THE 
JOURNAL 
OP 
THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO 
AND 
EASTERN ASIA. 
REPORT ON THE ISLAND OF BANKA * 
By Thomas Hgrsfirld Esq, M. D, 
SECTION I, 
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND, 
Many of the points and promontories of the western and of the 
northern coast of the island of Borneo have been observed with ac¬ 
curacy. Situated in one of the most frequented tracks of navigators 
through the Indian Seas, the external geography became an object 
of attention and nautical survey long before the island was known 
to yield any production of importance. 
During later periods several of the settlements on the western, 
northern and eastern coasts were occasionally visited by private ad¬ 
venturers, but the geography of the interior was not cultivated un¬ 
til B&nU became a British possession, and our acquaintance with it 
is still very imperfect. I have attempted a concise description of 
part of the island in order to illustrate the following mineralogical 
account, and the history of the tin mines. The materials for the 
purpose were collected during a journey through the northern and 
eastern divisions. 
In order to have some authentic guide to direct me in determin¬ 
ing the relative situation of the principal settlements of the interior, 
I have taken the most distinguished points from the chart of the 
* See the Introduction to this Report ante p. 20D. 
VOL. HI. NO. VII. JULY, 1848. B 
