Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

TIMOR. 215fall asleep, and are not buried till long after the beginning of the "trance." Insome districts they are exposed in open coffins on the branches of the trees ; inothers the wives have to keep them night and day for months together, until reducedto the state of dried muminies, and then buried with all their treasures beneathcairns corresponding in height to the rank of the deceased. They were formerlyaccompanied by an escort of slaves, as they still are by a dog to lead the way iuthe region beyond the grave.To prevent their return, the route follo\\ed by thefuneral procession is carefully blocked by a strong bamboo palisade.Kiqmng, capital of the Dutch territory and of the neighbouring islands, is oneof the unhealthiest places in Indonesia. It lies at the south-western extremity ofTimor, on the south side of a deep inlet too confined for the air to circulate freelj-.Yet its official position and safe harbour have made it the chief trading place inthe island, with a motley population of about seven thousand Timorese, Mala3'8,Chinese and Europeans. Its principal exports are sandalwood, horses, excellentoranges and beeswax. The neighbouring fishing grounds and oj'ster beds j'ieldgreat varieties of fish, besides pearls, tortoise-shell, sea-cucumbers and shark's finsfor the Chinese market. The people of Rotti prepare large quantities of a muchesteemedpalm wine, and rear an excellent breed of little ponies, " about the sizeof Newfoundland dogs."Afapupii, another seaport on the north coast near the Portuguese fioutier, liesin the province of Filarang, which is said to be one of the richest iu copper ores,though mining operations have scarcely yet been seriousl}^ begun.Dilli, administrative centre of the Portuguese territory, is a less importantplace than Kupang, and appears even to have entered on a state of decline, thepopulation having fallen from over five thousand about the middle of the centuryto little more than three thousand in 1879. It is even a more unhealthy townthan its Dutch rival, but has the advantage of a good roadstead, from which itpresents a pleasant appearance. Its exports are chiefly coffee of superior quality,,wax, and sandalwood; rice being the c staple import. The wheat grown on theplateaux and slopes to a height of about three thousand feet is much esteemed.North of Dilli rises the steep rock of Kambing, the only islet be3-ond Timor whichthe treaties have left to the Portuguese ; it has a population of about two thousand.The Zuid-Wester (Seewatty)Islands.These " South-western " groups, so-called because mostly Ij'ing to the southwestof Amboyna, their administrative and commercial centre, are better known bytheir English name Serwatty, which, in fact, is a corruption of the Dutch " Zuid-Wester." The southern and more numerous islands form an eastern extension ofTimor, of which they are, so to say, merely scattered fragments. But the centralchain, of which Wetter forms by far the largest link, belongs to the volcanicSundanese system, while Gunong Api (the "Burning Mountain"), with a fewscattered rocks farther north, are supposed by Junghuhn to constitute the eastern