BANGKA. 119 



accused by their Mohammedan neighbours of being addicted to piracy, whereas 

 they are, on the contrary, strictly honest in all their dealings, depending for a 

 livelihood solely on fishing and trade. The inland populations, known as Orang 

 Gunang, or " Highlanders," resemble the Battas both in physical appearance and 

 usages. 



Of the Chinese, who form nearly a third of the whole population, about one- 

 half are natives of Bangka, this section taking the name of Pernakan, and constitut- 

 ing a group quite distinct from the Sinkee, or Chinese immigrants from Canton and 

 Fokien. They mostly marry half-caste native women, and speak both Chinese and 

 Malay, but on the whole preserve the original Chinese type. Since 1850 the popu- 

 lation of the island has more than doubled, but is still slight, scarcely exceeding 

 twelve persons to the square mile. Agriculture is almost entirely neglected, 

 everything being sacrificed to the tin-mining industry, the most productive in the 

 whole world. 



The valuable tin deposits, said to have been discovered about the beginning of 

 the eighteenth century, belonged at first to the sultan of Palembang, master of the 

 island. In 1740 the Chinese, already at that time exclusively employed to work 

 the mines, raised about 1,550 tons, while the present annual yield of this state 

 monopoly often equals the value of the capital invested. But the miners continue 

 to be neglected, and have to be kept under control by the Dutch garrisons stationed 

 in the mining districts. 



The stanniferous beds, of which there are several hundreds, occur in all parts of 

 the island, but are specially abundant on the north-east side, round about Mera- 

 wang. As in the Malay peninsula, the ores are contained in the alluvial soil 

 which, to a depth of from 14 feet to 35 feet or 40 feet, overlies the dark- 

 coloured clays at the foot of the granite hills. Here and there the streams carry- 

 ing down the alluvial matter have excavated deep cavities or " pockets," in which 

 the metal has accumulated in considerable quantities. Besides tin, Bangka also 

 possesses deposits of silver, copper, lead, arsenic, and iron, none of Avhich are much 

 worked, except the last-mentioned, which is highl}" valued for the manufacture of 

 small arms. 



Muntok, capital of Bangka, lies at the north-west extremity, over against the 

 Palembang river delta. During the British occupation it was known as Minto, in 

 honour of the Governor- General of that name, but has since resumed its old Malay 

 designation. Muntok, which comprises a strongly fortified European and a native 

 quarter, with a total population of about 3,300, has the advantage of a well- shel- 

 tered but somewhat shallow roadstead, which is the centre of a brisk trade with 

 Sumatra, Riouw, and Singapore. 



BlLLITON. 



Billiton, or Blitong, which is about one-third the size of Bangka, is connected 

 with the south-east side of that island by about a hundred islets, rocks, and reefs, 

 endangering the navigation of the intervening Caspar Strait. It presents the 



