Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is surrounded by a wilderness of fruit trees. A deep well supplied me with pure cold water, a
great luxury in this climate. Five minutes' walk down the road brought me to the market and
the beach, while in the opposite direction there were no more European houses between me
and the mountain. In this house I spent many happy days. Returning to it after a three or
four months' absence in some uncivilized region, I enjoyed the unwonted luxuries of milk
and fresh bread, and regular supplies of fish and eggs, meat and vegetables, which were of-
ten sorely needed to restore my health and energy. I had ample space and convenience for
unpacking, sorting, and arranging my treasures, and I had delightful walks in the suburbs of
the town, or up the lower slopes of the mountain, when I desired a little exercise, or had
time for collecting.
The lower part of the mountain, behind the town of Ternate, is almost entirely covered
with a forest of fruit trees, and during the season hundreds of men and women, boys and
girls, go up every day to bring down the ripe fruit. Durians and Mangoes, two of the very
finest tropical fruits, are in greater abundance at Ternate than I have ever seen them, and
some of the latter are of a quality not inferior to any in the world. Lansats and Mang¯ustans
are also abundant, but these do not ripen till a little later. Above the fruit trees there is a belt
of clearings and cultivated grounds, which creep up the mountain to a height of between two
and three thousand feet, above which is virgin forest, reaching nearly to the summit, which
on the side next the town is covered with a high reedy grass. On the further side it is more
elevated, of a bare and desolate aspect, with a slight depression marking the position of the
crater. From this part descends a black scoriaceous tract, very rugged, and covered with a
scanty vegetation of scattered bushes as far down as the sea. This is the lava of the great
eruption near a century ago, and is called by the natives 'batu-angas' (burnt rock).
Just below my house is the fort, built by the Portuguese, below which is an open space to
the beach, and beyond this the native town extends for about a mile to the north-east. About
the centre of it is the palace of the Sultan, now a large untidy, half-ruinous building of stone.
This chief is pensioned by the Dutch Government, but retains the sovereignty over the nat-
ive population of the island, and of the northern part of Gilolo. The sultans of Ternate and
Tidore were once celebrated through the East for their power and regal magnificence. When
Drake
*
visited Ternate in 1579, the Portuguese had been driven out of the island, although
they still had a settlement at Tidore. He gives a glowing account of the Sultan: 'The King
had a very rich canopy with embossings of gold borne over him, and was guarded with
twelve lances. From the waist to the ground was all cloth of gold, and that very rich; in the
attire of his head were finely wreathed in, diverse rings of plaited gold, of an inch or more in
breadth, which made a fair and princely show, somewhat resembling a crown in form; about
