engaged in clearing and planting; a fixed price was established at which all
coffee brought to the government collectors was to be paid for, and the village
chiefs who now received the titles of "Majors" were to receive five percent of
the produce. After a time, roads were made from the port of Menado up to the
plateau, and smaller paths were cleared from village to village; missionaries
settled in the more populous districts and opened schools; and Chinese traders
penetrated to the interior and supplied clothing and other luxuries in exchange
for the money which the sale of the coffee had produced.
At the same time, the country was divided into districts, and the system of
"Controlleurs," which had worked so well in Java, was introduced. The
"Controlleur" was a European, or a native of European blood, who was the
general superintendent of the cultivation of the district, the adviser of the chiefs,
the protector of the people, and the means of communication between both and
the European Government. His duties obliged him to visit every village in
succession once a month, and to send in a report on their condition to the
Resident. As disputes between adjacent villages were now settled by appeal to a
superior authority, the old and inconvenient semi-fortified houses were disused,
and under the direction of the "Controlleurs" most of the houses were rebuilt on
a neat and uniform plan. 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. The surrounding
scenery is verdant and picturesque. Coffee plantations of extreme luxuriance,