There is no lovelier spot in the world than Mauritius, nor can any
other land boast of mountain scenery more sublime or picturesque;
but it seemed to us while we remained there that the heat vied in
fierceness with that which we had experienced at Loando, although it
was by no means as balefully withering in its influence. We were told,
however, that the summer heat would not attain its full force until the
months of January and February; and this, together with the burning
atmosphere, and the alarming nearness of the hurricane season,--to say
nothing of the prevalence of the cholera at Port Louis,--inclined us to
bid a cheerful farewell to the island.
We had already passed the citadel and bell-buoy, and, having discharged
our pilot, were watching the fast receding shores, when we met the
English mail-steamer from Point de Galle, in the island of Ceylon. We
saluted each other, and then learned--what was given to us as reliable
news--that war had been declared between America and some other power,
but the name of the nation with which our Government had come in
collision, our officers, from some defect in the signal, could not
interpret. This created, at first, some painful doubts and misgivings;
but the belief finally gained ground that so long as the Southern
Rebellion remained unquelled the United States would not embroil
herself in a foreign war, unless it was forced upon her by the most
imperious necessity.
The weather continued quiet and the sea was still undisturbed,
although for three or four days after leaving Port Louis there were
times when dark, lurid, and portentous clouds hung heavily upon the
horizon and floated over us, and one evening there was also a dead
calm, when everything excepting the glass indicated a coming tempest;
but we steamed out of its neighborhood before it burst upon us, and
all breathed more freely when getting ten or twelve degrees north of
Mauritius, for we were then tolerably certain of a safe and quiet
voyage. Some months afterwards we learned that we had not miscalculated
in regard to the coming of the _cyclones_, or wind-storms, but that, in
a few days after we had sailed through that region, it was visited by
one of these terrible hurricanes.
We weighed anchor at the harbor of Port Louis on the afternoon of the
27th of December, and on the morning of the 30th, at eleven o’clock,
our wheels had completed one million of revolutions since leaving
New York. On the 2d of January we passed the Chagos Archipelago, the
largest island of which group (Diego Garcia) belongs to England. It
is fourteen miles long and eight in width, and is of coral formation,
having a fine harbor, in the form of a crescent, setting into the
island like the cavity of a shell. Good water is found by digging eight
feet. It is covered with cocoanut-trees, and the Mauritians inhabit it
mainly to engage in the cocoanut-oil manufacture.
Day after day, while in the Southern Indian Ocean, the mercury rose
nearly to 100° in our cabin, and the sea was as placid as a river;
but after passing the Chagos Islands, the heat, at one time, sensibly
decreased to about 85°, making a delightful change. Again we crossed
the equator, and steering for the northwest point of the island of
Sumatra, on the morning of the 9th we had sighted her verdant shores,
and were making for the Surat Pass. This narrow passage, which Hosburgh
says “is called by the natives Selat Anoos, is formed between the
east end of Stony Island and Acheen Head. It is about one hundred
and fifty yards wide, with twelve or fourteen fathoms of water. The
passage itself is not more than one hundred yards in width, and owing
to the strong eddies on each side of its entrance, it is not very safe
without a commanding breeze, excepting when the tide is just turning.”
The day on which we made the passage was one of those perfect ones when
the blue ether above us was of the same clear and deep color as that
through which the stars floated at night, and the brilliant sunlight
fell with soft and gentle sheen upon land and water. Entering from the
west, Acheen Head, a high, verdant slope, looms up to the right; but
after making the Straits of Malacca on its northeast side, it is a
steep and rough cliff-land. Pulo[4] Chin-chin rises to the left, and
her mountain-sides and fertile land skirting the shore were covered
with evergreens, and cocoanut-groves. Acheen Head, as we sailed through
the Pass, towered high above all; and its sides being superbly dressed
with rank grass, tropical trees, shrubs and vines, among which were
nestled the picturesque huts of the Malays, presented a most charming
appearance. At one point we sailed so near as to enable us to count
the overhanging trees, and were seized with an involuntary desire
to attempt reaching the vines that hung trailing over the water. We
had seen much of the beautiful, the wildly grand, and the sublime
in scenery during our voyage, but nothing comparable in attractive
loveliness to that which met our eyes as we entered the Surat Pass and
sailed into the Straits of Malacca. This was the crowning glory of
all,--“a thing of beauty, and a joy forever.”
The shoal water on the left, as we entered the Strait, was dotted with
the little fishing-boats of the natives, which are something like a
canoe in shape, and while fishing are made secure and stationary by
being fastened at stem and stern, in clusters of five or six. Hosburgh
remarks that “if the fishing canoes are not seen out at this place
before seven or eight o’clock in the morning, a fresh breeze may be
expected during the day.” Little sail-boats were also gliding in every
direction, constructed with a narrow framework about their gunwales,
which served as a balance to prevent them from being capsized if struck
by a sudden squall of wind.
On rounding Acheen Head we passed the mouth of a river bearing the same
name, two miles from whose outlet, in the interior, is the town of
Acheen, where there is a Mahommedan chief, and a daily market is held
between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, at which eggs, fowls,
and fruits can be procured, and if a day’s notice be given, ships can
also get bullocks and goats. A little beyond the mouth of the Acheen
River there is an anchorage for vessels; and three ships, two English
and one Turkish, were lying there as we passed. Pepper, which is the
chief article of produce, is obtained in large quantities in traffic
with the natives.
Coasting for two days along the shores of this beautiful island, we
occasionally had an excellent view of a native village, situated
in what seemed to be a fine grazing country or well-cultivated
fields. Doubtless the apparent cultivation was mostly wild, tropical
luxuriance; for nature in every phase was attractive and lovely as
seen from our stand-point; but where every man carries a savage
knife, called a creese, at his girdle, and is not to be trusted if
any temptation comes in his way, distance not only “lends enchantment
to the view,” but also produces a feeling of decided security, which,
under the circumstances, cannot for a moment admit of wishing for a
nearer acquaintance.
Great care and skill are necessary in navigating this strait, on
account of the dangerous shoals and numerous small rocky islands which
are met with in making the passage. Fortunately, however, we had
moonlight nights, and Captain Briggs, fully equal to every emergency,
never shirked any of his duties or responsibilities, but night after
night remained upon deck directing the soundings, which were made with
extreme caution as we proceeded through the channel. During one of
those nights we passed a very extensive and dangerous shoal, on which,
not long before, a steamer had struck and been wrecked. There was
formerly no light upon, or near it, but sometime before our passage a
vessel was moored near the shoal, which displays a light every night as
a beacon to mariners.
We caught our first glimpse of the continent of Asia on the morning of
the 11th of January, and during the day kept our eyes almost constantly
turned towards those extensive countries, between India and China,
where, an old writer tells us, “Ptolemy places his man-eaters, and
Mandevylle found men without heads, who saw and spoke through holes
in their breasts.” In the afternoon we were off the city of Malacca,
which presented, upon the depressed or flat coast, an extended line of
low buildings, with a high flag-staff near the water, from which we
were signalled. There was quite a show of shipping in the harbor, and
a lofty mountain range loomed in the distance; while beyond lay the
Central Flowery Kingdom to which our steps were hastening.
Those fortunate ones who never leave Fatherland with the prospect
of living abroad, can know little of the emotions with which one
approaches, and looks upon the strange country that is to be his
home for years, perhaps for life; then, the blood and thoughts flow
quickly, and however cool one’s nature, for the time quietude and
repose vanish.
We arrived at Singapore in the morning of January 12, 1862, after
having navigated for several hours through the intricacies of an
archipelago of small rocky islets. We heard the heaving of the lead
during most of the night; and this, together with the fact that the
steamer had been put at half speed, caused some of the more wakeful of
our passengers to be on the _qui vive_ until the morning appeared, and
we were safely at our moorings.
Singapore has a very fine and commodious harbor, which is in the form
of a crescent; and the town is built partly on, and partly at the foot
of a chain of hills, that rise with picturesque effect a little back
from the shore. The most conspicuous of these hills is surmounted by a
fort, and occupied by the Government buildings; and on the others are
the finely built bungalow residences of the foreigners. The business
quarter of the place is near the water, and a substantial stone wall
skirts the shore, at about the centre of which there is another strong
fortification, mounted with heavy guns, that, pointing towards, sweep
the bay with a decidedly _noli me tangere_ aspect. To the right of this
fort, and following the shore, there is a fine drive and promenade,
called the Bund, where foreigners, at early morning and evening, walk
and drive to enjoy the cool sea-breeze. At the time of our visit there
was a great deal of shipping in port, and an extraordinary multitude of
boats were moving in every direction. Here we met, for the first time,
with Eastern boat-life,--the Chinese boatmen being very numerous, and
living, according to the custom of their country, in their own boats.
We had scarcely reached our moorings in the harbor when the water
teemed with Oriental life, and we were surrounded with boats of nearly
every Eastern nation, filled with motley groups of all shapes, sizes,
and colors, who made the air resonant with the clatter of their various
tongues. These people were all engaged either in selling fruit or small
wares, and were earnestly ejaculating and begging of us to buy,--some
even presenting themselves on board with recommendations for the
purpose of “doing” our laundry. The East Indians are a most interesting
people; and Ramasamy,[5] our Dubash,--_i. e._ interpreter,--a man who
furnished supplies for our ship,--was a fine specimen of the race, with
a quiet, unperturbed, and dignified mien, which is characteristic of
the people.
Coming from the fierce summer heat of Mauritius, and the Southern
Indian Ocean, some of our company were much debilitated, and to such
the more moderate temperature of Singapore was gently, but delightfully
bracing. We hoped, on getting into port, to find letters and news
from home; but having travelled at so rapid a rate as to outstrip the
overland mail, we found that no news had been received from the United
States, excepting a vague rumor, by telegraph, of a threatened war with
England, on account of the Mason-Slidell difficulty,--which report
both the American and English residents at Singapore feared would be
confirmed on the arrival of the mail-steamer, then hourly expected.
This explained the purport of the news designed to be communicated
to us by the steamer which we passed on leaving Mauritius, and which
caused us at the time some little anxiety, not only on behalf of our
country, but also on our own account. Had the report proved true, we
should have been obliged to surrender our vessel into the hands of
the English, on our arrival at Singapore; any attempt to escape to
sea from under the guns of the fortifications being an act of folly,
if not downright madness. But having faced unscathed the yellow-fever
at St. Paul de Loando, the small-pox at Cape Town, and the cholera at
the Mauritius, besides passing safely through the hurricane latitudes
without even meeting with a severe squall, we were inclined to hope
that the ominous cloud just rising in the western horizon would also
disperse, and that no such thing as a serious collision would occur
between the two countries. Trusting, therefore, that Providence would
permit us to finish the remainder of our voyage unmolested, we decided
to enjoy our stay at Singapore, and look after the “lions” as usual.
Our captain determining, if possible, to sail for Hong Kong before
the arrival of the English mail-steamer, made greater despatch in
coaling than it had been customary for him to do at any other port on
our route, and our time, therefore, did not admit of a very thorough
“doing,” either of the place or its environs. Rising, however, betimes
on the following morning, we were sipping a cup of tea and eating a
biscuit while on our way to town in one of Ramasamy’s covered boats.
Near the landing, according to arrangement, the Dubash had a Malay
garee--a small coach, or cab-like vehicle, drawn by a little Malay
pony--awaiting us. The carriage was built and finished with an eye to
tropical comfort,--the cushions of the seats being covered with a fine
and cool fabric made of the Manilla grass; and between the body of the
carriage and the top there was an open space, of one or two inches,
left for ventilation. Our Malay _syce_, or driver, was neatly dressed,
after the fashion of his caste, with a turban and upper garments of
pure white; and pending from both the upper and lower lobes of his ears
were gold rings, set either with emerald or an excellent imitation
of that precious stone. Sometimes he rode, but more frequently ran
beside his horse, urging the animal on, and looking the picturesque to
perfection.
We first took the public drive upon the Bund, which is a beautiful,
broad, and well-made macadamized road, having an enclosed public ground
on the left, where the sight of a rich growth of grass gladdened our
eyes and reminded us of home, it being the most verdant turf we had
seen since leaving the United States. The hill-sides of Singapore are
green and beautiful with grass, which is doubtless owing to the rains
that, we were told, visited the place nearly every day. The town is
built over a large surface, and the cultivation of trees, shrubs, and
flowers, in the large grounds surrounding the bungalow residences,
receives so much attention that the place seems as much like the
country as the city, with all the advantages of both.
On the Bund, a little beyond the public grounds, there are three
spacious bungalows standing near each other, which are used as a hotel,
and kept in the European style for the convenience of foreigners. We
passed, during our drive on the Bund, European ladies and gentlemen on
foot, and on horseback, nearly all of whom were looking thin and pale,
showing how difficult it was for Western exotics to thrive in the East.
We drove through the Malay and Chinese quarters of the town, where the
bay has so much of a curve that the Chinese boatmen safely moor their
little floating cabins for the night, and at that early hour found them
occupied in eating or preparing their morning meal. We also visited
the market, and saw the Chinese gardeners, just in from the country,
briskly trotting along with their panniers so heavily laden with fruits
and vegetables that their shoulder-pieces of flexible bamboo vibrated
at every step. There was also the native cart, drawn by buffalo-oxen,
which reminded us of Sunday-school days, when, in the Rev. Dr. Barnes’s
“Notes on the Gospels,” we first saw a picture of the same sort of
vehicle. The harness and whole establishment looked the same as that
said to be used in the Holy Land in the days of our Saviour. There were
the same contrivances, the same kind of cart, and the same manner of
arranging the yoke and the oxen, which, taken together with the driver,
made the old picture _in loco_, and assured us, far stronger than our
feelings could do, that we were far away from home. In the vicinity of
the market we passed a cluster of Malay huts, which were built in the
bungalow-style, over a salt marsh, and supported by stilts, or piles,
with thatched roofs of plantain-leaves.
In the course of our drive we took the circuit of the hill on which
are situated the bungalow houses of the foreigners, and around which
winds a fine macadamized road. They were bordered with shrubs, flowers,
and tropical trees,--the cocoanut-palm, the nutmeg-tree, bearing its
beautiful pendant fruit, the bread-fruit-tree, the graceful bamboo, and
many others. In the grass, also, by the road-side, we observed mimosas
of exquisite tints. We took in our way the Christian Cemetery, the
Episcopal Cathedral, and Police Station-house, with its wicked-looking
and treacherous-eyed Sepoy sentinels, in full British uniforms, and had
a profound Oriental salaam from an overseer of a gang of hard-looking
convicts, comprising Malays, Chinese, and Indians, who were at work on
the road.
The town is supplied with spring water, which is brought from the
hills; and the neatly constructed circular stone fountains, in well
shaded and picturesque situations, are much frequented. They are seen
to much the best advantage in the early morning, when the bronzed,
and grotesquely-dressed groups of people around them give one a good
idea of Oriental fountains. But the picture presented by the native
washermen and women, on the banks of the Singapore River, was, if
possible, still more unique and remarkable. The little stream was
fairly alive with them; and our Western ideas of care, economy, and
thrift were outraged, as we saw them thrash the stones with the
garments they were cleansing, so that we were ready to exclaim,--What
fabrics can live through such mauling!
Having “done” the town as thoroughly as our limited time would permit,
we drove to the bank of the Singapore River, not far from the Bund,
where our boat had been ordered to wait for us; and, on passing from
our carriage to the wharf, met two grand-looking Parsees, one of whom
was a priest, who wore his peculiarly striking costume with a bearing
more suggestive of _hauteur_ than it is possible for words to describe.
Once more seated in our boat we sailed along the business wharves, on
which were large warehouses, or _go-downs_, as they are called in the
East; and, passing through the mouth of the river into the bay, were
soon again on board ship, much delighted with our excursion, besides
having appetites sharp-set for breakfast.
Most of our missionary party left us at this port; three of whom[6]
were to proceed to Calcutta, _en route_ to Northern India, and two to
Bankok, where they were to be stationed. We parted from them with the
kindest wishes for their future usefulness, and months afterwards were
happy to hear of their being safely settled in their respective fields
of labor.
Some of the most delicious fruits in the world are grown at Singapore.
At the Cape we procured very nice oranges, apricots, and pears, but
were too early in the season for their excellent grapes. At Mauritius
the luscious mango and appetizing lichi were in their prime; but here
two or three different kinds of oranges were ripe, among which was the
delicate mandarin; and the pine-apples, freshly cut from the plants,
were abundant and in full-grown perfection. Here, also, we first met
with the dainty mangosteen, which is superior to all the fruits of the
East; being of such delicacy and exquisite flavor that it is said some
one, on first partaking of it, declared it must be the nectar of the
gods. The mango of Mauritius is a large and beautiful fruit, having a
color on one side like the blush of a peach, and, with those obtained
at Manilla, are said to be as fine as any in the East.
On the afternoon of January 14th, just as we were getting up steam to
leave for Hong Kong, the guns of the English mail-steamer were heard,
and she was soon sailing into the harbor. We acknowledge to having
been a little anxious on her arrival, but it was soon ascertained
that she brought no confirmation of the rumors which had reached us.
She announced, however, the news of the death of Prince Albert, at
the receipt of which not only the English, but the foreign residents
generally, seemed much saddened, as well they might be, in sympathy
for the widowed queen; regretting that he who truly magnified his
high position, and was a blessing to his kind, had so suddenly passed
away. Our colors were among the first seen floating at half-mast for
the illustrious dead; and with this sign of our respectful regard and
sympathy, at five o’clock in the afternoon, we sailed out of the bay,
and into the Straits of Singapore, feeling truly thankful that actual
war had not thrown us into the hands of our affectionate English
cousins. Ramasamy was the last to leave our ship. As we moved off he
took his stand in the centre of his boat, and while making his graceful
salaams, his tall and dignified figure, neatly arrayed in white and set
off with a red sash and turban, made up, together with his Eastern boat
and boat’s crew, a fine picture.
The northeast monsoon, a wind that blows down the China Sea from
October to April, had been unusually severe during the winter, and
while lying in the harbor of Singapore we were much of the time in
motion, on account of the swell produced by the tempestuous state
of the sea at the North. It was also reported that the previous
mail-steamer from Singapore to Hong Kong had been lost; and altogether
we had the prospect of a rough passage before us, and a severe handling
from old Boreas for all the quiet seas and sunny skies which had
thus far accompanied us. To say that we dreaded the passage to Hong
Kong would convey but little idea of the fears experienced by timid
travellers when compelled to meet such emergencies. There is great
enjoyment to such delicately constituted people in a quiet sea, and
a fair breeze; but let the reverse happen and the change is fearful,
nay, we might say well-nigh appalling, but for the thought that our
heavenly Father can protect us as well in the hour of peril as in times
of safety. There is no place where the awful grandeur of God’s power
is so strikingly manifested as at sea, and no perils like those of the
great deep can so humble the heart, or make one feel more thoroughly
bereft of all available earthly aid. The same eye, however, that had
watched over us in our days of calm and sunshine, slumbered not when
the tempest overtook us, but, following us to the end, we finally were
landed in safety at the desired haven.
In a few hours we had threaded the Straits of Singapore, and were on
the China Sea facing the monsoon. For two days it was not as rough
as we had expected it would be; but after that, the wind increased
to such a degree of violence that it became necessary to take down
our top-masts. Still our vessel rode the waves like a duck, and
notwithstanding both wind and current were against us, she labored so
little in the sea that our feeling of security became proportionably
stronger, and we felt both hopeful and confident.
When in about the ninth degree of north latitude, we passed the
Condore Islands. One of the largest of this group belongs to the
French, who have a small colony on the island; and on the western side
there is a very good bay, where a man-of-war was lying at anchor for
the protection of the little settlement. The French Government have
selected the island for a coal depot, although the English formerly
held possession of it, and some forty years ago had a garrison
stationed there. This, however, was finally destroyed by the Malays,
who fell upon it and put the soldiers to the sword.
On the night of the 17th of January the stiff breeze which had been
blowing ever since we left Singapore culminated into a fearful gale,
and the next day (Saturday) was one full of anxiety to all on board. It
was not deemed advisable to apply more steam-power to the machinery,
and the force against us was so tremendous that for twenty-four
hours,--during which time the gale seemed to do its worst,--the same
amount of steam which had usually propelled us at the rate of two
hundred miles per day, advanced us only at the rate of ninety-three
miles. The sky assumed the dull, metallic blue shade which usually
characterizes it at sea during a fierce gale of wind, and our vessel
was in some danger from the short and heavy waves that lashed her sides
most furiously.
Being unwilling to remain below we sought a dry place on the
quarter-deck, where, facing the stern, we quietly watched the storm.
There was little conversation; but once during the day, our friend,
Mr. S----, coming from the bow of the ship,--the scene at which point
was too much for our weak courage to face,--sat down near us, and for
some time cruelly whistled the air of “Home, sweet home!” while he
kept time with his fingers upon the woodwork of one of the skylights
on the quarter-deck. I could not trust myself to say a word by way
of remonstrance, knowing that his thoughts were busy with the wife
and little ones he had left in his own happy home; but was glad when
he ceased, and hope never again to hear that sweet melody under the
pressure of such painful apprehensions.
Thanks to a kind Providence, the wind fell at about midnight of
Saturday; and on Sunday morning--having still one of our missionary
clergymen on board--we assembled as usual for religious services, and
gratefully rendered thanks for our merciful preservation.
A few hours after the worst of the gale had abated we made Cape
Padaran; passing which we found more quiet waters, and were soon near
that shore where
“Cochin China’s cultivated land ascends.”
During the remainder of the day we were sailing within three quarters
of a mile of the bold, rocky coast, which is lined with high mountains,
sometimes running in two parallel coast ranges, then three, and at
one time I counted four distinct tiers rising one back of the other.
In form and slope they reminded me of the Green Mountains of Vermont,
and were entirely different from any we had seen during the voyage.
The verdure of their sides was of a deep green; and the shade cast by
the clouds that rested upon them, giving their surfaces a still darker
hue, made their appearance a remarkable combination of the grand, the
gloomy, and the picturesque. We were now passing localities that were
formerly infested with Malay pirates; and were told that even now any
vessel which is so unfortunate as to be lost on the coast is soon
surrounded by the same piratical, grasping, and treacherous race.
The bracing and deliciously cool atmosphere of the northeast monsoon
had a grateful effect upon all on board our vessel, and was delightful
after the many weeks of depressing heat that we had endured. After
leaving the coast of Cochin China the weather became more favorable,
and we moved onward with more rapidity, until, on the morning of the
23d of January, after threading our way among the small islands in the
neighborhood of Hong Kong, we sighted Victoria Peak, and, firing our
guns as we sailed around its base, entered the harbor.
Before the _Poyang_ had reached her anchorage we were boarded by two
gentlemen belonging to the house of Olyphant & Co., who, surprised and
delighted with our safe and speedy passage, welcomed Captain Briggs
with great warmth, while they complimented him on having made the
quickest voyage on record. At 12 o’clock we were moored before the city
of Victoria, after having been at sea only eighty-six days, seventeen
of which were passed in the ports where we touched for coals.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] _Pulo_ is the Malay for island.
[5] Almost all Hindus bear the name of some one of their gods. _Samy_
means god, or lord.
[6] Among these was the Rev. Levi Janvier, D. D., of the Presbyterian
mission of Lodiana,--a place in the Punjaub province,--the recent news
of whose sudden and lamented death has saddened the heart of every one
who had the pleasure of knowing him.