292 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 



gives it a glossy surface, and renders it capable of with- 

 standing a good shower of rain, so that it becomes a 

 really serviceable article of clothing. 



7. The Dutch Settled Districts. 



In spite of its being in great part unexplored, the 

 whole of the island of Celebes is claimed by the Dutch, 

 and divided by them into three political departments, of 

 which the " Government of Celebes and its Dependencies " 

 is the most extensive, embracing not only the southern 

 half of the islands, with Salaier and the Butung group, 

 but also the island of Sumbawa and part of Flores. 

 The Residency of Menadu includes the greater part of 

 the northern peninsula and the shores of the Gorontalo 

 Gulf, while the country drained by the rivers emptying 

 themselves into the Gulf of Tolo are under the nominal 

 administration of the Resident of Ternate. These 

 divisions are, however, of little practical moment except 

 to cartographers ; for, except at Labuan-dede, in Tontoli 

 Bay, and Mendono, opposite Peling Island, there are no 

 Europeans out of the Makassar and Menado districts. 



The Makassar District is the part which was earliest 

 known to the western nations, and it was here, after the 

 defeat of the Portuguese, that the Dutch first established 

 themselves, building a fort in 1665. The country 

 round is one of the most important coffee districts in the 

 East, is traversed by good roads, and controlled by Dutch 

 officials resident in fifteen different towns and villages. 

 In the lowlands great quantities of rice are grown. 

 Cotton is also cultivated, and the Makassar and Bugis 

 women make sarongs — the skirt or petticoat universally 

 worn by Malays of both sexes — which for durability 

 and permanence of colour are unrivalled, and are highly 



