ry. These, when ground,
are the black pepper of commerce. When fully ripe the color of the berry
turns to a pale yellow and the outer skin is easily removed. The
"husked" berries are used for making the white pepper of commerce.

Sago is also an important product of Sumatra. It is the starchy pith of
a kind of palm-tree--the sago-palm. The pith is dried, ground to a
powder and washed in order to remove the stringy fibre. In the process
of washing, the starchy granules sink to the bottom, while the woody
fibre floats off.

[Illustration: A jungle, scene in Sumatra]

There are several large towns in Sumatra--Siboga, Padang, Benkulen,
Telok Belong, and Palembang--but their names are rarely seen in print or
spoken. The reason is not hard to find; Singapore, just across the
Strait of Malacca, is a free port, with a fine harbor. Vessels from
every part of the world call at Singapore, and it is much more
convenient to have the Sumatra products marketed there than to send them
from Sumatra ports.

A few miles to the east of Sumatra are the islands of Banka and
Billiton, famous for their tin mines. These mines produce about
two-thirds the world's supply of tin. It is interesting to know that the
silver-white metal, with which so many of our kitchen utensils are
coated, has travelled more than half-way around the world to be used,
but this is probably the case.

Sunda Strait separates Sumatra from Java. In this narrow strait is
situated the island of Krakatoa, remarkable for one of the most
destructive volcanic eruptions that have ever occurred. The great
eruption was preceded by low rumblings and slight explosions for three
months before the volcano burst out in all its fury, on the night of
August 26, 1883. The explosions were heard at a distance of many hundred
miles and over an area equal to one-thirteenth of the earth's surface.
The entire southern part of the island was blown away and the earth was
shaken for thousands of miles, the shock being recorded as far as South
America.

The upheaval caused a tidal wave one hundred and twenty feet high which,
with the lava clots and ash ejected, destroyed all of the towns and
plantations bordering on both sides of the straits. In this disaster
more than forty thousand persons perished and every vestige of animal
and vegetable life in the surrounding region disappeared. The only
person left to look out upon the scene of destruction was the keeper of
the light-house, a structu