the main land has fallen inj and subsequently- disappeared on the*rmflux
of the sea.
: The constitution of the island is unfavourable to metals. All the examinations
hitherto made confirm this' assertion, ‘and it 'maybe- laid Mown" as a
general position, that no metals oceur, insucha quantity or’with, snqh richness
of ore, as to reward thepperations of the miner. 'J'hpjp^ly notice we have
of the existence of gold or silver is contained in'Ihej first volume of the Trails-'
actions of the Batavian Society j and the attempts on the mountain of Parang
in V70, and on the’ fóégaméti&ungl^'VY^ were sajo’ii abandoned./ .Iron,
pyrites is found in.small quantity in several districts,, as well as .red .ochre jT
which, 'however,. often contains so little iron, as. scarcely to jseryq.for the:
• “ As the Rajah was himself a fqiebtatof of the late craptipn?tdie f a l l owing j j f hi c h^
“ he" gave me is perhaps more tó be depended upon 'than any other I caiu possibly obfaiu.,
“ About 7' pl^Tnf^bd the 10th "of ‘April, thTeeJdjstincfcolunmsIQf flame burst"forth near the ,
“ top"of the Tombörö mounthin (all""öfU;hèm apparently-within the vd^Ssg the crater), ^
“ and after ascending separately to a ’very-great height, ‘ their 'tops ümtecP hopKair (
“ in a troubled confused manner. In a short-'time, 1 ïhe"‘y®lë .^oun^Hf to'xy Sang’ir
“ appeared ]IiÉè 'É body of liquid fire, extendirig itself in"ovbry. ^direction. The" fire
“ mid columns of flame continued t'orage with unabated fury, u n t i l ' 'darkness caused
“ by the quantity of falling matter obscured it at about 8 p‘.’fif. -Stfraes, ’at "this ‘time,
“ fell very thick at Sang’ir; some of them as laïgè as two fists; but gendrafly not" larger 'than
“- walnuts. "Between 9 and110 p. m. ashes began tó4faU,‘ ’and soon after a’Vofent wffirftvind
“ ensued, which blew down nearly every house in the village of Sang’ir, carryjng'me
“ ataps, or roofs, and light parts away with it. In the part of. Sang’ir. adfftimng Tomhoro
“ its effects were much more violent,' tearing up"by the roots the' largest' trees' and
“ carrying them‘into'the air, together with men, horses, cattle, anctJwhatefqrS^ came
“ within its influence. (This will account for‘the immense number of floating jtrees seen at
“ sea). -The sea rose!nearly:tweive feet higher than it Had ever' been known to dphofm-e, 'and
“ completely spoiled the only small spots of'rice land in Sang’irj' Sweeping _ away houses and
“ every thing within its reach. Hie whirlwind lasted about an hour. No explosions wéré.ihèafd
“ till the whirlwind had ceasèd, at about 11 a. mr From midnight till the evening of the 11th,
“ they continued without intermission; after that time their violence moderated,, and they were
“ only heard at intervals,‘but the explosions' did not cease'entirely until the. 15th of-^Jrdy.
-‘Of the whélevillagës of Tomboro, Tempo, containing about forty inhabitants, is''the drily
on©- remaining. In Pek&té no veStige of a house is left:’ twenty-six of the 'who
“•were at -Sumbawa at the time, are thé whole of the population who have escaped. Fróiri the
“ ‘most particular inquiries I have been able to make, there were' certainly not fewer than
“ twelve thousand' individuals in Tomboro and Pekaté at the' time of the eruption, of whom
“i only'five'-’or'six survive. The trees and herbage of every description, along the whole' of the.
“ north'and west sides of the pèninsula, have -beeh'completely destroyed, with the' exception
of a high point of land near the spot where the village of Tomboro stood.”
tommon purpose "bf "pa in t.Th e existenceMf mercury .in the low lands of
Démak,' where1 it is'distributed'|n miiiuteMarticles through the-clay, of the
rice grouridsMoiInding oiie qf the principahrivers ofthat,, district, .has not
Beën considered'as an ‘indication qf a mine,\or qf thé.ores of that, metal.
i^NoMiamonds areJfound, naT\>thér pre.qiqüs^stbnes, but many, minerals of Mineral
thél' échS'rl, quartz, MoMone,") feldspar, antf trap, kind', . They mostly .exist
ih: Wouritmhs/of seco'haa^y "elevation, towards-"the .southern shores of-the
island, 'sometimes- in extensive Veins ; (but’separate fragments --are", carried
d8vm$bythe, nWrs,i;andTbupd^far from"their original depositmn. \Prafte
is-foutid^i^yery^xtensive^- .V.eMs^flibrbstciim W-aTsoi abundant -in particular
situations/ Its^wéll Ss flint, chalcedony, hyalite, cómmqnjèsper, .’.jasper-agate,
éBsfflfari;'.1 and- porphyry.
soil* iiU.%aVa is Mir themiosi part rich, ;ancl remarkable fan ifis depth,^.9oiI
probably owing to- theMxclusive^®qleapic constitution ftjKthe.qouitóay, and
thefconstant a’ceessionMf new "mould, whic|$is washed down thesideMf its
nufeierbüsJmöïmtains. It has the character ofebeing in. phigh degree richer
thdn -tHewofdin.Sr^ söïmcSj the Malayan 'count^es/im general, particularly óf
Sumatra andltHhcMalayaTn 'peninsula. The best re^öiblês the richest!
gardemmould- of Europe; and whéneVër it can be exposedrto the inundation
ntecéssary^ibr the 'requires, no ,manure, and will bear without
impoverishment, one heavy * and one light crop in thfe yearthepooresf,
with 'this’adviïntógëy 'vrillyielua 'liberal return tq the husbandman. In an
islSildf!^^&Ki!ex^rit'' ‘arid variety, of "surface,. the soil is .necessarily Wrigus,
b^4its- general- 'chrhaeteh vi|. that, of e^rsioMinary fertility; ’ The -red and
vëry‘-light' soil’ of the^Western .districts is'generally considered inferior tq.
thëpdark brown and stiffer soil which prevails in the .eastern. / The bq&feioiL-
is usually found "near the beds of rivers, in thé .rvaUqys, and on the. slopes of
the" largest mountains: the worst on the ranges of low calcareops hills, -which
ruirthrough different parts of the island.
’ Thè 'sèa'sons', -in al‘1 the countries situated within about ten degrees of the Seasons
equator, agree-in this: that as one eternal summer prevails,/they are «not/
distinguished^ as hot ahd1 cold, but 'as Vet! and dry. On Java the seasons
depend-uponHheMeribdical'wliids. The period of the setting in of! these
winds %-not determined within a ïe,w‘ wééks; ,but generally th.e westerly
winds!, which' are always attended%ith q:ain,, arë felyin October, become/),
more steady iri November and. December, aqd gradually - subside, till in
March -