Heavy surfs and high tides
that occur occasionally in perfectly calm weather, may be due to
slight upheavals of the ocean-bed in this eminently volcanic region.
CHAPTER XI.
LOMBOCK: MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE.
HAVING made a very fine and interesting collection of the birds
of Labuan Tring, I took leave of my kind host, Inchi Daud, and
returned to Ampanam to await an opportunity to reach Macassar. As
no vessel had arrived bound for that port, I determined to make
an excursion into the interior of the island, accompanied by Mr.
Ross, an Englishman born in the Keeling Islands, and now employed
by the Dutch Government to settle the affairs of a missionary who
had unfortunately become bankrupt here. Mr. Carter kindly lent me
a horse, and Mr. Ross took his native groom.
Our route for some distance lay along a perfectly level country
bearing ample crops of rice. The road was straight and generally
bordered with lofty trees forming a due avenue. It was at first
sandy, afterwards grassy, with occasional streams and mudholes.
At a distance about four miles we reached Mataram, the capital of
the island and the residence of the Rajah. It is a large village
with wide streets bordered by a magnificent avenue of trees, and
low houses concealed behind mud walls.
