173 



EASTERN" GEOGRAPHY. 



10 miles north of Timor,, is 80 mile* long, largely volcanic, rugge<3, and 

 nearly treeless, and inhabited by a mixed Papuan raen, &km to tho 

 Timorese. East of it is the lofty bland of Knma. and tho volcanic Ilea* 

 both occupied by Malayan {wcijitea. Those, with ItaMiar, lying much 

 farther v&&t, arts soinctiui!>s reganhd 119 outlying members of tint' Scrwati 

 roup, which in its wiliest wusg aha in^'liiJei Kirsa, between Wetter ami 

 lua j AV7n and Scruain the extreme north-cast ; Dnmma t midway between 

 NLIn and Kom* ; StTmatta, east of Mo». The natives are partly of Malayan 

 it Indonesian, partly of PspOsn stock, ami many are nominal! Christiana. 

 All Iheto island* are now included in the Dutch Residency uf Banda, 



Timor Ii&uvt, or Tenirnber.— Until recently tha very outlines of 

 tli is group were unknown. It was figured oil nil maps as a, continuous 

 piece: of lurid running south-west and north-east, nearly parallel with 

 Timor, whereas it really consists of three considerable islands ; Yam- 

 tl&ui in the Gentry separated by Wallace Channel from Laval in the 

 iii-rtJi:, nH'l t iv Fl^riin B trail from Sd im En the south, with a cluster 

 or chain of smaller islets on the west and north sides. Thus, the con* 

 jectnre made by Captain Owen Stanley in 1841, that " when the island 

 improperly examined, it will be found to consist of several islands, 

 separated by narrow chants, 11 has been fully verified by the sub- 

 fle'|iierit explorations of Mr. Harto^,. who first sailed through E^e roll 

 Strait in 1877, ant! of Mr. H, 0, Forbes, who surveyed Wallace 

 Channel and the northern districts in 1882* 



Timor Laut, v*. " Seaward Timor,*' is a low eoircdlinfl group, the land 

 wldotn rising over 100 feet, except at Kgerpn Strait, where, the cliffs are 

 400 feet, and at Laibobar, apparently a volcanic islet on the west eoa&t, 

 with an extinct crater 2000 feet high. There are QO streams, and the poor 

 Boil, coverad with a typically coral inland llora, yiebhi little beyond maize, 

 the staple of food, murine, sweet potatoes, tobacco, some sugar-earni and 

 <*i>ltr»ii, and a little rice. Tho fauna includes UulTaloea in a wild Blaic, 1 

 euaeus (marsupial), some bats, the beautiful scarlet lory, hero indigenous, 

 new or rare varieties of tha ground- thrush, honey-cater, and oriole. The 

 birds i n t to Imvp come mainly from Now Guinea, tho insects from Timer ; 

 a [>■•■<■ tffboth from Australia. 



TJu: aborigines are evidently Papuan?, with a language like that of the 

 Ki ihlflnilcTS ; butthore is a largo intermingling of Malayan and Indonesian 

 (Polyr.ssini T) element* They are a fine, handsome people, often over six 

 feet high, noted, like all Papuans, Tor their high artistic sense, betrayed 

 especially in their wood and ivory carvings. In other respects they are 

 DSiWli i» a low state of culture, mostly divided into hostile communities, 

 and addicted to piracy. There is a Dutch official Fostholdvr ') stationed 

 ni HititUl, on the wukL eoaat. of Laratj. a trading station of the Eughta from 

 Celebes. 



