SUMATRA 
197 
7. The Islands of Sumatra. 
The islands of Sumatra, omitting those of no great im¬ 
portance, may be divided into four groups. These are 
(1) the barrier islands off the west coast, from Simalu or 
Hog Island to Engano; (2) the delta islands at the 
mouths of the great rivers of the east coast; (3) the 
mass of small islands south of Singapore, known to the 
Dutch as the Rhio-Lingga Archipelago; and (4) the two 
large and important islands, Bangka and Blitong 
(Billiton). 
(1) The islands of the west coast in their order, be¬ 
ginning from the north, are Simalu, the Banyak Islands, 
Nias, the Batu, Mentawi, and Nassau groups, and Engano. 
All possess certain features in common. They are situated 
at a tolerably uniform distance of from 7 0 to 8 0 miles from 
the coast; are not simply of volcanic origin, but exhibit 
the older rocks of the main island, granites, sandstones, 
etc.; and possess, roughly speaking, its fauna, although 
the larger animals, such as the tiger, elephant, and rhino¬ 
ceros are, as might be expected, wanting. Of Simalu, 
otherwise known as Pulo Babi, or Hog Island, not much is 
known. The inhabitants are partly Achenese and partly 
descendants of Menangkabo settlers, and profess the Mo¬ 
hammedan religion, but they are almost savages, and the 
Dutch have not attempted to establish a settlement either 
here or on the Banyak group, which may be described in 
similar terms. Nias is of far greater importance. Here, 
at Gunong Sitoli, a colony of Malays and Chinese, is 
established a Controleur, but very little has been under¬ 
taken in the way of exploration, and we are indebted for 
our knowledge of the people to the accounts of Signor 
Modigliani, who spent a year upon the island in 1885. It 
