In the afternoon we landed, and accompanied by one of the chiefs, walked into the interior of the island for some distance. The country was very low, and covered with an impenetrable jungle, through which a path had been cut with considerable care; on each side, we noticed some patches of ground surrounded by stone walls, very neatly constructed. Our guide informed us that they had been farms, but the soil was exhausted. As only the underwood had been cleared away, the crop must have been produced beneath the shade of the large trees, through which the rays of the sun could scarcely penetrate. At Ki Doulan we saw nothing new. The inhabitants had sold nearly all their canoes to the Bughis, who had touched here on their return from Arrou to their own country. THE BANDA GROUP. June 29. As soon as our survey was finished, we sailed for Banda, where I hoped to find some vessel in which our shipwrecked passengers* might find their way to a more civilized part of the world. (*Footnote. Crew of the Montreal, lost in Torres Strait, who reached Port Essington in their boats.) June 30. At 8 A.M. we saw Banda, and at 11 entered the harbour; which is formed between the two islands of Great Banda and Banda Neira; and were here advised by the Resident to take the seamen on to Amboyna; where the papers requisite for their embarkation, in a Dutch merchant vessel, could be procured with less difficulty. The Banda group consists of three large islands and two smaller ones. The nutmegs, which form the only export of the place, are all grown upon Great Banda, the largest of the three islands. It averages 500 feet in height, and is luxuriantly wooded. BANDA NEIRA. Banda Neira, the next in point of size, is the residence of the government officers, the troops, and the convicts. It is not so high as Great Banda, and does not produce a single nutmeg. The third island is called the Gounung Api, or Burning Mountain; and is, as its name implies, a volcano, from which more or less smoke, impregnated with sulphur, is constantly issuing; during the westerly monsoon, this smoke is blown over the town, which it renders very unhealthy. One of the small islands is inhabited entirely by lepers, who are sent there to prevent the disease from spreading among the inhabitants.