GEOLOGY OF AMBOINA. 247 



Buru, a third on Gilolo, and a fourth on Celebes, 

 but none is yet known on the great island of Ceram. 

 We now steamed back to Amboina, and while 

 the yacht was taking in coal and preparing to go to 

 Ceram, I crossed over Laitimur with the governor. 

 Our procession was headed l^y a native carrying a 

 .large Dutch flag, and after him came a "head man," 

 supported on the right by a man beating a tifa^ and 

 on the left by another beating a gong. Then came 

 the governor, borne in a large chair by a dozen coo- 

 lies, and I, in a similar chair, earned by the same num- 

 ber. From the city we at once ascended a series of 

 hills, sparsely covered with shrubbery, and composed 

 of a soft red sandstone, which is rapidly disinte- 

 gi\ating, and is evidently of very recent origin. It is 

 found on the highest elevation we crossed, which is 

 from fifteen to eighteen hundred feet above the 

 sea. Near this point we descended into a small 

 ravine, where the soft sandstone had been washed 

 away, and the underlying rocks were exposed to view. 

 Here we foimd feldspathic porphyry and serpentine. 

 Thence we crossed other hills of sandstone and came 

 down to the sea-shore at the villao-e of Rutono;. We 

 were ho^^ing to find a small hill of granite that Dr. 

 Schneider had discovered, but we were not able to 

 identify the places he describes. Dr. Bleeker, who 

 crossed over to Ema in 185(3, remarks that the first 

 hills he ascended were composed of coral rock, and 

 that he came on to it again when he descended tow- 

 ard the sea-shore. We did not notice it at this 

 time, but, on my first excursion to the cocoa plan- 

 tation on Ilitu, I found a long coral reef, fully five 



