TIMOR. COAST SCENERY. 73 



Entering the Banda sea by Pitt's Passage, 

 on the 16th July, we got sight of the Wetter, 

 Ombay, Dog, and Cambing (Goat) islands ; and 

 on the following morning were engaged in the 

 straits of Timor, or Ombay Passage. * Current 

 ripples were here as numerous and forcible as 

 we had experienced them in any part of the 

 Archipelago. On one occasion, the ship was 

 turned completely round by the sudden eddy 

 of waves they produced. 



The island of Timor, as seen from this chan- 

 nel, has not a very inviting aspect. Its general 

 features are mountainous, wild, and arid ; the 

 lofty hills, rising from the coast, are thinly 

 strewn with trees, and covered with a coarse and 

 seared pasturage ; whilst occasionally, herds of 

 buffalo may be seen grazing on their acclivities. 

 On many parts of the coast, extensive valleys, 

 occupied by native villages, open upon the sea ; 

 and here, thickets of spontaneous vegetation, 

 and groves of palm-trees, surrounding the 

 dwellings, present a much more verdant and 

 pleasing appearance. 



* A broad channel, lying in a direction nearly N. E. 

 and S. W., and bounded on either side by the weathered 

 and lofty coasts of the islands Ombay and Timor. Its 

 waters are deep and its shores so abrupt that soundings 

 can be obtained in but few spots, however close to the land. 



