176 



EASTERN GILOCIUHIV. 



Florid a til Comedo.— '!';; tr.uinitioq front Sumbawa to Floria is 

 effected by the little uninhabited volcanic group of Comndo, with an 

 urea ;il.«mt 300 wpnirir uiili'-s mid hi'puruU'il from Florin \>y Man- 

 ge rai -SLr;T.ii . !%T iti^.-r.ii and Ende are alternative native name* fur 

 Florid, a European term unknown to the natives. Flurls, which is 

 about 1230 by 30 to 35 mil us, with tin area of 9200 sijuoro miles, is 

 mainly volcanic, with two active cones and several peaks, ranging 

 from ROQQ to 10,000 feck Copper ores appear to abound, and Aiilpbur 

 aa well as gold also occur. The soil is fertile uti the coasts, yielding 

 good erupt of rice and maize, while cinnamon, sapon, and sandalwood 

 arc amount the most valuable forest growths. These, with beeswax 

 and ponies, form the staple of the est port trade. 



The bnlk of the inhabitant* nra Papuan*, Finns farming the western 

 limit of this race. Ou tho roast am sojup Bngnil .settlements from Celebw, 

 and the former occupation of tin? island by th« Portugese is still attested 

 by mhu« h.-ilf-r.Tsto Christian foimiuiiHl i-H in tin- /.■<.• >->t,-':-i .u-.1ti.-r ..n l)i.> 

 north coast. Hero was tho Portuguese station, and hurt' now resides tho 

 Dutch administrator. Thfi interior of the country is very little known ; 

 its resources remain undeveloped, and there is little loeaf and no extort 

 triidc. 



Flortfl b continued eastwards to Timor, through a continuous chain of 

 islets, including-Solor, Adanam, Loinbluui, Pan tar and Ornbai, whirh ara 

 nlsn under the administrator of Larantuka, himself dependunt on tha 

 Resident at Kupang in Timor. 



Sumbu, i » Sandal wdod F which lies some 3.*3 in ilea lo the eolith 

 of Fluria, and beyond the volcanic zone, ia 130 mites by 50, with an 

 estimated area of -WOO sijuare miles. With Savij, Uotti, and 8am ao, 

 it forms a loop-line of non-volcanic islands, sweeping round from 

 the west end of Floria to the west end of Timor, and, Like Celebes, 

 probably representing ho many fragments uf a submerged Mion-ne 

 continent. 



Lying off the Iwaten track, and visited only by liiighis traders, tho 

 group is very little known ; lull it appears to bt inhabited by a line race of 

 Malayan or Indonesian wfrls t mm w U tt^ practically iudcpi'iideiil of tho 

 Dutch, although 00ttMitofl»lfo vinitud l>y officials from Timor. They grow 

 rice, maize, and tobacco, and Inivy herds of buffaloes, ponies, sheep, and 



pul -. Thin alnri yii'liln \'->r i-\]n<v]n\\"\\ .^nnhlw I, birds' r..->! -, 



beeswax, nnd loitoWsholl 8am U rocky and mountainous, with an ajva 

 ot" nlcnt "J00 |ij:wri." inilc-H, Hainan, witliin three miles of Timor, is 20 mitt's 



by sl-\ « :j. twill r. :i 4 >.pt.in- rml-s while lMti r nlsiictuse to Timor, 



aud fiO miles by 3d, has an aiea of over &00 wjuairu miles,. 



Timor,- — Physically occupies an in.tu.rtned.intc position between 

 the Leaser Sundas proper and the " loop-line," allied lo the former 



