294 
COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
district beyond forming the Assistant - Residency of 
Gorontalo. The whole of this country was formerly 
tributary to the Sultan of Ternate, and was inhabited by 
numerous savage tribes whose habits have already been 
described. When the Portuguese were expelled in 1677, 
it was taken possession of by the Dutch, and many of 
the natives were converted to Christianity. The country, 
however, did not begin to progress much till 1822, when 
it was found that the elevated plateau of the interior was 
admirably adapted to the growth of coffee. Native in¬ 
structors in the art of coffee cultivation were brought 
from Java; the native chiefs, under the title of Majors, 
were induced to encourage the formation of plantations 
by a grant of five per cent of the produce; and a fixed 
price was paid for all properly cleaned coffee brought to 
the Government warehouses. European superintendents 
of the plantations were appointed to each district, good 
roads were made, the villages w^ere gradually improved, 
and schools and churches built. Now there are 125,000 
Christians in the district, with excellent schools estab¬ 
lished in all the villages. The country, moreover, has 
become a perfect garden. In many of the villages the 
streets are bordered with hedges of roses, which thrive 
admirably at from 2000 to 3000 feet elevation, and are in 
perpetual bloom; the cottages are symmetrically arranged, 
nicely painted, and embowered in flowering shrubs and 
fruit trees; while the people are all well dressed and 
well fed, well behaved and contented, presenting a mar¬ 
vellous contrast to the naked savages of fifty years back 
who were the fathers and grandfathers of the present 
generation. 
A considerable portion of Minahasa is an uneven 
plateau, from 2500 to 3000 feet above the sea, with 
mountains rising to 6000 feet or more. The highest 
