^ASTERN /\RCHIPELAG< Described and Illustrated With Go ILLUSTRATIONS THE LIBRARY OF THE OF LOS UNIVERSITY CALIFORNIA ANGELES NATIVES OF OMBAY THE EASTEBN ABCHIPELAGO. A DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENERY, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE, PEOPLE, AND PHYSICAL WONDERS OF THE ISLANDS IN THE EASTERN SEAS. "THE ARCTIC WORLD," "RECENT POLAR VOYAGES," "THE BIRD WORLD," ETC. WITH SIXTY ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP J% cm turn: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW. EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK. I880. DU 3L/ refute. |HE attractions which the Eastern Archipelago presents for the naturalist, the artist, and the geologist are of an exceptional character, and yet few regions of the world have been less minutely examined by English travellers. Our information respecting the great islands which compose it was comparatively scanty until the recent researches of Spenser St. John, Crawfurd, Bickmore, and Wallace. The Germans have treated them with their usual elaborateness, witness Dr. Junghuhn's valuable book upon Java, but English monographs of special value and importance have been, and still are, too few. This may be owing, perhaps, to the fact that the English flag waves but at a few points along that chain of romantic isles which connects Asia with Australia, and testifies to the violence of the convulsion that in the pre-historic age disrupted the Asiatic and Australian continents. Something also may be due to the jealousy of the Dutch Government, which offers no facilities to the enterprise of the traveller, and surrounds its depen- dencies with an atmosphere of seclusion. In the following pages we have endeavoured to 1367183 VI PREFACE. supply the reader with a comprehensive and accurate description of the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. We do not profess that it is exhaustive, but we claim for it that it omits no particular of interest to the general public. That it is largely indebted to the labours of Wallace and Bickmore we are glad to acknowledge ; and the conclusions of the former, on all questions of a physical character, we have generally adopted. But we have carefully gleaned from a variety of sources such facts as seemed necessary to the com- pleteness and usefulness of our unpretending sketch, so that we may be allowed to speak of it as being more comprehensive and compact than any similar descrip- tion which has been put before the public. The glowing tropical scenery, the vast natural resources, the curiosi- ties of the vegetable and animal worlds, the mountains and forests and rivers, the native populations, all these we have sought to glance at, and they afford a succes- sion of striking pictures which even the most inefficient artist could not wholly spoil. If the reader should feel, as we have felt, the charm of the virgin forests of Borneo, of the rich vegetation of the " Land of Fire," of the valleys and woods of Sumatra, of the beautiful landscapes of Celebes and Gilolo, of the island-haunts of the birds of paradise, or of the romantic coast of New Guinea, he will not turn from our pages dis- satisfied. W. H. DAVEXrOllT ADAMS. INTEODUCTION. A GENERAL VIEW OF THE ARCHIPELAGO. Its position Principal divisions Inhabitants Flora Fauna Its volcanic chain- Asia and Australia The islands of which it is composed Brief survey of their characteristics The Indo-Malay division The Timor group Celebes The Moluccas New Guinea ... 13-23 BOOK I.-THE ASIATIC-MALAY ISLANDS. CHAPTER I. Extent and general character Animal and vegetable life Dutch possessions A glance at Palembang The Malay villages Bencoolen Inhabitants of Sumatra ... 24-40 CHAPTER II. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OP JAVA. Boundaries and extent Scenery of Java The "Land of Fire "Mountain vege- tation Animal life in Java Michclet on Java Summary Hot springs in Java . ..41-72 CHAPTER III. LIFE IN JAVA. Ut-'markable antiquities Social life in Java A grand entertainment The Slama- tiui Jiromok An evening entertainment .^.- 73-94 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. BORNEO. Kxtont and situation Mountains and rivers Ascent of a Bornean river The durian-tree The bamboo In the Bornean forest Animal life in Borneo In pursuit of a inias Strange animals Insects and reptiles Something about the Dyaks Historical notes 95-132 CHAPTER V. MORE ABOUT BORNEO. Dr. Schwaner's explorations Up the Kahayan About the Ot-Danoms Dress of the Ot-Danoms In the interior The Sultan of Sintang To Pontianak. 133-161) CHAPTER VI. THE STORY OF SARAWAK. Its population Rajah Brooke's adventures A firm policy The Chinese colony 170-182 BOOK II.- THE AUSTRALO-MALAY ISLANDS. CHAPTER I. THE TIMOR ISLANDS. General enumeration Bali Life in Bali Lombok A peep at the interior The botanist in Lombok The gunmakers of Lombok Sumbawa Edible birds'- nests Flores A group of islands Adenara Solor Loniblem Pantar Ombay Timor The flora of Timor A general view of the island Visit to a Dutch-Indian town A raised coral reef Inland: the woods The bee-hunters Vegetation of Timor Trepang-fishing Customs of the Timorese A group of mammals Birds of Timor 183-235 CHAPTER II. THB CELEBES ISLANDS. Celebes The mountains of Celebes Evidences of volcanic action The lake of Tondano Water-system of Celebes Inhabitants of Celebes A series of land- scapes At Macassar Forest-scenery Insect-life in Celebes Calling crabs A Celebian village Trees and fruits Birds of Celebes Some mammals Islands of the Celebes group 236-285 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER III. TUB MOLUCCAS, OR SPICE ISLANDS. The three groups In the Bandas A brief historical sketch Visit to Great Barula An ascent of a volcano Volcanic eruptions Earthquakes Animal life in Banda Amboyna The clove -tree Scenery in Amboyna Earthquakes Objects of interest in Amboyna A visit to a rajah The Uliassers A native dance In Cerara The sago-palm A trip into the interior The inhabitants A visit to Gilolo Animal life in Gilolo Batchian, and birds of paradise Something about the scenery of Batchian Inhabitants of Batchian Volcanic island of Makian Ternate : its volcano Historical notes on Ternate A glance at Tidore A trip to Bouru Natives of Bouru Opium-smoking The natura- list in Bouru. .. ...286-407 CHAPTER IV. THE MATABELLO AND ARU ISLANDS. The Matabello group The Aru group Something more about birds of paradise Aspects of the Aru Islands The forests of Aru A town in the island of Waruma The pearl-fishery 408-454 CHAPTER V. NEW GUINEA, OB, PAPUA. General description Animal and vegetable life Pictures of Papuan scenery An interview with natives The coast-scenery A Papuan village On the north coast In the interior New route from Australia to China 455-489 CHAPTER VI. THE PAPUANS AND MALAYANS. General characteristics The Outanata tribe The Dorians More about the Dorians About the Aruans Malayan superstition The Orang-Lauts The Ahetas, or Negritos 490-529 BOOK III.-THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Introductory General view of the group The Sulu Islands: a digression Ocean curiosities Discovery of the Philippines Visits of the old navigators : Magellan, Drake, Dampier Death of Magellan Dampier visits the Philippines . .530-570 ist oi 3 I lustrations. Signifies Full-page Engravings. NATIVES OF OMBAY,* . . . . Frontispiece MALAYAN TAPIB,* .. .. ..27 MANGROVE JUNGLE,* . . . . ... 31 THE RAFFLESIA, AND OTHEK PLANTS, .. 35 GUARDIAN OF THE RICE-FIELDS, . . . . 47 THE VAQUOIS-TREE, JAVA,* . . . . 51 JAVA PEACOCK,* . . . . . . . . . . . 59 BAMBOO THICKET, BORNEO,* .. .. ..Ill HUNTING THE ORANG-UTAN,* . . . . . . . . 121 INTERIOR OF A DYAK HUT,* . . . . . . . . 137 EDIBLE BIRDS'-NESTS, . . . . . . . . . . ' 199 SEARCHING FOR EDIBLE BIRDS'-NESTS, * .. .. .. .. 201 BREADFRUIT, . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 NATIVE OF TIMOR, .. .. .. .. 212 NATIVE OF TIMOR, ARMED, . . . . 213 SNAKE-CHARMERS IN TIMOR,* .. .. .. .. 217 ARMS AND UTENSILS OF THE INHABITANTS OF TIMOR, . . 224 ARMS AND UTENSILS OF THE INHABITANTS OF TIMOR, .. 225 TREI'ANG-FISHING,* .... .. 227 OPOSSUM OF TIMOR,* .... . . 231 A SCENE IN CELEBES,* .... . . 237 TONDANO ROAD, CELEBES,* . . ... 243 HOT SPRINGS NEAR TONDANO, CELEBES,* . . . . 247 WATERFALL NEAR LAKE TONDANO,* .. 253 NATIVE OF MINAHASSA, CELEBES, . ... .. .. 256 A FOREST IN CELEBES,* .. .. .. . 2(i1 VEGETATION OF CELEBES,* .. .. 269 IIOKNJill.I, FEKDINli HER YOUNO, . .. 275 THE BABYROU88A, .. . .. .. 282 Ml LIST OF ILLI'STIIATIONS. M r Ml. i-l-REE AND FRUIT, .. .. .. .. 294 Vol.i'XMi OF BANDA,* .. .. .. .. .. .. 2!)7 BOBKI IN AMBOYNA,* .. .. .. .. 305 KIVKll BATOUR-MERA, AMBOYNA, .. .. .. 31:i GIANT TRIDACNA USED AS A BATH, .. .. ..321 THE PEARL NAUTILUS, . . . . . . . . 324 CACAO-TREE AND FRUIT, . . . . . . . . 32(i RAVINE OF BATON-GANTON, AMBOYNA, .. .. .. .. 32!) WATERING-PLACE, AMBOYNA,* . . . . . . . . . . 333 THE CASSOWARY, . . . . . . . . 340 EMERALD BIRD OF PARADISE, . . . . . . . 357 ROADSTEAD OF TERNATE,* . . . . . . . . 307 MEANDRINA, OR " BRAIN -CORAL," .. .. .. ..401 CORAL, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 CYANEA (MEDUSA), .. .. .. ..404 UOLDEN BIRD OF PARADISE,* . . . . . . 421 MAGNIFICENT BIRD OF PARADISE,*.. .. .. .. .. 425 RED BIRD OF PARADISE,* .. .. .. .. .. 433 PEARL-FISHING, .. .. .. .. .. .. 450 COCKATOOS, . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 CROWNED PIGEONS,* .. .. .. .. . 403 NATIVES OF NEW GUINEA,* .. .. .. .. 477 VILLAGE OF DORY, NEW GUINEA,* . . . . 4S! PRAHUS ON THE RIVER OUTANATA/ 4!K) VOLCANO OF TAAL, LUZON, PHILIPPINE.:;/ 533 PLANTAIN AND COCOA-NUT TREES, . . . . . . . . 568 THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. INTRODUCTION. A GENERAL VIEW OF THE ARCHIPELAGO. ITS POSITION PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS INHABITANTS FLORA FAUNA. ITS VOL- CANIC CHAIN ASIA AND AUSTRALIA THE ISLANDS OF WHICH IT IS COM- POSED BRIEF SURVEY OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS THE INDO-MALAT DIVISION THE TIMOR GROUP CELEBES THE MOLUCCAS NEW GUINEA. DIVISIONS OF THE ARCHIPELAGO. [E prudent traveller, before undertaking a journey into a new country with which he s no previous acquaintance, is careful to provide himself with all the information he can procure from trustworthy books and maps in refer- ence to its prominent features, that, when he enters it, he may not feel altogether a stranger, but know enough of its situation and divisions, its relation to other countries, and its distinctive characters, to form some idea of the nature of his journey. His interest in what he sees is necessarily increased by this knowledge. If he ascend a range of hills, he remembers that this range forms the watershed, it may be, of a consider- able area, and contributes to its productiveness ; if he 14 CHOOSING LANDMARKS. descend into a valley, he remembers that it opens, perhaps, on a wide and beautiful plain, to which it affords the only access. At every step of his way he tinds the usefulness and value of the data he has been careful to acquire. In like manner, when the reader comes to the study of a particular region, it is desirable that he should be furnished at the outset with so much information as will facilitate that study, and add to its attractiveness ; that he should be shown the principal characteristics of the "new world" into which he is to be introduced; that he should understand its leading divisions, the peculiarities of its scenery, and its exact position with respect to the districts adjacent to or surrounding it; that, in short, such bold and general outlines of the picture should be presented as will enable him hereafter to appreciate its details at their proper value. Before entering, then, upon a minute description of that part of the world which geographers variously term the Malayan, or Indian, or Eastern Archipelago, we would wish to bring before the reader a few lead- ing facts which may serve as the landmarks of his future progress. Where lies this great world of islands ? What are its salient features ? How is it connected with neighbouring continents ? What is there remarkable about its vegetable and animal life ? What races of men inhabit it? These are questions which the reader may reasonably expect us to answer before we begin a close and careful examination of each several island, or group together a mass of details in which, without some such clue, he would assuredly lose his way. COMPARATIVE AREAS. 15 A glance at a map of the Eastern hemisphere will show that from the south-eastern extremity of Asia to the north-western extremity of Australia stretches a double, in some places a treble, chain of islands many of considerable dimensions occupying a considerable extent of sea, but comprised, roughly speaking, within twenty degrees of latitude (10 S. to 10 N. of the Equator) and forty -five meridians of longitude (95 to 140 E.). In other words, it overspreads an area measuring upwards of 4000 miles from east to west, and about 1300 miles from north to south, and lying entirely within the Tropics. The Eastern Archipelago, therefore, if it could be transferred to Europe, would cover the entire continent, and extend also into Central Asia ; or it would occupy the widest parts of South America, and project beyond the present boundaries of that continent into both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. It includes three islands which are larger than Great Britain, namely, Borneo, Sumatra, and New Guinea. In Borneo the whole of the British Isles might be set down, says Mr. Wallace, and they would be surrounded by a sea of forests. Three other islands, Java, Luzon, and Celebes, are each about the size of Ireland. Eighteen more may be com- pared to Jamaica ; upwards of a hundred are as large as the Isle of Wight ; while the number of smaller isles and islets is legion. It is impossible to look at this array of islands without feeling that they represent so many stepping- stones between Asia and Australia a kind of extended Giant's Causeway, or natural bridge, by means of which a mythological Titan might have crossed from one continent to another. Then comes the idea that per- 16 TWO PRINCIPAL SECTIONS. haps such a connection at one time existed, and that these islands may be the remains of a prolongation of the Asiatic mainland on the one hand, and of the Australian mainland on the other. Recent research has proved the partial correctness of such a theory. There can be little doubt that the Asiatic continent once included the three great islands of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo ; probably also, at an earlier period, the Philippine Islands. There can be as little doubt that the Australian continent once included the Timor group, the Celebes, the Moluccas, and the Papuan Islands. The line of division is represented by the Straits of Macassar and Lombok. It will be seen, then, that the Eastern Archipelago may be divided into two principal sections : 1. The Asiatic: including Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines ; 2. The Australian : including the Timor group, the Celebes, the Moluccas, the Ke and Aru Islands, and New Guinea. To justify such a division, it is necessary that we should submit a few indisputable facts.* 1. In the first place, it has been found that a shal- low sea connects the three great islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo with the Asiatic continent, a sea with an average depth of only fifty fathoms ; while a similarly shallow sea connects New Guinea and some of the adjacent islands with Australia. Between the * This division was first proposed by Mr. G. W. Earl (see "Journal of the Royal Geographical Society," 1846, and "The Physical Geography of South-Eastern Asia and Australia," 1855), but in the text we follow the more definite hypothesis of Mr. Wallace ("The Malay Archipelago," 2 vols., 1869 ; vol. i., b. i., pp. 9-20). (637) ZOOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES. 17 two intervenes a deep sea, of more than one hundred fathoms, the exact boundaries of which, both on the east and the west, can be marked on the map as exactly as the mountain-boundary of the Pyrenees be- tween France and Spain. 2. It has also been found that a wide difference exists between the natural productions of the Asiatic islands 'and those of the Australian. Let us glance at their zoology. The elephant and tapir of Sumatra arid Borneo, the rhinoceros of Sumatra and Java, the wild cattle of Java and Borneo, belong to the same genera which inhabit part of Southern Asia. That these large animals could have swam across the broad ocean- ways which now separate the islands from one another and from the continent, is impossible; and hence their presence is a proof that since the origin of the species a land communication must have been practicable that the great islands we speak of must once have formed a part of the continent, and can have been dis- joined only at a very recent geological epoch. The same lesson is taught by the birds and insects ; for every family, and almost every genus, found in any of the islands, occurs also on the Asiatic mainland, and in a great number of cases, says Wallace, the species are exactly identical. He adds : Birds offer us one of the best means of determining the law of distribution ; for though at first sight it would appear that the water- boundaries which exclude the land quadrupeds could be easily overpassed by birds, yet practically it is not so, for if we omit those aquatic tribes which are pre- eminently wanderers, we find that the others and especially the Passeres, or true perching-birds, which form the vast majority are generally as strictly limited (637) 2 18 "A BELT OF FIRE." by straits and arms of the sea as are quadrupeds them- selves. As an illustration, it may be stated that Java possesses numerous birds which never cross over to Sumatra, though the intervening strait is only fifteen miles wide, with islands in mid-channel. Java, in fact, possesses more birds and insects peculiar to itself than either Sumatra or Borneo ; a fact which shows that it was earliest separated from the continent. Next in organic individuality is Borneo ; while the animal life of Sumatra is so nearly identical with that of the Malayan Peninsula, as to induce the conclusion that it was the "most recently dismembered island." 3. There is a further consideration to be borne in upon the reader's mind ; namely, the volcanic or non- volcanic character of the islands comprised in the Archipelago. Which are volcanic ? Which are non- volcanic ? Are the Asiatic islands included in the former or latter category ? We reply, that what Michelet calls "a belt of fire," a belt composed of numerous active and many more extinct volcanoes ; a belt marked by lava-blackened peaks crowned with yawning craters, and occasionally waving abroad fierce signals of flame and smoke and vapour, may be traced through the whole extent of Sumatra and Java, and by the islands of Bali, Lombok, and Sumbawa to Flores and the Suwatty Islands, and thence by Banda, Amboyna, Tidore, and Ternate, to Morty Island. Here occurs a break, and after an interval of about two hundred miles the volcanic chain is resumed in North Celebes, from whence it proceeds by Siau and Sanguir to the Philippine Islands. Returning to Banda, we traverse a non-volcanic district for one thousand miles, until we come to the north-eastern coast of New Guinea, where VOLCANOES OF JAVA. 19 begins a chain of fire which is carried through New Britain, New Ireland, and the Solomon Islands, to the eastern border of the Archipelago. Java contains a larger number of active and extinct volcanoes than any other district in the world of equal extent. It is traversed by two magnificent mountain- chains, from 10,000 to 12,000 feet in height, which are thickly sown with volcanoes not fewer than forty- .five in number. " It is now well ascertained," says Mr. Wallace, "that almost all volcanoes have been built up by the accumulation of matter mud, ashes, and lava ejected by themselves. The openings, or craters, however, frequently shift their position, so that a country may be covered with a more or less irregular series of hills in chains and masses, only here and there rising into lofty cones, and yet the whole may be produced by true volcanic action. In this manner the greater part of Java has been formed. There has been some elevation, especially on the south coast, where ex- tensive cliffs of coral limestone are found ; and there may be a substratum of older stratified rocks ; but still essentially Java is volcanic, and that noble and fertile island; the very garden of the East, and per- haps, upon the whole, the richest, the best cultivated, and the best governed tropical island in the world owes its very existence to the same intense vol- canic activity which still occasionally devastates its surface." * In Sumatra we find about fifteen volcanoes, four of which Dempo (10,440 feet), Indrapura (12,140 feet), Talang (8480 feet), and Merapi (9700 feet) are of * Wallace, "The Malay Archipelago," L 6. 20 TWO VOLCANIC CHAINS. considerable importance ; the others do not exceed 6000 or 7000 feet in elevation. Proceeding eastward, the whole chain of islands from Java to Banda is volcanic ; and the same is true of Amboyna, a part of Bourn and Ceram, the north part of Gilolo, the northern extremity of Celebes, and the islands of Siau and Sanguir. All along the chain we find frequent evidences of elevation and depression of land. The island-range south of Sumatra, a part of the south coast of Java and the islands east of it, the west and east end of Timor, portions of all the Moluccas, the Ke and Aru Islands, Waigiou, and the whole south and east of Gilolo, are fringed with coral reefs, and belong to the coral formation.* The total length of these two volcanic chains is about ninety degrees, or 6000 miles ; that is, one-fourth of the entire circumference of the globe. Their breadth is about fifty miles ; but for two hundred miles on either side the signs of subterranean action may be seen in coral reefs and masses of recently elevated coral rock. In the centre of one chain rests the great island of Borneo, where no volcanic phenomena have ever been detected ; and in the centre of the other, the great island of New Guinea, which is and has been equally free from disturbance. Celebes, also, is almost entirely non-volcanic. But if we divide the Archipelago into volcanic and non-volcanic divisions, it is found that these divisions do not correspond, or correspond only in a limited degree, to the differences which we have traced in the character of its natiu*al productions and forms of ani- mal life. Hence we are led to the conclusion that * Darwin, "On Coral Reefg," pp. 171-174. THE AUSTRALIAN SECTION. 21 the phenomena of volcanic action just described have been all of comparatively recent occurrence, and have not wholly obliterated the traces of the ancient distri- bution of land and water. The islands of the Asiatic division on the one hand, and of the Australian on the other, have been disrupted from their original con- tinents by the violence of their respective volcanoes. 4. Hitherto we have chiefly directed our attention to the Asiatic island-group. Upon turning to those which we have included in the Australian section, we are immediately impressed by the close resemblance of these islands in their natural products to the mainland with which at one time they were more or less closely connected. Australia, for example, has neither ape nor monkey, cat nor tiger; no wolves, no hyenas, no bears, no elephants, horses, sheep, deer, or oxen. No more have the Australo-Malay Islands. But Australia has the kangaroo, the opossum> and the wombat ; so have the Australo-Malay Islands. The Asiatic division, in the great family of Birds, has woodpeckers, pheasants, barbets, fruit-thrushes; but no honeysuckers, cockatoos, or brush-tongued lories. Australia and the Australo- Malay Islands have none of the former, but are the natural home of the latter. 5. Lastly, in the human inhabitants of the islands a marked distinction of race exists. To the east we find the Malays ; to the west the Papuans ; with some cross-breeds intervening between them. Their respective characters will hereafter occupy our atten- tion ; and we shall now conclude this portion of our subject by subdividing the two great divisions, whose existence we have demonstrated, into certain distinct 22 MODIFICATIONS OF SOIL AND CLIMATE. groups, according to their ethnological, geological, and geographical features : GENERAL VIEW OF THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. I. THE ASIATIC-MALAY ISLANDS. GBOUP 1. The Indo-Malay Islands .Sumatra (M.*); Java (M.); Borneo (M.). II. THE AUSTRALO-MALAY ISLANDS. GROUP 2. The Timor Islands: Lorabok (M.-P.); Sumbawa(J/.-P.); Flores (M.-P.); Timor (M.-P.); and several smaller islands. GROUP 3. Celebes (M.), with the Sulu Islands and Bouton (M.). GROUP 4. The Moluccas: Bouru (M.-M.); Ceram (M.-M.); Batchian (M.-M.); Gilolo (M.-M.); Morty (M.-M.); with the smaller islands of Ternate, Tidore, Makian, Kai<5a, Amboyna, Banda, Goram, and Matabello (M.-M.). GROUP 5. The Papuan Islands: New Guinea or Papua (P.); Aru Islands (P.); KB" Islands (P.); with Mysol, Salwatty, Waigiou, and others (P.). 6. We have spoken of the Eastern Archipelago as lying within the Tropics, a statement which neces- sarily implies that it enjoys a tropical climate, and is dowered with the luxuriance and fulness of beauty characteristic of tropical vegetation. But both climate and vegetation are subject to modification in the various islands by local conditions. Timor and the adjacent islands, for example, lie exposed to the un- checked influence of the south-east monsoon, and, con- sequently, the soil is dry and barren, and their most important trees are eucalypti, acacias, and sandal-wood. But in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, and the Moluccas, the very summits of the loftiest heights, owing to the abundance of moisture brought by the sea-breezes, are clothed with extensive forests. When the winds have traversed a wide sweep of ocean they * M . signifies that the inhabitants are Malays; M.-M., Moluccan-Malays ; P., Papuans; and M.-P., Malayo-Papuans. GENERAL REMARKS. 23 induce heavy and incessant rains, and these rains cherish exuberant verdure and a magnificent growth of beautiful and succulent plants. In the southern half of Sumatra the mountain-ranges arrest the vapours, and rain is almost continuous. From a similar cause, New Guinea is covered with dense and various forests ; while across the narrow arm of Torres Strait prevails a hot and dreary desert, with only a palm-tree here and there to break its dull monotony. THE ASIATIC-MALAY ISLANDS. CHAPTER I. SUMATRA. EXTENT AND GENERAL CHARACTER. UMATRA is situated immediately under the Equator, extending in either direction to nearly six degrees from it. A glance at the map will show that it runs in an oblique direction, from north-west to south-east, fully fifteen degrees, or about one thousand miles. Its greatest breadth is in the middle, nearly opposite the British settlement of Singapore, where it measures about one hundred and forty miles. Its superficial area, therefore, may be computed at one hundred and forty thousand square miles ; and consequently it is the second in rank of the Asiatic islands, being inferior only to Borneo. Its position is easily remembered. Its northern portion is separated from the Malayan Peninsula on the east by the Strait of Malacca; on the west it is bounded by the Indian Ocean ; on the south it is GENERAL SURVEY. 25 divided from Java by the narrow arm of the sea called the Strait of Sunda. A straight line drawn from the mouth of the river ludagari, on its east coast, if projected in an easterly direction, would strike the west coast of Borneo at the mouth of the river Mejak. The eastern portion of the island is remarkable for its continuous levels, which are freely watered by several large but sluggish rivers, the Rawas, the Jambi, the ludagari, that form extensive deltas at their mouths, and have for ages been contributing to fill up the shallow sea into which they fall. Very different in character the western portion. Here, from north-west to south-east, stretch range upon range of mountains, all running parallel to the coast, and increasing in elevation from two thousand to five thousand feet. These are broken up by short lateral valleys, and again by extensive longitudinal valleys, clothed with the fig and the myrtle, the areca and nibon palms. The littoral belt, or shore-land, varies greatly in breadth. On the south-west side of the island the mountains seem to start up directly from the ocean, and for nearly four hundred miles the distance between the beach and the wooded base of the hills is two miles, though towards the north it widens on the average to six miles, and, at a few points, to twelve miles.* * The principal mountain-summits are these : Indrapura 1 12,140 feet 1 3& S. lat. Loesa 11,150 3 48' N. lat. Dempo 1 10,440 3 52? S. lat. Abong-Abong 10,350 4 17' N. lat. Singallong 10,150 28' S. lat. Merapi 1 9,700 24' S. lat. Ophir (Gunong-Pasaman) .... 9,500. 12' N. lat. Talang 1 8,500 1 0' S. lat. 1 These are volcanoes, with their craters considerably below the summit, except in the case of Talang. 26 THE ISLAND-INTERIOR. ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE. The reader will easily understand that the scenery in the western division of the island presents many romantic features. The mountain-peaks, rising so abruptly from the shore, and clothed with hanging woods, are necessarily objects of much grandeur ; and the intersecting valleys, enriched with a tropical vege- tation, the forms and colours of which have a rare attraction for the eye of the European traveller, are characterized by numerous landscapes of great splendour. The interior of the island is imperfectly known ; but one of these valleys, stretching up to the foot of Mount Merapi, is fully one hundred miles in length, and is regarded by some authorities as the original home of the Malayan race. Birds of bright-tinted plumage dart in and out of the thick boughs of the wide- spreading woodland, and blend their voices, often harsh and shrill, with the murmur of falling streams. Here, in the virgin forest, the agile monkey leaps from branch to branch ; or the siamang, with his immense long arms, five feet six inches across in an adult about three feet high, swings himself with won- derful rapidity from tree to tree. Here, in the remote recesses, the orang-utan lives its melancholy life, the rhinoceros wades in the shallow rivers, and the elephant crashes through the jungle with colossal bulk. Or the flying lemur (Galeopithecus) may be seen, in the hot noon, clinging to the trunk of a tree for rest after its jerking flights, and scarcely distinguishable, with its mottled brown fur, from the mottled bark. That curious insectivorous animal, the Qymnura Rofflesii, which bears some resemblance to the Australian didel- phys, is also found in Sumatra. It was first made MALAYAN TAPIR. ANIMAL LIFE. 29 known to European zoologists by Sir Stamford Raffles ; has a long muzzle, small bright eyes, small rounded ears, and a long scaly tail. Its head and body are covered with fur, a fur pierced by numerous bristling hairs of great length, which project for a considerable distance from the body, and envelop the neck and shoulders with a kind of ruff. The greater part of the body, the upper part of the legs, and the root of the tail are black ; head, neck, flanks, and re- mainder of the tail, white. Altogether, the bulau, or tikus, as it is called, with its parti-coloured coat, is one of the most curious members of the Sumatran fauna. The kuda-ayer, or Malayan tapir, its body belted with a broad band of white that strangely contrasts with its general funereal hue, frequents the woods in the neighbourhood of the shallow streams. There, too, we find the napu, a species of musk-deer, not less graceful than the antelope; and two species of common deer, the Cervus russa and Cervus hippelaphus, of which the latter is peculiar to the island. The only species of antelope is the kambing-utan, or wild buck. The natives are fond of telling stories of a wild dog of great size, with a tufted tail, which haunts the forest- depths ; and of another carnivorous animal with a mane, of which our zoologists afford us no particulars. The royal tiger is an inhabitant of the jungle, and the crocodile (Crocodilus biporcatus) of the rivers. Among the domesticated animals are the zebu, or hunched cow, the buffalo, the horse, the goat, pigs, and oxen. Turning to the vegetable wealth of this great island, we meet with most of the valuable productions of the tropical world. In the forest the huge trees, colossal in girth and of noble height, are linked together and 80 VEGETABLE LIFE. surrounded by innumerable parasites and creeping plants, often of great beauty, which interlace with one another so as to form an almost impervious labyrinth. On the shore we meet with the spreading mangrove, its pendulous arching roots, closely matted and inter- twined, forming an incomparable breakwater, and stem- ming the aggressive tide. Retaining the particles of earth that sink to the bottom between them, they gradually but surely elevate the level of the soil ; and as the new formation rises and broadens a thousand seeds are sown upon it, a thousand fresh roots descend to strengthen and consolidate it : and in this way the mangrove repels the wave, and asserts the supremacy of the land over the baffled sea. Among the mangrove jungle which lines the coast with a bulwark almost as impregnable as " towers along the steep," rises the stately Avicennia tomentosa, to a height of seventy feet, supported, like the mangrove, on overarching roots. As we advance inland we meet with the hibiscus, calophyllum, crotalaria, and many other species, bloom- ing with gorgeous flowers, which lend to the landscape an indescribable character of brightness. Next we come to the palms, with their straight stems, like pillars, supporting a far-extended roof of verdure ; while in and about them twine a legion of creeping plants, many of them armed with thorns, which catch and clasp the unwary traveller as he presses forward, and tear and pierce his flesh. Look upward, and a green cloud or mist seems to hover above your head, which by-and-by resolves itself into a net- work of branches; and from these branches, that cross one another like the lines of a spider's web, descend innumerable lianes, dangling in the wind at every MANGROVE JUNGLE. TROPICAL TREES. 33 height. The infinite variety of the scene fairly con- fuses you : arborescent ferns, and wonderful blossoming orchids, and strange creepers, with tall trees growing in the shade of taller trees, and these underneath the arms of trees still taller ; palms of numerous species ; large fig-trees, and fragrant myrtles ; air-roots waving wildly to and fro, as if in quest of a resting-place ; intertangled wires and cables, through which you can cut your way only with a strong arm and a keen axe; and then all kinds of stems, round, fluted, rough, smooth, prickly, jointed, gnarled, branched, brown, gray, copper, pink, mottled with silvery-white lichens, furred with mosses and exquisite filmy ferns. Who shall describe the boundless prodigality of life, and the inexhaustible richness of form and colouring, of the forests of Sumatra ? On the mountain-slopes, from an altitude of five hundred to that of six thousand feet, the forest is largely composed of oaks of several species. They are noble trees, and of much value ; but, in a commercial sense, a higher value attaches to the Dryanobalops, which yields the all-important camphor. About one degree below the Equator its place is occupied by the Dipterocarpus, a tree of gigantic proportions, which produces the resin called "dammar." This resin accumulates sometimes in large masses of ten or twenty pounds weight, either attached to the trunk, or found buried in the ground at the foot of the trees. The most remarkable growth of the forest, however, is a kind of fig, the aerial roots of which combine in a pyramid nearly one hundred feet high, terminating at the point where the branches begin to project, so that there is no real trunk. This cone, or pyramid, (637) 3 34 EXPORTS; AND CLIMATE. consists of roots of all dimensions, mostly descending in straight lines, but more or less obliquely ; and so interlacing and intercrossing as to form a dense, com- plicated, and impervious network. On the rough bark of many of the forest-trees grows that extraordinary parasite, the Rafflesia, the largest known flower, measuring fully three feet in diameter, and expanding a calyx which is capable of holding six quarts of water. The principal exports of Sumatra are capsicums, ginger, betel, tobacco, indigo; cotton, camphor; benzoin, cassia or common cinnamon, rottang (ratans), ebony, sandal-wood, teak, and aloes ; ivory, rice, wax, and edible birds' nests. To the list of the island-products must be added rice, maize, sweet potatoes, taro or talus (Caladium esculentum), banana, mango, durian, papaw, and citron. But even this enumeration gives but a faint idea of the variety and extent of its natural treasures. Its climate is well adapted to the growth of so luxuriant a vegetation. Lying directly under the Equator, the island enjoys great equability of temperature; the ther- mometer seldom falling below 76, or rising above 93. The constant rains brought up by the south-east monsoons counteract or mitigate the prevailing heat. In the high- lands and mountain-districts the climate is healthy, and the natives attain a considerable longevity ; but in the low ground along the coast, and in the neighbourhood of the mangrove-swamps, Europeans, at least, drag on a sickly existence, and malaria exercises its deadly ravages. DUTCH POSSESSIONS. The Dutch possessions in Sumatra are chiefly situated on the west coast, where they are divided into four __ _ ~ . . - _- - : "r- '^ THE RAFFLESIA, AND OTHER PLANTS. .--7 '- - ' - ..- - - I.- V. .-i -::i V , - L lu-rr 1.7- -- L:-~ -: i .... - _ . . > . ,._ _ - ( ,.__ - _ ^ ,... . _ ... . _ . . . _ - . . . .^J , * i _ ; j . _". .". . . : . , Af * . ._-- L_ _ 7.--: i. _^__ .^_ ._- ..-- :-_- ..- -- - -:- -'-_ - r. ,:-:: -> - \ - . " r 4- '**'-' * O. "WT * - - . -: - . - . _ - . - . r i~ T ;ULJ -- - . i T - OK JOQDHBOOOB. ]EB D^^ ^WlBCC. ^&& :: - _-i J 11 T;" --"- 7' '-.-. :__ IT . : ;t 7;- -:-i:- : :i- : v- - .-_ :i, I.LI - : :- . . " \ ,','_,. \ _. . . ^_. - --: riagai with gwy, yeflow, around them, aavi V: .y L_ : - __ r-.vlj.: : :j. ____ * ^ T T*J. J^ _ _ x _ __^_ _ " ..::. - :j.: :. : . with their huge hlack eyes before to adtaave iarthe^" Mr. Waflaee maiiilri in which. Malays fitqpauatlj obtain of wild aninmls is a pleasant trait in , and he aaerftes k to Ae great defibera- - " ~ " ~ ,_ r '.".:": I * - . " - 7 exhibit none of that miscnievoaa. propensity in avoBaaM VOT&. JBbv loaig^ IK asa^s, soul- _ ^.-f to inhabit teces in the . i Tillage, even thoogh they :izr-:i" The Malay Tillages in the and peculiar. A apace of g: *"--- -i ----- : r : ; are raised aboot ax feet bexDg built "f planks, The fenaer are always oma- riehly with quaint < an lag,, with of *pfit fcombtx*, aad vfoates UrattL -.:-:.:.- : -.:.: _v_.i-.r^. 2>-r:.-_L_.. -_I.L_V- -.-.,:..- -.i -..--. .---^. -:,.; JScfbus <|uiiliHg .SomaMtn. "we nnt p*y to Bemaxte^ or Bm&ukmkL, wfekfe is the west coast, at the mood* of a aaafl river. Us .___ : r.r^. -_- '-_-- ? i. ; LI _ ;- i :.-L.-L^: _v-:-:^ -z:^^^- i_i^i".^: ~\~i ::-,- " 1685, and hoik Fort Yk. T^ey icwivcd to present site, as more kaftkjr, in 1714. and ended Fort Madbonmgh to fauieci UK Mver-appBoada. lit L ; i-riri ": 'ir __:;:. ~^";z :;_-: *'- --..!.- iz. * 1. ; _H TJ! I JL1_I __ ' - ~ . * II. T _T 7 '.'- --T'- -. ! I_T '. IL ~^L - '.' .'^.~ ~i . ~ Aaia - . : - ---I . 7 ^_. "' : .L .:. " .-. . - ^ _
;: I.:'-,., :.i, l-i-i^-Ji ::
-~'-'^~. 1_ ."."..i.1.1. _."". _r . ' ' ' J ' J .'.' _7 H_ _ ''" _U1 - o-l' _
dotted eveiywhere with all the homiaaae of a tropical
vegetation. Huge aMaBEtain-zaages aie Ivolcm vp bjr
deep shadowj vaflejs, and im these strange hints tafce
tlnii ffijil. mi Ifii lii o i li i ii
and fantastic fonts of plants and flowers dinocaify the
leafy raxaaes of tiae&RBls. fl ii iiilimil nf iaiBiiniiii
reaomoes, which as yet have been only paitafly fe-
40 NATIVES OF SUMATRA.
veloped, but must eventually feed an extensive
commerce.
The inhabitants are mostly of the great Malayan
family, but in the north they seem to have intercrossed
with the Hindus, and are distinguished by their
strength, their stature, and their fierce courage. The
Chinese are numerous on the east coast. North of
Menangkabu, where the pure Malays reside, live the
Battahs or Batakhs, whose exact relation to the Malay
it seems impossible to determine. They approximate
in many respects to the Caucasian type, with fair
complexion, brown or auburn hair, well-shaped lips,
and an ample forehead. All the natives of Sumatra,
with the exception of some inland tribes, profess a
modified Mohammedanism.
CHAPTER II.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF JAVA.
BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT.
JHE principal Dutch possession in the East,
and the largest island in the Sunda group,
next to Sumatra and Borneo, is the island
of JAVA, which has been styled, on account
of its natural beauty and its fertility, " the Queen of
the Eastern Archipelago." It forms a leading link
in the great chain of islands extending from the
Andamans in the Bay of Bengal to the shores of New
Guinea. In this crescent Java occupies the middle
place, between Sumatra, to which it is a pendant, and
the small island of Bali on the east. In shape it may
be likened to a parallelogram, of which the major axis
runs east and west, with a slight northerly inclination
at the west end. It is bounded north by the Java
Sea, and south by the Indian Ocean ; on the west it
is separated from Sumatra by the Strait of Sunda ;
and on the east from Bali by that of Bali. Both
straits are so narrow that it is impossible to avoid the
conjecture that Sumatra, Bali, and Java at one time
formed a continuous mass. The island is almost
equally bisected by the 110th meridian. It measures
630 miles in length, and varies from 35 to 126 miles
i-2 JAVA DESCRIBED.
in breadth. Its total area is 49,730 square miles, or
nearly two-thirds of the area of Great Britain.
SCENERY OF JAVA.
Bearing these facts in mind, we may proceed to
consider its characteristic physical aspect. We have
spoken of it as bounded on the south by the Indian
Ocean. Here the coast is steep and rocky, and forms
a sufficient rampart against the incessant roll of the
billows ; but on the opposite side, where only a shallow
channel separates it from Borneo, the land terminates
in a low, flat, alluvial plain, bordered by extensive
mangrove swamps. The coast-line is irregular and
broken, especially on the north. The principal capes
are those of Java Head, at the southern entrance to
the Strait of Sunda ; Cape St. Nicholas, at the "other
entrance ; Cape Panka at the west, and Cape Sarlano
at the east entrance of the Strait of Madura ; and
Capes East and South at the eastern extremity of the
island. Bays, creeks, coves, and inlets are numerous :
on the north coast, observe the harbours of Batavia
and Soerabaya ; on the south, Penanjong, Pachitan,
Pangol, Sambreng, Segara-Wedi, Dampar, and Grad-
iagan Bays ; and on the west, Wyncoops, Welcome,
and Pepper.
Throughout its 'entire length Java is traversed by
two chains of mountains, which occasionally unite, but
more frequently run at some distance from one another,
and send spurs and branches of the most various out-
line down to the shore. These chains are lofty and
imposing ; grand in outline, and surrounded by mighty
forests. Occasionally their towering peaks soar to an
elevation of twelve thousand feet ; they seldom descend
ITS CHAIN OF VOLCANOES. 43
below seven thousand ; and the average height of the
volcanoes with which each chain is thickly studded,
may be taken at nine thousand feet. Many of the
volcanoes are still active ; so that along the axis of the
island a series of fire-towers seem to be planted, like
burning beacons, to throw their warning light far over
the Indian seas. This volcanic character of the moun-
tains, while accounting for the fertility of the island,
also explains the peculiar aspect of its scenery. They
have nothing of that austere, that almost terrible
grandeur which distinguishes the heights of Wales or
Scotland. They are remarkable for beauty rather than
sublimity. Volcanic cones, as Mr. Jukes observes,*
are so regular in their shapes, and stand out so
definitely as objects of perfect form and symmetrical
outline, that they give " an almost architectural tone "
to the scenery. Mr. Jukes compares them to " noble
columns or pyramids," which are perfectly beautiful,
no doubt, but do not possess the mysterious and awe-
inspiring influence of a great chain of " many-folded
mountains," in the recesses of which the imagination
loves to wander, and at times to lose itself. The
volcanic peaks of Java, moreover, are clothed even to
their topmost ridges with wood and green waving
grass, except one or two summit cones of cinders and
ashes fresh from the crater ; but these too, from the
effect of distance, look as smooth as if built up of
sand.
Mr. Jukes enables us to realize the general features
of a Javanese landscape from one of his descriptions.
He sketches the picture which unfolds before the
spectator from the north-west corner of the broad,
* J. B. Jukes, "Voyage of H.M.S. Fly," hi. 30 ii. 107, 108.
44 A SUBLIME LANDSCAPE.
green, undulating valley-plain of Malang. On the
right hand, towards the west, rises the picturesque
group of the Kawi, from which a verdurous but broken
and serrated ridge strikes northward to the grand
mountain-mass of the Ardjoonoo, immediately in our
rear, with its peaked summit and shaggy sides, occupy-
ing all the north-western quarter of the horizon. A
low gap in the north has been seized upon by man,
and cultivated, while a road running through it
opens up access to the northern coast and its towns
and harbours. Towards the east, with many a bris-
tling peak and ridge, towers the massive Teng'ger
range, reaching its greatest elevation in the large
crags and buttresses of the Bromo and the Ider-Ider.
Thence it curves towards the south-east, to crown
itself with the shapely and symmetrical cone of the
Semiru.
The chord of this magnificent amphitheatre, or the
distance between Semiru and the Kawi, is nearly forty
miles, and is formed by low undulating ridges which
close the prospect on the south.
The aspect of this great valley is joyous and ex-
ultant with luxuriant beauty ; everywhere it is fresh,
and fertile, and radiant ; bright in tint and varied in
outline ; while even the wildest and ruggedest of the
mountains are profusely clothed with virgin forests,
except the two cones of the Semiru and Ardjoonoo,
where still reigns the demon of the volcanic fires, though
harmless, and with his destructive powers exhausted.
THE LAND OF FIKE.
Java has been appropriately called the Land of
Fire. It possesses thirty-eight (some authorities say
ACTIVE CRATERS.
45
forty-five) volcanic mountains,* which, taken together,
display all the phenomena of igneous action, except
lava-streams, which never occur in Java. The active
craters are remarkable for the quantity of sulphur and
sulphureous vapours which they discharge. The crater
of Taschem contains a lake, about a quarter of a mile
in length, from which issues a stream so strongly
impregnated with sulphuric acid, that no forms of life
can exist in it, and even fish cannot live in the sea
near its mouth. Near Butar, an extinct volcano, about
half a mile in circuit,, is known as the " Vale of
Poison/' or Guevo Upas. No living creature can
enter it with safety ; and it is said that the soil is
strewn with the carcasses of birds, deer, and other
* We append the names of the principal volcanoes :
TABLE OP VOLCANOES.
Name of Volcano.
Height in
Feet.
In what Province Situated.
Poeloe Saive
3 930
Bantam
Pangerango
9,868
Buitenzorg.
Salak
6,970
Buitenzorg and the Preanger Regenius.
Gedeh
9 860
Preanger Regenius
Wayang
6,225
Preanger Regenius.
Papandayang
7,865
Preanger Regenius.
Goentoor or Guntur . .
Tjokorei
6,689
8,720
Preanger Regenius.
Preanger Regenius.
Tankooban Praauw..
Tjermei
6,450
9,180
Preanger Regenius and Krawang.
Cheribon.
Slaroat
12,300
Tagal.
Praauw
9,175
Pekalongan.
Merapi
9,170
Kador.
Sindoro
10,155
Kador and Bagelen.
Soombing
10,565
Kador and Bagelen.
Lawoo
10,640
Soerakarta and Madisen.
Kawi
6,760
Passoeroean.
Semiroo
11,950
Passoeroean.
7,200
Passoeroean.
Ardjoonoo
11,800
Passoeroean and Soerabaya.
Lemmongen
6,561
Bezocki.
Wido-darew ....
7 956
Bezocki.
Idjeng
10,170
Bezocki
46
animals killed by the fatal carbonic acid gas which
accumulates in the hollow of the deadly valley.
Owing to its mountainous character, Java has no
great navigable rivers ; but it is watered by many
shallow streams, which carry brightness and fertility
along with them in their rapid course. These may
be ascended to some distance in the light proas and
canoes of the natives ; but only the Solo, Kediri,
Tjemanoek, and Tjetaroun are open to vessels of any
considerable burden.
Much of the charm of the Javanese landscape lies
in the extraordinary richness of its vegetation, which
clothes every valley-side and every mountain-height
with masses of diversified foliage. This richness is
not to be wondered at, when we remember that the
soil consists of decomposed volcanic rock, limestone
and sandstone ; that it is abundantly watered, either
by nature or by art ; and that the climate exhibits a
remarkable range of temperature. At an elevation of
6000 feet the thermometer does not rise above G0;
in the plains, during the day, it ascends from 85 to
94, and during the night from 73 to 80. The
character of the natural products of the island is
necessarily affected by this variation of temperature ;
and the traveller, beginning with the flora of the
Tropics in the plains and warm moist valleys, ends
with that of the Temperate Zone on the breezy
mountain-heights. The coast, which in some places
is fringed with coral reefs, is generally lined with
feathery groves of cocoa-nut trees. Inland spread
vast fields of rice, extending up the sides of the hills,
and irrigated by a multitude of artificial water-courses.
They yield two and three crops a year. Hedges and
IN THE INTERIOR. 49
fences of fruit-trees here and there enclose the Javanese
villages, in which the huts are built of bamboo, and
with their high-pitched roofs and quaint construction
seem to have been modelled after the well-known
architectural designs of the willow-plate. The white
buildings and tall chimney of a sugar-mill occasionally
diversify the prospect ; the open fields are skirted by
rows of bamboos ; and the straight and well-kept
roads run through monotonous avenues of dusty
tamarind-trees. At each mile, in a queer little wooden
guard-house, a policeman is stationed, who communi-
cates with his comrades by means of a gong; and the
din of that discordant instrument frequently alarms
the echoes of the quiet country. If we penetrate
further inland, we come upon the remains of deserted
cities, now given over to the wild bull and the tiger ;
or in the recesses of the forest we pause before some
colossal statue of a god, or one of the ancient temples,
such as that of Borobodo. Here a central dome, fifty
feet in diameter, and surrounded by a triple circle of
seventy-two towers, covers, with its terraced walls,
the entire slope of the hill. Such magnificent speci-
mens of human industry and of ancient science are
seldom found crowded together in so small a compass!
The building is 620 feet square, and about 100 feet
high. The terrace-walls are adorned with four hun-
dred niches, each containing a cross-legged figure larger
than life, and with a succession of bas-reliefs, carved
in stone, occupying, in all, an extent of nearly three
miles.
Still continuing our progress, we are attracted by a
curious system of terrace-cultivation ; the slopes of the
valley, and of its branches, being everywhere cut in
(637) 4
50 THE MOUNTAIN-FORESTS.
terraces up to a considerable height, which, as they
wind round the flanks of the hills, produce all the
effect of stately amphitheatres. Hundreds of square
miles of country are thus terraced, and, as a recent
writer remarks, convey a striking idea of the industry
of the people and the antiquity of their civilization.
These platforms are annually extended as the population
increases, the inhabitants of each village working in
concert under the direction of their chiefs ; and it is
by this system of village culture alone that such im-
mense areas of terraces and irrigating canals have been
rendered possible.
The bases of the mountains, whither we must now
carry our survey, are clothed with vast forests of
different species of the fig-tree tribe ; some of which
seem allied to the Indian banyan : all are interlaced
and bound together by creepers and trailing parasites,
and are remarkable for their immense height, so that
their overarching foliage glimmers like a green mist,
their milky sap, their fruit, and their far-spreading
branches. At about the same height above the sea
grow noble trees of different families, with names
which will sound harshly in the ears of the young
botanist : meliacese, aglaias, epicarises, artocarpuses,
sapinduses, sterculias, their boughs embellished with
fantastic orchids, and their trunks covered with such
parasites as pepper, mistletoe, loroanthus, nepenthes,
pothos, while in among the low undergrowth rise
grand arborescent ferns of surpassing beauty. Here
we meet with the vaquois-tree, a species of pandanus,
or screw-pine, but in stature and character resembling
the palms. Higher up we come to the plane-like liquid-
ambars, their tall and shapely stems clasped round by
THE VAQUOIS-TREE.
HIGHER AND HIGHER. 53
tenacious parasites ; also ratans, and rubiacese, some
of the latter offending the air with a noxious fetid
odour. From a height of about 5000 feet we pass
through what is truly a virgin forest, the trees being
tall as some "great ammirars mast," and surrounded
by a dense growth of herbaceous plants, tree-ferns,
and shrubby vegetation. Of the ferns the variety
seems inexhaustible, and as many as three hundred
species have been found on one mountain.
Continuing our imaginary ascent, we come to chest-
nuts and oaks ; rhododendrons, the dammar pine,
numerous species of glossy-leaved laurels, sweet-scented
myrtles, gorgeous magnolias, melastomas, and eugenias ;
while through the verdurous gloom flashes the silver
of a leaping and tumbling brook, and brightness is
given to the scene by the splendid foliage of the
broad-leaved musacese and zingiberacese, with their
curious and resplendent flowers. The eye is almost
fatigued by the multitude of new forms which every-
where greet it ; is scarcely able to distinguish all their
attractive peculiarities ; and, at last, is content with a
general sense of the infinite diversity and splendour of
the vegetation that flourishes so thickly and gener-
ously all around.
At 6000 feet raspberries abound; and thence to
the summit of the lofty mountains three species of
edible rubus may be distinguished. At 7000 feet
cypresses appear, the forest-trees lose their stateliness
of character, and mosses and lichens take the place
of ferns and lycopods. From this point upwards, they
increase rapidly, so that the blocks of rock and scoria
that compose the mountain slope are completely hidden
by the mossy vegetation. The pretty heaths, espe-
54 UP TO THE SUMMIT.
cially the white-berried vaccinias, are also abundaut.
At about 8000 feet we find ourselves transported into
an European landscape, and gaze with pleasure on
the well-remembered forms of honeysuckle, St. John's-
wort, and Guelder-rose. At 9000 feet we meet with
the rare and lovely royal cowslip (Primula imperialis),
which is peculiar to Java, and to the mountain (Pang-
erango) we are now ascending. Yes ; this beautiful
flower blooms only on this lonely mountain-top, for
the winds and the sunbeams to caress it, and occasion-
ally to delight the eye of some adventurous stranger.
It has a tall, stout stem, sometimes more than three
feet in height; its root leaves are eighteen inches long;
and it bears several whorls of cowslip-like flowers, in-
stead of a terminal cluster, like our English favourites.
The forest-trees, gnarled and dwarfed to the size of
mere bushes, creep up to the very rim of the summit-
crater ; while thickets of shrubby artemisias and
gnaphaliums, like our familiar southernwood and cud-
weed, but six or eight feet high, are very numerous.
Buttercups are sown as thickly as in an English
meadow ; there are violets as sweet as poet ever
found " half-hidden 'neath a mossy stone " in our
woodland valleys ; and with these mingle whortle-
berries, sow-thistles, chickweed, white and yellow
cruciferse, plantain, and annual grasses.*
MOUNTAIN VEGETATION.
Mr. Wallace furnishes the following explanation of
* The following list of genera characteristic of distant and more temperate
regions is given by Mr. Motley : Violet, two species ; ranunculus, three species ;
rnbus, eight or ten species. Also species of primula (primrose); lobelia; hyperi-
cum ; oxalis (wood-sorrel) ; swertia ; quercus (oak) ; convallaria Jily of the valley) ;
taxus (yew) ; vaccinium cranberry) ; rhododendron ; gnaphalium (cudweed) ; poly-
gonum; digitalis (foxglove); lonicera (honeysuckle) ; plantago (rib-grass) ; artemisia
(wormwood).
CLIMATE AND VEGETATION. 55
the extraordinary fact, as it will appear to many of
our readers, that on lonely mountain -peaks, in an
island close to the Equator, should bloom a vegetation
so closely similar to that of Europe, while in the
plains below, and in all the lowlands for thousands of
miles around, thrives a flora of a totally different
character ! The violet and the wood-sorrel of our
English woods adorn the lofty volcanic cone, at the
base of which flourishes the Indian fig-tree or the
cocoa-nut palm ! Thus, in the course of a few thou-
sand feet the traveller seems to pass, as it were, from
the latitudes of the rich tropical islands to those of
the soberer European vales and pastures. Observe,
the Peak of Teneriffe, though it rises to a greater
height, and is nearer Europe than any of the Javanese
mountains, contains no such Alpine flora ; neither do
the mountains of Bourbon and Mauritius. The case
of the volcanic peaks of Java is, therefore, to a certain
extent, exceptional; but, as Mr. Wallace observes, there
are several analogous if not exactly parallel cases,
that will assist us in understanding how the pheno-
mena may possibly have been brought about. For
instance, the higher peaks of the Alps, and even of
the Pyrenees, contain a number of plants absolutely
identical with those of Lapland, but not to be dis-
covered in the intervening plains. On the summit
of the White Mountains, in the United States, every
plant is identical with species growing in Labrador.
Now, not one of these cases can be explained by a
reference to the ordinary methods in which seeds are
carried from place to place. Most of the plants yield
seeds so heavy that the wind could not possibly trans-
port them such immense distances ; and the agency
56 THE PROBLEM SOLVED.
of birds is out of the question, when we remember the
immense elevation at which the plants are found. In
the face of so great a difficulty, some naturalists put
forward the astounding theory that these species were
all separately created twice over on these distant
peaks ! But the true solution of the problem is to be
sought in the past existence of a Glacial Age an age
when the mountains of Wales were clothed with those
huge ice-rivers which we call glaciers, and the mountain-
ous parts of Central Europe, and much of America north
of the great lakes, were dreary regions of ice and snow,
with a climate resembling that of Labrador and Green-
land at the present day. In that age, all the countries
we speak of must necessarily have borne an Arctic flora.
As the Glacial Period passed away, and the ice and
snow receded up the mountain slopes or retired towards
the North Pole, the plants also receded, "always cling-
ing as now to the margins of the perpetual snow- line."*
It will be said that, in respect to the Javanese
flora, many of the genera are identical with those of
Europe, but not the species. True: but this is easily
explained. During the greatest severity of the Glacial
Age, "temperate forms" of plants will have found their
way to the confines of the Tropics; but on its departure
they would, of course, retreat up the Southern moun-
tains in quest of the climatic conditions necessary for
their existence. But, in such circumstances, and owing
to the lapse of time that must have taken place, many
of the plants would undergo such modifications as to
become distinct species.^
* The perpetual snow-line is the boundary (varying in elevation in different
regions) above which the ice and snow do not melt.
t For further information on this subject the reader may consult Darwin's
" Origin of Species," chap. ii.
JAVA AND THE CONTINENT. 57
Another objection may be urged, that " a wide ex-
panse of sea between Java and the continent would
effectually prevent the immigration of temperate
forms of plants during the Glacial epoch." But to
this objection we reply, that the former connection
of Java with Asia is proved by abundant evidence.
" The most striking proof of such a junction," says
Mr. Wallace,* " is, that the great mammalia of Java,
the rhinoceros, the tiger, and the banting, or wild ox,
occur also in Siain and Burmah, and these would cer-
tainly not have been introduced by man. The Java-
nese peacock and several other birds are also common
to these two countries; but, in the majority of cases,
the species are distinct, though closely allied, indicat-
ing that a considerable time (required for such modi-
fication) has elapsed since the separation; while it has
not been so long as to cause an entire change. Now
this exactly corresponds with the time we should
require since the temperate forms of plants entered
Java. These are almost all now distinct species; but
the changed conditions under which they are now
forced to exist, and the probability of some of them
having since died out on the continent of India,
sufficiently account for the Javanese species being
different. "
ANIMAL LIFE IN JAVA.
We may now take a rapid glance at the animal life
of Java. If domestic and marine animals be included,
it boasts of no fewer than one hundred species of
mammals. In the west of the island the one-horned
rhinoceros stalks among the ruined temples; and in
the high wooded districts and dense jungles of the
Wallace, " Malay Archipelago," i. 120.
58 ANIMAL LIFE IN JAVA.
upper valleys may be found the tiger-cat, the panther,
and, more formidable than either, the royal tiger,
annually demanding its human victims. Neither the
tapir nor the elephant is an inhabitant of Java; though
both animals belong to the fauna of Sumatra and the
Malay Peninsula. Among the Suidse may be named
the wild hog and the babyroussa; the latter a fierce
and dangerous animal, with four strong tusks project-
ing above the snout. The napu or Java musk is
one of the most graceful of the moschine deer. The
wild ox (Bos Sondaicus) is numerous in the woods,
and remarkable not less for the beauty of his shape
than the untamableness of his disposition. Of the
Ape family the only representatives are the silvery
gibbon (Hylobates leuciscus), two species of semno-
pithecus, and the ubiquitous " tailed ape," known as
the Cercopithecus cynomologus ; these are found in
almost innumerable hosts, and the forests resound
with their noisy chatterings.
Two kinds of lemurs the Stenops Javanicus, and
the kukang, or slow -paced loris, Nycticebus tardi-
gradus belong to Java, and are regarded by the
natives with all the dread that arises from super-
stitious ignorance. Probably their alarm is increased
by the animal's nocturnal habits. For it is at night
that the loris awakes from its slumbers: night, when
the birds on which it preys are resting in unsuspicious
tranquillity, with their heads screened by their soft
plumage. Then through the forest-gloom its large
round eyes burn like two balls of red-hot iron; and
by these eyes alone can its presence be detected, for,
owing to the colour of its fur, its outline is invisible,
and its white breast and abdomen may be mistaken
BATS AND BIEDS. 61
for a slanting moonbeam falling athwart a branch.
With slow and stealthy movements it glides along
the trees, lifting paw after paw, and advancing step
by step, until it has gained its victim's resting-place.
The destroyer raises its hand, until the long curved
fingers overhang and nearly touch the sleeping bird,
which in a moment is torn from its perch and slain,
almost before it has opened its startled eyes.
To Java also belongs the largest member of the Bat
tribe, the Pteropus edulis (or P. Javanicus), measur-
ing five feet across its membranous wings. It abounds
in the neighbourhood of the orchards and gardens;
hanging suspended from the branches during the day,
and at night banqueting freely upon stolen fruit.
Two civets (Viverra inasanga and Viverra rasa) are
common enough : the Javanese show a strong partiality
for the pungent perfume which they supply.
The ornithologist would find in this lovely island
an inexhaustible field for his investigations. Almost
all the important genera of Raptores abound. The
peacock lightens up the woods with its brilliant plum-
age. Sometimes it measures fully seven feet in
length, and to the spectator it seems impossible that
a bird encumbered with such a " long and cumbersome
train of feathers " should be able to rise from the
ground. The woods echo with the warble of many
thrushes; and a kind of blackbird (Turdus fumidus)
haunts the vicinity of the principal craters, and keeps
always within the area of eruption. There may also
be found the green jungle-fowl (Gallus furcatus), its
back and neck beautifully equipped with bronze
feathers, and its smooth-edged oval comb of a violet-
purple colour, merging into emerald at the base. King-
62 BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES.
fishers frequent the banks of the streams, and the
hornbill, the lorikeet, and the woodpecker inhabit the
leafy woods. Fish are abundant in the rivers and the
surrounding seas; and insect life is represented by
many rare and curious as well as familiar forms.
Through the sunlit air flash the bright-coloured wings
of beautiful butterflies, among others, the rare Char-
axes Kadenii, remarkable for having on each hind
wing two curved tails like a pair of calipers. Nor
are the trogon, and the black and crimson oriole, and
the resplendent miniver flycatcher, wanting. Or the
charming little fruit pigeons (Ptilonopus roseicollis),
with their head and neck of the most delicate rosy-
pink colour, contrasting finely with their otherwise rich
green plumage. In a word, the field of study presented
to the naturalist is so wide, so varied, and so full, that
the industry of a lifetime could scarcely exhaust it.
For our knowledge of the Javanese flora we are
greatly indebted to the labours of the botanist Blume,*
who contrived to accomplish, though at the cost of his
life, the enterprise attempted in vain by not a few
energetic predecessors. Its extraordinary wealth has
suggested to Michelet a fine and eloquent passage,
which may be transferred to these pages because it
sums up, in few but accurate words, the salient features
of the physical character of the island. f
M1CHELET ON JAVA.
Java, he says, is dowered with fires. Notwith-
standing its limited area, it possesses as many as the
* See his great work, the " Flora Javaj."
t Michelet, "The Mountain " (Eng. Transl., pp. 151, et sqq.}, bk i., c. 13.
THE ISLAND OF FIRE. 63
entire American continent, and all of them more
terrible than burning Etna. And to these we must
add its liquid volcano, its vein of sombre azure, which
the Japanese call the " Black River." This is the
great Equatorial Current, which, in its northerly
course, warms the Asiatic seas; is remarkable for its
muddiness; and tastes salter than human blood.
A hot sea a torrid sun volcanic fire volcanic
life ! Not a day passes but a tempest breaks out
among the Blue Mountains, with lightning so vivid
that the eye cannot endure to gaze at it. Torrents of
electric rain intoxicate earth and madden vegetation.
The very forests, smoking with wreathed vapours in
the burning sun, seem so many additional volcanoes
situated midway on the mountain slopes.
In the loftier regions they are frequently inaccessible,
and sometimes so thickly intertangled, so dense, so
gloomy, that the traveller who penetrates them must
carry torches even at noonday. Nature, without an
eye to watch her, celebrates there her " orgies of vege-
tation," and creates, as Blume informs us, her river-
monsters and colossi.
Stemless rhizanthese seize on the roots of a tree,
and gorge themselves with its pith and vitality.*
Travellers speak of a species which measures six feet
in circumference. f Their splendour, shining in the
deep night of the forest, astonishes, nay, almost
terrifies the spectator. These children of the dark-
ness owe nothing of their resplendent colouring to the
* The Rhizanthece is a class of plants destitute of true leaves, but with short
amorphous stems which grow on the roots of trees. They include the three orders,
BalanophoracecE, Cytinacece, and Rafflesiacece.
t The Rafflesia, first made known in 1818. It is often found on the Cissus; and a
single flower will weigh eighteen pounds, and its cup hold twelve pints !
4 ITS TWO FACES.
light. Flourishing low down in the warm vapours,
and fattened by the breath of earth, they seem to be
its luxurious dreams, its strange, eery phantasies of
desire.
Java, continues the great French writer, has two
faces. The southern wears already the aspect of
Oceania, enjoys a pure air, and is surrounded by
rocks all alive with polypes and madrepores. To the
north, however, it is still India India, with all it
inherits of unhealthiness ; a black alluvial soil fer-
menting with the deadly travail of Nature reacting
on herself with the work of combination and decom-
position. Its inhabitants have been compelled to
abandon the once opulent town of Bantam, which is
now a mass of ruins. Superb Batavia is one trium-
phant cemetery. In less than thirty years from 1730
to 1752 it swallowed up a million of human lives;
sixty thousand in a single twelvemonth (1750)! And
though it is not so terrible now, its atmosphere has
not been purified to any considerable extent.
The animals of the primeval world which live for-
gotten in its bosom are remarkable, it seems, for their
funereal aspect. In the evening enormous hairy bats,
such as are found nowhere else, flutter to and fro.
By day, and even at noon, the strange flying dragon,*
that memorial of a remote epoch, when the serpent was
endowed with wings, does not hesitate to make its
appearance. Numerous black animals exist, which
agree in colour with the black basalt of the moun-
tains. And black, too, is the tiger, that terrible
* The flying dragon, or flying lizard (Draco), Is a genus of Saurian reptiles, allied
to the iguanas, but characterized by the lateral membranes extending from the first
six false ribs, which support them, like wings, in the air.
THE MOUNTAIN-CLIMATES. 65
destroyer, which, as late as 1830, devoured annually
three hundred lives.
Michelet continues :
The double mountain-chain which forms the back-
bone of Java is intersected by numerous internal, con-
centrated, and sheltered valleys. Hundreds of lateral
valleys, running in an opposite direction, vary the
spectacle. This diversity of surface insures a corres-
ponding diversity of vegetation. The soil in the low-
lands is madreporic, and was once alive.' At a higher
level it has a foundation of granite, loaded with the
fertile ruins and hot d&bris of the volcanoes. The
whole is a vast ascending scale which, from sea to
mountain, presents six different climates ; rising from
the marine flora and the flora of the marshes to the
Alpine flora. A superb amphitheatre, rich and abun-
dant at each gradation, bearing the dominant plants
and those transitional forms which lead up from one
to the other ; and lead so ingeniously, that, without
any lacuna, or abrupt leap, we are earned onwards,
and vainly endeavour to trace between the six climates
any rigorous lines of demarcation.
In the lowlands, facing India and the boiling cal-
dron of the ocean, the mangrove absorbs the vapours.
But, towards Oceania and the region of the thousand
isles, the cocoa-nut tree rises, with its foot in the
emerald wave, and its crest lightly rocking in the full
fresh breeze.
The palm is here of little value. Above its bam-
boos and resinous trees Java wears a magnificent girdle,
or zone, of forest ; a forest wholly composed of teak.
the oak of oaks, the finest wood in the world,
1637) 5
66 "PLANTS OF TEMPTATION."
indestructible teak.* It boasts also of a gigantic
plane, the superb liquidambar.^-
Here every kind of food, and all the provisions of
the five worlds, superabound. The rice, maize, figs,
and bananas of Hindostan the pears of China the
apples of Japan, flourish in company with the peach,
pine-apple, and orange of Europe ; ay, and even with
the strawberry, which extends its growth along the
banks of the streams.
All this is the innocence of Nature. But side by
side with it prevails another and more formidable
world : that of the higher vegetable energies, the
plants of temptation, seductive yet fatal, which double
the pleasures, while shortening the duration, of life.
At present they reign throughout the earth from
pole to pole. They make and they unmake nations.
The least of these terrible spirits has wrought a greater
change in the globe than any war. They have im-
planted in man the volcanic fires ; and a soul, a vio-
lent spirit, which is indefinable, which seems less a
human thing than a creature of the planet. They
have effected a revolution which, above all, has changed
our idea of Time. Tobacco kills the hours, and renders
them insensible. Coffee shortens them by the stimulus
it affords the brain ; it converts them into minutes.
Foremost among the sources of intoxication to which
care unhappily resorts, we must name alcohol. Eight
species of the sugar-cane which thrive in Java, abun-
dantly supply this agent of delirium and of forcible
feebleness. No less abundantly flourishes tobacco, the
* Teak-wood is obtained from a tree which is known to botanists as the Tectona
grandis.
t The liquidambar belongs to a genus of trees called AUingiacece, with alternate
leaves, flowers in catkins, and the fruit forming a kind of fir-cone.
JAVA AND ITS BAZAARS. 67
herb of dreams, which has enshrouded the world in its
misty vapours. Fortunately Java also produces im-
mense supplies of its antidote, coffee. It is this which
contends against tobacco, and supplies the place of
alcohol. The island of Java alone furnishes a fourth
of all the coffee drunk by man ; and a coffee, too, of
fine quality, when it has been dried sufficiently with-
out any fear of reducing its weight.
Formerly Java and its neighbouring lands were
known as spice islands only, and as producing freely
violent drugs and medicinal poisons. Frightful stories
were circulated of its deadly plants, the juice of which
was a mortal venom ; of the Gueva-upas, which but to
touch was death !
Michelet concludes : He who would see the East
in all the fulness of its magical, voluptuous, and sinis-
ter forces, should explore the great bazaars of Java.
There the curious jewels wrought by the cunning
Indian hand are exposed to the desires of woman,
temptation, and the cost of pleasure. There, too, may
be seen another seductive agency : the vegetable fury
of the burning and scorching plains which is so eagerly
sought after ; the perfumes of terrible herbs and flowers
as yet unnamed. Marvellous and profound the night
in its sweet repose, after the violent heats of the day !
But be cautious in your enjoyment of it ; a,s it grows
old, you breathe death !
Take note of this : the peculiarity that gives to
these brilliant bazaars so curious an effect is, that all
the thronging crowds are dusky, with dark com-
plexions, and all the animals are black. The contrast
is singular in this land of glowing light. The heat
seems to have burned up everything, and tinted each
68 NATIVES OF JAVA.
object with shadow. The little horses, as they gallop
past you, seem but so many flashes of darkness. The
buffaloes, slowly arriving, loaded with fruit and flowers,
with the most radiant gifts of life, all wear a livery of
bluish-black.
Beware at this time of night not to wander too far,
or to ramble in the higher grounds, lest you should
encounter the black panther, whose green eyes illu-
mine the obscurity with a terrific glare ! And
who knows ? the splendid tyrant of the forest, the
black tiger, may have begun his midnight prowl ;
that formidable phantom which the Malays of Java
believe to be the Spirit of Death.
SUMMARY.
From these glowing passages of description the
reader cannot fail to have gathered up such details as
will assist him in realizing to himself this dazzling,
fertile, beautiful, and yet terrible Java, its blaz-
ing volcanoes, its rich mountain-valleys, its immense
forests, and its terraced gardens, with all their exube-
rant abundance of fruit and blossom.
Of its native inhabitants, and their manners and
customs, we shall speak in a future chapter ; our
object here being simply to put before the reader a
lively picture of the physical aspects of the island,
painted, as it were, with a few bold touches. They
belong, however, to the great Malayan family, and in
religion are Mohammedans, the creed of the Prophet
having been introduced by the Arabs in the fourteenth
century, and having superseded both Hinduism and
Buddhism. They are an industrious, skilful, sober,
patient, and obedient people ; addicted to revenge ;
ON THE ARCHIPELAGO. 69
superstitious ; and possessed with a great veneration
for the laws and usages of antiquity. Most of them
are engaged in agriculture ; but many pursue the arts
of dyeing, weaving, and metallurgy with considerable
success.
The principal exports are rice, coffee, sugar, nut-
megs, mace, cloves, tin, indigo, cinnamon, cochineal,
pepper, pimento, tobacco, and cocoa-nut soap. They
exceed 5,500,000 in yearly value.
HOT SPRINGS IN JAVA.
We cannot complete our description of this interest-
ing island, which offers so much that is attractive both
in its scenery and its inhabitants, in its physical aspects
and social life, without paying a visit to the Dieng,
which is not only one of the most elevated situations
in Java where Buddhist ruins may still be found, but
is remarkable for the numerous volcanic lakes and hot
springs comprised in its limited area.
Starting from Wonosobo, the first object of interest
we meet with is the Lake of Mendjer ; a small sheet
of water situated at the foot of the Gunong Sorodjo.
It measures about two miles in circumference, and in
all probability occupies an extinct crater. Its waters
are occasionally impregnated with sulphur.
The path now rises rapidly, and the traveller sees
before him the lofty mountain-chain of Brambanan,
with its summits enveloped in mist. The rocks and
crags on either side are incrusted with sulphur, and
perforated with holes and crevices, from many of which
swift jets of steam or smoke escape, filling the air with
odours that are not exactly those of " Araby the blest;"
while a strange rumbling sound, like the distant echoes
70 THE SPIRIT OF CARBONIC ACID GAS.
of chariot wheels, now rises and now sinks upon the
breeze.
We reach the summit of the Prau mountain, and
thence descend, about one hundred feet, into the dreary
valley of the Dieng; a valley measuring about a mile
in circumference, and shut in by a semicircle of black,
jagged, irregular hills.
Here, on its marshy area, among scattered blocks of
stone, lie the ruins of five small temples, built with
hewn slabs of stone, and sparsely ornamented with
rude carvings. A broken causeway, in the rear of
these shattered memorials of an ancient creed, leads to
a larger temple on the brow of a hill ; and thence we
proceed to the shallow milky basin of the Tologo Lin,
a small caldron of water, which is eternally seething
and bubbling under the influence of volcanic heat, and
emitting dense clouds of steam.
Just beyond, at the extremity of a deep hollow,
called Pekareman, the earth throws off a considerable
amount of carbonic acid gas, or some equally noxious
vapour. It is customary for the native guide to prove
its deleterious qualities at the cost of a poor chicken
or two. When thrown into the fatal chasm, the
head and neck of the victim are suddenly convulsed, and,
flapping iis wings in agony, it rolls over and expires.
It is said that the Javanese, under the influence of
despair, ati bingoong, resort hither to decide their fate.
They lie down near the lake to pass the night ; and if
they live until morning, they feel confident of secur-
ing an auspicious change of fortune. If the credulous
creature expire before the dawn of day, his death is
attributed, not to the gas, but to the vengeance of a
Pangooroo, or evil spirit.
A COLOURED LAKE. 71
Another of these volcanic lakes is called Chondero di
Mocko. It covers a space of not more than twenty feet ;
is, in fact, a small pool of boiling water, with an efflux
into a narrow rill, that winds onwards like a line of
vapour. In the centre the water rises in three or four
jets to the height of about five feet, and flings around
a shower of scalding spray. The banks consist of a
soft, hot mud, sulphureous deposits, and small blocks
of limestone which have been ejected, in course of time,
by the restless waters of the little pool.
About a mile in an opposite direction, beyond the
Dieng, lies the Talogo Warno, a many-coloured, reed-
fringed lake, at the base of the Brambanan mountains,
and about three hundred yards in length. Here the
waters gleam with all the colours of the rainbow. A
bright yellow at one part, and an emerald green at
another ; here a beautiful azure, and there a delicate
rose ; then orange and milky white, all these hues
blending and merging into one another as softly and
gradually as the tints of a humming-bird's plumage.
The cause of this extraordinary diversity is not stated
by travellers, but it must be due either to the presence
of different species of algae in the bed of the lake, or,
more probably, to some peculiarities of soil. It does
not appear to be due to atmospheric influence, as the
same condition of things prevails during both the dry
and wet monsoons.
Between the Brambanan and Modrodo lies a hot
muddy valley, called the Kawa Kiwung. Here may
be seen another hot -water basin, with a constantly
ebullient spring in its centre, which ejects into the air
tall columns of boiling water.
But we may not tarry longer in this remarkable and
72 VOLCANIC PHENOMENA.
interesting district, which presents a scene of volcanic
phenomena scarcely equalled in any part of the world.
Everywhere the ground seems impregnated with sul-
phur: sulphureous odours fill the air; boiling springs
seethe and hiss in every hollow ; under the surface
may be heard a continuous reverberation, as if the
earth were in the throes of some great agony ; the
traveller feels as if he were treading on the light crust
of a sea of molten minerals and liquid lava ; and every-
where he cannot refuse to recognize the " signs and
wonders " that justify the significant title which has
been bestowed upon this luxuriant, fertile, romantic,
and restless Java : it is, in very truth, a " land of
fire!"
CHAPTER III.
LIFE IN JAVA.
EEMAKKABLE ANTIQUITIES.
IN our general description of Java we have
cursorily alluded to the remarkable antiqui-
ties which are found in the interior of the
island. These are frequently of a character
to interest and astonish the traveller, as a visit to the
ruins of Singha Sari, on the road to Passarouan, will
at once convince the reader.
We start from Malang, and proceed in a northerly
direction ; traversing a countryside that is well culti-
vated and carefully irrigated. The plough and harrow
used by the Javanese agriculturists deserve notice for
their simplicity. First: the plough. The coulter is
simply a long knife, attached to the end of a long bent
handle, which forms the tail ; while from the junction
of the two a long piece of wood projects forward, and
carries the cross-piece or yoke for the oxen to pull it
along. Next: the harrow. This is nothing more
than a Brobdingnagian rake, drawn by oxen, with the
driver sitting in the cross-pieces.
The oxen are small and brown, not unlike the
Brahman bull in shape ; and better able to endure the
heat, it is said, than the great buffalo or musk-ox,
with its hairless mouse-coloured skin and huge spread-
74 RUINS OF SINGHA SARI.
ing horns. They are handsome cattle, and delicately
and elegantly formed.
Turning off from the main road, a narrow grassy
lane brings us to the famous ruins of Singha Sari,
situated on the threshold of a venerable wood. They
include six principal structures of hewn stone, besides
the base of a circular tower ; while numerous large
and small figures, and various fragments of sculpture
and statuary, are scattered in all directions. Three of
these structures are quadrangular temples, rising by
successive stages to a topmost shrine, which contains
several large statues, more or less defaced. The ground-
plan of the largest temple measures 93 feet by 36 feet.
They are all without friezes, but along the sides are
carved ornamental markings, and niches and pedestals
for statues, and some figures in alto-relievo.
Two of the other buildings are vaguely described
as tombs. They resemble the temples in style, but
are of inferior dimensions ; square at the base, rapidly
diminishing towards the summit in successive stories,
and then " bulging out " again in overhanging steps
or ledges. One of them we observe to be crowned
with the base of a ruined dome or cupola. This is
called Chunkoop Wyang ; the others are known as
Chunkoop Putri. The sixth building, consisting
merely of two solid blocks of half-ruined masonry,
may have been part of the gateway opening into the
sacred enclosure. On each side of it stands a colossal
figure one male, the other female of bulky propor-
tions and savage aspect, scantily attired, and each
wreathed around by a huge serpent. They kneel
these weird corruptions of the Hindu fancy, for, un-
doubtedly, the ruins are of Hindu origin on one
COLOSSAL FIGUEES. 75
knee, with breast and body leaning on the other,
while one hand rests on a huge square-headed club,
elaborately carved. The right hand of the male
colossus is lifted and turned outwards, with two or
three fingers erect, as if to forbid an intruder's
approach, or command silence. Each wears a kind of
crown ; the eyeballs are protruded as if in anger ; deep
frowns carve the vast brow with sunken lines ; and
from each side of the mouth inclines downwards a
large tusk.
The dimensions of the male figure are thus given by
Mr. Jukes :
Height from the ground to the crown of the head.... 12 feet.
Circumference round the waist, including the knee,
which is pressed against it 25 feet.
Length of the face 3 feet.
Length of the nose 1 foot.
Width across the back of the shoulders 8 J feet.
Width of left hand across the knuckles 2 feet 1 inch.
Length of the right hand to tip of middle finger 2 feet 9 inches.
Each is sculptured out of a solid block of stone,
hard but rather brittle a close-grained, gray, porphy-
ritic trachyte. The workmanship is admirable, every
line being cleanly and smoothly cut ; while all the
folds of the skin are carefully represented. Round
about lie many fragments of sculpture and statuary,
not less skilfully executed : including a beautiful
Brahman bull, about four feet long ; human -figures
with elephant's heads ; an admirably wrought frag-
ment of a chariot drawn by several horses abreast ;
and figures of Hindu deities, each three-headed or
four-headed, and with several pairs of arms. It is
noticeable that not only are all these strange memo-
rials of a past which has left no other record executed
76 A LOVELY SCENE.
with much carefulness and refinement, but they are
wholly free from the extravagances and indelicacies of
design which so commonly disfigure the antiquities of
India. We are thus led to believe in the truth of Mr.
Crawfurd's conjecture, that the Hinduism of Java was
a purified religion ; " a reformation of the bloody and
indecent worship of Siva, brought about by sages or
philosophers, by persons, in short, of more kindly
affections than the rest of their countrymen, and
perhaps to keep pace with some start in civilization in
the country where it had its origin."
Certainly, the ruling minds which selected the site
of the ruined temples now before us must have been
inspired by lofty sympathies, and have possessed as
keen a sense of the beauties of Nature as any Hellenic
philosopher or priest. The antiquities are remarkable,
and so is the scenery by which they are surrounded.
They occupy the summit of a knoll which overlooks
the broad undulating valley-plain of Malang. On the
right hand, towards the south-west, rises the pictur-
esque group of the Kawi hills, whence a grassy but
broken and jagged ridge extends northwards to the
mighty mass of Mount Arjuno, which, with its peaked
summit and wooded declivities, occupies all the north-
western quarter of the horizon. Through a low gap
in the north access is obtained to the surf-beaten line
of the northern coast, with its populous towns and
ample harbours. Towards the east we see the gigantic
ridge of the Teng'ger, with all its spires and pinnacles
and pyramids, gradually increasing in elevation until
it reaches its loftiest points in the noble colossal forms
of the Bromo and the Ider-Ider, from which it curves
gracefully towards the south-east, and the beautiful
A HINDU KINGDOM. 77
cone of the Semiru. The chord of this magnificent
amphitheatre, or the distance from the Semiru to the
Kawi, cannot be less than forty miles in length, and
is formed by low undulating ridges, which shine in the
full glory of the southern sun.
Rich and luxuriant is the loveliness of this glorious
valley, which as yet no artist has painted and no poet
sung ; and even the most savage-featured of its en-
circling mountains are clothed with the leafy shadows
of forests in almost boundless profusion ; all except
the two cones of the Semiru and the Arjuno, where
the volcanic forces still linger, latent, but destructive
and rebellious.
When we turn from these glories of Nature to the
hoar memorials of the Past, which are mouldei'ing
here in the solitude and the silence, a spell falls upon
the imagination. We seem to see them frequented
by crowds of worshippers, and their altars tended by
Hindu priests; while all the country round is studded
with busy cities, adorned with palaces, and echoing
with the hum of men. The dream rises upon the
mind, of a Hindu kingdom, once powerful and opulent
and civilized, which nourished, it may be for centuries,
in this beautiful and fertile Java.
That such a kingdom once existed, cannot be
doubted; we recognize its traces in the ruins scattered
over the surface of the Malang valley, in the huge
piles of bricks now half-concealed among the forests,
in the ancient causeways still used as the principal
roads of the country, and in the remains of the massive
walls which stretch from the southern side of Mount
Kawi to the sea, fortifying the valley of Kediri, and
thus protecting the chief access to the plain of Malang
78 GENERAL VIEW OF JAVANESE RUINS.
from the west. Any one of these structures, as Mr.
Jukes remarks, is far beyond the capabilities of the
present inhabitants of Java at least, without European
assistance ; and points to the existence of a people
among whom the arts and sciences had made no incon-
siderable progress. Yet the history of this people is
absolutely unknown, and is but slightly recorded even
in tradition. It is true that a few dates have been
discovered on ruins in other parts of the island, which,
from their style and character, seem contemporaneous
with those of Singha Sari; and these dates range from
A.D. 1195 to A.D. 1296. Some names of kingdoms
and princes linger, moreover, in the old Javanese
histories or romances ; but neither the research of a
Raffles nor the laborious industry of a Crawfurd has
brought to light any authentic facts.
Mr. Crawfurd describes the ruins of Java as con-
sisting of temples, images, and inscriptions ; and the
first-named he divides into four classes : 1st, Large
groups of small temples, of hewn stone, each occupied
by a statue ; 2nd, Single temples of great size, of hewn
stone, consisting of a series of enclosures, the whole
occupying the summit of a hill, and without any con-
cavity or excavation ; 3rd, Single temples, constructed
of brick and mortar, with an excavation similar to the
individual temples of the first class ; and 4th, Rude
temples, of hewn stone, of more recent construction
than any of the rest.*
To the particulars already given we can add only
a brief notice of the ruins of Brambanan, which are
situated almost in the centre of the island, between
the native capitals of Djokokerta and Surakerta.
Crawfurd, " History of the Indian Archipelago," ii. 195, 196.
THE THOUSAND TEMPLES. 79
Here are found the temples of Loro-Jongran and
Chandi-Sewa. The former comprise six large and
fourteen small temples. They are now a mass of
broken ruins, but it is supposed that the largest
temples were ninety feet in height. All were built of
solid stone, profusely decorated with carvings and bas-
reliefs, and adorned with numerous statues, many of
which remain entire.
The group at Chandi-Sewa, or the " Thousand
Temples," occupies an oblong square area measuring
600 feet in length and 550 feet in breadth. This
area is covered with five rows of temples : in the
outer row, 84 ; in the second row, 76 ; in the third,
64 ; in the fourth, 44 ; while the fifth forms an
inner parallelogram of 28 temples. Each temple is
pyramidal in structure, and consists of large blocks of
hewn stone. Each of the smaller ones contained a
figure of Buddha, and the chief and central building
figures of the principal objects of Hindu worship, all
of colossal size and admirable execution.
In reference to the sculptures and decorations, we
shall content ourselves with quoting Mr. Crawfurd's
remarks :
" First, the scenery, the figures, the faces, and
costume are not native, but those of Western India.
Of the human figures, the faces are characterized by
the strongest features of the Hindu countenance.
Many of these are even seen with bushy beards, an
ornament of the face denied by Nature to all the
Indian islanders. The loins are seen girt after the
manner now practised in India, a custom unknown to
the Javanese, or any other people of the Archipelago.
The armour worn is not less characteristic. The
80 A NATIVE PRINCE.
spear, the kris, and the blow-pipe for discharging the
poisoned arrow, in all ages the weapons of the Indian
islanders, are nowhere delineated in the temples ; but,
instead of them, we have the straight sword and
shield, the bow and arrow, and the club. The com-
batants, when mounted, are conveyed in cars or on
elephants both of these modes of conveyance of
foreign custom ; for the elephant is not a native of
Java, and the nature of the country pi-ecluded the use
of wheeled carriages. Second, there is not a gross,
indecent, or licentious representation throughout, and
very little, indeed, of what is even grotesque or
absurd ; and third, we discover no very pointed nor
very distinct allusion in the sculptures to the more
characteristic and unequivocal features of Hinduism."
SOCIAL LIFE IN JAVA : A GRAND EXTERTAIXMEXT.
From these curious memorials of the ancient life
of Java, we turn to the consideration of some few
aspects of its modern life, of the manners and customs
of its present inhabitants ; and if we accompany a
recent traveller in a visit to the native Sultan of
Bankalang, we shall become witnesses of a scene every
feature of which is both novel and interesting to
European eyes.
To do us honour, and impress us with a sense of the
power of our princely host, the road to his "palace"
is lined on either side by spearmen, at intervals of
about three yards ; each assuming a theatrical and
studied but impressive attitude, and holding aloft his
long quivering lance. Ushered by the sounds of a
native band, or gamelang, we arrive at the gateway
of the sultan's residence, and by a wooden bridge
THE " PALACE AT BANKALANG. 81
cross the broad ditch or moat in front of it. Here
the place of the spearmen is taken by Javanese
infantry, clothed in a Dutch uniform of blue and
yellow, and armed with musket and bayonet. After
passing through two similar gateways, we find our-
selves in the presence of the illustrious potentate of
Bankalang, and, exchanging the usual courtesies, are
conducted by him into the state apartments. These
consist of a great, irregularly-shaped hall, divided into
several compartments, each with its separate roof,
supported on pillars and square masses of brick-work,
the spaces between which are left entirely open below.
The roofs are constructed after a common Eastern
fashion : rising by successive steps to the centre, and
looking on each slope like the under surface of a
staircase. Looking around, we observe that a large
chandelier hangs from the centre of each roof, while at
numerous convenient points are suspended large lamps
of handsome design. Soft and gaily-coloured mats
adorn the floor, while the pillars and walls are gay
with French mirrors, and gaudy prints, and orna-
ments, and the slabs and tables are covered with opal
vases and various specimens of the ingenuities and
prettinesses of a luxurious civilization.
The guests having taken their places with a strict
attention to the formalities of precedence, we refresh
ourselves with tea tea after the Oriental fashion
and cakes of savoury make. An interval, and we all
rise ; carriages drive up ; and we depart in a body
to become eye-witnesses of a fight between a buffalo
and a tiger.
The arena is a large courtyard ; in the middle of
which stands a tall cage, made of square posts firmly
(637)
82 BUFFALO AND TIGER.
driven into the ground, and partly roofed over. At
one side a stage is erected for the principal spectators,
while the polloi crowd round on the ground. The
combat begins, but lacks all interest and excitement ;
for the tiger, though once no ignoble tenant of the
jungle, has lost courage, and disease, starvation, and
old age have quenched its fires. In its time it has
numbered seven human victims ; but it was caught
twenty days ago, and since its capture has refused all
food.
The presence of the buffalo does not stimulate its
appetite ; it lies crouched in a corner of its cage, and
will not move even when lighted torches are applied
to it, and scalding water poured upon it. At length
it tries to drag its feeble limbs into some quieter
corner ; whereupon the buffalo, with a loud snort,
butts it with his horns against the bars of the cage ;
tosses it right up into the air ; and allows it to fall
on its back with a heavy thud, as if every bone were
broken.
We pronounce the spectacle as brutal as it is dull,
and are glad when the sultan gives the signal for re-
turning to the palace.
Here we sit down to a splendid banquet, which, in
its bright appurtenances, makes us forget that we are
in Java, and carries us back to Veray's in Piccadilly,
or Les Trois Freres in Paris. The table glitters with
porcelain, and crystal, and plate ; the dishes consist of
soup, fish, flesh, and fowl, followed by cakes, sweet-
meats, and fruit ; and each guest may drink ad libitum
of the best wines of France, and the finest ales and
porters of the great English breweries !
The banquet ended, we retire to our various rooms,
AN EVENING WITH A SULTAN. 83
and while away the hot hours of noon in a tranquil
siesta.
At five we reassemble in the central hall, and have
an opportunity of judging of the sultan's performances
as a violinist. His fiddle has but two strings, and the
sounding-board is nothing better than a cocoa-nut
covered with parchment, but the rest of the instru-
ment is adorned with ivory, gold, and jewels; and such
as it is, he plays it with considerable taste. Presently
he summons an old fellow, whom we take to be his
buffoon or jester ; and squatting down before us, he
begins singing or chanting, in a loud harsh voice, a
kind of burlesque song, accompanying it with count-
less contortions and gestures, and mimicking the cries
of fowls, geese, and other animals.
By-and-by, as evening comes in, the attendants set
a number of many -branched stands about the court-
yard, on which small glasses filled with oil emit a
glowworm-like radiance ; and gradually all the chande-
liers and lamps in the hall are lighted up, and the scene
assumes a really brilliant character. At six o'clock
the sultan and his sons retire through a side-door to
perform their evening devotions in an adjoining
mosque ; for our potentate, notwithstanding French
wine and English porter, is a follower of Islam.
These last until eight, when everybody appears in the
hall in full dress, and preparations are made for the
evening's amusement. Various games are introduced,
but none of them attract us. Our attention is wholly
given to what is indeed a novelty a drama in the
Javanese style !
At the entrance of the hall, a large white calico
screen, about eight feet high, and sixteen or twenty
84 A JAVANESE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE.
feet long, has been erected ; and behind it, in the
centre, hangs a remarkably brilliant lamp. On the
floor lies a large recently-cut stem of a cabbage-palm
tree, in which several hundred puppets are inserted.
These puppets form the dramatis persona}, and are
cut or stamped out of very thick leather, and profusely
gilded and painted. They represent men and women,
deities and demons, most of them with towering head-
dresses and flowing robes, many with grotesque or
hideous features, and all more or less distorted. Some
are well-known characters in native history, romance,
or legend ; others are purely imaginative, and of a
comic aspect. All the figures are motionless, except
the arms, which are jointed, and can be moved by
strings at the will of the exhibitor. From the base a
long thin spike proceeds, by which the figure is fixed
into the cabbage-palm until wanted, or held by the
exhibitor's hand when its turn comes in the rapid
action of the puppet-show.
The screen is raised about two feet from the ground,
and in the centre a piece of carved work represents a
gateway, flanked by a pillar and wall on either hand.
The puppets make their appearance in the opening
thus afforded, which is about three feet wide.
All the preparations being completed, we take our
seats on the other or auditorium side of the screen,
so that we see the shadows of the walls and gateway,
and those of the fantoccini, strongly projected on the
white calico screen by means of the brilliant lamp
placed at a short distance in their rear.
The garnelang or band "tune up," and the play
begins. The exhibitor, seated on the ground to pre-
vent his shadow from falling on the screen, strikes a
DRAMA AND DINNER. 85
board with a mallet, or wooden hammer, for the pur-
pose of regulating the music, accelerating or retarding
the time, increasing or diminishing the force of the
instruments, in accordance with the various phases of
his drama ; and meanwhile he describes them in a
kind of recitative, loud and monotonous, something
between the tone of a plain narration and an ecclesias-
tical chant. As the story proceeds he brings on in
succession the necessary characters, which describe the
action by a variety of gestures, raising and lowering
their arms in a curiously distorted and jerky fashion.
The subject, on this occasion as on most occasions,
is taken from the old Javanese traditions and romances,
and being familiar to the people, is intelligible to them,
and probably interesting ; but an English visitor soon
grows weary of a show which he cannot understand,
while it is unspeakably monotonous. We are not
sorry, therefore, to seize an opportunity of retiring,
and enjoying a little silence and repose until the
dinner-hour arrives.
Dinner is a repetition, on a more elaborate scale, of
the one o'clock lunch or breakfast. Pumelos, or shad-
docks, of excellent quality, now figure on the board ;
as well as birds' -nest soup, which is savoury enough,
but owes its savouriness to the condiments introduced,
and certainly not to the birds' nests. These answer
the purpose of isinglass, and are quite as tasteless.
Here we may conclude our visit to the sultan, which
has made us acquainted with a strange medley of Euro-
pean and Oriental customs, and shown us that social
life in Java among the higher classes is now very
largely influenced by the spirit of the West.*
* Jukes, "Voyage of H.M.S. Fly," ii. 145-165.
86 BENEDICTION OF THE VOLCANO.
But there are some aspects, as we shall see, in which
it retains its original character. The great body of the
population are comparatively untouched by the new
order of things, and retain their ancient habits, cere-
monies, and traditions. It cannot be supposed that
this immunity will long continue, now that commerce
is pressing in on every side with its currents of new
thought and new aspiration. But, at present, the
attractiveness and interest of such ceremonies as the
Slamat do not appear to have diminished. The
Slamat, or Slamatan Bromok, that is, the blessing
or worshipping of the volcano, takes place annually,
and draws together a considerable concourse. The
pilgrims frequenting it are Brahmans, unlike the
Javanese in general, but not so rigid in their religious
observances as their brethren in India. They inhabit
the provinces of Probolingo, Malang, a great part of
Bezuki, and part of the islands of Lombok and Bali.
THE SLAMATAN BROMOK.
The Bromok is a still active volcano, situated at a
distance of about three miles from the town of Tosari,
and forming one of a chain of green wooded hills and
mountains among which it raises a barren cone,
crowned by volumes of smoke and vapour. Its ascent
has been frequently accomplished.
The path leads up extensive slopes covered with
a tall yellow grass, called the alang alang, to the
Mungal, an enormous extinct crater, reported to be
the largest in the world Here, if the traveller pause
and survey the prospect before him, he will observe
a cluster of mountains, distant fully two miles. The
foremost is called the Batok, or Butak, that is, the
THE SANDY SEA. 87
Bald ; referring probably to its barren summit, for
its declivities are well clothed with herbage. It is
conically shaped, and its sides are marked with deep
grooves, showing the course taken by the lava-streams
in its whilom period of activity. To the right, and
a little in its rear, extends the sharp-pointed chain of
the Dedari and Widadaren, or "dwelling of fairies;"
while on the left, wreathed about with smoke-clouds,
which partially conceal its bulk, groans the Bromok,
a dark and dreary object in a picture of surpassing
brightness.
The track now descends into the crater, and crosses
its sandy floor, the Dasar, or, as it is appropriately
called, the Sandy Sea, where not a tree or shrub is
visible, and the only signs of vegetation are a few
scattered patches of dried and scrubby grass. The
surface, moreover, is curiously corrugated or ridged,
like the sea-sand at ebb of tide ; and the whole land-
scape is as full of gloom as the wastes of the African
Sahara.
The form of the Bromok is that of a truncated cone.
From one of its sides project numerous irregular masses,
or mounds of mud and sand, incrusted in a baked clay
like red lava. Some of these mounds have been
wasted by the tropical rains, which have channelled
the Sandy Sea with deep broad fissures; while others,
still supplied with liquid matter from the volcano, are
encroaching on the Dasar, and covering that portion
of it in the immediate neighbourhood of the crater.
Embedded in these mounds are large blocks of lime
and ironstone ; also huge black stones veined like
marble and glittering like granite.* These, as well as
* D'AlmeWa, " Life in Java," i. 159, et sqq.
86 BENEDICTION OF THE VOLCANO.
But there are some aspects, as we shall see, in which
it retains its original character. The great body of the
population are comparatively untouched by the new
order of things, and retain their ancient habits, cere-
monies, and traditions. It cannot be supposed that
this immunity will long continue, now that commerce
is pressing in on every side with its currents of new
thought and new aspiration. But, at present, the
attractiveness and interest of such ceremonies as the
Slamat do not appear to have diminished. The
Slamat, or Slamatan Bromok, that is, the blessing
or worshipping of the volcano, takes place annually,
and draws together a considerable concourse. The
pilgrims frequenting it are Brahmans, unlike the
Javanese in general, but not so rigid in their religious
observances as their brethren in India. They inhabit
the provinces of Probolingo, Malang, a great part of
Bezuki, and part of the islands of Lombok and Bali.
THE SLAMATAN BROMOK.
The Bromok is a still active volcano, situated at a
distance of about three miles from the town of Tosari,
and forming one of a chain of green wooded hills and
mountains among which it raises a barren cone,
crowned by volumes of smoke and vapour. Its ascent
has been frequently accomplished.
The path leads up extensive slopes covered with
a tall yellow grass, called the alang alang, to the
Mungal, an enormous extinct crater, reported to be
the largest in the world. Here, if the traveller pause
and survey the prospect before him, he will observe
a cluster of mountains, distant fully two miles. The
foremost is called the Batok, or Butak, that is, the
THE SANDY SEA. 87
Bald ; referring probably to its barren summit, for
its declivities are well clothed with herbage. It is
conically shaped, and its sides are marked with deep
grooves, showing the course taken by the lava-streams
in its whilom period of activity. To the right, and
a little in its rear, extends the sharp-pointed chain of
the Dedari and Widadaren, or "dwelling of fairies;"
while on the left, wreathed about with smoke-clouds,
which partially conceal its bulk, groans the Bromok,
a dark and dreary object in a picture of surpassing
brightness.
The track now descends into the crater, and crosses
its sandy floor, the Dasar, or, as it is appropriately
called, the Sandy Sea, where not a tree or shrub is
visible, and the only signs of vegetation are a few
scattered patches of dried and scrubby grass. The
surface, moreover, is curiously corrugated or ridged,
like the sea-sand at ebb of tide ; and the whole land-
scape is as full of gloom as the wastes of the African
Sahara.
The form of the Bromok is that of a truncated cone.
From one of its sides project numerous irregular masses,
or mounds of mud and sand, incrusted in a baked clay
like red lava. Some of these mounds have been
wasted by the tropical rains, which have channelled
the Sandy Sea with deep broad fissures; while others,
still supplied with liquid matter from the volcano, are
encroaching on the Dasar, and covering that portion
of it in the immediate neighbourhood of the crater.
Embedded in these mounds are large blocks of lime
and ironstone ; also huge black stones veined like
marble and glittering like granite.* These, as well as
* D'Almelda, " Life in Java," i. 159, et sqq.
90 ASCENT OF THE VOLCANO.
kinds of cakes ; of strips of silk and calico ; and coins
of gold, silver, and copper.
Some minutes having been spent in prayer, each
priest dips his goupillon or cup into the vessel of
water before him, mutters a few unintelligible words,
and sprinkles the offerings as they are brought to him.
Then all the holy men bow their heads and repeat a
prayer in a loud and distinct voice.
The oldest rises up, followed in succession by his
sacerdotal companions, uttering words which sound
like "Ayo, ayo, Bromok !" and may be construed to
mean, "Forward, forward to the Bromok!" At this
signal the whole multitude hastens to the Bromok, he
who first gains the ridge believing himself the favour-
ite of fortune, and certain of "good luck." Every
now and then some of the older priests come to a halt,
spread their mats, and prostrate themselves in prayer
for five or ten minutes ; thus earning a reputation for
special saintliness, and at the same time securing an
interval of rest.
The summit of the volcano being gained, the various
families and individuals again present their offerings
to the priests, who mumble over them a few additional
words. They are then hurled down the crater, each
person repeating some prayer or wish. And so the
ceremony of worshipping or blessing the Bromok is con-
cluded. The crowd descend from the volcano to indulge
in a variety of games and pastimes, and towards even-
ing everybody returns home, and the Sea of Sand re-
gains its normal aspect of dreariness and solitude.*
One more picture of Javanese life we shall venture to
* D'Almeida, "Life in Java," i. 165-173.
" AT HOME IN JAVA. 91
put before our readers, availing ourselves of the infor-
mation collected in M. D' Almeida's lively pages. It
describes the ordinary evening entertainment of the
upper classes of Java.
AN EVENING ENTERTAINMENT.
Our authority was invited, one evening, along with
some friends, to the house of a dignitary whom he
designates the Tumungong Mertonegoro (that is, " the
good of the land"), in order to take part in a social
entertainment. On reaching the house of the Tumun-
gong they were received in due form, and introduced
to the ladies of the household, wife, daughters, nieces,
and the like, who, radiant with jewels, were seated in
a semicircle round the upper part of the pringitan.
The gentlemen were in the pendopo, or hall, which
contained a large collection of glittering spears and
other native weapons.
To the right of the pringitan, behold the orchestra :
here thirty instrumentalists, forming a gamalan (or
gamelang) band, are assembled. Very curious are the
instruments from which these musicians educe " sweet
sounds" ! One is an enormous gong; enormous indeed,
for a person could comfortably bathe in its interior.
Another bears some resemblance to a violincello; mea-
sures four feet in length ; has an oval back ; a dimi-
nutive piece of wood, placed close to the finger-board,
serves as a bridge ; the finger-board, tail-piece, and
pegs are of ivory. A couple of wires form the strings ;
and these, when tightly drawn, produce a music which
cannot be described as pleasing. The gamalan is a
kind of cymbal, and sounds best, like the Scottish
bagpipe, at a distance.
92 MUSIC AND THE DANCE.
Javanese music is always extemporary; a circum-
stance which does not render it more agreeable to the
cultivated ear. The measure is almost invariably
common time ; though in some of the allegro and
presto passages the time changes to what in the West
is known as f .
The proceedings began in this wise :
Six vocalists arose, conducted by one who appeared
to be recognized as leader, and sang, from a manu-
script, a very animated and eulogistic description of a
recent review of the sultan's army, in which the
Tumungong was a colonel. The instruments some-
times ran in accord with the singers ; but the accom-
paniment being improvised, more frequently they lost
sight of the air, and wandered away into indescribable
variations.
This performance at an end, six young girls, two of
whom were daughters and the others relatives of the
prince, came forward on the pringitan or dais, march-
ing with a stately step. They were richly attired in
silken kabayas, fastened round the waist by a jewelled
girdle, and gay sarongs, which flowed behind them
like a European lady's train. Jewels blazed in their
ears, and glittering coronets encircled their heads.
Turning towards the ladies as they entered, they
took their seats on the ground, and raised their hands
to salute the Raden Ayu, or wife of the prince. A
moment, and they started up simultaneously, separat-
ing into two parties, which, after crossing and recross-
ing several times, suddenly stood still in the same
attitude, as if they had been stricken by a spell.
Thus they remained for a minute or two ; after which
they began to twist, and bend, and wave their bodies
PERFORMANCE OF A BALLET. 93
in a manner possible only to the supple Asiatics, and
with' a gracefulness and ease which were truly extra-
ordinary. One of their movements was very curious,
and not so elegant as the rest, though executed with
the same facility : they protruded the inner joint of
the elbow, and turned their hands backwards in a
curve until the middle finger touched the wrist.
The next dance, of a military character, was per-
formed by four boys, dressed as Chinese mandarins.
Each was accompanied by a page or esquire carrying
the weapons to be used in the mimic fight ; but the
juvenile warriors, loaded with padded clothing, and
having no other instrument to excite them than a
bamboo clarionet, soon grew weary of their task.
Then the six girls who had joined in the first dance
reappeared. A table covered with white was stationed
in the centre of the pringitan, and a vase of flowers
placed upon it by an old duenna, who every now and
then rearranged the attire of the dancers, or smoothed
out their tangled locks. The new performance was a
kind of pantomime, or ballet, called the Buksan, de-
signed to illustrate the following story :
In ages long ago, a king named Praboe Sindolo, of
Mendang-Kamolan, determined to retire from the world,
though he was still in the flush of youth. Accordingly
he shut himself up in a cave or hut on the summit of
a mountain, and devoted himself to study and medita-
tion, rigidly observing certain days as tapa, or fasts.
Like Faust, however, he was frequently interrupted in
the midst of his reflections by a Javanese Mephisto-
pheles, who, in order to beguile him from his profitable
perusal of sacred books, painted in the most glowing
colours the enjoyments of the world. Growing dis-
04 A JAPANESE BALLET.
trustful of the steadfastness of his resolve, and anxious
to exorcise the demon that inspired him with sensual
thoughts and images, Praboe sent for a large bird,
with whose language he had made himself acquainted,
and for four vestal virgins.
Previous to their arrival, he transformed himself
into a flower, and bloomed brightly in the heart of a
vase of blossoms, around which the four maidens
danced and sung to avert the presence of the evil spirit.
Now it happened that a fair princess passing by,
charmed by the appearance of the fragrant vase,
plucked one of the flowers, and carried it home with
her. What was her surprise, on placing it in water,
to see it suddenly change into a handsome young king!
As for Praboe himself, he was so enraptured with the
beauty of the princess that he forgot all about his
hermitage and his tapa, and offered her his " hand and
heart;" wisely concluding, we suppose, that a man's
duty in this world is to overcome its temptations, like a
brave warrior, and not to fly from them like a coward !
The dance intended to develop this agreeable little
story was followed by one or two warlike representa-
tions, and then the whole party adjourned to the
supper-room. As this apartment was across the court-
yard, the Javanese gentlemen, adopting the European
fashion, offered their arms to the ladies ; but the cour-
tesy did not seem generally acceptable, and in some
cases was refused.
The supper was prefaced with soup, but differed in
few respects from the mode of entertainment common
among the Dutch residents in Java. After supper the
guests retired.
CHAPTER IV.
BORNEO.
EXTENT AND SITUATION.
T seems strange, says Mr. Jukes,* that the
regions included in the East Indian Archi-
O
pelago, one of the most favoured portions
of the globe, should have remained even
to our day comparatively unknown and uncared for,
while so many other parts of the world, less acces-
sible and less interesting, have been constantly ran-
sacked and described by travellers of all kinds. The
grandeur and loveliness of the scenery of this great
group of islands can hardly be surpassed, while the
richness of their productions in the animal and mineral
kingdoms is great, and in the vegetable kingdom
they are unequalled, whether in beauty, rarity, or
value to man.
Much has been done of late, however, to remove
this reproach of ignorance, particularly by Messrs.
Wallace and Bickmore ; while in one of the most
important of the Eastern islands the British flag has
been successfully planted through the courage and per-
severance of the late Sir James Brooke. English
science is not slow to follow in the footsteps of Eng-
* Jukes, "Voyage of H.M.S. Fly," 11. 226.
96 DIMENSIONS OF BORNEO.
lish enterprise ; and thus it has happened that of the
great island of Borneo, the largest in the Archipelago, we
now possess a very considerable amount of knowledge.
Borneo is not only the largest island in the Archi-
pelago, but the largest island in the world. Its most
northern point is Cape Sampanmangio, its southern-
most Cape Salatan ; so that it covers more than
twelve degrees of latitude, or about 850 miles in
length. Its easternmost point is Cape Oonsang, and
its westernmost Cape Pendan ; so that it extends
over ten degrees of longitude, or 720 miles in breadth.
Its breadth, however, if taken at right angles to its
length, is about 600 miles ; and this diminishes to-
wards the north. In form it has been not inaptly
compared to a shoulder of mutton ; or, mathematically
speaking, to an irregular pentagon, with a small rhom-
boid attached to its north-east side. Its area may be
estimated at about 270,000 square miles, or about
three times that of Great Britain.
Can we obtain a clear idea of the situation of
Borneo ? Yes. In the first place, let us conceive of
it as the central mass of the Asiatic division of the
Archipelago ; a division of which Sumatra may -be
taken as the western boundary, the Moluccas and
Philippines as the eastern, while Java, Bali, and Lom-
bok define it on the south. On the 1 east, the Macassar
Strait separates it from Celebes ; on the south, the
Java Sea from Java ; on the north and west it is
washed by the Chinese Sea. The Equator almost
equally bisects it from east to west. It is in the
same latitude, therefore, as Central Africa ; and a line
drawn from Cape Salatan, its south-east point, would
touch the volcano of Kilimand'jaro, if prolonged to
ITS PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 97
the westward. Prolonged to the eastward, it would
traverse the island-groups of Polynesia. Its shores on
the east and south are fringed with coral reefs, built
up since it was disrupted from the Asiatic mainland.
Physically speaking, Borneo may be described as
one immense forest, generally of moderate elevation,
that is, 300 to 700 feet, traversed by great rivers,
which descend from a central group of mountains, and
surrounded by wide alluvial plains, edged with man-
grove swamps, or broken up into low deltas, constantly
subject to inundation. It has, therefore, a physical
character distinct from that of either Java or Sumatra
its plains are of much greater extent, and its mountains,
on an average, do not attain the same elevation.
MOUNTAINS AND BIVERS.
From north-east to south-west extends a chain of
mountains, nearly parallel to, but at a great dis-
tance from, the west coast, which, in or near lat.
3 N., curves round to terminate at Cape Sipang.
From this chain a short spur projects, and links it to
a double range of lesser heights, one of which runs
south-west to a point near Cape Sambas, while the
other pursues an irregular south-eastern direction, and
reaches Cape Salatan. The culminating point of the
first-named chain is Kinibalu, 13,680 feet in height.
This is the loftiest summit in the island ; and on the
east side of it lies a great lake, the source of numerous
rivers. The other important peaks are Kamingting,
in the south-west chain, 6500 feet; Luangi, in the
south-east, 6300 feet; Meratoo, also in the south-
east, 4000 ; Batang-Loopar, east of Sarawak, 4000 ;
Kriiubang and Saramboo, both south of Sarawak, 3250
(637) 7
98 RIVERS OF BORNEO.
and 3000 respectively; and Santibong, at the mouth
of the river Sarawak, 2050 feet. Thus it is evident
that the general elevation of the island is not con-
siderable. If it were sunk five hundred feet, at least
four-fifths of its area would disappear, leaving several
long peninsulas, of tolerable breadth, divided by broad
ocean-channels, and relieved by solitary mountain-
peaks rising here and there above the waters. If
sunk one thousand feet, nothing would remain but a
few of these peninsulas : the ocean-ways would be
broader, and the mountain-peaks wider apart.
We come now to the rivers of Borneo. In most
countries the configuration of the surface is determined
by the course of one principal river, or it is defined
by the basins of two or three main streams.. Thus :
Germany is marked out by the basin of the Rhine ;
France by the basins of the Rhone and Loire ; Egypt,
by the valley of the Nile. So far as our knowledge
of Borneo at present extends, it offers us no such
assistance in surveying and laying down its superficial
area. Its rivers are mostly tidal ; but their basins
seem to be very narrow, and they descend languidly
and slowly through vast level deltas, which merge into
inundated plains. Their branches are numerous, and
their facilities for internal communication are very
great; but their mouths are blocked up by sand-banks
and shallows, which render them inaccessible from the
sea to vessels of even moderate burden. Borneo is
as emphatically the land of rivers, however, as Java is
the land of volcanoes ; and in this respect can be com-
pared only to the forest-region of South America,
which, from other points of view, it closely resembles.
These rivers descend from mountain-ranges of moderate
A DYAK BRIDGE. 99
altitude, with a sluggish but steady flow, in the shade
of enormous masses of overhanging foliage, with
clumps of the creeping palm-like nipa adorning their
banks, or barriers of mangroves steadily resisting the
encroachments of the waters. Bridges here and there
are thrown across them ; not such solid structures as
we are accustomed to in our well-cultivated country,
where floods are of rare occurrence, but ingenious sub-
stitutes, and well adapted for locomotive purposes. A
Dyak bridge consists merely of stout bamboos, crossing
each other at the roadway like the letter X, and rising
a few feet above it. At the point of junction they are
firmly bound together, as well as to a large bamboo
which rests upon them, and forms the sole pathway,
while a slender and often not very firm one serves as
a handrail. This simple platform is partly suspended
from an overhanging tree, and partly supported by
diagonal struts from the banks ; no posts being placed
m the stream itself, where they would surely be carried
away by floods. Such a bridge as this is -traversed
daily by men and women carrying heavy loads, so that
any insecurity is quickly detected, and, the materials
lying close at hand, is quickly remedied.
The littoral or shore-country on the north and
north-west, a comparatively level tract, about six
hundred miles in length, is watered by a perfect net-
work of rivers, though, probably, not one of them
exceeds a hundred and fifty miles in its full career.
They rise from the range of mountains of which Kini-
balu is the culminating summit, and their course
being short, are more rapid than those in any other
part of the island. Some of them preserve their freshr
water character down to the very coast.
100 ALONG THE COAST-LINE.
Tracing them from the north, we may notice, first,
the river Brunai (or Borneo), a broad sheet of water,
navigable for some distance by large ships. Next, the
Binbula and the Judal, both of which are consider-
able streams. Passing Cape Sirrik, we observe the
mouths of the Rejang which at eighty miles from its
mouth is one mile wide and the Sarebus. Still
larger than these is the noble Butong Lupar, which
measures nearly five miles across, and can float a large
frigate. The Sarawak, famous in our annals of
English enterprise, is not so much remarkable for its
length or breadth, as for its numerous branches, which
ramify in such a manner as to afford an extensive
district all the advantages of water-communication.
South of the Equator, we find the Mejak, the
Sambas, and the Kapooas. The first-named was
ascended by a Dutch steamer as far as Malu in March
1855. The last-named is one of the chief rivers in
the island, perhaps the chief, measuring not less than
seven hundred miles in its sinuous course.
On the south coast we notice the Djelli, the Pem-
buan, the Mendawi, the Great Dayak, the Little
Dayak, the Kahajan, the Murong, and the Banjer-
massin, or Burito. This last is connected by several
arms with the Murong, on the west, and thence again
with the Kahajan ; so that a water-way penetrates
into the very heart of the interior. In the lower part
of its course it is continually overflowing the country,
as its name indicates : Banjer-massin, "frequent floods."
In the upper part it is called the Dooson, or village-
river, because its banks are occupied by several agricul-
tural communities. It is fed on the east by the Nagara;
a river which in itself is of considerable importance.
THE VIRGIN FOREST. 101
On the east coast the rivers are not so large nor
so numerous ; but we notice the Kooti or Coti, with
its wide delta, extending over one hundred miles of
coast. It was ascended by Major Mliller, a Dutch
officer, in 1825; and he had succeeded in crossing the
mountains, and descending into the valley of the
Kapooas, when he was murdered by the Dyaks.
Further to the north lie the Pantai, or river of
Berou ; the Boolongan, with its two mouths or arms,
the Sabanom and Umara ; and the Kinabatangan.
ASCENT OF A BORNEAN RIVER.
We shall obtain a better notion of the features of
the Bornean rivers if we attempt the exploration of
one of them, and trace its career upwards from its
mouth. For this purpose we may select the Sadong,
because it falls into the sea at a point near the British
settlement of Sarawak, and has been ascended by the
naturalist, Mr. Wallace.
Up to the village of Jahi it is somewhat monoton-
ous, the banks being cultivated as rice-fields ; and the
unpicturesque uniformity of a muddy margin crowned
with tall grasses being only occasionally relieved by
the little thatched huts of the Dyak cultivators. But
above Jahi we pass the limits of culture, and enter the
domain of the virgin forest, which pushes its suprem-
acy down to the very margin of the flood, and seems
inclined to dispute with the river even its very bed.
The virgin forest ! Yes ; with its stately trees, its
beautiful tall palms, so shapely and erect, its strange
forms of vegetation, its interlacing creepers, its epi-
phytes, and tree-ferns, all blending in an inextricable
maze of leaf, stem, and blossom, of gloom and green-
102 DYAKS AND THEIR VILLAGE.
ness, occasionally lighted up with a fitful gleam by
some intrusive ray.
At Tabokau we come upon the first village of the
Hill Dyaks, situated on the steep, rocky bank in a
narrow space which has been cleared of trees. Here,
on a kind of green, about twenty boys are playing at
a game which reminds us of " prisoner's base ; " their
ornaments of beads and brass wire, and their gay-
coloured kerchiefs and waist-cloths, presenting a bright
and attractive spectacle. We enlist them in our
service, and they remove our baggage to the " head-
house," a circular building attached to almost every
Dyak village, and serving a variety of purposes,
such as an hospitium, or lodging for strangers ; a mart
or trading-place ; a sleeping-room for unmarried youths ;
and a general council-chamber. It is elevated on lofty
posts ; has a large fireplace in the middle, and windows
in the roof all round.
The only dress of the young men is the long chaivat,
or "waist-cloth," hanging down before and behind,
and made generally of blue cotton, with the broad
tail-bands of red, blue, and white. The well-to-do
also display a handkerchief as a head-covering ; either
red, with a narrow border of gold lace, or of three
colours, like tlje chawat. As ornaments, they wear
large, flat, moon-shaped ear-rings of brass, a heavy
necklace of black beads or white, and armlets of white
shell. A long, slender knife, and a pouch containing
the necessary materials for betel-nut chewing, are
slung at the side.
To beguile the time, they are good enough to favour
us with a specimen of their pastimes.
And first they have a trial of strength. Two boys
DYAK PASTIMES. 103
take their places opposite one another, with foot set
against foot, and a stout stick grasped by both hands.
Each endeavours to throw himself back, in such a
manner as to lift his adversary from the ground, either
by sheer force or by a sudden surprise. After this,
one of the men enters into competition with three
boys ; and then, by way of finale, each clasps his own
ankle with a hand, and while he stands as firmly as
he is able, the other pirouettes on foot, with the view
of striking his opponent's fore-leg so smartly as to
topple him to the ground.
These displays of athleticism at an end, we are
entertained with a novel concert. Some of the per-
formers place a leg across their knee, and strike their
fingers sharply on the ankle ; others flap their arms
against their sides, just as a cock uses his wings when
about to crow ; another, with his hand under his arm-
pit, produces a deep " trumpet note : " and, strange to
say, as all these movements are performed simultane-
ously, and in good time, the effect, though novel, is
not disagreeable.*
Refreshments are served, and we retire to rest.
Next morning we resume our river-voyage, but in
a boat of a different construction. Though thirty feet
long, it is only twenty-eight inches wide, and draws
but little water. The river now changes its character.
The deep, tranquil stream, flowing through steep
banks, becomes a noisy, rippling watercourse, tumbling
over a rocky bed in a succession of " miniature cas-
cades and rapids," and throwing up on either side
masses of beautifully coloured pebbles. Our con-
* Wallace, "Malay Archipelago," i. 6<5, 67. In our imaginary river-voyago we
are reproducing an actual excursion of this distinguished naturalist.
106 RIVER-CHANNELS.
mountain region, has an important bearing on the
modern theory, that the form of the ground is mainly
due to atmospheric rather than to subterranean
action."
Our earlier geologists were very prone to adopt
what may be called sensational explanations of natural
features, and to see in everything the effect of an earth-
quake or a deluge. But it is more reasonable to con-
clude that the course of nature, in the past as in the
present, has been gradual, equable, and continuous.
We can see every day with our own eyes the influence
of the rains or the streams in modifying the features
of a landscape. And when we have a number of
"branching valleys and ravines running in many
directions within a square mile," instead of attributing
their origin to rents and fissures produced by earth-
quakes, we may well ask ourselves whether they have
not been wrought out by the heavy tropical rains
acting on an easily decomposed rock, and swelling into
rapid and violent streams.
At the village of Menyerey we obtain a fine view of
Penressin Mountain, at the head of the Sarawak River,
six thousand feet in height. To the south rise the
Rowan, and further off the Untowan Mountains, appa-
rently of equal elevation. Crossing the small river
Kayan, we slowly ascend to the pass, about two
thousand feet high, between the Sadong and Sarawak
rivers. From this point we descend to Sodos ; a noisy
stream rushing through a rocky gorge on either side,
across which we occasionally pass upon bamboo bridges
of apparently frail consti'uction. From Sodos we pro-
ceed to Senna. Here the Sarawak loses its character
TROPICAL FRUIT-TREES. 107
of a mountain torrent, and subsides into a bright
pebbly, stream, navigable for small canoes.
It is not without hard bargaining that we obtain
the use of a boat from a Malay trader, and hire three
Hill Dyaks to take us down to Sarawak. They are
less skilful in the management of boats than the Sea
Dyaks, and our crew are constantly employed in strik-
ing against rocks or running aground. But we sur-
mount every difficulty, and get into smoother water,
as the river broadens and deepens, flowing through a
picturesque and well-cultivated country, with limestone
mountains rearing on either hand their broken and
jagged heights out of masses of luxuriant vegetation.
The river -banks are abundantly planted with fruit-
trees ; rich tropical trees, with such succulent, juicy,
nutritious fruit as the European orchard can never
produce ; fruit which can ripen only under a tropical
sun. Here are the mangosteen, the langsat (or lanseh),
the rambutan (or rambootan), the blimbing, the jack,
the jambou ; but, above all, the durian, of which an
old traveller writes : " It is of such an excellent taste
that it surpasses in flavour all the other fruits of the
world ! "
THE DURIAN-TREE.
The reader will excuse us if we anticipate our
botanical chapter for the purpose of introducing him
at once to this justly celebrated fruit, which is given
to fortunate man by a tree known as the durian, or
Durio zibethinus.
This tree is a child of the forest, and grows, when
mature, to a stature of sixty or eighty feet, with some-
thing of the general appearance of an elm. Its leaves
are entire, oblong, and rounded at the base ; they taper
106 RIVER-CHANNELS.
mountain region, has an important bearing on the
modern theory, that the form of the ground is mainly
due to atmospheric rather than to subterranean
action."
Our earlier geologists were very prone to adopt
what may be called sensational explanations of natural
features, and to see in everything the effect of an earth-
quake or a deluge. But it is more reasonable to con-
clude that the course of nature, in the past as in the
present, has been gradual, equable, and continuous.
We can see every day with our own eyes the influence
of the rains or the streams in modifying the features
of a landscape. And when we have a number of
"branching valleys and ravines running in many
directions within a square mile," instead of attributing
their origin to rents and fissures produced by earth-
quakes, we may well ask ourselves whether they have
not been wrought out by the heavy tropical rains
acting on an easily decomposed rock, and swelling into
rapid and violent streams.
At the village of Menyerey we obtain a fine view of
Penressin Mountain, at the head of the Sarawak River,
six thousand feet in height. To the south rise the
Rowan, and further off the Untowan Mountains, appa-
rently of equal elevation. Crossing the small river
Kayan, we slowly ascend to the pass, about two
thousand feet high, between the Sadong and Sarawak
rivers. From this point we descend to Sodos ; a noisy
stream rushing through a rocky gorge on either side,
across which we occasionally pass upon bamboo bridges
of apparently frail construction. From Sodos we pro-
ceed to Senna. Here the Sarawak loses its character
TROPICAL FRUIT-TREES. 107
of a mountain torrent, and subsides into a bright
pebbly, stream, navigable for small canoes.
It is not without hard bargaining that we obtain
the use of a boat from a Malay trader, and hire three
Hill Dyaks to take us down to Sarawak. They are
less skilful in the management of boats than the Sea
Dyaks, and our crew are constantly employed in strik-
ing against rocks or running aground. But we sur-
mount every difficulty, and get into smoother water,
as the river broadens and deepens, flowing through a
picturesque and well-cultivated country, with limestone
mountains rearing on either hand their broken and
jagged heights out of masses of luxuriant vegetation.
The river -banks are abundantly planted with fruit-
trees ; rich tropical trees, with such succulent, juicy,
nutritious fruit as the European orchard can never
produce ; fruit which can ripen only under a tropical
sun. Here are the mangosteen, the langsat (or lanseh),
the rambutan (or rambootan), the blimbing, the jack,
the jambou ; but, above all, the durian, of which an
old traveller writes : " It is of such an excellent taste
that it surpasses in flavour all the other fruits of the
world ! "
THE DURIAN -TREE.
The reader will excuse us if we anticipate our
botanical chapter for the pui'pose of introducing him
at once to this justly celebrated fruit, which is given
to fortunate man by a tree known as the durian, or
Durio zibethinus.
This tree is a child of the forest, and grows, when
mature, to a stature of sixty or eighty feet, with some-
thing of the general appearance of an elm. Its leaves
are entire, oblong, and rounded at the base ; they taper
108 OLYMPIAN FOOD.
upwards into a long point, and are densely covered on
the under surface with minute scales, producing a
silvery red appearance. The flowers are yellowish
green, and gather in little clusters on the smooth scaly
trunk or main branches ; each has a tubular calyx and
a five-petalled crown. Then, as for the fruit, it is
either globular or oval, measures about ten inches in
length, has a thick hard rind, and is armed all over
with very strong sharp prickles, the bases of which
touch each other, something like the cells in a honey-
comb. It is the Nemo me impune lacessit of fruit ;
and if the stalk be broken off, delicate fingers will
scarcely care to lift it from the ground ; while so thick
and so tough is the outer rind, that it is as difficult to
break as a cocoa-nut.
From the base to the apex five lines are faintly
traced, and by applying your knife to one of these
you may get at the inside, which is divided into five
cells, each containing from four to five seeds rather
larger than pigeons' eggs, and completely enveloped in
a mass of firm, luscious-looking, cream-coloured pulp.
This is the eatable part of the fruit, and had the Greeks
known of it they would certainly have represented it
as the favourite food of their Olympian divinities. Its
flavour is perfectly unique, and has been compared to
that of a rich buttery custard rendered piquant by an
infusion of almonds ; but intermingled with it, says
one enthusiast, " come wafts of flavour that call to
mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, brown sherry, and
other incongruities." It is neither acid, saccharine,
nor juicy, but something better than either of these ;
and then it glides down the throat with a jelly-like
smoothness that is all its own. In fact, " to eat
ABOUT THE BAMBOO. 109
durians," we are told, "is a new sensation worth a
voyage to the East to experience." The only draw-
back is the abominably offensive odour ; but this one
learns to overcome after tasting the fruit. Besides,
you can hold your nose while eating it, and then your
enjoyment is simply perfect !
When unripe, the durian may be used as a vege-
table, and cooked. The ripe fruit may be preserved
salted, in jars and bamboos, and served up with rice ;
but in such a case it acquires so offensive an odour
that no European can conquer his repugnance to it.
The durian is sometimes dangerous, and in a very
curious way. As the fruit ripens it falls daily, nay,
almost hourly, and accidents often occur to persons
walking or working under the trees. For if it strikes a
man in its fall it produces a terrible wound ; the strong
spines tearing open the flesh, and the heavy blow not
unfrequently smiting the unfortunate individual to the
earth.
THE BAMBOO.
We turn from the durian to the bamboo, which is
infinitely more useful, though it does not possess the
attraction of a savoury fruit. What the palm is to
the Polynesian, that, with some qualifications, the
bamboo is to the Dyak. It furnishes bridges, posts,
rods, drinking-vessels, mats, screens, chairs, tables, bed-
steads, bedding. With the help of this single grass
for it belongs to the great family of Grasses, though it
grows to the height of forty and fifty feet the Dyak
not only builds his house, but furnishes it. He also
builds his boats with it, erects a bamboo mast, and
hoists bamboo sails.
The admirable qualities of a bamboo are seven in
110 A DYAK HOUSE.
number : Strength, lightness, roundness, straightness,
smoothness, hollo wness, and divisibleness.* In how
many plants will you find all these combined ? And
when they are combined, must there not necessarily
be something very good and desirable in the com-
bination ?
Look at that Dyak house yonder. It measures two
hundred feet in length, and forty feet in width, and is
raised upon stout posts. Well, its walls are made of
bamboo, and its roof is thatched with bamboo ; and
inside, the partitions are formed of bamboo, and with
bamboo the floor is laid. Strips split from large bam-
boos, so that each may be nearly flat, and about three
inches wide, are used for this last purpose ; being
securely tied down with ratan to the joists beneath.
We are told, and can believe, that when well made, this
is a delightful floor on which to walk barefooted " the
rounded surfaces of the bamboo being very smooth and
agreeable to the feet, while at the same time affording
a firm hold." Lay down a mat upon it, and the
elastic floor is at once converted into a capital bed !
" Here," says Mr. Wallace, " we at once find a use for
bamboo which cannot be supplied so well by another
material without a vast amount of labour palms and
other substitutes requiring much cutting and smoothing,
and not being equally good when finished. When,
however, a flat, close floor is required, excellent boards
are made by splitting open large bamboos on one side
only, and flattening them out so as to form slabs
eighteen inches wide and six feet long, with which
some Dyaks floor their houses. These, with constant
* That is, it can be split with great facility and neatness, or cut, or bored, or
disjointed.
BAMBOO THICKET.
THE BORNEAN FOREST. 113
rubbing of the feet and the smoke of years, become
dark and polished, like walnut or old oak, so that their
real material can hardly be recognized. What labour
is here saved to a savage whose only tools are an axe
and a knife, and who, if he wants boards, must hew
them out of the solid trunk of a tree, and must give
days and weeks of labour to obtain a surface as smooth
and beautiful as the bamboo thus treated affords him.
Again: if a temporary house is wanted, either by the
native in his plantation or by the traveller in the
forest, nothing is so convenient as the bamboo, with
which a house can be constructed with a quarter of the
labour and time than if other materials are used." *
IN THE BORNEAN FOREST.
Our dissertation on the durian naturally leads us
from the rivers to the trees and plants of Borneo from
its hydrography to its botany. Its forests contain
most of the varieties which we have noticed as flourish-
ing in Java and Sumatra. Palms are abundant, espe-
cially the cocoa-nut, betel, sago, and gomati. By the
river-side blooms the Nipa frutescens, with its creep-
ing trunk, feathery leaves, and large round bunches of
fruit. The leaves are often twenty feet in length, and
are frequently used as thatch. The scented flowers,
which are enclosed in a spathe, attract immense hosts
of bees; and these winged plunderers supply an excel-
lent wax, of which large quantities are exported.
Cinnamon and sugar-cane, as well as a kind of nutmeg,
grow wild ; and the gutta-percha tree, which here attains
a diameter of six feet, is plentiful. Pine-woods clothe
the mountain-sides in magnificent profusion ; and to-
* Wallace, "The Malay Archipelago," i. 77, 78.
(637)
114 PITCHER-PLANTS.
wards the summit is found the iron-wood tree, Dio-
spyros, which grows slowly, but attains a noble
stature. Among the columned aisles of the forest
thrive numerous varieties of ferns ; though tree-ferns
are neither so plentiful nor so fane as in Java.
Borneo is famous for its pitcher-plants, Nepenthes,
which nowhere else attain so extraordinary a develop-
ment. Their graceful vases depend from every shrub
and plant : some long and slender, others broad and
short ; some green, tinted with red ; others green,
shaded or glossed, as it were, with purple. The
Nepenthes Rajah, named after Sir James Brooke,
Rajah of Sarawak, has a pitcher twelve inches long by
six in diameter, closely resembling our ancient ampulla ;
the blade of its leaf measures eighteen inches in length
by seven in breadth. It will contend on almost equal
terms with the Nepenthes Edwardsiania, the pitcher
of which is narrow, but twenty inches long, while the
plant itself is twenty feet. Then there is the Nepenthes
Rafflesiana, which, like some other species, has two
kinds of pitchers : those on the lower leaves, of an
ampulla form, with two fringed wings in front, about
four inches long by two wide ; those on the upper
leaves, less elegantly coloured, but longer, funnel-
shaped, and narrowing gradually to the base, where
they curve upwards gracefully.
The general character of the Bornean forests is neces-
sarily tropical. In the higher regions the traveller
gazes delightedly on the infinite number of fantastically
flowering orchids, and arborescent ferns with colossal
leaves of filmy lace-work, perennial urticeoe (or nettles)
three feet high, glorious bignonias, and splendidly
beautiful passion-flowers, filling the air with fragrance,
OUTBREAK OF A STORM. 115
and intertwining, in an embrace that death only can
put aside, with creepers, bushropes, and interminable
lianes.
Further downwards, the creepers are still exuberant,
but the scene is greatly changed ; for now the eye
rests on every variety of palm, on resinous terebinths
and anacards ; on leguminosae, whose sap exudes in
many a precious balsam ; on aromatic laurels ; on
large-blossomed petunias and solandras, and broad-
leaved heliconias ; and on countless other flowers
which attract by the beauty of their form or the in-
tensity of their colouring.
In the deep lowlands, as a writer has well remarked,
the forest assumes a severer and gloomier aspect. The
dense, over-canopying foliage accumulates in shadowy
vaults which exclude almost the light of day ; and
trunk after trunk, in irregular rows, cluster all around,
like the pillars of some huge temple whose roof is lost
to sight in an atmosphere of gloom.
A hurricane striding through the Bornean forest
seems like the crash and downfall of Nature. In the
upper regions its roar reverberates like the artillery of
an army engaged in deadly battle ; then it descends
into the lower air, and as the darkness is illuminated
by the incessant blaze of the lightning, and the echoes
are awakened by peals of continuous thunder, the
branches of the trees strike against one another like
contending weapons ; and the huge trunks, uprooted
by some sudden blast, are flung to the ground in fear-
ful ruin. Whoever enters the forest after one of these
storms, finds himself surrounded by melancholy memo-
rials of its violence and awful power.
Among the curiosities of the forest must be ranked
116 A REMARKABLE FIG-TREE.
some small anonaceous trees of the genus Polyalthea
which attain the height of thirty feet, their slende
trunks ornamented with large star-like crimson flowers
twining about them like so many garlands, and resem
bling an artificial decoration rather than a natura
product.
To this order of trees belongs the sweet-sop, Anoni
squamosa, which is found in the West Indies as wel
as the East, on the mainland as well as in Bornec
Its orange-shaped fruit is covered with projecting
scales ; the rind is thick, but encloses a luscious pulp
much esteemed by the natives, but not very agreeabl
to Europeans. Its leaves have a heavy, disagreeabl
odour ; and the seeds contain an acrid principle, fata
to insects. For which reason the Indians use them
powdered and mixed with the flour of gram (chick
pea), for washing and cleansing the hair.
Occasionally the traveller meets with a marvellou
fig-tree, whose trunk forms a small forest of stern
and air-roots ; or trees of still stranger character
which look as though they had begun to grow in mid
air, and from the same point throw off a world o
wide-spreading branches above, and a complex pyrami<
of roots descending for seventy or eighty feet to th
ground below, and so reaching round and creeping 01
every side, that it is possible to stand in the centre
with the tree overhead, and an enclosure of inter
crossing roots all around. It has been suggested, a
an explanation of this remarkable phenomenon, tha
the trees we speak of originate as parasites, from seed
which have been dropped by birds in the fork of som
lofty forest stem. Hence descend aerial roots, whicl
clasp the supporting tree in an embrace that stifle
THE ORANG-UTAN. 117
and gradually destroys it, until it is replaced by the
usurper which had found in it a resting-place and an
asylum. If this be true, it shows us an actual
"struggle for life" in the Vegetable Kingdom, not less
fatal to the defeated than the contentions among
animals which we have more opportunities of observ-
ing and comprehending.
ANIMAL LIFE IN BORNEO.
Animal life in Borneo is found on an abundant
scale. Tropical Nature is rich in an almost endless
diversity of forms ; and the far-spreading shades of
the mighty forests offer a secure asylum to those
beasts of prey which elsewhere civilization is rapidly
reducing in number. The panther haunts the leafy
recesses ; sleek, handsome, agile, ferocious. In the
mountainous districts the striped tiger, Felis macrocelis,
finds a seldom disturbed lair. But the chosen lord of
these retreats is the orang-utan (Simia satyrus),
which the Malays, from his ghastly resemblance to
humanity, call the "wild man of the woods." He
approaches mankind, however, less closely than the
chimpanzee, for his hind-legs are shorter, while his
arms are so long as to touch his ankles. He excels
the chimpanzee in intelligence. A brutal expression
is given to his hideous physiognomy by his thick pro-
tuberant lips and projecting jaws. In a properly pro-
portioned human face the distance from nose to chin
is a third of the total length : in that of the utan, it
is one-half; so that his countenance is rather a cari-
cature than a likeness.
He differs in habits and character from the monkey
race, being indolent even to phlegmatic supineness,
118 HIS HABITS DESCRIBED.
suspicious, morose, and melancholy. One might almost
say that he recognized how near he was to the lofty
standard of humanity, and yet, on the other hand, how
far from reaching it ! Even in his native wilds he
exhibits no activity, and nothing but hunger or terror
rouses him from his lethargic repose. He loves to sit
for hours together upon a branch of the forest trees,
in a kind of crouching attitude, with his back bent,
and his eyes fixed upon the ground ; while from
time to time the melancholy nature of his reflections
would seem to be indicated by the low, sad wail he
utters. During the night he retires to the topmost
boughs of a nibong-palm or a screw-pine ; or, if the
weather be inclement, he ensconces himself among the
orchids and ferns that surround the colossal trees. He
makes for his use a couch of leaves and small twigs ;
and with a layer of leaves protects his body ; while he
sleeps as man does, on the side or back, and not as the
apes do, in a sitting position.
He feeds upon fruit to a large extent, especially on
the durian, but appears to be fastidious in his tastes,
and rejects and throws away much more than he eats.
Sometimes he varies his fare with leaves, buds, and
young shoots. He prefers unripe fruit to ripe ; at
least, he seems to be partial to fruit with a slight
flavour of acidity. With his long, powerful arms
he can climb the loftiest trees, and swing himself
from bough to bough easily, but deliberately ; never
leaping or jumping, and never showing any signs of
haste. When he walks, the pressure is on the
knuckles of his hands, and not on the palm. When
an adversary approaches, though he has none but
man, for the animals of the forest, it is said, never
PURSUING A MIAS. 119
attack him, he plucks off the nearest branches and
fruits, and rains at him a shower of missiles which
generally compels his retreat. The Pyaks are partial
to his flesh, and kill him with poisoned arrows ; but
he has grown so suspicious that it is difficult to catch
him unawares. They hunt him for another reason- -
his destructiveness to the fruit-trees ; and there is
reason to believe that his numbers are rapidly decreas-
ing. His pursuit is not unattended with danger : woe
to the unfortunate Dyak whom he seizes with his long
muscular arms, and rends with his cruel teeth ! That
he is a formidable opponent, may be inferred from the
fact, confirmed by several Dyak witnesses, that in a
contest with the crocodile and when he is seeking
food along the bank of a river, such sometimes takes
place he is always victorious.
IN PURSUIT OF A MIAS.
A recent traveller describes his adventures in pur-
suit of an orang-utan, or a mias, as the Dyaks call
him. Having heard that one had been seen on a path
leading to some mines, he set off, accompanied by a
young English lad, and a couple of natives. Very
cautiously they made their way, avoiding the least
sound, for the mias is singularly quick of hearing, and
watching attentively for any indication of his where-
abouts. "After a short time," says our hunter, "I
heard a very slight rustling sound overhead, but on
gazing up could see nothing. I moved about in every
direction to get a full view into every part of the tree
under which I had been standing, when I again heard
the same noise, but louder, and saw the leaves shaking
as if caused by the motion of some heavy animal
120 PURSUING A MIAS.
which moved off to an adjoining tree. I immediately
shouted for all of them to come up and try and get a
view, so as to allow me to have a shot. This was not
an easy matter, as the mias had a knack of selecting
places with dense foliage beneath. Very soon, how-
ever, one of the Dyaks called me and pointed upwards;
and on looking I saw a great red hair} r body, and a
huge black face gazing down from a great height, as if
wanting to know what was making such a disturbance
below. I instantly fired, and he made off at once,
so that I could not then tell whether I had hit him.
" He now moved veiy rapidly and very noiselessly
for so large an animal, so I told the Dyaks to follow
and keep him in sight while I loaded. The jungle
was here full of large angular fragments of rock from
the mountain above, and thick with hanging and
twisted creepers. Running, climbing, and creeping
among them, we came up with the creature on the
top of a high tree near the road, where some China-
men had discovered him, and were shouting their
astonishment with open mouth : ' Ya, ya, tuau ;
orang-utan, tuan ! ' Seeing that he could not pass
here without descending, he turned up again towards
the hill, and I got two shots, and, following quickly,
had two more by the time he had again reached the
path ; but he was always more or less concealed by
foliage, and protected by the large branch on which he
was walking. Once, while loading, I had a splendid
view of him, moving along a large limb of a tree in a
semi-erect posture, and showing him to be an animal
of the largest size. At the path he got on to one of
the loftiest trees in the forest, and we could see one
leg hanging down useless, having been broken by a
HUNTING THE ORANG-UTAN.
A DEATH-HUNT. 123
ball. He now fixed himself in a fork, where he was
hidden by thick foliage, and seemed disinclined to
move. I was afraid he would remain and die in this
position ; and as it was nearly evening, I could not
have got the tree cut down that day. I therefore
fired again, and he then moved off; and going up the
hill, was obliged to get on to some lower trees, on the
branches of one of which he fixed himself in such a
position that he could not fall, and lay all in a heap
as if dead, or dying."
We will not pursue the narrative further, for though,
no doubt, the writer would plead that he was actuated
by a disinterested love of scientific inquiry, we confess
that to us there seems something remorseless in this
deliberate death-hunt. At last the traveller secured
his victim, or, as he would say, his specimen ; and he
proved to be a giant of his kind with a head and body
as large as a man's ; with arms which, when out-
stretched, measured seven feet three inches across ;
while his height, from the heel to the top of the head,
was four feet two inches. He was what the Dyaks
call a "Mias Chappan" or "Mias Pappan," the skin of the
face being broadened out to a ridge or fold at each side.
The mias is not so ferocious as common accounts
represent him. He does not attack man, woman, or
child, except in self-defence, and is always anxious to
escape from the neighbourhood of man. The stories
told of his colossal proportions are equally exaggerated.
His height does not exceed four feet or four feet two
inches ; and his arms, when extended, seven feet three
to seven feet nine inches. The average girth of the
body may be estimated at three feet and a half.
He is found only in Sumatra and Borneo ; chiefly
124 STRANGE ANIMALS.
in Borneo, for in the former island he is rapidly dying
out, and very few individuals remain. In Borneo he
ranges through the low swampy forests which skirt
the north-west, south-west, north-east, and south-east
coasts. A continuous extent of leafy shade seems
absolutely necessary to his existence. As he lives
among the trees, seldom touching the ground, but
passing from branch to branch and bough to bough,
feeding upon fruits and leaves, making his " nest "
among the embowering foliage, and there, in the un-
frequented and solitary recesses, bringing up his young,
it is evident that open and cleared ground would be
distasteful to him. Where the soil is dry, or elevated,
or cut up by patches of cultivated ground, or clumps
of forest, the rnias is never seen.
STRANGE ANIMALS.
An animal peculiar to Borneo is the Potamophilus
barbatus, of which we shall here say only that its
scientific name refers to its aquatic habits and its
singular whiskered face ; that it is carnivorous, and
forms a link, apparently, between the otter and the
omithorhynchus. The fig-tree woods are haunted by
a species of gibbon (lar), or long-armed ape ; a melan-
choly, peaceful, solitary creature, which feeds upon
fruit in the lonely depths of the greenery, and ever and
anon disturbs their echoes with his long loud wail, like
that of an animal in pain. In the lower forests are
found the long-nosed and crested apes, inhabiting the
banks of the lakes and rivers.
The long-nosed or proboscis monkey is sometimes
called the kahau, from a supposed resemblance of his
cry to that many-vowelled word. His enormously
ABOUT THE KAHAU. 125
long nose gives a peculiar, and certainly an unat-
tractive, character to his countenance. It does not
interfere with his activity, however, and he will leap
from branch to branch for a distance of fifteen feet
or more. The Dyaks assert that, when accomplish-
ing these gymnastics, he takes his nose in his hands,
to guard it against possible injury ; but the state-
ment seems to require confirmation. He is a gre-
garious animal, assembling in large companies, which
regulate their movements by the sun, and salute it
at its rise and setting with a deafening chorus of
howls.
His fur is thick, but not woolly or long : the princi-
pal colour is a bright chestnut-red ; the sides of the
face, however, as well as the under parts of the body,
and, to some extent, the shoulders, glow with a golden
yellow. Over the head and between the shoulders
spreads a rich brown tint, which grows paler on the
arms and legs.
The kahau's nostrils do not resemble those of man,
though a resemblance exists between the human nose
and its exaggerated proboscis. Placed quite at the
extremity of the nose, they are separated from each
other by an exceedingly thin cartilage; and, therefore,
are wholly devoid of that expression which character-
izes the human nostril.
Borneo has also its bear, the Malayan or sun-bear,
which climbs the cocoa-nut trees, and banquets on
their precious fruit, or devours the succulent .topmost
shoot, in which its vitality centres. He is also a per-
severing robber of the hive, evincing an unconquerable
partiality to honey. His fur is nearly black, and on
his breast he wears an orange-coloured patch. He
12G FORMS OF ANIMAL LIFE.
stands or sits on his hind limbs with much facility,
and has a curious habit of placing his superabundant
food on his hinder paws, as if to protect it from defile-
ment. He eats with a slow and dainty deliberation
that is quite amusing.
The Bornean " Bruang," as the Dyaks call him, is
sometimes characterized as a species distinct from the
Malayan ; but the sole difference is in the colour of
the breast escutcheon, which in the latter is of a grayish
white.
We need say no more of the Sus barbatus, than
that this member of the great Swine family is hide-
ous of aspect, and distinguished by its enormous
whiskers.
The banteng, or Javan ox, has been naturalized in
Borneo. He is a robust and swift-footed animal, liv-
ing in small herds, whose movements are directed by
careful sentinels, and frequenting the low wooded
valleys. He stands about five feet and a half at the
shoulder, and is of a blackish brown colour, with a
large patch of white on the hind-quarters.
In the higher grounds lives the graceful and nimble
napu, or Java musk, an animal of gentle disposition,
easily domesticated. The kanchil, or pigmy musk,
prefers the sylvan recesses of the dense tropical forests.
There are three species of deer. The natives have
a peculiar dread of the flesh of one of these, the
munchae, asserting that whoever eats of it incurs a
fatal cutaneous affection.
Of the porcupine, Hystrix fasciata, a peculiar species
not met with in Africa or Europe, they assert that it is
the only animal which can feed without injury on the
fruit of the celebrated upas-tree.
INSECTS AND EEPTILES. 127
Fish are abundant in the lakes and rivers, and on
the shores ; and the reefs and islets clustering in the
neighbouring seas yield an abundance of pearl-oysters,
and of shells both " rich and rare." The larger rivers
are haunted by the crocodile, and especially by a
species which resembles the Gangetic gavial.
INSECTS AND REPTILES.
Insect life is present in numerous and beautiful
forms, many of which command the admiration of the
naturalist by their splendour of colouring. Butter-
flies there are which flash through the air with wings
that seem made of jewels. Then the coleoptera are
clad in coats of mail which would delight the heart of
a beetle collector. Among these are interesting speci-
mens of the wood-feeding beetles, the longicornis and
rhynchophora ; of the former three hundred species
have been distinguished, and all are remarkable either
for size or colouring. In all, about two thousand dis-
tinct kinds of beetles will reward the investigation of
the naturalist in Borneo.
Among the reptiles we can allude only to the so-
called flying frog, described by Mr. Wallace. Its toes
are of great length, and fully webbed to their very
extremity, so that when displayed they present a sur-
face much larger than the body. The fore legs are
also bordered by a membrane, and the body is capable,
it appears, of considerable inflation. Back and limbs
are of a deep shining green colour ; under parts and
inner toes, yellow ; webs black, striped with , yellow.
The body, judging from Mr. Wallace's specimen,
measures about four inches in length ; while the webs
of each hind-foot, when fully expanded, cover a surface
128 ABOUT THE DYAKS.
of four square inches, and the webs of all the feet, in
an aggregate, about twelve. As the extremities of the
toes are furnished with disks, or suckers, by which the
animal can cling to the trunks of trees, it seems im-
probable that all this extent of membrane should be
for swimming purposes only, and we may suppose
that it is designed to assist it in passing through the
air.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE DYAKS.
We may find occasion to speak hereafter of the
mines of Borneo, which yield gold, antimony, tin,
platina, iron, and copper, but, as yet, are not worked
on any extensive scale. The island-antiquities, including
remains of Hindu temples, erected in the " dim past "
by, it is presumed, a Hindu colony, might also claim a
few words of notice. But we must proceed to notice
the inhabitants of Borneo, who are divided into three
distinct races, the Dyaks, or aborigines ; the Malays,
who live principally on the coast, and occupy their
territories as conquerors ; and the Chinese, who are
immigrants or commercial speculators, attracted by the
greed of gain. Of the last it is unnecessary, in the
present volume, to say anything ; of the Malays we
shall speak at length in a separate chapter ; and our
remarks will now be confined to the Dyaks. These
are divided into various nations, as well as into Sea
Dyaks and Hill Dyaks ; but there can be no doubt
that they have had a common origin, and they re-
semble each other in manners and customs. So, too,
their language is the same, allowance being made for
dialectical differences. Each tribe, we may add, is
generally known by the name of the river in whose
valley it is settled.
THE SEA DYAKS. 129
The Dyaks are well-made, but not of very vigorous
frame ; about the middle height, with small hands and
feet. Their complexion varies from reddish brown to
yellowish brown, and is always lighter than that of a
Malay; jet black the hair, and straight ; beard scanty
or altogether wanting ; nose small and broad ; cheek-
bones prominent as those of a Highlander. Altogether,
far from a handsome race, but personable, vigorous, and
athletic.
One who knows them well speaks of them as livelier
and more talkative and less suspicious than the Malays ;
as partial to out-of-door amusements and to all sports
and pastimes. He gives them credit also for plain-
ness and honesty, and has a word of praise for their
moral character at least, for that of the Hill Dyaks.
The Sea Dyaks are pirates, and their standard of
morality cannot be very high. They are truthful,
however ; temperate in food and drink ; and free from
the sin of covetousness at least, among themselves.
They are not naturally cruel, though the frequent
inter-tribal wars have led to the custom of "head-
hunting ; " so that no young Dyak can marry until,
like a North American Indian, he can present his in-
tended wife with a proof of his prowess in the shape
of an enemy's head. This memorial of his victory is
preserved, and with tufts of grass in the ears, and cowry-
shells in the eye-sockets, hangs suspended to the wall
of the "head-house," like a knight's escutcheon. On
great occasions it is taken down by the proud Dyak
to whom it belongs, and he joins in the dance with
one or more of these ghastly ornaments, slung over his
shoulder, or dangling from his waist.
The dress of the Dyak differs according to his tribe,
(637) 9
180 DRESS AND WEAPONS.
but the staple article is a wrapper of cotton cloth
around the loins. The Saghai Dyaks are attired in
tiger-skins, with head-dresses of monkeys' skins and
the plumes of the Argus pheasant, very striking and
handsome. Others make the head-dress of the bark
of trees, or of cloth, always embellishing it with
feathers, or tufts of fibre to resemble feathers. Some
of the tribes are tattooed with as complex designs as
a Polynesian islander. All are fond of ornaments,
and go about decked with immense metal rings round
their limbs and shoulders, and with collars of human
teeth or the teeth of apes and wild boars. They also
wear huge ear-rings, which distend the lobes of the ear
unnaturally and hideously.
Their weapons are simple, a sword or knife, a
shield of hard wood, and a long spear. They also
resort to the sumpitan (or sarbucan) ; a slender tube,
about five feet in length, through which is blown a
small javelin, nine inches long, dipped in the poison-
ous juice of the upas. This they employ with
singular dexterity.
Like all uncivilized tribes, they shrink from hard
labour ; but, under European superintendence, are
capable of working effectively, and show considerable
skill in the cultivation of the ground. They have no
manufactures ; and their principal industries are the
building of their ingenious and spacious houses, and
the construction of their prahus, or canoes, which are
frequently fifty feet in length. The greatest blot on
their character is the degraded condition of servitude
in which they keep their women, on whom devolves
every kind of toil, so that they grow old and decrepit
before their time, to the serious injury of the physical
HISTORICAL NOTES. 131
character of the race. On the other hand, they marry
but one wife, and are faithful to her. Towards their
children both parents display a strong affection.
Their language, in the main, is Malayan. Of
religion they have no traces ; they have neither
priests nor form of worship ; but they are amenable
to many superstitious influences. We allude, of
course, to the tribes which have adhered to the " old
ways" of their forefathers; but some have adopted
the creed of the Malay. Their government, so far as
it has any recognized system, is republican ; for the
chief of the tribe seems to possess very little real
power.
HISTORICAL NOTES.
Borneo was first brought within the sphere of
European knowledge by Lorenzo de Gomez, in 1518;
and afterwards by Pigafetta, in 1521, who brought
hither the ships of Magalhaens' expedition after cross-
ing the Pacific. They named' it Brunai or Bruni,
from the port and principal city on its north-west
shores where they first touched. This name, which
the Malays write as Btirni or Boorni, may be referred
to the Sanskrit Bhurni, or "land," and came to be
applied by Europeans to the whole island. In 1598,
the island was visited by a Dutchman, Oliver van
Noort, whose report of its diamonds and bezoar-stone,
then held in high repute as a universal medicine, a
remedy for all the ills to which human flesh is heir,
induced the Dutch to take steps for establishing there
a factory, which gradually developed into a fortified
post and a considerable colony. With a brief
interval, they have ever since maintained their foot-
ing, and gradually extended their supremacy, until
132 RAJAH BROOKE.
about two-thirds of the island more or less directly
acknowledge their rule. The northern districts, how-
ever, have maintained their independence ; and, until
recently, were divided between two Malayan sovereigns
the Sultan of Borneo Proper, whose authority spread
from Cape Datoo to the river of Kimanis ; and the
Sultan of Sooloo, who reigned from the river of
Kimanis to the river Atuo : the two thus exercising
their authority along a line of coast 1200 miles in
extent.
In 1842, an English gentleman, Mr. (afterwards
Sir James) Brooke, purchased from the native chiefs
the district of Sarawak, in Borneo Proper ; and in the
following year it was formally ceded to Great Britain
by the sultan. In 1846, Mr. Brooke captured the
city of Brunai ; after which he obtained possession of
the valuable island of Labuan, and thus laid the
foundation of a colony which is probably destined to
attain great importance.
CHAPTER V.
MORE ABOUT BORNEO.
DR. SCHWANER'S EXPLORATIONS.
|N the preceding chapter we have attempted
to furnish the reader with a general view
of the great island of Borneo, its towns
and villages, plains and forests, lakes and
rivers, and mountains. From the narratives of recent
travellers we now propose to select such additional
details as may serve to complete the picture we have
been desirous of drawing ; so that the reader's mind
may receive and retain a clear, comprehensive, and
accurate idea of Borneo as it is.
Between 1843 and 1847, Dr. Schwaner, under the
directions of the Dutch Government, ascended several
of the Bornean rivers, and explored a considerable
portion of the interior of the island previously un-
known to Europeans. It may be useful and interest-
ing if we accompany him on one of these expedi-
tions.*
The Troussan forms a kind of natural canal uniting
the rivers Mouroung and Kahayan, and traversing a vast
* Borneo : Beschrijving van het stromgebied van den Barito, en reizen langs
eenige voorname rivleren van het zuidoostellljk gediette van dot eiland. Von Dr. C.
A. L. M. Schwaner. Amsterdam, 1854. Dr. Schwaner was bom at Mannheim in
1817 ; died at Batavia, March 30, 1850.
134 A BORNEAN RIVER.
breadth of swamp, through which a myriad streamlets
take their way, interlinked by trenches and water-
courses, and all pouring their tribute into the Troussan.
At a short distance to the west of the kampong, or
village, of Papallao, it divides into two branches, of
which the northern is the more ancient the southern
having been excavated by human industiy, after
the former had been rendered impracticable for boats
by fallen trunks of trees and accumulated deposits
of mud. At its eastern mouth the river is seventy
feet in width, but as we advance in a westerly direc-
tion it narrows considerably, is shallower, and more
difficult of navigation, owing to the thick, intertangled
growth of aquatic plants. The smallest boats run
aground when the tide ebbs, and particularly during
the eastern monsoon, when the voyager must wait
for the flow to resume the ascent towards the
Kahayan.
Let us suppose that we have reached the latter
river. Near its point of confluence with the Troussan,
and on the north bank of the latter, stand in the
shelter of a clump of palms two small huts, where
voyagers deposit, in passing, their offerings of rice,
tobacco, and sherds of pottery, to appease the evil
spirits. The banks of the river are lofty, and the
neighbouring country enjoys an immunity from inun-
dations ; but the interior is of a lower level, and
almost entirely covered by marshes.
Another illustration of the superstitious nature of
the Dyaks is afforded us at Tjouknij-Pamali, which is
haunted, they assert, by evil spirits. In its neigh-
bourhood, therefore, the natives will neither fell wood
nor gather fruit, lest their sacrilege should be punished
ASCENT OF KAHAYAN. 135
by loss of reason. Similar instances of districts over-
shadowed by this meaningless terror are found along
other rivers, and also in the interior, and may always
be recognized by the presence of the nibong palms,
which usually grow only on the sea-shore. The native
legends affirm that one of these evil spirits, being
desirous, in a moment of recreation, to form a cascade
in the river, flung into it a heap of stones ; but he
failed in his design, and all the stones resulted in
nothing more than a diversion of the shallow waters,
without obstructing navigation.
In making the ascent of the Kahayan, we find the
shores gradually decreasing in elevation, and in many
places they entirely disappear under the flood of
water which overspreads the country ; their direction
is indicated only by the floating trunks of trees.
The Kahayan becomes more tortuous than in its
lower course, and its curves and angles and bends
form a complete labyrinth. One of the reaches which
we traverse is called Rantau-Oadjah-Moundor (or the
curve or "reach" of the returned or sent-back-elephant) ;
a designation curious in itself, and all the more curious
from the fact that not a single elephant is to be found
in the island, and that the vast majority of the natives
have never seen one. It may be a memorial, how-
ever, of some historic event ; as, for example, of the
defeat of one of the Hindu chiefs who anciently lorded
it over a part of Borneo, and made use of elephants in
their wars. At all events, there is the name; and a
local legend thus explains it :
Once upon a time an elephant, which had come
over the sea, ascended the Kahayan for the purpose of
186 A BORNEAN LEGEND.
encountering the animals of the island in fight. To give
them an idea of his size and strength, and strike terror
into them beforehand, he sent one of his tusks by the
messenger which carried his cartel of defiance. And,
as he expected, the animals, filled with terror at the
sight of so formidable a tooth, were about to acknow-
ledge his superiority, when the address of the porcu-
pine extricated them from their embarrassment. He
persuaded them to accept the challenge, and to send
one of his spines to the common enemy, that he
might estimate aright the potency of the animal which
was clothed in hair like that ! Deceived by the arti-
fice, the aggressor durst not await his formidable
adversary, and returned in shame and discomfiture.
After voyaging for some days in the depths of
desert forests, we observe that the river begins to run
in a more confined channel, and between banks of
increasing elevation. We are once more in a culti-
vated country, and approach the kampong of Moura-
Rawi, the residence of the principal chief of the
Middle Kahayan ; a feeble old man, whose authority
is acknowledged only in the upper portion of his
territory. The kampong is in decay, and most of its
inhabitants, discouraged by the successive failures of
the rice -harvest, have settled on the banks of the
neighbouring river, the Roungan. The population
now does not exceed two hundred and ten souls.
The palisade-enclosure has fallen to the ground ; num-
erous houses have been abandoned, and others are
in ruins ; and the former prosperity of the kampong
is shown only by the many idols clustered about
the houses, and the quantity of cocoa-palms which
A KAMPONG, OR BORNEAN VILLAGE. 139
spread all around their grateful shadow. The posts
on which the huts are raised are much higher than
in the lower districts. The side-walls are made of
the bark of trees, or bamboo trellis -work ; and the
roofs thatched with a grass so durable that it does not
require reparation oftener than once in ten or fifteen
years.
In the interior these huts are black and squalid, the
smoke having no other issue than the door, or the
horizontal openings in the walls which serve instead of
windows. The apartments are very irregular in size.
The general rule is, however, a large hall in the centre,
surrounded by various chambers, which are separated
from one another by decorated partitions, bamboo
trellis-work, or by planks gaily ornamented with pretty
arabesques and carved garlands. To the walls are
suspended the household implements, weapons, fishing
appliances, clothes, amulets, and other articles.
Near the river are situated the balais, or common
halls, in which the inhabitants of the kampong
assemble to celebrate their festivals. Most of these
edifices, which are much larger than the private houses,
are exceedingly simple in appearance and arrange-
ment ; consisting only of a long open hall, supported
upon poles four feet high, and covered with a high-
pitched roof. Close at hand may usually be found a
small forge, free to all the inhabitants of the locality,
and even to strangers.
The place of disembarkation is a small raft moored
to the shore, from which a ladder, made of the trunk
of a tree, or of several joists, leads to a pavilion
erected on the margin of the river-bank, and serving
as a "Travellers' Rest." Thence the way to the
140 A FORTIFIED KAMPONG.
kampong is along a causeway of planks raised two
feet above the ground, and divided into as many
branches as there are houses. Thus the inhabitants
are able to visit one another dry-footed during the
rains and the consequent inundations. They breed
various species of domestic animals: buffaloes, swine,
goats, poultry, dogs, and cats. Their principal occu-
pations are the cultivation of rice, collecting ratans in
the rainy season, and various kinds of resins during
the dry monsoon. Some employ themselves in wash-
ing out the gold dust brought down by the river ; but
this industry is more profitable in the uplands than
here.
The kotta of Hanoa, at which we next arrive,
deserves notice as a fortified kampong ; that is, it is
surrounded by posts of iron-wood, thirty feet high, on
the summit of which are fastened long poles sur-
mounted by carved wooden images of the rhinoceros-
bird, some holding in their grim talons human skulls.
Within the enclosure a crowd of idols are collected.
The four groups of buildings which compose the kam-
pong are raised fifteen feet above the ground, which is
marshy, muddy, and malodorous, and communicate
with one another by rude wooden bridges.
The ascent of the Bornean rivers, we may here
remark, is not unattended by disagreeable experi-
ences.* The voyager must be careful, in some locali-
ties, not to shake snakes into his boat. These
dangerous reptiles are constantly found hidden among
the thick foliage of the fruit-trees, or lying supine
upon the branches, and catch unwary birds in quest
* SpeMer St John, " Forests of the Far East," ii. 73, et sqq.
LIFE IN THE FOREST. 141
of food. And so closely do their colours resemble
those of the trees, that it is frequently difficult to dis-
tinguish them. A native attendant of Mr. Spenser
St. John one day pointed to a tree, exclaiming,
" Yonder is a large snake! " The English traveller at
first could not see it, but on closer scrutiny " became
aware " of a brown creature thicker than his arm,
coiled round a bough, with its head resting near a
bunch of fruit, waiting the advent of some incautious
"pargam," the brilliant green pigeon of the Bornean
forests. Its tint was precisely that of the bough on
which it was resting. And the emerald snakes are not
less difficult to detect. One species there is, with
large regular scales and a triangular head, which is
the terror of the native; and if its poisonous qualities
correspond to its offensive aspect, that terror is not
without excuse. This unpleasant neighbour, however,
is not very frequently seen ; though pretty green
flower snakes may sometimes be observed among the
lower growth of the woods, or gliding over the blossoms
in pursuit of insects. One of a bright green, with
yellow stripes down its sides, may almost claim to be
regarded as an object of beauty.
Again : land tortoises frequently drop from the
overhanging trunks of trees, alarmed by the noise of
the paddles. Or among the visitors who thus uncere-
moniously make your acquaintance may be a huge
biawak, or iguana. Everybody knows, of course, that
the iguana is a kind of lizard, but everybody may not
know that in " Brunei " it attains the length of six or
seven feet. It is a sore plague to the poultry-yard,
and its appetite for fowls and chickens seems to grow
by what it feeds on ; but, in revenge, it is freely
142 NATIVE HUNTERS.
eaten by the Chinese, who are partial to novel dainties
and variations of the ordinary bill of fare.
Rock snakes are not pleasant to meet with, but
still more disagreeable is the cobra, which sometimes
takes to the water. It is said that it cannot be
frightened back from a boat merely by beating the
water with the paddles, but must be killed, or it will
force its way into the proa ; and if it succeed in this
burglarious entrance, every Malay, in a panic of fear,
will instantly spring into the water, and leave the
boat to drift away with its lonely but fatal passenger.
At times the voyager falls in with a party of
native hunters, who present a picturesque but some-
what forbidding appearance. Generally they are
armed with sumpitans, or blow-pipes, made of a
dark red wood, and having a spear-head, lashed
on very neatly with ratans, on one side of the
muzzle, and an iron " sight " on the other. The
arrows are carried in very neatly carved bamboo cases,
and are neither more nor less than slips of wood,
tipped with spear-shaped heads cut out of bamboo.
The poison looks like a translucent gum, of a rich
brown colour; in water of a temperature of 150 it
begins to melt rapidly, but as rapidly hardens on
being exposed to the flame of a lighted candle. The
butt of the arrow is fixed in a disc of the pith of a
palm, cut so as to fit the blow-pipe's orifice.
The equipment of the hunter includes a war-jacket
and a helmet : the former of some native stuff, well
padded, and thickly covered with cowry-shells ; the
latter of the same material, with hanging flaps, intended
to protect the wearer's neck from poisoned arrows.
The hair is fastened up in a knot behind, and kept in
A CURIOUS ADVENTURE. 143
its place by a great pin, fashioned something like a
spear-head, and nearly as large, and made either of
brass or bamboo, according to the means of the wearer.
These hunters occasionally meet with curious adven-
tures. For example, they run the risk of being at-
tacked and carried off by the orang-utans ; and an
English traveller tells a strange story of a young Murut
hunter who, in violation of a well-established custom,
was run away with by a female ! Some years ago the
hunter was wandering in the jungle, armed with sword
and sumpitan. Coming to the bank of a pebbly stream,
and being oppressed by the heat, he resolved on the
enjoyment of a bath. Accordingly, he placed his clothes
and weapons at the foot of a tree, and leaped into the cool,
sparkling water. Here he disported to his heart's con-
tent ; until, growing weary, he prepared to land and
dress, when, to his alarm, he discovered an enormous
female orang-utan standing between him and the tree.
Before he could recover from his .surprise, she sprang
forward, and seizing him by the arm, compelled him to
follow her to a branching tree, and climb up into the
leafy pavilion it afforded. On reaching her resting-
place a kind of nest, constructed with woven boughs
and branches she made him enter. He remained
there for some months, closely watched by his jealous
and far from agreeable companion, fed by her upon
fruits and the palm-cabbage, and seldom allowed to
descend to the ground, his movements being generally
limited from tree to tree. He grew very weary of this
life, and eagerly seized the first opportunity of effecting
his escape ; sliding down the trunk of the tree when
she was temporarily " off guard," and running to the
place where he had formerly left his weapons. She
144 DR. SCHWANER'S EXPLORATIONS.
hastened in pursuit, but was pierced as she approached
by a poisoned arrow.
Among the trees met with in these forests is the
jintawan, or india-rubber plant ; the fruit of which is
pleasantly acid, about the size of a very large pear, and
of a deep orange colour. It consists of " a thick rind
full of india-rubber, surrounding some pulp-covered
seeds." A bold and vigorous creeper, it climbs up the
loftiest trees, and spreads itself luxuriantly over their
outspreading boughs.
The nepenthes, or pitcher-plants, in some localities
are very abundant, but do not often occur in the well-
drained lowlands. Several species will be found de-
scribed in an earlier chapter.
UP THE KAHAYAN.
After this digression, we may continue our ascent of
the river Kahayan, in company with Dr. Schwaner.
The upper basin of the river is thickly peopled ;
that is, for the interior of Borneo. It comprehends
fourteen kampongs and thirty-three kottas; and has a
population of 7300 inhabitants of whom 2628 are
settled on the river-banks, and the remainder on the
banks of its affluents.
They are known as the Ot-Danoms ; and are so
named from the situation of the country which they
inhabit ot signifying "upper," and danom "water."
They belong to the same race as the Kaponas-Mouroung,
and differ but slightly from the other tribes of the
Eastern Dyaks.
Their principal industries are gold-washing and the
cultivation of rice. When the gold dust is discovered
BORNEAN "PRIESTESSES. 145
at the bottom of the river, a small raft, fitted up with
an apparatus of cross-beams, which closely resembles a
grate or railing provided with a hinge, is warped to
the spot. Down drops the apparatus, which serves
both for ladder and anchor ; and the lower end of it is
kept down at the bottom of the water by means of
heavy stones. The divers, both men and women, de-
scend the ladder to sift the auriferous sand in wooden
platters, and remain some time under water.
This industry is sufficiently laborious, but so profit-
able that with its products the Ot-Danoms can purchase
all the commodities they need. They never cross the
borders of their own territory, however, the commerce
being entirely in the hands of the merchants of Poulou-
Petak.
Availing ourselves of our sojourn on the banks of
the Kahayan to familiarize ourselves with the customs
of the Ot-Danoms, we find that there are no professional
dancing-priestesses or bayaderes among them, as there
are among the Dyaks of the South. Their places are
filled by the wives and daughters of the well-to-do,
whose duties are limited to healing the sick, exorcising
evil spirits, conducting the souls of the departed to the
abode of their ancestors, and demanding the favour and
protection of the gods. Before a woman can assume
the sacerdotal rank, the soul of a sangsang or angel
must have passed into her body; and more, so long as
her incantations last she must abstain from all inter-
course with her family.
The souls of the dead do not wait here, as among
the Niadjou Dyaks, for the funereal rites, before taking
leave of earth. As soon as the corpse is stretched in
its coffin, its spirit departs for the other world under
(637) 10
146 FUNERAL CEREMONY.
the guidance of a sangsang, and to the sound of hymns
chanted by the priestesses, or bilians. They pass over
an invisible bridge, which begins at the mortuary -house,
and abuts on the land of the departed.
The dead body, reposing on its bier, is first carried
out into the open air ; afterwards the bones are cleaned
and burned, and the ashes collected in urns, which are
deposited in the sandong, or house of the dead. The
funeral ceremony is an occasion of great pomp, when
not only buffaloes and wild hogs, but also men, are
sacrificed. The heads of the victims are hung up in
the sandong. Dr. Schwaner speaks of a chief named
Toundan, who deposited in the coffin of his deceased
wife eight suits of clothing and all her ornaments.
Immediately after she expired he immolated a slave ;
three others when her corpse was removed from his
house ; and after the incremation of the body, eight
slaves, sixty hogs, and two buffaloes were put to death
around the pile.
A singular custom obtains among the wealthy : the
survivor, whether husband or wife, cannot under any
pretext quit the house for a certain period, which is
longer or shorter in different families. Not infrequently
the disconsolate widow or widower remains seated and
impassive, doing absolutely nothing, three, four, and
even seven months.
Human sacrifices are also offered up on the conclusion
of treaties of peace and alliance. The public and private
charms and talismans are then dipped in human blood,
and the persons present at the horrid rite sprinkle their
forehead, their shoulders, their chest, their stomach,
their knees, their feet, while uttering their vows and
prayers in behalf of one another.
A BARBAROUS CUSTOM. 147
Among the Ot-Danoms, their occasions of festivity,
always prolonged, coarse, and noisy, terminate very
often in contention. Men and women become intoxi-
cated : the quarrelsome seize their weapons and threaten
hostilities, but those who have preserved some degree
of calmness separate them, and bind them until they
recover their senses ; so that after one of these orgies
the ground is covered with the prostrate bodies of the
captives.
In common with all the Dyaks, the Ot-Danoms are
very superstitious, and cowardly slaves to their gro-
tesque fancies, of the effects of which even strangers
are disagreeably reminded. When they arrive for the
first time in certain localities, custom requires that
they should pay the inhabitants the balas ; that is, a
sum of money for the purchase of buffaloes or hogs,
which they immediately sacrifice to the gods to appease
their wrath. A balas costs a traveller, according to
his means and the object of his voyage, from forty to
one hundred gulden (3, 3s. 6d. to 7, 18s. 4d.).
It is probably from the Chinese that the Ot-Danoms
have borrowed their custom a truly barbarous one
of shutting up their daughters, at the age of eight to
ten years, in a narrow and dimly-lighted cell. The
poor captive is never permitted to emerge from it, on
any plea whatsoever ; nor even to receive the visits of
her father, her mother, her brothers, her sisters. For
six or seven dreary years she sees only the slave at-
tached to her service ; and her sole occupation is to
weave mats. Her limbs, deprived of all exercise, do
not acquire their natural development ; and her feet,
more particularly, remain small and stunted a defor-
mity according to all natural canons of taste, but a
H8 AN OLD TRADITION.
beauty in the eyes of Ot-Danom or Chinese connois-
seurs. She gains her freedom when she reaches a
marriageable age, and returns to the world without
like a spectre from the dead, pale as a waxen effigy,
her trembling limbs scarcely able to support her at-
tenuated body, and ignorant as a new-born child. On
this occasion a slave is immolated, that the body of the
young girl may be sprinkled with the victim's blood.
The object of this seclusion, according to Dr. Schwaner,
is to render famous the unhappy prisoner, and, by pre-
serving her daintiness of figure, to enhance her attractions
in the eyes of wealthy suitors. It is called bakouwo.
ABOUT THE OT-DANOMS.
Among the Ot-Danoms dogs are held in high honour,
both during their lives and after their death. It is
believed that they have souls ; and an old tradition
describes them as descended from Patti-Palangkiang,
the king of animals. One day, when this monarch,
poorly clad, was presiding gravely over the assembled
beasts, the scantiness of his costume provoked all who
were present into an immense outburst of laughter.
Offended by this want of respect, he leaped into the
midst of his subjects, assailed them roughly, and put
them to flight. This escapade was followed by his
deposition ; and thereafter he nourished so great a
hatred towards the rebels that his sole happiness con-
sisted in hunting them savagely. His descendants, it
would seem, have inherited his rancour ; and this cir-
cumstance it is which constitutes their chief merit in
the eyes of the Ot-Danoms. When a dog goes the
way of all flesh, his master inters the carcass, wrapped
in fine cloths, near his house ; deposits rice and salt in
HOW NOT TO DRESS. 149
the grave, and spreads rice and salt over its surface,
with the view of influencing the gods to conduct the
departed spirit into the paradise of dogs. Finally he
erects a rude monument in memory of his faithful ser-
vant, adorning it with the jaws and heads of the deer
and wild boars which have fallen before the prowess of
the faithful animal.
DRESS OF THE OT-DANOMS.
The Ot-Danoms are tattooed, like the Niadjous and
other Dyak tribes ; but among the former the designs
are more graceful, as well as more complicated, and
cover the whole body with the exception of the face.
Formerly, tattooing was a much simpler affair ; it has
attained its present perfection under the directions of
the bilians, who profess to know how and in what
manner the sangsangs or angels ornament themselves.
The legs of the women are tattooed from the knee to
the root of the foot. They wear a short and narrow apron
(pagne), generally of a blue colour, fastened round the
loins by a girdle of ratan or a leather belt. To the
left side of the belt or girdle numerous strings of large
pearls are attached, frequently replaced by wreaths
and tufts of fragrant herbs, interwoven with pearls
and tinsel. Their other ornaments for, like all the
daughters of Eve, they show a great fondness for personal
decoration are copper bracelets and earrings as large
as a five-shilling piece, wrought with much elegance,
and incrusted with tiny plates of gold. Their appear-
ance is often heavy and ungraceful, owing to a super-
abundance of health and strength. Yet their activity
is marvellous, and here, as everywhere in Borneo,
the rudest labours are undertaken by the women.
150 WEAPONS OF THE OT-DANOMS.
They manufacture various kinds of tissues with fila-
ments of bamboo and leaves of trees dyeing them
of different colours, particularly blue, for which they
evince a strange partiality.
The men, like their spouses and sisters, wear brace-
lets of copper or of shells, and cover the chest with
cornelians suspended to one, two, three, or even four
crescent-shaped ornaments of gold. Besides the tala-
wang, or wooden buckler, about three and a half feet
long, by fourteen inches wide, and the rnandau, or
two-handed sword, recently introduced among them,
they make use of the following weapons and military
engines : the sarbacan, provided with an iron- wood
point, and employed as a pike ; the quiver, filled with
poisoned arrows, which they discharge through the sar-
bacan as a blow-pipe ; the ordinary lance ; and finally
the trident, with which they transfix their fish.
To sum up : as to their character, the Ot-Danoms
are less honest and truthful than the Niadjous, and
coarser and more dissolute. Greedy in the extreme,
they hesitate not at the most unblushing extortion.
In short, their morality, like their civilization, is at the
lowest ebb.
Here we may conclude our sketch of the Kahayan,
which has guided us through the dense shades of the
virgin forest, and introduced us to a tribe of the Dyaks
little known to the European traveller. At the mouth
of the Hulelet we turn our back on the Kahayan, and
direct our steps towards the Roungau.
In the rainy season the Hulelet is navigable to a
certain distance for prahus of moderate burden ; but it
is now dry, and we must be content to fare a-foot.
HILLS AND VALLEYS. 151
So we breast steep braes, and descend into deep valleys,
and cross a multitude of little streams which feed the
larger river in the days of plenty, until we reach its well-
heads. Then the acclivities grow steeper, though never
high enough to deserve the name of mountains. We
see numerous huts and houses, isolated, or grouped in
little villages ; these have all been temporarily erected
for the cultivation of the rice-fields or working of the
gold-mines. We have travelled now beyond the bor-
ders of the forest.
Following the banks of the Tahoyan, one affluent
of the Roungan, we penetrate into a broad, rich, and
beautiful valley, which charms us with its verdant
slopes and leafy bowers. Once more we take to the
water, and our light canoe, threading its way through
rocks and shallows, and descending cataracts, carries
us down to Kotta-Menihau, where our exploration
may be regarded as at an end. It is an easy journey
from thence to the Dutch settlements.
IN THE INTERIOR.
To complete our picture of Borneo, we shall borrow
a few touches from the graphic pencil of Madame Ida
Pfeifier,* who visited the island in 1852, and from the
west coast gallantly penetrated to the mountain-masses
which form the watershed of the interior.
It was the 22nd of January when she embarked on
the Lupur, resolving to ascend it as far as the Sekamil
chain. Almost at the outset she crossed the borders of
civilization, and entered the territory of the indepen-
dent Dyaks, among their fiercest and most savage tribes.
* Pfeiffer, "Mon Second Voyage autour du Monde," traduit de 1'Allomand.
Paris, 1867. Hachette & Co.
152 MADAME PFEIFFER'S EXPERIENCES.
Her narrative runs as follows :
We arrived at an early hour in the afternoon at one
of the Dyak houses, with the intention of passing there
the night. All my efforts were addressed to the task
of securing the confidence and cordiality of the people.
I shook hands with both men and women ; I took my
seat in their midst ; and while looking on at their
work, placed their children on my knee. Afterwards
I betook myself to the forest in quest of insects.
Thither I was immediately followed by a whole troop
of the natives, and particularly by companies of chil-
dren. They were all anxious to see where I was going,
and of what use was the net for catching butterflies,
and the case which I always carried with me to receive
my insect treasures. They were as curious to observe
my gestures and movements as I was to study theirs.
They began to laugh at me when they saw how eagerly
I hunted the smallest gnat or butterfly ; but when I
made them understand that they were useful in the
preparation of medicines, they ceased to laugh, and
most of them assisted in the chase. It was necessary
to tell them something within the reach of their intelli-
gence.
On my return at nightfall, I found that a small
corner, covered with very clean mats, had been pre-
pared for me. The good people arranged themselves
near me, but touched nothing ; the respect in which
they held everything belonging to me was so great,
that whenever I quitted my seat they also quitted
theirs. I could leave everything open without fear ;
even when I was eating they removed to a distance,
so as not to incommode me. My usual meal was rice
and kuri, or curry. Unfortunately, this soup was
THE PLACE OF HONOUR. 153
always prepared with rancid cocoa-nut oil. But hunger
always prevailed over my disgust; and when the smell
was very strong I held my nostrils, while I swallowed
the unsavoury food as quickly as possible.
At noon the next day we halted among another
tribe. But here the aspect of things was not very
lively, for the men had returned from a campaign only
two days before, bringing with them a human head,
which hung with others, already completely dried,
above the hearth where they prepared my couch.
This, I must tell you, is the place of honour always
offered to a guest ; I found it a very unwelcome dis-
tinction, which it was not possible to refuse. The dry
skulls which the current of air jostled against one
another, the horrible stench arising from the recently
decapitated head, the appearance of the men, still
excited, and restlessly revolving around my bed though
the fire was extinct, deprived me of all desire and
all possibility of sleeping.
I was glad when the morning came, that I might
resume my voyage. At every stroke of the paddles
our route became more interesting ; rich plantations
of rice succeeded to marshes, and afar, against the
horizon, the bright, fresh hills became visible. Among
the trees which lined the lofty banks were some mag-
nificent giants, one hundred and ten to one hundred
and thirty feet in height ; others were adorned with
spreading branches, which stooped and stretched across
the water in arches of verdant foliage.
Upon the tall erect trees with few branches we
often discovered large bee-hives. To seize the honey,
the natives construct a kind of bamboo ladder, which
154 ATHLETIC EXERCISES.
they fasten at intervals of two feet to the trunk of the
tree ; often it is eighty feet long.
This day, as yesterday, I rested in a Dyak hut. At
night, I had scarcely flung myself on my couch before
I was aroused by a lively, cadenced clapping. Up I
got, and hastened to the spot whence came the sounds ;
there I perceived a man lying motionless on the ground,
while half a dozen young people were drumming on
his body, in due succession, with their hollow palms.
I supposed he was dead, and was astonished at the
ceremony performed upon his corpse ; but after a while
the pretended dead man sprang to his feet amid loud
shouts of laughter from his young companions : the game
was ended. So far as I could understand, such exercises
are regarded as very useful for the body, giving it both
suppleness and strength.
Dating on the 25th of January, Madame Ida Pfeiffer
writes :
The loveliest scenes are constantly presenting them-
selves to my gaze. The mountains multiply, and rise
higher and yet higher. Some of the peaks appear to
be fully 3200 feet in altitude. Travelling in Borneo
reminds me in some degree of the interior of Brazil.
Here, as there, virgin forests with a luxuriant vegeta-
tion ; here, as there, occasional clearings and some
scattered huts ; the only difference is, that Borneo is
intersected by an abundance of rivers and rivulets,
while a part of Brazil has only a few very rapid torrents.
What might not be done with both countries, if they
were inhabited by a peaceful and industrious popula-
tion ! Unfortunately, such is not the case. The natives
are few in number, and are more partial to war and
CONVERSING WITH DYAKS. 155
destruction than to cultivation and work ; while the
climate is unfavourable for European colonists.
A curious characteristic of Borneo is the deep brown
colour of its waters. Some travellers would explain
this peculiarity as due to the quantity of leaves falling
from the dense woods which overhang the rivers, and
these leaves rot in the water. I should be inclined to
contradict this opinion ; for in the island of Ceram,
which is as rich in woods and rivers as Borneo, the
water is transparent as crystal. Moreover, Humboldt
observed this peculiarity of colouring in the American
rivers ; which, he adds, are peopled neither by fish nor
crocodiles. This is not the case at Borneo, where
there is no want of crocodiles or fish ; or, at least, of
caimans, which are closely akin to crocodiles.
In the evening I found myself seated anew in the
midst of a troop of Dyaks, with whom I conversed as
well as I could, through the medium of a Malay inter-
preter. I inquired if they believed in a Great Spirit,
and if they had any idols and priests. So far as I
could comprehend, they believed in nothing, and had
neither idols nor priests. On the first point, it is
possible I may have misunderstood them ; as to the
second, I never saw priests or idols among them. On
the other hand, rajahs are plentiful enough ; this pomp-
ous title is given to every chief, even if his tribe should
be composed only of a few dozen families. This
reminds me of Hungary and Poland, where everybody
who is not a serf is styled a gentleman.
In the midst of this conversation, a boy brought in
a wild pigeon which he had caught in the woods.
Immediately one of the men seized it, twisted its neck,
plucked a few of the longest feathers from its wings,
156 A STORM IN BORNEO.
and threw it into the fire ; before the other feathers
were half burned he removed it, took off its head and
the tips of its wings, and gave them to a child standing
beside him, who had been awaiting them impatiently.
Then he replaced the pigeon in the fire, but only for a
few moments ; again withdrew it, and tore it into six
portions, which he distributed among as many children.
As for himself, he did not taste a morsel. I had already
had occasion to remark with what affection the Dyaks
treated their children.
Madame Pfeiffer, in the course of the same evening,
was the eye-witness of a terrible storm, accompanied
by a deluge of rain such as is seen only in tropical
climates. In the midst of the din and fury of the
tempest, a gust of wind extinguished all the fires.
Her entertainers and herself sprang from their seats
to take refuge in the interior of the hut, expecting
every moment that a second paroxysm would strip the
leaf-thatched roof that protected their heads. But
violent things are generally of brief duration, and so
it was with this Bornean hurricane ; in half an hour
it subsided.
The Dyaks had set to work with their gongs, and
to sing their loudest ; probably in the hope of appeas-
ing and dispelling the tempest. They continued the
hurly-burly until daybreak, their songs reminding
Madame Pfeiffer of the howling of wolves. She was
able to distinguish two melodies as chanted by a single
voice ; after which all the others took up the refrain
as a chorus. Four young persons, meanwhile, joined
in a dance, moving with a slow and measured step
around the fireplace, to which were suspended the in-
MADAME PFEIFFER IN DANGER. 157
evitable skulls. Each of the choregraphists carried a
large stick in her hand, with which she beat the ground
violently at every step. At intervals they spat upon
the skulls ! Strange to say, neither song nor dance had
any reference to the storm, but were part of a festival
held in celebration of an approaching expedition.
Our intrepid traveller was generally unmolested, but
on one occasion she was reminded that the experiment
of travelling in savage countries is not without its
dangers.
She was sitting in her prahu, wnen a canoe ap-
proached, manned by four Dyaks, who were lustily
rowing down the stream. Without pausing near her,
they warned her, in passing, to retrace her steps with
all speed, because the neighbouring tribe, living up
the river, were then starting on what the American
Indians would call the " war-path." They themselves
had escaped, they said, only because they had not been
seen.
Madame PfeifFer was much alarmed by this in-
telligence. To approach so near the huge inland
mountains,' so near that she would reach their foot
that very evening, and to be compelled to retrace
her steps ! After- deliberating with one of her crew,
a trusty sailor, who could speak a little English, she
resolved to risk everything, and continue her voyage.
He was a man of rare courage ; and it was his opinion,
moreover, that the Dyaks, though accustomed in their
expeditions to massacre everybody who fell into their
hands, would nevertheless respect the flag of Rajah
Brooke, which Madame Pfeiffer carried by permission.
She acted on his advice, hoisted the flag, and, dis-
158 SURROUNDED BY DYAKS.
regarding the remonstrances of the rest of the crew,
gallantly continued her course. She had not long re-
sumed her voyage when she suddenly heard the shrill
discord of the war-song, accompanied by gong and
drum. Her crew rowed into the midst of the thick
reedy growth which lined the river-bank, and for
a while lay still ; but on ascending a little higher up
the river, and turning an abrupt angle, they saw
before them a spectacle which might have intimidated
the bravest. On a small promontory were assembled
a hundred savages, carrying high narrow bucklers, and
brandishing lances in their hands. On catching sight of
Madame Pfeiffer's canoe, they uttered the most furious
shouts and indulged in the most terrible gestures.
" I trembled, and was seized with fright," says our
heroic voyager ; " but it was too late to think of re-
treat. Firmness alone could save us. Opposite the
promontory, in the middle of the river, was a sand-
bank. My valiant cook sprang on this bank, and
carried on with the rajah a negotiation, of which, un-
fortunately, I did not understand a single word, for it
was couched in the Dyak language. And I was still
further alarmed when I saw the savages suddenly leap
from the height on which they had assembled, throw
themselves into their canoes, plunge into the river,
and by dint of rowing and swimming reach my prahu,
which they surrounded on all sides, and eventually
escaladed. I thought my last moment had come.
But, happily, at this crisis I heard the voice of my
cook, who, forcing his way through the crowd, shouted
from afar that they gave us welcome. And, at the
same time, a small white flag, as a sign of peace, was
raised upon the height.
DYAK HOSPITALITIES. 159
" They who have never seen death so near can form
no idea of the anguish I had endured, or of the joy I
experienced on finding myself saved."
It was necessary, however, that the heroic woman
should subdue her emotions and exhibit the utmost
calmness; this is the only means- of imposing upon
the savage. However, her cook was right ; and Rajah
Brooke's flag was the talisman which had secured her
safety. Not only did the Dyaks abstain from doing
her any harm, but, on the contrary, they showed the
warmest friendship, and persuaded her to disembark
and visit their encampment. She found their tents
pitched behind the hill. On the ground were spread
out their provisions ; especially a great quantity of flat
cakes of all sorts of colours, white, yellow, brown,
black, so appetizing in appearance that our traveller
accepted them eagerly. But when she tasted them
great was her disappointment ! The white cakes were
made of rice flour and the yellow of maize ; but the
flour was coarsely ground, and kneaded up with a
quantity of rancid fat which is extracted from the
kawan fruit. The brown and black cakes were
coloured by a mixture, more or less considerable, of
a black syrup extracted from the sugar-cane, or the
juice of different palm-trees. Fearful of offending her
hosts, Madame Pfeiffer was compelled to swallow a
few mouthfuls of the unsavoury compound, though it
was an act of heroism equal to any she had previously
achieved !
Among the male Dyaks who surrounded her, several
wore suspended at their side the small basket destined
to receive the head of a conquered enemy. The basket
was elegantly woven and decorated with shells, as well
160 CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS.
as festooned with tresses of human hair. This last
ornament is allowed only when the owner of the
basket has already distinguished himself by carrying
off a ghastly trophy of his prowess.
Resuming her voyage, Madame Pfeiffer reached the
central mountains, when she abandoned her prahu,
and placed herself under the guidance of a rajah to
whom she had been commended by Rajah Brooke.
Preparations were immediately made for crossing the
mountain range. A strong escort was organized and
armed ; a large supply of provisions collected ; and on
the 28th of January the expedition started.
Madame Pfeiffer soon found, however, that she had
no laborious ascent to make of tremendous acclivities.
The mountain-mass is broken up by numerous winding
valleys which never attain any very considerable ele-
vation, and through these the travellers took their way.
The road was difficult, traversing an uninterrupted series
of brooks and marshes and stagnant waters, in which
they frequently waded knee-deep. From the crest of
the hills, the views they obtained amply recompensed
them, however, for all they underwent. In the dis-
tance accumulated a threefold chain of mountains in-
tersected by deep valleys and noble rivers, and buried
in the sombre shadows of impenetrable forests. Occa-
sionally they came upon a small clearing, where a little
colony of industrious Dyaks had planted rice, and maize,
and sugar-cane, and ubi, a kind of sweet potato.
Whenever the expedition approached such an oasis
it halted, and a party of scouts was despatched to
examine the ground, "interview" the Dyaks, and
request permission to pass. Twice the travellers were
"THE INKY LUPUR. 161
actually compelled to traverse the very houses of the
settlers climbing up one side by means of a ladder,
and in the same way descending on the other side.
It should be understood that the Dyaks purposedly
leave the forest-growth untouched in the neighbour-
hood of their dwellings, to render more difficult the
approach of an enemy. They leave open only a few
narrow paths, which can be barricaded without diffi-
culty. And a Dyak village has, therefore, very much
the appearance of a block-house.
On reaching a place called Beng-Kellang-Bocnot, our
adventurous and heroic explorer embarked on the river
Batang-Lupur, in a small boat manned by a single
rower! The river trails its dark brown thread through
the green shadows of untrodden woods ; its channel is
very narrow, and frequently so contracted by the trees
which line its banks as almost to render the passage
of a boat impossible. Sunlight never penetrates through
the dense canopy of leafage ; around you prevails an aw-
ful silence, only now and then interrupted by the crack-
ling of a branch as an ape leaps from tree to tree, or
the flutter of the wings of a bird as it rises in the air.
Acheron itself could not be more sombre or more still.
The rustle of a falling leaf breaks painfully on the ear;
and the traveller almost dreads to breathe, so great is
the influence upon him of the intense tranquillity.
The inky Lupur loses itself, after a course of about
thirty miles, in Lake Bocnot, a basin of water about
four miles across. Do not suppose that this lake re-
sembles the lovely tarns of Cumberland or the lochs of
the Scottish Highlands. It lacks their picturesque
brightness and variety of aspect ; and is filled with
the trunks of trees, close set one against another,
(637) 11
162 THE MOUNTAIN DYAKS.
not uprooted, and scattered here and there, but, on
the contrary, clinging to their old foundations, though
dead, leafless, branchless, like palisades planted by
the hand of man. A broad natural canal, about half
a mile in length, leads into another lake, named Tao-
rnan, which is twice the size of that of Bocnot, and
shines with limpid and translucent waters. All around
these two singular basins open up the depths of great
wooded valleys, bounded on the east by lofty mountains,
with picturesque soaring peaks, upwards of 4000 feet
in height.
From Lake Taoman the explorer entered upon the
river Kapuas, the largest of the rivers of Borneo. Its
width may be at this point about half a mile, but
varies greatly, because, like most of the Bornean rivers,
it has no clearly defined banks. Its waters frequently
overflow into the neighbouring forests.
The dangers of the voyage ceased when Madame
Ida Pfeiffer arrived at Sintang, a small town with a
population of about fifteen hundred, the residence of a
sultan. The Dyaks occupying the territories which
she had yet to traverse were under the rule of Malay
chiefs, to whom letters of recommendation were pro-
vided by the Sultan of Sintang.
Of the independent Dyaks she gives, on the whole,
a favourable character. She found them generally
honest, kindly, and reserved ; and in these respects
she places them far above most savage races. She
could leave her boxes open, and be absent for hours;
on her return not the most trivial article was missing.
They would sometimes ask for anything which spe-
cially won their fancy, but never pressed their request
after a single refusal They were never importunate
THEIR HABITS AND MANNERS. 163
or troublesome. It may be objected that to cut off
heads and preserve skulls is not exactly a mark of
natural goodness ; but the reader must remember that
this deplorable custom is rather the result of a pro-
found ignorance and a dreary superstition. Let us
place as a counterbalance, their truly patriarchal
domestic life, their morality, their reverence for their
parents, and their affection for their children.
The free Dyaks live a much easier, a much more
joyous life, than those who are under the Malay yoke.
They live on the products of their own industry : rice
and maize, tobacco, and sometimes sugar-cane and
the ubi. They use largely the oil of the kawan fruit,
collect in the woods the resin of the dammar, which
they turn to account for torches and lamps, and are
rich in stores of sago, ratans, and cocoa-nuts. With
some of these articles they carry on a considerable
trade in exchange for brass, glass beads, salt, red
cloth, and other objects, which they value highly, set-
ting them far above gold. They have also numerous
herds of swine and large flocks of poultry, but eat
them only on festival occasions and at their marriage-
feasts.
Many travellers have put before us the free Dyaks
as handsome men, as savage Adonises, in fact,
well-featured and strong-limbed. Madame Ida Pfeiffer,
looking at them with a woman's eye, can speak of
them only as a little less ugly than the Malays. Gene-
rally of medium height, their arms and legs are spare
and shrunken ; and they have little or no beard, for
they carefully remove the hair from the face. They
are distinguished from the Malays by two agreeable
164 THE DYAK RELIGION.
characteristics : the nose is not so depressed, and tho
cheek-bones are not quite so prominent.
The conjugal arrangements of the Dyaks are all
made in favour of the man, who may have as many
wives as he likes, though he has the good sense in
most cases to content himself with one. Divorces are
very rare, and quarrels are still rarer ; and their morals
are incomparably purer and loftier than those of the
Malays. The youth of the two sexes are kept strictly
separate. The young girls sleep in the inner apart-
ments ; the young men in the verandah, or else in the
chief's hut. The Dyaks do not intermarry with other
peoples ; if any of their women espouse Chinese hus-
bands, they are regarded as no longer belonging to the
tribe.
The Dyaks have no written language, and, appar-
ently, not even a religion. On the latter point, how-
ever, opinions are divided. Temminck asserts that
they have a religion, and describes it as closely resem-
bling "fetichism." The god Djath, he says, governs
the sublunar world, and the god Sangjang reigns over
hell : these gods they represent as wearing the human
form, but as invisible ; and they invoke them by
sprinkling rice on the ground, and offering various
sacrifices. In their houses, he adds, wooden idols are
often met with.
Other travellers attribute to them the profession of
a kind of Pantheism ; and if their accounts may be
credited, the Dyaks, like the ancient Greeks, believe
in gods above the earth and gods under the earth, as
well as in innumerable good and evil spirits, of whom
Budjang-Brani is unquestionably the most wicked. All
DYAK CEREMONIES. 165
diseases are caused by the intervention of demons, and
all misfortunes ; no wonder that the Dyaks should
endeavour to drive them away by shouts, and shrieks,
and the discordant gong.
There are not a few writers who affirm that the
Dyaks cherish certain vague ideas of a Divine Unity
and of the immortality of the soul.
Turning to the graphic and evidently honest pages
of Madame Pfeiffer, we find that she neither endorses
nor confutes these various opinions ; but, as the result
of her own explorations, positively declares that she
saw neither temples nor idols, priests nor sacrifices, in
any of the tribes she herself visited. On the occasions
of their births, marriages, and funerals they perform
certain ceremonies, but these are without any religious
character. Usually, on such occasions they kill fowls
as well as hogs. When concluding treaties of peace,
they slaughter some swine, but do not eat them. A
few tribes burn their dead, and preserve the ashes in
hollow trees ; others inter them in almost inaccessible
localities, such as the summits of lofty mountains ;
others bind the corpse to the trunk of a tree in the
position in which St. Peter was crucified that is,
with the feet upwards and the head downwards.
THE SULTAN OF SINTANG.
But we must resume our brief narrative of Madame
Pfeiffer' s experiences.
She was admitted to an interview with the Sultan
of Sintang, being unquestionably the first European
lady to whom such an honour had been accorded.
The sultan sent for her in a " large and beautiful
bark" manned by twenty rowers ; and on her arrival
166 THE SULTAN OF SINTANG.
at the palace, a house built of timber, she was received
with the sound of music and the firing of cannon.
The pathway was lined with mats for some hundreds
of paces. The sultan himself met his guest half-way,
and nothing could exceed his politeness except his
embarrassment. Never before face to face with an
European lady, he was at a loss how to behave ; and,
moreover, his Mohammedan prejudices were a sad
stumbling-block. He summoned up courage, however,
to give her the tips of his fingers, and host and guest,
balancing themselves almost as if they were dancing,
repaired to the divan or presence-chamber, separated
from the vestibule only by a wooden balustrade about
two feet high. It contained a massive table half-
covered with a coloured cloth, a chair, and, in default
of a second chair, a chest. The sultan and the lady
took their places at the table ; his ministers, and the
great personages of his little kingdom, were seated on
the ground, along the walls. Outside gathered a curi-
ous multitude, pressing forward to obtain a glance at
the stranger.
The letter of recommendation which Madame Pfeiffer
had received from the Rajah of Beng-Kellang-Bocnot
was brought in on a silver dish ; the bearer glided on
his knees, and with his eyes closed, to the sultan's
feet, took his hand, kissed it, and presented the dish.
The sultan ordered his chief minister to take the
letter, open it, and read it.
This ceremony over, refreshments were served up :
they consisted of tea without milk or sugar, various
delicacies, and fruits displayed upon more than twenty
tiny but elegantly-shaped plates of crystal. All who
were present took part in the repast.
A RETUKN VISIT. 167
Afterwards the sultan conducted his guest into the
women's chamber. Here too a place of honour was
accorded to her. The sultan then presented to her
his wife and daughters, all of the true Malay type.
Clothed in simple sarongs, which reached half-way up
the bosom, their appearance was neither royal nor
attractive. No conversation could take place between
persons who understood not a word of each other's
language, and Madame PfeifFer soon afterwards took
her leave. the sultan promising to place at her dis-
posal a sampun, or large boat, for the voyage to Pon-
tianak.
The next day this obliging potentate, accompanied
by his father, paid the European lady a return visit,
which she thus describes :
" The sultan's father wore a small cap and vest
embroidered with gold brocade ; these were the first
precious objects, in the way of garments, of which I
had seen a Bornean prince possessed. Independently
of the ordinary beauties peculiar to his race, this man
was also gifted with a remarkable goitre, the second
which I had seen in the island ; the first, considerably
inferior in size, adorned the neck of the wife of the
Rajah of Beng-Kellang-Bocnot.
" This distinguished society showed not one-half of
the reserve which the head-hunters, the Dyaks, had
so admirably displayed. They opened and rummaged
everything ; threw themselves like wild beasts on my
little travelling-bag, which unfortunately I had left
open. I had but a pair of eyes, and could not guard
all my riches, especially the insects and reptiles, or
preserve them from mishap. The sultan's father at
last seized on my bag and its contents ; and pointing
168 AT PONTIANAK.
with his finger to my comb, tooth-brush, and soap,
asked me their various purposes. At the end of my
explanation, their utility appeared to him so obvious
that he calmly announced his intention of keeping
them for himself. However, before he left, I re-
covered them with little ceremony, and gave him in
exchange some small images and other trifles."
TO PONTIANAK.
The voyage from Sintang to Pontianak, occupying
three days and a half, was successfully accomplished,
without adventure or misadventure.
At Pontianak, the capital of one of the Dutch resi-
dencies, Madame Pfeiffer ascertained the existence of
an evil far more fatal in its results than any of the
cruel or abject customs she had observed among the
savage Dyaks ; an evil which, unfortunately, the Dutch
Government, far from attempting to root up, employs
all its influence to promote : we refer to the use of
opium.
One evening Madame Pfeiffer visited, in the Chinese
quarter, six small public saloons for opium-smoking.
The smokers were seated or lying on mats, with little
lamps by their side for kindling the fatal pipe. It is
curious to see how dexterously the smoker, although
sodden and confused and half-intoxicated, contrives to
remove from the leaf to which the opium is attached
the most imperceptible fragment !
The visitor to these places of public poisoning sees
before him a hideous spectacle. Here a poor wretch,
dizzy and tottering, rises, and endeavours to drag
himself homeward, but lacks the strength to get
THE OPIUM-POISONl 169
further than the threshold ; there lies another, appar-
ently lifeless, and utterly incapable of thinking even
of his home ; yonder sits an unhappy creature with
pale and hollow cheeks, and lustreless eyes, and trem-
bling body, too poor to smoke until all consciousness
is lost. A few persons are stimulated by the opium
into a condition of extraordinary gaiety ; they laugh
and chatter until exhausted, when they fall back upon
their couches, to enjoy, if they may be believed, celes-
tial dreams. The most painful part of it all is, that
he who has once tasted the poison can seldom conquer
its fascination. He becomes an inveterate opium-eater
or opium-smoker. Nothing can save him ; with rapid
steps he passes down the steep slopes of destruction.
His body shattered and enervated, he can neither work
nor think ; he is incapable of every effort, except so
far as he can gain from the deadly drug a new stimu-
lant and a temporary life.
Madame Pfeiffer, to her great surprise, in the opium-
houses of Pontianak met with women as passionately
addicted to the body and soul destroying drug as men.
Sad to say, the greater portion of the revenue of the
Dutch Government in Borneo is derived from the sale
of opium.
CHAPTER VI.
THE STORY OF SARAWAK.
ITS POPULATION.
E cannot quit Borneo without a glance at the
settlement which will be inseparably con-
nected with the name and fame of Sir
James Brooke.
Sarawak, including its dependencies, stretches from
Cape Datte to Kidorong Point a coast-line of about
three hundred miles and, according to Mr. Spenser
St. John, presents every variety of surface, from the
low fertile soil along the banks of the river Sarawak
to the lofty mountains which rise in every direction
throughout the various districts.
No country could possess more abundantly the gift
of fertilizing waters. At least three of its rivers are
of the first class the Rejang, the Sarawak, and the
Batang-Lupur ; among those of the second class we
may name the Samarahan, the Sadong, the Kalaka,
and the Bintulu ; and among those of the third class
three are very important the Mato, the Oya, and the
Muka because they traverse the great sago-producing
districts, where for miles and miles the land is covered
with forests of that precious palm.
What shall we say of the inhabitants of Sarawak,
numbering in all perhaps about 300,000 ? That they
INHABITANTS OF SARAWAK. 171
form a motley aggregate, speaking many languages
and more dialects, and distinguished by a wondrous
variety of customs and costume, morals and manners.
First there are the Malays, who may be found in
little clusters along the banks of almost every river
and creek, but assembled in the largest numbers at the
capital, Kuching.
Next come the Chinese, always industrious and
pacific always displaying a remarkable faculty of
accommodating themselves to new conditions. They
concentrate chiefly in Sarawak, but some are now
working gold on the Batang-Lupur river ; and they
abound in every place where commerce 'is possible
and profit can be obtained.
The Indian races are but scantily represented.
The Land Dyaks occupy a portion of Lundu, with
the interior of Sarawak, Samarahan, and Sadong.
The Sea Dyaks include the Sibuyans, who are scat-
tered through the various districts ; and the inhabitants
of the Batang-Lupur, the Serebas, Kalaka, and the
branch streams on the left-hand bank of the Rejang.
The Milanaus are settled on the lands that border
on the mouths of the Rejang, the Oya, the Muka, the
Bintulu, and other and smaller streams.
Towards the interior of the districts which lie be-
tween the Rejang and the Bintulu live the tattooed
races of the Kanowits, Pakatans, and Punons ; while
the Kayans occupy the Balui country, as the interior
of the Bintulu and the Rejang is called.
It was over all these races that Sir James Brooke,
by his moral force, resolution, courage, and prudence,
obtained a truly imperial ascendency, welding them
together into one peaceable and prosperous community.
172 SIR JAMES BROOKE'S ADVENTURES.
This extraordinary man was born in Bengal, of
English parents, in 1803. After receiving a careful
education in England, he entered the East Indian army,
served with distinction in the Burmese war, but, being
severely wounded, returned to England " on furlough,"
and spent some time in travel on the Continent.
On the voyage out to rejoin his regiment he was
shipwrecked, and consequently was prevented from
arriving in India before the expiration of his furlough.
According to the rule then in vogue, all his appoint-
ments lapsed, and Brooke abandoned the service.
KAJAH BROOKE'S ADVENTURES.
Possessed with a burning spirit of adventure, and
capable of forming and carrying out great plans, he
was led by various circumstances to conceive the idea
of exterminating the terrible piracy that was then the
scourge of the Eastern Archipelago, and of making
known the civilizing influence of England in the rich
islands that stud the Indian seas.
Purchasing a small yacht, he manned it with a crew
of twenty picked seamen ; and after a three years'
cruise in the Mediterranean which developed the
good qualities of his followers, secured their confidence
in their commander, and proved the seaworthiness of his
little vessel he sailed for Sarawak in October 1838.
On arriving there, he found the rajah, Muda Hassim,
the uncle of the Sultan of Borneo, engaged in war with
some of the independent Dyaks. Brooke lent him the
assistance of his genius, his men, and his artillery ;
and, in return, was appointed Rajah and Governor of
Sarawak. Thus he unexpectedly found himself in a
position to put into practice the theories he had formed
HIS RULE AT SARAWAK. 173
of the most effectual modes of governing and civilizing
the inferior races. His rule was severe, but it was
just. In his personal intercourse with the natives he
was always courteous, but dignified. He has ex-
pressed, in simple language, the objects he steadily
kept in view :*
" My intention, my wish, is to develop the [resources
of the] island of Borneo. My intention, my wish, is
to extirpate piracy by attacking and breaking up the
pirate towns ; not only pirates direct, but pirates in-
direct. I wish to correct the native character, to gain
and hold an influence in Borneo proper ; to introduce
gradually a better system of government ; to open the
interior ; to encourage the poorer natives ; to remove
the clogs on trade ; to develop new sources of com-
merce. I wish to make Borneo a second Java. I in-
tend to influence and amend the entire Archipelago, if
the British Government will afford me means and
power."
In some of these objects he succeeded : probably, if
the British Government had supplied him with " means
and power," he would have succeeded in all. He estab-
lished a settled government ; provided the machinery
for a strict administration of laws which he set about
enacting ; instituted free trade ; and developed com-
merce. The barbarous custom of " head-hunting," to
which we have had frequent occasion to allude in the
foregoing pages, he declared to be a crime punishable
with death; and he put it down in the territories sub-
ject to his influence. Then he began his campaign
against the pirates of the Archipelago, in which he
was energetically supported by Commodore (afterwards
Templar, "Private Letters of Sir James Brooke," ii. 42.
174 HIS WAR AGAINST PIRACY.
Admiral) Keppel. The stern policy which he unfalter-
ingly pursued raised against him, however, in England,
the enmity of the pseudo-philanthropists, who think
that revolutions can be effected with rose-water, and
bestow a cheap benevolence on the savage and bar-
barian. Brooke, therefore, returned to England, to
vindicate his character and conduct. The inquiries of
a Royal Commission declared him guiltless of the
charges brought against him by maudlin agitators ;
and the heroic adventurer who, almost unaided, had
founded a new state, and rendered the navigation of
the Archipelago comparatively free from danger re-
ceived at the hands of his countrymen the welcome he
deserved. The University of Oxford honoured him
with the degree of D.C.L. ; and in 1848 he was created
a Knight Commander of the Bath. He was also ap-
pointed Governor of Labuan an island near Sarawak
which the British Government had purchased and
Commissioner and Consul-General to the Native States
in Borneo.
In this twofold capacity he resumed his crusade
against the Eastern pirates ; not, be it said, without ex-
posing himself to the attacks of his enemies in England.
That he behaved with unrelenting severity must, in-
deed, be admitted ; but then the savages whom he
hunted down were steeped in the blood of the innocent
and weak, and had been guilty of the most atrocious
crimes. We shall gain some idea of the nature of the
work he undertook from the following narrative, which
describes his expedition against the piratical Serebas.
" This," he says, "is the real story :
"The action was a night action. The pirates were
entirely surrounded, and after their first panic dashed
BATTLE AND VICTORY. 175
at Point Marrow, and engaged our native prahus guard-
ing it ; but failing to force a passage at once, they ran
their prahus ashore to the number of ninety, and fled
into the jungle. In this encounter several of our people
were wounded, and one or two killed ; and had the
pirates succeeded in their object, they would have
escaped. The remains of this large fleet, trying to
escape by sea, were cut up by the steamer Nemesis.
The total loss during the night engagement, on the
part of the pirates, was three hundred men killed :
two hundred and fifty of these were killed by the
steamer, and fifty by the natives. They could not
resist the steamer ; but they did engage the natives,
and would not have abandoned their prahus so easily
excepting from the dread of being attacked from the
Kaluka side.
" I held firm in the Kaluka river with my division,
to prevent any of the pirates ascending it, or returning
along the coast to the Rejang. I was ill of the ague
when the fight commenced, and during the whole night.
Information was brought me that a desperate struggle
had taken place between the pirates and our people at
Point Marrow, and rumours were rife that we had been
defeated. During this time there was no water for
our heavy boats between the Kaluka and Serebas
without going a very long way round, and leaving the
Kaluka open. The morning assured us of victory.
Now, will any one state at what time the action should
have been discontinued ? Should all the pirates have
been allowed to escape, or half of them, or a quarter ;
and by what patent means is an action to be stopped
at any given moment ?
" In the morning, when the result was known, our
176 THE SLAUGHTER-ROLL.
fleet gathered together, and with the pirate prahus
captured we moved up the river, passed the Rambas,
and ascended the Paku, thus drawing off our force as
much as possible from the pursuit. Had I taken pos-
session of the neck of land between Serebas and Palo,
the three thousand men must have fought and been
killed, or have died of starvation. Had we gone up
the Rambas, we might have killed the fugitives by
hundreds. As it was, some thirty to fifty of these
fugitives were killed by our stragglers : but how was
this to be avoided ? Stragglers and loose fish are to
be found with every body of men, whether European
or native. And the number thus killed appears to me
exceedingly small, considering the circumstances ; and
our natives behaved with great humanity.
" We had one prahu from Sadung manned by Malays,
every one of whom had lost a near relative, killed by
the Serebas during the year.
" The total number of the pirates destroyed was
eight hundred ; namely
Killed during the action by the steamer and English boats... 250
Killed by the natives during the action 50
Killed -after the action, when on their way home 50
Died in the jungle, or after reaching their homes. 450
~800
" I know very well," adds Sir James Brooke, " that
these people are to be reclaimed by punishment and by
kindness, and there is no chance of their being ' exter-
minated ; ' though there is a certainty of all the poorer
and peaceful Dyak tribes being exterminated if the
Serebas and Sakarran are countenanced by the English
philanthropists, and encouraged to slaughter their neigh-
bours."
ATTACKED BY THE CHINESE. 177
At all events, Rajah Brooke's policy was crowned with
success ; and though success does not in all cases justify
the means employed, it does not seem possible that by
any milder course could the destruction of the murder-
ous and treacherous piratical communities, which had
so long been the scourge of the Archipelago, have been
accomplished.
A FIRM RULE.
In 1857, the rajah's constancy and courage were
exposed to a very severe trial. He had been super-
seded by the British Government in the governorship
of Labuan, but by arrangement with the Sultan of
Borneo retained his position as Rajah of Sarawak.
Here, at night, he was attacked in his house by a large
body of Chinese, who had been stimulated into rebellion
by his persevering efforts to prevent the smuggling of
opium. It was with the greatest difficulty, and only
through his imperturbable calmness, that he effected
his escape, swimming across a creek, and obtaining
shelter in a friendly quarter. The Chinese burned his
house and committed great depredations ; but when
day dawned the indomitable rajah collected some faith-
ful natives, attacked his enemies, drove them from
point to point, and finally forced them back into the
jungle, where those who had escaped the sword per-
ished miserably of starvation.
Soon after this event Brooke returned to England
and endeavoured to awaken the public mind to a per-
ception of the great advantages, moral and material,
which England would secure by the annexation of
Sarawak. He made numerous converts to his views,
and an influential deputation waited upon the late
Earl of Derby, then (November 1858) head of the
(037) 12
178 PEOSPERITY OF LABUAN.
ministry, to secure their adoption lay the British
Government. Failing in this, they raised a public
subscription to compensate Sir James Brooke, who
was broken in health, for his invaluable public ser-
vices. Sir James continued to reside in England until
his death, in 1868. His nephew succeeded him in the
rajahship of Sarawak, and Labuan has continued to be
governed as a Crown colony.
There can be no doubt that Sarawak flourished
greatly under the rajah's vigorous and enlightened rule.
Its population rose from 1,500 to 15,000, and its trade
from a paltry sum too small to be recorded to 250,000
per annum. The natives gained in peace, prosperity,
and personal security. Before the advent of this able
Englishman, the country was in a completely anarchical
condition, Malays were fighting against Malays, and
Dyaks against Dyaks. The latter drank deeply of the
cup of wretchedness : they were exposed to continuous
exactions, their children were carried off, their vil-
lages attacked and plundered by piratical hordes, and
their troubles were frequently increased by want,
approaching almost to famine.
An independent observer says, that as far as material
comfort adds to the happiness of man, the Dyaks had
every reason to be thankful. They enjoyed whatever
they earned. Their sole pajunent to the Government
was a tax of four shillings on every family, and other
exaction they had none. Nor were the Malays less
benefited by the change of system. Formerly the
chiefs employed a crowd of relations and followers to
collect their taxes and oppress the aborigines ; and, as
is the case at Brunei now, if the master demanded
a bushel of rice, the man insisted upon two more for
DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE. 179
himself. Such a system was as demoralizing as it was
unjust; injustice, indeed, must always be demoralizing;
and it was better, and in the long run more profitable,
for these men, as well as more honest, to adopt a legiti-
mate course of trading.
The impetus given by the rajah's colossal energy
was so great, that in this desert place a thriving com-
mercial community rapidly sprang up. Trading prahus
were built, and voyages undertaken which developed a
race of bold and skilful seamen. Singapore, Java, the
Malay Peninsula, and even a portion of Sumatra, were
brought within the range of their enterprise. Hence
came wealth, and the comforts that flow from wealth,
as were evidenced in the improved dwellings, the larger
prahus, the gayer and costlier dresses, and the amount
of gold ornaments worn by the women.
In all their intercourse with Europeans, the Sarawak
traders showed their entire confidence in the truth of
the maxim that "Honesty is the best policy." An
Englishman, who greatly facilitated their commercial
transactions by loans of money at a rate unusually
moderate for the East, where usury has always flourished,
told Mr. Spenser St. John that, in all his wide experi-
ence, he had met with only one Malay desirous of de-
frauding him. He never demanded receipts, but con-
tented himself with an entry in his book; yet, except
in that one instance, all his loans were repaid.
The following anecdote of a Malay trader affords an
interesting illustration of this remarkable integrity.
The man borrowed a small sum and went on a voyage ;
in a month he returned, stating he had lost both prahu
and cargo, and asking to be entrusted with double the
amount of his first debt. His request was complied
180 SECRET OF BROOKE'S SUCCESS.
with. Again he returned in misfortune, having been
wrecked close to the river-mouth. He came to the
Englishman, explained his loss, but added, "You know
I am an honest man. Disasters cannot always happen
to me; lend me sufficient to undertake another voyage,
and I will repay all I owe you." The merchant hesi-
tated a moment, and then lent him the whole amount
demanded. The Malay was absent for three months ;
but his smiling face, when he once more presented him-
self before his creditor, showed that his perseverance
had been appropriately rewarded. He paid off the
principal portion of the debt at once, and soon after-
wards discharged the remainder.
The secret of Sir James Brooke's success was his
undeviating firmness. He never wavered ; never in-
clined to one extreme or the other; was always inflex-
ibly just, and always treated the natives as intelligent
and reasoning men, capable of appreciating an honest
and steadfast rule. Moreover, he associated with him
in the government the principal local chiefs ; and wisely
availed himself of their knowledge of the feelings and
sympathies of their countrymen, before attempting the
reform of their institutions, imposing new taxes, or
introducing any changes in the system of levying the
old.
Nothing appears more striking, we are told, to those
who have resided long in Sarawak, than the extra-
ordinary change which appears to have been effected
in the character of the people. It may be admitted
that Sir James Brooke had to work upon a soil which
was naturally good, or these results could not have
taken place ; but when we obtain an insight into the
previous savagery and lawlessness of the men whom he
AN ANECDOTAL ILLUSTRATION. 181
converted into faithful followers and peaceable citizens,
we cannot refuse our admiration to a work so glorious,
carried out by a genius at once so prudent and so
bold.
The following anecdote is told of one of the chiefs
whom the rajah associated with him in the govern-
ment, a man whom he found to be brave, loyal, and
unshaken by the greatest temptations.
Once when he was cruising near Datte Point he
observed a small trading-boat passing out at sea. He
immediately gave chase, and on nearing her noticed
that the crew were all armed, and making ready to
defend themselves. His followers thereupon advised
him to sheer ofF, but he insisted on pushing alongside;
and leaping on board the trading prahu with his kris
gleaming in his hand, he struck such terror into its
crew that they ran below. They were six in num-
ber ; but he killed them all ; and was wont to say,
when narrating the circumstances, that one only did
he pity, and him because, while the others in their
agony called on their mothers, he alone asked mercy
of his God.
It may well be said that few men would have under-
taken the responsibility of governing a country with
such materials ; but, to render the task easier, some
excellent men were found among the multitude, and a
retired pirate makes generally a good servant, if the
energies that led him to adopt a roving life can be
directed into a legitimate channel.
THE CHINESE COLONY.
Mr. Spenser St. John gives an interesting account
of the Chinese colony in Sarawak, but our limits pre-
182 A CHINESE COLONY.
elude us from doing more than borrow his description
of one of their gold-workings. Here the industrious
immigrants had embanked the end of the valley so as
to form a large reservoir of water about a quarter of a
mile in length. The works were very neatly constructed,
being completely faced with wood towards the water,
and partially timbered on the outside, to enable it to
resist the heavy rains which fall in Borneo. A ditch,
about four feet broad, was cut from the reservoir to-
wards the ground which had been selected as likely to
afford a good yield of gold ; and a well-made sluice-
gate was constructed in the dam, to supply the ditch
with sufficient water ; minor sluice-gates to the main
ditch answered the same purpose for the smaller ones.
When all was prepared, the sluice-gates were opened,
and the earth thrown into the ditch ; whereupon the
rush of water carried away the sand and mud, while
the gold particles sank to the bottom. At intervals of
three or four months the ditch is cleaned out, the
residuum carefully washed, and it is generally found
that the yield of precious metal affords a tolerable
profit to the workmen.
Such a system of working gold is, however, very
wasteful ; and we may reasonably expect that by this
time some of the economic processes adopted in the
Australian gold-fields will have been introduced into
Sarawak.*
* An English company has recently obtained cessions of territory in Borneo (1878),
which may lead to important results.
tarttb.
THE AUSTEALO-MALAY ISLANDS.
CHAPTER I.
THE TIMOR ISLANDS.
GENERAL ENUMERATION.
jjUR survey of the Eastern Archipelago now
brings us to the second or eastern division
of its many islands ; a division differing
from the former in the character of its
fauna and flora, in the general aspect of its scenery,
in the racial distinctions of its inhabitants. We seem
to enter upon a new world ; and so we do, to a certain
extent, for the Asiatic influences will no longer be
visible, and those of the vast Australian " island-conti-
nent " will be found to predominate. The change, how-
ever, is not abrupt and sudden ; it forces itself upon
our attention more and more strongly as we pursue
our eastward course : but, at first, in Lombok, the
westernmost island of the Timor group, it is very
slight and gradual ; so that the breezes of Asia seem
to mingle, as it were, with those of Australia.
The Timor Islands include Lombok, Sumbawa,
184 DESCRIPTION OF BALI.
Flores, and Timor, with several smaller islands. We
shall visit them in their geographical order, beginning
from the west; but, first, it will be convenient to notice
Bali, which lies between Java and Lombok, and in
which we see the earliest signs of the transition already
spoken of.
BALL
The island of Bali lies between Java and Lombok ;
separated from the former by the Strait of Bali, from
the latter by the Strait of Lombok, neither being
above a mile and a half or two miles in width. On
the north it is bounded by the Sea of Java ; on the
south, by the Indian Ocean. Its length nowhere
exceeds eighty-five miles ; its breadth, fifty-five. Its
superficial area may be computed at seventeen hundred
square miles ; so that it is about ten times larger than
the Isle of Wight. In shape, it may be compared to
a wedge or triangle, of which the apex points towards
Java.
It is a very charming and attractive island, with a
warm climate, a rich vegetation, and beautiful scenery.
Of these advantages the inhabitants have made such
excellent use, that it may well be entitled "The
Garden of the Eastern Seas." A gently undulating
plain extends inland from the sea-shore for ten or
twelve miles, where it is bounded by a range of well-
wooded hills. Above these runs a lofty volcanic
ridge, bold, impressive, majestic, culminating in the
peak of Agoeng, 11,326 feet a volcano which, after
a long interval of repose, burst into activity in 1843.
This ridge continues the " belt of fire " which starts
from the Bay of Bengal, and through Java and
Sumbawa extends, in an irregular curve, to the
LIFE IN BALI. 185
Aleutian Islands. The mass of mountains which thus
forms the centre of Bali is broken up by numerous
beautiful and well-watered valleys, which, as well as
the littoral plain, show every sign of careful cultiva-
tion. Houses and villages, embowered in feather} 7
clumps of cocoa-nut palms, tamarinds, and other fruit-
trees, diversify the landscape, which gains a character
of its own from the extensive rice-grounds that spread
in every direction, and are watered by a labyrinth of
tiny artificial canals. In and out wind lanes as green
as those of England, though with a different green-
ness ; the principal hedges being formed of prickly
cacti, interspersed with the cocoa-nut tree, which is
the tree of the island.
Bali, as we have seen, has a strong volcanic
character, and is subject to violent earthquakes. In
1815 the shock was so disastrous, that a mountain
near Bleling was shivered into fragments ; and in the
inundation which followed upwards of twelve hundred
persons, it is said, lost their lives. On the south,
however, the island assumes a calcareous formation,
and the well-known and extensive headland of Taffel-
hock (or Table-point) is a mass of chalk.
LIFE IN BALI.
The principal products are rice, cotton, and coffee ;
the principal animals, cattle and buffaloes, besides a
hardy but small and meagre-looking breed of horses.
Tigers haunt the forest-growth in the northern and
western districts ; and the woodlands are inhabited
by large numbers of monkeys, swine, and goats.
Birds are many ; and here is found a weaver-bird, the
Ploceus hypoxanthus, which builds of leaves and
186 INHABITANTS OF BALI.
twigs a curious bottle-shaped nest, very compact and
ingenious. This bird is found no further east. Orioles
are also met with, and starlings and thrushes ; most of
them being Javanese species, but some indigenous to
the island. Of the former we may name, the black
grasshopper - thrush ;* Malay oriole ;f Java ground -
starling ;J Java three-toed woodpecker ; rosy barbet.||
None of these, it is to be observed, are found in
Lombok, though the two islands are separated only by
a narrow arm of the sea. The animal life and vege-
tation of Bali are exclusively Asiatic. Indeed, Zollinger
asserts that it does not contain a single animal which is
not to be found in Java. The Strait of Lombok, there-
fore, as we have stated in our introductory remarks,
defines the boundary between Asia and Australia.
The inhabitants of Bali are partly Chinese arid
partly Malays ; but the former, having adopted the
native costume, are distinguishable only by their
flatter features. The aborigines are a handsome race,
taller and manlier than the Javanese, but their love
of opium is rapidly bringing about their degradation
and decay. Unlike the Dyaks of Borneo, they yield
an unqualified submission to their chiefs. Their
prevailing religion is Hinduism. Their chief manu-
facture is cotton goods, which the women make and
sell for the benefit of their husbands. Other in-
dustries are the working of iron, and of gold trinkets,
and the manufacture of pottery. Tobacco, rice, and
cocoa-nut oil are the .principal exports; and the
commerce in these is not only considerable, but 'is
annually increasing.
* Copsychus amoenus. t Oriolus Horsfleldi. J Sturnopastor jalla.
Chrysonotus tiga. II Megalasma rosea.
LOMBOK DESCRIBED. 187
The costume of the natives would have delighted
Horace, being simplex munditiis. It consists of a
piece of cotton cloth wrapt about the loins ; to which
is added a sabak, or cloak, on state occasions. The
richer natives, however, adopt a modification of the
Malayan dress ; and all wear suspended their huge
krisses, or curved knives, with handsome handles of
polished wood, ivory, or gold. The houses of the
poor are built of mud, sun-baked, and covered with
reeds ; those of the princes, of bricks, which are well-
cemented, as if laid by a British bricklayer. The
villages are arranged in squares, or parallelograms,
and enclosed by high mud walls.
We now cross the Strait of Lombok, and enter the
Australian world.
LOMBOK*
Though differing so widely in its animal and
vegetable life, Lombok resembles Bali in its physical
character consisting of a low shore and sloping plains,
from which rise single detached conical mountains,
and clusters or ranges of such mountains, of greater
or less extent. Here, as at Bali, the island seems to
rise on all sides towards one great culminating peak,
Goenong Rindjanie, 12,000 feet; but a closer in-
spection reveals that its heights form two distinct
ranges, and that Goenong is included in the more
extensive, which occupies the north, east, and west
of the island, while a smaller range skirts the southern
coast.
Lombok, in the chain of Indian islands, is the
next link to Bali, from which it is separated by the
* Or Lombock : native name, Tanak Sassak.
188 AT AMP AN AM.
Strait of Lombok ; the Strait of Alass, or Alias,
divides it from Sumbawa ; on the north it is washed
by the Sea of Java ; on the south, by the Indian
Ocean ; the surrounding waters attaining a depth of
more than one hundred fathoms. It is forty-eight
miles in length, and thirty-seven in breadth ; its total
area, 1C 68 square miles. In shape it is a rhomboid,
with a long and narrow peninsula which projects
boldly from its south-west angle.
The chief town of the island is Ampanam, on the
shore of the Lombok Strait, of which Mr. Jukes fur-
nishes some particulars.* The houses are all built on
posts about six feet high, which are sometimes left
open, and sometimes fenced round as an enclosure for
poultry or as a rice-store. Steps, or a ladder, give
access to the front door. The houses are generally
constructed of bamboo ; the apartments being parti-
tioned off by curtains or screens of split bamboo, and
the floor covered with clean mats. Along the ceiling
racks are suspended, and these are filled with muskets,
spears, agricultural and fishing implements.
The same writer describes a view which he obtained
of Lombok Peak. The level beams of the sun tinged
with gold all the crags and ridges of the lower mass,
kindling into bright relief the furrows which broke up
its sides, and lighting up the summit-cone with a deep
and intense glow, as if it shone by its own light. All
the valleys and ravines were hung with dark woods,
which mantled also round the base of the cone, and
seemed to struggle up it in irregular wavy lines, de-
fining the slight hollows in its declivities. The upper
part of the cone, as well as the sharp ridges and peaks
* J. B. Jakes, "Voyage of H.M.S. Fly," ii 209-212.
IN THE INTERIOR. 189
and mounds of the lower mass, were brown and barren,
except where relieved by a clump of pine-like trees.
No lava-streams were anywhere visible, having pro-
bably been long covered up by dust and ashes, as in
the volcanoes of Java. Though somewhat lower than
the Peak of Teneriffe, it has a much more majestic
appearance when viewed from the north side, as it
seems to start more abruptly from the sea; while on
the south, where it rises from a comparatively low
and level country, it is richly wooded, and thus excels
Teneriffe in beauty still more than in grandeur of aspect.
A PEEP AT THE INTERIOR.
The bay or roadstead of Arnpanarn is of consider-
able extent, and well sheltered from the south-east
monsoon. Its beach is of black volcanic sand, and
very steep ; at all times a heavy surf thunders upon
it, and this, occasionally, is so formidable that no
boats can attempt to pass it. Often it will increase
during perfect calms to as great a force as if a gale
were blowing, and so suddenly that it dashes to pieces
any boat which an imprudent native may have left
upon the shore. No doubt this surf and swell are
caused by the rolling billows of the great southern
ocean, as they endeavour to whirl and rush through
the strait into the Javanese Sea.
The country in the neighbourhood of the capital is
interesting, particularly to the naturalist. For insect
life is superabundant, and the entomologist may cease-
lessly impale magnificent specimens of coleoptera or
libellulae, beetles or dragon-flies ; and the ornithologist
will meet with birds of great variety and beauty.
The great horned lamellicorn beetles are roasted on
190 TALK ABOUT BIRDS.
the embers and eaten by the natives; while the
dragon-flies, fried in oil, and served up with onions
and preserved shrimps, are regarded as a "dainty
dish." The orioles here are of a rich orange colour,
and perched among the glossy foliage present an at-
tractive spectacle. The woods re-echo with the shrill
scream of the white cockatoo, and with the peculiar
" quaich-quaich " of a bird resembling the Australian
friar-bird, Tropidorhynchus Timoriensis. Then there
are large green pigeons by scores in the clustering
palm-groves, where they feed upon the young fruit ;
and the thickets are haunted by beautiful kingfishers,
which dart to and fro like coloured flames of fire.
On the bending branches, in more open and sunny
places, the Australian bee-eater takes its stand, ready
to dart upon any unfortunate insect that comes near
it, and looking very gay in its bravery of emerald
plumage, with collar of rich brown and sapphire
blue.
In the dry plains covered with thickets, more par-
ticularly at the fall of the leaf, the naturalist meets
the beautiful ground-thrush, Pitta concinna, hopping
about in quest of insects, and on the least alarm flut-
tering into the dense covert, or taking a flight close
along the ground. At intervals it utters a peculiar
chirp of two notes, which is easily learned, and by
repeating which the curious fowler will often decoy
the imprudent bird into his snare. The upper part of
the ground-thrush's fragile little body is clothed in a
rich soft green plumage ; the head is jet black, with
a stripe of blue and brown over each eye ; bands of
bright argentine blue mark the base of the tail and
ornament the shoulders; while the under parts exhibit
THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 191
a delicate buff, with a stripe of rich crimson and a
black border on the belly.
Lombok must be one large aviary, judging from
the narratives of voyagers and the enthusiastic records
of naturalists. We read of grass-green doves, crimson
and black flower-peckers, large black cuckoos, golden
orioles, metallic king-crows, green fruit-pigeons, the
fine jungle-cock, the dainty yellow zosterops, until we
are filled with a desire to see them in their habit as
they live, and basking in the sunshine of a tropical
sky. Here, too, is to be found the mound-maker,
Megapodius Gouldii; and this is the first place where
he presents himself to the traveller whose course is
eastward. He belongs to a small family of birds, the- ..',
Megapodidee, which are found only in Australia and "
the surrounding islands, extending no further, how-
ever, than the Philippines and North- West Borneo.
The Megapodidse are allied to the gallinaceous birds
(such as our barn-door fowl), but differ from them and
from all the feathered tribes in never sitting upon their
eggs, which they bury beneath large mounds of rubbish,
sticks, stones, earth, rotten wood, dead leaves, fre-
quently six feet high and twelve feet in diameter, and
leave to be hatched by the sun's heat or the internal
fermentation. The manner in which the materials
are accumulated is very curious. According to Mr.
Gould, the bird does not use its bill, but always grasps
a quantity in its foot, throwing it backwards to one
common centre, and in this way clearing the ground
for a considerable distance so completely that scarcely
a leaf or a blade of grass is left. The eggs, each
measuring fully four inches in length, are deposited,
not side by side, as with other birds, but at a distance
192 THEIR NESTS AND FOOD.
of nine inches or a foot from one another, and are
buried with the large end upwards, at a depth of two
to three feet. After an interval of six weeks the
chicks, strong and full-fledged, suddenly make their
appearance, one after another, and begin to seek for
food ; at night they scrape holes for their places of
retirement, and lying down in them are covered over
by the old birds.
Similar mound-like nests are constructed by the
tallegalla, or brush-turkey of Australia ; by the leipoa,
or native pheasant ; by the megapodius of New
Guinea ; and by the Megapodius tumulus, or jungle-
fowl.
The Megapodidse feed upon fallen fruit, centipedes,
snails, earth-worms, and the like. To the inexperi-
enced traveller the pyramids of rubbish which they
construct in the woods and thickets are a puzzle and
a wonder ; and he usually refuses to be enlightened
when informed that they are the work of a bird. It
seems to him impossible.
THE BOTANIST IN LOMBOK.
The botanist will find much to interest him in
Lombok. If he comes fresh from Europe, its jungle-
growth will furnish him abundant occupation, though
his researches may be somewhat obstructed by its
thorniness. For the shrubs are thorny ; and the
creepers are thorny ; and Mr. Wallace asserts that
even the bamboos are thorny. It is not easy, there-
fore, to make your way through so formidable a
tangle ; though it contains many remarkable forms
of vegetation. To the monkeys it offers no obstacles,
for they spring nimbly from bough to bough of the
THE GTJBBONG PALM. 193
tall trees that rise above the prickly growth, throwing
fruit at one another, or at the human intruder, and
chattering incessantly upon subjects known only to
themselves.
Here is to be seen the lofty cylindrical trunk, about
a hundred feet high and seven to ten feet in circum-
ference, of the gubbong or gebang palm, a species of
corypha, which forms a prominent object in the plains
of Lombok. This is one of the fan-palrns, and when
in full foliage presents a noble spectacle. The leaves
drop off when the flowers appear ; and these appear
but once in the entire lifetime of the tree, forming
a magnificent terminal spike, on which are produced
masses of a smooth round fruit of a green colour,
about an inch in diameter. As soon as the fruit has
fallen the tree dies, but remains standing a .year or
two before it comes to the ground. The fruit is
much relished by the green fruit-pigeons and by the
monkeys. The natives use the leaves for thatching
or plaiting into mats and baskets ; and a kind of sago
is obtained from the trunk.
We must avail ourselves of Mr. Wallace's fascinating
pages, to give our readers an idea of the careful culti-
vation which prevails in the island of Lombok.
He says that he rode through this "strange garden"
utterly amazed, and hardly able to realize the fact
that in this remote and little known island, from
which all Europeans except a few traders at the port
are jealously excluded, many hundreds of square miles
of irregularly undulating country have been so skilfully
terraced and levelled, and so permeated by artificial
channels, that every portion of it can be irrigated and
dried at pleasure. According to the more or less
(637) 13
194 CULTIVATED GROUND.
rapid slope of the ground, each terraced plot consists
in some places of many acres, in others of a few
square yards. " We saw them/' writes Mr. Wallace,
" in every stage of cultivation : some in stubble, some
being ploughed, some with rice-crops in various stages
of growth. Here were luxuriant patches of tobacco;
there, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, yams, beans or
Indian com, varied the scene. In some places the
ditches were dry ; in others little streams crossed our
road, and were distributed over lands about to be
sown or planted. The banks which bordered every
terrace rose regularly in horizontal lines above each
other ; sometimes rounding an abrupt knoll and look-
ing like a fortification, or sweeping round some deep
hollow, and forming on a gigantic scale the seats of
an amphitheatre. Every brook and rivulet had been
diverted from its bed, and instead of flowing along the
lowest ground, were to be found crossing our road half-
way up an ascent, yet bordered by ancient trees and
moss-grown stones so as to have all the appearance of
a natural channel, and bearing testimony to the remote
period at which the work had been done. As we
advanced further into the country, the scene was
diversified by abrupt rocky hills, by steep ravines,
and by clumps of bamboos and palm-trees near houses
or villages ; while in the distance the fine range of
mountains of which Lombok Peak, 8000 feet high,
is the culminating point, formed a fit background to
a view scarcely to be surpassed, either in human
interest or picturesque beauty."
Except the mountain-ranges, a patch of forest here
and there, and some few square miles of jungle, Lom-
bok appears to be one large garden, for the cultiva-
THE GUN MANUFACTURE. 195
tion of which human industry has exhausted all its
resources. The island is covered with vegetation in
extraordinary profusion; it creeps even to the rugged
rim of the crater of Goenong, while every river-bank
is clothed with trees and shrubs. Rivers and streams
are numerous : on the west coast, the Bakong, Babak,
Barnjok, Djankok, and Antjar; on the east, the Poetiu,
Melanting, Sagara, Labuan, Pejoct.
The staple produce of the island is rice ; but it also
exports cattle, raw cotton, tallow, tobacco, timber,
dried beef, cocoa-nut oil ; maize and coffee ; oranges,
mangostems, bananas, and other tropical fruits.
THE GUNMAKERS OF LOMBOK.
The inhabitants are Malays ; and famous for their
skill in the manufacture of krisses and firearms. They
are governed by a number of chiefs, who acknowledge
the authority of a sovereign head the Rajah of Lom-
bok known to his subjects as the Anak Agong, or
" Son of Heaven."
The gun manufacture carried on in Lombok is
truly remarkable. A visitor to a gunmaker's works
sees nothing more than an open shed, with a couple
of mud-forges ; where the fire is kept up to the re-
quisite intensity by means of a rude bellows, consisting
of two bamboo cylinders, with pistons worked by
hand. These move very easily, having a loose stuff-
ing of feathers thickly set round the piston so as to
act like a valve, and produce a continuous blast.
Both cylinders communicate with the same nozzle,
and one piston rises while the other falls. For anvil,
the gunmaker uses an oblong piece of iron embedded
in the ground ; his vice is attached to the stump or
196 AT LOMBOK.
root of a neighbouring tree. These, with a few files
and hammers, constitute his stock in trade; and yet
he contrives to turn out weapons of really exquisite
finish.
The barrel is twisted, and often six to seven feet in
length, with a proportionably large bore. But how is
this bore made ? Ask a native gunmaker, and he will
reply, " With a basket of stones." The answer seems
an enigma, until you see the 'modus operandi. The
basket is made of bamboo, with a pole about three feet
long thrust through the bottom, and kept in its place
by a few sticks tied across the top with ratans. The
bottom of the pole has a ring of iron, and a hole in
which four-cornered borers of hard iron can be inserted.
The barrel to be bored is buried upright in the ground ;
the borer is worked into it ; the top of the stick or
vertical shaft being held by a cross-piece of bamboo
with a hole in it, and the basket filled with stones
until the requisite weight is obtained.*
Two boys are employed to turn the bamboo round.
The barrels are made in pieces of about eighteen inches
long, which are first bored small, and then welded
together upon a straight rod of iron. Borers of in-
creasing diameter are used in succession until the proper
calibre is arrived at ; a task which occupies about three
days. Of course, the process here described entails a
great waste of time and labour, but it results in the
production of a very efficient and even handsome
weapon.
SUMBAWA.
Continuing our course to the westward, we arrive at
the island of Sumbawa, which measures about one
* Wallace, " The Malay Archipelago," i. 168, 10P
VOLCANO OF TOxBORO. 197
hundred and sixty miles in length, from east to west,
and about thirty-one miles in extreme breadth. It is
curiously irregular in shape, the sea having apparently
moulded it according to its fancy, and cut out
innumerable inlets, coves, bays, and creeks. The
coast-line is consequently broken up by bold headlands
and rugged promontories, and bordered with a fringe
of little isles, which at one time must have formed a
portion of the mainland. On the north it is washed
by the Sea of Java ; on the south, by the billows of
the Indian Ocean ; the Strait of Alass separates it, on
the east, from Lombok ; and that of Sappi, on tHe
west, from the islands of Comodo and Flores. Its
appearance from the sea is picturesque in the extreme :
it rises in a mass of mountains, topped by the grand
volcanic summit of Tomboro, 8940 feet; the upper
portions being naked and rugged, the lower hidden in
luxuriant vegetation, just as if the island of Arran
had been half-buried in the depths of an immense
tropical forest.
Tomboro or Tumboro has neither cone nor peak,
but a summit-crater of great dimensions. It is famous
in connection with the terrible eruption which occurred
in April 1815. The roar travelled as far as Sumatra
in one direction, Celebes in another, and the Moluccas
in yet another, or over an area of eight hundred and
forty miles ; while in Java it was so distinctly heard
that many of the inhabitants supposed it was an
explosion of one of their own volcanoes. Ashes were
ejected in such quantities as literally to darken the
air; and they fell so heavily in Lombok that many
people were buried under them, while a famine was
caused by the injury they did to vegetation. In the
198 VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.
eastern part of Java, at a distance of three hundred
and forty miles, they accumulated to a depth of
several inches ; and it is asserted that they fell even
in Sumatra, eight hundred and forty miles away, being
carried thither by the violent winds. In Sumbawa
itself the ravages effected by this awful outburst were
most disastrous. In the district of Tomboro alone
twelve thousand persons perished ; and the sea, as is
usual on the occurrence of these eruptions, rising several
feet, and overflowing the shore, many houses were de-
stroyed by the inundation, and numerous lives lost.*
Another outbreak occurred, but not on so terrible a
scale, in November and December 1836.
The soil of Sumbawa is wholly volcanic ; it is
generally fertile, and produces rich crops of rice, as
well as an abundance of the usual tropical fruits. The
valleys are well-watered, and their slopes clothed with
palms. Here grows the Csesalpinia sappan, a tree
about forty feet high, with prickly branches, which
yields the sappan -wood of commerce, useful for com-
municating a red dye to cotton goods.
* Gunong Api, or the " Burning Mountain," attains an elevation of 5800 feet
It is not a single but a double peak ; the north-western, from the deep valleys and
ravines in its sides, being apparently the older. On the eastern flanks of this peak,
near the shore, is an ancient crater, the outer wall of which has been washed away
by the sea. For one third of the distance from the shore to the summit some
shrubbery is found in the bottoms of the deep ravines ; but the remaining two-thirds
are completely barren. At its top it terminates in a small truncated cone. The
south-west peak seems of recent formation ; for, from crest to base, a continuous
sheet of fine volcanic materials extends, scored only by narrow grooves with
perpendicular sides. When viewed in profile, the unbroken sweep of its flanks
from the sea to the summit is singularly majestic, and it is difficult to believe that
it has not been modelled by art. Not far distant lies Gillibunta, the highest point
of which is not more than twelve hundred feet above the sea. Its Javanese name
means, "The one that stops, or disputes, the way." It is nothing more than the
ruin of an old crater, whose north-western wall has disappeared beneath the sea.
The voyager, as he passes through the strait which divides Sumbawa from Comodo,
obtains a full view of the lonely volcanic rock, mute memorial of mighty con-
vulsions in the far distant ages ! and is able to discern the southerly direction of
successive overflows of lava. Bickmore, " Travels in the Eastern Archipelago."
ANIMAL LIFE IN SUMBAWA.
199
EDIBLE BIRDS -NESTS.
Deer and swine thrive vigorously ; and the natives
also breed cattle, goats, and fowls. The Sumbawese
horses are much esteemed throughout the Archipelago :
EDIBLE BIRDS'-NESTS.
there are two breeds, that of Tomboro and that of
Bima ; the latter is chiefly reserved for exportation.
On the coast edible birds'-nests are procured in large
quantities, and a considerable commerce is done with
200 EDIBLE BIRDS -NESTS.
them. They are the nests of a species of swallow
peculiar to the Indian Islands, Hirundo \Colocalia]
esculenta, and by the Chinese are regarded as a luxury
for the table. In shape they resemble the nest of the
common swallow ; in external appearance and consist-
ency, a fibrous, ill-concocted isinglass.* The nests of all
the swallow tribe in these countries, says Crawfurd, are
more or less formed of this singular substance. The
common house-martin uses it partly, and partly the
ordinary materials, such as hair, straw, and feathers.
There can be no doubt that it is elaborated from the
food of the bird, and hardened by exposure to the air.
The nests are collected from the rocky caverns that
abound on the coast, and, very frequently, cannot
be obtained without danger. Sometimes the caves
can be approached only by a perpendicular descent of
hundreds of feet, by ladders of bamboo and ratan,
over a sea dashing furiously against the rocks. When
the cavern-mouth is gained, the perilous task of
securing the nests must frequently be performed by
torchlight ; and the adventurer penetrates into recesses
where the slightest slip of the foot would hurl him
into the boiling surf below.
There are birds' nests and birds' nests. The
finest are the whitest that is, those taken before the
young birds are hatched ; dark-coloured nests are of
inferior quality. Again: the best are obtained in the
deepest caves ; which, according to the natives, are
inhabited by the cock-bird only. The Chinese dis-
tinguish tliree sorts or classes : and those of the first,
pas-kat, fetch upwards of 5, 18s. per pound weight;
those of the second, chi-kat, about 4, 1 5s. ; and those
* Crawfnrd, " Indian Archipelago," iii. 431.
ABOUT SUMBAWA. 203
of the third, tung-tung, about 3, 5s. They are
supposed to be a stimulant and a tonic ; but it is
probable, as Crawfurd says, that their most valuable
quality is their harmlessness.
Sumbawa can boast of considerable mineral wealth,
though little has been done to develop it. Gold has
been found in the districts of Sumbawa and Dompe ;
sulphur and saltpetre are plentiful in Bima. On the
coast of Papekat, the pearl-oyster is the object of a
small fishery.
Sumbawa is under Dutch rule, but is divided into
six native states, each governed by its own rajah :
Tomboro and Sumbawa on the north ; Bima on the
east ; and Dompe, Sangar, and Papekat on the south
and west. Though an island of deep interest to the
geologist and the botanist, it is but imperfectly known ;
and the foregoing particulars indicate the extent of our
information respecting it.
The inhabitants are Malays, and their religion is a
modified Mohammedanism.
A small island lying off the north-east coast of
Sumbawa, named Gunong Api, must here be men-
tioned, because it contains a volcano,* and forms a
* It is recorded that the inhabitants of Java, when the eruption began, mistook
the explosion for discharges of artillery ; and at Jokyokarta, a distance of four
hundred and eighty miles, a force of soldiers was hastily despatched to the relief of
a neighbouring port that was supposed to have been attacked by an enemy. At
Surabaya gun-boats were ordered off to the relief of ships which were defending
themselves, it was thought, against pirates in the Madura Strait ; while at two
places on the coast boats put off to the assistance of "ships in distress." For five
days these reports continued, and on the fifth the sky over the eastern part of Java
grew dark with ashy showers, so that the sea was invisible. According to Mr. Crawf urd,
the sky at Surabaya did not become as clear for several months as it usually is in
the south-east monsoon.
Eastward, the din of the explosion reached the island of Ternate, near Gilolo, a
distance of seven hundred and twenty geographical miles, and so distinctly was it
heard that " the resident sent out a boat to look for the ship which was supposed
to have been firing signals." Westward, it was heard at Moko-moko, near
Bencoolen, or nine hundred and seventy geographical miles.
204 ABOUT FLORES.
part of that " belt of fire " to which we have adverted
as one of the most remarkable physical features of the
Indian Archipelago.
We now pass on to
FLORES,
the native Ende or Mdndjirai, which measures up-
wards of two hundred miles in length, and between
Dr. Junghuhn thinks that, within a circle described by a radius of two hundred
and ten miles, the average depth of the ashes was at least two feet ; a circumstance
which will enable the reader to form some idea of the tremendous character of the
eruption. The mountain, in fact, must have ejected several times its own mass : and
yet no subsidence has been observed in the adjoining area, and apparently the only
change is, that during the outbreak Tomboro lost two-thirds of its previous height.
The rajah of Sangir, a village about fourteen miles south-east of the volcano,
was an eye-witness of the eruption, and thus describes it :
"About seven p. M., on the 10th of April, three distinct columns of flame burst forth,
near the summit of the mountain, all of them apparently within the verge of the
crater ; and, after ascending separately to a very great height, united their tops in
the air in a troubled, confused manner. In a short time the whole mountain next
Sangir appeared like a mass 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 about eight 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 exceeding the size of walnuts.
" Between nine and ten P.M., showers of ashes began to fall ; and, soon afterwards,
a violent whirlwind ensued, which overthrew nearly every house in the village of
Sangir, carrying along with it their lighter portions and thatched roofs. In that
part of the district of Sangir adjoining the volcano, its effects were much more
severe ; it tore up by the roots the largest trees, and whirling them into the air,
dashed them around in wild confusion, along with men, houses, cattle, and
whatever else came within the range of its fury. The sea rose nearly twelve feet
higher than it had ever been known to do before, and completely destroyed the
only small spots of rice-lands in Sangir, sweeping away houses and everything within
its reach. "
The captain of a ship despatched from Macassar to the scene of this awful
phenomenon, stated that, as he approached the coast, he passed through great
quantities of pumice-stone floating on the sea, which had at first the appearance of
shoals, so that he was deceived into sending a boat to examine one, which, at the
distance of less than a mile, he supposed to be a dry sand-bank, upwards of three
miles in length, with black rocks projecting above it here and there.
Mr. Kickmore speaks of seeing the same kind of stones floating over the sea,
when approaching (in April 1865) the Strait of Sunda. He adds : Besides the
quantities of this porous, foam-like lava that are thrown directly into the sea by
such eruptions, great quantities remain on the declivities of the volcano, and on
the surrounding mountains, much of which is conveyed by the rivers, during the
rainy season, to the ocean. Bickmore, "Travels in the Eastern Archipelago," pp.
108-110.
SANDAL-WOOD. 205
forty and fifty in breadth, or about one-third smaller
than Scotland. It carries on the great island-chain
which connects the Malay Peninsula with the north-
east coast of Australia ; and is separated from Timor,
east, by several small islands and channels of sea ;
from Sumbawa, west, by the island of Comodo, lying
between the Straits of Sappi and Mangderai. On the
north flows the Flores Sea ; on the south, the Indian
Ocean, somewhat broken in its majestic roll by the
island of Chandana (or Sandal-wood Island). The
narrow passage of Flores Strait divides the island, on
the east, from the small isles of Solor and Adenara.
Flores is a mass of rugged mountain and deep-
wooded valley, sinking into level and open country
towards the coast. Little is known of its interior ;
and of its products we can say no more than that,
like those of Lombok and Sumbawa, they approach the
Australian type. It figures but little in the present
records of commerce, for the sandal-wood which it once
supplied in abundance has now become very rare,
through want of economy and absence of cultivation.
Of this same sandal-wood (Santalum) there are
three varieties, white, yellow, and red, which we
have named in their order of value. The tree grows
in the mountains. From Java and Madura eastward
it is scattered in small quantities throughout the
Indian Islands, improving in quality as we proceed
eastward, and in Timor being at once most abundant
and most valuable. Its Sanskrit name is Cftanduna ;
whence Chandana or Sandal-wood Island. It is a
beautiful tree, with leaves like those of the willow,
regular and tapering branches, and clusters of small red
or white flowers.
206 A GROUP OF ISLANDS.
There is reason to believe that the forms of animal
and vegetable life which inhabit Flores are the same
as those which inhabit Timor ; and, therefore, our
description of them will be reserved until we arrive
at the latter island. Flores is eminently a volcanic
island, with a volcanic soil; it contains several volcanic
mountains, one of which Lobetobie, 7200 feet is
situated near the east coast, and thus it carries on the
chain from Java and Sumbawa to Ombay and Wetter;
after which it turns northward, by way of Gunong
Api, not the Gunong Api previously mentioned, but
a volcanic isle in lat. 6 S., to Banda
A GROUP OF ISLANDS.
The islands or islets lying between Flores and Timor
are beginning from the west Solor and Adenara ;
Loniblem, Pantar ; and Ombay. Though we can say
but little about them, yet a reference seems necessary
to the completeness of our survey.
ADENARA, which belongs to the Dutch, is separated
from Flores by a strait of the same name. It is about
as large as the Isle of Wight, or thirty-five miles in
length, and fifteen at its greatest breadth ; a romantic
island, finely wooded, with beautiful verdant glades,
groves haunted by birds of dazzling plumage, hills
of considerable elevation, and pleasant valleys. It is
well cultivated, and contains several large and thriving
villages Adenara, Carma, Labetan Lam an, Lamabulor,
and Trony. The Portuguese have a settlement named
Woeri.
A little to the sguth of Adenara, and still to the
east of Flores, lies SOLOR, so situated that it seems to
LONIBLEM AND PANTAR. 207
guard the southern entrance to the Flores Strait. It
is somewhat smaller than Adenara, and very dissimilar
in physical character ; the soil being arid, and imper-
fectly cultivated. The inhabitants are of two classes :
the inland aborigines, who frequent the mountains ;
and the Malays of the coast, who are expert and adven-
turous fishermen.
To the east of Adenara lies the bold rugged island
of LONIBLEM, or Lomblem, with its steep coast washed
by the waves of the Flores Sea. To the navigator it
is well known as a welcome landmark, or should we
say, sea-mark ? its hilly ranges all leading up to a
lofty conical peak at its north-west extremity, which
is visible in clear weather for upwards of fifty miles.
The island measures about fifty miles in length and
sixteen in breadth ; and on the north and south is
difficult of access. Nothing seems to be known of its
interior.
To the east of Lomblem, and separated from it by
the deep channel of the Alloo Gut, lies PANTAR, which,
in its turn, is separated from Ombay by a strait of the
same name. The waves of the Flores Sea beat on its
northern, and those of the Indian Ocean on its southern
coast.
The Strait of Pantar extends N.N.E. and S.S.W.
for about twenty -four miles, and being a difficult
passage, blocked up by several islets, is not much
frequented by navigators. It divides the island of
Pantar from that of OMBAY, which, on the east, is
bounded by the Ombay Passage, separating it from
208 ISLAND OF OMBAY.
Timor. The so-called Passage is a channel about
eighteen to thirty-five miles wide, which affords the
safest and best route for vessels from Europe to China.
Ombay is about fifty miles in length, E. by N., and
W. by S. ; with bold, steep, inhospitable coasts, and a
mountainous interior. It carries on the volcanic chain
to Wetter, which lies to the east of it, and to the
north of Timor. Its inhabitants are described as a
fierce and treacherous race, wearing clothing of buffalo
hide, adorned with rings and bracelets of cowry shells,
pigs' teeth, and goats' tails. They are reputed to be
addicted to cannibalism.
The principal products of the island are pepper,
cocoa-nuts, rice, fowls, goats, and honey ; and edible
birds' -nests are found in great quantities along its
cavernous coasts.
All the islands we have been describing, from Java
eastwards, have extended in a line nearly east by
west. On reaching Timor, we find the direction
changed ; that great and opulent island, the chief of
the Timor group, lies S.W. and N.E., or across the line
we have hitherto been tracing. And, consequently,
we find that the " circle of fire," or volcanic chain, is
not taken up in Timor, but through the island of
Wetter, which is situated due north of it, is carried on
to Banda and the north.
TIMOR.
Timor is separated from the island of Ombay on the
west by the Ombay Passage, or Timor Strait ; on the
north it is washed by the Banda Sea ; on the east and
south by the Indian Ocean. Its length is about three
ISLAND OF TIMOR. 209
hundred miles, and its breadth about forty miles. High
mountain-chains traverse its entire extent; and it has
one volcano, Timor Peak, nearly in its centre, which
was blown up during an eruption in 1638, and has
since been extinct. No recent igneous rocks are
anywhere to be found, and whatever may formerly
have been the case, it seems now to lie outside the
great volcanic chain of the Eastern Sea. Its mountains
are chiefly composed of limestone, with red chalk near
the base ; clay-slate, porphyry, sienite, and greenstone
also occur, but the characteristics of the scenery of the
island are those which we generally associate with the
limestone formation. The landscapes lack that abun-
dance and prodigal beauty which we have noticed
in the westward islands, and approximate to the
Australian type ; the vegetation is coarser and less
varied ; the hills are bare and rugged ; the streams
are small, and dry up in summer ; there is no fresh-
ness in the valleys, and no magic in the plains. Here
and there forests of considerable extent are found, but
they are not numerous, and they do not exhibit the
richness and exuberant life of those of Borneo. Not
that the island is deficient in vegetable products, it
has its fertile oases, and yields good harvests of rice,
maize, cotton, coffee, wheat, tobacco, sweet potatoes,
indigo, pine-apples, mangoes, lemons, papaws, and the
like, but the spirit of the scene, as it were, has
changed, and Nature seems to have grown more
niggardly and reserved.
THE FLORA OF TIMOR.
In Timor the Polynesian flora seems to meet the
Indian, for along with the sago-palm grow the cocoa-
(637) 14
210 THE BREADFRUIT TREE.
nut and the breadfruit tree. The latter does not
extend further to the west. True it is that a variety,
with seeds, is a native of every part of the Archi-
pelago ; but that is not the true breadfruit, which
constitutes the staple food of the inhabitants of the
South Sea Islands. The true breadfruit tree, says
Crawfurd,* is found wild only in
the eastern part of the Archi-
pelago, and has been propagated
but in recent times in the western.
It may be strongly suspected, he
adds, that the Malays and Java-
nese, in their trading voyages to
Banda, to which they chiefly re-
BREADFRUIT. sorted f or spices before the inter-
course with Europeans, brought it to the western islands.
This supposition seems to be supported by the evidence
of language. Throughout the Archipelago, the seeded
variety is known by a distinct name in each language,
as is usual in such cases. In Malay it is called
k&lcwui) in Bali timbul, in Macassar gomasi, in one
dialect of Amboyna amakir, in another amare, in
Banda sukun-utan, or the wild sukun. Now, with
the true breadfruit a very different rule prevails.
Where it is indigenous and abundant, it is denomin-
ated in each language by a distinct name ; but where
exotic, by one general name and that name, as will
be seen, is borrowed from the language of Banda (and
Timor), whence the western tribes, it is probable,
brought it in the course of their commercial enterprise.
In the languages of the western islands, such as the
Javanese, the Malay, the Bali, the Madura, the Sunda,
* Oawfurd, " Indian Archipelago," i. 414
VEGETATION OF TIMOR. 211
it is invariably the sukun; but in those of the countries
of which it is a native, we find such variations as the
following, in the Bugis it is called kakare, in Ternati
goma, in one dialect of Amboyna soun, in another
suni, and in Banda sukun.
We have dwelt upon this fact because it confirms
the theory adopted in these pages of the division of
the Archipelago into an Asiatic and an Australian
section.
While insisting on the general approximation of the
Timor flora and fauna to those of Australia and the
Australian islands, we are well aware, however, that
the former are richer and more various than the latter.
This is particularly the case with the vegetation of
Timor, which preserves a generally tropical character
owing, perhaps, to its insular formation, and conse-
quently more abundant moisture. In Australia we
do not meet with the delicious fruits and precious
palms which lend so much beauty to the fertile
districts of Timor. From the southern shores of Van
Diemen's Land, in lat. 43, to Cape York and the
north-east coast of Australia, within 11 of the
Equator, the gum-tree (Eucalyptus) communicates
to the Australian woods everywhere the same dull
olive-brown and monotonous tint. "In some of the
valleys near Hobarton, indeed, and in Port Arthur,"
says Mr. Jukes,* "among groves of tree-ferns, which
abound there under groves of immense size, there
is a greater resemblance to rich tropical vegetation
than can be found at Port Essington, in their stunted
woods of eucalyptus, sprinkled only with a few small
fan-palms, cabbage-palms, or pandanus trees. Here in
* Jukes, "Voyage of H.M.S. Fly" i. 380.
212
VEGETATION OF TIMOR.
NATIVE OF TIMOR
Timor, on the con-
trary, not a gum-
i tree is to be seen,*
but even in the
; driest and most
: barren parts, on
the summits of the
rocky high land
; near the coast,
; some tokens of the
: Tropics might be
observed. It would
be difficult to get
O
altogether out of
sight of some noble
palm, or group of
cocoa-nuts or ba-
nanas."
Timor is distant
from the Austra-
lian coast about
two hundred and
fifty miles, and
may be regarded
as a kind of " half-
way house " be-
tween Australia
and the Asiatic-
Malay Islands ; a
* Mr. Wallace, however,
says that the lower ranges
of the hills are everywhere
covered with scrubby euca-
lypti (The Malay Archi-
pelago, vol. i., p. 198).
GENERAL VIEW.
213
sort of neutral g
ground, where the |
vegetation of both j
regions inter- j
mingles, and some- |
thing of the tropi- 1
O -t- =^=
cal profusion and Z
variety still hap- |
pily lingers for the j
comfort and delec- |
tation of its in-
habitants.
A GENERAL VIEW OF
THE ISLAND.
Resuming our
general sketch,pre-
paratory to a closer
examination of the
best-known parts,
we may note that
the woods are fre-
quented by legions
of apes, and that
deer abound ; and
among birds, the
cockatoos, the
lories, and the so-
called rhinoceros-
birds. A remark-
able division of
the fauna seems
to be made by the
NATIVE OP TIMOR, ARMED.
214 NATIVES OF TIMOR.
great mountain-chain which traverses the centre of
the island. The animals found on the north-west side
resemble, generally speaking, those of the western
islands ; the animals found on the south-east side,
those of Australia.
The domestic animals are buffaloes, oxen, horses,
sheep, swine, and fowls. Bees thrive in the lowlands,
and yield an excellent honey. Pearl-oysters are found
on the coast ; and on the coral reefs trepang-fishing
is vigorously conducted in the proper season. The
shallow river-mouths are haunted by crocodiles ; but,
as a compensation, various kinds of turtles frequent
the sandy shores. Serpents and scorpions infest the
thickets and uncultivated plains. Insect life is abun-
dant and various ; and at noon the air seems to flash
with the rich colours of myriads of wings.
Timor is surrounded by rocks, sand-banks, and coral
reefs ; but it has two excellent harbours : Coopang or
Coupang, on the south, belonging to the Dutch ; and
Delli, on the north, belonging to the Portuguese. The
natives are divided into the Timorese, inhabiting the
western districts, who came originally from Ceram ;
the Belonese in the east, originally from Gilolo ; and
the independent aboriginal tribes in the interior.
These last are allied to the Papuan type. The Timor-
ese are subject to the Dutch ; the Belonese to the
Portuguese. The natives are described as warlike,
cruel, and treacherous a character generally given
by civilized nations to the uncivilized ; they are
excellent marksmen, and with sword and spear
successfully chase the wild buffaloes, horses, deer,
and swine. Agriculture is everywhere neglected,
and though the island contains small quantities of
VISIT TO COUPANG. 215
gold, iron, and copper, very little is done to develop
its resources. The principal work of the men is the
building of proas, or the manufacture of bells and
rings to ornament their horses. The women weave all
the cloth that is required.
A VISIT TO A DUTCH-INDIAN TOWN.
Let us pay a visit to Coupang.
It is situated on the sloping shores of a bay which
strikes about fifteen miles into the island in a
northerly direction. A noble background is formed
by the lofty mountains of the interior, many of them
with sharp peaks and jagged, serrated outlines ; while
between them and the sea intervene some lower ranges,
of smoother and more level form, but preserving a height
of several hundred feet. Immediately in the rear of
the town rise successive ridges of land to the height
of about five hundred feet. These are partially
covered with wood chiefly plants of the families
Apocynacese (Dogbanes) and Euphorbiacese (Spurge-
worts), with clusters of fine fan-leaved palms (Boras-
sus flabelliformis), and, in the lowlands, groves of
stately cocoa-nut trees.
The sandy beach is broken by small rocky head-
lands, on one of which stands a somewhat dilapidated
fort. Immediately beneath this inefficient citadel, to
the east, a small stream or creek, navigable at high
water by the prahus and native craft, opens into the
sea ; and beyond this inlet lies the town, with its
low white red-tiled houses arranged in two principal
parallel streets, crossed by two small irregular "thor-
oughfares." Behind the town spreads an open space
of grass, bordered by fine tamarind- trees ; on one side
216 ITS INHABITANTS DESCRIBED.
stands the house of the Dutch resident, on the other
runs a small brook, much esteemed by the inhabit-
ants. One or two roads run up the pleasant valley,
which is watered not only by the brook, but by many
small rills conducted from it in stone ducts or wooden
troughs to supply the houses of the inhabitants and
irrigate their gardens. The white walls and red roofs
of the houses, the wooden or bamboo huts of the
natives, the broad bay in front merging into the
ocean wilderness, the lofty heights rearing their rugged
brows against the deep blue sky, and the surrounding
groves of cocoa-nuts, bananas, tamarinds, and palms,
combine to form a scene which is as attractive as it is
characteristic.
The inhabitants of Coupang about 5000 in
number are partly Malays, partly Chinese, and
partly Dutch, besides the native Timorese. The last-
named predominate ; and their tall stature, marked
features, large aquiline noses, frizzly hair, and dusky
brown skin, show that they belong to the Papuan type.
The Chinese all wear their national dress, and are
generally a plump, laughing, good-humoured people,
carrying with them wherever they go their national
peculiarities, and yet adapting themselves marvel-
lously to new conditions. The Malays, at least in the
outskirts, are scantily dressed either in a tight
wrapper round the loins, or at most with the usual
sarong or petticoat from the waist to the knees, and
a fcms stuck into the back of the dress. The
women are all decently clothed from the neck to the
ankles in a loose gown and petticoat. They cannot
be praised for their good looks, their faces being
much disfigured by the use of the seri or betel, and
SNAKE-CHARMERS IN TIMOR.
RAISED CORAL REEF. 219
their mouths are smeared all round with a dirty red
colour.
The huts of the Malays are constructed chiefly of
bamboo, thatched with palm-leaves ; and consist of one
or two apartments, the floors of which are level with
the ground. Each stands in a small enclosure, gay
with the verdure of plantain and cocoa-nut trees.
A RAISED COEAL REEF.
A remarkable physical feature not to be overlooked
by the visitor to Coupang, is its raised coral reef,
which rises like a vertical rampart between the beach
and the town, and again behind the town, to a height
of fully six hundred feet above the sea, spreading over
all the adjacent high land, and giving it a compara-
tively smooth and level outline.
The coralline limestone of which this strange ele-
vated tract consists is dark externally, frequently very
hard, but white and comparatively soft when broken
open. Its surface both that of the beds and the face
of its cliffs is rugged and porous, having a honey-
combed appearance, and with its embedded corals and
shells reminding the observer of those portions of a
coral reef which are generally or permanently above
the reach of the water. The commonest corals are
the beautiful mzeandrina, astrsea, and porites. Of the
shells those most abundant are the strombus and area.
The great fact taught by the existence of this " coral
reef" is, that the central mountain-chain was formerly
the only part of Timor raised above the waves, and
that it was surrounded by a fringing coral reef. As
the chain gradually rose, and the neighbouring sea
consequently became shallower, this fringing reef was
220 IN THE WOODS.
extended on all sides, while portions were successively
brought above the sea until the island attained its present
condition.
INLAND : THE WOODS.
The interior of the country, when visited from
Coupang, presents some features of interest. Through
extensive rice-fields and carefully irrigated plantations,
dotted with Malay huts, we ascend to the higher
ground, where not only the intersecting valleys but
the rocky heights bloom with magnificent woods of
lofty umbrageous trees, of all tints and shades of
green, out of which, here and there, springs a stately
areca palm, lifting its plumed crest high into the soft
clear sunlight. Nor is the borassus palm uncommon;
the broad leaves of which are made into strong and
durable water-buckets, or used for thatch, while the
stem and fruit yield a species of sugar and palm-wine.
Here the woods are enlivened with the constant
cries of the pigeons and the chattering of the parrots.
Finches, flycatchers, and warblers arouse the echoes
with their strains ; and the air is often startled by
the peculiar music of a thrush, which Dampier calls
the "ringing-bird," because it had six notes, and
always repeated all its notes twice, one after the other,
beginning high and shrill and ending low. The
Tropidorhynchus Timorensis is constantly met with,
and is constantly noisy. The birds of Timor, we may
add, are distinguished rather by their melodious songs
than by their brilliant plumage.
THE BEE-HUNTERS.
A distinct species of wild bee, the Apis dorsata, is
one of the curiosities of Timor.
BEE-HUNTING. 221
These bees construct the most remarkable and colos-
sal honeycombs, suspending them from the under side
of the lofty branches of the highest trees. In shape
they are semicircular, and their diameter is frequently
three or four feet. Their wax is one of the principal
exports of the island, and the natives gain possession
of the honeycombs in the following manner :
The tree, to a branch of which the prize is attached,
may be straight, smooth-barked, and full seventy feet
high up to the point of bifurcation. Nothing daunted,
one of the honeycomb-hunters takes the tough fibrous
stem of a small plant or creeper, splits it through in
several directions, and wraps it in palm-leaves, twist-
ing a slender creeper round the whole. Next he girds
himself about the loins, and with another cloth covers
his head, neck, and body, leaving only his face, arms,
and legs bare. Slung to his girdle is a long thin coil
of cord.
Meantime, his companions have cut a stout bush-
rope or creeper, twenty-five to thirty feet in length,
to one end of which the wood-torch is fastened ; it
is then lighted at the bottom, and emits "a steady
stream of smoke." Just above the torch a short cord
secures a chopping-knife.
The bee-hunter grasps the bush-rope, and twists it
round the trunk of the tree. Next he takes one
end in each hand ; jerks the rope up a little higher
than his head ; firmly plants his foot against the
trunk, and, leaning back, begins to ascend it. Up ho
goes, ten feet, twenty feet, sixty feet, as nimbly and
as easily as if he were ascending a gentle incline, until
he attains a point within about fifteen feet of the bees.
Here he pauses, swinging the torch a little towards
222 BEE-HUNTING.
those well-armed insects, that the smoke-cloud may go
up between him and them. Resuming his progress, in
a minute more he has reached the branch, and swung
himself up on it.
The bees are now in a state of alarm, and gather
about the intruder in a dense mass, buzzing loudly
and angrily. He simply brings the torch close up to
him, and brushes away the insects that settle on his
arms or legs. Then, lying prostrate on the branch,
he creeps towards the comb, and waves the torch just
underneath it. Immediately it changes in colour
from black to white, the bees that were settled upon
it hastily taking to flight, and gathering in a dense
cloud above and around. Any that may be clinging
to the coveted spoil the bee-hunter sweeps aside with
his hand ; and drawing his knife, he cuts off the
comb at a slice, coils his thin cord around it, and
lowers it to his companions below. All this he does
as calmly and composedly as if no angry bees were
buzzing around him, and wounding him with their
poisonous stings. And should there be other combs
on the tree, he does not rest until they are captured ;
though, as the smoke from his torch is not sufficient to
stupify the plundered swarms, he must suffer severely.
VEGETATION OF TIMOR.
Travellers describe the indigenous vegetation of
Timor as poor and monotonous. The lower ranges
of the hills,' according to Mr. Wallace,* are every-
where covered with scrubby eucalypti, which only
occasionally develop into lofty forest trees. Mingled
with these, in smaller quantities, acacias hang out
* Wallace, " Malay Archipelago," i. 198.
VEGETATION OF TIMOR. 223
their delicate bloom, and the sandal-wood exhales its
precious fragrance. The higher mountains, howevor,
which attain an elevation of six thousand or seven
thousand feet, are covered only with coarse grass, or
are barren naked rock. But in the valleys, and at a
level of about two thousand feet, wheat will grow, and
the coffee-plant thrives admirably. In the lower
grounds a variety of weedy bushes abounds, and wild
mint spreads its cheerful greenness over the open
wastes, contrasting with the splendid blossoms of the
beautiful crown lily, Methonica (or Gloriosa superba),
which extends its climbing stems in every direction.
A wild vine also occurs, bearing large irregular
bunches of hairy grapes, coarse and yet luscious in
flavour. In glens and combes where the vegetation is
richer, the profusion of thorny shrubs and climbing
plants renders the thickets impenetrable.
The soil, on the average, is poor, consisting chiefly
of decomposed cla^ y shales ; while almost every-
where the bare earth and rock reveal a monotonous
nakedness. In the hot season the drought is so
extreme, that most of the streams in the plains dry
up before they reach the sea, and their channels can
be traced only by the irregular stones and fragments
of rock that mark their customary bed. What is
wanted in Timor, to develop its capabilities, is a
well-devised system of irrigation, and careful and
scientific culture ; for notwithstanding what we have
said of the barrenness of the land, there are hundreds
of square miles which would grow abundant crops of
wheat, and, in fact, of all the varied products of
temperate regions. At present, the chief exports of
Timor, besides its fruits, are ponies, sandal-wood, and
224
HINDRANCES TO ITS PROSPERITY.
\]:MS AND CTKXSILS OP THE INHABITANTS OF TIMOR.
bee's-wax. How should it be otherwise, when agri-
culture is unknown ; when the interior of the island
Is absolutely undeveloped ; when Dutch exclusiveness
HINDRANCES TO ITS PROSPERITY.
225
ARMS AND UTENSILS OF THE INHABITANTS OP TIMOR.
and Portuguese incapacity prevent the growth of a
spirit of commercial enterprise ; and when the only
mode of communication between districts is a narrow
(637) 15
226 TKEPANG-FISHING.
hill-track, or bridle-path, impracticable for wheeled con-
veyances ?
TREPANG-FISHING.
One of the " industries " of the island is trepang-
fishing, which is carried- on partly by the natives,
and partly by Bugis from Macassar. The trepang,
or sea-cucumber (holothuria) abounds in the bays and
coves of the coast, and on the reefs and banks; and
the boatmen collect it at low water, or dive for it at
various depths, seldom exceeding eighteen to twenty
feet. The species most common in the Timor waters
is about six or eight inches long, in its contracted
state, of a gray colour, dark above and whitish
beneath.
At sunset the fishermen come in-shore with their
cargoes, and having landed them, another company
proceeds to cure them. A shed of bamboo is erected
near the beach about sixteen feet long and eight feet
wide. The gable -shaped roof is covered with mats,
or loose thatch, the eaves of which are about five feet
from the ground, at which height a platform of split
bamboo extends from one end of the shed to the other.
Inside, the ground is excavated to the depth of two or
three feet, in order that the fire, when kindled, may
not catch the platform or the sides of the shed. Out-
side, a row of shallow iron pans is so arranged on
supports of loose stones that a brisk fire may be
maintained underneath from end to end. All these
preparations being completed, each holothuria is cut
open lengthwise, duly cleaned, and then, for a short
time, plunged into boiling water. Afterwards, the
whole is boiled in salt water in the iron pans, together
with pieces of red mangrove bark. Eight to ten pans
"POMALI: A STRANGE CUSTOM. 229
will occupy the attention of a couple of men, stirring
up the trepang with wooden ladles, adding water
when requisite, and feeding the fires.
The boiling process lasts from eight to ten hours,
after which the trepang is removed to the shed.
Here it is spread out in a thin layer on the platform
of split bamboo, and the fires being lighted below, is
dried and smoked until it has acquired a dirty reddish
hue. During this operation the shed is kept carefully
covered in, the sole entrance being a small door at
one corner, while each end of the gable is protected
by a hanging mat.
When thoroughly dried and smoked, the trepang is
packed in barrels for exportation.
CUSTOMS OP THE TIMORESE.
The native Timorese have a custom called "pomali,"
which exactly resembles the " taboo " of the Polynesian
islanders, and is very strictly maintained. It preserves
intact any place or article to which it is applied. A
few palm-leaves stuck outside a garden, to indicate
that it is guarded by the " pomali," are more effectual
in preserving its produce than, among us, are spring-
guns, man-traps, or warnings to "trespassers." Rather
as an ornament than for utility the mountaineers carry
a curiously-wrought umbrella, made of an entire leaf
of a fan-palm, carefully stitched at the fold of each
leaflet to prevent splitting. They also use a wallet or
knapsack, consisting of a square of stoutly- woven
cloth, the four corners of which are connected by
cords, and often gaily embellished with beads and
tassels. They do not bury their dead immediately on
their decease ; but place them on a platform, raised
230 A GKOUP OF MAMMALS.
six or eight feet above the ground, where the body
remains until the relatives find themselves in a condi-
tion to make a feast, when it is buried. The Timorese,
in the opinion of Mr. Wallace, are great thieves, but not
bloodthirsty. Among themselves hostilities are inces-
sant, and they will seize upon the unprotected people
of other tribes for slaves whenever they get the oppor-
tunity ; but Europeans can traverse the country in
safety. They retain their independence virtually, and
appear to despise as well as dislike their would-be
rulers, whether Portuguese or Dutch. Nor can it be
said that the government of either Dutch or Portuguese
is such as to command respect or secure esteem ; and
the best thing that could happen for Timor would be
its conversion into a British colony.
A GROUP OF MAMMALS.
Turning to the animal life of Timor, we are surprised
at the small number of forms by which it is repre-
sented. Bats, indeed, are abundant. Fifteen species
have been recognized ; nine of which are also found in
Java, or the islands west of it ; three in the Moluccas,
which also inhabit Australia; while the rest are in-
digenous to the island.
The terrestrial mammals are seven in number :
An eastern opossum, found also in the Moluccas; a
shrew mouse, peculiar to Timor ; a wild pig, probably
peculiar to the island ; a deer, Cervus Timorensis ; a
tiger cat ; a civet cat ; and the common monkey,
Macacus cynomolgus, which is found in all the
Asiatic-Malay islands.
Of the civet cat we may note that the general tint
of its fur is a yellowish black, but the hue varies
OPOSSUM OF TIMOR.
ABOUT THE PARADOXURE. 23o
according as the light falls upon it. On each side of
the spine run three rows of elongated spots, and other
spots are scattered about the thighs and abdomen.
But these, when the animal is seen from certain
points of view, all merge into lines, while the spots
on the breast altogether disappear. This is due to
the manner in which the hairs are coloured, each
being tipped with a darker hue, and some being
totally black.
The paradoxure is a plantigrade animal. Its feet
are armed with sharp claws, which it can draw in
when walking on the ground, and keep sharp enough
to assist it in tree-climbing. Its tail is not prehensile,
though capable of being coiled into a tight spiral. It
feeds upon rats and mice, and also on ripe fruit ;
while one species, the musang of Java, displays an
extraordinary affection for the coffee-berries, and is a
terrible nuisance in a coffee-plantation. On the other
hand, if it destroys, it re-plants ; for the berries are
uninjured in their passage through its body, and being
in ripe condition, quickly take root where they lie,
germinate, and in due time spring up into new coffee-
plantations.
BIRDS OF TIMOR.
From what we have said, the reader will have
gathered that Timor does not contain a single
Australian mammal. But if we come to its birds,
we find that out of its ninety-five species, forty-eight
are derived from Australia, and forty-seven from
Java. This latter fact justifies an expression we have
formerly employed, that Timor is a half-way house
between Australia and Asia. At the same time, the
absence of Australian mammals conclusively proves
234 TIMOR AND AUSTRALIA.
that it can never have been united to Australia ; that
a breadth of sea must always have intervened not
sufficient to prevent the migration of the winged
species, but a constant obstacle to the passage of the
land mammals.
In reference to this subject, we cannot do better
than quote the explanations of Mr. Wallace, who has
devoted considerable attention to it : *
" Nearly three hundred miles of open sea," he says,
" now separate Australia from Timor; which island is
connected with Java by a chain of broken land,
divided by straits which are nowhere more than
about twenty miles wide. Evidently there are now
great facilities for the natural productions of Java to
spread over and occupy the whole of these islands;
while those of Australia would find very great
difficulty in getting across. To account for the
present state of things, we should naturally suppose
that Australia was once much more closely connected
with Timor than it is at present ; and that this was
the case is rendered highly probable by the fact of a
submarine bank extending along all the north and
west coast of Australia, and at one place approaching
within twenty miles of the coast of Timor. This
indicates a recent subsidence of North Australia,
which probably once extended as far as the edge of
this bank, between which and Timor there is an
unfathomed depth of ocean.
" I do not think that Timor was ever actually con-
nected with Australia, because such a large number of
very abundant and characteristic groups of Australian
birds are quite absent, and not a single Australian
* Wallace, " Malay Archipelago," i. 206, 207.
TIMOR AND AUSTRALIA. 235
mammal has entered Timor ; which would certainly
not have been the case had the lands been actually
united. Such groups as the bower-birds, the black
and red cockatoos, the blue wrens, the crow-shrikes,
the Australian shrikes, and many others, which abound
all over Australia, would certainly have spread into
Timor, if it had been united to that country, or even if
for any long time it had approached nearer to it than
twenty miles. Neither do any of the most character-
istic groups of Australian insects occur in Timor ; so
that everything combines to indicate that a strait of
the sea has always separated it from Australia, but
that at one period this strait was reduced to a width
of about twenty miles."
The view which such facts confirm of the great
changes that have occurred in the distribution of land
and water over the Eastern Archipelago of alter-
nate elevation and subsidence, of the disruption of
continents and the formation of islands, and of the
broadening and deepening of arms of the sea, as well
as of the remarkable influence exercised by these
changes upon the diffusion of animal life is so inter-
esting, that we think the reader will not begrudge the
space we have devoted to its exposition.
CHAPTEK II.
THE CELEBES ISLANDS.
CELEBES.
|ETWEEN the parallels of latitude 1 45' N.
and 5 52' S., and the meridians of longi-
tude 118 45' and 125 17' K, lies an
island of the most extraordinary configura-
tion, which some writers compare to a tarantula spider,
others to a couple of horse-shoes joined at the fore
parts. Neither comparison is very accurate. It con-
sists of four long peninsulas the longest being the
northernmost of which two are directed eastward,
with a deep gulf between them (the Tomini Gulf), and
two others southward, with the Boni Gulf separating
them from each other, while the first of the two is
separated from the second of the other two by the
Tolo Gulf. These four peninsulas project from a
narrow neck of land which runs due north and south.
The peninsula of Menado, the first of the four pen-
insulas, sweeps north, then east, and lastly north-east,
with a length of 400 miles, and a breadth of from 12
to 60 miles. That of Bulante, east, is 160 miles long,
and from 30 to 95 miles broad. The south-east pen-
insula is about 150 miles by 30 to 90 miles. And the
south-west that of Macassar forms a tolerably regu-
A SCENE IN CELEBES.
AN ISLE OF BEAUTY. 239
lar parallelogram, 200 miles long, and 65 miles broad.
They are all formed of mountain-masses, and describe a
kind of backbone, 150 miles long, and 105 miles broad.
The Gulf of Tomini or Gorontalo, on the north-east,
is 240 miles long, and from 55 miles at its mouth
broadens, as it strikes inland, to fully 100 miles ; that
of Tomaiki or Tolo, on the east, is of ample dimensions
at its mouth, but narrows towards its upper extremity ;
and that of Macassar or Boni, on the south, is probably
upwards of 200 miles in length, with a width varying
from 35 to 80 miles.
Apart from these conspicuous indentations, the coast-
line is broken up by numerous bays such as those of
Menado, Amoorang, Kwandang, and Tontoli, on the
north ; Palos and Paneparre, on the west ; and Bu-
lante, Tolowa, Nipa-nipa, and Staring, on the east.
To sum up: we have an island of Celebes, 150
miles long and 105 miles broad, throwing off four
peninsulas of varying magnitude; the superficial area
of the whole being estimated at 71,791 square miles.
We might conjecture that an island so exposed to
uae sea breezes would be visited by abundant mois-
ture; and being included in the Tropic zone, and im-
mediately under the Equator, would necessarily present
a vegetation of remarkable richness and variety. Such,
indeed, is the case ; and Celebes has fair claims to be
regarded as the loveliest and most bounteous of all
the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Its scenery
combines every charm that can gratify an artist or
inspire a poet : it has the immense forests of Borneo,
and the meadows and vales of England ; the exuberant
wealth of the Tropics, and the gentleness and grace
that distinguish the regions of the Temperate zone.
240 CELEBES AND ITS MOUNTAINS.
Broad rivers, lofty heights, far-spreading woods, deep
bowery hollows, immense breadths of fragrant green-
sward, it has all these ; mingled with rare and beau-
tiful forms of vegetation, and enlivened by glorious
displays of colour, which give to each bright strange
landscape an individuality of its own. To all this add
a fresh and healthy climate, which neither enfeebles
the mind nor undermines the physical health, and it
may be conceded that Celebes is an " enchanted land."
THE MOUNTAINS OP CELEBES.
Before we attempt any description of the scenery of
the island, we must gain some knowledge of its prin-
cipal physical features. And, first, as to its mountains.*
Mount Sudara, or " The Sisters," is a twin or double
cone in the great range that dominates the northern
peninsula. To the north of it rises Batu-Angus, or
" The Hot Rock ; " a large volcano, whose summit has
been blown off, and in this way a great crater formed.
From the crest of all these peaks, down to high-water
mark on the shore, extends one dense continuous forest,
the haunt of the wild ox, babyroussa, and antelope.
An eruption of Batu-Angus took place in 1806,
when great quantities of sand, ashes, and pumice-stone
were ejected. The ground in the plain beneath was
covered with a layer one inch thick. For two days the
sky was darkened by the clouds of these light materials
which floated in the air ; and so many stones were cast
out as to form, at a distance of nearly three miles, a new
cone, from which a long tongue of land jutted out into
* The loftiest peak in Celebes is Lampoo-Batang, estimated at upwards of 7000
feet. Mount Klabat is 6560 feet ; Mount Sudara, 4390 feet ; Mount Batu- Angus,
2290; Mount Lokon, 5140; Mount Massarang, 4150 ; Mount Tompasso, 3850 ; Mount
Saputan, 5960; Mount Mahawat, 4170 ; Mount Sempo, 4900 ; Mount Katawak, 3970 ;
Mount Kawin, 3480 ; and Lake of Tondano, 2272 feet.
ASCENT OF KLABAT. 241
the sea. Its crater is now six hundred feet in depth, and
constantly emits thick white clouds of gas and vapour.
Mount Klabat is a great volcanic cone, rising above
the village of Ayar-madidi, or " Hot Water ; " which is
so named from a neighbouring spring now devoid of
any unusual warmth. Its ascent was partially accom-
plished by Mr. Bickmore in 1865, and his record of
the journey is interesting, from the glimpses it affords
of the character of the country.
When about twelve hundred feet above the sea, he
says, he obtained a magnificent view of the Bay of
Menado and the adjacent shore. Out in the bay
rise several high islands ; and among them the vol-
canic peak of Menado Tua, with its crest veiled by
silvery wreaths of mist, and its feet bathed in the
sapphire-shining sea. Near the shore the land is very
low, and adorned with the feathery foliage of several
species of palms. Further back it begins to rise, and
soon swells up toward the lofty peak of Klabat.
Continuing the ascent, in company with Mr. Bick-
more, we pass many places on the mountain-side where
the natives are cultivating maize, and from far above
and beneath us we catch the echoes of their merry
songs ; for, unlike the Javanese and Malays, the Cele-
bians cheer their work with music. Upward still
we climb, and upward, until, at three thousand feet
above the sea, we come upon two small hamlets.
Beyond, our road for a while is tolerably level, and in
due time we reach the picturesque village of Saron-
song. Here, in the centre, stands the chiefs house ;
opposite to it, the ruma negri, or public hostelry ;
between the two, a charming garden blooming with
roses. A glorious prospect now opens before us, on
(637) 16
24-J LAKE LINU.
the left, of the irregular high range which skirts the
west shore of Lake Tondano; toward the north-west,
of the sharp volcanic cone of Lohon ; while in the north-
east may be seen the three peaks of Gunong Api.
Further on we enter a little valley, and continue
along the side of a small lake of dirty white muddy
water, which fills the air with pungent fumes of
sulphur reminding us of Bunyan's Valley of the
Shadow of Death, where the way was narrow, and on
either hand ever and anon came up flame and smoke
in great abundance, with sparks and hideous noises.
Near the next village we diverge to visit the re-
markable Lake Linu. It fills the bottom of an old
crater on the rugged side of Mount Klabat ; is about
half a mile in diameter ; and has an outlet on the
south-west, through a former gap in the crater-wall.
In most parts the water has a blue colour, but here
and there it is tinged with white, from gases that rise
up through the bottom of its basin. On the north-
east end is situated a large solfatara, which evolves
sulphurous gas. Here the Italian traveller, Carlo de
Vidua, who had seen many lands and many peoples,
met with the accident that resulted in his untimely
death. In spite of the warnings of the natives, he
ventured too far upon the soft hot clay, and, sinking
in, was so severely burned before he could be extri-
cated that he died a few days afterwards.
Returning to the direct route, we push on to Son-
der, and obtain quarters for the night in its ruma
nigri, which stands at the end of a long and beau-
tifully-shaded avenue, showing clear signs of careful
cultivation. A narrow belt of trimly-cut grass lines
each side of the road, and the paths are laid down
TON DA NO ROAD, CELEBES.
ASCENT OF KLABAT. 245
with a glittering white earth. Here we may observe
that the roads are generally well-kept, and are carried
with much ingenuity up steep ascents, and, by means
of covered wooden bridges, across streams and ravines.
All around the house stretches a grove of noble trees,
including many casuarines or cassowary-trees, the long,
needle-like leaves of which closely resemble the downy
plumage of that strange bird. When the moon rises
in the cloudless heavens, and pours its soft light on the
dark and fanciful foliage, and lights up the swelling
crests of the distant mountains, the traveller may be
forgiven if he thinks himself suddenly transported to
some realm of magical enchantment.
Next day we continue our journey, along the brink
of a deep ravine, whose sides in several places form high
precipices. A short distance beyond the native village
of Tinchep is the beautiful waterfall Munte, to which
we proceed to descend. It is about sixty feet high,
and the stream of water nearly twenty feet wide. It
leaps over a perpendicular wall of trachytic lava in the
shadow of luxuriant foliage, throwing off millions of
sparkling diamond drops, which glow with rainbows
when the sunshine falls upon their prismatic shower.
Once more we ascend, and slowly make our way
to the lovely village of Tompasso, where a somewhat
rugged character is lent to the scenery by the numerous
landslips, and their strange chaotic ruins. The village
is laid out with a large square pond in the centre,
while the highway crosses it on a broad embankment.
A well-made street circles the pond, and the houses
all face towards it. Each house stands in its own
little plot of careful-ordered garden, which is fenced
in with fragrant rose-bushes ; while the pond itself
24ti THE WHITE LOTUS.
gl earns with the large leaves and richly-coloured
blossoms of the Nymphcea lotus, a water-lily which,
both in India and Egypt, is held sacred as the symbol
of Creation. Its white flowers are delicately tinged
and shaded with pink ; the leaves are strongly toothed
or indented, and on the under surface the veins are
very prominent. This is the white lotus of the Nile,
and possesses the peculiar property of collapsing its
petals and subsiding upon the surface of the wave, or
even sinking below it during the night, to rise again
and expand in the sunlight. As Moore sings :
" These virgin lilies, all the night
Bathing their beauties in the lake,
That they may rise more fresh and bright
When their beloved sun's awake."
It is upon this glorious flower that Buddha sits
enthroned in each of the great images which repre-
sent him as the Past, the Present, and the Future
the three colossal personifications to be seen in any of
the thousand temples in the East dedicated to his
worship. Do not confound it with the " lotus " or
" lotos " of Northern Africa, the fruit of which was
supposed to possess the marvellous power of rendering
all who tasted of it forgetful of their "homes and
friends and native shores." Had the poet known
only of this lovely mountain-side in fragrant Celebes,
and of this sparkliug little lake lying in the shadow of
the rose-bushes, surely he would here have placed his
lotus-eaters, to enjoy the rest their wave-worn souls
desired !
EVIDENCES OF VOLCANIC ACTION.
Evidences of past volcanic action, or of latent
igneous force, we have met with frequently in our
HOT SPRINGS NEAR TONDANO, CELEBES.
MUD-WELLS OF TONDANO. 249
survey of Mount Klabat; and now, at a mile and a
half from Tombasso, we hasten to inspect some cele-
brated hot springs, or " mud-wells," as they are called.
They are situated on a gentle declivity, in an area
about half a mile square; and their whereabouts may
be told at a distance by the quantities of steam and
gas which they evolve. The principal well measures
about thirty feet in diameter. The bubbling, seething
mud is of a leaden colour, nearly as thin as muddy
water in the middle, but as thick as cream in some
places near the brink, and as putty in others. It
boils up like pitch ; that is, rises up in small masses,
which assume a spherical form, and then burst.
" The distance between the centres of these ebullitions
varies from six inches to two feet or more, so that the
whole surface is covered with as many sets of concen-
tric rings as there are separate boiling-points. Near
each of the centres the rings have a circular form ;
but as they are pressed outward by the successive
bubbling up of the material within them, they are
pressed against each other, and become more or less
irregular, the corners always remaining round until
they are pressed out against those which originated
from another point. By that time the rings have
expanded from small circles into irregular polygons.
They therefore exactly represent the lines of con-
cretionary structure frequently seen in schists, and
represented in nearly every treatise on geology. If
this bubbling action should cease, and in the course
of time the clay become changed by heat and pressure
into slates, the similarity of the two would perhaps
be very close. Have, therefore, the particles now
forming the old schists which show this structure
250 GEYSERS AND HOT SPRINGS.
been subjected to such mechanical changing in their
relative position to each other, before they were hardened
into the schists they now form, as the particles of clay
in this pool are undergoing at the present time ? " *
Supposing this conjecture to be well-founded, these
springs acquire a peculiar interest as representing, in a
certain degree, the actual work of creation.
Near this large well was a boiling spring, about three
feet in diameter and two feet deep, with a temperature
of 208. 4 F. It resembles an Icelandic geyser in some
respects, but has no eruption. Others, however, are
true geysers, and actively eruptive. The natives turn it
to " base uses," and wash their clothing in its ebullient
waters. All around it the ground is bare, and not a
trace of vegetation can be discerned wherever its
splashes reach. At the foot of the hill lies a lake
strongly impregnated with sulphur, and near it a pond
of thick muddy water boils up at intervals. About
twenty of these ponds are scattered up and down the
hill-side, and in the low marshy land at its base, while
from numerous fissures clouds of sulphurous vapour
escape. If the crust of the hill cquld be removed to a
certain depth, it seems as if we should come upon an
immense lake of boiling, hissing, seething water, teem-
ing with gases, and strongly charged with sulphur. (
* Bickmore, " Travels in the Eastern Archipelago," p. 360.
t Mr. Wallace also visited these hot springs, and his account of them may be
advantageously compared with the description given in the text. A picturesque
path, he says, among plantations and ravines, leads to a beautiful circular basin,
about forty feet in diameter, bordered by a calcareous ledge, so uniform and truly
curved that it looked like a work of art. It was filled with clear water very near
the boiling point, and emitted clouds of steam with a strong sulphurous odour. At
one point it overflows and forms a little stream of hot water, which at a hundred
yards' distance is still too hot for the hand to endure it. A little further on, two
other springs, in a continual state of active ebullition, appeared to be much hotter;
and at intervals of a few minutes a great escape of gas or steam occurred, throwing
up a column of water three or four feet high.
LAKE OF TONDANO. 251
THE LAKE OF TONDANO.
We pass from Mount Klabat to the Lake of Ton-
dano, which occupies the lower portion of a lofty
plateau, at an elevation of 2272 feet above the sea-
level. It measures about seventeen miles in length,
from north to south, and in width varies from two
miles to seven. Bold headlands projecting from either
shore, and almost meeting one another, divide it nearly
into two equal sections. On the south, south-west,
and north the shore is low, and the land slowly rises
from one to five miles, and then swells upward to the
grand mountain-ridge that bounds the horizon on all
sides. On the east and north-west the hills descend
to the very marge of the basin, with steep and abrupt
declivities. All the lowlands and the lower flanks of
the mountains are richly cultivated. The air is
delightfully cool and pure, while on the ocean-shore
below it comes like the hot breath of a furnace. It is
a curious fact that the only fish caught in this lake
are three species found also in the sulphurous waters
of Lake Linu, the Ophiocephalus striatus, the Arra-
b us scandens, and an eel, A nguilla Elphinstonei. These
The mud-springs, continues Mr. Wallace, are still more curious. On a sloping
tract of ground, in a slight hollow, lies a small lake of liquid mud, in patches of
blue, red, or white, and in many places boiling and bubbling most furiously. All
around on the indurated clay are small wells and craters full of boiling mud. These
seem to be continually forming. First, a small hole appears, which emits jets of
steam and boiling mud ; next, the mud hardens, and forms a little cone with a
crater in the middle. The ground for some distance is very unsafe, aa it is evidently
liquid at a small depth, and bends with pressure, like thin.ice. " A short distance
off was a flat bare surface of rock, as smooth and hot as an oven-floor, which was
evidently an old mud-pool dried up and hardened. For hundreds of yards round
where there were banks of reddish and white clay, used for whitewash, it was still
so hot close to the surface that the hand could hardly bear to be held in cracks a
few inches deep, from which arose a strong sulphurous vapour. I was informed
that some years back a French gentleman who visited these springs ventured too
near the liquid mud, when the crust gave way, and he was engulfed in the horrible
caldron." A. W. Wallace, "The Malay Archipelago," i. 269.
252 LAKES AND RIVERS.
belong to the fresh-water basins of Java, Sumatra, and
India. The overflow of the latter is carried off by a
swift full river, which, near the village of Tondano,
forms a noble fall the water suddenly swooping over
a ledge of rock, and descending into a valley clothed
with exuberant vegetation.
WATER-SYSTEM OF CELEBES.
We have spoken of the Lakes of Tondano and
Linu. The Celebians tell of another, supposed to be
the largest in the island, which is situated far away in
the interior, and, as yet, is unknown to Europeans.
Another important lake is that of Tapara-Karuja, or
Labaye, in the south-west, the basin of which appears
to have been the cradle of an early native civilization,
that extended its influence throughout the Archipelago.
This lake communicates, through navigable streams,
with the sea on the west, and the Gulf of Boni on the
east. Of these, the largest is the Chinrana, accessible
to ships of burden for some distance from its mouth.
The rivers of Celebes are little known, though they
are numerous, and some of them navigable. The
watershed would seem to be near the centre ' of the
island. The Boli enters the sea at Boli, on the north.
INHABITANTS OP CELEBES.
Strictly speaking, it is only the eastern part of the
island that should be called Celebes ; the western is
the Minahassa or Tanah-Mangkessa, contracted by
Europeans into Macassar. The interior is inhabited
by aboriginal tribes, called the Alfoories, who are of
medium stature, fairer in complexion than the Malays,
mild, intelligent, hospitable, and superstitious.
WATERFALL NEAR LAKE TONDANO
THE BUGIS AND THE MACASSARS. 255
A far finer race, however, is the Bugis, who are
supposed to have migrated from Borneo. They are a
handsome and athletic people, remarkable for their
capacity, truthfulness, and honesty. Their energy
seems inexhaustible ; they enter with amazing spirit
into commercial enterprise ; and do not hesitate to
undertake even long and difficult voyages in their
feeble prahus. They venture as far as the north coast
of Australia to collect trepang. They have, moreover,
a literature of their own, consisting of legends and
national chronicles, of translations of Malay and Java-
nese romances, and of works on law and religion from
the Arabic. Their religion is Mohammedanism, though
at one time they seem to have professed Hinduism.
The first of their kings is said to have been Batara
Guru, which is but a local name for Siwa.
The Macassars are scarcely inferior as a nation to
the Bugis. Their principal seat is at Goa, as that of
the Bugis is at Boni. Their records are not without
interest, though dating no further back than the begin-
ning of the sixteenth century, when the island was
first seen and visited by the Portuguese. Soon after-
wards, we are told, cannon were introduced, and the
art of manufacturing gunpowder was acquired. Nearly
a century later, Mohammedanism was successfully pro-
pagated by Malay missionaries from Sumatra and the
peninsula, of whom the most celebrated was Khatib
Tungal, commonly known by the name of Datu Ban-
dang. In 1605 the new faith was generally adopted
by all the tribes speaking the Macassar language; and
their victorious swords imposed it upon the Bugis.
The missionary spirit of Islam inspired the Macassars
to extend their conquests further, until at length they
256
ABOUT THE MACASSARS.
NATIVE OF MINAHASSA, CKLEBSS.
came into contact
with the Dutch,and
=| experienced some
% severe defeats. An
y_ armada of seven
hundred boats and
vessels, carrying an
I armed force of
twenty thousand
men, which had
attempted the sub-
jugation of the Mol-
uccas, was encoun-
tered at Batang by
a Dutch fleet, under
Admiral Speelman,
and totally over-
thrown.* The
Dutch, arrested by
1 the Bugis, then
established them-
selves in Celebes,
and the Bugis, as
their tributaries,
assumed the place
of the conquered
Macassars, and vir-
tually ruled the
island. From 181 3
to 1816 Celebes
was occupied by
* Crawf urd, ' ' History of the
East Indian Archipelago,"
li. 88a
LANDSCAPES OF CELEBES. 257
the British, but was surrendered to the Dutch on the
conclusion of the great European war.
The three principal languages spoken in the island
are those of the Bugis, the Macassars, and Mandhar.
The first-named is the most ancient, the most copious
in vocabulary, and the most scientific in construction.
The inhabitants of Minahassa differ in many respects
from the other peoples of the island. Their clear
brown complexion frequently approaches the European
tint; their body is somewhat too thick for their stature,
but their limbs are well-made. When armed with
javelin and buckler, their appearance is truly martial.
A SERIES OP LANDSCAPES.
We shall now endeavour to gather up from various
travellers such particulars of the general scenery of
Celebes as may assist the reader in realizing its aspects
as in a series of pictures. He will bear in mind that
the island lies under the Equator, and that it belongs
partly to the Australian, and partly to the Asiatic
divisions of the Archipelago, in the character of its
vegetation. He must allow also for the modifications
produced by local conditions. Few parts of Celebes
are not exposed to the genial moisture induced by the
sea-breezes, and the effect they have in- moderating
the Tropical temperature. And in reading or speaking
of Tropical islands, we must remember that in the more
elevated districts, and near the mountain-summits, the
climate which prevails is really that of the Temperate
zone, and that, consequently, the vegetation and fauna
may be expected to depart from purely Tropical types.
It is a common mistake to suppose that all Tropical
countries are exposed to excessive heat and drought,
(637) 17
258 VISIT TO MACASSAR.
to seasons of great dryness followed by seasons of
violent storms and tremendous rain ; that everywhere
the scenery exhibits the usual Tropical characteristics ;
and that a burning sun renders life almost insupport-
able. But there are " nooks and corners," valleys and
dales, in Tropical countries, which enjoy an air as fresh
and cool, and revel in a shade as delightful, as those of
England, though, unlike our English land, they never
suffer from the inclemencies of a Northern winter.
AT MACASSAR.
We may begin our journeys with an inspection of
the city of Macassar, a Dutch settlement of some
importance, where the European and Asiatic elements
come into immediate juxtaposition. It consists chiefly
of one long narrow street, running parallel to the
shore, and occupied by the offices and warehouses of
the Dutch and Chinese, and the shops or bazaars of
the natives, all as clean and radiant as fresh white-
wash can make them. This extends northwards for
about a mile, gradually merging into a row of native
houses, of mean appearance, but redeemed from ugli-
ness by the bloom and foliage of the fruit-trees in
their gardens. The thoroughfare is generally alive
with a busy throng of Bugis and Macassars, dressed
in cotton trousers of scanty dimensions extending
from the hip to half-way down the thigh and the
universal Malay sarong, a bright-coloured check,
folded round the waist or worn across the shoulders.
Parallel to this principal street run two short ones,
forming the old Dutch town. These are enclosed
within a wall, and entered by gates. At the southern
end stand the fort and the Dutch church ; and, in a
PALM-TREES. 259
road at right angles to the beach, the houses of the
governor and the principal officials.
From the town we pass into the country, which, for
some miles around, is occupied by rice-fields, with here
and there a clump of fruit-trees surrounding a native
village. Further inland, we come on patches of woody
ground, the remains of the once luxuriant virgin forest;
but the trees, for the most part, have been replaced by
fruit-trees or by bamboos, and the large arenga palm
(Sagubrus saccharifer), the gomuti of the Malays.
The horsehair-like fibre surrounding the leaf-stalks of
this valuable palm makes an excellent cordage (coir),
or is useful for thatching. By cutting off the flower-
spikes, a large supply of toddy or palm-wine (twafy is
obtained ; which, when inspissated, affords an abund-
ance of sugar, or, when fermented, of vinegar. The
coarser fibres serve as pens or arrows, and the mass of
small downy fibres interwoven with them makes a
capital tinder.
The gomuti, or anau, is readily distinguished from
all the other Celebian palms by its large leaves and its
rough-looking trunk. The soft envelopes of the seeds,
which are so numerous that in their ripe state a single
bunch is frequently a load for two men, contain a
poisonous juice, called by the Dutch "hell-water," in
which the natives were accustomed to steep their arrows.
The Bird World, in such a locality as we have de-
scribed, is well represented. Here are the beautiful
cream-coloured pigeons (Carpophaga luctuosa], and
the blue-headed roller (Coracias Temmincki} : the latter
has a curiously discordant voice, generally goes in pairs,
and restlessly flies from tree to tree, as if always in
quest of something it could not find. The crows must
260 IN THE FOREST.
not be forgotten, nor the twittering wood-swallow, nor
the lyre-tailed drongo shrike, which sings ceaselessly,
sings unmelodiously, and sings with an infinite variety
of notes.
FOREST-SCENERY.
A continuance of our ramble brings us at last into
the heart of some beautiful forest-scenery, which almost
reminds us of that of Borneo. Here, as elsewhere in
the Tropics, the gray trunks and spreading branches of
the trees are covered with gigantic climbing bauhinise,
starred all over with flowers, and rich in broad oval
leaves; and with other immense parasitical creepers,
which cling to the trees like monstrous serpents, and
sometimes clasp them in so deadly an embrace as to
stifle them. Huge Lycopodiacece, or club-mosses, rear
their shapely crests from among the damp beds of de-
caying foliage ; while the prostrate trunks are encrusted
with strange lichens, that spread like quaint Eastern in-
scriptions over the loose bark ; and on the shaded side,
and often concealed by the tree, minute and delicately-
formed fungi of the most fantastic forms live their brief
life, to give place to successors not less ephemeral.
In some of the delightful silent glades bamboo
thickets are not uncommon, and their slender branches
and quivering leaves variegate the sward with the
peculiar shifting shadows, swift in their changes as a
child's dream, which we often see in dense forests,
where, as Shakespeare sings,
" The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind,
And make a chequered shadow on the ground."
Mr. Arthur Adams, a well-known naturalist,* has fre-
A. Adams, in Belcher's "Voyage of H.M.S. Sa.ma.rang," 11. 268-370.
A FOREST IN CELEBES.
IN THE FOREST. 263
quently seen the bamboo waving aloft its feathery
sprays in groves upwards of forty feet high ; and he
adds that the appearance of the epiphytic or parasitic
vegetation in the Celebian forests reminds him of the
vineyards so picturesquely described by Dickens : *
" The wild festoons ; the elegant wreaths, and crowns,
and garlands of all shapes ; the fairy nets flung over
great trees, and making them prisoners in sport ; the
tumbled heaps and mounds of exquisite shape upon
the ground, how rich and beautiful they are ! And
every now and then a long, long line of trees will be
all bound and garlanded together, as if they had taken
hold of one another, and were coming dancing down
the field ! "
The same naturalist remarks that the European
observer, in Tropical forests like those of Celebes,
cannot fail to be struck by the entire absence of any
of the signs of vernal development or autumnal decay
characteristic of climes more temperate. The eye is
neither refreshed by the mellow tints of the later, nor
by the young fresh greenness of the earlier season ; no
red withered leaves rustle from the quivering boughs
as the sighs and moans of autumn creep through the
pillared avenues ; the work of dissolution and renova-
tion, of life and death, is always going on ; and at all
times of the year you see the same masses of dark
green foliage and the same mounds of rottenness and
decay. In many parts, vast numbers of fungoid plants
those scavengers of the vegetable kingdom, which,
despite their apparent insignificance, seize upon every
fallen tree, and slowly but surely consume it may be
seen at their silent task. Yet in the midst of death is
* C. Dickens, "Pictures from Italy," p. 90.
264 THE CELEBIAN BEE.
life, and out of decay come beauty and vigour. Though
these tall trees, once the glory of the forest, are now dis-
mantled of their pride, and, as Shelley says, " lie level
with the earth, to moulder there;" yet in due time shall
" They fertilize the land they long deformed ;
Till from the breathing lawn a forest springs
Of youth, integrity, and loveliness,"
to bloom awhile, and develop, and ripen, and then to
share the common lot like their predecessors
" Like that which gave it life, to spring and die."
The forests of Celebes offer a remarkable instance of
natural adaptation and ingenuity on the part of a lai'ge
species of bee, which frequents, in great numbers, a tree
loaded with single-petalled corollas, attached to a long
tube. The bee's slender proboscis is all too short to reach
the honied sweets treasured up in the nectary at the
bottom ; and, therefore, what Paley calls its " long,
narrow pump," is of no avail. But, by persevering,
it saws through the base of the corolla at the point
of junction with the calyx, using its fore legs as tools ;
and then, thrusting it to the ground with its head,
leisurely sucks up the honey. Paley says of the bee,
" The harmless plunderer rifles the sweets, but leaves
the flower uninjured ; " the Celebian bee, however,
not only plunders the blossom, but destroys it.
INSECT LIFE IN CELEBES.
We are prone to devote our attention too exclusively
to what we consider the higher forms of Animal Life,
such as the mammals and the birds, neglecting the
members of the busy, toiling Insect World. Yet, in the
forests of Celebes, the latter presents the naturalist
BEETLES AND BUTTERFLIES. 265
with numerous objects of interest. The family of the
Coleoptera, or Beetles, is well represented. We notice
the reader must excuse the uncouth names which
we are compelled to adopt from the language of the
naturalists a Brentus, with a body shining in coat of
mail of a chestnut brown, and highly polished as steel ;
an Anthruxia, of a beautiful burnished emerald green,
and remarkable for the activity of its motions ; a curi-
ous genus of Anthribidce, entirely covered, when alive,
with a white mealy powder, which, if rubbed off, re-
veals elytra, or wing-cases, of a dark gray, traversed
by lengthwise rows of alveoli, or pits ; a Languria,
with a reddish brown head, and dark, shining, metallic
green elytra, which frequents the blades of the maize,
in open sunny spots, and is very lively and rapid on
the wing ; a Cicindela, of a dull sap green, with yellow
marks on the elytra ; and a Lucanus, or stag-beetle,
tawny yellow, with a reddish brown head, and three
black marks on the thorax, and elytra bordered with
a rim of black.
The Papilionidce, or Butterflies, are not less numer-
ous or beautiful. Among these may be noticed a
remarkable species of Ornithoptera, whose ground colour
is a rich shining bronzy black, the lower wings deli-
cately grained with white, and margined by a row of
large spots of the most brilliant satiny yellow. As
if this combination of colours were not enough to
attract and delight the eye, the insect's body is marked
with shaded spots of white, yellow, and fiery orange,
while the head and thorax are black as jet. On the
under side, the lower wings are of a satiny white,
with the marginal spots half black and half yellow.
Then there are beautiful species of Pieridce, such as
r :.- r ?.z.-:
never haunt oar English air ; one of a beautiful pale
blue and black, and another with, a belt of rich orange
round its blackish body. In truth, in these rocky
forests dwell some of the most beautiful butterflies in
the world. The magnificent golden green papilio
macedon ; ornithopta% measuring seven or eight
DH&ei acrm the wings ; the tachyris g^mt^ with
.jauzv pinions of a vivid orange and cinnabar
red ; TtiPtaJKo blue am.bljpod% hovering among the
Iowa- fa&mge ; butterflies red, and green, and orange,
and yellow, or of a wonderful variety of hues and
M* invest with a brilliant charm the sombre
of the Celebian woods.
For do not thinlr, O reader, that these dense and
qg&ty forests are as rich in bright blossoms and
buds as the groves and copses of your own dear land
_ " vit.'..--"j..i'i_r._: ~.^~. exuberant _-'-: the
trailing, flowering poraaxtes, their general
t of gloom. When we think of a Tropi-
cal forest, we picture to ourselves masses of brilliant
everywhere in boundless profu-
the scene with an indescribable radi-
But what is the reality ? "In vain," says Mr.
Wallace, who has carefully explored their reeewes, "in
ism. did I gaze over vast walls of verdure, aiMBg
pendent creepers *nfl bushy shrubs, all around the
OHade, on the river's bank, or in the deep eav
and gloomy fissures ; not one jiag^b
eofoor could be seen, not one single tree or bodl or
cneptr WBK a flower auniciently conspicuous to form,
an object in the landscape. In every direction the cy6
and mottled rock. There was
colour and avpeet f tbe
_ . T L - '" - ~ 1
: -
268 RATAN PALMS.
lower parts of the forest, near the river-banks, these
are very plentiful, and of the most brilliant colours ;
and their appearance, as they stalk about, holding up
their single huge claw with an air of ludicrous menace,
never fails to excite the observer's amusement. They
seem overweighted with their unwieldy member, yet
they are by no means easy to capture ; on the slightest
alarm they scuttle away to the mouth of their burrows
for protection. There they boldly wait to see if the
enemy make anj r further movement in advance; should
he do so, they quickly retreat, still holding aloft their
pincer as a defensive weapon.
In many of the forests a characteristic feature is the
abundance of ratan palms,* suspended from the trees,
and winding, creeping, and twisting upon the ground
in the most wonderful confusion. The variety of the
fantastic shapes they assume is astonishing; but may be
explained by the decay and fall of the trees up which
they have first clambered, when they are left to crawl
and grow along the ground until they find another trunk
to ascend. A tangled heap of twisted living ratari is,
therefore, a kind of memorial or monument, marking the
site of some trunk which has disappeared. Its powers
of growth seem almost inexhaustible, and as a single
plant will climb several trees in succession, it is easy
to conceive the enormous length to which it will attain.
There can be no doubt that these climbers add to the
picturesqueness of the forest-scenery; for they vary the
otherwise monotonous tree-tops with "feathery crow as
of leaves" springing clear above them, and each termin-
ated by "an erect leafy spike like a lightning-conductor."
* " R&t&D " is the commercial name for the long trailing stems of Calamtut
C. rttdentum., C. rotang, C. Viminatit, PJiajfio Jialtllifvrmit, and others
VECTAT1O OF CCLE8EC.
VEGETATION IN CELEBES. 271
A very beautiful fan-leaved palm is found here
the Livistona rotundifolia. It rises to a height of one
hundred or one hundred and twenty feet, with a stem
perfectly smooth and cylindrical, but not more than
eight or ten inches thick. This stem bears aloft a
crown of fan-shaped leaves, which form almost complete
circles of six or eight feet in diameter, supported on
long and slender petioles, and finely toothed round
the edge by the extremities of the leaflets, which are
separated from the circumference for only a few inches.
At the base the foot-stalks are sheathed in a mass of
netted fibres. This is, indeed, one of the gracefulest
of the graceful Palmaceae.
We are reminded of Temperate climes by the rasp-
berries, and blue and yellow composite, which grow
freely in the thickets ; of the sub-alpine vegetation by
the smaller ferns and orchids, and the dwarf begonias
which clothe each rocky acclivity. But then, again,
we are carried back to the Tropics by the colossal
tree-ferns, the noble pandani, and stately palms
which everywhere surround us ; by the festoons of
orchids, bromelias, lycopods, and arads which twist
about the trunks and stems of the forest-trees. The
ordinary stemless ferns are very plentiful, some
with gigantic fronds, ten or twelve feet long, others
scarcely an inch high ; some with massive and en-
tire leaves, others with elegant waving foliage, finely
cut, and all commanding attention by 'their peculiar
beauty. Oranges of unparalleled lusciousness invite
the traveller, by no means reluctant, to quench his
thirst : and so he goes on his way, at every step
discovering some new object of interest, beauty, or
wonder.
272 A VILLAGE IN THE INTERIOR.
A CELEBIAN VILLAGE.
We quit the silent glades of the forest, and turn
aside to visit another Celebian village. " The main
road, along which all the coffee is brought down from
the interior in carts drawn by buffaloes, is always
turned aside at the entrance of a village, so as to pass
behind it, and thus allow the village street itself to
be kept neat and clean. This is lined by neat hedges,
often formed entirely of rose-trees, which are perpetually
in blossom. There is a broad central path, with a border
of fine turf, which is kept well swept and neatly cut.
The houses are all of wood, raised about six feet on
substantial posts neatly painted blue, while the walls
are whitewashed. They all have a verandah enclosed
with a neat balustrade, and are generally surrounded
by orange-trees and flowering shrubs. The surrounding
scenery is verdant and picturesque. Coffee plantations
of extreme luxuriance, noble palms and tree-ferns,
wooded hills and volcanic peaks, everywhere meet the
eye."
TREES AND FRUITS.
To complete our survey of the vegetation of Celebes,
we must add the oak, the teak, the cedar, and the upas.
The clove and nutmeg trees ; the sago-palm ; sandal-wood ;
the pepper-vine; the silk cotton tree (Bombyx ceiba);
the badcan, which yields a vegetable butter, known as
"Thine incomparable oil, Macassar;"
the ginger-plant, sumach or fustic-wood, ebony, and the
betel-nut, are also among the island's vegetable riches.
Nor must we forget the numerous fruits, bananas,
mangosteens, oranges, shaddocks, and the like ; or the
BIRDS OF CELEBES. 273
invaluable coffee-plant, cacao, sugar-eane, tobacco, ben-
zoin, and manioc root, all of which repay the labour
of the husbandman with ample crops. Rice and maize
are among the staple exports of Celebes, and European
vegetables are successfully cultivated.
BIRDS OF CELEBES.
Let us now see what the island offers to the
zoologist, beyond the birds and insects to which we
have already directed the reader's attention.
Of land-birds one hundred and forty-four species
have been distinguished, one hundred and eight of
which may be regarded as more especially characteristic
of the island, while no fewer than eighty are entirely
confined to the Celebesian fauna ; "a degree of
individuality," it has been justly remarked, "which,
considering the situation of the island, is hardly to be
equalled in any other part of the world."
Six species of the Hawk tribe are peculiar to
Celebes ; one of which, Accipiter trinotatus, is distin-
guished by elegant rows of large white spots on the
tail. Three owls are also exclusively Celebesian; and
of ten species of parrots, the same may be said of all
but two. Here are found the curious raquet-tailed
parrots, characterized by the two long spoon-shaped
feathers in the tail. Two allied species are found in
the adjacent island of Mindanao, one of the Philippines ;
and this singular caudal appendage is possessed by no
other parrots in the whole world.
There are three Celebesian woodpeckers, and the
same number of indigenous cuckoos. Two of the
latter are thus described :
Phcenicophaus caUirhynchiw is the largest and
(637) 18
274 BIRDS OF CELEBES.
handsomest of its genus, and distinguished by the
three colours of its beak, bright yellow, red, and
black.
Eudynamis melanorhynchus differs from all its
allies in possessing a jet-black bill ; whereas the other
species of the genus have it always green, or yellow,
or reddish.
Mr. Wallace speaks of the Celebes roller (Coracias
Temmincki) as an interesting example of one species
of a genus being cut off from the rest ; for though
there are species in Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia,
there are none in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java,
or Borneo. And the nearest kith and kin to the
Celebes roller are the African species, between which
and it " a dreary sea now flows between ! " A similar
circumstance renders one of the bee-eaters (Meropogon
Forsteni) remarkable, for its only near ally was
discovered by M. Du Chaillu where ? can the reader
imagine ? in West Africa.
Celebes has also its hornbills, with their curious
nests. The female selects the hollow of a tree for her
breeding-place, and at the proper time retires to it,
where she makes a kind of couch of her own feathers,
lays her eggs, hatches them, and abides with her
young until they are fully fledged. The male, mean-
time, plasters up the entrance to the nest, all except a
narrow slit, adapted to the form of his beak, through
which he feeds his mate. As a consequence, it is said,
the voluntary prisoner grows quite fat, while the poor
husband gets so lean and weak that any sudden
change of temperature overcomes him.
Celebes has but a single species of thrush. It has
several fly-catchers, however, and a couple of species
BIRDS OF CELEBES.
275
HORNBILL FKKIJI.M; HKK YOUNO.
or genera Streptositta and Charitornis which are
allied to the magpies, and yet seem to come more
property among the starlings. They are fine birds,
276 BIRDS OF CELEBES.
with long tails, black and white plumage, and with the
feathers of the head " somewhat rigid and scale-like."
Our naturalist speaks of two very isolated and
handsome birds, whose relationship to the starlings is
very dubious, the Enodes erythrophrys, with ashy
and yellow plumage, ornamented above the eyes with
broad stripes of orange-red ; and the Sasilornis
Celebensis, a blue-black bird with a white patch on
each side of the breast, and the head ornamented with
a beautiful compressed scaly crest of feathers, resembling
in form that of the cock-of-the-rock of South America.*
The only ally to this bird is found in Ceram.
Reference must also be made to the Scissirostrum
pagei, a member of the Starling family, but differing
from all his kin in the form of the bill and nostrils.
In general structure he seems closely allied to the African
ox-pecker, that faithful friend of the rhinoceros. His
plumage is almost entirely of a slaty colour, but the
feathers of the rump and upper tail-coverts each
terminate in a tuft or pencil of a gleaming glossy
crimson. He is a sociable bird, and is always found
in numerous flocks, feeding upon grain and fruit, and
building their nests in the cavities of dead trees, to
the trunks of which they cling as easily as wood-
peckers.
We need say nothing of the eighteen species of
pigeons, eleven of which are peculiar to Celebes,
because their organization and habits are everywhere
the same. But we must dwell for a moment on the
curious helmeted maleo (Megacephalon i^ubripes), whose
nearest but still distant relatives are the brush-turkeys
of Australia and New Guinea.
Wallace, " Malay Archipelago," i 274.
ABOUT THE MALEO. 277
The maleo is a handsome bird : the glossy black
and rosy white of his plumage, his feathery crest and
elevated tail, give him a striking character, which is
certainly not impaired by the stateliness and gravity
of his walk. He marches along like a feathered Lord
Burleigh ! The difference between him and his mate
is very slight ; only the larger size of his crest or
casaque and of the tubercles at the nostrils, and the
deeper rosiness of colour in his plumage. He runs
quickly, but when alarmed flies noisily and labouringly
to the nearest tree, where he perches on a low branch.
The maleos deposit their eggs in the loose hot sand
of the shore, to which they resort in the mouths of
August and September. Here, just above high-water
mark, they scratch holes three or four feet deep, and
the female deposits a single large egg, which she
covers over with about a foot of sand. At the end of
ten or twelve days she comes again to the same spot,
and lays another egg ; a process which she repeats
from six to eight times. The male escorts the female
to and from the beach, and assists her in making the
hole. Several birds will lay in the same receptacle.
When quite fresh, the eggs of the maleo are very
delicious ; richer than hens' eggs, and of a finer flavour ;
and the natives are quite justified in their partiality
for them. A single egg fills an ordinary tea-cup, and
with bread or rice makes a capital meal. The colour
of the shell is sometimes pure white ; more frequently
a pale brick red. Size : from four to four and a half
inches long by two and a quarter or two and a half
wide. Shape : elongate, and very slightly smaller at
one end than at the other.
" In the structure of the feet of this bird," says
278 CELEBES AND ITS MAMMALS.
Wallace, " we may detect a cause for its departing
from the habits of its nearest allies, the Megapodii and
Talegalli, which heap up earth, stones, leaves, and
sticks into a huge mound, in which they bury their
eggs.* The feet of the maleo are not nearly so large
or strong in proportion as in these birds; while its
claws are short and straight, instead of being long and
much curved. The toes are, however, strongly webbed
at the base, forming a broad powerful foot, which,
with the rather long leg, is well adapted to scratch
away the loose sand (which flies away in a perfect
shower when the birds are at work), but which could
not without much labour accumulate the heaps of
miscellaneous rubbish, which the large grasping feet of
the megapodius bring together with ease."f
SOME MAMMALS.
The mammalia of Celebes are few in number,
including only fourteen terrestrial species, and some
bats. In this happy island the larger carnivores and the
pachyderms are " conspicuous by their absence." It is
not a Sportsman's Paradise; for it has neither elephant,
rhinoceros, nor tapir ; and not one of the Felidse, from
the tiger downwards.
Of the eleven terrestrial species which are peculiar
to the island, we shall name the most characteristic.
The other three, which are found in most of the islands
of the Archipelago, are :
1. The remarkable Tarsius spectrum, a lemur which
ranges as far westward as Malacca ;
2. The common Malay civet, Viverra tangalunga,
which has a still wider range ; and,
* See ante, p. 110. t \S"allace, " The Malay Archipelago," ii. 2C6.
AN ARBOREAL MAMMAL. 279
3. A deer, identified with the Rusa hippelaphus of
Java, which was probably introduced by man at an
early period.
The Tarsier, or Tarsius spectrum, is so named in
reference to the extraordinary length of its hands
which is caused by a considerable elongation of the
bones composing the "tarsus," or back of the hands
and feet. This characteristic is more noticeable in the
hind than in the front paws.
Its fur is of a grayish brown colour, shaded, as it
were, with a slight uniform tint of olive. The face
and forehead are of a warmer, almost of a ruddy
brown ; and a dark ring or circle surrounds the back of
the head.
It is arboreal in its habits, and hops among the
branches with a succession of short, quick movements
like those of a frog. To enable it more firmly to
cling to the boughs, the palms of its hands are fur-
nished with several pads. The back of the hands is
covered, like the tail, with a soft, downy kind of hair,
which, on the body and limbs, gives place to a close,
woolly fur.
It sleeps during the greater part of the day, but
goes forth at nightfall in quest of food pulpy fruits
and flying insects. Its nest is made in the fork
of a tree, of green leaves, dried moss, and similar
substances.
The tangalung, or civet, bears a general resemblance
to the zibeth of Asia, and the so-called civet-cat of
Northern Africa. Its fur, however, is more distinctly
marked with black spots, which so accumulate about
the spine that the fur seems in that part entirely
280 CIVET AND CYNOPITHECUS.
black. Three black bands, like crescents, very broad
in the middle and narrow at the extremities, are
found on the lower part of the throat and neck the
central band being much wider than the others.
This handsome little creature measures about two
feet and a half in length, and the tail takes eleven
inches. The rounded fox-like head tapers suddenly
towards the nose, so that the muzzle is rather short.
The tail is nearly cylindrical, and, like the body, fur-
nished with a warm close coat of soft hair next the
skin.
Like the civet, it has a musk-secreting pouch. It
feeds upon fruits, birds, and the smaller mammals ; is
nocturnal in its habits, and apparently of a lethargic
disposition.
Of the Rwsine deer no particular description is
necessary. It resembles the Cervidse in organization
and habits, except that it is less active and restless,
seldom goes abroad by day, and prefers the wooded
lowlands, in the neighbourhood of a stream or pool.
Water and shade seem to be indispensable to its exist-
ence.
Of the eleven species of mammals peculiar to Celebes,
the following are of peculiar interest :
The Cynopithecus nigrescens, which is found only
in Celebes and the small island of Batchian, is described
as "a curious baboon-like monkey, if not a true
baboon." It is about the size of a spaniel, of a jet-
black colour, with the prominent dog-like muzzle and
overhanging brows of the baboons. It has large red
callosities ; but the fleshy tail is scarcely an inch long,
and barely visible. The cynopithecus roams abroad in
ABOUT THE BABYEOUSSA. 281
numerous companies, living chiefly in the trees, but
descending at will, and depredating largely upon the
orchards and gardens.
Does the sapi-utan, or "wild cow" (Anoa depressi-
cornis) belong to the antelopes or the buffaloes ? This was
a question at one time much debated, but now answered
in favour of its classification in the genus Bubalus. It
is smaller, however, than most wild cattle, and bears
some points of resemblance to the ox-like antelopes
of South Africa. It has long straight horns, which
are ringed at the back, and slope backwards over the
neck. It loves the rocks and mountain-crags, and can
be captured only with great difficulty. A very fierce
animal, notwithstanding its small size.
Some of these creatures, which were kept in confine-
ment, killed in one night fourteen stags imprudently
shut up with them. We say imprudently, because it
appears to possess a natural antipathy to the deer, and
will never inhabit any locality where the latter are
found.
In Celebes we meet with the babyroussa, or pig-deer
so called because in general appearance it resembles
a pig, but has curved tusks like horns, and long and
slender legs. Its tusks are disposed in a very remark-
able manner, so that four of them project above the
snout. Their sockets, instead of pointing downwards,
are curved upwards ; and the tooth, in filling the
curvature of the socket, rises through a hole in the
upper lip, and curves boldly over the face. The
female is devoid of these appendages. The upper
tusks are not intended for offensive weapons, and could
not be so employed in most cases, being so strongly
curved that the points nearly touch the forehead. But
282
THE BABYROUSSA DESCRIBED.
the lower tusks are dangerous implements, and as the
babyroussa is a strong and ferocious animal, it is by no
means advisable to come to close quarters with it.
The babyroussa swims well, and apparently with
much enjoyment. It is sometimes as large as an or-
dinary donkey ; its smooth skin is scantily covered with
short stiff hairs. It lives in numerous herds, frequent-
THE BABYROUSSA.
ing marshy localities and lightly-wooded ground, where
it feeds on fallen fruit, roots, and young shrubs.
In its tusks it somewhat resembles the African
bush hog or bosch vark; but otherwise it stands
"completely isolated," with no affinity to the pigs of
any other part of the world. It is found all over
Celebes and in the Sulu Islands, and also in Bouru,
the only spot beyond the Celebes group to which it
ranges.
ABOUT THE CAMELEON. 283
Of the five indigenous species of squirrels we
need say nothing more than that Celebes marks
their furthest eastward limit in the Tropics. There
are two species of Eastern opossums Cuscus; and
Celebes marks the furthest westward extension of
the Marsupial order. Of the cuscus, we may note
that it is about the size of a large cat, or three feet
in total length, with a prehensile tail, which it is
constantly making use of ; that to deceive its pursuer
it counterfeits death with admirable skill ; that it
lives on vegetable food, insects, and the eggs of birds;
and that it possesses a remarkably soft and silky
fur.
The cameleon is also an inhabitant of Celebes ; and
the flying dragon, one of the Saurian tribe, may be
seen at dusk winging its slow laborious way through
the obscure shadows of the woods. Its sides are fur-
nished with an expansible membrane, by means of
which it springs with tolerable facility from tree to
tree ; and can even support itself for some time in the
air. It loves to cling to the smooth trunk of the
forest-trees, and bask there in the sun, motionless,
though on the watch. Mr. Arthur Adams speaks of
one he captured, which on any alarm would feign
death, and lie perfectly immovable, with limbs doubled
up, and drooping head, until it supposed the danger
past ; when it would cautiously resume its usual
attitude, look warily around, and suddenly take to
flight.
Snakes are numerous in the island, and range
through all the grisly tribe, from the tiger-python, or
Boa castanea, which measures thirty feet in length,
but is not venomous, to the smaller but infinitely more
284 THE CELEBES ARCHIPELAGO.
dangerous cobra da capella, of which so many terrible
tales are told.
The mouths of the rivers, and the seas around Cele-
bes, literally teem with fish ; and it is said that in the
markets of Macassar as many as three hundred different
kinds are frequently offered for sale. The dugong is
a frequent visitor, and the rocky coasts abound in
turtle and the biche-de-mer, or holothuria, affording a
valuable resource to the Malay fishermen.
ISLANDS OF THE CELEBES GROUP.
Of the numerous small islands which lie off the
shores of Celebes little need be said. Their general
features are identical with those of the larger island,
though necessarily on a limited scale. To the south-
east is Boutong, a high woody island, separated from
Moena by the Boutong Strait; while Moena is divided
by a very narrow arm of the sea from the south-
eastern peninsula of Celebes. Off the south coast we
find quite a cluster of small islands, forming part of
the Dutch province of Macassar. These are Salayer,
or Great Salayer, separated from Celebes by a strait
of the same name, thirteen miles wide mountainous,
richly-wooded, populous, and well-cultivated; Kalaura,
Boueratta, Hog Island, and the Boegerones.
To the east of the eastern peninsula, and almost
forming an extension of it, are Peling, a considerable
island, about fifty miles in length by fifteen miles in
breadth ; Balaling and the Xulla islands, of which
Xulla (or Sulu) Mangera is the most important.
It lies between Celebes and Ceram; measures sixty
miles long and ten miles broad; and is divided, on
the west, from Xulla-Talaybo by a narrow channel,
THE SPICE ISLANDS. 285
in which a dangerous whirlpool obstructs naviga-
tion.
To the north, across the Strait of Banka, are Siao
(or Siauw), an island of great fertility, with an active
volcano at its northern extremity; and Sangir, which
continues the chain of fire towards the Philippines.
It measures about thirty miles in length by ten miles
in breadth ; and gradually rises from a moderate eleva-
tion in its southern districts to a mountainous mass in
its northern, which culminates in the smoking volcano
of Aboe.
As in most volcanic islands, the soil is fertile. The
vegetation corresponds with that of Celebes, and
exhibits a tropical luxuriance. The inhabitants speak
a dialect of the Malayan; and attire themselves in a
loose cotton gown hanging from the neck nearly to
the feet.
The Sangir group includes forty-six small islands.
CHAPTER III.
THE MOLUCCAS, OR SPICE ISLANDS.
THE THREE GROUPS.
| HE name Moluccas is employed in a restricted
and also in a comprehensive or general
sense. It is applied, in the first place, to
a group of small islands, otherwise called
the Royal Islands, lying off the western coast of Gilolo,
and washed by the Moluccas Passage, which separates
Gilolo from Celebes. In a wider sense, the name
Moluccas is applied to all the islands, or groups of
islands, lying between Celebes and New Guinea. They
are commonly divided, according to the three Resi-
dencies, into the Ternate, Amboyna, and Banda groups,
which contain, respectively, the following principal
islands :
1. The Ternate Islands, including the Moluccas
proper, comprehending Ternate, Gilolo, Batchian, Obi,
Mortui, and the Kaivd Islands ;
2. The Amboyna Islands, including Amboyna,
Ceram, Bouru, Goram, Amblau, and some smaller isles ;
and,
3. The Banda Islands, including Great Banda or
Lonthoir, Banda Neira, Pulo Run, Pulo Ai, Goenong
Api, Rosengyn, Kapal, Pisang Sjethan, and Vrouwen.
GREAT BANDA. 287
These numerous islands are all mountainous, and
mostly volcanic ; and their forms of animal and
vegetable life exhibit but few and unimportant dif-
ferences. They may, therefore, be properly compre-
hended under the one general title of the Moluccas.
We shall visit them in the following order : Banda,
and adjacent islands ; Amboyna, Ceram, Bouru,
Goram ; and Ternate, Gilolo, Batchian, and adjacent
islands. The inhabitants are Moluccan-Malays, and
their religion is principally Mohammedanism.
IN THE BANDAS.
The Banda Islands are ten in number.
The largest, GREAT BANDA (or Lonthoir, or Lontar),
is situated to the south of Ceram. It is a crescent-
shaped island ; or rather, its shape is that of a
Turkish scimitar, with the handle to the east, the
point to the west, and the outward curve of the blade
to the south. Its length may be taken at about six
miles, and its greatest width at about a mile and a
half. By extending its eastern horn, we reach, in suc-
cession, Pulo Pisang (or Banana Island), two-thirds of
a mile in length and somewhat more than six hundred
yards in width; and Pulo Kapal (or Ship Island), so
called because its rock, three hundred feet high, bears
a questionable resemblance to the poop of a vessel.
Within the circle of which these three islands form an
arc lie three other islands, of which the loftiest and
most romantic is the Gunong Api, or " Burning Moun-
tain," a conical active volcano towering to an elevation
of 5800 feet. Between this eternal "isle of fire"
and the northern end of Lonthoir nestles the pictur-
esque verdant gem of Banda Neira, two miles long
288 HISTORICAL SKETCH.
and less than a mile broad. North-east of the latter
lies the small wave-worn rock of Pulo Krakka, or
"Women's Island."
The centre of the circle of which Lonthoir forms an
arc falls in a narrow passage called Sun Strait, which
separates Gunong Api from Banda Neira. The dia-
meter of this circle is about six miles. Beyond it
may be drawn a second and wider circle, passing
through Pulo Ai, or " Water Island," on the west, and
Rosengyn in the south-west ; and outside of this a
third concentric circle, defined by Pulo Swangi, " Sor-
cery" or "Spirit Island," on the north-west, Pulo Run,
" Chamber Island," on the west, and the reef of
Rosengyn on the south-west. The total area thus
comprised that is, of the Banda group is 17^ geo-
graphical square miles.
A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH.
So much for the position of these charming islands,
which, escaping the dry winds that blow over the
Australian deserts, are remarkable for their fresh
greenery and the plentifulness of their vegetation.
They were first made known to Europeans by the
Portuguese navigator D'Abreu, but the Chinese and
Arabs, and probably the Hindus, had long previously
included them in the range of their commercial enter-
prise. D'Abreu, according to the chronicler De Barros,
had the assistance of " Javanese and Malay pilots who
had made the voyage ; " and De Barros adds, that
every year Javanese and Malays repaired to Lulatain
(that is, Great Banda) to load cloves, nutmegs, and
mace ; for it lay in the latitudes most easily navigated,
and where ships were most secure, and as the cloves
LONG AGO. 289
of the Moluccas are brought thither by vessels belong-
ing to those islands, it was unnecessary to go to the
latter for the much-prized spices. "In the five islands,"
says De Barros namely, Lonthoir, Kosengyn, Pulo
Ai, Pulo Run, and Banda Neira "grow all the nut-
megs consumed in every part of the world." He gives
the then population as 15,000 a very much larger
number than at present; and he says of them : " The
people of these islands are robust, with lank hair and
a tawny complexion, and are of the worst repute in
these regions. They follow the sect of Mohammed,
and are much addicted to trade, their women perform-
ing the labours of the field. They have neither king
nor lord, and all their government depends on the
advice of their elders ; and as these are often at
variance, they quarrel among themselves. The land
has no other export than the nutmeg. This tree is in
such abundance that the land is full of it, without its
being planted by any one, for the earth yields without
culture. The forests which produce it belong to no
one by inheritance, but to the people in common."*
For about a century the Portuguese monopolized
the commerce of these islands, and throughout this
period maintained a friendly intercourse with the
natives. In 1609, the Dutch, however, resolved to
annex them to their Eastern possessions, and invaded
Great Banda with a force of seven hundred soldiers }
but falling into an ambuscade, were compelled to re-
treat with considerable loss. They then began a war
of extermination, which was prolonged for eighteen
years, and brought to a successful issue only through
the efforts of a large expedition from Java, commanded
* Crauford, "Dictionary of the East Indian Islands," in loco "Bauda."
ltT) 19
290 SLAVES AND CONVICTS.
by the governor-general in person. In this prolonged
struggle, the natives, who fought with great courage
and resolution, lost 3000 killed and 1000 prisoners.
The survivors fled to the neighbouring islands, where
they were merged in the general mass ; so that scarcely
a vestige of their language or customs is now known
to exist.
Deprived of the. assistance of a native population in
cultivating the nutmeg-trees, the Dutch were compelled
to resort to slave-labour; after the abolition of slavery,
they had recourse to convicts, of whom about three
thousand are now maintained on these islands. "They
are a most villanous-looking set," says Mr. Bickmore,*
"and have nearly all been guilty of the bloodiest crimes.
They are obliged to wear around the neck a large iron
ring, weighing a pound or a pound and a half. It is
bent round, and then welded, so that it can only be
taken off by means of a file. It is not so heavy that
it is difficult for them to carry, but it is designed to
show that they are common felons."
VISIT TO GREAT BANDA.
But we must now proceed to Great Banda. As we
approach the island, which lies in the blue sea like a
glorious emerald, we pass Pulo Ai on our right ; an
island of coral formation, rising from three hundred
to five hundred feet in height. Further on, we sail
in the shadow of the lofty and precipitous Gunong
Api, or the "Burning Mountain." On its north-north-
west side, about one-fourth of the distance from its
summit to the encircling waves yawns a deep wide
gulf; and out of this gulf thick white clouds evolve,
* Bickmore, "Travels in the Eastern Archipelago," p. 217.
A SEA-COAST PICTURE. 291
which, in the calm clear air, roll upward and upward
in one vast and constantly expanding column, like the
pillar of smoke that went before the Israelite host.
Its crest is wreathed around with fleecy clouds, which
rapidly dissolve and pass away, to be succeeded by
other clouds, even whiter and more vaporous. They
are composed of steam and sulphurous acid gas, and
indicate the incessant chemical action which is for ever
taking place within the bowels of this island-peak of
lire.
And we see before us the western curve of the
moon-shaped Lonthoir. Here, against a coast varying
from two to three hundred feet in height, and almost
precipitous, the waters beat with a continuous roll
and roar. Not bare or desolate these rocks, however,
though exposed to wind and wave, but clothed with
luxuriant vegetation which fills up every ravine, and
stretches down to the very margin of the sea. Soon
we are off the northern shore; a long line of steep and
lofty wall, almost hidden beneath a dense, intertangled
mass of vegetation, out of which spring erect the
columnar stems of tall and shapely palms crowned
with a capital of long, feathery leaves, gracefully wav-
ing like a maiden's tresses.
Now Ban da Neira lies full in view, composed of
green hills descending gradually to the shore of this
little bay. On the summit is situated a strong fortress,
forming a regular pentagon. Its white walls shine
dazzlingly in the sunlight, and contrast agreeably with
the glacis, which is a broad, green, and gradually slop-
ing lawn. Below this defence, which would avail but
little against our "Woolwich infants," stands Fort
Nassau, built by the Dutch on their arrival here in
292 AN ACTIVE VOLCANO.
1609. On either hand extends along the shore the prin-
cipal town or village, Neira, shaded by rows of pleasant
trees, and looking out upon a bright blue sea. In the
offing are numerous praus from Ceram; quaintly -built
vessels, high at the stern and low at the bow, with a
tall tripod instead of a mast, which can be raised or
lowered at pleasure. The wonder is that such frail
craft can venture on any considerable voyage. At
anchor in the roads lie some Bugis traders ; " herma-
phrodite schooners," which, with their foresail, fore-top-
sail, and fore-royal, can run only before the wind.
These visit the eastern end of Ceram, the south-western
and western shores of New Guinea, the Arus, and
most of the thousand isles between Banda, Timur, and
Australia.*
Just opposite the town rises, in an almost perfect
cone, the great volcano, with a slight chasm on the
north side, whence issue two continuous columns of
smoke, while nearer the summit vaporous clouds are
thrown off in slowly-circling wreaths. A white efflor-
escence, probably of sulphur, encrusts the upper part
of the mountain, which is furrowed by water gullies
in narrow black vertical lines.
"It is only," remarks Mr. Wallace.f "when actually
gazing on an active volcano that one can fully realize
its awfulness and grandeur. Whence comes that in-
exhaustible fire whose dense and sulphurous smoke for
ever issues from this bare and desolate peak ? Whence
the mighty forces that produced that peak, and still
from time to time exhibit themselves in the earth-
quakes that always occur in the vicinity of volcanic
* Bickmore, "Travels in the Eastern Archipelago," pp. 219-222.
t Wallace, "The Malay Archipelago,"!. 2S&
ISLANDS OF FERTILITY. 293
vents ? The knowledge from childhood of the fact
that volcanoes and earthquakes exist, has taken away
somewhat of the strange and exceptional character that
really belongs to them. The inhabitant of most parts
of northern Europe sees in the earth the emblem of
stability and repose. His whole life-experience, and
that of all his age and generation, teaches him that the
earth is solid and firm ; that its massive rocks may con-
tain water in abundance, but never fire ; and these essen-
tial characteristics of the earth are manifest in every
mountain his country contains. A volcano is a fact
opposed to all this mass of experience ; a fact of so awful
a character, that, if it were the rule instead of the excep-
tion, it would make the earth uninhabitable ; a fact
so strange and unaccountable, that we may be sure it
would not be believed on any human testimony, if
presented to us now for the first time, as a natural
phenomenon happening in a distant country."
But from the contemplation of volcanic phenomena
we are diverted by the extraordinary richness of the
vegetation which clothes in one uniform and almost
unbroken garb of verdure Lonthoir and its sister-islets.
This little group, with a total superficial area of only
seventeen miles, is the great nutmeg-garden of the
world. It is a case of nutmegs here, nutmegs there,
nutmegs everywhere. Beneath the shade of the lofty
kanary-trees, deriving their nourishment from the
thin but warm volcanic soil, and fed by the constant
moisture, the handsome, glossy-leaved nutmegs, twenty
to thirty feet high, line the roads, and bloom in the
gardens, and spread over all the open places. They
are very fair to look upon, with their thick spreading
branches, the tallest sprays of which are fifty feet
294
NUTMEG-TREES.
high. The flowers are small and yellowish. The
fruit, before it is fully ripe, resembles a peach that
NUTMEG-TREE AND FRUIT.
has not yet been tinted with red ; but this is only
the epicarp, or outer rind, which is of a tough fleshy
consistence, and on maturing splits open into two
THE KANARY-TREE. 295
equal parts, revealing a spherical, polished, dark brown
nut, enveloped in crimson "mace." In this stage it
may fairly be described as the most beautiful fruit in
the cornucopia of Pomona !
It is now picked by means of a small basket
fastened to the end of a long bamboo. The epicarp
being removed, the mace is carefully taken off and
dried in the sun, which changes its bright crimson to
an obscure yellow. It is then ready to be packed in
casks and shipped to market. Next the nuts are
spread on a shallow tray of open basket-work, and
exposed, for a period of three months, to the action
of a slow fire. By the end of that time the actual,
genuine nutmeg has so shrunken that it rattles in its
dark brown shell. The shell is broken, and the nut-
megs, after being sorted, are packed in large casks of
teak- wood, which are duly branded with the year in
which the fruit was gathered, and the name of. the
plantation where it was grown.
The kanary-tree (Canarium commune), which is
also cultivated here, is the Java almond, and spreads
over all the Moluccas. Its fruits are much esteemed
by the Javanese, and yield an oil which, when fresh,
is eaten at table, and is also employed for burning in
lamps. The gum which exudes from its trunk is
described as resembling balsam of copaiba.
The kanary-tree is planted as a protection for the
nutmeg, which it shelters from the wind with its huge
gnarled arms. Its roots are very remarkable. They
spring off from the trunk above ground in "great
vertical sheets," which, at their point of departure,
are frequently four feet broad, and wind in and out,
and twist to and fro, before they disappear under the
296 ASCENT OF GUNONG API.
soil ; so that the lower part of one of these old trees
might well suggest the idea of "a huge bundle of
enormous snakes struggling to free themselves from a
Titanic hand that held them firmly for ever."
AN ASCENT OF A VOLCANO.
An ascent of the volcano to which we have alluded
was accomplished by Mr. Bickmore in 1865, and a
sketch of what he saw and experienced may not be
without interest to the reader.
The party who undertook the ascent consisted of
Mr. Bickmore and three companions, a native "guide,"
and ten coolies, who carried a supply of fresh water
in long bamboos.
The path at first was difficult and fatiguing, but
not dangerous. The explorers reached the naked
sides of the mountain, which is not mantled with
vegetation for more than two-thirds of the distance
from base to summit. This nakedness is due to the
frequent occurrence of landslips, which plough the
declivities as with iron shares, and to the abundance
of sulphur washed down by heavy rains. Here they
found themselves compelled to crawl on all-fours among
small blocks of lava, and the ascent proved wearisome
and discouraging, the mountain-top seeming to rise
higher and higher as they advanced. When within
about five hundred yards of it, they stood aghast to
see before them an almost perpendicular stretch of
loose, rough lava-stones, and it was not without peril
they succeeded in crossing it. After this the way
was smoother ; but a new source of danger called for
their utmost vigilance, showers of lava-flakes rattling
down the sides, and bounding over the heads of the
THE SUMMIT-CRATEK. 299
party one of whom, unknown to the others, had
gained the summit, and was amusing himself with
testing the velocity of projectiles !
At last the adventurers stood on the " difficult
mountain -crest," and saw beneath them the summit-
crater ; an elliptical cavity about eighty feet deep,
three hundred yards long, and two hundred wide. It
is surrounded by hot rocks which scorch the spectator's
feet, and lined with sulphur-crusted blocks of lava,
through whose fissures jets of steam and sulphurous
acid gas are continually arising. This, however, is not
the active crater, which lies on the north-west side,
and sends up from its darkling depths immense
volumes of steam and other gases. Everywhere
around, both above and below, on the summit and on
the sides, layers of yellow sulphur may be noticed.
The descent of a mountain is generally more ardu-
ous than its ascent, and so it proved in this case ; and
Mr. Bickmore met with an awkward adventure.
Happily, no accident occurred, and the whole party
safely reached the bottom before close of day.
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.
The height of this volcano does not exceed 2321 feet,
and its base is less than two miles square. But the de-
structiveness of a volcano is by no means in proportion
to its dimensions; and Gunong Api, though small, has
been the theatre of many terrible eruptions. Outbreaks
have taken place in 1586, 1598, 1609, 1615, 1632,
1690, 1696, 1712, 1765, 1775,1778, 1820,and 1824.
One of the most violent of these occurred in June
1820. Just before noon, on the llth, without the
slightest warning or premonitory symptom, the phe-
300 A TERRIBLE ERUPTION.
nomenon began, and proved of so awful a character,
that the people residing among the nutmeg-groves on
the lower flanks of the mountain immediately took to
their boats, and fled to Banda Neira. Masses of incan-
descent sand, and stones, and ashes were hurled from
the crater, lighting up the air as with the reflection of
a colossal furnace. It is said that the red-hot stones,
falling in a rain of fire, ignited the woods, and converted
the whole mountain into one immense cone of flame.
As the catastrophe took place during the prevalence of
the western monsoon, such quantities of sand and ashes
were driven over to Banda Neira that the branches
of the nutmeg-trees broke beneath the unusual burden,
and all the plantations in the island were totally de-
stroyed. Even the fountains and springs were tempo-
rarily spoiled, from the showers of light ashes that
penetrated into every fissure.
For thirteen days the eruption was incessant, nor
did it entirely cease for a period of six weeks. In
the course of it the mountain seemed to be cloven
right through in a north-north-west and south-south-
cast direction. It was at this time that the great
crater on the north-west flank was formed ; while a
lava-stream rushed down the western side into a small
bay, building up a kind of promontory one hundred
and eighty feet in length. This was a very singular
circumstance ; as it is a characteristic of the volcanoes
of the Indian Archipelago that they do not emit molten
rock, but only hot stones, ashes, and sand.
EARTHQUAKES.
That Banda is one of the centres of volcanic or
igneous activity is shown by the numerous and violent
EARTHQUAKES IN BANDA. 301
earthquakes which have shaken it to its very founda-
tions. Terrible shocks were experienced in 1 629, 1683,
1710, 1767, 1816, and 1852 ; and the last of these
has left its memorials in wide-spread ruin. Only
those houses escaped destruction which had been built
with special precautions; that is, with walls two or
three feet thick, strongly supported by solid buttresses.
The first indication of evil was the sudden outpouring
of the waters of the bay, leaving a brig dry ashore,
which, but a few minutes before, had been lying at
anchor in eight or nine fathoms. Then came in a
tremendous wave from ocean, refilling the bay, and
overflowing the low shore to a depth of twenty-five
or thirty feet. Some praus moored close in to the
land were taken up by it like playthings, and dashed
against Fort Nassau, which was so completely engulfed
that one of the boats remained within its walls after
the tide had subsided to its usual level. Nearly every
house in the lower part of the village was swept clean
away. The rapid outflow of the waters of the bay,
which is simply an ancient crater, may have been
produced by an elevation of its bottom, or else by such
a subsidence of the ocean-bed beyond as to create a
hollow or depression into which they were drained off.
The land rising again in the latter case, or sinking in
the former, accompanied probably by a sinking of the
shore, would cause the following inrush, or deluge,
which, it is needless to say, was attended with great
loss of life.
ANIMAL LIFE IN BANDA.
The population of Banda is exceedingly mixed, and
at least three-fourths are a curious "cross" between
Malays, Papuans, Arabs, Portuguese, and Dutch. The
302 FLORA AND FAUNA.
two first-named elements predominate, as is shown by
the dark skins, prominent features, and frizzled hair
we meet with in every direction.
A volcano rising out of a mass of kanary-trees and
nutmeg-groves, and surrounded by gleaming seas,
such is the Greater Banda. Hence it has little variety
to offer us either in its animal or vegetable life. At
dusk, several species of bats wheel around the houses
and hunt for food in the neighbouring plantations.
Pigs are numerous; but, like the deer, are probably
importations. The groves are haunted by swarms of
fruit-pigeons, the Carpophaga concinna, which feed
upon the mace of the nutmeg, and are remarkable for
their loud "booming" song. These birds are found
also in the Kd and Matabello Islands ; but, strange to
say, not in Ceram or Amboyna, or any of the larger of
the Molucca group. The limitation of the species is
not easy to explain ; but species alike in habits, and
not very different in appearance, take their place.
We may refer, in conclusion, to the cuscus, or
Eastern opossum, a marsupial, or pouched animal,
which ranges from Amboyna to New Guinea, but has
not crossed the sea into Australia. Its Latin name is
a modification of the native couscous or coescoes; and
the principal species is further designated maculatus,
or "spotted," in allusion to the patches of colour
scattered over its whity-gray coat of fur. These
patches are of a deep brown, shaded, as it were, with
a tint of reddish chestnut. Sometimes, however, the
ground colour is white, while the spots are black ; or
black spots speckle a dark gray coat ; or the spots run
into one another, and form a kind of fanciful pattern.
The average cuscus measures three feet in length.
ABOUT THE CUSCUS. 303
of which the tail occupies fifteen or sixteen inches ; in
other words, it is about the size of a large cat. So
much we have told the reader in a preceding chapter,
and we have spoken of its arboreal habits; but here we
shall venture to give a few additional particulars of its
habits.
It has a long tail, as we have seen, and it makes
constant use of it; twisting it round stem or branch
of tree to obtain support, and, when alarmed, hanging
by it to some lofty bough, and waving to and fro in
the wind like a bunch of dead fruit a stratagem
which often deceives the pursuer. On the other hand,
it is not infrequently the means of its being captured,
if the hunter is acquainted with the animal's peculiari-
ties. For the story runs, that, so long as the human
eye rests on the tricksy creature, it will continue to
maintain its suspended position, until at last, the
overwrought muscles being unable to endure the strain
put upon them, it falls at the feet of its captor.
There is nothing of the squirrel's grace and agility
about the cuscus. It moves slowly, it moves timidly,
and it seldom ventures far without having recourse to
the prehensile powers of its tail. Among the trees it
finds its food, leaves, and juicy young sprays, and
buds, and fruit ; also birds' eggs, and sometimes the
birds themselves ; insects, and perhaps mice. This
diet renders its flesh not disagreeable eating, and it is
described as succulent, well-flavoured, and not inferior
in any respect to that of the kangaroo. We should
think, however, that he who ventures upon it needs
the sauce of a good appetite, and must have been
cured of fastidiousness by a prolonged experience of
"mixed diet;" for to most persons its strong odour
304 ISLAND OF AMBOYNA.
would be sufficiently repulsive. This odour proceeds
from some small glands situated in the hinder part of
the body.
The cuscus is hunted, however, for its fur, rather
than as an addition to the hunter's bill of fare. Its
coat is of a peculiarly soft and silky texture, and is
much used "for conversion into articles of human attire
or luxury, such as cloaks and mantles."
The genus is akin to those of the Petaurists and the
Phalangistines, in the group of the Macropidse, but differs
from them in some important respects. The Petaurists
and Phalangistines are very swift and nimble in their
movements, and by means of a membranous appendage
to their sides can take considerable flying leaps; while
the cuscus is slow and timid, and has no power of flight.
Altogether, it is an interesting and remarkable animal.
AMBOYNA.
To the north-west of Banda lies the most important,
though not the largest, of the Moluccas the island of
Amboyna. On the north it is sheltered by a curious
peninsula-like prolongation of Ceram ; to the west is
Bouru, or Booroo. It gives name to the Dutch resi-
dency, or government, of Amboyna, which also includes
Ceram, Bouro, Amblau, Manipa, Kilung, Harookoo,
and some smaller isles. Any of our readers who have
visited the western district of the Isle of Wight, be-
tween Yarmouth and Freshwater, will readily under-
stand its formation ; for Amboyna consists, as that
does, of two peninsulas united by a low and narrow
isthmus. The isthmus, indeed, is not above a mile in
length, and constitutes a mere strip of sand. To the
south-east lies the peninsula of Leitimir ; to the north-
SCENE IN AMBOYNA.
ABOUT THE CLOVE-TREE. 307
west, that of Hitu; and between them flows a deep
boldly-curving bay, affording admirable anchorage for
the largest ships. The island, as a whole, measures
about thirty miles in length, and ten in breadth at its
widest part ; its average width does not exceed five
or six miles.
Mountains, hills, rocks, forests, noisy burns, and
rippling brooks, with well-wooded valleys running in
among the highlands, and low fertile country stretching
along the shore, such is the general character of
Amboyna. It is not one of the fairest or richest
islands of the Archipelago ; much of its surface is bare
and barren ; and it presents but little of that exuber-
ant vegetation which we are accustomed to associate
with the Tropics. In fact, it owes its celebrity and
its wealth to one special vegetable product the clove-
tree (Caryophyllus aromaticus). Such being the case,
and groves of clove-trees, with their bright green
verdure, being the pleasantest objects in the island,
before we go further it will be well for us to devote
some attention to so remarkable a source of wealth.
THE CLOVE-TREE.
We first hear of cloves in Europe about A.D. 175
180, in the reign of the Emperor Aurelian, when they
are mentioned as imported into Alexandria from India
the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea forming then,
as now, the great highway along which flowed the
traffic of the East. They were carried by the Javanese
and Malays from the Moluccas to the peninsula of
Malacca ; thence the Telingas, or Klings, transported
them to Calicut, the once famous capital of Malabar.
From Calicut they passed to the western shores of
308 THE DUTCH AND THE CLOVE-TRADE.
India, and, crossing the Arabian Sea, found their way
up the Red Sea to the Egyptian port. When we
consider how many hands were concerned in this suc-
cession of transfers, and how they were exposed to
perils by sea and perils by hand, we shall not be sur-
prised that they formed a costly luxury, and appeared
only on the tables of the great In England, as late
as the fifteenth century, they realized thirty shillings
a much larger sum of money then than now per
pound, or 168 per cwt. ; being about three hundred
and sixty times their original price. A pound of
cloves at one time cost more than a good fat sheep.
That they might share in this enormous profit, was one
of the reasons which induced the European maritime
nations to search so anxiously for a sea-way to the
East ; and Western commerce owes as much to spices
as it does to gold and silver. And when the Spice
Islands were discovered, the same cause operated to
perpetuate a monopoly of their products in the hands
of a single nation, thus leading to a protracted struggle
between the Dutch, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and
the English. Amboyna finally fell into the hands of
the Dutch, who for a considerable period kept to them-
selves the lucrative trade ; but, after a while, cloves
were raised elsewhere, and the supply increasing more
rapidly than the demand, their price was quickly re-
duced. And as the clove is an article of luxury and
not of use, the demand is always likely to be inferior
to the supply, and therefore we may be sure that the
immense profits which it formerly yielded will never
again be realized.
The native name for this fruit is chenki, which may
be a coiTuption of the Chinese iheng-ki, or " sweet-
WHAT'S IN A NAME? 309
smelling nails." The resemblance to a nail has also
suggested the Dutch name, krind-nagel, or "hub-nail"
(the trees are nagelen-boomen, or "nail-trees"), and the
Spanish davos (Latin clavus, a nail), whence comes
our English " clove."
De Canto, who visited the Moluccas in 1540,
says:* "The Persians call the clove calafur ; and
speaking on this matter, with permission of the physi-
cians, it appears to us that the carofilum of the Latin
is corrupted from the calafur of the Moors (that is,
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
chanque'. The Brahmin physicians first called them
lavanga, but afterwards 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 clavo, by which they are now so
well known in the world."
The reader may inquire, " What's in a name ?" In
this case, something ; for the numerous designations
bestowed on a fruit of such apparent insignificance
must be regarded as a proof of the high estimation in
which it was held by many nations. Undoubtedly,
our ancestors valued it more highly and used it more
extensively than we do. An orange stuck full of
* Biekmore, "Travels in the Eastern Archipelago," p. 166.
310 THE CLOVE-TREE DESCRIBED.
cloves, and carried in the hand, was considered a pre-
ventive against infection. Fowls were stuffed with
cloves, which were also introduced into sauces and
"made dishes."
The clove-tree belongs to the order of Myrtles,
which includes the guava, the pomegranate, and the
rose-apple. Its topmost branches are usually forty or
fifty feet from the ground, and the full-grown trunk
measures eight to twelve inches in diameter. It was
originally confined, says Bickmore, to the five islands
off the west coast of Gilolo, which then comprised the
whole group known as " the Moluccas " a name that
has since been extended to Bouru, Amboyna, and the
other islands off the south coast of Ceram, where the
clove has been introduced and cultivated within a
comparatively late period. On these five islands, he
adds, it begins to bear in its seventh or eighth year,
and sometimes continues to yield until it has reached
an age of nearly one hundred and fifty years ; the
trees, therefore, are of very different sizes. Here at
Amboyna it is not expected to bear fruit before its
twelfth or fifteenth year, and to cease yielding when
it is seventy-five years old.
Naturally, much attention has been directed to its
limited range ; and Rumphius, an old writer, the author
of the " Hortus Amboiensis," who describes it as " the
most beautiful, the most elegant, and the most pre-
cious of all known trees," remarks : " Hence it appears
that the Great Disposer of things, allotting in his
wisdom his gifts to the several regions of the world,
placed cloves in the kingdom of the Moluccas, beyond
which, by no human industry, can they be propagated
or perfectly cultivated." Here, however, Rumphius was
PIGAFETTAS DESCRIPTION. 311
greatly mistaken. The clove-tree is capable of trans-
plantation, and now thrives in the West Indies and on
the Guiana coast, in Bourbon and Zanzibar, in Sumatra,
Penang, and on the shores of the Strait of Malacca.
A quaint description of this celebrated tree is given
by Pigafetta, who accompanied Magellan in his voyage
round the world. It attains, he says, a pretty con-
siderable height; and its trunk is about as large as a
man's body, varying more or less according to its age.
Its branches extend very wide about the middle of
the trunk, but at the summit terminate in a pyramid.
Its leaf resembles that of the laurel, and the bark of
it is of an olive colour. The cloves grow at the end
of small branches, in clusters of from ten to twenty ;
and the tree, according to the season, sends forth
more on one side than on the other. The cloves at
first are white ; as they ripen they become reddish,
and they blacken as they dry. There are annually two
crops gathered, the one at Christmas, the other about
St. John the Baptist's Day; that is to say, about the
time of the two solstices seasons in which the air is
more temperate in this country than at the other
periods of the year, though the hottest of the two is
that of the winter solstice, when the sun is here at its
zenith. When the year is hot, and the quantity of
rain that falls is little, the amount of the crop of each
island is from three to four hundred bahars. [That is,
from fifty-five to seventy-three tons.] The clove-tree
grows only on the mountains, and dies if transplanted
to the plain. [This is an error ; the Dutch cultivate
it in the low grounds.] The leaf, the bark, and the
woody part of the tree have as strong a flavour and as
potent a smell as the fruit itself. If this last be not
312 MORE ABOUT THE CLOVE.
gathered just at the proper season, it becomes so large
and so hard that no part of it remains good but the
rind. There are no clove-trees of prime quality but
in the mountains of the five islands of Malucho ; for
though some grow in the island G-iailolo, and on the
islet Maro, between Tadore and Mutir, the fruit of
them is inferior. It is said that fogs give them their
superior degree of perfection in these islands ; however
this may be, we certainly did remark every day that
a fog, resembling thin clouds, enveloped first one and
then another of the mountains of these islands. Each
inhabitant possesses some clove-trees, which he attends
to himself, and the fruit of which he gathers ; but he
uses no species of culture.*
To this we may add that the buds when young are
nearly white ; afterwards they change to a light green,
and finally to a bright red, when they must at once
be gathered which is done by picking them by hand,
or beating them off with bamboos so that they drop
in showers on cloths spread beneath the trees. When
they have been dried in the sun a process which
changes them from red to black they are ready for
market. The gathering seasons are June and Decem-
ber. The soil best adapted to the tree seems a warm,
loose, sandy loam.
SCENERY IN AMBOYNA.
The town of Amboyna has little in itself to attract
the attention of the traveller, but its " surroundings "
are by no means disagreeable. The roads are lined
with hedges of flowering shrubs, and among groves
of palms and enclosures of fruit-trees nestle the country -
* Plgafetta, in Pinkerton'g " Voyages and Travels," xl. 365, 3C6.
A SCENE IN AMBOYNA. 315
houses of the Dutch merchants and the huts of the
natives. In the farther country, hills and mountains
offer an almost infinite variety of outline, and shady
lanes strike through masses of verdure to blooming
bowers haunted by the bright crimson-coloured lories.
An interesting ramble is afforded by a broad road
which runs across the island, through swamp, clear-
ing, and forest, over hill and dale. In the hollows
the forest vegetation assumes something like a tropi-
cal luxuriance ; innumerable ratans coiling about the
trees, twining round their trunks, and binding bough
to bough. Here the Insect World is seen to great
advantage; beautiful butterflies abound, and the beetles
are large and radiant. So are snakes, unfortunately,
and the explorer needs to be on his guard against
them. They enter the huts, and Mr. Wallace relates
a stirring incident in which one of the tribe figured
conspicuously and alarmingly.
Mr. Wallace was sitting in his verandah, reading,
about nine o'clock one evening, when he heard a
curious stir and rustle overhead, as if some heavy
animal were dragging its slow length over the thatch.
As the noise soon ceased, however, he forgot the in-
cident, and in due time retired to bed. Next day,
just before dinner, he was lying on his couch with a
book in his hand, when, accidentally looking upwards,
he noticed a something above him which was certainly
novel. Looking again, he discerned some blue and
yellow marks, and concluded that a tortoise-shell had
been stowed out of the way between the ridge-pole
and the roof. But a more careful survey assured him
that it was, in reality, a large snake, compactly coiled
up in a kind of knot, with its bright eyes and head
316 BEWARE OF SERPENTS!
discernible in the very centre of the coil. He now
understood the cause of the noise on the previous
evening : a python had climbed up one of the posts of
the house, and, making its way under the thatch, had
taken up a comfortable position in the roof, immedi-
ately above the head of the unsuspecting naturalist.
Mr. Wallace called to a couple of boys engaged
below, and pointed out the locality of the big snake.
Instantly they started out of the house, begging him
to follow. Some of the men at work in an adjoining
plantation were then summoned, and one, a native of
snake -infested Bouru, undertook to dislodge the in-
truder. Accordingly, he made a strong noose of
ratan, and with a long pole in the other hand thrust
at the snake, which then began to uncoil itself slowly.
Next he slipped the noose over its head, and getting
it over the body, dragged the animal down. Great
was the disturbance as the snake twisted its pliant
body round chairs and posts in a spirited attempt at
resistance ; but at length its adversary seized its tail,
rushed out of the house so quickly as to confuse its
brains, and sought to dash its head against a tree.
Missing his aim, however, he lost his hold, and the
serpent slid under a dead trunk near at hand. It was
again brought out ; again its tail was grasped, and
used as a lever ; and at the second essay the Bouru
native swung it against a tree with a blow that
stunned it, after which it was easily killed. It
proved to be twelve feet in length.
BIRDS.
Among the few species of birds found in Amboyna
must be named the beautiful black lory, Chalcopsitta
ABOUT KINGFISHERS. 317
atra, whose glossy plumage of jet gleams with lumi-
nous touches of yellow and purple ; and the racquet-
tailed kingfisher. Whoever has seen an English king-
fisher alas, that he should be so rare ! must know
that the tail of this species of wader is short, or, at
least, by no means of unusual dimensions. But the
racquet-tailed boasts of two immensely long middle
tail-feathers, narrowly webbed, and terminating in a
spoon-shaped expansion, not at all unlike a battle-
dore. These appendages, being blue and white, pre-
sent a very handsome appearance.
The Amboynese kingfisher (or kinghunter) does
not live on fish, like all others of his tribe, but on
insects, snails, and slugs, which he darts upon and
picks from the ground, just as his European congener
darts upon fish in the water.
He is confined to a very limited range Northern
Australia, New Guinea, and the Moluccas ; and there
are about ten species in all. The Amboynese is a
handsome bird ; fully seventeen inches long to the
tips of the tail-feathers ; with a coral-red bill, back
and wings of a deep purple, shoulders, head, and nape
a glorious azure blue like that of the sky on a summer
noon ; and all the under part of the body as white as
snow on an untrodden mountain-top.
EARTHQUAKES.
Amboyna is not a volcanic island that is, it has
neither active nor extinct volcanoes but it feels the
reflex of the great wave of volcanic disturbance which
falls so heavily on Banda, and hence it is subject to
violent earthquakes. A shock occurred in 18C5,
318 AN EARTHQUAKE SHOCK.
during Mr. Bickmore's visit, and he describes it with
much minuteness. He was roused from sleep, about
half-past four in the morning, by a low, heavy rum-
bling deep down in the earth. It was not a roar, but
rather a succession of quick, rattling reports, as if a
long train of carts had been driven over a stony cause-
way. The next moment his bed was violently shaken
to and fro, and almost simultaneously his host shouted
to him, " Run out of the house ! run for your life !
There is a dreadful earthquake ! "
Host and family and guest took refuge in a room
built behind the house, surrounded by a low wall, and
covered with a light roof. The host then explained
that the shock which had frighted them from their
propriety was the second, and a very severe onej
and that it was the first, a comparatively light
one, which had disturbed him in his sleep. Of course,
none knew but that a heavier one might immediately
follow, and lay all the buildings near and around them
in a mass of ruins, if, indeed, the earth did not open
and swallow them alive ! The time between the pre-
monitory sounds and the shock itself was about five
seconds. Though, in the middle of a monsoon, the
wind blows constantly day and night, such was the
effect of the earthquake that, for a while, the air was
free from the slightest movement. The insect life
ceased its rapid hum, the tree-toad hushed its constant
piping. "Dread silence reigned around;" an "awful
pause," as if Nature were conscious of some coming
catastrophe. But so terrible and sinister a stillness
was more painful than the roar of the most violent
tempest.
Meantime, lights became visible in the windows of
PREVIOUS CALAMITIES. 319
the neighbouring houses, the doors of which were
flung open, that at the slightest warning everybody
might rush into the street. Sounds were heard, in
strange confusion, of the voices of Malay, Arab, and
Chinese, all speaking together, and all labouring under
the same pressure of anxiety and apprehension. In
this way half an hour passed by, and then the wind
began to blow as before. Nature seemed to shake off
its panic ; one after another the nocturnal animals
resumed their various cries; the darkness disappeared;
the welcome dawn lighted the tops of the eastern hills,
and with the return of day, man, as is usual, recovered
his energy and customary confidence.
An earthquake usually occurs at Amboyna every
year ; and when eight or ten months have passed with-
out any such disturbance, a very violent shock is
always looked for.
Mr. Bickmore records some particulars of calamities
from which the island has suffered. Thus : on Feb-
ruary 17, 1674, a severe earthquake shook it from
east to west, and Mount Wawanu, in the peninsula of
Hitu, poured out a torrent of boiling mud, which
flowed into the sea.
In 1815, when an eruption of Mount Tomboro took
place, an earthquake was felt in several parts of
Amboyna.
In 1835, a series of shocks began on the 1st of
November, and continued three weeks. The inhabi-
tants of the capital were forced to abandon their
houses, and shelter themselves in tents and bamboo
huts on the common in the rear of the town. Up to
that date, Amboyna had enjoyed a reputation for great
healthiness, but immediately afterwards a gastric-
820 SEA-WONDERS.
bilious fever broke out, and continued until March
1845. On the 20th of July, in the latter year,
another severe earthquake occurred ; and again on the
18th and 20th of March 1850. At present, remarks
Mr. Bickmore, Amboyna is "one of the healthiest
islands in these seas." He connects the outbreak of
disease with the occurrence of the shocks, believing
that it is connected with the quantities of poisonous
gases which are then evolved.
OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN AMBOYNA.
Amboyna has long been celebrated for its shells,
and the amateur conchologist would find on its shores
and in its surrounding waters an inexhaustible variety
of those treasures of the deep. It is needless to dwell
upon their beauty ; their exquisite delicacy of hue and
wonderful blending of tints, and their rare graceful-
ness of outline, justify the admiration they never fail
to excite. But here, beneath the Tropics, we meet
with such marvels of form and colour as are never
found in our colder main: the tubular turritellidae, the
piral littorinidae, enamelled cypraeidse, the magnificent
cassis, the curious ampullaria or apple-shell, gigantic
tridacnas, and the elegant cytherea. These, and
other sea-wonders, abound in the waters of Amboyna.
" Passing up the harbour," writes Mr. Wallace, " the
clearness of the water afforded me one of the most
astonishing and beautiful sights I have ever beheld.
The bottom was absolutely hidden by a continuous
series of corals, sponges, actiniae, and other marine pro-
ductions, of magnificent dimensions, varied forms, and
brilliant colours. The depth varied from about twenty
to fifty feet, and the bottom was very uneven, rocks
SEA-WONDERS.
321
and chasms, and little hills and valleys, offering a
variety of stations for the growth of these animal
forests. In and out among them moved numbers of
blue and red and yellow fishes, spotted and banded
O1ANT TiUOACNA USKD AS A BATH.
and striped in the most striking manner, while great
orange or rosy transparent medusae floated along near
the surface. It was a sight to gaze at for hours, and
no description can do justice to its surpassing beauty
and interest. For once," exclaims Mr. Wallace, " the
(637) 21
300 THE PEARL NAUTILUS.
reality exceeded the most glowing accounts I had ever
read of the wonders of a coral sea. There is perhaps
no spot in the world richer in marine productions,
corals, shells, and fishes, than the harbour of Am-
boyna."
Mr. Bickniore tells us that he went to Amboyna as
a shell-collector, and that he bought these curiosities
of the sea and the shore " by the basketful." Among
them were numerous specimens of the pearl nautilus,
which seem to have rendered him peculiarly anxious
to obtain the living animal. In this he fortunately
succeeded ; and who will not rejoice that his innocent
ambition was gratified ? It had been captured in
this way. The natives of the Eastern Archipelago
rarely fish with a line, as we do ; but, where the water
is too deep to build a weir, they employ a bubu,
or barrel of open basket-work of bamboo. Each end
of this barrel is an inverted cone, with a small opening
at its apex. Pieces of fish and other bait are sus-
pended inside, and the bubu is then sunk on the clear,
sandy patches of a coral reef, or more commonly in a
depth of twenty to fifty fathoms. No line is attached
to the bubus sunk on a reef; they are taken up with
a gaff. Those in deep water are buoyed by a cord
and a long bamboo, to one end of which is fastened a
stick in a vertical position, with a piece of palm-leaf
for a flag, to render it more conspicuous. In the pre-
sent instance it happened that one of these bubus was
washed off into deeper water than usual, and the
nautilus made its way through the opening in one of
the cones to get at the bait within.
Runiphius, who is generally accurate in his descrip-
tions of the tropical molluscs, affirms that the nan-
POETRY VERSUS FACT. 323
tilus * swiins occasionally on the sea ; but he was
probably led astray by the natives, who themselves
were deceived by the number of empty shells fre-
quently found floating on the surface of the waves.
When the animal dies, and is separated from its shell,
the air or gas contained in its many-chambered shell
lloats it to the surface.
Everybody knows the beautiful but fanciful picture
which Montgomery draws of the nautilus :
" Light as a flake of foam upon the wind,
Keel upward, from the deep emerged a sliull,
Shaped like the moon ere half her horn is filled ;
Fraught with young life, it righted as it rose,
And moved at will along the yielding water.
The native pilot of this little bark
Put out a tier of oars on either side,
Spread to the wafting breeze a twofold sail,
And mounted up and glided down the billow
In happy freedom, pleased to feel the air,
And wander in the luxury of light. "
The Pelican Island.
This is poetical, but inaccurate, whether applied to
the paper nautilus } or to the pearl nautilus both of
which, by the way, are found in the Indian Seas. The
latter, with which we are here concerned, creeps like a
snail along the ocean-bed, at a depth of thirty to forty
fathoms. Rumphius, to whom we have previously
alluded, says : " When he floats on the water, he puts
out his head and all his barbs (tentacles), and spreads
them upon the water, with the poop (of the shell) above
water ; but at the bottom he creeps in the reverse posi-
tion, with his boat above him, and with his head and
barbs upon the ground, making a tolerably quick
* Nautilus pompilius, a cephalopod of the order Tetrfilirfivrlnnta.
* ArKonanta-Aiyo ,'nr Ocyth:i tnbpreiilatarV
324
COMING TO THE SURFACE.
progress. He keeps himself chiefly
upon the ground, creeping sometimes
also into the nets of the fishermen;
but after a storm, as the weather
becomes calm they are seen in troops
floating on the water, being driven
up by the agitation of the waves;
whence one may infer that they con-
gregate in troops at the bottom."
The latter portion of the statement
of the Dutch naturalist is without foun-
dation, yet it may be conceded that
the animal does occasionally emerge
from the ocean-depths. In what man-
ner it accomplishes its ascending or
descending movements seems, how-
ever, difficult to determine. Professor
Owen thinks that it can rise by simply
unfolding all its organs, and by their
THE PEARL NAUTILUS.
THE NAUTILUS SHELL. 325
protrusion from the shell. " I incline to the con-
clusion," he says, " that the sole function of the air-
chambers is that of the balloon, and that the power
which the animal enjoys of altering at will its specific
gravity must be analogous to that possessed by the
fresh-water testaceous gasteropods, and that it depends
chiefly upon changes in the extent of the surface
which the soft parts expose to the water, according as
they may be expanded to the utmost, and spread abroad
beyond the aperture of the shell, or be contracted into
a dense mass within its cavity."
On the coast of Nicobar, one of the Andaman islands,
the pearl nautilus is so common that the natives salt,
dry, and eat its flesh. Its shell, which attains a maxi-
mum of eight inches in height, is used by the Hindu
priests as a conch; and it yields a beautiful nacre, or
mother-of-pearl, which is much valued for ornamental
cabinet-work. The Easterns also manufacture drink-
ing cups out of these elegant shells, engraving on their
surface the most fanciful arabesques and figures.
From the sea we pass to the land, and from the
brightly- tinted gardens of ocean to a cacao-garden or
plantation. In Amboyna a hill-side is chosen for the
cultivation of the cacao-tree; and to reach the garden
the visitor climbs through groves of palms into the
thick forest, and then out of the forest into the shade
of the cacao-trees, which lift their slender, shapely
trunks, like rows of spears, and spread abroad their
green branches loaded with their long, red, cucumber-
like fruit. No skill is required in growing the Theo-
broma cacao. Take care that the soil is suitable, and
keep it free from grass and underwood. Yet it is not a
326
A CACAO-PLANTATION.
native of the East, but one of the few things which the
Orient has borrowed from the West. The Spaniards
discovered it in Mexico, and transplanted it to their
settlements in South America and the West Indies.
Thence it travelled to the Moluccas. It is also culti-
vated in Guiana and Brazil.
CACAO-TREE AND FRUIT.
It seldom exceeds twenty feet in height. Its leaves
are large, oblong, and pointed; its flowers hang in pale
red clusters, not only from its branches, but also from
its trunk and roots. Hence a cacao-plantation has a
singular and striking appearance, as Humboldt did not
ABOUT THE THEOBROMA. 327
fail to notice. " Never," he says, " shall I forget the
profound impression made upon my mind by the luxuri-
ance of tropical vegetation when I first saw a cacao-
garden. After a damp night, large blossoms of the
Theobroma ('drink for gods!') issue from the root at a
considerable distance from the trunk, emerging from
the deep black mould. A more striking example of
the expansive powers of life could hardly be met with
in organic nature/'
The fruits are large, oval, pointed pods, about five or
six inches long, and divided into five lobes or compart-
ments, containing from twenty to forty seeds, the " cacao "
of commerce, enveloped in a white pithy substance.
In localities weU-sheltered from the wind the grower
sows his seeds. In two years the plant attains a height
of three feet, and throws off numerous branches ; all of
which are removed, with the exception of four or five.
In the third year the fruits appear; but the tree does
not yield fully until six or seven years old, after which
it produces abundant crops for upwards of two decades.
When the pods are first picked they are remarkable
for a peculiar pungency, which can be converted into
the highly-valued aromatic principle only by a process
of fermentation. Wherefore they are thrown into pits,
covered with a thin layer of sand, stirred at intervals,
and allowed to remain for three or four days. After
which they are taken out, cleaned, dried in the sun,
packed in cases or sacks, and despatched to the market.
They are best known in Europe in the form of chocolate ;
being roasted, ground into a smooth paste, and flavoured
with vanilla or other spices.
Here is a glimpse of a cacao-garden in Amboyna :
" Large flocks of small birds, much like our blackbird,
328 VISIT TO A RAJAH.
hover about, alighting only on the tops of the tallest
trees. As evening comes on, small green parrots utter
their shrill, deafening screams as they dart to and fro
through the thick foliage. In these tropical lands,
when the sun sets it is high time for the hunter to
forsake his fascinating sport and hurry home. There
is no long, fading twilight, but darkness presses closely
on the footsteps of retreating day, and at once it is
night. In the evening a full moon sheds broad, oscil-
lating bands of silver light through the large, polished
leaves of the bananas around our dwelling, as they
slowly wave to and fro in the cool, refreshing breeze.
Then the low cooing of doves comes up out of the
dark forest, and the tree-toads pipe out their long,
shrill notes."
A VISIT TO A RAJAH.
The naturalist to whom we have already been in-
debted for many pleasant facts, has put on record a
graphic account of a visit he paid to the rajah, or
native prince, of Hitu (or Hitoo). We propose to avail
ourselves of it, because it cannot fail to convey to the
reader's mind a real and living picture of the insular
scenery and native manners and customs.
The way to the rajah's residence passed through
vegetation which would be strange enough to the eyes
of a European. The crests of the hills were occupied
with cocoa (or cacao) gardens. Afterwards the road
on either side was lined with rows of pine-apples,* a
third exotic from Tropical America, which flourishes so
vigorously in every part of the Archipelago that one
can hardly believe it is not an indigenous plant. But
the native names all indicate its origin. The Malaya
* Ananassa sativa
FLYING DRAGONS. 331
and Javanese call it nanas, which is merely a corrup-
tion of the Portuguese ananassa. In Celebes it is
sometimes called pandang, a corruption of pandanus
(the screw-pine), from the marked similarity of the
two fruits. In the Philippines it is known by the
name of pina, the Spanish for pine - cone, which
has the same derivation as our English pine-apple.
Pina is also the name of a very strong, durable cloth,
which the natives of the Philippine Islands manufac-
ture from the fibres of its leaves.* It is strange that
the Malays have never turned them to similarly use-
ful account. The fruit of the Amboynese pine-apple
is not equal to that grown in the West Indies or Brazil.
Our traveller was hospitably received by the rajah,
and a private chamber was assigned to him. Large
numbers of children quickly gathered, and were sent
out to search for lizards. They quickly returned with
a number of real " flying dragons;" not, indeed, the
monsters which figure in heraldry and fiction, but the
small lizards called Draco volans, each provided with
a broad fold in the skin along either side of the body,
similar to the membranous expansion of the " flying
squirrel," and designed for a similar purpose, that is,
not for flight, but to act as a parachute to sustain the
animal in the air while taking long leaps from branch
to branch. If man be ever to achieve the mystery of
aerial locomotion for short distances, must he not take
a hint from the structure of these so-called winged
dragons ?
" As the tide receded," says Mr. Bickmore, " shells
* Excellent twine for rope is obtained from the leaves of several species of
Bromelia (to which genus the pine-apple belongs). The inhabitants of the San
Francisco valley in Brazil make their fishing-nets with the fibres of the Caroa, or
Bromelia variegata.
332 A SIMPLE MODE OF BARTER.
began to come in "- for it was soon discovered that the
stranger had a mania for collecting natural curiosities
" at first the more common species, and rarer ones as
the ebbing ceased. My mode of trading with these
people was exceedingly simple, my stock of Malay
being very limited. A small table was placed on the
verandah in front of the rajah's house, and I took a seat
behind it. The natives then severally came up and
placed their shells in a row on the table, and I placed
opposite each shell, or each lot of shells, whatever I
was willing to give for them; and then, pointing first
to the money and next to the shells, remarked, Ini
atau itu, ' This or that,' leaving them to make their
own choice. In this way all disputing was avoided,
and the purchasing went on rapidly. Whenever one
man had a rare shell, and the sum I offered did not
meet his expectations, another would be sure to accept
it if no more was given; then the first would change
his mind, and thus I never failed to obtain both speci-
mens. It was a pleasure that no one but a naturalist
can appreciate, to see such rare and beautiful shells
coming in alive, spotted cyprseas, marble cones, long
Fusi, and Murices, some spiny, and some richly orna-
mented with varices resembling compound leaves."
At sunset the rajah and his guest rambled along the
curving shore of the great bay. Before them stretched
the green hills of Ceram ; or, as the rajah called it, Ceram
tuna biza, " the great land of Ceram," for to him,
indeed, it seemed a mighty continent, and not merely
a pulo, or island. Magnitude, after all, is simply a
question of comparison; a blade of grass to an ant
bulks as largely as a conifer to a man. Behind the high,
jagged peaks of the " great land" slowly sank the
WATERING-PLACE, AMBOYNA.
THE HERMIT-CRAB. 335
setting sun, and his last golden and purple shafts
quivered like luminous arrows as they fell upon the
wavy surface of the crystal bay ; and the broad, deeply-
fringed leaves of the cocoa-nut palms on the beach,
seemed to change into ruby and emerald and amethyst
in the glow of the wondrous light. It was a scene
never to be forgotten; a scene every detail of which
was engraved deeply on the spectator's memory. Its
silence rendered it all the more impressive; and that
silence was felt the more powerfully because sometimes
broken by a dull, heavy boom from a small Moham-
medan mosque, picturesquely situated on a narrow
headland, and reflected on every side in the purpling
sea. This was the roll of a large drum summoning
the faithful to assemble in thank-offering to the Prophet
at the close of so glorious a day.
While wandering through the island in company
with the rajah, our traveller met with two specimens
of an enormous hermit-crab the Birgus latro which
forms a link, or transitional form, between the long-
tailed and short-tailed crabs. It feeds upon cocoa-nuts,
and is said to climb the palm-trees in order to procure
them ; but Mr. Darwin, who examined its habits
attentively, asserts that it lives upon those that spon-
taneously fall from the tree. To extract its food from
the hard case in which it is enclosed, it shows an
ingenuity which rises above the standard of ordinary
animal instinct. First of all, it must be remarked that
its front pair of legs are terminated by very strong,
heavy pincers ; the last pair by pincers which are weak
and narrow. After having selected a nut fit for its
dinner, the crab begins operations by tearing off the
dry husk until the end of the shell is laid bare on
336 THE ULIASSERS.
which the three eye-holes are situated. Then upon
one of these it hammers and hammers, until an open-
ing is made ; whereupon it turns round, and by means
of a dexterous use of its hind-pincers extracts the oily,
fattening food within.
The Birgus latro inhabits deep burrows, in which it
accumulates immense quantities of picked fibres of
cocoa-nut husks, to serve as a bed. Its habits are
diurnal ; but every night it pays (so it is said) a visit
to the sea for the purpose, probably, of moistening its
branchiae. Living on such choice and succulent food,
it is necessarily excellent food in its turn in fact, an
Oriental luxury; and the mass of fat under the tail of a
large crab will yield when melted as much as a quart of
limpid oil.*
THE ULIASSERS.
Three islands, called the " Uliassers," lie to the east
of Amboyna. That which lies nearest is Haruku
(Dutch, Haroekoe) ; also known to the natives as Oma,
or Buwang-bessi that is, " Ejecting iron." Next in
order comes Saparua, or Sapurba ("the Source") a
name given to it by the Malay and Javanese merchants
who resorted thither, centuries agone, to purchase
cloves; and away to the eastward lies Nusalaut, or
"Sea Island" the island nearest the open sea. The
islanders are distinguished from the Amboynese by
their strange custom of clipping the hair short all over
the head, except a narrow band across the forehead,
which hangs down like a fringe, and gives them a
"remarkably clownish appearance."
Mr. Bickmore crossed from Amboyna to Saparua in
a large prau, rowed by eighteen natives ; one of whom,
Hartwig, "The Sea and its Living Wonders," p. 211.
THE ARECA PALM. 337
as coxswain or captain, steered with a large paddle,
while two others accompanied the movements of the
rowers with melancholy music. The instrument em-
ployed was a huge tifa, or drum, that emitted a dull,
heavy sound, such as would be produced by beating a
hollow log ; and two Chinese gongs, quite perfect in
their exceeding discord. The tifa is beaten with a
piece of wood held lightly in the right hand, while the
left hand raises the note by pressing against the edge
of the vibrating skin. Of course, the sounds thus
created must be unpleasantly monotonous ; nor was
their monotony much relieved by the harsh notes of the
two gongs, which were struck alternately.*
The Uliassers, or Uliasserians (which name is cor-
rect?), are very partial to the betel-nut, which, as some
of our readers may know, is the fruit of a tall and
shapely palm the Areca catechu. While the trunk
of this palm is seldom more than six or eight inches
thick, it rises fully thirty to forty feet from the ground,
exclusive of the capital of green foliage that gracefully
crowns its slender column. All the palms are graceful,
but the areca is of all the gracefullest, and might almost
be taken as the standard of beauty in the Vegetable
World. Its range is extensive, including all Hindustan,
the Archipelago, and the Philippines. Its Malay name
is Penang ; and Pulo Penang means simply Betel-nut
Island. Its flowers are distinguished by their delight-
ful fragrance ; and the inhabitants of Borneo make
great use of them on festive occasions. They are also
regarded as a necessary ingredient in magical charms
and compounds, and in all medicines.
The fruit, of the size of a hen's egg, is of a warm.
* Bickmore, " Travels In the Eastern Archipelago," pp. 179, 180.
(637) W
338 CHEWING BETEL-NUT.
reddish yellow colour, with a thick fibrous rind en-
closing the seed. The seed, known as areca or betel
nut, may be about as large as a nutmeg, but conical
in shape, flattened at the base, brownish externally,
and mottled internally like a nutmeg. When intended
for use, it is cut up into narrow pieces, which, with the
addition of a little lime, are rolled up in leaves of the
betel-pepper. The pellet is chewed, and it is hot and
pungent; it tinges the saliva red, stains the teeth, and,
notwithstanding its undoubted aromatic and astringent
properties, produces intoxication, it is said, when the
practice of chewing it is begun. But its effects are
probably quite as much due to the ingredients taken
with it the leaf of the siri, or betel-pepper, and a
piece of tobacco. " The leaf of the tobacco," we are
told, " is cut so fine that it exactly resembles the ' fine
cut' of civilized lands ; and long threads of the fibrous,
oakum-like substance are always seen hanging out of
the mouths of the natives, and completing their dis-
gusting appearance. This revolting habit prevails not
only among the men, but also among the women ; and
whenever a number come together to gossip, as in other
countries, a box containing the necessary articles is
always seen near by, and a tall, urn-shaped spittoon of
brass is either in the midst of the circle or passing from
one to another, that each may free her mouth from
surplus saliva. Whenever one native calls on another,
or a stranger is received from abroad, invariably the
first article that is offered him is the siri-box."
A NATIVE DANCE.
The three Uliassers closely resemble one another :
each is surrounded by a coral reef, and overgrown with
A NATIVE DANCE. 339
groves of feathery palms. An equally close resemblance
may be discerned between the inhabitants of each
island ; their habits and manners are identical. Their
war-costume is remarkable for its simplicity: the war-
rior presents himself in almost absolute nakedness,
brandishing in his right hand a large cleaver or sword
(frequently made of wood), and carrying on his left
arm a kind of shield, four feet long and about as many
inches wide in the middle. A crown composed of
sticks covered with hen-feathers adorns his head; and
from his shoulders and elbows hang strips of bright
red calico, producing a very comical effect.
Dancing appears to be their favourite pastime. The
dance of the males has a military character about it ;
the performers arranging themselves in two lines, and
advancing and retiring, with much springing and leap-
ing, and many rotatory movements and considerable
brandishing of swords. The dance of the females has
a certain likeness to that of their lords ; but their dress
is happily more elaborate. They attire themselves in a
bright red sarong and a low kabaya or bodice, over
which is one of lace, glittering with silver spangles.
Their long black hair is combed backwards, and fast-
ened in a knot behind with numerous long, flexible
pins of silver, which vibrate in harmonj^ with the
dancer's motions.
Thus attired, they form in two rows, and begin their
minuri, or dance ; slowly twisting their body to the
right and left, and simultaneously moving the out-
stretched arms and open hands in circles in opposite
directions, just as one does in swimming. At times
they change the weight of the body from the heel to
the toe, and the toe to the heel ; but otherwise the
340 VISIT TO CERAM.
feet are not called into requisition. During the dance
they chant a low, monotonous strain, accompanied by
a tifa and several small gongs, which are suspended by
a cord to a framework of gabu-gabu; that is, the dried
midribs of palm-leaves. The gongs increase regularly
in size, from one of five or six inches in diameter to
one of twelve or fifteen inches. Each has a round
central boss, or knob, which the performer strikes with
a small stick, bringing forth a sound not unlike the
tinkling of a small bell.
And here we may take our leave of the Uliasser
Islands, which form a romantic and interesting group,
but do not differ from the Moluccas generally in their
physical or zoological characteristics.
IN CERAM.
The largest of the Moluccas is the island of Ceram,
which lies in a direct line to the east of Bouru, and
in point of size is second only to Celebes in this part
of the Archipelago. It stretches from lat. 2 47' to
3 50' S., and long. 127 51' to 123 56' E. ; or
162 geographical miles in length and 40 in breadth.
Its entire area is estimated at 10,500 square miles, or
nearly twice the size of Yorkshire.
The interior of the island, which the natives call
Sirang, is not well known, the Dutch residents having
devoted more attention to commercial profit than geo-
graphical research; but it may be regarded as forming
a series of mountain-chains from 6000 to 8000, and
even 9000 feet in height, which traverse a table-land
of considerable elevation, and pour down into the sea,
especially from the south, a number of large rivers and
rapid streams. Exposed to sea-breezes, which cool the
THE SAGO-PALM. 841
air and supply abundant moisture, well-watered, broken
up into sheltered valleys, and lying within the Tropics,
it is necessarily clothed with a rich and various vege-
tation, and its forests are full of magnificent timber.
Its landscapes, so far as they are known, seem to offer
inexhaustible sources of inspiration to the artist, and
might well be celebrated in the enthusiastic strains of
some descriptive poet. It has been said that the two
great features of all beautiful scenery are wood and
water ; and these are met with everywhere in Ceram :
and not only the shadows of mighty forests and the
gleam of many rivers, but the rugged and romantic
outlines of rock and crag enter into the glowing pic-
ture, as well as the verdant glade, the dark and savage
glen, and the deep " bowery hollows" of sequestered
recesses.
One of the chief natural productions of Ceram is
THE SAGO-PALM,
which is not only more plentiful here than in any of
the adjoining islands, but attains to greater perfec-
tion. It grows to the height of one hundred feet ;
and a single tree will sometimes yield 1200 pounds of
starch, instead of 400 pounds, as at Amboyna. This
tree in its early stage is very slow of growth ; but
when it has once formed its stem, it shoots upwards
rapidly, and assumes its crown of far-spreading foliage
and colossal efflorescence. Before the flowers ripen
into fruit the tree must be felled ; as otherwise the
farina which man uses for his food would be ex-
hausted.
The sago, which forms so important an article of
commerce, is prepared from the soft inner portion of
842 SAGO-MEAL.
the trunk ; the latter being cut into pieces about two
feet long, which are then split in half, and the soi't
substance is scooped out and pounded in water till the
starchy matter separates, when it is drained off with
the water, allowed to settle, and afterwards purified by
washing. The substance thus obtained is sago-meal ;
but before being exported to the European markets, it
is made into pearl-sago by a Chinese process chiefly
carried on at Singapore. The rough meal is subjected
to repeated washings and strainings ; then spread out
to dry, and broken into small pieces; which, when
sufficiently hard, are pounded and sifted until they are
tolerably uniform in size. Small quantities, finally,
are placed in a large bag, which is suspended from the
ceiling, and shaken backwards and forwards for about
toil minutes, until the sago becomes pearled or granu-
lated ; after which it is thoroughly dried, and packed
for exportation.
The word sagus comes from the Papuan sagu, or
sago, signifying "bread;" which is applied to two
similar species of palms, called by our botanists Sagus
Icevis and Sagus Rumphii. The former of these,
known also as the Spineless Sago-Palm, generally
grows from twenty-five to fifty feet high ; the latter,
the Prickly Sago-Palm, is a smaller tree, and differs
somewhat in its foliage.
The sago-palm is a sociable tree, growing in large
forests, and particularly affecting moist and even
swampy localities. The mouldering trunks are clothed
with mushrooms of fine flavour ; and in the pith
fatten the whitish grubs of a large beetle the Cossus
saguarius which the natives regard as a great deli-
cacy when roasted.
IN THE FOREST. 343
A TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR.
We shall gain the clearest idea of the character of
the scenery in Ceram by accompanying Mr. Wallace
on a trip into the interior, which he was enabled to
accomplish through the courtesy of the Dutch officials.
From the village of Makariki, at the head of the
Bay of Arnabay, a native path strikes across the island
to the north coast.
At first it runs through a dense tangled under-
growth, and traverses several streams ; then it comes
to the bank of the Ruatan one of the largest rivers
in Ceram which, as it is both deep and rapid, offers
a somewhat formidable obstruction. No canoes are
at hand, and the traveller must ford it, carrying his
clothes upon his head, or keeping them out of the
water as best he can.
This difficulty overcome, we again enter the forest,
the path being choked with dead trees and rotten
leaves, or overgrown in the more open parts with
thickly matted vegetation. Following up the bank of
a stream, which flows with crystal clearness over a
wide gravelly bed, we strike into a mountain-glen
reminding us of the gorges in the Scottish Highlands
green with the foliage of hanging woods, and musical
with the murmur of falling waters. Through the glen
winds the obstinate stream, with so many meanders that
we are compelled to cross and recross it fully thirty times
in the course of a few miles ; and we are glad when at
last we leave it behind us, and begin the ascent of the
mountain-country of the interior. All the way the
paucity of animal life has been remarkable. The only
birds that have cheered us by their occasional presence
344 CUSCUS AND OPOSSUM.
are the Amboyna lory and the Molucca hornbill : even
the Insect World has been scantily represented except
by butterflies.
The virgin forest is, after all, a melancholy wilder-
ness, and deficient in the charms which render so
graceful and impressive our English woodlands. Where
is the song of birds? Where the gleam of wild flowers?
Where the soft, elastic sward, with its pleasant fresh-
ness and delicious odours ? We cross from shore to
shore in Ceram, and seem to pass through a monotonous
desert, broken only by the shadows of the mountain-
ravines and the sparkle of the mazy streams. The
forest-growth, however, is luxuriant; and the moun-
tain-sides are covered with large patches of sago-palms,
where the soil is constantly supplied with moisture by
the rains, and by the abundant rills trickling from the
higher grounds.
'A curious species of cuscus is found in the forest;
Mr. Wallace names it Cuscus ornatus. We have
already described this genus of opossum-like animals,
with their small heads, large eyes, dense woolly fur,
and long prehensile tail They live in trees, feeding
on leaves and fruits, and moving about with much
caution and apparent lethargy. The particular species
to which we here refer is distinguished only by the
character and arrangement of the spots which diversify
its thick warm coat.
The small flying opossum, JBelideus arid, is also a
native of Ceram. It is about the size of a rat, and of
a light brown colour on the upper part of the body,
blending into white on the under surface. The tail
is nearly of the same hue as the body, except the tip,
which is of a dark brown. Though exactly resem-
THE HELMETED CASSOWARY. 345
bling a flying squirrel in appearance, it belongs to the
marsupials. Its name Ariel, referring to the " tricksy
spirit" in Shakespeare's " Tempest/' was doubtlessly
suggested by the extreme grace and lightness of its
movements.
Then there is the little shrew, Sorex myosurus,
which may have been accidentally introduced from
Sumatra or Java. It feeds upon worms, insects, and
larvae, which its long flexible nose enables it to root
out among the densest herbage. Its habitation is a
kind of underground tunnel, where it finds not only a
home but a "hunting-ground." It is impatient of
hunger, and wholly unable to endure a long fast. A
pugnacious animal, it is constantly engaged in hostili-
ties with its own kith and kin ; and in these hostilities
it makes effective use of the two rows of bristling teeth
which arm its jaws.
Among the birds, a foremost place must be given to
the cassowary, which inhabits the island of Cerani
only. A stout and strong bird, it stands five to six
feet in height, and its body is clothed with long,
coarse, black, hair-like feathers. Its head is sur-
mounted by a large horny helmet. The skin of the
head and upper part of the neck is naked, of a deep
blue and fiery red tint, with drooping wattles or
caruncles like those of the turkey-cock. It is much
inferior in size to the ostrich ; and its wings consist
simply of five long bristles, or horny spines, without
any plumes, so that they are equally useless for
running as for flying. It frequents the vast forest-
depths of Ceram, feeding on fruit, eggs of birds,
insects or Crustacea, and is said to be as voracious as
the ostrich. It runs with exceeding swiftness ; strik-
34U MIMICRY AMONG BIRDS.
ing out first one and then another of its stalwart legs,
and throwing its body violently forward with a bound-
ing motion exceeding the speed of the horse.
THE CASSOWARY.
The female lays from three to five large and beauti-
fully shagreened green eggs upon a couch of leaves,
the male and female sitting upon them alternately for
about a month.
It was in the Moluccas that Mr. Wallace discovered
some curious and highly interesting cases of " mimicry "
among birds. The reader will wonder what we mean
by " mimicry." Well, there are insects and butterflies
which, when at rest, so closely resemble a dead leaf that
HONEYSUCKER AND ORIOLE. 347
they thereby escape the attack of their enemies. This
is aptly termed a " protective resemblance." But if
the insect, being itself a dish which birds would
certainly consider dainty, should closely resemble
another insect which birds do not like, and therefore
never eat, it would be as well protected as if it re-
sembled a leaf; and this apparent identity has been
named " mimicry " by Mr. Bates, who was the dis-
coverer of these curious external imitations of one
insect by another belonging to a distinct genus or
family, and sometimes even to a distinct order. In
our own country such an instance of " mimicry " is
afforded by those clear-winged moths which resemble
wasps and hornets.
Among the birds Mr. Wallace has discovered some
interesting examples of this wonderful provision of
Nature. There are two which closely resemble each
other, and yet belong to two distinct and even dis-
tant families. One of these is a honeysucker, named,
in the language of zoologists, Tropidorhynchus Bour-
nensis; the other, an oriole, named Mimeta Bournensis.
The oriole resembles the honeysucker in the following
particulars : the upper and under surfaces of the two
birds are exactly of the same tints of dark and light
brown ; the tropidorhynchus has a large bare black
patch round the eyes ; this, in the mimeta, is copied
by a patch of black feathers. The top of the head of
the former has a scaly appearance from the narrow
scale-formed feathers, which are imitated in the latter
by a dusky line running down each of its broader
feathers. The honeysucker wears a pale ruff formed
of curious recurved feathers on the nape (whence the
genus to which it belongs has been called friar birds) ;
848 MODEL AND COPY.
the oriole has a pale band in the same position.
Lastly, the bill of the tropidorhynchus is raised into a
protuberant keel at the base; and the same character-
istic is found in the mimeta, though it is not a com-
mon one in the genus.
Now distinct species of both these genera are found
in Cerain as well as in Bouru, and in Ceram as in
Bouru the resemblance to one another is most re-
markable. The Tropidorhynchus subcornutus is of
an earthy brown colour, washed with ochreish yellow,
with bare orbits, dusky cheek, and the usual recurved
nape-ruff. The Mimeta forsteni which accompanies it
is absolutely identical in the tints of every part of the
body, and the details are copied just as closely as in
the former species.
We have two kinds of evidence to tell us, says Mr.
Wallace,* which bird in this case is the model, and
which the copy. The honeysuckers are coloured after
a pattern which is very general in the whole family
to which they belong ; while the orioles seem to have
departed from the bright yellow tints so common
among their allies. Hence the natural conclusion is,
that the latter mimic the former. But why should
they do so unless some advantage results from the
imitation ? And what is the advantage ? Well :
observe that the mimetas are weak birds, with small
feet and claws ; while the honeysuckers are strong
active birds, with strong claws, and strong, sharp, and
long beaks. They congregate together in groups and
flocks, and when any danger impends summon their
comrades by their loud clamorous cry. They are
Wallace, "Malay Archipelago," ii. 87, 88. The foregoing paragraphs are
founded on Mr. Wallace's statements.
BIRDS OF CERAM. 349
pugnacious birds, and do not fear to attack crows, and
even hawks, if they should chance to perch on their
roosting tree. It is probable, therefore, that the
smaller birds of prey have learned to respect the
prowess of the tropidorhynchi, and not to molest them ;
and it would, consequently, be a signal advantage for
the feebler and less daring mimetas to be mistaken for
them.
To explain how this curious resemblance has been
brought about, would lead us into a discussion of re-
mote natural laws alien to our object in the present
volume ; and we have said enough, we trust, to open
up to some of our readers a source of study with
which they have hitherto been unacquainted, but
which will well repay any labour they may devote
to it.
The birds of Ceram, like its insects, show a decided
affinity to the types common in New Guinea, and
recede from those which prevail in the great western
islands of the Archipelago. To quote Mr. Wallace
once more : " Owing to the great preponderance among
the birds, of parrots, pigeons, kingfishers, and sun-
birds, almost all of gay or delicate colours, and many
adorned with the most gorgeous plumage, and to the
numbers of very large or showy butterflies which
are almost everywhere to be met with, the forests of
the Moluccas offer to the naturalist a very striking
example of the luxuriance and beauty of animal life
in the Tropics. Yet the almost entire absence of
mammalia, and of such widespread groups of birds as
woodpeckers, thrushes, jays, tits, and pheasants, must
convince him that he is in a part of the world which
has in reality but little in common with the great
350 INHABITANTS OF CERAM.
Asiatic continent, although an unbroken chain of
islands seems to link them to it."
THE INHABITANTS.
The inland districts of Ceram are inhabited by an
aboriginal people, the Alfoories or Halafoorahs, who
may be regarded as identical with the mountain-tribes
of Celebes and the Philippines. Civilization has of
late made some impression upon them, and they have
abandoned the hideous custom of " head-hunting,"
though the inside of their huts is still decorated with
human skulls. They are mostly idolaters ; and their
principal occupation is hunting the wild boar and
deer, large serpents, and the like. Agricultural labour
is earned on almost entirely by the women, and large
quantities of maize are reared. They are described as
simple in their manners, honest, and peaceable ; and
being brave and obedient, make good soldiers. They
live in small tribes, each acknowledging the rule of a
native prince, or rajah.
A Malay race of fishermen, bold, active, and enter-
prising, dwells on the coast ; and these fearless sailors,
in their large prahus, manned by thirty to forty
rowers, dare the storms of the Eastern seas, and carry
the spoils of their fishery as far as Singapore and the
Sunda Islands, or the coast of north-west Australia.
VISIT TO GILOLO.
A cursory glance at the map will convince the
reader of the strange resemblance in form between
Celebes and Gilolo. In the latter case, as in the
former, the island is composed of a backbone or
central ridge, throwing off four peninsulas, which are
DESCRIPTION OF GILOLO. 351
divided by large bays or gulfs ; and it can be likened in
appearance only to some monstrous star-fish, extending
its tentacles in quest of prey. Its four peninsulas radiate
successively to the north, the north-east, the east-south-
east, and the south. The three bays which nestle be-
tween them are those of Chiawo, Bitjoli, and Weda:
Chiawo, 68 miles long, from north to south, and 41
miles wide, narrowing to 1 5 miles ;
Bitjoli, 40 miles long, from east to west, and 25
miles wide, narrowing to 1 4 miles ; and,
Weda, 62. miles long, from south-east to north-east,
and 52 miles wide, narrowing to 17 miles.
The extreme length of the island, as it lies north and
south, has been computed at 197 miles. Its breadth
nowhere exceeds, and seldom approaches, 90 miles.
Its superficial area may be estimated at 6500 square
miles ; so that it is larger than Dorset, Devon, and
Cornwall taken together. Gilolo is a volcanic island,
and its extraordinary shape is undoubtedly the result
of violent volcanic action. It contains one lofty and
partially active volcano, Mount Gammacanore, or
Gamokonora, 6500 feet in height, of which an erup-
tion took place in 1673 ; and its bold romantic coasts,
with their strangely-broken outline, rise, sheer and
abrupt, out of a sea of almost fathomless depth. They
are skirted, moreover, by fringing coral reefs which
render some parts virtually inaccessible, and are every-
where dangerous to navigation.
Gilolo (or Halmahera) is the largest of the Moluccas.
It is separated from Celebes on the west by the
Molucca Passage ; from Papua and Waygiou on the
east by the Gilolo Passage ; and from Ceram and
Bouru on the south by Pitt's Passage.
352 IN THE INTERIOR.
The principal productions of the island are cocoa-
nuts, sago, spices, fruits, edible birds' -nests, which find
a ready sale among the Chinese; pearls and gold-dust;
horses, horned cattle, sheep, deer, and wild boars. Its
interior is but little known : the character of the
scenery, however, varies greatly ; in some places the
virgin forest displays all its exuberance of vegetation;
in others, the hills are bare, and the valleys narrowed
by projecting masses of limestone rock. The streams
are numerous and deep, and those which descend from
the high ground are remarkable for their rapidity.
A traveller thus describes the country in the neigh-
bom-hood of one of the principal villages, Saloa :
Interminable tracts of reedy grass, eight or ten feet
high, extend in every direction, and the narrow paths
which strike across them are often rendered almost
impassable by the tangled growth. Here and there
some relief is afforded by clumps of fruit-trees, patches
of low wood, young and thriving plantations, and
swampy rice-grounds. The virgin forest survives only
on the summits of the hills, and on the steep rocky
sides of the distant mountains.
It is only in the northern peninsula that the abori-
gines of the island formerly, in allusion to their love
of warfare, called the " bloodhounds of Gilolo " are
now to be met with. They are described as differing
wholly from all the Malay races. Their stature and
features, as well as their habits and disposition, are
almost the same as those of the Papuans ; their hair,
says Wallace, is "semi-Papuan," neither straight,
smooth, and glossy, like that of the true Malays, nor so
frizzly and woolly as that of the true Papuans, but al-
ways crisp, waved, and rough, such as frequently occurs
MALAY AND PAPUAN. 353
.among the true Papuans, but never among the Malays.
Their colour alone is often exactly that of the Malay, or
even lighter. " Of course," says Wallace, " there has
been intermixture, and there occur occasionally in-
dividuals which it is difficult to classify; but in most
cases the large, somewhat aquiline nose, with elongated
apex, the tall stature, the waved hair, the bearded
face, and hairy body, as well as the less reserved
manner and louder voice, unmistakably proclaim the
Papuan type. Here, then, I had discovered the exact
boundary-line between the Malay and Papuan races."
The rest of the island is inhabited by Malay tribes,
who are distinguished by their affection for a seafaring
life. The southern, northern, and north-eastern penin-
sulas are included in the territory of the Sultan of
Ternate ; the northern nominally belongs to the Sultan
of Tidore.
ANIMAL LIFE IN GILOLO.
We find little to say about the animal life of Gilolo,
other than we have said of that of Celebes and Cerain.
It is poorer in mammals, however, even than Celebes ;
the baboon-monkey (Gynopiihecus nigrescens) and the
babyroussa of the latter not being natives of Gilolo.
Birds are numerous, belonging chiefly to the three
groups of the parrots, pigeons, and kingfishers. Among
the parrots we may name the large red-crested cocka-
too, so well known in Europe as a drawing-room guest;
the red parrot of the genus Eclectus ; and the beauti-
ful crimson-coloured lory. There are fully twenty dif-
ferent species of pigeons, including twelve of the hand-
some fruit-pigeons, with their glossy emerald plumage.
What pen shall do justice to the splendid colours
of the kingfishers, which flash among the low foliage
(687) 23
8S4 MOUND-MAKING BIRDS.
of the well-watered valleys like winged rainbows !
Our English species cannot compare with them ; they
are " beautiful exceedingly," in their shining garb 01
many colours.
To Gilolo belongs a remarkable species of ground-
thrush Pitta gigas remarkable for its size and its
plumage. The upper part of the body is a fine velvety
black; the breast is white as mountain-snow; a blue
like that of the summer sky shines on its shoulders ;
and its belly is of a peculiarly vivid crimson. It has
legs both long and strong; and as it frequents the
thickets and the rocky recesses of the forest, it needs
them.
In Gilolo also dwells a characteristic species of the
mound-making birds, or Megapodii; a handsome bird,
its back and wings being richly banded with reddish
brown. From the other megapodii it differs strangely
in its habits ; for while they frequent the scrubby
jungle, and scratch holes in the sand of the sea-shore for
the reception of their eggs, over which they erect
rnouuds of rubbish six to eight feet in height, the
Gilolese bird inhabits the inland forests; and when it
comes down to the beach to lay its eggs, it forms a
burrow about three feet deep, and in an oblique direc-
tion, depositing its eggs at the bottom, and loosely
covering the entrance with sand and stones so as to
conceal it. Further, that the hole may not be dis-
covered, it obliterates, or at least confuses, its foot-
marks, by making all around a number of scratches and
irregular tracks. It lays its eggs only at night; they
are of a rusty colour, and fully three inches long by
two or more inches wide. They are good eating, and
much relished by the natives of Gilolo.
BIRDS OF PARADISE. 355
This megapodius is a nocturnal bird, and from night-
fall till dawn arouses the forest-echoes with its harsh,
loud, melancholy cries.
Off the north-east peninsula of Gilolo lies the low,
sandy, coralline island of Morty ; to which we refer
simply for the purpose of noting that, small as it is,
and separated from the nearest land by an arm of the
sea twenty-five miles wide, it boasts of three species of
birds peculiar to itself a kingfisher, a honeysucker, and
a large crow-like starling. Does not this fact convey a
remarkable idea of the inexhaustible wealth of Nature ?
BATCHIAN, AND BIRDS OF PARADISE.
None of the inhabitants of the Bird World approach
the Paradiseidae in elegance of shape and beauty of
plumage; and there is something so superb, and at
the same time so unearthly, in their appearance, that
it is hardly to be wondered at if the fancy of the early
voyagers supposed them to be fit denizens of the Gar-
den of Eden. The most extraordinary legends at one
time prevailed about them. It was said that they
lived wholly upon dew, and passed their lives in long
aerial voyages ; that they so spurned the earth as never
to touch it until the moment of death approached ; that
they never rested except when suspending themselves
from the branches of trees by the shafts of their two
tail-feathers; and it is still a belief of the Malays that
for breeding purposes they retire to the untroubled
groves of Paradise. These fables partly arose in their
peculiar habits, and partly in the Papuan custom of
tearing off their legs before sending them to market,
which led the European navigators to suppose that
356 BIRDS OF PARADISE.
they were all wings and body.* Then, again, owing to
the singular looseness of their plumage, they always fly
against the wind. Add to this, that they dwell in the
recesses of the vast virgin forests, afar from the haunts
of men, and that their song or cry is very characteristic;
and it is not difficult to understand how they came to
be invested with so many fabulous attributes.
The Paradiseidse are confined exclusively to the
Australo-Malay Islands, having probably their true
habitat in Papua or New Guinea, whence they have
found their way as far as Batchian. In the tropical
forests of these islands they live in large troops ; and as
they fly on undulating wing, or perch on the summit
of the tallest trees, they lend an additional beauty to
the landscape by the rare splendour of their many-
coloured plumage. They shun the noontide heat, and
seek their food, which consists principally of fruit, in
the morning and evening. They show a great par-
tiality for the fruit of the fig and teak trees, but do
not disdain an occasional meal of insects, of which
however, they reject the horny or scaly case, legs, and
wings. They are polygamous ; that is, the male has
several mates, from whom he is easily distinguished by
the superior bravery of his appearance. Moreover,
they recognize a form of government ; a flock of forty
or fifty birds flying always under the direction of a
single bird, which the Papuans call their chief. Their
cries are very peculiar, and seem to differ according to
the meaning they are intended to convey : their con-
gratulatory note, on meeting one another, resembles the
cawing of a raven, but is more diversified in its grada-
tion, and may be expressed as he, he, ho, haiv, frequently
* Hence the generic name, Apoda, or "without feet"
EMERALD BIRD OF PARADISE.
357
repeated and rapidly. Sometimes
they appear to issue a call or sum-
mons, the notes resembling the
syllables ivkock, ivhoch, whock,
uttered in a kind of barking tone,
and so loudly as to be audible at
a considerable distance.
The best-known species is the
emerald bird of paradise, of which
it has been said that it possesses
" plumage which in one part glit-
ters with all the dazzling gem-
like hues of the humming-bird, in
another is soft, warm, and deli-
cately tinted, and in another is
358 WALLACE'S STANDARD-WING.
dyed with a rich intensity of colouring that needs a
strong light to bring out its depth of tone ; and yet
the torrent of graceful and softly-tinted plumes that
How with such luxuriant redundance of changeful
curves over the body, are in themselves sufficient to
place the emerald bird of paradise in the first rank of
beauty."
It has been asserted of this glorious creature, that it
surpasses in beauty the whole of the feathered creation.
This is a bold eulogium, but we are not disposed to
quarrel with it ; nor will the reader, if he succeeds in
realizing to himself what manner of bird it applies to :
a throat of the brightest emerald ; a canary-tinted
neck shading its colour gradually into the fine choco-
late of the other parts of the body ; wings of a warm
reddish brown, like the leaf of the chestnut in autumn,
from which droops, as it were, a cloud of loose golden
plumes, in graceful feathery tufts. The chocolate-
coloured tail is short, but projecting from it are two
very long shafts of the same hue, longer even than the
silken plumes of the sides.
As we shall have occasion to dwell further upon the
natural history of the Paradiseidse, when our survey of
the Archipelago brings us to New Guinea, we shall
content ourselves here with reference to a fine species
found only in the island of Batchian. It has been
named Semioptera Wallacei, or " Wallace's Standard-
wing," and differs most remarkably from any other
known bird. We cannot do better than borrow the
discoverer's description of it, which the reader, if he
has the opportunity, may compare with the stuffed
specimens in the British Museum : The general plum-
age is very sober, being a pure ashy olive, with a
A FAIRY CREATURE. 359
purplish tinge on the back ; the crown of the head is
beautifully glossed with pale metallic violet, and the
feathers of the front extend as much over the beak as
in most of the family. The neck and breast are scaled
with fine metallic green, and the feathers on the lower
part are elongated on each side, so as to form a two-
pointed gorget, which can be folded beneath the wings,
or partially erected and spread out in the same way as
the side plumes of most of the birds of paradise. The
four long white plumes, which give the bird its almost
unique character, spring from little tubercles close to
the upper edge of the shoulder or bend of the wing ;
they are narrow, gently curved, and equally webbed
on both sides, of a pure creamy white colour. They
are about six inches long, equalling the wing, and can
be raised at right angles to it, or laid along the body
at the pleasure of the bird. The bill is horn colour,
the legs are yellow, and the iris is of a pale olive.*
Metallic blue, violet, olive green, creamy white :
what a delicious blending of colours ! Surely, the
fairy creature which is clothed in plumage of this
bright and varied character must be "a thing of
beauty " and " a joy for ever !" It would be worth a
voyage to Batchian to see it fluttering through its
leafy forest-haunts, and streaming its brilliant plumes
against the wind! But Batchian would seem to be a
"paradise of birds;" or, at all events, those of the
feathered race which inhabit its glades are remarkable
for their attractiveness. As, for instance, a rare goat-
sucker, the Nicobar pigeon, a deep blue roller, a lovely
sunbird, and a racquet-tailed kingfisher. Of these we
need pause to notice only the Nicobar pigeon, as the
Wallace, " Malay Archipelago," 11. 17, 1&
360 NICOBAR PIGEON.
others exhibit the usual characters of the genera to
which they belong, and are distinguished simply by
some slight specific differences.
The Nicobar pigeon is one of the Gourinae, or ground
pigeons : so called because they live in the forests, and
feed upon berries, seeds, and grain, which they seek on
the ground. It forms its nest in the forked branch of
a tree, and the female at each sitting lays two eggs.
It is distributed throughout the Archipelago, from west
to east ; frequenting chiefly the smaller islands, where
it is safe from the attacks of carnivorous quadrupeds.
Its wings are remarkable for strength, and it is able to
fly for very long distances. With its glossy green
plumage, tinged with coppery hues, its snow-white
tail, and the fine pendent feathers of the neck, it is
one of the handsomest of its tribe.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE SCENERY OP BATCHIAN.
Having said thus much about the birds of Batchian,
we must say something about the island itself. As to
its position : it lies to the west of the south peninsula
of Gilolo, in lat. 37' N., and long. 117 36' E. As to
its dimensions : it is about fifty-seven miles in length,
and from five to twenty in breadth. It is a volcanic
island, and consists in the main of a mountainous
ridge about one thousand feet in elevation, sloping
north and south down to the sea-level, with a
boldly undulating surface. It has its shadowy valleys,
its rocky eminences, its clear swift streams, and its
patches of virgin forest, like the other Moluccas, from
which it diners in details, rather than in the general
character of its scenery.
In some parts its coast-line presents a remarkable
SCREW-PINES IN BATCHIAN. 361
feature, the beach being continuously covered with
clumps of Pandanacese or screw-pines. These are of
various shapes, each more fantastic than the other.
Some, forty or fifty feet in height, may be compared
to gigantic branching candelabra, carrying at the end
of each branch, instead of tapers, a tuft of immense
sword-shaped leaves, six or eight feet long, and as many
inches wide. Others are more like huge tangled
bushes, about ten or fifteen feet in height. Their
leaves, which are very long and narrow, leathery,
tenacious, and equipped along the midrib and edges
with sharp recurved prickles, are disposed in a three-
fold spiral series towards the end of the branches, so
as to form tufts or crowns, as in the larger species ;
and it is from the resemblance of these to the tufts of
the pine-apple that the Pandanacete have obtained the
name of Screw-pines. Other species there are with a
single branchless stem, six or seven feet high, the upper
part clothed with the spirally arranged leaves, and
terminating in a single fruit as large as a swan's egg.
Others of intermediate size are adorned with irregular
clusters of rough red fruits, and all have ringed stems
and leaves more or less spiny. In the young plants
of the larger species, however, the leaves are smooth
and glossy, and, being sometimes ten feet long and
eight inches wide, are much used in the Moluccas and
New Guinea for " cocoyas " or sleeping-mats.
Inland the background of dark dense forest exhibits
some interesting objects : as, for example, the kanary,
already described, the nut of which is pleasantly-
flavoured, and enclosed in a succulent rind which
furnishes the favourite food of the great green fruit-
pigeon ; the Moluccan fig, with vast aerial roots form-
862 PALMS AND PLANTAINS.
ing a pyramid nearly one hundred feet in height, and
throwing off from their point of junction a host of
spreading branches ; and the Dammara orientcdis, or
Amboyna pine, a noble conifer, with scattered leathery
leaves, which rises one hundred feet in height, and yields
the valuable Dammar resin. This is found attached to
the trunk of the tree, or buried in the ground at its
foot, in lumps of ten, fifteen, or twenty pounds weight.
The Batchian natives pound it, and pack the powder
into palm-leaf tubes, about a yard long, which, when
ignited, burn with a bright and steady flame.
Palms and plantains also abound in the forests of
Batchian ; the lofty areca, with its clusters of red
fruit, and the fan-leaved palm, whose leaves are used
for water-buckets ; true wild plantains, bearing an
edible fruit an inch or two in length, and consisting
of a mass of seeds just covered with pulp and skin;
climbing ferns, with beautiful waving fronds ; and
screw-pines, tall of stature and fantastic in shape.
Besides its vegetable resources, Batchian is rich in
gold, and copper, and coal, in hot springs and geysers;
so that for the geologist as well as the botanist it offers
a wide and interesting field of inquiry, while the artist
would find abundant material in its varied scenery, in
its lofty mountains lifting their peaks out of a belt of
luxuriant forest, its bold abrupt hills, its well-watered
valleys, and its open alluvial plains.
It is deficient, however, in animal life. Birds and
insects are rare, and mammals are rarer. Bats abound,
but they are chiefly small species ; the flying opossum,
the cuscus ornatus, and the civet cat frequent the
wooded shades ; and it is the easternmost point at
which the naturalist discovers any of the quadrumana.
THE FLYING FOX. 363
The particular species found here is the large black
baboon-monkey (Cynopithecus nigrescens), which has
bare red callosities, and a rudimentary tail about an
inch in length. It may probably have been introduced
by the wandering Malays, " who often carry about with
them tame monkeys and other animals."
The fruit-eating bat, known as the " flying fox " to
Europeans, the " kalong " of Java, is generally eaten
by the natives of Batchian. Feeding as it does on figs,
bananas, and other pulpy fruit, we may well believe
that its flesh is white and delicate. At all events, the
people of Batchian regard it as a dainty, and hunt it
eagerly. Early in the year these bats assemble in
large flocks to eat fruit, and during the day suspend
themselves to the trees, and especially the dead ones,
in thousands. They can then be easily caught or
knocked down by sticks, and it is common enough to
see the natives carrying them home by basketfuls.
Their preparation for the table is necessarily a work
of some art, on account of the rank and foxy odour of
the skin and fur ; they are therefore cooked with a
plentiful allowance of spices and condiments, and when
served up make a capital dish, not unlike hare.
INHABITANTS OF BATCHIAN.
The inland districts of Batchian are wholly unin-
habited, and it cannot be said that the island possesses
an indigenous population. Yet four distinct races of
people may here be met with. First, the Batchian
Malays, tall, well-made, and dark-complexioned, pro-
bably the earliest colonists. They seem, from the
peculiarities of their language, to have mixed with
Papuans. Second, the so-called Orang-Sirani, who
364 INHABITANTS OF BATCHIAN.
may be described as Malays, with an admixture of
Portuguese blood. Third, " Galela " men, who come
from the north of Gilolo ; and, fourth, Tomore settlers,
from the eastern peninsula of Celebes. These are dis-
tinguished by their light complexion, open Tartar
physiognomy, and low stature. Their language is akin
to that of the Bugi Malays. They are industrious
in their habits, fond of agricultural pursuits, honest,
patient, and peaceable. They make large quantities of
bark cloth, similar to the tapa of the Polynesians, by
cutting down certain trees, and stripping off cylindrical
pieces of bark, which is beaten with mallets till it
easily parts from the wood. It is then soaked, and
beaten out again and again, with much care and labour,
until for thinness and toughness it may be compared
to parchment. By staining it with the dye obtained
from another kind of bark, it assumes a dark red
colour, and becomes almost impervious to water.
Then, sewn neatly together, it is used for jackets, or as
wrappers for clothes, or for other domestic purposes.
VOLCANIC ISLAND OF MAKIAN.
We have referred to the volcanic character of
Batchian. The surrounding region is one great theatre
of volcanic phenomena ; and to the immediate north
of it lies the isle of Makian, forming an ancient volcano
of formidable character. An ancient volcano, but not
extinct. In 1646 it broke out with terrible violence,
and with showers of red-hot stones and ashes destroyed
all the villages that had been planted on its abrupt
but well-wooded sides. It is said that they contained
at the time of this catastrophe a population of some
seven thousand.
ERUPTION OF MARIAN. 365
The whole mountainous mass was so completely
cloven in twain in a north-east and south-west direc-
tion, that, when viewed from either of these points, it
presented two distinct peaks.
After so awful an outburst, the subterranean forces
remained quiescent for upwards of two centuries ; and
human industry once more set to work to repair the
ravages of Nature. New villages sprang up ; fresh
fields were cultivated, vegetation reclothed the furrowed
declivities ; and a population of six thousand found sub-
sistence on the island.
But in 1862 another eruption took place, and the
unfortunate island was buried in universal ruin. Very
few of its inhabitants escaped. The villages, and their
gardens and fruitful fields, were buried deep beneath
the enormous quantity of material ejected from the
bowels of the mountain. Some idea of the fearful
character of the calamity may be gathered from the
fact that at Ternate, about forty miles distant, the
volcanic showers covered the ground to a depth of
nearly four inches, and withered and destroyed all the
vegetation except the tall forest-trees.
A similar devastation was the cause of exceeding
misery and prolonged scarcity within all that radius of
forty miles.
We may therefore regard Makian as one of the
principal foci of plutonic phenomena in this part of the
Archipelago.
TERNATE : ITS VOLCANO.
Another, and certainly a not less important, volcano
is that of Ternate ; a nearly circular island, or island-
peak, about ten miles in circumference, which rises
366 TOWN OF TERNATE.
out of the blue sea on the west coast of Gilolo in one
massive and richly- wooded cone, to a height of 5480
feet.
At its base lies the town of Ternate, the capital of
the " Sultan," and a place of old historic memories,
which figures largely in the pages of the early
voyagers. No wonder that it produced a strong im-
pression on their imagination ! There is something
romantically beautiful in its situation, which may well
have charmed the fancy and delighted the wistful eyes
of the wave-worn mariners, weary of the almost bound-
less, and to them unknown, waste of waters lying
between the Old World and the New. Opposite to
it is the rugged promontory and graceful volcanic cone
of Tidore ; to the east stretches the long mountainous
coast of Gilolo, boldly terminated towards the north
by three lofty volcanic peaks. In front of it shines a
dark blue sea, studded with fairy islands of verdure ;
while in its rear looms the huge bulk of the mountain,
its lower slopes brightened with thick groves of fruit-
trees, its higher declivities more abrupt, but also en-
riched with vegetation, ay, even to the very summit,
where crowning wreaths of faint blue smoke are the
only visible indications of the terrible fires that burn
within the depths.
Numerous small ridges extend from its crest part
way down its wopded sides, and then develop into
open plateaus or table-lands, which the natives have
seized upon, and cleared of their shrubbery, and con-
verted into radiant gardens.
The contrast is strange between what we know of
this great volcano and what it seems, as it lifts up its
tremendous mass in the transparent air, now shining
VOLCANO OF TERNATE. 369
in the glory of the sunlight, now softened in every
outline by the tender lustre of the moon. Calm and
tranquil as it looks, its annals are annals of desolation
and disaster. We are told by Valentyn, Reinwardt,
and Junghabor, that severe and destructive eruptions
occurred in 1608, 1635, 1653, and 1673, or at
intervals of twenty to twenty-five years. On the
last occasion showers of ashes were carried as far as
Amboyna. For one hundred and sixty-five years the
mountain was at rest, and gave no sign of its internal
powers other than the usual clouds of vapour stream-
ing from its summit.
But on the 26th of February 1838 this prolonged
period of tranquillity was broken ; and broken so sud-
denly, so completely without premonitory symptoms,
that of a party of six natives engaged in collecting
sulphur on the summit, four who had descended into
the crater were unable to save themselves, and the
two who had remained on its edge escaped only by
a swift descent of the mountain, pursued as they went
by showers of hot stones, and suffering greatly.
On the 25th of March 1839 a still more violent
outbreak occurred. Beneath the surface the pent-up
gases roared like thunder ; the whole island was en-
veloped by " thick clouds of ashes ; " and rivers of
incandescent lava rolled down the mountain-sides, fill-
ing the sky with their reflected glare.
Again, in the following year, on the 2nd of Febru-
ary, and at nine o'clock in the morning, an eruption
began which must be regarded as the climax of the
previous perturbations of the volcano. The forces
which had been so long restrained broke forth with
incredible fury ; the internal fires found at length the
(637) 24
870 ERUPTION OF 1840.
outlet for which they had been contending. The air
resounded with terrific peals, like the reports of hostile
artillery ; columns of smoke rose high above the moun-
tain-crest ; and hot stones and ashes fell in incessant
showers, which ignited the surrounding forests, so that
at night the island seemed wrapped, like a martyr, in
" a sheet of flame." Simultaneously, a mass of molten
lava boiled over the northern rim of the crater, and
rushed down to the very margin of the sea. For
twenty-four hours continued this elemental war, and
then all was still.
For ten days clouds of black reeking smoke con-
tinued to ascend, it is true, but no other phenomena
were visible ; and the terrified natives began to cherish
the hope that the dread convulsion was at an end,
that Nature had exhausted her destructive energies.
But at midnight on the 14th the "unearthly thun-
derings" were renewed, and shocks of earthquake
succeeded one another with such destructive violence,
that before daybreak every house on the island was
laid in ruins. The earth split open, it is said, with a
clang that was distinctly audible even above the roar-
ing voices of the volcano ! From innumerable fissures
jets of boiling water momently escaped, and then the
earth closed, to open again at another point. An
educated gentleman, known, from his wealth and
splendid liberality, as the " Prince of the Moluccas,"
assured a recent traveller that, when two men stood
about a thousand yards apart, one would see the other
lifted up until his feet rose as high as the head of the
observer; and then immediately he would sink, and
the observer in his turn be lifted up until he seemed
as much above his fellow as previously he had been
A TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE. 371
below him. The solid ground rolled and undulated
like the liquid ocean, though the earthquake-wave did
not reach its full intensity until ten o'clock on the
loth of February. The Dutch citadel, which had
withstood the assaults of two centuries and a half,
was shaken to its foundations, and completely buried
beneath the ruins of the uprooted forests and the con-
stantly descending masses of pumice-stone and scorise.
Remember that, meanwhile, the air was filled with
noisome odours, and the sky darkened by thick
showers of ashes and reeking clouds of smoke, except
when lightened up by the lurid reflections of the liquid
lava ; that strange sounds echoed in every direction
hisses, and groans, and detonations, and peals like the
reverberation of thunder among rocky hills ; and then
you will understand the fear that seized upon the hearts
of all who saw and heard, the great panic and over-
whelming dread, as if " the day of the Lord " were at
hand.
On what proved to be the last day of destruction,
the loth, the people betook themselves to their boats;
for all the usual conditions of nature seemed to have
been reversed, and while the earth heaved and rolled
like a tempest-tossed sea, the sea was as placid and as
smooth as an inland plain. It is a fact to be noted,
that on this occasion the usual inroad of the waves
a well-known accompaniment of great earthquakes,
as at Lisbon in 1755, and at Quito in 1859 did not
take place ; and the inhabitants were spared a fatal
and most terrible addition to their calamities. As it
was, when the convulsion finally ceased the survivors
found themselves among the ruins of their houses and
gardens ; their fields desolated ; their orchards laid
372 ORCHARD-GROWTH.
waste ; while they were called upon to mourn the
loss of friends and relatives scarcely a family having
escaped the general doom, so far as the capital was
concerned.
It has been estimated that this disaster entailed a
destruction of property equal to "four hundred thousand
Mexican dollars." Yet, strange to say, like the Nea-
politans at Mount Vesuvius, the attachment of both
foreigners and natives to this particular spot was so
strong, that they would not select a less dangerous
locality on the neighbouring shores, but returned to
the " old home," and rebuilt their houses for another
earthquake to level to the ground ; a striking illustra-
tion of the truth of the common remark, that " they
are less afraid of fire than the Hollanders are of
water."
The present city of Ternate, however, is much
smaller than the one it has replaced ; and all around
it you may see signs both of the greater opulence of
the ancient town, and of the destructive character
of the earthquake of 1840, in the ruins of massive
stone and brick buildings, gateways, and arches.
Further, in reference to the mountain we need only
say, that its lower declivities are clothed with a forest
of fruit-trees ; one vast continuous orchard, into which
you may see, in the season, hundreds of men and
women, boys and girls, ascending, to gather the ripe
fruit. Specially abundant, and specially fine-flavoured,
are the durians and mangoes, two of those delicious
tropical fruits which almost compensate for the burden
of tropical heat. Larsats and mangilstans (or "man-
gosteens ") are also plentiful, and of excellent quality.
Above this orchard-belt we come to an area of cleavings
SPICY ISLANDS. 373
and cultivated grounds, stretching up the mountain to
an elevation of nearly three thousand feet, where the
virgin forest begins; and thenceforward, nearly to the
summit, a dense deep shade and luxuriant leafy growth
prevail. On the northern side of the peak, a tract of
black rugged lava, sprinkled with bushes, descends
from the crater to the sea, and marks the course of
the lava-flow in 1840. The natives call it " Batu-
angas," or the Black Rock.
HISTORICAL NOTES ON TERNATE.
The reader of " Paradise Lost " will doubtlessly re-
call to mind the beautiful passage in which Milton
refers to
" The isles
Of Ternate and Tidore, whence merchants bring
Their spicy drugs." *
These " spicy drugs " originally reached the nations of
the West by an overland route, the Malay seamen
carrying them to the mainland, whence they were con-
veyed by the Indian merchants from market to market.
A considerable trade was also conducted by the Arabs,
who acquired great influence in the Archipelago, and
converted the people of Ternate to Mohammedanism.
In 1512, however, Francisco Serrano, whose vessel
struck on the Tuiile Islands when he was returning
from Amboyna with the expedition of D'Abreu, in-
duced the natives to assist him in getting her afloat,
and to pilot him to Ternate. Thus he was the first
European who reached the great centre of the clove-
trade ; the centre, too, of so many legends of barbaric
wealth and Oriental power. Seven years later, the
* "Paradise Lost." book ii.. lines 63S-G40.
374 THE SULTAN AND THE SPANIARDS.
fleet of Magellan sailed from Spain for the purpose of
reaching the Spice Islands by a ivestern passage, which,
it was supposed, would be a more direct route than
that discovered by Vasco di Gama round the " Cape
of Storms," our more appropriately named " Cape of
Good Hope." He himself reached only the Philip-
pines, where he was murdered by the natives ; but
his lieutenant accomplished the circumnavigation of
the globe, and returned to Spain in 1523. After
leaving the Philippines, the Spanish ships touched at
Tidore, an island separated from Ternate only by a
narrow arm of the sea ; and some interesting sketches
of the manners and customs of the inhabitants of both
islands are furnished by the chronicler of the expe-
dition.
The king, says Pigafetta, may have as many wives
as he pleases, but only one of them is regarded as his
queen, the others being looked upon as slaves. With-
out the town was a large house in which lived two
hundred of his handsomest women, with two hundred
more to wait upon them. The king always ate by
himself, or with his queen, on a kind of elevated plat-
form, commanding a view of all his wives, who were
seated round him. After he had dined, his wives, if
he gave permission, all ate together; otherwise, each
dined by herself.
Pigafetta also describes* the mode in which the
visitors and the people conducted an exchange of com-
modities.
A shed having been raised to receive the merchan-
dise, the Spaniards carried thither all they designed to
barter, and set some of their men to act as guards. The
Pigafetta, in Pinkerton, xi. 361-363.
A BRISK TRADE. 375
value of the goods to be exchanged for cloves was then
estimated; for two yards of red cloth of fine quality a
bahar of cloves was to be demanded a bahar being equal
to about four hundred and twelve pounds. They like-
wise were to have in barter the same quantity of cloves
for fifteen yards of inferior cloth, for fifteen axes, or
thirty-five glass goblets. At this rate they disposed of
all their glass to the king. Moreover, a bahar of cloves
was the price given for seventeen cathils of cinnabar,
for a similar weight of quicksilver, for twenty-six yards
of linen, or twenty-five of a finer quality, for a hundred
and fifty pairs of scizzors, or as many knives, for ten
yards of Guzerat cloth, for three gongs, or a hundred-
weight of copper.
" We should have made great profit of our looking-
glasses," says Pigafetta, " but most of them were
broke by the way, and the residue were almost wholly
appropriated to himself by the king. We thus carried
on a highly advantageous traffic." No doubt they
did ; yet the chronicler adds, with a sigh, that it might
have been infinitely more lucrative if they had not
been so eager to return to Spain! "Besides cloves,"
he continues, " we every day laid in a considerable
stock of provisions ; the Indians constantly repairing
to us in their barks, bringing goats, poultry, cocoa-
nuts, bananas, and other edibles, which they gave us
for things of little value. We at the same time laid in
a large quantity of an extremely hot water, which
after an hour's exposure to the air becomes very cold."
This would be obtained from a thermal or hot spring,
a natural curiosity of which the Moluccas contain several
examples.
Throughout the East the Sultans or Kings of Ternate
376 DRAKE AT TERNATE.
and Tidore were famous for their magnificence ; and
stories of their barbaric pomp abound in the narratives
of the old voyagers. Sir Francis Drake visited Ternate
in 1579, and seems to have been more than usually
impressed by the splendid ostentation of its sovereign.
" He had a very rich canopy, with embossings of gold,
borne over him, and was guarded with twelve lances.
From the waist to the ground was all cloth of gold, and
that very rich; in the attire of his head were finely
wreathed diverse rings of plaited gold, of an inch or
more in breadth, which made a fair and princely show,
somewhat resembling a crown in form ; about his neck
he had a chain of perfect gold, the links very great,
and one fold double; on his left hand were a diamond,
an emerald, a ruby, and a turquoise; on his right hand,
in one ring, a big and perfect turquoise, and in another
ring many diamonds of a smaller size."
His court consisted of at least a thousand persons,
forty of whom were courtiers or councillors ; and,
besides, there were four grave persons, apparelled all in
red down to the ground, and attired on their heads like
the Turks; and these, the English were led to under-
stand, were "Romans," and "ligiers" (ambassadors, we
suppose) to keep " continual traffic." There were also
two Turkish ligiers, and one Italian; but Drake does
not say whether they, too, were apparelled all in red.
The king, a handsome man, tall of stature, and of grace-
ful manners, looking every inch a king, was guarded
by twelve lances, as we have already said; while on
the right hand of his chair of state stood a page cool-
ing him with a fan two feet in length and one in breadth,
embroidered and adorned with sapphires, and fastened
to a staff three feet long, by which it was moved.
BARBARIC POMP. 377
In this splendid court, which surely presented the
very climax of barbaric pomp, a minute and punctilious
ceremonial prevailed; and no one was allowed to ad-
dress the monarch save with bated breath, and in a
kneeling posture. When he visited Drake's ship, the
famous Golden Hind, which afterwards inspired the
muse of Cowley, the same splendid ostentation was
observed. The royal equipment consisted of four
gorgeous galleys, or "barges," filled with the most
illustrious personages of the kingdom. They wore
dresses of white muslin, " lawn of cloth of Calicut,"
loose and long. Over their heads extended a canopy
or awning of perfumed mats, supported on a framework
of reeds. Divers lords came first, who being of good
age and gravity, did make "an ancient and fatherly
show." Next to them stood a number of young men
similarly attired; and beyond them ranks of warriors,
armed with sword, target, and dagger; while the com-
plement of the royal flotilla was made up by the
rowers, seated in galleries, "which, being three on a
side all along the canvas, did lie off from the side
thereof three or four yards, one being orderly builded
lower than another, in every of which galleries were
the number of fourscore rowers." They paddled in
cadence to the clash of cymbals, and moved forward
in stately order, the king in the last barge; a very
imposing and brilliant spectacle, to which Drake lent
the accompaniments of frequent salvoes of artillery
and a loud flourish of trumpets.
All this state and bravery, of which no relics now
remain, were the result of the immense wealth which
the Sultans, both of Ternate and Tidore, accumulated
from their monopoly of the spice trade. Ternate, and
378 XAVIER, THE JESUIT MISSIONARY.
the cluster of small islands to the south of it, as far as
Batchian, constitute the ancient Moluccas, the Maluk-
hos of the early voyagers, and here alone was the clove-
tree cultivated. Nutmegs and mace were imported
from New Guinea and the Papuan group, where they
grew wild; and the profits realized on spice cargoes
were so enormous, that the European traders willingly
gave in exchange gold and jewels, and the " finest
manufactures of Europe or India."
Christianity was introduced by the Portuguese soon
after their settlement at Ternate; and in 1535 the
native king embraced the new creed, and repaired to
Goa to be christened. Other native rulers followed
his example, and Catholicism made rapid progress,
until all the Christian converts were massacred by
Moslem fanatics, led by one Cantalino a terrible event,
commemorated in Church History as the "Moluccan
Vespers." In 1546, Ternate was visited by the great
Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier, who laboured for
some months among the various islands ; and in his
Letters has left on record some interesting particulars
both of what he saw and what he did. At Ternate
he would appear to have been very successful. He
went to work, we are told, with penance and prayer,
constant preaching, catechizing, setting the children
to sing the Christian creeds, waking up the streets at
night with calls to prayer, and fearlessly denouncing
sins and sinners. So far as the so-called Christian
population was concerned, he wrought a mighty refor-
mation; scandals were removed, old enmities given up,
divine service was more regularly attended; and this
example had so great an effect on the mind of the
natives, that hundreds of them gladly embraced a re-
INHABITANTS OF TERNATE. 379
ligion, the true and earnest preaching of which could
effect so great a change.
" I have very good reason," he writes, " to thank
God for the fruits which came of niy work. The con-
verts took up the practice of singing hymns in praise
of God with so much ardour, that the native boys in
the street, the young girls and the women in the
houses, the labourers in the fields, the fishermen on
the sea, instead of singing licentious and blasphemous
songs, were always singing the elements of the Chris-
tian doctrine. And as all the songs had been put in
the language of the country, they were understood
equally well by the newly-made Christians and the
heathens." Of Ternate and its sister-isles he says :
" All these isles are full of dangers, on account of the
feuds which rage among the inhabitants, and their
civil wars. The race is barbarous, totally ignorant of
letters, devoid of any written monuments of the past,
and without any notions of reading or writing. It is
their practice to take away the lives of any whom
they hate by poison, and in this way a great many
are killed. The soil is rugged, and destitute of pro-
ductions which support life. There is no corn nor wine ;
the natives scarcely know what fresh meat is; they
have no herds nor flocks, nothing but a few swine,
which are objects rather of curiosity than of food.
Wild boars abound; good water is very rare; rice is
plentiful; there are also trees in great numbers from
which the natives procure a kind of bread and of
wine ; and others out of the woven bark of which the
clothing which they all use is made."
Xavier, in continuing his description, alludes to the
volcanic character of Ternate. Almost constantly, he
380 INVASION OF THE DUTCH.
says, throughout its length and breadth, it is shaken
by earthquakes, and it sends up flames and ashes.
The natives informed him that so great was the violence
of the subterranean fire, that the strata of rocks on
which a certain town is built were all incandescent.
" What they say," he remarks, " seems credible ; for
it often happens that large red-hot stones, as big as the
largest trees, are hurled into the air; and when a very
strong wind blows, such a quantity of ashes is sent
up from the cavities, that the men and women who
have been at work in the country return so covered
with reek that you can hardly see their eyes or nose
or face. You would think they were rather demons
than human beings. This is what the natives tell
me," adds Xavier, honestly, " for I have not seen it
myself."
But we must not linger on these picturesque asso-
ciations of the Past. In 1578, the Dutch, under
Admiral Houtman, first came into these seas; and in
1605, under valiant Stephen van der Hagen, they
stormed Ternate and captured it, drove the beaten
Portuguese out of the Moluccas, and speedily got into
their own hands the monopoly of the spice trade. To
increase its profit, they adopted the barbarous policy
for such we must call it, though it has found a de-
fender in Mr. Wallace of reducing the growth; and
for this purpose they bribed the king of Ternate, by
the offer of a yearly pension, to allow them to destroy
all the clove-trees growing within his territory. For
a long time, as Mr. Bickmore tells us, expeditions
were annually despatched by the Dutch to search each
island anew, and destroy all the trees which had
A VISIT TO TIDORK 381
sprung up from seed planted by birds. All history
records no similar example of intense selfishness. Nor
has it proved successful. The clove is now cultivated
in the West Indies and elsewhere; while, for a con-
siderable number of years, the revenue of the Dutch
government in the Moluccas has not equalled its ex-
penditure, and Ternate and Tidore are no longer the
centres of a flourishing and lucrative commerce.*
A GLANCE AT TIDORE.
We cannot leave Ternate without at least a passing
glance at Tidore, which in the early voyages enjoys
almost an equal reputation. Its sultan was then a
powerful prince, whose sway extended over Gilolo and
other of the Moluccas, and was more or less completely
acknowledged by all the islands lying between Tidore
and Papua. His capital, on the east coast, was a town
* The following brief but comprehensive sketch of green Ternate which is truly
what the poet would call a
" Summer-isle of Eden lying in dark purple spheres of sea "
was contributed by Mr. Arthur Adams, the naturalist, to Captain Sir E. Belcher's
"Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang (1843-1846)." "It resembles," he
says, " a huge green mountain, covered with dense forest, with here and there large
patches of tall grass. In some parts, where man has been at work, you will see the
durian and limes mixed up with the fantastically-formed stems of the screw-pine ;
the cocoa-nut tree will be seen towering above the mild nibon (or areca-palm) ; and
the plantains mingling their broad green leaves with the dark feathery foliage of the
bamboo. To these the jack and bread-fruit trees form a striking contrast, giving to
the stranger a good idea of the splendour of tropical vegetation. Under the united
foliage of these valuable trees I noticed more than one member of the parrot family,
twisting themselves about the branches in every grotesque and awkward manner
they could possibly devise. The black satin grackle was also common among the
bamboo thickets. As I wandered along the shore I noticed several woolly-headed
papoos busily engaged in collecting coral, and heaping it up in stacks for the pur-
pose of burning it into lime or chunam, to be used along with the betel-nut and
siri-leaf, the favourite masticatory of the Malays ; while numbers of indolent
natives sat fishing in small canoes under the shade of gigantic cone-shaped hats,
made from the fan-shaped leaves of the palmyra-palm. Down the sides of the
mountain ran numerous fresh-water rivulets, abounding in an endless variety of
shells ; while numbers of aquatic saurians play and skip along the surface, or rest
with their bellies on the trunks of prostrate trees that liu across the streamlets."
Narrative of H.M.S. Samarang, i. 133.
382 MAGELLAN S EXPEDITION.
of some importance, and surrounded by a wall. His
court displayed much of that barbaric magnificence
which so astonished Drake and his followers at Ternate.
The chronicler of Magellan's expedition describes a visit
which he paid to the Spanish vessels.
He came in a " pirogue," or galley, and was met by
the Spanish officers in their boats. After an exchange
of courtesies on both sides, the latter entered the royal
barge, and found the king seated under a parasol of
silk, which completely shaded him. Before him stood
one of his sons, bearing the royal sceptre ; two men,
each holding a vase of gold with water to wash his hands ;
and two others with small gilt boxes containing the in-
dispensable betel-nut. He complimented the Spaniards
on their arrival ; informing them that long before he
had dreamed some ships would arrive at " Malucho"
from a distant country, and that to ascertain whether
his dream was true he had consulted the moon, by
which he knew the vessels would arrive; and, as he
had expected, the fulfilment of his dream had come
about.
Afterwards he visited the Spanish caravels, and the
officers kissed his hand ; a proceeding which, we think,
must greatly have astonished the island -potentate.
They conducted him towards the "hind-castle," or
quarter-deck cabin ; into which, that he might not be
degraded by stooping, he refused to enter except through
the opening on the deck. When this difficulty had
been conquered, the Spaniards ceremoniously enthroned
him in a chair of red velvet, and flung over him a
Turkish robe of yellow velvet ; while, the more strongly
to show their respect, they seated themselves opposite
to him on the ground. Here we may observe that the
A NATIVE PRINCE. 383
deference, almost obsequious, with which they treated
this ignorant heathen prince, contrasts strongly with
the cruelty they displayed in all their dealings with
the hapless Indian chiefs of the New World, and with
the arrogant contempt of a Pizarro for the descendant
of the Peruvian Incas.
The chronicler, continuing his narrative, informs us
that the king, when he understood who they were, and
the object of their voyage, informed them that he him-
self and all his people would feel happy in the friend-
ship of the King of Spain, and delight to be considered
his vassals; a statement which induces us to fear that
the chronicler was not unwilling to indulge in an
occasional flight of the imagination, or that he accepted
too literally the Oriental hyperbolism of the ruler of
Tidore. Further, that he, the king, would receive
them in his own island as his own children ; that
they might come on shore and remain in as much
security as on board their ships ; and that, as a token
of his affection for the king their sovereign, his island
should no longer bear the name of Tidore, but be
called Castile.
In return for such gracious professions, the Spaniards
could not do less than present him with the chair in
which he bore himself so royally, and the yellow velvet
robe which adorned his person. They gave him also
a piece of fine cloth, four yards of scarlet, a vest of
rich brocade, a yellow damask cloth, Indian cloths of
silk and gold, a " very fine piece of Cambayan chintz,"
two caps, six strings of beads, twelve knives, three
large mirrors, six pair of scissors, a half a dozen of
combs, some glass goblets gilt, and other things both
"rich and rare." Nor was his son forgotten: he re-
384 A SATISFACTORY INTERVIEW.
ceived a piece of Indian cloth of silk and gold, a large
mirror, two knives, and a cap. Gifts were likewise
bestowed with a liberal hand on each of the nine grave
personages who attended the king a piece of silk, a
cap, and two knives being presented to each. It is no
wonder that the ''sovereign majesty" of Tidore was
overpowered by the generosity of the Spaniards, and
desired them to cease such a shower of offerings, pro-
testing that he had nothing to submit to the King of
Spain that was worthy of his acceptance except him-
self ; a charming stroke of mingled humility and arro-
gant conceit. He recommended the Spaniards to moor
their vessels near the houses ; and authorized them, if
any of his people attempted to rob them during the
night, to fire at them : after which he departed in a
state of intense gratification, but careful always not to
bend his august head, in spite of the frequent obeisances
of the Spaniards. As he went, the ships honoured him
with a volley from all their ordnance.
Pigafetta describes his Eastern majesty as a Mo-
hammedan, about forty-five years of age, tolerably
well made, and of comely countenance. His dress con-
sisted of a very fine shirt, the sleeves of which were
embroidered with gold ; loose drapery surrounded his
figure from his waist to his feet ; his head was covered
by a silken veil, over which he wore a garland of
flowers. His name was Rajah Sooltaun Manzon, and
he was famous for his skill in reading the mysteries of
the stars :
" Wandering 'twixt the poles
And heavenly hinges, 'mongst eccentricals,
Centres, concentrics, circles, and epicycles."
We pass on to the account given by Pigafetta of the
PIGAFETTA UPON TIDORE. 385
products of the island and the manners of its inhabit-
ants. Of the clove-tree, he says that it grew in five
islands only, Ternate, Tidore, Mutir, Muchian, and
Batchian ; and he describes it as attaining " a pretty
considerable height," with a trunk about as large as a
man's body, and branches terminating at the summit
in a pyramid. Of Tidore he further states that it pro-
duced nutmeg-trees, which resemble our walnuts as
well in the .appearance of the fruit as in the leaves.
Ginger also grew there ; and the inhabitants ate it in
its green state in the same manner as bread. It is
not, properly speaking, the produce of a tree, but " of
a sort of shrub, which shoots up suckers about a span
in length, similar to the shoots of canes ; the leaves,
too, resembling those of the cane, except in their being
more narrow."
The houses of the islanders were built in the same
manner as those of the neighbouring islands, but were
not raised so high above the ground, and were sur-
rounded with canes so as to form a hedge.
Pigafetta speaks of the women of Tidore in a very
uncomplimentary manner : they were ugly, and they
wore as little clothing as was consistent with the
vaguest notions of modesty. The men wore less ; and
far from owning the ugliness of their wives and daugh-
ters, showed an extreme jealousy regarding them.
They made their cloths from the bark of trees by
soaking the bark in water until thoroughly softened ;
then beating it with sticks until it stretched to the
length and breadth required ; after which it resembled
a piece of raw silk, with the membrane interlaced be-
neath as if it had been woven. Their bread they
obtained from "the wood" (that is, the pith) of a tree
(637) 25
386 TRIP TO BOURU.
like the palm (namely, the sago-palm) ; clearing it from
certain black and long thorns, and pounding it.
All the Malucho islands, adds Pigafetta, produce
cloves, ginger, sago, rice, cocoa-nuts, figs, bananas,
almonds, pomegranates, sugar-canes, melons, cucumbers,
pumpkins, a fruit called comilicai (a species of pine-
apple), guava ; besides goats, fowls, and a kind of bee
which builds its hive in the trunks of trees : reading
which comprehensive summary, the reader may well
feel his appetite gently stirred, and come to be of
opinion that the Moluccas were the true " Happy
Islands" of ancient song and fable !
A TRIP TO BOURTT.
It is but right that the East, like the West, should
have its Fountain of Youth, though in the East no
Ponce de Leon has spent years of pain and suffering
in seeking after it. What an enchanting vision it is !
A crystal spring, in the bright waters of which let but
the aged bathe, and, like JEson in Medea's caldron,
they leave behind them all their physical infirmities,
and all the furrows and wrinkles of mind and heart as
well as of body ! To such a source of new life and
motion an old Mohammedan tradition refers, which
Moore has immortalized in " Lalla Rookh," delighting
men's minds with the dream of
"Youth's radiant fountain,
Springing in some desolate mountain."
And Bouru would seem to be the birthplace of the
legend ; for its natives tell of a pool or lake lying
among the lonely hills far away in the middle of the
isle on the green shores of which thrives a wondrous
THE ISLAND DESCRIBED. 387
plant, gifted with the property of restoring the youth
of any person who holds it in his hand, even though
his locks should be white with the snows of many
winters, and his hand palsied with the weakness of old
age.
We shall now visit Bouru ; not, indeed, for the sake
of its marvellous fountain or lake, which no European
has ever seen, but for objects not less curious or inter-
esting. It is a bright green island, rich in vegetation,
rich in romantic landscapes, rich in beautiful birds ;
and it offers a wide and varied field of investigation
to the lover of Nature.
It lies to the west of Ceram and the south of Gilolo :
an oval island, with its major axis east and west ; a
large island in fact, the third largest of the Moluccas
measuring ninety-two miles in length by fifty-eight
miles in breadth. Unlike its sister-islands, its shores
are not broken up by gulfs or inlets, but run with a
regular and almost perfect line, except at the north-
west, where a bold and ample curve encloses the
beautiful bay of Kayeli (or Cajeli).
Two lofty headlands, three or four miles apart, guard
the entrance to this bay, which lies open to the north-
east. Within these headlands the shore rapidly de-
creases in elevation, until on the south-west it forms
an extensive morass. The total length of the bay is
about seven miles. On the low southern strand is
situated the Dutch port of Kayeli.
Through the morass of which we have spoken flows
a considerable stream, deep enough for a large canoe
to navigate it some sixty or seventy miles from its
mouth. Its banks are fringed with a dense forest, the
branches of which meet together so as to form a series
388 RIVER AND FOREST.
of leafy arcades, traversed by sluggish streams. Here
gather kingfishers of gorgeous plumage ; and ever and
anon from the lower boughs they dart downwards with
arrowy speed to secure their prey in the still waters
beneath. It is pleasant in the glare of a tropical noon
to' seek these delightful haunts, where wood and water
combine to afford a luxurious coolness ; and to glide
along each shady canal as it tracks its winding course
for miles through a maze of profuse and brilliant vege-
tation. At the mouth of the river, to which the
various streams converge, lie long shallow banks of
sand : these are exposed at low tide, and accumulate
the uprooted trees and broken boughs carried down by
the force of the water. Here, too, when the tide begins
to flow, assemble winged battalions of gulls, plovers,
sandpipers, and curlews, making the echoes hideous
with their discordant cries, and rising when alarmed
with such a mass of wings as to form a thick, dark
cloud.
The naturalist will find abundant material for study
in the neighbouring forest. In the early morning
flocks of bright red lories and other parrakeets, with
blue heads, red and green breasts, and the under
surface of the wings coloured a warm and brilliant
yellow, arrive to feed on the nectared sweets of the
blossoms or on the insect life that swarms in every
direction. Then what a din arises! How the leafy
glades resound with the loud, incessant screeching and
chattering, as if some Babel of the Bird World had sud-
denly been overthrown, and a " dispersion of tongues"
had thereupon taken place ! It is a charming sight
to see the great trees, in all their fulness of bloom and
foliage, shining with the brightly-coloured plumage of
THE BED OF THE TORRENT. 389
these handsome birds ; and it is a source of constant
interest to watch their movements as they flutter from
bough to bough, or hover above the honied flowers, or
dart across the chequered sward :
" Gay, sparkling lories, such as gleam between
The crimson flowers of the coral-tree,
In the warm isles of India's sunny sea. "
When the dusk Twilight drops her shadowy veil over
the wooded scene, the huge bats come forth in pairs,
and sail to and fro on lazy flapping wings in quest of
the fruit which constitutes their daily food. These are
the " flying foxes" of the Dutch, with wings which
measure four feet and a half from tip to tip eery
creatures, which, as they hang by the claws of their
hind limbs to the branches, might well be mistaken
for monsters of the antediluvian world.
Sometimes the only cleared way through the forest-
depths is the stony bed of a torrent, and the traveller
makes his way up the summer-dry channel towards
the mountains, or down it towards the sea. One such
is described by Mr. Bickmore. It is not paved, in-
deed, with blocks all carefully cut down to one precise
model, and so exactly uniform as to be absolutely
painful to the eye, like the granite highway of a great
city ; but Nature herself has paved it in her own
inimitable fashion. Observe how every stone has
been rounded by the boiling torrent which pours down
from the heights in the rainy season. Some are
almost perfect ellipsoids or spheres ; but most are disc-
shaped, because made from their slaty fragments that
had sharp corners when first loosened from their
parent mountains. And, always averse to a dull
890 RED PEPPER AND TOBACCO.
monotony of colour, Nature has scattered here and
there "rounded boulders of opaque milk-white quartz,"
broken off or torn away from beds of that rock which
are frequently interstratified with the slate. Here
and there occur deeper places, where we can see that
the troubled stream was wont to rest, and, as it were,
recover its strength, before it again burst forth in a
flood of waters to pursue its course to the " multi-
tudinous sea." *
One of the commonest plants of the forest is the
red pepper, which furnishes the Malays with an indis-
pensable condiment. There is scarcely a dish in use
among them to which they do not apply this pungent
seasoning. The red pepper thrives everywhere, and
requires no cultivation. The Malays gather its fruit
when it assumes a bright pink colour, which is an
unmistakable sign of its ripeness. The Malay name
is lombok, but the Javanese chube is more frequently
on the lips of the people. '
Tobacco is largely grown in Bouru. Its cultivators
clear a patch of forest about an acre in extent, and
here, between the blackened stumps of the trees,
which have been destroyed by fire, they sow the seed.
As soon as the leaves are fully grown they are plucked
off, and the petiole, or foot-stalk, and a part of the
midrib are cut away. Each leaf is then cut trans-
versely into slips about a sixteenth of an inch in
width, and these are dried in the sun until they come
to look like "a bunch of oakum."
The tobacco-plant, according to Mr. Crawfurd, was
introduced into Java in the year 1601/f- probably by
* Bickmore, " Travels in the Eastern Archipelago," p. 262.
t That is, fifteen years after its introduction into England.
BIRDS AND TREES. 391
the Portuguese, and has now spread into almost eveiy
island in the Archipelago.
In the forest we also meet with the jati, or teak-
tree, but it does not here attain to the colossal stature
which it reaches in Java. It is seldom found to
exceed twelve or fifteen inches in diameter, and forty
feet in height ; dimensions which, in Java, it acquires
in twenty-five or thirty years, though it does not
mature in less than a century.
The teak is much frequented by flocks of large
green parrots, which love to feed on its ripened fruit.
These birds are so wary that it is not easy to approach
them, especially as the large dry leaves of the teak-
tree cover the ground, and continually crack and
rustle beneath the hunter's tread with that sharp,
crisp sound so familiar to the dweller in woods. " To
see these magnificent birds," says Bickmore, " flying
back and forth in the highest glee, while they remain
unconscious of danger, is a grand sight ; and it seems
little less than absolute wickedness to shoot one, even
when it is to be made the subject, not of idle gazing,
but of careful study ; and it requires still greater
resolution to put an end to one's admiration and pull
the fatal trigger. When one of these birds has been
wounded, its mate, and sometimes the whole flock,
hearing its cries, at once comes back, as if hoping to
relieve its misery."
Among the kanary-trees flutter flocks of cream-
coloured doves, beautiful enough to draw the car of
Juno, or to receive the caresses of some island-Lesbia.
The long-tailed doves frequent the boughs of the
lower trees ; and in the bamboo clumps may be seen
the robin-like tropidorynchus, a bird of merry note ;
39^ ABORIGINES OF BOURU.
the nimble flycatcher; and the splendid Monarcha
loricata, a slender bird about as large as a martin, of
a blue above and a pure silvery white beneath, except
on the throat, which gleams with scale-like feathers
of a rich metallic blue-black. This handsome member
of the feathered tribe is peculiar to Bouru.
NATIVES OF BOUKU.
We turn now to the human population of this
" summer-isle of Eden." The aborigines, or Alfoories,
resemble the Malays in stature and general appear-
ance, but their skin is darker, and their hair is
" frizzly ; " neither lank, like that of the Malays, nor
woolly, like that of the Papuans. In the interior
they exhibit an extraordinary ignorance of the com-
forts and luxuries of civilization. Mr. Wallace informs
us that many of those he met with in his excursions
across the island had never seen a pin ; and the better-
informed, few in number, took a pride in teaching
their less fortunate companions the peculiarities and
uses of that strange European production, a needle
with a head and without an eye! Even paper was
a curiosity ; and they might be seen picking up the
scraps which Mr. Wallace had scattered, and carefully
treasuring them up in their betel-pouch. Such
articles as tea-pots, tea-cups, and tea-spoons were a
source of constant inquiry and admiration ; and to
most of them the properties of tea, sugar, biscuit, and
butter were unknown, at least in the European form.
Thus : one would ask if that " whitish powder " were
f/ula, passir (sand-sugar), so called to distinguish it
from the coarse lump palm-sugar or molasses produced
by the native sugar-makers; and another would speak
THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 393
of the biscuit as a kind of imitation sago-cake, which
the benighted inhabitants of Europe were compelled
to use for want of the genuine article ! In fact, the
Bournese were as completely unacquainted with civi-
lized life as the Indians of the Rocky Mountains, or
the savages of Central Africa, though a steamship,
" that highest triumph of human ingenuity, with its
little floating epitome of European civilization," touches
monthly at Kayeli ; while at Amboyna, which is not
above sixty miles distant, a European population and
government have been established for upwards of three
centuries ! *
The houses of the Alfoories, as might be expected
from this almost pathetic account of their ignorance
of the comforts of civilized life, are wretched hovels ;
consisting of little more than a roof of palm-leaves
supported upon four poles, with a kind of platform
raised a foot or two above the ground, on which its
inmates sit, and take their meals, and sleep. Except
for the abundant provision made by a bounteous
Nature, arid but for the fact that they are free men,
the life of the Bournese would appear to be sufficiently
miserable. Yet their condition has of late years im-
proved. They are divided into fennas, or tribes,
each with its proper chief; but instead of recognizing
the advantages of association, and living together
in villages, they are scattered over the interior like
the shepherds of the Scottish Highlands. Some of
the chiefs are independent, others acknowledge the
superiority of the Mohammedan " regents " (as the
Dutch call them), or rajahs of Kaye'li. Formerly each
tribe was compelled to send one young maiden annu-
* Wallace, " Malay Archipelago," 11. 77.
394 CREED OF THE ALFOORIES.
ally to its " regent " for a bride ; but from this
degrading exaction the natives have been relieved by
the Dutch. At one time, too, they were compelled to
pay their regent a certain amount of rice and sago,
and provide men to row his prahu, or carry his chair
if he proceeded by land; but from this onerous service
they have also been released, and it has devolved upon
the Malay villagers. In regard to marriage, each man
buys his wife for a price which is regulated by the
rank of her father ; but he is not required, as is the
cruel custom among the Alfoories of Ceram, to cut oft'
a human head before he can marry. Instead, there-
fore, of being bloodthirsty and ferocious " head-
hunters," they arc a mild, peaceable, pastoral people.
According to Mr. Miller, they believe in one Supreme
Being, who created all things, and is the fountain both
of good and evil. They believe also in malignant spirits.
Prayer, they think, results in prosperity; adversity is
the natural consequence of the neglect of so solemn a
duty. Through the Supreme Being's infinite love of
man, He was induced to send him a teacher, Nabiata,
who dwelt among the mountains, and delivered the
will of his Divine Master in seven commandments :
"1. Thou shalt not kill nor wound.
" 2. Thou shalt not steal.
" 3. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
" 4. Thou shalt not set thyself up against thy
fennci.
" 5. A man shall not set himself up against the
chief of his tribe.
" 6. A chief shall not set himself up against him
that is over his or other tribes.
" 7. The chief over more than one tribe shall not
NABIATA'S TEACHING. 395
set himself up against him who is placed over all the
tribes."
Nabiata also taught that though the body perishes,
the soul will live for ever ; that those who keep the
foregoing commandments (and all the acts of men are
registered by the Supreme Being) shall dwell in His
presence far above the firmament ; while those who act
wickedly shall never rise to the abode of the happy,
nor shall they remain on earth, but for ever and ever,
lonely and in sorrow, wander among the clouds, yearn-
ing with a yearning never to be gratified to join their
brethren in the heaven above or on the earth beneath.
Nabiata also instituted circumcision, which was per-
formed on children of both sexes when they attained
the age of eight or ten years.
The introduction of this rite, and the general tenor
of the Bournese faith, would seem to show that Nabiata
was a Mohammedan teacher ; but when or how he
arrived in Bouru it is impossible to ascertain, and use-
less to conjecture.
The rajahs and inhabitants of Kayeli are Moham-
medans, after the Arab pattern. We glean from Mr.
Bickmore's pages a few details of some of their peculiar
customs. A ceremony of no little importance is the
shaving of a child's head, which takes place on the
first birthday, or thereabouts, and has a religious
significance. The rite begins by the priest's repetition
of a prayer in a slow, monotonous, nasal chant, which
at times swells into a chorus through the accession of
other voices. This being ended, a servant brings in
the child, followed by another servant carrying a large
plate partly filled with water, in which may be
396 MOHAMMEDAN CUSTOMS.
observed two parts of the blossom of a cocoa-nut palm,
a razor, and a pair of shears. The chief priest dips his
ringers in the water, places them on the head of the
wondering infant, and clips off a lock of hair with tho
large shears. The lock of hair is then thrown into the
water, along with a piece of money ; the example, so
far as the money is concerned, being followed by every
person present. Tea and small rice-cakes are after-
wards handed round, and the ceremony is concluded.
When the child reaches the age of eight or nine, it
is subjected to the painful and disfiguring operation of
filing the teeth. Neither sex is exempt from the cus-
tom, nor any class of the population. It is done with
a flat stone, a fragment of slate, or even a piece of
bamboo; the object being to make the teeth short, and
the front ones concave on the outer side, so as to con-
tain the abominable black dye that renders a native's
mouth nauseous as a charnel ! But the old adage, De
gustibus non disputandum, holds good in Bouru as
elsewhere. The Mohammedans are proud of their filed
and blackened teeth, and make it a favourite reproach
against the Christian natives, who do not adopt the
custom, that their teeth are as the teeth of dogs, be-
cause they are so white and so long.
A Mohammedan marriage is attended with no in-
considerable display; and the reader may be willing to
accompany us to a spectacle marked by features so
strange to the eye of a European. We set out on
foot to the house of the happy bridegroom ; for in the
islands of the East, as in those of the West, all bride-
grooms are reputed "happy." It is dusk, and the
verandah and the adjoining lane are brilliantly illumi-
nated by large Chinese lanterns.
A MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 397
After paying our respects to the bridegroom, we
visit the house where the bride awaits his coming.
The piazza, which is embellished with trailing bud and
blossom, opens into a large room, while on one side of
it a red curtain partly conceals the entrance to another
but smaller apartment, in which the veiled beauty is
tranquilly seated. Into this, however, none but lady
guests may enter; and we content ourselves with pass-
ing into the larger room, where the tables are burdened
with confections and delicacies, mostly the product of
the art of Chinese cooks. Taking a seat, we accept
the cup of boiling tea presented to us, and as we sip it
take note of the assembled guests. A table in the
opposite corner is surrounded with Malay ladies. At
first it is covered, like the rest, with sweetmeats, but
room is soon found for the indispensable siri-box ; a
liberal portion of lime, pepper-leaf, and betel-nut is
handed to each ; and, further to assist in the discomfiture
of the European visitors, an urn-shaped spittoon makes
its appearance, and is passed from one to another when
wanted.
And now our attention is arrested by a shrill piping
down the street. Everybody abandons the sweetmeats
and the siri-box, and hastens into the verandah to
watch the coming procession. First, the soft light of
wax tapers borne by gaily-dressed boys attracts our
eager gaze ; then a similar corte'ge brings up the pre-
sents which bride and bridegroom have received. The
bridegroom follows, supported by his friends, and sur-
rounded by tiers of candles arranged on a rude triangular
framework. Very brilliant he looks in his Malay garb
of bright red, with a gilded chain suspended from his
neck. On some occasions the old theory of marriage,
398 BRIDEGROOM AND BRIDE.
that the bride must be won by the strong hand, is carried
out ; but to-day the women make way for the conquer-
ing hero, and allow him to enter the bridal-chamber as
quickly as possible. You and we, reader, as the only
white persons present, may enter with him.
On one side of the room stands a small table covered
with a red cloth, and upon it are two gigantic red wax-
candles. The bride sits behind it, attired in a scarlet
dress, red of some shade or other being the predomi-
nant colour in all the arrangements, and with a cloud
of delicate lace falling over her face and shoulders.
The bridegroom approaches; she rises slowly. Placing
the palms of his hands together, he bows thrice with
great gravity and deference. She salutes him in the
same manner, except that she does not raise her hands.
And now the critical moment has arrived. She re-
mains standing, tremulous yet seemingly tranquil, while
he steps forward and pulls at the pins that hold fast
the veil which screens her charms from his ardent gaze.
Naturally, he shows some awkwardness in the opera-
tion, but a couple of the attendant maidens assist him,
and by degrees the countenance of the bride is revealed.
He then passes round the table, and both sit down to-
gether, while the guests look on with a feeling of
lethargic contentment, until the time conies for the
" happy pair " to be left alone.
OPIUM-SMOKING.
Another but less pleasing sight in Bouru, at once
more novel and more disgusting to the European, is
that of an opium-smoker in the enjoyment of his deadly
luxury.
Of opium itself it is needless to say much. We con-
OPIUM MANUFACTURE. 399
elude that everybody knows what it is the thickened
juice obtained from the capsule of the white poppy; and
what are its effects, when it is consumed regularly and
in considerable quantities emaciation, mental decay,
death. Its Malay name is copyun, which is derived
evidently from the Arabic afyun, and thus indicates
the channel through which it was introduced into the
Archipelago. But, as Crawfurd remarks,* though the
islanders may have been taught the use, or abuse, of
it by the Arabs, their present extensive and pernicious
consumption of it must be ascribed to the commerce of
the Europeans, and to the debauching influence of
Chinese manners and example. It is now imported
from Hindustan, and the poppy is cultivated nowhere
in the Archipelago. It comes in balls or cakes, usually
about five or six inches in diameter ; soft, and of a
reddish-brown colour, but growing harder and blacker
the longer it is kept. Its odour is pungent and
disagreeable ; its taste acrid, nauseous, and persistent.
The method of preparing it for use is as follows: }
First, the raw opium is boiled or seethed in a copper
vessel, until it assumes the viscidity of tar. Then it
is strained through a cloth to free it from impurities,
and a second time boiled. The leaf of the tambaka,
or siri, shred fine, is mixed with it, in a quantity suffi-
cient to absorb the whole; and afterwards it is made
up into small pills about the size of a pea for smoking.
One of these being placed in a small tube that projects
from the bowl of the opium pipe, the tube is applied
to a lamp ; and the pill being lighted, the smoke which
it throws off is inhaled with one or two long breaths,
* Crawfurd, " History of the Indian Archipelago," 1. 105.
t Marsden, "Sumatra," pp. 277, 278.
400 THE NATURALIST IN BOURU.
-
attended with a whistling noise. This preparation of
the opium is sometimes called mandat, and not infre-
quently it is adulterated in the process jaggari, or
pine sugar, being mixed with it, just as the fruit of the
pisang, or plantain, is often mixed with the raw drug.
The immediate effect of opium-smoking is to produce
a state of dreamy passiveness, a kind of lethargy, which
absorbs and possesses the individual both in mind and
body. Its after-effects are much more serious ; and
the worst of it is, that when once the habit has been
contracted, reform is almost impossible. Therefore it
is no uncommon occurrence to meet with men in the
prime of life whom this fatal vice has reduced to living
skeletons ; men with lack-lustre eyes, palsied limbs,
and shattered nerves, incapable of action, of continuous
thought, hope, energy, or aspiration.
THE NATURALIST IN BOURU.
Before we take our leave of Bouru, we must direct
the attention of the student of natural history to some
objects of interest connected with his special pursuits.
He will probably remember Southey's picturesque
description of a garden beneath the sea, of the sub-
aqueous region which Nature has planted with living
forms of grace and beauty that rival those of the flowers
and foliage of earth :*
" It was a garden still beyond all price,
Even yet it was a place of Paradise
And here were coral bowers,
And grots of madrepores,
And banks of sponge, as soft and fair to eye
As e'er was mossy bed
Whereon the wood-nymphs lie
With languid limbs in summer's sultry hours.
* Southey, "Curse of Kehama," xvi 5.
AN OCEAN-GAEDEN. 401
Here, too, were living flowers
Which, like a bud compacted,
Their purple cups contracted,
And now in open blossom spread,
Stretched like green anthers many a seeking head.
And arborets of jointed stone were there,
And plants of fibre fine, as silkworm's thread ;
Yea, beautiful as mermaid's golden hair
Upon the waves dispread.
Others that, like the broad banana growing,
Raised their long wrinkled leaves of purple hue,
Like streamers wide outflowing."
Off the coral reef that fringes the eastern coast of
Kayeli Bay, the bright clear waters reveal even fairer
scenes than the poet has so accurately painted in this
MKANDRINA, OR "BRAIN CORAL."
glowing passage; and similar scenes are common in the
seas of the Eastern Archipelago. Obser.ve the wonder-
ful ramifications of the Meandrinas, or "brain corals,"
(37) 20
402 CORAL WONDERS.
whose surface, when the soft polyps are removed, is
found to be traced all over with fissures and slight
ridges presenting a marvellous resemblance to the con-
volutions of the human brain. Other corals there are
which mimic the appearance of a tangled forest, extend-
ing their branches in a hundred different directions ;
others which seem to expand into rosy blossoms on the
summit of strangely twisted stems. Others again, which
do not attach themselves to their neighbours; are circular,
as seen from above, but have horizontal under surfaces,
while their upper sides are slightly convex. Remove the
"BENEATH THE SURFACE. 403
soft living pulp, and numerous radiating partitions are
seen, so that the whole may be likened to a gigantic
mushroom reversed ; and hence the family of Actinozoa
to which these strange forms belong has been aptly
designated Fungidce. Scattered among the stony
corals are many Gorgonias. Some may be compared
to broad sheets of foliage, and resemble the beautiful
" sea fans " which inhabit the tropical waters of the
West Indies. Others, says Mr. Bickmore, whose de-
scription we are closely following,* may be likened to
hurdles of ratans ; and when the soft polyps are taken
off', discover a black horn-like axis-stem or rod. Others,
when collected and dried, look like limbs cut from a
small spruce-tree after it has faded and thrown oft'
hundreds of its small acicular leaves.
Numbers of sponges are also seen, mostly of a spheri-
cal form, and provided with complex ramifying ducts
or tubes that display a wonderful ingenuity 'of contriv-
ance. But our space would not suffice us to particu-
larize all these
" Trees of the deep, and shrubs, and fruits, and flowers; "
or the beautiful Medusadie that float and hover above
and among them ; or the radiant fishes which dart
through the coral bowers like flashes of rainbow-light ;
or all the marvels of form and colour that glitter in the
ocean-world, and testify to the infinite resources and
exuberant wealth of Nature. " The most accurate
description possible/' says Bickmore, " must fail to
convey any proper idea of the beauty and richness of
these gardens beneath the sea, because, in reading or
hearing a description, the various forms that are dis-
* Bickmore, "Travels in the Eastern Archipelago," pp. 285-287.
404
REEFS OF CORAL.
tinctly seen at a single glance have to be mentioned
one after another, and thus they pass along in a series
or line before our mental vision, instead of being
grouped into circular areas, where the charm consists
not so much in the wonderful perfection of a few sepa-
rate parts, as in the harmonious relations, or, as
CYANEA (MEDUSA).
architects say, the effect of the whole. The pleasure
of viewing coral reefs never becomes wearisome, because
the grouping is always new. No two places are just
alike beneath all the wide sea; and no one can fail to
be thrilled with pleasure, when, after a few strong
strokes of the oars, his canoe is left to glide on by its