  cavities  of  the  polar 
waters ;  east  and  west  the  shores  of  Europe  and  North  America,  as  well  as  those 
of  Africa  and  South  America,  roughly  correspond  in  the  contours  and  indentations 
of  their  coastline,  which  at  the  narrowest  point,  between  Carabane  and  Cape 
St.  Roque,  are  separated  only  by  an  interval  of  1,800  miles.  But  southwards  the 
Atlantic  spreads  out  broadly,  here  merging  in  the  greater  oceanic  basin  which 
encompasses  the  whole  periphery  of  the  globe. 


Extent  and  Formation  of  the  Oceanic  Basin. 

Excluding  the  Atlantic  with  its  lateral  inlets  and  the  island-studded  and  ice- 
obstructed  Arctic  waters  encircled  by   the  Asiatic  and  American  seaboards,  the 
VOL.  xiv.  n 


2  AUSTEALASIA. 

great  oceanic  depression  covers  about  one  half  of  the  surface  of  the  earth.*  South 
of  the  three  continental  extremities — Cape  Horn,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
Tasmania-^the  belt  of  waters  stretches  uninterrujDtcdly  in  a  circuit  of  15,000  to 
16,000  miles.  Moreover,  the  marine  depression  extends  far  to  the  north  beyond 
the  equator,  developing  to  the  east  of  Africa  the  vast  basin  of  the  Indian  Ocean, 
and  east  of  Australia  and  A.sia  the  stUl  more  extensive  basin  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
If  the  continental  masses,  taken  collectively,  be  compared  to  a  half  crater,  whose 
contour,  beginning  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  terminating  at  Cape  Horn, 
comprises  the  Ethiopian  highlands,  the  Himalayas,  and  the  Andes,  the  "  Great 

Fig.   1. — The  Great  Oceaxic  Hemispheke  (Western  Section). 


Ocean,"  as  Fleurieu  calls  the  united  Indian  and  Pacific  waters,  will  be  found  to 
completely  flood  this  immense  semicircle.  The  total  sweep  of  this  semiciicle  of  inner 
shores  exceeds  24,000  miles,  that  is  to  say,  the  length  of  the  terrestrial  circum- 
ference at  the  equator.  Edward  Suess  has  brought  into  full  relief  the  striking 
contrast  presented  by  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  the  former  presenting  no  lofty 
coast  range  round  its  periphery,  while  the  latter  washes  with  its  abysmal  waters 
the  very  foot  of  the  encircling  escarpments.     But  is  this  writer  not  mistaken  in 


Total  oceanic  area,  according  to  ICriimmel 
Great  ocean,  with  Atlantic  and  Arctic  Seas 
Area  of  dry  lands 


148,000,000  square  miles. 
112,000,000 
57,000,000 


THE  OCEANIC  BASIX.  3 

comparing  the  formation  of  the  Atlantic  with  that  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  with  its 
elevated  coastHnes  of  Java  and  Smnatra,  of  the  Arrakan  highlands,  the  submerged 
chain  of  the  Maldives  and  Laccadives,  the  Ghats,  the  Persian  and  Madagascar 
uplands  ? 

The  vast  oceanic  basin  is  by  no  means  a  boundless  expanse  destitute  of  reefs, 
islands,  and  insular  groups.  Like  the  Atlantic  it  has  its  upheaved  lands,  not  only 
such  as,  lying  in  the  vicinity  of  the  continents,  might  be  regarded  as  detached 
fragments  of  the  African,  Asiatic,  and  American  mainlands,  but  also  archipelagoes 
of  all  sizes  strewn  over  the  wide  expanse  of  waters  at  great  distances  from  the 

Fig.  2. — The  Gke.\t  Oce.isic  Hemispheee  (Eastern  Sectiox). 


surrounding  co;istliues.  iSomc  of  the  islands  scattered  over  the  oceanic  hemi- 
sphere of  the  globe  are  even  so  extensive  that  they  have  been  regarded  either  as 
the  remains  of  a  past  or  else  the  first  corner-stones  of  a  future  continent.  Mada- 
gascar, the  Comoros,  and  the  Seychelles  have  been  treated  by  many  naturalists  as 
the  surviving  fragments  of  a  vanished  world,  which  from  a  tj-pical  branch  of  its 
now  dispersed  fauna  has  received  the  name  of  "  Lemuria."  In  the  great  Pacific 
Ocean  farther  east,  thousands  of  islands,  cone-shaped  or  disposed  in  circular  groups, 
seem  to  form  part  either  of  a  submerged  continent  or  of  a  new  world  in  process  of 
formation.     The  insular  region  which  stretches  south-east  of  Indo-China  from 

b2 


4  AUSTRALAMA. 

Sumatra  to  Tasmania,  also  constitutes,  notwithstanding  its  present  fragmentary 
character,  a  continental  division  somewhat  analogous  to  Afiica  and  South  America. 
The  various  divisions  of  the  globe  are  disposed  in  twos  along  three  parallel  axes, 
an  arrangement  best  seen  in  the  symmetrical  disposition  of  North  and  South 
America.  But  the  same  dual  grouping  may  also  be  detected  in  the  great  divisions 
of  the  Old  World.  Here  Europe,  formerly  separated  from  Asia  by  the  Caspian 
and  Aral  Seas,  and  other  lacustrine  depressions,  forms  with  Africa  the  western 
group.  The  eastern,  still  more  irregular  in  its  general  disposition,  comprises  the 
vast  Asiatic  continent  and  all  the  innumerable  islands  which  are  crowded  together 
in  the  south-eastern  waters  between  the  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans.  These 
extensive  lands  are  obviously  a  continent  reduced  to  fragments,  and  forming  an 
extension  of  Further  India  into  the  southern  hemisphere.  Hence,  not  without 
reason,  some  writers  have  suggested  the  expression  "  Insul-India "  for  the 
equatorial  regions  which  form  a  southern  continuation  of  Indo-China  across  the 
Great  Ocean.  The  vast  island  of  Australia,  with  continental  dimensions,  together 
with  the  surrounding  lands,  has  similarly  received  the  general  designation  of 
"  Australasia,"  and  this  term  itself  has  been  extended  by  Wallace  and  others  to 
the  whole  of  the  insular  world  sometimes  known  as  Oceania.  Australasia  thus 
comprises  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  with  the  Philippines,  Australia,  and  adjacent 
islands,  New  Guinea,  New  Zealand,  and  all  the  South  Sea  Islands  (Melanesia, 
Micronesia,  and  Polynesia),  and  in  this  wide  sense  it  is  taken  as  the  title  of  the 
present  volume. 

The  Antarctic  Lands. 

Yet  another  continent  probably  exists  in  the  immensity  of  the  Southern  Ocean. 
The  antarctic  polar  region,  still  unexplored  for  a  space  of  about  6,500,000  square 
miles,  assuredly  comprises  vast  stretches  of  dry  land,  which  by  many  geographers 
have  already  been  traced  on  the  maps  as  forming  a  continuous  mainland  sweeping 
round  the  south  polar  circle.  Thus  to  the  "open  sea"  supposed  to  encompass 
the  North  Pole  would  correspond  an  ice-bound  continent  about  the  South  Pole. 
But,  however  this  be,  the  vast  masses  of  ice-floes  met  by  navigators  venturing  into 
the  antarctic  waters  attest  the  existence  of  high  land  stretching  southwards. 
Moreover,  the  sounding  instruments  have  fished  up  fragments  of  granites,  schists, 
sandstones,  and  limestones  recently  broken  off ;  while  at  certain  isolated  points 
explorers  have  really  seen,  or  thought  they  have  descried  through  the  mists,  the 
outlines  of  long,  ice-covered  southern  ranges. 

Without  including  the  antarctic  lands  lying  beyond  the  sixtieth  degree 
south  latitude,  all  the  islands  and  half-continental  lands  in  the  Indian  and  Pacific 
Oceans  comprise  a  total  superficial  area  far  greater  than  that  of  Europe.  Of  the 
hundreds  of  scattered  insular  groups,  some  are  altogether  uninhabited,  while  others 
are  very  thinly  peopled.  Nevertheless,  the  collective  population  of  Australasia 
exceeds  that  of  South  America,  and  its  average  increase  is  rapid,  notwithstanding 
the  depopulation  of  several  oceanic  archipelagoes.  The  total  area  of  all  the  dry 
land  has  been  estimated  at  about  4,600,000  square  miles,  with  a  probable  popula- 


OCEANIC  EXPLOEATIOX.  5 

tion  of  forty-four  millions,  coucentratel  chiefly  iu  llie   Eastern  Archipelago  and 
the  Philippines. 

Progress  of  Oceaxic   Exploratiox. 

With  the  exceptiou  of  the  islands  more  contiguous  to  Asia,  all  the  regions  of 
the  oceanic  hemisphere  remained  till  the  present  century  almost  entirely  severed 
from  the  economic  and  commercial  life  of  the  civilised  world.  But  the  rapid 
colonisation  of  Australia  and  Xew  Zealand,  the  occupation  of  the  Polynesian 
archipelagoes,  the  establishment  of  a  regular  system  of  steam  navigation  between 
the  chief  centres  of  trade  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans  have,  so  to  say, 
annexed  this  half  of  the  planet  to  the  other  half,  of  which  West  Europe  occupied 
the  central  point. 

Thus  the  world,  hitherto  incomplete,  has  as  it  were  been  suddenly  revealed  in 
its  entirety,  and  universal  history,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  henceforth  begins 
for  all  the  races  and  peoples  of  the  earth.  Nothing  is  now  wanting  to  the  vast 
stage  on  which  throbs  the  great  heart  of  humanity,  already  awakening  to  self- 
consciousness  and  henceforth  united,  at  least  in  all  its  material  relations.  This 
enlargement  of  the  civilised  world  cannot  fail  to  be  attended  by  consequences  of 
far-reaching  importance.  The  earliest  national  cultures,  which  had  been  cradled 
in  the  great  fluvial  vallej-s  of  Egypt  and  Mesopotamia,  were  followed  by  the  more 
comprehensive  culture  of  the  peoples  dwelling  round  about  the  Mediterranean 
basin.  Then  came,  with  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  the  era  of  Atlantic 
civilisation,  exceeding  that  of  the  Mediterranean  "  in  the  same  ratio  that  the  square 
of  the  axis  of  the  inland  exceeds  that  of  the  oceanic  basin."  And  now  the  whole 
world  becomes  the  theatre  of  busy  life  for  the  civilised  peoples.  Henceforth  the 
earth  knows  no  limits,  for  its  centre  is  everywhere  or  anywhere  on  the  planetar}' 
surface,  and  its  circumference  nowhere. 

At  the  same  time,  in  the  complexity  of  known  and  habitable  lands,  some  more 
favoured  regions  stand  out,  which,  thanks  to  the  beautj'  of  their  scenery,  the 
mildness  of  their  climate,  or  other  physical  advantages,  have  in  a  special  manner 
attracted  the  stream  of  human  migration.  Amongst  these  privileged  lands  can  any 
be  named  that  excel  certain  Pacific  islands  in  the  marvellous  harmony  of  their 
outlines,  the  charm  of  the  encompassing  waters,  the  softness  of  the  atmosphere, 
the  fecundit}'  of  the  soil,  the  even  course  of  their  seasons,  the  rhythmical  movement 
of  all  their  natural  phenomena  ?  The  eminent  naturalist.  Bates,  has  hazarded  the 
opinion  that,  if  mankind  has  been  able  to  attain  a  high  degree  of  culture  through 
its  struggle  with  the  inclemency  of  the  cold  regions,  in  the  equatorial  lands  alone 
the  perfect  race  of  the  future  will  enter  on  the  complete  fruition  of  its  magnificent 
inheritance. 

For  ages  Egyptians,  Arabs,  andPhojnicians  were  acquainted  with  the  Erythraean 
Sea,  that  is,  the  Indian  Ocean.  Their  ships  had  even  already  penetrated  in  the 
direction  of  the  coastlands,  whence  came  frankincense,  ivory,  and  gold,  when  iu 
their  turn  the  Greeks,  during  the  Alexandrian  expedition,  also  found  the  highway 
leading  to  those  southern  waters.     At  first  following   the  coastline,  and  keejiing 


6  AUSTRALASIA. 

always  within  sight  of  land,  they  nevertheless  advanced  far  towai'ds  the  east.  But 
before  the  first  century  of  the  vulgar  era,  tradition  makes  no  reference  to  the 
great  discovery  of  the  regularly  alternating  movement  of  the  trade  winds  and 
monsoons,  by  means  of  which  mariners  were  first  enabled  boldly  to  venture  on  the 
high  seas,  running  fearlessly  before  the  wind  from  the  African  and  Arabian 
seaboard  to  that  of  the  Indian  peninsiila.  There  can,  however,  be  little  doubt  that 
these  alternating  aerial  currents  were  already  well  known  to  the  Arab  and 
Phoenician  navigators  and  utilised  by  them  in  their  distant  expeditions  to  the  far 
east.  But  the  merit  of  the  discovery  was  attributed  to  Hippalos,  the  Greco- 
Egyptian  pilot,  whose  name  was  even  given  to  the  two  regular  easterly  and 
westerly  winds. 

During  the  Roman  epoch  the  islands  and  the  Asiatic  peninsulas  of  the  Indian 
Ocean  were  better  known  than  twelve  centuries  later,  that  is,  on  the  eve  of  Vasco 
de  Gama's  expedition.  The  Western  traders  were  well  acquainted  with  Taprobana 
(Ceylon),  and  the  Golden  Chersonese  (Malay  peninsula),  as  well  as  the  island  of 
"Barley,"  the  present  Java.  Their  commercial  relations  reached  as  far  as  the 
Moluccas,  for  the  clove  had  already  made  its  ai^pearance  on  the  tables  of  wealthy 
Romans.  During  the  night  watch  mariners  beguiled  the  hours  with  narratives  of 
marvellous  adventures,  in  which  the  flights  of  fancy  became  intermingled  with 
more  or  less  truthful  descriptions  of  j)eoples,  animals,  and  plants  actually  seen  by 
the  relaters  on  their  travels.  From  the  seafarers  of  diverse  nations,  who  traded 
in  the  service  of  Rome,  these  tales  passed  in  a  more  or  less  modified  form  to  the 
Arab  mariners  of  mediaeval  times,  and  from  this  source,  with  its  germ  of  truth, 
were  developed  many  of  the  marvellous  stories  embodied  in  the  Thousand  and  One 
Nights. 

The  modern  era  of  exploration  for  the  oceanic  regions  coincides  with  that  of 
the  New  World.  In  1498,  Vasco  de  Gama,  after  rounding  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  crossed  the  Indian  Ocean  straight  to  Calicut  on  the  Malabar  coast.  Two 
years  afterwards  Diego  Dias,  brother  of  the  other  Dias  who  had  first  doubled  the 
same  cape,  discovered  S.  Lourenco  (Madagascar),  whQe  others,  pushing  still 
eastwards,  reached  the  shores  of  Further  India.  In  1509  Malacca  had  already 
become  a  centre  of  Portuguese  dominion,  and  henceforth  all  the  Asiatic  vessels 
calling  at  that  emporium  were  obliged  to  accept  the  services  of  a  Portuguese 
pilot. 

The  Eastern  Archipelago,  which  had  already  been  visited  by  the  Italian, 
Bartema,  was  soon  embraced  by  the  commercial  empire  of  Lisbon  ;  but  once 
masters  of  the  valuable  Spice  Islands,  the  Portuguese  mariners  seldom  ventured 
into  the  unknown  waters  farther  east.  To  another  nation,  represented,  however, 
by  the  Portuguese,  Magellan,  fell  the  glory  of  first  completing  the  circumnaviga- 
tion of  the  globe,  across  the  vast  expanse  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Following  the 
western  route  round  South  America,  instead  of  the  eastern  taken  by  Vasco  de 
Gama,  Magellan  traversed  in  1520  the  strait  that  bears  his  name,  and  first  of 
Europeans  penetrated  into  the  South  Pacific,  sailing  in  search  of  the  easternmost 
Portuguese  factories.     By  a  strange  accident  his  ships  traversed  an  open  space  of 


OCEANIC  EXPLOEATION.  7 

110  less  than  ten  thousand  miles,  touching  only  at  two  uninhabited  islets  to  the 
east  of  the  yet  undiscovered  Low  Archipelago,  thus  avoiding  all  the  innumerable 
clusters  strewn  over  the  South  Seas.  The  first  group  met  by  them  was  that  of  the 
Ladrones,  or  Mariannas,  in  1521,  after  which,  continuing  his  westerly  course, 
Magellan  reached  the  Philippines,  and  perished  in  an  encounter  with  the  natives 
on  the  island  of  Mactan,  a  small  member  of  that  archipelago.  The  lands  discovered 
by  him  for  a  long  time  justly  bore  the  name  of  Magellania. 

Fig-.  3.— Explorations  of  the  Pacific. 

Scale  1  :  200,000,000. 


The  companions  of  the  Portuguese  navigator  continued  their  voyage,  at  first 
towards  Borneo,  then  to  the  Moluccas,  beyond  which,  on  the  homeward  journey 
across  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Basque,  Sebastian  el  Cano,  in  command  of  the  only 
surviving  vessel,  discovered  an  islet  by  him  named  San-Pablo,  but  at  present 
known  as  Amsterdam.  Of  the  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  men  who  had 
started  from  Seville,  eighteen  only  returned,  amongst  them  Pigafetta,  historian  of 
the  memorable  voyage  of  circumnavigation.  "  I  do  not  think,"  he  wrote,  "that 
anyone  will  in  future  undertake  a  similar  journey."  Nevertheless,  within  six 
months  of  Magellan's  expedition,  another  Spanish  squadron,  commanded  by 
Loyasa,  also  penetrated  through  Tierra  del  Fuego  into  the  Southern  Ocean,  and 


8  AUSTRALASIA. 

on  the  long  route  to  the  Ladrones  Archipelago  met  only  a  single  island  of  insig- 
nificant size.  One  of  the  ships,  driven  b}'  a  storm  to  the  coast  of  Mexico,  was  the 
first  to  circumnavigate  South  America. 

Many  generations  passed  before  the  Pacific  was  traversed  in  the  opjoosife 
direction,  so  as  to  achieve  the  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  in  the  reverse  way, 
from  west  to  east.  Navigators  had  in  vain  attempted  to  beat  up  against  the  trade 
winds  which  set  regularly  in  the  Pacific,  although  their  efforts  were  attended  by 
numerous  discoveries  of  islands  and  archipelagoes,  such  as  New  Goiinea,  the 
Carolines,  the  Marshall,  Pelew,  and  Bonin  groups.  But  after  struggling  for 
weeks  and  months  against  the  marine  and  aerial  currents,  the  explorers  one  after 
the  other  confessed  themselves  baffled,  and  put  back  to  the  Philippines  or  the 
Moluccas.  At  last  the  Augustinian  friar,  Andres  de  Urdaneta,  found,  or  rather 
guessed,  the  eastward  route  across  the  Pacific.  Reasoning  by  analogy,  he  con- 
cluded that  the  atmospheric  laws  must  be  the  same  in  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
basins  ;  consequently,  that  the  south-west  winds  of  "West  Europe  must  be  balanced 
by  currents  setting  in  the  same  direction  in  the  temperate  latitudes  comprised 
between  Japan  and  California.  The  meteorological  anticipation  was  completely 
justified  in  1565,  when  Urdaneta  himself,  nearly  half  a  century  after  Magellan's 
voyage,  sailed  from  the  Philippines  and  Ladrones  northwards  as  far  as  the  forty- 
third  degree  of  latitude  in  the  Japanese  waters,  then  turning  to  the  south-east,  at 
last  gained  the  Mexican  port  of  Acapulco.  The  voyage  lasted  altogether  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  days. 

Henceforth,  regular  communication  was  established  across  the  Pacific  between 
Mexico  and  the  Philippines.  The  route  was  carefully  determined  by  pilots,  and 
for  two  himdred  years  was  strictly  followed  by  the  Spanish  galleons.  After 
leaving  Acapulco,  skippers  were  able  to  sjjread  sail  and  run  before  the  wind 
without  tacking  all  the  way  to  the  Philippines.  But  on  the  return  voyage  they 
first  made  for  the  Japanese  waters  about  35°  north  latitude,  keeping  under  this 
parallel  till  within  sight  of  the  California  coast,  and  then  following  the  seaboard 
to  the  starting-point.  So  closely  was  this  beaten  track  adhered  to,  that  scarely 
any  discoveries  were  made  to  the  right  or  the  left.  Nevertheless,  indications  of 
land  are  figured  on  the  Spanish  charts  in  the  region  occupied  by  the  Sandwich 
Islands. 

The  very  stillness  of  the  atmosphere,  combined  with  the  infrequeucy  of  storms, 
maj'  perhaps  have  been  one  of  the  causes  of  the  long-prevailing  ignorance 
regarding  the  oceanic  lands  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  The  great  ocean  well 
deserves  the  name  of  "  Pacific  "  given  to  it  by  Magellan.  The  expression  "  South 
Sea,"  applied  in  a  more  general  way  to  all  the  waters  comprised  between  Asia  and 
America,  was  at  first  restricted  to  the  regions  lying  to  the  south-west  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America.  In  this  sense  it  was  used  by  way  of  contrast  with  the 
"  North  Sea,"  whence  the  Spanish  exi^lorcrs  had  penetrated  southwards.  The 
now  forgotten  term,  "  Sea  of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto,"  was  adopted  by  the  Franciscan 
missionaries,  in  the  belief  that  the  vast  ocean  bathed  lands  which  were  all  destined 
one  day  to  be  peopled  only  by  Christian  neophytes. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

MNIVEftSITYofltUNOlS. 


OCEANIC  EXPLORATION.  9 

Beyond  the  zone  of  navigation  utilised  by  the  Acapulco  galleons,  nearly  all  tlie 
cquatoiial  archipelagoes  of  the  South  Sea  were  at  least  sighted  by  the  Spanish 
mariners  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  In  1567  Mendana  de 
Neyra  saw  the  groups  at  present  known  by  the  name  of  the  Ellice  and  Solomon 
Islands ;  in  1595  Hurtado  de  Mendoza  discovered  the  Marquesas  ;  in  IGOG  Queiroa 
sailed  through  the  Low  Archipelago,  visited  the  New  Hebrides,  and  skirted  the 
Australian  seaboard,  which  he  claimed  to  have  first  observed,  although  his  voyage 
to  these  shores  had  been  anticipated  by  the  Portuguese  pilot  Godinho  de  Eredia, 
and  in  1531  even  \>y  the  Provencal  Guillaume  le  Testu.*  Lastly,  Torres,  who  had 
accompanied  the  Queiros  expedition,  successfully  navigated  the  dangerous  laby- 
rinth of  reefs  and  islets  separating  Australia  from  New  Guinea.  His  name  has 
been  justly  given  to  the  strait  which,  with  rare  boldness  and  seamanship,  he 
traversed  from  sea  to  sea  in  the  space  of  two  months. 

But  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  had  no  longer  the  monopoly  of  these  oceanic 
regions,  which  had  been  shared  between  them  by  the  famous  Bull  of  Alexander  VI. 
The  illustrious  English  seafarer,  Francis  Drake,  repeated  fifty-seven  years  later 
the  exploit  of  Magellan,  first  circumnavigator  of  the  globe,  and  after  him  the 
routes  of  the  Pacific  were  further  surveyed  by  Cavendish  and  some  Dutch 
mariners.  By  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  Dutch  traders  had  even  already 
founded  factories  in  Java,  whence  their  power  gradually  spread  from  island  to 
island,  everywhere  displacing  that  of  the  Portuguese.  In  their  turn  the  Dutch 
sailors  took  up  the  work  of  discovery  in  the  southern  waters,  Tasman  especially 
enlarging  our  knowledge  of  the  Austral  lands.  Thus  were  revealed  to  the 
western  world  the  west  coast  of  Australia  as  far  as  Torres  Strait,  Tasmania  with 
its  basalt  headland,  New  Zealand  and  its  active  volcanoes.  But  such  was  at  that 
time  the  intensity  of  international  rivalries  between  the  chief  trading  peoples, 
that  the  discoveries  already  made  by  the  Spanish  or  Portuguese  pioneers  remained 
unknown  to  or  overlooked  by  the  Netherlandish  explorers.  Although  Torres  had 
actually  demonstrated  the  existence  of  a  passage  separating  Australia  from  New 
Guinea,  Tasman  maintained  forty  years  later  that  both  lands  belonged  to  the 
same  continent. 

The  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  the  decisive  epoch  in  the  scientific 
exploration  of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  Henceforth  exploring  expeditions  were  no 
longer  undertaken  in  the  interests  of  a  single  nation,  or  of  some  powerful  trading 
company,  but  rather  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  of  the  civilised  world.  At 
the  same  time  the  more  accurate  observations  now  made  imparted  far  greater 
authority  to  the  reports  of  the  explorers  themselves.  The  longitudes  in  the 
southern  waters  were  for  the  first  time  determined  by  the  method  of  lunar  dis- 
tances by  Wallis  in  1766.  Thenceforth  the  enormous  errors  of  the  early  seafarers, 
with  discrepancies  of  from  one  thousand  to  two  thousand  miles,  became  impossible, 
and  mariners  were  no  longer  doomed  to  beat  about  for  weeks  and  months  together  in 
search  of  large  archipelagoes  already  reported  by  their  predecessors.  Owing  to  this 
uncertainty,  numerous  explorers  had  to  abandon  the  attempt  to  sight  the  Solomon 

*  Major.  Juin-iia!  of /!„•  R.„j,(l  Geui/riiphirn/  Surh-I,/,  IST'i. 


10 


AUSTEALASIA. 


group  discovered  by  Mendana  de  Neyra.  Its  very  existence  was  questioned,  and 
the  Spanish  sailor's  account  was  attributed  to  fantastic  apparitions,  clouds  on  the 
horizon  simulating  the  outlines  of  reefs,  coastlands,  forests,  or  villages.  On  the 
other  hand,  other  groups  became  decomposed,  and  the  same  island  was  sighted  in 
apparently  different  places,  thus  receiving  several  names  from  successive  observers. 
At  last  the  application  of  astronomical  processes  put  an  end  to  this  bewildering 
fluctuation  in  the  oceanic  insular  regions. 

Cook's  Voyages. 

The  epoch  of  methodic  exploration  in  the  South  Sea,  begun  bj-  AVallis,  may  be 
said  to  have  closed  in  1827  with  the  discovery  of  the  two  great  Fijian  islands  by 

Fig.    4.— FlKST   ClHCnitNAVIOATION    OF    THE    GlOBE    FEOM   WeST   TO    Ea3T    AND   EaST   TO    W"e9T. 

Scale  1  :  450,000,000. 


0*Mend,ar,oFGreen>v.cl-. 


Dumont  d'Urville.  During  the  intervening  sixty  years,  rendered  memorable  by 
the  voyages  of  Carteret,  de  Bougainville,  Cook,  Vancouver,  and  Laperouse,  the 
geographical  work  of  oceanic  research  was  completed  in  all  its  main  features. 
Thenceforth  nothing  remained  and  nothing  still  remains  to  be  done,  except  to  fix 
more  accurately  the  position  of  the  island  groups,  to  trace  their  outlines  more 
carefully,  indicate  all  the  reefs,  survey  the  doubtful  landmarks,  and  efface  those 
that  had  been  erroneously  inserted  on  the  official  charts. 

Amongst  the  explorers  of  the  last  century,  the  first  place  belongs  unquestion- 
ably to  Cook.  The  year  1769,  when  the  illustrious  navigator  began  his  net- 
work of  researches  in  the  Pacific,  may  be  said  to  rank  next  to  1521,  date  of 
Magellan's  voyage,  as  the  chief  turning-point  in  the  history  of  oceanic  discovery. 
Landing  at  Tahiti,  Cook  began  his  gigantic  labours  with  his  memorable  observa- 


COOK'S  VOYAGES. 


11 


tions  on  the  transit  of  Venus,  thus  determining  a  precise  longitude  in  the  centre 
of  the  Pacific.  He  then  completely  circumnavigated  the  two  great  islands  of 
New  Zealand,  surveyed  the  east  coast  of  Australia,  and  rediscovered  Torres 
Strait. 

In  his  second  voyage  he  explored  more  especially  the  Austral    seas  on  both 
sides  of  the  polar  circle,  but  advancing  in  the  opposite  direction  from  that  taken 


-Dates  of  the  Chief  Discotekies  in  Oceania. 


/A 


^^ 


3  1567 


''  StrJ768 
CJ77-f  T  JSxJ         C.//7S 


■fJ606 


/770 


Mend.anoFGreeri/. 


M.  1521.  Magellan,  Guafian,  Philippines. 

Me.  1526.  MeDezes,  yew  Guinea. 

S.  1528.  A.  de  Saavedra,  Carolines. 

S.  1529.  A.  de  Saavcdra,  ilarshall. 

G.  1531.  Goillaume  le  Testu,  Australia. 

V.  1543.  Villalobos,  Carolines,  Ptlem. 

Md.  1567.  Mendana,  Ellice,  1-olomon,  ^andicich. 

Md.  1595.  Mendaoa,  Marquesas,  Sta.  Cruz. 

Q.  1606.  Queiros,  Loto  Islands.  Fakao/o,Xew  Bt 

T.  1606.  Torres,  Torres  Straits.  Louisiades. 

L.  M.  1616    Lemaire,  -Viun/u,  yew  Ireland. 

H.  1616.  HarlOff,  Endraehtsland. 

E.  1619.  Edel,  Edelsland. 

L.  1622.  Leeawins,  Leeuwinsland. 

N.  1627.  Norts,  Xuytsland. 

W.  1628.  Witts,  Wittaland. 

T.  1642.  Tasman,  Tasmania,  Xew  Zealand. 


T.  1643.  Tasman,  Tonga,  Fiji,  Xew  Britain. 
T.  1644.  Tasman,  Tasmanland,  Carpentaria. 
D.  1699.  Dampier,  Xew  Guinea. 

B.  1765.  Byion,  Gilbert  Island. 
Wa.  1767.  Wallis,  Tahiti. 

Ca.  1767.  Carteret,  Pitcairn,  Carteret,  low  /; 
Bo,  1763.  Bougainville,  Samoa,  Solomon. 

C.  1769.  Cook.  Austral  IshnJs. 

C.  1770.  Cook,  Xew  Zealand,  Australia. 
C.  1773.  Cook,  Bervel/  Islands. 

C.  1774.  Cook,  Savage  Island,  Xew  Caledonic 
La.  1787.  Lap^roiise,  Sawaii. 

Br.  1791.  Broughton,  ( halham  Island. 
Ba.  1798.  Bass,  Bass's  Strait. 
Ha.  1810.  Hazelburg,  Macquarie. 
Wk.  1811.  Walker,  Campbell. 

D.  U.  1827.  Dumont  D'Urville,  Fiji. 


by  all  previous  circumnavigators.  He  was  thus  the  first  to  make  the  circuit  of 
the  globe  from  west  to  east,  according  to  the  rotation  round  its  axis.  This  event 
took  place  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  Magellan's  circumnavigation 
from  east  to  west,  following  the  regular  course  of  the  trade  winds. 

Cook's  third  expedition  was  directed  towards  the  northern  waters,  where 
he  penetrated  through  the  strait  separating  the  two  continents  of  Asia  and 
America.     He  then  rediscovered  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  he  was  first  received 


12  AUSTEALASIA. 

as  a  god,  but  soon  after  murdered  under  circumstances  that  have  never  been 
satisfactorily  explained. 

Cook's  researches  had  the  effect  of  once  for  all  exploding  the  theoretic  fancy 
that  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  the  dry  land  should  occupy  exactly  the  same  space 
as  the  oceanic  basins.  Since  the  time  of  Hipparchus  the  most  eminent  geo- 
graphers accepted  as  an  established  dogma  the  perfect  equilibrium  between  land 
and  water ;  and  it  was  under  the  influence  of  this  idea  that  Ptolemy  had  traced 
across  the  southern  part  of  the  Indian  Ocean  a  continental  coastline  connecting 
Africa  with  India.  This  shadowy  seaboard,  continually  receding  from  the  eager 
eve  of  navio-ators,  was  successively  identified  by  them  with  New  Guinea,  New 
Holland,  and  New  Zealand;  and  later,  every  island  sighted  in  more  southern 
latitudes  was  supposed  to  be  some  headland  of  the  long-sought-for  continent. 

Cook,  who  himself  firmly  believed  in  the  existence  of  this  Austral  world,  jjlaced 
its  shores  far  to  the  south  of  the  waters  reached  by  his  predecessors ;  but  in  any 
case  we  now  know  that  the  Antarctic  continent,  or  insular  group,  must  be  of 
slight  extent  compared  with  the  boundless  waste  of  circumpolar  waters.  When  at 
last  convinced  of  the  absence  of  continental  lauds  in  the  regions  traversed  by 
Cook,  his  companion  Forster  advanced  the  hypothesis  that  nature  had  readjusted  the 
etiuilibrium  between  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  planetory  orb  by  depositing  on 
the  bed  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean  rocky  masses  of  greater  density  than  elsewhere. 

EXPLOKATION    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC    WaTERS. 

Although  in  the  pride  of  his  immense  triumphs,  Cook  placed  limits  to  the 
genius  of  man,  declaring  that  no  future  navigator  would  penetrate  farther  south- 
wards, his  record  has  already  been  beaten,  and  since  his  time  the  known  siirface 
of  the  ocean  has  been  enlarged  in  the  direction  of  the  South  Pole.  The  lands 
discovered  in  some  places  are  sufficiently  contiguous  to  each  other  to  be  regarded 
as  very  probably  forming  a  continuous  seaboard.  They  would  thus  collectively 
constitute  one  of  the  largest  islands  on  the  surface  of  the  globe. 

The  most  extensive  mass  of  dry  land  in  the  Antarctic  Zone  occurs  to  the  south 
of  Australia.  In  1839,  Ballenyhad  already  discovered  an  archipelago  of  volcanoes 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  polar  circle.  According  to  his  estimate 
the  insular  cone  of  Young  Island,  which  is  completely  snowclad,  would  appear  to 
attain  an  elevation  of  at  least  12,000  feet.  Another  much  lower  island  was  seen 
to  eject  two  columns  of  vapour.  But  the  valleys  and  ravines  between  the  peaks 
are  everywhere  filled  with  ice  or  glaciers,  so  that  the  bare  rock  is  visible  only 
where  the  action  of  the  waves  has  revealed  the  black  lavas  of  the  cliffs  and 
headlands  surmounted  by  a  covering  of  white  snow.  No  creeks  occur,  nor  even 
any  strand,  except  here  and  there  a  narrow  beach  strewn  with  ashes  and  shingly 
scoriae.  Sailing  to  the  west  of  this  archipelago,  mainly  about  the  sixty-fifth  degree 
south  latitude,  Balleny  thought  he  sighted  land  in  two  places,  and  even  gave  the 
name  of  Sabrina  Land  to  some  high  ground  dimly  seen  from  a  distance. 

The  following  year  the  French  navigator,  Dumout  d'Urville,  and  the  Americun 


ANTAECTIC  EXPLOBATION. 


13 


Wilkes,  were  attracted  to  itese  waters  in  the  hope  of  here  fixing  the  exact  position 
of  the  south  magnetic  pole.  They  again  visited  the  seas  explored  by  Balleny, 
and  both  unhesitatingly  asserted  that  they  sighted  true  land,  and  not  merely 
continuous  bands  of  floating  ice.  D'Urville  gave  the  name  of  Adelia  to  the 
rugged  coast  from  3,000  to  4,000  feet  high,  which  he  observed  to  the  south  and 
followed  westwards  across  some  ten  degrees  of  the  meridian,  without,  however, 
lauding  at  any  point.     Farther  west  Wilkes  also  sighted  land  in  four  places,  and 

Figr.    C  — EXPLOKATIONS    IN    THE  SoUTH    PoLAR    WaTEES. 
Scale  1  :  100,000,000. 


Supposed  Coutiaent, 


all  the  elevated  ground,  whether  scattered  islands  or  continuous  land,  has  received 
the  general  designation  of  Wilkes  Land. 

Nevertheless  James  Ross,  who  followed  a  different  track,  threw  some  doubts 
on  the  reports  of  the  three  navigators  who  had  followed  each  other  in  this  oceanic 
region.  Nothing,  in  fact,  is  more  deceptive  than  the  hazy  horizons  of  these 
southern  waters,  where  the  rays  of  a  low  sun  are  refracted  on  the  ice,  and  where 
the  most  practised  eye  is  needed  to  distinguish  between  a  real  rocky  crag  and  a 
"crystalline  mountain  detached  from  some  distant  glacier."     Except  at  one  point, 


14  AUSTRALASIA. 

where  he'came  close  to  the  bhick  rocks  of  a  line  of  cliffs,  Wilkes  kept  everywhere 
at  a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles  from  the  ice-fringed  land,  which  appeared 
to  be  everywhere  covered  with  hoar-frost.  East  of  the  Balleny  Islands,  he  al.so 
reported  a  mountain  mass  on  the  very  spot  where  James  Ross,  sailing  in  an  open 
sea,  afterwards  failed  to  touch  the  bottom  with  a  sounding-line  1,000  fathoms  long. 

But  whatever  view  be  taken  of  the  true  character  of  Wilkes  Land,  it  is  certain 
that  east  of  the  Balleny  Archipelago  the  sea  extends  much  farther  southwards. 
James  Ross  explored  these  waters  in  1841  and  1842,  each  time  penetrating  nearer 
to  the  South  Pole  than  any  previous  or  subsequent  navigator.  In  1842,  the 
expedition  specially  equipped  for  piercing  the  ice  floes  reached  78°  9  30",  which, 
however,  is  still  over  800  miles  in  a  bee-line  from  the  South  Pole,  or  nearly  400 
miles  short  of  the  corresponding  point  reached  in  the  Arctic  Zone.  During  his  first 
voyage,  Ross  followed  southwards  the  east  coast  of  a  region  which  he  named 
Victoria  Land,  and  which  is  lined  by  imposing  mountains  such  as  the  glittering 
ice-capped  peak  of  Sabrina  (10,000  feet),  and  the  still  loftier  Melbourne,  rising  to 
an  altitude  of  considerably  over  13,000  feet. 

At  the  point  where  the  expedition  was  compelled  to  turn  back,  there  towered 
above  the  ice-bound  waters  the  twin  volcanoes  of  Erebus  (12,000  feet)  and  Terror 
(11,000  feet),  the  former  of  which  emitted  volumes  of  smoke,  murkj'  during  the 
day  and  ruddy  at  night.  The  navigators,  who  had  succeeded  in  getting  ashore  at 
two  places  on  this  Austral  continent,  were  prevented  from  landing  near  the 
volcanoes  bj'  a  wall  of  ice  nearly  350  feet  high,  which  formed  the  escarpment ' 
of  a  vast  plain  at  least  300  miles  broad. 

East  of  Victoria  Land  the  expeditions  of  Cook  and  Bellingshausen  have  revealed 
the  existence  of  no  Antarctic  mainland  south  of  the  East  Pacific  waters,  or  of  any 
land  at  all,  except  a  doubtful  islet  reported  by  Cook,  and  by  him  named  Stone 
Island.  But  in  the  region  south  of  America,  facing  Cape  Horn  and  the  neigh- 
bouring archipelagoes,  the  islands  or  perhaps  the  coasts  of  a  great  Antarctic  land 
have  been  seen  at  several  points  in  the  neiglibourhood  of  the  polar  circle.  Here 
Bellingshausen  discovered  Alexander  Land,  which  is  probably  continuous  with  the 
hilly  coast  of  Graham's  Land  observed  by  Biscoe  in  1832,  and  more  carefully 
indicated  by  Dallman  in  1874.  Then  to  the  north-east  of  this  elevated  ground 
stretch  parallel  chains  of  numerous  islands,  comprising  Louis-Philippe  and  de  Join- 
ville  Lands,  discovered  by  'Dumont  d'Urville,  the  Shetland  Isles  and  Southern 
Orkneys,  already  sighted  by  the  English  and  American  whalers,  and  perhaps  even 
by  the  Dutch  vessel  Van  Geerifs  in  1598.  All  these  are  mountainous  masses 
encircled  by  deep  waters  where  the  sounding-line  records  hundreds  of  fathoms 
Avithin  a  few  cable-lengths  of  the  shore. 

But  immediately  to  the  east  of  these  archipelagoes,  Captain  Weddell,  in 
command  of  a  whaler,  forced  a  passage  in  1823  through  the  floating  ice  and 
entered  a  perfectly  open  sea,  where  he  penetrated  southwards  beyond  the  seventy- 
fourth  degree  of  latitude.  This  is  the  southernmost  point  yet  reached  in  the  waters 
stretching  south  of  the  Atlantic.  Farther  east — that  is,  in  the  direction  of  Wilkes 
Land — the  only  dry  land  yet  seen  are  the  coasts  of  Enderby  and  Kemp,  extending 


ANTAECTIC  EXPLORATION. 


15 


to  the  south  of  the  polar  circle.  Biscoe,  who  discovered  Enderby  in  1831,  in  vain 
attempted  to  land  on  the  island,  being  everywhere  prevented  by  the  masses  of 
ice  at  a  distance  of  18  or  20  mUes  from  the  shore.  Nevertheless,  a  whaler  subse- 
quently succeeded  in  reaching  this  point.  TheYictoria  and  Louis-Philippe  mountains, 
which  of  all  the  Antarctic  regions  advance  farthest  northwai'ds,  are  situated,  the 

Pig.    ".  — XOETHEEX   PeOMONTORT   OF   THE    ANTARCTIC    MaIXLANII. 
Scale  1  :  3,300,000. 


Depths. 


1,000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 
60  MUes. 


former  over  against  New  Zealand,  the  latter  opposite  tbe  southern  extremity  of 
America.  Thus  mountain  ranges  and  volcanic  chains  face  each  other  on  either 
side  of  the  Antarctic  waters. 

Since  the  voyages  of  Ross — that  is  to  say,  for  nearly  half  a  century — no  scientific 
expedition  has  penetrated  beyond  the  polar  circle.  In  1874  the  Challenger 
approached  without  crossing  it.     It  is  surprising    that   in   these  days  of  daring 


IG  AUSTRALASIA. 

enterprise  the  serious  prosecution  of  the  work  of  exjiloration  should  have  been 
suspended  for  so  many  years,  more  especially  as  research  has  been  greatly 
facilitated  by  the  progress  of  maritime  enterprise  and  the  thousand  resources 
offered  by  modern  appliances.  Hence  it  is  with  a  certain  feeling  of  shame  that 
geographers  have  to  record  the  enormous  gaps  still  occurring  along  the  line  of 
antarctic  navigation,  and  well  may  ask  for  volunteers  to  resume  the  work  of 
Cook,  Ross,  d'Urville  and  other  illustrious  navigators.  At  one  time  it  was  hoped 
that  the  next  expedition  might  have  been  fitted  out  in  Australia,  which  lies 
nearest  to  the  south  polar  lands,  and  whose  inhabitants  are  most  interested  in 
investigating  the  meteorological  and  glacial  phenomena  of  those  frigid  regions. 
Between  the  southernmost  point  of  Tasmania  and  the  coast  of  Wilkes  Land  the 
distance  is  not  more  than  1,600  miles.  But  a  scheme  advocated  in  1888  came  to 
nothing  owing  to  the  parsimony  of  the  British  Government,  which  refused  to 
grant  the  modest  sum  of  £5,000  required  to  meet  the  preKrainary  expenses.  The 
question,  however,  has  now  been  taken  up  by  the  Germans,  and  there  are  some 
prospects  that  the  influence  of  Dr.  Neumayer  may  induce  the  Reichstag  to  grant 
a  sufficient  sum  to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  German  antarctic  expedition. 

Bathvmetkic  Researches. 

In  the  f)art  of  the  ocean  whose  surface  has  already  been  surveyed,  the 
exploration  of  its  depths  has  long  been  begun,  and  the  density  of  the  marine 
waters  may  even  be  said  to  be  ascertained,  at  least  in  a  general  way.  The  Indian 
Ocean  presents  as  a  whole  a  tolerably  regular  bed,  with  a  somewhat  uniform  depth 
of  over  2,000  fathoms.  As  revealed  by  the  soundings  of  the  Challenger  and 
other  more  recent  expeditions,  the  submarine  escarpments  of  the  continent  and 
large  islands  enclosing  this  basin  on  three  sides  fall  rapidly  down  to  the  oceanic 
abysses,  so  that  almost  everywhere  a  depth  of  1,000  fathoms  occurs  within  130 
miles  of  the  coasts.  Towards  40°  south  latitude  a  body  of  equal  depth  floods  the 
sill  which  forms  the  southern  limit  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  properly  so  called. 

Within  this  normal  bathymetric  curve  of  1,000  fathoms,  which  is  disposed 
nearly  parallel  with  the  continental  seaboards,  the  line  of  2,000  fathoms  describes 
a  large  number  of  sinuosities,  at  least  to  the  west  and  north  round  about 
Madagascar,  the  Mascarenhas,  the  Seychelles,  and  the  Laccadives.  The  Chagos 
archipelago  also  rises  in  the  midst  of  abysses  flooded  by  from  2,000  to  2,500 
fathoms  of  water.  The  mean  for  the  whole  Indian  Ocean  is  estimated  by 
John  Murray  at  about  2,100  fathoms,  or  450  more  than  Otto  Kriimmel's 
calculation. 

The  greatest  cavities  hitherto  revealed  by  the  sounding  line  in  this  basin  occur 
in  the  regions  lying  between  the  north-west  coast  of  Australia  and  the  islands  of 
Java  and  Sumatra.  Here  the  vessels  engaged  in  laying  the  submarine  cable  have 
recorded  depths  of  from  2,600  to  2,800  fathoms,  and  to  this  abyss  Kriimmel  proposes 
to  give  the  name  of  the  "  Lemurian  Depression."  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the 
deepest  chasms  in  the  Indian  Ocean  have  been  found  at  relativelv  short  distances 


OCEANIC  SOUNDINGS. 


17 


from  the  shore,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  most  actiye  volcanic  area  in  the  Sunda 
Islands.  Along  nearly  the  whole  coastline  of  the  Antarctic  lands  south  of  the 
Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans  the  waters  appear  to  be  much  shallower,  judging  at 
least  from  the  results  of  the  few  soundings  that  have  hitherto  been  taken.  It 
would  almost  seem  as  if  the  greater  cavities  had  been  gradually  filled  in  by  the 
ice-borne  debris  from  the  austral  regions.  Nevertheless,  an  enormous  abyss  does 
apparentlj'  occur  under  the  Antarctic  polar  circle  to  the  south-east  of  the  Southern 

Fig.  8. — Depths  of  the  Austkai.  Seas. 
Scale  1 :  100,000,000. 


Orkneys,  where  James  Eoss  failed  to  touch  the  bottom  with  a  sounding  line 
over  4,200  fathoms  long.  This  solitary  record,  however,  will  have  to  be  verified 
by  fresh  observations. 

Compared  witb  the  Indian  Ocean,  which  is  destitute  of  islands  in  its  more 
central  parts,  the  Pacific,  everywhere  studded  with  archipelagoes,  presents  an 
extremely  irregular  bed.  In  many  places  occur  elevated  submarine  banks,  which 
would  be   transformed   to  islands  or  peninsulas  were  the  sea-level  to  be  lowered  a 

vo]..  XIV.  c 


18  AUSTEALARIA.  , 

few  hundred  fathoms.  The  three  great  Indonesian  islands  of  Sumatra,  Java,  and 
Borneo,  together  with' the  Malay  peninsula,  all  rest  on  a  vast  flooded  plateau, 
where  the  water  is  scarcely  anywhere  more  than  forty  fathoms  deep.  The  two 
great  oceanic  basins  are  here  separated  by  a  sill  some  900  miles  broad.  Australia 
and  New  Guinea  may  in  the  same  way  be  regarded  as  forming  upheaved  portions 
of  a  common  submarine  bank,  which  also  comprises  Tasmania  in  the  south,  and  in 
the  north  several  insular  groups  contiguous  to  Papuasia. 

But  the  two  regions  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago  and  Australia  are  separated  by 
a  trough  over  500  fathoms  deep  skirting  the  east  side  of  Timor,  while  depths  of 
over  2,000  fathoms  have  been  recorded  to  the  south  of  Ceram. 

In  the  Pacific  properly  so  called  most  of. the  archipelagoes  with  their  dependent 
chains  of  reefs  also  rest  on  elevated  banks,  which  like  that  of  Central  America  are 
nearly  all  disposed  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to  south-east.  In  the  vast 
semicircle  of  continental  lands  sweeping  round  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Cape 
Horn,  the  archipelagoes  of  the  Pacific  would  thus  appear  to  be  the  scattered  frag- 
ments of  a  circle  resting  eastwards  on  the  American  seaboard.  The  disposition  of 
these  outer  and  inner  curves  maj^  be  compared  to"  that  of  many  large  breached 
craters,  within  which  have  been  developed  regular  craters  of  smaller  dimensions. 

The  deep  cavities  limited  on  either  side  by  the  elevated  banks  have  received 
from  the  English  and  American  explorers  names  which  recall  either  the  vessels 
employed  in  the  hydrographic  surveys  of  the  South  Seas,  or  else  the  naturalists  who 
have  laboured  with  the  greatest  zeal  in  these  bathymetric  operations.  Thus  the 
circular  cavity  to  the  west  of  Tasmania  over  2,000  fathoms  deep  has  been  named 
"  Jeffrey's  Trough."  Here  the  line  recorded  at  one  spot  a  dejjth  of  no  less  than 
2,600  fathoms.  On  the  east  side  of  Tasmania  in  the  direction  of  New  Zealand 
occurs  another  chasm  of  larger  size  and  equal  depth  (Thomson's),  which  is  con- 
tinued in  the  north  towards  Queensland  by  that  of  Patterson,  thirty  or  forty 
fathoms  deeper.  Those  of  the  Gazelle,  running  parallel  with  the  general  axis 
of  the  oceanic  islands,  that  Is,  in  the  direction  from  the  north-west  to  south-east, 
are  somewhat  shallower,  nowhere  exceeding  2,300  fathoms.  At  their  western 
extremity  they  are  connected  with  those  of  Carpenter,  which  begin  at  Torres  Strait 
and  Papuasia,  and  terminate  between  New  Caledonia  and  the  New  Hebrides.  At 
the  deepest  point  the  plummet  here  recorded  2,630  fathoms,  or  about  three  miles, 
and  an  equal  depth  occurs  in  the  Nares  pit  to  the  north  of  New  Guinea  and  New 
Britain.  The  cavities  are  still  deeper  towards  the  east,  where  those  of  Hildgard 
and  Miller  have  3,080  and  3,305  fathoms  respectively. 

North  of  the  Carolines  the  Pacific  waters  are  far  less  obstructed  by  insular 
groups,  and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  are  proportionately  deej)er  than  those  of 
Polynesia  properly  so  called.  The  cavities  named  from  the  ChaUenger,  to  which 
we  are  indebted  for  so  many  important  researches  in  oceanic  physiography,  offer 
the  enormous  depth  of  4,575  fathoms  between  the  Carolines  and  the  Marianne 
group,  while  farther  east  in  the  direction  of  the  Marshall  Islands  other  chasms 
have  disclosed  depths  of  considerably  over  3,000  fathoms.  Lastlj%  the  whole  of 
the  North  Pacific  region  between  Japan  and  California  presents  a  vast  elliptical 


OCEANIC  SOUNDINGS.  19 

trough  encircling  a  shallower  central  area,  whose  axis  is  formed  by  the  Sandwich 
Islands  and  the  reefs  continuing  them  towards  the  north-west.  The  pits  named 
from  Wyman  (3,300),  east  of  Hawaii,  as  well  as  those  of  Belknap  (3,100)  and 
Ammen  (3,094),  south  and  west  of  the  same  group,  belong  to  this  circular  depres- 
sion, which  farther  west  towards  Japan  takes  the  name  of  the  Tnscarora,  the 
American  ship  which  here  revealed  the  greatest  depth  yet  recorded  in  any  oceanic 
basin.  This  chasm  of  4,650  fathoms,  sinking  nearly  as  low  as  the  highest  moun- 
tain rises  above  sea-level,  is  situated  about  240  miles  to  the  east  of  the  southern 
extremitj-  of  the  Kurile  Archipelago. 

As  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  greatest  depths  would  thus  seem  to  occur  also  in 
the  Pacific  in  the  neighbourhood  of  igneous  areas,  that  is,  along  the  line  of  active 
volcanoes  which  curves  round  from  Japan  to  the  peninsula  of  Alaska.  These 
chains  of  burning  mountains  may  thus  be  said  to  represent  the  true  coastline  of 
the  North  Pacific  basin.  Beyond  them  the  waters  are  comparatively  very 
shallow,  except  in  one  part  of  the  Bering  Sea,  where  depths  of  500  and  even 
1,000  fathoms  have  been  recorded.  The  projecting  mainlands  of  North-east  Asia 
and  North-west  America  rest  on  a  common  submarine  base,  which  approaches  very 
near  to  the  surface.  In  Bering  Strait  itself  the  mean  depth  is  little  over  20 
fathoms,  and  nowhere  exceeds  30  fathoms.  Between  these  shallows,  here  scarcely 
separating  the  two  continents,  and  the  profound  abysses  of  the  North  Pacific  the 
transition  is  verj^  sudden.  At  some  jooint  the  soimdings  have  revealed  precipitous 
inclines  which  would  be  regarded  as  steep  slopes  even  in  Continental  Alpine  regions. 

Except  in  the  neighbourhood  of  California  the  Eastern  Pacific  waters  have  been 
less  carefully  surveyed  than  the  Australasian  seas.  The  whole  space,  some 
12,000,000  square  miles  in  extent,  comprised  between  the  Polynesian  archi- 
pelagoes and  the  American  seaboard  from  Mexico  to  Chili,  was  still  unsounded 
before  the  expedition  of  the  Italian  vessel,  the  Vettor  Pisani,  in  1885.  Now 
however,  we  possess  a  series  of  thirteen  soundings  between  the  coast  of  New 
Grenada  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  3,140  fathoms  was  the  greatest  depth 
recorded  by  this  expedition.  Allowing  for  the  irregularity  of  the  intervals 
between  these  soundings,  the  mean  depth  of  the  marine  bed  in  this  part  of  the 
East  Pacific  Ocean  would  appear  to  be  about  2,300  fathoms.  Before  the  Vettor 
Pisani  expedition  the  velocity  of  the  waves  caused  by  great  seaquakes  was  the 
only  available  means  for  determining  the  depth  of  the  waters  in  this  section  of 
the  oceanic  basin. 

The  .specimens  brought  to  the  surface  during  the  various  exploring  expeditious 
present  on  the  whole  a  remarkable  uniformitJ^  In  the  vicinitj'  of  the  land,  and 
especially  about  the  great  fluvial  estuaries,  the  mud  and  claj's  of  the  marine  bed 
are  formed  by  deposits  of  terrestrial  origin  mingled  with  fragments  of  shells  and 
corals.  Farther  seaward,  in  depths  ranging  from  500  to  1,500  fathoms,  the  sedi- 
mentary matter  consists  of  triturated  shells  and  the  calcareous  remains  of  animal- 
culas.  The  mud  dredged  in  these  waters  contains  from  ninety  to  ninety-five  per 
cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime.  But  according  as  the  depths  increase  this  proportion 
diminishes,  and  in  aby.^ses  of  2,000  to  2,500  fathoms  the  prevailing  formation  is 

c2 


20  AUSTRALASIA. 

everywhere  a  clay  formed  of  foraminifera,  radiolaria,  diatoms,  and  other  remains 
of  minute  organisms  mixed  with  particles  of  pumice  and  various  decomposed 
products  of  volcanic  origin.  Neither  gravel  nor  the  bare  rock  has  anywhere  been 
discovered  on  the  deep  bed  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 

The  slight  proportion  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  clays  lying  at  great  depths  is 
due  to  the  carbonic  acid  present  in  the  water.  The  countless  calcareous  organisms 
falling  as  dust  from  the  upper  marine  waters  become  completely  dissolved  before 
reaching  the  bottom.  But  sharks'  teeth  and  the  skeletons  of  cetaceans  occur 
abundantly  in  the  argillaceous  deposits,  from  which  the  remains  of  extinct  and 
living  animals  are  often  fished  up  together.  Nodules  of  iron  of  cosmic  origin  arc 
also  found  interspersed  in  the  same  clays. 

Atmospheric  Currents. 

As  attested  by  the  very  name  of  "  Pacific,"  given  to  the  great  ocean  by  its  first 
discoverers,  storms  are  less  frequent  in  this  basin  than  in  the  Atlantic,  at  least  in 
the  tropical  latitudes  with  low  tides.  This  is  due  to  the  vast  uniform  surface 
presented  by  an  immense  extent  of  the  South  Sea  far  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
continental  seaboards,  which  owing  to  the  great  differences  in  their  reliefs  give 
rise  to  abrupt  changes  in  the  climate  and  the  course  of  the  winds.  The  waters  are 
usually  the  least  ruffled  and  navigation  safest  in  the  Eastern  Pacific  regions, 
where  vessels  sail  for  thousands  of  miles  without  meeting  a  single  island.  Here 
also  the  trade  winds  blow  with  the  greatest  uniformity.  Those  from  the  north- 
east prevail  with  great  constancy  in  the^troiDical  zone  some  7,000  miles  broad 
comprised  between  the  Revilla-Gigedo  and  the  Marianne  groups.  The  south- 
eastern trades  have  a  less  extensive  range  of  about  3,000  miles  between  the 
Galapagos  and  the  Marquesas. 

But  the  course  of  the  atmospheric  currents  is  interrupted  and  frequently  turned 
backwards  by  the  thousand  independent  centres  of  attraction  formed  by  the  insular 
groups,  some  mountainous,  others  scarcely  rising  above  the  surface,  which 
are  scattered  over  the  West  Pacific  equatorial  waters.  The  normal  trades  are  here 
often  replaced  by  the  alternating  winds,  which  follow  in  the  track  of  the  sun. 
During  the  winter  of  the  southern  hemisphere  the  south-east  trades  are  most 
regular ;  but  in  summer  their  ascendency  is  contested  by  northern  and  north- 
eastern breezes.  Frequently  also  dead  calms  set  in,  while  occasionally  the  con- 
flicting currents  give  rise  to  cyclonic  movements. 

A  remarkably  mild  temperature  usually  prevails  in  the  oceanic  archipelagoes, 
surrounded  by  waters  which  are  subject  to  less  vicissitudes  of  heat  and  cold  even 
than  the  atmosphere  itself.  Between  the  hottest  and  coldest  month  on  either  side 
of  the  equator  within  the  tropics  the  mean  temperature  of  72°  to  77°  F.  has  an 
extreme  range  limited  to  from  four  to  eight  degrees.  Nevertheless,  the  oscilla- 
tions for  the  whole  year  range  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty-six  degrees  according 
to  the  position  of  the  insular  groups. 

The  rainfall  also  shows  discrepancies  of  as  much  as  tenfold  and  upwards,  accord- 


'NlVERSlTYoflLUNOlS. 


OCEANIC  AEEIAL  CUEEEXTS.  21 

ing  as  the  slopes  of  the  islauds  are  exposed  to  the  moist  or  dry  wiuds.  Thus  while 
certain  valleys  enjoy  a  copious  and  even  an  excessive  annual  supply  of  moisture, 
certain  low-lj'ing  islands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  equator  receive  scarcely  a 
single  shower  except  at  long  intervals. 

"West  and  south-west  of  the  PoljTiesian  islands  properly  so  called,  the  vicinity 
of  the  great  insular  masses,  such  as  New  Guinea,  Australia,  Celebes,  and  Borneo, 
attracts  the  aerial  currents  more  powerfully  in  the  hot  seasons  than  at  other  times. 
Hence  are  developed  here,  not  merely  gentle  breezes,  as  in  Eastern  Oceania,  but 
regular  monsoons  of  longer  or  shorter  duration,  according  to  the  diverse  conditions 
of  the  environment,  the  extent  of  dry  land,  the  altitude  of  the  highlands,  the  super- 
ficial area  of  spaces  destitute  of  vegetation.  In  these  regions  the  south-east  trades 
prevail  during  the  winter  season  of  the  southern  hemisphere ;  but  in  summer  the 
normal  currents  set  from  the  west  or  nortt-west,  and  are  usually  accompanied  by 
moisture-bearing  clouds  and  heavy  downpours.  Thus  the  normal  meteorological 
system  is  regulated  by  two  uniformly  alternating  currents  setting  in  contrary 
directions,  and  of  essentially  different  character,  one  bringing  fair  the  other  foul 
weather.  Nevertheless,  the  endless  intricacies  of  creeks,  bays,  inlets,  straits,  and 
channels  cause  numerous  irregulai'ities  and  local  breezes,  by  which  the  whole 
system  is  in  many  places  greatly  modified. 

On  the  very  verge  of  the  range  of  the  monsoons  the  atmospheric  currents  are 
deflected  from  their  regular  path.  The  waters  of  Torres  Strait  between  New 
Guinea  and  Australia,  obstructed  by  innumerable  shoals  and  reefs,  and  averaging 
not  more  than  some  10  or  12  fathoms  in  depth,  are  heated  by  the  tropical  suns  to 
a  much  higher  degree  than  the  deep  oceanic  basins  to  the  east  and  west.  The 
consequence  is  a  considerable  increase  of  temperature  in  the  circumambient 
atmosphere,  which  thus  becomes  a  focus  of  attraction  for  all  the  surrounding- 
currents.  The  north-east  trades  veer  round  so  as  to  set  directly  up  the  strait,  where 
they  blow  with  great  violence  during  the  winter  months.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  summer  monsoons,  which  prevail  especially  in  December,  January,  and  Feb- 
ruary, cease  to  set  in  the  direction  of  the  south-east  and  are  deflected  towards  the 
strait  about  Port- Moresby,  thus  depriving  the  York  peninsula  of  its  due  share  of 
moisture. 

In  the  centre  of  the  labyrinth  of  islands  between  New  Guinea  and  Borneo  the 
aerial  sj'stem  is  so  disturbed  b}-  the  various  modifying  conditions  of  the  environ- 
ment, that  it  is  not  always  possible  to  determine  with  certainty  the  true  character 
of  the  current,  whether  a  trade- wind  or  a  monsoon,  or  to  decide  to  which  should 
be  attributed  the  moisture-bearing  clouds.  Here  the  annual  rainfall  is  generally 
very  copious,  in  some  islands,  such  as  Sumatra,  exceeding  160  inches.  The  aver- 
age temperature  (78°  to  82°  F.,  according  to  the  aspect  of  the  seaboard)  is  also 
higher  than  in  the  South  Sea  Islands ;  it  is  also  more  uniform,  varying  not  more 
than  four  or  five  degrees  between  the  hottest  and  coldest  months.  The  yearly 
range  is,  in  fact,  less  than  the  daily  variation  between  the  morning  and  afternoon. 
Owing  to  this  equable  regime  the  Eastern  Archipelago  has  been  called  the 
"  hothouse  "  of  the  great  terrestrial  botanical  garden. 


•22  AUSTRALASIA. 

West  of  Borneo  and  the  Philippines  the  meteorological  conditions  are  again 
modified  by  the  dijfferences  in  the  outlines  and  elevations  of  the  great  insular 
masses.  Here  mariners  no  longer  speak  of  trade  winds,  and  recognise  the 
monsoons  alone.  That  of  the  south-west,  sweeping  over  the  Sunda  Strait  and 
Sumatra,  prevails  somewhat  regularly  from  the  middle  of  April  to  the  middle  of 
October,  in  the  more  open  waters  stretching  awaj'  to  Formosa.  But  it  is  occasion- 
allv  interrupted  by  the  south-eastern  winds,  and  on  the  insular  and  continental 
seaboards  its  course  is  fringed  by  lateral  breezes,  eddies,  and  back-currents,  which 
enable  sailing  craft  to  beat  up  against  the  monsoon. 

This  south-west  wind  which  prevails  in  summer  is  followed  in  winter  by  the 
north-east  monsoon,  which  is  in  fact  the  normal  polar  current.  Like  the  south- 
west monsoon  it  blows  throughout  half  the  year,  although  most  intensely  in 
December  and  January.  Both  seasons  are  accomjjanied  by  rains,  as  well  as  by 
sudden  gales  and  storms.  But  the  terrific  cyclonic  movements  of  the  China  Sea, 
here  known  as  typhoons,  that  is,  Un  ftmg,  or  "  great  winds,"  occur  chiefly  during 
the  south-west  monsoon  in  June  or  July,  or  else  towards  the  September  equinox 
when  the  normal  annual  currents  are  reversed.  These  fierce  whirlwinds,  which 
are  generally  developed  in  the  east,  move  with  spiral  action  in  the  direction  of  the 
west  or  north-west.  They  are  usually  more  intense  in  the  vicinity  of  the  land 
than  on  the  high  seas,  and  fall  off  rapidly  towards  the  south.  Hence  the 
typhoons  rarely  extend  their  range  towards  the  equatorial  regions  in  the  waters 
stretching  south  of  Lucon,  largest  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Beyond  the  Sunda  Archipelago,  that  is,  in  the  open  sjDace  presented  by  the 
Indian  Ocean  as  far  as  the  Mascarenhas  and  Madagascar,  the  winds  are  less 
influenced  by  insular  or  continental  seaboards,  and  consequently  here  acquire  a  far 
more  regular  course.  The  zone  of  the  south-east  trades,  which  occupies  the 
section  of  the  ocean  comprised  between  Australia,  Madagascar,  and  the  equator,  is 
uniformly  displaced  northwards  and  southwards  according  to  the  alternation  of  the 
seasons  themselves.  Thus  it  is  shifted  to  the  north  of  the  equator  with  the 
movement  of  the  sun  towards  the  northern  hemisphere,  while  at  other  times  its 
range  seldom  extends  much  beyond  the  5°  of  south  latitude. 

But  round  about  the  central  part  of  the  ocean,  dominated  by  the  regular 
system  of  the  south-east  trades,  there  stretches  the  vast  semicircle  of  lands  between 
South  Africa  and  Australia,  which  are  fringed  by  a  zone  of  alternating  monsoons 
setting  landwards  during  the  hot  and  seawards  during  the  cold  season.  In  no 
region  of  the  globe  have  the  monsoons  a  more  regular  course  than  in  the  northern 
section  of  the  Indian  Ocean  between  Somaliland  and  Sumatra.  The  south-west 
monsoon  with  its  escort  of  thunderstorms  and  rains  prevails  from  the  middle  of 
April  to  the  middle  of  September  throughoiit  the  Arabian  Sea  and  the  Bay  of 
Bengal.  It  is  followed  by  that  of  the  north-east,  that  is,  the  polar  current,  which 
lasts  from  the  middle  of  October  to  the  middle  of  March.  But  in  the  southern 
hemisphere  the  atmospheric  system  is  less  regular  on  the  coasts  of  Australia, 
Madagascar,  and  the  African  mainland;  nor  is  the  contrast  between  land  and 
nater  so  sharply  marked  in  this  region.     Here  also,  as  in  the  China  Sea,  the  clash 


M-VEIXE  CUBEEXTS.  23 

of  the  conflicting  winds  at  times  gives  rise  to  tremendous  hurricunes,  especially  at 
the  change  of  the  monsoons  and  during  the  summer  heats.  These  disturbiiuces 
are  most  disastrous  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Mascarenhas,  although  they 
also  occasionally  spread  havoc  over  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Aden  and  the  Bay  of 
Bengal. 

On  their  outer  borders  in  the  direction  of  the  poles  the  region  of  the  trade 
■winds  is  skirted  by  zones  of  variable  currents,  the  mean  result  of  which  generally 
takes  the  direction  from  west  to  east.  Being  enclosed  towards  the  north,  the 
Indian  Ocean  has  naturally  one  only  of  these  zones  comprised  mainly  between  28° 
and  60°  south  latitude.  But  the  Pacific,  as  well  as  the  Atlantic,  has  its  two 
systems  of  variable  winds,  one  in  the  northern  the  other  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere, the  latter  merging  westwards  in  that  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  eastwards  in 
that  of  the  Atlantic,  and  thus  completing  the  circuit  of  the  globe.  The  discovery 
of  these  oceanic  regions  dominated  b}-  the  western  currents,  that  is  by  the  counter 
trade  winds,  has  been  of  paramount  importance  in  the  history  of  maritime  research. 
Guided  by  his  knowledge  of  the  Atlantic  winds,  Urdaneta  was  thus  enabled  to 
direct  vessels  across  the  Pacific  towards  the  shores  of  the  Jfew  World,  while  by  fol- 
lowing the  corresponding  zone  of  variable  winds  in  the  southern  hemisphere  Cook 
successfully  accomplished  the  circumnavigation  of  the  planet  in  the  contrary 
direction  to  that  followed  by  Magellan. 

Marine  Currents. 

The  movement  of  the  marine  corresponds  to  that  of  the  aerial  currents  in  the 
great  oceanic  basin,  but  the  former,  belonging  to  a  more  stable  element,  are 
naturally  of  a  more  constant  character  than  the  latter.  They  represent,  so  to  say, 
the  fly-wheel  of  the  great  terrestrial  mechanism.  Hence  the  rythmical  displace- 
ments of  the  waters  across  the  boundless  oceanic  spaces  have  been  of  even  greater 
moment  than  those  of  the  atmosphere  in  the  history  of  human  progress.  If  the 
trades  and  coimter-trades  have  enabled  European  navigators  the  more  easily  to 
traverse  the  ocean  between  the  Old  and  the  Xew  TTorld,  and  thus  hastened  the 
work  of  exploration  amongst  the  oceanic  islands  and  austral  lands,  to  the  marine 
currents  was  largely  due  the  dispersion  of  mankind  and  gradual  peopling  of  half 
the  globe. 

The  prominent  feature  in  the  vast  system  of  oceanic  movements  is  the  great 
stream  which  in  the  equatorial  seas  sets  in  the  same  direction  as  the  apparent 
course  of  the  sun  between  the  shores  of  the  New  World  and  those  of  New  Guinea 
and  the  Philippines.  The  liquid  volume  which  thus  trends  from  east  to  west  has 
a  mean  breadth  of  probably  over  3,000  mUes,  for  it  is  occasionally  observed 
ranging  from  26^  south  to  2-1°  north  latitude,  but  with  a  reflux  or  a  zone  of  calm 
waters  in  its  central  parts.  The  whole  body  of  equatorial  seas  moves  with  a 
velocity  varying  from  20  to  40  miles  a  day  according  to  the  seasons  and  the 
surroundings,  and  to  a  depth  which  certainly  exceeds  750  fathoms  in  the  axis  of 
the  stream.     And  this  prodigious  moving  mass  traverses  nearly  one-half  of  the 


24  AUSTRALASIA. 

circumference  of  the  planet.  Compared  with  such  an  oceanic  current  all  the 
rivers  flowing  from  the  continental  regions  seawards  sink  into  insignificance. 
The  discharge  is  at  least  70,000  millions  of  cubic  feet  per  second. 

This  vast  central  current,  main  branch  of  the  system  of  secondary  streams 
developed  in  the  rest  of  the  ocean,  gives  rise  to  two  great  lateral  backwaters,  one 
in  the  North  Pacific,  the  other  in  the  Southern  Ocean.  Taking  the  same  course 
as  the  monsoons  of  the  Caroline  Archipelago,  the  waters  of  the  equatorial  stream 
are  deflected  towards  the  north-west  in  the  direction  of  Japan  ;  then  on  approaching 
the  Chinese  seaboard  they  follow  the  coast  towards  the  north-east,  and  under  the 
name  of  Kuro-Sivo,  or  "  Black  Stream,"  expand  into  a  vast  curve  across  the  North 
Pacific.  Although  gradually  losing  the  character  of  a  current  in  the  strict  sense 
of  the  term,  it  sets  slowly  along  the  coasts  of  British  North  America,  the  United 
States,  and  Lower  California,  ultimately  rejoining  the  equatorial  current. 

To  this  gieat  stream  in  the  northern  corresjjonds  another  in  the  southern 
hemisphere.  South  of  the  equatorial  seas  a  liquid  mass  passing  east  and  west  of 
New  Zealand  turns  south  to  the  austral  waters,  and  by  a  curve  symmetrical  with 
that  of  the  Kuro-Sivo  merges  west  of  Chili  in  a  littoral  current,  which  skirts  the 
American  coast  till  it  becomes  again  absorbed  in  the  equatorial  stream.  An 
analogous  movement  takes  place  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  where  the  waters  of  the  hot 
zone  also  set  slowly  in  the  direction  of  the  west.  At  Madagascar  they  ramify  into 
two  branches,  which  flow  southwards,  and  in  the  Antarctic  regions  form  a  junction 
with  a  return  current,  which  after  coasting  the  West  Australian  seaboard  rejoin 
the  equatorial  waters. 

But  although  analogous  in  their  main  features  these  three  great  movements 
present  many  striking  differences  in  their  details,  according  as  they  are  affected 
by  the  course  of  the  winds,  the  depths  of  the  seas,  the  form  and  disposition  of 
the  neighbouring  lands.  In  many  places  the  more  sluggish  waters  quicken  their 
speed,  and  in  the  very  heart  of  the  sea  is  thus  developed  a  sort  of  river,  whose 
water  is  distinguished  from  that  on  either  side  both  by  its  colour  and  velocity. 
The  friction  against  its  liquid  banks  causes  it  to  oscillate  in  short  waves  like  those 
of  a  fluvial  rapid,  while  the  conflict  of  waters  of  varying  temperature  gives  rise  to 
fogs  spreading  over  vast  spaces.  Such  phenomena  are  observed  chiefly  about  the 
Kuro-Sivo  of  Japan  and  its  eastern  extension  across  the  North  Pacific. 

Each  counter  current  has  also  its  lateral  streams,  which  penetrate  into  the 
straits  and  inlets,  as  well  as  its  tribiitaries  of  cold  water  flowing  from  the  polar  seas. 
An  incessant  interchange  goes  on  between  the  tepid  floods  of  the  equatorial  regions 
and  those  of  low  temperature  coming  from  the  frigid  zone.  These  polar  waters 
move  bodily  in  the  direction  of  the  equator,  in  order  to  replace  the  losses  caused  by 
evaporation  under  the  tropical  latitudes.  According  to  the  course  of  the  winds, 
the  form  of  the  marine  bed  and  of  the  seaboards,  this  collective  displacement 
becomes  decomposed  in  secondary  and  more  rapid  streams,  some  of  which  flow  by 
the  side  of  those  setting  in  the  contrary  direction  from  the  equator,  while  others 
passing  underneath  them  continue  their  course  at  lower  depths. 

At  first  sight  it  might  be  sujjposed  that  all  the  polar  streams,  being  colder  and 


MARINE  CUREKXTS.  25 

consequently  relatively  denser  than  the  equatorial,  should  in  all  cases  plunge 
beneath  the  more  tejjid  waters  with  which  they  come  in  contact.  But  some,  being- 
less  saline,  owing  either  to  their  slighter  evaporation  or  to  their  mingling  with 
the  fresh  water  of  the  melting  icebergs,  are  in  fact  lighter  than  the  surrounding 
warmer  masses,  and  consequently  rise  to  the  surface.  Naturalists  engaged  in 
exploring  the  oceanic  depths  endeavour  to  detect  the  course  of  these  super- 
imposed currents  setting  in  opposite  directions  by  ascertaining  the  temjaerature  at 
certain  intervals  along  the  line  of  soundings.  This  is  one  of  the  most  delicate  of 
marine  operations,  the  full  significance  of  the  recorded  phenomena  being  itself  at 
times  very  difficult  to  appreciate.  But  by  carefully  comparing  the  results  of 
observations  taken  in  different  places  they  are  able  gradually  to  arrive  at  trust- 
worthy conclusions. 

The  normal  sequence  of  temperatures  from  the  surface  to  the  bottom  has  already 
been  determined.  The  upper  layer  being  in  contact  with  the  atmosphere,  its  tem- 
perature coincides  with  that  of  the  local  isothermals,  while  the  deeper  waters  are 
scarcely  above  freezing-point,  the  intermediate  spaces  showing  a  regular  transition 
between  the  two  extremes.  All  anomalies  in  this  gradual  transition,  all  abrupt 
changes  are  assumed  to  indicate  the  presence  of  disturbing  currents.  Thus  in  the 
austral  seas,  between  34°  and  66°  south  latitude,  the  gradation  of  temperature  is 
modified  by  the  neighbourhood  of  floating  ice.  At  from  500  to  1,100  feet  below 
the  surface  a  cold  layer  intervenes  between  the  upper  strata  heated  by  the  summer 
suns  and  the  lower  waters  whose  temperature  decreases  normally  downwards. 
This  cold  layer,  which  oscillates  about  the  freezing  point,  is  evidently  due  to  the 
melting  of  the  enormous  icebergs  always  present  in  these  latitudes. 

Of  the  special  cold  currents  either  setting  from  the  poles  or  rising  from  the 
lower  depths,  the  most  remarkable  for  its  influence  on  the  climate  of  the  coastlanda 
is  the  stream  named  from  Humboldt,  and  known  also  as  the  Peruvian  Current, 
which  skirts  the  western  shores  of  South  America,  and  which  is  from  20°  to 
22°  F.  colder  than  the  neighbouring  waters.  The  North  American  seaboard  is 
also  washed  by  a  frigid  stream,  which  flows  southward  to  the  equatorial  seas. 
A  small  part  of  this  stream  may  perhaps  in  Bering  Strait  intersect  a  branch 
of  the  tepid  water  setting  towards  the  Arctic  Ocean  ;  but  the  great  mass  of  the 
cold  water  trending  southwards  comes  from  the  Alaska  seas  and  other  inlets  of  the 
North  Pacific. 

The  marine  waters  are  thus  being  everywhere  constantly  displaced,  and  in  this 
way  the  southern  floods  with  their  corresponding  flora  and  fauna  are  carried 
northwards,  while  the  regions  of  the  torrid  zone  are  tempered  by  contact  with 
the  polar  currents.  The  climates  of  the  two  different  zones  blend  in  a  new 
climate,  thanks  to  the  intermingling  streams,  or  else  flow  side  by  side  in  opposite 
directions,  since  to  every  displacement  corresponds  an  opposite  movement.  Even 
the  great  equatorial  stream  has  its  counter-stream,  which  answers  to  the  atmo- 
spheric zone  of  calms,  and  which,  especially  from  June  to  October,  sets  in  the 
direction  from  west  to  east,  that  is,  from  New  Guinea  to  Equador.  It  is  precisely 
in  the  axis  of  the  equatorial  stream,  and   especially   south  of  the  line,  that  this 


26 


AUSTRALASIA. 


general  backward  movement  of  the  oceanic  waters  malces  itself  felt.  It  has  an 
estimated  mean  breadth  of  three  hiindred  miles ;  but  it  follows  a  somewhat 
irregular  course,  and  in  many  places  merges  in  lateral  backwaters. 

The  Indian  Ocean  has  also  its  counter  equatorial  stream  skirting  the  north  side 
of  the  current  which  sets  towards  the  west.  Students  of  historical  migrations 
attach  the  greatest  importance  to  those  parallel  currents  flowing  in  ojDposite  direc- 
tions, and  thus  facilitatiug  the  movement  of  peojjles  from  continent  to  continent. 

Drift  Ice — Icebergs  and  Floes. 

Round  about  the  Antarctic  ice-cap  the  approach  to  the  islands  and  mainland  is 
obstructed  by  continuous  streams  of  drift  ice  and  floes,  which  are  constantly  drifting 

Fig.  9. — Ice  Field  traced  by  Ditmont  D'Ueville. 
Scale  1 :  1,330,000. 


u,0.:M,> 


about,  in  one  place  grouped  together  in  the  form  of  gulfs  or  marine  inlets,  in 
another  disposed  like  projecting  headlands,  elsewhere  developing  long  narrow 
passages  into  which  navigators  cannot  venture  to  penetrate  without  extreme  cau- 
tion. Ranging  in  height  from  10  to  14  feet,  but  here  and  there  interspersed  with 
irregular  groups  or  "  bunches,"  resembling  erratic  boulders,  these  masses  no  longer 
present  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  mariners  provided  with  the  powerful  appli- 
ances of  modern  mechanics,  and  with  vessels  specially  constructed  to  resist  the 
impact  or  pressure  of  floating  ice. 

Beyond  these  shifting  barriers  stretch  comparatively  open  spaces  which  are 
occupied  only  by  great  icebergs,  either  isolated  or  accompanied  by  a  cortege  of 
lesser  blocks.  Explorers  who  have  penetrated  into  these  Antarctic  seas  about  the 
polar  circle,  or  even  bej'ond  70°  south  latitude,  have  observed  that  these  icebergs 


DIUFT  ICE.  27 

drifting  northwards  with  the  current  differ  both  iu  their  form  and  origin.  Some, 
which  break  away  from  steep  upland  valleys,  present  a  great  diversity  of  outline 
and  appearance.  According  to  the  lines  of  fracture  or  the  tilt  of  the  glaciers 
shooting  them  seawards,  they  rise  above  the  surface  in  the  form  of  domes,  peaks, 
or  needles.  Others  again,  which  are  usually  of  vast  size,  take  the  shape  of  rect- 
angular blocks  with  almost  level  upper  surface.  These  are  not  of  glacier  origin, 
but  have  been  detached  from  the  icy  barrier  skirting  the  flat  coastlands  at  varying 
distances.  They  do  not  melt  even  in  summer.  During  the  fine  seasons  of  1841, 
1842,  and  1843,  Ross  found  that  only  on  eighteen  days  the  temperature  rose  three 
or  four  degrees  above  freezing  point.  Some  were  fringed  with  transjDarent  stalac- 
tites, which  this  explorer  was  unable  to  explain,  as  he  had  never  observed  the  ice 
melting. 

As  far  as  can  be  judged  from  the  few  observations  hitherto  made,  the  frozen 
masses,  160  to  180  feet  high,  are  simply  the  land  ice  gradually  impelled  seawards 
by  the  pressure  of  the  more  or  less  inclined  masses  covering  the  interior  of  the 
continent.  Owing  to  their  specific  gravity  thej'  project  for  distances  of  even 
10  or  20  miles  beyond  the  coastline,  while  still  adhering  to  the  rocky  bed.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  barrier  Ross  found  a  depth  of  250  fathoms,  which  is  precisely 
the  depth  at  which  icebergs  rising  180  or  200  feet  above  the  surface  must,  so  to 
say,  "  lose  their  footing,"  and  float  away  freely.  The  weight  of  the  icebergs  being 
about  nine-tenths  of  that  of  marine  water,  nine-tenths  of  their  volume  must  neces- 
sarily remain  .submerged ;  but  the  mass  being  generally  broader  at  the  base  than 
the  summit,  the  depth  of  the  submerged  walls  must  be  estimated  at  seven  or  eight 
times  the  height  of  the  exposed  clifl's. 

Once  detached  from  the  continental  sheet  of  ice  by  some  rectilinear  form  of 
breakage,  the  huge  flotsam  sets  out  on  its  long  journey  towards  the  equatorial  seas. 
Some  of  the  blocks  present  a  regular  wall  5  or  6  miles  long  with  arched  openings 
at  the  base.  They  look  almost  like  some  street  frontage  gone  adrift,  at  times 
sparkUng  in  the  sun,  but  more  frequently  wrapped  in  vapour,  like  some  misty 
phantom  of  the  brain.  A  nearer  view  reveals  a  frowning  stronghold,  faced  by 
mighty  bastions  ;  embattled  ramparts  or  gloomy  recesses  where  the  angry  waters 
disappear  amid  the  flanking  towers ;  overhanging  cornices  with  snowy  draperies 
pendent  from  the  summit.  The  icy  cliffs,  standing  out  at  a  distance  with  even  surface 
of  uniform  duU  colour,  are  now  resolved  into  an  endless  variety  of  tints  and  outlines. 
Throughout  the  whole  thickness  of  the  walls  follow  the  parallel  parting  lines  of  the 
successive  snowy  layers  crystallized  by  pressure  and  the  weather,  drawing  continu- 
ally closer  with  the  superincumbent  weight,  here  and  there  warped  to  serpentine 
curves  or  else  fractured  with  sharp  fissures.  The  prominent  parts  are  of  a  dazzling 
whiteness,  others  shaded  in  blue,  each  slope,  each  crystal  aperture  the  loveliest  azure, 
and  at  night  the  floating  mass  is  all  aglow  with  an  opal  phosphoi-escence.  It  drifts 
slowly  with  the  current,  incessantly  lashed  by  the  waves  breaking  against  it,  as 
against  some  rocky  shoal.  The  crews  of  passing  vessels  often  hear  the  continuous 
thunder  of  the  waters  rushing  through  its  cavernous  recesses  and  dashing  against 
the  inner  walls.      Then  the  sustaining  pillars  at  last  give  way,  the  arched  vaults 


28  AUSTRALASIA. 

break  with  a  crash,  and  the  scattered  fragments  of  the  crystalline  mountains  lose 
that  tabular  form  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  soutliern  as  compared  with  the 
northern  icebergs.  Gradually  breaking  into  smaller  pieces,  the  debris  floats  away 
in  long  convoys,  where  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  distinguish  those  of  marine  from 
those  of  glacier  oi'igin. 

According  to  the  quantity  of  the  drifting  ice  and  the  velocity  of  the  currents 
the  fragments  advance  to  a  greater  or  lesser  distance  northwards,  as  a  rule, 
however,  seldom  penetrating  much  bej^ond  the  55°  of  south  latitude.  Yet  they 
have  not  unfrequently  been  met  much  nearer  the  equator,  especially  to  the 
west  of  New  Zealand  and  in  the  South  Atlantic,  where  they  have  been  seen  as 
far  north  as  Tristao  da  Cunha,  and  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  under  the  thirty- 
fourth  parallel.  On  an  average  the  austral  advance  240  miles  nearer  to  the 
equator  than  the  northern  icebergs.  The  largest  observed  by  the  Challenger 
was  about  250  feet  high  ;  but  Cook  recorded  one  over  330  feet,  while  several 
fully  one-third  higher  were  measured  by  Wilkes.  They  range  as  a  rule  from 
1,500  to  3,000  feet  in  breadth,  yet  none  of  those  seen  by  the  naturalists  of  the 
Challenger  carried  any  fragments  detached  from  the  rocky  mountain  slopes, 
although  such  cases  were  frequently  observed  by  Ross,  Dumoiit  d'Urville,  and 
other  explorers.  A  sketch  by  John  MacNab,  who  accompanied  Balleny's  ex- 
pedition of  1839,  represents  an  iceberg  bearing  a  black  rock  embedded  between 
two  cr\  stal  nijjpers.  Another  huge  mass  seen  by  Weddell  was  so  covered  with 
blackish  claj'  that  at  a  distance  it  would  certainly  have  been  taken  for  a  cliff. 

Volcanic  Agencies. 

Drift  ice  thus  contributes  in  some  measure  to  raodifj'  the  form  of  the  continents 
by  transporting  debris  of  all  kinds  to  the  islands  scattered  for  thousands  of  miles 
over  the  ocean,  or  depositing  them  on  the  marine  bed  and  in  this  way  perhaps 
laying  the  foundation  for  future  barrier  reefs.  But  other  ageucies  are  also  at 
work,  in  one  place  enlarging,  in  another  diminishing  the  contours  of  the  oceanic 
lands.  The  researches  of  naturalists  have  shown  that  during  the  course  of  long 
ages  these  agencies  have  accomplished  considerable  changes  in  the  geograjjhy  of 
the  Pacific  islands.  In  the  work  of  modification  the  chief  jjart  has  been  played 
by  the  submarine  igneous  forces,  and  the  coralline  "  island  builders,"  which  strew 
the  seas  with  their  marvellous  structures. 

Volcanoes  are  far  more  numerous  and  energetic  in  the  Pacific  basin  and  sur- 
rounding continental  seaboards  than  on  the  opposite  shores  of  the  Old  and  New 
World  washed  by  the  Atlantic.  The  fires  of  Iceland,  the  Azores,  the  Canaries,  the 
Cape  Yerd  Islands  and  West  Indies,  pale  before  those  which  follow  at  intervals 
around  the  vast  semicircle  formed  by  the  coasts  of  the  mainlands  sweeping  round 
from  Cape  Horn  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  craters  are  reckoned  by  hundreds 
in  this  "fiery  circle  "  some  20,000  miles  in  extent,  which  reaches  from  the  northern 
island  of  New  Zealand  to  the  southern  shores  of  Chili.  Here  the  chain  of  burn- 
ing mountains,  occasionally  interrupted  by  wide  intervals,  especially  north  of  New 


VOLCANIC  AGEXCIES. 


29 


Ze;ilanrl,  compTises  the  active  cones  of  tlie  Xew  Hebrides,  the  Santa-Cniz  and  Solo- 
mon groups,  the  chain  of  the  Philippines,  and  of  Japan,  where  Milne  reckons  129, 
of  which  thirty-fiTe  are  active,  the  Kurile  Archipelago  with  sixteen,  the  Aleutian 
Islands  with  thirty-four,  of  which  ten  are  active.  Through  the  Alaskan  peninsula 
the  series  is  connected  with  those  of  the  west  coast  of  America,  which  are  continued 
southwards  to  the  Bridgeman  and  other  cones  and  westwards  to  the  New  Shet- 
land Islands.  Here  rises  the  breached  crater  of  Deception  Island  with  its  circular 
haven  IS  or  20  miles  round  and  oOO  feet  deep,  whose  flanks  consisting  of  alternate 

Fig.  10. — Volcanoes  of  the  Pacific. 
Scale  1 :  200,000,000. 


strata  of  ice  and  ashes  discharge  rivulets  of  thermal  waters.  Lastly,  this  focus  of 
activity  is  connected  by  the  arc  of  a  circle  passing  by  the  south  pole  with  the  three 
lofty  cones  of  Erebus,  Terror,  and  Melbourne,  the  first  of  which  still  casts  a  lurid 
light  over  the  dreary  waste  of  snow.  Between  these  giants  and  Xew  Zealand  the 
vast  circuit  is  completed  by  a  succession  of  islands  and  headlands,  partly  at  least 
composed  of  lavas. 

Within  the  circuit  itself  occur  the  lines  of  faults,  through  which  have  been 
vomited  mountains  of  scoriae  or  ashes,  and  most  of  these  cones  run  in  parallel  lines 


80  AUSTRALASIA. 

or  are  disposed  iu  curves.  The  Mariannas,  the  Tonga  and  Samoan  archipelagoes 
have  all  their  volcanoes,  and  towards  the  centre  of  the  circuit  of  North  Pacific 
burning  mountains  rises  the  group  of  stupendous  Hawaiian  craters. 

Beyond  the  circuit  towards  the  Indian  Ocean,  a  formidable  igneous  chain, 
beginning  to  the  west  of  New  Guinea,  comprises  a  line  of  islands  west  of  Timor, 
Flores,  Sumbawa,  Sombok,  and  Biili,  together  with  Java  with  its  forty-five  cones, 
of  which  twentj^-eight  are  still  active.  West  of  Java  the  volcanic  chain  no  longer 
runs  westwards,  but  is  intersected  at  a  sharp  angle  by  another  line  of  fracture 
traversing  Sumatra  with  its  sixty-seven  cones,  of  which  five  are  still  active.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Indian  Ocean  rise  the  insular  cones  of  the  !Mascarenhas 
and  Comoro  group,  while  Madagascar  itself  is  studded  with  hundreds  of  extinct 
craters.  Others,  such  as  those  of  St.  Paul  and  Amsterdam,  follow  in  the  austral 
waters,  here  rising  amid  the  surrounding  ice  floes. 

New  Zealand,  the  Sunda  Islands,  Japan,  the  Kuriles  and  Hawaii  are  amongst 
the  regions  that  have  been  most  profoundly  modified  by  igneous  agencies,  at  least 
during  the  historic  period.  But  the  most  active  centre  on  the  surface  of  the  globe 
is  probably  the  Sunda  Strait,  which  marks  the  precise  spot  where  the  two  volcanic 
axes  of  Java  and  Sumatra  intersect  each  other  on  the  edge  of  the  submarine  bank 
separating  the  Sunda  plateau  from  the  deep  abysses  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  Here 
is  situated  the  famous  island  of  Krakatau,  which  lost  two-thirds  of  its  area  during 
the  eruption  of  1883,  when  other  islands  rose  to  the  surface,  and  the  atmosphere 
became  charged  with  volcanic  dust  wafted  by  the  winds  round  the  periphery  of 
the  globe. 

Coralline  Formatioxs. — Atolls. 

The  changes  caused  by  the  coral  builders,  although  accomplished  at  a  much 
slower  rate  and  without  any  sudden  convulsion  of  nature,  are  none  the  less  even 
more  important  than  those  due  to  igneous  agency.  In  the  Pacific  alone  Dana 
enumerates  two  hundred  and  ninety  coralline  islands,  which  with  the  inner  lagoons 
cover  a  total  ai'ea  of  no  less  than  20,000  square  miles.*  If  to  these  be  added, 
surfaces  large  enough  to  afford  space  for  a  village  or  clump  of  cocoauut  palms, 
the  islands  and  islets  must  be  reckoned  by  mmy  thousands  which  have  been 
constructed  by  the  polypi  in  the  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans,  and  especially  in 
the  central  and  western  parts  of  the  South  Sea.  These  organisms  aie  unable 
to  carry  on  their  operations  in  waters  whose  winter  temperature  is  less  than  68°  or 
70°  F.  But  the  zone  where  they  find  the  necessary  thermal  conditions  offers  on 
either  side  of  the  equator  a  variable  breadth,  in  some  places  exceeding  3,500 
miles, 

Everj^ where  within  these  wide  limits,  living  colonies  are  able  to  establish  them- 
selves on  the  shores  and  shallows  flooded  to  depths  of  130  to  150,  and  under  certain 
conditions  of  from  300  to  320  feet.  But  they  are  unable  to  live  in  waters  too 
highly  charged  with  sedimentary  or  alluvial  matter,  and  the  barrier  reefs  are  cou- 

*    United  Stales  Exploring  Expedituin,  vol.  x. 


CORALLINE  FORMATIONS. 


31 


sequently  interrupted  bj'  large  fluvial  estuaries.  Nor  can  they  secure  a  footing  on 
too  rapidly  shelving  rocks.  Hence  certain  coasts  which  vre  should  expect  to  be  formed 
of  "living"  coral  are  found  to  consist  only  of  "  dead  "  matter.  The  work  is  also 
hindered  or  arrested  altogether  in  certain  storm-tossed  seas,  where  the  deeper  and 
colder  waters  are  churned  up  and  driven  landwards.  Thus  may  perhaps  bo 
explained  the  absence  of  corals  along  a  great  part  of  the  arid  and  parched  seaboard 
of  Somaliland. 

But  apart  from  these  few  interruptions,  the  shores  and  islands  of  the  equatorial 
zone  are  everywhere  fringed  or  encircled  by  coral  reefs.  Besides  the  polypi,  or 
true  coral  builders,  of  which  there  are  numerous  species,  other  organisms  also 
secrete  calcareous  matter,  and  thus  contribute  towards  the  enlargement  of  the  di'v 
land.      Account  must  also  be  taken  of  the  seaweeds,  algaj,  nulUpores,  and  the  like. 


Fig.  11. — Zone  of  the  Coeaxline  Islands, 
Scale  1  :  12ii,oiX»,000. 


r 

30° 

JO" 

• 

i 

^5,    /9a  fs// 

^ 

■  MsfJS/7/T£S                r  ^ , 

,<••                                                    '■'-   '-'     Ma^3^^// f 

*         '  /'■'■■'' ^?''                  ""'-  ''■ 

Pb/sw           Cewo/ifjes  ^«    '  a"***        "' 

*          **              ■                     *?». 

o- 

°             ..     .      \                       ^"?T-,,      » 

g,  ^ 

0- 

•^ 

^^f^tf:sa^ 

20 

'!'"" 

20° 

f                      -f^      ^,      Ne«  eUt/st/amo            •> 

•<■!*                     * 

"  oV 

'  '       •  ''- 

.  TifJ^/a/ 

Merldlar.oF     IflO-Greerw 

ict, 

ISO- 

AtoUs.  Barrier  Eeefs.  Upheaved  Lamia. 

— ^^— ^— — ^— .  l,8iX)  Miles. 


some  of  which  develop  a  solid  crust  on  the  rocky  surfaces,  like  the  lichens  in 
northern  latitudes,  while  others  accumulate  in  thick  deposits  on  the  beach.  Being 
thus  gradually  raised  by  the  petrification  of  successive  generations,  the  reefs  con- 
tinue to  grow  with  the  new  Hfe  destined  to  disappear  and  become  fossilised  in  its 
turn.  This  growth  of  the  living  rock  proceeds  as  a  rule  at  an  extremely  slow  rate, 
not  more  than  38  or  40  inches  in  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  years ;  but  the 
field  of  operation  is  limited  only  b}-  the  boundless  extent  of  the  marine  waters,  and 
the  yearly  result  consequently  represents  hundreds  of  millions  of  cubic  yards  added 
by  all  these  zoof)hytes  to  the  solid  crust  of  the  globe. 

Even  islands  situated  in  an  area  of  depression  and  slowly  subsiding  when  com- 
pared with  the  surrounding  sea-level  may  be  fringed  by  a  band  of  reefs  growing  at 
a  more  rapid  rate,  and  thus  gradually  rising  above  the  surface  of  the  water.     The 


32  AUSTRALASIA. 

polypi  flourii-h  best  as  a  rule  on  the  outer  rim  of  tlie  reefs,  where  they  are  exposed 
lo  the  fresh  currents  and  wash  of  the  tides,  and  here  their  buildings  most  rapidly 
rise  to  high-water  level.  Then  their  further  growth  above  the  surface  and  trans- 
formation to  islands  or  continental  seaboards  is  the  work  of  storms.  Huge  blocks 
detached  from  the  encircling  reef  are  thrown  together  in  rude  heaps,  and  gradually 
consolidated  by  fi-e.sh  additions.  Then  the  dry  surface  is  weathered  and  prepared 
for  the  reception  of  the  seeds  brought  by  wind  and  water.  Here  the  seafowl  build 
their  nests,  the  gei'ras  strike  root,  grasses  and  shrubs  spring  up  on  the  new  land 
thus  born  of  the  tempest. 

The  form  and  appearance  of  the  upheaved  coral  structures  differ  greatly  accord- 
ing to  the  regions  where  they  have  been  Constructed.  The  least  noteworthy  are 
the  barrier  reefs  which  fringe  the  insular  and  continental  shore  lines,  and  which 
rest  on  a  foundation  of  shelving  rocks.  But  in  many  places  the  reefs  are  not  in 
contact  with  the  coasts  around  which  they  have  grown  up,  but  are  developed  at 
some  distance  seawards,  leaving  here  and  there  a  navigable  passage,  or  at  least 
a  flooded  channel  between  their  inner  edge  and  the  mainland.  Some  of  these 
formations  extend  for  hundreds,  and  in  the  case  of  the  Great  Barrier  Reef  of 
Australia  for  over  1,000  miles  along  the  coast.  Others,  such  as  the  annular  reef 
of  New  Caledonia,  completely  encircle  the  island,  which  remains  as  a  central 
nucleus  to  the  sj'stem.  A  slight  upheaval  would  change  to  dry  land  the  inter- 
mediate space  between  the  island  and  the  ring,  thus  doiibling  or  trebling  the 
extent  of  the  raised  surface. 

Lastly,  there  are  thousands  of  systems  which  have  no  central  nucleus,  and 
which  consist  of  nothing  but  a  perfect  or  fragmentary  ring  enclosing  an  inner 
lagoon  either  still  communicatiug  with  or  separated  from  the  sea  and  gradually 
silting  up  with  the  accumulating  sands  and  organic  debris.  Some  of  these  lagoons 
have  even  been  transformed  to  freshwater  basins  by  the  slow  action  of  the  rains. 
To  all  annular  reefs  has  been  extended  the  term  afo/l  from  those  of  the  Mal- 
dive  Archipelago,  the  most  regular  and  numerous  group  found  in  the  whole 
ocean. 

Every  possible  transitional  form  occurs  between  the  barrier  reef  skirting  the 
mainland  and  the  perfectly  circular  atoll  lashed  on  its  outer  rim  bj^  the  stormy 
seas,  and  enclosing  an  inner  lagoon  of  smooth  water.  Most  of  the  forty  thousand 
rocks  and  islets  in  the  Maldive  Archipelago  are  so  disposed  as  to  form  atolls 
within  atolls,  that  is  to  say,  each  fragment  of  a  ring  is  itself  a  ring. 

The  study  of  the  coralline  reefs  led  the  illustrious  Darwin  to  form  some  bold 
generali.-ations  on  the  slow  oscillations  of  the  terrestrial  crixst.  Finding  that  the 
barrier  reefs  and  outer  walls  of  the  atolls  rise  in  many  places  above  deep  waters, 
he  concludes  that  these  rocks  were  entirely  built  by  the  same  polypi  who  are  still 
piling  up  similar  structures.  But  as  they  can  work  only  in  the  surface  waters 
where  the  ceaseless  ebb  and  flow  brings  them  the  materials  of  their  edifices,'  the 
great  elevation  of  so  many  coralline  rocks  would  seem  to  attest  a  gradual  subsi- 
dence of  the  marine  level.  The  first  colonies  began  their  operations  within  about 
120  feet  of  the  surface  ;  but  according  as  the  structures  rose  the  ground  sank,  and 


CORAL  FORMATIONS.  83 

so  the  reef  continually  subsiding  at  the  base  and  rising  at  the  summit,  grew  to  a 
far  greater  thickness  than  120  feet. 

Thus  was  explained  the  formation  of  barrier  reefs  at  great  distances  from  the 
shore.  At  one  time  they  fringed  the  coast,  which  slowly  sank  with  the  general 
movement  of  subsidence,  while  the  reefs  continued  awash,  thanks  to  the  incessant 
labour  of  their  coralline  inhabitants.  The  mainland,  which  formerly  served  to 
supjDort  the  superstructure,  gradually  sank  deeper  and  deeper,  thus  continually 
retiring  from  the  outer  barrier  of  the  steadily  rising  coral  reefs.  The  passage 
also  became  gradually  enlarged,  and  by  the  disappearance  of  the  central  nucleus 
itself  the  inner  waters  were  at  last  transformed  to  a  lagoon.  Certain  archi- 
pelagoes, such  as  the  Low  Islands,  are  compared  by  Dana  to  a  vast  cemetery, 
where  every  atoll  marks  the  site  of  an  engulfed  land. 

According  to  this  theory  it  would  therefore  be  easy  to  determine  the  character 
of  the  oscillating  movements  to  which  the  oceanic  islands  are  subjected.  The 
reefs  raised  to  great  heights  above  the  sea  would  thus  indicate  an  area  of  upheaval, 
the  fringing  coralline  rocks  would  imply  a  state  of  comparative  stability  on  the 
seaboards,  while  the  barriers  and  the  atolls  might  be  likened  to  floats  placed  on  the 
sites  of  submerged  lands.  Most  of  the  Pacific  islands — that  Is  to  say,  all  those  that 
foUow  from  Pitcairn  In  the  Low  Archipelago  to  the  Philippines  along  a  Hne 
passing  north  of  Tahiti  and  Samoa — would  thus  belong  to  a  zone  of  depression,  and 
these  scattered  groups  might  be  regarded  as  fragments  of  a  vanished  continent, 
stretching  across  the  south  side  of  the  North  Pacific  Ocean. 

Such  is  Darwin's  theory,  which,  however,  can  scarcely  be  applied  with  any 
probability  to  all  the  oceanic  lands  girdled  by  coral  reefs.  "Wherever  the  rocky 
pedestals  supporting  the  superstructures  of  living  polypi  themselves  consist  of 
calcareous  secretions  to  any  great  depth,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  subsidence  has 
really  taken  place.  But  verifications  have  hitherto  been  made  only  at  a  limited 
number  of  points,  and  in  the  absence  of  direct  observations  It  would  be  rash  to  do 
more  than  regard  subsidence  as  very  probable  wherever  the  outer  walls  of  the 
coralline  Islands  plunge  rapidly — as,  however,  they  rarely  do — Into  abysmal  depths. 
Thus  near  Enderbury,  In  the  Phoenix  Archipelago,  the  soundings  reveal  1,800 
fathoms  within  3  miles  of  the  shore,  900  fathoms  at  1,400  yards  from  Danger 
Island,  near  Vanikoro,  while  one  of  the  reefs  at  Tahiti  Indicates  a  seaward  slope  of 
72    degrees. 

On  the  other  hand,  observations  made  in  the  vicinity  of  certain  coralline  islands 
show  that  at  the  foot  of  an  escarpment  less  than  200  feet  high,  there  stretch  vast 
platforms  where  fragments  of  volcanic  origin  have  been  found  scattered  amongst 
crumbling  blocks  of  coral.  In  this  case  it  is  qiilte  possible  that  eruptive  cones 
eroded  by  the  waves  to  a  slight  depth  below  the  marine  surface  may  have  served 
as  foundations  for  the  coral-builders,  or  else  that  their  structures  have  been  raised 
on  rocks  entirely  formed  by  other  organisms  working  at  considerable  depths.  But 
many  protracted  observations  must  still  be  made  before  the  diverse  coralline  Islands 
can  be  classified  according  to  their  origin  and  history.  Several  groups,  such  as 
the  Low  Archipelago,  Fiji,  the  Pelew,  Solomon,  and  Tonga  Islands,  supposed  by 

VOL.    XIV,  I) 


34  AUSTEAIASIA. 

Darwin  to  occuiiy  a  zone  of  subsidence,  are  on  the  contrary  now  known  to  belong 
to  an  area  of  ujjheaval. 

Oceanic  Flora. 

An  oceanic  basin  coTering  over  half  of  the  planetary  surface  from  Behring 
Strait  to  the  Antarctic  regions  must  naturallj^  present  everj'  gradation  of  climate, 
and  consequently  also  a  great  diversity  of  animal  and  vegetable  life.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  continents  the  oceanic  islands  partake  more  or  less  of  the 
adjacent  floras  and  faunas.  Nevertheless  the  Eastern  Archipelago  is  the  only 
insular  group  which  can  be  regarded  as  forming  part  of  the  Old  World  from  the 
standpoint  of  its  natural  history.  The  Indian  flora,  scarcely  arrested  by  the  inter- 
vening shallow  waters,  continued  to  advance  from  island  to  island  towards  the 
south-east.  In  this  insular  region  it  has  even  developed  a  marvellous  wealth  of 
forms,  rivalled  only  in  some  few  privileged  districts  of  the  neighbouring  main- 
land. 

Thanks  to  the  periodical  return  of  the  monsoons,  the  currents  and  counter- 
currents,  the  Indian  flora  has  also  spread  to  the  clusters  of  small  equatorial  groups, 
some  of  which  contain  an  extremely  limited  nvimbor  of  endemic  plants.  On  the 
surprising  resemblance  presented  by  the  native  vegetation  of  remote  islands 
certain  naturalists  base  a  strong  argument  in  favour  of  a  former  vast  expansion 
of  oceanic  lands,  which  are  at  present  broken  into  a  thousand  scattered  fragments. 

But  while  widely  separated  lands  offer  a  great  analogy  in  their  plant  life, 
others  again  lying  in  close  proximity  often  present  the  most  startling  contrasts. 
Thus  Madagascar  possesses  an  independent  flora,  and  in  this  respect  is  by  no  means 
an  African  island,  as  might  be  supposed  from  its  geographical  position.  More 
than  half  of  the  local  species  hitherto  discovered  are  absolutely  indigenous.  The 
volcanic  Mascarenhas  group  also  possess  such  a  large  number  of  peculiar  forms, 
that  these  islands  may  be  regarded  as  so  manj^  distinct  botanical  stations. 

In  the  Pacific  Ocean  the  Hawaiian  Archipelago  also  constitutes  a  separate 
vegetable  zone  ;  of  all  tropical  insular  groups  it  jDossesses  the  relatively  largest 
mmiber  of  endemic  plants.  In  the  Galapagos  group  also  more  than  half  of  the 
species  are  of  local  origin.  Although  this  arcliipelago  lies  near  the  American 
mainland,  and  is  exposed  to  the  direct  influence  of  the  equatorial  current  setting 
from  the  coast  of  Ecuador,  each  of  its  six  islands  to  some  extent  even  constitutes  a 
special  centre.  Thickets  of  plants  belonging  to  a  single  genus  and  growing  on 
analogous  soils  are  nevertheless  formed  of  different  species  in  the  different 
members  of  this  remarkable  group. 

The  flora  of  the  AustraKan  continent  is  one  of  the  most  characteristic  on  the 
globe,  although  its  northern  and  north-western  shores  approach  close  to  the  islands 
forming  part  of  the  Indian  vegetable  zone.  The  contrast  is  very  marked  between 
York  peninsula  in  north  Australia  and  the  south  coast  of  New  Guinea,  yet  the 
shallow  intervening  strait  is  studded  with  islands,  by  which  plants  might  with 
apparent  ease  have  migrated  to  and  fro.  Nor  is  Australia  altogether  destitute  of 
species  of  Indian  origin,  for  in  the  forests  of  the  north-western  regions  no  less 


#  .^1'.'  k 


LiSfiAKIf 

OF  THE 

'jNlVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS, 


OCE.\KIC  FLOEA.  35 

than  a  hundred  different  trees  are  found  which  have  come  from  the  Asiatic 
continent.  But  the  typical  forms  are  the  same  throughout  the  whole  of  Australia, 
where  the  vegetation  everywhere  jDresents  a  great  uniformity  of  aspect.  In 
the  woodlands  the  prevailing  tj'pes  are  those  of  the  eucalyptus,  acacias,  casuarinas, 
and  trees  with  slightly  developed  foliage  or  leaves  pointing  vertically  downwards. 
The  open  stepj^es  are  overgrown  chiefly  with  diverse  kinds  of  scrub  and  brush- 
wood. 

The  Australian  indigenous  flora  is  extremely  rich  in  forms,  in  this  respect 
yielding  only  to  that  of  the  Cape  regions.  New  Caledonia,  although  lying  800 
miles  from  the  coast  of  Queensland,  offers  in  its  vegetation  a  surprising  resem- 
blance to  that  of  Australia  ;  yet  the  distance  is  too  great  to  assume  any  consider- 
able interchange  of  species.  On  the  other  hand  the  New  Hebrides,  lying 
immediately  to  the  east  and  north-east  of  New  Caledonia,  are  connected  with  the 
Indian  zone  by  their  luxuriant  tropical  flora. 

Norfolk  Island,  also  in  the  East  Australian  seas,  is  distinguished  by  its  endemic 
vegetation,  which  includes  one  of  the  finest  species  of  araucarla,  a  palm,  some 
thistles  and  tree-ferns.  It  forms  a  transition  between  Australia  and  New  Zealand, 
which  differ  altogether  in  the  character  of  their  respective  floras.  According  to 
Grisebach,  that  of  New  Zealand  shows  more  afiiuity  with  the  Araucanian  of  South 
America  than  with  that  of  the  neighbouring  continent.  Its  evergreen  woodlands 
are  the  richest  in  the  world  in  tree-ferns,  and  consequently  give  a  better  idea 
than  any  others  of  the  aspect  of  nature  in  the  geological  epochs  when  the  great 
crj'ptogamous  plants  prevailed.  But  on  the  whole  this  flora  is  comparatively  poor, 
which  is  doubtless  due  to  the  isolated  position  of  the  archipelago  in  the  South  Sea. 
Notwithstanding  its  proximity  to  the  Chilian  seaboard,  the  island  of  Juan-Fernandez 
is  connected  with  the  New  Zealand  zone  through  the  high  projiortion  of  its  tree- 
ferns. 

The  impoverished  floras  of  the  oceanic  islands  south  of  the  forty-fifth  degree  of 
latitude  scarcely  deserve  mention  when  compared  with  those  of  the  corresponding 
latitudes  in  the  northern  hemisphere.  Although  lying  as  far  from  the  south  as  do 
Havre  and  Cherbourg  from  the  north  pole,  Kerguelen  Island  possesses  only  eighteen 
flowering  plants,  or  about  five  times  less  than  Spitzbergen.  This  poverty  is  due 
partly  to  its  arid  soil  and  isolated  position,  partly  also  perhaps  to  the  extreme 
uniformity  of  the  annual  climate  and  to  the  deficient  simlight  in  those  foggy 
Austral  regions.  The  lands  lying  nearer  the  antarctic  snows  still  jdosscss  a  few 
stunted  growths,  although  passing  na\'igators  might  suppose  their  rockbound 
shores  absolutely  destitute  of  vegetation.  The  first  explorers  who  ventured  into 
the  antarctic  seas  speak  with  a  sort  of  awe  and  horror  of  these  dreary  wastes,  and 
endless  succession  of  bare  cliffs,  sands,  and  snows  with  peaks  lit  up  by  watery  sun- 
beams or  wrapped  in  mists,  according  as  the  clouds  gathered  or  were  dispersed 
by  the  boisterous  winds.  "  Cursed  lands  !  "  they  exclaimed,  "  abode  of  everlasting 
Q-loom ! " 


D    3 


86  AUSTEALASIA. 

Oceanic  Fauna. 

The  oceanic  -world  has  also  its  special  faunas,  although  their  distribution  presents 
the  greatest  contrast,  according  to  the  direction  of  the  atmospheric  and  marine 
currents,  the  greater  or  less  isolation  and  accessibility  of  the  insular  groups.  The 
seabirds  of  strong  wing  and  keen  vision,  who  sweep  over  the  waters  for  hundreds 
of  miles  at  a  stretch,  have  a  very  wide  range,  limited  north  and  south  only  by 
the  climatic  conditions.  They  accomplish  long  migrations  as  easily  as  the  fish, 
and  are  able  to  spread  from  island  to  island,  like  the  plants  whose  germs  resist  for 
months  the  action  of  the  marine  water.  But  apart  from  these  aquatic  fowl,  who 
dominate  the  aerial  spaces,  most  of  the  local  animals  are  confined  to  their  respective 
insular  domains,  their  migration  from  one  region  to  another  being  mainly  due  to 
the  conscious  or  unwilling  intervention  of  man,  or  else  to  the  facilities  occasionally 
presented  by  geological  changes  in  the  distribution  of  land  and  water.  In  no 
other  way  does  it  seem  possible  to  explain  the  existence  of  species  common  to 
many  remote  islands  as  well  as  to  these  lands  and  the  neighbouring  continents. 
On  the  other  hand,  forms  peculiar  to  a  single  island  or  archijjelago  must  be 
regarded  as  of  strictly  local  origin  or  development.  However  they  may  have 
reached  their  present  habitation,  here  their  evolution  into  distinct  forms  has  been 
accomplished.  But  such  characteristic  types  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  lower 
members  of  the  animal  kingdom. 

Madagascar,  which  almost  ranks  as  a  continent  in  virtue  of  its  peculiar  flora,  is 
no  less  original  in  its  fauna,  which  with  one  or  two  exceptions  appears  to  be  almost 
entirely  local.  The  Mascarenhas  also  constitute  an  independent  centre,  which  till 
recently  comprised  some  birds  badly  equipped  for  the  vital  struggle,  and  conse- 
quently destined  soon  to  disappear  after  the  arrival  of  man. 

Notwithstanding  its  proximity  to  the  Indian  and  Indo-Chinese  peninsulas,  the 
Eastern  Archipelago  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  simple  zoological  dependency  of  the 
mainland.  On  the  contrary,  it  appears  to  be  itself  the  centre  of  dispersion  for 
nimierous  forms,  the  Malay  peninsula  and  Indo-China  having  apparently  received 
from  the  archipelago  as  many  immigrants  as  they  have  sent  thither.  If  the 
elephant,  rhinoceros,  and  tiger  have  reached  Sumatra  from  the  continent,  Borneo, 
or  at  least  the  region  of  which  this  island  is  a  fragment,  has  given  in  exchange 
the  orang-utan  and  several  other  peculiar  insular  forms.  So  rich  is  Malaj'sia  in 
large  mammals  that  this  region  should  be  regarded  as  still  forming  part  of  the 
Asiatic  world. 

The  parting  line  between  the  Malaysian  and  Australian  zoological  zones 
passes  to  the  east  of  Celebes,  which  island  forms  a  little  centre  of  its  own,  very 
distinct  in  many  respects  from  all  its  neighbours. 

Australia,  the  home  of  the  marsupials,  presents  in  its  fauna,  as  in  its  flora,  a 
character  of  antiquity  which  has  led  some  geologists  to  regard  it  as  one  of  those 
regions  whose  surfaces  have  never  been  re-moidded  or  seriously  modified  b}^ 
natural  agencies.  Nevertheless,  comparatively  recent  Tertiary  formations  are  now 
known  to  occupy  a  large  extent  of  the  continent.    The  marsupials,  unknown  in  the 


OCEANIC  FAUNA.  37 

Old  World  except  ia  the  Indo-Chinese  lands,  which  in  this  respect  may  be 
considered  a  dependency  of  Australasia,  are  here  represented  by  no  less  than 
thirteen  genera  and  over  a  hundred  species.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  total 
absence  of  apes,  pachyderms,  and  riuninants,  while  the  carnivora,  rodents,  and 
edentata  are  far  from  numerous. 

In  its  lower  fauna  Australia  is  no  less  original,  its  birds  and  Lizards  being  quite 
distinct  from  those  of  the  Asiatic  continent.  New  Zealand  also  forms  a  separate 
zone,  which  has  long  been  destitute  of  any  characteristic  mammals  except  a  rat, 
and  perhaps  one  species  of  otter.  On  the  other  hand,  it  possessed  two  remarkable 
families  of  bu'ds,  the  apteryx  and  dinornis,  which,  Kke  the  dodo  of  Mauritius,  have 
perished  since  the  arrival  of  man.  New  Zealand  had  no  less  than  fifteen  species 
of  these  birds,  which  belong  to  the  ostrich  family. 

Farther  east  the  Polynesian  islands  are  completely  destitute  of  mammals,  beyond 
some  small  species  of  bats  and  rodents.  Reptiles  are  also  rare ;  while  bii'ds,  thanks 
to  their  power  of  flight  and  natation,  have  been  distributed  in  considerable  numbers 
throughout  the  archipelagoes.  In  the  same  way  man  himself,  passing  in  his  light 
outriggers  beyond  the  straits  and  broader  marine  channels,  has  gradually  colonised 
nearly  all  the  islands  of  Pol}Tiesia. 

Inhabitants  of  the  Oceanic  Regions. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans,  the  oceanic  islanders  had  already  estab- 
lished communication  with  each  other,  and  long  migrations  had  taken  place,  in 
one  direction  towards  Madagascar,  in  the  other  towards  the  remote  eastern  islands 
of  the  Pacific.  The  populations  of  diverse  origin  occupying  the  Eastern  Archipelago, 
who  are  connected  either  by  affinity  or  by  commercial  relations  ^^'ith  the  people  of 
South-east  Asia,  have  long  played  the  part  of  agents  in  promoting  the  intercourse 
that  has  been  maintained  from  one  extremitj'  of  the  ocean  to  the  other.  The 
natives  of  Madagascar  are  at  least  partly  related  to  the  Malays  of  the  Eastern 
Archipelago,  who  have  gradually  spread  their  domain  from  island  to  island  east- 
wards, everywhere  intermingling  with  the  aborigines,  or  else  colonising  unoccupied 
lands.  Nearly  all  the  idioms  spoken  throughout  this  vast  domain,  from  Madagascar 
to  Easter  Island,  from  the  African  to  the  American  waters,  are  regarded  as  more  or 
less  closely  related  members  of  the  one  great  Malayo-Polynesian  linguistic  family. 
Nevertheless  the  extreme  branches  of  this  widespread  family  present  profound 
differences,  while  from  the  connection  must  be  altogether  excluded  all  the 
Australian  and  extract  Tasmanian  languages,  and  many  also  current  amongst  the 
Papuan  and  Negrito  inhabitants  of  New  Guinea,  the  Philippines,  the  Andaman, 
Nicobar,  and  a  few  other  groups. 

But  while  their  common  speech  attests  a  general  movement  of  migration 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans,  the  marked  contrast 
in  their  phj'sical  appearance  indicates  such  a  great  diversity  of  origin,  that  many 
writers  have  grouped  the  oceanic  populations  in  fimdamentally  distinct  brown  or 
dark  races.    But  however  this  be,  such  physical  differences  between  the  inhabitants 


38  AUSTRALASIA. 

of  the  various  insular  groups,  or  of  uplands  and  lowlands,  may  be  largely  explained 
by  the  intermingling  of  the  two  streams  of  ethnical  migration.  While  one  great 
wave  gradually  advanced  along  the  line  of  the  equator  between  Africa  and  America, 
another  stream  set  in  the  transverse  direction,  between  the  south-east  extremity 
of  Asia  and  the  Australian  continent.  Like  the  marine  currents  themselves, 
these  waves  of  human  migration  intermingled  or  intersected  each  other  in  their 
onward  movement  across  the  oceanic  lands.  To  the  stream  which  followed  the 
direction  of  the  equator  was  due  the  diffusion  of  a  common  form  of  speech,  while 
the  transverse  current  passing  from  hemisphere  to  hemisphere  across  the  narrow 
marine  gulfs  and  inlets  brought  from  the  Asiatic  mainland  the  populations  differing 
in  appearance  and  usages,  and  gradually  displaced  the  different  cultures. 

The  various  dark  populations  at  present  scattered  over  the  oceanic  islands 
originally  followed  the  route  of  the  Malay  j^eninsula,  possibly  also  that  of  land_s 
now  vanished  or  flooded  by  the  shallow  waters  of  the  Java  Sea.  But  the  same 
highway  was  afterwards  taken  by  the  Malays  and  other  kindred  people,  by  whom 
the  dark  races  were  displaced,  absorbed,  or  driven  to  remote  islands  and  upland 
regions  of  difficiilt  access.  The  Samangs  and  Sakais  of  the  Malay  peninsula,  the 
Andamanese  Islanders,  the  Negritos  of  the  Philippines,  the  New  Guinea  Papuans, 
and  the  Australians,  although  for  the  most  part  greatly  differing  amongst  them- 
selves, are  generally  regarded  as  belonging  originally  to  the  same  group  as  the 
black  jjopulations  of  India — Santhals,  Gonds,  Kohls,  Mundahs,  and  others.  But  how 
profoundly  the  primitive  type  must  have  become  modified  in  this  wide  area  during 
the  course  of  ages,  when  the  emigrants  advancing  southwards  dwelt  under  diverse 
climates,  exposed  to  difficulties  of  diverse  nature,  compelled  to  modify  their  manner 
of  life  in  a  thousand  ways,  brought  into  friendly  or  hostile  contact  with  distinct 
peoples,  and  intermingling  in  different  proportions  with  all  these  new  elements. 

Wc  arc  separated  only  by  a  period  of  two  thousand  years  from  the  dawn  of 
historic  times  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago ;  yet  this  comparatively  short  period 
suffices  to  show  the  profound  influence  exercised  on  the  southern  maritime  peoples 
by  the  civilisation  introduced  from  Asia.  At  the  beginning  of  this  era  the  Hindus 
were  the  teachers  of  the  popidatious  of  Java,  Bali  and  Sumatra.  Their  influence  is 
known  to  have  even  reached  Borneo,  and  their  far-reaching  activity  is  well  attested 
by  nimierous  moniunents,  local  names,  writing  systems,  religious  legends,  and 
social  visages.  The  Arabs  who  succeeded  the  Hindus,  both  as  instructors  and 
promoters  of  commercial  intercourse,  also  commanded  a  large  measure  of  success 
in  this  insular  region,  where  many  millions  at  present  profess  the  Mohammedan 
religion,  and  where  even  Arabic  family  names  are  current  from  the  Comoros  to 
Borneo. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  action  of  the  Chinese  has  been  less  direct  and  of  more 
limited  extent.  They  keep  more  aloof  from  the  natives,  and  have  never  attempted 
any  religious  propaganda  like  the  missionaries  from  India  and  Arabia  ;  yet  in 
several  districts  the  Chinese  constitute  the  substratum  of  the  population.  The  race 
has  been  incessantly  renewed  by  the  constant  stream  of  immigration  maintained 
for  many  generations  from  the  Celestial  Empire. 


INHABITANTS  OF  THE  OCEANIC  REGIONS.  39 

At  present  the  preponderating  influence  has  passed  to  the  peoples  of  Western 
Europe.  All  these  lands  inhabited  by  Malays,  Negritos,  Papuans,  ^laoris,  and  other 
Polj'nesians,  belong  poKtically  to  one  or  another  European  power,  or  are  already 
regarded  as  coming  within  their  legitimate  sphere  of  action  or  that  of  the  United 
States.  Thus  like  Africa,  the  oceanic  world  is  almost  entirely  parcelled  out  amongst 
the  Western  nations.  Commanding  a  thousand  marine  highways,  including  that 
through  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  created  by  themselves,  these  nations  have  far  out- 
stripped their  Hindu,  Arab,  and  Chinese  forerunners  in  rapidity  of  action,  material 
strength,  and  dominant  civilising  influences,  while  still  increasing  their  hold  of 
these  regions  at  the  ver)-  antipodes  of  the  European  world. 

In  this  political,  commercial,  and  ethnical  expansion  of  the  cultured  peoples  of 
the  West,  the  foremost  place  belongs  unquestionably  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  the 
British  and  American  branches  of  which  seem  destined  jointly  to  absoi-b  the  whole 
of  the  Pacific  insular  lands.  The  yoimg  but  vigorous  colonies  of  Australia  and 
New  Zealand  may  be  said  already  to  constitute  an  oceanic  Britain,  forming  a  sort 
of  equilibrium  with  that  of  the  Northern  hemisphere,  and  serving  as  a  sure  founda- 
tion for  the  futui-e  spread  of  the  English  language,  social  and  political  institutions, 
throughout  the  Eastern  seas,  from  Auckland  Island  to  the  Sandwich  Archipelago, 
from  Torres  Strait  to  Easter  Island. 

The  great  ethnical  divisions  of  the  people  occupying  the  oceanic  region 
correspond  in  a  general  way  with  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  insular 
groups  themselves.  Madagascar  forms  a  little  world  of  its  own,  where  the  Malay 
immigrants,  and  the  aborigines  of  African  descent  have  already  been  merged  in  a 
single  nationality  with  absolute  uniformity  of  speech.  The  Eastern  Archipelago  and 
the  Philipjnnes  are  mainly  inhabited  by  the  Malays,  closely  related  to  those  of  the 
Asiatic  peninsula  to  which  they  give  their  name.  But  amongst  them  still  sui'vive 
isolated  communities  of  different  origin,  dark  and  dwarfish  peoples  by  many 
supposed  to  be  of  Dravidian  or  Kolarian  stock.  The  Pelew,  Marianne,  Caroline, 
and  Marshall  groujis  stretching  north  of  the  equator  and  of  the  Melanesian  lands, 
and  to  which  the  collective  term  Micronesia  has  been  fittingly  applied,  offer  a 
mixture  of  races  constituting  an  ethnical  transition  between  the  Malays,  the  Papuans, 
and  the  natives  of  the  smaller  insular  dependencies  of  Japan,  Farther  south  the 
expression  Melanesia,  indicating  the  black  complexion  of  the  great  bulk  of  the 
inhabitants,  has  been  similarly  ajjplied  to  Papuasia,  or  New  Guinea,  ^vith  the  adjoin- 
ing groups  of  New  Britain,  Now  Ireland,  the  Solomon  Islands,  New  Caledonia,  and 
the  New  Hebrides. 

Till  recently  the  Australian  continent  also  belonged  to  an  aboriginal  dark  race 
of  homogeneous  type,  with  scarcely  a  trace  of  Malay  blood  except  here  and  there  on 
the  north  and  north-west  coastlands.  Lastly  all  the  eastern  islands,  from  Hawaii 
to  New  Zealand,  constitute  the  watery  domain  of  the  large  brown  Polijnesian  race, 
which  also  preserves  a  remarkable  imiformity  of  type,  except  in  Fiji  and  a  few 
other  places,  where  it  has  been  modified  by  intermixture  with  the  aboriginal 
Melanesian  element. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  MASCAKENHAS. 
Reunion — Maukitius — Rodrigues. 

HE  term  Mascarcnhas,  origiually  applied  iu  1513  by  the  Portuguese 
navigator,  Pedro  de  Mascarenhas,  to  the  single  island  of  Reunion, 
has  gradually  been  extended  to  the  whole  group,  which  although 
geologically  distract,  presents  great  uniformity  in  its  outlines, 
climate,  productions,  and  history.  Long  united  politically  under 
the  sovereignty  of  Franee,  the  different  members  of  the  archipelago  still  remain 
sister  islands,  at  least  in  the  homogeneous  character  of  their  white  populations. 
After  the  conquest,  however.  Reunion  alone  was  restored  to  France,  England 
retaining  possession  of  Mauritius,  the  most  important  if  not  the  largest,  together 
with  its  natural  dependency,  Rodi-igues.  They  have  jointly  a  superficial  area  of 
1,600  square  miles,  and  a  population  in  1888  of  nearly  560,000.  This  gives  a 
density  of  350  to  the  square  mile,  although  the  hiUy  districts  are  mostly  unin- 
habited. 

The  two  chief  islands,  of  nearly  equal  size  and  configuration,  are  irregular 
oval  cones  of  volcanic  origin  rising  from  great  depths  to  considerable  elevations 
above  the  surface.  Reunion,  the  larger  and  higher,  has  alone  a  still  active  crater ; 
but  in  economic  importance  it  is  far  surpassed  by  Mauritius,  the  north-eastern 
island,  which  has  the  advantage  of  a  natural  haven  serving  as  a  convenient 
harbour  of  refuge  in  those  stormy  waters.  This  port  has  consequently  become 
the  centre  of  an  active  export  trade,  and  the  headquarters  of  various  industrial 
enterprises  in  Madagascar  and  other  parts  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 

Being  exposed  to  the  same  regidar  south-east  trade  winds  and  land  breezes,  and 
equally  well  watered  on  the  windward  side,  both  islands  are  subject  to  the  same 
climatic  conditions.  Thus  the  mean  annual  rainfall  in  Mauritius  is  about  150  inches, 
in  Reunion  160  to  165  inches,  while  both  are  frequently  devastated  by  the  same 
destructive  cyclones.  These  tremendous  hurricanes,  which  are  developed  between 
5°  and  10°  S.  latitude,  sweep  over  the  Indian  Ocean  in  an  oblique  dii-ection  towards 
the  south-west.  In  the  Mascarenhas  waters,  or  farther  west  near  Madagascar, 
they  are  deflected  to  the  south  and  again  to  the  south-east,  thus  taking  the  opposite 
direction  to  the  regidar  trades.    Although  occurring  at  every  season,  they  are  rare 


J 


THE  M/\.SCAEENHAS.  41 

in  winter,  and  most  frequent  between  December  and  April,  but  especially  to  be 
dreaded  in  Februarj',  when  the  waters  are  churned  up,  giving  to  the  seas  the 
appearance  of  a  boiling  caldron.  Dui'ing  the  storm  of  February  26th,  1860, 
many  vessels  foundered,  and  cargoes  to  the  value  of  £120,000  were  swallowed  up 
by  the  waves,  while  tweutj-- three  thousand  native  huts  were  swept  away  by  the 
still  more  terrific  gale  of  1868.  Occasionally  huge  blocks  of  coral  are  torn  from 
the  reefs  and  borne  by  the  raging  waters  far  into  the  interior,  looking  as  if  hurled 
across  the  land  by  some  tremendous  submarine  explosion. 

Flora  and  Fauna. 

Owing  to  their  oceanic  origin  the  Mascarenhas  have  an  independent  flora  and 
fauna,  differing  not  only  from  those  of  the  Asiatic  and  African  continents,  but  also 
from  those  of  Madagascar  and  neighbouring  islands.  It  is  no  longer  possible  to 
determine  the  exact  nature  of  the  local  flora  before  the  arrival  of  the  first  settlers, 
as  since  that  time  most  of  the  forests  have  been  cleared  and  cultivated  plants  intro- 
duced, while  some  three  hundred  wild  species  have  supplanted  the  indigenous 
forms.  Except  the  citron,  Eeunion  appears  to  possess  no  fruit-tree  peculiar  to 
itself.  Nevertheless  botanists  still  enimierate  over  five  hundred  endemic  plants 
in  the  Mascarenhas  and  Seychelles.  Of  the  forms  common  to  other  regions,  the 
Asiatic  are  more  numerous  than  those  of  African  origin.  Of  twenty-two  varieties 
of  the  pandanus,  these  islands  possess  as  many  as  twenty,  and  of  these  nine 
are  peculiar  to  Mauritius,  four  to  Ileunion,  three  to  the  Seychelles,  and  two  to 
Rodrigues.  The  large  proportion  of  ferns  and  orchids  imparts  to  the  vegetation 
of  the  Mascarenhas  a  distinct  place  among  insular  floras. 

Most  naturalists  admit  that  all  the  mammals  at  present  foimd  in  the  island — a 
Madagascar  lemurian  and  centetes,  a  wild  cat,  a  hare,  some  rats  and  mice — have 
been  introduced  by  the  colonists.  Some  lizards,  snakes,  and  frogs  also  occur ; 
while  the  land  tui-tles,  fonnerly  so  nimierous  that  they  "paved"  the  beach,  have 
been  exterminated  by  the  fishermen.  The  deer,  still  met  in  Mauritius  but  extinct 
in  Reunion,  were  introduced  by  the  Portuguese,  and  efforts  have  recently  been 
made  to  acclimatise  the  ostrich.  Strange  to  say,  the  islet  of  Ronde,  about  16 
miles  north  of  Mauritius,  forms  a  separate  biological  kingdom,  possessing  one 
peculiar  species  of  cabbage-palm,  some  lizards,  two  snakes,  and  relatively  more 
monocotyledonous  plants  than  any  other  region  in  the  world. 

These  islands  were  formerly  noted  for  their  large  wingless  birds,  such  as  the 
dodo  and  the  aphanapterix,  the  "  solitary  "  {pezo2>haps  solitaria),  the  giant  water- 
fowl larger  than  a  man,  a  species  of  lori,  as  well  as  many  others,  the  non-fossilised 
remains  of  which  have  recently  been  discovered  by  Clarke  in  Maiu'itius.  But  a 
few  decades  after  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  all  these  helpless  birds,  apparently 
dating  from  the  Miocene  epoch,  had  already  disappeared,  falling  an  easy  prey  to 
the  rats,  dogs,  cats,  and  pigs  of  the  settlers.  Quite  recently  the  aledorcenas  nitidis- 
sima,  a  species  of  pigeon,  has  become  extinct  in  Mauritius,  just  as  the  akcforcenas 
rodericana,  another  variety  of  the  same  genus,  had  already  died  out  in  Rodrigues. 


42  AUSTEALASIA. 


Inhabitants. 


Like  the  Seyclielles  and  neighbouring  insular  groups,  the  Mascarenhas  were 
completely  uninhabited  till  the  year  1616,  when  Pronis,  governor  of  Fort  Dauphin 
in  Madagascar,  transj)orted  twelve  mutineers  to  Reunion.  But  these,  as  well  as 
a  few  French  and  Malagasy  who  established  themselves  at  St.  Paul  in  1655,  soon 
disappeared ;  and  the  first  permanent  settlement,  consisting  of  two  Frenchmen  and  a 
few  Negro  slaves,  was  delayed  to  the  year  1663.  Living  a  free  life  in  the  midst  of 
abundance,  with  no  enemies  to  fight  or  governors  to  oppress  them,  the  little  settle- 
ment prospered,  villages  were  founded  in  the  midst  of  plantations,  and  trade  was 
opened  with  the  mother  country.  Then  came  the  French  East  India  Company, 
which  monopolised  the  commerce  of  Bourbon  (Reunion),  while  Cerne  was  seized 
by  the  Dutch  and  by  them  renamed  Mauritius  in  1598.  But  the  Dutch  settlement 
having  been  abandoned,  Mauritius  was  occupied  by  the  French  of  Boui'bon  in  1715. 
These  early  settlers,  mostly  from  Normaudj',  Brittanj^  and  Sautonge,  were  the 
ancestors  of  most  of  the  white  populations  which  now  inhabit  the  Mascarenhas  and 
Seychelles  to  the  number  of  about  eighty  thousand. 

These  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean  offer  a  remarkable  instance  of  tropical  lands 
where  the  European  race  has  succeeded  in  establishing  itself,  although  later 
intermixture  makes  it  impossible  now  to  determine  the  real  proportion  of  whites 
amongst  the  present  miscellaneous  elements.  But  the  French  Creole  families  are 
known  to  be  very  fruitful,  averaging  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  children  to  one 
thousand  married  women,  or  one-third  more  than  in  France. 

But  the  Europeans,  including  some  English  since  the  occupation  of  Mauritius, 
Rodrigues,  and  the  Seychelles  by  Great  Britain,  constitute  only  a  minority  of  the 
present  population,  which  comprises  the  descendants  of  Malagasy,  Kafir,  and  other 
African  slaves  emancipated  by  the  French  Republic.  This  measure,  however,  was 
successfidly  resisted  by  the  planters,  and  the  blacks  did  not  acquire  their  indepen- 
dence till  about  the  middle  of  the  present  centmy.  Although  they  are  greatly 
inferior  in  number  to  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants,  their  French  Creole  jargon  has 
become  the  common  medium  of  intercourse  for  all — French,  English,  Chinese, 
Arabs,  Malays,  and  Hindus. 

The  abolition  of  slavery  obliged  the  planters  to  introduce  coolies  from  China, 
Malaysia,  India,  and  especially  Malabar,  the  term  "  Malabar  "  being  now  commonly 
applied  to  all  the  Hindus  of  whatever  origin.  Every  precaution  was  taken  to 
protect  the  freedom  of  these  coolies,  but  on  most  of  the  plantations  the  old  treat- 
ment of  the  Negro  slaves  continued  to  be  appHed  to  the  hirelings.  The  immigra- 
tion of  the  Indians,  now  more  numerous  in  Mauritius  than  all  the  other  elements 
combined,  has  also  been  carried  out  in  violation  of  the  natural  laws.  Owing  to 
the  scarcity  of  women  but  few  families  coidd  be  established,  and  polyandria  became 
the  rule  on  the  plantations.  The  few  children  of  these  households  were  greatly 
neglected,  and  the  excessive  infant  mortality  had  to  be  compensated  by  continuous 
fresh  importations  from  China  and  India.  To  the  Chinese  was  due  the  introduc- 
tion of  leprosy,  to  the  Hindus  the  so-called  "  Bombay  fever,"  which   in  1866-8 


MAUEITIUS.  4:3 

swept  away  seventy-two  thousand  souls,  or  one-fourth  of  the  popuhition  of  Mauritius. 
And  although  these  epidemics  have  decreased,  the  general  poverty  is  greater  than 
ever,  owing  chiefly  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  population,  in  which  the  Hindus  arc 
steadily  acquiring  the  predominance  over  aU  other  sections  of  the  community,  in 
wealth  and  influence  as  well  as  iu  numbers. 

Mauritius. 

Although  forming  a  link  in  the  great  semicircular  chain  of  islands,  Mauritius 
appears  never  to  have  been  connected  with  any  other  land,  but  to  have  been 
independently  upheaved.  Consisting  entirely  of  basaltic  rocks,  it  is  probably  older 
than  Reunion,  its  coasts  being  much  more  indented,  its  hills  more  eroded,  and  its 
craters  more  obliterated.  The  great  central  mass  is  encircled  by  plains  of  reddish 
clay  formerly  clothed  with  dense  forests,  but  now  laid  out  in  plantations  and  gardens 
and  studded  with  villages.  The  central  plateau  is  dominated  by  the  Piton  du 
Midi  (2,000  feet),  consisting  exclusively  of  horizontally  disposed  columnar  basalt, 
but  exceeded  in  altitude  by  the  Black  River  peak,  cvdminating  point  of  the  island 
(2,730  feet).  Above  the  picturesque  hills  in  the  northern  district  rises  the  remark- 
able obelisk- shaped  Pieter  Both  (2,700  feet)  sui-mounted  by  an  enormous  globular 
block,  which  adventui'ous  cHmbers  have  occasionally  scaled  by  means  of  ropes  and 
ladders. 

The  periphery  is  encircled  by  fringing  reefs  and  islets  with  here  and  there  a 
few  navigable  channels  giving  access  to  the  harbours.  Cliffs  of  marine  origin 
now  rising  above  the  surface,  show  that  Mauritius  has  undergone  a  change  of  level 
since  its  first  upheaval.  La  Ronde,  La  Plate,  Le  Coin  de  Mire,  and  other  islets 
near  the  north  coast  are  covered  with  refuse  which  attest  the  former  existence  of 
an  active  volcano  in  these  waters. 

Mauritius  has  become  almost  completely  disafforested,  all  the  magnificent 
timber,  matted  together  with  a  network  of  creepers,  as  described  by  Bcrnardin  de 
Saint-Pierre,  having  entirely  disappeared.  These  clearances  have  had  the  usual 
result  of  disturbing  the  discharge  of  the  streams,  which  are  alternately  flooded  and 
nearly  dry  watercourses.  At  the  foot  of  the  hills  are  also  formed  temporary 
meres,  whose  deadly  exhalations  are  diffused  far  and  wide.  The  droughts  are 
longer,  the  rains  more  sudden,  more  copious  and  irregidar,  and  extensive  tracts 
formerly  under  cultivation  are  now  barren  -wastes. 

The  only  large  town  is  the  capital.  Port  Louis,  on  the  east  or  leeward  side, 
with  a  haven  sheltered  by  coral  reefs,  and  defended  by  forts  and  batteries. 
Founded  by  Matie  de  la  Bourdonnais  in  1735,  to  replace  an  older  port  on  the 
south-east  coast,  Port  Louis  has  gradually  monopolised  the  whole  trade  of  the 
island.  But  although  presenting  a  pleasant  aspect  towards  the  sea,  it  lacks  the 
splendour  and  elegance  one  would  expect  to  find  in  one  of  the  chief  commercial 
centres  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  with  a  population  of  over  seventy  thousand.  Many 
of  the  suburbs,  and  even  some  of  the  busy  quarters,  being  occupied  by  the  Hindus 
and  Malagasy,  have  a  poverty-stricken  and  neglected  appearance,  while  much  of 


44 


AUSTEALASIA. 


its  former  trade  has  been  diverted  elsewhere  by  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal. 
Nevertheless,  the  exchanges  still  average  considerably  over  £5,500,000  yearly;  the 
port  is  always  crowded  with  shipping,  and  connected  by  regular  steam  service 
with  Europe  through  the  Suez  Canal,  as  well  as  with  Madagascar  and  Reunion. 


Fig.  12. — Mabeitius. 
Scale  t :  750,000. 


b.Tsb  oF  Oreen 


The  staple  produce  and  exports  are  sugar  and  rum,  the  island  possessing  over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  sugar  mills,  and  forty  distilleries,  yielding  on  an  average 
from  fifty  to  eighty  thousand  tons  of  sugar,  and  five  thousand  gallons  of  rum, 
worti  altogether  from  £160,000  to  £200,000.    Other  articles  of  export  are  vanilla. 


h      • 


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B 

..??. 

,'^-i 

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LIBRAHy 

OF  THE 

^"^'^'eRSlTy  of  ILLINOIS. 


•5ioNmii"^JLisa3MNn 

3H.I  JO 


MAUEITITTS. 


45 


aloe  fibre,  and  cocoanut  oil,  the  imp  orts  being  European  wares,  rice  from  Bombay, 
maize  and  cattle  from  ITadagascar. 

The  whole  island  is  intersected  by  railways  connecting  the  capital  with  the 
chief  groups  of  plantations  and  residences  of  the  wealthy  classes.  On  the  north- 
east Kne,  six  miles  from  the  capital,  lie  the  sugar  works  of  Pamplemousse,  and  close 
by  the  famous  garden,  founded  in  1768  by  Poivre,  for  the  cultivation  of  tropical 
plants.    Here  are  aome  of  the  finest  avenues  in  the  world,  and  the  place  is  still  better 

Fig.  13. — Poet  Locis. 
Scale  1 :  125,000. 


640  Feet  and 
upwards. 


known  as  the  scene  of  Bernardin  de  Saint-Pierre's  "  Paul  and  Virginia. "  To  the 
north-east  lies  the  reef-fringed  isle  of  Amber,  where  was  wrecked  the  Saint-Giran, 
as  related  by  this  charming  writer.  Such  also  is  the  power  of  the  popular  imagina- 
tion, that  travellers  are  shown  the  very  graves  of  the  two  lovers. 

The  railway  running  from  Saint-Louis  towards  the  south-east  traverses  the 
"Wilhelm's  Plains,  where  Curepipe,  lying  about  the  geometrical  centre  of  the  island 
and  1,800  feet  above  the  sea,  has  become  the  chief  health  resort  in  Mauritius. 
The  experimental  tea  plantation  of  this  district  contained  in  1887  over  twelve 


46  AUSTBALASIA. 

thousand  plants  in  good  condition.  The  south-east  line  terminates  on  the  east 
coast  at  MaJii-bourfj,  marking  the  site  of  one  of  the  earliest  Dutch  settlements. 

Mauritius  is  a  crown  colon}',  whose  governor,  as  well  as  the  five  members  of  the 
executive  council,  is  named  by  the  Queen.  According  to  the  modified  constitution 
of  1884-5,  eight  of  the  twenty-seven  members  of  the  legislative  council  are  ex-officm 
members,  nine  are  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  ten  elected  by  citizens  enjoying 
a  certain  income.  The  defensive  forces  consisted  in  1887  of  four  hundred  and 
forty-three  men,  and  half  of  the  military  expenditure  is  defrayed  by  the  home 
Government.  The  legislation,  partly  French  and  partly  English,  is  extremely 
complicated,  affording  ample  scojje  for  endless  litigation,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the 
lawyers.  Although  there  is  no  State  religion,  both  the  Catholic  and  Anglican 
Churches  receive  State  aid,  the  latter  out  of  proportion  to  its  numbers.  Grants  are 
also  given  to  a  certain  number  of  schools,  which,  however,  are  scarcely  numerous 
enough  to  afford  primary  instruction  to  one-fom'th  of  the  children.  Mauritius 
possesses  several  scientific  and  literary  institutions,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
periodicals,  as  many  as  six  daily  papers  appearing  in  the  capital.  The  revenue, 
although  exceeding  £700,000,  scarcely  covers  the  expenditure,  and  there  is  a  public 
debt  of  over  £800,000.  The  official  currencj'  is  the  Indian  rupee  of  ten  to  the 
pound  sterling,  and  the  metrical  system  is  obligatory  since  1878. 

With  the  exception  of  Sokotra,  all  the  English  islands  in  the  Indian  Ocean, 
including  even  the  Chagos  and  other  groups  belonging  geographically  to  India, 
depend  administratively  on  Mauritius. 

Eeunion. 

The  largest  of  the  Mascarenhas,  officiall}'  designated  as  "  He  de  la  Reunion," 
but  also  still  known  by  its  old  name  of  Bourbon,  presents  a  smaller  extent  of 
arable  land  and  is  consequently  less  densely  peopled  than  Mauritius.  The  surface 
consists  chiefly  of  hills  and  steeply  escarped  plateaux,  fringed  by  a  narrow  belt  of 
plains  and  gently  inclined  slopes.  Hence  most  of  the  central  parts  are  nearly 
uninhabited,  the  population  being  confined  mainly  to  a  restricted  zone  of  coast- 
lands.  But  although  it  has  preserved  its  romantic  aspect.  Reunion,  like  Mauritius, 
has  lost  its  primeval  woodlands,  which  formerly  descended  to  the  water's  edge,  and 
earned  for  the  island  the  title  of  "  Eden." 

The  main  axis  is  disposed,  not  north-oast  and  south-west  like  that  of  Mauritius, 
but  uorth-west  and  south-east,  and  in  this  direction  are  disposed  all  the  higher 
crests.  At  the  entrance  of  the  gorges  occur  a  few  narrow  alluvial  or  shingly  plains, 
but  elsewhere  the  escari^meuts  rise  everywhere  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge  to 
the  plateaux  occupying  the  interior  of  the  island.  In  the  central  parts,  where  the 
land  has  been  eroded  by  the  running  waters,  the  upland  plains  exceed  5,000  feet 
in  mean  height,  the  partiug  line  between  the  two  slopes  rising  in  some  places  even  to 
an  altitude  of  over  C,500  feet,  and  culminating  in  the  Piton  des  Neiges,  about 
10,000  feet.  Mount  Cimandef  ("Bonnet  Pointu"),  a  regular  pyramid  forming  a 
northern    shoulder  of    this   piton,  although    only   7,300  feet,   seems    to    be   the 


EEUNIOX. 


47 


highest  point  of  the  island  when  seen  from  the  north-'n'est  between  St.  Denis 
and  St.  Paul. 

Towards  the  eastern  extremity  the  erxiptive  lavas  have  developed  two  masses, 
whose  cre.sts  exceed  7,600  and  8,000  feet.  Here  is  situated  the  semicircular 
Grand  Enclos,  whose  two  outer  ramparts  stretching  seawards  completeh'  enclose 
the  Grand  Brule  volcano.  The  cirque,  averaging  from  800  to  1,000  feet,  is 
perhaps  the  most  regular  formation  of  this  kind  in  the  whole  world.  It  encloses  a 
space  of  about  40  square  miles  in  extent,  the  encircling  walls  having  a  total 
length  of  28  or  30  miles.     Farther  west  occur  similar  formations,  and  in  recent 

Fi,?.  14.— The  Gean-d  Bcfxt. 

Scale  1  :  100,000. 


years  a  second  "enclosure"  has  been  developed  within  the  first  round  about  the 
central  crater. 

Here  eruptions  are  still  frequent ;  towards  the  end  of  the  last  centiuy  thej- 
occurred  at  least  twice  a  year,  and  between  1800  and  1860  as  mauj-  as  twenty 
copious  discharges  were  recorded  by  M.  Maillard.  The  outbursts  are  at  times 
accompanied  by  showers  of  ashes  and  other  igneous  matter,  such  as  those  slender 
threads  of  obsidian  which  the  Hawaii  islanders  call  the  "  hair  of  the  goddess 
Pele."  In  many  parts  of  the  Grand  Bride  roofs  of  hardened  scoriae  conceal  the 
hollow  passages  through  which  the  Hquid  lava  streams  were  formerly  discharged, 
and  these  incrustations,  which  easily  give  way,  are  a  source  of  great  danger  to 
Tuiguarded  wayfarers  on  the  flanks  of  the  volcano. 

Indications  of  upheaval  to  a  height  of  250  feet  have  been  observed  on   the 


48  AUSTRALASIA. 

soutli-west  side  of  Reunion,  where  old  coralliae  beaches  are  seen  rising  above  the 
jiresent  coastline.  But  owing  to  the  great  depth  of  the  surrounding  waters,  coral 
reefs,  such  as.  those  that  completely  encircle  Mauritius,  are  somewhat  rare  on  the 
shores  of  the  sister  island. 

Besides  its  symmetrical  volcanic  formations.  Reunion  is  also  remarkable  for  the 
wonderful  cirques  formed  by  the  erosive  action  of  the  tropical  rains.  On  the  west 
side  occur  three  of  these  vast  funnel-shaped  basins  with  intervening  narrow 
ridges  radiating  from  the  central  mass  of  the  Gros  Morne,  the  whole  being  thus 
disposed  "  like  a  three-leaved  shamrock."  These  deep  chasms — Cilaos,  Mafate, 
and  Salazie — sources  rcsjoectivelj^  of  the  rivers  St.  Etienne,  Galets,  and  Mat, 
have  each  their  thermal  waters,  of  which  the  most  efficacious  is  that  of  Mafate, 
which  abounds  in  sulj^hur.  In  the  neighbourhood  rises  the  isolated  mountain 
mass  of  the  Piton  d'Enchein,  with  a  romantic  lakelet  at  its  foot. 

In  their  general  disposition  the  insular  streams  present  the  character  of  Alpine 
torrents,  destructive  in  their  upper  courses,  and  farther  down  depositing  the  debris 
produced  by  their  erosive  action.  The  vastness  of  these  erosions  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  the  Salazie  cirque  alone  has  been  excavated  to  the  extent  of  no 
less  than  3,000,000  ciibic  feet.  The  process  of  denudation  is  still  going  on,  and 
even  Increasing,  owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  forests  on  the  mountain  slopes,  the 
hand  of  man  thus  tcndmg  to  transform  a  naturally  fertile  Island  Into  a  barren 
rock. 

The  dwarf  bamboo  {hainhusa  alpina),  locally  known  by  the  name  of  "calumet," 
forms  on  the  hillsides  a  sharjjly  defined  vegetable  zone  between  the  altitudes  of 
4,500  and  5,000  feet.  Farther  up  the  plateaux  and  higher  summits  are  partly 
clothed  with  the  hubertla,  a  large  shrub  with  gnarled  twisted  stem,  which  throws 
off  numerous  smooth  branches  bearing  large  clusters  of  yellow  blossom. 

As  in  Miiui'itius,  the  chief  Industry  Is  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane,  combined 
with  sugar  refining  and  the  distillation  of  rum.  Since  the  wars  of  the  Empire 
the  sugar  plantations  have  gradually  supplanted  all  other  cultivated  plants  on  the 
coastland  ujo  to  an  altitude  of  from  2,800  to  over  3,000  feet,  jdelding  an  average 
yearly  crop  of  thirty  thousand  to  forty  thousand  tons.  Formerly  the  annual  crop 
was  estimated  at  sixty  thousand  tons,  but  this  industry  has  suffered  much  from 
various  forms  of  blight  as  well  as  from  the  competition  of  beetroot  sugar.  During 
the  last  century  coffee  was  the  staple  product  in  Bourbon,  where  a  native  variety 
{cqffca  Mauriciana)  had  been  discovered,  but  at  present  the  only  important  coffee 
plantations  are  those  of  St.  Leu  and  St.  Pierre.  The  clove,  which  formerly 
contributed  to  enrich  the  island,  has  ceased  to  be  grown,  but  on  the  other  hand 
vanilla  has  become  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  export,  the  yield  amounting  In  1887 
to  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  more  than  that  of  any  other  colony, 
and  alone  sufficient  to  supply  the  whole  of  Europe.  Neither  tea,  the  vine,  nor 
cotton  are  grown,  but  cinchona  has  lately  been  acclimatised,  and  in  1888  as  many 
as  20,700  of  this  valuable  plant  were  already  flourishing  In  the  Island. 

But,  as  in  Maiiritlus,  the  development  of  these  plantations  has  been  attended 
by  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the  growth  of  alimentary  plants,  and  notwith- 


4t        ■>*«#.  .^, 


#^ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


REUNION. 


49 


standing  its  fertility,  the  soil  no  longer  yields  sufficient  corn,  vegetables,  or  fruits 
for  the  local  demand.  Consequently  these  provisions,  as  well  as  cattle  and  other 
live  stock,  have  now  to  be  imported,  chiefly  from  Madagascar,  and  rice  for  the 
coolies  from  Bengal.  The  extension  of  the  plantations,  owned  by  a  few  great 
proprietors,  has  also  had  the  effect  of  driving  the  old  settlers  from  their  small 
holdings,  which  can  no  longer  be  worked  profitably,  and  compelling  them  to  swell 
the  number  of  idle  hands  in  the  large  towns.     The  great  landowners  have  thus 

Fig.  15.— The  Theee  Cikques. 
Scale  1 :  200,000. 


gradually  absorbed  everything  except  a  few  ilcttcs  or  isolated  plots  in  the  upland 
vallej^s. 

The  competition  of  European  wares  has  hitherto  prevented  the  development  of 
any  local  manufacturing  industries.  No  attempt  has  even  been  made  to  utilise 
the  inexhaustible  deposits  of  titanic  iron  thrown  up  by  the  waves  on  the  beach  at 
St.  Leu,  although  these  sands  contain  a  mean  proportion  of  over  fifty  per  cent. 
of  pure  metal.     Reunion  has  a  small  commercial  fleet,  but  nearly  all  the  foreign 

VOL,    XIV,  p 


50 


AUSTRALASIA. 


trade  is  carried  on  under  the  French  flag,  and  especially  by  the  steamers  plying 
regularly  between  the  Mascarenhas  and  Madagascar. 

Topography  of  Reunion. 

Sf.  TJciiis,  present  capital  of  the  island,  is  not  the  oldest  French  settlement, 
having  been  preceded  by  St.  Paid,  founded  by  pioneers  from  Fort  Dauphin 
(Madagascar),  on  the  north-west  coast.  It  occupies  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
island  between  two  small  rivers,  and  is  a  fine  European  city  of  some  forty  thousand 
inhabitants,  well  laid  out  with  regular  streets  and  some  handsome  public  buildings 

Pis'.   Hi. — The  Maeina  of  St.  Denis. 


such  as  the  governor's  palace,  town  hall,  barracks,  hospital,  lyceum,  and  museum. 
A  large  space  in  the  very  heart  of  the  town  is  occupied  by  a  beautiful  botanic 
garden.  But  St.  Denis,  lying  on  the  windward  side  of  the  island,  is  exposed  to 
the  full  fury  of  the  cyclonic  gales,  and  as  it  possesses  no  large  sheltered  harbour, 
the  shipping,  on  the  approach  of  these  hurricanes,  is  obliged  to  quit  the  open  road- 
stead and  take  refuge  on  the  high  seas.  Nevertheless  a  brisk  trade  is  carried  on, 
especially  in  sugar,  of  which  nearly  twenty  thousand  tons  were  exported  in  1886. 

Till  recently  the  safest,  or  rather  the  least  dreaded,  seaport  on  the  west  side  of 
the  island  was  Sf.  Paid,  lying  "  under  the  wind  "  some  28  miles  from  the 
capital,  on  a  semicircular  bay  protected  on  the  north  by  the  triangular  i^eninsula 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS, 


REUNION. 


51 


of  Pohite  des  Galetn.  But  this  place  oifers  few  facilities  for  trade,  and  is  moreover 
frequently  exposed  to  the  so-called  "  vent  de  St.  Gilles,"  a  sort  of  back-current 
from  the  regular  monsoon,  sweeping  round  from  the  east  to  the  west  side  of  the 
island.  A  harbour  of  refuge,  however,  has  lately  been  constructed  at  a  cost  of  no 
less  than  £2,700,000,  to  the  north  of  St.  Paul,  under  the  shelter  of  the  Pointe 
des  Galets.  The  basin,  which  is  accessible  to  the  largest  vessels  frequenting  these 
waters,  has  an  extent  of  over  forty  acres,  with  a  depth  of  26  feet.     This  port  is 


Fig.  17.— St.  Pieree. 
Scale  1  :  12.000. 


conveniently  situated  towards  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  productive  parts  of  the 
island,  where  it  is  least  exposed  to  the  violence  of  the  cyclones.  Some  of  the 
blocks  used  in  constructing  the  sea-waUs  weigh  as  much  as  a  hundred  and  twenty 
tons. 

South  of  St.  Paul  follow  the  half-deserted  towns  of  St.  Leu  and  St.  Louis, 
and  beyond  them  the  prosperous  seaport  of  St.  Pierre,  with  a  weU- constructed 
harbour  and  solid  breakwater  enclosing  an  outer  basin  30  to  50  feet  deep. 
Here  is  the  terminal  station  of  the  coast  railway,  which  describes  a  curve  of  75 
miles  round  half   the  periphery  of  the  island  through  St.  Paul,  the  Pointe  des 

E  2 


52  AUSTEALAPTA. 

Galets,  St.  Denis,  to  Sf.  Brnoif.     This  line  is  a  remarkable  piece  of  engineering 
work,  abounding  in  deep  cuttings,  bridges,  embankments,  and  tunnels. 

Beyond  the  villages  of  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Fhilippc  on  the  south  coast,  the 
zone  of  inhabitable  and  fertile  lands  is  interrupted  by  the  eruptive  rocks  discharged 
from  the  Grand  Brul^  and  several  secondary  craters.  But  after  passing  St. 
Rose  the  main  highway  round  the  coast  leads  to  St.  Benoit,  which  may  claim  the 
title  of  a  town,  and  which  is  approached  by  a  handsome  bridge  here  crossing  the 
River  des  Marsouins.  The  railway  from  St.  Benoit  to  St.  Denis  passes  by 
Bras-Pown,  one  of  the  few  places  in  the  island  which  is  not  under  the  protection 
of  some  patron  saint. 

Administration. 

Reunion  is  represented  in  France  by  a  senator  and  two  deputies,  while  the 
local  administration  is  entrusted  to  a  governor,  assisted  by  a  council,  which  is 
composed  of  the  chief  officials  and  two  of  the  leading  citizens.  Thei'e  is  also 
a  general  council  of  thirty-sis  members  elected  by  the  cantons,  and  judicial 
matters  are  controlled  bj-  a  procureur-general.  The  mother  country  votes  a 
yearly  subsidy  for  the  suj^port  of  the  officials  and  of  the  garrison,  numbering  from 
three  thousand  to  four  thousand  men.  But  public  works  and  instruction  are  pro- 
vided for  by  the  direct  and  indirect  taxes,  constituting  a  considerable  local  burden. 

The  island  is  divided  administratively  into  eight  cantons  and  sixteen  communes, 
tabulated  in  the  Appendix. 

RODRIGUES. 

Within  a  recent  period  Rodrigues,  the  Diego  Ra'is  of  the  Portuguese,  was 
supposed  to  be  of  diifcrent  origin  from  other  members  of  the  Maseareuhas  grou.p. 
Although  it  had  been  classed  by  Bory  de  Saint- Vincent  and  other  naturalists 
amongst  volcanic  lands,  Iliggin*  had  described  it  as  a  mass  of  red  and  grey  granite 
underlying  sandstones  and  limestones,  and  this  erroneous  description  had  sufficed 
to  cause  this  island  to  be  regarded  as  a  remnant  of  the  "  Lemurian  "  continent. 
Rodigues,  however,  is  not  formed  of  granite  rocks,  but  like  Mauritius  and  Reunion, 
consists  of  lavas  ejected  from  the  depths  of  the  sea.  Here  are  even  seen  superb 
columnar  basalts,  amongst  others  those  of  Thunder  Mountain,  which  rises  on  the 
north  side,  above  the  banks  of  Oyster  River.  The  shafts  of  the  columns  in  this 
place  exceed  200  feet  in  height. 

The  lava  formations  are  continued  seawards  hy  plateaux  of  cavernous  reefs, 
which  more  than  double  the  extent  of  the  island,  and  which  render  Rodrigues 
inaccessible  to  shii^ping,  except  through  narrow  and  dangerous  passages.  But  on 
the  other  hand,  the  surrounding  waters  are  exempt  from  cyclonic  storms  ;  the 
south-east  trade  winds  blow  with  great  regularity,  while  the  island  is  of  too  small 
extent  to  give  rise  to  shifting  currents. 

*   /'rnren/iiir/x  of  the  Iluijiit  Ocoririiplncdl  Socieh/,  l.S4a. 


EODRiaUES. 


53 


Rodrigues,  which  is  administered  by  a  commiissioner  dependent  on  the  governor 
of  ^Mauritius,  had  in  18S6  a  population  of  less  than  two  thousand,  a  number 
relatively  ten  times  less  than  that  of  the  neighbouring  island.  Formed  of 
disiutegrated  volcanic  rocks,  naturally  fertile,  and  abounding  in  water  and  fruits, 
the  island  was  formerly  covered  with  forests,  which  have  been  destroyed  by 
conflagrations.     Xothiag  is  now  seen  except  brushwood  and  here  and  there  a  few 

Fig-.   18. — EODEIGTTES. 
Scale  1 :  135,000. 


EasboFGreenv..;cK 


Depths 


clumps  oipandanus  cakoa.  But  although  it  no  longer  deserves  the  name  of  the 
"  earthly  paradise  "  given  to  it  by  Le  Guat  in  the  seventeenth  century,  Rodrigues 
might  easily  support  large  numbers  of  settlers.  It  even  still  exports  considerable 
quantities  of  maize,  haricot  beans,  fruits,  fish,  and  cattle  to  Mauritius.  The  outlet 
for  this  trade  is  the  little  town  of  Port  Mathurin,  on  the  north  coast. 

Ihe  turtles  which  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  centiu-y  swarmed 


54  AUSTEAI.ASIA 

oa  the  banks  of  Rodrigues,  have  completely  disappeared,  driven  away  or  exter- 
minated by  the  reckless  way  the  fishery  was  conducted.  About  the  year  1760,  as 
many  as  thirty  thousand  were  conveyed  in  eighteen  months  to  Mauritius. 

Although  visited  from  time  to  time  by  the  Portuguese  and  Dutch,  Rodrigues 
was  not  permanently  occupied  till  1691,  when  the  Protestant  refugee,  Le  Guat, 
resided  here  for  over  two  years  with  seven  companions.  Before  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  a  considerable  Negro  j)opulation  was  employed  on  the  plantations ;  but 
since  then  large  numbers  of  the  emancipated  hands  have  withdrawn  to  Mauritius, 
distant  about  880  miles.  In  1843  the  population  had  thus  fallen  to  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  souls,  but  since  then  it  has  again  increased,  mainly  by  the 
arrival  of  blacks,  who  find  employment  in  clearing  and  reclaiming  the  land  on 
the  slopes  of  the  hills. 

There  are  only  two  small  centres  of  population,  Port  Mathitrin  on  the  coast, 
and  Gabriel  in  the  interior,  near  Mount  Limon  (1,320  feet),  culminating  point  of 
the  island.  On  the  southern  slope  are  seen,  at  variovis  elevations,  old  coralline 
beaches  pierced  with  caves.  In  one  of  these  grottoes  were  discovered  the  remains 
of  the  jWcsc^; /(//«,  or  "  solitary,"  and  of  other  birds  belonging  to  extinct  species. 

During  the  Napoleonic  wars,  Rodrigues  enjoyed  considerable  strategic  import- 
ance. After  its  seizure  by  the  English,  it  was  made  the  raUying-point  of  the 
expeditions  organised  in  India  against  Mauritius,  and  thus  contributed  to  the 
reduction  of  all  the  Mascarenhas  Islands. 

The  Keeling  Islands. 

Beyond  Rodrigues  no  lands  are  met  in  the  direction  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago 
for  a  distance  of  some  2,300  miles,  the  expanse  of  waters  being  first  broken  by 
the  small  circular  group  of  the  Keeling  Islands,  so  named  from  the  English 
navigator  who  discovered  them  in  1609.  They  are  also  known  as  the  Cocos 
Islands,  from  the  cocoanut  palms  lending  a  fringe  of  bright  verdure  to  these 
low-lying  islets. 

Although  lying  about  600  miles  from  the  Sunda  Strait,  the  Keeling  Archi- 
pelago had  its  origin,  probably,  in  the  same  terrestrial  movements  that  gave  rise 
to  the  Asiatic  islands,  for  it  exactly  faces  the  fissure  now  separating  Java  from 
Sumatra,  and  is  disposed  in  a  line  with  the  volcanic  islets  in  the  middle  of  the 
strait. 

Hence  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  Keelings  rest  on  an  igneous  foundation 
upheaved  from  the  bed  of  the  ocean.  At  little  over  a  mile  from  the  entrance  to 
the  atoll,  Fitzroy  failed  to  touch  the  bottom  with  a  line  over  1,000  fathoms 
long,  so  that  the  submerged  slopes  of  the  plateau  must  be  inclined  at  an  angle 
of  little  less  than  forty-five  degrees.  This  atoll,  visited  by  Darwin  during  the 
voyage  of  the  Beagle,  in  1836,  has  become  in  geographical  literature  one  of  the 
most  frequently  quoted  examples  in  favour  of  the  great  naturalist's  ingenious 
theory  of  subsidence  and  ujjheaval  of  the  marine  bed.  According  to  this  view, 
the  circular  group  of  islets  may  be  regarded  as  the  embattlemeuts  of  the  lofty 


THE  KEELING  ISLANDS. 


55 


coralline  tower,  slowly  built  up  by  the  polyps  as  the  base  of  the  structure  slowly 
subsided.  Since  the  preparation  of  the  first  chart  of  the  group,  indications  of 
upheaval  have  been  observed      The  beach  has  been  raised  and  enlarged,  some  of 


Fig'.   19. — Keelino  Isl/Ujd.s. 
Srale  1  :  135,000. 


'96°B0- 


Eosb  ohGreenwlc 


Depths. 


Em 

Sands  and  reefs  ex- 
posed at  low  water. 


6,400  Feet  and 
upwards. 


the  channels  have  been  closed,  and  lagoons  formerly  communicating  with  the  open 
sea  are  now  inaccessible  to  shipping. 

The  atoll,  which  is  interrupted  by  numerous  breaches,  and  which  opens  out 
broadly  towards  the  north,  consists  of  some  twenty  elongated  islets  occupying  at 
high  water  a  total  space  of  about  six  square  miles.     The  only  spontaneous  growths 


5C  AUSTRALASIA. 

are  the  cocoanut  palms  aud  about  thirty  other  species,  the  germs  of  which  have 
drifted  with  the  current  from  Java,  sweeping  round  by  Australia.  But  numerous 
alimentary  plants,  as  well  as  domestic  animals  and  rats,  now  a  formidable  scourge, 
have  been  introduced  by  man.  Hare,  the  first  colonist,  settled  on  the  islands  with 
about  a  hundred  slaves.  But  at  present  the  archipelago  has  become  one  large 
plantation,  whose  owner,  who  is  also  the  governor,  employs  some  five  hundred 
Malays  in  working  his  vast  palm-groves.  All  the  inhabitants — men,  pigs, 
poultry,  and  the  very  crabs — live  mainly  on  cocoanuts.  Water,  of  pluvial  origin, 
is  procured  from  wells,  which  are  sunk  in  the  sands  and  which  rise  and  fall  with 
the  tides. 

Formerly  the  group  was  considered  a  Dutch  possession ;  but  it  was  occupied 
by  the  English  in  1856,  and  attached  to  the  government  of  Ceylon.  Since  1886, 
however,  it  depends  on  Singapore. 

Christmas  Island. 

The  triangidar  island  of  Christmas,  lying  240  miles  south  of  the  coast  of 
Java,  appears  also  to  have  risen  like  Keeling  from  the  marine  bed.  Depths  of 
over  3,000  fathoms  have  been  recorded  in  the  waters  flowing  between  it  and 
Java.  But  although  also  covered  with  cocoanut  palms,  Christmas  is  not  an  atoll. 
Almost  completely  encircled  by  fringing  reefs,  it  is  entirely  of  calcareous 
coralline  origin.  Three  distinct  shore  lines  at  the  respective  elevations  of  40, 
140,  and  170  feet  above  the  jjresent  sea-level  seem  to  indicate  three  succes- 
sive periods  of  upheaval. 

Amstekdam  and  St.  Paul. 

Both  of  these  islets,  Ij'iug  in  the  southern  region  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  about 
midway  between  the  C'ape  of  Good  IIoj)e  and  Adelaide  in  South  Australia,  are 
masses  of  eruptive  rocks  ejected  from  the  abysmal  depths  and  unconnected  with 
any  other  lands.  Neither  plants,  animals,  nor  fossils  indicate  any  former 
connection  with  the  Mascarenhas  or  Madagascar.  Within  five  miles  of  St. 
Paul  dej^ths  have  been  recorded  of  1,200  fathoms,  so  precipitous  are  the  sub- 
marine escarpments.  Although  only  forty-sis  miles  apart,  the  two  islands 
themselves  present  great  differences  in  their  geological  constitution,  so  that 
they  most  j^robably  never  at  any  time  formed  continuous  land.  They  are 
considered  to  belong  politically  to  Great  Britain ;  nevertheless  fishermen  from 
Reunion  have  often  endeavoured  to  make  them  French  territory,  and  in  1843 
a  trading  company  landed  some  troops  to  take  possession  of  these  waifs  in  the 
name  of  France. 

On  his  return  voyage  after  the  death  of  Magellan,  El  Cano  passed  not  far  from 
"a  very  high  island,  situated  under  the  thirty-seventh  degree  of  latitude,  which 
seemed  uninhabited,  without  any  trees  and  with  a  circumference  of  about  six 
leagues,"  a  descrij)tion  answering  very  well  to  the  island  afterwards  named  New 
Amsterdam,  or  simply  Amsterdam. 


AMSTERDAM  AND  ST.  PAUL. 


57 


The  discoverer  of  St.  Paid  is  unknown,  although  the  name  already  occurs  in 
a  geographical  document  of  the  sixteenth  century.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
following  centui'3'  both  islands  wore  well  known  to  the  Dutch  navigators,  and  Van 
Vlaming  was  the  first  to  land  on  them  iu  the  year  1696.  Since  that  time  they 
have  been  frequently  visited,  too  often  unwillingly,  by  shipwrecked  crews,  and 
since  1841  St.  Paul  has  been  permanently  occupied  by  a  community   engaged  in 


Fig-.    20. — AilSIEEDAM. 

Scale  1  ;  90,000. 


77°3+-EasboP  Greenwich 


Depths. 


124  Feet  and 
upwards. 


fishing  and  otter-hunting.  Recently,  also,  they  have  been  the  object  of  scientific 
expeditions,  notably  in  1874,  when  the  French  naturalists  stationed  at  St.  Paul 
to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus  utilised  the  occasion  to  study  the  geological 
structure  and  prepare  charts  of  both  volcanic  masses. 

It  has  often  been  jjroposed  to  establish  a  port  of  call  at  St.  Paul  on  the  route 
to  Australia.       But  under  this  latitude,  although  correspoutliug  to  that  of  I'alermo 


58 


AUSTEAT-ASIA. 


and  Athens  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  the  climate  is  so  inclement,  the  west 
winds  blow  at  times  with  such  fury,  and  the  islands  offer  so  few  resources  beyond 
fish,  that  a  residence  on  them  is  always  regarded  as  a  painful  exile. 

Amsterdam,  which  is  much  the  larger  of  the  two,  attains  an  altitude  of  -3,000 
feet  in  its  highest  summit,  which  is  nearly  always  wrapped  in  fogs.     It  has  the 


Fig.  21.— St.  Paul. 
Scale  I  :  4ri,000. 


East  of  G 


160  Feet  and 
upwards. 


form  of  a  somewhat  regular  rectangle,  whose  longest  axis  is  disposed  in  the 
direction  from  south-east  to  north-west.  On  the  west  side  have  occurred  extensive 
landslips  resulting  in  precipitous  cliffs  over  2,500  feet  high,  against  which  the 
waves  beat  with  great  fury,  so  that  it  is  seldom  possible  to  land  on  this  side. 
The  summit,  which  has  rarely  been  ascended,  presents  a  boggy  surface   dotted 


V'  ^  .1' 


^ 


\^ 


iMIiiMiiimM I   \"\  liililiill  M^^^^^^^^^^^^^  V^i 


i 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS, 


AMSTERDAM  AND  ST.  PAUL.  69 

over  with  cones  from  wliich  lavas  have  been  discharged.  In  1792,  at  the  time  of 
d'Entrecasteaux's  visit,  the  island  was  in  flames,  caused  either  by  the  burning 
of  the  dense  mass  of  reeds  growing  on  the  plateaux,  or  b}^  the  craters,  possibly 
at  that  time  in  full  activity.     At  present  they  are  perfectly  quiescent. 

St.  Paul,  which  is  live  or  six  times  smaller  than  Amsterdam,  presents  a 
typical  instance  of  a  breached  marine  volcano  of  perfectly  regular  form.  The 
circular  crater,  now  flooded  by  the  sea,  opens  towards  the  north-east,  and  is 
enclosed  by  escarpments  and  taluses  from  760  to  900  feet  high.  Thus  is  formed 
an  extensive  harbour  of  refuge  completely  sheltered  and  240  feet  deep,  but 
barred  at  the  enti-ance  by  two  projecting  peninsulas  of  debris,  which  shift 
their  form  with  the  waves,  and  which  have  at  times  been  joined  in  a  continuous 
rampart,  preventing  all  access  to  shipping.  Thermal  springs  abound  on  the  margin 
of  this  basin,  where  by  merely  brushing  aside  the  surface  sands  enough  hot  water 
may  be  collected  to  boil  the  fish  captured  close  by. 

A  comparison  of  the  early  descriptions  with  those  of  modern  explorers  would 
seem  to  show  that  the  underground  energies  have  greatly  diminished  since  the 
discovery  of  the  island.  The  thermal  sjjrings  are  apparently  cooler,  the  gas  jets 
less  abimdant,  the  hot  spaces  less  extensive.  Moreover  the  island  is  itself 
diminishing  through  the  rapid  destruction  of  its  shores.  Everywhere  the  coast 
is  carved  into  cliJffs,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  entrance  to  the  flooded  crater  huge 
fragments  have  broken  away  from  the  flanks  of  the  volcano.  Towards  the  north- 
east the  coast  is  fringed  by  several  rocky  islets,  of  which  the  most  striking  are 
La  Quille,  a  horizontally  stratified  pyramidal  mass,  and  North  Island,  a  basaltic 
colonnade  affecting  the  form  of  a  circular  temple. 

The  flora  comprises  from  thirty-five  to  forty  species  of  mosses  and  lichens,  and 
about  fifteen  of  herbaceous  growths.  The  trees  planted  by  the  fishermen  and  the 
botanists  of  various  expeditions  have  not  succeeded,  while  the  vegetables,  such  as 
potatoes,  sorrel,  and  carrots,  have  much  degenerated.  The  cabbage  alone  thrives 
to  a  surprising  degree,  tending  even  to  acquire  arborescent  proportions.  A  few 
butterflies,  and  even  a  bee,  have  been  found,  but  no  land-shells.  The  pigs  let  loose 
on  the  island  survived  only  a  few  years,  but  the  cats,  mice,  and  rats  have  become 
acclimatised.  "Thrown  together  by  a  common  fate,  they  dwell  peacefully  in  the 
same  retreats." 

Amsterdam,  less  studied  because  less  accessible  than  St.  Paul,  appears  to 
have  a  richer  flora  and  faima.  It  is  even  said  to  possess  one  or  more  small 
quadrupeds,  including  a  weasel.  Here  the  French  expedition  of  1874  discovered 
about  fifty  plants,  of  which  as  many  as  twenty-three  were  indigenous  species. 
Amongst  the  larger  growths  is  the  phylica  arborea,  a  shrub  which  had  not  previously 
been  met  beyond  the  Atlantic  basin. 

The  Austral  Islands. 

Several  insular  groups  follow  eastwards  in  the  regions  of  the  Indian  Ocean 
strewn  with  floating  ice.     liut  these  cold  lands,  girdled  round  by  breakers  and 


60  AUSTRALASIA. 

buffeted  by  fierce  gales,  are  too  inhospitable  to  afford  a  permanont  home  to  man. 
Here  shipwi'ecked  mariners  have  often  i^assed  an  anxious  time  daily  sweeping  the 
horizon  in  search  of  a  friendly  sail.  Whalers  have  also  established  more  or  less 
permanent  stations  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  fishing-grounds.  Lying  on  the 
ocean  highway  between  Great  Britain  and  Australia,  in  the  track  of  the  western 
trade  winds,  these  islands  are  fortunately  well  known,  and  have  even  been 
carefully  studied,  especially  by  the  naturalists  of  the  Challenger  expedition  of  1874. 
All  are  of  volcanic  origin,  rising  above  the  surface  of  waters  over  1,500  fathoms 
deep. 

Marion,  Prince  Edavaed,  and  the  Crozets. 

Marion,  so  named  from  the  navigator  who  discovered  it  in  1771,  is  the  highest 
of  the  western  group,  lying  over  720  miles  to  the  south-east  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  It  is  exclusively  of  igneous  formation,  its  central  cone  rising  to  a  height 
of  over  4,000  feet,  and  even  in  summer  covered  with  a  snowy  mantle  down  to 
1,000  feet  above  sea-level.  The  periphery  of  this  central  cone  is  studded  with 
secondary  craters  presenting  the  appearance  of  excrescences  on  its  flanks,  while 
heaps  of  red  scorise,  here  and  there  moss-grown,  descend  to  the  water's  edge. 

Prince  Edward,  so  named  by  Cook,  attains  an  altitude  of  2,000  feet.  The 
Crozets,  also  discovered  by  Marion,  form  an  archipelago  of  several  islands,  one  of 
which.  Possession  Island,  exceeds  5,000  feet.  Hog  Island  takes  its  name  from  the 
animals  here  let  loose  by  an  English  captain  to  supply  the  whalers  and  shipwrecked 
crews  ;  but  Rabbit  Island  would  now  be  a  more  appropriate  name,  for  the  swine 
have  been  replaced  by  thousands  of  coneys,  which  make  their  burrows  in  the 
heaps  of  scoria). 

Kerguelen. 

Kerguelen,  by  far  the  largest  of  all  these  groups,  was  discovered  in  1772  by 
the  French  captain  whose  name  it  bears,  and  who  again  visited  it  the  next  year, 
when  he  found  it  to  be  an  island,  and  not  a  peninsula  of  the  great  southern 
continent  sought  for  by  all  navigators  in  the  Austral  seas.  It  was  again  explored 
in  1776  by  Cook,  who  proposed  to  call  it  Desolation  Land,  a  name  which  it 
certainly  merits,  to  judge  from  the  reports  of  the  whalers,  the  naturalists  of  the 
Challenger  expedition,  and  of  those  sent  the  following  year  from  England,  America, 
and  the  United  States  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus. 

Kerguelen,  which  lies  near  the  fiftieth  degree  of  south  latitude,  and  which  is 
surrounded  by  some  three  hundred  islets,  rocks,  and  reefs  of  all  sizes,  was 
formerly  almost  inaccessible  to  sailing  vessels.  Nevertheless  it  offers,  especially 
on  its  cast  side,  a  large  number  of  deep  bays,  creeks,  and  islets,  affording  shelter  to 
ships  that  have  succeeded  in  threading  the  maze  of  outer  channels  and  passages. 
These  indentations  on  the  seaboard  present  the  same  fjord-like  formations  as 
those  observed  on  the  shores  of  the  north  polar  regions,  which  were  at  one  time 
completely  covered  by  an  ice-cap. 


I 


KEEGUELEN. 


61 


The  Kerguelen  mountains,  all  of  igneous  origin  and  either  of  columnar  or 
terrace  formation,  are  not  disposed  in  any  regular  system,  although  the  main  axis 
runs  on  the  whole  in  the  direction  from  north-Tvest  to  south-east.  According  to 
the  reports  of  the  whalers,  the  underground  forces  are  still  active,  and  a 
mountain  in  the  south-west  is  said  to  emit  vapours.  Mount  Ross,  the  highest 
summit  hitherto  measured  (6,100  feet),  lies  near  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
island,  while  the  eastern  and  south-eastern  peninsulas  are  respectively  occupied 
by  Mounts  Crozier   (3,300  feet)   and  Wyville  Thomson  (3,200  feet).     Glaciers 

Fig.  22. — Kebotjelen. 
Scale  1  :  1,600,000. 


Depths. 


& 


descend  from  the  upper  valleys  of  these  highlands,  and  at  least  at  one  point  on  the 
west  side  reach  the  seacoast. 

Towards  the  west  the  snows  and  ice  covering  the  interior,  and  easily  confused 
at  a  distance  with  the  overhanging  banks  of  white  clouds,  render  an  accurate 
survey  of  the  craters,  crevasses,  and  lava  streams  almost  impossible.  But  near 
the  seaboard  are  seen  numerous  volcanoes,  whose  craters  are  now  filled  with  snow 
or  water.  The  east  side,  where  fair  weather  prevails,  receives  less  moisture,  and 
here  the  snow  line  is  arrested  at  a  mean  elevation  of  1,000  feet  above  the  sea. 


62  AUSTRALASIA. 

Formerly  the  island  enjoj^ed  a  very  different  and  much  milder  climate,  for  in 
the  valle}'s  the  argillaceous  schists  here  and  there  overlie  fossil  wood  at  everj' 
stage  of  transformation,  in  one  place  almost  still  fresh,  in  another  half  petrified, 
or  even  changed  to  pure  silica.  In  the  cavities  of  the  basalt  rocks  are  also 
found  layers  of  coal  varying  from  a  few  inches  to  over  a  yard  in  thickness,  and 
overlying  more  recent  eruptive  rocks.  So  numerous  are  these  deposits  that  it  has 
been  proposed  to  convert  Kergueleu  into  a  coaling  station  on  the  ocean  highway 
between  England  and  Australia.  Were  the  project  realised,  this  now  useless 
French  possession  might  acquire  a  certain  commercial  value.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  cattle  might  also  be  reared  on  the  island,  where  the  sheep  landed  by 
the  expedition  under  Captain  Ross  throve  well.  Sheep-farming  has  succeeded 
excellently  on  the  Falkland  Islands,  which  have  the  same  climate  as  Kerguelen, 
and  an  analogous  fauna  and  flora. 

The  present  climate  of  Kerguelen  is  very  equable,  varying  little  from  winter 
to  summer.  According  to  Studer,  the  difference  of  temperature  throughout  the 
year  is  only  18°  F.,  ranging  from  32°  in  winter  to  50°  in  summer,  with  a  mean  of 
39°  or  40°.  But  there  is  an  excess  of  moisture,  and  high  gales  are  alwaj-s  blowing 
either  from  the  north  or  west,  and  are  often  accompanied  by  hail,  snow,  or  rain, 
though  at  times  also  by  clear,  bright  skies.  Sometimes  these  gales  are  displaced 
by  north-easterly  winds  bearing  copious  rains,  fogs,  and  a  higher  temperature ; 
but  the  normal  direction  of  the  atmospheric  currents  is  from  the  north-west.  To 
these  incessant  storms  the  naturalist,  Studer,  attributes  the  fact  that  the  local 
insects,  esiDecially  the  flies  and  butterflies,  are  destitute  of  wings,  which  could  lead 
only  to  their  destruction,  by  exposing  them  to  the  risk  of  being  blown  seawards 
with  no  hope  of  return.  Even  the  strong-winged  albatross  never  builds  on  the 
north-west  side  of  the  island,  which  bears  the  brunt  of  the  tempest  and  is 
wrapjDed  in  eternal  fogs.     His  home  is  on  the  shores  facing  the  clear  blue  skies. 

The  Kerguelen  flora  is  extremely  poor,  resembling  that  rather  of  an  antarctic 
land  than  of  an  island  situated  in  the  temperate  zone  and  corresponding  in  latitude 
to  the  valley  of  the  Somme  in  the  northern  hemisphere.  Hooker,  who  spent  a 
winter  on  the  island,  failed  to  discover  more  than  eighteen  flowering  plants,  to 
which  further  researches  have  only  added  three,  making  twent3'-one  altogether 
in  a  total  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  species.  Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  vegetation 
consists  in  fact  of  algas  and  mosses,  and  even  of  the  phanerogams  about  one-third 
are  monocotyledons,  a  proportion  occurring  nowhere  else  in  the  whole  world. 
After  traversing  the  zone  of  large  algse  {macrocystis  pyriferd),  some  of  whose  rope- 
like stalks  are  200  feet  long,  the  observer  comes  upon  a  narrow  zone  of  grass, 
followed  by  j)lants  of  the  saxifrage  type,  mosses,  and  a  few  graminaceae  sprouting 
in  the  cavities  of  the  rocks.  On  the  slopes  of  the  hills  azoreUa  sekiyo  develojas 
extensive  beds  saturated  with  water,  where  the  exj)lorer  sinks  to  his  knees  at 
every  step.  The  onl}^  plant  producing  anj'  effect  on  the  landscape  is  a  gigantic 
species  of  cabbage,  whose  botanical  name  {pringJea  antiscorhutica)  sufiiciently 
indicates  its  value  to  seafarers  condemned  to  long  periods  of  a  coarse  salt  meat 
diet.     This  species  is  peculiar  to   Kerguelen,  being  found  nowhere  else  in  the 


KEEGUELEX.— HEAED.  63 

Indian  Ocean.  The  lijcllin,  another  flowering  phmt,  resembles  an  Andean  growth, 
and  three  species  also  supposed  to  be  indigenous  in  Kerguelen  are  so  like  their 
congeners  in  Tierra  del  Fuego,  that  botanists  are  inclined  to  regard  them  as  simple 
varieties ;  lastly,  one  of  the  local  growths  is  of  Australian  origin.  But  on  the 
whole,  the  Kerguelen  flora  is  most  akin  to  the  Fuegiau,  a  fact  doubtless  due  to  the 
marine  currents  setting  steadily  eastwards. 

The  only  bii'd  peexiliar  to  Kerguelen  and  the  Marion  and  Crozet  groups  is  the 
chionis  minor,  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon,  and  not  unlike  an  allied  species  common 
to  the  Falkland  Islands  and  Tierra  del  Fuego.  There  are  no  land  mammals, 
reptiles,  or  batrachians,  and  the  fur-bearing  seals  and  other  cetaceans  stiU  swarm- 
ing in  the  Kerguelen  waters  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  have  already  become 
rare.  In  1843  over  five  hundred  whalers  found  occupation  in  these  seas,  but  in 
18~4  not  more  than  five  or  sis  were  employed  in  the  capture  of  whales.  The 
otters  are  also  threatened  with  extermination,  and  have  already  become  so  scarce 
that  they  are  no  longer  regularly  hunted.  But  a  number  of  vessels  are  stUl 
engaged  in  the  capture  of  the  huge  sea-lions,  one  of  whom  yields  as  much  as  a 
ton  of  oU.  These  and  other  seals  still  find  some  shelter  from  their  human  enemies 
in  the  bays  along  the  west  coast,  whither  the  fury  of  the  elements  prevents  the 
fishers  from  following  them.  Some  of  these  fishers,  who  had  collected  a  vast 
quantity  of  oil  on  the  south-west  point  of  Kerguelen,  had  to  wait  for  years  before 
a  single  ship  ventured  through  the  breakers  to  take  in  a  cargo,  and  growing 
impatient  they  at  last  set  fire  to  their  whole  stock,  whence  the  name  of  Bonfire 
Beach  given  to  this  part  of  the  coast. 

The  most  frequented  haven  is  Christinas  Harbour,  at  the  north-west  extremity  of 
the  island,  the  position  of  which  is  indicated  at  a  distance  by  a  basalt  rock 
assuming  the  apjjearance  of  an  imposing  triumphal  arch. 

MacDoxai.d  and  Heard  Islands. 

MacDonald,  lying  to  the  south-east  of  Kerguelen,  is  a  mere  rock  fringed  by 
breakers  and  inaccessible  to  fishers.  But  Heard  is  visited  both  by  whalers  and 
seal-hunters.  Except  at  the  black  lava  headlands,  this  island  is  entirely  covered 
by  a  white  mantle,  two  vast  snow-fields  concealing  the  hills  round  about  Big  Ben, 
the  chief  summit,  which  is  said  to  be  loftier  than  Mount  Ross  in  Kerguelen.  But 
although  supposed  to  be  over  6,000  feet  high  it  was  completely  invisible  at  the 
time  of  the  Chalknrjer  expedition,  all  the  heights  above  1,000  feet  being  wrapped 
in  dense  fog.  The  climate  of  Heard  is  even  more  inclement  and  stormy  than  that 
of  Kerguelen.  The  fierce  south-east  polar  winds  prevail  very  generally  in  these 
southern  latitudes,  and  are  miich  dreaded  bv  mariners. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HE  EASTEEN  ARCHIPELAGO  (INDONESIA). 
General  Sura'ey. 

/yVr^J^TlNDONESIA  or  Insiiliiidia,  that  is,  "  Insular  India,"  as  the  Dutch 
-^  "  T-^Xiii  have  rightly  named  this  region,  is  better  known  to  English  readers 
as  the  Eastern,  Asiatic,  Malay,  or  East  Indian  Archijoelago,  and 
sometimes  by  the  simpler  and  somewhat  more  convenient  expression, 
Malaysia.  It  constitutes,  if  not  a  political,  certainly  a  well-defined 
geographical  area.  The  submarine  bank  on  which  stand  the  two  great  islands  of 
Java  and  Sumatra  terminates  abruptly  towards  the  Indian  Ocean  in  steep  escarp- 
ments plunging  into  the  very  deepest  abysses  of  the  whole  basin.  Java  is  continued 
eastwards  by  a  chain  of  smaller  islands  extending  to  the  north-east  of  Timor,  and 
evidently  forming  part  of  the  same  region  ;  the  volcanoes  traversing  this  long  line 
of  islands  attest  the  action  of  the  same  geological  forces.  South  of  Paj)uasia  the 
narrow  igneous  zone  is  deflected  northwards,  as  if  to  mark  the  eastern  limits 
of  Indonesia  proper.  One  of  the  lines  of  volcanic  forces  traverses  the  island  of 
Halmahera  (Jiloh),  while  another  touches  the  north-east  extremity  of  Celebes, 
thus  enclosing  this  great  island  within  the  fiery  semicircle  sweeping  round  from 
Sumatra. 

Borneo,  largest  of  all  the  Sunda  Islands,  and  of  almost  continental  proportions, 
is  even  more  closelj^  connected  with  the  same  group  than  Sumatra  and  Java,  for  it 
stands  entirely  on  the  same  scarcely  submerged  marine  plateau.  The  three  great 
islands  are  separated  by  shallow  waters  less  than  50  fathoms  deep,  where  vessels 
can  everywhere  ride  at  anchor.  Thus  an  upheaval  of  about  40  fathoms  would 
suffice  to  enlarge  the  Asiatic  continent  by  an  extent  of  nearly  1,500,000  square 
miles. 

In  many  respects  the  Philippines  might  also  be  regarded  as  forming  part  of  the 
same  natiu'al  region  as  Indonesia,  for  the  semicircle  of  volcanoes  is  continued  across 
this  archipelago,  while  its  two  chief  members,  Mindanao  and  Luzon,  are  both 
attached  to  Borneo  by  chains  of  islands,  islets,  and  shoals.  But  the  Philippines 
already  belong  to  a  different  climate,  and  they  are  almost  everywhere  washed  by 
deep  waters.  The  Sulu  waters,  flowing  between  Borneo  and  the  PhiKppines, 
present  abysses  of  over  2,200  fathoms. 


OF  THE 

UKIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS, 


IXDONESIA. 


6S 


I.ndo-Malaya  and   Austro-Malaya. 

But  Malaysia  itself,  as  has  long  been  shown  by  Wallace,*  forms  two  perfectly 
distinct  physical  regions,  the  Indo-Malayan,  comprising  the  three  great  islands  of 
Sumatra,  Java,  and  Borneo,  connected  by  a  shallow  marine  bad,  and  the  Austro- 
Malayan,  the  twot  chief  members  of  which  are  Celebes  and  Jilolo,  both  rising 
above  oceanic  waters  of  great  depth.  Striking  contrasts  of  climate,  floras  and 
faunas,  as  well  as  of  human  populations,  are  presented  by  these  two  main  divisions 
of  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Nevertheless  both  are  characterised  by  certain 
common  features,  in  virtue  of  which  they  may  be  regarded  as  collectively  forming 

Fig.  23. — Indonesian  Stxbm.^kine  Plateau. 
Scale  1  :  48.000,000. 


T.^iV"^    .^-^ 


Depths 


an  oceanic   world  distinct  from  Asia,  of   which   they   constitute  a   south-eastern 
continuation. 

All  these  Indonesian  lands  have  a  total  estimated  extent  of  nearly  700,000 
square  miles,  or  nearly  six  times  the  superficial  area  of  the  British  Isles.  But 
the  oceanic  region  over  which  these  lands  are  scattered  is  far  more  extensive. 
From  the  northernmost  extremity  of  Sumatra  to  the  last  of  the  Tenimber  islets, 
the  distance  across  the  Indian  Ocean  is  no  less  than  2,800  miles ;  while  between 
Lombok  and  the  north  point  of  Borneo,  Indonesia  develops  an  extreme  breadth  of 
about  700  miles.     Within  this  vast  expanse  are  comprised  one  island  larger  than 

•  The  Malay  Archipelago,  the  first  edition  of  which  appeared  in  1808. 
t  Excluding  New  Guinea,  which  is  not  here  considered. 
VOL.    XIV.  F 


66  AUSTEALASIA. 

France,  anotlier  exceeding  Great  Britain  in  size,  two  surpassing  Ireland,  seven 
more  extensive  than  Corsica,  and  dozens  bigger  than  Malta.  The  seas  are  every- 
where studded  with  countless  tanahs,  jmlos,  or  nusas,  as  the  smaller  islands  and 
islets  are  variously  called,  some  settled,  others  uncultivated,  or  thinly  if  at  all 
inhabited.  To  the  traveller  lost  in  the  maze  of  these  innumerable  insular  groups, 
Indonesia  seems  a  boundless  oceanic  world.  Coasting  the  larger  islands  for  days 
and  weeks  t'lgether  in  some  native  prau,  he  is  bewildered  by  the  constantly  shifting 
tropical  scenes,  the  endless  varietj'  of  lauds  and  of  peoples  at  all  stages  of  culture, 
and  whose  very  names  are  unknown  to  him.  Headlands  with  extinct  or  still 
smoking  volcanoes,  coral  banks,  or  insular  forests,  which  seem  to  spring  from  the 
surface  of  the  water,  are  landmarks  that  indicate  his  f)rogress  through  these  inter- 
minable island-studded  seas. 

As  a  region  of  transition  between  the  Asiatic  and  Australian  continents, 
Malaysia  presents  a  strange  contrast  with  the  corresponding  transitional  region  of 
the  arid  Arabian  jDeninsula  between  Asia  and  Africa.  In  the  richness  of  its 
insular  development,  the  infinite  variety  of  its  landscapes,  its  brilliant  vegetation, 
the  number  of  its  animal  species,  the  diversity  of  its  populations  and  abun- 
dant resources,  the  East  Indian  surpasses  even  the  West  Indian  insular  world 
itself.  The  Central  American  archipelago  yields  also  to  the  Asiatic  in  historic 
importance,  as  well  as  in  the  economic  value  of  the  relations  that  have  been 
developed  between  these  two  regions  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  relatively 
small  island  of  Java  alone  has  a  larger  population  and  more  abundant  products 
than  the  whole  of  Central  America  and  the  Antilles ;  while  numerous  straits 
between  the  islands  offer  to  interoceanic  traflBc  more  extensile  and  commodious 
highways  than  the  future  Panama  and  Nicaraguan  Canals  can  ever  hope  to 
become. 

Traversed  in  its  entire  length  bj'  the  equinoxial  line,  Indonesia  might  well  be 
called  the  garden  of  the  world,  not  only,  like  the  interior  of  Africa,  because  of  its 
high  annual  temperature,  but  also  and  especially  thanks  to  its  fertile  and 
copiously  watered  soil,  its  exuberant  vegetation,  and  the  costly  and  varied 
nature  of  its  i^roducts.  The  very  energy  displayed  by  the  igneous  forces  under 
the  Sunda  Islands  and  adjacent  lands  contributes  to  make  this  region  one  of  the 
centres  of  terrestrial  activity.  Here  the  land  quakes  and  is  rent  asunder  even 
more  frequentlj-  than  in  the  Central  American  and  West  Indian  areas  of  volcanic 
disturbance.  Java,  the  most  densely  peopled  and  one  of  the  best  cultivated  and 
most  productive  islands  in  the  world,  is  also  the  most  violently  agitated  by  iinder- 
ground  convulsions  as  well  as  the  scene  of  the  most  numerous  active  craters. 

These  remarkable  lands  are  not  inhabited  by  independent  native  populations. 
A  few  unreduced  tribes  still  find  a  refuge  on  the  Sumatran  plateaux,  in  the 
forests  of  Borneo  and  other  islands ;  but  numerically  they  represent  but  a  very 
small  fraction  of  the  Indonesian  peoples.  The  more  or  less  civilised  Malayan 
populations,  who  have  commercially  exercised  so  much  influence  throughout  the 
oceanic  domain,  and  whose  colonies  have  spread  over  an  enormous  expanse  from 
Madagascar   to  Polynesia,  have  never  been  fused  into   a  compact  national  body, 


INDONESIA.  G7 

and  their  conquests  have  been  the  work  of  one  or  another  isolated  group. 
Numerous  petty  Malay  states  have  thus  been  founded,  but  the  race  has  created 
no  great  empires.  The  diversity  presented  by  their  domain,  divided  into  a 
thousand  little  insular  mother  countries,  is  thus  reflected  in  their  historic  evo- 
lution. 

But  the  political  unity,  which  has  failed  to  be  spontaneously  developed,  is 
being  accomplished  under  foreign  supremacy.  The  Europeans,  who  have  occu- 
pied the  whole  of  America,  two-thirds  of  Asia,  and  one-half  of  Africa,  have 
also  made  themselves  masters  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  A  single  European 
power,  and  one  of  the  least  importance  in  a  military  sense,  dominates  almost 
exclusively  in  this  vast  insular  world  comprised  between  Indo-China  and  Aus- 
tralia. 

Historic  Retrospect. 

Under  the  guidance  of  Arab  pilots,  the  Portuguese  navigators  and  Italian 
travellers  appeared  early  in  the  sixteenth  century  in  the  Sunda  waters,  and  in 
1511,  Albuquerque,  already  master  of  the  great  city  of  Malacca,  secured  for  his 
nation  the  political  preponderance  in  the  Malay  world.  The  very  next  year  the 
first  consignment  of  nutmegs  was  shipped,  in  the  Banda  group,  direct  for  Lisbon. 
In  order  more  rapidly  to  explore  every  part  of  their  new  domain,  the  Portuguese 
resolved  that  all  vessels,  whether  Malay,  Chinese,  or  Javanese,  trading  with 
Malacca,  should  henceforth  be  commanded  by  a  European  captain.  In  this  way 
the  Eiu'opean  mariners  in  a  few  years  became  familiar  with  the  labyrinth  of 
Indonesian  maritime  routes,  thus  securing  for  themselves  the  monopoly  of  the  spice 
trade  between  the  Moluccas  and  Lisbon. 

Doubtless  the  Spaniards,  led  by  Magellan,  soon  appeared  on  the  scene,  in  their 
turn  claiming  the  exclusive  right  to  the  possession  of  the  coveted  "  Spice  Islands." 
In  virtue  of  Alexander  VI. 's  famous  bull,  dividing  the  world  recently  dis- 
covered, or  yet  to  be  discovered,  between  the  two  Iberian  powers,  to  Portugal 
fell  all  the  lands  situated  in  the  far  East.  But  Spain  on  her  part  claimed  these 
same  lands,  as  lying  in  the  far  West  beyond  the  New  World,  and  to  put  an  end 
to  these  conflicts  the  Portuguese  were  fain  to  redeem  by  purchase  the  islands  in 
dispute. 

Of  these  they  remained  peaceful  possessors  for  nearly  a  century  ;  but  in  1596 
the  Dutch  flag,  which  had  been  excluded  by  Philip  II.  from  the  direct  trade  with 
Lisbon,  had  already  discovered  the  road  to  the  East.  The  broad-beamed  Dutch 
vessels  made  their  appearance  before  Malacca  and  helped  themselves  to  the  spices 
of  the  native  factories.  Such  was  the  commercial  enterprise  inspired  by  the  two 
brothers  Houtman,  who  bore  the  Portuguese  a  grudge  for  their  imprisonment  in 
Lisbon,  that  within  seven  years  the  Amsterdam  and  Antwerp  shippers  had 
equipped  fifteen  fleets  for  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  comprising  altogether  sixty- 
five  vessels.  In  1600  the  new  arrivals  secured  a  strip  of  territory  in  Sumatra,  and 
in   IGIO  they  obtained  a  footing  in   Java,  where  they  erected  a  fort,  afterwards 


68  AUSTEAI.ASIA. 

replaced,  despite  the  English,  by  that  of  Batavia,  the  central  point  of  their  future 
conquests.  At  this  period  the  Portuguese  had  become  too  enfeebled  to  continue 
the  struggle  with  Holland,  which  in  1609  had  already  wrested  the  Moluccas  from 
them.  At  present,  of  their  former  vast  empire  in  the  Eastern  seas,  there  remains 
nothing  but  the  eastern  half  of  Timor  with  a  contiguous  islet. 

Holland  thus  became  a  great  political  and  military  state,  ruling  over  many 
kingdoms,  disposing  of  considerable  forces,  with  redoubtable  admirals  and  brave 
captains  at  her  service.  Nevertheless,  the  trading  company,  to  which  the  Nether- 
lands Government  had  in  1602  granted  a  monopoly  of  the  commerce  with  Indonesia, 
found  itself  jjowerless  to  defend  its  vast  possessions  when  its  English  rivals  had 
become  masters  of  the  sea.  At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Spice 
Islands,  regarded  as  the  most  valuable  of  all  colonial  possessions,  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  England,  and  in  order  to  prevent  her  from  seizing  the  whole  of  the 
Malay  Archipelago,  the  privileges  of  the  company  were  purchased  by  the  Dutch 


Fig.  24. — Comparative  Areas  of  Hollajto  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 
Sciile  1  :  48,000,000. 


East  oP  Gr 


States,  then  known  as  the  Batavian  Republic.  But  Java  and  its  dependencies 
passed,  none  the  less,  into  the  power  of  the  Engli.sh,  by  whom  they  were  not 
restored  till  1816,  after  the  Napoleonic  wars. 

Since  that  time  Holland,  notwithstanding  her  insignificant  size  compared  with 
its  Eastern  possessions,  has  remained  undisputed  mistress  of  all  the  insular  groups 
which  she  had  acquired  at  the  close  of  the  last  century.  She  has  even  extended 
her  sway  over  several  islands  not  previously  claimed  by  her,  while  her  effective 
control  has  been  enlarged  and  strengthened  in  the  interior  of  Sumatra,  Borneo, 
and  Celebes. 

The  northern  part  of  Borneo  alone  had  hitherto  remained  beyond  the  influence 
of  the  Dutch,  and  this  circumstance  has  enabled  a  British  company  recently  to 
acquire  a  considerable  portion  of  the  great  island.  This  new  English  domain, 
with   the  neighbouring  priucipalitj'  of  Sarawak,  acquired  by  a  British  soldier  of 


IXDONESIA.  69 

fortune  *  some  years  ago,  and  the  adjacent  Sultanate  of  Brunei,  togetlier  with  the 
Portuguese  section  of  Timor,  are  the  only  regions  in  Indonesia  which  ai'e  not 
regarded  as  officially  dependent  on  the  Netherlands.  Nevertheless  in  the  vast 
archipelago  there  still  remain  some  unreduced  tribes,  and  even  nations,  such  as  that 
of  Atjeh,  in  the  north  of  Sumatra. 

Since  Germany  has  in  her  turn  become  a  colonial  power,  she  has  acquired  or 
claimed  territories  ou  the  African  continent  even  more  extensive  than  Indonesia. 
But  their  economic  value  may  be  estimated  at  zero  compared  with  the  Dutch  East 
Indies,  which  many  far-seeing  politicians  already  regard  as  a  not  very  remote 
inheritance  of  the  German  Empire.  Possibly  in  anticipation  of  this  future 
acquisition,  the  German  Government  has  occupied  a  large  part  of  New  Guinea 
and  neighbouring  archipelagoes,  with  the  view  of  extending  eastwards  this  vast 
insular  domain. 

Progress  of  Exploration. 

The  already  extensive  historical  and  geographical  literature  relating  to 
Indonesia  is  being  constantly  increased  by  new  works.  Explorers,  either  acting 
indejjendently  or  grouped  in  learned  societies,  are  ceaselessly  at  work,  investigating 
the  material  and  moral  conditions  in  the  Malay  world.  Amongst  the  documents 
already  published  some  are  of  the  highest  scientific  value,  for  the  Eastern  Archi- 
pelago is  one  of  those  regions  which  most  abound  in  interesting  facts  bearing  on 
physical  phenomena,  the  distribution  of  animal  and  vegetable  species,  human 
migrations,  the  evolution  of  mankind,  and  other  problems  connected  with  political 
and  social  economy. 

But  what  this  encyclopaedic  labour  still  lacks  is  the  co-operation  of  the  natives 
themselves.  For  the  most  part  savage  hunters,  or  toiling  under  hard  taskmasters, 
they  have  but  few  representatives  in  the  republic  of  letters,  and  those  who  do  take 
part  in  the  current  of  contemporary  studies  are  not  sufficiently  unbiassed  to  judge 
of  things  as  they  really  are. 

Thanks  to  the  facilities  of  locomotion  and  free  intercourse,  the  time  has 
passed  when  privileged  companies  and  Governments,  jealous  of  their  commercial 
monopolies,  prevented  geographers  from  publishing  the  charts  and  other  results  of 
their  surveys.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the  Dutch  and  Spaniards  made  it  a 
capital  offence  for  any  writer  to  publish  the  logs  of  their  navigators.  Copies  of 
charts  and  maps  acquired  at  great  expense  were  entrusted  by  the  Netherlands 
Government  to  their  skippers,  to  be  returned  to  the  Admiralty  archives  after  each 
voyage,  the  punishment  of  the  lash,  branding,  or  banishment  being  reserved  for 
the  traitors  who  disclosed  them  to  strangers.  Even  in  dangerous  waters,  where 
the  perils  of  the  deep  were  exaggerated  by  legendary  reports,  pilots  were  refused 
to  ships  in  distress. 

But  all  this  has  changed,  and  at  present  certain  parts  of  Indonesia  are  better 

*  Sir  James  Brooke,  better  known  aa  Rajah  Brooke,  who  purchased  this  territory  from  the  Sultan  of 
Brunei  in  18-11. 


70  AUSTEALASIA. 

known,  at  least  in  their  outward  aspects,  than  many  regions  of  Eastern  Europe. 
But  on  the  other  hand  the  interior  of  several  islands  is  delineated  on  our  maps, 
not  from  accurate  surveys,  but  from  incomplete  itineraries  or  vague  native  reports. 
Nevertheless,  the  geodetic  network  is  gradually  spreading  from  island  to  island 
across  the  Malay  lands,  and  sooner  or  later  the  whole  of  the  archipelago  will  be 
represented  with  the  same  accuracy  and  minuteness  of  detail  as  Java  and  some 
parts  of  Sumatra  and  even  of  Celebes,  which  are  already  figured  on  excellent 
topographical  and  geological  charts.  Meanwhile,  as  to  the  population,  it  is  still 
impossible  to  give  even  a  rough  estimate  of  the  actual  numbers  for  the  whole  area. 
The  official  statistics  distinguish  for  the  different  islands  the  number  of  inhabitants 
returned  bj'  the  regular  census,  a  systematic  calculation  or  a  more  or  less  plausible 
estimate.     Lastlj-,  there  are  regions  for  which  not  even  a  conjecture  can  be  hazarded. 

ClIM.\TE    OB'    IxDOXESI.\. 

The  Sunda  Islands  lie  within  the  zone  of  the  alternating  trade  winds  and 
monsoons.  But  the  normal  course  of  the  aerial  currents  is  constantly  modified  by 
the  shifting  of  the  centres  of  attraction  due  to  the  returning  seasons  and  to  local 
phenomena.  At  Batavia,  taken  as  the  headquarters  of  the  hundred  and  fifty-one 
meteorological  stations  scattered  over  the  Archipelago,  the  "  good  monsoon,"  that 
is,  the  south-east  trade  wind,  prevails  during  the  northern  summer  months,  and 
especially  from  June  to  September.  At  this  time  the  atmosphere  is  usually  drier 
than  during  the  "  bad  monsoon,"  which  mainly  comprises  the  period  from 
December  to  March,  when  a  much  larger  quantity  of  moisture  is  precipitated. 

Nevertheless,  this  contrast  of  the  seasons  is  not  alwaj^s  very  sharply  defined, 
especially  in  the  interior  of  the  large  islands.  No  month  is  altogether  rainless, 
and  even  during  the  so-called  dry  season  the  atmosphere  along  the  seaboard  is 
charged  with  80  per  cent,  of  relative  humidity,  while  during  the  rainy  season 
it  is  nearly  at  the  point  of  saturation.  For  the  whole  of  Indonesia  the  mean 
rainfall,  according  to  Voyeikov,  exceeds  120  inches.  But  in  many  regions  it 
is  very  difficult  to  distinguish  the  true  alternation  of  the  seasons,  and  form  a 
correct  idea  of  the  normal  succession  of  wet  and  fine  weather.  Even  to  the  east 
of  Celebes  the  moisture  is  brought  chiefly  by  the  south-east  trades,  while  the  west 
monsoon  is  accompanied  by  clear  skies.  In  a  shifting  and  uncertain  zone  between 
Siimatra  and  Timor  the  two  opposing  currents  are,  as  a  rule,  accompanied  by  about 
an  equal  quantity  of  moisture.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  endless  labyrinth  of 
islands,  the  normal  direction  of  the  lower  winds  and  marine  breezes  is  modified  by 
every  strait  and  streamlet. 

In  a  vertical  direction  also — that  is,  ascending  from  the  sea-level  to  the 
mountain  tops — considerable  changes  are  observed  in  the  general  course  of  the 
winds.  The  western  monsoon  affects  the  lower  atmospheric  masses  only,  its 
thickness  never  exceeding  6,500  feet.  Hence  its  force  is  mainly  felt  about  the 
foot  and  lower  slopes  of  the  hills,  as  for  instance  at  Buitenzorg  (920  feet)  in  the 
western  part  of  Java.     In  this  district,  one  of  the  most  abundantly  watered  in  the 


FLORA  OF  I>rDONT:SIA. 


71 


whole  of  llalaysia,  it  often  thunders  every  day  for  months  together.  So 
accustomed  does  one  grow  to  the  continual  peals  echoing  from  height  to  height, 
that  the  stillness  of  cloudless  evening  skies  causes  a  feeling  of  surprise.  But  the 
higher  aerial  spaces  belong  entirely  to  the  zone  of  the  south-eastern  trades,  which 
sometimes  rise,  sometimes  fall,  and  by  clashing  with  the  western  monsoon 
occasionally  produce  extremely  violent  local  cyclones.  But  in  the  higher  regions 
they  always  pi-edominate,  as  shown  by  the  smoke  from  the  lofty  craters,  which 
invariably  sets  towards  the  west.  No  spectacle  is  more  impressive  than  that  of  a 
western  monsoon  driving  hard  towards  the  east,  while  the  long  streak  of  volcanic 
vapours  is  seen  through  a  break  in  the  clouds  to  be  setting  in  the  opposite 
direction  across  a  background  of  blue  skies.  In  these  upper  regions  the 
atmosphere  is  much  drier  and  far  less  frequently  disturbed  than  lower  down. 

Analogous  climatic  changes  take  place  in  the  direction  from  west  to  east.  The 
western  parts  of  Java  are  more  humid  than  the  eastern,  and  these  receive  more 
rain  than  Timor  still  farther  east.  The  summer  and  winter  temperatures  also 
become  less  equable  in  the  same  direction.  In  the  Sunda  Islands  the  variation 
from  month  to  month  is  less  than  2^  F.,  the  extremes  being  greater  between  day 
and  night  than  between  the  hot  and  cool  seasons.  If  the  nights  are  colder  and 
the  days  warmer  in  the  dry  months,  compensation  is  afforded  by  the  rainy  months, 
when  the  temperature  varies  little  throughout  the  twenty-four  hours.  At 
Batavia  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  glass  rarely  exceeds  18°  F.  during  the  course  of 
the  year ;  but  in  Timor  the  discrepancy  is  much  greater,  the  eastern  islands  of 
Indonesia  already  coming  within  the  influence  of  the  Australian  climate.* 


Flora. 

The  Indonesian  flora,  comprising  over  nine  thousand  flowering  plants  described 
by  Miguel,  belongs  to  the  same  zone  as  that  of  India.  But  going  eastwards  it 
becomes  gradually  moditied,  approaching  more  and  more  towards  the  Australian 
types  according  as  the  atmosphere  becomes  drier  and  the  climate  less  equable. 
In  Timor,  for  instance,  the  character  of  the  vegetation  is  already  far  more 
Australian  than  Indian.  Here  the  eucalyptus,  casuarina,  and  acacia  predominate, 
but  instead  of  developing  large  forests  they  grow  in  open  thickets,  as  on  the 
neighbouring  continent. 

In  the  western  regions  of  the  archipelago  vegetable  life  is  extremely  vigorous. 
Despite  the  constant  clearings  and  incessant   struggle   of   the  peasants  against 

•  Temperatures  and  rainfall  in  various  parts  of  Indonesia  according  to  observations  varying  from 
five  to  thirteen  rears  : — 


Yearly 

Hottest 

Coldest 

8.  Lat. 

Temperature. 

3Ionth. 

Month. 

Rainfall. 

Padam  (Sumatra)     . 

0°56- 

79°  F. 

81°  F.  (May) 

78°  F.  (Nov.) 

190  inches 

Palembang  ,,       .     . 

2°  50' 

81° 

81°-5 

79°  (Jan.) 

120     ., 

Banjermassin  (Borneo) 

S'S-t" 

81= 

8r-8 

79°  (Dec.) 

90     „ 

Batavia  (Java)     .     . 

6°  11- 

78° 

79°  (May,  Oct.) 

77°  (Jan.,  Feb  ) 

78     ., 

Buitenzorg  , ,        .     . 

6°  37' 

77° 

76°  (Sept.) 

7(5°  (Feb.) 

ISO     ,, 

Banjuwangie       .     . 

8°  17' 

79° 

81°  (April) 

80°  (Julv) 

Amboyna   .... 

3°  41' 

78°-6 

81°  (Feb.) 

77°  (July) 

loO     .. 

72  AUSTRALASIA. 

spontaneous  growths,  certain  Javanese  forests  still  maintain  their  ground,  rivalling 
in  splendour  those  of  Brazil  and  Columbia.  Vast  districts  in  Java,  probably 
occupying  one-fourth  of  the  whole  area,  are  no  doubt  covered  with  savannahs, 
where  nothing  flourishes  except  the  alang  [imperata  arundinaceu),  in  which  horse 
and  rider  disappear  together.  In  the  midst  of  these  boundless  seas  of  a  light- 
green  herbaceous  growth,  little  is  seen  except  a  few  scattered  clumps  of  trees 
But  these  savannahs  are  due  to  the  action  of  man  destroying  the  forests,  either  to 
clear  the  land  or  to  destroy  the  tigers  and  snakes,  and  in  any  case  the  large 
timber,  when  left  to  itself,  never  fails  to  recover  its  lost  ground.  Forests  of 
acacias  and  mimosas,  which  give  little  shade,  also  flourish  on  the  slopes  of  the 
limestone  hills.  But  on  the  moist  and  fertile  coastlands  and  well-watered  heights 
the  surface  is  overgrown  with  a  surprisingly  vigorous  vegetation.  Here  every 
stem  is  covered  with  epiphytes,  their  branches  are  matted  together  by  the  creepers  ; 
while  the  tall  palms,  seeking  light  and  air,  burst  through  the  surrounding  foliage, 
forming,  as  it  were,  a  forest  above  a  forest. 

The  Sunda  Islands  have  their  peculiar  species  of  palms,  amongst  others,  two 
varieties  of  the  sago  {metroxylon  Ruinphii  or  sagus)  and  the  corypha  {gebaiig),  which 
grows  in  a  narrow  zone  at  an  elevation  of  about  450  feet,  immediately  above  the 
coast  forests.  The  liana-palms  {rattan  or  rofang)  twine  round  the  other  trees, 
hanging  in  festoons  from  top  to  top  sometimes  for  a  space  of  three  or  four 
hundred  feet,  and  thus  binding  together  whole  forests  in  a  compact  mass  into  which 
it  is  impossible  to  penetrate  without  the  aid  of  the  axe  or  fire.  Some  species  of 
bamboo  also  acquire  the  trailing  habits  of  the  lianas,  occasionally  growing  to  a 
length  of  130  feet ;  others  are  armed  with  thorns  and  form  dense  thickets  shunned 
even  by  the  wild  beasts  themselves.  The  marvellous  development  of  the  parasitic 
plants  in  the  Sunda  Islands  is  well  seen  in  the  blossom  of  Rnfflemi,  which  grows 
on  the  roots  and  branches  of  a  species  of  cissKS.  In  Sumatra  one  variety  bears 
enormous  flowers  over  seven  feet  round. 

On  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  the  various  growths  are  disposed  vertically 
according  to  the  climate,  ranging  from  the  tropical  zone  of  the  coastlands  to  the 
temjDerate  region  of  the  topmost  crests.  Nevertheless,  curious  associations  are 
sometimes  observed  amongst  plants  belonging  naturally  to  different  areas.  Thus 
in  Sumatra,  the  oak  is  found  in  company  with  the  camphor-tree.  On  the  same 
seaboard  there  are  also  met  certain  teaks,  which  in  Java  occur  only  at  considerable 
altitudes  on  the  flanks  of  the  mountains.  On  the  northern  uplands  of  Sumatra 
are  found  certain  pines  intermingled  with  casuarinas.  Here  is  the  southern  limit 
of  those  conifers,  whose  true  home  are  the  Himalayas. 

Amid  this  endless  variety  of  forms  each  island  of  the  archipelago  has  its  own 
share  of  endemic  growths.  Thus  in  the  Sumatran  flora,  comprising  over  two 
thousand  six  hundred  known  phanerogams,  Miguel  enumerates  a  thousand  and 
forty-nine  which  are  not  met  in  Java,  although  separated  from  the  larger  island 
only  by  a  narrow  strait.  Even  the  western  and  eastern  divisions  of  Java  itself, 
differing  but  slightly  in  their  climates,  present  considerable  contrasts  in  their 
local  floras.     Not  only  the  Moluccas,  long  famous  for  their  valuable  sjiiccs,  but  all 


FAUNA  OF  IXDOXESIA.  73 

the  other  islands  in  the  archipelago,  possess  plants  which  occur  nowhere  else  on 
the  surface  of  the  globe.  In  three  years  the  botanist  Beccari  discovered  over  two 
hundred  absolutely  new  species  in  the  single  district  of  Sarawak,  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  Borneo.  In  the  same  island  the  summits  of  the  mountains  form  so 
many  secondarj-  islands,  with  independent  growths  recalling  the  types  of  remote 
lands  in  more  temperate  climates.  At  an  elevation  of  8,500  feet,  on  the  flanks  of 
Kina-Balu,  in  Xorth  Borneo,  are  met  certain  forms  belonging  to  genera  which 
elsewhere  occur  only  in  Xew  Zealand. 

Fauna. 

Going  eastwards  the  flora  is  gradually  modified  with  the  changing  climatic 
conditions,  whereas  the  transition  from  fauna  to  fauna  are  for  the  most  part  of  an 
abrupt  character.  While  the  species  in  the  western  islands  as  far  as  Bali  are  of 
the  Indian  type,  those  of  the  eastern  regions,  beginning  with  Lombok,  present  the 
characteristics  of  Australian  zoological  life.  Two  worlds  as  different  as  Europe 
and  America  here  lie  side  by  side,  separated  only  by  a  strait  less  than  20  miles 
broad.  But  the  two  islands  of  Bali  and  Lombok,  composed  largely  of  igneous 
rocks,  are  probably  for  the  most  part  of  comparatively  recent  origin.  Hence 
what  is  now  a  narrow  channel  was  formerly  a  wide  branch  of  the  sea. 

Nevertheless  the  striking  contrast  between  two  faunas  on  the  same  chain  of 
islands  presenting  such  great  uniformity  in  their  physical  constitutions  must  still 
be  regarded  as  a  most  remarkable  phenomenon.  One  of  the  salient  features  of 
the  terrestrial  crust  is  this  very  range  of  volcanic  islands  evidently  springing 
from  the  same  fault  in  the  submarine  bed  and  stretching  from  the  islet  of  Krak- 
atau  to  that  of  Xila  for  a  distance  of  2,200  miles.  Yet  this  line  of  eruptive  rocks 
is  intersected  precisely  in  the  middle  by  an  abrupt  parting-line  between  two 
distinct  faunas.  The  inference  is  irresistible  that  the  formation  of  the  Sundanese 
volcanoes  is  of  relatively  recent  date.  The  sudden  contrast  of  the  Indian  and 
Australian  animal  forms  shows  that  here  the  distribution  of  land  and  water,  as 
well  as  the  planetary  life  itself,  has  greatly  changed  during  the  course  of  the  later 
geological  ejjochs. 

Between  Borneo  and  Celebes,  which  however  are  separated  by  a  much  wider 
strait  than  that  of  Lombok,  the  contrast  between  the  animal  species  is  no  less 
remarkable,  nearly  all  the  forms  of  the  two  regions  belonging  to  distinct  families. 
"VVe  must  therefoie  conclude  that  here  also  the  lands  characterised  by  different 
faunas  have  remained  disconnected  since  extremely  remote  geological  times.  But 
Celebes,  unlike  Lombok,  formed  no  part  of  the  Australian  world.  On  all  sides  its 
isolation  appears  to  be  complete,  dating  evidentlj'  from  a  period  of  vast  antiquity. 

On  the  other  hand  both  their  fauna  and  their  flora  attest  the  ancient  con- 
tinuity of  the  three  great  islands  of  Sumatra,  Java,  and  Borneo,  which  are 
separated  only  by  shallow  waters  from  the  Asiatic  mainland.  Wallace  enumerates 
forty-eight  species  of  mammals  common  to  the  continental  and  neighbouring 
insular  ilalay  lands.      Sumatra,   with   its  long  mountain  range  disposed  parallel 


74 


AUSTRALASIA. 


witt  the  Malay  peninsula,  has  a  fauna  which  may  be  regarded  as  almost  identical 
with  that  of  the  mainland.  Borneo,  being  farther  removed,  already  presents  a 
certain  originality  in  its  animal  forms.  Still  more  marked  characteristics  are  offered 
by  Java,  notwithstanding  its  proximity  to  Sumatra,  with  which  it  is  farther 
connected  by  intervening  islets  affording  resting-places  to  birds  of  passage. 
From  the  fact  that  Java  possesses  more  endemic  birds  and  insects  than  either 
Borneo  or  Sumatra,  it  may  be  inferred  that  it  was  the  first  to  be  detached  from 
the  mainland.  Borneo  doubtless  still  formed  continuous  land  with  Indo-China  at 
a   time   when  Java  was  already   surrounded   on  all  sides  by  the  marine  waters. 

Fig.  2.5. — Paetixo  Line  of   the   Indonesun    Faujjas. 
Scale  1  :  32,500,000. 


Depths. 


Hence  the  zoological  data  formally  contradict  the  Javanese  tradition  to  the  effect 
that  the  physical  rupture  between  Sumatra  and  Java  was  quite  a  recent  event, 
dating  only  from  about  the  year  1000  of  the  new  era. 

But  the  zoological  exploration  of  Indonesia  is  still  far  from  being  concluded. 
The  region  best  known  to  naturalists  is  the  western  section  of  Java,  although 
much  attention  has  also  been  bestowed  on  the  district  of  Padang  in  Sumatra, 
those  of  Sarawak  and  Banjcrmassiu  in  Borneo,  the  island  of  Bangka,  and  certain 
peninsulas  in  Celebes.  But  all  this  forms  biit  a  small  fraction  of  the  vast 
Indonesian  domain,  and  the  future  doubtless  reserves  many  surprises  for  the 
naturalist. 


FAUXA  OF  INDONESIA.  75 

At  the  same  time  the  explorations  already  made  suffice  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
teeming  animal  life  in  the  western  parts  of  the  archipelago.  During  six  j^ears  of 
research,  Wallace  alone  collected  over  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  zoolo- 
gical specimens.  The  Indonesian  mammals  comprise  over  one  hundred  and  seventy 
species,  amongst  which  twenty- four  belong  to  the  ajje  fainily.  In  Sumatra  and 
Borneo  occur  two  species  of  the  orang-utan,  that  "wild  man"  who  has  been  so 
often  described,  and  who,  by  his  intelligence  and  moral  qualities  seems  to  approach 
nearest  to  civilised  man.  The  si-amang,  nearlj-  as  tall  as  the  orang-utan,  has  his 
home  in  Sumatra ;  while  all  the  western  islands  have  their  long-armed  gibbons 
and  long- mouthed  lemuroids. 

Sumatra  and  Borneo  are  still  the  refuge  of  a  species  of  elephant,  apparently  in 
no  way  differing  from  the  Indian  variety,  as  well  as  of  a  tapir,  which  is  also  met 
on  the  adjacent  mainland.  Both  islands  have  their  rhinocoroses,  and  Borneo  and 
Java  their  wild  cattle  resembling  those  of  Siam  and  Burmah.  The  Sunda  group 
has  no  less  than  thirty- three  species  of  carnivora,  amongst  which  are  the  roj'al  tiger 
and  the  almost  equally  formidable  leopard.  There  are  also  as  manj'  as  fifty  different 
kinds  of  the  bat  family,  and  a  great  number  of  rodents,  the  squirrels  alone  being 
represented  by  twenty-five  species,  nearly  all  distinct  from  those  of  the  mainland, 
but  outwardly  not  unlike  the  tupaias,  or  insectivora,  of  which  about  ten  varieties 
have  been  observed,  mostly  peculiar  to  the  archipelago. 

Besides  those  recently  introduced  by  man,  there  are  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  species  of  birds,  some  of  which,  notably  the  parrakeets,  are  distinguished  by 
their  gorgeous  plumage.  The  ophidians  and  other  reptiles,  somewhat  rare  in  most 
oceanic  lands,  are,  on  the  contrary,  very  numerous  in  Indonesia,  where  the  estu- 
aries are  infested  by  crocodiles,  and  the  forests  inhabited  by  pythons  over  thirty 
feet  long,  and  by  the  much-dreaded  spectacled  snake.  Hundreds  of  species  of 
fishes  swarm  in  all  the  rivers,  while  thousands  and  thousands  of  the  insect  order 
have  already  been  collected  and  classified  in  the  European  museums.  Such  is  the 
multitude  of  the  butterflies,  that  Wallace  speaks  of  them  as  forming  a  characteristic 
feature  of  the  insular  scenery.  The  "oruithoptera,"  which,  thanks  to  their  size, 
majestic  flight,  and  brilliant  colours,  make  a  greater  show  than  most  birds,  are  met 
in  swarms  about  the  verge  of  the  forests  and  cultivated  lands.  A  morning  stroll 
in  the  more  fertile  districts  of  Malaysia  is  almost  sure  to  reveal  three  or  four,  and 
often  as  many  as  eight  species  of  papilio,  of  which  naturalists  have  already 
enumerated  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  kinds.  Borneo  alone  possesses  thirtj-. 
the  largest  number  yet  found  in  any  single  island.  The  diversity  of  these  species, 
however,  diminishes  gradually  going  eastwards,  while  their  size  increases  in  the 
same  direction. 

Such  is  the  poverty  of  the  fauna  as  we  approach  the  Australian  continent,  that 
Timor  offers  no  more  than  seven  species  of  land  mammals  apart  from  fifteen  kinds 
of  bats.  Passing  from  Borneo  to  Celebes,  the  naturalist  is  less  struck  by  the 
reduced  number  of  species  than  by  their  new  forms.  Celebes,  having  been  longer 
isolated  than  the  neighbouring  lands,  presents  greater  originality  in  the  asjDcct  of 
its  fauna.     Lying  about  the  parting-line  between  the  Simdanoe  and  Australian 


76  AUSTRALASIA. 

domaiiis,  it  forms  in  some  respects  a  connecting  link  between  botli ;  but  most  of  its 
species  are  altogether  peculiar,  so  that  this  great  island  constitutes  an  independent 
zoological  world.  Of  the  three  hundred  and  fifty  kinds  of  birds  inhabiting  the 
Sunda  group,  ten  onlj'  have  reached  Celebes,  where  there  are  no  less  than  eighty 
found  nowhere  else.  Of  its  twenty-one  mammals,  including  seven  bats,  eleven  are 
also  peculiar  to  the  island,  while  the  local  butterflies  are  distinguished  from  all 
their  congeners  elsewhere  by  the  outward  form  of  their  wings. 

The  Moluccas,  lying  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Indonesia,  resemble  Timor 
and  Celebes  in  the  poverty  of  their  mammals,  of  which  they  have  only  ten,  not 
counting  the  ubiquitous  bats,  and  of  this  number  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
about  half,  amongst  others  the  cynopithek,  confined  to  the  island  of  Batjau,  have 
been  introduced  by  man.  The  typical  forms  of  this  insular  group  approach  those 
of  Australia,  being  of  the  marsupial  order,  and  comprising  amongst  others  the  heli- 
deus  ariel,  which  outwardly  resembles  a  flying  squirrel. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Moluccas  have  a  marvellous  wealth  of  birds,  their  avi- 
fauna being  richer  than  that  of  the  whole  of  Europe.  Although  the  exploration 
of  this  region  is  still  far  from  completed,  naturalists  have  alreadj'  discovered  two 
hundred  and  sixty-five  kinds  of  birds,  of  which  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  are 
terrestrial,  and  most  of  which,  such  as  the  parrakeets,  pigeons,  and  kingfishers, 
rival  in  beauty  of  form  and  gorgeous  plumage  those  elsewhere  found  in  the 
tropical  zone.  The  numerous  insects  also,  and  especially  the  butterflies,  form  the 
admiration  of  explorers  by  their  size  and  the  metallic  lustre  of  their  wings.  The 
little  island  of  Amboj-na  alone  contains  more  remarkable  varieties  of  lepidoptera 
than  many  vast  continental  regions.  Here,  in  fact,  these  animal  forms  may  be 
said  to  have  reached  the  highest  possible  pitch  of  develojDment.  Most  of  the 
species  are  pecidiar  to  the  Moluccas,  while  the  genera  and  types  connect  this 
insular  fauna  with  that  of  New  Guinea.  Although  the  Asiatic  continent  seems  to 
be  continued  from  island  to  island  far  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  both  Celebes  and  the 
Moluccas  already  belong  zoologically  to  another  region  of  the  globe. 

IXHABITANTS    OF    INDONESIA. 

The  Eastern  Archipelago  is  shared  as  well  by  different  races  of  mankind  as  by 
different  faunas,  but  the  parting-lines  do  not  coincide  for  the  human  and  animal 
forms.  While  the  zoological  domains  are  separated  by  the  Lombok  Strait  and  the 
broad  Macassar  Channel,  the  limits  of  the  Malayan  and  Papuan  races,  with  the 
allied  populations,  have  been  shifted  much  farther  towards  the  east :  this  line 
traverses  the  islands  of  Jilolo  and  Burn,  and  then  trends  south-westwards  in  the 
direction  of  Timor  and  Sumbawa.  The  inhabitants  of  the  islands  lying  on  either 
side  of  these  limits  again  present  considerable  differences  amongst  themselves, 
either  offering  various  shades  of  transition  between  the  true  Malaj's  and  intruders 
of  other  races,  or  else  belonging  to  a  really  original  type,  the  possible  survivors  of 
some  primitive  stock.  At  least  fifty  languages  are  current  in  the  archipelago,  and 
each  insular  group  requires  to  bo  studied  apart  with   the  territory  occupied  by  it. 


IXHABITANTS  OF  INDONESIA.  77 

In  the  Sunda  Islands  and  Celebes,  as  well  as  in  a  part  of  the  Moluccas,  the 
dominant,  if  not  the  exclusive  race,  is  the  Malayan,  which  constitutes  the  bulk  of 
the  population,  or  which  at  least  has  absorbed  and  assimilated  most  of  the  other 
ethnical  elements.  But  whatever  resemblances  they  may  present  to  each  other 
throughout  the  archipelago,  these  Malayan  peoples  are  everywhere  divided  into 
natural  groups,  according  to  the  geographical  environment,  their  diverse  inter- 
minglings,  their  diet  and  different  degrees  of  barbarism  or  culture. 

The  Malays,  properly  so  called,  who  closely  resemble  those  of  the  neighbouring 
peninsula,  and  who  have  given  their  name  to  the  whole  race,  occupy  the  coastlands 
of  Sumatra  and  Borneo,  with  the  intermediate  islands.  The  Javanese,  as  indicated 
by  their  name,  inhabit  the  greater  part  of  Java,  and  have  also  spread  farther  east 


Fig.    26. — IXHABITiXTS    OF    IsDON'ESIA. 
Scale  1  :  45,000,000. 


m 


Malays  of  divers  Indonesians !  Amianiites.  Papuans-  Negritos, 

nationalities.  Batta,  Dyak. 

Minahassa,  Alfuru. 


to  the  two  islands  of  Bali  and  Lorabok.  The  Sundanese  dwell  in  the  western 
districts  of  Java,  on  the  shores  of  the  Sunda  Strait  separating  that  island  from 
Sumatra.  The  Bughis  hold  the  south-western  peninsula  of  Celebes  as  well  as  the 
north  coast,  and  all  the  adjacent  i.slands.  Lastly,  each  separate  land  has  its  more 
or  less  pure  or  mixed  populations,  bearing  an  endless  variety  of  tiibal  names.  The 
term  "  Alfuru,"  however,  collectively  applied  in  Celebes  and  farther  east  to  all 
the  wild  tribes  driven  from  the  coastlands  to  the  interior,  has  no  racial  significance. 
It  simply  indicates  the  social  condition  of  the  populations  which  have  kept  aloof 
from  the  Mohammedan  Malays,  some  of  which  are  of  lighter  complexion  even 
than  the  Javanese,  while  others  resemble  in  colour  and  aspect  the  dark  Papuans 
of  Xew  Guinea. 


78  AUSTRALASIA. 

Amongst  the  Indonesians  are  still  found  savage  peoples,  such  as  the  Battas  of 
Sumatra,  the  Bornean  Dyaks,  the  "  Alfurus,"  that  is  "Free"  or  "Wild,"  of 
Celebes,  and  most  anthropologists  are  iucliiied  to  regard  them  as  a  primitive 
population  of  light  colour  who  occuj)ied  the  archipelago  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Malays.  To  them  is  in  a  special  manner  applied  the  term  "  Indonesian,"  as  if  they 
were  the  representatives  of  the  original  masters  of  this  oceanic  region. 

But  in  the  north-eastern  islands  near  New  Guinea  and  the  Philippines,  there 
occurs  yet  another  ethnical  element  quite  distinct  both  from  the  Papuans  and 
Malaj's,  characterised  b}'  black  or  blackish  skin  and  crisp  hair.  These  natives, 
who  resemble  the  Andamanese  and  the  Negritos  of  the  Philippines,  would  appear 
to  be  the  true  autochthones,  still  older  than  the  fair  Indonesians  of  Sumatra,  Borneo 
and  Celebes.  In  the  western  islands  they  have  been  exterminated,  in  the  eastern 
driven  to  the  uj)lands  of  the  interior,  just  as  the  Indonesians  themselves  have  been 
encroached  upon  in  the  large  Sundanese  islands. 

This  remarkable  phenomenon  of  distinct  human  as  well  as  animal  species 
dwelling  in  contiguous  islands,  under  the  same  or  analogous  phj'sical  conditions, 
finds  its  explanation  in  the  history  of  the  jjlanet  itself.  Such  contrasts  are  the 
outcome  of  different  epochs,  which  are  here  placed,  as  it  were,  in  juxtaposition. 
But  during  the  course  of  ages  all  these  heterogeneous  elements  must  have  long 
been  subjected  to  like  influences,  for  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  current  Malay,  Papuan, 
Indonesian,  and  Negrito  languages  seem  to  constitute  a  single  linguistic  family, 
and  this  family  itself  has  been  affiliated  by  Hodgson  and  Caldwell  to  the  Dravidian 
of  Southern  India. 

As  commonly  understood,  the  term  "  Malay  "  is  practically  synonymous  with 
"  Mohammedan."  The  Indonesian,  whether  black,  bronze,  or  fair,  who  accepts 
the  Moslem  faith  and  acquires  a  knowledge  of  the  Arabic  letters,  becomes  ij'so 
facto  a  "  Malay."  Still,  the  great  bulk  of  the  population  belongs  probably  to  the 
same  stock.  Without  j)rejudging  the  question  of  the  origin  of  the  Malay  race 
now  dominant  in  the  archipelago,  it  may  be  asked  where  was  its  home  in  the 
times  anterior  to  the  historic  period  ?  Did  the  Malays  .reach  this  region  through 
the  peninsula  named  from  them,  or  had  they  any  other  centre  of  dispersion,  as 
for  instance,  the  plateaux  in  the  interior  of  Sumatra  ?  According  to  Van  der 
Tunk,  their  very  name,  interpreted  by  him  in  the  sense  of  "wanderers,"  "  vaga- 
bonds," would  indicate  their  foreign  origin.  In  all  the  lands  occupied  by  them 
the  banks  of  the  rivers  are  "  right"  and  "  left  "  not  according  to  the  course  of 
the  stream  seawards,  but  in  the  reverse  way,  as  if  the  colonists  had  in  all  cases 
penetrated  from  the  sea  against  the  current  into  the  interior.  Marked  resem- 
blances have  also  been  observed  between  the  Malay  houses  and  their  praus,  so 
much  so  that  in  man}'  places  their  villages  i^reseut  the  appearance  of  stranded 
fleets. 

The  insular  as  well  as  the  continental  ]\Ialays,  although  short,  or  at  most 
of  average  height,  are  of  robust  constitution,  with  a  ruddy  brown,  at  times  olive, 
complexion,  and  in  the  women,  who  are  less  exposed  to  the  sun,  approaching 
nearer  to  a  decided  yellow.     The  hair  of  the  head — for  all  are  nearly  beardless — is 


INHABITANTS  OF  INDONESIA.  79 

black,  hard,  ani  coarse  to  the  touch ;  the  face  rather  round  than  oval  and  somewhat 
flat,  with  small  nose  but  wide  nostrils,  thick  lips,  prominent  cheek  bones,  and 
black  eyes.  But  for  their  complexion  and  dress  they  might  often  be  taken  for 
Chinese.  The  resemblmce  is  even  closer  to  the  Khmers  (Cambojans),  with 
W'hose  language  the  Malaj'  presents  a  great  analogy  even  in  its  grammatical 
structure.*  Physically  the  Malays  are  distinguished  by  their  well-balanced  frames, 
delicate  articulations,  small  hands  and  feet. 

Like  the  members  of  all  other  human  families,  the  Malays  of  the  different 
islands  present  marked  diversities  according  to  their  pursuits  or  professions.  The 
corsair  or  the  trader  cannot  be  judged  by  the  same  standard  as  the  mechanic  or 
the  peasant.  But  the  great  bulk  of  the  natives,  occupied  with  husbandrj',  are 
sociable  if  somewhat  taciturn,  of  a  kindly  disposition,  ever  ready  to  render  each 
other  mutual  aid,  extremely  courteous  and  considerate  for  the  privileges  and 
feelings  of  others.  The  labourer  is  careful  not  to  awake  his  fellow  workman  by  a 
touch  of  the  hand;  the  creditor  hesitates  to  remind  the  debtor  of  his  obligations; 
altogether  the  demeanour  and  conversation  of  the  Malays  are  certainly  superior  to 
those  of  their  white  rulers  and  pretended  "  civilisers." 

But  although  in  some  respects  highly  cultured  and  for  centuries  possessing  a 
written  literature,  the  Malays  do  not  appear  to  be  as  richly  endowed  intellectually 
as  other  nations,  notably  the  Papuans,  who  are  at  present  greatly  their  inferiors 
in  civilisation.  According  to  those  travellers  who  have  associated  most  intimately 
with  them,  their  chief  mental  defect  is  a  certain  feebleness  of  understanding,  a 
lack  of  boldness  or  vigour  of  apprehension.  They  are  timid,  without  power  of 
independent  action,  hence  disposed  to  submit  unresistingly  to  foreign  influences. 
Thus  the}'  formerly  accepted  Buddhism  and  Brahmanism  at  the  hands  of  a  few 
Hindu  missionaries.  Then  came  the  Arab  traders,  who  soon  persuaded  most  of 
the  popiilations  to  adopt  Islam  ;  and  now  a  handful  of  Dutch  officials,  supported 
only  by  a  few  mercenary  troops,  suffices  to  hold  thirty  millions  of  human  beings  in 
a  state  of  subjection  little  removed  from  slavery. 

SlMATKA    .\NU    XeIGIUSOURING     IsLAXDS. 

Apart  even  from  the  adjacent  archipelagoes  geologically  dependent  on  Sumatra, 
this  island  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world,  being  exceeded  in  extent  only  by 
Neiv  Guinea,  Borneo,  Madagascar,  Australia,  and  the  polar  regions  of  Greenland 
and  the  antarctic  lands.  Its  surface,  which  has  not  yet  been  regularly  surveyed, 
is  estimated  at  over  175,000  square  miles,  or  thirteen  times  the  area  of  Holland, 
to  which  it  is  politically  attached,  if  not  yet  completely  reduced.  In  the  northern 
highlands  and  forests  it  is  still  occupied  by  independent  populations,  and  the 
interminable  war  with  Atjeh,  begun  in  1873,  has  taught  the  Dutch  people  what  it 
costs  to  attemjit  the  subjugation  of  a  brave  nation  determined  to  defend  its 
autonomy  against  all  odds. 

Until  the  island  is  completely  "pacified"  it  will  be  impossible  to  obtain 
*   Fontaine,  Aynionnier,  Keane  {.iiistralasiti). 


80  AUSTRALASIA. 

accurate  returns  for  the  whole  population.  But  from  the  partial  statistics  already 
taken  in  the  conquered  provinces,  combined  with  the  systematic  estimates  made 
for  the  independent  districts,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  number  of  inhabitants, 
although  still  comparatively  slight,  has  considerably  increased  since  the  middle  of 
the  present  century.  According  to  Veth,  the  population  of  Sumatra  and  the 
western  islands  in  1 869  was  somewhat  less  than  two  and  a  half  millions ;  at 
present  it  certainly  exceeds  three  and  a  half  millions,  and  possibly  even  four  millions. 
Were  it  peopled  as  densely  as  Java,  which  its  fertile  soil  and  abundant  resources 
might  enable  it  even  to  surpass,  Sumatra  would  have  a  population  of  not  less  than 
seventy  millions. 

Sumatra  presents  some  features  in  common  with  Madagascar.  Both  are  nearly 
of  the  same  extent  and  outward  foim,  that  of  an  elongated  oval ;  both  have  one 
nearly  rectilineal  coast,  that  facing  towards  the  high  sea,  and  another,  washed  by 
shallower  waters,  of  irregular  outline  and  indented  with  creeks  and  inlets.  These 
two  seas  encircling  Sumatra,  the  boundless  ocean  to  the  west,  the  shallow  island- 
studded  waters  to  the  east,  are  said  bj'  some  etymologists  to  have  earned  for  the 
island  its  Sanskrit  name  of  Samantara,  that  is,  "  placed  between  two ;  "  but  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  its  name  is  really  derived  from  Samudra,  which  in  Sanskrit 
simply  means  the  "sea,"  but  which  was  the  designation  of  an  ancient  kingdom  on 
the  north  coast. 

During  the  predominance  of  Hindu  influences  Sumatra  shared  with  the  adajcent 
island  the  name  of  Jam,  being  distinguished  from  its  neighbour  by  the  epithet  of 
"  Little,"  not  as  being  thought  smaller  than  the  "  Great  Java,"  but  because  of 
its  inferior  commercial  importance.  The  native  names  of  Sumatra  are  Pertjeh 
and  Andalas.  It  remained  unknown  to  Europeans  till  the  first  years  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Ludovico  di  Barthema  visited  the  north  coast  in  1505,  and 
four  years  later  a  Portuguese  fleet  made  its  appearance  in  these  waters.  The 
Dutch,  present  masters  of  Sumatra,  did  not  present  themselves  till  the  close  of  the 
century,  in  1598. 

Physical  Features  of  Sumatra. 

As  in  Madagascar,  the  highlands  and  mountain  ranges,  largely  composed  of 
stratified  rocks  resting  on  a  granitic  foundation,  are  developed  not  in  the  centre 
of  the  island,  but  for  the  most  part  in  the  vicinity  of  the  western  or  oceanic  coast. 
The  orographic  system,  however,  is  of  far  more  regular  formation  than  in 
Madagascar,  running  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  along  a  scarcely  deflected 
axis,  presenting  in  some  places  only  a  single  main  range,  in  others  breaking  into 
two  or  three  parallel  chains.  These  ranges  are  connected  by  secondary  transverse 
ridges  enclosing  verdant  plateaux  and  cirques  diversified  by  tranquil  lakes  and 
winding  streams.  In  these  upland  regions,  at  a  mean  altitude  of  about  3,000  feet, 
are  grouped  the  largest  villages,  and  here  the  fertile  soil  is  turned  to  best  account. 
Here  also  the  climate,  far  cooler  than  on  the  coastlands,  is  suitable  even  for 
Europeans,  so  that  the  elevated  Sumatran  tablelands  would  seem  to  combine  all 
the  advantages  destined  to  render  a  country  populous,  rich,  and  prosperous. 


SUMATRA.  81 

The  Siimatran  mountain  svstcm  certainly  forms  a  soutliern  ami  more  reo-ular 


extension  of  the  Arrakauesc,  which,  terminating-  on  the  mainland  in  the  lieadiaiul 
of  Cape  Negrais,  east  of  the  Irran-addi,  afterwards  describes  the  elongated  curve  of 

VUI,.    XIV.  r; 


82  AUSTRALASIA. 

the  Andaman  and  Nicobar  Islands.  The  Barisan  Mountains,  as  the  Suraatran 
ranges  are  collectively  called,  begin  to  the  north  of  Atjeh  with  the  islet  of  Pulo 
Brass  (2,300  feet),  on  which  has  been  erected  the  beacon  known  to  mariners  as  the 
"Sumatra  Lighthouse."  Eastwards  stands  the  insular  mass  of  Pulo  Wai  (1,370 
feet),  beyond  which  on  the  mainland  rises  the  volcanic  Selawa  Janteu  (5,650  feet), 
known  to  the  Dutch  as  the  Goudberg,  or  "  Gold  Mountain."  This  imposing  and 
almost  completely  isolated  cone  is  followed  along  the  north  coast  by  other  crests, 
for  the  most  part  less  elevated,  and  indicating  the  border  of  the  still  unexplored 
Achinese  plateau.  The  range  terminates  near  Diamond  Cape  (Jambu  Ajer)  in  a 
Tafelberg,  or  Table  Mountain,  whose  highest  terrace  stands  at  an  altitude  of  5,300 
feet  above  the  sea.  Bej'ond  the  hills  on  the  coast  is  seen  the  summit,  4,000  feet 
high,  of  the  still  unvisited  Samalanga  volcano. 

But  the  main  range,  which  has  its  origin  to  the  west  of  the  Goudberg  and  of 
the  Atjeh  valley,  develops  a  much  loftier  series  of  crests  along  the  oceanic 
seaboard.  Here  the  Abong-Abong  and  Luseh,  said  to  be  volcanoes  but  not  yet 
explored,  are  reported  to  attain  the  respective  elevations  of  11,300  and  12,200 
feet. 

South  of  these  lofty  summits,  whose  cones  rest  on  a  crystalline  formation  some 
3,000  or  4,000  feet  high,  the  mean  altitude  of  the  highlands  is  considerably 
reduced,  and  here  the  system  branches  into  parallel  chains  enclosing  the  Toba 
plateau,  and  tao,  or  "  sea,"  of  like  name.  This  basin,  called  also  Silalahi,  forms  a 
lake  of  clear  water  500  square  miles  in  extent,  whose  shores  are  studded  with 
hundreds  of  Batta  villages.  In  its  waters  are  mirrored  the  cones  of  extinct  or 
still  active  volcanoes,  one  of  which,  the  Dolok  Simanabum,  emitted  dense  vapours 
in  1881.  On  its  flanks,  as  well  as  on  those  of  a  neighbouring  volcano,  may  be 
distinguished  from  below  a  broad  belt  of  a  golden  colour,  consisting  probably  of 
crystallised  sulphur.  The  Pusuk  Bukit,  another  cone  on  the  western  margin  of 
the  lake,  also  possesses  extensive  sulphur  deposits,  whence  the  Battas  draw  their 
supplies.  The  island  rising  in  the  centre  of  the  basin  was  itself  a  volcano,  which 
has  been  attached  by  eruptive  scoria)  to  the  mainland  and  to  the  Pusuk  Bukit. 
Lake  Toba  stretches  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to  south-east,  parallel  with 
the  main  Simiatran  axis.  Its  overflow  is  discharged  to  the  south-east,  towards 
the  strait  of  Malacca. 

The  amphitheatre  of  hills,  whose  spurs  branch  off  towards  the  east  coast,  again 
converges  south  of  the  Toba  plateau  in  a  single  main  range,  which  resumes  its 
normal  direction  parallel  with  the  west  Sumatran  seaboard.  In  this  part  of  the 
Barisan  highlands  some  volcanic  or  other  peaks  exceed  5,000  feet  in  height. 
From  one  of  the  cones  are  emitted  wreaths  of  sulphurous  vapours,  and  another 
is  pierced  by  a  crater  whose  walls  are  lined  with  a  ycllo-\\-  incrustation  of 
.sulphur. 

The  range  is  flanked  on  the  west  by  superb  lateral  spurs,  which  from  a 
distance  seem  to  be  the  dominant  summits.  Such  are  the  Malintang  (5,000  feet), 
and  the  Pasomau,  which  European  geographers  have  named  Mount  Ophir,  not  on 
account  of  its  gold  mines,  which  have  no  existence,  but  in  allusion  to  the  natural 


SUMATRAN    HIGHLAXDS. 


83 


wealth  of  the  great  tropical  island.  Being  completely  isolated  in  appearance,  and 
rising  just  five  miles  north  of  the  equator,  about  the  exact  centre  of  the  oceanic 
coast  of  Sumatra,  Ophir  stands  out  as  the  most  conspicuous  insular  landmark  for 
mariners  navi^atino;  the  neio^hbourino-  waters.  Hence  till  recently  it  was 
supposed  to  be  the  culminating  point  of  the  island,  and  a  far  greater  altitude 
was  assigned  to  it  than  the  9,600  feet  to  which  modern  explorers  have  reduced 
it.  Mount  Ophir  has  two  chief  summits  besides  several  partly  obliterated  craters. 
Farther    on  the  main    range  proper   is  interrupted  by    the  broad  valley  of  ihe 


The  Merai'I  Voi.caxic  Ran'oe. 
Scale  1  ;  730,000. 


"^W'^^^PTTT 


^^ 


"1^ 


LTsl  oF  Ureen 


320  Feet  and 
upwards. 


river  Masang,  south  of  which  a  transver.se  volcanic  ridge  trends  west  and  east  ou 
the  border  of  the  Padang  uplands.  The  westernmost  volcano  of  this  system  has 
lost  its  mountainous  aspect,  nothing  remaining  except  the  vast  periphery  of  the 
base,  which  now  forms  a  wooded  enclosure.  The  crest  has  disappeared,  doubtless 
blown  away  by  some  tremendous  explosion,  and  about  half  of  the  old  crater 
(1,520  feet)  is  now  flooded  with  the  oval-shaped  Lake  Maninju,  called  also  Danau, 
or  the  "  Sea."  This  basin,  which  discharges  westwards  to  the  Indian  Ocean, 
is  fed  by  a  few  slightly  thermal  and   alkaline   springs  nuuh   frecjuentcd  by  the 


84  AUSTRALASIA. 

natives.  Gaseous  eruptions  take  place  from  time  to  time  in  the  depths  of  the 
lake,  and  then  the  atmosphere  becomes  charged  with  sulphurous  exhalations,  while 
the  fish  perish  in  thousands. 

East  of  this  lacustrine  basin,  which  greatly  resembles  the  Italian  Lake  Bolsena, 
rises  the  still  perfect  Singalang  volcano  (8,800  feet),  scarcely  less  imposing  than 
its  eastern  neighbour  Merapi,  whose  highest  peak  attains  an  elevation  of  9,400 
feet.  This  volcano,  as  indicated  by  its  very  name  (Moro  Api,  "  destroying  fire  "), 
is  the  most  restless  of  the  seven  or  eight  still  active  burning  mountains  in  Sumatra. 
None  other  has  discharged  such  copious  lava  streams  over  the  surrounding 
plains,  and  even  during  the  present  century  it  has  been  the  centre  of  numerous 
disturbances.  Its  summit,  of  a  red  colour  and  destitute  of  vegetation,  terminates 
in  a  group  of  three  craters,  each  encircled  by  recent  lavas.  The  local  Malay  legend 
has  converted  Merapi  into  a  sort  of  Ararat,  whence  their  first  parents  descended  as 
the  flood- waters  subsided. 

The  Sago  volcano  (7,450  feet)  stands  out  like  a  bold  landmark  at  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  Padang  uplands.  This  region  is  throughout  its  whole  extent  a 
mountainous  terrace-land  somewhat  clearly  marked  off  by  two  longitudinal  ridges, 
on  the  west  the  main  Barisan  range,  en  the  east  that  of  Ngalau  Saribu.  The 
plateau  is  likewise  skirted  on  the  south  by  another  transverse  chain,  which  like 
the  northern  ridge  has  also  its  "corner  stone,"  the  Talang  or  Sulasi  volcano 
(8,440  feet),  rising  immediately  above  the  west  side  of  the  city  of  Padang. 
Thermal  waters  and  sulphurous  vapours  escape  in  abundance  from  crevasses  of  this 
mountain,  which,  however,  does  not  terminate  in  a  crater  properly  so  called. 
On  its  flanks  are  rich  sulphur  beds  extensively  utilised  by  the  natives. 

The  lowest  depression  of  the  quadrilateral  of  outer  ridges  enclosing  the  Padang 
uplands  is  flooded  by  a  lake,  whose  long  axis  is  disposed  in  the  same  direction  as 
Sumatra  itself  and  its  mountain  system.  The  Siugkarah  Sea,  as  this  basin  is 
called,  teems  with  fish,  yielding  an  abundant  supply  for  a  large  number  of  the 
surrounding  populations.  Its  level  has  been  lowered  some  three  feet  by  the 
destruction  of  a  rocky  barrier  at  the  head  of  its  emissary,  the  river  Umbilien, 
which  is  one  of  the  main  branches  of  the  Indragiri.  Three  other  lakes,  one  a 
tributary  of  Singkarah,  are  disposed  in  terraces  on  the  south-east  slopes  of  Mount 
Talang.* 

South  of  Talang  the  Barisan  chain  presents  only  a  single  ridge  skirting 
the  seaboard  at  a  mean  distance  of  fifteen  miles  from  the  ocean.  In  this  section 
of  the  system,  but  to  the  east  of  the  normal  line  of  crests,  rises  the  isolated 
Korintji  (12,200  feet),  known  also  by  the  name  of  Indrajjura,  or  "  City  of  Indra  "  ; 
for  this  peak,  which  contends  with  Luseh  for  the  first  rank  amongst  the  Sumatran 
summits,  was  supposed,  like  the  great  mountains  of  India,  to  be  the  everlasting 
abode  of   the   gods.     Vapours  are   almost  constantly  emitted  from  its  crater,  a 

*  Lakes  of  the  Padang  plateau  : — 

Aie^i  in  Greatest 

Altitude.  Square  Miles.         Depth. 

ManinJH 520  feet  40  510  feet 

Sing-kavah 1,100    ,,  45  890    „ 


SUMATEAN  HIGHLANDS.  85 

chasm  visited  by  Veth  and  Van  Hasselt,  aud  by  them  described  as  developing  a 
vast  circumference  and  several  hundred  yards  deep. 

Like  the  Padaug  volcanoes,  this  majestic  mountain  has  also  its  little  lacustrine 
system  in  the  vallej-s  excavated  at  its  base.  Here  rises  a  torrent,  which  after 
skirting  the  east  slope  of  the  volcanic  chain  falls  into  the  danau  or  "sea"  of 
Korintji,  whence  an  emissary  escapes  towards  the  river  Jambi.  Farther  south 
follow  other  volcanoes  disposed  in  a  line  with  the  general  axis  of  the  island,  but 
for  the  most  part  extinct.  Kaba  and  Dempo,  however,  are  still  the  theatre  of 
frequent  and  violent  convulsions.  Kaba  (5,500  feet),  which  is  visible  thirty 
miles  to  the  north-east  of  Benkulen,  towering  above  the  Suikerbrood  ("  Sugar- 
loaf"),  terminates  in  two  craters,  one  inaccessible,  and  both  rent  by  crevasses,  whence 
issue  jets  of  vapour.  In  1875  Kaba  entered  on  a  period  of  activity,  the  eruptions 
lasting  three  years,  and  covering  the  surrounding  hills  and  valleys  with  sand  mixed 
with  chemical  substances  fatal  to  plants  and  animals  alike.  Even  now,  whenever 
the  sandy  banks  of  the  neighbouring  streams  give  way  the  fish  die  in  thousands. 

Dempo  (10,560  feet),  which  rises  some  sixty  miles  to  the  south-east  of 
Benkulen,  is  also  the  scene  of  constant  disturbances.  But  Sawah,  one  of  the  old 
craters,  no  longer  bursts  into  flames,  so  that  the  natives  are  able  to  ajiproach 
without  danger  and  offer  their  sacrifices  in  the  midst  of  tlie  heaths  and  rhododen- 
drons. The  new  crater,  named  Merapi  like  the  great  Padang  volcano,  stands  8-iO 
feet  higher  up,  and  is  the  abode  of  the  deta  for  whom  the  offerings  are  intended. 
Some  sixty  feet  below  the  circular  rim  is  seen  a  lakelet  sparkling  like  a  sheet  of 
quicksilver  ;  presently  a  black  speck  in  the  centre  of  the  glittering  surface  begins 
to  expand  and  assume  the  form  of  a  funnel,  in  which  the  water  suddenly  dis- 
appears. In  a  few  minutes  the  rocks  resound  as  with  the  rumbling  of  thunder  ; 
the  din  grows  nearer,  followed  by  a  flash  as  of  lightning,  and  the  water,  trans- 
formed to  vapour,  issues  in  a  dense  jet  from  the  crater,  into  which  it  again  soon 
subsides.  Thus  every  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  the  lake  vanishes  and  reappears 
in  the  form  of  a  magnificent  geyser  some  hundred  feet  high. 

Farther  south  another  ranau*  or  "  sea,"  floods  an  elevated  cirque  (1,720  feet), 
which  seems  to  have  been  an  old  crater,  and  which  is  encircled  on  three  sides  by 
extinct  volcanoes.  It  is  extremely  deep  in  the  centre,  and  in  one  place  thermal 
.springs  from  the  neighbouring  Mount  Siminung  raise  the  temperature  too  high 
for  animal  life. 

Southwards  the  Barisan  system  again  bifurcates,  one  branch  continuing  in  the 
normal  direction  south-eastwards  to  Cape  Tjina  (China),  where  it  merges  in  low 
hills  over  against  Princes  Island  and  the  south-west  extremity  of  Java.  The 
other  or  volcanic  branch  trends  more  to  the  east,  where  it  is  indicated  from  afar 
by  the  lofty  summits  of  Mounts  Besagi,  Sekinjau,  Tebah,  and  Tangkamus  (7,520 
feet).  This  last,  better  known  as  the  Keizers  Piek,  or  "Emperor's  Peak,"  rises 
near  the  southern  extremity  of  Sumatra,  on  the  Bay  of  Samangka,  and  is  probably 
connected  by  a  submarine  fault  with  the  islet  of  Tabuan.     On  the  mainland  the  vol- 

*  RanaUy  danati^  tao  are  various  dialectic  forms  of  the  same  word,  meaning  sea,  or  any  large  expanse  of 
water. 


86 


AUSTRz\XASIA. 


canic  chain  is  continued  by  Mount  Tangka  (3,460  feet),  round  Lampong  Bay  to  the 
south-eastern  headland  of  Sumatra,  and  thence  through  a  line  of  islets  and  reefs 
across  the  Sunda  Strait,  here  only  sixteen  miles  wide,  to  the  opposite  coast  of  Java. 
The  extinct  cone  of  Eaja  Bassa  (4,460  feet),  southernmost  member  of  the  chain 
of  sixty-six  Sumatran  volcanoes,  does  not  lie  in  the  normal  direction  of  the  main 
axis,  and  seems  to  have  originally  stood  on  an  island  afterwards  attached  to  the 
mainland,  either  by  upheaval  or  moi'e  probably  by  a  shower  of  scorias  and  ashes. 
Raja  Bassa  forms  part  of  a  transverse  volcanic  ridge,  whose  axis  intersects  that  of 

Fig.  29. — Khaeatau  and  Neiqhbotjrixg  Islets  befoke  the  Eruption. 
Scale  1  :  150,000. 


the  Sumatran  system,  for  it  runs  in  the  direction  from  north-cast  to  south-west. 
To  this  scarcely  perceptible  ridge  belong  the  two  islands  of  Sebesi  and  Krakatau 
in  the  Sunda  Strait,  and  the  system  is  also  perhaps  continued  under  the  Indian 
Ocean  for  some  six  hundred  miles  to  the  Keeling  Islands,  which  lie  in  a  direct  line 
with  Raja  Bassa  and  Krakatau. 

But  yet  another  volcanic  fault  intersects  that  of  Sumatra  and  Krakatau  in  the 
Sunda  Strait.  This  is  the  great  Javanese  system,  running  due  west  and  east,  and 
marked  by  so  many  formidable  igneous  cones.  Thus  at  this  focus  of  undei-ground 
forces  the  terrestrial  crust  is,  so  to  say,  starred  with  tremendous  fissures,  and  here 
the  destructive  agencies  have  at  times,  and  even  quite  recently,  assumed  a  character 
of  stupendous  grandeur. 


KEAKATAU. 


87 


Krakai'au. 

Till  recentlj'  Krakatau,  rising  to  a  height  of  2,270  feet,  was  hailed  with  joy  by 
mariners  crossing  the  strait,  and  vessels  confidently  rode  at  anchor  under  its 
shelter  in  depths  of  from  25  to  ;30  fathoms.  The  last  recorded  outburst,  that  of 
1680,  had  already  long  been  forgotten  by  the  natives.  But  in  the  month  of  JNIay, 
1883,  the  fiery  demon  again  awoke :  on  one  of  the  northern  shoulders  the  ground 
was  rent  asunder,  flames  burst  forth,  detonations  and  discharges  of  vapours  and 
ashes  followed  in  rapid  succession. 

But   so   far   the  display  differed  in  no  respect   from    similar    manifestations 

Fisr.   30. — Krakatau  axd  Neighboijeixo  Islets  after  the  Eeuptiox. 
Scale  1  :  150,000. 


0  tobO 

Feet 

80  to  320 
Feet. 

320  to  960 
Feet. 

960  i'cet  and 
i-pwards. 

observed  in  so  many  parts  of  Indonesia,  and  excursionists  from  Batavia  even 
landed  on  the  island  and  approached  the  crater.  But  after  three  months  of 
groanings  and  rumblings  the  volcano  put  forth  all  its  strength,  and  in  a  few 
hours  the  whole  topography  of  the  Simda  Strait  was  changed.  At  Batavia, 
90  miles  distant,  the  uproar  was  so  terrific  that  an  eruption  was  supposed 
to  have  occurred  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  every  moment  the  ground  was 
expected  to  open.  In  all  the  surrounding  waters,  as  far  as  the  China  Sea,  in 
the  Bay  of  Bengal,  throughout  half  of  the  Indian  Ocean  as  far  as  Rodrigues, 
the    detonations    were    clearly    hoard,    and     every wht re     the     people    wondered 


88 


AUSTRALASIA. 


what  mighty  fleets  were  engaged  in  deadly  combat  in  the  neighbouring  seas. 
The  commotion  shook  the  atmosphere  for  a  vast  space,  estimated  at  the  four- 
teenth part  of  the  planetary  surface  ;  the  underground  mutterings  heard  in  the 
American  island  of  Caiman  Brae,  almost  at  the  antipodes  of  Krakatau,  may 
even  have  proceeded  from  the  same  source.  The  clouds  of  ashes  ejected  to  a 
height  of   sixteen,   or  according  to  one  report    twenty-one  miles,  fell  in   dense 

Fig.  31. — Range  OF  Dispebsion  of  the  Keakatau  Ashep. 
Scale  1  :  15,000,000. 


c/f//vA    seA. 


Essb    oF    Gregnw.ch 105° 


masses  over  a  vast  space  round  about  the  island,  which  had  been  blown  to  pieces. 
Within  a  range  of  nine  miles  the  bed  thus  formed  was  over  three  feet  thick  ;  in 
the  interior  of  Sumatra,  ninety  miles  off,  some  places  were  covered  two  or  three 
inches  deep,  and  the  surface  of  the  water  was  still  powdered  in  the  Indian  Ocean 
beyond  the  Keeling  Islands,  a  distance  of  720  miles.  The  debris  was  wafted  as 
far  as  the  shores  of  Madagascar,  and   the  displacement  of  rocks  in  the  form  of 


KEAKATAU. 


89 


ashes  and  pumice  was  estimated  at  as  much  as  630  billions  of  cubic  feet.  The 
whole  terrestrial  atmosphere  would  even  ajjpear  to  have  been  charged  with  the 
impaljDable  volcanic  dust  as  far  as  the  upper  limits  of  the  aerial  spaces,  at  least 
according  to  Norman  Lockyer's  theory,  attributing  the  marvellous  afterglows  of 
the  following  autumn  months  to  the  igneous  particles  ejected  by  Krakatau  on 
August  2Gth,  1883.*  The  seas  also  were  agitated  around  the  whole  circumference 
of  the  globe,  as  attested  by  the  readings  of  the  mareographs  at  various  oceanic 
stations,  and  in  the  Indian  Ocean  by  the  great  marine  wave  which  in  thirteen 
hours  was  propagated  as  far  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  reports  of  the  fugitives  from  the  threatened  villages  and  of  the  crews  of 


vessels  near  the  scene  of  the  distui-bance  created  an  impression  that  the  field  of 
destruction  had  even  been  still  more  widespread.  But  after  the  ashes  were 
dispersed,  and  skippers  could  again  venture  into  the  Sunda  Strait,  the  spectacle 
revealed  to  them  seemed  none  the  less  harrowing  and  bewildering.  The  coast 
towns  of  Anjer  and  Tjaringi  on  the  Javanese  side,  Beneawang  and  Telokh-Betong 
on  that  of  Sumatra,  had  disappeared,  while  no  trace  remained  of  the  numerous 
villages  lately  dotted  along  both  shores.  The  cocoanut  forests  which  fringed  the 
seaboard  to  the  foot  of  the  hills  had  been  swept  clean  away  ;  a  huge  wave  100  to 
120  feet  high,  caused  by  the  sinking  of  the  volcano,  had  dashed  against  the  coast, 

*  Times,  December  8th,  1883. 


90  AUSTRALASIA. 

cariying  away  headlands  and  excavating  new  inlets.  All  the  work.s  of  man  were 
destroyed,  and  over  forty  thousand  persons,  overtaken  during  the  terrible  morning, 
"  blacker  than  the  night,"  were  overwhelmed  in  the  deluge  of  waters  rolling  in 
from  the  sea,  or  in  the  showers  of  mud  and  ashes  falling  from  above.  Within  the 
limits  of  the  strait  one  man  alone,  a  solitary  lighthouse-keeper  perched  on  his 
watch-tower  130  feet  above  an  isolated  rock,  escaped  scatheless  in  the  midst  of  the 
surrounding  pother.  So  dense  was  the  darkness  that  he  failed  to  notice  the 
mighty  wave  that  submerged  the  lighthouse  all  but  his  lantern. 

Of  Krakatau  itself  nothing  remained  but  the  southern  volcano ;  all  the 
northern  heights,  or  about  two-thirds  of  the  island,  some  eight  or  ten  miles  in 
circumference,  had  been  blown  to  pieces,  giving  place  to  an  abyss  where  the 
sounding-line  a  thousand  feet  long  failed  to  touch  the  bottom.  From  the 
breached  wall  of  the  southern  volcano  rolled  a  continual  avalanche  of  stones,  while 
the  dust  from  the  crumbling  remains  rose  in  clouds  to  the  sky.  But  if  some  lands 
had  vanished,  others,  formed  by  vast  heaps  of  pumice  and  ashes,  were  raised  from 
the  bed  of  the  sea.  The  island  of  Verlaten  was  more  than  doubled  in  size,  and 
heights  appeared  where  the  plummet  had  lately  revealed  depths  of  230  feet.  Other 
islands,  such  as  Sebesi,  which  had  recently  been  covered  with  forests  and  human 
habitations,  now  presented  to  the  view  nothing  but  a  bare  surface  of  whitish  rock. 

To  the  new  islands  were  added  the  floating  masses  of  pumice,  forming  bars  at 
the  entrance  of  the  baj's  and  for  weeks  and  months  blocking  the  passage  to  the 
shipping.  Gradually  the  action  of  the  waves  and  marine  currents  swej  t  the  strait 
clear  of  these  floating  islands  and  heaps  of  emerged  scoriaj ;  but  the  submarine 
crater  which  was  opened  to  the  north  of  Krakatau  had  held  its  ground.  The 
geological  .studies  made  on  the  spot  show  that  this  crater  hod  previously  existed, 
and  that  the  northern  j)art  of  Krakatau  was  on  the  contrary  of  recent  formation. 
What  remains  of  the  volcano  and  adjacent  islets  of  Verlaten  and  Lang  are  the 
three  outer  fragments — the  tripod,  so  to  say — of  a  mountain  over  6,500  feet  high, 
which  at  some  former  time  rose  above  the  present  eruptive  crater. 

Rivers  of  Sumatra. 

Although  .slower  than  the  underground  forces  in  their  geological  work,  the 
Sumatran  rivers  have  been  more  powerful  agents  in  modifying  the  aspect  of  the 
land.  The  territory  shown  by  its  horizontal  alluvial  formation  to  be  the  creation 
of  the  running  waters  may  be  estimated  at  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  island. 
The  sedimentary  rocks  are  seen  disposed  like  strands  along  the  base  of  the 
coralline  limestone  cliffs,  which  formed  the  primitive  coastline  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Barisan  uplands.  Over  two-thirds  of  the  eastern  seaboard  is  of  quite 
recent  geological  formation,  and  is  still  continually  growing  by  the  addition  of 
fresh  deposits. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  island  the  action  of  the  streams  is  far  less  considerable. 
The  catchment  basins  are  not  here  of  siiflficient  extent  to  convey  seawards  any 
great    quantity  of    sedimentary   matter.      Nevertheless,   even    on    this   slo^ie   the 


SUMATRAN   ElYERS.  91 

alluvial  lands  are  also  of  great  extent.  The  enormous  volume  of  rain  water 
precipitated  on  both  slopes  of  Sumatra  explains  the  exceptional  importance  of  this 
fluvial  action.  On  an  average  Padung  receives  a  mean  annual  rainfall  of  about 
150  inches  ;  Palembang,  on  the  opposite  side,  is  still  more  copiously  watered,  and 
all  the  heaviest  downpours  fall  on  the  advanced  slofies  of  the  mountains,  so 
that  little  is  lost  by  evaporation  or  infiltration  before  the  streams  reach  the 
plains. 

The  Asahan,  which  receives  the  overflow  of  Lake  Toba,  belongs  to  the  eastern 
slope.  Farther  south  follows  the  Rokau,  which  enters  the  strait  of  Malacca 
through  two  mudd}'  estuaries.  It  has  a  course  of  about  120  miles,  nearly  half  of 
which  winds  through  low-lying  lands  created  and  levelled  bj'  itself.  Both  the 
Siak  and  the  Kampar  disembogue  in  the  labj-rinth  of  marine  channels  washing  the 
muddy  shores  of  the  archipelago  lying  to  the  west  of  Singapore.  Although 
navigable  for  over  60  miles  from  their  mouth,  these  two  streams  wind  through 
almost  uninhabited  plains,  whose  climate  is  fatal  to  strangers. 

Beyond  the  Kampar  follows  the  Indragiri,  which  like  it  rises  near  the  west 
coast  on  the  Padang  jjlateau.  After  traversing  Lake  Singkarah  it  flows  under 
the  name  of  the  Umbilien  through  early  Tertiary  formations  rich  in  carboniferous 
beds.  Farther  on  it  escapes  from  a  region  of  plateaux  through  a  series  of  falls  and 
rapids,  and  after  running  for  some  distance  parallel  with  the  Kampar,  mingles  its 
waters  with  those  of  Amphitrite  Bay.  Near  its  mouth  the  southern  and  much 
smaller  basin  of  the  Reteh  also  contains  some  carboniferous  rocks.  Vessels  ascend 
the  Indragiri  for  many  miles  inland,  but  not  as  far  as  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
coalfields. 

The  Jambi,  whose  farthest  headstreams  rise  north  and  south  of  Indrapura, 
culminating  point  of  the  island,  has  the  largest  area  of  drainage  and  rolls  down 
the  greatest  volume  of  water.  At  the  town  of  Jambi,  60  miles  above  its  mouth,  it 
is  nearly  500  j^ards  broad  and  over  16  feet  deep,  at  low  water,  and  during  the 
floods  its  volume  is  more  than  doubled.  Steamers  drawing  three  feet  ascend  the 
Jambi  and  its  main  branch,  the  Hari,  for  360  miles  from  the  sea,  while  small 
canoes  penetrate  100  miles  higher  up. 

The  Musi,  or  Palembang  river,  which  also  rises  on  the  uplands  near  the  west 
coast,  collects  the  waters  of  the  eastern  slope  for  a  space  of  about  200  miles  before 
entering  the  low-lying  plains.  Here  it  divides  below  the  city  of  Palembang  into 
several  branches,  which  ramify  into  endless  channels  and  backwaters  amid  the 
surrounding  swamps.  The  Susang,  or  main  branch,  which  falls  into  the  Bangka 
Strait  near  its  north  entrance,  preserves  sufilcient  water  to  give  access  to  large  vessels 
during  the  floods,  and  to  smaller  craft  throughout  the  rest  of  the  year.  But  the 
other  branches  all  merge  in  other  streams  to  the  right  and  left,  developing  shallow 
lagoons,  expanding  into  broad  morasses,  or  mingling  with  marine  waters  through  the 
dense  mangrove  forests.  These  half  submerged,  uninhabited  and,  for  the  most 
part,  almost  uninhabitable  tracts  cover  a  total  area  of  some  5,000  square  miles. 

According  to  the  local  traditions,  which  however  maj-  have  been  inspired  by 
the  undeniably  rapid  encro;:chments  of  the  land  on  the    sea,    the   whole  of   this 


92 


AUSTRALASIA. 


region  of  the  Musi  delta  has  been  formed  during  the  historic  period.  Even  the 
city  of  Palembang,  now  Ij'ing  in  the  interior  far  above  the  estuary,  is  said  to  have 
been  originally  founded  on  the  coast  itself  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  man- 
groves, by  which  these  low-lying  tracts  are  overgrown,  contribute  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  dry  land  by  arresting  the  sedimentar}'  matter  amid  their  branches. 


Fig.  33. — Alldtial  Plains  of  the  Musi  Basin. 
Scale  1  : 4,000,000. 


— t"   M  JNT01<^->    n'"^-    I     'I 


Old  Shore -line. 


Recent  formations. 


and  by  shedding  their  fruits  beyond  the  river  banks  in  the  muddy  waters,  where 
they  take  root. 

The  West  and  East  Sumatran  Islands. 

West  of  Sumatra  runs  a  chain  of  islands  disposed  parallel  with  the  west  coast. 
Abysses  over  1,000  fathoms  deep  separate  this  chain  from  the  Nicobar  Archipelago ; 
but  with  Sumatra  it  is  connected  by  the  incline  of  the  now  submerged  intervening 
slopes.  These  islands  form,  so  to  say,  an  advanced  coastline  of  the  neighbouring 
mainland,  and  consist  of  the  same  Tertiary  formations  as  those  of  the  adjacent 
shores.  Lying  on  a  marine  bed  at  a  mean  depth  of  not  more  than  60  fathoms, 
they  stand  on  the  very  edge  of  the  submai'ine  Indonesian  plateaux.     Immediately 


SUMATEAN  ISLANDS. 


93 


to  the  west  the  oceanic  bed  sinks  rapidly,  and  within  60  miles  of  the  islands  the 
sounding  line  reveals  depths  of  over  2,500  fathoms. 

Beginning  in  the  north-west  with  the  island  of  Babi,  the  chain  terminates  in 
the  south-east  with  Engano,*  over  720  miles  distant.  The  isolated  islet  of  Christ- 
mas, 300  miles  farther  on,  might  also  perhaps  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the 


same  system,  lying  as  it  does  in  a  line  with  its  axis,  but  this  point  is  rendered 
somewhat  doubtful  by  the  distance  and  the  great  depths  of  the  intervening  waters. 
Excluding  this  rock,  the  western  islands,  which  beyond  doubt  depend  geographi- 
cally and  geologically  on  Sumatra,  have  a  total  superficial  area  of  about  6,000 

•  Telanjang  of  the  Malays,  Taigoeka  of  the  native.'),    and  probably  the  Engano,  or  • '  Deception 
Island,"  of  the  Spaniards. 


94  AUSTEALASIA. 

square  miles,  with  a  collective  population  estimated  at  three  hundred  thousand. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  islands  of  the  east  coast,  resting  on  the  common  Indo- 
nesian submarine  plateau,  are  for  the  most  part  distinct  from  Sumatra,  and 
require  to  be  studied  apart.  The  low-lying  alluvial  lands  separated  by  shallow 
channels  from  the  scarcely  emerged  f)lains  which  have  been  created  by  the 
Sumatran  rivers,  are  certainl}'  natural  dependencies  of  the  great  island.  Such 
are  Rupat,  Bengkalis,  Padang,  Eangsang,  Rantau,  and  others  lying  about  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers.  But  those  situated  farther  seaward,  and  of  a  hilly  and  even 
mountainous  character,  are  of  diiferent  origin,  belonging  physically  to  the  Malay 
Peninsula.  Like  that  region,  they  are  of  granitic  structure,  with  surrounding 
laterite  beds.  Moreover  they  lie  exactly  in  a  line  with  the  main  axis  of  the 
peninsula,  of  which  they  constitute  a  southern  extension  now  broken  into  frag- 
ments by  marine  erosions. 

But  while  the  sea  destroys  in  one  direction,  the  rivers  reconstruct  in  another. 
They  carry  in  solution  the  debris  of  the  Sumatran  highlands,  depositing  the 
sediment  to  the  right  and  left  in  beds  steadily  advancing  seawards,  and  thus 
gradually  enlarging  the  great  island  towards  the  east.  Unless  the  marine 
currents  undo  this  work  and  keep  the  straits  open  by  their  scouring  action,  these 
must  at  last  be  silted  up,  and  then  the  eastern  archipelagoes  of  Riouw  and 
Lingga,  with  Bangka  and  its  satellites,  will  become  attached  to  the  Sumatran  coast, 
lost  as  its  were,  like  erratic  boulders,  amid  the  sands  and  clays  of  recent  formation. 

Flora  and  Fauna  of  Sumatra. 

Like  the  rest  of  Indonesia,  Sumatra  lies  within  the  zone  of  alternating  mon- 
soons, the  south-eastern  or  regular  trade  wind  from  Ma}'  to  Sej)tember,  and  the  north- 
western, bringing  most  of  the  moisture,  and  prevailing  from  November  to  March. 

The  Sumitran  flora  and  fauna  are  distinguished  from  those  of  the  adjacent 
lands  by  a  large  number  of  curious  species.  Such  are  the  great  raJfJesup,  the 
gigantic  arum  {ainoyphophaUiis  tiffejium^,  growing  to  a  height  of  over  IG  feet  ; 
and  those  astonishing  fig-trees,  whose  branches  bury  themselves  in  the  ground, 
and  then  throw  off  their  fruit,  like  so  many  small  mushrooms.  The  character  of 
the  flora  changes  gradually  southward.  Thus,  while  the  Merkus  pine  prevails  in 
certain  highland  districts  north  of  the  Equator,  no  conifers  at  all  are  met  farther 
south.  Nevertheless,  certain  contrasts  between  Sumatran  and  Javanese  floras  on 
either  side  of  the  Sunda  Straits  are  still  striking  enough  to  have  attracted  the 
attention  of  botanists.  Characteristic  of  Sumatra,  as  compared  with  Java,  is  the 
great  relative  extent  of  the  tracts  overgrown  with  along  and  (jlaga,  grasses  over 
three  feet  high,  which  stifle  the  young  arboreal  growths,  and  exhaust  the  soil 
wherever  they  become  predominant.  In  Java  they  are  arrested  at  about  3,000  feet, 
but  in  Sumatra  they  descend  to  within  800  feet  of  sea-level,  and  during  the 
historic  period  their  range  has  been  much  increased  by  careless  husbandry. 

Of  all  the  Indonesian  lands,  this  island  abounds  most  in  graminiferous  species 
possessing    great    economic    value.       Here    flourishes    the    majestic    dnjahalanops 


IXHABITAXTS  OF  SUMATRA.  95 

camphor,  for  the  produce  of  which  the  Chinese  formerly  paid  its  weight  in  gold  ; 
from  this  region  Europe  also  received  its  first  consignments  of  gutta-percha  {geta 
pertja),  of  which  famQy  there  are  scTeral  varieties.  Sumatra  was  also  probablj-  the 
centre  of  dispersion  of  the  cinnamon  j)lant,  of  which  it  possesses  ten  species,  a 
larger  number  than  occurs  in  any  other  region. 

The  Sumatran  fauna  differs  even  more  than  its  flora  from  that  of  the  neigh- 
bouring island.  It  possesses  the  orang-utan,  confined  however  to  a  district  on 
the  north-east  coast,  besides  other  remarkable  apes,  such  as  the  galeopithecus,  or 
flving  lemur.  The  elephant,  exterminated  in  Java,  is  still  common  in  the 
northern  jungle,  where,  according  to  the  natives,  two  quite  distinct  species  are 
found.  The  small  species  of  rhinoceros  met  in  the  Sumatran  forests  also  differs 
from  the  large  Javanese  variety ;  but,  notwithstanding  the  statement  of  Marsden, 
the  hippopotamus  does  not  appear  to  be  a  member  of  the  Sumatran  fauna,  which, 
including  domestic  animals,  comprises,  according  to  Hagen,  sixty  species  of 
mammals  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  birds. 

Inhabitants  of  Sumatra. 

The  Malay  populations  of  Sumatra  are  diversely  intermingled  with  other 
elements  presenting  considerable  contrasts  in  the  different  pro^-inces  in  their 
social  usages  and  degrees  of  culture.  Thus  the  Achinese,  or  people  of  Atjeh,  in 
the  extrtme  north,  regard  themselves  as  a  nation  quite  distinct  from  the  other 
islandei's.  Their  nobles  claim  Arab  descent,  and  really  seem  to  be  of  mixed  origin. 
For  the  five  centuries  preceding  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese,  the  trade  of 
Indonesia  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Arabs,  who  intermarried  with  the  native 
women.  B3'  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  the  kingdom  of  Atjeh  had  embraced 
Islam,  and  later  became  a  centre  of  Moslem  activity,  with  its  theologians,  who 
cultivated  Arabic  letters,  and  its  sectaries,  who  preached  a  new  pantheistic  creed, 
dying  for  their  faith  like  the  martjTS  of  the  western  world. 

Although  in  recent  times  Arab  influence  has  much  diminished,  the  Achinese 
have  preserved  numerous  usages  introduced  by  their  instructors  ;  and  their  Malay 
dialect,  written  in  the  Arabic  character,  has  been  affected  by  many  foreign 
elements.  The  nobles  wear  the  flowing  robs  and  turban,  like  the  merchants  of 
Jeddah,  although  the  women  do  not  go  veiled. 

The  Achinese,  to  whom  the  virtues  of  courage  and  industry  are  not  denied, 
are  stigmatised  as  cruel  and  treacherous,  like  all  peoples  who  dare  to  defend  their 
liberties.  Skilful  agriculturists,  they  raise  heavy  crops  of  rice  and  sweet  potatoes, 
deriving  from  the  soU  the  resources  which  have  enabled  them  to  maintain  the 
struggle  against  the  Dutch  for  fifteen  years.  Like  the  Hindus  and  Indo-Chinese, 
they  are  said  to  have  succeeded  in  taming  the  elephant,  employing  him  as  a  beast 
of  burden.  They  also  display  much  skill  in  working  the  precious  metals,  and  as 
silk  and  cotton  weavers,  and  construct  solid  vessels  with  which  thny  carry  on  an 
extensive  traffic  with  the  surrounding  lands,  and  occasionally  scour  the  seas  as 
dreaded  corsairs.     The  chief  centres  of  their  trade  bcvond  Sumatra  are  Pcnau^ 


96 


AUSTRALASIA. 


Fie 


-Oeang  Batta. 


and  Singapore,  whence   they  import    the   opium,    of    which    they    have   become 
inveterate  smokers. 

The  Battas. 

South  of  Atjeh  the  hilly  plateau  is  occupied  by  still  independent  peoples 
partly  converted  to  Islam,  such  as  the  Gayus,  of  whom  little  is  known  beyond  the 
name,  and  who  are  said  to  dwell  on  the  banks  of  the  freshwater  lake  Laut  Tawar- 
Beyond  them  are  the  mj'sterious  Alas,  and  the  Batta  or  Battak*  peof)le,  centred 

about  the  Lake  Toba 
basin.  According  to 
the  missionary  Nom- 
menscn,  they  num- 
ber altogether  about 
three  hundred  thou- 
sand, divided  into  two 
distinct  groups,  the 
northern  Battas,  who 
trade  with  the  Achin- 
ese,  and  the  southern, 
whose  relations  are 
mainly  with  Deli  and 
Sibogha.  Beyond  the 
lacustrine  region, 
which  they  regard  as 
the  cradle  of  their  race, 
they  are  widely  spread, 
as  far  south  as  Mount 
Ophir  and  eastwards 
to  the  mouth  of  the 
Bila.  The  natives  of 
the  Tapanuli  district  on 
the  western  slope  are 
also  Battas,  reduced 
by  the  so-called  Padri 
or  "  Fathers,"  fana- 
tical Mussidmans,  who  gave  them  the  choice  of  the  sword  or  the  Koran. 
Altogether  the  jDure  or  mixed  Battas  of  the  mainland,  and  exclusive  of  the  Nias 
islanders,  said  also  to  belong  to  the  same  stock,  are  estimated  at  about  a  million. 

The  pure  Batta  type  resembles  that  of  the  Bornean  Dyaks  and  "  Alfurus  "  of 
Celebes,  affiliated  by  most  anthropologists  to  the  primitive  races  allied  to  the 
Polynesians,  who  formerly  peopled  Indonesia,  and  who,  after  expelling  or  exter- 
minating the  Negritos,  were  in  their  turn  driven  out  or  partly  absorbed  by  the 
Malays.      The  Battas  of  the  plateau  are  much  fairer  and  taller,  with  more  abun- 

*  Batta,  singular  ;    Battak,  plui'al. 


INHABITANTS  OF  SUMATEA. 


97 


dant  hair  and  beard  than  the  Malays  of  the  coastlands,  while  the  intervening 
populations  present  ever_v  shade  of  transition  between  the  two  extremes.  Although 
the  national  name  has  been  referred  to  the  Sanskrit  Bhata,  or  "  Savage,"  they 
must  nevertheless  be  regarded  as  a  civilised  people,  bearing  even  some  resemblance 
in  their  carriage  and  features  to  their  former  Hindu  instructors.  But  Indian 
influences,  still  active  in  mediaeval  times,  have  been  for  the  most  part  gradually 
replaced  bv  those  of  the  Mohammedan  Malays,  and  especially  of  the  northern 
Achinese.  Some  Christian  missionaries,  especially  Germans,  have  also  been  at 
work   amongst    them, 

1     i       '.-1     Tiji  li  Fifc.  30.-Orano  Atjeh. 

but  with  little    result  " 

beyond  the  sjjread  of 
scepticism  at  the  spec- 
tacle of  so  many  con- 
flicting religions. 

In  1867  the  Euro- 
peans first  penetrated 
to  Lake  Toba,  the 
heart  of  the  Batta 
country.  But  when 
their  visit  was  re- 
newed six  years  later, 
a  national  council  was 
held  to  discuss  the 
question  whether  the 
punishment  of  death 
should  not  be  inflicted 

on    the   strangers    by  ^ 

whom      their     "  holy  ^ 

land  "  had  been  dese-  *■ 

crated.  Now,  however, 
they  have  grown  ac-  sjj/^ 

customed    to    the    ap-  '  .=       ~^ 

pearance  of  the  whites,  '  ',t  F  ^^^ffS^""'''^~i^' 

and  no  longer  throw  ^i""™ 

any    obstacles    in    the 

way  of  their  explorations.  In  188-'3  the  communities  dwelling  on  the  south  side 
of  Lake  Toba  were  even  obliged  to  yield  submission  to  the  Dutch  arms. 

Despite  these  foreign  Hindu,  Moslem,  and  Christian  influences,  the  Batta 
civilisation  still  preserves  some  remarkable  original  features.  Although  engaged, 
like  their  neighbours,  with  tillage,  cultivating  both  rice  and  maize,  they  are  specially 
distinguished  as  stockbreeders,  and  possess  numerous  herds  of  horses  and  buffaloes, 
besides  goats  and  swine.  These  are  fattened  for  the  national  feasts,  the  oidiuary 
diet  being  limited  to  fruits,  com,  and  roots.  The  islanders  eschew  the  use  of 
betel,  so  dear  to  the  other  Malays,  but  they  are  great  tobacco  smokers,  and  masti- 

VOL.    XIV.  11 


98 


AUSTRALASIA. 


cute  a  mixture  of  lime  and  gambir  leaves  {loicaria  gamUr).  Tliey  neither  tattoo 
the  body  nor  practise  circumcision,  but  mark  the  arrival  of  the  youth  at  the  state 
of  manhood  by  filing  their  teeth. 

The  industries  are  well  developed,  the  men  being  skilful  workers  in  iron  and 
jewellers,  the  women  weavers  and  potters.  They  build  elegant  houses,  some  of 
which  resembk  Swiss  chalets,  with  two  stories  rising  above  a  ground  floor  reserved 
for  the  domestic  animals.  In  soni«  districts,  when  a  man  wants  a  house  the  whole 
communit}'  len-ds  a  hand  to  build  one,  and  in  several  jjlaces  a  number  of  families 

lUg.  37. — Laxe  Toba  and  the  Batta  Countey. 
Scale  1  :  926,000. 


reside  together  under  one  roof,  a  sort  of  stronghold  surrounded  by  palisades  to 
prevent  surprises.  Each  village  possesses  a  sort  of  "  town-hall,"  where  all  valu- 
able objects  are  kept  and  where  strangers  are  publiclj^  entertained.  Amongst  the 
most  carefull}^  preserved  treasures  are  books  and  other  records,  carved  on  wood,  or 
inscribed  on  bark  or  leaves,  for  most  of  the  Battas  can  read  and  write.  But  unlike 
the  coast  Malays,  who  have  adopted  the  Arabic  characters,  they  still  preserve  the 
old  alphabet  introduced  by  the  Hindus,  but  written  from  right  to  left  on  smooth 
bark,  or  from  bottom  to  top  on  the  bundles  of  reeds  that  constitute  their  archives. 


IXUAEIT.VXTS  OF  SUMATRA.  99 

The  language,  which  contains  many  Sanskrit  words,  diifcrs  eor.sidprably  from 
the  coast  Malay,  and  possesses  a  richer  vocabulary.  It  moreover  comprises  special 
forms,  such  as  the  jargons  of  the  women,  magicians,  and  thieves.  The  young  men 
and  women  correspond  by  letters  written  on  foliage,  and  forwarded  through  a 
postal  system  which  utilises  as  letter-boxes  the  bollow  trunks  of  trees  at  the 
crossings  of  the  highways. 

The  Batta  commune  constitutes  an  autonomous  group  repre.'sented  rather  than 
administered  by  a  rajah  or  pauuisiik,  and  deliberating  in  common.  Village  groups 
have  also  been  developed,  forming  so  many  little  rejjublics  connected  together  by 
a  federal  union ;  lastly,  traces  of  an  ancient  kingdom  seem  to  bave  survived  in  the 
expressions  of  almost  religious  veneration  till  lately  lavished  on  a  prince  resident 
at  Bakara,  a  large  village  at  the  south-west  end  of  Lake  Toba,  recently  conquered 
by  the  Dutch. 

All  the  members  of  each  community  are  supposed  to  be  connected  by  the  ties 
of  kindred,  although  not  holding  equal  social  rank,  and  although  the  lower  classes 
may  even  be  pledged  or  sold  by  order  of  council  for  debts,  crimes,  or  offences. 
The  penal  code  is  severe,  beheading  being  till  lately,  and  possibly  still,  the  sentence 
pronounced  for  grave  crimes,  such  as  treason  and  armed  revolt,  but  not  simple 
murder  or  homicide.  An  extraordinary  and  altogether  unique  provision  of  the 
written  code  was  that  the  outraged  community  should  avenge  itself  by  eating  the 
criminal,  who  in  some  cases  was  even  devoured  alive.  His  nearest  kin,  as  mem- 
bers of  the  commonwealth,  had  to  share  in  the  feast,  and  even  supply  the  salt, 
lime-juice,  and  other  condiments.  But  except  as  acts  of  justice,  cannibalism  was 
not  practised,  nor  were  women  ever  subjected  to  this  treatment.  At  present  the 
Battas  assert  that  the  custom  has  fallen  into  complete  abeyance,  but  on  this  point 
their  veracity  is  open  to  suspicion.  There  is  reason  to  think  that  slaves  are  also  des- 
patched, to  attend  their  masters  beyond  the  grave,  and  that  they  are  obliged  first  to 
masquerade  at  the  pit's  mouth.  According  to  Junghahn  and  otber  writers,  anthro- 
pophagy is  of  relatively  recent  introduction,  a  statement,  however,  which  is  at 
variance  with  the  testimonj^  of  the  old  writers.  Arab  tradition  and  the  first  Euro- 
pean visitors  describe  the  Sumatran  highlanders  as  cannibals  devouring  the  infirm 
and  aged.  As  soon  as  they  felt  themselves  incapable  of  work,  the  "  grandfathers  " 
hung  by  their  arms  from  the  branch  of  a  tree,  while  the  family  and  neighbours 
danced  round  about,  shouting,  "  ^Yhen  the  fruit  is  ripe  it  falls."  And  when  it 
did  fall  they  fell  upon  it,  chopping  it  into  "  mincemeat."  Such  feasts  were 
usually  held  in  the  season  when  the  limes  ripened. 

The  least  mercy  is  shown  to  prisoners  of  war,  regarded  as  guilty  of  "  rebellion 
against  the  conqueror."  Most  wars  are,  moreover,  of  a  very  sanguinary  nature. 
The  Batta  jurisprudence  not  permitting  a  commime  to  be  enslaved  or  deprived 
of  its  land,  the  only  way  of  being  revenged  on  it  is  by  killing  off  a  large  number ; 
and  the  festoons  of  human  heads  decorating  the  rajahs'  residences  siifEciently 
attest  the  zeal  with  which  the  work  of  extermination  is  carried  out.  In  several 
districts  this  internecine  strife  checks  the  growth  of  the  population,  which  is 
farther  reduced  by  the  prevalent  practice  of  abortion.     Late  marriages  are   the 

H  2 


100 


AUSTEALASIA. 


rule,  owing  to  the  high  price  of  the  bride,  although  another  form  of  union,  of 
matriarchal  origin,  also  exists,  according  to  which  the  husband  is  purchased  by 
the  wife.  Being  regarded  as  merely  so  much  movable  property,  he  may  even  be 
seized  for  debt,  and  bequeathed  as  a  legacy  to  the  testator's  heirs. 

Traces  survive  of  the  Hindu  religions,  for  the  Battas  recognise  a  triune  diety, 
Creator,  Preserver,  and  Destroyer ;  and  also  admit  the  existence  of  other  divinities 
and  genii,  to  whom  they  give  the  slightly  modified  Indian  name  of  dipbata  (devate). 


Fig.  38. — Inhabitants  of  Sumatra. 
Scale  1:  15,0fK100O. 


But  religious  worship  enters  very  little  into  their  daily  life.  They  can  scarcely 
be  said  to  have  any  regular  ceremonial,  and  there  are  only  one  or  two  temples 
in  the  country.  The  natives  are  mostly  satisfied  with  invoking  the  little  idols 
they  always  carry  about  with  them  in  pouches,  and  are  most  concerned  in  circum- 
venting the  evil  spirits  by  ingenious  devices.  Family  groups  and  whole  com- 
munes have  been  known  to  secure  the  protection  of  some  powerful  patron  by 
burying  a  child  alive,  under  the  belief  that  its  spirit  will  henceforth  watch  over 
their  plantations.     Chiefs  and  nobles  are  supposed  to  survive  in  the  after-world. 


IXHABITANTS  OP  SUMATRA.  101 

On  the  d;iy  of  their  death  a  rice-field  is  sown,  and  at  the  harvest,  presided  over  by 
the  corpse,  a  feast  is  given  in  honour  of  the  dejjai-ted,  now  assumed  to  have  taken 
his  place  amongst  the  benevolent  genii.  After  the  feast  he  is  buried  near  the 
house  of  which  he  has  become  the  guardian  spirit. 

To  the  Batta  family  are  generally  supposed  to  belong  the  little  wild  tribes  of 
Orang-Ulus  and  Orang-Liibus,  who  occupy  the  upland  valleys  north  of  Mount 
Ophir,  and  who  appear  never  to  have  been  brought  within  Hindu  influences. 
They  have  been  compared  with  the  most  savage  inhabitants  of  Borneo,  like  them 
going  almost  naked,  dwelling  in  huts  made  of  branches  or  in  the  hollow  trunks 
of  trees,  and  armed  with  the  blow-pipe  and  poisoned  darts.  They  cultivate  no 
arts,  not  even  that  of  husbandry,  living  mainly  on  fruits,  roots,  snakes,  and  insects, 
besides  the  rice  and  salt  deposited  by  the  traders  in  certain  fixed  places  in  ex- 
change for  the  local  produce  brought  thither  by  the  "  men  of  the  woods."  They 
have  a  large  breed  of  dogs,  who  warn  them  of  the  approach  of  the  traders,  and 
scent  out  any  tigers  lurking  about. 


The  MEXAXGKAii\os  axd  other  Simatean  Malays. 

The  ancient  kingdom  of  Menangkabao,  which  succeeded  the  still  older  Hindu 
empire  of  Adityavarma,  comprises  south  of  the  Batta  country  the  most  densely 
peopled  part  of  Sumatra  in  the  hilly  region  of  the  Padang  uplands,  and  on  the 
west  slope  of  the  island.  The  true  form  of  the  word  is  Mpnang-Karhau,  or  the 
"  Victory  of  the  Buffalo,"  which  is  explained  by  the  local  legend  of  a  fight  between 
a  Suraatran  and  a  JaA"anese  buffalo  terminating  in  the  triumph  of  the  former. 
This  tradition  may  perhaps  symbolise  some  conflict,  or  even  a  long  struggle 
between  the  natives  and  the  intruders  from  the  neighbouring  island.  The  natives 
ultimately  triumphed,  and  their  customs  consequently  prevailed  over  those  of  the 
Javanese  and  Hindus.  They  are  at  present  regarded  as  Malays  in  a  pre-eminent 
sense,  and  their  speech  is  held  to  be  the  purest  form  of  the  Malay  language. 

Despite  their  conversion  to  Islam  and  the  conquest  of  Menangkabao  by  the 
Dutch,  the  old  institutions  of  confederate  village  communes  and  of  matriarchy 
still  hold  their  ground.  The  population  is  divided  into  sulais  or  clans,  each  with 
its  own  chief,  chosen  from  some  privileged  family,  and  its  council,  consisting  of  all 
male  adults.  All  the  village  chiefs  are  again  grouped  in  a  district  council,  the 
district  thus  organised  usually  taking  its  name  from  the  number  of  kotas  or 
villages  of  which  it  is  constituted — the  "  Seven,"  the  "  Nine,"  the  "  Ten,"  the 
'•  Twenty,"  the  "  Fifty  "  Kotas,  and  so  on. 

No  man  can  marry  within  his  own  kota  or  sutu,  so  that  unions  are  all  essen- 
tially exogamous.  The  husband  helps  his  wife  or  wi\es  in  the  management  of  the 
household  and  in  cultivating  the  land,  but  his  children  belong  to  the  mother,  and 
must  remain  in  the  maternal  village  to  inherit  the  maternal  propertJ^  The  father's 
inheritance,  on  the  other  hand,  goes  to  his  sister's  children  in  his  native  village. 
Such  is  the  uii<l(Uifj-iiiid((it(j,  or  matriarchal  law,  and  the  survival  of   these   institu- 


102  AUSTRALASIA. 

tioiis,  so  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  Islam,  shows  what  little  influence  is  really 
exercised  by  the  oiBcial  religion  of  the  country. 

Nevertheless,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  rigid  sect  of  the  Orang 
Puti,  or  "White  Men,"  also  known  through  their  proselytising  zeal  as  "  Padri," 
like  the  Portuguese  missionaries,  became  powerful  enough  to  overthrow  the  king- 
dom. About  1820  these  eastern  "  AVahabites,"  whose  reform  consisted  chiefly 
in  iibstaiuiug  from  tobacco,  betel,  and  strong  drinks,  reduced  the  high-priest  and 
King  of  Menangkabao  to  such  extremities  that  he  was  fain  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the 
Dutch,  at  first  allies,  presently  masters. 

The  Jlalay  inhabitants  of  the  upland  vallej's  and  plateaus  south  of  Padang 
greatly  resemble  the  Battas,  without,  however,  showing  any  traces  of  cannibalism. 
The  Korintjiors  (Korinches)  settled  about  Mount  Indrapura;  the  Rejanges 
(Piejangs),  "  guardians  of  the  frontier"  between  the  provinces  of  Palembang  and 
Benkulen  ;  the  Pasumahs  of  the  district  dominated  by  the  Dempo  volcano ;  lastly, 
towards  the  southern  extremity  of  Sumatra,  the  Abungers,  or  "  Highlanders,"  and 
the  LamjDougers,  or  •'  Lowlanders,"  all  appear  to  have  formerly  enjoyed  a  high 
degree  of  civilisation.  From  their  ancestors  they  have  inherited  a  writing  system 
derived,  like  that  of  the  Battas,  from  the  Sanskrit  characters,  and  all  can  still  read 
and  write. 

In  the  forests  here  and  there  occur  colossal  statues,  which,  strange  to  say, 
present  neither  the  Hindu  nor  the  Malay  type.  Amongst  several  Rejang  tribes 
the  mothers  flatten  the  nose  and  compress  the  skull  of  their  children,  and  the 
practice  of  filing  the  teeth  is  very  prevalent.  According  to  Van  Hasselt,  the 
Lampong  Abung  peoples  come  from  Menangkabao.  Amongst  them  marriage  is 
also  exogamous,  and  the  price  of  the  wife  is  relatively  so  high  that  the  husband 
takes  years  to  work  off  the  charge.  But  on  the  other  hand  she  becomes  his  slave, 
and  the  jewels  and  coins  with  which  she  is  decked  on  the  wedding  day  all  belong 
to  him.  Later  he  also  indemnifies  himself  by  the  sale  of  his  own  daughters.  The 
eldest  brother  is  required  to  take  over  all  the  widows  of  the  family ;  but  the 
women  of  the  iijjper  classes  usuall3f  marry,  as  in  Menangkabao,  according  to  the 
matriarchal  system,  and  retain  possession  of  the  land  and  offsj)ring.  In  the  coast- 
towns,  where  Islam  has  prevailed  over  the  primitive  heathendom,  unions  are 
contracted  in  the  Arab  fashion.  The  married  alone  are  buried  with  honour,  for 
they  are  the  "  parents  of  the  people  ;"  all  others  are  thrown  to  the  bush. 

The  natives  of  the  Siak,  Jambi,  and  Palembang  districts,  on  the  east  coast,  are 
for  the  most  part  immigrants  from  the  neighbouring  islands,  being  the  descendants 
of  traders  who  founded  factories  about  the  river  mouths.  On  these  coastlands 
Hindu  influences  long  survived,  thanks  to  the  proximity  of  Java,  whence  colonists 
continued  to  settle  in  Palembang  down  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
In  general  the  usages  on  this  seaboard  differ  little  from  the  Javanese,  and  even 
the  current  speech  retains  many  words  introduced  from  the  neighbouring  island. 

In  the  interior  dwell  a  few  thousand  Orang-Kabu,  believed  to  represent  the 
aborigines  gradually  driven  inward  from  the  coast.  They  lead  a  wandering  life 
in  the  midst  of    the   forests ;    but  physically  they  differ  little    from  their  Malay 


IN'HABITANTS  OF  SUMATRA.  103 

neighbours,  except  tliat  they  are  more  robust  and  of  lighter  complexion,  and  their 
superiors  in  the  qualities  of  truthfulness,  honesty,  and  courage.  Armed  with  a 
simple  stake  they  boldly  attack  the  tiger,  but,  like  the  northern  Orang-Lubu, 
avoid  all  personal  contact  with  the  Chinese  and  ^Sfalay  dealers.  The  Kubu 
language  is  closely  related  to  the  current  Malay  speech. 

The  Nias  axd  ME^•TA^\■EY  Isi..a.nders. 

The  natives  of  the  West  Sumatran  islands  are  of  diverse  origin.  Those  of 
Simalu  (Babi)  in  the  north  descend  from  Menangkabao  immigrants  mixed  with 
Achinese  blood.  The  Banjak  islanders  are  also  sprung  from  Malays  and 
Achinese,  who  arrived  from  the  mainland  about  two  hundred  years  ago.  Bangkara, 
the  westernmost  member  of  the  group,  is  still  uninhabited,  and  is  even  avoided, 
through  dread  of  the  "  evil  spirits  "  by  whom  it  is  supposed  to  be  peopled. 

The  Ono  Niha,  or  "children  of  men,"  as  the  Nias  islanders  are  called,  number, 
according  to  Von  Rosenberg,  about  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  souls,  who, 
however,  have  not  all  been  yet  brought  under  the  Dutch  administration.  Most 
writers  agree  with  Junghuhn  in  regarding  them  as  of  Batta  stock.  But  although 
the  physical  and  moral  resemblances  are  numerous,  the  contrasts  are  also  very 
striking.  Even  the  northern  and  southern  Nias  people  themselves  differ  greatly 
in  their  usages,  and  do  not  recognise  themselves  as  of  common  kindred.  If  the 
Ono  Niha  are  really  of  Batta  origin,  the  separation  must  have  taken  place  in 
extremely  remote  times. 

Both  branches  of  the  Nias  group  are  usually  cheerful,  agreeable,  courteous, 
easily  led  by  motives  of  self-love,  always  anxious  to  please,  but  extremely  indolent, 
except  in  some  of  the  southern  districts,  where  war  is  not  carried  on,  as  elsewhere, 
by  a  system  of  ambuscades  and  nightly  surprises.  Hereditary  hatreds  are  perpe- 
tuated sometimes  to  the  utter  extinction  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  hostile  factions. 
The  villages,  especially  in  the  north,  attest  the  state  of  constant  terror  in  which 
the  people  pass  their  lives.  Nowhere  is  an  isolated  hut  to  be  seen,  all  being 
grouped  together  on  natural  or  artificial  eminences  encircled  by  ditches  and 
palisades.  The  dwellings  themselves  are  raised  on  rows  of  piles,  amid  which  the 
pigs  act  as  scavengers,  thriving  on  the  kitchen  and  other  refuse.  A  ladder  and 
trap  give  access  to  the  house,  which  affects  the  form  of  a  large  oval  basket  with  a 
high-pitched  roof  thatched  with  reeds,  the  projecting  gables  being  everywhere 
decorated  with  the  jawbones  of  hog.s,  attesting  the  wealth  of  the  owner.  To  these 
the  southern  village  chiefs  add  the  heads  of  their  human  victims,  while  the  whole 
is  protected  bj'  effigies  of  the  tutelar  deitj'  against  the  machinations  of  the  foe  and 
the  malevolent  spirits.  At  one  end  of  the  village  stands  the  smith's  house,  to 
which  a  magic  virtue  is  also  accredited,  and  for  further  security  the  entrance  of 
the  enclosure  is  guarded  by  lofty  statues  of  the  tribal  god  and  his  wife. 

The  Nias  islanders  are  clever  artisans,  as  shown  by  their  well-constructed 
houses  and  strongholds,  their  elegant  and  highly  tempered  weapons.  They  work 
copper  with  taste,  weave  and  dye  their  textile  fabrics,  make  highly  prized  malting 


101  AUSTRALASIA. 

and  extract  cocoanut  oil  for  exportation.  Gold,  either  in  fragments  or  wrought 
into  jewellerj',  is  their  onlj-  currency  ;  and  the  chiefs  delight  in  decking  their  hair 
with  golden  plumes  and  attaching  a  golden  crescent  like  a  moustache  to  the  upper 
lip.  The  southern  districts  are  traversed  by  a  few  carefully  paved  roads  skilfully 
constructed  over  the  crests  of  the  hills.  But,  unlike  the  Battas,  they  have  not 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  Hindu  letters,  and  their  ancient  usages  have  been  slowly 
modified  under  exclusive  Malay  and  Mussulman  influences. 

At  present  their  religious  system  has  approached  the  vanishing  point.  The 
main  function  of  the  ere,  priests  or  priestesses,  usually  chosen  by  the  chief  from 
his  own  family,  is  to  invoke  the  bela,  or  intermediate  spirits,  who  are  familiar  with 
both  the  good  and  evil  genii,  and  who  can  therefore  be  enlisted  as  helpmates  and 
accomplices  in  all  undertakings.  The  priests  also  bless  the  nuptials  by  pressing 
together  the  heads  of  the  betrothed  and  offering  some  flesh  to  the  protecting  deity. 
Marriages  are  exogamous  and  always  a  matter  of  purchase.  But  the  price  is 
generally  so  exorbitant  that  the  husband  often  runs  great  risk  of  forfeiting  his 
own  and  his  children's  freedom,  especially  as  the  amount  of  the  debt  is  doubled  every 
year.  Whole  families  have  thus  fallen  into  slavery  for  a  liability  originally 
contracted  by  the  purchase  perhaps  of  a  few  pins  or  a  coil  of  metal  wire.  The 
albinos,  somewhat  numerous  among  the  southern  Niassi,  are  accredited  to  some 
prowling  demon,  and  usually  badly  treated.  Adultery  involves  heavy  fines  and 
often  capital  punishment,  while  girls  who  have  had  an  "accident"  are  strangled 
and  thrown  to  the  bush. 

The  priests  are  above  all  medicine-men,  that  is,  exorcists.  For  every  ailment 
there  is  a  wicked  spirit,  whom  the  infallible  priest  never  fails  to  expel  by  his 
incantations,  but  who  is  replaced  by  other  devouring  genii,  that  is,  whenever  the 
maladj'  persits  and  is  followed  by  death.  When  the  end  approaches,  the  friends 
and  kindred  gather  round  the  bed,  howling  and  yelling  till  the  patient  breathes 
his  last.  In  the  south  these  wailings  are  followed  by  an  honourable  funeral,  the 
body  being  borne  through  the  village  and  the  weapons  of  the  deceased  exposed 
along  the  route.  At  the  extremity  of  the  coffin  is  placed  the  effigy  of  a  bird 
carved  in  wood  ;  then  the  bier  is  suspended  beneath  a  canopy  of  foliage,  and  the 
friends  lie  in  ambush  along  the  wayside  to  surprise  and  behead  a  few  passing 
men  and  women  to  the  greater  glory  of  the  departed.  In  the  case  of  a  great 
chief  custom  requires  at  least  some  twenty  heads,  to  raise  which  indiscriminate 
warfare  is  waged  against  the  surrounding  villages.  Sometimes  they  are  satisfied 
with  slaves,  who,  however,  must  die  a  lingering  death  under  torture  in  order  to 
render  the  sacrifice  more  agreeable  to  the  cruel  demons. 

The  inheritance  usually  passes  from  father  to  eldest  son  ;  but  the  rule  is  not 
absolute,  /md  whatever  child  contrives  by  means  of  a  reed  to  capture  the  dying 
man's  last  breath,  or  persuade  the  assistants  that  he  has  done  so,  becomes  ipso  facto 
a  claimant  for  the  fortune  and  paternal  or  political  power  of  the  deceased.  Chiefs, 
all  powerful  in  theorj^  are  nevertheless  often  fain  to  share  the  sovereignty  with 
their  rivals,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  rarely  venture  to  decide  in  weighty 
affairs  without  consulting  the  notables,  or  even  all  freeholders.      In  the  assemblies 


INHABITANTS  OF  SUJIATRA.  105 

all  speak  freely,  at  times  coming  to  blows.  It  is  also  usual  to  deliberate  fasting,  in 
order  to  guard  against  the  violent  scenes  that  might  be  caused  by  the  abuse  of 
palm-wine. 

Formerly  an  extensive  traffic  was  carried  on  in  Niassi  slaves,  whom  hundreds 
of  praus  came  to  kidnap  round  the  coasts  of  the  island.  Sir  Stamford  Raffles  was 
even  "  censured  "  by  the  East  India  Company  for  obstructing  this  trade  during 
the  British  occupation.  At  present  many  of  the  islanders  emigrate  to  take 
service  in  Malay  or  European  families,  and  amongst  them  are  nearly  always 
chosen  the  carpenters,  masons,  and  thatchers. 

The  natives  of  the  Mentawey  Archipelago  are  also  "  savages,"  differing 
greatl)',  however,  from  the  other  west  Sumatran  islanders.  According  to  Von 
Rosenberg,  who  visited  them  between  the  years  1847  and  18-j2,  they  are  not 
Malays  at  all,  but  a  branch  of  the  East  Polynesian  race.  Their  idiom,  remarkable 
for  its  softness  and  abundance  of  vowels,  appears  to  differ  completely  from  the 
dialects  of  Sumatra  and  neighbouring  islands.  Like  the  Polynesians,  the  Chaga- 
lalegats,  as  they  call  themselves,  delight  in  waving  plumes,  foliage,  and  flowers. 
They  deck  their  hair  with  bright  corals,  and  cover  the  breast  with  tattoo  markings 
in  the  form  of  shields,  like  the  Tonga  and  other  Pacific  peofiles.  Certain  food  is 
strictly  tabooed  for  the  women,  while  the  profane  are  warned  off  from  certain 
m3'sterious  recesses  of  the  forest. 

The  Mentawey  people  do  not  blacken  their  teeth  like  most  of  the  Malay 
tribes,  but  file  to  a  point  the  front  teeth.  The  youth  of  both  sexes  join  together 
in  all  gymnastic  exercises,  but  after  marriage  the  women  keep  discreetly  apart. 
Divorce  is  unknown  and  adultery  punished  with  death.  Like  their  neighbours  of 
the  Pagah  group,  the  Chagalalegats  are  extremely  pacific,  never  warring  amongst 
themselves,  nor  fortifying  their  villages,  which,  however,  they  take  care  not  to 
build  on  the  coast,  but  always  on  the  bank  of  some  small  inland  stream.  Till 
lately  their  arms  were  the  bow  and  poisoned  arrows.  Although  much  dreading 
the  evil  spirits,  they  at  times  consult  them  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  where  the 
replies  are  uttered  in  a  harsh,  quivering  voice.  The  souls  of  the  dead,  also  greatly 
feared,  are  supposed  to  become  demons,  and  a  neighbouring  uninhabited  island  is 
the  special  abode  of  these  departed  spirits. 

Even  the  little  island  of  Engano,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  insular  chain, 
has  its  peculiar  race,  on  insufficient  grounds  affiliated  by  some  writers  to  the 
Papuan  stock.  These  rude  islanders  were  still  in  the  stone  age  till  the  middle  of 
the  present  century,  when  they  learnt  the  use  of  iron.  They  went  naked,  whence 
the  term  Pulo  Telanjang,  or  "  Naked  Island,"  applied  by  the  Malay  traders  to 
their  little  territory.  The  Kerikjee,  as  they  call  themselves,  were  also  un- 
acquainted with  tobacco  and  strong  drinks,  but  were,  on  the  other  hand,  scru- 
pulou.-ly  honest,  theft  being  unknown  amongst  them.  They  bury  their  dead  in  a 
fishing-net,  doubtless  to  enable  them  to  continue  to  procure  themselves  food  in 
the  next  world;  but  the  fruit-trees,  field,  and  garden-plot  of  the  departed  are  laid 
waste,  being  henceforth  useless  to  him. 


106  AUSTRALASIA. 


Topography  of  Sumatra. 


Being  still  destitute  of  easj'  highways,  and  inhabited  by  diverse  tribes  and 
nations  without  any  political  cohesion,  Sumatra  has  developed  on  its  seaboard  but 
few  considerable  towns,  while  in  the  interior  the  largest  centres  of  population  are 
little  more  than  villages.  Nevertheless  several  epochs  have  witnessed  the  growth 
of  large  kingdoms,  whose  capitals  have  successively  been  important  commercial 
marts. 

The  old  Atjeh  empire,  which,  according  to  the  chroniclers,  arose  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  thirteenth  century,  was  of  considerable  extent.  At  the  time  of  its 
greatest  prosperity,  in  the  first  decades  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  embraced 
about  half  of  the  island,  and  held  several  secondary  states  in  vassalage.  From 
Egypt  to  Japan  ruling  princes  sought  its  alliance  ;  its  army  comisrised  hundreds  of 
fighting  elephants  and  disposed  of  two  thousand  guns.  The  sultan,  who,  despite 
his  Arab  name  claimed  descent,  like  so  many  other  Eastern  potentates,  from 
Alexander  of  Macedon,  exercised  almcst  absolute  power,  at  least  in  the  districts  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  residence. 

At  present  the  Atjeh  frontiers,  as  arbitrarily  laid  down  by  the  Dutch  across  a 
territory  of  which  they  are  not  even  masters,  includes  only  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  island,  from  south  of  Langsar  Bay  on  the  east,  to  Silekat  Bay  on  the  west 
coast.  The  island  of  Babi,  with  a  few  adjacent  islets  partly  inhabited  by  Achinese, 
also  forms  part  of  the  State.  Although  the  population  has  been  more  than  deci- 
mated during  the  long  war  with  the  Dutch,  it  is  still  believed  to  exceed  half  a 
million.  The  Achinese,  properly  so  called,  are  divided  into  three  clans,  the 
"twenty-two,"  the  "twenty-five,"  and  the  "twenty-six,"  aogi  ot  inuldms,  that  is, 
communes,  each  governed  by  two  panglimas,  or  hereditary  chiefs,  who  naturally 
check  each  other's  power,  while  the  whole  body  of  the  panglimas  constitute  the 
national  council.  Moreover,  each  village  enjoys  local  self-government,  being 
administered  by  its  elders,  without  whom  the  chief  can  decide  nothing.  This 
independent  communal  life  explains  the  astonishing  vigour  with  which  the  natives 
have  hitherto  defended  their  liberties  against  the  foreign  aggressors. 

Since  the  first  treaty  of  commerce,  signed  in  1509  with  the  Portuguese,  the 
Achinese  have  always  maintained  either  pacific  or  hostile  relations  with  the  Euro- 
peans. But  about  the  middle  of  the  present  century  the  State  had  fallen  into 
complete  decay,  and  the  Dutch  had  seized  several  places  on  the  seaboard.  In  1872 
the  moment  seemed  favourable  to  punish  the  sultan  for  the  piratical  doings  of  his 
vassals,  with  whom  he  was  probably  in  league.  Thanks  to  a  treaty  with  the  English, 
yielding  to  them  her  possessions  on  the  coast  of  Guinea  as  a  set-off  against  any 
further  claims  on  their  part  to  the  northern  parts  of  Sumatra,  Holland  hoped  soon 
to  make  an  end  of  the  Achinese ;  but  their  first  expedition  ended  disastrously. 
Further  equipments,  a  regular  camj^aign,  and  a  siege  of  forty-seven  days,  were 
required  to  reduce  the  kraton,  or  chief  native  stronghold,  which,  however,  was  not 
followed  by  the  submission  of  the  sultan.  After  fifteen  years  of  incessant  warfare, 
which  has  cost  Holland  an  expenditure  of    £20,000,000  and  over  one  hundred 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  SUMATRA. 


107 


thousand  lives,  and  double  that  number  to  the  natives,  the  inland  districts  still 
remain  unreduced,  and  will  probably  maintain  their  independence  until  the  country 
is  opened  up  by  good  highways  ramifying  in  all  directions. 

The  capital  of  Atjeh,  formerlj-  known  as  the  Kofa-Rnja,  or  "  Royal  City,"  and 
now  called  Groot  Atjeh,  is  built  in  the  form  of  a  regidar  quadrilateral,  three 
miles  from  the  coast,  at  the  entrance  of  an  extremely  fertile  valley  watered  by  the 
river  Atjeh.  Southwards  rise  two  isolated  bluffs,  the  "  father  and  mother  of  the 
river,"   as  the  natives  call  them.      Numerous   villages  are  s«attered  round   the 

Fig.  39. — Kot.4.-Raja  anii  Oleh-Leh. 
Scale  1  :  120,000. 


2J  MUes. 


80  Feet  nnc 
upnards. 


enclosures,  and  the  entrenched  camp  is  defended  by  a  ring  of  forts  connected 
together  by  railways.  Another  line,  the  first  constructed  in  Sumatra,  also 
connects  the  city  with  its  marine  quarter,  Oleh-kh,  standing  on  a  narrow  beach 
between  the  sea  and  a  sluggish  backwater  communicating  eastwards  with  the  Atjeh. 
Before  the  war,  Kota-Raja  is  said  to  have  had  a  population  of  thirty-five 
thousand;  in  1882  it  had  already  recovered  much  of  its  importance,  and  in  1886 
contained  nine  thousand  four  hundred  natives,  besides  two  thousand  five  hundred 


lOS  AUSTRALASIA. 

Chinese.  Pepper,  the  lacla  or  piper  nigrum,  introduced  from  India,  is  generally 
cultivated  in  tlie  district,  yielding  in  times  of  peace  as  much  as  forty-five  million 
pounds,  or  two-thirds  of  the  quantity  consumed  in  the  whole  world.  According 
to  Van  der  Tunk  the  native  idea  is  that  the  Europeans,  living  in  a  cold  and 
damp  climate,  stuff  their  mattresses  with  this  spice  to  keep  themselves  warm  at 
night. 

East  of  Atjeh,  on  the  Arcca  coast,  as  it  is  called,  because  it  is  fringed  with  the 
Areca  or  betel-nut  palm,  the  Dutch  hold  two  other  stations,  Segli,  near  the 
northern  slopes  of  the  Goudberg,  and  Edi,  south  of  Diamond  Point.  In  the 
neighbouring  district  of  Pasei  formerly  stood  the  city  of  Sumadra,  whence  the 
island  takes  its  name.  On  the  west  or  "Pepper  coast,"  which  is  subject  to  slow 
upheaval,  the  chief  port  is  Kliirincj,  noted  for  its  vast  caves  frequented  by  myriads 
of  edible-nest  builders.  Some  60  miles  farther  south  lies  the  port  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tetiom  where  the  British  ship  Nisero  was  wrecked  in  1883,  and  the  whole  crew 
captured  and  subjected  to  great  hardships  in  captivity.  Three  years  previously  two 
French  travellers  in  search  of  gold  mines  had  been  assassinated  on  the  same  river. 
Yet  within  thirty  miles  farther  south  the  little  port  of  Malabnh  (Ana/a/jii)  is  occupied 
by  a  Dutch  garrison.  To  escape  from  foreign  rule  most  of  the  natives  have  fled 
to  the  coast  town  of  Waikih,  between  Tenom  and  Malabuh.  The  latter  place, 
which  has  some  gold-washings  and  coal-beds,  is  followed  southwards  by  the  port 
of  Tnmpat  Tutcan,  which  trades  with  the  neighbouring  island  of  Babi. 

Singkel,  formerly  capital  of  a  kingdom  and  now  the  chief  town  of  a  division  of 
the  Tapanuli  province,  lies  on  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  surrounded  hj 
pestiferous  swamps.  Nevertheless,  the  place  is  visited  bj^  some  Chinese  traders, 
who  take  camphor,  benzoin,  and  holothurias  in  exchange  for  opium  and  rice. 
Baros,  lying  in  a  more  healthy  district  farther  south,  was  also  a  royal  residence 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Dutch,  and  at  present  does  a  considerable  trade  with 
Giiming  Sitoli,  capital  of  Nias.  Beyond  it  follows  Sibogha,  on  an  inlet  of  the  deep  and 
spacious  Tapanuli  Bay,  one  of  the  best  harbours  in  the  world,  affording  excellent 
anchorage  close  in  shore.  Sibogha  is  one  of  the  points  whence  travellers  penetrate 
inland  to  the  Batta  countrj'.  On  the  eastern  and  south-eastern  heights  of  the 
neighbouring  plateaux  lie  several  commercially  and  strategically  important  places, 
such  as  Sipirok,  Padang  Sidempiian,  and  Pcrtihi,  noted  for  its  Buddhist  ruins. 
Southwards  in  the  direction  of  Padang  follow  the  little-frequented  ports  of  Natal, 
AJer  Bangis,  and  Priamau. 

Padang,  the  most  flourishing  place  on  the  west  coast,  presents  the  aspect 
rather  of  a  large  park  than  of  a  great  commercial  mart.  Except  in  the  central 
quarter  occupied  by  the  public  buildings,  the  only  structures  are  the  low  dwellings 
of  the  Malays,  Javanese,  Chinese,  and  Niassi  Islanders,  overshadowed  by  cocoanut- 
palras  and  mangoes,  and  surrounded  by  gardens,  ricefields,  and  plantations  of  all 
the  tropical  growths  valuable  for  their  bark,  gums,  flowers,  and  fruits.  In  the 
distance  rises  the  smoking  cone  of  Talang,  and  southwards,  be3'ond  the  little  river 
Padang,  stands  the  Apenberg,  or  "Ape  Hill,"  so  named  from  the  quadrumana  who 
here  dwell  peaceably  under  the  protection  of  the  natives.     The  exports,  averaging 


TOPOGEAPIIY  OP  SUMATRA 


109 


about  £600,000  yearly,  consist  almost  exclusively  of  coffee  sliipped  for  the  United 
States. 

But  Padang  owes  its  importance  less  to  the  fertility  of  the  surrounding  plains 
than  to  its  favourable  position  at  the  converging  point  of  the  routes  radiating 


Fig.  40.  — Padaxo  and  Environments. 
Scile  1  :  SS.OOO. 


32  Feet  and 
upwards. 


towards  the  thickly  peojjled  and  salubrious  Menangkabao  plateau,  which  serves 
as  a  health-resort  for  the  Government  officials.  On  these  Padang  uplands,  where 
the  Dutch  have  been  firmly  established  for  over  half  a  century,  the  chief  military 
station    is    the     fortress    of    Kucl;,    lying    some    8,000    feet    above    sea-level    at 


110 


AUSTR/U.ASIA. 


the  foot  of  Mount  Merapi  iu  the  Agam  district.  In  case  of  foreign  invasion 
this  place  would  at  once  become  the  strategic  and  administrative  centre  of  the  whole 
island.  In  the  vicinity  is  the  Karbawen-gat  Gorge,  whose  rocky  walls  have  been 
excavated  to  a  depth  of  500  feet  in  the  thickness  of  the  plateau. 

Padang-Pdujang,  another  large  place,  where  most  of  the  Dutch  officials  reside, 
occupies  the  edge  of  the  plateau  at  the  west  foot  of  Merapi.  On  another  slope  are 
seen  the  ruins  of  Priangan,  formerly  capital  of  the  Menangkabao  empire.  Pajn- 
Kombo,  capital  of  the  "Fifty  Kotas,"  lies  much  farther  to  the  east  on  the  opposite 
side  of  Mount  Sago.  This  district  is  the  Sumatran  "  earthly  Eden,"  where  the 
cultivated  plants  of  the  temperate  zone  flourish  side  bj'  side  with  those  of  the 
tropics.  Here  were  also  situated  the  gold  mines,  which  at  one  time  made 
Sumatra  famous  throughout  the  East,  but  which  are  now  abandoned.  The  deposits 
of  magnetic  iron,  however,  are  still  utilised,  which  occur  in  the  neighbourhood  of 


41. — Highlands  East  of  Padang. 
Scile  1  :  750,000. 


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.  _-  _:^_i.':-_ ^_;_ 

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L          ^     . 

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f--"^ 


Forf  Van  dcr  CapeUen.  On  the  banks  of  the  Umbilien,  east  of  Singkarah,  are 
extensive  coal  measures  of  excellent  quality,  the  contents  of  which  have  been 
estimated  at  about  twelve  billion  cubic  feet.  Mainly  with  a  view  to  opening  up 
these  mineral  resources,  a  line  of  railway  has  been  projected  to  connect  the  plateau 
either  with  Padang  or  with  the  more  southern  Brandeirijn  Bay.  But  the  engineer- 
ing difficulties  have  hitherto  prevented  the  execution  of  this  costly  undertaking, 
and  it  is  now  proposed  to  reach  the  coalfields  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  island 
by  the  navigable  river  Hari,  main  branch  of  the  Jambi,  which  flows  within  thirty- 
five  miles  of  the  locality.  The  slopes  are  crossed  by  excellent  carriage  roads,  one 
of  which  connects  Padang-Panjaug  with  the  coa^t,  passing  by  a  jsrofound  ravine 
whence  are  commanded  some  lovely  prosjoects  seawards. 

South  of  Padang  follow  the  little  ports  of  Paiiwn  and  Mol;ko-Moliko,  and  the 
decayed  city  of  BcnkHhii  [Baiighalnilii),  capital  of  a  Eesidencj'.     According  to  the 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF  SUMATRA. 


Ill 


local  saying,  "  Eenkulen  is  a  small  place  with  big  houses,  where  small  people  bear 
big  titles."  From  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  centurj^  till  1824,  it  belonged  to  the 
East  India  Company,  which  had  made  it  the  capital  of  its  Indonesian  possessions. 
But  the  harbour  has  gradually  silted  up,  and  the  local  trade  has  withdrawn  a  few 
miles  farther  south,  to  the  more  Convenient  Sile.bar  Bay.  The  town  is  unhealthy, 
and  in  1714  the  English  had  already  removed  their  residence  to  Fort  Marlhorouijh, 
some  miles  farther  north.  The  houses,  injured  by  earthquakes,  are  often  left 
unrepaired,  and  the  neglected  appearance  of  the  place  is  increased  by  the  genei'al 


Fig.  42. — Palembako. 
Scale  1  :  75,000. 


ta.b  oF  G 


poverty  of  its  Malay  and  Chinese  inhabitants.     The  surrounding  district  is  not 
very  fertile,  and  the  neighbouring  coffee  plantations  have  been  abandoned. 

Despite  the  excellent  commercial  position  of  the  ports,  lying  in  deep  inlets  at 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  island,  the  local  trade  chiefly  in  pepper,  and  dammar 
resin,  has  been 'little  developed.  Even  before  the  Krakatau  eruption,  which  spread 
havoc  along  the  seaboard,  the  region  of  the  Lampongs,  or  "  Lowlands,"  did  not 
contain  a  single  important  town.  At  present  the  chief  centre  of  population  is 
Tvlul;h-Buluiiij,  a   group   of  eight  villages  skirling   Lumpong  Bay   and  a   neigh- 


112  AUSTRAJ.ASIA. 

boiiring  streiimlet.  Numerous  thermal  springs  of  varying  temperature  LuLble  up 
at  the  foot  of  the  volcanoes  in  the  surrounding  distiict. 

The  chief  southern  trading-place  and  the  largest  city  in  Sumatra,  ia  Palemhaiig, 
which  lies  on  both  banks  of  the  ^lusi  just  above  the  delta,  and  at  the  converging 
point  of  all  the  main  routes  from  the  interior.  Palembang  covers  a  large  surface, 
the  thirty-six  Kampongs,  or  quarters  of  the  lUr,  comprising  a  space  of  over  five 
miles  on  the  north  or  left  bank,  while  the  opposite  side  is  occupied  by  sixteen  other 
quarters,  grouped  collectively  under  the  name  of  Ulu*  The  few  European 
buildings  are  disjjosed  on  the  north  side,  round  about  the  kraton,  or  citadel,  which 
the  Dutch  have  gradually  transformed  to  a  residential  palace.  As  in  the  Chinese 
city  of  Canton,  many  of  the  natives  live  permanently  afloat,  residing  on  rakit'i,  or 
bamboo  rafts,  moored  to  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  is  here  1,000  feet  wide,  and 
from  30  to  50  feet  deep.  Some  of  the  rafts  are  large  enough  to  bear  houses, 
containing  several  families,  and  according  to  the  local  tradition,  the  first  of  these 
structures  were  built  by  the  Chinese  traders,  to  whom  the  sultan  had  refused 
permission  to  reside  ashore.  At  present  they  are  inhabited  not  only  by  the 
Chinese,  Malays,  Arabs,  and  Hindus,  but  even  by  some  Eurojjeans,  for  the  sake  of 
the  refreshing  breezes,  which  blow  alternately  up  and  down  the  stream.  Nearly 
all  the  shops  are  afloat,  so  that  most  of  the  business  is  conducted  in  small  river 
craft,  which  glide  along  the  narrow  channels  winding  between  the  little  houses, 
painted  in  bright  colours,  and  surmounted  by  curved  roofs.  During  the  floods 
some  of  these  dwellings  break  from  their  moorings,  and  drift  with  the  current  far 
below  Palembang.  Children  also  frequently  fall  overboard,  and  become  a  prey  to 
the  numerous  crocodiles  infesting  the  river. 

The  inhabitants  of  Palembang,  who  claim  descent  from  a  Javanese  colony  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  still  speak  an  idiom  difl'ering  greatly  from  the  Malay 
dialects  of  Sumatra,  and  resembling  the  current  speech  of  Central  Java.  Their 
commercial  relations  are  also  chiefly  with  that  island,  to  which  they  forward  the 
tobacco,  rice,  india-rubber,  gutta-percha,  benzoin,  and  other  produce  floated  down 
from  Muivara  Diia,  Muwara  Inini,  Mmrara  Bliti,  Muwara  Rupit,  and  other  inland 
towns,  usually  situated  at  the  Miiuriras,  or  confluences  of  the  main  stream  with  its 
tributaries.  This  produce  is  shipped  in  large  vessels  which  ascend  the  Musi  to 
Palembang,  60  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  gold  workings,  whence  Palembang 
takes  its  name,  are  now  of  little  value,  and  the  local  industries  are  mainly  confined 
to  lacquerware  and  furniture,  manufactured  by  numerous  Chinese  artizans. 

In  the  neighbourhood  are  the  tombs  of  the  sultans,  amongst  which  Europeans 
are  surprised  to  find  that  of  Sikandar  Alam,  "  Alexander  the  Great,"  the  traditional 
ancestor  of  so  many  Eastern  dynasties. 

North  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Palembang,  the  sultanate  of  Jambi,  reduced 
by  the  Dutch  in  1858,  also  possesses  a  considerable  town,  Mmcard  Kompvh,  situated, 
as  implied  by  its  name,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Kompeh  with  the  Jambi.  This 
important   trading-place  lies,    like    Palembang,    above  the   fluvial   delta,   and  45 

*  The  two  Malay  tenns  llir  and  Ulu,  of  such  frequent  ocourreiice  on  the  maps  of  the  Eastern  Archi- 
pelago, hare  the  respective  meanings  of  "  lower,"  ••  below,"  "  left,"  and  "upper,"  "  above,"  "  right." 


LlSfiARY 

OF  THE 

iNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS, 


TOPOGEAPHT   OF    SUMATEA.  113 

miles  below  Jambi,  the  administrative  capital  and  residence  of  the  sultan.  Here 
also  a  portion  of  the  population  lives  on  rafts  moored  to  the  banks  of  the  stream, 
and,  as  in  the  southern  province,  some  Hind\i  remains  are  still  seen  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. Several  petty  states  still  maintain  their  independence  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  Jambi  basin,  the  exports  of  which  are  directed  almost  exclusively  to 
Singapore. 

Ringat,  capital  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Indragiri,  whose  southern  frontiers 
are  marked  by  the  course  of  the  Jambi,  has  lost  all  its  former  greatness  and 
splendour,  and  is  now  reduced  to  a  mere  group  of  villages  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Indragiri.  Its  communications  with  the  sea  are  entirely  cut  off  by  the  alluvial 
matter  gradually  deposited  in  Amphitrite  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  An 
analogous  position  is  occupied  on  the  river  Kampar  by  Pitht  Lawang  {Palaktrang), 
which  was  also  an  ancient  capital.  Sialc,  another  old  metropolis,  now  held  by  the 
Dutch,  although  60  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  still  communicates  freely 
with  the  sea.  But  trade  is  here  centred  chiefly  in  Pekan  Banc,  which  lies  above 
Siak,  near  the  advanced  spurs  of  the  Barisan  range.  This  place  has  been  selected 
as  the  future  terminus  of  the  railway  intended  to  connect  the  Ombilien  coal-fields 
with  the  eastern  slope  of  Sumatra. 

Several  little  ports  on  this  seaboard,  notablj^  Biikit  Bain,  have  begun  to  take  an 
increasing  share  in  the  local  coasting  trade.  Bi'iigka/is,  on  the  island  of  the  same 
name,  possesses  the  advantage  of  a  perfectly  sheltered  roadstead,  and  promises  to 
become  a  busy  seaport,  since  these  waters  have  been  cleared  of  the  pirates  by 
whom  they  were  till  recently  infested. 

On  the  Sumatran  side  of  the  Strait  of  Malacca  the  chief  agricultural  aud 
commercial  centre  is  the  group  of  villages  and  plantations  which-  takes  the  name 
of  Deli,  from  a  petty  state  occupying  this  part  of  the  island.  Since  the  sultan 
placed  his  territory  under  the  protection  of  Holland  in  1862,  numerous  planters 
have  settled  in  the  district,  the  soil  of  which  is  unusually  fertile.  The  first 
European  speculators  directed  their  attention  mainly  to  the  nutmeg,  pepper,  and 
other  spices  ;  but  they  have  graduallj-  abandoned  these  products,  and  now  occupy 
themselves  exclusively  with  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  for  the  Amsterdam  market, 
where  it  is  highly  appreciated.  The  production  has  increased  enormously  during 
the  last  few  years;  but  unfortunately  most  of  the  plantations  have  been  bought 
up  by  a  powerfiil  financial  company,  to  which  the  Government  has  granted  several 
exclusive  privileges,  rendering  all  free  competition  impossible.  Freehold  plots 
cannot  be  obtained,  and  the  Chinese  and  Hindus  are  expressly  denied  the  right 
to  purchase  land  in  the  district.  The  first  plantations  had  been  worked  by  slaves, 
whom  the  company  has  now  replaced  by  "  contract  labour."  But  the  Malay  and 
Batta  natives  can  no  longer  be  procured  in  sufiicient  numbers,  so  that  over  25,000 
Chinese  coolies  have  had  to  be  imported.  An  attempt — not,  however,  attended  by 
much  success — has  also  been  made  to  introduce  Javanese  from  Samarang,  and 
thus  turn  to  the  benefit  of  Sumatra  a  part  of  the  yearly  increasing  surplus  popu- 
lation supplied  by  the  neighbouring  island.  Some  Klings,  or  Kalingas — that  is, 
Hindus  from  the  Madras  presidency,  for  the  most  part  mixed  with  other  races — also 

VOL.    XIV.  I 


114 


AUSTRALASIA. 


contribute   to   swell    the   niiraoer  of   half-enslaved  gangs   engaged    on   the    Deli 
plantations. 

These  plantations   are  continually  advancing  in  both    directions,  northwards 
into  the  Langkat  and  Atjeh  territories,  southwards  into  the  sultanate  of  Sirdang. 


Fig.  43.— Deli. 
Scale  1  :  650,000. 


:  LbkMii 


Depths. 


The  small  breed  of  Deli  horses  coming  from  the  Batta  country  are  highly  valued 
on  the  Singapore  and  Pulo  Pinang  markets. 

Labuait,  the  outport  of  the  Deli  state,  lies  near  the  mouth  of  the  Deli,  in  a 
swampy  district,  and  on  a  muddy  inlet  where  the  shipping  has  to  ride  at  anchor 
tiree  miles  from  the  shore.     A  railway  runs  from  Labuan  up  the  river  southwards 


ADMINISTRATION  OP  SUMATRA.  115 

across  the  numerous  kampongs  and  plantalions  belonging  to  the  company.  At 
Medan,  central  village  and  administrative  capital  of  the  Oostkust  or  "East  Coast" 
province,  a  branch  from  this  line  penetrates  westwards  into  the  Upper  Langkat 
valley. 

Administration  of  Sumatra. 

A  uniform  administration  has  not  yet  been  introduced  into  the  island.  The 
inland  district  of  Atjeh,  as  well  as  the  more  inaccessible  regions  of  Battalaud,  still 
enjoy  complete  political  independence ;  while  other  provinces,  such  as  Padang, 
Benkulen,  and  Palembang,  are  entirely  reduced.  Intermediate  between  these  two 
extremes  are  several  other  territories  governed  indirectly  through  vassal  princes, 
who  pay  to  Holland  the  /lassi/,  or  fixed  portion  of  the  produce,  but  who  still  retain 
great  personal  privileges,  as  well  as  a  considerable  jJortion  of  the  local  revenue. 
Every  degree  of  transition  thus  exists  between  the  old  regime  of  the  Malay 
potentates  and  total  subjection  to  the  laws  promulgated  by  the  Dutch  governor  of 
Batavia. 

The  petty  states  situated  east  of  the  Padang  plateau  still  follow  the  adaf,  or 
"customs,"  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Meuangkabau.  Nearly  all  the  kingdoms 
on  the  east  slope  have  their  more  or  less  autonomous  sultans  and  council  of  not- 
ables. The  su/iKf:,  or  clans,  have  similarly  their  elected  chiefs,  who  receive  their 
investiture  at  the  hands  of  the  Government,  and  who  serve  as  intermediaries 
between  the  people  and  the  Dutch  authorities.  Several  united  sukus  constitute  a 
margn,  or  secondary  groujj,  tribe,  or  princijDality,  corresponding  to  the  French 
canton,  and  administered  by  district  chiefs  who  act  on  the  one  hand  as  spokesmen 
for  the  people,  and  on  the  other  as  agents  for  the  central  power.  Formerly  every 
marga  had  its  sj^ecial  laws  and  customs  recorded  on  bamboos  or  the  leaves  of  the 
borassus,  and  jealously  preserved  from  generation  to  generation. 

The  main  divisions  of  Sumatra,  with  their  areas  and  estimated  poiJulations,  will 
be  found  tabulated  in  the  Appendix. 

SuNDA  Islands,  between  Sumatra  and  Borneo.      "^ 

The  Riouw  and  Lingga  archipelagoes,  which  form  a  southern  extension  of  the 
Malay  peninsula,  occupy  a  considerable  area,  but  are  far  from  rivalling  in  popidation, 
products,  or  commercial  enterprise  the  little  island  of  Singapore,  detached  by  Great 
Britain  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  by  her  developed  into  the  chief  centre  of 
trade  at  the  southernmost  extremity  of  the  Asiatic  continent.  Like  Singajioro, 
both  insular  groups  appear  to  be  mere  fragments  of  the  adjacent  mainland,  and  both 
are  known  to  the  Malays  by  the  name  of  Tanah  Salat,  or  "  Land  of  Straits,"  from 
the  numerous  channels  and  passages  winding  between  these  groups  of  islands, 
islets,  and  reefs.  Of  all  the  channels,  the  most  frequented  is  that  of  Riouw,  which 
connects  the  roadstead  of  Singapore  with  the  open  sea  stretching  eastwards  to 
Borneo. 

Both  archijx'lagoes  contrast  sharply  with  the  alluvial  islands  on  the  Sumati-an 

I  2 


no 


AUSTRALASIA. 


coast.  Belonging  geologically  to  the  Malay  peninsula,  and  like  it  consisting 
mainly  of  granite  and  sandstones,  they  rise  in  undulating  cliffs,  above  wliicLi 
appear  a  few  higher  summits,  or  "mountains,"  as  the  natives  call  them.  One  of 
the  eminences  in  Bintang  attains  a  height  of  1,700  feet,  which  is  still  2,000  feet 
lower  than  the  peak  of  Lingga  (3,700  feet),  culminating  point  in  the  island  of  like 
name,  in  the  southern  group.  Notwithstanding  their  healthy  climate,  due  to  the 
absence  of  marshy  tracts,  a  large  number  of  the  islands  are  still  uninhabited,  and 

Fig.  H. — Riouw  Ap.chipelago. 
Scale  1  :  1,640,000. 


7/Jl 


^3S-^ 


^P^ 


Lasb  or  Green 


Deptlia. 


Pto80 

Feet. 

80  to  160 
Feet. 

leO  Feet  and 
upw.ards. 

an  Milps 

entirely  clothed  with  a  dark  forest  vegetation.     The  neighbouring  waters  are  even 
still  imi^erfectly  surveyed,  and  consequently  avoided  by  the  Malay  seafarers. 

The  primitive  ijopulation  of  the  islands  consists  of  Malays,  and  the  Lingga  archi- 
pelago, which  presents  a  tj'pe  of  remarkable  purity,  is  even  traditionally  regarded 
as  the  cradle  of  the  race.  The  Riouw  dialect  is  one  of  the  richest  in  literary 
products,  such  as  chronicles,  dramas,  and  poems.  But  in  the  Riouw,  or  northern 
group,  the  Malay  stock  is  already  largely  intermingled  -with  diverse  foreign 
elements — Javanese,  who  ruled  over  the  islands  when  the  Mojo-Pahit  kingdom 
flourished;  Bugi  traders  from  Celebes,  who  occupy  several  villages  ;  Chinese,  who, 
as  in  Singapore,  have  already  acquired  the  numerical  preponderance  in  mau}^  places. 


BANGKA.  117 

Both  in  the  towns  and  rural  districts  these  Chinese  are  divided  into  two  distinct 
nations,  each  with  its  "  captain," — the  Chinese  of  Canton  and  those  of  Amoj-,  the 
latter  contrasting  favourably  with  the  former  for  their  peaceful  habits,  love  of  work, 
and  sobriety. 

This  steady  inflow  of  the  "  Celestials  "  is  due  to  the  development  of  trade, 
which  is  much  more  active  in  the  Riouw  than  in  the  Lingga  archipelago.  The 
Chinese  are  here  also  occupied  with  the  cultivation  of  tjamhir,  of  which  Riouw  has 
practically  the  monopoly.  This  product,  called  also  terra  japonica  and  catechu,  is 
obtained  from  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  of  the  uncaria,  or  imuclea  gamhiroi  botanists. 
The  island  of  Bintan  alone  yields  about  sixteen  million  pounds  yearly,  forwarded 
chiefly  to  Batavia,  ]\Iacassar,  and  Banjermassin,  where  it  is  used  in  the  preparation 
of  betel.  Eiouw  is  also  one  of  the  most  important  pepper-growing  regions  in 
Indonesia. 

Some  places  have  also  deposits  of  tin,  amongst  others  the  two  Karimon  islets 
in  the  Strait  of  Malacca,  and  the  large  island  of  Singkep,  in  the  southern  archipelago 
south  of  Lingga.  The  straits  j'ield  large  quantities  of  holothurians  and  of  the  agar- 
agar  [fucus  saccharinus),  for  which  Chinese  epicures  pay  a  high  price. 

Riomc,  capital  of  the  archipelagoes,  and,  till  recently,  of  the  East  Sumatran 
Residency,  is  situated  in  the  islet  of  Tanjang  Pinaug,  close  to  the  west  side  of  Bin- 
tang,  largest  member  of  these  insular  groups.  The  town,  whose  name  is  often 
extended  to  the  two  adjacent  islands,  stands  on  the  east  side  of  the  Riouw  Strait, 
the  Rhio  of  the  English  charts.  It  comprises  several  distinct  quarters,  stretching 
around  a  shallow  roadstead ;  which,  however,  is  well  sheltered  from  all  winds  by  the 
adjacent  islets  of  liars  and  Sengarang.  Although  declared  a  free  port  in  1828, 
Riouw  has  not  been  able  to  compete  with  its  British  neighbour  SingajDore,  to  which 
vast  emporium  it  sends  the  tribute  of  all  its  exports  by  a  regular  line  of  steamers. 

Baxgka. 

The  large  island  of  Bangka,  with  an  area  of  about  five  thousand  square  miles, 
and  administratively  constituting  a  Residencj'  of  itself,  might  seem  at  first  sight 
to  form  a  mere  geographical  dependence  of  Sumatra.  Nevertheless  it  is  entirely 
distinct  from  that  region  in  its  geographical  constitution,  forming,  like  the  Riouw 
and  Lingga  groups,  a  fragmentary  extension  of  the  Malay  peninsula.  It  is  also 
disposed  in  precisely  the  same  direction,  from  north-west  to  south-east,  parallel  with 
the  main  axis  of  Sumatra.  The  corresponding  series  of  convex  and  concave  curves 
presented  by  both  sides  of  the  tortuous  and  shallow  strait  separating  Bangka  from 
the  alluvial  lands  of  Palembang,  is  due  not  to  a  rupture  produced  between  rocks 
of  identical  formation,  but  to  the  action  of  the  alternating  marine  currents  uni- 
formly distributing  the  sedimentary  matter  brought  down  by  the  Palembang 
rivers. 

Unlike  Sumatra,  Bangka  has  neither  volcanoes  nor  igneous  rocks,  and  is  almost 
destitute  even  of  thermal  springs.  The  chief  formations  are  granites,  quartz,  feld- 
spars, thrown  together  without  any  apparent  regularity.     The  undulating  hills  are 


118 


AUSTEALASIA. 


not  disposed  in  ridges,  but  scattered  in  disorder  over  the  surface,  and  nowhere 
attain  3,000  feet  in  height.  Mount  Maras,  the  culminating  point  (2,800  feet), 
rises  above  the  south  side  of  the  narrow  Klabat  Bay,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
island.     But  the  steepest  cliffs  are  those  of  the  east  coast,  facing  the  high  sea. 

Although  presenting  the  same  climatic  conditions  as  those  of  the  opposite 
Sumatran  seaboard,  Bangka  already  offers  some  marked  contrasts  in  its  flora  and 
fauna.  All  lai'ge  animals,  such  as  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros,  and  even  the  tiger 
and  buffalo,  are  absent  from  its  forests.  The  inhabitants,  although  very  mixed, 
are  mainly  of  Malay  stock,  as  in  the  other  Indonesian  coastlands ;  but  here  the 


Fig.  45. — Banoka. 

Scale  1  :  3,200,000. 


i 


OtolS 

Feet. 

16  to  80 
Feet. 

80  Feet  and 
upwarde- 

—  60  Miles. 

Javanese  element  is  less  numerously  represented  than  in  the  Palerabang  district, 
being  partly  replaced  by  some  scattered  settlements  of  Malays  from  the  north,  and 
commonly  known  as  Orang  Sekat,  or  Orang  Laut,  that  is,  "  Men  of  the  Sea."  They 
are  akin  to  the  Bajaus  of  Celebes,  and  the  Orang  Kwata,  or  "  Men  of  the  Estu- 
aries," who  carry  on  a  little  trade  with  the  East  Sumatran  coast.  When  at  anchor 
they  seldom  leave  their  praus,  eight  or  ten  of  which  constitute  a  sort  of  floating 
kampong,  or  comraunitj',  with  its  special  customs  and  council  of  elders. 

The  Orang  Sekat  live  exclusively  on  fish  and  the  species  of  fucus  called  agar- 
agar,  and  to  this  diet  must  be  attributed  the  so-called  yadiis,  a  peculiar  malady  to 
which    they  are  occasionally  subject.      Having  remaiued  pagans,  they  are  ofteu 


B  ANOKA.  119 

accused  by  their  Mohammediin  neighbours  of  being  addicted  to  piracy,  whereas 
they  are,  on  the  contrary,  strictly  honest  in  all  their  deuKngs,  depending  for  a 
livelihood  solely  on  fishing  and  trade.  The  inland  populations,  known  as  Orang 
Gunang,  or  "  Highlanders,"  resemble  the  Battas  both  in  physical  appearance  and 
usages. 

Of  the  Chinese,  who  form  nearly  a  third  of  the  whole  population,  about  one- 
half  are  natives  of  Bangka,  this  section  taking  the  name  of  Pernakan,  and  constitut- 
ing a  group  quite  distinct  from  the  Sinkee,  or  Chinese  immigrants  from  Canton  and 
Fokien.  They  mostly  marry  half-caste  native  women,  and  speak  both  Chinese  and 
Malay,  but  on  the  whole  preserve  the  original  Chinese  type.  Since  1850  the  popu- 
lation of  the  island  has  more  than  doubled,  but  is  still  slight,  scarcely  exceeding 
twelve  persons  to  the  square  mile.  Agriculture  is  almost  entirely  neglected, 
everything  being  sacrificed  to  the  tin-mining  industry,  the  most  productive  in  the 
whole  world. 

The  valuable  tin  deposits,  said  to  have  been  discovered  about  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  belonged  at  first  to  the  sultan  of  Palembang,  master  of  the 
island.  In  1740  the  Chinese,  already  at  that  time  exclusively  employed  to  work 
the  mines,  raised  about  1,550  tons,  while  the  present  annual  yield  of  this  state 
monopoly  often  equals  the  value  of  the  capital  invested.  But  the  miners  continue 
to  be  neglected,  and  have  to  be  kept  imder  control  by  the  Dutch  garrisons  stationed 
in  the  mining  districts. 

The  stanniferous  beds,  of  which  there  are  several  hundreds,  occur  in  all  parts  of 
the  island,  but  are  specially  abundant  on  the  north-east  side,  round  about  Mera- 
wang.  As  in  the  Malay  peninsula,  the  ores  are  contained  in  the  allu\'ial  soil 
which,  to  a  depth  of  from  14  feet  to  35  feet  or  40  feet,  overKes  the  dark- 
coloured  clays  at  the  foot  of  the  granite  hiUs.  Here  and  there  the  streams  carry- 
ing down  the  alluvial  matter  have  excavated  deep  ca^'ities  or  "  pockets,"  in  which 
the  metal  has  accumulated  in  considerable  quantities.  Besides  tin,  Bangka  also 
possesses  deposits  of  silver,  copper,  lead,  arsenic,  and  iron,  none  of  which  are  much 
worked,  except  the  last-mentioned,  which  is  highlj'  valued  for  the  manufacture  of 
small  arms. 

Muntok,  capital  of  Bangka,  lies  at  the  north-west  extremity,  over  against  the 
Palembang  river  delta.  During  the  British  occupation  it  was  known  as  Miiito,  in 
honour  of  the  Governor-General  of  that  name,  but  has  since  resumed  its  old  Malay 
designation.  Muntok,  which  comprises  a  strongly  fortified  European  and  a  native 
quarter,  with  a  total  population  of  about  3,300,  has  the  advantage  of  a  well-shel- 
tered but  somewhat  shallow  roadstead,  which  is  the  centre  of  a  brisk  trade  with 
Sumatra,  Riouw,  and  Singapore, 

BiLLITON. 

BQliton,  or  Blitong,  which  is  about  one-third  the  size  of  Bangka,  is  connected 
with  the  south-east  side  of  that  island  by  about  a  hundred  islets,  rocks,  and  reefs, 
endangering  the  navigation  of  the  intervening  Cnispar  Strait.      It  presents   the 


120  AUSTRALASIA. 

same  geological  formation  as  its  neighbour,  and,  like  it,  possesses  tin-bearing 
alluvial  deposits.  Its  culminating  point,  the  twin-crested  Tajem,  has  an  altitude 
of  3,100  feet. 

Owing  to  the  numerous  corsairs  infesting  the  surrounding  waters,  Billiton  was 
till  recently  destitute  of  trade,  and  almost  of  inhabitants  ;  even  in  1856  the  popula- 
tion still  numbered  less  than  twelve  thousand,  or  scarcely  six  persons  to  the  square 
mile.  But  since  the  development  of  its  tin  mines,  this  number  has  been  tripled, 
and  the  port  of  Tanjoiig  Pcuidang,  converging  point  of  all  the  main  routes,  is  now 
the  centre  of  a  considerable  local  trade,  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese,  who 
form  about  a  fourth  of  the  whole  population.  The  output  of  tin,  which  in  1853 
scarcely  exceeded  forty  tons,  has  since  then  increased  a  hundredfold,  and  yields 
enormous  profits  to  the  chartered  company.  As  in  Bangka,  the  miners  work  on  their 
own  account ;  but  they  are  obliged  to  sell  the  tin  at  a  price  fixed  beforehand,  and 
to  purchase  their  supplies  in  the  company's  stores.  Owing  to  this  oppressive 
truck  system,  most  of  them  are  burdened  with  heavy  debts  to  the  end  of  their  days. 
Since  the  formation  of  this  company,  Billiton  has  been  an  administrative  province 
independent  of  Bangka,  with  an  "  assistant  resident "  stationed  at  Tanjong 
Pandang. 

Islands  in  the  Boeneo  Sea. 

The  Sea  of  Borneo,  commimicating  northwards  with  the  China  Sea,  is  sttidded 
with  small  archipelagoes,  each  comprising  numerous  islets,  for  the  most  part 
uninhabited.  Such  are  Tamhclan,  midway  between  Lingga  and  Borneo  ;  Anamhm, 
off  the  Malay  peninsula ;  Nafuna,  in  more  open  waters,  equidistant  from  the  Malay 
peninsula  and  Borneo ;  Serasan,  west  of  the  principality  of  Sarawak,  in  Borneo. 
This  last  group  is  also  known  as  the  Pirates'  Archipelago,  although  the  people  of 
the  only  inhabited  island  are  now  exclusively  occupied  with  the  preparation  of 
cocoanut  oil. 

Of  all  these  islands  the  largest  is  Buiiguven,  called  also  Great  Natuna,  which 
has  an  area  of  640  square  miles,  and  in  Mount  Ranay  attains  an  altitude  of  3,380 
feet.  The  inhabitants  of  the  cultivated  islands,  estimated  by  Hollander  in  1878 
at  twelve  thousand  souls,  are  exclusively  Malays,  who  trade  with  Singapore  and 
Riouw,  taking  rice,  hardware,  and  Eurojjean  textiles  in  exchange  for  their  fish, 
sago,  and  cocoanut  oil.  The  people  of  Great  Natuna  build  praus  described  by 
Laf)lace  as  of  admirable  workmanship.  This  group  depends  politically  on  Riouw 
and  is  administered  by  members  of  the  sultan's  family,  vassals  of  Holland. 

Borneo. 

The  formerly  powerfid  kingdom  of  Brunei  gives  its  name  in  a  somewhat 
modified  form  to  the  great  island  of  which  it  occupies  the  north-west  coast. 
Kalamantin,  or  Klematan,  is  a  native  term  current  in  some  districts,  and 
occasionally  applied  to  the  whole  island.  But  Borneo  is  of  such  vast  extent 
compared  with  all  the  surrounding  lauds,  that  to  its  inhabitants  it  seemed  almost 
boundless,  and  far  too  largo  to  be  designated  by  any  special  name.     Hence  they 


BOENEO.  121 

distinguished  the  various  prorinces  alone  by  particular  appellations,  to  which  a 
more  general  meaning  was  afterwards  given  by  foreigners.  Excluding  the  con- 
tinental and  polar  regions,  this  island  is  in  fact  exceeded  in  size  by  New  Guinea 
alone;  but  thanks  to  its  more  compact  triangular  form,  it  presents  far  more  the 
appearance  of  a  continent  thnn  does  that  elongated  and  deeply  indented  region. 

Borneo  evidently  constitutes  the  central  nucleus  of  the  former  Austral-Indian 
land,  which  comprised  Java  and  Sumatra  besides  the  Malay  peninsula  and  inter- 
vening shallow  waters.  The  basin  of  these  waters  has,  so  to  say,  scarcely  yet  been 
excavated  by  the  geological  agencies,  and  still  reveals  the  old  form  of  the  continent, 
over  one-third  of  which  is  represented  by  its  largest  fragment,  Borneo.  With  the 
adjacent  islets,  such  as  Maijang  and  the  Karimata  group,  near  the  south-west  coast, 
Pulo  Laut  and  Seboku  at  the  south-east  corner,  and  a  few  others,  it  has  a  total 
area  of  nearly  300,000  square  miles,  or  about  two  and  a  half  times  that  of  the 
British  Isles.  Excluding  minor  indentations,  the  coastline  has  a  development  of 
not  less  than  3,800  miles. 

This  central  region  of  Indonesia,  although  one  of  the  most  fertile,  and 
abounding  in  all  kinds  of  tropical  produce,  is  nevertheless  almost  a  wilderness,  so 
slight  is  the  population  compared  to  its  superficial  extent.  Java,  seven  or  eight 
times  smaller,  exceeds  it  ten  or  twelve  times  in  the  number  of  its  inhabitants  ;  even 
the  thinly  peopled  island  of  Sumatra  is  more  than  twice  as  populous,  at  least,  if  any 
confidence  can  be  placed  in  the  summary  estimates  and  conjectures  of  travellers. 
This  relative  and  absolute  disproportion  must  be  attributed  to  the  zone  of  swampy 
and  malarious  forests  which  encircles  nearly  the  whole  of  the  coastlands.  Village 
communities  could  scarcely  be  developed  in  these  insalubrious  regions,  where  most 
centres  of  population  have  remained  in  a  rudimentary  state,  lacking  the  elements 
of  progress  which  are  acquired  by  mutual  intercourse  and  commercial  relations. 
The  riverain  populations  have  risen  little  above  the  primitive  social  condition  of 
fishers  and  hunters.  The  period  of  agriculture,  properly  so  called,  has  begun  only 
in  a  limited  number  of  clearings,  and  in  many  districts  such  is  the  savage  state  of 
the  natives,  that  the  various  tribal  groujjs  still  regard  each  other  simply  as  so  much 
game.  Head-hunting  is  the  only  object  with  which  many  tribes  ajiproach  their 
neighbours. 

Exploration  of  Borneo. — Political  Divisions. 

The  social  state  of  the  people  has  naturally  been  a  great  impediment  to  the 
exploration  of  the  country,  of  which  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
little  was  known  beyond  the  seaboard.  Sighted  by  the  Portuguese  probably  in  the 
first  years  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Borneo  remained  unknown  to  history  till  1521, 
when  the  survivors  of  Magellan's  expedition  round  the  globe  pi-esented  themselves 
before  Brunei.  Soon  after  this  event,  Jorge  de  Menezes  established  a  factory  on  the 
west  coast ;  the  Dutch  made  their  appearance  in  1598,  and  they  were  soon  followed 
by  the  English.  But  all  attempts  at  exploration  were  successively  abandoned 
either  for  lack  of  means  or  owing  to  the  opposition  of  the  natives  and  Chinese 
immigrants. 


122  AUSTEALASIA. 

Permanent  European  settlements  on  the  coast  were  first  made  in  1812,  when 
the  English  ocoujjied  Pontianak  and  Banjermassin,  which  were  two  years  later 
surrendered  to  the  Dutch.  These  two  stations,  and  those  subsequently  founded  at 
other  places  along  the  seaboard,  became  the  points  of  dejDarture  for  the  various 
expeditions  that  have  since  been  sent  to  the  interior  for  military,  geographical,  or 
scientific  purposes.  No  systematic  survey  has  yet  been  undertaken ;  but  the 
different  itineraries  of  independent  explorers  already  intersect , each  other  at  several 
points.  Except  the  more  central  regions,  nearly  all  the  unexplored  districts  have 
also  been  at  least  viewed  from  a  distance,  and  described  from  the  reports  of  the 
natives. 

The  routes  followed  by  travellers  have  mainly  been  the  watercourses,  which 
for  the  most  part  flow  in  a  sufficiently  deep  and  gentle  current  to  be  ascended  in 
boats  a  long  way  from  their  mouths.  These  highways  were  taken  by  von  Martens, 
and  many  others,  who  penetrated  into  the  heart  of  the  island  from  Pontianak  ;  by 
Schwaner,  who  traversed  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Barito,  Kahajan,  and  Kapuas 
fluvial  basins;  by  Karl  Bock,  who  on  the  east  side  visited  the  "Land  of  Cannibals," 
watered  by  the  Kutei  River.  Land  journeys  have  been  relatively  more  frequent  in 
the  northern  parts,  where  the  streams,  being  less  developed,  present  fewer  facilities 
for  reaching  the  hilly  regions  of  the  interior.  The  memorable  excursions  of  A.  R. 
Wallace  were  made  round  about  Sarawak,  and  since  the  British  occupation  of  the 
northern  territory,  the  network  of  itineraries  has  been  extended  over  the  whole  of 
that  domain. 

The  Dutch,  masters  of  all  the  rest  of  Indonesia,  except  the  eastern  half 
of  Timor,  have  not  had  time  to  establish  their  rule  over  the  whole  of  Borneo. 
They  have,  however,  gradually  reduced  or  annexed  all  the  section  lying  south  of 
the  equator,  as  well  as  about  half  of  the  northern  districts.  But  possession  of  the 
north-west  and  northern  parts  has  been  secured  by  the  English,  through  various 
treaties  with  the  Sultan  of  Brunei,  former  suzerain  of  the  whole  of  this  region. 
In  1846  the  British  Government  obtained  the  absolute  cession  of  the  island  of 
Labuan,  at  the  entrance  of  Brunei  Bay,  despite  the  protests  of  the  Netherlands. 
But  the  Sultan  had  already  granted  to  James  Brooke  the  principality  of  Sarawak, 
comprising  the  southern  part  of  his  kingdom.  In  return  for  a  yearly  subsidy,  this 
soldier  of  fortune,  commonly  known  as  Rajah  Brooke,  thus  became  master  of  an 
extensive  territory,  which  has  since  been  gradually  enlarged  at  the  expense  of  the 
sultan's  domain. 

On  the  opjjosite  side  of  Brunei  the  sultan  has  also  yielded  the  northern  part  of 
the  island  to  a  powerful  British  comjiany,  which  has  already  obtained  a  royal 
charter  from  the  Crown  of  England.  A  part  of  this  territory  having  also  been 
claimed  by  the  sovereign  of  the  Sulu  archipelago,  that  potentate,  like  his  Brunei 
colleague,  has  been  bought  off  by  a  pension.  Thanks  to  this  purchase  of  the  land, 
Spain,  which  had  meantime  become  the  suzerain  of  the  Sulu  prince,  has  henceforth 
been  excluded  from  all  claim  to  the  possession  of  any  part  of  Borneo.  Lastly,  the 
sultanate  of  Brunei  itself  dei^ends  for  its  very  existence  on  the  sufferance  of 
England,  and  it  is  now  jDroposed  to  unite  it  to  the  other  territories  of  the  two 


MOUNTAINS  OF  BORNEO.  123 

companies,  under  the  direct  protectorate  of  Great  Britain.  But  a  frontier  question 
still  remains  to  be  settled  between  the  Dutch  Government  and  the  North  Borneo 
Company,  arising  out  of  a  misunderstanding  as  to  the  identity  of  the  river  Sebuku, 
which  is  accepted  by  both  sides  as  the  boundary  line. 

Physical  Featl'res  of  Borneo. 

With  the  exception  of  Celebes  and  Halmahera,  the  Indonesian  islands  present, 
as  a  rule,  extremely  simple  outlines.  Some  even  affect  the  form  of  geometrical 
figures,  such  as  parallelograms,  ovals,  trapeziums,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  Borneo, 
triangles.  At  first  sight  the  observer  is  struck  by  the  contrast  presented  by  these 
massive  contours,  comjoared  to  those  of  the  eccentric  island  of  Celebes,  with  its 
curiously  radiating  peninsulas.  But  a  superficial  study  of  the  Bornean  mountain 
ranges  shows  that  a  slight  subsidence  of  the  land  would  suffice  to  give  the  great 
island  a  coastline  analogous  to  those  of  Celebes  and  Halmahera.  Reduced  to  its 
framework  of  hOls,  Borneo  presents  in  the  first  place  a  main  ridge,  disposed  from 
south-west  to  north-east,  in  the  direction  of  the  Philippines.  But  from  the  central 
part  of  this  ridge  branch  off  three  divergent  chains,  terminatiug  at  the  principal 
headlands  of  the  island,  and  separated  from  each  other  by  the  alluvial  j)lains  of 
intervening  fluvial  basins.  The  primitive  aspect  of  the  island  has  thus  been 
gradually  modified  by  erosions  and  sedimentary  deposits,  which  during  the  course 
of  ages  has  rendered  less  and  less  distinct  its  original  stellar  formation. 

The  main  range  begins  some  30  miles  from  the  Philippine  waters  in  a  superb 
mountain,  culminating  point  not  only  of  Borneo,  but  probably  of  the  whole  of 
Indonesia.  Kina-Balu,  or  the  "  Chinese  Widow,"  as  it  is  named  from  a  curious 
local  legend,  was  first  ascended  by  Low  in  1851.  Belcher's  trigonometric 
measurements  give  it  an  altitude  of  13,300  feet,  although  travellers  who  have 
apiproached  nearest  to  the  summit  estimate  its  height  at  not  much  more  than 
11,000  feet.  Seen  from  one  of  the  bays  indenting  the  west  coast,  Kina-Balu  seems 
to  rise  almost  vertically  above  the  surrounding  heights,  terminating  in  an  irregular 
crest,  which  is  surmounted  by  distinct  prominences  resembling  towers.  Formerly 
its  slopes  were  clothed  with  dark  forests  up  to  a  height  of  10,000  feet ;  but  the 
woodlands  have  almost  everywhere  been  cleared  by  the  highland  peasantry,  the 
primeval  brushwood  surviving  only  on  the  more  inaccessible  precipices.  The 
prevailing  formations  are  granites  and  crystalline  rocks,  although  according  to 
Little,  who  ascended  Kina-Balu  in  1807,  a  crater  of  vast  size  opens  on  its  flanks, 
while  fragments  of  lavas  are  strewn  over  the  surrounding  granites. 

Till  recently  geographers  spoke  of  a  large  lake  situated  at  the  east  foot  of  the 
moimtain  with  a  circumference  of  about  100  miles.  But  no  such  lake  exists,  nor 
is  there  anything  to  justify  the  report  beyond  a  fen  or  morass  flooded  during  the 
periodical  inundations  of  a  neighbouring  stream.  The  belief  in  this  pretended 
lake  may  possibly  be  due  to  the  Malay  ierva.  danaii,  that  is,  "lake,"  or  "sea," 
applied  to  one  of  the  surrounding  districts. 

South   of   Kina-Balu  the  divide  between  the  eastern  and  western  slopes   fulls 


124 


AUSTRALASIA. 


ubruptly,  the  pass  crossed  by  Witti  being  little  over  2,000  feet  high.  But  farther 
south  this  explorer  failed  to  discover  any  pass  lower  than  3,900  feet,  while  some 
of  the  summits  in  this  section  of  the  chain  attain  elevations  of  over  6,500  feet. 
Towards  the  south-west  the  main  range  is  still  for  the  most  part  unexplored, 
nothing  being  known   beyond   the  names  of  a  few  peaks  visible  from  the  sea. 


Fig.  46.— Kina-Balu. 

Scale  1  : 1,280,000. 


EasboFG.eenw:ch 


160  Feet  and 
upwards. 


Everything  is  vaguely  designed  on  the  maps,  except  in  the  basin  of  the  river 
Brunei,  south  and  south-east  of  the  capital,  where  Mounts  Malu  and  Marud  both 
exceed  8,000  feet  in  height. 

The  central  nucleus  of  the  whole  orographic  sj^stem,  whence  flow  south-west, 
■west,  and  east  the  upper  affluents  of  the  three  great  Bornean  rivers,  has  not  yet 
been  visited  by   any  Europeans,  and  is  known  onlj'  by  name.     According  to  the 


MOUXTAIXS   OF   BORNEO.  125 

natives  the  Batu  Tabang,  culminating  point  of  this  mountain  group,  is  so  high 
that  "from  its  summit  heaven  might  easily  be  reached."  From  a  distance  it  is 
said  to  appear  always  "  white,"  either  because  rising  above  the  snow-line,  or  more 
probably  because  usually  wrapped  in  vapour.  However  this  be,  the  nearest 
mountains  that  have  hitherto  been  explored  are  distinguished  rather  by  their 
picturesque  outlines  and  eccentric  forms  than  for  their  great  elevation.  Accord- 
ing to  Schwaner,  none  exceed  4,650  feet,  while  the  ranges  branching  off  towards 
the  headlands  on  the  seaboard  would  appear  to  be  almost  everywhere  still  lower. 
Even  the  Lupar  chain,  running  south-west  and  west,  completely  disappears  in 
some  planes.  Between  the  river  of  like  name  traversing  Sarawak  and  Lake 
Sriang,  in  the  Kapuas  basin,  the  slopes  are  scarcely  perceptible,  whereas  towards 
the  north-east  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  blue  crests  of  the  "  Thousand  and 
One  Hundred  Mountains."  Farther  on  the  western  chain  is  again  interrupted 
at  several  points ;  but  towards  its  extremity  it  develops  a  superb  amphitheatre 
around  the  Sarawak  country,  terminating  on  the  coast  at  the  sharp  headland  of 
Tanjang  Datu.  The  two  loftiest  summits  of  this  waterparting  are  Penrisan  and 
Pu,  4,750  and  6,000  feet  respectively. 

South  of  the  Batu  Rajah,  or  "  King  Mountain  "  (8,300  feet),  the  range  skirt- 
ing the  east  side  of  the  Kapuas  basin  appears  to  have  no  peaks  rivalling  in  altitude 
those  of  Sarawak  and  the  central  nucleus.  It  is  continued  southwards  by  a  line 
of  crests  from  2,000  to  2,600  feet  high,  and  thence  between  the  Kapuas  and  Barito 
basins  not  by  an  uninterrupted  chain,  but  by  a  series  of  groups  separated  from 
each  other  by  broad  depressions,  aud  thus  forming  so  many  isolated  masses.  The 
south-eastern  range  forming  the  divide  between  the  Barito-  and  Mahakkam  basins 
is  somewhat  loftier,  the  Batu  Budang  attaining,  according  to  Schwaner,  an  eleva- 
tion of  4,550  feet.  But  southwards  it  falls  rapidly,  in  its  central  parts  presenting 
nothing  but  rounded  hills,  scarcely  more  than  600  or  700  feet  high.  One  of  the 
gaps  in  this  chain  is  occupied  by  the  Jallan-Batu,  a  chaos  of  limestone  blocks  of 
every  form  and  size,  covering  a  space  several  hundred  square  miles  in  extent. 
Trees  have  sprung  up  between  the  boulders,  and  here  and  there  in  their  fissures 
or  on  their  summits.  The  mountains  of  which  these  calcareous  masses  at  one  time 
formed  part  have  been  gradually  disintegrated  and  carried  away  by  the  running 
waters,  leaving  nothing  but  these  scattered  fragments  of  more  durable  rocks. 

As  it  approaches  the  sea,  sweeping  round  to  the  south-west  of  the  alluvial 
Banjermassin  plains,  the  range  again  develops  an  unbroken  chain  of  crystalline 
formation,  terminating  in  the  promontory  of  Cape  Satoi.  In  the  same  way  the 
hills  skirting  the  north  side  of  the  Mahakkam  basin  merge  eastwards  in  the 
granite  Lakuru  chain,  terminating  in  a  bold  headland  on  the  coast. 

Besides  the  fully  developed  continuous  ranges,  Borneo  is  diversified  with  a 
large  niunber  of  isolated  groups  dotted  over  the  plains,  like  the  archipelagoes  in 
the  surrounding  waters.  Most  of  these  groups  are  of  slight  elevation,  although 
some  few  rival  in  altitude  the  summits  of  the  main  ranges.  Such  are  Mounts 
Balik  Pippan  and  Bratus,  in  the  Mahakkam  basin,  the  latter,  according  to  Bock, 
about  5,000  feet  high. 


]  20  AUSTRALASIA. 

Several  of  the  summits  in  Central  Borneo  consist  of  granite  and  other  crystal- 
line rocks,  as  sufficiently  attested  by  the  debris  washed  down  and  strewn  over  the 
plains  by  the  running  waters.  But  in  the  regions  near  the  seaboard  nearly  all 
the  hills  are  of  sedimentary  formation.  Of  these  the  calcareous  rocks  are  very 
prevalent,  their  innumerable  caverns  affording  shelter  to  myriads  of  the  esculent 
swallow.  Other  deposits  of  various  ages  contain  rich  beds  of  coal  and  lignite, 
and  many  parts  of  the  island  abound  in  thermal  springs.  Although  surrounded 
by  a  semicircle  of  igneoxis  islands,  Borneo  appears  at  present  to  contain  no  active 
volcanic  centres ;  but  this  region  also  had  at  one  time  its  eruptive  craters,  and 
the  scoriie  and  other  traces  of  extinct  tires  may  still  be  seen  here  and  there,  as  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Kina-Balu  and  in  the  Montrado  uplands. 

The  outlines  of  the  Bornean  seaboard  have  frequently  been  modified.  If  there 
was  a  time  when  it  formed  continuous  land  with  Sumatra  and  the  Malay  peninsula, 
it  was  also  at  other  epochs  reduced  to  the  mere  skeleton  of  its  mountain  ranges, 
destitute  of  the  argillaceous,  shingly,  and  alkivial  plains  at  present  filling  iip  the 
spaces  between  its  divergent  chains.  It  was  probably  during  these  epochs  that  its 
volcanic  cones  blazed  above  the  neighbouring  marine  waters.  Then  also  were 
deposited  the  horizontal  beds  on  which  are  strewn  the  ferruginoiis  pebbles  washed 
down  from  the  hills,  and  among  which  are  collected  the  precious  metals,  gold, 
platinum,  quicksilver,  as  well  as  diamonds  of  the  purest  water.  Gold  washings 
occur  in  most  provinces — the  British  territory  in  the  north,  Sarawak,  Montrado, 
the  Pontianak  and  Banjermassin  district.  The  Malays  and  Dayaks  are  moreover 
acquainted  with  numerous  mineral  deposits,  which  they  jealously  conceal,  either  in 
the  hope  of  retaining  a  monopoly  of  the  mines  or  else  in  order  to  keep  the  for- 
eigners from  their  territory.  The  diamond  mines  are  usually  found  in  pockets 
of  argillaceous  soil  at  some  distance  from  the  auriferous  beds. 

Rivers  of  Borneo. 

Thanks  to  an  abundant  rainfall,  Borneo  is  watered  by  a  considerable  number  of 
broad  streams  flowing  in  all  directions  seawards.  Nevertheless  the  north-west 
slope  between  the  main  range  and  the  coast  is  too  narrow  for  the  development  of 
any  great  watercourses.  Here  the  most  copious  is  the  Brunei,  or  Borneo,  which 
falls  into  the  estuary  at  the  capital  of  the  state  of  like  name.  Farther  south,  but  on 
the  same  north-west  slope  of  the  island,  are  the  navigable  rivers  Eajang  and 
Lupar,  besides  the  Sarawak,  which,  although  of  small  size,  is  better  known  from 
the  town  of  that  name  situated  on  its  estuary,  the  scene  of  so  many  stirring  events 
in  recent  years. 

One  of  the  three  largest  rivers  in  Borneo  is  the  Ka2:)uas,  whose  catchment 
basin  lies  between  the  two  south-western  mountain  ranges,  and  which  flows  mainly 
towards  the  south-west.  The  chain  of  large  lakes  which  formerly  marked  its  course 
have  been  gradually  filled  in  by  alluvial  dejjosits,  and  are  now  represented  only  by 
so-called  dandns,  such  as  the  Sriang  and  Luar,  periodically  flooded  shallow  lagoons 
occurring  at  intervals  along  the  riverain  plains.     Before  reaching  the  low-lying 


EIYEES  OF  BORNEO.  127 

coastiands,  the  Kapuas  contracts  fo  a  narrow  bed  between  two  neighbouring  hills, 
beyond  which  it  ramifies  into  two  main  branches  and  numerous  smaller  channels, 
forming  an  extensive  delta  with  a  coastline  of  no  less  than  70  miles.  This 
alluvial  tract  projects  considerably  beyond  the  original  shore-line,  and  according 
to  the  local  traditions  mentioned  by  Temminck,  has  advanced  several  leagues  sea- 
wards during  the  historic  period.  The  island  of  Majang,  opposite  the  southern 
branch  of  the  delta,  is  already  almost  entirely  connected  with  the  mainland,  while 
the  sedimentary  deposits  continue  to  encroach  upon  the  sea  still  farther  southward, 
in  the  direction  of  the  Karimata  archipelago.  The  province  of  Pulu  Petak  was 
formerly  an  island,  as  indicated  by  its  verj'  name,  which  means  an  island  destitute 
of  all  vegetation. 

The  section  of  Borneo  lying  south  of  the  equator  is  the  most  abundantly  watered 
part  of  the  country.  Here  follow  in  rapid  succession  the  rivers  Kotariugin,  Pem- 
buan,  Sampit,  Katingan,  Kahajan,  and  Barito,  all,  like  the  Kapuas,  lined  by 
occasionally  flooded  morasses,  all  steadily  advancing  beyond  the  normal  coastline, 
and  all  presenting  navigable  highways  far  into  the  interior.  Of  these  southern 
streams  the  largest  is  the  Barito  or  Banjer,  known  also  by  several  other  names  in 
the  various  districts  through  which  it  flows.  Rising  in  the  central  nucleus  of 
highlands,  it  first  forces  its  way  eastwards  over  a  -series  of  falls  and  rapids,  through 
deep  and  almost  inaccessible  gorges,  beyond  which  it  winds  across  the  plains  south- 
wards to  the  coast  at  Banjermassin.  Swollen  by  a  large  number  of  affluents,  it  is 
everywhere  navigable  in  this  section  of  its  coiirse,  and  aboiit  60  miles  from  the 
sea  ramifies  into  two  also  navigable  branches,  of  which  the  eastern  receives  the 
Negara  and  Martapura  tributaries,  while  the  western  joins  the  Kapuas,  which 
formerly  reached  the  coast  in  an  independent  channel.  But  the  alluvial  matter 
brought  down  by  both  of  these  rivers  has  gradually  filled  in  the  intervening  marine 
inlet,  and  this  eastern  Kapuas  has  thus  become  a  tributary  of  the  Barito,  a  fate 
which  must  also,  sooner  or  later,  overtake  the  Kahajan,  or  Great  Dayak. 

The  Barito  delta  has  a  superficial  area  of  over  800  square  miles,  while 
the  trenches  enclosing  it  east  and  west  are,  in  some  places,  considerably  over 
half  a  mile  wide.  During  the  inundations  the  floodwaters  of  the  Barito  and 
Kapuas  intermingle,  converting  the  intervening  plains  into  a  vast  sheet  of  water, 
estimated  by  Schwaner  at  no  less  than  13,000  square  miles  in  extent.  Like  the 
Mississippi  and  other  large  rivers  flowing  through  low-lying  tracts,  the  Barito 
frequently  shifts  its  course,  forming  new  channels,  especially  at  the  sharp  turnings, 
and  thus  gi\-ing  rise  to  shallow  lagoons  and  backwaters,  analogous  to  the  "  false 
rivers  "  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Here  and  there  these  c/aiiaus,  or  "  seas,"  are 
again  scoured  by  the  recurring  inimdations,  and  uniting  with  other  lagoons  or 
flooded  meres,  stretch  away  between  their  wooded  banks  bej'ond  the  horizon. 

In  the  east  equatorial  region  the  only  large  river  is  the  Mahakkam,  called  also 
Kutei,  from  the  vast  plain  which  it  traverses  on  its  south-easterlj-  course  seawards. 
After  escaping  from  the  rugged  uplands,  it  spreads  out  to  the  right  and  left  in  vast 
lagoons  bounded  by  a  fringe  of  forests,  and  in  some  places  so  broad  that  the  oppo- 
site shores  are  invisible.     These  lacustrine  basins,  the  remains  of  an  ancient  sea,  are 


128 


AUSTRALASIA. 


gradually  diminisliing  in  extent,  their  muddy  banks  steadily  advancing  towards 
the  central  parts,  which  Karl  Bock  found  to  be  still  over  80  feet  deep.  Below 
the  region  of  lakes,  which  are  connected  by  narrow  channels  in  an  endless  laby- 
rinthic  sj'stem,  the  Mahakkam,  after  re-uniting  with  its  chief  affluent,  continues  its 
winding  southerly  course  between  low  ranges  of  carboniferous  hills.  But  beyond  an 


Fig.  47. — Bakito  Delta. 
Scale  1  :  1,400.000. 


abrupt  bend  to  the  east  its  two  banks,  diverging  to  a  distance  of  one  or  two  miles, 
acquire  a  completely  alluvial  character  ;  and  here  the  nipa  palm  is  the  only  arbo- 
rescent growth.  Here  also  it  becomes  a  tidal  stream,  flowing,  so  to  say,  beyond  the 
mainland,  and,  like  the  Mississippi,  ramifying  into  numerous  "  goose  feet  "  amid 
the  surrounding  marine  waters.     An  exceptional  spring  tide,  some  5  or  6  feet 


RIVERS  OF  BUltXKO, 

Liglaer  than  usual,  would  suffice  to  ugain  submerge  the  whole  of  this  newly 
delta. 


129 
■  formed 


North  of  the  Lakuru  hills  uoiie  of  the  eastern  streams,  such  as  the    Kelai,  the 

VOL.    XIV.  K 


130 


AUSTEiiLASIA. 


Kiijang,  the  ScbuTrong,  or  the  Kina-Batangan,  are  comparable  in  the  extent  of 
their  catchment  basins  to  the  Mahakkam  and  other  Large  southern  rivers.  Never- 
theless all  have  a  copious  discharge,  and  all  are  navigable,  although  their  estuaries 
are  much  obstructed  by  the  coralline  formations  which  abound  on  the  north-east 
coast.* 

Few  regions  of  the  globe  can  compare  with  Borneo  in  the  number  of  their 
navigable  highways ;  hence  it  is  not  surprising  that  hundreds  of  Malay  and 
Chinese  traders  have,  as  in  Sumatra,  utilised  these  streams  for  their  floating 
habitations,  the  materials  for  which  are  yielded  in  abundance  by  the  surrounding 
forests.  Erecting  their  little  houses,  and  at  times  a  whole  village,  on  their  firmly 
constructed  rafts,  they  descend  with  the  current,  casting  anchor  wherever  there 
are  prospects  of  doing  a  little  trade  in  honey,  gums,  skins  or  other  local  produce. 
After  weeks  or  months  of  this  wandering  life  they  reach  some  larger  emporium  on 
the  lower  course,  where  they  sell  their  wares,  houses  and  all.  If  the  venture  has 
proved  profitable,  they  again  ascend  the  river  in  boats,  build  another  floating 
domicile  and  renew  their  barter  trade  with  the  natives. 

Climate  of  Borneo. 

Although  intersected  by  the  equinoxial  line  Borneo  has  a  far  loss  torrid 
climate  than  that  of  Aden  and  the  coastlands  on  the  Red  Sea.  Like  the  other 
Indonesian  regions  it  enjoys  the  refreshing  marine  breezes,  which  are  attracted 
from  all  quarters  towards  the  centres  of  rarefaction.  On  the  seaboard  the  glass 
seldom  indicates  95°  F.  in  the  shade  and  usually  does  not  exceed  90°,  while  the 
thermometer  normally  oscillates  between  72°  in  the  morning  and  89°  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Ilence  the  dangerous  character  of  the  Bornean  climate 
is  due  not  to  its  heat,  but  to  the  heavy  night  dews  and  to  the  malaria  caused  by 
the  periodic  inundations  and  decomposition  of  organic  matters,  especially  in  the 
interior,  less  exposed  to  the  invigorating  sea  breezes.  Here  also  there  is  little 
change  of  season,  the  winds  being  little  regulated  and  rain-bearing  clouds 
arriving  from  all  quarters  throughout  the  year. 

But  on  the  seaboard  the  south-east  trades  prevailing  from  April  to  October, 
are  regularly  followed  by  the  west  and  stormy  north-west,  north  and  north-east 
monsoons.  But  even  here  moisture  is  precipitated  at  all  times,  and  at  Sarawak 
the  mean  annual  rainfall  is  estimated  at  from  loO  to  200  inches.     Long  droughts 


Cliicf  Rivers  of  Borneo  : — 


Brunei'  or  Limbanj 

Rcjang  . 

Lupar 

Kapuas  . 

Katingau 

Kahajan 

Barito     . 

Mahakliam 

Kiiia-Uatangaii 


Approximate 
Length. 
MUes. 

Approsimate       Length  of  Navifrable 
Area  of  Bnsin.     Course  with  Affluents 
Square  Miles.                        Mites. 

120 

4,000 

60 

300 

.        10,000 

190 

180 

4,000 

30 

480 

.       30,000 

360 

270 

8,000 

120 

330 

9,000 

150 

.550 

40,000 

600 

.570 

32,000 

360 

330 

8,000 

270 

PLOEA  OF  BOENEO.  131 

also  occasionally  occur,  as  in  the  year  1877,  when  the  great  Sriang  lagoon  in  the 

Fig.    49. — X.WIGABLE   SlRE-illS   AST)    ChIEF   EoUTES   OF    EXPLOKEKS   IN    Bur.NEO. 

Scale  1 :  12.000,000. 


Kapuas  basin  was  completely    dried  Tip.     In   the    Kutei  district  Bock  traversed 
forests  killed  by  the  heat,  and  destitute  alike  of  vegetation  and  animal  life. 

Fl.OR.\. 

But  these  are  rare  exceptions,  and  on  the  whole  Borneo  may  be  described  as 
one  vast  forest,  so  dense  and  contiuuous  that,  according  to  one  observer,  apes  might 
pass  from  one  extremity  of  the  island  to  anolher  by  swinging  from  branch  to  branch. 
The  forest  growths  are  interrupted  only  in  some  few  districts  by  tracts  covered 
with  the  herbaceous  alainj  plant. 

Although  differing  little  from  that  of  the  other  large  islands,  the  Bornean 
flora  comprises  a  few  peculiar  forms,  especially  trees  yielding  good  timber,  gums 

K  2 


182  AUSTRALASIA. 

and  rosins.  On  the  flanks  of  Kiua-Balu,  noted  for  its  numerous  varieties  of  the 
pitcher-plant,  botanists  have  observed  a  remarkable  intermingling  of  Indian, 
Malayan,  and  Australian  species.  On  the  muddy  coastlands  flourishes  the  valu- 
able sago  tree  {Mdroxi/lon  sagus  Ruiiiphii),  which  yields  its  nutritive  sap  in  such 
abundance  that  the  province  of  Sarawak  alone  supplies  more  than  half  of  the 
sago  exported  from  tropical  lands.  A  single  plant  of  average  size  furnishes  a 
thousand  cakes,  with  a  total  weight  of  about  seven  hundred  pounds,  a  quantity 
sufiicient  to  support  one  man  for  a  twelvemonth,  yet  not  needing  more  than  some 
ten  days'  easy  labour  for  its  production. 

Fauna. 

Like  its  flora,  the  fauna  of  Borneo  possesses  several  species  giving  it  a  peculiar 
physiognomy.  Almost  every  island  has  some  characteristic  animal,  and  the  con- 
trasts presented  by  these  insular  faunas  has  enabled  naturalists  to  conjecture  the 
relative  ages  when  the  islands  became  detached  from  each  other.  Thus  Sumatra 
and  Borneo  must  have  still  formed  continuous  land  when  Java  was  already  a 
separate  region.  Hence  the  narrow  Sunda  Strait  would  appear  to  be  older  than 
the  broad  but  shallow  Sea  of  Borneo.  This  inference  is  confirmed  by  the  con- 
formity of  the  faunas  between  Borneo  and  Sumatra,  and  their  relative  difference 
between  the  latter  island  and  Java. 

Amongst  the  animals  which  appear  to  have  originated  in  Boi'neo,  the  most 
remarkable  is  the  mias,  or  orang-utan,  that  is,  "man  of  the  woods"  [Simia  sdtyrus), 
also  met  in  North  Sumatra.  He  is  found  in  every  part  of  Borneo,  but  all  attempts 
to  tame  him  have  hitherto  resulted  in  failure.  Nearly  all  the  captured  specimens 
die  of  consumption,  even  when  retained  in  the  vicinity  of  their  native  forests- 
The  Dayaks  assert  that  the  mias  fears  neither  rhinoceros,  tiger,  nor  wild  boar,  and 
that  he  will  even  face  the  crocodile  and  python.  It  was  long  doubted  whether  the 
elephant  and  rhinoceros  formed  part  of  the  Bornean  fauna,  but  although  they 
have  disappeared  from  the  Dutch  provinces,  they  are  still  met  in  herds  near 
Sandakan,  in  British  territory.  The  Bornean  tiger  is  a  distinct  species,  and  here 
also  occur  two  varieties  of  the  crocodile  found  nowhere  else, 

IXHABITAXTS    OF    BoRNEO. 

Mention  is  often  made  of  a  jjeculiar  race  of  aborigines  dwelling  in  the  midst 
of  the  forests,  and  the  natives  themselves  are  fond  of  talking  about  the  Orang- 
Buntut,  or  "  Tailed  Men,"  said  to  dwell  in  the  central  regions.  Many  Arab, 
Malay,  and  native  travellers  claim  to  have  seen  them,  squatting  on  little  stools 
with  holes  made  for  the  convenience  of  inserting  their  caudal  appendix.  Even 
recently  the  explorer,  Carl  Bock,  searched,  though  in  vain,  for  these  tailed  people 
among.st  the  inhabitants  of  the  highlands,  between  the  Barito  and  Pasir  basins. 

But  apart  from  these  Buntuts,  Borneo  still  harbours  many  absolutely  savage 
peoples.  Such  are  the  Puans  of  the  central  regions,  and  the  Njavongs  of  the 
Kahajan  basin,  who  live  in  the  forests  unsheltered  even  by  a  screen  of  foliage 
from  sun  or  rain.     Their  only  garment  is  a  loin-cloth,  their  weapon  the  blow-pipe, 


INHABITANTS  OF  BORNEO. 


183 


through  which  they  shoot  little  darts  poisoned  with  a  mixture  of  nicotine  and 
other  ingredients.  They  shun  Europeans,  Malays,  and  Chinese  alike,  trading 
with  them  only  through  intermediate  agents.     Their  complexion  is  lighter  tluui 


Fiof.  .')0. — r)AY.iK  Types,  Boen'eo. 


^MjJl^ 


that  of  other  Borneans,  and  the  women  especially,  thanks  to  the  shade  of  the  dense 
forests,  have  clear  skins  of  a  somewhat  greyish  yellow  colour.  Their  chief  food  is 
the  flesh  of  apes,  snakes,  and  frogs.  But  whether  these  or  any  other  peoples  of 
the  interior  are  to  be  classed  with  the  fair  Indonesians  or  the  dwarfish  Negritos  is 
still  a  moot  point. 


134  AUSTRALASIA. 

The  great  bulk  of  tlie  inland  jjopulations  are  collectivel_y  known  as  Baj'aks,  a 
term  the  primary  meaning  of  which  appears  to  be  "Men,"  "People,"  but  which  for 
the  Malays  has  simply  the  sense  of  "  Wild,"  or  "  Heathen."  In  any  case,  many 
tribes  are  certainly  grouped  under  this  general  designation,  which  differ  in  their 
origin,  physical  appearance,  and  customs.  The  special  names  by  which  they  are 
known  to  their  neighbours  are  for  the  most  part  taken  from  the  districts,  moun- 
tains, or  rivers  inhabited  by  them.  Thus  have  been  named  the  Orang-Kapuas, 
the  Orang-Barito,  Orang-Mahakkam,  Orang-Bukit,  or  "  Highlanders,"  Ot-Danom, 
or  "  Uplanders  ;  "  in  the  same  way  are  distinguished  the  "  Sea,"  "  River,"  and 
"  Land  "  Dayaks. 

Taken  collectively  the  Dayak  populations  differ  from  the  civilised  Malaj's  by 
their  slim  figure,  lighter  complexion,  more  prominent  nose  and  higher  forehead. 
In  many  communities  the  men  carefully  eradicate  the  hair  of  the  face,  while  both 
sexes  file,  dye,  and  sometimes  even  pierce  the  teeth,  in  which  are  fixed  gold 
buttons.  The  lobe  of  the  ear  is  similarlj'  pierced  for  the  insertion  of  bits  of  stick, 
rings,  crescent-shaped  metal  plates,  and  other  ornaments,  by  the  weight  of  which 
the  lobe  is  gradually  distended  down  to  the  shoulder.  In  several  tribes  the  skulls 
of  the  infants  are  artificially  deformed  by  means  of  bamboo  frames  and  bandages. 

The  simple  Dayak  costume  of  blue  cotton  with  a  three-coloured  stripe  for 
border  is  always  gracefully  draped,  and  the  black  hair  is  usually  wrapped  in  a 
red  cloth  trimmed  with  gold.  Most  of  the  Dayaks  tattoo  the  arms,  hands,  feet, 
and  thighs,  occasionally  also  breast  and  temples.  The  designs,  generally  of  a 
beautiful  blue  colour  on  the  coppery  ground  of  the  body,  display  great  taste,  and 
are  nearly  always  disposed  in  odd  numbers,  which,  as  among  so  many  other 
peoples,  are  supposed  to  be  lucky.  Amulets  of  stone,  filigree,  and  the  like,  are 
also  added  to  the  ornaments  to  avert  misfortune.  In  some  tribes  coils  of  brass 
wire  are  wound  round  the  body,  as  among  some  African  peoples  on  the  shores  of 
Victoria  Nj'anza. 

The  Daj'aks  are  much  subject  to  skin  diseases,  due  perhaps  to  the  lack  of 
salt  in  their  diet.  Victims  of  goitre  also  are  as  numerous  in  the  Kutei  basin  as  in 
certain  Alpine  and  Pyrenean  valleys.  Even  before  the  arrival  of  the  Dutch  the 
natives  practised  a  sort  of  inoculation  against  small-pox,  which  in  Borneo  is  of  a 
very  virulent  character. 

The  Dayaks  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  supreme  being,  the  Sang-Sang,  who 
reveals  his  pleasure  to  the  priests  and  communes  with  them  in  a  "  heavenly 
tongue."  But  the  confidence  of  the  people  is  chiefly  in  the  bilians  or  priestesses, 
who  understand  how  to  conjure  the  evil  spirits,  dispel  maladies,  forecast  the  future, 
solve  riddles  and  extempoiise  songs.  They  are  brought  up  from,  infancy  by 
the  priests,  and  always  chosen  from  the  slave  class,  for  they  are  common  to  all 
the  married  men  of  the  community  according  to  a  fixed  tariff.  One  of  the 
marriage  customs,  probably  of  Chinese  origin,  is  scarcely  elsewhere  equalled 
for  refinement  of  cruelty.  The  wealthy  Ot-Damons  confine  their  daughters 
when  eight  or  ten  years  old  in  a  narrow,  dimlj'  lit  cell,  which  they  never  leave 
for  the  next  seven  or  eight  years.     During  this  period  they  are  allowed  to  see 


INHABITANTS  OF  BORNEO.  185 

neither  parents  nor  friends,  not  even  their  own  mother  ;  their  only  occupation  is 
the  weaving  of  mats,  and  their  food  is  administered  by  a  slave.  When  at  last 
released  from  her  prison,  pale,  emaciated,  tottering  on  her  small  enfeebled  feet, 
the  maiden  is  considered  a  worthy  prize  for  the  wealthiest  suitors  ;  a  "  piece  of 
man,"  that  is  to  say  a  slave,  is  immolated,  and  her  person  sprinkled  with  his 
blood. 

Many  Dayak  tribes  are  still  addicted  to  head-hunting,  a  practice  which  has 
made  their  name  notorious,  and  which  but  lately  threatened  the  destruction  of  the 
whole  race.  It  is  essentially  a  religious  practice,  so  much  so  that  no  important 
act  in  their  lives  seems  sanctioned  unless  accompanied  by  the  offering  of  one  or 
more  heads.  The  child  is  born  under  adverse  influences  unless  the  father  has 
presented  a  head  or  two  to  the  mother  before  its  birth.  The  young  man  cannot 
become  a  man  and  arm  himself  with  the  viandau,  or  war  club,  until  he  has 
beheaded  at  least  one  victim.  The  wooer  is  rejected  by  the  maiden  of  his  choice 
unless  he  can  produce  one  head  to  adorn  their  new  home.  The  chief  fails  to 
secure  recognition  imtil  he  can  exhibit  to  his  subjects  a  head  secured  by  his  own 
hand.  No  dj-ing  person  can  enter  the  kingdom  beyond  the  grave  with  honour 
unless  he  is  accompanied  by  one  or  more  headless  companions.  Every  rajah  owes 
to  his  rank  the  tribute  of  a  numerous  escort  after  death. 

Amongst  some  tribes,  notably  the  Bahu  Triugs,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Mahakkam  basin,  and  the  Ot-Damons  of  the  Ujiper  Kahajan,  the  religious 
custom  is  still  more  exacting.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  kill  the  victim,  but  before 
being  dispatched  he  must  also  be  tortured,  the  corpse  sprinkled  with  his  blood, 
and  his  flesh  eaten  under  the  eyes  of  the  priests  and  priestesses,  who  perform  the 
prefcribed  rites.  All  this  explains  the  terror  inspired  by  the  Dayaks  in  their 
neighbours,  and  the  current  belief  that  they  are  sprung  from  swords  and  daggers 
that  have  taken  human  form. 

A  regidar  head-hunting  expedition  is  so  much  regarded  as  a  pre-eminently 
religious  act,  that  amongst  the  primitive  tribes  it  must  be  preceded  by  a  general 
confession.  All  sinners  confess  their  shortcomings,  submit  to  the  pomali,  that  is, 
the  taboo  of  the  Polj'nesians,  and  do  penance  in  the  forests  in  order  to  be  "  restored 
to  grace."  When  thus  cleansed  from  all  moral  stain,  they  engage  in  their  funeral 
dances,  don  their  warlike  costume  of  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  put  on  their 
masks  representing  the  open  jaws  of  a  tiger  or  crocodile.  Thus  disguised  they 
sally  forth  to  fall  upon  some  distant  tribe  of  friends  or  foes,  and  gather  their 
harvest  of  heads  or  of  victims  reserved  for  the  feast.  The  skulls  of  the  enemy  are 
usually  held  in  the  greatest  respect;  every  attention  is  bestowed  on  them;  at 
every  meal  the  choicest  morsels  are  placed  in  their  mouth  ;  they  are  supplied  with 
betel  and  tobacco  ;  they  are  treated  as  chiefs,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  forget 
their  own  and  attach  themselves  to  the  new  tribe.  "  Your  head  is  ours  now  ; 
help  us  to  slay  your  former  friends,"  is  the  language  addressed  to  them. 

With  the  gradual  spread  of  Islam  the  Daj^aks  of  the  British  and  Dutch 
possessions  are  slowly  abandoning  their  bloodthirsty  usages.  At  the  same  time 
the    head-hunters    themselves,    strange    to    sav,    are   otherwise    the   most   moral 


136  AUSTRALASIA. 

people  in  the  whole  of  Indonesia.  Nearly  all  ai'e  perfectly  frank  and  honest. 
They  scrupulously  respect  the  fruits  of  their  neighbours'  labour,  and  in  the  tribe 
itself  murder  is  unknown.  For  a  period  of  twelve  years  imder  the  rule  of  Rajah 
Brooke  only  one  case  of  homicide  occurred  in  the  principality  of  Sarawak,  and  in 
this  case  the  criminal  was  a  stranger  adopted  by  the  Dayaks.  The  natives  also 
contrast  favourably  with  the  Malay,  Chinese,  or  European  immigrants  for  their 
temperance  and  forbearance.  Although  cheated  and  plundered  on  all  sides,  they 
preserve  their  good  temper  and  cheerful  disposition,  indulge  freely  in  merry- 
making, and  display  much  ingenuity  in  inventing  all  kinds  of  games. 

Born  artists,  they  not  only"  raise  their  dwellings  on  piles  high  above  the 
periodical  floods  and  bcj^ond  the  reach  of  nightly  marauders,  but  also  dispose  the 
bamboo  frames  and  gables  in  forms  pleasing  to  the  eye.  They  are  eager  collectors 
of  porcelain  and  "  old  china,"  and  to  certain  choice  pieces  are  attributed  divine 
properties.  The  tombs  of  their  chiefs,  and  in  some  districts  those  of  their  dogs, 
are  solidly  constructed  of  iron-wood  and  embellished  with  carvings  representing 
heads,  birds,  dragons'  mouths,  rivalling  those  of  Bxirmah  and  Siam  in  delicacy  of 
detail  and  instinctive  harmony. 

In  the  centre  of  most  villages  stands  the  Imlai,  or  "  chief  house,"  a  round  or 
elongated  building,  erected,  like  all  the  others,  on  piles,  but  containing  a  vast 
apartment  where  the  unmarried  young  men  and  all  strangers  pass  the  night,  and 
which  serves  as  an  exchange,  forum,  and  council  chamber.  Some  of  these  Dayak 
palaces,  occasionally  treated  as  citadels,  have  a  circuit  of  no  less  than  1,000  feet. 
Keppel  saw  one  on  the  banks  of  the  Lundu  which  was  over  600  feet  long,  and 
which  accommodated  a  whole  tribe  of  four  hundred  souls.  The  natives  also  give 
proof  of  their  engineering  skill  by  throwing  cleverly  constructed  bamboo  bridges 
across  rivulets,  and  sometimes  even  across  rivers  considerably  over  300  feet 
broad.  But  they  never  lay  down  roads,  and  rarely  even  paths,  almost  their  only 
highways  being  the  water-courses.  Their  best  tracks  are  made  of  the  stems  of 
trees  placed  endwise,  over  which  they  run  rather  than  walk.  At  the  least  alarm 
the  trees  leading  to  their  village  are  scattered  and  the  track  destroyed. 

The  Sarawak  Dayaks  are  good  husbandmen,  raising  on  the  reclaimed  land  two 
crops  in  rotation,  first  rice,  then  sugar-cane,  maize  or  vegetables.  Then  the  grovind 
lies  fallow  for  eight  or  ten  years,  during  which  it  is  again  invaded  by  scrub  and 
even  forest  growths.  The  granaries  are  a  kind  of  basket  fixed  on  high  trees  and 
approached  by  ladders  or  inclined  planes  of  bamboo.  The  inland  Dayaks  are 
chiefly  occupied  in  collecting  the  natural  pi-oducts  of  the  forest,  ratan  and  gutta- 
percha for  the  European  market,  swallows'  nests  and  bezoar  stones  for  the  Chinese. 
When  absent  from  their  homes  in  search  of  these  objects,  the  women  send  little 
lamps  of  cocoanut  shell  adrift  on  the  stream,  as  is  also  practised  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ganges.  These  floating  lights,  burning  in  honour  of  the  spirits  of  air  and 
water,  intercede  with  them  for  the  absent  toilers  in  the  forests. 

Notwithstanding  the  almost  inexhaustible  natural  resources  of  their  fertile 
domain,  even  those  half-civilised  Dayaks  who  have  given  up  the  practice  of 
head-hunting   do   not   appear   to  increase   in  numbers.      Their    abundant    crops 


8^. 


tv 


I 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

'NIVERSITV of  ILLINOIS. 


IXHABITAXTS  OF  BOEXEO.  137 

j"ield  ample  both  for  their  own  wants  and  for  a  considerable  export  trade  ;  celi- 
bacy is  unknown,  all  marrying  in  the  prime  of  life ;  yet  their  villages  still  remain 
scattered  in  small  groups  over  vast  spaces.  This  arrest  of  growth  must  be 
attributed  partly  to  destructive  epidemics,  partly  to  the  slight  fecunditv  of  the 
women.  The  families  average  not  more  than  from  two  to  four,  which,  according 
to  TTallace,  is  due  to  the  life  of  hardships  to  which  the  women  are  condemned. 
Although  otherwise  highly  respected  by  their  husbands,  all  the  hard  work  falls 
to  their  lot,  and  they  thus  become  exhausted  and  prematurely  aged.  The 
consequence  is  that  in  the  whole  of  Borneo  the  full-blooded  Dayaks  are  estimated 
at  not  more  than  about  a  million  altogether. 

The  Mohammedan  Malays,  who  are  disseminating  the  tenets  of  Islam  amongst 
the  aborigines,  are  nearly  all  settled  on  the  seaboard  and  along  the  banks  of  the 
rivers.  Attracted  by  the  profits  of  trade,  they  advance  slowly  from  market  to 
market  towards  the  hilly  regions  of  the  interior,  gradually  transforming  and 
assimilating  the  Dayaks  by  crossings  and  the  influence  of  their  higher  cultiu-e. 
Although  numerically  inferior,  they  have  already  acquired  the  predominance,  and 
every  day  adds  to  their  ascendency.  The  Moslem  element  is  also  augmented  bv 
Bugis  and  Bajaus  from  Celebes,  by  Javanese,  Illanos  from  the  Pliilippines,  and  a 
few  Arabs.  But  more  numerous  than  all  together  are  the  Chinese,  who  are  settled 
chiefly  in  the  seaports,  and  who  even  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  several  industries, 
including  that  of  gold- mining.  The  Europeans  had  scarcely  established  their 
permanent  factories  in  Borneo  when  the  Chinese  made  their  appearance,  and  soon 
developed  considerable  settlements.  From  them  the  Dutch  met  with  the  most 
active  resistance  during  their  gradual  conquest  of  the  southern  provinces. 

Of  pure  Chinese  there  are  over  thirty  thousand,  but  with  the  half-castes  thev 
may  be  estimated  at  about  two  hundred  thousand,  the  great  majority  of  whom 
have  been  settled  in  the  island  and  intermingled  with  the  Malays  for  several 
generations.  The  Dutch  and  English  do  not  number  more  than  a  few  hundred 
altogether ;  but  they  hold  the  political  power,  in  consequence  of  which  thousands 
of  the  natives  have  begun  to  speak  their  languages  and  adopt  their  usages. 


DrxcH  BoRXF.o. 

On  the  east  coast  Pontiaimk  was  the  first  town  visited  by  its  present  masters, 
and  it  still  continues  to  be  the  capital  and  commercial  centre  of  the  country.  In 
18-56  it  was  ceded  by  the  local  sultan  to  the  Dutch,  by  whom  it  has  been  made  a 
free  port.  The  wooden  houses  of  Pontianak  are  disposed  in  two  groups  on  either 
side  of  the  Kapuas  River,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Landak,  about  10  miles  from 
the  coast.  Some  Hindu  ruins,  temples  and  statues,  are  seen  here  and  there  in  the 
surrounding  forests. 

North  of  Pontianak,  in  the  petty  states  subject  to  the  Dutch  about  the  Sarawak 
frontier,  the  Chinese  element  preponderates.  Attracted  to  Sambas  and  Moiitracfo 
by  the  rich  gold  and  platinum  mines,  to  Landak  by  its  diamond  fields,  and  now  to 
the  banks  of  the  Kapuas  by  its  coal  deposits,  they  have  gradually  driven  back  the 


133 


AUSTBAIASIA. 


Daj^aks,  and  towards  the  middle  of  the  present  century  had  even  constituted  them- 
selves iu  independent  republics.  In  these  kongui,  or  brotherhoods,  the  "  elder 
brothers  "  and  the  "  j'ounger  "  co-operated  together,  and  pauperism  was  unknown. 

Animated  by  a  common 

Fig.  51.— Banjekmassin.  spirit  of  solidarity,  they 

Scale  1 :  85,000.  defended        themselves 

with  the  greatest  cou- 
rage, and  exiDeditions  of 
several  thousand  men 
were  required  to  enforce 
submission  to  the  Dutch 
rule.  As  in  most  other 
Chinese  settlements,  the 
staple  trade  of  Sambas 
and  Montrado  is  of 
opium. 

Siikadana,  situated 
on  a  lateral  branch  of 
the  Kapuas  delta,  was 
formerly  capital  of  one 
of  the  largest  states  in 
Borneo  ;  now  it  is  a 
mere  village  facing  the 
picturesque  Kariiiiafa 
archipelago.  These 

islands  were  at  one  time 
densely  peopled,  but  are 
now  almost  uninhabited. 
The  culminating  peak  of 
the  chief  island  has  an 
altitude  of  3,310  feet. 

Between  the  Kapuas 
and  Barito  deltas  every 
estuary  has  its  market, 
every  petty  state  its 
capital,  where  a  Dutch 
official  is  now  seated  by 
the  side  of  the  descend- 

3,300  Yards.  ant  of  the  old sovereigus. 

But  the  coast  population 

is  so  scanty  that  none  of  these  places  are  now  anything  more  than  humble  villages. 

Yet  the  upper  valley  of  the  Kahajan  abounds  in  gold  dust,  which  is  collected  by  the 

Dayaks,  who  have  hitherto  prevented  the  Chinese  from  penetrating  to  their  territory. 

Farther  east  the  chief  emporium  is  Banjennassin,  or  simply  Banjer,  capital  of 


DUTCH  BOBNEO,  13£) 

the  south- westein  provinces,  and  the  largest  city  iu  the  whole  of  Borneo.     Althouo-h 


commanding  the  entrance  of  the  Barito,  it  does  not  stand  on  the  estuary  itself,  but 
more  to  the  east  in  a  district  intersected  by  a  labyrinth  of  ever- shifting  channels 


no  AUSTRM.ASIA. 

and  backwaters.  Here  the  Barito  is  joined  by  the  Martapura,  on  which  stands 
Banjermassin,  the  "Venice  of  Borneo,"  whose  carved  wooden  houses  line  both 
banks  for  a  space  of  over  2  miles.  But  these  land  residences  are  nearly  every- 
where concealed  by  the  rakits,  or  floating  structures,  anchored  in  mid-stream.  The 
river  is  also  animated  by  craft  of  all  kinds,  boats,  canoes,  gondolas,  decked  praus 
with  raised  cabins  darting  about  in  all  directions. 

The  Dutch  occupy  the  island  of  Tatas,  surrounded  by  the  Malay  and  Chinese 
quarters,  for  all  have  their  special  districts,  even  the  monkeys,  who  occupy  the 
Isle  of  Flowers,  where  they  receive  the  attentions  of  the  natives.  Banjermassin, 
which  is  accessible  to  vessels  drawing  15  or  16  feet,  is  one  of  the  busiest  of  the 
secondary  ports  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Till  recently  it  largely  exported 
diamonds  collected  on  the  banks  of  the  Martapura  ;  but  since  the  discovery  of  the 
Cape  mines  this  trade  has  ceased  to  be  profitable,  especially  as  the  Sultan  claims 
all  stones  of  more  than  five  carats.  Yet  such  was  the  reputation  of  the  Banjer- 
massin market  that  the  local  Chinese  dealers  imported  crystals  from  the  Cape  to 
be  afterwards  exported  as  Martapura  diamonds.  In  this  district  is  also  collected 
much  gold  dust,  and  the  Pangaron  coal  mines  above  Martapura  were  lately  yield- 
ing a  yearly  output  of  over  10,000  tons.  Martapura  was  formerly  the  capital  of 
the  State,  and  the  Sultan  has  still  a  palace  in  the  place  ;  it  lies  30  miles  above  and 
to  the  east  of  Banjermassin. 

The  most  thickly  peopled  and  civilized  region  in  Borneo  is  the  basin  of  the 
river  Bahan  or  Ncgara,  where  the  Hindus  appear  to  have  first  settled.  Since  the 
middle  of  the  century  the  pojiulation  of  this  small  fluvial  valley  rose  from 
60,000  to  over  300,000  in  1878  ;  consequently  this  part  of  Borneo  is  now  rela- 
tively as  densely  inhabited  as  Java.  Aniuiitai  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Bahan, 
Negara  and  Margasari  lower  down  on  both  banks,  are  all  large  trading  and  indus- 
trial places.  The  armourers  of  Negara  were  famous  throughout  Indonesia  before 
the  manufacture  of  arms  was  suppressed  by  the  Dutch  ;  but  the  district  still 
produces  all  the  earthenware  used  in  the  country. 

Farther  east  some  Javanese  immigrants  cultivate  the  fertile  plains  of  the  Ken- 
daiigan  district,  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  Amandit  river.  The  new  town  of 
Mmcara-Bahan,  ov  Marahahan  (Bekutnpai),  at  the  junction  of  the  Bahan  and  Barito, 
is  the  outport  of  the  trade  of  Banjermassin  with  the  Bahan  basin.  Its  population  is 
rapidly  increasing,  thanks  to  the  spread  of  Islam  amongst  the  surrounding  Dayak 
tribes.  Higher  up,  the  only  important  place  in  the  thinlj'  peopled  upper  Barito 
valley  is  the  village  of  Lnftintur  {Lokhfon  Tiior),  at  the  Teweh  confluence,  200 
miles  from  the  coast. 

The  various  petty  states  on  the  south-east  coastlands  are  still  semi-independent. 
Pasir,  capital  of  one  of  these  states,  is  one  of  the  chief  places  in  Borneo.  Lj'ing 
at  the  head  of  a  delta  navigable  by  small  craft,  Pasir,  or  the  "  Sands,"  as  it  is  named 
from  the  surrounding  dunes,  carries  on  a  brisk  trade  with  the  opposite  coasts  of 
Celebes,  whence  it  has  received  numerous  immigrants. 

Several  important  towns  follow  along  the  lower  course  of  the  Mahakkam  in  the 
kingdom  of  Kutei,  which  since  1844  has  been  half  subject  to  the  Dutch.    Taiigarung, 


I 


DUTCH  BOEXEO. 


141 


the  capital,  lies  about  GO  miles  above  the  estuarj-  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Mahakkam, 
which  is  here  a  broad,  tidal  stream.  But  nearly  all  the  trade  of  Kutei  is  centred 
in  Samariiida,  which  lies  lower  down  near  the  fork  of  the  delta,  where  large  Chinese 
junks  ship  the  gutta-percha,  rattans,  timber,  honey,  edible  birds'nests  and  other 
produce  brought  down  on  rafts  from  the  upjjer  regions  of  the  Makakkam  basin. 
Samarinda  is  the  residence  of  the  Dutch  political  agent,  and  of  the  Mohammedan 
imam,  from  whom  the  natives  learn  to  write  Arabic  and  recite  verses  from  the 
Koran.  Here  the  Bougis  from  Celebes  have  settled  on  the  right  bank,  where  thev 
have  set  up  a  strong  republic,  administering  their  own  laws  and  enjoj'ing  complete 


Fig.    53. — LOWEE   COUESE    of  the   MAHAKKAit. 
Scale  1 : 1,500,000. 


self-government.  The  Chinese  and  Malays  occupy  the  left  bank,  residing  either  in 
floating  houses  or  in  dwellings  raised  on  piles.  Here  are  no  roads  or  even  tracks, 
all  the  communications  between  the  different  quarters  being  carried  on  exclusively 
by  water.  The  town  itself  is  one  vast  cemetery,  headstones  or  carved  boards 
marking  the  graves  of  the  dead  round  about  the  abodes  of  the  living.  The  few 
steamers  touching  at  Samarinda  find  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  and 
especially  at  Pelarang,  5  or  6  miles  farther  down,  a  supply  of  coal  in  the  rich 
mines,  the  property  of  the  Sultan.  Saiiga-Saiuja,  at  the  head  of  the  delta,  was 
the  royal  residence  before  Samarinda. 


142  AUSTRALASIA. 

The  little  port  of  Sankolirang,  on  one  of  the  inlets  north  of  theMahakkam  delta, 
is  now  a  mere  fishing  village ;  but  to  judge  from  the  surrounding  ruins  it  was  at  one 
time  an  important  centre  of  Hindu  culture  in  East  Borneo.  Samhiliinm,  Gnnong- 
Telur,  Bulangan  and  Tidung,  petty  states  following  north  of  Kutei  as  far  as  British 
North  Borneo,  are  amongst  the  least  known  parts  of  the  island.  A  few  Dutch 
officials  are  stationed  at  two  or  three  points  along  the  coast,  in  order  to  maintain 
the  right  of  possession  against  the  pretentions  of  the  Sultan  of  Sulu,  the  claims 
of  Spain,  and  the  further  annexations  by  England.  A  large  jjart  of  these  territories, 
long  harassed  by  corsairs,  is  almost  uninhabited. 

Administration  of  Dutch  Borneo. 

The  Dutch  portion  of  Borneo  is  divided  into  two  provinces,  that  of  the  west 
with  capital  Pontianak,  and  that  of  the  east  with  capital  Banjermassin.  As  in 
Sumatra,  the  Dutch  functionaries  establish  their  direct  authority  very  gradually. 
Sultans  and  rajahs  are  still  at  the  head  of  the  different  states,  although  several  of 
them,  "protected"  by  a  Dutch  garrison,  are  practically  mere  pensioners  of  the 
government.  Others,  on  the  contrary,  such  as  the  Sultans  of  Pasir  and  Kutei, 
being  more  removed  from  the  centre  of  authority,  are  still  real  sovereigns,  although 
gradually  sinking  to  the  humble  position  of  vassals.  Even  In  the  towns,  where  the 
Dutch  have  long  been  indisputable  masters  and  strictly  obeyed,  they  prefer  to  rule 
through  native  agency.  The  Chinese  kap-thai  and  kapitan,  the  Malay  panum- 
bahan,  pangeran  and  tomongong,  are  held  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  their  subor- 
dinates. The  Dutch  Resident  abstains  from  direct  interference  in  the  local 
affairs  of  each  nation,  so  long  as  it  keeps  the  peace  and  pays  the  imposts  regularly. 

The  Dayaks  of  the  interior  are  liable  only  to  a  poll-tax,  although  the  chief 
charged  with  its  collection  contrives  too  often  to  levy  it  four  or  five  times  over. 
The  sultans  farm  the  opium  crop  and  the  customs,  and  according  to  Bock  their 
surest  source  of  revenue  is  usury.  They  lend  to  their  subjects  at  exorbitant 
interests  and  on  solid  security. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a  table  of  the  Dutch  administrative  divisions, 
with  their  apjjroximate  areas  and  populations. 

SijLtaxate  of  Brunei  and  British  Borneo. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  century,  nearlj^all  North  Borneo  was  still  subject  to 
the  Sultan  of  Brunei,  at  that  time  the  most  powerful  potentate  in  the  Island  that 
bears  his  name.  At  present  his  dominions  have  been  enormously  curtailed.  Hope- 
less of  resisting  the  demands  of  those  more  powerful  than  himself,  he  has  gradually 
ceded  most  of  his  empire  to  the  British.  First  went  the  island  of  Labuan,  com- 
manding the  approach  to  his  capital ;  then  followed  the  southern  region  of  Sarawak, 
surrendered  to  a  soldier  of  fortune,  and  lastly  the  whole  of  the  north  handed  over 
to  an  English  financial  company.  What  remains  Is  scarcely  a  fourth  of  his  for- 
mer possessions,  and  even  this  is  already  under  the  effective  suzerainty  of  England, 
pending  its  official  annexation  to  the  British  Empire. 


BRUNEI. 


143 


Like  most  places  on  the  coast,  Brunei,  the  Sultan's  residence,  is  an  amphibious 
town,  but  presents  a  more  singular  aspect  even  than  Pontianak  or  Banjermassin. 
The  picturesque  Malay  structures  are  not  here  mingled  with  flat  European  houses. 
The  stream,  at  this  point  considerably  over  a  mile  wide,  is  lined  by  long  avenues 
of  inhabited  boats,  while  the  neighbouring  bay  is  crowded  with  Chinese  junks  and 
praus  from  Mindanao.     After  two  years  of  navigation  amid  the  oceanic  wastes,  the 

Fig.  .54.— Behnei. 
Scale  1  :  35,000. 


E3 


32  Feet  and 
upwards. 


.1,100  Yards. 


companions  of  Magellan  were  surprised  at  the  spectacle  presented  by  this  great  city, 
which,  according  to  Pigafetta,  at  that  time  contained  "  twenty-five  thousand 
hearths."  The  present  inhabitants,  reduced  to  about  ten  thousand,  are  described 
as  mild  and  timid,  impoverished,  crushed  by  heavy  imposts,  all  slaves  of  the 
Sultan.  Their  chief  industry  is  the  manufacture  of  arms  and  coppcrware.  The 
neighbouring  Kadyan  and  Murut  tribes  have  already  been  partly  converted  to 
Islam. 


144  AUSTRALASIA. 


Labuan. 


At  the  time  of  its  cession  to  Great  Britain  in  1846,  Lubuan,  the  island  of  the 
"roadstead,"  was  completely  uninhabited  and  covered  by  dense  forest.  But  in 
annexing  it  to  their  colonial  empire  despite  the  claims  of  the  Dutch,  the  English 
hoped  it  might  become  an  important  station  on  the  highroad  between  Singapore 
and  Hongkong.  It  lies,  however,  somewhat  out  of  the  direct  track  of  shipping, 
while  its  coal  mines,  actively  worked  for  some  years,  have  been  deluged  by  the 
tropical  rains  of  those  regions.  They  are  of  older  formation  than  those  of  the 
mainland,  which  belong  to  the  Jurassic  and  even  more  recent  epochs.  The  island 
is  inhabited  chiefly  by  Malays  and  Chinese,  and  although  j)rovided  with  a  governor 
and  legislative  council,  had  onlj^  nineteen  Europeans  in  1884.  Since  the  suspension 
of  mining  operations  its  trade  has  considerably  diminished. 

Sarawak. 

The  territory  of  Sarawalc,  lying  between  the  state  of  Brunei  and  the  Dutch 
possessions,  and  skirted  on  the  west  by  the  main  Bornean  range,  forms  part  of  the 
British  colonial  empire  only  since  the  year  1888.  It  belongs  to  the  Brooke  family, 
which  holds  it  as  a  fief,  and  the  head  of  which  takes  the  Indian  title  of  Rajah. 
But  these  English  vassals,  more  powerful  than  their  Malay  suzerain,  have  steadily 
enlarged  their  dominion  since  1841,  and  Sarawak  is  at  present  more  extensive, 
more  densely  peopled,  and  far  more  opulent  than  Brunei  itself.  But  it  is  still 
very  sparsely  inhabited,  containing  perhaps  not  more  than  300,000  souls  in  a  total 
area  of  36,000  square  miles.  A  recent  treaty  secures  to  England  the  control  over 
its  internal  administration. 

Like  most  other  towns  on  the  Bornean  seaboard,  the  capital,  Sarawak  (properly 
Kuching)  lies  on  a  navigable  river,  some  distance  from  the  coast,  and  above  the 
delta,  whose  two  chief  branches  are  accessible  with  difficulty  to  large  vessels. 
Commanded  by  woodland  heights  and  surrounded  with  gardens  and  orchai-ds,  the 
town  presents  a  pleasant  aspect  ;  although  its  British  residents  regret  that  the 
capital  has  not  been  placed  some  20  miles  to  the  north-east,  on  the  breezy  and 
salubrious  slopes  of  a  headland  at  the  entrance  of  the  Moratabas  river.  But  it  is 
now  too  late  to  displace  a  town  which  possesses  some  fine  buildings,  warehouses, 
covered  markets,  docks,  rich  plantations,  and  quite  a  network  of  well-kept  roads. 
Its  Dayak,  Malay  and  Chinese  population  is  rapidly  increasing  both  by  immigra- 
tion and  excess  of  births  over  the  mortality,  and  Kuching,  an  obscure  village  in 
1850,  has  now  over  20,000  inhabitants. 

Some  antimony  and  quicksilver  mines  in  the  upper  basin  of  the  river  formerly 
yielded  large  profits,  but  have  now  lost  much  of  their  value.  They  are,  however, 
stiU  occupied  by  Chinese  miners,  who  also  work  the  gold  washings,  and  the 
diamond  and  coal  fields  of  the  Sadong  valley.  The  most  promising  districts  at 
present  are  those  of  Lundu,  west  of  Sarawak,  where  the  planters  cultivate  rice, 
gambler,  and  pepper.     One  of  the  baj^s  on  the  Lundu  coast  is  noted  for  its  turtles, 


SAEAWAE. 


145 


the  fishing  of  which  is  strictly  regulated,  and  a  close  season  enforced  for  the 
collection  of  the  eggs. 

East  of  Sarawak  the  broad  and  fertile  Lupar  valley,  with  its  rich  coalfields,  has 
probably  the  brightest  future  prospects,  thanks  to  its  easy  natural  communications 
with  the  Kapuas  basin  and  the  interior  of  Borneo.  SimaiLe/aiiff,  its  capital,  is  a 
large  Malay  village  80  miles  above  the  estuary  at  the  head  of  the  fluvial  navi- 
gation. 

The  Eejang  basin,  comprising  the  northern  portion  of  Sarawak,  has  already 
developed  a  considerable   export  trade,  especially  in  sago  and  bilian   (iron wood). 

Fig.  00. — Saeawax. 
Scale  1 :  900,000. 


East  oF  Gr.e 


Depths. 


This  trade,  carried  on  by  Chinese  junks,  is  centred  chiefly  in  the  port  of  Rejang, 
on  the  southern  branch  of  the  delta.  Sibu,  another  Malay  town  at  the  head  of 
the  delta,  is  the  great  market  for  the  interior,  and  here  the  Government  has  built 
a  fort  to  overawe  the  surrounding  Dayaks.  The  Milanos,  one  of  their  most  numer- 
ous tribes,  have  been  partially  converted  to  Islam.  They  are  a  repulsive  race 
with  coarse  limbs,  uncouth  carriage,  and  milky-white,  unwholesome  complexion. 
The  custom  of  treading  out  the  sap  of  the  sago-palm  has  given  them  broad,  flat 
feet,  while  the  heads  of  their  children  are  deformed  by  means  of  boards,  like  those 
of  the  North  American  Flatheads.  At  the  death  of  a  rich  Milano  his  sago  plan- 
tation is  cut  down,  so  that  his  estate  may  accompany  him  to  the  next  world. 

The  increasing  trade  of  Sarawak  is  furthered  by  about  a  hundred  European, 
Chinese,  and  Malav  vessels,  besides  a  regular  service  of  steamers  plying  between 
Kuching  and  Singapore.     With  the  traffic  the  revenue  also  increases,  leaving  an 

VOL.   XIV.  L 


146  AUSTRALASIA. 

annual  surplus  devoted  to  public  works  and  instruction.  The  rajah  exercises 
almost  absolute  power,  choosing  his  own  council  of  Europeans  or  Malays,  and 
holding  himself  responsible  to  no  man.  By  a  slow  process  of  extinction  slavery 
died  out  with  the  year  1888.  The  regular  army  of  about  three  hundred  native 
soldiers  draws  its  officers  from  a  civil  and  military  school  attended  by  one  hundred 
and  fifty  students. 

The  territorial  divisions  of  Sarawak,  named  from  the  chief  rivers  watering 
them,  are,  Lundu,  Sarawak,  Sadong,  Batang  Lupar,  Saribas,  Kalukah,  Eejang, 
Mukah,  and  Bintulu. 

North  Borneo. 

The  British  territory  of  Sabah,  better  known  as  North  Borneo,  has  been  con- 
stituted by  successive  acquisitions  by  purchase.  In  1865  a  United  States  consul 
had  already  obtained  from  the  Sultan  of  Brunei  the  grant  of  a  portion  of  this 
region,  and  founded  an  American  company  for  its  development.  But  these 
essaj^s  ended  in  financial  ruin,  and  an  English  corporation  had  little  difiiculty  in 
securing  the  privileges  of  the  bankrupt  American  speculators.  Fresh  concessions 
made  in  1877  and  1878  enlarged  the  area  of  the  districts  detached  from  Brunei  and 
ceded  to  a  small  group  of  British  capitalists,  who  also  obtained  from  the  Sultan  of 
the  Sulu  Ai-chipelago  the  domains  which  he  possessed  or  claimed  on  the  mainland. 
By  means  of  a  few  pensions  they  thus  acquired  a  whole  kingdom,  for  which  ihey, 
moreover,  procured  recognition  and  a  charter  from  the  English  Crown. 

The  limits  of  the  new  state  are  fixed  on  the  west  coast  by  Mount  Marapok  near 
Brunei  Bay,  and  on  the  east  side  by  the  course  of  the  Sibuko  River.  Numerous 
travellers  have  been  encouraged  by  the  Company  to  explore  the  interior,  to  trace 
the  rivers  to  their  sources,  scale  the  mountains  and  passes,  study  the  mineral  and 
agricultural  resources  of  the  land,  and  select  the  best  sites  for  future  ^plantations. 

Thanks  to  these  explorations  North  Borneo  is  now  known  to  be  the  finest,  most 
picturesque,  and  promising  region  of  the  whole  island,  although  at  the  time  of  the 
British  occupation  one  of  the  least  peopled.  In  the  Kina-Batangan  basin  Pryer 
found  only  three  villages  and  one  isolated  house  for  a  space  of  two  hundred  and 
ninety  miles,  and  the  whole  population,  scattered  along  the  coasts  and  river-banks, 
scarcely  numbered  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  souls  ten  years  ago.  But  the 
suppression  of  tribal  wars  and  piratical  expeditions,  the  introduction  of  vaccination, 
the  arrival  of  Chinese  immigrants,  and  the  establishment  of  orderlj'  government 
have  been  followed  by  a  rapid  increase  of  the  free  and  enslaved  inhabitants.  By 
the  terms  of  its  charter  the  Company  engages  to  prevent  all  foreigners,  European 
or  Chinese,  from  holding  slaves  ;  but  it  is  not  bound  to  sujipress  servitude  amongst 
the  tribes. 

In  any  case  the  social  condition  of  the  people  cannot  fail  to  be  rapidly  modified 
under  the  influence  of  the  Chinese,  who  flock  to  the  recently  founded  towns  and 
take  the  management  of  all  new  enterprises.  To  the  Chinese  is  even  attributed  the 
old  Bornean  civilisation,  traces  of  which  still  survive  here  and  there,  and  which  is 


NOKTH  B0E^^20. 


147 


recalled  by  the  names  of  Kina-Balu  and  Kina-Batangan.  The  local  Dayaks  are 
commonly  designated  by  the  collective  terms,  Dusun  and  Idaan.  The  Bule- 
Dupis  tribe,  near  Sandakan  Bay,  appears  to  be  distinguished  from  all  the  others  by 
their  almost  white  complexion  and  "  European  profile."  They  are  regarded  as 
almost  pure  representatives  of  the  Indonesian  type,  but  seem  doomed  to  extinc- 
tion. 

For  their  new  capital,  E/opiira,  the  English  have  selected  a  favourable  site  on 
the  magnificent  Sandakan  Bay,  an  inlet  on  the  north-east  coast,  the  entrance  of 
which  is  completely  sheltered  from  all  winds,  and  which  ramifies  for  over  20  miles 
inland  between  sandstone  cliffs  terminating  in  wooded  heights.      On  the  silt  at  the 

Fig.  56. — Sandakan. 
Scale  1  :  900,000. 


w-r''^'^^^^'^^^^^ 


oF    Greenwich 


Depths. 


entrance  there  is  a  depth  of  no  less  than  26  feet  at  low  water,  and  shipping  can 
moor  at  the  landing  stage  in  23  or  24  feet.  In  the  course  of  eight  j'eai-s  Elopura, 
or  Sandakan,  as  it  is  more  commonly  called,  has  become  a  flourishing  little  seaport 
with  over  5,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  two-thirtls  are  Chinese.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  it  possesses  abundant  elements  of  future  commercial  expansion — coal  in 
the  hills  skirting  the  roadstead,  ironwood  and  other  natural  products  in  the  sur- 
rounding forests.  Large  tobacco  plantations  have  been  made  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  port,  and  the  sago-palm  now  thrives  in  this  part  of  Borneo,  where  it  was 
hitherto  unknown. 

Through  coast  lagoons  or  backwaters  Sandakan  communicates  dircctlj-  with  the 

l2 


118  AUSTEALASLV. 

mouth  of  the  Kina-Batangan,  the  hirgest  river  in  North  Borneo,  and  navigable  by 
steaniers  a  long  way  inland.  At  Malapi,  the  riverain  port,  the  Chinese  have  a.  depot 
for  the  edible  nests  collected  in  the  caves  of  Mount  Gomanton,  lying  some  miles 
farther  west.  The  entrance  to  one  of  these  limestone  caves  rises  to  a  height  of 
900  feet,  and  in  the  evening  the  dense  clouds  of  esculent  swallows  take  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  to  pass  through  this  vast  portal  to  their  roosting-places.  The 
annual  sale  of  the  nests  yields  £5,000  to  the  Chinese  dealers.  Other  caverns, 
occupied  some  by  swallows,  others  by  bafs,  occur  in  all  the  spurs  of  the  North 
Eornean  ranges  and  especially  in  the  river  gorges,  and  all  contain  rich  deposits  of 
guano  still  untouched. 

The  Segama  basin,  south  of  and  parallel  to  the  Kina-Batangan,  also  possesses 
gold-washings,  which  are  said  to  be  very  rich,  and  already  attract  numerous 
Chinese  miners.  A  carriage  road  has  been  constructed  from  Sandakan  Bay  to 
these  mines. 

One  of  the  vital  points  of  the  new  colony  lies  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
Marudu  Bay,  where  the  river  of  like  name  reaches  the  coast.  Here  the  village  of 
Bongon,  the  commercial  centre  of  the  whole  country  and  already  surrounded  bj' 
extensive  tobacco  and  sugar  plantations,  is  the  natural  emporium  for  North  Borneo 
and  the  islands  of  Mallawalli,  Banguey,  and  Balambangan,  which  form  an  extension 
of  the  mainland  towards  the  Philippines.  In  1773  the  English  had  already 
founded  a  settlement  in  Balambangan ;  which,  however,  lasted  only  two  years. 
The  port  of  Kudat,  in  Marudu  Bay,  although  neglected  till  1881,  seems  destined 
one  day  to  become  one  of  the  chief  commercial  centres  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago. 
Formerly  the  two  rivers  Tampusuk  and  Tarawan  were  notorious  resorts  of  the 
Illanos  (Lanon,  Lanun),  pirates  from  Mindanao,  against  whom  the  English  had  to 
send  several  expeditions. 

On  the  west  coast  Gaya  Bay,  still  more  spacious  than  Kudat,  offers  one  of  the 
best  anchorages  in  the  China  waters.  The  whole  British  fleet  might  here  easily 
ride  at  anchor,  and  supply  itself  with  coal  from  the  beds  in  the  surrounding  cliffs. 
Yet  the  British  settlement  has  been  founded,  not  on  this  magnificent  bay,  but  at 
Mempakol,  facing  Labuan. 

The  rapid  development  of  trade  in  North  Borneo  is  mainly  due  to  the  tobacco 
plantations  on  the  east  coast.  The  Sagut  and  Labuk  fluvial  valleys  yield  a  fine 
elastic  leaf  much  prized,  especially  for  wrapping  cigars.  In  1887,  about  200,000 
acres  were  already  planted,  and  in  that  j'ear  150,000  additional  acres  had  been 
bought  by  speculators  for  the  same  purpose.  Thanks  to  this  rapid  increase  of 
productive  land,  the  public  revenues  have  also  been  considerably  augmented, 
though  still  failing  to  balance  the  expenditure.  There  is  no  army  properly  so 
called,  and  only  a  few  hundred  police,  raised  chiefly  amongst  the  Dayaks  of  other 
parts  of  Borneo.  All  the  tribal  chiefs  are  required  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  Company  and  pay  the  poll-tax. 

The  state  is  divided  into  the  four  administrative  provinces  of  Dent  and  Keppel 
on  the  west  coast,  Alcocl;  in  the  north-east,  and  East-Coast  in  the  east  and  south- 
east.    In  the  last-mentioned  is  situated  the  capital. 


JAVA.  149 

Java  and  Madura. 

In  the  Indonesian  tropical  world  Java  ranks  only  fourth  for  size  ;  but  it 
contains  over  two-thirds  of  the  whole  population,  while  the  relative  value  of  its 
productions  is  still  more  considerable.  For  a  period  of  at  least  twenty  centuries  it 
has  surpassed  all  the  other  regions  of  the  archipelago  in  jDopulation,  abundance  of 
resources,  and  the  progress  of  civilisation.  First  visited  and  colonised  by  the 
Hindus,  it  soon  became  the  centre  of  their  influence  in  Indonesia,  and  from  that 
period  the  Javanese  have  enjoyed  a  material  and  social  pre-eminence  in  this  region. 
Their  tribes,  to  whom  the  Buddhist  missionaries  had  brought  the  words  of  peace 
and  universal  brotherhood,  became  fused  in  a  imited  nationality,  thus  entering  on 
a  new  historic  era  unattainable  by  the  barbarous  and  savage  inhabitants  of  the 
adjacent  islands.  Under  the  subsequent  Arab  and  Dutch  sway  the  imjjulse  given 
by  the  first  Indian  civilisers  made  itself  still  felt  by  the  Javanese  populations. 

According  to  some  authorities  the  very  name  by  which  the  island  is  still 
designated  is  of  Hindu  origin.  The  term  Jahadiit,  known  to  Ptolemy,  is  merely 
the  vulgar  form  Jara-jipa,  the  "  Island  of  Barley,"  apparently  so  named  by  the 
Hindu  immigrants  from  a  cereal  which  looked  like  the  barley  of  India,  but  which 
was  probably  millet  {ixiniciim  italiciini).  Nevertheless  other  etymologists  sought 
an  explanation  of  the  word  Java  or  Javi  in  the  native  languages.  The  Sundanese 
of  the  western  districts  called  themselves  Jelma  Bumi,  that  is,  "  Men  of  the  Soil," 
designating  their  neighbours  of  the  central  and  eastern  jjrovinces  as  Tyang  Javi, 
or  "  Foreigners,"  and  the  region  itself  as  Tanah  Javi,  that  is,  "  Foreign "  or 
"  Outer  Laud."  This  hypothesis  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  other  outer 
regions,  notably  Sumatra  and  Bali,  also  bore  the  name  of  Java,  and  at  the  dawn  of 
modern  history,  the  Australian  continent  itself  is  vaguely  indicated  under  the 
appellation  of  "  Great  Java." 

But  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  first  Dutch  traders  founded 
their  factories  in  the  present  Java,  it  was  already  known  by  this  name  throughout 
its  whole  extent.  It  is  the  Zabej  of  the  Arabs,  and  to  it  the  term  Nusa  Eendang, 
or  "  Island  of  Great  Mountains,"  seems  also  at  one  time  to  have  been  commonly 
applied. 

At  present  this  marvellous  region  is  almost  as  well  known  as  the  lands  of  West 
Europe.  The  works  relating  to  it  are  already  numbered  by  the  thousand,  it  has 
been  studied  from  everj'  point  of  view,  and  explored  in  all  directions  by  eminent 
geologists,  geographers,  naturalists,  anthropologists,  historians,  and  engineers.  Its 
triangulation  has  been  completed  since  1882,  and  its  relief  in  all  its  details  is  figured 
on  carefully  prepared  topographical  charts.  Each  volcano  has  even  been  specially 
described  in  section,  plan,  and  elevation,  so  that  all  changes  of  form  may  hence- 
forth be  recorded  with  as  much  precision  as  those  of  Vesuvius  and  Etna. 

Java  was  formerly  supposed  to  consist  exclusively  of  eruptive  rocks  upheaved 
from  the  bed  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  But  we  now  know  that  about  three-fifths  of 
the  sua-face  is  composed  of  sedimentary  rocks,  plains,  and  uplands,  and  that  the 
whole  island  is  continued  northwards  in  the  direction  of  Billiton  and  Borneo,  and 


150 


AUSTRALASIA. 


north-westwards  towards  Sumatra,  by  a  level  marine  plateau  covered  by  less  than 
50  fathoms  of  water.  Above  this  flooded  plain  rise  a  few  low  insular  groups, 
such  as  the  "  Thousand  Isles,"  north-west  of  Batavia,  and  the  twenty-six  islets  of 
Karimon-Java,  north  of  Semarang  Bay.  Bawean,  with  its  fringing  reef  and  cone 
2,000  feet  high,  is  distinguished  by  its  igneous  origin  from  all  the  other 
islands  in  these  waters.  Farther  east  the  Solombo  group,  about  midway  between 
Madura  and  Borneo,  is  very  low,  nowhere  presenting  any  eminence,  except  on 
Great  Solombo. 

Madura  itself  may  be  regarded  as  a  simple  dependence  of  Java,  forming  its 
north-eastern  extension.  On  their  north  side  both  mainly  consist  of  low-lying 
plains  continued  under  the  water  by  reefs  and  sandbanks.  The  south  coast,  on 
the  contrary,  is  steep  and  rocky,  plunging  abruptly  into  the  oceanic  depths.     Both 


Fig.  57. — Chief  Volcanoes  in  Java. 
Scale  1  :  10,000,000. 


j____^._^™^. 


;5^\\WV//;'-^,-^X,\\v 


iSI 


Cj 


seaboards  are  indented  by  bays  and  inlets  penetrating  some  considerable  distance 
inland,  although  as  a  whole  the  island  presents  the  almost  geometrical  aspect  of  a 
long  quadrilateral,  nearly  parallel  with  the  equator.  West  and  east  it  extends 
from  the  Java-hoofd  (Java  head)  in  a  straight  line  for  620  miles  to  Java's  Oost- 
hoek  (Java's  East  Point).  But  north  and  south  the  distance  varies  greatly, 
narrowing  towards  the  centre  to  about  half  of  its  normal  breadth.  Excluding 
Madura  and  the  smaller  indentations,  the  coast-line  has  a  total  length  of  2,100 
miles. 

Volcanoes  of  Java. 


The  western  has  a  much  greater  moan  elevation  than  the  eastern  section  of  the 
island,  forming  a  plateau  from  2,000  to  3,000  feet  high.  Here  also  the  mountains 
are  connected  by  lofty  ridges  or  saddles,  the  former  intervening  valleys  having 


JAVA.  151 

been  to  a  great  extent  filled  in  by  outflows  of  lavas  and  showers  of  ashes  and  scoriaj. 
Eastwards  the  island  falls  gradually  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  sea ;  but  towards  the 
extreme  east  the  mountains  again  rise  with  a  uniform  slope  from  base  to  summit. 
The  volcanoes,  which  follow  from  one  end  of  the  island  to  the  other,  are  not 
developed  in  a  continuous  chain,  and  in  many  places  are  separated  one  from  the 
other  by  a  distance  of  30  miles. 

But  it  is  noteworthy  that  they  are  often  grouped  two,  three,  or  four  together, 
forming  independent  ridges,  whose  axes  run,  not  parallel  with,  but  obliquely 
athwart  the  main  axis  of  the  island.  They  are  in  fact  disposed  mainly  in  the 
direction  of  the  axis  of  Sumatra,  while  by  a  remarkable  contrast  those  of  Sumatra 
itself  run  parallel  with  Java.  Thus  the  crevasses  through  which  the  lavas  were 
ejected  appear  to  have  been  caused  in  both  islands  as  it  were  by  a  sort  of  inter- 
change of  the  igneous  forces.  The  underground  energies  are  also  about  balanced, 
for  the  Javanese  Semeru  is  only  a  few  feet  lower  than  Indrapura  and  Korinchi,  the 
highest  volcanoes  in  the  neighbouring  region.  Altogether  the  mountains  of  Java 
are  not  inferior  in  mean  altitude  to  those  of  Sumatra,  while  the  absence  of  subja- 
cent terraces  gives  them  a  greater  relative  elevation  above  their  base. 

Java  also  differs  from  Sumatra  in  the  rarity  of  longitudinal  valle3's  between 
the  parallel  crests  and  in  the  absence  of  lacustrine  basins.  The  mean  altitude  of 
the  whole  island  is  estimated  by  Junghuhn  at  somewhat  less  than  1,650  feet. 

Of  the  volcanoes,  two  near  the  north  coast,  Karang  at  the  north-west  corner, 
and  Murio  (Murya)  in  the  peninsula  east  of  Semarang  Bay,  appear  to  belong 
to  an  indejjendent  igneous  system.  Both  occupy  isolated  positions  on  the  j)lains, 
so  that  a  rise  in  the  former  case  of  1,000,  in  the  latter  of  15  or  IG  feet  above  the 
present  sea-level,  would  suffice  to  convert  them  into  islands.  Thej'  are  still  sur- 
rounded by  alluvial  deposits  which  rest  against  the  northern  flanks  of  hills  belong- 
ing to  the  tertiary  age  and  disposed  parallel  with  the  main  Javanese  axis.  In  the 
same  way  the  volcanoes  on  the  opposite  side  skirt  the  northern  base  of  other 
tertiary  heights  which  run  in  a  line  with  the  south  coast.  Java  in  fact,  according 
to  Junghuhn,  consists  of  two  islands  merged  in  one ;  but  the  southern  alone  is 
intact,  of  the  northern  nothing  remaining  except  fragments.  It  has  disappeared 
between  the  provinces  of  Cheribon  and  Yajjara,  where  the  seaboard  develops  a 
large  marine  gulf,  and  beyond  which  Madura  is  separated  by  a  strait  from  the 
Javanese  plains. 

Nevertheless,  the  original  coastline  may  still  be  recognised,  being  continued 
eastwards  by  a  series  of  small  groups  comprising  the  Sapudi,  Kangean,  and  Pater- 
noster archipelagoes.  Southwards  is  developed,  like  a  vast  breakwater,  the  parallel 
chain  of  large  islands  from  Bali  to  Nila,  forming  an  eastern  extension  of  the  main 
Javanese  volcanic  range.  The  terminal  points  of  the  disruptured  northern  island 
would  appear  to  be  Krakatau  in  the  west,  and  in  the  east  Gunung  Api,  or  "  Moun- 
tain of  Fire,"  north  of  "\Yetter  Island. 

Both  Karang  and  Murio  appear  to  be  at  present  in  a  state  of  repose,  the  former 
alone  with  the  twin  Pidasari  cone  emitting  some  sul2)hurous  vapours.  But  in  the 
Southern  chain,  Salak,  highest  of  the  first  volcanic  group  going  eastwards  (7,300 


152 


AUSTRALASIA. 


feet)  was  still  active  in  1699,  when  streams  of  mud  and  sand  were  ejected  in  such 
vast  quantities  that  some  of  the  neighbouring  valleys  were  completely  dammed  up 
and  converted  into  temporary  lakes.  The  main  line  of  the  Javanese  railway  sys- 
tem passes  along  the  east  foot  of  Salak,  here  crossing  the  Tjitjurug  pass  at  a  height 
of  1,700  foet. 

East  of  this  pass  follow  the  far  loftier  cones  of  Gede,  or  the  "  Great "  (9,800 
feet),  which  gives  its  name  to  a  whole  group,  and  the  neighbouring  Mandala- 
Wangi,  which  exceeds  it  by  200  feet.     The  Gede,  properly  so  culled,  has  frequently 

Fig.  58. — GrEDE  Volcano. 
Snale  1  :  80,000. 


ejected  scoriaB,  and  from  its  breached  crater,  about  4,000  feet  in  circumference,  jets 
of  vapour  are  still  emitted  ;  sulphur  is  also  deposited  on  the  encircling  walls,  while 
copious  thermal  streams  flow  from  the  flanks  of  the  mountain.  Gede  is  connected 
by  a  narrow  ridge  with  another  and  far  larger  crater,  which  from  the  Sala  wall  on 
the  south  to  Panggerango  on  the  north  side  has  a  circuit  of  about  two  and  a  half 
miles.  It  is  wooded  to  the  summit,  terminating  in  an  inclined  terrace,  whence 
numerous  rivulets  rapidly  converge  in  a  broad  stream,  which  was  till  recently 
visited  by  the  rhinoceros.     From  this  terrace,  the  highest  point  of  observation  in 


JAVA. 


153 


West  Java,  a  panoramic  view  is  commauded  of  both  seas,  with  the  intervening  hills 
and  plains,  forests,  villages,  and  surrounding  plantations. 

South  of  the  Gede  highlands  the  tertiary  rocks,  limestones,  clays,  and  sand- 


stones attain  their  greatest  development.  Nearly  everywhere  carved  into  steep  cliffs 
800  to  1,000  feet  high,  these  white  and  yellowish  formations  rise  in  the  Breng- 
Brcng  Peak  to  an  altitude  of  over  6,500  feet.  But  farther  east  they  disappear 
beneath  the  talus  of  scoriaj  and  lava  streams  of  the  Patuha  volcano  (7,800  feet). 


154  AUSTRALASIA. 

Here  the  crater  is  flooded  witli  an  "  alum  lake,"  tliat  is,  with  water  saturated  with 
sulphur  and  alum,  at  the  normal  atmospheric  temperature.  But  a  few  miles  to  the 
north-east,  at  the  source  of  the  Chi  Widei,  lies  a  cirque  of  hot  mud  emitting  acid 
vapours  of  a  sulj)hurous  odour,  which  are  disintegrating  the  surrounding  rocks. 

East  of  Patuha  the  volcanic  cones  follow  in  great  apparent  disorder,  connected 
with  each  other  by  elevated  ridges,  and  enclosing  upland  valleys,  whence  the 
streams  flow  through  narrow  outlets  to  northern  river  basins.  One  of  these  volca- 
noes, the  Malabar,  or  Rose  Mountain  (7,800  feet),  no  longer  retains  its  conic  shape  ; 
its  crater  is  almost  effaced,  and  its  former  activity  is  indicated  only  by  two  thermal 
springs.  But  farther  south.  Mount  "Wajang  (7,200  feet)  still  preserves  on  its 
west  flank  a  magnificent  solfatara,  a  little  geyser  with  a  jet  of  10  feet,  recurring 
at  intervals  of  two  or  three  minutes,  and  a  stream  of  sidphur  and  alum  waters. 
Stdl  more  active  is  Papandajan,  or  the  "Forge"  (8,700  feet),  whose  breached 
crater  contains  nearly  all  the  elements  of  volcanic  laboratories,  sulphurous  swamps 
at  boiling  point,  mud  cones,  snorting,  groaning,  and  ejecting  mud  and  stones,  hot 
springs  and  jets  rushing  out  with  a  hissing  sound.  All  the  voices  of  the  volcano 
are  merged  in  one  deafening  yet  rhythmic  uproar,  suggesting  a  vast  workshop  with 
the  voice  of  a  thousand  hammers  mingling  with  its  hissing  jets  of  vapour.  A 
rivulet  which  enters  the  "  Forge  "  pure  and  limpid,  emerges  boiling  and  saturated 
with  sulphur.  In  1772,  Papandajan  was  the  scene  of  one  of  tie  most  tremendous 
eruptions  of  modern  times,  but  at  that  time  the  district  had  been  visited  by  no 
Eui'opean  naturalist,  and  the  reports  of  the  natives  are  of  a  contradictorj^  character. 

North  of  Papandajan,  but  forming  part  of  the  same  group,  stands  the  Gunoug 
Guntur,  or  "  Thunder  Mountain  "  (7,450  feet),  which,  unlike  all  the  other  Java- 
nese mountains,  is  absolutely  bare  from  base  to  summit.  It  forms  a  huge  greyish 
black  mass  jDresenting  a  uniform  surface  broken  only  by  the  lava  blocks  half  buried 
in  the  scoria.  During  eruptions  the  whole  cone  has  been  illumined  by  the  burning 
ashes  ejected  from  its  crater,  for  Guntur  ranks  with  Lamongan  as  the  most  active 
volcano  in  Java.  The  surrounding  plantations  have  often  been  covered  with  the 
ashes  ejected  during  its  outbursts.  In  1843  Junghuhn  estimated  at  ten  million 
tons  the  quantity  of  sands  thrown  to  a  height  of  10,000  feet,  and  for  a  time  darken- 
ing the  face  of  the  sun  ;  yet  this  was  only  a  minor  display. 

Galimgung,  or  the  "  Cymbal  Mountain"  (7,400  feet),  although  less  active  than 
Guntur,  was  the  theatre  of  two  terrific  outbm'sts  in  1822,  when  the  din  was  heard 
over  the  whole  island.  The  showers  of  stones  and  ashes  were  on  both  occasions 
accompanied  by  a  deluge  of  mud,  the  pent-up  reservoirs  overflowing  on  the  sur- 
rounding plains,  and  covering  villages,  rice  fields,  coffee  plantations,  and  forests 
with  a  layer  of  greyish  blue  mud  in  some  places  50  feet  thick.  All  vegetation 
had  disappeared  for  a  space  of  over  12  miles,  and  114  villages,  with  a  total 
population  of  4,000,  were  completely  inundated.  Magnificent  forests  have  since 
I'esumed  possession  of  the  flanks  of  the  volcano  and  surrounding  district.  A 
little  to  the  west  lies  the  Telaga  Bodas,  or  "  White  Lake,"  where  the  sulphurous 
clays  are  kej)t  at  boiling  point  by  incessant  jets  of  vapour.  In  the  neighbourhood 
is  the  famous  Pajagalan,  or  "Field  of  Slaughter,"  which  emits  deadly  exhalations, 


JAVA.  155 

and  which  is  always  strewn  with  the  carcases  of  wild  cats,  squirrels,  snakes,  birds, 
and  at  times  even  tigers  and  rhinoceroses,  suffocated  by  the  carbonic  acid,  and  pre- 
served from  putrefaction.  But  the  emanations  vary  considerably  in  quantity  and 
even  in  quality,  and  occasionally  the  district  may  be  traversed  without  risk. 

The  other  volcanoes  of  this  region,  such  as  Tjikurai  (9,350  feet),  and  Sawal 
(5,860  feet),  have  been  quiescent  throughout  the  historic  period,  and  no  igneous 
phenomena  occur  on  the  chain  of  hills  falling  gradually  eastwards  down  to  the 
Tanduwi  delta. 

The  elevated  Bandong  plain,  which  stretches  north  of  the  Preang  volcanoes,  and 
in  which  are  collected  the  headstreams  of  the  Tarum,  is  dominated  on  the  north  by 
a  volcanic  system  running  west  and  east.  Burangrang  (6,840  feet),  the  first  link 
of  the  chain,  forms  a  truchytic  mass  whose  eruptions  were  antecedent  to  all  history  ; 
but  it  is  followed bj'  Tangkuban  Prahu  (6,900  feet),  which  is  still  active.  Tampomas 
(5,600  feet),  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  system,  seems  to  be  also  extinct,  although 
some  sulphurous  gases  still  escape  from  a  fissure  in  its  flank. 

Gunong  Tjerimai  (10,200  feet),  near  Cheribon  Bay,  and  also  called  Mount 
Cheribon  from  the  town  at  its  foot,  has  a  perfectly  regular  crater  some  hundred 
yards  deep,  inhabited  by  thousands  of  swallows.  Beyond  this  point  Java  is  con- 
tracted between  two  gulfs,  which  forjnerly  penetrated  much  farther  inland  than 
at  present.  Here  the  main  waterparting  falls  to  about  3,000  feet ;  but  in  the 
neighbourhood  Mount  Slamat,  a  recent  and  perfectly  regular  cone,  rises  in  isolated 
majesty  to  a  height  of  11,400  feet.  Its  sloj)es  are  forest-clad  to  within  2,500  feet 
of  the  crater,  which  ejects  with  the  roar  of  a  cataract  a  dense  column  of  vapours, 
which  the  upper  atmospheric  currents  alw^aj's  carry  westwards. 

The  volcano,  of  which  Prahu  (8,420  feet)  is  but  a  lateral  ruin,  was  in  prehistoric 
times  probably  the  culminating  point  of  Java.  But  the  upper  cone  was  blown 
away  during  former  eruptions,  leaving  nothing  but  fragments  of  its  perifihery, 
Prahu  on  the  north,  Pakuoejo  on  the  east  and  Wisma  on  the  south  side.  All  the 
intermediate  space  is  occupied  by  the  irregular  plateau  of  Dieng,  a  term  often 
applied  to  thewhole  group.  This  plateau,  on  which  stands  the  highest  village  in 
Java,  in  the  midst  of  tobacco  plantations,  presents  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
igneous  phenomena  in  the  island.  Here  are  grouped  in  close  proximity  eruptive 
craters,  lava  streams,  hot  lakes  saturated  with  chemical  substances,  solf ataras,  thermal 
springs,  rivulets  of  boiling  water,  gases  and  vapour  jets.  Here  also,  in  a  depres- 
sion between  two  streamlets,  lies  the  Pakaraman,  or  Guwa  Upas,  that  is,  "  Valley 
of  Death,"  described  by  some  travellers  as  a  desolate  plain,  on  which  no  one  dares 
to  venture  except  at  imminent  peril.  Yet  it  is  nothing  but  a  simple  cavity  a  few 
yards  broad,  whence  is  occasionally  emitted  a  little  carbonic  acid  gas.  Its  celebi-ity 
is  doubtless  due  to  the  religious  traditions  associated  with  the  Dieng  plateau, 
which  was  formerly  much  frequented  by  the  worshippers  of  Siva,  god  of  destruc- 
tion. Even  on  the  terminal  crest  of  Prahu,  not  far  from  the  summit,  are  still  seen 
abandoned  temples,  while  other  sanctuaries  are  scattered  round  about.  Structures 
have  also  been  recognised  which  served  as  refuges  for  the  pilgrims,  besides  a  gigantic 
flight  of  steps  by  which  the  faithful  reached  the  edge  of  the  jjlateau,  and  an  under- 


15G 


AUSTRALASIA. 


ground  caual  which  diaiued  a  neighbouring  marshy  valley.  In  one  of  the  caves 
Junghuhn  even  discovered  a  Hindu  inscription,  whicli,  however,  has  not  yet  been 
decijjhered.  The  importance  of  the  architectural  works  attests  the  presence  of  a 
co'nsiderable  population  in  these  uplands  during  the  period  of  Sivaite  civiKsation. 
But  the  volcanic  eruptions,  aided  perhaps  by  the  zeal  of  Mussulman  propagandists, 
spread  desolation  over  the  Dieng  plateau,  which  reverted  to  a  state  of  nature  till 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  when  the  first  attempts  were  again  made  to 
bring  it  under  cultivation. 

South  of  this  district  follow  the    superb  cones  of  Siudoro   (10,400   feet)   and 

Fig.  60.— DiENO. 
Scale  1  :  00,000. 


Sumbing  (11,000),  known  to  navigators  in  these  waters  as  the  "  Two  Brothers." 
Siudoro,  that  is  "  Majestic,"  is  the  finest  of  all  the  Javanese  volcanoes,  with  per- 
fectly regular  outlines  and  truncated  cone,  as  if  the  summit  had  been  cleaved  by 
the  stroke  of  a  sword.  The  lavas  flowing  uniformly  down  its  flanks  have  pene- 
trated northwards  into  the  breached  crater  of  Telerejj,  and  southwards  to  the 
more  precipitous  slopes  of  Sumbing.  Although  higher  than  Sindoro,  Sumbing  is 
less  symmetrical ;  but  it  is  specially  distinguished  by  the  surprising  regularitj^  of 
the  ridges  radiating  in  all  directions  from  the  summit  to  the  base  with  intervening 
ravines  excavated  by  the  running  waters  to  depths  of  from  250  to  300  feet.  The  Two 
Brothers  appear  to  be  all  but  extinct,  the  only  indication  of  activity  being  a  few 


JAVA. 


157 


jets  of  vapour.  Sumbing  occupies  almost  exactly  the  centre  of  Java,  and  the 
neighbouring  ilount  Tidar  (1,680  feet)  is  spoken  of  by  the  natives  as  the  "nail  " 
by  which  the  island  has  been  fixed  to  the  surface  of  the  globe. 

Telerep   is  connected  by  a  low    water-parting   with  Ungaran    (6,800    feet). 
which  is  itself  connected  by  a  range  of  hills  with  the  twin  cones  of  Meibabu 


Fig.  fil. — GtraoNO  Sewtt. 

Scile  1  :  75,000. 


^- ...     'M 


S-    '-' 


(10,320  feet)  and  Merapi  (9,-jOO)  facing  Sindoro  and  Sumbing  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  broad  Kadu  valley.  Merbabu  appears  to  have  been  in  repose  since 
1560,  when  the  last  recorded  outburst  took  place.  But  Merapi,  the  "destroying 
fire,"  is  in  a  continual  state  of  restlessness,  ejecting  from  its  terminal  crater  a 
constant  volume  of  white  vapour,  which  sets  with  the  trade-winds  steadily  towards 


158 


AUSTRALASIA. 


the  west.  Nevertheless,  the  eruptions  that  have  taken  place  during  the  historic 
period  have  been  less  terrific  than  those  of  some  other  Javanese  volcanoes.  Some 
of  Merapi's  trachytic  walls  have  a  columnar  formation  resembling  that  of  the 
Staffa  basalts. 

East  of  Merapi  the  igneous  system  is  completely  interrupted  bj'  the  alluvial 
valley  of  the  river  Solo.     In   this   part  of   the  island  the  main  range  consists  of 


Fig.  62. — South-West  Slopes  of  Kelut. 
Scale  1  :  200,000. 


"'//I//,;«J%J-?-^ 


'/'  i  i^>/'/;l 


East   oF   Greenw  ch 


^V^\  i  J..!^ 


milk-white  limestone  rocks  known  by  the  name  of  Gunong  Sewu,  or  the  "  Thou- 
sand Mountains,"  and  developing  a  long  line  of  cliffs  on  the  southern  seaboard. 
The  highest  peaks  rise  to  about  2,000  feet ;  but  most  of  the  "  thousand " 
eminences  scattered  over  the  plateau  range  from  100  feet  to  little  over  200 
feet.  They  are  separated  by  winding  valleys  shaded  by  the  finest  forest 
trees.     Some  of  the  narrow  longitudinal  dales,  mostly  overgrown  with  tall  grasses, 


JAVA.  159 

are  closed,  at  both  extremities,  the  water  which  accumulates  during  the  wet 
monsoon  escaping  through  underground  luirangit,  or  channels,  seawards.  The 
Gunong  Sewn  district  is  described  by  Junghuhn  as  the  loveliest  in  Java,  its 
shady  avenues,  gently  sloping  hills,  grassy  dells  and  villages  surrounded  by 
gardens  recalling  the  sjdvan  beauties  of  more  temperate  lands. 

North-east  of  the  Gunong  Sewu  and  of  a  more  elevated  semicircle  of  other 
sedimentary  hills,  the  Gunong  Lawu  rises  in  nearly  isolated  majesty  to  an 
altitude  of  10,800  feet.  The  three  domes  of  this  volcano,  which  was  formerly 
venerated  by  the  worshippers  of  Siva,  are  not  pierced  by  craters;  but  vapours  still 
escape  from  the  deep  crevasses  on  the  south  side.  The  Gunong  Willis  (8,500  feet), 
some  50  miles  beyond  Lawu  in  the  same  igneous  range,  no  longer  presents  the 
form  of  a  volcano.  The  supreme  cone  was  probably  blown  away  during  some 
prehistoric  explosion,  and  now  nothing  remains  except  a  long,  irregular,  and 
craterless  eminence.  Thermal  sjDrings  and  solfataras,  however,  still  attest  the 
existence  of  underground  forces,  both  here  and  in  the  smaller  Mount  Pandan 
(3,000  feet),  which  stands  out  on  the  plains  to  the  north  of  Willis. 

South  of  Surabaya  and  its  fluvial  delta,  Java  is  occupied  by  a  transverse  system 
of  other  volcanoes,  of  which  the  Gunong  Kelut  (5,750  feet),  lying  nearest  of 
Willis,  is  the  most  dreaded  by  the  natives.  Its  crater,  at  least  650  feet  deep,  is 
flooded  by  a  fresh-water  tarn,  whose  contents  were  estimated  by  Junghuhn  in 
1844  at  2,000  millions  of  cubic  feet.  During  eruptions,  when  the  igneous  outlet 
lies  below  the  lake,  the  liquid  mass  is  converted  into  steam,  which  rises  in  dense 
volumes  emitting  flashes  of  light  and  then  falling  on  the  slopes  in  tremendous 
downpours  of  water  mixed  with  the  sands  ejected  by  the  volcano.  Channels  of 
trachj-tic  scoriae  furrowing  the  flanks  of  the  mountain  from  summit  to  base  recall 
the  rush  of  these  sudden  torrents,  which  deluge  the  surrounding  plains,  sweeping 
away  the  crops,  uprooting  forest  trees,  and  razing  the  villages  to  the  ground. 
In  1848  the  regular  detonation  of  the  gases  which  changed  the  lake  into  clouds  of 
vapour,  produced  an  uproar  that  was  heard  throughout  nearly  the  whole  of 
Indonesia.  The  Macassar  people  in  Celebes,  500  miles  off  and  under  the  lee  of 
the  explosion,  were  terrified  by  what  seemed  like  the  roar  of  artillery,  and 
despatched  vessels  to  scour  the  neighbouring  seas. 

The  other  volcanoes  of  this  system  are  extinct,  or  at  least  have  retained  but  a 
feeble  remnant  of  their  former  energy.  The  triple-crested  Kawi,  whose  highest 
peak,  the  Butak,  attains  an  altitude  of  9,500  feet,  has  preserved  no  solfataras,  and 
only  a  solitary  thermal  spring;  the  mighty  Arjuno  (11,000  feet),  where  the 
Sivaites  formerly  offered  sacrifices,  emits  vapours  only  from  one  fissure,  while 
Penanggimgan  (5,500  feet),  last  of  the  chain  south  of  Surabaya,  appears  to  be 
completely  quiescent.  Nevertheless,  in  the  main  axis  of  the  system,  some  12 
miles  from  Surabaj'a,  two  mud  volcanoes  have  made  their  appearance,  which  are 
about  30  feet  high,  and  which  are  usually  active  at  the  turn  of  the  tide.  From 
one  are  ejected  fragments  of  bricks,  which  must  come  from  the  Hindu  structures 
of  the  ancient  city  of  Mojo-Pahit,  which  formerly  stood  much  farther  to  the 
west. 


160 


AUSTRALASIA. 


-Tenggeb  and  Semeku. 
Scale  1  :  300,000. 


The  Arjuno  chain  is  connected  by  a  ridge  scarcely  1,650  feet  high  with 
another  igneous  grouj),  comprising  the  Tengger  and  Semeru  volcanoes  The 
former  has  the  largest  crater  in  Java,  while  the  latter,  to  the  south  of  it,  is  the 
highest  peak  in  the  island  (12,100  feet).  From  its  crater  was  discharged  in  1885 
a  lava  stream  estimated  at  over  10,000,000  cubic  feet,  the  first  of  the  kind  recorded 

in  Java,  where  till  recently 
the  volcanoes  were  supposed 
to  eject  no  molten  matter, 
but  only  solid  substances, 
such  as  ashes  and  stones. 
Semeru  takes  its  name 
from  the  Indian  Meru,  the 
holy  mountain  at  all  times 
venerated  by  the  Hindus  and 
Tibetans.  Tengger  (9,000 
feet)  is  of  extremely  regular 
form,  and  from  its  summit 
are  emitted  at  short  intervals 
columns  of  vapour  and  scoria;, 
black  by  day,  red  at  night. 
It  was  formerly  probably  as 
high  as  Semeru  ;  but  of  the 
ujtper  part  all  "has  disappeared 
except  the  outer  walls,  which 
form  a  vast  enclosure  about 
15  miles  in  circuit,  here  and 
there  interrupted  by  gaps 
and  breaches  and  rising  in 
some  places  1,650  feet  above 
the  inner  plain.  This  level 
plain,  which  was  formerly  the 
crater,  and  which  has  a  mean 
altitude  of  over  6,500  feet, 
bears  the  name  of  Dasar,  or 
"  Sea  of  Sand,"  mostly  con- 
sisting of  the  finest  dvist, 
^  ,,.,  movable  in  dry  weather,  but 

— ^■^— — ^^^^^— — ^—  6  Miles.  •' 

changed  by  the  rains  to  the 
consistency  of  clay.  From  the  centre  rise  a  few  sandy  hills,  one  of  which,  the  Bromo, 
still  constantly  ejects  smoke,  and  has  at  times  been  the  scene  of  tremendous  out- 
bursts. Its  crater  is  alternately  flooded  by  a  small  lake  and  filled  by  a  mass  of 
molten  lava.  The  term  Bromo  is  merely  a  corruption  of  Brahma.  The  last  Javanese 
who  professed  the  Hindu  religion  took  refuge  on  the  slopes  of  Tengger,  and  their 
descendants  still  celebrate  feasts  in  honour  of  the  Devo-Bromo,  or  "God  Brahma." 


b^.t.t- 


- . '  :^, 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

JNlVERSITYofltLlNOlS, 


VOLCANOES  OF  JAVA. 


ICl 


A  cliain  of  hills,  crossed  by  a  pass  830  feet  high,  connects  Mount  Lemongan  on 
the  east  with  another  igneous  system  whose  numerous  peaks  are  collectively  known 
by  the  name  of  Ajang.  Before  1844  this  hilly  region,  which  also  comprises  a  broud 
forest-clad  plateau,  was  completely  unknown ;  but  in  that  year  it  was  discovered 
by  Junghuhn,  the  indefatigable  explorer  of  Java.  Close  to  the  summit  of 
Argopura,  the  highest  peak  (10,200  feet),  he  noticed  the  ruins  of  a  temple  of  Siva, 
and  other  structures  scattered  round  about  explain  the  name  of  this  summit, 
which  in  the  Kavi,  or  old  Javanese,  language  means  the  "Mountain  City."      One 

Fig:.  64. — Lemonoan. 
So  lie  1  :  150,0W. 


C: 


:)'^l'''l-  0 


J1-. 


m-_ 


East   oF  Greenwich 


of  the  sanctuaries,  corroded  by  the  acid  vapours,  shows  that  during  the  last  iive 
hundred  years  the  quiescent  volcano  has  been  the  theatre  of  at  least  one  disturbance. 

The  Gunong  Ringgit  (4,150  feet),  which  projects  seawards  at  the  north-east 
extremity  of  the  Ajang  range,  is  also  at  present  quiescent ;  but  towards  the  close 
of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  rent  asunder ;  enormous  quantities  of  ashes  were 
hurled  in  the  air,  and  when  the  sun  reappeared  after  three  days  of  darkness  caused 
bj^  the  dense  volumes  of  black  clouds,  it  was  found  that  all  the  surrounding 
villages  had  disappeared  with  their  inhabitants.  The  traces  of  the  eruption  are 
still  visible,  although  the  mountain  has  now  neither  crater,  solfataras,  nor  thermal 
springs. 

Like  the  western  extremity  ol  the  island,  the  east  coast  facing  Bali  is  also 
dominated  by  volcanoes.     A  circular  plateau,  which  was  formerly  perhaps  a  vast 

NOL.    XIV.  M 


162  AUSTRALASIA. 

crater,  is  encircled  bj'  a  diadem  of  lofty  peaks,  such  as  the  Rami  (11,00U  feet)  on 
the  south-west,  Kendeng  on  the  north-west,  Kukusan  on  the  north-east,  Merapi 
and  others  on  the  south-east,  often  collectively  known  as  the  Gunong  Ijeu,  or 
"Isolated  Mountain."  The  waters  that  collect  on  this  plateau  were  formerly 
confined  in  a  lacustrine  basin,  but  now  escape  northwards  through  a  gorge 
between  Kendeng  and  Kukusan.  The  crater  of  Rann  at  the  time  of  Jungbuhn's 
visit  had  a  circuit  of  about  three  miles  and  a  depth  of  no  less  than  2,400  feet, 
being  the  deepest  of  any  yet  explored  in  Java.  But  all  these  encircling  volcanoes 
are  now  extinct  or  quiescent  except  Merapi,  whose  crater,  like  that  of  Kelut,  is 
flooded  by  a  freshwater  lake,  which,  during  eruptions,  is  changed  to  steam  and 
precipitated  in  the  same  way  on  the  surrounding  district.  During  the  outburst  of 
1817,  houses  and  inhabitants  were  swept  awaj',  and  the  strait  flowing  between 
Java  and  Bali  contracted  by  the  formation  of  new  land.  The  south-eastern' head- 
land of  Java,  formerly  an  island,  has  thus  been  joined  to  the  mainland  by  showers 
of  scoriae,  while  the  extinct  Baluran  (4,300  feet),  at  the  north-east  extremity,  is 
separated  only  by  a  sill  50  feet  high  from  the  Gunong  Ijen  system. 

The  island  of  Madura,  close  to  the  north  coast,  has  a  somewhat  irregular 
surface  of  limestone  rocks,  the  highest  of  which,  Tambuku,  at  the  east  end,  has  an 
elevation  of  little  over  1,500  feet.  As  in  Java  itself,  Yerbeek's  .survey  shows  that 
in  Madura  there  is  no  trace  of  triassic,  Jurassic,  or  chalk  formations. 

Although  the  igneous  are  far  less  extensive  than  the  sedimentary  rocks  in  Java, 
this  island  receives  its  characteristic  aspect  from  its  forty-five  conspicuous  volcanoes 
with  their  lateral  cones,  lavas,  and  scoriae.  As  the  mariner  approaches  its  shores, 
his  gaze  is  irresistibly  attracted  by  these  lofty  symmetrical  cones,  towering  above 
the  wooded  plains,  now  purpled  in  the  solar  rays,  now  of  a  jmle  blue,  standing  out 
against  the  deeper  azure  of  the  sky,  at  times  surmounted  by  a  wreath  of  white 
vapours,  at  sunset  flushed  with  pink  like  the  snowy  Alpine  peaks.  At  different 
epochs,  but  especially  during  later  tertiary  times,  all  these  burning  mountains 
have  taken  part  in  the  transformation  of  the  island ;  even  during  the  historic 
p^iod  more  than  twenty  of  them  have  contributed  greatly  to  modify  the  profile 
and  contours  of  the  land,  transforming  what  was  before  a  chain  of  separate 
islands,  like  the  Lesser  Sundas,  into  one  continuous  insular  mass  stretching  from 
]5ali  to  Sumatra.  This  action  of  the  underground  agencies  appears  also  to  have 
been  aided  by  a  process  of  slow  upheaval,  which  is  still  going  on  ;  in  many  places, 
the  beach  and  coral  reefs  have  thus  been  I'aised  twenty,  thirty,  and  even  fifty  feet 
above  the  present  sea-level.  ^ 

RivEKs  OF  Java. 

Owing  to  the  position  of  the  volcanic  ranges,  lying  for  the  most  part  much 
nearer  to  the  Indian  Ocean  than  to  the  inland  seas,  the  northern  are  far  more 
extensive  than  the  southern  fluvial  basins,  scarcely  any  of  which  are  navigable. 
The  north-western  plains  about  Batavia  are  watered  by  numerous  streams,  the 
largest  of  which  is  the  Tarum,  which  rises  on  the  slopes  of  the  southern  volcanoes, 


EIVEES  OF  JAVA.  U18 

and,  after  escaping  from  the  Randong  plateau  through  a  gorge  iu  the  northern 
range,  reaches  the  sea  to  the  east  of  Batavia  Bay  after  a  course  of  about  140  miles, 
of  which  50  are  accessible  to  small  craft.  The  observations  taken  on  the  spot 
show  that  its  delta  is  encroaching  on  the  sea  at  a  mean  rate  of  rather  moi-e  than 
22  inches  yearly. 

But  the  main  fluvial  artery  of  the  northern  slope  is  the  Solo   (Bengawan, 

Fig.  6-5. — NusA  Kembanoax. 
Scale  1  :  650,000. 


East  oF  Gr 


Deptha. 


Sambaya),  whose  farthe.'^t  waters  rise  in  the  "  Thousand  jMountains,"  within  i 
or  8  miles  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  After  the  confluence  of  the  two  chief  branches 
north-east  of  Mount  Lawu,  the  main  stream  pierces  a  rocky  gorge,  beyond-which  it 
becomes  navigable  for  vessels  of  a  considerable  draught.  It  would  even  be 
accessible  to  large  sea-going  ships  but  for  the  banks  at  its  mouth  covered  only 
by  6  or  7  feet  of  water.  In  its  navigable  part,  the  Solo,  which  has  a  total 
length  of  300  miles,  flows  first  to  the  north-east  and  then  to  the  east  through  tho 

M  2 


164  ■  AUSTRALASIA. 

natural  depression  between  the  two  parallel  sections  of  the  island  to  its  delta  in 
Surabaya  Strait  over  against  the  western  extremity  of  Madura. 

At  its  southern  entrance  this  shallow  passage  receives  another  large  river,  the 
Brantas  or  Kediri,  which,  although  ranking  next  in  size  to  the  Solo,  is  scarcely 
navigable  except  during  the  floods.  The  Brantas,  which  also  rises  very  near  the 
Indian  Ocean  south  of  the  Kawi  volcano,  is  remarkable  for  the  quantity  of 
sediment  it  washes  down,  and  for  the  disproportionate  size  of  its  constantly 
increasing  delta. 

On  the  southern  slope  of  the  island  the  chief  streams  are  the  Progo,  whose 
farthest  waters  flow  from  the  Sindoro  and  Sumbing  volcanoes  on  the  west,  and 
Merapi  and  Merbabu  on  the  east ;  the  Seraju,  fed  by  numerous  tributaries  from 
the  Sumbing,  Slamat,  and  other  volcanoes,  and  navigable  in  its  lower  course ; 
lastly,  the  Tanduwi,  whose  headstreams  descend  from  the  Sawal  Mountains,  and 
whose  broad  estuary  is  accessible  to  steamers.  In  its  lower  course  the  Tanduwi 
winds  through  a  vast  marine  inlet,  which  has  been  transformed  to  a  rawa,  or 
marshy  plain,  by  the  alluvial  matter  washed  down  with  the  surrounding  torrents. 
Of  the  original  inlet  nothing  now  remains  except  the  shallow  Segara  Anakan, 
which  is  already  nearly  cut  off  from  the  high  sea  by  the  long  rocky  island  of 
Nusa  Kembangan.  This  island  itself,  which  has  greatly  contributed  to  the  silting 
up  of  the  inlet  by  preventing  the  sedimentary  matter  from  being  carried  sea- 
wards, is  now  separated  from  the  mainland  only  by  a  narrow  muddy  backwater  ; 
it  may  already  be  regarded  as  forming  an  integral  part  of  Java,  from  which  it 
was  formerly  detached  by  a  broad  intervening  channel. 

Climate. 

The  Javanese  climate  resembles  that  of  the  other  western  Indonesian  lands. 
ofi:ering  the  same  alternation  of  the  two  trade  winds,  which  here  assume  the 
character  of  monsoons.  Both  are  accompanied  by  a  certain  quantity  of  moisture, 
the  western  being  as  a  rule  the  more  humid  and  attended  by  the  more  stormy 
weather.  Being  partly  sheltei'ed  from  the  west  winds  by  Sumatra,  Java  receives 
less  moisture  than  the  uplands  of  that  island.  The  atmospheric  currents  are  also 
modified  by  the  disposition  of  the  mountain  ranges,  running  in  the  direction  from 
west  to  east.  The  south-east  trade  frequently  veers  round  to  the  south,  while  the 
west  monsoon  is  shifted  to  the  north.  The  northern  and  southern  seaboards  thus 
present  a  great  contrast,  due  to  the  direction  of  these  winds,  and  an  analogous 
contrast  is  offered  by  the  eastern  and  western  extremities  of  the  island  owing  to 
the  gradual  increase  of  dryness  as  we  approach  the  Australian  Continent. 

Other  differences  arise  from  local  conditions,  but  most  moisture  falls  everj^- 
where  on  the  westei-n  slopes  exposed  to  the  "bad"  monsoon.  Above  2,600  feet 
the  alternation  of  land  and  sea  breezes  is  no  longer  observed,  and  at  5,000  feet  the 
west  monsoon  loses  its  strength.  Still  higher  up  a  neutral  zone  prevails,  while 
the  highest  summits  are  subject  to  the  south-east  trade  alone.  Several  days 
seldom  pass  without  rain  on  the  uplands,  and  almost  every  evening  has  its  local 


FLORA  OP  JAVA.  165 

thunderstorm.  The  mean  annual  rainfall,  as  deduced  from  the  records  of  a 
hundred  meteorological  stations  for  the  last  eight  or  nine  years,  would  appear  to 
vary  from  a  little  over  40  to  nearly  200  inches.* 

Flora. 

The  Javanese  flora,  as  described  by  Miguel,  comprises  altogether  over  nine 
thousand  phanerogams,  of  which  three  thousand  have  native  names,  a  strong 
proof  of  the  remarkable  power  of  observation  of  the  inhabitants.  Thanks  to  its 
numerous  volcanoes,  following  each  other  like  islands  in  the  sea,  Java  presents  an 
endless  variety  of  vertical  vegetable  zones,  ranging  from  the  perennial  summer  of 
the  lower  slopes  and  plains  to  the  wintery,  or  at  least  autumnal  upland  regions. 
As  a  rule,  the  strictly  tropical  zone  scarcely'  rises  above  the  2,000  feet  line, 
beyond  which  few  palms  are  met.  Nevertheless  the  areng  {liomssus  gomutua), 
which  yields  a  fermented  drink,  sugar,  cordage,  foliage  for  thatching,  and  many 
other  useful  articles,  is  everywhere  found  in  the  interior  as  high  as  4,600  feet. 
The  finest  trees  flourish  between  2,000  and  6,500  feet,  their  aspect  becoming  more 
European  the  higher  they  ascend.  Here  such  western  species  as  the  oak,  majjle, 
and  chestnut,  are  found  associated  with  the  lakka  {myristica  inem)  and  the 
rasamala  (liquidambar  aUingiana),  giant  of  the  west  Javanese  woodlands. 

In  the  higher  regions  the  vigour  of  the  vegetation  is  gradually'  diminished, 
the  thickets  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  shrubs  and  small  plants,  such  as  the 
myrtle,  acacia,  thorn,  elder,  woodbine,  and  especially  the  woody  gnaphalium  and 
the  agapetes,  a  species  of  heath.  Several  of  '  the  volcanic  crests,  even  when 
emitting  no  gaseous  exhalations,  are  completely  bare  ;  yet  some  ancient  travellers 
attributed  the  noxious  emanations  to  the  presence  of  trees,  such  as  the  antyiar, 
to  approach  which  was  supposed  to  be  fatal.  But  this  plant  {anfiaris  to.ricaria)  is 
in  itself  in  no  way  dangerous,  although  it  yields  a  upas,  or  poisonous  sap.  It  is 
met  in  all  parts  of  Java,  as  well  as  of  other  Indonesian  regions,  where  it  is  used 
for  poisoning  arrow  and  spear  heads ;  it  kills  by  paralysing  the  action  of  the  heart. 

Next  to  the  cocoanut,  the  areng  and  bamboos,  one  of  the  most  valuable  indigenous 
plants  is  the  jati  or  teak  (fecfoiiia  granclk),  which  is  not  found  in  many  other  parts 
of  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  and  the  range  of  which  even  in  Java  has  much 
diminished  during  the  historic  period.  It  is  comparatively  rare  in  the  western 
provinces,  and  its  true  home  lies  between  the  Japara  headland  and  Madura,  in  the 
Rembang  residency,  where  it  occupies  more  especially  the  drier  districts  on  the 
plains  and  tlie  slopes  of  the  hiUs  to  a  height  of  over  800  feet.  But  extensive 
teak  forests  also  occur  everywhere  in  the  central  and  eastern  provinces,  and  this 
valuable  trefe  has  been  planted  along  the  highways  and  in  unoccupied  s])accs. 

F.\f.NA. 

Like  Sumatra  and  Borneo,  Java  also  presents  some  distinct  animal  species.     Of 

•  Mean  rainfall  of  Situbondo,  East  Java,  between  1879-8(i,  16  inches  :  of  Buitenzorp,  West  Jara, 
195  inches. 


1G(5  AUSTEALA8IA. 

about  a  Iniiulved  mammals  five  or  six,  and  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  kinds  of 
birds,  forty  are  peculiar  to  this  island.  But,  strange  to  say,  certain  animals 
characteristic  of  the  other  large  Indonesian  islands  are  not  met  in  Java  ;  here  are 
neither  the  elephant,  the  tapir,  nor  the  orang-utan,  but  instead  the  elegant  dwarf- 
deer,  a  perfect  miniature  of  the  common  European  deer.  Of  the  large  mammals, 
the  most  remarkable  are  the  rhinoceros  and  wild  ox,  but  the  former  have  become 
very  rare  and  are  already  restricted  to  the  western  provinces.  The  tiger  still 
infests  the  jungle  in  various  parts  of  the  island,  and  hundreds  of  human  beings 
yearly  fall  victims  to  its  ravages.  As  in  India,  when  their  teeth  are  worn  they 
often  become  man-eaters,  and  in  the  province  of  Bantam  whole  villages  have  had 
to  be  displaced  in  consequence  of  their  depredations.  The  crocodiles  are  also  very 
dangerous  in  certain  river.s,  although  causing  fewer  deaths  than  the  tigers.  The 
tokei,  a  lizard  of  gigantic  size,  is  so  named  from  its  cry,  which  a  stranger  might 
fancy  uttered  by  a  human  being. 

The  insular  dependencies  of  Java  present  some  peculiarities  in  their  faunas. 
Bawean  especially  almost  constitutes  a  little  zoological  world  apart,  and  even 
Nusa  Kembangan,  which  is  scarcely  more  than  a  peninsula  of  the  mainland,  has  a 
woodlark  {jiferopus  aicrriinus)  not  found  in  Java. 

Inhabitants. 

The  natives  of  Java  do  not  all  belong  to  a  common  national  group.  The 
Malays,  properly  so-called,  are  represented  only  by  immigrants,  and  are  in  the 
ascendant  only  in  a  section  of  the  province  of  Batavia,  whither  they  have  been 
attracted  by  trade  and  political  influ^ences.  The  rest  of  the  island  is  occupied  by 
the  Sundanese,  the  far  more  numerous  Javanese,  and  the  Madurese,  three  groups 
distinguished  chiefly  by  their  languages. 

Excluding  the  Malay  enclave  of  Batavia  and  the  north  coast,  where  the 
Javanese  language  has  prevailed,  the  western  part  of  Java  is  inhabited  by  the 
Sundanese  as  far  as  a  transverse  line  drawn  from  Cheribon  Bay  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Tanduwi.  The  term  Sunda  given  to  this  region  is  of  very  ancient  date,  and  the 
Sundanese,  or  "  Men  of  the  Soil,"  that  is,  aborigines,  thanks  to  the  hilly  nature  of 
their  territory,  have  better  preserved  their  primitive  usages  than  the  other 
inhabitants  of  the  island.  They  are  as  a  rule  taller,  more  robust,  and  healthier ; 
but  they  are  regarded  as  relatively  barbarous,  and  in  the  cohipany  of  Malays  or 
Javanese,  they  are  themselves  ashamed  of  their  dialect,  which  is  looked  on  as  a 
sort  of  rude  patois.  Less  developed  than  the  Javanese,  it  differs  little  from  it  in  the 
primitive  stock  of  words  and  structure,  but  it  contains  far  fewer  Sanskrit  terms, 
Hindu  influences  having  been  relatively  weak  in  the  Sundanese  highlands.  Yet 
the  people  at  onetime  accepted  Buddhism,  and  afterwards  Islam.  They  have  also 
suffered  much  from  invasions,  and  the  word  pi'eaiig,  which  gives  its  name  to  the 
Preanger  Regencies,  is  said  to  have  the  meaning  of  "  Land  of  Extermination." 

In  the  upper  Ujung  Valley,  near  the  western  extremity  of  the  island,  about  a 
thousand  Sundanese,  known  by  the  name  of  Badui,  still  i^ractise  pagan  rites  inter- 


J 


TXHABITAXTS  OF  JAA'A. 


Ifi7 


miugled  with  traces  oi:  Buddhism.  These  highlanders  are  distinguished  from  their 
Mohammedan  neighbours  by  their  honesty  and  more  correct  morals.  Amongst 
them  murder,  theft,  and  adultery  are  unknown,  and  visitors  guilty  of  any  mis- 
demeanoHr  are  banished  from  the  commune,  The  heads  of  the  villages  take 
the  names  of  "  father  "  and  "  source  of  joy." 

The  Javanese  proper,  representing  over  two-thirds  of  the  population,  occupy 
all  the  central  provinces  east  of  Cheribon  Bay,  as  well  as  the  northern  seaboard 
between  Cheribon  and  the  Sunda  Strait,  and  the  whole  of  the  south-east  coast. 
Their  ancient  liturgical  language,  the  Kavi,  that  is,  "  cultivated,"  contains  a  large 
number  of  Sanskrit  words.  It  has  been  preserved  from  oblivion  by  old  documents 
and  inscriptions,  and  numerous  traces  survive,  especially  in  Javanese  poetr}'.  The 
great  scenes  of  Hindu  mythology  are  still  commemorated  in  the  national  legends, 
poems,  theatrical  representations,  and  those  wajaiigs,  or  marionettes,  in  which  the 
natives  take  such  delig-ht. 


Fig.  66. — Inhabitants  op  Java. 

Scale  J  :  11,000,000. 


Sundanese.  Malays.  Javanese.  Madurese.  Tenggerese. 


Amid  the  Javanese  populations,  there  still  exists  a  communifj'  of  about  three 
thousand  fugitive  Sivaites,  who  have  preserved  both  their  Ilindu  practices  and 
their  ancient  dialect  largely  affected  by  '  elements  derived  from  the  sacred 
language.  These  are  the  Tengger  people,  who  have  taken  refuge  on  the  plateau 
of  that  name.  Here  they  occupy  large  houses  where  several  families  reside  imder 
one  roof,  and  where  they  keep  alive  the  sacred  flame,  which  has  never  been 
extinguished  since  it  was  brought  ages  ago  from  the  shores'  of  India. 

Modern  Javanese  is  divided  into  several  provincial  dialects,  each  of  which,  like 
the  Sundanese,  comprises  two  forms,  the  "high"  and  the  "low"  {Kiomo  and 
Ngoko),  the  first  used  in  addressing  superiors  or  equals  when  treated  ceremoniously, 
the  second  employed  amongst  friends  or  in  addressing  inferiors.  The  differences 
between  the  two  forms  are  profound,  affecting  the  Aocabulary,  the  phraseology, . 


108  AUSTRALASIA. 

and  to  some  extent  even  the  grammar.  Intermediate  between  the  two  is  the 
Madyo,  current  amongst  intimate  friends. 

The  dialect  of  the  island  of  Madura  differs  sufficiently  from  Javanese  to  be 
regarded  as  a  distinct  idiom.  It  is  spoken  not  only  in  Madura,  but  also  in  the 
eastern  parts  of  Java,  where  it  is  even  encroaching  on  the  Javanese,  just  as  the 
latter  is  upon  the  Sundanese.  All  three  are  written  with  characters  derived  from 
the  Indian  Devanagari. 

Physically  the  Javanese  are  noted  for  their  graceful  forms  and  delicate 
features.  They  are  rather  below  the  average  height,  but  always  of  sHm  and 
supple  figure,  and  even  better  proportioned  than  other  Malays.  The  complexion 
varies  from  a  pale  yellow  to  a  deep  olive,  according  to  occupation,  diet,  and 
locality.  The  nose,  without  being  flat,  is  but  slightly  prominent,  the  mouth  firm, 
the  eyes  broad  and  well  opened,  the  face  round,  with  a  kindly  courteous  expression, 
often  sad,  plaintive,  or  resigned.     Princes  wear  a  moustache  in  the  Hindu  style. 

Altogether  the  Javanese  are  an  extremely  mild  race,  although  by  some  accused 
of  being  fanatical,  faithless,  spitefid,  and  revengeful.  Inhabiting  a  land  well 
suited  for  tillage,  they  early  became  agriculturists,  and  long  raised  sufficient  to 
supply  the  local  demand.  However  rapidly  the  population  increased,  the  produce 
was  always  superabundant  in  a  region  where  a  few  hours'  labour  sufficed  to  procure 
three  daily  meals  of  rice  with  fish  and  a  little  buffalo  meat,  and  where  the  climate 
enabled  the  natives  to  dispense  with  clothes,  fuel,  and  even  houses.  Hence  the 
Javanese  naturally  acquired  the  peaceful  habits  of  the  peasant,  and  a  communal 
life  became  highly  developed  in  the  rice-growing  districts  where  collective  labour 
was  required. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  certain  timidity  of  character  was  fostered  by  the 
tremendous  energy  of  the  natural  forces  by  which  they  were  surrounded — terrific 
thunderstorms,  yearly  fatal  to  hundreds  and  destructive  to  houses  and  villages ; 
volcanoes  belching  forth  torrents  of  scoriae,  molten  lavas,  and  dense  volumes  of 
smoke  and  ashes  turning  day  into  night;  igneous  outbursts,  by  which  whole 
populations  with  their  dwellings  and  crops  were  at  times  swept  away  in  a  few 
hours ;  inundations  spreading  havoc  far  and  wide,  and  all  these  horrors  increased 
by  the  wild  beasts  prowling  about  the  habitations  of  man. 

But  from  man  himself  came  still  worse  perils  and  plagues.  The  early  history 
of  the  country  following  the  stone  age  is  wrapped  in  obscurity,  but  we  know  that 
for  the  last  twenty  centuries,  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  have  always  had  foreign 
rulers  or  oppressors.  The  highland  tribes  may  here  and  there  have  maintained 
their  independence,  protected  by  their  rocky  fastnesses,  dense  forests,  rugged 
heights,  or  even  the  crater  mouths  themselves.  But  the  agricultural  lowlanders, 
scattered  over  a  region  with  scarcely  any  natural  bulwarks,  were  at  all  times 
exposed  to  foreign  invasion,  and  had  everywhere  to  bend  the  neck  to  the  yoke  of 
servitude.  The  very  form  of  the  island,  a  long  parallelogram  disposed  in 
transverse  avenues  by  volcanic  ranges,  prevented  the  development  of  a  compact 
nation  with  a  certain  political  cohesion  and  capable  of  presenting  a  firm  front  to 
•  invading-  hosts. 


J 


IXIIABITAXTS  OF  JA\A. 


At   the  dawn  of   Indonesian  history,  Hindu  propagandists,  arriving  proliably 

Fiir     (i7-    -KMI'FRnU    ANI>    IsMTTiESS    OF    SUEAKARTA. 


lll'nu^;ll 


liuiiiiah,    Siani,    and   Caiuboja,    were   already   at   work  converting    the 


170  AUSTRALASIA. 

Javanese  aborigines  to  Brahmanism.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  Buddhist 
pilgrim,  Fa-hian,  early  in  the  fifth  century,  the  Brahman  form  of  Hinduism 
prevailed  throughout  the  island.  Later,  it  was  aliiiost  everywhere  replaced  by 
Buddhist  tenets,  although  the  rites  still  practised  round  about  a  few  inaccessible 
volcanoes  recall  the  traditions  of  Siva'ism.  Numerous  Hindu  states,  whose  names 
are  preserved  in  hi.story  or  legend,  and  whose  splendour  is  reflected  in  the  mighty 
ruins  of  their  cities  and  temples,  were  successively  constituted,  especially  in  the 
central  and  eastern  parts  of  the  island. 

During  the  period  of  Indian  ascendancy,  nearly  the  whole  of  Indonesia  was 
twice,  in  the  thirteenth  and  fifteenth  century,  reduced  under  the  power  of  a  single 
master.  But  the  Arab  Mohammedans  were  already  contending  with  the  Hindu 
dynasties  for  the  supremacy  in  Java.  In  1478,  they  destroyed  the  capital  of  Mojo- 
Pahit's  empire,  which  stood  near  the  present  city  of  Surabaya,  and  during  the  two 
or  three  ensuing  generations,  they  successively  overthrew  the  petty  Hindu  princi- 
palities that  had  hitherto  held  their  ground. 

But  these  conquerors  were  iu  their  turn  soon  replaced  by  others.  The 
Portuguese,  too  weak  to  reduce  the  island,  did  little  more  than  found  a  few 
factories  on  the  seaboard,  and  take  part  as  adventurers  in  the  local  civil  wars. 
But  the  Dutch,  who  appeared  on  the  scene  in  1596,  in  a  few  years  felt  themselves 
strong  enough  to  assume  a  dominant  position  in  the  coimtry.  In  1619  they  erected 
the  fort  of  Batavia,  centre  of  the  sovereignty  which  gradually  spread  over  the  rest' 
of  Java  and  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Notwithstanding  some  local  insurrections 
and  a  war.  of  succession,  which  shook  their  power  to  its  foundations,  between  the 
years  1825  and  1830,  they  have,  on  the  whole,  found  in  the  Javanese  perhaps  the 
most  svibmissive  and  resigned  nation  known  to  history.  Cases  are  mentioned  of 
unhajopy  wretches  who  quietly  submitted  to  take  the  place  of  their  chiefs  con- 
demned by  the  suzerain  authority  to  imprisonment  with  hard  labour.  It  is  sur- 
I^rising  that  such  a  docile  people,  yielding  so  readily  to  bondage,  should  have  never- 
theless preserved  their  gentleness,  sense  of  justice,  probity,  and  other  good  qualities. 

The  rapid  increase  of  the  Javanese  population  is  commonly  appealed  to  in  proof 
of  their  material  and  moral  progress,  and  consequently  of  the  beneficent  results  of 
the  present  administration.  Assuredly,  if  the  numerical  growth  of  a  people  were 
an  indication  of  prosperity,  the  Javanese  would  have  to  be  regarded  as  amongst 
the  happiest  of  nations.  AVithin  a  century,  apart  from  the  Chinese  and  other 
immigrants,  their  numbers  have  augmented  tenfold  by  the  excess  of  births  over 
deaths  alone.  In  1780,  a  series  of  exterminating  wars  had  reduced  them  to  little 
over  two  millions  ;  in  1888,  they  were  at  least  twenty-three  millions,  and  the  annual 
increase  now  ranges  from  three  hundred  thousand  or  four  hundred  thousand  fo 
half  a  million.  The  density  of  the  population  is  already  far  greater  than  that  of 
Holland  and  nearly  equals  that  of  Belgium  ;  and  as  two-thirds  of  the  soil  is  still 
unfilled,  there  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  this  density  should  not  be  tripled, 
when  the  whole  island  is  reclaimed. 

Nevertheless  there  has  been  an  occasional  ebb  in  this  steady  flow  of  human 
vitality.     In  1880,  a  famine,  followed  by  a  series  of  epidemics; reduced  the  popula- 


INIL\B1TAXTS  OF  JAYA.  171 

tiou  of  the  jirovince  of  Bantam  by  one  hundred  and  sixty  eight  thousand  ;  in  1848 
several  districts  of  Semarang  also  suffered  much  from  the  same  cause,  while  in  the 
seven  central  provinces  the  population  diminished  by  three  hundred  and  fifty-four 
thousand  in  four  years.  But  after  periods  of  drought,  the  families  again  increase, 
and  the  gaps  are  soon  filled  to  overflowing. 

A  certain  number  of  Javanese  emigrate  to  Borneo,  Sumatra,  and  other  island?, 
but  this  outflow  is  greatly  exceeded  by  the  immigration,  especially  from  China. 
The  Cliinese  already  number  over  two  hundi-ed  and  twenty  thousand,  the  majority 
being  Pernakans,  that  is,  born  in  the  island  of  Javanese  mothers.  But  the  paternal 
type  is  little  modified  by  the  crossing,  and  even  after  several  generations  the 
descendant  of  the  Chinese  may  still  be  recognised  under  the  Javanese  national 
garb.  The  children  receive  a  Chinese  education  from  teachers  either  introduced 
from  China,  or  who  have  passed  their  examinations  there.  In  general,  this 
element  is  much  dreaded  by  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  island.  As  brokers, 
contractors,  farmers  of  monopolies,   pawnbrokers,   smugglers,  and  opium  dealers, 


Pi?.    68.  — COJIPAEATITE    IxCKEASE    OF    PoPULATIO:^'  IX    JaTA   AXD    HoLLAXD. 


i 

T" 

E 

20 
'5 
10. 
5 

n 

J0}C^^^ 

/ 

20 

!= 

5 
0 

1 

"^             1 

;        T"' 

"1 

i  f>/ether/anc/s    ' 

1 

760 

1790 

1800 

1810 

I8S0        1830 

1840 

IS50       1850       1870 

1880 

they  appropriate  the  better  part  of  the  profits  on  all  transactions.  By  loans  and 
credit  they  forestall  the  very  crops  and  legacies  ;  on  their  arrival  they  are  your 
humble  servant,  but  presently  your  master ;  "  they  expand  like  the  lotus," 
and  in  1885  their  estates  in  Java  had  a  collective  value  of  considerably  over 
£11,000,000.  The  Europeans  look  on  them  as  rivals  in  the  wholesale  trade,  yet 
are  fain  to  avail  themselves  of  their  services  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  men  and 
things.  Even  the  Dutch  Government,  while  on  its  guard  against  their  indepen- 
dence of  character,  their  common  national  sentiment  and  secret  brotherhoods,  is 
compelled  to  employ  them  in  numerous  offices  needing  order  and  careful  attention. 
Hence  the  decree  of  1837,  absolutely  interdicting  Chinese  immigration,  had  soon  to 
be  revoked,  although  access  to  the  island  was  still  rendered  difficult  to  the  "  Children 
of  Han  "  by  landing  and  resident  charges,  poll-taxes,  passports,  special  imposts  on 
the  several  industries,  and  other  harrassing  burdens.  They  have  still  to  pay  a 
special  income-tax,  and  the  result  of  this  policy  is  that  they  increase  at  a  less 
rapid  rate  than  the  Javanese. 


]7-2  AUSTRALASIA, 

Although  less  munerous  than  the  Chinese,  the  Arabs,  being  Moharainedans  of 
the  "  chosen  race,"  have  a  I'elatively  greater  influence,  and  those  especially  who 
have  made  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  are  venerated  as  saints.  Yet  they  follow  the 
same  pursuits  as  the  Chinese,  and  as  business  agents  and  dealers  live  at  the  expense 
of  the  native  peasantr-y.  Till  lately  the  Javanese  Arabs  were  more  or  less  mixed 
descendants  of  the  former  masters  of  the  land  ;  but  during  the  present  century 
their  numbers  have  been  increased  by  direct  immigrants  from  Hadramaut.  The 
men,  being  engaged  chiefly  in  the  sale  of  European  wares,  all  speak  Malay,  but 
in  other  respects  they  keep  aloof  from  the  natives,  and  in  the  family  circle  care- 
fully preserve  their  mother  tongue.  All  learn  to  read  and  write,  and  some  are 
regarded  as  well  versed  in  questions  of  Mussulman  theology,  jurisprudence,  and 
grammar. 

The  European  population,  even  comprising  the  Eurasi;ius,  are  a  mere  handful, 
lost,  so  to  say,  in  this  great  sea  of  Oriental  elements.  But  they  are  the  ruling 
class,  and  consequently  command  an  influence  out  of  all  proportion  with  their 
numbers.  Officials  who  marry  native  women  bring  up  their  children  with  great 
care,  and  in  the  second  generation  the  "  nannas  "  or  half-caste  women  are  regarded 
as  belonging  to  the  white  race.  Their  educatioij.  is  often  provided  for  by  the 
Government,  as  is  also  that  of  the  signos  or  liplaps,  as  the  half-bred  men  are  here  called, 
not  without  a  slight  touch  of  contempt.  They  receive  appointments  as  notaries, 
clerks,  surveyors,  and  are  reputad  to  be  intelligent,  but  indolent,  effeminate,  and 
excessively  vain.  Their  families  are  said  not  to  be  very  numerous,  and  appear  to 
die  out  in  a  few  generations,  the  fact  being  that  they  simply  become  absorbed  in 
the  surrounding  populations.  With  them  have  alieady  been  merged  the  few 
Portuguese  who  arrived  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

European  immigration  was  formerly  discouraged  by  the  Administration,  which 
regarded  the  Dutch  East  Indies  as  a  domain  to  be  worked  for  the  benefit  of  the 
(State,  and  not  as  a  colony  opened  to  private  enterprise.  According  to  the  decree 
of  1818,  which  long  remained  in  vigour,  no  European  in  any  capacity  had  the 
right  to  settle  in  Batavia,  or  elsewhere  in  Java,  without  the  special  authorisation 
of  the  governor-general,  and  even  then  could  not  remove  more  than  five  or  ten 
miles  from  his  residence,  according  to  the  locality.  But  although  access  to  the 
island  is  now  no  longer  interdicted,  few  Europeans  settle  permanently  in  the 
country. 

The  excessive  mortality,  which  formerly  earned  for  Java  the  title  of  "  Cemetery 
of  the  Whites,"  is  probably  ten  times  less  than  in  the  last  century.  The  maladies 
by  which  they  were  decimated  are  now  better  understood,  while  they  have  learnt 
to  live  more  like  the  natives,  and  in  accordance  with  sanitary  principles.  Their 
dwellings  are  built  in  salubrious  places,  and  the  health  resorts  are  situated  at 
various  altitudes,  so  that  the  climate  may  be  graduated  for  invalids  and  convales- 
cents. Nevertheless,  the  mortality  is  still  high,  and  at  times  the  colonial  forces 
suffer  terribly,  especially  from  the  so-called  beri-ben,  apparently  a  kind  of  low 
fever  or  anaemia.  The  immigrants  also  tend  to  lose  their  moral  tone,  becoming 
less  vigorous  and  energetic  after  a  protracted  residence  in  the  country. 


J 


IXILIBITAXTS  OF  JAVA.  173 

The  first  law  for  all  Europeans  is  to  uphold  the  prestige  of  their  race,  and  to 
maintain  their  ascendancy'  by  a  sort  of  religious  terror.  Till  lately  the  natives 
would  fall  prostrate  by  the  roadside  at  the  approach  of  a  white  in  his  carriage ; 
those  carrying  an  umbrella  hastened  to  close  it,  at  the  risk  of  a  sunstroke,  and  in 
the  presence  of  an  oiEcial  the  masses  still  preserve  a  solemn  silence.  For  the 
same  reason,  no  European  could  accept  servile  work,  and  when  condemned  for  a 
breach  of  discipline  the  military  were  sent  to  Holland  to  undergo  their  sentence. 
Before  1864,  no  Javanese  was  allowed  to  learn  Dutch,  or  send  his  children  to  a 
white  school.  An  exception,  however,  was  alwaj-s  made  in  favour  of  the  Malavs 
proper,  whose  language  has  long  been  the  lingua  franca  of  the  Eastern  Archi- 
pelago, as  well  as  the  official  idiom  for  the  transaction  of  public  business  and  the 
administration  of.  justice.  Till  lately  it  was  always  written  in  Arabic  characters, 
which  are  now  being  gradually  superseded  by  the  European  orthographic  system. 

The  Dutch  government  also  discourages  the  Christian  missionaries,  so  that  the 
Javanese,  nominal  Mohammedans,  are  still  pagans  at  heart,  worshipjDcrs  of  their 
ancestry  and  of  the  forces  of  nature,  and  attributing  to  the  spirit  world  all  the 
events  of  their  daily  existence.  But  they  have  also  preserved  numerous  Hindu 
practices,  while  still  celebrating  the  Mussulman  feasts  with  ever-increasing  fervour. 
Amongst  them  have  sprung  up  some  fanatical  sects,  notably  that  of  the  Xaksyi- 
bendi,  and  since  they  are  now  permitted  to  make  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  some 
thousands  return  yearly  from  the  Prophet's  shrine  dressed  as,  and  calling  them- 
selves, Arabs.  The  Mohammedan  schools  are  "continually  more  and  more  fre- 
quented, and  most  of  the  peasantry  observe  at  least  the  evening  devotions. 

Some  Christian  legends  have  also  been  introduced  into  the  national  mj'thology. 
Like  their  remote  kindred,  the  Madagascar  Hovas  and  the  natives  of  the  Moluccas, 
the  Javanese  would  have  embraced  Christianity  had  their  rulers  commanded  them 
to  do  so ;  but  the  very  opposite  policy  has  been  pursued,  and  missionaries,  unless 
of  Dutch  nationality,  have  often  been  refused  permission  to  settle  in  the  country. 
Scarcely  11,000  Javanese  are  classed  in  thq  census  papers  as  members  of  any 
Christian  church. 

In  order  to  avoid  all  needless  contact  with  the  natives,  the  Dutch  ofiicials  carry 
on  the  administration  largelj-  through  the  agency  of  local  chiefs.  Certain  Java- 
nese "  Regents,"  descendants  of  princely  families,  have  preserved  a  semblance  of 
authority,  upholding  their  rank  and  dignity  by  means  of  rich  emoluments  and  a 
share  of  the  public  revenues.  But  in  return  they  have  to  accept  the  advice  of 
the  Dutch  "  Residents  "  stationed  at  their  courts.  The  action  of  the  real  rulers 
is  thus  masked  from  the  natives,  who  have  themselves  no  share  in  the  choice  of 
their  ofiicials.  They  are,  however,  allowed  to  elect  the  village- chiefs  entrusted 
with  the  distribution  of  lands,  public  works,  statute  labour,  and  salaries ;  but  these 
chiefs  or  communal  mayors  are  liable  to  be  removed  at  any  moment,  should  they 
fail  to  satisfy  the  central  authority. 


174  AUSTRALASIA. 

Economic  Coxiiition  of  Java. 

Tlie  slave  trade  was  abolished  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  at  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  slavery  properly  so-called  has  ceased  to  exist  in  Java 
since  1860,  when  nearly  five  thousand  slaves  were  emancipated.  But  can  the 
rest  of  the  people  be  regarded  as  freemen  so  long  as  tliey  are  subjected  by 
Government  to  forced  labour  ?  While  the  authorities  were  satisfied  with  collecting 
the  taxes  on  the  crops  fixed  by  Sir  Stamford  Raffles  during  the  British  occupation, 
the  results  were  financially  bad,  and  the  public  deficit  went  on  increasing  from 
year  to  year.  But  in  1832,  the  Governor-General  Van  de  Bosch  received  full 
power  to  modify  existing  arrangements,  and  the  very  next  j'ear  the  people  had  to 
adapt  themselves  to  the  famous  "  sj'stem "  of  culture  and  taxation,  which  was 
largely  modelled  on  that  of  the  tobacco  monopoly  in  the  Philippines.  Neverthe- 
less, the  change  was  effected  without  causing  a  crisis,  the  Government  edicts  being 
largely  conformable  to  the  adat,  or  old  customs  observed  by  the  native  rulers. 

In  virtue  of  this  "  system  of  culture,"  which  was  to  rei^lace  the  land-tax  by  a 
sort  of  Government  monopoly  of  the  croj)s  themselves,  each  agricultural  circuit  of 
the  vast  Javanese  "  farm,"  was  placed  under  a  controller,  who  reserved  a  fifth  of 
the  land  for  the  public  service.  Here  the  Administration,  or  its  grantees,  in- 
troduced at  its  option  the  cultivation  of  economic  plants,  exacted  throughout  the 
commune  every  fifth  working-day  (later  every  seventh),  and  de  facto  regulated 
all  the  works,  encouraged  and  coerced  the  workers.  At  the  end  of  the  3-ear,  it 
took  over  from  the  producers  the  various  exports,  coffee,  sugar,  indigo,  tea, 
tobacco,  cinnamon,  pepper,  "  at  the  market  price,"  after  deducting  two-fifths  for 
the  taxes,  and  a  fixed  sum  for  transit  charges. 

But  this  "  market  price  "  has  alwaj's  been  fixed  by  the  Government  far  below 
the  real  value,  and,  according  to  official  statistics,  the  Javanese  peasantry  have 
been  defrauded,  since  the  introduction  of  the  "  system,''  to  the  extent  of  some 
£80,000,000.  On  coffee  alone,  the  "  staple  of  the  Dutch  Colonial  regime,"  the 
plunder  of  the  natives  to  the  benefit  of  the  home  budget  amounted,  between 
1831  and  1877,  to  the  enormous  total  of  £68,000,000.  The  real  market  price, 
after  deducting  the  impost,  has  occasionallj'  been  three  times  in  excess  of  the 
price  officially  announced  to  the  natives. 

Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that  b}'  the  Minister  Van  de  Putte  and  many  other 
Dutch  statesmen  this  wholesale  plunder  of  the  Javanese  has  been  denounced  as 
a  "  wretched  system."  On  the  other  hand,  an  administration  which  yielded  a 
considerable  "  colonial  bonus "  to  the  mother  country,  often  over  £2,000,000 
yearly,  could  not  fail  to  find  many  admirers,  although  the  bulk  of  the  native 
population  meantime  remained  poor  and  half  famished.  Certain  political  econo- 
mists have  even  ventured  to  hold  up  the  procedure  of  the  Dutch  Government  in 
Java  as  a  model  of  political  wisdom. 

However,  the  era  of  direct  agricultural  monopolies  seems  to  have  run  its  course. 
The  Achinese  war,  followed  by  the  ravages  of  insects  on  the  coffee  plantations 
and   the   necessary    increase    of    the   public  expenditure,  have  brought  about   a 


KCOXOmC  CONDITION  OF  JAVA. 


175 


deficit,  showing  once  more  that  monopolies   end    in    the   ruin  of    states   as  well 
as   of   the   plundered       Of  late  years,  the  system  has  been   gradually  modified. 


Statute  labour  has  been  abolished,  at  least  on  paper,  except  for  works  of 
l)ublic  utility,  such  as  roads,  harbours,  canals  and  administrative  buildings. 
Lands  held  bv  the  communes  in  virtue  of  hereditary  right   have  been   ceded  to 


17C>  AUSTRALASIA. 

them  absolutely  ;  the  cultivation  of  tea,  tobacco,  iudigo,  cochineal  and  cinnamon 
has  been  left  to  private  enterprise,  the  Government  retaining  the  monopoly  only 
of  sugar  till  the  year  1890,  and  of  coffee  until  the  question  is  settled  by  legis- 
lation. 

The  system  of  forced  labour,  that  is,  of  slavery  in  disguise,  has  had  the  natural 
consequence,  of  retarding  the  intellectual  and  moral  progress  of  the  people.  The 
structures  in  different  parts  of  the  island  dating  from  the  Hindu  epoch  show 
that  the  knowledge  of  industrial,  scientific  and  artistic  processes  has  greatly 
deteriorated  since  those  times.  Doubtless  the  initiative  came  from  the  Hindus, 
but  the  works  executed  under  their  control  attest  the  advancement  made  by  their 
disciples.  But  decadence  was  inevitable  under  an  Administration  which  for 
nearly  three  centuries  closed  the  schoolroom  to  the  natives,  lest  they  should  learn 
to  think  and  thus  attempt  some  day  to  bridge  over  the  gap  separating  them  from 
their  masters.  Even  now,  for  a  population  o£  some  twenty-three  millions,  Java 
possesses  only  two  hundred  native  schools,  attended  by  some  forty  thousand 
scholars. 

In  the  Javanese  communes  the  land  has  remained  unallotted,  the  sovereign 
being  still  regarded  as  the  supreme  proprietor,  while  the  collective  usufruct  of  the 
cultivated  parts  belongs  to  the  peasantry.  The  cultivators  thus  form  with  the 
communal  land  an  organic  whole,  the  so-called  dessa,  and  they  can  scarcely  under- 
stand any  other  system  of  tenure.  Efforts  have  in  vain  been  made  in  some  places 
to  introduce  that  of  private  holdings  amongst  the  poor  cultivators  of  the  plains. 
Doubtless  there  exist  a  certain  number  of  plots  inherited  in  the  family ;  but  the 
communal  organisation  everywhere  prevails.  Even  where  the  jungle  is  cleared  by 
private  enterprise,  it  lapses  after  a  certain  time  to  the  commune,  which,  according 
to  the  adat,  or  "  custom,"  is  the  true  owner  and  collectively  responsible  for  the 
taxes  and  the  statute  labourers.  As  in  the  Slav  mir,  each  member  of  the  dessa 
keeps  his  cottage  and  garden,  while  all  have  equal  right  to  the  woods  and  waste 
lands.  But  the  tracts  under  tillage  are  distributed  to  the  families  either  every 
year,  or  every  two  or  three  years  according  to  the  districts. 

Unfortunately  the  enormous  increase  of  population  during  the  present  century 
has  had  the  consequence  of  reducing  to  a  mere  fraction  the  portion  assigned  to 
each  individual,  in  some  places  five  acres  or  even  less,  while  the  government 
abstains  from  helping  the  communes  by  the  grant  of  public  waste  or  fallow  lands. 
On  an  average,  the  Javanese  cottage  is  worth  about  sixteen  shillings,  and  the 
revenue  of  each  family  plot  five  pounds  at  the  utmost.  The  peasant  finds  it 
diSicult  to  earn  an  equal  sum  on  the  Government  plantations,  so  that  the  whole 
population  sees  its  substance  constantly  diminishing,  and  itself  threatened  with 
still  deeper  poverty,  although  it  at  least  contrives  to  live  despite  the  imposts  and 
forced  labour. 

Would  they  fare  better  were  the  principle  of  private  property  established  in 
the  40,000  communes,  and  were  most  of  the  holdings  rapidly  reduced  to  proportions 
too  small  for  any  practical  purpose,  or  even  bought  up  altogether,  leaving  the  bulk 
of  the   peasantry  without  any  property  ?    Would  not  the  condition  of  Java  then 


ECONOMIC  CONDITION  OF  JAVA.  177 

become  aualogous  to  that  of  Ireland,  and  depopulation  become  inevitable  ?  lu  the 
province  of  Bantam  under  the  British  administration  the  greatest  impulse  was 
given  to  the  development  of  large  estates,  and  here  also  the  laud,  belonging  mostly 
to  absentee  owners,  is  the  worst  cultivated,  here  the  indigent  classes  are  most 
numerous,  famines  most  frequent  and  often  attended  by  bread  riots.  The  famous 
novel  of  Max  Ilairkiar,  which  deeply  moved  the  public  conscience  of  Holland, 
described  in  eloquent  language  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  Bantam  peasantrj', 
and  since  then  there  has  been  no  change  for  the  better. 

The  staple  crop  is  rice,  which  in  many  districts  constitutes  the  exclusive  food 
of  the  people.  Hence,  despite  the  enormous  annual  production,  the  export  of  this 
grain  is  slight  compared  with  that  of  Burmah  and  Cochin  China.  The  rice-fields 
exceed  a  total  area  of  5,000,000  acres,  covering  not  only  the  marshy  low-lying  tracts 
and  regularly  irrigated  slojaing  valleys,  but  also  the  so-called  Tcgah  or  drj'  grounds, 
yielding  the  most  nutritive  varieties,  as  well  as  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  to  a 
height  of  over  4,000  feet,  below  the  zone  of  coffee  plantations.  After  the  harvest,  the 
ditches  and  reservoirs  are  emptied,  and  a  second  harvest  made  of  the  myriads  of  fish 
that  swarm  in  these  waters  during  the  year.  Fevers  are  endemic  in  the  Saicah,  or 
wet  rice  districts,  but  are  less  fatal  than  in  other  regions  lying  even  farther  from  the 
equator.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Javanese  do  not  allow  the  waters  to  stag- 
nate, but  always  keep  up  the  current,  and  also  jjlant  a  curtain  of  large  trees  round 
their  villages. 

In  Madura,  where  the  surface  is  nearlj^  everywhere  gently  undulating,  scarcely 
any  rice  is  grown  ;  here  the  chief  alimentary  grain  is  maize. 

Although  the  Javanese  peasantry  never  drink  coffee,  those  residing  in  the  pre- 
scribed coffee  districts  have  to  cultivate  a  strip  of  600  feet,  and  to  sujiplj'  fresh  plants 
in  case  of  failure.  It  is  from  this  source  that  Holland  derives,  or  has  hitherto 
derived,  her  "  colonial  bonus,"  and  consequently  to  it  the  natives  are  indebted  for 
the  oppressive  system  of  forced  labour.  The  coffee  plant  was  not  introduced  till 
towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  yet  Java  produces  from  a 
sixth  to  an  eighth  of  the  3-ield  of  the  whole  world,  or  an  average  of  about  150 
million  pounds,  valued  at  £2,000,000.  Since  the  end  of  the  Napoleonic  wars, 
when  this  island  was  restored  to  Holland,  the  yield  had  gone  on  increasing  from 
decade  to  decade  till  recently.  Now,  however,  although  several  private  capitalists 
have  entered  into  competition  with  the  Government,  it  seems  to  be  at  a  standstill, 
or  rather  to  have  entered  a  period  of  decline.  In  1876,  the  destructive  htmileia 
rastatrix,  which  had  already  wasted  the  plantations  of  Ceylon,  made  its  appearance 
in  Sumatra,  and  three  years  later  attacked  those  of  Java.  Precautions  have  also 
to  be  taken  against  other  paVasites,  such  as  the  xi/lotricus  quadrupes,  the  combined 
attacks  of  which  have  reduced  the  Government  crojj  from  nearly  80,000  tons  in 
1879  to  less  than  18,000  in  1887. 

The  Javanese  cofifee-planters  have  now  great  hopes  of  the  Liberian  variety, 
which  resists  both  the  hemileia  fungus  and  the  xylotricus  borer.  But  merely 
to  replace  over  200  million  plants'  would  alone  be  tantamount  to  an  economic 
revolution. 


178 


AUSTRALASIA. 


Java  ranks  next  to  Brazil  in  the  production  of  coSee,  and  also  holds  the  second 
place  in  the  markets  of  the  world  for  that  of  sugar,  in  this  product  being  exceeded 
by  Cuba  alone.  The  crop,  which,  however,  varies  greatly  from  year  to  year  accord- 
ing to  the  rainfall  and  other  climatic  conditions,  averages  one-tenth  of  that  pro- 
duced by  the  rest  of  the  world.  There  are  several  local  varieties  of  the  cane,  whose 
cultivation  is  one  of  the  old  industries  of  the  island.  In  1808,  the  yield  rose  to  5,800 
tons,  but  it  did  not  acquire  its  present  gigantic"  proportions  till  the  second  half  of  the 
century.    The  share  of  the  Government  in  this  industry  declines  each  year  in  virtue 

Fig.  70. — Zones  of  Wet  and  Dry  Rice  Fields  and  Coffee  Plantations  on  Mount  Sumbino. 

Soaie  1  ;  160,000. 


of  the  law  obliging  it  to  gradually  abolish  statute  labour, and  to  grant  concessions  to 
private  enterprise.  Some  of  the  plantaticms,  especially  in  the  Jokjokarta  and 
Surakarta  districts,  are  supplied  with  machinery  in  no  respects  inferior  to  that  of 
the  finest  sugar  mills  in  Euroj)e. 

The  tea  industry,  introduced  from  Japan  in  1826,  has  never  acquired  a 
development  sufficient  to  enter  into  serious  competition  with  the  Chinese  and 
Indian  growers.  The  plantations  laid  out  by  Government  in  all  parts  of  the  island 
did  not  prove  very  profitable,  and   since  1865  the  industry  has  been  completely 


ECONOMIC  CONDITION  OF  JAVA. 


179 


abandoned  to  piivate  speculators.  The  yield  averages  about  6,000,000  pound.s ; 
but  the  leaf  is  of  iudiffereut  quality. 

Other  economic  j^lants,  such  as  cacao,  the  clove,  and  cinnamon,  are  not  extensively 
grown,  and  even  pepper,  formerly  the  chief  resource  of  the  province  of  Bantam, 
has  ceased  to  be  a  profitable  industry.  Of  the  25,000,000  cocoanut  trees,  about 
10,000,000  are  fruit-bearing. 

Despite  great  commercial  vicissitudes,  tobacco  has  become  one  of  the  important 


Fig.  71. — Teak  Fokests  between  Semarano  and  Suhabaya. 
Scftle  1  :  2,500,000. 


Easb  of  Greenwicli 


exports,  besides  supplying  a  considerable  local  consumption.  This  industry  has 
also  ceased  to  be  a  Government  monopoly,  and  is  now  largely  in  the  hands  of  Chi- 
nese speculators.  But  they  are  not  allowed  to  cultivate  opium,  and  have  to  pur- 
chase this  drug  from  the  Government,  which  imports  it  from  India,  Persia,  and 
Asia  Minor.  Indigo,  formerly  one  of  the  most  jealously  preserved  mo  opolies,  is 
now  also  surrendered  to  free  labour,  and  still  continues  to  be  an  important  article 
of  the  export  trade  despite  the  competition  of  the  coal-tar  dyes.  Neither  jute, 
cotton,  nor  any  of  the  other  textile  plants  are  extensively  cultivated.     Amongst 

N  2 


180  AUSTRALASIA. 

these  is  the  kapok  or  raudu  [eriodendruii  anfracluosum),  the  fruit  of  which  yields  a 
down  utilised  by  the  native  weavers. 

The  sarne  plant  is  used  for  building  purposes,  but  in  this  resj^eet  a  vastly  more  A'alu- 
able  tree  is  the  teak — the  Jati  of  the  Javanese,  which  still  covers  an  extent  of  about 
2,500  square  miles.  Recently,  also,  some  of  the  cleared  spaces  have  been  replanted 
with  the  no  less  valuable  cinchona,  first  introduced  from  Reunion  in  1852,  and 
again  directly  from  South  America  in  1854.  Within  nine  years  of  that  date,  there 
were  already  1,140,000  cinchona  plants  either  in  the  nursery-grounds  or  the 
forests  of  Java ;  but  the  variety  selected  was  one  of  the  least  valuable,  and  it  had 
even  to  be  replaced  by  others  of  more  medicinal  value,  notably  the  calmnja,  which 
had  been  successfully  introduced  into  the  uplands  of  British  India.  In  1888,  the 
Government  enclosui-es  contained  over  3,700,000  of  the  best  varieties,  growing  at 
different  altitudes  between  4,000  and  G,500  feet.  By  careful  selection  and  grafting, 
plants  have  been  obtained  whose  bark  3'ields  from  11  to  13  per  cent,  of  quinine. 

Java  lacks  a  suflScient  number  of  domestic  animals  for  agricultural  operations. 
In  the  western  province  of  Bantam,  the  proportion  of  horses,  oxen,  and  buffaloes  is 
only  94  per  thousand  of  the  population,  but  this  proportion  increases  somewhat 
steadily  eastwards  until,  in  the  extreme  east,  it  rises  to  830  per  thousand.  But 
everywhere  the  live  stock  has  diminished  during  the  second  half  of  the  present 
century,  while  the  popidation  has  rapiidly  increased.  The  Javanese  horses  of 
Arab  stock  have  diminished  in  size,  but  not  in  mettle  and  staying  power.  The 
Cheribon  trotters  and  the  Kedoc  cart-horses  are  highly  spoken  of,  although  none 
can  compare  with  the  Sumatran  ponies  in  form  or  vigour. 

The  produce  of  the  fisheries,  which  employ  about  fifty  thousand  hands,  is  all 
required  for  the  local  consumption,  except  the  sea-slugs  and  sharks'  fins  exported 
to  China.  Java  also  yields  the  very  finest  quality  of  edible  birds'  nests,  also  des- 
tined for  the  Chinese  market. 

To  the  traditional  industries,  such  as  weaving,  dj'eing,  krisses,  and  other  arms 
for  which  the  Javanese  have  always  been  famous,  the  manufacture  of  heavy 
machinery  has  recently  been  added  for  the  sugar  refineries,  the  harbour  works 
and  railways.  An  ancient  monopoly  of  the  Jokjokarta  regency  are  the  gongs 
and  musical  instruments  for  the  Gamclangs,  or  native  bands,  bells,  cymbals,  drums, 
and  bars  of  copper  or  bamboo  which  the  players  strike  with  a  hammer  to  accomjjany 
the  theatrical  representations  and  native  ballets.  The  most  skilled  craftsmen  are  the 
Chinese,  who  are  usually  employed,  especially  by  Europeans,  wherever  taste  and 
execution  are  objects  of  consideration. 

The  carriage  roads  are  well  planned  and  kept  in  excellent  repair,  and  are 
often  supplied  with  footpaths  and  supplementary  avenues  for  heavy  traffic, 
especially  between  the  chief  towns.  The  main  artery  is  the  great  military  route, 
780  miles  long,  running  from  Anjer,  in  the  exti-eme  west,  to  Banjuwangi,  in  the 
extreme  east,  and  constructed  by  the  terrible  Daendels,  still  remembered  by  the 
natives  as  the  "  Master  of  the  Great  Thunder."  The  torrents  and  even  rivers 
are  crossed  by  ingeniously  planned  bamboo  bridges,  which,  despite  their  frail 
appearance,  are  extremely   solid   works.       The  first  railway,  connecting  Batavia 


TB.VDE  OF  JAVA. 


181 


■with  Buitenzorg,  was  opened  in  1872,  and  since  then  the  network  of  lines,  as 
originally  planned  and  suggested  by  the  configuration  of  the  island,  has  been  slowly 
developed.  When  completed,  the  S3'stem  must  obviously  comprise  two  coast  lines 
running  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  connected  at  intervals  by  transverse  lines 
through  the  valleys  separating  the  volcanic  ranges.  But  this  system  is  far  from 
complete,  although  the  three  great  ports  of  Batavia,  Semarang,  and  Surabaya  are 
already  connected  with  the  rich  inland  districts.  More  than  half  of  the  railways, 
as  well  as  all  the  telegraph  lines,  belong  to  the  State.  The  latter  are  connected 
with  the  Indo-European  system  through  Singapore,  and  with  that  of  Australasia 
through  Timor. 

The  steam  navigation  companies,  whose  craft  ply  regularly  between  Europe 
and  Batavia,  as  well  as  from  port  to  port  round  the  coast  of  Java  and  through - 

Fig.  72. — Railways  in  Java. 
Scale  1  :  ll.OOO.OOn. 


Depths. 


■  Steam  Tr.imways. 


out  Indonesia,  alread}'  own  over  sixty  steamers,  with  a  collective  capacity  of 
nearly  100,000  tons.  The  largest  share  of  the  Javanese  trade  is  still  carried 
on  with  Holland,  although  the  law  of  1874  abolished  all  differential  dues  on 
foreign  vessels  touching  at  the  insular  ports.  The  entry  and  clearing  charges  were 
also,  at  the  same  time,  greatly  reduced  on  a  large  number  of  commodities.  All  the 
Government  exports  are  shipped  for  Holland  by  the  privileged  Ilandrl- Matttschap2)ij 
("  Dutch  Trading  Company  "),  founded  in  1824,  and  in  the  imagination  of  the 
people  confounded  with  the  State  itself.  The  original  Dutch  East  India  Company, 
after  realising  millions  by  its  long  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  Indonesia,  became 
bankrupt  at  the  end  of  the  last  century  with  a  debt  of  £10,000,000. 

Since  the  declaration  of  free  trade  in  1874,  the  movement  of  the  exchanges 
with  Great  Britain  has  acquired  considerable  importance.    England  takes  especialU' 


182 


AUSTRALASIA. 


raw  sugars  in  exchange  for  cotton  goods  and  hardware.  China,,  the  United  States, 
and  France  also  share  to  some  extent  in  the  general  export  trade.  The  Javanese 
sailors  are  surprisingly  daring  and  agile,  swarming  up  the  ship's  shrouds  almost 
with  the  nimbleness  of  the  monkey. 

Topography. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  chief  outport  was  Bantam, 
situated  near  the  north-west  extremity  of  the  island  on  a  well-sheltered  semi- 
circular bay,  but  obstructed  by  mudbanks.  Here  the  Dutch  founded  their  first 
factory  in  1596  ;  but  it  is  now  a  mere  village  almost  hidden  by  the  surrounding 
foliage.     Although  Bantam  has  given  its  name  to  the  province,  the  capital  of  the 

Fig.  73. — Lines  of  Steam  Navigation  in  Indonesia. 

Scale  1  :  48,000,000. 


S^<S£S*>'»^i:=*^'>^ 


cp>  'i'  '-y" 


O) 


'^    Ku(.»n| 


Lasb  oF  br-eenwich 


residency  has  been  removed  to  the  small  town  of  Serang,  some  six  or  seven  miles 
farther  south,  while  the  local  trade  has  been  diverted  to  Anjer,  which  was  nearly 
destroyed  by  the  Krakatau  eruption  of  1883. 

Bataria,  the  Jakatra  of  the  natives,  present  capital  of  Java,  and  of  all  the 
Dutch  East  Indian  possessions,  occupies  an  area  out  of  all  proportion  with  its 
population,  stretching  from  the  harbour  in  a  straight  line  for  over  twelve  miles 
inland.  The  vast  space,  however,  is  not  continuously  built  over,  but  rather 
occupied  by  several  distinct  quarters,  connected  together  by  canals,  routes,  and 
avenues.  The  old  town  had  been  founded  in  1619  on  the  coast  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  Liwong,  while  the  citadel  with  its  four  sharp  bastions  stood  on  an 
artificial  islet  at  the  entrance  of  the  estuary.  Batavia  gradually  acquired  the 
aspect  of  a  Dutch  city  with  its  canals  and  dykes,  its  many  storied  and  gabled  brick 
houses  ;    but  a  shower  of  ashes  ejected  from  Mount  Salak  choked  the  canals,  con- 


I 


TOrOGEAPHY  OF  JAVA. 


li 


Fig.  74.— Batavia  in  1628. 
Scale  1  :  20,000. 


verting  the  lower  quarters  into  swamps  and  causing  the  land  to  advance  seawards. 

Batavia  thus  became  still  more  unhealthy  than  before,  and  at  the  same  time  lost  the 

advantage  of  its  marine  position.     At  present  it  lies  considerably  over  a  mile  from 

the    coast    and    the   canalized 

river  has  had  to  be  extended 

the  same  distance  to  reach  deep 

water. 

Leaving  the  old  town  to 
the  Malay  custom-house  offi- 
cers and  the  teeming  Chinese 
population,  the  Europeans  have 
■  established  their  new  quarter 
some  miles  farther  south  on 
more,  elevated  ground,  every- 
where planting  broad  avenues 
and  laying  out  gardens  and 
shriibberies.  The     central 

quarter  of  Welterreden,  com- 
prising the  chief  public  build- 
ings and  large  hotels,  combines 
the  aspects  of  a  fine  city  and 
magnificent  park,  where 
flourish  most  of  the  tropical 
plants  distinguished  b}'  the 
splendour  of  their  flowers  and 
foliage.  Round  about  this  dis- 
trict and  beyond  the  extensive 
grassy  tract  of  Koning's  Plein 
("The  King's  Plain")  other 
quarters  have  sprung  up  on 
the  western  slopes,  and  these 
also  are  everywhere  inter- 
spersed with  gardens  and 
shady    groves,    the    favourite 

eveningpromenade  of  the  Euro-  ^.w  Yards. 

peans.     Northwards,  a  district 

of  suburban  residences,-  skirting  the  canal,  stretches  away  to  Old  Batavia,  and  is 
continued  southwards  as  far  as  Mcester  Conie/w,  another  group  of  scattered  quarters 
separated  administratively  from  Batavia  proper,  but  all  belonging  to  the  same 
system.     The  whole  is  encircled  by  the  palm-groves  of  the  native  kampongs. 

Batavia  is  the  seat  of  the  oldest  and  most  flourishing  learned  societies  in  the 
Eastern  Archipelago.  It  also  possesses  a  medical  school,  libraries,  a  museum,  and 
some  periodicals  of  high  scientific  value. 

The  maritime  quarter  of  Tanjong  Priok,  also  forming  part   of  Batavia,  is  of 


184 


AUSTRALASIA. 


quite  recent  foundation.  Till  lately  Batavia  had  no  harbour,  and  large  vessels  were 
obliged  to  ride  at  anchor  in  the  roadstead,  which,  however,  is  perfectly  sheltered 
by  quite  an  archipelago  of  small  islets.  The  canal  was  accessible  only  to  small 
steamers  and  river  craft,  while  the  approaches  were  being  yearly   invaded  by  the 


Fig.  75. — Batavia  and  Poet  of  Tanjono  Peiok. 
Scale  1  :  60,000. 


32  Feet  i 
upwai  c 


sedimentary  matter  brought  down  by  the  Liwong  and  Angkee  rivers.  Between  1817 
and  1874,  the  shore-line  advanced  at  the  rate  of  35  yards  a  j'ear,  so  that  it  became 
necessary  to  remedy  the  evil  by  constructing  piers  in  deep  water. 

At  first  it  was  proposed  to  establish  the  port  near  the  island  of  Onrust,  north- 


LiSfJASy 

OF  THE 

I NiVERSiTK Of  ILLINOIS, 


SU  N  D  A 


\ 


Telolvli  Betoen^ 


:v,. 


"Beniawan^ 


A-tt'U 


s.iiS/m 


Jlaj'z.ej's     JSaai  •  _ 

or  Ba  -      1     Sejnan^a 


''H    J^6jnoeyoohfi 


J .  TitfiOCJU) 


.  rwiJlmibii; 


East  of   Greenvricli 


_oaf'      oJ      JLajnpojig 


I.La^oendx 

I ,  Sehoelsoe 


«^^ 


^^:::=^-^i=^-      J.Sehesi    W/ 


Varksihi 


T.hhaJinfaii 


^ 


Dedpdi  nmc 


J^j'iLSeji  £Uajui 


Twvede  Punt 


JsraJIoofd  Pajnea^ 


idjeg^ 


D. 

Seaboard  snept  by  the  tvata  cU\ 
IJie  Uffhthjoiux 


LONDON.  J,  SVi 


STRAI  T 


Z50  f^^OO.  500  nfn^ardU. 

tJie  e/iiption  of  Erakatau  in  188 S. 
re  mduMb^dbyred  dvts. 


E     &    C°    LIMITED. 


1 

I 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  JAVA.  185 

west  of  the  roadstead,  whicli  already  possessed  a  naval  arsenal  ;  but  after  much 
discussion,  the  engineers  at  last  decided  in  favour  of  the  Tanjong  Prick  Point,  which 
is  distant  only  6  miles  to  the  north-east  of  the  old  town.  Here  the  land,  somewhat 
more  elevated  than  the  neighbouring  coast,  projects  seawards  towards  a  line  of 
upheaved  beds,  which  are  continued  in  the  direction  of  the  east.  Two  immense 
stone  jetties,  2,140  and  1,960  yards  long  respectively,  now  project  from  this  point, 
curving  round  at  their  northern  extremity  so  as  to  leave  for  shipping  an  entrance 
of  about  500  feet.  The  space  thus  enclosed  comprises  nearly  500  acres,  and  affords 
good  anchorage  for  the  largest  vessels.  Repairing  basins,  graving  and  dry  docks, 
and  building  yards  complete  the  harbour  works,  which  are  connected  with  the  rest 
of  the  city  by  a  road,  a  railway,  and  a  canal  crossing  the  intervening  marshy 
plain. 

The  two  large  towns  of  Tawjcrang  and  Bikasi  to  the  east,  both  inhabited  by 
Chinese,  may  be  regarded  as  direct  dependencies  of  Batavia.  Bekasi  is  even 
connected  by  rail  with  the  capital,  of  which  it  forms  a  suburban  retreat ;  but  not 
a  single  descendant  is  now  to  be  found  of  the  Dutch  Boers,  who  settled  in  the 
district  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  Tangerang  and  neigh- 
bourhood some  40,000  or  50,000  peasants  are  occupied  during  the  "  dead  season  " 
in  plaiting  hats,  mats  and  boxes  of  bamboo  fibre,  which  are  bought  up  by  Chinege 
traders  for  the  market  of  Paris.  In  1887,  the  district  of  TjUongok  alone  exported 
about  1,200,000  hats,  valued  at  nearly  £f^0,000. 

Farther  south  the  advanced  spurs  of  the  Gede  volcano  are  resorted  to  by  most 
of  the  Europeans,  who  can  here  breathe  a  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere.  In 
1774,  Buifenzorg,  that  is  "  Sans  Souci,"  was  chosen  as  the  site  of  an  official  health- 
resort,  and  this  place  has  by  successive  enlargements  become  a  vast  residence,  now 
usually  occupied  by  the  Governor-Generals  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  Lying  880 
feet  above  the  sea,  on  a  wooded  slope  between  the  Liwong  and  Dani  river  valleys, 
Buitenzorg  commands  a  superb  prospect  of  the  surrounding  forest-clad  gloomy 
gorges  and  undulating  heights  rising  in  one  direction  towards  Mount  Salak,  in 
another  towards  Gede.  Xowhere  else  in  Java  is  the  indigenous  vegetation  more 
exuberant  or  more  varied  than  here,  and  no  botanic  garden  in  the  world  is  richer  or 
better  organised  than  that  of  Buitenzorg,  whose  magnificent  avenues  wind  round 
about  the  government  palace.  Here  are  cultivated  no  less  than  9, -'300  different 
species  of  plants. 

But  Buitenzorg  is  not  sufficiently  elevated  to  be  regarded  as  a  sanitarium. 
Hence  invalids  and  convalescents  usually  prefer  the  station  of  SuHlang-Lnya,  which 
stands  at  an  altitude  of  3,560  feet  on  the  northern  slope  of  Gede,  near  the  vast 
nursery  grounds  of  Tjibodas.  This  is  said  to  be  the  most  salubrious  spot  in  the 
whole  of  west  Java,  and  hundreds  of  soldiers  stricken  down  during  the  Atjeh 
campaigns  have  here  recovered  their  health. 

South  of  Buitenzorg  the  railway,  after  crossing  the  main  insular  watei'-parting, 
and  leaving  to  the  south  thinly  peopled  districts  sloping  down  to  Wijnkoops  Bai/, 
and  the  port  of  Plahuan-Ratu,  passes  eastwards  by  the  important  stations  of 
Stikabumi  Tjanjur,  into  the  vast  basin  of  the  Tarum.     Here  is  the  port  of  Tjikao, 


186  AUSTRALASIA. 

which  before  the  opening  of  the  railway  was  the  only  outlet  for  the  produce 
of  the  whole  district. 

Farther  east,  at  an  elevation  of  2,470  feet,  stands  Bandong,  the  picturesque 
capital  of  the  "  Preang  regencies,"  almost  completely  concealed  by  the  surrounding 
forest  vegetation,  and  commanded  northwards  by  the  long  crest  of  the  Tangkuban 
Prahu  ridge. 

At  present  (1889)  the  railway  terminates  beyond  Bandong  at  TJitJalenlia,  b\it  is 
to  be  continued  across  the  plateau  down  to  the  Manuk  Valley,  where  it  will  throw 
off  a  branch  south-westwards  to  the  town  of  Ganif.  Then  climbing  the  eastern 
hills  it  will  fall  by  long  inclines  down  to  TJilatJap,  the  most  sheltered  port  on  the 
south  coast,  and  already  connected  by  rail  with  the  northern  slope  of  the  island. 
Even  at  low  water  there  is  a  depth  of  17  or  18  feet  on  the  bar,  and  from  30  to  35 
in  the  harbour,  which  is  protected  by  the  island  of  Kembangan,  and  defended  by 
fortified  lines. 

East  of  Batavia  the  marshy  coast,  fringed  by  mangroves  and  mud  banks,  has 
no  harbours  west  of  Cheribon  Bay.  Indramaju,  in  the  Manuk  delta,  which  grows 
the  best  rice  in  the  island,  is  a  small  riverain  port  accessible  onl}'  to  vessels  of  light 
draught.  The  populous  find  productive  province  of  Cheribon  has  a  large  number 
of  small  towns  and  large  communes,  but  no  cities  of  great  size.  Cheribon,  the 
capital,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  Tji-Ribon  torrent  on  which  it  is  situated, 
occupies  only  a  secondary  position  amongst  the  commercial  centres  of  Java.  Tegal, 
capital  of  the  province  of  like  name,  has  a  roadstead  exposed,  like  that  of  Cheribon, 
to  the  north  and  east  winds,  so  that  vessels  run  some  risk  in  shipping  the  produce 
of  the  interior  brought  down  by  the  railways,  connecting  this  place  with  Balapiiknig 
and  Pangka.  The  largest  town  on  the  north  coast  between  Batavia  and  Semarang 
is  Pekalongan,  which  occupies  both  banks  of  the  river  of  like  name.  Pekalongan 
formerly  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  indigo  trade,  and  the  native  women  wove 
highly  esteemed  coloured  fabrics. 

Semarang  or  Samarang,  lying  near  the  centre  of  the  curve  formed  with  the 
rest  of  the  coast  by  the  peninsula  of  Japara,  is  one  of  the  three  great  ■  Javanese 
marts.  At  the  close  of  the  last  century  it  stood  first,  and  still  rivals  Batavia  and 
Surabaya,  exporting  large  quantities  especially  of  sugar,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  indigo. 
Yet  it  has  no  harbour,  and  large  vessels  calling  here  are  obliged  to  anchor  consider- 
ably over  a  mile  from  the  shore  in  waters  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  west  nionsoon. 
Boats  and  steam  launches  alone  can  penetrate  into  the  city  through  the  Banjir 
canal  to  the  west,  and  the  canalised  river  to  the  east,  on  which  have  been  erected 
the  chief  public  buildings.  If  a  harbour  is  constructed  it  will  probably  have  to  lie 
further  west,  near  Krowelang  Point,  for  at  Semarang  deep  water  of  25  or  30  feet 
occurs  only  some  five  miles  from  the  coast.  In  the  marshy  plain  between  the 
canal  and  the  river  rises  a  star-shaped  fort  strengthened  by  bastions  and  a  moat, 
and  close  by  is  one  of  the  two  artesian  wells  which  supply  the  place  with  pure 
water. 

As  in  Batavia  the  inhabitants  are  grouped  according  to  their  nationalities,  the 
Europeans,  here  numbering  several  thousands,  being  chiefly  centred  in  the  Bojong 


LiotiARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  nUNOIS. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  JAYA. 


187 


quarter,  whicli  lies  above  the  low-lying  tracts  near  the  spurs  of  the  hills  to  the 
south.  Pleasure  resorts  are  also  scattered  to  the  south-west  at  the  foot  and  on  the 
flanks  of  the  Ungaran  volcano,  whose  terraced  slopes  are  crowned  by  the  ruins  of 
Hindu  temples. 

Semaraug  is  abundantly  supplied  with  means  of  communication,  roads,  railways, 
steam  trams,  canals,  and  steamers,  one  line  of  navigation  connecting  it  with  the 

Fig.    76.  —  SEMAEANa. 
Scale  1  :  60,009. 


ancient  city  of  Japnra.  During  the  Hindu  epoch,  Japara,  whicn  gives  its  name 
to  a  province,  was  a  great  emporium,  and  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  century  it 
was  still  frequented  by  shipping.  But  its  port  has  been  gradually  closed  by  the 
coral  reefs,  and  its  trade  having  been  transferred  elsewhere,  Japara  is  now  nothing 
more  than  a  dull  administrative  centre.  In  the  rich  valley  stretching  southwards 
one  of  the  chief  places  is  Demak,  whose  mosque  is  famous  in  the  Mohammedan 
world  as  being  the  first  erected  in  Java. 

Farther  east  follow  the  large  markets  of  Kudm  and  Patti,  and  on  a  broad 


188 


AUSTRALASIA. 


estuai-y  accessible  to  ships  of  average  size,  tlie  ancient  city  of  Jawann  or  Joana.  South 
of  Semarang  the  railway  gradually  rises  in  the  direction  of  Amhnrawn ,  which  the 
Dutch  have  selected  as  their  chief  strategic  station  in  the  interior.  Here  the  vast 
fortress  of   WiHem  I.,  1,G80  feet  above  sea-level,  commands  several  natural  routes 

radiating   in  all    directions. 
Fig.  77. — Magelanq  and  Buru-Budhue. 
Scale  1  :  130,000. 


Towards  the  south  east,  on 
the  first  slopes  of  Mount 
Merbabu,  stands  the  town  of 
Sakdif/a,  where  in  1811  was 
signed  the  capitulation  sur- 
rendering the  Dutch  East 
Indies  to  Great  Britain.  At 
present  Salatiga  is  one  of  the 
chief  health-resorts  of  Java. 
Mfif/elinifj,  capital  of  the 
province  of  Kadii,  occupies 
the  centi'e  of  a  magnificent 
plain  watered  by  the  river 
Progo  and  fertilized  by  the 
ashes  of  the  surrounding 
volcanoes.  Some  nine  or  ten 
miles  to  the  south  of  this 
enchanting  spot  a  small 
eminence  near  the  Progo  is 
crowned  by  the  pyramidal 
temple  of  Buru-Budhur,  the 
finest  Hindu  ruin  in  Java. 
Standing  on  a  square  plat- 
form, 540  feet  on  all  sides, 
the  edifice  rises  in  seven 
retreating  storeys  to  the 
central  dagoha,  or  dome,  a 
solid  mass  of  masonry  tower- 
ing above  thousands  of 
sculptured  stones  and  bas- 
reliefs,  representing  battles, 
hunts,  shipwrecks,  domestic 

^^^^»^_^_^^-^^^-^^^— »~    '6  Miles.  ,    •  11 

scenes,  triumphal  proces- 
sions, in  which  is  figured 
the  elephant,  an  animal  unknown  in  Java.  At  the  angles  of  the  terraces  are 
monstrous  carved  idols,  while  at  intervals  are  throned  effigies  of  Buddha  of 
the  traditional  solemn  and  conventional  type.  Thus  are  intermingled  in  these 
sculptures  the  cults  of  Siva  and  Sakya-Muni.  This  superb  monument,  which  has 
been  compared,  for  vastness  of  proportions  and  finish  of  details,  to  the  Cambojan 


East  oF  Green  V    T 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  JAVA. 


189 


temple  of  Auklior-Vat,  has  lost  a  lai'ge  uumber  of  precious  carvings,  carried  olf 
by  native  princes  and  officials  to  embellish  their  palaces  and  gardens.  But  enough 
still  remain  to  give  an  idea  of  the  prodigious  architectural  work  executed  in  the 
eighth  or  ninth  century  by  Javanese  artists,  under  the  guidance  of  their  Hindu 
instructors.  The  discovery  has  recently  been  made  that  the  base  of  the  building 
is  surrounded  by  a  revetment,  or  stone  facing,  which  masks  inner  walls  richly 
carved  and  covered  with  inscriptions.  Here  archaeologists  hojie  to  find  valuable 
data  on  the  historj'  of  the  edifice  and  of  the  country. 

Lying  on   the   southern  slojje  of   the  island,  both  Magelang  and  the  equally 

Fig.  "S. — Mehapi  and  Joejokaeta. 

Scale  1   :  500,0(10. 


.  '''M/a^Vl 


I'      ,0/ 

1    oV 


I  7' 


picturesque  Piinrorcjo,  capital  of  the  j^roviuce  of  Bagalcn,  have  their  natural  outlet 
in  the  port  of  TjUatjap.  Here  the  fertile  and  thicklj'-peopled  coastlauds  are 
traversed  by  a  railway  running  parallel  with  the  seaboard.  North  of  this  line 
lies  Ba))Jumas,  capital  of  the  province  of  like  name. 

But  the  central  station  of  the  insular  railway  sj-stem  is  the  city  of  Solo,  or 
Suralica-ta,  the  ancient  Kartamirn,  capital  of  one  of  the  few  remaining-  native 
"  regencies."  In  population  Surakarta  holds  the  second  rank,  and  would  even 
be  the  first  were  Batavia  and  Meester  Cornelis  regarded  as  forming  two  really 
distinct  cities.     Its  numerous  quarters,  lining  the  banks  of  the  Pepe,  a  western 


190 


AUSTRALASIA. 


affluent  of  the  Solo,  occuj)y  a  vast  space,  in  the  centre  of  which  stands  the  kraton, 
or  royal  palace.  This  structure,  with  its  inner  courts,  harem,  barracks,  kiosks, 
and  gardens,  forms  a  town  of   itself,  with  a  population  of  ten  thousand  within  its 


Fig.  79. — Patjitan. 
Scale  1  :  100,000. 


::^:-7"'^^i-y«)\v-,-L  «ri  f~-~v^' *^"  -r ■■•t-  i  ^  vxTF^ 


Easb  oPGreenwich 


Depths. 


0to32 
Feet. 

32  to  80 

Feet. 

80  Feet  and 
upwards. 

—  33  Yards. 

enclosure.     But  close  by  is  the  Dutch  citadel,  whose  guns  command  the  Imperial 
court  and  all  its  surroundings. 

Jokjukarta,  or  Jokjo,  capital   of  the  sultanate   of  like  name,  takes  at  present 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  JAVA.  191 

oiilv  the  fiftL  place  amongst  the  Javanese  cities ;  but  it  has  preserved  its  national 
character  far  better  than  Surakarta,  or  any  other  town  subject  to  European  or 
Chinese  influences.  Jokjokarta,  which  in  tlie  la^st  century  "bxrre  <h«  famous  name 
of  Mafaram,  lies  at  the  southern  foot  of  Merapi,  fifteen  miles  in  a  straight  line 
from  the  south  coast.  Like  Surakarta,  it  groups  its  various  quarters  round  about 
a  central  kraton,  covering  nearly  a  square  mile  in  extent,  and  occupied  by  the 
Sultan  and  his  numerous  household.  A  few  ruins  of  Hindu  temples  are  scattered 
over  the  surrounding  district,  and  on  a  hill  to  the  south-east  stands  the  highly- 
veneraled  necropolis  of  the  Mataram  princes. 

Although  lying  so  near  the  coast,  Jokjokarta  has  no  port,  and  the  projected 
harbour  on  the  nearest  creek  [Manjietigan)  has  not  yet  been  constructed.  Mean- 
while the  least  remote  port  is  that  of  Patjiton,  which  is  formed  by  an  indentation 
of  the  rock-bound  coast,  to  the  east  of  the  "  Thousand  Hills."  But  this  place  com- 
municates with  the  inland  towns  only  by  means  of  rugged  paths  traversing  a  thinly 
peopled  territory.     The  district,  however,  contains  rich  deposits  of  fine  matbles. 

The  elegant  Sivaite  temple  of  Brarabanan,  situated  to  the  north-east  of  Jokjok- 
arta, was  the  first  discovered  by  the  Dutch  exjjlorers.  It  was  brought  to  light  in 
1797  by  some  engineers  who  found  it  buried  beneath  a  mass  of  dense  vegetation. 

Miidiuv,  capital  of  the  province  of  like  name,  lies  like  Surakarta  in  the  Solo 
basin  on  the  banks  of  the  Madiun,  a  navigable  affluent  of  that  great  water-course. 
Nya'ci,  standing  near  the  confluence,  was  formerly  a  vitally  important  strategical 
station  on  the  frontier  of  the  regencies,  and  is  still  a  busy  market.  Bojonegoro,  on 
the  Solo,  about  the  head  of  its  delta,  is  also  a  considerable  trading  place,  forward- 
ing most  of  the  supplies  for  the  maritime  city  of  Tuhan,  one  of  the  most  frequented 
ports  on  this  coast.  Although  merely  the  chief  town  of  a  district,  Tuban  is  u 
hu'ger  place  than  Renibang,  capital  of  the  province,  which  lies  farther  west  on  a 
bay  bounded  b}'  the  two  volcanic  headlands  of  Murio  and  Lasem. 

Surabuj/a,  metropolis  of  east  Java,  and  for  a  time  capital  of  the  whole  of  Indon- 
esia, is  one  of  the  great  marts  and  the  chief  naval  arsenal  in  the  island.  As  a  sea- 
port it  has  taken  the  place  of  its  northern  neighbour,  Gresik  or  Grisee,  an  old  Arab 
settlement,  whence  Islam  was  propagated  throughout  the  interior,  and  which 
became  the  residence  of  a  powerful  theocratic  dynasty.  The  city  of  Surabaya 
proper  stands  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Brantas,  its  site  having  been  gradually 
created  by  the  deposits  of  this  stream,  which  compelled  the  sea  to  retire  some  miles 
to  the  north.  Here  the  strait  of  Trechter,  separating  Java  from  Madura,  has 
preserved  sufficient  depth  and  width  to  give  large  vessels  access  to  this  perfectly 
sheltered  and  commodious  roadstead.  Certain  quarters  of  Surabaya,  intersected 
by  canals  in  all  directions,  present  the  aspect  of  a  Dutch  town.  But  the  com- 
mercial parts  are  encircled  by  the  palm-groves  of  the  native  kampongs,  while  the 
European  suburban  villas  of  Sinipaiig  are  embowered  in  dense  tropical  foliage. 
The  ancient  tombs  still  standing  in  a  neighbouring  suburb  recall  the  arrival  of 
the  "  Legendary  People,"  that  is,  the  Hindus.  To  them  the  local  tradition  refers 
the  foundation  of  the  great  Mojo-Pahit  empire,  a  Brahman  State,  which  the 
Mohammedans  at  last  overthrew  in  the  second  half  of  the  fifteenth  century. 


192 


AUSTEALASIA. 


The  ruins  of  the  Hiudu  capital  are  still  seen  strewn  over  the  plains  watered  by 
the  Brautas  some  30  miles  south-west  of  Surabaya,  aear  the  towu  of  Mujo-Kcrto. 
The  decline  of  Javanese  civilisation    since  the  arrival  of  the   Europeans  is  here 


l'"ig.    80. — SUEAUAYA    AND    IIaJJUEA    STEAIT. 

Scale  1  :  160,000. 


Ease  or  Greenw  ch 


Depths. 


J 


illustrated  in  the  perfect  specimens  of  masonry  seen  in  the  remains  of  several  brick 
editices. 

Higher  up  the  Brantas  river  traverses  the  magnificent  province  of  Kadiri,  one 
of  the  earthly  Edens  of  Java,  but  also  one  of  those  regions  where  the  wretched 
inhabitants,  brutalised  by  servitude,  are  moreover  physically  degraded  by  the  use 
of  opium.  The  upper  bend  of  the  stream,  sweeping  r.ouud  the  Kelut  and  Kawi 
mountains,  comprises  the  Making  district,  in  which  are  situated  the  richest  coffee 
and  tobacco  plantations  in  the  island.     At  Siiu/osari,  near  Making,  occur  numerous 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

■JHIVERSlTYofliUNOIS. 


TOPOGHAPHY  OF  JA^'A.  193 

remains  of  Iliiidu  structures,  while  the  spurs  and  terraces  ot"  these  highlands  are 
also  crowned  with  the  ruins  of  ancient  temples,  now,  for  the  most  part,  enclosed 
within  the  grounds  of  the  residences  belonging  to  the  large  landowners. 

The  village  facing  Surabaya  on  the  opposite  side  of  Madura  Strait  is  the 
terminus  of  the  steam  ferry  plying  between  Madura  and  the  mainland.  Bangkalan, 
the  chief  trading  place  in  the  smaller  island,  lies  farther  north  on  an  open  bay 
facing  the  high  sea.  This  seaport  is  a  much  larger  and  richer  town  than  Paitie- 
kasan,  the  ofBcial  capital  of  Madura,  which  lies  on  a  plain  a  few  miles  from  Madura 
Bay.  The  chief  industry  along  this  coast  is  the  preparation  of  salt  for  the  Indo- 
nesian government.  The  Madurese  cattle  belong  to  an  excellent  breed  highly 
valued  throughout  the  Eastern  Archipelago. 

The  island  of  Bawean,  lying  farther  north  and  depending  administratively  on 
Surabaya,  appears  from  the  local  dialect  to  be  inhabited  by  pcojile  of  Madurese 
stock.  It  has  a  brisk  coasting  trade,  and  yearlj^  sends  thousands  of  peasants  and 
artisans  to  find  employment  in  Java. 

South  of  Madura  Bay,  Pasuruan  is  the  first  large  Javanese  town  traversed  by 
the  railway  beyond  the  old  Mojo-Pahit  gulf,  which  is  now  choked  with  alluvia. 
In  this  ancient  Hindu  settlement  the  customs  of  Indian  origin  are  better  preserved 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  island.  The  natives  of  the  surrounding  district  still 
bring  their  offerings  of  foliage  and  flowers  to  the  sources  of  the  running  waters, 
and  worship  the  remains  of  sculptures  in  the  ancient  temples  of  Siva.  Tosari,  th(? 
chief  health  resort  in  east  Java,  stands  5,850  feet  above  sea-level  on  a  sj^ur  of 
Mount  Tenggcr,  whence  a  superb  view  is  commanded  of  the  surrounding  waters, 
plains  and  highlands. 

East  of  Pasuruan,  along  Madura  Bay,  follow  two  other  provincial  capitals, 
Proholingo  {Banger)  and  Bcnuki,  both  of  whose  roadsteads  are  very  unsafe  during 
the  prevalence  of  the  gliendeng,  or  stormy  south  wind,  in  the  months  of  January  and 
Februarj-.  Still  farther  east,  on  the  shore  of  a  small  inlet,  lies  Panarukan,  which 
was  formerly  a  great  city  and  a  chief  centre  of  trade  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago. 
Here  the  Portuguese,  under  Affonso  d'Albuquercj[ue,  established  their  first  factory  in 
Java.  Beyond  Panarukan  the  main  highway,  sweeping  round  Mount  Ruan, 
reaches  the  town  of  Baujuwcunji,  or  "  Perfumed  "Waters,"  which  stands  on  the 
strait  sej)arating  Java  from  Bali.  As  a  commercial  mart  this  place  has  replaced 
Bhiiibangaii,  which  lies  farther  south  on  an  estuary  now  choked  with  sands. 
Banjuwangi  is  the  western  terminus  of  the  submarine  cable  connecting  Indonesia 
with  Port  Darwin  on  the  Australian  mainland.  The  surrounding  district,  cut 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  island  by  trackless  mountains,  is  the  least  densely 
peopled  part  of  Java. 

Adjiixistkatiox. 

The  central  authority  enjoys  almost  absolute  power  in  Java  and  the  othci" 
islands,  or  "  outer  "  possessions  of  Holland  in  Indonesia.  The  governor-general, 
representing  the  crown,  is  himself  a  sovereign,  who  has  at  his  free  disposal  the 

VOL.   XIV.  o 


19i 


AUSTR.\iASIA. 


land  and  soa  forces,  who  applies  the  laws  passed  by  the  Netherlands  Parliament, 
and  who  even  enjoys  the  privilege  of  issuing  decrees  in  general  conformity  with 
the  administrative  provisions  of  1854.  His  civil  list,  although  recently  diminished, 
still  exceeds  £13,000,  besides  travelling  expenses.  In  his  legislative  work  he  is 
aided  by  a  council  of  five  members,  who  are  proposed  by  him  and  nominated  by 
the  king,  but  who  take  no  part  in  the  executive. 

Public  opinion  both  in  Java  and  Holland  has  hitherto  in  vain  demanded  for 
Indonesia  the  approjjriation  of  its  own  budget,  as  well  as  some  share  in  the 
administration.  The  natives  retain  nothing  beyond  a  few  tolerated  rights  in 
the  management  of  the  dcssa,  or  communal  groups.     A  lai'ge  section  of  the  inha- 

Fio'.  81. — Adminisieative  Divisions  of  Java. 


I.  Bantam. 

II.  Batavia. 
m.  Pre.anger  Regent- 

schappen. 
IV.  Ktawang. 

V.  Cheribon. 


VT.  Tegal. 
VII.  Eanjumas. 
VIII.  Pekalongan. 
nX.  Bagelen. 


XII.  J.Ajokarb.. 

XIII.  Surakarta. 

XIV.  Japava. 
IXV.  Eemtang. 

XVI.  Mediun. 
XVII.  Kediii, 


XVm.  Sm'abaya. 
XIX.  Pasunian. 
XX.  Probolinggo. 
XXI.  Bsukianapan- 

juwangi. 
XXII.  Madura. 


bitants  still  consists  of  the  so-called  maimmpanf/,  that  is,  "  houseless  and  home- 
less," with  whom  might  till  lately  be  comj)ared  the  class  of  the  hcimathloscn  in 
Switzerland. 

Surprise  is  often  expressed  that  so  many  millions  should  obey  the  orders  of  a 
person  who  has  at  his  disposal  so  few  material  forces.  The  army  scarcely  exceeds 
thirty  thousand  men,  of  whom  only  one  half  are  Europeans,  and  even  these 
include  Belgian,  German  and  other  mercenaries  or  adventurers.  ^Vhites  and 
natives  of  diverse  races,  half-castes,  Negroes,  Arabs  and  Hindus,  serve  together  in 
the  same  battalions,  but  grouped  according  to  colour  in  distinct  companies,  and 
commanded  by  a  relatively  small  number  of  European  officers.  In  accordance 
with  Eastern  usage  the  troops  may  reside  in  the  barracks  with  their  permanent  or 
temporary  families,  which  at  times  even  accompany  them  on  short  military 
expeditions.  It  is  an  exclusively  colonial  service,  and  even  for  the  Atjeh  war 
no  Dutch  troops  have  ever  been  despatched  to  the  East  Indies.  But  the  better 
part  of  the  fleet  belongs  to  the  untlonal  navj'. 

The  European  element  is  directly  administered  by  the  governor- general,  while 


ADinNISTEATION  OF  JAVA.  195 

for  the  natives  the  fiction  is  still  maintained  of  a  certain  local  rule  by  the 
descendants  of  their  ancient  princes.  The  various  provinces  are  divided  into 
regencies,  whose  "  regents  "  or  titular  chiefs  are  members  of  the  former  dj-nasties. 
Although  nominated  by  the  crown,  these  adhipatti  and  tumengyung,  that  is,  regents  of 
the  first  and  second  class,  have  always  the  prestige  commanded  by  wealth,  for  they 
enjoy  stipends  ranging  from  £800  to  over  £7,000,  besides  a  share  in  the  j)roducc 
of  the  land.  But  at  their  side  are  the  Dutch  residents  and  assistants — prefects 
and  sub-prefects — who,  although  keeping  more  in  the  background,  represent  the 
real  authority.  Even  in  the  secondary  divisions  the  rcdono,  or  native  officials, 
are  held  in  check  by  European  controllers,  these  Dutch  functionaries  numbering 
altogether  about  three  hundred.  They  are  even  graduallj^  replacing  the  Javanese 
officials,  who  will  doubtless  sooner  or  later  disappear  altogether. 

In  the  two  Vorsfcnlanden  ("  principalities  ")  of  Surakarta  and  Jokjokarta,  the 
old  regime  is  still  kept  up  with  its  primitive  oiitward  fonualities.  Surakarta 
ofiicially  obej^s  a  Susukunan  ("emperor"),  while  Jokjokarta  is  ruled  by  a 
sultan  ;  but  both  alike  are  controlled  by  a  Dutch  resident,  without  whose  sanction 
they  cannot  even  leave  their  palaces  for  a  stroll  in  the  neighbourhood.  The 
monopolies  formerly  enjoyed  by  them  have  for  the  most  part  been  bought  up  by 
the  Dutch  Government. 

A  supreme  court  of  justice  for  the  whole  of  the  Dutch  possessions  has  its  seat 
in  Batavia.  Java  itself  is  divided  into  three  legal  circuits,  corresponding  to  the 
natural  divisions  of  the  land,  and  under  these  courts,  located  in  Batavia,  Semarang 
and  Surabaya,  secondary  tribunals  are  established  in  the  provinces,  regencies  and 
districts.  Each  resident,  assistant,  and  controller  is  at  the  same  time  a  magistrate 
who  pronounces  sentences  in  conformity  with  precedent  and  after  formal  consulta- 
tion with  the  Mohammedan  assessors  learned  in  the  Moslem  law  and  the  local 
usages.  The  communal  mayors  also  enjoy  a  certain  discretional  power  for 
repressing  crime  and  awarding  penalties,  and  the  same  jn-ivilege,  though  to  a  less 
extent,  is  possessed  by  the  heads  of  the  Chinese  communities,  the  maj-ors,  cajitains, 
and  lieutenants,  as  they  are  called,  being  charged  with  the  maintenance  of  order 
amongst  their  fellow  countrymen. 

Capital  punishment,  though  not  j-et  removed  from  the  colonial  penal  code,  is 
rarely  enforced.  The  native  convicts  are  for  the  most  part  emjjloyed  on  public 
works,  in  the  arsenals  and  dockyards,  on  the  road  and  canals.  Except  in  the  large 
towns,  there  are  no  local  police,  the  communes  being  directly  responsible  for  the 
preservation  of  peace  in  their  several  jurisdictions. 

The  "  colonial "  revenue,  two-thirds  of  which  is  apj)lied  to  local  purposes,  is 
partly  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  coffee  raised  by  forced  labour,  the  other  chief 
sources  of  income  being  the  sale  of  land  and  the  opium  and  salt  monopolies. 
About  a  third  of  the  budget  is  applied  to  defensive  purposes,  and  another  third  to 
the  administration  properly  so  called.  The  actual  revenue  is  much  larger  than 
would  appear  from  the  official  returns.  Including  the  statute  labour  and  estimat- 
ing this  burden  at  the  lowest  rate,  it  amounts,  according  to  Brooshooft,  to  not  less 
than  £10,000,000. 


196  AUSTRALASIA. 

Java  and  ^ladura  constitute  twenty-two  ailministrative  provinces,  whicli  with 
their  capitals,  areas  and  popuLitions  will  he  found  tahulated  in  the  Appendix. 

Bali. 

Bali,  or  "Little  Java,"  as  it  is  often  called,  is  in  fact  geologically  a  fragment 
of  the  great  island  from  which  it  is  separated  bj^  a  channel  little  over  two  miles 
wide,  and  in  one  place  only  53  feet  deep.  Yet  this  narrow  strait  has  sufficed 
to  impart  a  certain  local  character  to  the  flora  and  fauna,  as  well  as  to  the  native 
j)opulation.  From  the  historic  point  of  view  Bali  is,  so  to  say,  a  fossil  Java  ;  while 
the  latter  has  become  Mohammedan,  the  former  has  remained  Hindu  in  religion, 
customs,  institutions,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  even  in  sjieech.  Hence  the  his- 
torical and  linguistic  relations  of  Bali,  owing  to  their  unusual  interest,  have  been 
carefully  studied,  somewhat  to  the  neglect  of  its  present  material  and  social  con- 
dition. No  systematic  census  has  yet  been  taken  ;  but  according  to  official  docu- 
ments this  island,  like  Java,  is  one  of  the  most  densely  peopled  lands  in  the 
world,  about  1,340,000  human  beings  being  here  crowded  together  in  a  space  not 
exceeding  4,300  square  miles. 

Bali  presents  the  general  outlines  of  an  elongated  triangle,  with  apex  pointing 
towards  Java  and  base  turned  towards  Lombok.  Hills  of  eruptive  formation  run 
west  and  east,  disposed  in  ridges  or  isolated  masses  without  any  apparent  regu- 
larity. Bakungan,  the  first  of  the  volcanic  peaks,  rises  to  a  height  of  4,800  feet 
over  against  the  Javanese  town  of  Banjuwangi.  The  much  more  elevated  Batu 
Kau  (9,700  feet),  occupies  very  nearly  the  geometrical  centre  of  the  island.  Its 
central  cone  is  enriched  by  a  number  of  lakelets,  and  north-east  of  this  point 
stands  the  still  active  Batur  (6,420  feet),  whose  twin  craters  emit  columns  of 
vapour  accompanied  by  a  rumbling  noise.  Streams  of  molten  lava  flowing  down 
its  eastern  flank  have  reached  and  nearly  evaporated  a  lovely  blue  lake  at  its  foot. 
According  to  the  local  legend  Batur  is  the  abode  of  a  god,  whose  wife  dwells  in 
the  waters  of  the  lake. 

South-eastwards  follow  other  volcanoes  apparently  extinct,  such  as  the  Gunong 
Abang  (7,650  feet),  and  the  Gunong  Agung,  that  is,  the  "Great  Mountain," 
called  also  the  Bali  Peak,  whose  bare  yellowish  cone  rises  10,520  feet  above  the 
sea.  At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island  stands  the  Seraya  volcino  (4,125 
feet),  now  a  vast  ruin,  whose  crater  and  upper  parts  were  blown  away  during  a 
prehistoric  eruption.  Soiith  of  these  igneous  masses  the  plains  are  strewn  with 
volcanic  scorias,  beyond  which  occur  a  few  hills  of  tertiary  formation,  such  as 
Badung  connected  by  an  isthmus  with  the  mainland,  and  the  insular  Nusa  Penida 
or  Pandita,  that  is,  "  Isle  of  Priests." 

Despite  an  abundant  rainfall  Bali  is  too  small  to  develop  any  important  run- 
ning waters,  and  most  of  the  rivulets  even  run  drj'  during  the  south-east  monsoon. 
The  surface  water  is  almost  entirely  absorbed  in  irrigating  the  rice-fields,  which 
are  carefully  cultivated  by  the  native  peasantry,  and  which  cover  nearly  all  the 
productive  land.     The  primeval  forests  have  entirely  disappeared,  and  with  them 


BALI. 


197 


all  rapacious  beasts,  excejjt  a  few  tigers  which  still  j^rowl  about  the  briishwood  on 
the  mountain  slopes. 

The  Balinese,  akin  to  the  Javanese,  are  somewhat  taller  and  more  robust ; 
being  also  less  inured  to  serfdom  and  freer  from  the  direct  control  of  their  Dutch 
masters,  they  have  a  more  resolute  attitude  and  prouder  glance.  On  the  uplands 
goitre  is  very  common,  in  some  districts  more  than  half  of  the  population  being 
afflicted  by  this  affection,  which,  however,  according  to  Jacobs,  is  here  never 
accompanied  by  cretinism,  as  in  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees. 

Two  quite  distinct  dialects  are  current,  the  "  low  "  or  primitive  Balinese, 
differing  greatly  from  Javanese  and  showing  more  affinity  with  the  idioms  of  the 


Fig.  82.— Bali. 
Scale  1  :  1,6U0,000. 


t asl  or  urqen w  ch 


500  Fathoms  aud 


eastern  islands,  and  the  "  high "  Balinese,  which  differs  from  the  "  high " 
Javanese  mainly  in  the  large  number  of  words  it  has  borrowed  from  the  Kavi,  or 
sacred  language,  still  spoken  by  the  priests  and  men  of  letters.  As  in  Java,  the 
servile  classes  are  obliged  to  use  the  high  language  in  addressing  their  superiors, 
who  reply  in  the  low  language. 

Hindu  culture  appears  to  have  penetrated  far  more  deeply  amongst  the 
Balinese  than  amongst  the  Javanese.  The  persistence  of  the  Hindu  religion  in 
the  smaller  island  may  bo  due  partly  to  the  immigration  of  refugees  from  the 
Mojo-Pahit  empire  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  partly  to  the  arrival  of  settlers 
direct  from  the  Coromandel  coast.    Officially,  the  whole  population  is  still  divided, 


198  AUSTRALASIA. 

ns  in  India,  Into  the  foui-  castes  of  the  Bralimans,  Ksliatryas,  Yaisyas,  and  Sudras. 
But  these  primordial  groups  arc  again  subdivided  into  numerous  sub-castes,  while 
the  ancient  Balinese  nobility  constitutes  a  special  class  between  the  Vaisyas  and 
Sudras.  All  these  distinctions  are  maintained  by  inveterate  custom  with  pitiless 
ferocity.  The  daughter  of  a  Brahman  marrying  a  man  of  lower  position  is  thrown 
to  the  flames,  and  her  lover  sewed  up  in  a  sack  and  drowned.  Even  in  the 
provinces  under  direct  Dutch  control,  public  opinion  compels  the  magistrates  to 
banish  any  J'oung  persons  violating  the  laws  of  caste.  Brahmans  have  often  been 
known  to  slay  their  own  daughters  guilty  of  this  offence.  Nevertheless,  inter- 
crossings  are  frequent,  both  Brahmans  and  nobles  having  the  right  to  take  from 
the  lower  ranks  as  many  wives  as  they  like,  the  offspring  of  such  unions  inheriting 
the  paternal  caste. 

The  Balinese  are  still  worshij^pers  of  the  Hindu  trinity,  and  everywhere  is  to 
be  seen  the  tricolour  flag,  rod,  white,  and  blue,  symbolising  the  Creator,  Preserver, 
and  Destroyer.  But  the  efBgies  of  Brahma  and  Vishnu  have  for  the  most  part 
been  replaced  by  those  of  Durga  and  Ganesa,  Buddhist  influences  also-  persist 
under  the  outward  forms  of  Brahmanism,  and  Siva,  by  far  the  most  popular  deity, 
is  invoked  as  a  beneficent  god.  In  other  respects  the  Balinese  have  little  religious 
zeal,  and  display  no  intolerance  towards  those  of  other  religions.  Some  thousand.? 
of  the  lower  caste  have  even  become  Mohammedans,  in  order  thus  to  improve 
their  social  position.  But  since  the  murder  of  a  missionary  in  1881,  all  further 
attempts  to  propagate  Christianity  have  been  discoutiuucd.  The  thousands  of 
Hindu  temples  scattered  over  the  island  are  obviously  too  numerous  for  the 
faithful,  for  many  are  in  ruins  and  no  one  thinks  of  repairing  them.  The 
religious  ceremonies  observed  with  the  greatest  fervour  are  those  connected  with 
husbandr}^  These  agricultural  islanders  delight  in  processions  round  their 
fields,  in  worshipping  at  the  little  bamboo  shrines  of  the  goddess  of  the  crops,  and 
crowning  themselves  with  chaplets  of  flowers  after  abundant  harvests. 

The  religious  jurisprudence  is  excessively  harsh,  and  severe  public  penances 
are  frequently  imposed  in  order  to  avert  any  fancied  forebodings  Of  evil.  Till 
recently  certain  ill  omens  required  the  shedding  of  human  blood,  at  times 
accompanied  even  with  the  most  atrocious  tortures.  One  of  the  hideous  devices 
of  the  priests  was  to  stretch  their  victims  on  the  sharp  points  of  young  bamboos 
and  leave  them  to  linger  for  days  until  released  by  death  from  their  unspeak- 
able agony.  The  wives  of  Brahmans  and  of  princes  were  morally  bound  to  perish 
in  the  flames  kindled  to  consume  the  bodies  of  their  husbands,  and  twenty 
years  after  the  last  case  of  suttee  in  India,  Bali  still  had  its  holocausts  of 
widows. 

The  Balinese  live  almost  exclusively  on  rice,  other  cereals,  and  fruits,  pork 
being  the  only  flesh  permitted  by  the  priests,  who,  however,  never  touch  it  them- 
selves. The  extensive  cocoanut  groves  yield  large  quantities  of  oil,  and  domestic 
industries  as  well  as  agriculture  are  even  more  developed  than  in  Java.  The 
jewellers,  metal-chasers,  and  armourers  are  very  skilful,  while  the  women  weave 
and  dye  beautiful  cotton  and  silk  textiles. 


J 


BALI.  199 

Public  instruction  stands  at  a  high  level,  and,  although  there  are  no  schools, 


most  of  the  men  and  women  of  the  upper  castes  can  read  and  wrifo  Ealineso  and 


200  AUSTEAL.VSIA. 

even  Kavi.  Thousands  of  books  circulate  amongst  tlicm  on  history,  theology, 
jurisprudence,  ethics,  poetry,  and  the  drama.  According  to  Van  der  Tuuk,  who 
formed  a  rict  library  of  tbis  extensive  literature,  the  Balinese  poem  of  Tantrija  is 
at  least  partly  the  original  source  of  the  Arabian  Nightn.  The  people  often  gather 
of  an  evening  to  assist  at  theatrical  performances,  the  subjects  of  which  arc 
mostly  Hindu  and  local  mythologies.  The  actors,  all  of  the  Brahmanic  caste,  use 
the  sacred  language,  as  was  formerly  the  case  In  Java,  and  in  these  "  mysteries  " 
the  ancestors  of  the  Balinese  are  figured  as  raJis/iasas,  or  giants. 

But  the  native  civilisation  has,  for  the  last  two  centuries,  entered  on  a  period 
of  decline.  The  early  travellers  speak  of  floui'isbing  seaports,  and  well-kept 
highways  connecting  the  large  towns  ;  now  trade  has  fallen  oil,  and  the  country 
is  mainly  traversed  by  rough  tracks.  This  decadence  must  be  attributed  to  tbe  use 
of  opium,  now  prevalent  amongst  all  classes,  to  the  constant  civil  wars,  to  the 
slave-hunting  expeditions  which  have  wasted  the  coastlands,  and  lastly  to  the 
degradation  of  woman,  now  reduced  to  a  mere  object  of  barter. 

Tiie  two  western  provinces  of  Jembrana  and  Buleleng,  lying  nearest  to  Java, 
are  subject  to  the  direct  administration  of  tbe  Dutch.  The  town  of  Bulelcng, 
near  the  coast,  is  the  chief  residence  of  the  officials,  and  ranks  as  the  capital 
although  destitute  of  any  harbour. 

The  seven  remaining  provinces  have  been  left  under  the  control  of  protected 
princes,  who  still  enjoy  certain  sovereign  rights,  but  whose  military  power  was 
broken  during  the  sanguinary  wars  of  1840  and  1849.  Although  deprived  of  all 
real  power,  they  maintain  the  outward  show  of  mighty  potentates.  They  are 
approached  with  much  prostration,  and  at  their  death  all  their  subjects  have  to 
shave  their  heads  in  sign  of  mourning.  They  inherit  some  of  the  effects,  of  the 
women,  and  slaves  of  those  dying  without  direct  heirs,  and  of  all  criminals 
sentenced  to  banishment.  But  in  these  matters  the  princes  themselves  are  the 
judges,  and  whenever  it  suits  them,  they  have  merely  to  mount  their  stately  tri- 
bunal, and  award  to  themselves  any  coveted  estates. 

The  principality  of  Barujli,  which  lies  to  the  east  of  Buleleng,  is  the  "  Holy 
Land "  of  Bali,  for  here  is  situated  the  Batur  volcano.  But  the  province  of 
KalinHj-Kmifj,  on  the  south-east  coast,  ranks  first  in  national  importance.  The 
chief,  although  now  one  of  the  least  powerful  in  the  island,  is,  nevertheless,  the 
"  Great  Man,"  to  whom  all  the  other  princes  pay  homage. 

Gijanyar,  lying  west  of  Kalung-Kung,  is  the  most  densely  peopled  territory  in 
Bali ;  its  great  fertility,  generally  flourishing  condition,  and  relatively  mild 
administration  attract  a  constant  stream  of  immigrants  to  this  favoured  princi- 
jDalify.  The  conterminous  state  of  Baduug,  on  the  south  coast,  was  formerly  the 
chief  centre  of  trade,  but  is  now  almost  destitute  of  inhabitants,  the  slave  trade 
having  converted  it  into  a  wilderness.  The  western  principalities  of  Tahanan  and 
Mcngui  are  both  said  to  be  thickly  inhabited.  The  eastern  jDrovince  of  Karang- 
Assem  is  included  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Rajah  of  Lombok.  Since  1882, 
both  Bali  and  Lombok  belong  to  the  same  administrative  division  of  the  Dutch 
possessions. 


LOMBOK. 


201 


A  table  of  all  the  provinces  with  their  respective  areas  and  populations  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix, 

LOMROK. 

This  island,  so  called  by  the  Europeans  from  a  village  on  the  north-east  coast, 

Fi^-.  Si.  —  LOITBOK    SllbVIT. 

Scule  1  :  8i>i,f»H-i. 


600  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


is  known  to  the  natives  by  the  name  of  Selaparang  or  Selaparan,  and  to  the  Malays 
as  the  Tanah  Sasak,  or  Land  of  the  Sasak  people.  It  presents  about  the  same 
superficial  extent  as  Bali,  but  is  less  known  owing  to  the  more  rugged  character  of 
the  land,  and  the  lower  state  of  culture  of  its  inhabitants.  Since  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  it  has  been  a  political  dependency  of  Bali,  although  the 
Balinese  themselves  form  but  a  fraction  of  the  popidation. 


202  AUSTEAI.AglA. 

The  Strait  of  Lombok  separating  the  two  islands,  altlioiigh  little  more  ttan 
twenty  miles  broad  at  its  narrowest  point,  has  a  deptb  of  no  less  than  fire  Inmdred 
fathoms.  This  apparently  unimportant  ehannel  may  thus  be  said  to  form  the 
natural  limit  of  the  shallow  Java  Sea,  which  has  an  average  depth  of  considerably 
less  than  one  hundred  fathoms.  The  current  in  the  Strait  sets  with  a  mean 
velocitj^  of  four  miles  an  hour  in  the  direction  from  south  to  north,  and 
Wallace  has  shown  that  for  the  distribution  of  animal  and  vegetable  species  this 
passage  forms  in  many  respects  the  chief  parting-line  between  the  Indian  and 
Australian  domains.  The  Areng  palm  (areiiga  sacrharifera)  is  not  found  in 
Lombok,  which  also  lacks  the  teak,  orchids,  heaths,  and  mosses  peculiar  to  the 
Javanese  flora. 

In  the  animal  kingdom  the  differences  are  still  greater,  Lombok  possessing 
neither  the  tiger  nor  any  other  members  of  the  feline  family.  Most  of  the 
Javanese  and  Balinese  birds  are  also  unknown  in  the  neighbouring  island,  which 
on  the  other  hand  possesses  several  Australian  species,  amongst  others  the  remark- 
able tncf/cqwdius  gouldii,  a  species  of  turkey,  which  buries  its  eggs  under  a  heap  of 
earth  and  foliage  6  or  7  feet  high  and  40  in  circumference.  Here  also  are 
found  the  Australian  cockatoos,  which,  however,  reach  as  far  west  as  the  islet 
of  Paudita  (Penida),  separated  only  by  shallow  water  from  Bali.  But  the 
transition  of  species  may  be  followed  from  island  to  island,  and  according  to 
Martin,  the  true  parting- line  between  the  Asiatic  and  Australian  forms  should  be 
placed  rather  to  the  north-west  of  Timor. 

Like  Java  and  Bali,  Lombok  is  intersected  by  two  parallel  ridges,  sedimentary 
in  the  south  and  volcanic  in  the  north.  The  former,  which  scarcely  exceeds  1,000 
feet  in  height,  is  continued  both  east  and  west  beyond  the  coast-line,  and  is  inter- 
sected at  certain  points  by  a  few  prominent  masses  of  scorice.  It  is  also  connected 
with  the  northern  volcanoes  by  some  still  older  eruptive  tufas,  which  form  in  the 
centre  of  the  island  a  water-parting  for  the  streams  flowing  in  one  direction 
towards  Lombok  Strait,  in  another  to  that  of  Alias. 

The  volcanic  chain  begins  over  against  Bali  with  Mount  TVangsit  (4,000  feet), 
which  is  followed  eastwards  by  several  other  extinct  cones.  The  system  merges 
towards  the  middle  of  the  range  in  the  massive  Renjani  group,  from  the  centre  of 
which  rises  the  peak  of .  Api,  or  "  Fire,"  whence  are  still  emitted  wreaths  of 
sul^Aurous  vapour.  The  highest  summit  of  this  group,  usually  known  as  the 
Lombok  peak,  is  one  of  the  loftiest,  if  not  the  culminating  point  of  Indonesia  ; 
but  this  majestic  cone  has  not  yet  been  ascended,  and  its  altitude  is  variously 
estimated  at  from  11,000  to  13,800  feet. 

The  Sasaks,  who  form  the  great  bulk  of  the  population,  differ  physically  but 
little  from  the  Balinese  and  speak  a  language  of  the  same  stock,  but  approaching 
nearer  to  the  Sumbawa  dialect,  although  written  with  the  Balinese  alphabet.  The 
natives  are  all  Mohammedans,  but  disj^laj'  little  religious  fervour,  as  is  shown  by 
the  general  absence  of  mosques.  Politically  they  are  subject  to  the  Balinese 
intruders,  who  are  represented  by  a  colony  of  about  twenty  thousand  scattered 
over  the  western  parts  of  the  island. 


LOMBOK.— SUMBAWA.  203 

Mataram,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  lies  on  a  plain  about  four  miles  from  the 
east  coast.  The  neighbouring  port  of  Amjmnan  is  a  flourishing  place  composed  of 
four  Kampongs,  which  are  inhabited  by  as  many  distinct  nations :  Malays, 
Baliuese,  Bugis  of  Celebes,  and  Sasaks.  Mataram,  where  the  Balinese  alone 
enjoy  the  privilege  of  riding  on  horseback,  is  a  well-kept  place  with  broad  streets 
lined  by  shady  banyans.  A  little  to  the  south  lies  the  Sasak  village  of  Karang- 
Assem,  which  was  the  capital  of  Lombok  before  the  Balinese  conquest ;  but  since 
the  year  1849  it  has  been  subject  to  the  foreign  lajah. 

The  rolling  plains  stretching  east  of  Mataram  towards  the  Sasan  hills  are 
described  by  "^Vallace  as  perhaps  the  most  highly  cultivated  in  the  whole  of 
Indonesia.  For  a  space  of  some  hundred  square  miles  all  the  streams  are  dis- 
tributed with  admirable  art  in  a  network  of  irrigating  canals,  which  encircle  the 
flanks  of  the  hills,  and  rise  from  terrace  to  terrace  like  the  seats  of  an  amphi- 
theatre. "  Each  terraced  plot  consists  in  some  places  of  many  acres,  in  others  of 
a  few  square  yards.  ^Ve  saw  them  in  every  state  of  cultivation  :  some  in  stubble, 
some  being  ploughed,  some  with  rice-crops  in  various  stages  of  growth.  Here 
were  luxuriant  patches  of  tobacco  ;  there  cucumbers,  sweet  potatoes,  yams,  beans, 
or  Indian  corn  varied  with  the  scene."  * 

The  chief  crops  are  rice  and  coffee,  which  arc  shipped  at  Ampanau.  The 
Sasaks  also  export  a  small  but  fiery  breed  of  horses  and  a  peculiar  sjDecies  of  duck, 
which  walk  nearly  erect  like  penguins,  and  which  are  locally  known  as  "Baliuese 
soldiers." 

In  Lombok  the  penal  code  is  very  severe,  theft  and  adultery  being  capital ' 
offences.  In  certain  cases  torture  is  even  inflicted  before  death,  and  gamblers  and 
opium  smokers  are  punished  with  the  bastinado.  The  rajah,  who  is  represented  in 
the  Balinese  province  of  Karang-Assem  by  a  viceroy,  maintains  a  force  of  about 
20,000  men,  well  drilled  and  supplied  with  the  best  fire-arras. 


SfMBAWA. 

Simibawa,  the  correct  form  of  which  is  Sambava,  is  larger  than  Bali  and 
Lombok  taken  together.  It  really  consists  of  several  distinct  lands,  which  a 
slight  subsidence  would  decompose  into  a  small  archipelago,  and  which  a  corres- 
ponding upheaval  would  connect  with  the  neighbouring  islets,  such  as  Moyo  in 
the  north,  Sido  and  Tengani  in  the  south-east.  Towards  the  centre  Sumbawa 
contracts  to  a  narrow  isthmus  scarcely  twelve  miles  across,  and  here  a  broad  inlet 
penetrates  from  the  Sunda  Sea  far  inland,  ramifying  here  and  there  into  lateral 
creeks  completely  sheltered  from  all  winds.  Farther  east  the  coast  is  again  in- 
dented by  similar  fjords,  such  as  Tjempi  Bay  on  the  south  and  Bima  on  the  north 
.  side. 

The  surface  is  for  the  most  part  mountainous,  developing  distinct  masses  of 
eruptive  origin,  and  comprising  altogether  as  many  as  twenty- two  active  or  extinct 


Tht  Malay  Archipelago,  fiftt  edition,  p.  161, 


201  AUSTEALASIA. 

craters.  In  tlie  south,  however,  occur  some  sedimentary  formations,  which  form 
an  eastern  continuation  of  the  Javanese,  Balinese  and  Lombok  limestone  system. 
The  south-western  extremity  of  the  island  also  consists  of  a  non-volcanic  promon- 
tory terminating  in  a  regular  plateau,  which,  like  so  many  similar  formations 
elsewhere,  takes  the  name  of  Tafelberg  or  Table  Mountain. 

The  Ngenges  (5,370  feet)  and  Lanteh  (5,260  feet)  volcanoes  in  the  west  are 
succeeded  farther  east  by  the  far  more  imposing  Timboro  (Tomboro,  Tambora), 
which  projects  on  the  north  side  beyond  the  normal  coast-Hue,  its  broad  slopes 

Fig.  8.5.  — Central  Part  of  Sujibawa. 

Sc.ile  1  :  1,500,000. 


Oto32 

Feet. 

S2  to  320 
Feet. 

320  Feet  and 
upwards. 
—  30  Miles. 

here  completely  filliug  an  extensive  peninsula.  At  present  its  loftiest  peak  rises 
to  a  height  of  9,900  feet ;  but  it  is  said  to  have  had  an  elevation  of  over  13,000 
before  the  year  1815,  when  it  still  formed  the  culminating  point  of  the  Eastern 
Archipelago.  But  on  the  evening  of  April  5  th  in  that  year,  a  tremendous  explo- 
sion took  place,  which  was  heard  as  far  as  Celebes,  Borneo,  and  Sumatra,  and 
which  was  accomiDanied  by  a  prodigious  shower  of  ashes  burying  all  the  sur- 
rounding lands  and  waters  in  darkness  for  ten  consecutive  days.  In  the  neigh- 
bouring seas  the  floating  masses  of  pumice  exceeded  a  yard  in  thickness,  and 


SUMBAWA.  205 

these  debris  represented  at  least  100,  aud  accurdiug  to  some  autliorities  over  500, 
cubic  miles  of  matter  ejected  or  blown  from  the  mountain  on  this  occasion.  The 
12,000  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  district  were  all  buried  imdcr  the  rain  of 
scoria; ;  but  probably  as  many  as  one  hundred  thousand  perished  during  the 
famine  and  epidemics  caused  by  the  destruction  of  the  forests,  the  loss  of  cattle, 
the  ruin  of  the  irrigation  works  and  the  general  havoc  spread  over  the  adjoining 
islands  by  this  terrific  outburst.  Over  40,000  Sasaks  died  of  hunger  in  Lombok, 
and  the  population  of  Sumbawa,  which  in  1815  was  about  170,000,  was  still  only 
75,500  in  1847.  Even  at  present  the  Timboro  peninsula  remains  almost  a  com- 
plete desert. 

Throughout  a  great  part  of  Indonesia  the  "  night  of  ashes  "  was  long  con- 
sidered the  chief  event  in  history,  and  served  as  the  starting  point  of  a  new 
chronological  era. 

The  eastern  part  of  Sumbawa  is  often  agitated  by  violent  earthquakes,  and 
here  also  are  numerous  volcanoes,  such  as  Dindi  (5,160  feet),  Soro  Mandi  (4,570  feet) 
and  Aru  Hassa  (5,550  feet)  near  the  north  coast,  and  towards  the  south-cast  angle 
Sambon  (4,130  feet),  and  Lambu  (4,G50  feet).  Lastlj-  the  islet  of  Sangeau,  called 
also  Gunong  Api  (6,900  feet),  is  still  in  a  constant  state  of  agitation,  einittiug  at 
short  intervals  jets  of  vapour  and  ashes. 

■  The  Malayan  inhabitants  of  Sumbawa  have  been  much  influenced  by  the  cultured 
peoples  of  Celebes,  with  w'hom  they  carry  on  a  large  part  of  their  trade,  and  by 
whom  they  have  long  been  governed.  The  Bugi  language  of  South  Celebes  is  current, 
with  other  Malay  dialects,  in  some  districts  of  the  north  coast,  while  that  of  Macassar 
is  the  only  literary  standard  in  the  island.  Nearly  all  the  natives  profess  Islam, 
but  some  groups  of  Orang  Dongo,  or  "Highlanders,"  occupying  the  forests  south 
of  Moimt  Aru  Hassa,  are  still  pagans,  though  preserving  a  few  practices  dating 
from  the  early  visits  of  the  Hindu  missionaries  to  their  moimtaius.  They  call  the 
spirits  by  the  Sanskrit  name,  dcra,  and  offer  them  fruits  and  flowers.  At  night 
torches  alone  are  used,  the  light  of  lamps  being  regaixlcd  as  ill  omened.  The 
property  of  the  departed  is  shared  equally  amongst  all  the  kindred,  a  share 
being  also  reserved  for  the  deceased.  The  cattle  are  sacrificed  on  their  graves,  and 
the  other  articles  burnt  or  buried  for  their  use  in  the  other  world.  These  high- 
landers  keep  aloof  from  all  direct  contact  with  Europeans,  and  their  barter  with 
the  outer  world  is  confined  to  certain  clearings  in  the  forests  on  the  verge  of  their 
territory. 

Sumhawa,  capital  of  the  western  state  which  bears  the  same  name,  lies  on  a  bay 
on  the  north  coast  exposed  to  the  north-west  winds.  At  the  time  of  the  Timboro 
explosion,  only  twenty-six  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  alive,  but  at  present  it  has  a 
mixed  population  of  natives  and  Celebes  immigrants  numbering  altogether  about 
six  thousand.  This  place  exports  cotton,  sandalwood,  sajjanwood  (cvsaJpinia,  or 
"  red  wood  '"),  and  an  excellent  breed  of  ponies. 

Bima,  on  the  east  side  of  the  bay  of  like  name,  is  almost  the  onl  v  market  in  the 
section  of  the  island  lying  cast  of  Timboro.  It  is  the  capital  of  a  native  state 
which  also  comprises  the  old  breached  crater  of  Grili  Banta,  east  of  Sapi  strait,  the 


20G  AUSTEiVIiASIA. 

Koniodo  group,  a  few  other  islets,  and  the  Mangkarai  district  in  the  west  part  of 
Flores.  Formerly  the  large  island  of  Sumba  also  formed  part  of  this  state.  The 
port  of  Bima  is  one  of  the  best  in  Indonesia.  The  inlet,  which  here  penetrates  over 
fifteen  miles  inland,  is  no  less  than  sixty-five  fathoms  deep  at  its  entrance,  and 
opposite  the  capital,  where  it  expands  to  a  land-locked  lake,  it  affords  large  vessels 
perfect  shelter  in  depths  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen  fathoms.  The  European 
merchants  and  the  Dutch  officials  who  keep  the  sultan  under  control,  reside  in  a 
separate  quarter  known  as  the  Kumpoiig  Wolanda,  or  "Dutch  Village."  In  the 
neighbourhood  are  some  Hindu  tombs,  dating  probably  from  the  epoch  when  this 
part  of  Sumbawa  was  tributary  to  the  Javanese  Empire  of  Mojo-Pahit.  Here 
also  have  been  discovered  some  undecipherable  inscriptions,  whose  origin  is  un- 
known. 

Flores,  Solor  and  Allor  Archipelagoes. 

These  members  of  the  "Little  Sundas  "  constitute  so  many  links  in  the  long 
chain  of  volcanic  islands  which  stretches  eastwards  to  Timor,  and  then  curves 
gently  round  north-eastwards  to  Nila.  Flores  and  its  eastern  neighbours  are 
entirely  of  igneous  origin,  lacking  even  the  sedimentary  limestones  that  are  con- 
tinued from  Java  through  Bali  and  Lombok  as  far  as  Sumbawa.  The  southern 
headlands  of  Flores  are  all  volcanic  mountains  with  extinct  or  still  active  craters. 

Although  abovtnding  in  natural  products  of  all  sorts,  these  lands  have  hitherto 
been  somewhat  neglected  by  their  European  masters.  The  vast  Indonesian  Empire 
is  too  extensive  to  have  yet  been  sj-stematically  survej-ed  and  opened  up  through- 
out its  whole  extent.  Till  1809  the  Dutch  and  Portuguese  were  still  contending 
for  the  eastern  part  of  Flores  and  the  adjacent  -archipelagoes,  and  although  all 
were  then  assigned  by  treaty  to  Ilolland,  their  exploration  has  since  remained 
nearly  at  a  standstill.  No  accurate  returns  have  yet  been  made  of  the  population, 
which  is  roughly  estimated  at  about  four  himdred  thousand  for  Flores  and  the 
Solor  and  Allor  groups,  which  have  a  collective  area  of  9,000  square  miles. 

Conspicuous  amongst  the  chain  of  volcanoes  stretching  along  the  north  side  of 
Flores  are  Rokka,  or  Ombuu  Soi-o  (6,900  feet),  and  farther  east,  in  the  Endeh 
district,  a  name  sometimes  applied  to  the  whole  island,  Gunong  Keo,  or  Roma, 
believed  to  be  the  culminating  point  (9,200  feet).  South  of  the  village  of  Endeh 
(Ambogaga)  rises  the  Gunong  Api,  and  the  natives  report  to  the  north  of  the 
same  place  the  Gunong  Kingo,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  scene  of  several 
eruptions  during  the  historic  period.  At  the  south-east  corner  of  Flores  stands 
the  double-crested  Lobetobi  volcano,  one  of  whose  cones,  the  Laki-Laki,  or  the 
"  Man "  (7,160  feet),  is  always  smoking,  while  the  other,  Perampuan,  or  the 
"  Woman"  (7,460  feet),  is  covered  on  the  inner  walls  of  its  crater  with  incrustations 
of  sulphur. 

The  extinct  Kabalelo  (7,o00  feet)  commands  one  of  the  passages  of  Larantuka 
Strait,  facing  the  island  of  Solor  ;  the  strait  itself  takes  its  name  from  another  volcano, 
called  also  Ilimandiri  (5, 180  tVet),  at  the  north-east  extremity  of  Flores.    This  moun- 


FLOEES. 


207 


tain  is  at  present  quiescent,  but  at  its  foot  are  numerous  thermal  springs,  tlirough 
which  the  subterranean  heats  still  manifest  themselves.  Near  the  village  of 
Geliting  on  the  north  coast,  mention  is  made  of  another  crater,  which,  however,  has 
not  yet  been  identified. 

South  of  the  Tanjong  Bunga,  or  "  Promontory  of  Flowers,"  whence  the  Portu- 

Fig.  86. — Laeantitka  Strait.     . 
Scale  1  :  1,000,003. 


E,t;5  of:  Greenwich 


Depths. 


100  to  1,000  1,000  Fatbcms 

Fathoms.  and  upwai-ds. 


guese  term,  Flores,  a  channel  about  l,-300  yards  broad  at  its  narrowest  part  sepa- 
rates this  i.sland  from  the  islet  of  Adonare,  and  farther  south  from  Solor,  which, 
although  the  smallest  member  of  the  group,  gives  its  name  to  the  archipelago 
stretching  east  from  Flores.  Adonare  is  much  more  poijulous  as  well  as  larger, 
and  farther  cast  follows  the  still  more  extensive  I.omblem.     The  two  islands  of  the 


208  AUSTRALASIA. 

Allor  group,  Pautar  iind  Ombaai,  visited  by  Pigafetta,  companion  of  Magellan,  and 
described  by  bim  under  tbe  name  of  Maluva,  are  also  larger  tban  Solor,  while 
round  about  tbe  cbief  lands  are  scattered  a  large  number  of  reefs  and  islets.  All 
are  billy  and  from  many  lava  streams  have  been  discharged.  The  highest  cones 
are  Lamahale  (5,000  feet),  in  Adonare,  and  LobctoUe  (4,900  feet),  which  forms  the 
northern  headland  of  Lomblem. 

.  The  inhabitants  of  Flores  and  of  the  neighbouring  islands  are  of  a  mixed  cha- 
racter. Those  of  the  coastlands,  who  for  the  most  part  speak  the  Malay  dialect 
of  Biraa,  belong  to  the  same  groujoas  the  natives  of  Siimbawa,  and,  like  them,  con- 
struct their  dwellings  in  the  Malay  fashion  on  the  solid  ground,  and  not  raised  on 
piles  after  the  manner  of  the  Papuans.  Nevertheless  the  natives  of  the  interior 
both  in  Flores  and  Solor  appear  to  have  a  darker  complexion  than  those  of  the 
seaboard,  and  are  said  to  betray  both  in  their  features  and  usages  a  marked  affinity 
to  the  Papuan  inhabitants  of  New  Guinea.  Like  the  peoijles  of  Sumbawa  and 
Lombok,  nearly  all  claim  to  be  followers  of  the  Prophet.  But  the  Portuguese,  who, 
down  to  the  middle  of  this  century,  occupied  the  eastern  jDart  of  Flores  with  the 
adjacent  archipelagoes,  displaj^ed  far  greater  zeal  than  their  Dutch  successors  for 
the  conversion  of  their  pagan  subjects.  Hence  some  of  the  Malays  in  these  islands 
still  call  themselves  both  "  Portuguese"  and  "  Christians."  They  may  even  have 
some  Portuguese  blood  in  their  veins,  and  priests  from  Timor  pay  occasional  visits 
to  their  communities  in  order  to  baptise  the  children,  solemnise  marriages,  and 
bless  the  graves  of  the  departed. 

Larantuha,  an  old  Portuguese  stronghold  at  the  foot  of  the  volcano  of  like 
name  and  on  the  west  side  of  Flores  Strait,  has  become  the  capital  of  the  Dutch 
possessions  in  these  waters.  The  place  is  yearly  visited  during  the  north-west 
monsoon  by  a  fleet  of  native  craft  from  Celebes,  returning  with  the  south-eastern 
trade-winds,  and  exchanging  textiles,  pottery,  and  hardware  for  mother-of-pearl, 
sea-cucumbers,  edible  birds'-nests  and  other  local  produce. 

The  Celebes  traders  also  visit  a  few  other  seaports,  such  as  Adonare,  in  the 
island  of  the  same  name,  Lawaijaug,  capital  of  Solor,  and  AUor  KatjU,  at  the  north- 
west extremity  of  Ombaai.  These  places  with  their  archipelagoes  all  depend 
administratively  on  the  province  of  Flores,  while  the  district  of  Mangeraai  in 
Flores  itself  is  attached  to  Sumbawa. 

SUMBA. 

This  island,  called  also  "Sunda,"  although  lying  in  the  deep  waters  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  outside  the  line  of  the  Sunda  Islands  proper,  forms  a  little  world 
apart  from  the  surrounding  lands.  Separated  from  Komodo  and  Flores  by  an  arm 
of  the  sea  some  60  miles  broad  and  over  100  fathoms  deep,  its  quadrilateral  mass 
is  disposed,  not  oast  and  west,  parallel  with  the  Little  Sundas,  but  in  the  direction 
from  north-west  to  south-cast.  It  possesses  no  active  volcanoes,  and  igneous  rocks 
appear  to  occupy  but  a  small  portion  of  its  surface.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the 
island,  in  fact,  is  believed  to  be  of  sedimentary  formation.     The  south  coast  consists 


SUMBA.  209 

entirely  of  limestone  cliffs  pierced  by  caverns,  which  are  frequented  by  myriads  of 
edible-nest  builders.  Towards  the  centre  the  somewhat  level  surface  presents  the 
aspect  of  a  plateau  rising  to  a  height  of  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  develojDing 
ranges  of  hills  and  mountains  only  on  the  north  side. 

Amongst  the  numerous  names,  such  as  Sumba,  Chandana  or  Chindaua,  given 
to  this  island,  there  is  one,  that  of  Sandalwood,  which  it  scarcely  deserves  any 
longer,  i'oi'  this  valuable  tree,  which  formerly  covered  the  coast-lands,  almost 
entirely  disappeared  during  a  terrific  explosion  and  is  now  found  only  in  the  heart 
of  the  island.  There  arc  two  v-arieties,  the  red  and  the  grey,  the  latter  being  the 
more  valued  and  much  used  in  the  powdered  state  as  a  cosmetic  and  medicinally. 
Sumba  also  f)ossesses  some  gold  deposits,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  legendary 
"  Golden  Isles." 

Notwithstanding  the  generally  peaceful  disposition  of  the  natives,  who  are 
divided  into  numerous  small  communities,  the  interior  is  still  little  known.  The 
estimate  of  the  population,  till  recently  ranging  from  200,000  to  1,000,000,  is  at 
present  about  400,000,  a  relatively  large  number  for  an  area  not  exceeding  4,300 
square  miles.  The  people  are  all  of  Malay  stock,  but  speak  a  j)eculiar  dialect 
unintelligible  to  the  surrounding  populations.  Like  their  eastern  neighbours  of 
the  Savu  group,  they  have  preserved  the  worship  of  ancestry  mingled  with  rites 
and  tenets  which  attest  Hindu  influence.  Thus,  they  speak  of  a  trinity  of 
mysterious  deities,  the  Good,  the  Protector,  and  Evil  One ;  but  the  offerings  of 
the  "elders  "  are  made,  not  to  these  superior  beings,  but  to  the  ocean  waves,  to  the 
forest  trees,  to  the  rocky  headlands  and  the  graves  of  their  forefathers.  There 
are  neither  temples  nor  priests,  unless  the  heads  of  families  and  the  old  men  of 
the  tribe  can  be  regarded  as  such.  In  the  Savu  islands,  however,  the  title  of 
priesfis  borne  by  the  executioner,  who  beheads  the  criminals  condemned  b}'  the 
rajahs. 

Naucjamexni,  on  the  north  coast,  where  there  is  a  small  Arab  trading  settle- 
ment, is  the  chief  maikct  in  Sumba,  and  from  this  port  are  forwarded  hardy  little 
ponies  to  all  parts  of  Indonesia  and  even  to  Mauritius  and  Australia.  This  island 
jointly  with  the  Savu  group  (Great  Savu,  Ranjuna,  and  Dana)  constitutes  an 
administrative  district  dependent  on  Timor.  The  population  of  Savu  exceeded 
30,000  in  1869,  when  half  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  archipelago  were  swcjit  away 
by  an  outbreak  of  small-pox.  At  present  the  population  is  estimated  at  16,000 
in  a  total  area  of  less  than  200  square  miles.  According  to  AV^allace  the  natives 
resemble  the  Hindus  or  Arabs  in  physical  appearance  much  more  than  they  do  the 
Malay's. 

Timor  and  Rotti. 

Like  Sumba,  Timor,  largest  of  the  Little  Sundas,  lies  beyond  the  line  of 
volcanic  islands.  Disjjosed  in  the  direction  from  south-west  to  north-east,  it 
forms  an  acute  angle  with  that  chain,  which,  in  crossing,  it  appears  to  have 
deflected  from  west  and  east  to  the  same  south-west  and  north-east  direction 
parallel  with  itself.     Hence   the  links  of  the  Sunda  volcanic  chain  lying  farther 

\UL.    XIV.  1' 


210 


AUSTRALASIA. 


eust  bend  rouud  to  the  north-east  in  such  a  way  as  to  continue  the  axis  of  Timor 
as  far  as  IVihi.  It  seems,  therefore,  probable  that  in  the  general  modelling  of  the 
terrestrial  crust,  Timor  and  these  islands  have  been  subjected  to  a  common  process 
of  folding  in  some  remote  geological  eijoch. 

Like  Sumatra  and  Madagascar,  Timor  presents  towards  the  Indian  Ocean  a  far 
more  regular  coast-line  than  towards  the  inland  northern  waters.  Notwith- 
standing its  geographical  importance  at  the  south-east  corner  of  Indonesia  over 
against  Australia,  it  has  been  so  little  studied  that  the  population  can  only  be 
approximately  estimated.  Politically  it  is  divided  in  nearly  equal  proportions 
between  Portugal  and  Holland  ;  but  the  Portuguese  half,  which  depends  adminis- 
tratively on  Macao,  and  which  comprises  fifty-four  "  kingdoms,"  some  still  com- 

JTig.  87. — TiMOB  AND  Nbiohbouking  Islands. 
Scale  1  :  6,600,000. 


Pepths. 


pletely  independent,  is  said  to  have  a  population  of  half  a  million,  while  the  Dutch 
section  appears  to  contain  scarcely  half  that  number. 

•  The  Malay  term  Timor,  that  is,  the  "  East,"  shows  that  this  island  long  formed 
the  eastern  limit  of  navigation  in  Indonesia.  According  to  tradition  the  natives 
were  savages,  ignorant  of  agriculture,  and  living  only  on  the  chase  and  fishing, 
when  the  first  Malay  immigrants  landed  on  the  south  coast,  where  is  now  the  petty 
state  of  Waiwiko-Waihali.  These  settlers,  who  introduced  rice  and  maize  and 
iron  implements,  are  said  to  have  come- from  Teruate   towards  the  close  of  the 


TIMOR.  ■  211 

fourteentli    century,  and   soon   made    tbemselves   masters,   everywhei-e  imposino- 
d3-nasties  supposed  to  owe  a  certain  vague  allegiance  to  the  Sultan  of  Ternate. 

The  first  European  arrivals  were  the  Portuguese,  who  appear  to  have  secured  a 
footing  at  Lifau,  towards  the  middle  of  ihe  north  coast,  about  the  year  1520. 
Soon  after  they  raised  a  fort  at  Kupang,  now  the  chief  station  or  the  Dutch,  who 
first  made  their  appearance  in  1613.  The  desolating  wars  of  the  two  rival  powers 
and  their  native  alKes  were  continued  almost  uninterrupted!}'  down  to  the  present 
century,  when  they  were  replaced  by  diplomatic  negotiations,  the  treaty  of  1859 
finally  settling  the  question  of  the  frontier  line  between  the  respective  states. 

According  to  the  partial  explorations  round  the  coast  and  in  the  interior,  Timor 
seems  to  present  a  backbone  of  mountains  and  plateaus,  consisting  mainh'  of  schists, 
sandstones  and  limestones ;  but  on  both  slopes  these  older  formations  underlie 
chalks  and  argillaceous  deposits  of  great  thickness.  The  coral  reefs  fringing  the 
south-west  coast  have  gradually  been  upheaved  several  hundred  yards  above  the 
present  sea-level.  In  some  places  the  rocks  of  the  primitive  system  tower  up 
above  the  surrounding  formations  in  the  form  of  obelisks  and  citadels,  one  of  which, 
Mount  Leeu,  in  the  south-west,  attains  an  elevation  of  4,000  feet.  Farther  east 
follow  stdl  more  lofty  peaks,  although  within  the  Dutch  or  western  province  none 
of  the  summits  reach  an  altitude  of  over  6,500  feet. 

In  the  Portuguese  •  division  the  surface  is  of  a  more  rugged  aspect,  and  here 
the  Kabalaki  peak,  visited  by  H.  0.  Forbes,  exceeds  10,000  feet,  while  Mount 
Alias,  close  to  the  frontier  and  near  the  south  coast,  is  said  to  rise  11,500  feet  above 
the  Indian  Ocean.  The  existence  of  true  volcanoes  has  not  yet  been  placed 
beyond  doubt,  although  mention  is  made  of  a  Mount  Ilun-bano  in  the  west,  which 
was  the  scene  of  an  eruption  in  1856,  while  Bibiluto  in  the  Portuguese  territory  is 
said  to  have  ejected  ashes  the  following  year.  In  several  districts  porphyries  and 
serpentines  have  cropped  out  above  the  sedimentary  rocks,  and  the  islet  of 
Kambing,  between  Samau  and  the  south-west  extremity,  terminates  in  a  sort  of 
crater,  ■within  which  are  several  mud  volcanoes,  10  to  30  feet  high,  resembling  the 
Sicilian  maccahde.  Mud  volcanoes  also  occur  in  Landu,  between  Samau  and 
Eotti. 

In  Timor  the  seasons  are  much  more  sharply  defined  than  in  the  large  islands 
of  Western  Indonesia.  During  the  south-east  monsoon,  prevailing  from  May  to 
October,  the  winds  blowing  from  the  neighbouring  Australian  continent  bring  no 
moisture,  the  vegetation  withers,  and  wherever  the  slopes  are  covered  with  grasses. 
or  scrub,  they  assume  red,  yellow,  or  greyish  tints.  The  brooks  and  even  the 
rivers  run  dry,  and  are  not  again  flushed  till  the  return  of  the  western  monsoon, 
when  vegetation  revives  and  the  land  resumes  its  verdant  aspect.  The  northern 
slope  of  the  island  enjoys  the  most  copious  rainfall,  and  consequently  here  the 
streams  are  most  voluminous,  the  forests  most  extensive,  and  the  population  most 
numerous  and  prosperous.  But  the  southern  slope  is  far  from  being  so  arid  or 
unproductive  as  it  has  been  described  by  travellers  who  have  visited  it  only  during 
the  dry  season. 

The  same  contrast  between  the  two  slopes  is  also  presented  by  the  respective 

p2 


21-2 


AUSTEALASIA. 


Horas  uud  faunas.     The  side  facing  Austntlia  abounds  must  iu  forms  characteristic 

Fitr.    SS— ViKW    TAKKN    IN    A    FoKEST    NE.IE    Kur.VN-rt,     TiMOR. 


of    that    continent,    while    the    opjjosite    side    belongs    more    to    the    animal    and 


TnroE.  213 

vegetable  zones  of  the  Sundas  and  Moluccas.  But  Timor  is  on  the  whole  com- 
paratively poor  in  biological  species,  and  in  this  respect  forms  joart  rather  of  the 
Australian  than  of  the  Asiatic  world.  Here  occurs  the  eucalyptus,  a  peculiarly 
Australian  plant,  while  the  vegetation  of  the  interior  often  recalls  the  African  flora. 

The  only  feline  animal  is  a  long-oared  wild  cat,  and  the  largest  quadruped  is  a 
species  of  deer  resembling  one  found  both  in  Java  and  the  Moluccas.  The  only 
member  of  the  simian  family  is  the  Cercopitheciis  eijnomolguK,  and  t^^•o-thilds  of 
all  the  mammalian  species  belong  to  the  widespread  bat  family.  The  most 
dreaded  animals  are  the  green  trigonocephalus  and  the  crocodile,  from  whom  the 
rulers  of  Kupang  claim  descent.  At  the  accession  of  a  new  rajah,  his  subjects 
thronged  to  the  waterside  to  render  homage  to  his  saurian  relatives  :  the  first  that 
came  to  the  surface  was  regarded  as  his  Majesty's  cousin  ;  a  beautiful  maiden, 
gaily  decked  and  perfumed,  was  presented  to  him  as  his  consort  and  devoured 
amidst  (he  applause  of  the  multitude. 

The  natives  of  Timor  are  not  classed  with  the  Malaj's  properly  so-called,  and 
ajipear  to  be  more  akin  to  the  Bornean  Dayaks.  Despite  the  statements  of  several 
writers,  there  are  no  dark  or  Papuan  tribes  in  the  island,  all  the  inhabitants  of 
which  have  the  light,  yellowish  complexion  of  the  Malay,  and  differ  from  each 
other  rather  in  their  dress  and  arms  than  in  stature  or  features.  They  are  divided 
into  a  large  number  of  distinct  clans  or  communities,  speaking  according  to 
Crawfurd  as  many  as  forty  different  idioms.  '  The  largest  ethnical  group  is  that  of 
the  Ema-Velus  (the  Belunays  of  the  Dutch),  who  occupy  all  the  eastern  section 
and  a  great  part  of  the  centre.  They  claim  to  have  come  from  the  Moluccas,  and 
attribute  the  same  origin  to  their  western  neighbours,  the  Timorese  properly 
so-called  ;  whom,  however,  they  also  call  Ema-"Davan,  or  "  Javanese." 

Some  Bugis,  Chinese  and  European  traders  are  settled  in  all  the  seaports,  and 
a  half-caste  people,  the  so-called  "  Black  Portuguese,"  have  become  established 
especially  in  the  northern  princijaalities  of  Ambenu,  Okusse  and  Noimuti,  forming 
a  Portuguese  enclave  within  the  Dutch  frontier. 

The  natives  who  have  not  yet  been  brought  under  the  influence  of  the 
Protestant  and  Catholic  missionaries  have  a  somewhat  developed  animistic  form  of 
religion.  They  worship  Usi-Neno,  "  Lord  of  Light,"  who  dwells  in  the  Sim,  and 
whose  wife  is  the  moon.  The  stars  are  the  abode  of  an  inferior  order  of  deities  ; 
but  while  paying  reverence  to  these  remote  divinities,  the  Timorese  address  their 
supplications  chieflj"-  to  the  natural  objects  round  about  them,  the  mountains  and 
rocks,  trees,  running  waters,  and  the  like ;  they  also  make  offerings  to  the  souls  of 
the  departed;  who  are  regarded  as  the  indispensable  intermediate  agents  for  all 
communications  between  man  and  the  higher  divinities. 

The  laws  of  pomaji  or  taboo  are  as  intricate  and  as  carefully  observed  as 
amongst  the  Polynesians  and  some  Malagasy  tribes.  In  fact  the  religious  ideas 
pervading  the  oceanic  regions  are  so  uniform  that  thej^  can  scarcely  have  been 
independently  evolved,  and  point  rather  at  a  common  civilisation  at  one  time 
diffused  throughout  the  whole  area  from  Madagascar  to  the  remote  South-Sea 
Islands. 


214 


AUSTRALASIA. 


In  Timor  every  village  has  its  temple  bid  away  in  some  sacred  grove  and 
surrounded  by  a  stout  enclosure.  Each  petty  state  has  its  special  sanctuary,  a 
ballowed  spot  wbicb  the  profane  dare  not  approach,  for  in  it  dwells  the  lulik,  or 
tutelar  genius,  seated  in  the  centre  of  the  edifice  on  a  stone  cast  down  from 
heaven  by  the  Lord  of  Light.  There  are  also  evil  spirits,  to  which  are  sacrificed 
black  victims,  the  animals  with  red  coats  being  reserved  for  the  protecting  deitios. 

The  Timorese  tattoo  various  parts  of  the  body  with  thorns,  file  the  teeth  to  a 
point,   and  often  dye   them   red  "  in   order  not  to   look  like  apes."     The  usages 


Fig.  80.  — KuPANO. 
i-'oale  1  ;  30  '.000. 


connected  with  marriage  and  inheritance  differ  greatly  in  the  different  districts. 
In  some  places  exogamous,  in  others  endogamous  rites  prevail.  In  one  tribe  the 
succession  is  from  father  to  son  :  in  another  through  the  female  line.  The  young 
men  in  some  communities  can  neither  marry  nor  enter  the  public  assemblies"  until 
they  have  carried  ofp  one  or  more  heads,  as  in  Borneo,  but  only  in  open  warfare  or 
else  at  funeral  ceremonies.  The  penal  code  is  very  severe,  death  being  the 
penalty  for  most  crimes ;  but  as  ransom  is  allowed,  the  poor  are  the  chief  victims. 
As  in  many  other  places,  the  rulers,  "  children  of  the  sun,"  never  die,  but  only 


TIMOR.  215 

fall  asleep,  and  are  not  buried  till  long  after  the  beginning  of  the  "trance."  In 
some  districts  they  are  exposed  in  open  coffins  on  the  branches  of  the  trees  ;  in 
others  the  wives  have  to  keep  them  night  and  day  for  months  together,  until  reduced 
to  the  state  of  dried  muminies,  and  then  buried  with  all  their  treasures  beneath 
cairns  corresponding  in  height  to  the  rank  of  the  deceased.  They  were  formerly 
accompanied  by  an  escort  of  slaves,  as  they  still  are  by  a  dog  to  lead  the  way  iu 
the  region  beyond  the  grave.  To  prevent  their  return,  the  route  follo\\ed  by  the 
funeral  procession  is  carefully  blocked  by  a  strong  bamboo  palisade. 

Kiqmng,  capital  of  the  Dutch  territory  and  of  the  neighbouring  islands,  is  one 
of  the  unhealthiest  places  in  Indonesia.  It  lies  at  the  south-western  extremity  of 
Timor,  on  the  south  side  of  a  deep  inlet  too  confined  for  the  air  to  circulate  freelj-. 
Yet  its  official  position  and  safe  harbour  have  made  it  the  chief  trading  place  in 
the  island,  with  a  motley  population  of  about  seven  thousand  Timorese,  Mala3'8, 
Chinese  and  Europeans.  Its  principal  exports  are  sandalwood,  horses,  excellent 
oranges  and  beeswax.  The  neighbouring  fishing  grounds  and  oj'ster  beds  j'ield 
great  varieties  of  fish,  besides  pearls,  tortoise-shell,  sea-cucumbers  and  shark's  fins 
for  the  Chinese  market.  The  people  of  Rotti  prepare  large  quantities  of  a  much- 
esteemed  palm  wine,  and  rear  an  excellent  breed  of  little  ponies,  "  about  the  size 
of  Newfoundland  dogs." 

Afapupii,  another  seaport  on  the  north  coast  near  the  Portuguese  fioutier,  lies 
in  the  province  of  Filarang,  which  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  richest  iu  copper  ores, 
though  mining  operations  have  scarcely  yet  been  seriousl}^  begun. 

Dilli,  administrative  centre  of  the  Portuguese  territory,  is  a  less  important 
place  than  Kupang,  and  appears  even  to  have  entered  on  a  state  of  decline,  the 
population  having  fallen  from  over  five  thousand  about  the  middle  of  the  century 
to  little  more  than  three  thousand  in  1879.  It  is  even  a  more  unhealthy  town 
than  its  Dutch  rival,  but  has  the  advantage  of  a  good  roadstead,  from  which  it 
presents  a  pleasant  appearance.  Its  exports  are  chiefly  coffee  of  superior  quality,, 
wax,  and  sandalwood;  rice  being  the  c  staple  import.  The  wheat  grown  on  the 
plateaux  and  slopes  to  a  height  of  about  three  thousand  feet  is  much  esteemed. 
North  of  Dilli  rises  the  steep  rock  of  Kambing,  the  only  islet  be3-ond  Timor  which 
the  treaties  have  left  to  the  Portuguese  ;  it  has  a  population  of  about  two  thou- 
sand. 

The  Zuid-Wester  (Seewatty)  Islands. 

These  "  South-western  "  groups,  so-called  because  mostly  Ij'ing  to  the  south- 
west of  Amboyna,  their  administrative  and  commercial  centre,  are  better  known  by 
their  English  name  Serwatty,  which,  in  fact,  is  a  corruption  of  the  Dutch  "  Zuid- 
Wester."  The  southern  and  more  numerous  islands  form  an  eastern  extension  of 
Timor,  of  which  they  are,  so  to  say,  merely  scattered  fragments.  But  the  central 
chain,  of  which  Wetter  forms  by  far  the  largest  link,  belongs  to  the  volcanic 
Sundanese  system,  while  Gunong  Api  (the  "Burning  Mountain"),  with  a  few 
scattered  rocks  farther  north,  are  supposed  by  Junghuhn  to  constitute  the  eastern 


21G  AUSTRALASIA. 

extremity  of  another  igneous  range  indicated  at  intervals  by  a  few  islets  rising 
above  the  surface. 

But  however  they  maj'  differ  in  their  sedimentarj',  volcanic,  or  coralline 
origin,  the  Serwatty  groups  resemble  each  other  in  their  political  and  commercial 
history.  The  most  striking  in  form  and  relief  are  naturally  the  igneous  islands, 
conspicuous  ardongst  which  is  the  superb  but  now  smokeless  cone  of  Gunong  Api. 
Wetter  (Wetta),  facing  the  north  coast  of  Timor,  is  traversed  by  a  line  of  craters, 
amid  which  the  timid  natives  have  taken  refuge.  Kisser  (Kissa),  lying  farther 
east  and  nearest  to  Timor,  is  also  mountainous,  and  in  the  last  century  was  chosen 
as  the  administrative  centre  of  the  whole  group  ;  but  it  suffers  fropi  a  deficient 
rainfall,  and  its  inhabitants  have  often  been  driven  by  famine  to  emigrate  to  the 
surrounding  lands.  Eoma,  which  follows  to  the  north-east,  is  on  the  contrary 
productive  enough  to  export  some  of  its  superabundant  produce.  The  chain  is 
continued  north-eastwards  through  Damma,  with  its  smoking  crater  and  thermal 
springs,  to  Nila,  with  a  still  active  cone,  and  Sarua,  the  last  eastern  links  in  the 
Sundanese  igneous  system. 

The  southern  chain,  stretching  between  Timor  and  Timor  Laut,  begins  with 
Letti,  most  densely  peopled  of  all  the  Serwatty  Islands  ;  it  is  followed  eastward  by 
Moa,  also  very  populoiis  and  noted  for  its  peak,  the  "Buffalo,"  which  looks  like  a 
reduced  copy  of  Teneriffe.  The  neighbouring  Lakor  is  a  mere  coral  bank  rising 
little  more  than  twent_y  feet  above  the  surface.  Luang  is  also  fringed  with  reefs, 
where  are  taken  the  most  highly  prized  sea-cucumbers  in  the  whole  archipelago. 
Sermatta,  forming  a  long  chain  of  steep  hills  with  no  accessible  creek,  is  little 
visited  by  skippers,  whereas  Babber  (Baba),  with  its  numerous  islets,  including  the 
lovely  little  AVetang,  is  much  frequented  by  native  craft. 

During  the- last  century,  when  the  Company  kept  a  factory  and  a  fort  in  almost 
every  island,  the  natives  of  Serwatty  had  mostly  become  Christians,  adopting  a 
dark  costume  and  European  names  as  an  outward  sign  of  their  conversion.  In  1825 
and  1826  the  chaplain  accompanying  Kolff's  expedition  had  scarcelj'  landed  in  a 
village,  when  he  was  surrotmdcd  by  these  "Christians,"  entreating  him  to  solem- 
nise their  marriages  and  baptize  their  children.  Some  could  still  read  and  write, 
and,  as  they  were  nearly  everywhere  looked  on  as  a  superior  race,  they  had  suc- 
ceeded in  imposing  a  kind  of  slavery  on  those  natives  who  had  remained  pagans. 
Their  authority  is  now  all  the  greater  that  they  claim  the  title  of  Anak  Compani, 
or  "  Children  of  the  Company,"  on  the  ground  of  descent  from  European  fathers 
and  native  women.  But  of  late  years  Islam  has  made  considerable  progress  in  the 
Archipelago.  The  natives  of  several  islands,  especially  Wetter  and  Kisser,  are 
designated  by  the  name  of  Alf  uru ;  a  term,  however,  which  has  no  ethnical  value,  and 
which  is  indifferently  applied  in  many  places  to  the  indigenous  inhabitants,  what- 
ever their  origin,  that  have  hitherto  resisted  Mohammedan  and  Christian  influences. 

The  Soitth-Eastern  GRours :  Tenimher  and  Kei. 
These  groups  were  named  the  "  South-Eastern  Islands  "  by  the  Dutch  in  refe- 
rence to  Amboyna,  their  chief  political  and  trading  station  in  those  distant  waters. 


TENIin?EE. 


217 


On  the  other  hand  the  Macassar  navigators  gave  to  the  largest  of  the  Tenimber 
Archipelago  the  name  of  Timor-Laut,  or  "Seaward  Eastland,"  to  indicate  its 
position  in  reference  to  Celebes.  From  the  geographical  standpoint  they  may  be 
regarded  as  collectively  forming  the  eastern  limit  of  the  Indonesian  world;  bej'ond 


Fig.  90. — Tenimeee. 
Scale  1  : 1,700,<X)0. 


tbem  flows  the  Arafiira  Sea,  whose  shores  arc  inhabited  by  Papuasian  and  Austra- 
lian populations. 

These  thinly-peopled  i.slands  have  not  yet  been  thoroughly  explored,  and  even 
the  coasts  are  here  and  there   still  traced   with  iincertain  lines.      Till  recentlv 


218  '        AUSTRALASIA. 

Tenimber  (Taaah  Imber)  was  siipijosed  to  stretch  imiuterrupttdly  to  tlie  southern 
extremity  of  the  Archipelago,  and  this  error  still  figures  on  most  maps.  Yet  the 
natives  are  quite  aware  that  their  territory  is  divided  into  two  distinct  islands,  to 
each  of  which  ttey  give  a  special  name.  Owen  Stanley  had  already  stated  in 
1839  that  Tenimber  comprised  several  separate  islands,  and  in  1878  the  Egeron,  a 
ship  from  Banda,  traversed  the  channel  between  Yamdena  and  Selaru)  varying 
from  eight  to  forty  fathoms  in  depth,  and  presenting  several  excellent  havens  on 
both  sides.  But  the  hydrographic  survey  of  the  group  is  still  far  from  complete, 
and.  so  recently  as  1888  a  hitherto  unknown  island  two  miles  long  was  discovered 
at  the  south-west  extremity  of  the  Archipelago. 

The  two  chief  islands,  consisting  of  limestone  rock,  are  almost  everywhere  low, 
and  the  highest  point  of  the  whole  group  is  the  volcanic  islet  of  Laibobar,  off  the 
west  side  of  Yamdena,  rising,  according  to  Forbes,  to  a  height  of  about  two  thou- 
sand feet.  The  islet  of  Larat,  separated  by  the  navigable  Wallace  Strait  from 
Yamdena,  is  also  low,  but  beyond  it  rises  the  precipitous  islet  of  Verdate,  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  Tenimber  group.  The  archipelago  is  skirted  on  the 
west  side  by  a  parallel  line  of  islets  and  reefs,  which,  lying  mostly  in  shallow 
water,  are  little  accessible  to  shipping. 

Owing  to  tbe  porous  nature  of  the  calcareous  soil  the  rain-water  almost  every- 
where disappears  without  forming  fertilising  streams;  hence,  vast  tracts  have 
remained  barren  and  uninhabited.  Some  of  the  slopes  are,  -nevertheless,  clothed 
with  dense  brushwood,  where  the  cattle,  let  loose  by  the  early  navigators,  find  a 
refuge  from  the  native  hunters.  Large  herds  of  wild  boars  infest  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  villages ;  but  Tenimber,  like  most  of  the  Moluccas,  has  no  monkeys, 
and  its  fauna  generally  presents  a  New  Guinea  aspect. 

The  natives  recognise  no  rulers,  although  certain  individuals  claim  the  empty 
title  of  chief.  In  appearance  they  resemble  the  Malays  much  more  than  the 
Papuans,  although  they  are  evidently  a  mixed  race.  Both  sexes  slightly  tattoo  the 
forehead,,  cheeks,  breast,  and  hands,  and  the  women  deck  themselves  with  bracelets 
and  necklets  of  red  glass  beads.  The  wealthy  natives  convert  into  heavy  rings 
and  ear  ornaments  the  gold  coins  they  take  in  exchange  for  their  holothurise  and 
tortoise-shell ;  in  the  decoration  of  their  praus  and  dwellings  they  also  display  far 
greater  artistic  taste  than  their  Malay  neighbours.  They  have  hitherto  resisted  the 
proselytising  attempts  of  the  Arabs  and  other  Mohammedans..  Nevertheless  they 
worship  a  supreme  deity,  Dwadilah,  symbolised  by  a  sacred  post  and  other  rude 
images  set  up  in  front  of  their  dwellings.  They  also  believe  in  a  future  state  for 
themselves  and  all  living  beings,  and  the  fisherman  never  fails  to  return  to  the  sea 
a  portion  of  his  capture,  so  that  the  soul  of  the  fish  may  swim  away  to  the  sjiirit 
world. 

The  Kei  (Ke)  Islands  were  probably  so  named  by  the  Portuguese,  for  the  term 
appears  to  be  identical  with  that  of  the  Koys,  that  is,  the  Cayos,  of  Florida.  Lying 
nearer  to  Banda  and  Amboyna  than  Tenimber,  this  group,  to  which  the  surrounding 
populations  give  the  name  of  Evar,  or  Hog  Islands,  has  been  brought  more  under 
Mohammedan   influences.      They  manufacture  earthenware,  and  build  excellent 


CELEBES.  »  219 

praus,  which  are  exported  to  all  the  neighbouring  archipelagoes.  Two-thirds  of 
the  inhabitants  are  centred  in  Great  Kei,  the  largest  member  of  the  group ;  but 
Dula,  the  most  frequented  station,  lies  in  Little  Kei,  on  a  deep  inlet  well  sheltered 
by  a  chain  of  insular  hills.  Recently  some  planters  have  settled  in  the  islands, 
the  chief  products  of  which  are  holothuria;  and  tortoise-shell,  both  of  excellent 
quality. 

Celebes  axu  aojacext  Islands. 

Celebes,  which  in  extent  tukes  the  third,  in  population  and  commercial  impor- 
tance the  fourth  place  in  Indonesia,  vies  with  Java  itself  for  romantic  beauty  and 
the  variety  of  its  natural  phenomena.  It  consists,  so  to  say,  of  a  framework  of  pen- 
insular ranges,  radiating  from  a  central  nucleus,  and  enclosing  extensive  marine 
inlets,  which,  vmlike  those  of  Borneo,  have  not  yet  been  transformed  to  alluvial 
plains.  Northwards  the  peninsula  of  Gorontalo  and  Minahassa  sweeps  round  in  a 
double  curve  to  the  north  and  east.  In  the  centre  two  other  peninsular  masses 
project  north-east  to  the  Molucca  waters  and  south-east  to  the  Bauda  Sea  ;  lastly, 
in  the  south  is  developed  the  ilacassar  peninsula,  stretching  due  south  to  the 
Flores  Sea.  Thanks  to  this  extraordinary  conformation  Celebes,  with  an  area  of 
about  75,000  square  miles,  has  a  coastline  of  no  less  than  3,500  miles,  excluding  the 
secondary  indentations.  In  other  words,  although  little  over  one-third  the  size  of 
France,  it  has  a  seaboard  equal  in  extent  to  that  of  France  and  the  Iberian  Penin- 
sula taken  together. 

This  eccentric  island,  ever^-^'here  so  easily  accessible  from  the  sea,  and,  more- 
over, enjoying  an  extremely  fertile  soil  and  a  superabundance  of  natural  resources, 
is  nevertheless  almost  destitute  of  inhabitants.  Were  it  as  denselj*  peopled  as 
Java,  it  would  have  a  population  of  some  thirty  millions,  whereas,  according  to  the 
approximate  estimates  the  actual  population  is  little  over  three-quarters  of  a  million. 
But  although  nominally  under  the  Dutch  rule,  most  of  the  interior  is  still  occupied 
by  Alfurus,  that  is,  wild  tribes  for  the  most  part  living  in  isolated  and  hostile 
groups.  In  many  places  head-hunters  still  prowl  about  the  villages,  and  till 
recently  the  neighbouring  waters  were  infested  by  corsairs,  continually  sweeping 
down  on  the  natives  and  carrying  them  off  into  slavery.  Nor  was  the  Dutch  occu- 
pation effected  without  many  sanguinary  struggles,  not  always  to  the  advantage 
of  the  invaders.  The  Europeans  appeared  first  as  guests,  and  the  early  conflicts 
were  connected  with  questions  of  trade  rights.  Then  the  Dutch  presented 
themselves  as  rivals  of  the  Portuguese  in  1660,  when  they  seized  the  fort  of 
Macassar,  long  their  only  possession  on  the  coast.  Later  they  concluded  a  treaty 
of  alliance  and  a  protectorate  with  several  petty  states  in  the  south-western 
peninsula,  and  since  that  time  they  have  omitted  no  occasion  of  strengthening 
their  position  in  the  island.  Yet  in  most  of  the  inland  states  they  are  still 
unrepresented  by  any  officials,'  and  even  the  coast  districts  are  visited  only  at  long 
intervals. 

Celebes  has  not  yet  been  completely  explored,  and  some  parts  are  known  only 


220 


AUSTRALASIA. 


in  a  general  way.  The  Lutimojong  highland.s,  which  form  the  cenfral  nucleus, 
and  from  which  flow  the  largest  rivers,  are  one  of  the  least  known  regions,  and 
travellers  have  hitherto  failed  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  elevations.  According 
to  Schneider  the  main  range,  beginning  at  Cape  Pales  (Donggala)  on  the  west 
coast,  runs  south-east  towards  the  Latimojong  mountains,  beyond  which  it  traverses 


Fig.  ni. — ExpLOEED  Regions  of  Cele£es. 
Soile  1 : 8,000,000. 


E3 


2,000  Fathom  « 
and  upwards 


The  finished  parts  of  the  map  represent  the  regions  completely  sui-veyed  by  the  Dutch. 


the  south-eastern  peninsula.  The  framework  of  these  highlands  consists  of  gneiss 
and  granites,  which  in  some  places  crop  out  above  the  secondary  and  tertiary  rocks 
of  both  slopes.  A  lateral  ridge  of  gneiss,  radiating  from  the  central  nucleus,  forms 
the  backbone  of  the  Balante  peninsula,  while  that  of  Macassar,  traversed  in  1888 
by  Weber  and  Wichmann,  is  also  dominated  by  crystalline  or  paleozoic  ranges. 


CELEBES. 


221 


Fig.   92. — Saleyee. 
Scile  1  :  9CX),0.;o. 


wLicb,  however,  are  not  disposed  ijarullel  with  the  coasts,  but  run  in  a  tran.sveiso 
direction  towards  the  south-west,  one  of  them  terminating  in  the  granite  headland 
of  Cape  Mandhar.  Farther  south  rises  the  isohited  mass  of  Dikbuik,  better  known 
by  the  name  of  Bonthain,  or  Bantaeng,  from  the  town  at  its  foot.  Bonthain, 
which  ^^as  found  by  Weber  and  Wich- 
niann  to  be  of  volcanic  origin,  as  already 
su.spected  by  Beccari,  is  the  culminating 
point  of  Celebes  (10,270  feet). 

The  south-east  corner  of  the  Macassar 
peninsula  is  continued  seawards  by  a  few 
islets  and  the  long,  hilly  isla-nd  of  Salayer 
(Saleyer),  or  Limbangang,  with  heights  ex- 
ceeding 3,000  feet,  and  at  one  point  attain- 
ing an  altitude  of  6,840  feet.  A  curious 
aud  hitherto  unexplained  phenomenou  is 
the  glow  of  light  observed  in  the  evening 
at  both  extremities  of  Salayer  during  the 
prevalence  of  high  winds.  Salayer  is  itself 
continued  southwards  by  other  islets,  such 
as  Tambolongang,  Pulasi,  Rusa,  Tanah 
Jampea,  and  Bonerate,  which  belong  ad- 
miuistratively  to  Celebes,  and  whicli  like 
Baton,  at  the  extremity  of  the  south- 
eastern peninsula,  maj^  also  be  regarded 
as  forming  j^art  of  the  same  geological 
system. 

Although  no  volcanoes  ha  ye  been  dis- 
covered in  the  central  parts,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  in  remote  times  Celebes  was 
the  scene  of  considerable  eruptions.  In 
several  districts,  and  especially  near  Maros, 
in  the  province  of  Macassar,  the  limestone 
formations  rest  on  basalt  rocks,  which  here 
and  there  even  crop  out  above  the  sedi- 
nientarj'  deposits. 

The  northern  peninsula,  attached  to  the 

rest  of  the  island  by  a  low,  narrow  isthmus,  [ 1  i        i 

forms  geographically  and  geologically  a  dis-  o  to  32  32  Feet  and 

tinct  region.      East  of  Tomini,  where  the  ^""  ''''^'""'" 

.  IS  Miles. 

isthmus  IS  contracted  to  a  width  of  about  18 

miles,  aud  commanded  by  the  lofty  Mount  Donda  (!),o00  feet),  the  peninsula  is 
traversed  by  chains  of  gneiss  and  aui  iferous  quartz  hill.s,  and  at  the  poiut  where 
it  trends  towards  the  north-east  more  recent  lavas  and  scoria;  have  burst  through 
the  other  formations.     Here  rises  the  Saputan  volcano  (0,170  feet),  the  theatre  of 


222 


AUSTRALASIA. 


several  disturbances  during  the  present  century.     In  the  neighbourhood  are  the 
thermal  waters  and  still  active  mud  volcanoes  of  Panghu. 

Towards  the  northern  extremity  of  Minaliassa  follow  other  volcanoes,  such  as 
the  twin-crested  Klabal  (6,800  feet),  the  Duwa  Sadera,  or  "  Two  Sisters  "  (4,550 
feet),  and  Lakon  (5,570  feet),  all  visible  as  far  as  Ternate.  This  igneous  system  is 
continued  in  a  northerly  direction  seawards,  thus  connecting  Indonesia  with  the 
Philippines  at  the  southern  headland  of  Mindanao.     Several   of  the  intervening 

Fig-.  93. — MiNAHASSA. 
Scale  1  :  1,200,000. 


i.-tlets  are  still  active  volcanoes,  and  Duang  (Ruang),  west  of  Tagulanda,  forms  a 
cone  1,720  feet  bigh,  which  emitted  flames  in  1856.  Siao,  lying  farther  north,  is 
often  wrapped  in  smoke,  and  in  the  larger  island  of  Sanguir  (Sangi)  rises  the 
superb  volcano  of  Abu,  which  has  been  the  scene  of  several  disastrous  eruptions 
during  the  last  two  centuries. 

The  peculiar  conformation  of  Celebes  prevents  the  development  of  any  large 
rivers.  Nevertheless  certain  ranges  are  so  disposed  as  to  form  longitudinal  plains 
where  the  streams  run  for  a  considerable  distance  parallel  with    the  coast  before 


CELEBES. 


223 


reaclnug  the  sea.     Thus  the  Bahu  Solo,  rising  in  Lake  Tafuti,  traverses  the  south- 
Fig.  94.— The  Tondano  Cascade,  Mixahassa. 


eustcm  p.nin.ula  for  a  distauee  of  about    l.JU   mik-s.      The   Sadang  also,  flowiu. 


224  AUSTRALASIA. 

between  two  ohlique  mountaiu  ranges  in  the  Macassar  peninsula,  has  a  length 
of  no  less  than  240  miles.  On  the  eastern  slope  of  the  same  peniasula  the  copious 
river  Tjeurana,  fed  by  several  northern  and  southern  tributaries  and  by  the  shallow 
Tempe  (Tamparang)  lagoons,  is  navigable  for  boats  for  some  60  miles  from  its 
mouth.  Of  the  other  lacustrine  basins  one  of  the  most  romantic  is  Lake  Tondauo, 
which  lies  at  an  altitude  of  2,000  feet  near  the  northern  extremity  of  Minahassa. 
After  piercing  a  winding  gorge  the  emissary  of  this  basin  suddenly  plunges  from 
a  height  of  490  feet  into  a*  rocky  cirque,  whence  it  escapes  through  a  broad  valley 
northwards  to  Menado. 

Climate,  Flora,  and  Fauxa  of  Celebes. 

Like  Borneo,  Celebes  is  crossed  by  the  equator,  which  leaves  the  three 
southern  peninsulas  in  the  Austral,  that  of  Minahassa  in  the  northern  hemisphere; 
hence  the  mean  temperature  is  high,  ranging  from  about  90"^  F.  in  the  day  to 
70°  F.  at  night.  But  these  extremes  are  usually  temjiered  by  the  alternating  land 
and  sea  breezes,  which  prevail  round  the  whole  periphery  of  the  island.  The 
rain-bearing  clouds  brought  b}^  the  south-eastern  and  north-western  monsoons 
being  intercepted  by  the  inland  ranges  discharge  an  abundance  of  moisture  on 
both  slopes,  but  especially  in  the  Macassar  peninsula,  which  is  exposed  to  the 
"bad  monsoon."  Thus  with  a  yearly  rainfall  varying  from  40  to  IGO  inches, 
Celebes  seldom  suffers  from  drought,  and  in  other  respects  enjoys  one  of  the 
most  salubrious  climates  in  Indonesia. 

Its  flora  almost  rivals  in  splendour  and  variety  that  of  the  Sunda  Islands  ;  its 
forests  even  appear  more  beautiful,  having  to  a  large  extent  j)reserved  their 
primeval  aspect,  especially  in  the  wonderful  Minahassa  peninsula.  But  while  the 
radigeuous  flora  is  closely  allied  to  that  of  the  western  islands,  the  fauna  jji-eseuts 
considerable  differences.  Separated  by  deep  waters  from  the  surrounding  lands, 
Celebes  appears  to  have  enjoyed  its  insular  indeijendence  long  enough  to  impart 
an  original  character  to  its  fauna.  Lying  midway  between  Asia  and  Australasia, 
it  possesses  some  species  belonging  to  both  of  these  zoological  areas ;  but  it  also 
presents  numerous  forms  quite  distinct  from  either,  and  often  more  allied  with 
African  than  with  Indian  or  Australian  types.  Amongst  these  are  the  Cynopitheciis 
iiic/rescens,  a  baboon  occurring  nowhere  else  in  Indonesia  except  the  small  island  of 
Batian ;  the  Anoa  depressicorius,  with  the  horns  of  the  antelope,  but  by  man)- 
naturalists  classed  with  the  bovine  familj^  and  greatly  resembling  certain  African 
species  ;  the  famous  Babirmsa,  half  pig,  half  deer,  with  four  sj^iral  tusks.  There 
are  no  felines,  but  five  varieties  of  the  squirrel,  and  two  marsupials,  Celebes 
being  the  extreme  eastern  and  western  limit  of  the  former  and  latter  respec- 
tively. ■  • 

Inhabitants  of  Celebes. 

The  native  popvdations  are  usually  classed  as  Malays  and  Alfurus  ;  a  division, 
however,  which   is  much  more  of   a   social   than    an    ethnical   character.      The 


CELEBES. 


226 


cultured  coastlauders,  -who  speak  or  understand  Malay  or  allied  idioms,  are 
regarded  as  members  of  the  dominant  Indonesian  race,  -n-hile  the  inland  wild 
tribes,  whatever  their  physical  types  and  speech,  are  indiscriminately  grouped  as 
Alfurus.  Hence  this  name  is  dropped  when  any  of  those  tribes  exchange  their 
savage  waj-s  for  a  settled  life  on  the  coffee  plantations.     Many  of  these  indigenous 

Fig.  95. — Maoassak  and  the  South-West  EEGIO^'  of  C'ei.ei3E3. 
Scale  1  :  Sio.OOO. 


Depths, 


peoples  betray  undoubted  traces  of  mixed  descent,  and  individuals  are  often  met 
■with  the  characteristic  features  and  hair  of  the  Papuans. 

One  of  the  dominant  nations  are  the  Bugis,  whose  original  home  is  the 
kingdom  of  Boni,  in  the  south-western  peninsula.  From  this  region  they  have 
spread  to  the  neighbouring  provinces,  and  have  even  foimded  settlements  in  many 
remote  parts  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Like  their  Mangkassar  (Macassar)  and 
Wajo  neighbours,  the  Bugis  are  of  middle  size,  but  robust,  vigorous,  and  active, 

VOL.  XIV.  Q 


226  AUSTRALASIA. 

witli  a  complexion  somewhat  lighter  than  that  of  other  Malays.  They  are  a  brave, 
haughty  people,  but  very  revengeful,  and  more  addicted  to  "  running  amuck  " 
than  any  other  Indonesian  communities. 

The  Bugis  have  long  enjoj-ed  the  reputation  of  being  daring  and  enterprising 
mariners,  and  they  have  completely  monopolised  the  local  trade  in  many  of  the 
surrounding  lands.  Although  they  purchase  no  slaves,  creditors  reduce  their 
defaulting  debtors  to  a  state  of  absolute  servitude,  regarding  this  law  as  the 
essential  condition  of  their  widespread  commercial  enterprise.  Their  women  enjoy 
a  certain  liberty,  practising  the  industrial  arts,  such  as  weaving  and  embroidery, 
and  often  even  learning  to  read  and  write  either  Malay  or  Bugi,  this  idiom 
possessing,  like  the  Mangkassar,  a  jDeculiar  alphabet  of  Indian  origin.  Towards 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Bugis,  yielding  to  the  Mohammedan 
missionaries,  abandoned  their  old  animistic  religion,  which  had  been  p)rofoundly 
affected  by  Hindu  influences.  They  even  still  observe  many  rites  connected  with 
the  worship  of  Siva,  and  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis  explains  the  respect  even 
now  paid  to  the  crocodiles  swarming  in  the  moats  of  their  citadels. 

The  Alfurus  of  the  central  districts  are  divided  into  many  tribal  groups,  such 
as  the  Torajas,  a  term  often  applied  collectively  to  all  the  pagan  savages  of  the 
interior.  The  Toj)antunuasus,  or  "  Dog-eaters,"  of  the  Lake  Posso  district,  eat 
the  brain  and  drink  the  blood  of  their  enemies.  Even  some  of  the  islands  off  the 
coast  are  still  occupied  by  wild  beasts  in  human  form.  Those  of  Peling  Island, 
near  the  Balante  p)eninsula,  roam  naked  in  the  forests  and  take  refuge  at  night 
amid  the  branches  of  the  trees. 

But  in  the  extreme  north  the  civilised  and  confederate  peoples  of  Minahassa, 
that  is,  "  Brotherhood,"  vie  with  the  Bugis  and  Mangkassars  of  the  extreme 
south  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  industry.  The  Minahassans  and  their  western 
neighbours  are  distinguished  above  most  Indonesians  for  their  remarkably  light 
complexion,  many  being  quite  as  fair  as  Europeans  and  distinguishable  from  them 
only  by  their  more  prominent  cheek-bones.  Dumont  d'Urville  was  struck  by 
their  surprising  resemblance  to  the  Tongans  and  Maoris  of  Eastern  Polynesia. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  most  of  the  Minahassans  were  still 
head-hunters,  and  even  devoured  human  flesh  at  their  great  feasts.  But  since 
then  they  have  become  quiet,  peaceful  citizens,  very  industrious  and  skilled 
artisans.  The  chiefs  wear  the  European  dress,  and  the  pure  Malay  taught  in 
the  schools  is  gradually  replacing  the  thousand  local  dialects.  This  remark- 
able change  is  mainly  due  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  especially  to  the 
coffee  plantations,  which  since  1822  have  been  rapidly  developed  throughout 
the  Minahassa  districts.  Besides  coffee,  the  chief  cultivated  plants  are  sugar- 
cane, tobacco,  kosso  (Manilla  hemp),  the  nutmeg,  sago,  rice  and  maize.  This 
district  also  yields  for  export  gutta-percha,  wax,  honey,  mother-of-pearl, 
tortoise-shell,  edible  nests  and  algse.  Nearly  all  the  Minahassans  have  accepted 
Christianity,  Avhereas  most  of  the  other  cultured  Celebians  are  followers  of 
the  Prophet. 


CELEBES.  227 


Topography  of  Celebes. 


The  most  famous  city  in  Celebes  is  Mangkassar  (Macassar),  tlie  UJitng  Pandang 
of  the  natives,  and  by  the  Dutch  often  called  Vtaardingen,  from  the  fort  of  that 
name  erected  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  Xorth  of  this  fort  stretches  the  busy 
native  quarter,  with  its  crowded  streets,  shipping,  and  Bugi,  Chinese,  and  Arab 
traders ;  to  the  south  lies  the  European  quarter,  with  its  avenues  of  large  trees, 
and  numerous  shady  gardens.  Macassar,  occupjing  one  of  the  most  convenient 
positions  for  trade  in  Indonesia,  had  already  been  much  frequented  \>\  the  Malays 
when  it  was  seized  by  the  Portuguese  in  1538.  The  Dutch  occupation  dates  from 
the  erection  of  Fort  \laardingen  in  1665,  after  which  trade  rapidly  increased  tiU 
1846,  when  Macassar  was  declared  a  free  port,  to  the  detriment  of  its  commercial 
prosperity.  A  chief  item  of  the  export  trade  is  the  lakalava  extract  from  the  pulp 
of  the  badu  plant,  long  known  in  Europe  by  the  name  of  Macassar  oil.  The 
roadstead  is  well  sheltered  from  all  winds  hj  the  numerous  chains  of  islets  and 
reefs  forming  the  Spermonde  Archipelago. 

Although  held  by  the  Dutch  for  over  two  centuries,  the  province  of  Macassar 
has  but  few  good  roads.  The  most  important  is  the  route  skirting  the  coast  north 
and  south  of  the  capital,  leading  northwards  to  Maros,  residence  of  a  vassal  prince, 
and  running  thence  through  several  petty  states  to  Tanette.  Another  highway 
running  east  crosses  the  rugged  region  north  of  Mount  Bonthain,  reaching  the 
east  coast  at  Sinjai  and  Baking  JVipa.  The  southern  route,  after  passing  Goa 
{Gowa),  residence  of  a  former  powerful  sovereign,  traverses  Glisong,  Takalar,  and 
other  coast  towns  inhabited  by  daring  mariners.  On  the  south  coast  of  the 
Macassar  penins-ula  the  chief  place  is  Bonthain  [Banfaeng),  which  has  succeeded 
Bulakomba  as  capital  of  the  district. 

"Other  "kingdoms"  occupy  the  eastern  slope  of  Macassar  and  of  the  two  penin- 
sulas radiating  eastwards  ;  but  their  capitals  are  mere  hamlets,  like  the  numerous 
fishing  stations  on  the  creeks  and  sheltered  straits  of  these  waters.  Bajoa,  the 
port  of  Boni,  at  one  time  the  most  powerful  state  in  Celebes,  is  an  active  centre  of 
trade.  But  the  eastern  shores  of  Celebes  present  little  but  a  monotonous  succes- 
sion of  headlands,  inlets,  and  wooded  tracts,  mostly  destitute  of  inhabitants,  and 
visited  onh*  by  the  Orang-Bajo,  the  "  Gipsies  of  the  sea,"  in  quest  of  trepang  and 
tortoise-shell. 

Farther  north  the  shores  of  the  gulf  of  Tolo  or  Tomaiki,  with  all  their  natural 
advantages,  present  the  same  desolate  aspect.  Even  most  of  the  adjacent  islands 
are  deserted,  and  of  the  Sula  (Xula)  Archipelago  the  only  inhabited  islands  are 
Sula  Besi  and  Sula  Taliabo.  The  Togean  Archipelago  also,  which  lies  in  the 
northern  gulf  of  Tomini  (Gorontolo),  has  a  mixed  joopulation  of  not  more  than 
four  hundred  souls.  Parigi,  at  the  neck  of  the  northern  peninsula,  occupies  a 
favourable  position  for  trade  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  connecting  isthmus,  and 
within  21  miles  of  the  Bay  of  Fains  on  the  opjiosite  coast.  Palos  itself,  lying  in  a 
fertile  district  on  a  deep  and  well-sheltered  bay,  enjoys  quite  exceptional  com- 
mercial advantages. 

q2 


228 


AUSTRALASIA. 


North  of  Parigi  tlic  peninsula  still  continues  (o  contract  between  the  Bays  of 
Dondo  and  Tomiui.  But  the  whole  region  is  almost  depopulated',  and  Tumini, 
which  gives  an  alternative  name  to  the  vast  Gulf  of  Gorontolo,  is  an  obscure 
hamlet  comprising  some  ten  or  twelve  native  cabins.  Gorontolo  [ITolontalo)  which 
gives  its  name  both  to  the  gulf  and  to  the  northern  peninsula  of  Celebes,  lies  in  a 


Kg.  96. — Adiiinistkative  DrrisioNS  of  Celebes. 

Sc.ile  1  :  12,500,«IO. 


Government  of  Celebes. 


Eesitlence  of  Menado 


Eesidence  of  Temate.  Residence  of  Amboyna. 


^ 


Residence  of  Timor. 


Portuguese  Territory. 
210  Miles. 


dried-up  laevistrine  plain  at  the  mouth  of  a  narrow  valley  watered  by  a  torrent 
which  issues  from  Lake  Limbotto.  Beyond  this  point  the  coast  is  almost  unin- 
habited as  far  as  the  shores  of  Minahassa,  where  follow  the  two  jDorts  of  Bclaixj 
and  Kema. 

These  places  are  connected  by  good  routes  across  the  i^eninsula  with  Menado, 
capital  of  the  province,  and  northern  rival  of  Macassar  in  political  and  commercial 


LISRARV 

OF  THE 

UNlVERSlTy  of  ILLINOIS, 


CELEBES.  229 

importance.  Menado  (Manado),  tlie  Wenang  of  the  natives,  lies  on  a  spacious 
inlet  open  to  the  -west  and  sheltered  on  the  north  by  several  islets,  one  of  which, 
Mcnado  Tinea,  or  "  Old  Menado,"  marks  the  site  of  the  old  town,  which  was 
abandoned  in  1682  for  the  present  more  secure  position  on  the  mainland.  Here 
a  pleasant  little  Dutch  quarter  gradually  sprang  up  roimd  about  the  foot  of 
Kieuic-Ainsterdam.  But  the  town  itself  is  little  more  than  a  vast  garden  dotted 
over  with  rural  dwellings  and  crossed  by  shady  avenues,  each  terminating  with  a 
lovely  view  of  sea,  islands,  and  extinct  or  still  smouldering  volcanoes. 

The  district  is  enriched  by  cultivated  grounds,  which  have  replaced  the  primi- 
tive forests,  and  which  are  traversed  by  good  roads  giving  access  to  the  magnifi- 
cent plateau  of  Tondano,  with  its  coffee  plantations,  its  woodlands,  romantic 
winding  lake,  and  waterfall  of  the  river  Menado.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Tondano 
stands  the  village  of  Rurukau,  3,y00  feet  above  the  sea,  being  the  highest  group 
of  habitations  in  Minahassa,  if  not  in  the  whole  of  Celebes. 

The  political  and  administrative  in  no  way  correspond  with  the  natural 
divisions  of  Celebes.'  Thus  Sumbawa,  one  of  the  lesser  Sunda  Islands,  forms  part 
of  the  Macassar  "  government,"  while  the  petty  states  on  the  Gulf  of  Tolo  belong 
to  the  Sultanate  of  Ternate,  and  consequently  depend  politically  on  a  remote 
eastern  islet.  The  greater  part  of  Celebes  is  still  divided  amongst  local  rulers, 
some  classed  as  direct  or  indirect  feudatories,  others  as  allies,  and  others  again  as 
still  completely  independent.  Thus  the  districts  under  direct  Dutch  administration 
occupy  but  a  relatively  small  part  of  the  territory  ;  and  even  here  the  old  adminis- 
trative measures  have  been  partly  maintained,  the  authoritj-  being  exercised  by 
native  regents  under  the  control  of  Dutch  Eesidents  or  Assistants.  The  system 
of  government  varies  also  in  the  numerous  native  "  kingdoms,"  most  of  which  a^e 
electoral  monarchies  limited  by  custom,  the  authority  of  the  notables,  and  priestly 
influence.  Wajo,  on  the  east  coast  of  Macassar,  is  an  oligarchy  of  powerfid  families, 
with  a  prince  elected  as  nominal  chief,  and  a  council  of  forty  delegates,  including 
some  women.  The  various  Bugi  states  constitute  similar  oligarchies,  where  the 
nominal  sovereign  merely  executes  the  pleasure  of  his  vassals. 

The  Southern  MoLrccAS :  Bueu,  Ceram,  Amboyxa,  Baxda. 

A  submarine  bed  less  than  100  fathoms  deep  connects  Celebes  and  the  Xula 
(Sula)  Archipelago  with  Burn,  westernmost  member  of  the  Moluccas.  On  the 
other  hand  this  oval  island  forms  a  Knk  in  a  chain  disposed  in  the  form  of  an 
arc  comprising  Ceram,  Goram,  sundry  islets,  and  in  the  Kei  group  intersecting 
another  chain  of  upheaved  lands,  the  already  described  South-Eastern  Islands. 
The  chain  of  the  Southern  Moluccas,  sweeping  round  some  450  miles  first  west  and 
east,  then  south-east  parallel  with  Xew  Guinea,  is  well  defined  by  deep  waters 
both  north  and  south.  Thus  Ceram  is  separated  from  the  Korthern  Moluccas  by 
an  abyss  of  over  1,500  fathoms,  while  on  the  opposite  side  the  Banda  Sea  has  a 
depth  of  3,000,  and  at  one  point  near  the  Banda  volcano  4,280  fathoms.  Precisely 
in  the  centre  of  this  sea  rises  the  submarine  plateau  of  Lucipara,  marked  by  a  few 


230 


AtrSTEAlASIA. 


reefs  appearing  above  the  .surface.  Witli  the  exception  of  Amboyna  and  Banda, 
which  do  not  lie  along  the  general  axis  of  the  Southern  Moluccas,  all  these  islands 
are  situated  beyond  the  Indonesian  volcanic  zone. 

The  small  island  of  Amboyna,  and  the  still  smaller  cluster  of  the  Banda  islets, 
formerly  enjoyed  a  commercial  importance  far  beyond  that  of  the  larger  islands 
in  these  waters.  They  even  still  retain  their  political  supremacy,  though  the 
centre  of  gravity  will  probably  be  eventually  shifted  towards  Buru  and  Ceram, 

Fig.  97.— BuKU. 
Scale  1 : 2,000,000. 


127°        East  op  Greenwich 


Depths. 


1,000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


which  have  already  outstripped  them  in  population,  and  which  also  j)osses8  excel- 
lent havens. 

Despite  its  fertility  and  abundant  natural  resources  Buru  is  still  one  of  the 
least-known  lands  of  Indonesia.  Near  its  rock-bound  west  coast  it  culminates  in 
the  lofty  Mount  Lamandang,  or  Tomahu  (8,540  feet),  with  which  are  connected 
other  mountain  masses  falling  gradually  eastwards,  but  more  elevated  and  precipi- 
tous along  the  southern  than  the  northern  side.  The  whole  system  is  disposed 
in  a  semicircle  with  its  convex  side  facing  eastwards,  and  leaving  in  the  centre  of 
the  island  a  large  crater-like  depression  flooded  b}'  Lake  Wakoholo,  1,900  feet 
above  sea-level.  The  east  coast  is  indented  by  the  superb  Bay  of  Kayeli,  which  is 
encircled  by  an  extensive  plain  enclosed  by  an  amphitheatre  of  hills.  A  geo- 
graphical dependence  of  Buru  is  the  hilly  and  reef-fringed  islet  of  Amblauw,  off 
the  south-east  coast. 

The  islets  of  Manipa,  Eelang,  and  Bonoa,  connecting  Buru  and  Ceram,  are 


THE   SOUTIIEEN   MOLUCCAS.  231 

mere  geograpliical  fragments  of  the  latter.  Amboyna  with  the  Uliasser  group 
(Oma  or  Haniku,  Saparua,  and  Nusa  Laut)  all  rest  on  the  same  submarine  plateau 
as  Ceram.  Amboyna  is  formed  as  it  were  by  two  peninsulas,  Hitu  and  Ley-timor, 
connected  by  a  sandy  isthmus  little  over  a  mile  wide.  Although  regarded  by 
"Wallace  as  of  igneous  origin,  European  residents  deny  the  existence  of  any  Tolcano 
in  Amboyna. 

Ceram,  or  Serang,  largest  and  loftiest  of  the  Southern  Moluccas,  is  covered  by 
a  dense  forest  on  its  western  slope  known  as  Howamul,  or  "Little  Ceram."  The 
island  culminates  in  Mount  Musaheli  (9,710  feet) ;  its  preyailing  formation  appears 
to  be  granite.  Its  shores  are  encircled  by  fringing  reefs,  and  the  islands  continu- 
ing the  mainland  south-eastwards  are  mainly  formed  of  coralline  Hmestones. 
Goram,  one  of  the  largest  of  these  groups,  consists  of  a  rocky  central  nucleus, 
rormd  which  the  polyps  have  constructed  their  coral  reefs.  But  others,  such  as 
Manawoko  and  Matabello,  arc  composed  exclusively  of  upheaved  coral. 

The  little  Banda  group  presents  a  marked  contrast  to  all  the  surrounding 
lands  in  its  complete  isolation,  and  the  incessant  activity  of  its  Gunong  Api,  or 
"Bui-ning  Mountain."  Of  the  six  islets  of  the  cluster,  three.  Great  Banda '(Lon- 
thoir),  Banda  Neira,  and  the  Yolcano,  are  so  disposed  as  to  form  the  margin  of  an 
inner  lake,  probably  representing  an  old  crater  of  vast  extent.  Both  Bandas  are 
clothed  with  verdure  to  their  summits,  while  the  superb' cone  of  Api  presents  on 
its  lower  flanks  a  mere  fringe  of  vegetation,  and  higher  up  nothing  but  heaps  of 
rocks  whitened  with  saline  efflorescences.  The  craters  emit  constant  wreaths  of 
vapour,  and  all  the  Banda  Islands  are  subject  to  frequent  earthquakes.  In  this 
neighbourhood  is  best  seen  the  curious  phenomenon  of  the  "  Milky  Sea,"  the  water 
during  the  months  from  June  to  September  appearing  white  at  night  and  illumiaed 
by  a  strange  phosphorescent  glow. 

Lying  between  Indonesia  and  New  Guinea  the  Southern  Moluccas  participate 
of  both  regions  in  their  climate  and  animal  and  vegetable  forms.  But  land  mam- 
mals are  almost  completely  absent,  while  on  the  other  hand  each  island  presents 
some  original  tj'pes.  Noteworthy  are  the  Marsupials  (Ciiscus),  allied  to  those  of 
New  Guinea  ;  the  babirussa,  which  has  reached  Burn  from  Celebes,  and  especially 
the  huge  pythons  which  attack  and  devour  man.  The  Moluccas  are  amazingly 
rich  in  birds,  mostly  resembling  those  of  Papuasia.  In  Ceram  alone  Wallace 
enumerated  fifty-five  indigenous  species,  including  a  remarkable  helmeted  casso- 
wary five  or  six  feet  high,  the  wings  being  replaced  by  groups  of  "  horny  black 
spines  like  blunt  porcupine  quills."  The  surrounding  waters  also  teem  with  every 
variety  of  marine  life,  and  in  the  ports  and  creeks  of  AmbojTia  alone  Bleeker  found 
no  less  than  seven  hundred  and  eighty  species  of  fishes,  nearly  as  many  as  occur  in 
all  the  European  seas  and  rivers.  Amboyna  also  presents  larger  and  more  beautiful 
butterflies  than  ^ny  other  spot  on  the  globe.  Yet  by  a  strange  and  inexplicable 
contrast  the  eastern  part  of  Ceram,  with  all  its  wealth  of  vegetation,  is  extremely 
poor  in  animal  forms. 

The  "Alfurus,"  or  uncivilised  natives  of  the  Southern  Moluccas,  are  allied,  not 
to  the  Indonesians  of  Celebes,  Borneo,  and  Sumatra,  but  to  the  Papuans  of  New 


232  AUSTRALASIA. 

Guinea.  Those  of  Burn,  ab.surdly  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  western  home  of 
the  Eastern  Polynesians,  are  of  middle  size,  with  deep  brown  complexion  and  huge 
"  mop-heads."  Most  of  their  settlements  are  on  the  coast,  where,  as  in  Coram,  the 
type  has  become  largely  modified  by  crossings  with  Malays  and  other  immigrants. 
In  Amboyna  Hindu  features  are  even  said  to  occur,  and  here  the  language  would 
seem  to  betray  former  Asiatic  influences. 

Except  in  Ceram  most  of  the  Alf  urus  have  discontinued  head-hunting  and 
their  other  ferocious  practices.  All  believe  in  a  Supreme  Being,  creator  and  pre- 
server of  all  things,  great  judge,  rewarder  of  good  and  punisher  of  evil  in  this  life 
and  the  nest.  But  he  is  honoured  by  no  worshii?,  prayers  and  incantations  being 
reserved  for  the  innumerable  beneficent  and  malevolent  spirits,  who  dwell  in  the 
rocks,  the  trees,  the  streams,  and  the  wind.  These  are  appeased  by  wizards  and 
astrologers,  who  also  heal  maladies,  make  the  crops  prosper,  and  preserve  mariners 
from  the  dangers  of  the  deep.  Marriages  are  exogamous,  and  the  women  as  well 
as  debtors  are  treated  with  remarkable  kindness.  In  the  interior  Mohammedanism 
has  hitherto  failed  to  gain  a  footing,  but  on  the  coastlands  its  influence  is  predomi- 
nant, and  steadily  increasing  with  the  ascendency'  of  the  Malay  intruders.  On  the 
other  hand  Christian  missionaries  from  Amboyna  have  already  bajjtized  some 
thousands  of  Ceramese  and  other  islanders.  In  some  villages  the  Christians  are 
in  the  majority,  and  on  the  coast  of  Ceram  facing  Amboyna  all  the  natives  are  at 
least  nominally  Orang  Sirani,  or  "  N-azarenes." 

The  general  spread  of  Christianity  is  mainly  the  result  of  the  early  proselytis- 
ing zeal  of  the  Portuguese,  many  traces  of  whose  occupation  still  survive.  In  the 
first  year  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Dutch  seized  Amboyna  and  Banda,  where 
they  endeavoured  to  monopolise  the  trade  in  the  famous  spices  "  worth  their  weight 
in  gold."  They  ordered  the  destruction  of  the  nutmeg  and  clove  forests  every- 
where in  their  domain  except  Amboyna  and  Banda,  and  even  here  the  number  of 
plants  was  strictly  limited  by  numerous  decrees.  For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
Amsterdam  was  the  only  market  in  the  world  where  nutmeg,  cloves,  and  mace 
could  be  procured  ;  but  this  policy  was  followed  by  many  evils,  such  as  the  depopu- 
lation of  formerly  flourishing  islands,  the  spread  of  piracy,  and  the  debasement  of 
the  natives  condemned  to  forced  labour  on  the  plantations  for  half  a  year.  All 
industries  were  sacrificed  to  the  cultivation  of  the  spice  plants,  and  the  monopoly 
itself  became  so  burdensome  and  disastrous  that  it  had  at  last  to  be  abolished  in 
1860.  Since  then  the  yield  has  been  greatly  reduced  in  Amboyna,  but  the  Banda 
growers,  favoured  by  the  conditions  of  soil  and  climate,  still  compete  successfully 
with  those  of  other  spice-growing  lands. 

Amhoyua,  the  native  Amhon,  capital  of  the  Eesidence  of  the  Southern  Moluccas, 
lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  bay  of  like  name  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Soj'a ;  it 
comprises  a  central  trading  quarter  and  suburbs  with  broad  shadj^  avenues 
stretching  for  some  distance  in  various  directions,  with  a  total  population  of 
thirteen  thousand.  It  is  commanded  by  Fort  Victoria,  and  is  now  a  free  port, 
where  the  largest  vessels  ride  at  anchor  in  ten  or  fifteen  fathoms  of  water. 
Amboyna  is  the  centre  of   the  religious  establishments  for  all  the  surrounding 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSlTyofttUNOlS. 


THE  SOUTHERN  MOLUCCAS. 


238 


regions ;     here    resided    Yalentijn,   and   here   died    Eumpliius,    the    pioneers   of 
scientific  exploration  in  Indonesia. 

The  chief  port  in  Burn  oifers  all  the  material  advantages  for  a  great  centre  of 
trade,  but  on  this  magnificent  and  ■well-sheltored  harbour  nothing  is  seen  except 
the  obscure  village  of  Kaijcli,  with  a  mixed  population  of  about  two  thousand 

Fig.  98. — Poet  of  ^VxDOYN.t. 
Scale  1  :  80,000. 


Mussulmans,  Christians,  and  Chinese.  The  shores  of  Ceram  also  present  no  centres 
of  population  beyond  a  few  groups  of  cabins  occupied  h\  Malays,  some  Moham- 
medan and  Christian  Alfurus,  and  a  few  foreign  traders.  Of  these  groups,  known 
as  negerijcn,  from  the  Hindu  nagar,  a  town,  the  chief  are  Amahai,  centre  of  the 
Dutch  administration  on  the  south  side,  and  on  the  north  Wahai,  a  fortified  village 
with  an  extensive  harbour. 


23 1 


AUSTEALASIA. 


The  islet  of  Kilwaru,  off  the  east  point  of  Ceram  and  near  the  ring-shaped 
Gisscr,  presents  the  aspect  of  a  little  "  Malay  Venice,"  where  the  pile-dwellings 
are  so  closely  packed  that  the  ground  can  nowhere  be  seen,  and  the  whole  island 
looks  like  a  floating  village.  Lying  on  the  only  deep  channel  across  the  subma- 
rine banks  of  Ceram  Laut,  Kilwaru  is  a  busy  mart,  the  chief  entrepot  of  the  trade 
between  Amboyna  and  New  Guinea. 

East  of  Amboyna,  the  chief  town  of  the  Uliasser  group  is  Sapania,  in  the 
island  of  the  same  name,  near  the  shore  of  a  good  haven,  and  at  the  converging 
point  of  two  routes  which  cross  the  island  at  its  narrowest  parts.     But  despite 


Fig.  99. — KiLWAEU. 
Scale  1  :  25,000. 


these  natural  advantages,  Saparua  has  less  than  two  thousand  inhabitants,  nearly 
all  Christians.  The  surrounding  plantations  jdeld  a  larger  quantity  of  cloves  than 
Amboyna,  though  the  crops  are  very  precarious.  A  good  harvest  will  exceed 
340,000  lbs.  for  the  whole  Amboyna  group,  while  that  of  bad  years  will  fall 
below  56,000  lbs. 

The  fortified  town  of  Bcnida,  or  Neira,  in  the  island  of  like  name,  occupies  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  positions  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  It  lies  on  the  north 
side  of  Banda  Bay,  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Papenberg,  amidst  the  loveliest  nutmeg 
plantations  in  the  world.     The  opposite  island  of  Great  Banda  is  almost  covered 


iM 


■Pi 


MliBiiiiiiSliS 


,  LISRARV 

OF  THE 

■!NiVEPSlTY(if  "'iNi 


THE  SOUTHEEN  MOLUCCAS. 


285 


with  the  same  shmib,  and  M'ith  others  of  larger  growth  planted  for  protection. 
'The  light  volcanic  soil,  the  shade,  and  the  natural  moisture  of  the  climate  are  all 
conditions  most  favourable  for  the  nutmeg,  which  here  grows  almost  spontane- 
ously, whereas  in  SingajDore,  Pulo  Pinang,  and  other  places  successful  crops  can 
be  raised  only  by  most  careful  cultivation. 

A  fringe  of  cocoanut  trees  encircles  the  base  of  the  neighbouring  Grunong  Api, 
which  is  inhabited  by  the  descendants  of  immigrants  from  Buton.      The  islets    of 


Fig.  100. — Banda  Gkoup. 
Scale  1  :  115,000. 


Esstcr  Greenwich 


250  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


Run  and  Eozengain  are  also  occupied  by  small  colonies  of  cultivators,  descended 
for  the  most  part  from  transported  convicts. 

The  residence  of  Amboyna  is  divided  administratively  into  the  four  districts 
of  Amboyna,  Burn,  the  Uliasser  group,  Banda,  and  the  three  circumscriptions  of 
Ceram. 


The  Noktherx  Moluccas  :  Obi,  B.\tjan,  TinoK,  Teenate,  Halmahera, 

MOROTAI. 

This  northern   group,  of  which  Halmahera  forms  the  centre,  is  completely 
enclosed  on  all  sides  by  deep  waters.     On  the  west  it  is  separated  from  Celebes  by 


236  AUSTEALASIA. 

abj'sses  of  over  a  thousand  fathoms ;  on  the  north  and  north-west  occur  troughs  of 
two  thousand  fathoms ;  southwards,  a  chasm  of  fifteen  hundred  fathoms  yawns 
between  Obi  and  the  Southern  Moluccas  ;  lastly,  towards  the  east,  depths  of  five 
hundred  fathoms,  with  a  sill  of  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms,  mark  the  part- 
ing line  between  the  insular  world  and  the  islands  depending  on  Papuasia.  The 
Northern  Moluccas  are  mainly  disposed  longitudinally  north  and  south,  whereas 
the  southern  group  runs  east  and  west.  The  total  area  exceeds  6,000  square  miles  ; 
but  with  the  exception  of  the  so-called  "Little  Moluccas"  (Ternate,  Tidor,  Mak- 
jan,  Motir,  Kayoa)  none  of  the  islands  are  thickly  peoijled,  while  some  even  have 
no  permanent  residents  at  all.  The  two  islands  of  Tifuri  and  Mayu,  which  depend 
politically  on  Ternate,  may  be  included  in  this  group,  although  rising  in  deep 
waters  to  the  east  of  Minahassa. 

The  term  Molucos  was  originally  restricted  by  the  Portuguese  to  tJie  "  Little 
Moluccas "  of  modern  geographers,  but  has  gradually  been  extended  to  all  the 
eastern  islands  producing  spices. 

Igneous  energy  is  far  more  active  in  the  northern  than  in  the  southern  group, 
and  a  whole  range  of  active  craters  skirts  the  western  edge  of  the  archipelago. 
In  the  northern  section  of  Batjan  (Batchian)  occur  hot  springs,  and  a  gej'ser  which, 
like  those  of  Iceland,  contains  much  silica.  Farther  north,  beyond  the  basalt 
rocks  of  Kayoa  (Kajoa)  rises  the  Makjan  volcano,  which  was  partly  blown  away 
during  the  eruption  of  1616.  Motir  also  (1,020  feet)  forms  a  burning  mountain, 
which  was  still  active  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  century.  The  southern  por- 
tion of  Tidor,  a  little  farther  north,  consists  of  a  perfectly  regular  cone,  the 
highest  in  the  Moluccas  (5,720  feet),  which  emits  vapours  from  time  to  time.  Its 
neighbour,  Ternate,  somewhat  lower  and  of  less  symmetrical  form,  is  one  of  the 
most  restless  volcanoes  in  the  whole  of  Indonesia ;  from  the  Dutch  occupation  at 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  down  to  1862  no  less  than  eighty-four 
eruptions  were  recorded  ;  the  mountain  is  fissured  in  all  directions,  and  vapours  are 
constantly  emitted  from  the  seven  craters  opened  on  its  flanks.  Earthquakes  are 
also  frequent,  and  the  town  lying  at  its  base  has  scarcely  recovered  from  one 
disaster  when  it  is  overtaken  by  another. 

Farther  north,  the  volcanic  axis  of  the  Little  Moluccas  strikes  the  projecting 
coast  of  Halmahera,  and  here  also  rise  three  eruptive  cones  visible  from  Ternate. 
In  the  same  direction  follow  other  centres  of  igneous  activity,  such  as  the  Gunong 
Tarakan  (Tafelberg),  and  Tolo,  facing  the  island  of  Morotai  (Mortai),  whose  scorioe 
forming  barriers  across  the  marine  inlets  have  converted  them  into  complete 
land-locked  lakes. 

Halmahera,  or  the  "  Great  Land,"  presents  in  its  outlines  a  curious  resemblance 
to  Celebes,  consisting,  like  that  island,  of  four ' mountainous  peninsulas  rooted  in 
a  central  nucleus,  and  all  disposed  in  similar  directions.  The  trachytic  island  of 
Morotai,  with  the  adjacent  clusters,  which  appear  to  have  been  formerly  attached 
to  the  northern  peninsula,  also  correspond  to  the  Minahassa  region  of  North 
Celebes,  while  the  southern  and  south-eastern  peninsulas  are  similarly  prolonged 
by  the  islands  of  Damar  and  Gebe. 


THE  NORTHERN  MOLUCCAS. 


237 


Tlie  Xorthern  Moluccas,  where  tlic  iiolitical  ascendency  is  centred  in  tlie  two 
volcanic  islets  of  Tidor  and  Ternatc,  are  distinguished,  even  more  than  the  southern 
group,  by  their  i^eculiarly  specialised  local  forms.  Thus  Morotai  possesses  charac- 
teristic birds  unknown  in  Ilalmahera,  from  which  it  is  separated  only  by  an  island- 
sluddcd  strait  twenty-four  miles  wide.  The  fauna,  both  of  Morotai  in  the  extreme 
north  and  of  Damar  in  the  extreme  south,  is  much  more  allied  to  that  of  the  remote 
Papuasia  than  the  JMoluccas.     Specially   remarkable   is  the  fauna  of  Batjan,  in 

Fig.  101.— Ejipihes  of  Teen'ate  issn  Tidoe. 
Scale  1  :  20,0:0,000. 


^■' 


taslj  oFGreenwtcb 


<=^ 


Former 

possessions 

of  Tidor. 


Kingdom 
of  Batjan. 


Islands  formerly 

divided  between 

Temate  and  Tidor. 


whose  spice  forests  is  found  the  baboon-like  cynopithecu.s,  which  here  reaches  its 
farthest  eastern  range. 

The  dominant  element  in  the  Little  Moluccas  are  the  Malavs,  who,  after  secur- 
ing a  footing  in  Temate  and  Tidor,  overran  the  whole  archipelago.  But  inter- 
marrying.with  the  Alfuru  women,  their  type  has  been  variously  modified.  An- 
other intruding  element  are  the  Orang  Scrani,  that  is,  the  Nazarenes  or  Christians, 
who  are  partly  descended  from  Portuguese  ancestors.     But  they  have  long  forgot- 


238 


AUSTRALASIA. 


ten,  if  not  their  origin,  at  least  their  language  and  even  their  Catholic  faith  ;  they 
now  speak  Malay  mixed  with  a  few  Portuguese  words,  and  call  themselves  Protes- 
tants. Through  crossings  with  the  natives  they  have  become  as  dark  as  the 
Papuans,  and  greatly  resemble  the  Brazilian  half-castes  of  the  Amazons.  The 
Orang  Serani  are  almost  the  only  natives  of  Indonesia  who  eat  the  "  flying-fox," 
that  huge  bat  which  is  at  times  seen  suspended  by  hundreds  from  the  branches  of 
dead  trees. 

The  Alfurus,  or  aborigines,  are  now  found  chiefly  in  the  central  parts  of  the 
northern  peninsula  in  Ilalmahera.     Although   many  are   as   fair   as  the   Malays, 

Pig.  102. — Teexate,  Tidok,  and  Dadinoa  Isthitos. 
Scale  1  :  600,000. 


E^sb  oFG  eenwch 


Depths.' 


Wallace  and  others  regard  them  as  but  slightly  modified  Papuans,  with  the 
coarse  features,  nearly  aquiline  nose,  frizzly  hair,  and  vivacity  of  the  New  Guinea 
natives.  In  other  respects,  and  especially  in  their  usages  and  social  institutions, 
they  resemble  the  Alfurus  of  Coram  and  Burn. 

The  little  island  of  Kayoa,  north  of  Batjan,  is  occupied  by  a  few  hundred 
natives  tributary  to  the  Sultan  of  Ternate.  The  more  fertile  Makjan  is  also  far 
more  densely  peopled  ;  in  former  times  its  importance  made  it  a  bone  of  contention 
between  the  rival  sovereigns  of  Tidor  and  Ternate.  Afterwards  it  passed  succes- 
sively from  the  Spaniards  to  the  Diitch,  who  ruined  it  by  compelling  the  ruler  of 
Ternate  to  destroy  its  clove  plantations. 


THE  NORTHEEX  MOLUCCAS.  289 

Nearly  all  the  Northern  Moluccas  are  rliviclcd  between   the  two  sultanates  of 


Tidor  and  Teruate,  which  are  themselves  for  the  most  part  now  merged  in  the 


240 


AUSTE.'VLASIA. 


Dutch  administrative  division  known  as  the  Residence  of  Ternate.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  phenomena  in  the  history  of  Indonesia  is  the  extraordinary 
political  importance  acquired  by  these  two  insignificant  islets.  At  the  very  time 
when  the  Italian  republics  of  Venice,  Pisa  and  Genoa  were  enjoying  a  marvellous 
prosperity,  these  eastern  Malay  communities  were,  under  analogous  conditions, 
acquiring  vast  colonial  empires  stretching  far  over  the  surrounding  archipelagoes 
and  continents.  Trading  settlements  from  Tidor  and  Ternate  were  founded  in  all 
the  markets  of  Malaysia,  and  their  ascendency  was  maintained  as  long  as  their 
operations  were  limited  to  trade.  But  decay  set  in  as  soon  as  their  sultans  became 
rich  potentates  surrounded  by  thousands  of  slaves,  levying  heavy  tribute  and 
plundering  the  surrounding  regions'  with  their  armies  of  mercenaries  and  piratic 
fleets. 

At  present  these  sultans  retain  little  beyond  an  empty  title.     The  so-called 

Fig.  lOi. — Density  of  the  Population  in  Dutch  Indonesia. 
Scale  1  :  45  noo.OOO. 


EasboFGre 


Iiihabit;mt8  to  the  Square  Mile. 

□         B  g         H 

0  to  10.  10  to  20.  20  to  100.  100  to  300. 

Each  square  represents  a  population  of  100,000. 

— ^-^— — ^—  600  Miles. 


"  kingdom  "  of  Tidor  comprises  the  central  part  of  Ilalmahera  with  its  two  eastern 
peninsulas,  besides  the  western  shores  of  New  Guinea  with  the  adjacent  islands. 
To  Ternate  are  nominally  assigned  the  northern  peninsula  of  Ilalmahera  with 
more  than  half  of  the  south,  the  Sula  Archipelago  and  about  one-third  of  Celebes. 
According  to  the  local  -chronicles  a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  in  1322 
between  the  Molucca  States,  in  virtue  of  which  the  first  rank  was  awarded  to  the 
Kolano  of  JailoUo  (Jilolo)  in  Ilalmahera ;  but  in  1380  the  Sultan  of  Ternate 
acquired  the  ascendency  under  the  title  of  Kolano  Maloko,  or  "  Prince  of  the 
Moluccas."  Since  that  time  the  relations  between  the  various  local  states  has  been 
modified  by  the  wars  between  the  Portuguese  and  Sj^aniards,  and  by  the  arrival  of 
the  Dutch.  At  present  the  Jailollo  prince  is  a  mere  vassal  of  Ternate,  which  in 
its  turn  is  fain  to  recognise  the  suzerainty  of  Holland.  In  1879  all  slaves  were 
oiBcially  declared  free  throughout  the  whole  of  these  territories. 


THE  NOETHEllX  MOLUCCAS. 


241 


The  capital  of  Tidor  is  a  mere  village  on  the  west  side  of  the  island  ;  but 
Ternate  is  a  real  tewn,  although  it  has  suffered  much  since  the  opening  of  the 
ports  of  Celebes  to  free  trade.  It  is  doubtless  itsslf  also  a  free  port,  but  it  has  lost 
many  of  its  Chinese,  Bugi,  and  Arab  traders,  and  has  ceased  to  be  the  chief  market 
for  the  feathers  of  the  bird  of  paradise.  The  ruins  of  buildings  overthrown  by 
the  earthquakes  are  scattered  amid  the  modern  dwellings,  and  the  old  Portuguese 
and  Dutch  forts  have  recently  had  to  be  rebuilt.  Behind  every  stone  houte  is  a 
second  structure  in  light  wood  where  the  sleeping  apartments  are  contained,  and 
where  little  risk  is  run  in  case  of  any  sudden  shock.  The  slopes  of  the  neigh- 
bouring volcano  are  covered  with  orchards,  which  yield  the  finest  durians,  mangoes, 
and  other  fruits. 

East  of  Ternate  is  developed  the  deep  inlet  of  Dadinga  Bay,  by  which  the 
northern  peninsula  of  Halmahera  is  nearly  severed  from  the  rest  of  the  island. 
The  connecting  isthmus  is  commanded  at  its  narrowest  part  bj'  Fort  Dadinga,  the 

Fig-.   lOJ. — PoLTTicAL  Dmsioss  OF  Indonesh. 
Scile  1  :  .511,000  000. 


strongest  strategic  point  in  the  whole  island,  and  the  only  place  where  the  Dutch 
keep  a  garrison.  Here  the  isthmus  is  scarcely  two  miles  across,  and  although  the 
route  pre.'ients  some  difficulties,  praus  can  be  transported  in  three  days  from  bay  to 
bay,  thereby  saving  a  detour  of  240  miles.  North  of  Dadinga  Bay  follows  that  of 
Jailollo,  formerly  a  flourishing  capital  which  for  a  time  gave  an  alternative  name 
to  Halmahera,  now  a  mere  hamlet  surrounded  by  old  cultivated  tracts  now  over- 
grown with  coarse  grass  and  scrub.  These  regions,  so  popular  and  flourishing  in 
mediaaval  times,  have  been  almost  entirely  depopulated  by  slavery  and  monopolies. 
Of  the  other  villages  in  Halmahera  the  best  known  is  Galela,  which  lies  on  an 
inlet  in  the  north-east  of  the  northern  peninsula  over  against  the  island  of 
Morotai.  The  Alfurus  of  the  surrounding  district,  the  most  skilful  and  indus- 
trious peasantry  in  the  whole  island,  are  usually  known  as  Galelas  from  the  name 
of  this  place.  Tabcllo,  which  lies  farther  south,  and  which  is  defended  by 
numerous  reefs  and  islets  of  difiicult  access,  was  long  dreaded  as  a  dangerous  nest 

VOL.    XIV.  K 


242  AUSTRALASIA. 

of  corsairs.  In  1837  the  Diitcli  authorities  removed  four  hundred  of  these  pirates 
to  the  island  of  Saleyer,  where  they  received  allotments  of  land  to  cultivate. 

The  large  island  of  Morotai,  which  forms  the  north-east  extremity  of  the 
Moluccas  and  of  the  whole  of  Indonesia,  became  entirely  depopulated  in  conse- 
quence of  the  constant  incursions  of  the  corsairs.  Thus  the  vast  colonial  empire 
of  Holland,  comprising  over  five  hundred  islands  and  too  extensive  for  all  its 
natural  resources  to  be  developed,  terminates  towards  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  lands 
which  were  formerly  thickly  inhabited,  but  which  are  at  present  deserted.  As 
shown  by  the  statistical  charts,  Java,  Madura,  Bali,  and  Lombok  are  the  only 
islands  where  the  population  is  grouped  in  considerable  masses.  The  eastern 
members  of  the  Sunda  group  are  far  more  sparsely  occupied,  while  the  other 
regions,  such  as  Borneo,  Celebes  and  the  Moluccas,  are  relatively  speaking  almost 
uninhabited. 

In  the  Api^endix  will  be  found  a  table  of  the  Dutch  possessions,  with  their 
administrative  divisions,  areas,  and  populations. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

THE  PHILIPPINES. 

HE  term  Magellania,  given  to  the  Philippine  Archipelago  in  honour 
of  its  illustrious  discoverer,  has  shared  the  fate  of  other  denomina- 
tions, such  as  the  Western  Isles  and  the  Archipelago  of  Saint 
Lazarus,  all  of  which  have  yielded  to  the  name  conferred  on  this 
group  by  Lopez  de  Villalobos  to  flatter  his  master,  Philip  II.  All 
these  islands  are  also  in  a  general  way  designated  as  the  Spanish  Indies,  rivalling 
as  the)'  do  the  Dutch  East  Indies  in  extent,  picturesque  beauty,  and  the  infinite 
variety  of  their  natural  resources.  Luzon,  the  largest  member  of  the  group,  has 
alone  an  area  of  40,000  square  miles  ;  Mindanao,  next  in  size,  is  very  nearly  as 
extensive;  five  others  are  each  over  10,000  square  miles  in  extent,  while  round 
about  these  larger  masses  is  scattered  a  vast  labyrinth  of  no  less  than  two  thousand 
satellites  of  aU  sizes. 

Luzon  and  its  neighbours  scarcely  yield  to  Java,  Sumatra  or  Celebes,  in  the 
splendour  of  their  tropical  landscapes.  Perhaps  they  even  offer  greater  variety 
from  season  to  season,  thanks  to  the  more  marked  alternation  of  the  monsoons, 
due  to  their  greater  distance  from  the  equator.  The  vegetation  of  the  seaboard, 
which  comprises  the  same  or  corresponding  species,  is  fully  as  dense  and  leafy  as 
that  of  Indonesia  ;  the  shores  are  everywhere  deeply  indented  by  bays  and  inlets; 
island-studded  lakes  reflect  the  surrounding  woodlands ;  the  horizon  is  bounded 
by  lofty  crests  and  cones  wrapped  in  vapours.  The  inhabitants  also,  whether 
aborigines,  Malays,  Chinese,  or  half-castes  of  every  shade,  present  many  curious 
ethnological  studies,  and  appear  on  the  whole  to  offer  more  originality  than  their 
kindred  of  Dutch  Indonesia.  The  action  of  their  Spanish  rulers,  however  violent 
at  times,  has  weighed  less  oppressively  on  the  natives,  whose  primitive  character 
has  consequently  been  less  profoundly  modified  than  in  the  Sunda  Islands.  Some 
members  of  the  vast  archipelago,  as  well  as  the  more  remote  districts  in  the  larger 
islands  lying  beyond  direct  Spanish  control,  have  even  remained  unexplored,  wtile 
even  the  regions  directly  administered  by  Europeans  are  still  but  imperfectly 
known.  No  methodic  and  detailed  study  of  the  Philippines  has  yet  been  made ; 
the  maps  and  charts  are  extremely  defective,  except  for  the  seaboard,  in  the 
survey  of  which  the  leading  maritime  nations  have  co-operated.  The  oflicial 
returns  themselves,  being  left  to  careless  functionaries  and  parish  priests,  too 
often   give   superficial   and  even   contradictory  results,   while  for  the  uncivilised 

K  2 


2i4 


AUSTRALASIA. 


natives  not  even  approximate  estimates  are  available.  Nevertheless  the  present 
population  may  be  fixed  at  not  less  than  seven  millions,  or  more  than  nine 
millions,  in  a  total  area  of  about  118,000  square  miles. 

Although  forming  a  group  quite  distinct  from   Indone.sia,  from  which  they  are 
separated  by  two  marine  abysses,  one  nearly  two  thousand  five  hundred,  the  other 

over  two  thousand  five  hun- 

Fig.   lOB.^TiiE  THREE  Isthmuses  of  Indonesia  and  the 
Philippines. 


Scale  1  :  18,000,000. 


dred  fathoms  deep,  the  Philip- 
pines are  connected  with  the 
southern  lands  by  three  long- 
ridges,  partly  rising  above 
the  surface,  partly  covered 
by  shallow  water.  Of  these 
three  isthmuses  the  north- 
western is  the  mo.st  regular 
and  best  develoj)ed,  being 
constituted  for  over  half  its 
extent  by  the  long  narrow 
island  of  Paragua.  Between 
Mindoro  and  the  north-west 
point  of  Borneo  the  deepest 
parts  of  the  sill  limited  by 
Balabac  and  Bangney  do  not 
average  more  than  twenty- 
five  fathoms.  Balabac  Strait 
between  Paragua  and  Borneo 
is  occupied  by  reefs  resem- 
bling in  outline  the  alluvial 
islands  of  a  delta,  and  formed 
under  the  influence  of  the 
marine  current  which,  during 
the  south-west  monsoon,  sets 
strongly  towards  the  Sulu  Sea. 
The  second  isthmus  is  formed 
by  the  Sulu  Archipelago, 
which  connects  the  north-east 
^  ^  point    of    Borneo    with    the 

'  '  ^  ^J'  western    extremity   of    Min- 

0  to  1,000  l,noO  to  2.000  2  000  Fathoms  •' 

Fathoms.  Fathoms.  and  upwards,  dunuo.     But  here  the  shallow 

'""'"""'■  channel,  through  which    the 

deep  waters  of  the  Sulu  Sea  communicate  with  the  still  deeper  Celebes  Sea,  is 
traversed  by  a  system  of  alternating  currents  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms 
in  depth.  Lastly,  east  of  the  nearly  circular  trough  of  the  Celebes  Sea  the  penin- 
sula of  Minahassa,  with  the  Sanguir  Archipelago  and  other  islands,  develop  a  third 
isthmus  sweeping  round  to  the  southernmost  point  of  Mindanao.     This  connecting 


THE  PIIILIPriXKS.  245 

ridge  is  also  broken  b}'  numerous  openings,  the  broiidcst  and  deepest  of  wlaich 
lies  off  the  coast  of  Mindanao.  As  shown  by  the  submarine  explorations  of  the 
Challenijer,  the  two  basins  enclosed  between  the  Philijipines  and  Borneo  resemble 
the  Mediterranean  in  the  temperature  of  their  lower  depths.  The  cold  waters  of 
the  oceanic  depths  are  unable  to  penetrate  across  the  intervening  isthmuses  into 
these  inland  seas,  where  the  thermometer  nowhere  records  less  than  50^  F. 

These  three  lines  of  partly  emerged,  partly  submarine,  ridges,  stretching  from 
Indonesia  towards  the  Philippines,  continue  their  main  axis  in  the  interior  of  this 
archipelago,  and  constitute  a  great  part  of  its  relief.  Mindanao,  least  kno\^n  of 
the  whole  group,  although  one  of  the  most  remarkable  for  its  volcanic  phenomena, 
is  formed,  at  least  in  the  west  and  centre,  by  the  prolongation  of  the  two  eastern 
ridges,  indicated  seaward  by  the  Sulu  and  Sanguir  Archipelagoes.  The  Sulu  axis, 
whose  normal  direction  is  south-west  and  north-east,  comprises  all  the  western 
peninsula  of  Mindanao,  while  the  Sanguir  axis,  running  south  and  north,  strikes 
the  southern  point  of  the  same  I'egion  at  the  Saragani  volcano.  Beyond  this 
point  it  first  continues  its  northerly  trend  and  then  gradually  sweeps  round  to  the 
west.  East  of  this  mountain  range  another  parallel  chain  occupies  all  the  eastern 
section  of  Mindanao  bordering  on  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

A  broad  survey  of  the  whole  orographic  system  shows  in  the  same  way  that, 
from  the  southern  point  of  Mindanao  to  the  northern  extremity  of  Luzon,  the  relief 
of  all  the  islands  is  disposed  in  a  line  with  or  parallel  to  the  southern  isthmuses. 
Thus  the  coast  range  of  the  east  side  of  Mindanao  is  continued  north-west  in  a 
graceful  curve  through  the  islands  of  Leyte,  Masbate,  Ticao,  and  Burias ;  in  the 
east  is  developed  a  parallel  curve  formed  by  the  island  of  Samar,  the  Camarines 
peninsula  in  Luzon,  and  the  Isla  del  Polillo.  On  the  other  hand  the  islands  of 
Bohol,  Cebu,  Negros,  and  Panay  are  disposed  in  a  line  with  or  parallel  to  the 
Sulu  Archipelago,  while  Miudoro  and  the  main  section  of  Luzon  form  the  north- 
eastern extension  of  Paragua  and  Borneo.  In  many  places  volcanic  or  other 
masses  mark  the  points  of  intersection,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  in  Luzon,  most 
rugged  of  the  Philippines,  all  the  cordilleras  converge  like  the  ribs  of  a  dome  in 
the  culminating  crest  of  Caraballo.  Xorthof  the  Philippines  the  mountain  ranges, 
interrupted  by  broad  straits,  are  continued  through  Formosa  and  the  Liu-Kieu 
group  towards  Japan. 

The  whole  surface  of  the  Philippines  is  essentially  mountainous,  the  only  plains 
that  occur  being  the  aUuvial  districts  at  the  river  mouths,  and  the  spaces  left  at  the 
intersection  of  the  ranges.  Most  of  the  surface  appears  to  be  formed  of  old  rocks, 
especially  schists,  and,  in  the  north  of  Luzon,  granites.  Extensive  coal-fields  are 
found  in  the  central  islands,  especially  Cebu  and  Negros,  and  in  many  places  these 
carboniferous  beds  seem  to  have  been  buried  under  more  lecont  lavas.  Later 
Kmestones  have  also  been  developed  by  the  coral-builders  round  all  the  seaboard, 
and  there  is  clear  evidence  that  along  extensive  stretches  of  the  coastline  these 
formations  have  been  upheaved  to  a  considerable  height  above  sea-level.  They 
form  at  some  points  broad  horizontal  tables  round  the  headlands,  and  here  arc 
found  shells  and  other  marine  remains  belonging  to  the  same  species  still  living  in 


2-46  AUSTRALASIA. 

the  surrounding  waters.  But  about  the  Gulf  of  Davao,  in  South  Mindanao,  the 
contrary  movement  of  subsidence  has  taken  place,  as  shown  by  the  dead  or  dying 
forests  invaded  by  the  sea. 

The  Philippines  abound  in  minerals.  The  natives  collect  gold  in  the  alluvia 
of  all  the  islands,  but  especially  in  the  province  of  Benguet,  Central  Luzon,  and 
about  the  north-east  point  of  Surigao,  in  Mindanao.  Copper  is  common  in  the 
Lepanto  hills  bordering  on  the  same  central  district  of  Luzon,  where  from  time 
immemorial  the  natives  have  extracted  the  ore  and  wrought  it  into  implements 
and  ornaments.  The  blacksmiths  also  have  at  hand  an  excellent  iron  ore  for  their 
arms  and  instruments.  Cebu  is  said  to  contain  lead-glance  yielding  nearly  half  of 
its  weight  in  pure  metal,  while  the  solfataras  of  many  extinct  volcanoes  have 
formed  inexhaustible  deposits  of  sulphur. 

Extinct  or  still  active  craters  are  relatively  as  numerous  in  the  Philippines  as 
in  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  and  all  seem  disposed  in  regular  axes  coinciding  with 
those  of  the  islands  themselves.  In  the  islet  of  Dumaran,  at  the  north-east  end 
of  Paragua,  rise  the  two  active  cones  of  Alivancia  and  Talaraquin,  and  Sulu  has 
also  its  burning  mountain,  which,  however,  appears  to  have  been  quiescent  since 
the  eruption  of  1641.  Sarangani,  or  Sangil,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Min- 
danao, hasalso  been  at  rest  since  the  seventeenth  century.  On  the  range  running 
thence  northwards  stands  the  Apo  volcano,  which  was  ascended  by  Montano  in 
1880,  and  found  to  be  the  highest  in  the  Philij^pines  (10,-310  feet).  The  islet  of 
Camiguin,  belonging  to  the  same  coast  range,  forms  another  igneous  cone,  which 
was  the  scene  of  a  violent  outburst  in  1871. 

West  of  Apo  follow  in  the  direction  from  south  to  north  several  cones,  such  as 
Sugut  (Cottabato),  Macaturin,  and  Malindang,  all  probably  extinct,  but  apparently 
connected  through  the  western  islands  with  the  Taal  volcano  in  Luzon.  Along  this 
line  occiirs  the  still  active  Malaspina  or  Canloon,  in  the  northern  part  of  Negros 
(9,0-40  feet). 

The  eastern  coast  range  in  Mindanao,  consisting  mainly  of  basalts,  appears  to 
contain  no  volcano,  unless  the  large  and  deep  lake  Mainit,  near  the  extreme  head- 
land of  Surigao,  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  old  crater.  The  coast  range  is  continued 
northwards  through  the  island  of  Leyte,  where  the  argillaceous  soil,  near  the 
wooded  crater  of  an  extinct  cone,  yields  about  one-fourth  of  pure  sulphur. 

But  the  igneous  energy  of  the  Philippines  is  concentrated  mainly  in  Luzon, 
where  the  superb  Bulusan  volcano  stands  at  the  southernmost  extremity  connected 
by  a  narrow  isthmus  with  the  peninsula  of  Camarines.  Farther  north  follow  the 
craterless  Poedal,  and  on  the  Gulf  of  Albay,  the  Albay,  or  Maj'on  volcano,  the 
most  dreaded  as  well  as  one  of  the  highest  (9,000  feet  ?)  in  the  whole  archipelago. 
Mayon,  which  is  of  almost  perfectly  regular  form,  covers  at  its  base  a  circuit  of 
over  eighty  square  miles,  its  flanks  are  clothed  with  forests  to  a  height  of  about 
two  thousand  feet,  but  higher  up  little  is  visible  except  deposits  of  scoria;,  which 
are  very  difficult  to  scale.  Nevertheless,  both  Jagor  and  Von  Drasche  reached  the 
summit,  the  latter  in  1876,  when  no  trace  could  be  detected  of  a  crater  properly 
so  called      During  its  frequent  eruptions  Mayon  ejects  little  lava  but  prodigious 


1 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILUNOIS 


VOLCANOES  OF  THE  PHILirPINES. 


247 


quantities  of  ashes  cover  the  surrounding  districts  fur  and  wide.  In  1S14  the 
town  of  Daraga  was  buried  and  the  ejected  matter  was  wafted  as  far  as  Manilla, 
two  hundred  miles  distant. 

Nazaraga  (4,445  feet),  a  craterless  dolorite  cone,  and  JIalinao,  which  appears  to 
have  been  quiescent  for  ages,  continue  the  igneous  chain  northwards  to  Iraga,  the 
scene  of  a  disturbance  in  1641,  when  the  little  Lake  Buhi  was  formed  by  a  sudden 


Pig.   107. — SoTJTHEKN  Part  of  Luzon. 
Scale  1  :  I,5(ju,000. 


100  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


landslip.  East  of  this  lake  the  Tihi  valley  presents  the  most  remarkable  group  of 
thermal,  sulphurous,  and  silicious  springs  in  the  whole  archipelago.  They  are 
copious  enough  to  develop  a  rivulet  of  hot  water,  which  the  people  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood utilise  for  culinary  purposes.  The  springs  precipitate  considerable 
quantities  of  silica,  covering  the  surface  with  dazzling  white  incrustations,  and  one 
jet  of  water  and  vapour  has  a  temperature  of  no  less  than  226"  F. 

At  the  neck  of  the  Caramuan  peninsula  stands  the  broad-based  Ysarog  (Isarog), 


248 


AUSTRALASIA. 


whose  slopes  occupy  the  whole  space  between  the  buys  of  San  Miguel  aud  Lagonoy, 
terminating  in  a  regular  cone,  6,450  feet  high.  Ysarog  has  been  quiescent  through- 
out modern  times,  and  the  only  sign  of  former  energy  appears  to  be  a  spring  of 
carbonic  acid  near  the  summit. 

The  northern  part  of  the  Camarines  peninsidais  dominated  by  the  two  volcanic 
masses  of  Colasi  and  Labo  (Tetas  de  Polantuna),  which,  however,  have  no  craters, 
and  apparently  have  been  at  rest  since  prehistoric  times.  Majayjay  (6,500  feet) 
and  San  Cristobal  (7,660  feet),  south-east  from  Manilla,  are  also  extinct.  But  west 
of  them  stands  the  volcano  of  Taal,  which,  although  only  780  feet  high,  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  in  the  Philippines.      It  occupies,  with  two  other  lesser  cones, 


rig.  lOS.— Centeal  Past  or  Luzon. 
Scale  1  :  ?,600  000. 


=MANILLA.-^ 


^=.^' 


Fast  oF  G 


an  islet  in  the  middle  of  Lake  Bombon,  which  is  separated  from  the  China 
Sea  by  a  low  narrow  isthmus.  Taal,  whose  flanks  are  furrowed  by  deep  gorges, 
terminates  in  an  enormous  crater,  out  of  all  prof)ortion  with  its  size.  "Purgatory," 
as  the  natives  call  this  crater,  has  a  circumference  of  over  4,300  yards,  and  contains 
in  its  depths  secondary  craters,  numerous  crevasses  emitting  vapours,  and  two  blue 
lakelets  charged  with  sulphuric  and  hydrochloric  acids  in  the  proportion  of  over 
six  per  cent.  Formerlj'  the  two  other  volcanoes  in  the  island — the  Great  and 
Little  Binintiang — ejected  ashes  alternately,  and  the  bed  of  the  lake  itself  was 
occasionally  in  a  state  of  erujition  ;  but  since  1749  all  the  underground  forces 
have  been  centred  in  Mount  Taal,  which  casts  up  showers  of  pidverised  rock,  but 


VOLCANOES  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


249 


no  lavas.     The  last  outburst  in    IHHo  destroyed  all  traces  of  vegetation  in  the 
island. 

Bombon,  wbicli  is  nearly  640  feet  deep,  was  probably  a  vast  crater,  of  whicli 
the  islet  with  its  three  volcanoes  is  merely  the  central  cone,  while  the  walls  of  tufa, 
over  600  feet  high,  encircling  the  north  and  east  shores  of  the  lake,  arc  the  remains 

Fig.  109.— Lake  Bombon. 
Scale  I  :  300,000. 


^ 


^r 


i^-      { 


Lasb  cF  bf-eenwich 


ISl'e' 


of  the  original  rim  of  the  crater.  But,  like  that  of  the  island  of  Saint  Paul,  this 
crater  was  formerly  open  towards  the  sea,  as  shown  by  the  present  intervening  barrier, 
which  is  entirely  composed  of  eruptive  scorias.  The  water  of  the  old  inlet,  thus 
converted  into  a  lake,  is  still  somewhat  saline,  although  constantly  renewed  by  rain 
water,  and  although  the  overflow  is  carried  off  by  an  emissary  running  south-west 
to  the  coast.     The  marine  fauna  inhabiting  the  lake  has  gradually  adapted  itself 


250  AUSTBAI.ASIA. 

to  its  modified  environment.  The  great  Lake  Bay,  or  the  Laguna,  south-east  of 
Manilla,  was  also  probably  an  ancient  marine  gulf  cut  off  from  the  sea  by  the 
narrow  isthmus  of  recent  formation  on  which  stands  the  capital  of  the  Philippines. 
According  to  Semper,  the  Laguna  is  inhabited  by  the  shark  and  another  sea-fish 
found  in  the  neighbouring  marine  waters.  The  peninsulas  and  islets  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Laguna,  as  well  as  the  island  of  Corregidor,  at  the  entrance  of 
Manilla  Bay,  consist  of  igneous  rocks,  but  all  have  been  quiescent  throughout  the 
historic  period. 

The  contradictory  statements  of  Spanish  writers  leave  it  doubtful  whether  any 
outbursts  occurred  in  the  seventeenth  century  at  Mount  Aringay,  or  Santo-Tomas 
(7,530  feet),  which  rises  above  the  east  side  of  Lingayen  Bay.  Data,  lying  to  the 
north-east  of  Aringay,  is  certainly  quiescent,  although,  like  several  other  cones  in 
this  group,  it  is  encircled  by  thermal  springs  and  solfataras.  No  other  volcano 
occurs  between  this  district  and  the  northern  extremity  of  Luzon,  where  Cagud 
(3,920  feet),  at  the  terminal  headland,  constantly  emits  wreaths  of  smoke. 
Beyond  this  point  the  igneous  system  is  continued  under  the  sea  to  the  island  of 
Camiguin  (2,415  feet),  which  contains  a  productive  solfatara.  In  the  neighbour- 
ing Babuyan,  an  active  volcano  rose  above  the  surface  in  1856  ;  four  years  later  it 
had  attained  a  height  of  nearlj^  700  feet,  and  since  then  has  continued  to  grow,  its 
present  elevation  apparently  being  about  800  feet.  The  reefs  of  Dedica,  on  which 
the  new  volcano  stands,  would  themselves  appear  to  be  the  remains  of  an  old 
burning  mountain.  In  this  vast  igneous  chain,  which  extends  from  Sangil  for 
about  1,000  miles  northwards,  the  last  member  is  Babuyan  Claro,  whose  fiery  cone, 
over  3,000  feet  high,  lights  up  at  night  the  dangerous  waters  of  the  Sea  of  Formosa. 
This  great  island  is  connected  with  the  Philippines  through  the  reefs  and  islets  of 
the  intervening  Batanes  (Bashee)  Archipelago. 

Few  regions  are  more  subject  to  undergroimd  disturbances  than  the  Philippines. 
Despite  the  numerous  "safety-valves"  which,  according  to  certain  theories,  are 
offered  by  the  active  volcanoes  to  the  subterranean  forces,  this  archipelago  ma.y  be 
said  to  be  in  a  continual  state  of  tremor.  The  seismographs  of  the  Manilla  Obser- 
vatory are  constantly  vibrating  ;  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  incessantly  quivering 
with  undulations,  normally  running  in  the  direction  from  west  to  east,  and  few 
years  pass  without  some  disaster  caused  by  these  oscillations.  The  city  of  Manilla 
has  been  frequently  wasted  by  such  convulsions,  and  most  of  its  public  buildings 
and  European  houses  built  of  stone  were  levelled  to  the  ground  by  that  of  1863,  the 
most  terrible  on  record.  The  no  less  violent  shock  of  1880  was  far  less  disastrous, 
the  edifices  having  in  the  interval  been  constructed  on  u  plan  better  able  to  resist 
the  effects  of  these  oscillations. 

During  the  earthquake  of  1880  Taal  and  several  other  volcanoes  were  in  full 
eruption,  and  a  submarine  crater,  between  the  island  of  Polillo  and  the  east  coast 
of  Luzon,  rose  above  the  surface ;  but  the  following  year  this  heap  of  ashes  had 
entirelj-  disappeared,  washed  away  by  the  waves. 

The  disposition  of  the  mountain  ranges  in  parallel  chains  has  afforded  space  for 
the  development  of  some  considerable  streams  both  in  Luzon  and  Mindanao.     The 


EIVERS  OF  TIIK   rHILimXES. 


251 


most  copious  is  the  Cagaj'an,  or  Rio  Grande,  which  after  a  course  of  over  200  miles 
between  two  Cordilleras  in  Luzon  enters  the  sea  through  a  broad  estuary  facing 
the  island  of  Camiguin.  The  Agno,  which  reaches  the  coast  on  the  south  side  of 
Lingayen  Bay,  receives  the  waters  and  auriferous  sands  of  the  Benguet  Cirque,  a 
limestone  amphitheatre,  supposed  by  some  to  represent  an  ancient  uj)heaved  atoll. 
The  Pampangan,  which  traverses  the  vast  plain  of  like  name,  after  receiving  the 


Fig.   110.— Earthquake  of  1S80. 

Scale  I  :  fi.SOO.OOO. 


C.  Bo/saa/o/* 


/s/n  a/'  M/nJorv 


Ea^b  oF  Greenwich 


overflow  of  several  lakes  joins  the  sea  on  the  north  side  of  Manilla  Bay,  where  it 
has  developed  a  broad  delta  projecting  beyond  the  old  coast-line.  The  Pasig, 
which  falls  into  the  same  bay,  is  only  12  miles  long;  but  like  the  Russian  Neva 
acquires  great  importance  as  the  emissary  of  the  Laguna,  and  because  Manilla, 
capital  of  the  Philippines,  stands  upon  its  banks;  small,  flat-boltomed  steamers 
ply  on  the  Pasig,  between  the  lake  and  the  sea. 

In  Mindanao  the  largest  river  is  the  Agusan  or  Butuan,  which  is  navigable  for  over 


252  AUSTRALASIA. 

60  miles  from  its  mouth.  Another  stream,  also  known  as  the  Rio  Grande,  is  said 
to  rise  in  Lake  Magindanao,  in  the  centre  of  the  island,  flowing  thence  south-west 
and  north-east  to  lUuna  Bay  in  the  Celebes  Sea. 

Ci.i.MATK,  Flora,  Fauna  of  the  Philippixes. 

The  climate  of  the  Philippines  is  essentially  maritime  and  trojiical ;  in  other 
words,  the  temperature,  normally  very  high,  oscillates  within  verj'  narrow  limits. 
Thus  the  heat,  varj'ing  little  from  month  to  month,  is  useless  to  distinguish  season 
from  season,  and  the  year,  as  in  Indonesia,  is  divided  rather  by  the  alternating- 
wet  and  dry  monsoons.*  The  polar  current  from  the  north-east  prevails  from 
October  to  April,  the  moist  south-west  monsoon  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  The 
change  of  the  trade  winds  is  always  dreaded,  being  often  attended  bj'  sudden 
bagnios  or  typhoons,  which  rise  in  the  Pacitio,  and  sweep  across  the  archipelago  to 
the  north  of  Mindanao,  wrecking  vessels  by  the  dozen,  demolishing  villages, 
destroying  thousands  of  lives,  and  spreading  ruin  far  and  wide.  The  typhoon 
that  struck  Manilla  in  1882,  the  most  terrific  on  record,  travelled  at  the  prodigious 
velocity  of  140  miles  per  hour.  At  present  a  submarine  cable  communicating 
with  Hong-Kong  signals  the  approach  of  these  storms,  thereby  greatly  diminishing 
their  disastrous  eifects. 

Lying  between  Indonesia  and  Formosa,  the  Philippines  present  in  their  flora 
and  fauna  a  natural  transition  between  these  two  regions ;  nevertheless  they  also 
possess  a  number  of  characteristic  species,  which  in  some  cases  are  even  confined 
to  a  single  island.  Mindanao,  the  least-known  region  of  the  archipelago,  appears 
to  be  also  the  richest  in  special  vegetable  forms.  The  sixtj-  species  of  large  trees 
in  its  forests,  yielding  valuable  timbers  for  ship-building,  cabinet-work  or  carving, 
include  a  myrtacea  {XantJiostcmum  vcnlugonianum),  an  almost  incorruptible  wood 
whose  range  extends  to  Australia.  The  halete,  or  banyan,  is  very  common  through- 
out the  archipelago,  where  it  often  attains  enormous  dimensions.  Palms  also  are 
numerous,  while  the  cinnamon,  clove,  and  pepper  grow  wild  in  the  southern  forests. 
The  tea  plant  has  been  discovered  in  Luzon,  and  is  now  cxiltivated  in  the  botanic 
gardens  with  good  results.  In  1882  botanists  had  alreadj'  recognised  1,163 
genera  and  4,583  species  of  plants  in  the  archipelago. 

No  carnivorous  animals  occur  except  the  ngiao,  a  species  of  wild  cat,  although 
the  natives  speak  of  a  tiger  or  leopard  in  Paragua.  Amongst  the  other  mammals 
are  the  wild  boar,  dangerous  in  some  districts,  two  sf)ecies  of  antelope,  several 
varieties  of  the  deer  family,  the  Macacus  cynomolgns  and  other  apes.  Birds  are 
very  nimierous,  and  the  gallinaceae  especially  are  represented  by  some  siiperb 
foims,  such  as  the  labuijo  and  bulicsigay.  The  neighbouring  seas  abound  in  animal 
organisms  of  all  kinds,  and  some  of  the  rivers  team  with  fish.  Amongst  these 
is  the  curious  dalag,  or  snake-head  {Ophiocfphalus),  furnished  with  water-pouches 
on  either  side  of  the  head,  which   enable  it  to   remain   long  out  of  its   natural 

*  Mean  annual  temperature  of  Manilla  from  1870  to  1880,  82'  F. ;  highest  (September),  97° ;  lowest 
(February),  o9°;  rainfall  about  100  inehes. 


LISRARV 

OF  THE 

■JNIVERSITy  of  ILLINOIS. 


lyilABITANTS  OF  THE  PHILIPPIXES.  253 

element ;  it  is  met  browsing  far  from  the  streams,  and  even  climbing  up  tbe  stems 
of  palm-trees.  All  the  venomous  orders  of  snakes  are  rej^resented  in  the  local 
fauna,  and  crocodiles  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  some  having  been  met  about 
30  feet  long,  at  least  according  to  De  la  Gironniere. 

IXHABITANTS    OF    THE    PhIMPPIXES. 

The  aborigines,  graduallj'  driven  back  or  exterminated  by  the  intruding 
JIalays,  have  disappeared  altogether  from  some  of  the  islands,  and  in  the  others 
are  now  met  only  in  scattered  tribal  or  family  groups.  The  full-blood  Aetas 
(Atas,  Itas),  as  these  Negritoes,  or  "  Little  Negroes,"  are  collectively  called,  do 
not  number  at  present  more  than  twenty  thousand  in  the  whole  archipelago ;  but 
traces  of  Negrito  blood  may  be  detected  in  large  sections  of  the  population,  which 
presents  everj'  shade  of  transition  in  physical  appearance,  culture,  and  usages, 
between  the  Negrito  and  Malaji  elements.  The  pure  blacks  are  most  nirmerous  in 
the  island  of  Negros,  but  they  are  also  found  in  all  the  other  islands,  excej)t  the 
archipelagoes  north  of  Luzon,  and  apparently  Samar,  Leyte,  Bohol,  and  Sulu. 

The  Negritoes  fully  deserve  their  name,  for  the  average  height  is  under  five 
feet.  The  head  is  relatively  large,  with  bright  eyes,  high  forehead,  abundant 
frizzly  and  at  times  almost  woolly  hair,  slender  extremities,  calf  almost  absent, 
and  great  toe  often  standing  wide  apart.  The  wrinkles  of  the  face  combined  with 
their  projecting  jaws  give  them  at  times  quite  a  simian  aspect.  The  Aetas  speak 
Malay  in  their  intercourse  with  their  more  civilised  neighbours,  but  amongst 
themselves  they  use  words  of  unknown  origin,  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the 
primitive  language  which  was  still  current  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It 
appears,  however,  that  many  of  their  tribes  must  have  been  subject  to  Malay 
influences  from  very  remote  times,  for  the  dialects  spoken  in  some  districts 
undoubtedly  belong  to  the  Malayo-Polynesian  family,  although  the  Aetas  them- 
selves are  sprung  from  a  totally  different  ethnical  stock. 

Most  of  the  tribes  practise  tattooing  ;  circumcision  is  also  very  general,  and  in 
some  parts  the  women  artificiallj'  deform  the  skulls  of  their  children.  Except  in  the 
vicinity  of  populous  districts  little  clothing  is  worn  beyond  a  loin-cloth  hy  the  men, 
and  a  short  skirt  by  the  women.  In  some  places  they  build  huts  of  branches  and 
foliage,  and  even  pile-dwellings  like  those  of  the  Malays  ;  but  elsewhere  their  only 
protection  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  are  frail  screens  of  pahn-leaves, 
which  are  placed  against  the  .sun,  wind,  or  rain.  In  the  provinces  where  they  are 
gradually  becoming  civilised,  they  clear  and  till  the  land,  raise  poultry  and  pigs, 
and  enter  into  trading  relations  with  the  Malays.  But  being  unable  to  reckon 
beyond  four  and  five,  they  are  easily  cheated,  and  they  have  evidently  a  profound 
sense  of  their  own  inferiority,  reserving  the  term  irio,  or  "  men,"  to  the  dominant 
race. 

Apart  from  the  Negritoes,  the  Chinese  settlers,  the  Europeans  and  half-castes, 
the  entire  population,  at  least  north  of  Mindanao,  is  of  Malay  origin  and  speech. 
At  some   unknown,  but  certainly  very  remote  epoch,  the  Malay  ancestors  of  the 


254  AUSTRALASIA. 

present  inhabitants  effected  a  pcrinaueut  footing  in  the  archipelago.     The  term 

Fio-.   111.— Gkotjp  of  Negkitoes. 


V?> 


balunyay,  or  boat,  still  applied  to  the  villages,  recalls  the  time  when  these  mariners, 


TXHABITANTS  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


25£ 


encamping  on  tlie  beach,  continued  to  lead  much  the  same  lives  as  when  scouring 

the  high  seas  in  their  praus.     As  was  the  case  with  the  sampans  or  junks  of  the 

more  recent  Chinese  settlers,  every  balangay  became  the  cradle  of  a  Malay  colony. 

In  general  the  Philippine  Malays  resemble  those  of  Indonesia,  except  that  in 


Fig.  112.— Chief  IxuABiTAXTs  of  the  Philippixes. 
Scale  1  :  12,000,000. 


Vicols.  Visaynsand  Ilocanos,        Zambalas  and      C.gavanes. 

jviuureu.  Pagasinsnes, 

™      Qnn]       E3       573       [Ti 

''"K^ilt'      «---"  nayaks.  Ke^i.oes.  Chinese. 


some  places,  and  especially  Luzon,  a  slight  transition  is  presented  towards  tlie 
Chinese  t^^.e.  Thus  the  oblique  eyes,  rare  amongst  the  southern  Malavs  is  on 
the  contrary  a  distinctive  feature  of  the  northern  Malays.  Independently" of  then- 
special  local  characteristics  and  dialects,  all   are  broadly  grouped  in   thr;e  classes 


256  AUSTRALASIA. 

according  to  their  religion  and  pursuits.  Those  who  have  accepted  the  authority 
of  the  whites  and  the  ministrations  of  the  Catholic  clergy  are  called  Iiidios,  or 
"  Indians,"  and  this  class  is  gradually  merging  in  a  common  nationality.  Tho.se 
of  the  south,  who  remain  followers  of  the  Prophet,  are  collectively  knowu  as 
Moros,  or  "  Moors  ;  "  lastly,  the  tribes  that  have  maintained  their  independence,  or 
submit  impatiently  to  the  foreign  yoke  and  still  practise  their  old  pagan  rites, 
form  the  class  of  Ixfieles,  or  "  Infidels." 

Of  the  Indios  the  most  civilised  are  the  Tagals  (Ta-Gala),  who  number 
1,500,000,  and  are  steadily  increasing,  less  by  the  excess  of  births  over  deaths  than 
b^'  the  gradual  assimilation  of  the  surrounding  tribal  groups.  The  Tagal  domain, 
which  comprises  all  the  central  parts  of  Luzon,  is  slowly  encroaching  on  all  the 
other  populations  of  the  island.  Thus  in  the  north  it  has  already  absorbed  the 
territory  of  the  Pampangos  and  Pangasinanes,  in  the  north-east  that  of  the  Aetas, 
in  the  south-east  that  of  the  Vicols,  while  the  islands  of  Mindoro  and  Marinduque 
have  also  become  "  Tagalised."  The  Tagals  are  met  everywhere  along  the  sea- 
board, and  are  in  fact  the  chief  pioneers  of  European  culture  throughout  the  arclii- 
pelago.  Be.sides  them  there  are  other  groups  of  Indios,  even  in  Luzon,  such  as  the 
Ilocos  or  Ilocanos  on  the  west  coast  north  of  Lingayen  Bay,  and  the  Ibanags  or 
(Jagayanes  in  the  extreme  north  and  neighbouring  islands. 

The  Vicols,  or  Bicols,  who  occujiy  the  Camarines  peninsula,  with  the  islands  of 
Catanduanes,  Burias,  Ticao,  and  half  of  Masbate,  greatly  resemble  the  Tagals,  and 
like  them  were  already  somewhat  civilised  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 
They  number  at  least  400,000,  including  the  Cimarrones  and  a  few  other  groups 
who  still  keep  aloof  in  the  more  inaccessible  hilly  districts.  The  third  great 
ethnical  division  of  the  Indios  are  the  Visayas,  or  Bisayas,  who  are  estimated  at 
2,500,000,  and  who  give  their  name  to  the  cluster  of  islands  comprised  between 
Luzon  and  Mindanao.  They  have  also  formed  several  settlements  on  the  coast  of 
Mindanao  itself,  and  to  the  same  division  belong  the  inhabitants  of  the  Calamianes 
Islands  and  of  Paragua,  although  their  darker  colour  and  wavy  hair  betray  evident 
traces  of  Negrito  blood.  The  Visayas  had  formerly  the  habit  of  "  painting  them- 
selves with  fire,"  whence  the  term  Pintados  applied  to  them  by  the  Spaniards. 
But  since  their  submission  and  acceptance  of  Christianity,  they  have  discontinued 
this  practice,  as  well  as  that  of  head-hunting,  formerly  universal. 

The  "  Moors,"  who  occupy  the  Sulu  Archipelago  and  the  southern  shores  of 
Mindanao,  comprise,  like  the  Indios,  a  considerable  number  of  distinct  tribes  or 
nations,  united  by  the  common  ties  of  their  Mohammedan  faith  and  social  usages. 
Amongst  them  are  groups  resembling  the  Borneau  Dayaks,  the  Bayos  of  Celebes, 
and  other  Malayan  peoples.  The  aristocratic  families  are  Arabs,  or  else  from  Bor- 
neo or  Ternate,  while  traces  of  crossings  with  the  Chinese  and  Spanish  renegades 
may  also  be  detected.  The  roving  habits  of  these  corsairs,  who  were  continually 
carrying  off  the  women  from  all  the  surrounding  regions,  have  made  the  Moors 
one  of  the  most  mixed  populations  in  the  extreme  East. 

Their  essentially  feudal  institutions  caused  the  whole  social  organization  to  rest 
on  piracy.     By  the  side  of  the  sultans  were  their  almost  equally  powerful  vassals. 


IXHABITAXTS  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


257 


the  dafu,  each  of  whom,  with  the  reservation  of  the  homage  due  to  his  suzerain, 
became  projjrietor  of  the  hmds  conquered  and  wealth  plundered  by  his  retainers. 
The  tao  maraliai/,  or  "  good  men,"  that  is,  the  free  warriors,  accompanied  them  on 
their  predatory  expeditions,  while  the  sacopo,  or  lack-land  class,  were  reduced  to  a 
state  of  serfdom.  Like  the  Norman  knights  they  issued  forth  in  search  of  adven- 
ture, to  do  battle  against  the  infidel  in  the  name  of  the  true  faith,  or  to  acquire 
renown  by  carrying  off  women,  slaves,  and  treasure.     In  the  early  years  of  the 

Fig.  11.3. — Ifuoao  Ixdi.vn. 


sixteenth  century  they  were  beginning  to  overrun  the  Philippme  Archipelago, 
and  but  for  the  intervention  of  the  Spaniards  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Tagals  -woidd  at  present  be  Mohammedans.  Piracy  in  these  waters  was  not 
entirely  destroyed  till  the  latter  half  of  the  present  century  by  the  Spanish  occu- 
pation of  the  Mindanao  seaboard  and  the  Sulu  Archipelago. 

The  pagan  populations,  often  confounded  by  the  Spaniards  under  the  general 
name  of  Igorrotcs,  still  form  a  considerable  section  of  the  inhabitants  both  in  Luzon 
and  Mindanao.     The  Igorrotes,  properly  so  called,  dwell  cast  of  the  Ilocos,  in  the 

VOL.  xiv,  .s 


'  258  AUSTRALASIA. 

Eeiiguet  Valley  and  surrounding-  liilly  districts.  North  of  tliom  are  the  Tingui- 
anes,  whose  Christianity  is  limited  to  the  possession  of  crucifixes  used  as  talismans  ; 
eastwards  the  upper  Cagayan  basin  is  held  by  the  Ilongotes,  If  ugaos,  Catalanganes, 
Irayas,  and  other  pagan  tribes.  The  Tingiiianes,  whose  complexion  is  almost 
white,  are  regarded  by  most  observers  as  half-castes  of  Chinese  origin,  whereas  the 
Igorrotes  appear  to  be  Tagals,  who  have  hitherto  preserved  their  primitive  religion 
and  usages.  They  believe  in  a  sujjreme  God,  and  in  other  deities  in  whom  are 
personified  the  phenomena  of  nature.  To  these  they  offer  sacrifices,  although 
their  chief  worship  is  that  of  their  aiiifos,  or  ancestors,  whose  souls  rustle  in  the 
foliage  of  the  sacred  tree  planted  at  the  entrance  of  every  village.  These  anitos 
also  appear  at  times  in  the  form  of  animals,  and  in  many  parts  of  Luzon,  as  in 
Celebes,  the  fish  ponds  are  stocked  with  eels  which  are  tended  by  the  natives  with 
filial  piety. 

Strict  laws  of  solidarity  bind  together  the  family  group,  and  all  outrages  must  be 
avenged  by  death  ;  hence  the  hereditary  feuds,  and  the  prevalence  of  head-hunting 
amongst  these  tribes.  The  Ifugaos  use  the  lasso  to  seize  the  passing  foe  and  drag 
him  suddenly  under  the  sharp  knife.  Amongst  the  Igorrotes  certain  practices 
survive  pointing  at  former  Brahmanical  influences,  and  the  very  term  dicata, 
applied  to  the  national  deities,  is  of  Hindu  origin. 

In  Mindanao,  the  "  Infidels  "  comjjrise  numerous  communities,  which  are  often 
grouped  by  the  whites  under  the  collective  name  of  Jlanobos.  But  this  term 
should  properly  be  restricted  to  the  natives  of  the  north-east,  who  occupy  the 
Agusau  basin  and  the  Surigao  peninsula.  Some  of  those  dwelling  near  the  coast 
have  been  conquered  and  converted  by  the  Spaniards,  others  in  the  interior  present 
the  Malay  type  of  the  Yisayans  more  or  less  modified  by  Negrito  crossings.  But 
most  of  the  tribes  appear  to  be  of  the  Indonesian  stock,  which  is  closely  allied  to 
the  eastern  Polynesian,  and  characterized  by  high  stature,  fair  complexion,  and 
well-proportioned  figures.  The  lobe  of  the  ear  is  usually  pierced  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  bone  and  other  ornaments ;  the  teeth  of  the  young  men  are  filed  according 
to  a  different  pattern  for  every  clan ;  the  heads  of  the  children  are  artificially  de- 
formed in  many  communities,  and  various  systems  of  tattooing  prevail  amongst  the 
different  tribes. 

The  expres.sion  "Land  of  Terror,"  ajiplied  by  Montano  to  the  eastern  regions 
of  Mindanao,  might  with  equal  truth  be  extended  to  nearly  the  whole  island. 
When  the  Manobos,  led  by  their  high  priest  with  his  divine  talisman,  have  suc- 
ceeded in  sui'pi'ising  their  sleeping  enemies,  they  slaughter  all  the  men  and  carry 
away  the  women  and  children  into  slavery.  After  the  victory  the  high  priest 
opens  the  breast  of  the  victim  with  the  sacred  knife,  plunges  the  talisman  in  the 
flowing  blood,  and  eats  the  heart  or  liver  raw.  The  Maudayas,  who  slay  for 
honour,  have  a  special  term,  hagani,  to  designate  the  hero  who  has  cut  at  least 
fifty  heads,  and  who  has  alone  the  privilege  of  wearing  a  scarlet  turban.  Yast 
territories  have  been  transformed  to  solitudes  by  this  incessant  intertribal  war- 
fai'e. 

Of  foreigners  settled  in  the  Philippines  the  most  numerous  are  the  Chinese. 


INHABITANTS  OP  THE  rillLlITINES.  259 

From  time  immemorial  their  colonies  have  fringed  the  seaboard,  aud  in  uearlj'  all 
the  tribes  traces  may  be  detected  of  Chinese  crossings.  According  to  the  imperial 
annals,  the  native  princes  sent  envoys  aud  tribnte  to  the  "  Children  of  Heaven," 
and  objects  of  Chinese  workmanship  found  in  the  local  graves  show  that  trading 
relations  had  long  been  established  between  the  two  regions.  Three  times  during 
the  seventeenth  century  the  Chinese  of  Luzon  rose  against  their  Spanish  masters, 
and  each  time  the  revolt  was  quelled  in  torrents  of  blood.  After  all  manner  of 
harassing  restrictions  were  imposed  on  these  troublesome  immigrants,  they  were 
expelled  in  mass  or  massacred  in  1763,  soon  after  the  temporary  occupation  of 
Manilla  by  the  English.  But  with  them  trade  disappeared,,  and  despite  the  con- 
tempt of  Europeans  and  the  hatred  of  Tagals,  they  had  soon  to  be  recalled,  so  that 
at  present  every  town  in  the  archipelago  has  its  Chinese  quarter.  In  1887,  they 
were  estimated  altogether  at  fifty-three  thousand,  almost  exclusively  men,  most  of 
whom  return  to  China  after  making  their  fortune,  and  generally  leaving  behind 
them  a  family  of  half-castes.  These  half-castes,  who  resemble  the  Chinese  much 
more  than  the  native  type,  found  new  homes  in  their  turn,  and,  thanks  to  their 
surprising  vigour,  they  constitute  at  present  the  majorit}-  of  the  bourgeois  class 
in  most  of  the  towns. 

Although  the  Spaniards  made  their  appearance  forty-four  years  after  the  death 
of  Magellan,  the  conquest  of  the  archipelago  is  still  far  from  comijlete.  Although 
by  an  abuse  of  language  spoken  of  as  a  colony,  it  is  really  a  military  possession, 
in  which  the  whites  are  mainly  officials,  who  control  the  natives,  but  found  no 
permanent  settlements  in  the  country.  The  Spanish  Creoles,  however,  who  have 
not  maintained  the  purity  of  their  blood,  are  perfect^  acclimatised,  and  become 
the  heads  of  numerous  more  or  less  mixed  families.  The  white  element,  in  which 
are  also  represented  some  Peruvians  and  Mexicans,  numbers  altogether  about  four- 
teen thousand,  a  proportion  not  greater  than  that  of  the  Dutch  in  Indonesia. 

Apart  from  the  wild  tribes  in  Mindanao  and  elsewhere,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Philippines  are  amongst  the  most  civilised  in  the  extreme  East.  In  most  of  the 
provinces  the  villages  of  the  Indies  are  well  kept  and  far  superior,  in  many  res- 
pects, to  the  irregular  groups  of  cabins  still  to  be  seen  in  so  many  European  lands. 
Each  dwelling  is  isolated  in  the  midst  of  a  flowery  garden,  and  separated  from  the 
adjoining  plots  by  rows  of  palms  and  bananas.  The  houses  are  all  raised  on  piles 
about  seven  feet  above  the  ground,  thus  recalling  the  time  when  the  natives  dwelt 
on  alluvial  lands  on  the  shores  of  lakes  or  the  sea.  The  timber  framework  of 
these  houses  is  carved  with  the  greatest  care  and  often  with  much  taste ;  while  the 
well-swejDt  and  polished  apartments  are  fitted  with  good  furniture  aud  Chinese 
ornaments. 

Except  in  the  territory  of  the  Ilocos  and  some  other  parts,  each  familj'^  has  its 
little  independent  plot  of  land,  and  this  system  of  small  free  lodgings  prevails 
throughout  most  of  the  archipelago.  Apart  from  a  few  Chinese  half-castes  nobodj' 
owns  extensive  domains,  but  all  have  enough,  taking  one  season  with  another,  to 
support  their  families  and  leave  a  little  for  the  feasts  and  holidays.  In  the  thickly 
peopled  provinces  the  land  is  divided  and  subdivided  into  innumerable  allotments 


230  AUSTEM.ASIA. 

for  the  cultivation  of  rice,  sweet  potatoes,  and  other  alimentary  produce.  All  the 
plots  belong  to  the  cultivators  themselves,  who  sell  only  the  surplus  of  their  crops, 
and  this  surplus,  bought  up  by  Chinese  and  other  middlemen,  constitutes  the 
great  bulk  of  the  commodities  exported  by  the  Manilla  merchants.  But  the 
exports  are  still  far  less  than  they  might  be,  for  the  cultivated  lands  are  estimated 
at  not  more  than  4,500,000  acres,  or  scarcely  one-fifteenth  of  the  whole  <irea  of  the 
archipelago. 

One  of  the  last  of  the  old  government  monopolies  was  that  of  tobacco,  which 
was  not  abolished  till  the  year  1882.  This  plant  is  cultivated  chiefly  in  the 
northern  provinces  of  Luzon,  and  especially  in  the  Cagayan  basin.  Formerly  the 
labourers  on  the  plantations  were  little  better  than  serfs.  Every  village  was  bound 
to  deliver  a  certain  quantity  of  tobacco  at  a  price  far  inferior  to  the  real  value. 
The  result  was  that  the  cultivators,  oppressed  by  official  rapacity,  found  no  time  to 
till  their  rice-fields,  and,  despite  the  great  fertility  of  the  soil,  they  were  constantly 
threatened  with  famine.  The  monopoly  tended  also  to  impair  the  quality  of  the 
leaf,  and  the  Manilla  cigars,  badly  prepared  by  servile  labour,  became  greatly 
inferior  to  those  of  Havana.  At  present  the  Philippines  hold  the  fifth  place  for 
the  production  of  tobacco,  standing  before  Cuba  and  coming  next  after  the  United 
States,  Turkey,  Brazil,  and  Indonesia.  The  plantations  suffered  much  from  the 
ravages  of  parasites  before  the  introduction  of  certain  insectivorous  birds  from 
Cochin-China. 

Sugar,  which  stands  first  on  the  list  of  exports,  goes  almost  entirely  to  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.  The  crop  is  about  two-thirds  of  that  of  Java, 
and  is  now  valued  at  about  £2,000,000.  Coffee,  much  neglected  after  the  Franco- 
German  war,  has  again  acquired  some  importance  ;  but  cacao  and  other  colonial 
produce  contribute  little  to  the  export  trade.  An  extensive  local  industry  has 
been  developed  in  connection  with  the  Musa  ahaca,  commonly  known  as  "Manilla 
hemp,"  from  which  are  woven  textile  fabrics  superior  in  strength  and  lightness  to 
those  made  of  the  best  Russian  hemp.  These  articles  are  seldom  exf)orted,  being 
almost  entirely  bought  up  by  the  Chinese  half-castes  for  the  local  consumption. 
The  banana,  which  yields  the  fibre  for  this  industrj^,  flourishes  best  in  the  Cama- 
rines  peninsula,  where  as  much  as  thirty  cwts.  are  raised  on  an  acre  of  ground. 

None  of  the .  other  native  industries  have  acquired  any  development,  so  that 
most  manufactured  wares  have  to  be  imported  from  abroad.  During  the  last 
decade  the  movement  of  exchange  has  increased  rapidly,  thanks  to  the  abolition 
of  certain  monopolies,  the  reduced  customs  dues,  the  free  admission  of  foreign 
shipping,  and  the  opening  of  new  ports  to  trade.  Regular  lines  of  steam-packets 
ply  now  between  Manilla  and  the  two  great  British  marts  of  Singapore  and  Hong- 
Kong,  while  smaller  steamers  maintain  the  communications  between  the  cajjital 
and  the  chief  seaports  of  the  archipelago.  But  the  great  natural  resources  of  many 
inland  districts  still  lie  dormant,  owing  to  the  almost  total  absence  of  good  roads 
and  of  railways,  beyond  a  short  line  running  from  Manilla  northwards. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  social  position  of  the  people  is  greatly  superior  to  that 
of  the  Javanese  and  other  populations  under  Dutch  administration.     Most  of  the 


IXITAF.ITAXTS  OF  THE  PHILIPPIXES.  2fil 

Indies  have  learnt  to  read  and  ^\Tite  Spanish,  and  even  when  emploj-ing  their  native 
idioms  they  substitute  the  Eoman  for  the  somewhat  rude  and  difficult  characters 
of  Hindu  origin,  which  were  in  use  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  The 
civilised  natives  have  also  adopted  the  European  costume,  though  in  a  modified 
form,  wearing  the  shirt  as  a  blouse,  and  the  Chinese  form  of  hat. 

Speaking  generally,  the  Indies  of  the  Philippines  may  be  regarded  as  amongst 
the  happiest  populations  in  the  world.  They  lead  a  pleasant,  easy  life  in  the  midst 
of  their  fragrant  gardens,  under  the  shade  of  fruit-laden  palms,  and  on  the  banks 
of  babbling  brooks.  In  many  places  they  sow  their  rice  in  cadence,  to  the  sound 
of  violin  or  clarionette.  But  they  yield  too  readily  to  indolent  habits,  and  omit 
no  opportimity  of  indulging  in  the  national  vice  of  gambling.  Cock-fighting 
is  a  favourite  sport  on  feast  days,  and  the  Eoman  Catholic  religion  itself  is  for 
them  little  more  than  a  succession  of  festive  amusements.  Troubling  themselves  • 
little  with  questions  of  dogma,  they  disjilay  extraordinary  zeal  in  the  celebration  of 
the  pompous  rites  of  the  Roman  liturgy,  and  a  great  part  of  their  existence  is 
thus  passed  in  the  observance  of  practices  not  greatly  differing  from  those  of  their 
primitive  cult.  A  domestic  altar,  with  the  images  of  the  Madonna  and  saints,  suc- 
cessors of  the  ancient  anitos,  occupies  the  place  of  honour  in  every  household,  and 
the  humblest  hamlet  has  its  special  feast,  during  which  these  sacred  images,  draped 
in  embroidered  silks  and  crowned  with  chaplets  of  flowers,  are  borne  at  the  head 
of  brilliant  processions.  The  churches,  built  in  the  Spanish  "  Jesuit "  style,  are 
similarly  decorated  with  rich  hangings,  bannerols  and  floral  festoons,  while  every 
village  has  its  band  of  musicians,  who  accompany  the  religious  ceremonies  with  a 
flourish  of  trombones  and  cymbals.  Actors  also  are  frequently  engaged  to  perform 
the  "  mysteries,"  and  play  comedies  in  which  the  sacred  and  profane  are  strangely 
intermingled,  the  feast  days  kept  in  honour  of  the  saints  usually  winding  up  with 
a  grand  display  of  fireworks. 

The  cure,  especially  if  a  Spaniard  by  birth,  is  the  most  influential  person  in  the 
district,  and  to  him  the  "Capitan"  applies  for  advice  on  all  serious  occasions. 
The  church  bells  announce  the  hour  of  his  siesta,  and  on  him  far  more  than  on 
troops  and  arms  the  government  depends  for  the  absolute  submission  of  the  con- 
verted natives.  But  the  increasing  relations  with  the  outer  world,  the  spread  of 
education,  the  diffusion  of  profane  literature  daily  penetrating  more  and  more 
despite  the  censure  of  the  press,  all  tend  to  bring  about  a  new  order  of  things, 
under  which  the  Indios,  while  becoming  more  assimilated  to  their  European 
master,  must  gain  in  independence  and  moral  freedom.  Hence  the  local  clergy 
show  themselves  little  favourable  to  changes  threatening  to  diminish  their  influence 
over  their  congregations.  They  even  see  with  reluctance  the  slow  spread  of  the 
Spauish  language  amongst  the  natives.  But  this  result  is  inevitable  since  the 
official  decree  that  no  Indio  can  henceforth  exercise  any  remunerative  or  public 
function,  even  in  the  villages,  unless  he  can  read  and  write  Spanish. 

Topography  of  the  Philippines. 
Manilla,  capital  of  the  Philippines,  lies  on  a  spacious  oval-shaped  bay  at  the 


2G2 


ATTSTEALASIA. 


month  of  the  Pasig  emissary  of  tbo  nciglibouriii g  Laguna.  The  city  properly  so- 
callod,  enclosed  by  a  Hue  of  ramparts,  occupies  the  site  on  the  left  or  southern  bank, 
which  was  chosen  by  Lopez  de  Lcgaspi  in  1071  as  the  bulwark  of  Spanish  power 


Fig.  114. — Manilla. 
Scale  1  :  io.OOO. 


in  the  Eastern  seas.  Here  are  centred  the  administrative  buildings,  barracks,  and 
convents,  while  trade  and  the  industries  have  migrated  to  the  quarters  on  the 
north  side,  which  are  connected  by  two  bridges  wilh  "walled  Manilla,"  as  the  old 


LiBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITYefliLlNOIS. 


TOPOGEArilV  OV  THE  PHILIPPINES.  -^  263 

tovni  is  called.  Extensive  suburbs  iilso  stretch  along-  both  margins  of  the  Pasig, 
the  whole  place  covering  an  area  of  about  five  square  miles. 

The  sanitary  conditions  are  far  from  satisfactorj'.  Thus  the  river,  the  water  of 
which  taken  above  the  city  is  used  for  drinking  purposes,  is  charged  with  all  kinds 
of  refuse  floating  up  and  do^^•n  with  the  tides.  The  numerous  canals  derived  from 
the  Pasig,  and  ramifying  through  this  "Tagal  Venice,"  run  dry  for  half  the  year, 
leaving  deposits  of  fetid  mud  to  poison  the  atmosphere.  The  fortifications  also, 
now  absolutely  useless  as  defensive  works,  serve  only  to  jDrevent  the  free  circulation 
of  healthy  sea-breezes.  Often  shaken  by  earthquakes,  Manilla  possesses  no  public 
buildings  of  an  imposing  character,  but  here  are  centred  the  chief  educational 
establishments,  the  observatory,  a  school  of  design,  a  small  museum,  and  a  public 
library. 

As  a  centre  of  trade  Manilla  occupies  an  admirable  position  at  the  outlet  of  an 
inland  sea,  and  on  a  vast  bay  120  miles  in  circumference,  spacious  enough  to 
accommodate  all  the  navies  of  the  world.  The  approach  to  this  roadstead  is  partly 
protected  by  the  volcanic  Corregidor  island,  while  during  the  prevalence  of  the 
south-west  monsoon  ships  of  three  hundred  tons  are  able  to  ride  at  anchor  in  the 
Pasig  estuary  under  shelter  of  a  long  joier.  The  inlet  at  Cavite,  eight  miles  farther 
south,  also  affords  a  refuge  at  this  season  to  small  men-of-war,  and  a  new  port  in 
course  of  construction  off  the  old  town  will  soon  accommodate  ships  of  the  heaviest 
tonnage  in  its  extensive  basins.  To  its  other  advantages  Manilla  adds  its  com- 
manding position  on  the  main  routes  of  navigation  between  the  Sunda  Strait  and 
the  Yangtze-Kiang  estuary.  Laperouse  asserted,  perhaj)S  with  some  exaggera- 
tion, that  the  capital  of  the  Philij^jjines  occupied  the  finest  commercial  site  of  any 
city  in  the  world.  Until  the  year  1811  it  served  as  the  chief  intermediate  station 
for  the  trade  between  Spain  and  her  American  colonies. 

Manilla  is  connected  by  a  line  of  steam  omnibuses  with  Malaboii,  which,  like 
the  capital,  lies  on  the  shores  of  a  gulf  at  the  mouth  of  a  river.  Here  is  the 
largest  cigar  manufactory  in  the  Philippines,  emjiloying  at  times  as  many  as  ten 
thousand  hands.  Both  Malabon  and  Buhtcaii,  which  stands  a  little  farther  north 
on  a  branch  of  the  PamjDanga,  may  be  regarded  as  industrial  dependencies  of 
Manilla.  The  same  remark  ajDplics  also  to  the  fortified  town  of  Cavite,  which 
lies  to  the  south,  and  which,  with  its  arsenal,  docks,  factories,  and  European  build- 
ings, has  the  most  Spanish  aspect  of  any  town  in  the  archipelago.  The  neighbour- 
ing district  of  Inclan  is  noted  for  the  prime  quality  of  its  coffee. 

The  two  pueblos  of  Pasig  and  Patcros,  on  the  Lagiina,  at  the  outlet  of  its  emis- 
sary should  also  be  considered  as  outer  markets  of  the  capital.  For  over  three 
miles  along  the  banks  of  the  river  nothing  is  to  be  seen  except  aquatic  preserves 
for  the  ducks  bred  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  city.  They  are  fed  on  shell-fish 
brought  from  the  roadstead,  and  the  eggs  are  artificially  hatched  at  Pateros.  The 
lake,  Laguna  de  Bay,  takes  its  name  from  a  village  on  the  south  side  of  this 
inland  sea  ;  on  the  same  side  but  more  to  the  north-west  stands  Santa-Cruz,  capital 
of  the  province.  Here  are  also  the  much-frequented  thermal  waters  of  BaJios,  and 
the  industrial  town  of  Ltichan,  which,  with  its  sjDrings,   grottoes,  and  cascades, 


264 


AUSTRATiASIA. 


occupies  ono  of  the  most  romantic  sites  iu  Luzon,  not  far  from  the  San-Cristohal 
volcano.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Laguna  lies  the  riverain  port  of  JToroii,  also  a 
provincial  capital. 

In  the  basin  of  the  copious  Pampanga  river,  a  northern  affluent  of  Manilla 
Bay,  are  several  populous  towns,  such  as  Gajxiii,  near  some  gold  and  coal  mines  in 
the  province  of  Nueva-Ecija,  a  more  important  place  than  its  capital,  San-Imlro. 
Tliis  is  one  of  the  regions  \^■hich  suffered  most  from  the  earthquakes  of  1880,  when 

Fig.  11.5.— EiTOKONS  OF  Manilla. 
Scale  1  ;  300,000. 


Depths. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


vast  tracts  along  the  river  bank  were  broken  into  more  or  less  regular  sections  by 
yawning  crevasses.  Farther  south  is  Bacolor,  another  provincial  chief  town,  which 
was  selected  as  the  capital  of  the  Spanish  possessions  during  the  temporary  occupa- 
tion of  Manilla  by  the  Engli.sh  in  1762.  The  steamers  plying  between  Manilla 
and  the  Lower  Pampanga  stop  at  the  station  of  Guagna  below  Bacolor.  Calmnpit, 
an  agricultural  centre  east  of  this  place,  stands  at  the  confluence  of  the  Pampanga 
and  Quingoa  rivers,  in  the  most  fertile  district  of  the  archipelago. 


TOrOGEAPHY  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES.  265 

Bahtnga,  facing  Manilla  on  the  west  side  of  the  bay,  is  followed  round  the 
intervening  promontory  by  the  well- sheltered  port  of  Mariveks,  which  gives  its 
name  to  the  neighbouring  volcano.  Beyond  it  is  the  harbour  of  Subig,  said  to  be 
the  safest  in  the  Philippines,  being  protected  on  three  sides  by  the  southern  head- 
lands of  the  Zambales  Mountains.  Iha,  capital  of  the  province,  lies  on  a  dangerous 
creek  a  little  farther  north.  In  the  sjjacious  Lingayen  Bay  are  several  excellent 
havens,  notably  that  of  Sxal,  which,  though  now  opened  to  international  trade,  is 
still  little  frequented  by  shipping.  The  rugged  Zambales  highlands  and  the  lack 
of  communications  with  the  interior  prevent  trade  from  being  attracted  to  this  part 
of  the  Luzon  seaboard.  The  large  town  of  Lingai/cn,  whence  the  bay  takes  its 
name,  lies  between  Sual  and  the  port  of  Bagupan,  on  a  branch  of  the  Agno  Grande 
delta.  In  the  interior  of  this  basin,  which  comprises  the  three  provinces  of 
Benguet,  Tarlac,  and  Pangasinan,  the  chief  town  is  Smi-Migtiel  de  Camiling,  where 
several  tribes  of  distinct  speech  are  conterminous. 

Along  the  north-west  coast  follow  several  considerable  towns,  such  as  Santo- 
Tomas,  Ariiigai/,  San-Fernando,  and  Vigan,  this  last  in  the  delta  of  the  Abra  river. 
Laoag,  near  the  north-west  corner  of  Luzon,  ranks  next  to  Manilla  for  population, 
although  it  possesses  no  harbour,  nor  any  resources  bej'ond  the  agricultural  pro- 
duce of  the  surrounding  district.  Beyond  this  point  the  seaboard  is  nearly  unin- 
habited, the  population  of  Luzon  being  mostly  concentrated  on  the  west  side  facing 
the  Asiatic  mainland.  Even  in  the  basin  of  the  Cagaj'an,  the  most  copious  river 
in  the  Philippines,  the  only  large  towns  are  Tiigiiagaraoand LaUo,  formerly  Nueva- 
Segovia,  which  in  recent  times  has  acquired  some  importance  as  the  depot  for  the 
best  tobacco  grown  in  the  archipelago.  Aparri,  the  port  of  this  place,  stands  on 
the  right  side  of  the  Cagayan  estuary. 

Then  for  420  miles  along  the  northern  and  eastern  coasts  of  Luzon  no  seaport 
occurs  until  Binangonan  is  reached,  in  about  the  latitude  of  Manilla  over  against 
the  island  of  Polillo.  The  Babuyanes  and  Batanes  groups  between  North  Luzon 
and  Formosa  are  almost  uninhabited,  although  favourably  situated  near  the  ocean 
highway  between  Hong-Kong  and  Sydney.  This  route  is  longer  but  safer,  and, 
consequently,  more  frequented  than  that  of  Torres  Strait  and  the  intricate  waters 
of  the  eastern  archipelago. 

Marlgondon,  Baragan,  and  Taal,  on  the  west  side  of  Luzon  below  Manilla,  all 
lie  in  extremely  fertile  and  highly  cultivated  districts.  Here  also  Batangas,  one 
of  the  largest  towns  in  the  archipelago,  occupies  a  position  of  vital  importance  at 
the  entrance  of  San-Bernardino  Channel,  the  great  commercial  highway  between 
Luzon,  the  Yisayas  Islands,  and  Mindanao.  On  the  north  side  of  Mindoro,  nearly 
opposite  Batangas,  lies  Calapnn,  rovmd  which  are  grouped  nearly  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  island. 

Along  the  narrow  Camarines  peninsula  follow  several  busy  marts,  such  as 
Tayahas  and  Mauhan,  on  a  roadstead  well  sheltered  by  the  islet  of  Alabat.  But 
here  the  population  is  concentrated  chiefly  in  the  basin  of  the  river  Vicol,  where 
are  crowded  together  the  rural  towns  of  Camalig,  Guinohatan,  Ligao,  Oas,  Polangul, 
and  Libong,  each  with  over  twelve  thousand  inhabitants,  though  distant  less  than 


260 


AITSTEALASIA. 


two  miles  from  each  other.  Below  Lake  Batu,  where  it  becomes  navigable,  the 
Vicol  flows  by  Nabua  and  Nacja  or  Nuevn-Caceres,  capital  of  the  province  of 
Camarincs-Sur,  bej^ond  which  it  falls  into  San-Miguel  Bay  opposite  the  fortress 
of  Cahusao,  and  not  far  from  Daet,  capital  of  the  province  of  North  Camarines. 

Albay  and  its  neighbour 
Fig.  iiG.— SAiiAE  AND  Leytb.  Dai'drja  occupy  a  charming 

scale  1:2,500,000.  p^^j^j^^^    ^^   ^^^^   f^^^   ^f    ^^^ 

verdant  lower  slopes  of  the 
Mayon  volcano.  Daraga, 
officially  designated  Cag- 
sciiia,  replaces  an  older  town 
of  this  name  which  stood 
higher  up  on  the  flanks  of 
the  mountain,  but  which 
was  destroyed  by  the  erup- 
tion of  1814.  The  port  of 
both  towns  is  Legaspi,  which 
is  exposed  to  the  full  fury 
of  the  north-east  monsoons, 
and  consequently  inacces- 
sible during  the  winter 
months  ;  at  this  season  all 
the  traffic  is  transferred  to 
tSorsogoii  on  the  west  side  of 
Luzon.  Other  ports  in  this 
region  are  Tibi  and  Tabaco, 
north  of  Albay,  and  Bulitmn 
at  the  east  foot  of  Mayon. 

In  the  island  of  Samar, 
which  forms  a  south-eastern 
extension  of  the  Camarines 
peninsula,  there  are  no  large 
towns.  The  most  important 
centres  of  population  are 
Guinan  near  the  southern 
extremity ;  Borongaii  on  the 
east  coast,  like  Guinan  sur- 
rounded by  vast  forests  of 
cocoa-nut  palms ;  and  the 
capital  Catbalogan  on  the  west  coast,  on  an  almost  inaccessible  roadstead. 

Of  the  adjacent  island  of  Leyte  the  capital  and  chief  seaport  is  Taclohan,  at  the 
southern  entrance  of  the  channel  separating  the  two  islands.  This  channel,  some 
twenty-four  miles  long,  contracts  in  some  places  to  a  narrow  defile,  expands  in 
others  to  a  broad  lake,  and  at  certain  points  is  only  a  few  hundred  yards  wide. 


Depths. 


100  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


— —  GO    Miles. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


267 


Both  shores  are  frmgcd  by  priiueral  forest,  iutcrruptecl  only  by  a  few  village  clear- 
ings and  their  cocoa-nut  groves.  Here  and  there  occur  picturesque  cliffs  jjierced 
by  caverns  where  the  islanders  formerly  deposited  their  dead.  In  the  vicinity  of 
Basey  on  the  Samar  side  opposite  Tacloban  the  poisonous  jilant  known  as  Saint 


117. — Ilo-Ilo  and  Steait  op  GuiiiAEiS. 
Scale  1  ;  650,000. 


ion  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


Ignatius'  bean  (Sfri/e/niofi  Igiiatin  amara)  grows  in  the  greatest  i^rofusion.  Another 
tree  of  the  dicfcrocarpus  species  v'ields  the  balao  or  malapajo,  a  resinous  oil,  which 
is  highly  prized  for  its  property  of  preserving  iron  from  rust. 

Paniiy,  situated  about   the   centre  of    the  archipelago,  is  relatively  the   most 


268  AUSTRALASIA. 

populous  member  of  the  whole  group.  Here  are  several  more  or  less  important 
places,  such  as  Cajoiz  on  the  north  coast ;  San  Joae  de  Baenavistn  and  Antique  on 
the  west  side  ;  Sihalon  farther  inland  in  the  same  district ;  Concepcion  in  the  north- 
east, and  in  the  south-east  Ilo-Ilo,  on  the  well-sheltered  channel  separating  Panay 
from  the  islet  of  Guimaras.  Next  to  Manilla,  Ilo-Ilo  is  the  most  frequented 
seaport  in  the  Philipjjines.  Since  it  has  been  thrown  open  to  foreign  trade,  it  has 
rapidly  attracted  to  itself  a  large  share  of  the  export  trade  in  sugar  and  other 
colonial  produce,  as  well  as  of  the  import  trade  in  European  and  Chinese  wares. 
A  little  to  the  north  of  Ilo-Ilo  lies  the  episcopal  suburb  of  Jaro. 

Although  Ilo-Ilo  is  the  central  emporium  for  the  whole  of  the  Yisayas 
Islands,  Ccbu  or  Zebu,  the  chief  place  in  the  island  of  like  name,  ranks  as  the 
capital  of  the  group,  probably  owing  to  the  priority  of  its  foundation.  Its  first 
buildings  were  erected  by  the  conqueror  Legaspi  in  1571,  just  fifty  years  after 
Magellan  had  met  his  death  on  the  islet  of  Mactan  close  to  this  spot.  Cebu, 
which  like  Ilo-Ilo  was  thrown  open  to  international  trade  in  1863,  exports  the  rice 
of  Panay,  the  abaca  of  Leyte,  the  wax,  ratans,  and  mother-of-pearl  of  Mindanao, 
the  sugar  and  tobacco  forwarded  from  Taghilaran  and  Maribojoc,  capital  of  the 
neighbouring  island  of  Bohol.  In  the  Cebu  district  are  some  carboniferous  beds, 
which  yield  a  coal  of  good  qualitj'. 

The  large  island  of  Mindanao,  stiU  almost  entirely  occupied  by  independent 
tribes,  has  no  Spanish  stations  except  a  few  here  and  there  on  the  seaboard.  One 
of  the  most  promising  of  these  stations  is  Misamis,  in  an  auriferous  district  on  the 
north  coast.  Bufitan  has  the  ad\-antage  of  being  situated  on  the  estuary  of  the 
great  river  Agusan ;  Suriijao,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  island,  commands 
the  chief  channel  opening  eastwards  In  the  direction  of  the  Pacific  ;  BisUg,  towards 
the  middle  of  the  east  coast,  possesses  an  excellent  harbour  on  a  seaboard  exposed 
to  fierce  gales  during  half  the  year.  Here  is  the  only  safe  anchorage  on  the 
east  side  of  the  island  south  of  Suragao.  West  of  Vcrgara,  recently  founded  on 
the  spacious  Gulf  of  Davao  or  Tagloc,  the  only  settlements  are  Cottubafo  and 
Folloc,  in  the  fertile  plain  watered  by  the  Rio  Grande,  and  Zamboanga,  an  old 
station  at  the  extremity  of  the  south-western  headland  dating  from  the  year  1635. 
This  place,  which  exports  the  best  coffee  in  the  archipelago,  is  remarkably ' 
salubrious,  notwithstanding  its  jDosition  on  a  low-lying  j)lain  broken  by  brackish 
lagoons  or  swamps  at  the  foot  of  wooded  hills.  Its  inhabitants,  nearly  all  half- 
breeds,  are  none  the  less  proud  of  their  Spanish  descent,  and  speak  Castilian  with 
great  purity.  In  the  last  centmy  Zamboanga  temporarily  disa^jpeared  under  a 
shower  of  ashes  from  a  neighbouring  volcano. 

In  the  Sulu  (Jolo)  archipelago,  since  1876  formally  annexed  to  the  Spanish 
colonial  possessions,  each  of  the  larger  islands  has  its  military  or  naval  station  to 
keep  the  unruly  inhabitants  in  awe,  and  guard  the  neighbouring  seas  from  their 
piratical  excursions.  At  Basilan,  against  which  the  French  had  sent  an  expedition 
in  1845  to  avenge  the  murder  of  some  sailors,  the  Manilla  government  fearing  a 
permanent  French  occupation,  has  founded  the  town  of  Isabella,  which,  thanks  to 
its  excellent  harbour  facing  Zamboanga,  seems  destined  one  day  to  acquire  some 


TOPOGEAniY  OF  THE  nilLIPPiyES. 


269 


importance.  Unfortunately  the  climate  is  so  unhealthy  that  some  hundreds  of 
convicts  sent  to  clear  the  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  the  rising  town  all  died  of 
fever. 

The  ancient  city  of  Sh/k,  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  island  of  like 
name,  has  also  become  a  Spanish  station,  and  the  descendant  of  the  dreaded 
sultans  who  ruled  the  whole  archipelago  together  with  North  Borneo,  is  now 
nothing  more  than  an  obscure  pensioner  of  the  Philippine  Government.  His 
capital  has  lost  all  its  industries,  and  the  famous  krisses  made  at  this  place  are 
now  replaced  by  weapons  of  English  or  German  manufacture. 

In  the  large  island  of   Paragua  or  Palawan,  Spain  also  maintains  two  military 

Fig.  lis. — Si'LU  Archipelago. 
Scale  1  :  2,250,000. 


y^. — .=^ 


Depths. 


stations :  Tay-tay,  near  the  northern  extremity  on  a  well-sheltered  inlet,  and 
Pucrto-Princesa,  on  a  fine  natural  harbour  on  the  east  coast.  The  forests  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  latter  station  are  still  occupied  by  the  Tagbanuhoy, 
wild  tribes  of  Malay  origin,  and  the  mountains  of  the  interior  are  inhabited  by 
the  Bataks,  who  are  supposed  to  be  of  Negrito  stock. 

In  the  island  of  Balabac,  facing  the  Bornean  archipelago  of  Banguay,  the  only 
centre  of  population  is  a  mere  village,  while  the  islets  studding  the  China  Sea 
farther  west  are  uninhabited. 


270  AUSTRALASIA. 

Administratiox  of  the  Philippines. 

The  Philippines  are  governed  directly  from  Madrid  by  the  Crown  and  Cortes  ; 
hence,  ■without  being  fundamentally  changed,  their  administration  is  modified 
with  the  vicissitudes  of  political  power  in  the  Iberian  peninsula. 

At  the  head  of  affairs  stands  the  governor- general,  who  commands  the  military 
and  naval  forces,  and  personally  administers  the  island  of  Luzon,  the  Yisayas 
group  and  Mindanao  being  placed  under  the  authority  of  subordinate  governors. 
The  governor- general  is  himself  assisted  by  an  administrative  council,  the 
members  of  which  are  chosen  by  the  central  power.  A  sort  of  ministry, 
irresponsible  except  to  this  central  power,  is  also  constituted  by  some  of  the 
higher  officials,  including  the  government  secretary,  the  head  of  the  staff,  the 
directors  of  financial  and  civil  affairs.  The  governor- general  is  considered  as  the 
"vice-patron"  of  the  church. 

The  three  governments  of  Luzon,  the  Visayas  and  Mindanao  are  divided  into 
provinces  administered  either  by  military  governors  or  by  civil  alcaldes  who  are 
at  the  same  time  judges  in  the  first  instance  in  both  the  civil  and  criminal  courts. 
In  most  of  Luzon  the  civil  system  prevails ;  but  the  regime  is  strictly  military  in 
Mindanao,  and  even  in  the  Yisayas,  although  the  popirlation  of  these  islands  is 
entirely  civilised  and  almost  as  dense  as  in  the  industrial  countries  of  Western 
Europe.  Each  province  is  divided  into  pueblos,  a  term  which  comprises  both  the 
district  itself  and  its  chief  town ;  hence  some  of  these  pueblos  have  a  consider- 
able population,  ranging  from  ten  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand,  and  even  twenty 
thousand.  Such  are  those  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ifanilla,  in  the  southern 
regions  of  Luzon,  in  Panaj^,  and  some  other  members  of  the  Visayas  group,  and 
each  of  these  districts  is  administered  bj' a  (johcniadorciUo,  or  "little  governor," 
who  delegates  his  powers  to  tenieittcs,  or  "lieutenants,"  placed  at  the  head  of  each 
village  or  hamlet  in  the  pueblo. 

All  the  higher  functionaries  are  exclusively  Spaniards  appointed  directly  from 
the  mother  country  ;  but  the  smaller  officials  of  the  pueblos  are  drawn  from  the 
half-caste  or  indigenous  classes,  and  elected  for  three  years  by  the  leading  citizens 
of  the  district.  The  gobernadorcillos,  called  also  "  captains,"  are  at  once  mayors 
and  judges ;  but  appeal  is  allowed  from  their  decisions  to  the  alcaldes  and  the 
audieneia,  or  supreme  court  of  Manilla.  The  notables  of  the  pueblos  are  collectively 
responsible  for  the  taxes,  which  average  about  six  shillings  for  every  adult 
between  sixteen  and  sixty  years  of  age. 

The  collection  of  these  taxes  constitutes  the  main  function  of  the  local  officials, 
and  the  chief  impost  still  retains  the  name  of  tribute,  as  at  the  time  when  the 
natives  of  the  Philippines  were  still  regarded  as  conguered  pagans.  This  tribute, 
a  kind  of  poll-tax,  formerly  about  four,  but  at  present  exceeding  ten  shillings  a 
year,  is  usually  levied  on  the  family  group,  and  supplies  the  elements  for  the 
summary  statistics  of  the  population.  Besides  this  tax,  the  men  are  required  to 
give  forty  days'  work  to  the  government  for  the  construction  of  roads  and 
communal  bvuldings.     But  such  an  apparently  excessive  extent  of  statute  labour 


ADMINISTRATION  OP  THE  PHILirPIXES. 


271 


is  but  a  slight  burclcu  amongst  llie  indolent  populations  of  the  archipelago,  where 
every  native  may  purchase  exemption  for  a  sum  which  in  no  instance  exceeds 
twelve  or  thirteen  shillings.  The  Chinese  pay  a  tribute  of  twenty-five  shillings, 
which  for  their  mestizos  is  reduced  to  one-half,  while  all  Europeans  are  entirely 


-Density  of  the  Population  or  the  Philippines. 
Scale  1  :  12,500,000. 


Inhabitants  to  the  Square  Mile. 


D 


a 


2  to  50.                   50  to  200.  200  and  upwards. 
Each  square  represents  over  1,000  inhabitants. 
180  Miles. 


exempt  from  this  poll-tax,  which  was  originally  a  mark  of  subjection.  Other 
chief  sources  of  revenue  are  the  taxes  levied  on  industries  and  real  property,  the 
customs  and  navigation  dues,  the  postal  and  telegraphic  services,  lotteries,  excise, 
cock-fighting,  and  some  other  minor  taxes.     The  cultivation  of  opium  is  interdicted 


272 


AUSTRAL  ASL^. 


and  its  iraportutiou  restricted  to  certaiu  Chinese  traders.  The  yearly  outlay, 
whicli  includes  the  maintenance  of  the  diplomatic  service  in  China  and  Japan,  is 
usually  in  excess  of  the  income. 

Although    the    Inquisition    has   been  abolished  in   the  present   century,    the 

Fig.  120. — Peoyixcial  Divisions  of  the  Philippines. 
Scale  1 :  11,300,000. 


I     fe^UE.Gre,n..,ch 


exercise  of  no  public  worship  is  tolerated  except  that  of  Catholicism,  the  State 
religion.  A  part  of  tho  tribute  is  strictly  reserved  for  the  support  of  the  clergy, 
who  have  also  a  right  to  exact  direct  contributions  called  ^j«e  de  altar,  because  paid 
by  the  faithful  at  "  the  foot  of  the  altar."  The  Spanish  secular  clergy,  com- 
prising a  small  number  of  ecclesiastics,  reside  chiefly  iu  the  archiepiscopal  city  of 
Manilla,   and  iu  the  three  bishoprics  of  Nueva-Caceres,   Jaro  and   Cebu.      The 


ADMrNISTEATION  OF  THE  nilLIPPINES.  273 

pueblos  arc  administered  either  by  native  priests,  or  by  tlie  different  religious 
orders,  such  as  Dominicans,  Franciscans,  Jesuits,  and  especially  Augustinians,  the 
wealthiest  and  most  influential  of  all.  According  to  their  regulations,  these 
missionaries  are  bound  to  reside  at  least  ten  years  in  the  archipelago,  and  few  of 
them  entertain  any  hope  of  ever  returning  to  the  mother  country.  But  they  are 
not  a  numerous  body,  and  the  local  clergy  does  not  number  altogether  as  many  as 
twelve  hundred  persons.  The  native  priests  are  educated  in  the  large  diocesan 
seminaries. 

Public  instruction,  obligatory  in  the  civilised  districts,  is  under  the  control  of 
the  priests,  who  have  established  primary  schools  in  nearly  all  the  pueblos.  Here 
the  children  learn  to  read  and  write  Spanish,  and  although  this  language  ia 
generally  forgotten  after  they  leave  school,  it  is  gradually  becoming  the  idiom  of 
the  civilised  classes,  and  reducing  the  native  tongues  to  the  position  of  provincial 
patois.  Secondary  instruction  is  provided  for  by  two  colleges,  one  directed  by  the 
Dominicans,  the  other  by  the  Jesuits.  The  university  of  Santo-Tomas,  founded  in 
1645,  is  essentially  a  theological  institution,  although  also  comprising  scientific 
and  medical  courses.  The  censure,  however,  still  prohibits  the  introduction  of 
most  foreign  scientific  and  literary  works,  and  so  recently  as  1882  Bernardin  de 
Saint  Pierre's  Paul  and  Virginia  was  specially  interdicted  !  The  one  Tagal 
and  eight  or  ten  Spanish  periodicals  are  also  subjected  to  the  ecclesiastical 
censure. 

The  nucleus  of  the  colonial  forces  consists  of  about  1,450  Spaniards,  forming  a 
regiment  of  artillery,  the  rest  of  the  army  being  made  up  of  some  six  thousand 
natives.  These  are  enlisted  for  a  period  of  eight  j-ears;  but  substitution  is 
allowed,  the  average  price  in  time  of  peace  ranging  from  £8  to  £10  in  the 
wealth}'  provinces.  A  militia  of  cuadrilkros  is  occasionally  enrolled  for  local 
service. 

The  navy  comprises  about  twenty  corvettes,  avisos  and  gun-boats,  manned  by 
two  thousand  hands,  and  stationed  chiefly  at  Cavite,  Manilla,  Lingayen  and 
Zamboanga.  Seven  seaports  are  oj)en  to  foreign  trade :  Manilla,  Legasj)i  and 
Sual  in  Luzon  ;  Tacloban,  Ilo-Ilo,  Cebu  and  Sulu  in  the  other  islands. 

A  table  of  the  fifty-four  j^rovinces  with  their  areas,  poindations  and  chief 
towns  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


VOL.  xrv. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MICKONESIA. 
I. — The  Mariana  or  Lauroxe  Islands. 

TIESE  islands,  j)olitically  united  to  the  Pliilif)pines  for  over  two 
centuries,  are  also  associated  with  them  in  the  histoiy  of  maritime 
exploration.  They  were  the  first  group  met  by  Magellan  in  15"31 
on  his  voyage  round  the  globe,  and  ten  days  afterwards  he  had 
reached  the  Philippine  island  of  Cebu  and  the  adjacent  islet  of 
Mactan,  where  he  met  his  death.  Later,  when  the  Spaniards  had  permanently 
occupied  the  Philippines  and  estabKshed  the  regular  service  of  their  galleons  across 
the  Pacific,  the  island  of  Guam  in  the  Marianas  became  the  indispensable  station 
for  their  mariners  between  Manilla  and  Acapulco  on  the  Mexican  coast ;  and  when 
the  aborigines  of  the  Marianas  had  almost  entirely  disappeared  this  group  was 
repeopled  by  immigrants  from  the  Philippines,  bringing  with  them  new  plants, 
usages,  and  language. 

The  name  of  the  Ladrones,  or  "Robbers,"  given  to  these  islands  by  Magellan, 
has  fallen  into  abeyance,  and,  like  the  Philippines,  they  are  indebted  to  flattery 
for  their  more  usual  designation  conferred  on  them  in  ho"nour  "of  the  Spanish 
Queen,  Mariana  of  Austria,  wife  of  Philip.  After  their  discovery  by  Magellan 
they  vere  explored  chiefly  by  Anson,  Byron,  Wallis,  and_  Freycinet. 

A  space  of  about  1,200  miles  going  eastwards  separates  the  most  advanced  land 
in  the  Philippines  from'  the  first  south-western  island  in  the  Mariana  group,  and 
this  space  is  everywhere  almost  entirely  free  from  islets  or  reefs  of  any  sort. 
Nothing  but  a  few  rocks,  such  as  Parece  Yela,  are  visible  in  the  north  as  the 
archipelago  is  approached  from  Japan,  while  some  other  lands  announce  the 
proximity  of  the  Pelew  Islands  to  mariners  advancing  from  the  south.  Thus  the 
chain  of  the  Marianas  is  limited  westwards  by  a  perfectly  open  sea  about  80,000 
square  miles  in  extent,  and  in  some  places  f;-om  1,200  to  1,-500  fathoms  deep. 
Hence  it  is  evident  that  this  archipelago  is  in  no  way  connected  with  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Philippines,  but  belongs  to  an  independent  geological  system. 

The  disposition  of  the  chain  shows  at  a  glance  an  obvious  analogy  with  the 
volcanic  ranges  of  the  Kuriles  and  Aleutian  Islands,  describing  as  it  does  an 
arc  of  surprising  regularity,  as  if  traced  with  a  compass  with  its  fixed  point  resting 
on  the  north  coast  of  Luzon.     The  Marianas  also  constitute  a  volcanic  range,  some 


THE  MAEIANAS. 


275 


121. — Maeiana  Aechipelaoo. 
Scale  1  :  8,000,000. 


of  whose  cones  rise  many  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  while  others,  failing  to  reach 

the  surface  serve  as  a  foundation  for  a  crown  of  coralline  limestones  rising  above 

the  surrounding  wafers.     The  chain  stretches  north  and  south  a  total  distance  of 

about  600   miles,  and  the  seventeen  islands  with  their  islets   and  reefs  have   a 

collective   area,    estimated   by   Agius  at 

little  more  than  400,  and  by  Behm  and 

Wagner   at   scarcely    560    square   miles. 

Guam,    or   Giiaban,    the   largest   island, 

comprising  nearly  half  the  extent  of  the 

whole    group,    is    continued    southwards 

by    the   Rosa   Bank,  which   lies  on  the 

northern  edge  of    the  deepest  cavit}-  in 

this  part  of  the  Pacific  (2,475  fathoms). 

North-e.ist   of  this  abj-'ss  the   soundings 

of  the  Challenger  show  everywhere  depths 

of  over  1,500  fathoms. 

Considered  as  a  range  of  half-sub- 
merged mountains  the  Marianas  begin 
with  a  few  basalt  and  tufa  crests,  which 
in  Guam  attain  a  height  of  from  1,300  to 
1,600  feet,  dominating  the  grassy  or 
wooded  plateaux,  the  sandy  or  argillaceous 
plains,  and  steep  coastline  of  this  pictur- 
esque island.  Northwards  '  the  chain, 
interrupted  at  first  by  a  channel  thirty 
miles  wide,  reappears  iu  Mount  Tempiii- 
gan  and  the  rock-bound  island  of  Rota  or 
Sarpan.  Then  follow  Aguij  an;  the  charm- 
ing Tinian  with  its  gently  undulating 
hills  ;  Saj-pan  with  two  extinct  volcanoes 
at  its  northern  extremity  ;  Alamagan, 
whose  smoking  crater  is  probably  the 
culminating  point  of  the  archipelago 
(2,320  feet)  ;  Pagan,  composed  of  two 
mountainous  islands  united  at  the  base, 
bearing  two  active  and  one  quiescent  vol- 
cano ;  Agrigan  with  an  extinct  cone ;  and 
Assumption   (2,100  feet),  whose  fissured 

flanks  still  emit  vapours.      The  Uraccas,  120  iiiies. 

or  Mangas,  near  the  northern  extremity 

of  the  chain,  seem,  like  the  Dedica  islets  off  the  north  coast  of  Luzon,  to  be  tlie 
remains  of  a  circuit  of  marine  craters,  while  Farallon  dos  Parajos,  terminating  the 
whole  system,  is  a  stiU  active  volcano  1,300  feet  high.  Altogether  the  chain 
appears  to  contain  six  not  yet  extinct  cones. 

T    2 


M4°  E. of  Greenwich  146 


2,000  to  3  nrm 

3.000  fntlioms 

Fathoms,    and  u^jwaic 


270  AUSTRALASIA. 

Exposed  during  the  so-called  drj'  seasou  from  October  to  May  to  tlie  regular 
north-east  trade  winds,  the  Marianas  receive  their  most  abundant  rains  from  the 
moist  south-west  currents,  which  prevail  during  the  four  summer  months  from 
June  to  September.  But  moisture  Is  precl23ltated  at  all  times,  and  the  streams  are 
everywhere  copious  except  where  absorbed  by  the  porous  calcareous  soil  and  volcanic 
scorlaj.  The  destruction  of  the  forests  has  also  reduced  the  rainfall  and  rendered 
the  freshets  more  sudden  and  the  droughts  more  protracted. 

The  Indigenous  flora,  consisting  chiefly  of  Asiatic  species,  has  mostlj''  disap- 
peared, and  the  present  vegetation  has  been  malnlj'  Introduced  by  man  In  recent 
times.  Here,  as  in  most  tropical  islands,  the  prevailing  forms  are  the  cocoa-nut 
palm  and  the  rima,  or  bread  tree.  The  only  indigenous  mammal  is  the  large 
"  Keraudren  "  bat,  the  flesh  of  which  Is  eaten  by  the  natives,  notwithstanding  its 
disagreeable  odour.  There  are  but  few  species  of  birds,  and  the  paroquets,  so 
richly  represented  In  the  Moluccas,  are  totally  absent.  Even  insects  are  rare,  and 
the  reptile  order  is  limited  to  a  few  kinds  of  lizards  and  a  single  species  of 
serpent. 

When  first  visited  by  Europeans  the  archipelago  was  found  to  contain  a 
considerable  poiDulation.  The  Chamorros,  unjustly  stigmatised  by  Magellan  as 
Ladrones,  or  robbers,  appear  to  have  been  akin  to  the  Tagals  at  least  In  speech ; 
but  the  physical  appearance  of  their  few  descendants  would  lead  to  the  supposition 
that  the  aborigines  were  a  half-caste  Indonesian  and  Papuan  race.  These  two 
elements  may  have  been  represented  by  the  two  distinct  classes  of  nobles  and 
people,  between  whom  marriage  and  even  contact  were  forbidden.  But  however 
this  be,  the  Spanish  conquest  ended  by  reducing  all  alike  to  a  common  state  of 
servitude. 

Long  after  the  occupation  of  the  archipelago  the  Chamorros  continued  to 
hold  out  valiantly  against  the  oppressive  measures  of  the  authorities,  and  when  all 
resistance  ceased  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  found  that  of 
the  fifty  thousand  or  sixty  thousand  natives  more  than  half  had  perished  or 
escaped  to  the  Caroline  Islands ;  over  two-thirds  of  the  180  villages  had  fallen 
to  ruins.  Then  came  the  epidemics,  which  swept  away  most  of  the  natives 
of  Guam,  and  when  they  were  replaced  by  comijulsory  immigration  from  Tinian 
nearlj-all  the  new  arrivals  iDerlshcd  of  inanition  :  Tinian  had  been  entirely  depopu- 
lated without  any  advantage  to  Guam. 

In  1760  the  population  of  the  Marianas  had  been  reduced  to  1,654  souls, 
and  it  was  then  that  recourse  was  had  to  Tagal-colonlsts  from  the  Philippines, 
\\ho  absorbed  most  of  the  surviving  aborigines.  In  1875  not  more  than  six 
hundred  in  a  total  population  of  nearly  nine  thousand  were  regarded  as  of  more 
or  less  pure  Chamorro  stock.  In  Guam  are  concentrated  six-sevenths  of  all  the 
inhabitants,  who  have  steadily  Increased  since  the  outbreak  of  measles  in  1856. 
The  northern  islands  are  occupied  only  by  a  few  families  engaged  in  fishing  ; 
Tinian  has  only  a  single  village  and  a  community  of  lejaers  ;  Eota  and  Suyan 
ha-ve  each  not  more  than  a  few  hundred  souls. 

The  natives  of  the  Marianas  have  fallen  off  in  ciilture  as  well  as  in  numbers ; 


LISRARV 

OF  THE 

JNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS, 


I 

I 


THE  MAEIANAS.  277 

although  baptised  and  capable  of  reading  Spanish  they  have  forgotten  the  industries 
practised  by  their  forefathers.  Agriculture  has  greatly  deteriorated,  the  art  of 
pottery  has  disappeared,  the  woven  fabrics  are  coarser  than  formerly,  the  perfectly 
symmetrical  houses  seen  by  Anson  in  Tinian  are  no  longer  constructed,  and  rude 
canoes  have  reijlaced  the  beautiful  outriggers  admired  by  the  early  navigators. 
Anson's  crew  calculated  that  this  craft  could  make  twenty^  knots  an  hour  running 
before  a  brisk  trade  wind  ;  when  driven  from  their  proper  route  they  often  reached 
islands  lying  at  great  distances  from  the  Marianas. 

Agcim,  capital  of  the  archipelago,  on  the  north-west  coast  of  Guam,  contains 
more  than  half  of  the  whole  population,  as  well  as  all  the  political  prisoners 
banished  to  this  region.  The  port  is  accessible  only  to  small  boats,  and  the  postal 
service  with  Manilla  is  made  only  once  in  the  twelvemonth. 

The  government  of  the  Marianas  is  military,  the  garrison  consisting  of  three 
hundred  natives  recruited  by  conscription.  The  clusters  of  islets,  such  as  Parry 
and  Volcano,  scattered  over  the  northern  waters  in  the  direction  of  the  Ogasavara 
or  Benin  group  belonging  to  Japan,  are  nearly  all  uninhabited.  On  many  marine 
charts  they  are  still  designated  by  the  collective  name  of  the  Magellan  Archipelago, 
but  their  total  area  scarcely  exceeds  forty  square  miles. 

II. — The  Pelew  or  P.\l.\os  Isl.\xds. 

This  archipelago  is  often  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  chain  of  the  Carolines, 
just  as  Yap  and  the  neighbouring  islets  have  frequently  been  included  in  the 
Pelew  group.  The  Sjjauiards,  political  masters  in  these  seas,  comprise  all  alike 
under  the  common  designation  of  the  Caroline  Islands.  Nevertheless  they  clearly 
constitute  different  systems,  as  shown  by  the  disposition  of  the  chains,  the  Caro- 
lines running  west  and  east  and  then  bending  round  to  the  south-east,  while  the 
Pelews  ate  disposed  north-east  and  south-west.  However,  the  geological  constitu- 
tion of  both  groups  is  the  same,  all  being  formed  of  mountains  of  eruptive  origin, 
trachytes  or  basalts,  or  else  of  coralline  rocks,  either  as  low  atolls  or  upheaved  to 
considerable  heights  by  the  oscillations  of  the  ground. 

Collectively  the  Pelew  Islands  have  an  area  of  little  over  two  hundred  square 
miles,  of  which  more  than  half  are  comprised  in  the  single  island  of  Baobeltaob 
(Babelthuup).  From  north  to  south  they  have  a  total  length  of  about  550  and  a 
breadth  of  over  240  miles  at  the  widest  point,  being  thus  spread  over  an  expanse 
of  40,000  square  miles,  and  bounded  east  and  west  by  abysses  over  1,000  fathoms 
deep.  The  population  is  variously  estimated  at  from  ten  thousand  (o  fourteen 
thousand. 

The  northern  islands,  which  were  first  visited  by  the  Spanish  navigators  and 
which  Yillalobos  designated  by  the  name  of  Arrecifes,  form  a  perfectly  distinct 
group,  comprising  Babelthuap  with  its  south-western  extensions  terminating  in  the 
insular  mass  of  Niaur  (Ngaur),  most  fertile  and  healthiest  member  of  the  archi- 
pelago. The  loftiest  eruptive  eminences  lie  near  the  west  coast  of  Babelthuap, 
where  one  of  the  peaks  rises  to  a  height  of  2,130  feet.    This  island  is  partly  covered 


278 


AUSTRALASIA. 


with  timber,  whence  its  Sj)anish  name  of  Palos,  afterwards  cTianged  to  Palaos,  and 
by  English  mariners  corrupted  to  Pelcw. 

Although  very  poor  in  animal  forms,  the  Pclcws  have  nevertheless  some  types 
not  elsewhere  found,  such  as  the  pmmafhia,  a  sj^ecies  of  bird,  and  a  grey  rat. 


122. — Pelew  Islands. 

Scale  1  :  900,000, 


E3 


80  Feet,  and 
upwal  ds. 


T>oth  the  crocodile  and  the  dugong,  formerly  numerous  on  the  coast,  have  oecome 
extremely  rare,  if  thsy  have  not  already  disappeared  altogether.  The  first 
vertebra  of  the  dugong  is  considered  the  most  precious  object  that  a  chief  can 
bestow  on  a  subject,  being  a  distinctive  mark  of  an  order  of  nobility.  When  a 
happy  mortal  is  judged  worthy  of  this  honour,  his  fingers  are  bound  tightly 


THE  PELEW  ISLAISTDS.  279 

together,  and  the  hand  is  then  thrust  by  sheer  force  through  the  narrow  aperture 
of  the  bone.     The  distinction  is  thus  often  purchased  with  the  loss  of  a  finger. 

The  Pelew  islanders  have  a  darker  complexion  than  the  natives  of  the  Marianas 
and  Carolines,  and  most  of  them  have  crisp  or  frizzly  hair.  Although  there  has 
evidently  been  a  mixture  of  Malay  and  Pohiiesian  elements,  the  Papuan  type 
predominates,  and  the  southern  islands  lying  nearer  to  the  New  Guinea  coast 
belong  ethnically  to  the  Papuasian  world.  According  to  Semper  many  might  bo 
taken  for  Jews,  while  others  are  distinguished  by  small  eyes,  flat  nose,  and 
massive  jaws.  Formerly  all  pierced  the  cartilage  of  the  nose ;  but  this  practice 
is  falling  into  abeyance,  although  connected  with  a  religious  legend.  The  teeth 
are  blackened  by  means  of  an  earth  which  causes  the  gums  to  swell  and  prevents 
mastication  for  several  da}'s.  The  body  is  also  painted  a  bright  j'ellow,  and 
tattooed ;  not  so  elaborately,  however,  as  by  the  Caroline  islanders.  The  practice 
is  even  falling  off  owing  to  the  dangerous  nature  of  -the  operation  ;  nor  has  it  any 
longer  a  sacred  character.  On  the  other  hand  some  of  the  Pelew  dames  wear 
beauty  spots,  like  the  fashionable  ladies  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  Europe. 

Wilson,  being  ignorant  of  the  native  language,  fancied  that  the  people  had  no 
form  of  belief.  But  although  there  are  scarcely  any  religious  ceremonies,  their 
mythology  is  very  intricate,  and  the  kalifca,  who  act  as  mediators  with  the  spirit 
world,  are  very  powerful,  often  more  so  than  the  chiefs  themselves.  These 
magicians  of  both  sexes  can  raise  the  souls  of  the  dead,  cure  ailments,  disjjel  or 
evoke  public  calamities.  Their  powers  are  hereditary,  and  five  of  them  enjoj'  a 
supremacy  over  all  their  associates  throughout  the  archipelago.  The  privileges 
of  the  kalites  and  of  the  chiefs  combined  with  the  belief  in  spirits  have  surrounded 
the  existence  of  the  natives  with  a  multiplicity  of  prescriptions  and  observances. 
The  life  of  each  individual  is  regulated  by  strict'  rules,  and  many  places  and 
things  are  moncjul,  that  is,  tabooed. 

The  women  are  respected  and  may  even  acquire  authority  whether  as  kalites 
or  supreme  chiefs.  They  form  sisterhoods,  whose  privileges  are  recognised,  and 
some  travellers  have  reported  that  in  criminal  cases  the}^  are  judged  by  their 
peers.  Traces  of  a  former  matriarchal  system  still  survive.  Thus  power  is 
inherited,  not  from  father  to  son,  but  from  brother  to  brother,  and  the  sister  ranks 
before  the  wife  of  the  chief.  The  men  also  of  the  different  "castes,  noble  or 
military,  are  grouped  in  brotherhoods,  and  possess  special  pai  or  "  clubs,"  into 
which  no  one  can  penetrate  without  their  consent.  These  clubs  are  relatively 
sumptuous  edifices,  which  are  carefully  decorated  with  carved  and  painted  figures. 
A  symbolic  group  is  set  iip  in  front,  and  on  the  walls  are  disposed  rows  of  wooden 
images  painted  in  red,  yellow  and  black,  some  representing  religious  myths,  others 
recording  social  scenes  and  constituting  a  sort  of  national  history.  There  is  also 
a  graphic  system  analogous  to  the  Peruvian  quippos,  consisting  of  cords  and 
strings,  which  serve  to  exchange  ideas  according  to  an  elaborate  method  of 
knotting. 

In  the  Pelew  Islands  there  are  almost  as  many  petty  states  as  villages.  But, 
thaaks  to  the  support  of  Wilson  after  his  shipwreck  in  1783,  the  "king"  of  the 


260  AUSTRALASIA. 

island  of  Koroer,  south  of  Babelthuap,  acquired  a  sort  of  suzerainty  over  tis 
neighbours.  His  successors,  however,  have  lost  much  of  their  ascendancy,  and 
most  of  the  other  chiefs  hold  themselves  as  fidly  his  equals.  These  chiefs  bear 
different  titles,  one  of  the  most  significant  being  tnad,  or  "  death,"  meaning  that  the 
potentate's  mere  glance  is  fatal  to  his  subjects.  But  associated  with  him  is  a  J;rci, 
a  sort  of  military  "  mayor  of  the  palace,"  often  more  powerful  than  the  mad  him- 
self. Round  him  are  grouped  the  rupalcs,  or  vassals,  each  with  his  suite  of  fierce 
retainers.  "War,  the  essential  occupation  of  this  feudal  system,  is  carried  on  with 
relentless  cruelty,  the  victors  sparing  neither  women  nor  children.  The  chief 
object  of  the  hostile  raids  is  to  obtain  skulls  ;  for  "  the  great  Kalite,"  say  the  natives, 
"likes  to  eat  men,"  and  the  heads  are  consequently  laid  at  the  feet  of  the 
magicians,  his  representatives  on  earth.  But  even  during  warfare  the  rights  of 
hospitality  are  still  respected,  and  any  fugitive  who  succeeds  in  penetrating  to 
the  house  of  the  hostile  chief  has  nothing  further  to  fear. 

To  this  intertribal  strife  is  mainly  due  the  moral  and  material  decadence  of  the 
islanders,  who  are  no  longer  the  simple,  kindly  people  described  by  "Wilson  at  the 
end  of  the  last  century.  Even  Miklukho-Maklai,  with  all  his  sj'mpathy  for 
inferior  races,  speaks  of  them  as  false  and  rapacious.  Since  the  arrival  of  the 
Europeans  the  social  conditions  seem  in  other  respects  to  have  undergone  a 
complete  change.  The  natives  are  more  civilised,  at  least  outwardlj' ;  they 
ornament  their  dwellings  with  engravings  and  photographs  ;  they  possess  iron 
implements,  firearms,  and  even  books ;  many  speak  a  little  English  or  Spanish, 
while  their  mother  tongue  has  been  enriched  by  numerous  European  words, 
required  to  express  the  new  ideas.  The  age  of  stone  has  passed  away,  or  survives 
only  in  the  local  currency,  which  is  of  jasper  or  agate  for  the  chiefs  and  nobles,  of 
stones  of  less  value,  glass  or  enamelled  beads,  for  the  lower  classes. 

But  with  all  thi,  .he  population  continues  to  decrease,  having  fallen  from 
probably  fifty  thousand  at  the  end  of  the  last  century  to  little  over  twelve 
thousand  at  present. 

III. — The  Caroline  Islands. 

The  archipelago  formerly  known  as  the  "  New  Philippines,"  and  afterwards 
named  the  Carolines  in  honour  of  Charles  II.  of  Spain,  is  spread  over  a  consider- 
able expanse.  From  the  westernmost  island  of  Ngoli  to  "Ualan  in  the  extreme 
east  the  distance  in  a  straight  line  is  no  less  than  1,800  miles,  with  a  mean  breadth 
of  about  350  miles.  Thus  the  Caroline  Sea  comprises  an  area  of  about  640,000 
square  miles,  where  the  total  extent  of  some  five  hundred  islets  disposed  in  forty- 
eight  clusters  is  estimated  at  no  more  than  500  square  miles.  The  water,  however, 
is  very  shallow,  and  several  of  the  insular  groups  are  enlarged  by  extensive  reefs. 
The  greatest  depths  occur  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  archipelago,  the 
'Challenger  Trough"  in  the  north,  the  "Nares  Trough"  in  the  south,  with  an 
intervening  submarine  bank  connecting  the  Carolines  with  the  Pelew  group. 

The  Carolines  were  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  in  1527,  when  Diogo  da 


THE  CAEOLIXES.  281 

Eocha  readied  the  western  i.sland  of  Ngoli  or  ilatalotes.     He   was  followed  in 


1542  by  Saavedra  and  Yillalobos,  who  traversed  the  Caroline  Sea  and  sighted  some 


282  AUSTRALASIA. 

of  its  islands  ;  others  were  seen  hj  Legaspi,  conqueror  of  the  Philippines.  But 
their  position  not  having  been  accurately  determined,  it  was  impossible  to  identify 
them,  and  every  passing  navigator  laid  claim  to  their  discovery.  The  existence 
of  the  lands  south  of  the  Marianas  was  well  known  ;  but  instead  of  endeavouring 
to  fix  their  position,  mariners  rather  avoided  them,  owing  to  the  dangerous  shoals 
by  which  they  were  surrounded. 

No  serious  attempt  was  made  at  an  accurate  survey  till  about  1686,  when  the 
first  "  Caroline,"  from  which  all  the  rest  were  named,  was  discovered  by  the 
pilot  Lazeano.  This  was  perhaps  Yap,  or  else  Farroilep  (Farraulep),  which 
lies  on  the  meridian  of  the  Marianas  some  340  miles  south  of  Guam.  Then 
Cantova  prepared  the  first  rough  chart  of  the  region  round  about  Lamurek 
(Namurck)  in  the  central  part  of  the  archipelago  ;  but  the  scientific  exploration  of 
the  Caroline  Sea  was  first  undertaken  by  Wilson  and  Ibargoita  towards  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Between  1817  and  1828  occurred  the  memorable 
expeditions  of  Kotzebue,  Freycinet,  Duperrey,  Dumont  d'TJrville  and  Lutke,  after 
which  nothing  remained  except  to  fill  up  the  details  and  explore  the  interior  of 
the  several  islands.  This  work  of  exploration  has  been  stimulated  by  the  question 
of  sovereignty  lately  raised  between  SjDain  and  Germany,  and  finally  settled  by 
papal  arbitration  in  favour  of  the  former  power. 

The  names  of  the  islands,  islets  and  reefs  strewn  over  the  Caroline  waters 
are  far  from  being  everywhere  clearly  defined.  Except  for  some  of  the  larger 
lands,  such  as  Yap,  Ponape  and  Ualan,  custom  has  not  yet  decided  between  the 
native  appellations  variously  pronounced  by  the  seafarers  of  different  nation- 
alities, and  those  given  to  the  difEerent  groups  by  English,  French,  or  Russian 
explorers. 

Most  of  the  Carolines  are  of  coral  formation,  upheaved  some  few  yards  above 
sea-level,  and  many  lack  sufiicient  vegetable  humus  for  trees  to  strike  root  between 
the  fissures  of  the  rocks.  Some,  however,,  have  gradually  been  clothed  with  dense 
verdure  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and  here  native  settlements  have  been  formed 
beneath  the  shade  of  the  cocoanut  palm,  the  bread-fruit  tree  and  the  dark  green 
barringtonia.  Some  of  the  groups  form  perfectly  regular  atolls,  where  lagoons 
accessible  to  boats  through  narrow  channels  are  encircled  by  a  verdant  fringe. 
Satoan,  one  of  the  circular  islands  of  the  Mortlock  group,  consists  of  no  less  than 
sixty  islets,  some  a  few  miles  long,  others  mere  pointed  rocks,  but  all  disposed 
symmetrically  round  the  periphery  of  the  coralline  enclosure.  Others  again,  such 
as  Ruk,  Ualan,  and  Ponape  .(2,860  feet),  attain  considerable  elevations,  and  these 
are  often  clothed  to  their  summits  with  magnificent  trees  of  few  species,  con- 
spicuous amongst  which  are  the  superb  tree-ferns.  This  evergreen  forest  vegeta- 
tion is  supported  by  copious  rains,  which  fall  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  especially 
during  the  south-west  monsoon. 

The  fauna,  like  that  of  the  Marianas,  is  extremely  poor,  the  mammals  being 
represented  only  by  a  dog  with  pointed  ears  and  long  pendent  tail,  and  a  single 
species  of  rat,  which  is  said  to  have  taught  the  natives  the  art  of  obtaining  palm- 
wino  by  gnawing  the  crests  of  the  cocoanut  palm  to  get  at  its  sap.     The  vegetation 


THE  CAEOLIXES. 


283 


also  affords  shelter  to  some  lizards  and  iguanas,  while  the  sandy  beach  is  visited 
by  turtles  during  the  season. 

The  population  of  the  Carolines  is  variously  estimated  at  from  twenty  thousand 
to  thirty  thousand  souls,  two-thirds  of  whom  are  concentrated  in  Ruk,  Ponaj^e 


Fig.  124. — EiTK  Islands. 
Smle  1  ;  Sm.OOO. 


BOO  Ftithoms  and 
upwards. 


and  Yap.  Owing  to  its  proximity  to  the  Philippines,  Yap  has  been  chosen  as  the 
centre  of  the  administration  for  the  Western  Carolines  and  the  Pelew  Islands. 
Although  the  great  majority  of  the  natives  are  of  Indonesian  stock  crossed  by 
sundry  foreign  elements,  the  various  insular  groups  present  considerable  contrasts 


284  AUSTRALASIA. 

in  their  physical  appearance.  The  western  islanders  with  their  fair  complexion 
resemble  the  Yisayas  and  Tagals  of  the  Philippines ;  those  of  the  central  islands 
have  a  red  coppery  colour,  while  farther  east  the  natives  of  the  Seniavin  group 
are  almost  black  and  like  the  Papuans.  In  TJalan  they  are  still  darker,  with 
slightly  crisp  hair.  The  people  of  Nukunor  and  Satoan  are  descendants  of 
Samoau  immigrants,  as  is  evident  from  their  physique,  language  and  usages. 
Lastly,  in  some  of  the  islands  the  European  element  is  already  so  strong  that  most 
of  the  children  present  a  type  approaching  that  of  the  whites. 

The  population  has  certainly  decreased  since  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans,  but 
not,  as  has  often  been  asserted,  in  virtue  of  some  mysterious  and  inevitable  law 
affecting  inferior  races.  Epidemics  little  dreaded  in  the  "West  doubtless  become 
terrible  scourges  in  Oceania,  and  such  is  the  terror  caused  by  measles,  for  instance, 
that  in  Yap  and  elsewhere  the  people  combine  to  attack  the  infected  villages, 
and  stamp  out  the  plague  by  killing  the  victims  and  compelling  the  others  to 
withdraw  for  some  weeks  to  the  interior.  Nevertheless  the  maladies  introduced 
by  foreign  sailors  do  not  suffice  to  explain  the  disappearance  of  the  race,  which 
has  suffered  still  more  from  the  raids  of  these  foreigners,  who  carry  off  the  natives 
to  work  on  the  plantations  in  Fiji  and  other  archipelagoes.  After  the  Caroline 
Islanders  have  thus  been  swept  away,  philosophic  travellers  indulge  in  meditations 
on  the  fatality  which  dooms  the  so-called  inferior  races  to  perish  at  contact  with 
the  civilised  whites.  Nevertheless  there  are  certain  favoured  spots  such  as  Lukunor, 
"  pearl  of  the  Carolines,"  in  the  Mortlock  group,  where  the  population  is  even 
rapidlv  increasing  by  the  natural  excess  of  births  over  the  mortalitj',  and  where 
every  inch  of  the  land  is  carefully  ciiltivated. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  Caroline  natives  are  a  mild,  hospitable,  industrious,  and 
peaceful  race.  They  allow  their  women  much  freedom,  treat  their  children  with 
great  tenderness  and  faithfully  observe  the  laws  of  friendship,  comrades  becoming 
brothers  by  an  interchange  of  names.  In  certain  places,  notably  Ualan,  the 
people  had  no  weapons  of  any  sort,  no  strife  or  warfare.  They  even  still  lead 
simple,  peaceful  lives,  except  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  factories  and  missions, 
where  their  habits  have  been  modified  by  contact  with  Europeans.  Tattooing  is 
extensively  practised,  the  systems  varying  greatly  according  to  the  localities, 
tribes,  and  social  position.  Some  of  the  chiefs  and  nobles  are  further  distinguished 
by  badges  such  as  the  white  shell  worn  on  the  hand  by  the  aristocratic  families  in 
Yap,  where  combs  of  orange-wood  and  ebony  are  reserved  for  the  free  men. 

Their  food  consists  chiefly  of  the  rima  or  bread  fruit,  the  taro  {arum  csculeiifHin), 
the  sweet  jjotato  introduced  from  the  Philippines,  iish  and  other  marine  fauna. 
They  cultivate  no  rice,  which  the  j^lantcrs  are  said  to  have  vainly  attempted  to 
introduce  into  the  archipelago.  The  dwellings,  in  general  much  smaller  and  far  less 
commodious  than  those  of  Melanesia  and  Papuasia,  are  in  many  places  mere  roofs 
of  foliage  resting  on  the  ground  and  entered  on  all  fours  through  openings  afc 
both  ends.  But  every  village  possesses  one  spacious  and  more  carefully  con- 
structed building,  which  serves  at  once  as  a  boat-house,  a  hostelry  for  strangers,  a 
refuge  during  rainy  weather,  and  a  playroom  for  the  children.     Although  they 


THE  CAEOLES'ES 


285 


purchase  hatcliets,  saws,  and  knives  from  tlie  traders,  tlie  people  Lave  scarcely 
yet  outlived  the  stone  age,  most  of  their  implements  still  consisting  of  shells,  fish- 
bones and  the  like. 

In  the  eastern  islands  the  American  missionaries,  vrho  arrived  in  18-19,  have- 


Fig.  i2o. — Yat. 

Sc-Ue  1  :  350,000. 


Essb  on  G 


Submarine  Reefs. 


converted  some  thousands  of  the  natives  ;  hut  hundreds  have  returned  to  their 
ancestral  practices,  while  in  the  western  groups  the  prevailing  religion  is  still 
animism  associated  with  the  worship  of  trees,  of  mountains,  of  everything  that 
lives  and  moves,  the  fear  of  the  spirits  of  air,  and  homage  paid  to  their  forefathers. 


286  AUSTEALASIA. 

Mucli  veneration  is  shown  for  the  dead  and  for  those  animals,  such  as  lizards  and 
eels,  into  whose  bodies  they  are  supposed  to  have  migrated.  The  Polynesians  of 
Nukunor  and  Satoan  are  the  only  natives  who  have  carved  wooden  idols  before 
which  they  prostrate  themselves  in  solemn  adoration.  But  the  religious  rites  vary 
greatly  in  the  different  islands,  and  in  respect  of  customs  and  institutions  the 
Caroline  tribes  are  broken  into  endless  fragments.  Even  some  of  the  smaller 
islands  are  divided  into  "  several  kingdoms  "  incessantly  at  war,  or  else  maintaining 
an  "  armed  peace."  Most  of  the  chiefs  succeed  by  hereditary  right,  while  others 
are  elected  by  their  peers.  They  are  usually  regarded  as  owners  of  the  common 
territory,  and  most  of  the  produce  is  their  property. 

Although  since  Eurojiean  skijajjers  have  monopolised  the  trade  of  the  Pacific 
islands,  they  have  ceased  to  make  distant  voyages  in  their  famous  outriggers,  the 
natives  of  the  Carolines  are  still  daring  navigators,  for  whom  the  deep  has  no 
terrors.  Their  pilots  are  able  to  navigate  the  high  seas  guided  only  by  the  stars 
and  the  direction  of  the  waves.  Formerly  they  maintained  schools  of  navigation 
and  astronomy,  where  the  young  of  both  sexes  were,  taught  the  relative  position  of 
the  constellations,  the  hours  of  the  rise,  azimuth,  and  setting  of  the  stars,  the 
revolutions  of  the  planets,  the  course  of  winds  and  currents,  the  divisions  of  the 
circle,  the  direction  of  remote  archipelagoes  from  the  Philippines  in  the  west  to 
Hawaii  in  the  east.  The  horizon  was  divided  into  twelve,  and  even  twenty-eight 
and  thirty-two  arcs  of  a  circle,  and  in  some  atolls  there  were  sj)ecial  names  for 
thirty-three  stars  or  stellar  groups  by  which  they-  were  guided  on  the  boundless 
ocean.  They  visited  the  Marianas,  over  250  miles  distant,  without  any  intermediate 
station  and  even  against  cross  currents.  The  pilots  of  the  Caroline  and  Marshall 
groups  possess  the  so-called  nieclos,  a  sort  of  chart  ingeniously  constructed  with 
shells  or  pebbles  to  represent  islands,  and  bits  of  stick  for  the  equator,  the  meridian, 
the  route  to  follow,  the  degrees  or  periods  of  navigation  and  the  cross  currents. 
They  understand  the  compass  almost  at  a  glance,  and  soon  learn  to  make  long 
voyages  by  the  magnetic  needle. 

Tajj  (Vap,  Giiap),  the  large  island  lying  nearest  to  the  Philippines,  is  the  most 
Europeanised  in  the  archipelago.  The  centre  of  government  for  the  Western 
Carolines  and  Pelew  group  is  stationed  at  Tamil,  near  the  chief  roadstead ;  here 
also  are  settled  the  foreign  traders,  mostly  Germans,  who  export  copra  and 
beche-de-mer.  The  natives,  formerly  much  given  to  trade,  have  lost  nearly  all 
their  traffic,  and  profit  little  by  the  movement  of  exchanges.  For  currency  they 
still  use  shells  and  other  objects  pierced  with  holes  and  strung  together,  like  the 
Chinese  coins. 

Ponape,  largest  and  formerly  most  populous  of  the  Carolines,  is  likely  to 
acquire  great  importance  as  a  re- victualling  station  for  shipping ;  several  ports 
accessible  through  passages  piercing  the  reefs  are  sheltered  by  the  encircling 
barrier,  and  the  foreign  traders  have  already  extensive  plantations  on  the  island. 
On  the  coralline  clifEs  near  the  east  side  are  seen  the  remains  of  prehistoric  struc- 
tures consisting  of  thick  walls  which  are  built  of  huge  basalt  columns  placed 
horizontally,  and  measuring  from  26  to  36  feet  in  length.    The  natives  have  no  tradi- 


THE  CAEOLINES. 


287 


tions  associated  with  these  ruins,  several  of  which  are  partly  submerged,  the  land 
having  subsided  since  the  time  of  their  erection. 

But  the  chief  edifices  raised  by  the  former  inhabitants  of  the  Carolines  are 
those  found  in  Ualan  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  archipelago,  and  especially  in 
the  adjacent  islet  of  Lele.  Here  some  of  the  walls,  20  feet  high  and  over  12  broad, 
are  formed  of  enormous  basalt  blocks  brought  from  great  distances.     Several  of 

Fig.  1-2S.— PONAPE. 
Scale  1  :  100,0130. 


Submarine  EeefB. 


the  ruins,  now  overgrown  with  vegetation,  appear  to  rise  above  the   reefs  like 
verdant  islets. 

Ualan  is  the  central  station  of  the  American  missionaries,  whose  posts  are 
scattered  over  the  surrounding  groups.  Although  Catholicism  is  the  only  Christian 
cult  permitted  by  the  colonial  administration,  the  Spanish  Government  has  been 
compelled  by  a  revolt  of  the  natives  to  recognise  the  accomplished  fact  and  to 
leave  these  converts  the  fi'ee  exercise  of  their  Protestant  relic-ion. 


288  AUSTRALASIA. 

lY. — Eastern  Micronesia  :    Marshall,  Gilbert,  and  Ellice  Archipelagoes. 

These  gi'Ouj)S,  which  stretch  east  of  the  Carolines  about  2,-500  miles  trans- 
A'ersolj^  to  the  equator,  all  belong  to  the  same  geological  formation,  and  are  all 
disijosed  in  the  same  direction.  From  the  geograiihical  standpoint  they  should  be 
studied  together,  although  inhabited  by  different  ethnical  populations.  The  Ellice 
and  part  of  the  Gilbert  Islands  are  in  this  respect  Polynesian  lands,  while  the 
more  important  Marshall  groujj  belongs  to  Micronesia. 

I'olitically  also  thej-  form  different  areas,  being  already  distributed  ofEcially 
amongst  two  European  powers.  The  Marshalls,  whose  trade  is  monopolised  by 
Hamburg  merchants,  form  part  of  the  German  colonial  empire,  whereas  in  1886 
the  Gilbert  and  Ellice  Archipelagoes  were  declared  to  lie  within  the  sphere  of 
British  interests.  But  were  priority  of  discovery  to  confer  any  right  of  possession, 
all  shoiild  certainly  be  assigned  to  Spain.  The  San  Bartolomeo  sighted  by  Loyasa 
in  1525  was  probably  one  of  the  Marshalls ;  but  in  any  case  the  "  Jardines,"  so 
named  by  Alvaro  de  Saavedra  in  1529,  certainly  belonged  to  this  group,  as  did 
also  the  Pescadores  visited  by  other  navigators  during  tke  sixteenth  century.  In 
1567  Mendana  de  Neyra  also  sailed  through  the  southern  Ellice  group.  None  of 
these  islands,  however,  were  exactly  determined  before  the  systematic  exploration 
of  the  Pacific  two  centuries  later. 

In  1767  Wallis  firsPsurveyed  two  members  of  the  Pescadores  ;  then  Marshall 
and  Gilbert,  returning  from  Port  Jackson  in  1788,  traversed  these  regions  of 
Eastern  Micronesia,  and  studied  in  detail  the  position  and  form  of  tlie  groups 
henceforth  known  by  their  names.  Other  designations,  however,  have  also  been 
given  them,  and  the  Gilbert,  for  instance,  have  been  called  the  Kingsmill  and  the 
Line  Islands.  Marshall  and  Gilbert  were  followed  by  other  English  navigators, 
and  then  at  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  Kotzebue  and  Chamisso  made  their 
memorable  expedition  through  the  Micronesian  atolls  on  board  the  Russian  vessel, 
the  Iturik.  In  1823  Duperrey  also  visited  two  important  members  of  the  Marshall 
group,  and  since  then  interesting  memoirs  have  been  jjublished  by  traders  and 
missionaries  long  resident  in  various  parts  of  these  archipelagoes,  whose  collective 
area  may  now  be  estimated  at  about  350  square  miles,  with  a  total  population  of 
fifty-five  thousand. 

Nearly  all  the  islands  in  the  three  archipelagoes,  which  rest  on  a  common 
marine  bed  less  than  900  fathoms  deep,  are  disjwsed  in  the  direction  from  north- 
west to  south-east.  A  moderate  ui^heaval  of  this  bed  would  unite  them  all  with 
the  Samoan  Archipelago  in  a  long  narrow  stretch  of  dry  land.  "With  the  excep- 
tion of  three  or  four  islands  probably  upheaved  by  igneous  action,  all  the  Marshall, 
Gilbert,  and  Ellice  groups  are  of  low  coralline  formation,  rising  little  more  than 
five  or  six  feet  above  sea-level,  except  where  shifting  dunes  have  been  formed  by 
the  winds. 

Some  of  these  coral  islands  have  been  united  by  the  marine  alluvia  in  conti- 
nuous lands  without  break  or  lagoons.  But  most  of  them  are  atollts  with  an  outer 
circuit  of  islets  and  reefs,  and  a  central  lagoon  offering  shelter  to  boats,  and  some- 


1 


EASTERN   MiCEONESIA. 


289 


times  even  to  large  vessels.  From  the  peculiar  cliaracter  of  this  formation  the 
EUice  group  has  even  been  called  the  "  Lagoon  Islands,"  and  is  habitually  so 
named  by  the  missionaries.  Seen  from  a  distance  all  generally  present  much  the 
same  aspect :  below,  the  white  zone  of  breakers  ;  above,  a  fringe  of  green  foliage. 
In  all  these  low-lying  clusters  the  highest  land  is  an  eminence  in  Pleasant  Island, 
one  of  the  Gilberts,  which  is  scarcely  230  feet  high. 

Most  of  the  Marshal'  and  Gilbert  atolls  are  remarkable  for  their  eccentric  forms. 

Fig.  127. — Aehno. 
Scale  1  :  275,000. 


Eas'tor  breenwicW 


Depths. 


Very  few  are  circular,  a  fixct  doubtless  due  to  the  irregularity  of  the  igneous  founda- 
tions on  which  the  coral-builders  have  raised  their  structures.  Triangles  and 
trapezes  prevail  in  the  Marshalls,  where  Arhno  resembles  a  bull's  head  and  horns, 
while  others  are  suggestive  of  such  curious  objects  as  shuttles,  stirrups,  or  harps. 
Nearly  all  the  atolls  have  continuous  fringing  reefs  on  the  east  side  alone,  the 
west  side  being  traced  only  by  a  line  of  white  surf.  The  reason  of  the  contrast  is 
not  difficult  to  understand.      On  the  west  face  the   slow  and  sluggish  waves  roll 

VOL.   XIV.  u 


290 


AUSTIL\J.ASIA. 


over  the  reefs  without  destroying  them,  whereas  ou  the  east  the  far  more  furious 
breakers  displace  and  heap  up  huge  fragments,  which  are  gradually  bound  together 
in  a  compact  mass  by  the  shells  and  sands.  The  seeds  of  plants  drifting  with  the 
current  strike  root  on  the  ground  thvis  prepared :  shrubs  spring  up  and  in  course 
of  time  the  reefs  are  covered  with  dense  forest.     Of  all  these  wooded  atolls  Maraki 


Fig-.  128. — Maeshall  Aechipelago. 
Scale  1  :  8,fi5O.0OO. 


r^ 


2,000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


in  the  Gilbert  group  is  the  most  picturesque.  Seen  from  the  mast-head  it  looks 
like  a  green  garland  floating  on  the  blue  waters  ;  here  also  nearly  all  the  islets 
have  become  united  in  a  single  unbroken  ring. 

The  climate  of  the  Marshalls  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  in  the  oceanic  world. 
Here  the  normal  tropical  heats  are  tempered  by  the  north-east  winds  which  pre- 
vail rrgu'arly  from  November  to  February,  and  which  at  other  times  are  replaced 


EASTERN  MICEOXESIA.  291 

by  breezes  from  the  east  and  south-east,  or  else  internipted  by  calms.  Storms  are 
to  be  dreaded  chiefly  in  October  and  November.  Being  also  further  removed 
from  the  continents  than  the  Marianas  and  Carolines,  the  Marshall  group  eujoys  a 
more  oceanic  climate. 

At  the  same  time  its  flora  and  fauna  are  much  poorer,  although  still  compara- 
ti\ely  rich  for  lands  of  coralline  origin.  To  the  fifty-nine  species  of  plants  found 
in  the  archipelago  by  Chamisso  subsequent  explorers  have  scarcely  added  any  new 
forms;  one  alone  seems  jDeculiar  to  the  Marshal'ls.  The  most  useful  plant  is  the  2)an- 
danus  odonitmhnu^,  of  which  there  are  some  twenty  varieties,  and  from  which  the  na- 
tives derive  their  chief  nourishment.  Both  the  pandahus  and  the  bread-fruit  tree 
grow  to  greater  perfection  here  than  in  any  other  oceanic  region.  There  are  also 
several  distinct  varieties  of  the  cocoa-nut  palm  ;  but  this  plant  is  less  used  for  food 
since  the  development  of  the  export  trade  in  copra  and  cocoa-nut  oil. 

There  are  no  indigenous  mammals  or  birds  ;  but  the  goats,  jjigs,  and  cats  intro- 
duced from  Em-ope  have  multijjlied  rapidly,  and  the  domestic  poultry  have  reverted 
to  the  wild  state. 

The  indigenous  populations  become  gradually  modified  in  the  direction  from 
north  to  south.  Thus  the  natives  of  the  Marshalls  resemble  those  of  the  Carolines, 
and  like  them  belong  to  the  Micron'esian  group,  whereas  the  people  of  Ellice  are 
of  nearly  pure  Polynesian  stock,  Kke  those  of  the  eastern  archipelagoes.  Between 
these  extremes  stand  the  Gilbert  islanders,  of  mixed  descent  but  fimdamentally 
]Micronesians.  They  are  the  finest  race  in  this  oceanic  region,  tall,  sometimes 
even  gigantic,  often  with  quite  European  features,  and  occasionally  acquiring  a 
somewhat  Jewish  cast  from  their  slightly  aquiline  nose.  Except  in  the  remoter 
islands  not  yet  vjsited  by  the  missionaries  the  old  dress — a  loin-cloth  and  fringes 
— as  well  as  the  practice  of  tattooing  have  been  abolished,  and  the  few  ornaments 
now  worn  are  flowers  or  foliage  inserted  in  the  pierced  lobe  of  the  ear,  bird's 
feathers  and  necklaces. 

In  1817,  when  Chamisso  explored  the  Marshall  group,  the  natives,  still  free 
from  the  influence  of  traders  and  missionaries,  seemed  to  be  possessed  of  high 
qualities,  intelligence  and  enterprise.  Everywhere  was  presented  a  picture  of 
IJcace,  love  of  work,  and  domestic  harmony,  combined  with  a  strong  sense  of 
equality,  even  in  the  presence  of  the  chiefs.  Yet  these  pojiulations,  which  seemed 
to  give  promise  of  a  prosperous  future,  are  preciselj'  amongst  those  that  have  most 
rapidly  declined.  The  young  are  carried  off  by  consumption ;  all  initiative  is 
killed  by  the  introduction  of  European  wares ;  there  is  no  longer  any  necessity 
for  exercising  the  faculty  of  thought,  and  listlessncss  takes  the  place  of  an  active 
life.  In  some  of  the  islands  not  a  single  article  of  native  manufacture  is  now  to  be 
found,  and  here  the  villages  resemble  the  wretched  suburbs  of  some  American 
city. 

Traditions  still  survive  of  former  cannibal  i^ractices,  at  least  in  some  of  the 
groups.  Other  sanguinary  rites  also  prevailed,  as  in  the  Ratak  Isles,  where  the 
mother  was  allowed  to  keep  her  three  first  children ;  if  a  fourth  was  born  she  had 
to   bury   it   with    her    own    hands.      But  much  tenderness  was  shown  for  the 


292  AUSTEALASIA, 

survivors,  who,  in  case  of  the  mother's  death,  were  at  once  adopted  into  other 
families.  In  general  the  wife  was  much,  respected,  the  men  performing  all  the 
hard  manual  labour,  and  leaving  to  the  women  notliing  hut  the  preparation  of 
food  and  the  weaving  of  sails  and  matting. 

Their  religion  was  little  more  than  a  kind  of  spirit-worship,  and  the  temples 
were  merely  a  square  space  between  four  stones,  or  under  the  shade  of  a  rock  or 
some  high  tree.  The  influence  of  the  priests  was  but  slight  compared  to  that  of 
the  chiefs,  most  of  whom  enjoyed  absolute  power.  Hager  speaks  of  a  ruler  who, 
having  learnt  the  alphabet,  beheaded  all  those  whose  progress  was  more  rapid  than 
his  own.  The  social  hierarchy  is  clearly  defined.  Under  the  iroiij,  or  royal  class, 
from  whom  are  selected  the  kings  in  the  female  line,  come  the  nobles,  the  land- 
owners, and  last  of  all  the  j)oor,  who  may  be  deprived  of  the  land  they  cultivate 
without  compensation,  and  who  are  restricted  to  one  wife.  Amongst  this  proleta- 
riate class  were  till  recently  recruited  the  labourers  for  the  plantations  in  Samoa. 
But  in  the  Marshall  archipelago  the  population  has  so  greatly  fallen  off  that 
scarcely  sufficient  hands  now  remain  for  the  cultivation, of  their  own  palm- groves. 
Even  in  the  barren  and  relatively  more  populous  Gilbert  group  the  supply  of 
living  freights  has  been  nearly  exhausted. 

Since  1864  European  traders  have  been  settled  in  the  Marshall  Islands. 
Although  mostly  representing  German  houses,  they  have  to  compete  with  the 
missionaries,  as  well  as  with  English,  American,  Hawaiian,  New  Zealand,  and 
even  Chinese  dealers.  In  order  to  secure  their  commercial  preponderance  against 
these  rivals,  they  induced  the  German  government  to  extend  its  "protection"  to 
the  archipelago  in  1885.  To  this  protectorate  were  added  the  two  little  groups 
of  the  Brown  (Eniwetok)  and  Providence  Islets,  which,  according  to  the  conven- 
tion with  Spain,  should  rather  have  been  included  in  the  zone  of  the  Caroline 
Islands. 

Jalitit  has  become  the  administrative  centre  of  the  German  possessions,  as  it 
had  already  been  the  commercial  centre  of  the  Carolines,  the  Gilbert  and  all  other 
groups  in  these  waters.  Plantations  and  factories  have  also  been  established  in 
Milli,  Namorek,  Arhno,  Majuro,  Likieb,  Ebon,  and  elsewhere.  The  religious 
stations  are  chiefly  under  the  direction  of  Hawaiian  missionaries,  who  are  much 
disliked  by  the  traders.  Conflicting  interests  have  given  rise  to  dissensions, 
which  have  in  aU  cases  been  settled  by  the  protecting  power  in  favour  of  the 
Jaluit  dealers. 

North  of  the  Marshalls  are  scattered  a  few  clusters,  which  should  be  regarded 
as  belonging,  if  not  to  the  same  groups,  at  least  to  the  same  geographical  zone. 
Such  amongst  others  is  Cornwallis  or  Gaspar  Rico.  The  islets  and  reefs  following 
in  the  direction  of  Japan  are  separated  by  abysmal  depths  from  the  subiuuriue 
bank  above  which  rise  the  Marshall  atolls. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a  table  of  all  these  archipelagoes,  with  their 
respective  areas  and  populations. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


NEW  GUINEA  AND  ADJACENT  ISLANDS. 


(Papuasia/ 


^  HIS  vast  region  owes  the  appellation  of  New  Guinea,  conferred  on  it 
by  the  Spanish  explorer,  Ifiigo  Ortiz  de  Retis,  in  1545,  to  the 
resemblance  observed  by  him  between  its  inhabitants  and  those  of 
Guinea  on  the  West  African  seaboard.  Next  to  Australia  it  is 
the  largest  continental  mass  in  the  Pacific,  and  exceeds  even  Borneo 
in  extent.  From  the  north-west  to  the  south-east  extremity  the  distance  in  a 
straight  line  is  nearly  1,500  miles,  exclusive  of  the  groups  and  chains  of  islands 
by  which  the  mainland  is  continued  in  both  directions.  At  the  broadest  part  it  is 
over  400  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  the  total  area  is  estimated  at  314,000 
square  miles,  or  326,000  including  the  Aru  Islands  and  other  adjacent  groups" 
scattered  like  fragments  round  a  shattered  continent. 

New  Guinea,  which  is  thus  half  as  large  again  as  France,  seems  destined  to 
take  an  important  part  in  the  future  evolution  of  the  oceanic  lands,  for  it  is  abun- 
dantly watered  and  rich  in  various  natural  resources.  Hitherto,  however,  it  has 
remained  almost  entirely  excluded  from  civilising  influences.  The  fringing  reefs, 
marshy  coastlands,  dense  forests,  and  even  its  very  vastness  have  protected  it  from 
white  intruders,  while  the  scattered  indigenous  populations,  divided  into  endless 
hostile  tribes,  have  nowhere  merged  in  a  compact  nationality. 


Progress  of  Discovery. 

But  although  still  unexplored  to  any  great  extent,  Papuasia  has  already  been 
partitioned  amongst  three  European  powers.  Holland,  which  had  laid  claim  to  the 
whole  island  for  over  half  a  century,  is  henceforth  recognised  as  mistress  of  the 
western  section  as  far  as  14P  east  longitude,  while  the  rest  of  the  territory  has 
been  divided  between  England  and  Germany  by  the  treaty  of  1885.  To  England 
is  assigned  the  south-eastern  slope,  facing  Torres  Strait ;  to  Germany  the  northern 
seaboard  washed  by  the  Pacific. 

The  honour  of  having  discovered  New  Gxiinea  belongs  to  none  of  its  present 
political  rulers.     A  letter  addressed  bv  the  Florentine  Corsali  in  1515  to  Julian  doi 


294 


AUSTRALASIA. 


Medici  mentions  the  existence  of  a  very  extensive  region  stretching  east  of  the 
Moluccas,  and  the  reference  was  probably  to  Papuasia.  But  most  historians 
attribute  its  actual  discovery,  or  at  least  that  of  some  of  its  contiguous  islands,  to 
the  Portuguese  Jorge  de  Menezes.  The  "  good  haven  of  Versiya,"  where  this 
navigator  wintered  in  1526-27,  was  perhaps  the  present  Warsai,  near  the  north- 
west extremity  of  the  mainland.  But,  however  this  be,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to 
the  direction  followed  by  Menezes's  immediate  successor,  the  Spaniard  Alvaro  de 
Saavedra.  In  1528  this  explorer  cast  anchor  near  an  "  island  of  gold,"  which  seems 
to  be  one  of  those  situated  in  Geelvink  Bay,  and  the  following  year  he  coasted  a 
land  south  of  the  equator,  which  extended  south-eastwards  across  several  degrees 
of  longitude,  and  which  was  certainly  the  New  Guinea  seaboard.  Sixteen  years 
later  Retis  gave  this  region  the  name  it  now  bears,  and  took  j^ossession  of  it  for 

Fig.  129. — Chief  Exploeations  on  the  Coasts  and  in  the  Interioe  of  New  Guinea. 
Scale  1  :  24,000,000. 


h?jsb  oF  Green 


the  Spanish  crown.  At  that  time,  however,  it  was  still  uncertain  whether  it  was 
an  island  or  a  part  of  the  Australasian  mainland.  Doubtless  some  charts  dating 
from  the  sixteenth  century  already  represent  Papuasia  as  an  island  ;  but  on  others, 
notably  that  of  Valentijn,  prepared  in  the  eighteenth  century,  it  still  figures  as  a 
part  of  Australia. 

Yet  its  insular  character  had  already  been  practically  demonstrated  in  1G06  by 
the  Spanish  pilot,  Torres,  who  had  penetrated  into  the  dangerous  strait  named 
from  him,  and  who  had  at  the  same  time  surveyed  the  south  coast  of  New  Guinea. 
But  this  discovery,  carefully  concealed  as  a  state  secret  in  the  archives  of  Manilla, 
had  at  last  been  forgotten  by  the  Spaniards  themselves.  It  was  again  brought  to 
light,  however,  by  Dalrymplc  during  the  temporary  occupation  of  Manilla  by  the 
Engli.sh  in  17(i2 ;  and  in  1770,  Cook,  resuming  the  itinerary  of  the  Spanish  navi- 
gator, traversed  the  strait  which  he  supposed  he  was  the  first  to  visit.     Henceforth 


NKW  GUINEA.  295 

the  great  island  assumed  on  the  charts  a  form  somewhat  approaching-  its  real  outlines. 

.mm  jr 


During  the  interval,  various  parts  of  the  seaboard  had  been  coasted  by  other 


296  AUSTRALASIA. 

mariners,  such  as  William  Jansz,  who,  in  IGOO,  reached  Ihe  Aru  Archipelago  and 
the  south-west  side  of  New  Guinea.  Ten  years  later,  Le  Mairc  and  Schoutcn 
discovered  the  Schoutcn  Islands,  north  of  Geelvink  Bay,  and  in  1G23  Carstensz 
advanced  as  far  as  Valsche  Kaap  at  the  extremity  of  the  island  of  Frederik 
Hendrik.  Other  seafarers,  amongst  whom  Tasraan,  also  visited  the  north  and 
south  coasts :  yet,  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Papuasia  was  still  so 
little  known  that  its  western  end  was  quite  wrongly  described  by  Rumphius,  who 
even  extends  it  to  the  north  of  the  equator. 

Attention  was  again  attracted  to  the  great  island  by  the  fear  that  the  English 
might  succeed  in  founding  settlements  on  the  seaboard  and  deprive  the  Dutch 
Company  of  their  monopoly  of  the  spice  trade.  Dampier  had,  in  fact,  already 
coasted  the  north  side,  and  determined  the  independent  insular  character  of  the 
New  Britain  and  New  Ireland  Archipelagoes.  Hence  Wijland  was  despatched  to 
the  same  waters,  and  the  northern  seaboard  was  traced  to  its  eastern  extremity, 
and  even  beyond  it  to  the  Massim  or  Louisiade  Archipelago,  which  was  at  that 
time  supposed  to  form  part  of  the  mainland.  Yet  old  Spanish  charts  studied  by 
E.  T.  Ilamy  and  carefully  compared  with  the  Dutch  documents,  show  that  Torres 
and  his  precursors  in  the  sixteenth  ccnturj^  had  already  determined,  in  a  general 
way,  the  form  of  the  eastern  section  of  New  Guinea. 

The  era  of  modern  exploration  in  these  regions  begins  with  Cook's  expedition. 
Before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Forrest,  MacCluer,  and  d'Entrecas- 
teaux  si;/veyed  long  stretches  of  the  seaboard.  But  the  Napoleonic  wars  inter- 
rupted these  peaceful  operations,  which  were  not  resumed  till  the  general  pacifica- 
tion. Duperrey,  Dumont  d'Urville,  and  Belcher  were  amongst  the  first  navigators 
who  then  found  their  way  to  the  New  Guinea  waters.  Kolff  sailed  through  the 
strait  between  the  island  of  Frederik  Hendrik  supposing  it  to  be  a  river,  and  in 
1828,  this  explorer  founded  on  Triton  Bay,  over  against  the  Aru  Archipelago,  the 
first  military  station  occupied  by  Europeans  on  the  Papuan  seaboard.  Fort  Bus, 
afterwards  abandoned  owing  to  the  insalubrity  of  the  district,  was  thus  the  com- 
mencement of  the  work  of  annexation,  which  has  since  been  prosecuted  slowly  but 
irresistibly.  In  the  same  year,  1828,  the  Dutch  Government  officially  announced 
the  formal  possession  of  the  great  island  as  far  as  141°  east  longitude,  substituting 
throughout  that  region  the  sovereignty  of  Holland  for  that  of  her  vassal,  the 
sultan  of  Tidor. 

Meanwhile  the  greater  part  of  the  interior  remains  still  imexplored.  Learned 
naturalists,  such  as  Jukes,  Wallace,  Cerruti,  Beccari,  d'Albertis,  Bernstein,  Meyer, 
Raffray,  and  Forbes,  have  already  penetrated  at  different  points  considerable  dis- 
tances inland.  But  despite  these  isolated  efforts,  the  physical  features  of  the  land, 
with  its  popidations,  products,  and  natural  resources,  still  remain  almost  less 
known  than  those  of  any  other  region  of  the  globe.  Long  journeys  are  rendered 
extremely  difficult,  and  often  impossible  bj^  the  malarious  climate  of  the  coastlands, 
ihe  total  absence  of  stations  on  the  breezy  plateaux  of  the  interior,  and  the  often 
too  well  grounded  hostility  of  the  natives,  who  justly  distrust  the  white  strangers 
coming  with  a  revolver  in  one  hand  and  a  bottle  of  brandy  in  the  other.     To  complete 


PHYSICAL  FEATUEES  OF  NEW  GUINEA.  297 

tic  work  of  disco  vciT  without  friction,  explorers  are  needed,  such  as  Mikhikho  !^^ak- 
lay,  whose  rule  of  conduct  was  to  be  ever  discreet,  forbearing,  truthful  in  his  dealings 
with  the  aborigines,  and  who,  in  the  midst  of  imminent  perils,  alwaj's  remained 
faithful  to  his  resolutions.  But  such  heroes  are  rare,  and  there  are  few  who  have 
"  demonstrated  by  experience  that  in  every  part  of  the  world  man  is  still  human, 
that  is  to  say,  a  sociable  being,  possessed  of  good  qualities,  with  whom  it  is  right 
and  possible  to  enter  into  relations  on  a  footing  of  mutual  justice  and  kindness." 
— {Letter  of  Tolstoi  to  Miklukho  Mahlay.) 

Physical  Features  of  New  Guixea. 

New  Guinea  has  nothing  of  the  massive,  form  characterising  the  Australian 
continent,  which  it  separates  from  the  equatorial  waters.  It  has  been  compared 
to  a  gigantic  bird  whose  head  is  represented  by  the  north-west  peninsula,  the  neck 
b}-  the  narrow  isthmus  between  Geelvink  Bay  and  Etna  Bay,  the  tail  by  the 
south-eastern  prolongation  fringed  by  numerous  little  parallel  peninsulas  resem- 
bling the  plumage.  The  surrounding  waters  are  so  shallow  on  the  south  side  that 
a  sudden  subsidence  of  some  fifty  fathoms  would  suffice  to  connect  Papuasia  with 
Australia ;  while  the  Louisiade  Archipelago  would  form  a  continuation  of  the 
mainland  towards  the  south-east.  But  in  other  directions  its  shores  are  encircled 
by  profound  chasms  of  over  one  thousand  fathoms,  such  as  the  Nares  Trough  on 
the  north  side,  and  the  Carpenter. Trough  (1,320  fathoms)  between  the  Louisiades 
and  the  great  Barrier  Reef  of  East  Australia.  Even  the  narrow  channel  separat- 
ing New  Britain  from  the  north-east  coast  is  over  500  fathoms  deep. 

At  the  north-west  extremity  some  islands  of  considerable  size,  such  as  Mysol, 
Salwaty,  Batanta,  and  Waigiu,  indicate  the  beginning  of  the  relief  which  on  the 
mainland  rises  to  great  elevations.  The  Arfak  hills,  which  skirt  the  north  side  of 
the  Berau  Peninsula,  terminate  at  the  entrance  of  Geelvink  Bay  in  a  precipitous 
headland,  9,520  feet  high.  The  Gulf  of  Berau,  better  known  as  MacCluer  Inlet 
from  the  navigator  who  explored  it  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  penetrates 
over  120  miles  inland,  almost  completely  separating  the  north-western  peninsula 
from  the  rest  of  the  great  island.  The  two  regions  are  connected  only  by  a 
narrow  range  of  hills,  and  even  these  were  recently  supposed  hj  Strachan  to  be 
pierced  at  one  point  by  a  channel  flowing  between  Geelvink  Bay  and  Mac- 
Cluer Inlet.  But  the  naturalist,  A.  B.  Meyer,  who  had  crossed  from  sea  to  sea, 
had  already  demonstrated  the  non-existence  of  any  such  communication.  Accord- 
ing to  the  missionary  Geiseler,  who  resided,  in  1867,  in  a  village  on  the  isthinus, 
boats  may  cross  from  coast  to  coast  by  utilising  two  streams  flowing  in  opposite 
directions  between  the  rocky  water-parting,  which  is,  at  one  point,  only  "a  quarter 
of  a  mile  "  broad.  It  is  uncertain,  however,  whether  the  "  mile  "  in  question  is 
German  or  English. 

South  of  JIucCluer  Inlet  the  seaboard  is  indented  bj-  the  deep  Arguni  Bay,  a 
long,  narrow,  fjord-like  formation  winding  between  the  steep  escarpments  of  the 
surrounding:  hills.     The  Onin  Peninsula  enclosed  between  these  two  inlets  stands  at 


298 


AUSTRAT,AS1A. 


a  considerable  mean  elevation,  though  still  lower  than  the  Beraii  uplands,  with  but 
few  svimmits  exceeding  3,500  feet.  Farther  east  rise  the  superb  crests  of  Genoffo 
(4,915  feet),  at  the  entrance  of  Arguni  Bay,  and  Lamansieri  (2,450  feet),  at  the 
foot  of  which  are  the  ruins  of  Fort  Ikis. 

Beyond  this  point  the  coast-range  is  again  interrupted  by  other  inlets,  such  as 
Triton  and  Etna  bays  ;  but  farther  cast  it  merges  in  the  loftiest  mountain  range 
not  only  in  New  Guinea,  but  in  the  whole  oceanic  world.  This  system,  which  is  still 
very  imperfectly  explored,  begins  at  Cape  Burn  with  the  Lakahai  headland  (4,500 
feet),  after  which  follow  eastwai'ds  a  succession  of  crests  continually  increasing  in 
altitude  and  rising  even  above  the  snow  line,  one  of  the  glittering  peaks  having  an 
elevation  of  1G,750   feet.     These  snowy  summits,  to  which  has  been  given  the 


Fig.  131. — Mountains  of  New  Guinea. 

Scale  1  :  24,000,000. 


2,000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


name  of  Charles  Louis  in  ignorance  of  their  native  appellation,  are  probably  con- 
tinued eastwards  to  the  crests  seen  by  d'Albertis  to  the  north  of  the  Fly  Eiver 
basin,  and  are  doubtless  connected  either  by  lofty  plateaux  or  by  other  highlands 
with  the  ranges  skirting  the  north  coast.  Here  JMount  Gaiitier  or  Tabi  attains  an 
altitude  of  6,500  feet ;  Moixnt  Cyclops,  farther  east,  is  nearly  as  high,  while  the 
system  terminates  opposite  New  Britain  in  the  mountains,  11,500  feet  high,  to 
which  the  French  navigators  have  given  the  name  of  Finisterre.  The  last  head- 
lands present  in  many  places  the  aspect  of  regular  fortifications,  the  step-like 
ramparts  being  formed  of  old  coral  beaches  successively  upheaved  at  various 
geological  epochs.  Earthquakes  are  of  most  frequent  occurrence  in  this  region  of 
the  mainland,  which  lies  nearest  to  the  volcanoes  of  Melanesia. 

The  orography  of  tlie  south-eastern  peninsula  has  been  more  extensively  eur- 


rrTTSIC.\L  FEATUEES  OP  NEW  GITINEA. 


299 


\oytcl,  thanks  partly  to  the  proximity  of  Australia,  and  partly  to  the  more  con- 
tracted form  of  this  region,  rendering  it  accessible  to  explorers  penetrating  inland 
from  both  coasts.  Here  the  highlands  lying  within  the  territory  annexed  to  the 
British  colonial  possessions  have  received  English  names.  The  north-west  chain, 
under  the  same  meridian  as  the  Finisterrc  highlands,  begins  with  the  Albert 
range,  followed  south-eastwards  by  Mounts  Yule  (10,000  feet)  and  Owen  Stanley 
(1 0,200  feet).  This  twin-crested  mountain,  which  dominates  the  whole  peninsidar 
system,  was  first  ascended  in  1888  by  the  Australian  explorer,  Martin. 

Eastwards,  the  range  gradually  diminishes  in  height,  and  then  branches  off 


Kg.  132. — JMacClxter  Inlet  A^•D  0^^N  Pexinsula. 
Scale  1  :  4,000,0110. 


.  _^ 


Easb  oF.br-eenw.ch 


80  Feet  and 
upwards. 


into  two  ridges  forming  the  extreme  south-eastern  fork  of  New  Guinea,  and  reap- 
pearing at  intervals  in  the  Moresby  and  Massim  (Louisiade)  archipelagoes.  The 
channel  here  separating  the  mainland  from  ITayter  and  the  other  eastern  islands 
has  received  from  Moresby  the  name  of  China  Strait,  because  it  offers  a  direct 
route  for  vessels  plying  between  Aiistralia  and  China.  The  shores  of  this  channel 
present  some  of  the  most  enchanting  scenery  in  the  whole  of  Melanesia.  Owen 
Stanley  was  the  first  to  determine,  in  1848,  the  completely  insular  character  of  the 
eastern  archipelago. 

East  of  the  China  Strait,  the  south-east  extremitj^  of  New  Guinea  is  continued 


800  AUSTRALASIA. 

seawards  by  a  chain  of  reefs  and  islets  which  terminate  300  miles  farther  on 
in  the  Louisiade  groiip.  All  these  lands  are  disposed  from  west-north-west 
to  east-south-east  in  a  line  with  the  main  axis  of  New  Guinea  itself.  South- 
east Island,  the  largest  member  of  the  Louisiades,  is  surrounded  by  reefs  also  dis- 
posed in  the  same  direction.  In  the  north  the  Calvados  rocks  run  parallel  with 
South-east  Island  towards  Rossel  Island,  whilst  Saint- Aignan  is  similarly  disposed 
in  the  north-west. 

The  Entrecasteaux  group,  lying  north  of  the  terminal  peninsula  of  the  main- 
land, has  the  same  conformation,  and  serves  as  the  base  to  a  semicircle  of  reefs 
which  encloses  one  of  the  largest  lagoons  in  the  tropical  seas,  often  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Lusencay  Lagoon,  from  one  of  its  reefs.  Above  this  reef  rise  the 
Trobriand,  Grandiere,  and  other  clusters  of  islets,  all  of  which  lands  probably  at 
one  time  formed  part  of  the  mainland.  The  peninsula  now  terminating  at  the 
eastern  headland  of  the  Finisterre  range  no  doubt  formerly  extended  through  the 
intervening  reefs  eastwards  to  the  island  of  Muyu  or  Woodlark. 

Rivers  and  Islands  of  Neav  Guinea. 

Although  lying  so  near  the  somewhat  arid  Australian  continent.  New  Guinea 
being  situated  in  the  equatorial  zone  and  traversed  by  lofty  ranges,  which  intercept 
the  moisture-bearing  clouds  brought  by  both  monsoons,  receives  a  rainfall  sufficient 
to  feed  several  large  rivers.  Of  these  the  most  copious  appear  to  be  the  Amberno, 
or  Mamberan,  and  the  Fly.  The  former,  to  which  the  Dutch  have  also  given  the 
name  of  Rochussen,  drains  the  snowj^  Charles  Louis  range,  and  reaches  the  coast 
east  of  Geelvink  Bay,  where  it  develops  a  vast  delta  with  numerous  branches 
fringed  by  the  nipa  palm  and  casuarina.  For  a  long  distance  seawards  the  water 
is  white  or  greenish,  and  the  mouths  of  the  Amberno  are  avoided  bj^  shipping 
through  fear  of  the  surrounding  shallows. 

On  the  southern  sloj)e  the  chief  artery  is  the  Fly  river,  discovered  bj'  Black- 
wood in  1845,  and  named  after  his  vessel.  This  voluminous  stream  has  been 
visited  by  Jukes,  MacFarlane,  and  d'Albertis,  the  last  of  whom  ascended  it  for  a 
distance  of  about  500  miles  to  a  point  within  sight  of  the  lofty  highlands  where  it 
has  its  origin.  All  the  branches  of  its  delta  have  not  yet  been  explored,  and  it  is 
still  doubtful  whether  the  numerous  channels  flowing  south  of  the  Fly  exactly 
opposite  the  York  peninsula,  Australia,  are  independent  streams  or  only  branches 
of  the  delta. 

Islands  of  alluvial  formation  project  seawards  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers,  but  in 
many  places  the  coast  is  fringed  by  coral  islands,  for  the  most  part  clothed  with 
vegetation.  Jlany  of  these  being  eroded  by  the  waves  look  at  a  distance  like 
masses  of  verdure  suspended  in  mid  air.  Off  the  seaboard  are  also  several  large 
islands,  which  should  be  regarded  as  forming  part  of  the  mainland.  Such  are 
Korrido,  Biak,  and  Jobie  in  Geelvink  Bay,  and  on  the  south  side  Frederik  Ilendrik 
(Frederick  Henry),  which  is  little  more  than  an  island  in  appearance.  It  is 
separated   from   the  Klapper-Kust    ( "  Cocoa-n\it    Coast " )   merely  by  a  narrow 


CLIMATE  OF  NEW  GUINEA.  801 

winding  canal,  wliich  unglit  easily  be  blocked,  by  a  snag  or  a  sandbank.  Several 
islets,  especially  in  Torres  Strait,  are  disposed  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  natural 
harbours,  a  fortunate  provision  for  shipping  in  the  vicinity  of  a  rock-bound  coast 
with  but  few  inlets,  and  for  hundreds  of  miles  destitute  of  a  single  sheltering 
creek. 

According  to  Wallace  the  Aru  Archipelago  must  also  be  considered,  like 
Fredeiik  Ilendrik,  as  a  part  of  New  Guinea,  separated  from  the  mainland  only  by 
shallow  waters.  The  river-like  channels  by  which  it  is  intersected  and  disposed 
in  regular  blocks  like  the  quarters  of  a  city  seem  to  indicate  that  this  archipelago 
was  formerly  a  marshy  plain,  whose  channels  represent  the  branches  of  the  rivers 
by  which  it  was  traversed  before  its  separation  from  the  mainland  by  a  slight  sub- 
sidence of  about  300  feet.  "  When  the  intervening  land  sank  down  we  must 
suppose  the  land  that  now  constitutes  Aru  to  have  remained  nearly  stationary, 
a  not  very  improbable  supposition,  when  we  consider  the  great  extent  of  the 
shallow  sea,  and  the  very  small  amount  of  depression  the  land  need  have  undergone 
to  produce  it."  * 

Climate — Flora — Fauna. 

Tlianks  to  its  geographical  position,  under  the  same  mean  latitude  as  Sumatra, 
Papuasia  is  essentially  a  hot  and  moist  region,  without  great  oscillations  of  tempera- 
ture, without  excessively  prolonged  rains  or  droughts.  This  region  has  neither 
the  cold  nor  the  sultry  heats  of  Australia,  and  observers  have  recorded  no  tcmpera- 
tui-cs  higher  than  89°  Fahr.  or  lower  than  68°  Fahr.f 

As  in  the  eastern  archipelago,  the  alternation  of  the  seasons  is  regulated  bj' 
the  trade  winds,  which,  for  a  portion  of  the  year,  set  regularly  from  south-east 
to  north-west,  and  at  other  times  veer  round  to  different  quarters  according  to  the 
various  centres  of  attraction.  The  lofty  ranges  by  which  the  island  is  divided  into 
two  precipitous  areas  of  drainage  also  cause  a  sharp  contrast  between  the  succession 
of  the  seasons  on  either  side.  During  the  winter  of  the  northern  hemisphere, 
from  November  to  April,  when  the  vapoui's  of  the  Pacific  are  brought  by  the 
north-east  trade  wind,  the  slopes  facing  northwards  receive  an  abundant  rainfall, 
while  droughts,  varied  by  a  few  occasional  showers,  prevail  on  the  opposite  side 
turned  towards  Australia.  During  the  other  half  of  the  year  the  south-east  trades, 
which  are  always  accompanied  bj^  rains,  blow  steadily  on  the  south-east  seaboard, 
that  is,  on  all  that  part  of  the  island  which  is  not  sheltered  by  the  Australian 
continent.  West  of  Torres  Strait  this  continent  again  modifies  the  direction  of 
the  normal  currents  which  come  from  the  south-west  and  west,  and  which  also 
bring  a  considerable  quantity  of  moisture  from  the  Indian  Ocean.     During  this 

*  A.  R.  Wallace,  The  Malay  Archipelago,  chap,  xxxiii. 

t  ObservatioDs  made  by  Miklukho  Maklay  at  Hermitage  Point  (5"  23'  S.  lat ;  145°  40'  E.  long.) : — 

Highest  Temperature         ......         88°  F. 

Lowest  ,,  70°  F. 

Mean  „  80°  F. 

Rainy  Days 150 

Rainfall 94  inches. 


302  AUSTRALASIA. 

period  the  phenomena  are  reversed  on  the  northern  slojjes,  the  lofty  X)wen  Stanley 
range  completely  interceijting-  the  south-east  trade,  and  producing  calms  or 
variable  breezes  in  the  sheltered  waters  north  of  Papuasia. 

Half  Australian  in  some  of  its  aspects,  New  Guinea  presents  a  less  varied  flora 
than  Indonesia,  although  the  western  peninsula  seems  to  belong  to  the  same  zone 
as  the  Moluccas.  Here  are  found  the  nutmeg  and  other  Moluccan  plants,  while 
the  acacias  and  eucalyj)tus  of  the  eastern  regions  recall  the  neighbouring  continent 
of  Australia.  In  general  the  two  floras  may  be  said  to  overlap  each  other  in  New 
Guinea,  alternating  with  the  dryness  or  moisture  of  the  contrasting  slopes.  Where 
the  slopes  are  exposed  to  droughts  the  prevailing  forest  trees  are  the  eucalyptus 
and  other  Australian  species,  and  here  occur  vast  savannahs  of  the  so-called 
"  kangaroo  grass,"  while  the  streams  are  fringed  with  the  bread-fruit  tree,  the 
mango,  pandanus,  areca,  and  cocoa-nut  palms.  But  there  are  also  a  large  number 
of  indigenous  forms,  and  Beccari  enumerated  no  less  than  fifty  varieties  of  the 
palm  peculiar  to  the  great  island.  Amongst  the  more  valuable  local  si^ecies  is  the 
sassafras  goheianum,  the  bark  of  which  yields  the  precious  iiia^soi  oil,  so  highly 
prized  as  a  febrifuge  in  the  Malay  Archipelago. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  diversity  in  their  relief,  climates,  and  general 
physical  aspects.  New  Guinea  and  Australia  jDresent  remarkable  resemblances  in 
their  respective  faunas.  On  the  one  hand  lofty  mountains,  rain-bearing  winds, 
well-watered  valleys,  large  rivers,  vast  ever-green  woodlands ;  on  the  other, 
boundless  plains,  whore  waterless  and  stony  tracts  are  varied  by  thorny  scrub. 
Yet  the  mammalian  fauna  belongs  to  a  common  centre  of  dispersion,  a  fact  which 
can  be  explained  only  by  assuming  a  former  continuity  of  land  between  both 
regions.  The  present  Torres  Strait  by  which  they  are  now  seiDarated  is  evidently 
a  comparatively  recent  event  in  the  history  of  the  planet. 

The  animals,  however,  have  had  to  modify  their  habits  in  order  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  their  different  environments.  Thus  one  of  the  New  Guinea  kangaroos, 
formerly  a  jumper,  is  now  a  climber.  His  tail  has  become  smaller  and  covered 
with  hair,  his  paws  have  been  furnished  with  claws,  and  he  moves  from  branch  to 
branch  with  short  springs.  Instead  of  grazing  he  feeds  on  the  rich  foliage  of  the 
trees,  but  he  is  stiU  rather  awkward  at  climbing,  and  would  soon  be  exterminated 
were  the  local  forests  infested  by  rapacious  beasts. 

The  whole  mammalian  fauna  is  limited  to  a  pig,  some  bats,  mice,  and  mono- 
tremes,  with  over  thirty  species  of  the  characteristic  marsupials,  one  of  which  is  no 
bigger  than  a  rat.  The  dingo,  or  wild  dog,  which  everywhere  accompanies  the 
natives,  came  with  them  at  some  remote  age  from  foreign  lands  ;  like  the  Austra- 
lian dingo  it  never  barks,  it  lives  almost  exclusivel}'  on  fruits  and  vegetables,  and 
its  flesh  is  said  to  be  excellent. 

In  its  avifauna  New  Guinea  partakes  both  of  the  Australian  and  Malaj^sian 
regions.  In  the  north-west  peninsula  and  neighbouring  islands  alone  Wallace 
and  other  naturalists  have  enumerated  at  least  two  hundred  and  fifty  species  of 
land  birds  belonging  to  one  hundred  and  eight  genera,  of  which  sixty-four  are 
peculiar  to  the  zone  of  Papuasia,  the  ^Moluccas,  and   North  Australia.     Some  of 


FAUNA  OF  NEW  GUINEA.  303 

these  are  remarkable  for  their  beauty,  original  forms,  and  brilliant  colours.  Such 
are  the  (joura  coronata,  loveliest  of  the  pigeon  family  ;  the  large  black  cockatoo 
and  the  nasiterna,  the  "giant  and  dwarf"  of  this  tribe;  lastly,  the  marvellous 
birds  of  paradise,  called  by  the  Malays  the  "  birds  of  God,"  and  formerly  supposed 
to  live  always  on  the  wing,  ever-soaring  heavenwards.  They  were  also  believed 
to  have  no  feet,  because  the  skins  prepared  for  the  Moluccan  markets  had  the  legs 
amputated,  and  even  Linnaeus  gave  the  name  of  puradisea  upuda  to  the  large 
variety.  The  cassowary  is  also  found  in  New  Guinea,  but  birds  of  prey  are 
almost  completely  absent,  and  to  this  circumstance  is  due  the  development  of  so 
many  other  species  with  gorgeous  plumage.  Amongst  the  numerous  reptiles  occurs 
the  curious  chondropi/thon  pukhcr,  which  forms  the  transition  between  the  xVmerican 
boas  and  the  pythons  of  Asia..  Although  the  exploration  of  New  Guinea  is  still 
far  from  complete  thousands  of  insects  have  been  discovered,  fully  as  remarkable  as 
the  birds  for  their  surprising  wealth  of  forms  and  genera. 

Inhahitants  of  New  Guinea. 

The  population  of  New  Guinea,  variously  estimated  at  from  half  a  million  to 
two  millions,  comprises  a  very  large  number  of  groups  differing  greatly  from  each 
other  in  stature,  complexion,  shape  of  the  skull  and  other  physical  features,  as 
well  as  in  their  usages  and  mental  qualities.  Several  tribes  approach  the  Indo- 
nesian type,  as  found  in  Borneo  and  Celebes,  while  others  resemble  the  Malaj's, 
and  are  described  by  travellers  as  belonging  to  this  race.  Wallace,  Virchow, 
Hamy,  d'Albertis,  and  other  ethnologists  also  believe  that  the  Negritoes  are  repre- 
sented in  New  Guinea  as  a  distinct  race,  and  not  merely  as  degenerate  I'apuaus, 
as  supposed  bj"^  A.  B.  Meyer  and  Miklukho  Maklay.  Communities  of  Polynesian 
origin  are  also  numerous,  especially  in  the  south-eastern  districts,  and  endless 
intermingUngs  have  taken  place  between  contiguous  groups. 

But,  although  there  is  no  ethnical  uniformity,  as  seemed  probable  from  the 
reports  of  the  early  explorers,  the  Papuan  element,  whence  the  great  island  takes 
the  name  of  Papuasia,  certainly  predominates  over  all  others.  This  element  is 
found  almost  unmixed  on  some  parts  of  the  north  coast,  and  according  to  several 
authorities  it  even  occurs  in  all  parts  of  the  Oceanic  world.  Formerly  it  reached 
as  far  as  Hawaii  and  New  Zealand,  where  it  has  been  replaced  by  the  Polynesian 
stock. 

This  term  Papua,  said  by  Crawford  to  be  derived  from  the  Malay  expression 
pua-pita,  that  is,  "  black,  black,"  is  by  most  writers  explained  to  mean  "  frizzl}'," 
from  the  natural  texture  of  the  hair,  the  trait  by  which  most  strangers  are  arrested. 
The  natives  give  themselves  no  collective  name,  and  the  special  appellations  by 
which  the  various  tribes  are  known  are  usually  found  to  be  of  topographical  origin. 
The  languages,  as  niunerous  as  the  tribal  groups,  are  sufficiently  distinct  in  many 
places  to  prevent  the  natives  of  neighbouring  villages  from  understanding  each 
other.  According  to  Lawes  no  less  than  twenty-five  idioms  are  current  along  the 
section  of  the  southern  seaboard  stretchina'  for  about  300  miles  to  the  cast  of  Torres 


804  AUSTRALASIA. 

Strait.  The  best-known  native  dialect  is  the  Nofur  (Nufor),  of  Dorey  and  the 
adjacent  islands  in  Geelvink  Bay.  Some  of  those  that  have  been  hitherto  studied, 
as,  for  instance,  the  Motu  of  the  south-east  coast,  belong  undoubtedly  to  the  great 
]\Iala}'0-Polynesian  linguistic  family  ;  but  it  would  be  premature  to  assert  that  all 
the  New  Guinea  languages  are  members  of  that  widespread  oceanic  group. 

On  the  whole  the  Papuans  are  somewhat  shorter  than  the  Polynesians,  the 
average  height  being  about  62  to  64  inches.  They  are  well-proportioned,  lithe, 
and  active,  and  display  siirprising  skill  both  in  climbing  trees  and  in  using  the 
feet  for  prehensile  purjDoses.  Most  Papuans  have  a  very  dark  skin,  but  never  of 
that  shiny  black  peculiar  to  the  Shillvxks  of  the  White  Nile,  the  Wolofs  of  Senegal, 
and  some  other  African  peoples.  The  eyebrows  are  well  marked,  the  eyes  large 
and  animated,  the  mouth  large  but  not  pouting,  the  jaw  massive.  Amongst  the 
north-western  Papuans,  regarded  by  "Wallace  as  representing  the  type  in  its  purity, 
the  iiose  is  long,  arched,  and  tipped  downwards  at  the  extremity,  and  this  is  a  trait 
which  the  native  artists  never  fail  to  reproduce  in  the  human  effigies  with  which 
they  decorate  their  houses  and  boats.  Another  distinctive  characteristic  of  nume- 
rous tribes  is  their  so-called  mop-heads,  formed  by  superb  masses  of  frizzly  hair, 
no  less  abundant  than  that  of  the  Brazilian  Cafusos,  and,  as  in  their  case,  possibly 
indicating  racial  interminglings.  But  this  feature  is  not  constant  any  more  than 
is  the  dolichocephalous,  or  narrow  shape  of  the  skull,  although  both  are  very  gene- 
ral. In  Mabiak  and  some  other  islands  of  Torres  Strait  the  heads  of  the  children 
are  lengthened  by  artificial  means  almost  to  a  point,  and  the  young  women  of 
many  tribes  on  the  mainland  carry  loads  supported  by  a  strap  round  the  forehead, 
which  has  the  contrary  effect  of  compressing  the  skull  to  a  circular  form. 

Some  Papuans  still  go  naked,  but  the  majority  wear  at  least  a  sort  of  bark  loin- 
cloth or  skirt  of  vegetable  fibre,  or  else  a  rattan  cane  to  which  is  suspended  a 
shell  or  some  foliage.  Tattooing  is  not  universal,  nor  do  the  Papuans,  properly 
so-called,  ever  decorate  themselves  with  designs  and  arabesques  like  the  Poly- 
nesians. The  tattooing  is,  moreover,  generally  effected  by  burns  or  incisions,  and 
not  by  the  pricking  operation  common  amongst  the  mixed  populations  of  the  south- 
eastern districts.  Bamboo  combs  are  worn  in  the  hair,  little  bits  of  stick  or  bone 
are  passed  through  the  cartilage  of  the  nose,  the  body  is  also  painted  and  orna- 
mented with  earrings,  bracelets,  and  pendants  of  bone,  shells,  polished  pebbles, 
the  vertebra)  of  fish,  and  even  human  teeth.  In  •  sign  of  mourning  they  daub 
themselves  in  white,  yellow,  or  black,  according  to  the  tribes,  and  the  women  of 
Katau,  near  the  FI3'  delta,  express  their  grief  by  covering  themselves  from  face  to 
knees  with  a  network  of  Kttle  strings. 

Certain  tribes  on  the  shores  of  Astrolabe  Bay  studied  by  Miklukho  Maklay  are 
amongst  the  least  civilised  in  Papuasia.  Till  recently  they  were  unacquainted 
with  metals,  still  using  stone,  shell,  or  wooden  implements  exclusively ;  they  were 
even  incapable  of  producing  fire,  so  that  when  the  embers  died  out  it  had  to  be 
borrowed  from  the  next-door  neighbour.  The  old  men  assured  the  Russian 
traveller  that  till  within  a  recent  epoch  fire  was  altogether  unknown,  and  flesh 
was  eaten  raw,  which  caused  scorbutic  affections  to  prevail.     Such  is  also  probably 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

IKIVERSITYoflLUNOlS. 


i 


IXIL\BITANTS  OF  NEW  GUIXEA.  305 

still  the  state  of  culture  amongst  the  iuland  tribes  cut  off  from  all  relations  with 
the  outer  world  ;  but  most  of  the  populations  dwelling  on  the  seaboard,  and  visited 
by  Malays,  Bugis,  or  European  and  American  seafarers,  have  long  enjoyed  a  much 
higher  degree  of  civili'sation.  Some  tribes  are  still  exclusively  hunters  or  fishers, 
whereas  others  till  the  land,  making  extensive  clearings  in  the  forests,  where  they 
plant  the  sago  tree,  surround  their  huts  with  bananas,  sow  maize,  taro  and  tobacco, 
and  even  export  their  agricultural  produce  in  exchange  for  European  goods, 
especially  arms  and  hardware.  Till  lately  they  used  no  weapons  except  stone- 
headed  or  poisoned  darts  and  arrows,  bamboo  knives,  bone  daggers,  wooden  spears 
arid  clubs.  Some  of  the  natives  also  possess  musical  instruments  of  primitive  form, 
such  as  flutes,  drums,  and  trumpets. 

However  backward  they  may  be  in  other  respects  most  of  the  Papuans  are 
2ndowed  with  a  highly  developed  artistic  feeling,  and  as  carvers  and  sculptors  they 
are  far  superior  to  most  of  the  Malayan  peoples.  Having  at  their  disposition 
nothing  but  bamboos,  bone,  banana  leaves,  bark  and  wood,  they  usually  design  and 
carve  with  the  grain,  that  is,  in  straight  lines.  Nevertheless,  with  these  primitive 
materials  they  succeed  in  producing  extremely  elegant  and  highly  original  decora- 
tive work,  and  even  sculpture  colossal  statues  representing  celebrated  chiefs  and 
ancestors.  Thanks  to  this  talent  they  are  able  to  reproduce  vast  historic  scenes, 
and  thus  record  contemporary  events.  Xumerous  tribes  have  their  annals  either 
designed  on  foliage  or  depicted  on  rocks  in  symbolic  writing.  The  skulls  of  the 
enemies  slain  in  battle,  which  are  carefully  preserved  to  decorate  the  houses,  are 
themselves  often  embellished  with  designs  traced  on  masks  made  of  wax  and  resin. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Fly  river  these  skulls  are  also  used  as  musical  instruments. 

All  Papuan  dwellings,  even  those  of  inland  districts,  are  erected  on  rows  of 
piles  on  the  model  of  those  insular  villages  which  are  surrounded  by  water  at  everv 
tide  and  inaccessible  except  by  boats.  These  clusters  of  habitations,  which  from 
a  distance  look  like  upraised  reefs  of  eccentric  form,  present  a  perfect  picture  of 
what  the  European  lacustrine  towns  must  have  been  some  three  or  four  thousand 
years  ago.  Stakes  of  unequal  length  sunk  deep  into  the  muddy  bed  of  the  shallow 
bays  serve  to  support  a  flooring  of  planks  interlaced  with  lianas  and  more  or  less 
polished  with  stone  implements ;  in  the  centre  is  the  hearth  formed  by  a  bed  of 
glazed  earth,  and  in  front  runs  a  little  verandah,  serving  as  a  playground  for  the 
children  and  a  workshop  for  the  fishermen.  The  houses  are  connected  together 
by  means  of  slight  wooden  galleries,  along  which  the  natives  with  their  prehensile 
feet  pass  fearlessly,  while  underneath  the  crocodiles  swim  sluggishly  about, 
attracted  by  the  refuse  of  the  kitchens.  Now  also  European  craft,  and  even  small 
steamers,  thread  the  mazes  of  these  floating  villages,  casting  anchor  before  the 
large  building  which  serves  at  once  as  temple,  hotel,  exchange  and  market.  In 
the  interior  the  Papuans  have  preserved  tbe  same  type  of  structure  as  on  the  sea- 
board. 

But  the  ingenuity  of  the  natives  is  displayed  above  all  in  the  construction  of 
their  boats.     At  the  approach  of  bad  weather  they  lash  two,  three,  and  even  four 
of  these  praus  in  a  single  floating  mass,  which  rises  and  falls  with  the  waves  with- 
voi..  xiv.  X 


806  AUSTRALASIA. 

out  ever  founaering.  Some  of  the  latakoi,  or  tradiug  craft,  carry  as  many  as  six 
rectangular  sails  or  large  mats  made  with  the  bark  of  the  sago  palm,  each  sup- 
ported by  two  vertical  masts  springing  from  the  gunwales  of  the  praus.  Other 
boats  hoist  only  a  single  sail  double  the  height  of  the  mast,  oval  and  hollowed  out 
at  top  so  as  to  leave  two  points,  which  at  a  distance  resemble  the  horns  of  some 
prodigious  animal  gliding  through  the  water.  The  natives  also  contrive  to  make 
simple  canoes  quite  seaworthy  by  means  of  a  platform  which  is  attached  at  its  two 
extremities  to  a  pointed  boom  or  spar  serving  the  purpose  of  an  outrigger. 

Although  formerly  much  dreaded  by  passing  seafarers,  most  of  the  New 
Gruinea  peoples  are  of  mild  disposition  and  habits.  The  women  are  respected  and 
the  children  treated  with  extreme  kindness.  The  slaves,  also,  in  the  few  districts 
where  they  exist,  enjoy  the  same  food  and  wear  the  same  clothes  as  the  free  men. 
Homage  is  paid  to  the  dead  with  flowers,  songs,  and  ceremonies,  but  the  funeral 
rites  differ  greatly  in  the  different  tribes.  Some  bury  the  deceased  immediately 
after  the  "obsequies,"  others  wait  till  the  body  has  been  dried  by  fire  or  the 
weather,  while  elsewhere  the  bones  are  distributed  amongst  the  relatives,  the  son 
wearing  his  father's  maxillary  as  an  armlet. 

A  very  common  practice  is  to  sculpture  the  so-called  kan-ars,  that  is,  little 
figures  representing  the  deceased,  or  rather  the  life  that  has  escaped  from  them. 
At  the  son's  death  the  karvar  is  planted  on  his  grave,  with  his  arms ;  he  is  thus 
followed  to  the  other  world  by  his  father's  image,  while  he  leaves  his  own  to  his 
children.  The  houses  and  boats,  which  serve  as  temples,  are  also  decked  with  the 
effigies  of  their  ancestors,  the  worship  of  whom,  combined  with  that  of  the  good 
and  evil  spirits  dwelling  in  the  trees,  the  rocks,  the  winds,  and  storms,  constitutes 
the  religion  of  all  the  aborigines.  Mohammedanism,  however,  has  already  invaded 
the  small  archipelagoes  off  the  west  coast  and  even  some  parts  of  the  mainland. 
Christian  missionaries  have  also  established  stations  at  various  points  of  the  sea- 
board, which  are  at  least  becoming  so  many  centres  of  civilising  influences. 

Topography  of  New  Goixea. 

The  Dutch,  as  heirs  of  the  Sultan  of  Tidor,  who  retains  the  nominal  suzerainty 
without  the  right  of  levying  tribute,  are  the  ofiicial  masters  of  west  New  Guinea 
as  far  as  141°  E.  longitude.  But  on  this  vast  domain  they  do  not  possess  a 
single  town,  whence  their  direct  authority  might  be  gradually  extended  over  the 
interior.  Thire  are,  however,  a  few  ports  of  call  visited  aft  more  or  less  frequent 
intervals  by  their  ships  of  war  to  protect  the  commercial  operations  of  the  few 
European  traders,  and  especially  to  show  their  flag  and  maintain  their  authority 
in  the  eyes  of  the  natives. 

At  the  north-west  extremity  of  New  Guinea  the  island  of  Walgpit,  that  is, 
"  Land  of  Water,"  seems  to  be  admirably  situated  to  serve  one  day  as  a  centre  of 
trade  for  the  insular  populations  of  this  region.  The  deep  inlets  indenting  the 
south  coast  might  afford  shelter  for  whole  fleets,  while  a  magnificent  roadstead  is 
formed  by  the  coralline  islet  of  Gemien  lying  near  the  shore.     Unfortunately 


TOrOGEAPHY  OF  NEW  GUINEA. 


30-; 


T\'uigeu,  although  fertile  and  tliickly  peopled,  produces  nothing  for  exportation. 
The  natives,  of  mixed  Malay  and  Papuan  descent,  are  indolent,  like  all  other 
islanders  for  whom  the  sago  tree  yields  a  superabundance  of  food  with  little  effort 


Fig.  133. — Waiqeu,  Batanta,  and  Salwatt. 
Scale  1  :  1,500,000. 


250  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


on  their  part.  In  the  interior  there  are  no  independent  Alfuru  tribes,  and  all  the 
inhabitants  recognise  the  rajah,  who  resides  at  Samsam,  at  the  head  of  the  inlet  by 
which  the  island  is  nearly  divided  into  two  parts.  The  isthmus  of  Fak-Fak 
connecting  the  two  nearly  equal  sections  is  scarcely  200  feet  high.     But  the  most 

X  2 


H08 


AUSTRALASIA. 


frequented  market  in  this  western  archipelago  of  New  Guinea  is  Snniafe,  at  the 
north-east  point  of  the  ishmd  of  Salwaty. 

On  the  Dutch  mainland  the  best-known  and  busiest  station  is  Dorei,  at  the  foot 
of  the  Arfak  hills,  at  the  entrance  of  Geelvink  Bay.     Close  to  the  coast  are  three 


Fig.  134.— Dorei. 
Scale  1  :  900,000. 


50  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


pile  villages  sheltered  on  the  north  side  by  a  wooded  headland,  and  visited  by  a 
few  Malay  and  European  traders.  Here  is  also  a  long- established  missionary 
station ;  but  although  well  received  by  the  natives,  the  preachers  of  the  gospel 
have  hitherto  failed  to  form  a  small  congregation  of  neophytes. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  NEW  GUINEA.  809 

The  Papuans  of  Dorei  are  known  by  the  name  of  JMafur  or  Nofur,  a  term 
supposed  by  some  to  have  the  same  origin  as  the  word  Alf  uru,  which  in  Portuguese 
would  have  the  meaning  of  "outsiders,"  or  "savages."  But  Van  Hasselt 
interprets  it  in  the  sense  of  "  discoverers  of  fire,"  and  these  natives  are  justly 
proud  of  the  sublime  invention  attributed  by  other  peoples  to  the  gods.  The 
neighbouring  highlands  are  occujiied  by  the  Arfak  people,  much  dreaded  head- 
hunters,  who  have  nevertheless  given  a  friendly  welcome  to  those  travellers  « ho 
ventured  to  visit  them. 

West  of  Dorei  on  the  north  coast  lies  the  station  Amberhahen  {Amherbaki) ,  that 
is,  "  Amber  Land,"  which  is  inhabited  by  Papuans  of  the  same  stock  as  the 
Mafurs,  and  like  them  peaceful  and  friendly  and  even  more  skilful  agriculturists. 
Their  villages  consist  of  very  high  cabins  perched  on  the  interlaced  stems  of  the 
bamboo.  The  territory  west  of  them  is  occupied  by  the  Karons,  one  of  the  few 
New  Guinea  peoples  who  have  not  been  unjustly  accused. of  cannibalism.  They 
eat  the  bodies  of  their  enemies  slain  in  battle ;  but  they  are  probabU'  not  of 
Papuan  race.  Although  averaging  about  5  feet  4  inches  in  height,  they  would 
appear  to  belong  to  the  same  stock  as  the  Negritoes  of  the  Philippine  Islands  ;  and 
according  to  the  naturalist  Raffray  are  characterised  by  robust,  thick-set  frames 
and  limbs,  large  round  head,  very  prominent  superciliary  arches,  thick  lips,  broad 
flat  features.  They  dress  their  frizzly  hair  in  long  tresses,  which  hang  loosely  over 
the  temples  and  forehead,  and  practise  a  kind  of  tattooing  with  large  raised  welts. 

According  to  the  Malays  who  have  visited  them,  the  Karons  do  not  eat  sago 
like  the  coastlanders,  but  feed  on  the  sprouts  of  another  palm  that  grows  in  a 
dry  soil,  and  also  devour  all  kinds  of  reptiles  and  insects.  Thej^  are  accused, 
though  not  on  direct  evidence,  of  eating  their  own  offspring  when  all  the  slaves 
and  captives  have  been  consumed,  leaving  only  two  children  to  each  family. 
Further  south  and  more  inland  dwell  the  Gebars,  who,  like  the  peoples  living  on 
the  shores  of  MacCluer  Inlet,  are  also  reputed  cannibals. 

South  of  Dorei  one  of  the  most  important  coast  villages  is  Wdirur,  lying  not 
far  from  the  narrowest  part  of  the  isthmus,  across  which  a  portage  might  easily  be 
established  between  the  Geelvink  and  MacCluer  Gulfs.  This  place  is  visited  by 
Malay  traders,  who  purchase  the  nutmegs  here  growing  wild.  Other  stations 
follow  round  Geelvink  Bay,  such  as  Wandammen  on  the  south  and  Arojjen 
( Waropen)  on  the  east  side.  Then  beyond  the  Amberno  delta  occur  a  few  ports 
of  call  occasionally  visited  by  Dutch  skippers.  But  here  the  population  is  very 
scattered,  and  foreign  trade  has  fallen  off  since  the  middle  of  the  century.  The 
dealers,  following  the  usual  plan  of  making  advances  to  the  natives  in  order  to 
secure  their  produce  beforehand  at  nominal  prices,  run  the  risk  of  being  murdered 
by  their  debtors,  and  in  some  places  do  not  venture  even  to  land,  but  wait  off  the 
coast  the  arrival  of  the  native  craft  laden  with  local  produce. 

Humboldt  Bay  (Telokh  Liutju),  the  easternmost  inlet  within  Dutch  territory, 
is  inhabited  by  some  of  the  rudest  coast  tribes  in  New  Guinea.  Such  is  their 
ignorance  that  they  are  even  unable  to  extract  the  oil  from  the  cocoanut.s  that 
fringe  all  the  western  parts  of  the  bay. 


310  AUSTRALASIA. 

Along  the  whole  of  this  seaboard  the  mainland  is  less  frequented  than  the 
adjacent  islands.  Those  of  Geelvink  bay  have  each  some  busy  markets,  the  most 
important  of  which  is  Aiisiis,  on  the  south  side  of  Jobi  or  Jappen.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  station  greatly  resemble  the  Mafurs  of  Dorei ;  but  the  interior  of  the  island 
is  occupied  by  much-di-eaded  savages,  who  are  accused,  rightly  or  wrongly,  of 
cannibalism. 

On  the  Dutch  territory  facing  the  Moluccas  the  most  frequented  station  is  Sekaar, 
which  stands  on  a  small  bay  at  the  southern  entrance  of  MacCluer  Inlet.  The 
traders  from  Ceram  penetrate  in  this  direction  as  far  as  the  port  of  BJntuni  in  search 
of  sago  and  nutmegs  ;  but  they  never  venture  to  approach  the  northern  shores  of 
the  gulf,  whose  inhabitants  are  dreaded  as  pirates  and  man-eaters.  Here  the  most 
powerful  "rajah"  is  the  jDrince  of  Atti-Atti,  an  insular ■  group  of  some  twenty 
houses  lying  west  of  Sekaar,  and  occupied  by  a  motley  population  of  nominal 
Mohammedans.  The  rajah  of  this  place  is  the  representative  of  the  Sultan  of 
Tidor  in  these  waters,  and  the  tribute  of  the  villages  along  the  coast  is  collected 
by  him.  Thanks  to  his  intervention  the  Tidor  suzerain  and  the  Dutch  Govern- 
ment itself  have  ceased  to  be  myths  for  the  natives  of  these  districts ;  in  the 
Karas  archipelago,  in  tjie  Island  of  Adi,  and  as  far  as  Namatotte  and  Aidiima,  near 
the  bay  where  formerly  stood  Fort  Bus,  the  authority  of  the  Netherlands  is  fully 
recogni.sed;  but  farther  eastwards  the  power  of  the  "  Company  "  is  no  longer 
anything  more  than  a  name.  The  Papuans  of  these  regions  are  said  by  travellers 
to  approach  the  African  Negro  type  more  than  any  others  ;  formerly  they  carried 
on  a  trade  in  slaves,  and  according  to  the  early  exjilorers  at  times  even  sold  their 
own  children  into  bondage. 

The  Aru,  that  is,  "  Mother-of-Pearl,"  Archipelago,  lying  about  90  miles  south 
of  the  New  Guinea  coast,  enjoys  far  greater  commercial  importance  than  the 
trading  places  on  the  mainland.  Dohbo,  the  commercial  centre  of  the  group, 
commands  a  well-sheltered  channel  in  the  islet  of  "VVamma,  one  of  the  coralline 
rocks  in  the  north-west  of  the  archipelago.  During  the  season  from  March  to 
May  whole  fleets  of  praus  assemble  here  from  Ceram  and  the  surrounding  islands, 
from  the  Kei  Archipelago  and  even  from  Macassar.  According  to  Wallace  the 
exports  of  Dobbo,  chiefly  mother-of-pearl,  tortoise-shell,  holothurite,-  birds  of 
paradise  and  edible  birds'-nests,  have  a  mean  annual  value  of  £18,000.  During 
the  busy  period  the  houses  are  unable  to  afford  accommodation  to  the  numerous 
traders  flocking  hither  from  all  parts  of  Western  Indonesia ;  but  after  the  fair  the 
place  is  completely  deserted. 

The  Aru  Archipelago  depends  on  the  Ambnyna  Residence,  and  usually  once  a 
year  a  Dutch  commissioner  comes  round  from  the  capital  to  make  his  general 
inspection  and  deliver  judgment  on  pending  cases.  His  intervention,  however,  is 
little  needed,  for  during  his  absence  the  people  administer  their  own  affairs  fairly 
well,  having  neither  murders  nor  thefts  to  punish.  According  to  von  Rosenberg, 
some  groups  of  Negritoes  dwell  near  the  fisheries  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
archipelago.  The  Alivurus  (Alfurus)  of  the  Aru  Islands  claim  descent  from  an 
ancestral  tree,  and  are  regM-ded  by  Riedel  as  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Australians 


BEITISn  NEW  GUINEA.  811 

of  Xorth  Queensland;  others  think  they  came  from  Timor  and  Tenimber,  while 
"Wallace  considers  that  they  belong  to  the  pure  Papuan  type.  They  eat  the  flesh 
of  the  dog,  supposing  that  this  diet  will  always  keep  them  brave  and  strong ; 
but  with  their  sago  cakes  they  also  take  a  few  slices  from  the  bodies  of  deceased 
relatives.  The  foreign  religions,  whether  Christian  or  Mohammedan,  have  hitherto 
made  scarcely  any  progress  amongst  these  islanders. 

British  New  Guinea. 

Even  before  they  became  the  official  rulers  of  southern  Papuasia,  the  English 
had  already  extended  their  jurisdiction  over  all  the  inhabited  islands  of  Torres 
Strait  to  within  sight  of  the  great  island.  Hence  the  Australian  colonists  had 
only  very  narrow  waters  to  cross  in  order  to  take  possession  of  their  new  domain. 
The  proximity  of  the  Australian  continent  in  fact  gives  quite  an  exceptional 
importance  to  this  British  territory.  It  is  accordingly  the  best  known,  or  rather 
the  least  unexplored  region  .in  the  whole  of  New  Guinea  ;  here  the  itineraries  of 
travellers  reach  farthest  inland,  and  here  attempts  at  colonisation  have  been 
essayed  on  the  largest  scale.  Australian  speculators  are  already  demanding  the 
concession  of  vast  tracts  to  be  converted  into  plantations  and  cultivated  by  native 
labour.  Meantime  the  Government,  fully  alive  to  its  responsibilities,  has  issued 
salutary  measures  tending  to  protect  the  aborigines  from  extermination  or  from 
the  evils  usualh'  resulting  even  from  peaceful  contact  with  the  white.  The  sale  of 
fire-arms,  or  alcoholic  drinks  and  of  opium  to  the  local  tribes  is  absolutely  forbidden, 
as  is  also  the  indiscriminate  recruiting  of  the  natives  for  the  labour  markets  else- 
where. 

The  portion  of  British  territory  conterminous  with  Dutch  New  Guinea  seems 
to  hold  out  the  brightest  prospects  for  future  settlement  and  material  progress. 
Here  are  the  rich  alluvial  lands  watered  by  the  numerous  navigable  branches  of 
the  Fly  River,  and  at  the  same  time  lying  nearest  to  the  Australian  mainland. 
The  intervening  shallow  and  island-studded  waters  of  Torres  Strait  are  only  about 
100  miles  wide,  reckoning  from  the  mouth  of  the  Baxter  Eiver  to  Cape  York  at 
the  northern  extremity  of  the  York  Peninsula.  Nevertheless  the  vast  and  fertile 
delta  region  is  stiU.  entirely  held  by  Papuan  wild  tribes,  and  the  nearest  station 
of  white  traders  and  missionaries  lies,  not  on  the  mainland  but  on  the  reef-fringed 
islet  of  Saibai,  off  the  coast  to  the  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mai  Kasa. 

"When  the  syndicate  of  the  Australian  colonies  sent  an  expedition  in  1885  to 
establish  British  authority  over  the  officially  annexed  territory,  the  site  of  the 
future  capital  was  fixed  at  Fort-Moreshy,  an  inlet  opening  to  the  south-west  of  the 
superb  Owen  Stanley  highlands,  and  sheltered  by  a  chain  of  reefs  from  the  fury 
of  the  surf  during  stormy  weather.  At  this  point  white  coralline  cliffs  take  the 
place  of  the  muddy  mangrove-covered  shores  which  skirt  the  mainland  to  the 
north-west.  The  basin  of  the  roadstead,  which  is  approached  by  a  wide  entrance, 
has  a  depth  of  from  24  to  40  feet  almost  close  inshore.  Here  also  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  salubrious  native  villages  on  the  whole  seaboard.     Even  at  the 


812 


AUSTRALASIA. 


time  of  the  discovery  in  1873,  its  double  row  of  huts,  shaded  by  cocoanut  palin- 
groves,  had  as  many  as  eight  hundred  indiistrious  inhabitants  occupied  with 
agriculture,  trade,  and  pottery,  and  doing  a  hirge  traffic  with  the  villages  aloug 


Fi^.    l;j.3. — POKT-MOEESEY. 

Scale  1  :  iOO.OOt^, 


r.sUPGreenwicK 


E3 


SO  Feet  and 
upwards. 


the  north-west    coast,   which   took   the    excellent    Port-More.sby    earthenware   in 
exchange  for  sago. 

yiuce  that  time  the  native  town  has  considerably  increased  in   size,  while  the 


BRITISH  NEW  GUINEA.  818 

European  quarter,  which  in    1885  had  only  a  group  of  houses  helonging  to  the 

Fig.   136. — KoYAKi  DwEiiiNO,  keae  Poet-IIorksby,  New  Guinea. 


missionaries  and   the  depots  of  a  British  trader,  now  boasts  of  its  Governmont 


314  AUSTEALASIA. 

"palace,"  barracks,  court-house,  prison,  and  other  structures  symbolising  European 
administration.  Port-Moresby  is  the  only  haven  in  British  New  Guinea  where 
foreign  skippers  are  authorised  to  land  their  wares ;  nor  can  any  colonists  settle 
in  the  place  without  special  permission.  It  is  already  connected  by  a  submarine 
cable  with  the  Australian  continent. 

In  1887  not  more  than  about  twenty  whites,  officials,  traders,  and  missionaries, 
were  resident  on  the  mainland  of  the  British  territory.  Most  of  the  dealers  carried 
on  their  operations  with  the  natives  from  their  ships  without  ever  landing.  The 
explorer  and  naturalist,  0.  H.  Forbes,  had  founded  a  small  settlement  at  Sogere,  in 
the  interior,  about  50  miles  north-east  of  Port-Moresby,  and  it  was  from  this  point 
that  he  organised  his  expeditions  to  the  surrounding  highlands.  Gold  miners, 
hitherto  attended  with  but  little  success,  have  also  established  a  few  camping 
grounds  at  some  distance  inland,  and  a  white  traveller  may  now  wander  alone 
without  danger  throughout  most  of  the  southern  regions  in  British  territory  east 
of  the  Fly  River. 

But  it  is  chiefly  through  the  action  of  native  teachers  trained  by  the  mission- 
aries that  European  influence  is  slowly  making  itself  felt  amongst  the  highland 
populations.  The  Protestant  seminary  at  Port-Moresby  sends  every  year  a  certain 
number  of  young  educated  natives  to  the  villages  along  the  seaboard  and  in  the 
islands,  and  thanks  to  them  the  languages  current  in  this  region  are  already  well 
known.  These  teachers  have  been  most  successful  especially  as  gardeners,  and  the 
enclosures  of  the  villages  are  already  in  many  places  well  stocked  with  vegetables 
and  fruit  trees  till  recently  unknown  in  the  country. 

Beyond  Port-Moresby  no  European  houses  are  anywhere  to  be  seen  except  on 
the  Hula  headland  some  60  miles  south-east  of  the  capital,  and  in  a  few  islets  near 
the  coast.  The  Government,  however,  has  acquired  South  Cape  and  Stacey  Island, 
at  the  south-east  extremity  of  New  Guinea,  in  anticipation  of  a  future  strategical 
and  commercial  establishment  in  this  region.  Plantations  have  been  recently 
begun  in  South  east  Island,  the  chief  member  of  the  Louisiade  Archipelago. 
Here  the  Island  of  Vare,  or  Teste,  has  already  become  a  station  much  frequented  by 
skippers  engaged  in  the  coasting  trade. 

On  the  whole  the  British  is  much  more  thickly  peopled  than  the  Butch  section 
of  New  Guinea.  In  some  districts,  and  especially  on  the  shores  of  Papua  Gulf 
between  the  Fly  Delta  and  Yule  Island,  fhe  population  is  very  dense,  large  villages 
following  in  succession  from  creek  to  creek.  The  Aroma  country,  south-east  of 
Port-Moresby,  is  also  well  peopled,  while  the  Louisiade  and  Entrecasteaux  Islands 
are  fringed  with  hamlets  round  their  poripherj'.  The  natives  of  these  archi- 
pelagoes, however,  are  much  dreaded,  and  seafarers  shipwrecked  on  their  shores 
have  often  been  devoured  by  them.  They  have  the  reputation  of  being  all 
powerful  magicians,  of  whom  it  is  related  that  they  can  tear  out  the  eyes,  the 
tongue,  the  heart  and  entrails  of  their  enemies  without  the  victims'  knowledge. 

Some  of  the  tribes  are  of  Papuan  origin,  and  closely  resemble  those  of  western 
New  Guinea.  These  are  for  the  most  part  agriculturists,  while  those  engaged  in 
trade  and  navigation  appear  to  be  half-castes,  the  Polynesian  type  predominating 


I 


BRITISH  NEW  GUIXEA.  315 

amongst  many  of  them.  To  tliis  mixed  race  belong  the  Motus  of  Port-Moresby, 
who  manufacture  and  export  vast  quantities  of  earthenware,  and  whose  language 
has  become  the  lingua  franca  of  the  traders  along  a  large  part  of  the  seaboard. 
Their  complexion  is  relatively  fair,  not  unlike  that  of  the  Tahitians,  and  in  their 
attitude,  physiognomy,  and  usages  they  also  recall  the  eastern  Polynesians.  Of 
all  the  New  Guinea  peoples  they  practise  tattooing  to  the  greatest  extent.  The 
designs,  with  which  they  cover  a  great  part  of  the  body,  bear  a  surprising  resem- 
blance to  Greek  and  Latin  characters.  At  the  sight  of  these  fine  torsos,  which 
seem  clothed  with  inscriptions,  one  feels  involuntarily  tempted  to  decij)her  the 
writing,  as  if  it  contained  the  personal  history  of  the  bearers. 

The  Koyari,  who  occupy  the  first  slopes  of  the  mountains  back  of  Port-Moresby, 
have  near  their  villages  little  dohos,  or  houses,  perched  on  the  tree  tops,  where  they 
take  refuge  in  case  of  danger,  and  whence  the}'  hurl  stones  on  their  assailants.  It 
was  perhaps  these  dobos  that  gave  rise  to  the  legend  of  certain  Papuan  peoples 
living  in  the  trees,  and  springing  from  branch  to  branch  like  monkeys.  The 
Kojari  and  the  neighbouring  Koitaj)u  of  kindred  stock  have  a  much  darker  com- 
plexion than  the  Motus. 

The  aborigines  of  the  British  territory  must  be  included  amongst  those  popula- 
tions, who  have  developed  no  distinct  form  of  government,  all  the  male  adults 
being  practically  equal.  Doubtless  each  village  has  its  so-called  "  chiefs,"  who 
owe  this  title  either  to  age  or  to  personal  valour  in  warfare,  or  else  to  their  superior 
skill  and  potency  as  magicians.  But  this  moral  ascendency  gives  them  no  authority 
over  the  tribe,  and  the  consequence  is  that  the  British  Government  is  unable  to 
utilise  them  as  officials  in  the  way  it  would  wish.  All  its  efforts  aim  at  giving 
the  tribes  a  monarchical  constitution,  by  appointing  some  distinguished  member  of 
the  community  to  be  henceforth  a  paid  functionary,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
representative  of  his  fellow-tribesmen,  and  responsible  for  their  conduct.  The 
general  administration  of  British  New  Guinea  has  meantime  been  delegated  by  the 
home  Government  to  the  Australian  colony  of  Queensland. 

The  German  Possessions  ix  New  Guinea. 

The  Gorman  territory,  officially  designated  by  the  name  of  Kaiser  "Wilhelms- 
land,  is  not  administered  as  a  state  colony  by  oificials  from  Berlin.  Its  manage- 
ment is  simply  left  in  the  hands  of  a  trading  company,  which,  mider  the  protection 
and  control  of  the  Government,  endeavours  to  make  money  by  laying  out  planta- 
tions, establishing  trading  stations,  and  exporting  local  produce.  Men-of-war  visit 
these  waters  to  give  the  German  traders  the  necessary  prestige,  and,  when 
required,  to  lend  them  active  assistance. 

Numerous  expeditions  have  revealed  the  form  of  the  coast  Hue  in  all  its  details, 
but  the  old  French,  English,  and  Russian  names  of  the  prominent  headlands  and 
other  geographical  featui-es  have  been  gradually  replaced  by  German  appellations. 
Very  little  of  the  nomenclature  given  to  this  region  by  the  first  explorers  now 
remains  on  the  maps,  and  the  natives  no  longer  salute   strangers  by  the  title  of 


mis 


AUSTRALASIA. 


"  Monsieur,"  as  they  had  learned  to  do  from  Dumout  d'Uiville  and  other  French 
navigators. 

The  capital  of  the  German  possessions  in  New  Guinea  is  Finhvli-lidfcn,  so  named 
in  honour  of  the  German  explorer  Finsch,  who  has  surveyed  most  of  the  country 


Fig.  137.— Astrolabe  B.\y. 
Scale  1  :  42D,uixi. 


and  best  described  the  hind  and  its  inhabitants.  Finseh-hafen  lies  near  the 
extremity  of  the  peninsida,  which  projects  to  the  north  of  Huon  Bay  ;  at  this 
point  the  coast  is  deeply  indented  by  a  winding  inlet,  where  large  vessels  can 
lide  at  anchor  in   60  or  70  feet  of  water  completely  sheltered  from  all  winds. 


GERMAN  NEW  GUIXE.V.  §17 

The  first  liouscs  of  the  settlement  were  erected  towards  the  end  of  tlie  year  1885 
on  a  round  ishmd,  which  has  been  connected  by  an  embankment  with  the  main- 
land. Cisterns  have  also  been  constructed  to  husband  the  rain-water,  there  being 
a  total  absence  of  springs  in  the  coralline  limestones  of  the  island  and  surrounding 
shores. 

At  the  first  arrival  of  the  Germans  the  district  was  comparatively  well-peopled, 
but  most  of  the  natives  have  since  emigrated  in  order  to  avoid  being  obliged  to 
work  on  the  plantations  of  the  whites.  A  Protestant  mission  has  been  established 
in  the  vicinity,  and  communication  with  the  civilised  world  is  maintained  by  a 
steamer  plying  between  this  station  and  the  Australian  settlement  of  Cooktown  on 
the  east  coast  of  Queensland. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a  table  of  the  islands  which  may  be  regarded  as 
geographical  dependencies  of  New  Guinea.  The  German  islands  off  the  north  coast 
form  part  of  the  Melanesian  Archipelagoes,  while  those  of  Torres  Strait  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  great  island  are  attributed  to  Australia. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


MELANESIA. 

LL  the  islands  lying  north-east  of  New  Guinea  as  far  as  the  equator 
have  been  declared  German  possessions  by  the  treaty  of  partition 
with  Great  Britain.  Towards  the  west  the  German  waters  are 
limited  by  the  meridian  of  141°  east  longitude,  but  eastwards  the 
Pacific  Ocean  is  left  open  for  future  annexations.  Till  1885  the 
limit  was  indicated  by  154°  east  longitude,  but  that  limit  was  effaced  the  next  year 
when  the  north-western  members  of  the  Solomon  group,  Bougainville,  Choiseul, 
Yzabel,  and  all  the  neighbouring  lands  to  the  north  of  8°  south  latitude,  were  pro- 
claimed German  territory.  The  islands  thus  officially  annexed  to  the  empire  have 
an  estimated  superficial  area  of  over  30,000  square  miles,  with  a  population  of  pro- 
bably about  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  Like  the  New  Guinea  possessions, 
these  insular  groups  are  assigned  to  a  trading  company,  which  at  the  same  time 
exercises  political  functions. 

According  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  southern  section  of  the  Solomon  Archi- 
pelago falls  within  the  sphere  of  British  influence. 

I. — North  Melanesia  :  Admiralty,  Bismarck  and  Solomon  Islands. 

These  oceanic  lands  are  amongst  those  that  have  longest  remained  unnoticed. 
In  1567  Mendana,  guided  bj'  the  pilot  Hernando  Gallego,  landed  on  Yzabel,  one 
of  the  large  islands  to  which  he  gave  the  collective  '  name  of  the  Solomon 
Archipelago,  doubtless  with  the  hope  or  pretension  of  having  here  discovered  that 
aurifei'ous  "  land  of  Ophir  "  whence  the  King  of  Judasa  imported  the  gold  for  the 
Temple  of  Jerusalem. 

Mendana  spent  six  months  in  exploring  the  islands,  which  he  was  at  last  obliged 
to  leave  through  lack  of  provisions  and  water,  after  quarrelling  with  the  natives 
whom  he  had  come  "  to  convert  to  the  true  faitb."  Later  he  returned  to  colonise 
the  archipelago  which  he  had  discovered,  but  died  before  reaching  it.  The  route 
to  the  Solomon  Islands  was  thus  lost,  and  remained  unknown  for  two  himdred 
years  afterwards.  Its  position  had  been  too  vaguely  indicated  to  be  followed  with 
any  certainty,  while  Gallego's  report  had  been  kept  secret,  lest  he  should  direct 
the  mariners  of  other  nations  to  these  islands  henceforth  claimed  by  Spain.  The 
record  of  this  route  has  only  recently  been  discovered  in  the  Spanish  archives,  and 
translated  into  English  by  H.  B.  Guppy. 


XOETH  MELANESIA.  819 

Two  hundred  years  after  Mendaiia's  voj-age,  Carteret,  in  17G7,  followed  the 
next  year  hy  Bougainville,  and  in  1769  by  Surville,  again  sailed  through  the 
straits  and  channels  discovered  by  the  Spanish  navigator,  but  without  identify- 
ing them  ;  in  fact,  they  fancied  they  had  discovered  new  lands  and  accordingly 
gave  them  new  names.  It  was  reserved  for  Buache  and  Fleurieu,  by  patient 
investigation  and  comparative  studies  of  the  early  itineraries,  to  restore  to  the 
Spanish  mariners  the  glory  of  having  first  explored  these  Melanesian  regions. 

But  while  navigators  were  in  vain  seeking  the  lost  route  to  the  Solomon  group, 
they  visited  other  lands  lying  nearer  to  New  Guinea.  In  1616  the  Dutch  sailors, 
Le  Maire  and  Schouten,  surveyed  the  "  Twenty-five  Islands,"  since  Carteret's  time 
known  as  the  Admiralty  Archipelago  ■  they  also  discovered  Birara  or  New 
Britain,  which,  however,  they  mistook  for  the  northern  seaboard  of  New  Guinea 
fiinged  with  numerous  islets.  Tasman,  who  also  visited  these  lands  in  1643,  fell  into 
the  same  error,  which  was  not  corrected  till  the  year  1700,  when  Dampier,  passing 
southwards,  penetrated  into  the  strait  that  bears  his  name,  and  thus  determined 
the  insular  character  of  the  Admiralty  group  ;  but  much  still  remained  to  be 
done,  and  the  systematic  survey  of  these  waters,  begun  in  the  last  century  by 
Carteret,  Bougainville,  and  d'Entrecasteaux,  and  continued  in  1827  by  Dumont 
d'Urville,  is  only  now  being  gradually  completed. 

For  the  inland  exploration  of  the  islands  little  has  hitherto  been  done. 
Missionaries,  traders,  adventurers,  naturalists,  such  as  Mildukho-Maklay,  Finsch, 
Guppy,  have  visited  various  parts  of  the  Melanesian  groups  and  published  the 
results  of  their  studies  ;  but  no  methodical  survey  of  the  whole  region  was  begun 
till  the  year  1884,  when  New  Britain  and  New  Ireland  were  occupied  by  the 
German  Government.  Unfortunately',  one  of  the  first  official  acts  of  that  jiower 
was  to  change  the  geographical  nomenclature,  in  which  names  of  English  and 
French  origin  prevailed.  Doubtless,  some  of  these  arbitrary  terms  might  with 
advantage  have  been  suppressed,  and  replaced  by  those  current  amongst  the 
natives  themselves.  But  the  maps  have  been  modified  in  the  spirit  of  a  mistaken, 
or  aggressive  patriotism,  without  considering  whether  the  new  terminology  could 
be  justified  by  the  physical  aspect  of  the  islands,  the  nature  of  the  soil, 
population,  or  comparative  geography. 

The  chief  insular  group  has  thus  become  the  Bismarck  Ai'chijielago;  Tombara, 
or  New  Ireland,  is  henceforth  to  be  known  as  New  Mecldenburg ;  York  Island 
has  taken  the  name  of  New  Lauenburg,  and  Birara,  or  New  Britain,  that  of  New 
Pomerania.  Most  of  the  mountains  and  ports  have  been  similarly  "re-baptised," 
with  a  cynical  defiance  of  international  etiquette  and  indifference  to  the  fitness  of 
things. 

Physical  Features  of  North  Melanesia. 

The  North  Melanesian  lands  are  disposed  in  the  form  of  two  transverse  curves. 
The  northern,  beginning  with  Tiger  Island,  about  100  miles  north  of  the  New  Guinea 
seaboard,   stretches  eastwards   through  the  groups  of  Ninigo  or  Exchequer,  the 


3iO  AUSTRALASIA. 

Hermit  and  Admiralty  to  New  Hanover,  which  is  followed  by  the  elongated 
island  of  Torabara,  disposed  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to  south-east,  in 
common  with  all  the  members  of  the  Solomon  Archipelago.  The  southern  curve 
runs  at  first  parallel  with  the  New  Guinea  coast,  where  the  extreme  limit  of  the 
chain  is  marked  by  Vulcan  Island  within  ten  miles  of  the  mainland.  The  sj-stem 
is  then  continued  at  intervals  b}'  Dampier  (Kar-Kar),  Long  and  Rook,  beyond 
which  the  curve,  ceasing  to  follow  the  New  Guinea  coast  south-eastwards,  sweeps 
round  through  Birara  (New  Britain)  east  and  north-east  transversly  to  Tombara. 
Both  curves  thus  converge  and  somewhat  overlap  about  York  Island  in  St.  George's 
Channel. 

Like  moat  other  insular  chains  disposed  in  the  form  of  arcs  of  a  circle,  these  two 
ranges  of  the  North  Melanesian  islands  consist  in  a  great  measure  of  volcanic  lands. 
Vulcan,  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  southern  curve,  forms  a  superb  peak 
from  which  wreaths  of  smoke  constantly  issue.  Its  shores  are  festooned  with  a 
gai'land  of  plantations  and  its  slopes  clothed  with  forest  growths  to  a  height  of 
over  3,000  feet,  beyond  which  nothing  is  seen  except  a  scanty  hei-baccous  vegeta- 
tion as  far  as  the  summit,  5,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

Aris,  near  this  smoking  cone,  is  a  long  extinct  breached  crater ;  but  Lesson, 
lyino-  farther  west,  is  still  active.  These  waters  have  often  been  the  scene  of 
violent  commotions,  and  when  Dampier  penetrated  through  the  strait  bearing  his 
name,  the  atmosphere  was  charged  with  vapours  and  ashes  ;  flames  were  reflected 
from  the  clouds,  and  the  sea  was  covered  far  and  wide  by  floating  pumice  ;  but  at 
present  all  the  numerous  igneous  cones  dotted  over  this  maritime  region  are 
quiescent. 

Birara,  largest  member  of  all  the  IMelanesian  groups,  is  too  little  known  in  its 
central  parts  to  determine  the  character  of  the  rocks  concealed  beneath  the 
uniform  mantle  of  verdure  clothing  all  the  mountain  slopes.  But  Cape  Gloucester, 
at  the  extreme  point  overlooking  Dampier  Strait,  is  known  to  be  a  still  active 
volcano,  while  round  about  rise  numerous  eruptive  cones  with  an  average  height 
of  about  6,500  feet.  A  low  reef  in  the  cluster  of  the  French  Islands  scattered  to 
the  north  of  Birara  is  also  an  upheaved  igneous  mass,  one  of  whose  springs  forms 
a  geyser.  Farther  east  a  promontory  on  the  mainland,  3,940  feet  high,  consti- 
tutes, with  two  less  elevated  crests,  the  group  of  still-burning  mountains  known  as 
the  "Father"  and  his  two  "Sons."  Lastly,  Blanche  or  "Wliite  Bay,  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  Birara,  appears  to  be  itself  a  ruined  crater  encircled  by  an 
amphitheatre  of  hills.  In  the  midst  of  the  waters,  which  present  an  almost 
lacustrine  aspect,  stands  a  steep  circular  eminence,  while  the  peninsula  enclosing 
the  bay  on  the  east  is  surmounted  by  another  triplet  of  volcanoes,  known  as 
the  "Mother"  (2,100  feet)  and  her  two  "Daughters."  In  the  neighbouring 
seas  the  water  has  often  been  seen  to  boil  up,  and  some  of  the  islets  have  even  been 
l>artly  blown  away. 

Igneous  energy  seems  to  be  less  active  in  the  western  section  of  the  northern 
curve  forming  the  chief  insular  chain  of  North  Melanesia.  The  Exchequer  and 
Hermit  groups  are  vast  atolls  resting  on  a  rocky  bed  whose  true  character  has  not 


NORTH  MELANEi?IA. 


321 


yet  been  determined.  The  Admiraltj-  Archipelago  consists  mainly  of  coralline 
rocks,  and  here  a  mass,  2,970  feet  high,  occupying  the  centre  of  the  large  island 
of  Taui,  is  alone  said  to  be  of  plutonic  origin. 

Among  the  less  elevated  hills  in  New  Hanover,  Tombara  (New  Ireland),  and 


Fig.  138.-  White  Bat. 
Scale  1  :  170,000. 


Sands  and  Reefs 
exposed  at  low  water. 


neighbouring  islets  no  igneous  cones  have  j^et  been  discovered,  but  the  volcanic 
.system  again  reappears  in  the  Solomon  Archipelago.  Here,  the  large  island  of 
Bougainville  consists  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  of  a  continuous  igneous 
range  describing  a  regular  curve  whose  concave  side  faces  north-eastwards ;  Balbi, 
its  culminating  peak,  has  an  altitude  of  10,170  feet ;  but  Bagana,  situated  in  the 

VOL.  XIV.  V 


822  AUSTEALASIA. 

central  part  of  the  island,  is  the  only  cone  which  still  ejects  vapours  and  ashes. 
The  upraised  cones  scattered  over  Bougainville  Strait  are  also  composed  of  lavas, 
but  appear  to  have  long  been  extinct. 

Choiseul,  which  forms  the  south-eastern  continuation  of  Bougainville,  and 
which  rests  on  the  same  submarine  bank,  presents  a  greater  expanse  of  lowlands, 
former  marine  and  coralline  beds. 

Yzabel  and  Malaita  (Malanta),  in  the  northern  division  of  the  Solomon  group, 
also  consist  of  igneous  ranges  whose  culminating  crests  rise  resiDCctively  to 
altitudes  of  3,900  and  4,270  feet.  But  the  eruptive  masses  in  both  islands  are  of 
very  ancient  date,  and  have  been  modified  to  great  depths  by  weathering.  Up  to 
a  height  of  500  feet  the  hills  are  encircled  by  calcareous  terraces  slowy  deposited 
by  the  surrounding  marine  waters. 

The  southern  chain  of  the  Solomons,  running  parallel  with  the  northern, 
begins  with  Treasury  (Mono)  Island,  lying  some  60  miles  south  of  Bougainville. 
Guppy  describes  this  island  as  an  anciently  submerged  volcanic  peak  covered  by 
several  hundred  feet  of  deposits,  then  encrusted  with  coral  reefs,  and  finally 
elevated  above  the  sea  to  a  height  of  nearly  1,200  feet.  At  one  time  it  appears 
to  have  subsided  to  a  depth  of  about  1,800  fathoms,  so  that,  adding  its  present 
height,  there  must  have  been  a  subsequent  upheaval  of  no  less  than  12,000  feet.* 

The  groiip  of  islands  stretching  from  Treasury  in  a  south-easterly  direction 
contains  some  not  yet  entirely  extinct  cones.  Vela  la  Velha  (Vella  Lavella), 
3,000  feet  high,  has  some  fumeroles  and  a  solfatara.  Narovo,  or  Eddystone,  is  also 
furrowed  by  crevices  whence  escape  sulphurous  vapours.  But  on  New  Georgia, 
largest  member  of  this  cluster,  nothing  occurs  except  a  range  of  quiescent  or 
extinct  crests.  When  the  Spaniards  first  reached  these  waters,  the  islet  of  Savo, 
(Sesarga)  at  the  north  end  of  Guadalcanar,  was  in  full  eruption.  Guadalcanar, 
largest  of  the  southern  Solomons,  is  covered  with  .supei'b  cloud-capped  moimtains 
rising  to  heights  of  from  6,000  to  8,000  feet. 

San  Cristobal  (4,100  feet)  is  also  of  volcanic  origin;  but  all  traces  .of  activity 
have  disappeared,  and  the  coast  is  now  fringed  bj'  coralline  headlands.  Santa- 
Ana,  at  the  southernmost  point  of  the  Archipelago,  is,  like  Treasury,  an  ancient 
volcano,  which,  after  subsiding  some  1,500  or  2,000  fathoms  below  the  surface, 
was  again  upheaved  with  a  calcareous  depo.sit  encrusting  its  primitive  eruptive 
rocks. 

Atolls  and  low  islets  are  scattered  over  the  Pacific  to  the  east  of  the  Solomons, 
forming  an  irregular  chain  of  extensive  surf-beaten  reefs.  Here  the  atoll  of 
Ongtong-Java  or  Candelaria,  called  also  Lord  Howe  or  Leueneuwa,  is  especially 
dreaded  by  mariners,  its  oval  circuit  of  reefs  having  a  periphery  of  at  least  120 
miles.  The  Solomons  are  also  fringed  in  many  places  by  barrier  reefs,  which 
rise  above  the  surface  in  deep  waters.  East  of  Yzabel  one  of  these  coralline 
ramparts  is  repiorted  to  be  considerably  over  100  miles  long ;  New  Georgia, 
Bougainville  and  Choiseul  are  similarly  fringed  with  reefs,  which  render  more 
than  half  of  their  seaboards  inaccessible  to  shipping.    The  straits  flowing  between 

*  T/ie  Solomon  Islands,  i^.  102. 


NORTH  MELANESIA.  828 

these  barriers  and  the  islands  have  an  average  depth  of  from  350  to  400  fathoms. 
But  the  greatest  cavity  yet  revealed  in  the  Melanesian  waters  occurs  towards  the 
centre  of  the  semi- circle  formed  by  the  Bismarck  Archipelago  between  New 
Britain  and  New  Ireland,  where  the  sounding  line  plunged  into  an  abyss  of  780 
fathoms. 

Climate,  Flora  axd  Fauna  of  North  Melanesia. 

The  North  ]Melanesian  lands  arc  comprised  entirely  within  the  zone  of  the 
south-east  trade  winds.  For  more  than  half  the  year,  from  May  to  September,  or 
even  from  April  to  November  or  December,  the  wind  sets  steadily  in  the  normal 
direction ;  then  it  yields  to  the  west  or  north-west  monsoon,  a  variable  and 
shifting  current,  but  still  humid,  like  the  trade  wind,  for  it  also  traverses  a  wide 
expanse  of  water  before  reaching  the  islands.  Hence  there  is  at  least  one  rainy 
day  in  three,  at  times  one  in  two,  throughout  the  year,  and  both  the  Bismarck  and 
Solomon  Archij^elagoes  have  a  mean  annual  rainfall  of  not  less  than  150  inches  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  seaboard,*  and  far  more  on  the  higher  slopes  where 
the  moisture-bearing  clouds  are  first  intercepted.  According  to  GujDpy,  the 
discharge  aA'erages  from  440  to  480  inches  at  heights  of  6,000  to  7,000  feet  in 
the  upland  valleys  of  Guadalcanar  facing  towards  the  south-east  trades.  These 
mountain  slopes  ajipear  to  be  the  most  copiously  watered  of  any  oceanic  lands,  and 
are  elsewhere  surpassed  in  this  respect  only  by  the  escarjjments  of  the  Khasi  Hills 
in  the  Brahmaputra  basin.  During  a  single  downpour  of  ten  hours  Guppy 
recorded  over  1 1  inches  of  rain  in  the  neighbourliood  of  the  coast.  The  least 
healthy  season  is  that  of  the  variable  winds  accompanying  tlie  west  monsoon. 

Thanks  to  the  abundant  rainfall,  the  North  Melanesian  flora,  which  greatly 
resembles  that  of  New  Guinea,  is  both  rich  and  varied.  Even  the  low  coral  banks 
disappear  in  many  places  under  the  large  trees,  the  seeds  of  which  have  been  brought 
by  the  winds,  the  marine  currents,  and  the  birds.  On  the  hillsides  the  forests 
extend  in  a  continuous,  impenetrable  mass,  their  leafy  canopies  rising  here  and 
there  over  150  feet  above  the  ground.  One  of  the  most  widespread  of  these  foreign 
growths  is  the  banyan  fig,  with  its  thousand  pendent  tendrils  twining  round  and 
at  last  choking  other  species.  This  incessant  struggle  between  the  banyan  and  the 
other  giants  of  the  woodlands  forms  a  familiar  theme  of  many  local  legends. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  products  of  the  cryptogamic  flora  in  the  Solomon 
group  is  a  mass  of  vegetable  matter  which  resembles  the  yam,  but  which  is  found 
resting  upon  the  ground  without  roots  or  any  connecting  stems.  Guppy  dwells 
with  admiration  on  the  surprising  knowledge  displayed  b}'  the  natives  in 
botanical  matters.  They  clearly  distinguish  between  species  almost  identical  in 
appearance,  and  in  this  respect  show  themselves  far  better  naturalists  than  any 
educated  Europeans  except  specialists. 

The  North  Melanesian  fauna  also  greatly  resembles  that  of  New  Guinea,  but 

*  Rainfall  at  Santa-Ana  off  south-east  coast  of  San  Cristobal  in  1883,  125  inches ;  at  Ugi,  east  of 
San  Cristobal,  14C-24  inches. — (Guppy). 

y2 


324  AUSTEALASIA 

Polynesian  are  intermingled  with  Papuasian  forms  in  the  Solomon  Islands,  which  lie 
on  the  borders  of  the  two  zoological  domains.  According  to  native  report  anthro- 
poid apes  still  survive  in  the  large  islands  of  Malaita,  Guadalcanar  and  San 
Cristobal ;  but  they  have  never  been  seen  by  any  European  zoologists,  who  have 
mot  no  indigenous  mammals  except  the  pig,  the  dog,  and  a  small  species  of  rat4 
Of  birds  the  pigeon  is  the  most  common  and  the  chief  agent  in  the  dispersion  of 
plants.  Powell  asserts  that  in  the  volcanic  islands  the  megapodius  (brush  turkey) 
often  lays  its  eggs  in  the  fissures  of  the  rocks  emitting  hot  vapours. 

The  reptiles,  so  poorly  represented  in  most  oceanic  islands,  are  somewhat 
numerous  in  the  Solomons,  and  several  species  are  even  peculiar  to  the  Mela- 
nesian  Archipelagoes.  Specially  noteworthy  are  the  enormous  toads,  which  were 
formerly  worshipped  with  snakes  in  the  island  of  Yzabel.  Crocodiles,  still 
venerated  by  the  islanders,  abound  on  the  coastlands,  and  live  both  in  salt  and 
fresh  water.  They  are  little  dreaded,  and  according  to  the  local  legend  are 
dangerous  only  to  unfaithful  wives.  The  Solomon  Archipelago  marks  the 
easternmost  limit  in  the  range  of  these  saurians,  which  are  not  met  again  till 
the  American  continent  is  reached. 

Inhabitaxts  of  North  Melanesia. 

The  Melanesians  belong  undoubtedly  to  the  same  stock  as  the  New  Guinea 
Papuans,  although  representatives  also  occur  amongst  them  both  of  the  Malay 
and  Polynesian  types.  A  Micronesian  enclave  is  also  found  in  the  little 
Exchequer  group,  consisting  of  some  fifty  isles  and  islets.  San  Cristobal,  in  the 
Solomon  Archijielago,  is  probably  the  land  pointed  to  as  the  cradle  of  their  race 
in  the  legends  of  the  South-Sea  Islanders.  This  land  of  Pure,  which  was  indi- 
cated to  the  pilot  Queiros  as  the  original  home  of  the  Oceanic  tribes,  and  which 
Hale  sought  to  identify  with  the  island  of  Buru  in  the  Moluccas,  would  seem 
much  more  probably  to  have  been  Baura,  that  is,  the  island  whose  name  the 
Spaniards  afterwards  changed  to  San  Cristobal. 

But  however  this  be,  the  prevailing  features  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the 
seaboard  in  the  Admiralty,  Bismarck,  and  Solomon  groups  are  those  of  the 
Melanesian  or  Papuan  type.  The  tribes  of  the  interior,  often  spoken  of  as  bush- 
men,  are  very  little  known ;  but  certain  indications  would  seem  to  imply  that  the 
Negrito  element  is  largely  represented  amongst  them.  The  legend  of  tailed  men 
said  to  live  in  the  interior  of  New  Britain  is  widespread.  A  great  variety  of 
idioms  prevails  throughout  the  archipelagoes,  although,  so  far  as  is  known,  all 
would  appear  to  be  derived  from  a  common  source. 

The  North  Melanesians  are  for  the  most  part  of  mean  height  and  well-propor- 
tioned, with  a  deep  brown  or  blackish  complexion  and  abundant  frizzly  or  crisp 
hair.  The  finest  group  are  those  of  Bougainville,  who  surpass  all  the  others  in 
stature  and  strength,  but  who  are  also  of  a  darker  colour  and  distinguished  by  their 
brachycephalic  or  round  heads.  The  same  form  of  the  skull,  however,  prevails 
amongst  many  other  Melanesians,  a  fact  first  placed  beyond  doubt  by  Miklukho 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

•INIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


NOETH  MELA^^ESIA. 


325 


Maklaj'  to  the  surprise  of  most  ethnologists,  who  regarded  the  dolichocephalic 
or  long  shape  of  the  head  as  specially  characteristic  of  this  Oceanic  group. 

A  large  number  of  Melanesians,  especially  in  the  Admiralty  Islands,  have 
long  teeth  projecting  beyond  the  mouth,  a  featiire  which  imparts  to  the  phy- 
siognomy a  somewhat  ferocious  and  even  bestial  expression.  But  this  feature  is 
less  conspicuous  amongst  the  men,  whose  teeth  are  covered  with  a  dark  varnish 
from  the  habit  of  betel-chewing,  than  amongst  the  women  and  children,  whose 
teeth  are  white.  Some  natives,  especially  of  New  Britain,  are  also  met,  the  toes 
of  whose  feet  are  all  connected  together  by  a  common  membrane.*  Ulcers  under 
the  soles  are  veiy  general,  and  in  the  Solomon  Archipelago  at  least  two-fifths  of 

Fig.  139. — SiN  Ceistobax. 
Scale  1 :  1,700,000. 


East  ofiGreenv 


Depths. 


250  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


the  inhabitants  are  afflicted  with  large  .sores  caused  by  a  parasite  [tinea  circinafa 
tropica)  ;  in  some  islands  nearly  the  whole  population  has  to  entertain  these 
troublesome  guest.s. 

Skin  diseases,  also,  are  not  less  prevalent  than  amongst  the  Caroline  islanders, 
while  the  baneful  habit  of  eating  argillaceous  clay  is  common  in  the  Admiraltj' 
group.  Most  of  the  old  people  are  carried  off  by  pulmonary  affections,  and  when 
the  mortality  becomes  excessive  in  a  village,  the  inhabitants  migrate  to  some  other 
place  declared  by  the  magicians  to  be  more  propitious.  As  a  rule  the  JMelanesians 
are  less  affected  than  the  Polynesians  hy  the  morbid  influences  caused  by  contact 
with  the  whites  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  certain  islands  arc  being  graduallj- 
depopulated  by  the  universal  practice  of  infanticide.     In  Ugi,  oft'  the  east  coast  of 

•  Romilly,  The  JVcstcni  Pacific  and  New  Guinea. 


326  AUSTRALASIA. 

San  Cristobal,  nearly  all  the  children  of  both  sexes  are  killed  by  their  parents, 
and  the  population  is  recruited  by  the  purchase  of  young  slaves  on  the  neighbour- 
ing island  ;  on  reaching  the  adult  age  these  slaves  become  free. 

The  Melanesians  do  not  practise  circumcision,  and  the  jirevalence  of  this  rite 
in  any  community  is  a  sure  proof  of  Polynesian  descent.  Tattooing  is  the  rule, 
performed,  however,  by  incisions  with  sharp  stones,  not  by  pricking,  as  amongst  the 
South-Sea  Islanders.  In  Santa- Ana,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Solomon 
group,  the  youths  do  not  acquire  the  privileges  of  manhood  until  they  have  sub- 
mitted to  this  rite,  and  during  the  operation  they  are  obliged  to  dwell  apart  and 
live  on  the  blood  of  a  sacred  fish.  In  Bougainville,  on  the  contrary,  tattooing  is 
interdicted  to  the  young  ;  but  after  marriage  both  sexes  embellish  the  person  with 
rows  of  knobs  in  the  form  of  peas,  the  number  and  disposition  of  which  indicate 
the  rank  of  the  individual. 

Like  most  savages  the  Melanesians  pay  great  attention  to  their  toilet ;  they 
daily  spend  hours  in  the  water,  rubbing  the  body  and  painting  it  red,  excej)t  in 
time  of  mourning,  when  bathing  is  forbidden.  The  hair  is  dressed  in  various  ways, 
either  as  an  enormous  globe,  or  tower-shaped,  or  else  fashioned  by  means  of  claj' 
and  ochre  into  a  compact  red  mass.  Such  is  the  labour  required  to  keep  the 
hair  properly  dressed  that  in  Treasury  Island  some  of  the  old  women  shave  it 
off  altogether  in  order  to  find  time  for  their  household  duties. 

Instead  of  clothes  some  of  the  more  savage  tribes  load  themselves  with  orna 
ments  of  all  kinds,  necklaces,  bracelets,  fantastic  trinkets,  tufts  of  foliage  and 
the  like.  The  cartilage  of  the  nose  is  generally  pierced  for  the  insertion  of  small 
boars'  tusks,  or  else  strings  of  shells,  while  bits  of  stick,  bone,  and  other  objects 
are  introduced  into  the  pierced  lobe  of  the  ear.  Warriors  distinguished  for  their 
prowess  in  the  battlefield  wear  festoons  of  human  teeth,  vertebra)  or  finger  joints, 
a  thigh  bone  suspended  on  the  breast  completing  their  military  decorations.  In 
Matupi  and  many  other  islands  the  currency  still  consists  of  strings  of  shells, 
replaced  elsewhere  by  dogs'  teeth,  and  in  the  cannibal  districts  by  necklets  of 
human  teeth ;  empty  bottles  serve  the  like  purpose  in  the  Admiralty  group. 

Incessant  warfare  prevails  in  certain  islands  not  only  between  the  seaboard  and 
inland  tribes,  but  also  between  the  coastlanders  themselves.  This  is  due  to  the 
necessity  of  procuring  heads  to  decorate  the  chief's  house  and  the  war  canoes  ; 
captives  are  also  needed,  to  be  slaughtered  on  certain  solemn  feasts,  so  that  their 
souls  may  protect  the  plantations  or  bring  success  to  the  fishermen.  Fiu'ther 
victims  are  required  to  grace  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the  chiefs.  The  body  is 
placed  erect  in  the  grave,  then  buried  up  to  the  neck,  after  which  a  fire  is  kindled 
to  consume  the  flesh,  the  skull  being  then  carried  off  and  set  up  in  the  canoe, 
serving  the  purpose  of  a  temple.  But  the  grave  has  still  to  be  filled  in  with  the 
youngest  wife,  a  child,  and  the  most  valued  treasures  of  the  departed,  together 
with  the  offerings  of  his  friends.  Then  the  miscellaneous  contents  are  crushed, 
broken  to  pieces  and  covered  with  stones,  while  the  assembled  multitude  utter 
cries  of  grief ;  occasionally  the  very  palm  groves  are  felled,  so  that  the  owner's 
trees  may  share  in  the  universal  mourning,  or  else  accompanj'  him  to  the  other  world. 


NORTH  MELANESIA.  327 

As  a  rule  the  slaves  owned  by  the  chiefs  are  well  treated  ;  but  the  terrible 
prospect  constantly  stares  them  in  the  face  of  being  at  any  moment  clubbed  and 
eaten  in  honour  of  some  tribal  victory,  the  launching  of  a  canoe  or  other  festive 
occasion.  According  to  Romilly  one  of  the  most  appreciated  dishes  of  the  New 
Ireland  cuisine  is  a  mixture  of  sago,  cocoanut  and  human  brains.  Cannibalism  is 
probably  nowhere  more  rampant  than  in  Arossi  (San  Cristobal),  where  as  many  as 
twenty  people  are  at  times  cooked  and  consumed  in  a  single  day.  A  chief  visited 
by  Brown  had  a  cocoanut  palm  on  which  seventy-  six  notches  indicated  the  number 
of  human  beings  devoured  up  to  that  time  (1883). 

Anthropophagy  regarded  as  a  religious  rite  is  still  almost  universally  practised 
in  the  Melanesian  Archipelagoes  ;  in  Santa-Ana,  however,  it  has  fallen  into  abey- 
ance ever  since  it  was  tabooed  by  the  chief  after  an  epidemic.  In  some  other 
islands,  also,  the  influence  of  the  whites  has  caused  it  to  disappear,  and  the  natives 
who  still  indulge  are  at  least  so  far  ashamed  of  doing  so  that  they  deny  it  in  the 
presence  of  strangers.  Human  remains  are  also  being  gradually  replaced  in  many 
places  by  the  bones  of  swine  in  the  decoration  of  houses  and  war  canoes. 

The  Melanesian  villages,  mostly  composed  of  two  rows  of  huts  built  stoutly 
enough  to  stand  the  climate  for  five  or  six  jears,  jjresent  every  type  of  con- 
struction prevalent  in  the  oceanic  world.  Isolated  groups  raised  on  jjiles  are 
characteristic  of  one  district,  dwellings  standing  on  the  ground  of  another,  while 
elsewhere,  notably  in  Yzabel,  the  people  live  in  fortified  trees  accessible  only  by 
ladders  or  notched  beams.  Everj'  village  has  its  tamhu,  a  sort  of  "  town-hall," 
built  with  the  greatest  care,  embellished  with  curious  wood-carvings,  and  set  apart 
for  public  assemblies,  for  the  reception  and  entertainment  of  strangers,  and  for 
housing  the  chief's  war  canoes.  In  New  Britain  this  mansion  is  at  times  decorated 
with  statues  sculptured  in  a  chalky  stone,  which  is  .said  to  be  cast  ashore  by  the 
tidal  and  earthquake  waves. 

Of  all  the  large  Melanesian  islands  New  Ireland  appears  to  be  the  most 
densely  peopled,  especially  on  the  west  side.  Coasting  along  the  seaboard,  sea- 
farers everywhere  observe  the  smoke  rising  from  human  habitations,  and  in  some 
places  the  shore  is  thickly  fringed  by  cocoanut  palms,  which  supply  the  staj^le  of 
food.  The  population  may  be  roughly  estimated  by  the  number  of  these  trees,  twenty 
of  which  represent  on  an  average  one  person.  The  cabin  of  every  native  is  con- 
sidered as  a  sacred  place  by  his  neighbours,  who  dare  not  enter  it  except  at  the 
risk  of  their  lives. 

Like  some  of  the  Micronesian  islanders,  the  Melanesians  construct  admirable  and 
highly  decorated  boats,  most  of  which  carry  a  square  instead  of  a  pointed  sail  as 
in  Polynesia.  Thej'  are  daring  and  skilful  navigators,  as  well  as  intelligent 
husbandmen.  In  the  forest  clearings,  generally  at  some  distance  from  the  villages, 
the  fields  planted  with  yams,  sweet  potatoes,  taro,  bananas,  and  sugar-cane  are 
well  tilled  by  the  women.  The  produce  of  these  plantations  is  supplemented  by 
other  alimentary  plants,  such  as  the  sago,  cocoanut  palm,  and  bread-fruit  tree. 
The  women  also  weave  the  matting  with,  pandanus  leaves,  and  make  the  earthen- 
ware, while  the  men  manufacture  the  agricultural  implements,  clubs,  spears,  bows 


328  AUSTEALASIA. 

and  arrows,  and  other  weapons,  whicli  vary  considerably  in  the  different  islands 
English  is  everj'where  the  language  of  commercial  intercourse. 

Notwithstanding  the  murder  of  many  whites,  afterwards  served  uj)  at  the 
public  banquets,  Loth  Catholic  and  Protestant  missionaries  have  penetrated  into 
many  parts  of  the  Melunesian  Archipelagoes.  A  mission  founded  in  San  Cristobal 
having  brought  about  a  general  massacre  had  to  be  removed  to  Woodlark  Island ; 
but  the  priests  were  driven  from  this  place  also,  and  have  now  taken  refuge  in 
Rook  Island,  near  Dampier  Strait,  at-  the  south-west  extremity  of  New  Ireland. 

The  influence  of  the  missionaries,  more  or  less  neutralised  by  that  of  unprin- 
cipled traders  and  mariners,  has  hitherto  been  little  felt.  The  Melanesians  still 
continue  to  worship  their  good  and  evil  spirits,  as  well  as  the  grand  phenomena  of 
nature.  They  also  venerate  those  animals  that  thej'  fear,  in  one  jilace  the  shark, 
in  another  the  crocodile.  Little  care  is  taken  of  the  sick,  who,  in  most  of  the  islands, 
are  even  abandoned  to  their  fate  when  all  hope  of  recovery  is  lost — they  are  taken 
to  the  dead-house,  a  cocoanut  is  placed  on  their  mat,  and  they  are  left  to  die 
alone. 

The  political  systems  differ  greatlj^  in  the  various  insular  groups.  In  the 
Admiralty  and  Bismarck  Archipelagoes  the  tribes  have  no  chiefs,  or  rather  those 
bearing  this  title  owe  it  to  the  foreign  traders.  Here  no  one  pi'esumes  to  dictate 
to  his  neighbour;  all  the  members  of  the  community  are  equal,  and  deliberate 
without  the  control  of  superiors  on  the  common  interests.  On  the  other  hand  the 
power  of  the  hereditary  chiefs  has  been  firmly  established  in  most  of  the  Solomon 
Islands.  Although,  as  a  rule,  there  are  as  many  states  as  villages,  some  of  the 
more  powerful  chiefs  rule  over  whole  clusters  of  islets  and  even  over  extensive 
tracts  on  the  larger  islands.  Thus  the  "  King  "  of  Shortland  in  Bougainville 
Strait  holds  sway  over  all  the  islanders  in  that  channel,  as  well  as  over  the  neigh- 
boviring  tribes  in  Bougainville  and  Choiseul.  The  more  powerful  dynasties  are 
generally  constituted  by  the  rulers  of  the  smaller  islands,  whoso  inhabitants  are 
more  restless  and  daring  than  the  settled  agricultural  populations  of  the  large 
islands.  The  policy  of  the  German  Government  is  at  present  directed  towards 
consolidating  the  power  of  the  more  influential  chiefs,  and  gradually  transforming 
them  to  paid  officials. 

There  are  no  towns  in  German  Melanesia.  The  "  colony "  of  Port-Breton, 
founded  in  1879  on  the  south  coast  of  Tombara,  in  the  most  arid  part  of  the  island, 
has  been  completely  abandoned  by  its  French  immigrants,  to  whom  such  golden 
promises  had  been  held  out,  but  who  fonnd  nothing  but  famine  and  sickness  in 
"  New  France."  Nothing  remains  of  the  settlement  except  a  few  sheds  sheltering 
some  merchandise  from  the  weather. 

The  political  and  commercial  capital  of  the  German  Melanesian  possessions 
occupies  a  perfectly  central  position  between  New  Guinea  and  the  Bismarck 
Archipelago.  The  first  station  was  Mioko,  in  the  still  waters  stretching  south  of 
York  Island  (New  Lauenburg) ;  but  this  port  was  abandoned  in  consequence  of  the 
fetid  odours  emitted  by  the  neighbouring  shoals  which  are  exposed  at  low  water. 
Choice  wiis  then  made  of  the  thickly  peopled  island  of  Jlrifiipi,  which  lies  farther 


I 


NOKTH  MELANESIA. 


329 


west,  and  which  is  nothiug  but  an  upraised  crater  in  the  older  crater  of  Blanche 
Harbour.  But  the  village  having  been  half  destroyed  by  a  volcanic  eruption,  the 
centre  of  the  administration  was  again  shifted,  this  time  to  the  islet  of  Keraivara, 
which  is  situated  south-west  of  Mioko,  and  which  has  the  advantage  of  a  roadstead 
accessible  to  the  largest  vessels.  Not  more  than  a  thousand  tons  of  copra  are 
annually  exported  from  this  place. 


Fig.   UO.— Neu-Lauenburg  (Yoke)  Island. 

Scale  1  :  I7ii.ri.iii. 


Ea 


25  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


3\  MUes. 


The  officials  of  the  trading  company  which  represents  the  German  power  in 
these  waters  have  hitherto  been  mainly  occupied  in  superintending  the  emigration, 
or  rather  the  transportation,  of  the  natives  carried  off  to  work  on  the  plantations  of 
the  whites.  The  slave  markets  have  certainly  been  replaced  by  markets  of  "free 
labour ;  "  but  the  difference  between  the  operations  of  all  these  labour  vessels  is 


380  AUSTRALASIA. 

little  more  than  nominal,  and  thousands  of  natives  "  engaged  "  to  work  in  remote 
places  have  perished  of  despair  and  hardships.  Some  German  writers  have 
advocated  the  establishment  of  a  convict  settlement  in  Melanesia.  The  islands  in 
Dampier  Strait,  occupying  a  central  position  between  the  New  Guinea  coast  and 
the  northern  archipelagoes,  have  been  mentioned  as  the  most  convenient  locality 
for  this  purpose. 

A  table  of  the  chief  North  Melanesian  islands,  with  their  extent  and  estimated 
population,  is  given  in  the  Appendix. 

II. — South  Melaxesi.\  :  Santa-Cruz  and  New  Hebrides. 

These  two  insular  chains,  although  evidently  belonging  to  the  same  geological 
system  as  the  Solomons,  are  not  disposed  quite  in  the  same  direction,  their  longi- 
tudinal axis  running  north-north-west  and  south-south-east.  The  two  clusters 
comprise  some  fifty  isles  and  islets,  besides  countless  reefs,  and  a  few  groups  scat- 
tered over  the  eastern  waters  on  the  highways  leading  to  Fiji  and  Samoa.  Alto- 
gether Santa-Cruz  and  the  New  Hebrides,  with  the  more  remote  Tikopia  and 
Anuda,  have  a  collective  area  estimated  at  from  5,000  to  5,500  square  miles,  with 
a  total  pojmlation  approximately  computed  at  about  seventy  thousand  souls. 

The  Santa-Cruz  Archipelago  was  discovered  in  1595  by  Alonzo  de  Mendana, 
during  the  unsuccessful  expedition  undertaken  to  rediscover  the  Solomon  group 
visited  by  him  twenty-eight  years  previously.  His  companion,  Queiros,  when 
exploring  the  same  waters  in  1606,  was  the  iirst  to  sight  the  New  Hebrides. 
Casting  anchor  in  a  bay  on  the  coast  of  Espiritu-Santo,  he  supposed  he  had 
reached  the  Australian  continent,  and  accordingly  gave  to  this  "  mother  of  so 
many  islands "  the  name  of  Australia.  It  was  in  this  island  of  Merena,  or 
Espiritu-Santo,  that  he  founded  the  "New  Jerusalem,"  the  city  whence  the  true 
faith  was  to  be  spread  over  all  the  scattered  lands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  But 
Queiros  never  returned  to  this  region,  which  remained  unvisited  for  a  himdred 
and  fifty  years  till  the  time  of  Bougainville.  But  the  very  name  of  the  "  Great 
Cyclades,"  given  to  the  New  Hebrides  by  this  navigator,  shows  that  he  made  no 
systematic  survey  of  this  archipelago,  which  is  disposed  not  in  circles  but  in 
chains. 

In  1774,  six  years  after  Bougainville,  Cook  visited  the  same  group,  which  he 
studied  more  in  detail,  and  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  the  Scotch  Islands,  which 
has  since  been  maintained  in  geographical  nomenclature.  After  Cook's  visit  the 
coasts  of  the  central  islands  still  remained  to  be  surveyed,  and  some  more  remote 
groups  to  be  discovered.  In  1789,  Bligh,  driven  from  his  shij)  by  the  mutineers 
of  the  Bounty,  and  compelled  to  make  his  way  across  more  than  half  of  the 
Pacific,  had  the  good  fortune  to  come  upon  the  Banks  Islands,  lying  to  the 
north  of  the  New  Hebrides.  The  previous  year  Laperouse  had  navigated  the 
same  parts  of  the  ocean ;  but  he  never  returned  to  announce  his  discoveries. 
His  vessel  was  wrecked  on  a  shoal  off  Vanikoro,  the  southernmost  member 
of  the  Santa-Cruz  group,  though  the  scene  of  the  disaster  remained  unknown  until 


\ 


SAXTA-C'RUZ.— NEW  HEBRIDES. 


331 


discovered  thu-ty-uiae  3ears  afterwards  by   Dillon.     The  fatal  rock    lies  to    the 
west  of  the  island  in  one  of  the  channels  piercing  the  circuit  of  fringing  reefs. 

Although  now  well  known  to  mariners  in  the  South  Seas,  and  frequently 
visited  by  labour  vessels  and  missionaries,  neither  the  Santa- Cruz  group  nor  the 
New  Hebrides"  have  yet  been  annexed  by  any  Eui-opeau  power.  The  former 
come,  no  doubt,  within  the  sphere  assigned  to  British  influence  by  the  treaty 
concluded  with  Germany ;  but  the  New  Hebrides,  which  also  seemed  destined  to 
become  an  English  possession,  have  been  disputed  by  France,  and  some  of  the 
islands  have  even  been  temporarily  occupied  by  small  French  garrisons.     Protes- 


Fig.   Ul. — Vaxikoeo. 

Scale  1 :  375,000. 


S&'bo  East  oF  Gne 


60  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


tant  and  Catholic  missionaries,  inspired  by  religious  rivalries.  New  Caledonian  and 
Fijian  speculators  in  search  of  labourers  for  their  plantations,  clamoured  for  the 
intervention  of  their  respective  governments  in  favour  of  their  particular  interests, 
and  for  some  years  the  political  fate  of  the  archipelago  remained  in  suspense. 
This  uncertain  situation  has  even  been  indefinitely  prolonged  by  a  recent  treaty 
which  place's  the  group  under  joint  British  and  French  protection,  a  state  of  things 
which  may  probably,  sooner  or  later,  result  in  the  partition  of  the  archipelago 
between  the  two  rival  powers. 

Like  the  other  insular  chains  in  the  "V\'estern  Pacific,  both  archipelagoes  arc  of 


882 


AUSTEALASIA. 


U2.— New  Hebrides. 
Scale  1  :  n  sno.OOO. 


volcanic  origin,  as  is  evident  from  the  regular  cones  strewn  with  ashes  and  lavas, 
which  occur  in  nearly  all  these  Melanesian  lands.  According  to  Dana,  the  almost 
total  absence  of  coralline  reefs  must  be  attributed  to  the  activity  of  the  igneous 

forces;  although  lying  between 
Ne\v  Caledonia  and  Fiji,  so  rich  in 
corals,  neither  Santa-Cruz  nor  the 
New  Hebrides  have  a  single  atoll, 
and  the  only  complete  fringing 
reef  is  that  which  encircles  the 
island  of  Vanikoro.  Tinakoro,  a 
northern  member  of  the  Santa- 
Cruz  group,  is  in  a  constant  state 
of  eruption,  while  a  volcano  1,870 
feet  high,  in  the  islet  of  Urepara- 
para,  Banks  Archipelago,  shows  a 
breached  crater  facing  north-east- 
wards and  now  flooded  by  the  sea. 
Copious  thermal  springs  well  up  on 
the  shores  of  Vanua-Lava,  in  the 
same  neighbourhood ;  both  the 
island  of  Ambrym  (3,590  feet),  in 
the  centre  of  the  New  Hebrides, 
and  the  precipitous  Mount  Lopevi 
(5,000  feet),  culminating  point  of 
that  group,  are  active  volcanoes, 
as  is  also  the  wooded  Mount  Yasova, 
in  Tanna  (Tanna  Aij)eri),  near  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  chain. 
Vapours,  ashes,  and  lumps  of  lava 
are  ejected  from  this  crater  at  in- 
tervals of  six  or  eight  minutes, 
especially  in  the  months  of  Jan- 
uary, February,  and  March.  Port 
Resolution,  an  excellent  harbour 
in  Tanna,  was  tilled  up  by  an  earth- 
.quake  in  1878. 

Submarine  disturbances  are  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  these  waters, 
where  vessels  have  occasionally  to 
force  their  way  through  dense  masses  of  floating  pimiice.  Besides  the  still  restless 
craters  a  number  of  other  insular  cones  were  formerly  the  scene  of  igneous  convul- 
sions. Many  places  show  indications  of  comparatively  recent  upheaval,  and  Ormieres 
speaks  of  mangrove  roots  encrusted  with  shells  lying  some  iO  feet  above  the 
present  sea-level. 


Easb'cf   L-r,;,5n,-.,ch  170° 


Depths. 


•2,000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 
180  Miles. 


SAXTA-CEUZ.— NEW  HEBRIDES.  833 

Climate — Flora — Favxa, 

The  climate  varies  considerably  in  the  different  insular  groups,  which  are 
scattered  over  a  space  of  more  than  12°  of  latitude  (10"  to  22°  south  latitude). 
Hence  the  mean  temperature  varies  from  3°  to  4°  or  5°  Fahr.  between  the  two 
extremities  of  the  archipelagoes.  Nevertheless  the  movement  of  winds  and  rains  is 
everywhere  the  same  in  these  waters.  The  southern  trade  wind  blows  regularly 
during  the  summer  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  from  Jlay  to  October,  while 
variable  breezes  alternate  with  the  trades  throughout  the  rest  of  the  j-ear.  Heavy 
rains,  storms,  and  even  cyclones  visit  the  archipelagoes  during  the  prevalence  of 
the  western  gales. 

Owing  to  the  abundant  moisture  the  vegetation  is  dense  and  the  mountains 
mostly  forest-clad.  For  Europeans,  the  climate  of  the  New  Hebrides,  and 
especially  of  the  west  or  more  humid  side,  is  extremely  insalubrious  ;  the  same 
region  appears  to  have  also  become  less  healthy  for  the  natives  themselves,  who 
are  now  decimated  by  consumption. 

Thanks  to  the  great  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  flora  of  these  archipelagoes 
comprises  a  large  number  of  forms  not  occurring  elsewhere.  Such  are  a  species  of 
myrtle,  which  gives  a  pungent  odour  and  grows  to  a  height  of  over  40  feet,  and  a 
variety  of  cedar,  with  olive-like  foliage,  which  grows  much  higher  and  which 
might  supply  masts  for  large  vessels.  Nearly  all  the  New  Hebrides  trees  are 
highly  resinous,  and  the  white,  transparent  substance  oozing  from  them  is  much 
valued  by  the  few  European  manufacturers  acquainted  with  its  properties.  In  the 
New  Hebrides  sandalwood  is  mainly  in  demand  for  the  export  trade. 

In  these  archipelagoes  the  alimentary  plants  are  chiefly  of  western  origin. 
Although  the  Indian  vegetable  world  is  here  still  represented  by  a  number  of 
forms,  the  New  Hebrides  also  belong  to  the  New  Zealand  domain,  as  shown  by 
the  dammara,  the  araucaria  and  about  a  hundred  varieties  of  ferns.  With  few 
exceptions,  the  fruit  trees,  such  as  the  cocoanut,  sago,  bread-fruit  tree  and  banana, 
are  the  same  as  those  found  in  the  other  oceanic  lands.  But  of  all  plants  the 
most  important  is  the  yam,  which  constitutes  the  staple  of  food  for  the  natives. 
The  years  are  reckoned  by  the  yam  harvests,  and  for  the  hands  carried  off  to  work 
on  the  Queensland,  Fiji,  or  New  Caledonian  plantations,  the  period  of  contract 
service,  is  estimated  not  by  years  but  by  j'ams. 

The  indigenous  fauna  is  extremely  poor  in  mammals,  the  only  primitive 
species  being  rats  and  bats.  The  pig  has  been  imported,  and  even  quite  recentlj' 
the  natives  of  Tanna  and  Mallicolo  beheld  with  surprise  the  first  dogs  introduced 
from  the  Society  Islands.      The  nutmeg  pigeon  is  found  also  in  Tanna. 

Ixiiabitaxts. 

Santa-Cruz  and  the  New  Hebrides  occupy  a  transitional  zone  between  the 
Melanesian  and  Polynesian  worlds,  and  their  populations  consequently  present  a 
great  variety  of  types  according  to  the  extent  of  intermixture  or  the  juxtaposition 
of  the  two  races.     Every  island  off'ers  some  contrast  with  its  neighbours,  and  even 


834 


AUSTRALASIA. 


on  the  same  land  the  tribal  groups  often  differ  greatly  in  appearance,  customs 

Fig.  143.— Group  of  New  Hebkides  Natites. 


and  language.      As  in  the  Solomon  and  Bismarck  Archipelagoes,  the  coast  and 


SANTA-CEUZ.— NEW  HEBEIDES.  335 

inland  populations  form  well-nuirkcd  divisions,  generally  designated,  in  the 
"  Pigeon  English  "  of  these- waters,  bj^  the  names  of  Man-saltwater  and  Man-bush. 
But  according  to  Otto  Finsch,  the  Melanesian  is  on  the  whole  the  dominant  type 
even  in  the  southern  islands  of  Yate,  Erromango  and  Tanna. 

Navigators  have  noticed  that  the  natives  of  these  southern  islands  are  as  a 
rule  stronger,  taller  and  better  built  than  those  of  the  northern  section.  But 
judged  by  our  normal  standard  of  beauty  they  cannot  be  considered  handsome. 
The  forehead  is  low  and  retreating,  the  face  broad,  with  two  prominent  cheek- 
bones, the  nose  flat  and  the  lips  thick.  In  several  islands  the  head  of  the  children 
is  deformed  by  means  of  boards,  which  have  the  eifect  of  lengthening  the  skull 
from  back  to  front,  while  at  the  same  time  contracting  and  lowering  it.  To  this 
artificial  deformation  is  perhaps  due  the  fact  that,  according  to  Professor  Flower, 
the  Vanikoro  and  Mallicolo  islanders  are  the  most  dolichocephalous  or  long-headed 
of  any  known  race. 

Hair  and  beard  ai'e  woolly,  or  frizzly,  and  the  complexion  almost  black  in  the 
New  Hebrides,  where  the  people  embellish  themselves  by  piercing  the  lobes  of  the 
ears  and  the  cartilage  of  the  nose,  by .  gashing  arms  and  breast,  decking  the  head 
with  shells,  foliage,  or  tufts  of  grass,  and  embellishing  the  body  with  paintings  in 
red  ochre,  lime,  and  diverse  pigments.  But  tattooing  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
term  is  somewhat  rare,  and  in  the  southern  islands  absolutiily  unknown.  Many 
use  wood  ashes  to  impart  a  fine  golden  tint  to  the  hair,  which  in  Tanna  the  height 
of  the  fashion  requires  to  be  arranged  in  a  multitude  of  small  tresses  tied  at  the 
roots  with  vegetable  fibre.  To  complete  this  part  of  the  toilet  of  a  gay  warrior  is 
said  to  take  no  less  than  three  or  four  j'ears. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  the  natives  went  naked,  or  wore  nothing  beyond 
a  strip  of  pounded  bark,  leaves,  or  cocoanut  fibre.  Some  of  the  islanders  described 
by  Cook  fastened  the  waist  so  tightlj'  with  a  girdle  of  cordage  as  to  look  like 
large  ants.  At  present  most  of  the  New  Hebrides  people  have  adopted  European 
materials  for  all  or  part  of  their  apparel.  Their  dwellings  are  not  raised  on  piles 
like  those  of  the  Papuans  and  western  Melanesians,  but  consist,  for  the  most  part, 
of  simple  roofs  of  palm-leaves  suspended  on  four  stakes. 

While  the  bulk  of  the  popidation  in  both  archipelagoes  is  evidently  of  Mela- 
nesian stock,  the  fine  Poljmesian  race  is  in  almost  exclusive  possession  of  the  more 
easterly  islets  of  Anuda  (Cherry  Island)  and  Tikopia  (Barwell).  They  are  easily 
recognised  by  their  tall  stature,  robust  frame,  long  hair  and  bright  countenance. 
The  people  of  Futuna  and  Aniwa,  the  "  Madeira  "  of  the  New  Hebrides,  towards  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  group,  are  also  Polynesians;  the  very  names  they  have 
given  to"  their  new  homes  are  taken  from  the  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Tonga 
Islands.  Judging  from  the  description  given  of  them  b)'  Queiros,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  natives  of  the  Taumaco  or  Duff  Islets,  north-east  of  Santa- 
Cruz,  also  belong  to  the  same  family.  Those  of  Nukapu,  a  chief  member  of  the 
Santa-Cruz  cluster,  are  the  issue  of  a  crossing  between  the  two  oceanic  elements, 
for  their  language  is  essentially  Polynesian,  closely  related  to  the  Maori,  while 
their  usages  connect  them  with  the  Melanesians. 


330  AUSTRALASIA. 

In  the  New  Hebrides  tlie  women  are  as  a  rule  very  harshly  treated.  Many 
things  permitted  to  the  husband  are  declared  "  taboo  "  for  the  wife  by  the  chiefs 
and  priests.  The  latter  are  potent  wizards,  who  control  wind  and  rain,  conjure 
or  expel  the  spirits  and  ailments,  hold  converse  with  the  ancestry,  the  gods  of  the 
tribe,  and  communicate  their  pleasure  to  the  living.  They  formerly  presided  at  the 
cannibal  banquets,  for  anthropophagy,  till  recently  more  prevalent  in  eastern 
Melanesia  than  in  any  other  oceanic'  region,  had  assumed  a  religious  character. 
Prisoners  of  war  and  the  enemy  slain  in  battle  ■were  devoured,  in  order  to  acquire 
their  strength  and  courage ;  but  the  taste  for  human  flesh  had  also  introduced  the 
cu&tom  of  eating  their  own  dead,  or  else  exchanging  them  for  those  of  friendly 
tribes. 

These  practices  could  not  fail  to  earn  for  the  Santa- Cruz  and  New  Hebrides 
natives  a  reputation  for  ferocity  and  wickedness.  Nevertheless  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  in  the  mutual  relations  between  Melanesians  and  whites  the  latter  have 
been  far  more  treacherous  and  cruel  than  the  former.  If  Bishop  Patteson  was 
killed  in  the  island  of  Nukapu  in  1871,  he  fell  by  the  hand  of  a  man  who  had 
just  been  robbed  of  his  children.  According  to  Markham,  the  natives  of  Erro- 
mango  who  murdered  the  missionary  Williams  make  use  of  firearms  only  against 
the  whites,  whom  they  regard  as  kidnappers.  In  their  local  wars  between 
kindred  tribes  they  would  consider  it  disgraceful  to  employ  the  new  weapons. 

Cannibalism  survives  only  in  a  small  number  of  islands  ;  in  the  southern  groups, 
the  most  frequented  by  Europeans,  it  has  become  a  mere  tradition.  In  point  of 
fact,  several  of  the  New  Hebrides,  although  not  officially  annexed  by  any  European 
power,  belong  none  the  less  to  the  whites,  who  govern  the  jDeople  and  make  them 
work  on  the  plantations,  thus  gradually  reducing  them  to  the  condition  of  the 
proletariate  classes  in  Europe. 

Anatom  (Aneitium),  lying  nearest  to  New  Caledonia,  is  exclusively  in- 
habited by  Christian  converts  who  can  both  read  and  write.  In  some  other 
islands,  also,  the  Christian  congregations  already  outnumber  the  pagan  element. 
But  Espiritu  Santo,  largest  of  the  New  Hebrides,  despite  the  brilliant  future 
predicted  for  it  by  its  discoverer,  Queiros,  is  one  of  those  that  have  been  least 
visited  by  Europeans,  and  that  still  possess  but  slight  economic  value.  Its  vast 
and  perfectly  sheltered  "port"  of  Vera  Cruz,  where  "four  thousand  vessels 
Hiight  easily  find  room,"  has  remained  almost  deserted ;  nor  has  any  planter  yet 
settled  on  the  banks  of  the  "  Jordan." 

In  1828  the  discovery  of  sandalwood  in  Erromango  gave  rise  to  a  nefarious 
traffic  with  China,  which  gradually  ceased  w:ith  the  disappearance  of  the  forests. 
The  traders  added  to  the  traffic  in  sandalwood  that  of  "living  ebony,"  and 
especially  of  women. 

The  commercial  centre  of  the  New  Hebrides  is  the  island  of  Vat^,  or  Efat, 
better  known  by  its  English  name  of  Sandwich.  Some  European  settlers  have 
established  themselves  near  Fori  Havammh  and  in  other  parts  of  the  island,  where 
they  cultivate  maize,  rice,  cotton,  tobacco  and  coffee  ;  in  1882  the  coffee  planta- 
tions alone  comprised   one  hundred  thousand    shrubs.     But  Sandwich,  althoxi»h 


i 


FREXCH  MELANESIA.  387 

remarkably  fertile,  is  one  of  the  most  insalubrious  islands  in  the  whole  archi- 
pelago. The  New  Hebrides  planters  forward  corn,  fruits,  pigs  and  poultrj^  to 
Noumea,  capital  of  New  Caledonia,  and  a  large  part  of  the  archipelago  is  owned  by 
a  New  Caledonian  company. 

■    In  the  Appendix  will  be    found  a  table  of  the  Santa  Cruz  and  Now  Hebrides 
groups,  with  their  areas  and  populations. 

III. — French  Melanesia  :   New  CALEnoxiA  and  the  Loyalty  Islands. 

New  Caledonia,  one  of  the  largest  oceanic  islands  east  of  Australia,  has  an  area 
of  nearly  7,000  square  miles,  and  about  8,000  including  the  adjacent  islets  and 
the  Loyalty  group.  It  also  enjoj's  exceptional  importance  from  its  position  on 
the  great  highway  of  nayigatiou  between  Sydney  and  San  Francisco.  But,  what- 
ever be  its  present  and  future  economic  yalue,  its  notoriety  has  hitherto  been  mainly 
due  to  the  part  it  has  played  as  a  French  convict  station  since  1864,  and  especially 
since  the  fall  of  the  Commune.  So  small  has  the  earth  become  that  no  event  can 
happen  without  being  felt  as  far  as  the  Antipodes.  After  having  been  a  place  of 
exile  for  thousands  of  Frenchmen  involved  in  political  and  social  storms,  this 
Melanesian  land  has  become  the  jail  of  other  thousands  condemned  by  the  laws  of 
their  country,  and  subjected  to  experiments  in  a  new  order  of  penal  treatment.  In 
fact,  New  Caledonia  is  less  a  colony,  as  it  is  conventionally  called,  than  a  region 
affording  .scope  for  philanthropy  and  criminal  jurisprudence  to  test  their  respec- 
tive reforming  and  punitive  systems. 

The  political  destiny  of  New  Caledonia  presents  but  few  elements  of  permanent 
stability.  Annexed  to  the  French  colonial  empire  in  1853,  owing  to  a  shipwrecked 
crew  having  been  eaten  by  the  nalives,  this  remote  oceanic  land  has,  so  to  say,  no 
military  or  commercial  basis  to  facilitate  its  retention  as  a  French  possession.  It 
is  over  4,000  miles  distant  from  Cochin  China,  and  nearlj'  3,000  from  Tahiti,  the 
chief  French  island  in  the  East  Pacific,  while  it  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  large 
British  colonies  or  territories — peninsular  New  Guinea  in  the  north-west,  the 
southern  section  of  the  Solomon  Archipelago  in  the  north,  Fiji  in  the  east,  New 
Zealand  in  the  south-east,  and  in  the  west  the  vast  Australian  continent,  with  its 
thriving  and  expansive  populations.  Strictly  speaking,  New  Caledonia  is  a  geo- 
graphical dependency  of  Queensland,  and  the  irresistible  progress  of  Australia 
scarcely  leaves  a  doubt  that  the  natural  force  of  gravity  will  sooner  or  later  draw 
it  within  the  political  sphere  of  the  neighbouring  continent.  Already  most  of  its 
commercial  and  industrial  undertakings  are  organised  by  British  speculators,  and 
English  terms  enter  largely  into  the  "  bichlamar  "  jargon,  which  serves  as  the 
medium  of  intercourse  between  the  whites  and  the  natives  in  their  mutual  trading 
and  shipping  relations. 

Owing  to  its  remoteness  from  the  highway  followed  by  the  Spanish  galloons 
plying  between  Mexico  and  the  Philippines,  New  Caledonia,  notwithstanding  its 
extent,  was  one  of  the  last  oceanic  lands  discovered  by  explorers.  It  was  first 
sighted  in  1774  near  its  northern  extremity  bj'  Cook,  who  afterwards  skirted   the 

VOL.  XIV.  z 


333  AUSTRALASIA. 

east  coast,  and  discovered,  at  the  south-east  end,  Kunie,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  the  Isle  of  Pines.  Sixteen  years  hiter  d'Eutrecasteaux  coasted  the  west 
side  and  surveyed  the  reef  lying  over  150  miles  farther  north. ' 

The  Loyalty  Islands  still  remained  unknown,  and  Butler,  who  discovered  them 
in  1800  or  1803,  did  little  more  than  annonnce  their  existence.  The  systematic 
oxploration  both  of  this  group  and  of  New  Caledonia  itself  was  reserved  for 
Duniont  d'Urville  in  1827.  But  much  remained  still  to  be  done  before  the  coast- 
lines, with  their  fringing  reefs,  could  be  accurately  laid  down,  and  New  Caledonia 
had  already  been  declared  a  French  possession  before  the  discovery,  in  1854,  of  the 
fine  roadstead  of  Noumea,  which  has  become  the  commercial  centre  of  the  colony. 

Now,  however,  New  Caledonia  is  one  of  the  best-known  lands  in  the  oceajiic 
world.  It  evidently  forms  with  the  j^arallel  Loyalty  group  a  geographical  whole, 
although  the  surface  rocks  are  of  different  geological  formation.  Disposed  exactly 
in  the  same  direction,  from  north-west  to  south-east,  they  are,  in  fact,  two  mountain 
ranges,  one  of  which,  the  western,  is  completely  upraised  in  a  continuous  mass, 
while  the  highest  summits  of  the  other  still  lie  below  the  surface  as  foundations 
for  the  superstructure  of  insular  coralline  banks.  Roefs  and  shoals,  also  resting 
on  submerged  primitive  or  volcanic  rocks,  continue  both  ranges  seawards,  and 
between  the  two  flows  a  deep  marine  trough,  where  the  sounding  line  has  failed  to 
touch  the  bottom  in  350  fathoms  of  water.  Compared  with  the  other  oceanic  lands, 
the  New  Caledonian  orographic  sj^stem  harmonises  with  the  general  disposition  of 
the  upraised  chains.  It  forms  a  folding  in  the  earth's  crust  parallel  with  that 
which  caused  the  upheaval  of  the  Solomon  group. 

Excluding  the  reefs  and  contiguous  islets  the  large  island  presents  the  form  of 
a  very  elongated  regular  oval,  250  miles  long  with  a  mean  breadth  of  not  more 
than  30  miles.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  surface  is  covered  with  hills  and  moun- 
tains of  very  irregular  form  and  elevation.  The  south-eastern  uplands  form 
isolated  masses  separated  by  intervening  plains,  partly  marshy  and  studded  with 
small  lakes,  whose  overflow  is  discharged  in  various  directions.  These  plains  are 
perfectly  level,  while  the  escarpments  of  the  surrounding  hills  rise  abruptly  as  if 
from  deep  water.  The  soil  is  a  hard  and  ferruginous  clay,  interspersed  with 
nodules  of  black  and  red  iron,  and  for  the  most  part  completely  arid.  In  some 
places  are  seen  scanty  tufts  of  grass,  and  in  a  few  more  favoured  spots  ajjpear 
dense  thickets  rising  like  green  oases  in  the  midst  of  the  barren  steppe. 

Farther  north  and  near  the  east  coast,  which,  on  the  whole,  is  rather  more 
elevated  than  the  opposite  side,  the  Humboldt  Peak  attains  an  elevation  of  over 
5,300  feet,  and  was  long  supposed  to  bo  the  culminating  point  of  the  island.  Some 
12  miles  to  the  west,  and  near  a  bay  ramifying  into  several  creeks,  stands  the  rival 
eraineuce  of  the  Dent  de  Saint  Vincent  (4,750  feet).  North  of  these  heights  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  land  is  occupied  by  mountains,  which,  however,  gradually 
fall  in  the  direction  of  the  north-west,  where  few  summits  exceed  3,000  feet.  But 
towards  the  north-east  extremity  these  uplands  assume  the  aspect  more  of  a  coast- 
range,  and  here  attain  their  greatest  altitude  in  the  Panie  Peak  (5,385  feet),  and 
in  another  rounded  crest  nearly  5, GOO  feet  high. 


FRENCH  MELANESIA. 


339 


In  New  Caledonia  tbe  prevailing  formations  are  sj-enites,  serpentines,  dioritcs, 
metamorphic  schists,  and  trachites.  The  very  pumice  cast  up  as  flotsam  by  the 
waves  attests  the  existence  of  former  eruptive  centres.  The  great  geological  resem- 
blance of  these  rocks  to  the  East  Australian  ranges  at  one  time  held  out  expectations 
of  rich  auriferous  discoveries ;  but  the  financial  results  of  the  local  mining  opera- 
tions have  not  hitherto  been  encom-aging.  The  metals  which  really  occur  in 
abundance,  and  which  may  j-et  contribute  to  the  industrial  prosperity  of  New 
Caledonia,  are  iron,  nickel,  cobalt,  antimonj',  and  chromium.  Copper  mines  have 
also  been  worked,  and  coalfields,  though  of  little  economic  value,  have  been  dis- 
covered at  the  foot  of  the  serpentine  rocks  on  the  seaboard. 


Fig.  144. — New  Caleponia. 

Snlr.  I  :  5,(X»-i  noo. 


1,000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


New  Caledonia  is  at  least  doubled  in  size  by  the  reefs  skirting  its  shores  and 
extending  it  in  the  direction  of  the  north-west  and  south-east.  The  hydrographic 
surveys  of  Chambovron  and  other  explorers  leave  no  doubt  of  the  existence  of 
these  fringing  and  barrier  reefs  on  the  east  side,  though  their  presence  had  been 
denied  by  Darwin  and  Dana.  Towards  the  southern  extremity,  however,  the 
encircling  coralline  rocks  disappear  below  the  surface,  at  first  a  few  yards,  ther 
from  16  to  20  fathoms,  forming,  north  of  the  central  passage,  near  the  Isle  of 
Pines,  a  continuous  bank,  above  which  ri.*e  at   intervals  chaplcts  of  coral,  sonic 

z  2 


840  AUSTRALASIA. 

emerging,  some  still  covered  by  water.  In  its  middle  and  northern  sections 
Chambeyron's  "great  barrier  reef  "  everywhere  presents  a  uniform  mass  from  200 
to  1 ,000  yards  broad,  interrupted  only  by  a  few  passes,  which  give  access  to  a 
broad  and  deep  sheet  of  smooth  water  flowing  between  the  reef  and  the  mainland. 
This  basin  is  about  6  miles  wide  and  from  25  to  30  fathoms  deep  towards  the 
centre  ;  but  the  navigation  is  endangered  by  a  few  hidden  shoals  occurring  near 
both  margins. 

Seawards  the  great  reef  sinks  rapidly,  and  then  at  a  mean  distance  of  450 
j'ards  plunges  abruptly  into  depths  of  over  350  fathoms.  Nowhere  else  does 
Darwin's  hypothesis  regarding  the  slow  subsidence  of  fringing  coralline  reefs 
appear  to  be  better  supported  than  in  these  waters.  The  coral  builders  work  with 
surprising  rapidity  on  the  New  Caledonian  reefs.  North  of  the  mainland  the 
two  branches  of  the  fringing  barrier  do  not  converge,  but,  on  the  contrary,  grow 
wide  apart  and  stretch  for  a  distance  of  160  miles  before  they  become  reunited 
north  of  the  Huon,  Fabre,  Leleizour,  and  Surprise  islets.  Between  this  perfect 
atoll  and  the  north  end  of  the  great  island,  the  lagoon,  enclosed  by  the  two  barrier 
reefs,  is  occujjied  in  its  central  part  by  the  Belep  group,  which  comprises  the  islets 
of  Art  and  Pott. 

The  Loyalty  chain,  built  up  by  polypi,  presents  in  a  summary  form  the  whole 
history  of  coralline  islands.  The  Petrie  and  Astrolabe  reefs  in  the  north  are 
dangerous  shoals,  awash  with  the  surface  and  grouped  as  atolls.  Uvea,  following 
southwards,  is  a  semi-circular  coral  plateau,  perfectly  horizontal,  with  a  mean 
height  of  50  to  60  feet,  and  enclosing  a  lagoon  9  fathoms  deep.  Lifu,  largest 
member  of  the  archipelago,  is  also  an  ancient  atoll,  which  has  been  upraised  at 
successive  epochs  to  an  altitude  of  300  feet.  The  observer  easily  distinguishes 
the  three  terraces  marking  three  consecutive  upheavals,  and  disposed  in  abrupt 
scarps  like  the  outer  cliff  at  present  washed  by  the  waves.  Mare,  or  Nengone, 
some  30  feet  higher  than  Lifu,  develops  five  horizontal  terraces,  which  indicate  a 
corresponding  number  of  changes  between  the  level  of  land  and  sea.  Having  risen 
above  the  surface  at  a  more  remote  period  than  the  other  islands.  Mare  is  also 
more  fertile,  better  wooded,  and  relatively  more  densely  peopled.  To  judge  from 
the  numerous  shells  of  still  surviving  species  which  occur  on  the  upper  terraces 
and  which  partly  retain  their  colours,  the  last  upvvard  movement  must  have  taken 
place  in  recent  geological  times. 

With  a  mean  annual  rainfall  of  about  40  inches,  New  Caledonia  is  abundantly 
watered  by  numerous  streams,  one  onlj'  of  which  is  sufficiently  copious  to  deserve 
the  name  of  river.  This  is  the  Diahot,  which  rises  at  the  foot  of  the  Panie  Peak 
and  flows  parallel  with  the  east  coast  to  Harcourt  Bay,  between  the  two  north- 
western promontories  of  the  island.  Including  its  windings  the  Diahot  is  over  60 
miles  long,  and  in  its  tidal  reaches  is  accessible  to  craft  drawing  8  or  10  feet  of 
water.  The  Toutouta,  which  falls  into  Saint  Vincent  Bay,  north-west  of  Noumea, 
as  well  as  several  other  rivulets,  flows  for  a  large  part  of  its  course,  below  the  sur- 
face, and  near  its  source  in  Mount  Humboldt  develops  a  copious  cascade  at  a 
height  of  4,000  feet  above  the  sea.     Judging  from  their  high  temperature  some 


FRENCH  MELANESIA.  341 

brooks  api^ear  to  be  fed  by  thermal  springs.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  hills  to 
intercept  the  rain-water,  none  of  the  Loyalty  group  have  any  permanent  streams, 
while  the  moisture  collected  in  the  limestone  cavities  is  so  charged  with  impurities 
that  the  natives  mostly  prefer  cocoanut  milk. 

Climate—  Flora — Faiina. 

■  Lj'ing  entirely  within  the  torrid  zone,  New  Caledonia  has  a  mean  temjjerature 
of  over  70°  F.  But  despite  the  moderating  influence  of  the  surrounding  waters, 
the  difference  is  considerable  between  that  of  summer  and  winter.  The  Austral 
summer  is  the  season  of  rains,  of  variable  winds  and  storms,  which  at  times  assume 
the  character  of  real  hurricanes.  But  they  are  seldom  felt  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  island,  where  the  trade  winds  with  their  regular  atmospheric  phenomena 
prevail  during  the  summer  months.  Although  the  average  rainfall  is  about  40 
inches,  some  districts,  especially  in  the  north,  occasionally  suffer  from  long 
droughts. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  is  the  surjirisiug  salubrity  of  New  Caledonia. 
While  so  many  other  lands  under  the  same  equatorial  zone  are  justly  dreaded, 
especially  by  European  settlers,  white  labourers  can  here  till  the  soil  with 
impunity,  at  times  even  in  marshy  districts.  This  privileged  climate  can  be 
explained  neither  by  the  influence  of  the  trades  or  the  sea  breezes,  nor  by  the 
porous  nature  of  the  coralline  coastlands,  for  the  other  oceanic  regions  within  the 
tropics  enjoy  the  same  advantages.  The  fringing  reefs,  however,  are  all  "  living," 
not  "dead,"  corals,  as  in  the  New  Hebrides.  But  according  to  the  natives  and 
colonists,  the  true  cause  of  the  excellent  climate  is  the  nianU  {melaleuca  leiica- 
dendron),  a  beneficent  plant,  which  flourishes  alike  on  the  arid  slopes  and  in  the 
swampy  tracts,  and  which  would  appear  to  be  for  New  Caledonia  what  the 
eucalyptus  is  for  Australia.  This  member  of  the  myrtle  family,  which  in  appear- 
ance resembles  the  birch,  supplies  to  perfumery  the  volatile  oil  of  the  cayaput, 
like  the  other  variety  of  melaleuca  found  in  Burn,  one  of  the  Moluccas. 

While  presenting  great  rliversity  according  to  the  varied  nature  of  the  soil, 
the  New  Caledonian  flora  is  on  the  whole  extremely  rich,  regard  being  had  to  the 
small  extent  of  the  island.  Brongniart  enumerates  1,300  species,  of  which  1,100  are 
dicotyledons,  a  fact  which  lends  support  to  the  theory  that  New  Caledonia  is  but 
a  surviving  fragment  of  a  much  larger  region  now  submerged.  In  the  volcanic 
districts,  the  conifer,  myrtle,  and  casua'rina  families  are  represented  by  several 
special  forms ;  but  in  the  same  districts  there  is  an  almost  total  absence  of  herbaceous 
vegetation,  so  that  stock-breeding  is  here  absolutely  impossible.  Even  gardens 
cannot  be  laid  out  on  this  thankless  soil. 

The  sedimentary  formfttions,  which  prevail  in  the  northern  districts,  have  a 
different  flora  in  which  both  forest  and  grassy  tyi^es  are  represented  in  great 
variety ;  but  here  the  indigenous  vegetation  has  already  been  modified  by  confla- 
grations and  clearings,  and  partly  replaced  by  intruding  plants,  which  are  every- 
where encroaching  on  the  older  forms.     Amongst  them  is  the  audropogon  aUionii, 


312 


AUSTRALASIA. 


a  grass  whose  seeds  arc  liaiiiilcss  i'm-  horses  and  horned  catlle,  hut  fatal  (o 
sheep.  Sandalwood,  foiiiioily  a  (jliief  source  ol'  wealth,  has  nearly  disappeared, 
and  the  finest  forest  trees  still  surviving  are  the  danimara,  araucaria,  and 
ehony. 

As  in  most  other  oceanic  lands  the  fauna  is  extremely  poor,  the  only  indigenous 
mammals  being  a  rat  and  a  large  variety  of  bat.     The  only  reptile  is  a  snake  very 

I'ig.  14.3. — Nati\'e  op  M,ui]!,  LoYALrsr  Isles. 


common  in  the  marshy  districts,  and  the  only  noxious  vermin  are  a  centipede,  a 
spider,  and  a  scorpion.  Of  the  107  .species  of  birds  hitherto  observed  by  naturalists 
several  are  common  to  New  Zealand,  to  Australia,  and  even  the  Sunda  Islands  ;  but 
some  are  peculiar  to  New  Caledimia,  as,  for  instance,  the  Kagu  {rhuinchetiisjuhafiis), 
which  shows  certain  affinities  both  to  (he  heron  and  the  stork,  but  which,  like  the 
apteryx  and  some  other  local  species,  is  already  tlircatcned  with  extinction. 


FEEXC'II  MELANEf^FA. 
Imiaiutan  rs. 


343 


The  discovery  of  polished  jade  liatcbets  in  Ihe  qiuiternary  formations  of  New 
Caledonia  attests  the  presence  of  man  in  these  oceanic  lands  from  a  very  remote 
epoch ;  attempts  have  even  been  made  to  discriminate  the  descendants  of  the 
primitive  element  amongst  the  present  tribal  groups.  But,  however  this  be, 
the  kaitakiis*  or  "  men,"  belong  mainly  to  the  Melancsian  family,  as  shown  by 

Fill    U6 — Native  of  jrAKic,   Loyalty  Islfs. 


their  almost  black,  or  at  least  deep  brown  complexion,  highly  prominent  cheek- 
bones, and  crisp  or  frizzly  hair,  naturally  of  a  black  colour,  but  in  many  districts 
still  dyed  yellow  or  white  with  lime.  The  lobe  of  the  ear  is  also  jiiercod  for  the 
insertion  of  wood,  bone  and  other  ornaments,  and  the  heads  of  the  children  of 

*  This  now  familiar  Polynesian  term  denotes  no  particular  race,  but  is  commonly  applied  hy  tbe 
French  in  a  collective  sense  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  New  Caledonia  and  the  neighbouring  archipelagoes. 


844 


ArSTRALASIA. 


toth  sexes  are  artificial!}'  deformed,  the  object  being  to  elongate  that  of  the  boys 
and  shorten  that  of  the  girls.  Tattooing  has  become  rare,  and  is  scarcely  practised 
at  all  except  by  the  women,  who  puncture  arms  and  chest  by  a  painful  process, 
which  leaves  an  indelible  blue  ijattern.  The  custom  of  smearing  the  body  with 
soot  is  also  falling  into  abeyance  according  as  clothes  take  the  place  of  the  primi 
tive  rudimentary  costume. 

I'atriarchal  right  prevails  among  the  New  Caledonian  tribes.     AH  power  and 

Fig.   147. — New  Caledonian  'Man. 


property  are  inherited  by  the  eldest  son  whether  by  birth  or  adoption ;  but  although 
the  idea  of  property  is  thoroughly  developed,  custom  requires  all  produce  to  be 
shared  in  a  brotherly  way  amongst  the  members  of  the  community.  When 
provisions  abound,  all,  even  the  dead,  have  their  portion  ;  the  emigrant  also 
presents  all  his  earnings  to  the  chief  to  be  equally  distributed  throughout  the 
tribe.     But  amongst  the  tribes  themselves  there  exists  scarcely  any  political  union  ; 


FRENCH  MELANESIA. 


3i5 


80  many  clans,  so  muny  nations,  now  allies  now  enemies,  and  all  speaking  different 
dialects,  though  of  a  common  stock  language. 

Nevertheless,  the  tribes  are  usually  grouped  during  hostilities  in  the  two 
confederacies  of  the  Ots  and  Wawaps.  Each  group  is  constituted  under  a  monar- 
chical form,  with  a  chief  whose  person  is  sacred,  and  to  whom  all  owe  not  only 
deference,  but  also  forced  labour  for  the  plantations,  structures,  fisheries,  and 
transport   of  provisions.       In    the    native   villages,    the   chief's   house  is   at  ouce 


Fij;.    148— New  Caledosiam  Woma>'. 


/>. 

<" 


M\.^  ■= 


recognised  by  its  size  and  its  pointed  cone  terminating  in  little  wisps  of  straw  and 
a  few  tillits,  or  bark  banderols.  The  dwelling  of  a  great  chief  is  still  more 
ornamented,  for  the  chief  is  the  "  sun  "  of  his  tribe,  and  at  his  death  the  luminary 
is  said  to  have  "  set."  He  is  bound  to  summon  the  council  of  elders  on  all  serious 
occasions,  such  as  judicial  inquiries  and  sentences,  proclamations  of  war  or  peace, 
the  organisation  of  the  pilii-pi/ti,  or  national  festivities  and  banquets. 


3i6  AITRTEALASIA. 

Every  village  possesses  a  supreme  tahn,  a  sacred  image  carved  in  hard  wood, 
embellished  with  bat  skins  and  set  up  on  a  long  pole  with  its  face  turned  towards 
the  east.  According  to  some  authorities  the  chiefs  and  nobles  are,  for  the  most 
part,  of  Polynesian  origin,  and  are  distinguished  by  their  physical  aj^pearance  from 
their  Melanesian  subjects.  Not  only  is  the  complexion  said  to  be  lighter,  but  the 
forehead  would  appear  to  be  higher  and  broader,  the  nose  straighter,  the  lips 
thinner,  the  figure  taller,  the  carriage  more  haughty.  This  Polynesian  element 
is  naturally  most  widely  rej^re rented  on  the  east  side  facing  the  oceanic  homes  of 
this  race. 

Like  so  many  other  insular  populations,  the  New  Caledonian  kanakas  appear  to 
be  dying  out.  "  We  are  not  like  our  forefathers,"  said  a  chief  to  Brenchley, 
"  they  were  numerous  and  wise  ;  we  are  neither."  Travellers  estimated  at  about 
sixty  thousand  the  population  towards  the  middle  of  the  present  century,  and  in 
1886  they  had  already  been  reduced  to  twenty-three  thousand.  At  the  same  time 
this  diminution  must  be  partly  attributed  to  the  constant  massacres  followed  by 
cannibal  feasts,  for  the  enemy  slain  in  battle  were  always  devoured.  The  bodies 
were  fairly  divided  amongst  the  warriors,  who  in  their  turn  distributed  the 
"  joints  "  in  equal  portions  amongst  their  families.  When  the  European  mariners 
first  made  their  appearance  the  natives  had  never  seen  any  other  meat  except  that 
of  their  fellow-creatures,  and  fancied  that  the  beef  distributed  to  the  crews  was  the 
flesh  of  gigantic  human  beings. 

The  iusurrectioa  of  1878  cost  the  lives  of  a  thousand  natives,  besides  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  transported  to  the  Island  of  Pines  and  other  jilaces.  Never- 
thele-is  the  losses  caused  by  wars  and  revolts  are  trifling  compared  to  the  numbers 
who  perish  by  ailments,  such  as  consumption,  introduced  by  the  Europeans. 
Drink  also  claims  many  victims,  since  the  invasion  of  the  dealers  in  "  tafia." 
Alliances  between  the  white  convicts,  soldiers  or  settlers,  and  the  native  women 
are  rare,  because  the  kanakas  hold  in  great  contempt  the  tai/o  carahou)^,  or  "  people 
of  the  prison."  Hence  there  is  no  hope  of  a  half-caste  race  gradually  absorbing 
the  whole  native  element  by  fresh  unions. 

Little  success  has  attended  the  attempts  of  the  landowners  to  employ  native 
labour  on  their  plantations.  The  tribal  groups  themselves  possess  reserves,  the 
collective  enjoyment  of  which  is  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  state.  Hence  they 
naturally  prefer  to  cultivate  maize,  manioc  or  taro  on  their  own  account,  than  to 
toil  on  the  tobacco,  sugar,  or  cofl'ee  plantations  of  the  whites.  Hence,  also,  the 
accusations  of  the  inveterate  indolence  brought  against  them,  and  the  efforts  to 
replace  them  by  hands  "  engaged  "  in  other  islands,  and  held  in  a  sort  of  slavery 
by  advances  difficult  to  refund  under  several  j-ears  of  hard  work.  Over  two 
thousand  labourers  have  thus  been  introduced,  chiefly  from  the  Loyalty  and  New 
Hebrides  grouf)s. 

The' political  convicts  transjDorted  in  1872,  to  the  number  of  about  four  thousand 
five  hundred,  have  nearly  all  left  the  colony.  Some  few,  who  had  developed 
j)rofitable  industries  in  Noumea,  have  alone  declined  to  take  advantage  of  the  free 
pardon  granted  to  all  in  1880.     Ordinary  convicts  number  at  present  about  twelve 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLlNGi. 


FREXCII  :^IKLAXESIA.  347 

(bousaiul,  of  wlioiu  the  niiijoiily  are  enipldyed  on  the  public  works  ;  as  man}'  as 
twelve  hundred  have  been  handed  over  to  mining  or  industrial  companies,  and 
some  six  hundred  enjoy  a  relative  measure  of  freedom  in  the  agricultural  peniten- 
tiaries, where  they  cultivate  their  own  "concessions."  The  conWcts  thus  gradually 
merge  in  the  class  of  the  free  citizens,  who,  though  still  far  inferior  in  numbers  to 
the  criminals  and  their  keepers,  cannot  fail  ultimately  to  predominate,  being 
continually  recruited  by  the  descendants  of  convicts  restored  to  their  civil  lights. 
Uut  most  of  these  families  must  die  out,  because  very  few  women  are  transjjortod 
to  New  Caledonia  ;  at  present  they  number  scarcelj^  one  hundred  and  fif  tj'  in  the 
whole  island.  Nevertheless,  some  families  are  perpetuated,  and,  as  hapjjened  in 
Australia,  the  offspring  of  these  convicts  have  already  begun  to  protest  against  a 
further  importation  of  the  criminal  classes  from  Eurojje. 

Free  immigration  is  but  slightly  developed,  and  the  "colony"  still  piossesses 
fewer  colonists  than  officials.  Doubtless  the  government  offers  to  all  immigrant 
labourers  a  free  grant  of  ten  acres  of  arable  land  and  fifty  of  pasturage,  on  the 
condition  of  residing  a  few  j-ears  on  the  estate  and  bringing  it  under  cultivation. 
But  the  es.says  at  coloiii-sation  have  hitherto  been  so  disastrous  that  the  unfortunate 
squatters  have  had  to  be  restored  from  time  to  time  to  their  native  land.  The 
competition  of  penitentiary  labour  deprives  the  small  holders  of  all  hope  of  success. 

The  most  numerous  and  flourishing  settlers  are  the  Australians,  some  hundreds 
of  whom  have  settled  in  the  agricultural  districts,  where  they  devote  themselves 
chiefly  to  stock-breeding.  With  their  knowledge  of  the  climate,  of  the  natives  and 
the  local  economic  conditions,  they  are  able  to  face  the  difficulties  of  colonisation  in 
its  initial  stages  with  more  confidence  than  the  ignorant  peasantry  imported  from 
France. 

Large  estates  have  already  been  created,  and  so  early  as  1880  one  .speculator 
owned  as  many  as  42,000  acres  in  a  single  holding.  Yet  stock-breeding,  the  only 
industry  of  these  extensive  landowTiers,  possepses  but  a  slight  relative  importance. 
In  the  whole  of  New  Caledonia  there  are  less  than  100,000  head  of  cattle,  scared}' 
20.000  sheep,  and  but  a  few  hundred  horses  introduced  from  Norfolk  Island.  A  total 
area  of  50,000  acres  is  reserved  by  the  state  for  all  the  agricultural  penitentiaries. 

TopoGKAi'iiy. 

Notniicd,  or  Port-<ic-Firniri>,  as  it  was  called  during  the  first  years  of  the 
occupation,  is  the  capital,  and  the  only  town  in  New  Caledonia  and  its  depen- 
dencies. It  has  a  population  of  four  thousand,  or  about  one-half  of  all  the  resident 
civil  and  military  Europeans.  Founded  in  1854  after  the  submission  of  the 
Nguea,  or  Numea  tribe,  it  occupies  a  favourable  commercial  position  towards  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  island  on  the  side  facing  Australia.  Here  a  wide 
opening  in  the  outer  barrier  reef  commimicates  with  several  roadsteads,  all 
perfectly  sheltered  by  the  neighbouring  hilly  penin.sula  and  adjacent  islands. 
The  lai-gest  expanse,  opening  in  the  north-west  between  the  islet  of  Nou  and  the 
Duces  peninsula,  is  spacious  enough  to  receive  a  whole  fleet.     The  whole  trade  of 


348 


AUSTRALASIA. 


New  Ciik'clonia  is  at  present  centred  in  Noumea,  which,  as  a  town,  is  still  in  its 
infancy,  but  for  which  an  abundant  supjjly  of  water  has  been  brought  from  a 
distance  of  11  miles.  The  chief  thoroughfares  are  planted  with  trees  ;  a  fine 
garden  encircles  the  government  palace,  and  pleasant  walks  winding  up  the  slopes 
of  the  encircling  hills  lead  down  to  the  inlets  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  peninsula. 

Fig.   149. — Noumea. 
Scale  I  :  U'O.CKX). 


Ji,-ryfor-v/a/'  ^     Sou/^n 


Depths. 


Beyond  this  peninsida  the  main  highway  from  Noumea  ramifies  in  various  direc- 
tions through  the  island. 

Noumea  is  surrounded  by  "penitentiaries,"  or  convict  stations,  such  as  those 
of  the  island  of  Nou,  with  three  thousand  inmates,  of  the  Ducos  peninsida,  where 
eight  hundred  Communists  were  detained,  and  of  Montravel,  set  apart  for  military 
criminals.  Others  are  engaged  on  the  public  works  in  and  about  the  cajjital, 
while  the  Marist  missionaries  employ  a  large  number  on  their  gardens  and 
plantations  at  Saint-Louis,  east  of  Noumea. 


FRKXC'H  MELANESIA.  349 

Farther  north  follow  along  the  west  coast   the  military  posts  and  settlements 
Fig.   loO. — DwELLFNa  of  a  Nattve   Chief,  New  Caledonia. 


of  Bouloujmri,  near  Saint  Vincent  liay;   Foa  and  Teremba,  or   Urai,  markets  for 


850 


AUSTRALASIA. 


the  surrounding  farmsteads;  Boiirai/,  the  most  important  agricultural  centre  in 
tte  island,  connected  b}'  good  roads  with  the  rising  port  of  Gouaro ;  Gomen,  on  a 
spacious  and  safe  roadstead,  with  a  mladcro  for  the  preparation  of  tinned  beef. 

The  middle  course  of  the  Diahot,  towards  the  north- east  extremity  of  the 
island,  is  the  richest  mineral  district  in  French  Melanesia.  Here  the  Balade 
mountain  is  traversed  in  all  directions  by  metalliferous  veins,  including  gold, 
copper,  pyrites,  and  nickel.     At  the  time  of  the  discovery  in  1872,  crowds  flocked 

Fi's-  lol.-IsLE  OF  Pines. 
Scale  .1  :  350,000. 


ba=tcRGreenw,cK 


Jjeptlia. 


160  Feet  and 
upwards. 


to  the  spot  from  Australia,  hamlets  sprang  up  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness, 
mining  companies  were  formed,  and  the  district  began  to  assume  the  aspect  of  a 
Queensland  cantonment,  when  a  financial  crash  brought  about  the  ruin  of  all  these 
undertakings.  Since  then  a  mining  association,  supported  by  the  government, 
has  made  all  further  competition  impossible  ;  the  Australians  have  retired,  and 
the  mining  population  is  reduced  to  a  small  group  at  Ouegoa,  guarded  by  a  mili- 


FEEXCH  MELANESIA.  351 

tary  post.  Most  of  the  ores  are  shipped  at  Caillou,  on  the  Diahot  estuary.  The 
road  from  this  port  leads  across  themountaiu  down  to  the  historic  village  of  Balade, 
the  first  sighted  by  Cook  in  1774,  and  the  first  occupied  by  the  French  in  ISoS. 

Kuuala,  founded  in  1859,  may  be  regarded  as  the  ciipital  of  the  east  coast  ;  it 
lies  near  a  deep  inlet,  completely  sheltered  by  a  hilly  peninsula,  and  is  both  a 
mining  and  agricultural  centre.  The  nickel  of  Kanala,  Hoaailou  and  Thio, 
worked  almost  exclusively  by  Australian  miners,  who  spread  the  English  language 
amongst  the  natives,  is  the  richest  and  purest  hitherto  discovered  in  any  part 
of  the  world. 

A  few  short  railways  traverse  the  mining  districts  ;  but  the  general  communi- 
cations are  still  in  a  backward  state,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  government 
has  at  its  disposal  over  ten  thousand  labourers. 

The  inhabited  islands  depending  on  New  Caledonia — Art  and  Pott  in  the  north, 
the  Island  of  Pines  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  barrier  reefs — have  neither 
large  villages  nor  frequented  ports.  The  last  mentioned  is  a  penal  settlement, 
where  the  three  thousand  Communists,  formerly  working  in  the  forest  clearings, 
have  now  been  replaced  by  Kanaka  exiles,  invalid  or  aged  convicts,  and  others 
condemned  to  perpetual  banishment. 

In  the  Lojalty  group  the  centre  of  administration  is  established  at  Chepenehe, 
in  the  island  of  Lifu,  a  port  frequented  by  traders  from  Sj-dney. 

Some  300  miles  west  of  New  Caledonia,  a  large  atoll,  comprising  the  islets  of 
Chesterfield,  Bampton  and  Avon,  occupies  the  centre  of  the  waters  flowing  betw  eeu 
New  Caledonia  and  the  Great  Barrier  Reef  south  of  the  Coral  Sea.  In  1878, 
France  took  possession  of  this  group,  though  it  had  been  discovered  by  English 
navigators  in  1793,  and  afterwards  surveyed  by  British  exploring  expeditions. 
Great  Britain  and  Australia  have  accordingly  protested  against  this  political 
annexation.  Chesterfield  and  the  neighbouring  islets,  formerly  much  frequented 
by  whalers,  have  some  guano  deposits  worked  by  a  few  traders. 

Administration. 

Till  1860,  New  Caledonia  was  regarded  as  a  dependency  of  the  French 
Oceanic  establishments,  of  which  Tahiti  was  the  centre.  Now  it  is  administered 
by  a  Governor  assisted  by  a  Colonial  Council,  comprising  the  chief  local  officials, 
two  notables,  and  some  municipal  delegates.  Noumea  is  the  only  commune 
possessing  a  municipal  council,  the  colonists  in  the  rest  of  the  island  being 
represented  by  an  elective  Colonial  Council,  and  in  France  by  a  special  delegate  to 
the  Colonial  Office.  The  judicial  system  is  the  same  as  in  France,  the  native 
chiefs  acting  as  magistrates  for  crimes  committed  in  the  tribe.  The  police,  also, 
are  recruited  from  the  natives  in  Noumea  and  throughout  the  island. 

New  Caledonia  proper  comprises  the  five  circumscriptions  of  Noumea,  Kanala, 
Bourail,  Oubache  and  the  North.  The  yearly  budget  varies  from  £80,000  to  £120,000, 
and  since  the  occupation  the  colony  has  cost  France  altogether  £8,000,000. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


AUSTRALIA  AND  TASMANIA. 

HE  very  name  of  Australia  recalls  the  mimerous  voyages  which, 
previous  to  Cook's  decisive  expedition,  were  undertaken  in  search 
of  a  vast  Austral  continent  supposed  to  balance  in  the  south  the 
immensely  preponderating  extent  of  upheaved  land  in  the  northern 
hemisphere.  But,  reduced  by  the  illustrious  navigator  to  its  true 
proportions,  this  southern  region  can  no  longer  be  considered  as  a  "make-weight" 
to  the  continents  Ijnng  north  of  the  equator.  Nevertheless,  it  is  still  extensive 
enough  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  great  sections  of  the  globe  comparable  to  the 
southern  divisions  of  Africa  and  America.  It  may  thus  be  considered  as  one, of  the 
three  southern  continents  which  are  connected  with  those  of  the  north  either  by 
narrow  isthmuses,  or  by  continous  chains  of  islands.  The  insular  lands  uniting  it 
with  the  Asiatic  peninsulas  belong  themselves  in  great  measure  to  the  Australian 
zone  by  their  climate  and  natural  productions.  The  Austral  mainland  is,  more- 
over, considerably  increased  in  extent  bj'  a  submarine  bed  fringed  with 
barrier  reefs.  Its  superficial  area  with  that  of  the  adjacent  islands  scarcely 
exceeds  three-fourths  of  that  of  Europe  ;  but  with  the  other  lands  stretching  from 
New  Guinea  to  New  Zealand,  the  whole  area  of  the  upraised  land  in  this  part  of 
the  South  Sea  is  very  nearly  equal  in  extent  to  the  European  continent. 


General  Survey. 

Eut  in  other  respects  what  a  profound  difference  between  these  two  antipo- 
dean lands  !  Relatively  speaking,  the  one  is  the  mo&t  densely,  the  other  the  most 
sparsely  peopled  division  of  the  world,  the  discrepancy  between  the  two  being  in 
the  proportion  of  a  hundred  to  one.  At  the  same  time  it  should  be  remembered 
that  Australia  has  but  entered  on  the  career  of  its  evolution  in  the  common  stream 
of  human  culture,  while  its  new  occupants  have  already  made  astounding  progress 
in  numbers  and  influence.  Still,  this  region  is"  far  from  enjoying  the  advantages 
in  physical  constitution  and  climatic  conditions  that  have  made  Europe  a  privileged 
section  of  the  globe.  Compared  with  this  favoured  region,  Australia  presents  the 
heavy,  shapeless  outlines  of  a  rough-hewn  block,  being,  for  the  most  part,  deficient 
in  lofty  mountain  ranges,  extensive  river  basins  ramifj'ing  in  all  directions,  fertile 


LiSRARy 

OF  THE 

'JNlVERSlTy  of  ILLINOIS 


AUSTRALIA      TASMAr 


A       AND       NEW       ZEALAND. 


J  E     80    CO    LIMlTEn 


AUSTRALIA.  .353 

alluvial  plains,  deep  marine  inlets  penetrating  far  into  the  interior,  and  those 
other  diversified  features  which  impart  to  Europe  the  aspect  of  an  organised  body 
with  proper  adjustment  of  parts. 

Nevertheless,  civilised  man  is  able  by  science  and  industiy  to  make  himself 
more  and  more  independent  of  his  inconvenient  surroundings,  and  to  turji  their 
limited  resources  to  the  best  account.  The  underground  reservoirs  of  water  are 
brought  to  the  surface  by  simple  mechanical  appliances ;  scrubby  tracts  are 
continually  brought  under  cultivation  ;  artificial  highways  supplj^  the  want  of 
navigable  routes.  Habitable  regions  are  stcadil}'  encroaching  on  the  wilderness, 
and  become  daily  more  accessible. 

The  Australian  continent  has  thus  rapidly  assumed  a  position  in  the  com- 
mercial world  which  it  could  never  have  acquired  before  the  age  of  railways  and 
steam  navigation.  In  many  respects  it  has  become  the  first  of  British  colonies, 
and  from  the  political  standpoint,  even  without  fleets  and  armies,  its  immense 
reserve  of  growing  strength  contributes  greatly  to  consolidate  the  vast  colonial 
empire  of  Great  Britain.  The  great  navigable  highwaj^  connecting  England, 
through  the  Mediterranean  and  Red  Sea,  with  her  immense  Asiatic  possessions  is 
continued  south- eastwards  across  the  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans,  until,  at  about  an 
equal  distance,  it  meets  the  Australian  continent,  which  has  for  ever  become  the 
exclusive  appanage  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  The  longer  maritime  route  from 
London,  round  the  Cape,  to  Melbourne  and  Sj-dney,  has  also,  for  intermediate 
station,  the  British  South- African  colonies.  Thus,  during  his  long  voyage  of  nearly 
16,000  miles  across  half  the  circumference  of  the  globe,  the  ciris  BrifcnmicKS 
touches  Eiiglish  territory  alone  ;  everywhere  he  sees  his  social  and  political  insti- 
tutions firmly  established,  everywhere  he  hears  the  familiar  soimds  of  his 
mother  tongue  ;  he  moves  from  hemisphere  to  hemisphere,  but  scarcel}'  feels  that 
he  has  quitted  his  native  land. 

To  appreciate  at  its  full  value  the  influence  exercised,  if  not  by  England,  at 
least  by  the  English  element,  in  the  history  of  mankind,  the  United  States  must 
be  added  to  Great  Britain  with  its  innumerable  colonies  and  boundless  possessions. 
With  this  large  section  of  the  terrestrial  surface  inhabited  by  over  one  hundred 
millions  of  his  kindred,  the  Englishman  may  look  forward  with  full  confidence  in 
the  destiny  of  his  race.  The  Russian  continental  world,  embracing  half  of 
Europe  and  of  Asia,  is  more  than  balanced  by  the  British  Oceanic  world,  which 
sweeps  round  the  whole  periphery  of  the  globe. 

Progress  of  Discoveky. 

The  first  voyages  of  discovery  extended  by  the  Portuguese  to  the  Australian 
Seas  remained  unknown,  or,  at  most,  left  nothing  behind  except  vague  rumours 
indelibly  traced  on  a  few  cartographic  documents.  That  island  of  "  Great  Java," 
already  figuring  on  the  maps  dating  from  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,* 
presents  .such  accurate  contours  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  the  presence   of  some 

*  R.  H.  Major ;   Ear!;/  Voyages  to  Terra  Aiistralis,  now  called  Australia. 
VOL.    XI v.  A  A 


864 


AUSTRALASIA. 


unknown  Lusitanian  mariners  in  these  latitudes.  Even  Torres'  expedition  of 
160(3,  through  the  reef-studded  strait  seiJarating  New  Guinea  from  Australia,  was 
forgotten,  and  would,  perhajDS,  be  still  buried  in  oblivion  but  for  the  learned 
researches  of  Dalrymple. 

To  the  Dutch  navigators  is  due  the  accurate  knowledge  of  a  great  part  of  the 
Australian  seaboard,  and  the  name  of  New  Holland  given  by  its  discoverers  to 
this  region  has  not  yet  been  quite  forgotten.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  while  this  appellation  still  prevailed  in  geographical  nomenclature, 
a  considerable  section  of  the  coasts  had  already  been  explored.  In  1606,  the 
Diiyfkcn,  equipped  by  the  Dutch  for  a  voyage  of  discovery,  had  probably  touched 

Fig.  152.— Comparative  Areas  of  Austealia  and  the  British  Isles. 
Scale  1 :  40,000,000. 


the  eastern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  and  advanced  along  the  coast  as  far 
as  Cape  Keer-weer,  or  "  Return."  In  1616,  the  EeiuIracM  skirted  the  west  side 
of  the  continent,  and  till  recently  the  name  of  this  vessel  still  figured  on  the  maps. 
Three  years  later  Edel  discovered  the  south-west  point  of  Australia,  and  he  was 
followed  by  the  captain  of  the  Leeuu-iii,  who,  with  Peter  Nuyts,  successfully 
navigated  the  southern  waters,  while  in  the  north  and  north-west,  other  Dutch 
mariners  sighted  lands  to  which  they  gave  the  names  of  Witt  and  Arnhem.  The 
discovery  of  the  western  half  of  the  continental  periphery  was  completed  in  1644 
by  Abel  Tasman,  who  had,  two  years  previously,  sailed  round  a  great  part  of  the 


EXPLORATION  OF  AUSTEALIA. 


355 


island  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  which  now  bears  his    name.     He    had,   however, 
failed  to  determine  its  insular  character. 

It  was  reserved  for  Cook  to  lead  the  way  in  the  exploration  of  the  east  Austra- 
lian seaboard,  and  to  confirm  the  anticipations  made  by  Desbrosses  on  the  chart 
accompanying  his  historical  work  on  the  voyages  of  discovery  in  the  Austral  Seas.* 
In  1770,  Cook,  after  discovering  Botany  Bay,  sailed  northwards  between  the 
mainland  and  the  Great  Barrier  Reef,  and  then  penetrated  into  Torres  Strait,  thus 
at  last  placing  beyond  doubt  the  insular  character  both  of  New  Guinea  and 
Australia. 

Fig.  153. — Chief  RotrTES  of  Austkaliax  Explorers. 
Scale  1  :  40,0i»j,ikX'. 


_   'Tl-.^ur^^*- 


\         \ 


Ea:,b    :P  Green. 


But  it  was  still  uncertain  whether  Tasmania  was  the  soitth-eaptern  promontorv 
of  the  Austral  mainland,  and  numerous  navigators  visited  this  island  and  cast 
anchor  in  its  harbours  before  the  question  was  decided  by  Bass,  who  first  sailed 
through  the  strait  now  bearing  his  name.  This  event  occurred  in  1798,  ten  years 
after  the  foundation  of  the  first  British  colony  on  the  coast  of  New  South  Wales. 
The  exploration  of  the  interior  had  also  commenced  bj'  short  expeditions  between 
the  seaboard  and  the  east  slopes  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  but  these  ramparts  were 
not  crossed  till  the  year  1813,  when  some  stockbreeders  were  driven  by  a  long 
drought  to  seek  fresh  pastures  farther  inland. 

•  Sistoire  do  Xarigadonii  aiijr  Tores  Auslrales. 
A  A  2 


356  AUSTRALASIA. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  Interior  was  doubtless  greatly  enlarged  by  the  search  for 
grassy  lauds,  and  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  1851,  by  the  sudden  rush  of 
miners  to  the  still  unknown  alluvial  plains  and  rocky  vallej's  of  the  eastern  regions. 
But  far  more  was  accomplished  by  the  disinterested  expeditions  of  travellers  who 
never  hesitated  to  risk  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  science  and  geographical  dis- 
covery. And,  in  truth,  the  work  of  Australian  exploration  has  cost  the  lives  of 
many  daring  pioneers  and  distinguished  naturalists,  such  as  the  botanist  Cunning- 
ham, the  learned  Leichhardt,  Gray,  Burke,  Wills,  who,  with  numerous  comrades, 
fell  victims,  either  to  the  spears  of  the  natives  or  to  the  hardships,  himger,  and 
thirst  of  toilsome  journeys  across  inhospitable  lands  and  the  trackless  wilder- 
ness. 

4.nd  of  those  more  fortunate  pioneers,  who  brought  their  expeditions  to  a 
successful  issue,  how  many  proved  themselves  true  heroes,  displaying  all  the 
energy,  resolution,  and  endurance  of  which  man  is  capable  !  For  days  and  weeks 
together  they  had  to  study  the  soil  and  scan  the  horizon  in  search  of  some  stream- 
let, mere,  or  "  water-hole."  Fellow-travellers  had  to  disperse  in  the  midst  of  the 
desert  in  quest  of  a  little  moisture  to  quench  their  burning  thirst,  indicating  as 
their  rallying-point  some  distant  rock,  from  which  they  might  easily  be  beguiled 
by  a  treacherous  mirage.  Then  the  weary  ploddings  across  sandhills,  over  shingly 
plains,  through  salt  marshes,  and  thorny  scrub  ;  the  deviations  in  search  of  stray 
horses  ;  the  intolerable  heats  beneath  brazen  skies,  followed  by  the  .dangerous 
chills  of  night !  Altogether  the  history  of  Australian  exploration  forms  a  chapter 
in  the  records  of  heroism,  which  gives  the  most  exalted  idea  of  the  greatness  of 
man. 

In  the  series  of  essays  which  followed  year  after  year,  the  decisive  journey  was 
that  made  in  1862,  after  two  failures,  by  MacDouall  Stuart,  whose  itineraries  to 
the  right  and  the  left  resemble  the  movements  of  the  antennoe  of  puzzled  ants. 
He  first  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Australian  continent  at  its  broadest  part,  from 
Saint  Vincent  Gulf  to  the  north  coast,  opiDosite  Melville  Island.  Australia  was 
thus  severed,  as  it  were,  in  two  by  a  transverse  route,  along  which  stations  sprang 
up  at  intervals,  as  so  many  places  of  refuge,  or  starting-points  for  future  explorers. 
From  these  headquarters,  which  reduced  by  one-half  the  distance  to  be  traversed, 
it  became  possible  to  penetrate  far  into  the  surrounding  wilderness,  and  in  1873 
Warburton  at  last  reached  the  west  coast.  The  network  of  itineraries  was  now 
rapidly  extended  in  all  directions,  east  and  west,  as  well  as  north  and  south,  and 
the  preliminary  rough  survey  of  the  continent  may  be  regarded  as  already  accom- 
plished. The  inland  regions  are  known  in  their  main  featui-es,  while  the  details 
are  being  gradually  filled  up  by  the  partial  expilorations  undertaken  in  connection 
with  the  telegraph  ser^'ice,  or  in  quest  of  springs  and  grazing  grounds.  Never- 
theless there  still  remain  vast  spaces,  especially  in  the  west,  where  no  European 
has  j'ot  succeeded  in  penetrating,  and  the  blank  spaces,  even  on  the  latest  maps, 
between  the  routes  of  Giles,  Forrest,  and  Warburton  represent  altogether  an  area 
of  some  300,000  square  miles,  or  considerably  more  than  double  the  whole  extent 
of  the  British  Isles. 


EXPLORATIOX  OF  AUSTE.ILIA. 


357 


'¥ig.    154. — MacDoUALl's    iTINEEAKIEa. 
Scale  1  :  G.OOO.WO. 


23 

lljuly    .;_ 


July.    V'-''        ^     '^J""' 
J..  V) ;'  20  may 


The  explorations  carried  out  iu  recent  years  by  the  ChaUengcr  and  other  vessels 
have  determined  with  tolerable  accuracy  the  submarine  bed  on  wbich  Australia  stands, 
and  which  may  be  geologically  regarded  as  forming  with  the  mainland  a  jjartly  uji- 
heaved  continental  mass.  In 
the  north  New  Guinea,  with  the 
clusters  and  chains  of  adjacent 
islands,  such  as  the  Louisiades 
and  Aru,  all  rest  on  the  com- 
mon pedestal,  being  united  with 
Australia  by  the  reefs  dotted 
over  Torres  Strait  and  neigh- 
bouring waters.  The  Gulf  of 
Carpentaria  and  the  north- 
western seas  nearly  as  far  as 
Timor  belong  to  the  same  sub- 
marine bank,  which  in  the  soulh 
stretches  far  seawards,  and  in 
the  south-east  develops  a  long 
submerged  peninsula,  above 
which  rises  Tasmania,  and 
which  advances  over  900  miles 
into  deep  water. 

On  the  east  side  tbe  New 
South  Wales  seaboard  is  washed 
by  abysses  of  over  2,000  fathoms, 
while  the  north-east  coast  is 
fringed  by  the  Great  Barrier 
Reef,  which  is  connected  by  a 
sill  less  than  1,000  fathoms  deep 
witb  Norfolk  Island  and  the 
nortb-west  peninsula  of  New 
Zealand.  This  connecting  line 
between  the  continent  and  its 
most  remote  geological  depen- 
dencies is  disposed  towards  the 
south-east  in  the  same  direction 
as  New  Caledonia,  the  Loyalty, 
and  New  Hebrides  groups,  and 
other  upraised  lands  in  tbis 
section  of  the  South  Sea. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  in  this 
vast  aggregate  of  Australasian 

lands  the  continent  itself  presents  the  least  diversity  of  relief.     Even  the  loftiest 
Australian  ranges  are  of  secondary  importance  compared  with  the  New  Guinea  and 


6 


EasbcFGr 


358  AUSTRALASIA. 

New  Zealand  orographic  systems,  and  are  surpassed  even  by  the  mountains  of  the 
Solomon  Archipelago.  This  circumstance  strengthens  the  hypothesis,  according  to 
which  Australia  forms  a  single  geological  unit  with  the  lands  uovv  scattered  to  the 
north  and  east.  New  Guinea,  Melanesia,  and  New  Zealand  would  thus  be  nothing 
more  than  the  margin  of  the  primitive  Austral  continent,  over  half  of^hich  now  lies 
submerged  beneath  the  intervening  shallow  seas.  Numerous  examples  of  similar 
formations  occur  elsewhere,  as  in  South  America,  in  Africa,  and,  in  a  general  way, 
round  the  great  Oceanic  basin  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Cape  Horn,  where 
the  loftiest  crests  also  rise  immediately  above  j)rofound  marine  abysses. 

Physical  Features. — Mountain  Systems. 

As  in  other  Australasian  regions,  the  highest  mountains  on  the  mainland  occur 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  seaboard  and  on  the  side  facing  the  deep  Pacific 
waters.  The  chief  continental  crests  are  disposed  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  an 
outer  crescent  sweeping  round  from  York  Peninsula  to  Wilson's  Promontory, 
over  against  Tasmania.  Beyond  this  elevated  rim  the  land  falls  so  uniformly  us 
to  suggest  to  the  early  explorers  the  existence  in  the  interior  of  a  "  Caspian  " 
dejiression,  into  which  flowed  all  the  surrounding  .streams.  But  instead  of  this 
imaginary  central  sea  there  exists  nothing  beyond  a  few  small  basins  without  any 
outflow,  while  nearly  all  the  important  rivers  flow  directly  to  the  coast.  Never- 
theless the  plains  traversed  by  them  stand  at  a  very  low  level,  in  consequence- of 
which  disposition  of  the  land  the  seaboard  has  been  excavated  far  into  the  interior 
both  on  the  north  and  south  sides,  where  have  been  respectively  developed  the 
Gulfs  of  Carpentaria  and  Saint  Vincent.  Between  these  two  indentations,  which 
are  the  largest  on  the  whole  continental  perijahery,  the  intervening  plains  scarcely 
anywhere  exceed  an  altitude  of  500  feet  above  sea-level.  West  of  this  depression 
the  surface  again  rises,  and  towards  the  centre  of  the  continent  several  of  the 
summits  exceed  3,000  feet  in  elevation. 

The  chief  range,  known  as  the  Australian  Alps,  begins  in  Victoria,  and  after 
presenting  its  convex  side  towards  the  South-east,  trends  round  to  the  left  and  is 
continued  by  other  chains  northwards.  The  Yass,  a  headstream  of  the  Murray, 
is  regarded  as  the  northern  limit  of  the  Australian  Alps  proper,  which  have  a  total 
length  of  about  250  miles.  These  highlands  deserve  the  name  of  Alps  less  for 
their  altitude  than  for  the  large  number  of  their  collective  groups,  spurs,  offshoots, 
lateral  or  parallel  ridges.  They  are  almost  everywhere  of  easy  access,  the  most 
rugged  escarpments  being  usually  situated  about  midway  between  base  and  sum- 
mit, while  higher  up  the  slopes  are  more  gently  inclined,  and  extensive  grassy  or 
sparsely  wooded  plateaux  form  the  pedestal  of  domes  and  crests  which  may  be 
ascended  even  on  horseback.  The  culminating  peak,  Mount  Townshend,  in  the 
Kosciusko  group.  New  South  Wales,  attains  a  height  of  7,350  feet. 

In  many  of  these  upland  valleys  the  snows  never  melt,  and  in  winter  from 
May  to  November  even  the  plateaux  remain  shrouded  in  a  white  mantle.  A  few 
neves  are  found  in  the  higher  ravines  of  the  Kosciusko  Mountains,  and  traces  of 
ancient  glaciers  in  various  parts  of  the  range.     In  the  Bogong  Hills  (6,630  feet), 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  ALPS. 


859 


which  lie  west  of  the  farthest  sources  of  the  Murraj-,  a  frontal  moraine  clams  up  a 
little  fluvial  valley  at  an  elevation  of  2,950  feet. 

In  the  Australian  Alps  the  prevailing  formations  are  of  great  age,  consisting 
of  granites  and  Silurian  masses  interspersed  with  porphyries,  diorites,  and  basalts. 
Here  and  there  tertiary  rocks  overlie  the  valleys,  but  are  always  disposed  horizon- 
tally, whereas  the  surrounding  strata  have  been  diversely  folded  and  dislocated. 

Fig.  1.55. — AusTEAiiAN  Alps. 
Scale  1  :  o,25u,000. 


East  oF  Greenwich 


Depths, 


Notwithstanding  the  intervening  depressions  the  same  general  features  reappear 
farther  west  in  the  Yictoria  highlands,  and  even  in  Tasmania,  which  belongs  in 
great  measure  to  the  same  geological  epoch.  The  Pyrenees,  which,  run  parallel 
with  the  coast  north-west  of  Melbourne,  and  the  Grampians,  whose  irregular  forms 
stretch  farther  west,  are  also  of  Silurian  formation,  though  less  elevated  than  the 
Alps,  ilouut  "\niliam,  the  culminating  point  in  the  Grampians,  being  scarcely 
5,6.00  feet  high. 

But  nowhere  in  Australia  have  igneous  formations  been  more  developed  than 


SCO  AUSTRALASIA. 

in  tliis  region  of  West  Victoria,  where  volcanic  cones  are  reckoned  by  the  hundred 
— some  simple  eruptive  craters,  others  real  mountains  2,000  feet  high — belonging 
to  every  successive  period  between  paleozoic  and  tertiary  times.  Several  of  the 
craters  are  perfectly  circular  basins  now  flooded  by  lakes  of  great  depth,  such  as 
the  Blue  Lake,  which  occupies  the  upper  cavity  of  a  volcano  belonging  to  the 
Gambler  group  in  South  Australia,  and  which  is  no  less  than  675  feet  deep. 
Others,  which  formerly  discharged  lava  streams  covering  vast  expanses,  are  now 
mere  grassy  or  wooded  cirques.  All  the  older  volcanoes  are  on  the  mainland 
except  Tower  Hill,  near  Warrnambool,  which  rises  above  the  surface  of  the  neigh- 
bouring waters. 

Like  the  Australian  Alps  the  Tasmanian  mountains  are  formed  of  granites  and 
Silurian  deposits.  But  geologists  have  hitherto  failed  to  determine  the  presence 
of  volcanoes  properly  so-called,  although  in  many  places  eruptive  rocks  have 
formed  transverse  barriers  over  which  the  running  waters  fall  in  cascades  down 
to  the  plains.  Nearly  the  whole  island  is  covered  with  irregular  mountain  masses, 
which  attain  their  greatest  elevation  in  the  north-west,  here  culminating  in  Cradle 
Mountain  (5,065  feet).  Several  other  peaks  exceed  4,600  feet,  but  the  land  falls 
towards  the  south-east,  where  the  seaboard  is  penetrated  by  deep  fjords. 

Viewed  as  a  whole  Tasmania  presents  the  outlines  of  half  an  oval,  eroded  on  the 
north  side  facing  Australia  in  the  form  of  a  regular  concave  curve.  Here  the 
intervening  waters  of  Bass  Strait  were  at  some  former  epoch  undoubtedly  replaced 
by  an  isthmus  connecting  both  regions^  and  of  which  nothing  now  survives  except 
a  few  granite  islets.  But  immediately  east  of  the  strait  the  marine  abj^sses  jjlunge 
into  depths  of  over  2,500  fathoms.  From  the  geological  standpoint  AVilson's 
Promontory,  the  southernmost  point  of  the  Australian  continent,  is  an  island  like 
those  scattered  over  the  shallow  waters  of  the  strait.  "Were  the  mainland  to 
subside  some  300  feet  the  two  inlets  to  the  west  and  east  of  the  headland  would 
be  connected  by  a  second  marine  channel. 

North  of  the  Australian  AIjds  the  highlands  skirting  the  seaboard  ramify  into 
several  parallel  chains,  the  main  range  running  at  a  mean  distance  of  45  or  50 
miles  from  the  Pacific.  Each  chain  and  each  ti'ansverse  ridge  has  its  separate 
name,  while  the  whole  system  is  sometimes  designated  by  the  common  appellation  of 
the  Blue  Mountains,  a  term  more  specially  applicable  to  the  mountains  lying  to  the 
west  of  Sydney,  and  long  regarded  by  the  early  settlers  as  an  unsurmountable  ram- 
part towards  the  interior  of  the  continent.  Although  the  highest  peaks,  such  as 
Sea-view,  west  of  Port  Macquarie  towards  the  north  of  New  South  Wales,  scarcely 
exceed  6,000  feet,  while  most  of  them  fall  "below  5,000  feet,  they  have  in  many 
places  been  carved  by  erosive  action  into  rocky  cirques  with  vertical  walls  of  an 
imfiosing  aspect. 

The  ranges  fall  precipitously  seaward,  while  on  the  opj)osite  side  they  frequently 
present  the  appearance  rather  of  a  gently  inclined  tableland,  the  ground  sloping 
somewhat  uniformly  in  the  direction  of  the  plains  watered  by  the  Murray.  Exten- 
sive cavities,  where  the  rivulets  now  escape  through  breaches  in  the  periphery, 
appear  to  have  formerly  been  lacustrine  basins.      Such  amongst  others   on  the 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

INIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS. 


GEOLOGY  OF  AUSTEALIA.  361 

western  slope  of  the  mountains  are  the  Liverpool  Plains,  which  are  dotted  over  with 
isolated  basalt  rocks.  Like  the  regions  in  the  north  of  Europe,  Australia  also  h;id 
evidently  its  glacial  epoch  followed  by  a  lacustrine  period. 

In  the  northern  section  of  ^ew  South  Wales  the  water-parting  gradually  falls 
in  the  direction  of  the  colony  of  Queensland,  where  few  summits  attain  an  elevation 
of  2,000  feet.  In  some  districts  the  mountain  system  is  even  completely  inter- 
rupted, the  parting  line  between  the  two  slopes  being  formed  by  scarcely  per- 
ceptible undulations.  But  eminences  exceeding  3,000  feet  reappear  north  of 
the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  where  a  granite  ridge  skirting  the  seaboard  runs  north- 
westwards to  the  neck  of  York  Peninsula,  here  merging  in  a  small  water-parting 
of  moderate  elevation. 

Between  the  Australian  Alps  and  the  granites  of  North  Queensland  the  pre- 
vailing formations  are  carboniferous  of  various  ages,  some  dating  from  paleozoic, 
others  from  mesozoic  times.  Here  also  occur  some  granites  and  porphyries,  and 
on  the  western  slopes  a  few  volcanoes  and  lava  fields.  It  is  in  this  section  of  the 
Australian  highlands  and  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Victoria  Mountains  that 
are  scattered  those  auriferous  deposits  that  have  so  greatly  stimulated  the  develop- 
ment of  Australia.  All  belong  to  different  periods  of  the  tertiary  epoch  and  rest 
on  a  rocky  bed  of  the  Silurian  sj-stem.  Most  of  the  deposits  f;ll  old  fluvial  channels, 
the  so-called  "  gutters,"  and  in  some  districts  they  attain  a  thickness  of  over  300 
and  even  600  feet. 

West  of  the  "  backbone  "  of  the  continent  the  depression  comprised  between 
the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  and  the  Murray  estuary  is  largely  occupied  with  cretaceous 
formations.  From  these  mesozoic  strata  and  the  vast  plains  of  tertiary  origin  it  is 
evident  that  Australia,  formerly  considered  as  the  "  old "  continent  in  a  pre- 
eminent sense,  has  also  had  its  revolutions,  its  alternating  upheavals  and  subsi- 
dences, like  other  great  divisions  of  the  globe. 

Beyond  the  chalk  zone  begin  the  little-known  regions  intersected  at  long 
intervals  b}'  the  itineraries  of  a  few  daring  explorers.  We  know,  however,  that 
granites  and  primitive  rocks  occur  in  South  Australia  on  both  sides  of  Spencer 
Gulf,  as  well  as  .  round  the  margins  of  the  saline  basins  in  the  interior.  The 
northern  peninsulas  facing  Melville  Island  have  also  their  granites  and  metamoi-- 
phic  formations.  Lastly,  the  south-western  regions  are  to  a  great  extent  consti- 
tuted of  slightly  elevated  granite  plateaux  traversed  here  and  there  by  a  mountain 
range  from  1,800  to  2,000  feet  high.  All  these  chains  and  ridges  are  named  after 
the  early  explorers  or  statesmen  distinguished  in  contemporary  politics.  The 
MacDouall  group,  lying  east  of  the  overland  telegraph  lino,  abounds  in  precious 
stones,  some  of  which  have  been  doubtfully  or  wrongly  described  as  "  rubies." 

The  "  desert  sandstone,"  comprising  over  one-third  of  Australia,  is  probably 
of  more  recent  origin  than  any  of  the  continental  mountain  systems.  But  owing 
to  the  general  absence  of  fossils  its  age  cannot  be  accurately  determined,  although 
the  upheaval  of  the  plateaux,  hills,  and  plains  in  this  arid  wilderness  is  by  most 
geologists  referred  to  isliocene  times.  In  North  Queensland  it  overlies  cretaceous 
formations.     Its  numerous  depressions  have  been  produced  by  meteoric  agencies, 


362  AUSTEALASIA. 

heat  and  cold,  wind  and  raiu,  and  in  several  places  the  surface  has  been  excavated 
many  tens  and  even  hundreds  of  yards,  leaving  here  and  there  masses  of  harder 
rocks,  which  indicate  the  original  level  of  the  novr  vanished  formations.  In 
north-west  Australia  lies  the  region  to  which  Gray  has  given  the  name  of  "Pillar 
Land,"  from  the  myriads  of  sandstone  columns  rising  above  the  surrounding  plains 
which  have  been  irregularly  excavated.  This  region  is  carpeted  with  flowering 
plants  and  festooned  with  belts  of  verdure,  while  the  work  of  erosion  is  still  con- 
tinued by  running  waters  partly  flowing  below  the  surface. 

About  the  very  centre  of  the  continent  stands  another  of  these  geological 
witnesses,  which  is  known  as  "  Chambers's  Pillar,"  and  which  rises  150  feet  above 
an  eminence  itself  about  100  feet  higher  than  the  surrounding  plain.  This 
column,  one  of  the  most  regular  formations  of  the  kind  on  the  surface  of  the  globe, 
forms  a  conspicuous  landmark  much  utilised  by  the  early  explorers  as  a  rallying 
point,  and  convenient  site  for  a  cache  or  storehouse  of  provisions.  It  is  about  ten 
feet  by  twenty  in  cross  section,  of  nearly  equal  compass  from  top  to  bottom,  and 
formed  of  a  soft  white  sandstone  like  the  hill  on  which  it  stands.  The  upper  part 
of  the  pillar  is  of  a  red  tint,  and  its  preservation  is  perhaps  due  to  the  greater 
hardness  and  durability  of  this  topmost  layer  (Wallace). 

Like  the  Sahara,  the  Australian  desert  has  its  region  of  dunes  stretching  west 
of  the  overland  telegraph  on  the  north-west  continental  slope.  Here  the  chains 
of  sandhills  follow  each  other  with  perfect  regularity,  rolling  away  like  the  waves 
of  the  sea  for  a  distance  of  about  350  miles  in  the  direction  from  east  to  west. 
Consisting  entirely  of  red  particles,  without  a  blade  of  grass  to  relieve  their  fierce 
glare,  these  dunes  are  described  by  Sturt  as  producing  a  "terrible"  effect,  and  no 
traveller  ventures  to  traverse  them  without  a  sense  of  awe.  Beyond  this  dreaded 
region  a  few  verdant  and  flowery  oases  are  seen  here  and  there  in  the  dreary 
wilderness.  The  aspect,  however,  of  the  Australian  desert  changes  with  the  dry 
and  wet  seasons,  so  that  the  descriptions  of  the  same  district  by  different  explorers 
often  present  great  discrepancies. 

The  observations  made  by  geologists  on  the  main  features  of  the  continental 
periphery  lend  much  probability  to  the  hypothesis  of  a  general  upheaval  of  the 
Australian  seaboard.  Its  shores,  after  having  been  submerged  under  the  waters, 
which  at  one  time  covered  about  half  of  the  surface,  were  again  gradually  upr  lised 
above  the  level  of  the  surrounding  seas.  The  coasts  are  fringed  by  upheaved 
beaches,  in  which  are  embedded  banks  of  shells  similar  to  those  still  surviving  in 
the  neighbouring  waters.  Numerous  lakes,  which  were,  till  recently,  marine 
inlets,  have  preserved  their  oceanic  fauna,  while  others  have  been  gradually 
changed  to  freshwater  basins,  or  have  even  been  completely  evaporated.  Shoals 
and  reefs  formerly  concealed  below  the  surface  now  show  their  black  rocks  above 
the  level  of  the  sea. 

A  careful  study  of  the  whole  region  stretching  to  the  north  of  Spencer  Gulf 
leaves  no  doubt  that  this  tract  of  dry  land  at  one  time  formed  an  archipelago  with 
numerous  islands  separated  from  each  other  by  shallow  straits.  Bass  Strait  itself, 
which  forms  the  southern  limit  of  Australia  proper,  would  be  changed  to  dry  land 


THE  AUSTR.1LIAN  SEAS  AXD  ISLANDS. 


3G3 


by  a  general  upheaval  of  less  than  twenty-five  fathoms,  and  Tasmania,  which  was 
long  supposed  to  form  part  of  the  neighbouring  continent,  really  belongs  to  it 
from  the  geological  point  of  view.  The  presence  of  glaciers  probably  contributed 
to  preserve  the  primitive  form  of  the  Tasmanian  seaboard,  all  the  south  side  of 
which  is  carved  into  creeks  and  inlets,  evidently  ancient  fjords  which  have  main- 
tained their  original  depth  and  outlines. 

A  close  resemblance  to  the  sea  which  formerly  flooded  South  Australia,  is  pre- 
sented by  the  channel  at  present  separating  this  continent  from  New  Guinea. 
Between  Cape  York  and  Mount  Cornwallis  at  the  narrowest  part  of  Torres  Strait 

Fig.   15G. — Bass  Steait. 
Scale  I  ■■  5,553,000. 


Depths. 


100  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


the  water  is  nowhere  more  than  eleven  or  twelve,  while  the  average  scarcely 
exceeds  seven  fathoms.  It  was  shown  by  the  accurate  surveys  of  the  F/i/  and 
Bramble  (1842—1847)  that,  even  by  keeping  to  the  windings  of  the  deepest 
channel,  a  vessel  drawing  over  30  feet  could  only  pass  through  in  perfectly 
smooth  water.  The  rocky  islets  in  this  strait,  whether  isolated  or  grouped  in 
clusters,  consist  exclusively  of  porphyries  or  syenites,  like  the  rocks  in  the  northern 
peninsula  of  Queensland,  of  which  they  evidently  form  a  seaward  extension. 

East  of  these  reef-fringed  islets,  between  which  flow  channels  perfectly  free 


3G1 


AUSTRALASIA. 


from  shoals,  begins  the  true  "  Coral  Sea,"  which  is  studded,  not  with  rocky 
heights,  but  only  with  a  dangerous^  labyrinth  of  coralline  masses,  and  which  taken 
as  a  whole  may  be  compared  to  a  long  submarine  bank  gradually  falling  east- 
wards to  a  mean  depth  of  20  fathoms.  Ilere  is  the  true  coastline  of  the  Australian 
continent,  and  as  happens  on  so  many  other  upraised  or  submerged  seaboards,  the 
parting  line  between  the  continental  plateau  and  the  abysmal  depths  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  is  marked  by  an  igneous  chain.  The  volcanoes,  however,  of  the  Coral  Sea 
have  all  become  extinct  during  the  present  geological  epoch,  and  none  of  them 
are  of  any  considerable  size,  the  largest  being  Murray  Island,  which  lies  within 
the  zone  of  the  Great  Barrier  Reef.     Although  so  near  the  Australian  mainland 


Fig.  157. — ToEEES  SiiiAiT. 

Scale  1  :  7,750,000. 


of  which  it  is  a  geological  dependence,  this  island  is  distinguished  from  it  by  its 
vegetation.  The  beach  and  even  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills,  which  rise  to  a 
height  of  600  or  700  feet,  are  clothed  with  a  continuous  forest  of  cocoanut  palms, 
trees  which  all  travellers  assure  us  were  not  found  in  Australia  before  the  arrival 
of  the  European  immigrants. 

The  rampart  of  reefs  forming  the  outer  coastline  of  Queensland  and  connecting 
Australia  with  New  Guinea  has  a  total  development  of  no  less  than  1,500  miles, 
without  counting  minor  indentations.  It  begins  at  Cape  Sandy,  where  the  main- 
land projects  seawards  off  the  convex  curve  of  the  east  coarst,  and  is  at  first  inter- 
rupted by  broad  straits ;  but  the  rocks  and  shoals  soon  press  closer  together,  and 
at  last  merge  in  a  continuous  barrier  presenting  but  few  openings  accessible  to 


THE  GREAT  BAEEIEE  EEEF. 


3G5 


sliips.  The  early  explorers  anxiously  skirted  the  long  line  of  breakers  during  the 
day,  and  at  dusk  veered  off  to  a  safe  distance  from  their  everlasting  roar  ;  yet 
shipwrecks  were  of  frequent  occurrence.     Now,  however,  all  the  accessible  passes 


Fig.  1-58. — The  Great  Baeeiee  Reef. 
Scale  1 :  11,800,000. 


are  known,  and  vessels  freely  navigate  the  inner  waters  under  shelter  from   (he 
fury  of  the  ocean  waves. 

Before  the  introduction  of  steam  navigation,  the  channels  of  the  Great  Barrier, 


366  AUSTRALASIA. 

notwithstanding  their  dangerous  reefs,  presented,  with  Torres  Strait,  the  only 
route  for  vessels  passing  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  Here  the  south- 
east trades  set  regularlj'  throughout  nearly  the  whole  year,  whereas  off  the  south 
coast  of  Australia  the  south  and  south-west  winds  blow  almost  constantly  and  are 
often  stormy.  Within  the  Great  Barrier  the  surf  is  seldom  dangerous,  and  here 
the  ordinary  roadsteads,  sheltered  by  a  rock  or  an  islet,  form  jreally  safe  havens. 
Seafarers  navigating  these  seas  are  also  aided  by  the  clear  atmosphere  and  the 
extreme  limpiditj'  of  the  water.  At  a  distance  of  over  a  mile  the  sailor  at  the 
mast-head  readily  detects  the  existence  of  shallows  30  feet  below  the  surface, 
thanks  to  the  contrast  presented  by  their  greenish  tints  with  the  deep  blue  of  the 
neighbouring  abysses. 

Rivers  and  Lakes. 

Aiistralia  is  as  inferior  to  the  other  continents  in  the  extent  and  abundance  of 
its  watercourses  as  it  is  in  the  elevation  of  its  mountain  ranges.  Of  all  those 
reaching  the  coast  the  Murray  or  Goolwa,  discovered  in  182i  by  Hume  and 
Hovell,  is  the  only  river  draining  a  large  extent  of  country.  This  great  artery 
receives  all  the  running  waters  belonging  to  the  inland  watersheds  of  the  Gram- 
pians, the  Pyrenees  of  Victoria,  the  Alps,  and  the  JN^ew  South  Wales  coast  ranges. 
From  its  furthest  headstream,  the  Condamine,  rising  in  Queensland,  to  its  estuary 
in  South  Aiistralia,  the  distance  is  at  least  1,200  miles,  and  the  whole  extent  of 
the  catchment  basin  of  the  Murray  exceeds  400,000  square  miles.  It  is  thus 
larger  than  those  of  the  united  Tigris-Euphrates,  of  the  Danube,  and  the  St. 
Lawrence  ;  but  what  a  difference  in  its  voliune  ! — the  mean  annual  discharge  being 
only  about  12,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  or  less  than  that  of  the  Seine.  The 
Murray  waters  are  scarcely  deep  enough  for  small  steamers  to  ascend  its  lower 
course  even  during  the  floods.  During  the  ten  years  between  1877  and  1886  the 
Darling  was  accessible  to  craft  of  light  draught  only  for  fifty  seven  months 
altogether,  while  none  of  its  affluents  are  navigable  except  for  small  boats. 

The  fluvial  basin  itself  has  been  rightly  named,  not  from  its  longest  upper 
branch,  but  from  the  headstream  "which,  thanks  to  the  direction  of  its  course 
parallel  with  the  main  axis  of  the  Victoria  mountain  ranges,  receives  the  largest 
quantity  of  water.  The  Murray  rises  in  the  Australian  Alps  on  the  frontiers  of 
Victoria  and  New  South  Wales,  and  during  its  westerly  course  is  gradually 
increased  in  volume  bj'  the  torrents  descending  from  the  Victoria  uplands  to  its 
left  bank.  Its  northern  affluents,  the  Lachlan-Morrlimbidgee,  and  especially  the 
Darling,  have  a  far  longer  course,  but  roll  down  a  much  smaller  quantity  of  water. 
Many  of  the  sub-tributaries  even  lose  themselves  in  meres  and  swamps  before 
reaching  the  banks  of  the  main  stream.  All  these  running  waters. expand  over 
the  surface  in  shallow  temporary  lakes,  and,  being,  destitute  of  regular  sandy  or 
gravelly  beds,  scarcely  deserve  the  name  of  rivers. 

On  the  east  slope  of  the  New  Soiith  AVales  and  Queensland  coast-ranges  the 
streams  are  relatively  more  copious,  thanks  to  the  heavier  rainfall  and  the  closer 


RIVERS  OP  AUSTRALIA.  -^   367 

texture  of  their  rocky  beds.  But  between  the  hills  and  the  coast  thev  have  no 
space  to  develop  long  courses,  and  most  of  them  are  lost  in  the  ocean  as  soon  as 
they  escape  from  the  mountains.  On  this  slope  the  largest  rivers  are  the  Fitzroy 
and  the  Burdekin,  which,  through  openings  in  the  coast-ranges,  receive  some  con- 
tributions from  the  opposite  side. 

On  the  western  watershed  of  Queensland  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  is  encircled 
by  fluvial  basins,  such  as  the  Mitchell,  Norman,  Flinders,  Leichhardt,  Albert  and 
Roper,  which  usually  send  down  very  little  water,  but  whose  channels  excavated 
to  great  depths  in  the  rocks  bear  witness  to  the  great  force  formerly  exercised  bv 
their  currents.  The  more  arid  north-west  seaboard  has  scarcelj'  any  streams  that 
can  compare  in  magnitude  even  with  those  of  the  east  coast  ranges.  Amongst 
the  more  important  in  this  region  are  the  Victoria,  discharging  into  Queen's 
Channel,  the  Fitzroy,  a  little  farther  west,  and  quite  on  the  west  side  of  the 
continent  the  Grey,  the  Ashburton,  Gascoyne,  and  Murchison,  nearly  all  of  which 
watercourses  are  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  mere  chains  of  half  dried-up 
morasses. 

Still  more  arid  is  the  great  southern  bight,  which  for  a  space  of  1,200  miles 
between  the  south-west  corner  of  the  continent  and  Spencer  Gulf,  is  unbroken  by 
a  single  fluvial  estuary.  Throughout  this  vast  and  almost  waterless  tract  not  one 
of  the  few  rivulets  developed  in  the  interior  has  sufficient  force  to  reach  the  coast. 
Temporary  freshets  are  caused  by  the  heavy  downpours  in  most  of  the  desert 
regions,  and  on  these  occasions  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  real  current  rushing 
along  in  a  usuallj-  dried-up. river  bed  is  hailed  with  a  sort  of  ecstacy  by  the  few 
spectators  of  the  rare  phenomenon.  Long  before  the  arrival  of  the  stream  its 
distant  roar  is  heard  as  it  sweeps  down  with  the  shrubs  and  trees  torn  from  its 
banks;  then  the  noise  grows  louder,  presently  a  thread  of  water  is  seen  winding 
through  the  sinuosities  of  the  ravine,  as  if  in  search  of  an  outlet,  and  this  is  followed 
with  a  tremendous  crash  by  the  raging  torrent  which  soon  fills  to  overflowing  the 
winding  valley. 

Amongst  the  watercourses  which  run  out  in  the  depressions  of  the  interior 
there  is  one  which,  at  least  for  the  extent  of  its  basin,  may  be  regarded  as  a  true 
river.  This  is  the  Barcoo,  or  Cooper's  Creek,  which  also  bears  other  names  in  the 
various  districts  through  which  it  flows,  and  whose  headwaters  traverse  the  Queens- 
land pasturages  for  a  distance  of  over  SoO  miles.  The  upper  affluents  converge  in 
a  common  channel,  which  after  running  south-westwards  parallel  with  the  Darling, 
wanders  in  an  uncertain  course  from  swamp  to  swamp,  and  at  last  merges  in  the 
extensive  depression  of  Lake  Eyre  together  with  other  watercourses  flowing  from 
the  solitudes  of  Central  Australia. 

The  total  length  of  Cooper's  Creek  cannot  be  less  than  1,200  miles,  but  it  does 
not  flow  continuously  throughout  the  year,  and  its  course  is  often  indicated  only 
by  meres  and  morasses.  The  lacustrine  basins  themselves  vary  in  extent  and  form 
according  to  the  greater  or  less  abundance  of  the  rainfall  and  intensity  of  the 
evaporation.  At  one  season  they  present  the  aspect  of  extensive  inland  seas  with 
surf-beaten  shores,  and  stretching  beyond  the  horizon  without  visible  shoals  or 


3(J8  AUSTRALASIA. 

islands  ;  at  anotlier  tbey  are  mere  quagmires  reflecting  the  glittering  mirage,  or 
else  argillaceous  tracts  covered  with  white  saline  efflorescences.  During  protracted 
droiights  these  so-called  lakes  may  be  crossed  on  horseback,  provided  the  traveller 
avoid  the  bays  and  inlets  of  the  periphery,  where  the  treacherous  muds  and  bogs 
are  longest  maintained  by  the  underground  waters  filtering  through  from  the 
surrounding  lands  towards  the  lateral  creeks. 

From  the  disposition  and  outlines  both  of  Lake  Eyre,  and  of  Lake  Torrens, 
which  forms  its  southern  continuation  in  the  direction  of  Spencer  Golf,  it  seems 
probable  that  these  now  isolated  basins  were  formerly  marine  inlets  communicating 
freely  with  the  South  Pacific.  The  terminal  depression,  however,  which  is  certainly 
the  lowest  cavity  on  the  Australian  continent,  still  stands  some  65  or  70  feet  above 
the  present  sea-level.  Another  depression  towards  the  centre  of  Australia  is  occu- 
pied by  "Lake"  Amadeus,  alternately  a  shallow  lagoon,  morass,  or  saline  waste. 
In  the  arid  region  of  West  Australia  there  also  occur  several  depressions  of  like 
character,  which  are  commonly  designated  by  the  name  of  lakes. 

In  the  thoroughly  esi^lored  basins,  such  as  that  of  the  Darling,  the  fluvial 
discharge  is  so  slight  compared  with  the  rainfall  that  some  observers  have  sought 
for  an  explanation  of  the  discrepancy  in  the  existence  of  underground  rivers 
flowing  beneath  the  surface  clays,  and  carrying  either  to  the  sea  or  to  some 
subterranean  reservoirs  the  greater  part  of  the  running  waters.  Some  portion, 
however,  of  the  rainfall,  instead  of  being  carried  off  in  river  beds,  remains  on  the 
ground  in  certain  shallow  basins,  which  in  the  Darling  pasturages  are  known  by 
the  name  of  "  gilgies."  On  these  level  tracts,  where  the  rains  spread  out  in  stag- 
nant sheets  without  the  force  required  to  excavate  a  fluvial  channel,  the  onlj^ 
depressions  where  the  water  can  be  collected  are  the  fissures  formed  in  the  arid 
soil  during  the  dry  season.  Under  the  action  of  the  heavj^  downpours  the  sides  of 
these  crevasses  are  washed  away,  the  bed  of  the  cavities  thus  formed  is  levelled, 
and  water-holes  are  gradually  developed,  which  vary  in  depth  from  4  to  5  or  6 
feet,  and  in  size  from  a  few  feet  to  over  a  hundred  yards  in  circuit.  Some  of 
these  natural  gilgies  have  even  been  enlarged  by  the  natives,  and  converted  into 
reservoirs  capable  of  containing  considerable  quantities  of  water. 

Climate. 

The  climate  of  Australia  is  written  on  the  surface  of  the  land,  its  more  salient 
features  being  clearly  indicated  by  those  bare  rocks,  those  treeless-  plains  and 
waterless  depressions  which  occupy  the  greater  part  of  the  continent.  Although 
surrounded  by  marine  waters,  Australia  is  of  too  massive  a  form  to  enjoy  an  insular 
climate,  such  as  that  of  Europe  with  its  deeply  indented  seaboard.  Owing  to  the 
diyness  of  the  atmosphere,  due  to  the  slight  relief  and  the  monotonous  contours 
of  the  coastline,  the  meteorological  conditions  are  essentially  of  a  continental 
character. 

Lying  half  within  the  tropical  and  half  in  the  south  temperate  zone,  this 
region  presents,   from  the  York  Peninsula  to  the  terminal  point  of  Tasmania,  a 


CLIMATE  OF  AUSTRALIA. 


869 


long  succession  of  graduated  isothermal  lines,  with  a  mean  temperature  ranging 
from  78°  or  80°  F.  in  the  extreme  north  to  not  more  than  54°  in  the  extreme 
south.  But  this  gradual  decrease  does  not  correspond  uniformly  with  the  change 
of  latitude,  for  the  normal  averages  are  often  greatly  modified,  raised  in  one  place, 
lowered  in  another,  by  the  influence  of  the  prevailing  winds,  marine  currents,  and 
mountain  ranges.  Thus  the  temperature  is  diversely  affected  by  the  backward 
flow  of  the  equatorial  and  polar  currents,  which  meet  on  the  coasts  of  Queensland 
and  New  South  Wales.  The  contrasts  are  also  always  great  between  the  opposite 
slopes  of  the  higher  ranges,  while  iu  the  deserts  of  the  interior,  as  in  the  African 

Fig.    mo. — ISOTHEKILSXS  OF   AUSTRAI-IA. 
Scale  1  :  45,000.000. 


Sahara,  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  present  enormous  discrepancies,  according 
to  Sturt  as  much  as  from  16°  to  122°  F.  and  even  more.* 

In  Australia  the  normal  wind  is  the  south-east  trade,  which  prevails  in  the 
lower,  while  the  oppo.site  north-west  trade  sets  regularly  in  the  higher  atmospheric 


*  Climate  of  various  Australian  tOTvns : — 
Latitude. 
Somerset,  N.E.         .     10'  45'  S. 
Brisbane,  E.     .        .     27°  28'   . 
Sydney,  E.  .     33'  52'    . 

Melbourne,  S.  .  .  37°  49'  . 
Adelaide,  S.  .  .  34'  57'  . 
Perth,  S.W.      .         .     31"  57'    . 

vol,.  XIV. 


san  temperature. 

nighest. 

Lowest. 

.     78°  F. 

— 

— 

.     69'  8'  . 

133° 

.     37° 

.     92°      . 

104' 

.     35° 

.     99'      . 

no' 

.     27' 

.     94'      . 

113' 

.     34° 

.     88' 

112' 

.     32° 

86  inches. 

63 

48 

64 

20 

33 


870 


AUSTRALASIA. 


regions.  Nevertheless,  the  regular  direction  of  these  currents  is  considerably 
modified  by  the  great  centre  of  attraction  formed  by  the  arid  solitudes  of  the 
interior.     The  trades  being  deflected  towards  the  coast  are  changed  to  easterly  and 

even  north-easterly   winds. 
Fig.  100.— Rainfall  of  East  Australia.  while    marine    breezes     set 

scnie  1:30,000,000.  j^l^^jj^    ^^   j-o^^d  the   Sea- 

board. In  the  north-west 
the  winds  blowing  from 
Indonesia  in  the  winter 
are  simply  the  north-east 
trades,  which,  coming  from 
the  northern  hemisphere, 
change  their  direction  with 
the  change  of  zone. 

Between  these  two  zones 
of  the  south-east  and  north- 
west monsoons  the  neutral 
region,  shifting  with  the 
seasons  from  east  to  west 
and  north  to  south,  cor- 
responds in  a  general  way 
with  the  York  Peninsula. 
But  in  the  south  of  Australia 
the  prevailing  westerly 
gales,  which  are  often  ver^^ 
strong  and  even  tempes- 
tuous, find  an  unobstructed 
course  from  the  Indian  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  are 
consequently  seldom  de- 
flected from  the  normal 
direction.  On  the  mainland 
itself  the  changes  of  the 
dominant  currents,  espe- 
cially in  summer,  are  usually 
accompanied  by  sudden 
squalls  known  bj'  the  name 
6ooMii£3.  of  "bursters."  The  baro- 
meter falls  rapidly,  clouds 
of  dust  are  stirred  up),  the  storm  gathers,  peals  of  thunder  echo  from  the  welkin, 
and  the  rain  comes  down  in  torrents.  In  Melbourne  these  sudden  gales  from 
the  interior  are  called  "  bricklaj'ers,"  from  the  destructive  whirlwinds  of  dust 
accompanying  them.  In  (he  cultivated  districts  of  the  Australian  coastlands  no 
summer  passes  without  several  visitations  of  hot  winds  analogous  in  their  effects  to 


FLORA  OF  ArSTE.VLTA.  871 

the  African  scirocco..  Under  their  action  the  temperature  rises  suddenly,  both 
men  and  animals  feel  a  sense  of  exhaustion,  the  vegetation  droops,  and  if  the  wind 
lasts  long  enough  the  foliage  becomes  blighted  and  withers  as  if  frost-bitten. 

The  rainfall  diminishes  rapidly  from  the  coast  towards  the  interior  of  the 
continent,  and  the  quantity  received  by  the  inner  slopes  of  the  coast-ranges  is 
scarcely'  more  than  one-half  that  of  the  slopes  facing  seawards.  Thus  the  forty 
inches  received  by  Sydney  is  reduced  to  less  than  sixteen  on  the  western  plains  of 
New  South  ^Yales,  and  the  supply  of  moisture  is  certainly  much  less  in  the  cential 
regions,  where  the  winds  arrive  deprived  of  nearly  all  their  vapours.  At  the 
station  of  Charlotte  "Waters,  in  the  heart  of  the  continent  (26^  29'  south  latitude), 
the  mean  annual  discharge  is  only  five  inches,  and  at  times  a  whole  year  passes 
without  a  single  shower.  Hence  the  greater  part  of  Australia  is  too  arid  for 
European  settlements,  or  for  the  development  of  agricultural  enterprise.  Never- 
theless, the  colonists  have  had  the  immense  advantage  of  finding  a  perfectly  healthy 
climate  in  all  the  districts  where  they  have  built  their  towns  or  established  cattle 
farms.  Salubrity^  remains  in  the  eyes  of  the  immigrants  from  Great  Britain  the 
special  privilege  of  Australia,  and  is  regarded  by  them  as  a  compensation  for  many 
material  disadvantages.  Notwithstanding  the  changes  required  by  a  new  social 
life,  the  Anglo-Saxon  suffers  no  inconvenience  by  migrating  to  the  Austral  hemi- 
sphere, and  the  average  period  of  existence  is  even  said  to  be  higher  in  his  new 
home  at  the  antipodes.  That  people  advanced  in  years  here  enjoy  "  a  new  lease  of 
life"  has  become  a  local  saying  in  most  of  the  settled  districts. 

Flora  of  Aistrai.ia. 

The  Australian  flora  presents  a  highly  original  character.  Few  other  vegetable 
zones  are  so  well  defined,  offering  as  it  does  a  most  astonishing  contrast  even  to 
that  of  New  Giiinea,  from  which  it  is  separated  only  by  narrow  and  shallow  waters. 
This  originality  must  be  explained  by  the  long  ages  that  have  elapsed  since  the 
separation  of  the  southern  continent.  But  it  still  seems  surprising  that  a  region 
physically  so  monotonous  compared  with  Europe,  and  moreover  of  smaller  extent, 
should  jjossess  so  many  more  botanical  forms.  These  are  estimated  altogether  at 
about  12,2-")0,  of  which  number  as  many  as  7,550  are  quite  peculiar  to  Australia. 
The  only  vegetable  zones  which  present  a  comparatively  richer  or  more  varied 
flora  are  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa  and  the  island  of  New  Caledonia. 
There  must  be  some  coinmon  cause  for  the  extraordinary  concentration  of  distinct 
species  in  these  three  regions  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  where  the  floral  world 
appears  to  have  increased  in  variety  according  as  the  lands  themfelves  diminished 
in  superficial  area.  Nor  is  it  the  tropical,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  temperate  part 
of  all  three  zones  that  presents  the  greatest  proportion  of  vegetable  foi'nis ;  and 
these  forms  are  again  more  numerous  in  the  arid  western  section  than  in  the 
romantic  eastern  division  of  the  Australian  Continent.  Hence  the  submeigcnce  of 
the  land  must  have  been  greater  on  the  side  facing  the  Indian  than  on  tliat  turned 
towards  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

B  B  2 


872  AUSTRALASIA. 

The  splendour  and  exuberance,  if  not  the  variety,  of  vegetable  growths  depends 
above  all  on  the  abundance  of  the  rainfall.  Thus  the  lovely  family  of  palms, 
which  might  be  supposed  restricted  to  the  trojjical  part  of  Australia,  seems  almost 
independent  of  latitude,  here  following  the  seaboard  far  to  the  south  of  the  torrid 
zone.  No  members  of  this  group  occur  on  the  arid  west  side  of  the  continent.  A 
narrow  belt  of  palms  is  seen  only  along  the  northern  and  eastern  shores  as  far 
south  as  New  South  Wales,  where  the  slopes  of  the  hills  beyond  Sydney  in  35° 
S.  latitude  are  still  shaded  by  the  Ikistona,  which  here  grows  to  a  height  of  over 
80  feet.  In  its  palm  flora,  as  in  so  many  other  respects,  Australia  resembles  South 
Africa. 

The  pandanus  penetrates  southwards  no  farther  than  Moreton  Bay,  on  the 
Queensland  coast,  and  in  general  the  Australian  trojjical  is  less  original  than  the 
temperate  flora.  Numerous  Indian  and  Malayan  species  give  it  in  many  places  an 
Indonesian  aspect ;  but  there  also  occur  in  the  tropical  zone  a  few  forms  of  quite  a 
special  character,  which,  however,  occupy  a  very  narrow  area.  Such  are,  near 
Hanover  Bay  on  the  north-west  coast,  those  remarkable  capjiariv,  which  grow  to  a 
considerable  height,  and  whose  branches,  laden  with  fruits  as  large  as  cocoanuts, 
bend  gracefully  over  in  the  form  of  a  vast  canopy.  The  stem  is  always  inflated, 
bulging  out  like  a  pumpkin  and  giving  a  sickly  appearance  to  the  plant.  Its  fruit, 
however,  is  excellent,  and  the  white  gum  obtained  by  incision  of  the  bark  resembles 
macaroni  both  in  flavour  and  colour. 

Amongst  plants  restricted  to  a  narrow  range  botanists  have  also  discovered  on 
the  New  South  Wales  uplands  some  forms  belonging  to  the  north  European 
regions.  Of  these  Hooker  enumerates  38,  including  varieties  of  the  ranunculus, 
gentian,  and  myosotis.  Since  the  arrival  of  the  whites  the  vegetation  has  been 
greatly  modified,  and  some  northern  forms  have  not  only  invaded  Australia,  but 
have  spread  thence  to  New  Caledonia  and  other  South-Sea  Islands.  According  to 
Hooker  there  are  at  present  over  200  perfectly  acclimatised  European  plants  in  the 
Sydney  district,  where  they  grow  freely  without  the  aid  of  artificial  cultivation. 

Amongst  the  950  species  of  trees  which  attain  a  height  of  at  least  30  feet  the 
most  common  are  those  with  small  slender  leaves,  throwing  off  but  slight  evapora- 
tion and  affording  little  shade.  The  genus  acacia  is  represented  by  no  less  than 
320  species,  some  almost  destitute  of  true  foliage,  but  overladen  in  spring-time 
with  fragrant  blossom.  The  casuarina  also  lacks  a  fully  developed  foliage,  but  is 
covered  with  little  rigid  branchlets,  and  often  presents  a  black,  withered  appear- 
ance. This  family  is  very  numerous,  as  is  also  that  of  the  so-called  grass-tree 
{xantliorrlicea),  which  is  characterised  by  a  large  tuft  of  wiry,  grass-like  foliage 
shooting  up  from  the  stem,  with  a  spike  like  a  bulrush  in  the  centre,  which  is 
covered  in  summer  with  a  mass  of  white  blossom. 

In  Queensland  is  met  another  curious  forest  plant,  the  bottle-tree,  so  named 
from  its  shape.  But  the  Australian  tree  in  a  pre-eminent  sense  is  the  eucalyptus, 
or  gum-tree,  of  which  there  are  about  a  hundred  different  species.  Amongst  these 
is  the  famous  eucalyptus  globulus,  to  which  have  been  attributed  so  many  curative 
properties,    and  which  is  said  to  exceed  all   other   trees   in   mean  height,  with 


AUSTE.ILDIN  FLORA.  873 

perhaps  tlie  single  exception  of  the  iceUingtonia  of  California  and  Oregon.  But  this 
prerogative  is  by  others  assigned  to  the  Rcgnans  variety  of  eucalyptus  amygdalina, 
which  attains  its  greatest  size  on  the  mountain  slopes  of  eastern  Victoria,  where 
trunks  have  been  measured  no  less  than  480  feet  long.*  Gums  420  feet  high  are 
by  no  means  rare  in  the  gorges  of  Victoria  and  Tasmania ;  but  farther  north 
scarcely  any  are  met  exceeding  200  feet.  Those  growing  on  the  Tasmanian 
uplands  shoot  straight  up  like  bamboos,  without  any  branches  below  a  height  of 
50  or  60  feet.  When  the  wind  whistles  through  the  ravines,  the  strips  of  bark 
hanging  from  these  tall  stems  clash  together  with  a  weird,  creaking  sound  as  of 
moaning  spirits.  Growing  only  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  the  giant  gum-trees  are 
not  seen  to  full  advantage  from  a  distance. 

In  Australia  there  are  scarcely  any  dense  forests  with  a  tangled  growth  of 
interwoven  branches  and  creepers,  as  in  most  tropical  regions ;  nor  are  there  many 
woodlands  with  close-set  stems,  as  in  the  pine  and  fir  plantations  of  north  Europe. 
As  a  rule,  the  trees  lie  wide  apart,  like  those  of  the  English  parks,  and  beneath 
their  shade  stretches  the  grassy  sward,  where  formerly  grazed  herds  of  kangaroos, 
now  mostly  replaced  by  flocks  of  sheep.  Till  recently  these  open  wooded  tracts 
covered  the  greater  part  of  the  western  slope  of  the  New  South  "Wales  and  Queens- 
land uplands ;  but  farther  west,  towards  the  centre  of  the  continent,  they  give  place 
to  scrub,  usually  consisting  of  thorny  plants,  such  as  acacias,  dwarf  eucalj'ptus  or 
spinifex  {triodia  irritans),  growing  together  in  thickets.  North  of  the  28°  south 
latitude,  where  this  scrub  prevails,  men  and  animals  often  find  it  impossible  to 
make  way,  and  many  travellers,  unable  to  force  a  path  through  the  spinifex,  have 
been  fain  to  change  their  route  or  retrace  their  steps. 

The  dense  growths  of  eucalyptus  cUimosa,  the  mallie  of  the  natives,  are  also  a 
great  obstacle  to  explorers,  though  they  may  still  be  traversed.  They  have  the 
appearance  of  tall  bulrushes,  growing  to  a  height  of  10  or  12  feet  before  throwing  off 
any  branches,  and  completely  covering  the  ground  with  a  uniform  sea  of  verdure, 
in  which  the  wayfarer  disappears,  while  laboriously  striving  to  force  a  passage. 
The  cuttings  made  for  highways  across  these  mallie  thickets  are  as  sharp  and 
clearly  defined  as  those  of  roads  flunked  by  walls.  Of  the  scrubby  tracts  the  most 
easily  penetrated  are  those  composed  of  melakuca,  a  shrub  which  resembles  the 
myrtle,  and  which  grows  in  clusters  with  free  intervening  spaces.  The  natives  of 
the  desert  regions  are  acquainted  with  a  plant,  the  pitchouri  {duboisia  liopu-oodii), 
whose  leaves  reduced  to  powder  sustain  them  on  long  journeys,  and  keep  oil  the 
pangs  of  hunger.  When  fighting  they  continually  chew  these  leaves,  which 
appear  to  have  the  effect  of  exciting  their  warlike  spirit  to  a  pitch  of  frenzy. 

A  beginning  has  long  been  made  in  the  process  of  disafforesting  Australia. 
About  the  year  1860  some  stockbreeders  entertained  the  idea  of  extending  their 
grazing  grounds  by  clearing  away  the  forest  growths  that  clothed  the  slopes  of  the 
hiUs.  The  process  of  felling  the  eucalyptus  and  other  large  trees  would  have  been 
too  slow  and  two  expensive  ;  hence  the  squatters  had  recourse  to  the  more  expe- 
ditious plan  of  barking  the  stems.     This  practice  spread  rapidly,  and  by  1880  at 

•  George  Sutherland,  amongst  others,  declares  this  to  be  "  imdoubtedly  the  largest  tree  in  the  world." 


37i  AUSTEALASIA. 

least  three-fourths  of  the  forests  iu  the  basin  of  the  Hunter  had  already  disap- 
peared. The  time  seems  approaching  when  scarcely  a  single  tree  will  be  left  in 
the  boundless  pastures  of  the  interior.  This  ruthless  destruction  of  the  woodlands 
has  had  the  effect  of  transforming  the  most  charming  landscapes  into  dreary 
monotonous  wastes.  But  strange  to  say,  the  clearing  of  the  forest  tracts  has  not 
been  followed  by  any  decrease  in  the  annual  rainfall,  while  such  a  luxuriant 
herbage  has  been  developed,  that  in  some  places  a  thousand  sheep  find  an  abun- 
dance of  food  where  scarcely  a  hundred  could  formerly  be  kept.  The  eucalyptus 
and  other  trees,  whose  roots  ramified  far  and  wide  in  search  of  moisture,  left  little 
for  the  o-rasses,  which  sprang  uj)  in  the  rainy  season  and  perished  on  the  return  of 
the  drouo-hts.  Now,  however,  the  pastures  receive  the  full  benefit  of  the  whole 
supply,  which  sufficiently  explains  their  improved  condition. 

Fauna  of  Australia. 

Like  the  flora,  the  Australian  fauna  presents  a  strikingly  individual  physiog- 
nomy, attesting  the  long  succession  of  ages  during  which  this  southern  continent 
has  been  sej)arated  from  the  Asiatic  mainland.  Of  its  160  species  of  mammals 
scarcely  any  correspond  with  those  of  the  northern  regions,  except  some  rats, 
mice,  and  the  dingo,  a  half-wild  dog,  which  probably  accompanied  the  first  human 
immigrants,  and  the  remains  of  which  are  found  amongst  the  bones  occurring  in 
former  cave-dwellings.  There  is  no  elephant,  no  rhinoceros,  no  monkey,  nor  a 
single  member  of  the  feline  group.  The  characteristic  species  are,  in  fact,  mainly 
marsupials,  which  scarcely  occur  in  any  other  region  of  the  globe,  except  in 
America,  where  several  varieties  of  the  opossum  family  occupy  a  wide  range. 
The  fossils  discovered  in  the  Australian  quaternary  deposits  show  that  at  some 
remote  period  the  continental  fauna  resembled  that  still  surviving,  but  was  repre- 
sented by  animals  of  far  larger  dimensions.  The  diprotodon,  a  sj)ecies  allied  to 
that  of  the  kangaroos,  Avas  nearly  as  large  as  the  elephant,  and  others  rivalled  the 
rhinoceros  in  size  ;  one  variety  of  carnivorous  phalanger  was  as  formidable  as  a 
lion,  and  birds  of  the  emu  family  surpassed  the  largest  ostriches  in  proportions. 

Of  all  Australian  mammals  the  kangaroos  and  kindred  forms  are  by  far  the 
most  numerous.  There  occur  some  fifty  distinct  species  of  these  marsupials,  one 
of  which,  the  great  red  kangaroo,  is  over  5  feet  high  and  weighs  as  much  as  225 
lbs.,  while  others  are  no  bigger  than  a  hare  or  even  a  rat.  The  other  chief  repre- 
sentative animals  of  the  Australian  fauna  are  the  pcrameUdce,  locally  known  as 
"  rabbits,"  which  have  the  marsupial  pouch  like  the  kangaroo,  but  which  run  on 
all  fours  like  other  quadrupeds,  and  not  by  a  series  of  hops  on  the  hind  legs ;  the 
phalangcrs,  which  live  in  trees  and  feed  on  leaves ;  the  phmcolomijs,  or  wombat, 
which  burrows  in  the  ground  and  feeds  on  roots  ;  the  carnivorous  dosyurida',  with 
bear-like  tail,  which  prey  on  mice,  birds,  and  even  small  live-stock ;  lastly,  the 
anomalous  oniitliorhynchus,  or  duck-bill,  a  monotreme  oviparous  mammal  allied  to 
the  marsupials. 

The  Australian  avifauna  is  very  rich,  comprising  630  species,  or  130  more  than 


FAUNA  OF  AUSTEAIJA.  875 

the  European,  but,  viewed  as  a  whole,  it  presents  less  marked  features  than  the 
order  of  mammals.  Doubtless  Australia  has  its  emus,  its  casowaries,  and  various 
species  of  mcijalojjodius,  which  does  not  hatch  its  eggs,  merely  covering  them  with 
brushwood;  but  most  of  the  birds  found  on  this  continent  belong  also  to  the 
Indonesian  and  Asiatic  zones,  thanks  to  the  faculty  of  flight  by  which  they  cross 
the  intervening  marine  spaces.  Birds  of  graceful  form  and  gorgeous  plumage 
are  scarcely  less  numerous  than  in  New  Guinea  and  the  Moluccas  ;  those  whose 
food  is  nectar  and  honey  are  relatively  the  best  represented,  for  Australia 
abounds  in  flowering  trees  and  shrubs.  Nevertheless,  whole  groups,  such  as 
the  families  of  vultures,  the  pheasants  and  magpies,  are  absent  from  this  region 
of  the  globe. 

The  crocodile  is  found  only  on  the  seaboard  facing  the  Malay  Archipelago,  but 
the  venomous  species  of  snakes  are  very  numerous.  Other  zoological  orders,  such 
as  fishes,  insects,  molluscs,  also  present  special  types  with  a  great  diversity  of 
forms,  but  already  much  modified  in  their  general  distribution  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  corresponding  European  species.  Even  the  forests  and  thickets,  formerly 
seldom  enKvened  bj-  the  songsters'  notes,  now  constantly  echo  with  the  music  of 
the  new  arrivals  from  the  mother  countiy.  Indigenous  plants  and  animals  alike 
have  been  thrust  into  the  background  by  the  intruding  species,  just  as  the  Austra- 
lian himself  retires  before  the  strangers  of  white  stock.  Not  only  have  the 
English  brought  with  them  all  the  European  domestic  animals,  but  since  1846 
they  have  even  imported  the  Asiatic  camels  with  their  Afghan  and  Baluchi 
drivers.  Thanks  to  these  human  and  animal  immigrants,  accustomed  to  cross  vast 
desert  wastes,  expeditions  have  been  successfully  undertaken,  which  but  for  them 
would  have  been  impossible. 

Inhabitants  of  Acstualia. 

The  aboijiginal  population  before  the  establishment  of  the  first  British  settle- 
ments has  been  conjecturally  estimated  at  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  to 
two  hundred  thousand.  But  even  were  it  three  or  four  times  more  numerous 
Australia  would  none  the  less  have  to  be  considered  as  at  that  time  almost  unin- 
habited, regard  being  had  to  its  vast  extent.  All  the  tribal  groups  thinly  scattered 
over  this  boundless  region  everywhere  presented  great  resemblance  in  type  and 
speech  ;  hence  most  anthropologists  agree  in  looking  on  the  natives  as  belonging 
to  a  common  stock,  constituting  a  well-marked  independent  branch  of  the  human 
family.  Nevertheless,  it  seems  probable  that  before  the  Eurojican  immigration 
peoples  of  diverse  origin,  either  driven  before  the  storm  or  following  long  familiar 
marine  routes,  had  reached  the  Australian  mainland  and  intermingled  with  the 
primitive  populations.  During  his  exploring  expeditions  across  the  north-western 
regions  George  Grey  noticed  in  all  the  tribes  the  presence  of  individuals  with 
relatively  light  complexion,  who  seemed  to  w'ield  a  certain  authority  over  their 
fellow  tribesmen.  According  to  Grey  these  warriors  represented  an  element  of 
Indonesian  origin,  and  even  their  dogs,  quite  different  from  the  Australian  dingo, 


876  AUSTRALASIA. 

resembled  the  Malay  species  found  in  Timor.*  On  the  otlier  hand  there  exist 
in  the  islands  of  Torres  Strait  peoples  with  abundant  frizzly  hair,  who  belong 
probably  to  the  same  stock  as  the  Papuans.  Maer  (Murray  Island)  is  inhabited 
by  a  dark  race  differing  in  no  respects  from  the  New  Caledonians. 

But  whatever  be  the  origin  of  these  contrasts  amongst  the  natives,  whether 
due  to  difference  of  race  or  to  diversity  of  environment  and  social  life,  the  ordinary 
type  of  the  Australians  not  yet  debased  by  a  degraded  existence  amongst  the 
colonists  is  much  finer  than  is  usually  supposed.  Those  especially  who  occupy 
more  favoured  domains  along  the  fertile  river- banks  are  distinguished  by  fine 
figures  and  a  well-developed  muscular  system,  with  low  but  broad  forehead,  rather 
flat  nose,  large  mouth,  massive  jaws,  brown  animated  eyes  sheltered  by  very  promi- 
nent superciliary  arches.  The  natives  are  generally  free  from  physical  defects, 
and  amongst  those  of  West  Australia  Bishop  Rudesindo  Salvado  noticed  only  four 
blind,  but  not  one  either  deaf,  dumb,  or  insane. 

Although  of  dark  or  blackish  complexion,  like  the  Sudanese  Africans,  unlike 
them  the  Australians  have  no  woolly  or  frizzly  hair,  being  in  this  respect  distin- 
guished from  all  other  dark  races.  The  beard,  also,  is  much  more  developed  than 
that  of  the  Negroes  proper,  while  the  lijas  are  never  everted  so  as  to  show  the  red 
inner  skin.  Their  weak  point  are  the  lower  extremities — spindle  legs,  flat  calves, 
flat  but  very  small  feet.  On  the  whole,  they  doubtless  yield  to  the  Europeans  in 
physical  strength,  though  not  in  endurance  and  power  of  sujoporting  pain,  but  they 
are  by  no  means  the  beings  of  grotesque  and  repulsive  appearance  as  described  by 
travellers  who  saw  them  only  in  the  wretched  hovels  on  the  outskirts  of  large 
towns,  or  as  depicted  by  the  sjDortsmen  who  hunted  them  down  like  so  much  game. 
To  believe  some  accounts,  they  are  little  better  than  animals,  intermediate 
between  man  and  the  higher  apes,  and  even  more  allied  to  the  latter  than  the 
former. 

On  the  other  hand  these  vilified  aborigines  have  found  enthusiastic  champions 
amongst  the  dominant  race.  Mitchell,  who  had  taken  the  black  Yuranigh  as  his 
guide  across  the  ti'opical  regions,  expressly  declares  that  the  Australians  of  his 
escort  were  "  superior  in  penetration  and  judgment "  to  his  white  assistants, 
although  he  had  no  occasion  to  complain  of  the  latter.  Yuranigh  he  calls  his  com- 
panion, his  counsellor  and  friend,  and  from  the  physical  point  of  view  regards  his 
superiority  as  self-evident.  As  a  mere  specimen  of  natural  history,  what  civilised 
animal,  he  asks,  could  have  compared  with  this  native  for  the  beauty  of  his  teeth, 
his  powerful  digestion,  the  perfection  of  his  organs  of  sight,  hearing,  smell,  taste, 
and  touch,  his  staying  powers  in  walking,  running,  and  climbing  trees,  his  healthy 
constitution,  and  the  intensity  of  his  animal  existence  ?  t 

As  a  rule  the  superior  tribes  have  a  coppery  rather  than  a  black  complexion, 
while  nearly  all  the  skulls  are  of  the  dolichocejjhalous  or  long  type.  The  aborigines 
appear  to  be  most  degraded  physically  in  the  arid  central  region,  where  man, 
exhausted  and  stunted  by  hunger  and  thirst,  passes  his  days  in  grubbing  the 

*  JciuriHil  of  Two  Expeditions  of  Biscovery  in  North-Western  and  Western  Australia. 
t   Tropical  Australia. 


INHABITANTS  OF  AUSTRALIA.  877 

earth  in  quest  of  a  few  roots  and  of  a  little  muddy  water.  Tribes  are  even  said 
to  exist  which,  together  with  their  dogs,  have  adapted  themselves  to  the  use  of 
sea-water. 

The  finest  natives  wei'e  those  of  the  east  coast,  where  a  more  beneficent  nature 
supplied  food  and  water  in  abundance,  including,  however,  certain  articles  of  diet 
calculated  to  excite  the  astonishment  and  loathing  of  Europeans.  Thus  Von 
Lendenfeld  tells  us  that  Mount  Bogong  takes  its  name  from  the  grubs  which  the 
aborigines  here  collected  in  myriads  for  their  daily  meals. 

Although  numbering  but  a  few  thousand  souls,  the  Australian  race  is  divided 
into  hundreds  of  tribal  groups.  In  certain  districts  there  are  as  many  languages 
as  communities  or  scattered  family  circles.  In  others,  again,  the  native  idioms 
present  great  uniformity  throughout  considerable  tracts  of  country.  Thus  from 
the  banks  of  the  Hawkesbury  to  Moreton  Bay,  a  distance  of  aboiit  350  miles,  the 
natives  have  little  difficulty  in  conversing  together ;  so,  also,  those  of  the 
south-west  coast,  between  Hamalin  Bay  and  King  George  Sound,  speak  closely 
related  dialects.  Another  extensive  linguistic  zone  comprises  the  whole  region 
between  Cooper's  Creek  and  the  Middle  Darling,  a  space  of  over  40,000  square 
miles,  and  this  surprising  uniformity  of  speech  is  attributed  to  the  extreme  dryness 
of  the  land,  which  obliges  the  tribes  to  gather  round  the  watering-places  in  sum- 
mer, suspending  all  hostilities,  and  for  the  time  being  merging,  as  it  were,  in  a 
common  nationality. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  tribes  of  the  Lower  Darling,  where  there  is  never  any 
lack  of  water  or  vegetation,  have  been  able  to  keep  aloof  for  long  ages,  and  their 
languages  have  consequentl}'  become  greatly  diversified.  The  fact  is  evident  from 
the  very  names  of  the  different  peoples  in  this  region,  all  of  which  have  exactly 
the  same  meaning,  though  often  differing  altogether  in  form.  Such  are  the  Baraba- 
Barabas,  the  Wati-Watis,  the  Waiki-Waikis,  the  Lichi-Lichis,  the  Darti-Dartis, 
the  Yari-Yaris — terms  meaning  "No-No,"  just  as  by  an  analogous  mental  process 
mediaeval  France  was  divided  into  the  Langue  d'Oui  and  the  Langue  d'Oc.  The 
rapid  divergence  of  the  local  dialects  is  also  partly  due  to  the  respect  paid  to  the 
dead  requiring  the  survivors  to  taboo  for  a  time,  and  even  for  ever,  a  large  num- 
ber of  words  which  bore  or  seemed  to  bear  a  certain  relation  to  the  deceased  either 
in  sound  or  sense. 

But,  however  they  may  differ  from  each  other  outwardly,  all  the  native  idioms 
present  some  common  points  of  resemblance.  They  are  polys3-llabic  and  aggluti- 
nating by  means  of  harmonious  suffixes  abounding  in  vowels.  Aspirates  are 
slightly  developed,  the  sibilants  are  completely  absent,  and  the  accent  falls  usually 
on  the  penultimate  syllable.  Onomatopoeic  terms  are  very  common,  and  all  objects 
perceived  by  the  senses  are  indicated  by  numerous  synonyms,  or  at  least  by  what 
pass  as  such  amongst  strangers  interrogating  the  natives.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
these  primitive  tongues  are  extremel}^  poor  in  abstract  expressions,  as  well  as  in  the 
names  of  numerals.  Scarcely  any  appear  to  have  distinct  terms  for  more  than 
one  or  fico,  while  probably  none  of  the  tribes  can  count  beyond  five. 

In  the  absence  of  accurate  knowledge  attempts  have  been  made  to  classify  the 


378  AUSTEALASIA. 

Australian  languages  on  the  ground  of  a  few  common  points  of  resemblance,  but 
these  attempts  have  not  proved  very  successful,  often  yielding  the  most  contradic- 
tory results.  In  any  case  the  Tasmanian  idioms,  of  which  a  few  vocabularies  are 
extant,  are  regarded  as  forming  an  independent  group.  The  islanders  themselves 
were  evidently  of  a  different  stock,  and  much  more  closely  allied  to  the  Melanesians 
than  to  their  Australian  neighbours. 

To  the  great  physical  differences  of  the  aborigines  correspond  moral  traits  of 
a  no  less  divergent  order.  Hence  the  varying  and  even  contradictory  reports  of 
observers,  some  of  whom  vaunt  their  native  pride,  courage,  and  respect  for  their 
pledged  word,  while  others  describe  them  as  cowards,  Hars,  and  traitors.  One  of 
the  most  common  charges  urged  against  them  is  their  cruel  and  oppressive  treat- 
ment of  the  women,  and  in  most  communities  this  accusation  is  only  too  well 
founded. 

Instances  are  not  lacking  of  women  who  have  acquired  a  certain  moral  ascen- 
dancy in  the  tribe,  but  as  a  rule  they  fare  little  better  than  slaves.  Not  only  are 
they  forbidden  to  eat  in  the  presence  of  men,  but  many  kinds  of  food  are  denied 
them,  while  they  are  required  to  show  in  speech  and  attitude  a  sort  of  adoration 
towards  their  masters,  the  least  inattention  being  visited  with  the  severest  castiga- 
tion.  The  husband  may  kill  and  even  burn  his  wife,  her  friends  and  relations 
being  powerless  to  interfere  on  her  behalf.  He  may  throw  her  body  to  his  dogs, 
because  the  wife  is  his  property,  which  he  has  the  right  to  use  or  abuse  at  his 
pleasure.  Nevertheless,  traces  still  survive  in  Australia  of  a  primitive  matriarchal 
system,  and  even  now  name,  kinship,  rank,  and  fortune  are  for  the  most  part 
transmitted  through  the  female  line. 

Polygamy  prevails  amongst  the  native  populations,  and  in  the  north-western 
districts  cases  occur  of  powerful  tribesmen  acquiring  as  many  as  ten  wives.  In 
some  communities  exogamy  is  strictly  observed,  all  marriages  contracted  with 
women  of  the  same  class  being  regarded  as  incestuous,  yet  amongst  others  unions 
between  near  relatives  are  held  in  honour.  In  one  place  marriages  are  effected  by 
a  real  or  simulated  abduction,  in  another  the  only  formality  is  the  payment  of  the 
contract  price. 

This  purchase  of  the  women  by  the  strong  and  wealthy  members  of  the  com- 
munity has  the  effect  of  condemning  the  poor  and  the  young  men  to  a  state  of 
celibacy,  or  obliging  them  to  put  up  with  the  divorced  wives  of  their  elders.  The 
dearth  of  wives  amongst  most  Australian  populations  is  all  the  greater  that  the 
women  are  far  less  numerous  than  the  men ;  not,  however,  because  female  births 
are  rarer,  as  has  been  asserted,  but  because  during  their  short  existence  the 
women  are  exposed  to  many  more  dangers,  such  as  premature  confinement,  exces- 
sive hardships,  bad  treatment,  night  attacks,  and  the  like.  Amongst  many  tribes 
infanticide  is  common,  and  as  a  rule  it  is  the  girls  who  are  removed  either  by  being 
buried  uHve  or  knocked  on  the  head  immediately  after  birth. 

Children  who  survive  the  perils  of  infancy  are  treated  with  much  kindness ; 
they  are  never  beaten  and  grow  up  freely  to  man's  estate,  following  their  elders  to 
the  chase  and  war.-    Nevertheless  they  have  to  undergo  the  severe  trials  of  the 


IXIIABITANTS  OF  AUSTRALIA.  879 

bora  before  being  admitted  as  equals  into  the  society  of  the  men.  In  a  large 
number  of  tribes  two  incisors  of  the  upper  jaw  are  broken  or  extracted.  Most  of 
the  youths  are  subjected  to  circumcision,  or  else  to  various  kinds  of  extremely 
painful  mutilations.  They  are  also  required  to  run  down  a  kangaroo  in  the  chase, 
to  remain  alone  in  the  forest  without  food  for  several  days  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives,  to  endure  horrid  tortures  without  wincing,  and  so  on.  Amongst  the  Kurnai 
of  South  Australia  these  probations  end  in  a  magnetic  sleep,  after  which  the  yoiiths 
wake  up  "men."  Then  at  last  the}'  are  entitled  to  wear  the  girdle,  bracelets,  the  fron- 
tal band,  and  other  ornaments,  indicating  that  they  have  re;iched  the  virile  state. 

These  initiatory  ceremonies  are  usually  concluded  with  a  corrohori,  or  tribal 
gathering,  held  during  the  full  moon,  combining  the  administration  of  justice,  par- 
liaments, solemn  treaties  of  alliance,  and  concluding  with  theatrical  representations, 
midnight  dances,  feasts,  and  orgies.  Once  initiated,  the  youths  may  take  part  in 
the  songs,  dances,  and  oratorical  displays.  As  members  of  the  clan  they  are 
branded  on  the  breast  or  thigh  with  the  kohong,  that  is,  the  national  embltm,  some 
plant  or  animal,  like  the  totem  of  the  North  American  Redskins.  But  these 
emblems  are  at  times  insignificant  enough,  a  simple  ant  or  spider,  or  other 
small  insect.  The  person  so  marked  must  henceforth  show  his  respect  for  the 
talisman  that  symbolises  the  family  group,  holding  himself  as  the  inseparable 
companion  or  kinsman  of  all  bearing  the  same  totem,  as  well  as  of  all  natural 
objects  associated  with  his  particular  kobong.  Thus  during  the  funeral  rites  care 
must  be  taken  that  the  body  be  buried  under  a  tree  regarded  as  belonging  to  the 
same  clan. 

Tattooing  is  often  limited  to  the  figure  of  the  kobong,  but  in  some  tribes  the 
body  is  covered  with  symmetrical  scarifications  of  a  rude  design,  incised  by  means 
of  shai'p  shells.  On  the  north-east  coast  the  natives  also  follow  the  Papuan  custom 
of  piercing  the  cartilage  of  the  nose  and  introducing  a  bit  of  stick  or  a  kangaroo 
bone,  which  imj)edes  the  respiration  and  obliges  those  so  adorned  to  keep  the 
mouth  open.  According  to  the  various  occasions  of  war,  feasts,  or  mourning  they 
paint  the  face  and  body  in  red,  yellow,  white,  or  black  colours.  White  is  an  indica- 
tion of  grief,  while  red  is  the  sacred  colour  reserved  for  the  great  events  of  the 
tribal  life. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  the  natives  of  the  tropical  regions  went 
naked,  or  restricted  their  attire  to  a  few  rags  or  waist-bands  of  fibre,  while  in  the 
colder  southern  districts  the  women  wore  a  smock  or  tunic  of  kangaroo  skin.  The 
northern  tribes  still  paint  the  face  and  body  in  various  colours,  and  near  Port 
Darwin  the  white  streaks  traced  on  the  black  ground  of  the  face  give  from  a 
distance  the  effect  of  a  death's  head.  But  the  form  and  pattern  of  dress  and  orna- 
ment, as  well  as  of  the  dwellings,  vary  endlessly.  In  one  place  the  only  shelter 
are  the  natural  caves  and  rocks,  in  another  a  screen  of  foliage,  hovels,  and  even 
rude  stone  structures.  The  weapons  also  differ  greatly,  though  the  most  prevalent 
are  spears,  clubs,  and  darts  with  fish-bone  or  flint  heads.  In  certain  districts  the 
aborigines  still  make  use  of  unpolished  stone  hatchets,  but  the  bow  and  arrow  aro 
unknown,  except  along  a  small  strip  of  the  east  coast. 


380 


AUSTRALASIA. 


The  most  characteristic  weapon  is  the  boomerang,  a  short  curved  stick  which 
whirls  with  a  corkscrew  motion  in  the  direction  of  the  object  aimed  at,  and  after 
striking  returns  to  the  thrower.  The  inventive  genius  which  devised  this  remark- 
able implement  has  also  enabled  the  natives  to  invent  other  ingenious  contrivances 
for  the  hunt,  fishing,  and  navigation.  Yet  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  neighbouring 
Tasmanians  were  ignorant  both  of  the  throwing-stick  and  of  the  boomerang,  and 
even  of  boats  or  canoes,  although  living  in  an  island  fringed  with  clusters  of  islets. 
The   populations  of  Torres  Strait  and  of  the  Arafura  Sea,   amongst  whom  the 

Fig.   161. — Inhabitants  and  Langdages  op  Austealia  about  1850. 
Sciile  1  :  40,000,000. 


Lasb  oFb^eenwich 


_  600  Miles. 


The  dots  indicate  the  regions  where  the  boomerang  was  unknown ;  the  lines  mark  the  range  of  certain  linguistic  grnnps- 


Papuan  elements  seem  in  some  places  to  prevail,  were  also  ignorant  of  the  boome- 
rang, the  form  of  which  curious  weapon  varies  greatly  in  the  different  tribes. 

Not  only  is  the  tribal  territory  perfectly  defined,  but  within  this  collective 
domain  each  individual  often  owns  a  plot,  his  right  to  which  is  never  questioned. 
No  one  can  cross  the  boundary  without  his  express  permission,  the  stranger  pre- 
senting himself  without  arms,  and  holding  green  branches  in  his  hand.  The 
aborigines,  however,  are  the  most  backward  of  agricultural  peoples,  the  yam  being 
the  only  plant  cultivated  by  them,  just  as  the  dingo  is  the  only  animal  they  have 


INHABITANTS  OF  AUSTRALIA.  881 

succeeded  in  domesticating.  Nevertheless,  industrj-  has  been  so  far  developed  among 
certain  tribes  that  they  appreciate  the  advantage  of  taking  foreign  articles  in 
exchange  for  skins,  nets  of  vegetable  fibre,  spear-heads,  diverse  pigments,  and 
other  native  produce.  This  intertribal  commerce  is  carried  on  through  the  so-called 
ngalla  icatos,  who  are  solemnly  elected  to  the  office,  and  who  act  as  mediators 
between  their  own  and  other  tribes  whose  languages  they  speak.  Thanks  to  cer- 
tain pass-words,  signs,  and  "  writing  sticks,"  they  are  able  to  present  themselves 
everywhere  with  confidence,  their  person  being  sacred  even  in  time  of  war. 

The  remarkable  development  of  certain  Australian  tribes  is  shown  especially  by 
their  knowledge  of  the  starry  firmament.  They  give  to  the  different  constella- 
tions the  names  of  legendary  heroes,  and  are  able  exactly  to  describe  their  position 
according  to  the  eight  points  dividing  the  sphere.  The  path  of  moon  and  stars 
enables  them  to  determine  the  hours  with  great  accuracy,  although  the  poverty  of 
their  idioms  in  names  of  the  numerals  jDrevents  them  from  having  am'  exact  sense  of 
measure,  and  from  combining  the  primitive  elements  with  sufficient  skill  to  develop 
a  rudimentary  geometry.  They  acquire  languages  with  remarkable  facility,  and 
in  the  mixed  schools  where  the  native  children  are  seated  by  the  side  of  the  whites, 
the  latter  are  not  always  at  the  head  of  the  class 

Their  linguistic  facvdty  is  probably  due  to  the  extreme  delicacy  of  their  sense 
of  hearing.  Thej'  have  no  musical  instruments  except  rude  drums  of  kangaroo 
skin,  and  in  some  of  the  southern  tribes  a  kind  of  flute  on  which  they  pla}'  with 
the  nose.  But  singing  is  much  practised  in  joy  or  grief,  during  the  fury  of  battle, 
or  even  to  allay  the  pangs  of  hunger.  Events  interesting  to  the  community  are 
also  commemorated  in  song.  Like  the  South  African  bushmen,  to  whom  they 
have  often  been  compared,  they  are  fond  of  figuring  human  faces  and  animal 
forms  on  their  skin  garments,  on  the  bark  of  trees  and  the  face  of  the  rock.  The 
paintings  seen  by  Grey  on  the  banks  of  the  Glenelg  in  the  north-west  were  in 
diverse  colours,  black,  red,  yellow,  white,  blue,  coated  over  with  a  gum  which 
while  enhancing  the  brightness  of  the  tints  protected  them  from  the  weather. 
Certain  figures  reproduced  by  Grey  recall  those  of  Byzantine  saints  surrounded 
with  their  luminous  nimbus.  This  traveller  also  noticed  a  head  in  relief  remark- 
ably well  sculptured  on  a  sandstone  rock. 

In  the  central  parts  of  the  continent  the  most  conspicuous  objects  are  images 
of  snakes  done  in  charcoal  or  painted  with  ochre.  Grey  also  mentions  certain 
designs  traced  on  a  person  clothed  in  a  long  red  robe,  which  so  closely  resembled 
written  characters  that  it  was  impossible  not  to  associate  the  representation  with 
the  idea  of  an  inscription.  It  would  seem  natural  to  attribute  such  designs  to 
some  casual  visitors  from  the  neighbouring  Eastern  Archipelago,  but  for  the  fact 
that  the  less  rudely  executed  figures  were  precisely  those  which  were  discovered 
farthest  from  the  coast.  Figures,  however,  have  also  been  found  carved  on  the 
surface  of  the  rocks  far  to  the  east  both  in  Queensland  and  New  South  Wales. 

Funeral  rites  vary  to  a  surprising  degree  from  tribe  to  tribe.  In  one  district 
the  dead  are  burnt,  in  another  they  are  buried  or  else  exposed  on  rocks  or  the 
branches  of  trees.     In  South  Australia,  they  are  interred  with  the  head  turned 


B82  AUSTRiVLASIA. 

towards  the  rising  sun,  and  a  fire  is  then  kindled  near  the  grave  to  scare  away  the 
evil  spirits.  In  the  York  Peninsula  they  are  placed  on  the  headlands,  and  a 
terrace  on  a  rocky  islet  at  the  very  extremity  of  Cape  York  is  covered  with  an 
enormous  pile  of  skulls  enclosed  b}^  a  fence  of  stones  and  surmounted  by  a  stout 
bamboo  cane.  No  more  solemn  site  or  more  in  harmony  with  a  deep  poetic  senti- 
ment could  have  been  chosen  for  the  necropolis  of  the  community. 

Amongst  numerous  tribes,  especially  in  the  northern  regions,  the  mother  cuts 
off  a  finger  at  the  death  of  each  child.  Elsewhere  the  obsequies  are  accompanied 
b}'  cannibal  scenes.  When  a  man  dies  young  or  through  old  age  his  nearest  and 
dearest  consider  themselves  bound  to  eat  him  in  proof  of  their  affection.  In  South 
Australia,  also,  the  child  dying  of  any  illness  is  devoured,  the  mother  taking  the 
head  in  the  hope  of  thus  restoring  the  lost  one  to  life  ;  but  in  other  tribes  she  is 
condemned  to  keep  with  her  the  dead  body  of  her  child  for  months  together.  A 
common  practice  is  also  that  of  consuming  the  enemy  killed  in  battle,  the  motive 
being  to  acquire  their  strength  and  valour,  and  to  prevent  their  shades  from 
avenging  their  death.  But  in  order  to  achieve  this  object  all  that  is  needed  in 
certain  districts  is  to  eat  the  kidney  fat,  which  is  regai-ded  as  the  seat  of  the  soul. 
Elsewhere  the  same  purpose  is  secured  merely  by  consuming  th.e  eyes,  in  which 
shone  the  rage  of  battle. 

The  Australians  believe  in  charms,  incantations,  and  miracles.  'No  malady  but 
has  been  caused  by  some  hostile  magician  ;  no  cure  but  has  been  effected  by  a 
beneficent  wizard.  The  universe  is  full  of  spirits  and  genii,  some  wandering 
about  in  pain  and  seeking  to  reoccupy  some  new  body,  others  animating  the  trees 
and  rocks,  heaven  itself,  the  storm,  clouds,  and  stars.  But  the  natives  do  not 
appear  to  have  idols  properlj'  so  called,  though  all  their  surroundings  are  objects 
of  worship ;  in  everything  they  see  some  formidable  or  benevolent  being,  who 
must  be  invoked  to  appease  his  wrath  or  secure  his  aid.  The  moon-god  especially 
seems  to  be  a  potent  deity,  more  powerful  than  the  sun- goddess;  for  he  is  born 
again  each  month  to  beget  the  stars,  trees,  animals,  and  men.  Thanks  to  the 
action  of  the  Christian  missionaries  the  various  national  myths  have  gradually 
assumed  a  certain  biblical  aspect,  so  that  some  writers  have  discovered  a  distant 
resemblance  between  them  and  the  Mosaic  records. 

Few  Australian  tribes  show  even  the  rudiments  of  a  state  in  (heir  political 
organisation.  Amongst  these  mention  is  made  of  the  Narrinyery  people  of  Murray 
River,  who,  according  to  Taplin,  have  elective  "  kings  "  assisted  by  a  council  of 
ciders ;  Init  such  constitutions  are  rare,  and  their  existence  is  absolutely  denied  by 
Curr.  In  any  case  each  head  of  a  family  has  almost  complete  control  over  the 
destinies  of  his  domestic  group.  Doubtless  the  hah/ns,  or  sorcerers,  exercise  great 
influence,  and  this  influence  combined  with  that  of  age  at  times  secures  them  real 
political  j)ower.  But  these  are  all  exceptional  cases,  and  it  seems  safe  to  assert 
that  there  is  at  all  events  no  transmission  of  authority  from  father  to  son  or  through 
the  female  line  in  any  Australian  community. 

The  universal  rule  is  equality  of  rights  for  each  family  as  well  as  for  each 
tribe.     In  time  of  peace  all  were  held  to  be  of  equal  worth  ;  but  in  the  course  of 


IXIIABTTANTS  OF  AUSTEALIA.  383 

ages  particular  groups  had  devoted  themselves  to  some  special  industry  which 
rendered  them  necessary  to  the  others.  One  found  within  its  territory  an  excellent 
material  for  the  manufacture  of  stone  hatchets,  and  thus  acquired  perfection  in  that 
art ;  another  su])plied  the  best  boomerangs,  or  the  finest  kangaroo  skins,  and  so  on. 

But  throughout  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Australian  world  the  history  of  the 
aborigines  is  already  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  race  itself  is  steadily  decreasing 
and  dying  out.  Even  the  few  that  still  survive  are  being  rapidly  transformed  by 
crossings  and  the  adoption  of  a  settled  existence.  In  many  districts  more  than 
half  of  the  population  has  been  swept  away  by  the  diseases  introduced  with  the 
Europeans,  and  especially  by  small-pox,  the  invasion  of  which  coincided  with  the 
landing  of  the  first  convicts  at  Botany  Bay.  Besides  small-pox,  whose  ravages  were 
continued  down  to  the  year  1840,  there  are  other  influences  at  work,  some  even 
within  the  tribes  themselves.  Such  are  the  monopoly  of  the  women  by  the  old 
and  rich,  infanticide  and  abortion ;  but  most  of  all  is  the  irresistible  advance  of  the 
European  settlers,  driving  to  the  background  the  primitive  populations  which  at 
first  regarded  these  "  white  men"  as  their  kinsmen  returning  from  the  world  of 
spirits.  Thrust  back  towards  the  wilderness  the  natives  find  themselves  deprived 
of  their  rich  hunting-grounds,  and  many,  conscious  of  the  doom  pending  over 
them,  give  up  the  struggle  for  existence,  and  even  refuse  to  perpetuate  their  race. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise  when  certain  colonial  magistrates  declare  all  those  to  be 
marauders  and  poachers  who  persist  in  remaining  on  the  territory  of  their  fore- 
fathers ? 

The  very  appearance  of  European  cattle  is  already  the  dcath-knell  of  the 
aborigines,  for  this  is  followed  by  the  extermination  or  disappearance  of  the 
kangaroo,  and  the  native  hunters  finding  no  more  game  are  obliged  also  to  retire 
or  perish  of  hunger.  In  sixteen  months  as  many  as  220,000  kangaroos  were 
killed  in  the  single  Queensland  district  of  Warwick.  But  a  war  of  extermination 
is  waged  not  only  against  the  native  game,  but  also  against  the  natives  themselves. 
On  the  borders  of  many  estates,  notably  in  Queensland,  which  stretches  to  the 
confines  of  the  desert,  the  sheep  farms  are  guarded  by  mounted  police — Australians, 
Melanesians,  or  Kafirs — who  are  instructed  to  fire  on  the  independent  blacks  and 
thus  relieve  the  peaceful  squatters  from  "these  troublesome  loafers." 

The  island  of  Tasmania  has  already  been  completely  "  cleared  "  by  the 
S3'stematic  destruction  of  its  primitive  inhabitants,  who  wore  estimated  at  about 
seven  thousand  on  the  arrival  of  the  whites,  and  who  were  said  to  be  of  a  remark- 
ably gentle  and  kindly  disposition.  On  December  28th,  1834,  the  last  survivors, 
hounded  down  like  wild  beasts,  were  captured  at  the  extremity  of  a  headland,  and 
this  event  was  celebrated  as  a  signal  triumph.  The  successful  hunter,  Robinson, 
received  a  Government  reward  of  600  acres  and  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
besides  a  public  subscription  of  about  £8,000. 

The  captives  were  at  first  convej'ed  from  islet  to  islet,  and  then  confined  to  the 
number  of  two  hundred  in  a  marshy  valley  of  Flinders  Island,  washed  by  the 
stormy  waters  of  Bass  Strait.  They  were  supplied  with  provisions  and  some 
lessons  in  the  catechism ;  their  community  was  even  quoted  as  an  example  of  the 


884 


AUSTRALASIA. 


progress  of  Christian  civilisation.  But  after  ten  years  of  residence  in  this  place  of 
exile  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  natives  had  perished.  Then  pity  was  taken  on 
them,  and  the  twelve  surviving  men,  twenty-two  women,  and  ten  children,  nearly 
all  half-breeds,  were  removed  to  a  narrow  promontory  at  Oyster  Cove,  near  Hobart, 
and  placed  under  some  keepers,  who  enriched  themselves  at  their  expense. 

In  1860  the  Tasmanian  race  was  reduced  to  sixteen  souls  ;  in  1869  the  last 
man  perished,  and  in  1876  "  Queen  "  Truganina,  popularly  known  as  Lalla  Rookh, 
followed  her  people  to  the  grave.     But  there  still  survived  a  few  half-castes,  and 

Fig.  162. — Lalla  Rookh,  the  Last  Tasmanian. 


in   1884   a  so-called   "  Tasmanian "   woman  obtained   a   grant  of  land   fi'om   the 
colonial  parliament. 

On  the  Australian  mainland,  also,  most  of  the  coast  tribes  have  disappeared. 
Of  the  one  thousand  five  himdred  natives  occupying  the  Botany  Bay  district  in 
1788  not  a  single  descendant  can  be  found,  and  in  the  settled  districts  where  a 
few  of  the  aborigines  still  linger,  all  tribal  grouping  has  been  effaced.  At  the 
census  of  1881  the  total  number  in  the  colonised  territory  was  estimated  at  some 
thirty  thousand.  Since  then  there  has  been  an  apparent  increase  in  some  of  the 
colonies,  which  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  frontiers  have  been  enlarged  so 
as  to  include  a  few  hundred  tribes  till  recently  independent,  and  consequently  not 
included  in  the  earlier  returns.     Nevertheless,  some  recent  statistics  seem  to  show 


rsrnABITANTS  of  AUSTEALIA.  S85 

that  there  has  been  a  real  increase  either  of  the  pure  or  the  mixed  aboriginal 
elements  in  certain  "  reserves,"  where  the  natives  are  treated  with  kindness.  In 
the  arid  regions  of  the  interior  beyond  the  districts  settled  by  the  whites  the 
aborigines  are  probably  even  leas  numerous  than  in  the  vicinity  of  the  seaboard. 
The  mixture  of  white  and  native  blood  produces  an  intermediate  race  of  fair 
proportions  and  comely  appearance. 

At  present  the  colonists  of  European  birth  and  descent  have  become  absolute 
masters  of  the  continent,  where  they  are. already  at  least  fifty  times  more  numerous 
than  the  aborigines.  But  their  beginnings  were  lowly  enough,  and  whereas  the 
inhabitants  of  other  countries  delight  in  celebrating  the  heroic  virtues  of  their 
forefathers  and  predecessors,  the  present  citizens  of  the  Australian  states  prefer  to 
trace  their  descent,  not  from  the  first  arrivals,  but  from  later  immigrants.  Those 
first  arrivals  were  in  fact  convicts,  who,  to  the  number  of  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven,  were  transported  in  1778  to  Botany  Bay,  and  thence  soon  after  removed  to  a 
more  favourable  locality  on  the  south  side  of  Port  Jackson.  But  the  experiment 
to  found  a  colony  with  elements  drawn  from  the  criminal  classes  was  attended 
with  little  success.  The  prisoners,  treated  with  excessive  rigour,  especially  under 
the  administration  of  Bligh,  thought  only  of  escape,  and  thousands  perished  in 
their  repeated  attempts  at  revolt  or  flight.  Large  numbers,  however,  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  inland  tribes,  and  althoiigh  many  were  devoured,  by  the  natives, 
others  rose  to  positions  of  authority  and  became  tribal  chiefs,  while  some  played  an 
historic  part  as  conquerors  of  archipelagoes  in  the  South  Seas. 

Between  1778  and  1820  Australia  received  from  the  mother  country  28,878 
convicts,  of  whom  not  more  that  3,G61  were  women.  During  that  peyiod  the 
births  did  not  exceed  1,500,  and  so  far  from  becoming  self-supporting,  these  in- 
voluntary immigrants  cost  the  British  Government  about  £600,000  annually.  But 
a  new  era  opened  for  the  Australasian  world  with  the  introduction  of  free  immi- 
gration in  the  year  1820.  The  new  settlers  soon  began  to  jn-otest  vigorouslj' 
against  the  continuation  of  the  S3-stem  of  transportation,  and  in  1840  their  efforts 
were  crowned  with  success,  at  least  in  the  eastern  provinces,  for  Tasmania  continued 
to  receive  convicts  till  1853,  and  West  Australia  till  1868.  At  j)resent  the  original 
convict  element  may  be  regarded  as  completely  merged  in  the  rest  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  all  sense  of  humiliation  associated  with  the  early  penal  settlements  has 
entirely  disappeared. 

The  while  population,  which  had  hitherto  increased  at  a  moderate  rate,  received 
a  tremendous  impulse  by  the  discovery  of  the  gold-fields  about  the  middle  of  the  cen- 
tury. Since  that  time  it  has  been  multiplied  tenfold,  rising  from  three  hundred 
thousand  to  considerably  over  three  millions  in  1889.  The  mining  element  con- 
sisted for  the  most  part  of  adult  males,  while  other  fortune-hunters,  traders,  artisans, 
or  tillers  of  the  soil,  arrive  in  large  numbers  without  families.  Hence  the  discrepancy 
between  the  sexes  is  all  the  greater  the  more  copious  is  the  stream  of  immigration. 
In  Queensland,  which  receives  the  largest  influx  of  settlers,  the  women  are  least 
numerous,  whereas  the  equilibrium  is  already  nearly  re-established  in  South  Aus- 
tralia, towards  which  the  tide  of  immigration  has  almost  ceased  to  flow.  From 
VOL.  XIV.  r  c     ■ 


886 


AUSTRALASIA. 


year  to  ye:ir  the  disparity  diminishes,  because  the  excess  of  births  over  the  nior- 
tuhty,  which  is  much  higher  than  iu  most  other  civilised  lands,  acqiiires  more  im- 
purtuDce  the  more  the  general  2)opulation  increases.  This  excess  is  already  greater 
than  the  whole  number  of  immigrants,  and  thus  are  gradually  re-established  the 
normal  conditions.     It  is  also  noteworthy  that  the  mortality  is  far  less  amongst 


Fig.  1G3. — Density  of  the  Austealian  Population. 
Scale  1  :  30,000,000. 


luiiaLitiUlts  pti  oquaie  1 


m 


2  to  4  4  tu  8 

Each  9{iiiare  represents  a  population  of  L'.OOO. 

^—^■^__^^^^^— ^_    GOU  Miles. 


8  anQ  upwards 


the  women  than  the  men,  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  century  the  Australian  popu- 
lation, like  that  of  Europe,  will  show  a  slight- predominance  of  the  fair  sex. 

In  the  movement  of  immigration  the  part  taken  by  the  English,  Scotch,  and 
Irish  jjreponderates  to  such  an  extent  that  all  other  ethnical  elements  may  be 
regarded  as  of  no  account.  Language,  institutions,  usages,  all  is  English,  and  iu 
some  places  even  more  English  than  in  England  itself.*  Many  Australians  take  a 
certain  pride  in  resisting  the  current  of  modern  ideas  prevalent  in  the  mother  country, 
although  their  new  environment  obliges  them  to  strike  out  fresh  paths,  severing 

*  I'roude,  Uicuiiu ;  Aiithouy  Troliupe,  Amiralia  auJ  Xcw  Zcalaiul. 


INHABITANTS  OF  AUSTEALIA. 


887 


tliem  gradually  from  their  European  fellow-citizens,  and  bringing  them  somewhat 
nearer  to  their  North  American  kinsmen,  whrim  they  resemble  in  figure,  bearing, 
and  even  features. 

The  German  settlers,  although  numerous,  are  nowhere  grouped  in  sufficient 
masses  to  enable  them  to  live  apart  from  the  English,  and,  in  fact,  they  become 
rapidly  absorbed  in  the  surrounding  Australian  popxilations.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Chinese,  formerly  introduced  in  large  numbers  hj  capitalists  to  work  their  planta- 
tions and  mines,  had  begun  to  form  a  powerful  class,  which  threatened  to  drive  the 
white  workmen  out  of  the  labour  market.  Lut  the  national  antagonism  aroused  by 
these  conflicting  interests,   by  the 

"yellow  danger,"  as  it  is  called,  ^ig.  164— Increase  of  the  Australian-  Population. 
has  had  the  result  of  rendering  a 
residence  in  Queensland  and  the 
other  Australian  colonies  almost 
impossible  for  the  "  Celestials." 
Thousands  have  had  to  leave  the 
country,  while  recent  laws  passed 
in  contravention  to  the  treaties 
concluded  with  China,  prevent  them 
from  landing,  except  on  paj'ment 
of  a  heavy  fine,  besides  imposing  on 
them  all  sorts  of  vexatious  burdens. 

As  in  all  modern  colonies  of  an 
industrial  character,  the  immigrant 
populations  have  been  to  a  large 
extent  centred  in  the  towns,  and 
owing  to  this  tendency  the  cities  of 
Sydney  and  Melbourne  alone  con- 
tain nearly  a  third  of  the  whole 
Australian  population.  Yet  it  is 
from  the  land  that  the  settlers  in 
this  new  world  derive  their  chief 
resources.  A  comparative  study  of 
the  ample  statistics  now  available 

for  the  various  provinces  shows  what  an  important  economical  position  is  already 
occupied  by  the  Australian  colonies.  Although  the  vast  domain  belonging  to  the 
Crown  has  only  been  utilised  to  a  relatively  small  extent,  .considerably  over 
100,000,000  acres  had  already  been  disposed  of  to  private  individuals  at  the 
end  of  1886,  and  either  brought  under  cultivation,  or  devoted  to  stock-breeding, 
and  especially  sheep-farming.  Artesian  wells,  sunk  in  many  of  the  inland  regions, 
have  tapped  the  underground  reservoirs,  and  transformed  extensive  arid  wastes 
into  good  grazing  grounds ;  projects  are  also  being  entertained  for  husbanding 
the  surface  waters  by  means  of  dams  and  other  hydraulic  works. 

Australia  is  the  first  wool-producing  country  in   the  world,  ranking  in   this 

c  (■  2 


338  AUSTRAIASIA. 

respect  even  bffore  the  Unitud  States,  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  Russia.  The 
wool  yielded  by  its  twenty-four  million  sheep  being  of  the  finest  quality,  commands 
the  highest  prices  in  all  the  markets  of  the  globe,  and  represents  an  annual  value 
of  about  £20,000,000.  The  stock-breeders  also  own  large  herds  of  cattle,  excellent 
horses  and  swine,  yielding  for  the  export  trade  considerable  quantities  of  hides, 
suet,  fat,  tinned  meats,  and  since  1882  frozen  carcasses.  The  Australian  dingo  is 
much  dreaded  by  the  sheep-farmers,  for  he  regards  the  flock  as  so  much  game, 
killing  all  he  cannot  devour  ;  whole  folds  have  been  destroyed  by  the  depreda- 
tions of  this  animal,  which,  however,  is  rapidly  disappearing  with  the  natives 
themselves.  The  fox  has  also  become  dangerous  ;  but  the  great  scourge  of  the  stock- 
breeders is  the  rabbit,  which,  once  imported  from  Europe,  soon  found  a  congenial 
home  in  the  rolling,  grassy,  and  flowering  plains  formerly  tenanted  by  the  kangaroo. 
Here  the  coney  has  multiplied  to  a  prodigious  extent,  and  although  at  least  fifty 
millions  are  yearly  destroyed  by  the  shepherds  and  their  dogs,  he  encroaches  more 
and  more  on  the  pasturages  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  live-stock.  To  get  rid  of 
this  pest-several  plans  have  been  tried  or  suggested,  amongst  others  the  complete 
enclosure  of  the  grazing  grounds,  and  the  systematic  extermination  of  the  does,  thus 
arresting  the  propagation  of  the  species.  Experiments  have  also  been  made  at 
Rodd  Island,  near  Sydney,  with  "  chicken  cholera,"  inoculated  according  to  the 
Pasteur  method,  in  the  hope  that  the  rabbits  themselves  will  spread  the  contagion. 
But  fears  have  been  expressed  that  the  disease  may  thus  be  gradually  disseminated 
among  the  domestic  animals. 

In  1888  the  arable  lands  comprised  a  total  extent  of  nearly  8,500, 000  acres, 
yielding  a  relatively  high  proportion  of  produce,  which  is  largely  required  for  the 
local  consumption.  But  Australia  has  already  begun  to  take  a  prominent  position 
amongst  countries  exporting  wine,  sugar,  and  tobacco.  Some  of  the  vintages  have 
even  acquired  a  certain  reputation,  and  the  burgundies  especially  shown  at  the 
Paris  Exhibition  of  1889  were  much  ajipreciated  by  French  connoisseurs. 
Other  classes  of  wine,  such  as  bordeaux,  champagne,  moselle,  port,  are  also  success- 
fully grown ;  but  the  vineyards  have  unfortunately  begun  to  suffer  from  the 
ravages  of  the  phylloxera. 

Cereals  and  other  alimentary  plants  are  chiefly  grown  on  small  holdings,  while 
the  Queensland  sugar  plantations,  like  the  pasture  lands  of  the  Darling  and  of 
other  regions  lying  beyond  the  east  coast-ranges,  are  for  the  most  part  in  the 
hands  of  large  land-owners.  "  Despite  the  laws  limiting  the  extent  of  land  which 
one  person  may  purchase,  or  rent  for  seven,  fourteen,  or  twenty-one  years,  the 
tendency  in  Australia,  as  in  the  mother  country,  is  in  the  direction  of  vast 
landed  estates.  In  New  South  Wales  the  smallest  plot  offered  for  sale  is  about 
forty  acres,  but  in  some  of  the  colonies  allotments  of  2,500  acres  may  be  purchased, 
and  syndicates  have  been  formed  for  buying  or  renting  far  more  extensive  holdings. 
Certain  estates,  sheep-runs,  or  sheep-walks,  as  they  are  called,  are  laid  out  in  the 
central  part  with  a  park,  gardeins,  and  a  magnificent  residence  with  turrets, 
galleries,  and  conservatories,  for  the  squatter  is  the  true  Australian  aristocrat,  a 
wealthy    citizen,   owning    sheep    by    the   hundred   thousand,    administering    his 


IXIIABITAXTS  OF  AUSTRALIA.  389 

doiuaiii  throujili  agents,  and  residius  in  the  coast,  towns,  or   even   in    London   or 


Paris.     Thus  it  has  come  about  that  the  hiud  is  already  hirgcly  mouopolised  by  a 


SCO 


AUSTRALASIA. 


limited  uuuiber  of  weallliy  capitalists,  so  tliat  of  a  liuiidrcd  settlors  uot  more  tliau 
six  are  landowners.  • 

The  gold-mines  which  more  than  aught  else  have  contributed  to  the  rapid 
development  of  the  population,  still  form  a  chief  resource  of  the  country.  Victoria 
osjaecially  possesses  auriferous  deposits  of  immense  value,  and  to  them  was  indebted 
for  its  temporary  ascendency   over  New    South    Wales.     But  here,  as  elsewhere, 

Fig.  1G6.— Gold  Mines  of  South-East  Austealia. 
Scale  I  ;  7,500,00.). 


mining  operations  became  continually  less  remunerative  according  as  the  precious 
metals  diminished  in  relative  value.  Siuce  the  discoverj-  of  the  gold-fields  in  1851 
down  to  the  year  1887,  the  total  quantity  of  gold  recovered  by  the  miners  reached 
the  enormous  sum  of  £3'?0,000,000,  or  more  than  £8,000,000  a  year.  The  tin- 
mines,  which  occur  chiefly  in  Queensland,  and  the  highly  pi'oductive  copper-mines 
of  South  Australia  also   contribute  to  feed  the  export  trade  of  the  colonics,  while 


AUSTRALIAN  IXDUSTEJES.  391 

the  Xew  Soixtli  Wales  coal-fields  yield  in  importance  only  to  those  of  "West  Europe, 
the  United  States,  add  Eussia.  The  coal-mines  increase  in  value  according  as  those 
of  gold  fall  off,  and  to  them,  combined  with  sheep-farming.  New  South  Wales  is 
indebted  for  the  first  place  which  it  now  holds  amongst  the  Australian  colonies. 
The  silver-mines  have  but  slight  economic  importance,  whilst  the  salt  lakes  are 
scarcely  utilised  at  all,  as  they  yield  onh'  an  inferior  article  full  of  impurities. 

The  xVustralian  manufacturing  industry  differs  in  no  respect  from  that  of  Great 
Bi'itain,  so  far  as  regards  the  raw  materiiils  and  mechanical  processes  ;  but  it  is 
not  yet  sufficiently  developed  to  give  rise  to  any  considerable  export  trade  to  the 
surrounding  oceanic  world.  The  country  offers  little  beyond  agricultural-  and 
mining  produce  in  exchange  for  the  manufactured  wares  imported  almost  exclu- 
sivel)'  from  England,  and  for  the  teas  received  from  China.  But  the  total 
value  of  this  commercial  movement  is  prodigious,  regard  being  had  to  the 
relatively  slight  population  of  the  continent.  Amongst  trading  lands  Australia 
takes  a  first  rank  for  the  value  of  its  exchanges  compared  with  the  number  of  its 
inhabitants.  In  this  respect,  however,  the  inter-colonial  traflac  is  reckoned  as  so 
much  foreign  trade,  because  the  custom-house  tariffs  differ  in  the  different  states, 
and  are  even  regulated  with  a  view  to  protecting  si^ecial  industries  against  the 
competition  of  neighbouring  provinces. 

This  local  and  foreign  commerce  employs  thousands  of  vessels,  constantly 
plying  along  the  seaboard  and  on  the  highways  of  navigation  converging  from  all 
quarters  on  the  periphery  of  the  continent.  The  main  lines  of  oceanic  steamships 
subsidised  by  the  British  Government  maintain  the  communications  between  the 
great  seaports  of  the  British  Isles  and  the  Austral  regions ;  foreign  steamers,  also, 
such  as  those  of  the  French  Messageries  and  the  German  Company,  touch  at  the 
more  important  Austra-lian  ports.  Thanks  to  the  combined  service  of  steam 
navigation  and  railwaj's,  letters  have  been  received  in  Adelaide  from  London  within 
twenty-seven  days.  The  colonies  have  also  developed  a  considerable  local  ship- 
ping, and  the  mercantile  marine  registered  in  (he  vai  ious  seaports  already  equals 
that  of  several  European  trading  countries,  such  as  Anstria^IIungary  and 
Greece. 

In  the  interior  of  the  continent  railwaj-s  have  been  constructed  between  all  the 
large  towns  of  East  Australia,  and  the  c(  mplction  of  the  viaduct  across  the  Ilawkes- 
bury  river  now  places  Adelaide  in  uninterrupted  communication  with  Brisbane 
by  a  trunk  line  over  1,700  miles  long,  or  as  far  as  from  Paris  to  ]\Ioscow.  West 
Australia  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the  continent  also  possesses  a  few  short  lines 
and  has  just  begun  the  vast  undertaking  of  a  coast  railway  to  connect  King  George 
Sound  with  the  South  Australian  system.  The  government  of  the  latter  colony 
on  its  part  is  pushing  forward  the  construction  of  a  trans-continental  line  between 
Adelaide  in  the  south  and  Palmerston  on  the  north  coast.  Tasmania  also  is 
adding  a  few  branches  to  its  main  line  between  Launceston  and  Ilobart.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  mineral  and  other  industrial  lines  all  the  Australian  railways 
belong  to  the  several  colonies  whose  territory  they  traverse. 

The  telegi'aphs,  which  rti-e  al.so  maintained  by  the  national  budget,  connect  all 


392 


AUSTRALASIA. 


the  colonief?  with  each  other,  as  well  as  with  New  Zealand  aud  Java.  Two  sub- 
marine lines  will  soon  be  laid  from  Ceylon  to  West  Australia,  and  from  Sydney  to 
Vancouver  Island  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  British  North  America,  aud  thus  will  be 
completed  the  electric  circuit  of  the  English  colonies  round  the  globe. 

Education  being  compulsory  and  free,  at  least  in  the  Government  schools,  all 
children  pass  a  few  years  in  the  public  schoulS.     The  average  standard  of  instruc- 
tion is  even  higher  in  Australia  thau  in  England,  and  as  a  rule  girls  attend  school 
longer  than  boys.     The  expenditure  for  educational  purposes  is  very  high,  amount- 
Fig.    167.  —  AUSTEALIAN   RAILWAYS  AT  THE   EnD   OF   1SS7. 
Scale  1  :  40,000,000. 


E,.boFGreenw,,;h 


.  Lines  completed. 

■  Main  Lines  in  progress. 

^^.^— —  GOO  Miles. 


ing  in  1885  to  £5  for  each  pupil.      The  Australian  press  comprises  about  800 
newspaper,?  and  other  periodical  publications. 

At  present  Australia  constitutes  five,  and  with  Tasmania  six,  separate  colonies 
or  states.  According  to  the  date  of  their  foundation,  their  economic  interests,  and 
the  influence  of  dominant  political  parties,  these  various  states  frame  for  them- 
selves different  constitutions  ;  but  all  require  their  fundamental  enactments  to  be 
ratified  by  the  British  Government,  and  also  receive  as  governor  a  direct  rei^resen- 
tative  of  the  Crown.  Nevertheless  a  recent  controversy  between  Queensland 
and  the  metropolis  on  the  appointment  of  a  governor  resulted  to  the  advantage  of 
the  colon}'.     In  the  two  states  of  Victoria  and  Tasmania  the  institutions  are  demo- 


GOVEEXMEXT  OF  AUSTEALLV. 


893 


cratic,  and  the  two  chambers  are  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  applied  in  such  a 
way  as  to  give  a  proportional  representation  to  minorities.  In  New  South  "Wales 
and  the  other  states  the  upper  house  is  either  entirely  or  partly  named  by  the 
Crown. 

According  as  they  grew  in  power  and  wealth  the  Australian  colonies  felt  the 
need  of  drawing  closer  the  bonds  of  union.  A  federation,  authorised  beforehand 
by  the  Imperial  Parliament,  has  been  projected  for  the  purpose  of  amalgamating 
the  states  under  the  suzerainty  of  England,  and  safeguarding  the  common 
interests  on  the  mainland  and  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,     liut  certain  questions  of 


16S. — AUSTBALIAN    COLOUIES. 
Scale  1  :  44,000,000. 


rivalry  and  precedence  have  hitherto  prevented  the  definite  constitution  of  the 
future  federal  state  of  Australasia,  which  must  establish  the  absolute  and  perma- 
nent dominion  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  the  oceanic  woild.  Albiiry,  on  the 
Murray,  about  midway  between  Sydney  and  Melbourne  and  on  the  common  frontier 
of  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria,  seems  destined  by  general  conseilt  to  become 
the  metropolis  of  the  rising  empire.  In  anticipation  of  its  future  rank  it  has 
alrcadj'  been  named  the  "  Federal  City,"  although  it  is  still  possible  that  this  high 
honour  may  fall  to  the  share  of  another  place. 

To   the  first"  conference  held  in  1886  at  Ilobart,   New   South  Wales,  South 
Australia,  and  New  Zeahuid  hud  sent  no  dek'gutes,  although  the   I'iji  ArchipeUigo 


391 


AUSTRALASIA. 


was  adequately  represented.  But  iu  1888  a  second  conference,  attended  hy  dole- 
gates  irom  all  the  Australasian  states,  discussed  the  establishment  of  supreme 
tribunals  for  the  whole  group  of  colonies.  South  Australia  also,  hitherto  opposed 
to  all  projects  of  federation,  has  recently  joined  the  movement.  Australia  natu- 
rally looks  forward  to  the  time  when  the  confederation  will  be  joined  not  only  by 
British  New  Guinea  and  Fiji  but  by  all  the  Pacific  islands  already  acqiiired  or  to 
be  acquired  by  Great  Britain,  and  thus  secure  an  incontested  hegemony  throughout 


169.— Kino  Geokoe  Sound. 
Scale  1  :  230,000. 


ISO  Fret  and 
upwards. 


the  southern  hemisphere.  In  many  instances,  notably  during  the  recent  discus- 
sions with  France  on  the  subject  of  the  New  Hebrides  and  the  transport  of  convicts 
to  New  Caledonia,  it  became  evident  that  the  Australians  asjiiire  soon  to  be  masters 
in  the  Austral  regions,  and  proclaim,  Kke  the  North  Americans,  their  "  llonroe 
doctrine" — the  Oceanic  World  for  the  Oceanians. 

As  a  militarjf  power  Australasia  would  already  present  formidable  difficulties 
to  a  foreign  invader,  for  the  adult  population  between  their  twentieth  and  fortieth 
year  exceeds  half  a  million  of  men  thoroughly  organised  iu  volunteer  corps,  which 


"U'ESTEEN  AUSTR.U.IA.  "  395 

the  coast  railways  might  rapidly  concentrate  on  any  threatened  points  along  the 
seaboard.  Moreover,  the  three  strategical  positions  of  King  George  Sound  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  mainland,  the  entrance  to  Port  Jackson  at  Sydney,  and 
some  islands  in  Torres  Strait,  have  been  strongly  fortified.  A  fleet  of  gunboats, 
torpedoes,  and  swift  cruisers  guards  the  approaches  of  the  seaports,  while  recent 
conventions  with  England  provide  for  a  rapid  increase  of  the  Imperial  nav}-.  In 
1888  over  £800,000  were  voted  for  the  coast  defences  and  the  construction  of 
forts. 

Financially  Australia  is  heavily  burdened.  The  possession  of  seemingly  inex- 
haustible gold-fields  fostered  a  spirit  of  extravagance  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
public  liabilities,  head  for  head  of  the  inhabitants,  are  already  higher  than  those 
of  France.  But  this  incumbrance  is  much  less  felt,  thanks  to  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  population  and  of  the  resources  of  the  land.  The  annual  increase  of 
the  population  exceeds  a  thirtieth,  while  that  of  the  national  wealth  is  still  more 
rapid  ;  yet  the  demon  of  pauperism  has  already  raised  his  head  in  Australia. 

A  table  of  the  Australian  states,  with  their  respective  areas  and  populations,  is 
given  in  the  Appendix.  The  administrative  subdivisions  differ  in  the  various 
colonies,  and  even  in  each  state,  according  to  the  density  of  the  papulation  and  the 
several  political  and  economic  interests.  They  take  the  various  names  of  counties, 
boards,  shires,  municipalities,  boroughs,  electoral  and  pastoral  divisions. 

Western  Australia. 

This  colony,  the  first  Australian  land  sighted  by  vessels  arriving  from  Europe, 
is  the  least  populous  and  the  least  important  of  all  the  Australasian  states,  although 
its  territory  comprises  about  one-third  of  the  mainland.  It  was  founded  over  half 
a  century  ago  in  1829,  yet  its  residents  of  European  origin  scarcely  exceed  forty 
thousand  and  may  possibly  be  still  surpassed  numerically  by  the  natives,  whose 
tribes  continue  to  form  relatively  compact  groups  in  the  north  western  districts. 
In  1850,  when  the  colony  had  no  more  than  six  thousand  inhabitants,  the  British 
Government  made  it  a  penal  station,  and  by  the  year  18G8  nearly  ten  thousand 
convicts  had  been  introduced  into  Western  Australia. 

But  despite,  or  possibly  in  consequence  of,  this  continuous  stream  of  involun- 
tary colonists,  the  population  increased  very  slowly  until  a  decided  stimulus  was 
given  to  the  movement  by  the  discovery  of  auriferous  deposits  in  the  part  of  the 
territory  situated  between  the  Irwin  and  Murchison  Rivers.  The  reluctance  of 
intending  colonists  to  turn  their  steps  towards  Western  Australia  was,  however, 
mainly  due  to  the  dryness  of  the  climate,  the  arid  soil,  brackish  waters,  and 
inferior  pasturages  infested  in  several  districts  by  poisonous  plants.  The  greater 
part  of  the  colony,  which  stretches  north  and  south  from  shore  to  shore,  and  cast- 
wards  to  129°  east  longitude,  is  even  still  unexplored.  The  settled  parts  are,  in 
fact,  chiefly  situated  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  continent  and  along  the  lower 
reaches  of  the  coast  streams,  which  follow  in  the  direction  of  the  north  beyond 
Perth.      Western   AustraKa  is  thus  an  isolated  world .  scparaf  ed  by  vast  desert 


390 


AUSTRALASIA. 


spaces  from  the  other  Australasian  colonies,  with  which  it  communicates  only  by 
sea.  The  dangerous  overland  routes  across  the  intervening  solitudes  still  rank  with 
those  rare  and  daring  exploits  which  are  recorded  iu  the  annals  ol:  geographical 
exploration. 

The  centre  of  the  colony  is  the  city  of  Perth,  which  has  been  founded  12  miles 
from  the  coast  on  the  banks  of  the  Swan  River,  at  a  point  where  it  exj)ands  into 


Fig-.    170. — Pekth  AMD  ITS  Envieons. 
Scule  1  :  600,000. 


80  to  160 
Feet. 
^—  12  Miles. 


the  form  of  a  lake.  This  modest  capital  is  connected  by  road  and  rail  with  its 
seaport  of  Fremanfle,  which  lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  Swan  estuary  ;  but  there 
is  no  natural  harbour  and  the  open  roadstead  is  so  unsafe  during  the  prevalence  of 
the  north  and.  noith-west  winds  that  the  shipi:)ing  has  at  times  to  take  refuge 
farther  south  in  Cockburn  Sound  between  the  coast  and  Garden  Island.  Never- 
theless,  Fremantle  is  the  busiest  port   in  the  colony,  and  here  are  shipped  the 


"V^■ESTEEN  AUSTEALIA.  •  81)7 

wools,  which  have  hitherto  formed  the  chief  resource  of  Western  Australia.  Rolt- 
nest  Island,  which  partly  shelters  Gage  Road  on  the  west,  is  fringed  with  salt 
beds  worked  by  the  convicts  and  natives  for  the  Government.  Farther  north 
follow  the  three  ports  of  Rockingham,  Biinbnn/,  and  Bus-telton,  from  which  is  mainly 
exported  the  jarra-wood  {eticali/ptiis  marginafa),  which  is  highly  valued  by  ship- 
builders and  others  for  its  durable  properties  and  power  of  resisting  the  action  of 
termites  and  borers. 

In  the  north-east  the  Perth  railwaj'  is  continued  up  the  Swan  Yallov  towards 
Guildfwd,  Yorh,  and  BevevJeij,  flourishing  agricultural  centres  surrounded  by 
pastures  and  scrub,  where  sandalwood  formerly  abounded.  A  carriage  road  2;jO 
miles  long,  running  south-eastwards  to  a  great  extent  through  barren  wastes, 
places  Perth  in  communication  with  Alhanij,  almost  the  only  seaport  on  the  south 
coast.  The  lack  of  arable  lands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  this  place  prevents  it 
from  developing  as  rapidly  as  might  be  expected  from  its  excellent  harbour  of 
King  George  Sound  at  the  south-west  angle  of  the  continent.  Albany  is  a  port  of 
call  for  steamers  plying  between  England  and  Melbourne,  and  the  terminus  of 
the  cable  connecting  the  local  telegraphic  system  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  The 
British  and  Australasian  Governments  are  at  present  occupied  with  the  construc- 
tion of  fortified  works  around  this  important  strategical  point  on  the  south-west 
coast.  In  1826  the  Governor  of  New  South  Wales  stationed  a  small  garrison  here 
to  prevent  its  seizure  by  the  French  after  the  systematic  survey  of  the  seaboard  by 
Baudin  and  Freycinet.  French  geographical  names  occur  most  frequently  along 
this  section  of  the  Australian  seaboard.  Farther  east  the  only  settlement  on  the 
south  coast  is  Euda  {Yircla  or  TcrgaUa),  that  is,  "Morning  Star"  in  the  native 
language.  Although  scarcely  inhabited  Eucla  bears  the  name  of  a  soajTOrt ;  it  lies 
on  the  frontier  of  the  two  colonies  of  Western  and  South  Australia. 

North  of  Fremantle  the  coast  is  almost  a  solitude  for  a  spiace  of  about  180 
miles.  In  this  direction  lies  the  Roman  Catholic  mission  of  iVi?»-  Ntircia,  which 
has  been  made  memorable  by  the  ethnographical  studies  of  Rudesiudo  Salvado. 
Still  farther  north  the  work  of  colonisation  has  acquired  considerable  importance 
in  the  district  of  Victoria,  which  is  watered  by  the  river  Greenough.  The  bunks 
of  this  w'ver  are  fringed  by  wheatfields,  and  the  produce  of  the  districts  is  forwarded 
by  rail  to  the  port  of  GririMfon,  which  stands  on  Champion  Bay.  Off  this  coast 
flows  the  Geelvink  Channel  formed  by  the  chain  of  the  Houtman's  Abrolhos  islets 
and  reefs.  The  Victoria  district  is  the  chief  mineral  region  of  Western  Australia, 
abounding  especially  in  lead,  copper,  and  gold.  Beyond  it  the  spacious  inlet  of 
Shark's  Bay  and  the  north-west  coast  are  annually  visited  by  about  a  hundred  fishing 
smacks  in  quest  of  pearls  and  mother-of-pearl,  for  which  the  chief  depot  is  the 
village  of  Roehournr,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sherlock  River.  The  yearly  value  of  the 
fisheries  exceeds  £20,000 ;  but  nowhere  else  in  Australia  have  the  whites  treated 
more  oppressively  the  native  labourers,  who  have  been  practically  reduced  to  the 
position  of  slaves  by  a  so-called  act  of  "  assignation." 

The  whole  of  the  Australian  seaboard  stretching  round  to  the  north-east  was 
uninhabited  by  any  white  people  before  the  year  1869,  when  auriferous  deposits 


898  •  AUSTRALASIA. 

were  discovered  iu  the  billy  district  bounded  ori  the  south  by  the  course  of  the 
Fitzroy  River.  This  event  attracted  large  numbers  of  gold-hunters  to  the  spot ; 
villages  sprang  up,  and  ports  were  established  along  the  river-banks  and  on  the 
shores  of  the  neighbouring  inlets.  In  •  1886,  when  the  mines  were  f)laced  under 
official  administration,  this  district  of  Kimbcrley  was  found  to  be  inhabited  by 
several  thousands,  mostly  connected  with  the  mining  industry.  Dcrhij,  the  capital, 
stands  on  the  east  side  of  an  estuary,  where  the  Fitzroy  River  reaches  the  coast. 

The  settlement  of  this  part  of  Australia,  which  over  half  a  .  century  ago  was 
already  described  by  George  Grey  as  one  of  the  most  promising  regions  on  the 
continent,  is  an  event  of  jorimary  importance  ia  the  history  of  colonisation. 
Although  comparatively  well  watered  and  fairlj'  j)roductive,  it  had  been  avoided  by 
the  British  colonists  owing  to  the  heat  of  the  climate.  It  certainly  lies  entirely 
within  the  tropical  zone ;  but  it  occupies  a  favourable  position  over  against  the 
Dutch  East  Indies,  from  which  it  is  separated  only  by  the  narrow  Arafura  Sea. 
Hence  Kimberley  is  probably  destined  to  become  the  chief  centre  of  trade  and 
intercourse  between  the  Indonesian  and  Australian  populations,  at  present  almost 
complete  strangers  to  each  other.  In  some  of  the  estuaries  along  this  coast  the 
tides  rise  to  a  height  of  from  35  to  40  feet. 

Of  all  the  continental  colonies  Western  Australia  has  remained  longest  attached 
to  Great  Britain  by  direct  administrative  ties.  Hithecto  not  only  the  Gover- 
•  nor  and  Executive  Council,  but  even  the  Legislative  Council  has  been  at  least 
partly  nominated  by  the  Central  Government.  In  1889,  however,  the  Imperial 
Parliament  favourably  entertained  a  bill  passed  by  the  Legislative  Council  substi- 
tuting a  responsible  government  for  the  hitherto  existing  rejsresentative  system  of 
administration.  By  this  change  Western  Australia  will  doubtless  soon  be  placed  on 
the  same  footing  as  all  the  other  colonies  of  the  Australian-continent.  It  is  divided 
into  fourteen  electoral  districts,  the  franchise  being  extended  to  all  citizenrj  ^^os- 
sessing  landed  property  of  the  value  of  £1,000,  or  paying  a  yearly  rent  of  at  least 
£10.      The  defensive  forces  comprised  in  1889  a  volunteer  corps  of  over  600  men. 

South  AusTitALiA. 

The  name  -of  this  colony  is  scarcely  justified  by  its  geographical  position,  for 
its  territory  does  not  include  the  southernmost  part  of  the  mainland,  while  on  the 
other  hand  it  stretches  right  across  the  continent  northwards  to  the  Arafura  Sea. 
It  thus  comprises  all  the  central  region  westwards  to  129°  east  longitude,  and 
eastwards  to  138°  on  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  and  as  far  as  141°  on  the  slope 
draining  to  the  Southern  Ocean.  On  the  north  coast  it  embraces  the  peninsula 
skirting  the  west  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria ;  on  the  south  the  Gulfs  of 
Spencer  and  S.  Vincent  form  the  chief  indentations  of  its  seaboaixl,  and  over  a 
fourth  of  the  mainland  lies  within  its  borders. 

The  settlement  of  South  Australia  began  on  the  shores  of  the  southern  gulfs  in 
the  year  1834,  and  towards  the  close  of  1836  the  ofiicial  proclamation  of  the  new 
state  was  made  near  the  port  of  Glenelg  under  a  large  eiicalyptus,  whose  now  life- 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  309 

less  stem  bears  a  commemorative  inscription.  Here  the  people  gather  in  multir 
tudes  on  the  anniversaries  of  the  foundation  to  celebrate  the  national  feast.  Free 
settlers  alone  have  taken  part  in  the  development  of  the  colony,  where  no  convicts 
from  bej'ond  the  seas  were  ever  landed.  Nevertheless,  the  growth  of  the  popula- 
tion was  extrcmcl}' slow  down  to  the  year  184G,  when  the  discovery  of  rich  copper- 
mines  immediately  attracted  numerous  speculators  and  miners.  But  notwithstanding 
this  stimulus  South  Australia  has  lagged  far  behind  the  three  eastern  colonies  of 
"N'ictoria,  New  South  Wales,  and  Queensland  in  popxilation,  wealth,  and  trade, 
lu  the  years  1885-6  it  even  presented  the  phenomenon,  unique  in  Australia,  of  a 
temporary  decrease  in  the  number  of  its  inhabitants,  the  emigration  to  the  West 
Australian  mines  and  to  other  regions  having  exceeded  the  immigration  and  the 
natural  excess  of  births  over  the  mortality. 

Although  the  climate  is  one  of  the  healthiest  for  Europeans,  it  is  dreaded  on 
account  of  its  heats  and  the  lack  of  invigorating  sea  breezes,  the  concave  formation 
of  the  coast  facing  the  desert  causing  the  j)arching  winds  of  the  interior  to  in-evail. 
Infant  mortality  is  high,  and  the  acclimatisation  of  the  race  presents  greater  diffi- 
culties than  in  most  other  regions  of  the  continent.  Here  also  consumption,  the 
Australian  malady  /*«/•  excellence,  is  more  common  than  in  any  of  the  other  colonies. 
Another  obstacle  to  progress  are  the  long  periods  of  drought,  which  occasionally 
occur,  and  which  render  much  of  the  land  arid,  unsuitable  for  tillage,  and  in 
many  j^laces  even  saline  and  destitute  of  vegetation.  In  the  northern  districts  the 
torrid  climate  is  still  more  unsuitable  for  European  workmen,  so  that  the  suzerain 
(jfovernment  has  been  fain  to  tolerate  the  introduction  of  Malay  and  Chinese 
labour. 

Thus  nearly  the  whole  of  the  white  population  is  confined  to  the  southern 
region  between  the  lower  course  of  the  Murray  and  the  east  side  .of  Spencer  Gulf. 
From  here  also  come  the  copper,  wool,  and  wheat,  from  which  South  Australia 
derives  its  importance  in  the  British  colmial  world;  for  .the  production  of  wheat  it 
takes  the  first  place  amongst  the  Australian  states.  Essays  have  been  made  at. 
ostrich-farming,  while  wine-growing  has  received  a  great  development  during  the 
last  few  years ;  wines  are  already  produced,  which  the  growers  in  the  different 
districts  compare  to  port,  sherry  and  hock.  The  colony  also  exports  fruits  and 
preserves. 

Adelaide,  the  "  Model  Citj',"  capital  of  South  Australia,  ranks  for  population 
after  Melbourne  and  Sydney,  already  containing  over  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  inhabitants  in  the  central  quarters  and  its  suburbs.  It  lies  on  a  plain 
near  the  sea  not  far  from  the  first  slopes  of  the  Lofty  Range  rising  to  the  east, 
and  on  the  banks  of  the  Torrens  River,  which  often  runs  dry.  The  broad  streets 
running  at  right  angles  in  the  direction  of  the  cardinal  points  dispose  the  city  in 
a  number  of  regular  blocks.  Enormous  sums  have  been  expended  on  the  con- 
struction of  vast  reservoirs  in  the  neighbouring  hills  needed  to  supply  the  cit}' 
with  water.  There  are  also  numerous  promcnidcs,  extensive  parks,  and  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  botanic  gardens  in  tlie  wculd.  The  University  of  South 
Australia,  the  Institute  and  other  leai'ued  societies,  have  their  seat  in  the  capital, 


400 


AUSTRALASIA. 


where  is  coiitrecl  all  the  scientific  and  literary  work  of  the  inhabitants.  Beyond 
Adelaide,  which,  with  its  suburbs  of  Jlindmarsh ,  Noncood,  and  Kensington,  alone 
contains  over  a  third  of  the  whole  colonial  population,  there  are  no  towns  or 
villages  except  those  exclusively  occupied  with  trade,  agriculture,  or  mining. 

Adelaide  has  several  ports,  the  chief  of  which,  Port  Adelaide,  lies  three  or  four 
miles  to  the  north-west  near  a  creek  which  has  been  artificially  deepened  and  lined 

rig.  171. — Adelaide. 
fade  1  :  28ii.onn. 


[13 


0  to  16  16  to  32 

Feet.  Feet. 

e  •     Lighthouses. 


with  wharves.  Glcnchj,  situated  to  the  soixth-west,  and  almost  connected  with  the 
capital  by  continuous  groups  of  suburbs  and  villas,  is  a  port  of  call  for  mail 
steamers.  Farther  south  follows  Victor  Harbour,  on  the  shore  of  the  Southern 
Ocean,  but  connected  with  the  capital  by  a  railway.  Another  line  running  north- 
eastwards to  Morfjan,  at  the  chief  bend  of  the  Lower  Murriiy,  places  Adelaide  in 
communication  with  the  only  line  of  inland-  navigation  on  the  Australian  main- 
land ;  above  Morgan  the  Murray  is  navigated  by  about  forty  small  steamers. 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 


401 


The  little  'fluvial  port  of  Goolwa,  seven  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Murray 
on  its  terminal  Lake  Alexandriua,  exports  a  considerable  quantity  of  wool. 
Beyond  the  river  and  near  the  frontier  of  Victoria,  Mount  Ganihier,  or  Gamhierfoii, 
at  the  southern  foot  of  the  volcano  of  Kke  name,  is  the  most  active  commercial 

Fig.  172. — Adelaide,  Spe-vceb  axd  St.  Vinxen't  Gulfs. 
Scale  1  :  5,300,000. 


EastcFGi-een 


Deptlis. 


ICO  Feet  and 
upwards. 


,  1.0  Milts. 


centre   in   the  southern  districts.     It  is  connected   by  rail  with  the  capital,  and 
supplied  with  water  from  the  lake  in  the  neighbouring  crater. 

Other  railways  run  from  Adelaide  towards  the  northern  mineral  districts, 
where  Gaidcr,  Kapunda,  and  Eoorbxja  are  the  chief  centres  of  the  copper  mining 
operations.     The  deposits  of  Boom-Boora,  near  Kooriuga,  have  largely  contributed 

VOL,  XIV.  D  D 


402 


AUSTRALASLV. 


to  the  prosperit}^  of  the  colony,  having  yielded  ores  to  the  value  of  over  £4,000,000 
between  1846  and  1877.  No  less  productive  are  the  copper  mines  of  Wallaroo, 
Moonfa,  and  Kadina,  on  the  east  side  of  Sj^encer  Gulf,  while  Tcdulpa,  in  the  north- 
east, near  the  frontier  of  Victoria,  has  been  enriched  by  its  gold  mines. 

Farther  north  the  railway,  penetrating  inland   through  the  pastures,  deserts, 


Fig.  173. — Poet  Darwin. 
Scale  1  :  330,000. 


E.stcf  Gre.nw.cK 


O 


at  low  water. 


and  saline  wastes,  soon  advances  beyond  the  mineral  districts,  and  serves  only  for 
the  transport  of  wool  and  some  agricultural  produce.  But  when  it  has  pushed  its 
way  across  the  continent  this  trunk  line  will  be  used  by  most  travellers  and 
immigrants  bound  for  the  flourishing  regions  of  east  and  south-east  Australia. 
The  two  submarine  cables  already  connecting  the  northern  end  of  this  line  with 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  403 

Banjuwangi,  in  Java,  were  broken  by  a  volcanic  eruption  in  the  year  1888.  They 
were  supplemented  in  1889  by  a  third  cable  laid  between  the  same  Javanese  port 
and  Roebuck  Bay  on  the  coast  of  West  Australia.  This  line,  which  is  about 
1,000  miles  long,  serves  not  only  for  the  local  communications  of  West  and 
South  Australia,  but  also,  in  case  of  interruption,  for  those  of  the  eastern 
colonies. 

Pahnerston,  the  future  terminus  of  the  trans-continental  railway,  already 
enjoys  a  considerable  trade.  Since  1875  Port  Bancin,  on  the  east  side  of  which 
Palmerston  has  been  founded,  has  been  thrown  open  to  the  commerce  of  all 
nations.  This  extensive  inlet  forms  one  of  the  largest,  most  convenient,  and 
best  sheltered  harbours  frequented  by  seafarers  in  the  eastern  seas.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  Norfheni  Territory,  as  this  region  is  oflBcially  called,  has  considerably 
increased  since  1881,  when  it  contained  only  4,550  inhabitants.  Over  four-fifths 
of  the  I'esidents  are  Chinese,  occupied  in  discharging  cargoes,  in  clearing  the  land 
for  plantations,  constructing  highways,  and  working  the  southern  gold-mines  of 
BurriDidie  and  other  districts.  Here  the  employers  of  labour  are  vigorously 
opposed  to  the  laws  restricting  Chinese  immigration.  Being  unable  to  employ 
white  labour  in  these  torrid  lands,  they  naturally  look  to  China  for  tlie  hands 
required  to  cultivate  their  plantations. 

A  little  traffic  has  already  been  developed  between  Palmerston  and  the  Javanese 
city  of  Surabaya,  which  lies  on  the  future  highway  of  inter-continental  trade 
between  Australia  and  Europe.  The  essays  at  colonisation  made  so  early  as  182-1 
on  Apslej'  Strait  between  Melville  and  Bathurst  Islands,  as  well  as  subsequent 
attempts  of  the  same  kind  made  farther  east  on  the  Coburg  Peninsula,  all  proved 
failures  owing  to  the  isolated  position  of  the  British  settlers  in  a  torrid  climate 
and  on  an  unproductive  soil,  covered  with  an  almost  ferruginous  laterite.  The 
station  of  Victoria,  founded  on  the  fine  harbour  of  Essington,  has  never  ris' n  to 
the  rank  of  a  town. 

The  colony  of  South  Australia  is  autonomous.  The  governor,  appointed  bj'  the 
Queen,  is  assisted  by  six  responsible  ministers  chosen  by  the  Parliament,  which 
itself  consists  of  members  elected  by  the  citizens.  The  Legislative  Council,  or 
Upper  House,  comprises  twenty-four  members,  and  the  House  of  Assembly,  or 
Lower  House,  is  formed  of  fifty-two  deputies,  chosen  for  three  years.  The 
franchise  for  electors  of  the  Council  is  limited  to  about  two-fifths  of  the  adult 
male  population,  holders  of  property,  or  paying  a  certain  annual  rent  ;  but  all 
citizens  settled  not  less  than  six  months  in  the  country  have  a  right  to  vote  at 
the  elections  for  the  House  of  Assembly.  Some  thirty  municipalities  enjoy  the 
privileges  of  communal  autonomy.  The  armed  forces  comj^rise  over  three  thou- 
sand volunteers  and  the  crew  of  a  small  man-of-war. 

Queensland. 

Its  very  name  is  an  indication  of  the  recent  creation  of  this  colony.  Originally 
it  formed  part  of  New  South  Wales,  from  which  it  was  not  separated  till  llio  year 


404  AUSTRALASIA. 

1859.  But  altliougti  its  political  life  is  shorter  than  that  either  of  Western  or 
South  Australia,  it  already  surpasses  both  of  those  states  in  trade  and  population. 
Convicts,  however,  had  been  transported  to  the  shores  of  Moreton  Bay  so  early 
as  the  year  1824,  and  the  territory  had  been  thrown  open  to  free  colonisation  in 
1842.  The  inhabitants  of  North  Queensland,  whose  economic  interests  are  not 
always  in  harmony  with  those  of  the  southern  region,  are  already  demanding  the 
formation  of  a  new  state,  to  comprise  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  the 
York  Peninsula,  the  Torres  Strait  islands,  and  British  New  Guinea.  The  country 
is  meantime  administratively  constituted  in  the  three  "  divisions "  of  North, 
Central,  and  South  Queensland,  which  are  regarded  as  destined  one  day  to  form 
three  distinct  political  states. 

More  than  one-third  of  the  inhabitants  is  still  concentrated  in  the  south-east 
corner  of  Queensland,  the  old  district  of  Moreton  Bay.  But  beyond  this  region 
centres  of  population  are  already  very  numerous,  settlers  being  attracted  to 
different  jjarts  by  the  diverse  agricultural  and  industrial  interests.  As  in  New 
South  "Wales  there  are  vast  grazing  grounds,  especially  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
mountains ;  Queensland  also  possesses  rich  auriferous  deposits,  which  are  scattered 
throughout  the  whole  colony  from  the  New  South  Wales  frontier  to  the  York 
Peninsula,  and  the  valleys  sloping  towards  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria.  Its  deposits 
of  copper,  tin,  and  coal  have  also  attracted  speculators  and  miners  to  various  parts 
of  the  territory,  while  such  alimentary  plants  as  wheat,  maize,  sugar-cane,  tea, 
ptne-applfis,  which  do  not  thrive  under  the  same  climate,  have  had  the  consequence 
of  developing  several  distinct  centres  of  colonisation  throughout  the  colony. 

For  the  cultivation  of  tropical  plants  the  growers  have  had  recourse  to  the 
services  of  South  Sea  Islanders  engaged  for  a  term  of  years,  and  usually  com- 
prised under  the  general  name  of  "  Karnakies,"  that  is.  Kanakas,  a  word  in  the 
Polynesian  languages  simply  meaning  "  men."  But  this  sj'stem  of  contract 
labour,  carried  on  by  means  of  the  so-called  "  labour-vessels,"  has  been  a  fruitful 
source  of  crime  and  of  outrages  against  the  freedom  and  even  the  Kvcs  of  the 
Oceanic  peopks.  The  presence  of  the  Chinese  also  has  given  rise  in  Queensland 
to  the  most  cruel  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  "  representatives  of  the  higher 
civilisation."  Kidnapping  expeditions  have  often  been  organised  in  this  colony, 
which  have  spread  havoc  and  ruin  throughout  many  Melanesian  and  Polynesian 
archipelagoes. 

Briiibanc,  capital  and  oldest  town  in  Queensland,  stands  on  the  river  of  like 
name,  at  the  point  where  it  expands  into  an  estuary  communicating  with  Moreton 
Bay  some  24  miles  lower  down.  Vessels  of  average  tonnage  ascend  this  estuary 
to  a  bridge  about  1,150  feet  long,  which  here  crosses  the  river.  The  port  of 
Brisbane,  the  most  frequented  in  Queensland,  is  approached  through  the  fine 
roadstead  of  Moreton  Baj^,  which  is  sheltered  by  a  long  chain  of  low  islands,  and 
connected  with  the  capital  by  two  railways.  One  of  these  lines  runs  north-east 
in  the  direction  of  Sandgate,  a  favourite  watering-place  and  summer  residence  ; 
the  other  passes  south-eastwards  through  Alberton  to  the  southern  entrance  of  the 
bay,  which  is  accessible  only  to  boats.     Brisbane  is  suj^plied  with  an  abundance 


QUEEXSL.\XD. 


405 


of  water,  and  like  the  other  large  Australian   towns  has  a  beautiful  botanical 
garden. 

Ipsin'ch,  some  35  miles  above  Brisbane  on  a  southern  afSuent  of  the  river, 
stands  at  the  head  of  the  fluvial  navigation,  and  receives  by  water  the  wares  which 
are  thence   forwarded  to  the  various  stations  of  the  interior.     At  this  point  the 


Fig-.    IVi. — BEISBiNT:   AXD   MoKETOX    BaT. 
Scale  1  :  1,300,000. 


F 


50  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


main  railway  begins  to  climb  the  coast  range,  after  crossing  which  it  descends  to 
Waricick  in  the  upper  vallej'  of  the  Condamine,  chief  headstream  of  the  Darling. 
The  trunk  line  continues  to  r\m  beyond  TTarwick  westwards  through  Tooiroomha, 
Dalbij,  and  Roma,  while  a  branch  connects  the  system  southwards  with  the  Sydney- 
Melbourne  line.  Another  branch  has  already  been  projected  to  bring  Point 
Parker,  on  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  into  direct  communication  with  llic  soutliern 
regions. 


-100  AUSTRALASIA. 

2fari/boroi(gh  occupies,  170  miles  farther  north,  a  position  analogous  to  that  of 
Brisbane ;  it  stands  on  the  navigable  river  Mary,  which  expands  to  a  broad  inlet 
and  reaches  the  coast  through  an  arm  of  the  sea  sheltered  on  the  east  side  by 
Great  Sandy  Island.  At  Maryborough  the  river  is  crossed  by  a  bridge  about 
1,040  feet  long.  Sugar  is  chiefly  grown  by  the  neighbouring  planters,  and  there 
are  numerous  factories  in  the  district.  On  a  southern  tributary  of  the  Mary 
stands  the  straggling  town  of  Gijmpie,  noted  for  its  gold  mines,  which  were 
discovered  in  1867,  and  which  by  1880  had  already  yielded  a  quantity  of  the 
precious  metal  estimated  at  over  £2,000,000.  At  Burrum,  lying  to  the  north, 
rich  coal-fields  of  excellent  quality  have  been  discovered,  and  productive  copper 
mines  have  been  opened  in  the  north-western  district  of  Mount  Perrij,  which 
is  connected  by  a  railway  with  the  port  of  Bundalwry,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Burnett. 

Rockhampion,  another  fluvial  port,  is  the  largest  town  in  Queensland  next  to 
Brisbane.  It  occuj)ies  a  fine  position  in  a  fertile  district,  within  view  of  the 
wooded  cliffs  skirting  the  broad  river  Fitzroy,  which  is  accessible  to  large  vessels. 
Rockhampton,  which  lies  in  the  vicinity  of  rich  gold,  silver,  and  copper  mines, 
stands,  like  Brisbane,  at  the  terminus  of  a  railway,  which  penetrates  far  into  the 
interior  in  the  direction  of  the  central  plains,  and  which  ramifies  to  the  right  and 
left  towards  the  mining  districts. 

Farther  on  follow  along  a  deeply  indented  seaboard  the  port  of  Mackai/,  whence 
are  exported  tobaccos,  sugar,  coffee,  and  other  tropical  produce ;  Bourn,  or  Port- 
Denison,  with  easier  access  than  any  of  the  other  harbours  sheltered  by  the  Great 
Barrier  Reef,  and  Toivjisril/r,  which  derives  its  importance  from  the  gold  mines  of 
the  Burdekin  and  its  tributaries.  Ravenswood  and  Charters  Towers  are  the  chief 
centres  of  the  mining  operations,  the  latter  place  producing  about  £250,000  of  the 
precious  metal  annually. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast  the  last  frequented  port  is  Coohtoivn,  which  was  founded 
in  1873  and  soon  became  a  flourishing  place,  thanks  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Palmer 
River  gold-fields.  Cooktown  is  also  the  chief  market  and  victualling  station  of  the 
British  and  German  establishments  in  New  Guinea  and  the  Melauesian  Islands. 
The  settlement  of  Somerset,  which  was  founded  at  the  northernmo.st  extremity  of 
York  Peninsula  in  the  hope  of  making  it  a  second  Singapore,  has  remained  an 
obscure  village  with  a  bad  climate  ;  but  the  neighbouring  Thursday  Island  is  already 
a  much  frequented  station,  which  owes  its  prosperity  to  its  favourable  position  on 
the  route  of  vessels  traversing  Torres  Strait.  Since  1877  it  has  also  become  the 
centre  of  the  pearl-shell  fisheries  in  these  waters.  Here  over  two  hundred  craft 
of  all  sorts  with  one  thousand  five  hundred  hands  find  emploj'ment  on  the  pearl, 
mother-of-pearl,  tortoiseshell,  and  beche-de-mer  fishing  groimds.  A  central  station 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society  has  been  established  on  Eriih  or  Darnley  Island, 
which  lies  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Strait. 

On  the  slope  draining  to  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  the  two  stations  of  Nornmntown 
and  Biirkefown  were  till  recently  nothing  more  than  little  rural  markets  for 
Kupjilying   the   stock-breeders  of  the   surrounding  districts  with  provisions  and 


QUEENSLAJS^D.— NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  407 

European  wares.  Eurketowu  had  even  been  almost  entirely  abandoned,  owing  to 
(he  insalubritj'  of  the  neighbouring  marshes.  But  the  discovery  of  the  Croydon 
gold-fields  made  in  188-3  immediately  attracted  thousands  of  speculators  and 
colonists  to  these  districts.  Point  Parker,  at  present  the  only  seaport  of  the  whole 
region,  is  sheltered  from  the  northern  winds  by  the  Bentinck  and  Jloniiiifftoii  insular 
groups. 

Queensland  has  not  yet  severed  the  administrative  ties  connecting  her  with  the 
British  Government.  The  Governor  and  Legislative  Council,  that  is,  the  Upper 
House,  are  still  nominated  by  the  Crown.  The  members  of  this  chamber  numbering 
thirty-six,  are  named  for  life,  while  the  Legislative  Assembly,  or  Lower  House,  is 
elected  by  universal  suffrage  for  five  years,  and  receives  no  payment  for  its  services. 
The  armed  forces  comprise  a  standing  corps  of  1,650,  about  600  volunteers,  and  136 
cadets.  A  gunboat  and  a  few  marines  are  charged  with  the  defence  of  the  coast- 
line, some  3,000  miles  in  length. 

New  South  W.^les. 

This  colony,  the  oldest  on  the  continent,  has  recently  celebrated  its  first 
centenary.  But  it  bears  a  name  which  recalls  its  dependence  on  England,  and 
which  certainly  presents  a  somewhat  cumbrous  and  inconvenient  form.  Hence  it 
has  been  frequentl)'  proposed  to  change  its  official  designation  for  the  simple  title 
of  "  Australia,"  just  as  the  United  States  have  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  the 
name  of  "America."  But  the  old  designation  .still  holds  its  ground,  owing  chiefly 
to  the  protests  of  the  other  Australian  states  against  this  assumption.  Doubtless 
there  was  a  time  when  Xew  South  Wales  really  comprised  all  the  European  settle- 
ments on  the  mainland  and  neighbouring  islands.  But  after  the  foundation  of 
West  Australia,  and  the  separation  of  Victoria  and  Queensland  from  the  mother 
colony,  this  state  was  reduced  to  little  more  than  one- tenth  of  the  continent. 

Yet  even  this  space  remains  out  of  all  proportion  with  its  relatively  slight 
population,  for  its  superficial  area  is  stiU  far  more  than  twice  that  of  the  British 
Isles.  The  southern  frontier  towards  Victoria  and  on  the  Pacific  slope,  follows  a 
straight  line  traced  across  mountains  and  valleys  between  the  south-eastern  head- 
laud  of  Cape  Howe  and  the  Pilot  Moimtain  on  the  main  range.  But  farther 
inland  the  common  limit  of  the  two  colonies  is  indicated  first  by  a  headstream  of 
the  Murray,  and  then  by  the  3Iurraj-  itself  as  far  as  141°  east  longitude.  Towards 
Queensland  the  border  line  is  marked  by  a  mountain  range  beginning  at  Danger 
Point,  and  then  in  the  Darling  basin  by  the  course  of  various  rivers  as  far  as  the 
29'  south  latitude,  which  cons*^itutes  a  conventional  frontier  across  the  boundless 
inland  plains. 

Since  the  abatement  of  the  gold  fever,  which  gave  a  temporary  ascendency  to 
Victoria  in  population  and  commercial  importance.  New  South  Wales  has  resumed 
its  natural  position  at  the  head  of  the  Australian  states.  She  is  no  doubt  less  rich 
in  gold ;  but  the  yield  of  this  metal  is  yearly  losing  its  relative  importance  in  the 
general  economy  of  the  continent,  while  wool,  which  has  most  contributed  to  the 


408 


AUSTRALASIA. 


development  o£  the  colonies,  is  produced  in  the  largest  quantities  in  New  Soutt. 
Wales.  Here  also  coal  mining,  and  several  other  less  important  industries  are  far 
more  developed  than  elsewhere,  and  the  claim  to  the  hegemony  among  the 
surroimding  j^olitical  groups  seems  strengthened  even  by  priority  in  point  of  time. 
Victoria,  Queensland,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand  were,  moreover,  to  a  great 
extent  founded  by  settlers  from  New  South  Wales,  and  the  very  spot  already 
indicated  by  Cook  has  thus  become  the  true  centre  of  the  Australasian  colonial 
world. 

The  site  chosen  in  1788  as  the  first  convict  station  at  the  antipodes  of  Great 

Fig.  17.5.— Botany  Bay. 
Scale  1  :  160,000. 


en 


Britain  still  remains  unoccupied  by  a  town  of  any  si^^e.  The  shores  of  Bofftiuj 
Bay,  whose  name  was  long  applied  to  the  aggregate  of  the  British  possessions  in 
Australia,  are  dotted  round  only  by  a  few  small  watering  places  and  scattered 
villas,  which  already  form  part  of  the  environs  of  Sydney.  The  approach  to  the 
harbour  is  indicated  by  the  monument  to  Cook,  who  discovered  this  bay  in  1770 ; 
farther  north  stands  the  statue  of  Laperouse,  who  sailed  in  1788  from  this  spot  on 
the  last  expedition,  from  which  he  never  returned.  The  names  of  Banks  and 
Solander  given  to  the  two  headlands  facing  each  other  on  either  side  of  the  channel 
also  perpetuate  the  memory  of  illustrious  pioneers  in  the  work  of  Australian 
discovery.     If  the  inlet  described  in  glowing  colours  by  these  first  explorers  has 


^-  Urn 


L13RASY 

OF  THE 


OF  THE 

JNlVERSlTyoflLi 


SYDNEY       A^ 


C  to  IGfe*T.     !atc3:f* 


LONDON,  J.  S   VIP.' 


ENVIRONS 


lyorth  IF' 

F 

/  •'  North  I 

The        Sound 

hjXLRi-  y.Head 
^SL-  Otiter  NJlead 

ObeLsJc-hav  /n^^r  SJiead 

*'    Batte^ 


<^ 


I.-:; 


\  Si.  6, 

At  Outer  SJL^aji 

,   .  V-    Sh^kP 

"  J    a    ^ 

/ 


^lon 


GirmJifftiJlif 


Wen^tn-lcySLafC'  >      Bondi 


"W&vTcriiry 


Bondi      / 
Bandj'biry 


I53°i5' 


o  mOf^      IGVf'upivard.'i. 


LiSRARY 

OF  THE 

iVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS. 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 


400 


since  been  abandoned  by  commerce,  the  neglect  was  not  due  to  any  lack  of  deep 
waters  or  of  sufficient  shelter  for  shipping,  but  to  the  marvellous  group  of  havens 
which  are  collectively  known  as  Port  Jackson,  and  which  are  scarcely  rivalled  in 
the  whole  world  for  extent,  safety,  and  nautical  advantages  of  every  kind.  The 
only  drawback  is  the  entrance  passage  betsveen  the  headlands,  which  is  scarcely 
quite  deep  enough  for  modern  ocean  vessels.     The  anchorage  has  a  total  area  of  9 


Fig.  176.— Sydney  iu  1S02. 
Scile  1 :  33,000. 


EasbcF  Greenwich 


or  10  square  miles,  and  the  .shore-line  of  the  inner  waters  with  their  bays  and 
secondary  creeks  is  no  less  than  50  miles  long. 

Si/diiri/,  founded  on  the  soiith  side  of  this  magnificent  harbour,  is  the  oldest  city 
in  Australia,  for  a  cj-cle  of  a  hundred  years  is  still  a  long  period  in  the  history  of 
Eiiropean  settlements  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  At  first  a  simple  convict 
station,  and  afterwards  the  headquarters  of  the  prisons  scattered  over  tlie  sur- 
rounding territory,  Sydney  long  remained   an  obscui-c  village  built  in  a  forest 


410  AUSTRALASIA. 

clearing  at  the  extremity  of  a  conspicuous  headland.  At  present  it  is  a  great 
capital,  whicli  competes  with  Melbourne  for  the  first  rank  in  the  oceanic  world, 
and  which  has  already  received  from  its  inhabitants  the  title  of  Queen  of  the  South. 
Thanks  to  the  numerous  windings  of  the  shores,  and  the  irregular  relief  of  the 
encirclino'  lands,  Sydney  has  nothing  of  that  insipid  monotony  so  characteristic  of 
most  Australian  and  American  cities.  Instead  of  resembling  a  chess-board  with 
square  blocks  of  uniform  size  and  structure,  it  is  laid  out  with  streets  of  varying 
proportions  running  up  hill  and  down  valley,  and  interrupted  by  creeks,  inlets,  and 
ridges,  by  which  the  irregular  plan  of  the  city  is  disposed  in  several  distinct 
quarters.  In  the  centre  lies  the  old  town  in  the  form  of  an  open  hand  stretching 
its  promontories  far  into  the  well-sheltered  roadstead.  Southwards  run  the  fine 
avenues  of  Woolomoloo,  while  animation  is  added  to  the  bright  scene  by  the  steam 
ferries  incessantly  plying  on  the  north  side  between  the  old  quarters,  the  new  town 
of  North  Shore  and  the  watering  place  of  Manly  with  its  double  beach,  one  exposed 
to  the  ocean  surf,  the  other  facing  the  tranquil  inland  sea. 

Every  street  thus  presents  a  constantly  varying  prospect  sweeping  over  the 
surrounding  hills,  the  harbour  with  its  innumerable  creeks  and  bays,  the  public 
gardens  and  more  distant  woodlands.  For  few  other  capitals  are  more  Kberally 
provided  with  parks  and  grassy  swards.  Moor  Park,  one  of  the  tracts  reserved  on 
the  south-east  side  as  a  public  pleasure-ground,  has  an  area  of  no  less  than  600 
acres,  while  another  open  space  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city  commands  a  superb 
panoramic  view  of  the  inland  waters  and  the  channels  communicating  with  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  A  project  has  been  formed  to  supply  the  city  with  fresh  water 
from  Lake  George,  which  lies  to  the  south-west  amid  the  Australian  Alps ;  but  in 
years  of  unusually  protracted  droughts  this  lacustrine  reservoir  has  itself  been 
almost  completely  dried  up. 

As  a  seaport  Sydney  occupies  a  vital  position  as  the  chief  centre  of  the  lines  of 
steam  navigation  in  the  Pacific,  as  well  as  of  the  coasting  trade  along  the  east 
Australian  seaboard.  Moreover,  the  harbour  is  so  vast  that  room  has  also  been 
found  for  the  development  of  an  ever-growing  inland  trafiic  for  the  transport  of 
passengers  and  the  distribution  of  merchandise  amongst  the  rising  markets  of  the 
interior.  Forts  erected  on  the  headlands  commanding  the  seaward  approaches 
defend  the  city  and  roadstead,  which,  however,  have  never  yet  been  attacked  by 
any  enemy. 

Compared  with  Melbourne,  the  only  other  place  which  aspires  to  the  first  rank 
on  the  Australian  Continent,  Sydney  has  the  great  advantage  of  occupying  a 
relatively  more  central  position  in  relation  to  the  whole  group  of  Austral  Colonies ; 
it  also  lies  nearer  to  the  oceanic  lauds  and  America,  thus  facing  inhabited  regions 
and  not  turned,  like  Melbourne,  towards  the  ice-bound  Antarctic  lands.  Amid  its 
rapidly  increasing  material  prosperity  Sydney  has  also  taken  a  pride  in  fostering 
the  arts  and  sciences  ;  besides  the  well-endowed  university  of  New  South  Wales  it 
has  founded  several  museums,  learned  societies,  and  a  vast  well-administered 
botanic  garden.  A  marine  zoological  station  was  lately  founded  by  the  Russian 
naturalist  Miklukho-Maklay  on  an  inlet  near  the  capital. 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 


411 


Sydney  is  connected  by  rail  with  all  tlie  important  towns  and  centres  of  popu- 
lation in  the  colony  and  the  neighbouring  states  of  Queensland,  Victoria,  and  South 
Australia.  In  May,  1889,  was  opened  the  great  steel  bridge  across  the  Hawkcsbury 
Eiver  between  the  Capital  and  Newcastle.     This  bridge,  which  has  seven  spans  of 


Fig.   177. — Newcastle. 
Scale  1  :  125,000. 


Ear.t  cF   Greer, 


500  feet  each,  completes  the  main  coast  line,  affording  uninterrupted  communication 
between  New  South  Wales  and  Queensland. 

Panimafta,  the  nearest  town  to  Sydney,  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  its  natural 
dependencies,  for  it  lies  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  same  bay,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  from  which  it  takes  its  name.  The  Paramattan  district  is  spoken  of  as 
the  orchard  of  Sydney,  and  here  are  grown  the  finest  oranges  on  the  continent. 

The  basin  of  the  Hawkesbury  River  north  of  Port  Jackson  has  no  towns 
properly  so  called ;  but  the  Hunter,  flowing  still  farther  north,  waters  one  of  the 


412  AUSTRALASIA. 

most  densely  peopled  districts  in  New  South  Wales.  Newcastle,  -n-hich  occiipies  a 
triangular  promontory  on  the  south  side  of  the  estuary,  is  the  second  city  in  the 
state,  and  some  20  miles  higher  up  stands  Maitland,  another  busy  centre  of  traffic, 
comprising  two  contiguous  communes  on  the  banks  of  the  Hunter,  which  is 
navigable  to  this  point.  Newcastle,  as  well  as  the  neighbouring  borough  of  Walls- 
end,  owes  its  name  to  the  rich  coal-mines  which  have  been  opened  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hunter,  and  which  both  in  quality  and  abundance  compare  favourably  with 
those  of  the  north  of  England.  The  export  coal  trade,  which  represents  about 
two-thirds  of  the  total  production  in  Australasia,  yearly  attracts  to  Newcastle  over  a 
thousand  colliers.  Thanks  to  this  industry  the  traffic  of  Newcastle,  a  place  founded 
but  yesterday,  already  exceeds  that  of  many  European  cities,  such  as  Nantes  and 
Cadiz.     Near  the  coalpits  several  factories  have  sprung  up. 

Port  Stephens,  Port  Macquarie,  and  the  other  seaports  following  northwards  in 
the  direction  of  Queensland  are  little  frequented.  Along  these  coastlands  the  only 
place  of  any  importance  is  Grafton,  which  owes  its  prosperity  to  the  neighbouring 
plantations,  and  to  its  deposits  of  gold,  copper,  antimony,  and  especially  tin.  Of 
these  the  Vegetable  Creek  or  Emmarille  mines  are  the  most  productive.  On  the 
opposite  slope  of  the  water-parting  in  the  pastoral  district  of  New  England  a  few 
small  towns  occur  at  long  intervals.  Of  these  Tamworth  is  the  chief  intermediate 
station  on  the  railway  connecting  Sydney  with  Brisbane.  Bathurst,  on  another 
line  running  from  Sydney  north-eastwards  in  the  direction  of  the  Darling,  is  a  still 
more  active  centre  of  trade.  Lying  2,300  feet  above  the  sea  in  an  upland  valley 
of  the  Blue  Mountains  draining  westwards  to  the  Darling  through  the  Macquarie 
River,  Bathurst  has  the  as^Ject  of  an  English  agricultural  town  surrounded  by  corn- 
fields, pastiire  lands,  and  scattered  clumps  of  trees.  Farther  on  the  main  line  is 
continued  across  a  region  of  the  same  a^Dpearance  through  Orange,  Wellington,  and 
Buhbo  to  Burlie,  which  stands  on  the  Darling  at  the  head  of  the  navigation  during 
the  floods.  Here  this  watercourse  is  known  by  the  name  of  Riverina  or  the 
"  Australian  Mesopotamia." 

Other  railwaj^s,  branching  ofE  from  the  trunk  line  between  Sydney  and  the  Blue 
Mountains  cross  the  affluents  of  the  Murray  and  the  Murray  itself,  touching  at  several 
mining  or  agricultural  centres  and  riverain  ports.  Of  these  places,  all  recently 
founded,  the  most  important  are,  Forbes,  on  the  Lachlan ;  Gundagai  and  Wagga- 
Wagga,  on  the  Morrumbidgee  ;  and  Albiiri/,  on  the  Murray.  Albury  esiJeciaUy  has 
made  rapid  progress  as  a  station  midway  between  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  and  as 
the  centre  of  extensive  tobacco  plantations  and  vinej'ards  jdelding  a  wine  of  ex- 
cellent quality.  At  this  point  the  Murray  is  crossed  by  a  long  bridge.  East- 
wards, beyond  the  course  of  the  Darling,  occur  the  silver  and  lead  mines  of  Silver- 
ton,  which  are  frequently  designated  by  the  name  of  Wileannia,  from  a  town  on  the 
banks  of  the  river. 

South  of  Sydney  the  ports  of  Wollongong,  Kiama,  Nowra,  and  Slioalhnven  do  a 
little  traffic  in  coal  and  agricultural  produce.  But  in  this  part  of  New  South  Wales 
the  chief  commercial  and  industrial  centre  is  the  inland  town  of  Goulburn,  which 
stands  on  an  uj^per  affluent  of  the  Hawkesbury,  2,180  feet  above  sea-level.     The 


NEW  SOUTH  WilLES. 


41S 


Goulburn  district,  with  certain  tracts  in  New  England,  is  the  best  cultivated  and 
most  productive  in  New  South  Wales.  In  1880  a  section  of  the  seaboard  between 
Sydney  and  WoUongong  was  set  apart  as  the  common  inheritance  of  all  Australian 
citizens.  This  "  national  park "  of  Port  Hackiiuj,  with  its  hills,  woodlands, 
navigable  streams  and  inlets  teeming  with  fish,  has  a  total  area  of  no  less  than 
37,000  acres. 

Lord  Howe  and  Norfolk  Islands,  with  the  contiguous   islets,  depend  adminis- 

Fig.  ITS. — NoEFOLK  Island. 
Scale  1  ;  110,000. 


Depths. 


tratively  on  New  South  "Wales,  although  they  belong  geographicallj'  to  New  Zea- 
land, as  shown  by  the  common  submarine  relief.  On  the  other  hand,  they  may  be 
said  to  constitute  little  worlds  apart  in  virtue  of  their  highly  characteristic  flora 
and  fauna.  Lord  Howe,  2,800  feet  high,  has  been  inhabited  since  1840  by  a  few 
families,  who  get  a  living  by  supplying  passing  vessels  with  provisions.  But  they 
do  not  appear  to  prosper,  judging  at  least  from  the  emigration,  by  which  tlu> 
little  community  has  been  reduced  from  three  hundred  to  some  forty  souls. 


411  AUSTRALASIA. 

Norfolk,  over  five  times  larger  than  Lord  Howe,  is  also  relatively  more 
densely  peopled.  At  the  time  of  its  discovery  by  Cook  in  1774  it  was  unin- 
habited ;  it  was  afterwards  chosen  by  the  British  Government  as  a  convict  station 
for  the  more  desperate  class  of  criminals,  who  were  at  first  treated  with  frightful 
rigour,  many  of  the  unhappy  wretches  being  shot  down  within  the  very  precincts  of 
the  church.  Later  several  more  or  less  successful  experiments  were  made  in  Norfolk 
Island  on  "  the  reformation  of  criminals."  But  the  station  was  abandoned  in  1842, 
and  the  island  again  remained  uninhabited  till  the  year  1856,  when  it  was  ceded 
by  the  Government  to  the  Pitcairn  Islanders,  descendants  of  British  mutineers 
who  had  married  Polynesian  women  and  overpeopled  their  native  island. 

These  half-castes,  who  now  number  over  six  hundred,  enjoy  self-government 
under  the  presidency  of  an  elected  magistrate,  but  really  controlled  by  Angli- 
can missionaries,  who  have  here  founded  a  large  school  for  about  two  hundred 
young  students  brought  from  Melanesia.  The  results  of  this  system  of  isolation 
and  strict  control  have  not  been  satisfactory :  the  natives  have  lost  the  spirit  of 
self-reliance  and  enterprise,  and  have  become  cringing  hypocrites  with  no  indus- 
tries or  manly  pursuits.  Even  agriculture  decays,  and  in  1885  not  more  than 
150  acres  were  imder  cultivation.  The  people  seem  to  weary  of  life,  and  even 
forget  to  marr}^  so  that  in  1884  only  one-fifth  of  the  adults  were  living  in  wed- 
lock. 

Like  Queensland,  New  South  Wales  depends  on  the  Crown  both  for  her 
Governor  and  the  Legislative  Council,  which  consists  of  twenty-one  members 
named  for  life.  But  the  Legislative  Assembly  is  elected  by  universal  suffrage, 
and  at  present  comprises  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  members,  or  two  for  each 
electoral  district.  At  each  official  census  this  number  is  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  increase  of  the  electors.  The  armed  forces  comprise  nearly  seven  thousand 
regulars  and  volunteers,  and  the  budget  is  much  heavier  per  head  of  the  popula- 
lation  than  that  of  Great  Britain  or  France. 

Victoria. 

This  is  the  smallest  in  extent,  but  relatively  the  most  densely  peopled  of  all  the 
colonies  on  the  mainland.  Yet  in  this  respect  it  still  falls  far  behind  the  average  of 
West  Europe,  the  number  of  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile  being  scarcely  eight  or 
nine.  In  absolute  population  Victoria  is  second  only  to  New  South  Wales,  from 
which  it  was  politically  detached  in  1851 ;  it  even  temporarily  occupied  the  first 
place  during  the  height  of  the  gold  fever.  To  this  cause  of  special  attraction  Victoria 
adds  an  advantage  of  paramount  importance  for  British  immigrants  in  a  climate, 
which  is  cooler  than  that  of  the  other  Australian  colonies,  and  in  its  variations 
more  analogous  to  that  of  Great  Britain.  Hence  the  title  of  Australia  Felix  given 
to  this  region  before  the  general  wish  of  the  people  induced  the  Government 
once  more  to  inscribe  the  name  of  Queen  Victoria  on  the  map  of  the  world. 

In  1851,  when  it  was  constituted  a  separate  state,  Melboiirnr,  its  capital,  had 
already  been  founded  sixteen  years.      But  compared   with  Sydney  it  was   still  a 


LIBRARY  ■ 

OF  THE 

■INIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


VICTOEIA.  415 

place  of  little  importaiice  ;   nor  did  the  great  rush  of  immigrants  take  place  till 


after  the  discovery  of  gold.     At  present  it  is  one  of  the  great  cities  of  the  liritish 


416  AUSTRALASIA. 

colonial  empire.  Melbourne,  the  "Magnificent,"  claims,  like  Rome,  to  be  built 
on  seven  bills,  and  in  the  Yarra-Yarra  it  may  also  boast  of  a  modest  Tiber  witji 
muddy  or  yellowish  waters.  Although  founded  at  some  distance  inland  it  has 
grown  rapidly  seawards,  and  has  already  lined  the  beach  with  monumental  quays 
and  facades.  The  numerous  suburbs,  each  with  a  town  hall  and  municif)ality,  and 
each  forming  a  chess-board  of  streets  and  squares  distinct  from  the  central  paral- 
lelogram, stretch  to  great  distances  in  all  directions,  and  collectively  comprise 
a  population  of  about  four  hundred  thousand,  or  rather  more  than  one  third  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  colonj-. 

Far  more  regularly  constructed  than  Sydney,  Melbourne  claims  also  to  possess 
in  the  Houses  of  ParUameut,  the  Governor's  Palace,  the  University,  museums, 
churches,  and  banks,  a  number  of  superb  monuments,  on  which  no  expense  has 
been  spared.  The  Kbraries  alreadj'  rival  in  importance  the  secondary  collections 
in  Europe,  and  the  Observatory,  established  in  the  midst  of  extensive  gardens  east 
of  the  city,  is  provided  with  the  most  costly  instruments  by  the  best  constructors. 
The  local  savants  have  even  largely  contributed  to  the  study  of  the  Austral  heavens, 
as  well  as  to  the  geological  exploration  of  the  continent.  In  Melbourne  has  been 
projected  that  expedition  of  discovery  in  the  Antarctic  seas,  which  the  parsimony 
of  the  Central  Govermnent  has  hitherto  prevented  from  being  equipped  and 
despatched.     Here  also  has  been  founded  the  Australasian  Geographical  Society. 

The  port  of  Melbourne,  discovered  by  Murray  in  1802  and  more  specially  de- 
signated by  the  name  of  Hobson's  Bay,  is  crowded  with  shipipiug,  amid  which 
hundreds  of  steamers  j)ly  from  shore  to  shore  of  the  roadstead.  The  ocean  packets 
stop  seven  or  eight  miles  below  the  city  proper,  near  the  quays  of  Sandridge,  or 
Port  Melbourne,  and  in  the  Williamstoivn  docks  at  the  extremity  of  a  tongue  of 
land  near  the  head  of  the  bay.  To  the  same  commercial  centre  belong  also  the 
towns  which  follow  round  the  vast  triangular  inlet,  the  head  of  which  forms  the 
port  of  Melbourne.  One  of  these  satellites  of  the  capital  is  the  town  of  Geeloitg, 
a  busy  centre  of  numerous  industries,  such  as  tanneries,  spinning-mills,  preserving 
establishments,  and  the  like.  The  founders  of  Geelong  hojjed  that,  being  situated 
nearer  the  sea,  this  place  would  soon  outstrip  Melbourne  as  a  commercial  mart. 
Qiieenscliff,  on  the  west  side  of  the  strait  or  "  Rip,"  giving  access  to  Port  Philiip, 
is  also  a  dependency  of  Melbourne,  its  watch-tower  and  chief  bulwark  towards  the 
southern  ocean  ;  east  of  this  gully  Nepean  Point  marks  the  site  of  the  buildings 
connected  with  the  quarantine  station. 

The  small  watering-places  dotted  round  the  shores  of  the  inlet  and  along  the 
adjacent  coast  are  all  indebted  for  their  prosperity  to  the  visitors  from  the  neigh- 
bouring capital.  Innumerable  villas  and  Kttle  rural  retreats  are  also  connected  with 
Melbourne  by  the  twelve  railways  radiating  in  all  directions  from  this  great  centre 
of  Australasian  life.  Some  ten  miles  to  the  north-east  lies  the  artificial  lake  Yan- 
Ycan,  14,000  acres  in  extent,  which  is  formed  by  the  River  Plenty,  a  tributary  of 
the  Yarra-Yarra.  This  great  reservoir  contains  about  6,380,000,000  gallons  of 
water,  or  suSieient  to  supply  the  city  for  a  twelvemonth  at  the  daily  rate  of  forty 
gallons  per  head. 


LI3RAKV 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV of  ILLINOIS, 


YICTOEIA. 


417 


In  the  thinly  peopled  hilly  district  east  of  ^Melbourne  the  most  important 
centres  of  population  are  Sale  in  the  agricultural  coast  region  of  Gripp's  Land,  and 
Beech  worth  in  the  heart  of  a  rich  auriferous  country  near  the  sources  of  the 
Murraj-.     Beyond  Melbourne  immigrants  have  been  attracted  in  the  largest  num- 


180. — Melbouene  aijd  Hobson's  Bat. 
Scale  1  :  850,000. 


0to32 
Feet. 

32  to  80 

Feet. 

80  to  160 
Feet. 

ISMilBi, 

160  Feet  and 
upwards. 

bers  to  the  region  which  occupies  both  slopes  of  the  watcrparting  for  a  space  of 
from  GO  to  100  miles  to  the  north-west  of  the  capital.  Here  were  discovered 
the  first  gold-fields  in  1851,  and  here  is  situated  Ballarat  {Ballaarat),  the  second 
city  in  Victoria,  standing  on  ground  every  clod  of  which  has  been  washed  for  the 
VOL.   xiv.  E  E 


418  AUSTRALASIA. 

precious  metal.  Since  those  daj's  Ballarat,  like  Melbourne,  has  surrounded  itself 
with  villas,  gardens,  plantations,  and  has  even  constructed  an  artificial  lake  in  the 
vicinity.  Other  flourishing  towns,  such  as  Smyihesdalc,  Cresicick,  Clunes,  Dayles/urd, 
Kyneton,  and  Castlemaine,  are  dotted  over  the  district,  beyond  which  follow  the 
prosperous  Sandhurst  or  Bend'ujo,  rival  of  Ballarat  itself,  and  Eaglehawk,  both  at 
the  northern  extremity  of  a  chain  of  hills  at  the  approach  of  the  plains  watered  by 
the  Bendigo  and  Campaspe  affluents  of  the  Murray.  Three  railwaj's  radiate  from 
Sandhurst,  one  of  which,  crossing  the  Mairraj^  on  a  bridge  1,900  feet  long  at  Eclmca, 
nms  northwards  through  New  South  Wales  to  the  flourishing  town  of  Deniliquin. 

Echuca,  the  chief  riverain  port  on  the  main  stream,  is  conveniently  situated  on 
a  peninsula  at  the  confluence  of  the  Campaspe. 

Although  not  quite  so  thinlj^  settled  as  Gipp's  Land,  the  western  part  of  Vic- 
toria has  not  yet  developed  any  important  centres  of  population.  Warrnambool, 
Belfad,  and  Portland  are  small  trading  places  following  each  other  along  the  coast 
westwards  from  Port  Phillip ;  but  Portland  is  likely  to  attract  a  considerable 
traffic  as  soon  as  the  roadstead  is  sheltered  by  the  new  breakwater  from  the  fierce 
south-east  gales.  In  the  interior  of  this  region  the  largest  settlements  are  Ararat 
and  Stairell,  both  foxmded  in  mining  districts.  The  Stawell  and  Sandhurst  gold 
mines  are  the  most  productive  in  the  colony ;  the  latter  had  been  sunk  in  1888  to  a 
depth  of  2,400  feet. 

Victoria  is  one  of  the  Australian  states  that  depend  least  on  the  Central  Gov- 
ernment, which  is  here  directly  represented  only  bj'^  the  Governor.  The  Legislative 
Council,  or  Upper  House,  is  elected  by  ballot,  each  of  the  fourteen  provinces 
naming  three  members,  one-third  of  whom  retire  every  two  years,  so  that  the  whole 
representation  is  renewed  every  six  years.  The  Legislative  Assembly,  or  Lower 
House,  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  consists  of  ninety-four  members  returned  for 
three  years,  and  receiving  an  allowance  of  £300  a  year.  No  allowance  is  made  to 
the  Legislative  Council,  the  members  of  which  body  must  possess  an  estate  of  the 
annual  value  of  not  less  than  £100,  while  the  electors  must  own  or  occupy  property 
rated  at  £  1 0  if  freehold,  or  £25  if  leasehold. 

The  land  forces  comprise  nearly  five  thousand  men  of  all  arms,  and  the  fleet, 
which  includes  an  armoured  turret-ship  and  several  gunboats  and  torpedo  boats,  is 
manned  by  about  five  hundred  hands. 

Tasmania. 

Although  the  smallest  in  extent  of  the  Australasian  colonies,  the  island  of 
Tasmania,  formerly  Van  Diem  en's  Land,  has  a  much  larger  population  than  the 
vast  territory  of  West  Australia  ;  relatively  to  the  superficial  area  it  is  even  the 
most  densely  peopled  of  all  these  states  with  the  single  exception  of  Victoria.  So 
early  as  180-4  it  began  to  serve  as  a  penal  station,  and  the  Central  Government 
continued  to  send  thither  convicts  from  Great  Britain  till  1853,  the  year  before 
Tasmania  entered  into  the  comity  of  the  Australasian  States :  but  after  its 
political  separation  from  New  South  Wales  it  received  most  of  its  free  immigrants 
from  that  colony.      But  the  discovery  of  the  gold-fields  on  the  mainland  brought 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

iNiVERSITV of  ILLINOIS. 


TASMANIA.  419 

about  a  reaction,  and  the  Tasmanians  ruslied  towards  the  new  Eldorado,  the 
prosperity  of  the  island  thus  diminishing  to  the  advantage  of  the  neighbouring 
continent.  Now,  however,  a  fresh  era  of  pi'osperit}'  has  set  in,  and  the  poinilation 
continues  steadily  to  increase. 

Tasmania  offers  to  British  settlers  a  climate  which,  more  than  any  other  in  the 
southern  hemisphere,  resembles  that  of  their  native  land.  Hence  during  the  dry 
and  sultry  Australian  summers,  numerous  temporary  visitors  come  from  Victoria 
and  New  South  Wales  to  enjoy  its  fresh  marine  breezes.  As  in  other  Australian 
colonies,  the  staple  export  is  wool;  but  the  island  also  possesses  deposits  of  tjn, 
gold,  and  silver ;  another  source  of  wealth  are  its  excellent  fruits,  which  grow  in 
such  abundance  that  the  greater  part  rot  on  the  ground.  Tasmania,  says 
Troll  ope,  should  prepare  jams  for  the  rest  of  the  world. 

The  island  contains  only  two  large  towns,  and  these  have  been  founded  at  (he 
northern  and  southern  extremities  of  the  depression  connecting  the  two  fjords 
that  penetrate  farthest  inland.  Both  cities  are  also  connected  by  a  railway,  and 
by  a  sjjlendid  highway,  constructed  by  convict  labour.  Laitnceston,  the  northern 
city,  is  the  chief  commercial  centre,  and  already  a  more  important  place  than  the 
Cornish  town  from  which  it  takes  its  name.  With  its  outer  port  of  Georgetown, 
situated  at  the  entrance  of  the  fjord  on  Bass  Strait,  it  monopolises  nearly  all  the 
trade  of  Tasmania  with  Melbourne,  from  which  it  is  distant  only  a  day's  voyage 
by  steam. 

Ilohnrt  Town,  or  simply  Hobarf,  the  southern  city,  has  like  Launceston  a 
harbour  accessible  to  vessels  of  average  size,  besides  an  outer  port  where  shif)s  of 
the  largest  tonnage  can  ride  at  anchor.  As  capital  of  the  island  Ilobart  possesses 
the  finest  buildings  and  the  chief  scientific  and  other  institutions  in  the  colony. 
Its  magnificent  park,  covering  an  area  of  over  a  thousand  acres,  commands  a 
panoramic  view  of  the  surrounding  scenery  almost  unrivalled  in  Australasia. 
The  western  horizon  is  bounded  by  Mount  Wellington,  often  snow-clad  in  winter, 
and  by  the  other  ranges  and  wooded  hills,  the  headlands  fringed  with  foaming 
surf.  Storm  Bay  and  the  winding  straits  merging  in  the  distance  with  the 
Austral_seas.  Eastwards  Storm  Bay  is  skirted  bj-  the  bold  promontory  of  Tasman 
Peninsula,  broken  b}^  numerous  secondary  headlands,  and  connected  with  the 
mainland  only  bj'  a  narrow  rocky  ridge.  At  the  southern  extremity  of  this 
peninsula  lies  the  inlet  of  Port  Arthur,  which  had  been  chosen  as  a  convict 
station  for  the  more  desjjerate  class  of  criminals,  hei-e  guarded  both  by  armed 
sentinels  and  ferocious  bloodhounds.  Now  that  these  painful  scenes  have  passed 
from  the  memory  of  living  generations.  Port  Arthiir  with  its  craggy  heights, 
cavernous  recesses  and  seething  waters  stands  out  as  one  of  the  most  romantic 
spots  along  the  seaboard.  At  the  southern  extremity  of  the  peninsula  all  vessels 
bound  for  Storm  Bay  and  the  Dcrwent  estuary  have  to  double  the  frowning  cliffs 
of  Cape  Raoul,  whose  black  columnar  basalt  rocks  are  encircled  by  a  white  line  of 
breakers.  On  the  west  side  of  the  bay  the  inlet  of  Oyster  Cove,  near  which 
perished  the  last  survivors  of  the  Tasmanian  race,  has  been  recently  converted 
into  an  oyster-bed  modelled  on  those  of  the  French  coast. 

The  western  districts  of    Tasmania,  mostly  a  rugged  mountain  region,    are 

EE  2 


420 


AUSTRMjASIA. 


almost  uninhabited  and  for  the  most  part  even  uninhabitable.  Here  the  bare 
rocky  heights,  at  most  covered  with  almost  impenetrable  scrub,  yield  no  fodder  for 
cattle,  and  are  clothed  in  a  snowy  mantle  for  eight  months  in  the  year.  No 
settlements  can  be  formed  in  these  bleak  tracts  except  at  the  entrance  of  a  few 
valleys  scarcely  sheltered  from  the  prevailing  boisterous  moisture-bearing  winds. 


181. — HOBAET    A^D    THE  DeeWENT   RiVEE. 
Soak  1  :  1,250,000 


rr-^-^^ 


'^T^T'^f^rjr^ 


-::,>^^^-,r  VI 


HOBAPfii 


0  to5 
atbomfl. 

5  to  M 
Fathoms. 

50  Fathoms  and 
upwards. 
36  Miks. 

In  this  inhospitable  region,  however,  are  found  all  the  mines  of  gold,  tin,  bi.'-inuth 
and  antimonj'  that  have  hitherto  been  opened  in  the  island. 

The  constitution  of  Tasmania  differs  little  from  that  of  Victoria  except  in  the 
number  of  members  composing  the  two  assemblies  forming  the  local  parliament. 
The  former,  numbering  eighteen,  are  elected  for  six,  the  latter  for  five  years.  The 
defen.sive  forces  comprise  nearly  1,000  volunteers  of  all  arms. 


LIBRARY     ■ 

OF  THE 

JNIVERSITV of  ILLINOIS, 


CHAPTER  IX. 


KEW  ZEALAND  AND  NEIGHBOURING  ARCHIPELAGOES. 

I  HE  insular  lioine  of  the  Maori  race,  wLich  penetrates  southwards  in 
the  direction  of  the  Antarctic  waters,  has  preserved  the  name 
bestowed  upon  it  by  its  Dutch  discoverer.  Although  the  most 
English  of  all  the  Australasian  colonics,  and  often  called  the 
"  Great  Britain  of  the  Antipodes,"  JS^ew  Zealand  thus  still  recalls 
the  memory  of  the  great  navigator  Abel  Tasman,  who  sighted  its  western  shores 
in  1642,  and  who  at  first  named  it  Staateu  Land,  in  the  belief  that  it  might 
possibly  be  continuous  with  the  other  so-named  Dutch  territory  lying  to  the 
south  of  America.  In  consequence  of  a  sanguinary  encounter  with  the  natives  of 
JIassacro  Bay  at  the  north-west  side  of  the  southern  island,  Tasman  continued  his 
northerly  course  to  the  extreme  headland  of  the  Archipelago  without  determining 
the  insular  character  of  the  lands  discovered  by  him. 

This  region  was  not  again  visited  till  the  year  1769,  when  Cook  touched  first 
at  an  inlet  on  the  east  coast  of  the  northern  island,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Poverty  Bay,  a  name,  however,  now  belied  by  the  magnificent  flocks  of  the  surround- 
ing pastoral  district.  Cook  then. coasted  the  seaboard  in  a  southerly  direction,  and 
by  circumnavigating  the  whole  group  showed  that  it  formed  no  part  of  the 
Austral  continent  which  he  had  hoped  to  have  at  last  discovered.  He  again 
visited  these  waters  on  each  of  his  two  subsequent  voyages,  and  altogether  passed 
327  days  in  surveying  the  archipelago,  the  chart  of  which,  prepared  bj'  him,  is 
remarkable  for  its  surprising  accuracy,  even  in  details.  Henceforth,  nothing 
remained  to  be  done  beyond  following  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast-line  and  e.xjjlor- 
ing  the  interior  of  the  islands.  The  very  year  of  its  re-discovery  bj-  Cook,  the 
French  navigator  Surville  landed  on  the  northern  island,  the  shores  of  which 
were  studied  three  years  later  by  Marion  and  Crozet.  Marion,  with  fourteen  of 
his  men,  was  here  massacred  b}'  the  nalives,  and  after  this  period  the  whalers 
began  to  visit  the  New  Zealand  \^aters,  without,  however,  founding  any  permanent 
settlements  on  the  se.iboard. 

The  earliest  attempts  at  colonisation  were  duo  to  the  enterprise  of  Australian 
immigrants.  A  missionary  station  founded  at  Pahia,  on  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  near  the  northern  extremity  of  the  archipelago,  was  soon  followed  by  a 
settlement  of    fishers   and  traders,  which   sjjrang  up  at  Korontrika  over  iigainst 


422  •  AUSTRALASIA. 

Pahiii,  and  which  was  peopled  by  whites  and  half-castes.  A  resident  magistrate 
was  ajjpoiuted  by  the  British  Government  with  jurisdiction  over  the  Europeans  of 
the  rising  colony,  but  without  claiming  any  authority  over  the  natives,  who  were 
regarded  as  a  sovereign  peofsle. 

Colonisation  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  that  is,  with  official  occupation  of 
the  land,  began  in  1840  by  the  foundation  of  the  New  Zmhiiid  Coiiipaiu/,  which 
purchased  territory  from  the  natives  and  selected  a  site  on  Port  Nicholson  at  the 
south  end  of  the  northern  island  as  the  capital  of  ics  possessions  and  the  starting- 
point  for  the  jjeopling  of  the  archipelago.  In  the  same  year  a  French  vessel 
belonging  to  the  Compagnie  Nanto-Bordelake  cast  anchor  in  Akaroa  Harbour,  at 
the  extremity  of  the  hilly  Banks  Peninsula,  near  the  j>resent  Christchurch,  in  the 
southern  island.  But  when  the  French  landed  they  found  that  they  had  been 
anticipated  by  some  British  officials  who  had  already  bought  the  land.  Hence  the 
French  colonists  had  to  establish  themselves  on  their  domain  of  30,000  acres  as 
subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  little  settlement  became  gradually  merged  in 
the  surrounding  English  population. 

This  attempt  at  colonial  annexation  in  the  name  of  France  had  the  effect  of 
stimulating  the  action  of  the  British  Government  and  territorial  companies.  The 
latter,  without  even  awaiting  official  approval  or  sanction,  hastened  to  found 
villages  along  the  seaboard,  and  to  land  immigrant  families  by  the  hundred.  In 
1841  New  Zealand,  ceasing  to  be  regarded  as  a  jiolitical  dependency  of  New  South 
Wales,  assumed  the  title  of  a  distinct  colony,  and  twelve  years  later,  when  its 
white  population  already  numbered  some  thirty  thousand  souls,  it  took  its  place 
amongst  the  Constitutional  States  of  the  British  colonial  empire.  This  event  was 
followed  in  1857  by  the  discovery  of  the  gold-fields,  which  made  the  fortune  of  the 
colony  by  attracting  thousands  of  capitalists' and  miners.  Henceforth  the  popula- 
tion rapidly  increased,  and  the  archipelago  now  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading 
Australasian  states,  as  well  as  relatively  one  of  the  most  densely  peopled. 

Although  separated  by  Cook  Strait  the-  two  large  members  of  the  group  are 
naturally  comprised  imder  the  collective  name  of  New  Zealand,  for  they  form  in 
reality  but  a  single  geographical  unit,  disposed  in  the  same  direction,  presenting 
tlie  same  physical  conformation  and  standing- on  a  common  submarine  bed.  The 
North  Island,  Marion's  "Austral  France,"  is  the  smaller  of  the  two,  and  is 
occasionally  designated  by  the  Maori  name  of  Ika  na  Maui,  the  "  Fish  of  IMaui," 
in  reference  to  a  native  heroic  legend.  Another  Maori  name  is  Aotea-roa,  that  is, 
the  "  Great  Expanse,"  or  according  to  Kerry  NichoUs,  the  "  Bright  Sun." 

The  South  Island  bears  the  native  appellation  of  Tevahi  Panamu,  which, 
though  variously  interpreted,  probably  means  "  Laud  of  Jade"  (A.  S.  Thomson). 
Foveaux  Strait  separates  South  Island  from  the  much  smaller  but  steep  and 
elevated  Stewart  Island  (3,000  feet),  which  was  also  for  a  time  formerly  known  as 
South  Island.  This  is  the  Raki-rua,  or  "  Arid  Land "  of  the  Maoris.  The 
archipelago  terminates  southwards  in  the  isolated  peak  of  the  Snares,  which  is 
encircled  by  a  few  rocky  islets  first  sighted  by  Vancouver  in  1791. 

Many  geographei-s  have  called  attention  to  the   remarkable   resemblance  of 


NEW  ZEALAND.  423 

New  Zealand  in  its  outward  form  to  the  Italian  Peninsula,  disposed,  howerer, 


h     I 


'li:illi:l!l!.!i!il:.'rilli«IIIIIIIIIIMIIt.i.;,,,'.;'illtlHilllii„ 


Mi jl. iliiL'lii'iiH..,:  ,..it,  ltil„OH!.llilM..I'JCMIjmii llTliii, I , „ ll: Wiaijl, lllijlji I 


iu  a  reversed  direction.      Thus   the  north-west   point  corresponds   to  the   Cala- 


424  AUSTRALASIA. 

brian  pouinsula,  wbile  tlic  nortli-east  extremity  recalls  the  "  heel  "  of  Otranto. 
Nevertheless,  in  their  general  relief  the  two  antipodal  regions  present  scarcely 
any  analogy. 

The"  general  lie  of  the  land  is  from  south-west  to  north-east,  and  the  submarine 
exploration  of  the  Pacific  also  shows  that  in  this  part  of  the  ocean  the  other  insular 
groups  are  disclosed  in  a  like  direction.  The  same  remark  apjilies  to  various 
other  islets,  such  as  the  little  Auckland  Archipelago,  the  volcanic  rocks  of  Camp- 
bell and  Macquarie,  and  Emerald  Island,  discovered  at  the  beginning  of  this 
century.  North  of  New  Zealand  the  chain  of  ujDheaved  land  becomes  slightly 
deflected  and  is  continued  through  the  Kermadec  Islets  to  the  Tonga  Archipelago. 
Lastly,  the  Chatham,  Bounty,  and  Antipodes  groups,  lying  more  to  the  east,  are 
all  disposed  parallel  to  the  general  axis  of  New  Zealand.  The  Antipodes,  better 
named  the  Penantipodes  by  Waterhouse,  who  discovered  them  in  1850,  scarcely 
deserve  their  name,  for  they  do  not  stand  quite  opposite  the  Observatory  of  Green- 
wich, as  was  supposed  by  the  English  explorer.  Their  position  (49°  42'  south  lat., 
178°  43'  east  long.)  corresponds  exactly  to  Barfleur  Point  on  the  opjDoeite  face  of 
the  globe,  that  is,  120  miles  soufh-west  of  the  astronomic  point  indicated  by 
Waterhouse.  The  Antipodes  are  inaccessible  granite  rocks  pierced  with  caverns  . 
and  galleries  through  which  the  water  rushes  with  thundering,  echoes.  Mount 
Galloway,  culminating  point  of  the  large  island,  rises  to  a  height  of  1,320  feet. 

On  the  west  the  mainland  is  continued  by  two  elevated  submarine  banks, 
which  take  a  north-westerly  direction.  One  of  these  banks,  terminating  in  the 
pyramidal  rocks  of  the  Lord  Howe  group,  is  sepiarated  by  deep  waters  from 
Moreton  Bay  on  the  Queensland  coast.  The  other,  forming  a  seaward  prolongation 
of  the  north-west  peninsula  of  New  Zealand,  rises  above  the  surface  at  Norfolk 
Island,  and  again  at  the  Chesterfield  Reefs,  west  of  New  Caledonia,  beyond  which 
it  merges  in  the  Great  Barrier  Reef.  These  relatively  shallow  oceanic  waters, 
where  the  soundings  seldom  reveal  depths  of  over  900  fathoms,  are  supposed  by 
some  geologists  to  indicate  the  line  of  direction  of  the  now  submerged  lands 
formerly  connecting  New  Zealand  and  Australia  in  a  vast  continent  corresponding 
to  Africa  and  South  America  in  other  parts  of  the  southern  hemisphere.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view  the  New  Zealand  highlands  would  form  the  eastern  coast  range  of 
the  drowned  continent,  although,  unlike  most  other  coast  ranges,  they  do  not 
rise  above  the  deepest  oceanic  waters.  The  sea  is  much  shallower  at  the  foot  of 
the  New  Zealand  Alps  than  along  the  east  side  of  the  Australian  Aljjs. 

Physical  Features  of  South  Island. 
The  Aljjine  chain  which  gives  the  South  Island  such  a  striking  resemblance 
to  the  Scandinavian  uplands  begins  with  the  volcanic  group  of  the  Snares,  beyond 
which  it  traverses  Stewart  Island,  a. fragment  of  a  hilly  plateau,  consisting,  like 
the  mainland,  of  granites  and  old  sedimentary  formations.  The  backbone  of  the 
South  Island  mainly  follows  the  west  coast,  which  is  very  steep,  with  rocky  walls 
rising  in  many  places  abruptly  above  the  neighbouring  waters.  On  the  other 
hand  the  eastern  slope  is   relatively  but   slightly  inclined,  but  here  the  fall  is 


NEW  ZEALAND— SOUTH  ISLAND.  425 

broken  by  ridges  running  parallel  to  the  main  axis  and  consisting  chieflj'  of  debris 
that  has  been  carried  by  ancient  moraines  down  to  the  valleys.  In  the  southern 
part  the  uplands  present  the  aspect,  not  of  a  continuous  range,  but  rather  of  a 
plateau  from  3,500  to  4,000  feet  high  dotted  over  with  pyramidal  eminences 
some  hundred  j-ards  high.  But  this  plateau  gradually  contracts  northwards  until 
at  Milford  Sound  it  is  reduced  to  a  mere  crest  dominated  by  the  tower-shaped 
Castle  Mountain  (7,210  feet).  Beyond  Milford  Sound  the  range  rises  higher  and 
higher,  presenting  a  succession  of  snowj-  peaks  as  far  as  Mounts  Earnslaw  (9,16-5  feet) 
and  Aspiring  (9,940  feet),  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  southern  limits  of  the  New 
Zealand.  Alps  properly  so-called.  This  range,  however,  is  abruptly  interrupted  by  a 
gorge,  no  similar  example  of  which  is  presented  by  any  other  large  mountain  system. 
Ascending  a  steep  ravine,  which  is  traversed  by  a  foaming  torrent,  and  crossing  a 
sill  about  16  feet  high  composed  of  debris,  we  reach  a  narrow  plain  sloping  imper- 
ceptibly westwards  down  to  the  basin  of  the  river  Awarua  (Haast).  The  gorge, 
which  can  hardly  be  called  a  pass,  has  like  the  neighbouring  river  been  named 
after  the  late  geologist  and  explorer,  Yon  Haast,  to  whom  we  owe  the  most  careful 
study  of  the  New  Zealand  orographic  systems. 

N'orth  of  the  transverse  fissure  the  mountains  still  contintie  to  rise,  and  in  this 
part  of  the  island,  about  the  middle  of  the  waterparting,  stands  the  giant  of  New 
Zealand,  the  "  heaven-piercing  "  Ahravaigi,  now  Mount  Cook,  which  attains  an 
altitude  of  13,200  feet.  This  glittering  peak  overtops  all  other  summits,  which 
have  for  the  most  part  been  named  after  distinguished  naturalists,  such  as  Darwin, 
Lyell,  Hochstetter,  EHe  de  Beaumont,  and  Malte-Brun.  North  of  Mount  Cook 
the  Alps  maintain  an  elevation  of  over  8,000  feet  without  any  great  breaks  for  a 
distance  of  about  120  miles,  as  far  as  Harper's  Pass,  which  affords  a  communication 
3,500  feet  high  between  both  slopes.  But  although  this  is  the  terminal  point  of 
the  Alpine  crest,  some  lofty  masses,  such  as  Mount  FrankKn  (10,000  feet),  still 
occur  in  the  line  of  the  main  axis. 

Farther  on  the  system  ramifies  in  all  directions,  the  highest  ridge  continuing 
to  follow  the  west  coast,  where  the  last  lofty  summit  is  Mount  Arthur,  5,800  feet 
high.  One  of  the  offshoots  of  this  branch  sweeps  round  Golden  Bay  to  Cape 
Farewell,  north-eastern  extremity  of  the  island.  It  was  in  this  district  that  the 
natives  found  the  nephrite  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  arms  and  ornaments 
which  were  so  highly  valued  by  the  chiefs. 

The  New  Zealand  Alps  rise  high  above  the  lower  limit  of  perpetual  snow, 
which  here  stands  at  from  about  7,900  to  8,000  feet.  Round  Mount  Cook  the 
snowfields  cover  many  hundreds  of  square  miles,  dominated  by  glittering  peaks 
and  discharging  glaciers  down  both  slopes  of  the  mountains.  On  the  east  side 
descend  such  magnificent  frozen  streams  as  the  Tasman,  commanded  eastwards  by 
the  isolated  peak  of  Malte-Brun,  whose  outlines  vaguely  recall  those  of  the  Cerviu. 
In  amplitude  the  Tasman  may  be  compared  withthe  largest  glaciers  of  the  Euro- 
pean Alps,  being  12  miles  long,  and  nearh*  2  broad  at  its  lower  extremit}-,  which 
is  still  2^340  feet  above  sea-level ;  but  the  greater  part  of  its  surface  remains  con- 
cealed beneath  heaps  of  shingle  and  mud. 


42G 


AUSTEAI.ASIA. 


On  the  west  side  the  glaciers,  being  fed  by  more  abundant  snows,  descend  much 
lower,  that  of  Cook  approaching  to  within  790  feet  of  the  sea-level.  But  here  the 
valleys  are  too  short  to  allow  the  congealed  rivers  the  same  development  as  on  the 
east  slope.  On  both  sides,  however,  all  the  glaciers  were  formerly  far  more 
extensive  than  at  present,  as  shown  by  the  still  existing  moraines,  polished  rocks, 


Fig.   183. — Tasjian  Glacier. 
Scale  1  :  SUD.OOO. 


' 

H 

#^ 

M 

% 

I 

■' ■  ■  \ 

and  lakes.     According  to  Green  the  Now  Zealand  glaciers  have  again  enfere.l  on  a 
period  of  expansion. 

While  the  highlands  are  still  in  the  glacial  epoch,  the  plains,  and  especially 
those  of  South  Island,  have  reached  the  lacustrine  phase.  The  beds  of  the  former 
frozen  streams  are  now  partly  filled  by  lakes,  which  are  dammed  up  at  their  lower 
end  by  old  frontal  moraines,  and  which  higher  up  are  gradually  being  filled  up 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

J NIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS, 


NEW  ZEALAND— SOUTH  ISLAND.  427 

by  the  sedimentary  matter  washed  down  with  the  mountain  torrents.  Without 
counting  numerous  sparkling  ponds  or  tarns  less  than  a  square  mile  in  extent, 
South  Island  contains  about  sixty  basins,  some  of  which  cover  an  area  of  over  40 
square  miles  and  fill  cavities  300  feet  and  upwards  deep.  Nearly  all  these  great 
reservoirs  are  grouped  in  the  southern  part  of  the  island  and  on  the  east  slope  of 
the  mountains.  Rising  abniptlj'  above  the  western  seaboard,  the  New  Zealand  Alps 
have  too  precipitous  a  slope  on  this  side  to  allow  the  running  waters  to  collect  in 
large  basins.  But  the  opposite  decKvity  and  the  plains  stretching  thence  to  the 
east  coast  present  numerous  depressions  where  the  glaciers  have  been  replaced  by 
lakes,  most  of  which  have  been  formed  in  the  intermediate  zone  between  the 
uplands  and  the  plains.  A  straight  line  drawn  across  the  chief  flooded  basins 
from  north-east  to  south-west  for  a  distance  of  about  200  miles  would  run  parallel 
to  the  main  Alpine  chain,  and  would  represent  the  direction  of  the  axis  of  the 
southern  island. 

The  northern  group  of  lakes  east  of  the  highest  section  of  the  Alps  appears  to 
be  merely  the  remains  of  a  labyrinth  of  inland  waters,  which  formerly  occupied 
the  vast  llackenzie  Plains,  and  which  are  now  disposed  in  countless  secondary 
cavities  by  moraines,  heaps  of  erratic  boulders,  dams  and  sedimentary  dejDosits. 
These  basins — Te  Kapo,  Pukaki,  Ohau — were  formerly  much  deeper,  and  are  now 
rapidl}'  silting  up,  just  as  those  farther  north  have  already  been  filled  in  which 
were  at  one  time  traversed  by  the  river  Walmakariri.  The  dav  may  be  predicted 
when  the  glacial  waters  of  the  Waitaki,  which  now  issue  in  a  crystal  stream  from 
the  flooded  depressions,  will  roll  down  in  a  tiu'bid  current  to  the  plains.  Although 
its  course  scarcely  exceeds  120  miles  in  length,  the  Waitaki  is  none  the  less  a  great 
river,  according  to  W.  N.  Blair  five  times  more  voluminous  than  the  Thames, 
although  this  writer  gives  no  data  in  support  of  his  statement.* 

Farther  south  the  Clutha,  which  receives  the  overflow  of  the  central  gi-oup  of 
lakes,  is  a  much  larger  watercourse,  being  compared  by  the  same  author  with  the 
Nile.  It  is  certainly  the  first  river  in  New  Zealand  both  for  size  and  A'olume,  its 
catchment  basin  exceeding  8,000  square  miles  in  extent.  The  Clutha  has  also 
been  more  thoroughly  explored  than  any  other  stream  in  South  Island,  thanks  to 
the  rich  gold-fields,  which  since  the  year  1862  have  attracted  thousands  of  miners 
to  the  region  about  its  headwaters.  "Wakatipu,'  one  of  the  lakes  belonging  to  this 
sj'stem,  is  no  less  than  50  miles  long,  but  only  from  1  to  3  miles  wide.  It  thus 
presents  the  aspect  of  a  winding  river,  without  visible  current,  with  a  mean  depth 
of  no  less  than  1,200  feet,  and  in  its  profoundest  chasms  sinking  to  1,400  feet.  On 
both  sides  the  encircling  hills  jjlunge  abruptly  into  these  abysmal  watci's. 

Te  Anau,  largest  of  all  New  Zealand  lakes,  lies  beyond  the  Clutha  basin  at  the 
head  of  the  Waiau,  a  short  stream  flowing  to  the  south  coast.  The  lake  fills  a  long 
valley  and  several  tributary  branches  for  a  space  of  140  square  miles,  and  in  its 
deepest  part  the  soimding  line  has  measured  940  feet.  Te  Anau  is  separated  by  a 
narrow  isthmus  from  Manapuri  (ilanipori),  another  lacustrine  basin,  which  is  also 
said  to  be  very  deep,  and  which  branches  into  numerous  creeks  and  buys,  winding 

*  Scottish  Geographical  Magazine,  Xovemlier,  1887. 


428 


AUSTRALASIA. 


between  numcroas  islands  and  steej)  rocky  headlands.  Tlie  Maoris  who  formerly 
dwelt  in  these  now  almost  deserted  uplands  never  ventured  without  a  sense  of  awe 
to  approach  the  shores  of  this  lake,  in  whose  gloomy  waters  were  reflected  the  dark 
forest-clad  slopes  of  the  encircling  hills.  The  name  Manapiiri,  that  is,  "  Sad  Heart," 
possibly  expresses  the  sense  of  melancholy  inspired  iu  them  by  the  god  concealed 
in  this  silent  lake. 

To  the  lakes  on  the  east  slope  correspond  the  fiords  indenting  the  west  side  of 


IS-t. — FiOKDS  OP  South-West  New  Zealand. 
Scale  1 :  2,900,000. 


Fast  oF  Greenwich  I6/' 


the  southern  plateau  of  the  New  Zealand  Alps.  Both  are  of  analogous  formation, 
the  only  difference  being  that  the  eastern  depressions  are  flooded  with  freshwater, 
while  those  on  the  west  are  saltwater  basins  communicating  with  the  sea.  In  this 
region  of  the  archipelago  the  contrast  is  consequently  the  same  as  that  presented 
by  the  eastern  and  western  valleys  of  the  Scandinavian  Peninsula,  where  Sweden 
■with  its  lacustrine  and  fluvial  valleys  corresponds  to  Norway  with  its  marine 


NEW  ZEALAND— SOUTH  ISLAND. 


429 


indented  seaboard.  As  in  the  northern  region,  the  ]Vew  Zealand  fiords,  or  sounds, 
as  they  are  here  called,  occur  only  at  the  issue  or  at  the  converging  points,  where 
glaciers  filled  the  primitive  valleys,  protecting  them  from  the  deposits  of  debris 
which  were  formed  round  about  wherever  the  surface  was  not  covered  with  layers 
of  ice.  Neither  moraines  nor  alluvial  matter  could  help  to  fill  these  profound 
depressions,  which  were  preserved  in  their  original  form  by  the  frozen  streams 
occupying  all  their  cavities. 

Eut  as  soon  as  the  glaciers  withdrew  above  sea-level  and  their  lower  reaches 
became  gradually  converted  into  running  waters,  the  levclling-iip  process  set  in. 
Avalanches,  laudsliiDS,  torrents,  marine  waves,  and  currents  combined  to  fill  up  the 

Fig.  ISo. — Beeaksea  and  Dusky  Sou^^)3. 
Scilo  1  :  600  oon. 


^^  "i^^BhmlL.iS^'it  i  A 


i^Mso 


EasbcF  Green.. 


Depths. 


ion  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


basins,  which  thus  became  transformed  at  first  to  chains  of  lakes,  then  to  swampy 
tracts  and  fertile  plains.  All  the  fiords  that  formerly  existed  north  of  44°  S.  lati- 
tude have  already  been  obliterated,  and  those  still  surviving  are  now  all  concentrated 
in  a  space  about  80  miles  long  in  the  south-west  corner  of  South  Island.  The 
largest,  as  was  to  be  expected,  are  those  which  open  exactly  at  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  seaboard.  Such  are  Preservation  Inlet,  Dark  Cloud  Inlet  (Chalky 
Sound),  and  Dusky  Sound,  which  last  has  an  area  of  no  less  than  80  square  miles. 
The  northernmost  fiord  in  New  Zealand,  or  in  any  region  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere, is  !Milford  Sound,  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water,  in  which  are  mirrored  the 
surrounding  snowy  crests,  glittering  peaks  and  verdant  headlands.     Sheer  above 


430  AUSTRALASIA. 

the  surface  rise  the  rocky  walls  of  the  encircling  hills,  through  whose  fissures  are 
precipitated  several  sparkling  waterfalls. 

All  the  New  Zealand  fiords  offer  a  general  resemblance  in  the  length,  narrow- 
ness, and  great  depth  of  their  troughs,  which  present  as  a  rule  but  few  ramifica- 
tions. Nevertheless  several  are  connected  by  lateral  branches,  which  thus  form 
islands  of  regular  outline  along  the  seaboard.  In  the  central  parts  these  inlets  have 
an  average  depth  of  over  700  feet,  while  Milford  Sound,  deepest  of  all,  averages 
1,180  feet.  All  without  exception  have  a  sill  or  bar  at  the  entrance,  like  the  "sea- 
bridges  "  of  the  Norwegian  fiords,  and  the  seaboard  is  everywhere  washed  by 
relatively  shallow  waters.  Depths  equal  to  those  of  the  sounds  are  not  met  in  the 
open  sea  within  CO  miles  of  the  coast. 

Is  this  phenomenon  due  to  the  vast  quantities  of  refuse  formerly  brought  down 
by  the  glaciers  from  the  uplands  ?  Or  are  the  submarine  banks  the  remnants  of 
mountain  ranges  first  destroyed  and  then  redistributed  in  regular  layers  ?  Or  are 
they  to  be  referred  to  geological  agencies  more  potent  than  the  glaciers  ?  The 
general  form  of  the  coast,  disposed  in  regular  convex  curves  between  the  fiord 
estuaries,  seems  to  point  at  the  action  of  a  powerful  current,  by  which  the  old 
beach  was  eroded  and  the  debris  deposited  far  seawards.  On  the  east  side,  on  the 
contrary,  the  land  has  encroached  on  the  marine  waters,  the  rivers  with  their 
sedimentary  matter  developing  vast  alluvial  plains  protected  at  two  points  from 
erosion  by  volcanic  promontories.  One  of  these  is  Cape  Saunders,  under  the  shelter 
of  which  Otago  harbour  has  been  opened ;  the  other  is  th6  much  bolder  Banks 
Peninsula,  a  superb  and  completely  isolated  mountain  mass  indented  with  several 
deep-water  creeks  and  bays,  such  as  Akaroa  Harbour,  Pigeon  Bay,  Port  Levy,  and 
Port  Cooper.  The  south  side  of  Banks  Peninsida  is  connected  with  the  mainland 
by  a  strip  of  marine  sands  enclosing  an  extensive  m\iddy  lagoon.  The  whole 
formation  presents  a  surprising  resemblance  to  Monte  Argentaro  on  the  Italian 
coast.  Excluding  the  minor  indentations  and  windings  of  the  seaboard,  Thomson 
estimates  the  whole  New  Zealand  coast-line  at  over  3,000  miles. 

Physical  Features  of  North  Island. 
Despite  the  deep  gap  caused  by  Cook  Strait,  the  eastern  ridges  of  South  Island 
are  continued  on  the  opposite  side  by  low  parallel  crests  disposed  in  the  same 
normal  direction  from  south-west  to  north-east.  But  while  in  the  south  the  Alpine 
system  skirts  the  west  coast,  in  North  Island  the  ranges  are  developed  along  the 
east  side,  or  at  least  within  50  miles  of  the  shoi'e.  The  foundation  on  which  they 
rest  forms  almost  a  separate  region,  a  long  quadrilateral  terminating  in  the  south- 
west and  north-east  in  massive  peninsulas,  and  attached  to  the  rest  of  the  mainland 
by  extensive  plains  and  rocky  ridges,  which  south  of  Lake  Taupo  rise  to  a  height  of 
about  3,000  feet.  In  this  eastern  region,  the  culminating  point  is  Mount  Ilikurang 
(5,550  feet),  which  is  situated  not  far  from  East  Cape.  The  short  Kaimawana 
chain,  whose  wooded  slopes  are  often  snow-clad  to  the  summit,  belongs  to  the  same 
orographic  system  in  its  general  disposition  and  the  character  of  its  old  rocks, 
schists,  sandstones,  and  quartz  interspersed  with  veins  of  diorite.     The  crests  of 


NEW   ZEALAND— NORTH    ISLAND. 


431 


K;iimawana,  which  lies  near  the  centre  of   the  ishiiid,  attain  an  altitude  of  5,900 
feet. 

"West  of   these  uplands  the  rest  of   the  island  is  occupied  by  volcanic  masses, 
disposed  for  the  most  part  without  a^jparent  order  and  separated  from  one  another 


Fig.  186.— Cook  Stkait. 

Scale  1  : 3,000,000. 


t  ■jtsk  or  Cr-eenw  ch 


Depths 


by  lakes  and  deep  valleys.  Mount  Euapehu,  highest  in  North  Island,  forms  a 
whole  cluster  of  'cones  whose  common  bpse,  resting  on  a  plateau  over  3,000  feet 
high,  has  a  circuit  of  no  less  than  GO  miles.  From  the  two  snowy  points  of  the 
loftiest   pyramid,  nearly  9,000   feet  high,   the  eye   sweeps   over  a  vast  horizon 


432  AUSTRALASIA. 

embracing  uearl}'  the  wliole  island  away  to  the  easternmost  headlands.  The 
western  slopes  of  the  extinct  volcano  are  finely  timbered,  while  on  the  other  side 
stretches  the  uninhabitable  Onetapu  desert  thickly  strewn  with  the  ashes  and  scoriae 
ejected  from  the  Ruapehu  craters  at  some  unknown  epoch.  But  at  one  time  even 
this  dreary  solitude  was  covered  with  large  forest  trees,  whose  charred  stems  are 
found  beneath  the  overlying  refuse. 

A  level  space  of  about  5  miles  separates  the  base  of  Ruapehu  from  that  of  the 
still  active  Tongariro  volcano,  which  rises  farther  north  on  a  pedestal  about  3,000 
feet  high.  But  the  deep  trough  encircling  the  mountain  seems  to  show  that 
perhaps  at  one  time  there  stood  on  this  spot  a  vast  crater,  from  which  gradually 
rose  the  Tongariro  cone,  a  perfectly  regular  pile  of  ashes  and  scoria),  whose  terminal 
crater  according  to  NichoUs  is  now  about  8,200  feet  high.  The  volcano,  nearly 
always  in  a  state  of  eruption,  was  till  recently  strictly  "  tabooed  "  by  the  natives. 
Nevertheless  it  has  been  scaled,  its  summit  affording  a  superb  view  of  the  great 
crater  and  smaller  lateral  mouths  vomiting  forth  dense  clouds  of  sulphurous 
vapours.  Across  the  wreaths  of  smoke  waving  on  the  breeze  the  observer  detects 
a  few  pools  of  blue  water  flooding  the  terminal  depressions  of  the  parasitic 
volcanoes.  Farther  north  Mount  Ketotahi  also  discharges  dense  vapours,  while 
the  regular  cone  of  Mount  Pihanga,  commanding  the  south  side  of  the  great  Lake 
Taupo,  has  long  been  extinct.  A  Maori  chief  recently  deceased  has  bequeathed 
the  volcanic  masses  of  Ruapehu  and  Tongariro  to  the  New  Zealand  fieople  as 
a  "  national  park,"  to  be  guarded  for  ever  from  the  encroachments  of  private 
property. 

Lake  Taupo,  occupying  almost  exactly  the  geographical  centre  of  North 
Island,  also  belongs  to  the  New  Zealand  volcanic  system  ;  the  hypothesis  has  even 
been  advanced  that  it  was  formerly  a  crater  of  prodigious  size.  This  view  is 
certainly  not  justified  by  the  irregxilar  form  of  the  basin,  which,  however,  is 
bordered  by  volcanoes,  whence  have  been  discharged  enormous  quantities  of  lava, 
pumice  and  scorite.  The  first  eruj^tions  jDrobably  took  place  beneath  the  sea,  the 
ejected  matter  gradually'  separating  from  the  ocean  a  large  inlet,  which  in  course 
of  time  became  transformed  to  a  saltwater  and  then  to  a  freshwater  lake  by  the 
action  of  rain,  snow  and  other  agencies. 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  the  Maori  word  Taujjo  has  the  meaning  of 
"  Formerly  Flooded  RocTi,"  as  if  the  natives  had  a  tradition  about  the  gradual 
upheaval  of  the  land.  All  the  central  ptirt  of  the  island  west  of  the  old  formations 
doniinant  along  the  main  axis  consists  of  pumice  several  hundred  yards  thick  and 
covered  with  humus  partly  derived  from  disintegrated  trachytes.  The  mountaii.s 
in  the  east,  the  volcanoes  in  the  west  and  the  ashes  and  scoria  in  the  intermediate 
space,  have  pent  up  the  central  reservoir,  thereby  raising  its  level  to  the  convex 
surface  of  the  shield-shaped  plateau  which  occupies  the  central  part  of  North 
Island.  Taupo  stood  at  one  time  even  at  a  higher  level,  as  shown  by  the  clear 
lines  of  the  old  beaches  along  the  face  of  the  surrounding  slopes.  But  it  has  been 
partly  emptied  by  the  emissary,  which  has  gradually  eroded  the  heaps  of  pumice 
confining  the  lacustrine  basin  on  the  north  side.     At  present  the  level  of   the  lake 


NEW  ZEALAND— NORTH  ISLAND. 


433 


is  1,200  feet  above  the  sea,  -while  its  superficial  area  exceeds  300  square  miles;  iu 
some  places  it  is  shallow,  but  towards  the  centre  has  a  depth  of  several  hundred 
yards.  Of  its  seventeen  affluents  the  largest  is  the  Waikato,  which  skirts  the  foot 
of  Mount  Pihanga,  and  is  now  slowly  encroaching  with  its  sedimentary  matter  on 
the  southern  part  of  the  lake.  The  "Waikato,  whose  name  simply  means 
"  Running  Water,"  rises  amid  the  upland  snows  of  Ruapehu  near  another  stream, 
which  flows  to  Cook  Strait. 

The  river  through  which  Taupo  sends  its  overflow  northwards  to  the  Pacific 


Fig.  187. 

Scale  1 


-Lake  T.\upo. 
:  1,100,000. 


also  takes  the  name  of  Waikato,  and,  like  the  Rhone,  the  upper  and  lower 
Waikato  are  popularly  suppo.sed  to  form  a  continuous  stream  traversing  the  lake 
without  intermingling  their  currents.  Like  the  Rhone  the  AVaikato  also  plunges 
into  deep  gorges  cut  through  successive  layers  of  pumice  rising  one  above  the 
other  in  perfectly  regular  terraces.  At  several  points  the  base  of  these  crumbling 
cliffs  is  lined  by  fissures  emitting  smoke,  suggesting  from  a  distance  the  fires 
kindled  by  fishermen.  The  waters  of  Waikato  are  of  a  lovely  opalescent  colour, 
said  to  be  due  to  the  silica  with  which  they  abound.  Within  six  miles  of  the 
outlet  the  river  is  crossed  by  a  ledge  of  hard  trachyte,  over  which  it  plunges  some 
AOL.  .\n-.  F  K 


434  AUSTRALASIA. 

50  feet  into  a  wide  basin  of  eddying  waters.  Farther  down  it  receives  on  its  left 
bank  a  broad  thermal  stream  descending  from  the  Wairakei  Cirque,  where 
numerous  geysers  with  silicious  margins  jet  up  in  all  directions  amid  the  sur- 
rounding forest.  Here  and  there  fallen  stems  may  still  be  recognised  beneath  the 
crystalline  incrustation  by  which  they  have  been  gradually  coated.  At  the  foot  of 
a  hill  a  jet  of  hot  vapour  at  a  temperature  of  252"  F.  rushes  with  a  ceaseless 
hissing  sound  tlirough  the  air.  This  geyser  may  at  times  be  detected  from  a 
distance  of  50  miles  round  about,  and  the  Maoris  navigating  Lake  Taupo  study  its 
varying  phases  as  trustworthy  weather  forecastings. 

Below  its  confluence  with  the  thermal  stream,  the  Waikato  describes  a  great 
bend  to  the  east  across  the  pumice-strewn  plateau,  beyond  which  it  trends  north- 
westwards to  the  west  coast,  where  it  enters  the  sea  through  a  wide  estuary  south 
of  the  Auckland  Peninsula. 

Between  the  Waikato  valley  and  the  Bay  of  Plenty  on  the  north-east  sea- 
board, the  plateau  is  occupied  by  another  group  of  volcanoes  and  of  lakes,  either 
old  craters  or  reservoirs  formed  by  barriers  of  eruptive  matter.  Roto-rua,  that  is, 
the  "  Second  Lake,"  largest  in  this  region,  lies  to  the  west  of  the  other  basins  at 
the  east  foot  of  Mount  Ngongotaha  (2,530  feet).  Roto-rua,  about  30  square 
miles  in  extent,  presents  a  charming  view  with  its  green  islets,  the  hills  and 
headlands  rising  ahove  its  margin,  the  forests  and  thickets  fringing  the  river 
banks.  But  the  whole  of  this  region  is  a  veritable  land  of  wonders,  conspicuous 
amongst  which  are  the  springs  and  fountains  which  burst  through  the  ground  on 
the  west  side  of  the  lake,  and  which  are  endlessly  diversified  in  their  form,  size, 
periodicity  and  chemical  composition.  The  district  in  a  constant  state  of  tremor 
occupies  a  zone  3  or  4  miles  long,  and  about  a  mile  broad,  along  the  margin  of  the 
basin.  Within  this  narrow  space  are  concentrated  the  most  varied  igneous 
.phenomena,  intermittent  fountains,  erratic  jets  disappearing  in  one  place  to 
reappear  in  another,  tranquil  pools  of  clear  water  scarcely  ruffled  by  a  few  bubbles, 
cold,  tepid,  hot,  or  boiling  .springs,  some  sulphurous,  others  saline  or  acidulated, 
solfataras,  fumeroles,  geysers,  and  the  like.'  One  of  the  geysers  rises  to  a  height  of 
60  feet  above  a  silicious  cone  50  feet  high,  the  vapour  escaj^ing  with  a  hissing 
noise,  and  the  water  bursting  out  with  a  roar  as  of  thunder.  The  thermal  and 
mineral  waters,  whose  curative  properties  had  formerly  attracted  the  natives  from 
all  quarters,  are  now  visited  even  by  the  European  settlers,  who  have  erected  a 
sanatorium  on  the  banks  of  the  lake. 

East  of  Roto-rua  follow  other  1  icustrine  basins,  such  as  Rofo-iti,  or  the 
"  Little  Lake,"  Rotoehu,  the  "Muddy  Lake,"  and  Roto-ma,  the  "White  Lake," 
all  of  whose  short  emissaries  flow  northwards  to  the  Bay  of  Plenty.  Farther 
south,  at  a  mean  altitude  of  1,000  feet,  are  grouped  other  lakes,  the  largest  of 
which  is  Tarawera,  dominated  eastwards  by  the  volcano  of  like  name.  This 
"  Burnt  Rock,"  as  the  word  is  interpreted,  has  the  form  of  a  truncated  cone  of' 
formidable  aspect,  whose  red  and  black  taluses  rise  1,000  feet  above  the  lake. 

Tarawera  was  supposed  to  be  extinct  till  the  year  1886,  when  one  winter's 
night  it  suddenly  avvol°.     The  whole  region  was  shaken  by  a  tremendous  shock. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

'INIVERSITV of  ILLINOIS 


NEW  ZEALAND— NORTH  ISLAND. 


435 


crevasses  opened  on  the  flanks  of  the  volcano,  whose  summit,  reduced  to  ashes, 
.  was  hurled  into  the  air  in  the  form  of  a  column  of  vapours  and  flaming  scoriae. 
The  ejected  matter,  which  was  visible  over  150  miles  off,  rose  to  a  height  of 
20,000  feet  and  fell  in  dense  showers  on  the  surrounding  district.  Whole 
villages  were  crushed  beneath  the  weight  of  the  dr_y  ashes,  or  changed  to  heaps  of 
nuid  by  the  ragiiig  storm  that  had  gathered  round  the.  burning  mountain.  When 
people  could  again  venture  to  approach  Tarawera,  they  found  the  whole  aspect  of 
the  land  transformed,  and  in  some  places  buried  beneath  a  uniform  layer  of 
volcanic  dust.     No   trace  was  left  of  the   "  Wonder  of  Wonders,"  the   famous 


Fi^.   188. — Lake  Takaweea. 

Scile  I  :  300.000. 


Scho  (crater-  J  f^    Hoto  lilkfianafcrater-  j 


F3sbofG^.«.n„;ch 


I    )       Roto-mabana  beS.re  Jmie  10,  1&S6. 

mineral  spring  of  Te-Tarata,  on  the  site  of  which  there  appeared  a  mud  volcano 
over.  500  feet  lower  than  the  level  of  the  old  lake.  Before  the  explosion  the 
waters  falling  into  Roto-mahana,  or  the  "  Hot  I;ake,"  rose  in  intermittent  jets  in 
a  flooded  crater  about  650  feet  in  circuit  and  80  feet  above  Eoto-mahana.  After 
filling  this  crater  the  waters  overflowed  its  transparent,  alabaster-like  silicious 
margent,  falling  in  thin  azure  sheets  from  basin  to  basin,  all  with  perfectly 
semicircular  white  rims  due  to  the  regular  undulation  of  the  water  circulating  in 
uniform  eddies  round  the  cascades.  As  its  temperature  fell  the  water,  saturated 
with    silica   and    sulphurous    substances,   gradually   changed  in  colour  from   the 

F  F  2 


43G  AUSTE.VLASIA. 

siijjpbire  tints  of  tlie  upper  basin  to  the  turquoise  hue  lower  down  and  a  slightly 
azure  shade  at  its  entrance  into  the  lake.  At  present  these  "  white  "  and  "  pink 
terraces  "  are  shrouded  beneath  a  heap  of  scoriae.  But  the  hidden  forces  are 
coming  to  the  surface  at  other  points,  and  if  vulgar  speculators  are  prevented  from 
manipulating  the  mineral  springs  and  converting  thera  into  "  rarey  shows  "  with 
charges  for  admittance,  the  phenomena  of  this  volcanic  region  will  always 
continue  to  rank  amongst  the  most  remarkable  sj)ectacles  of  Nature's  laboratory. 

The  Awa  o  te  Atua,  or  "  River  of  the  Gods,"  as  the  lacustrine  emissary  is 
called,  flows  at  first  north-eastwards,  and  then,  after  sweeping  round  the  extinct 
Putauaki  volcano,  unites  with  the  Rangitaiki,  the  chief  watercourse  of  this  slojje, 
which  falls  into  the  Bay  of  Plenty.  But  the  volcanic  region  is  still  continued 
beyond  the  mainland,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  bay  rises  the  cone  of  Whakari,  or 
White  Island,  which  although  only  850  feet  high,  at  times  ejects  sulphurous  vapours 
over  vast  spaces.  The  crater,  which  tilts  a  little  to  one  side,  is  one  and  a-half  mile 
in  circumference,  and  the  interior  is  completely  filled  with  fumeroles,  solfataras, 
jets  of  vapour  and  hot  springs.  Whakari  may  be  regarded  as  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  volcanic  axis,  of  which  the  south-west  end  is  occupied  by  the 
superb  Riiapehu  volcano.  According  to  a  Maori  legend  the  Whakari  crater  is 
connected  with  that  of  Tongariro  by  an  underground  passage,  and  it  was  through 
this  passage  that  the  messengers  of  the  gods  brought  the  sacred  fire  to  the  central 
volcano  of  North  Island. 

New  Zealand  has  no  other  still  active  volcanoes  ;  but  some  of  those  now  extinct 
are  of  imposing  grandeur.  Taranaki  (Mount  Egmont),  which  fills  a  whole  penin- 
sula at  the  south-west  angle  of  North  Island,  was  formerly  an  island,  whose  base 
became  gradually  attached  to  the  mainland  by  the  .accumulating  deposits  of  scorias. 
Its  supreme  crest,  nearly  8,300  feet  high,  is  overtopped  in  the  northern  island  by 
Ruapehu  alone.  Other  cones,  some  exceeding  3,000  feet,  are  disposed  in  chains  to 
the  north-west  of  Lake  Taupo,  and  Perongia  (3,150  feet),  rising  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Waikato  estuary,  has  discharged  westwards  vast  lava-streams,  which  have 
formed  long  headlands  enclosing  deep  marine  inlets. 

In  the  Auckland  Peninsula,  which  projects  far  seawards  in  a  north-westei'ly 
direction,  the  volcanoes  are  low,  but  very  numerous,  being  counted  by  the  dozen 
at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  peninsula.  Some  rise  300  or  400  feet  above  the  sea, 
while  others  are  flush  with  the  surface,  forming  perfectly  regular  little  havens  along 
the  coast.  Off  Auckland  on  the  east  coast  the  oval-shaped  Rangitoto,  that  is, 
"  Blood-red  Sky,"  seems  from  a  distance  to  close  the  entrance  to  the  harbour. 
Farther  north  the  long  peninsular  horn  of  North  Island  is  indented  by  numerous 
shallow  inlets,  which  appear  to  be  the  remains  of  half-obliterated  fiords.  Such  is 
the  Bay  of  Islands  on  the  east  coast,  which  is  studded  with  islands  and  islets  of 
pyramidal  form  ;  one,  however,  which  with  its  truncated  cone  and  eroded  argil- 
laceous cliffs  resembles  a  huge  "  sou'wester  "  floating  on  the  surface,  has  accord- 
ingly been  named  the  "  Old  Hat."  On  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Islands  occur  some 
thermal  and  sulphurous  springs. 

Earthquakes  are  frequent  in  every  part  of  New  Zealand,  and  in  many  places 


CLIMATE  OF  NEW  ZEAI.AND.  437 

geologists  have  observed  modifications  of  the  coastline  due  to  former  convulsions 
or  other  underground  phenomena.  The  hypothesis  has  even  been  advanced  that 
the  whole  of  the  archipelago  is  subject  to  oscillations  of  level  analogous  to  those 
of  the  Scandinavian  Peninsula.  "While  the  northern  part  of  North  Island  would 
appear  to  be  slowly  subsiding,  the  rest  of  the  land  is  said  to  have  been  perceptibly 
upraised  even  within  the  short  period  of  British  colonisation.  Sudden  upheavals 
caused  by  violent  igneous  disturbances  account  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  marine 
waters  in  some  places,  and  especially  in  the  harbour  of  Wellington  on  the  north 
side  of  Cook  Strait.  But  elsewhere  the  movement  appears  to  have  been  much 
slower,  and  unattended  by  perceptible  shocks,  as  attested  by  deposits  of  pumice 
occurring  at  different  elevations  along  the  seaboard.  In  1847  there  was  discovered 
in  South  Island  nearly  600  feet  inland  from  the  coast  and  far  above  highwater  mark 
the  hulk  of  a  vessel  supposed  to  be  the  Act  ire,  which  had  been  shipwrecked  in  1814, 
that  is,  only  thirty-three  years  previously. 

Climate  of  New  Zealand. 

The  climate  of  the  archipelago  has  been  compared  to  that  of  Great  Britain, 
although  the  mean  temperature  of  the  tracts  occupied  by  the  British  settlers  is 
considerably  higher  than  that  of  their  native  land.  Great  climatic  contrasts,  how- 
ever, are  presented  between  the  extreme  sections  of  New  Zealand,  which  stretches 
for  a  space  of  over  900  miles  across  nearly  14  degrees  of  latitude.  Thus  the  peninsula 
of  North  Lsland  enjoys  an  Italian  climate,  while  the  southern  regions  recall  that  of 
Scotland,  and  Stewart  Island  that  of  the  Orkney  Archipelago.*  But  in  these 
oceanic  lands  the  sudden  shifting  of  the  winds  is  attended  by  corresponding  changes 
from  heat  to  cold,  from  wet  to  dry,  changes  which  are  here  everywhere  abrupt. 
The  temperature,  however,  is  on  the  whole  more  equable  along  the  western  seaboard 
exposed  to  the  least  variable  marine  breezes.  On  the  other  hand  the  discrepancies 
are  very  great  in  certain  parts  of  the  east  coast,  and  especially  on  the  plains  near 
the  Banks  Peninsula.  But  notwithstanding  the  great  transitions  from  heat  to  cold 
the  east  side,  being  more  sheltered  by  lofty  ranges,  enjoys  a  pleasanter  climate  than 
the  windy  opposite  slope,  where  a  whole  j'ear  passes  without  a  single  calm  clay. 

To  the  prevalence  of  westerly  breezes  the  coastlands  facing  towards  Australia 
are  also  indebted  for  their  more  abundant  moisture,  which  falls  as  rain  on  the  plains 
and  lower  slopes  of  the  hills,  as  snow  on  the  uplands.  Amongst  these  winds  that 
which  sets  from  the  north-west  and  which  blows  over  the  mountain  ranges  down 
to  the  eastern  slopes  resembles  the  Mediterranean  scirocco  in  the  phenomena 
accompanying  it.  This  atmospheric  current  supplies  an  abundant  rainfall  (o  the 
side  of  the  New  Zealand  Alps,  which  it  strikes  coming  directly  from  the  high  .'ieas ; 
hence  it  reaches  the  eastern  plains  as  a  dr\'  wind ;  during  its  prevalence  the  sky 
here  assumes  a  deep  blue  colour,  the  heavy  clouds  that  had  gathered  on  the  horizon 

*  Climate  of  the  chief  New  Zealand  towns  : — 

LatitHde._  Mean  Temp.  Highest.  Lowest.  Rainfall. 

.     o8°  F.     .     .     .     85°   . .     .     .     28°     .     .  .  33  inches. 

.54° 83°     .     .     .     25°     .     .  .  16      ,, 

•  52°  „  ...  95°  ...  21°  ..  .  29   ,, 

■  51°  „   ...  84°  ...  30°  ..  .  33   .. 


Auckland  .     . 

.     36° 

50- 

S. 

WeDinorton 

.     41° 

16' 

Christchurch  . 

.     4.3° 

32' 

,, 

Dunedin     . 

.     45° 

52' 

,, 

438  AUSTEALASIA. 

disappear  as  if  by  enchantment,  and  the  streams  fed  by  the  melting  glaciers  sud- 
denly become  swollen  torrents. 

The  "England"  of  the  Austral  seas  has  the  advantage  over  the  mother  country 
of  being  exempt  from  fogs,  enjoying  a  clear  azure  sky  succeeded  at  regular 
intervals  bv  rain-bearing  clouds,  without  those  long  periods  of  unsettled  weather 
which  at  times  render  a  residence  in  Great  Britain  so  unpleasant  for  strangers.  It 
is  mainly  to  this  absence  of  fogs  that  physicians  attribute  the  remarkable  salubrity 
of  the  New  Zealand  climate,  a  salubrity  which,  with  the  magnificent  scenery  and 
abundance  of  all  kinds  of  mineral  waters,  promises  to  make  the  archipelago  one 
vast  health  resort.  But  the  serene  skies  are  purchased  at  the  expense  of  frequent 
and  fierce  gales.  Along  the  shores  of  Cook  and  Foveaux  Straits  these  tempestuous 
gales  prevail  throughout  a  great  part  of  the  year,  and  in  1886  the  approaches  to 
the  harbour  of  Wellington  were  swept  by  as  many  as  fifty-seven  successive  storms. 

Flora. 

The  New  Zealand  flora  varies -with  the  climate  from  the  temperate  zone  of  the 
north  to  the  cold  southern  region,  while  still  preserving  a  certain  general  uniformity 
throughout  the  archipelago.  Thanks  to  its  isolated  position  in  th'e  ocean  hundreds 
of  miles  from  any  other  great  extent  of  dry  land,  it  possesses  a  flora  very  distinct 
from  that  of  any  other  region  in  the  Austral  hemisphere ;  two-thirds  of  its  plants, 
forming  nearly  thirty  different  genera,  have  absolutely  no  representatives  else- 
where. The  nearest  allied  forms  occur  in  Australia  and  South  America,  and  by  a 
remarkable  phenomenon  the  latter,  although  the  farther  removed  of  the  two- con- 
tinents, seems  to  present  the  most  numerous  analogies.  The  eucalyptus  and  acacia, 
so  pre-eminently  characteristic  of  Australia,  are  not  found  in  New  Zealand,  a  fact 
of  primarviinportance  scarcely  in  harmony  with  the  assumption  of  many  geologists, 
that  during  recent  epochs  the  archipelago  was  connected  with  the  neighbouring 
continent  by  now  submerged  lands.  New  Zealand  appears  to  have  been  an  inde- 
pendent centre  of  plant  life,  whence  numerous  species  have  been  dispersed  through- 
out the  surrounding  insular  groups. 

The  isolation  of  the  archipelago  had  for  necessary  consequence  a  certain 
relative  poverty  of  its  flora,  which  ia  fact  comprises  only  960  indigenous  species. 
The  forests  contain  only  a  small  number  of  distinct  forms,  and  these  forms  are 
for  the  most  part  characterised  by  dull  and  inconspicuous  flowers.  Hence  the 
thickets  present  a  sombre  and  monotonous  aspect  compared  at  least  with  the  lovely 
flowering  woodlands  of  Tasmania  and  the  Cape.  Their  gloom  is  intensified  by  the 
absence  of  animal  life,  and  even  of  the  song  of  birds.  After  wandering  through 
these  dense  leafy  thickets. and  returning  to  the  sunlit  open  spaces,  the  traveller 
feels  relieved  as  if  from  an  oppressive  sense  of  awe. 

The  characteristic  plants  are  the  130  species  of  tree-ferns  and  otheis  which 
in  many  districts  hold  exclusive  possession  of  vast  tracts.  New  Zealand  has 
also  some  peculiar  varieties  of  the  pine  family,  amongst  others  the  kauri 
{dammara  australis),  which  is  at  present  restricted  to  the  northern  island.  The 
magnificent  stem   of  this  conifer   attains  a  height  of  200  feet,' and  it  yields  a 


FaUXA  of  XEW  ZEA1.A.SJJ.  439 

gum  much  valued  for  the  preparation  of  varnish.  But  it  has  been  recklessly  cut 
down,  owing  to  the  excellent  quality  of  its  timber  as  a  building  material ;  whole 
forests  have  been  cleared  in  the  construction  of  the  new  towns,  and  before  measures 
were  taken,  to  re-plant  the  clearings,  the  species  itself  was  in  danger  of.  being 
exterminated.  The  climate  appears  to  have  also  contributed  to  reduce  the  range 
of  this  tree.  Along  the  banks  of  the  Molyneux,  in  the  southern  part  of  South 
Island,  the  ground  contains  large  quantities  of  kauri  gum,  although  at  present  the 
species  is  confined  to  the  province  of  Auckland  in  North  Island.  The  fossil 
resinous  substance  collected  in  the  southern  regions  of  New  Zealand  looks  as  fresh 
as  that  derived  from  living  plants;  j'et  long  ages  must  have  passed  since  the  pines 
producing  it  have  gradually  receded  some  600  miles  northwards.  The  old  gum, 
being  more  compact,  is  much  more  highly  valued  than  than  obtained  from  trees 
still  standing,  and  trading  companies  have  been  formed  for  working  the  rich 
deposits  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

FautvA  of  New  Zealand. 

The  indigenous  fauna  is  no  less  original  than  the  flora,  and  is  supposed  by 
geologists  to  comprise  only  a  single  mammal,  a  species  of  otter,  whose  traces  were 
seen  by  Von  Ifaast,  and  which  was  pursued  by  other  explorers,  without,  however, 
being  captured.  The  Maori  rat,  now  utterly  exterminated  by  its  European  rival, 
appears,  as  the  natives  assert,  to  have  been  introduced  by  themselves,  as  was  also 
the  dog,  which  was  nowhere  found  in  the  wild  state.  There  are  neither  snakes  nor 
tortoises  in  the  archipelago,  and  even  the  batrachians  are  represented  only  by  a 
single  species  confined  to  one  locality  on  the  east  coast  of  North  Island.  I  ii^ards, 
however,  abound,  and  compri.se  as  many  as  twelve  .«pecies  occurring  in  no  other 
part  of  the  world.  One  of  these,  the  hnffcria  piincfafa,  numerous  in  an  islet  in  the 
Bay  of  Plenty,  is  of  very  peculiar  form,  somewhat  intermediate  between  the 
ordinary  lizard  and  the  crocodile;  hence,  although  quite  harmless,  it  was  regarded 
with  a  certain  superstitious  awe  by  the  Maori. 

Before  the  introduction  of  European  species  the  New  Zealand  rivers  were  almost 
destitute  of  fi.sh.  Some,  however,  of  the  native  forms  are  remarkable  for  the  vast 
extent  of  their  range.  Such  are  an  eel  found  also  in  China,  Europe,  and  the  West 
Indies,  and  a  trout,  which  is  likewise  met  in  the  streams  of  Tasmania  and  South 
America.  One  of  the  great  curiosities  of  the  New  Zealand  biological  order  is  a 
species  of  caterpillar  (xp/iwrin  Rohertsi),  which  burrows  a  hole  at  the  foot  of  a  tree, 
and  in  which  a  tall  fungus  then  takes  root  and  grows  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground. 

Of  the  New  Zealand  fauna  the  most  remarkable  class  is  that  of  the  birds, 
which  is  very  rich,  comprising  altogether  about  150  species.  One-third  of  these 
are  peculiar  to  the  archipelago,  and  constitute  seventeen  or  eighteen  absolutely 
distinct  genera,  some  presenting  some  very  curious  features.  Such  is  the  hitia,  a 
kind  of  starling  {heteroJorha  Gouldi),  the  male  and  female  of  wh'ich  have  entirely 
different  beaks,  the  one  straight,  the  other  curved  quite  round  like  a  sicJvle.  But 
the  essentially  characteristic  bird  is  Ijbe  famous  khvi  [apteryx),  absolutely  wingless 


440  AUSTRALASIA. 

and  tailless,  of  which  three  or  four  species  still  survive.  Being  covered  with  a  hair- 
like plumage,  and  as  large  as  an  average  fowl,  the  kiwi  is  helpless  against  dogs, 
and  woiild  soon  be  exterminated  even  in  the  remoter  districts  but  for  its  nocturnal 
habits.  But  it  must  nevertheless  disappear,  as  analogous  species  have-  disappeared 
in  the  Mascarenhas  Islands,  and  as  in  New  Zealand  itself  have  disappeared  the 
fifteen  varieties  of  the  moa  {dinar nis),  a  bird  of  varying  size  belonging  to  the  ostrich 
family.  The  fossil  remains  of  the  moa,  one  species  of  which  was  over  10  feet  high, 
have  been  discovered  in  the  bogs  beneath  alluvial  deposits  and  in  caves  encrusted 
with  stalagmites.  But  skeletons  have  also  been  found,  as  well  as  an  enormous  egg 
10  inches  long,  besides  fragments  of  skin  and  feathers,  in  the  Maori  graves  and 
amongst  the  kitchen  refuse.  Hence  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  natives  hunted 
these  birds,  which  were  doomed  by  their  defenceless  state  to  rapid  extinction. 
According  to  the  local  tradition  the  moas  were  decked  with  a  brilliant  plumage. 

Amongst  the  tj^Des  in  course  of  extinction  or  already  gone,  are  included  the 
))io/io  (iwtoniis),  the  cofuniir,  a  sort  of  quail  remarkable  as  the  only  indigenous 
representative  of  the  gallinaceous  family,  the  auar/ii/nchits,  distinguished  by  the 
lateral  twist  of  its  beak,  the  thiiiornis,  another  bird  of  the  same  group,  and  the  hea 
(nestor),  an  owl-like  parrot  still  common  in  the  lower  valleys,  where  it  is  much 
dreaded  bj'  the  farmers  since  it  has  acquired  a  taste  for  the  flesh  of  sheep  and  lambs. 

Since  the  arrival  of  the  British  settlers  the  gaps  made  in  the  local  fauna  have 
been  gradually  filled  up  by  new  wild  and  domestic  species.  Sportsmen  have 
introduced  the  deer,  roebuck,  hare,  and  rabbit,  of  which  the  last  named  has  proved 
specially  disastrous  to  the  prospects  of  agriculture.  The  pig  has  reverted  to  the 
wild  state  in  some  districts,  and  thousands  are  now  aunuall)^  killed  in  the  thickets. 
The  streams  have  also  been  stocked,  chiefly  with  salmon,  trout,  and  other  species 
from  the  mother  country.  But  the  extinct  forms  of  bird  life  have  been  replaced 
mainly  from  Australia,  Europe,  and  America.  Thus  the  indigenous  quail  has 
been  succeeded  by  the  Californian  variety,  which  has  multiplied  to  a  surprising 
extent,  and  by  the  grey  partridge  and  pheasant  from  China.  Starlings,  sparrows, 
blackbirds,  thrushes,  crows,  larks,  finches,  introduced  at  great  cost  frorn  England, 
have  become  acclimatised,  and  often  produce  on  the  colonist  the  impression  that 
he  has  scarcely  changed  his  home  in  migrating  to  the  Austral  world.  He 
finds  himself  surrounded  by  fields,  woodlands,  buildings  similar  to  those  of  the  old 
country  ;  he  meets  the  same  wild  and  tame  animals,  and  hears  the  same  birds 
warbling  in  the  thickets. 

Inhabitants  of  New  Zealand. 
The  natives  found  in  the  archipelago  by  the  white  immigrants  compare  their 
destiny  to  that  of  the  indigenous  plants  and  animals,  and  believe  themselves 
doomed  to  perish  with  them.  "  Our  rat,"  they  say,  "is  eaten  by  the  European 
rat ;  our  fly  yields  to  yours,  and  we  ourselves  will  be  replaced  by  you."  Yet  these 
Maori,  who  thus  foresee  their  extinction,  were  amongst  the  most  intelligent,  the 
noblest,  and  most  cultured  Polynesian  peoples.  If  their  disappearance  is 
inevitable,  it  must  still  be  regarded  as  a  common  calamity  for  mankind. 


IXIIABITAXTS  0¥  NEW  ZEALAND.  441 

The  Maori,  that  is,  the  "  Line,"  or  "  Descendance,"  in  the  sense  of  "Indige- 
nous," are  unquestionably  a  branch  of  the  eastern  Polynesian  race.  Their  legends, 
full  of  precise  details,  are  unanimous  in  recording  their  migration  to  the  archi- 
pelago, and  even  give  some  approximate  idea  of  the  epoch  when  this  event  took 
place.  The  children  were  carefully  instructed  in  all  these  oral  traditions,  and 
taught  the  history  and  genealogy  of  the  national  heroes,  as  well  as  the  succession 
of  events  and  ages  by  means  of  inscribed  tablets.  These  sources  of  information, 
collected  by  Grey  and  other  ethnologists,  relate  how  some  four  or  five  centuries 
ago  the  chief  Te  Kiipe  first  landed  on  Aotea-roa,  the  North  Island,  and  that, 
astonished  at  his  discovery,  he  returned  to  his  native  land  of  Havaiki  for  his 
fellow-countrj'men.  He  then  returned  \vith  a  flotilla  of  seven  war-canoes,  each 
containing  about  a  hundi'ed  warriors,  priests,  stone  idols,  and  sacred  weapons,  as 
well  as  native  plants  and  animals.  To  this  tradition  of  the  first  immigration  the 
descendants  of  the  Maori  add  legends  of  marvellous  deeds,  the  severance  of  Aotea- 
roa  into  two  islands,  the  emergence  of  islets,  rocks,  and  reefs,  the  appearance  of 
springs  and  of  flames  bursting  from  the  ground.  But,  according  to  Huxley, 
Quatrefages,  and  other  authorities,  skulls  presenting  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
Papuan  type  would  seem  to  indicate  the  preA'ious  existence  of  an  aboriginal 
race  apparently  exterminated  or  partly  absorbed  by  the  Maori  intruders. 

This  island  of  Havaiki,  whence  came  Te  Kujje  and  his  followers,  cannot  now 
be  clearly  determined.  The  resemblance  of  names  suggests  the  island  of  Savaii  in 
the  Samoan  Archipelago,  and  the  same  island  of  Savaii  is  also  supposed  to  have 
sent  out  other  kindred  tribes  to  colonise  Havaii  in  the  Sandwich  Group.  The 
marked  analogy  between  the  peoples,  languages,  customs,  and  legends  of  New 
Zealand  and  Polynesia  certainly  leaves  no  doubt  that  migrations  have  taken  place 
from  some  region  of  equatorial  Polynesia  towards  the  more  remote  archipelagoes. 
Nevertheless,  there  is  nothing  beyond  a  vague  resemblance  of  names  to  identify 
the  Samoan  Savaii  with  the  legendary  cradle  of  the  Maori  people.  It  even  seems 
more  probable  that  they  came  from  Tonga,  that  is,  the  group  of  islands  lying 
nearest  to  New  Zealand.  The  distance  between  the  two  archipelagoes  is  not  more 
than  1,200  miles,  and  here  the  marine  current  sets  in  the  direction  of  New  Zea- 
land. So  great  is  the  afiinity  of  the  Tonga  and  Maori  languages  that  the  natives 
of  both  regions  soon  understand  each  other,  and  the  very  word  foiiga  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  Maori  dialect,  as  well  as  in  the  geographical  nomenclature  of  the 
archipelago. 

The  Mori-ori  inhabitants  of  the  Chatham  Islands,  now  reduced  to  a  few  family 
groups  and  Maori  half-castes,  are  certainly  Polynesians  of  the  same  origin,  who, 
according  to  their  traditions,  arrived  from  the  north  about  the  fifteenth  century. 
They  are  of  smaller  stature,  but  more  robust  and  stronger  than  the  Maori,  with 
very  marked  features  and  the  aquiline  Jewish  nose.  This  Uttle  song-  and  myth- 
loving  community  lived  happily  in  their  island  home  of  Warekauri  when  a  Maori 
sailor  of  Taranaki,  serving  on  board  an  English  vessel,  happened  to  \nsit  one  of 
their  villages  either  in  1832  or  1835.  On  his  return  he  spoke  to  his  friends  about 
these  islanders,  "peaceful  and  good  to  eat,"  and  his  report  was  soon  followed  by  a 


442 


AUSTRAT.ASIA. 


warlike  expedition  to  Wnvckauri.  The  unhappy  Mori-ori,  suddenly  attacked,  were 
easily  captured,  and  the  conquerors  immediately  selected  those  to  be  eaten.  The 
victims  had  themselves  to  fetch  the  wood  and  to  prepare  the  fire  on  which  they 
were  roasted.'  The  papulation  of  Chatham  was  thus  reduced  from  fifteen  hundred 
at  the  time  of  the  conquest  to  no  more   than  thirty-six,  practically  slaves,  despite 


the  official  decrees  of  emancipation.     Their  reserved  holdings  comprise  little  more 
than  600  acres. 

The  Maori  are  amongst  the  finest  islanders  of  the  Oceanic  world.  Some  are 
very  tall,  and  the  majority  above  the  average  European  height,  strong  and  well- 
built,  with  very  broad  chest,  but  with  trunk  proportionately  longer  and  lower 
extremities  shorter  than  amongst  the  whites.  The  features  are  as  a  rule  suffi- 
ciently regular,  with  slightly  prominent  cheekbone,  high  forehead,  piercing  and 
haughty  glance.     Formerly  the  men  were  carefully  depilated,  in  order  to  increase 


INHABITANTS  OF  NEW  ZE.ALAND.  443 

the  surface  to  be  covered  with  ornamental  tattooing,  while  for  young  women  the 
operation  was  limited  to  the  lips,  whence  the  term  Blue-lips  applied  to  them  by  the 
English.  No  Polynesian  nation  rivalled  the  Maori  in  this  art  of  embellishing  the 
human  form  with  harmonious  designs  following  the  contours  of  the  body  and 
bringing  its  proportions  into  fuller  relief.  -The  Maori  artist  knew  how  to  give 
endless  variety  to  the  curves  of  his  drawings  ;  all  was  calculated  so  as  to  produce 
a  happy  blending  of  the  lines;  the  natural  furrows,  the  movements  of  the  coun- 
tenance, the  play  of  muscles,  everything  was  made  to  enhance  the  charm  of  the 
design,  and  a  hale  young  man  certainly  presented  a  fine  sight,  draped  only  in  this 
delicate  network  of  blue  lines  on  the  ruddy  brown  ground  of  his  skin.  Whoever 
refused  to  undergo  the  protracted  tortures  of  tattooing  required  at  every  important 
event  of  his  life  was  regarded  as  a  person  by  his  own  consent  foredoomed  to  slavery. 
On  the  other  hand  the  tattooed  native  could  never  be  enslaved.  "  Liberty  or  Death  " 
was  his  motto. 

Proud  and  skilful  pleaders,  the  Maori  have  always  commanded  the  respect  of 
the  English  ;  in  the  political  conferences  they  have  even  frequently  proved  them- 
selves superior  in  logic  and  eloquence,  just  as  in  field  sports,  such  as  cricket,  they 
excel  in  strength  and  skill.  Even  in  the  schools  they  stand  at  least  on  a  level 
with  their  masters,  and  when  called  upon  to  defend  their  native  land,  they  proved 
thimselves  fully  as  valiant  as  t\xe\v  jxikeha  (European)  invaders.  Near  the  present 
town  of  Tauranga  a  farmstead  occupies  the  site  of  the  great  pa,  or  fortress  of  earth 
and  palisades,  which  General  Cameron  at  the  head  of  four  thousand  British  troops 
failed  to  reduce,  the  siege  ending  in  the  utter  rout  of  the  assailants.  At  the  same 
time  this  warlike  spirit  was  associated  with  cannibalistic  and  other  ferocious 
practices.  The  Maori  ate  the  heart  and  ej'es  of  the  foe  in  order  to  acquire  their 
courage  and  intelligence.  In  the  old  kitchen  middens  occur  human  remains 
associated  with  those  of  dogs  and  birds,  and  tradition  speaks  of  a  memorable 
victory  celebrated  by  a  banquet  of  one  thousand  of  the  fallen  enemy. 

In  their  few  national  industries  the  Maori  displayed  remarkable  skill.  They 
tilled  the  soil  with  extreme  care  ;  as  carvers  and  decorators  they  were  unrivalled 
in  the  Oceanic  world,  and  displayed  great  originality  in  the  design  and  perfection 
in  the  execution  of  the  rock-paintings  and  in  carving  the  ornamental  figures  of 
their  dwellings,  their  boats,  and  sacred  enclosures.  Many  of  these  objects  are 
still  carefully  preserved  in  tlio  local  museums,  or  in  places  still  regarded  as 
tabooed  by  the  natives. 

Like  that  of  other  Polynesians  the  Maori  religion  was  concerned  with  the  wor- 
ship of  the  natural  forces,  alwa)-s  associated  in  their  mind  with  the  spirits  of  thtir 
ancestors.  The  memory  of  their  forefathers  was  so  interwoven  with  their  every- 
day life  that  friends  on  meeting,  instead  of  saluting  each  other  with  signs  of  joy, 
gave  way  to  groans  and  lamentations  over  the  departed.  All  are  now  at  least 
nominal  Christians,  and  have  forsaken  the  stone  idols  brought  with  them  from 
Ilavaiki  at  the  time  of  the  exodus.  One  of  these  effigies  was  given  bj'  the  people 
themselves  to  Governor  Grev,  and  the  other,  which  had  been  buried  in  the  sacred 
lake  Roto-rua  in  the  island  of  Mokoia,  formed  the. subject  of  a  law-suit  between 


444 


AUSTEALASIA. 


two  tribes  in  1884.  During  the  revolt  of  18G4  many  renounced  Christianity,  and 
founded  a  new  religion  in  which  Christian  mythology  and  ancestral  worship  were 
strangely  blended.  The  Hau-hau  sect,  as  it  was  called  from  the  cries  of  grief  or 
ecstasy  uttered  at  the  public  praj'er-meetings,  has  not  yet  entirely  disappeared, 
and  a  few  of  its  adherents  are  still  found  in  scattered  groups  in  the  King's 
Countr}^ 

This  region,  some  10,000  square  miles  in  extent,  comprises  a  large  part  of 
North  Island,  west  of  Lake  Taupo.  The  two  lofty  mounts,  Ruapehu  and  Tongariro, 
were  till  recently  included  within  its  Hmits,  together  with  the  seaboard  between 
Port  Aotea  and  the  north  foot  of  Mount  Taranaki.      Alarmed  by  the  incessant 


190. — liiNo's  CotraTET. 
Srale  1  :  2,0(Xi,ono. 


-I* 


Ea.t.fGreenwch 


'K  P-^./ ,    vOv./y  V^  ^: 


encroachments  of  the  white  squatters,  the  natives  assembled  in  congress  in  1854, 
and  resolved  thenceforth  to  sell  no  land  at  any  price,  and  even  prevent  the  Euro- 
peans from  penetrating  into  their  domain.  Since  that  time  conflicts  have  taken 
place,  British  troops  have  crossed  the  frontier,  and  sundry  tracts  have  been  ■ 
detached  from  the  territory.  Nevertheless  this  Native  Reserve  still  constitutes  a 
well  defined  region,  till  recently  almost  inaccessible  to  explorers  unprovided  with 


INHABITANTS  OF  NEW  ZEALAND.  445 

safe-conducts.  The  tribes,  former!}'  -witliout  any  bond  of  union,  are  now  grouped 
in  a  sort  of  political  state  ruled  by  a  "king,"  whence  the  name  of  King's  Country. 
This  potentate  has  hitherto  refused  to  become  a  colonial  functionary  by  accepting 
the  heavy  pension  and  administrative  power  offered  him  by  the  crown.  Neverthe- 
less the  days  of  the  Maori  nation  are  numbered.  The  white  population  is  increas- 
ing at  the  rate  of  at  least  twenty  thousand  annually,  and  its  influence  on  the  still 
independent  territory  increases  in  the  same  proportion.  On  the  other  hand  the 
Maori  grow  continually  weaker  in  numbers,  in  physical  force  and  moral  energy. 

Owing  to  the  refusal  of  the  natives  to  allow  any  official  census  to  be  taken 
within  their  domain  it  is  impossible  to  form  an  accurate  idea  of  their  present  num- 
bers, although  the  summary  estimates  made  at  various  times  are  generally  accepted 
as  sufficiently  trustworthy  to  place  beyond  doubt  the  steady  decline  of  the  race. 
At  the  iirst  arrival  of  the  whites  they  numbered  at  least  one  hundred  thousand, 
but  in  1874  they  were  already  reduced  to  less  than  forty-six  thousand,  and  acccord- 
ing  to  the  returns  for  1886  they  appear  to  have  lost  three  thousand  more  at  that 
date.  The  most  serious  fact,  well  authenticated  in  those  districts  where  both  races 
live  side  by  side,  is  the  higher  rate  of  mortality  amongst  the  women.  Nor  have 
the  young  Maoii  the  same  vigour  as  their  forefathers,  and  about  half  of  the  deaths 
is  attributed  to  consumption.  Nevertheless  the  decay  of  the  race  appears  to  have 
been  partly  arrested,  and  in  some  districts,  notably  that  of  Kaipara  north  of  Auck- 
land, some  excess  of  births  over  the  mortality  has  been  observed  amongst  the 
half-castes. 

On  the  other  hand  the  white  population  rapidly  develops,  not  only  by  immigra- 
tion but  especially  by  the  great  iucrease  of  birtlis  over  deaths.  This  increase,  at 
present  estimated  at  nearly  three  to  one,  is  almost  unparalleled  elsewhere.  More- 
over, the  loss  and  gain  are  invariably  balanced  in  such  a  way  as  to  increase  the 
proportional  number  of  females,  and  thus  reduce  the  disparity  caused  by  the  much 
larger  immigation  of  males.  Already  more  than  half  of  the  colonists  are  native 
born ;  nearly  all  come  from  the  British  Isles,  the  English  and  Scotch  being  greatly 
in  excess  of  the  Irish.  The  Germans  ntmiber  not  more  than  five  thousand,  and 
some  Scandinavian  communities  have  been  established  in  the  North  Island.  Some 
thousand  Chinese  have  also  been  introduced  by  employers  of  labour,  but  here, 
as  elsewhere,  unaccompanied  by  their  women.  The  competition  of  the  white 
labourers  has  required  Parliament  to  pass  some  prohibitive  measures  against  Chinese 
immigration  analogous  to  those  taken  by  the  Australian  Assemblies. 

During  the  early  years  of  colonisation  methodic  steps  were  taken  to  reproduce 
in  New  Zealand  as  perfect  a  copy  as  possible  of  the  English  social  system  regarded 
as  an  ideal  standard.  Efforts  were  made  to  reproduce  at  the  Antipodes  an  image 
of  the  mother  country,  with  its  powerful  clergy,  its  territorial  aristocracy,  its  indus- 
trious middle  classes,  its  submissive  and  religious  working  communities.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  plan  the  capitalists,  who  in  the  North  Island  had  obtained  possession 
of  the  land  from  the  natives  under  the  protection  and  suzerainty  of  Great  Britain, 
sold  it  at  prices  beyond  the  means  of  small  holders,  and  the  sums  thus  obtained 
were  employed  to  introduce  day  labourers  on  the  large  estates. 


446  AUSTRALASIA. 

Nevertheless,  tiiiancial  difficulties  and  conflicts  with  the  government  prevented 
the  complete  realisation  of  this  social  scheme.  The  projects  of  other  comjjauies 
that  had  scured  concessions  of  extensive  domains  in  the  southern  island  proved 
more  successful.  The  province  of  Canterbury,  so  named  by  zealous  Anglicans 
from  the  primatial  see  of  England,  was  at  once  constituted  under  the  direct  spiritual 
and  partly  temporal  control  of  the  Anglican  clergy,  and  was  divided  into  parishes 
and  "  flocks."  On  the  other  hand  the  Scotch  immigrants  of  the  Free  Kirk,  who 
had  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  the  same  island,  and  who  had  given  to  their 
capital  the  Gaelic  name  of  Dunedin,  synonymous  of  Edinburgh,  also  possessed  their 
religious  constitution  intended  to  maintain  them  in  a  distinct  community.  But 
the  discoveries  which  suddenly  attracted  thousands  of  gold-hunters  to  this  rigid 
Presbyterian  settlement  soon  broke  up  the  narrow  organisation  of  the  young 
colonial  churches,  and  New  Zealand  no  longer  differs  from  the  other  British 
colonies  in  its  social  religious  constitution.  Sects  of  all  denominations  are  now  as 
numerous  as  elsewhere.  The  majority,  however,  are  still  members  of  the  Anglican 
Church. 

From  the  very  first  agriculture  has  been  the  chief  industry  of  the  colony.  Since 
the  first  sale  of  public  lands  down  to  the  end  of  March,  1888,  planters  and  others 
had  acquired  an  extent  of  11,500,000  acres  at  a  total  cost  of  £13,000,000,  to  a-very 
large  extent  secured  by  a  limited  number  of  capitalists.  Seven  proprietors  possess 
each  over  100,000  acres,  while  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  own  domains  each  . 
exceeding  10,000  acres.  The  regions  still  available  for  tillage  are  at  least  as 
extensive  as  those  already  disposed  of ;  but  the  uplands,  especially  in  South  Island, 
can  scarcely  be  utilised  except  for  their  forests  and  pasturage.  North  Island  is 
the  more  fertile  of  the  two,  thanks  to  its  decomposed  volcanic  tuffas,  and  it  also 
enjoys  a  milder  climate  ;  hence  in  former  times  the  Maori  were  concentrated 
chiefly  in  this  region,  which  however  is  the  smaller  in  extent ;  and  here  also  the 
settlers  have  a  far  less  extent  of  land  at  their  disposal. 

The  33,400  farms  which  existed  in  1887  in  the  archipelago  were  all  under  pre- 
cisely the  same  crops  as  those  of  Great  Britain,  the  only  perceptible  difference  being 
a  few  fruit  trees  in  North  Island,  where  the  fruits  of  Italy  ripen  side  by  side  with 
those  of  England.  New  Zealand  is  less  favourably  placed  than  Australia  for  stock- 
breeding;  nevertheless,  the  livestock  is  already  considerable,  and  wool  is  now  exported 
to  the  annual  value  of  over  £3,000,000.  Meat-preserving  is  also  a  flourishing  local 
industry,  and  New  Zealand  has  recently  turned  its  attention  to  the  preparation  of 
butter  for  the  home  market. 

Both  islands  abound  in  minerals,  although  the  gold  mines  alone  have  hitherto 
been  actively  worked  ;  in  1887  nearly  twelve  thousand  miners,  of  whom  one-fourth 
were  Chinese,  were  engaged  in  extracting  the  precious  metal  from  the  quartz 
rocks  and  auriferous  sands.  Between  1857,  when  the  gold-fields  were  discovered, 
and  1887  the  tptal  yield  was  over  £44,000,000,  and  in  the  single  year  1886,  the 
produce  was  no  less  than  £28,000,000.  The  decrease  in  the  exportation  of  gold 
will  probably  be  followed  by  greater  activity  in  the  coal  mines,  which  already  em- 
ploy over  a  thousand  hands,  with  a  total   yearly  output  of  more  than  500,000 


NEW  ZEALAND.— SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 


447 


tons.     Xew  Zealand  has  already  developed   some  large   manufacturing  industries 
and  now  turns  out  her  own  ships,  locomotives,  and  other  rolling  stock. 

The  archipelago  has  an  extensive  network  of  roads  and  railways,  and  it  will 
soon  be  possible  to  travel  b3'  rail  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  of  both  islands. 
Ex.cept  a  few  provincial  branches,  nearly  all  the  lines  have  been  constructed  and  are 
owned  by  the  Government.  Steamers  also  ply  regularlj'  between  the  seaports  round 
the  coast,  and  maintain  rapid  communication  with  Australia,  America,  and  Europe. 

Fig.  191. — Railways  of  New  Ze.ilaxd. 
Scale  I  :  13,UOO,(x«). 


The  foreign  trade  is  relatively  greater  than  that  of  European  countries,  for  it 
already  exceeds  £22  per  head  of  the  white  and  Maori  population.  The  proportion 
of  letters  forwarded  thr.ough  tTie  post  is  also  higher  than  in  France,  and  the 
colony  enjoys  a  moce  developed  system  of  primary  instruction.  The  periodical 
press  is  represented  by  200  journals,  of  which  one  is  issued  in  the  Maori  lan- 
guage. 


U8 


AUSTllALASIA. 


Topography  of  New  Zkalaxd. 

Anck/aiid  is  one  of  the  "  old  "  cities  of  New  Zealand,  its  foundation  datinn-  fro 


1840,  that  is,  a  few  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  stuliuu  of  Kuua-Kaaa, 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  NEW  ZEALAND. 


Aid 


Russell,  on  the  Bay  of  Islands.  It  was  originally  chosen  as  the  capital  of  the 
whole  archipelago,  and  although  deprived  of  this  dignitj',  it  has  remained  the 
largest  city,  with  a  population  of  over  sixty  thousand,  including  the  suburbs  ;  here 
is  also  the  chief  university  in  the  colony.      Auckland  owes  its  importance  to  its 


Fig.  193. — Auckland. 
Scale  1  :  650.000. 


FasfccFGr«.w.cK 


Depths. 


PS 


Pnnds 
exposed  at  low  water. 


admirable  position  on  the  south  side  of  the  excellent  and  thoroughly  sheltered  port 
of  W<iifcmata,[ii{h.e  narrowest  point  of  the  isthmus  connecting  the  northern  penin- 
sula with  (he  rest  of  Xorth  Island.  Its  suburb  of  Onchunga  lies  seven  miles  farther 
south  on  the  great  inlet  of  ilanukau,  wliich  comprises  a  gnuij)  of  havens  also  oj)cn 
VOL.   xfv.  (;    G 


450 


AUSTEALASIA. 


to  navigation.  Thanks  to  these  maritime  advantages,  to  the  density  of  the  popula- 
tion in  the  surrounding  district,  and  the  fertility  of  the  land,  Auckland  exceeds  all 
other  New  Zealand  seaports  in  commercial  activity ;  it  enjoys  a  monopoly  of  the  export 
trade  in  kauri  wood  and  the  valuable  gum  of  that  tree.  Being  encircled  by  several 
small  extinct  volcanoes,  Auckland  is  the  centre  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  regions 


Fig.  194.— Kaipaea. 
Scale  1  ;  660.000, 


Easb  or  Greenw  c;^ 


32  Feet.  I 

UpWiU'C 

.12  Miles. 


on  the  globe  for  the  study  of  plutonic  phenomena.  In  the  neighbourhood  are  no 
less  than  sixty  perfectly  regular  cones,  each  in  former  times  the  scene  of  igneous 
eruptions. 

North  of  Auckland  the  only  trading  places  are  the  small  stations  on  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  and  the  villages  dotted  round  Kaipara  Harbour,  whose  numerous  branches 


TOrOGHAPnT  OF  KEW  ZEALAND.  451 

wind  in  all  directions  amid  the  surrounding  forests  and  recent  plantations.  Knijiarri 
has  been  called  the  "  Eden  of  New  Zealand."  South-east  of  Auckland  are  the  twin 
towns  of  Short  land  and  Gra/iamstown, v/hich.  are  now  united  under  the  name  of 
Thames,  and  which  lie  on  the  east  side  of  the  inlet  improperly  called  the  Firth  of 
Thames.  Farther  south  is  Tuumnga  Harbour,  the  landing-place  for  travellers  pro- 
ceeding to  Lake  Tarawcra  and  "  Wonderland."  South  of  the  little  haven  of  Gh- 
bornr  on  Poverty  Bay,  the  only  coast  town  on  the  east  side  is  Xapicr,  capital  of  the 
province  of  Hawke  Bay.  Napier  is  well  situated  on  a  peninsula  between  a  winding 
estuary  and  a  semicircular  bay  which,  like  so  many  others,  has  been  compared  to 
the  Bay  of  Naples.  Although  its  port,  the  Ahiiriri  of  the  natives,  is  of  difficult 
access  for  large  vessels,  the  yearly  export  trade  of  Napier  in  wool,  prcser\'cd  meat, 
and  cattle  already  exceeds  £>^00,000. 

WelUngfon,  capital  of  New  Zealand,  dates  from  1840;  it  occupies  a  central 
position  on  Port  Nicholson  on  the  north  side  of  Cook  Strait,  and  holds  frcqu^-nt 
communication  with  Blenheim  on  the  opposite  side.  Wanganui,  another  busy  sea- 
port in  the  same  province,  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  navigable  river  of  like  name 
south  of  the  King's  Country.  North-west  of  AYanganui  the  coast  railway  is  deflected 
inland  by  the  peninsular  Jrount  Egmont  (Taranaki),  and  thus  TeachesNeirPli/nioiith, 
which  is  probably  destined  to  become  a  flourishing  seaport  when  the  construction 
of  the  neighbourin-g  Moturoa  breakwater  will  enable  skippers  here  to  ship  the  pro- 
duce of  the  "  Garden  of  New  Zealand." 

In  the  South  Island  Blenheim,  over  against  "Wellington,  is  still  a  small  place 
although  capital  of  a  province  and  converging  point  of  two  railwajs.  On  this 
south  side  of  Cook  Strait  the  most  commercial  town  is  Nelson,  which  lies  at  the 
head  of  the  hill-encircled  Tasman  Bay.  Farther  on  the  north  coast  presents 
nothing  but  villages  and  hamlets  ;  but  on  the  west  side  a  few  little  towns  have 
sprung  up  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  gold  and  coal  mines.  Weslport,  sheltered 
by  Cape  Foulwind,  has  the  advantage  -of  possessing  a  safe  and  deep  harbour, 
whereas  the  more  southerly  ports  of  Greymouth  and  Ilokifika,  capital  of  the  province 
of  Westlahd,  were  of  difficult  access  before  the  construction  of  jetties  and  other 
harbour  works.  GrejTuouth,'  formerly  a  centre  of  gold-mining,  is  now  the  "  New 
Zealand  Newcastle,"  and  in  1886  no  less  than  120,000  tons  of  coal  were  shipped  at 
this  place.  Ilokitika,  the  town  lying  nearest  to  the  regions  of  snows  and  glaciers, 
still  retains  some  importance,  thanks  to  the  neighbouring  gold-fields,  which  in 
1866,  the  year  following  the  discovery,  yielded  over  i'1,300,000  of  the  precious 
metal. 

The  east  slope  of  South  Island  being  more  gently  inclined,  presents  bj^  far  the 
greatest  extent  of  arable  and  fertile  lands,  with  the  largest  centres  of  population 
and  most  flourishing  seaports.  Here  arc  found  the  two  chief  cities,  Christ- 
ehiirch  and  Dinicdin,  the  former  of  which  lies  not  on  the  coast  but  in  an  extensive 
plain  watered  by  the  river  Avon  and  about  eight  miles  from  its  f)ort  of  Li/ll'eton, 
formerly  Port  Cooper.  Christchurch,  capital  of  the  ijrovineo  of  Canterbury,  is  the 
most  English  in  aspect  of  all  the  New  Zealand  cities,  and  as  the  see  of  the  Anglican 
primate,  it  also  contains  the  most  sumptuous  religious  edifices.     In  its  museum  is  a 


452  AUSTRALASIA. 

very  remarkable  collection  of  the  remains  of  extinct  birds.  With  the  surrounding 
suburbs  Christchurcli  ranks  as  the  second  city  in  the  archipelago  for  population, 
while  its  port  owns  the  largest  mercantile  fleet,  although  the  general  movement  of 
the  shipping  is  inferior  to  that  of  Auckland.  The  neighbouring  Banks  Peninsula 
with  Akaroa  Ifarhniir,  whore  still  survive  some  descendants  of  the  early  French 
settlers,  are  pleasant  retreats,  much  frequented  by  the  inhabitants  of  Christchurch. 


-CnitiSTCHUEcn  and  Akaroa  Peninsula. 
Scile  1  :  700,000. 


A  railwaj^  connecting  the  city  with  its  port,  passes  in  a  tunnel  through  a  thick  bed 
of  lava — the  finest  work  of  the  kind  in  New  Zealand. 

South  of  Christchurch  follow  along  the  east  coast  the  seaports  of  Timaru,  Oamnru, 
and  the  flourishing  city  o{  Daiicdin,  metropolis  of  the  south,  which  lies  on  the  west 
side  of  Otago  Harbour  under  shelter  of  an  eastern  volcanic  headland.  Since  the 
deepening  of  the  channel  ships  of  average  size  are  able  to  ascend  as  far  as  the 
town;  but  larjrer  vessels  are  obliged  to  anchor  in  Port  Clialmcm  at  the  mouth  of 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

'  DIVERSITY  of  tt-LlNOr 


TorOGRAPHT  OF   NEW  ZEALAND. 


453 


the  estuary,  about  eight  miles  north  of  the  citj\  During-  tlic  flourishing  period 
of  gold-mining,  Dunedin,  which  from  an  obscure  village  had  suddenly  been  trans- 
formed to  a  populous  town,  became  the  busiest  commercial  centre  in  New  Zealand, 
and  even  still  holds  the  second  rank  in  this  respect.  This  place  is  the  usual  starts 
ing  point  for  travellers  visiting  the  region  of  the  lakes  in  the  New  Zealand  xVlps. 

On  the  southern  seaboard,  washed  by  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  the  most  flourishing 
place  is  the  recently  founded  Invercarcjill,  converging  point  of  all  the  roads  and 


Fig.  196.— Poet  Chalmers. 

Scale  1  :  350,000. 


Ea  =  tcF.Gree 


EI3 


railways  radiating  towards  the  interior.  Unfortunately  this  seaport  lies  at  the 
head  of  a  shallow  estuaiy  without  any  outer  port,  so  that  the  largo  steamers  arc 
obliged  to  stop  at  CampheUton-n  on  Foveaux  Strait.  A  railway  runs  from  Invcr- 
cargill  towards  Kingston,  a  pleasant  little  inland  town  delightfully  situated  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  Lake  ^yakatipu.  Quccndoirn,  at  the  foot  of  Ben  Lomond  on 
the  east  side  of  the  same  lake,  is  a  still  more  romantic  place,  originally  founded 


454 


AUSTRALASIA. 


by  ttc  miners,  but  now  a  miich-frequentccl  rural  retreat.     The  few  travellers  bound 
for  the  almost  uninhabited  Stewart  Island  embark  at  Invercargill. 

The  small  grou^js  of  islands  not  subject  to  the  administrative  system  of  the 
mainland  have  a  collective  area  of  1,170  miles,  with  a  total  population  of  about 


Fig.  197. — Chatham  Islaxh. 
Scale  1  :  ;)0O,rii ;(). 


0  to  .in 
Fathoms. 

60  Fathoms 

and  upwards 

1S  Mil»» 

i 


six  hundred  souls.  Of  these  groups  the  largest  is  Chatham,  or  Warchiari,  who.se 
capital,  Waitaiuji,  lies  on  Petre  Bay,  an  inlet  on  the  south-west  side  ;  here  are  the 
headquarters  of  the  Maori  invaders  of  the  island.  Pitt,  or  Bntarifari,  south  of  the 
larger  island,  is  a  ba.salt  table  GOO  feet  high,  mostly  overgrown  with  scrub  and 


NEW  ZEALAND.— ADJACENT  ISLANDS. 


455 


nearly  iiuiuliabited.  The  other  more  southerly  gToxi-ps—Bounii/,  Aiifijjodes,  Auck- 
land, Campbell,  Macquarie — ^ycre  never  occupied  except  by  temporary  AisKors, 
shipwrecked  crews,  or  whalers.  In  1874  Campbell  was  the  station  chosen  by  the 
French  astronomers  for  observing  the  transit  of  Venus  across  the  solar  disc.  On 
the  same  occasion  the  German  exjDedition  occupied  Auckland,  which  is  permanently 
inhibited  onlj'  by  a  single  familj^  of  graziers. 

The  Kcnnadec  islands,  lying  some  GOO  miles  north-east  of  New  Zealand  on  the 

Fig.  19S. — PEOviNCEa  of  New  Zealand. 
Scale  1  :  13,000,000. 


submarine  bed  connecting  this  archipelago  with  the  Tonga  group,  were  formally 
annexed  to  Australia  and  to  the  British  colonial  empire  in  1887.  When  discovered 
in  the  last  century  bj^  Watts  and  d'Entrecasteaux  they  were  uninhabited,  and 
have  remained  in  nearly  the  same  state  ever  since.  At  prcs^^nt  the  large  island  of 
Raonl  [Sunday  Island)  has  a  little  village  at  the  foot  of  its  wooded  volcanic  cone 
1,600  feet  high.     A  depot  of  supplies  for  shipw-recked  sailors  has  here  been  estab- 


45G  ■  AUSTRALASIA. 

lished  by  the  British  Govcniiiieut.  The  other  two  smaller  islands  are  also  of 
eruptive  origin,  and  have  collectively  an  area  of  about  20  square  miles.  Formerly 
the  Kermadec  group  was  probably  a  station  for  Polynesian  emigrants,  as  they  now 
form  a  connecting  link  between  the  British  colonies  of  New  Zealand  and  Fiji. 
They  lie  within  the  New  Zealand  vegetable  zone. 

tSincc  the  year  1853  New  Zealand  has  ceased  to  be  a  Crown  colony,  and  is  now 
self- governed  by  a  Parliament  of  two  Chambers  and  a  minister,  besides  the  Governor 
appointed  by  the  Queen.  The  Legislative  Council,  that  is  the  Upper  Chamber, 
consists  of  forty-seven  members  also  appointed  by  the  Queen  ;  amongst  tKem  are 
two  Maori.  The  Chamber  of  Representatives  comprises  ninety-four  elected  members, 
of  wiom  four  are  Maori.  All  resident  citizens  twenty-one  j'ears  of  age  and 
upwards  are  electors  and  eligible.  The  members  of  Parliament  receive  a  grant  of 
£200  for  travelling  expenses. 

The  department  of  public  instruction  is  one  of  the  most  liberally  endowed 
branches  of  the  public  service.  According  to  the  law  of  1877  education  is  at  once 
obligatory,  gratuitous,  and  secular,  and  comprises  the  rudiments  of  the  sciences, 
besides  drawing,  vocal  music,  domestic  economy,  and  military  exercises.  Secondary 
and  university  instruction  are  provided  for  by  a  large  number  of  colleges,  of  which 
those  of  Auckland,  Christchurch,  and  Dunedin  are  affiliated  to  the  University. 
These  high  schools  are  richly  endowed  with  public  grants  of  many  hundred  thou- 
sand acres  of  land.  The  body  of  examiners  constituting  the  University  confers 
the  same  degrees  as  Cambridge  and  Oxford.  But  despite  the  large  sums  voted  for 
educational  purposes  about  one-fifth  of  the  population  is  still  illiterate. 

In  1886  the  defensive  forces  numbered  over  8,000,  all  volunteers,  besides  a 
corps  of  1,667  cadets.  A  division  of  the  Australian  fleet  comprising  two  men-of- 
war  and  a  few  torpedoes  protects  the  seaboard,  while  the  approaches  to  the  four 
chief  towns — Auckland,  Wellington,  Christchurch,  and  Dunedin — are  defended 
by  fortifications. 

The  New  Zealand  budget  is  enormous  compared  with  the  population,  and  the 
public  debt  is  relatively  heavier  than  that  of  all  other  civilised  states,  France  not 
excepted.  The  Government  undertakes  the  charge  of  life  insurances  and  the 
administration  of  the  public  domains. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a  table  of  the  provinces,  formerly  little  autono- 
mous and  confederate  states,  now  simple  electoral  and  administrative  districts. 


LISRAKV 

OF  THE 

UNlVERSITVofllLlNOiS 


i     III      lllliillll 


CIIArTER  X. 


TIIK  FIJI  ISLANDS. 


1 

m 

HIS  large  archipelago  of  the  south  equatorial  zone  is  not  even  officially 
designated  by  the  name  given  to  it  by  the  inhabitants  themselves. 
The  term  Fiji  is  simply  a  Tonga  mispronunciation  of  the  native 
word  Viti<  these  islands  having  thus  lost  the  very  right  to  name 
themselves,  while  entering  by  a  constitutional  fiction  into  the  num- 
ber of  the  independent  Australasian  states.  In  point  of  fact  Fiji  is  a  simple 
political  possession  of  Australasia,  belonging  to  a  limited  number  of  planters,  who 
cultivate  their  lands  by  coolie  labour  introduced  from  the  surrounding  islands  and 
even  from  India,  while  the  natives  themselves  perish  in  the  villages  of  the  interior. 
Yet  the  archipelago  occupies  a  considerable  area,  and  is  so  favoured  by  a  fertile 
soQ  and  genial  climate  that  it  might  easily  support  a  population  of  two  millions. 

Tasman  first  discovered  the  eastern  part  of  the  group,  which  he  named  in  a 
general  way  "Prince  Willem  Islands."  In  1774  Cook  merely  sighted  Turtle 
(Vatoa)  Island,  and  in  1789  the  Fiji  waters  were  traversed  by  Bligh,  when, 
abandoned  by  most  of  his  crew  and  perishing  of  hunger  and  thirst,  he  made  his 
way  to  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Fiji  was  again  visited  in  1797  by  Wilson,  after 
which  time  numerous  trading  vessels  opened  relations  with  the  natives,  chiefly  for 
the  purchase  of  trepang  and  sandalwood.  But  the  scientific  exploration  was  not 
begun  till  1827  with  Dumont  d'Drville's  first  expedition ;  in  1838  the  same 
navigator  resumed  the  survey  of  the  archipelago,  which  was  continued  in  1840  by 
the  American  Wilkes,  accompanied  by  Dana  and  other  men  of  science.  Then 
came  the  missionaries  and  isolated  travellers,  and  Fiji  was  one  of  the  best  known 
oceanic  groups  when  it  was  annexed  to  the  British  colonial  empire  in  .1874.  The 
hydrographic  survey  of  the  coasts,  begun  bj'  Dumont  d'Urville  and  Wilkes  and 
extended  by  Denham  and  Hosken,  was  completed  in  aU  its  details  by  Moore,  who, 
during  his  three  years'  expedition,  coasted  every  part  of  the  group. 

The  chief  island,  Viti-Levu,  that  is,  "Great  Viti,"  is  of  oval  form,  its  main  axis 
being  disposed  in  the  direction  from  west  to  east.  Viti-Levu,  one  of  the  largest 
islands  in  equatorial  Polynesia,  is  entirely  mountainous,  with  densely  wooded 
extinct  volcanoes  4,000  and  even  5,000  feet  high.  The  argillaceous  soil,  of  a 
yellow  or  dull  red  colour,  consists  of  decomposed  scoriae,  which  are  extremely 
productive  w'herever  exposed  to  a  copious  rainfall.     The   plains  themselves  are 


458 


AUSTRALASIA. 


luitiirally  watered  by  hundreds  of  streams  aud  brooklets,  aud  even  rivers  accessible 
for  some  distauce  to  steamers.  One  of  these,  the  Wai-Levu  ("Great  "Water"), 
commonly  called  Rewa-Rewa,  embraces  in  its  catchment  basin  over  one-third  of 
the  island,  and  forms  a  considerable  delta  at  its  mouth  on  the  south-east  coast ;  the 
tides  ascend  2G  miles  and  boats  50  miles  farther  inland. 

Vanua-Levu,  or  "Great  Island,"  the  second  in  extent,  lies  north-east  of  Yiti- 
Levu,  and  encloses  between  its  two  eastern  peninsulas  the  extensive  Nateva  Bay, 
also  called  the  "  Dead  Sea,"  owing  to  the  stillness  of  its  waters.     This  island  is  also 

Fig.  109.— Fiji  Isl.«d3. 
Scale  1  :  16,000.000. 


Depths. 


0  to  250 
Fathoms. 

250  to  1,000 
Fathoms. 

1,000  Fatlioms 
and  upwards. 
180  Miles. 

volcanic,  sending  down  from  its  hills  numerous  thermal  rivulets.  It  is  connected 
with  Viti-Levu  by  barrier  reefs,  which  may  perhaps  indicate  a  former  coastline, 
and  above  which  rise  several  other  islands.  The  large  outer  reef,  whose  long 
convex  curve  is  pierced  by  an  opening  in  the  north-west,  supports  the  little  Yasawa 
and  Mamanutha  archipelagoes ;  on  the  inner  reef  stand  the  islets  of  Mbauand  Ovalau, 
famous  in  Fiji  history  as  political  centres  of  the  whole  group  at  various  epochs. 

Besides  the  two  large  islands  there  are  two  others  of  average  size,  the  volcanic 
Kandavu  in  the  ssuth-west,  important  as  the  nearest  land  to  New  Zealand  and 
Australia  and  encircled  on  the  north  by  a  long  fringing  reef  ;  and  in  the  north-east 
Tavuini,  dominated  by  a  volcano  with  flooded  crater  2,500  feet  high,  and  separated 


FIJI.  459 

from  Vanua-Levu  by  the  narrow  picturesque  Somo-Somo  Strait.  Of  the  other 
members  of  the  group  not  one  has  an  area  of  60  square  miles,  all  being  for  the  most 
part  mere  fragments  of  atolls  or  low  hUls  fringed  with  coral  reefs.  The  main  chain 
of  these  islets,  sweeping  round  the  cast  side  of  the  archipelago  from  north  to  south, 
is  designated  by  the  general  name  of  Lau;  it  resembles  the  rim  of  a  submerged 
cone  open  towards  the  sea  on  its  right  side,  and  enclosing  a  few  reef-fringed 
islets.  Altogether  Fiji  comprises  225  islands,  of  which  about  a  hundred  are 
inhabited. 

Climate. — Flora. — Fauna. 

The  windward  and  leeward  sides  of  all  the  islands  present  remarkable  contrasts 
due  to  the  moist  south-east  tradewinds,  which  prevail  throughout  the  year  and 
support  a  luxuriant  vegetation  on  the  south  and  cast  slopes,  while  the  drier  opi)o- 
site  sides  are  mostly  under  grass,  with  here  and  there  a  few  odoriferous  paudanus 
trees.  Here  the  settlers  find  the  more  favourable  tracts,  already  prepared  by  nature 
for  tillage  and  stock-breeding. 

The  mean  temperature  is  somewhat  lower  than  that  of  the  continental  lands 
Ij-ing  under  the  same  latitude;  but  although  the  extreme  heats  are  tempered  by  sea 
breezes,  the  whites  still  complain  of  the  fiery  solar  rays  on  the  plantations  of  the 
interior.  There  are  two  seasons,  one  relatively  cool,  from  May  to  October,  the  other 
■warmer  and  more  humid,  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  This  is  essentially  the  "  wet 
season,"  when  the  moisture  especially  in  March  is  precipitated  in  tremendous 
downpours,  and  at  times  accompanied  by  fierce  gales  and  hurricanes.  In  1871 
Mbua  received  in  a  single  day  15  inches  of  rain,  as  much  as  South  Australia  in  a 
whole  year. 

A  tropical  vegetation  prevails  in  Fiji,  where  the  outer  fringe  of  cocoanut  palms 
and,  in  the  few  swampy  districts,  mangrove  thickets,  are  succeeded  higher  up  by 
tree-ferns,  various  species  of  palms  and  other  equatorial  plants  partly  covered  with 
parasitic  orchids.  In  some  places  the  flora  is  essentially  Australian,  with  casiiarinas, 
acacias,  and  other  forms,  such  as  those  occurring  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of 
Carpentaria.  Towards  the  altitude  of  2,000  feet  the  seaboard  vegetation  is  replaced 
by  other  plants,  amongst  which  no  Alpine  forms  have  yet  been  found.  The  botanist 
Ilorne,  who  has  himself  discovered  over  300  new  species,  assigns  1,086  flowering 
plants  and  245  ferns  and  allied  forms  to  the  Fiji  flora. 

Like  the  other  Pacific  islands  the  archipelago  is  extremely  jjoor  in  higher  animal 
life,  the  only  mammals  being  a  rat,  some  bats  and  the  cetaceans  of  the  surrounding 
waters.  But  all  European  domestic  animals  have  been  introduced  and  thrive  well, 
both  the  pig  and  cat  having  already  reverted  to  the  wild  state.  Berthold  Sccman 
has  reckoned  46  species  of  birds,  and  reptiles,  snakes  and  lizards  arc  still  more 
numerous  ;  a  few  varieties  of  the  frog  in  the  eastern  parts  are  the  last  rci^rcsenta- 
tives  of  the  batrachian  family  in  the  Oceanic  world.  The  neighbouring  seas  are 
inhabited  by  about  125  species  of  fishes,  several  of  which  are  venomous  and  their 
flesh  poisonous.  Sharks  also  are  numerous,  and  some  of  these  formidable  aiiinials 
are  confined  exclusively  to  the  estuaries. 


460  ATTSTRALASTA. 

iN'HAlilTAXTS    OF    FiJt. 

The  Fijiaiis  pi-esent  affinities  both  with  the  western  Melanesians  and  eastern 
Polynesians,  and  areat  least  partly  of  mixed  descent,  although  the  majority  approach 
nearest  to  the  former  group.  They  are  tall  and  robust,  very  brown  or  coppery, 
sometimes  even  almost  black,  with  abundant  tresses  intermediate  between  hair  and 
wool.  Half-breeds  are  numerous  and  are  often  distinguished  by  almost  European 
features.  Till  recently  they  went  nearly  naked,  wearing  only  the  loin-cloth  or 
skirt  of  vegetable  fibre,  smearing  the  body  with  oil,  and  dyeing  the  hair  with  red 
ochre.  The  women  passed  bits  of  stick  or  bark  through  the  pierced  lobe  of  the 
ear,  and  nearly  all  the  men  carried  a  formidable  club ;  now  they  wear  shirts, 
blouses,  or  dressing-gowns,  or  else  drape  themselves  in  blankets,  and  thus  look  more 
and  more  like  needy  labourers  dressed  in  the  cast-off  clothes  of  their  employers. 
They  display  great  natural  intelligence,  and  according  to  Williams  are  remarkable 
for  a  logical  turn  of  mind,  which  enables  Europeans  to  discuss  questions  with  them 
in  a  rational  way.  Their  generosity  is  attested  by  the  language  itself,  which 
abounds  in  terms  meaning  to  give,  but  has  no  word  to  express  the  acts  of  borrowing 
or  lending.  Compared  with  their  Polynesian  neighbours,  they  are  also  distin- 
guished by  great  reserve.  Their  meke  or  dances,  always  graceful  and  marked  by 
great  decorum,  ref)resent  little  land  or  sea  dramas,  sowing,  harvesting,  fishing, 
even  the  struggles  between  the  rising  tides  and  rocks. 

At  present  all  the  Fijians  are  nominal  Christians.  The  first  missionaries,  who 
settled  at  Lekemba  in  the  eastern  group  of  islands  so  early  as  1835,  gradually 
extended  their  influence,  founding  other  stations  in  various  parts  of  the  archi- 
pelago and  even  acquiring  a  share  of  authority  with  the  chiefs.  For  the.  last  fifty 
years  the  history  of  the  natives  has  been  a  record  of  endless  rivalries  and  alliances 
between  the  missionaries  and  planters,  who  are  henceforth  associated  under  the 
protection  of  the  British  Government.  The  dominant  religion  is  that  of  the 
Wesleyans,  comprising  over  100,000  faithful ;  some  thousands  have  also  become 
Roman  Catholics,  while  the  Anglican  Church,  enjoying  a  considerable  revenue, 
yearly  increases  the  number  of  its  adherents. 

At  first  a  great  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  Christianity  was  a  mistake  made  by 
the  missionaries,  who,  in  the  ignorance  of  their  language,  adopted  as  the  name  of 
the  Deity  the  word  Kalu,  which  is  applied  by  the  people  only  to  the  secondary  gods, 
the  patrons  of  the  social  classes,  family  groups,  and  professions.  A  better  term 
would  have  been  Ndegei,  the  name  of  a  mysterious  being,  who  under  the  form  of  a 
great  serpent  hidden  in  the  deep  caverns  created  and  still  preserves  the  universe. 

Ancestry  worship  formerly  prevailed ;  the  forefathers  of  the  race  had  been 
raised  to  the  rank  of  gods,  and  some,  renowned  during  life,  had  becoriie  potent 
divinities  invoked  by  the  whole  nation.  As  in  most  Polynesian  islands,  the  exact 
spot  was  shown  where  the  dead  started  on  their  long  journey  to  the  unknown  world 
whence  none  return,  and  which  lies  far  away  in  the  region  of  the  setting  sun. 
This  Vanua-Levu,  or  "  Land's  End,"  lies  at  the  extreme  western  headland  of 
Naikobokobo,  whither  the  natives  made  frequent  pilgrimages.  They  had  also 
powerful  priests,  who  were  able  to  hold  commune  with  the  souls  of  the  dead  and 


FIJI.  ■IGl 

even  with  the  gods,  making  them  open  their  mouths  before  the  assembled  raulti- 
Fisj.   icin  —The  Royal  Family.   Fiji. 


tude.     These  priests  also  consulted  all  living  things,  lor  not  man  alone  but  every- 


462  AUSTRALASIA. 

thing  possesses  a  soul,  animals,  plants,  even  the  houses,  canoes,  weapons,  and  imple- 
ments of  labour.  The  temples  stood  for  the  most  part  on  natural  or  artificial 
terraces,  and  consisted  generally  of  an  ordinary  cabin  erected  on  a  square  base  or 
else  on  a  p}'ramidal  pedestal.  A  mngic'  wand,  probably  intended  to  ward  off 
evil  influences,  was  placed  horizontally  above  the  roof  made  of  branches  and 
foliage. 

Cannibalism  entered  largely  into  the  religious  system  of  the  Fijians.  The 
names  of  certain  deities,  such  as  the  "  God  of  Slaughter,"  and  the  "  God  eater  of 
human  brains,"  sufficiently  attest  the  horrible  nature  of  the  rites  held  in  their 
honour.  Religion  also  taught  that  all  natural  kindness  was  impious,  that  the  gods 
loved  bl(»d,  and  that  not  to  shed  it  before  them  would  be  culpable ;  hence  those 
wicked  people  who  had  never  killed  anj'body  in  their  lifetime  were  thrown  to  the 
sharks  after  death.  Children  destined  to  be  sacrificed  for  the  public  feasts  were 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  those  of  their  own  age,  who  thus  served  their  appren- 
ticeship as  executioners  and  cooks.  The  wives  of  the  chiefs  had  to  follow  him  to 
the  grave,  and  on  certain  occasions  the  sons  consented  to  be  buried  alive  in  their 
father's  tomb,  "happy  victims  highly  acceptable  to  the  gods."  All  protest  against 
their  fate  would  have  been  regarded  as  an  outrage,  and  it  is  related  of  a  woman 
rescued  by  the  missionaries  that  she  escaped  during  the  night  and  delivered  herself 
up  to  the  executioners.  The  aged  and  invalids  frequently  asked  to  be  despatched, 
and  were  then  usually  strangled  in  their  graves. 

The  banquets  of  "long  pig,"  that  is,  human  flesh,  were  regarded  a^  a  sacred 
ceremony  from  which  the  women  and  children  were  excluded,  and  while  the  men 
used  their  fingers  with  all  other  food,  they  had  to  employ  forks  of  hard  wood  at 
these  feasts.  The  ovens  also  in  which  the  bodies  were  baked  could  not  be  used  for 
any  other  purj^ose.  Notwithstanding  certain  restrictions  human  flesh  was  largely 
consumed,  and  in  various  places  hundreds  of  memorial  stones  were  shown  which 
recalled  the  number  of  sacrifices.  Near  Namosi,  in  the  interior  of  Viti-Levu, 
there  was  a  tribe,  the  Nalocas,  who  happening  to  offend  a  neighbouring  kinglet, 
was  condemned  to  sj^strmatic  extermination.  Every  year  a  single  household  was 
put  to  death  and  served-  ixp  at  the  chief's  banquet.  After  the  feast  the  cabin  was 
burnt,  and  the  place  planted  with  taro  and  the  solnmim  anthropophcKjum,  to  serve 
as  the  future  accompaniment  of  the  next  family.  Flight  would  have  been  imme- 
diately punished  with  death,  and  the  wretched  victims  had  to  remain  on  the  spot 
while  the  plants  sprang  up,  blossomed,  and  ripened.  On  the  harvest  day  the. 
ministers  came  to  prepare  the  table,  to  cut  the  taro,  and  heat  the  great  pot ;  then 
seizing  the  victims  by  the  arms  and  legs  they  carried  them  off  and  dashed  out  their 
brains'  against  a  sacred  stone.  When  most  of  the  community  had  thus  perished, 
the  rest  were  reprieved  and  an  old  woman,  last  of  the  tribe,  died  a  natural  death 
in  1860. 

Thakumbau,  who  later  became  "  a  fervent  Christian,"  and  who  was  accepted  by 
the  English  as  the  "  legitimate  king  "  of  the  whole  archipelago,  was  wont  to  indicate 
with  his  club  the  person  he  should  like  jircparod  for  his  evening  meal.  If  any 
wretch  dared  to  sue  for  pardon  the  king  had  his  tongue  torn  out  and  devoured  it 


FIJI.  4G3 

raw.  He  also  amused  himself  by  setting  up  a  "  tree  of  forbidden  fruit,"  on  the 
branches  of  which  were  hung  up  the  more  choice  pieces  of  human  flesh  reserved 
for  the  royal  table.  Yet  when  the  missionaries  and  English  residents  called  on 
the  chiefs  to  put  an  end  to  cauuibalisnij  the  "  conservative  party,"  sticklers  for  the 
old  usages,  energetically  defended  the  national  "  institutions,"  maintaining  that  it 
was  due  to  society  to  uphold  the  system  of  terror  over  the  lower  classes.  But  the 
"  radicals  "  triumphed,  and  even  before  the  British  occupation  human  sacrifices 
had  everywhere  ceased,  as  had  also  the  atrocious  custom  of  launching  war  canoes 
over  the  bodies  of  prostrate  captives. 

A  great  inducement  to  accept  the  sovereignty  of  England  was  the  dread  of  the 
Tonga  immigrants,  who  might  overrun  the  archipelago,  just  as  Tonga  itself  had 
formerly  been  reduced  by  the  Samoan  ancestors  of  the  Tongans.  At  first  these 
islanders  dared  not  venture  to  land  without  sijecial  permission,  but,  thanks  to  the 
ever-increasing  commercial  relations,  they  gradually  obtained  a  footing,  especially 
in  the  eastern  islands  lying  nearest  to  Tonga,  and  at  last  became  numerous  enough 
to  form  independent  communities  in  Lakemba  and  elsewhere.  One  of  their  chiefs 
converted  to  Christianity  took  the  missionaries  as  allies  in  extending  his  conquests, 
and  at  every  treaty  of  peace  required  the  vanquished  Fijians  to  burn  their  temples 
and  join  the  lotu  of  oil,  that  is  to  say,  the  Wesleyan  Church,  whose  ministers 
were  paid  in  cocoanut  oil.  In  1859,  this  victorious  chief,  who  claimed  to  be 
merely  a  lieutenant  o£  the  king  of  Tonga,  found  himself  at  the  head  of  three 
thousand  victorious  troops  ;  all  the  eastern  islands  together  with  Vanua-Levu  had 
already  been  reduced,  and  he  was  preparing  to  invade  Viti-Levu  when  the  British 
consul  Pritchard  interfered  and  compelled  the  Tonga  intruders  to  desist  from  all 
further  military  or  political  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  the  archipelago. 

The  terror  of  the  Tonga  invasion  was  followed  by  the  danger  of  extermination 
by  American  or  Australian  whites.  Some  United  States  seafarers,  having  suffered 
some  real  or  fancied  wrong  at  the  hands  of  King  Thakumbau,  demanded  enormous 
damages,  which  he  would  have  been  unable  to  pay  had  not  a  company  of  Austra- 
lian speculators  advanced  the  money  in  return  for  200,000  acres  of  arable  laud  in 
the  most  fertile  parts  of  the  archipelago.  ITenceforth  the  white  planters  were 
masters,  and  those  natives  who  refused  to  work  on  the  plantations  with  the  coolies 
from  the  New  Hebrides,  Samoa  and  India,  were  fain  to  withdraw  to  the  remote 
valleys  of  the  interior. 

Even  the  annexation  was  at  first  followed  by  disaster,  over  thirty  thousand 
natives  having  perished  in  a  few  weeks  from  a  frightful  outbreak  of  small-pox, 
accidentally  introduced  from  Australia  in  187o.  The  population  still  continues 
to  decrease,  and  although  the  number  of  inhabitants  at  the  arrival  of  the  whites 
is  uncertain,  the  decay  of  the  race  is  placed  beyond  doubt  by  the  ruined  villages, 
the  deserted  islands,  and  more  recently  by  the  more  or  less  accurate  returns  of  the 
regular  census.  Of  late  years  the  whites  themselves  have  become  less  numerous, 
owing  to  the  fluctuations  of  trade.  An  indication  of  the  unhappy  social  conditious 
now  prevalent  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  the  women  arc  in  a  minority  botli 
amongst  the  natives  and  the  strangers,  cither  arriving  voluntarily  or  else  intro- 


464  AUSTRALASIA. 

duced  as  labourers  on  the  plantations.  Every  year  the  mortality  is  also  greatly  in 
excess  of  the  births. 

A  great  variety  of  plants  are  cultivated  iu  the  archijielago.  A  species  of  yam 
supplies  the  staple  of  food  for  the  natives,  who  also  raise  large  crops  of.  the  taro 
or  dato ;  but  the  sandalwood  so  largely  exported  at  the  beginning  of  the  century 
is  nearly  exhausted,  while  the  dakua,  or  Fiji  pine  [dammara  Vifiensis),  resembling 
the  New  Zealand  kauri,  has  become  very  rare.  The  shores  are  fringed  by  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  cocoanuts,  owned,  however,  not  by  the  natives,  but  by  the 
planters,  who  export  the  oil  and  copra  to  Europe  and  Australia.  One  of  the 
plants  most  utilised  for  the  local  industries  is  the  malo  {broussonetia  jiapi/ri/tra),  the 
bark  of  which  is  pounded  by  the  women  to  the  consistency  of  a  stout  pliant  fabric 
used  as  a  loin-cloth  or  toga,  and  even  for  making  fancy  paper.  Naturally  of  a  pure 
white  colour,  this  cloth  is  dyed  in  various  designs  by  a  process  which  resembles 
printing,  by  means  of  carefully  prepared  bits  of  bamboo  charged  with  pigment. 

The  natural  or  acclimatised  flora  abounds  in  plants  valuable  for  their  fi-uits, 
edible  roots,  drugs,  spices,  fibres,  colours,  gums  or  resins,  and  if  the  plantations 
have  hitherto  proved  little  remunerative,  the  fact  must  be  attributed  not  so  much 
to  the  destructive  cyclones  as  to  the  evils  associated  with  the  prevailing  system  of 
contract  labour.  During  the  first  years  of  the  colonisation  the  Ameiican  Civil 
War  rapidly  enriched  the  planters  by  the  sudden  impulse  given  co  cotton  growing. 
But  since  that  time  labour  has  become  too  dear  to  allow  this  industry  to  compete 
with  the  growers  of  the  Southern  States,  and  Fiji  now  exports  only  a  few  bales  of 
cotton.  Tobacco  is  raised  exclusively  by  the  natives,  and  at  present  the  chief 
agricultural  industries  are  the  preparation  of  cocoanut  oil,  copra,  and  sugar.  Up 
to  the  year  1882  the  public  lands  sold  to  planters  had  a  total  area  of  over  280,000 
acres.  The  foreign  trade  is  mostly  in  the  hands  of  the  English  and  Australians, 
although  some  Hamburg  houses  are  also  represented  by  a  few  local  agents. 

Lenilri,  the  former  capital,  being  inconveniently  situated  on  the  east  side  of 
Ovalau  Island,  the  centre  of  government  was  removed  to  the  new  capital,  Sura, 
near  the  southern  extremity  of  Viti-Levu  between  the  deltas  of  the  two  largest 
rivers,  and  not  far  from  Eewa,  the  largest  village  of  the  interior.  But  the  port  of 
call  for  ocean  steamers  lies  in  Ngalao  Bay,  south  of  Kandava  Island,  where  the 
waters  are  deeper  and  less  obstructed  by  reefs.  Sam-Sam  Bay,  south  of  Yanua- 
Levu  is  also  frequented  by  skij)pers.  Near  the  port  copious  thermal  sjjriugs 
bubble  up  on  the  beach. 

The  natives  take  no  part  in  the  administration  of  the  archipelago,  which 
is  a  Crown  colony,  with  a  Governor  and  executive  council  named  by  the  Queen, 
and  a  legislative  council  of  thirteen  members,  seven  ex  officio  and  six  chosen  by 
the  Governor.     Fiji  is  divided  into  twelve  districts  under  paid  chiefs. 

The  yearly  budget  has  fallen  off  with  the  decrease  of  the  pojjulation,  while 
the  public  debt  grows  from  year  to  year.  Fiji  has,  in  fact,  disappointed  the 
expectations  fo  the  first  white  settlers,  and  the  local  traders  have  already  several 
time  petitioned  the  Victoria  Parliament  to  undertake  its  administration.  In  1881 
the  volcanic  ishnid  of  Rotuma,. lying  300   miles  to  the  noith-west,  was  formally 


■^ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

DIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS, 


rur. 


405 


annexed  by  England  to  Fiji.  The  interior  of  this  hilly  islet,  scarcely  14  square 
miles  in  extent,  has  been  transformed  to  an  enclosure  for  wild  pigs,  which  with 
palin  groves  and  gardens  constitute  its  chief  wealth.  Like  the  Fijians,  the 
Rotumans,  skilful  and  daring  seafarers,  have  been  subjected  to  the  influence  of 


Fig.  201. — SirvA  .\NT)  Levuka. 
SCiUe  1  :  5711,01.10. 


E] 


Rncks  and  Sands  ex- 
posed at  low  water. 


the  Tongans,  who,  even  before  the  arrival  of  the  English  missionaries,  had 
converted  most  of  them  to  Wesleyan  Christianity;  but  the  natives,  like  so  many 
other  Polynesians,  are  dying  out. 


VOL.    XIV. 


CHAPTER  XL 


EQUATORIAL  POLYNESIA. 

'OLYNESIA.  is  one  of  those  vague  geographical  terms  which  have 
been  variously  applied  to  more  or  less  extensive  aggregates  of 
oceanic  islands.  From  the  purely  geographical  standpoint  these 
are  insular  groups  of  small  extent,  scattered  over  the  Pacific  east 
of  the  great  archipelagoes  and  continental  regions  of  the  Philip- 
pines, New  Guinea,  and  Australia.  But  ethnographically  considered  Polynesia, 
that  is,  the  "  Many  Islands,"  consists  of  the  east  oceanic  clusters  inhabited  by  the 
light  brown  race  allied  to  the  Malaj^s  in  speech,  but  differing  greatly  from  them  in 
physical  appearance,  usages,  and  ti'aditions.  Hence,  from  the  ethnical  point 
of  view,  both  New  Zealand  in  the  Antarctic  hemisphere  and  Hawaii  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  would  form  part  of  Polynesia.  But  these  outlying  regions, 
so  far  removed  from  the  equator,  are  so  clearly  distinguished  hj  their  climate  and 
geographical  constitution  from  the  other  Polynesian  groups,  that  they  have  to  be 
studied  apart.  The  Ellice  Archipelago,  also,  whose  inhabitants  are  likewise  Poly- 
nesians, belong  to  the  same  insular  chain  as  the  Marshall  and  Gilbert  Islands. 

Within  its  restricted  limits  Polynesia,  properly  so  called,  lies  almost  entirely 
between  the  equator  and  the  tropic  of  Capricorn.  But  even  within  these  limits  it 
still  presents  a-considerable  extent  of  laud  scattered  over  about  1,200,000  square 
miles  of  oceanic  waters,  and  disposed  in  eleven  chief  groups,  with  here  and  there 
little  clusters  in  twos  and  threes,  or  even  solitary  islands  of  every  form,  with  a 
collective  area  estimated  at  nearly  4,000  square  miles.  Of  the  several  islands, 
about  two  hundred  and  twenty  have  an  area  of  at  least  half  a  mile  and  upwards  ; 
but  it  would  be  impossible  to  number  all  the  thousands  of  distinct  islets  and  reefs, 
which  form  the  rings  of  countless  atolls,  and  which  are  awash  with  the  surface, 
appearing  and  disappearing  with  the  alternation  of  the  tides. 

Like  most  other  oceanic  lands,  the  East  Polynesian  Islands  are  disposed  in 
certain  uniform  directions.  With  the  exception  of  Tonga,  which  belongs  to  tlie 
New  Zealand  syst-em,  and  is  connected  with  that  archipelago  through  the  Kermadec 
group,  all  the  Polynesian  islands  are  arranged  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to 
south-east  in  j^arallel  chains,  whose  true  form  is  shown  more  distinctly  by  that  of 
the  submerged  banks  revealed  by  the  sounding-line.  Excluding  the  less  impor- 
tant prominences,  six  main  ridges  follow  with  .'-triking  regularity  from  the  Niue 


EQUATOEI.iL  POLYNESIA. 


467 


(Inui)  to  the  Marquesas  group,  all  sepanited  one  from  the  other  by  profound 
chasms,  with  a  mean  depth  of  2,000  fathoms.  The  first  and  least  clearly  defined 
of  these  ridges  is  attached  to  the  north-east  angle  of  the  Tonga  Archijjelago  im- 
mediately to  the  east  of  the  deepest  trough  j^et  measured  in  the  southern  waters, 
where  the  Egcria  recorded  4,500  fathoms  in  1888.*  Nine  is  the  only  inhabitable 
land  presented  by  this  lii'st  chain,  which  has  nevertheless  a  total  length  of  1,800 
miles.  The  other  prominences  along  this  line  are  mere  rocks,  reefs,  shoals,  or 
sandbanks,  all  terminating  in  the  islet  of  Maria  Theresa,  which  rises  amid  deep 
waters  at  the  south-east  extremity  of  the  submarine  bank. 

On  the  other  hand  the  second  parallel  range  is  marked  by  a  large  number  of 

Fig.  202. — Tee.nd  of  the  Poltxesian  Islands. 
Scale  1  :  90.00u.oi» 


EID 


upraised  lands,  beginning  in  the  north-west  with  Samoa,  one  member  of  which  is 
the  largest  in  Polynesia.  Then  follow  the  little  Palmerston  and  Gook  clusters, 
the  whole  terminating  with  the  more  scattered  Tubuai  Archipelago.  The  third 
line,  less  regular  in  its  general  disposition,  but  still  clearly  traced  by  the  sub- 
marine soundings,  runs  from  the  Tokelau  group  through  Pukapuka  and  Suvarov  to 
the  Society  Islands.  Bej-ond  this  point  a  few  islets,  usually  assigned  to  the  Tuamotu 
Archipelago,  might  be  equally  well  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  same  system  as 
the  Tahiti  (Society)  group.  Although  isolated  by  abysmal  depths,  such  as  those 
of  Ililgard  and  Miller,  west  and  east,  the  Phoenix  cluster  is  dispo.«ed  in  the  same 
direction  as  Tahiti,  as  are  also  the  Penrhyn  Islands  (Manahiki)  forming  the  north- 
west extremity  of  the  fourth  range.  This  range,  running  south-east  through  the 
main  axis  of  Tuamotu,  curves  slightly  round  so  as  to  present  its  convex  side  to  the 
equator.     To  the  same  range  belong  Pitcairn  and  Easter,  as  well  as  Sala  y  Gomez, 

•  In  'W  37  '  S.  lat.  ;  175°  8 '  E.  long. 
H    H    2 


4G8 


AUSTRALASIA. 


the  last  Polj'nesian  land  in  the  direction  of  Asia.  Farther  east  the  Pacific  is 
entirely  free  of  islands  for  a  space  of  about  1,G00  miles,  and  Juan  Fernandez, 
although  in  a  line  with  Tuamotu  and  Easter,  must  be  regarded  as  a  geographical 
dependency  of  the  American  continent. 

North  of  the  Central  Polynesian  axis  follow  two  other  ranges,  one  comprising 
Maiden,  Caroline,  and  the  northern  chain  of  the  Low  A  rchijDclago,  the  other 
beginning  north  of  the  equator  with  Samarang,  New  York,  Christmas,  and 
Fanning,  often  collectively  named  America  Islands,  and  terminating  with  the 
isolated  swarm  of  the  Marquesas,  still  3,000  miles  from  the  Californiau  peninsula, 
and  even  2,000  from  Hawaii. 

Like  other  oceanic  populations,  the  Polynesians  have  been  broug-ht  under  the 


Fig.  203. — Volcanic  Islands  op  Eastern  Polynesia. 
Scale  1  :  100,000,000. 


-'  '»'•,  \ 

1 

'  .'■"■■-.„         : 

■■    / 

Easbsr  1.  ' 

\jJ'.2S^/snc/ 

MeMi,anoFG-e.r,..:ch 


influence  of  the  European  missionaries  and  traders,  and  the  clash  of  national  and 
religious  interests  has  resulted  in  the  official  annexation  of  most  of  the  archi- 
pelagoes. England  is  supreme  in  the  western  parts,  where  Tonga  and  Tokelau  come 
within  the  political  attraction  of  her  Australian  possessions.  Owing  to  its  central 
position  in  the  mid-Pacific  Samoa  forms  a  bone  of  contention  between  the  rival 
British,  American,  and  Germanic  powers,  and  to  their  diplomatic  conflicts  are  due 
the  civil  wars  that  have  long  raged  in  the  archipelago.  The  less  important 
Phcenix,  Funning,  Enderbury,  Maiden,  and  other  guano  producing  islands,  though 
often  attributed  to  the  United  States,  have  hitherto  remained  unoccupied.  But 
Tahiti,  together  with  the  Low  and  Marquesas  groups,  are  henceforth  recognised 
as  belonging  to  France,  which  is  thus  paramount  in  the  easternmost  parts  of  Poly- 
nesia. 

Geologically    this    region  differs    in   no  respect  from  Micronesia.      The  vol- 
canoes, extinct  in  the  east,  are  now  confined  to  Tonga  and  Samoa,  the  former  group 


EQUATORIAL  TOLYNESIA. 


469 


continuing  the  igneous  system  of  New  Zealand.  Here  Tofua  (2^800  feet)  was  the 
scene  of  an  eruption  in  1885,  and  Kao  (5,000  feet)  has  been  frequently  disturbed 
during  the  historic  period.  Late,  west  of  the  Vavao  group,  emitted  flames  in 
1854,  and  its  nortliern  neighbour  Fonualai  (Amargura)  was  nearly  blown  away  by 
a  terrific  explosion  in  1846.      Niua,  which  stands  in  a  line  with  the  volcanic  axis, 

Fig.  204.— Tonoa-Tabu. 
Scale  1  ;  700,000. 


presents  a  remarkably  regular  oval  shape,  with  a  lake  of  like  form  within  the 
circuit  of  its  vast  crater.  Tonga  really  comprises  two  distinct  chains,  a  western 
with  several  lofty  isolated  cones,  and  an  eastern  consisting  of  low  islands.  Here 
the  large  island  of  Tonga-Tabu  itself  is  merely  a  level  plain  of  coralline  sands  un- 
derlying a  thick  layer  of  extremely  fertile  vegetable  humus.  The  whole  island  is 
covered  with  a  rich  vegetation  of  bread-fruit  trees,  palm-groves,  and  bananas. 
Other  coralline  islands,  such  as  the  picturesque  Vavao  group  and  Niue  farther  east 
have  been  raised  to  a  certain  height  above  sea-level. 


470 


AUSTEALASIA. 


Samoa,  -wliich  is  regularly  disposed  in  a  long  chaiu,  is  entirely  volcai  present- 
ing nothing  but  basalt  rocks,  either  still  ccmpact  or  reduced  to  tuffas  and  scoria?, 
and  differing  greatly  in  age.  Some  are  completely  weathered  on  the  surface, 
while  others  appear  to  have  little  changed  since  the  time  when  the  lava  streams 
overflowed  from  their  fiery  furnaces.  Tutnila,  easternmost  of  the  three  large 
islands,  has  no  longer  a  central  crater,  all  the  cones  having  been  obliterated  by 
weathering,  while  profound  ravines  have  been  opened  in  the  flanks  of  the  moun- 
tains, whose  original  outlines  can  no  longer  be  recognised.  Upolu,  farther  west, 
presents  a  somewhat  similar  aspect,  though  the  volcanoes  have  preserved  their 
regular  slopes,  scoriae,  and  craters  in  some  districts. 

Lastly,  the  large  island  of  Savaii,  in  the  extreme  west,  forms  a  single  igneous 


Fig.  205.— Samoa. 
Scale  1  :  3,500,000. 


Wert  oF  G.ee.w,ch 


mass,  an  Etna  with  central  crater,  with  gently  inclined  slopes  dotted  over  with 
numerous  parasitic  cones.  A  continuous  forest  clothes  the  central  summit  and  the 
zone  of  secondary  crests,  while  every  crater  is  embowered  in  verdure.  Of  all 
the  Samoan  islands  Savaii  has  the  narrowest  fringe  of  coral  reefs,  which  Dana 
attributes  to  the  shorter  period  that  has  elapsed  since  the  extinction  of  its  vol- 
canoes. The  eastern  islets  also. present  the  same  coralline  formation,  relatively 
larger  in  proportion  to  the  longer  time  they  have  been  quiescent.  Eose,  last  link 
of  the  chain,  is  probably  an  atoll  built  up  by  the  polyps  on  the  sunimit  of  .an  igneous 
crest.  Even  on  the  reefs  are  seen  here  and  there  fragments  of  basalt,  perhaps 
deposited  by  the  floating,  trunks  of  trees,  or  thrown  out  by  passing  boats  as  useless 
ballast. 


EQUATORIAL  POLYNESIA. 


471 


The  various  groups  coufiuuing  the  Sumoau  range  south-eastwards  also  consist 
either  of  volcanoes  or  upheaved  coral  rocks,  with  but  few  atolls.  The  Cook  Islands 
have  several  cones  300  or  400  feet  high,  overtopped  by  the  majestic  Raratonga, 
which  attains  an  elevation  of  4,000  feet.  Of  like  formation  are  the  Tubuai  or 
Austral  Islands,  whose  reef- fringed  igneous  crests  continue  the  line  of  the  Samoan 
system. 

But  the  loftiest  volcanic  mountains  in  equatorial  Poh'nesia  are  those  of  the 

Fig.  20G. — CiMBiEB  Abchtpelago. 
Scale  1  :  200,000. 


Deptiis. 


510  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


Tahiti  or  Society  group.  Here  Maupiti,  rising  over  300  feet  above  an  atoll,  is 
followed  by  the  twin-crested  Bora-Bora  (-2,300  feet),  Tahaa  (1,300  feet),  Huahine 
(1,180  fpet),  and  the  isolated  Tapamanoa,  loading  to  the  superb  group  of  Tahiti 
proper.  Moorea  or  Eimeo,  westernmost  of  this  group,  is  dominated  bj'  the  long 
extinct  Tohivea   (4,000  feet),  whose  decomposed  lavas  now  support  a   luxuriant 


472 


AUSTRALASIA. 


tropical  vegetation.  Of  more  symmetrical  form  is  Taiti  Nui  ("Great  Tahiti"), 
whose  regular  cone  occupies  the  centre  of  the  island,  which  is  connected  on  the 
south-east  by  a  narrow  tongue  of  land  with  Taiti  Iti,  or  "  Little  Tahiti."  Komo, 
highest  peak  of  the  latter  (3,700  feet),  is  nearly  doubled  in  height  by  the  superb 
Orohena  (7,335  feet),  which  sjjrings  from  the  centre  of  Great  Tahiti.     The  neigh- 


i 


Fig.  207. — The  MAEauKSAS. 

Scale  1  :  2,000,000. 


bouring  Aorai  is  nearly  as  lofty,  while  several  of  the  surrounding  satellites  of  these 
two  monarchs  attain  an  altitude  of  5,000  feet.  Orohena,  that  is,  "Soil  of  the  Gods," 
terminating  in  a  cluster  of  vertical  basalt  columns,  has  never  been  scaled,  and  even 
the  more  accessible  Aorai  was  only  ascended  for  the  first  time  in  1882.  Some 
hundred  and  fifty  streams  or  rivulets  rushing  in  cascades  over  the  basalt  terraces 
have  gradually  deposited  the  rich  detritus  of  the  eruptive  rocks  on  the  narrow 


J^'^EftSlTKofltLINOlS. 


EQUATORIAL  POLYXESIA.  473 

zone  of  plains  encircling  tlie  island  with  a  fringe  of  verdure  about  two  miles  deep  ; 
the  deposits  are  prevented  from  being  carried  seawards  by  an  outer  barrier  of  reefs. 

The  Manahiki  islets,  scattered  to  the  north-west  of  Tahiti,  are  all  "  low,"  like 
those  of  the  great  archipelago  specially  designated  by  that  name.  This  Low 
Archipelago,  formerly  known  as  Pomotu  ("Lands  of  Night"  or  "Mystery"), 
and  at  present  as  Tuamotu  ("Remote  Lands "),  might  well  have  retained  the 
name  of  "  Dangerous  "  given  to  it  by  Bougainville.  Nearly  all  the  visible  islets 
are  atolls  or  mere  reefs  extremely  perilous  to  navigators.  Before  the  introduction 
of  the  cocoanut  the  only  arborescent  plants  were  the  pandanus  and  a  species  of 
box  called  mikimiki.  Of  the  78  islets  composing  the  archipelago  properlj'  so 
called  74  appear  to  be  under  14  feet  high,  and  the  few  that  attain  an  eminence 
of  120  feet  look  like  veritable  mountains.  Possessing  no  lagoons  of  smooth  water 
they  are  avoided  hy  skippers  The  atolls  are  generally  of  a  regular  oval  shape 
disposed  in  the  direction  of  the  archipelago  itself,  that  is,  north-west  and  south- 
east. 

South-east  of  Tuamotu  the  relatively  large  i  land  of  Mangareva  forms  with  a 
few  elevated  islets  a  distinct  volcanic  group,  known  as  the  Gambler  Archipelago, 
and  memorable  in  connection  with  the  researches  of  Darwin  on  the  oscillations  of 
the  terrestrial  crust.  The  whole  group  is  enveloped  in  an  outer  coral  reef  appa- 
rently indicating  the  ancient  coastline  of  now  submerged  land,  which,  according 
to  the  illustrious  naturalist,  slowlj-  subsided,  while  the  exterior  rim  was  kept  near 
the  surface  by  the  coral  builders.  But  whatever  is  to  be  said  of  this  theor}',  which 
has  recently  been  contested  by  Gupp}',  Murray,  and  others,  it  is  certain  that 
Gambler  consists  essentiallj'  of  an  igneous  nucleus  round  which  the  polyps  have 
raised  their  coral  structures.  Duff,  the  central  eminence  (1,200  feet),  is  an  extinct 
volcano,  as  are  aU  the  other  heights  scarttered  over  the  inner  waters. 

Apart  from  a  few  atolls  and  coral  reefs  the  Marquesas  are  all  old  volcanoes,  or 
groups  of  volcanoes,  probably  extinct  for  many  ages,  and  no  longer  anj'where  pre- 
senting the  regular  form  of  cones  with  terminal  craters  and  lava  sheets.  Nuka- 
hiva,  largest  member  of  the  archipelago,  shows  on  its  west  side  nothing  but  steep 
cliffs  and  stony  plateaux  almost  destitute  of  vegetation  ;  but  the  central  part,  source 
of  the  largest  stream,  is  enclosed  hy  a  circle  of  hills  culminating  in  a  peak  3,860 
feet  high.  Hiva-oa  has  better  jDreserved  its  primitive  architecture,  still  forming 
an  amphitheatre  of  volcanic  hills,  one  of  which  is  the  highest  point  in  the  archi- 
pelago (4,140  feet). 

The  solitary  Easter  Island,  on  the  eastern  verge  of  PoljTiesia,  is  a  huge  block 
of  lava,  terminating  in  a  volcano  ruptured  at  the  three  corners  of  its  triangular 
mass.  The  highest  summit  at  the  north-west  angle  rises  1,040  feet  sheer  above  the 
surface  of  the  water. 

Climate. — Flora. — Fauna. 
Equatorial  Polynesia  is  almost  entirclj^  comprised  within  the  zone  of  the  south- 
east trade  winds,  the  groups  north  of  the  equator  being  alone  exposed  to  north- 
east breezes,  which  in  summer  veer  round  to  the  north-west,  or  become  variable 


474  AUSTRALASIA. 

currents.  In  these  waters  hurricanes  are  rare,  although  they  blow  at  times  with 
extreme  violence,  especially  in  the  Low  Archipelago  and  in  Samoa.  In  1878  a 
cyclone  passing  over  Tuamotu  swept  away  Anaa,  the  capital.  Another  tremendous 
typhoon  visited  Samoa  in  March,  1889,  and  almost  completely  wrecked  the 
American  and  German  fleets  riding  at  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  Apia.  The 
British  cruiser  Calliope  alone  escaped  uninjured  by  making  for  the  open  sea  in 
the  teeth  of  such  a  gale  as  had  not  been  known  in  the  archipelago  for  nearly  thirty 
years. 

The  hilly  islands,  such  as  Nuka-hiva,  Tahiti,  Raratonga,  Upolu,  and  Savaii, 
lying  along  the  track  of  the  trade-winds,  receive  an  abundant  rainfall  at  least  on 
their  windward  slopes.  But  the  low  insular  groujjs,  which  are  unable  to  arrest 
the  moist  atmospheric  currents,  are  much  drier,  and  at  times  never  receive  a  single 
downpour  for  years  together.  The  islands  lying  within  this  almost  rainless  zone 
were,  till  lately,  covered  with  thick  deposits  of  guano,  and  some  are  even  still 
worked  with  profit.  Such  are  Baker,  the  neighbouring  Howlands,  and  farther 
east  Jarvis  and  Maiden. 

In  its  flora  and  fauna  Equatorial  Polynesia  is  essentially  Melanesian.  Although 
American  forms  occur,  nearly  all  its  plants  and  animals  have  come  from  the  west, 
which  would  seem  to  imply  that  these  archipelagoes  are  not  surviving  fragments 
of  a  submerged  continent.  Tahiti,  Samoa,  and  other  lands  enjoying  a  copious 
rainfall  are  clothed  with  an  exuberant  tropical  vegetation,  but  distinct  animal  and 
vegetable  species  are  everywhere  few  in  number.  In  the  Low  Archipelago  Gray 
failed  to  discover  more  than  28  or  30  indigenoas  plants,  and  before  the  arrival  of 
the  whites  a  species  of  rat,  said  to  have  been  half  domesticated  in  Mangareva,  was 
the  only  mammal  found  in,  equatorial  Polynesia.  Here  also  a  centipede  6  inches 
long  is  the  only  venomous  animal. 

Inhabitants  of  Pot,ynesia. 
.From  the  ethnical  standpoint  Polynesia  forms  a  distinct  domain  in  the  oceanic 
world,  although  its  inhabitants  do  not  appear  to  be  altogether  free  from  mixture 
with  foreign  elements.  The  vestiges  of  older  civilisations  differing  from  the 
present  even  prove  that  human  m'grations  and  revolutions  have  taken  place  in  this 
region  on  a  scale  large  enough  to  cause  the  displacement  of  whole  races.  The 
curious  moniiments  of  Easter  Island,  although  far  inferior  in  artistic  work  to  the 
wood  carvings  of  Birara  and  New  Zealand,  may  perhaps  be  the  witnesses  of  a 
former  culture,  no  traditions  of  which  have  survived  amongst  the  present  aborigines. 
These  monuments  may  possibly  be  the  work  of  a  Papuan  people,  for  skulls  found 
in  the  graves  differ  in  no  essential  feature  from  those  of  New  Guinea.  The 
"  statues  "  are  enormous  basalt  rocks,  one  no  less  than  23  feet  long,  representing 
the  head  and  bust  of  persons  with  uniformly  low-forehead,  prominent  superciliary 
arches,  long  nose,  wide  nostrils,  large  mouth,  thin  lips,  and  stern  expression. 
According  to  Clements  Markham  they  resemble  the  Aymara  (Bolivian  and  Peru- 
vian) more  than  the  present  Polynesian  type.  Most  of  them  are  erected  on  basalt 
ledges  in  the  interior  of  a  crater,  and  some  have  been  left  unfinished,  or  not  com- 


EQUATOEIAJ.  POLTNESIx\.. 


475 


pletel}-  detached  from  tlie  primitive  rock.  The  surrounding  district  is  strewn  with 
obsidian  implements,  scrapers,  and  knives,  doubtless  the  instruments  employed  by 
this  extinct  race  of  sculptors.  In  Easter  Island  are  also  seen  avenues  with  regular 
flag  pavements  and  walls  embellished  with  little  obelisks,  besides  tablets  of  foro- 
'iiiro,  a  species  of  hard-grained  acacia,  on  which  are  carefully  inscribed  in  regular 
lines  objects  of  various  kinds,  such  as  fishes,  turtles,  snakes,  plants,  shells,  men  and 
their  weapons.  Most  of  these  "speaking"  tablets,  or  hieroglyphics,  arc  preserved 
in  the  museum  of  Santiago,  Chili,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  have  yet  been  inter- 
preted, although  a  chief,  who  died  about  I80O,  was  said  to  understand  and  even 


2n8.-EAsTEK  Island. 
Scale  1  :  30B,000. 


write  these  characters.     Other  monuments  occur  in  Fanning,  Rapa,  and  elscnhcrc, 
and  in  Tonga-Tabu  is  seen  a  sort  of  triumphal  arch. 

The  Polynesians  properly  so  called;  to  whoin  the  collective  terms  Mahori  and 
Savaiori  have  also  been  applied,  and  who  call  themselves  Kanaka,  that  is,  "  Men," 
have  a  light  brown  or  coppery  complexion,  and  rather  exceed  the  tallest  Europeans 
in  stature.  In  Tonga  and  Samoa  nearly  all  the  men  are  athletes  of  fine  proportions, 
with  black  and  slightly  wavy  hair,  fairly  regular  features  and  proud  glance.  They 
are  a  laughter-loving  light-hearted  people,  fond  of  music,  song,  and  the  dance,  and 
where  not  visited  by  wars  and  the  contagion  of  European  "culture,"  the  happiest 
and  most  harmless  of  mortals.  When  Dumont  d'Urville  questioned  the  Tukopians 
as  to  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  with  rewards  for  the  good  and  punishment  for 
the  wicked,  they  replied  :  "  Ainongst  us  there  are  no  wicked  people." 


476 


Aurs 


Ute  v.airoai]ts  idioims  eumeat  in  Ei^tera  PoljneaU  all  spring  (nm.  ooe  stiock  as»i 

£:ne  siM.  'daasdy  TOlatieii  to  leaeli  otdber  biotli  in  slnrwcltaie  aoA  xtneahnLay.  Moine 
iJisftajDtiiy  aMn  to  ttSte  lEaLiT  JEamilj,  tS&eir  v^pvesaalt  an  QUm  peritsd  of  devdc^pmeiiiit. 
amd  vroiiM  seem  to  implr  gmaattifr  r>sicM  pmiritTon  tlte  put  of  die  Pioljn^lans  Idieffliii- 
£^T!e&    Hiej  aire  paarjok  sammAs,  imk  sofit  ami  hanmooiioigis,  ro  sjrllalile  ending  in  ;& 


eonitsGaiciuiitt,,  ami  ttttte  twk%1Is  eT<eitywJ 

Ti'trTOntraimit,  i(!if  ttjirfesur  tttTHie  wroiraiK^^  and  3116  WSSW  IbiwieIi' 


'Jilll  laSiielT  xlhmii!i5t  iBumm- 


surtssiiHC 


I 


EQUATORIAL  POLYNESIA. 


477 


covering  the  body  served  also  to  clothe  it  ;  but  this  costume  is  now  bcinfi:  ropluccd 

I''i^'.   'JIO.  -Samham  Women 


|J^^1l5;i-.^. 


by  the  cotton   gurniuuts  iutrodiieed  by  the   niissionuries.     In  certain   islands  the 


478  AUSTRALASIA. 

operation  lasted  so  long  that  it  had  to  be  begun  before  the  children  were  six  yeara 
old,  and  the  pattern  was  largely  left  to  the  skill  and  cunning  of  the  professional 
tattooers.  Still  traditional  motives  recixrred  in  the  ornamental  devices  of  the 
several  tribes,  who  could  usually  be  recognised  by  their  special  tracings,  curved  or 
parallel  lines,  diamond  forms  and  the  like.  Tlie  artists  were  grouped  in  schools 
like  the  Old  Masters  in  Europe,  and  they  worked  not  by  incision  as  in  mo.st 
Melanesian  islands,  but  by  pimctures  with  a  small  comb-like  instrument  slightly 
tapped  with  a  mallet.  The  pigment  used  in  the  painful  and  even  dangerous  opera- 
tion was  usually  the  fine  charcoal  yielded  by  the  nut  of  aleuritcs  triloha,  an 
oleaginous  plant  used  for  illumining  purposes  throughout  Eastern  Polynesia. 

The  Polynesians  are  wrongly  supposed  to  have  been  unacquainted  with  the  bow 
and  arrow.  In  Tonga  and  Samoa  these  weapons  were  used  in  the  battle-field,  and 
in  the  eastern  archipelagoes  they  figured  at  the  civil  or  religious  feasts,  or  as  mere 
playthings.  Except  where  anthropophagy  formed  part  of  the  mythical  ceremonies, 
the  only  animal  food  was  fish,  shell-fish  and  pork,  and  even  this  diet  was  generally 
forbidden  to  the  women,  sometimes  under  pain  of  death.  In  most  of  the  groups 
fruits,  grains,  edible  roots  and  leaves,  sometimes  fermented  and  pounded  to  a  paste, 
sufficed  to  nourish  the  natives,  and  were  mostly  yielded  \>y  bountiful  nature  with 
little  labour  on  their  part.  At  every  repast  the  never-failing  beverage  was  kuva, 
which  the  young  women  prepared  by  masticating  the  slightly  pungent  leaves  and 
fibre  of  the  piper  metlmticumyStill  cultivated  in  the  gardens  for  this  purpose.  After 
fermentation  the  liquor  becomes  clear,  pleasant  to  the  taste,  very  refreshing  and 
but  slightly  intoxicating.  Indulged  in  too  freely,  however,  it  is  said  to  cause 
general  debility  and  skin  diseases.  Since  its  interdiction  by  the  missionaries,  it  has 
been  almost  everywhere  replaced  by' the  more  dangerous  brandy  distilled  from 
orange  juice. 

In  Samoa  the  women  were  much  respected,  and  every  village  had  its  patroness, 
usually  the  chief's  daughter,  who  represented  the  community  at  the  civil  and 
religious  feasts,  introduced  strangers  to  the  tribe,  and  diffused  general  happiness 
by  their  cheerful  demeanour  and  radiant  beauty.  But  elsewhere  the  women, 
though  as  a  rule  well  treated,  were  regarded  as  greatly  inferior  to  the  men.  At 
the  religious  ceremonies  the  former  were  itoa,  or  profane,  the  latter  ra,  or  sacred, 
and  most  of  the  interdictions  of  things  tabooed  fell  on  the  weaker  sex.  The  women 
never  shared  the  family  meal,  and  they  were  regarded  as  common  property  in  the 
household  of  the  chiefs,  where  polygamy  was  the  rule.  Before  the  arrival  of  the 
Europeans  infanticide  was  systematically  piractised ;  in  Tahiti  and  some  other 
groups  there  existed  a  special  caste,  amongst  whom  this  custom  was  even  regarded 
as  a  duty.  Hence  doubtless  arose  the  habit  of  adopting  strange  children,  almost 
universal  in  Tahiti,  where  it  gave  rise  to  all  manner  of  complications  connected 
with  the  tenure  and  inheritance  of  property. 

In  Polynesia  the  government  was  almost  everywhere  centred  in  the  hands  of 
powerful  chiefs,  against  whose  mandates  there  was  no  appeal.  A  vigorous  hier- 
archy separated  the  social  classes  one  from  another,  proprietors  being  subject  to 
the  chiefs,  the  poor  to  the  rich,  the  women  to  the  men ;  but  over  all  custom  reigned 


EQUATORIAL  POLYNESIA. 


479 


supreme.  This  law  of  taboo,  which  regulated  all  movements  and  everj'  individual 
act,  often  pressed  hard  even  on  its  promulgators,  and  the  terrible  penalties  it 
enforced  against  the  contumacious  certainly  contributed  to  increase  the  ferocity  of 
the  oceanic  populations.  Almost  the  only  punishment  was  death,  and  human 
sacrifices  in  honour  of  the  gods  were  the  crowning  religious  rite.  In  some  places 
the  victims  were  baked  on  the  altars,  and  their  flesh  wrapped  in  taro  leaves  was 
distributed  amongst  the  warriors. 

Yet  despite  the  little  value  attached  to  human  life,  the  death  of  adult  men  gave 
rise  to  much  mourning  and  solemn  obsequies.  Nor  was  this  respect  for  the  departed 
an  empty  cereinonial,  for  the  ancestors  of  the  Polynesians  were  raised  to  the  rank 

Fig-.  211. — Religions  cf  Oceania. 


W...^-''''A/.^ 


S;' 


'OO-  Mf 


MohammcdaDS. 


Catholics  more 


than  ProteBtants. 


ProteBtants 
1,800  Miles. 


Protestants, 
than  Catholics. 


of  gods,  taking  their  place  with  those  wbo  burled  the  thunderbolt  and  stirred  up 
the  angry  waters.  A  certain  victorious  hero  thus  became  the  God  of  War,  and  had 
to  be  propitiated  with  supplications.  But  the  common  folk  and  captives  were  held 
to  be  "  soulless,"  although  a  spirit  was  attributed  to  nearly  all  natural  objects. 

But  for  about  half  a  century  nearly  all  the  Polynesians  have  practised  some 
form  of  Christianity.  The  work  of  conversion  was  begun  in  1797  by  the  establisli- 
ment  of  the  Protestant  station  at  Tahiti,  whence  the  missionaries  gradually  spread 
their  influence  throughout  Pol)'nesia.  They  were  followed  by  the  Catholics,  who 
though  less  numerous  and  possessing  smaller  revenues,  have  everywhere  made 
proselytes  ;  in  some  places,  and  cspeciallj'  in  the  French  possessions,  they  even 
already  outnumber  the  Protestants.  Civil  strife  has  often  been  stirre.d  up  by  the 
friction  of  the  rival  religions.     Where  the  priests  hold  undisputed  sway  theocratic 


480 


AUSTRALASIA. 


governments  have  been  constituted,  and  in  Gambier  a  Catholic  missionary  attempted 
to  transform  the  island  of  Mangareva  into  a  vast  monastery.  On  the  other  hand 
the  English  Protestants  in  the  Cook  Islands  and  for  a  time  even  in  Tahiti  deprived 
non-communicants  of  all  civil  and  political  rights,  and  regulated  social  customs, 
attitudes,  salutations,  and  the  whole  conduct  of  the  natives. 

In  their  institutions,  myths,  religious  rites,  and  many  other  respects  the  Poly- 
nesians betray  diverse  afhnities  to  all  their  western  neighbours,  Papuans,  Indo- 
nesians, Malays,  and  even  Japanese.  They  also  present  numerous  analogies  with 
the  natives  of  North  and  South  America,  and  more  especially  with  the  Araucauians 
of  ChiU.     It  seems  therefore  possible  that  the  Americans  have  had  their  share  in 


Fig.  212. — Inhabitants  of  Oceania. 
Scale  1  :  i5ii,i«Hi,i»«j. 


100"  Meridian  oF  G.-ee...v:ch 


180° 


Malays,  Indoaesiang.         Australians.  British.         Papuans.        Micronesiana.        Polynesians. 

.N  .E.  .B.  .M  .H 

Negritoes.  Buru.  Baura.  Maori.  Havaiki. 

_^^^^^^^_  1,800  Miles. 

the  interminglings  that  have  taken  place  throughout  the  eastern  archipelagoes,  the 
more  so  that  the  normal  winds  and  currents  set  in  the  direction  from  east  to  west. 
Recent  historical  facts  show  that  migrations  from  the  mainland  to  the  islands  and 
from  one  archipelago  to  another  may  often  take  place  under  certain  favourable 
conditions.  Thus  in  1832  a  Japanese  junk  with  nine  fi.shermen  drifted  for  ten 
months  with  the  winds  and  currents,  finally  landing  at  Oahu  in  Hawaii.  About 
the  same  time  another  Japanese  bark  was  stranded  on  the  American  coast,  and 
similar  unwilling  voyages  have  frequentl}^  been  made  between  the  Philippine, 
Caroline,  and  Marshall  groups.  The  Tahitians  and  seafarers  returning  from  the 
Low  Archipelago  also  speak  of  numerous  migrations  made  even  in  the  contrary 
direction  to  the  normal  winds.     Similar  cases  are  attested  by  the  unanimous  tradi- 


EQUATOEIAL  POLTXE-IA. 


481 


tions  of  the  natives,  so  that  interminglings  could  certaiuly  have  taken  place  at 
various  times  throughout  the  vast  Pacific  basin. 

But  although  migrations  may  evidently  have  occurred  in  all  directions,  physical 
resemblance,  speech,  usages,  and  traditions  all  point  to  the  western  lands  near  Asia 
as  the  region  whence  most  of  the  Polynesian  islanders  reached  their  present  homes. 
Ethnologists  have  also  shown  that  the  general  eastward  movement  must  be  referred 
to  a  very  remote  epoch,  certainly  prior  to  the  spread  of  Hindu  influence  in 
Malaysia,  for  no  trace  of  Sanskrit  can  be  found  in  the  Polynesian  languages. 
According  to  Hamy  their  nearest  kindred  should  be  sought  amongst  those  tall, 
light-complexioned  Indonesians,  who  have  been  driven  into  the  interior  by  the  in- 
truding Malays,  and  who  under  the  common  name  of  Alf  urus  are  often  confounded 
with  the  Xegrito  or  Papuan  populations.   Attempts  have  been  made  to  fix  the  point  of 

Fisr.  213. — EycATOEiAi.  Poltxzsia.  by  Tupaia. 


, ,                                     1 

C  s^  <7/-,,^«V            «»0»-.!«~             „-3„„^ 

Copy  of  the  Chart  by 

Tupiua. 

Half  of  the  origina,  size. 

1 

1 

1 

dispersion  eastwards  at  Buru  between  Celebes  and  Ceram,  or  at  Baura  in  the  Solomon 
Archipelago,  merely  because  a  vague  Saraoan  tradition  sjjeaks  of  a  certain  Pulotu 
(Burotu),  an  island  in  the  west,  as  the  cradle  of  their  race. 

More  probability  attaches  to  the  conjectures  regarding  the  second  point  of  dis- 
persion within  the  Polynesian  area  itself.  The  ilaori,  Hawaiian,  Earatongan, 
Tahitian,  Marquesas,  and  Tuamotu  traditions  point  uniformlj'  to  an  island  Savaiki, 
Havaii,  Avaiki,  Havai,  Havaiki,  as  their  ancestral  home,*  and  other  traditions 
describe  the  migrations  from  this  island  to  the  various  oceanic  archipelagoes. 
Savaii,  largest  of  the  Samoan  group,  is  regarded  by  rdost  ethnologists  as  the  Savaiki 
of  the  Polynesian  legends,  and  the  resemblance  of  names  gives  some  weight  to  this 
view,  although  in  Samoa  itself  Savaii  is  regarded  as  having  been  colonised  by 
immigrants  from  Upolu  and  other  parts  of  the  archipelago.  According  to  others 
Havaiki  would  simply  mean  "  Fire,"  so  that  the  tradition  would  merely  refer 
vaguely  to  some  active  volcano  or  burning  mountain  as  the  starting-point  of  the 
migrations. 

*  A.  H.  Keane,  Tht  Inierocennic  liaces  and  Languages. 
vol,.    XIV.  I    I 


482 


AUSTRALASIA. 


East. of  this  my.steiious  land  the  dispersion  took  place  from  island  to  island, 
and  essays  have  been  made  to  trace  the  very  order  of  the  migrations  by  the  aid  of 
the  map  of  Tahiti  and  surrounding  islands  prepared  by  the  Tahitian  Tupaia,  who 
accompanied  Cook  on  one  of  his  voyages.  But  this  map  itself,  correct  enough  for 
Tahiti  and  neighbouring  lands,  has  probably  little  more  than  a  mythical  value  for 
the  more  western  regions. 

Meanwhile,  the  race  itself  seems  to  be  almost  everywhere  hastening  to  its 
extinction,  as  shown  by  the  accurate  returns  made  at  different  times  during  the 
present  century.     In  1774  Cook  estimated  the  population  of  Tahiti  at  about  two 

Fig.  214. — Movement.?  of  the  Oceanic  Populations. 
Scale  1  :  160,000,000. 


»  H&//''i-i' 


100°  Meridian  oP  Greene 


Ro- 


ll     I    ^^^*^^  ^  which  the  population  is  increasing. 
The  population  increases  also  in  the  islands  inserted  on  the  map.    In  all  the  others  it  diminishes. 
.^— ^^^^^—  1,800  Miles. 


hundred  and  forty  thousand,  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  by  Forster, 
who  assigned  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  to  the  whole  of  Polynesia.  At  jJresent 
the  Polynesians  number  scarcely  more  than  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand,  but 
while  they  are  thus  disappearing  at  a  rapid  rate  they  still  remain  physically  one  of 
the  finest  races  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  In  this  respect  there  appears  to  be  no 
deterioration,  and  the  decrease  in  numbers  must  be  attributed  in  great  part  to 
numerous  external  causes,  such  as  former  massacres,  the  contract  labour  system, 
especially  before  it  was  regulated  bj^  government  control,  the  sale  of  strong  drinks,  ■ 
and  above  all  the  epidemics  introduced  by  the  white  traders  and  seafarers.  In 
1778,  immediately  after  Cook's  visit,  Hawaii  was  decimated  by  this  scourge,  and 
what  the  Ilawaiians  assert  all  their  Polynesian  kindred  repeat,  that  disease  and 
extermination  were  introduced  by  the  Europeans. 

Even  the  adoption  of  European  clothes,  rendering  them  more  susceptible  to 


EQUATOELVI.  POLYXESIA.  483 

changes  of  temperature,  and  still  more  the  suppression  of  their  national  pastimes, 
boisterous  rejoicings,  feasts  and  dances,  interdicted  by  the  missionaries,  have 
co-operated  towards  the  extinction  of  the  race.  The  people  become  wear_y  of  a  too 
placid,  aimless  existence,  and  die  out  through  sheer  inanition.  Nevertheless,  there 
are  exceptions  to  the  general  law  of  decadence  and  in  certain  favoured  localities, 
such  as  Lukunor  in  the  Carolines,  Futuna  in  the  Wallis  group,  and  Niue  north  of 
Tonga,  the  population  normally  increases  by  the  natural  excess  of  births  over 
deaths.  Elsewhere  the  natives  become  more  and  more  intermingled  with  immi- 
grants from  all  quarters,  and  wherever  any  actual  increase  takes  place,  as  for 
instance  in  Tahiti,  it  occurs  almost  invariably  amongst  the  half-castes  resulting 
from  these  crossings.  The  modern  era  has  thus  begun  for  the  Polynesians,  who 
can  be  rescued  from  ultimate  extinction  only  by  the  sacrifice  of  their  racial  purity 
and  gradual  absorption  in  the  surrounding  poimlations. 

The  Tonga  Archipelago  lies  somewhat  apart  from  the  chief  ocean  highways 
between  Australia  and  the  New  "World,  its  principal  member,  Tonija-Tahu,  being 
over  420  miles  south-east  of  Fiji,  the  natural  station  on  the  route  from  Melbourne 
and  Sydney  to  Hawaii  and  San  Francisco.  Nevertheless,  Tonga  is  visited  by 
many  skippers,  mostly  Germans,  who  here  ship  large  quantities  of  copra,  yielded 
by  the  vast  palm-groves  of  these  fertile  islands.  The  capital  and  most  frequented 
port  of  the  little  Tonga  state  is  Nukualofa,  on  a  roadstead  well  sheltered  by  reefs 
on  the  north  side  of  Tonga-Tabu.  On  the  east  side  Mna,  the  central  Catholic 
station,  lies  near  the  old  residence  and  the  necropolis  of  the  royal  famil}'. 

Lcjuha,  in  the  Haabai  group,  aud  Kiua,  in  the  lai-gest  of  the  Vavao  Islands, 
also  trade  in  copra,  chiefly  with  German  houses.  The  port  of  Nina,  although  of 
somewhat  diiBcult  access,  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  Pacific,  forming  an  extensive 
basin  20  to  25  fathoms  deep,  sheltered  from  all  winds  by  an  amphitheatre  of  high 
escarpments. 

East  of  Tonga,  Savage  hhnd,  so  called  by  Cook  from  the  rude  welcome  given 
him  by  the  natives,  has  resumed  its  original  name  of  Nine  (Iiiui),  aud  has  been 
declared  neutral  territory  by  a  convention  signed  in  1886  between  England  aud 
Germany.  English  influence,  however,  is  paramount  in  this  islet,  one  of  the 
most  fertile  in  Polynesia,  and  inhabited  by  Polynesians  of  Tonga  speech  and 
descent. 

The  few  islets  lying  north-west  from  Tonga  and  north-cast  of  Fiji,  and 
collectively  called  WaUis  from  their  discoverer  in  17G7,  are  disposed  on  a  Hue 
which,  drawn  from  Samoa,  would  pass  through  the  British  island  of  Rotuma  to 
Anuda  and  Tukopia,  the  last  western  lands  inhabited  by  Polj-nesians.  The  natives 
probably  came  from  Tonga-Tabu,  although  Uvea  or  AVallis,  properly  so  called,  is 
regarded  by  them  as  the  cradle  of  their  race.  Futuna,  west  of  Uvea,  was  formerly 
inhabited  by  ferocious  cannibals  who  devoured  to  the  last  man  the  eighteen 
hundred  of  the  neighbouring  island  of  Ahji,  "  Land  of  Love,"  and  one  of  its  chiefs 
is  reported  to  have  eaten  his  own  mother.  Wallis  was  annexed  to  the  French 
Oceanic  possessions  in  1887. 

Sa/Hoa,  named  by  Bougainville  the  Narigator^'  Arc/iipckigo,   is  still   a    great 

I  I  2 


484 


AUSTE.VLASIA. 


centre  of  Pacific  navigation,  Upolu,  the  most  densely  peopled  island,  being  luucli 
frequented  by  English,  American,  and  German  skippers.  The  chief  port,  Apia, 
lies  at  the  head  of  a  semicircular  bay  on  the  north  side  of  Upolu,  which  is  sheltered 
on  the  west  by  a  long  wooded  promontory  fringed  with  reefs.  Formerly  a 
rendezvous  for  whalers,  Apia  now  chiefly  exports  copra,  although  cotton,  coffee,  and 
tobacco  plantations  have  also  been  laid  out.     But  a  protracted  war  of  succession 

Fig.  21.5.— Apia. 
Scale  1 ;  37,000. 


E^b.FGroenwJch 


fomented  by  the  Germans  has  well-nigh  ruined  its  agricultural  pro.spects.  The 
fields  and  gardens  have  been  wasted  ujd  to  the  very  suburbs  of  Apia,  which  has 
itself  suffered  much  from  these  deplorable  rivalries.  Apia  might  be  replaced  as  a 
seaport  by  the  much  safer  inlet  of  Panyo-Pango  on  the  south  side  of  Tiduila,  but 
for  its  remote  position.  At  the  bay  of  Funga-sa,  on  the  opposite  side  of  this  island, 
Langle  and  three  other  companions  of  Laperouse  were  murdered  by  the  natives  in 
1787. 


EQUATORIAL  POLYNESIA. 


485 


The  whole  of  Samoa  except  Tau,  easternmost  member  of  the  group,  forms  a 
constitutional  state  modelled  on  that  of  England,  with  a  king  and  upper  and  lower 
houses.  The  capital  is  Mulinuii  in  Upolu,  Apia  forming  a  special  municipality 
under  a  triumvirate  of  the  English,  American,  and  German  consuls.  Tau 
constitutes  an  "  independent  kingdom,"  whose  sovereign  is  sharply  looked  after 
by  his  half-pagan  subjects  to  prevent  him  from  drinking  water  or  bathing  in  the 
sea,  events  which  would  involve  the  state  in  ruin. 

The  groups  stretching  south-eastwards  from  Samoa,  though  thinly  peopled,  had 
formerly  great  historic  importance  as  stations  along  the  lines  of  migration. 
Baraforga  {Eorofonga),  in  the  Rervey  or  Cook  Archipelago,  is  pointed  to  by  the 

Fig.  216. — Tahiti  and  ITooeea. 
Scale  1  : 1,0000m 


W«l  oF  G 


natives  of  several  other  groups  as  the  home  of  their  ancestors.  The  present  Rara- 
tongans  have  completely  accepted  the  rigid  administration  introduced  by  the 
English  missionaries.  They  have  schools,  libraries,  and  even  a  newspaper  in  their 
language.  Farther  east,  Tiihuai  or  the  Aiiafral  Islands,  of  which  Eajia  is  the  most 
important  member,  have  recentlj'  been  annexed  by  France. 

Tahiti,  or  the  Society  Archipelago,  lies  at  present  far  to  the  east  of  the  main 
Pacific  highway.  But  whenever  the  Panama  Canal  is  opened,  this  group  will  be 
situated  exactly  midway  between  Central  America  and  Aiistralia,  and  must  then 
take  a  foremost  position  in  the  Polynesian  World.  Papeete,  residence  of  the 
representative  of  France,  is  a  pleasant  little  place  on  the  north  side  of  the  large 
island,  with  a  spacious  and  deep  harbour  sheltered  by  a  barrier  reef  pierced  by 
three  navigable  openings.     The  trade  of  Papeete  is  mostly  in  the  hands  of  English 


486 


AUSTRALASIA. 


and  American  dealers,  and  next  to  their  mother  tongue,  the  natives  are  most 
familiar  with  English,  originally  introdiiced  by  the  Protestant  missionaries. 
The  orange,  first  planted  here  by  Cook,  has  become  the  chief  agricultural  resource 
of  the  Archipelago,  while  the  guava,  introduced  in  1813,  now  runs  wild,  covering 
the  slopes  of  the  mountains  with  impenetrable  thickets.  The  cotton,  coffee,  and 
sugar  plantations  of  Afiuiaono  and  other  districts  have  proved  an  utter  failure 
since    the   disjjersiou  of  the  4,000  Chinese  contract  labourers  employed  by  the 


Pig'.  217.— Papeete. 
Scale  1  :  .W.OOO. 


I        ^      ^        t- 


320  Feet  .and 
upw.aias. 


speculators.     About  a  thousand  of  these  have  settled  down  as  pcttj'  dealers  and 
gardeners. 

About  50,000  acres,  or  one-fifth  of  the  large  island,  are  estimated  to  be  avail- 
able for  plantations.  All  these  lands  Ij'ing  on  the  seaboard  or  on  the  first  slopes 
of  the  hills,  are  easily  accessible  by  the  highway,  115  miles  long,  which  winds  in 
a  double  circuit  round  the  twin  islands  of  Great  and  Little  Tahiti.  But  at  the 
south-east  extremity  of  the  latter  this  romantic  route  is  interrupted  by  precipices, 
and  here  the  surf,  driven  by  the  trade  winds  through  a  large  opening  in  the 
fringing  reefs,  has  to  be  crossed  in  frail  outriggers.  The  western  part  of  Great 
Tahiti,  between  Papeete  and  the  plantations,  will  soon  be  reached  by  a  railway 
from  the  capital.  A  little  fort  has  been  erected  on  the  isthmus  of  Taravao,  which 
connects  both  islands,  and  which  is  the  most  convenient  site  for  the  centre  of 
administration.     Fort  P/iacfoii,  in  this  southern  district,  is  far  more  sjsacious  and 


LiSRARY 

OF  THE 

JNlVERSlTYofttLlNOtS, 


i 


EQUATOELIL  POLYXESLi. 


487 


better  sheltered  than  that  of  Papeete,  and  it  has  also  the  advantage  of  a  better 
climate  and  a  more  fertUe  soil. 

Moorca  is  a  mere  agricultural  dependency  of  Great  Tahiti ;  but  Raiatea,  one 
of  the  Leeward  group,  possesses  one  of  the  best  harbours  in  the  Pacific,  thanks  to 
which  it  has  become  the  centre  of  a  brisk  trade,  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  the  Germans. 

Some  480  miles  north  of  Tahiti  lies  Caroline, Island,  where  the  French  astrono- 
mers made  some  remarkable  studies  of  solar  physics  in  1883. 

The  eastern  groups  of  Tuamotu,  Mangureva,  and  the  Marquesas  have  also  some 
excellent  havens,  which  might  afford  shelter  to  large  fleets.  But  they  are  all 
thinly  peopled,  and  the  two  capitals — Tuio-hae  in  Xuka-hica  and  Rikitea  in  Man- 


Fig.  -218.— XUKA-HlTA. 
Scale  1  :  360,000. 


gareva  are  mere  villages.  In  Tuamotu  the  administrative  centre  has  been 
removed  from  Anna  to  the  more  northern  atoll  of  Fakaraia.  But  the  sparse 
population,  dispersed  over  a  space  some  400,000  square  miles  in  extent,  renders 
all  industrial  and  commercial  development  almost  impossible.  These  remote 
archipelagoes,  lying  3,500  miles  from  the  nearest  point  of  America,  can  never 
possess  any  natural  resources  beyond  their  palm-groves  and  pearl  fisheries. 

In  1813  Porter,  an  American,  seized  the  Marquesas  Islands  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States  Government,  which,  however,  did  not  ratify  the  procedure.  But 
in  1835  the  French  adventurer,  Thierry,  proclaimed  himself  "Xing  of  Xuka- 
hiva,"  and  he  was  followed  by  French  Catholic  missionaries,  whose  action   led  to 


483 


AUSTR.VLASIA. 


the  gi-adual  annoxation  of  tlie  archipelago  by  France.  Here  the  French  agent- 
exercises  absolute  control,  while  till  quite  recently  the  Catholic  priests  governed 
on.  theocratic  principles  in  the  name  of  France.  In  1880  the  Tahiti  group  was 
declared  a  French  possession,  and  is  now  administered  by  a  Council  General  elected 
by  all  citizens  speaking  the  French  language. 

South-east  of  Tuamotu  the  last  inhabited  land  is  Pitcairn  Island,  where  the 
English  crew  of  the  Bounty,  after  the  mutiny  of  1789,  finally  settled  with  Tahitian 
wives.  When  this  little  republican  "  state  "  was  discovered  in  1808  it  awakened 
a  certain  sympathetic  curiosity  in  England.     The  revolt  was  forgotten,  donations 


Fig.  219. — Political  Divisions  of  Oceania. 
Scale  1  :  150,000,000. 


S  p. 


lOO-Mend 


England. 


Germany. 


rtngal.  United  States. 

.  1,800  Miles. 


flowed  in,  and  the  British  Government  even  placed  the  fertile  island  of  Norfolk  at 
the  disposal  of  the  overcrowded  community.  Most  of  the  islanders  accepted  this 
offer,  but  some  have  since  returned  to  Pitcairn. 

Easier  Island,  or  Rapa  Nui,  that  is  "  Great  Rapa,"  famous  for  its  monolithic 
monuments  and  hieroglyphic  tablets,  lies  1,300  miles  east  of  Pitcairn.  After  its 
occupation  by  some  Tahitian  immigrants,  it  was  regarded  as  virtually  a  French 
possession  ;  but  it  has  now  been  assigned  to  Chili,  whose  fleet  dominates  in  these 
waters. 

The  guano  islets  lying  near  and  north  of  the  equator  are  considered  as  British 
territory,  although  their  only  residents  have  hitherto  been  Americans  engaged  iu 
working  the  guano  deposits.  The  group  nearest  to  Hawaii  has  even  been  named 
America  Islands.  Christmas,  a  southern  member  of  this  group,  is  one  of  the 
largest  islands  in  Polynesia  proper. 

A  table  of  the  chief  Polynesian  groups  is  given  in  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HAWAII,  OR  SANDWICH  ISL.^'DS. 

TIE  Hawaiian  group,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Sandwich,  given 
to  it  by  Cook  in  1778,  forms  the  limit  of  the  oceanic  lands  in  the 
north-east  Pacific.  It  forms  a  chain  of  islands,  reefs,  and  banks 
running  nearly  2,000  miles  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to 
south-east,  parallel  with  the  South  Polynesian  archipelagoes. 
Hawaii  is  limited  northwards  by  chasms  ranging  from  1,000  to  2,000  fathoms, 
and  on  the  south  side  by  abysmal  depths  exceeding  2,750  fathoms.  It  occupies  a 
position  of  vital  importance,  being  the  most  advanced  region  of  the  oceanic  world 
in  the  direction  of  the  United  States.  Yet  its  Polynesian  inhabitants,  who  con- 
tinue to  diminish  in  numbers,  have  not  yet  been  replaced  by  fresh  immigrants,  and 
the  whole  archipelago,  with  nearly  7,000  square  miles  of  dry  land,  has  a  population 
of  little  over  80,000  souls. 

Sighted  bv  the  early  Spanish  navigators,  Hawaii  appears  to  have  been  subse- 
qiientl}'  visited  by  passing  European  seafarers,  and  thirty  seven  j-ears  before  the 
arrival  of  Cook  a  Spanish  vessel  was  wrecked  on  one  of  the  islands.  But  the 
honour  of  having  revealed  the  archipelago  to  the  world  still  belongs  to  Cook,  who 
twice  visited  it  in  1778,  on  the  first  occasion  discovering  the  three  western  islands 
of  Niihau,  Kauai,  and  Oahu,  on  the  second  perishing  at  the  hands  of  the  natives  of 
Maui  under  circumstances  that  have  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained.  After 
Cook's'  voyage  Hawaii  was  visited  bj'  Laperouse  and  Vancouver,  and  in  1794  Brown 
surveved  the  port  of  Honolulu,  which  has  since  become  the  commercial  centre  of 
the  group.  Missionaries,  naturalists,  and  traders  gradually  settled  in  the  islands, 
and  the  work  of  exploration  was  even  jjrosccuted  by  the  natives  themselves.  At 
present  Hawaii  is  by  far  the  best  known  of  all  Polynesian  lands,  and  its  biblio- 
graphy comprises  thousands  of  treatises  of  all  kinds. 

A  native  legend,  referring  the  origin  of  the  archipelago  to  an  enormous  egg 
suddenly  bursting  in  mid-ocean,  is  probably  a  reminiscence  of  old  eruptions, 
during  which  some  lands  really  rose  above  the  surface.  The  volcanic  range  repro- 
duces in  the  inverse  direction  and  on  a  far  larger  scale  the  formation  of  the  Samoan 
group,  for  here  also  the  loftiest  mountains  lie  at  one  extremity,  the  islands  thence 
decreasing  in  altitude  until  at  the  opposite  end  they  are  mere  reefs  rising  little 
above  the  surrounding  waters.     The  igneous  forces  diminish  in  the  same  direction. 


400 


AUSTRALASIA. 


for  the  highest  volcanoes  and  vastest  cauldrons  of  seething  lavas  are  found  in 
Hawaii,  the  largest  member  of  the  groujD,  at  its  south-eastern  extremity.  The  other 
islands  are  also  studded  with  cones  and  craters ;  but  here  the  fiery  energy  is  much 
weaker,  or  is  reduced  to  a  few  thermal  springs.  In  the  extreme  north-west  the 
long-extinct  craters  have  been  obliterated,  and  the  heights  are  now  clothed  with 
an  exuberant  vegetation.  Here  also  the  coral  reefs  are  far  more  numerous  than  off 
the  coast  of  Hawaii,  where  the  noxious  gases  prevent  the  development  of  coral 
life. 

In  the  island  of  Hawaii  the  southern  volcano  of  Mauna-Loa,  or  the  "  Great 
Mountain,"  rises  to  a  height  of  13,760  feet,  or  about  3,000  feet  above  the  vege- 

Fig.  220. — Hawaiian  Islands. 
Scale  1  :  C,aoo,OfH). 


table  zone.  The  crater,  or  rather  group  of  craters,  collectively  named  the  Mokua- 
veoveo,  open  on  the  very  summit  of  the  mountain,  so  as  to  form  a  symmetrical 
cavity  disposed  in  the  direction  from  north  to  south.  In  the  centre  lies  the  vast 
primitive  crater,  which  has  a  mean  diameter  of  about  2,200  yards  and  a  depth  of 
over  1,000  feet.  Mounds  of  scorioe,  some  in  ignition,  some  extinct,  rise  from  the 
bottom  of  this  pit,  north  and  south  of  which  two  semicircular  terraces  over  400 
feet  high  represent  two  halves  of  a  crater  inscribed,  so  to  say,  on  the  periphery 
of  the  central  opening.  Vast  lava  streams  have  been  discharged  from  the  very 
rim  of  Mauna-Loa,  as  in  1880,  when  about  2,200,000,000  cubic  feet  of  burning 
matter  flowed  down  the  slopes  of  the  mountain.  But  the  molten  lavas  mostly 
escape  from  openings  far  below  the  upper  cone.     Thus  in  1855  such  a  stream  over- 


HAWAII. 


491 


flowed  from  the  north-east  side,  and  after  covering  a  space  of  -'500  square  miles 
reached  the  plain  of  Hilo  close  to  the  coast.  Three  years  later  another  crater  was 
opened  six  miles  north  of  the  central  one,  discharging  a  double  stream  which 
flowing  west  half  filled  up  Kiholo  Bay. 

On  the  east  flank  of  Mauua-Loa  has  been  opened  the  vast  lateral  crater  of 
Kilauea,  at  a  height  of  about  4,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Kilauea,  abode  of  the 
formidable  goddess  Pele,  is  an  almost  circidar  chasm  about  nine  miles  round,  and 
varjiug  ia  depth  with  the  movement  of  the  boiling  lavas  at  the  bottom.  During 
the  present  century  there  has  been  no  direct  overflow  from  Kilauea  or  from  the 
other  furnaces  forming  its  eastern  prolongation ;  but  the  underground  heat  has 
melted  the  rocks  at  a  lower  depth,  and  through  these  the  fiery  streams  have  found 
their  waj'  to  the  surface.      In  1868  one  of  these,  after  flowing  some  sixty  miles  to 

Fis.  221. — Crateks  ciF  Mavxa  Loa  and  Kilauea. 


the  south-west,  poured  in  a  flaming  cataract  over  the  cliffs  into  the  sea,  where  it 
formed  a  pyramid  of  lavas  which,  bj'  later  accessions,  has  been  gradually  attached 
to  the  mainland  under  the  name  of  Kalae  Point.  Dana  estimates  at  over  fifteen 
billions  of  cubic  feet  the  quantity  of  molten  rock  discharged  on  one  of  these 
occasions. 

Xorth-west  of  ilauna-Loa,  which  covers  a  space  of  nearly  2,000  square  miles, 
the  much  less  elevated  Mauna-Hualalai  (7,822  feet)  is  also  occasionally  active, 
but  all  the  other  cones  in  Hawaii  Island  are  extinct.  One  of  these  is  streaked  or 
even  covered  with  snow  during  a  great  part  of  the  year,  as  indicated  bj'  its  native 
name,  Mouna-Kea,  the  "White  Mountain."  It  even  overtops  ilauna-Loa,  its 
highest,  peak  rising,  according  to  the  oSicial  surveys,  to  an  altitude  of  no  less 
than  13,8/)0  feet. 

Hawaii  is  continued  north-westwards  by  four  mountainous  i.^-lands  and  a  few 


402 


AIISTRATiASIA. 


islets,  whicli  constitute  a  secondary  group  within  the  archipelago  itself.  Each  of 
these  has  its  volcanoes,  whose  height  bears  a  somewhat  uniform  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  island.  The  loftiest  is  Haleahala  ("  Abode  of  the  Sun  "),  whose  vast 
cone,  10,200  feet  high,  occupies  the  southern  part  of  the  island  of  Maui.  Its  crater, 
one  of  the  largest  on  the  globe,  has  a  circuit  of  no  less  than  15  miles  and  a  depth 
of  over  2,000  feet.  The  two  sections  of  Maui  are  connected  by  a  strip  of  sand,  six 
or  seven  feet  high,  which  is  incessantly  destroyed  and  renewed  under  the  con- 
flicting action  of  winds  and  waves.  Beyond  Maui  follow  the  islands  of  Oahu 
with  several  cones,  Kauai,  Niihau,  and  Kaula,  terminating  the  chain  of  the 
Sandwich  Archipelago  towards  the  north-west.     Then  follows  for  1,800  miles  in 

Fig.  222. — Lava  Stkeams  of  Kilauea. 


the  direction  of  Japan  a  range  of  reefs  and  islets,  also  probably  volcanic,  although 
lavas  have  been  found  on  only  a  small  number  of  these  upraised  lands.  The 
traces  of  upheaval  are  everywhere  conspicuous  throughout  the  archipelago,  and 
here  and  there  are  met  ancient  beaches  at  different  elevations  along  the  slopes  of 
the  hills.  In  one  of  the  Maui  group,  a  coral  bank  of  apparently  recent  origin 
runs  for  a  considerable  distance  at  a  height  of  500  feet  above  the  present  sea- 
level,  and  a  similar,  though  less  distiuct,  formation  fringes  the  great  volcano  in 
Kauai  Island  at  an  altitude  of  no  less  than  4,000  feet.  Since  1794  the  shoals  at 
Honolulu  have  been  upraised  about  four  feet,  to  the  great  detriment  of  navigation. 
Excluding  the  western  reefs  the  whole  of  the  Hawaiian  archipelago  lies  within 


HAWAII.  493 

the  tonitl  zone,   and  althougli  the  temperature  is  hiwer  than   in   Fiii   uv  SaiiKia, 


it  is  still  very  oppressive  in  the  sheltered  districts,  where  the  atmosphere  is  not 
renewed  by  the  north-west  trade  winds.      The  glass  stands  normally  at  70^  Fahr. 


494 


AUSTRALASIA. 


in  Honolulu,  whore,  during  a  period  of  twelve  years  it  never  rose  above  90°  or  fell 
below  53°,  shewing  an  extreme  range  of  under  40  degrees.  Although  less 
copious  than  in  Indonesia,  the  rainfall  is  still  abundant,  averaging  annually  from 
60  to  80  inches.  The  north-east  trades,  which  blow  with  great  regularity  for 
nine  months  in  the  year,  bring  from  time  to  time  refreshing  downpours,  and  the 
climate  is  altogether  one  of  the  most  agreeable  and  salubrious  in  the  world. 

Fig.  224.— Hawaii. 
Scale  1  :  1,500,000. 


Depths. 


1 ,00n  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 
.  18  Miles. 


The  indigenous  flora  is  less  varied  than  might  be  expected  from  the  mean 
high  temperature  and  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Along  the  narrow  zone  of  the  coast- 
lands  little  is  seen  beyond  cocoanut  groves  and  two  other  species  of  palms,  the 
breadfruit  tree,  and  a  few  other  plants,  such  as  the  oleaginous  kukui  (a/euriies) 
still  used  for  lighting  the  houses.  But  in  the  well-watered  uj^land  vallej's  the 
vegetation  is  far  more  exuberant  and  diversified.  Here  flourishes  the  gigantic 
halapepe  ibrenchlcya),  with  foliage  like  that  of  the  pandouus,  and  in  general  the 


HAWAII. 


495- 


Sandwich  flora  may  be  said  to  abound  more  in  arborescent  than  in  herbaceous  forms. 
Even  many  plants  which  in  Europe  are  annuals,  here  become  perennial. 

The  native  fauna  is  very  poor  in  mammals,  and  before  the  arrival  of  Cook  the 
only  domestic  animals  were  the  dog,  the  pig,  and  poultry,  all  probably  introduced 
within  a  few  centuries  previously.  The  only  indigenous  mammals  are  the  mouse 
and  a  species  of  bat,  while  the  reptile  class  was  represented  only  by  three  small 
lizards.     Of  land  and  aquatic  birds  there  are  some  40  species,  amongst  which  not  a 

Fig.  225. — HONOLTTLU. 

Scale  1  :  250,000 


'OM 


West   of  Greenwich         157  '  52' 


Depths. 


3J0  Feet 
and  upwards. 


sino-le  songster  is  found.  The  most  highly  valued  bird  was  the  oo  {drcpanis  paafiea), 
whose  beautiful  black  plumage  was  Taried  with  a  few  small  yellow  feathers  in 
great  demand  for  the  decoration  of  the  chiefs.  The  royal  robe  of  Kamehameha  I., 
which  represented  the  labour  of  nine  successive  generations,  was  entirely  made  of 
these  feathers  attached  to  a  ground  of  close  netting.  The  streams  are  almost 
destitute  of  fish,  while  molluscs  abound  in  prodigious  quantities. 

The  Hawaiians  have  long  lost  their  national  usages,  which  resembled  those  of 
the  kindred  peoples  in  New  Zealand  and  eastern  Polynesia.  They  now  regard  the 
ruins  of  their  ancient  sanctuaries  with  as  much  religious  indifference  as  the  present 
generation  of  Britons  do  the  Stonehenge  monoliths.  Even  when  the  first  mis- 
sionaries arrived,  in  1820,  most  of  the  natives  had  already  ceased  to  believe  in  their 
national  gods,  and  religious  wars  had  broken  out  between  the  conservative  and 
progressive  parties.  But  after  the  ofiicial  conversion  of  the  chiefs  all  their  subjects 
hud   to  conform  under  the  severest  penalties.      Then   the   rivalries    between  the 


4'JG  AUSTEAIjASIA. 

Anglicans,  Metliodists,  and  Catholics,  followed  by  local  revolutions  and  the  inter- 
vention of  foreign  powers,  kept  the  archipelago  in  a  state  of  ferment  for  many  years. 

As  in  most  other  Polynesian  groups  the  indigenous  population  is  steadily 
decreasing,  having  fallen  from  perhaps  three  hundred  thousand  at  the  time  of  the 
discovery  in  1778  to  forty  thousand  in  1884.  The  natives  are  now  being  replaced 
by  the  immigration  of  foreigners  of  all  nationalities,  who  already  outnumber  the 
aboriginal  element,  which  must  rapidly  disappear  by  extinction  and  absorption 
amongst  the  new  arrivals.  To  the  other  causes  of  decay  was  added  in  1848  the 
terrible  scourge  of  leprosy,  here  called  mai  pahi,  or  "  Chinese  malady,"  which  is 
absolutely  incurable.  When  attacked  by  the  loathsome  disease  the  patients  are 
removed  to  the  island  of  Molokai,  between  Maui  and  Oahu,  where  about  800  are 
usually  confined  till  relieved  of  their  sufferings  by  death.  Amongst  recent  victims 
was  the  heroic  Catholic  priest.  Father  Damien,  who  had  voluntarily  selected  this 
island  prison  as  the  field  of  his  religious  administration. 

In  virtue  of  a  reciprocity  treaty  with  the  United  States  the  foreign  trade  of  the 
archipelago  is  almost  monopolised  by  North  ^\jnerica.  Even  the  exchanges  with 
Europe  are  made  chiefly  by  the  overland  route,  by  which  Honolulu  may  be  reached 
from  London  in  about  twenty-four  days.  In  the  islands  of  Hawaii  and  Maui  a  few 
short  railways  have  been  opened,  while  the  postal,  telegraph,  and  telephone  services 
are  more  developed  than  in  most  European  states.  All  the  natives  without  excep- 
tion can  read  and  write,  and  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1878  Hawaii  was  awarded 
the  grand  prize  for  primary  instruction. 

Hllo,  the  capital  of  the  island  of  Hawaii,  lies  on  a  bay  open  to  the  north-east 
trade  winds,  and  partly  silted  up  ^vith  alluvial  deposits.  A  more  convenient  position 
is  occupied  by  Lahnina,  chief  town  of  Maui,  on  a  roadstead  sheltered  by  the  islands 
of  Lauai  and  Kalulaui.  Honolulu,  capital  of  Oahu,  and  of  the  whole  archipelago, 
is  well  protected  from  the  dominant  winds  by  an  amphitheatre  of  hills,  and  from 
the  variable  currents  by  a  double  line  of  fringing  reefs.  Since  its  discovery  in 
1794  Honolulu  has  completely  superseded  the  old  capital,  Eailua,  on  the  west 
coast  of  Hawaii,  north  of  the  bay  where  Cook  was  murdered.  From  the  sea  little 
is  visible  of  the  town,  which  is  scattered  over  some  square  miles  of  gardens,  orange 
groves,  and  forest  trees.  The  roadstead  is  commanded  on  the  east  side  by  the 
extinct  volcano  of  Diamond  Head,  and  at  the  back  of  the  city  rises  the  perfectly 
regular  cone  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Punch-bowl."  Honolulu  is  the  centre  of 
the  intellectual  movement  in  the  archipelago,  and  here  are  issued  nearly  all  the 
local  English  and  native  newspapers. 

According  to  the  constitution  of  1887  Hawaii  is  a  constitutional  monarchy, 
with  two  chambers,  both  elected  by  all  citizens  whether  native  or  foreign,  the 
Upper  House  for  six,  the  Lower  for  two  years. 

The  ofiicial  Kanaka  (Hawaiian)  language  is  being  gradually  replaced  by 
English,  already  the  chief  medium  of  intercourse  throughout  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  schools  are  constituted  on  the  model  of  the  American  system,  the  schoolbooks, 
weights,  measures,  and  currency  are  American,  and  the  group  itself  is  practically 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS. 


HAWAH.  497 

a  province  of  the  great  republic.      Tlu-  mtv  Imrbdur  of  TToikiIuIu  is  nn  American 


naval  station,  and  the  political  independence  of  Hawaii  may  be  regarded  as  a  legal 
fiction  sustained  by  the  personal   interests  of  the  American  planters. 

VOL.    XIV.  K    K 


APPENDIX. 


STATISTICAL  TABLES. 


MASCAEENHAS  AND  NEIGHBOUEING  ISLANDS. 


Area  in 
Square  Miles. 

Population 

(1SS7). 

Whites, 
Coloured,  &c. 

Hindoos  and 
Cbinese. 

708 

368,000 

116,000 

252,000 

45 

1,800 

— 

— 

790 

161,000 

136,000 

25,000 

Maui'itius 
Rodi-iguez 
Reunion 

Imports  of  Port  Louis  (1886),  £2,100,000;  exports,  £3,410,000;  shipping,  922  vessels  of  692,000 
tons. 

Railways  of  Mauritius  (1886),  90  miles  ;  net  revenue,  £35,000. 

Revenue  of  Mam-itius  (1886),  £750,000  ;  expenditure,  £840,000  ;  public  debt,  £746,000. 

Imports  of  Reunion  (1886),  £1,125,000  ;  exports,  £532,000  ;  revenue,  £196,000. 

Area  of  Amsterdam,  18  square  miles;  of  St.  Paul,  3  square  miles  ;  of  Marion  and  Prince  Ed  ward  j 
125  square  miles. 

Area  of  Crozet,  210  square  miles  ;  of  Kerguelen  and  dependencies,  1,800  square  miles  ;  of  Heard  and 
MacDonald,  175  square  miles. 


INDONESIA. 

Area  in  Population 
Square  Miles.  (1881). 

Dutch  Indonesia 600,000  30,650,000 

British  (North  Borneo,  Sarawak  and  Bnmei)    .  108,000  630,000 

Portuguese       . 15,000  530,000 

Total       .  .  .  723,000  31,810,000 

Area  of  Sumatra  and  adjacent  islands,  185,000  square  miles  ;  approximate  population,  3,500,000. 
Tobacco  crop  of  North  Smnatra,  1875,  £200,000  ;   1880,  £900,000  ;   1886,  £2,400,000. 

ADMINISTEATIVE  DIVISIONS  OF  SUMATEA. 

Population  (1886).          Chief  Towns.  Population. 

Atj eh  (independent  and  reduced)         .  543,000  Kota-Raja  30,000 

BattaLand 300,000                      —  — 

Tapanuli 194,000  Sibogha  — 

Padang,  Lower  (Beneden-landen)       .  316,500  Padang  25,000 

Padang,  Upper  (Boven-landen)  .         .  670,500  Fort  kock  — 

Benculeu 152,000  Benculen  11,000 

Lampong 122,800  Telokh-Betong  — 

Palenibang 557,400  Palembang  60,000 

East  Coast 182,000  Medan  10,000 


APPENDIX. 


499 


Riouw  and  Lingga  Archipelagoes  :  area,  1,700  square  miles  ;  population  (1888),  08,000. 
Area  of  Bangka,  5,000  square  miles;  population  (1886),  7-1,715,  of  whom  53,000  are  Malays,  and 
21,000  Chinese. 

Area  of  Billiton,  1,870  square  miles  ;  population  (1886),  35,174. 
Mean  annual  output  of  the  Bangka  and  Billiton  tin  mines,  8,3o0  tons. 

Area  of  Tambelan,  Anambas,  Natuna,  and  Sera.san,  930  square  miles ;  of  Great  Natuna,  G40  square 
miles. 

Area  in 
Square  Miles.  Populatinn. 

Dutch  Borneo         .         .         .  216,000         .         .       1,071,000 

Sarawak         ....  39,000         .         .  500,000 

British  North  Borneo     .         .  26,000         .         .  250,000 

Brunei 15,000         .         .  80,000 


Total 


296,000 


1,901,000 


ADMINISTEATIYE  DIVISIONS  OF  DUTCH  BOENEO. 


DivisioDS. 
West. — Ai'ea,  62,000  sq.  miles; 
population,  410,000  ;  capi- 
tal, Pontianak. 


South  akd  East. — Ai-ea,  1 50, 000 
square  miles ;  population, 
617,000  ;  capital,  Banjer- 
massin. 


Marabaham 

10,000 

Amimtai   . 

8,000 

Banjei-massiu 

38,000 

Martapura 

12,000 

Provinces  or  Kingdoms.  Chief  Towns.       Population. 

)  Sambas Saiubas      .         .     10,000 

(Pontianak Pontianak.         .     15,000 

Kotaringin ......  ■ —  — 

Sampit         ......  —  — 

Great  and  Little  Dayak       ...  —  — 

Dusmi  and  Bekompai  . 

Amuutai      ..... 

Banjennassin       .... 

Martapura  ..... 

Tanah  Laut         .... 

Tanah  Kusan       .... 

Tanah  Bmnbu     .... 

Pasir  ...... 

Kutei 

Sambiliung  .... 

Gunong  Tebur     ......  —  — 

Bulangan     ......  —  — 

Tidimg —  — 

Area  of  Labuan,  30  square  miles  ;  population,  6,300;  shipping,  52,278  tons;  exchanges,  £164,000. 

Revenue  of  Sarawak  (1886),  £60,000  ;  exchanges,  £800,000. 

Imports  of  North  Borneo  (1887),  £212,000  ;  exports,  £113,000  ;  revenue  (1888),  £30,000. 


Pasir 

.      20,000 

-  Samarinda 

.       10,000 

Tangarung 

5,000 

JAVA. 

Population  according  to  languages  (1888) :    Javanese,  16,600,000;  Svmdanese,  2.500,0  00  ;  Madui-ese, 
2,600,000;  Malay,  1,000,000;  sundries,  300,000:  total,  23,000,000. 

Growth  of  population  of  Java  and  Madura  in  30  years  (1857—80),  11,300,000  to  22,000,000  =98  p.c. 

Mohammedan  Schools  in  Java,  16,760;  attendance,  255,000. 

Primary  Schools  for  Natives  (1887),  201  ;  attendance,  39,700. 

Rice  crop  of  Java  (1885),  4,370,000  tons  ;  rice  exported  (1887),  71,250  tons. 

Natives  employed  on  the  coffee  plantations  (1886),  475,000  famiUcs. 

Coffee  crop  (1816),  3,000  tons  ;  (1850)  60,000  tons  ;   (1879)  79,000  tons  ;  (1887)  17,750  tons. 

Average  sugar  crop  (1857— 02),  103,700  tons;   (1875)  199,000  tons;  (1887)  418,000  tons. 

Tobacco  exported  (1831),  280,000  lbs.  ;   (1864)  16,000,000  lbs.  ;   (1882)  34,000,000  lbs. 

Indigo  crop  (1887),  1,060,000  lbs.     Salt  (1885),  57,000  tons,  value  £526,000. 

Live  stock  (1886)  :  buflaloe.s,  2,542,000  ;  oxen,  2,090,000  ;  horses,  518,000. 

Railways  open  (1887),  780  miles.     Telegraph  lines,  5,500  miles. 

Letters  forwarded,  5,162,000;  new.spapers,  3,029,000. 

Exports  to  Great  Britain  (1880),  £3,000,000  ;  imports  from,  £1,300,000. 

Total  exports  (1884),  £12,600,000  ;  imports,  £10,300,000. 

Shipping:  9,195  ves.sels,  2,227,000  tons  ;    mercantile  navy,  1,060  ve.ssels,  of  which  34  are  steamers, 
94,000  tons. 

Chief  towns,  with  population  in  1886:   Batavia  and  suburbs,    172,000;  SuraTfarta,  130,000;    Sura 
baya,  129,000  ;  Jokjokarta,  90,000  ;  Semarang,  72,000  ;  Pasuruan,  50,000. 


500 


APPENDIX. 


Ai-mv  nf  Dutfh  Iiulonesia  (1887):  Europeans,  11,230:  Nativps,  18,314:  total,  32, oil. 
Navy  (188())  :  113  vessels;  crews,  4,803,  of  whom  2,770  are  Europeans. 
Eovenue  (1888),  £10,740,000;  expenditure,  £11,110,000. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  DIVISIONS  OF  JAVA  AND  MADURA. 


Provinces. 
Bantani  . 
Batavia   . 
Krawang 
Cheribon 
Preang    . 
Tegal       . 
Pekalongan 
Semarang 
Japara     . 
Banjumas 
Bagelen  . 
Kadu 
Surakarta 
Jokjokarta 
Rembang 
Sui'abaya 
Madiun  . 
Kediri 
Pasiuiian 
Probolingo 
Besuki     . 
Madiu'a  . 


Capital. 
Serang  . 
Batavia . 
Purwakarta 
Cheribon 
Bandong 
Tegal     . 
Pekalongan 
Semarang 
Patti      . 
Banjumas 
Piu'worejo 
Magelang 
Surakarta 
Jokjokarta 
Rembang 
Surabaya 
Madiim 
Kediii    . 
Pasuruan 
Probolingo 
Be.suki  . 
Pamekasan 


Total 


I  Square  Miles. 
3,300 
2,600 
1,800 
2,700 
8.500 
1,500 


Population  (1886). 

545,847 
1,013,884 

331,638 
l,3C9;i63 
1,654,836 
1,006,5.56 
3,338,978 
1,412,335 

858,166 
1,112,100 
1,272,532 

740,278 
1,071,090 

642,728 
1,196,402 
1,889,366 
1,021,195 

979,301 

838,947 

506,013 

591,700 
1,403,494 


21,997,2.59 


BaU  and  Lombok 

Sumbawa 

Flores,  Solor,  and  AUor   . 

Timor,  Samau,  and  Rotti 


OTHER  DUTCH  POSSESSIONS. 

Area  in  Square  Miles 

4,300 

6,600 

8,800 
.        12,700 


Wetter,  Kisser,  and  Roma        ....  1,300 

Damma,  NUa,  and  Sama          .         .         .         .  180 

Letti,  Moa,  and  Lakor     .....  300 

Luang,  Sermatta,  Babber         ....  320 

Tenimber  group        .         .   •      .         .         .         .  2,200 

Kei  group        .......  240 

Celebes,  Kabuna,  Wowoni,  and  adjacent  islets  70,000 

Saleyer  group  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  270 

Buton  and  Muna 3,200 

Tanah  Jampea 180 

PeUing  and  Bangaai         .         .         .         .         .  1,200 

Sula  group 2,500 

Sangi  group     .......  370 

Talaut 360 

Macassar,  imports  (1886),  £600,000  ;  exports,  £240,000  ;  mean  annual  excl 
Chief   Towns    op   Celebes  :    Maca.ssar,    population,    20,000;    Menado, 
Tondano,  3,000;  Kema,  2,000;  Palos,  2,000. 

SouTHEKN  Moluccas:—  Area  in  Square  Miles. 

Bum  and  Amblauw 8,750 

Ceram 7,280 

Ceram  Laut  group   ......  50 

Goram      ........  130 

Amboyna          .......  270 

Uliasser  Islands        .                                     .         .  100 

Banda  group    .......  15 


Population  (1886). 
1,342,9.32 
150,000 
373,000 
823,000 
18,500 
4,300 
6,880 
28,750 
6,700 
17,580 
650,000 
57,000 
20,000 
500 
10,000 
6,500 
40,000 
5,000 
hanges,  £1,000,000. 
4,000  ;    Bonthain,    3,500  ; 

Population. 
62,000 
200,000 
2,000 
4,500 
32,000 
26,000 
6,000 


Total 


16,595 


330,500 


ArrENDix. 


501 


NoETHEEX  Moluccas  : —  Area  in  Square  1 

Batchian  group 1,050 

Little  Moluccas 110 

Halmahera  (Jilolo) G,800 

Morotai 1,080 

Obi  group        .     —  .         .         .         .         .         .  740 

Tafuri  and  Maju 60 

Total     .         .         .         .  9,840 


Population. 
2,000 
30,000 
25,000 

uninhabited. 


57,000 


MAIN  ADMINISTEATIVE  DIVISIONS  OF  DUTCH  INDONESIA. 


Ar 

ea  in  Square  Miles. 

Population  (1886) 

Java  and  Madura    ....       60,100 

21,997,259 

Sumatra,  West  Coast 

50,000 

1,190,254 

Lampong  Districts 

10,400 

122,803 

Palembang 

56,300 

557,396 

Sumatra,  East  Coast 

17,000 

182,414 

Atjeh       . 

20,000 

643,460 

Riouw     . 

1,680 

4,196 

Bangka  . 

6,000 

74,716 

Billiton   . 

1,870 

35,174 

Borneo,  West 

61,700 

401,687 

Borneo,  East  and  South 

144,000 

671,948 

Celebes  and  Sumbawa 

47,300 

392,829 

Menado  . 

28,000 

222,497 

Temate  and  East  Celebe. 

95,000 

102,048 

Timor      . 

25,000 

912,000 

Amboyna 

19,600 

251,691 

Bali  and  Lombok    . 

4,300 

1,342,332 

Total 

.     647,250 

29,248,872 

PHILIPPINE  ARCHIPELAGO. 

Area,  118,000;  approximate  population  (1888),  7,000,000. 

Tobacco  exported  (1884),  130,000,000  cigars  and  13,000,000  lbs. 

Mean  annual  tobacco  crop  (1875-85),  20,000,000  lbs. 

Sugar  exported  (1885),  2,060,000  cwts. 

Coffee  exported  (1884),  73,000  cwts. 

Hemp  exported  (1887),  536,000  bales;  value,  £2,000,000. 

Total  imports  fl884),  £3,600,000  ;  exports,  £3,700,000. 

Shipping:  802  vessels  ;  tonnage,  660,000,  of  which  241,000  are  British. 

CHIEF  TOWTSTS. 

Manilla,  population  (1880),  250,000;  Laoag,  36,000;  Batanga.s,  35,000;  Tayabas,  23,000; 
Lingayen,  23,000;  Tuguegarao,  21,000;  Daraga,  20,000;  Vigan,  18,000;  Gapan,  18,000;  Albay, 
13,000;  Lucban,  13,000;  Calumpit,  12,500;  Bacolor,  12,000;  Bulacan,  11,500;  Ilo-Ilo,  24,000;  Capiz, 
23,000;  Sibalon,  15,000;  Tagbilaran,  12,000;  Cebu,  10,000. 

Revenue  (1886),  £2,300,000;  expenditure,  £2,325,000. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  DIVISIONS. 

Govemraenta 

Area  in  Square  Miles. 

Population 

Luzon 

48,000         .... 

3,246,000 

Visayas 

20,000          .... 

2,513,000 

Mindanao    . 

40,000          .... 

751,000 

Palawan,  &c. 

10,000         .... 

40,000 

118,000 


6,555,000 


C02 


APPENDIX. 


MICRONESIA. 


Area  in  Square  Miles. 

Population  (1887) 

Mariana  Islands     . 

4.50 

9,680 

Pelew  Islands 

200 

12,000  (?) 

Caroline  Islands     . 

400 

29,000 

Marshall  group 

160 

10,600 

Gilbert  (KingsmiU) 

170 

41,000 

Ellice    . 

Total 

14 
.      1,394 

3,300 

10.5,580 

PAPUASIA  (NEW  GUINEA). 


Area 

n  Sqnare  Miles.               Estimated  Population. 

Dutch  New  Guinea 

156,000 

300,000 

Briti.sh  New  Guinea 

90,000 

140,000 

German  New  Guinea 

70,000 

100,000 
540,000 

Total    . 

316,000 

Waigeu,  Batanta,  Salwati 

Mysol 

.3,000 

— 

Islands  in  Geelvink  Bay 

2,000 

— 

Am  Archipelag-o   . 

2,000 

— 

Islands  on  the  South-West  Coast 

130 

— 

Moresby  Group 

200 

— 

Entrecasteaux  Islands    . 

1,100 

— 

Woodlark  (Muyu)  group 

480 

— 

Louisiade  Archipelago  . 

870 

540,000  ( 

Total 

325,780 

) 

MELANESIA 

Area  in  Square  Miles.        Est.  Population 

Admiralty  group 

770 

2,000 

Matthias  group 

250- 

Other  Western  Islands 

240 

New  Hanover     .... 

500  ■ 

70,000 

New  Ireland  (Tombara) 

.       5,000 

New  Britain  (Bu-ara) 

.      10,000 

100,000 

York  and  other  Islets 

300  1 
300  i 

"  French  "  Islands  (Willaumez,  Eaoul,  Giguel,  &c.) 

20,000 

Eook  IsLand        .... 

280  N 

Long  Island        .... 

240  1 
300  ) 

10,000 

Dampier  group 

Solomon  AECHiPELAao  : — 

Bougainville  (Boukaj) 

4,000 

Choiseul  (San  Marcos) 

2,000  "^ 

New  Georgia  group 

1,200  i 

Yzabel  group 

2,000  f 

Guadalcanar  and  Savo  ■ 

2,500  } 

175,000 

Malaita  (Eamos),  Meraraasiki, 

&c.     . 

2,400  \ 

San  Cristobal  (Arossi,  Baivra) 

1,200   1 

Adjacent  Islets 

1,000 

Santa  Cruz  Archipelago  . 

200 

5,000 

Banks  and  Torres  Lslands 

190 

4,500 

New  Hebkides  : — 

Espiritu-Santo 

2,000 

20,000 

Mallicolo 

850 

8,000 

APPENDIX. 


5U3 


Area  i 
Anibrym  ......-■. 

Vate  (Sandwich) 

Erromango       ........ 

Tanna      ......... 

Anatom   .......-■ 

Other  Islets 

Tikopia,  Anuda,  and  other  eastern  isles  .... 

New  Caledonia        ........ 

Loyalty  Group        ........ 

Annual  yield  of  the  New  Caledonian  nickel  mines,  12,000  tons 
Numea,  imports  and  exports  (1884),  £640,000  ;  shippiufj,  277 
Budget  (1887),  £400,000. 


Q  Square  Miles. 
240 

Est.  Population 
3,000 

200 

3,000 

400 

2,000 

150 

10,000 

(30 

1,280 

1,200 

15,000 

20 

650 

6,500 

43,000 

1,100 

20,000 

AUSTEALIA,    TASMANIA,  NEW  ZEALAND,   AND 

FIJI. 

Colonies. 

Area  in  Square        Population 
Miles.                        (18S7). 

Revenue. 

Expenditure. 

Debt. 

New  South  Wales. 

310,700              1,043,000 

£8,583,000 

£9,100,000 

£41,000,000 

Queensland   . 

608,500                 367,000 

3,178,000 

3,309,000 

26,000,000 

Victoria 

87,900              1,030,000 

6,734,000 

6,561,000 

33,000,000 

South  Australia     . 

903,400                312,000 

1,870,000 

2,165,300 

19,000,000 

We.stem  Austi-aha 

976,000                  43,000 

378,000 

457,000 

1,290,111)0 

Tasmania 

26,000                 143,000 

595,000 

662,000 

4,110,(100 

New  Zealand 

104,000                 004,000 

3,520,000 

4,082,000 

37,000,000 

Fiji       .         .         . 

8,000                 125,000 

65,000 
£24,923,000 

73,000 

255,000 

Total  British  Austra 
Colonial  Empire 

I   3,084,500             3,673,000 

£26,429,000 

£101,055,000 

Aborigines  (1881)  :  New  South  Wales,  1,643. 

Victoria, 

768. 

Queensland,  20,585. 

South  Australia,  6,346. 

Tasmania 

none. 

New  Zealand,  Maori,  44,097. 

AUSTE-VLIA  AND  TASMANIA. 

Births  (1886),  35  per  100  ;  deaths,  16  per  100  ;  immigrants  (1887),  64,800. 

Wool  produced  (1887),  247,000  tons  ;  sheep,  84,827,000 ;  cattle,  7,577,000  ;  horses,  1,252,000  ;  pigs, 
760,000. 

Wheat  produced   (1886),   35,000,000  bu.shels;    other  cereals,  7,000,000  bushels;  potatoes,   357,000 
tons  ;  sugar  (1888),  40,000  tons. 

Gold  produced   (1886),   £4,100,000;    tin,   £1,120,000;    copper,   £416,000;    silver,   £250,000;   coal, 
3,070,000  tons,  value  £1,400,000. 

Imports  (1887),  £57,000,000  ;  exports,  £51,000,000  ;  total  exchanges,  £108,000,000. 

Shipping   (1885):   vessels   entered,    7,068;    tonnage,    5,684,000;  vessels   cleared,  7,658  ;    tonnage, 
5,692,000. 

Mercantile  navy :  1,546  sailing  vessels,  800  steamers  ;  total  tonnage,  259,000. 

Railways  (1888)  :  7,000  mUes  ;  capital  invested,  £76,000,000  ;  net  profits,  £2,700,000. 

Telegraph  lines  (1887)  :  32,000  miles;  despatches  (1886),  6,472,000. 

Letters,  cards,  &c.,  forwarded,  99,430;000  ;  papers,  parcels,  kc,  80,000,000. 

Public  schools  (1886),  5,321  ;  attendance,  546,000. 

CUIEF  TOWNS. 

Westeen  Austkalia:  Perth,  population  (1880),  5,000  ;  Freemantle,  3,600. 

South    Australia:  Adelaide   (1888),    130,000;    Teetulpa,   5,500;  Port  Adelaide,   5,280;    Moonta, 
5,000  ;  Gawler,  3,000  :  Glenelg,  3,000. 

Queensland  :  Brisbane  (1888),  55,000;  Gympie,    12,000;  Rockhampton.    11,000;  Ip.swich,  10,000; 
Maryborough,  9,000;  TownsvOle,  8,000;  Toowoomba,  6,000;  Ci-oydon,  5,000. 

New  South  Wales:  Sydney  (I887),.350,000  with  subiu-bs  ;  Newcastle,  20,000;  raranuittu,  12,000; 
Goulbum,  8,000;  Wollongong,  8,000;  Maitland,  7.500;  Bathurst,  7,000. 

Victoria:  Melboimie  (1887),  392,000  with  suburbs  ;  BaUarat.  37,000  ;  Sandhurst,  30,000  ;  Geelong, 
23,000;  Eaglehawk,  8,000;  Castlemaine,  7,000;  WaiTiiambool,  6,000;  StaweU,  5,000;  Echuca,  5,000. 

TASiiANLi:  Ilobart  (1885),  29,000;  Launceston,  19,500. 


504 


APPENDIX. 


NEW  ZEALAND. 

Kauri  gum  exported  (1887),  6,790  tons,  value  £300,000. 

Land  under  tillage  (1887),  1,380,000  acres  ;  cereals  produced,  600,000  bushels. 

Pastures,  12,000,000  acres;  sheep,  15,000,000;  cattle,  8J3,000  ;  horses,  187,000. 

Tinned  and  frozen  sheep  exported  (1887),  1,525,000. 

Gold  produced  (1887),  £800,000  ;  coal,  559,000  tons. 

Railways  opened  (1887),  1,750  miles  ;  capital  invested,  £14,100,000. 

Letters,  &c.,  forwarded,  40,000,000;  papers,  parcels,  &c.,  20,000,000. 

Telegraphic  despatches,  1,836,000. 

Total  imports  (1887),  £32,000,000;  exports,  £35,000,000. 

Shipping  entered  and  cleared,  1,432  of  991,000  tons. 

Mercantile  navy  :  503  sailing  vessels  ;   108  steamers;  total  tonnage,  95,000. 

Chief  Towns:  Auckland,  population  (1887),  57,000  with  subm-bs ;  Wellington,  28,000;  Dunedin, 
40,000;  Christchurch,  37,000;  Thames,  8,000;  Napier,  8,000;  Nelson,  7,500;  Oamai-u,  6,000;  Inver- 
cargill,  5,500  ;  Wanganui,  5,000. 

ADMINISTRATIVE    DIVISIONS. 


/  Auckland 

NOETH 

j   Hawke's  Bay 

Island. 

j   Wellington 

\_  Taranaki 

/   Nelson 

[    Marlborough 

South 

1   Canterbmy 

Island. 

\  Westland 

i   Otago 

V  Other  Islands 

45,000 


63,000 


339,000 


FIJI. 


Viti  Levu,  4,000  square  miles;  Vanua  Levu,  2, 

Ovalau,  50  ;  other  islets,  800. 

Cocoanut  crop  (1885),  27,000,000  nuts,  yielding  4,900  tons  of  copra. 

Total  imports,  £800,000;  exports,  £500,000. 

Shipping  entered  and  cleared,  396  of  137,000  tons. 


Taviuni,  200 ;  Kanda™,  200 ;  Ngau,  60 ;  Goro, 


EQUATORIAL  POLYNESIA   AND   HAWAII. 


Archipulagoes. 

Tonga  (Friendly) 

Wallis 

Savage  (Nine) 

Samoa 

Union  (Tokelau) 

Cook  (Hervey) 

Tubuai  (Austral) . 

Tahiti  (Society) 

Phoenix 

Manahild     . 

Tuamotu  (Low  Islands) 

Easter  and  Sala  y  Gomez 

Fanning  (America  Is.) 

Marquesas  . 

Hawaii  (Sandwich) 


States  or  Protectorates. 

England  and  Germany 
France  ... 
England  and  Germany 
England,  Germany,  and 


England 

France 

France 


France  , 
ChiU 
England 
France  . 
Kingdom 


ea  in  Sq. 

Population 

450        . 

30,000 

120       . 

8,000 

30       . 

5,000 

000       . 

34,000 

12       . 

520 

140       . 

11,500 

105 

1,400 

000 

17,000 

15       . 

60 

50       . 

1,600 

360       . 

5,000 

40       . 

600 

120       . 

200 

480       . 

6,000 

700       . 

.     81,000 

Chief  towns  of  Hawaii :  Honolulu,  population  (1880),  20,500;  Hilo,  5,000;  Lahaina,  4,000. 
Revenue,  £700,000;  expenditure,  £098,000;  debt,  £470,000;  exchanges,  £3,200,000. 


INDEX. 


Abang  Volcano,  196 
Abong-Abonsr,  82 
Abu  Volcano,  2'22 
Abungers,  102 
Adelaide,  399 
Adi  Island,  310 
Admiralty  Man  Is,  319,  321 
Adonarc  Island,  207 
Aetas,  253 
Agana,  277 
Agung,  196 
Agrigan  Island,  275 
Aguijan,  275 
Agusan  River,  251 
Ahravaigi  Mountain,  425 
Ahuriri,  451 
Ajang  Mountains,  161 
Ajer  Bangis,  108 
Akaroa  Bay,  430,  452 
Alamagan  Island,  275 
Albany,  397 
Albay,  266 
Albay  Mountain,  246 
Albert  Mountains,  299 
Albert  River,  366 
Alberton,  404 
Alburv,  393,  412 
Alcoct,  148 
Alexandra  Land,  14 
Alexandrina  Lake,  401 
Alfurus,  77,  219,  231,  310 
Alivancia  Mountain,  246 
Alias  Mountain,  211 
AUor  Islands,  206 
Allor  KatjU,  208 
Alps  f Australian),  358 

(New  Zealand),  424 
Amadeus  Lake,  368 
Amahai,  233 

Amargura  Mountain,  469 
Arabarawa,  1S8 
Amber  Island,  45 
Amberbaken,  309 
Amboyna  Island,  230 

Town,  232 
Ambrym  Island,  332 
America  Islands,  468,  488 
Ampanan,  203 
Amphi trite  Bay,  91 
Amsterdam  Island,  56 
Amunt-ai,  140 

\"OI,.    xi\-. 


Anaa,  474.  487. 

Anambas  Island,  120 

Anatom.  336 

Angkee  River,  184 

Aniwa.  335 

Anjer,  88 

Ansus,  310 

Antipodes  Islands,  424,  454 

Anuda  Island.  330.  483 

Aorai  Mountain,  472 

Aotea  Bay,  444 

Aparri,  265 

Apenberg  Mountain,  108 

Api  (Banda),  231 

(Flores),  200 

(Lombok),  202 

(Sumbawa),  205 

(Wetter).  215 
Apia,  474,  488 
Aps  Mountain,  246 
Apsley  Strait,  403 
Arafura  Sea,,  217 
Ararat,  418 
Areca,  108 
Arfak,  308 

Mountains,  297 
Arguni  Bay,  297 
Argopura  Mountain,  161 
Arhno  Island,  289 
Aringay,  250,  265 
Arjuno  Mountain,  159 
Aropen,  309 
Arrecifes,  277 
Art  Island,  340 
Arthur  Mountain,  425 
Am  Islands,  293,  301.  310 
Am  Hassa  Mountain,  205 
Asahan  River,-  91 
Ashburhm  River,  366 
Aspiring  Mnuntain,  425 
Assumption  Island,  275 
Astrolabe  Bay,  304 
Atapupu,  215 
Atjeh,  79,  95,  106 
Atti-Atti,  310 
Auckland  Islands,  424,  455 

Peninsula,  434,  436 

Province,  439 

Town,  448 
Austral  Islands,  59,  471,  485 
Australia,  352 

I,  L 


Australians,  375 
Avon  Island.  351 
Awa  o  te  Attua,  436 
Awarua  River,  425 

Baba  Island.  216 
Babalthuap  Island,  277 
Babber  Island,  216 
Babi  Island,  93,  103 
Babuyan  Island,  250 
Bacolor,  264 
Badui,  166 
Badung  Island.  196 
Bahan  River,  140 
Bahu  Solo  River,  223 
Ba^u  Tring,  135 
Biijoa,  227 
Bajos,  256 
Baker  Island,  474 
Bakungen  Mountjiin.  196    . 
Balabao  Strait,  244 

Island,  244,  269 
Balade,  351 

Balambangan  Island.  148 
Balanga,  265 
Balapulang,  186 
Balbi  Mountain,  321 
Bali  Island,  196 
Balik  Pippen  Mountain,  125 
BaUarat,  417 
Baliu'an  Mountain,  162 
Banbury,  397 
Banda  Islands,  231 

Neira,  231 

Sea,  219,  229 

Town,  234 
Bandong,  155,  162,  186 
Bangka  Island,  117 
Bangkalan,  193 
Bangli,  200 
Banguay  Islands,  269 
Banguoy  Island,  148 
Banjennassin,  122,  138 
Banjuwanji,  193 
Banks,  Cipe,  408 

Islands,   330 

Peninsula,  430,  452 
Baiios,  263 
Bantam,  179,  182 
Baobeltaob  Island,  277 
Barayan,  265 


500 


INDEX. 


Barcos  River,  3CG 
Barisan  Mountains,  82 
Barito  River,  125,  127, 
Baros,  108 
Basilan  Island,  268 
Basey,  267 
Bashee  Islands,  250 
Bass  Strait,  362,  383 
Batanes  Islands,  250 
Batang  Lupar  River,  146 
Batangas,   265 
Batanta,  297 
Batavia,  182 
Batchian  Island,  236 
Bathurst  Island,  403 

Town,  412 
Batjan  Island,  236 
Battas,  96 
Batu  Bundang  Mountain,  125 

Kau  Mountain,  196 

Rajah  Mountain,  125 

Tebang,  125 
Baura  Island,  481 
Bawean  Island,  150,  166 
Bay  of  Islands,  421,  436 
Beeuhworth,  417 
Bekasi,  185 
Belang,  228 
Belfast,  418 
Bendigo,  418 
Bengkalis  Island,  94,  113 
Benguet,  251 
Benkulen,   110 
Ben  Lomond,  453 
Bentinok,  407 
Berau  Peninsula,  297 
Besuki,  193 
Beverley,  397 
Biak  Island,  300 
Bibiluto  Mountain,  211 
Bicots,  256 

Big  Ben  Mountain,  63 
Billiton  Island,  119 
Bima,  203,  205 

Bay,  203 
Binangonan,  265 
Binintiang  Mountains,  248 
Bintang  Islands,  116 
Bintulu  River,  146 
Bintuni,  310 
Birara  Island,  319 
Bislig,  268 

Bismarck  Islmds,  319 
Black  River  Peak,  43 
Blambangan,  193 
Blanche  Bay,  320 
Blenheim,  451 
Blue  Lake,  360 
"Blue  Lips,"  443 
Blue  Mountains,  360 
Bojonopforn,  191 
Bos-ouf,'  :\[ouiit:iins,  358 
Boliol  Islan.l,  253 
Bonibou  Lake,  248 
Bonerate  Island,  221 
Bonfire  Beach,  63 
Bongon,  148 
Boni,  225 
Bonoa  Island,  230 
Bonthaln  Mountain,  221 

Tomi,  227 
Boora-Boora,  401 
Bora-Bora  Mountain,  471 
Borneo,  120 

Sea,  120 
Borongan,  266 


Botany  Bay,  385,  408 
BougainviUe  Island,  318,  321 

Strait,  322 
Bounty  Islands,  424,  454 
Bourail,  350 
Bourbon  Island,  46 
Bowen,  406 
Brambanan,  191 
Brandewiju  Bay,  110 
Brantas  River,  164 
Bras-Panon,  52 
Brass  Island,  82 
Bratus  Mountain,  125 
Breng-breng,  153 
Brisbane,  404 
British  North  Borneo,  142 
Brown  Islands,  292 
Bromo  Mountain,  160 
Brunei  Bay  146 

River,  124,  126 

State,  122,  142 

Town,  121,  143 
Buffalo  Peak,  216 
Bugi,  225 
Buhi  Lake,  247 
Buitenzorg,  70,  185 
Bukit  Batu,  113 
Bulacan,  263 
Bulangan,  142 
Bule-Dupuis,  147 
Buleleng,  200 
Bulusan,  266 

Mountain,  246 
Bundaberg,  406 
Bunguren  Island,  120 
Burangrang  Mountain,  155 
Burdekin  River,  366 
Burias  Island,  256 
Burke,  412 
Burketown,  406 
Burrundie,  403 
Burrum,  406 
Bum  Island,  230 
Buru-Budhur,  188 
Bus  Fort,  298,  310 
Busselton,  397 
Butak  Mountain,  159 
Butaritari  Island,  454 
Butuan  River,  251 

Town,  268 

Cabusao,  266 

Cagayan  River,  251,  258 

Cagayanes,  256 

Cagsaua,  266 

Cagud  Mountain,  250 

■CaiUou  (le),  351 

Calamianes  Island,  256 

Calumpit,  264 

Camalig,  265 

Camarines  Peninsula,  246,  248 

Camingiiin  Mountain,  250 

Campbell  Islands,  424,  455 

Campbelltown,  453 

Candelaria,  322 

Canterbuiy  Province,  451 

Capiz,  268 

Caraballo  Mountains,  245 

Cargados  Islands,  487 

Caroline  Island,  468 

Islands,   280 
Carpentaria  Gulf,  354 
Castle  Mountain,  425 
Catalanganes,  258 
Catanduanes,  256 
Catbalongan,  266 


Cavite,  263 
Cebu  Island,  246 . 

Town,  268     * 
Celebes,  75,  219 
Ceram,  229,  231 

Laut,  234 
Chagalalegat,  105 
Chalmers,  452 
"  Chambers's  Pillar,"  362 
Chamorros,  276 
Champion  Bay,  397 
Chandana  Island,  209 
Charles-Louis  Mountains,  298,  300 
Charlotte  Waters,  371 
Charters  Towers,  400 
Chatham  Island,  424,  441,  454 
Cheribon  Mountnin,  155 

Province,  151,  186 

Town,  186 
Chesterfield  Islands,  351,  424 
China  Strait,  299 
Chi  Widei  River,  154 
Choiseul  Island,  318,  322 
Christchurch,  451 
Christmas  Island,  56,  93 

(Polynesia),  468,  488 

Harbour,  63 
Cimandef  Mountain,  46 
Clunes,  418 
Clutha  River,  427 
Coburg  Peninsula,  403 
Cockbum  Sound,  396 
Condamine  River,  365 
Cook  Glacier,  426 

Islands,  467,  471,  485 

Mountain,  425 

Strait,  422,  430 
Cooktown,  406 
Cooper's  Creek,  366 
Coral,  Sea  of,  364 
Comwallis  Island,  292 

Mountaiu,  363 
Corregidor  Island,  263 
Cottabato,  246,  268 
Cradle  Mountain,  360 
Creoles,  42 
Creswick,  417 
Croydon,  407 
Crozet  Islands,  60 
Crozier  Mountain,  61 
Curepipe,  45 
Cyclops  Mountain,  298 

Dadinga  Bay,  241 
Daet,  266 
Dalby,  405 
Damar  Island,  236 
Damma  Island,  216 
Dampier  Island,  320 

Strait,  320 
Dana  Island,  209 
Danau,  83 
Danger  Island,  33 
Dani  River,  185 
Daraga,  247,  266 
Dark  Cloud  Sound,  429 
Darling  River,  365 
Damley  Island,  406 
Darwin  Peak,  428 
Dasar,  160 
Data  Mountain,  250 
Davao  Bay,  246 

Town,  246 
Dayaks.  78,  134 
Daylesford,  417 
Deception  Island,  29 


INDEX. 


507 


■Deli  Town,  96,  113 
Demak,  187 
Dempo  Mountain,  85 
Deniiiffuin,  418 
Dent, '^HS 
Derby,  398 
Derwent  River,  419 
Diahot  River,  340 
Diamond  Cape,  82,  497 
Dieng,  155 
Dilli,  215 

Dindi  Mountain,  205 
Dobbo,  310 
Dolok  Simaiiabum,  82 
Donda  Mountain,  221 
Donggala,  220 
Dorey,  304,  308 
Duang  Island,  222 
Dubbo,  412 
Ducos,  347 
Dula,  219 
Dunedin,  446,  451 
Dusky  Sound,  429 
Dusun,  147 
Duwa  Sudara  Mountain,  222 

Eaglehawk,  418 

Kamslaw  Mountain,  425 

Easter  Island,  467,  473,  475,  488 

Ebon,  292 

Eohuca,  418 

Edi,  108 

Efat,  336 

Egraont  Mountains,  436 

Eimeo.  471 

Elie  de  Beaumont  Peak,  425 

EUice  Islands,  288 

Elopura,  147 

Ema-Davan,  213 

Ema-Velu.  213 

Emeiald  Island,  424 

Emmaville,  412 

Endeh,  206 

Enderburr  Island,  408 

Enderbv  Land,  14 

Engano"  Island,  93 

Enivi-et«k  Islands,  292 

Eutreoasteaux  Islands,  314 

Equatorial  Polynesia,  466 

Krebus  Mountain,  14 

Erromango,  336 

Erub  Island,  406 

Espiritu  Santo  Island,  -330 

Essington,  403 

Etna  Bar,  297 

Eucla,  3i)7 

Evar  Island,  218 

Exchequer  Islands,  319 

Ej-re  Lake,  366 

Fak-Fat  Isthmus,  307 
Fakaraua,  487 
Fanning  Islands,  468 
Farallon  dos  Pajaros,  275 
Farewell  Cape,  425 
Farraulap  (Farroilep),  282 
Fiji  Islands,  457 
Fijians,  460 

Finisterre  Mountains,  298 
Finsch-hafen,  316 
Fitzroy  River,  366,  398 
Flinders  Island,  383 

River,  366 
Flores  Island.  206 

Strait,  208 


Fly  River,  300 

Foa,  349 

Fonualai  Island,  469 

Forbes,  412 

Foul  Wind  Cape,  451 

Foveaux  Strait,  422,  453 

Franldin  Mountain,  325 

Frederik  Hendrik  Island,  296 

Fremantle,  396 

French  Islands,  320 

Fonga  Sa  Bay,  484 


Gabriel,  54 

Galapagos  Islands,  34 
Galela,  241 
Galets  River,  48 
GaUaway  Mountain,  424 
Galungung  Mountain,  154 
Gambier  Islands,  473 
Gambierton,  401 
Gapan,  264 
Garden  Island,  396 
Gascoyne  River,  366 
Gaspar  Rico  Island,  292 
Gaspar  Strait,  119 
Gautier  Mountain,  298 
Gawler,  401 
Gebe  Island,  236 
Gede  Mountain,  152 
Geelong,  414 
Geelvink  Bay,  294 
Geliting.  207 
Genoffo  Mountain,  298 
Georgetown,  419 
Geraldton,  397 
Gilbert  Islands,  288 
Gili  Banta  Mountam,  205 
Gipp's  Land,  417 
Gisbome,  451 
Glenelg,  398,  400 
Gloucester  Cape,  326 
Goa  (Gowa),  227 
Gomanton,  148 
Goolwa,  401 
Coram  Island,  231 
Gorontalo,  219,  228 

Bay,  228 
Gouaro,  350 
Goudberg,  82 
Goulbum,  412 
Grafton,  412 
Graham's  Land,  14 
Grahamstown,  451 
Grampians,  359 
Grand  Brule  Mountain,  47 
Great  Banda,  234 
Great  Barrier  Reef,  355,  364 
Great  Sandy  Island,  406 
Greenough  River,  397 
Gresik,  191 
Grey  River,  366 
Greymouth,  451 
Gros  Mome  MounUiin.  48 
Guadalcanar  Lsland,  322 
Guagna,  264 

Guam  (Guahan)  Island,  274 
Guildford,  397 
Guinan,  266 
Guinobatan,  265 
Gundaga,  412 
Gunong  Alpi,  151 

Sitoli,  108 

Tebur,  142 
Guntur  Mountain,  154 
Guwa  Upas,  155 


Gyanyar,  200 
Gympie,  406 

Haabai,  483 
Haast  River,  425 
Haleahala,  492 
Halmahera,  64,  236 
Hari  River,  91 
Hawaii  Islands,  489 

Island,  491 
Hawaiians,  495 
Hawkes  Bay,  451 
Hawkesbury  River,  377,  S91,  411 
Heard  Island,  63 
Hervey  Islands.  485 
Hermit  Island,  320 
Hlkurang  Mountain,  430 
HUo,  497 
Hindmarsh,  400 
Hitu,  231 
Hiva-oa,  473 

Hobart,  Hobart  Town,  419 
Hobson's  Bay,  417 
Hochstettcr  Peak,  425 
Hokitika,  451 
Honolulu,  492,  497 
Houailu,  351 
Houtman's  Abrothos,  397 
Howamul,  231 
Howe,  Cape,  407 

.    Lord,  Islands,  322,  413 
Howlands  Island,  474 
Huahine  Mouuttiin,  471 
Hula,  314 
Humboldt  Bay,  309 
Hunter  River,  411 
Huon  Island,  340 
Bay,  316 

Iba,  265 

Ibanag,  256 

Idaan,  147 

Ifugaos,  258 

Igorrot«s,  257 

Ijen  Mountain,  162 

Ikana  Maui,  422 

Illana,  252 

nianos,  137 

Ilocos,  Ilocanos,  256 

no-no,  268 

nongotcs,  258 

nun-bano  Mountain,  211 

Indan,  263 

Indian  Ocean,  40 

Indonesia,  64 

Indonesians,  76 

Indragii-i  River,  84,  91 

Indramaju,  186 

Indrapura,  84 

Insulindia,  64 

Inui  Island,  467 

Invercargill,  453 

Ipswich,  405 

Irayas,  258 

Iraja  Mountain,  217 

Irwin  River,  395 

IsabeUa,  268 

Isarog  Mountain,  247 

Jakarta,  182 
Jaluit,  292 
Japara,  187 
Jambi  River,  85.  91 

Province,  113 

Town.  113 
.Tappen  Island,  310 
Jaio,  272 


508 


INDEX. 


Jarvis  Island,  474 

Java,  149 

Java-hoofd,  150 

Javanese,  167 

Jawana,  188 

JiUilo,  64,  240 

Jobie  Island,  300,  310 

Jokjokarta,  190 

Jolo  Islands,  268 

Juan  Fernandez  Islands,  35,  468 

Kaba  Mountain,  85 

Kabalaki  Peak,  210 

Kabalelo  Mountain,  206 

Kadina,  402 

Kadyan,  143 

Kahajan  River,  127 

KaUua,  497 

Kaimawana  Lake,  430 

Kaipara  Bay  and  Town,  430 

Kaiser  Wilhelm' 8  Land,  315 

Ka-lae  Point,  491 

Kalamantin,  120 

Kalukah  River,  146 

Kalung-Kimg,  200 

Kambing  Island,  211 

Kampar  River,  9 1 

Kanala,  351 

Kandavu  Island,  458 

Kao  Mountain,  469 

Kapuas  River,  125,  126 

Kapunda,  401 

Karang  Mountain,  151 

Karang-Assem,  200 

Karbawen-gat,  110 

Karimata  Islands,  127,  138 

Karimon-Java  Islands,  150 

Karons,  309 

Kartasura,  189 

Katau,  304 

Katingan  River,  127 

Kauai,  492 

Kawa-Kawa,  448 

Kawi  M  'untain,  159,  1C4 

Kayeli,  233 

Kayoa  Island,  236 

Kediri  River,  164 

Keeling  Islands,  54 

Kei  Islands,  216,  218 

Keisers  Piek,  85 

Kelai  River,  129 

Kelang  Island,  230 

Kelut  Mountain,  158,  102 

Keraa,  228 

Kembangan  Peninsula,  160 

Kemp  Island,  14 

Kendangan,  140 

Kendeng  Mountain,  162 

Kensington,  400 

Keo  Mountain,  206 

Keppel,  148 

Kerawara,  329 

Kerguelen  Island,  35,-  00 

Kerikjoe,  105 

Kermadec  Islands,  424,  455 

Ketotabi  Mountain,  432 

Kiama,  412 

IviholoBay,  491 

Kilauea,  491 

Kilwam  Inland,  234 

Ivimberley.  398 

Kina-balu  Mountain,  123 

Kina-batangan  River,  130,  14G 

King  George  Sound,  377,  391 

Kingo  Mountain,  206 

King's  Coimtrj',  444 


KingsmiU  Islands,  288 
Kingston,  453 
Kisser  (Kissa),  216 
KlabatBay,  118 

Mountain,  222 
Klapper  Kust,  300 
Kluang,  108 
Kock  Fort,  109 
Konio  Mountain,  472 
Komodo  Islands,  200 
Kompeb  River,  112 
Kooringa,  401 
Korintji,  84,  102 
Koroer  Island,  280 
Kororarika,  421 
Kosciuzko  Mountains,  35S 
Kota  Raja,  107 
Kotaringin  River,  127 
Koyari,  315 
Krakatau,  86 
Kucliing,  144 
Kudat,  148 
Kudus,  187 

Kukusan  Mountain,  162 
Kupang,  210,  215 
Kuro-Sivo,  24 
Kutei  River,  127 

Labo,  248 
Labuan,  114 

Island,  144 
Labuk,  148 
Lachlan  River,  365 
Ladrone  Islands,  274 
Laguna  de  Bay,  250 
Labaina,  497 
Lakahia  Mountain,  298 
Laki-Laki  Mountain,  206 
Lakuru  Mountains,  125 
Lakon  Mountain,  222 
Lakor  Island,  216 
Lamabale  Mountain,  208 
Lamandang  Mountain,  230 
Lamansieri,  298 
Lamongan  Mountain,  154 
Lanipogerg,  102 
Lainpong,  SO,  111 
Lamurek  Island,  282 
Landak,  137 
Landu  Island,  211 
Lang  Island,  90 
Langsar  Bay,  106 
Lanteh  Mountain,  204 
Larantuka  Mountain,  206 

Town,  208 
Larat  Island,  218 
Late  Mountain,  469 
Latimojong  Mountains,  220 
Lau  Islands,  459 
Launceston,  419 
Laut  Tawar,  96 
Lawayang,  208 
Lawn  Mountains,  158 
Leeu  Mountain,  210 
Lefuka,  483 
Legaspi,  266 
Le'iobhardt  River,  366 
Lekeniba,  460 
Lele  Island,  286 
Lemongan  Mountain,  161 
Leniuria,  3,  52 
Letti  Island,  216 
Levuka,  464 
Lryte  Island,  245,  266 
Lcytimor  Peninsula   2'il 
Liboiig,  265 


Lifau,  210 

Lifu  Island,  340,  351 
Ligao,  2iJo 
Likieb  Island,  292 
Limbangang  Island,  221 
Limbotto  Lake,  228 
Line  Islands,  288 
Lingayen,  250,  265 
Lingga  Islands,  115 

Mountain,  116 
Liverpool  Plains,  361 
Liwong  River,  182 
Lobetobi  Mountain,  206 
LobetoUe  Mountain,  208 
Lofty  Mountains,  399 
Lomblen  Island,  207 
Lombok  Island,  201 

Peak,  202 

Strait,  202 
Lonthoir,  231 
Lopevi  Mountain,  332 
Lonisiade  Islands,  296,  315 
Louis-Philip  Land,  14 
Low  Islands,  33,  468 
Loyalty  Islands,  337,  354 
Luang  Island,  216 
Luar  Lake,  126 
Luoban,  263 
Lucipara,  229 
Lundu,   144 
Lupar  River,  125,  126 

Mountains,  125 
Lusch,  82 
Lutuntur,  140 
Luzon,  243 
Lyell  Peak,  425 
Lyttleton,  451 

Mabiak,  304 
Macassar,  221,  226 
Macaturin  Mountain,  246 
MacCluer  Bay,  297 
Maedonald  Island,  63 
MacDouaU  Mountains,  361 
Mackay,  406 

Macquarie  Island,  424,  455 
Mactan  Island,  7,  268 
Madiun,  191 
Madura,  149,  150 
Madurese,  166 
Maer  Island,  376 
Mafate,  48 
Mafur,  309 
Magelang,  188 
Magellania,  7 
Magindanao  Lake,  252 
Mahakkara  River,  125,  127 
Mahebourg,  46 
Maitland,  412 
Majang  Island,  121,  127 
Makjan  Island,  236,  238 
Malabar  Mc.nntain,  154 
Malabuh,  KIS 
Malabuu,  263 
Malays,  38,  78,  253 
Malaysia,  64 
Malaita  Island,  322 
Malang,  192 
Malapi,  148 

Malaspina  Mountain,  246 
Maiden  Island,  4GS 
Malinao  Mountain,  247 
Malindang  Mountain,  246 
Malintang  Mountain,  82 
Mallicolo,  335 
Malte-Brun  Mountain,  425 


INDEX. 


509 


Malu  Mountain,  124 
Mamauuthas,  458 
Manahiki  Islands,  467,  473 
Manapuri  Lake,  427 
Mandala-Wangi,  162 
Mandayas,  2oS 
Mandhar  Cape,  221 
Mang-areva  Island,  474,  487 
Mangkarai,  206 
Mangkassar,  227 
Manilla,  261 
Maninju  Lake,  83 
Manipa  Island,  230 
Manly,  410 
Maori,  39,  440 
Maraki  Island,  290 
Marapok  Mountain.  146 
Maras  Mounbiin,  118 
Mare,  340 
Margasari,  140 
Marianas,  274 
Maria-Theresa  Shoal,  467 
Mariboju,  268 
Marigondon,  26.5 
Marion  Islands,  60 
Mariveles,  26.5 
Marlborough,  HI 
Maros,  221,  227 
Marquesas  Islands,  487 
Mars  Island,  117 
Marshall  Islands,  288 
Marsuins  River;  52 
Martapura  River,  127 

Town,  140 
Marud  Mountain,  124 
Marudu  River,  148 
Mary  River,  406 
Maryborough,  406 
Masbate  Island,  245 
Mascarenhas,  40 
Massacre  Bay,  421 
Massim  Islands,  296 
Mat  River,  48 
Mataram,  190,  203 
Matupi  Island,  328 
Mauban,  265 
Maui  Island.  492 
Mauna  Hualalai,  491 

Kea,  491 

Loa,  489 
Maupiti  Mountain,  471 
Mauritius,  40,  43 
Mayon  Mountain,  246 
Mayu,  236 
Mhau  Island,  458 
Medan,  115 
Meester  Comelis,  183 
Melanesia,  318 
Melanesians,  39,  324 
Melbourne  Mountain,  1 4 

City,  414 
Melville  Island,  356 
Mempakol,  148 
Menado,  228 

Town,  228 
Mcnangkabao,  101 
Mengwi,  200 
Mentawey  Islands,  103 
Merapi  (.lava),  157,  162 

(Sumatra),  84,  109 
Merbabu  Mountain,  187 
Micronesia,  39,  274 
MUano,  145 

Milford  Sound,  425,  429 
MUli  Islands,  292 
Minahassa,  219 


Mindanao,  243,  245 
Mindoro,  244 
Minto,  119 
Mioko,  328 
Misamis,  268 
SlitcheU  River,  366 
Mojo-Kerto,  192 
Mojo  Pahit,  159,  191 
Mokko-Mokko,  110 
Mokoia  Island,  443 
Mokuaveoveo,  490 
Molokai  Island,  496 
Moluccas,  76,  229 
Molyneux  River,  439 
Mono  Island,  322 
Montrado,  126,  137 
Montravel,  348 
Moonta,  402 
Moorea,  471,  487 
Moreton  Bay,  404 
Morgan,  400 
Mori-Ori,  441 
Momington,  407 
Moron,  264 
Morotai,  236 

Morrumbidgee  River,  365 
Mortlock,  282 
Motir  Island,  236 
Motu,  304,  315 
Mount  Perry,  406 
Mua,  483 

Murio  Mountain,  151 
Mulinuu,  485 
Muntok,  119 

Murchison  River,  366,  395 
Murray  River,  365,  407 

Island,  364 
Murrut,  143 

Musaheli  Mountain,  231 
Musi  River,  91 
Muwara-Bahan,  140 

BUti,  112 

Dua,  112 

Inim,  112 

Kompeh,  112 

Rupit,  112 
Mysol,  297 

Naga,  266 

Namorek  Island,  282,  292 

Nangamessi,  209 

Napier,  451 

Narovo,  322 

Natal,  108 

N.ateva  Bay,  458 

Natuna  Island,  120 

Navigators'  Islands.  483 

Negara  River,  127,  140 

Town,  140 
Negritos,  38,  253 
Negros  Island,  246 
Neira,  234 
Nelson,  451 
Newcastle,  412 
New  Britain,  296,  319 

Caledonia,  337 

Georgia,  322 

Guinea,  293,311,315 

Hanover,  320 

Hebrides,  320 

Ireland,  290 

Lauenburg,  319 

Mecklenburg,  319 

Nurcia,  397 

Plvmouth,  451 

South  Wales, 'W»-  'f^/ 


New  York  Island,  468 

Zealand,  421 
Ngalao  Bay,  464 
Ngaur  Island,  277 
Ngawi,  191 

Ngenges  Mountain,  204 
NgoU  Island,  280 
Ngongotaha  Mountain,  434 
Nias  Island,  96,  103 
Niaur  Island,  277 
Niihau,  492 
NOa  Island,  206,  216 
Niua,  483 

Nine  Island,  446,  469,  483 
Njavongs,  132 
Norfolk  Island,  35,  413 
Norman  River,  366 
Normantown,  406 
North  Borneo,  146 

Island,  422,  430 
Northern  Territory,  403 
Norwood,  400 
Nou  Island,  347 
Noumea,  347 
Nowra,  412 
Nueva-Caceres,  266 
Nufor,  304 
Nuka-hiva,  474,  487 
Nukapu  Island,  335 
Nukualofa,  483 
Nukunor,  284 
Nusa  Kembangan,  164,  166 

Laut,  231 

Oahu  Island,  480,  492 
Oamaru,  451 
Oas,  265 
Obi  Island,  236 
Ohau  Lake,  427 
Old  Hat  Island,  436 
Oleh-leh,  107 
Oma,  231 

Ombaai  Island,  208 
Onehunga,  449 
Onetapu  Desert,  431 
Ongtong-Java,  322 
Onin  Peninsula,  297 
Ono  Niha,  103 
Onrust  Island,  184 
Ophir  Mountain,  82 
Orang-Bajo,  227 

BuBtu,  132 

Dongo,  205 

Gunoiig,  119 

Kubu,  102 

Kwata,  118 

Laut,   118 

Lubu,  101,  103 

Sekai,  118 

Serani,  232 

Ulu,  101 
Orange,  412 
Orohena  Mountain,  472 
Otago  Harbour,  452 
Ot  Diinom,  134 
Ots,  345 
Ouegoa,  350 
Ovalau  Island,  458,  404 
Owen  StJinley  Mountain,  299 
Oyster  Cove,  384,  419 

River,  52 

Padang,  83,  108 
Island,  94 
Panj.ang,  110 
Sidempuan,  108 


510 


INDEX. 


Padri,  96,  102 
Pagan  Island,  275 
Pagah  Island,  10  j 
Pahia,  421 
Painan,  110 
P.ajagalan,  154 
Paja-kombo,  110 
Pakaraman,  155 
Pakuojo  Mountain,  155 
Palaos  Islands,  277 
Palawan,  269 
Palembang,  91,  112 

Eiver,  91 
Palmer  Eiver,  406 
Palmerston,  391,  403 

Islands,  467 
Palos  Bay,  227 

Cape,  220 

Town,  227 
Pamekasan,  193 
Pampangan  River,  251 
Pampangos,  256 
Panarukan,  193 
Panay,  267 

Pandan  Mountain,  158 
Pangaron,  140 
Pangasinan,  265 
Panggerango  Mountain,  152 
Panghu  Volcanoes,  222 
Pango-Pango,  484 
Panie  Peak,  338 
Pai.ka,  186 
Pan  tar  Island,  208 
Papandajan  Mountain,  154 
Papeete,  485 
Papuans,  38,  303 
Papuasia,  293 
Paragua.  244,  269 
Paramatta,  411 
Parigi,  227 
Parry  Islands,  277 
Pasaman,  82 
Pasig  Eiver,  251 
Pasir,   140 
Pasumiih,  102 
Pasuruan,   193 
Paternoster  Islands,  151 
Pateros,  263 
Patjitan,  191 
Patti,  187 

Patuha  Mountain,  153 
Pekalongan,  186 
Pekan-Baru,  113 
Pelarang,  141 
Pelew  Islands,  277 
Peling  Island,  226 
Penanggungan  Mountain,  If. 9 
Penrhyn  Islands,  467 
Penrisan  Mountai.i,  125 
Pepe  Eiver,  189 
Perarapuan  Mountain,  206 
Pernakan,  119 
Perongia  Mountain,  436 
Perth,  396 
Pertibi,  108 
Pescadores  Islands,  288 
Petre  Bay,  454 
Petrie  Keefs,  340 
Philippine  Islands,  243 
Phillip  Port,  414 
PhoDiiLx  Islands,  467 
Pieter  Both  Mountain,  43 
Pigeon  Bay,  439 
Pihanga  Mountain,  432 
Pilf.t  Mountain,  407 
Pillar  Land,  362 


Pines,  Island  of,  338,  351 
Pirate's  Islands,  120 
Pitcaim  Island,  467,  488 
Piton  des  Neiges,  46 
Piton  du  Midi,  43 
Pitt  Island,  454 
Plate  Island,  43 
Pleasant  Island,  289 
Plenty,  Bay  of,  434 

Eiver,  414 
Poedal  Mountain,  246 
Point  Parker,  405,  407 
Polangui,  265 
Polills  Island,  250,  265 
Polynesia,  466 
Polynesians,  39,  474 
Pomotu  Islands,  473 
Pouape,  282,  280 
Pontianak,  122,  137 
Port  Adelaide,  400 

Akaroa,  ■t52 

Arthur,  419 

Breton,  328 

Chalmers,  452 

Cooper,  430,  451 

Darwin,  403 

Denison,  406 

Hacking,  413 

Jackson,  385,  409 
Portland,  418 
PortLe\-y,  430 

Louis,  43 

Macquarie,  360,  412 

Mathurin,  53,  54 

Moresby,  311 

Nicholson,  451 

Phaeton,  486 

PhiUip,  414 

Stephens,  412 
Possession  Island,  60 
Posso  Lake,  226 
Poverty  Bay,  421 
Prahu  Mountain,  155 
Preang,   155 
Preservation  Inlet,  429 
Priaman,  108 
Pri;<ng.an,  110 
Princes  Islands,  85 
Prince  Edward  Island,  GO 
Probolingo,  193 
Progo  Eiver,  164 
Providence  Reefs,  292 
Pu  Mountain,  125 
Puerta  Princesa,  269 
Pukaki  Lake,  427 
Pukapuka  Island,  467 
Pulasari  Mountain,  151 
Pulasi  Island,  221 
PuluLawang,  113 

Petak,  127 
Purworejo,  189 
Pusuk  Bukit  Mountain,  82 
Putanaki  Mountain,  436 
Pyrenees,  359 

Queen's  Channel,  366 
Queeuscliff,  414 
Queensland,   403 
Queenstown,  453 

Raja  Bassa  Mountain,  86 
Raiatea  Island,  487 
Raki-rua,  422 
Eanay  Mountain,  1 20 
Rangitiiiki  River,  436 
Rangitoto  Mountain,  io'j 


•  Rangsang  Island,  94 
Ranjuna  Island,  209 
Eintau  Island,  94 
Eaoul  Cape,  419- 

Island,  455 
Eapa  Island,  485 
Earatonga,  471,  483 
Eatak  Islands,  291 
Raun  Moimtain,  162 
Ravenswood,  406 
Rejang  Eiver,  126 
Rejangs,  102 
Rembang,  191 
Renjani  Mountain,  202 
Reunion,  40,  46 
Rewa,  464 

Rewa-Rewa  River,  464 
Rikitea,  487 
Ringat,  113 
Einggit  Mountain,  161 
Eiouw  Islands,  115 

Town,  117 
Eockhampton,  406 
Rockingham,  397 
Roebuck  Bay,  403 
Rodrigues  Island,  40,  52 
Roebourne,  397 
Rokau  Eiver,  91 
Eokka  Mountain,   206 
Eoma  (Austi'alia),  405 

Island,  216 

Mountain,  206- 
Eonde  Island,  43 
Eook  Island,  328 
Eoper  Eiver,  366 
Eosa  Bank,  275 
Rose  Island,  470 

Mountain,  154 
Ross  Mountain,  61 
Rota  Island,  275 
Rota-ma,  434 
Eoto-ehu,  434 
Eoto-iti,  434 
Roto-Mahana,  435 
Eoto-rua  Lake,  434 
Eotti  Islands,  209 
Eotnest  Island,  397 
Eotuma  Island,  465,  483 
Eozengain  Island,  235 
Ruapehu  Mountain,  431 
Ruang  Island,  222 
Ruk  Islands,  283 
Run  Island,  235 
Rupat  Island,  94 
Rurukan,  229 
Rusa  Island,  221 
Eussel,  449 

Sabah,  146 

Sabrina  Land,  1 4 

Sadang  Eiver,  144,  146,  222 

Sago  Moimtain.  84,  110 

Sagut,  148 

St.  Aignan,  300 

St.  Benoit,  52 

St.  Denis,  47,  50 

St.  Etienne  Eiver,  48 

St.  Joseph,  52 

St.  Leu,  48,  51 

St.  Louis,  51 

St.  Paul  Island,  56 

Town,  47.  50 
St.  Philippe,  52 
St.  Pierre,  48,  51 
St.  Vincent  Gulf,  356 
Sala  Mountain,.  152 


INDEX. 


511 


Salak  Mountain,  151,  1S2 

Salatiga,  188 

Sala  y  Gomez  Island,  4G7 

Salazie,  48 

Sale,  417 

Saleyer  Island,  221 

Salwaty  Islands,  297 

Samalanga  Moimtain,  82 

Samar  Island,  253,  266 

Samarang,  18G,  4G8 

Samarinda,  141 

Samate,  308 

Samau,  211 

Sambas,  137 

Sambaj-a  Eirer.  103 

Sambiliimg.  142 

Sambori  Mountain,  205 

Samoa,  467,  483 

Sampit  River,  127 

Samsan,  307 

San  Bartolomeo  Island,  2SS 

San  Barnardino  Strait,  265 

San  Cristobal  Island,  322 

Mountain,  264 
San  Fernando,  265 
Sandakan,  147 
Sandalwood  Island,  209 
Sandgate,  404 
Sandhurst,  418 
Sandridge,  414 
Sandwich  Island,  336 

Islands,   4S9 
Sandy  Cape,  364 
Sanga-Sanga.  141 
Sangeang  Mountain,  205 
Sangi  Islands,  222 
Sangil  Mountain,  246 
Sanguir  Islands,  222 
San  Isidro,  264 
San  Joe  de  Buenavista,  268 
Sankolirang,  142 
Santa  Ana  Island,  322 
Santa  Cruz  Islands,  320 

Town,  263 
Santo  Tomas.  250 
Saparua  Island,  231 

Town,  234 
Sapudi  Islands,  151 
Saputan  Mountain,  221 
Sarangani  Mountain,  245 
Sarawak,  68,  144 

Kiver,  146 
Saribas  River,  146 
Sasaks,  201 
Sasan  Mountain,  203 
Satoan,  284 
Satoi  Mountain,  125 
Saunders  Cape,  430 
Savage  Island,  483 
Savaii' Island,  470 
Savo,  322 
Savu  Islands,  209 
Savu-Savu,  464 
Sawah  Mount  lin,  85 
Sawal  Mountain,  155 
Savpan  Island,  275 
Schouten  Islands,  296 
Sea  View,  360 
Sebesi  Island,  86 
Seboku  Island,  121 
Sebuwang  River,  130 
Segama  River,  14S 
Segara  Anakan  Bay,  164 
SegU,  108 
Sekaar,  310 
Sekingau,  85 


Selaparang,  201 
Sehiru  Island,  218 
Selawa  Janten  Mountain,  82 
Semar.ang,  186 
Semaru  Mountain,  151,  160 
Sengarang  Island,  117 
Serasan  Island,- 120 
Serang,  182,  231 
Serwatty  Islands,  215 
Sewu  Mountains,  158 
Shetland  Islands,  14 
Sherlock  River,  397 
Shoalhaven,  412 
Shortland,  328.  451 
Siak  River,  91 

Town,  113 
Siao,  222 
Sibalon,  268      ' 
Sibogha,  96 
Sibu,  145 
Sibuks  River,  146 
SQebarBav,  111 
SOikab  BaV,  106 
Silverton,  412 

Mines,  412 
Simalu  Island,  103 
Simangang,  145 
Sindang  Lay  a,  185 
Sindoro  Mountain,  1 5G 
Singalong  Mountain,  84 
Singapore,  235 
Singkara  Lake,  84,  91 
Singkel,  108 
Singosari,  192 
Sipirok,   108 
Slamat  Mountain,  155 
Smythesdale,  417 
Snares  Islands,  422,  424 
Society  Islands,  467,  485 
Solander  Cape,  408 
Solo,  189 

River,  1G3 
Solombo  Islands,   150 
Solomon  Islands,  318,  322 
Solor  Islands,  206 
Somerset,  406 
Somo-Somo  Strait,  459 
Sorobandi  Mountain,  205 
Sorsogon,  266 
South  Australia,  398 

Island,  422,  424 
Spencer  Gulf,  361 
Sriang  Lake,  125 
Stawell,  418 
Stewart  Island,  424 
Stone  Islands,  14 
Storm  Bay,  419 
Sual,  265 
Subig,  265 
Sugut,  246 
Suikerbrood,  85 
Sula  Islands,  227 

Besi,  227 

Takomi,  227 

Taliabo,  227 
Sulu  Islands,  122,  268 
Sumadra,  108 
Sumatra,  79 
Sumba  Island,  208 
Sumbawa,  203 

Bay,  205 

Province,  205 

Town,  205 
Sumbing  Mountain,  156 
Sunda  Islands,  64,  208 

Strait,  54,  86 


Sundanese,  77,  IGG 
Sunday  Island,  455 
Surabaya,   191 

ProiTnce,  191 

Strait,  164 
Surakarta,  189 

Pro\'ince,  189 
Surigao  Port,  246 

Town,  268 
Susang  River,  91 
Suva,  464 

Suvorov  Islands,  467 
Swan  River,  396 
Sydney,  409 

Taal  Mountain,  246,  243 

Tabaco,  266 

Tabanan,  200 

TabeUo,  241 

Tacloban,  266 

Tafelberg  (Sumbawa),  82,  204 

Tafelberg  (Halmahera),  236 

Tafuti  Lake,  223 

Tagals,  356 

Tagbanuhoy,  269 

TagbUaran,  268 

Tahaa  Island,  471 

Tahiti,  467,471,  485 

Taio-Hae,  487 

Taiti  Hi,  472 

Taiti  Nui,  472 

Tajem  Mountain,  120 

Talang  Mountain,  84 

Talaraquin,  246 

Tambora  Mountain,  204 

Tambelan  Island,  120 

Tambuku  Mountain,  162 

TanEiU,  286 

Tamparang  Lake,  224 

Tarn  worth,  412 

Tanah-Jampea,  221 

Tanduwi  River,  155,  164 

Tangarung,  140 

Tangerang,  185 

Tangka  Mountain,  86 

Tangkuban  Prahu  Mountain,  1 55 

Tan jang  Pinang,  117 

Tanjong  Bunga,  207 

Pandang,  120 

Priok,  183 
Tanna,  332 

Aiperi,  332 
Tapamanoa  Mountain,  471 
Tapanuli  Bay,  108 

Province,  96 
Tarakan  Mountain,  236 
Taranaki  Mountain,  436 
Taravao  Isthmus,  486 
Tarawera  Lake,  434 

Volcano,  434 
Tarun  River,  155,  162 
Tasman  Glacier,  425 
Tasmania,  352,  363,  418 
Tasmanians,  380,  383 
Tatas  Island,  140 
Tau  Island,  485 
Taui  Island,  321 
Taumaco,  335 
Taupo  Lake,  432 
Tauranga,  443,  451 
Taviuni  Island,  458 
Tayabas,  265 
Tay-tay,  269 
Te  Anau  Lake,  427 
Tebah  Mountain,  85 
Teetulpa,  402 


512 


INDEX. 


Tegal,  186 

Province,  18G 
Te  Kapo  Lake,  427 
Telasa  Bodas  Lake,  154 
Telokh-Betong,  88,  Ul 
Tempe  River,  '224 
Tempingan,  275 
Tengger  Mountain,  160 
Tenimber  Islands,  216 
Tenoru  River,  103 
Temate  Island,  236 

Town,  241 
Terror  Mountain,  14 
Te  Tarata,  435 
Tevalii  Panamu,  422 
Thames  River,  451 

Town,  461 
Thio,  351 

Thursday  Island,  406 
Tibi,  266 

VaUey,  247 
Ticas  Island,  256 
Tidar  Mountain,  157 
Tidor  Island,  236,  241 
Tidung,  142 
Tifuri  Island,  236 
Tiger  Island,  319 
Tikopia,  330 
Timani,  451 
Timboro  Mountain,  204 
Timor  Island,  209 
Timorese,  213 
Timor  Laut,  216 
Tinakaro,  332 
Tinguianes,  258 
Tinian  Island,  275 
Tjanjur,  185 
Tjaringi,  88 
Tjempi  Bay,  203 
Tjenrana  River,  224 
Tjerimai  Mountain,  155 
Tjibodas,  185 
Tjikao,  185 
Tjikurai,  155 
TjUatjap,  189 
Tjilongok,  185 
Tjitjalenka,  186 
Tjitjurug  Pass,  152 
Toba  Plateau,  82 

Lake,  82,  96 
Tofua  Peak,  469 
Togean  Islands,  227 
Tohivea  Mountain,  471 
Tokelau  Islands,  467,  4 OS 
Tolo  Mountain,  236 

Gulf,  227 
Tombara  Island,  319 
Tomaiki,  227 
Tomini,  221,  227 

Gulf,  227 
Tondano,  229 

Lake,  224 
Tonga  Islands,  468,  469,  483 
Tongariko  Mountain,  432,  436 
Tonga-tabu,  469,  483 
Toowoomba,  405 
Topantunuasu,  226 
Torajas,  226 
Torrens  Lake,  368 

River,  399 


Torres  Strait,  9,  293,  294,  302 

Tosari,  193 

Toutouta  Cascade,  340 

Tower  HiU,  360 

Townshend  Mountain,  358 

TownsvUle,  406 

Treasury  Island,  322 

Triton  Bay,  296 

Tuamotu  Islands,  467,  473,  487 

Tuban,  191 

Tubuai  Islands,  467,  471,  485 

Tuguagarao,  265 

Tukadana,  138 

Tukopia,  475,  483 

Turtle  Island,  457 

Tutuila  Island,  470,  484 

Tyang  Javi,  149 

Ualan  Island,  280 

Uap,  286 

Ugi  Island,  325 

Ujung  Pandang,  227 

Uliasser  Islands,  231 

UIu,  112 

UmbiHen  River,  84,  91 

Ungaran,  157 

Upolu  Island,  470,  484 

Uracas,  275 

Urai,  349 

Ureparapara,  332 

Uvea  Island,  483 

Van  Diemen's  Land,  355,  418 

Van  der  Capellen,  110 

Vanikoro,  33,  330 

Vanua  Levu,  332,  458 

Vare  Island,  314 

Vate  Island,  336 

Vatoa  Island,  457 

Vavao  Islands,  469 

Vegetable  Creek,  412 

Vela  la  Velha,  322 

Vera  Cruz,  336 

Verdate  Island,  218 

Vergara,  268 

Verlaten  Island,  90 

Vicol,  256 

River,  266 
Victor  Harbour,  400 
Victoria  Colony,  414 

Fort,  232 

Land,  14 

Port  Essington,  403 

West  Australia,  397 
Vigan,  265 
Visayans,  258 
Vieayas  Islands,  265,  270 
Viti,  see  Fiji 
Viti-Levu,  457 
Vlaardigen,  224 
Volcan  Island,  320 
Volcano  Islands,  277 

Wagga-Wagga,  412 
Wahai,  233 
Waiau  River,  427 
Wai  (Pulo),  82 
Waigeu,  297,  308 
Waikato  River,  433,  436 
Wailah,  108 


Wuimakariri,  427 
Wairakei  Cirque,  434 
M^airur,  309 
Waitaki  River,  428 
Waitangi  Island,  454 
Waitemata,  449 
Waiwiko-Waihali,  210 
Wajang  Volcano,  154 
Wajo,  225 

Wakatipu  Lake,  427,  453 
Wallaroo,  402 
WaUis  Islands,  483 
Wamma  Island,  310 
Wandammen,  309 
Wanganui,  451 
Wangsit  Volcano,  202 
Warekauri  Island,  441,  454 
Warmambool,  360,  418 
Warsai,  294 
Warwick,  383 

Town,  405 
Wawaps,  345 
Wellington,  Australia,  412 

New  Zealand,  451 

Mountain,  419 
Weltevreden,  183 
Wenang,  229 
Western  Australia,  395 
Wesfport,  451 
Wetang  Island,  216 
.  Wetter  Island,  215 
Whakari  Mountain,  436 
Wijnkoops,  185 
Wilcannia,  412 
Willem,  Prince,  Island,  457 
Wilkes  Land,  13 
William  Mountain,  359 
WilliamstowD,  414 
WiUis  Mountain,  158 
Wilson  Cape,  358 
Wisma  Mountain,  155 
WoUongong,  412 
Woodlark  Island,  328 
Woolomoloo,  410 
Wyville-Thomson  Mountain,  61 

Xula,  229 

Tamdena  Island,  218 
Yan-Tean,  414 
Yapara,  151 
Yap  Island,  277,  284 
Yarra-Tarra  River,  414 
Y'asova  Islands,  458 

Mountain,  332 
Yass  River,  358 
York  Island,  320,  328 

Cape,  363 

Town,  397 

Peninsula,  34,  300,  358,  361 
Ysarog  Mountain,  247 
Yule  Island,  314 

Mountain,  299 
Yzabel  Island,  318,  322 

Zabej,  149 

Zambales,  265 

Zamboanga,  268 

Zebu, 268 

Zuid- Wester  Islands,  215 


END   OF   VOL.   XIV. 


raiNTED    BY   J.    S.    VIRTUE    AND    COMPANY,    LIMITED,    CITY    ROAD,    LONDON. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  I1-UNOI3-URBANA