142 



EASTERN GEOGRAPHY. 



Ktilji, il-.-ilt ii- umiw, in 102' R Inry., f .»r »v«r 200 mi let nil the way 

 to I'hii city nf Palumhaujr, Hill 50 mi lea from its mouth in Banca 

 Strait The trip occupied over three, weeks in November and 

 1 1>- .-hi I .. r daring tit.- wet -.. iL-.i.n, j t 1 lit: brinks nf (he mainstream 

 Were HikhIi.'iI fur -none inilr.t in many piVes to sin- -r, a; depib of (10 

 or 70 fee*. A va^t trade with the interior is carried on with these 

 ntfisj whirh, tike those on the Tigris, are broken up and lold for 

 ilu-if valuable material at their destination. 



To its numrroiu eastern watemraraea, combined perhaps with a alight 

 upheaval of the JanJ t Sumatra is iudubted fur it* present ample dimensions. 

 Originally probably not taore than lt>rt mile* oread, it expanded cnat- 

 ward* ji-.wiIlnh :is mountain lnfJVlits toadied Upuli the Chi Ha Sea, 



thus gradually mifiOig the marine led above tieadoVel, In ihis way wi-ra 

 created tin 1 jjjn'nt Sininil nni ii]|uvi;d plains, which lor adieu iidam) ana 

 Seldom over 400 fetd Idirh, i rn I wijii li :nv still eojist natty julvasi-'tn^ 

 acnWnrds. The tirno is approaching whnn thit 130 feel nf walSh WW 

 (lowing between the eiwt coast and tho chain of eastern ulnnds (Idngga, 

 Sinkep, Panea). must he filled in, mid tliojj tins nivt Snmatron aentward 

 will f,ill in a direct line with tlie southern extension of the Malay Penin- 

 aulii. Tims the Asiatic laumhiud tends agiiu to gut her up its scattered 

 insular fragments through the action nf the Siinintrnn streams, which 

 from short impetuous upland torrents have become great navigable arteries, 

 winding shiyijisldy tlnough tba Hat alluvial plains of their own creation. 



Li-ikes. — Sumatra diflere fnun most uf the Malayan inland* in lho 

 lacustrine character of ita upland scenery. It possessed several 

 »•■, iijioi tie tiiMuntitiu lake-, tin' inr^t of which are 2Vj«7» in the 

 Baltu Country, about 3000 feet above sea-level, 20 miles long, source 

 of Hie Stti^kel, and itself fed by numerous dreams, chiefly from tin: 

 nun Ii j .S.nyWtf, on the Parian^ plateau, 20 miles by 12 to 15, 

 source of the ludra^tri ; D'tmui S,qtuh.>h Kttfult. ur Hi Lake of the ten 

 forests," at the foot of Mount Siugalan<* in the north-west ; Kurinchi^ 

 in the Kormehi country, near the Indrapura Peak, unsnrveyed j 

 /.'.',,.fv ;l1 the fni it nf the on u^/eut Simiuum; volcano, in the 

 Lamp >ng,s 1700 feet above seadevct. This lake., visited in 1881 by 

 H. O. Forbes, i« of ereat depth, and Iwnis with fish (one species, the 

 semah or Leabarbus, an large a* the largest minion), which often 

 perbdi in the hot water of the thermal firings of 127° F. bubbling up 

 round the margin* 



Climate. — The climate, especially on the uplands, in remarkably 

 soul and salubrious. Frost, snow, and hail are unknown phenomena ; 

 but dense fogs and thunderstorms are of frequent occurrence. In 



l 



