Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/191

 COArs OF U'IALIA. 131 powder might induce him to commit any mischie- lss. vous act to obtain it. The mountaineers are de- scribed to be a warlike race of men, but since the s---l& cession of the island to the Dutch by the King of Ternate, to whom it appears to have originally belonged, they are distributed umler the sove- reignty of different rajahs, to whom they pay im- plicit obedience; and are, in fact, little better than mere slaves. On all parts of the coast good wholesome water may be procured, excepting at esally on the north coast, where it is said to be of a n6xious quality, occasioned by a tree or plant that grows on its banks, and taints the stream. Whatever suspicion there may be at- tached to the truth of this story, there is no doubt of its being far from wholesome; for it is avoided, as poisonous, by the people who reside near it. I was curious to discover whether it was occasioned by its flowing near one of the far famed Poison trees (upas antJar) of Java, but my informant could not satisfy my inquiry. The island is very mountainous, and some of its summits, as Captain Flinders observes, may probably rival the Peak of TenerifiCe. The country slopes off towards the sea, and appears to be fer- tile and pop.ulous. The recesses of the mountains and the rivulets that derive their sources from them are said to be rich in gold and silver, K2

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