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PERAK AND THE MALAYS. "

 

 

 

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INL‘HE “AIDA, PRINCESS 0F J’EJIAK, HER HUSBAND, NAKUUA THUS“, .\_\'1) .\'l"l‘I<IND.\)1‘.\'.

PERAK AND THE MALAYS:

“ SARONG ” AND KRTb , ’ f

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BY

MAJOR FRED. MONAIR
(late Royal Artillery)’ I '
COLONIAL ENGINEER AND SURVEYOR-GENERAL, STRAITS SETTLEMENTS;
LATE OFFICIATING H.M. CHIEF-COMMISSIONER, PERAK;
FELLOW OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, ETC. ETC.
ASSOCIATE INSTITUTE CIVILxENGINEERS.

 

MALAY WOMAN.

illustrate!) mith ‘fiIhirtmt fingmbings by y. Enight, from afihoiagmpha taken by the autumn

LONDON:
TIN SLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND.
1878.

[All Rights of Translation Reserpedj

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PREFACE.

BEING in England on a few months’ leave of absence,
for the purpose of recruiting my health, after a severe
attack of jungle fever, contracted in Perak, it occurred
to me that a brief account of that comparatively
unknown country and its people might not be alto-
gether unacceptable to the English reader.

This Malayan State, it will be remembered, came
into public notice in 1875—76, through the murder
there of the British Resident, and the despatch by
our Government of 'a combined naval and military
force to exact satisfaction for the outrage.

As I accompanied the Governor of the Straits
Settlements on his progress through the country just
prior to the disturbances, and was also with the
force subsequently sent there, I enjoyed exceptional
opportunities for observation, of which I availed
myself, in making the notes which have since been
embodied in this work. '

h o " A.”-
4‘. .4: (Q. 9;. «5 3’

 

vi PREFACE. '

 

I may say in addition, that my general knowledge
of the manners and customs of the Malays has been
acquired during a residence of over twenty years in
the Straits Settlements.

I am indebted to the Reports which have been
made from time to time by the various officers of the
Government for the confirmation of my own opinions,
and also for much valuable information gleaned by
them in portions of the country which it was not
my good fortune to visit.

For much of the past history of the Malays I have
consulted the works of Crawfurd, Newbold, Loubere,
Pritchard, Pickering, Marsden, and Dr. Vincent ;
Moor’s “ Notes on the Archipelago,” and the Colonial
State Papers—these being among the principal autho-
rities that have treated of the origin and progress of
this peculiar and wide-spread race ; while, as the work
is intended for general reading, I have thought it

better to omit all scientific terms.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Perak—Preliminary sketch—Extent of the country—A run up
a river—Coast-line—Malays and Chinese—The river and
its tributaries—Geographical features—Gounong Pondoh
~~—Bukit Berapit—Absence of roads

CHAPTER II.

-; ‘1: pi: :nt-tracks — Navigable rivers —— Climate ‘— Lakes — Geo-
!o, ical features

CHAPTER III.

Min oral. productions — Graphite—Galena—Antimony—Iron—

‘l‘in and tin-mines—Gold and gold-washing—Deserted
workings

CHAPTER IV.

The ancient knowledge of the mineral productions of Perak
and the peninsula—Solomon’s ships~—Gold, apes, and
peacocks—Opinions of early writers—Ophir

CHAPTER V.

Vegetable productions—Ferns—Timber-trees—-—Indiarubber—
Varied foliage—Flowers—Palms—Bamb00s

CHAPTER VI.

Fruits: The dnrian—Mangosteen~Shaddock—Ananas—Bread-
fruit—(Inshew—Nam-nam—Wholesome nature of fruits...

CHAPTER VII.“

Vegetable-food supply ——- Curries and their preparation —-
Kachang—The gourd family—E uropean vegetables—Herbs
—-—Indigo —— Popper— Gambier—Sugar—Cofl'ee—Tobacco—
Cinchona—Rice-growing—Clearing the jungle—Medicinal
and poisonous plants

II. lll an .00 0-.

PAGE

16

39

47

59

65

 

viii 0 ON TEN TS .

 

CHAPTER VIII.

Noxious animals—The python—Varieties of serpent—-Leeches
——The tortoise and turtle—Dangerous saurians—Govern-
ment rewards—Fish and fishing—«Various methods

CHAPTER IX.’

Sea- fish—Delicacies fo1 the table—Condiment and caviare—
Shell- fish and pearls—Coral— groves—~The Malay fisherman
——The skipjack—The kaylong . ..

CHAPTER X.

Insect pests—Strange beetles—The leaf insect—Fireflies—A
Tartar—Fine field for the entomologist .

CHAPTER XI.

Birds : The argus-pheasant—“ Coo-ey ”—Fatal crowing—Quail
——Peafow1—-The peacock of the Old Testament#Artificial
hatching—Talking birds—Pets—Humming and sun birds
——Birds of prey . . . . .. ...

CHAPTER XII.

Malay buffaloes and their domestication—The elephant—Deer
———Wild- boar—The Malay beau—Black leopa1d——Tiger and
trapping—Monkey s—Domestic animals ,

CHAPTER XIII. ,

The people of Perak—Bugis—Korinchi—Rawa and Mandeling
—Cannibalism-The Malay—VVild tribes—Jacoon, o1 Sakai
—Samangs—Diseases

CHAPTER XIV.

Dress—The Sarong—Dress of the Bu gis—Dress of the Malay—
European costumes—Ornaments—Coquettish toilets

CHAPTER XV.

The villages of Perak—Inhabitants—Causes of depopulation—
Waerxtent of population—~Bi1d-scaring—Malay dwel-
lings—Untidy habits—Bathing—House-buildin g—Chinese
and convict labour .. .

PAGE

76

86

941

99'

112‘

130

144‘

155

 

 

CONTENTS. ix
CHAPTER XVI.
PAGE
House-building —— Inche Maida — Campongs —— Picking the
cocoa-nut‘—-Prepara.tions—Poultry—Sambals . . . 167‘
V CHAPTER XVII.
Food—Tobacco— Opium-smoking» Betel-chewing-— Toddy—
Arak —— Domestic implements — Dammar— Metal-work -——
Gold filigree ... 177
CHAPTER XVIII.
Chinese tallymen —— Debt - slavery — Slave -hunting -— Punish,-
ments—British influence—Difficulties of Residents 190
CHAPTER XIX.
The Malay character—Dealings with chiefs—Mr. Muntinghe at
Palembang . ... . .. . . . . . . 201
CHAPTER XX.
Propitiatory offerings~Superstitions—Ideas of creation—Con-
version to Islamism 218
CHAPTER XXI.
Religious ceremonies — Sacrifices — Marriage— Teeth-filing -—-
Wedding-feasts—Funerals——Salutation ~Polygamy 231
CHAPTER XXII.
The kris: Sizes—Damasking—The execution kris—The sword
of state — The klawan g — The paran g — The limbing—
Spear of state—Blowpipes—Poisoned arrows—Firearms
—Mat-chlocks—Lelahs—Stockades 238
CHAPTER XXIII.
Swimming—Music-Games: Ball- play—Chess—Cock- fighting
——The national sport .. . ... ... ... 260'
CHAPTER XXIV. ~
Seafaring—Boat-building—The dragon boat—Sampans—Praus
—Little Mercy—Piratical craft ... 269

 

1: CONTENTS.

 

CHAPTER XXV.

The J ugra piracy—A native’s evidence in a native court—The
execution kris-An execution—The Sultan on piracy

CHAPTER XXVI.

Titles of chiefs—Taxation and tolls—The Sultan’s slaves——
Sultanas—Court Observances—The royal family—~Ancient
descent—Vanity and superstition—A Malay document .

CHAPTER XXVII.

The Malay language—Its origin—Connectionwith Arabic—
Rhymes and poetry, proverbs and sayings—Love songs-—
Literature—Quaintness of expression—Letter-writing—-A
Malay interpreter

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Ancient history—Menang Kabau——Migrations—Arab associa-
tions—~Cinnamon—Early trade in spices—Malays in Mada-
gascar—The Aurea Chersonese—~Opinions of the ancients
-—Voyagers of the past ...

‘ CHAPTER XXIX.

First migrations—Voyages to the East—Diaz—Vasco di Gama
——The Eastern passage—Sumatra—The Acheen king—-
Malacca—First mention of Perak—Treaty with Siam——
Disturbances

CHAPTER XXX.

The Laroot riots ~—- The Muntri — Fresh disturbances — Rival
factions — British intervention — Insult to our flag — Sir
Andrew Clarke—Plans for pacifying—Disarmament of the
Chinese—Chiefs’ disputes—Proposal for Residents

CHAPTER XXXI.

The Pangkore treaty—Deposition of Sultan Ismail— Sultan
Abdullah—Mr. Birch’s appointment—Troubles with the
Sultan—His reproof by the Governor—The proclamations
—The murder of Mr. Birch—Lieutenant Abbott and Mr.
Swettenham at'the Residency... ...

PAGE:

282'

290’

306-

319'

332:

348

361

 

CONTENTS.

xi

 

CHAPTER XXXII.

The attack on Passir Sala——-Repulse—Burial of Mr. Birch and
Captain Innes—Proceedings of the Government—Re-
nforcements from China—Capture of Passir Sala—Mr.
Birch’s dragon boat—Troops from India—Proceedings
of the northern column—Qualla Kungsa and Kota Lamah

CHAPTER XXXIII.

”The southern column—Blanja—The march through the jungle
—Stockade-fighting—Capture of Kinta—Flight of Ismail——
The Tenachee valley—The stockades at Bukit Putoos—
Captain Channer’ s attack—The rising at Klang —— Sup-
pression of the revolts ... .. ..

CHAPTER XXXIV.

“The capture of Ismail—Escape of Maharajah Lela—Taking
of the Datu Sagor-——Charges against Abdullah—Arrests
of the chiefs—Their transportation—The Perak regalia

CHAPTER XXXV.

Hints to settlers—The climate—Safety of life and property—
Health—— Diseases to guard against ——- Supplies — Spo1 t ——
Food—A Christmas dish—Dress—Itinerary of the Ulu, or
Upper Perak country . .. ... ...

CHAPTER XXXVI.

An ascent of Mount Ophir from Malacca—The hot springs—
Chabow—On the track—Night in the jung1e~ Camping-
out——Gounong Padang Batoo—Tondoh—Cry of the argus-
pheasant— Ledang—The View from the summit — The
descent—A fine field for the naturalist

CHAPTER XXXVII.

The future of Perak— Capital and labour—Advance in civilisa-
tion—The food supply—Convict labour—A Malay saying
—Policy with the people—Civilised Malays—Sin James
Brooke—- Wheeler Woodfo1 d Bii 011.... . .

PAGE

375

389

404

414

426

444

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

"INCIIE MAIDA, PRINCESS OF PERAK, HER HUSBAND, NAKODA TRONG,

AND ATTENDANTS Frontispiece
MALAY WOMAN Vignette
TO FACE PAGE

CAMPONG 0N PERAK RIVER 57
PERAK ELEPHANTS 117
WILD TRIEES 0E PERAK, 0R “ SAKAIS.” 138
RESIDENCE OF PRINCESS 0F EERAK AT QUALLA KUNGSA 169
I'ERAK CHIEFS AND ATTENDANTS 201
GENERAL ASPECT OF A MALAY VILLAGE ON A RIVER BANK 229
THE RESIDENT’S BOAT 273
Ex-SULTAN AEDULLAH AND CHIEFS 0E PERAK 297
SITE OF THE GRAVES OF ME. BIRCH AND CAPTAIN INNES 377
JUNCTION 0E KUNGSA AND EERAK RIVERS AT QUALLA KUNGSA 421
‘THE PRESENT RULER OF EERAK—RAJAII TUSUE—AND IIIS TWO SONS 444:

“ SARONG ” AND “ KRlS.”

CHAPTER I.

Perak—‘Preliminary sketch—Extent of the country—A run up a.
river—Coast-line—Malays and Chinese—The river and its
tributaries—Geographical features—Gounong Pondoh—Bukit
Berapit—Absenee of roads.

IT is hardly too much to assume that, prior to 1875,
when the sad news reached England of the rising of a
people under British protection, and the murder
of Mr. Birch, the state of Perak was, to the ma—
jority of people, a term incognita. They knew, of
course, that the Malay peninsula was a long tongue
of land stretching nearly to the equator, and that it
was in close proximity to Sumatra and Java, with
innumerable islands generally known as the Malay
archipelago ; but saving those interested in the British
Straits Settlements—Singapore, Malacca, and Penang
-—it may be taken for granted that few people were
aware that a large and rich territory, ruled over by a

sultan and his petty chiefs, had been, so to speak,
B

 

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placed under the wing of the British Government,
Whose representatives, under the name of residents
and assistant-residents, were at the court of the ruler,
to counsel and advise for the better management of a
country whose people were suffering from. anarchy and
misrule. -

Picture this tropical land : Not a sun—baked region
of parched desert and insufferable drought ; but'a'rieh
moist country, almost touching the equator, but rarely
suffering from excessive heat ; a land of eternal
summer, where refreshing rains fall ; where the mon-
soons blow regularly ; where the frightful tempests
of the east are unknown ; and which is, for the most
part, covered with a luxuriant vegetation, the produce
of a fertile soil.

This Perak—pronounced as though spelt Payrah—is
one of the largest of the native states into which the
Malay peninsula is divided, and lies upon the western
coast, having there, for its ninety miles’ boundary-
line, the bright prau-traversed waters of the Straits of
Malacca. To be geographically accurate, its boun-
daries—north, south, and east—may be named as the
states of Quedali or Keddah, which in the native
language signifies an elephant—trap; Salangore; Pa-
hang, and Tringanu. These are all native states,
whose rule and people are very similar to those of the
land in question.

Pcrak signifies silver—a name given to it not from
the abundance of that metal, for its existence has been

 

PERAK. 3

 

little traced, but probably from the vast amount of
silvery—looking tin which has been, and promises still
to be, one of its principal productions. Taken
roughly—for we are yet dependent upon native
sources for our knowledge of its unsurveyed boundaries
——the depth inland of the state is about forty-five
miles, thus giving an area of somewhere about
4000 square miles, of a land metaphorically flowing
with milk and honey; but badly ruled, thinly in-
habited, poorly cultivated, and asking the direction of
Western capitalists, and the busy hands of the Chinese
people to make it one of the most productive under
the sun.

The nature of the country may be seen if we take
a rapid glance through it by means of its great water—
way, the Perak river, which intersects the Wide central
plain from north to south, and fairly divides the state,
having west the fertile lands reaching to the sea, and
on the east the gradually-rising country to the central
ridge of mountains—the backbone, or watershed, of
the whole peninsula+whose mineral resources are
only known from the rich treasures in gold and tin
that have been, in the course of ages, washed down
into the alluvial lands.

Sailing, steaming, or even paddling up one of
these Perak rivers, we have on either hand, if the
tide be down, the regular mud—banks of a tropical
shore, with the dense mangrove forest standing up in
its labyrinth of water-washed roots, as if nature had

B 2

 

4 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

set the example, followed by the dwellers in the land,
of building a rough scaffold, on which to support the
tree-trunks, high and dry above the flood. If, on the
contrary, the tide be up, right and left the mangrove
forest seems to be growing directly out of the river,
the stream passing unhindered among the roots. The
silence is solemn in‘its intensity ; for, save the plashing
of the water to paddle or screw, not a sound is to be
heard, and the traveller seems to be penetrating into
one of nature’s unexplored retreats, as he looks in
vain for some trace of life beside that of the dense
vegetation on either bank.

At last he sees it in the shape of a white eagle,
gliding with silent wing athwart the stream; and
farther on, suddenly, from some exposed mangrove
root, there is a flash of blue, and, like a vivid azure
streak, away darts a kingfisher, one of the brilliantly—
feathered birds of the country, disturbed while waiting
for its gorgeously-scaled prey. As the light-winged
bird disappears, and the eye is still filled with its
beauty, the ear is at last saluted with a sound to
break the utter stillness of the river, for there is a
dull heavy splash, an eddying in the water, as, from
amidst the mud or mangrove roots, a huge alligator
rushes into the stream, the traveller being, perhaps,
in time to see a portion of its rugged, muddy-hued,
loathsome body; and he may be fortunate enough to
see, just upon the surface, the two hill—crowned eyes
and long snout of some other reptile, the head turning

 

PRELIMINARY SKETCH. 5

 

slightly from side to side, as its owner sends a shudder
through the spectator, who knows that the monster is
on the watch for prey.

As the boat glides on and on, beyond the tidal
influence, the character of the forest changes: the
mangroves give place to jungle growth, and on
either side, columnar and beautiful, rise the stately
growths of palm, with their wondrously-straight
trunks and tufted heads.

Suddenly the first trace of human habitation
appears, in the shape of a Malay‘campong or Village
——a cluster of houses of bamboo and other wood, in
a grove of cocoa—nut palms and other fruit-trees. The
huts are raised on posts, so as to be beyond the reach
of flood and noxious beast, and look neat with their
woven sides of split bamboo or reed, while their roofs
are thatched with attap, an arrangement of the palm-
leaves, that grow close at hand.

If the campong be of any extent, there is probably
a mosque; while, secured to bamboo posts, or run
up safely on the mud, are the boats of the people.
These boats play a prominent part in the daily life
of the Malay; for, roughly speaking, Perak is now a
land of jungle, and its rivers are the highways, upon
which its villages are built; while its roads are only
a few elephant-tracks but little used, and pathways
through the jungle known to the country people
alone.

Continuing our course either up the main stream

6 “SARONG” AND “KRI .”

 

or one of its tributaries, the jungle disappears here
and there, to give place to traces of cultivation,
Where padi or rice is grown in the low, moist, alluvial
soil. As we still ascend, the native boats, or sampans,
may be met coming down with the stream, laden
with produce, or containing some fisherman, equipped
for his pursuit.

As we ascend higher, it is to find that the stream
grows more rapid, and if in a small boat, poling, or
as we should call it punting, our skifi' against the
stream, is the custom adopted. And now, from time
to time, fresh traces of the sparse population of the
country appear, battling with the ever—encroaching
primeval forest. Buffaloes are seen, standing knee-
deep in the river—edge; children approach the river—
bank to stare at our boat; and then there is the
forest once more, the gliding river with increasing
shallows, and higher still the rapids.

The coast-line is broken with endless numbers of
mangrove-fringed creeks, and small tidal estuaries,
and these have ever been the hiding—places of the
much-dreaded praus, those famous piratical craft
with which the name of the Malay has so long been
associated. The principal rivers that here form
estuaries are the Perak; the Krean and Bernam,
which form the northern and southern boundaries of
the state ; the Laroot river, which drains the principal
tin—land ; and the Dinding, off which lie the islands of
the same name.

 

MALAYS AND CHINESE. 7

 

These islands, like Penang to the northward, have
now become British territory, and afford capital
anchorage between them and the shore, with an
ample supply of fresh water to be obtained on the
principal island, Pulo Pangkore. This is the largest
of the group, and, unlike the greater proportion
of the mainland, is now becoming rapidly peopled
by the Malays and Chinese; these latter making a
busy home wherever there is gold or tin to be
mined, or money to be earned by straightforward
industry. Here at Pulo Pangkore they are mostly
employed as woodcutters, and in making lime, for
which abundant material is found all round the island,
in the shape of the limestone coral and madrepores.

This zoophyte-produeed limestone, as seen from
a boat, when peering down through the limpid water,
presents a scene of wondrous beauty, with its many
tints and shades of colour, forming a perfect sub-
marine garden of endless loveliness, through whose
flowers and shrubs glide the brilliant fish of the .
tropic region, clad in armour whose hues are at times
dazzling, and far outrival the corals amongst which
they rove. The dry coral is easily burned by the
Chinese into lime, and procures a high price for
building purposes at Penang. The Malays, on the
contrary, occupy small tracts of land, which they
plant with fruit—trees, principally the plantain or
banana, and the chumpada or small jack-fruit, a
variety of the bread-fruit of Polynesia.

 

8 “SleONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

The Dutch were the former occupants of this
island at the time that they held Malacca, and the
remains of their fort and factory are still to be seen
close to the shore, and within reach of Anson Bay.

The Perak river is a fine broad stream, averaging
for the first fifty miles about one—fourth of a mile
in width, navigable for about one hundred and eighty
miles from its mouth—an assertion that sounds some—
what paradoxical, when the limits of the country are
given as only ninety miles from north to south. Its
serpentine wanderings, however, fully account for this.
Although navigable to so great a distance, this is only
for boats : still goodly vessels may make their way up
for forty miles to Durian Sabatang, after which the
draught of boats must become smaller and smaller,
while in 00100, or Upper Perak, rapids are encountered
in several places, long before the sources are reached,
at a range of hills, called Titti-‘Vangsa, in the adjacent
state of Quedah.

These rapids in the ascent of the river are
generally passed on rafts, which are very skilfully
constructed by the Malays, out of the large hollow
bamboos of the country, lashed securely together with
rattans. They will readily make a raft of this kind
fifty feet long and six feet wide, containing upon it a
palm-thatched house. Two men paddle, while two
more stand fore and aft with long poles, by means of
which they keep the raft clear of boulders, as on
entering the rapids it glides frequently between rocks

THE PERAK RIVER. 9

 

only eight or ten feet apart, contact with which would
mean an utter collapse of the light raft, and too
probably a fatal accident.

The most dangerous of these rapids is one known
by the Malays as Jeram Panjang, at the present
known boundary of Perak, towards the state of
Patani. Here there is a huge boulder, and before
attempting to pass it the boatmen make certain pro-
pitiatory offerings, in the shape of bananas and betel—
nuts, accompanied by a speech, in which leave is
asked to go down the rapid. It is no light task this
rapid, for the fall amounts to a dozen feet in the space
of forty yards, through a passage only from ten to
fourteen feet wide. To prevent accidents rattans are
secured to the raft to hold it back ; but in spite of this
many accidents occur amid the rush and turmoil of
the hurrying waters, which eddy and form dangerous
Whirlpools, and lives have occasionally been lost.
Some idea of the difficulties of the navigation in these
higher parts of the river may be formed, when it is
announced that according to a late voyager—Mr.
Daly—down the stream, there were over fifty rapids
—the most dangerous being the above—named, and
one known as J eram Kling.

These rapids are not the only obstacles to the
navigation, for after the freshets the trunks of large
trees are frequently brought down, many of which
strand in the shallows, and form those dangerous
impediments which the Americans call “ snags,” and

 

10 “SJlRONG” AND “KRIS.”

“ sawyers,” and which are fatal to the unfortunate boat
that encounters them in its way. Like most rivers of
its kind, the Perak has a large bar at its mouth, of
suflicient importance to necessitate careful pilotage
through the channel, for large vessels inward 0r
outward bound.

Of its tributaries the principal are the Plus,
Kungsa, Kinta, and Batang Padang rivers, all rising
in the east and north—east, amongst the heights of the
central range; While numerous streams of minor growth
tend to make the state an admirably~watered country,
and, as already intimated, form the highways for the
limited commerce that is carried on.

This is no land of huge volcanic peaks, for the
mountains only attain to an average altitude of 5000
or 6000 feet; 7000, as far as present surveys
go, probably being the extreme. Here the ancient
forest reigns supreme in all its grandeur; in fact,
with few exceptions, as soon as the river—banks,
with their sparse villages, are left behind, the
traveller plunges into the jungle, and then finds the
land almost wholly uninhabited, save by a few wild
tribes, who migrate from spot to spot, as they are
moved by their superstitious reverence for good or
evil omens.

The general knowledge of the eastern portion of
Perak is at present very imperfect; and though the
Malay peninsula has been crossed to the north and
south, so far it is probable that no European has

 

GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 11

 

made his way through Perak to the opposite coast,
thus leaving open a goodly exploration for anyone
of adventurous mind. The indefatigable Russian
traveller, Baron Maclay, has traversed a considerable
portion of the interior; but the information he
obtained from native sources was, on the whole, so
contradictory and untrustworthy as to be but of little
value.

There are two minor ranges between the higher
mountains and the seaboard, and, running almost
parallel with the backbone of the peninsula, they form
the valleys of the Perak and Kinta rivers. The range
nearest the sea contains several tolerably- high moun—
tains, the principal of which are Gounong Booboo and
Gounong Hijau—“gounong ” being the Malay term
for a mountain, as “bukit” is for a hill. The
ascertained height of Gounong Booboo is 6100 feet, the
latter being only a little lower. Other eminenees are
known, as the North and South Mounds, and Bukit
Sigari, or the False Binding. The most peculiar
mountain of the country, however, is one known as
Gounong Pondoh, lying a little north of the direct
route between the mouth of the Laroot river and
Qualla Kungsa, one of the principal stations of the
upper Perak river.

Gounong Pondoh is a singular eminence, standing
alone, and rising out of the plain like a huge
beehive ; for it is one mass of red and white limestone,
about 1000 feet high, bare and time—worn in places,

 

12 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

and perforated with the eaves peculiar to this forma-
tion. This eminence is distinctly seen on entering
the mouth of the Laroot river, and. also forms a
very prominent object from Qualla Kungsa on the
Perak river. A similar hill is found in the neigh—
bouring state of Quedah, and is there known as the
Elephant Rock. It is likewise of limestone, and its
peculiar formation must be a problem for geologists.
The caverns of these limestone hills are well
worthy of a visit, and make no great demand on the
explorer. In the ease of the Elephant Rock there is
first a stiff climb over the rocks to reach the arched
entrance, which is richly fringed with the stalactites
common to limestone caves. One of these stalactites
has been broken, and on being struck by the club of
the Malay guide, the peculiar sonorous tone emitted
reverberates through the cavern with a hollow roar.
During a visit in 1872, torches were lit which displayed
on all sides the peculiar shapes taken by the congela-
tions of lime—charged water, these shapes being
grotesque in the extreme, some even assuming a
strong resemblance to the human profile, with flowing
beard and locks, carved in white marble by some
clever sculptor’s hand. Some idea of the extent
may be gained when it is mentioned that the roof is
some seventy feet above the floor, while large un-
explored passages extend in different directions.
Prevalent as are the stalactites, their corresponding
stalagmites are comparatively few. Many, however,

 

BUKI T BERAPIT. 13

 

are doubtless buried beneath the excreta of bats,
which covers the floor to a great depth ; and doubtless
below this the geologist will find many relics of the
older fauna of the peninsula when the time for excava-
tion comes.

On the occasion of this visit the party had a
narrow escape, for one member was moved with a
strong desire to let off a rocket in the interior of the
cave; a proceeding which would probably have re—
sulted in bringing down tons of stalactites on his com-
panions’ heads. He was however stopped in time.

The cavern is entered from the land side, and the
mountain is completely pierced, so that the explorer
comes at length upon an opening of some fifty feet by
thirty, looking straight out to sea through a glorious
fringe of stalactites and ferns, giving the opening, with
its ferny and messy terraces, the aspect of a beautiful
proscenium, from which the eye is taken with regret.

The road mentioned as extending from the mouth
of the Laroot river to Qualla Kungsa is notable as
being one of the principal in the state, and has been
developed, under the management of the British Resi—
dent, from a mere elephant—track into one suitable for
the transport of produce. The mention of a road
some twenty-seven miles in extent may sound a trifle,
but in a land where the rivers form almost the sole
means of intercommunication, the existence of one
good road, setting aside the military advantages,
means the opening out of the country to a new form

14 “S/lRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

of traffic. This road leads through the pass of Bukit
Berapit, a ravine of great beauty though of no
vast extent. The granite crops out here of a fine
gray variety, similar to our Aberdeen ; tall forest trees
tower up, rich in their gorgeous greens, whilst at their
feet cluster ground—orchids quaint and curious in form,
and far more beautiful than the stunted kinds seen
in our hothouses at home. In clearings where the
forest gives place to the traces of former cultivation,
fruit-trees are found in abundance, the Malays
planting extensively wherever they settle. Clump
after clump of fruit—bearing trees is passed, lend—
ing the beauty of their foliage and burdens to the
scene, already brightened here and there by bubbling
streams of delicious water, rushing over the rocks of
the narrow gorges on their way to swell the Laroot
river below the pass.

The trees here are frequently grand in their growth,
rising up without a branch a hundred feet before inter-
weaving with their fellows to form a shade so dense,
that farther in the forest a dim twilight reigns even at
noonday.

This road passing through Bukit Berapit divides
the district of Laroot from Perak proper. It was
commenced by Captain Speedy, Her Majesty’s Assis-
tant~resident at Laroot, with the aid of the Muntri
of Perak, one of the principal officers of the Sultan’s
little court, and one who has for many years claimed
to be the governor of the above district. It was

 

ABSENCE OF ROADS. 15

pushed on with vigour by the civil and military
authorities during the disturbances of 1875—76, and a
line of telegraph was laid along it to connect the '
military post of Qualla Kungsa with the anchorage in
the Laroot river at Tclul; Kartang, the nearest point
to our old settlement at ~Penang.

A good idea may be formed of the primitive
nature of the country, when it is considered that this
is the only road worthy of the name. There are,
however, certain tracks important from their com-
munications, not from their condition. One of these
leads from a place called Boyah, north of Sengang, on
the Perak, to Kinta, a place of importance from its
having been the old seat of the Government of
Pcrak. This track passes through several villages
during its course of about forty miles; while a back
pathway of about twenty miles in length will take
the traveller again to the river at a village called
Blanja, where, if the Perak be crossed, a couple of
fresh tracks diverge, each of which leads to the sea
by communication with the rivers Trong and Dinding,
whose mouths are about twenty—five miles apart.

A road to connect the mouth of the Perak river
with Banda Baru, the Residency, is in course of con-
struction, and this will do away with the necessity for
a long and tedious journey along the serpentine
windings of the lower reaches of the river. Besides
this there are a few jungle pathways, as intimated,
only known to the natives, and but little used.

. CHAPTER II.

Elephant-tracks—Navigable rivers - Climate — Lakes —- Geological
features.

LIBERALLY supplied as they have been, then, by nature
with water-ways, in the shape of rivers, the necessity
for roads does not seem to have occurred to the
Malays, especially as they are by nature essentially a
sea—going and boating people ; and consequently they
for the most part build their campongs or Villages on
the river-banks; and where elephant-tracks do exist
they are mostly in places where it has been found
convenient to carry tin to the nearest market, ob-
taining in return rice, salt, and salt-fish, which form
the staple food of the Malays.

During the petty warwhich followed the murder
of Mr. Birch, one of these elephant—tracks was
traversed by General, now Sir Francis, Colborne,
K.C.B., with his little force, which marched through
the jungle from Blanja to Kinta; but it was only
with great difficulty—~a difficulty which will be
understood when it is stated that the elephant, from
notions of safety, always plants his feet in the

 

ELEPHANT TRACKS. 17

 

tracks of his fellows who have gone before, from
time immemorial, with the natural result that the
track becomes a series of pit-holes, almost im—
passable for travellers on foot.

Before quitting the subject of the rivers, a few
words must be said respecting the more important
tributaries of the Perak—namely, the Kungsa, at
whose confluence the important station of Qualla
Kungsa, or mouth of the Kungsa, is situated—the
Bidor and Batang Padang, which unite and enter the
Perak about fifty miles from its mouth. Up to this
point ships drawing not more than thirteen feet of
water may be navigated. It was here that Her
Majesty’s war vessels lay at anchor during the dis-
turbances. This place—~Durian Sabatang as it is
named—has been chosen from its natural advantages
as a most desirable place for a permanent station, and
it is believed that the authorities have definitely
decided upon erecting one here.

The river Kinta, perhaps after the Perak the
most important of those in the state, rises in the
main range, and after running in a southerly direction,
enters the Perak at Qualla Trus ; but it bifurcates
about six miles before joining the main stream, and
forms a delta, upon which is situated the village of
Banda Earn, the seat of the Residency. This is no
very cheerful spot, lying low, and being uncomfortably
swampy, and it is probable that on the erection of a
station at Durian Sabatang, the Residency will be

C

 

18 “SJRONG’” AND “KRIS.”

removed to what will probably become the principal
port of the south. This is the more probable that
at this point an alteration becomes necessary in the
navigation, vessels of lighter draught being required,
and from the swift nature of the stream the process of
poling being adopted; though after what has been
done in the way- of constructing large steamers
drawing only a foot or him of water, and with stern—
paddles, for the shallow American rivers, the want of
depth in the Perak will not stand in the way of its
becoming the great water-way of a large commerce,
running as it does north and south through the whole
state, and even at Qualla Kungsa, one hundred and
fifty miles from its mouth, being over two hundred
yards wide.

The Bernam and Krean have already been men-
tioned, not as tributaries of the Perak, but as running
direct into the Straits, and important, the former as
forming the southern boundary between Perak state
and Salangore—thc latter as dividing the state from
Province \Vellesley, our British possession, and the
state of Quedah on the north.

The soil on the banks of these rivers is generally
a light sandy loam, which easily washes in during the
annual freshets, with the natural consequence that
sandbanks frequently obstruct the navigation. These,
and the many other hindrances in the shape of tree-
trunks, will doubtless be cleared as the country be—
comes more opened up ; but, in spite of the admirable

 

NAVIGABLE’ RIVERS. 19

 

 

supply of water-ways, and the convenience of the
streams for bringing down the mineral produce of the
central ridge of mountains in which they rise, the
necessity becomes every day more apparent for the
construction of large trunk—roads, with cross-roads.
communicating with the river.

Abundance of material exists for this purpose,
except on the actual banks of the rivers near the sea,
where the constant recurrence of mangrove swamps
necessitates the formation of the well—known road
composed of trunks of trees laid side by side, and
caller “ corduroy,” or else the excavation of deep
trenches, to obtain sufficient soil to raise the surface
of the road above the reach of the water in the tidal
swamps ; for unless this is done to the extent of at least
two—and—a—half feet above high—water mark, the road
is soon perforated by land—crabs, and becomes useless.

The rivers become swollen with mountain torrents
during the rains, rising several feet, for the average
rainfall in Perak is from sixty to ninety inches ; and
at such times navigation becomes difficult or im-
possible. There is no distinction of spring, summer,
autumn, and winter here ; for the year is divided into
two seasons, ruled by the prevalence of the monsoons,
that from the north-east beginning about the middle of
October and lasting to the middle of April, while that
from the south—west prevails during the rest of the year.
The word “ monsoon ” is too often associated in people’s

minds with a time of storms, but in these regions it
c 2

 

20 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

applies only to the direction of the winds, which blow
steadily from these quarters for six months alternately.
For Pcrak is no land of typhoons and hurricanes,
but is an equable region, a land, as has been intimated,
of eternal summer to the European, which, by the
way, is looked upon by him as no advantage; for the
monotony of such an unchanging season becomes
wearisome in the extreme.

The north-east monsoon is, so to speak, the dry
season, though a dry season proper does not exist ; for
there are constant showers which lighten the air and
make the climate pleasant and easy to bear. The day
perhaps has been hot, steamy, and oppressive, when
towards evening the clouds are seen to gather blackly
over the mountains, and a steady downpour sets in,
accompanied by thunder and lightning, the latter
mostly of the kind known as “sheet.” As the rain
ceases there is a delicious freshness in the atmosphere,
the oppression passes away, and the air is for the time
being redolent of the sweet after—shower scent; though
it must be said that the flowers of this region are
greatly wanting in the delicious odours of those of
temperate climates—a fact probably to be attributed
to their rapid growth and development from a well—
watercd soil, and from an atmosphere laden with
moisture to the greatest degree.

During the prevalence of the south-west monsoon
the heavy rainfalls occur, with storms and electrical
discharges, which last for many hours.

 

CLIMATE. 2 l

 

The heat is never great, and bears no comparison
with that of India, a singular fact when it is con—
sidered how near Perak lies to the equator. On the
plains the mean annual temperature is about '79
degrees, but in the morning the thermometer fre-
quently falls as low as 74 degrees; while in the
ascents of the mountains that have been scaled the
Malays have been known to complain bitterly of the
cold. There is this peculiarity in the climate, that
before rain the air becomes very oppressive, from the
amount of moisture with which the atmosphere is
saturated; and this, with the sudden nightly falls of
the mercury, is the principal cause of disorders
amongst the Europeans.

These diseases take the form of fever and rheu—
matism. On the whole, however, the climate is
decidedly healthy; though, as in almost any part of
the world, a night’s rest at the foot of hills, or any
low-lying swampy ground, may result in an attack of
fever. These are facts apparently known to the
natives, as shown by the construction of their huts
upon piles of bamboo; though the seeking of pro—
tection from wild beasts and from floods doubtless
has had its influence.

Lakes seem to have, so far as is at present known,
little to do with the physical features of Perak. Here
and there the rivers widen into lagoons, and a lake of
some extent has been seen, but not surveyed, in the
central part of the country ; but probably such lakes

 

22 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

as exist are dependent upon the freshets of the rainy
season.

Very little has been ascertained as yet as to the
geological features of the country; but one of nature’s
singular changes of surface is very plain here in the
way in which she is constantly denuding the higher
grounds, and carrying down, by means of the rivers,
the superabundant soil which constantly adds to the
coast-line. This is especially marked in the Laroot
district, where small tracts of new land have been
brought under cultivation, so that where at no very
distant period the tide ran, padi, or rice, is now
showing its luxuriant growth.

The primitive rock—that which forms the main
range of the country—seems to be that hard stone so
familiar to us in the sculptures of the Egyptians, and
known as syenite, while here and there, as in the pass
at Bukit Bcrapit, a fine—grained granite crops out,
equal to our own Aberdeen. In this pass there is also
quartz rock, and it is possible that here the granite
passes into syenite. The most important rock, how—
ever, is an argillaceous talcose schist, for in this is
to be found the principal mineral deposits of the
country. ‘

For some distance from the coast the land is low
and swampy, but, gradually rising, a better class of
country is reached, where the soil has been washed
from the hills, and this is as fertile as that towards
the sea is sterile and unproductive. There are, how—

 

GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 23

 

ever, plains near ' the coast of higher elevation than
the ordinary tracts, and these are cultivated by the
natives, who plant maize and fruit-trees, and, where
irrigation is available, they grow their staple food—
rice.

Farther inland, the plains, which are to be found
of greater extent in the Perak than in the Kinta
valley, are broken up with natural sand—ridges, which
lighten the soil, and make it very well suited for the
cultivation of rice; and, from their appearance of
having been more under the plough than at the
present time, give evidence of the existence of a far
larger population than now exists in the country.
Undoubtedly the richest soil in the valleys is that com-
posed of the debris of the mountains proceeding from
the decomposition of the felspar in the granite. This
debris, mixed with the decayed vegetable matter, has
gradually subsided into the low lands, and now offers
itself for cultivation. There is no trace of volcanic
action in the peninsula, saving a few hot springs exist-
ing at Malacca; and, near as Perak lies to the great
volcanic band which contains the craters of Java and
Sumbawa, earthquakes are unknown, though slight
shocks have been felt at Singapore. The country is,
however, peculiarly rich in minerals, and these will
undoubtedly lay the foundation of its future prosperity.

Fossils are rarely found; but at the mouth of one
of the rivers there are very curious deposits of the
(ordinary cockle-shell, raised up into heaps. many feet

 

24 “SARONG ” AND “KRTS.”

 

high, and looking as if they had been left there by
the action of some eddy ; though when and how, it is
impossible to say, for they lie high and dry upon the
shore.

In northern Perak a limestone formation is pretty
prevalent, as opposed to the ferruginous sandstones
and shales of the south. Large slabs of slate are to
be found in certain of the rivers : it is tolerably soft,
but not bituminous. From indications, there seems
to be a rich deposit.

Hard sandstone and ironstone rocks are to be
found jutting out from the banks of the upper reaches
of the Perak river, but the ironstone is not affected by
the magnet. Here again, too, quite inland, traces of
shells are found in positions eight or ten feet above
the level, as if left by the receding sea. This is
especially noticeable at the base of Gounong Wang, a
huge limestone hill.

On the whole, so far as the country has been
explored, the palaeontologist does not find rich and
curious stores awaiting him, and has to be content with
examining boulders of granite, veined with quartz,
sprinkled with large grains of felspar, and showing
their character plainly in the smooth—washed sides in
the rapids above Qualla Kungsa. Now and then,
though, he may be rewarded with a fossil, traces being
seen of what is evidently petrified wood; but until
the country is more opened out, organic remains are
not likely to reward his search.

CHAPTER III.

Mineral productions—Graphite—Galena~Antimony—Iron—Tin and
tin-mines—Gold and gold-washing—Deserted workings.

IF the visitor to Perak turns his attention to minera-
logy, rich stores doubtless await him, especially as a
scientific search, although proposed, has not yet been
undertaken by the Government. In 1854, the writer
discovered graphite or plumbago, in one of the
states south of Perak; and though brought into
notice at the time it has since passed out of mind,
but there is every reason to believe that deposits
exist. The same may be said of galena, which has
been found in the Dindings, and of which there are
valuable mines in Patani, just to the north. This ore
of lead was known to be a mineral of the peninsula as
far back as 1616, but its actual site and locality never
appear to have been traced until very recently by
Mr. Fisher.

This may seem a poor argument as regards Perak,
till it is understood that the states north and south
are really only portions of the same country, pierced

 

26 “SleON ” AND “KRIS.”

 

by the same range of mountains, and separated only
by a comparatively few miles.

What is wanted is for exploring—parties to trace
eastward and examine the mountain-ranges with their
ravines, so as to reach the matrices of the metallic
stores that are tolerably—plentifully obtained even now
in the lower lands. Traces of hidden wealth have
frequently been found. Of gems, there are diamonds
and garnets, in what number it is impossible to say,
and amethystine quartz exists in great beauty.

A curious discovery of silver antimony was made
not far south of Perak. On one occasion when a
quantity of stones were taken into Singapore jail for
the convicts to break, one was found to be a mass of
antimony. The explanation given was that the lump
was one of the stones that had been used by the
Malays for attaching to the anchors of their boats;
and in this way it had probably been brought over
from Borneo, where the ore is known to exist. Search
near the spot where the stone was picked up proved
fruitless; but it is a far more reasonable surmise that
silver antimony exists in the Malay peninsula if not in
Perak, and that it will some day reward the explorer’s
zeal. This is, of course, surmise, but to it may be
added the reports that in the mountain—ranges of
the Laroot district copper with bromide and sulphide
of silver have been found. There is no reason why
they should not exist, though in a land of gold
and tin.

 

MINERAL PROD UOTIONS. 27

 

On the whole, iron is abundant in Perak, and exists
in the form of the peroxide, and as a cellular clay
ironstone known as laterite ; but so far no attempt has
been made to reduce these to the metallic form. The
late Mr. Westerhout stated that he had had specimens
of copper brought to him from the interior of the
country; but he died before it was possible to take
advantage of the discovery, and the rich metal there-
fore lies waiting for the explorer’s hand.

Coal has been found, though as yet small in
quantity, and of no great commercial value. Investi—
gation, however, would probably result in the discovery
of any or all of the above minerals in abundance;
and even if it were barren of result, the prospecting—
parties would be amply rewarded by the opening out
of new lodes of tin and gold, which not only exist,
but have been mined here from time immemorial.

The bright silvery metal tin is worked in Perak
to a great extent, and though obtained in a clumsy
primitive way, the yield is very abundant, and would
be far greater but for the evident depopulation of the
country. The metal has been attractive enough to
bring the busy Chinaman by the thousand, and go
where you will through Perak, he is to be encountered,
patient and busy, digging, washing, and melting the
ore.

It seems odd in a land where gold is found in
tolerable quantities, that tin should be looked upon as
the principal metal. This however is easily explain—

 

28 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

able from the greater ease with which it is obtained.
A chief here reckons his wealth in his bhars or slabs
of tin; and when, as in a late act of piracy, a rajah
was brought to book by one of Her Majesty’s cruisers,
the olfender was mulcted, not in so many hogsheads
of palm—oil as on the west coast of Africa, nor in so
many peculiarly-shaped dollars as in China, but in a
certain number of slabs of tin.

All over the country deserted tin mines are to be
found. In the south, in the neighbourhood of the
Batang Padang, and Bidor rivers, they are frequent,

but at the same time there are many mines being
i worked. In each case examination shows that the tin
gravel has been brought down by floods from the
mountains some miles to the east and north ; but the
idea of going to the mineral fountain—heads never
seems to have occurred to the Chinese, though some—
times, like the Malays, they object to any such
proceeding on account of the mountain jungle being
infested with evil spirits, to whom they might give
offence. Yet at the same time it is found that the
nearer the mountain, the better is the yield of the
ore, which is found in small black granules, similar to
those seen in a quartz specimen of tin ore from
Cornwall.

In these southern parts, want of capital and the
difficulties of carriage seem to prove great drawbacks
to the successful carrying out of the work; and the
consequence is that Laroot, in the extreme north of

 

TIN AND TIN MINES. 29

 

the state, where the deposits are rich, and carriage
comparatively easy—which last has its due effect on
the food supply—draws to itself the principal portion
of the tin—mining energy.

The principal mining stations of Laroot are Thai-
peng and Kamunting. This portion of the state is
well deserving of a visit, from its being the busiest
and most thriving; standing out, as it does, in strong
contrast to the sleepy agricultural portions, where the
ubiquitous Chinaman is not at work. At Thai-peng
is the dwelling of the Assistant—resident, Captain
Speedy, a gentleman who, by his energy, has pro—
duced peace amongst the rival factions of the Chinese,
given protection and safety, and fostered the mining
energy to such an extent that the mining towns are
thronged, there are Chinese shops, and the general air
of the place betokens prosperity.

The Resident’s house here is a large native struc-
ture upon an eminence. It looks, with its wooden
supports, palm—thatch, and extensive verandahs, pre-
cisely adapted to the climate; and here the eastern
element shows out strongly, in the Chinese going and
coming in their peculiar costume and parasol-shaped
hats, while the Resident’s police—swarthy Sikhs, in
white puggarees—stand about awaiting orders, or on
duty.

Thai-peng village, or town, as seen from the As-
sistant-resident’s house, is a busy place, With long
thatched buildings by the hundred. Fences and

 

30 “ S/lRONG' ” AND “KRIS.”

 

watercourses intersect the land, and here and there
supplies of water are dammed up for the purpose of
washing the tin.

Much will have to be done to improve the process
of obtaining and smelting the tin, as the natives are
wasteful and extravagant, with the consequence that
high prices result._ Unfortunately the trade has of
late been bad, the duty high, and Australian tin
has begun to compete favourably with that of the
Straits; but as the latter is stream tin, and in abun-
dance in Laroot, without seeking in the matrix, it is
probable that it may soon recover its old position in
the market, though perhaps not at the earlier prices.

What is really wanted to make the tin deposits of
Laroot highly profitable is the introduction of British
capital and machinery, with British enterprise. Then
the ore would be obtained, washed, and smelted with
the smallest loss; and here, in a land where shafts
that take years to dig, and require fortunes to be
sunk, are not needed, but where the ore is reached
after removing a few feet of superficial soil, there must
be temptations enough for the Cornish miner, when-
ever a settled rule has made the country safe—and
this must ultimately come.

The method of procuring the ore or “ biji timah ”—
tin seeds—is very simple. The Malays dig a few feet
down in a favourable spot at the base of the hills,
take up the clay, which contains the tin in small
nodules, and carefully wash it in running water, made

 

MINING. 31

 

to flow over it by means of artificial channels. The
ore is then, when dry, ready for smelting, which is
also performed in a very primitive manner. A fur—
nace is built up of clay, with a hole beneath; the.
ore is placed in the furnace between layers of char-
coal; fire is applied, and forced into a powerful glow
by means of very homely bamboo bellows, which
keeps up sufficient blast to cause the golden-orange
molten metal to trickle into the receptacle below, from
which it is ladled into moulds, to form slabs or ingots,
weighing two catties (equal. to 2% 1b.). Sometimes,
however, the Chinese mould is adopted, in which a
slab weighing fifty catties is cast.

The Chinese are wasteful enough in their way of
obtaining the tin, but they are far in advance of their
unprogressive neighbours, bringing simple machinery
to bear where necessary; and their process is ad-
mirably described by Captain Speedy, the Assistant--
resident at Laroot. ‘

According to his report, the tin lies at a distance
of from twenty to fifty feet from the surface, gradually
diminishing towards the hill-sides, where it is not
more than six feet down ; and as it lies horizontally,
the following arrangements are made: The jungle is
cleared and the mine marked, water is brought by a
ditch from the nearest stream, and then the exca—
vating commences.

At about six feet down water begins to rise from
the soil ; and to get rid of this, and also to utilise the

 

32 “SARONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

water from the stream as a motive power, an ingenious
chain-pump is made, by constructing a long wooden
trough of three planks, each one hundred feet in
length; and this is placed with one end resting on
the bank, the other sloping to the water in the lowest
part of the mine.

“ A wooden chain with small oblong pieces of wood
placed at right angles to the line is fitted accurately
into the above—named trough. The wooden chain is
endless, and is passed round two wheels, a small one
at the lower end of the trough and a larger one at the
upper end. This latter is a water—wheel, and is
turned by a constant stream flowing over it. Round
the axle of this wheel are cogs, each of which in turn,
as the wheel revolves, draws up a joint of the endless
chain through the trough, and as each joint fits ac—
curately into the trough, they bring up in succession
a quantity of water, which, on reaching the mouth of
the trough, falls into the channel by which the water
which turns the wheel is carried off, and is thus also
taken away out of the mine and conducted to the
next, Where the process is repeated. The small wheel
at the lower end of the trough regulates the chain,
and guides the wooden joints into the trough, causing
each to take up in succession its quantum of water,
and by this means the mine is emptied.”

Their tools are very poor, consisting of only a
common hoe and a small flat cane basket. \Vith
these the whole of the work is done, the baskets when

 

TIN WASHING. 33

 

full holding about four pounds of earth. One of these
baskets is placed at either end of a stout bamboo,
balanced over a labourer’s shoulders, carried off and
emptied, while the men with the hoe scrape together
more soil and fill other baskets.

What an English navvy, armed with spade, barrow,
and pick would think of the oblique—eyed; childish-
faced Chinaman and the amount of work he does
may easily be imagined. Still the slow tortoise won
the race; and whereas our navvy demands so many
pounds of meat and so many pots of beer per diem,
Ah Sin is content with a little rice, some fresh
water, and, for his grand relaxation, a tiny pipe of
opium.

The washing, as performed by the Chinese, is very
simple. The ore is found at Laroot in a stratum of
whitish clay, which is washed in long open troughs,
water passing freely through, carrying off the soil, and
leaving the ore at the bottom, for it is prevented from
running down the inclined trough by means of bars
of wood nailed across the bottom, and against which
the heavy grains rest. On this plan the Chinese
seem in advance of the washing on inclined planes at
the Cornish tin mines, the crossbars being a very
efficient way of arresting the ore.

The melting process is very similar to that of
the Malays, but more elaborated, and is carried out
on rather a larger scale, and in place of the bamboo

bellows a very ingenious plan is adopted. The trunk
D

 

34: “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

of a tree about eighteen inches in diameter, and ten
feet long, is carefully hollowed out, and closed at either
end. “ A long pole with a circular piece of wood at one
end, fitting exactly into the bore of the tube, acts as a
piston. In order to secure the tube being perfectly
air-tight, the end of the piston is well padded with
feathers. tValves are placed at each end to allow the
air to enter, and in the centre the nozzle of the bellows
communicates with the furnace by means of a small
air—passage. On the piston being drawn out, the air
in the higher portion of the tube is forced down the
nozzle, and on being drawn back the air in the further
part of the tube is similarly drawn into the furnace.”
The charcoal is soon brought to a white heat, and as
the molten tin drips through, fresh layers of ore and
charcoal are added, the fluid tin being ladled out into
the moulds already mentioned as being sometimes
adopted by the Malays.

The value of the tin exported in the seven years
prior to 1874 was upwards of a million and a quarter
sterling, this being the produce of thirty mines. It
must however be added that these figures were
derived from native — sources, and may have been
exaggerated; for Captain Speedy’s estimate of the
produce for 1875 was in money value a million and a
half of dollars. Since then, however, the number of
Chinese miners has largely fallen off, probably in
consequence of the disturbances. Under a more
favourable system there is every probability of their

 

GOLD WASHING. 35

 

being re—collected, and the works attaining to great
prosperity.

Anyone who has had experience of the lamentably—
slow process of obtaining Cornish tin, and the vast
sums of money adventured without result in that
granitic peninsula, will see what an opening is here
in Perak for British capital, especially as the climate
is healthy and Coolie labour comparatively cheap.

Much store as the Malays of Perak lay by tin, they
are not blind to the charms of gold, and, to their
taste, it is best of a dark—red colour. It is no un-
common thing, when journeying through the interior,
to come upon a Malay, or even a boy, washing the
soil left by some ancient flood. The quantity obtained
in this way is necessarily very small; but still it
is to be procured, and the nearer the mountains are
approached the richer is the find ; of course pointing to
the fact that there lies the matrix from which, by the
‘ decomposition of the quartz, the gold has been washed
down.

In some of the tin mines worked by the Chinese,
especially in the south, in the neighbourhood of the
Batang Padang river, the soil is first washed for the
tin ore, and afterwards undergoes a second washing
for gold, which is found in small quantities, but still
sufficient to repay the labour. One peculiarity in con-
nection herewith is that the gold is found at depths of
thirty to forty feet below the surface, and invariably
in connection with the trunks of large trees, in every

D 2

 

36 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

stage of decay—a fact pointing to the tremendous
floods that must have taken. place at the time of the
deposition of the metal.

In the north, one of our Government officials
describes the neighbourhood of the Krean river as
showing a formation having much the appearance of a
gold—bearing country, such as he had seen in Australia,
and Offering tempting places for a prospecting—party to
examine the junction of the granite and slate ; adding
that, if gold were not found, the search would pro-
bably result in the discovery of tin or some other
metal. That gold has been found in large quantities
in the Malay peninsula, is proved by the vast number
of old workings surrounding the base of Mount Ophir,
to the north-east of Malacca; and if with their pri—
mitive ways of working, sufficient could be found by
the people of bygone ages, modern appliances should
result in securing a rich return.

On the eastern side of the Perak river itself, at
a place called Kleian Bronsong, there is an alluvial
deposit which yields gold, and it is washed out of the
creek, during the rainy season, by the Chinese and
Malays, who however are idle during the dry times,
for want of water. Among other places on the Perak
river where gold is found, washing of the deposit is
carried on by Chinese at Campong Cherako, and there
are several abandoned gold mines at a place called
Chigar Gala, one of the largest villages on the river,
and lying above the station at Qualla Kungsa. In fact,

 

HIDDEN TREASURES. 37

 

so abundant is gold, that before now the writer, when
wandering about, has with very little difficulty washed
specimens of the precious metal from the river beds,
where it mostly occurs in little globular forms, like
small or dust shot. Mr. Daly, the Government
surveyor, who observed this during a journey taken
to determine the northern boundaries of Perak,
remarks that it would be interesting to thoroughly
investigate these gold deposits, and describes the
metal he has seen as being “rough and shotty,” and
having the appearance of not having travelled far;
while, judging from the quartz, slate, and other
pebbles found in the river, he believes that the matrix
will be found in the quartz reefs lying embedded
between the granite and slate.

Enough has been said to show that plenty of
traces of gold are to be found, little as the country
has been explored. What stores the jungle-hidden
streams, running up to the mountains, conceal in olden
mines or untouched virgin pockets, time and the
ceaseless energy of the Anglo-Saxon alone will show.
As to the Malays, they are too accustomed to a
laissez—aller style of life to make any energetic
attempts to discover and work the metallic treasures,
while the efforts of the Chinese, with their primitive
tools, are not likely to greatly influence the yield of
the precious metals.

Recompense of some description is almost certain to
reward the explorer, for, as has been before remarked,

 

38 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

the finding of a rich lode of metal of any kind is a
reward not to be despised; and it is questionable
Whether the discovery of the Burra Burra copper
mines in Australia was not a more worthy one than
that of the gold; while as to Perak, if instead of
metal a good vein of coal could be found, the finder
would be a benefactor to the state.

n

CHAPTER IV.

The ancient knowledge of the mineral productions of Perak and
the peninsula—Solomon’s ships~Gold, apes, and peacocks——
Opinions of early writers—Ophir.

BRITISH tin was an article of export to the islands of
the Eastern Archipelago up to the year 1618, and it
is difficult to trace the time when it was first dis—
covered in Perak and the other portions of the Malay
peninsula. Dela Loubere, the French envoy to the
King of Siam, in the years 1687—88, wrote an account
of that people, and he states that all the calin or tin
in Siam——\vhich country then embraced a considerable
portion of the Malay peninsula—was sold by the king
to strangers as well as to his own subjects, except that
which was dug out of the mines of Jon Salam or
Junk Ceylon, in the gulf of Bengal, “not above the
distance of a man’s voice from the coast of Siam,” and
where there is loadstone ; for this being a remote
frontier, he leaves the inhabitants in their ancient
rights, so that they enjoy the mines which they dig,
paying a small profit to the prince. _
Mr. Walckenaer, the German traveller, thinks that

 

4O “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

the word Icalah—calin—tin, was derived from the
modern Quedah, the Portuguese corruption of Keddah.
Masudi speaks of the fourth sea of India—that of
Kalah Bao or the sea of Selahat, which had shallow
waters, and was full of small islands containing tin
mines, where the natives used poisoned arrows; an
exact description of the straits of Malacca—and selahat
is certainly the Malay for a strait.

The Arabian term cassider, derived from the
Sanscrit kastina, applied by the Phoenicians to tin,
as in our own Cassiterides, or tin islands, ofi’ Cornwall,
seems to imply that they derived their knowledge of
metal in the first place from the East, or through the
Arabians; and tin is not found anywhere nearer to
them than in the Indian Archipelago. These latter,
in the Middle Ages, seem to have adopted the Hindoo
term kala or qnalct for tin, although kasdin is the true
Arabic. Our name tin is traced to the Malay word
ti-mah, but how this came to pass is not very clear.

The Sanscrit kala literally means black, so that
it does not seem necessary to go far to trace the
application of the word by the natives immigrant
from India, to the black mineral grains found as
stream tin; and its adoption by the Siamese and
Arabians at a later day, to distinguish the tin of the
Indian Archipelago from that of Great Britain.

Among other writers, Dr. Vincent, in his “ Periplus,”
published in the year 1800, speaks of tin as being an
import into Africa, Arabia, Scindi, and the coast of

 

THE ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE. 41

 

Malabar; and as an article of commerce brought
from Britain in all ages, and conveyed through the
Mediterranean by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans, to
the Eastern seas ; but says it was only during the past
few years that it had reached China in British vessels.

Of the ancient history of the gold of the Malay
peninsula much may be said, for it has been famed
for its production from all ages. This peninsula was
the Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients, and although
the evidence is not conclusive that Josephus is right
when he says that the Mount Ophir of Malacca, some
hundred and fifty miles southof Perak, and called by
the modern Malays Gunong Ledang, is the Ophir of
Solomon, there is much that is in favour of this sup—
position; and being a subject of such great interest,
it may be worth while to investigate the question,
even at the risk of being somewhat tedious.

It may be taken as a matter of fact, that from the
very earliest ages there was intercourse between the
Arabians and Malays; and hence it is reasonable to
suppose that the precious metal gold, would, with
spices, be amongst the articles of trade. From the
earliest times we know that the Arabians sent into
Sabea both spices (frankincense) and gold, but whether
the latter came from Sofala, on the east coast of Africa
——the sea-port of the Mount Ophir of Bruce and Le
Grande—or from the Mount Ophir of Malacca, is an
open question. There is also, it should be added, a
Mount Ophir, or the Golden Mountain, in Sumatra;

 

42 “ SARONG ” AND “KRTS.”

 

but this may be left out of the argument, as the name
was conferred upon it by Europeans at a comparatively
recent date.

Lassen, the orientalist, has placed Ophir, the origin
of Solomon’s gold, somewhere about the mouth of the
Indus ; and his hypothesis, says Mr. Crawfurd, is
founded on some resemblance between the Hebrew
and Sanscrit names of the commodities brought from
this ancient spot. The nearest resemblance is in the
words for an ape, that in the Hebrew being koph or
kqf, and in Sanscrit, kdpi or kopi. Mr. Crawfurd,
however, in View of all the difficulties connected with
its geographical position, comes to the conclusion that
the Ophir of Scripture is simply an emporium where
Solomon’s fleet obtained “ gold, silver, ivory, apes, and
peacocks ; ” and he fixes this emporium somewhere in
Arabia, either at Sabea, or at a spot on the southern
coast. But as we read that the ships of Solomon
“ came to Ophir,” it is more natural to conclude that
they went to a place bearing that name, and not to a
convenient emporium, where the gold of Ophir and
the other commodities were exposed for sale. The
question then seems to lie between the Ophir of the
eastern coast of Africa and that of Malacca.

There are many things in favour of the mount in
the Malay peninsula being that of Scripture, and the
idea is supported by many writers. For instance, Dr.
Kitto, in his Encyclopaedia, states that the natives of
Malacca call their gold mines “ Ophirs ; ” to which may

 

S OLOM ON ’6' SHIPS. 43

 

be added, that the Malays being a decidedly non-
progressivc people, their term probably comes from
time immemorial. De P. Poivre, a French author,
writing in 1797, gives the same statement, adding of the
natives of Sumatra—on y troa've plusieurs mines d’oq',
que les habitants ole Malacca ct dc Sumatra nomment
“ Ophirs.” He, too, adds that the mines of the ad-
jacent places are richer than all those of Brazil and
Peru.

When we consider the objects sought, we find that
they were apes, peacocks, ivory, and gold. Now,
though the ape proper is not indigenous to the Malay
peninsula, monkeys of large size abound; it is the
home of one of the most beautiful of the peacocks;
ivory, if not abundant, is procurable, for elephants are
plentiful; spices follow as a matter of course, for this
is the very centre of the production; and gold is
worked to the present day. Gold, apes, and ivory are
certainly found in Africa, but the other articles would
have to be brought from the Eastern seas.

To go back to the ancients for support of the
theories that Solomon’s vessels may have traded with
the Malays : Pliny tells us that Eratosthenes speaks of
Mcroe, India, and the Thinoe ; and Agatharcides, a
contemporary of the latter, about 104 3.0., says of
Sabea, now Yemen, or “the blest”: “The people
are robust, warlike, and able mariners. They sail in
very large vessels to the country where the odoriferous
commodities are produced; they plant colonies there,

 

44 “SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

and import from thence the ‘larimma,’ an odour
nowhere else to be found; in fact, there is no nation
upon earth so wealthy as the Gerrhei and Sabei, as being
the centre of all the commerce which passes between
Asia and Europe.” The same writer also refers to the
Maldive and Laccadive islands, and coupled with these
is a reference to Malacca or the Golden Chersonese.

According to Dr. Vincent, the Chinese had not
then passed the straits of Malacca; but the Malays
seem in all ages to have traded with India, and
probably with the coast of Africa, and he ends by
saying:

“ All this induces a belief that in the very earliest
ages, even prior to Moses, the communication with
India was open, that the intercourse with that conti-
nent was in the hands of the Arabians, that Thebes
had owed its splendour to that commerce, and that
Memphis from the same cause came to the same pre—
eminence, and Cairo succeeded to both in wealth,
grandeur, and magnificence.”

If then, as this evidence would show, the com-
munication with India and its isles was open before
the time of Moses, and in the hands of the Arabians,
who from the earliest ages had an intercourse with the
Malays, the inference that can be drawn from this
may be left to everyone to judge of as he pleases.

There is, however, another significant point which
favours the belief that the gold of Ophir was obtained
from Malacca, for amongst the articles of export to the

 

OPHIR. 45

 

Red Sea in the time of the “Periplus,” which gives
an account of the navigation of the ancients, from the
east coast of Africa down to Sofala, gold is not
mentioned, but only “ivory, rhinoceros—horn, and
tortoise—shell of a good sort, but inferior to that of
India.” Dr. Vincent, the last editor and exponent of
the work, is so struck with this fact, that he confesses
to feeling “some degree of disappointment in not
finding gold, as the fleets of Solomon are said to have
obtained gold from this coast.” He however gets over
the difficulty by saying: “Our present object is not
the trade but the geography.”

In later dayswnamely, in the fourteenth century
Barbosa says that gold was so abundant in Malacca
that it was reckoned by the bhar of four hundred
weight. In 1615, also, we read in the State Papers
that at Acheen, in Sumatra, the admiral’s galley had
a turret built in the stern, covered with plates of gold
a sure sign of the plentiful supply of the metal.
Later still, in “ Herbert’s Travels,” printed in 1677,
he says that Malacca had the name Aurea given to
it, on account of the abundance of gold carried thither
from Menang Kabau, in the neighbouring isle, Sumatra;
and again, Valentyn says, in 1737, Acheen exported
gold by the thousand ounces at a time.

 

 

To come down to our own days : Mr. Logan esti—
mated the total produce of gold in the Malay peninsula
as twenty thousand ounces per annum only. This
does not arise from the mines being worked out, but

 

46 “SA/lRONG” AN “KRf .”

 

from the gradual depopulation of the country, and the
facile way in which tin is obtained and sold by the
Chinese, leading to the temporary abandonment of
the search for the more precious ore.

In addition to this, the discoveries of gold in other
parts of the world have taken off the attention of
European capitalists from the mines of Malaya; and
though an attempt was made recently to work the
gold mines of Chindrass, near Malacca, the adven-
ture failed from the want of mining skill and proper
appliances. What is required for the proper develop-
ment of the acknowledged valuable mineral resources
of the peninsula is—as was some time since suggested
—that a practical mineralogist and geologist should
be sent out from England, to examine and give copious
reports of the capabilities of the country, so as to draw
public attention to it at home. This step has not yet
been taken, but it is not too late to adopt the sugges—
tion; and the outlay on such a survey, if judiciously
carried out, would be amply returned to the Govern-
ment and to the colony.

CHAPTER V.

Vegetable productions—Ferns—Timber-trees—Indiarubber—Varied
foliage—Flowers—Palms—Bamboos.

IN few parts of the world are the wonders of the
vegetable kingdom to be seen in greater perfection
than in the Malay archipelago; and Perak possesses
its full share of these glorious productions, for the
moist hot climate favours rapid growth, to an extreme
degree.

On quitting the river— ways, and plunging into the
jungle, the traveller 1s at once in a world of wonders.
In almost every instance he 1s confined to the forest
track, for the jungle is literally impenetrable. Huge
trees tower up a hundred and a hundred and fifty feet
without a branch, and then weave and interweave in
the most extraordinary manner. These are the pillars
and supports of creepers and parasites innumerable,
among which the most prominent are the various
varieties of the rattan cane—the common cane of the
shops, but which here winds and runs to the length
of two and even three hundred feet. A soft greenish
twilight generally prevails in these dense parts of the

 

*48 “SJRON ” AND “KRI .”

 

forest; but where there are openings that admit of
the sun, flowers—principally orchids—add their beauty
to the scene.

Wherever a watercourse is found, there, with their
lace—like fronds, tree ferns spring up to fifteen and
twenty feet in height, drooping gracefully over the
mossy rocks, and beneath them may be seen an
abundance of the lesser variety of ferns, chiefly of
the Pteris family. Soon, again, appear the beautiful
quaint-blossomed orchids, principally the Dendrobium
and Vanda varieties, hanging in rich clusters from the-
trunks and branches of the forest trees. The elk—horn
hangs pendent in masses of many feet in length,
and, deeper in the jungle, lycopodiums, and the many
varieties of moss which flourish in moist situations,
carpet the earth. '

It is a carpet, however, that is untrodden; for
unless a way be cut by means of the heavy knife or
parang of the Malay, progress even of the slowest
nature is impossible, and the beauties of the ground
orchids which spring up in the clearer spots are
doomed to flourish and fade unseen. In these dense
woods ebony is sometimes found, though not in any
great profusion, and it is not used by the Malays.
There is an abundance, though, of excellent timber
for building purposes, which to a great extent is
felled and squared by the Chinese. The chief of these
woods—some of which are hard and very durable——
are the marbow, and the damar laut, the maranti, and.

 

IN DIAR UBBER AND GUTTA—PEROHA. 49

 

the serayah. There are many others of admirable
quality which it is needless to name.

One timber tree promises well. It is known by
the Malays as the scum. They say that if placed
over piles used for jetties it will resist the action of the
teredo, or boring-worm ; for the worm, after devouring
the wood attacks that of the ordinary piles, and is
killed from the action of the acids of the two, and
if this be the case it will be a valuable timber to
possess. Further proof however is needed of its
qualities.

Teak, though found at Penang and Singapore, and
abounding in the jungles of Siam, oddly enough does
not grow in Perak. There are plenty of fine durable
woods, though, to make up for the deficiency. Neither
has the camphor tree been found, though believed
to exist at Salangore, but the gutta tree is tolerably
plentiful, and its curious gum is extracted by cutting
down the whole tree, tapping it on the under side,
and allowing the gutta to exude into vessels placed
for its reception. This gum is frequently used by
the young Malays to catch birds, forming a most
glutinous bird—lime. The name by which it is known
in England—gutta-percha—many people may not be
aware, is rather a redundant one, percha being only
the native name for Sumatra, whence the gutta was
perhaps originally brought. The indiarubber tree,
with its glossy green leaves, is one of the many
trees of the wood; but its juices are not com-

E

 

50 “Sle0NG” AND “KRI; .”

 

monly extracted, though used also occasionally as
bird-lime.

One very hard wood, called by the Malays
kamooning, is obtained from a slow-growing flower—
bearing tree. It is of fine grain, takes an admirable
polish, and is used to ornament the hilts of krises,
and to make into fancy or useful articles, such as
boxes, cigar-holders, and watch—cases : the late rajah of
a neighbouring state was a great adept at turning
this wood in his lathe.

It is no uncommon thing in the depths of these
jungles, as night sets in, to see glades lit up with what
seem in the distance to be so many pale lamps burning
with a mild radiance, but which prove on closer
inspection to be avery curious kind of phosphorescent
fungi, of considerable size, the light being probably
produced by their decomposition. At times too,
during a journey, the native guide points out the ipeh,
or upas tree, and announces that it is poisonous ; but
the stories of its deadly nature are apocryphal; and
though the tree may possess poisonous qualities,
beyond tradition the Malays seem to know very little
about it.

Another famous tree flourishes here, namely, the
banian; but, growing as it does in the dense jungle,
where it has to struggle for its existence in a very
small space, there are none of the wonderful Wide-
spreading specimens such as are said to shelter a
regiment on an Indian plain. To revert however for

 

WOOD OIL. 51

 

a moment to the upas : it is perhaps too much to say
that an approximation to its branches, or sleeping
beneath its shade, may not be highly injurious,
especially when it is an established fact that the
poison alder of Virginia acts upon the skin, if ever so
lightly touched, with the greatest virulence, producing
all the symptoms of poisoning to a marked degree.
The upas, however, does not seem to have been
tested, and possesses perhaps a far worse name than it
deserves.

The bombaX, or cotton tree, is here in two varieties,
but probably imported. The kayoo puteh, literally
wood white, is a tree whose name has been corrupted
into the cajeput of the Pharmacopoeia. It yields a
very valuable green oil, which is used for medicinal
purposes. Large quantities of wood oil, or kayoo-
minyati, are also obtained by the Malays, by cutting
a triangular hole right into the trunk of a forest tree,
and placing therein a cup or half a cocoa—nut shell.
Fire is then applied, and the oil is melted and drips
into the cup. This oil forms a kind of varnish, and
is used for the interior woodwork of their houses,
and sometimes as a medicine.

One of the prettiest trees is the waringhan, with its
birch-like growth; it is a species of ficus, and deserves
to be called the most ornamental in the peninsula,
though the beautiful growths are endless, even as they
are peculiar. Amongst the ornamental trees, though,
must be classified those which blossom. One of the

E 2

 

52 “SARONG” AN “KRIS.”

 

finest of these is called by the Malays dadap. It
bears a beautiful flower of a brilliant scarlet, and is
utilised largely in the coffee plantations of Java as a
protection to the young trees from the ardent sun.
Another blossoming tree is the ehumpaka, of which
there are two varieties, the one bearing a yellow, the
other a pure white flower, and both difi‘using——what

is comparatively rare a delicious scent. These are

 

favourite flowers, and are often used—like the white
blossoms of the jasmine and the sweet—scented star-
shaped bunga tanjong—by the women to ornament
their hair, while the natives of India in the peninsula
offer them at the shrines of their god.

One of the especial features of the jungle is the
beauty of tint and mottling of the foliage, and this
relieves greatly What would otherwise seem sombre
and monotonous. Almost side by side may be seen
growing leaves of a bright yellow and others of richly—
tinted reds, While close by are displayed infinite
variegations, in different shades, of purple mixed with
splashes of white, as if all colour had been withdrawn
from the leaves. Undoubtedly the beauty of nature’s
gardening in these eastern forests has had something
to do with the taste that has of late set in for foliaceous
plants. The foliage, too, of the hill—sides in Perak is
wondrously beautiful, displaying every tint of leafage,
from pale yellow, through infinite shades, to the
darkest green, with here and there clusters of bright
blossoms peering out, amongst which may frequently

 

FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE. _ 53

 

be seen what is known as the Pride of the Forest, a
blossom of a deep red and yellow. There is also
the blossom of the kamooning tree, which strongly
resembles that of the orange, and emits as sweet a
scent. Though no scented flower, there is a modest
plant found occasionally that is a pretty and familiar
object to every European,‘and takes attention when
its tree—like relatives weary the eye. This is our
adiantum, the pretty little maiden—hair fern, and it
is principally found growing in the laterite. clay iron—
stone soil. The first discoverer of this little favourite
is said to have been Archdeacon Hose, and the habitat
was Malacca.

Though Perak can hardly be called a land of flowers,
still there are many of very great beauty, and this
want of gorgeous petals is made up for by the colours
of the leaves. The orchids however are very beautiful,
both the large parasitical and the ground varieties.
The scorpion orchid—a wonderfully-accurate copy of
the poisonous creature from which it takes its name——
abounds, as does a magnificent creeper which would be
a great acquisition to a European garden, from its rich
maroon blossoms. Climbing plants are very common
in the jungle, running up the trees in a straight line
similar to the strands of our close small-leaved ivy,
and often to a height of thirty or forty feet. But
perhaps of all the climbers the most striking are
the nepenthes, or monkey-cups, which are seen in
every opening. Those grown in our hothouses

 

'54 “ SARONG ” AND “ KIM—S.”

 

poorly set forth the beauty of the varieties of this
singular plant. Here they may be seen growing in
clusters of fifty or sixty together, close to the ground,
and with pitchers of ten or twelve inches in length.
Others, again, are seen ascending the forest trees,
sun-seeking from a shady spot. They are generally
green, but variegated with purple and red, speckled,
splashed, and striped, and many of them fringed in a
most beautiful manner. They all contain water, many
over half a pint in quantity; but it generally seems
to be of a viscid nature, and not tempting as a
beverage.

“Tater-lilies abound Wherever they find a suitable
habitat in the lagoons formed by the many streams ;
while the lotus is found in great perfection, sending
up from its floating leaves its bright blossom-cups of
red, blue, and silvery—white. There is a fine display
of this plant in a small lake fronting the house of one
of the native chiefs, at Bukit Gantang, while these
and the water—lilies lend great beauty to some of the
smooth open reaches in the wilder portions of the
country.

Arums, and that beautiful plant the calladium,
with its arrow-shaped variegated leaves, also play their
part in diversifying the jungle. The sensitive-plant
grows largely too on the peninsula; and it has this
peculiarity, that Wherever it abounds it destroys the
lallang grass—a knowledge of which fact may be of great
service where the land is infested with this growth, for

 

PALMS. 55

 

good grass can readily be grown around the sensitive-
plant, after the lallang is destroyed. The hibiscus
grows to the size of a tree, and the gardinia flourishes
well, its large white flowers being great favourites
with the Malays.

A flower—bearing tree, known as the Poins'icma
regia, flourishes well here; it is small in leaf, but
bears a magnificent bloom, which grows in clusters
on every bough; in fact, like the azaleas of our
green—houses, there are often more flowers than leaves.
Mr. Dunman, a former inspector—general of police at
Singapore, introduced this largely into the town,
where it now grows to great perfection.

The nipah—palm grows in company with the
mangrove in brackish water, by the muddy shores,
and is often washed off to go floating about the straits,
looking in the distance like a boat under sail. These
mangroves, whose singular roots have already been
mentioned, have a peculiarity in their seed—pods, which
deserves mention. There are apparently two varieties,
the one having a seed something like a cocoa—nut, the
other, pods of a large size, rather in the shape of a boy’s
skittle, but pointed at the bottom; and so wonder-
fully are these balanced, that as they drop from the
mangrove branch they fall upright in the mud,
literally planting themselves, and rapidly taking root.

Another very beautiful shore—loving tree is the
.casuarina, which flourishes amid the sand, being a kind
\of fir. It is peculiar for the way in which the wind

 

56 “SilRONG'” AND “KRIS.”

 

sighs through it, reminding the settler of the old
Scottish fir of far away, with its roar as of surges in
its dark green crown.

Perak may be looked upon as a paradise of palms,
of which there are many varieties. The nipah, which
has just been mentioned, fringes the rivers up to tidal—
mark, and forms the chief thatching material of the
Malays, While its fruit makes a preserve. Then there
are the sago, which is allowed to grow for about
fifteen years, and then cut down to obtain the farina
from the pith in its trunk; the jaggary, from which
coarse sugar is made; and the areca, a slender, very
graceful tree, yielding the betel-nut, which the Malays
chew for its stimulating qualities. The blossom of
one of the wild arecas has a most delicious odour, and
there are several varieties. The penang, or areca, is
the palm Which is utilised in a variety of ways by
the Malays, its leaf-sheath affording them a horny
material, which they use for water—buckets and baskets.
The cocoa—palm grows luxuriantly, and fruits well at
long distances from the sea. In addition, there is a
rare variety which bears a cocoa-nut, whose fruit is
pink instead of white. The gamooty-palm is also very
common, and the black fibres of this tree are of
endless use to the Malays, for making cordage, ropes,
and the open strands with which they take their
enemy the alligator. The most graceful of the family,
however, is the nibong, which in beautiful clusters
shades the jungle dwellings of the Malays, supplies

 

 

 

 

 

 

(‘.\,\ll’()3(i ()_\' L’hIiAk “MPH.

 

BAMBOOS. 57

 

the posts for their houses, and is cut into strips to

make their floors.
The various palms are the most striking features of

the river—banks, and wherever they are clustered in
any number there are sure to peep out the pointed
roofs of the attap-thatched houses. The wonder is
that the large cocoa-nuts, in their great fibrous coating,
and heavy falling leaves, are not frequently the cause
of accidents to the children playing beneath them in
the villages; but somehow they seem to escape, for
injuries are rarely known to the writer as having
occurred.

Next to the palms in value to the Malays come
the bamboos, which graceful ornaments to the jungle,
towering up like Brobdingnagian grass, are utilised in
a variety of ways: building, boat—making, raft-con-
structing, and also for cutting up into various domestic
implements. It is also of great service to the natives
for their fences and stockades, and if used as a hedge
it acts admirably, those that have been made about
the settlements adding greatly to the attractions of
the lanes and country roads. Fine clumps of bamboo
add to the beauty of the river Perak, seen as they
are, feathering against the pure sky. But great
as is the beauty of this cane it has its bad qualities.
The Malays use the large hollow joints to hold water ;
but in its wild—growing state it is frequently the cause
of fire; for where pieces of large growth, or even
plants of similar silicious nature, are in a position to

Q

 

58 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

be fretted and rubbed together by the Wind, a serious
jungle fire will often result. This no doubt taught
the aborigines how to obtain fire by rubbing a couple

of pieces together. The rotans, or rattans, have »

already been mentioned as among the great obstacles
to progression through the jungle ; but to the Malays
they are of infinite value, supplying them, when
twisted by means of a lever, and then dried, with
their strongest ropes.

 

CHAPTER VI.

Fruits—The Durian—Mangosteen—Shaddock—Ananas—Bread~fruit
~Cashew—Nam-nam—Wholesome nature of fruits.

THE fruits of Perak are almost endless, and embrace
some of the most delicious under the sun ; but many
of them bear names that would belittle better than
puzzles to the reader. Some of the principal must
however be given by their native titles.

Mr. \Vallaee, in his “ Malay Archipelago,” says
that the durian, which he seems to have found in a
great many of the‘islands, is the king of fruits, and
the orange the queen. To give place aux dcmzes, the
queen of fruits does not eXist in Perak at present;
but the country is eminently suitable for its growth,
and those specimens which are brought in from
Tringanu, on the east coast, are little inferior in flavour
to those of St. Michael.

The king of fruits, however, flourishes largely, and
is peculiar to the archipelago. It grows upon a large
tree something similar to a walnut, ripe fruit and flowers
being seen upon the tree at‘the same time ; and, as if

 

60 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

to startle the learned gentleman who is said to have
refuted the atheist about the acorn, the durian will
grow as large as a man’s head, is covered closely with
terribly sharp spines, set hexagonally upon its hard
skin, and when ripe and it falls, if it should strike
anyone under the tree, severe injury or death may be
the result. So fully awake are the natives to the
danger of a blow from a falling durian, that in populous
places they take the trouble to stretch nets at some
distance from the ground, where a road or pathway
leads beneath a durian grove, so as to catch the ripe
fruit as it falls. Five faint marks exist on the shell,
which show the line of the carpels, like those of an
orange, and following these the fruit can be opened with
a heavy knife. Inside there are, to each carpel or
division, two or three seeds as big as chestnuts, and
these are surrounded by a rich thick cream, upon
the flavour of which opinions are wonderfully divided.
The natives are excessively devoted to it, and some
Europeans declare it to be like a rich buttery custard
flavoured with almonds; while Mr. \Vallaee says,
“with it come wafts of flavour that call to mind
cream—cheese, onion sauce, brown sherry, and other
ineongruities.”

The writer’s testimony is that it is, no doubt, to
some palates a very delicious fruit or food, as it
may be termed, but when over ripe, its odour is
foetid to a degree. The disagreeable odour of this
fruit has formed the basis of many an anecdote, and if

"anmkams " ‘W’

 

THE DURIAN. 61

 

one or two are given in passing, it is only what would
be expected when the durian is mentioned.

A high official, on his way from England to China,
was sumptuously entertained by the then resident
councillor at Penang. This gentleman was a great
admirer of the fruit, and had one of the very best his
garden could produce placed upon the table. On his
lordship being asked his opinion of it, he replied
sharply to his host: “ It may have been very good
last season, Mr. L., but, if you will excuse me, I would
rather not venture on it now.”

Ladies are supposed to look upon this production
with extreme disgust, but get the credit of being very
partial to it nevertheless. The story goes that a lady,
the descendant of one of the old settlers of the penin-
sula, made a confession in an unguarded moment,
when, being condoled with upon the question of having
to go and live in a very out—of—the—way bungaloh, she
declared she should not feel dull, for there would be
plenty of durians there. ‘

So strange and unwholesome is the odour of this
fruit, that it is possible it may possess the quality
of temporarily destroying the sense of smell in those
who partake of it ; otherwise this intense fondness for
the fruit seems almost a mystery. It may be detected
at a considerable distance, and about the nearest
approximation to its peculiar smell is that of a brick—
kiln when in full burning. The natives cultivate it
largely, and esteem it above all others. An old writer

 

62 “SEIZONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

says that the Siamese would barter their liberty to
obtain it; certain it is that a Malay would give a
considerable portion of his day’s pay to obtain one.

The mangosteen too deserves special notice, for its
inviting appearance and delicious flavour. It is a
fruit that would be highly esteemed in England; and
the writer is glad to announce that plants of this fruit-
tree which have been sent to British Guiana are now *
growing, favoured by the latitude; and probably
by the time these pages appear will be in full fruit
at Trinidad, whither they were sent. The distance
from Demerara or Trinidad is comparatively so short
that there is the possibility of the mangosteen at
length finding its way to an English table. This it
is hoped may prove to be the case, as all efforts
made by the writer, who tried various methods, failed
to get the fruit home from Singapore in decent con-
dition.

The pine-apple flourishes well wherever planted,
but grapes are only produced with great difficulty.
The varieties of the custard-apple, guava, pome—
granate, alligator—pear, mango, and a number of
native fruits, grow abundantly at the Settlements, and
fruit-trees of many kinds are carefully planted round
their homes by the Malays. The pommeloe, or
shaddock, flourishes well, but is an importation from
the East and West Indies; there are several kinds too
of citrons and limes, while the plantain, banana, or
'pisang, as the Malays call it, exists in a great many

 

BREAD-FR UIT AND CASHE H". 63

 

varieties, the best known being those bearing the
names of the stone, gold, sweet, egg, king, sultan,
monkey, and finger plantain.

The bread-fruit is of two kinds, only one of which
is edible, but it is not held in the same esteem as in
the South Sea Islands. There is a pandanus too:-
which bears a fruit as large as a durian. It is a fine
object in the marsh lagoons of Perak. The fruit is,
however, smooth, and not in favour with the Malays,
though much sought after by the monkeys. Perhaps
one of the most singular of the fruits of the peninsula
is the cashew—apple, which abounds, and is remarkable
for being like two fruits in one ; an apple above, with
the familiar kidney-shaped nut below. The dookoo
is a large round fruit, and grows on a comparatively
small tree. The nain-nam, an acid apple—like fruit,
has the peculiarity of growing on the stem of the-
parent—tree; while, for some unknown reason, the
papaya is said to possess the quality of giving ten—1
derness to meat placed beneath its boughs.

A curious seed—pod growing commonly in Pcrak
deserves mention. It is only a little over an inch
from tip to tip ; but it is peculiar from its taking the
exact shape of a buffalo’s horns and frontal. It is one
of those freaks of nature that are so hard to explain,
for in this case no possible reason can be assigned for its
eccentric shape.

Very few cases of injurious symptoms seem to arise
from partaking of fruit. There is one kind howevcr,

 

64 “SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

the rokam, which is very unwholesome if taken in an
unripe state, and cases of death from its effects are not
unknown amongst children. When ripe however it
resembles a gooseberry in flavour, and though hard,
becomes very pulpy on pressure, and is eaten in this
state by the Malays and some Europeans.

The indigenous fruits of the peninsula are however
almost endless, and a full description of all would be
far beyond the limits of this work.

CHAPTER VII.

Vegetable-food supply—Curries and their preparation—Kachang—
The gourd family—European vegetables—Herbs—Indigo—
Pepper —— Gambier —— Sugar——Coffee—Tobacco—Cinchona—Rice-
growing—~Clearing the jungle—Medicinal and poisonous plants.

ONE of the first things a settler thinks of in a new
country is the supply. of food to which he has been
accustomed. When, however, the resident in Perak
looks for the homely old vegetables of his native land,
he is doomed to be disappointed. Still, if he be not
too strictly wedded to conventionality, he will find
that nature has, in Withholding the produce of a
temperate region, been prodigal in her supplies of
that belonging to the tropics. A stranger will look
in vain for the simple potato, even though it was
originally the growth of a foreign shore, for all
attempts to cultivate it here result in the production
of wretched little tubers not much larger than peas. In
its place, however, there is the dry—eating, farinaceous
yam, which flourishes abundantly.

The great dish of the east is curry; but let not

the reader imagine that it is composed with a dry
F

 

66 “SrlRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

yellowish powder, for nothing is farther from the
truth. The fact is, that the native curry more
resembles the preparation for a salad, inasmuch as it
is composed of vegetables in their green, or ripe state ;
and it is surprising how many things are introduced
into the savoury dish. One of the principal ingre-
dients is the contents of the cocoa-nut, crushed with
its milk into a pulp. Turmeric is grown, and largely
used. The pods of the moringa tree enter into the
curry, while its scraped root is used by Europeans as
a substitute for horse—radish, which it strongly re—
sembles in flavour. 'The fresh chillies and capsicums
of the country are considered indispensable, while the
heart of the cocoa—nut tree, called cocoa-nut cabbage,
is another ingredient, though often used as a salad,
in which form it has a delicious nutty taste.

Under the name of kachcmg the Malays classify
the many varieties of beans, peas, and vetches. These
they commonly eat parched; but, after the fashion of
our gardeners with the sea—kale, they often imitate the
Chinese plan, and grow some kinds in the dark, so as
to make them tender for mixing in curries. We have
there, too, a creeper, whose name is not known. It
grows very readily, and its leaf strongly resembles
spinach. .

As might be supposed, all plants of the gourd
family flourish rapidly. Water-melons come to great
perfection; cucumbers are plentiful; and the Malays
grow a large number of gourds, some of which are

VEGETABLE FOOD. 67

 

edible, others useful for vessels for carrying water.
Among other vegetables grown by the people are a
kind of edible arum ; sweet potatoes ; and the bandicoi,
which grows on a small shrub, bearing a flower like
a hibiscus. This, with a curious three-cornered vege-
table, eight or ten inches long, is much appreciated.
The Malays have also a great affection for onions.

The climate is, however, capable of producing, and
does produce where the Chinese have settled, pulse,
radishes, and a coarse lettuce. There is also no doubt
that many kinds of familiar English vegetables might
be grown, if care were taken to study the suitable
time for planting, and to protect the tender shoots
from the sun. Much has been attempted, though
little has yet been done. In the higher parts of
the country, on the slopes of the mountains, would
be the most suitable 'spots. A few enterprising gen-
tlemen have made attempts in the Settlements, and
good English peas have been grown. Upon one occa-
sion a cabbage was produced that would have been an
ornament to a Covent Garden stall; but that won
derful cabbage had been tenderly nurtured in a flower~
pot, and was its owner’s anxious and almost only
care; in Province Wellesley, however, asparagus has
been grown with success.

Herbs flourish, mint growing well in the country,
and there is a leaf with the flavour of sage ; and when
it is remembered that Perak runs from the low sea~
shore swamps upward to the central hill-summits,

F 2

 

68 “ SARONG ” AND “KIM—S.”

 

abounding in fertile soil, and plentifully supplied with
water, it is evident that, by management, the fruit
or vegetable of most parts of the world might be
produced with ease.

Advantage has been taken of this by the growers of
the various commodities which are raised upon a large
scale. Indigo has been tried by the Chinese settlers
at Singapore with the most gratifying results. It
thrives well, and its growth is apparently free from
the many difficulties which attend its production in
india. The juice is used by the Malays, who have
probably learned its value in dyeing from the
Hindoos.

Pepper is a plant natural to the Straits, and
' flourishes well, but it has the peculiarity of quickly
exhausting the soil. The Chinese and Malays grow
it readily, and it is a production that has a ready
sale. Heat, moisture, and shade are indispensable
to it ; and it may not be generally known that black
and white pepper are, like black and green tea, the
produce of the same plant.

Gambier is likewise largely grown in the Straits,
and would flourish well in poorly-cultivated Perak.
It is produced from a shrub, whose leaves are picked
and boiled down into a syrup, poured into moulds,
and then cut into cubes when dry. It is largely used
by the Malays for masticating with their betel. As
a drug, however, it is very valuable for tanning pur—
poses, containing, as it does, some fifty per cent. of

 

COFFEE AND TOBACCO. 69

 

pure tannin. It is this drug which is used to give
the nets and sails of our fishing—boats at home their
cinnamon-brown colour. Cotton was tried in Singa-
pore by General Cavenagh, and it grew with a fine
long staple. It was merely an experiment in a
garden, and the plants suffered from blight, but it
is one of the productions for which the soil of Perak
is eminently adapted.

To continue the experiments that have been made,
sugar may be mentioned; in fact, so successfully has
the cane been grown that a company is reported to
have just purchased ninety thousand acres of land
in the country for a sugar plantation.

Coffee and Java are so well associated in most
people’s minds, that it will be no surprise to say that
the berry has been successfully grown in the peninsula.
Tea culture is in its infancy; but it has been satisfac—
torily tried in the settlement bordering on Perak,
namely, Province Wellesley, where the clove has also
been grown. These have been but tentative matters,
for, except by the Malays in their primitive manner, the
soil of Perak, which offers itself for the cultivation of
these valuable commodities, has hardly been broken,
and is in fact a wilderness of fertility, waiting for the
busy hand of man.

Another plant too would flourish well in Perak,
namely, the tobacco, already grown in small quantities
by the Malays; and judges of the soil suited for this
aromatic production assert, that if the planters who/

 

'70 “SleONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

have so successfully adventured in growing it just
across the Strait at Deli in Sumatra, had first seen the
land on the banks of the Perak, they would have
had by preference their plantations there. At the
present time the Deli cigars have found their way
into the English market, where they promise to be
formidable rivals of the well—known productions of
Manilla.

Cinchona, the tree from which quinine is obtained,
should also be tried, as a paying cultivation, for it has
succeeded admirably‘in Ceylon, India, and the neigh-
bouring isle of Java. Most of these are growths that
may be looked upon as experiments—though such as
are almost bound to succeed. It is however only fair
to refer to a failure—namely, an attempt to reintroduce
that valuable spice the nutmeg. This has been tried
without much success at Penang and Singapore, and
no adequate reason can be assigned for the very
extensive failure of the plant about twenty years ago.
Perhaps Perak may be found the happy medium,
lying as it does between the two settlements.

Among the regular cultivations of the state, rice
must stand first, forming as it does the staple food of
the Malay. Wherever padi—fields are planted 01f the
banks of the rivers and drain—canals, the rice is grown
with very good results, while the waving fields of
sugar—cane and maize plainly show that the general
cultivation of these crops might be as well carried out
in Perak as in Province Wellesley in the north. Here

 

RICE-G120 WING. 71

 

the sugar estates have for years past realised the most
happy results.

The rice—growing is of two kinds namely, the wet
land and the dry land. The latter on the hill—sides is
exclusively the native method ; but for the wet growth
the Malay is indebted to the Indians who settled in
Sumatra, and from whom this mode of irrigating the

 

fields and producing the rice spread through the
peninsula. After the land is prepared, the grain is -
not sown after the fashion of corn in Europe, but in
nurseries; and when the tender young plants are
eight inches high, they are lifted and transplanted,
after removing the tops, being placed in clusters of
six or eight, pretty closely together, in the field ready
for their reception, and in rows one feet apart.

The Malays are good agriculturists, but do little
until they are obliged, being of a listless idle nature;
and they suffer from the effects of one of our old
policies—namely, that of discouraging rice cultivation,
and letting them trust to the importation of this staple
from places farther south.

The plough used is a primitive affair, drawn by
buffaloes. It is a heavy pole, with a wooden fork to
act as coultcr, and a bar of wood inserted at an oblique
angle by way of handle. The clods are broken by
dragging over them a heavy beam, and the land is
harrowed by means of another heavy beam full of
spikes. The sowing in the nursery and planting out
are generally performed by women, who, when the padi

 

72 “SARONG” AN “KRIS.”

 

is ready, cut it off about six inches below the ear.
This they do sometimes with a sickle, but generally
by means of an ingeniously—contrived little instru-
ment, by whose action, aided by the fingers, the rice-
stalks are severed as if by a pair of scissors, leaving
the stems in the gatherers’ hands. The husking of
the rice is contrived by means of a tin-bound pestle
and a mortar, and the woman’s difficulty is to regulate
her blows so as not to crush the grain. An ingenious
American machine has for some time been introduced
into the peninsula, consisting of a heavy shaft with
pegs or cogs, which alternately raise a series of pestles,
or stampers, which fall in as many mortars, and so
husk the grain. The Chinese also have established
primitive machines driven by water power.

Tapioca is largely cultivated in the peninsula, and
it would grow well in Perak, but at the present ruling
prices it would hardly be a paying adventure. In
fact in forming plantations here, as in many other
parts of the world, the labour question is the great
difficulty. To meet this, however, there is the hope
that Coolie emigration will still be fostered by the
Indian government; especially as now every safe—
guard has been made for the protection of labourers,
and for their return to their homes; in fact, every
provision that could satisfy the most hypercritical on
such matters. The present Indian famine could not,
of course, have been foreseen; but had greater faci-
lities been given for emigration from India, many of

 

CLEARING THE JUNGLE. 73

 

those terrible deaths from starvation might have been
averted, while the native states of the peninsula would
have been correspondingly improved.

The flourishing growth of citronella and lemon-
grass, from which essential oils are extracted, must
not lack mention ; while the question of grass naturally
suggests pasture-land, which is somewhat wanting, for
this is no home of grazing cattle, like the park—like
stretches of Australia. There is however a great
variety of grasses in the peninsula. Capital sweet
nutritious meadow—grass is grown at Penang and
Singapore, upon which both horses and ponies thrive
well; but the grass generally of the Settlements,
except in Northern Perak, is not particularly good or
fattening for cattle.

In connection with the clearing away of the jungle,
and preparing the ground for cultivation, there are
one or two curious points to consider. One is, that if
the tall trees are cut down the brushwood should be
left, or its place supplied with some other growth,
otherwise miasnia is likely to rise and produce fever.
Secondly, the action of nature is so rapid that, in clear-
ing away the trees and brush, or, as the Malays call it,
tabers—tabang, no more should be cleared than is required
for use, otherwise-the ladcmg will run into lallang. In
other words, the cleared but uncultivated land will be
speedily overrun by a rank grass (Gramcn caricosum)
the roots of which are more expensive and difficult to
clear away than the jungle that previously occupied

 

74: “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

the soil. This grass is so plentiful, and so overruns the
country, growing in some places to a height of five
feet, that it is a pity that it cannot be turned to some
manufacturing account. It is said to make fair paper,
but its success in this way is not yet publicly known.
The Malays, however, use it for thatching, and cattle-
bedding, and stuff their pillows with its flowers : here
however its utility ends.

Like the inhabitants of Java, the Malays have a
good notion of what vegetable productions are avail—
able for medicinal purposes. Unfortunately, too, their
knowledge has extended strongly to poisons, and the
Malay women have the credit of a great insight into
those infusions which produce death.

Amongst the medicinal plants, the fresh roots of
the male pomegranate is, as an infusion, a specific
where a vermifuge is needed. For chest complaints,
a jelly is made from a sea-weed called agar-agar. It
is mixed with sugar, and not at all unpalatable; but
the Malays probably owe the knowledge of this pro—
duction to the Chinese immigrants, who bring with
them no lack of medical knowledge: in fact their
preparation of peppermint is an almost universal
medicine, and invaluable in its properties.

One little shrub, called tulvee, which is in favour
with the Indians for placing near the graves of the
departed, has a black seed which when mixed. in
water gives out a kind of white pulp. This is held
in great esteem by thenatives for its power in cooling

 

POISON OUS PLANTS. 75

 

the blood, and is often taken with lime-juice and
sugar. Among the poisonous plants, the daturah is
common in the peninsula ; and it has been remarked
that when a person is under the effect of its poison,
he constantly observes his fingers, and keeps passing
his thumb over them in a most peculiar way.

In a district like Perak, however, where over the
greater part of the land nature reigns supreme, these
notes of the vegetable productions are necessarily very
far from being complete ; they are, however, the result
of observation, and show the reader how lush must be
the growth of this tropic soil.

CHAPTER VIII.

Noxious animals~The python—Varieties of serpent—Leeches—~—The
tortoise and turtle—Dangerous saurians—Government rewards
——Fish and fishing—Various methods.

SELF-PRESERVATION is so truly the first law of nature,
that it is only natural for a Visitor to a far—off foreign
shore to eagerly inquire as to what noxious creatures
are there, and dwell especially upon the reptiles; for
the travellers’ tales that have been brought home, res—
pecting the acts and deeds of huge serpents, that
crush buffaloes in their folds and then swallow them,
have been as startling as those relating to the rapid
and fatal action of the poison of the smaller snakes.
Perak being a land of moist jungle, with large swamps
and lagoons, lying beneath a tropic sun, naturally
possesses its noxious reptiles ; but as these creatures,
like almost all wild animals, hurry away from the step
of man, accidents are very rare.

When it is stated that boa-constrictors are said to
be found to the length of thirty feet, they might
reasonably be expected to be the most alarming of the
peninsula reptiles, but they are rarely seen, and are

 

THE PYTHON. 77

 

for the most part dangerous to fowls. In fact, the
writer shot one that had invaded his fowl-house in
Labuan, and gorged itself to such an extent with
poultry that, like the mouse of the fable, it could not
crawl back by the hole through which it had entered.
This creature was eighteen feet long, and nearly as
thick as alman’s leg. That pythons grow to excep—
tionally large size there can be no doubt, but twenty
feet may be taken as the size of a well-grown specimen.

One of the keenest sportsmen in Singapore gives
an account of a monster that he encountered; and
also instances that the boa feeds occasionally on
larger prey, which it can seize and crush. He had
wounded a bear in the jungle, and was following its
track with his dogs, when on penetrating farther into
the forest, he found the dogs at bay, and advancing
cautiously, prepared for another shot at the boar. To
his surprise, however, he found that the dogs were
baying a huge python, which had seized the boar,
thrown its coils round the unfortunate beast, and was
crushing it to death. A well-directed shot laid the
reptile writhing on the ground, and it proved to be
about thirty feet long : but such instances of extreme
length are very rare.

There are some fifteen or sixteen different kinds of
snakes—and many of them beautifully marked——
known to the Malays, who however look upon them
with the greatest unconcern, knowing from long ex—
perience that their nature is to crawl rapidly away

78 “SERONG” AND “K1313 .”

 

 

into the jungle. They vary, from a little Viper re—
sembling an English adder, to the black cobra, which is
as much as five feet in length. These cobras resemble
those of India in their spectacle markings, and the
peculiar manner in which they puff out the neck, and
rise up on the lower portion of the body; but, poisonous
as they are, the Indian convicts in the Settlements will
seize them by the tail with one hand, and draw them
rapidly through the other till the fingers grasp the
neck, when they allow them to twine round the arm.
There is one little serpent though, about eighteen
inches in length, and peculiar in its shape, as it is
equal in size from head to tail, these extreme points
being wonderfully alike. This is believed by the
Malays to be extremely poisonous, and is more dreaded
than the black cobra; but injuries from snakes are
very uncommon. For the cure of snake—bites the
common people use a stone which, though not the
bezoar-stone, is said to possess the quality of adhering
to the wound and imbibing all the poison; though a
European would probably prefer the application of
ammonia and strong internal doses of brandy or
whisky, to increase the action of the pulse, and arrest
the horrible stagnation which appears to be one of the
consequences of serpent Venom in the blood.

The principal food of the smaller serpents is un-
doubtedly the frogs of the marshy parts. These
reptiles abound, making a deafening noise after a
shower. Their little green relative of the trees, with

 

LEEOHES. 79

 

his sucker—furnished feet, merely emits a faint pipe;
but he is far more active than his ground companions,
and isa pretty object amidst the leaves. Amongst
the pests of the moist places of the jungle are the
leeches ; for these creatures, directly the earth
trembles with the step of man or beast,.streteh them—
selves out in savage hunger—~or, it should be said,
thirst

 

and by some means or another manage to make
a lodgment upon the body of him who passes through
the woods. Perhaps their presence is not at first felt,
and they may not be discovered till the journey’s end,
when a bath reveals the little monsters gorged with
their sanguinary repast. How they manage to get up
a man’s trousers-legs is a puzzle; and the only way
to keep them at bay is to tie the trousers tightly
round the ankle, place them inside the boots, and
freely anoint the latter with lime-juice, which the
little pests hold in especial abomination.

Tortoises are often seen in the swampy places;
one of them being a curious reptile with a soft shell, a
large snout, and very quick movement; scuttling
away in a very different fashion to its shelly com-
panion, who calmly pulls its head and legs inside its
case, and waits until the danger that threatens is
past. Their relatives the turtles abound off the
coast, and especially about the Binding Islands. One
of the smaller isles is chosen by the turtles for the
purpose of laying their eggs, and they come and go
with the greatest regularity, a feW Malays inhabiting

 

80 “S/lRONG” AND “KIM—S.”

 

the place specially for the collection of this egg
harvest. In the neighbouring state of Qucdah they
are so abundant that they are made a Government
monopoly. These eggs are abOut the size of those of a
bantam, but have a soft leathery skin, while the
contents have a peculiar astringent flavour; but they
are looked upon as a great delicacy. The turtles off
the shore are'very sluggish in their movements, and
may at times be seen lying asleep on the calm surface
of the transparent water; when a clever swimmer will
approach cautiously, turn them back downwards, and
then float them ashore boat fashion ; for when turned
they are as helpless at sea as on land.

Among lizards is the beautiful flying species, with
its curious extensive web, and one known in Perak as
the iguana, which it resembles; but it is only about
eighteen inches long, and it is commonly called a
blood-sucker, probably because it never. sucks blood.
There are also numbers of smaller lizards, which are
very rapid in their movements, and the decided
enemies of the flies. In fact, one of the favourite
proverbs of the Malay is derived from the deliberate
manner in which the lizard seizes its prey. It answers
to our Latin festina lente, the hasten slowly of moralists’
pens. The great dangerous saurians are three, and
known to the Malays as the gouro, frog, and copper
species. These alligators abound in the rivers and
estuaries; and occasionally a death or serious injury
occurs through an incautious approach to a river—bank

 

DANGEROUS SA URIANS. 81

 

where they are known to abound. Their favourite
habitats are near the mouths of the rivers, especially
the J urumas and Bruas, on the coast.

These reptiles run up to twenty-five feet in length ;
but are then heavy and sluggish of movement, and
bear no comparison for dangerous qualities with
those of twelve or fifteen feet in length, which are
extremely powerful and rapid in swimming. It is no
uncommon thing for the Malay boatmen to warn their
passengers, when going up a river, not to hang their
hands over the sides, as people often inadvertently do,
to feel the cool fresh current pass between the fingers,
for an alligator will often snap at the hand ; one sweep
of the powerful tail sending the creature with a rush
through the water.

An instance was known to the writer of a man
being seized across the loins by one of these creatures,
which tried to drag him into the river, but he had
presence of mind enough to thrust his fingers into its
eyes, when the agony caused the monster to quit its
hold. Travellers with sporting preclivities have ample
opportunities for a shot at them, as they lie basking
on the mud in the mangrove swamps; but it is a
great rarity to get one, for they immediately rush for
the river if wounded, and sink directly, while very
often their scaly hide saves them from injury. They
are not seen very far up the river, seeming to like an
occasional visit to the brackish water, or even a cruise
now and then out to sea.

 

82 “SARONG” AN “KRLS’.”

 

The Malays have a stimulus offered them by
Government for the destruction of these reptiles, in the
shape of a reward of twelve dollars for every one
taken, even as fifty dollars are offered for the destruc-
tion of a tiger ; but without this premium they have
a deadly hatred for the dangerous creature, and are
very ingenious in their plans for its destruction. They
make a large hook, very ingeniously contrived, so that
it shall not be disgorged, and attach it carefully with
ligatures beneath the wing of a white fowl. Expe-
rience has taught them that the alligator can break a
chain, and bite through an ordinary rope; so they
fasten the hook to a rope composed of loose strands
made from the gamooty palm. Then, after securing
one end of the rope—which is of a pretty good length
——to a tree, they picket the fowl to a peg on the river
bank; the whole process being like setting a bank—
runner for pike in an English stream. The alligator
generally takes the unfortunate bait, swallows it
whole, and returns to the river, to find that the loose
strands of palm-rope go between its teeth, and cannot
be bitten through ; and the end of the monster is that
it is ignominiously dragged from the river by a dozen
Malays, and despatched. This is fishing on a large
scale and to some purpose, for the alligators are a
dangerous pest.

The Malays are, however, famous fishermen ; their
amphibious life making them adopts in anything con-
nected with river or sea. And this is in nowise

 

FISH AND FISHING. 83

 

surprising, when we remember that fish in some form
or another is one of the staples of their simple food.
Give a Malay fish, salt, rice, and the fruits he culti—
vates near his hut, and he is content, especially if he
can in addition obtain a little Java tobacco. If he
cannot, he is content with his own rough growth,
which he rolls up into a large cigarette in a piece of
palm—leaf sheath ; or else smokes with no little enjoy-
ment out of a pipe made from the short joint of a
bamboo for bowl, and a stem composed of a thin shoot;
while, should he be at a loss for a light in the jungle,
he can obtain it by rubbing the sharp edge of one
piece of bamboo on a notch cut in another, the sharp
piece sawing through and the dust igniting inside.
Fish of infinite variety abound in the rivers and
pools of Perak; and frequently, after heavy rains,
small drains and ditches that have been fishless are to
be found swarming with small kinds of five or six
inches in length, offering themselves for capture by
the boys and women. For not only is fishing an
occupation with the Malays, and a means of getting
their livelihood, but one of their favourite amuse‘
ments ; and it is no uncommon thing to see an old lady,
venerable in years, come out of her hut, armed with
bamboo rod and line, and sit and fish for hours,
generally with pretty good success. Her take will
generally consist of what the people call the ikom
sambilang, or fish of nine, so called from the number

of barbs at its head. This fish abounds in the ponds
G 2

 

84s “SARONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

near the rice-fields, and in the running streams, and
is a big—headed fellow, something between a burbot
and a gudgeon. It is a great favourite, and adds a
relish to the frugal meal of the captors.

Fond as both sexes are of rod-fishing, the Malays
make frequent use in their rivers of the small seine or
drag-net, whose lower edge is loaded with weights to
keep it at the bottom. Their way of using it is much
the same as at home here in England, in dragging a
small river or pond. It is stretched across from side
to side of a river, and then cautiously drawn to the
bank, great care being needed to prevent the escape
of the fish. During the disturbances at Perak, while
the troops were quartered at Qualla Kungsa, the
Deputy-commissioner became an adept in the use of
the drag—net, catching some good bags of a kind of
perch, which formed a very agreeable variety to the
sameness of the up-country mess—table.

The cast—net is also known to the Malays, and this
they throw with great dexterity; but they are not
always so straightforward, from an English point of
View, in their fishing, for they not unfrequently poison
the fish in convenient places, in a very poacher~like
fashion, using the root of a creeping shrub called
toobah. This, like coeculus indicus, has the property
of drugging the fish, which eat it with avidity, and
then come to the surface, and are easily taken by
hand. This same root is largely used by the Chinese
for destroying insect life amongst their growing plants;

 

SHOOTING FISH. 85

 

and after some effort, the writer has succeeded,
through the kindness of Singapore friends, in getting
it safely to the Botanic Gardens at Kew, Where it is
now flourishing.

The Perak streams most probably contain trout,
and they abound in curious examples of fish life, some
of which are remarkably brilliant in their colouring.
One little fellow is of a brilliant scarlet, with a broad
band of bright blue across its sides. Another is re-
markable for its pugnacity ; for if a couple confined in
separate bottles or globes are brought near to one
another, they commence with a severe examination,
and end by setting up their dorsal fins, and butting
at each other fiercely, like a couple of piscine rams.
Perhaps the greatest curiosity of all, though, is the
little shooting-fish, which, if kept in confinement in
basin or tank, will sail round and round, firing a water
shot every time, like a shell from. a tiny cannon, at
any unfortunate fly or ant that may be on the side of
the fountain or basin, or upon an overhanging twig, and
this with good aim, till the insect is brought down
and swallowed. \Vhen three or four of these little
creatures are in the same basin, they will fire in turn,
one after the other, with singular regularity. They
are prettily marked black—and—white fish, some three or
four inches long, and principally found in Siam, but
are not uncommon in the waters of the peninsula.

CHAPTER IX.

Sea-fish—Delicacies for the table—Condiment or caviare—Shell-fish
and pearls—Coral groves--The Malay fisherman—The skipjack
~—The kaylong.

THE sea has its curious fish off the Malayan coast,
one of which, the ekan buntal or pillow—fish, is very
common. It is beaked somewhat like a parrot, and ‘
has the power of inflating itself into a globular form
when alarmed or touched, an act which sets up all
over it a wonderful array of spines. It has, more—
over, the peculiarity of being vocal, for when touched
it emits a sound something between a grunt and the"
hoot of an owl. The Malays never eat it, but when
it is taken with other fish, they shake it out of the
net upon the sea—shore, where it may often be found
in all stages between life and death.

As in other parts of the world, it is to the sea that
the common people look for their best supply of fish
for food. Of those which are brought to the table of
the European resident in the Settlements, the principal
are the tungeree, the red mullet, and the pomfret
very delicious fish not unlike a turbot. There is also

 

{L

 

SEA FISH. 87

 

the tongue—fish, which somewhat resembles our sole,
though very different in flavour. Prawns, shrimps,
crabs, and cray—fish are plentiful. Both rock and river
oysters may be had, but they are elongated in shell,
and not equal to our natives. The mussel, too, is not
unknown.

As a matter of course the fishing—grounds of Perak
are not developed, and thus during the investigation
of the country, little besides a kind of gray mullet
could be obtained ; but north and south in the settled
parts the waters teem with fish. Among other kinds,
a little smelt is brought in, a delicious yellow fish with
a silver stripe along its side ; a kind of skate ; sharks,
especially the hammer-headed, abound, and the smaller
kinds are caught and eaten, being frequently exposed
for sale. Salt fish is much eaten by the Malays, and
that caught and dried at Salangore, under Chinese
direction, is admirable as a relish, and quite as satis-
factory as the fish-roe of Siak, which is always obtain-
able in the markets. ,To the lovers of the durian~—— -
that is, people who do not object to peculiar gamincss
of flavour—~may be recommended for a relish, with
curry, the blachang of the Malays.

This favourite condiment is generally made by the
Malay fishermen on the sands, where, in a kind of bag,
they trample semi-putrefied shrimps and prawns into
a mass, salt it, and keep it. Tastes are various, and
this odorous compound is much in favour. These
fishers are fond of collecting shell-fish from the sands

 

88 “ SARONG ”‘ AND “ KRIS.”

 

after the tide has gone down, very much as it is done
upon our own shores; facts which place the civilised
‘and the uncivilised nations very closely together in
this respect. In Perak they gather quantities of the
little donax, and it is no uncommon thing to see a
Malay down upon the sea-shore busy with a kind of
hook and a bag or basket, going cautiously over the
sand till his well—trained eye lights upon a peculiarly—
shaped hole, when the barbed iron is thrust down and
one of the familiar razor shells, or solens, is dragged out.
In such waters as there are here, a few steps in the
direction of oyster-culture must have abundant results.
The pearl—oyster exists, but it is not now sought for.
In bygone times, fully a century back, the Malays had
the reputation of being great pearl-fishers; but now
their pearls, some of which are very fine, are obtained
from those of their nation who trade from the Moluceas.
They make a curious assertion respecting this softly-
lustrous gem, and that is, that if pearls are kept
together in a box they will increase in number; a
fact (?) this that might prove valuable to the possessor
of a few good specimens.

Allusion has been made to the beauty of the
submarine groves of coral, but the pen fails in any
attempt to describe the wondrous scene spread out
beneath him who gazes down through the limpid
water in the neighbourhood of a coral reef. Zoophytes
of endless graceful forms and lovely tints are glowing
in these strange groves, where sea-anemones spread

 

SEA-SNAKES. 89

 

their life—destroying petals, and large medusae, from
a foot to eighteen inches in diameter, float or navigate
slowly the clear depths below. The rainbow-like tints
of these sting-armed creatures are glorious in the
sunshine ; and the beholder often pauses to ask himself
why was all this beauty bestowed upon such lowly
works of the Creator’s hand. But ere the question
has well been formed, other creatures of beauty glide
by, in the shape of the brilliantly~marked fish which
make these submarine groves their home. It is off
these coral—bound reefs that sea—snakes may often be
seen writhing through the water, many of them five
and six feet in length. It might be imagined that the
power of the sun, and the intensity of the light shed
through the crystal waters, had something to do with
the brilliancy of tint and strong contrasts of the
scales of the fish. Stripes seem mostly the fashion,
for many of them are of the perch family; and vivid
yellows and scarlets are boldly contrasted with velvety
blacks.

The Malays who live near the coast Will frequently
proceed for many miles out to sea, when bound on a
fishing excursion. The canoe used is very small, and
will contain two at the outside. It is navigated by
means of a paddle and a matting sail ; and the Malay,
armed with his line, hooks, and bait-7 generally shrimps
—goes off quite happy and content for his long trip.
He usually protects his head with a circular hat
made from the nipah-pahn, and ornaments it with a

 

9O “S/lRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

shaving-brush—like tuft of the black fibres of the
gamooty. This hat is parasol as well, and screens his
head and shoulders from the vertical rays of the sun.
In the stern of the little craft a grooved wooden
upright is placed, for guiding the line; while, when
great depths are fished, a small Windlass is contrived
for ease in getting it up.

At times the object of the Malay fisherman’s
attentions is that curious specimen of natural history,
the skipjack (CCWOL’NCU) ; a long snipe-beaked fish, which
may often be seen playing along the surface of the
smooth water, darting out, and then bobbing along for
forty or fifty yards upon its tail, hardly seeming to
touch the surface as it propels itself along. The
Malay will set sometimes capturing these strange fish,
or their smaller relatives—the poopoot, with thirty or
forty baits around his boat, at the end of float—
furnished lines. '

The people have a proverb relating to this fish——
“lkan todo lungar Singapora”—to the effect that
some day or other it will force a landing on Singa—
pore.

It is sometimes dangerous to bathers ; an instance
having occurred off the coast, in which one of these
fish darted into a man’s mouth, and it was with no
little difficulty that it was withdrawn when the
bather was brought ashore to a planter’s estate.

Cockles are a favourite article of diet with the
Malays. These little bivalves seem to have abounded

 

SHELL FISH. 9].

 

on the west coast for ages. As was before intimated
in the allusion to the geographical features of the
country, these shells are to be seen in the Muda
district, Province Wellesley, in enormous mounds,
twenty to thirty feet in height. How they came
there is a puzzle, and one which some competent
geologist may perhaps unravel. The only theory
that suggests itself to the writer, but far from satisfies
him, is, that at some early date before the elevation
of the country, these must have been points Where
the currents of river and sea met, and there swept
up together the fish that were plentiful near the shore.

Mention of that singular relic of the Old—world
crustaceans, the king-crab, must not be omitted. It
is exceedingly like the picture of that curious fossil
the cephalaspis, or buckler—head, and its shells are
very common on the shore. It forms a part of the
food of the Malays, but to a European it is rather
an objectionable—looking creature, though not more so
perhaps than the cuttle-fish, which are great favourites
with the Chinese, for whose especial benefit they are
often caught and dried.

Of the shells generally—sea, river, and land—the
writer was unable to obtain any information, and his
stay in Perak itself was too limited in duration to
enable him to include them in his researches. This is
the more to be regretted, as it is quite untried ground,
where fine specimens could be obtained. A large
selection made by the writer in the Straits and

 

92 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

Labuan, and rivers south of Perak, became merged
in the collection of the late Mr. Cuming, of Gower
Street.

Mention has been made of the manner in which
the Malays use the ordinary drag and casting nets for
the capture of fish, but they have a more wholesale
way of obtaining their finny prey, by means of what
may be looked upon as an extended fish-trap. This is
the kaylong or fishing stakes, which are planted in the
shore, so as to run out sometimes as far as half a mile.
In fact, at the British settlements, these rows of stakes
would become a dangerous interruption to navigation,
were it not for the vigilance of the officials, whose duty
it is to prevent their too great increase. Kaylongs
have been in use from a very distant time, but whether
invented by the Malays, who are one of the great
fishing families of mankind, it is not easy to say.

There is no reason why it should not have been one
of their customs from the earliest ages, and if it was,
it is a strong proof of their being the people who
migrated to Arabia and Africa, and were mentioned
by Herodotus, as catching fish in “ nets extended along
the shoals upon the coast,” “ whose habitations were
formed of the bones of the whale, and to whom fish
rather than bread has ever been the staff of life.” But
though this may all be said to be true of the
“Icthyophagi,” it does not necessarily relate only to
the Malays.

The kaylongs are made of hurdles composed of

 

THE KAYLONG’. 93

 

strips of bamboo, some five feet long, fastened closely
together with rattans, which are nearly as useful and
strong as so much wire. These hurdles are attached
to stout stakes driven at intervals into the sand or
mud of the shore. The fish swim over these hurdles
at high water, but as the tide recedes, their progress
seaward is stopped by the water falling below the top
of the bamboos, and they try to effect their escape by
an opening left in the fence, but this only leads into
a square enclosure in which a net is kept lowered.
Over this enclosure a small covered shed is constructed,
in which the men work who raise and lower the net.

At times these kaylongs, which are used in common
by both Malays and Chinese settlers, are contrived so
that pointed bamboos are arranged in the opening to
the enclosure, so as to allow the entry of the fish,
which on trying to escape are repelled by the points,
just as they are in our own waters in the ordinary
fish-pot or trap of wickerwork raised and lowered in
the Thames weirs, to the puzzling of many a fat eel
astir when the waters are up.

CHAPTER X.

Insect pests — Strange beetles —— The leaf insect —- Fireflies —— A
Tartar—Fine field for the entomologist.

ONE of the great pests of tropical lands which are
well watered is undoubtedly that persevering little
creature, the mosquito. It has puzzled every tra—
veller, from time immemorial, how to account for the
fact that, no matter how much energy he throws into
his blows, he rarely can strike one ; and at last, from
being angrily aggressive, he assumes the passively
defensive state, taking refuge behind mosquito—cur-
tains, and leaving the virulent little insects to lay
siege to his fortalice.

In passing, a few words must be said respecting
the insects of Pcrak; and the mosquitoes may well
stand first, from the way in which they insist upon
making their presence known. They abound in the
country, some of them being of very large size; but
the most virulent is a small striped variety, banded
with black and white.

Cicadas of the noisiest kind and grasshoppers are

 

INSECT PESTS. 95

 

plentiful enough in the plains, the latter being much
sought for by the Malay youths for feeding their larks
and quails. They catch them very readily by means
of a little instrument of open rattan-work. This is
formed something like a child’s sea-side shovel, only
larger, and is used with great dexterity by the boys,
who are light and active in the extreme.

Scorpions are pretty abundant, and those un-
pleasant-looking creatures, the centipedes, some of
which seem to possess pedal appendages enough to
merit the term of thousand legs, while the ants are
some of them enormous. One black kind is from one-
and—a—half to two inches in length ; but these are not
seen in large numbers together. There is the termes,
or white ant, and the biting red ant, called by the
Malays krcmgga. This little creature makes its nest
between the leaves of trees, rolling them up and
securing them with. gluten, and is much dreaded, from
the severity of its bite, which is as bad as a severe
nip with a pair of forceps. It is fortunately not
poisonous, but forms one of the principal supplies of
that curious acid in use amongst photographers, and
known as formic. Spiders naturally abound, and,
judging from journeys through the country, the ento—
mologist might collect many new species. Flies are
also abundant. In fact, in this unexplored region
there is open ground for lovers of every phase of
natural history; and the stag and rhinoceros beetles
would alone form a collection. Every marshy place

 

96 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

is wonderful for its varieties of dragon-flies, flitting
about on their gauzy wings, and some of them are of
very great beauty, while the hornets are of immense
size, the largest the writer has seen up the eastern
archipelago.

But for brilliancy of colouring, the butterflies and
moths bear off the palm. Their colours are lovely,
and in the moist, sunny openings of the jungle, they
flap along on wings painted with the most refulgent
dyes. The capture of some is very difficult, from
their lofty flight; but the merest tyro may net an
abundance of the beautiful moisture-loving specimens,
not excepting the great Atlas moth, which is found in
high perfection, many being nine and ten, and even
twelve, inches across their wings.

Leaf insects have often been described; but
probably the custom existing here in the Malay
peninsula has not been noticed—«namely, that of
keeping them in little cages, as curious specimens of
natural history. They are found about an inch-and—a—
half long, and are singular for their exact resemblance
to a leaf. Beautiful as these leaf insects are, they
bear no comparison to a remarkable species Which
the writer has found haunting the trees of one kind
only. It is less than two inches in length, of a lovely
gray, liberally spotted with red. Its flight is the
most wonderful quality of the insect, for it goes from
tree to tree after the fashion of a bird. Attempts to
bring it to Europe have as yet failed, but, as far as

 

FIREFLIES. 97

 

can be made out, it is an insect quite new to col-
lectors, and peculiar to this part of the world.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful sights in Perak
is a mangrove swamp on a soft, still, dark night, when
the fireflies are out in myriads, flashing from leaf to
leaf, and darting like brilliant sparks from tree to
tree in showers of light. Every here and there they
settle, and then seem disturbed, When the coruscations
of tiny stars are perfectly wonderful. Every fly seems
to send out its light in pulses or throbs, like the
flashes from a signal lamp ; and so great is the beauty
of this scene that the lover of natural history would
deem it alone worth a journey to the east to see.

There are plenty of destructive insects, one of the
worst being the carpenter beetle, which is so in-
dustrious in its habits that it will riddle the beams of
a building, if of wood that finds favour. Numerous
accounts of its evil doings are given, the Government
bungaloh at Malacca having suffered very severely.
Doubtless, however, remedies for these insect pests
could be found.

We were especially fortunate in our travels in
Pcrak in not coming across a fly said to be peculiar to
the peninsula. This insect is not unlike a cicada in
form, but it has been furnished by nature with a long
and sharp proboscis, with which it can inflict a wound
that gives the most acute pain. On one occasion the
writer was passing through the jungle at the foot of

Mount Ophir in Malacca. The party was progressing
H

 

98 “SHRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

in single file, and very slowly ; for the leader, a Malay,
had to make use of his parang, or heavy wood—knife~
which answers to the machete of the South American
———to cut a way through the tangled undergrowth and
rattans. Suddenly the foremost man uttered a cry of
pain, and darted aside, a movement followed by the
others in succession; and before the Europeans 0f the
party, who stood in the position of “ ready,” could ask
the reason for this peculiar flank movement, three of
the Malays who had been pierced by these insects
were brought to us, with the proboscis apparently
left in the wound. The remedy resembles that of our
sailors, who, no matter what the injury, apply a little
tobacco ; that of the Malays being a little of the lime
formed from burnt shells, and carried about with them
for chewing with their betel—nut and leaf. Eflieaeieus
it may have been, but, like the infallible nostrums
for toothache, it evidently did not cure the pain
instantaneously.

For students of entomology there are endless
objects asking the collector’s hand; and though the
writer is unable to call attention to many insects that
might be considered peculiar to the State of Perak,
so great is the extent of totally unexplored ground—
tracts apparently never yet trodden by the foot of
man—that doubtless a very valuable entomologieal
collection might be made.

CHAPTER XI.

Birds—The Argus pheasant—Cooey—Fatal crowing—Quail—Pea—
fowl——The peacock of the Old Testament—Artificial hatching——
_ Talking birds—Pets—Humming and sun birds—Birds of prey-

THIS is not the land of the wondrous birds of paradise,
whose brilliant plumes rise from beneath their wings,
and curve down like the waters of a golden fountain ;;
but Perak possesses an avi-fauna of very great beauty,
and even a cursory survey of the country displays its;
richness in this respect. For this is the home of the
glorious Argus pheasant, with its long extending tail
and largely-penned Wings, each quill of which, with its.
extremely broad web, is dotted with a row of eyes,
similar to those on the tail of the peacock. This.
pheasant is rarely shot, on account of its nocturnal
habits ; even the practised hunter of the country only
shooting perhaps one or two in a long course of years.
It is, however, occasionally trapped; but if taken alive,
soon pines and dies. The Malays call it “ coo—ow,” from
its peculiar shrill cry. It is unmistakable when heard

in the jungle solitudes by night, the writer often
H 2

 

100 “SriRONG’” AND “KRIS.”

 

recognising it, as the birds called one to the other in
the up—country when he was camping out. This cry
is almost exactly the same as that of the jacoons—the
orang-utan, or wild hill-men of the country; the
reader being warned not to suppose that the huge
ape of Borneo is here meant, orang—utan being Malay
for wild man. It seems probable that the jacoons have
adopted the call from the bird; while a remarkable
fact is that this cry-—“coo—ay”—bears a wonderful
similarity to the “ coo-ee” of the Australian savage.
The cry of the argus pheasant when once heard is
never forgotten, from its impressiveness in the still
night. There has always been great difficulty in
bringing it to England alive; and this is probably
due to the fact that its habits have not been properly
studied, for it is essentially a night-bird, and if care
were not taken to afford it shelter, failure would
probably result.

There is another very handsome pheasant, namely,
the peacock, or ocellated, and also one resembling our
own, but with a short tail, in the forest in which the
jungle—cock abounds a beautifully—feathered bird, the
probable ancestor of our game-cock. The pugnacity
of this latter causes his ruin ; for residents of shooting
proclivities, or even those who like an addition to
their table, take advantage of the bird’s habits, and
picket an ordinary Malay game-fowl in their boat
when going up the streams. The tame bird’s challenge
soon rings out, and is answered, when jungle-cock

 

 

QUAIL AND PEAFO§IZZ.§ f [lof-
after jungle-cock is tempted out of the saw solitudcs,
and falls a Victim to the gun.

Quails are pretty plentiful, and there is a variety
of the plover and partridge. As to snipes, they
abound in the low grounds, and a pretty good shot is
sure of excellent sport. During the Duke of Edin-
burgh’s visit to the Straits Settlements he made a
tremendous bag in Province \Vellesley, this being a
sport for which no preparation in the way of beating
or selecting warm corners could be made, His Royal
Highness having to take his chance, as would any
other sportsman—a fact which shows the abundance
of the birds.

Peafowl form a magnificent addition to the birds of
Perak. The male is not the ordinary peacock of
Ceylon and Southern India, but the variety known as
the Javanese ; the principal differences being that it is
a little smaller, that instead of rich blue, the neck is
covered with green scale-like feathers, and that the
crest is different in form; but the train is equally
large and beautiful. Altogether it is a magnificent
bird, and the flesh when eaten proves to be delicate
in flavour and quite tender; for this there is the
authority of Mr. Wallace.

This presence of the peacock in the peninsula, as
already referred to, appears favourable to the theory
that Solomon’s vessels traded to the Eastern archi-
pelago ; and when it is taken into consideration what
tremendous distances the praus of the present day

 

 

16:25,} 2 $452430sz AND “Ian‘s.”

journey, the surprise is lessened. It may be argued
that Solomon’s ships must necessarily have been small
and ill—made. So are the present-day praus, some of
which, however, are of seventy tons burden, and wholly
made without a scrap of iron, pegs and rattans taking
the place of bolts, while the sails are composed of
matting, and such a thing as a compass is unknown.
There is, however, one great argument in favour of the
supposition that Ophir was the present-day Ophir of
Malacca ; that argument is supplied by a consideration
of the language.

Prior to Pliny, in the first century, history does
very little to help us to a conclusion; though the
important statement that apes and peacocks formed
part of the cargo of Solomon’s ships, supports the
theory that the journey was made rather to India or
Malaya than to the east coast of Africa. To get over
the difficulty it has been sought to translate the
Hebrew word “ tukyim ” (peacock) as re—
presenting a parrot ; and Crawfurd says that the Persian
word “ tota ” or “ toti” (parrot) has a very near resem—
blance to the Hebrew word “ tuchim ; ” and he adds
that, as parrots can bear longer voyages than pea-
cocks, it is more than probable that we have in this
the right interpretation of the word.

77

or “ tuchim

Dr. Kitto, too, says: “It is a question more of
geographical and historical than of biblical interest to
decide whether the “thukyim” (1 Kings X. 22) and
“thukyim” (2 Chronicles ix. 21) denote peacocks,

 

DOMESTIC F0 WLS. 103

 

strictly so called, or some other species of animal or
bird; for on the solution of the question in the affir—
mative depends the real direction of Solomon’s fleet,
2'. 6. whether, after passing the Straits of Bab—el—Mandeb,
it proceeded along the east coast of Africa towards
Sofala, or whether it turned eastward, ranging along
the Arabian and Persian shores to the peninsula of
India, and perhaps went onward to Ceylon, and pene-
trated to the great Australian, or even to the Spice
Islands.” Dr. Kitto believes that the rendering of
“tukyim”—peacocks—is correct. There are, as known,
only two species of true peafowl, namely, that common
in India, which is the one familiar in England, and
that just described as existing in Perak.

Now it is a singular fact that in the language of
the Orang Benua, or wild men of the peninsula, the
word for peacock, which in the modern Malay is
“marrali,” is in the aboriginal “chim marak;” and
here we have the exact termination of the Hebrew
“ tuchim ” in the language of the very people who must
have lived in the peninsula and near Mount Ophir in
the days of Solomon, namely, the Orang Benua, or men
of the country. This name for a bird—“ tehem” or
“ chim ”—is mentioned in a report given only a short
time since by Mr. Daly, who collected a number of
common words from the wild people during a tour
through Perak.

The Malays cultivate domestic fowls pretty ex—
tensively; principally, however, on account of their love

 

10$ “SJRONG” AND “KRLS'.”

 

for cock-fighting. Their champions are evidently
the progenitors of the hard, close-feathered, high-
shouldered Malay .cocks of our poultry—shows; but
these latter have been so bred to points by dealers and
fanciers that they are very different in appearance.
They have also a peculiar breed of fowl on the penin-
sula, which is remarkable for the manner in which its
feathers turn out the wrong way. Varieties of this
have been exhibited in England.

Both ducks and fowls are plentiful in Perak,
but not to the extent they might be; owing to the
indifference of the people, who look upon any branch
of industry as 800%, or trouble; much of which, how-
ever, is due to the uncertain tenure of the land, and
the oppression of their chiefs, who take tithe to an
alarming extent. The Chinese settlers, though, take
advantage of the nature of the country, and breed
ducks extensively, and their plan is singularly suc-
cessful. The “Heathen Chinee” does not trust to
maternal solicitude, for the eggs are placed in sand or
husks of padi, and are then submitted to artificial heat ;
and the difficulty here is to assimilate this heat to that
of nature. When hatched, the ducklings are fed with
prawns, bits of crab, and boiled rice ; and being hardy
little things they are in a few days able to look out
for their own supplies, when they are turned into
small enclosures containing pools of shallow water, and
as they grow older are removed to more extensive
pasture—grounds. An old Chinaman generally acts

 

TALKING BIRDS. 105

 

the part of mamma, and the way in which the little
troops of ducklings know him and obey his call is very
amusing. Hundreds may be seen in one enclosure,
and the Chinese are often encountered. followed by
droves of the downy little things, which are being
taken probably to new feeding—grounds.

Domestic pets are common amongst the Malays, who
are very clever at catching birds by means of horse-
hair nooses and springes—snipes being one of their
favourite captures—and also by imitating their call.
By this means doves and pigeons, some of them very
beautiful, are readily taken; the juice of the gutta or
indiarubber tree being sometimes used as bird—lime, as
before intimated. These doves are kept in bamboo
cages. There are two varieties of the minah in Perak.
This bird is said to be the best imitator of the
human voice of any known, and hence it often enters
into captivity. The Malay boys are exceedingly clever
with the “ sumpitan,” or blow—pipe, and with this they
are too apt to destroy the best songster of the peninsula
——the Straits nightingale ; and they are also very apt
at capturing the tiny little green and blue red—beakcd
love—bird—a small species of paroquet—which swarms
in some of the forest trees. These, after capture, they
imprison in an ingeniously—made cage, formed of strips
of bamboo, arranged in a circle and bent over to a
point, tied and furnished with a hook at the top; a
bamboo perch, and two short joints of bamboo for
containing rice and water are secured Within ; and the

 

106 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

clever little construction, with a pair of prisoners, can
be readily bought for coins representing twopence of ,
our money.

One of their pets, which, like some of the doves,
becomes very tame and fetches large prices, is a bird
they call “ baru-baru.” It is of the size of a dove, but
like a greenish-brown thrush, and speaks with great
distinctness.

The ornithologist would find an ample field for his
researches, the beauty of some of the birds being
especially worthy of note, while their more sober-
plumaged brethren are remarkable for their habits.
On the rivers, Wild ducks and teal are plentiful, while
from the overhanging branches dart kingfishers of the
most brilliant hues and of the largest size, such as
make our pretty English specimen a quietly—painted
dwarf in comparison. Several of these, however, are
[not fishers correctly speaking, as they live on insects.
The beautifully-crested hoopoe is common in the
forest, and so tame that it will readily approach the
traveller, While its beauty will perhaps prevent its

(C

tanieness from being shocking” to him, as in .the
case of Alexander Selkirk, according to the poet.
Every here and there magnificent toucans, with their
apparently cumbrous but cellular bills and gorgeously-
painted gorgets, are to be seen hopping from twig to
twig, while literally abounding, and making the jungle
echo with their shrieks, the long fork-tailed collared

paroquets flutter amongst the trees. These are \very

 

HUMMING’ AND SUN BIRDS. 107

 

beautiful birds, and with their delicate green feathers
and brilliant coral-tinted beaks, form conspicuous
objects in the jungle.

Those brilliant little gems the humming—birds are
not absent in the open sunny glades, where flowers
open their tempting petals ; while those almost equally
beautiful objects of nature, peculiar to the Eastern
archipelago, the sun—birds, With their scaly plumage
of gorgeous metallic hues, are as frequent in their
search for the honey of the blossoms. On some of the
forest trees the nests of What are there called tailor—
birds—probably‘thc sociable grosbeak are seen, deli—
cately woven out of grass and cocoa-nut fibre, hanging

 

from the boughs and forming a very curious feature in
the scenery. While speaking of nests, the limestone
caves of the coasts must not be forgotten. These
caves are the resort of the bird’s—nest swallow, whose
peculiar glutinous nursery is sought for in the most
dangerous places by the Malays, who obtain it by
means of bamboo ladders. Their idea is that the
gluten Which hardens into the nest is obtained from
the sea—foam; and probably some kind Of seaweed
does afford them the material, which by a natural.
process, similar to the production of beeswax, is first
formed and then built up into their nests. It is of
course well known that these nests are regularly
harvested, and form an object of trade with the
Chinese, for their bird’s—nest soup.

Apparently so many distorted relatives of the

 

108 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

toucans are the hornbills, which, in spite of the
monstrous proportions of their bill with its large upper
story, are wonderfully active birds, and use their
apparently clumsy beak with great dexterity in seeking
fruit. Two or three varieties, one being very large,
are found here. The writer has not seen their nesting,
but it is so remarkable that Mr. VVallace’s account
thereof is well worthy of note. It seems that the nest
is formed in some large hollow of a tree, and at the
time of incubation the male bird plasters up the
entrance hole with clay, merely leaving an orifice
sufficiently large for the hen bird to be fed ; and this
attention to his mate, and afterwards to her one
offspring—which is at first a great gelatinous-looking
creature, a shapeless featherlcss lump, as big as a
pigeon—is scrupulously performed.

One very pretty little object is the grass—bird,
which seems to stand on the top of a thin feathery
stalk by a swamp, but which all the time is balancing
itself by means of the rapid motion of its wings.
The buffalo-bird, with its wattle like a minah, is
common, and hangs about the large bovine quadrupeds
in search of food, as the starling does at home ; which
is also strongly called to mind by the constant presence
of the familiar old chirping sparrow in his black cravat,
Whose note is for all the world the same as may be
heard at early morn in a London square. There is
the little Java sparrow too, with its drab—speckled
feathers and tiny reddish beak; while in nearly all

 

PADI-BIRDS. 109

 

marshy ground, many varieties are seen in flocks of
the so—called padi—bird, with here and there, in the
water-holes and swamps, the little dusky moorhen, and
very fine herons watching for the small fish, with cranes
and rails; while especially in Perak and Quedah there
is found a wading—bird, said to be common in Egypt
and Palestine—perhaps the “ porphyrion” of Kitto. It
has a hard crimson shield upon its forehead and
flesh-coloured legs; the head, neck, and sides are of
turquoise blue, shading off into a dark but brilliant
indigo. The natives tame it with ease; and among
other places, the writer has frequently seen it stalking
about the gardens of the Hon. Mr. Whampoa, one of
the principal Chinese residents at Singapore.

The padi-birds are netted by thousands and eaten
by the Chinese as a delicacy; for, as at home, the birds
flock together at certain seasons in search of food.
One very pretty instance of this is at the time when
the waringhan tree, already mentioned for its beautiful
clustering blossoms, is covered with red berries.
These form an attraction to thousands of tiny birds,
which at daybreak seem to keep the tree in a perpetual
twitter, as they busily flit from spray to spray. These
small birds of the jungle are not without their enemies,
for there is a pretty plentiful supply of hawks to check
their increase. These are for the most part very similar
to the ordinary sparrowhawk of England; while in
turn they have an enemy that attacks them bravely,
in the shape of a bird of the crow family; with long

 

110 “S’leONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

racket-shaped produced feathers in its tail. It is a
handsome bird, of an intense black.

Very commonly at evening a bird familiar at
home is seen in the shape of the night-jar, which,
after sitting for some time motionless on a branch,
after the fashion of its kind, like a lump of feathers,
sweeps round the tree in an easily-performed circle
and returns to its perch with one of the beautiful
moths or beetles of the jungle. Similar to this bird
in marking, with its brown-mottled feathers,. is the
ordinary owl of the peninsula; a bird which again.
recalls home by its familiar aspect. By day the
hollow trees resound with the busy hammer of the
woodpecker, which also seems to belong to Old
England instead of this tropic shore, so simple
and quiet is its plumage and familiar its well-known
sound.

The eagles of the country have been alluded to,
but not the vultures, which are of a very familiar type.
They are encountered on the river-banks in Perak, of
very large size, with enormous claws, and are evidently
birds of great power. On one occasion the writer
, came upon a group that had been attracted by the
body of a dead buffalo, which after being carried down
the stream had been washed ashore. The birds were
feasting on the carrion, while, from time to time, one
of those singular animals—the pangolins, or scaly
ant—eaters, was making a run at them, the animal

 

BIRDS 0F PREY. 111

 

evidently resenting the intrusion of the vultures, who
interfered with his feast of earrion-flies. As for the
vultures, they took but little notice of the aggressor,
merely moving a little aside, and then resuming with
bill and claws their disgusting banquet.

CHAPTER XII.

Malay buffaloes and their domestication——The elephant—Deer—Wild-
boar—The Malay bear—Black leopard—Tiger and trapping—
Monkeys—Domestic animals.

THE buffaloes mentioned in the last chapter are a
large heavy kind of OX, domesticated by the Malays.
There are two varieties, called the white and black;
but the former is more of a pink tint. They are used
by their owners both as draught cattle and as beasts
I of burden. In the rice-fields it is a common thing to
see them yoked, and drawing the clumsy plough to
prepare the soil, a rattan cord through their noses
being the general way of leading them. When
attached to one of the long, narrow, roughly-made
country carts, they can draw very heavy loads; but
in this task they are rarely yoked in pairs, on account
of the narrowness of the roads and the width of the
bufialoes’ horns, the points of which are more than
four feet from tip to tip.

. When used as a beast of burden, the buffalo’s load
is arranged as a pack, placed in a pair of rattan
panniers on either side of the great animal’s back.

 

DOMESTIC BUFFALO. 113

 

This is the custom in the more unfrequented parts,
where a track for a cart is seldom seen. The buffalo
has tremendous strength, and is very enduring, though
exceedingly slow, and the animal is much petted and
caressed by its Malay owner, great care being taken
to keep it clean ; though, like our domestic friend the
pig, nothing delights a buffalo more than a good roll
and wallow in one of the mud—pools by the padi-fields.
When" drawing burdens the buffaloes are often un—
yokcd to bathe in the rivers and streams they pass,
While an awning is stretched to shield them from the
power of the sun; and to protect them from those
pests the mosquitoes, a fire is lit by night, of which
the great beasts are sagacious enough to take full
advantage, for they always go to leeward, so that the
smoke may blow all over their backs and sides. N o
doubt the rolling in the mud—holes is an instinctive
proceeding, so that the mud may cake over them, and
thus form an effectual armour against the flies.

The great strength of the buffalo renders it a for-
midable adversary to the tiger, and its encounters
with this beast when wild or in the forest paths have
doubtless been the origin of one of the principal sports
of the Malay—the buffalo and tiger fight, of which an
account will be given in a succeeding chapter. Gentle
in the extreme with their owners, and greatly attached
to their young, which at times they will carry from
place to place on their back, bufi‘aloes'seem to have

the same dislike to anything white that our English
I

 

114: ’ “SleONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

bulls are said to have for that which is red; and this
makes an encounter with them, when grazing in a
herd at a distance from a Village, rather an unpleasant
thing for a European. For at the sight of a white
face they lay back their horns, raise their muzzles,
and make ready for an attack with wonderful rapidity,
the whole herd charging in a way that would startle a
square of infantry. With the Malays, on the con-
trary, the word of command, or a pull at the cord from
.a boy, is quite sufficient to ensure obedience, though
instances have been known of a native being gored
from maltreatment of some unusually ferocious beast.

The natives seldom use the milk of the buffalo,
though it is doubtful whether it does not at times find
its way into the milk of the ordinary domestic cow
which is supplied in the Settlements to the European
residents—these cows, like draught bullocks, being im-
ported ; and it is a fact worthy of note that the troop
cattle, principally bulls from Quedah, used during the
progress of the little army through Perak in the dis—
turbances, suffered a great deal from foot-and—mouth
disease, the remedy used being turmeric and salt.

The flesh of the buffalo is very unpalatable and
tough to a European, but the Malays have a great
liking for it, and consider the flesh of the black to be
preferable to that of the pink variety. Upon the
occasion of some special festival, it is customary to
kill a buffalo, when pretty well the whole of a village
will take part in the proceedings. S0 valuable is this

 

.4 PIECE OF STRING. ' \ 115

 

beast to a Malay that their code of laws contains
special references to it, and the forfeitures to be
made for losing or killing a borrowed buffalo, or for
being the possessor of one that is vicious, and has
done injury to personal property. Theft of a buffalo
is a serious crime. Petty thefts amongst the Malays
are rare, though it is no uncommon thing for the in—
habitants of one village to make a raid upon the
dwellers in another who are weaker, and carry off
their herds—a form of cattle—lifting which, with several
other points to be afterwards mentioned, links them
singularly with the northern clans of old. As for the
lower—class Chinese that have settled in the states, they
are most expert thieves, and will steal cattle whenever
they have a chance.

There is a story told of one gentleman of the
pigtail who, while suffering imprisonment under the
native Government, was condoled with by his friends
on account of the severe sentence inflicted upon him,
for, according to his own account, merely picking up a
piece of string, which he thought might prove to be
useful. It turned out, however, that the piece of
string was the nose-cord of a buffalo, and that it was
attached to the animal, with which Ah Sin had walked
off bodily.

There are droves of these buffaloes wild in the
country, and also a variety of the family more
resembling our own ox, but they are not often

encountered ; neither are the troops of wild elephants,
I 2

 

116 “SARONG” AND “KRIS,”

 

which are in the more remote fastnesses of the jungle.
The supply of these huge beasts, though, that has
been obtained by the native chiefs, is derived from the
forests. A full account of the capture is unnecessary,
as it has been given so often in works of travel.
Suffice it that the great quadruped is taken much after
the same fashion as in Ceylon and Siam, namely, by
driving it into a strong enclosure of bamboos, and then
stabling it with a steady old elephant, to which it is
attached by stout ropes of rattan. The supply of
food is made very meagre for a month, but kindness is
tried as well as coercion, the animal being pettcd and
fed with stems of the plantain, sugar-cane, with other
succulent dainties, and cakes. . Elephants are pro-
verbially fond of bathing and syringing themselves
with water from their trunks, so the wild animal is
allowed to go down to the river after a few days, but
of course strongly secured to his tame companion.
Then begins a struggle for freedom, but it results in
the tired beast giving in and going back quietly to his
old bonds in the stable, where he is once more securely
fastened.

This process is kept up, with the addition of a
man occasionally getting upon his back and walking
upon him, till the elephant submits to the mind, and
owns by his passive obedience that he is conquered;
though he cannot be thoroughly trusted for perhaps two
years, during which time he is frequently troublesome,
and requires the society. of the female to keep him in

 

 

‘« “W“.“N ‘
“‘§\‘§“\ . ,v‘k

.,\

 

 

 

 

PERAK ELEPUANTS.

 

THE ELEPHANT. 1 1 7

 

order. After this an elephant is considered safe for
any mahout to manage. These mahouts are very
often men of good position. They sit, as in India,
upon the animal’s neck, with its great flap—ears acting
as a protection, and drive by means of a sharp iron
rod provided with a hook—an instrument that is some-
times used in the case of a restive elephant with
terrible effect.

Every elephant has his own familiar name, and the
mahout has its history quite by heart; and while
fondling and talking to the animal, will frequently
remind it of the various striking episodes in its life.

The howdahs, as shown in the engraving, are very
different from those of India, being really nothing
more than panniers of rattan, over which sometimes a
tilt is stretched on canes. Raw hides are placed
beneath the howdah, to keep it from fretting the
elephant’s back, and it is then secured by bands of
rattan, which are formed into girths passing behind the
animal’s shoulders and beforehis hind legs ; and the
howdah is further kept in position by a rope round
the chest, and one in the form of a crupper. The
basket is then pretty well filled with leaves, over
which a cover is placed, and the rider mounts to his
very uneasy position ; for elephant-riding, though not
so bad as camel—riding, has a tendency towards shaking
the body all to pieces, and aches and pains in the
joints are frequent after the first trials. Not that the
animal is to blame, for he generally goes at about the

 

118 “SJRONG’” AND “KRIS.”

 

rate of two miles an hour, and will at the word of
command snap off an interposing tree the thickness of
a man’s leg as easily as if it were a twig.

Elephants here are not the monstrous beasts found
in some parts of the world, those of ten feet high
being exceptionally large. Their principal disease
seems to be a kind of leprosy, which shows itself in
the ears. '

They are the chief beasts of burden of the country,
,and will walk away comfortably with half a ton of
tin ; but where the loadis of abulky nature, from four
to six hundred weight is considered suflicient. They
are naturally the property of the Sultan and his chiefs,
and elephants are looked upon as part of the Sultan’s
regalia, fifty being reckoned in his regal list.

The well—known white, or as it should be called
flesh-coloured, elephant is very rare, but is not, like
its darker brethren, held in much veneration by the
Malays. All elephants are petted and caressed and
considered of great value ; but their treatment is very
different to that received in the neighbouring country
of Siam, where those belonging to the king are‘objects
of the greatest dignity, each having its own following
of royal attendants. In fact the white elephant, which
Dr. Finlayson looks upon as being an albino of its
family, is believed by the Siamese, who speak of it as
an animal “ so noble, so docile, and so strong,” to be
animated by the illustrious soul that formerly occupied
the body of some prince

 

an idea due to the fact that

 

THE RHINOOEROS. 119

 

these people being Buddhists, believe in the doctrine-
of the transmigration of souls.

It is related that one Siamese prince dcspatched‘
three elephants as presents to the grandsons of the
then king of France, a nation with whom the Siamese.
have long held intercourse. As the animals were
going he whispered to them : “ Go, depart cheerfully ;:
you will be slaves, indeed ; but you will be so to three
of the greatest princes of the world, whose service is
as moderate as it is glorious.” After this address the'
elephants were hoisted into the ship, and because they *
bowed themselves to go under the deck, the Siamese
cried out with admiration of their sagacity.

A curious trait of the elephant is worthy of notice.
When not observed, the great animal will go to a
cocoa-nut tree, and, to obtain the nuts and young;
blossoms, place his head against the trunk, and then
commencing a swaying movement, throw the Whole;
weight of the body against the tree over and over
again, till it comes down with a crash, leaving the-
coveted treasures at his feet. .

The rhinoceros is occasionally seen, and two»
varieties are believed to exist. They are very shy,
and at the approach of man rush off through the
jungle; being very different to their relatives in:
Africa, one kind of which charges directly he perceives:
man or horse, even a hut or a fire being an object
upon which he will vent his fury. The natives tell of a.
beast that they call the [roadway/er, or water-horse,,byr

 

120 “ SJRONG " AND “ KRIS.”

 

some supposed to be a hippopotamus; but it is evi—
dently either a rhinoceros or one of the larger tapirs,
which are found in the marshy places, calmly browsing
on the herbage by means of their prehensile upper lip,
waiting, like the rhinoceros, for the time in the future
when the gun of the sportsman shall disturb their
rest.
There is plenty of game for the hunter who does
penetrate the jungles, splendid deer of very large size
being common. Some of these approach the elk in
' magnitude, and among them are the sambre, the
spotted—(leer, hog—deer, and the chevrotin or palandok.
VVild-boars are not at all uncommon—not the pro-
genitors of the pigs of the Settlements, for their pre-
sence is due to the Chinese—the Malay, from his
religion, rejecting pork. The boars are both large
and fierce, one poor fellow—a convict employed on
the road—dying of the injuries he received from one
of these beasts up in Province \Vellesley. His dog
was baying at something in the jungle, and, on enter—
ing the forest, he found that the animal was holding
a Wild—boar in check. The latter set upon him at
once, ripping him terribly, the beast being afterwards
shot by the European overseer of the works. These
boars’ tusks are very large and white; and taking
advantage of their peculiar curve, a Chinese goldsmith
in Penang joins the root and point with a chain,
letters the ivory, and forms of them very handsome
decanter labels. That these boars have other enemies

 

THE MALAY BEAR. 121

 

besides man has been shown in the attack of the boa-
constrictor.

There is only one representative of the bear, in the
person of that peculiar little black animal familiar to .
most visitors to the Zoological Gardens. It is a
smooth-coated little fellow, black, with a patch of
white on the throat, and, from its cleverness in raising
itself upon its hind legs, and curious actions, has a
great resemblance to a short thick—set monkey. They
are pretty common in Perak, but quite harmless, save
to the young cocoa—nut plantations, amidst which they
create great havoc.

Otters are common, though not, of course, the
English variety; the polecat family is pretty well
represented ; squirrels may be seen amongst the
trees, as well as those curious little animals the bats.
Of these there are several varieties, the fruit-bats
being the most worthy of note. These, which are
commonly known as flying-foxes, visit the peninsula
during the fruit season in enormous flocks, coming
from the direction of Sumatra, and settle and
destroy the fruit to an enormous extent. They are of
the size of a large rat, and their wings have a spread
of from two to three feet, while in the larger variety,
which is equally destructive, the stretch of the wings
from tip to tip has been known to be over five feet.
Specimens as large as this are at the present time
in the museums. Java and Sumatra are the prin-
cipal homes of these creatures, but they find their

 

122 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

way to Perak, as if led by some strange instinct to a
place where fruit abounds. They come with a slow
steady flight, in a straight line, and devour indis-
criminately every kind of fruit that comes in their-
way. They are however easily shot, and their de-
struction is a boon to the place.

For Perak is a land where it is necessary to com—7
bine the use of the gun with research and travel, since
at any time the journey may be interrupted by some
fierce beast of the feline kind, as there is the tiger—cat
and the black leopard—a magnificent beast, whose
coat is jetty in one light, but displays the peculiar
spots in another. Taken altogether, it is in its wild
state one of the most beautiful creatures of the
jungle.

An amusing incident occurred at the time of the
Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to the peninsula, with a
black leopard, which had been captured and was kept
in a cage, roaming slowly up and down, or crouching,
with that far-off look, which seems to see the native-
wilds through the impertinent gazers who disturb the
privacy of the noble beast. A medical officer present
had been talking of the power of the human eye over
the untamed animal, and went up to the cage to prove-
it by fixing the dilating eye of the savage beast with
his own.

The leopard bore the stare for some little time
with gathering anger, and then, without the slightest
warning, made one fierce bound at the gentleman

 

THE TIGER. 123

 

with the magnetic eyes. _There was a growl, a dash,
an ejaculation, and the officer staggered back, with his
cap torn ofi‘, and his cheek laid open by the animal’s
claws, the peak of the cap having saved the beast—
quelling eyes.

But the animal par excellence of Perak and other
parts of the peninsula is undoubtedly the Malay tiger,
fine specimens of which are in the gardens of the
Zoological Society, as are also others of the black
leopard, which were sent direct from the Malay
peninsula, and presented to the society by Sir Harry
St. George 0rd, late governor of the Straits Settle-
ments. The Malay tiger is rather smaller than that
of Bengal, and displays more white in its under
parts ; in fact, it thoroughly answers, save in size, to

that graphically-described beast the moollah of Cap-

 

tain Lawson’s New Guinea a book of travels of
which the critics have expressed strong doubts, as its
wonders do somewhat trench on the narratives of our
older navigators of the world. ,

The Malay tiger is a fierce and terrible beast, and
exaggerated stories are told of its appetite in the
island of Singapore, where those that frequent the
jungle are said to have eaten a man per diem all the
year round. There has been terrible loss of life in the
island, but this is very far beyond the mark. There
are no doubt many in Perak, and their lairs are fre—
quently seen; but from the country being so thinly
populated, few people are killed. It is, however, one of

 

124 “SleONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

the misfortunes of a place, that the tiger takes to haunt-
ing new settlements, lying in wait for or stalking the
unfortunate coolies stooping and picking the gambier
leaves, upon whom it springs, after waiting hours for
its opportunity. In almost every case the first blow,
which is almost always on the back of the neck,
seems to be fatal, the power of the paw being
enormous' There is good work here in Perak, un-
doubtedly, for the Sportsman’s rifle; but to seek the
tiger in the dense forests would be almost suicidal,
the beast that is being tracked in the dusky
twilight of the jungle being probably watching his
would-be destroyer unseen. One plan frequently
adopted is to place some animal for a bait, and then
to sit in a tree and wait all night for the tiger’s
coming—a plan that rarely succeeds, and conse—
quently the governmental fifty-dollars reward is not
very often earned. Fortunately, the increase of this
beast is kept down by the love of the male tiger for
his own offspring as food. He devours them when—
ever he has an opportunity, for he is wide in his
choice of dainties, and will put up with buffalo when
he cannot obtain man, crushing in the thick skull of
this animal with one blow if he can take it unawares,
and avoid impalement upon its formidable horns.

The Malays make pitfalls for the tiger, funnel-
shaped holes of fifteen feet deep, right in its track,
knowing full well that it will return by the way it
has gone. If this were merely covered with sticks

 

TIGEP- TRAPPING. 125

 

and leaves, the tiger would be suspicious, try it, and
go another way ; therefore the Malay cuts down a tree,
so that it falls across that side of the hole by which his
enemy will approach, and then hides the opening with
leaves and boughs. The fall of a tree in the forest is
so common a thing that the tiger’s suspicion is not
excited. A tree has fallen across its path—voila tout.
It plants its fore—paws on the trunk, draws 11p its hind-
legs, and leaps lightly down—crash through the frail
covering into the pitfall, Where it is approached with
sublime respect, the Malays hardly daring to go near
enough to give the coup dc grdcc to the dreaded beast.

Another way, as the cookery—books say over a
fresh recipe to dress the joint previously dealt with:
The Malays, on finding the track of a tiger, very inge-
niously hang a heavy balk of timber across the path
from the projecting bough of a tree. The string
which suspends the beam is attached to a cleverly—
made trigger, and the trigger again to a noose, which
is arranged 1ight 1n the animal’s track. The result is

may be anticipated : if the tiger’s mind be occupied
with how to provide for the next repast, an unguarded
foot is placed in the noose, the string is drawn tight,
the trigger is touched, the beam falls, and the tiger
lies paralysed, with a broken back, awaiting his
destroyers’ spears.

The Malays are equally clever in captuling the
monkey, by means of a noose through which the
active little thing puts its hand, and draws the string

 

126 “SARONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

tight. In fact, the noose is a favourite plan with the
inhabitants of the peninsula and the isles adjacent.
Mr. \Vallace mentions how cleverly the natives of
\Vaigiou, near New Guinea, noose the birds of para-
dise; and allusion has already been made to the way
in which the argus pheasant is taken, and “ springes,”
not “ to catch woodcocks ” but snipe, are made.

Of those curious little creatures monkeys there
are many kinds ; but, as far as the writer can tell, no
apes, such as the mias or orang—utan of Borneo, and
the wa-wa of Java, a tailless animal something like
the agile gibbon. The most rare is one of a milk—
white colour. Only two specimens have come under
the writer’s notice during a long residence in these
parts; and it may after all be, as Dr. F inlayson says
of the white elephant of Siam, only an albino. It is a
small monkey, only about eighteen inches high, and
very peculiar.

One large short-tailed monkey is a great favourite
with the people of Perak. To its master it is very
tame and greatly attached, acting as his protector in
a journey through the woods, from campong to cam-
pong, and being ready to attack any aggressor, even
as a dog would in England. It is a large strongly-
built animal, standing as high as an ordinary dining—
table, and possesses large canine teeth, with which it
will seize its enemy by the back of the neck, and hold
on so tightly that it is hard to shake it off.

The Malay being too sedate, dignified, and often

 

MONKEYS. 127

 

too idle to climb a tree himself, trains this monkey
to pick cocoa—nuts for him. The writer has fre—
quently seen one with a string attached to it run
up a tree with the greatest activity and seize a nut.
A pull of the string shows the monkey that this is
the wrong fruit ; and by constant guidance with the
string, the little parody of humanity readily dis-
tinguishes the particular object it is to obtain, and
at once seizing it with its hands, begins to screw it
round and round, till the footstalk gives way, and the
heavy nut with its thick husk of fibre falls with a
thud to the ground.

This anecdote savours so of “the travellers’ tale,”
that it may be well to repeat in all sincerity that it is
a fact, and that the practice is common.

Several of the smaller kinds are easily tamed when
captured by the Malays, though it must be said that
some of the larger species are very vicious, one that
was given to an English sailor proving too wild to
keep. It is amusing to see them in the jungle,
apparently watching the intruders, and peering round
from the far side of branches. Troops of them may
be seen on the sands at the mouths of the rivers when
going up, their object being to search for the shell—fish
which abound, and which seem to be a favourite
delicacy to the simian palate.

The loris, one. of their near relatives, is pretty
common: but to be brief, the fauna of Perak is an
extensive one, and embraces many animals that have

 

128 “SARONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

been passed unnoticed, among others the musang and
the porcupine, which can he often found in a suitable
habitat. ’

0f the more domestic animals, that most useful of
creatures the horse is not found in Perak, neither has
it been naturalised anywhere else in the peninsula,
though found in Burmah, Pegu, and Siam, as well as
in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and several other of the
islands of the Archipelago. One variety imported is
really a spirited pony, but probably from there being
no extensive plains suitable for their increase, even
this diminutive form of the horse has found no
dwelling—place in the interior.

The goat is domesticated by the Malays, as it is
everywhere by people of their faith, Mahomet having
attached a special blessing to the possession of this
animal. The attempts made at Malacca and Singapore
to introduce sheep resulted in failure. They could
only be kept by placing them at night upon a plank
flooring raised above the earth, and by feeding them
with imported hay. Neither the pasture at Malacca
nor in the island seemed to suit them. But there is
the possibility that the pasture of Perak might prove
better, and attempts should be made to acclimatise the
Indian breed; or perhaps that of the Chinese might
prove more hardy, for as the country becomes more
opened out and cultivated, there is no reason why
sheep should not thrive as well as the goat. The
advantage to settlers would be no trifle, as Will be seen

 

WILD-OATS. 129
when it is stated that good mutton, at Singapore,
costs about half-a—crown a pound.

Rabbits have been essayed, but they soon fell a
prey to the musangs or Wild-oats, and this will pro-
bably be for some time their fate, these fierce little
animals catching them quite close up to the houses;
and even in the suburbs of Singapore rabbits and
pigeons have to be carefully secured, or their inde-
fatigable enemy will find them out aiid destroy them
Without mercy.

CHAPTER XIII.

The people of Perak—Bugis—Korinchi—Rawa and Mandeling—
Cannibalism—The Malay—Wild tribes—Jacoon or Sakai—
Samangs—Diseases.

THE inhabitants of Perak are of several races. The
bulk of the population, which is excessively small and
scattered for so fine a country—one which cannot
show even a village of any great size—consists of the
Malays ; the Batta Barak, Rawa, Mandeling, and
Korinchi-peoplc of Sumatra ; the Bugis ; and lastly,
the wild tribes of the interior. There are of course
the few European settlers, and a certain number of
Chinese, whose skilled labour in mining, agriculture,
and artifice is a valuable acquisition to the country.
The Bugis are evidently a distinct race from the
Malays, and come originally from the southern part of
the island of Celebes. They compare most favourably
with the Malays proper, being intelligent, courageous,
and enterprising; and though very similar to them in
appearance, they speak a different language. The
Malays fear and respect them above all the other races
of the Archipelago ; and among them are to be found

 

THE BUGIS. 131

 

the principal native traders and merchants ; but their
influence has greatly dwindled since the time when
they had the principal amount of the trade in their
hands.

The Bugis at one time made a strong movement
westward, and overran Quedah and several other
portions of the peninsula; but at the present date
there are but few of them actually established in the
country, their habits being wandering and unsettled,
as they seem to have been of old. When the con-
version of the different races to Islamism took place,
these people were the last to go over to Mahomet, and
probably are held now amongst the most strict of his
followers. The character given to the Bugis is not

always of the best, for he has been termed a be gar,

g
treacherous, given to stealing, braver than a Malay,
but not possessing the other’s good points, being one
who will lay his plans to obtain revenge on the
offending party.

The Bugis race has kept itself very distinct from
the people amongst whom it dwells, but occasionally
inter-marriages take place. One of the most important
of late has been that of the well-known Bugis chief of
Perak, Nakoda Trong, who led to the hymeneal altar
one of the Perak ladies of distinction, Inche Maida,
or Princess Maida. Their portraits are given in the
accompanying engraving, with the female attendants.
[‘his princess has her home at the station high up the

Perak river at Qualla Kungsa ; and she won the good—
K 2

 

132 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

will of many of the Europeans engaged in quelling the
disturbances, by her singular hospitality, and also by
the ready aid she has always given to the British
officers since the country has been under our protection.
Inche Maida’s lord and protector was however found
somewhat wanting at the time of the disturbances, his
Bugis nature and unsettled habits coming uppermost,
with the result that he found an imperative call for
absenting himself on business, leaving his lady to the
wars, while he sought for more peaceful regions and
the protection of his noble self away from Perak.

Among the settlers named, the Korinchi are
immigrants from the interior of the island of Sumatra.
They are Malays in manners and language ; but giving
themselves the credit of being a purer race of Mahome- .
dans, they hold aloof from the ordinary Malay, and
dress always in white garments. Greatly resembling
the Perak Malays, they are more industrious, with the
natural result that they live in better style, and
surround themselves with more comforts than those
amongst whom they dwell. They write the Malay
language in a peculiar character of their own, one
which Mr. Crawfurd is of opinion was the original
character of the Malay people, and generally used
before the adoption of the Arabic, which is now in
common use.

These Korinchi people are peaceable, and were
found to be quite willing to assist the British in
making roads and felling jungle; but, with the

 

CAN N IBALI SM . 133

 

customary dignity of the Malay race, objected to
being employed as coolies in carrying weights, or,
as they expressed it, being treated as beasts of
burden, their idea of the creature man being rather
higher than amongst the busy nations of the
\Vest.

The Rawa and Mandeling people are also immi—
grants from Sumatra, not far from the particular dis—
trict of the Batta Barak tribe, who inhabit a portion of
the eastern coast of the island in the same latitude as
the state of Salangore, across to which state of the
peninsula many of them have also migrated. In their
own country they are principally fishermen; but the
progressive instinct which has sent them to seek
‘ pastures new renders them more amenable to the
advance of civilisation, and ready to clear the jungle,
cut down trees, plant, and generally prepare the land
for a better state of things. The Mandeling people
are said to be a branch of the Batta of the interior
of Sumatra, a tribe who have enjoyed the unenviable
reputation of being eaters of human flesh, and the
most fierce and warlike people of the land.

This cannibalistic charge was repeated many
years later by Mr. Anderson, viz. in 1823, and though
denied by many, was subsequently distinctly proved.
Whether the custom still exists the writer is unable to -
say, but it is still mentioned; and if at an end, the
discontinuance of the practice is of very recent date.
Sir Stamford Raffles’s remarks, in which he quotes

 

134s “ SARONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

Dr. Leyden’s opinion, are worth repeating. He says,
in 1823 :

The Batta language, which I regard as the most ancient language
of Sumatra, is used by the Batta tribes, who chiefly occupy the
centre of that island. The singularity of their manner, and par-
ticularly the horrid custom of anthropophagy, practised by a nation
in other respects more civilised than the Malays by whom they are
surrounded, has attracted the attention of Europeans from the time
of the earliest voyagers to our own times, but no very satisfac-
tory account has ever been given of them as a nation. The
best description of them is certainly given by Marsden, in his
History of Sumatra; but even that is very imperfect and super-
ficial, and at variance in some respects with the information I
received from individuals» of the nation. Marsden confines their
cannibalism to two cases—that of persons condemned for crimes,
and that of prisoners of war ; but they themselves declare that
they frequently eat their own relations, when aged and infirm ;
and that not so much to gratify their appetite, as to perform a reli-
gious ceremony. Thus, when a man becomes infirm and weary of
the world, he is said to invite his own children to eat him, in the
season when salt and limes are cheapest. He then ascends a tree,
round which his friends and offspring assemble, and, as they shake
the tree, join in a funeral dirge, the import of which is: “The
season is come, the fruit is ripe, and it must descent.” The
victim descends, and those that are nearest and dearest to him
deprive him of life, and devour his remains in a solemn banquet.
This account is certainly more likely to excite incredulity than the
account of Marsden ; but it is the account of some of the Battas
themselves, as well as that of the Malays in their vicinity.

The Malays of Perak, like those of Malacca, are
doubtless descendants of that parent stock which in
bygone times migrated from the district of Menang
Kabau, in the island of Sumatra; and by all good
Malays this is looked upon as the original seat of their
race. The whole of the traditions of the people tend to

;

 

THE MALAY. 135

 

show that this was their origin; and even at the present
day a stranger coming among them from Menang
Kabau brings with him, so to speak, a pass which
ensures him the respect and veneration of all Malays.

Physically, they have broad flat features, the nose
wide, and dilated at the nostrils; cheek-bones high,
and eyes placed as in the European, and in no case even
slightly oblique, as some writers have said in trying
to classify them with the Mongolian or Tartar races.
In fact, it has been asserted that if a Malay were
dressed in Chinese costume, he could not be distin—
guished from a Chinaman. This is a grave error, for
the Malay of the peninsula is never found with the
oblique eyes peculiar to the Mongolian race. The
Malay’s forehead is slightly prominent; the hair of
the head lank, coarse, and universally black; but
very slight trace of beard; the mouth large, with
the upper lip slightly lifted; complexion of a dark
yellowish brown. Their arms are long, chests broad,
and their lower limbs strong and muscular; they are,
as a rule, below the middle height, but, on the whole,
sturdy formidable—looking fellows.

Amongst some of the chiefs there is an evident
trace of Arab descent; and this was particularly
noticeable in the Laksamana of Perak, who was per—
haps the most clever and intriguing of the native
chiefs of Perak during and preceding the late
émeute, not even excepting the Muntri, who in his
intriguing ways frequently descended to the low

 

136 “SiTROlVG” AND “KRIS.”

 

cunning of the Kling, or native of Southern India,
whose blood to some extent was said to course in
his veins.

The Malay women compare very unfavourably
with their lords in a European’s eyes, for they seem,
with very rare exceptions, coarse, plain, and wanting
in the charms nature generally bestows on the softer
seX. When quite young, however, they occasionally
possess good looks, as may be seen by the illustration
showing Inche Maida’s attendants, which gives a fair
idea of the better-class young girls among the Malays.

Marriages are made at a very early age, in conse-
quence of the rapid approach of maturity, though
extreme longevity is not uncommon; and when, as
is customary amongst the poor, polygamy is not prac-
tised, the average number of a man’s children is
from three to four, large families being rarely, if ever,
known. Polygamy, however, which is authorised
by the Mahomedan faith, is largely practised by the
more wealthy of its followers; and it has brought
about its customary train of evils in Perak, in the
shape of slavery in some of its worst forms, and a
gradual depopulation of a country already far too
thinly inhabited.

The wild tribes of the interior of Perak form a
very interesting subject for consideration. They may
be roughly divided into two classes: the Aborigines
and the Oriental Negroes; or the “ Orang Benua ” and
Samangs of the Malays. The words Orang Benua

WILD TRIBES. 137

 

literally mean “men of the country ;” and these people
have been variously styled J‘acoons, Basisi, or Sakai,
with other terms from the localities or rivers upon
which they are found. Sakai is the name generally
given to them by the Perak Malay, though sometimes
they maybe called Orang Laut—sea—gipsies, or men of
the sea; and Orang Bukit——men of the hill, or hill—
tribes.

There can be no doubt that these people are the _
aboriginal Malays, such as the present ruling race
were before their partial civilisation and conversion to
Islam. For though they have a peculiar dialect and
idiom of their own, their language is essentially of
Malay origin. In appearance they greatly resemble
the Malays; but are much shorter in stature;
and, like most rude nations, very little addicted to
injuring their figures by the adoption of tight and
inconvenient clothing. They trade a little with
the superior race; and by means of barter obtain
sometimes the sarong, or national kilt of these people,
and the sapu tangang, 0r kerchief, for the head, which
they wear in the same way, excepting that the women
leave the bosom uncovered—save when, imitating the
more civilised of their seX, they throw a small cloth
over their shoulders.

The kris, or native dagger, and parang, or knife,
they obtain from the villages ; but for their weapon of
offence they use the “ sumpitan,” or blow—pipe, whose
tiny darts they send through the tube to a long

 

138 “SJRONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

distance, with great precision and with considerable

force. By means of these tiny arrows theykill birds '
and other animals, which, with wild fruit and roots,

form the staple of their food supply.

In Sumatra, on the contrary, according to Mr.
Marsden, these people do not hold any intimate com-
munication with their more civilised neighbours, who
when anxious to obtain honey, wax, or other products
of the forest from them, place clothes and tobacco in
some part of the jungle they are known to visit, and
after a certain time, on going they find their offering
removed, and the prOducts of the forest of greater value
laid in the place.

The sumpitan is formed out of a piece of bamboo ;
and the arrows are in some cases poisoned at the tips,
the other end being furnished with a tuft of cotton or
similar growth, which tightly fits the hollow of the
cane, so that a strong puff from the lungs has more
effect upon the dart. When at rest these people will
stand on one leg, resting with \the foot of the other
leg against their knee, and the hand grasping the blow-
pipe for a support, just as the Australian blacks rest
upon their spear. Some of these sumpitans are very
neatly made and ornamented, while the arrows used ’
are both plain and barbed.

The engraving, taken from a photograph of a group
of these people, gives a good idea of their peculiar
characteristics. In this some two or three are seen
with the .“limbing,” or spear. This is not common

,1” ‘
I‘ (h

‘ H/m,
, [my

I ‘
f.
/

J ‘ II, I
[IN/‘1
I

 

 

 

))
' “ SAKAIS.
TRIBES or PERAh, 01c
WILD

 

 

THE SAKAIS. 139

 

with them, but when possessed has been obtained from
the Malays. The photograph was one taken by the
late Resident, Mr. J. W. W. Birch, who to his many
other qualifications added those of being an excellent
naturalist and a clever photographer.

Efforts are being made to civilise these people,
dating from some years ago, when a French mis-
sionary of the name of Borrie Went into the jungle of
Malacca, and seeking out the Jacoons, as they are there
called, found them migrating from spot to spot, as
food was plentiful or scarce. Selecting a suitable
place he made signs to them, and in their presence
planted seeds and tapioca slips, encouraging them to
watch what he was doing. _ Some little time after,
on their return to the same spot, he pointed out to
them the rooting and growing of the seeds and slips ;
and in this way, by the exercise of great patience,
combined with kindness, he induced them to begin
tilling the ground for themselves.

The writer visited the home of this pioneer of
civilisation; and it was impossible to avoid lending
admiration to the devotion of M. Borrie to his work.
From his labour of love he had apparently lost all
thought of the outer world. The French mission has
also already extended its work to Perak, where it has
erected a little Church on the very confines of the
jungle, and is eagerly pursuing its self—inflicted task
amongst the half-civilised Malays of the state.

It was whilst visiting the lonely home of the

140 “SleONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

French missionaries, that the writer was a witness to
the wonderful skill of the Jacoons with the sumpitan,
their aim being almost unerring, and the weapon
deadly in its effects.

The. class of wild people known by the Malays as
Samangs, have been called by Europeans Oriental or
Asiatic Negroeszegro Malayan people; and, when
compared with those who inhabit the Philippine
Islands, Negritoes, Aetas, or Little Negroes. Some
recent geographers taking the Malayan word Papua,
literally “curly,” have given this name to New Guinea,
and dubbed the inhabitants of this great island with
those of Fiji and others in the Pacific, Papuans,
with whom they class the Samangs of Perak and other
portions of the Malay peninsula.

The writer’s knowledge of the so—called Papuans is
not of that thoroughly personal description to enable
him to speak with decision on the subject, and he
can only judge from the accounts given by others;
but the Samangs, who range from the Nicobar group,
through the Malay peninsula though, singularly
enough, not found in the island of Sumatra—cannot
be classed with the race of small squat negroes of the
Andamans and Philippines, as described by Crawfurd
and other writers.

For these Samangs differ widely from the little
aborigines—the Sakai, or J acoons, of Perak being of
about the same size as the Malay; are in complexion
of a dark brown, more than black, with flat nose, thick

 

 

THE SAMANGS. 141

 

 

lips, large mouth, and hair not lank and black like the
Malay, nor woolly like the Ethiopian negro, but long
and in tufts.

Baron Maclay, the Russian traveller, with Whom
the writer is personally acquainted, has been recently
making a careful study of the habits and features of
these people, and will doubtless soon issue an opinion
worthy of all respect; but according to the informa-
tion now possessed, it seems correct to place the
Samang with the class called by Dr. Pickering
Malayised negroes, and the same which will be subse~
qucntly referred to in the chapter on the ancient
history of the people, as being found on the island of
Madagascar.

It seems only reasonable to suppose that in the
constant intercourse which took place in early times
between the Arabs and maritime Malays, and between
these latter and the people on the island of
Madagascar, people of this class were conveyed by
the Malays to their own country; and that, not being a
maritime people, and strangers to the land, they
retreated towards the interior, even as the new Malay
colonists from Sumatra drove back also with them the
aboriginal inhabitants, t'he Orang Benua, or Sakai,
who were originally dwellers on the coast.

To return to the Malays of Perak : it may not be
uninteresting to say a few words respecting their
diseases. Like most people who live a simple natural
life, they are comparatively free from the ailments of

 

142 “ SJIRONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

civilisation; but disease is by no means rare. That
scourge of Eastern lands, leprosy, is not often seen;
but occasionally a Malay may be encountered whose
hands and feet are covered with white spots, though
these are said not to be contagious. That terrible
swelling of the leg known as elephantiasis, is some-
times to be seen; and in cases of this kind the
Malays seem to look upon the afflicted person with a
kind of awe. In fact, in the interior, the people
looked upon an individual thus afflicted as invulner—
able, and blindly followed his advice in matters
appertaining to war.‘

The ordinary blood diseases and fevers are known;
and among them the small—pox, from which they
suffer a good deal, but look upon the European custom
of vaccination as opposed to a sincere religious faith——
being in fact an endeavour to frustrate the ends of Pro~
vidence in sending disease. By judicious explanations
though, and management on the part of the medical
officers of the Government, the prejudice has to a great
extent been overcome.

Dysentery, one of the complaints that affect Euro~
peans, is not general; but the inhabitants suffer a
great deal from entozoa, for which nature seems to
have prepared a specific in the male pomegranate tree.
Rheumatism, too, is common, and called by them “wind
in the joints ;” their remedy for it being beating and
kneading till the pain has gone. Many of these simple
remedies are very efficacious ; and the knowledge pos-

DISEASES. 143

sessed by the natives of plants and roots is not un-
worthy of respect. Pressed leaves are applied to their
cutaneous eruptions ; and though dirty in their homes,
the Malays have a good idea of the sanitary value of
cleanliness, the bath being daily used; while en-
closures of mats and bamboo are contrived at the
ends of their boats for bathing-places as shown in
one of the engravings, the sign that such a place is
temporarily occupied being given by hanging the
sarong, or skirt, over the outside.

Far as these people are removed from civilisation,
they are fully awake to the effects of bhang, an intoxi-
cating liquor prepared from hemp; to destroy which
they chew betel-nut, which is said to counteract the
effects of an overdose, even as amongst Europeans
chlorodyne is said to remove the intoxication pro—
duced by an over—indulgence in stimulants. The
Malays being an intensely nervous race this may be
so; in fact, so highly strung are they, that in some
instances they have a singularly wild way of mimicking
any movement made to them, and if it is continued
it seems to have the effect of working them up into a
complete state of frenzy. To these peculiarities further
allusion will be made when treating of the strange
madness known as amok, or, as it has been commonly
callec , “running a muck."

CHAPTER XIV.

Dress—The sarong—Dress of the Bugis—Dress of the Malay——
European costumes—Omaments——Coquettish toilets.

PROBABLY in no country is the custom of keeping
to the national costume more thoroughly adhered to
than amongst the Malays. Civilisation has naturally
introduced many articles of clothing; but no matter
how many of these are adopted, the Malay, from the
greatest sultan of the peninsula down to the poorest
inhabitant of a squalid campong on the banks of a
stream, always wears the sarong, which literally means
a case or envelope.

This is an oblong cloth, from two to four feet in
width, and some two yards long. The ends are
sewn. together, and there, in its simplest form, is a
skirt or kilt, which is worn by men and women alike
—on the men reaching to just below the knees, on the
women to the ankles. The men tighten it round the
waist by two or three ingenious twists, thus forming
with it a skirt and belt at one and the same time, in
which they carry the kris, or native dagger, tighten—
ing or loosening the band at pleasure. The women

 

THE SERONG. 145

 

wear one that is Wider, and secure it close up under
the armpits so that it covers the breasts, throwing
another over their heads as a veil and to cover the
shoulders ; and when abroad and they meet men, they
extend this upper sarong by holding their hands at a
distance on either side of the head, so as to form with
the garment a long narrow slit, covering the face and
forehead in such a way that the eyes alone are visible
to the stranger’s gaze.

This ingenious and very simple form of yashmak,
as it would be called amongst the followers of the
Prophet in Turkey, is of course used in accordance
with Mussulman traditions.

The sarong greatly resembles the tartan of our
own Highlanders, inasmuch as it is invariably a check,
and generally of gay colours, very tastefully woven by
native hands. They are manufactured at many places
in the peninsula, and in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo.
Those from Tringanu and Johore are held in great
esteem, while the cotton sarongs from the Celebes
fetch high prices. The best are of silk from China,
dyed before it is brought over, though the Malays are
very ingenious in the use of dyes; but there is an
intermediate quality, of silk and cotton combined;
while the sarong of the lower classes is of simple
cotton. It is singular that a check should be adopted
by these people for their national robe, one which

really answers to the Scotch plaid scarf, and is often
L

 

146 “SARONG'” AND “KRIS.”

 

worn in precisely the same way, as in many respects
they resemble our Highlanders intheir clannish or
tribal habits, and thoroughly chieftain—like ways of
dealing with their fellows.

The extremely simple garb of the Sakai or
aborigines, and the Samangs or negro Malays has
been already alluded to, as likewise has that of the
Sumatra tribes, who adhere to white. The particular
dress of the Bugis may be gathered from that of
Nakoda Trong, in the engraving. The trousers are
of calico, frequently ornamented with open work at
the base, and over this is worn the sarong, kilt fashion.
This, with the Bugis, is invariably of cotton, and after
protecting the loins by day, is opened out and becomes
a sheet at night. The jacket, worn loose to the figure,
is called a baju; it is made with long sleeves, and
generally of white but sometimes of coloured cotton :
in the latter case the pattern is the check to which
the Malay is so partial. The headdress is a handker-
chief nattily tied on, and this kerehief is common to
the Bugis and Malay of Perak ; but with the former it
is mostly of a larger size.

The Malay Chieftain, while adhering to the sarong—
which is a garment most suitable to the climate, very
convenient, and giving great freedom to the limbs—is
very fond of adopting European costumes. Sultan
Abdullah ordered a magnificent uniform from England,
something between that of a field—marshal and a
hussar colonel’s, of which, with its little engineer

 

MALAY COSTUME. 147

 

busby, he was very proud; though, as will be seen
from the group of which he forms the centre, it is
doubtful whether he looked so well as the chiefs of
his court, who stood on either side when they were
photographed by the writer.

The general Malay costume is very similar to that
described as worn by the Bugis. It consists of an inner
vest, having a collar to button tight round the neck,
and the baju or jacket, often of light-coloured dimity,
for undress ; trousers worn loose and long, or what are
now often preferred, a loose pair of short drawers,
made of cotton or silk. In the case of a chief, these
trousers or drawers are of richly—patterned yellow silk,
and often very handsome. Next comes the sarong,
which, by the way, is sometimes made to do duty as a
scarf by both sexes, who are as tasty in their manipu-
lation of this robe as a Spanish lady in Seville.

As an example of the tribal nature of the costume,
the inhabitants of many places wear distinctive-pat—
terned sarongs; and though this is not evident to
Europeans unacquainted with the peculiarities of the
people, a Malay will readily tell from what part a
stranger comes by a glance at his dress. Speaking
generally, however, a Malay’s costume in Perak may
be said to consist of the loose trousers, baju or jacket
—which is made of any kind of material to suit the
fancy and the sarong.

The chiefs have taken a great fancy of late to a

natty and very effective little skull-cap, of a military
L 2

 

 

148 “SARONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

shape, and the use of this has extended amongst the
better classes of the people. It is generally of black
and white, and greatly resembles that in favour
amongst the Klings, or natives of Southern India, from
whom it was probably adopted. But while the Kling
delights in making it of gorgeous colours, with which
he ornaments his wife and everything appertaining to
him, the Malay keeps to modest sober tints; and a
chief will occasionally wear one formed out of a kind
of reed, and have a text from the Koran embroidered
on the front. _

The national headdress however of the Perak
Malay is the handkerchief, which is stiffened and tied
with a peculiar twist round the head. When on a
journey, and expecting to be exposed to the weather,
it is not uncommon for the battek or skull-cap to be
worn inside the handkerchief, both being arranged in
no ungraceful manner, for the Malay has a very good
idea of attending to his personal appearance. Mr.
Crawfurd is of opinion that the Malay took the idea
of his kerchief as worn upon the head from India ; but
it is far more probable that, like the sarong, it had its
origin far enough back, with the original tribes who
came from Menang Kabow, and who are, as has been
intimated, looked up to by the better-class Malays,
as the ancestors from whom they trace descent.

Another form of headdress often worn is that
which has been already alluded to as used by the
Malay fishermen for protection from the sun. It is

 

6' UI TABLE DRESS. 149

 

also worn by the peasants, and, in its umbrella—shape
and cane—work head-frame, greatly resembles that with
which we are familiar in pictures of the people of
China and Siam.

Where the Malays have associated much with
Europeans, and have adopted our ordinary costume,
they are much given to the short military patrol
jacket, and cover their feet with our socks, and not
only the ordinary, but the patent-leather shoe ; though
they have not yet adopted our chimney-pot -hat.
Still the sarong is retained; and in these cases it
never looks incongruous; for, startling as the state—
ment may seem, a gracefully put on sarong, either
with our ordinary dress, or even a military uniform,
has not only an admirably picturesque effect, but it is
invaluable to the European; and those who have
worn it day and night in these latitudes will, from
the better health they have enjoyed, have learned to
respect the Malays for their experience-bought know-
ledge of what is most suited for their climate. In
this question of dress, as well as in more weighty
matters, the Malays of the peninsula have good reason
to feel grateful to the Maharajah of J ohore, who has
set an admirable example in adopting the sensible
customs of the Europeans, to the rejection of those
unfitted for the climate and absurd.

The Malay wears his hair cut short, or shaved, pre—
senting a striking contrast to the Chinaman, with his
tail plaited with silken threads, and coaxed down to

 

150 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

touch his heels. The face is little adorned by nature
with hair, and is generally denuded of what little
appears, except in the case of the chiefs, who retain a
thinly-cut moustache that sometimes reminds one of
Albert Smith’s description of that worn by a young
gentleman of his acquaintance, whose eyebrows seemed
to have slipped down on to his upper lip.

The hair of the women, however, is long and luxu-
riant, and' is kept beautifully clean by means of the
juice of lemon and vegetables, which with the soap-
nut makes a good lather, and is either worn over the
crown of the head, or twisted up at the back in the
universal mode that was perhaps established in the
days of our mother Eve. Through this knot, which is
often so jetty and massive that it resembles the chig-
non of modern European society, are thrust pins—very
often of gold; and on festive days jasmine, chum—
paka, and other sweet-smelling flowers are introduced
in a coquettish and very tasteful manner. These pins
or bodkins are called chuchu kzmdei, and, like the
other gold ornaments that are mentioned, are very fre-
quently tinged of a rich red hue, probably caused by
burning in a charcoal fire ; and seen against the jetty
hair, they have an excellent effect, though only second
to the flowers.

The ordinary dress of a Malay woman is, amongst
the more prosperous, an inner garment of white cotton
cloth, covering the breasts, and hanging down to the
hips. Over this is the sarong, held up at the waist

 

THE FINDING. 151

 

by a twist, as in the case of the men, and falling in
graceful folds to the ankles, but further supported by a
belt or zone of silver or gold, or of embroidered cloth,
and ornamented in front where an English lady would
wear a buckle—by a large oval plate called a pindz‘ng.

 

This is about the size of the oval mount to a photo-
graphic cabinet portrait, and is either of silver or gold;
while, in the case of ladies about the little native palm-
palacc courts, it is frequently studded with precious
stones, and beautifully chased by the native goldsmiths.
Over all this is worn a long loose dressing—gown style
of garment, called the [cabag/a. This robe falls to the
middle of the leg, and is fastened down the front with
circular brooches known by the Malays as krosong.

Very frequently the sarong and kabaya are the only
garments ; and when going to bathe—a matter of daily
custom amongst the Malay women of Perak and other
parts of the country—the sarong is perhaps alone
worn; and it is in these instances that it is neatly
and decorously held up close beneath the arm—pits by
an ingenious tuck in the folds, the part hanging over
the breast being called pcmciwng. Simple as the Malay
woman’s costume is, it is far from unbecoming; and
it possesses this advantage, one which will be held
in esteem by every paterfamilias in our empire——
namely, it never is out of fashion, so as to cause the
outcry so cleverly satirised by Mr. Butler—“ Nothing
to wear.”

One necessary part of the female attire has how-

 

152 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

ever been omitted—necessary or unnecessary, as the
case may be.—namely the salendng, which is a very
pretty graceful sash, made of cotton or silk of the
most delicate texture. This is worn over the shoulder
or waist, according to the taste of the wearer; fre-
unntly after the fashion that an English lady wears
her Shetland shawl.

Except when walking, and likely to meet strangers,
or when liable to be exposed to the sun, the head is
seldom covered ; and then it is that the second sarong
is thrown over the head, and drawn out, leaving a
narrow slit for the eyes. It is worthy of remark that
the less bountiful nature has been to the Malay
woman in the matter of beauty of feature, the narrower
she contrives that the slit shall be—a work of superero-
gation, that, it is to be presumed, is not confined to
the Malays, since strange use is sometimes made in
European countries of a- veil or fan.

The covering of the feet is generally omitted by
the women, though they in nowise resemble the
Chinese in smallness, nor those of European ladies in
beauty; but Malays are very clever in embroidering
slippers in gold tinsel, and these, like those of the
Turks, are worn by the higher—class ladies just over
the toes. By way of protection in walking, they
sometimes wear a kind of clog, which is made of
a light white wood; and this is not held on by strap,
toe-piece, or leather covering, but by the simple inser-
tion of a peg on the top, so arranged that it passes

 

AN EUGENTRIC' CUSTOM. . 153

 

between the toes, and so holds the clog on in what
seems to be a very precarious and uncomfortable
manner.

The umbrella, or sunshade, is the property of the
noblcr sex, and is generally of some gay colour ; while
amongst the chiefs it will be of rich silk, and often
richly fringed and worked in gold. The use of these
protections from the torrid rays is probably borrowed
from the Siamese, who are great in umbrellas, many
of them being of a very gorgeous kind.

Both male and female wear rings—~the fore and
little fingers being the most in favour for displaying
the ornaments; but the greatest piece of dandyism
observable amongst the Malay gentlemen in the way
of decoration-quite equalling the ladies’ custom of
using henna to their nails—is in the custom of display-
ing the status as a man who never works. The
custom is that of wearing the finger-nail long. In
one instance, that of Kooloop Mahomed, a relative of
the Princess of Perak, the fore-nail of the left hand
had been allowed to grow till it was about two inches
long. It was carefully tended and kept clean; while
to preserve it from dangers, its owner wore it in a
sheath, something like a stiffened elongated finger—
stall. Whether this custom has been derived from the
Chinese, who have long nails, it is impossible to say,
but such a talon always speaks for itself, and says
to the world at large : “ This gentleman never toils.”

Amongst the little points of personal ornamenta-

 

154 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRTS.”

 

tion adopted by the Malay women are the wearing of
earrings, or ear-jewels, with swivels, necklaces, and
armlets or bangles. Some of these are very beautifully
worked in silver and gold like the pinding, the gold-
smiths having no mean idea of finish in their
art. Less admirable however are their practices of
rouging—a custom confined to married ladies alone—
and using antimony after the fashion of kohl, to
darken the eyelids, and give a lustrous look to the
eyes. But after all, these customs are infinitely
preferable to those’of the Hindoos, who give a ghastly
yellow tinge to their faces, by the use of a powder
composed of turmeric.

A glance at the engravings will give a very good
idea of the dress, both of male and female, amongst the
Malays, and at the same time it will be seen how fond
they. are of introducing a little variety, even while
adhering to the formal custom of the country in which
they dwell.

CHAPTER XV.

The villages of Perak—Inhabitaunts—Causes of depopulation—War
—Extent of population—Bird scaring—Malay dwellings—Untidy
habits—Bathing—House-building— Chinese and‘convict labour.

THE villages of Perak, which take the place of towns,
are, as has been intimated, nearly all situated on the
various rivers. They are mostly of very little im—
portance, but as in the opening out of the country
they may rise to the dignity of busy commercial
emporiums, and as reference to them is made in these
pages, it is necessary to give their names. They eon—
sist of Chigagala, Kotah Lamah, Korinchi, Saiyong,
Boyah, Sengang, Blanja, Campong Syang, Botah,
Pulo Tiga, Passir Sala, Kotah Lumat, Durian Sabatang,
Batu Rabit, and Kotastia, on the Perak river, With
Kinta and several smaller villages on the river of that
name; Thai—peng and Kamunting have already been
referred to in the Laroot or tin district, but there is
also in this district the village of Bukit Ganting, the
residence of the Muntri of Perak. Near the Bruas
river is the village of Chindrong Klubi; and on the
Kurow river is another village named Mandring

 

156 “SJRONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

Semboh. Qualla Kungsa, so often alluded to, has
become of importance as the military station of
the British Government.

The custom of polygamy seems partly to blame
for the state of these Villages and the surrounding
country, bringing about, as it has done, a gradual
depopulation, misery amongst the people, with slavery,
and a variety of other abominations ; while no doubt
many have fallen victims to smallpox, fevers, and
other diseases for which these people have no remedy,
but being fatalists, leave them to fate to perform
the cure. I

Doubtless many years ago there was a great drain
on the male population, who went across to Sumatra
to re—people Acheen, which has been a very hotbed of
wars for some time past ; but under a wise and good
Irégime, with the people assured of personal safety and
protection for their property, Perak would have occu—
pied a very different position as to population to that
at present shown. This question of inhabitants in an
uncivilised country is always one that is difficult to
decide. There are no adequate means of judging
where the villages are scattered in all directions, many
being in out-of-the—way spots, perhaps untrodden by
a European feet. In fact there is no doubt that the
chiefs themselves are in utter ignorance of the numbers
of the settled, wandering, and floating population of
their district. That of Perak has been variously
estimated at from thirty thousand to eighty thousand,

 

THE POPULATION. 157

 

with five or six thousand to represent the wild
tribes.

To make an approximation of the numbers by
reckoning from the houses and villages on the river-
banks, would naturally give a very unsatisfactory and
doubtful result; but after pretty well traversing the
country in all directions, the impression made on the
writer’s mind is that the lower estimate would be about
correct. Mr. Birch, however, the late Resident, a man
who had seen more of the country than any European,
and who had been up every river in the interior, was
of opinion that the higher number was correct.

Mr. Birch’s opinion may be accepted as reliable;
but it must be taken into consideration that during the
disturbances of 1875—76, there most probably was a
very extensive emigration across the mountains, to the
states of the east coast; and if this proves to have
been the case, there is every prospect of a strong
return current as the country becomes, as it is
becoming, more settled. This is greatly to be hoped
for, since the return of the people to their old homes
Will add materially to the prosperity of the country.

Though many of the Malays reside in the interior,
and on the pathways or tracks through the jungle
between the different rivers, the bulk of the population
chose the banks of the rivers themselves for setting
up their homes, for many reasons : one of the principal
being that as a maritime people and given to boating,
here was to a certain extent their habitual life at hand;

 

158 “SARONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

though probably, fear of the tribes whose land they
had invaded, had something to do with the choice of
dwelling of the first settlers of the country. Con-
sequently the Perak Malays have come to be known
as the tribe of such and such a river, instead of being
reckoned as dwellers in a province or district of the
country.

It has already been stated that the rivers are the
chief highways to the sea, and hence they became the
means bywhichthc people obtained the supplies brought
into the country—such as salt, salt—fish, and the simple
necessaries 011 which they depend for support ; while
a current of trade set in the other direction, tin and
rice being sent out in exchange. This river system
has made it very convenient for the chiefs of the
country to obtain their dues; for no sampan or prau
goes up or down the river without being squeezed by
the followers of the chief, whose boats are ready at the
campong at which the lord resides. One is strongly
reminded of the robber Chieftains, or barons of the
Rhine, in the case of the Perak and its tributaries;
though here the enforced tribute has been exacted in
a far milder way. '

Another reason, doubtless, for the choice of the
banks of a stream for residence is the fact that the
Malays, who migrated from Sumatra, became, as they
drove back the Aborigines into the interior, accustomed
to till the ground for the cultivation of rice, their
staple food. For rice is now extensively grown, as it

BIRD S CARING. . 159

has been cultivated more and more with the progress
of civilisation. This grain, in its many varieties, culti—
vated on both wet and dry ground, is coming more
and more into fashion with the people, especially the
dry ground, or mad padi, which yields a crop in the“
shortest time.

It is, to one who studies the manners and customs
of the Malays, curious to see how habits approximate
in different countries. One sees the scarecrows and
plans laid to keep off the birds at home, and on going
thousands of miles away to the clearings in the jungle
of the far East one meets with them again. That ubiqui—
tous bird the sparrow, has been mentioned as amongst
the birds of the country, and as he will grub up and
devour the peas at home in a suburban garden, so he
makes himself, with other mischievous bird-bandits,
busy here. The consequence is that the rice—fields are
made grotesque by means of long strings which radiate
from little bamboo huts in the centre of the fields.
To these strings are attached bells, dolls, feathers, rags,
anything light and striking, and seated in the but is a
little Malay boy or girl, whose sole costume is a red
chintz or cotton bib, which just covers the chest, while
the child’s duty is to play spider, and agitate the webs
that emanate from this centre, though not to attract,
but to drive the birds away. Miniature windmills,
too, are set up to spin round and rattle in the breeze ;
but the sparrows of Perak are as impudent as those
elsewhere, and often treat these plans with contempt.

 

160 “SARONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

Allusion has already been made to the harvesting,
which is here a time of rejoicing, as at home; but it
has not been said that prejudice necessitates the
cutting of the rice stalks one by one, while the
valuable straw is destroyed and burnt, its ashes being
about the only manure that superstition allows the
Malay to apply to his land.

Situated as it is, with the river flowing before it,
the appearance of a Malay village amongst its palms
and other fruit trees is exceedingly picturesque, the
graceful aspect of the waving trees, with their beau-
tiful columnar trunks, and feathery fronds, shading
the quaint bamboo palm—thatched structures, being
pleasing in the extreme. There is but little attention
paid to order ; but the houses are placed here and there
according to the taste and convenience of the owner,
who readily plants cocoa-nut trees around,.though he
has to wait about seven years for their fruiting.
When there are so many houses that a double row
occupies the river-bank, a line of communication exists
between them that does not deserve the title of road,
for the Malay never thinks of constructing anything
of this kind, but leaves as much as possible to Dame
Nature. In this case the houses are built, and as the
people walk to and fro the path comes of itself.

Below the houses—as may be seen in the illustra—
tion, which gives a very good general impression of an
ordinary Malay village—posts are driven into the soil,
and upon these small sheds are erected, which serve as

 

BATHING. 161

 

bathing-places, and are extensively used by both
men and women, and it is upon the palm—thatch of
these places that the sarong is thrown as a sign of
occupation. In fact, it is a rare thing to go up or
down a river without seeing someone bathing, for the
Malays of both sexes are very fond of the water; but
great care has to be taken on account of the alligators,
which are in places exceedingly numerous. After a
bath the all-important sarong frequently occupies the
place of a towel; and amongst the better classes
cosmetiques are used to rub the body, which at other
times, if not sufliciently lithe and pliable at the joints,
is made to undergo a kind of shampooing 0r kneading,
the joints being folded, the limbs stretched and pulled,
and the knuckles carefully cracked ; but this is gene-
rally when the Malay is ailing, or suffering from
“ wind in the joints.”

The residence of the Malay is invariably built upon
posts, some of which are close to and over the water,
though there are no floating bamboo raft—houses as in
Siam. The floor is from four to six feet above the
ground; in fact, in the jungle, houses may be found
built upon the natural posts formed by the growing
trees, the floor, which is reached by a ladder, being
fifteen, twenty, or even thirty feet from the ground.
This is for protection from wild beasts, cases having
been known of that formidable cat, the tiger, entering
a hut and bearing its occupant away.

The Malay Who desires to have a comfortable
M

 

162 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

home literally builds two houses or huts—one at the
back of the other—separately roofed, but with a way
of communication to join them and form one shelter.
The front house is the place for general reception;
while the back, which is shut off by a doorway and
curtain, is the exclusive home of the women and
children. Again, behind this, there is a kind of
shed or lean—to, in which the ordinary domestic
arrangements, such as cooking and preparing food, are
carried on.

The ground-floor, if it may be so called—that is to
say the space between the supporting posts—is the
general receptacle of all the dirt and refuse of the
family ; and so wanting in sanitary arrangements, and
so idle is the Malay peasant, that sooner than construct
drains, or clear away this rubbish, he will allow it to
lie and fester, so that it very frequently brings on
ailments which a due attention to cleanliness would
have warded off.

Palm and bamboo are the chief village building
materials, though in the Settlements good houses are
constructed of bricks, for which there is plenty of ex—
cellent clay, while lime made from the limestone coral
that abounds is easily procurable. It is mostly pre-
pared by the Chinese, who build up a kiln of alternate
layers of coral and timber, and after the requisite
burning, a ready sale is found.

The uprights of a house and its sides having been
constructed of bamboo or palm by the Malay of a

 

H0 USE-B UILDING. 1 63

campong, he makes the flooring either of bamboo,
or, what is preferable, the nibong palm, which can
readily be split into laths. This flooring is elastic, and
not unpleasant to bare feet ; and upon it the people, who
sit upon the floor, are in the habit of spreading mats,
which form their seats by day and beds by night.
The sides of a house of the lower class are either made
of the bark of trees or of split reeds ; but in the better-
class houses the walls are of far more elaborate work,
being sometimes composed of planks which are labo—
riously cut from the serayah tree, though more often
of a kind of mat which is in very general use. These
mats are called kadjcmgs, and are made of the leaves
of a kind of palm, carefully dried in the sun, and then
literally stitched together with the universal rattan;
for the Malay is most apt in the way in which he
utilises the abundant materials that nature has placed
to his hand.

Windows are not forgotten, and these are placed
at a height suitable to the convenience of a gazcr
seated upon the floor; and in the better-class houses
they are provided with a mat shutter, and a great
deal of tasty work is Visible in their framing. But,
just as in our own land, there are very careless
builders; and in some of the poorer houses, the sup—
ports being held together with rattans instead of nails,
these former work loose, and at last the whole house
goes over bodily right out of the perpendicular.

In such a case it might be supposed that, With

n 2

 

164 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

abundant materials in the jungle, the Malay would at
once proceed to rebuild. He does nothing of the
kind ; but evidently content with feeling that the slip
has tightened the rattan lashings of his home, he acl
commodates himself to the new circumstances, and t0
the want of the horizontal in his dwelling, and goes on
perfectly happy in the feeling that he is after all not
called upon to take the trouble to rebuild his hut. In
fact, there seems to be a belief that it is unlucky to
pull down the old dilapidated dwelling, which stands
till it falls; and the Malay strongly reminds one, in
his home arrangements, of the Irish cotter, who could
not get at the roof of his house to mend it when
it was wet, while when it was dry it did not need
repair.‘

The universal roofing of a Perak house is attap
stretched over bamboo rafters and ridge-poles. This
attap is the dried leaf of the“ nipah—palm, doubled over
a small stick of bamboo or nibong. The pieces of
attap for roofing are generally about four feet in
length, and are bound on to the rafters with rattans ;
series overlapping series, and forming a splendid rain—
proof thatch. Like all thatches, however, the attap
will show tender places in time; when the Malays,
instead of re-covering the whole roof, ingeniously in—
troduce new leaves in the bad spots; for when driven
to take measures, they are adepts at saving themselves
trouble. Where extra protection seems to be needed,
it is not uncommon for palm-leaves to be laid along

 

CHINESE AND CONVIO’T LABOUR. 165

 

the ridge of a roof over the pole, the leaflets being
tightly plaited in and out; these efforts to obtain a
waterproof roof being very necessary in a land where
at times the rains are exceedingly heavy.

The attap makes a very cool and pleasant roofing
material, and is used extensively by the Europeans of
the Settlements, in place of slates or tiles for their
dwellings; the former having to be brought from
England at great cost and risk of breakage, while the
latter are not easily procurable of good quality; those
of Malacca however are the best. The objections to
the attap—thatch are its inflammability and want of
lasting qualities, since it has to be renewed every
three 0r four years. It is still however used over
the European barracks, and for the roofs of many of
the residences in the Settlements.

The best European residence in Perak is one that
was built by the Assistant—resident in Laroot—a
house to which allusion was made as overlooking the
tin mines of Thai—peng. In this case adze—squared
timber was used; some portions of the verandah,
rails, doors, and flooring, being actually planed—a
wonderful novelty in Perak; While—greater novelty
still—some of the timbers were painted; but a great
part of this was done by means of Chinese labour,
which is far more costly and finished than that of
the Malay.

At the same time, it must be granted, that the
Malays are very ingenious‘in the construction of their

 

166 “Sle0NG” AND “KRLS'.”

 

houses, a great part of the work being done with a tool
which they call a biliong. It is made of iron, and is
so constructed that it can be shifted in its rattan
socket, and becomes either adze or hatchet at the
workman’s pleasure. Still, for any particular or neat
joiners’ work, the Europeans are mostly dependent on
the Chinese, who have erected nearly all the handsome
dwellings in the British Settlements north and south
of Perak ; though a large share of praise is due to the
admirable application of convict labour. These eon-
Viets, mostly from India, were employed generally in
the construction of our roads, and in building the
Government House, that handsome structure the
cathedral at Singapore, and other public buildings
both at Penang and Malacca; but transportation to
the Straits Settlements has ceased for many years,
and India now sends her convicts to the Andaman
Islands.

CHAPTER XVI.

House-building—Inche Maida—Campongs—Picking the Cocoa-nut
——Preparations—Poultry—Sambals.

THE Malay, when put to the test, and compelled by
necessity to work for his own benefit, is by no
means slow in protecting himself from the elements.
After a weary heating walk through the jungle, and
securing his return journey by blazing or marking
the trees with his parang, he does not think of lying
down upon the ground to rest, but rapidly fits up a
few posts, and a floor upon them, a yard above the
level, places a palm—leaf roof over the structure, and
then protects his loins from the wind as he lies down,
by means of a few palm-leaves.

But it is in the building of a chief’s house that
the best efforts are put forth; and very picturesque
are some of the efforts in this way, with their neat
thatching, matted windows, and elegantly—woven
sides, gracefully shadowed by the beautiful growth
of palms; though there are irreverent Englishmen
found ready to make comparisons between these ‘
jungle palaces and the barns of their native land.

 

168 ' “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

A house of this kind will be decorated by the
sides being formed of matting composed of split reeds,
woven into a neat check pattern, red and White;
while other parts are of strips of bamboo neatly
interlaced. An elegant lattice-work is often intro-
duced with admirable effect, and various little efforts
are made to embellish a building that is thoroughly
in keeping with the jungle scene. Such a place will
be protected by surrounding it with a stout fence of
split bamboo; the best example of this being at the
home of the Muntri of Laroot, at Bukit Gantang,
which is perhaps one. of the best—built places in Perak.
At times these fences are so strong that they will
throw off a musket—ball; and those not acquainted
with the country, who have come across these pagars,
as they are called, have taken them for the stoekades
used by the Malays in time of war. Sometimes these
fences are merely placed round the base of a house
itself, thus enclosing the open part between the posts
through which an enemy could otherwise make his
way. A necessary precaution; for it is said that
at times, where revenge is sought, a Malay will wait
till his enemy is at rest, and then, having obtained a
knowledge of where he sleeps, will go beneath the
house and pass his kris between the palm-strip floor-
ing into the recumbent body the mat which forms
. the unfortunate person’s only bed being no protection
against the keenly—pointed blade.

The residence of the Princess of Perak at Qualla

 

 

 

mm

QWM

Ililk

w

W

. a:

 

 

RESIDENCE Ul’ PRINCESS UF l’ERAK AT QUALLA KUNGSA.

 

INOHE‘ MAIDA’S H0 USE. 169

 

Kungsa gives—as will be seen in the illustration,
from a photograph taken by the author during the
Governor’s progress—a very full idea of a Malay
noble’s residence. The house to the left is really
the kitchen, while that on the right is, as far as its
principal apartment is concerned, fitted up with a bed
which occupies about two-thirds of the room, greatly
resembling in the matter of size the Bed of Ware.
This house, with the whole of the campong adjoining,
was placed by Inchc Maida at the disposal of the
British during the disturbances, and formed the head-
quarters of the general commanding and the com—
missioner with the contingent of troops from India.
Inche Maida’s principal apartment boasted little
furniture; but the bed possessed a coverlid of red
calico With an ornamental border, aiid curtains meant
as a protection from the mosquitoes, but of a tekture
stout enough to set at naught the attack of a swarm
of locusts. Down the centre extended a long pillow,
or “Dutch Wife,” ornamented at either end with
gold brocade embroidery, the work of the princess’s
own fingers; while round pillows similarly worked
finished off the head of the bed. Upon the intro-
duction taking place between general and princess, .
the lady claimed the former as her guest, and with all
the pride of an English country dame 0f the last
century over her well-filled ticks, drew his attention
to the bed, which had been, she said, prepared regard-
less of expense; but the general was so simple in his

 

170 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

tastes that he preferred to make his resting-place of a
camp-cot.

There are Malay chiefs though, who, having been
more in contact with European civilisation, follow our
example not only in dress but in the construction of
their dwellings. One instance of this is found in
Rajah Bot, ruler of Lookoot in the Soonghy Ujong
territory near Malacca, who has supplied himself with
a house precisely similar to that which would be built
by a European; while ascending higher in the scale
of improvement we have the palace of the ruler of
J ohore, at Johore Bahru or New Johore, which has
been built somewhat on the model of our own
Government House at Singapore, the Balei or Hall
of Audience being altogether unique in its exquisite
taste and elegance. Lookoot and Johore have, how-
ever, been for many years on the borders of European
civilisation. Going north though, we have the Rajah
of Quedah making similar advances; the impulse
being doubtless given by our settlements in Penang
and Province VVellesley. This latter chief has gone
so far as to have the grounds about his palace taste—
fully laid out with gravelled paths, flower—beds,
shrubberies, fish-ponds, and various other adjuncts
of a wealthy person’s garden at home.

In such a house as that of the Princess of Perak
the bedding is formed only of mats ; one of these and
the sarong for cover being all that a Malay in this hot
climate seems to need. The apartments are divided

 

CAMPONG HOUSES. 171

 

by curtains, and a tasty effect is produced by the use
of hangings of dimity or chintz upon the walls; the
ceilings of rough thatch and bamboo :being covered
with the same material of various patterns. But the
Malay ladies, as in the case of Inche Maida and her
coverlid and pillows, are very clever in embroidering
on frames, producing very pretty effects with silk and
gold threads or tinsel, which they are fond of working
in patterns on red and white cloth. '

The various objects that take attention about the
poorer houses of a campng are very interesting. On
approaching a hut, with its ladder-like flight of steps
to the door, close by will be seen the small enclosed
shed or granary, with sides of bark, in which the
Malay stores his rice for the family during the season.
Inside the hut, and swinging from a rafter of the
ceiling, is that universal adjunct to a married home——
the cradle, with its little dusky occupant fast asleep.
A couple of children of larger growth, nude save the
chintz bib hanging from their necks, have taken a
peep at the strangers and bounded away; or probably
the mother has been encountered carrying one,
walking with a firm, elastic swing, with the child
sitting astride upon one of her shoulders. These
brown—skinned little fellows are not without edu-
cation; for where there are native schools, antiquity
asserts itself, and they are seen, as we have read of
them in the old geographical works dealing with
Arabia, seated upon the floor before boards covered

 

172 “ SXRONG' ” AND “ KRLS’.”

 

with sand, upon which they are taught to trace the
Arabic characters with the points of their fingers.
The way up to the house has been along a narrow
track, for the Malays never walk abreast, but always
in single file, and so silent is the place that but for
the tops of the huts it might be imagined that no
trace of habitation was near.

About the houses the tamed pets of the Malays
may be noticed———doves, minahs, or parrots, with
occasionally a monkey; but as a rule the huts alone
are seen, the natives avoiding the sight of a stranger,
more often than not from fear. Very frequently,
however, an offering in the Way of hOSpitality is laid
where the stranger can find it, this being a cocoa-nut
, fresh and green; though where the people are not so shy,
the fruit is fetched for the traveller by one of the Malays,
who, if he be unprovided with one of the monkeys
to screw off the stalk, will himself take a band, make of
it a sling which embraces the tree and his body, and
then proceed to climb one of his fruit—trees for the
refreshing nut. This he does by hanging back against
the sling and pressing his feet against the leaf knots
in the bark, shifting his band and his feet alternately,
and gaining about twenty inches at a time as he
ascends ; of course grasping the tree stem tightly with
his hands the while, till he reaches the crown of great
leaves, when, selecting a suitable nut, it is lopped
off by a blow from his parang or knife, and falls to
the ground.

 

COCOA-N UT PREPARATIONS. 173

 

At times, however, the Malay cuts little steps for
his toes in the sides of the trees, and climbs them in
this manner. When this fresh green cocoa-nut is
opened for the visitor with the parang, its contents
are not the hard white nut to which we are accustomed,
but a grateful sub-acid water, very refreshing after a
journey through the forest.

‘ This cocoa-nut is one of the most valuable of the
Malay’s home fruits, and it is used at different periods
on its journey to ripeness. At one time it is soft and
white inside, and can be eaten with a spoon; while
when the nut grows hard it is either boiled for its oil
or raspcd and steeped, and its milky juice used in a
variety of ways for cooking.

The common people have two ways of performing
this rasping process, not being at all deficient in
culinary utensils. One way is to pass the nut rapidly
over an iron implement, shaped like a military spur,
the other is by rubbing on a sort of coarse wire brush,
whose bristles are short pieces of wire stuck in a small
neatly—formed board.

' This raspcd cocoa—nut enters largely into their food
preparations, and is particularly palatable, especially
in curries, which can never be tasted in perfection
except in the east, on account of the absence of fresh
cocoa—nuts and other ingredients.

Mutton is generally unknown, but beef, in the
form of buffalo flesh, is much in favour with the Malays,
who use it when on journeys, after cutting it in strips,

 

174 “SJRONG ” AND “KIM—S.”

 

which are dried in the sun; the intense heat acting
upon the meat too rapidly to allow of decomposition
taking place, and prepared in this way it is very
tender and good. Fish is of course largely eaten, for
a Malay never loses an opportunity of catching those
of river and sea; but he would think it a sin to cut
or crimp it when alive, and carefully puts it to death
before it is prepared for food. Salt fish is largely
consumed, and brought from long distances into the
interior, with large quantities of sun-made salt.

The Malay has a very good appreciation of
poultry, both for his amusement and eating; hence
the familiar crow of the cock is often heard about
the campongs. These people are even discriminating
in their choice of them for food, but choose those
which would be rejected by every good English
housewife, who is particular to pick out clean, white-
legged Dorkings, while the Malay epicure prefers his
poultry with black joints, considering them far better
and more tender.

It may be interesting to the reader to have the
description of Malay mixtures or sambals for eating
with curry, as it will doubtless seem more appetising
than the blachang or fish condiment, already deseribed
as being composed of putrescent shrimps mashed up
in the sun. For the mixtures to eat with his curry,
which is always of a very simple kind, the Malay
takes dried prawns, cut cucumber—sliced in cocoa—nut
milk, chillies ground up into a pulp, yam carefully

 

SAMBALS. 175

 

cooked and chopped small, the balimbing fruit cut
into pieces, mangoes occasionally, chutnies of various
kinds, and green ginger shredded small with vinegar.
These mixtures are served up on saucers, and eaten with
the curry, as we English at home eat pickles, and salad
from those handy gibbous—moon plates which are seen
at some highly—civilised tables. And it is not only
amongst the Malays that this custom obtains, for the
Chinese and Japanese have trays especially designed
for their sambals or sweetmeats.g These trays are
circular, and have the appearance of a large Pope Joan
board, only that the divisions are saucers to contain
the mixtures.

In India the curries themselves are made hot with
chillies, but the Malay makes his curry of very simple
materials, with a great deal of cocoa~nut milk therein.
Very often the dish is entirely vegetable, and the hot
spices are mixed in the sambal or condiment which
is eaten therewith. Taking it for granted that the
native knows best what is suited for the digestion in
his climate, this custom is freely followed by the
European residents, who add the curry mixture to
their breakfast and dinner as a rule.

But it is with their staple food—rice—that the
Malays, whose right hands are cunning in culinary
preparations, contrive their greatest variety of
dishes. It is eaten dry or parched ; plain boiled, after
being washed by these particular people in six or
seven different waters ; made into cakes with scraped

 

176 “SJlRONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

cocoa-nut and sugar, and then neatly arranged in a

scrap of cocoa-nut leaf, which is pinned together with
one of the native pins—that is to say, a tiny skewer
of bamboo. Plantain-leaves too are great favourites
for food purposes, and are often used as dishes from
which the native eats his rice; and it is needless
to say that such nature-supplied dishes are never
washed, but renewed from the garden for the mor—
row’s meal ; while should a convenient fire for cooking
be required, nature has supplied a stove and fuel
ready to hand, which will go on burning at a
powerful red heat for many days. This unpatented
stove is the mound of the white ant, which contains
in itself all the necessaries for this sustained com—
bustion, supplying a want and at the same time
getting rid of a noxious pest; as an antidote to
which the Malays use one kind of wood-oil, or
this product in combination with arsenic and sugar
of lead.

CHAPTER XVII.

Food—Tobacco—Opium-smoking——Betel-ehewing—Toddy—Arak—
Domestic implements—Dammar—Metal work—Gold filigree.

A PEOPLE who are fond of condiments to flavour
their simple preparations of rice, and who are enor—
mous eaters of fruit, may very naturally be supposed
to have a taste for sweets, and this is the case. One
of their favourite dishes is a sort of syllabub, com—
posed of sago, which the palm yields them in abun-
dance, boiled down with sugar, and covered with
cocoa—nut milk. This is known as 5006007“. These
are but a few of the culinary preparations of the
Malay, who has in addition his sugar—cane, of which
he is inordinately fond

 

eating it largely raw, and
taking lengths of it, to peel off the silicious skin,
and then cut it in convenient pieces for chewing;
maize, and the rice, and abundant fruits and vege-
tablcsmonions among the latter being great favourites;
while by way of luxury the use of tobacco is not at all
uncommon.

 

178 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

As a rule the Malay prefers Javanese tobacco, but
failing this he uses his own coarse preparation of the
leaf, grown in his own patch of garden, with very little
trouble. He makes no hubble-bubble pipe as a rule—
though these are occasionally constructed out of the
native tin—but contents himself with one rapidly
extemporised out of a cutting of bamboo for bowl, and a
shoot of the same for stem. More frequently, however,
he goes to nature in her simplest form to aid him in
what some people would call his very bad habit.
Turning to his universal friend, the palm, he obtains
from it a supply of lcigarette papers ; .in other words,
he takes the mica, or outer sheath of the palm-leaf, or
else the thin sheath of the plantain, or pisang, rolls in
it a little tobacco, forming rather a large cigarette, and
smokes in peace. In fact, in no part of the world has
nature furnished man with so many means to his hand
for supplying his simple wants ; and even when these
simple wants grow into those of a more luxurious kind,
the forest still seems to provide a never—failing store,
only asking to be sought for by those who need.

For opium — smoking the Malay is doubtless
indebted to the nations farther east. It is not greatly
practised by the poorer Malays, but it is a luxury too
frequently indulged in by the chiefs, to the great
detriment of their health and mental vigour. This,
of course, is from the excess of use ; for there are
authorities of great experience who tell of the practice
of smoking opium being carried on to an extreme old

 

OPIUM-SMOKING. 1 79

 

age Without deleterious effects. There is no doubt,
however, that when a man becomes a slave to the
habit, decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a miserable
early death result. The Chinaman is the greatest
consumer of the drug in the peninsula, and in the
Settlements either smokes at home, or goes to one or
other of the opium—houses.

The process of smoking opium has often been
described—perhaps never more vigorously than by the
late Mr. Charles Dickens—but it is so peculiar a prac-
tice that it may bear repetition. The opium as used
by the smoker has been purified from the coarse,
heavy, dank—smelling gum of commerce, roughly pre-
pared from the poppies grown for the purpose, and
when ready resembles thick treacle in consistency.
This is placed ready to the chief’s hand, and he then
reclines upon his mat and takes his opium-pipe, which
is generally of thin cane, with a metallic bowl. A
tray with a lamp and a little fork form part of the
paraphernalia. Upon this fork a little bit of opium
is twisted up and applied to the pipe, which in turn
is held to the flame of the lamp, and the little point
or fork is used to keep up the supply of opium, clear
the pipe, and generally, so to speak, stoke or poke the
tiny fire, so that it receives a sufficient supply of
oxygen. This kind of smoking is quite a serious
matter, and takes as much time as a Turkish bath, the
smoker having to sink into a state of lethargy, enjoy

his dreams, and lie passive till he wakes. In fact, it
N 2

 

180 “BL/TRONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

is a kind of intoxication, during which he who
indulges sinks into a state that should only be allow-
able to calm the anguish of a terrible disease. Then
it would be a valuable medical aid, but as an indul—
gence, it is degrading to mankind, and sensual in the
extreme.

The habit of betel-chewing is not much to be com—
mended,but it is universal, and seems not to be injurious
to those who practise it. In fact, betel-chewing is so
national a custom with the Malay that he will actually
reckon time by the space occupied in the consumption
of a “ quid ;” the term is vulgar, but too appropriate
not to be used. For instance, a Malay visits you on
business, and sitting down he will not commence the
object of his mission until such a time has elapsed as
he considers that the chewing of his betel should take.
During this interval he is most probably squatted
upon his heels, looking remarkably absurd, with his
mouth distended, his eyes half-closed, unable almost
to speak save in monosyllables or grunts. There are
exceptions, however, many Malays holding the betel
between the upper lip and teeth, and conversing pretty
freely.

Both sexes indulge in this habit, which is com-
menced at a very early age; and extends from the
lowest, who carry their supply in a bag, to the Sultan,
in whose regalia there are a certain number of betel-
boxes, some of the choicest make. Its use, to quote
the quaint saying, is probably “ as old as the hills.”

 

THE BE TEL. 181

 

In looking back into ancient chronicles, it is found
that according to Salmasius, even in the first century,
betel formed an article of commerce, and was sent
from the Golden Chersonese for lovers of the drug in
Arabia and Persia, and that as a compound it was
sold in the markets of those countries under the name
given to it by the Greeks of Mala—bathron—bathron
being the name for the betel, or areca palm, or the
betel of Mala or Ta—lVlala. No doubt it was known
to the Arabs long before this period, and it is worthy
of note that the Arabic name Tambal has some
resemblance to Ta—Mala. In fact, as the ingredients
of the mixture as used have always been produced in
the Malay peninsula in the highest perfection, and the
habit of chewing it is more prevalent there than
probably among any people on the face of the globe,
it may not be unreasonable to draw from the above a
further proof of the extremely early acquaintance of
the nations of the more Western lands with the Ta-
Mala, Tanah Malai, or Land of the Malays, which has.
previously been suggested as the notable Ophir of
Solomon.

This betel is a curious mixture, being composed of
several ingredients, according to the taste or quality
of the person using it. Generally, however, it
is the leaves of the sirih, a creeping plant, that is
trained up a stick, and much cultivated in gardens.
It is probably one of the pepper family ; and its leaves
are gathered, tied in little bundles of fifteen or twenty,

 

182 “ SJRONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

and sold at the bazaars or little shops of the
villages. The second component is the nut of the
areca-palm, or betel-nut, which grows in clusters on
the tree, and somewhat resembles a nutmeg, with a
yellowish fibrous coating. These nuts are also sold by
the dealers ; and for the convenience of the purchaser a
quaint—looking instrument, like a combination of nut-
crackers and scissors, is kept at hand, to enable the
chewer to break up the nut into small pieces. Next,
there is a fine kind of lime, formed by burning sea—
shells, and kept like a paste in a brass box about the
size of that used for tooth—powder at home, while the
more luxurious use gambier, sold in strips or cakes of
a gum somewhat like jujube—this to give astringency
——and a clove—which, by the way, is an expensive
luxury in these parts.

The betel—chewer, thus provided, takes a sirih leaf
from his bag, smears a little lime upon it from his
box, places a scrap of areca—nut upon the lime, rolls
and folds the leaf up into a neat little packet, and
transfers it to his mouth, where after a little masti~
cation the saliva begins to assume a vermilion hue,
and the custom for which our sailors have become
famous is in full force. Where, however, it is a rajah
who is chewing betel, he uses a spittoon, frequently
shaped like a handsome chalice, and of pure gold.
In such a case the chief has a regular tray before him,
bearing the spittoon and lime—box, and another for
betel, full of compartments containing spices as well

 

BE TEL-CHE WIN G. 183

 

His wives, stationed behind him, are employed beat—
ing up the components, to save trouble in mastication ;
and, using a curiously—elongated pestle and mortar of
brass, they beat nut, leaf, and gum into a red paste,
which is presented to the rajah on a bright copper
spatula, which he draws across his tongue, chews, and
is supremely happy.

This brass pestle and mortar are also used by old
people whose dentition has become imperfect or worn
out. The flavour of the betel—nut, if tested by a
European, is very pungent, aromatic, and astringent;
and one essay is generally sufficient to decide the
experimentalist that betel—chewing is not a practice or
vice that it is worth while to contract, even though it
is sedative, and probably intoxicating to a certain
extent. The effect is to stain the teeth of a dark red,
in some cases almost black, and seen in a young girl
this is to a European anything but pleasant; but the
Malays believe it to be a great addition to a person’s
appearance. They consider it to be a sign of refine—
ment, and say that it is only monkeys and other
animals who should glory in the possession of white
teeth a sayng by no means complimentary to the
European residents of the place. This betel-chewing
seems however to possess one good quality——namely,
that of preserving the teeth ; for that racking pain of
civilised life, the toothache, is rarely heard of in Perak
or the neighbouring states.

The following quaint description of betel—chewing

 

 

184: , “Si/TRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

amongst the neighbours of the Malays of Perak, the
Siamese, though bearing somewhat the nature of a
repetition, is worthy of notice from showing how
thoroughly similar was the custom in the past to
that of the present day. The account was written
by De la 'Loubere, the French envoy, nearly two
hundred years ago.

The Areca, which the Siameses do call Plan, is a kind of great
acorn, which yet wants that wooden cup wherein our acorn grows,
When this fruit is yet tender, it has at the center or heart a
greyish substance, which is as soft as pap. As it drys it waxes
yellower and harder, and the soft substance it has at the heart
grows hard too. It is always very bitter and savory. After
having out it into four parts with a knife, they take a piece every
time and chew it with a leaf resembling ivy, called Bez‘cl by the
Europeans which are at the Indies, and film]: by the Siameses. They
wrap it up to put it the more easily into the mouth, and do put on
each a small quantity of lime made of cockle-shells, and redded
by I know not what art. For this reason the Indians do always
carry this sort of lime in a very little china dish, for they put so
little on every leaf that they consume not much in a day, altho’
they incessantly make use of the Arcca, and the Beta]. The Av'ecu/
whilst tender wholly consumes in the mouth, but the dry always
leaves some remains.

The sensible efi'ect of this acorn and this leaf is to excite much
spitting, if they care not to swallow the juice ; but it is good to
spit out the two or three first mouthfuls at least, to avoid swallow-
ing the lime. The other less sensible efl‘eets, but which are not
doubted in the Indies, are to carry from the gums, perhaps by
reason of the lime, whatever may prejudice them ; and to fortifie
the stomach, either by reason of the juice, that is swallowed at
pleasure, and which may have this quality, or by reason of the
superfluous moistures which they discharge by spitting. Thus have
I never found any person at Siam with a stinking breath, which
may be an effect of their natural sobriety. N ow as the Areca

 

TODDY. 185

 

and Bate] do cause a red spittle independently on the red lime
which is niix’d therewith, so they leave a vermilion tincture on the
lips and teeth. It passes over the lips, but by little and little it
thickens on the teeth till they become black 3 so that persons that
delight in neatness do blacken their teeth, by reason that otherwise
the spittlc of the Alrcca and Beta], mix’d with the natural white—
ness of the teeth, causes an unpleasant effect, which is remarked in
the common people. I shall transiently declare that the vermilion
lips, which the Siameses saw in the pictures of our ladies which we
had carried to this country, made them to say that we must needs
have in France better Betcl than theirs. To blacken their teeth
they do thereon put some pieces of very sowre lemon, which they
hold on their jaws or lips for an hour or more. They report that
this softens the teeth a little. They afterwards rub them with a
juice, which proceeds either from a certain root or from the 0000
when they are burnt, and so the operation is performed.

Betel-chewing, combined with the ordinances of
Mahomet, probably accounts for the fact that the
Malays are not much given to drinking to excess.
There are,- however, intoxicating drinks in the country,
one of which, known as samskoo, is prepared by
fermenting rice, and is chiefly used by the Chinese
settlers, the native having ready to his hand the teddy
of the palm. This is obtained by simply climbing
the tree and tapping it in a particular place, just
among the great fresh leaves, when the sap or juice
exudes, and runs pretty copiously into the little
earthen jars which the Malay ties beneath. When
the juice first runs from the tree it is sweet and
perfectly innocent as a beverage, but if left a short
time, the heat of the sun produces fermentation, and
an intoxicating drink is the result.

 

186 “ UIRON ” AND “KRI—S.”

 

Amie, as it is called, is an intoxicating spirit
evidently produced by distillation, which is, however,
practised to a very small extent in Perak, though the
Malays know the still, or alembic, whose use they
were probably taught by the Arabs. They call it
kukuscm, from a word which signifies smoke or steam.
That distillation is not more practised iseXplained by
the ease with which fermented liquor can be obtained,
nature’s process with the palm—juice being thoroughly
appreciated by one who looks upon matters requiring
effort as soosa-trouble

Domestic implements are not very abundant in
Perak, but the people seem to have all their simple
wants demand. The popular plate or dish has already
been mentioned as growing on the palm—tree, some of
whose leaves make a covering to be envied, being a
spear-blade ten feet long by as much as four feet in
its greatest width. To the palm, or pisang, they go for
leaves for wrappers; palm-sheaths form cases instead
of paper for parcels, or they are cleverly skewered
together with splints of bamboo, and become buckets
that Will hold water; or better still, a thick bamboo,
three or four feet long, is a very convenient water
vessel, and is often seen standing up against a hut.
Buckets are also made from the outer bark or skin of
the plantain, across which a stick is tied, and a rope
attached for drawing up water from the river for
drinking or bathing purposes; for the natives do not
as a rule dig wells, and it is a matter of custom

 

DAMMAR. 187

 

to wash the feet after a journey before entering a
house. ‘

Iron vessels are not plentiful, but many families
have a kind of pan which they use in their cooking,
while the half shell of a cocoa—nut, with a stick passed
through two holes near the edge, forms a capital ladle.
The cleverness of the women at embroidery has been
mentioned ; they are also adepts at netting, while the
men can scheme a basket or cage out of a few rattans
and a bit or two of bamboo in a very short time. In
this way they will twist together a cage big enough to
carry a Wild cat, monkey, or the largest bird, and all
made and tied with freshly-gathered rattans.

If the Malay requires a light for his house he
has but to procure a cymba shell, laying in it a wick
formed of fibrous wood or pith, filling the shell with oil
from cocoa-nut or palm, and he has a lamp of antique
pattern and graceful shape. If, on the contrary, the
light is to illumine the way through the jungle, or to
keep off troublesome beasts, a rough torch is readily
made of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree tied together;
but the better kind are formed of a resinous product
known as dammar. This is placed between palm
leaves, and burns fiercely with a capital light; while
for temporary purposes an cxtempore cresset is often
made by fixing an entire cocoa—nut husk on the top of
a bamboo pole, and filling the opening with dammar.

This dammar, which is the general Malayan name
for resin, is dug out of the forests by the Malays, and

 

188 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

seems to be the fossilised juices of former growths of
the jungle, probably palms, and is of infinite value to
a people who use no coal. A peculiar kind of this
resin has been lately discovered in Borneo. It is
opaque-white, but where broken freshly the fracture is
of a beautiful translucent blue, but soon grows opaque
on being exposed to the air. Like the dammar of the
Malay, it burns very readily, and is the more remark—
able from being the fossil production of a land where
the coniferae or pine family are almost unknown. This
curious production, which might almost be looked
upon as a white amber, is now undergoing tests in
the laboratory of the School of Mines, J ermyn Street;
but at the period of writing this work, has not yet
been pronounced upon by the chemist who is investi—
gating its qualities.

Not only are mats woven for the sides of their
houses, but very fine ones are often made for orna-
mental purposes. Though not especially tidy about their
dwellings, the Malay nations have that most domestic
of utensils, a broom, which is made from the midribs
of cocoa—nut leaves tied to a bamboo handle; while
among other articles will be found bamboo baskets,
and, if the people are very fortunate, a china basin
and a spoon. At a rajah’s house it is no unusual
thing to find a complete tea—set, of which the owner is
very proud, but invariably follows the Chinese fashion
of preferring an earthenware teapot to one of other
material. >

 

GOLD FILIGREE. 189

 

Metal finds its way,' though, into some of the
domestic utensils, the metal generally being the
native tin, of which they construct ewers and water-
bottles. As to gold, the work of some of the better
articles is very beautiful, notably the gold and silver
flowers presented as tribute to the King of Siam.
These are some eighteen inches high, and exquisitely
worked in filigree.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Chinese tallymen—Debt—slavery-—Slave-hunting—Punishments—
British influences—Difficulties of Residents. -

ALLUSION has been made before to the similarity of
habit amongst peoples in far—distant parts of the world.
In any county court in our agricultural districts the
judge’s pest is the ever-recurring case of the tallyman,
who summons ten or even twenty labourers for small
debts, caused by their wives running up accounts with
these travelling drapcrs and tea—men in their absence.
Precisely similar cases take place in Perak, where,
however, there are neither tallymcn nor county
courts. But the place of the former is taken by the
ubiquitous Chinaman, who, .in the most adventurous
manner, goes off into the interior with his wares,
consisting principally of calicoes, chintzes, and sarongs,
borne upon the ends of a bamboo, while in one hand
he carries a rattle—drum to announce his coming; this
latter being a tiny instrument formed out of three or
four inches of hollow bamboo, covered at the ends
with python skin, and pierced through the centre

 

CHINESE TALLYMEN. 191

 

with a stick which serves as a handle. The percussion
is caused by means of a pea at the end of a string
attached to the middle of the bamboo, which the China—
man twists rapidly backwards and forwards by means
of the handle as he enters a campong, when the pea
strikes first one and then the other end of the drum.

This signal has its effect upon the Malay women,
whose husbands are away at work in the fields, and
the pedlar’s visit is welcomed as readily as that of
his prototype in England. Then comes the taking
of credit followed by the day of reckoning, when
furious quarrels arise; the husband not unfrequently
resenting the demand for payment with his kris, to
the serious injury of the heathen pedlar, who is
sometimes murdered in the up country, for the sake
of the money he has collected in his adventurous.
rounds.

These sarongs, by the way, are always presenting
themselves under fresh auspices: one of the most
peculiar uses to which they are put is that of slinging
one upon a bamboo, after placing therein the body of
an injured or slain man, and the bamboo being lifted
on the shoulders of a couple of Malays, the sufferer is.
borne away in this extemporised litter with ease.

Debt is a serious thing in a land like Perak, where
bankruptcy is not exactly paid for with a pound of
flesh, as in the days of Shylock, but with the whole
nine or ten, stone which form the bankrupt’s body,
and this too often becomes the creditor’s property

192 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

 

for life, the unfortunate debtor’s wife and children
succeeding to the bondage in their turn.

The Bugis may sell himself to another Bugis,
if he is indebted to him, and he can at any time
redeem himself if he can raise the purchase-money;
but this is not the case with the Malay, who becomes
a slave indeed, and has no way out of his state of
bondage. If a debt cannot be paid, the Malay is
handed over at once; and failing himself, his hchild
or some other relative has to take the place, though
exceptions are made by which the security of the debt
depends on the life of the person alone.

The debtor lives with the family of his creditor, to
whose benefit the work done is applied, and even
Chinese in the Settlements obtain the labour of their
debtors in this way. In fact, the strict manner of
defraying debts is a remarkable trait in the customs of
the Malays, who are very punetilious in paying their
dues. Damage done by cattle or elephants is appraised
and paid for, their code of laws containing forfeits for
these matters; while, if the damage be nocturnal, and
arising from neglect 1n confining buffaloes, the penalty
is particularly severe.

This custom of debt-slavery exists to a great
extent, and seems, says Mr. Davidson, her Majesty’s
Resident at Salangore, “to have arisen from the
abuse of an old practice in Malay countries. It is
contrary to the Mahomedan religion for a person
born in a Mahomedan country, and brought up in

 

SLA VE—H UN TIN G. 19 3

 

that faith, to be a slave, though the reduction Lto
slavery of the Battak people, and those who do not
profess the Mahomedan faith, seems nowhere pro-
hibited by the laws of that faith.”

Revolting as slavery is to the feelings of an
Englishman, and eminently un-Christian as it is, we
must remember that it is a peculiar soil in which it
has grown, and not deal with it from our own vantage-
ground ; for the slavery of Perak is an institution of
the country. That it is a custom at times terribly
abused there can be no doubt ; but, on the whole, the
'régz'me under which the slave lives is mild and not
disadvantageous. Among the evils of slavery, the
power of the Sultan or chiefs to seize upon the person
of any one to whom they take a fancy, will be treated
of in a future chapter, in connection with the Govern-
ment of the country. There are, however, other evils,
which it is to be hoped have been greatly exaggerated
by those who narrate the matters as facts. For
instance, it is asserted that the Sakais, or J acoons, are
literally hunted down, captured, sold, and made slaves;
and the late Mr. Birch states that from his experience
these people were far worse treated than others of their
class ; since they were badly clothed and fed, and made,
to work excessively hard; while they were considered
as debt-slaves on account of the money that had been
expended upon them. It might be considered that
these people, accustomed to a wild life, would readily

escape to the woods; but they have little chance of
O

 

194d “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

getting away, and the penalties are too heavy, the
least being severe ill—usage, perhaps death; for if a
Malay killed one of these slaves, it would excite no
attention amongst the owner’s people.

Instances of this slave—hunting are not at all
uncommon, as recorded by the various Residents;
one of whom specially notifies Perak as the scene
of these outrages. The Sakai women seem to have
been frequently hunted down like wild beasts,
becoming with their children slaves through gene-
ration after generation. Not that this practice is
approved of by the Malays, who speak very strongly
in reprehension of the cruel act; and in one case
that is recorded, where fourteen of the wild people
were caught and carried off in chains, attempts were
made to discover the offenders and set the Sakais
free—though doubtless this was on the action taken
by the British Resident.

Instances are given of death being inflicted for
these attempts at flight, and even for far more
trivial offences; whilst one, special in its atrocity,
is reported from Salangore. In this case three debt—
slaves, two girls and a boy, all under twenty years of
age, fled from their master, and took refuge at a place
some two miles down the river. They were, however,
caught, brought back, and the boy was at once taken
to a field and put to death by a thrust from a kris.
As, however, it was not the custom to kris or stab
girls, these two poor creatures were told by the Rajah’s

SLAVE PUNISHMENT. 195

wife that she was going to bathe, and they were
ordered to accompany her to the river. This was
only a short distance from the house; and upon
their reaching a log lying in the water, one girl was
seized and held, while a follower of the Rajah’s wife
caught the other by the hair, thrust her into the
water, and held her head down beneath the surface
with his foot until she was dead. The other was
then seized in the same manner and drowned; the
poor girls’ bodies being afterwards left upon the muddy?
river’s bank, exposed to the attacks of the alligators,
until such time as the relations might come and
remove them. These were slaves of the Sultan of
Salangore, and were killed by order of the Rajah, his
second son; and upon the Sultan expressing anger at
the deed, the Rajah generously presented the relatives
with winding-sheets for the bodies of the dead. Only
a short time subsequent, another son of the same
Sultan krissed one of his debt—slaves, not for an
actual offence, but for threatening to become a thief.
‘One very general way of getting in debt amongst
the Malays is through gambling. By an infatuated
love of play, a man gets so in debt that he gives,
himself up, with perhaps wife and children, to his
successful opponent ; and then, so far from being cured
of his mania, he is seized with an insatiable desire to
free himself by the same practice, and gambles to
raise the money to buy himself from his owner. How

often he is successfullmay be readily surmised.- In
0 2

 

196 “SAIRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

fact, it is almost beyond credence to see how exten-
sive is the range of debt caused by gambling, and
how frequently a Malay will pledge self or child to
his creditor by way of payment.

In addition, there are in Perak many intricate

points in connection with the system which make it
excessively hard for those innocent of complicity in
the incurring of the debt. For instance, the con—
traction of a debt by a married man binds his wife
and children; and, what is more, those children who
may afterwards be born to him. _ Again, if an un-
married man or wOman be in debt, and afterwards
marry, the husband or wife so taken becomes part of
the bond, and the children who result from the mar-
riage are in like evil state. Their destiny is to work,
often under hard usage, for the creditor, who must
repay himself many times over for his original loss;
and this must be a great temptation to the Malays to
keep up the system, though they frankly own that it
is wrong, and contrary to the laws of the Prophet.
1" One curious fact in connection with this custOm,
as showing how thoroughly secured a creditor is,
deserves mention. In cases where a child is placed
with a creditor as a security for a debt, and this
child dies, another is supplied in its place; and in
the case of a Rajah, the whole family may be taken
into his house.

In spite of the objectionable nature of this custom,
and its opposition to progress amongst the people, it

 

BRITISH INFLUENCE. ' 197

 

would be extremely inj udicious to try and put a stop
to it at once, as it is like dealing with a man’s pro-
perty to ask him to give up that which produces him
his daily supplies, or in some cases represents capital
that he has lost. Rigid measures of suppression
would be ill—advised and out of place; for the course
to be taken should be one which would tend to soften
and modify by degrees the arduous character of the
native laws by influence and persuasion, when the
example set by the higher classes would presumably
result in the customs falling slowly into disuse. This
has been the case in the states where British influence
has been for some time at work ; and there can be no
doubt that, time being given, it would prove to be so
here. -
Somewhere about 1820, when Sir Stamford Raffles
was trying to reform the Mengiring system at Ben—
coolen in Sumatra, he laid down certain rules which
were admirably adapted to the purpose in View ; for
they afforded the greatest relief to the debtor con:
sistent with the just claims of the creditor. These
regulations are quoted in Moor’s “Notices of the Indian
Archipelago,” and are well worthy of repetition here.

Any person who had fallen into the condition of a slave, or was
liable to it from inability to pay the amount of his debt, might
redeem himself by entering into a voluntary contract, with any
person who should agree to pay the amount, to serve for a specified
period of time proportionate to the sum paid ; such sum being con-
sidered as an advance to be liquidated by a certain definite service
to be rendered by the debtor. Thus, in lieu of absolute and un-

 

198 “SARONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

limited slavery, will be substituted a system of free and voluntary
contract, by which the debtor or slave enters at once into all the
privileges of freedom, subject only to the fulfilment of an equitable
contract, at the same time that the interest of the creditor is fully
secured.

Similar regulations would be most appropriate for
Perak, but would of course be only applicable to that
slavery which is due solely to debt.

It is much to be desired that in Perak and other
native states, now more closely under the wing of
British protection, steps should be taken to abolish by
degrees this system of debt-slavery, through which
the improvement of the country is greatly retarded,
and all general efforts to increase the industry and
commerce are blighted in the offset. When once the
native rulers are taught that a way out of the per—
nicious system can be found, and without prejudice
to the creditor, there is no doubt that they will gladly
forsake what they know to be contrary to the Maho-
medan law; and the oppressive regulations will give
place to a milder and more civilised code.

Other existent forms—~comprising the slavery about
the palace; that of the Battak people, who have been
regularly bought and brought over; and also that of
the people and girls of the country will not be so
easy to eradicate, and must be left to the influence
which time and the spread of civilisation will bring
about.~

 

To turn for a few minutes, before concluding this
subject, to the oppressive way—it may be said the

 

DIFFIO’ULTIES 0F RESIDENTS. 199

 

barbarous way—in which debt-slavery acts, let the
following be given by way of illustration. The reader
must be asked to suppose what would be the opinion
of Englishmen upon a case at home, were it possible,
in which a labourer who was in debt to the amount
of five-and-thirty shillings, being unable to pay the
sum, should be seized by his creditor, with his wife,
both thus becoming bond—servants or slaves, unable
to free themselves, or their children to come, from
their position. And yet such things have occurred
amongst the Malays. One of the latest travellers
through Perak, the Hon. W. Adamson, quotes a case
in which a man .and his wife became slaves for a
debt of seven dollars. Endless are the hardships of
these poor people, whose children become hereditary
bond-servants; and though, as a rule, their treatment
is good, yet the iniquity of the system is monstrous,
and leads amongst the women to a degradation that
lowers the whole tone of the country. The misfortune
is that, until the upper classes of the Malays grow
more enlightened, the position cannot be altered;
Sultan and chiefs setting the example of being the
hardest taskmasters, and feeling it, under the present
q‘égimc, to be to their interest to maintain the status
of the slave; while one of the greatest difficulties the
British Residents have had to deal with has been the
settling of disputes, when, urged by some faint echo in
their wretched souls of the knowledge of England’s
persistence on every man’s freedom, some unfortunate

 

200 “S/lRONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

or another has fled to Her Majesty’s representatives
for protection from a cruel master.

Every visitor to the state joins in condemning
the practice; but to each in turn the feeling is
brought home that nothing can be done by a sudden
change. Our position in the country is only thatof
protectors and advisers; and stern persistence would
only result in embittering the chiefs, without im—
proving the condition of the slave. It is an old ulcer
on a beautiful land, and must take time for its cure.
Wherever the beneficent light of civilisation has begun
to shine, there the‘position of the bondsmen has
rapidly improved, as in the states of J chore, Salangore,
and Quedah. Perak is comparatively new ground;
but even here our Residents have made improvements,
such as have vastly benefited the lower orders. In
short, the good seed has been sown, and in time a
better state of things will brighten the face of the

land.

 

 

 

 

 

Plilhkli CHIEFS AND ATTLNDAKTS.

CHAPTER XIX.

The Malay character—~Dealings with chiefs—Mr. Muntinghe at
Palembang.

PERHAPS in no people is a more singular combination
of qualities found than in the Malay. In his general
character in Perak, or other parts, Where his inter-
course With the European or Chinese has been
infrequent, he can be described only by a knowledge
of his internal disposition, and by the associations by
which he has been surrounded since he first emerged
from what was little better than barbarism. Naturally
he is dull, heavy, and listless, fond of a life of slothful
ease, and takes a good deal of coaxing to make an
efl'ort for the improvement of his state, or to do any-
thing conducing to his profit or advantage—even, it
may be said, to his amusement. But When once
roused—and sometimes a very slight thing will be
sufficient—his energy is remarkable, and the dogged
determination he will throw into the pursuit of his
object is surprising, bringing out, as it does, so dif-
ferent a phase of character that he seems to have a new
existence.

 

202 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

\Vith such a disposition, upon which was grafted
the various ideas brought about by intercourse with
the Arabs, and the subsequent adoption of the reli—
gion of Mahomet, the natural result was an increased

fiindolence and listlessness of character, and incapacity
for steady labour. In fact, the Malays gradually
imbibed much of the careless lawless nature of the
Arabs of the desert; and the adventurous spirit of
the marauder whose hand is against every man, broke
out in the various acts of piracy for which the Malay
has so long been famed. These dangerous forays were
quite in keeping with the clannish habits of the Malay,
while, being now by religion made fatalists, they grew
careless of exposing their lives, since the future was

.. secure.

They recognise however no such thing as caste,
like the Hindoos; though so tribal are they in their
tendencies, that when the Viceroy of Salangore, himself
a Quedah man, sent for some of his people to come and
support him during a petty war in Klang, the Malays
of the country looked down upon these neweOmers as
aliens and strangers, not belonging to this tribe, and
nicknamed them Orang-Quedah, or men‘ef Quedah,
as they do to this day. This strong feudal pride,
arising from their principle of tribal associations under
chiefs—a practice common to both Arab and Malay
races—with its natural independence of spirit and love
of liberty, makes it at all times a difficult task to
render them tractable under coercion, though capable,

 

MALAY CHARACTER. 203

 

under a patriarchal sway, of readily yielding an
implicit and cheerful obedience. The obstinacy, how-
ever, and determination of the Malay, make him at
times strongly to resemble the spoiled child, who will
destroy all rather than give up a single point.

Their sense of power, which, under the influence of
higher civilisation is a fine trait in their character,
renders them, in a less civilised state, morbidly sensi-
tive to slight or insult. In fact, one of their proverbs
says: “ A wound may heal, but will always leave a
scar.” Acting upon this, a Malay rarely forgets an
offence against him, but nurses it in his bosom until
opportunity arrives for revenge; and as his idea is
that the insult must be washed out in blood, and as
likewise he always carries the familiar kris, fatal cases
of retaliation are not uncommon. '

In demeanour among themselves, and towards the
European, the Malays are at all times courteous ; while
with one who speaks their language and understands
and respects their manners and customs, they are
extremely social and friendly; but, from their own
staid and retiring ways, they very quickly lose
respect for anyone who is boisterous in his mirth,
impulsive and rude in his habits, and otherwise dis—
plays a thoughtless disposition such as is so foreign
to their own nature. For a Malay, as a rule, speaks
slowly, giving to every word a distinct emphasis,
while he is utterly unable to take a joke, or to View it
in the light in which it has been intended.

 

204 “18'1lR0NG ” AND “KEYS.”

 

In their own social life they are fond of their
wives and children, and live, as a rule, in great
unity; petty thefts amongst themselves being almost
unknown. They hesitate a good deal about dis-
playing their worldly possessions, but this is chiefly
from a dread of exciting the cupidity of the chiefs,
by whom, in so many instances, they are hardly
oppressed.

So courteous are the Malay chiefs by nature, that
in the places where they have not yet come under
European influence, they will apparently acquiesce in
any measure that may be proposed by saying, Bail:
tuan, or, “ Very good, sir.” This expression must not,
however, be always «taken to mean that the chief agrees
with the views expressed by the speaker, though there is
much in the way of the delivery of the words ; but more
often they may be taken to mean that the views of the
speaker shall receive due consideration. At the same
time, there is the probability that this may be a polite
way of giving an acquiescent reply for the moment,
but with no ulterior idea of following out the wishes
expressed.

Chiefs of this stamp, of whom there are many in
Perak and in the native states, possess great capa-
bilities for dissembling, and very rarely show in their
features that which is passing in their minds; so that
the carrying out of any act of revenge that may have
been determined on, is often reserved for a fitting oppor—
tunity, the victim, in the meantime, not having the

 

DEALINGS WITH CHIEFS. 205‘

 

slightest suspicion of that which has been planned
against his life.

In political interviews with such chiefs it is always
well to keep to the point under discussion, and to
force them to follow your example; The subject
should be approached with perfect good temper and
gentleness of manner, but with a firm determination
to carry the point, coz‘cte qui come; the opponent being
made to understand this more from the speaker’s,
manner than from the words expressed; and as difli-
culties are advanced from their point of view, they
should be assured that all these have been thought
of and duly considered from sources of information
which the speaker possesses, but which are naturally
beyond the reach of the chiefs. All doubt or hesita-
tion in such meetings may be looked upon as almost
invariably fatal to success.

Again, in all intercourse with this class of Malay
chief—and here let it be clearly understood that a
marked distinction is drawn between this class and
those with whom we have been brought in contact,
more especially in Johore, Quedah, Tringanu, and
other places—the examples of the past should not
be lost sight of, some of which are unfortunately
only too fresh in our memories, both as regards the
peninsula and Sumatra.

A Malay has a great idea of his own dignity as a
man, his love of, and belief in liberty, causing him to
resent What he looks upon as insolence or overbearing

 

206 ‘ “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

treatment, and it is at such times as this that he dis-
plays his most dangerous traits. Left to himself, like
the poisonous snake of the jungle, he will avoid the
coming footstep and pass on; but arrest him, and try
to force him to your will, and he strikes. A good
example of this peculiarity of character was shown in
a case which occurred some years back on the frontiers
of Malacca, where a European official was passing
along a path followed by a policeman. Meeting a
Malay peasant, the man passed on without salaaming
the official. The latter, indignant at what he looked
upon as a want of respect, angrily spoke to the ryot,
asking him how he dared to pass without saluting.
The Malay calmly replied that he did not know the
official, who then sharply laid his hand upon the
offender’s shoulder. In an instant the man’s kris flashed
in the air, and a deadly thrust was delivered, but fortu-
nately the blade fell to the ground, and the blow, given
like lightning, was delivered with the handle alone.
But for this incident in his resentment at what he
looked upon as an insult, the Malay would have killed
the European, who was however saved from further
attack by the policeman seizing the offender.

Moor also, in his “Notices,” as far back as 1824,
gives us an instance of failure in dealing with this
people which occurred to Mr. Muntinghe, who was
a member of council, at Palembang, in Sumatra,
during the British and Netherlands administration
of Java.

 

MR. MUNTING’HE. 207

 

 

Before proceeding to Palembang, as commissioner
of the Javanese settlement, Mr. Muntinghe dwelt with
much complacency and self—conviction on the idea that
he should, in less than twelve months, establish the
revenue system there as firmly as it had been done
in Java; and that then it could soon be extended
to all Pulo Percha, or Sumatra. He was cautioned
against this plan by Mr. Raflles, afterwards Sir Stam-
ford Rafiles, who said that it was unsuitable to the
place and people; but Mr. Muntinghe, perhaps from
a want of practical or intimate knowledge of the
people, and not persuaded that such a diversity of
character existed between the Javanese and the
Malays, held to his determination, and was rather
strengthened in his private plan, and lured on by the
chiefs, as usual, into a belief that all his Wishes might
be gratified and accomplished. The attack on the
fort and the Residency, the precipitate flight of Mr.
Muntinghe from Palembang, and the subversion of all
his measures, were the work of a single day.

The wise Grecian legislator of old said: “I gave
to the Athenians, not the best laws, but those most fit
for them ;” and the notice ends with the very just
remark: “It should not be necessary in the nine- '
teenth century to write laws with blood.”

The most advanced of the chiefs in European
civilisation is the Maharajah of Johore, a gentleman
who has, while retaining his native state, adopted our
English manners and customs almost in their entirety,

 

208 “S/lRONGr’” AND “KRIS.”

 

and where they are mingled with those of Malaya,
far from having a barbaric effect, they are on the
whole pleasing. His Istcmm, or palace, at J ohore is a
handsome building, admirably furnished ; the drawing—
room, with piano for the use of English visitors, being
perfect in its appointments. The'Europeans of the
Settlements are frequently his guests; and in every
possible way his efforts seem to be directed towards
making them feel that they are being entertained by
an English in place of an Eastern prince.

A good deal of this is due no doubt to the effect
of a visit to England some years back ; where during
his stay an amusing illustration of our ignorance of
the qualities and state of Eastern chiefs, was afforded
in the way in which the late Sir Roderick Murchison
introduced the present Maharajah at a meeting of
the Royal Geographical Society.

It was while a, speech was being made by Sir
Roderick that a paper was passed to him as a
reminder of the coming of the distinguished visitor,
when he remarked: “Ladies and gentlemen, I had
almost omitted to mention to you that we are
honoured here this evening by the presence of
an eminently intelligent Eastern prince—the Jinny-
gong of Tohore.”

A Whisper immediately passed on to him by way
of correction, and referring once more to the paper
he exclaimed : “ I beg your pardon, ladies and gentle-
men—the Tumongong of Johore.” Then to the giver

 

THE DUKE 0F EDINBURGH'S VISIT. 209

 

of the paper pettishly: “ Your TS and TS are all
alike.”

The Maharajah, always celebrated for his hospi—
tality, gave the Duke of Edinburgh a very notable
reception on the visit of His Royal Highness to the
Straits Settlements. Here the mingling of Eastern
pomp and European customs was very remarkable ; for
while carriages of British construction, and servants
in liveries of the royal Malay colours, green and rich
yellow, were in attendance, a grand effect was pro-
duced by the Maharajah’s state barges, which were
painted and manned for the occasion in a very
striking manner. Each barge was rowed by sixty
or seventy men, all wearing silk jackets of a brilliant
hue. One barge would be painted bright blue, the
jackets of its rowers being to match; another was of
a bright green; another yellow, and so on. Open
house was kept and sports were arranged ; the whole
forming an event in the history of the peninsula which
is recalled with pleasure by the natives to this day.

Upon another occasion, the Maharajah entertained
a departing Governor and his lady at a banquet at the
Istcma, or palace, when the menus were printed on
pieces of rich yellow satin bordered with green silk
lace. As an example of the style in which an Eastern
prince who adopts our customs can give a dinner, it
may not be out of place to print here in extenso the
contents of the bill of fare, in spite of the peculiarity

of the Malay language. It is unnecessary to give a
P

 

210 “ SJlRONG ” AND “ KRT .”

 

translation in full, and the reader Will surmise that
Tim signifies soup, I lean fish, and so on. Sambals
have already been described; while amongst the
Mcmissom, or sweets, plum-pudding and custard are
sufficiently English to need no interpreter. Suffice
it that the list contains all the delicacies to be pro-
cured in the Straits, not omitting Dodol Baku (ices),
Ananas, Susu, and Limau.

SANTAPAN.

TIM.

Panggang pringi dungan badam.
Sayur kerchachan.

IRAN.
Rendang Tengiri.
Merah kwah anchovy.
Dainblang kwah tritep.

IDANGKAN.

0po etek dungan kanah.
Rendang chinchang Plentong.
Burong pati chindawan busote.
Panchur sarak tritep.

Rusuk daging biri—biri.
Sumbret panggang pringi.

PAHHAR.
Tanggang kalkun isi truffe.
Ayam blanda rubus di J awa.
Daging biri-biri di panggang.
Kambing rubus pati santan.
Lumbo golie.

Leda sapi dalam belda.

 

A MALAY _ MENU. 211

 

SAYUR.
Kintang. Loba mera. Kachang hijau.
Sulo (1i France. Bunga kobis. J agong muda.
Goulai r113 Johorc. Goulaz' Santan.

Singapore Curry. Illadras Curry.
Sag/w chhambak.

SAMBAL.

Serai. Tumis blachang.
Asam. Tumis kuchai.
Trubo. Tumis hudang.
Telor di rendang. Tumis blimbing.
Seronding.
MANISSAN.

Limping dungan limau China.
Plum-pudding.

Buahulu dungan custard.
Serikaya.

Pengannan buah-buah.

Belda Susu. Belda Sirop.

J ubun rendang. Keju.
Plampong di Whampoa.

Halwa buah Kring. Halwa Chayir.

DODOL BAKU.

Ananas. Susu. Limau.

Courteous, religious, social and hospitable, gentle
in his ways when calm, and his passions not roused,

the Malay, when angry or under excitement, is reek—
P 2

 

212 “SrlRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

less and bloodthirsty in the extreme. He may, in
fact, be described as volcanic: presenting to the eye
all that is goodly and fair, while beneath the surface
a fire is always smouldering, ready to burst forth
without warning, and spread ruin and destruction
around. There can be no doubt that by nature the
Malay is of an extremely nervous temperament;
and in several ways this is made known to the
Europeans with whom he comes in contact. For
instance, under certain circumstances that peculiar
nervous affection already alluded to, is seen, where a
man’s will appears completely under the influence of
those he meets, and he seems bound to imitate every
gesticulation or movement that is made; but the
affection or mania that makes these people a terror and
a danger to their fellows, is that known as Amok.

“ Running a—muck,” as it is popularly called, is so
common that the term has been adopted among our
own quaint sayings to apply to any person who is
reckless or wild in his doings; but probably the
extent to which this practice obtains is not known to
the reader. Even while this work has been passing
through the press, Rajah Mansur, one of the sons of
Yusuf, the present ruler of Perak, during a strange
fit of excitement, drew his kris and rushed off, strik—
ing right and left, killing six and severely wounding
two persons, and finally making his escape into the
jungle. In the illustration which is given of the
Sultan and his two sons, the one upon his left is the

 

AMOK. 213

 

young man in question. He was only about twenty
years old.

Even in European countries, example amongst
people with overstrung or disorganised nerves seems
to be contagious, and the sufferers apparently feel
compelled to perform acts that would, while in sound
health, be repugnant to every disposition of their
nature ; and among the Malays this custom of Amok
has unfortunately grown to be national, and is looked
for just as the Japanese performs the hari— sari
as a termination to his career. In this latter case,
however, the unfortunate is content with destroying
his own life, while the Malay may be the cause of
death or severe injury to twenty or thirty people
before he is literally hunted down and destroyed, like
a mad dog.

Physiologists attribute this uncontrollable fury to
disease—in fact, to a kind of monomania induced by
disorder of the digestive organs; but there are ocea-
sions when the practice is made subservient to the will,
and a Malay will “run amok ” to gratify revenge, or,
as if for a forlorn hope, adopt it in the little wars of
the people, rushing amongst the enemy and killing
right and left. In fact, it will be seen that on the
occasion of the murder of Mr. Birch, the cry of
“Amok, amok I ” was raised, and a savage rush was
made by all present, who seemed to be animated with
but one desire——to kill. The Malay, speaking of
Amok, says: “ My eyes got dark and I ran on.” In

 

214: “SrlRONG’” AND “KRIS.”

 

other words, he says he was blind with fury: or he ‘
will attribute the seizure to vertigo.

In the Settlements the first warning of such an
event is given by the cry of “ Amok, amok!” when
there is a rush, and people fly right and left to shelter;
for the runner makes no distinction between friend
and foe ; his eyes are indeed dark, and he is blind to
everything but the intense desire to kill all he can
before he renders up his own wretched life. Shrieks,
cries of warning, the rush of feet, people trampling
over each other in their hurry to escape, and the eager
excited eyes of the Malays, as each man’s hand goes
to the twisted band of his sarong to draw forth the
deadly kris. For, as the runner’s desire is now to kill
all he can, that of the peaceable is to slay him before
he can do much mischief.

The cry goes on far in advance of the madman,
and the Sikh police clutch their weapons, the Euro—
pcans seize gun or revolver, and every eye is strained,
every nerve attent for the coming peril.

“ Amok, amok I ” followed by a wild shriek or two
and a groan, as the madman rushes on, striking here
and there, taking people at a disadvantage, and
marking his course with bleeding victims, while his
pursuers gather in numbers, the Malays among them
growing as madly excited as the runner they pursue.

The object nowadays is to take the man alive, to
try him by our laws, and punish him for murder; and
to further these ends, the police in the Settlements

 

AN AMOK. 215

 

» are provided with a huge short-pronged pitehfork, to
catch the madman by the throat, and pin him to a wall
when he is driven to bay.

But this is not yet, and he runs on in his fury,
driving his kris into one fleeing unfortunate’s back,
leaping over his body, avoiding a thrust made by an
opponent, and returning it with deadly effect. Or it
may be that he is gashed withicuts, and bleeding from
the stabs he has received himself. Shots are fired
at him, some taking effect; more, from the hurry,
missing the flying maniac, who still runs on, marking
his course with his own blood and that of fresh
victims, his strength in his exaltation being prodigious,
and wonderfully enduring, so that he is a match for
two or three of his fellows ; and so he goes on and on,
till he falls from some shot, or sinks from exhaustion,
to be despatehed by the ready krisses carried by every
Malay. I

But there are times when, out off and hemmed in,
the Amok runner stands at bay in some house, or
against a wall, glaring with bloodshot eyes, dripping
with blood, and holding out his stained kris, he defies
anyone to approach. Now it is that the police of
the Settlements bring into use the great fork men-
tioned, deftly thrusting at him till he is caught by
the throat, pinned to the wall, and held there by
the strength of two powerful arms, when his kris is
wrested from his gory hand, he is quickly pinioned,
and if he does not die of his wounds he is tried and

 

216 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

executed by the English or native laws. For in such
a case the man has become far more dangerous than
the fiercest tiger that could haunt the jungle, and by
all verdicts his fate is sealed.

Some years ago at an “amok” in Singapore, the
Malay was pursued to, and took refuge in, the canal,
where, as he would not surrender, he was fired upon
while cunningly diving to avoid the shots, and it was
seme time before he was wounded and secured.

If, however, the madman can force his way through
the people who hem him in, he may possibly continue
his course and escape to the jungle, as in the case
of Sultan Yusuf’s son; but, generally speaking, the
fate of the Amok runner is a violent death, few
being reserved for trial. Various have been the
opinions given upon this subject. There have not
been wanting writers who have attributed the custom
to the use of opium and its effects upon the system ;;
but there can be no doubt that the Amok had its
origin in the deed of some desperate Malay; that
tradition handed it down to his highly-sensitive suc—
cessors, and the example was followed and continues
to be followed as the right thing to do, by those who
are excited to frenzy by apprehension, or some injury
that they regard as deadly, and to be washed out in
blood. In fact, Newbold says that he has seen letters
in which, alluding to the desire to revenge an insult,
Malays make use of the following expression: “ I
ardently long for his blood to clean my face blackened

 

AN AMOK. 217

 

 

with charcoal ;” or, “ to wash out the pollution of the
hog’s flesh with which he has smeared me.”

In these last words we have thoroughly the feeling
of the Mussulman expressed, and his deadly hatred to
the pollution of a touch from the flesh of the pige-a
pollution that was often. made the excuse for the
terrible rising in India, where it was spread abroad
that the cartridges the natives had to use were
greased with the fat of the hog.

CHAPTER XX.

Propitiatory offerings»—Superstitions—Ideas of Creation—Con-
version to Islamism——Ma1ay conversion—Pilgrimages —The
Mosque.

IN a people of so highly nervous a temperament, and

of so morbid a disposition, it is not surprising that

superstition should be strongly mingled with their
religious tenets. For instance, they have a thorough
belief in the efficacy of charms and amulets; and this
is not only seen amongst the lower orders, but exists
even in the chiefs. Rajah Abbas, who suffered from
that loathsome disease elephantiasis, had recourse to
charms for its cure. Amulets in the shape of written
words are often. worn, or even placed about a house.
But a very favourite charm or preventive of disease
is the tiger—claw, which the Malay is very fond of
wearing—very sensibly too if he looked upon it as
for the prevention of injury from these fierce beasts,
and the practice of wearing the claws became uni—
versal. They examine horoscopes, and study the stars,
so as to obtain a propitious day for some adventure
or plan; and from their connection with the Indians

 

PROPITIATORY OFFERINGS. 219

 

they have doubtless acquired their belief in the
existence of many'orders of celestial beings.

Some of their beliefs approach the superstitions of
the lowest savages in the scale; and it is a constant
matter to find them making offerings to some spirit
or another by way of propitiation. When a Euro-
pean wishes to penetrate some unexplored portion of
mountain or jungle, he is met with opposition, for
the simple—minded native sees the horrible in the
unknown; and the would—be explorer is begged not
to enter the domains held by evil spirits, who may
withhold rain, send storms or diseases, or in some way
show their displeasure at the sanctity of their homes
being invaded. So dangerous are these spirits of the
woods considered, that in the jungle campongs, high
up amongst the trees, pieces of wood are carefully
prepared, and hung up in a way that causes them to
give forth plaintive musical sounds, similar to those of
an Eolian harp, or the stretched wires of the electric
telegraph when the wind blows through them—the
traveller often being startled by the mournful notes.
These are supposed to keep Ofil the goblins, and make
them leave the campong dwellers in peace.

Mines have always been supposed in Europe to
hold their special spirit or demon from the earliest
times, but it seems singular that the superstition
should exist in such an out-0f—the-way part of the
world as Perak. And yet it is so with the tin-miners,
who make offerings to propitiate the good spirit who

 

220 “SARONG” AND “KRLS’.”

 

presides. Mr. Daly gives an interesting account of
this propitiation of spirits in his late journey down
the Perak river, where, before the passage of the
dangerous rapid, J eram Pangang, at the entrance to
which is a large boulder, called by the Malays “ Berala
Bujok,” which literally means “the idol to be propi~
tiated,” everyone is expected to make an offering and
ask permission to pass. Upon the occasion in ques-
tion the pilot stood up and made a speech to the rock,
asking for leave to go down the rapid in safety, as
there was a white man on board, and if anything
happened to him it would be the cause of much
trouble to the people. This being ended, bananas
and betel-nuts, combined with a biscuit, supposed to
be the white man’s offering, were thrown upon the
rock, and then the passage was commenced.

The idol upon this occasion must have been dis—
satisfied with the value or extent of the offerings; for
when the bamboo raft upon which the traveller was
journeying came to the worst part it telescoped, the
great bamboos snapped like matches from the force of
the water, and went floating down the stream. This
rapid is a source of great terror to the natives, who
tell a number of stories concerning the mishaps that
have occurred there; and when joked about them
in this instance, replied in all seriousness that Berala
Bujok was angry at the offer of the biscuit, and
because a white man had descended the river.

The objects held in reverence are innumerable:

 

SUPERSTITIONS. ‘ 221

 

 

the tiger, the cow, the monkey, and even the
waringhan-tree, are all revered or feared, as the
case may be. There are demons who utter cries in
the woods and haunt burial-grounds; spirits who can
be domesticated, and if fed with their owner’s blood
can be utilised for purposes of revenge ; demon hunts-
men, who have their own dogs; witches, who leave
their human bodies by night to feast on the above
sanguinary diet; and spirits of the storms and winds ;
and one Rajah is stated to have krissed a woman with
his own hand, and without a word of inquiry, for
being suspected of creating, and having in her posses-
sion, a “Pulong,” a name that the Malays give to a
horrible phantasy of . theirs, a sort of “ bottle-imp,”
'which they believe can be let loose and made to take
demoniacal possession of the enemies of its creator.
The doctrine of metempsychosis has obtained some
little hold} upon the Malays, who consequently hesitate
to slay the tiger, lest his body should be the tenement
of some human being. In fact, they believe that,
after the fashion of the wehr-wolf of German romance,
certain people have the power of occupying the body
of the tiger by night, and transforming themselves at
pleasure. So great is considered the power and intel—
ligence of this beast, that the Malay will reluctantly
mention its name in the jungle, lest evil should
befall him; and if asked if a tiger is nigh, will pro-
bably give his answer in the faintest whisper, and
with trembling voice.

 

222 “SARONG” AND “KRI— .”

 

Their little Observances for the procuring of good
luck are many, and extend even to the most trivial
acts: for instance, a betel-chewer will almost inva-
riably spit to the left; and this superstitious feeling,
combined with idleness, has something to do with the
reluctance of a Malay to repair an injured house—in
fact, even when he builds a new one the old is left
standing. ‘

As a body, the Malays follow very strictly the
religion they profess—~Islamism ; and, whether they
have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca or not, many
keep regularly the Ramadhan: but, as may be seen
from the foregoing, they mix their religion up with
the traditionary customs and superstitions ; this natu-
rally being chiefly amongst the poorer classes. One very
favourite theory is that certain persons can render
themselves invulnerable through the agency of spirits.
Several such instances have been mentioned in Perak,
notably in the case of a man called Rajah Abbas,
previously alluded to as trying to charm away ele-
phantiasis. It is related of one pretender to this
invulnerability, that an officer put him to the proof,
and exposed the silly belief to the surrounding erowd
by pricking the Achilles—like skin of the man’s arm
with the point of his sword. The invulnerable man’s
blood flowed, and it was nearly followed by that of
the officer; for the pretender vowed revenge, and had
to be kept at a distance to prevent him from making

a savage attack.

 

IDEAS 0F CREATION. 223

 

The ordinary diseases and epidemics are supposed
to be driven away, either by conciliating the spirits
with offerings, or else by the practice of affixing cages
and palm-leaves to trees in the neighbourhood of the
dwellings or campongs. The ignorant seem always
to believe strongly in those yet more ignorant than
themselves ; hence we have the Malays attaching
great faith to the supernatural powers of the abori-
gines, and trusting frequently to their knowledge of
herbs and simples in cases of disease. Both in Perak,
and beyond our frontier in Malacca, the writer has
known the people to have a great veneration for the
Sakais, or J acoons, and Mr. Swettenham, who hashtra-
velled much among them, and is well acquainted with
the habits of the Malays, says that in llim, a part of

the country between Perak and Salangore, the common
1 people frequently consult them and ask their advice
on important matters. ‘

Those curious freaks of nature, Albinos, are found
amongst the Malays; and where they exist they are
looked upon by the people with a kind of superstitious
awe. One of these men was seen by an English party
at the village of Kotah Lamah; and Newbold speaks
of one as having been in 1838 the chief of Jellabu,
near Malacca. He was a descendant of a prince from
Menang Kabau, and was looked upon with the gretaest
reverence by the superstitious Malays, on account of
his having White or very light blue eyes and jet black
hair. Dr. Pickering, too, speaks of one having been

 

2241 “;S'1lRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

seen amongst the Malays in one of the islands of the
Polynesian group : but their occurrence is particularly
rare. I

Beliefs as to their origin are remarkably curious,
and the geographical notions of the common people are
very strange. One is that the world is surrounded
by mountains, which they call by the name of “ Ka .”
The following is the idea of the Creation taken from
their own literature :

From the Supreme Being first emanated light towards chaos;
this light (lifi'using itself became the vast ocean. From the bosom
of the waters thick vapour and foam ascended. The earth and sea
were then formed each of seven tiers. The earth rested on the
surface of the water from east to west. God, in order to render
steadfast the foundations of the world, which vibrated tremulously
with the motion of the watery expanse, girt it round with an
adamantine chain, viz. the stupendous mountains of Caucasus, the
wondrous region of genii and aerial spirits. Beyond these limits is
spread out a vast plain, the sand and earth of which are of gold
and musk, the stones rubies and emeralds, the vegetation of odorl—
ferous flowers. . . . From the range of Caucasus all the mountains
of the earth have their origin as pillars, to support and strengthen
the terrestrial framework.

With regard to the particular form of Islam em-
braced by the Malays, it will naturally be inferred,
when it is remembered that their intercourse with the
Arabs dates from a very early period, and was very
extensive, while that with the Persians was narrowed
in its limits to the meetings with them in trade at
Engrah on the Persian Gulf, that they would embrace
that followed by the Arabs in the purest form; and

 

MALAY CONVERSION. 225

 

accordingly we find them to be chiefly belonging to
the sect of Shafeites, with here and there, in Perak
and Quedah, Hanefites and Hunbalites, but also the
orthodox sect, or Sonnites. The so-called sect of Ali
is rarely met with amongst the Malays ; but they may
exist, though not to the writer’s knowledge.

According to Yule’s “ Marco Polo,” a Malay chro—
nicle of Acheen dates the accession of the first
Mahomedan king of that state—the nearest point of
Sumatra to India and Arabia—~in the year answering to
A.D. 1205 ; and this is the earliest conversion among
the Malays on record. It is extremely doubtful, how—
ever, whether there were kings of Acheen in 1205,
or for centuries after: and it is therefore open to
question whether this date applies to any real event
or not.

The dates of the conversion of the Malays to their
present religion are variously given, however; but
Crawfurd, who is perhaps the best authority, follows
pretty closely the above idea, and puts the conversion
of the Acheenese at 1206 of our era, the Malacca
Malays at 1276, and the Javanese at 1478; while the
general conversion of the people of Celebes did not
take place till the arrival of the Portuguese in their
midst, or about 1510. This progress of conversion
took several centuries to accomplish, and was not
effected by the Arabs in the same rapid way as
that of the natives of Western and Central Asia;

for the Malays were too numerous and powerful
Q

 

226 f‘SflRONG’.’ AND “KRIS.”

 

in those days to be subdued and overcome by these
people.

The ultimate aim of every good Moslem is to
make the pilgrimage to Mecca; and accordingly
every year a very numerous concourse of Malays
proceed from the various states of the peninsula on
this religious errand. When the pilgrim returns to
his own country he is privileged to wear the Arab
costume, and to be styled by his fellows Tucm haji.
Unfortunately, however, the influence he now possesses
is' not always employed to benefit his fellow—country-
men, but often for intriguing to his own advantage, so
as to recoup himself and family for the outlay to which
he has been put in his long and weary journey to the
west, A very recent writer on these Malay hajis

C

speaks of them as making the voyage ‘in order on
their return to be ordained as priests, when they may
wear turbans, and will commence a life of idleness—
doing nothing, except, perhaps, inciting the populace
to revolt or to make amok, and living like leeches on
~the toil of their fellow—men.”

In Perak these people have been found to be at
the root of every system of oppression; and, if not
the actual instigators of the assassination of the late
Resident, they at least stimulated the worst characters
in the place to open rebellion ; and finding themselves
supported by the recognised chiefs of their religion,
the rebels were the less punctilious in carrying out
their lawless designs.

 

PILGRIMAG’E'S. 227

 

It must be owned, however, that the pilgrimage is
an arduous task; and some years ago the ships in
which the voyage was made were in so terrible a con-
dition, from overcrowding, that the interference of our
Government became a necessity. Now, however, the
pilgrim is able to make the voyage across to Jeddah
in comparative comfort ; and it is only when he
arrives in port that the real hardships of the journey _
commence. Some of the pilgrims succumb to these
hardships, but they meet death with the calm stoicism
of the fatalist ; and when the news of a death reaches
friends and relatives at home, the end is looked upon
as a glorious one, and using their proverbial expres-
sion which accepts it as inevitable, they are at once
contented and resigned.

Amongst their religious practices the Malays are
in the habit of indulging in relic-worship, which takes
the form of a visit to the tomb of some revered person
on particular days of the year. They wear a kind of
rosary of beads for telling, and are very particular
about the month of fasting, which, like the Arab
Ramadhan, is in the ninth Mahomedan month of the
year. So punctilious are they as Mahomedans, that
it was only with difficulty that the writer could obtain
their consent to sit for their photographs, though after
a time less objection was made. One Rajah, however,
and one of the more civilised, absolutely refused. This
was the Rajah of Quedah.

In their religious Observances they are very par-
Q 2

 

228 “SERONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

ticular, and at the proper times the sight of the
Malay at prayer is very common; his carpet, or that
which answers the purpose, is spread, and the pros-
tration follows with the seven members of the body
which touch the ground—namely, the forehead, the
palms of the two hands, the knees, and the feet.
When speaking of the Portuguese, or the people of
mixed European and Malay blood, it is worthy of note
that they call them Nasom'ni, the origin being most
probably the old term Nazarene.

It will not be out of place here, in the face of late
discussions on the belief in, and implied support given
by the Moslems of the East to, the Sultan of Turkey,
to say that, though the Malays believe in Istamboul,
or Roum, as the centre of their faith, and look upon
the Sultan as the chief temporal sovereign, with
Constantinople as the principal seat of Mahomedan
government, they are very little influenced by what
may happen in the fortunes of that country. Mecca
is to them the Holy City, and the Koran, as expounded
by Arab teachers, supplies them With their rule and
practice of faith; and, come what may in the future,
they are never likely to be moved to any religious
war against the Christians on account of the neglect
by us of the welfare of Turkey, in leaving her to
pursue her own line of policy in opposition to the
propositions of the great Powers of Europe.

When a village or campong grows to any size—
that is to say increases to over forty houses—it is

 

 

 

 

WI

. J mu...

 

GENERAL ASPECT OF A \(ALAY VILLAGE ON A RIVER BANK.

 

THE MOSQUE. 229

 

considered to be of sufficient importance to need
officers, and the religious welfare of the place is
better provided for. It will be seen from these
points how little deserving of the title of savages
the Malays are, and how misinformed are they who
have been in the habit of looking upon them as merely
a bloodthirsty set of pirates, infesting a marshy coast.
When, as above stated, the village has so increased,
the usual Malay officers are selected. These include
the Pungkulu, or head-man ; the Mata-mam, a kind
of policeman; and a Billed and Khateeb, or preacher.
A mosque is also formally built and instituted, and
the welfare of the people is then considered to be
properly cared for.

In the engraving giving the general aspect of a
Malay village on a river-bank, the mosque will be
seen occupying a central position. In this case the
building was carefully finished, the finial of the roof
being one solid mass of coral—rock elaborately cut. As
funds flow in, improvements are made; one of the
most important being a large tank, built of masonry,
kept filled With water, to enable the faithful to per-
form the proper legal and religious ablution before
entering the house of prayer. On the outer verandah
of the mosque a large instrument somewhat resem-
bling a drum is placed; and this is struck by the
muezzin, and gives out sonorous tones at the appointed
time of prayer, both before and after he gives the
customary call to the faithful to attend. This drum

 

230 “SJRONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

is a hollowed cone of wood, made sonorous by having
stretched over it a head formed of buffalo-hide.
Where a minaret has been erected, as in Malacca,
a gong is used in place of the drum, but this latter is
in common use.

CHAPTER XXI.

Religious ceremonies—Sacrifices—Teeth filing—Marriage—Wedding
feasts—Funerals—Salutation—Polygamy—The kris.

THE children of the Malays are received into the
world quite in religious form, prayer being said, and
the Azcm, or Allah Akbar, pronounced by the father
with his lips to the tender infant’s ear. On the
seventh day the head is shaved; and later on the old
religious ceremony, common to all Mahomedans and
the Jews from the time of Abraham, is performed.
The children have a name bestowed upon them at
their birth, but this is allowed to lapse when later on
their regular name is given. Allusion to their edu-
cational instruction has already been made.

It is at their religious ceremonies, such as births
and weddings, that buffaloes are sacrificed; and at
the particular feasts, as with the Jews, the animal
must be, according to Newbold, “ without blemish or
disease; its fore and hind leg bones must not be
broken after death, nor the spine; neither are the
horns to be used for common purposes.” The animal
to be sacrificed is bound as to its legs, thrown down,

 

232 “SARONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

its head fastened, water is poured upon it, and the
priest after prayer divides the windpipc and arteries
with a sacrificial knife. The animal is next skinned,
and divided into two portions: one of which goes to
the people, and is cooked and eaten on the spot ; the
other part is divided between the punghulu and
priests.

Marriage amongst the Wild tribes is a very simple
affair—in fact, it is a case of exchange and barter;
for the enamoured youth has to make his arrange-
ments with his intended’s father, and give him what
is considered an equivalent for the lady’s worth; that
is to say a small quantity of tobacco, some cotton
stuff, such as a sarong, and a knife. That is all; and
the lady becomes the donor’s wife. But the affair is
far more ceremonious amongst the civilised Malays,
who surround the event with a considerable amount
of formula.

The engagement is generally settled by the lady
friends of the parties. Then the friends of the bride-
groom have to wait upon the bride’s father and make
presents. The bride’s marriage—portion is talked over;
the marriage expenses are paid; and the portion, a
sum in accordance with the position of the parties, is
arranged. Just previous to this the bride-elect has to
go through the ceremony of having her teeth filed : a
most unpleasant operation, which is performed by a
woman While the patient reclines. It is no simple
ceremony, for the teeth are cut down perhaps a

 

MARRIAGE. 233

 

fourth, and the effect is to render the gums swollen
and painful for days. But there is this satisfaction
for the maiden: she is now allowed to commence
chewing the sirih leaf, and her teeth soon become
blackened, and to a European eye repulsive, though it
is considered a beauty with her own people. This
blackening of the teeth is aided by the use of a liquid
which is obtained from the shell of the cocoa-nut,
prepared by fire in a peculiar way.

The hair also comes in for a certain amount of
preparation, being cut off short on the forehead, some-
what after the fashion that has of late been popular in
England. Henna is applied to dye the palms, and also
to the nails of the hands and feet; and then matters
are supposed to be sufficiently progressed for the
approaching marriage ceremony. But it must be
premised that probably the gentleman has never yet
seen the lady; and very likely he will have to take her
veiled, in the Eastern fashion, without a sight first of
her face. This is often the case ; and at the marriage
feast, if the lady, on being unveiled, prove to be
very plain, the bridegroom is bantered and laughed at
unmercifully.

There are, however, certain concessions made to
the lover when engaged. As with the native of
Hindostan, who is allowed to taste rice that has been
placed to the lips of his intended, so with the Malay.
He is permitted to chew a piece of betel that has been
tasted by his inamorata; and the young gallant feasts

 

234 . “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

ion the delight of knowing that the lips of his lady
have touched the betel he masticates. If, after the
ceremony has been performed in accordance with the
rites of the Mahomedan religion, the wife is consi-
dered to be of sufficient age—that is to say, fourteen
or fifteen—the husband is allowed to take her home.
But as very frequently these betrothals and weddings
take place when the contracting parties are very
young, a young wife will sometimes be for years at
her father’s house before she goes to one of her own.
In fact, it is no uncommon thing, says one observer of
the Malays, to see little girls running about one year
in the extremely light clothing of childhood, and to
see them married women and mothers the next. For
life is rapid in these hot climes, and growth in pro-
portion; while, 011 the other hand, the woman is
an aged wrinkled crone by the time she is forty;
though, as has been stated, cases of extreme old age
are not unknown.

According to the means of those wedded, the cere-
mony is accompanied by more or less showy proceedings.
Both parties are liberally decorated with jewellery,
flowers, and gay attire; the wedding paraphernalia
being to a great extent a kind of family heirloom,
like the plate of an English house, and having to do
duty again and again. The bride is, when dressed,
set up at the end of the house in state, and holds a
kind of drawing-room, being visited by all her friends
and relatives, in company with vast numbers of guests

 

WEDDING FEASTS’. 235

 

attracted by the occasion. After the wedding the
young people are placed together in a seat of honour
above the rest of the guests, when, amidst the feast-
ing, the use of the sirih-box and betel-chewing are
made prominent. Flowers are largely used; music is
introduced; and the whole ceremony is made as much
a feast and time of rejoicing as amongst the civilised
nations of the West.

At these wedding feasts goats or buffaloes are
killed for the feasting of as many as like to come
and partake; for a large wedding is considered very
honourable to the father of the bride. To the
expenses of the wedding feast, however, large con-
tributions are made by relatives, and even neighbours,
who send rice and fruit. One end of the house is set
apart on these occasions for the young women, who
are screened from the other guests by curtains; and
this part of the building is made gay with cotton
cloth, chintz, and choice mats. As for the young
men, they engage in various sports and pastimes,
among which ball and cock—fighting take their places;
while their elders sit and sagely discuss the doings of
the neighbourhood, and probably canvass the various
exactions of their chiefs.

One great peculiarity of the people is that they
like these special events amongst themselves to be
largely attended, especially if it be a matter of con-
tract; for they argue that written deeds may be
forged, destroyed, or altered, “ but the memory of

 

236 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

what is transacted in the presence of a thousand
_ witnesses must remain sacred.”

In the marriage agreement of the Malay the
stipulation is made that all effects and savings are to
be equally the property of both, and in case of divorce
all is to be equally divided; but if the man is the
party who insists updn the divorce, he gives half the
effects to the woman, and forfeits the sum paid as
added—the marriage-portion or purchase. If, on the
other hand, it is the woman who claims to be divorced,
she makes forfeit, and can only take her personal
efi‘ects, and the husband may require from the relatives
the sum paid as addat, but this is rarely demanded.

The ceremonies at death are of a far more simple
character. The deceased is washed and shrouded in
cotton cloth, and partly clothed in the garments of
life, and then placed upon a bier formed of a couple
of planks, which, with the regular ceremonies of the
Mahomedan faith, is borne to the place of sepulture.
The graves are dug in accordance With a certain
custom which has obtained amongst them; and, so
far from being dependent on circumstances, are inva-
riably of the same depth—that is to say, the digger
continues his work until his ear is on a level with the
surface. But it is not a simple fosse, as with us; for
a kind of niche or cavity is dug in the side, of the
necessary length, and about two feet high. This side
chamber, so to speak, is intended for the reception of
the corpse, which, on being lowered down, is there

 

POLYGAMY. 23 7

 

placed—of course, coffinless—and is then shut in by
means of the two boards that formed the bier. The
body is thus enclosed in a rude earthen tomb, and the
earth is thrown in—gently, at first, till on a level
with the top of the boards, and afterwards filled up
in the ordinary manner. Offerings to the dead, in the
shape of spices and flowers, are made afterwards at
intervals, and stones or wooden posts are put up at
the head and foot of the graves ; while, in accordance
with old usage, the Malays plant at times the chum—
paka, and sulasih.

To return for a moment to their marriage customs :
the Malays are on the whole a moral people; and
though by the Mahomedan religion a man is allowed
to marry four wives if he can support them, it is rare
for a Malay to adopt this custom, which, with con—
cubinage, is the practice of the more riotous chiefs.
The ordinary native is a simple courteous being,
who joins with an intense love of liberty a great
affection for his simple home and its belongings ; and
is ever ready to greet his fellow in the peculiar
manner adopted in the country, where the newcomer
or visitor approaches his host, or the man he wishes
to salute, with hands joined as if in supplication,
while the other touches them lightly with his own on
either side, and afterwards raises his hands to his lips
or forehead. The custom of nose—rubbing has been
attributed to the Malays in their greetings, but it has
never been seen by the writer.

CHAPTER XXII.

The kris: Sizes—Damaskinge—The execution kris—The sword
of state—The klawang—The parangfiLance—Spear of state—
Blowpipes—Poisoned arrows—Firearms—Matchlocks——Lelahs,
~Stockades.

HARDLY any weapon has attained to so evil a noto~
riety as the kris of the Malay. It has been accredited
With being deadly, fatally poisonous, and used upon
the most trivial occasions by its owner. In fact, there
have been writers who have made the Malay out to be
worse than the swaggering followers of the Japanese
Chieftains, whose great delight is said to be to try the
temper of their keen blades upon anything or any
person they meet ; and have accused them of plunging
a new kris into the body of the first comer to see its
efieet, While the lookers—on curiously examined the
,wound. Now, that the kris is a deadly weapon must be
at once admitted, and that its use is far too frequent
cannot be denied ; but when it is taken into considera—
tion that in Perak every Malay wears a kris as part of
his dress, and that he is by nature quick to resent an
insult, it will not be thought surprising that wounds
are frequently given and deaths result. In fact, such
occurrences were only too frequent in our own land

 

THE KRIS. 239'

 

when it was the custom for every gentleman to carry
a sword; and it is not so very long since, according
to our code of honour, it was considered necessary for
an insult to be washed out in blood. Fairly speaking,
with the kris always ready to their hand, the wonder
is that it is not more frequently used amongst the
Malays than proves to be the case. In our Settle-
ments, however, the people are not permitted to
wear either the kris or any other weapon under the
penalty of a fine. There are exceptions, though, to
this police regulation in the special permission given
to followers of the Maharajah of J ohore and some»
other important chiefs.

The great sin with which the kris is accredited by
Europeans is that it is poisonous; but though there:
may be cases where a kris has had its blade smeared
with some virulent concoction, these are decidedly
the exceptions, for the rule is that the blade is not
poisoned ; and when on various occasions, while
examining the weapon, the writer has alluded to the
care necessary with so deadly an instrument, the
Malay has ridiculed the idea of its being envenomed.
In fact, it seems reasonable that this is not the case;
for if prepared with a vegetable poison, as it would,
probably be, the effect would only be transitory, from
the action of the atmosphere destroying the deadly
nature of the preparation, which would have to be
constantly renewed; while a Malay himself will say,
Why should it be poisoned when it will make so

 

240 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

fatal a wound without? There is great force in this
last argument, for from its wavy flame-shaped blade,
the kris, with its double edge, divides the flesh in a
cut in a terrible manner, the wound being enormous
as produced by so small a weapon; and when it is
used with the knowledge gained by experience, as
in executions, a thrust seems to be almost instanta—
neously fatal.

To so wide a notoriety has this blade then
attained, that it will be only fair to give it the
precedence before firearms in describing the weapons
of the Malay. As intimated, it is worn by all—from
the gala, a kris made of very inferior iron, carried by
the poorest Malay, to the elaborate weapon orna-
mented with gold, ivory, and precious stones; one
of which, as seen in the sarong of a chief in Lombok,
was, from its diamond setting, valued at seven hun-
dred pounds. A chief will frequently wear two or
even more of these weapons.

The spelling and pronunciation of this name have
often been a difficulty with Europeans: the Por-
tuguese, according to De la Loubere, calling it
“Christ,” from the Malayan “ cric ,” of which the
best in his day came from Acheen. Crawfurd, the
distinguished writer on Malay questions, thinks it
is an abbreviation of the word karts, a dagger; and
that it took its rise in the scarcity and dearness of
iron, which, unless imported, must have been rarer
and dearer than gold itself. “ It is not to be sup-

 

SIZE OF KRIS. 241

 

posed,” he says, “ without a cause so adequate,
that the Indian Islanders, any more than semi-
barbarians acquainted with the use of iron, could
have neglected the useful and formidable sword for
the trifling and ineffectual dagger; and that the
Indian Islanders have continued the use of their
favourite weapon after the cause has in great measure
ceased to operate needs not explanation to those who
are aware of the obstinate adherence of barbarians to
ancient habit and custom, particularly in matters
where national pride and vanity are engaged.”

The blade of the Malay kris varies in width from
one inch to one and a half, and in length from four—
teen to eighteen inches. It is of various forms, accord-
ing to the taste or station of the wearer, and is formed
straight, slightly curved at the apex, and waving
throughout from hilt to point; sometimes With two or
three curves, often with ten or a dozen. It is inva-
riably two-edged, and very keen; and many of the
finer blades are veined and damascened in a very
beautiful manner, having a dull dead silvery appear-
ance—for burnished steel finds no favour with these
people. In the more ancient kinds it is no unusual
thing to find the blade veined with gold or silver,
which adds greatly to the beauty of the weapon.
In fact, the maker of krises is looked upon by
the Malays as a person of importance, just as the
armourer was in ancient days with us ; and his blades

are considered, as he fashions them of various designs,
R

 

242 “SARONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

great works of art. This veining or watering a kris
is called by the Malays pamm", and its mode of
execution is admirably given by Mr. Newbold, who,
in his “ Straits of Malacca,” dwells at some length on
the method of damasking krises, a process which it
has not been the writer’s good fortune to witness.
The recipe is doubtless obtained from the Malays
themselves, and runs as follows : .

Place on the blade a mixture of boiled rice, sulphur, and salt,
beat together, first taking the precaution of covering the edges of
the weapon with a thin coat of virgin wax. After this has remained
on seven days the damask will have risen to the surface. Take the
composition ofi‘, and immerse the blade in the water of a young
cocoa-nut, or the juice of a pine-apple, for seven days longer, and
brush it well with the juice of a sour lemon. After the rust has
been cleared away, rub it with arsenic (warcmgan) dissolved in
lime-juice, wash it well with spring-water, dry, and anoint with
cocoa-nut oil.

The iron of which the blades is composed is a
mixture obtained from Celebes and Java, which is
blended with steel, and beaten up so that, as in our
best gun-barrels, the welded metal shows a distinct
grain, upon which the various artists pride themselves
greatly——an immense amount of care and industry
being bestowed upon this work, as there is also upon
the handles, which, from their peculiar curve, seem to
a European very unsuitable for grasping in the hand.
But when it is taken into consideration that they are
held dagger~wise, it will be seen that a good grip can
be taken, and the weapon used with deadly effect.

 

THE EXECUTION KRIS. 243

 

These handles are made of either gold, ivory, ebony,
or the kamooning wood, and occasionally of buffalo-
horn; and in either case they are carved and polished
with great taste, but generally with scrupulous atten-
tion to the customs of their ancestors.

Of late, a great deal of the manufacture of these
weapons has been done by the Chinese, who are not
only good smiths, but clever artificers in adorning and
perfecting their work, especially the sheaths. These
latter are composed of three distinct parts: the sam-
pircm, which is the ornamental part of the hilt; the
main sheath or envelope of the blade, which, like the
garment, is called sarong; and the bmztul, or ferrule,
at the end. The sheath is mostly of wood, with
ornaments of ivory, hard—wood, or gold, to form the
ferrule; but in the case of valuable weapons it is
formed wholly of gold; while gold, brass, or an alloy
of the two metals, is used to form the ornament to
the handle.

The kris is the instrument of execution, and one
belonging to the Sultan of Salangore, which is used
upon these occasions, is made with a straight narrow
blade, and with a sheath of pure gold. The Malays
are exceedingly punctilious in the shape, size, and
general formation of their kris, and look upon its
due perfection with superstitious awe; for to certain
weapons they attach as much importance as to the
Excalibur of ancient chivalry. Different forms of
damask produce different effects. With one kind

R2

 

24.4 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

the owner of such a his cannot be overcome; others
are generally auspicious; another gives luck to its
wearer when trading or voyaging; and, generally, the
value of the weapon does not depend on its costly orna—
mentation, but upon the accuracy of proportion in its
blade; while a kris that has frequently shed blood
is greatly increased in superstitious value. There is a
reverse to this, however; for where one of these
weapons does not answer to certain proportions in
its measurement with a piece of string, which is
doubled or folded in three according to a very puerile
formula, it is denounced as unlucky for the wearer—
not for him who receives its stab. The superstitions
are, however, many in connection with this blade.
If it has been an heirloom, or presented by some
superior, it is proportionately esteemed; and no
greater reverence or higher qualities could have
been attached to any of the celebrated blades of
romance than is paid to this, the peculiar weapon of
the Malay. ‘

The best krises are made by the Bugis, or at the
ancient seat of the Malay power in Sumatra, already
referred to as Menang Kabau; but their manufacture
is common in many of the native states, though the
quality of the metal and the temper of the blade is
not considered to be so good.

The kris is held in far higher esteem than the
lance, and these various points of estimation, as
enumerated, are mentioned by several of the olden

 

SWORD OF STATE. 245

 

visitors to the countries inhabited by the Malays; in
fact, these peculiarities are very prominent, and are
readily observed, having been handed down from
generation to generation, and impressed upon the
young as part of their education. Considered an
almost indispensable article of his dress, the Malay
always wears his kris on the left side, where it is
held up by the twisting of the sarong, with which
during an interview it is considered respectful to
conceal the weapon; and its handle is turned with
its point close to the body if the wearer is friendly.
If, however, there is ill blood existing, and the wearer
be angry, the kris is exposed, and the point of the
handle turned the reverse way. To refer once more
to the question of poisoning the blade, no instance of
this has come to the knowledge of the writer, either
in Perak or the other states of the peninsula.

The sword is also held in much veneration. It is,
to all intents and purposes, an ornament, being seldom
worn or used in war, but taking its place amongst the
various objects forming the regalia of a native state;
and on state occasions it is always carried by a
faithful and special attendant upon the sultan, rajah,
or chief, who is styled the Bantam, or sword-bearer.
His care of the sword is excessive, and when he rests
it anywhere it is only upon his right shoulder, with
the hilt uppermost, and not there till he has first
placed for it to rest upon a handkerchief or cloth kept
for the purpose. Respect for the weapon demands

 

24:6 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

that this shall invariably be done; and in the illus-
tration representing Sultan Abdullah and his chiefs,
these points will be seen rigorously attended to by the
various buntaras who carry the swords or weapons of
state. These frequently have the hilts jewelled very
richly, and the scabbards covered with the royal yellow
in silk or velvet ; and the custom of sending the sword
with its bearer as an ambassador in advance of the
chief is not uncommon. In fact, if the buntara carries
the Rajah’s sword to a house where, as is elsewhere
referred to, there is a maiden the chief desires, it is
sufficient, and the superior’s command is obeyed. This
custom of sending the sword in advance has been
more than once adopted by European officials in the
peninsula, who have been well acquainted with the
habits of the people, and who probably considered
that this acceptance of their forms would be agree—
able ; but whether appreciated by the Malays is quite
another matter. The sword seems to be associated by
these people more with their idea of antiquity, and its
use is tinged with religion. It is a weapon of form, like
our own swords of state and those placed behind the
judges; and the Malay’s veneration for it is probably
derived from the respect which they found the Arabs
to possess for the sword as handed down to them by
Mahomet. In fact, a Mahomedan conqueror of the
Greeks is called by them one of the Swords of God.
There is a sword of state in the regalia of Perak ;
and this, with other articles composing it, including

 

SWORD OF STATE. 247

 

no fewer than twenty of the choicest elephants of the
country—elephants being a part of the regalia—was
carried off by Sultan Ismail during the “little war,” in
his flight from Blanja and Kinta, when startled by
the Malays under Rajah Mahmood forming the
advance—guard of our troops.

The Malays related to us an incident concerning
this sword which is worthy of repetition, as it shows
the great respect paid by the people to this weapon.
During his flight Ismail was at a place in the jungle
called Campong Kampayan, and in his distress he
sent for his chief punghulu, or native chief, who,
probably seeing the hopeless state of the country after
the murder of Mr. Birch, and concluding that his
master’s chance was irretrievably gone, refused to
come. Upon learning this, Ismail drew this sword
from the scabbard, and planting it in the ground,
thus addressed it: “ If you are, as I believe, the
invulnerable pillar of the state, I shall yet return
to my country.” Then rcverently replacing the sword
in its scabbard, he hastily mounted his elephant, and
fled with his wives to Chumoh.

According to Newbold, the Malays consider the
sword to have prior claims to antiquity to the spear,
and it is said to be found sculptured on ancient
temples and tombs in Java; while one celebrated
weapon of legendary lore is said to have been em-
ployed to kill an enormous serpent, which ravaged
Menang Kabau in the twelfth century. Amongst the

 

248 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

other swords found amongst the Malays there is the
klawang, a long heavy blade, with a peculiarly—shaped
buffalo—horn handle, the blade increasing in width to
nearly the point, somewhat after the representations
of the old scimitar of the artist, but in this case the
blade is straight; and there is also the naga, or
dragon-headed sword, a somewhat similar weapon to
the last, only that its buffalo—horn hilt is carved into
the Malayan idea of a dragon, the same as the prows
of their dragon—boats. It is richly ornamented with
silver, and borne by the attendants as previously
described. The weapon worn by Sultan Abdullah in
the engraving, it should be mentioned, is probably
of European manufacture, and goes with his uniform,
both being extra Malay in every point.

A knife is invariably carried at the waist by the
lower-class Malay, or he may have instead the little
common kris known as a gala; but the peasant’s
regular cutting instrument, one which serves the
purpose of both knife and weapon, is the parting,
which he wears slung at his left side like a short
sword; and the dexterous way in which this is used
in cutting a way through the jungle is often the
admiration of the European. It is so well weighted
and balanced at the point, that a very slight effort is
needed to cut through the brushwood of the forest.
They have also a sword with a thin blade, which
being of a finely-tempered steel, is capable of taking
a remarkably good edge. The Malays are very dex-

 

THE LIMBING. 249

 

terous in its use, and perform one feat with it of
which they are as proud as the horseman is of his
tent-pegging on the plains of India. The Malay
places a plantain-stem loosely on the ground, and
then, without suffering it to fall, divides it again and
again, slicing directly through the stern by means of a
series of right and left cuts, delivered with admirable
rapidity and effect.

The earliest weapons of the Malays were, after
clubs, in spite of their own opinions, most probably
spears, of which the forest would yield an ineX-
haustible supply in the shape of bamboos; which
were hardened at the ends with fire, and then brought
to a point, and used in connection with a wooden
shield or buckler. At the present time the spear is
still a favourite weapon; and in his attacks upon his
enemies the Malay places great faith in its deadly
qualities. It is called a limbing, and is not only
used with great effect as a lance, but when driven to
desperation the Malay hurls it like a javelin with
almost unerring aim. The shaft is from five to seven
feet in length, and is usually made of a hard red
wood; but, unlike that of the ancient Malays, its
head is of fine steel, dagger-shaped, and sharpened to
an edge equal to that of a razor. The men of Perak
are particularly expert in the use of this weapon, as
many of us, in View of those we lost during the little
war at the piratical village of Kotah Lamah, had only
too accurate and painful evidence ; for the thrower was

 

250 “SARONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

often unseen, while the spear came like an arrow in
its velocity, and inflicted a wound nearly as deadly as
a bayonet-thrust.

Another spear or lance used by these people is
known as the tombak bandmng, and this is more a
spear of state. Like the spear carried by the Bugis,
it is largely ornamented with hair, dyed red or black ;
and this flows down from the upper part of the
handle. These have their special bearers, and are
carried before the chiefs on state occasions. The
sling, it seems, was also known, but very little used,
as was also the case with the bow; but both these
weapons seem to have been considered of light value
even before the introduction of firearms. Probably this
was due to the expert use made of the sumpitan, or
blow-pipe, which in some cases was made to act as
the shaft of a spear as well.

These blow~pipes are especially in use amongst the
Sakais, who also carry the parang and a long—shafted
spear. A small quiver of bamboo contains the arrows,
and these are decidedly of two kinds—the poisoned
and non-poisonous. Some of these slender darts are
sent with such swiftncss from the long blow-pipe,
which is frequently nine or ten feet in length, that
for a considerable distance they are invisible, and the
aim is wonderful in its precision. The sumpitan is
of course a narrow tube; while the arrow is about as
thick as a crowquill, eight inches long, and pointed,
the other end being covered with down or pith to

 

POISONED ARROWS. 251

 

make it fit the tube. The point, if venomed, is coated
with the poisoning preparation for about an inch;
and where it ends the wood is cut, so that the point
may easily break off in a wound.

The Sakais use different kinds of poison for these
arrows, and prepare them with a great deal of the
mummery of superstition; so that the concoction
somewhat resembles the work of witchcraft. Ipoh,
or upas; tuba, the plant used for poisoning fish,
and which is apparently the cocculus indicus of our
druggists’ shops; and red arsenic, or warcmgcm, are
amongst the primary articles used in their prepara—
tions, mingled with others which probably only act
the part of vehicle. A decoction is, however, made
in various forms over a charcoal fire, simmered down
to a syrup, and afterwards poured into bamboos for
preservation. These various poisons are of a dark
colour, and emit a strong narcotic odour, probably
from the opium added. Their power, however, seems
to be evanescent, as they deteriorate by keeping.

In experiments made before Lieutenant Newbold,
a squirrel, after being shot, died in twelve minutes;
young dogs in about forty; a fowl in two hours,
though one lingered over seven. One of their pre-
parations, however, is asserted by the Benua to be so
strong, that three arrows tipped with it will kill a
man in less than an hour, and a tiger in three.

The Malays must have been acquainted with
artillery from very early times, for De Barros, in

 

252 “;S'1lRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

speaking of the taking of Malacca by the Portuguese
in 1510, says that the guns were of great size, “ but
that they found no more than 3000 out of 8000, said
to be by Ruy de Arajo” (a prisoner of Segueera’s fleet),
in this city. Among them was one “ very beautiful
piece, which the King of Calicut had lately sent a
Hindu prince, called by the Portuguese, Zamosin.”
And later still, the same writer, in giving an account
of an expedition sent by the Malays of Java against
Malacca, after its possession by the Portuguese, says
that the force was provided with artillery made in Java.

As to lighter pieces, matchlocks have also been
known to the Malays since at least the middle of the
fourteenth century, and the name they give them is
snapang, probably from the Dutch snap-pan, and
from these they fire tin bullets, in which it is said
they frequently insert pieces of common earthenware
or china. This has not been observed by the writer;
but in some that were fired against the expedition
during the late rising, it was no uncommon thing to
find a grain of rice. Old-fashioned blunderbusses,
too, seem to have been in favour, several of which
were seen in Kotah Lamah, which was a regular haunt
of fighting men.

The matchloeks made at Menang Kabau—Which
for many generations has been famous for its arms—
are the most in favour, but they are clumsy pieces,
with stocks literally for holding the barrel, as they do
not fit the shoulder; While the gun itself is laid, on

 

LELAHS. 253

 

account of its weight, in a rest, and the aim taken by
lowering the piece is very indifferent. They have
finely-worked locks of brass, which are made for hold-
ing the match of coir-rope ; but these pieces are natu-
rally set aside when European guns can be obtained,
and muskets and rifles are now not uncommon. Like
the handle of the naga, the natives are very fond of
having their blunderbusses with mouths worked up
into the form of the dragon’s head ; and this is done
with some skill. As to the barrels, the native smiths,
with very indifferent tools, twist a bar of tough iron
round a rod, weld it together, and after inserting the
barrel in the earth for steadiness, bore it smoothly
out, and produce twisted barrels of very handsome
workmanship, though they fail in the finer mechanism
of the locks.

The heavy guns employed in stockades are gene-
rally long pieces of brass called lelahs ; they are large
guns, but have a very small bore, and only carry a
two or three pound iron shot. These are the guns that
are used in the large praus in piratical expeditions, and
their ordinary range is four or five hundred yards,
though with elevation the distance can be much in-
creased. ln. these more peaceful times, when piracy
is nearly extinct, they are kept for more harmless pur-
poses, one Rajah at the native state of Tringanu—a
celebrated place for the manufacture of ordnance—-
having four mounted on swivels upon the beach, where
they are used for firing salutes.

 

254s “ SARONG ” AND “ KRTS.”

 

Occasionally, however, heavier guns are purchased
at Penang and Singapore, where they can easily be
procured, and in this way some of the rajahs are pos-
sessed of six-pounder iron guns and carronades. These
iron guns they call miriams, derived probably, says
Crawfurd, from the name of “ Mary,” as being known
to them first from the Arabs, who had obtained them
from the Christians—a derivation that might be
looked upon as of not much value, only for the
peculiar instances that are met with again and again.
The swivel is the favourite means of mounting their
guns, especially the smaller lelahs, which are found
with bores as small as an inch in diameter ; and from
these slugs are fired, as in the case of the matchlocks,
made of tin. As may readily be supposed, these
bullets, from the lightness of the metal, have only a
short range.

For the manufacture of their gunpowder, the
natives of Perak have a fair supply of nitre, or salt—
petre, in the state ; the preparation of charcoal is very
common; and the sulphur has been probably obtained
from the Bugis traders, who brought it from Java and
the Celebes, or such volcanic islands in the neighbour—
hood as produced it in abundance. A good deal of
nitre is easily procurable from the caverns in the lime-
stone, where the excreta of bats lies t0°a considerable
depth, and gives forth this salt on preparation. As a
rule, the native gunpowder—the art of manufacturing
which was probably learned from the Chinese—is poor

 

STOOKADES. 255

 

in strength and coarse in grain; but, to meet this
difficulty, they prepare a finer sort, which is retained
for the purpose of priming their guns. Cartridges
are not unknown, but cane is substituted for paper,
and these seem to resemble the old bandoleers
of our musketeers of two or three hundred years
ago.

Taken altogether, the Malay has proved very slow
at adopting the implements of war of more civilised
nations, and though he possesses firearms in their
various forms, the favourite weapons are still the
limbing, or lance, and the kris, as shown by the native
proceedings in the late war.

One of the principal features of their warfare is
the stockade, in the construction of which defence
the Malays are. very expert. In fact, they are at their
best when fighting under cover—a fact of which they
are well aware, and hence the care that is taken
in the woodland fortifications. As an enemy they
are very little to be dreaded in the open, seldom
if ever venturing to make a regular attack, except on
single men or defenceless parties on the line of com—
munication, as they showed during the war, when the
postal runners were frequently speared while going
with despatches from post to post. In making their
stockades—which the reader is aware consist of strong
fences of bamboo or other material, to keep out an
enemy—they display great dexterity, both in the
selection of a suitable locality to place the fortification,

 

256 “SiltONG’” AND “KRIS.”

 

and the choice and manipulation of the materials at
their command.

In Perak, excepting at Passir Sala, there were no
stockades of any importance during the little war,
probably because there was no real intention on the
side of the chiefs elsewhere to forcibly resist the
British authority, as there was in fact no cmkatcm, or
rising : or it may have been that the measures taken
by the authorities, consequent upon the murder of
Mr. Birch at this place, were too rapid to enable a
slow-moving people to erect defences and prepare for
war. Hence it was that all the principal villages
which might have been provided with this means of
defence remained open to attack.

In other parts of the peninsula, however, stockades
of a very formidable nature existed, such as could not
be taken by a European force without the aid of the
vertical fire of artillery. Among these were the de-
fences erected by the Malays in the Terrachee valley
in Songhy Ujong. These were well manned, and
would probably have held out against us, had they
not been taken by surprise and gallantly turned by
Major Channer, V.C., and the force under Colonel
Clay.

The favourite positions for erecting these fortifica-
tions are often such as would be chosen by a trained
European engineer, since natural strength is selected,
and the protection afforded by defiles, hills, or a river
or impassable swamp. In some cases the walls are

 

STOOKADES. 257

 

made of mud, in others of stout pieces of hard-wood
laid side by side, while a favourite plan is to drive
two rows of stakes deeply into the soil, point their
ends, and fill up the space between with mud and
stones, thus forming a strong wall. Outside this
fence or wall, a ditch is dug of an average depth of
five feet, and a similar width, the earth being thrown
outwards, when it is not required inside the stockade
to make platforms for the guns, or for filling up the
spaces between the rows of stakes.

One stockade at Sempang, Malacca, was of a ‘
different form; in fact, it almost merited the title of a
military blockhouse. It was built on a point of land
with the branch of a river flowing on either side, and
was capable of containing thirty or forty men. The
sides were of stout planking, loopholed for musketry,
with trap-doors to let down like the portholes of a
ship, in which guns were placed to command the river.
The roof was the feeblest part, being merely attap; but
it was built on posts in a deep trench, the earth of
which was thrown up at the sides, and sloped so as to
form a glacis right up to the loopholes and embrasures
of the guns. The entrance was by means of a ladder,
which was afterwards drawn up within, effectually
preventing further ingress, while the raised floor was
perforated here and there, so as to enable the defenders
to keep their enemy at a distance to the very last.
The interior was shown in a drawing sent to the
G-rcqohz'c and published in November, 1875.

 

258 “SARONG ” AND “KRLS’.”

 

In the rear of this building were two more 76000008,
or stockades, so placed as to give a command of fire
right and left of the main defence. So cleverly was
the whole designed, that all pointed to the fact that
the Malay who constructed the place had obtained
some of his ideas from Western nations, probably from
what he had seen done by the British soldiery during
the Naning War of 1832 ; or he may have profited by
the works of the Dutch and Portuguese engineers,
whose practice it was to build forts whenever a factory
or trading emporium was established. These were
erected all over the peninsula, and the remains of
many of them exist to the present time.

The Malay is very ingenious in hampering the
advance of an enemy, or hindering him when in pursuit.
One favourite instrument for this purpose is the
mnjow, which is of various sizes, and composed of
bamboo hardened in the fire and sharply pointed.
These ranjows, or stakes, are stuck about in the long
grass, with their pOints towards the coming enemy,
and in their native wars cause terrible injuries to the
bare feet and legs of the people; and even with
European troops they are, obstacles not to be despised
in a march through the jungle. In warfare a Malay
will carry a bundle of these upon his back, ready to
plant here and there, Whilst larger kinds are not unfro—
quently placed about their stockades, which are often
provided with an ambush in the shape of extensive
growths of maize or sugar-cane.

 

STOOKADES. ' 259

 

Trees are often cut down, either to fall across a
track, or with their tops towards the coming foe, and
these form a serious obstacle to the advance of troops
where the jungle is like an impenetrable wall on either
side. This was done on the elephant—track to Kinta,
near a place called Chankat Dungla, along which
General Colborne and his forces successfully threaded
their way with their guns in the face of obstacles of
every kind. For the people of Perak, in spite of the
frequent sounding of the gong for the signal to attack
during the late war, proved themselves, probably from
native jealousies, incapable of being organised, and led
to perform a feat of any magnitude; the injury to our
forces being for the most part in surprises or attacks
upon the weak and unprepared.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Swimming—Music— Games : Ball-play— Chess—Cock-fighting—
The national sport.

ALLUSION has been made more than once to the love
of bathing displayed by the Malays, but their power
as swimmers has not been mentioned. In this pursuit
they are very able, and as divers exhibit qualities of
endurance that are surprising. One instance of their
power in this direction is well worthy of note. It was
in the case of a ship that had touched upon a coral—
reef and made a rent in the sheathing, when a Malay,
being furnished with a sheet of copper suitable in size,
and perforated with holes round the edge, dived down
with the piece, a hammer, and a nail, staying under
water long enough to fit the copper in its place over
the leak, and drive in one nail before coming to the
surface, and then going down to drive in nail after
nail till the plate was fixed, his movements being
perfectly visible through the clear water.

Tanks are favourite bathing—places ; and over
these, amongst the higher classes, it is a common
practice to erect a room for dressing and perfuming

 

MUSIO. 261

 

themselves; and excursions in boats to bathing-places
form the Malay idea of a picnic, for they will make
their journey, and then spend the day in bathing,
dressing, and the preparation of delicious dishes for
feasting, while the return home from the trip amongst
the lilies and lotus-plants is made pleasant with music
and singing. Altogether, there, is something very
dreamy and delicious in these excursions, indulged in,
as they are, in a soft climate, amidst the beautiful
vegetation of the eastern land; and it is to be re-
gretted that all the Malayan peasants are not so inno-
cent and idyllic. ‘

They are particularly fond of singing, and often
engage in musical contests, displaying a good car and
readily catching up European airs. In fact, the
Maharaj ah of J ohore has trained a band of young Malays
to play on the regular brass and stringed instruments
of our own country, and their rendering of operatic airs
is anything but despicable, their performances being,
indeed, quite equal to those of the bands of Siam,
which have obtained some notoriety. '

Amongst the native instruments the violin is the
favourite, but there is also a kind of guitar. The per-
cussion instrument that stands first with the Malays
is the gong, which is their beau ideal of martial music,
and is sounded as a signal of assembly or alarm, and
for commencing a fight in war-prau or stockade. They
have also a kind of wooden gong or bell, formed
of the trunk of a tree, a portion of which is hol-

 

262 “Sr/IRON ” AND “KRI— .”

 

lowed out and suspended from a framework. When
this is struck with a mallet, the hollow boom is carried
to great distances, and the idea has been taken up and
used for signalling at our police stations in the Settle-
ments. In fact, the Malays have a very good idea of
the sonorous properties of ‘wood, as evinced in the
wooden instrument, with its sad, but not unpleasing
wail, suspended in their trees, and also in a kind of
harmonicon, formed of graduated pieces of hard—wood
0r bamboo, ranged in a coffin-shaped box, and struck
with a small hammer, having a pliable handle. The
mosque drum has been mentioned, but they have also
one which they call tambour, a very familiar and
evidently borrowed name, just as the term biola for
the one—stringed violin must be of western origin.

Dancing is indulged in occasionally at festivals,
where the young people meet, but strict watch is kept
the while by the elder Idames, for a Mahomedan does
not approve of our western customs in this respect.
They have, however, professional dancing—girls, whose
costume is made attractive with artificial flowers and
a crewn of tinsel and gilding ; these are, however, rare
in Perak.

The people of Perak and the peninsula, though
not players at cricket and lawn tennis, which will
doubtless come with the spread of civilisation, have
something in the shape of athletic sports, for the
young men will indulge in wrestling bouts with some
display of vigour. They are very expert, too, in

 

GAMES. 263

 

tossing the raga, or wicker-ball, which is thrown in
the air to one of the party, and the object then is to
keep it up, this being done with hands, feet, shoulders,
or knees, every part of the body being brought into
play to keep the elastic ball from falling to the ground.
Their dexterity at times over this is wonderful, and
the game forms a healthy, invigorating amusement,
that might well come into fashion in England, in spite
of its resemblance to our own football, upon which
it may by some be considered as a refinement.
Sometimes at their festivals a kind of imitation
war—dance is indulged in, which has the drawback,
however, of the opposing parties waxing warm with
excitement, and exchanging the artificial for the
genuine, getting up quite a real fight, and having to
be withdrawn. The Malays of Province Wellesley,
who accompanied Mr. W. Maxwell, our Deputy-com-
missioner to Perak, gave us at his request some very
amusing exhibitions of this kind. This was during
the expedition to put down the rising ; and these Pro—
vince Wellesley Malays, who have been for some time
under British rule, were most loyal in their behaviour,
and certainly deserved some recognition of the action
they took—a recognition that it would not have been
bad policy to give them in some significant way. For
they stood bravely by their officers when under fire in
.a most cheerful and steady manner ; and it must have
been very galling to their own countrymen and co-
religionists in Perak to witness this, while it was a

 

264: “SARONG” AND “KRT .”

 

remarkably trying test of their own faithfulness to
their, Christian masters.

Among their quieter games the Malays are not
unaware of the amusement afforded by riddles and
enigmas, some of which, as propounded by the more
educated classes, are clever and hard to solve. Chess
too is known, and played by them on what they
call papzm chatoor—literally, a plank with Chequers.
Their pieces are very similar to the European, and
they give them the names of—

Rajah. , King.
Muntri, or Vizier. Queen.
Gajah (Elephant). Bishop.
Koodah (Hare). Knight.
Ter (Chariot). Castle.
Beedah (Foot-soldier). Pawn.

The game they call gajah—mam gajah, “ the game
of elephant.” Check is sock; and mat, check-mate.
This word main signifies to play or gamble, and
is in the latter case used in conjunction with the word
judi. This was originally main judi, to gamble with
small shells, or judis, hence the term. Gambling is
one of the Malay’s greatest failings, for a man will not
only stake his all, but even his person, and, if mar-
ried, his wife and children, becoming, as already inti-
mated, the slaves of the more fortunate players. Dice
and cards have been introduced by the Chinese, and
over these considerable sums (for them) are lost : but
it is with their more national games that perhaps the

 

COCK-FI GH TIN G. 265

 

heaviest stakes are hazarded. For under the term
national may be included the quail and cock fighting, i
and the bull and tiger fight.

Cock—fighting especially is much practised by the
inhabitants of Perak and other parts of the peninsula,
though wisely interdicted in our own settlements.
Like many other Malay customs, it seems to have-
been first introduced from the island of Sumatra,
probably from Menang Kabau, and has gradually
spread itself all over the Archipelago, making its chief
home in Manilla, where it is now recognised by the
Government—though it is said not to have been
known there till the arrival of the Malays to colonise
or trade.

So great is the love of this sport, that not only
have poems eulogising it been written, but codes.
describing the laws and best breeds of fighting—cocks.
No less than ten good kinds are mentioned under
specific names ; and their breeding and training is made
more of an art amongst the people than, according to
the writer’s own knowledge, it was some years since g
amongst the princes of Central India. The Malays
frequently use the artificial spur of steel, called by
them gololc or taji. This is from an inch and a half to
two inches in length, about one-eighth of an inch in
breadth, sharpened on both sides, keenly pointed, and
straight or curved according to the taste of the owner
———0ne being generally used, but two if to match a weak
bird against one that is stronger. This spur is tied

 

266 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

on the leg, either above, below, or on the natural
spur itself. Upon important occasions large bets are
made on the result of the contest in the golongcm, or
cockpit; and the losers, as is usual in most gaming
transactions, are often driven to great desperation,
and bitter feuds are consequently engendered.

Quails are often fought in the same way; for
these and several other varieties of birds can easily
be trained to display their pugnacity in a battle with
a stranger—bird ; while even crickets are matched one
against the other, and fight with vigour.

The cock-fights are cruel in the extreme; for the
spurs are sharpened on a fine Whetstone, and the
gashes inflicted upon the unfortunate birds frequently
result in death; for the combatants are as daring as
our own game—fowl. But they are not dubbed and
trimmed, as used to be the custom in our own more
barbarous days, but fight in full feather.

The grand national sport is the tiger and buffalo
fight; but this is not very frequently indulged in, on
account of the great trouble and expense necessitated
in preparing a fitting enclosure, and also perhaps
from the difficulty of obtaining suitable animals to pit
one against the other in the contest.

Upon the occasion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s
visit to the Straits Settlements, one of these displays
was prepared by a native prince; and on the day
arranged the two beasts were placed in a strong
enclosure made of stakes of the nibong-palm, tho-

 

THE NATIONAL SPORT. 267

 

roughly secured and strengthened with iron, so that
there was not the slightest risk to the lockers—on. In
the centre was a large curtain, which divided the
buffalo from the tiger; and for a time the spectators
had an opportunity of examining the peculiarities of
each animal. The buffalo was a splendid creature of
its kind, fresh from roaming about in its native pas-
tures, but it was heavy and dull—looking in the eX-
trcme. The tiger too was a magnificent animal, with
its glossy coat and lithe graceful movements; but it
had the disadvantage of having been confined to its
cage since its capture.

Upon a signal being given the two animals, which
had been calmly observant of the crowd, were sud—
denly brought face to face by the quick withdrawal of
the curtain, and then the change in each was remark-
able. The dull and heavy buffalo suddenly assumed
an aspect of intense ferocity. The horns, usually
pointed back, were thrown forward; the thick strong
neck seemed to swell out till it was twice its natural
size; the body was curved into an arch; the tail
erect: and quite motionless, but watchful in the eX—
treme, the animal awaited the tiger’s attack. The tiger
on its part seemed nothing loath to engage in the con-
test. Its eyes dilated; the hair about its neck stood
erect ; its face seemed to flatten out and grow broader;
and. with its lithe tail twisting and writhing gently, it
crawled for a short distance close to the ground, and.
then gathered itself up for its tremendous spring.

 

268 “ SriRONG ” AND “ KRTS.”

 

Meanwhile the buffalo remained, with its pointed
horns and eyes fixed upon its adversary, awaiting the
charge, which was not long in coming; for the tiger
made one tremendous bound with apparently irre-
sistible force, trying to catch the buffalo by the back
of the neck; but in this case it was unsuccessful, and
only made a flesh—wound with its powerful claws,
before it was thrown off with apparent ease.

Foiled in its attack, it now began to sidle off like
a great cat, when, before it could get ready for another
spring, it was set upon by the buffalo in turn, the
furious beast rushing at it, and with a roar of rage
burying one of its sharp horns in the striped flank,
and then following it up with a series of thrusts and
tossings till its feline enemy was gored to death.

This was one of the now rare exhibitions of the
kind; for the buffalo and tiger fight, and other bar—
barous practices, are rapidly dying out before the
advance of .VVestern civilisation, and the introduction
of more humanising games.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Seafariug—Boat-building—The Dragon boat — Sampans -—Praus-—
Little Mercy—Piratical craft.

THE generally-received idea of a Malay is that he is
a pirate, who goes about in a prau, armed with a kris,
and robs and murders every unfortunate being he?
encounters: but probably the reader Who has gone so
far through these pages has come to the conclusion
that the native of the peninsula and the neighbouring
isles is a man a little higher in the scale. “Some
writers,” says Marsden, “have compared the human
species inhabiting a country to the animals indige—
nous to the same place: hence the Malay is said to
resemble both the tiger and the buffalo of his land.
In his domestic state he is like the latter—indolent,
stubborn, and voluptuous; while in his adventurous
life and in his ire he is like the tiger—bloodthirsty,
cruel, and rapacious.”

This comparison is greatly overdrawn, but there is
a grain of truth in it, for coupled as the Malay has
been by early association with the Arab, and having
embraced his religion, it is in no Wise surprising that

 

270 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

we should find the “robber of the desert ” converted
in some instances into the “inveterate pirate,” with,
at the same time, that utter indifi'erenee to the future
which fatalism alone engenders. It must not, how—
ever, be supposed that as a rule the Malay is a pirate
of the old school, for the piracies are, for the most part,
Chieftain—like raids. There is no petty thieving, but
bold attacks upon vessels by men who seem to have
considered that they had a right to mulct the travellers
on the great highway of the sea at their will. With
such ideas then, and having always been a great
maritime nation, Whose wanderings have extended
from the east coast of Africa to the Pacific, it is not
surprising that to a great extent the Malays have been
freebooters. Good sailors they have always been, and
to the present day they are the best eastern seamen a
captain can obtain; and the fame of the Lasears is
known to every trader on the sea, some captains going
so far as to say that they would infinitely prefer
Lasears to English seamen——for the former are always
sober, quiet, and to be depended upon.

A bad character has, however, attached to them in
the past, and to a great extent this has been deserved,
for the piraeies of the chiefs have been many and
frequent. In the neighbourhood of the Straits they
have, through the vigilance of the cruisers, become
very rare; but a few years back the smaller trading
vessels, such as those of the Bugis, had to run a
dangerous gauntlet, especially anywhere in the neigh~

 

SAMPANS. 271

 

bourhood of Borneo. Lingin, an island near the Straits
of Banca, was a regular stronghold of piracy, and its
inhabitants forayed principally on the Malay and
Bugis praus, seizing the goods, and selling captain
and crew for slaves. European vessels were pretty
generally respected, especially those bearing the
English flag; probably, says the narrator of the
danger of these seas, from the fact that five praus
attacked an English sloop—of—war one hazy morning in
mistake for an Arab vessel. “ In less than five minutes
four of the five were sunk, each having received one
broadside only, while the fifth got under the land by
the help of her oars. These praus had siX guns each
and one hundred and seventy men.”

We read, too, that in bygone times the Chinese
vessels that traded with Ceylon and India were not
only built in a superior manner to Indian and Arabian
ships, but were very much larger, in consequence of
having to defend themselves from the remorseless
pirates who appear from time immemorial to have
infested the Straits of Malacca. These ships were
manned with from two to five hundred, and even a
thousand men, were well-armed, and provided with
naphtha to burn their assailants’ vessels.

The boats built by the Malays are called sampans,
whilst those intended for sea-going purposes, no matter-
what their size, are termed praus. They are in fact
canoes, with plank built upon plank, to the height
of bulwark considered necessary, while the sternpost.

 

272 “SARONG ” AND “KRTS.”

 

is carried up to a great height, from which the planks
curve down to the side. The material used for making
the bottoms of their boats water-tight is called by the
Malays gala-gala, and is a composition of the resin
dammar and lime ; the seams being caulked with either
the soft bark of a tree which grows in marshy places,
or the scraped peel of a kind of cane—in both cases
dammar is afterwards used as we apply pitch. Bar-
thema speaks of the praus of his day as being large
vessels, capable of carrying on a trade between Malacca
and Masulipatam, the port in India which, according
to D’Anville, Ptolemy refers to as being near to the
place whence vessels traded to Malacca.

The lines of the vessels are peculiar to the Malay,
and by those who are competent to judge they are
pronounced excellent ; though Mr. Wallace had strong
doubts of the stability of those in which some of his
trips to the eastern islands were made, the open ports
constructed at the sides for steering purposes being
dangerous from their liability to ship water in a high
sea: but the same writer speaks very highly of the
boat-building qualities of some of the people he en—
countered.

The sampans are capable of being propelled through
the water at a high rate of speed by means of the
Malay dayong, or oar; and in a long journey, when
the powers of endurance would have to be called into
play, Europeans would have some difliculty in dis-
tancing the natives. When sails are used they are

 

 

 

 

Til E RESIDENT, S BOAT.

 

THE DRAGON BOAT. 273

 

of matting or cloth; and in steering, the paddle is
frequently used in preference to the rudder, and
managed with great cleverness and dexterity. Men~
tion was made of their anchors being used in connec-
tion with a heavy weight of stone ; and an old writer
speaks of this in saying: “ For their galleys they
have only wooden anchors, for they know not how to
melt the iron of their iron mines ; and to the end that
their anchors may sink to the bottom, they fasten
stones unto them. They have neither pins nor
needles, nor nails, nor chisels, nor saws.”

This holds good to the present day concerning
the anchors, which, in the common vessels, are fre-
quently lost in the interstices of the coral reefs ; but
the captain of the boat has this advantage : he halts
at the next suitable island, and fits himself with fresh
anchors from the crooked wood of the jungle.

Specimens of the sampans of the Perak river are
seen moored to the side in the illustration represent-
ing the general appearance of a Malay village on the
river-bank; and in the accompanying engraving a
representation is given of a sampan made specially,
and under his own inspection, for the late Resident,
and in which the late Governor, Sir William J ervois,
visited the country prior to the disturbances. Such
a boat is called by the people a sampan, wager, or
dragon sampan, from the representation on its figure-
head of a fabulous serpent. It was when ascending

the river in this boat that Mr. Birch was so brutally
T

 

274 “SARON ” AND “KRf .”

 

set upon and murdered at Passir Sala; and the boat
was afterwards sent up the river to eX-Sultan Ismail by
the murderers, but at once returned, and is now, to the
best of the writer’s belief, still in use at the Residency.

Such a barge is provided with a kind of matting—
tent in the stern, giving room for sleeping, and for
the arrangement of guns and spears on the sides. A
kind of platform exists in the extreme stern for the
steersman, and in front is an awning of mats, with
seats for the rowers or paddlers, and poles laid along
ready for punting through the shallows. The Malay
boatmen employed by the Government wear a White
tunic; and a flat white cap resembling those of the
Prussians.

The rafts, so cleverly constructed by binding
bamboos together with rattans, have been mentioned
in connection with crossing the rapids, and in the far
interior the Malays even reside upon them ; but they
always prefer to build their houses on the shore, and
on posts well raised from the ground.

To turn to the praus that have been used by the
Malays for their piracies : these average about ten tons
burden, though some are made of fifty, sixty, or even
one hundred tons, and are propelled through the water
with paddles at a very great rate. The stockade style
of fighting is introduced, for they erect wooden screens
which will keep off musket—balls, and from behind
these the crew fire their swivel—mounted lelahs till the
vessel they attack shows signs of giving in, or board-

 

PRA US. 275

 

ing is attempted in answer to the signal given by the
gong. Then the limbings, or spears, krises and
klewangs, come into play, with hatchets and blun-
derbusses, and the onslaught is of a very daring
nature. Malay praus generally attack in parties or
fleets of several together, making their advance upon
a ship disabled by the want of wind, While from their
great power in paddling, the pirates are able to ap-
proach in any direction so as to take their prey at a dis-
advantage, and, if beaten off, can escape with ease;
While, in cases Where they are pursued, their local
knowledge of the inlets and channels of the man-
grove-fringed coast-line, with its many rivers, enables
them to escape, and leave their pursuers baffled and
impotent to avenge the injury.

At home then on the sea, of which they are great
lovers, as shown even by their language, which con-
tains many terms connected with an ocean life, and of
a restless, roving nature, evident proof of which
abounds in the numberless points and headlands
throughout the islands and as far as Madagascar bear—
ing names of Malayan extraction; loving, too, the
excitement of adventure, the Malays became the terror
of the Archipelago; for when prey was afloat they put
out from the many creeks and inlets of the coast in
praus thoroughly fitted in build and armament for
speed and resistance. Of late however this spirit has
been diverted into more peaceful channels, and such

as will prove profitable to themselves and less in-
T 2

 

276 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

jurious to their neighbours and the visitors to their
shores. Still, every now and then there is not wanting
proof that in native states, where the rein of government
is held with slackened hand, piracy on the high seas is
often indulged in and even encouraged by the chiefs.

It would be hard to say whether the east or west
coast of the peninsula has had the worse character for
piracy, but certainly a very unenviable notoriety has
attached in the past to Salangore and Perak. To go
farther afield, some of the inhabitants of the Nicobar
islands, lying just to the northward of Sumatra, have
exhibited a disposition of a remarkably savage kind;
and in this respect differ widely from the Samangs, or
negro Malays, to whom they have a strong affinity.
So serious have been their acts of piracy in quite
recent times in seizing vessels, and also in attacking
and murdering the crews of those putting in at the
islands for water, that the British government was
compelled to take special notice of their acts. The
consequence was that an expedition was fitted out in
1867, consisting of Her Majesty’s ships Wasp and
Satellite. The expedition was accompanied by a
brother of H.H. the Maharajah of J ohore, and
T. Dunman, Esq., as Commissioner. The latter was
then the Inspector-general of Police at Singapore,
and was not only possessed of a thorough knowledge
of the language, but also of a singular aptitude in
understanding the Malay character.

The vessels, after punishing the principal villages,

 

LITTLE MERCY. 277

 

brought down three or four of the piratical leaders,
who had severally dubbed themselves under English
names and titles, such as “Sir George Brown,” &c.
These men were of the average height, had the thick
lips and curly hair of the Samang race, combined
with the high cheek-bones and expanded nose of the
Malay. Photographs of these people, with a full de-
scription, were sent by the writer to his friend the
late Mr. Crawfurd, who read a paper on the subject
before the Ethnographical Society. The late Captain
Edye, of H.M.S. Satellite, also brought down a little
captive girl, who had evidently been taken by these
people from one of the vessels they had destroyed.
She was a Eurasian, and only about ten years of age,
having in all probability been taken when quite an
infant, for the language she spoke was very mixed,
and she had no recollection of her capture.

When received on board the vessel, she imme-
diately became the pet of the sailors, and was treated
with all the kindness for which the British bluejacket
has made himself a worthy name, and was soon
clothed in a dress made from navy serge, with a girl’s
hat of the latest fashion, cleverly improvised out of a
man-o’—warsman’s “straw,” and ornamented with a
cock’s feather for plume.

On her arrival at Singapore, she was first placed in
the girls’ school attached to the late Mr. Keasberry’s
mission—one of the most valued institutions in the
settlement—and upon its being closed she was trans-

 

278 “BARONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

ferred by the Government to the Chinese girls’ school,
where she was tenderly nursed and educated, and
baptised under the name of little “Mercy.” The
poor child, however, did not long survive, but was
one of the victims about two years later to cholera.

And here it would be unjust not to notice the vast
amount of good that has been done by the Society
for Female'Education in the East. The task of this
Society is one that must bear fruit in connection with
our endeavours to civilise the native states; for its
efforts are directed towards the education of the Malay
and Chinese girls ; each of whom must in time form a
centre from which will radiate the beneficent know—
ledge she has acquired, for the permanent advantage
of those around.

Among the more notorious acts of piracy in these
parts that have taken place recently may be men-
tioned the seizure of a junk, and the murder of the
Chinese crew and passengers. This vessel sailed in
1871 from Penang, bound for Laroot, the tin district
of Perak, only about thirty—six hours distant, but did
not arrive; and on enquiries being made, it was
found that an ingenious plot had been laid, by which
about fifteen pirates had gone aboard as passengers;
and that at an appointed time these people had risen,
murdering the crew and genuine passengers, number-
ing in all about thirty—four souls—men, women, and
children—and carried off the valuable junk and her
freight, a portion of which was a large sum in dollars.

 

PIRA TICAL CRAFT. 279

 

The colonial steamer Pluto was immediately sent
out with orders to search for the missing junk, which
was found lying ofl" Salangore, with the money gone,
and the greater part of the cargo in the shops of
the town. The junk was secured, with nine of the
pirates; but a rajah and his followers taking their
part, krises were drawn, and firing took place upon
the Pluto, which immediately left for Penang, where
she arrived with the prisoners and her prize.

Such a resistance to the British authority, and so
cruel an act of piracy on a vessel trading in our port,
could not be allowed to go unpunished ; so the acting
Governor despatched an expedition to secure the
remainder of the pirates and recover the stolen pro-
perty.

The expedition arrived oil the Salangore river,
entered it, and armed boats proceeded to search the
vessels at anchor and some huts. Soon after, in a
dispute about the Rajah going on board the Pluto,
hostilities were commenced by the natives, who fled
to the jungle; and in the firing that ensued seven
men of the British were wounded, including the lieu-
tenant in command of the landing-party, who received
a cut on the hand from a kris. More could not be
done then, as the men, crowded in boats, were ex-
posed to the fire of an enemy hidden in the jungle ; so
the forces were drawn off.

The next morning Commander Robinson steamed
up the river in H.M.S. Rinaldo—a very risky pro-

 

280 “ SARONG’ ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

ceeding, as there was a dangerous bar at the mouth.
In addition, he had no surgeon on board; and he-
knew it would be twelve hours before the tide would
allow them to pass out again. But this was a noto-
rious piratical haunt; and after the treacherous attack
of the previous day, it was necessary to punish the
people for their insult to our flag, and to teach them
that they were not secure in their positions. In a
short time a hot and well—directed fire was opened on
the steamer from the forts, and in five minutes there
were three men wounded, and the Rinaldo had suf-
fered severely; but by steaming on, the defences were
turned, and before their guns could be got round,
they were dismounted, or the forts knocked to pieces.
Musketry—fire was then opened on the ship, but
Without much effect, and soon after she grounded in
soft mud, presenting a fair mark to the enemy: but
fortunately his guns were all silenced and kept down
by the steamer’s fire.

After awhile, the tide rising, the vessel steamed out
of the river, returning with the Pluto soon after, bring-
ing a detachment of the 19th Madras Light Infantry;
and after a little firing the Malays fled, when the
town was completely burnt down, the forts destroyed,
and the guns spiked or broken up—Commander
Robinson, who was in charge, saying that the town
would have been spared had there been anyone with
whom to make terms, and had the rest of the pirates
been given up. In addition, five piratical praus were

 

RE TRIB UTI 0N . 281

 

burned in this nest of pirates; three being armed with
two twenty-four pounders and one small gun each,
with an abundance of small-arms, spears, muskets, and
pistols. They were of the largest class of praus, and
measured from eighty to one hundred tons each.

The result of this expedition was that the Sultan
of Salangore outlawed the Raj ahs who had taken part
in the affair; and all the pirates that could be found
were sent to Malacca, one having died in the interim.
His Highness then gave up a thousand dollars’ worth
of tin belonging to one of the offending chiefs, and
presented Her Majesty with a very handsome pair of
elephant tusks.

CHAPTER XXV.

‘The Jugra piracy—~A native’s evidence in a native court—The
execution kris—An execution—The Sultan on piracy.

EVEN so late as the year 1873, the piracies from the
native states, especially that of Salangore, were of so
formidable a nature as to again necessitate steps being
taken by our Government for their suppression. It was
in this year that a daring act of piracy took place in
the south of this particular state, namely in the J ugra
river. It was so serious in its nature that it will be
remembered in the peninsula for many years to come.
So swift, however, was the punishment enforced, and
so salutary the lesson taught, that it is gratifying to
know that a complete check was placed upon any
further attempts for the time being. Various other
acts of piracy had occurred just prior to this, notably
in the Laroot river, as will be described, the Laroot
pirates being routed, and their vessels and stockades
destroyed by HWMS Midge and Thalia, while other
stockades were finally razed in Perak, and a more
reputable state of affairs assured.

In the case of the J ugra piracy, which, as will be

 

THE JUGRA PIRACY. 283

 

told in the words of the sole survivor who escaped, as
given in a minute of the court, the perpetrators were
afterwards recognised and were cleverly taken by the
authorities of Malacca; and it was at first intended
to try, and punish them in one of our own courts;
but Sir Andrew Clarke, receiving an offer from the
Viceroy of Salangore, and probably believing in the
effect it would produce, decided that the criminals
should be tried by the native court, at the very place
Where the act of piracy was committed. In this case
the writer was employed as joint Commissioner with
Mr. Davidson.

At the trial the charge against the eight pirates
was that they had plundered a boat at or near the
mouth of the river J ugra, and murdered eight men,
being the passengers and crew. The court was com-
posed of the Viceroy of Salangore, with three Native
Commissioners appointed by the Sultan, while the two
English Commissioners watched the proceedings. The
sitting of the court took place at a stockade.

The survivor then gave his evidence, which, in
addition to its peculiarity as a sample of a statement
in a native Malay court, is interesting for the insight
it gives into the habits and customs of the boatmen
on the rivers and coast:

I live at Tranquerra, in Malacca, and am a seafaring man; I left
Langat on the 25th of the month of Poasah, in a naddy (boat) belong-
ing to Malacca ; there were three Chinese passengers, Whose names
I do not know, and six Malays belonging to the boat, named Hadjee

 

2841 “SAIRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

Doraman, who was the nacodah (skipper), Ah Kim, Tamb Itam,
Meman, Mambi, and myself. The naddy was loaded with rattans ;
there were also boxes. There were 2000 dollars on board, belonging
to All Kim, of Langat, and the nacodah. I assisted to bring the
dollars on board the boat, and the nacodah told me there were
2000 dollars. We left Bandar Langat about six o’clock A.M. ; we
arrived here (the stockade at the mouth) about one o’clock,.and
showed our pass to Arsat, who was in charge of the stockade. We
went outside the river about a mile and anchored, because the wind
was against us. We anchored about three o’clock; the nacodah
told us to rest, and we would sail at night. About three o’clock,
the juragan called the crew to boil rice. We cooked rice, and about
five o’clock I saw two boats coming out of this river. I asked the
juragan what boats they were, and he said two friendly boats from
the stockade. They pulled up near us, and Doraman asked Where
they were going, and the reply was, they were going to fish. Musa
replied from the boats. One of the boats came alongside, and
Musa and three or four others came on board. The other boat
came alongside on the other side. [There were about twenty men
on the two boats] They talked to Doraman. About six o’clock
Doraman told us to bring the rice. When he was about to begin
eating, shots were fired from both boats. Doraman fell to the shots.
Musa then called out to “amok.” Three of our people jumped
into the water and were stabbed, and all the others in my boat
were also stabbed and killed. I jumped into the water, hung on
to the rudder, and after dark floated away to the shore: when I
floated away the three boats were still together in the same place. I
floated to the piles of this jetty and got hold of one. There was a
Bugis boat lying about three fathoms off. I held on to the pile
about an hour, and the pirates came in their own boats, bringing
Doraman’s boat with them. One man came out from the stockade
on to the jetty and asked “ Sudah habis 1” (Is it all over ’2). From
the boats a man replied “ Sudah habis” (It is all over). “ We
are taking the property to Tunku Allang.” They all went
up the river with their boats and my boat. The two boats
returned in about an hour without mine. They all came up on
this jetty. People from the stockade asked if it was finished,
and they said it was all finished. After all was quiet here, I
Went to the Bugis boat and asked them to assist me, and they

 

THE JUGRA PIRACY. 285

 

took me into their boat. The Bugis asked me whose beat it was,
and I told them Doraman’s. The Bugis advised me not to say
anything about the affair here or I would be killed. When I was
speaking to the Bugis the people from the stockade came and asked
them for me. The Bugis refused to give me up, but said they
would show me next morning. All the prisoners were in the boats
that attacked us. It was daylight, and I could see them quite well.
N o. 1 shot the juragan. N o. 2 came into the boat and shot and
stabbed people. N o. 3 remained in his own boat and had a spear,
N0. 4 came into our boat and stabbed Tamb Itam. No. 5 was in
his own boat, he had a spear and stabbed people in the water.
No. 6 came into our boat and stabbed Meman and others. No. 7
remained in his own boat and had a spear and assisted to stab my
friends in the water. N o. 8 was in one of the boats, and I did
not see him do anything.

The next day the Bugis took me on the jetty, and showed me
to the headman of the stockade, named Marsat. All the prisoners
were present with Marsat at the time. N 0s. 1 and 4 asked the
Bugis to give me up, but the Bugis refused. I saw on the jetty the
boxes of many of my friends, also bags belonging to the boat scat
tered about, and met also two muskets belonging to my boat, and
one spear and a sword. The Bugis then took me up to Langat to
the Yam Tuan, who was asleep, and then they took me up to the
Datu Bandar. He asked me if I knew the men who had done it.
I said I did. He then asked me where they belonged to, and I
said to the stockade. He then said to me: If you are asked, say
you do not know who did it 5 if you say you know them you will
be killed. After this the Bugis took me back to the Yam Tuan,
and I told' him all that had occurred. He then asked me if I knew
the people who had done it, and I said no, as I was afraid of being
killed. When I was speaking to the Yam Tuan N 0. 1 and N o. 4
came in and said: We want this man (pointing to me); Tunku
Allang wants to take him to the Qualla. Yam Tuan told me to go
with them. I said I was afraid. Yam Tuan said if I was afraid
they had better let me go to Mahomed Syed’s shop. Mahomed
Syed was present, and I was given up to him. Mahomed Syed
sent a letter by Belal Ismain to my uncle Mamoot at Malacca. My
uncle arrived at Langat from Malacca on the 27th of the month of
Poasah, and the same day I left Langat with my uncle. When I

 

286 “ SJIRONG' ” AND “KRIS.”

 

was leaving I saw our boat at Qualla Sungie Durien, in this river ;
no one was on board. Qualla Sungie Durien is Tunku Allang’s place.

About twenty days after my arrival at Malacca I was on the
bridge at Malacca, and saw two boats coming up the river, and
saw some of the prisoners in the boats. I reported to Mr. Hayward,
and I went with Duffadar Mahomed, and pointed out Nos. 1, 2, and
3, and Mahomed arrested them in their boats. Two days after that
I saw another boat coming into Malacca, and reported it to Mr.
Hayward ; he ordered lVIr. Warne to arrest, and I went and pointed
out Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8, and they were arrested. N 0. 6 was arrested
at Ujong Kubu, in Malacca.

In the boat where Nos. 1, 2, and 3 were arrested we found a,
musket, a sword, and a spear, which belonged to Doraman, and
were in his boat when she was plundered.

In the boat where Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8 were arrested were found
an anchor and a sarong. The anchor belonged to Allang, but was on
board the naddy when she was plundered. The sarong belonged to
Meman.

[The gun, sword, and sarong are produced, and identified by the
Witness]

Two days ago I Went up the Langat river in one of the man-0f-
war’s boats, and saw Doraman’s boat inside the Sungie Durien. It
was tied to the mangroves as if hidden. There was a house on
shore near the place; it belongs to Tunku Allang. The naddy was
then brought down the river, and is here now. This is the naddy.
After coming down with the naddy, I came on shore here, and
found a water-cask in this stockadc belonging to the naddy, and
Which was on board when it was plundered.

The case lasted three days, a great deal of corro—
borative evidence being given, suificient to prove the
facts Without doubt; and finally the eight prisoners
were all found guilty of piracy and murder of the
eight British subjects, and seven were condemned to be
executed on the following day; sentence upon one
being suspended on account of his youth.

 

AN EXECUTION. 287

 

The execution by the kris is carried out in a very
solemn manner, by men specially appointed to perform
the duty. As a rule, execution is immediate upon
sentence, but in this case it was deferred as above.
Mention of the execution kris has already been made,
as being perfectly straight and narrow in the blade;
the one mentioned being kept in a sheath of gold.

Early on the morning of the appointed day an
armed guard of seamen and marines was landed from
Her Majesty’s ships, and marched out to a rising
ground behind the stockade where the trial had taken
place. Some followers of the Viceroy were also in
attendance with the executioner, the kris for the
purpose having been sent down during the night by
the Sultan : this weapon always being in the custody
of the ruler of the country, who alone has the power
of life and death.

The prisoners offered not the slightest opposition,
their fatalist religion making them behave with a
calm stoicism, as they placed themselves kneeling
with their heads turned from the executioner. This
latter official places then a small pad of cotton on the
left shoulder to prevent the effusion of blood; pass-
ing the point of the kris through this he waits for a,
given signal, upon receiving which, one thrust in a.
slanting direction sends the blade into the criminal’s
heart, and death follows almost instantaneously, when

the kris is drawn back nearly bloodless through the
pad.

 

288 “SERONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

As soon as death had ensued, and each body was
stretched out, the executioner made two or three brisk
steps over and around it, the object of this custom
being to drive away the evil spirits who might be
hovering round, seeking to prevent the soul from
ascending to the paradise of Allah. Generally the
criminals executed are buried on the spot, a grave
being previously prepared ; but in this case the bodies
were at once removed by the relatives, to be interred
on a point of land higher up the river; while the
Viceroy had a notice-board put up that in future this
spot should be called “ The Place of Execution.”

After this it devolved upon the Commissioners to
consider the amount of compensation that should be
demanded of the Sultan of Salangore, whose people
had committed this act of piracy, and taken the lives
of eight British subjects, natives of Malacca ; and after
due consideration, a note was despatched to him,
announcing the decision as being a demand for five
thousand dollars, or its equivalent in slabs of tin, and
requiring also that this compensation should be at
once placed on board one of her Majesty’s ships lying
off the Sultan’s residence at Langat.

Very little time was wasted, for the lesson read of
British power and determination to put down piracy
was severe enough to insure immediate compliance.
In effect, the piratical boat was handed over and
taken off in tow to Malacca by HWMS Rinaldo,
and the Commissioners received a note from the

 

A LITTLE GAME. 289

 

Sultan, informing them that two hundred and eighty-
six slabs of tin (about seven tons) had been placed on
board H.M.S. Midge; and the next day, in company
with the Viceroy, the Commissioners visited other
places in search of piratical haunts, and during their
investigations warnings were issued which had due
effect.

But to show how indifferent the Malay, in hishalf-
civilised state, is to the commission of piracy at sea,
which he seems to look upon as his own proper poach—
ing-ground, a circumstance may be mentioned which
occurred at Langat just prior to the trial and execu-
tion that have been recorded. Our Admiral had an
interview with the Sultan, who was surrounded by his
chiefs and people, and in as much state as he was
capable of showing. The Admiral, in referring to the
barbarity of the J ugra piracy, advised and urged upon
the Sultan to caution his people against being guilty
of such acts in future, pointing out how it was impos-
sible that they could be left unpunished, as in the
interests of the Settlements, as well as the native
states, our Government was determined upon putting
down the custom.

The Sultan listened very attentively, and then
turning quickly round to his people, he exclaimed:
Dungow' Zak, jomgom kitah main main lagz' !——“ Hear
now, my people I Don’t let us have any more of this
little game 1”

CHAPTER XXVI.

Titles of chiefs—Taxation and tolls—The Sultan’s slaves—Sultanas
~—Court Observances—The royal family—Ancient descent——
Vanity and superstition—A Malay document.

PRIOR to the occupation of the country by the British
forces, the government of Perak embraced a Sultan
elected from the princes of the royal blood of the
reigning house; the Rajah Muda, or heir apparent;
with four officers of the first rank, eight of the second,
and sixteen of the third.

The proper signification, by the way, of this title,
“ Rajah,” is a person over whose actions no one has
any control. He is one, too, who is exempt from
having to obey certain laws in the Malay code, and
hence his power is of a very extended nature, and can
be largely exercised for the good or evil of the people.
So great is the power, in fact, of the native chiefs,
that one of the ex—Sultans, in correspondence with the
Governor of the Straits Settlements expressed his
sorrow for certain crimes committed by the chiefs,
and owned that his control over them was next to
nothing, for they did what they pleased.

 

TITLES 0F CHIEFS. 291

 

The chiefs of the first rank were—

I.——The RAJAH BANDAHARA, who was the Sultan’s chief execu-
tive officer, minister, lawgiver, and ruler over the peasantry. His
powers were very great, his sway extending over the extreme limits
of the kingdom.

IL—The ORANG KAYA BUSAR, the keeper of the Sultan’s privy
purse.

III.—The TUMONGONG, or chief magistrate, preventer of oppres-
sion, and punisher of transgressors. This officer’s place of honour
in procession was at the head of the Sultan’s elephant.

IV.—The MUNTRI, or chief adviser of the Sultan.

In the second rank——

I.—-The MAHARAJAH LELAH, who was the commander of the
land and sea forces.

II.——The LAKSAMANA, who was high admiral, his prau always
taking the lead of the fleet. The Sultan’s zenana was also under
his charge when ashore ; while in procession the Laksamana’s post
was by the Sultan’s palanquin, or he bore his sword after him when
riding in state upon an elephant.

III.—The SHAHBANDAR, or harbour and custom-house master.

IV.—-The SEDIKA RAJAH.

V.—The PANGLIMA KINTA, who had charge of the regalia and
the district on the left bank of the river.

VI.~—-The PANGLIMA BUKIT GANTANG, the high district officer
of the right bank of the river.

VIL—The DATU SAGOR, the head of the river boats and
navigation 5 and

VIII.——The IMAM PADUKA TUAN, or chief priest.

In the third rank were—

The Sam MAHARAJAH LELAH ; and
The DATU lVTATA-TVIATA.

The others held offices of but little moment.
U 2

 

292 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

The subject of slavery was treated of pretty fully
in a previous chapter, but the relations between the
Sultan and his bond-servants was left to be dealt with
under the question of Government. Here, no doubt,
is the source of the whole evil, for the example set in
high places has been eagerly followed by the chiefs,
while their dependants in turn have gladly taken, in
bygone ages, to a system that was aggrandising to a
degree. The government under the late Sultan being
arbitrary and despotic, and having but little control
over the many chiefs, these latter have been as
tyrannical and freebooting as the barons of the Rhine,
or those of our own land in the days of Magna Charta
John; but without making the slightest effort to
benefit anyone but themselves. Their sole thought
seems to have been to enrich themselves as rapidly as
possible at the expense of the poor toilers in the
field; and consequently every chief picked out a
snug and convenient spot upon some reach of the
river, and built himself a bamboo castle, with an attap
roof, where he could sit in wait for every boat—load of
produce coming up and down the stream, and by
means of his followers levy black—mail, or help himself
to the booty of the industrious bees, who, though they
carried dangerous stings in the shape of krises, dared
not use them against their more powerful, hornet—like
oppressors. Tin, salt, fish, rice, fruit, anything would
do for the chief so long as the quality was good and
the quantity large; in fact, the unfortunate ryot

 

TAXATION AND TOLLS. 293

 

seemed born to be oppressed, and oppressed he was,
till his time for working had ceased to be. If he could
be charged with some trivial offence he was fined ; and
when this levying of black-mail failed to provide
sufficient for the wants of the chief, lawful indulgences
were converted into offences, and the wretched people
were compelled to pay for such absurd things as
wearing a sarong a few inches too long or too short.
In fact, nothing was considered too trivial by the
ruling wolves who wished to prove that their subser-
vient lambs had sullied the water flowing at their
noble feet. Under such a government, as was most
natural, every form of abuse and oppression was prac-
tised; and the only resource for the people was to
connect themselves with the most arbitrary and
powerful of the Chieftains, so as to be robbed by one
and one only, instead of having to submit to an indis-
criminate oppression from the chiefs at large—who,
fortunately for the poorer classes, were extremely
jealous one of another.

The consequence of this state of things was that,
naturally objecting to labour, the Malays grew
thoroughly averse to every kind of work, caring little
for doing more than providing for their simplest wants.
It was no advantage to a man to cultivate a goodly
piece of land, and raise crops that were not for his own
eating; to grow fruits that were absorbed by Sultan
or chief and their numerous followings ; or to become
the possessor of buffaloes that might be seized any day

 

294 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

to draw the properties of his lord. All this has had
much to do with the careless state into which the
Malay has fallen, and it requires a good and safe
government, with the protection of wise and just
laws, properly carried out, to make the people take
to the industrious life that means prosperity to his
country.

This industry could not be expected where one chief
levied a royalty of five dollars a cog/cm on rice, another
sixteen dollars—tariffs being apparently regulated at
the pleasure of the chief. These taxes were nominally
levied for the benefit 'of the Sultan, who was supposed
to obtain eleven dollars on every bhar'x‘ of tin, but he
never received more than six. Then private owners
of mines, though often imaginary beings, were suffi—
ciently substantial in some form or another to levy
their tax of ten dollars a bhar, making a total impost
of twenty-one dollars
Mr. Birch said, no tin could pay. Tin and rice were

 

a sum which, as the late

only examples of the treatment of other articles of
produce. In his own place, says the same gentleman,
every chief took something. “ At the Qualla Kinta ”
(or mouth of the Kinta) “the Bandahara sublets to
the Rajah Makota a farm of extra customs-duties on
every import and export, thus making the miners and
inhabitants on that river pay at least double the
amount paid by all other people in the country.” . . .

 

* Coyan, about two tons ; Bhar, about three and a half hundredweight.

 

THE SULTAN’S SLAVES. 295

 

“ At Sengang, where Rajah Yusuf lived, he used to stop
every boat up or down, and levy one—tenth of every-
thing, but he has lately given this up.” Higher up
the river, where the Sedika Rajah resided, they levied
again a tenth on all imports and exports.

But in addition to all these oppressive levies of
taxes, the inhabitants suffered from a system of forced
labour, each male having to render to his chief a
fourth of his year of- labour, and to turn out to assist
him in time of tumult or war.

Many of these oppressions have, through the efforts
of the Residents, been ameliorated, but there is still
this terrible custom of debt—slavery ; and the chiefs,
having the means and great power in the state, are
always able to make the wretched people appear, in
some form or another, in their debt. As this debt
can rarely be liquidated, the unfortunate ryot is, as
before shown, bound over with his family to serve the
chief, sinking calmly into his wretched state of servi-
tude and suffering with all the customary patience of
the eastern believer in Kismet—fate. If the debt be
liquidated, it is generally only for the family to change
hands, and become the slaves of a new proprietor: it
is to be hoped—though this is very doubtful—for the
bettering of their condition.

The Sultan’s slaves who are about his palace were
acquired in an exceedingly simple manner—in a way,
in fact, that thoroughly exemplifies the old-fashioned
dealing of the eastern potentate, who, however, in this

 

296 “SARONG’” AND “KRIS.”

 

case, is but a petty sultan or rajah, living in no
gorgeous Aladdin-like palace, but in such a home as
Mr. Birch describes as that of Sultan Abdullah at
Batarabit, where “the house compound is a most un—
wholesome swamp of green stagnant water, and the
paths and streets sloughs of slippery mud.” It was
not surprising that this Sultan preferred to live on
the river in boats.

When one of these rulers took a fancy to a slave,
his custom was to send a messenger with his sword or
kris to the house where the poor girl lived, and how—
ever much the parents might grieve at the loss of
their child, the despot’s command, as represented by
the sword, was a law that no inferior thought of re-
sisting. It was another case of kismet—the command
of royalty—and the maiden was hurried off to the
zenana, where she might in time attain to the high
dignity of using a pestle and mortar to pound betel
mixture for her 'lord to chew, if, like Abdullah, he
were not a confirmed smoker of opium, and a reveller
in the drugged drams that turn so many of these
eastern rajahs into weak, mentally incapable rulers of
the fair country that is at their feet.

The life of these sultanas is not an enviable one;
for though there is no bowstring in force for refractory
or unfaithful ones, and n0 Bosphorus with saline tide,
yet there are plenty of rivers, and, as has been shown,
a very rugged and cruel drowning for the slave who
dares to rise in spirit against her lord. But these are

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EX—SULTAN ABDULLAH AND CHIEFS 0F PERAK.

Mwwm

 

00 URT OBSERVANOES. 297

 

necessarily only the exceptional cases ; for, as a rule,
the slave-girl’s lot is to be kindly treated, While in
old age the Sultan or chief is bound in very shame to
provide for her sustenance and clothing.

The Observances in a Malay court are, as may be
supposed, very strict, and the points of etiquette care—
fully studied and observed. Thus it was stated that
_ the Tumongong and Laksamana have certain places by
the Sultan’s elephant. The Muntri has also to take
his place at the head of his litter, and in the illustra-
tion given of Sultan Abdullah and his court, the
various chiefs and officers are seen in their correct
positions, according to rank and station, as they were
placed for the taking of the photograph. The sword-
bearers carry these weapons of state, and they are held,
quite according to etiquette, upon the right shoulder.
Iii this case the Sultan is seated on a chair, and as is
always observed, no other chief can take such a seat
unless it is of a lower level than that of his lord, and
consequently they all sit or crouch upon their hams.
Quite a difficulty occurred on board one of our vessels,
when a Sultan and his officers paid a visit, the Muntri
refusing to take a chair on account of one being
already occupied by his chief. Indeed, Mr. Wallace
gives an amusing instance of this Malay stickling for
pride of place, in an anecdote that he relates of the
chief of one of the islands he visited. This gentleman
had a great love of European customs, and had gone
so far as to order a carriage from England for his own

 

298 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

use. Unfortunately, however, the vehicle had to be
condemned on account of a great failing in its con-
struction; for, had it been made use of, the coachman
or driver would have occupied a higher seat than his
master, and in the code of Malayan etiquette such
things could not be. In fact, sitting on the ground
or standing is the attitude of respect.

Even in such a small matter as colour, the Malay
is excessively particular as to his dress, the tint of his
umbrella, and the envelopes he uses to send his Arabic
written letters. The royal colour, as intimated, is
yellow, and the envelopes used by the Sultan are
always of this colour, and composed of silk.

When a Malay meets a European a polite salutation
is accorded to him, and it mostly consists of the words
Tabik, T uom—“ I salute you, sir; ” but among them-
selves it is “ Peace be with you I” the reply being, “And
to you also.” The etiquette as to the kris-handle will
be remembered, as necessitating its being kept covered,
and these points, along with all those relating to the
due respect to be rendered to the various chiefs, the
shape and style, colour and arrangement of garments,
are rigorously kept up in the states at a distance from
the European settlements. One of the most striking
things, though, with respect to court Observances, is
the amount of superstitious veneration that exists for
the person of the sovereign. To shed royal blood
would evoke for the Malay, according to his ideas, a
train of punishment which, in his superstitious awe,

 

THE ROYAL FAMILY. 299

 

he could not contemplate without a shudder; and in
consequence the person of the monarch is perfectly
safe, while the halo of his sanctity spreads around and
illumines all his relatives present and, what is more, is
reflected straight away down “ the corridors of time "
to come ; for every one who claims descent from
royalty enjoys also this immunity from danger at the
hands of a people who might be ready to resent an
injury by the use of the kris.

The royal family of Perak, like most of those in
the native states of the peninsula, traces its origin
with the greatest care from the royal family of Menang
Kabau, or Kabowe, as it is variously spelled. The
chief city of this state is called by some writers
Paggar-oodong, or Battang Selo, probably the Paggar-
ooyoong of Marsden, the writer on Sumatra; and the
chief founder was Maha Raja de Raja, supposed to be
a great-grandson of Mahomet. The late dynasty in
Perak in more modern times is referred back to Sultan
Mahomed Bansoo, who had issue by a former rajah’s
daughter Rajah Eenoo, who married a daughter of
Sultan Mahomed Muda, who had issue Rajah Cholam,
who came to the throne of Perak as Sultan Mahomed
Sapi. Rajah Cholam married a daughter of Rajah
Kassim.

Sultan Mahomed Bansoo had also issue by four
concubines, one being named Rajah Mundo Beeso, the
second, Rajah Manda; the third, Mahomed Kusso;
and the fourth, Mahomed Saboot.

 

 

300 “SleONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

We read in Moor’s “ Notices ” that there were two
chiefs at Menang Kabau under a certain Rajah Allam,
who, though brought up in all the learning of the
age, gave himself up to vicious pursuits. Hence he
was seldom called upon to exercise his authority, which
was vested in the two chiefs. These were a Rajah
Addat, or rajah judging over cases of laws and
custom; and a Rajah Ebaddat, or judge of cases of
sacred appeal. They originally formed members of
the Paggar—ooyoong house, and though from length
of time relationship cannot be traced, yet the depen—
dence is claimed and admitted on all sides ; and as the
Rajah Allam can only marry in one of these families,
and those of the Ecmg amped selo, a proper under-
standing and subordination still exist.

The chiefs under the Rajah Allam were Ecmg duo
sclo, and these resided at Soompoo Coodoos, now called
Lintow, of which Bangsa and Boohoo are the principal
cities.

Next in rank to these are the Ecmg ampat sclo,
whose origin is altogether fabulous. Their names or
titles are Bandahara of Soongye Taru, Mangcoodoom
of ~Si Maneea, Endomo of Sooroowassa, and Caleea of
Padang Gunteeang. Of these four the Bandahara is
the principal chief, and is never called upon for per-
sonal service when the Rajah Allam moves, while the
remaining three, distinguished by the denomination of
Ecmg tega selo, accompany and attend upon the
Rajah Allam in all his processions and travels, each of

 

VANITY AND SUPERSTITION. 301

 

these possessing a large extent of territory, and a
numerous body of dependants.

The grand assembly of the nation was formed of
the six Selo, and all matters of judgment or policy were
settled by them. The Duo selo had casting votes
according to whether the case was secular or ecclesias-
tical, ' but final reference or appeal could be made to
the Rajah Allam.

Tradition carries the Perak royal family safely
back so far; but not content with that, they are,
from their vanity and great love of antiquity of'
families, fond of trying to trace their descent to
Mahomet, when, instead of being interesting, their
account only tends to amuse, and reminds the listener
of the account given by Dalton of the Sultan of Coti
in the Island of Borneo. This great potentate was the
chief of alarge district in the south-east of that island,
and his genealogical tree was written in these words,
in the Koran of the Kragi of Tongarron, his chief city,
by Nabbee Ahmet, who came down from heaven on
purpose to perform this duty for the Sultan, who was
one of the most barbarous head—hunters of that
notorious land.

Soon after the great prophet Mahomet ascended into heaven
from Mecca, his second and favourite brother, whose name was
likewise Mahomet, dreamed that the prophet appeared to him in
the shape of a comet, inviting him forth to preach the true doc-
trine. He accordingly arose, and embarked on board a ship with
some chosen followers. They had no occasion for compass or sails,
as the comet kept before the vessel, and the wind favoured them.

 

302 “SflRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

After being on the ocean one year, during which period no land
was seen, a country was descried in the west, over which the comet
remained stationary. This was Coti. Mahomet landed at a place
now called Cinculcram, when he fell asleep, and his brother again
appeared before him, standing upon the mountain Baley Papcmg.
WVith a loud voice he ordered a kingdom to be founded, and a
capital built, which should be considered second only to Mecca.
The prophet disappeared after leaving the Koran, written by a
celestial hand. On awaking, Mahomet found himself in another
part of the country, where he built the capital, calling it Ton-
gm'ron, after the name of the ship which brought them safe. Here
it was the Koran was first opened by Mahummud Sali Hooden,
the first Sultan, who, after reigning forty-seven years, was taken
up to heaven in a flash of lightning, since which period the family
has given a succession of Sultans to Coti.

These facts the Sultan and his priest say are known throughout
the world, and acknowledged by all rajahs in India, who formerly
paid tribute. He has no superior or equal except the Sultan of
Turkey.

This peculiar form of vanity runs strongly through
the whole family of Malay sultans, whose titles and
epithets are in some cases as extraordinary as they
are absurd. Those of Menang Kabau excel in this
direction, as the following copy of a warrant from
that place will abundantly show. The extract is from
Marsden, and in the original it commences with three
chops in the Arabic character. A chop, it may be
necessary to inform some readers, is a seal in these
eastern lands, though very frequently it is adopted to
signify the trade—mark of some large commercial firm
in China. The chop of a Malay sultan is generally
about a couple of inches across, is formed of silver,
engraved with Arabic characters, and is affixed at

 

A MALAY DOCUMENT. 303

 

the beginning of a document, the impression being
made, not with sealing—wax, but with Indian ink,
pretty liberally applied.

Here is the document, which was sent to a high
priest :

(Three circular seals with these inscriptions in Arabic characters.)

(Eldest Brother) (Second Brother)
Sultan of Rome ‘ Sultan of China
Key Dummool Allum Nour Allum
Maharaja Allitf. Maharaja Dempeng.

(Youngest Brother)
Sultan of Menang Cabow *
Aour Allum
Maharaja de Raja.

The Sultan of Menang Cabow, whose residence is at Paggar-
-ooyoong (after pardon asked for presuming to mention his name),
who is king of kings, son of Rajah Izounderzulcar—nainny, and was
possessed of Muncooto, who was brought from heaven by the
prophet Adam; master of the third of the wood maceummat,
one of Whose properties is to enable matter to fly; of the lance
ornamented with the beard of Jangee, of the palace of the city
of Rome, whose entertainments and diversions are exhibited in the
month of Dul-hadjee, and where all Alims, Pukkeeahs (faquirs),
and Moulahnocarrees, praise and supplicate God; of the gold of
twelve grains named coodarat coodarattee, resembling a man ; who
receives his taxes in gold by the lessong (quasi bushel) measure;
whose betel—stand is of gold set with diamonds; who is possessed of
the sword named Chooree-se-mendong-geree, which has an hundred
and ninety gaps, made in the conflict with the arch-devil Se-cattee-
moono, whom it slew; who is master of fresh water in the ocean
to the extent of a day’s sailing; possessed of a lance formed of a

 

* Supposed to be derived from two Malay words: Memmg, to win, and
Kébau, a bufialo; from a fabulous story of a fight between tigers and
buffaloes, in which the latter obtained the victory.

 

304 “ SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

twig of edjoo 3 of a calewang wrapped in an unmade chinday 3
of a crease formed of the soul of steel, which by a noise expresses
an unwillingness at being sheathed, and shows itself pleased
when drawn ,- of a date coeval with the Creation; possessed of a
gun brought from heaven named Soubahanahououatanalla 3 of a
horse of the race of sorimborahnee, superior to all others; sultan
of the burning mountain, and of the mountains Goontang—goontang,
which divide Palembang and J ambee ; who may slay at pleasure,
without being guilty of a crime; who is possessed of the elephant
named Settee—dewa; who is vicegerent of heaven; sultan of the
golden river 5 lord of the air and clouds; master of a balli, whose
pillars are of the shrub jelattang; of gandangs (drums). made
of hollowed branches of the minute shrubs pooloot and seelo-
sooree; of the gong that resounds to the skies ; of the buffalo
named Se Binnooang Sattee, whose horns are ten feet asunder ; of
the unconquered cock Sengoonannee; of the coco—nut tree, whose
amazing height, and being infested with serpents and other noxious
reptiles, render it impossible to be climbed ,- of the flower named
Seeree menjeree of ambrosial scent ,- who when he goes to sleep
wakes not till the gandang nobat sounds; one of whose eyes is
as the sun, and the other as the moon
this his will, &c. &c.

 

To his subjects declares

In another communication to Mr. Marsden by Mr.
Dalrymple, the same exaggerated language is taken
up to show the antiquity of the royal family of Me-
nang Kabau : God gave to Gaggar Allum, who had his
residence in the clouds, “ a bird called ‘ Hocinet,’ that
had the gift of speech. This he sent down on earth to
look out for a spot where he might establish an inhe—
ritance, and the first place he alighted upon was the
fertile island of Lancapore, situated between Palimban
and Jambee ; and from thence sprang the famous
kingdom of Manancabou, which will be renowned and
mighty until the Judgment Day.”

 

MALAY DOCUMENTS. 305

 

When all that is worthless and fabulous in these
documents is sifted out, there are, however, several
grains of common-sense left behind ; inasmuch as one
i can at least gather from the writings, their style,
their allusions, and their use of so many Sanscrit,
Persian, and Arabic terms, that the Malays must in
early times have had most extensive dealings with
the peoples by whom these several languages were
spoken.

CHAPTER XXVII.

The Malay language—Its origin—Connection with Arabic—Rhymes
and poetry, proverbs and sayings—Love songs—Literature—-
Quaintness of expression—Letter-writing—A Malay interpreter.

THE Malay language would present a very interesting
study to the philologist ; for, so far from being a bar-
barous dialect, it is a soft rich tongue, that has been
worthily called the “ Italian of the East.” This is of
course from its tuneful and flowing nature. The
“French of the East” would be a more appropriate
term, however; for as with that language a traveller
may make his way right through the Continent, so with
a good knowledge of the Malayan tongue a voyager can
make himself understood through the whole of that
enormous chain of islands stretching by the equator:
beginning with Sumatra, and running right past New
Guinea, with the innumerable places north and south._

This language, as is commonly, and probably very
reasonably, supposed, took its rise in the seat of the
Malayan natiOn itself; for doubtless tradition is quite
right in setting this down as Menang Kabau. This
district is opposite to Malacca on the peninsula, and
divided from it by the straits of that name. It was

 

THE MALAY LANGUAGE. 307

 

at Malacca that the Malays of Menang Kabau first
effected a landing, and doubtless gave to it the name
which has been corrupted or altered into the one it now
bears. The consequence of their migration was that
the Orang Benua, as the aborigines of any country are
called by the Malays, were driven into the fastnesses
of the great jungles and back towards the mountains.

From the fact of the Malayan language being
found in the island of Madagascar to the west, and
also far away in the many islands of the Pacific, where
there is scarcely a spot without its Malay words, some
writers have concluded that these people are Poly-
nesian in origin. Others again have thought that
the Malays once peopled India, and were afterwards
driven out into the countries and islands lying to the
east of Hindostan. This, however, seems to be quite
a fanciful conclusion, for the languages spoken in
India show no trace of Malay words; therefore, in
looking at the structure and composition of the lan—
guage, it is far more reasonable to assume that it
naturally had its origin amongst the people who spoke
it in the central plains of Sumatra—that is, in or near
Menang Kabau, where the Malays have remained less
intermixed than in any other part of the peninsula or
islands. a

When first known to the European, the Malay
tongue was considerably leavened with Arabic, Per-
sian, and Sanscrit words, evidently due to a long-con-

tinued intercourse with the nations speaking those
x 2 '

 

308 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

languages, and, as shown in the last chapter, exist-
ing very largely in documents and literary works.
For instance, the Malays had from the Arabs, along
with their religion, such words as related to the faith
and laws of Islam ; and these were regularly imported
into the language. So great an impress did this make
upon the people, that they gave up the native charac—
ter, in which their language was expressed in writing,
and adopted the Arabic, in which they read the
Koran. The Sanscrit and Persian words Were pro—
bably added to the language by degrees, as the
Malays traded with these people: the adoption of
certain terms being a natural result.

Being a people who may be said never to have
entered on the high road to progressive improvement,
their language was never rich, nor did they possess
anything worthy the name of literature for which
they were not indebted to the Arabs, Persians,
Indians, and Javanese, with the exception of a few
works of traditional poetry, and a set of historical
tales, called the “ Sejara Malayu ”~~these being fictions
of a highly-exaggerated charactei.

The nation may be considered as having been at
its zenith 1n the sixteenth century, when Acheen was
in its most prosperous state of wealth ; but even then
there seems to have been no one sufficiently advanced
above the general body of the people to leave any his-
torical trace of their progress, or any record to show
that cultivation of the habit of thought had had

existence.

h

RH YMES AN D POETRY. 309

 

More lately, intercourse with western civilisation
and with the Chinese has made its mark upon the
Malay tongue by enriching it with many additions;
and a more complete dictionary than that which we
already possess, both from British and other sources,
is greatly to be desired.

It is from the absence of combinations of conso—
nants, and the prevalence of vowels and liquids that
the language derives its soft and harmonious effect.
Even the gutturals of the words introduced from the
Arabic become toned down and pleasing when used by
the Malays ; and the effect of the harsh Arabic word,
when uttered by Malay lips, is very remarkable for
the alteration that has been made in its asperities.
The purest Malay is said to be spoken at Malacca and
Johore, Perak standing next in the scale; and those
who have heard it spoken by the chiefs of these places
will have had no difficulty in arriving at this conclu-
sion, the dialect of Perak differing but little from that
used in J ohore.

Rhymes and poetry are in good favour amongst
the people; and it is no uncommon thing to find
amongst them those who are able to act the part of
improvisatore, and extemporise stanzas of no mean
order. When the writer has been on excursions far
away in the interior, with only Malays for his com-
panions, he has often been struck by the aptness of
these people in putting the events of the journey or
some adventure into verse, and singing it to one of

O

310 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

their plaintive airs, keeping up the ditty in a whining
melancholy way, till they fall off to sleep. This love
of poetry may have been derived from the Arabs, who
greatly esteemed such a style of conveying the thoughts,
just as they were lovers of stories, and held in honour
the man who was a good narrator. The Malays fol—
lowed them in this latter, the extempore speaker or
composer of verse being highly esteemed.

An example or two of the style of a Malay
poem will not be out of place, as exemplifying the
peculiar line of thought taken by these people in their
verse ; for, as will be seen, the lines take the form of a
proverb or aphorism.

Apa goona passang paleeta

Kalo teedah dangan soomboonia?
Apa goona bermani mata

Kalo teedah dangan soongoonia?

What signifies attempting to light a lamp
If the Wick be wanting?

What signifies making love with the eyes
If nothing in earnest be intended?

This love of proverbs and ingenious or clever sens
tences is prominent amongst these people, and as was
intimated in the chapter on that subject, is included
in their amusements. Many of these sayings have-
been handed down amongst them as traditions in the-
language, and could an intelligent Malay be induced
to undertake the duty, a collection would be of great.

 

PRO VERBS AND SAYINGS. 311

 

interest. On such a thing being mentioned to them,
however, they seem to be particularly averse to the
proceeding, and we can readily understand how it is
that so few records of the past exist, when even an
account of the visit of a native ruler to England, which
was promised at the time, has not yet seen the light.

Here is another extract from the same author, to
exemplify the proverbs of the Malays :

Hearing of a person’s death they say—

N en matee, matee, nen eedoop be-kraja.
Kale sampi-la, janejenia, apa boleh booat?

Those who are dead are dead ; those who survive must work.
If his allotted time was expired, what resource is there 2

The “apa boleh booat” is a very frequent expression
of the Malay to signify that the matter was inevitable,
and is adopted in all cases of accident, death, or mis-
fortune. It is, in fact, the saying of the fatalist. It
was to be I That is enough for the Malay, who shrugs
his shoulders and meets death or misfortune with the
same calm resigned aspect.

A dictionary of the language was compiled by Mr.
Marsden, from whose pen a grammar also emanated.
For this latter, however, there is but little need, on
account of the extremely simple construction of the
tongue ; though it would be the delight of school-
boys, and would, in their estimation, compare most
favourably with the solemn Latin or sonorous Greek,
since the verbs have no conjugation, and the nouns no

 

312 “SleONG” AND “KIM—S.”

 

cases; Hence, by means of a simple vocabulary, or
a dictionary, combined with conversation with the
natives, a European may render himself a Malay
scholar, and acquire the language sooner than any
that is spoken under the sun.

It would be surprising if a people who have held
so much intercourse with Arabia and Persia did not
possess their amatory poems or songs ; therefore it is
in no way astonishing to find verses breathing tender-
ness, and veined in some instances with true poetic
feeling. Amongst the pieces that have been preserved,
the following is from Newbold, and however much
the reader may object to the author for his bad taste
in alluding to the crow eating the young rice, when
his native forests teemed with more graceful and
pleasing images, nothing can be more poetical than
the idea in the two last lines:

Tinggih tinggih poko lamburi
Sayang puchok—nia meniapu awan

Habis teloh puwas ku chari
Bagei punei menchari kawan.

Bulan trang, bintang ber chay-ya.
Burong Gagah ber-makan padi

J eka Tuan tiada per chay-ya,
Bela dada, melihat hati.

TRANSLATION.

Lofty, lofty grows the lamburi tree,
Its branches sweep the clouds ;
It is over, my search is vain;
I am like the wild-dove bereft of .its mate.

 

LOVE SONGS. 313

 

The moon gives her light, the stars glitter,
The crow is eating the young rice ;

If my mistress believeth not my faith,
Lay open my bosom and View my heart.

In these days, too, of drawing-room ballads that
are as empty, vapid, and inane—of course, allowing for
exceptions—~as it is possible for them to be, What can
be sweeter than this song from a people Whose home
is in the far—off jungles of their Eastern land'.l It is
taken from Captain Forest’s Voyage, as given in the
“ Asiatic Journal ” of 1825.

Cold is the wind, the rain falls fast,

I linger though the hour is past.

\Vhy come you not? VVhence this delay?
Have I offended—say?

My heart is sad, and sinking too ;

Oh break it not ! it loves but you.

Come then, and end this long delay.
Why keep you thus away?

The wind is cold, fast falls the rain,

Yet weeping, chiding, I remain.

You come not still, you still delay.
Oh ! wherefore can you stay?

Amongst the favourite prose literary productions of
the Malays are their romances, which they derive from
India and Java. From Arabia and Persia naturally
come the various treatises on the Koran, and the
narrative fictions dealing with history and the demi-
gods and heroes of the traditionary past. The

 

314: “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

“Hikayet Hamzah” is one that deals with the exploits
of the uncle of Mahomet. The “Sejara Malayu” is
another favourite piece, which tells of the gallant
defence of Malacca by the Malays, when attacked by
the Portuguese under Albuquerque, and is intended to
mouse them to emulation. The first of these pieces
strongly resembles the eastern tales that we have had
from the Arabic, only that it is written in a strain
of almost greater hyperbole. Chivalry and doughty
deeds pervade it throughout, and it is considered one
of their greatest compositions.

The “ Hikayet 'Hong Tuah” is said to be of pure
Malayan origin, and deals with the romantic adven-
tures of a young noble, or Hong, of Malacca. He was
a kind of King Arthur of his time; and, like other
romances, it is listened to with great delight by the
Malays. The custom is for these stories to be related
by the elders or priests of the villages to admiring-
circlesf The “ Hong Tuah ” has been praised by some
writers, condemned by others; but is considered by
Newbold to deserve the enthusiastic praise as little as
the sweeping censure, being only a fair specimen of
its class. There are several more of these Hikayets,
or compositionswsome of which approach the stories
of the “Arabian Nights ” in their highly-coloured
descriptions; and among these is the “ Hikayet of
Isma. Yatim,” a story of Hindoo origin. This is a
capital specimen of pure Malay language, and remark-
able for its introduction of Malay customs.

 

QUAINTNESS 0F EXPRESSION. 315

 

The language is not wanting, either, in quaint
peculiarities, many of which are figurative, while
others are terse and to the point; while in many
things they reverse our expressions in a manner that
sounds to one unaccustomed to the people highly
incongruous. Thus, in speaking of cattle or fish, a,
Malay will say “ so many tail”——not head. A spring
will be called an eye of water, and a policeman all
eyes. The ankle is the eye of the foot; the sun the-
eye of day. Then as to time, they reckon by nights
past instead of days ; though this they often judge of
by the opening and closing of a flower.

The word 3003a, trouble, has been mentioned as
very commonly used—in fact, it represents the View
taken by the people of anything tending towards their
advance. They speak of a friend as a place where
you can store your cares and joys ; of a neighbour, as
one privileged to come up the ladder of a hut. In
praise of a beautiful woman, a common expression is,
not that she has a beautiful face, good figure, or
small hands or feet, but that she has heels rounded
like the eggs of a bird. The following sounds pecu~
liar, but it is on consideration very apropos—viz. to
speak of the metropolis as the mother of a country,
for it really is. Regarding the situation of the Malay
peninsula on the globe, they divide all countries as
being to windward and leeward. Arabia, Persia, and
the like are the former; their own peninsula, Sumatra,
and Siam, the latter.

 

316 “SZRONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

It would be out of place here to give many
Malayan words and their meanings, but they are very
quaint and original in numerous cases. For instance,
the word bunga, meaning a flower, which is applied
in many ways. They will thus speak of interest
as the flower of money—the blossom it bears; of
ground—rent as the flower of the ground, and so on.
It is, however, in their proverbial expressions that the
quaintness of the people is most marked. Thus, a
[cowardly despicable person is called, in allusion to
their popular sportécoek~fighting a duck with spurs.
One who is intoxieated is said to mount the green

 

horse. Their proverb with regard to investing, answers
to dropping a bucket in the water of a well, and only
pulling up the string. When the rain and sunshine
come together, they say that some one is coming to a
violent end.

There are numbers of similar expressions. They
say those who in dry times empty the jar because
thunder is heard in the air will probably die of thirst.
“ Clear water cannot be drawn from a muddy foun-
tain.” “ A tiger cannot help showing his stripes.”
“ How can a dog’s whelp become a civet eat ? ”

Of treacherous people they have sayings such as-
Sits like a eat, but leaps like a tiger; and a capital
one of the garrulous person : “ The tortoise produces
thousands of eggs without anyone knowing it; the
hen produces a single egg, and tells all the world.”

Letter-writing is looked upon as a fine art, and the

 

LE TTER- WRITING. 317

 

pen used is formed out of the black spike of the
gamooty palm. Paper envelopes are used by the
inferior people, who wafer them with lac. It is only
in the cases of chiefs or sultans that the yellow silk
envelope or bag is used, in which the missive is sewn.
A highly-educated person’s letter is according to
the most rigid form. The introductory portion of the-
lettcr, the seals, folding, paper, envelopes, all are.
matters to be duly studied, and in many cases really
are carefully attended to by the person who writes.
In fact, according to N ewbold, a Malay letter ought-
to consist of six distinct parts, namely: A short
Arabic sentence; the chop or seal; the exordium ;.
the substance of the letter; the concluding portion;
and the superscription—for each of which they have
special terms. Mingled with the business-like or-
friendly letter are the temssuls, which are the flowery
introductions or interpolations so popular amongst
certain people—the “ May your shadow never be less ”'
type of compliment; though frequently a letter will be
accompanied by a pious prayer that Allah may cause
the missive to arrive in safety at its destination.
Among the difficulties of the Malay language is
that of getting good interpreters~that is to say men.
who will give a clear, succinct translation of a Malay
speech into English, or vice versd, without flowery
additions, or rendering the one or the other at the
expense of their clearness and perspicuity. Some
very amusing passages take place in consequence of

 

318 “iS’r/lRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

the native interpreter’s want of knowledge of the
weight and value of a word, and the exact sense in
which it is applied. For instance, in one of the
courts, when a case was in process of investigation
before an English official, a witness, who was a poor
shrimper and shell-fisherman, was brought up for ex-
amination, when the judge asked :

“ What is he ? ”

INTERPRETER (in Malay). What are you ?

\VITNESS (also in Malay). Shrimp—catcher.

INTERPRETER (importantly, in English). He is an
.apprehender of shrimps, my lord.

It is hardly fair, though, to take the natives to
:account for these mistakes in our language, when it is
said that amongst the European residents who have
spent their days in the Straits, and the descendants of
the old settlers who make their appearance on grand
days in dress-suits as antiquated as the days of George
and William IV., blunders of the most humorous
nature are perpetrated from forgetfulness or sheer
ignorance of our tongue. Of these, one gentleman is
credited with having pleaded, in excuse for not
making a longer stay in one of the settlements, that
he was only “a bird of paradise,” when it is to be
presumed “ passage ” was intended.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Ancient history—Menang Kabau—Migrat-ions—Arab associations—
Cinnamon—Early trade in spices—Malays in Madagascar—The
Aurea Chersonese—Opinions of the ancients——Voyagers of the
past.

So far but little has been said respecting the ancient
history of the Malay people of Perak ; but they have
a history which shows that, in place of being a poor
spiritless body of tribes, they have been, from the
earliest times, a race whose enterprise has been wide-
spreading to a degree.

Crawfurd, in his dictionary of the Indian islands,
says in regard to the Malayan state of Perak, that
when or how it was founded is unknown—“ a mys-
tery, like the founding of all the other states of the
peninsula.”

Doubtless it is involved in obscurity, and very
little has come down to us by which we can trace its
early history before it became known to Europeans;
but still, some approximation may be made as to
its first colonisation by an inquiry into the rise and
progress of the Malayan race, which is now dominant
there, and in the various native states adjacent.

 

320 “SARONG’” AND “KRIS."

 

Now, this race, which is at the present day so
widely scattered over the Eastern archipelago that
they may be found in the great majority of the
islands, while in the others there is frequently a trace
of Malay occupation, is believed by some writers to
have first had its origin on the Malabar coast of the
continent of India ; others, again, who class the Malay
as a branch of the great Mongolian or Tartar race,
consider that they gradually progressed southward,
peopling first the peninsula, and then extending
gradually through the many islands of the eastern
group. Others, and among these not a few Who have
visited Sumatra, Java, and other islands of the archi-
pelago, and, better still for observation, resided for a
long time amongst the people themselves, favour the
theory adopted by the higher-class Malays—that their
parent state was Menang Kabau.

In the sequel we shall see that the views of the
last portion of theorists appear to be most consonant
with the past history of the race, who, occupying this
portion of the earth’s surface from extremely early
ages, migrated across the Indian ocean, conveying
the productions peculiar to their country, while ever
looking to Sumatra as their original home, and to the
district of Menang Kabau on that island as the seat of
their ancient power. Crawfurd, who is perhaps our
best authority, says that this district is eminently
favourable for the development of an early civilisation.

In these early migrations, possible enough to a

 

ANCIENT HISTORY. 321

 

maritime people whose vessels were imposing, and
who had by experience learned the ease with which a
voyage across the Indian ocean could be made, and its
return secured by taking advantage of the monsoons,
which robbed that voyage of the dread felt by the early
navigators that they might never be able to return,
the Malays became closely associated with the Arabs,
whose connection is so strongly marked in religion
and custom to this day; and, consequently, it will be
quite in keeping with the character of this work to
endeavour to trace out the early intimacy of this
latter nation with the countries of the east. In this
we are much aided by an examination of the products
which the Arabs appear to have been the first to
import westward.

About sixteen hundred years before the Christian
era we find in Holy Writ that cinnamon was one of
the ingredients used in preparing the anointing oil.
Now, this cinnamon, or rather kinnamon, is the pecu-
liar growth of India, Ceylon, and the Eastern archi-
pelago ; and Herodotus, writing about twelve hundred
years later, says Kitto, “describes Arabia as the last
inhabited country towards the south, and as the only
region of the earth which produces frankincense,
myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, and ledanium; and, as to
cinnamon, he says: ‘Which we, as instructed by the
Phoenicians, call kinnamon.’ Herodotus, moreover,
states that the Arabians were unacquainted with the
particular spot in which it was produced, but that

Y

 

322 “SARONG” AND “KRfS.”

 

some asserted it grew in the region where Bacchus
was educated. From all this we can only infer that
it was the product of a distant country—probably
India—and that it was obtained by the route of the
Red sea.”

There appear to have been two kinds of this spice
knownto the ancients—and even to the presentday—-—as
cassia and cinnamon; the former being a coarser product,
and known in the Hebrew as kiddavh ; and the latter as
kimzamon, probably derived, according to Kitto, from
the cacyn-nama~dulce-Z7ignum of the Cingalese—or
the Malayan kayooLmanis. It is true that cinnamon
is now known to the Malays as kooZit-manis, or sweet
skin; but this designation is more probably of later
date, as in contrast to kayoo-manis, or sweet—wood;
and these people still have the kayoo—pait, or bitter-
wood. The name given to cassia by the Hebrews as
kiddah is not so easy to determine ; for though it may
have grown in the country of Keddah, or Quedah, and
been obtained originally from thence, it would rather
appear that the state of Keddah takes its name from
one given by the Malays to an elephant-trap.

Kitto adds, there can be no reasonable doubt, as
cinnamon and cassia were known to the Greeks, that
they must have been known to the Hebrews also, as
the commerce with India can be proved to have been
much more ancient than is generally supposed. It is
moreover sufficiently clear that the ancient Arabians
obtained this spice from the three sources of India,

 

EARLY TRADE IN SPICES. 323

 

Ceylon, and the Malay islands; and as we proceed,
we shall see that this was not the only product early
imported by the Arabians from the far East.

In an able disquisition on a work called the
“Periplus of the Erythrean Sea,” written probably
about the year 129 B.C., Dr. Vincent informs us that
perhaps the most ancient record that we possess of a
trade between Arabia and the countries of the east is
obtained in “ Ezekiel ; ” and this trade, then, must have
been carried on before the siege of Tyre, or about
588 B.C. The articles then imported by the Arabians
from India and these countries seem to have been
gold and spices. But in those days Tyre had
the commerce almost entirely in her own hands;
excepting during the reign of Solomon, who, though
he exacted a tax from the kings and governors of
Arabia upon their imports, and shared in the profits
of their trade, had not, says Dr. Vincent, any fleets in
the Mediterranean, nor commerce on that sea. This
circumstance, he adds, gave Tyre a monopoly of the
whole communication with the Western world.

The extensive trade which the Arabians had with
the East gave them great power and influence, not only
upon the Red sea and the north-east coast of Africa,
but as far south, upon the eastern coast of that conti—
nent, as Cape Corrientes. This trade was at its
height long before any visits paid to the Red sea by
Greek or Roman ; and the chief ports at which their

imported produce was received seem to have been
Y 2

 

324 “SARONG” AND “KRl—S.”

 

Mosyllon and Point Aromata. So particular was the
trade in gums and spices that their productions were,
in the markets of Alexandria, always designated by
the term “ Mosyllitick ; ” and probably our term
aromatic, as applied to such articles, is derived from
the name of the ancient port of Aromata.

In the occupation, however, of the island of Mada-
gascar, and probably of certain ports—though this
is not so clear—the Arabs were forestalled by the
Malays; and for this information we are indebted to
the researches of Dr. Pickering, among others. This
gentleman says, in. his “ Races of Man,” that the
Malayan race is actually present upon the island of
Madagascar, and dominant there ; and as to the time
of their arrival, it is sufficiently evident that Malay
influence has preceded the visits of the Arabs.

Some writers have, however, questioned this asser—
tion of the prior occupation of Madagascar by the
Malays; and excellent authorities have, while ac-
knowledging the fact, demurred to the inference
sought to be drawn from it of a migration thither of
the people of this nation. Let us take, then, the evi-
dence. First, we have upon the island a class of man
bearing such clear traces of being a hybrid between
the Malay and the Negro, that Dr. Pickering unhesi—
tatingly classifies these people under the title of Malay-
ised Negroes, evidently the same race as the Samangs
of the Nicobar islands and the interior of the pen-
insula. Then, again, if the Madagasci language be

 

MALA YS IN MADAGASCAR. 325

 

taken, we shall find that it contains many words from
the Malayan tongue, the Malay numerals being wholly
imported into it. For names of places on the island,
there are on the east coast—where the Malays would
naturally first land—such terms as M anambatoo,
Manam Hart, 8150. ; batoo being the Malay for a stone,
and hari for a day; while the word manam is evidently
a corruption of the Malay term anam, six.

In the etymology of the island itself, says Dr.
Vincent, we should rather make our researches in the
Malay than in any other language. The Arabs called
it the Island of the Moon; but it was first known .
to them as Madaster, or Magaster, and it was this
name that was the first brought into Europe by
Marco Polo, who doubtless had it from the Arabs. M a
or maha, and daster are both Malayan words; but
the former would more likely have its origin in the
Sanscrit, and the latter in the Persian language.
These words might, however, be readily imported
into the Malayan tongue from an almost simul—
taneous intercourse with India and Persia; which is
subsequently confirmed by the visits of the Malays
to India and the Persian gulf, for purposes of trade,
in conjunction with the Arabs. The Persians them-
selves were not a maritime people, neither were the
inhabitants of India, as compared with the Malays;
while the Arabs themselves would scarcely have
borrowed a name from another tongue.

Another thing in favour of the supposition that

 

326 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

Madagascar was peopled by the Malays, and known
to have been by the Arabs, is that we find an early
Arabian chart in the twelfth century giving the
island in question, not as lying on the east coast of
Africa, but contiguous to the Straits of Malacca;
doubtless from the fact that reports had reached the-
Arabs of there being Malays upon it, rather than from
the supposed error of Ptolemy, in carrying the coast
of Africa round to the east. From these points
enough evidence may surely be drawn to prove that
the Malays held intercourse with, and peopled the
island, long prior to any visit paid to it by the Arabs.

In further testimony, however, of the early migra-
tion of the Malayan race westward, we have undeniable
proof of their adventurous journeys by sea ; for, unlike
many other eastern nations, they had no religious or
other obstacle to prevent their crossing the ocean;
the voyages to and fro being made, as suggested,
remarkably easy by the regularity of the monsoons.
If, then, we recognise this conclusion—one which
seems almost forced upon us——it stands to reason that
with the Malay came the merchandise of his own land ;
which in due course fell into the hands of the Arabs,
and was by them carried into Arabia, Judea, and
parts of Egypt.

We have it recorded distinctly by Pliny, in the
first century, that a regular communication was known
to be open between Arabia, India, and parts beyond ;
and that the Arabs, who were established at Ceylon

 

THE AUREA CHERSONESE'. 327

 

——then known as Taprobane, and the people as
Singalese, from singha, a lion, from a fable of a
king of Ceylon born of a lion—were spreading their
superstitions amongst the natives on the coast, and
were receiving the trade of China (the country of silk)
from the Ceeres, or Chinese, who had reached this
island; and that the father of the Rajah who came on
an embassy to Claudius had been in that island.
Which statement on the old historian’s part, shows
that prior to his day an intercourse had existed
between China and Ceylon by way of the sea; and
the route for this trade must have been, as it is at the
present day, by the Straits of Malacca, between the
peninsula and Sumatra, then inhabited by the Malays.

In the second century Ptolemy tells us of a port
on the Coromandel coast of India which was a rendez-
vous for this trade, and that fleets were fitted out to
sail from thence to the Golden Chersonese—the
modern Malay peninsula. This port was called by
the old geographer Nigama, and is said to correspond
to the position of the modern Negapatam——-a place
which bears evident traces of having been an im-
portant mart for trade at a very early period. And
the visits there of the Chinese seem amply confirmed
by the remains which they have left, especially one
particular pagoda, which, says Colonel Yule, in his
“ Marco P010,” is constructed in a style of architecture
not unlike the Chinese. The trade from this port,
with occasional fluctuations, has continued down to

 

328 “ S/IRONG' ” AND “KRIS.”

 

the present time ; and vessels are still fitted out there
for the ancient Aurea Chersonese, not merely to
convey the produce of India, but to embark large
numbers of emigrants, and coolies for our eastern
settlements.

But Ptolemy elsewhere refers very definitely to
the Aurea Chersonese, and seems clearly to indicate it
as the country of the Malays. He mentions in con-
nection with it especially two places, Malai-oo-kolon
and Ta—mala. Some geographers have placed the
former near the modern Cape Roumaniatperhaps the
most southern part of Asia—and the latter as far
north as the Tenasserim coast of Burmah. If, how—
ever, we look a little into the etymology of the word,
we shall be rather inclined to agree with Dr. Vincent
in assuming that Malai-oo—kolon could be no other
than the modern Malacca; and being, moreover,
placed in the neighbourhood of the pirates, who have
given a character to the Malays in all ages, adds
strongly to the same supposition. The view taken is
strongly supported by the etymology of the words
ta mala, which, without attempting to force a con-
clusion, can only be associated with T anah-malai,
which, literally translated from the Malayan tongue,
is the “ country of the Malays.”

We have here, then, without trying to build up a
wild theory, Ta-mala, or the country of the Malays,
and Malai—oo-kolon, or Malacca, as probably then
their chief city, to which they had doubtless migrated

 

OPINIONS OF THE ANOIENTS. 329

 

from their primitive home upon the island of Sumatra,
then known as Java Minor, and, somewhat later, as
Pulo Percha Pulo being the general name for an
island with the Malays; while at this period Singha-
pura

 

 

the modern Singapore—was known, according
to different authorities, as Zaba and Sebana, and the
state of Perak was probably Ptolemy’s Argusa.

Dr. Vincent was quoted a short time back as re—
ferring to the Malays of quite ancient times as pirates.
This character of the people may need some support ;
and it is given here, by reference to Yule’s “ Marco
Polo,” where we read that——

This character for piracy and adventure the Malays seem
steadily to have borne until the year 1267 A.'D., when they became
so powerful by sea as to fit out a fleet for the invasion of Ceylon,
and which they successfully carried out under a leader named
Chandra Baun. Marco Polo, who visited Ceylon in the same
century, thinks this leader to be the same as Sendeman.

It would be reasonable to assume, in fact, that the
Malays, having become more powerful by Virtue of
this trade with the Arabs in the west, and, in all pro-
bability, with the Chinese also in the east, had
migrated to Malacca as a convenient entrepét on the
high road between China, India, and Arabia. Colonel
Yule, however, considers, from the evidence at his
command, that Singhapura was rather the first great
mart in these seas, and any demur to his statements
must be made with great diffidence ; but as he refers

 

330 “SARONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

to a place called by Marco Polo Malai-an, and of
which, he adds, there is no clear evidence to show
what country or place was really meant, might not
the reference have been to Malacca? for Malai-an
would seem to indicate a place of collection for
Malays. We have certainly this very clear evidence
—that while Malacca on the main bears evident traces
of having, at some remote period, been very largely
peopled, there is not the slightest indication of this in
the island of Singapore; a point which is fully sus-
tained by Crawfurd, who considers that there is
nothing there to support the old traveller De Barros
in speaking of the celebrated old city of Cinghapura,
“to which resort all the navigators of the western
seas of India, and of the eastern of Siam, China,
Champa, and Camboja, as well as the thousands of
islands to the eastward.”

Lastly, from Marco Polo we have ample testimony
of the increase in number of the Arabs on the coast of
India, and the dissemination of their doctrines. He
mentions that the trade from China no longer met
that from the Red sea in Ceylon, but on the Malabar
coast, probably at Calicut, where the ships from Aden
obtained their lading from the east, and carried it up
the Red sea for Alexandria, from whence it was taken
into Europe by the Venetians.

Enough has now been said in regard to this trade
between Arabia and the east to show that it existed
from the very earliest times—that it was known in

 

VOYAGERS OF THE PAST. 331.

Egypt and India ; and though we ’do not gather from
the sacred writings that any nations corresponding to
the Malays or Chinese took part in this trade, it is
not unreasonable to believe that they did, from the
frequent reference made to them in the subsequent
testimony of the profane writers of the first and
second centuries. Were further corroboration neces-
sary, it could be added from the writings of the
voyager Cosmas in the sixth century, and from the-
journals of the Arabian geographers published in the
ninth.

CHAPTER XXIX.

First migrations~—Voyages to the East—Diaz-Vaseo di Gama—
The Eastern passage—Sumatra—The Acheen king—Malacca
First mention of Perak—Treaty with Siam—Disturbances.

A FEW words have now to be said to show that the
Asiatic Malays treated of in this work have, in their
first migration eastward from Sumatra and the dis-
trict of Menang Kabau, first landed at Malacca.

It has been stated that these people at the present
time all refer to Menang Kabau as their original
home, and the seat of power of their race and nation;
and although there is no written history to confirm
this, we have it on the testimony of their chiefs, both
in Perak and the other states, that such is the case.
Moreover, to this day they treat with veneration and
respect any Rajah who can trace his descent from one
of the leading families of that state. In addition,
Mr. Crawfurd, though he gives up as hopeless all
endeavours to accurately trace the exact locality from
which the Malayan nation sprang, yet admits the fact
of this tradition in the following words :

 

FIRST MIGRATIONS. 333

 

All the central Malays of the peninsula claim their origin from
Sumatra and from Menang Kabo, the most powerful state of that
island; but they do not pretend to state the time or the cause of their
migration. Some of the states of the interior even call themselves
men of Menang Kabo, the chiefs receiving an investiture from that
place; indeed, the migration from Menang Kabo to the penin—
sula, although in driblets, goes on down to the present time. The
Malays of Borneo, in like manner with those of the peninsula,
claim their descent from the same Menang Kabo.

In further support of this we have the authority
of Mr. Braddell, the Attorney—General of the Straits
Settlements, a gentleman Whose long residence in
the country, and intimate knowledge of the lan—
guage and people, entitles his statement to be received
with the greatest respect. He, however, places
Singapore as the first seat of Malayan power 011 the
peninsula, and not Malacca. He says, in reference to
the singular fact of nine petty governments bordering,
on Malacca, that it is difficult to understand how these
little states, the whole of which, when taken together,
do not equal in size one of the recognised modern
Malay dominions, should have been established and
allowed to remain; and goes on to mention a tradi-
tion that soon after the foundation of the first Malay
empire at Singapore, by members of the Menang
Kabau, family in the twelfth century, a settlement
was made in Malacca by a chief who, with his
followers, had crossed from Sumatra. These people
married the women of the aborigines, and formed a
large colony, the people of which were called by the

 

334 “SARONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

old Dutch writers Menang Kabowcs. Afterwards
they divided into and formed the nine states, or, as
they are called, Nagri Sambilang.

If the View be correct that the first migration
eastward made by the Malays was to Malacca, we
can then understand how the first colonists would,
in accordance with their national habits of govern-
ment, land under their respective chiefs, spread
themselves in different localities, each chief inde-
pendent of the others, but all subordinate to the
parent state of Menang Kabau ; the fact of their
allegiance to so powerful a state preventing them
from being molested, and enabling them to maintain
their independence amidst the wars and changes
around them—a separate independence, which is a
source of great pride amongst them to the present
day.

\Ve may now pass on to take in rapid review the
intercourse carried on since the days of Marco Polo by
Europeans with the Malays and people of the Eastern
archipelago.

John the Second of Portugal, in the year 1484,
fitted out three ships, and placing them under the
command of Bartholomew Diaz, sent them out with
instructions to try and skirt, and, if possible, circum—
navigate the continent of Africa ; and about the same
time he despatched a tried soldier named Covilhan,
who had served in Africa, and was well acquainted
with the Arabic language, to make his way to India

 

VOYAGES TO THE EAST. 335

 

by the route of Egypt and the Red sea. Covilhan
learning from the Arabs of the great trade carried on
at Calicut, made his way to that port, and also to Goa,
which was then a great rendezvous for merchants from
all parts.

A few years later, in 149 7, Vasco di Gama made
his famous voyage from Lisbon, and rounding the
Cape of Good Hope sailed up the eastern shores of
Africa. He had visited the coast of India, and made
port at Calicut, giving to his nation the paramount
power of the Indian seas from Malacca to the Cape of
Good Hope, a power which was maintained for upwards
of a century.

It is worthy of notice in this voyage of Vasco di
Gama, that upon his arrival off Mozambique, he states
that they were visited by the natives in boats which
had sails made of palm. This roused the attention of
those on board, who looked upon it as a remarkable
circumstance, but their attention was taken in a more
significant manner in a few days time, for two men of
.a superior rank came on board, dressed in garments
of cotton, silk, and satin. This was the first infallible
token the voyagers round these unknown seas had
received of their approach to India, and hope glowed
in every heart. The language of their visitors was,
however, unknown to them, and the new arrivals could
not comprehend either the negro dialect or the Arabic
spoken by two of the voyagers, though one of them
seemed to have a slight knowledge of the latter tongue.

 

336 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

They conversed, however, with the Portuguese by
signs, and seemed to indicate that in the north they
had seen ships as large as that upon whose deck they
stood.

The point most noticed by these early navigators
was that their visitors were a different race of people
to those of Mozambique, which was at that time under
the government of Quiloa, whose sovereign ruled from
Sofala to Melinda, and over most of the neighbouring
isles.

Now, it seems quite possible that these men of
superior rank, who differed from the people of Mozam—
bique, were Malays. From their intercourse with
the Chinese, they could easily have been dressed, as
described, in silks; and might either have been
settlers, or merely there as the result of one of their
commercial voyages across the Indian ocean.

Later on—in 1503 or 1504—Benthcma gives a
description of his hazardous voyage, and of his
having proceeded from Borneo to Java, and from
thence on to Calicut, at which port he arrived in
1506, just seven years before the Portuguese reached
Malacca. This writer says that the people of India
were then no seamen, but entrusted their navigation
to foreign sailors, “ who were Mahomedans.” Here,
again, there seems little doubt but that these people
were Malays, who to this day are the Lascars of the
native vessels navigating the Eastern seas. He also
relates, respecting Calicut, there were then about

 

MALAOO'A. 337

 

fifteen thousand Arabs there, who also abounded in
Ceylon and on the Coromandel coast.

About this time the port of Goa having become of
considerable importance from its trade, and from its
being the rendezvous for the Mahomedans who came
from all parts of India and Ceylon to embark for
J eddah, to make their pilgrimage to Mecca, the
Portuguese had determined to occupy it, and it was
taken by Albuquerque in 1510, was recovered by the
Mahomedans the same year, and finally retaken by
the Portuguese in 1511.

In 1513 we arrive at very distinct and important
statements respecting the Malay peninsula ; for King
Emmanuel, of Portugal, thinking it to be his duty,
writes to inform the Pope of his successes in India, and
tells him how the Portuguese general, Albuquerque, had
sailed to the Aurea Chersonese, called by the natives
Malacca. He had found it an enormous city of twenty-
fivc thousand houses, and abounding in spices, gold,
pearls, and precious stones. This city he had attacked
twice; taken, slaughtered the Moors, sacked it, and
finally burnt the place. The king, who fought upon
an elephant, was wounded badly and fled. After this
the general built a fortress at the mouth of the river
flowing through the city, making the walls fifteen feet
thick, and using for the purpose the stones taken
from the ruined mosques. At that time there were
many foreign merchants at Malacca, including those

from Sumatra, Pegu, Java ? (Ja’aes), Gores, and the
Z

 

338 “S/IRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

extreme east of China. Great store was obtained from
the people by the conquerors; and upon hearing of
the fall of the city the king of Ansiam—meaning Siam,
called by the historian the most powerful monarch
of the east, from whom Malacca had been usurped by
the Moors—sent a golden cup, with a carbuncle and a
sword inlaid with gold, as a token of his friendly
feeling towards the conquerors. In return, Albu—
querque sent some of his ablest men with presents,
and instructions to explore the country for the benefit
of their faith.

Here then we have distinct proofs of the wealth,
power, and size of Malacca in the sixteenth century,
and allusion to its former position under the king of
Siam—a condition that has not been unfrequent with
Malay states ; instances being quite lately given of the
paying of tribute to the Siamese, who exact the gold
and silver flowers mentioned as of such exquisite
filigree work in an earlier chapter. The statement as
to the size of Malacca is quite possible, though the old
historian may have exaggerated; but at the present
day there is every trace of the city having once been
of great extent, while the eastern houses are of such ‘
a slight character that a conflagration would sweep
an enormous number away.

In 1589, less than one year after the defeat of the
Spanish Armada, a body of English merchants sent a
memorial in to the queen, asking for permission to
send ships to trade with India and examine the

 

THE EASTERN PASSAGE. 339

 

Portuguese settlements, with their occupations of
Malacca and certain islands of the archipelago. They
pointed out that there were a number of important
places that might be visited with advantage by English
ships. The queen, who was ever alive to the interests
of commerce, and ready to give the weight of her
authority, granted the petition, and three vessels sailed
in 1591, under the command of Captain George
Raymond. Hakluyt gives an account of this expedi-
tion, taken from the lips of Edward Barker, the
lieutenant of the voyage. Purchas gives another
account, derived from the purser, and other writers
have dealt with the subject; but all agree that the
vessels were overtaken by a storm and separated, that
the captain was never heard of again, and that after
many extraordinary adventrues—extraordinary then,
but matters of course to-day—the voyage was ac-
complished by Master James Lancaster. The ad—
venturers were disappointed in their speculation, but
the knowledge obtained of the feasibility of the scheme
encouraged others to make the attempt. This it is
stated, by more than one authority, was the first
English voyage to the East Indies. Accounts, how—
ever, of two previous voyages are to be found in
Purchas and Hakluyt—one having been undertaken
in 1579 by Thomas Stephens, and another in 1583
by Ralph—wherein the then novel accounts of the
peoples they encountered, with their trade, manners,
and customs are carefully described.

‘ z 2

 

340 “ SJRONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

The next voyage to the east of which there is any
account is that of Captain Benjamin Wood, in 1596——
a voyage that turned out to be most unfortunate.
Three ships were fitted out, mostly at the charge of
Sir Robert Dudley, and sailed from England the
bearers of Queen Elizabeth’s letter to the emperor of
China; but this attempt to open up trade with the
east failed, for not one of the company ever returned
to give an account of the fate that befel the rest. It
is a quaint specimen of the na‘iveté and simplicity of
the times that the letter borne by the little fleet re-
commended two merchants of London to the emperor,
and vouched for the probity of their dealings; at the
same time offering protection to any of the Chinese if
they liked to come and open a trade to any port in
Her Majesty’s dominions.

By the year 1600, the Portuguese, into Whose
hands had fallen the major part of the commerce in
the Straits of Malacca, now carried on a great trade
at Arracan in Pegu, Siam, Tenasserim, Quedah, and
other states in the peninsula. Sumatra was at that
time divided into so many separate kingdoms, the
most important of which was Acheen—the state that
has of late given so much trouble to the Dutch. The
king of this state besieged the Portuguese more than
once in their stronghold of Malacca, sending an
“ expedition of more than five hundred sail, one hun-
dred of which were of greater size than any then
constructed in Europe, and the warriors or mariners

 

THE AOHEEN KIN G. 341

 

which it bore amounted to sixty thousand, com-
manded in person by the king.”

The king of Acheen is described by Captain Best,
who voyaged there in 1613, as being—

A proper gallant man of warre ; of thirty-two years ; of middle
size ; full of spirit ; strong by sea and land ; his country populous ;
his elephants many, whereof we saw 160 or 180 at a time. His
gallies and frigates carry in them very good brasse ordnance, demi-
cannon, culverine, sakar, minion, 850. His building is stately and
spacious, though not strong; his court at Acheen pleasant, having
a goodly branch of the main river about and through his palace,
which branch he cut and brought six or eight mile off in twenty
days, while we continued at Acheen.

He desired the captain, whom he had called
Orang—Kaya—Puteh, or white lord, to commend him
to the king of England, and to entreat him to send
him two white women for his wives, saying that if he
had a son he would make him king of the coast from
whence the English fetched their pepper, so that they
should go no more to Calicut, but to their own
English king, for their commodities.

The narrative goes on to say : “ Wee all this while
dranke tobacco in a silver pipe given by his women,
which are in a close roome behind him ”—giving an
accurate account of the custom observed in an ordi-
nary Malay house to this day. Captain Best, how-
ever, does not speak very highly of the people he
encountered, saying that with their king they were
griping, base, and covetous; that the trade was bad;

 

342 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

and that any ship going to Acheen should be furnished
with some one who could speak Malay.

It should, however, in fairness to this monarch, be
said that, when visited at a somewhat earlier date by
Captain Lancaster, “ at an audience to take leave, the
king said to him: ‘Have you the Psalms of David
among you '2’ The captain answered : ‘ Yea, and we
sing them daily.’ Then said the king: ‘ I and the
rest of these nobles about me will sing a psalm to God
for your prosperity ;’ and so they did very solemnly ;
and after it was ended the king said: ‘I would have
you sing another psalm, although in your own lan—
guage ;’ so there being in the company some twelve
of us, we sang another psalm; and after the psalm
ended, we took leave, the king desiring God to bless
us on our journey, and to guide us safely into our
own country.”

We find, too, about this time, the first mention of
Johore, or, as it was called, Jhor, and Perak. The
Portuguese had another powerful enemy in the king
of the former country, who had formed a close alliance
with the king of Acheen by marrying his sister.
These kings united their forces in their attacks upon
Malacca, but were each time heroically repulsed by
what was, as compared to their own men, a mere
handful of Portuguese. These latter had, however, an
ally in the king of Perak, then a very powerful and
wealthy state, to which many ships resorted for trade.
On one occasion, in 1813, as related by Captain Best,

 

FIRST MENTION 0F PERAK. 343

 

the Shahbandar of Acheen had gone on an expedition
to this country, but had been driven from Perak by
the Portuguese, and as this officer had set off without
the knowledge of the king of Acheen, the latter con-
fiscated the Shahbandar’s state, making excuse that
he had gone to Perak, the home of his enemies.

Perak is again spoken of in the instructions given
by the East India Company to their factor, John
Jourdain, in 1614, where, in giving a list of the
places for trade in the cast, it is mentioned'in con-
nection with several better—known places, such as
Bengala, Pegu, and the Coromandel coast, and with
Malacca and Patani, both states of the peninsula;
while later on, when it was conquered by the
Acheenese, Perak is stated to have been possessed of
“ much wealth.”

The Portuguese were, in the face of these powerful
native enemies, whom, by their crusades against
Mahomedanism, they had converted into the most
bitter opponents, unable to maintain their position
for any great length of time in these seas; besides
which they had to contend against the jealous hatred
of the Dutch, who, readily gaining the friendship and
aid of these native princes against the Portuguese,
besieged them in Malacca in the year 1606 and 1608 ;
but though repulsed with loss on both occasions, in
the year 1641, after a blockade of nine months’
duration, the town fell into the hands of the Dutch,
and this was followed by the downfall of Portuguese

 

344 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

influence in the archipelago, after an occupation of one
hundred and thirty years.

It was while the Dutch were in possession of
Malacca, and, saving for the piracies, comparative
peace reigned in the archipelago, that M. De la Loubere
was despatehed by the French king as Envoy extra-
ordinary to the king of Siam, and his account of his
voyage, which is a most ably written narrative, was
afterwards published in France, and translated into
English in 1693. Soimportant a country as the
Malay peninsula, lying contingent to Siam, of course
did not elude his notice, and in describing it he

says :

In fine, the mountains which lie on the common frontiers of Ava,
Pegu, and Siam, gradually decreasing as they extend to the south,
do form the peninsula of India extra Gangemv, which, terminating
at the city of Sincapura, separates the gulfs of Siam and Bengala,
and which, with the island of Sumatra, form the famous Strait of
Malacca, or Sineapura. Several rivers defile from every part of
these mountains into the gulfs of Siam and Bengala, and render
their coasts habitable. Opposite to Camboya, viz. in the peninsula
extra Gangem, which lies on the west of the gulf of Siam, the
gulf of Siam extends to Quedah and Patana—the territories of the
Malayans, of which Malacca was formerly the metropolis.

In describing the boundaries of Siam, and
enumerating its provinces at that time, he includes
Jor (Johore), and Patani, going on to say that
“the governor of Jor renders obedience to the king
of Siam no longer, the Portuguese having given him
the title of king; and it may be he never intends to

 

TREATY WITH SIAM. 345

 

obey, unless the kingdom of Siam should extend itself
as relations declare, to the whole peninsula extra
Gangem. Jor is the most southern city thereof, seated
on a river which has its mouth at the cape of Sinca—
pura, and which forms a most excellent port.”
Furthermore, he says, in describing the peninsula

state, Patani :

The people of Patana live like those of Acheen in the island of
Sumatra, under the domination of a woman, whom they always
elect in the same family, and always old, to the end that she may
have no occasion to marry, and in the house of whom the most
trusty persons do rule. The Portuguese have likewise given her the
title of queen, and for tribute she sends to the king of Siam every
three years two small trees, the one of gold and the other of silver,
and both loaded with flowers and fruits ; but she owes not any
assistance to this prince in his wars. Whether these gold and
silver trees are a real homage, or only a respect to maintain the
liberty of commerce, as the king of Siam sends presents every
three years to the king of China, in consideration of trade only, I
cannot allege : but as the king of China honours himself with these
sort of presents, and takes them for a kind of homage, it may well
be that the king of Siam does not less value himself in the
presents he receives from the queen of Patana, although she be
not perhaps his vassal.

This gold and silver flower is the bzmgct comers,
given by some native states to the king of Siam to
this day as an evidence of tributary allegiance.

In De la Loubere’s book is a quaint but very
correct map of the Malayan peninsula, prepared by
M. Cassini, the Director of the Observatory of Paris
in 1668, from which is gathered the fact that Perak

. then continued to be looked upon as second only to

 

346 , “SARONG'” AND “KRIS.”

 

Malacca on the western coast. The river Perak is not
very correct in its representation, being made more to
resemble a tidal creek. This is doubtless due to the
information received that the rivers to the north
joined the Perak, which, in the case of the Juramas
and the Bruas is very nearly correct.

Perak has always maintained an independent posi—
tion, and has exhibited great pride of authority. After
the defeat of the Portuguese, however, it was overrun
by the Acheenese ; and its inhabitants were carried
away by thousands to repeople that part of Sumatra
after the many sanguinary wars in which the Malayan
kings of the state had been engaged. Later on, as
the power of the Acheen sovereigns was on the
decline, Perak again began to assert a powerful
independence, and was treated by the Dutch as a state
of some considerable importance during the whole of
their occupation of Malacca. Evil times how-
ever were in store for the country, and in the
year 1818 it was attacked by a very large, force from
.the state of Quedah, to the north, with which it
had always been on friendly terms. But the rajah of
Quedah, being a tributary of the king of Siam, and
Perak refusing to own all such allegiance, the rajah
of Quedah was ordered to invade the country, and
punish its Sultan for his contumacy. From this date
it is stated that the chiefs of Perak have always
resided on the left bank of the river.

The Siamese retained control over the country for

 

DISTURBANO’ES. 347
only four years, when the people of Perak formed an
alliance with Rajah Ibrahim, the powerful and warlike
chief of Salangore, by whose aid the Siamese authority
was overthrown in 1822. A few years later a treaty
on behalf of Perak was made by the English—mow
established in Malacca—with the king of Siam, which
provided that the country should be governed by the
Sultan according to his own will, and the British
power bound itself to protect Perak from attack on
the side of either Siam or Salangore ; but if the Perak
Sultan chose to send his tribute—gold and silver
flowers—to the King as of old, no interference was to
take place on the part of the English to prevent him.

Since then Perak has been in a‘state of chronic
anarchy and confusion, extending back for some time,
caused principally by disunion among the chiefs.
This culminated during the last few years in a dis—
turbance foreign really to the state, though it was of
such extent that the chiefs were necessarily mixed up
with it. For years past large numbers of the Chinese
had made their way into the country, pursuing various.
industries—becoming wood-cutters, charcoal and lime-
burners, gold-miners, and traders ; but the bulk were
employed at the tin mines of Laroot, where, after
various displays of petty jealousy, open warfare was
commenced between two rival factions of these people.

CHAPTER XXX.

The Laroot riots—The Muntri—Fresh disturbances—Rival factions
——British intervention—Insult to our flag—Sir Andrew Clarke——
Plans for pacifying—Disarmament of the Chinese—Chiefs’ dis-
putes—Proposal for Residents.

LAROOT, which has been so frequently mentioned in
these pages as the district in the north of Perak, has
been for some time ruled over by an officer or chief
known as the Muntri of Laroot, or, as it should be
more correctly, the Muntri of Perak; but his power
had of late become so great, and his connection with
the district in question so fully acknowledged, that he
was almost invariably spoken of as the chief of the
subsidiary place.

The late Muntri is the son of one Inchi Long
Jaafar, an enterprising man, who, prior to 1855, was
appointed by the then reigning sultan of Perak to
take charge of the Laroot district, which at that time
was limited to the river and the mines. He bore no
title, being a mere trader, whose dealings were with
the then small colony of Chinese miners who had
settled in the place; but by his keen management he

 

THE LAROOT RIOTS. 349

 

soon became a person of some importance. His duties
were appointed by the Sultan, and no doubt he had to
receive the greater part of the revenues of Laroot ; his
appointment being endorsed by every successive
Sultan. These revenues were the tithes of the rice
cultivation of the district, and later on, the tax or
royalty on the tin that was smelted, so that in time
his privilege became very valuable,,especially as for
some reason the district had its borders largely
augmented towards the south, and fresh Chinese were
constantly arriving to increase the workings, and of
course the produce of the tin.

The Sultans being careless, indolent men, and it
is believed unwilling to take the management of an
extensive district, now inhabited by large numbers of
Chinese, who were of a very factious nature, Inchi
Jaafar would have very little difficulty in keeping
them in ignorance of the vast revenue he was gradually
receiving, and kept them satisfied by means of large
presents given to them from time to time as tribute ,
so that he rapidly grew in power, wealth, and position
as ruler over this enormously rich district, and, it
seems, kept the Chinese miners in a good state of
subjugation till his death, when he was succeeded by
his son.

The Chinese, being a clannish people, were divided in
Laroot into two partiés, namely a body of Macao men, of
four districts, and one of Keh Chinese, of five districts,
the two parties being known as the See Kwan and the-

 

350 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

Go Kwan; and between these rival factions a serious
outbreak took place soon after the death of J aafar.
This ruler had held a nominal command over the
people, siding with neither faction; but as they
rapidly increased in numbers, and the disturbances
arose, the present chief, Nga Ibrahim, lost control
over them, and his power was set at naught.

At first during this period, the chief was merely in
correspondence spoken of as Nga Ibrahim, but shortly
after the Sultan promoted him to the high rank of one
of his four chief officers, making him Muntri of Perak ;
and before long he'was practically acknowledged to be
the independent ruler of the district between the rivers
Krean on the north, and Bruas on the south. His
political management was clever, for on the outbreak
of the great quarrel between the Chinese, when the
two parties were-quite beyond his control, he joined
one of the rival factions, and aided it by throwing the
Malay influence into the scale, thus reducing the other
party to submission.

This was in 1862, and was, not taking into con-
sideration minor quarrels, the commencement of the
disturbances in Laroot. After the fight, one of the
leaders of the defeated party, who was a British sub—
ject, raised a complaint to our Representative concern—
ing the destruction of his property at the mines ; and
the result of this was that his cause was espoused by
our Government, and a claim made by General
Cavenagh upon the Sultan for compensation to the,

 

BRITISH INTERVENTION. 351

 

defeated party to the amount of seventeen thousand
dollars. This was enforced by a blockade of the
Laroot river by a British man—of—war. The Sultan
replied that this money ought to be paid by the ruler
of Laroot ; and by him the indemnity was found. It
is considered that the title of Muntri was bestowed
upon him for supplying this large sum—but at all
events the honour was conferred; and subsequently
Laroot became one government, and the Muntri en-
joyed the revenues of the country, whose inhabitants
so increased that at the end of 1871 the Chinese
mining population was estimated at forty thousand,
and the value of the tin annually exported was some-
where about a million of dollars.

With the increasing strength of the Chinese, that
(of the Muntri began to fail. They made demands of
him which he yielded; for principally through the fact
of having sided with one party, he could not maintain
his prominent position as ruler over both; and so it
was that, though he was able to exact the regular
royalty paid to him on tin, the Chinese refused to pay
to him the revenues obtained through the gambling
farm on which he had levied dues, and also that
which had accrued to him from the sale of their
favourite drug opium. Further signs of contempt for
the Muntri’s power too were being shown; for one of
the great sugar-planters who rented the farms of the
Krean district refused to pay his rent, alleging that
the amounts were due to the Sultan, and not to the

 

352 '“ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

Muntri, whom he treated as a subordinate officer, and
not as the ruler of the district.

Soon after—that is in the beginning of 1872-—
fresh quarrels arose between the rival Chinese factions,
whose position had now altered so that the defeated
party had grown the stronger ; and consequently the
Muntri threw over his former allies, and sided with
his old enemies, with the result that the conquerors
of the preceding fight were beaten, and literally driven
out of the country.

Rumours of these fights reached England; but it
is probably not known what sanguinary engagements
they were, inasmuch as they were looked upon as the
petty riots of some Chinese, in an out-of-the—way part
of the world. But this is far from being a correct
idea of their extent. The Chinese are a busy, indus—
trious people, and, when in small numbers, are glad
to obtain the protection of the Malay chiefs; but as
soon as they are in sufficient strength, they display a
disposition to set that power at defiance, refusing to
acknowledge their rule over the mines, and declining
to pay the revenues ; but having no control over the
rivers by which they carry off their metallic produce,
they pay the royalties here to the Malay chiefs who
live on the banks and hold the stream under their
control. In their quarrels the Chinese run to great
excesses, and the disturbances between rival tribes
arise from small matters—a squabble between two
boys, or some case of petty jealousy—When the whole

 

THE LAROOT RIOTS. 353

 

party on either side will be drawn into the ensuing
fight

In the autumn of 1872 the Go Kwans who had
been expelled, and had spent their time in warlike
preparations, made an effort to regain their position.
Arms and ammunition were sent up the Laroot river,
and at last a desperate attack was made upon the
faction in possession of the mines. The engagement
seems to have been most sanguinary ; three thousand
Chinamen are said to have lost their lives. The way
of retreat was strewn with dead bodies; and great
numbers of fugitives, many of whom were wounded,
made their way to Penang, while the conquerors
installed themselves at the mines. The Muntri again
espoused the cause of the victorious party, which was
strongly aided by the Chinese merchants in various
parts, who equipped junks, and furnished the sinews
of war; but so little was this state of affairs appreciated
by the more wealthy and thoughtful Chinamen, that
one leading man is reported to have said: “ When
the British flag is seen over Perak or Laroot, every
Chinaman will go down on his knees and bless God I ”

In this latter disturbance fighting men were
recruited from China; while on the side of the
Muntri, and for the preservation of law and order,
the Chief of Police in the district, Captain Speedy,
with one hundred men, went to his aid ; but on the
whole the effect produced was not very great, for in

spite of the moral support of the Government and the
2 A

 

354 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRfS.”

 

aid of Captain Speedy’s trained men, the Muntri’s
enemies could not be driven from the country ; while,
being short of provisions, they took to sending out
large row-boats to forage. But from this they gradually
took to genuine piracy; till, in 1873, they were attack-
ing everything that came in their way, and committing
such atrocities that finally the Government was forced
to seriously interfere.

Prior to this, though, attempts had been made
to settle the difficulties ; for in September, 1873,
HHMS. T halia and Midge proceeded to the scene of
these piracies, and sailing up the Laroot river, were
fired upon by the pirates, and, after various little
encounters, proceeded to attack the powerful stockade
which defended the stream, in company with well-
manned row—boats; the enemy firing from muskets, and
also sending rounds of grape from their larger guns.
The engagement was continued for some time, when
our forces were drawn off, the stockade not having
been destroyed, though great loss was inflicted upon
the enemy, ours being confined to two sub-lieutenants
dangerously wounded.

This gross insult to our flag demanded immediate
action; and a few days later H.M.S. Midge, in com—
pany with the boats of the Thalia, ascended the river,
where they were soon within reach of the pirates,
who received them with the fire of three large war—
junks and that of a strong stockade. Our forces were
not long in replying, and soon after the boats dashed

 

BRITISH INTERVENTION. 355

 

in ; the junks were boarded, and the stockade carried,
with very little less to ourselves; while finally the
junks and a second stockade were totally destroyed.

The Chinese were well armed, mounting, as they
did, some five-and-twenty guns, though of small
calibre, and having plenty of Snider rifles. They
however were very severely punished, and the town
of Laroot surrendered unconditionally, with nearly
four thousand men; and the report of the officers in
command stated that everything was done for the
relief of the enemy’s wounded; while, as a specimen
of the fighting powers of these Chinese pirates as
opposed to our seamen and marines, our losses were
only two men wounded, as in the previous action.

This was a severe lesson to the piratical party,
but it proved impossible to capture their swift row—
boats, which evaded pursuit in the various creeks
with which the coast here is intersected; and soon
after the departure of the men-of—war the action of
the Chinese became bolder and more serious than
ever, while the fighting was renewed.

Such being the state of the country, steps were
absolutely necessary on the part of the Government to
prevent the contagion from spreading to our own
Settlements, especially to Penang and Singapore,
where the Chinese had many sympathisers, and from
whence the rival tribes were frequently receiving
supplies of men, arms, and ammunition; the result

being constant attacks upon defenceless trading—boats
2 A 2

 

356 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

passing up and down the Straits. In fact, these Straits
——-notorious for their Malay piracies—were now gain-
ing an evil name for those perpetrated by the subjects
of the Celestial Empire. To so great an extent were
these proceedings carried, that attacks were planned
and carried out upon our own isolated police stations,
and notably upon the light-keeper and his party at
the lighthouse at Cape Rachado.

This being the state of affairs on the accession of
Sir Andrew Clarke to the governorship in November,
1873, he proceeded to try and obtain a settlement of
the disturbances by dealing personally with the
matter, and procuring a general peace in the troubled
districts ; for it was believed that the Chinese factions,
whose fighting had degenerated from a little war into
open piracy, must have now suffered to such an
extent as to be willing to make terms for the general
and peaceable occupation of the mines, “if they
could be relieved from the complications arising out
of their alliances with the contending Malay parties ;”
for at this time influence on the part of eX—Sultan
Ismail was being brought to bear against the Muntri
of Laroot, who had grown too powerful and rich to
give satisfaction to the princes of the country, of
which his Was, after all, but a division.

To further these arrangements the Governor
decided to go from Singapore to Perak, to discuss
the troubles with the Perak chiefs; but first it
was necessary that all fighting should cease.

 

SIR ANDREW CLARKE. 357

 

Mr. Pickering, one of our officers, who, from his inti-
mate knowledge of the Chinese language and customs,
had obtained great influence with the Chinese of the
Settlements, was then sent to Penang, where he
conferred with the head men, to find out whether
they were Willing to come to terms with each other,
disarm, and let the arbitration of their disputes be
arranged by Government. Mr. Pickering succeeded
most fully. The head men agreed to leave their
differences to be settled by the Governor, and to
give up their arms. Whereupon Captain Dunlop
and the writer were despatched to carry out the dis-
armament, and receive all arms and row-boats, and at
the same time to obtain such information as was
possible respecting the dispute then existing amongst
the Perak chiefs, as to the right of succession to the
country. After some difficulties this was done, and
the chiefs of Perak, and the leading men of the
Chinese, met the Governor at the Dindings, where, as
regarded the preservation of peace in Perak itself, it
was decided that the Rajah Muda Abdullah should
become Sultan, and in spite of his vacillating be-
haviour with the Chinese, it was thought better in the
interests of peace that the Muntri’s appointment
should be ratified as governor of Laroot, and these
arrangements were made to the exclusion of Ismail,
with the full assent of the Perak chiefs.

In dealing with the Chinese difficulty the rivers
were searched in pursuit of row-boats and arms;

 

358 “SITRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

among the guns taken being a Krupp. A number of
women and children, who were kept in a state of
slavery, were searched for, so as to set them at liberty,
which was subsequently done; and the leading Chinese,
many of whom were men of property, bound them-
selves over to preserve peace towards each other and
towards the Malays, in a penalty of fifty thousand
dollars, and furthermore undertook to disarm and
destroy all their stockades. For the further settle-
ment of all difficulties, three officers were appointed,
with the full consent of the Sultan, to settle all points
of disagreement with respect to the mines, and who
were to discover and set free the women and children;
the Chinese agreeing to accept the decisions of these
officers as final.

Following upon this, the result of the discussion,
and the feeling of the Malay chiefs that they could not
of themselves deal with the Chinese immigrants, was
that the Sultan Abdullah requested the Governor to
appoint Residents in the country. This, with the full
consent of the native princes, was done; a Resident
being appointed at the Sultan’s court at Perak, and an
Assistant-resident at Laroot ; the expenses connected
with which appointments were to be borne out of
the revenue of the state. The two Residents were
Mr. J. W. W. Birch and Captain Speedy; the former
taking up his abode at Banda Baru, and the latter
as Assistant-resident at Laroot. Their duties were to

 

PLANS FOR PAOIFYING. 359

 

advise the respective rulers in matters of revenue, and
those of a judicial character especially. Mr. Birch was
a man of great experience and knowledge of the people,
and had held high administrative and judicial offices
at Ceylon and Singapore; and, had he lived, would
have greatly added to the development and prosperity
of Perak. Captain Speedy had been busily engaged,
with the hundred trained men under his command, in
assisting, as Chief of the Police, in putting down the
disturbances on the Laroot river—boarding junks,
making seizures, and the like, and acting generally
on the side of law and order on behalf of the Muntri
of the country. This oflicer’s position now as a
partisan chief of armed men being no longer tenable
in Laroot, and the necessity for the disposal of his
body of fighting men having arisen, he was formally
appointed the Assistant-resident, and his men dis-
charged and re—enlisted as the Resident’s Guard. For
it was considered that this ofiicer, being held in high
respect by both the Malays and the Chinese, would——
now that he was freed from all engagements with the
Muntri, and acting under government —become a
power, from his knowledge and his influence with the
above chief, in the pacification and management
this part of the country.

These arrangements having been made, all that
was now necessary was to send back the disarmed
men and boats to Laroot, towed by two steamers ; and

 

360 “5,1301%; " AND “ KRI‘s.”

 

the miners, satisfied of the peace that was in future to
reign, returned cheerfully to their avocations at the
mines.

In this way, then, was a serious chain of outbreaks
———begun by the Chinese, but With which the Malay
chiefs had gradually embroiled themselves—on the
disputed question of the right of succession and the
position of the Muntri of Laroot, brought to an end ;
while, had the new Sultan proved, in his fresh career,
equal to the opinions formed respecting him by Sir
Andrew Clarke, when only Rajah Muda, or next in
succession, a career cf' prosperity would have begun
for the country, in place of the troubles which sub-
sequently had place.

CHAPTER XXXI.

The Pangkore treaty—Deposition of Sultan Ismail-Sultan Abdullah
—Mr. Birch’s appointment—Troubles with the Sultan—His
rcproof by the Governor—The proclamations—The murder of
Mr. Birch—Lieut. Abbott and Mr. Swettenham at the Residency.

THE engagement made with the chiefs, as described in
the last chapter, was signed on January 20th, 1874,
and was called the Pangkore Treaty, and among the
arrangements embraced by it, the acting Sultan Ismail
was allowed to retain the title of Sultan Muda only,
and had a pension and a certain small territory
assigned to him suitable to his position as eX—Sultan.
The rest of the treaty was taken up with questions of
boundary, the payment of the Residents, the appoint—
ment of native officers, and matters of revenue and
the collection thereof.

The eX-Sultan Ismail was deposed, but he had only
been intended, it seems, to be a temporary occupant of
the throne on the death of the late Sultan ; for he was
not of the blood—royal, and his only claim to the
position was that he had married into the royal family,
and when placed in the ruling seat he was kept there by
intrigue. He had occupied important positions during

 

362 “ SIIRONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

the past two reigns, and from his high office and
age seemed to be a suitable man for temporarily
occupying the throne ; while once there, as he inter-
fcred scarcely at all with the matters of government,
living a retired life far up the country on the Perak
river, it is probable that the principal chiefs wished to
keep matters as they were, and therefore resisted the
claims of the Rajah Muda Abdullah, to the disturbance
of the state.

These difficulties it was the Governor’s aim to end,
and after his discussion with the chiefs wherein it
was elicited that the claims of Ismail were not good,
and that his position as sultan would, if continued,
lead to the continuance of the troubled state of the
country, proceedings went on for the confirmation
of the Rajah Muda Abdullah as sultan of Perak ; and
here it will be interesting to the reader to have the
portion of the discussion relating to this matter as
given by Mr. Braddell, the Attorney—General of the
Straits Settlements, in his report of the proceedings
at Perak and Laroot on the occasion of the Governor’s
Visit.

The Governor then asked all present: If the Rajah Muda accepts
the Sultanship, are there enough great men of the country present
to confirm him? To which there appeared to be a general assent ;
but the Muntri fenced, and at last, on being pressed, he said I
think there are enough, if the Rajah Muda thinks he ought to be
made Sultan.

The Governor then addressed the whole assembly and intreated
them to state if there was any objection to the Rajah Muda as

 

DEPOSITION 0F ISMAIL. 363

 

Sultan, and did they know of any other person who should be
installed? The Muntri said, whatever the Bandahara says, I am
bound to obey.

The GOVERNOR. But tell me your own opinion.

The MUNTRI. The proper thing would be to inquire of all the
inhabitants of the country. '

The GOVERNOR. Have you ever heard of the people (ryots)
being consulted in a Malay country as to who is to be king?

The MUNTRI. When Ismail was chosen the people were there,
and, I suppose, took a part in the business. (This, however, was
denied by the other chiefs.)

At this time the Laksamana arrived, and took his place.

The GOVERNOR. What would become of Ismail if the Rajah
Muda is made Sultan?

The Muntri said he did not know ; but the Laksamana
said, in times gone by there had been err-Sultans, called Sultan
Muda, as the present Rajah Muda’s grandfather was, and Ismail
might have a revenue, and a small district to govern as Sultan
Muda.

The GOVERNOR. What ceremonies should be performed for the
installation of the Rajah Muda as Sultan?

The LAKSAMANA. He should be crowned at Banda, in the Perak—
river ; and even if some of the great men were not present, it would
suffice if the Bandahara and Rajah Muda were present.

On this the Governor asked all: Are you ready to have the
questions as to Ismail and the Rajah Muda settled now?

The LAKSAMANA. How about those who are not here?

The GOVERNOR. This point has already been discussed. Are
you yourself willing to give your adhesion to the Rajah Muda as
Sultan ?

The LAKSAMANA. Individually, yes.

The BANDAHARA. Yes.

RAJA OSMAN. Yes.

RAJA ABBAs. Yes.

The MUNTRI. If the people like it I have no place, I of course
follow them.

The TUMONGONG. I follow the course of the Bandahara.

The DATOH GAPAR. Same as Tumongong.

 

364: “ SERONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

The MAKOTAH. I follow the Bandahara.

The DATOH ROUAH. Yes.

The SHAHBANDAR. I will follow the Raja Muda.

Hajee Hussain and Hajee Mohamed Syed and five others all
agreed.

The GOVERNOR. Does Ismail take any interest in the govern-
ment of the country?

The BANDAHARA. He lives a retired life.

The Governor then said that what they had been discussing
would form the subject of a treaty, and asked them to name
deputies to attend for them.

All agreed.

The following were then chosen : Rajah Muda, Bandahara,
,Laksamana, Muntri, and Shahbandar ; and at the request of the
Muntri, his friend the Tumongong was added.

The Muntri, on being asked to state anything he might have
in his mind, said : “As to the succession I have nothing further to
.say.”

On this, sireh and tea was served, and the conference broke up.

Great expectations were formed of the result of
this Pangkore treaty; but shortly after Mr. Birch
had taken up his residence in Perak, troubles began;
for the Governor was soon obliged to write to the
Sultan, complaining of his not taking the advice of
the Resident, and calling him to account for breaking
the solemn promises he had made. In fact, it seems
that, from the first, great dissatisfaction was felt by
both the Sultan and chiefs who had signed, and they
objected strongly to Mr. Birch’s plans for collecting
the revenue. Later on, a full and comprehensive
scheme for this purpose was laid before the Sultan——
one that had the approval of the Governor—but it
found no favour with the ruler and chiefs of Perak.

 

TROUBLES WITH THE SULTAN. 365

 

In fact, Mr. Birch soon found that he had a task
of a most onerous nature in dealing with a man Whom
he describes as being eminently silly and foolish, and
one who indulged largely in opium. He could hardly
ever be kept to a subject for any time when on ques-
tions of great import to the state, but was, with
childish vanity, constantly asking questions and draw-
ing attention to his dress. In short, he was a weak
sensual man, whose sole thoughts were devoted to his
‘ own gratification when not taken up by trifling
matters of the time.

At the end of a year namely in January, 1875——
Mr. Birch was so out of favour with the Sultan that
the latter wrote to eX-Sultan Ismail not to sign
the Pangkore treaty, lest it should strengthen the-
Resident’s authority in Perak. In fact, on other
occasions, the Sultan showed a disposition to take
part with his old opponent Ismail against the Resi-
dent; and as time were on, ominous little signs began
to tell of the coming of mischief. The Maharajah
Lela, a powerful chief, began to erect a strong stockade
round his house at Passir Sala. The Muntri of Laroot
took precautions for the safety of his family by re-
moving them from Durian Sabatang to Laroot ; while
in many other instances little clouds began to form,

 

indicative of the coming storm.

At last, in April, Sir Andrew Clarke wrote another
letter to the Sultan, reproving him for his resistance
to the reforms proposed by Mr. Birch, and telling him

 

366 “SARONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

that he was breaking the Pangkore treaty. At the
same time he enclosed a proclamation under his own
hand, which warned all men against collecting the
revenue in any form excepting only such as were ap—
pointed by the Resident. Soon after this the Sultan
sent to the Governor at Singapore, making complaints
against Mr. Birch, so as to get him removed from the
Residency ; but Sir Andrew Clarke declined to inter-
fere, as he was leaving the Straits. This letter not
succeeding, and being still more embittered against
the Resident, who was pressing him to sign certain
papers in connection with his scheme of taxation, it
seems that the Sultan called together his chiefs at
Durian Sabatang ; and it is believed that at that time it
was decided to kill Mr. Birch, and, by a combination
of the people, to attack Banda Baru, and drive the
English completely out of Perak.

Later on—that is in September, 1875—Sir \Villiam
.Jervois, having now succeeded Sir Andrew Clarke as
Governor, visited Perak, and, during his progress
through the country, made proposals both to the eX-
Sultan at Blanja, and to Sultan Abdullah at Banda
Baru, that the country should be handed over to the
management of British officers ; proposing certain
allowances for the chiefs if they agreed to the arrange-
ment, as this seemed to him the only way of settling
the knot into which afiairs had run : for the treaty was
openly violated, the government was wretched, slavery
ran riot, and Mr. Birch had embittered himself still

 

THE PROOLAMATIONS. 367

 

more by interfering in certain slavery matters. After
consideration, the ex-Sultan Ismail refused these pro-
posals, and declared that he was not bound by the
Pangkore treaty, while Abdullah expressed his wish to
abide by the treaty, but asked for time for considera-
tion, and received fifteen days.

At last the proposals were accepted by the Sultan,
and he received a promise in writing from Mr. Birch
that he should be paid two thousand dollars per
’ month. On the same day a letter was brought to
Abdullah, by the colonial steamer, consenting that
the government should be carried on in the Sultan’s
name ; another letter being at the same time conveyed
to Mr. Birch for the Rajah Muda, or heir to the
throne, Yusuf, offering to make him sultan if Abdullah
had declined the Governor’s proposals as to the
government. Matters however still hung fire, the
Sultan hesitating to sign the proclamations placed
before him by Mr. Birch, and it was only under the
pressure of a threat to send the Governor’s letter to
Yusuf that the Sultan affixed to the proclamations his
chop, or seal.

One of these proclamations, in the name of the
Sultan, announced to the people of the country that
it had been found advisable to place the land for its
better government in the hands of British officers, who
were to try cases; but in matters of life and death
no capital sentence could be executed without the
Sultan’s consent. The other proclamation dealt with

 

368 “ SJlRONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

the new arrangements to be made as to the gathering
of the revenue, and stopping the illegal squeezing
carried on by the chiefs. Following upon these, a
proclamation was issued by :the Governor at Singa-
pore, and was afterwards sent up to Mr. Birch. But
meanwhile troubles were thickening. Three slave
women had fled from the Sultan, and sought and
obtained protection at the Residency; the Sultan
was receiving visits from his chiefs, and is believed to
have given his signed consent to the murder of Mr.
Birch. Then the women were claimed, and consent
was given for them to go; but Mr. Birch declared
that, now he held full authority from the Sultan, he
should interfere if the women required his protection.

The plot too was thickening in another direction;
for communications were being opened up with ex—
Sultan Ismail, and it was in consideration what steps
should be taken to defeat the British authority. At
last matters came to a climax; for soon after, that
is at the end of October, copies of the Governor’s and
the Sultan’s proclamations were brought to the
Residency at Banda Barn, and were posted under
a salute of twenty-one guns; while just about the
same time, bullets were being made, powder obtained,
and men were gathered preparatory to a rising.

On the 1st November Mr. Birch ascended the river
Perak in his dragon boat, the same given in the illus-
tration. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Abbott,
R.N., and a small native guard, in a large and small

 

MURDER OF ME. BIRCH. 369

 

boat, as escort; and they made their way up to Passir
Sala, where, as soon as it was known that they had
arrived, announcements were sent round in all direc-
tions. Passir Sala was the residence of the Maharajah
Lela, a chief who had shown all through a most
determined opposition to the Governor’s proposed new
method of administering the affairs of the country;
but so little was danger apprehended, that the two
officers dined and slept that night on board the
Resident’s boat, in the belief of their absolute security.

The next morning—a memorable one in the history
of PerakwLieutenant Abbott crossed the river for
awhile to shoot, and Mr. Birch shortly after sent Arshad,
his interpreter, into the village of Passir Sala, to post
the Governor’s and Sultan’s proclamations. This was
resented, however, by the Malays, who kept tearing
them down as fast as they were posted up; which
so enraged the interpreter that at last he struck one of
their number with a stick, an indignity which was at
once resented with the kris, and the poor fellow ran
bleeding to the river and jumped in. This was the
spark that set fire to the train; a cry of amok
immediately ensued, and the infuriated Malays, armed
with spears and krises, made a rush in a body down
to the river-bank, Where Mr. Birch was ashore at the
bathing-house, his orderly being on guard with a
revolver. He let his leader, however, be taken com-
pletely by surprise, and at a great disadvantage, leaping
into the river, holding up his revolver, and swimming

2 B

 

370 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

for his life. Mr. Birch was a lithe active man, of un-
daunted bravery, and had he been in the boat, where
he was well provided with firearms and spears, he
would have sold his life most dearly. As it was he was
savagely attacked, some of the Malays driving their
keen limbings through the rattan mat that formed a
screen, while others went to the end of the bath, and,
as the wounded Resident struggled up out of the
water, one man cut at him with a sword, when he
sank, and for the time being was seen no more.
Meanwhile Arshad, wounded as he was, made for
the dragon boat, and got hold of the gunwale, trying
to sustain himself; when two of the Malays jumped
into the boat, and cut at him with their swords till he
lost his hold, and floated down the stream to be
picked up by the coxswain of Mr. Birch ; who had in
the mélée swum off to one of the two boats which
accompanied the dragon, and who now tried to save
the interpreter, and dragged him in. A portion of the
escort of Sepoys were in this boat, and they now
commenced firing at the Malays, driving them off
for the time; but as this boat now dropped down
the stream they took courage and followed, firing at
the guard; and then taking a sampan, they crossed the
river and began firing again, scaring the escort so that
they took to the water. A few more shots were ex-
changed, and then the small boat was allowed to
proceed in peace; but before they had gone much
farther it was found that the interpreter, who by his

 

MURDER 0F MR. BIRCH. 371

 

rash act had commenced the trouble, was dead, while
several of the Sepoys and boatmen were killed and
wounded, the larger boat having been sunk during the
disturbance.

The native guard had been ordered by Mr. Birch
not to use their firearms, for he had said if the Malays
made a disturbance he would leave. In fact, the
men were cleaning their rifles, and were so taken by
surprise by the large party of well—armed Malays that
resistance seems to have been the last thing dreamed
of; while the whole attack was so sudden and un-
expected that nothing seems to have been done to save
Mr. Birch; the English companion on whose aid he
could have counted, and without whose lead the
Sepoys seem to have been helpless, being far away.

As soon as the disturbance was over, Mr. Birch’s
dragon boat was taken by one of the chiefs for a short
distance down the stream, and plundered; the principal
part of the Resident’s things being afterwards found
in the house of the Maharajah Lela, who was con-
sidered to be the leading spirit in the attack, aided by
another chief, known as the Datu Sager; and proof is
not wanting of the preparations that had been made
for the cowardly attack. No doubt the train was
already laid, and it wanted but the spark to be
applied. In fact, just before his death, Mr. Birch had
noticed a body of about forty Malays, all armed with
spears and krises, crowding towards his boat, and

warned them to keep away; but he evidently felt so
2 B 2

 

372 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

secure that he took no further heed to their proximity,
although such a gathering was unusual. The excuse
for the rising was furnished by the interpreter’s act,
one which he paid for dearly in the loss of his own
life ; while he was the immediate cause of the death of
a valuable public officer, whose body was some four
days afterwards taken away, towed behind a boat, by
some Bugis men, and was afterwards found ashore in
the jungle, about two hundred yards from the river, by
Rajah Dein, a Bugis.

Lieutenant Abbott was in the meantime unaware
of what had taken place, being absent for about three
hours, shooting on the farther shore; but, on his
return to the river, he was met by the Datu Sagor,
who had but a short time before taken part in the
émeute, and now told the lieutenant that there had
been a disturbance at Passir Sala, advising him to
take refuge in the jungle, as his life was not safe for
a minute where he then was.

This advice savoured strongly of treachery; for,
under the circumstances, concealment in the jungle
would have been a very hopeless proceeding, and
must have resulted in the fugitive being hunted out
and shot down. It is evident that Lieutenant Abbott
took this view of the position—~alone there with his one
and rejecting this advice, and feeling that
with his leader and escort gone, his best plan was to
flee to the Residency, he watched his opportunity, and
seized a small canoe, or dug—out, in which he and his

companion

 

 

LIEUT. ABBOTT AND ME. SWETTENHAM. 373

 

follower embarked, and paddled off into mid—stream,
so as to allow it to drop down with the current to
Banda Baru.

If he had had any doubt before of the wisdom of
trusting to himself, instead of the Datu Sager, it was
swept away directly; for fire was opened upon him
from both banks, the gauntlet of which he ran till he
was beyond the reach of the Malays, and arrived at
the Residency in safety, Where he at once made up his
mind to put it in a state of defence. Fearing that an,
attack would soon follow, he called in all the Sepoys
and police to the small island upon which the Resi-
dency was built. Mr. Swettenham, of the Straits
Civil Service, who had a few days previously ascended
the river, for some distance, on the same mission of
posting the proclamations, heard on his way back of
the events at Passir Sala, where he was told that the
Malays were on the look—out to kill him. He, too, was
advised by a friendly rajah; but the advice he received
was not to land, but to retreat; and this he did, making
the best of his way down the river under the cover of
the night, an unusual mist fortunately prevailing at
the time when he reached Passir Sala, and concealing
his little craft till he was safely by; and he finally
succeeded in joining Lieutenant Abbott at the Resi-
dency. Thereupon the determination was made to
hold the place, and defend the flag to the last.

The island being only separated by a small creek
from the bank of the river, and having but sixty men

 

374: “SleONG” AND “KRI .”

 

at his disposal, Lieutenant Abbott entrenched his posi-
tion, told off his four seamen to the native detach-
ments to work the field-pieces on the spot, and
generally put the place in a good state for resisting
the enemy. But previous to this being fully accom-
plished he had written to the Sultan, telling him of‘
the murder of Mr. Birch, and asking him to collect,
men and come to his assistance. To this Abdullah
responded by coming at once, accompanied by the
Laksamana, the Shahbandar, and a large following. Mr-
Swettenham, however, did not feel full confidence in
the presence of these Malay chiefs and their followers
in the little British camp, where they might easily
convey information to the enemy ; and, consequently,
while accepting their services, requested them politely,
but with firmness, to move lower down the river, ready
to act when called upon, and this was acceded to at
once.

CHAPTER XXXII.

The attack on Passir Sala—Repulse—Burial of Mr. Birch and Cap-
tain Innes ——Prdceedings of the Government—Reinforcements
from China—Capture of Passir Sala—Mr. Birch’s dragon boat
———Troops from India—Proceedings of the northern column——
Qualla Kungsa and Kota Lamah.

THE position of the young Englishmen at the Resi-
dency was a perilous one ; but their prompt behaviour
was not without its influence on the people, and they
were not long left in suspense; for the news having '
been conveyed to Penang by Captain Welner, of the
Straits Government steamer Pluto, the Lieutenant-
governor lost not a moment in sending of a detach-
ment of Her Majesty’s 10th Foot, and some police,
under the local head of the force, the Hon. H.
Plunket. At the same time, Captain lnnes, of the
Royal Engineers, an oflicer of great judgment, was
sent to act as commissioner, and Mr. Kynnersley, of
the Straits Civil Service, as interpreter. The news of
the coming of these reinforcements was conveyed in a
letter from Captain Innes, and was gladly received at
the Residency, as it contained the information that the
little force would be at Banda Baru on the following

 

376 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

day. On the arrival of the troops no time was lost,
preparations being hurried on; and Mr. Swettcn-
ham’s plan for attacking the enemy by sending a
small force up each bank of the river, supported by
two guns lashed in the boats, was generally approved,
while rockets were also to be taken in the boats for use
if required.

It was at this time that the body of Mr. Birch was
brought in, the Bugis who were its bearers giving
information of there being a strong stockade at Passir
Sala, and another four or five hundred yards inland.

The party marched to the attack on November 7th,
preceded by Malay scouts, and accompanied by a rocket
party with four blue—jackets, the troops being under
the command of Captain Booth and Lieutenant Elliot.
On approaching the stockade, the attacking party had
many difficulties to hinder them—the thickness of the
field of Indian corn and padi, and the trees, fences, and
height of the stockade, which, in spite of their efforts,
was but little injured by the rocket party. A heavy
fire was opened upon the little force as soon as they
came within range of the stockade, which was found
to be held in force; and in spite of the vigorous
reply of our troops, the men fell fast. But the
advance was still kept up until the infantry were close
up to the Malay stronghold, when Lieutenant Elliot
was wounded severely, and his party fell back behind a
tree. The firing was however still kept on, and
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ATTACK 0N PASSIB, SALA. 377

 

being carried to the tree where the lieutenant was taken,
it was found that Captain Booth was also wounded,
and the lieutenant and Captain Innes had both been
taken to the rear, the latter shot through the heart.

Under these circumstances, three officers of the
little force being bars ole combat, it was considered
wiser to retire until reinforcements could be prOcured;
and after carrying the wounded to the rear, a volley
was fired into the stockade, and the little party, bur-
‘ dened with its injured men, steadily began to retreat.
They had a distance of about a couple of miles to
traverse to reach the boats, where all were embarked,
and proceeded to the Residency, the Malays being
satisfied with beating off the attack, and making no
attempt at pursuit, or even at hindering there-embar-
kation.

This was a severe repulse, the losses of the little
force being no less than seventeen killed and wounded,
two of the killed being Captain Innes and a man of the
10th, whose body afterwards floated down the river,
shot through the head and chest. Fortunately, how-
ever, surgical assistance was at hand, and the wounded
were well attended to.

Mr. Birch was buried beneath the palms close by.
the Residency—a faithful representation of the place.
being given in the accompanying engraving, produced
from the series of photographs taken by the writer
during one of his visits to Banda Baru.

This spot was chosen for Mr. Birch’s interment, as

 

378 “SARONG'” AND “KRIS.”

 

being one of the portions of the jungle which he had
cleared for about two or three hundred yards along
the bank for the site of the new Residency he meant
to build, where the barracks, armoury, and magazine
had been established, as shown in the cut, with a
police station a little lower down. On the occasion of
the bringing in of the body, and its interment, the
people, who were greatly attached to their leader,
made bitter lamentation. It was an impressive scene,
the more especially as it took place at a time of peril,
when no man felt that his life was safe. The service
was read by Mr. lSwettenham, and due military
honours were accorded to the fallen man, three volleys
being fired by the Sikhs over his grave just as the
sun was sinking. Only a short time later the ground
had to be again disturbed to form a grave for Captain
lnnes, who was buried with the same ceremonies
beside Mr. Birch, as the moon was rising on the night
of the day on which he fell.

A few days later the Governor visited Perak in
person, bringing with him in HHMS. Fly, Captain
Bruce, a detachment of HM. 80th Foot with some
artillery, and leaving his instructions with Major
Dunlop, R.A., who had come up as Commissioner, he
sent on also H.M.S. T histle, Captain Stirling, which
was then at Klang, farther down the coast. Prior,
however, to leaving Singapore, the Governor had in—
structed the Colonial Secretary, Mr. C. J. Irving, to
telegraph to Hong Kong for more troops, and to

 

REINFORCEMENTS FROM CHINA. 379

 

summon H.M.S. Modeste from Labuan; and with
praiseworthy despatch General Colborne arrived at
Singapore by the 16th, with three hundred of HM.
80th Foot.

But before the general had had time to leave
Singapore, Major Dunlop and Captain Stirling had
concerted measures for a combined attack upon Passir
Sala by land and water. At the same time it may be
mentioned in passing, that the Governor’s idea for
' reducing the Malays: to submission was for one force
to proceed up the river by Passir Sala, while another
crossed the country from the Laroot river to Qualla
Kungsa, so as to proceed down the Perak river—these
two points giving a practical control of the country.

Major Dunlop and Captain Stirling’s plan was
carried out on November 16th, and in this attack
upon Passir Sala, Sultan Abdullah, who had been
applied to for help against the rebellious chiefs:
furnished sixteen boats for the transport of the men
and artillery, but without “ polers.” This difficulty
was however got over by the seamen, though it was
an onerous duty for men unaccustomed to the work,
and in a sharp stream. The plans were well carried
out, Captain Stirling’s naval force taking up its position
in the river, and Major Dunlop’s land forces theirs
near Passir Panjang, bugle signals being arranged so
as to keep up the co—operation when the two forces.
were separated. The fire was opened from the stockade
upon the boats in the river, and vigorously kept up

 

380 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

on both sides ; while leaving the jungle, the land forces
advanced through the thick Indian corn till fire was
opened upon them. Then a gun (a 12-pound howitzer)
was brought up, and after four or five rounds of case—
shot had. been discharged into the stockade its fire was
silenced, and the troops dashed in to find it deserted.
It was a strong place, with deep ditch, earth-work,
wattled fence, and pointed bamboos, while it was
armed with a large iron gun and a small pivot
“ lelah.”

These guns were spiked and thrown into the river,
and the force then moved on through a dense plantation
of bananas till fire was opened upon them from another
stockade, a short distance from the spot where Mr.
Birch was murdered. The Malays in the second
stockadc were driven out by the blue-jackets, and the
attention of all was then directed to a formidable one
close into the village, which was firing on the boats.
No time was lost, for the eagerness of the men was
roused by the sight of Mr. Birch’s boat and the bath—
house Where he was murdered, and with a rush they
charged and took the stockade, the land and river
forces entering it at the same moment, to find that
the Malays had retreated. Here were found four
guns, one being the small brass piece taken from
Mr. Birch’s boat; two were lelahs, and the other an
iron 6-pounder, which had just burst, evidently having
been struck by one of the English shells.

By this last stroke, Mr. Birch’s dragon boat and

 

CAPTURE 0F PASSIR SALA. 381

 

his row—boat were recovered, and the village was in
the possession of the English, who now turned their
attention to the Maharajah’s house, which was found
to be strongly fortified, being surrounded by an earth-
work eight feet high, with ditch containing water,
and on the top of the earthwork a stockade formed of
short sharpened bamboos. The place might have been
held and given a good deal of trouble to capture, but
it had evidently been left in a hurry, and on search
being made, a number of the articles belonging to-
Mr. Birch, which had been plundered from his boat,
were found.

The village was then burnt, and soon after
Campong Gaja, a place a little lower down, the
residence of the Datu Sager, who, as we have seen,
either took part in or countenaneed the murder of
Mr. Birch, by being present at the time. This
place had also been fortified with a couple of stockades,
but very little attempt was made to defend it. At
the other stockades, however, a gallant defence was
made, and the enemy must have suffered heavily.
They however retreated in good order, carrying ofl’
their arms with their wounded and dead ; the principal
trophies obtained, beside the guns, being the war-gong,
shot through by a bullet, and several drums, with
powder and cartridges in some quantity. The loss on
our side was not one man killed, while only two men,

one of whom was a civilian following the forces, were
wounded.

 

382 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

Consequent upon the condition of Perak, and the
inflammable nature of the Malay character, the other
states began to show strong symptoms of a rising, as
if contingent upon the Perak outbreak, and further
reinforcements being urgently needed, India was
appealed to by telegram; and so rapid now are the
movements of forces when summoned by wire that by
the 27th of the same month the first portion of the
reinforcement reached Penang. It was so admirably
adapted for the service in hand, so complete in itself
in every detail of its composition, and showed through-
out how all had been contrived by a prevailing master-
mind, that it may be well here to give an account in
full of this miniature army designed for jungle fight—
ing.
The head—quarters and 600 men of HM. 3rd Regt.
(Buffs), Col. COX, 0.13.; head-quarters and 400 men of
1st Ghoorkhas; 3—5th Royal Artillery, with four
mountain guns (7-pounder M.L.R. steel, 1501b); two
5é—inch mortars, with 500 rounds per piece, and 2-00
rockets; a field telegraph of 100 miles of Wire, one
superintendent, and ten signallers; a company of the
Madras Sappers and Miners ; a proportion of medical
officers, doolies, and doolie-bearers for conveyance of
sick; with sea provisions for six weeks and shore
provisions for ten days, camp equipage, light tents,
and “ Lascars’ pawls.”

This force was capable of division into three parts,
and was composed with this View in officers, men,

 

TROOPS FROM INDIA. 383

 

equipment, guns, and ammunition. Each ship had a
complete equipment for the number of troops aboard,
so as to make them independent of the movement of
the other vessels.

Brig-Gen. Ross was in command, with stafi as
follows: Major Mark Heathcote, Assistant Quarter-
master-General; Major H. J. Hawkins, Major of
Brigade; Lieutenant Preston, Rifle Brigade, A.D.IC.;
Capt. Badcock, Deputy—Assist. Commissary—General ;
_Major Twigge, R.E, Capt. Crawford, RE, Lieut.
North, RE, Field Engineers.

H.M.S. Philomel also came from Bombay, and
Admiral Ryder sent from China HHMS. Egeria
and Ringdove; H.M.S. Modeste, Capt. Buller, senior
naval officer, which was on her way when the distur-
bances commenced, reached the Straits about the
20th November.

General Colborne (now Sir F. Colborne, K.C.B.)
had now a considerable force under his command,
one that must have made a great impression on the
Malay chiefs, as an example of the power and promp-
titude of England when called upon to maintain
the dignity of the Empire, and avenge so cruel an
insult as the present to her flag. In conjunction
with the Governor, then, it was arranged to hold the
country until the murderers of the late Resident were
given up——a reward having already been issued for
the capture of the Maharajah Lela—and satisfaction
duly rendered for the outrage.

 

384: “ SERONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

The Indian column, which was appointed to
occupy the upper portion of the country, had to march
by way of Laroot, a distance of twenty-seven miles
——the pass they had to traverse has been men—
tioned in the early part of this work—arrangements
having been made and stations appointed for their
encampment. In this work the Muntri lent every
assistance in his power, by furnishing elephants and
men for the improvement of the track, which is now
occupied by the first good road which was made in
. Perak. Detachments were left at Bukit Gantang
and Campong Boyah, with which places communica-
tions were-kept up; these being spots that had been
chosen as sites for encampments by Captain Satter—
thwaite, RE, in concert with Captain Speedy, the
writer being the Commissioner and Mr. \V. Maxwell
the Deputy-commissioner with this force.

The southern column was under the command of
General Colborne in person, with-Majors Lloyd and
Huskisson as Brigade—Majors; and Commissary Robin-
son, of the Control Department, a gentleman who,
from previous Visits to the country, was able to render-
most valuable assistance. The artillery force was com-
manded by Major (now Colonel) N icolls. The medical
officers in charge were Drs. Randall and Orton, the
former of whom was wounded, and is since dead.
Major Dunlop was the Commissioner with this force,
and Mr. Swettenham Deputy-commissioner.

The naval portion was under the command of

 

THE NORTHERN COLUMN. 385

 

Captain Buller, C.B., and the naval brigades formed
from it were under Captain Buller and Captain
=Garforth—the former with General Colborne and
the southern column, and the latter with Brigadier-
General Ross in the north.

The northern column duly crossed the country
from Laroot to Qualla Kungsa, which became the
military station for the time being ; and it was while
the troops were here that an absurd alarm took place.
An attack from the Malays was at any moment
deemed imminent, and careful supervision was exer-
cised during the night over the various sentries;
therefore a sudden outcry from one of the camp fol—
lowers, who had been lying asleep, was quite sufficient
to produce a stampede amongst the undisciplined
portion of the people, and it was some time before the
cause of the cries could be made out. The matter
was very simple: the alarmist had been lying asleep
on his back beneath a cocoa—nut tree, and one of the
huge husk-covered nuts, being over-ripe, had become
dislodged in the night, and in falling had struck the
poor fellow in the epigastric region, causing, no doubt,
as much pain as fear.

The chief value of this northern column was in its
presence in Upper Perak, where it kept the disaffected
chiefs in check, and thoroughly prevented them from
combining in any active measures against the Govern-
ment, and also from joining those below stream in the

disturbances. It had however its actual work, among
2 e

 

386 “ HERONG' ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

the principal events of which was its attack upon
Kotah Lamah—a place that had long been noted as a
resort for the worst characters, and freebooters of the
vilest description. In fact, Mr. Birch, during one of‘
his visits was threatened by the people with loaded
guns. On the arrival of the troops at Qualla Kungsa
these people were not openly hostile. The acts of the
head men of the place however at last called for inter-
ference; and as it became necessary to make an
example of the village before the departure of the
troops, it was determined to disarm the people. For
this purpose a small force was sent up the river-
beyond Qualla Kungsa, and the demand for arms to
be given up was acceded to on being made by Captain
Speedy ; but armed men were seen rushing off, in two-
or three instances, to the jungle. The military force
made their way right through the campong and back
without being opposed; and after this General Ross
and his party landed at the middle of the village, and
were searching the various houses to see that they
contained none but women and children, when, under
cover of a brisk fire, well maintained from the jungle,
they were assailed by a body of fifty or sixty spear-
armed Malays, who had been hidden amongst the trees.
These men suddenly rushed out, and nearly succeeded
in surrounding the little party, which had to retire
fighting as they went, the marines and sailors main-
taining a most gallant front till the river was reached.

Shortly before this several officers had gone in the

 

KOTAH LAMAR. 387

 

direction of the river, and Major Hawkins is supposed
to have been following them when he received a
frightful spear wound, the blade passing right through
his chest. A sailor named Sloper ran to his help,
and shot two Malays who were running up to con—
tinue the attack, when Major Hawkins is reported to
have exclaimed: “Save yourself, you can do me no
good now.” The officers who had gone on towards
the river now returned, and tried to move him, but
they were compelled in turn to fall back towards the ,
river, Surgeon Townsend being the first to be assailed
by three Malays with spears. One he shot with his
revolver, but the man struck him down in falling, and
his two companions dashed in to spear him, when
they were bayoneted by a couple of the seamen. This
engagement was successful, however, from the fact that
a large quantity of arms were taken, including lelahs
and a 12-p0under iron gun, which was spiked and
thrown into thc'river.

Far from being disconcerted by their losses, the
people of Kotah Lamah began soon after erecting-
stoekades, and were guilty of so many lawless acts,
that the Governor finally decided that a severe chas—
tisement should be inflicted upon them, and for this
purpose he consulted with General Colborne. The con—
sequence was that a further expedition was arranged
to be carried out against the Kotah Lamah people, the
great body of whom had now gone farther up the
river, to the two villages of Engwar and Prek; and this

or:
202

 

388 “ SleONG ” AND “ KRTS.”

 

expedition was somewhat hurried by an appeal for help
which came from Rajah Muda Yusuf, whose people
had been attacked by a body of the Kotah Lamah
people, under Toh Sri Lela, their chief. This party
was driven off by some of the Ghoorkhas, but unfortu—
nately two of Rajah Yusuf’s friendly Malays were
killed and two wounded by mistake.

The next day our forces were sent up the river to
Enggar, where the Malays opened fire from two or
three lelahs, but after a short and sharp return fire
they were effectually driven out of their village. A
portion of the force was then directed to bivouac in
the village for the night, and then move forward and
attack Prek, to which place Toh Sri Lela and his fol-
lowers had fled. Here, the next day, the enemy were
again driven out, making a precipitate retreat, a re—
sult which, when achieved, was followed by the return
of our troops to Qualla Kungsa, the power of the Kotah
Lamah chief being completely broken.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

The southern columanlanja-The march through the jungle——
Stockade-flghting—Capture of Kinta—-Flight of Ismail—The
Terraehee valley—The stockades at Bukit Putoos—Captain
Channer’s attack—The rising at Klang—Suppression of the
revolts.

THE brunt of the work however in the Perak outbreak
fell upon the southern column, which had to be
brought up the river in boats against the rapid stream,
the means of progression being by “poling,” which
was admirably performed by the blue-jackets—whose
behaviour throughout, whether in boating or skirmish—
ing in the jungle, was always gallant and deserving of
praise.

It was on December 8th that the forces left Banda
Baru, but with so large a flotilla—forty-five boats
crowded with troops—the current strong, and the
heat of the sun very great, only about eight miles
were accomplished on that day; and the little army
encamped on an island just above Passir Sala. The
9th, 10th, and 11th were passed in the same slow toil
up the river; and on the 12th the force encamped
about a couple of miles below Blanja, the site of their

 

390 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

projected operations—for here the Sultan Ismail had
had his place of residence.

The-next day the troops marched into Blanja by
eight o’clock in the morning, but to find no enemy;
for the news of the coming of the little force had pre-
ceded them, and the place was deserted. On every
side lay the traces of a hasty flight: boxes and
packages prepared for conveying away lay in all direc—
tions, but had evidently proved too cumbersome for
the eX-Sultan’s retreat, and had therefore been aban-
doned. Had there been any doubt as to the line of
retreat, the information could have been readily ob-
tained, for the way open was by the elephant-track,
running nearly at right angles to the river towards
the interior, where the capital of Perak—Kinta—lay,
on the river of that name~—the river which, after a
course nearly parallel with the Perak, empties itself
into the latter near the Residency at Banda Baru.

This elephant—track presented plenty of obstacles
to the passage of a little army; for the peculiarity,
already described, of the elephant, in always placing
its feet in the same holes, no matter how deep they
are in mud and water, soon results in the formation of
a series of pits, which are almost impassable, except
by the huge animals themselves, who, feeling satisfied
of the safety of a place where an elephant has planted
his feet before, wallow through them in a slow pon-
derous way that is remarkable, when firmer ground
might easily be found. Under the circumstances of a

 

MARCH THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 391

 

beaten track being in such a deplorable state, it might
be supposed that the troops could make a fresh one
to the right or left ; but it must be thoroughly under-
stood that, saving to wild animals, the jungle is im-
passable, presenting as it does a dense green wall Of
vegetation on either side, that cannot be penetrated,
on account of the manner in which the trees and
undergrowth are matted and woven together by
creepers and the wiry rattans. In addition, there are
thorns of the most pungent kind, one of which is
known by the natives as tigers’ claws, from its hooked
and formidable nature, while to crown, or rather to
form a base to, these difliculties, the soil is often one
continuous marsh or swamp, covered with Vivid green
moss, which gives way beneath the traveller’s feet.
This density of the jungle is the more insisted on
here from the fact of its being explanatory of the
difficulties of the troops, and to prepare the reader
for the statements of the march being arrested by the
Malays felling a tree or two, so that they lay across
the track. To the ordinary reader, the obvious way
of escape from such a difficulty seems to be to strike
out into the jungle, as might be done in a forest-path
in our own country; but this can only be accom-
plished by literally cutting, hacking, and clearing a
way through the wilderness of vines and creepers.
Three hours after the arrival of the troops, Blanja
was garrisoned, and the force, now quitting the
,river, took to the woods to cross to Kinta, where a

 

392 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

severe fight was anticipated, in consequence of the
reports that had come in respecting the collecting
together there of disaffected chiefs, now joined by the
ex—Sultan Ismail, who was stated to be sheltering the
Maharajah Lela, and to have the intention of protect-
ing him. To meet these difficulties the little land
force consisted of two hundred infantry and forty
artillerymen, with two 7-pounder rifled guns, and
forty seamen, with a couple of rocket tubes—the rocket
being a missile that creates great consternation
amongst the Malays. Consequent upon the difficulties
of the task, and the weight of the guns which had to
be dragged over and through a variety of serious
obstacles, only four miles were advanced in two hours
and a half, and at the end of this time the first
symptom of the presence of the enemy was found in
the shape of several trees felled across the track, inter-
laced with bushes, behind which the Malays were
making a stand, receiving the advance guard of the
force with a sharp fire of musketry, which resulted in
Dr. Randall being severely wounded.

A halt was immediately called, and while the
enemy was held in play with return fire, for the most
part at a completely invisible foe, one of the 7—pounder
guns was got to the front, well served, and a few
rounds sent crashing through the trees in the direc—
tion of the enemy, in company with a couple of
rockets. The Malays then retreated, and the obstacles.
having been hacked and cleared away, the troops,

 

S TOOKADE-FIGHTIN G. 393

 

who had suffered no other casualty, proceeded, feeling
their way cautiously along a jungle path that might
have been easily defended by an able enemy. Nothing

further occurred for a couple of hours, when the
i advance was again checked by trees felled across the
path and another innocuous fire of musketry; but a
rocket sent hissing through the trees a second time
dislodged the Malays, and the march continued for
another half mile, when a strong stoekade arrested
further progress. This, however, the enemy did not
attempt to hold, but evacuated it before it was reached
by the troops, who found plenty of traces of hasty
flight in the shape of water—bottles and sleeping-mats
left beneath the huts which had been set up ; the idea
having apparently been to turn this into what it could
easily have been made—a very formidable place for
defence.

The stockade having been destroyed, the advance
was continued till the troops came to a halt, having
succeeded in dragging their guns and camp necessaries.
about eight miles through the jungle. This halt was
called after every effort had been made to overtake
Ismail, who was evidently only a short distance ahead,
making his escape to Kinta on elephants. But the
progress of our men was too slow, for they had to
carry the heavy 24-pound rockets and tubes through
a series of quagmires, and at last all hope of overtaking
the eX—Sultan was given up for that evening. The
next day was spent in getting up supplies, and on the

 

394: “ SARONG ” AND “ KRTS.”

 

following day the little force marched to a place called
Pappan, some six or seven miles farther—the general
rate of progress through the dense jungle being only
about one mile an hour.

From here Mr. Swettenham, in company with a
friendly rajah and a body of Malay scouts, proceeded
onward, finding the road grow worse, consisting at last,
as he describes it, of nothing but logs, roots of trees,
and elephant holes full of water; but the bad ground
was passed at last, and he halted a short distance from
Kinta, to send forward scouts to discover the where-
abouts of the enemy, and two more to give information
to General Colborne of his position.

The next morning the war—gongs were heard close
at hand, and an attack was evidently intended, when
the advance guard of the forces came up, but beyond
a little scattered firing nothing took place till the
arrival of the main body of the troops, when rockets
were discharged in the direction of Kinta and a cam-
pong close at hand. These were followed by shells as
soon as the gun was brought up. There was a little
firing then amongst the Malay scouts, who encountered
the scattered enemy ; and the advance continuing, the
force at last stood on the banks of the Kinta river,
here about fifty yards in width, with the village upon
an island in mid-stream. As the skirmishers advanced
the enemy began firing upon them from their lelahs,
but these were soon silenced by the gun and rockets,
and the river being waded, an entry was made into the

 

CAPTURE OF KIN TA. 395

 

little capital, which the soldiers found now to be quite
deserted, Ismail and his followers having fled up the
stream—report saying that the Maharajah Lela was
with him, and that the whole party were well furnished
with elephants, the departure taking place just before
the entry of the troops.

The troops then cncamped in the deserted village,
and on making search they found nine brass guns by
way of trophies. It was soon found, however, that
Ismail had contrived to take with him the whole of
the Perak regalia, his purpose being apparently to
make his way due north, and to cross into Patani, on
the borders of Quedah. The commanding officer had,
however, though unsuccessful in capturing the ex-
Sultan, the satisfaction of making this most toilsome
march of three days through the jungle, and taking
possession of the capital Without the loss of a single
man, excepting Dr. Randall, who was wounded soon
after the start from Blanja.

The troops now thoroughly occupied the country,
and beyond a few petty attacks upon boats and
isolated police by the Malays, all of which were
promptly punished, no attempt was made at resist—
ance; while at the beginning of January reliable
information was brought in of the whereabouts of
Ismail and the Maharajah Lela, the people friendly
to our Government having been stimulated by the
large rewards offered for the capture of these chiefs.
The report stated that Ismail was in the mountains

 

396 SARONG " AND “KRIS.”

 

near the source of the Perak river, when an armed
force of police were sent to ask the co-operation of a
friendly native chief for the capture. The attack was
made, but Ismail and the greater part of his people
escaped once more, though with the loss of nine
followers and seventeen elephants. Four of the men
were killed—one being reported a chief, and another
Pandak Indut, who was believed to be the actual
murderer of Mr. Birch—~while a short time later three
more of the assassins were secured.

Meanwhile the proceedings in Perak had not been .
without their effect in another part of the peninsula;
matters having assumed a threatening appearance at
Sunghic Ujong, while the Malays in the neighbour—
hood of our settlement at Malacca were becoming so
disorderly that the Government had further to con—
sider what steps should be taken for quelling the
movements of the lawless in these parts.

Sunghie Ujong is a state lying to the south of
Perak, from which it is separated by the state of
Salangore, while on the south it nearly approaches the
boundary of our settlement of Malacca.

HWMS T histle was called into service, and a
portion of the Indian column of General Ross was
detached for service in the disturbed districts, the
various reports coming in being of a very alarming
tendency. Colonel Anson went as the Government
representative, with Mr. Neubronner as interpreter.
Before their arrival, however, hostilities had com-

 

THE TERRACHEE VALLEY. 397

 

menced; for the Malays who were disaffected had
been collecting in armed force at a place in Sunghie
Ujong, called Terrachee, and made a threatening
attack upon Mr. Daly, who is the Government Sur-
veyor, and who was engaged in making certain topo-
graphical researches. They confined themselves, how-
ever, to threats; but on Captain Murray, who was in
charge of troops there, coming upon the scene, he was
fired at by the Malays. A short skirmish ensued,
which resulted in Captain Murray’s men running short
of ammunition, and having to retire towards the Resi-
dency ; when the Malays followed in a very threaten-
ing manner, stockading a pass in the Terrachee valley,
and also occupying a village called Paroe, a few miles
distant. _

During the next few days the disaffected kept
increasing in numbers and erecting stockades, where-
upon a reconnaissance was made by the troops
under Lieutenant Hinxman, who found the enemy
so strongly entrenched that he and his men were
forced to retire. Later on, however, the Malays were
attacked, and compelled to retreat from the village of
Paroe, the Lieutenant-governor of Malacca, the Hon.
C. B. Plunket, being present on the occcasion, and
some native police, under Bird and Skinner, who ably
supported the small detachment of H.M. 10th Foot.
The Malays, says Captain Murray, numbered from
three to six hundred men, and were encouraged by
the greatest men in the country. But in spite of

 

398 “ SERONG ” AND “ KRIS.”

 

their number and strong defences Lieutenant Hinx—
man’s small force carried all before it, and at the point
of the bayonet drove the enemy in full rout from
their stockades.

From here the enemy made for the Terrachee
valley, where they took up a very strong position at a
place called Bukit Putoos. To give some idea of the
kind of country in which the troops had to operate, it
must be understood that though about Paroe the
land was tolerably open, though uncultivated, farther
on towards Terrachee the jungle became thick,
with a narrow ascending path, which gradually grew
steeper, till it reached the narrow defile or pass
of Bukit Putoos, which forms the way across the
mountain. Here the path is only eighteen inches
wide at the bottom, the sides of the rock being nearly
perpendicular, and twenty feet high, so that it was
only possible for one man to go forward at a time, and
a bold enemy might have kept an army at bay. In
addition there was the jungle on either side, with
sharp mountain streams to cross, rough boulders, the
path of the worst, and the enemy in front, who had
stockaded the place to the best of their ability ; while
at the various approaches trees were felled, and the
way made perilous with rcmjows—the spikes of bam-
boo or palm these people force into the ground, with
their points towards the enemy. '

Upon the relief forces coming into the country,
they marched for the Terrachee valley, and finally

 

CAPTAIN CHANNER’S ATTACK. 399

 

were divided into two columns, the first under
Lieutenant-Colonel Hill, who had with him Captain
Stirling, R.N., Captain Murray, Assistant-resident,
with about one hundred Ghoorkhas, a naval brigade
from H.M.S. Thistle, ten artillerymen, a 7-pounder
steel gun, and some rockets. This little army was
directed to make a détour, marching for the villages
of Pantay and Terrachee, while the other division,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Clay, made direct for the
pass.

This latter force consisted of a detachment of
H.M. 10th Foot, with artillerymen, under Captain
Rigg ; Lieutenant North, RE, with intrenching tools ;
a hundred and fifty Ghoorkhas; an Arab contingent
under Captain de F ontaine; a gun, a mortar, and
some rockets.

The day after the marching of Colonel Hill’s force,
Colonel Clay’s was set in motion, so as to attack the
pass in front as soon as time had been given for the
former to make a détour and come upon the enemy
in the rear.

On reaching the foot of the pass, a reconnoitring
party, consisting of a small body of Ghoorkhas, was
despatched under Captain Channer, and after some
delay he sent word back that, on account of the density
of the jungle, it was impossible to discover where the
stockade was situated; when orders were sent by the
commanding officer for him to go as near as possible,
and endeavour to find out whether an available place

 

400 “SARONG” AND “KEY .”

 

could be found for the guns and rockets if brought to
the front. =

Captain Channer, with whom was Lieutenant
North, RE, pushed on———his route having been along
the bed of a' torrent till the way was blocked by felled
trees. A rearguard was left to cut through these
obstructions; and nothing daunted by the rough
nature of the country, Captain Channer threw out
men right and left, himself leading the left body of
twenty-five men. He had given up his guides, for
they, evidently knew nothing of the position of the
enemy ; and trusting to himself, he went on working
cautiously through the jungle, till he saw the enemy’s
smoke and fires, and soon after came upon one of
the stockades, and reconnoitered the Malay defences.‘
This jungle fort was composed of logs surrounded
by a palisade, and sharp spiked bamboos were every-
where about the ground.

This was an important moment ; for if the Malays
had caught sight of the attacking force the alarm
would have been given at once ; but by using precau-
tions, and watching the enemy, Captain Channer was
able to learn the easiest way into the stockade. Then,
supported by two Ghoorkhas, he leaped over the pali-
sade, where he could hear the Malays talking inside—-
no look-out being kept, as the enemy was cooking;
and then dashing forward, followed by his two men,
he boldly attacked the twenty or thirty who con—
stituted the garrison, shot down one man with his

 

STOCK/IDES AT BUKIT PUTOOS. 401

 

revolver, while the two Ghoorkhas each shot down
theirs. Five Malays in all were killed in the first
instance, and the remainder of the little flanking
party coming up, the enemy, believing themselves to
be surrounded, took to flight, making for two other
‘stockades at about eighty and one hundred and
sixty yards distance, the latter extending right across
the pass.

The first of these in which a 4-pounder iron
gun was found—from being a defence, was now turned

 

into an attacking point ; and Captain Channel“, getting
his men well under cover, opened a sharp fire on both
strongholds in his front, with the effect that, after
half-an-hour’s fighting, the enemy evacuated the lower
stockade, and soon after the rapid firing drove them
out of the one that crossed the pass. As the Malays
always, when they have time, carry ofi“ their dead and
wounded, it was impossible to ascertain exactly the
full extent of their losses ; but, from the traces left, it
was evident that they must have suffered severely.
On our side we had only one killed and three
wounded.

The duties of Colonel Hill’s little column were not
light, though they encountered less active opposition.
Their presence had no doubt great influence in pacify—
ing the district, which was crossed under great difli—
culties, the Muar river having to be forded nearly
twenty times, While swamps, dense jungle, and the
various obstacles of a country unprovided with roads

2 D

 

402 “ SARONG- ” AND “ KRfS.”

 

harassed their march. Neither had the natives been
idle in trying to stay their advance. Trees were
felled wherever they could hinder the march; the
river Muar was staked with ranjows at the crossing-
places ; and in the Terrachee valley a stockade had to
be attacked, the Ghoorkhas taking it in the rear
after some skirmishing and a shot or two fired
from the guns. Altogether it was a most arduous.
march—one which would have been impossible but
for the information obtained from the Malay scouts by
Captain Murray. As it was, the advance was made
under most untoward circumstances, heavy rains often
falling, and the troops having nightly to clear away
enough of the dense jungle for them to obtain a place
whereon they could bivouac. Finally they reached
the rear of Bukit Putoos, and a party was sent out to
arrest the defenders, who were reported to be in full
retreat; but they got clear away, escaping into the
jungle, where it was impossible to pursue. ‘

These well-directed efforts completely broke the
spirit of the disaffected in these parts, and by the time
the two columns formed a conjunction, the rising may
be said to have been completely at an end. But about
the same time there were troubles at Klang, in the
south of Salangore, where Mr.:Davidson was the Resi-
dent; the turbulent characters in these parts, think-
ing this a favourable opportunity for plundering and
showing their opposition to Toonkoo—dia-udin, the
Viceroy of Salangore, who holds Klang under the

 

THE RISING AT KLANG. 403

 

authority of the Sultan of that country; though a
claim for it has always been set up by one Rajah
Mahdie, who was, however, kept from all active
measures in the disturbances by being lodged under
police surveillance at Singapore. In fact, some time
before the rising the British government had thought
it necessary to issue a warning that if Rajah Mahdie
made any hostile expedition against Klang they
would not feel justified in interfering to save his life,
and therefore any such piece of aggression would be
entirely at his own risk.

A little sharp work took place over these risings,
but Mr. Davidson, the Resident, considered himself
quite equal to cope with them; and though the offer
of the Arab contingent was made by the Government,
he declined it, and beyond the occasional visit of a
man-of—war, he received no aid whatever. The little
force he raised for suppressing the marauding parties
that were formed, consisted of his own faithful
Malays and some Chinese miners. By the aid of these
men he dispersed the lawless bands in a few vigorous
attacks, with the result that he completely pacified
his district, and maintained authority throughout.

In this manner were the risings in Perak and the
neighbouring states effectually suppressed ; but there
yet remained the punishment of the instigators of the
rebellions and the murderers of Mr. Birch. Condign
measures, however, were adopted for this purpose, as
will be stated in the following chapter.

2 n 2

CHAPTER XXXIV.

The capture of Ismail—Escape of Maharajah Lela—Taking of the
Datu Sager—Charges against Abdullah—Arrest of the chiefs—
Their transportation—The Perak regalia.

COINCIDENT with arrangements for the return of a
portion of the troops, Whose services were no longer
needed, steps were being taken by the Government
for securing the persons of the offenders who had fled
from Perak ; and to effect this, one of the first things
done was to communicate with the Government of the
king of Siam, in one of whose dependencies—namely
Patani—they had taken refuge, and to request that
they might be removed into Singora, and kept there
until their future should be arranged. The result of
this request, as brought before the Siamese power by
her Majesty’s Consul-General at Bankok, was that it
was decided to send a gunboat to Patani, bearing a
Siamese commissioner, who should take charge of any
of the chiefs of Perak who should be found in Patani,
or any of the Siamese provinces ; and that they should
be taken to Bankok; and such of them as were
reasonably supposed to be implicated in the murder

 

THE CAPTURE 0F ISMAIL. 405

 

of Mr. Birch were to be handed over to the British
government, while the remainder should be kept
under surveillance until it was decided what should
be their fate. The whole of this arrangement was
made by Mr. Knox, whose position was rather a deli-
cate one, as not only had we no extradition treaty
with Siam, but the offence with which the chiefs were
charged was not committed on British ground.

The Rajah of Quedah, in whose state the fugitives
were believed to be at times harbouring, on being
communicated with, also expressed his willingness to
deliver up Ismail and his followers ; and it was near
his territory that the unsuccessful attempt was made
to capture the ex-Sultan—the one which resulted in
the death of four of his people—among whom was the
Sedikah Rajah—while several were wounded, and the
seventeen elephants were captured.

For a Whole month longer, however, Ismail and the
remnant of his followers remained at liberty near the
head of the Perak river; until, feeling that if they
were permitted to remain unmolestcd in their retreat,
they would form the nucleus of a fresh disturbance,
the Governor sent orders to Penang for another effort
to be made from that settlement to effect the ex—
Sultan’s capture. The plan proposed was that, after
obtaining information as to the exact whereabouts of
the fugitives, three combined movements should be
made—by Malays under Rajah Muda Yusuf, by men
from Salama, and a force from Quedah.

 

406 “SJRONG'” AND “KRI—S.”

 

In accordance with these orders, an expedition
started, under Mr. Hewick, the Assistant—superin—
tendent of Police of Province Wellesley ; and he soon
found, by the action taken by the Patani men, that
the orders of the king of Siam for the prevention of
the entrance of the fugitives into his province had
been stringent: but they acted in a double—edged
manner; for the instructions being to the authorities
to prevent all Perak men from entering Patani terri-
tory, and as there was no road from Perak to Quedah
that did not pass through Patani, the whole expedi-
tion, with its Pcrak men, was brought to a standstill.
While matters were in this state news was brought in
that Ismail was wearied out and ready to give himself
up, and was on the frontier waiting.

There were still some difficulties to get over, as
now there Was a chance of hindrance being thrown in
the way of the capture ; for the Patani men showed a
disposition to meddle, and sent parties out to interfere.
By a little judicious management, however, Mr.
Hewick, had Ismail taken to a place called Cheeah,
and following him there, found him encamped in the
jungle with his people, to the extent of about one
hundred and seventy men, women, and children. In
the interview which followed the eX-Sultan under-
took to proceed quietly to Quedah, and from thence to
meet the Lieutenant—Governor at Penang.

When questioned as to his participation in the
murder of Mr. Birch, he denied all knowledge of it,

 

THE CAPTURE 0F ISMAIL. 407

 

saying that it happened in Sultan Abdullah’s territory,
and therefore he left it to him to inquire into the
matter; while his reason for not coming in when
summoned to meet Her Majesty’s Commissioner was
that as he was starting, a rumour was brought in of
the approach of an inimical raj ah with a force, and not
wishing to submit his wives and children to the
chances and horrors of war, he had fled with them into
the jungle, where he had continued roaming from
place to place ever since. Mr. Hewick states that it
was perfectly evident that Ismail had no power over
his chiefs, who rendered to him no respect whatever;
and in hut building, catching elephants, or other
oflices of a similar kind, he had to act for himself,
like the rest.

By careful marches Ismail was then brought down
till he met the Sultan of Quedah, whose well—armed
force of about a thousand men had been so disposed
in the rear of the eX-Sultan and his followers that
escape was impossible, though great care was exercised
not to let him know how he was surrounded. The
march was afterwards continued to Qualla Muda, where
the eX—Sultan, the regalia, and the chiefs and followers,
to the number of eighteen, were embarked and taken
to Penang, while the women and children and twenty-
.seven elephants were left in Quedah.

It seems that the sufferings of Ismail and his
followers must have been very severe; for when he
surrendered he was in a destitute condition, his people

410.8 “S/lRONG” AND “KRLS'.”

 

emaciated, many of them ill, while many more had
been left behind in the jungle and had died off. But
one of the most important of the chiefs was still at-
liberty in the person of the Maharajah Lela, who was
stated to be somewhere in Upper Perak ; but neither
he nor the Orang Kaya Besar was taken on that.
occasion, though the latter was willing to surrender—-
the Superintendent of Police being too anxious to.
secure the ex—Sultan and his large following.

From Penang, Ismail, with his two sons and the
attendants, was sent down in H.M.S. Ringdove to!
Singapore, and from thence by the same vessel to
J ohore, where the Maharajah had consented to receive
them; and here they were detained on parole, with
the arrangements necessary for the prevention of '
intrigue.

The capture of the Datu Sagor, the chief who
stood by while Mr. Birch was murdered, was effected
through the instrumentality of Mr. Swettenham, a few
days before the surrender of Ismail. The Datu had
for the most part kept in hiding in the neighbourhood
of Banda Barn, and he was at last captured where
he had taken refuge with Sultan Abdullah at Pqu
Tiga. As for the Maharajah Lela, he was still at large ;’
and though an effort was made to effect his capture
at Kendrong, he escaped across the river into Patani,
where the authorities refused to give him up to Mr.
Maxwell, the Deputy-commissioner, who was in quest
of him with a following of forty Malays. F inally'

 

THE MAHARAJAH LE LA. 409

 

however he surrendered with his followers, in July,
1876, to the representatives of the Maharajah of
Johore at Kota Lamah, and was conveyed to J ohore
Bahru, with the understanding that he was to have a
fair trial; and after a week’s stay he was removed to
Singapore, and thence to Laroot as the murder having-
taken place in Perak, it was necessary that the trial
should be held in the same state. _

Whatever may have been the expectations of the
Malay chiefs, they had a severe lesson to learn in the
proceedings taken against them by the Government.
Ismail and his sons were prisoners; the Maharajah
Lela, Datu Sager, and Pandak Indut, who had been
falsely reported slain, were also under arrest, as well
as several of their followers. In addition, the three-
men who had been seized and tried for the murder
at the native court of Sultan Abdullah, were sentenced
to death by Jtajah Dris, the judge appointed by the-
Sultan; but the Governor subsequently advised that
the sentence on two of the men should be commuted

 

to penal servitude for life.

In the trials which followed, the Maharajah Lela,
Datu Sager, and Pandak Indut were found guilty of'
the murder of Mr. Birch, and were hanged; while
such important evidence came out in connection with
the cruel outrage as determined the Government upon
requesting the attendance of Sultan Abdullah, and also.
of the Laksamana and the Shahbandar at Singapore,
serious charges being also made against the Muntri.

 

410 “ SrlRONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

In the protracted and careful inquiry before the
Commissioners a number of facts transpired which
implicated these chiefs, and showed that they had
favoured the determination to kill the British Resi-
dent and drive his staff out of the country. In
fact, that they were all in the conspiracy, and had
held meetings to discuss the question. The Sultan
was charged with authorising the deed; with pur-
chasing and supplying arms and ammunition; with
assisting the plans; with issuing his warrant to the
Maharaj ah Lela for the murder; that after the murder
he aided and protected this chief, and, furthermore,
sent him arms and provisions to aid him in resisting
the British officers; and that he aided and protected
the Datu Sager.

These charges were generally denied by the Sultan,
who asserted that the papers and instructions he was
said to have issued, with their chops, or seals, were
forgeries.

As an example of the superstitious nature of even
the best .educated Malays, it may be mentioned that
in the evidence it was asserted that certain incanta—
tions were made at Abdullah’s instigation, and that
these were continued for three successive night; on
the last of which the spirit invoked declared that
Mr. Birch would be dead at the end of three months ;
while other witnesses asserted that the Sultan wanted
to kill Mr. Birch by sorcery, and to injure him by put—
ting poisonous plants in the place where he bathed.

in .iieunxtwstu’iES-Wl

 

ARREST OF THE CHIEFS. 411

 

The charges against the Muntri and the other
chiefs were of a similar character, the Muntri being
accused of favouring the Resident’s death, counselling
the Sultan against the British, and instigating attacks
upon them.

During the time occupied in the examinations
connected with these inquiries by the Commissioners,
Abdullah and his chiefs resided, under supervision, in

Singapore; and as soon as the inquiries were con-
. eluded, and answers received from the Home Govern-
ment to the Governor’s despatches, the now eX—Sultan
was, with his chiefs, arrested, their case was heard,
and they were finally lodged in Singapore gaol to
insure their safe custody while their future was taken
into consideration ; the sentence upon them being that
they should be deported from the country. The
Muntri received the same sentence, and orders were
issued also for his arrest, which were fully carried
out.

The circumstances of the case against Sultan
Ismail and his following were considered sufficient
also to justify their continued detention at Johore,
where the Maharajah undertook to provide against
their being intrigued with in connection with the
future affairs of Perak ; while for the maintenance of
the various chiefs provision was arranged for out of
the revenue of Perak.

In connection with these arrangements, at procla-
mation was issued by Sir William Jervois, in March

 

412 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

of the present year (1877), abrogating that of Sir
Andrew Clarke of 1874, and concluding in these
words:

Now BE IT KNOWN TO ALL MEN, that Abdullah has ceased to
be Sultan of Perak, and that the Government of the State of. Perak
is, for the present, conducted by the Rajah Yusuf, son of the late
Sultan Abdullah Mahomed Shah, as the Chief Native authority in
the State.

Rajah Yusuf, heretofore mentioned as the Rajah
Muda, was thus made ruler of Perak, the government
being carried on in his name, and with the aid and
advice of a ResidenthMr. Hugh Low receiving the
onerous appointment. Yusuf gained the confidence of
the British Government by the way in which he re—
fused to join in the contemptible little plots of the chiefs
against Mr. Birch, and also by the spirited way in which
he came forward with his following of friendly Malays
to aid in the capture of the various fugitives, and in the
pacification of the country. He is a man over the
middle age, and is described as being of considerable
ability, feared and hated by many of the chiefs, and
as being of a fierce and cruel disposition ; but he was
a proved man as to his loyalty; and there being no
desire on the part of Government to annex the state

of Perak, his appointment was the wisest course that, .

under the circumstances, could be pursued.

The last steps for the full pacification of the state:
had been the appointment of a Resident’s guard of
two hundred men, and a police force of five hundred ;:

. “Mm ‘Jzaumh’ms

 

TRANSPORTATION. 413

 

and finally, in July this year, the transportation of
ex-Sultan Abdullah, and his three chiefs with their
families to the island of Mahé, one of the group of
the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean—an island lying
only about ten degrees north of Madagascar, the seat
of the early Malay migrations. _ The embarkation,
according to the Straits T imes, of July 21st, caused
but little excitement, and a guard of six police was
deemed sufficient for the charge of the four chiefs and
their fifty followers, principally, however, women and
children—the few male servants, like the chiefs, being
quite unarmed. The report adds, that the chiefs
did not appear dejected or cast down, but rather
“pleased with the change from prison walls to the
deck of the ship.”

In this case, history seems to have repeated itself.
In bygone ages the ancestors of these chiefs, from
their own wandering and investigating nature crossed
the ocean westward to the Mauritius and Madagascar,
while now they have been transported to similar
westward homes, though for the purposes and at the
command of the dominant power.

The Perak regalia, which was captured with eX-
Sultan Ismail, consisted, besides elephants, merely of a
few golden krises, swords, bells, dragons, and various
gold and silver articles of a personal character.

, CHAPTER XXXV.

Hints to settlers—The climate—Safety of life and property—Health
—Diseases to guard against—Supplies—Sport—Food—A Christ-
mas dish—Dress—Itinerary of the Ulu, or Upper Perak country.

LIFE in Perak, though as yet tested to a very small
extent by Europeans, is very bearable, and the con—
tented mind would meet with a continuous feast of
enjoyment, if only by paying heed to that which is
spread on all sides, without taking pains to investi—
gate the wonders of the land. During the three last
months of the year the rains are so heavy as to make
an umbrella the best of friends to him who ventures
to travel, while it is almost as welcome, during the
heat of the day of the other nine months. The
mornings and evenings are, however, deliciously cool
and fresh.

It may be taken for granted that amongst the
more enlightened Malays there is a disposition
to welcome the English, and to avail themselves,
for the benefit of their country, of our know-
ledge, laws, and capital. To the present day the
visit of the Duke of Edinburgh to the peninsula is

 

HINTS T0 SETTLERS. 415

 

talked of with pleasure, and the incidents in connec-
tion therewith are well remembered by the Malays.
In connection with this visit, it may be mentioned
that the two cocoa—nut trees obtained from Dr. Little’s
cocoa-nut plantation, which were with due ceremony
planted by His Royal Highness in the grounds of the
Government House at Singapore, are thriving well,
and promise to be fine fruit—bearers.

Safety to life and property is increasing daily; and
any person who chooses to make himself acquainted
with the Malay people, and by his consistent conduct
shows his respect for their customs and religion, may
find himself amongst stanch friends ; for any one who
has read so far through these pages must by now be
convinced that in character the Malay approaches far
nearer to the gentleman than to the bloodthirsty
savage he has been so often painted. True there is the
kris always worn at the waist of his sarong, but so
was the rapier worn by our gentry of a generation or
two back ; and, however much we may have advanced
during the past few years, no one will charge our
fathers and grandfathers with being bloodthirsty
because the small—sword formed a portion of their
attire.

Granting this safety, then, from the natives, the
next question that seems to arise is as to the noxious
beasts of the country. ’ The only one of these to be
really dreaded is the tiger, and the accidents from
it are far more rare than may be supposed, espe-

 

416 “SARONG” AND “KRT .”

 

cially since measures have been taken to keep down
its increase. \Vhere mishaps have occurred, they
have been generally amongst the Chinese coolies en-
gaged in the plantations, or in similar work, which
rendered them very much exposed to attack ; While in
the course of years, as the country is opened out,
these must grow less and less frequent. From serpents
there is scarcely anything to fear, the python, as far
as the writer knows, never attacking man, while the
poisonous kinds are always ready to flee from the
sound of his foot. What he has to fear from the
animal world is really the attack of the tiniest of insect
plagues, which up the rivers of the country are indeed
a pest, and require all possible caution to keep them
at a distance.

The next great question is the health, and the
most insidious of its assailants, jungle fever ; but taken
altogether the country is salubrious, and with due
precaution there is very little more to fear than one
may encounter in one’s own land; in fact, many of
our native ailments are escaped. There can be no
doubt that several of the diseases from which the
natives suffer are brought on by their own defiance of
the simplest sanitary laws; while, from his superior
knowledge of such matters, the European may go
comparatively scathless. At the same time, nature
has undoubtedly aided the inhabitant of the East and
of tropic lands, and protected him by the colour given
to his epidermis. After violent exercise the white skin

 

DISEASES. 41 7

 

cools very rapidly, and causes the chills, colds, rheu-
matic pains, and bowel complaints from which a
European may suffer in the East ; while, when in the
same heated state, the black or‘ brown skin cools
slowly, and the inflammation is averted.

Care in the choice of an abode, in cutting down
the jungle, in picking out a resting—place when camp-
ing out, are all conducive to the health. For when
the trees are cut down the miasma that rises from the
ground has nothing to absorb it; hence the advice
not to clear away the jungle without leaving the
brushwood. When camping out, the writer has seen
in the morning the value of his mosquito curtain,
which has not only kept at bay the virulent little
insects, but has acted as a purifier of the atmosphere
he breathed, the outside being covered with the
miasma—impregnated moisture that had arisen during
the night.

It is very curious how the sicknesses of these
eastern countries come about, but they may often be
traced to the exhalations consequent upon animal or
vegetable decay. For instance, in a coral island, the
side whereon the wind blows may be perfectly healthy
until the change of the monsoon, when an epidemic may
ensue ; and this be entirely due to the fact that where
the coral is laid bare by the receding tide, and ex-
posed to the sun, it decays and produces noxious ex-
halations. So long as the wind sweeps from the-

native village towards the exposed reef all are healthy ;
2 E

 

418 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

but on the change taking place, the vapour is waited
to the dwellings of the people, and sickness results;
which, however, may be avoided by changing the
sites of the huts. This is well known to the people,
who are able to escape by exercising care.

Most people who go to the Straits are afi'ected
directly after their arrival by an unpleasant cutaneous
disease. The treatment of it is, however, very simple,
and it is not an ailment that need be looked upon
with dread, a tolerably copious application of borax
in solution being found to be a specific for its cure.
Moderation and temperance are the two best aids
to health in the peninsula; and these can be easily
supplemented by such little matters as taking care
not to get chilled after the toil of walking through
a hot and moisture-charged atmosphere, that is often
like a vapour—bath; sleeping always with a broad
woollen bandage round the waist, as a protection to
the more vital parts of the organism—such a precau-
tion being invaluable for warding off all attacks of a
choleraic tendency. Again, it is wise when up the _
country to take a little quinine daily as bitters, so
as to keep off fever, for a system so prepared will
often escape when a stronger constitution falls.

To settlers, travellers, or sportsmen, it should be
said: Bear in mind that the simpler your supplies
are the better. The best kit consists of a waterproof
sheet, a thin cork mattress, and a mosquito curtain.
These are ingeniously fitted in quite a small box by the

 

 

S UPPLIES. 419

 

Chinese, the box afterwards forming a pillow. For
supplies in the way of medicine, which no one should
be Without, take a sufficiency of quinine, Lamplough’s
pyretic saline—which is invaluable—and the genuine
chlorodyne. These three form a medical armoury
that will keep most diseases at bay ; while, by way of
fortification, a supply of brandy for medicinal use or
burning should form a portion of the medical stores
therein: in cases where brandy is wanting, and a
good stomachic is needed, a tea made by the infusion
of green ginger answers admirably. Lastly, a bottle
of Lea and Perrin’s \Vorcester sauce, which is not
only a relish, but acts when taken alone by a tra-
veller wanting appetite, as a splendid stomachic, and
an excellent “ pick-me-up.”

For additional provisions, the modern tinned meats
and soups are invaluable, affording as they do variety;
while their condensed form and convenient shape
for packing, afford a wonderful contrast to the old—
fashioned casks of salt beef and pickled pork. The
convenience of these tinned meats to a person in
the jungle can hardly be realised, unless the reader
were put to the test. Weary, hot, and hungry, a
halt 'is made, and the preparation of food is a task
that is trying; but a tin of sausages is opened, a
little brandy or spirit poured into a saucer, ignited,
the sausage held in the flame for a few minutes, and
there is a hot dish that for piquancy of flavour is ,
indescribable, and outrivals the efforts of the most

2 E 2

 

420 “SJRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

famous Pall Mall chef: The air and appetite may
have something to do with the enjoyment, but the,
simplicity of the cooking is worthy of note. _

The sportsman or resident who can handle a gun
can of course make ample additions to his larder
from the surrounding jungle, or the swamps and
lagoons, where teal and wild—duck in many varieties:
abound. Snipe absolutely swarm in Province Wel-
lesley, and wherever there is a suitable habitat. In
the above shooting-grounds H.R.H. the Duke of,’
Edinburgh shot more couples in the course of a few
hours than have fallen to any man since. Deer are-
to be found, and wild-boar ham is considered by
some a dainty. There are some, too, who have tried
curried monkey, and declare it to be delicious; and
for those who like to make this addition to their
bill of daily fare there is abundance of supply.
There seems to be something repulsive in the idea
of eating the little semi—human creature ; but one
thing in its favour isthat the monkey is a fruit—eater,
and in several parts of the world it is a regular
object of diet.

Some rather humorous adventures were met with
during the journey through the state of Perak with
Sir \Villiam J ervois, and also during the time of the
little war. \Vhen near the river good draughts of
fish were sometimes obtained; but upon one occasion
a halt was made at night, the present supplies were
exhausted, all others were at a distance—there was

 

 

 

gfifir

. WWW/”WWW
”A a é

 

JUNCTION 0F KUNGSA AND PERAK RIVERS AT QUALLA KUNGSA.

 

 

F001). 421

 

nothing to catch, nothing to shoot,: and the Governor
had declared that he was starving. The late Mr.
Birch, who was wonderfully fertile in expedient, was
at his Wits’ end, for there was the fire and no food
to cook. Just when every one was in despair, and
about to accept his fate of waiting for the arrival
of supplies, there was suddenly heard a loud “ baa 1”

Poor goat! it was speaking its own sentence of
death; for in a twinkling it was seized, slain, the kid-
neys whipped out, roasted on a bamboo, Malay fashion,
and served up to the Governor with sauce and mango
pickle, to his great satisfaction, and the relief of all
"concerned.

Better fare was welcomed by a party during the
little war, when the writer was postmaster at Qualla
Kungsa—of which station the engraving gives a very
excellent representation. The reader is looking across
the Kungsa river, which is flowing on to its confluence
with the Perak—the further and larger of the two
rivers represented. The bamboo bridge and landing-
place were all arranged for the coming of the Governor.
About this time, or near to it, the post-runners had to
.risk being shot down or speared by the inimieal
.Malays, who were always on the watch; but upon
‘the occasion in question the regular communication
remained perfect. The Postmaster — General .at
St. Martin’s-le—Grand gives accounts from time to
time of the remarkable things that pass through the
post—live, dead, and miscellaneous; but few things

 

4:22 “ SrlRONG’ ” AND “KRTS.”

 

that he annually reports exceed in grotesqueness the
contents of the official letter—shaped packet that
arrived at Qualla Kungsa, sent by a lady in the-
Settlements to an officer upon the station. The packet
was square and thick and soft, and, on being opened,
proved to be a plum-pudding. It need hardly be
added that the season was Christmas, though summer—-
like in temperature, and that the gift was eaten with
delight by those who mingled with their thanks to-
the donor many a thought of the home beyond the
seas, and the pleasant" meetings and festivities in pro-
gress far away.

White clothes are de rigueur here, and, with pith
helmets, are universally adopted by the Europeans;
but the visitor to Perak,with its hot moist climate, must
not forget the value of flannel, which is one of the
greatest preservatives of European health. The pith
helmets are admirably adapted for repelling heat, and
their arrangements for obtaining ventilation are eX-
cellent in cooling the head; but for a European there
is no better protection against the sun than a piece of"
plantain-leaf, big enough to go inside the hat, where
its powers are almost beyond belief in keeping down
the temperature of the head. So cooling are its
properties that it is regularly used for outward appli-
cations in' the hospitals of the Settlements, while the
traders adopt it for wrapping up butter, and prevent~
ing it from assuming the quality of oil.

The fowling—pieces and rifles to be taken out by

 

 

SPORT. 423

 

those who visit Perak and the peninsula, either as
travellers or to stay, must be regulated by individual
taste; but it may be borne in mind that in the Moar
district, north of J ohore—regarding which place, since
the death of Sultan Allie, some question as to the
succession has arisen—there is excellent ground for
elephant—shooting, and a tiger may be occasionally
bagged. They may also regulate the calibre of their
pieces, and choose between the “Express ” and other
modern rifles in regard to the huge alligators of the
rivers, many of which are of monstrous size, and
almost impenetrable hide.

In the way of settlement, steps are gradually being
taken; for the land, as has been said, offers facilities for
the production of tea, spices, sugar, tobacco, indigo,
and gambier, while on the other hand the mining
presents abundant work for capital. The labour is
the difficulty; but this is to some extent met by the
Chinese, who really are born artisans, and from their
patient industry, aptness in learning, and readiness to
work for moderate pay, promise to become the skilled
labourers of the future.

The maps given in this work contain the moun—
tains, rivers, and villages of the state, as far as it has
been surveyed. It will be useful, though, to give a
few further particulars of the country, which are
founded on good native information, and will be
valuable to anyone making a trip inland; and though
the rivers and places are not named in the maps,

 

4‘24 “SleONG'” AND “KRIS.”

 

the writer is fully of opinion that future surveys
will confirm this description of the Ulu—interior,
or rip-stream, as opposed to the llir, or down—
stream.

Soonghy Tekan is a little river that rises near
Kinta and runs into the Soonghy or River Raya,
which is a tributary of the Kinta. \Vhen leaving
this part, and flying into the Ulu after the retreat
from Kinta, leaves and roots of trees were all that
Ismail and his fugitive subjects could get by way of
supplies. Their course was from Kinta by Campong
Kapayang, Qualla Tekan, the mouth of the river just
named, Kantan and Kerbu at the sources of the
Plus river, Kerbu, Kernei, and Balla. From Balla,
Baling is easily reached, and then there is a pathway
to a tributary of the Muda river in the Quedah
territory.

Balla and the country beyond it are, strictly
speaking, in the Perak state; but the Patani people
have encroached a good deal beyond their own borders;
and by moving from Kerbu to Balla, it was evident
that lsmail’s object was to reach the Quedah state.
Patani proper is arrived at by journeying between the
two ranges Gounong Titiwangsa and Gounong Pan-
jang, where the Perak and Muda rivers rise. Boats
cannot go up the river much beyond Balla; for above
the rapids called Jeram Panjang, previously men-
tioned, the river Perak becomes a mere torrent.
There is, however, a pathway along its bank which

THE ULU. 425

 

 

leads to Patani ; and the natives declare that it can be
reached in seven or eight stages, namely :

Ulu J eram Panjang to J eram J ambu.

J eram J ambu to Kenering.

Kenering to Pelang Gali (inhabited by Patani people).
Pelang Gali to Berkuming.

Berkuming to Ehril.

Ehril to Belong.

Belong to J erum, the boundary between Perak and Patani,
J erum to J erum Belakap.

WNF‘P‘PS’DF’!“

Beyond Jerum Belakap are Villages named Paropoh,
Tul (Which is inhabited by thirty or forty Siamese
families), Nerwat, Hijau, Goar Kapur, and Koon
Panang, which latter is on the Buka river.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

An ascent of Mount Ophir from Malacca—The hot springs—On the
track—Chabow—Night in the jungle—Camping-out—Gounong
Padang Batoo—Tondoh— Cry of the argus-pheasant—Ledang
—The view from the summit—The descent—A fine field for the
naturalist.

BEFORE closing this work it may not be uninteresting,
as so much prominence has been given to the question
of Mount Cphir in Malacca being in all probability
the Ophir of Solomon, to give a short account of an
ascent of the mountain made by the writer some years
since, in company with Captain Prothero, then aide-
dc—camp to the Governor, General Cavcnagh, and now
superintendent of the Andaman Islands. General
Cavenagh was the last Governor of the Straits Settle-
ments under the Indian Government, and was a
member of the Commission appointed by Her Majesty
to inquire into the revenue and expenditure of the-
Settlements prior to their transfer to the Crown.

The trip was proposed by way of variation to the
monotony of a residence in Malacca. Besides which, a
natural desire must be felt by every European to
inspect a mountain whose name has so many historical
associations connected with it, especially when so

 

MOUNT OPHIR. 427

 

many facts suggest themselves to the student in'proof
of its being the genuine Ophir of Scripture; while to the
traveller, the knowledge of the common term formerly
applied to gold workings in these parts, namely
“ Ophirs,” and the abundance of these ancient mines
about the mountain conveys no slight corroborative
evidence of the truth of the question.

Mount Ophir is situated in the territory of Moar,
in the middle of the peninsula, about fifty miles east
of Malacca; and at the time of the excursion to be
described had not for many years been visited by
Europeans. The time at the command of the little
party would not allow of any lengthy preparation
being made for the ascent ; but considerable facilities
were afforded by the resident Councillor of Malacca,
who kindly arranged that a small body of about
twenty Malays, under the Punghulu, or head—man, 0f
the village of Chabow, should meet the expeditionists
at the above place on the day appointed for the start,
to act as guides and porters, and to clear the way;
the Punghulu, who was an intelligent Malay named
Lawih, proving an excellent guide, and of great service
during the trip.

The first part of the journey was performed by
carriage, and the route was through a place called by
the Malays Ayer Panas, or Hot \Vater, on account of
the hot springs. These springs, with some others, are
the only traces of volcanic action in the peninsula,
and are of the ordinary sulphur-impregnated character.

 

.428 “SJRONG” AND “KRI—S.”

 

Bubbles of gas rise from time to time from the bottom
of the springs, which have the character of wells,
being about three feet in diameter, and twice that
number of feet in depth. There are three of these
wells, of which the water in one is much hotter than
in the others, being of so high a temperature as to be
nearly unbearable, while on a level with the surface a_
curious deposit of a greenish hue is formed.

The View across the country was very beautiful,
the eye roving over the billowy green expanse of
jungle rising by slow- degrees across hill after hill,
till bounded by the triple—crowned heads of Mount
Ophir, rising in softened outline far above the wooded
heights. The first part of the journey had been
through Chinese and Malay villages, but the country
soon grew wilder and more difficult, though very en—
joyable; and pushing on, we reached Jassing soon
after midday, having progressed a little over twenty
miles from Malacca in our morning’s run.

Beyond this, as the road lay through padi fields
and water—courses, we could make no further progress,
either by carriage or on ponies; so from here our
journey began in earnest upon foot; and starting
about one, we followed the track through the village
of Rehim, about a mile farther east. After this we
found the land begin to rise till we reached much
higher ground, and plunged at once into the dense
jungle. Here all the beauty of the eastern forest was
on either side of the sun-shaded track, with the

 

OH 4130 W. 422)

 

wonderfully-rich foliage flourishing in the hot steam-
ing atmosphere. There were, however, the accom—
panying discomforts of forest travel, leeches abounding
in the moist places, and the track not being altogether
free from mud. This dense jungle, which completely
robs the traveller of Views of the surrounding country,
continued till we were about two miles from Chabow,
where we were to meet our contingent of Malays and
the guide. _

On emerging from the forest, the track entered
upon an extensive open plain, which had evidently
been cleared of jungle in times long gone by; and
new full in our view lay the whole range of the-
mountains of Ophir piled high in our front, but, on
the whole, somewhat disappointing as regarded their
height.

It was four o’clock before Chabow was reached,
the distance being about eleven miles from Jassing,
progress during the latter part of the journey being
naturally far more slow—~mainly, though, in conse-
quence of one of the heavy. downpours of rain which
are so common in this part of the world, and which
seemed to come rolling down in rain—clouds from the
mountain—sides with an impetuosity that it was hard '
work to withstand. On our approach, though, to.
Chabow, we were gladdened by the sight of the guide-
‘Punghulu Lawih, who, true to the orders he had re—
ceived, came to the entrance of his campong to give
us welcome, and led the way to his house, where the

 

430 “SJRONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

whole of the front portion of his bamboo mansion
was placed at the travellers’ disposal, and everything
possible done to render the sojourn agreeable.

The evening was spent in resting, and making every
possible arrangement for the start on the morrow.
Packages were disposed for carriage during the ascent,
dinner was discussed, and at last, wearied out, the
simple couches were sought, with the soft highly-
pitched hum of mosquitos making itself heard as
these insect pests prepared themselves for their noe-
turnal banquet upon .the tired travellers—intentions,
however, carefully frustrated, by turning each couch
into a fortress with covered ways formed of mosquito
curtains. These effectually kept off the enemy, whose
frantic dashes were all repelled, the curtains offering
no means of ingress to the insects; but they were
powerless to ward off the insidious onslaught of a
peculiarly objectionable odour, which not only per-
vaded the room but soon filled the space within the
curtains. This peculiarly strong and singular odour
proceeded from the durian fruit in the Punghulu’s
house, and proved quite sufficient to banish sleep
for some considerable time; but at last weariness
prevailed, and sinking into a profound slumber we
managed to obtain a very fair night’s rest before the
call came to rise at daybreak, so as to be ready
for setting off on the more arduous march at six
o’clock. I

Before starting came the customary squabble and

o

 

ON THE TRACK. 431

 

fight amongst the bearers for who should get the
lightest and most convenient packages to carry; but
these minor matters were soon put right by the
Punghulu, and at about half—past seven the expedition
was under march from the campong, swelling by
degrees as it progressed—for such an event was an
uncommon one here—and volunteers and friends of
the Malays soon increased the party from twenty
to forty in number, the greater portion taking
as much interest in the novel trip as so many
children.

The route lay through Soonghy Dua, and the
deserted village of Assahan, a ruined place, which
told plainly of its ancient date in the ample testi-
mony afforded by the extensive growth of aged fruit—
trees, which abounded in every direction, the clearings
between indicating where had stood the houses of the
bygone inhabitants of the place. Here we were re—
freshed by partaking of the finest and largest mango-
steen that we had ever seen, growing wild as it were
in this desert place, lying about six miles from the
campong where we had passed the night.

Passing through Assahan, the direction of our
route for the mountains lay fifteen degrees west of
north, but about ten o’clock we had to change our,
way to due east, so as to make for the northern slope
of the mountain, by which our ascent was to be
made. Soon after this we crossed the Soonghy
Chobong, a stream which divides the Malay and

 

432 “ SARONG ” AND “ KRLS'.”

 

British territory, and at this point we changed again
to a north-easterly direction.

Our intention was to reach the foot of the moun—
tain before nightfall, where we proposed to stay at a
place called Gummi, and therefore pushed on so as to
be there in sufficient time to prepare our hut for the
night, and arrange for the morrow’s ascent. Our next
place of call was to be Soonghy Ay er Bangkong, which
we hoped to reach by Vigorous walking a little after
'noon ; but a good track assisted us no longer, for the
latter part of our journey had been through high
lallang grass, so that the miles became wearisome and
slow, as may be surr ‘ved, from the want of progress
made upon this secc . day. Hitherto the track had
been fairly Visibleg rd offered but few obstacles to
ordinary walking ; ,out after threadiig our way
through the coarse stiff lallang, there waq no further
vestige of a paths ayathe route before us now con—
sisting of th.‘ sturdy brushwood of the secondary
jungleflthe uni “growth that springs up after the
primeval forest has been cleared away.

From this point the genuine hard work began; for
the Malays h d to come to the front with their sword—
like parangs, d hew and hack a path for us through
the brush. F01 a good hour this work continued, the
progress being diversified by a fall into a swamp now
and then, when we got through the piece of wilder-
ness and came upon the old track once more. The
Malays then suggested that we should follow in

 

CAMPING-OUT. 433

 

the steps of former travellers to the mountain, and
eneamp for the night at Ayer Bangkong, and on the
left bank of the river ; but we made up our minds to
push forward to the very foot of the mountain, so
that an entire day could be devoted to its ascent.
Ayer Bangkong was reached about the time we
anticipated; and here the advance party came
suddenly upon a number of the Sakais, or Jacoons,
who proved their wild nature on the instant by
dashing off at full speed into the jungle, as if in
terror at the sight of white men and their enemies
the more civilised Malays. ""

Mooning was the next place :ached, and here our
course had veered to the south“ 5 ; and pushing on,
Gummi was rea ched by three o’er-l I, and preparations
immediately made for makingrfady the little camp.
And now their ability of adapting themselves to
circumstances was strongly shownv b: the Malays,
who in a very short time had set 1”" 3‘3 341: and built
up a rough stage, about two feet'i'i .n‘rthe ground.
Upon the cross—sticks of this they laid strips of the
bark of the Maranti tree, till the Stl‘lC ire assumed
the proportions of a capital sleep“, ‘loor, over
which a slight roof of sticks was tn“?
over this a couple of kadjangs, or palm-leaf mats,
were thrown; extemporising for us a capital hut
or shed, sufficient to afford a good screen from the
weather.

While the evening meal was being prepared over
2 F

and again

 

434 “ SflRONG,” AND “ KRIS.”

 

the fire that had been lighted—a meal‘that was to
consist of a tin of soup and a “ sudden death,” other-
wise a spatchcock~a look round was taken, and a
waterfall was found only a short distance away ; while
upon reaching its foot, where the glistening foam
sparkled and played in rainbow tints in the afternoon
light, the geological formation of the rocks over which
the water sprang was examined. These proved to be
of granite, with patches here and there of quartz and
clay—slate. The granite largely predominated, as it
did, in fact, as far down the bed of the stream as could
be explored. Amongst the granite boulders were here
and there deep pools, upon which the Malays made an
onslaught, and soon pceeded in drawing therefrom a
good supply of fish. heir next visit was to the wild
durian trees, from whose fruit they concocted a curry,
and thus from the nature-spread bounty their wants
Were very easily supplied.

In spite ofgthe rocky nature of the ground, the
jungle around its was very dense, forming a good
harbour for any of the wild beasts of the peninsula,
if any were ear at hand; but no visit was antici—
pated, for sing the day’s journey nothing had
crossed the "path larger than squirrels or monkeys,
though every now and then we came across the tracks
of elephants, rhinoceros, bears, deer, and wild-pig.
These, however, were old, and the creatures that had
imprinted them were most probably far away. The

 

CAMPING- 0 UT. 435

 

monkeys were plentiful, and were for the most part of
the black kind, with a white fringe of hair around the
face. Lest, however, we should be troubled by noc-
turnal visits in a land where the tiger is not unknown,
the Malays prepared camp-fires all around us; and
choosing one of the most brisk in the centre, piled
up the dead wood they had gathered together, and
then. seated themselves in a knot, with the warm glow
reddening the bronze of their faces, and forming a
wonderfully picturesque group, as seen against the
black background of that forest land.

For hours and hours these people kept up quite a
little social entertainment by improvising amusing
stories, which they set to their own native music, and
sang aloud, after the manner of their sun-nun-dongs, .
to harmonious airs, the whole joining in a chorus of
“ Aha!” after every line. One of the party then
toning down the refrain to a lower key, went on to
sing a lament that a high official had lost his leg in
the wars, and could not therefore indulge in such an
expedition, so as to enjoy the pleasure of a mountain
climb. Then another took up the refrain in a higher
key, keeping up the idea, and described how that,
as this high official could not climb Mount Ophir
himself, he had done the next best thing to it—he
had sent his Muntri, or secretary, who would no
doubt some day be a great man too.

The Malay of this improvised song may not be
i 2 F 2

 

436 “S/lRONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

without its interest to some readers, and this is the
excuse for its insertion here :

Tuan Governor, dia adah satu kaki, sahja.
(Chorus) Aha! aha!
Dia ta boleh naik Bukit sahja.
Aha I aha !
Pandi kercem, dia Muntri sahja.
Aha! aha I
Eang jadi Governor, sundiri sahja.
Aha I aha!

Improvising songs could not be kept up all night,
and by degrees the party dropped off to sleep, till
all was silent—a silence only broken now and then
by the loud breathing of some sleeper, or the soft
whispering of the wind amongst the tree-tops in
the jungle. The novelty of the position, however,
banished sleep from the European eyes for some
time, and we lay listening till the silence was sud-
denly broken by the shrill note of the coo-0w, as
the natives call the argus-pheasant, whose cry seemed
to rise from the jungle, and was then echoed from
the surrounding hills in every direction. The cry
of this bird is wonderfully sharp and clear, and, as
has been said, it bears a singular resemblance to the
savage “ coo-ey,” its piercing nature being so peculiar
that it can be heard at a very great distance.

Sleep overtook the whole party at last, and, for-
getful of the dangers to be apprehended from wild
beasts, a calm slumber was enjoyed, from which we

 

THE ASCENT. 4:37

 

woke very early, quite refreshed; and, rising, at once
proceeded to reduce our luggage as much as possible,
so as to get what was absolutely necessary for the
rest of the journey into as small a compass as we could,
it having been decided to leave the remainder here,
in charge of two or three of the older members of
the party. Breakfast was then partaken of, and we
made our start for the real ascent at about eight
o’clock.

Just before setting off, that is to say about a quarter
past seven, the thermometer was examined, when the
mercury stood at eighty—one degrees, a great height con-
sidering that the air seemed to be perceptibly colder.

The first part of the ascent lay along the left bank
of the Gummi river, and proved to be toilsome and
precipitous, but it was relieved every here and there
by bits of level ground. Every few yards gained,
though, began to show that much harder work was
in store, and before long the ascent became so arduous
that we could get no foothold in our boots, and these
had to be discarded, the whole remaining part of the
journey, ascent and descent, having to be performed
with no stronger covering for the feet than woollen
socks. Persevering, though, we brought our hands
to the help of our feet, and making use of the various
creepers, gradually dragged ourselves up higher and
higher, till we had topped the first of the hills which
form the Ophir range, descending afterwards into
the valley on the other side, which we reached about

 

438 “SARONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

eleven o’clock, after finding the slope on this side
shelving more than on the one by which we had
ascended.

From this valley, the next hill to climb was
Gounong Padang Batoo, an enormous mass of granite,
offering to us almost perpendicular sides, which were
in places entirely denuded of soil and vegetation. In
other parts, though, the fissures were rich in an abun~
dance of mosses, lichens, and ferns, with a shrubby
plant not unlike the rhododendron in its growth. At
this point the climb became so arduous that one of
the party gave up, and had to relinquish the ascent,
which was made the more difficult by the loads that
it was necessary to bear. Leaving him there, we
pushed on, and finally at one o’clock this granite
mass was climbed.

Water was the first thing thought of, and on
looking about we found to our left the bed of a
mountain torrent; but at this time of the year
it contained very little water, though the well—worn
stones plainly showed that in the rainy season a
heavy torrent must flow through it from higher up
the mountain. The moisture here, though, had its
effect, for the rugged banks were fringed with stunted
vegetation, but it presented a strong contrast to the
lush growths of the steaming jungle.

But very little time was spent here, however, for
there was plenty of arduous work before us, and
tramping on we reached Gounong Tondoh about half-

 

VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. 439

 

past two, with the European part of our little expedi-
tion very much exhausted ; for the mountain here was
very precipitous, and step after step could only be won
by grasping the trees, shrubs, and climbers, which
very fortunately lay ready to hand. At the summit
of this mountain is a small plateau some thirty square
yards in area, and covered with dense scrub, a few fir
trees, and the vegetation peculiar to such altitudes.
From here there was a good view of the work yet to
be done, the triple peaks of the mountain being
visible —-—-Gounong Ledang, the highest, rising very
abruptly between the other two.

A rest was however necessary before attempting
further progress, and this having been taken, a fresh
start was made, with a short descent ; and then began
a sheer scramble and climb up the face of Gounong
Ledang, holding on by points, roots, moss, anything
that offered itself to the grasp, till at last, just at four
o’clock, we reached the summit of the Ophir range,
completely fagged; for the thermometer, when exposed,
even at this altitude, registered ninety—six degrees. The
crest of the mountain is formed of one large overhang-
ing block of granite, called bythe natives Batoo Sardung.
The mass is about twenty—five feet high, and its over—
hanging side offered a fair amount of shelter to our
party, for we had determined upon spending the night
upon the summit.

The View from this point is grand and extensive,
but is on the whole monotonous, on account of the

 

440 “SleONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

extent of jungle upon which the eye rests, the billowy
waves rolling off mile after mile in every direction.
Here and there, however, the landscape was relieved
by the vivid green of the clearings, where the rice
grew in its delicate luxuriance. Moar, Rumbowe,
Jompole, Pahang, all lay in the distance as we
turned from side to side; while far away to the west
was Malacca, with the sea-coast, the Water islands,
and Salangore.

At length, having satiated ourselves with the view
of mountain, jungle, plain, and winding river, our
attention was directed to the little plateau upon which
we stood, and the great block of granite, upon which
former travellers had carved the initials: “ W. F .,”
“ W. T. L,” and “T. B.” Then came the prepara-
tions for encamping for the night. This proved by
comparison rather cold; for the thermometer fell
rapidly, and at sunrise it only marked sixty-two
degrees, having probably been some degrees lower
during the night. On rising, the fact was announced
that scarcely any water was to be obtained on the
summit; so, welcome as it would have been, the
Malays had to postpone the preparation of breakfast
until a descent had been made as far as Gounong
Padang Batoo, the great granite mass we passed over
on our way up. This want quickened the return,
for, arduous as had been the climb up, the descent
was comparatively easy, and we made such progress
that Padang Batoo was reached by half-past seven;

 

THE DES CENT. ‘ 441

 

and the meal having been prepared, and a short halt
made, we continued our progress down the mountain,
and gained our first camping—ground at Gummi by
half-past twelve.

At this point we rejoined the portion of the party
who had found the ascent too arduous, with the little
camp looking very welcome after the toil of the last
twenty-four hours. It was determined to proceed no
farther that day, and we remained here for the night,
so as to be fresh for the long march on the morrow;
when, starting early, we made a double journey to
Ayer Panas, through Chabow and Jassing, parting
from our Malay companions at their campong,
where they had met us on our way. They had
proved very friendly and helpful, and parted from
us with plenty of good wishes expressed on either
side.

Ayer Panas was reached at seven in the evening,
and we proceeded to the Government bungaloh there,
where we put up, and restored ourselves wonderfully
after the long day’s march by indulging in a bath in
the hot springs of the Village, the effect of which upon
our aching limbs was almost wonderful. The follow-
ing morning saw us back in Malacca.

By a careful comparison of two aneroid barometers
on the summit of Mount Ophir, we made the height
above the sea-level to be 4000 feet—a height
which does not correspond with that given by New-
bold, who places it at 5693 feet, while Crawfurd

 

442 “ SARONG” AND “KRTS.”

 

gives it as 4300. Mr. Wallace, however, who
ascended the mountain some years previous to our
own expedition, gives precisely the same result as
ourselves.

Future travellers who may wish to climb Mount
Ophir are recommended to make the attempt on the
north side; to post ponies to Jassing from Malacca;
sleep the first night at Chabow, and procure the aid of
the Punghulu of thatplace, who will provide a good
guide and coolies, at the rate of twenty—five cents a
day. The second night should be passed at Gummi,
and the third at Gounong Padang Batoo, where there
is a sufficiency of water ; while Gounong Ledang, the
highest peak of Ophir, could be leisurely visited the
next day.

This short account of a hasty trip was written
merely with the View of affording information to those
who might wish to spend ten days pleasantly at
Malacca. Our visit was much too hurried to admit of
more than a mere cursory inspection of the country,
but it was sufficient to give evidence that a more
leisurely examination of the many points of interest
which present themselves would fully repay those who
commanded plenty of time to attempt the ascent.
The interest that is sure to be taken in the endless
traces, round the foot, of gold workings—some of
which are modern, but many exhibiting traces of the
greatest antiquity—~affords plenty of food for considera-

 

FIELD FOR THE NATURALIST. 443

 

tion as to when the search for the precious metal was
first commenced. To the naturalist generally, What—
ever may be his particular study—botany, geology, or
zoology—there would appear to be a very Wide field
for research. '

CHAPTER XXXVII.

The future of Perak—Capital and labour—Advance in civilisation—
The food-supply—Convict labour—A Malay saying—Policy with
the people — Civilised Malays——Sir James Brooke—Wheeler
Woodford Birch.

IN treating of the future of Perak many questions of
policy arise, and after all, no single one is equal to
that of precedent; for in the past we have mapped
out for our guidance the smooth waters and the
stormy seas, with the various rocks that have been
the cause of many a wreck. It must not be supposed,
though, that it is intended here to inculcate solely the
oldest and most anti-progressive policy ; for in manag—
ing fresh people, fresh plans must be grafted upon
the old, so as to suit the circumstances of the case.
There is a great deal then to do for Perak: and first
and foremost must be the insuring to the country of
a good government, giving safety to the humblest
coolie therein, as well as protection to those who bring
in their property. By this means European capital
and Chinese labour will open out the whole peninsula;
a country which, square mile for square mile, is one of

\'
1,
\»

\
}
Q ‘

1

(V

 

 

THE PRESENT RULER 0E l’EKAIi—KAJAII YUSUF—AND HIS TWO SONS.

 

 

 

CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 4A5

 

the richest in mineral produce in the whole world. It is.
only in the course of time that its vast undeveloped
resources can be worked; but with this gradually in-
creasing prosperity in the one state, a steady im-
provement in the systems of the others must follow,
so that in time the peninsula may become one vast
field of British commerce. It is even possible, and
would probably tend greatly to the development of
trade, if in the future efforts were made to try and
open up a route to China through Siam, lying, as it
does, between the peninsula and that vast empire;
while already it has been proposed to cut through the
Isthmus of Kra, which forms the neck, and so to
secure water communication between the Bay of
Bengal and the Gulf of Siam.

At the present time the cupidity of their chiefs,
and the fear of exciting their jealousy, prevent the
Malays from attempting to improve their condition,
or raising any structure better than the ordinary hut.
They grow just sufficient for their wants, acquire one
or two buffaloes; and it is only when they get near
the towns, and under the salutary British rule, that they
attain to a position in any way resembling comfort ;
and doubtless this oppression has much to do with the
careless indolent habits of too many of the people.
That they approve of the protection and example of
British rule is constantly being shown. Already in
Laroot cases are tried magisterially, and there is a
well-built prison to confine offenders ; while the people

 

446 “ SARONG ” AND “KRIS.”

 

gladly seek the court, because they feel sure of justice
———a something that they find as novel as it is beneficial
to them all. Again, they must see for themselves
that they, the Malays of Perak, suffer by comparison
with their neighbours of Province Wellesley, who, ex-
isting under British rule, are better fed, and live in
peace and content. A great deal may be done by
encouraging them to contribute to the resources of
their own country by various agricultural pursuits,
and by securing to them more freedom under their
chiefs. By this means a sure, even though slow,
advance may be made; and one certainly more ad-
vantageous t0 the country than a Wholesale annexa-
tion, and bringing the territory under British rule.

But much has yet to be done by the Government,
who will have to give attention to the food-supply of
the country before very long. Then the works
connected with irrigation and water-supply for other
purposes will have to be taken in hand. \Vater would
bring many parts of Malacca into value, by rendering
the barren fertile ; and though some attention has been
given to the economical use of water in the mines of
Perak, it will have to be further considered when the
mines come to be extended. Fortunately however the
water is there; it- is only the question of storing and
directing that has to be dealt with.

A great step in the direction of settling Perak
might have been taken most advantageously by the
Government in encouraging the Indian convicts, now

 

CONVIO’T LABOUR. 447

 

on tieket-of—leave at Singapore, to go up the country,
furnishing them with money for the purpose, and
giving them tracts of land to cultivate. For the most
part these men are agriculturists or herdsmen ; and by
giving these settlers a start a great deal would have
been done to render them useful to the state, and give
additional security to life ; while in making the place
better, they would have been forming a nucleus to
which there would have been some encouragement for
other people to flock. As it is, there is a natural re-
luctance amongst those Who have all the desire to
settle to go and make themselves the pioneers of the
new civilisation. These convicts, by the way, are the
remainder left after the cessation of the receipt of
prisoners at Singapore ten years ago. Many of them
are Madrassees or Klings, and are now, for the most
part, decent people, to whom the character of criminal
attaches merely as connected with old offences, expiated,
and to a great extent condoned.

As it has taken time for the Malays who live
under our government in the Settlements to become
acquainted with the justice of our laws, and the firm
and equitable collection of the revenue, with protec—
tion to life and property religiously insured on all
hands, so must we expect that in Perak, and such
other native states as we may take under our protec-
tion, there must be a great deal of tedious delay before
we shall find the mass of the chiefs and people yield-
ing due respect to the laws and institutions which are

 

448 “811RONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

so adverse to their own, and which strike at the root
of the profit and advantage which accrue to them as
gained by fraud and oppression. It requires a display
of great judgment, with a large amount of temper and
patience, on the part of those who are deputed to the
carrying out of these important duties; so that more
by example and suasion, than by the exercise of coer-
cion, they should carry on their intercourse with the
Malays. - I
According to the Malay saying—nanti—palla—hcm
——the lizard gives the fly time to say its prayers
before he makes his final spring to devour his prey;
and setting aside the seizure of the prey, this must be
our policy with the Malays; we must give them
time—deal with them firmly but gently, and all
will be well. It may be argued that we gave the
Turks time, and what has been the result? If we had
kept them to their Constitution~—which, it is true, was
given under pressure—it is possible that there would
not have been this bloodshed. The Malays have been
punished for their gross outrage ; and this being at an
end, now What is necessary is to insure them good
government, and then—give them time, when there
is no fear but that in Perak and other states we may
have as loyal and trustworthy a set of people as now
exist in Province Wellesley and Malacca, and in the-
towns of Singapore and Penang.

By encouragement and teaching, the Malays are

 

POLICY WITH THE PEOPLE. 1M9

 

not incapable of being led on to industrious pursuits;
but even in this the giving—time policy should be
adopted, and they should at first be allowed to derive
profit from their produce in the way that comes most
natural to them, and in accordance with their customs
for generations past. There exists no reason why
the Malay should not become in all points a good
citizen; and though he may not possess the native
intelligence of the Chinese as a trader and artisan,
nor the shrewd cleverness of the Kling in his business
and monetary transactions, he will be found no
whit behind them in agricultural pursuits; and both
in Perak and elsewhere, as he gradually learns the
value of our institutions, he will follow in the foot—
steps of those of his countrymen who are now our
fellow-subjects, and than whom none could be more
loyal and devoted to the British Crown.

It is questionable whether great blame does not
attach to us as a nation for the little we have done
during our long occupation of the settlements of
Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, towards the pacifica—
tion and improvement of the states on the peninsula.
We have been too often content to merely draw
from them the products that suit us in trade, while so ,
long as the commerce was in a flourishing condition,
the improvement of the people and the introduction
of the arts of civilisation were neglected. We have

perhaps held back on political grounds, and from
2 G

450 “‘SleONG” AND “KRI .”

 

the fear that if we became entangled in the “ native
question,” we should either have to retreat with loss
of prestige, or have to carry out a policy which would
drive out the native chiefs and government, but
would necessarily only be effected by resort to arms,
or at least by a display of force which would either
cast a burden upon the Settlements which they could
ill afford, or fall upon the imperial revenues—a state
of affairs to which the British taxpayer would readily
object. The medium policy of placing an English
Resident at the native courts, so common on the
continent of India, was never undertaken, singularly
enough, when the Settlements were under Indian
rule ; and when attempted but two years ago in Perak
led to disastrous consequences for the time, the out-
come of causes which were, however, preventible. In
Salangore, on the contrary, as in other states, it has
hitherto been continued with marked success; and
if in the future we are judicious, and avoid taking
steps which might lead the people to believe that
we intended to meddle with their established cus-
toms—points upon which they are extremely jealous
of interference—the resident system will doubtless be
carried on in Perak with equally good results.

The effect of such a mild form of policy will not
only be vastly advantageous to ourselves, in bringing
a large mass of people into a more civilised state, and
opening up to our commerce the mineral and other

 

SIR JAMES BROOKE. 451

 

wealth of this country; but we shall be able to take
to ourselves the satisfaction of having at least done
our duty in bringing no inconsiderable portion of the
earth’s surface under the benign influence of British
rule, and within the reach of that Christian truth
without which no people can be fully civilised, and
the spread of whose knowledge it is Britain’s privilege
and glory to foster and encourage.

In the earlier chapters of this work allusion was
made to the failure of Mr. Muntinghe’s commission at
Palembang, which was due to his want of knowledge of
the Malay character, and too great eagerness to en—
'force a novel system that, though perhaps admirable
in Java, was utterly unsuited to the people amongst
whom he Wished it to take root. Contrast with this
the excellent management, in his successful dealing
with the people, of one whom the writer is proud of
being able to say he could call a friend—the late Sir
James Brooke, of Sarawak. Singly and unaided did
this English gentleman, animated from first to last by
the highest motives, gain the respect and affection of
every Malay with whom he was brought in contact,
both among the chiefs and the people. Fear of
him existed only in the hearts of those who, in
direct opposition to his mild counsel and sugges-
tions, persistently endeavoured to maintain a system
of cruel piracy and oppression. Even, however, in
dealing with these last he tempered his justice with

 

452 “SARONG” AND “KEY .”

 

mercy, knowing full well that time is necessary for
the eradication of a national Vice; and that it would
be simple madness to attempt to change, as by the
touch of a Wizard’s wand, that which had been the
growth of centuries—in other words, the whole
character of a nation.

Sir Andrew Clarke, when Governor of the Straits
Settlements, was animated by a similar spirit, and, by
his wise policy, paved the way for peace and good
government in Perak; and had he not been sum-
moned away to a higher appointment, it is probable
that many of the troubles in Perak would not have
had place. He was possessed of a wonderful faculty
of dealing with the natives, whom he won to his side
by his frankness and openness of manner, through
which, though, always shone firmness of character,
mingled with a high sense of justice, and that which is
due from man to man. He was in favour of the Resi-
dent principle—the presence with a native ruler of
one who would advise and lead towards right, without
seeming to control, and always exerting his influence
for good with both chiefs and people.

This is undoubtedly the course that should be
followed out, and the various chiefs taught how to
increase the value of their country by good govern-
ment and improvement, as they invited co-operation
by making life and property safe. For, given such a
country and such a people, by good advice, an ad-

 

WHEELER WO ODFORD BIRCH. 453

 

ministration may be brought about similar to those of
Johore and Quedah, where, from their contiguity to
our civilisation, this has permeated their own ; and in
consequence we have native princes ruling by our
laws, and keeping down the evil principles of their
states, with magistrates, stations, regular trials, and
convict gaols, while on the other hand peace and pros-
perity have a permanent reign. This has been the
result of time, and of letting the people see and learn the
value of our institutions, the ehiefs’ power increasing
with the progress of their land.

In conclusion, it must never be forgotten that
whatever may be the future of Perak, and however
great a position it may reach in the scale of civilised
countries, it was the death of one man that first drew
the attention of our home Government fully to the
.state for its development and ultimate prosperity.
For these, he who literally acted as the pioneer of its
civilisation unceasingly toiled; falling, though, in the
dawning of that day of progress for which he had
so earnestly laboured, when the bright sun of western
light was beginning to brighten the waving palms of
this far distant forest land. Though his family will
never cease to bewail his loss, there is a mournful
satisfaction in knowing that he laid the foundation
of a better government in Perak; and that as our
influence over the peninsula still further extends, his
memory will ever be associated with the advance and

 

454 “SARONG” AND “KRIS.”

 

Civilisation of this portion of Her Majesty’s domains;
While those Who loved him can always say—He had
the progress of Perak thoroughly at heart, and its
prosperity was the work of

J. WHEELER WOODFORD BIRCH.

FINIS.

 

CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.

 

 

 

 

 

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