294 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 



district beyond forming the Assistant - Eesidency of 

 Gorontalo. The whole of tliis country was formerly 

 tributary to the Sultan of Ternate, and was inhabited by 

 numerous savage triljes whose habits have already been 

 described. When the Portuguese were expelled in 1677, 

 it was taken possession of by the Dutch, and many of 

 the natives were converted to Christianity. The country, 

 however, did not begin to progress much till 1822, when 

 it was found that the elevated plateau of the interior was 

 admirably adapted to the growth of coffee. Native in- 

 structors in the art of coffee cultivation were brought 

 from Java; the native chiefs, under the title of Majors, 

 were induced to encourage the formation of plantations 

 by a grant of five per cent of the produce ; and a fixed 

 price was paid for all properly cleaned coffee brought to 

 the Government warehouses. European superintendents 

 of the plantations were appointed to each district, good 

 roads were made, the villages were gradually improved, 

 and schools and churches built. Now there are 125,000 

 Christians in the district, with excellent schools estab- 

 lished in all the villages. The country, moreover, has 

 become a perfect garden. In many of the villages the 

 streets are bordered with hedges of roses, which thrive 

 admirably at from 2000 to 3000 feet elevation, and are in 

 perpetual bloom ; the cottages are symmetrically arranged, 

 nicely painted, and embowered in flowering shrubs and 

 fruit trees ; while the people are all w^ell dressed and 

 well fed, well behaved and contented, presenting a mar- 

 vellous contrast to the naked savages of fifty years back 

 who were the fathers and grandfathers of the present 

 generation. 



A considerable portion of Minahasa is an uneven 

 plateau, from 2500 to 3000 feet above the sea, with 

 mountains rising to 6000 feet or more. The highest 



