3o2 A NATURALIST'S WANDERINQS 



Islands. I could not discover that they gave any general 

 name to the whole group ; but they invariably designated the 

 mainland of the northern of the two larger islands by the 

 name Yamdena, while they spoke of the southern portion 

 as Selaru, which, in their language, is the word for Indian 

 corn. 



In examining the Tenimber islands, one is struck with the 

 resemblance that exists between them and the Aru group, in 

 the curions way in which both a.re cut up by narrow channels. 

 "Some of the southern islands of Aru (I quote from the 

 narrative of the voyage of the Dutch corvette Triton in 1828) are 

 of considerable extent, but those to the north, lying close to 

 the edge of the bank, are rarely more than five or six miles in 

 circumference. The land is low, being only a few feet above 

 the level of the sea except in spots where patches of rock rise 

 to the . height of twenty feet, but the lofty trees which cover 

 the face of the country give it the appearance of being much 

 more elevated." 



The island of Larat is separated from the mainland by a 

 narrow strait, which I have designated with the honoured name 

 of the author of the ' Malay Archipelago ' — Wallace Channel, 

 which forms a fairly good harbour at its northern entrance, 

 but shallows away towards the south end so much that only 

 small boats can come through it at low tide, and in fact, to 

 the south of Eitabel village the bottom can be reached all 

 the way across, with the exception of a few yards, by a poling- 

 rod. 



Between Larat and Vordate there is, in calm weather, a 

 safe channel, yet on Captain Stanley's authority it is quite 

 shoal. The sea to the northward, again, is very shallow, only 

 narrow passages separating the islands of Frienun, Maru, and 

 Molu, as I gather from my hunters (whose information I 

 believe to be correct) whom I sent there for a few weeks to 

 collect, and gather information. 



The lowness also of the country in our immediate neigh- 

 bourhood struck me much. I could see on Larat and on the 

 mainland, no ground rising at the most over a hundred feet 

 or so, for standing on the shore I could look right across the 

 main island, and see the greater part of the only height 

 worthy of the name of mountain, within the range of vision, 



