CHAPTER XVII._Travels in the East Indian archipelago

PALEMBANG, BANCA, AND SINGAPORE.

_May 4th._—At 7 A. M. I bade my host, the _controleur_, good-by, and

began to glide down the Limatang for Palembang.

It was a cool, clear morning, and I enjoyed a fine view of Mount Dempo

and the other high peaks near it. The current at first was so rapid that

the only care of my men was, to keep the boat from striking on the many

bars of sand and shingle. To do this, one stood forward and one aft,

each provided with a long bamboo. We soon shot into a series of foaming

rapids, and here the river bent so abruptly to the right and left that I

thought we should certainly be dashed against a ragged, precipitous wall

of rock that formed the right bank at that place, but we passed safely

by, though the stern of the boat only passed clear by a few inches. My

boat was about twenty feet long and five broad, flat-bottomed, and made

of thin plank. Its central part was covered over with roof of atap, like

the sampans in China, and on this was another sliding roof, which could

be hauled forward to protect the rowers from rain or sunshine. From Lahat

to the mouth of the Inem River relays of natives stood ready on the bank

to guide our boat. This service they render the Dutch Government instead

of paying a direct tax in money.

A short distance below Lahat, on the right bank, is a remarkably

needle-like peak called Bukit Sirilo. Near this hill the Limatang makes

a long bend to the north, and after we had left it two or three miles

behind us I was quite surprised to find we had turned sharply round,

and that it was now two or three miles before us. A short distance

above the Sirilo we passed a fine outcropping of coal in the left bank.

The government engineers have examined it, and found it to be soft and

bituminous, but containing too large a proportion of incombustible matter

to be of any great value. The strata dip toward the coast. The Resident

of Tebing Tingi informed me that a similar coal is found on the Musi

below that place. I believe that strata of recent limestone, containing

corals, which I observed above Tebing Tingi, underlie this coal, and

that it is, therefore, of very recent geological age. At 4 P. M. we

came to Muara Inem, a large kampong of two thousand souls, on the Inem,

at its juncture with the Limatang. Here I had the pleasure of meeting

the _controleur_, whom I had met in the Minahassa, and who had been my

fellow-traveller from Celebes to Java. During the latter third of my way

down the Limatang to this point, the country is well peopled, and forms a

marked contrast with the sparsely-populated regions through which I have

been travelling since leaving Bencoolen.

At one kampong we saw three women in a small, flat-bottomed canoe, each

sitting erect and paddling with both hands. In this way they crossed the

river with a surprising rapidity, considering the simple apparatus they

used. The readiness with which they paddled indicated that this is no

very uncommon mode of crossing rivers in this land.

As the villages became larger and more frequent, more and more cocoa-nut

trees appeared, and soon we passed several large bamboo rafts, bearing

sheds that were filled with this fruit, and in one place two natives

were seen quietly floating down the river on a great pile of these nuts

in the most complacent manner. At first I expected to see the nuts fly

off in all directions and the men disappear beneath the surface of the

river, but as we came nearer I saw the nuts were fastened together in

small bunches by strips of their own husks, and these bunches were bound

into a hemispherical mass large enough to float the two men. The nuts on

the raft were to be taken down to Palembang, where the cocoa-palms do not

flourish. During the day we saw two or three large troops of monkeys.

This is a very pleasant time to pass down these rivers, because they are

now high, and instead of seeing only walls and bluffs of naked mud on

either hand, the banks are covered with grass down to the water’s edge,

and the bamboos and trees, that grow here in tropical luxuriance, lean

over gracefully toward the rapid river, and lave the tips of their lowest

branches in the passing current.

_May 5th._—The _controleur_ kindly took me in his large barge, with

twenty men to paddle and two men to steer, some five miles up the Inem

River to Lingga, where there is an outcropping of coal in the river

bank. The coal found there is very light, almost as soft as charcoal, and

evidently of a very recent geological age. A similar but somewhat better

coal is found five or six miles farther up this river. At Karang Tingi,

three miles up the river from Muara Inem, the rajah of that district

gave me a bottle of petroleum, which is about as thick as tar, and,

according to the examinations of the Dutch chemists, does not contain

much paraffine, naphtha, nor material suitable for burning in lamps. It

is found about six miles back from the river. At Karang Tingi we noticed

a number of boys enjoying an odd kind of sport. They were sliding down

the high slippery bank on their naked backs.

At Muara Inem the _controleur_ showed me a large garden filled with

trees, from which the “palm-oil” is manufactured. It is a low palm, and

the fruit is not much larger than the betel-nut. I understood him to say

that it was the _Elais Guineensis_, and had been introduced from the

Dutch possessions on the west coast of Africa. The oil is contained in

the husk, and is used in manufacturing soap and candles.

[Illustration: A VIEW ON THE RIVER LIMATANG, SUMATRA.]

_May 6th._—Very early this morning started with the _controleur_ down

the Limatang in his barge, with twenty men. During last night the river

rose here four or five feet, and the current is now unusually strong.

From Muara Inem, to where it empties into the Musi, it is very crooked,

constantly bending to the right in nearly equal curves, the current,

of course, being strongest in the middle of each bend. This constant

curving gives an endless variety to its scenery. The water, being high,

enabled us to see the cleared places that occurred from time to time on

the bank; though generally only a thick wood or dense jungle appeared on

either hand, yet I never for a moment was weary of watching the graceful

bending of the reeds and tall bamboos, and of the varied grouping of

these with large trees. In two places the river makes such long bends,

that artificial canals have been made across the tongues of land thus

formed. One of these cuts, which was less than a hundred yards long,

saved us going round half a mile by the river. Every four or five miles

we came to a large kampong, and exchanged our boatmen for new ones, so

that all day long we swiftly glided down the smooth stream, one relay

of men not getting weary before they were relieved by another, and the

strong current also helping us onward. The kampongs here are free from

the filth seen in those farther up in the interior. The houses are all

placed on posts five or six feet high, for sometimes the whole country

is completely flooded. Many of them are built of well-planed boards, and

have a roofing of tiles. When the sun had become low, we came to the

large kampong of Baruaiyu. At all these villages there is a raft with a

house upon it, where the boatmen waited for us. Fastening our boat to one

of these, we took up our quarters in the rajah’s house. Like those built

by our Puritan forefathers, it had one long roof and one short one, but

it was so low that a tall man could scarcely stand up in it anywhere. The

floor, instead of being level, rose in four broad steps, and the whole

building formed but one large apartment with two small rooms at the rear

end.

_May 7th._—A severe toothache and the bites and buzzing of thousands of

mosquitoes made me glad to see the dawn once more, and again be floating

down the river. Before we came to the chief village of each district,

where we were to exchange boatmen, we always met the boat of the rajah of

that place, and were greeted with shouts and a great din from tifas and

gongs.

The rajahs in this region are divided into three grades, and their

ranks are shown by the small hemispherical caps they wear. Those of the

highest rank have theirs completely covered with figures wrought with

gold thread; those of the second rank have theirs mostly covered with

such ornaments; and those of the third rank wear only a gold band. They

all carry krises of the common serpentine form. Those that have the wavy

lines alike on each side of the blade are regarded as the most valuable.

The handles are usually made of whale’s-teeth, and very nicely carved;

and the scabbards are frequently overlaid with gold. Those that have

been used by famous chiefs are valued at all sorts of enormous prices,

but are never sold. They also frequently wear a belt covered with large

diamond-shaped plates of silver, on which are inscribed verses of the

Koran, for the natives of this region are probably the most zealous and

most rigid Mohammedans in the archipelago.

The staple article of food here is rice. They also raise much cotton from

seed imported from our Southern States. Having gathered it from the

ripe bolls, they take out the seeds by running it between two wooden or

iron cylinders, which are made to revolve by a treadle, and are so near

together, that the seeds, which are saved for the next season, cannot

pass through. The fibres are very short, compared to the average product

raised in our country, but it serves a good purpose here, where they

make it into a coarse thread, which they weave by hand into a cloth for

kabayas and chilanas.

The marriage rites and laws here are nearly the same as those I have

already described at Taba Pananjong, except that the price of a bride

here is just that of a buffalo, or about eighty guilders (thirty-two

dollars). Unless a young man has a buffalo or other possessions of equal

value, therefore, he cannot purchase a wife. Near Baruaiyu there is a

peculiar people known as the Rembang people, who live in four or five

villages at some distance from the river. They are very willing to learn

to read and write their own language, but will not allow themselves to be

taught Dutch or Malay. Last night the river rose still higher, and now it

has overflowed its banks, which appear much lower than they are between

Lamat and Muara Inem. During the day we have had several showers. At 5 P.

M. we arrived at Sungi Rotan, the last village on the Lamatang before its

confluence with the Musi. It is a small and poor village, the land here

being generally too low for rice, and the cocoa-nut palms yielding but

little compared to what they do higher up. Farther down toward Palembang

they yield still less. This is the limit of the _controleur’s_ district

in this direction. It extends but a short distance up the Inem and up the

Limatang above Muara Inem, and yet it contains no less that ninety-one

thousand souls.

The _controleur_ came here to settle a difficulty between the people of

this and a neighboring village. The other party had occupied a portion

of the rice-lands belonging to this people, and the trouble had risen to

such a pitch, that the government had to interfere, to prevent them from

beginning a war. I said to the rajah that, beyond Lamat, I had passed for

miles through a beautiful country, and that it seemed to me he would do

well to migrate there; but he evidently disliked such a suggestion, and

the _controleur_ asked me not to urge him to adopt my view, for fear that

he might think the government designed sending him there, and because he

and all his people would rather die than go to live in any distant region.

_May 8th._—At 6½ A. M. started for Palembang. My own boat, which I sent

on directly from Muara Inem, arrived here yesterday a few hours before

us, having been three days in coming down the same distance that we

have made in two. We soon stopped at the request of one of the boatmen

to examine a small bamboo box which he had set in a neighboring bayou

for crawfish. Several were found in it. Their eyes seemed to emit

flashes of light, and appeared to be spherical jewels of a light-scarlet

hue. I found them palatable when roasted. The boatmen also found some

_Ampullariæ_, which they said they were accustomed to eat, and I found

them palatable also We soon floated out of the narrow Limatang into the

wide and sluggish Musi, and changed our course from north to east. There

are great quantities of rattan along the lower part of the Limatang and

the Musi, and the natives gather only a small fraction of what they might

if they were not so indolent. Last night, at Sungi Rotan, the mosquitoes

proved a worse pest than the night before, and they have continued to

annoy us all day.

In the afternoon I had a slight attack of fever, almost the only one

I have had since I was ill immediately after my arrival in Batavia, a

few days more than a year ago. After three large doses of quinine I

fell asleep, my boatmen saying that we should not reach Palembang till

morning, which entirely agreed with my own wishes, as I did not care to

call during the evening on the assistant Resident, whom I had already

notified of my coming. When the last dose had disappeared I soon became

oblivious to all real things, and was only troubled with the torturing

images seen in a fever-dream. While these hideous forms were still before

my mind’s eye, I was suddenly aroused by a loud noise, and, while yet

half awake, was dazzled by a bright light on the water, and, on looking

out, saw that we were near a large house. On the brilliantly-lighted

portico above us were festoons of flowers, and, while I was yet gazing

in wonder, inspiriting music sprang up and couple after couple whirled

by in the mazy waltz. I put my hand up to my head to assure myself that

I was not the victim of some hallucination, and my boatmen, apparently

perceiving my state of mind, informed me that we had arrived at

Palembang, and that a sister of one of the officials had lately been

married, and her brother was celebrating the happy occasion by giving a

grand “feast,” or, as we should say, a ball.

The bright light, the enlivening music, and the constant hum of happy

voices, instantly banished all possibility of my entertaining the thought

of remaining for the night in my dark, narrow cabin; and at once, with

no other light whatever than that reflected on the water from the bright

ballroom, I prepared myself to meet the Resident in full dress. He was

greatly surprised to see me at such a late hour, but received me in a

most cordial manner, and at once commenced introducing me to the host

and hostess, the bride and bridegroom, and all the assembled guests. The

chills and burning fever, from which I had been suffering, vanished,

and in a moment I found myself transferred from a real purgatory into a

perfect paradise.

[Illustration: WOMEN OF PALEMBANG.]

[Illustration: PALEMBANG—HIGH WATER.]

Palembang occupies both banks of the Musi for four or five miles, but

there are only three or four rows of houses on each bank. Many of these

houses were built on bamboo rafts, and, when the tide is high, the city

seems to be built on a plain, but at low water it appears to be built

in a valley. The tide here usually rises and falls nine or ten feet,

but in spring fourteen feet. This is the greatest rise and fall that I

have seen in the archipelago. It is said that in the river Rakan, which

empties into the Strait of Malacca, at spring tides the water comes in

with a bore and rises thirty feet. The principal part of Palembang

is built on the left bank. There are a large and well-constructed

fort, and the houses of the Resident, assistant Resident, and other

officials. The Resident and the colonel commanding the fort are now in

the Pasuma country. On the left bank is the Chinese quarter, and very

fine imitations of the more common tropical fruits are made there in

lacquer-ware by those people. Below the fort, on the right bank, is the

large market, where we saw a magnificent display of krises, and enormous

quantities of fruit. The name Palembang, or, more correctly, Palimbangan,

is of Javanese origin, and signifies “the place where the draining off

was done.” The “draining off” is the same phrase as that used to describe

water running out of the open-work baskets, in which gold is washed, and

the word Palembang is regarded generally as equivalent to “gold-washing”

in our language. The Javanese origin of the first settlers in this region

is farther shown by the title of the native officials and the names of

various localities in the vicinity. The natives have a tradition that

Palembang was founded by the Javanese government of Majapahit, but the

Portuguese state that it was founded two hundred and fifty years before

their arrival, or about A. D. 1250.

Back of the Resident’s house is a mosque with pilasters and a dome,

and near by a minaret, about fifty feet high, with a winding external

staircase. It is by far the finest piece of native architecture that

I have seen in these islands, and is said to be decidedly superior to

any of the old temples in Java. Its history appears to be lost, but

I judge it was built not long after the arrival of the Portuguese.

The architects were probably not natives, but the Arabs, who have

not only traded with this people, but succeeded in converting them

to Mohammedanism. Palembang Lama, or Old Palembang, is situated on

the left bank, a mile or two below the fort. Landing with the natives

under a waringin-tree, I followed a narrow path over the low land for

a mile, and came to the grave of a native queen. All possible virtues

are ascribed to her by the natives, and many were on their way to this

shrine to make vows and repeat their Mohammedan formulas, or were already

returning homeward. Those who were going stopped at a little village

by the way to purchase bunches of a kind of balm which they placed in

the tomb. After meeting with many worshippers, I was quite surprised to

find the grave was only protected by an old wooden building. The coffin

was a rectangular piece of wood, about a foot and a half wide, and five

feet long, in which was inserted at the head and foot a small square

post, about two feet high. Near the grave of the queen were those of

her nearest relatives. This is regarded as the oldest grave that can

be identified in this vicinity. It is supposed to have the power to

shield its worshippers from sickness and all kinds of misfortune. The

Mohammedanism of this people, therefore, even when it is purest, is

largely mingled with their previous superstitions.

Nearer Palembang we visited the tombs of later princes. A high wall

encloses several separate buildings from twenty to thirty feet square,

and surmounted by domes, and within are the coffins, much like that

already described. Other massive rectangular tombs are seen outside. None

of these appear to be very old.

From Palembang to the mouth of the Musi is about fifty miles, and yet

there is plenty of water for the largest steamers to come to the city.

The Musi is therefore the largest river in Sumatra; and Palembang gains

its importance from its position as the head of navigation on this river,

which receives into itself streams navigable for small boats for many

miles. On the south is the Ogan, which, in its upper part, flows through

a very fertile and well-peopled region, and which, from the descriptions

given me, I judge is a plateau analogous to that at Kopaiyong, near the

source of the Musi. This region of the Ogan produces much pepper. North

of the Musi is the country of the Kubus, who have been described to me

here and at Tebing-Tingi as belonging to the Malay race. They are said

to clothe themselves with bark-cloth, and to eat monkeys and reptiles

of all kinds. They shun all foreigners and other natives, and are very

rarely seen. They appear to be very similar in their personal appearance

and habits to the Lubus that I saw north of Padang, and perhaps form but

a branch of that people.[58] It was to this place that the author of the

“Prisoner of Weltevreden” came on his filibustering expedition, and was

seized and carried to Batavia, whence he escaped. The open-hearted and

generous manner in which I have been everywhere received and aided, both

by the government and by private persons, as has constantly appeared

on these pages, convinces me that any American, whose character and

mission are above suspicion, will be treated with no greater kindness

and consideration by any nation than by the Dutch in the East Indian

Archipelago.

_May 13th._—Took a small steamer for Muntok, on the island of Banca,

where the mail-boat from Batavia touches while on her way to Singapore.

Muntok is a very pretty village. The houses, which mostly belong to

Chinamen, are neatly built and well painted. The streets are kept in good

repair, and the whole place has an air of enterprise and thrift. Here I

had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the chief mining engineer

on the island. One morning we rode out a few miles to a granite hill,

from the top of which I had a fine view over the Strait of Banca to the

low, monotonous coast of Sumatra. There are but few elevations on Banca,

and none of any considerable height. All are covered with a thick forest.

The rocks of which Banca is composed are chiefly granite, and a red,

compact sandstone or grit. The tin is disseminated in small particles

through the whole mass of granite, which has slowly disintegrated and

decomposed, and the clay and sand thus formed have been washed into the

nearest depressions. The tin, being the heaviest of these materials,

has settled near the bottom of each basin, when they have been somewhat

assorted by the action of water. The upper strata being removed, the

particles of tin are found in the lower strata, and obtained by washing,

just as in the process of washing similar alluvial deposits for gold.

When the beds of all the basins on the island have been thoroughly

washed, the yield of tin will be at an end, because it does not occur, as

at Cornwall, in veins in the granite, but only in small scattered grains.

The washing is almost wholly done by Chinese, who chiefly come from Amoy.

The income of Banca[59] has been for some time over three million

guilders per year, after deducting the salaries of all the officials on

the island, and the annual expense of the garrison. The chief engineer

thinks that about two-thirds of all the tin on the island has now been

taken out, but that the present yield will continue for some years, and a

less one for many years after. This tin-bearing range of granite begins

as far north on the west coast of the peninsula of Malacca as Tavoy. It

has been obtained at Tenasserim, and on the island of Junk Ceylon, and

large quantities are annually taken out at Malacca. It is also found on

the Sumatra side of the strait, in the district of Kampar. The range

reappears in the islands of Banca and Billiton, and again in Bali, at the

eastern end of Java.

_May 14th._—In the evening the steamer arrived from Batavia. For

fellow-passengers I found the captain and doctor of an English ship that

had lately been burned in the Strait of Sunda while bound from Amoy to

Demarara with a cargo of coolies. A passenger from her was also on board,

who had written a book on Cochin China, giving his experience while a

captive in that land.

_May 18th._—We continue, this morning, to pass small islands, and now, by

degrees, we are able to make out many ships and steamers at anchor in a

bay, and soon the houses by the bund or street bordering the shore begin

to appear. We are nearing Singapore. A year and fourteen days have passed

since I landed in Java. During that time I have travelled six thousand

miles over the archipelago, and yet I have not once set foot on any other

soil than that possessed by the Dutch, so great is the extent of their

Eastern possessions.

The activity and enterprise which characterize this city are very

striking to one who has been living so long among the phlegmatic

Dutchmen. Singapore, or, more correctly, Singapura, “the lion city,” is

situated on an island of the same name, which is about twenty-five miles

long from east to west, and fourteen miles wide from north to south.

When the English, in 1817, restored the archipelago to the Dutch, they

felt the need of some port to protect their commerce; and in 1819, by

the foresight of Sir Stamford Raffles, the present site of Singapore was

chosen for a free city. In seven years from that time its population

numbered 13,000; but has since risen to 90,000. Its imports have risen

from $5,808,000 in 1823 to $31,460,000 in 1863, and its exports from

$4,598,000 in 1823 to $26,620,000 in 1863.

As soon as I landed, I found myself among American friends, and one of

them kindly introduced me to the Governor of the Straits Settlements,

who received me in the most polite manner and kindly offered to assist me

in any way in his power. At my request, he gave me notes of introduction

to the Governor of Hong Kong and the admiral commanding her Majesty’s

fleet in the seas of China and Japan. A few days of rest after my long

journeys over Sumatra soon glided by, and I was ready to continue my

travels.

From Singapore my plan was to proceed directly to China, but finding in

port a French ship which was bound for Hong Kong, via Saigon, the capital

of Cochin China, I engaged a passage on her in order to see something

also of the French possessions in the East. Just as we were ready to

sail I met a gentleman who had lately returned from a long journey to

Cambodia, whither he had gone to photograph the ruins of the wonderful

temples in that land. He had a specimen for me, he said, which I must

accept before I knew what it was, a condition I readily complied with,

but when the “specimen” appeared I must confess I was not a little

surprised to find it was an enormous _python_. It had been caught by

the natives of Bankok after it had gorged itself on some unfortunate

beast, but that was some time before, and the brute was evidently ready

for another feast. My cans containing alcohol were already on board the

ship, but I took the monster with me when I went off to her late in the

evening, designing to drown it in its box and then transfer his snakeship

to a can. The captain, with the greatest politeness, met me at the rail,

and showed me my state-room in the after-cabin, and the sailors began

to bring my baggage, when first of all appeared the box containing the

python! I shouted out to the cabin-boy that that box must be left out on

deck, and then, in a low tone, explained to the captain that it contained

an enormous snake. “_Un serpent? un serpent?_” he exclaimed, raising up

both hands in horror, in such an expressive way as only a Frenchman can,

and proceeding to declare that he ought to have known that a passenger

who was a naturalist would be sure to fill the whole ship with all sorts

of venomous beasts. All the others were little less startled, and shunned

me in the half-lighted cabin, as if I were in league with evil spirits,

but I quieted their fears by ordering a sailor to put the box into a

large boat that was placed right side up on the main deck and promising

to kill the great reptile to-morrow.

_May 24th._—Early this morning we made sail, and I concluded to let my

troublesome specimen remain until we were out of the harbor, but now,

in the changing of the monsoons, the winds are light and baffling and

we finally came to anchor once more; and a sailor who got up into the

boat said something about “_le serpent_.” I was on the quarter-deck

at the time, and determining at once not to be troubled more with it,

jumped down on the main-deck, ran to the side of the boat, and seizing

the box gave it a toss into the sea, but just as it was leaving my

hands I thought to myself, “How light it is!” and the sailor said, “_Le

serpent n’est pas encore!—pas encore!_” We all looked over the ship’s

side and there was the box floating quietly away, and it was evident

that the monster had escaped. Every one then asked, “Where is he?” but

no one could tell. I assured the captain that he was in the box when I

put it on the sampan to come off to the ship. “Is he on board?” was the

next question from the mouths of all. We looked carefully in the boat

and round the deck, but could detect no trace of him whatever, and all,

except myself, came to the conclusion that he was not brought on board,

and then went back to their work. The box in which he had been confined

was about a foot and a half long by a foot high and a foot wide, and

over the top were four or five strips of board, each fastened at either

end with a single nail. On inquiring more closely, the sailor told me

that before I seized the box, the side with the slats was one of the

perpendicular sides, and had not been placed uppermost, as it ought to

have been. “Then,” I reasoned, “he is here on board somewhere beyond a

doubt, and I brought him here, and it’s my duty to find him and kill

him.”

[Illustration: KILLING THE PYTHON.]

We had four horses on deck, and the middle of the boat was filled with

hay for them, and under that it was probable the great reptile had

crawled away. In the bottom of the boat, aft, was a triangular deck, and,

as I climbed up a second time, I noticed that the board which formed the

apex of the triangle was loose, and moved a little to one side. Carefully

raising this, I espied, to my horror, the great python closely coiled

away beneath, the place being so small that the loose board rested on

one of his coils. I wore a thin suit, a Chinese baju, or loose blouse, a

pair of canvas shoes, and a large sun-hat. Throwing off my hat, that I

might go into the dreadful struggle unimpeded, I shouted out for a long

knife, knowing well that what I must try to do was to cut him in two, and

that he would attempt to catch my hand in his jaws, and, if he should

succeed in doing that, he would wind himself around me as quick as a man

could wind the lash of a long whip around a fixed stick, and certainly he

was large enough and strong enough to crush the largest horse. The cook

handed me a sharp knife, more than a foot long, and, holding the board

down with my feet, I thrust the blade through the crack, and, wrenching

with all my might, tried to break the great reptile’s back-bone, and

thus render all that part of the body behind the fracture helpless.

Despite my utmost efforts, he pulled away the knife, and escaped two or

three feet forward, where there was more room under the deck. By this

time there was the greatest confusion. The captain, evidently believing

that discretion is the better part of valor, ran below the moment he was

satisfied that I had indeed discovered the monster, seized a brace of

revolvers, and, perching himself upon the monkey-rail, leaned his back

against the mizzen-rigging, and held one in each hand, ready to fire into

the boat at the slightest alarm. The sailors all gathered round the boat,

and stood perfectly still, apparently half-stupified, and not knowing

whether it would be safest for them to stand still, climb up in the

rigging, or jump overboard. The first mate armed himself with a revolver,

and climbed on to the stern of the boat. Indeed, every moment I expected

to hear a report, and find myself shot by some of the brave ones behind

me. The second mate, who was the only real man among them all, seized

a large sheath-knife, and climbed into the boat to help me. I knew it

would not do to attempt to strike the monster with a knife where he had

room enough to defend himself; I therefore threw it down, and seized a

short handspike of iron-wood, the only weapon within my reach, and told

the second mate to raise the deck, and I would attempt to finish my

antagonist with the club, for the thought of escaping while I could, and

leave for others to do what belonged to me, never entered my mind. As the

deck rose I beheld him coiled up about two feet and a half from my right

foot. Suffering the acutest agony from the deep wound I had already given

him, he raised his head high out of the midst of his huge coil, his red

jaws wide open, and his eyes flashing fire like live coals. I felt the

blood chill in my veins as, for an instant, we glanced into each other’s

eyes, and both instinctively realized that one of us two must die on that

spot. He darted at my foot, hoping to fasten his fangs in my canvas shoe,

but I was too quick for him, and gave him such a blow over the head and

neck that he was glad to coil up again. This gave me time to prepare to

deal him another blow, and thus for about fifteen minutes I continued to

strike with all my might, and three or four times his jaws came within

two or three inches of my canvas shoe. I began now to feel my strength

failing, and that I could not hold out more than a moment longer, yet,

in that moment, fortunately, the carpenter got his wits together, and

thought of his broad-axe, and, bringing it to the side of the boat, held

up the handle, so that I could seize it while the reptile was coiling

up from the last stunning blow. The next time he darted at me I gave

him a heavy cut about fifteen inches behind his head, severing the body

completely off, except about an inch on the under side, and, as he coiled

up, this part fell over, and he fastened his teeth into his own coils.

One cut more, and I seized a rope, and, in an instant, I tugged him over

the boat’s side, across the deck, and over the ship’s rail into the sea.

The long trail of his blood on the deck assured me that I was indeed

safe, and, drawing a long breath of relief, I thanked the Giver of all

our blessings.

This was my last experience in the tropical East. A breeze sprang up, and

the ship took me rapidly away toward the great empire of China, where I

travelled for a year, and passed through more continued dangers and yet

greater hardships than in the East Indian Archipelago.

[Illustration: Map _To Illustrate Mr. Bickmore’s Travels_ IN THE EASTERN

ARCHIPELAGO

Edwᵈ Weller]

APPENDIX A.

_Area of the Principal Islands, according to Baron Melville van Carnbée._

Square English

geographical miles.

Java and Madura 38,251.2

Sumatra 128,560.0

Pulo Nias 1,200.0

Babi 480.0

Pagi 560.0

Banca 3,568.0

Billiton 1,904.0

Borneo 203,888.0

Celebes 57,248.0

Buton 1,379.2

Bali 16,848.0

Lombok 16,560.0

Sumbawa 4,448.0

Floris 4,032.0

Timur 9,808.0

Sandal-wood Island 3,784.0

Tenimber Islands 2,400.0

Aru Islands 1,040.0

Islands of Banda 17.6

Ceram 4,944.0

Buru 2,624.0

Gilolo 5,016.0

Bachian 800.0

Ternate 11.2

Amboina 2,128.0

---------

Total area of the Netherlands

India 445,411.2

APPENDIX B.

_Population of the Netherlands India, 1865._

-------------------------+----------+----------+--------+------+--------+

-------------------------+----------+----------+--------+------+--------+

Java and Madura | 27,105|13,704,535| 156,192| 6,764| 22,772|

from Nias to the Pagis | 1,188| 872,173 | 3,172| 54| 1,110|

Residency of Bencoolen | 174| 119,691| 596| 6| 47|

” Lampong | 52| 88,113| 180| 8| 4,666|

” Palembang | 182| 622,345| 2,790| 1,716| 67|

Banca | 116| 37,070| 17,097| 56| |

Billiton | 34| 12,786| 1,781| | 1,223|

Rhio | 136| 10,454| 19,972| 2| 119|

the Dutch Government) | 328| 802,889| 26,393| 1,736| 597|

Celebes | 1,176| 292,619| 4,385| 42| |

Residency of Amboina | 1,219| 104,841| 311| 85| 817|

” Banda | 545| 5,876| 153| 12| |

” Ternate | 732| 2,062| 427| 70| |

The Minahassa | 550| 102,423| 1,437| 11| |

Timur | 190| Unknown.| 752| 3| |

Bali and Lombok | | 863,725| | | |

+----------+----------+--------+------+--------+

Total | 33,677|17,641,602| 235,535|10,565| 31,424|

-------------------------+----------+----------+--------+------+--------+

-------------------------+------------

ISLANDS. | Total.

-------------------------+------------

Java and Madura | 13,917,368

“West Coast” of Sumatra, |

including the islands |

from Nias to the Pagis | 877,703

Residency of Bencoolen | 120,514

” Lampong | 93,019

” Palembang | 527,050

Banca | 54,339

Billiton | 15,824

Rhio | 30,683

Borneo (the parts under |

the Dutch Government) | 931,843

Celebes | 298,222

Residency of Amboina | 107,273

” Banda | 6,586

” Ternate | 3,291

The Minahassa | 104,418

Timur | 945

Bali and Lombok | 863,725

+------------

Total | 17,952,803

-------------------------+------------

APPENDIX C.

_A Table of Heights of the Principal Mountains in the Archipelago._

Height in

Place. Eng. feet.

AMBOINA.

Salhutu (highest peak on the island) 4,010

TERNATE (peak of) 5,510

TIDORE (peak of) 5,440

MINAHASSA.

Mount Klabat 6,560

Mount Sudara 4,390

Mount Batu Angus 2,290

Mount Lokon 5,140

Mount Massarang 4,150

Mount Tompasso 3,850

Mount Saputan 5,960

Mount Mahawut 4,170

Mount Sempo 4,900

Mount Katawak 3,970

Mount Kawin 3,430

Lake of Tondano 2,272

HEIGHTS IN JAVA.

Mount Krawang 5,771

Salak 7,244

Mandalawangi 9,940

Gedeh 9,750

Sedaratu 9,591

Alun-alun 9,100

Papandayang 7,477

Pasir Alang 8,387

Taman Saāt 7,908

Chikorai 9,233

Telaga Bodas 5,874

Highest edge of Galunggong 5,320

Galunggong 3,825

Slamat 11,329

Sindoro 10,316

Merbabu 10,219

Sumbing 10,947

Lawu 10,727

Dorowati 8,480

Kawi 9,408

Arjuno 10,947

Sémiru 12,235

Budolembu, highest peak in the Tenger Mountains 8,705

Boromo 7,545

Ajang 9,896

Raon 10,177

HEIGHTS IN SUMATRA.

Padang Hill (Apenberg) 341

Kayu Tanam 403

Padang Panjang 2,432

Fort Gugur Sigandang, the highest point on the _col_

between Singalang and Mérapi 3,677

From this place to Matua is the plateau of Agam—Matua is 3,389

Bambang 2,028

Pisang 1,685

Kumpodang (where we crossed the brook and found a

_controleur_ making a bridge, etc.) 670

Bondyol 735

Water-shed just before coming to Libu Siképing 2,132

Libu Siképing 1,511

Rau 972

Water-shed between Rau and Kota Nopan 2,132

That above Kota Nopan 1,351

Water-shed between Tobing and Uraba 2,451

Last hills crossed before coming down to Eik Bediri 600 to 800

Dundgus Nasi (island passed in coming from Siboga) 800

Mount Talang (Crawfurd’s Dictionary) 10,500

Mount Singalang 9,634

Mount Mérapi 9,570

Mount Sago, about 5,862

Mount Ophir 9,770

Mount Kalabu (west of Rau) 5,115

Mount Seret Mérapi 5,860

Mount Pitya Kéling 680

Lubu Rajah 6,234

Height of the plateau of Toba, about 4,000

Sinkara, greatest depth 1,193

Bottom of Silindong Valley 3,144

Bukit Gedang, the edge of the old crater crossed in going down

to Manindyu 3,624

Lake of Manindyu 1,541

Tanjong Alam, on the road from Fort van der Capellen to Paya

Kombo 3,428

Paya Kombo 1,704

Height of Silindong Valley (_e. g._, at Uta Galong) 3,144

Height of Toba Valley about 4,000

Mount Indrapura, estimated at 12,255

Mount Lusé, in the territory of Achin, in 3° 40′ N. (Crawfurd) 11,250

Mount Lombok, according to Melville van Carnbée, by

triangulation, about 12,363

APPENDIX D.

_Coffee sold by the Government at Padang._

------+-----------------+-------------------+---------------

YEAR. | Total quantity. | Exported to U. S. | Average price.

------+-----------------+-------------------+---------------

| _Piculs._ | _Piculs._ | _Guilders._

1856 | 125,000 | 65,521 | 30.84

1857 | 150,000 | 6,037 | 33.78

1858 | 185,000 | 72,010 | 25.25

1859 | 145,000 | 46,285 | 32.09

1860 | 151,000 | 19,536 | 34.59

1861 | 150,000 | 18,715 | 34.67

1862 | 135,000 | 15,971 | 41.15

1863 | | 23,745 |

1864 | 164,400 | 48,543 | 39.56

------+-----------------+-------------------+---------------

APPENDIX E.

_Trade of Java and Madura during 1864._

------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------

COUNTRIES. | No. of ships. | Tonnage.

------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------

ARRIVALS. | |

From Holland | 197 | 143,250

From other parts of Europe | 69 | 34,193

From the United States | 24 | 12,610

From the Cape of Good Hope | 7 | 4,132

From India | 18 | 9,060

From China, Manilla, and Siam | 128 | 45,067

From Mauritius | 4 | 1,034

From Japan | 4 | 843

From Australia | 68 | 29,548

From the eastern parts of the archipelago | 2,138 | 141,462½

+---------------+----------

Total | 2,657 | 423,083½

+===============+==========

DEPARTURES. | |

For Holland | 396 | 267,260

For other parts of Europe | 9 | 3,338

For the United States | 3 | 2,258

For India | 8 | 4,755

For China, Manilla, and Siam | 73 | 22,508

For Japan | 5 | 1,878

For Australia | 20 | 4,338

For the eastern parts of the archipelago | 2,245 | 151,066½

+===============+==========

Total | 2,759 | 577,401½

------------------------------------------+---------------+----------

[Illustration: TOMB OF THE SULTAN—PALEMBANG.

_See page 131._]

APPENDIX F.

_A List of the Birds collected by the Author on the island of Buru._

_Pandion leucocephalus_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. i., pl. 6.

_Baza Rheinwardtii_, Schleg. and Müll., P.Z.S.,[60] 1860, p. 342.

_Tinnunculus moluccensis_, Hornb. and Jacq., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 343.

_Ephialtes leucoapila_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 344.

_Caprimulgus macrourus_, Horsf., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 22.

_Hirundo javanica_, Sath., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 345.

_Cypselus mystaceus_, Sess., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 22.

_Eurystomus pacificus_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1863, p. 25.

_Todiramphus collaris_, Bon., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 23.

_Todiramphus sanctus_, Bon., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 23.

_Alcyone pusilla_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. ii., pl. 26.

_Nectarinia zenobia_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1863, p. 32.

_Nectarinia proserpina_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 32.

_Dicæum erythothorax_, Sess., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 32.

_Tropidorynchus bouruensis_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 31.

_Acrocephalus australis_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. iii., pl. 37.

_Sylvia flavescens_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 349.

_Cysticola rustica_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 25.

_Cysticola ruficeps_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. iii., pl. 45.

_Motacilla flavescens_, Shaw, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 350.

_Criniger mysticalis_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 28.

_Mimeta bouruensis_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 26.

_Rhipidura tricolor_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 351.

_Rhipidura bouruensis_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 29.

_Rhipidura_, sp.

_Monarcha loricata_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 29.

_Musicapa_, sp.

_Camphega marginata_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 31.

_Artaurus leucogaster_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 354.

_Dicrurus amboinensis_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 354.

_Calornis obscura_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 355.

_Calornis metallica_, Bon., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 355.

_Munia molucca_, Blyth, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 355.

_Platycercus dorsalis_, Quoy and Gaim, (_P. hypophonius_, Gray)

P.Z.S., 1860, p. 356.

_Eos rubra_, Wagl., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 356.

_Trichoglossus cyanogrammus_, Wagl., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 357.

_Eclectus puniceus_, Gm., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 357.

_Eclectus polychlorus_, Scop., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 358.

_Tanygnathus affinis_, Wall., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 20.

_Geoffroius personatus_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 358.

_Eudynornis ramsomi_, Bon., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 359.

_Centropus medius_, Müll., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 23.

_Cuculus caroides_, Müll., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 359.

_Cuculus assimilis_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1858, p. 184.

_Cacaomantis sepulchris_, Bon., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 359.

_Ptilonopus superbus_, Steph., P.Z.S., 1858, p. 184.

_Ptilonopus prassinorrhous_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1858, p. 185.

_Ptilonopus viridis_, Gm., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 34.

_Treron aromatica_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1863, p. 33.

_Carpophaga perspicillata_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 360.

_Carpophaga melanura_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 361.

_Macropygia amboinensis_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 361.

_Macropygia_, sp.

_Chalcophaps moluccensis_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 361.

_Megapodius Forsteri_, Temm., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 362.

_Megapodius Wallacii_, Gray, P.Z.S., 1860, p. 362.

_Glareola grallaria_, Temm., P.Z.S., 1863, p. 35.

_Ardetta flavicollis_, Sath., Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 65.

_Ardea novæ-hollandiæ_, Sath., Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 53.

_Herodias immaculata_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 58.

_Butorides javanica_, Blyth, P.Z.S., 1863, p. 35.

_Limosa uropygialis_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 29.

_Sphoeniculus magnus_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 33.

_Sphoeniculus subarquatus_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 32.

_Sphoeniculus albescens_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 31.

_Actitis empusa_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 31.

_Totanus griseopygius_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 38.

_Numenius uropygialis_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 43.

_Gallinula mystacina_, Temm.

_Rallus pectoralis_, Cuv., Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vi., pl. 76.

_Rallus_, sp.

_Dendrocygna guttulata_. Gray, P.Z.S., 1863, p. 36.

_Sterna velox_, Rüpp., P.Z.S., 1860, p. 366.

_Sula fusca_, Gould, B. of Aust., vol. vii., pl. 78.

NOTE.—For lists of birds collected on the Banda Isles, Ternate, and

Celebes, see ‘Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History.’

For a list of the shells collected in the Moluccas and other scientific

papers, see ‘Memoirs and Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural

History,’ and the ‘American Journal of Science for 1868,’ _et seq._

FOOTNOTES

[1] Valentyn, “History of the Moluccas.”

[2] The population of the Residency of Samarang, which includes the city,

is 1,020,275. Of these 5,162 are Europeans, 1,001,252 are natives, 11,441

are Chinese, 438 are Arabs, and 1,982 are from other Eastern nations. In

these figures the military are not included.

[3] The population of the Residency of Surabaya, which also includes

that of the city of the same name, is 1,278,600. Of these, 5,124 are

Europeans, 1,261,271 are natives, 7,603 are Chinese, 1,477 are Arabs, and

3,125 are from other Eastern nations.

[4] Crawfurd’s Dict. Ind. Arch.

[5] Crawfurd’s Dict. Ind. Arch., “Hindustan.”

[6] For the history of the culture-system and government in the

Netherlands India, consult Money’s “Java.”

[7] During 1865 the government sold 250,000 piculs (16,666 tons) of

sugar, but the total exported from Java was two million piculs.

[8] Our word sugar comes from the Arabic _sakar_, and that from the

Sanscrit _sarkara_, thus indicating in its name how it first came to be

known to Europeans.

[9] Mr. Crawfurd states that it is a similar product made from the sap

of the Palmyra palm (_Borassus flabelliformis_), and not the sugar of

the cane, that forms the saccharine consumption of tropical Asia, i. e.,

among the Cochin-Chinese, the Siamese, the Burmese, and the inhabitants

of Southern India, including the Telinga nation who introduced Hinduism

and Sanscrit names among these people, and probably were the first to

teach them how to obtain sugar from the sap of palm-trees.

[10] The prices obtained for it are established as follows: On Madura and

the north coast of Java, 6.92 guilders; on the south coast, 5.92 gl.;

at Bencoolen, Padang, and Priaman, on the west coast of Sumatra, 6.66¾

gl.; Ayar Bangis and Natal, 6 gl.; Palembang, 5.10 gl.; Banca, 6.72 gl.;

Bandyermassin, 6.66 gl.; Sambas and Pontianak, 5.10 gl.

[11] Of this number 27,105 are Europeans; 13,704,535 are natives; 156,192

are Chinese; 6,764 are Arabs; and 22,772 are from other Eastern nations.

See Appendix B.

[12] For a list of the number of ships that arrived during 1864, their

tonnage, and the countries from which they came, see Appendix E.

[13] Albinos are occasionally found among these animals. For a long

time previous to 1840 there was a famous “white deer” on the coast at

Antju, in the vicinity of Batavia. Many attempts were made to shoot it,

and these invariably proved so unsuccessful, that the natives, finding

they had an opportunity to give way to their insatiable love for the

marvellous, were all fully convinced that this animal was invulnerable.

It was, however, shot at last, and proved to be of a gray, rather than

a pure white. In 1845 a young one of a pure white color was caught at

Macassar.

[14] Jão de Barros, who wrote a classical history of the regions

discovered and conquered by the Portuguese in the East, was born in

1496, and died in 1570. He never visited the Indies, but carefully and

faithfully compiled his descriptions from the official records, which

were all intrusted to his care, in 1532. The first decade of his work was

published in 1552, the second in 1553, the third in 1563, and the fourth

after his death. He was, therefore, a contemporary of most of the early

navigators whose history he narrates.

[15] Diogo de Cauto, who wrote the “Asia Portuguesa,” was born in Lisbon

in 1542, and died at Goa, the Portuguese capital of India, in 1616, at

the age of seventy-four. It is believed that he went to India at the

age of fourteen, and, after having lived there in the army ten years,

returned to Portugal, but soon after went back, and continued there

till his death. It is probable that he never visited any part of the

archipelago himself, but obtained from others the information he gives us.

[16] The early kings of Macassar boasted that they descended from the

Tormanurong, who, according to their legends, had this miraculous history

as given in Pinkerton’s “Voyages,” vol. ii., p. 216. In the earliest

times, it happened that a beautiful woman, adorned with a chain of gold,

descended from heaven, and was acknowledged by the Macassars as their

queen. Upon hearing of the appearance on earth of this celestial beauty,

the King of Bantam made a long voyage to that land, and sought her hand

in marriage, though he had before wedded a princess of Bontain. His suit

was granted, and a son was begotten in this marriage, who was two or

three years old before he was born, so that he could both walk and talk

immediately after his birth, but he was very much distorted in shape.

When he was grown up, he broke the chain of gold which his mother had

brought from heaven into two pieces, after which she, together with her

husband, vanished in a moment, taking with her one half the chain, and

leaving the other half and the empire to her son. This chain, which the

Macassars say is sometimes heavy and sometimes light, at one time dark

colored and at another bright, was ever afterward one of the regalia of

the kings until it was lost in a great revolution.

[17] Odoardo Barbosa (in Spanish, Balbosa) was a gentleman of Lisbon,

who travelled in the East during his youth. From his writings it

appears probable that he visited Malacca before it was conquered by

the Portuguese in 1511. His work appeared in 1516. In 1519 he joined

Magellan, and was treacherously murdered by the natives of Zebu, one of

the Philippines, in 1521, four days after the great navigator, whom he

accompanied, had suffered a like fate.

[18] Mr. Wallace estimated the value of the goods carried there from

Macassar alone at 200,000 guilders (80,000 dollars), and those brought

from other places at 50,000 guilders (20,000 dollars) more.

[19] The name of this island comes from the Portuguese word _flor_, a

flower; plural, _floris_.

[20] The Rajah of Sangir, a village from twelve to fifteen miles

southeast of the volcano, was an eye-witness of this fearful phenomenon,

and thus describes it: “About 7 P. M., on the 10th of April, three

distinct columns of flame burst forth, near the top of Tomboro Mountain,

all of them apparently within the verge of the crater; and, after

ascending separately to a very great height, their tops united in the

air in a troubled, confused manner. In a short time the whole mountain

next Sangir appeared like a body of liquid fire, extending itself in

every direction. The fire and columns of flame continued to rage with

unabated fury until the darkness, caused by the quantity of falling

matter, obscured it at about 8 P. M. Stones at this time fell very thick

at Sangir, some of them as large as a man’s two fists, but generally not

larger than walnuts. Between 9 and 10 P. M. ashes began to fall; and soon

after, a violent whirlwind ensued, which blew down nearly every house in

the village of Sangir, carrying their tops and light parts along with it.

In that part of the district of Sangir adjoining Tomboro, its effects

were much more violent, tearing up by the roots the largest trees, and

carrying them into the air, together with men, houses, cattle, and

whatever else came within its influence. The sea rose nearly twelve feet

higher than it had ever been known to do before, and completely spoiled

the only small spots of rice-lands in Sangir, sweeping away houses and

every thing within its reach.”

[21] “Native Races of the East Indian Archipelago, Papuans,” by George

Windsor Earl, M. R. A. S. London, 1853.

[22] Possibly the “spots,” of which Mr. Earl speaks, may have been caused

by some disease, for spots of a lighter hue than the general color of the

body are often seen among all Malays. Both the straight-haired Malaysians

and the frizzled-haired Melanesians have the odd custom of rubbing _lime_

into their hair, which gives it a dull-yellowish or reddish tinge.

Mr. Earl, however, states that he has seen one native whose hair was

naturally _red_, a kind of partial albinoism.

[23] Mr. Jukes remarks, and I believe, most correctly, that “if the term

‘jura kalk’ is applied lithologically to these tertiary rocks, it is to

a certain extent applicable, as they have a concretionary and oölitic

structure. If, however, it is meant to have a chronological meaning, it

is either incorrectly applied, or the formation is incorrectly extended

on the map to the neighborhood of Kupang.”

[24] “Voyage of the Dourga in 1825 and 1826,” by Captain Kloff,

translated by G. W. Earl.

[25] A paal, the unit of measure on land in the East Indian Archipelago,

is fifteen sixteenths of a statute mile.

[26] The Dutch name for this tree and its fruit is cacao. Our word

chocolate comes from the Spanish “chocolate,” which was a mixture of the

fruit of this tree with Indian corn. These were ground up together, and

some honey was usually added. After sugar-cane was introduced, that was

also added to neutralize the bitter qualities of the cocoa.

[27] This name must not be confounded with that of the cocoa-nut-tree,

or _Cocos nucifera_, which is a palm. The word cocoa is supposed to have

been derived from the Portuguese word _macoco_ or _macaco_, a monkey, and

to have been applied to the cocoa-nut palm, from a fancied resemblance

between the end of the shell, where the three black scars occur, and the

face of a monkey.

[28] Francis Valentyn, the author of the most comprehensive and accurate

history and description of the Dutch possessions in all the East, was

a Lutheran clergyman. He was born at Dordrecht, about the year 1660.

In 1686 he arrived at Data via as a minister, and having resided some

time at Japara, near Samarang, he was transferred to Amboina, the future

field of his ministry and literary labors. After a residence of twelve

years in the Spice Islands, he was obliged to return home on account

of ill-health. Having remained in Holland for eleven years, he sailed

a second time for India in 1705. Arriving at Java, he remained on that

island for two years, and then proceeded to the Spice Islands, where

he resided for seven years, and in 1714 he returned again to Holland.

Immediately after his arrival he devoted himself to arranging his copious

notes for publication. His first volume was published in 1724; this was

followed by seven others, all fully illustrated, the last appearing in

1726. They embrace a complete description and history of all the Dutch

possessions from the Cape of Good Hope to Japan. The date of the death of

this eminent man is not known, but he must have been in his sixty-sixth

year when he finished his great work.

[29] According to official statements, the total yield from 1675 to 1854

was 100,034,036 Amsterdam pounds.

[30] De Cauto, who visited these islands in 1540, says: “The Persians

call the clove _calafur_, and speaking on this matter, with permission

of the physicians, it appears to us that the _carofilum_ of the Latin is

corrupted from the _calafur_ of the Moors (Arabs), for they have some

resemblance. And as this drug passed into Europe through the hands of the

Moors with the name _calafur_, it appears the Europeans did not change

it. The Castilians (Spaniards) called cloves _gilope_, because they came

from the island of Gilolo (probably one of the chief sources of this

article at that time). The people of the Moluccas call them _chanqué_.

The Brahmin physicians first called them _lavanga_, but afterward gave

them the Moorish name. Generally all nations give them a name of their

own, as we have done; for the first of us (the Portuguese) that reached

these islands (the Moluccas), taking them in their hands, and observing

their resemblance to iron nails, called them _cravo_, by which they are

now so well known in the world.”

[31] In 1855 the population of the islands east of Amboina was thus

divided, and so little change has occurred that these figures closely

represent the relative numbers of each class at the present time:

---------+----------+--------+------------------------+-------+--------

| | +-----------+------------+ |

---------+----------+--------+-----------+------------+-------+--------

Haruku | 88 | 288 | 3,204 | 3,544 | 64 | 7,188

Saparua | 162 | 2,912 | 7,340 | 1,154 | 97 | 11,665

Nusalaut | 4 | 63 | 3,386 | | 26 | 3,479

---------+----------+--------+-----------+------------+-------+--------

[32] In 1854 the western part that is included in the residency of Hila

was supposed to contain a population of two thousand four hundred and

sixty-eight; the middle peninsula and the bay visited on this voyage,

twenty-four thousand one hundred and ninety-four; the northern coast

under Wahai, forty thousand nine hundred and twenty-five; and, in the

great area east of Elpaputi Bay, it was supposed that there dwelt between

twenty-one and twenty-two thousand; making a total of eighty-nine

thousand and eighty-seven, about ninety thousand; but Dr. Bleeker, who

gives these figures, thinks there are half as many more people among the

mountains, and that the whole population of the island should be put

down at one hundred and fifty thousand. He gives the population of these

islands for 1855 in round numbers as follows:

Amboina 29,500

Haruku 7,900

Buru 9,200

Amblau 1,000

Bonoa 1,500

Nusalaut 3,500

Manipa 700

Saparua 11,600

Ceram 150,000

-------

Total 214,200

These figures may be regarded as good estimates of the population at the

present time.

[33] This name Alfura, in Dutch Alfoera, is also written Alfora, Alafora,

Arafura, and Halafora. Mr. Crawford finds that it is composed of the

Arabic articles _alor_, _el_, and the preposition _fora_, without; and

was simply a general denomination given by the Portuguese when they were

supreme in the Moluccas to all the native inhabitants who were without

the pale of their authority.

[34] This Gunong Api most not be confounded with another similar volcano

of the same name north of Wetta, and still another near the western end

of Sumbawa, at the northern entrance to the Sapi Strait.

[35] De Barros, in Crawfurd’s “Dictionary of the India Islands.”

[36] Subsequently I learned that two of them were still living when he

reached France.

[37] From Valentyn and later writers we learn that eruptions have

occurred in the following years: 1586, 1598, 1609, 1615, 1632, 1690,

1696, 1712, 1765, 1775, 1778, 1820, and 1824.

[38] Heavy earthquakes, without eruptions, have occurred in 1629, 1683,

1710, 1767, 1816, and 1852.

[39] In this case the facts that the water in the roads did not pour out

into the sea, and that the “flood” did not come until half an hour after

the shock had occurred, indicate that this wave had its origin elsewhere,

and that there is no need of supposing, as in accounting for the great

wave of 1852, that any part of the group was raised or depressed.

[40] Mr. Crawford thinks this is a corruption of _burungdewata_, which in

Malay means “birds of God.”

[41] Vide Ramusio, vol. i., p. 376, in Crawford’s “Dictionary of the

India Islands.”

[42] In the same length of time Mr. A. R. Wallace collected sixty-six

species on this island.

[43] A similar cause produces the rainless district of Peru, but there

the prevailing wind throughout the year, at least in the upper strata of

the atmosphere, is from the southeast.

[44] This date is corroborated by Pigafetta, who wrote in 1521, and

remarks in regard to this point: “Hardly fifty years have elapsed since

the Moors (Arabs) conquered (converted) Malucco (the Moluccas), and

dwelt there. Previously these islands were peopled with Gentiles (i. e.,

heathen) only.”

[45] Vide Pigafetta in Crawfurd’s “Dict. India Islands.”

[46] He has since been canonized, and is worthily considered by his

people a model of piety and devotion to the missionary cause.

[47] Mr. A. R. Wallace, who has travelled more widely than any other

naturalist over the region where these magnificent birds are found, gives

the following complete list of the species now known, and the places they

inhabit: Arru Islands, _P. apoda_ and _P. regia_; Misol, _P. regia_ and

_P. magnifica_; Wagiu, _P. rubra_; Salwatti, _P. regia_, _P. magnifica_,

_Epimachus albus_, and _Sericulus aureus_; coast regions of New Guinea

generally, _Epimachus albus_, and _Sericulus aureus_; central and

mountainous regions of the northern peninsula of New Guinea, _Lophorina

superba_, _Parotia sexsetacea_, _Astrapia nigra_, _Epimachus magnus_,

_Craspedophora magnifica_, and probably _Diphylloides Wilsonii_ and

_Paradigalla carunculata_.

[48] This number is divided according to nationalities as follows:

Europeans, 550; natives, 102,423; Chinese, 1,434; Arabs, 11.

[49] Crawfurd’s “Dictionary of the India Islands.”

[50] For an accurate representation of these rings, see the drawings of

concretionary structure in Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 99, fig. 85.

[51] I had little idea, when the above was written, that this ship was no

other than the Hartford, made so famous by Admiral Farragut’s brave and

successful assault on the forts below Mobile, and that Rear-Admiral H. H.

Bell, then commanding our Asiatic squadron, was on board; and that during

that same year (1866) it would be my privilege to meet him, and receive

from him and the other officers of our United States ships so much kind

assistance in making long voyages on the coasts of China, Corea, and

Japan.

[52] Vide Max Müller’s “Lectures on the Science of Language,” First

Course, p. 224.

[53] Queen Elizabeth’s letter is as follows: “We for them” (the East

India Company) “do promise, that in no time hereafter you shall have

cause to repent thereof, but rather to rejoice much, for their dealing

shall be true and their conversation sure, and we hope that they will

give such good proof thereof that this beginning shall be a perpetual

confirmation of love betwixt our subjects in both parts, by carrying

from us such things and merchandise as you have need of there. So that

your highness shall be very well served, and better contented, than you

have heretofore been with the Portugals and Spaniards, our enemies, who

only and none else of these regions have frequented those your and the

other kingdoms of the East, not suffering that the other natives should

do it, pretending themselves to be monarchs and absolute lords of all

those kingdoms and provinces, as their own conquest and inheritance, as

appears by their lofty titles in their writings. The contrary whereof

hath very lately appeared unto us. That your highness, and your royal

family, fathers and grandfathers, have, by the grace of God, and their

valor, known, not only to defend your own kingdoms, but also to give

war unto the Portugals in the land which they possess, as namely: in

Malacca, in the year of human redemption, 1575, under the conduct of

your valliant Captain Ragamacota (_Rajah makuta_) with their great loss

and the perpetual honor of your highness’ crown and kingdom. And now, if

your highness shall be pleased to accept unto your favor and grace and

under your royal protection and defence, these our subjects, that they

may freely do their business now and continue yearly hereafter, this

bearer, who goeth chief of the fleet of four ships, hath order, with

your highness’ license, to leave certain factors with a settled house or

factory in your kingdom, until the going thither of another fleet, which

shall go thither on the return of this—which left factors shall learn

the language and customs of your subjects, whereby the better and more

lovingly to converse with them.”

[54] For a detailed list of the quantities exported each year, and the

average price, see Appendix D.

[55] Vide Marsden’s “History of Sumatra,” p. 322 _et seq._

[56] While this work is going to the press, the specimens referred to

have all arrived in perfect order, though the ship that brought them

was obliged to put in twice in distress, having one time been nearly

dismasted by a cyclone, that kept her on her beam ends for eight hours.

[57] This accords with Van Dijk’s statement, that while the purity of

English coals is represented by 81.08, that of the Orange-Nassau mines in

Borneo would be represented by 98.46, and this by 69.47.

[58] The total population of this residency is estimated at 527,050, of

which 132 are Europeans; about 522,345 natives; 2,790 Chinese; 1,716

Arabs; and 67 from other Eastern nations.

[59] The population of the island is 54,389. Of these, 110 are Europeans;

37,070 natives; 17,097 Chinese, and 56 Arabs.

[60] ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.’

INDEX.

Abreu, Antonio d’, sent to search for the Spice Islands, 23;

is the first to reach the Bandas, 215;

pillars of discovery erected by, 256.

Achin, country, people, and trade, 448;

English appear at, 449.

Alfura, name whence derived and its signification, 203, and _note_;

bloody laws of, in Ceram, 205;

of Kaibobo, 207;

drunken revels of, 209, 210;

of Buru, their customs and belief, 271-273;

of the Minahassa, 365.

Amahai, bay of, described, 202;

village of, _ib._

Amboina, residence of Rumphius, 13;

island and city described, 130-132;

famous for its shells, 133;

life of foreigners at, 211;

trade of, 249.

_Amuk_, defined, 383.

_Anak gadis_, or virgin children, 497, 507.

_Anon depressicornis_, an antelope, 325.

Ants, abundance of and trouble caused by, 288, 289.

Army, headquarters of Javanese, 43;

Dutch, in Sumatra, 456.

Arrack, how made, 68.

Arriens, governor of the Moluccas, 213;

kind invitation given the author, _ib._;

visits Banda, 213 _et seq._

Aru Islands, account of, 244.

Assilulu, visit to the village of, 149-161.

Ayar Bangis, port of, 453.

Baba, island of, described, 127.

Babirusa, skulls of, 150;

distribution of, _ib._;

young one seen at Kayéli, 292;

author hunts for, on Limbi, 325;

one commits suicide, 331.

Bachian, island of, described, 299;

great python killed on, 334;

fauna of, 380.

_Baju_, a, described, 34.

Bali, described, 93;

fauna of, _ib._;

separation from Java, 93, 94;

fauna of, 94;

religion of, 95, 96.

_Bali_, a town hall, 477.

Bamboo, used by the Malays, 86.

Banana, tree and fruit described, 84, 85;

native name for, 159;

different kinds, _ib._

Banca, description and geology of, 534;

income of, 535.

Banda, author arrives at, 128;

and revisits, 214;

description of the group, 214, 215;

early inhabitants of, 216;

religion of, _ib._;

natives of, exterminated by the Dutch, 217;

convicts banished to, 217, 218;

the group only walls of a crater, 224;

compared with that of the Tenger Mountains, _ib._;

nutmeg parks on, 227;

residency of, 242.

Banteng, the _Bos sondaicus_, 72.

Bantiks, a people near Menado, 343.

Barros, Jão de, history of, 97, _note_;

his description of Celebes, 97;

describes the many languages spoken in the Moluccas, 163;

his description of the Bandas, 215, 216.

Barus, a port in Sumatra, 442.

Batavia, purpose of going to, 13;

foundation of, 24;

police of, 383.

Batta, grave of a, 417;

Lands, a description of, 423;

are cannibals, 424;

referred to by Marco Polo, 425;

by Sir Stamford Raffles, _ib._;

draw the author’s carriage, 426, 427;

author visits a village of, 440;

houses of, _ib._;

eat a man, 442;

missionaries among, 443;

Madame Pfeiffer among, 444;

kill two American missionaries, 445;

origin of their cannibal customs, 446.

Barbosa, Odoardo, cited, 63;

history of, 100, _note_;

describes the natives of Celebes, 100.

Bears, of Sumatra, 510, 511.

Bencoolen, bay of, 486;

history of, 487, 489.

Benzoin, a resin, 63.

Betel-nut; tree described, 180;

mode of chewing the, 181.

Birds.—

Bird that guarded the double cocoa-nut tree, 15;

of Java, 80, 81;

trade in, on the coast of New Guinea, 242;

luris, _ib._;

crown pigeons (_Megapodiideæ_), 242;

doves (_Columba ænea_ and _Columba perspicillata_), fruit planted

by, 243;

of paradise found at Aru Islands, 244;

Pigafetta’s account of, _ib._;

kingfishers at the Bandas, 246;

_Pitta vigorsi_, a rare species, _ib._;

_Carpophaga luctuosa_, a white dove, 255, 268;

the prince parrot (_Platycercus hypophonius_), description of,

_ib._;

luris, red (_Eos rubra_), 256, 259;

kingfishers at Buru, 258;

hunting luris, 259;

parrakeets, _ib._;

_Trichoglossus cyanogrammus_, _ib._;

luris, Moore’s description of, 260;

_Tanygnathus macrorynchus_, a large, green parrot, 268;

_Carpophaga perspicillata_, a long-tailed dove, _ib._;

_Muscicapidæ_, _ib._;

_Monarcha loricata_, _ib._;

_Tropidorynchus bouruensis_, 269;

_Anas rajah_, or “prince duck,” 283;

author incurs great danger in procuring, _ib._;

_castori rajah_, 289;

_Megapodius Forsteni_, _ib._;

_M. Wallacei_, _ib._;

mode of shooting, skinning, and preserving, 288, 289;

_Corvus enka_, 335;

_Dicrurus_, _ib._

Birgos latro, the great hermit crab, 148.

Bleeker, Dr., on the geology of Laitimur, 247;

on the ichthyology of Lake Linu, 344.

Blood-suckers, author tortured by, 492, 493, 508.

Boats, with outriggers, 57;