Plants of the families Apocynaceae and Euphorbiacea,
abound; but there is nothing that can be called a forest, and the
whole country has a parched and desolate appearance, contrasting
strongly with the lofty forest trees and perennial verdure of the
Moluccas or of Singapore.
The most conspicuous feature of the
vegetation was the abundance of fine fanleaved palms (Borassus
flabelliformis), from the leaves of which are constructed the strong
and durable water-buckets in general use, and which are much superior
to those formed from any other species of palm. From the same tree,
palm-wine and sugar are made, and the common thatch for houses formed
of the leaves lasts six or seven years without removal. Close to the
town I noticed the foundation of a ruined house below high-water mark,
indicating recent subsidence. Earthquakes are not severe here, and are
so infrequent and harmless that the chief houses are built of stone.
The inhabitants of Coupang consist of Malays, Chinese, and Dutch,
besides the natives, so that there are many strange and complicated
mixtures among the population. There is one resident English merchant,
and whalers as well as Australian ships often come here for stores and
water. The native Timorese preponderate, and a very little examination
serves to show that they have nothing in common with Malays, but are
much more closely allied to the true Papuans of the Aru Islands and
New Guinea. They are tall, have pronounced features, large somewhat
aquiline noses, and frizzly hair, and are generally of a dusky brown
colour. The way in which the women talk to each other and to the men,
their loud voices and laughter, and general character of self-
assertion, would enable an experienced observer to decide, even
without seeing them, that they were not Malays.
Mr. Arndt, a German and the Government doctor, invited me to stay at
his house while in Coupang, and I gladly accepted his offer, as I only
intended making a short visit. We at first began speaking French, but
he got on so badly that we soon passed insensibly into Malay; and we
afterwards held long discussions on literary, scientific, and
philosophical questions in that semi-barbarous language, whose
deficiencies we made up by the free use of French or Latin words.
After a few walks in the neighbourhood of the town, I found such a
poverty of insects and birds that I determined to go for a few days to
the island of Semao at the western extremity of Timor, where I heard
that there was forest country with birds not found at Coupang. With
some difficulty I obtained a large dugout boat with outriggers, to
take me over a distance of about twenty miles. I found the country
pretty well wooded, but covered with shrubs and thorny bushes rather
than forest trees, and everywhere excessively parched and dried up by
the long-continued dry season. I stayed at the village of Oeassa,
remarkable for its soap springs.
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