206 THE SASSACKS. 



to have fallen some years ago, during a great erup- 

 tion of a volcano in Sumbawa. This was doubtless 

 the great eruption of Mount Tumboro, in 1815, 

 described by Sir S. Raffles and quoted by Mr. Lyell. 

 There was a scarcity of fresh water, as there had 

 been no rain for two months. This part of the 

 island is evidently too far from the great mountain 

 on its northern side, the grand condenser of the 

 moisture of the south-east trade-wind. Perpetual 

 streams are said to run over the greater part of the 

 island, from the foot of this mountain mass. 



From Mr. Hurder I procured the following scraps 

 of information, which I give as I received it, pre- 

 mising that he had only been twelve months resident 

 on the island, and had not visited the interior. 



Lombock is inhabited by a people who call them- 

 selves Sassacks, # and speak the Sassack language, 

 which differs a good deal from the common Malay. 

 Their number is probably 150 or 200,000.t The 

 Sassacks are Mahomed ans. Some years ago they 

 were invaded and conquered by the people of Bali, 

 who are Hindoos in religion. The present ruler of 

 Lombock is a Balinese. There were, a short time 

 ago, two Rajahs of Lombock ; there is now only 

 one, who resides at Mataram, near Ampanam. The 



* Crawfurd says that Sassack is the true Malay name for 

 Lombock, that it means u a raft," to which the island was sup- 

 posed to bear a resemblance in form. 



f According to other accounts, there are ten times that number, 

 or two millions of people, in Lombock. 



