ol4 Ternate, 



veranda filled in with the leaf-stems of the sago palm, fitted 

 neatly in wooden framing. The floor is of stucco, and the ceil- 

 ings are like the walls. The house is forty feet squai'e, consists 

 of four rooms, a hall, and two verandas, and is surrounded by a 

 wilderness of fruit-trees. A deep well supplied me with pure 

 cold water — a great luxury in this climate. Five minutes' 

 walk down the road brought me to the market and the beach, 

 while in the opposite direction there were no more European 

 houses between me and the mountain. In this house I spent 

 many happy days. Returning to it after a three or four 

 months' absence in some uncivilized region, I enjoyed the un- 

 wonted luxuries of milk and fresh bread, and regular supplies 

 of fish and eggs, meat and vegetables, which were often sorely 

 needed to restore my health and energy. I had ample space 

 and convenience for unpacking, sorting, and arranging my 

 treasures, and I had delightful walks in the suburbs of the 

 town, or up the loAver slopes of the mountain, when I desired 

 a little exercise, or had time for collecting. 



The lower part of the mountain behind the town of Ternate 

 is almost entirely covered with a forest of fruit-trees, and dur- 

 ing the season hundreds of men and women, boys and girls, 

 go up every day to bring down the ripe fruit. Durions and 

 mangoes, two of the very finest tropical fruits, are in greater 

 abundance at Ternate than I have ever seen them, and some 

 of the latter are of a quality not inferior to any in the world. 

 Lansats and mangosteens are also abundant, but these do not 

 ripen till a little later. Above the fruit-trees there is a belt of 

 clearings and cultivated grounds, which creep up the mountain 

 to a height of between two and three thousand feet, above 

 which is virgin forest reaching nearly to the summit, which on 

 the side next the town is covered with a high reedy grass. 

 On the further side it is more elevated, of a bare and desolate 

 aspect, with a slight depression marking the position of the 

 crater. Fro\n this part descends a black scoriaceous tract, 

 very rugged, and covered with a scanty vegetation of scattered 

 bushes as far down as the sea. This is the lava of the great 

 eruption near a century ago, and is called by the natives 

 "batu-angas" (burnt rock). 



Just below ray house is the fort, built by the Portuguese, 

 below which is an open space to the beach, and beyond this 



