The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-01-22

Sumatra with my vessel, and one hundred
miles from its mouth found a depth of ten
fathoms, or sixty feet, of water. The JAM
bee, the Siak, and the Indraghirl, rivers on
the same island. are beautiful, navigable
streams. The Solo penetrates the richest
portion of Java. The Chinrana is the cham
mel for the rich of Celebes. Ban
yarmassln and Koti are streams fit to float
the largest class of ships in Borneo, whilst
in great unknown Papua, or New Guinea,
we have native reports of two great rivers,
the mouths as yet only seen by Europeans,
each about 500 miles in length. Thus,
natural ways for communication and trans
portation 90 hand in hand with productive
ness IN Malaysia.
And now, let us look at the position. The
Equator crosses Sumatra Borneo and Cele-
bes; and nearly equally divides the Archi-
pelago between the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres. Hence, you have tropic heat
throughout but this is beautifully attemper-
ed by the frequent equatorial showers pro-
ducing a perpetual verdure, and q spring-like
mildness of climate, not surpassed, if indeed
equalled, elsewhere. In all tropic chimes
YOU find pleasant, cooling trade winds but
in no other equatorial region do think such
a genial, equable temperature is preserved,
such as | experienced in Sumatra and Java.
On the extensive plateaus of these and other
islands of the group, you will find the cool
s~aIubrity of the pleasantest of temperate
chimes and as an evidence of their adapta-
ton to Europeans, or TO the constitution and
life of the Temperate Zone, | will mention
that [ partook of potatoes, the white" or
g lrish,' of turnips, and of cherries and
plums, and other fruits and esculents, the
growth of these p~lateaus of Java and Celebes,
which could not be surpassed in flavor and
perfect development in England, Holland,
New York or other temperate lands. Every
constitution can find its suitable climate
on almost every island at least on every
large one, of this Archipelago. If in Java
or Celebes, you may be debilitated by the
sultriness of the coast, you can, by a few
hours travel, have your energies recuperated
with sufficient GOODNESS, even with frost, upon
spacious and beautiful plateaus. where the
Caucasian race can live and flourish and be
perpetuated. The greatest variation of
temperature which | observed on the coasts
was from 50 to So Q Of Fab.
1t is observed of the geologic formation of
this vast region that 1t is chiefly of a sedi-
mentaary and p%lutonic formation north OF
the Equator and south of it, mostly vol
canic.
The soil is % extremely %fertiIe,'' says the
report of Congress yes, the extreme of It's
loamy richness is not equalled by any other
soil on this globe | will not except the best
of the Mississippi valley, nor of any other
land. Its productive energies are such that
on some islands two crops of rice will mature
within ten months on ether islands five
thousand bushels of sage bread can be obtain
ed from an acre Of ground again, on
others best adapted to sugar, the average
per acre will yield over three tons then,
the yield of coffee, of pepper, of hemp, of
indigo, and of sweet potatoes and yams, and
all manner of eSculentS is not equalled else
where on this globe. An acre of rice land
will feed fifty people an acre of sage could
furnish breadstuff to five hundred. Food for
man is in superabundauce in these islands.
| will not weary you with statistics, but men,
ton a few suggestive facts of my observation,
which will show how plentiful and how
cheap is subsistence in these islands. | have
purchased a boat full, or a good one-horse
cart load of potatoes, fruits, nuts, rice and
fish for one dollar. For the same sum |
could procure in Sumatra thirty %full-grown
pullets; and you no doubt are aware that our
domestic barn-yard fowl is native and wild
in the Sumatran Jungle. For three copper
dots, or the half of an American cent, [ have
frequently purchased punches of bananas
lluI Jul NCISh Ohel MY BOsAildS N0OAA ,
and, by the way, such delicious bananas as
are not known in these Polynesian isles.
You can get one hundred Of the luscious
mangostin, tie queen of fruits, for ten of
these coPpers, or one cent and a half. |
need not enumerate multitudes of other
things, to show how cheap, because so abnn-
dant. Nutriment for s%warming human and
animal life, covers the land. Why, it has
been shown that New Guinea alone could
furnish sago starch, or bread, fully one hum
dred pounds a-year for every man, woman
and child on the earth yes, for all of a
thousand millions of mouths. Thus, this
choice land-the most exuberant of Natures
aboratories-i overlooking with food-with
bread, and wine, and oil; with milk and
honey with farinaceous diet, to suit every
stomach and constitution with PUPPY fruits,
sweet, piquant, sub-acid and of all delicious
favors with grateful, nutritious esculents
in every rood of ground and what with
the swarming life in the forests, the plains,
the air and the seas-man has but to put
forth his hand and be satisfied and if all of
the people of the earth were driven forth
through their icorruptions and wars from
their own lands they could come here, and
feed, and be filled.
All this sounds like appealing to the
marvellous, like the strong laudations of
every one who has made some region a Spec
ialty and hobby, but if | am convicted of
any error in this matter, it will be in with
holding. | like to refer to snch careful,
statistical, authorities as Logan, who has not
one strong expression or poetic line in speak
ing of this wonderful archipelago, about
which he has written so much, but listen TO
his facts in respect to sage The sage tree,
when cut down. and the top severed from it,
is a cylinder, about twenty inches in dame
ter, and is from Is to 20 feet in height.
Assuming twenty inches as the diameter,
and Is feet as the height of the tree, the
nutritive, pithy contents will be nearly 26
bushels, and allowing one half for woody
fibre, ther3will remain ID bushels of starch,
or 700 pounds of sage bread for one tree.
1t may give some idea of the enormou rate
of this produce if it be considered that three
trees yield more n~utritive matter than an
acre of potatoes. An acre of sage will yield
? n00 - eD 1900 - ]