of all these islands are constantly separated hy petty
feuds, or carrying on an open warfare with each
other.W
e were now fully in the Banda Sea, and on the
28th of June the summit of the Gunong Api, or
“ Burning Mountain” of that group, appeared above
the horizon, but, as I afterward revisited these beautiful
islands, a description of them is deferred to a
future page. As we steamed away from the Bandas,
we passed out of the region of continuous dry weather
and began to enter one where the wet and dry seasons
are just opposite to what they are in all the
wide area extending from the middle part of Sumatra
to the eastern end of Timur, including the southern
half of Borneo and the southern peninsulas of
Celebes. In all that region the eastern monsoon
brings dry weather, though occasional showers may
occur; but at Amboina, and on the south coast of
Ceram and Buru, this same wind bears along clouds
that pour down almost incessant floods. At Amboina
I was assured that sometimes it rained for two
weeks at a time, without apparently stopping for five
minutes, and from what I experienced myself I can
readily believe that such a phenomenon is not of rare
occurrence.
In the northern part of Celebes, at Temate, and in
the northern part of Gillolo, and the islands between
it and New Guinea, and also on the shores of the
western part of that great island, the wet and dry
seasons are not well defined. This exceptional area
is mostly included within the parallels of latitude two
degrees north and two degrees south of the equator.
North of it the wind at this time of year is from
the southwest, instead of from the southeast. This
dry southeast monsoon bends round Borneo, and becomes
the southwest monsoon of the China Sea, supplying
abundant rains to the northern parts of Borneo
and the Philippines. It has its origin near Australia,
and thence it pushes its way first toward the northwest
and then toward the northeast across the whole
Philippine group. I t appears in Timur in March,
and reaches the southern part of the China Sea in
May.
9