112 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



Sumba or Sandal- wood Island. It appeared uniform- 

 ly tigli, as it has always been described. Mr. Jukes 

 passed near its southeast point, while on a voyage in 

 her Britannic Majesty's ship Fly from northern Aus- 

 tralia to Surabaya. He describes it as composed of 

 ranges of hills that rise immediately from the sea to 

 a heio:ht of two thousand feet. The strata of these 

 hills are nearly level, and appeared to be composed 

 of comminuted coral. This would indicate that 

 the island had undergone a great elevation dm'ing 

 the later tertiary period. It is probably composed 

 mostly of volcanic rocks, like the adjacent islands. 

 Its area is about four thousand geographical square 

 miles. The most frequented harbor is near the mid- 

 dle of the northern shore. Vessels go there from 

 Surabaya, in the latter part of the western monsoon, 

 to purchase the active little ponies peculiar to this 

 island, and return in the beginning of the eastern 

 monsoon, after having remained there about three 

 months. These horses are considered more valuable 

 than those fi'om any other part of the archipelago, 

 except the Batta lands, in the interior of Sumatra. 

 When a ship arrives, her crew at once scatter over 

 the whole island, visiting all the various campongs^ 

 or villages, to make theii' purchases. A Dutch 

 officer, Avho has travelled over the island, informs 

 me that these people have quite different features 

 from the natives of the adjoining island of Savu, es 

 pecially the females, whose faces are much broader. 

 They are said to have a peculiar language, and to be 

 a separate nation ; but I judge from all I could learn 

 that they form merely a subdivision of the Malay 



