The international geography . Birds of Paradise skins, andspices. From Dongala on the west coast,the seat of an independent rajah, excellenthorses are exported. Menado ischief town of the Minahassa, one of therichest and best cultivated provinces inthe Dutch possessions, long famed for the excellence of its coffee. Thepeople, who are Christians, cultivate these government coffee gardensunder the forced-labour system ; but, exercised as it is under a kindlypaternal government, the people are prosperous, happy, and contented,as, indeed, they are almost nowhere else in the Archipelago. TheMinahas
The international geography . Birds of Paradise skins, andspices. From Dongala on the west coast,the seat of an independent rajah, excellenthorses are exported. Menado ischief town of the Minahassa, one of therichest and best cultivated provinces inthe Dutch possessions, long famed for the excellence of its coffee. Thepeople, who are Christians, cultivate these government coffee gardensunder the forced-labour system ; but, exercised as it is under a kindlypaternal government, the people are prosperous, happy, and contented,as, indeed, they are almost nowhere else in the Archipelago. TheMinahassa plateau, rising to 2,000 feet above the sea^ is one of the mostbeautiful and fertile in the world. Kema, on the opposite side of thepeninsula, twent3^-three miles from Menado, is the port of the provinceduring the west monsoon, during which a dangerous surf prevails atMenado. Numerous island groups surround Celebes, the chief are the SanghirIslands in the north; Butung, Tukang Bessi and Salaier, off its P^ MacassAr 0 i -toe the :: -^^g» ^^<- Fig. 2%%.—Celebes. 57^ The International Geography THE MOLUCCAS Moluccas.—Under the general name of the Moluccas or SpiceIslands are included three groups of small islands clustered respectivelyround one or more larger islands, the principal being Halmaheira, Buru,Ceram (or Serang) and Ke. The Moluccas are traversed by the greatvolcanic chain of the Archipelago. Many of its islands are volcanic cones ;some are raised coral reefs and others are composed of crystalline rocksof Palaeozoic age. The majority are as yet but little explored. Thevegetation is luxuriant and of Papuo-Australian affinities. The nutmeg,clove, and cardamom trees are the species which first made the regionfamous as the Spice Islands. In its fauna marsupials take the place ofmammals. Kangaroos, cassowaries, and Birds of Paradise appear for thefirst time in our journey east. Butterflies are, like the birds, remarkablefor their abundance and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectgeography, bookyear19
