Page:Scented isles and coral gardens- Torres Straits, German New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies, by C.D. Mackellar, 1912.pdf/275

Rh The volcano on Gunong Api, the “Mountain of Fire,” is always active, and there have been many eruptions; its main crater is supposed to be extinct by some, but no doubt it is merely taking a rest. The Chinese are very important here, and the agent of the N.D.L. Co. is, or was, a Chinaman. The Residency and the Club are good, and the whole town is a beautiful garden. There are watch-towers for the police, and when a Malay “runs amok” they beat drums to warn the people, and sally forth to kill him, so it is said. The vegetation is remarkably green, and the water oe the land-locked harbour, from which no outlet is visible, is so clear that the coral and even minute objects are seen at the bottom, at the depth of eight fathoms, and the fish inhabiting these exquisite coral groves are as rainbow hued as the coral. The Dutch houses are roofed with red tiles, which enhances the effect of this famously beautiful spot. The nutmeg tree—which grows to 20 or 30 feet in height—is always in bloom, and fruit ripens all the year round, being in all stages on the tree. It has dark green foliage, and the fruit when yellow and ripe splits open and shows the dark red mace and the nut. The kernel of the nut is the nutmeg we use. The great pigeons are very fond of it.

These are the far-famed Spice Islands—the scented isles of the East—once drawing all the world in search of their riches. Magnificent canary trees overshadow the nutmeg groves, and the perfumes of the Spice Islands are wafted far and wide.

Near to the south of the large island of Ceram is Amboyna, the capital of the Moluccas, on an island of the same name. The town is situated between two precipitous points, white houses and a fort facing the sea and backed with hills.