The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

370 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.plicable the name was. The northern channel, called the riverof Watelai, is about a quarter of a mile wide at its entrance, butsoon narrows to about the eighth of a mile, which width it retains,with little variation, during its whole length of nearlyfifty miles, till it again w^idens at its eastern mouth. Its courseis moderately winding, and the banks are generally dry andsomewhat elevated. In many places there are low cliffs of hardcoralline limestone, more or less worn by the action of water ;while sometimes level spaces extend from tlie banks to lowranges of hills a little inland. A few small streams enter itfrom right and left, at the mouths of which are some littlerocky islands. The depth is very regular, being from ten tofifteen fathoms, and it has thus every feature of a true river,but for the salt water and the absence of a current. The othertwo rivers, whose names are Vorkai and Maykor, are said to bevery similar in general character ; but they are rather near together,and have a number of cross channels intersecting theflat tract between them. On the south side of Maykor thebanks are very rocky, and from thence to the southern extremityof Aru is an uninterrupted extent of rather elevatedand very rocky country, penetrated by numerous small streams,in the high limestone cliffs bordering which the edible birds'nests of Aru are chiefly obtained. All my informants statedthat the two southern rivers are larger than Watelai.The whole of Aru is low, but by no means so flat as it hasbeen represented, or as it appears from the sea. Most of it isdry rocky ground, with a somewhat undulating surface, risinghere and there into abrupt hillocks, or cut into steep and narrowravines. Except the patches of swamp which ai-e found at themouths of most of the small rivers, there is no absolutely levelground, although the greatest elevation is probably not morethan two hundred feet. The rock which everywdiere appearsin the ravines and brooks is a coralline limestone, in some jDlacessoft and friable, in others so hard and crystalline as to resembleour mountain limestone.The small islands which surround the central mass are verynumerous ; but most of them are on the east side, where theyform a fringe, often extending ten or fifteen miles from the mainislands. On the west there are very few, Wamma and Pulo Babibeing the chief, with Ougia and Wassia at the north-westextremity. On the east side the sea is everywhere shallow, andfull of coral ;and it is here that the pearl-shells are found whichform one of the chief staples of Aru trade. All the islands arecovered with a dense and very lofty forest.The physical features here described are of peculiar interest,and, as far as I am aware, are to some extent unique ; for I havebeen unable to find any other record of an island of the size ofAru crossed by channels which exactly resemble true rivers.How these channels originated were a complete puzzle to me,till, after a long consideration of the whole of the natural