cut in its longest dimension by a river which flows into a branch of the Arkansas. It is encompassed, from S.E. round to N.N.W., by lofty hills; of which the faces are for the most part perpendicular, and exhibit enormous blocks of gypsum, mixed with red argil and fragments of silex. Innumerable swallows build their nests among the crevices of these hills; and from their base issue many salt-streams, which traverse the plain at their foot-especially its south-east portion, and that which lies south-west of the rivulet mentioned above as dividing it. Besides these, it contains within itself four salt-springs; and a rapid deposition is thus always taking place, which from time to time is spread over the entire surface by the action of heavy rains. "We arrived," says Captain Sibley, "just after a period of this kind. The superfluous waters were absorbed, and the salt-springs were again visible, and had commenced a new layer of deposit, which lay on the ground like scales on the back of a fish. The general effect was like what might be imagined were a quantity of boiling grease thrown into a bucket of cold water: this was the beginning of crystallization. My guide (an intelligent Osage Indian) assured me, that if the weather continued warm and dry, in ten or twelve days the whole would become a solid rock of salt, from five to twelve inches thick; above which the position of the four springs would be marked by the appearance of hollow cones rising two feet above the general surface. And this was confirmed by above fifty Osages present. I dug with my tomahawk above twelve inches into one of the blocks of salt near the springs, and at that depth ound it still composed of a mixture of salt and sand. The salt here is also of excellent quality, and extreme whiteness.

General Mason adds a note to the above description, to the effect that the salt-rock in question has been long known in the neighbouring plains under the name of "Mr. Jefferson's SaltMountain ;" but that it had not been visited by any but Indians previous to Mr. Sibley's time: and the details regarding it are still only known through the above account of it.

VII.-Narrative of a Voyage round the World, &c. By T. B. Wilson, M.D., R.N.

Dr. WILSON left England in July, 1828, in the "Governor Ready," government transport, bound to New South Wales, with a detachment of male convicts on board, of which he had the charge. On his return, after discharging this freight, the ship, in which he still remained for a passage to England, was wrecked in Torres Straits, and the crew with some difficulty reached the Island of Timor, after navigating a distance of above 1300 miles

in their boats. There he met the British colonial brig Amity; attached to the settlement at Port Raffles, on the north coast of Australia and embarking in her he successively visited that establishment, and the then infant settlement of the Swan River and King George's Sound; returning to Van Diemen's Land after having thus made almost a coasting voyage round Australia. His return thence by way of Cape Horn to England forms the concluding chapter of his work, and completes the circumnavigation of the globe stated in his title-page; but the real interest of his pages is confined to his Australian adventures and remarks, the latter of which uniformly mark the original, sometimes even the intrepid, thinker and observer-while the former possess considerable variety, and seem to have been often of a nature to tax severely his qualities as an officer and a man.

From the popular nature of its contents the work is likely to be extensively read. We shall, however, here appropriate such portion of its contents as seem most suited to our purpose:—

"TIMOR.-Coupang, the principal settlement of the Dutch, is situated on the south side of a capacious bay, near the western extremity of the island; where vessels of any burden may anchor in safety, excepting when the N.W. monsoon blows; in which season they usually find convenient shelter under the lee of a small adjacent island named Pulo Semao.

"The view of the town from the anchorage does not impress the stranger with a very favourable idea of the industry or enterprise of its inhabitants. On the left bank of a small rapid river is a madreporic rock of some elevation, whereon is built Fort Concordia, which commands the town, and may thereby keep it, and the various aboriginal tribes, in awe; but being completely commanded by more elevated ground to the westward, it could not be of much avail in repelling the hostile attacks of a disciplined force. To the eastward of the fort, on which the Dutch flag waves, a few red roofs of houses may be perceived here and there, sprinkled among the trees. To the westward of the fort at a little distance, may be observed a considerable number of fishermen's huts, in a little cove, shaded by the cocoa and palmyra palms. On approaching nearer to the town, its aspect improves a little. The residence of Mr. Bechade,—a Chinese temple, and some other pretty fair buildings, tend to embellish the Marina, where a commodious inn, now nearly completed, will be of much advantage to strangers.

"The principal street, parallel with the right bank of the river, contains some good houses, a few of which are in repair, but by far the greater part are more or less dilapidated. Here are situated the church, and the habitations of the resident, the secretary, and others connected with government. Rows of trees on each side of the street, being without their usual attendants in Dutch town, canals, afford an agreeable shade, without being detrimental to health.

"The other streets, if they deserve the name, are narrow and crooked,

and the houses formed chiefly of bamboo. The town is well supplied with water from the river, which is fresh at a very little distance from its mouth. The principal part of the town is on the right bank, but there is a considerable number of houses on the left bank also, and a communication exists by means of a bamboo bridge.

The river rises among the mountains to the southward, at no great distance from the bay. Its banks for several miles are cultivated; and, viewed from the rising ground behind the town, they have a very picturesque appearance. The steep shelving sides, in which rice is chiefly grown, are formed into terraces, and well irrigated. At the bottom of the glen (as it may be called), the cocoa, the palmyra, the banana, the bread-fruit, the orange, and the lemon tree, flourish luxuriantly, and diffuse an air of happiness and plenty around the peaceful-looking habitations, which are strewed pretty thickly on both sides of the river.

"The chief mode of agriculture practised is highly curious. To prepare a field for the reception of rice, maize, or wheat, a herd of buffaloes are turned into it, and chased to and fro, until the ground is imagined to be sufficiently wrought; and notwithstanding this slovenly system of husbandry, the fertile earth yields an abundant

return.

"The inhabitants of Coupang are a very heterogeneous mass, being composed,—1st, of a mixture of Dutch and Malay blood, to which class belong the resident, the secretary, and other public functionaries; 2dly, the unmixed Malay; 3dly, Chinese, of which there are a considerable number; 4thly, a mixture of the Chinese and Malay. There are few Europeans: Mr. Bechade, a merchant, Mr. Macleod, a naturalist, and the ex-secretary of Banda, a pure Dutchman (sent here without his own consent), being the only white inhabitants.

“I could obtain no certain account of the total number, although I sought information from the channel where it was most likely to be found, any thing resembling a census never having been thought of. The population, however, must be very considerable, particularly of the Malays; as, on walking through the streets, great numbers of sturdy fellows are met, with, who are either loitering about, perfectly idle, or triflingly employed in selling fruit and confectionary. Their wants are few, and easily satisfied. They appear to be as much enamoured with the delightful far niente, as the Neapolitan Lazzaroni, to whom, in this and in other points of character, they bear a strong resemblance.

"The Chinese, who are chiefly mechanics, work industriously on their arrival; they soon, however, quit their original trade, preferring to wander about the country as chapmen, bartering various articles for honey and bees'-wax. The town is consequently very badly supplied with artificers, so much so, that Mr. Bechade was obliged to send a coffee-mill to Raffles' Bay to be repaired.

Excepting the Chinese, all the inhabitants are, or profess to be, Christians, having been converted through the instrumentality of the missionaries, who are sent here, and to the neighbouring islands, by

the Dutch government, from which they receive a very slender salary. They are in general, however, much respected by the natives, and as they commonly contrive to get married to Rajahs' daughters, are enabled to live very comfortably."-pp. 61-67.

PORT RAFFLES."The appearance of the land about Raffles' Bay has been compared by some to the coast of Orissa in Bengal, and by others to Demerara;—the fact is, that the land here is exceedingly low, as it almost invariably is on the north and north-west coast of New Holland, and in this respect it bears a resemblance to either of these places; but the similarity exists no farther, as here there is neither underwood nor jungle to create and foster effluvia inimical to health.

"Low land in a tropical latitude, although generally considered unhealthy, is not invariably so-neither are high lands always healthy. Raffles' Bay, although little above the level of the sea, is decidedly healthy; while Timor, not much nearer the equator, although in many places exceedingly lofty, is (as well as Batavia) celebrated as the grave of Europeans.

"It may be supposed that this remark applies only to Coupang, which, like Batavia, is situated low; and that the interior, like that of Java, may be comparatively healthy. While at Coupang I was particular in my inquiries on this head; and was informed that in the sickly season, which occurs shortly after the commencement of the easterly monsoon, (i. e. the cessation of the rainy season,) the high lands afford no protection against disease, which rages there with as much fury, and as insidiously as it does at Coupang.*

"The soil at Port Raffles cannot in general be called good; there are, however, several fertile patches; but it would not answer either in an agricultural or pastoral point of view. Admitting that the land was good, and capable of producing valuable crops, yet the price of labour would prevent its being cultivated with advantage, especially as it is situated so near to India, whence rice could be procured at a very low rate.

''

Although in the quality of wood it falls short of Melville Island, yet there is a sufficiency, well enough adapted for ordinary purposes. "The bay abounds with various kinds of excellent fish, but from want of a proper seine the quantity caught was not very considerable. The Satellite's people (being better provided) had no difficulty in catching an ample supply daily, not only sufficient for the ship's company, but also for all in the settlement. The Malays caught fish readily with a hook, but none of our people had any success by that method."—pp. 160-162.

"The alleged causes of abandonment of this settlement were-1st, The unhealthiness of the climate ;-2dly, The hostility of the natives; —and, 3dly, The non-visitation of the Malays. But, from a perusal of the preceding pages, it may appear sufficiently evident,-1st, That

*I am surprised that Captain Stirling mentions Coupang as a healthy place. It may be so at certain seasons of the year; but I found it widely different."

the climate is not unhealthy;-2dly, That the hostility of the natives was caused, or, at all events, aggravated, by the conduct of the settlers; and that as soon as conciliatory measures were adopted, their hostility ceased ;*-3dly, The Malays did visit Raffles Bay, in considerable numbers; and, had the settlement continued in existence a few months longer, not only the Malays, but also many Chinese, chiefly from Batavia, would have migrated thither.

"These three causes, therefore, which influenced His Majesty's ministers to abandon the north coast of New Holland, are, I think, proved to be without foundation; and it is deeply to be deplored, that these shores should have been thus deserted, after so much expense had been incurred, after all the difficulties, necessarily attending a new settlement, had been overcome, and pleasing prospects of future prosperity had opened into view.

The principal object in forming a settlement on the north coast of New Holland was to establish a commercial intercourse with the natives of various islands in the Indian Archipelago; and which, it was imagined, might he brought about through the means of the Malays, who annually frequent these shores in considerable numbers, for the purpose of procuring trepang. But it is not altogether the intercourse with the Malays and Chinese that would render it of such importance, there being other circumstances which would, at least, add to its utility. Ships proceeding to India, from the colonies on the eastern coast, would touch there, with obvious reciprocal advantage. Moreover, it would prove a convenient place of refuge in cases of shipwreck, which so frequently occur in Torres Straits and the adjacent seas. In a word there can be no doubt that a settlement, judiciously chosen, and properly conducted, would, in a very short time, become, both in a mercantile and political point of view, a place of considerable importance in the eastern world.”—pp. 173, 174.

SAVU.—“ On Sunday the 13th we were in sight of Savu; and as that and the neighbouring islands had been, according to Captain Lawes, erroneously laid down by Captain Flinders, we thought it might not be amiss, as the wind was light, to endeavour to ascertain whether such was the fact.

"From the cross bearings of Savu and Benjoar, the ship's place at noon by Flinders' chart was latitude 10° 44′ 20′′ S. and longitude 121° 51' E. Now, the latitude observed by means of five sets of double altitudes (as the meridian altitude, on account of the intervention of the land, was not to be confided in), two being taken in the forenoon, and three in the afternoon, was 10° 45′ 22′′; and the longitude, deduced by chronometer, (the error and rate of which had been correctly ascertained at Raffles Bay and Coupang,) was 121° 50'; apparent time at ship known by four sets of altitudes (two A.M. and two P.M.) taken by different individuals, and easily reduced to noon, the ship

"In the formation of a settlement on a coast inhabited by savages, it would be worth while to be rather liberal of old iron hoops, nails, hatchets, tomahawks, &c., inasmuch as acting in this manner would certainly prevent many annoyances, and probably save many lives, both of the intruders and of those intruded on."

VOL. V.

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