480 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCIIIPELACiO. 



tlie plains for the same reason. Near Solok, the in- 

 ner range that forms the western buttress of the pla- 

 teau rises up above the surrounding plain like a great 

 v^all, that curves round to the west and unites with 

 the Earizan chain in the great Talang, which attains 

 an elevation of about eight thousand five hundred 

 feet. A short distance north of it is a cleft, through 

 which the Resident is now buildino^ a road to Padano-. 

 About twelve miles to the north are two other clefts, 

 near Paningahan, formed by the throes of a volcano 

 near that kampong ; and farther north is the cleft at 

 Padang Panjang, all four occurring within less than 

 thirty miles in a straight line. 



On the southeastern declivity of Talang, at the 

 height of six thousand feet, is a small tarn, whence 

 issues the Solok Eiver, that empties into Lake Sinkara, 

 the source of the Ombiling, which curves to the east 

 and southeast, and unites with the Sinamu, that we 

 have already traced from Paya Kombo down the 

 Bua Valley. From their juncture begins the In- 

 dragiri, which, pursuing an easterly course over the 

 low lands that form the eastern side of Sumatra, 

 emj)ties into the Java Sea nearly opposite the Linga 

 Islands. This tarn, therefore, may be regarded as 

 the source of the Indragiri ; and within a circle of 

 half a mile radius rise three streams . that flow in 

 wholly different directions — ^two, the Indragiri and 

 Janibi, emptying into the Java Sea, and the third 

 mingling its waters with those of the Indian Ocean. 



April lOtJi. — Rode on horseback from Sinkara 

 north to Samawang, at the outlet of the lake, and 

 thence continued on foot in a westerly direction to 



