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
Tondano, 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 Tondano 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 buffaloes, is always turned aside at the entrance
of a village, so as to pass behind it, and thus allow 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.
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