CROSSING THE EQUATOR.--ADVENTURE WITH MALAY PIRATES.
There were several things held in reserve to be seen on the second day
in Singapore. Our friends went to the museum and library, which are in a
large building near the esplanade or park where people stroll in the
afternoon, and not far from the road which forms the fashionable drive.
The library is an excellent one, and contains a great number of works on
the East; the Doctor spent an hour or more among the books, and, while
examining their titles and contents, he came upon a volume which was
written by one of his intimate friends in America. It was entitled
"Overland through Asia," and described a journey that the author once
made across the northern part of the Eastern hemisphere.
There was a fair collection of minerals and other things in the museum,
and the boys were interested in a huge python that lay coiled around
some rocks in the centre of one of the rooms. The director of the museum
told them that the serpent was kept in a cage in the museum for some
time, but it was finally determined to kill and stuff him, so that his
appearance could be more readily studied by visitors. The work of
killing was more serious than had been anticipated; it was done by means
of chloroform, as they did not wish to injure the reptile's skin by
lacerating it.
A sponge saturated with chloroform was introduced between the bars of
the cage, and held over the head of the python as he lay asleep. Instead
of being stupefied, he was awakened by it; and he indicated most
emphatically, by moving his head away, that he did not like that kind of
treatment. He refused to breathe the narcotic, and it became apparent
that some means of compelling him to take it must be adopted.
A noose was passed over his head, and he was drawn forward so that his
nose was at the bars of the cage. Then the sponge was again applied, and
he was forced to inhale the chloroform, whether he wanted to or not. He
lashed about from side to side, and sometimes it seemed as though he
would tear the cage to pieces with the violence of his demonstrations.
All this time he was breathing the narcotic; but it was nearly an hour
before he was fairly under its influence, and another hour was required
to reduce him to a state of quiet. Even when he had ceased to lash
around so as to threaten injury to the cage, his body was constantly
giving convulsive twitches, and these did not end for several hours. The
gentleman who superintended the operation said that the snake was the
worst patient he ever saw under the influence of chloroform, and the
hardest to manage.
They took another drive into the country, over a road that had been
newly opened. Their way led them near a native village, where the houses
were thickly thatched with grass and strips of palm-leaf, so as to keep
out the heavy rains that frequently occur. It is said that at Singapore
more than half the days of the year are favored with showers, and the
records show that in some years they have had two hundred and odd rainy
days. The rain cools the air, and it is probably owing to the rain and
wind that there are so few cases of fever among the Europeans. Sometimes
the wind develops into a lively squall that sets all light things in
motion and fills the air with clouds of dust. It frequently happens that
the papers on the desk of a merchant will be sent flying about the room,
and possibly out of the window; and there are stories of valuable
documents and notes of the Bank of England being whisked away, so that
their owners never saw them again.
[Illustration: KLINGS AND CHINESE.]
They saw groups of Klings and Chinese along the road; and in one
instance four of the former were holding a discussion over a basket of
fruit, and making things so lively that the boys thought there would be
a fight. The Klings do not bear a good reputation among the Europeans,
and are not on friendly terms with the Chinese. They are first-class
rascals in all their dealings where they can take advantage; and, if
there is no danger of receiving punishment, they are almost certain to
be insolent. On the other hand, they are cringing to their superiors,
and make the utmost professions of friendship, while ready at any moment
to indulge in the meanest treachery. The Chinese, with whatever
disagreeable qualities they possess, are much to be preferred to the
Klings.
[Illustration: NATIVE NURSES AND CHILDREN.]
Frank and Fred were amused at the costumes of the native nurses, whom
they occasionally saw in charge of European children. They were more
noticeable for their comfort in the hot climate of the tropics than for
elegance of design; and it was evident that the expense of keeping one
of these nurses in clothing was not great. The native children go quite
naked until five or six years of age, and even later; and it was not an
uncommon sight to see a woman bearing a water-jar, and followed by a
little urchin entirely destitute of clothing, in marked contrast to the
European children, who were dressed after the custom of the country
whence their parents came.
The native women are fond of ornaments in their ears, like the women of
other countries, and a good many of them have their noses pierced and
decorated. Anklets and armlets of silver and gold are also worn, and it
is not unusual to see a woman, whose entire clothing has cost less than
a dollar, almost weighted down with jewellery worth a goodly sum.
[Illustration: COALING AT THE DOCK.]
They visited the new harbor of Singapore to see the ship on which they
intended leaving the following morning for Java. The new harbor is known
as Tangong Pagar, and has the advantage over the old one of allowing
ships to lie at a dock instead of anchoring a considerable distance from
shore. The docks are well built, and there are mountains of coal piled
up there to meet the wants of ships. Singapore is an important
coaling-station for ships in the Eastern trade, and sometimes a dozen of
them may be seen taking coal at Tangong Pagar at the same time.
[Illustration: CARRYING COAL ON BOARD.]
Our friends were satisfied with the appearance of the steamer; and when
they had completed their inspection they returned to the hotel, and from
there went to the office of the Dutch Steamship Company to engage
passage. Every week there is a steamer leaving Singapore for Batavia.
One week it is a French ship, and the next a Dutch one; the latter runs
in connection with the Peninsular and Oriental line; while the former
belongs to the great company which carries the French mail from Europe
to the East. It happened to be the week of the Dutch ship when Doctor
Bronson and his young companions were at Singapore, and they
congratulated themselves that they would have the opportunity of going
on a vessel of a nationality new to them.
Frank and Fred opened their eyes in astonishment when they learned the
price they were to pay for passage to Java.
"Forty-six dollars!" exclaimed Frank; "and for a voyage of forty-eight
hours!"
"And it is only five hundred miles from Singapore to Batavia," Fred
responded. "How much does it cost to go from New York to England, and
what is the distance?"
The Doctor informed him that it was about three thousand miles from New
York to Liverpool, and the passage was usually a hundred dollars for the
best places on the best steamers.
"At the rate from here to Batavia," said Fred, "we should have to pay
two hundred and seventy-five dollars for the transatlantic voyage where
we now pay one hundred dollars. Why does it cost so much more here than
on the Atlantic?"
"In the first place," the Doctor explained, "there are comparatively few
people travelling here, and the companies are compelled to ask high
prices in order to keep up their ships. Where a steamer between New York
and Liverpool would have a hundred passengers and more, and consider it
only an ordinary business, you will rarely find more than twenty or
thirty passengers on a steamer in the Far East. Coal is much more
expensive here than in the North Atlantic ports, and so is nearly
everything else that is used on a ship. In these hot regions the
passengers need more room than on a transatlantic steamer, and more
personal comforts generally."
"But don't they ever crowd the passengers rather uncomfortably?" Frank
asked. "It seems to me that I have heard you speak of a very
disagreeable voyage you once had on account of the unusual number of
people on the steamer you travelled on."
"You are quite right," the Doctor replied; "and it was on this very
route, from Singapore to Batavia. I was on the French steamer; and the
agents told me there would be plenty of room, as only a few passengers
were engaged. She had eight rooms, with two berths to a room, so that
her complement of passengers was sixteen. But when we came to start we
found that we numbered fifty-two; and you can easily understand that we
had a hard time of it. We were packed something like sardines in a can,
and all were heartily glad when the voyage was over. If we could have
laid hold of the Singapore agent of the company we should have treated
him as roughly as the laws of the ocean permit; but he had the advantage
of being on shore, and quite out of our reach."
[Illustration: SERVANTS ON DUTY.]
The trio of travellers rose early the next morning, as the steamer was
advertised to leave at seven o'clock, and the dock was a long distance
from the hotel. Their baggage was piled in a small cart drawn by a
bullock, and started off some time ahead of them, so as to be at the
steamer before they reached there in the more expeditious garri. When
they had swallowed their morning coffee and came out of the hotel, they
found a group of servants waiting near the door to ask for money, as a
reward for their services. Frank said the only energy the fellows
displayed during his acquaintance with them was in this final act of
begging; it was far from an easy matter to get any service out of them,
as their chief occupation was gambling, and they were too much engrossed
in it to pay any attention to common things.
The steamer sailed promptly on her advertised time. During the last
half-hour of their stay at the dock, the passengers were amused by the
antics of a lot of men and boys who dived for money. They were in small
boats close to the steamer, and whenever a coin, silver or copper, was
thrown into the water, a dozen of the fellows plunged over in search of
it. Generally they caught it before it had gone far below the surface,
and sometimes there would be a struggle between two of the divers for
the possession of a coin. The loser would appeal to the passengers to
throw over a piece which could be his special property, and he very
often succeeded in inducing them to do so.
The Doctor told the boys that the quarrel over the money was a clever
bit of acting, as the fellows were associated, and the result of the
day's work was divided equally among them. Sometimes they refuse to dive
for copper coins, and will only go over for silver. If any coppers are
thrown they decline to move, and say it is impossible to see copper at
the bottom of the water. Consequently their harvest is in silver; and if
any copper has been dropped, they dive for it after the ship has gone.
[Illustration: SCENE ON THE SUMATRA COAST.]
The route of the steamer proved to be very picturesque. The numerous
islands that lie at this part of the Straits of Malacca were visible in
whatever direction our friends turned their eyes, and away to the right
was the coast of Sumatra, thickly clothed in tropical verdure. The
islands were so many, and lay so irregularly, that the steamer was
obliged to change her course every few hours, and Fred thought before
noon that they must have steered to every point of the compass since
they left Singapore.
The sky was clear, and the heat of the sun poured fiercely down on the
triple awning that covered the stern of the ship's deck. But it was less
severe than the boys had expected to find it; and they both agreed that
the Gulf of Siam was quite as uncomfortable as the Java Sea near the
equator.
Our young friends were full of excitement at the prospect of going into
southern latitude. They were frequently studying their maps and looking
at their watches, so as to be on the lookout for the equator at the
moment of crossing it.
"We left Singapore at seven in the morning," said Frank, "and we had
eighty miles to go to reach the equator. The steamer is running ten
miles an hour, and according to my calculation we should be on the
equator about three o'clock."
Fred was of the same opinion; and it was determined that they would
watch closely from two till four o'clock, and see if the southern
hemisphere was in any way unlike the Northern one; and so they watched
while the steamer moved on and on towards the south. A little past three
in the afternoon the Doctor told them they were probably in the region
of no latitude, and that the equator was under their feet.
"I tell you what, Frank," said Fred, "it may be all my imagination, but
it seems to me that the sea has a different appearance here from
anything I have yet seen."
"What is that?"
"Why, you know that everywhere else when we are at sea we appear to be
in a hollow or basin, and the horizon line of the water is higher than
we are. Now, as I look off from the steamer, it seems to me that the
world rounds away from us, and if my eyesight was strong enough I could
see the North and the South Poles. Instead of being in a hollow, as we
have always appeared to be heretofore, I seem to be on a great globe, or
the summit of a rounded hill."
Frank thought he had the same sensation, but not so strongly as Fred.
They appealed to the Doctor, who said that the feeling was mostly
imaginary, and grew out of the knowledge that they were crossing the
equator. "But there is sometimes a condition of the atmosphere," he
added, "which produces the appearance you describe. In all the time I
have passed at sea I have seen it only on a few occasions--perhaps three
or four in all. There is a suggestion of it at this moment, I observe,
and your imagination has done the rest.
"And you may consider yourself fortunate," he continued, "that you are
not making an old-fashioned voyage of twenty or thirty years ago."
"Why so?" Frank asked.
"Because," was the reply, "you would run the risk of an introduction to
Father Neptune."
"I remember," said Fred, "that is the ceremony they talk about in
crossing the line for the first time."
"Yes," Frank responded, "they play all kinds of pranks on the
greenhorns, or those who have never been beyond the equator."
"My first crossing of the line was on an English ship," said the Doctor,
"and the custom was allowed in its full force. They fastened below all of
the crew who were not old sailors, and also all of the passengers. The
latter were let off by paying half a sovereign each, to be expended in
drink for the crew; three-fourths of them complied at once, and were let
up to see the fun. But the greenhorns of the crew were not excused, and
we had a chance to see how the ceremony was performed."
"And how was it?"
[Illustration: CROSSING THE LINE ON A MAN-OF-WAR.]
"Just about daybreak the ship was hailed by a hoarse voice that seemed
to come from under the bows. The voice was followed by Neptune in
person, and he was accompanied by several attendants blowing conch
shells. Neptune was one of the old sailors in disguise; he had a long
beard made of rope-yarn, and a tin crown, and he carried a trident in
his right hand as he marched along the deck. His attendants were
equipped with beards almost as long as those of Neptune, and, like their
master, they were naked to the waist.
"He ordered the sailors to bring him a throne, and he was speedily
mounted on the top of a cask. Then, one after another, the greenhorns
were brought before him to be questioned and shaved.
"'Do you intend to serve me always, and be a good sailor?' was the first
question that Neptune addressed to the subject before him.
"As the man opened his mouth to answer, the shaving-brush was thrust
into it. The brush was a swab made of yarn, and the lather consisted of
coarse soap mixed with water from the tub where the grindstone stood.
The shaving was performed with a rusty iron hoop, and without any
tenderness or delicacy. The victims were made to go through the
performance in spite of their struggles, and when it was over the
majority of them found their faces covered with scratches that lasted
for several days.
"The ceremony very rarely takes place nowadays on merchant-ships, and
only occasionally on men-of-war. No rudeness is now allowed on the part
of Neptune and his assistants, and the sport is confined to drenching
the greenhorns by getting them under a sail filled with water, or
playing some other harmless prank. Generally all the officers come on
deck to meet Neptune on his arrival, and there is a partial relaxation
of discipline for half an hour or so."
The subject was dropped, and the boys devoted themselves to studying the
appearance of the water, and the varying light and shadow on the
Sumatran coast, which was constantly in sight. Suddenly Frank said he
had thought of something he wished to ask the Doctor.
His question had reference to the Malay pirates, of which he had often
read, and he wished to know if he was not in the vicinity of those
disagreeable men.
"We are in their neighborhood," said the Doctor; "but I don't think we
need fear anything from them."
"Of course not," cried Fred; "they would never disturb a steamer like
this."
"Not unless she was disabled, and in their power," responded Frank; "and
then, I suppose, they would not show much mercy."
"As to that," remarked the Doctor, "it is difficult to lay down an
invariable rule. The pirates pursue their trade for love of gain, and
are not likely to rush to destruction. If they should get in the way of
this vessel she would be likely to run their boats down, and that would
be an end of them. They have a wholesome fear of a steamer, and are
careful to keep out of her way.
"Twenty or thirty years ago there were a great many pirates all through
the Malay Archipelago. They carried on their business as an American
would deal in wheat or conduct a hotel, and there were whole towns and
villages entirely supported by piracy. They attacked Chinese or other
native boats, and they also overpowered European ships that were
becalmed in the straits between the numerous islands. The crews were
murdered, or sold into slavery in many instances, while in others they
were released after much suffering. The evil became so great that some
of the civilized nations sent ships of war to destroy the villages where
the pirates had their resorts, and also to capture the pirate craft.
"Against a sailing ship the pirates have a great advantage. Their proas,
or boats, have a large number of men to row them, and when a ship is
becalmed they can come out to her in strong force and rush upon her.
They board the ship on both bows simultaneously by dozens and dozens,
and in a few moments the crew is overpowered, and the vessel in their
hands.
"One of the war-ships that came here was disguised as a merchant
vessel, and she made so many captures that for some time the pirates
were afraid to go near a vessel of her rig. An American ship was
captured by some pirates from Qualla Battu, a town on the west coast of
Sumatra, and the government of the United States sent a ship to teach
the fellows a lesson. Qualla Battu was burnt, and the inhabitants that
were not killed by the shells from the ship were scattered in the
forest. The result was that for a long time afterwards no American ship
was troubled by them.
"Singapore was formerly a business centre for the pirates, even after it
went into the hands of the English. They swarmed among the channels of
the islands in the vicinity, and they had spies in the fort to tell them
of the movements of every craft that sailed from it. Their principal
victims were the native traders, who could offer little resistance, and
they used to conduct the business in the most systematic manner."
"How was that?"
[Illustration: CHIEF'S HOUSE IN A PIRATE VILLAGE.]
"A chief of one of the small provinces or districts of the Malay States
would make up his mind to embark in piracy as a regular business. He
would gather as many men under his banner as he could get together, and
go to one of the islands near Singapore. There he built a village, which
could serve as a depot for slaves and merchandise, and a convenient
resting-place for his men, when they had had a hard weeks' work. Then he
stationed himself in one of the channels, where native traders pass on
their way to and from Singapore; and very often he would know exactly
when one of them was expected. Where he was successful, the chief would
soon have a large fleet, sometimes hundreds of proas; and he gathered
around him a great number of adventurers, who were proud to range
themselves under his banners. His forces would become so large that he
could divide them, and watch several channels; and sometimes it happened
that serious troubles arose between rival pirates for the possession of
some place that was particularly valuable for purposes of plunder.
[Illustration: HARBOR OF PIRATES.]
"The ships they captured were taken to their settlements by the pirates;
and after all the goods in them had been removed, the craft and its
cordage would be burnt, to prevent identification. The plunder would be
sent to Singapore in the chief's trading-vessels, and sold in the open
market; and it often happened that a merchant who had sold goods to a
native trader living far to the south was able to buy them back again,
in a week or two, at a greatly reduced rate.
"The native crews of the captured ships were taken to some of the
interior towns of Sumatra or Borneo, where they were sold as slaves to
work on the pepper plantations belonging to the Malays. The pirates
generally sailed in fleets of from four up to thirty proas, according to
the class of ships they were looking for. Each proa carried from twenty
to forty men, and had one or more small guns, in addition to muskets and
pistols. Their favorite weapons were the Malay kriss or knife; and they
had a supply of darts and other missiles, to be thrown on board their
intended prizes.
"They always boarded over the bows, and they rushed on in such numbers
that the small crew of a merchant-ship could offer no resistance. Once
they met their match at the hands of a woman, and the fame of her
stratagem lasts to this day."
"Oh! please tell us about it," said both the boys.
"She was a Quakeress," the Doctor replied; "and you know the Quakers do
not believe in fighting.
"She and her husband were passengers on a brig that was becalmed in one
of the straits of the Malay Archipelago. A dozen proas came out from a
little harbor where there was a pirate settlement, and paddled straight
towards the brig. The crew began preparations for defence, and the
captain called on the husband of this woman to perform his share of the
work. He refused, on the ground that fighting was contrary to his
religious principles; and his wife sustained the refusal.
"'But, if he cannot fight,' said she, 'he and I will do something for
the general good of all on the ship.'
"She told her husband to bring on deck some dozens of beer bottles that
had been emptied of their contents during the voyage. Then, with a
hammer, she set to work to break these bottles into small pieces, which
were scattered all over the deck. Her husband assisted her, and so did
the crew, and, before the proas were along-side, the whole deck, from
bow to stern, was covered with the bits of glass.
"The proas came up, and the pirates swarmed in over the bows, after
their usual custom. These fellows are half-naked, and always
barefooted--the rest of the story will almost tell itself."
"I think so," Frank responded. "The pirates trod on the fragments of
glass, and cut their feet so that they could not stand. The crew and
passengers were at the stern of the brig with their shoes on, and had
nothing to do, as the glass did all the fighting for them."
[Illustration: THE PIRATES' VICTIM.]
"That was about the way of it," said the Doctor. "The pirates nearly all
came on board, but not one of them was able to get aft to where the crew
stood. The deck was covered with Malays with lacerated feet, and they
were so helpless that the captain directed his men to pay no attention
to them, but to shoot the men in the proas. They were shot down
accordingly, and only a few of the rascals escaped. Those who were left
saw that something was wrong, and so they pulled away to the shore for
aid.
"They had not gone far before a breeze sprung up, the sails filled, and
the brig began to move through the water. The breeze increased; and,
before re-enforcements could come from the shore to aid the pirates, the
brig was out of all danger."
"And what became of the pirates that were left on the deck of the brig?"
Fred inquired.
"The captain had no use for them," the Doctor answered, "and so he
dropped them overboard after sailing a few miles. The occurrence was a
discouraging one to the pirates in that region, and for a long time
afterwards they were very cautious about setting their bare feet on the
deck of a foreign ship.
"There is very little piracy nowadays," the Doctor continued, "compared
to what there was a quarter of a century ago. It is very rarely the case
that a foreign ship is captured by the freebooters, or even molested by
them. They confine their operations to native traders; but they are
compelled to occupy the most secluded retreats, and therefore have
little chance to do anything. The construction of steam gun-boats was
the practical end of piracy, so far as its bearing upon foreign commerce
was concerned; the pirates were pursued to their haunts and destroyed,
and the native chiefs were made to understand that they would be held
responsible for every unlawful act committed within their jurisdiction.
Since the business became not only unprofitable but hazardous to the
necks of those in authority, very little has been heard of it."
[Illustration; SINEWS OF WAR.]