Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

186 AUSTRALASIA.which before the opening of the railway was the only outlet for the produceof the whole district.Farther east, at an elevation of 2,470 feet, stands Bandong, the picturesquecapital of the " Preang regencies," almost completely concealed by the surroundingforest vegetation, and commanded northwards by the long crest of the TangkubanPrahu ridge.At present (1889) the railway terminates beyond Bandong at TJitJalenlia, b\it isto be continued across the plateau down to the Manuk Valley, where it will throwoff a branch south-westwards to the town of Ganif. Then climbing the easternhills it will fall by long inclines down to TJilatJap, the most sheltered port on thesouth coast, and already connected by rail with the northern slope of the island.Even at low water there is a depth of 17 or 18 feet on the bar, and from 30 to 35in the harbour, which is protected by the island of Kembangan, and defended byfortified lines.East of Batavia the marshy coast, fringed by mangroves and mud banks, hasno harbours west of Cheribon Bay.Indramaju, in the Manuk delta, which growsthe best rice in the island, is a small riverain port accessible onl}' to vessels of lightdraught. The populous find productive province of Cheribon has a large numberof small towns and large communes, but no cities of great size. Cheribon, thecapital, which takes its name from the Tji-Ribon torrent on which it is situated,occupies only a secondary position amongst the commercial centres of Java.Tegal,capital of the province of like name, has a roadstead exposed, like that of Cheribon,to the north and east winds, so that vessels run some risk in shipping the produceof the interior brought down by the railways, connecting this place with Balapiiknigand Pangka.The largest town on the north coast between Batavia and Semarangis Pekalongan, which occupies both banks of the river of like name. Pekalonganformerly enjoyed a monopoly of the indigo trade, and the native women wovehighly esteemed coloured fabrics.Semarang or Samarang, lying near the centre of the curve formed with therest of the coast by the peninsula of Japara, is one of the three great Javanesemarts. At the close of the last century it stood first, and still rivals Batavia andSurabaya, exporting large quantities especially of sugar, coffee, tobacco, and indigo.Yet it has no harbour, and large vessels calling here are obliged to anchor considerablyover a mile from the shore in waters exposed to the fury of the west nionsoon.Boats and steam launches alone can penetrate into the city through the Banjircanal to the west, and the canalised river to the east, on which have been erectedthe chief public buildings.If a harbour is constructed it will probably have to liefurther west, near Krowelang Point, for at Semarang deep water of 25 or 30 feetoccurs only some five miles from the coast. In the marshy plain between thecanal and the river rises a star-shaped fort strengthened by bastions and a moat,and close by is one of the two artesian wells which supply the place with purewater.As in Batavia the inhabitants are grouped according to their nationalities, theEuropeans, here numbering several thousands, being chiefly centred in the Bojong