128 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



of all these islands are constantly separated by petty 

 feuds, or carrying on an open warfare witli eacli 

 otlier. 



We were now fully in tlie Banda Sea, and on the 

 2 8 til of June the summit of the Gunong Api, or 

 " Burning Mountain" of that group, appeared above 

 the horizon, but, as I afterward revisited these beau- 

 tiful islands, a description of them is deferred to a 

 future page. As we steamed away from the Bandas, 

 we passed out of the region of continuous dry weather 

 and began to enter one where the wet and dry sea- 

 sons are just opposite to what they are in all the 

 wide area extending from the middle part of Suma- 

 tra to the eastern end of Timur, including the south- 

 ern half of Borneo and the southern peninsulas of 

 Celebes. In all that region the eastern monsoon 

 brings dry weather, though occasional showers may 

 occur ; but at Amboina, and on the south coast of 

 Ceram and Buru, this same wind bears along clouds 

 that pour down almost incessant floods. At Am- 

 boina I was assured that sometimes it rained for two 

 weeks at a time, without apparently stopj^ing for five 

 minutes, and from what I experienced myself I can 

 readily believe that such a phenomenon is not of rare 

 occurrence. 



In the northern part of Celebes, at Ternate, and in 

 the northern part of Gillolo, and the islands between 

 it and New Guinea, and also on the shores of the 

 western part of that great island, the wet and dry 

 seasons are not well defined. This exceptional area 

 is mostly included within the parallels of latitude two 

 degrees north and two degrees south of the equator. 



