rivers by the traders, which puzzled me much till I passed
through one of them, and saw how exceedingly applicable
the name was. The northern channel, called the river of
Watelai, is about a quarter of a mile wide at its entrance,
but soon narrows to about the eighth of a mile, which
width it retains, with little variation, during its whole
length of nearly fifty miles, till it again widens at its
eastern mouth. Its course is moderately winding, and the
banks are generally dry and somewhat elevated. In many
places there are low bliffs of hard coralline limestone, more
or less worn by the action of water; while sometimes level
spaces extend from the banks to low ranges of hills a little
inland. A few small streams enter it from right and left,
at the mouths of which are some little rocky islands. The
depth is very regular, being from ten to fifteen fathoms,
and it has thus every feature of a true river, but for the salt
water and the absence of a current. The other two rivers,
whose names are Vorkai and Maykor, are said to be very
s i m i l a r in general character; but they are rather near
together, and have a number of cross o ' channels intersecting^
the flat tract between them. On the south side of Maykor
the banks are very , rocky, and from thence to the southern
extremity of Aru is an uninterrupted extent of rather
elevated and very rocky country, penetrated by numerous
small streams, in the high limestone cliffs bordering which
the edible birds’ nests of Aru are chiefly obtained. All
my informants stated that the two southern rivers are
larger than Watelai.
The whole of Aru is low, but by no means so flat as it
has been represented, or as it appears from the sea. Most
of it is dry rocky ground, with a somewhat undulating
surface, rising here and there into abrupt hillocks, or cut
into steep and narrow ravines. Except the patches of
swamp which are found at the mouths of most of the
small rivers, there is no absolutely level ground, although
the greatest elevation is probably not more than two
hundred feet. The rock which everywhere appears in the
ravines and brooks is a coralline limestone, in some places
soft and pliable,, in others so hard and crystalline as to
resemble our mountain limestone.
The small islands which surround the central mass are
very numerous; but most of them are on the east side,
where they form a fringe, often extending ten or fifteen
miles from the main islands. On the west there are very
few, Wamma and Pulo Babi being the chief, with Ougia
and Wassia at the north-west extremity. On the east side
the sea is everywhere shallow, and full of coral; and it is
here that the pearl-shells are found which form one of the •
chief staples of Aru trade. All the islands are covered
with a dense and very lofty forest.
The physical features here described are of peculiar
interest, and, as far as I am aware, are to some extent