Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

TOPOGHAPHY OF JA^'A. 193remains of Iliiidu structures, while the spurs and terraces ot" these highlands arealso crowned with the ruins of ancient temples, now, for the most part, enclosedwithin the grounds of the residences belonging to the large landowners.The village facing Surabaya on the opposite side of Madura Strait is theterminus of the steam ferry plying between Madura and the mainland. Bangkalan,the chief trading place in the smaller island, lies farther north on an open bayfacing the high sea. This seaport is a much larger and richer town than Paitiekasan,the ofBcial capital of Madura, which lies on a plain a few miles from MaduraBay. The chief industry along this coast is the preparation of salt for the Indonesiangovernment. The Madurese cattle belong to an excellent breed highlyvalued throughout the Eastern Archipelago.The island of Bawean, lying farther north and depending administratively onSurabaya, appears from the local dialect to be inhabited by pcojile of Maduresestock. It has a brisk coasting trade, and yearlj^ sends thousands of peasants andartisans to find employment in Java.South of Madura Bay, Pasuruan is the first large Javanese town traversed bythe railway beyond the old Mojo-Pahit gulf, which is now choked with alluvia.In this ancient Hindu settlement the customs of Indian origin are better preservedthan in any other part of the island. The natives of the surrounding district stillbring their offerings of foliage and flowers to the sources of the running waters,and worship the remains of sculptures in the ancient temples of Siva. Tosari, th(?chief health resort in east Java, stands 5,850 feet above sea-level on a sj^ur ofMount Tenggcr, whence a superb view is commanded of the surrounding waters,plains and highlands.East of Pasuruan, along Madura Bay, follow two other provincial capitals,Proholingo {Banger) and Bcnuki, both of whose roadsteads are very unsafe duringthe prevalence of the gliendeng, or stormy south wind, in the months of January andFebruarj-. Still farther east, on the shore of a small inlet, lies Panarukan, whichwas formerly a great city and a chief centre of trade in the Eastern Archipelago.Here the Portuguese, under Affonso d'Albuquercj[ue, established their first factory inJava. Beyond Panarukan the main highway, sweeping round Mount Ruan,reaches the town of Baujuwcunji, or " Perfumed "Waters," which stands on thestrait sej)arating Java from Bali. As a commercial mart this place has replacedBhiiibangaii, which lies farther south on an estuary now choked with sands.Banjuwangi is the western terminus of the submarine cable connecting Indonesiawith Port Darwin on the Australian mainland. The surrounding district, cutoff from the rest of the island by trackless mountains, is the least denselypeopled part of Java.Adjiixistkatiox.The central authority enjoys almost absolute power in Java and the othci"islands, or " outer " possessions of Holland in Indonesia. The governor-general,representing the crown, is himself a sovereign, who has at his free disposal theVOL. XIV. o