Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 22 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
places with medicines, and of course epidemics can wreak dreadful ravages. It is common
enough for a government official on his rounds to visit a kampong and learn that half of the
population has died. Of the native rulers, only those of Tidore and Bacan sometimes try
our medicines on their relatives.
Ternate is like other places situated close to the equator in that the dry monsoon
here is characterized by intermittent rain showers, and a heat wave of five to six successive
weeks is extremely rare. Generally July, August, and September seem to be the driest
months. Comparatively little rain falls during the transition periods of April-May and
October-November. The first of these periods forms the transition to the southeast or dry
monsoon, and the second period forms the transition to the northwest or wet monsoon. The
showers are real tropical rains, but only rarely does the sun remain hidden for days, as it
does on Ambon. Heavy thunderstorms are also unusual.
The largest temperature range is 16°F. In the early morning hours the temperature
varies between 72° and 76°, usually increasing by noon to 84° to 85° with a few degrees
[p. 34] more during the afternoon, then dropping very slowly back to the morning
temperature during the latter part of the night. This lack of change during the night is
explained by the fact that there is no land wind—it does blow along the shore of Halmahera
but does not extend as far as Ternate. Complaints about extreme heat are more often the
result of physical activity, or prompted by the constricted movement of a small place. Or
perhaps we have forgotten how other people in other regions suffer from the heat.
There is a clear shortage of good drinking water in the capital. The wells have been
dug too close to the beach and not deep enough—as a result, there is always salt in the
water. It does not bother the natives, though, and even the Europeans become used to it
after a while, so nobody wants to take the trouble and spend the money needed to dig a
deeper well somewhere on the slope of the mountain. The coral reefs, which run dry far
into the sea, often spread an unpleasant smell, but this does not have any adverse health
effect.
Population statistics. The total population is as follows:
Nationality 1828 1833 1854 1860 1871 1885
Subjects of the Sultan of Ternate 36000 45000 100000 64393 61857 71834
Subjects of the Sultan of Tidore 15000 16000 40461 28878 30688 31929
Serfs 1044 838 323
Makassarese, etc. 929 1131 2077 1256 2311 2044
Chinese and their descendants 375 330 385 392 378 465
Native Christians 445 297 ? ? 428 583
Europeans and those on the
same level
339 376 454 416 295 308
[p. 35] All of these figures are based on data collected on the last day of December of the
years given. When evaluating their accuracy, the following should be taken into account:
1884 to May 1885, in which many children and elderly people died, even including many members of
the royal family.
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