SUMATRA 197 



7. The Islands of Sumatra. 



The islands of Sumatra, omitting those of no great im- 

 portance, may be divided into four groups. These are 

 (1) the barrier islands off the west coast, from Simalu or 

 Hog Island to Engano ; (2) the delta islands at the 

 mouths of the great rivers of the east coast ; (3) the 

 mass of small islands south of Singapore, known to the 

 Dutch as the Ehio-Lingga Archipelago ; and (4) the two 

 large and important islands, Bangka and Blitong 

 (Billiton). 



(1) The islands of the west coast in their order, be- 

 ginning from the north, are Simalu, the Banyak Islands, 

 Nias, the Batu, Mentawi, and Nassau groups, and Engano. 

 All possess certain features in common. They are situated 

 at a tolerably uniform distance of from 70 to 80 miles from 

 the coast ; are not simply of volcanic origin, but exhibit 

 the older rocks of the main island, granites, sandstones, 

 etc. ; and possess, roughly speaking, its fauna, although 

 the larger animals, such as the tiger, elephant, and rhino- 

 ceros are, as might be expected, wanting. Of Simalu, 

 otherwise known as Pulo Babi, or Hog Island, not much is 

 known. The inhabitants are partly Achenese and partly 

 descendants of Menangkabo settlers, and profess the Mo- 

 hammedan religion, but they are almost savages, and the 

 Dutch have not attempted to establish a settlement either 

 here or on the Banyak group, which may be described in 

 similar terms. Nias is of far greater importance. Here, 

 at Gunong Sitoli, a colony of Malays and Chinese, is 

 established a Controleur, but very little has been under- 

 taken in the way of exploration, and we are indebted for 

 our knowledge of the people to the accounts of Signer 

 Modigliani, who spent a year upon the island in 1885. It 



