200 
COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TEAYEL 
in length by 10 in breadth. Sibirn is said to have an 
active volcano. 
Engano, the last of this great chain of islands, is not 
more than fifteen miles in length, and is surrounded by 
coral reefs. Its hills nowhere exceed 400 feet, and it is 
covered with timber, like all the islands in this chain. 
The inhabitants, under 1000 in number, are half savage, 
were unacquainted with the use of iron until a short time 
ago, and speak a language which is described as being 
wholly unintelligible to Malays. The coco-nut is largely 
grown, together with bananas, sugar-cane, and pine-apple. 
(2) The delta islands of the eastern coast, although of 
large size, are not important. Two, Mendang and Eupat, 
separated by a narrow strait, lie off the mouth of the 
Bakan river. Farther south, the Siak and Kampar Besar 
rivers disembogue by a network of canals to form a group 
of four large islands, each more than 30 miles in length 
—Bankalis, Padang, Eantau, and Panjor. Two others, 
Sabon and Mandol, are a little farther to the south. All 
these islands are alike in being low, fiat, and densely 
jungled. They have a very sparse population, and pro¬ 
duce little besides sago. 
(3) The Ehio-Lingga Archipelago exhibits a vast col¬ 
lection of reefs, shoals, and islands clustered around the 
terminal point of the Malay Peninsula. The northern 
group has two chief islands, Batam and Bintang, while in 
the southern division there are also two which consider¬ 
ably exceed the rest in size—Lingga and Singkep. Geo¬ 
logically, all these islands are continuations southwards 
of the Malay Peninsula, showing the granites and sand¬ 
stones of that region, and in every way differing from the 
low alluvial formations of the eastern coast of Sumatra. 
The islands are more or less undulating and hilly, and 
Lingga Peak rises to a height of 3920 feet. 
