THE TIMOR GROUP 
359 
and forms the staple, for neither the sago nor coco-nut 
palm is suited to the climate. The export trade is very 
small. Ponies are the most noteworthy feature of it, 
many being sent to Batavia, while every year a shipload 
is despatched to Mauritius. The animals are considered 
the best in the whole archipelago, and, though very small, 
are of good shape and powerful. In Dr. Zollinger’s time 
the Sultan of Bima was said to own over ten thousand. 
Almost every native rides, and carries his spear even if 
at work in the fields. The mineral resources of the 
island are as yet unexplored, but gold and arsenic are 
known to exist, as well as petroleum. The island has 
been conjectured to have a population of about 150,000 ; 
it is at all events thinly peopled as compared with Bali 
and Lombok. The towns of Bima and Sumbawa' have 
each about 5000 inhabitants. There are hardly any 
Chinese settlers, but some hundreds of Klings are resident 
in or near Bima. 
5. Flores. 
Passing eastward from Sumbawa, the Sapi Strait is 
first crossed. It was at one time much used by vessels, 
but now the Allas Strait is preferred, being both wider 
and easier. The small island of Komodo, which is of 
volcanic formation, is said to be practically uninhabited, 
being only temporarily used by fishermen. Next comes 
the Strait of Mangerai, which is almost unknown, and 
swept by tremendous currents, as are most of the passages 
through this great island barrier. Its eastern shores are 
formed by another small and uninhabited island, Eindia, 
which abounds in wild buffaloes and horses, and is 
separated from Flores by a narrow and reef-beset passage. 
Flores is 232 miles long and from 10 to 35 miles 
