THE TIMnU GROUP 351) 



and forms the staple, lor neither the sago nor coco-nut 

 palm is suited to the climate. The export trade is very 

 small. Ponies are the most noteworthy feature of it, 

 many being sent to Batavia, while every year a shipload 

 is despatched to Mauritius. The animals are considered 

 the best in the whole archipelago, and, though very small, 

 are of good shape and powerful. In Dr. Zollinger's time 

 the Sultan of Bima was said to own over ten thousand. 

 Almost every native rides, and carries his spear even if 

 at work in the fields. The mineral resources of the 

 island are as yet unexplored, but gold and arsenic are 

 known to exist, as well as petroleum. The island has 

 been conjectured to have a population of about 150,000 : 

 it is at all events thinly peopled as compared with Bah 

 and Lombok. The towns of Bima and Sumbawa have 

 each about 5000 inhabitants. There are hardly any 

 Chinese settlers, but some hundreds of Klings are resident 

 in or near Bima. 



5. Flores. 



Passing eastward from Sumbawa, the Sapi Strait is 

 first crossed. It was at one time much used by vessels, 

 but now the Alias Strait is preferred, being both wider 

 and easier. The small island of Komodo, which is of 

 volcanic formation, is said to be practically uninhabited, 

 being only temporarily used by fishermen. Next comes 

 the Strait of Mangerai, which is almost unknown, and 

 swept by tremendous currents, as are most of the passages 

 through this great island barrier. Its eastern shores are 

 formed by another small and uninhabited island, Rindia, 

 which abounds in wild buhaloes and horses, and is 

 separated from Flores by a narrow and reef-beset passage. 



Flores is 232 miles long and from 10 to 35 miles 



