TJIE Tl.NKJU GKUUr 30") 



length, high and barren, the noith-west coast fonued l.y 

 arid mountains about 4000 feet higli. The couiitrv 

 seems absolutely bare of trees, looking like a rcc-nt 

 volcanic product. The inhabitants are akin to those of 

 Timor, and are said to be harmless and timid. There are 

 a few Bugis settled on the coast, and the principal pro- 

 duct is beeswax. The ]wpulation is believed to ho alu.ut 

 8000. 



The appellation Serwatti Islands includes the scattered 

 groups which intervene between Wetta and Timor Laut. 

 They have, however, no geographical unity, though 

 ethnographically they are connected by the fact that they 

 are for the most part inhabited not by people of 

 Papuan or sub-Papuan race, as might be expected, but hy 

 natives of Malay stock, numbers of whom are nominally 

 Christians. In the last century the Dutch had small 

 settlements on many of the islands, and the individuals 

 then converted became, as a result of their education, the 

 ruling class. Although many of the Dutch posts were 

 given up, the islands relapsing into a terra incoynita 

 which has only of late been re-explored, this curious state 

 of things has persisted, and the people are industrious 

 and peaceable instead of being head-hunting savages. 



Following the chain of the Lesser Sundas onwards, 

 we come to Eoma, a compact island about 10 miles in 

 diameter, with an area of 150 square miles. It has a 

 single high peak, and is surrounded by a number of 

 small islands, the exact position of which is not yet 

 known. The soil is very fertile, and the inhabitants. 

 of whom there are over 1000, are protessedly Christians. 

 About 80 miles farther to the north-east hes a very 

 similar group, the central and most important island (jf 

 which is Damma, where, at the village of AVulur, a Post- 

 holder is stationed. It has an active volcano oOOO feet 



