Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
chiefs who now received the titles of 'Majors' were to receive five per cent. of the produce.
After a time, roads were made from the port of Menado up to the plateau, and smaller paths
were cleared from village to village; missionaries settled in the more populous districts and
opened schools, and Chinese traders penetrated to the interior and supplied clothing and oth-
er luxuries in exchange for the money which the sale of the coffee had produced. At the
same time, the country was divided into districts, and the system of 'Controlleurs,' which
had worked so well in Java, was introduced. The 'Controlleur' was a European, or a native
of European blood, who was the general superintendent of the cultivation of the district, the
adviser of the chiefs, the protector of the people, and the means of communication between
both and the European Government. His duties obliged him to visit every village in succes-
sion once a month, and to send in a report on their condition to the Resident. As disputes
between adjacent villages were now settled by appeal to a superior authority, the old and in-
convenient semi-fortified houses were disused, and under the direction of the 'Controlleurs'
most of the houses were rebuilt on a neat and uniform plan. It was this interesting district
which I was now about to visit.
Having decided on my route, I started at 8
A.M.
on the 22d of June. Mr. Tower drove me
the first three miles in his chaise, and Mr. Neys accompanied me on horseback three miles
further to the village of Lotta. Here we met the Controlleur of the district of Tondáno, who
was returning home from one of his monthly tours, and who had agreed to act as my guide
and companion on the journey. From Lotta we had an almost continual ascent for six miles,
which brought us on to the plateau of Tondáno at an elevation of about 2,400 feet. We
passed through three villages whose neatness and beauty quite astonished me. The main
road, along which all the coffee is brought down from the interior in carts drawn by buffa-
loes, is always turned aside at the entrance of a village, so as to pass behind it, and thus al-
low the village street itself to be kept neat and clean. This is bordered by neat hedges often
formed entirely of rose-trees, which are perpetually in blossom. There is a broad central
path and a border of fine turf, which is kept well swept and neatly cut. The houses are all of
wood, raised about six feet on substantial posts neatly painted blue, while the walls are
whitewashed. They all have a verandah enclosed with a neat balustrade, and are generally
surrounded by orange-trees and flowering shrubs. The surrounding scenery is verdant and
picturesque. Coffee plantations of extreme luxuriance, noble palms and tree ferns, wooded
hills and volcanic peaks, everywhere meet the eye. I had heard much of the beauty of this
country, but the reality far surpassed my expectations.
About one o'clock we reached Tomohón, the chief place of a district, having a native
chief now called the 'Major,' at whose house we were to dine. Here was a fresh surprise for
