Physical Geography. 487 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



THE AEU ISLANDS — PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ASPECTS OF 



NATURE. 



In this chapter I propose to give a general sketch of the 

 physical geograjihy of the Aru Islands, and of their relation 

 to the surrounding countries ; and shall thus be able to incor- 

 porate the information obtained from traders, and from the 

 works of other naturalists, with my own observation^ in these 

 exceedingly interesting and little-known regions. 



The Aru group may be said to consist of one very large 

 central island with a number of small ones scattered round 

 it. The great island is called by the natives and traders 

 " Tana busar" (great or main land), to distinguish it as a whole 

 from Dobbo, or any of the detached islands. It is of an irregu- 

 lar oblong form, about eighty miles from north to south, and 

 fortj or fifty from east to west, in whicli direction it is trav- 

 ersed by three narrow channels, dividing it into four portions. 

 These channels are always called rivers by the traders, which 

 puzzled me much till I passed through one of them, and saw 

 how exceedingly applicable the name was. The northern 

 channel, called the river of Watelai, is about a quarter of a 

 mile wide at its entrance, but soon narrows to about the eighth 

 of a mile, which width it retains, with little variation, during 

 its whole length of nearly fifty miles, till it again widens at 

 its eastern mouth. Its course is moderately winding, and the 

 banks are generally dry and somewhat elevated. In many 

 places there are low clifis of hard coralline limestone, more 

 or less worn by the action of water ; while sometimes level 

 spaces extend from the banks to low ranges of hills a little 

 inland. A few small streams enter it from right and left, at 

 the mouths of which are some little rocky islands. The depth 

 is very regular, being from ten to fifteen fathoms, and it has 

 thus every feature of a true river, but for the salt water and 

 the absence of a current. The other two rivers, whose names 



