118 



AUSTRALASIA. 



not disposed in ridges, but scattered in disorder over the surface, and nowhere 

 attain 3,000 feet in height. Mount Maras, the culminating point (2,800 feet), 

 rises above the south side of the narrow Klabat Bay, in the northern part of the 

 island. But the steepest cliffs are those of the east coast, facing the high sea. 



Although presenting the same climatic conditions as those of the opposite 

 Sumatran seaboard, Bangka already offers some marked contrasts in its flora and 

 fauna. All large animals, such as the elephant and rhinoceros, and even the tiger 

 and buffalo, are absent from its forests. The inhabitants, although very mixed, 

 are mainly of Malay stock, as in the other Indonesian coastlands ; but here the 



Fig. 45. — Bangka. 



Scale 1 : 3,200,000. 



Lasb or breenwic'n 



105° 



Oto 16 

 Feet. 



Depths. 



16 to 80 

 Feet. 



iO Feet and 

 upwards. 



Javanese element is less numerously represented than in the Palembang district, 

 being partly replaced by some scattered settlements of Malays from the north, and 

 commonly known as Orang Sekat, or Orang Laut, that is, " Men of the Sea." They 

 are akin to the Bajaus of Celebes, and the Orang Kwata, or " Men of the Estu- 

 aries," who carry on a little trade with the East Sumatran coast. When at anchor 

 they seldom leave their praus, eight or ten of which constitute a sort of floating 

 kampong, or community, with its special customs and council of elders. 



The Orang Sekat live exclusively on fish and the species of fucus called agar- 

 agar, and to this diet must be attributed the so-called gadiis, a peculiar malady to 

 which they are occasionally subject. Having remained pagans, they are often 



