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CHAPTER VII.
The Sooloo Archipelago.
" Pearls and gems of lustre bright, All sleep beneath the wave."
Barton.
HE islands constituting the " Sooloo Archipelago," whence the greater num­ber of the finest round Pearls are derived, lie on, the north side of Borneo, between the parallels of 40 40' and 6 50' north latitude ; and the meridians of 119° 20' and 1220 20' east longitude. The group consists of nearly 150 islands, extending to within 40 miles of the Bornean coast ; but geographically and geologically they belong to the fertile chain of the Philippines, rather than to the dismal forest-clad island of Borneo.
The appearance of the Sooloo Islands from sea­wards is extremely beautiful; there are several ·