Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 69.djvu/227

Rh On arrival at Padang on Saturday, April 6, we made the acquaint- ance of the Governor of the West Coast of Sumatra and of Major Muller, head of the Survey Department, and Mr. Delprat, the head of the State Railways. The Governor received us on the following Monday morning, and we recall with great pleasure the personal courtesy and friendly helpfulness which he at once extended to us. Nothing could exceed the kindness and consideration which we experienced throughout our stay in the island from the Dutch authorities with whom it was our good fortune to come in contact. I may here add that I took the opportunity, which was afforded me by a visit to Java after the eclipse, to express to the Governor-General of the Dutch Indies the informal thanks of the English observers for the generous assistance which had been given to them in their expedition.

We were indebted to Professor Bakhuysen, the President of the Dutch Committee, for several sets of maps of the admirable survey of the West Coast of Sumatra. The local authorities at Padang added to our obligations by presenting us with free passes for ourselves and freight over all the railway system on the West Coast.

The Governor of the West Coast arranged that Mr. Dyson and Mr. Atkinson should make use of his steam launch to inspect possible sites for a camp on the coast in Trusan Bay, and also on an island 6 miles from the coast opposite Painan. Mr. Delprat was able to give me information and much kind assistance in the matter of sites inland near the Oembilien coalfield, and I at once set off to Sawah Loento with introductions to Mr. van Lessen, the Chief Engineer of the mines.

Thus it came about that when Mr. Dyson and I met again at Padang on the following Thursday, April 11, we had gained such information that we were able to decide at once that we should occupy separate camps (i) Mr. Dyson, together with Mr. Atkinson, on the island Aoer Gadang, assisted by H.M.S. " Pigmy," a gunboat commanded by Lieutenant^Commander Oldham, R.N., which, in response to an appli- cation from the Royal Society, had been told off by the Admiralty to render assistance to the observers ; and (ii) myself inland, on tolerably high ground, not far from Sawah Loento, the last station on the rail- way, at the mouth of the Oembilien coal mines, and thus quite on the east side of the Barisan Range. Our stations were thus the most widely separated in Sumatra, Mr. Dyson being at the west end of the line, and the first of the Sumatran observers to be immersed in the moon's shadow, whilst I was furthest inland at the east end of the line.

The rest of this report deals with my own experiences and observations.

It was with regret that I had to decline the invitation of the Boston