I RECOGNIZE THE NEST-ROBBERS.
Very warm was the welcome I received from our host, the head-man of
the village, and his daughter, the “handsome one.” They met us at the
door of their house, and were both very curious to learn the story
of my escape, for neither had expected to see me again in the flesh.
Following them into the principal reception-room, I intended to repeat
to them the substance of what I had told my brother and Prabu; but
guess my surprise at seeing, squatting upon the floor, two of my
unpleasant acquaintances, the cave-robbers; and by Prabu’s countenance
and manner, as he introduced these men to me as “the strong one” and
“the weak one,” I saw that he fully comprehended the meaning of my
start and surprise.
These two worthies, I found, had heard from their father and sister
the story of my being lost, and were earnest in their requests that I
would tell them my adventures; and I am afraid, I must confess, that
I found myself necessitated to fib myself out of the difficulty: for
I told them that the chasm was no great depth after all, but that,
falling head foremost, I had been stunned, and that on coming to, I
managed to clamber up again, but then lost my way among the intricate
passages, where I had been ultimately discovered by Prabu; who, by the
way, did not evince the least surprise, either by word or gesture, at a
story so different from that which I had told him, and by which I now
felt convinced he understood that the cave-robbers and the men before
us were identical. But Martin looked the very picture of astonishment:
however--as an instant’s reflection upon the fact that I had made no
allusion whatever to the cave-robbers told him that a strong reason
existed for the discrepancy--he said nothing.
At the conclusion of my story, I expected that Prabu would, in some
shape or other, have broached the subject of nest-gathering; but he was
too much engaged, for he was talking soft nothings to the “handsome
one,” and reciting, in tones not much above a whisper, the stock poem
of all Javanese lovers--which, by the way, is sufficiently curious, and
in English prose runs thus:--
“When my mistress looks forth from her window, her eye sparkling
like a star, its brilliant rays glancing and glittering, her elder
brother cannot support its luster. Like the red mango is the hue
of her cheek, becoming her tapering neck, traversed with shadows
whenever she swallows. Her features like those of a shadow or scenic
figure; her forehead like the new moon in its first day; her eyebrows
curved so fair I could devour her. Long has she been chosen to be my
mistress,--wearing a ring set with gems of Sailan,--her long nails
shining like lightning transparent as a string of pearls;--her waist
slender and extremely elegant,--her neck turned like a polished statue.
Eloquent in the enunciation of her words. Her parting words like the
crimson red wood; not by dress, but by herself adorned. _Black_ are her
teeth stained with _Baja_ powder. Graceful, slender, appearing like
a queen. Her locks adorned with the _Saraja_ flowers; her features
beautiful, with no defect of symmetry. My soul is often fluttering,
ready to depart; glancing eagerly forth from my eyes, and quite unable
to return to its station.”
When, however, the young lady had retired, Prabu entered into a
conversation with his future brothers-in-law, from which I found that,
in addition to other open-air occupations, they were gatherers of
bees-nests, for the purpose of collecting the wax, a commodity much
sought after by the Chinese merchants.
“My brothers have toiled long and hard these two days; have they been
fortunate?” Prabu asked.
“Our elder brother’s words are good,” replied the “strong one;” “we
_have_ toiled long and hard, and have been rewarded by lucky days.”
“Then my brothers have been fortunate, and their house is filled with
wax.”
“The worthy Prabu is right,” replied the “weak one,” but wincing a
little, I thoughts at the words, “we have been fortunate.”
“Then, without doubt, my brother will sell me a portion for the market
at Singapore.”
“Alas! that the worthy Prabu did not express such a desire when last
here, for it is impossible; it has been gathered for the Chinese
merchant Lin, whose junk is even now in the western bay.”
“This is indeed unfortunate,” replied Prabu; “for the prahu is large,
and the bird’s-nests less plentiful than we expected to find them.”
Then, evidently uneasy and desirous of changing the subject, the “weak
one” said:
“Our brother has not heard the good news--we have discovered”--
“Another nest-cave!” interrupted Prabu, eagerly.
“Not so, my brother; nothing so fortunate for his highness the
Pangeran; yet good, perhaps, for us and thou, who art to be the husband
of our sister.”
“In Allah’s name, then, what is this thing you have discovered?”
“A mine of the metal _timah_” (tin), replied the “strong one.”
“A mine of _timah_!” repeated Prabu in astonishment; “God is
great!--where?”
“Toward the setting sun, not three leagues from hence,” replied the
“strong one;” who then explained that some few days before, while he
and his brother had been out bees-nest hunting, they had ignited a
large fire at the foot of a tree, and amongst the embers afterwards
found some melted metal, which upon examination proved to be tin, and
that, encouraged by the discovery, they had commenced digging and were
rewarded by finding a vein of the ore.
“Truly it is a great discovery, and will enrich the finders--nay,
the whole province;” but, glancing at Martin and me, he added, “Yet
my brothers should have been more wary in making known their fortune
before strangers, for should it come to the ears of our Dutch masters,
like voracious hogs they will seize the treasure, even as they sought
to do in the island of Bangka.”
“It is not possible the young sahibs, our brother’s friends, will
betray this discovery, since it concerns him as much as ourselves,”
replied the “weak one;” “but,” he added, “the sight will gladden the
eyes of our brother; therefore let him accompany us to-morrow, and we
will lead him to the spot.”
“My brother’s words are good--we need have no fear of the young sahibs.
They come from the land of the Americans, and are too brave to rob
their friend when his back is turned,” replied Prabu, with a meaning
smile. “But,” he added, “the sleeping-mats await us, the sun will be in
the heavens before our eyes are opened;” and the party at once sought
their different rooms: the villagers, as will be seen hereafter, to
scheme, Martin and I to sleep, and Prabu, perhaps, to dream of the
advantages to be derived from this new discovery, which was to make the
province as rich as the island of Bangka--in fact, another Cornwall.
But a few words with my readers about tin and the tin mines of the
Indian islands.
So important was the finding of tin in the island of Bangka regarded,
that it has often been compared with the discovery of the great
silver-mines of South America. In 1710, the son of the King of
Palembang, sovereign also of Bangka, examining the _debris_ of a
consumed village, found a quantity of melted metal, which proved to be
tin. Making this known to his father, the king ordered his miners to
dig well in the ground, the result being the finding of a rich vein of
ore. The Dutch, hearing of this, at once sought permission to establish
a factory in the island; but the king, either knowing too much about
the rapacity of the Hollanders, and being a man of larger mind than
most Asiatic sovereigns, or perhaps, and most probably, consulting his
own interests, refused his permission to grant a monopoly, further
declaring that _the island should be free for all nations to trade
in_. And in less than thirty years from the discovery, so well did the
ignorant natives mine, that the island yielded as much as Cornwall at
the present time, and that, too, by a process of mining simple, easy,
and cheap.
But to comprehend that process, let us first examine the geological
formation of the island of Bangka. Well, it is chiefly _primary_
rock. The principal mountains are of granite, and those of inferior
elevation of red ironstone. In the low tracts between these the tin
ore is found, and hitherto always in alluvial deposits, seldom further
than 25 feet from the surface. The strata in which it is found are
always in a horizontal direction, and consist as follows:--First, or
uppermost, one-and-a-half feet of vegetable mould; second, eight feet
of black clay; third, six feet of gray clay, intermixed with sand;
fourth, six feet of black clay; and fifth, or bottom-most, six feet
of coarse sand, of semi-transparent color, bedded in pure white clay.
Immediately beneath the last stratum occurs the bed or _stream_ of tin
ore, disseminated in coarse fragments of granite and other primitive
rocks, and of various degrees of depth.
As for the mine itself, it is nothing else than a large oblong pit,
made by excavating the ground, in a perpendicular direction, to a depth
of from 15 to 25 feet, to remove the superincumbent strata of sand and
clay, and get at the ore. The first opening is seldom above 100 feet in
length, and if the ore is discovered to lie below the usual depth, the
situation, in the present abundance of mineral, will be neglected for
a more favorable one. The mines are divided into _large_ and _small_,
called respectively, in the language of the country, _kolong_ and
_kulit_. It is in the first only that the process of mining is carried
to any degree of refinement, and that machinery is employed. The
Chinese alone are engaged in working these, and the average number of
hands employed in each mining operation is from 25 to 30. The whole of
the laborers work on terms of equality, the older and more experienced
directing, and the younger and more active performing the operative
part, while all share equally in the profits. Fortunately, it has been
found impracticable to make the Chinese labor on any other terms.
The whole process for obtaining the metal consists of _mining_,
_washing_ and _fusing_; of each of these I shall supply a very brief
sketch, in their natural order. The situation for opening a new mine is
determined by some indications of the existence of the mineral, well
known to the experienced Chinese, and by the usual test of _boring_.
The ground being first cleared of the huge primeval forest which covers
all Bangka, the miners begin methodically to remove the alluvial strata
to get at the ore. In large mines, of a superficies of 100 feet by
80, this operation, conducted by 25 or 30 workmen, will occupy about
from three to four months. The earth is removed by little baskets,
a pair of which are suspended, according to the usual custom of the
East, from a beam or lever across the shoulders of the workmen. The
rough trunk of a forest tree, felled upon the spot, and having steps
cut into it, constitutes the ladder by which the descent and ascent
into the mine is effected. The smaller mines, besides being generally
more superficial, are commonly situated upon acclivities, and thus an
accumulation of water seldom incommodes the mining; but the larger ones
are more frequently in valleys, and soon filled with water, which it is
necessary to remove. This is effected by a common and cheap hydraulic
Chinese machine. Sometimes a canal is made to pass close to the mine,
for the purpose of facilitating the labor of removing the upper strata
of sand and clay, which are thrown into it as extracted, and thus
carried off by the stream. This is, of course, practicable only in
situations where the fluid has a considerable impetus. The stratum of
tin is pursued by a succession of pits, following the first opening or
shaft.
The _washing_ of the mineral is performed in a manner remarkably
cheap and easy; the numerous mountain streams, which characterize the
physical aspect of Bangka, in common with all the other considerable
islands of this tropical region, are the sources of this facility.
When there is much room for selection, it becomes a material object
to choose a mine in the neighborhood of such mountain-stream, which
is either itself, or a canal from it, directed to the neighborhood of
the mine, where an aqueduct is regularly formed, the sides of which
are carefully lined with the bark of the large forest trees of the
neighborhood. Into this trench the ore previously accumulated on its
bank is gradually thrown in, while a rapid stream of water is made to
pass through it, the laborer agitating the materials with a hoe. The
earth and sand are carried off by the water. The ore and large stones
by their gravity subside, when the latter are separated from the former
by manual labor, with the occasional use of sieves. The purified ore
thus obtained is removed to sheds erected for the purpose, and which
contain the furnaces and apparatus for _smelting_.
The process of smelting is usually performed once a year, or, in a
very productive season, twice. The furnace is ten feet long, four
wide, and composed of clay. The bellows, or ventilator, is a piece of
timber about twenty-five inches in diameter, having a bore of seventeen
or eighteen inches, admitting a piston. It is made of a single tree,
and its fabrication requires considerable skill. This engine, plied
by three stout workmen, keeps up a constant blast on the furnace. A
quantity of ignited charcoal is first thrown into the furnace, which
continues, as long as the process of smelting goes forward, to be fed
alternately with ore and coals. In due time, and when the furnace is
heated, the metal begins to flow, in a full stream, from an aperture
for the purpose in the bottom of the floor, and is received into a
basin, from which in time it is removed, by a ladle, into moulds made
of moist sand, formed near the furnace. The size of these moulds
gives slabs or ingots of metal weighing 50 katis, or 66 2-3 lbs. This
operation serves the double purpose of smelting and roasting the ore.
It is always conducted in the night-time, to avoid the heats of the
day, which would be inconvenient in that climate to the laborers. In
the course of one night 5,280 lbs. of ore are smelted, which, at an
average, afford 44 or 45 ingots of metal, or 3,062 lbs.
The outlay of capital, according to this mode of extracting tin, is
trifling. Besides the waterwheel, ventilator, and shed, including
the furnaces, it consists of the charges for pickaxes, spades, hoes,
shovels, and a few cheap wheelbarrows after a Chinese construction.
The very woods cut down on the site of the mines afford the necessary
charcoal for smelting. The whole of the processes described are
conducted by the Chinese. The miners are scattered over the island,
according to the direction of the mines. Besides the immediate laborers
in the mines, many others are connected with them, being engaged
either in raising food and necessaries, or in fabricating the tools
and other materials required in the processes of mining, washing, and
smelting. Among these are blacksmiths, carpenters, charcoal-burners,
gardeners, etc. In the present state of population, the corn consumed
by the workmen is more cheaply imported than grown. The simplicity of
the various processes of mining industry is such, that little previous
training is necessary. The only exception to this is the business of
the smelter, which is always a separate trade. The miners are almost
all natives of China, and, notwithstanding the difference of climate
and the severity of their occupations, enjoy good health.
Besides the tin extracted by the Chinese, by the intelligent processes
now described, an inconsiderable quantity is obtained by the natives,
by very rude processes. The masters of the island, the Malays, or
at least the people of Palembang, imitate the Chinese at an humble
distance, and extract the ore by means similar to those practiced by
the latter in the _small_ mines. The aborigines follow still ruder
processes: they mine in the form of a narrow, cylindrical shaft,
capable of admitting one person only, and if the bed of ore be found
productive, follow it at the risk of their lives under the alluvial
strata, which often fall in upon them. They have no waterwheel, no
aqueduct; to avoid the accumulation of water, they _must_ always mine
on the acclivities of elevated tracts, and for washing the mineral,
it must be conveyed, as it is extracted, to the nearest rivulet. In
smelting, they use small furnaces, and instead of the large and
effectual ventilator of the Chinese, the common Malay bellows is
employed by them. The metal is even transported to the market with
inferior skill; and to facilitate its conveyance, is cast into much
smaller slabs than those of the Chinese, by which distinction it is
known in the markets. The different conditions of the three races of
men, in point of industry and civilization, is distinctly portrayed in
their respective manner of pursuing the process of mining.