110 



AUSTRALASIA. 



the foot of Mount Merapi in tlie Again district. In case of foreign invasion 

 this place would at once become the strategic and administrative centre of the whole 

 island. In the vicinity is the Karbawen-gat Gorge, whose rocky walls have been 

 excavated to a depth of 500 feet in the thickness of the plateau. 



Padang-Panjang, another large place, where most of the Dutch officials reside, 

 occupies the edge of the plateau at the west foot of Merapi. On another slope are 

 seen the ruins of Priangan, formerly capital of the Menangkabao empire, Pf'Jn- 

 Komho, capital of the "Fifty Kotas," lies much farther to the east on the opposite 

 side of Mount Sago. This district is the Sumatran " earthly Eden," where the 

 cultivated plants of the temperate zone flourish side by side with those of the 

 tropics. Here were also situated the gold mines, which at one time made 

 Sumatra famous throughout the East, but which are now abandoned. The deposits 

 of magnetic iron, however, are still utilised, which occur in the neighbourhood of 



41. 



-Highlands East of Padang. 

 Scale 1 : 750,000. 



Solok;-- f 







IOO°20' 



E.sboFGre 



Depths. 



Fort Van der Capellen. On the banks of the Umbilien, east of Singkarah, are 

 extensive coal measures of excellent quality, the contents of which have been 

 estimated at about twelve billion cubic feet. Mainly with a view to opening up 

 these mineral resources, a line of railway has been projected to connect the plateau 

 either with Padang or with the more southern Brandeirijn Bay. But the engineer- 

 ing difficulties have hitherto prevented the execution of this costly undertaking, 

 and it is now proposed to reach the coalfields from the opposite side of the island 

 by the navigable river Hari, main branch of the Jambi, which flows within thirty- 

 five miles of the locality. The slopes are crossed by excellent carriage roads, one 

 of which connects Padang-Panjang with the coast, passing by a profound ravine 

 whence are commanded some lovely prospects seawards. 



South of Padang follow the little ports of Painan and Mokko-JIokko, and the 

 decayed city of Benkulen {Bangkahulu), capital of a Pesidency. According to the 



