16 RIVERS AND LAKES.
• A Country Vvhich abounds in mountains i& seldbm deficient in, risers ;; accordingly,
no region is perhaps., better watered* . Java is singularly favoured'
. . ; , in
ti lava which I examined (the mountain has since had a later eruption) was throwmout in 1800.
“..Its course along- the top cannot be distinctly^.observed, being cimpletely-'cbvered- with
“ sand and small fragments of lava, which generally,rise towards. Ahe'. end of an eruption,
jj At the place where the. stream first .uppearedrihstipptiyj/it was abojiit. five yardsJ-br,oad
and completely even on ihe surface:, having .proceeded -about twenty yards, further it
“ gradually widened,, and was. formed 4nta.-ajx>nneqted stream, higher m, the /middle,, the
“ sides tapering or inclining towards the top, forming bridge with a pointed or sharp back.
‘ As the stream arrived at the foot of the mountain, it spread more and.mose,, and.pursued its
I course to the: eastward, ah.out six hundred .yards, oyer..-,the adjacent country. Its greatest
f'r.breadt^, ftom north to south, is.^b,out..one hundred’^and .sixty-yards,.,end it terminates
?..ahruptiy hy a rounded margin, consisting of .large hJocJssjof. laya.piled. jupdn each other,
linearly.perpendicularly, to .theheight,of fifteen to twenty feet. - •
-nifr Stream of lava,Jikeuall the others of later date which I have examined on the
doesmpt consist of a connected mass of fluid lava, mnited.like a stream of melted metal 5 at
§ least qa,ihe surface where it is. exposed to_-view. It is-made up.^fi separate masses, which
II have an irregular .(generally, oblon^or cubical) shape, and lie. .upon eaph^themas ‘ loose
11 d^ointed-elods’, m an immense variety of disposition.,^ soi^Qfkfhpse .fragments I think
I cimlAobseiweaitehdgnny *o,jassuin.e the regular basaltic figure.,., During, its -cppjsg d'ovsa
“ |lmnteeps,pf^mountain,the stream, as has been observed^, forma the* % '
l,.ffldge-.(wW<%has.been descrihed ahoye, in the gceopaat tije^c^pos^as, generally ngyerr
“ ihgthe sides) ; but-having arrived at‘the foot and spread n^prmat l#rge,,4h^e,lumps of lava
“• disposethemselve%..iffl,sEBate instances,,in.plains,,boundedjjy.degp rallies :.rw,wSeyvf|se to
ti a considerable height, and form a^egp perpendicular eminence; .then .again they,are piled
“ upon ,each_other more gradually, and appear r^ingby steps and-division^.,, ,But. to -give*, an
accurate.description of the arrangement of these fragments of lava..wnuid,,be_unnecessprily
prolix,/ and would require, to be clearly understood, a good drawing. In ,different places,
“ the sulphureous vapours have .forced .their, way through tbe..intersti,oes ofjletdoSs of lava.
“ The sides of their outlets, (whose^forjn.is yeiy. irregular) is covered .with, a-white .calcareous
crust ; and the heat is.so great, that .small pieces.pf paper„thrown into, them are immediater
“ ly singed.
This stream of lava is bounded on the north by .another, ,qf;ftie.same^atur,e an^ disposi-
“• tion, thrown out of the mountain (according taan estimate made from .the„conunencement
“ and progress of vegetation upon, it) .about thirty years ago. Jn,its course along .thft.gides of
“ the mountain it forms the same pointed ridges above described. It. affprds-i.p -gljiin ,dempnr
i stration of the manner jn ..which, the surface x/ftlavajs.decomposed end. rendered fi; foj Jyege-
“ tation. A third, district-of lava bounds .the new-stream first .described in,tthe,.gQUJ;h • it is
more extensive thanthe others, and consists of. several. diatincstjregipnsj probably ^thrown put
tiuring.one emption (which.appears ,to have been more .violent .than the-, others), but in suc-
“ cessiye. periods shortly following each other. It-extends .farther to the eastward than -the
others, and coveys a great portioupf-the foot of the mountain. Vegetation-has already-made
“ considerable progress upon.it tin the vallies between the separate streams of lava are found
in the number of ItsWeams.- The size of the island does not admit, of the
ffSBHBW of large -rivers, but ttere-‘are.'- probably fiftyi th^t in th.e wet
season, -b£ar down raffs chbf-gfed' w-ith. timber and .other, ro.ugh produce,of
tfe country, and'not less than fi'fe or six at alltimes navigable to th e fdis-
fan,ce of somfe'i^ileS from the coast. -It wbul$ be vain te attempt njimbe^ng
those which are preciohs to^ffie agriculturist.; they are- tnany hundreds, ff
mot thousands! ’ ‘
'"^Tlie^larg^st, and ffrost important river' on) the island, is that O^Sfilpt-or as, Solo
it is termed by the1'natives1 B e n g 'dw a n (itb®. greate^iSo/b,’! which- takes its rise
in the "district- 'of'Ktida'wang, and after collecting, the waters, of Ae .surround*
ing hills, hecomlesla'-;stre'amW considerable-depth iand breadth ftiM r& h e r tq t
I’wfiefe'lf is’ further increased ’ by the waters collected from*.the adjapent districts.
Its general course" from the'papital is-in a» easf-nofth-easterly. dirpe-
tion'jjwtiir it4!tiiscbarges Itself by two^.-principal' outlets into the, sea, near
Gre sik a n d : Siddytil, ‘After leaving’-Mab&rewfo- it traverses,th§^pr,oyipqes,pf
Sufccetiodii, Jo g o rd g a , M a d im , J tfa n g , B l d m j Tuban, iSiUmpii and
At A w i, riea'f1 tfte bbund'afy-ef M d d io n and Jtfgandgar, en the eastern;,side
of ihe 'river, a l^ge"bi'a'nch from the-south-eastern, provinces, commonly
D HR called
“ n&'tmnly, plants but also small shrubs. A t one place, near the termination of this stream, the
.‘^avfei&Siled up ii®£w(^irregmar 'r i s e s ' to 'the height of twenty feetff aii®!®t S small distance
“ firllgi^gfelSm-Bxftteniity^in a spot which lias ^cfeptid'ilieJeffeete.’o f flielatSf erngtiu^i Uhti.
"‘“ is teSverfettby-a<plhasant Wood,, are three-'diffqrenf h.qt^wens, within the,.mrcjpnf^yeneei^a
“ quarter of a»mije.- In the South, Hhis' district>of Java is b o u s e d by^a .recent stremn, whi^h
appear^ ta^kve,heen thrown qutin 1800, By the same eruption which produced the first meri-
“ tioned stream. .It differs from the-others*Only inS'tiie colour of its lava, which'has a reddifeh
less considerable'in extent th&i any -of the'oWersy and cannot be tr&ced far .from
“ the' ff>of.ol’We*m^unlam.'' The‘fifth- stream, of lava which:I examined y 's tift farther towards
®^mie. south, and is 'onemf the oldest which hpve been disclmrged &t>m th e ^eastern part of the
“ crates.. Near the foot of the mountain, vegetation has made greater progress than in _any of
the' other, districts of. lava. ^
'.TheTjGiOT^SF^me recent lava of tWs'motmSgnis^jet-black or grey: one of the streams
ift^SBly.has'a reddish^coWttfe 11^,texture-is Ve^loose, and its fracture: very porous. The smal-
“ ler fragmenwKaVe much the appearance ofilrne scoriae tof a ■ blacksmith^ forge^j on being
“ ■ thiown against- eafch other, ftheyf emit .abound like two 'bricks,-coming^rrtp contact.- The inti
tenor crater .of this mountain, as it has remained after the .eruption of 180(jms,less inferest-
“ ing than the, pthera wfechjl ha,ve.examined. Its- shape'ia^omewhat ovalj the greatest diame-
“ ter being about hundred yards1 its depth is not’very Considerable.- Its structure, in
i$ similar fo. tlfpt-r-of’Tankufam-fiJafiu. It has‘orie remaining aperture, which
’'““diseharges with great fofce'-hot sulphureous.vapaurs.’’
Batavian Transactions, vol. ix.