Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

BANGKA. 117Both in the towns and rural districts these Chinese are divided into two distinctnations, each with its " captain,"—the Chinese of Canton and those of Amoj-, thelatter contrasting favourably with the former for their peaceful habits, love of work,and sobriety.This steady inflow of the " Celestials " is due to the development of trade,which is much more active in the Riouw than in the Lingga archipelago. TheChinese are here also occupied with the cultivation of tjamhir, of which Riouw haspractically the monopoly. This product, called also terra japonica and catechu, isobtained from a decoction of the leaves of the uncaria, or imuclea gamhiroi botanists.The island of Bintan alone yields about sixteen million pounds yearly, forwardedchiefly to Batavia, ]\Iacassar, and Banjermassin, where it is used in the preparationof betel. Eiouw is also one of the most important pepper-growing regions inIndonesia.Some places have also deposits of tin, amongst others the two Karimon isletsin the Strait of Malacca, and the large island of Singkep, in the southern archipelagosouth of Lingga. The straits j'ield large quantities of holothurians and of the agaragar[fucus saccharinus), for which Chinese epicures pay a high price.Riomc, capital of the archipelagoes, and, till recently, of the East SumatranResidency, is situated in the islet of Tanjang Pinaug, close to the west side of Bintang,largest member of these insular groups. The town, whose name is oftenextended to the two adjacent islands, stands on the east side of the Riouw Strait,the Rhio of the English charts. It comprises several distinct quarters, stretchingaround a shallow roadstead ; which, however, is well sheltered from all winds by theadjacent islets of liars and Sengarang. Although declared a free port in 1828,Riouw has not been able to compete with its British neighbour SingajDore, to whichvast emporium it sends the tribute of all its exports by a regular line of steamers.Baxgka.The large island of Bangka, with an area of about five thousand square miles,and administratively constituting a Residencj' of itself, might seem at first sightto form a mere geographical dependence of Sumatra. Nevertheless it is entirelydistinct from that region in its geographical constitution, forming, like the Riouwand Lingga groups, a fragmentary extension of the Malay peninsula. It is alsodisposed in precisely the same direction, from north-west to south-east, parallel withthe main axis of Sumatra. The corresponding series of convex and concave curvespresented by both sides of the tortuous and shallow strait separating Bangka fromthe alluvial lands of Palembang, is due not to a rupture produced between rocksof identical formation, but to the action of the alternating marine currents uniformlydistributing the sedimentary matter brought down by the Palembangrivers.Unlike Sumatra, Bangka has neither volcanoes nor igneous rocks, and is almostdestitute even of thermal springs. The chief formations are granites, quartz, feldspars,thrown together without any apparent regularity. The undulating hills are