TIMOE. 215 



fall asleep, and are not buried till long after the beginning of the " trance." In 

 some districts they are exposed in open coffins on the branches of the trees ; in 

 others the wives have to keep them night and day for months together, until reduced 

 to the state of dried mummies, and then buried with all their treasures beneath 

 cairns corresponding in height to the rank of the deceased. They were formerly 

 accompanied by an escort of slaves, as they still are by a dog to lead the way in 

 the region beyond the grave. To prevent their return, the route followed by the 

 funeral procession is carefully blocked by a strong bamboo palisade. 



Kuimng, capital of the Dutch territory and of the neighbouring islands, is one 

 of the unhealthiest places in Indonesia. It lies at the south-western extremity of 

 Timor, on the south side of a deep inlet too confined for the air to circulate freely. 

 Yet its official position and safe harbour have made it the chief trading place in 

 the island, with a motley population of about seven thousand Timorese, Malays, 

 Chinese and Europeans. Its principal exports are sandalwood, horses, excellent 

 oranges and beeswax. The neighbouring fishing grounds and oyster beds yield 

 great varieties of fish, besides pearls, tortoise-shell, sea-cucumbers and shark's fins 

 for the Chinese market. The people of Roiti prepare large quantities of a much- 

 esteemed palm wine, and rear an excellent breed of little ponies, " about the size 

 of Newfoundland dogs." 



Atapiqm, another seaport on the north coast near the Portuguese frontier, lies 

 in the province of Filarang, which is said to be one of the richest in copper ores, 

 though mining operations have scarcely yet been seriously begun. 



Dilli, administrative centre of the Portuguese territory, is a less important 

 place than Kupang, and appears even to have entered on a state of decline, the 

 population having fallen from over five thousand about the middle of the century 

 to little more than three thousand in 1879. It is even a more unhealthy town 

 than its Dutch rival, but has the advantage of a good roadstead, from which it 

 presents a pleasant appearance. Its exports are chiefly coffee of superior quality, 

 wax, and sandalwood ; rice being the staple import. The wheat grown on the 

 plateaux and slopes to a height of about three thousand feet is much esteemed. 

 North of Dilli rises the steep rock of Kambing, the only islet beyond Timor which 

 the treaties have left to the Portuguese ; it has a population of about two thou- 

 sand. 



The Zuid-Wester (Serwatty) Islands. 



These " South-western " groups, so-called because mostly lying to the south- 

 west of Amboyna, their administrative and commercial centre, are better known by 

 their English name Serwatty, which, in fact, is a corruption of the Dutch " Zuid- 

 Wester." The southern and more numerous islands form an eastern extension of 

 Timor, of which they are, so to say, merely scattered fragments. But the central 

 chain, of which Wetter forms by far the largest link, belongs to the volcanic 

 Sundanese system, while Gunong Api (the "Burning Mountain"), with a few 

 scattered rocks farther north, are supposed by Junghuhn to constitute the eastern 



