See other formats

Full text of "Perak and the Malays: "Sarong" and "kris.""

PERAK AND THE MALAYS. 







1NCHE MA1DA, PRINCESS Of PERAK, HER HUSUAND, NAK.ODA TRONG, AJSJD AT1ENDAN1S. 



PERAK AM) THE MALAYS 



"SARONG" AND "KRIS." 



MAJOR FRED. McNAIR 

(Late Royal Artillery) 

COLONIAL ENGINEER AND SURVEYOR-GENERAL, STRAITS SETTLEMENTS 
LATE OFFICIATING H.M. CHIEF-COMMISSIONER, PERAK ; 
FELLOW OF THE LINN^AN SOCIETY, ETC. ETC. 
ASSOCIATE INSTITUTE CIVIL ENGINEERS. 




MALAY WOMAN. 




Illustrate!) toith thirteen (Engrvtbtngs bg |. Anight, from ^hotogwyhs taken tj) the Author. 



LONDON: 
TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND. 

1878. 
[All Rights of Translation Reserved.] 



CHARLES DICKENS AUD EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS. 



PREFACE. 



BEING in England on a few months' leave of absence, 
for the purpose of recruiting my health, after a severe 
attack of jungle fever, contracted in Perak, it occurred 
to me that a brief account of that comparatively 
unknown country and its people might not be alto- 
gether unacceptable to the English reader. 

This Malayan State, it will be remembered, came 
into public notice in 1875-76, through the murder 
there of the British Kesident, and the despatch by 
our Government of a combined naval and military 
force to exact satisfaction for the outrage. 

As I accompanied the Governor of the Straits 
Settlements on his progress through the country just 
prior to the disturbances, and was also with the 
force subsequently sent there, I enjoyed exceptional 
opportunities for observation, of which I availed 

myself, in making the notes which have since been 



embodied in this work. 



vi PREFACE. 



I may say in addition, that my general knowledge 
of the manners and customs of the Malays has been 
acquired during a residence of over twenty years in 
the Straits Settlements. 

I am indebted to the Eeports which have been 
made from time to time by the various officers of the 
Government for the confirmation of my xDwn opinions, 
and also for much valuable information gleaned by 
them in portions of the country which it was not 
my good fortune to visit. 

For much of the past history of the Malays I have 
consulted the works of Crawfurd, Newbold, Loubere, 
Pritchard, Pickering, Marsden, and Dr. Vincent ; 
Moor's " Notes on the Archipelago," and the Colonial 
State Papers these being among the principal autho- 
rities that have treated of the origin and progress of 
this peculiar and wide-spread race ; while, as the work 
is intended for general reading, I have thought it 
better to omit all scientific terms. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 

PAGB 

Perak Preliminary sketch Extent of the country A run up 
a river Coast-line Malays and Chinese The river and 
its tributaries Geographical features Gounong Pondoh 
Bukit Berapit Absence of roads 1 

CHAPTEE II. 

Elephant-tracks Navigable rivers Climate Lakes Geo- 
logical features 16 

CHAPTER III. 

Mineral productions Graphite Galena Antimony Iron- 
Tin and tin-mines Gold and gold-washing Deserted 
workings 25 

CHAPTER IY. 

The ancient knowledge of the mineral productions of Perak 
and the peninsula Solomon's ships Gold, apes, and 
peacocks Opinions of early writers Ophir 39 

CHAPTER Y. 

Yegetable productions Ferns Timber-trees Indiarubber 

Yaried foliage Flowers Palms Bamboos ... ... 47 

CHAPTER YI. 

Fruits : The durian Mangosteen Shaddock Ananas Bread- 
fruit Cashew Nam-nam Wholesome nature of fruits... 59 

CHAPTER YII. 

Yegetable-food supply Curries and their preparation - 
Kachang The gourd family European vegetables Herbs 
Indigo Pepper Gambier Sugar Coffee Tobacco 
Cinchona Rice-growing Clearing the jungle Medicinal 
and poisonous plants 65 



viii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER YIH. 

PAGE 

Noxious animals The python Yarieties of serpent Leeches 
The tortoise and turtle Dangerous sauriaiis Govern- 
ment rewards Fish and fishing Yarious methods ... 7$ 

CHAPTER IX. 

Sea-fish Delicacies for the table Condiment and caviare 
Shell-fish and pearls Coral-groves The Malay fisherman 
The skipjack The kaylong 86 

CHAPTER, X. 

Insect pests Strange beetles The leaf insect Fireflies A 

Tartar Fine field for the entomologist 94 

CHAPTER XI. 

Birds : The argus -pheasant " Coo-ey " Fatal crowing Quail 
Peafowl The peacock of the Old Testament Artificial 
hatching Talking birds Pets Humming and sun birds 
Birds of prey 99 

CHAPTER XH. 

Malay buffaloes and their domestication The elephant Deer 
Wild-boar The Malay bear Black leopard Tiger and 
trapping Monkeys Domestic animals 112 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The people of Perak Bugis Korinchi Rawa and Mandeling 
Cannibalism The Malay Wild tribes Jacoon, or Sakai 

3 Diseases 130' 

CHAPTER XIY. 

Dress The Sarong Dress of the Bugis Dress of the Malay 

European costumes Ornaments Coquettish toilets ... 144 

CHAPTER XY. 

The villages of Perak Inhabitants Causes of depopulation 
War Extent of population Bird-scaring Malay dwel- 
lings Untidy habits Bathing House-building Chinese 
and convict labour 155 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

House-building Inche Maida Campongs Picking the 

cocoa-nut Preparations Poultry Sambals ... ... 167" 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Pood Tobacco Opium- smoking Betel-chewing Toddy 
Arak Domestic implements Dammar Metal-work 
Gold filigree ... ' 177 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Chinese tallymen Debt - slavery Slave - hunting Punish- 
ments British influence Difficulties of Residents ... 190 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Malay character Dealings with chiefs Mr. Muntinghe at 

Palembang 201 

CHAPTER XX. 

Propitiatory offerings Superstitions Ideas of creation Con- 
version to Islamism 218 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Religious ceremonies Sacrifices Marriage Teeth-filing 

Wedding-feasts Funerals Salutation Polygamy . . . 231 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The kris : Sizes Damasking The execution kris The sword 
of state The klawang The parang The limbing 
Spear of state Blowpipes Poisoned arrows Firearms 
Matchlocks Lelahs Stockades 238 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Swimming Music Games : Ball-play Chess Cock-fighting 

The national sport 260- 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Seafaring Boat-building The dragon boat Sampans Praus 

Little Mercy Piratical craft 269 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

PAGE 

The Jugra piracy A native's evidence in a native court The 

execution kris An execution The Sultan on piracy . . . 282 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Titles of chiefs Taxation and tolls The Sultan's slaves- 
Sultanas Court observances The royal family Ancient 
descent Vanity and superstition A Malay document . . . 290 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

The Malay language Its origin Connection with Arabic 
Rhymes and poetry, proverbs and sayings Love songs 
Literature Quaintness of expression Letter- writing A 
Malay interpreter 30$ 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Ancient history Menang Kabau Migrations Arab associa- 
tions Cinnamon Early trade in spices Malays in Mada- 
gascar The Aurea Chersonese Opinions of the ancients 
Voyagers of the past 319 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

First migrations Voyages to the East Diaz Vasco di Gama 
The Eastern passage Sumatra The Acheen king 
Malacca First mention of Perak Treaty with Siam 
Disturbances 332 

CHAPTER XXX. 

The Laroot riots The Muntri Fresh disturbances Rival 
factions British intervention Insult to our flag Sir 
Andrew Clarke Plans for pacifying Disarmament of the 
Chinese Chiefs' disputes Proposal for Residents ... 348 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Pangkore treaty Deposition of Sultan Ismail Sultan 
Abdullah Mr. Birch's appointment Troubles with the 
Sultan His reproof by the Governor The proclamations 
The murder of Mr. Birch Lieutenant Abbott and Mr. 
Swettenham at the Residency ... 361 



CONTENTS. xi 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

PAGE 

The attack on Passir Sala Eepulse Burial of Mr. Birch and 
Captain Innes Proceedings of the Government Re- 
nforcements from China Capture of Passir Sala Mr. 
Birch's dragon boat Troops from India Proceedings 
of the northern column Qualla Kungsa and Kota Lamah 375 

CHAPTER, XXXIII. 

The southern column Blanja The march through the jungle 
Stockade-fighting Capture of Kinta Flight of Ismail 
The Terrachee valley The stockades at Bukit Putoos 
Captain Channer's attack The rising at Klang Sup- 
pression of the revolts 389 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The capture of Ismail Escape of Maharajah Lela Taking 
of the Datu Sagor Charges against Abdullah Arrests 
of the chiefs Their transportation The Perak regalia ... 404 

CHAPTER XXXY. 

Hints to settlers The climate Safety of life and property 
Health Diseases to guard against Supplies Sport 
Food A Christmas dish Dress Itinerary of the Ulu, or 
Upper Perak country 414 

CHAPTER XXXYI. 

An ascent of Mount Ophir from Malacca The hot springs 
Chabow On the track Night in the jungle Camping- 
out Gounong Padang Batoo Tondoh Cry of the argus- 
pheasant Ledang The view from the summit The 
descent A fine field for the naturalist 426 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The future of Perak Capital and labour Advance in civilisa- 
tion The food supply Convict labour A Malay saying 
Policy with the people Civilised Malays Sir James 
Brooke Wheeler Woodford Birch , 444 






LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 



1NCHE MAIDA, PRINCESS OF PERAK, HER HUSBAND, NAKODA TRONG, 

AND ATTENDANTS Frontispiece 

MALAY WOMAN Vignette 

TO FACB PAGB 

CAMPONG ON PERAK RIVER 57 

PERAK ELEPHANTS 117 

"WILD TRIBES OF PERAK, OR " SAKAIS." 138 

RESIDENCE OF PRINCESS OF PERAK AT QUALLA KUNGSA 169 

PERAK CHIEFS AND ATTENDANTS 201 

GENERAL ASPECT OF A MALAY VILLAGE ON A RIVER BANK ... 229 

THE RESIDENT'S BOAT 273 

EX-SULTAN ABDULLAH AND CHIEFS OF PERAK 297 

SITE OF THE GRAVES OF MR. BIRCH AND CAPTAIN INNES 377 

JUNCTION OF KUNGSA AND PERAK RIVERS AT QUALLA KUNGSA ... 421 

'ffHE PRESENT RULER OF PERAK RAJAH YUSUF AND HIS TWO SONS 444 



it -r-r 



SARONG" AND KRIS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Perak Preliminary sketch Extent of the country A run up a 
river Coast-line Malays and Chinese The river and its 
tributaries Geographical features Gouuong Pondoh Bukit 
Berapit Absence of roads. 

IT is hardly too mucli to assume that, prior to 1875, 
when the sad news reached England of the rising of a 
people under British protection, and the murder 
of Mr. Birch, the state of Perak was, to the ma- 
jority of people, a tewa incognita. They knew, of 
course, that the Malay peninsula was a long tongue 
of land stretching nearly to the equator, and that it 
was in close proximity to Sumatra and Java, with 
innumerable islands generally known as the Malay 
archipelago ; but saving those interested in the British 
Straits Settlements Singapore, Malacca, and Penang 
it may be taken for granted that few people were 
aware that a large and rich territory, ruled over by a 
sultan and his petty chiefs, had been, so to speak, 



SARONG" AND "KRIS." 



placed under the wing of the British Government, 
whose representatives, under the name of residents 
and assistant-residents, were at the court of the ruler, 
to counsel and advise for the better management of a 
country whose people were suffering from anarchy and 
misrule. 

Picture this tropical land : Not a sun-baked region 
of parched desert and insufferable drought ; but a rich 
moist country, almost touching the equator, but rarely 
suffering from excessive heat ; a land of eternal 
summer, where refreshing rains fall ; where the mon- 
soons blow regularly ; where the frightful tempests 
of the east are unknown ; and which is, for the most 
part, covered with a luxuriant vegetation, the produce 
of a fertile soil. 

This Perak pronounced as though spelt Payrah is 
one of the largest of the native states into which the 
Malay peninsula is divided, and lies upon the western 
coast, having there, for its ninety miles' boundary- 
line, the bright prau-traversed waters of the Straits of 
Malacca. To be geographically accurate, its boun- 
daries north, south, and east may be named as the 
states of Quedah or Keddah, which in the native 
language signifies an elephant-trap ; Salangore ; Pa- 
hang, and Tringanu. These are all native states, 
whose rule and people are very similar to those of the 
land in question. 

Perak signifies silver a name given to it not from 
the abundance of that metal, for its existence has been 



PERAK. 



little traced, but probably from the vast amount of 
silvery-looking tin which has been, and promises still 
to be, one of its principal productions. Taken 
roughly for we are yet dependent upon native 
sources for our knowledge of its unsurveyed boundaries 
the depth inland of the state is about forty-five 
miles, thus giving an area of somewhere about 
4000 square miles, of a land metaphorically flowing 
with milk and honey; but badly ruled, thinly in- 
habited, poorly cultivated, and asking the direction of 
Western capitalists, and the busy hands of the Chinese 
people to make it one of the most productive under 
the sun. 

The nature of the country may be seen if we take 
a rapid glance through it by means of its great water- 
way, the Perak river, which intersects the wide central 
plain from north to south, and fairly divides the state, 
having west the fertile lands reaching to the sea, and 
on the east the gradually-rising country to the central 
ridge of mountains the backbone, or watershed, of 
the whole peninsula whose mineral resources are 
only known from the rich treasures in gold and tin 
that have been, in the course of ages, washed down 
into the alluvial lands. 

Sailing, steaming, or even paddling up one of 
these Perak rivers, we have on either hand, if the 
tide be down, the regular mud-banks of a tropical 
shore, with the dense mangrove forest standing up in 
its labyrinth of water-washed roots, as if nature had 

B 2 



SARONG" AND " KRIS: 



set the example, followed by tlie dwellers in the land, 
of building a rough scaffold, on which to support the 
tree-trunks, high and dry above the flood. If, on the 
contrary, the tide be up, right and left the mangrove 
forest seems to be growing directly out of the river, 
the stream passing unhindered among the roots. The 
silence is solemn in its intensity ; for, save the plashing 
of the water to paddle or screw, not a sound is to be 
heard, and the traveller seems to be penetrating into 
one of nature's unexplored retreats, as he looks in 
vain for some trace of life beside that of the dense 
vegetation on either bank. 

At last he sees it in the shape of a white eagle, 
gliding with silent wing athwart the stream ; and 
farther on, suddenly, from some exposed mangrove 
root, there is a flash of blue, and, like a vivid azure 
streak, away darts a kingfisher, one of the brilliantly- 
feathered birds of the country, disturbed while waiting 
for its gorgeously-scaled prey. As the light-winged 
bird disappears, and the eye is still filled with its 
beauty, the ear is at last saluted with a sound to 
break the utter stillness of the river, for there is a 
dull heavy splash, an eddying in the water, as, from 
amidst the mud or mangrove roots, a huge alligator 
rushes into the stream, the traveller being, perhaps, 
in time to see a portion of its rugged, muddy-hued, 
loathsome body ; and he may be fortunate enough to 
see, just upon the surface, the two hill-crowned eyes 
and long snout of some other reptile, the head turning 



PRELIMINARY SKETCH. 



slightly from side to side, as its owner sends a shudder 
through the spectator, who knows that the monster is 
on the watch for prey. 

As the boat glides on and on, beyond the tidal 
influence, the character of the forest changes : the 
mangroves give place to jungle growth, and on 
either side, columnar and beautiful, rise the stately 
growths of palm, with their wondrously-straight 
trunks and tufted heads. 

Suddenly the first trace of human habitation 
appears, in the shape of a Malay campong or village 
a cluster of houses of bamboo and other wood, in 
a grove of cocoa-nut palms and other fruit-trees. The 
huts are raised on posts, so as to be beyond the reach 
of flood and noxious beast, and look neat with their 
woven sides of split bamboo or reed, while their roofs 
are thatched with attap, an arrangement of the palm- 
leaves, that grow close at hand. 

If the campong be of any extent, there is probably 
a mosque ; while, secured to bamboo posts, or run 
up safely on the mud, are the boats of the people. 
These boats play a prominent part in the daily life 
of the Malay ; for, roughly speaking, Perak is now a 
land of jungle, and its rivers are the highways, upon 
which its villages are built ; while its roads are only 
a few elephant-tracks but little used, and pathways 
through the jungle known to the country people 
alone. 

Continuing our course either up the main stream 



"SARONG" AND "KRIS: 



or one of its tributaries, the jungle disappears here 
and there, to give place to traces of cultivation, 
where padi or rice is grown in the low, moist, alluvial 
soil. As we still ascend, the native boats, or sampans, 
may be met coming down with the stream, laden 
with produce, or containing some fisherman, equipped 
for his pursuit. 

As we ascend higher, it is to find that the stream 
grows more rapid, and if in a small boat, poling, or 
as we should call it punting, our skiff against the 
stream, is the custom adopted. And now, from time 
to time, fresh traces of the sparse population of the 
country appear, battling with the ever- encroaching 
primeval forest. Buffaloes are seen, standing knee- 
deep in the river- edge ; children approach the river- 
bank to stare at our boat ; and then there is the 
forest once more, the gliding river with increasing 
shallows, and higher still the rapids. 

The coast-line is broken with endless numbers of 
mangrove-fringed creeks, and small tidal estuaries, 
and these have ever been the hiding-places of the 
much- dreaded praus, those famous piratical craft 
with which the name of the Malay has so long been 
associated. The principal rivers that here form 
estuaries are the Perak ; the Krean and Bernam, 
which form the northern and southern boundaries of 
the state ; the Laroot river, which drains the principal 
tin-land ; and the Din ding, off which lie the islands of 
the same name. 



MALAYS AND CHINESE. 



These islands, like Penang to the northward, have 
now become British territory, and afford capital 
anchorage between them and the shore, with an 
ample supply of fresh water to be obtained on the 
principal island, Pulo Pangkore. This is the largest 
of the group, and, unlike the greater proportion 
of the mainland, is now becoming rapidly peopled 
by the Malays and Chinese ; these latter making a 
busy home wherever there is gold or tin to be 
mined, or money to be earned by straightforward 
industry. Here at Pulo Pangkore they are mostly 
employed as woodcutters, and in making lime, for 
which abundant material is found all round the island, 
in the shape of the limestone coral and madrepores. 

This zoophyte-produced limestone, as seen from 
a boat, when peering down through the limpid water, 
presents a scene of wondrous beauty, with its many 
tints and shades of colour, forming a perfect sub- 
marine garden of endless loveliness, through whose 
flowers and shrubs glide the brilliant fish of the 
tropic region, clad in armour whose hues are at times 
dazzling, and far outrival the corals amongst which 
they rove. The dry coral is easily burned by the 
Chinese into lime, and procures a high price for 
building purposes at Penang. The Malays, on the 
contrary, occupy small tracts of land, which they 
plant with fruit-trees, principally the plantain or 
banana, and the chumpada or small jack- fruit, a 
variety of the bread-fruit of Polynesia. 



"SARONG" AND "KRIS.' 



The Dutch were the former occupants of this 
island at the time that they held Malacca, and the 
remains of their fort and factory are still to be seen 
close to the shore, and within reach of Anson Bay. 

The Perak river is a fine broad stream, averaging 
for the first fifty miles about one-fourth of a mile 
in width, navigable for about one hundred and eighty 
miles from its mouth an assertion that sounds some- 
what paradoxical, when the limits of the country are 
given as only ninety miles from north to south. Its 
serpentine wanderings, however, fully account for this. 
Although navigable to so great a distance, this is only 
for boats : still goodly vessels may make their way up 
for forty miles to Durian Sabatang, after which the 
draught of boats must become smaller and smaller, 
while in Ooloo, or Upper Perak, rapids are encountered 
in several places, long before the sources are reached, 
at a range of hills, called Titti-Wangsa, in the adjacent 
state of Quedah. 

These rapids in the ascent of the river are 
generally passed on rafts, which are very skilfully 
constructed by the Malays, out of the large hollow 
bamboos of the country, lashed securely together with 
rattans. They will readily make a raft of this kind 
fifty feet long and six feet wide, containing upon it a 
palni-thatched house. Two men paddle, while two 
more stand fore and aft with long poles, by means of 
which they keep the raft clear of boulders, as on 
entering the rapids it glides frequently between rocks 



THE PERAK RIVER. 



only eight or ten feet apart, contact with which would 
mean an utter collapse of the light raft, and too 
probably a fatal accident. 

The most dangerous of these rapids is one known 
by the Malays as Jeram Panjang, at the present 
known boundary of Perak, towards the state of 
Patani. Here there is a huge boulder, and before 
attempting to pass it the boatmen make certain pro- 
pitiatory offerings, in the shape of bananas and betel- 
nuts, accompanied by a speech, in which leave is 
asked to go down the rapid. It is no light task this 
rapid, for the fall amounts to a dozen feet in the space 
of forty yards, through a passage only from ten to 
fourteen feet wide. To prevent accidents rattans are 
secured to the raft to hold it back ; but in spite of this 
many accidents occur amid the rush and turmoil of 
the hurrying waters, which eddy and form dangerous 
whirlpools, and lives have occasionally been lost. 
Some idea of the difficulties of the navigation in these 
higher parts of the river may be formed, when it is 
announced that according to a late voyager Mr. 
Daly down the stream, there w r ere over fifty rapids 
the most dangerous being the above-named, and 
one known as Jeram Kling. 

These rapids are not the only obstacles to the 
navigation, for after the freshets the trunks of large 
trees are frequently brought down, many of which 
strand in the shallows, and form those dangerous 
impediments which the Americans call " snags," and 



10 "8AEONG" AND " KRIS." 



" sawyers," and which are fatal to the unfortunate boat 
that encounters them in its way. Like most rivers of 
its kind, the Perak has a large bar at its mouth, of 
sufficient importance to necessitate careful pilotage 
through the channel, for large vessels inward or 
outward bound. 

Of its tributaries the principal are the Plus, 
Kungsa, Kinta, and Batang Padang rivers, all rising 
in the east and north-east, amongst the heights of the 
central range; while numerous streams of minor growth 
tend to make the state an admirably-watered country, 
and, as already intimated, form the highways for the 
limited commerce that is carried on. 

This is no land of huge volcanic peaks, for the 
mountains only attain to an average altitude of 5000 
or 6000 feet ; 7000, as far as present surveys 
go, probably being the extreme. Here the ancient 
forest reigns supreme in all its grandeur ; in fact, 
with few exceptions, as soon as the river-banks, 
with their sparse villages, are left behind, the 
traveller plunges into the jungle, and then finds the 
land almost wholly uninhabited, save by a few wild 
tribes, who migrate from spot to spot, as they are 
moved by their superstitious reverence for good or 
evil omens. 

The general knowledge of the eastern portion of 
Perak is at present very imperfect ; and though the 
Malay peninsula has been crossed to the north and 
south, so far it is probable that no European has 



GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 11 

made his way through Perak to the opposite coast, 
thus leaving open a goodly exploration for anyone 
of adventurous mind. The indefatigable Eussian 
traveller, Baron Maclay, has traversed a considerable 
portion of the interior ; but the information he 
obtained from native sources was, on the whole, so 
contradictory and untrustworthy as to be but of little 
value. 

There are two minor ranges between the higher 
mountains and the seaboard, and, running almost 
parallel with the backbone of the peninsula, they form 
the valleys of the Perak and Kinta rivers. The range 
nearest the sea contains several tolerably high moun- 
tains, the principal of which are Gounong Booboo and 
Gounong Hijau "gounong" being the Malay term 
for a mountain, as " bukit " is for a hill. The 
ascertained height of Gounong Booboo is 6100 feet, the 
latter being only a little lower. Other eminences are 
known, as the North and South Mounds, and Bukit 
Sigari, or the False Binding. The most peculiar 
mountain of the country, however, is one known as 
Gounong Pondoh, lying a little north of the direct 
route between the mouth of the Laroot river and 
Qualla Kungsa, one of the principal stations of the 
upper Perak river. 

Gounong Pondoh is a singular eminence, standing 
alone, and rising out of the plain like a huge 
beehive ; for it is one mass of red and white limestone, 
about 1000 feet high, bare and time-worn in places, 



12 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 



and perforated with the caves peculiar to this forma- 
tion. This eminence is distinctly seen on entering 
the mouth of the Laroot river, and also forms a 
very prominent object from Qualla Kungsa on the 
Perak river. A similar hill is found in the neigh- 
bouring state of Quedah, and is there known as the 
Elephant Eock. It is likewise of limestone, and its 
peculiar formation must be a problem for geologists. 

The caverns of these limestone hills are well 
worthy of a visit, and make no great demand on the 
explorer. In the case of the Elephant Eock there is 
first a stiff climb over the rocks to reach the arched 
entrance, which is richly fringed with the stalactites 
common to limestone caves. One of these stalactites 
has been broken, and on being struck by the club of 
the Malay guide, the peculiar sonorous tone emitted 
reverberates through the cavern with a hollow roar. 
During a visit in 1872, torches were lit which displayed 
on all sides the peculiar shapes taken by the congela- 
tions of lime-charged water, these shapes being 
grotesque in the extreme, some even assuming a 
strong resemblance to the human profile, with flowing 
beard and locks, carved in white marble by some 
clever sculptor's hand. Some idea of the extent 
may be gained when it is mentioned that the roof is 
some seventy feet above the floor, while large un- 
explored passages extend in different directions. 
Prevalent as are the stalactites, their corresponding 
stalagmites are comparatively few. Many, however, 



J3UKIT SEBAPIT. 13 

are doubtless buried beneath the excreta of bats, 
which covers the floor to a great depth ; and doubtless 
below this the geologist will find many relics of the 
older fauna of the peninsula when the time for excava- 
tion comes. 

On the occasion of this visit the party had a 
narrow escape, for one member was moved with a 
strong desire to let off a rocket in the interior of the 
cave; a proceeding which would probably have re- 
sulted in bringing down tons of stalactites on his com- 
panions' heads. He was however stopped in time. 

The cavern is entered from the land side, and the 
mountain is completely pierced, so that the explorer 
comes at length upon an opening of some fifty feet by 
thirty, looking straight out to sea through a glorious 
fringe of stalactites and ferns, giving the opening, with 
its ferny and mossy terraces, the aspect of a beautiful 
proscenium, from which the eye is taken with regret. 

The road mentioned as extending from the mouth 
of the Laroot river to Qualla Kungsa is notable as 
being one of the principal in the state, and has been 
developed, under the management of the British Kesi- 
dent, from a mere elephant-track into one suitable for 
the transport of produce. The mention of a road 
some twenty-seven miles in extent may sound a trifle, 
but in a land where the rivers form almost the sole 
means of intercommunication, the existence of one 
good road, setting aside the military advantages, 
means the opening out of the country to a new form 



14 "SARONG" AND " 



of traffic. This road leads through the pass of Bukit 
Berapit, a ravine of great beauty though of no 
vast extent. The granite crops out here of a fine 
gray variety, similar to our Aberdeen ; tall forest trees 
tower up, rich in their gorgeous greens, whilst at their 
feet cluster ground-orchids quaint and curious in form, 
and far more beautiful than the stunted kinds seen 
in our hothouses at home. In clearings where the 
forest gives place to the traces of former cultivation, 
fruit-trees are found in abundance, the Malays 
planting extensively wherever they settle. Clump 
after clump of fruit-bearing trees is passed, lend- 
ing the beauty of their foliage and burdens to the 
scene, already brightened here and there by bubbling 
streams of delicious water, rushing over the rocks of 
the narrow gorges on their way to swell the Laroot 
river below the pass. 

The trees here are frequently grand in their growth, 
rising up without a branch a hundred feet before inter- 
weaving with their fellows to form a shade so dense, 
that farther in the forest a dim twilight reigns even at 
noonday. 

This road passing through Bukit Berapit divides 
the district of Laroot -from Perak proper. It was 
commenced by Captain Speedy, Her Majesty's Assis- 
tant-resident at Laroot, with the aid of the Muntri 
of Perak, one of the principal officers of the Sultan's 
little court, and one who has for many years claimed 
to be the governor of the above district. It was 



ABSENCE OF ROADS. 15 



pushed on with vigour by the civil and military 
authorities during the disturbances of 1875-76, and a 
line of telegraph was laid along it to connect the 
military post of Qualla Kungsa with the anchorage in 
the Laroot river at Teluk Kartang, the nearest point 
to our old settlement at Penang. 

A good idea may be formed of the primitive 
nature of the country, when it is considered that this 
is the only road worthy of the name. There are, 
however, certain tracks important from their com- 
munications, not from their condition. One of these 
leads from a place called Boyah, north of Sengang, on 
the Perak, to Kinta, a place of importance from its 
having been the old seat of the Government of 
Perak. This track passes through several villages 
during its course of about forty miles ; while a back 
pathway of about twenty miles in length will take 
the traveller again to the river at a village called 
Blanja, where, if the Perak be crossed, a couple of 
fresh tracks diverge, each of which leads to the sea 
by communication with the rivers Trong and Binding, 
whose mouths are about twenty-five miles apart. 

A road to connect the mouth of the Perak river 
with Banda Baru, the Eesidency, is in course of con- 
struction, and this will do away with the necessity for 
a long and tedious journey along the serpentine 
windings of the lower reaches of the river. Besides 
this there are a few jungle pathways, as intimated, 
only known to the natives, and but little used. 



CHAPTER II. 



Elephant-tracks Navigable rivers Climate Lakes Geological 

features. 



LIBERALLY supplied as they have been, then, by nature 
with water-ways, in the shape of rivers, the necessity 
for roads does not seem to have occurred to the 
Malays, especially as they are by nature essentially a 
sea-going and boating people ; and consequently they 
for the most part build their campongs or villages on 
the river-banks ; and where elephant-tracks do exist 
they are mostly in places where it has been found 
convenient to carry tin to the nearest market, ob- 
taining in return rice, salt, and salt-fish, which form 
the staple food of the Malays. 

During the petty war which followed the murder 
of Mr. Birch, one of these elephant-tracks was 
traversed by General, now Sir Francis, Colborne, 
K.C.B., with his little force, which marched through 
the jungle from Blanja to Kinta; but it was only 
with great difficulty a difficulty which will be 
understood when it is stated that the elephant, from 
notions of safety, always plants his feet in the 



ELEPHANT TRACKS. 17 

tracks of his fellows who have gone before, from 
time immemorial, with the natural result that the 
track becomes a series of pit-holes, almost im- 
passable for travellers on foot. 

Before quitting the subject of the rivers, a few 
words must be said respecting the more important 
tributaries of the Perak namely, the Kungsa. at 
whose confluence the important station of Qualla 
Kungsa, or mouth of the Kungsa, is situated the 
Bidor and Batang Paclang, which unite and enter the 
Perak about fifty miles from its mouth. Up to this 
point ships drawing not more than thirteen feet of 
water may be navigated. It was here that Her 
Majesty's war vessels lay at anchor during the dis- 
turbances. This place Durian Sabatang as it is 
named has been chosen from its natural advantages 
as a most desirable place for a permanent station, and 
it is believed that the authorities have definitely 
decided upon erecting one here. 

The river Kinta, perhaps after the Perak the 
most important of those in the state, rises in the 
main range, and after running in a southerly direction, 
enters the Perak at Qualla Trus ; but it bifurcates 
about six miles before joining the main stream, and 
forms a delta, upon which is situated the village of 
Banda Baru, the seat of the Eesidency. This is no 
very cheerful spot, lying low, and being uncomfortably 
swampy, and it is probable that on the erection of a 
station at Durian Sabatang, the Eesidency will be 



18 "SARONG" AND "KKIS." 

removed to what will probably become the principal 
port of the south. This is the more probable that 
at this point an alteration becomes necessary in the 
navigation, vessels of lighter draught being required, 
and from the swift nature of the stream the process of 
poling being adopted ; though after what has been 
done in the way of constructing large steamers 
drawing only a foot or two of water, and with stern- 
paddles, for the shallow American rivers, the want of 
depth in the Perak will not stand in the way of its 
becoming the great water-way of a large commerce, 
running as it does north and south through the whole 
state, and even at Qualla Kungsa, one hundred and 
fifty miles from its mouth, being over two hundred 
yards wide. 

The Bernam and Krean have already been men- 
tioned, not as tributaries of the Perak, but as running 
direct into the Straits, and important, the former as 
forming the southern boundary between Perak state 
and Salangore the latter as dividing the state from 
Province "Wellesley, our British possession, and the 
state of Quedah on the north. 

The soil on the banks of these rivers is generally 
a light sandy loam, which easily washes in during the 
annual freshets, with the natural consequence that 
sandbanks frequently obstruct the navigation. These, 
and the many other hindrances in the shape of tree- 
trunks, will doubtless be cleared as the country be- 
comes more opened up ; but, in spite of the admirable 



NAVIGABLE RIVERS. 19 

supply of water-ways, and the convenience of the 
streams for bringing down the mineral produce of the 
central ridge of mountains in which they rise, the 
necessity becomes every day more apparent for the 
construction of large trunk-roads, with cross-roads- 
communicating with the river. 

Abundance of material exists for this purpose, 
except on the actual banks of the rivers near the sea, 
where the constant recurrence of mangrove swamps, 
necessitates the formation of the well-known road 
composed of trunks of trees laid side by side, and 
called " corduroy/ 7 or else the excavation of deep 
trenches, to obtain sufficient soil to raise the surface 
of the road above the reach of the water in the tidal 
swamps ; for unless this is done to the extent of at least 
two-and-a-half feet above high-water mark, the road 
is soon perforated by land-crabs, and becomes useless. 

The rivers become swollen with mountain torrents- 
during the rains, rising several feet, for the average 
rainfall in Perak is from sixty to ninety inches ; and 
at such times navigation becomes difficult or im- 
possible. There is no distinction of spring, summer, 
autumn, and winter here ; for the year is divided into 
two seasons, ruled by the prevalence of the monsoons, 
that from the north-east beginning about the middle of 
October and lasting to the middle of April, while that 
from the south-west prevails during the rest of the year. 
The word " monsoon " is too often associated in people's- 
minds with a time of storms, but in these regions it 

c 2 



20 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

applies only to the direction of the winds, which blow 
steadily from these quarters for six months alternately. 
For Perak is no land of typhoons and hurricanes, 
but is an equable region, a land, as has been intimated, 
of eternal summer to the European, which, by the 
way, is looked upon by him as no advantage ; for the 
monotony of such an unchanging season becomes 
wearisome in the extreme. 

The north-east monsoon is, so to speak, the dry 
season, though a dry season proper does not exist ; for 
there are constant showers which lighten the air and 
make the climate pleasant and easy to bear. The day 
perhaps has been hot, steamy, and oppressive, when 
towards evening the clouds are seen to gather blackly 
over the mountains, and a steady downpour sets in, 
accompanied by thunder and lightning, the latter 
mostly of the kind known as "sheet." As the rain 
ceases there is a delicious freshness in the atmosphere, 
the oppression passes away, and the air is for the time 
being redolent of the sweet after-shower scent ; though 
it must be said that the flowers of this region are 

o 

greatly wanting in the delicious odours of those of 
temperate climates a fact probably to be attributed 
to their rapid growth and development from a well- 
watered soil, and from, an atmosphere laden with 
moisture to the greatest degree. 

During the prevalence of the south-west monsoon 
the heavy rainfalls occur, with storms and electrical 
discharges, which last for many hours. 



CLIMATE. 21 



The heat is never great, and bears no comparison 
with that of India, a singular fact when it is con- 
sidered how near Perak lies to the equator. On the 
plains the mean annual temperature is about 79 
degrees, but in the morning the thermometer fre- 
quently falls as low as 74 degrees ; while in the 
ascents of the mountains that have been scaled the 
Malays have been known to complain bitterly of the 
cold. There is this peculiarity in the climate, that 
before rain the air becomes very oppressive, from the 
amount of moisture with which the atmosphere is 
saturated ; and this, with the sudden nightly falls of 
the mercury, is the principal cause of disorders 
amongst the Europeans. 

These diseases take the form of fever and rheu- 
matism. On the whole, however, the climate is 
decidedly healthy ; though, as in almost any part of 
the world, a night's rest at the foot of hills, or any 
low-lying swampy ground, may result in an attack of 
fever. These are facts apparently known to the 
natives, as shown by the construction of their huts 
upon piles of bamboo ; though the seeking of pro- 
tection from wild beasts and from floods doubtless 
has had its influence. 

Lakes seem to have, so far as is at present known, 
little to do with the physical features of Perak. Here 
and there the rivers widen into lagoons, and a lake of 
some extent has been seen, but not surveyed, in the 
central part of the country ; but probably such lakes 



22 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

ns exist are dependent upon the freshets of the rainy 
season. 

Very little has been ascertained as yet as to the 
geological features of the country ; but one of nature's 
singular changes of surface is very plain here in the 
way in which she is constantly denuding the higher 
grounds, and carrying down, by means of the rivers, 
the superabundant soil which constantly adds to the 
coast-line. This is especially marked in the Laroot 
district, where small tracts of new land have been 
brought under cultivation, so that where at no very 
distant period the tide ran, padi, or rice, is now 
showing its luxuriant growth. 

The primitive rock that which forms the main 
range of the country seems to be that hard stone so 
familiar to us in the sculptures of the Egyptians, and 
known as syenite, while here and there, as in the pass 
at Bukit Berapit, a fine-grained granite crops out, 
equal to our own Aberdeen. In this pass there is also 
quartz rock, and it is possible that here the granite 
passes into syenite. The most important rock, how- 
ever, is an argillaceous talcose schist, for in this is 
to be found the principal mineral deposits of the 
country. 

For some distance from the coast the land is low 
and swampy, but, gradually rising, a better class of 
country is reached, where the soil has been washed 
from the hills, and this is as fertile as that towards 
the sea is sterile and unproductive. There are, how- 



GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 23 

ever, plains near the coast of higher elevation than 
the ordinary tracts, and these are cultivated by the 
natives, who plant maize and fruit-trees, and, where 
irrigation is available, they grow their staple food- 
rice. 

Farther inland, the plains, which are to be found 
of greater extent in the Perak than in the Kinta 
valley, are broken up with natural sand-ridges, which 
lighten the soil, and make it very well suited for the 
cultivation of rice ; and, from their appearance of 
having been more under the plough than at the 
present time, give evidence of the existence of a far 
larger population than now exists in the country. 
Undoubtedly the richest soil in the valleys is that com- 
posed of the debris of the mountains proceeding from 
the decomposition of the felspar in the granite. This 
debris, mixed with the decayed vegetable matter, has 
gradually subsided into the low lands, and now offers 
itself for cultivation. There is no trace of volcanic 
action in the peninsula, saving a few hot springs exist- 
ing at Malacca ; and, near as Perak lies to the great 
volcanic band which contains the craters of Java and 
Sumbawa, earthquakes are unknown, though slight 
shocks have been felt at Singapore. The country is, 
however, peculiarly rich in minerals, and these will 
undoubtedly lay the foundation of its future prosperity. 

Fossils are rarely found ; but at the mouth of one 
of the rivers there are very curious deposits of the 
ordinary cockle-shell, raised up into heaps many feet 



24 . "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

high, and looking as if they had been left there by 
the action of some eddy ; though when and how, it is 
impossible to say, for they lie high and dry upon the 
shore. 

In northern Perak a limestone formation is pretty 
prevalent, as opposed to the ferruginous sandstones 
and shales of the south. Large slabs of slate are to 
be found in certain of the rivers : it is tolerably soft, 
but not bituminous. From indications, there seems 
to be a rich deposit. 

Hard sandstone and ironstone rocks are to be 
found jutting out from the banks of the upper reaches 
of the Perak river, but the ironstone is not affected by 
the magnet. Here again, too, quite inland, traces of 
shells are found in positions eight or ten feet above 
the level, as if left by the receding sea. This is 
especially noticeable at the base of Gounong Wang, a 
huge limestone hill. 

On the whole, so far as the country has been 
explored, the palaeontologist does not find rich and 
curious stores awaiting him, and has to be content with 
examining boulders of granite, veined with quartz, 
sprinkled with large grains of felspar, and showing 
their character plainly in the smooth- washed sides in 
the rapids above Qualla Kungsa. Now and then, 
though, he may be rewarded with a fossil, traces being 
seen of what is evidently petrified wood; but until 
the country is more opened out, organic remains are 
not likely to reward his search. 



CHAPTER III. 

Mineral productions Graphite Galena Antimonj* Iron Tin and 
tin-mines Gold and gold-washing Deserted workings. 

IF the visitor to Perak turns his attention to minera- 
logy, rich stores doubtless await him, especially as a 
scientific search, although proposed, has not yet been 
undertaken by the Government. In 1854, the writer 
discovered graphite or plumbago, in one of the 
states south of Perak; and though brought into 
notice at the time it has since passed out of mind, 
but there is every reason to believe that deposits 
exist. The same may be said of galena, which has 
been found in the Bindings, and of which there are 
valuable mines in Patani, just to the north. This ore 
of lead was known to be a mineral of the peninsula as 
far back as 1616, but its actual site and locality never 
appear to have been traced until very recently by 
Mr. Fisher. 

This may seem a poor argument as regards Perak, 
till it is understood that the states north and south 
are really only portions of the same country, pierced 



26 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

by the same range of mountains, and separated only 
by a comparatively few miles. 

What is wanted is for exploring-parties to trace 
eastward and examine the mountain-ranges with their 
ravines, so as to reach the matrices of the metallic 
stores that are tolerably-plentifully obtained even now 
in the lower lands. Traces of hidden wealth have 
frequently been found. Of gems, there are diamonds 
and garnets, in what number it is impossible to say, 
and amethystine quartz exists in great beauty. 

A curious discovery of silver antimony was made 
not far south of Perak. On one occasion when a 
quantity of stones were taken into Singapore jail for 
the convicts to break, one was found to be a mass of 
antimony. The explanation given was that the lump 
was one of the stones that had been used by the 
Malays for attaching to the anchors of their boats ; 
and in this way it had probably been brought over 
from Borneo, where the ore is known to exist. Search 
near the spot where the stone was picked up proved 
fruitless ; but it is a far more reasonable surmise that 
silver antimony exists in the Malay peninsula if not in 
Perak, and that it will some day reward the explorer's 
zeal. This is, of course, surmise, but to it may be 
added the reports that in the mountain-ranges of 
the Laroot district copper with bromide and sulphide 
of silver have been found. There is no reason why 
they should not exist, though in a land of gold 
and tin. 



MINERAL PRODUCTIONS. 27 

On the whole, iron is abundant in Perak, and exists 
in the form of the peroxide, and as a cellular clay 
ironstone known as laterite ; but so far no attempt has 
been made to reduce these to the metallic form. The 
late Mr. "Westerhout stated that he had had specimens 
of copper brought to him from the interior of the 
country ; but he died before it was possible to take 
advantage of the discovery, and the rich metal there- 
fore lies waiting for the explorer's hand. 

Coal has been found, though as yet small in 
quantity, and of no great commercial value. Investi- 
gation, however, would probably result in the discovery 
of any or all of the above minerals in abundance ; 
and even if it were barren of result, the prospecting- 
parties would be amply rewarded by the opening out 
of new lodes of tin and gold, which not only exist, 
but have been mined here from time immemorial. 

The bright silvery metal tin is worked in Perak 
to a great extent, and though obtained in a clumsy 
primitive way, the yield is very abundant, and would 
be far greater but for the evident depopulation of the 
country. The metal has been attractive enough to 
bring the busy Chinaman by the thousand, and go 
where you will through Perak, he is to be encountered, 
patient and busy, digging, washing, and melting the 
ore. 

It seems odd in a land where gold is found in 
tolerable quantities, that tin should be looked upon as 
the principal metal. This however is easily explain- 



28 "SAEONG" AND "KRIS." 

able from the greater "ease with which it is obtained. 
A chief here reckons his wealth in his bhars or slabs 
of tin; and when, as in a late act of piracy, a rajah 
was brought to book by one of Her Majesty's cruisers, 
the offender was mulcted, not in so many hogsheads 
of palm-oil as on the west coast of Africa, nor in so 
many peculiarly-shaped dollars as in China, but in a 
certain number of slabs of tin. 

All over the country deserted tin mines are to be 
found. In the south, in the neighbourhood of the 
Batang Padang, and Bidor rivers, they are frequent, 
but at the same time there are many mines being 
worked. In each case examination shows that the tin 
gravel has been brought down by floods from the 
mountains some miles to the east and north ; but the 
idea of going to the mineral fountain-heads never 
seems to have occurred to the Chinese, though some- 
times, like the Malays^ they object to any such 
proceeding on account of the mountain jungle being 
infested with evil spirits, to whom they might give 
offence. Yet at the same time it is found that the 
nearer the mountain, the better is the yield of the 
ore, which is found in small black granules, similar to 
those seen in a quartz specimen of tin ore from 
Cornwall. 

In these southern parts, want of capital and the 
difficulties of carriage seem to prove great drawbacks 
to the successful carrying out of the work ; and the 
consequence is that Laroot, in the extreme north of 



TJLV AND TIN MINES. 29 

the state, where the deposits are rich, and carriage 
comparatively easy which last has its due effect on 
the food supply draws to itself the principal portion 
of the tin-mining energy. 

The principal mining stations of Laroot are Thai- 
peng and Kamunting. This portion of the state is 
well deserving of a visit, from its being the busiest 
and most thriving ; standing out, as it does, in strong 
contrast to the sleepy agricultural portions, where the 
ubiquitous Chinaman is not at work. At Thai-peng 
is the dwelling of the Assistant-resident, Captain 
Speedy, a gentleman who, by his energy, has pro- 
duced peace amongst the rival factions of the Chinese, 
given protection and safety, and fostered the mining 
energy to such an extent that the mining towns are 
thronged, there are Chinese shops, and the general air 
of the place betokens prosperity. 

The Resident's house here is a large native struc- 
ture upon an eminence. It looks, with its wooden 
supports, palm-thatch, and extensive verandahs, pre- 
cisely adapted to the climate ; and here the eastern 
element shows out strongly, in the Chinese going and 
coming in their peculiar costume and parasol-shaped 
hats, while the Resident's police swarthy Sikhs, in 
white puggarees stand about awaiting orders, or on 
duty. 

Thai-peng village, or town, as seen from the As- 
sistant-resident's house, is a busy place, with long 
thatched buildings by the hundred. Fences and 



30 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

watercourses intersect the land, and here and there 
supplies of water are dammed up for the purpose of 
washing the tin. 

Much will have to be done to improve the process 
of obtaining and smelting the tin, as the natives are 
wasteful and extravagant, with the consequence that 
high prices result. Unfortunately the trade has of 
late been bad, the duty high, and Australian tin 
has begun to compete favourably with that of the 
Straits ; but as the latter is stream tin, and in abun- 
dance in Laroot, without seeking in the matrix, it is 
probable that it may soon recover its old position in 
the market, though perhaps not at the earlier prices. 

What is really wanted to make the tin deposits of 
Laroot highly profitable is the introduction of British 
capital and machinery, with British enterprise. Then 
the ore would be obtained, washed, and smelted with 
the smallest loss ; and here, in a land where shafts 
that take years to dig, and require fortunes to be 
sunk, are not needed, but where the ore is reached 
after removing a few feet of superficial soil, there must 
be temptations enough for the Cornish miner, when- 
ever a settled rule has made the country safe and 
this must ultimately come. 

The method of procuring the ore or " biji timah "- 
tin seeds is very simple. The Malays clig a few feet 
down in a favourable spot at the base of the hills,, 
take up the clay, which contains the tin in small 
nodules, and carefully wash it in. running water, made 



MINING. 31 



to flow over it by means of artificial channels. The 
ore is then, when dry, ready for smelting, which is 
also performed in a very primitive manner. A fur- 
nace is built up of clay, with a hole beneath ; the 
ore is placed in the furnace between layers of char- 
coal ; fire is applied, and forced into a powerful glow 
by means of very homely bamboo bellows, which 
keeps up sufficient blast to cause the golden-orange 
molten metal to trickle into the receptacle below, from 
which it is ladled into moulds, to form slabs or ingots, 
weighing two catties (equal to 2| lb.). Sometimes, 
however, the Chinese mould is adopted, in which a 
slab weighing fifty catties is cast. 

The Chinese are wasteful enough in their way of 
obtaining the tin, but they are far in advance of their 
unprogressive neighbours, bringing simple machinery 
to bear where necessary ; and their process is ad- 
mirably described by Captain Speedy, the Assistant- 
resident at Laroot. 

According to his report, the tin lies at a distance 
of from twenty to fifty feet from the surface, gradually 
diminishing towards the hill-sides, where it is not 
more than six feet down ; and as it lies horizontally, 
the following arrangements are made : The jungle is 
cleared and the mine marked, water is brought by a 
ditch from the nearest stream, and then the exca- 
vating commences. 

At about six feet down water begins to rise from 
the soil ; and to get rid of this, and also to utilise the 



32 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

water from the stream as a motive power, an ingenious 
chain-pump is made, by constructing a long wooden 
trough of three planks, each one hundred feet in 
length ; and this is placed with one end resting on 
the bank, the other sloping to the water in the lowest 
part of the mine. 

" A wooden chain with small oblong pieces of wood 
placed at right angles to the line is fitted accurately 
into the above-named trough. The wooden chain is 
endless, and is passed round two wheels, a small one 
at the lower end of the trough and a larger one at the 
upper end. This latter is a water-wheel, and is 
turned by a constant stream flowing over it. Eound 
the axle of this wheel are cogs, each of which in turn, 
as the wheel revolves, draws up a joint of the endless 
chain through the trough, and as each joint fits ac- 
curately into the trough, they bring up in succession 
a quantity of water, which, on reaching the mouth of 
the trough, falls into the channel by which the water 
which turns the wheel is carried off, and is thus also 
taken away out of the mine and conducted to the 
next, where the process is repeated. The small wheel 
at the lower end of the trough regulates the chain, 
and guides the wooden joints into the trough, causing 
each to take up in succession its quantum of water, 
and by this means the mine is emptied/ 7 

Their tools are very poor, consisting of only a 
common hoe and a small flat cane basket. With 
these the whole of the work is done, the baskets when 



TIN WASHING. 33 



full holding about four pounds of earth. One of these 
baskets is placed at either end of a stout bamboo, 
balanced over a labourer's shoulders, carried off and 
emptied, while the men with the hoe scrape together 
more soil and fill other baskets. 

What an English navvy, armed with spade, barrow, 
and pick would think of the oblique-eyed, childish- 
faced Chinaman and the amount of work he does 
may easily be imagined. Still the slow tortoise won 
the race ; and whereas our navvy demands so many 
pounds of meat and so many pots of beer per diem, 
Ah Sin is content with a little rice, some fresh 
water, and, for his grand relaxation, a tiny pipe of 
opium. 

The washing, as performed by the Chinese, is very 
simple. The ore is found at Laroot in a stratum of 
whitish clay, which is washed in long open troughs, 
water passing freely through, carrying off the soil, and 
leaving the ore at the bottom, for it is prevented from 
running down the inclined trough by means of bars 
of wood nailed across the bottom, and against which 
the heavy grains rest. On this plan the Chinese 
seem in advance of the washing on inclined planes at 
the Cornish tin mines, the crossbars being a^ very 
efficient way of arresting the ore. 

The melting process is very similar to that of 
the Malays, but more elaborated, and is carried out 
on rather a larger scale, and in place of the bamboo 
bellows a very ingenious plan is adopted. The trunk 



"SARONG" AND "KRIS. 



of a tree about eighteen inches in diameter, and ten 
feet long, is carefully hollowed out, and closed at either 
end. " A long pole with a circular piece of wood at one 
end, fitting exactly into the bore of the tube, acts as a 
piston. In order to secure the tube being perfectly 
air-tight, the end of the piston is well padded with 
feathers. Valves are placed at each end to allow the 
air to enter, and in the centre the nozzle of the bellows 
communicates with the furnace by means of a small 
air-passage. On the piston being drawn out, the air 
in the higher portion of the tube is forced down the 
nozzle, and on being drawn back the air in the further 
part of the tube is similarly drawn into the furnace." 
The charcoal is soon brought to a white heat, and as 
the molten tin drips through, fresh layers of ore and 
charcoal are added, the fluid tin being ladled out into 
the moulds already mentioned as being sometimes 
adopted by the Malays. 

The value of the tin exported in the seven years 
prior to 1874 was upwards of a million and a quarter 
sterling, this being the produce of thirty mines. It 
must however be added that these figures \vere 
derived from native sources, and may have been 
exaggerated ; for Captain Speedy 's estimate of the 
produce for 1875 was in money value a million and a 
half of dollars. Since then, however, the number of 
Chinese miners has largely fallen off, probably in 
consequence of the disturbances. Under a more 
favourable system there is every probability of their 



GOLD WASHING. 35 



being re-collected, and the works attaining to great 
prosperity. 

Anyone who has had experience of the lamentably- 
slow process of obtaining Cornish tin, and the vast 
sums of money adventured without result in that 
granitic peninsula, will see what an opening is here 
in Perak for British capital, especially as the climate 
is healthy and Coolie labour comparatively cheap. 

Much store as the Malays of Perak lay by tin, they 
are not blind to the charms of gold, and, to their 
taste, it is best of a dark-red colour. It is no un- 
common thing, when journeying through the interior, 
to come upon a Malay, or even a boy, washing the 
soil left by some ancient flood. The quantity obtained 
in this way is necessarily very small ; but still it 
is to be procured, and the nearer the mountains are 
approached the richer is the find ; of course pointing to 
the fact that there lies the matrix from which, by the 
decomposition of the quartz, the gold has been washed 
down. 

In some of the tin mines worked by the Chinese, 
especially in the south, in the neighbourhood of the 
Batang Padang river, the soil is first washed for the 
tin ore, and afterwards undergoes a second washing 
for gold, which is found in small quantities, but still 
sufficient to repay the labour. One peculiarity in con- 
nection herewith is that the gold is found at depths of 
thirty to forty feet below the surface, and invariably 
in connection with the trunks of large trees, in every 

D 2 



36 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

stage of decay a fact pointing to the tremendous 
floods that must have taken place at the time of the 
deposition of the metal. 

In the north, one of our Government officials 
describes the neighbourhood of the Krean river as 
showing a formation having much the appearance of a 
gold-bearing country, such as he had seen in Australia, 
and offering tempting places for a prospecting-party to 
examine the junction of the granite and slate ; adding 
that, if gold were not found, the search would pro- 
bably result in the discovery of tin or some other 
metal. That gold has been found in large quantities 
in the Malay peninsula, is proved by the vast number 
of old workings surrounding the base of Mount Ophir, 
to the north-east of Malacca ; and if with their pri- 
mitive ways of working, sufficient could be found by 
the people of bygone ages, modern appliances should 
result in securing a rich return. 

On the eastern side of the Perak river itself, at 
a place called Kleian Bronsong, there is an alluvial 
deposit which yields gold, and it is washed out of the 
creek, during the rainy season, by the Chinese and 
Malays, who however are idle during the dry times, 
for want of water. Among other places on the Perak 
river where gold is found, washing of the deposit is 
carried on by Chinese at Campong Cherako, and there 
are several abandoned gold mines at a place called 
Chigar Gala, one of the largest villages on the river, 
and lying above the station at Qualla Kungsa. In fact, 



HIDDEN TREASURES. 37 

so abundant is gold, that before now the writer, when 
wandering about, has with very little difficulty washed 
specimens of the precious metal from the river beds, 
where it mostly occurs in little globular forms, like 
small or dust shot. Mr. Daly, the Government 
surveyor, who observed this during a journey taken 
to determine the northern boundaries of Perak, 
remarks that it would be interesting to thoroughly 
investigate these gold deposits, and describes the 
metal he has seen as being "rough and shotty," and 
having the appearance of not having travelled far; 
while, judging from the quartz, slate, and other 
pebbles found in the river, he believes that the matrix 
will be found in the quartz reefs lying embedded 
between the granite and slate. 

Enough has been said to show that plenty of 
traces of gold are to be found, little as the country 
has been explored. What stores the jungle-hidden 
streams, running up to the mountains, conceal in olden 
mines or untouched virgin pockets, time and the 
ceaseless energy of the Anglo-Saxon alone will show. 
As to the Malays, they are too accustomed to a 
laissez-aller style of life to make any energetic 
attempts to discover and work the metallic treasures, 
while the efforts of the Chinese, with their primitive 
tools, are not likely to greatly influence the yield of 
the precious metals. 

Eecompense of some description is almost certain to 
reward the explorer, for, as has been before remarked, 



38 "fil&OJra" AND "KRIS." 

the finding of a rich lode of metal of any kind is a 
reward not to be despised; and it is questionable 
whether the discovery of the Burra Burra copper 
mines in Australia was not a more worthy one than 
that of the gold ; while as to Perak, if instead of 
metal a good vein of coal could be found, the finder 
would be a benefactor to the state. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

The ancient knowledge of the mineral productions of Perak and 
the peninsula Solomon's ships Gold, apes, and peacocks 
Opinions of early writers Ophir. 

BRITISH tin was an article of export to the islands of 
the Eastern Archipelago up to the year 1618, and it 
is difficult to trace the time when it was first dis- 
covered in Perak and the other portions of the Malay 
peninsula. De la Loubere, the French envoy to the- 
King of Siam, in the years 1687-88, wrote an account 
of that people, and he states that all the calin or tin 
in Siam which country then embraced a considerable 
portion of the Malay peninsula was sold by the king 
to strangers as well as to his own subjects, except that 
which was dug out of the mines of Jon Salam or 
Junk Ceylon, in the gulf of Bengal, "not above the 
distance of a man's voice from the coast of Siam," and 
where there is loadstone ; for this being a remote 
frontier, he leaves the inhabitants in their ancient 
rights, so that they enjoy the mines which they dig,, 
paying a small profit to the prince. 

Mr. Walckenaer, the German traveller, thinks that 



40 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the word kalah calin tin, was derived from the 
modern Quedah, the Portuguese corruption of Kecldah. 
Masudi speaks of the fourth sea of India that of 
Kalah Bao or the sea of Selahat, which had shallow- 
waters, and was full of small islands containing tin 
mines, where the natives used poisoned arrows ; an 
exact description of the straits of Malacca and selahat 
is certainly the Malay for a strait. 

The Arabian term cassider, derived from the 
Sanscrit kastina, applied by the Phoenicians to tin, 
as in our own Cassiterides, or tin islands, off Cornwall, 
seems to imply that they derived their knowledge of 
metal in the first place from the East, or through the 
Arabians ; and tin is not found anywhere nearer to 
them than in the Indian Archipelago. These latter, 
in the Middle Ages, seem to have adopted the Hindoo 
term kola or quota for tin, although kasdin is the true 
Arabic. Our name tin is traced to the Malay word 
iimahy but how this came to pass is not very clear. 

The Sanscrit kala literally means black, so that 
it does not seem necessary to go far to trace the 
application of the word by the natives immigrant 
from India, to the black mineral grains found as 
stream tin ; and its adoption by the Siamese and 
Arabians at a later day, to distinguish the tin of the 
Indian Archipelago from that of Great Britain. 

Among other writers, Dr. Vincent, in his "Periplus," 
published in the year 1800, speaks of tin as being an 
import into Africa, Arabia, Scindi, and the coast of 



THE ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE. 41 

Malabar ; and as an article of commerce brought 
from Britain in all ages, and conveyed through the 
Mediterranean by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Eomans, to 
the Eastern seas ; but says it was only during the past 
few years that it had reached China in British vessels. 

Of the ancient history of the gold of the Malay 
peninsula much may be said, for it has been famed 
for its production from all ages. This peninsula was 
the Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients, and although 
the evidence is not conclusive that Josephus is right 
when he says that the Mount Ophir of Malacca, some 
hundred and fifty miles south of Perak, and called by 
the modern Malays Gunong Ledang, is the Ophir of 
Solomon, there is much that is in favour of this sup- 
position ; and being a subject of such great interest, 
it may be worth while to investigate the question, 
even at the risk of being somewhat tedious. 

It may be taken as a matter of fact, that from the 
very earliest ages there was intercourse between the 
Arabians and Malays ; and hence it is reasonable to 
suppose that the precious metal gold, would, with 
spices, be amongst the articles of trade. From the 
earliest times we know that the Arabians sent into 
Sabea both spices (frankincense) and gold, but whether 
the latter came from Sofala, on the east coast of Africa 
the sea-port of the Mount Ophir of Bruce and Le 
Grande or from the Mount Ophir of Malacca, is an 
open question. There is also, it should be added, a 
Mount Ophir, or the Golden Mountain, in Sumatra; 



42 "SABONG" AND " KRlS." 

but this may be left out of the argument, as the name 
was conferred upon it by Europeans at a comparatively 
recent date. 

Lassen, the orientalist, has placed Ophir, the origin 
of Solomon's gold, somewhere about the mouth of the 
Indus ; and his hypothesis, says Mr. Crawford, is 
founded on some resemblance between the Hebrew 
and Sanscrit names of the commodities brought from 
this ancient spot. The nearest resemblance is in the 
words for an ape, that in the Hebrew being Jcoph or 
Jcof, and in Sanscrit, Mpi or Jcopi. Mr. Crawford, 
however, in view of all the difficulties connected with 
its geographical position, comes to the conclusion that 
the Ophir of Scripture is simply an emporium where 
Solomon's fleet obtained " gol'd, silver, ivory, apes, and 
peacocks ; " and he fixes this emporium somewhere in 
Arabia, either at Sabea, or at a spot on the southern 
coast. But as we read that the ships of Solomon 
" came to Ophir," it is more natural to conclude that 
they went to a place bearing that name, and not to a 
convenient emporium, where the gold of Ophir and 
the other commodities were exposed for sale. The 
question then seems to lie between the Ophir of the 
eastern coast of Africa and that of Malacca. 

There are many things in favour of the mount in 
the Malay peninsula being that of Scripture, and the 
idea is supported by many writers. For instance, Dr. 
Kitto, in his Encyclopaedia, states that the natives of 
Malacca call their gold mines " Ophirs ; " to which may 



SOLOMON'S SHIPS. 43 

be added, that the Malays being a decidedly non- 
progressive people, their term probably comes from 
time immemorial. De P. Poivre, a French author, 
writing in 1797, gives the same statement, adding of the 
natives of Sumatra on y trouve plusieurs mines d'or, 
que les habitants de Malacca et de Sumatra nomment 
" Ophirs" He, too, adds that the mines of the ad- 
jacent places are richer than all those of Brazil and 
Peru. 

When we consider the objects sought, we find that 
they were apes, peacocks, ivory, and gold. Now, 
though the ape proper is not indigenous to the Malay 
peninsula, monkeys of large size abound ; it is the 
home of one of the most beautiful of the peacocks ; 
ivory, if not abundant, is procurable, for elephants are 
plentiful ; spices follow as a matter of course, for this 
is the very centre of the production ; and gold is 
worked to the present day. Gold, apes, and ivory are 
certainly found in Africa, but the other articles would 
have to be brought from the Eastern seas. 

To go back to the ancients for support of the 
theories that Solomon's vessels may have traded with 
the Malays : Pliny tells us that Eratosthenes speaks of 
Meroe, India, and the Thinoe ; and Agatharcides, a 
contemporary of the latter, about 104 B.C., says of 
Sabea, now Yemen, or "the blest": "The people 
are robust, warlike, and able mariners. They sail in 
very large vessels to the country where the odoriferous 
commodities are produced ; they plant colonies there, 



44 "8MONG" AND "KRIS." 

and import from thence the ' larimma/ an odour 
nowhere else to be found ; in fact, there is no nation 
upon earth so wealthy as the Gerrhei and Sabei, as being 
the centre of all the commerce which passes between 
Asia and Europe." The sam^ writer also refers to the 
Maldive and Laccadive islands, and coupled with these 
is a reference to Malacca or the Golden Chersonese. 

According to Dr. Vincent, the Chinese had not 
then passed the straits of Malacca; but the Malays 
seem in all ages to have traded with India, and 
probably with the coast of Africa, and he ends by 
saying : 

" All this induces a belief that in the very earliest 
ages, even prior to Moses, the communication with 
India was open, that the intercourse with that conti- 
nent was in the hands of the Arabians, that Thebes 
had owed its splendour to that commerce, and that 
Memphis from the same cause came to the same pre- 
eminence, and Cairo succeeded to both in wealth, 
grandeur, and magnificence." 

If then, as this evidence would show, the com- 
munication with India and its isles was open before 
the time of Moses, and in the hands of the Arabians, 
who from the earliest ages had an intercourse with the 
Malays, the inference that can be drawn from this 
may be left to everyone to judge of as he pleases. 

There is, however, another significant point which 
favours the belief that the gold of Ophir was obtained 
from Malacca, for amongst the articles of export to the 



OPHIE. 45 



Ked Sea in the time of the " Periplus," which gives 
au account of the navigation of the ancients, from the 
east coast of Africa down to Sofala, gold is not 
mentioned, but only " ivory, rhinoceros-horn, and 
tortoise-shell of a good sort, but inferior to that of 
India." Dr. Vincent, the last editor and exponent of 
the work, is so struck with this fact, that he confesses 
to feeling " some degree of disappointment in not 
finding gold, as the fleets of Solomon are said to have 
obtained gold from this coast.' 7 He however gets over 
the difficulty by saying: "Our present object is not 
the trade but the geography." 

In later days namely, in the fourteenth century 

Barbosa says that gold was so abundant in Malacca 
that it was reckoned by the bhar of four hundred 
weight. In 1615, also, we read in the State Papers 
that at Acheen, in Sumatra, the admiral's galley had 
a turret built in the stern, covered with plates of gold 

a sure sign of the plentiful supply of the metal. 
Later still, in "Herbert's Travels," prioted in 1677, 
he says that Malacca had the name Aurea given to 
it, on account of the abundance of gold carried thither 
from Menang Kabau, in the neighbouring isle, Sumatra; 
and again, Valentyn says, in 1737, Acheen exported 
gold by the thousand ounces at a time. 

To come down to our own days : Mr. Logan esti- 
mated the total produce of gold in the Malay peninsula 
as twenty thousand ounces per annum only. This 
does not arise from the mines being worked out, but 



46 "SARONG" AND "KRlS." 

from the gradual depopulation of the country, and the 
facile way in which tin is obtained and sold by the 
Chinese, leading to the temporary abandonment of 
the search for the more precious ore. 

In addition to this, the discoveries of gold in other 
parts of the world have taken off the attention of 
European capitalists from the mines of Malaya ; and 
though an attempt was made recently to work the 
gold mines of Chindrass, near Malacca, the adven- 
ture failed from the want of mining skill and proper 
appliances. What is required for the proper develop- 
ment of the acknowledged valuable mineral resources 
of the peninsula is as was some time since suggested 
that a practical mineralogist and geologist should 
be sent out from England, to examine and give copious 
reports of the capabilities of the country, so as to draw 
public attention to it at home. This step has not yet 
been taken, but it is not too late to adopt the sugges- 
tion ; and the outlay on such a survey, if judiciously 
carried out, would be amply returned to the Govern- 
ment and to the colony. 



CHAPTER Y. 



Vegetable productions Ferns Timber-trees Indiarubber Varied 
foliage Flowers Palms Bamboos. 



IN few parts of the world are the wonders of the 
vegetable kingdom to be seen in greater perfection 
than in the Malay archipelago ; and Perak possesses 
its full share of these glorious productions, for the 
moist hot climate favours rapid growth, to an extreme 
degree. 

On quitting the river- ways, and plunging into the 
jungle, the traveller is at once in a world of wonders. 
In almost every instance he is confined to the forest 
track, for the jungle is literally impenetrable. Huge 
trees tower up a hundred and a hundred and fifty feet 
without a branch, and then weave and interweave in 
the most extraordinary manner.. These are the pillars 
and supports of creepers and parasites innumerable, 
among which the most prominent are the various 
varieties of the rattan cane the common cane of the 
shops, but which here winds and runs to the length 
of two and even three hundred feet. A soft greenish 
twilight generally prevails in these dense parts of the 



48 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

forest ; but where there are openings that admit of 
the sun, flowers principally orchids add their beauty 
to the scene. 

Wherever a watercourse is found, there, with their 
lace-like fronds, tree ferns spring up to fifteen and 
twenty feet in height, drooping gracefully over the 
mossy rocks, and beneath them may be seen an 
abundance of the lesser variety of ferns, chiefly of 
the Pteris family. Soon, again, appear the beautiful 
quaint-blossomed orchids, principally the Dendrobiuni 
and Vanda varieties, hanging in rich clusters from the 
trunks and branches of the forest trees. The elk-horn 
hangs pendent in masses of many feet in length, 
and, deeper in the jungle, lycopodiums, and the many 
varieties of moss which flourish in moist situations, 
carpet the earth. 

It is a carpet, however, that is untrodden ; for 
unless a way be cut by means of the heavy knife or 
parang of the Malay, progress even of the slowest 
nature is impossible, and the beauties of the ground 
orchids which spring up in the clearer spots are 
doomed to flourish and fade unseen. In these dense 
woods ebony is sometimes found, though not in any 
great profusion, and it is not used by the Malays. 
There is an abundance, though, of excellent timber 
for building purposes, which to a great extent is 
felled and squared by the Chinese. The chief of these 
woods some of which are hard and very durable 
are the marbow, and the damar laut, the maranti, and 



INDIAEUBBEE AND GUTTA-PERCHA. 49 

the serayah. There are many others of admirable 
quality which it is needless to name. 

One timber tree promises well. It is known by 
the Malays as the scum. They say that if placed 
over piles used for jetties it will resist the action of the 
teredo, or boring-worm ; for the worm, after devouring 
the wood attacks that of the ordinary piles, and is 
killed from, the action of the acids of the two, and 
if this be the case it will be a valuable timber to 
possess. Further proof however is needed of its 
qualities. 

Teak, though found at Penang and Singapore, and 
abounding in the jungles of Siam, oddly enough does 
not grow in Perak. There are plenty of fine durable 
woods, though, to make up for the deficiency. Neither 
has the camphor tree been found, though believed 
to exist at Salangore, but the gutta tree is tolerably 
plentiful, and its curious gum is extracted by cutting 
down the whole tree, tapping it on the under side, 
and allowing the gutta to exude into vessels placed 
for its reception. This gum is frequently used by 
the young Malays to catch birds, forming a most 
glutinous bird-lime. The name by which it is known 
in England gutta-percha many people may not be 
aware, is rather a redundant one, percha being only 
the native name for Sumatra, whence the gutta was 
perhaps originally brought. The indiarubber tree, 
with its glossy green leaves, is one of the many 
trees of the wood; but its juices are not com- 





50 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

monly extracted, though used also occasionally as 
bird-lime. 

One very hard wood, called by the Malays 
kamooning, is obtained from a slow-growing flower- 
bearing tree. It is of fine grain, takes an admirable 
polish, and is used to ornament the hilts of krises, 
and to make into fancy or useful articles, such as 
boxes, cigar-holders, and watch-cases : the late rajah of 
a neighbouring state was a great adept at turning 
this wood in his lathe. 

It is no uncommon thing in the depths of these 
jungles, as night sets in, to see glades lit up with what 
seem in the distance to be so many pale lamps burning 
with a mild radiance, but which prove on closer 
inspection to be a very curious kind of phosphorescent 
fungi, of considerable size, the light being probably 
produced by their decomposition. At times too, 
during a journey, the native guide points out the ipoh, 
or upas tree, and announces that it is poisonous ; but 
the stories of its deadly nature are apocryphal ; and 
though the tree may possess poisonous qualities, 
beyond tradition the Malays seem to know very little 
about it. 

Another famous tree flourishes here, namely, the 
banian ; but, growing as it does in the dense jungle, 
where it has to struggle for its existence in a very 
small space, there are none of the wonderful wide- 
spreading specimens such as are said to shelter a 
regiment on an Indian plain. To revert however for 



WOOD OIL. 51 



a moment to the upas : it is perhaps too much, to say 
that an approximation to its branches, or sleeping 
beneath its shade, may not be highly injurious,, 
especially when it is an established fact that the 
poison alder of Virginia acts upon the skin, if ever so 
lightly touched, with the greatest virulence, producing 
all the symptoms of poisoning to a marked degree. 
The upas, however, does not seem to have been 
tested, and possesses perhaps a far worse name than it 
deserves. 

The bombax, or cotton tree, is here in two varieties,, 
but probably imported. The kayoo puteh, literally 
wood white, is a tree whose name has been corrupted 
into the cajeput of the Pharmacopoeia. It yields a 
very valuable green oil, which is used for medicinal 
purposes. Large quantities of wood oil, or kayoo- 
minyati, are also obtained by the Malays, by cutting 
a triangular hole right into the trunk of a forest tree,, 
and placing therein a cup or half a cocoa-nut shell. 
Fire is then applied, and the oil is melted and drips 
into the cup. This oil forms a kind of varnish, and 
is used for the interior woodwork of their houses, 
and sometimes as a medicine. 

One of the prettiest trees is the waringhan, with its 
birch-like growth ; it is a species of ficus, and deserves- 
to be called the most ornamental in the peninsula,, 
though the beautiful growths are endless, even as they 
are peculiar. Amongst the ornamental trees, though, 
must be classified those which blossom. One of the 

E 2 



52 SARONG " AND "KRIS." 

finest of these is called by the Malays dadap. It 
bears a beautiful flower of a brilliant scarlet, and is 
utilised largely in the coffee plantations of Java as a 
protection to the young trees from the ardent sun. 
Another blossoming tree is the chumpaka, of which 
there are two varieties, the one bearing a yellow, the 
other a pure white flower, and both diffusing what 
is comparatively rare a delicious scent. These are 
favourite flowers, and are often used like the white 
blossoms of the jasmine and the sweet-scented star- 
shaped bunga tanjong by the women to ornament 
their hair, while the natives of India in the peninsula 
offer them at the shrines of their god. 

One of the especial features of the jungle is the 
beauty of tint and mottling of the foliage, and this 
relieves greatly what would otherwise seem sombre 
and monotonous. Almost side by side may be seen 
growing leaves of a bright yellow and others of richly- 
tinted reds, while close by are displayed infinite 
variegations, in different shades, of purple mixed with 
splashes of white, as if all colour had been withdrawn 
from the leaves. Undoubtedly the beauty of nature's 
gardening in these eastern forests has had something 
to do with the taste that has of late set in for foliaceous 
plants. The foliage, too, of the hill-sides in Perak is 
wondrously beautiful, displaying every tint of leafage, 
from pale yellow, through infinite shades, to the 
darkest green, with here and there clusters of bright 
blossoms peering out, amongst which may frequently 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE. 53 

be seen what is known as the Pride of the Forest, a 
blossom of a deep red and yellow. There is also 
the blossom of the kamooning tree, which strongly 
resembles that of the orange, and emits as sweet a 
scent. Though no scented flower, there is a modest 
plant found occasionally that is a pretty and familiar 
object to every European, and takes attention when 
its tree-like relatives weary the eye. This is our 
adiantum, the pretty little maiden-hair fern, and it 
is principally found growing in the laterite clay iron- 
stone soil. The first discoverer of this little favourite 
is said to have been Archdeacon Hose, and the habitat 
was Malacca. 

Though Perak can hardly be called a land of flowers, 
still there are many of very great beauty, and this 
want of gorgeous petals is made up for by the colours 
of the leaves. The orchids however are very beautiful, 
both the large parasitical and the ground varieties. 
The scorpion orchid a wonderfully-accurate copy of 
the poisonous creature from which it takes its name- 
abounds, as does a magDificent creeper which would be 
a great acquisition to a European garden, from its rich 
maroon blossoms. Climbing plants are very common 
in the jungle, running up the trees in a straight line 
similar to the strands of our close small-leaved ivy, 
and often to a height of thirty or forty feet. But 
perhaps of all the climbers the most striking are 
the nepenthes, or monkey- cups, which are seen in 
every opening. Those grown in our hothouses 



"SARONG" AND "KRIS. 



poorly set forth the beauty of the varieties of this 
singular plant. Here they may be seen growing in 
clusters of fifty or sixty together, close to the ground, 
and with pitchers of ten or twelve inches in length. 
Others, again, are seen ascending the forest trees, 
sun-seeking from a shady spot. They are generally 
green, but variegated with purple and red, speckled, 
splashed, and striped, and many of them fringed in a 
most beautiful manner. They all contain water, many 
over half a pint in quantity ; but it generally seems 
to be of a viscid nature, and not tempting as a 
beverage. 

Water-lilies abound wherever they find a suitable 
habitat in the lagoons formed by the many streams ; 
while the lotus is found in great perfection, sending 
up from its floating leaves its bright blossom-cups of 
red, blue, and silvery- white. There is a fine display 
of this plant in a small lake fronting the house of one 
of the native chiefs, at Bukit Gantang, while these 
and the water-lilies lend great beauty to some of the 
smooth open reaches in the wilder portions of the 
country. 

Arums, and that beautiful plant the calladium, 
with its arrow-shaped variegated leaves, also play their 
part in diversifying the jungle. The sensitive-plant 
grows largely too on the peninsula ; and it has this 
peculiarity, that wherever it abounds it destroys the 
lallang grass a knowledge of which fact may be of great 
service where the land is infested with this growth, for 



PALMS. 55 



good grass can readily be grown around tlie sensitive- 
plant, after the lallang is destroyed. The hibiscus 
grows to the size of a tree, and the gardinia flourishes 
well, its large white flowers being great favourites 
with the Malays. 

A flower-bearing tree, known as the Poinsiana 
regia, flourishes well here ; it is small in leaf, but 
bears a magnificent bloom, which grows in clusters 
on every bough ; in fact, like the azaleas of our 
green-houses, there are often more flowers than leaves. 
Mr. Dunman, a former inspector-general of police at 
Singapore, introduced this largely into the town, 
where it now grows to great perfection. 

The nipah-palm grows in company with the 
mangrove in brackish water, by the muddy shores, 
and is often washed off to go floating about the straits, 
looking in the distance like a boat under sail. " These 
mangroves, whose singular roots have already been 
mentioned, have a peculiarity in their seed-pods, which 
deserves mention. There are apparently two varieties, 
the one having a seed something like a cocoa-nut, the 
other, pods of a large size, rather in the shape of a boy's 
skittle, but pointed at the bottom ; and so wonder- 
fully are these balanced, that as they drop from the. 
mangrove branch they fall upright in the mud, 
literally planting themselves, and rapidly taking root. 

Another very beautiful shore-loving tree is the 
-casuarina, which flourishes amid the sand, being a kind 
of fir. It is peculiar for the way in which the wind 



56 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

sighs through it, reminding the settler of the old 
Scottish fir of far away, with its roar as of surges in 
its dark green crown. 

Perak may be looked upon as a paradise of palms, 
of which there are many varieties. The nipah, which 
has just been mentioned, fringes the rivers up to tidal- 
mark, and forms the chief thatching material of the 
Malays, while its fruit makes a preserve. Then there 
are the sago, which is allowed to grow for about 
fifteen years, and then cut down to obtain the farina 
from the pith in its trunk ; the jaggary, from which 
coarse sugar is made ; and the areca, a slender, very 
graceful tree, yielding the betel-nut, which the Malays 
chew for its stimulating qualities. The blossom of 
one of the wild arecas has a most delicious odour, and 
there are several varieties. The penang, or areca, is 
the palm which is utilised in a variety of ways by 
the Malays, its leaf-sheath affording them a horny 
material, which they use for water-buckets and baskets. 
The cocoa-palm grows luxuriantly, and fruits well at 
long distances from the sea. In addition, there is a 
rare variety which bears a cocoa-nut, whose fruit is 
pink instead of white. The gamooty-palm is also very 
common, and the black fibres of this tree are of 
endless use to the Malays, for making cordage, ropes, 
and the open strands with which they take their 
enemy the alligator. The most graceful of the family, 
however, is the nibong, which in beautiful clusters 
shades the jungle dwellings of the Malays, supplies 




CAilPONU ON PEUAK K1VKU. 



BAMBOOS. 57 



the posts for their houses, and is cut into strips to 
make their floors. 

The various palms are the most striking features of 
the river-banks, and wherever they are clustered in 
any number there are sure to peep out the pointed 
roofs of the attap-thatched houses. The wonder is 
that the large cocoa-nuts, in their great fibrous coating, 
and heavy falling leaves, are not frequently the cause 
of accidents to the children playing beneath them in 
the villages ; but somehow they seem to escape, for 
injuries are rarely known to the writer as having 
occurred. 

Next to the palms in value to the Malays come 
the bamboos, which graceful ornaments to the jungle, 
towering up like Brobdingnagian grass, are utilised in 
a variety of ways : building, boat-making, raft -con- 
structing, and also for cutting up into various domestic 
implements. It is also of great service to the natives 
for their fences and stockades, and if used as a hedge 
it acts admirably, those that have been made about 
the settlements adding greatly to the attractions of 
the lanes' and country roads. Fine clumps of bamboo 
add to the beauty of the river Perak, seen as they 
are, feathering against the pure sky. But great 
as is the beauty of this cane it has its bad qualities. 
The Malays use the large hollow joints to hold water ; 
but in its wild-growing state it is frequently the cause 
of fire ; for where pieces of large growth, or even 
plants of similar silicious nature, are in a position to 



58 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

be fretted and rubbed together by the wind, a serious 
jungle fire will often result. This no doubt taught 
the aborigines how to obtain fire by rubbing a couple 
of pieces together. The rotans, or rattans, have 
already been mentioned as among the great obstacles 
to progression through the jungle ; but to the Malays 
they are of infinite value, supplying them, when 
twisted by means of a lever, and then dried, with 
their strongest ropes. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Fruits TheDurian Mangosteen Shaddock Ananas Bread-fruit 
Cashew Nam-nam Wholesome nature of fruits. 



THE fruits of Perak are almost endless, and embrace 
some of the most delicious under the sun ; but many 
of them bear names that would be little better than 
puzzles to the reader. Some of the principal must 
however be given by their native titles. 

Mr. Wallace, in his " Malay Archipelago," says 
that the durian, which he seems to have found in a 
great many of the islands, is the king of fruits, and 
the orange the queen. To give place aux dames, the 
queen of fruits does not exist in Perak at present ; 
but the country is eminently suitable for its growth, 
and those specimens which are brought in from 
Tringanu, on the east coast, are little inferior in flavour 
to those of St. Michael. 

The king of fruits, however, flourishes largely, and 
is peculiar to the archipelago. It grows upon a large 
tree something similar to a walnut, ripe fruit and flowers 
being seen upon the tree at the same time ; and, as if 



60 "SAEONG" AND "KRIS." 

to startle the learned gentleman who is said to have 
refuted- the atheist about the acorn, the durian will 
grow as large as a man's head, is covered closely with 
terribly sharp spines, set hexagonally upon its hard 
skin, and when ripe and it falls, if it should strike 
anyone under the tree, severe injury or death may be 
the result. So fully awake are the natives, to the 
danger of a blow from a falling durian, that in populous 
places they take the trouble to stretch nets at some 
distance from the ground, where a road or pathway 
leads beneath a durian grove, so as to catch the ripe 
fruit as it falls. Five faint marks exist on the shell, 
which show the line of the carpels, like those of an 
orange, and following these the fruit can be opened with 
a heavy knife. Inside there are, to each carpel or 
division, two or three seeds as big as chestnuts, and 
these are surrounded by a rich thick cream, upon 
the flavour of which opinions are wonderfully divided. 
The natives are excessively devoted to it, and some 
Europeans declare it to be like a rich buttery custard 
flavoured with almonds ; while Mr. Wallace says, 
"with it come wafts of flavour that call to mind 
cream-cheese, onion sauce, brown sherry, and other 
incongruities." 

The writer's testimony is that it is, no doubt, to 
some palates a very delicious fruit or food, as it 
may be termed, but when over ripe, its odour is 
foetid to a degree. The disagreeable odour of this 
fruit has formed the basis of many an anecdote, and if 



THE DUEIAN. 61 



one or two are given in passing, it is only what would 
be expected when the durian is mentioned. 

A high official, on his way from England to China, 
was sumptuously entertained by the then resident 
councillor at Penang. This gentleman was a great 
admirer of the fruit, and had one of the very best his 
garden could produce placed upon the table. On his 
lordship being asked his opinion of it, he replied 
sharply to his host : " It may have been very good 
last season, Mr. L., but, if you will excuse me, I would 
rather not venture on it now." 

Ladies are supposed to look upon this production 
with extreme disgust, but get the credit of being very 
partial to it nevertheless. The story goes that a lady, 
the descendant of one of the old settlers of -the penin- 
sula, made a confession in an unguarded moment, 
when, being condoled with upon the question of having 
to go and live in a very out-of-the-way bungaloh, she 
declared she should not feel dull, for there would be 
plenty of durians there. 

So strange and unwholesome is the odour of this 
fruit, that it is possible it may possess the quality 
of temporarily destroying the sense of smell in those 
who partake of it ; otherwise this intense fondness for 
the fruit seems almost a mystery. It may be detected 
at a considerable distance, and about the nearest 
approximation to its peculiar smell is that of a brick- 
kiln when in full burning. The natives cultivate it 
largely, and esteem it above all others. An old writer 



62 "8&RONG* AND "KRIS." 

says that the Siamese would barter their liberty to 
obtain it ; certain it is that a Malay would give a 
considerable portion of his day's pay to obtain one. 

The mangosteen too deserves special notice, for its- 
inviting appearance and delicious flavour. It is a 
fruit that would be highly esteemed in England; and 
the writer is glad to announce that plants of this fruit- 
tree which have been sent to British Guiana are now 
growing, favoured by the latitude ; and probably 
by the time these pages appear will be in full fruit 
at Trinidad, whither they were sent. The distance 
from Demerara or Trinidad is comparatively so short 
that there is the possibility of the mangosteen at 
length finding its way to an English table. This it 
is hoped may prove to be the case, as all efforts 
made by the writer, who tried various methods, failed 
to get the fruit home from Singapore in decent con- 
dition. 

The pine-apple flourishes well wherever planted, 
but grapes are only produced with great difficulty. 
The varieties of the custard-apple, guava, pome- 
granate, alligator-pear, mango, and a number of 
native fruits, grow abundantly at the Settlements, and 
fruit-trees of many kinds are carefully planted round 
their homes by the Malays. The pommeloe, or 
shaddock, flourishes well, but is an importation from 
the East and West Indies ; there are several kinds too- 
of citrons and limes, while the plantain, banana, or 
pisang, as the Malays call it, exists in a great many 



BEEAD-FEUIT AND CASHEW. 



varieties, the best known being those bearing the 
names of the stone, gold, sweet, egg, king, sultan, 
monkey, and finger plantain. 

The bread-fruit is of two kinds, only one of which 
is edible, but it is not held in the same esteem as in 
the South Sea Islands. There is a pandanus too? 
which bears a fruit as large as a durian. It is a fine 
object in the marsh lagoons of Perak. The fruit is,. 
however, smooth, and not in favour with the Malays, 
though much sought after by the monkeys. Perhaps 
one of the most singular of the fruits of the peninsula 
is the cashew-apple, which abounds, and is remarkable 
for being like two fruits in one ; an apple above, with 
the familiar kidney- shaped nut below. The dookoo 
is a large round fruit, and grows on a comparatively 
small tree. The nam-nam, an acid apple-like fruit,, 
has the peculiarity of growing on the stem of the 
parent-tree ; while, for some unknown reason, the 
papaya is said to possess the quality of giving ten- 
derness to meat placed beneath its boughs. 

A curious seed-pod growing commonly in Perak 
deserves mention. It is only a little over an inch 
from tip to tip ; but it is peculiar from its taking the 
exact shape of a buffalo's horns and frontal. It is one- 
of those freaks of nature that are so hard to explain, 
for in this case no possible reason can be assigned for its 
eccentric shape. 

Very few cases of injurious symptoms seem to arise 
from partaking of fruit. There is one kind however, 



64 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the rokam, which is very unwholesome if taken in an 
unripe state, and cases of death from its effects are not 
unknown amongst children. When ripe however it 
resembles a gooseberry in flavour, and though hard, 
becomes very pulpy on pressure, and is eaten in this 
state by the Malays and some Europeans. 

The indigenous fruits of the peninsula are however 
almost endless, and a full description of all would be 
far beyond the limits of this work. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Yegelable-food supply Curries and their preparation Kachang 
The gourd family European vegetables Herbs Indigo 
Pepper Gambier Sugar Coffee Tobacco Cinchona Kice- 
growing Clearing the jungle Medicinal and poisonous plants. 



ONE of the first things a settler thinks of in a new 
country is the supply of food to which he has been 
accustomed. When, however, the resident in Perak 
looks for the homely old vegetables of his native land, 
he is doomed to be disappointed. Still, if he be not 
too strictly wedded to conventionality, he will find 
that nature has, in withholding the produce of a 
temperate region, been prodigal in her supplies of 
that belonging to the tropics. A stranger will look 
in vain for the simple potato, even though it was 
originally the growth of a foreign shore, for all 
attempts to cultivate it here result in the production 
of wretched little tubers not much larger than peas. In 
its place, however, there is the dry- eating, farinaceous 
yam, which flourishes abundantly. 

The great dish of the east is curry ; but let not 
the reader imagine that it is composed with a dry 



66 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

yellowish powder, for nothing is farther from the 
truth. The fact is, that the native curry more 
resembles the preparation for a salad, inasmuch as it 
is composed of vegetables in their green, or ripe state ; 
and it is surprising how many things are introduced 
into the savoury dish. One of the principal ingre- 
dients is the contents of the cocoa-nut, crushed with 
Its milk into a pulp. Turmeric is grown, and largely 
used. The pods of the moringa tree enter into the 
curry, while its scraped root is used by Europeans as 
a substitute for horse-radish, which it strongly re- 
sembles in flavour. The fresh chillies and capsicums 
of the country are considered indispensable, while the 
heart of the cocoa-nut tree, called cocoa-nut cabbage, 
is another ingredient, though often used as a salad, 
in which form it has a delicious nutty taste. 

Under the name of Jcachang the Malays classify 
the many varieties of beans, peas, and vetches. These 
they commonly eat parched ; but, after the fashion of 
our gardeners with the sea-kale, they often imitate the 
Chinese plan, and grow some kinds in the dark, so as 
to make them tender for mixing in curries. We have 
there, too, a creeper, whose name is not known. It 
grows very readily, and its leaf strongly resembles 
spinach. 

As might be supposed, all plants of the gourd 
family flourish rapidly. Water-melons come to great 
perfection ; cucumbers are plentiful ; and the Malays 
grow a large number of gourds, some of which are 



VEGETABLE FOOD. 67 

edible, others useful for vessels for carrying water. 
Among other vegetables grown by the people are a 
kind of edible arum ; sweet potatoes ; and the bandicoi, 
which grows on a small' shrub, bearing a flower like 
a hibiscus. This, with a curious three-cornered vege- 
table, eight or ten inches long, is much appreciated. 
The Malays have also a great affection for onions. 

The climate is, however, capable of producing, and 
does produce where the Chinese have settled, pulsej 
radishes, and a coarse lettuce. There is also no doubt 
that many kinds of familiar English vegetables might 
be grown, if care were taken to study the suitable 
time for planting, and to protect the tender shoots 
from the sun. Much has been attempted, though 
little has yet been done. In the higher parts of 
the country, on the slopes of the mountains, would 
be the most suitable spots. A few enterprising gen- 
tlemen have made attempts in the Settlements, and 
good English peas have been grown. Upon one occa- 
sion a cabbage was produced that would have been an 
ornament to a Covent Garden stall; but that won- 
derful cabbage had been tenderly nurtured in a flower- 
pot, and was its owner's anxious and almost only 
care ; in Province Wellesley, however, asparagus has 
been grown with success. 

Herbs flourish, mint growing well in the country, 
and there is a leaf with the flavour of sage ; and when 
it is remembered that Perak runs from the low sea- 
shore swamps upward to the central hill-summits, 

p 2 



68 "SARONG" AND "KElS." 

abounding in fertile soil, and plentifully supplied with 
water, it is evident that, by management, the fruit 
or vegetable of most parts of the world might be 
produced with ease. 

Advantage has been taken of this by the growers of 
the various commodities which are raised upon a large 
scale. Indigo has been tried by the Chinese settlers 
at Singapore with the most gratifying results. It 
thrives well, and its growth is apparently free from 
the many difficulties which attend its production in 
India. The juice is used by the Malays, who have 
probably learned its value in dyeing from the 
Hindoos. 

Pepper is a plant natural to the Straits, and 
flourishes well, but it has the peculiarity of quickly 
exhausting the soil. The Chinese and Malays grow 
it readily, and it is a production that has a ready 
sale. Heat, moisture, and shade are indispensable 
to it ; and it may not be generally known that black 
and white pepper are, like black and green tea, the 
produce of the same plant. 

Gambier is likewise largely grown in the Straits, 
and would flourish well in poorly -cultivated Perak. 
It is produced from a shrub, whose leaves are picked 
and boiled down into a syrup, poured into moulds, 
and then cut into cubes when dry. It is largely used 
by the Malays for masticating with their betel. As 
a drug, however, it is very valuable for tanning pur- 
poses, containing, as it does, some fifty per cent, of 



COFFEE AND TOBACCO. 69 

pure tannin. It is this drug which is used to give 
the nets and sails of our fishing-boats at home their 
cinnamon-brown colour. Cotton was tried in Singa- 
pore by General Cavenagh, and it grew with a fine 
long staple. It was merely an experiment in a 
garden, and the plants suffered from blight, but it 
is one of the productions for which the soil of Perak 
is eminently adapted. 

To continue the experiments that have been made, 
sugar may be mentioned ; in fact, so successfully has 
the cane been grown that a company is reported to 
have just purchased ninety thousand acres of land 
in the country for a sugar plantation. 

Coffee and Java are so well associated in most 
people's minds, that it will be no surprise to say that 
the berry has been successfully grown in the peninsula. 
Tea culture is in its infancy ; but it has been satisfac- 
torily tried in the settlement bordering on Perak, 
namely, Province Wellesley, where the clove has also 
been grown. These have been but tentative matters, 
for, except by the Malays in their primitive manner, the 
soil of Perak, which offers itself for the cultivation of 
these valuable commodities, has hardly been broken, 
and is in fact a wilderness of fertility, waiting for the 
busy hand of man. 

Another plant too would flourish well in Perak, 
namely, the tobacco, already grown in small quantities 
by the Malays ; and judges of the soil suited for this 
aromatic production assert, that if the planters who 



70 "SlBON&y AND "KRIS." 

have so successfully adventured in growing it just 
across the Strait at Deli in Sumatra, had first seen the 
land on the banks of the Perak, they would have 
had by preference their plantations there. At the 
present time the Deli cigars have found their way 
into the English market, where they promise to be 
formidable rivals of the well-known productions of 
Manilla. 

Cinchona, the tree from which quinine is obtained, 
should also be tried, as a paying cultivation, for it has 
succeeded admirably in Ceylon, India, and the neigh- 
bouring isle of Java. Most of these are growths that 
may be looked upon as experiments though such as 
are almost bound to succeed. It is however only fair 
to refer to a failure namely, an attempt to reintroduce 
that valuable spice the nutmeg. This has been tried 
without much success at Penang and Singapore, and 
no adequate reason can be assigned for the very 
extensive failure of the plant about twenty years ago. 
Perhaps Perak may be found the happy medium, 
lying as it does between the two settlements. 

Among the regular cultivations of the state, rice 
must stand first, forming as it does the staple food of 
the Malay. Wherever padi-fields are planted off the 
banks of the rivers and drain-canals, the rice is grown 
with very good results, while the waving fields of 
sugar-cane and maize plainly show that the general 
cultivation of these crops might be as well carried out 
in Perak as in Province Wellesley in the north. Here 



RICE-GROWING. 



the sugar estates have for years past realised the most 
happy results. 

The rice-growing is of two kinds namely, the wet 
land and the dry land. The latter on the hill-sides is 
exclusively the native method ; but for the wet growth 
the Malay is indebted to the Indians who settled in 
Sumatra, and from whom this mode of irrigating the 
fields and producing the rice spread through the 
peninsula. After the land is prepared, the grain is 
not sown after the fashion of corn in Europe, but in 
nurseries ; and when the tender young plants are 
eight inches high, they are lifted and transplanted, 
after removing the tops, being placed in clusters of. 
six or eight, pretty closely together, in the field ready 
for their reception, and in rows one foot apart. 

The Malays are good agriculturists, but do little 
until they are obliged, being of a listless idle nature ; 
and they suffer from the effects of one of our old 
policies namely, that of discouraging rice cultivation, 
and letting them trust to the importation of this staple 
from places farther south. 

The plough used is a primitive affair, drawn by 
buffaloes. It is a heavy pole, with a wooden fork to 
act as coulter, and a bar of wood inserted at an oblique 
angle by way of handle. The clods are broken by 
dragging over them a heavy beam, and the land is 
harrowed by means of another heavy beam full of 
spikes. The sowing in the nursery and planting out 
are generally performed by women, who, when the padi 



72 "SAEONG" AND "KRIS." 

is ready, cut it off about six inches below the ear. 
This they do sometimes with a sickle, but generally 
by means of an ingeniously-contrived little instru- 
ment, by whose action, aided by the fingers, the rice- 
stalks are severed as if by a pair of scissors, leaving 
the stems in the gatherers' hands. The husking of 
the rice is contrived by means of a tin-bound pestle 
and a mortar, and the woman's difficulty is to regulate 
her blows so as not to crush the grain. An ingenious 
American machine has for some time been introduced 
into the peninsula, consisting of a heavy shaft with 
pegs or cogs, which alternately raise a series of pestles, 
or stampers, which fall in as many mortars, and so 
husk the grain. The Chinese also have established 
primitive machines driven by water power. 

Tapioca is largely cultivated in the peninsula, and 
it would grow well in Perak, but at the present ruling 
prices it would hardly be a paying adventure. In 
fact in forming plantations here, as in many other 
parts of the world, the labour question is the great 
difficulty. To meet this, however, there is the hope 
that Coolie emigration will still be fostered by the 
Indian government ; especially as now every safe- 
guard has been made for the protection of labourers, 
and for their return to their homes ; in fact, every 
provision that could satisfy the most hypercritical on 
such matters. The present Indian famine could not, 
of course, have been foreseen ; but had greater faci- 
lities been given for emigration from India, many of 



CLEARING THE JUNGLE. 



those terrible deaths from starvation might have been 
averted, while the native states of the peninsula would 
have been correspondingly improved. 

The flourishing growth of citronella and lemon- 
grass, from which essential oils are extracted, must 
not lack mention ; while the question of grass naturally 
suggests pasture-land, which is somewhat wanting, for 
this is no home of grazing cattle, like the park-like 
stretches of Australia. There is however a great 
variety of grasses in the peninsula. Capital sweet 
nutritious meadow-grass is grown at Penang and 
Singapore, upon which both horses and ponies thrive 
well; but the grass generally of the Settlements, 
except in Northern Perak, is not particularly good or 
fattening for cattle. 

In connection with the clearing away of the jungle, 
and preparing the ground for cultivation, there are 
one or two curious points to consider. One is, that if 
the tall trees are cut down the brushwood should be 
left, or its place supplied with some other growth, 
otherwise miasma is likely to rise and produce fever. 
Secondly, the action of nature is so rapid that, in clear- 
ing away the trees and brush, or, as the Malays call it, 
tabas-tabang, no more should be cleared than is required 
for use, otherwise the ladang will run into lallang. In 
other words, the cleared but uncultivated land will be 
speedily overrun by a rank grass (Gramen caricosum) 
the roots of which are more expensive and difficult to 
clear away than the jungle that previously occupied 



74 "SARONG" AND " KRIS." 

the soil. This grass is so plentiful, and so overruns the 
country, growing in some places to a height of five 
feet, that it is a pity that it cannot be turned to some 
manufacturing account. It is said to make fair paper, 
but its success in this way is not yet publicly known. 
The Malays, however, use it for thatching, and cattle- 
bedding, and stuff their pillows with its flowers : here 
however its utility ends. 

Like the inhabitants of Java, the Malays have a 
good notion of what vegetable productions are avail- 
able for medicinal purposes. Unfortunately, too, their 
knowledge has extended strongly to poisons, and the 
Malay women have the credit of a great insight into 
those infusions which produce death. 

Amongst the medicinal plants, the fresh roots of 
the male pomegranate is, as an infusion, a specific 
where a vermifuge is needed. For chest complaints, 
a jelly is made from a sea-weed called agar-agar. It 
is mixed with sugar, and not at all unpalatable ; but 
the Malays probably owe the knowledge of this pro- 
duction to the Chinese immigrants, who bring with 
them no lack of medical knowledge : in fact their 
preparation of peppermint is an almost universal 
medicine, and invaluable in its properties. 

One little shrub, called tulvee, which is in favour 
with the Indians for placing near the graves of the 
departed, has a black seed which when- mixed in 
water gives out a kind of white pulp. This is held 
in great esteem by the natives for its power in cooling 



POISONOUS PLANTS. 75 

the blood, and is often taken with lime-juice and 
sugar. Among the poisonous plants, the daturah is 
common in the peninsula ; and it has been remarked 
that when a person is under the effect of its poison, 
he constantly observes his fingers, and keeps passing 
his thumb over them in a most peculiar way. 

In a district like Perak, however, where over the 
greater part of the land nature reigns supreme, these 
notes of the vegetable productions are necessarily very 
far from being complete ; they are, however, the result 
of observation, and show the reader how lush must be 
the growth of this tropic soil. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Noxious animals The python Varieties of serpent Leeches The 
tortoise and turtle Dangerous saurians Government rewards 
Fish and fishing Various methods. 

SELF-PRESERVATION is so truly the first law of nature, 
that it is only natural for a visitor to a far-off foreign 
shore to eagerly inquire as to what noxious creatures 
are there, and dwell especially upon the reptiles ; for 
the travellers' tales that have been brought home, res- 
pecting the acts and deeds of huge serpents, that 
crush buffaloes in their folds and then swallow them, 
have been as startling as those relating to the rapid 
and fatal action of the poison of the smaller snakes. 
Perak being a land of moist jungle, with large swamps 
and lagoons, lying beneath a tropic sun, naturally 
possesses its noxious reptiles ; but as these creatures, 
like almost all wild animals, hurry away from the step 
of man, accidents are very rare. 

When it is stated that boa- constrictors are said to 
be found to the length of thirty feet, they might 
reasonably be expected to be the most alarming of the 
peninsula reptiles, but they are rarely seen, and are 



THE PYTHON. 77 



for the most part dangerous to fowls. In fact, the 
writer shot one that had invaded his fowl-house in 
Labuan, and gorged itself to such an extent with 
poultry that, like the mouse of the fable, it could not 
crawl back by the hole through which it had entered. 
This creature was eighteen feet long, and nearly as 
thick as a man's leg. That pythons grow to excep- 
tionally large size there can be no doubt, but twenty 
feet may be taken as the size of a well-grown specimen. 

One of the keenest sportsmen in Singapore gives 
an account of a monster that he encountered ; and 
also instances that the boa feeds occasionally on 
larger prey, which it can seize and crush. He had 
wounded a boar in the jungle, and was following its 
track with his dogs, when on penetrating farther into 
the forest, he found the dogs at bay, and advancing 
cautiously, prepared for another shot at the boar. To 
his surprise, however, he found that the dogs were 
baying a huge python, which had seized the boar, 
thrown its coils round the unfortunate beast, and was 
crushing it to death. A well-directed shot laid the 
reptile writhing on the ground, and it proved to be 
about thirty feet long : but such instances of extreme 
length are very rare. 

There are some fifteen or sixteen different kinds of 
snakes and many of them beautifully marked 
known to the Malays, who however look upon them 
with the greatest unconcern, knowing from long ex- 
perience that their nature is to crawl rapidly away 



"8I&ONQ" AND "KRIS." 



into the jungle. They vary, from a little viper re- 
sembling an English adder, to the black cobra, which is 
as much as five feet in length. These cobras resemble 
those of India in their spectacle markings, and the 
peculiar manner in which they puff out the neck, and 
rise up on the lower portion of the body; but, poisonous 
as they are, the Indian convicts in the Settlements will 
seize them by the tail with one hand, and draw them 
rapidly through the other till the fingers grasp the 
neck, when they allow them to twine round the arm. 
There is one little serpent though, about eighteen 
inches in length, and peculiar in its shape, as it is 
equal in size from head to tail, these extreme points 
being wonderfully alike. This is believed by the 
Malays to be extremely poisonous, and is more dreaded 
than the black cobra ; but injuries from snakes are 
very uncommon. For the cure of snake-bites the 
common people use a stone which, though not the 
bezoar-stone, is said to possess the quality of adhering 
to the wound and imbibing all the poison ; though a 
European would probably prefer the application of 
ammonia and strong internal doses of brandy or 
whisky, to increase the action of the pulse, and arrest 
the horrible stagnation which appears to be one of the 
consequences of serpent venom in the blood. 

The principal food of the smaller serpents is un- 
doubtedly the frogs of the marshy parts. These 
reptiles abound, making a deafening noise after a 
shower. Their little green relative of the trees, with 



LEECHES. 70 



liis sucker-furnished feet, merely emits a faint pipe ; 
but he is far more active than his ground companions, 
and is a pretty object amidst the leaves. Amongst 
the pests of the moist places of the jungle are the 
leeches ; for these creatures, directly the earth 
trembles with the step of man or beast, stretch them- 
selves out in savage hunger or, it should be said, 
thirst and by some means or another manage to make 
a lodgment upon the body of him who passes through 
the woods. Perhaps their presence is not at first felt, 
and they may not be discovered till the journey's end, 
when a bath reveals the little monsters gorged with 
their sanguinary repast. How they manage to get up 
a man's trousers-legs is a puzzle ; and the only way 
to keep them at bay is to tie the trousers tightly 
round the ankle, place them inside the boots, and 
freely anoint the latter with lime-juice, which the 
little pests hold in especial abomination. 

Tortoises are often seen in the swampy places ; 
one of them being a curious reptile with a soft shell, a 
large snout, and very quick movement ; scuttling 
away in a very different fashion to its shelly com- 
panion, who calmly pulls its head and legs inside its 
case, and waits until the danger that threatens is 
past. Their relatives the turtles abound off the 
coast, and especially about the Binding Islands. One 
of the smaller isles is chosen by the turtles for the 
purpose of laying their eggs, and they come and go 
with the greatest regularity, a few Malays inhabiting 



80 "SARONG" AND "KEIS." 

the place specially for the collection of this egg 
harvest. In the neighbouring state of Quedah they 
are so abundant that they are made a Government 
monopoly. These eggs are about the size of those of a 
bantam, but have a soft leathery skin, while the 
contents have a peculiar astringent flavour ; but they 
are looked upon as a great delicacy. The turtles off 
the shore are very sluggish in their movements, and 
may at times be seen lying asleep on the calm surface 
of the transparent water ; when a clever swimmer will 
approach cautiously, turn them back downwards, and 
then float them ashore boat fashion ; for when turned 
they are as helpless at sea as on land. 

Among lizards is the beautiful flying species, with 
its curious extensive web, and one known in Perak as 
the iguana, which it resembles ; but it is only about 
eighteen inches long, and it is commonly called a 
blood-sucker, probably because it never sucks blood. 
There are also numbers of smaller lizards, which are 
very rapid in their movements, and the decided 
enemies of the flies. In fact, one of the favourite 
proverbs of the Malay is derived from the deliberate 
manner in which the lizard seizes its prey. It answers 
to our L&tmfestina lente, the hasten slowly of moralists' 
pens. The great dangerous saurians are three, and 
known to the Malays as the gouro, frog, and copper 
species. These alligators abound in the rivers and 
estuaries ; and occasionally a death or serious injury 
occurs through an incautious approach to a river-bank 



DANGEROUS SAUEIANS. 81 

where they are known to abound. Their favourite 
habitats are near the mouths of the rivers, especially 
the Jurumas and Bruas, on the coast. 

These reptiles run up to twenty-five feet in length ; 
but are then heavy and sluggish of movement, and 
bear no comparison for dangerous qualities with 
those of twelve or fifteen feet in length, which are 
extremely powerful and rapid in swimming. It is no 
uncommon thing for the Malay boatmen to warn their 
passengers, when going up a river, not to hang their 
hands over the sides, as people often inadvertently do, 
to feel the cool fresh current pass between the fingers, 
for an alligator will often snap at the hand ; one sweep 
of the powerful tail sending the creature with a rush 
through the water. 

An instance was known to the writer of a man 
being seized across the loins by one of these creatures, 
which tried to drag him into the river, but he had 
presence of mind enough to thrust his fingers into its 
eyes, when the agony caused the monster to quit its 
hold. Travellers with sporting proclivities have ample 
opportunities for a shot at them, as they lie basking 
on the mud in the mangrove swamps ; but it is a 
great rarity to get one, for they immediately rush for 
the river if wounded, and sink directly, while very 
often their scaly hide saves them from injury. They 
are not seen very far up the river, seeming to like an 
occasional visit to the brackish water, or even a cruise 
now and then out to sea. 



82 "SAEONG" AND " KRIS." 

The Malays have a stimulus offered them by 
Government for the destruction of these reptiles, in the 
shape of a reward of twelve dollars for every one 
taken, even as fifty dollars are offered for the destruc- 
tion of a tiger ; but without this premium they have 
a deadly hatred for the dangerous creature, and are 
very ingenious in their plans for its destruction. They 
make a large hook, very ingeniously contrived, so that 
it shall not be disgorged, and attach it carefully with 
ligatures beneath the wing of a white fowl. Expe- 
rience has taught them that the alligator can break a 
chain, and bite through an ordinary rope ; so they 
fasten the hook to a rope composed of loose strands 
made from the gamooty palm. Then, after securing 
one end of the rope which is of a pretty good length 
to a tree, they picket the fowl to a peg on the river 
bank; the whole process being like setting a bank- 
runner for pike in an English stream. The alligator 
generally takes the unfortunate bait, swallows it 
whole, and returns to the river, to find that the loose 
strands of palm-rope go between its teeth, and cannot 
be bitten through ; and the end of the monster is that 
it is ignominiously dragged from the river by a dozen 
Malays, and despatched. This is fishing on a large 
scale and to some purpose, for the alligators are a 
dangerous pest. 

The Malays are, however, famous fishermen ; their 
amphibious life making them adepts in anything con- 
nected with river or sea, And this is in nowise 



FISH AND FISHING. 83 

surprising, when we remember that fish in some form 
or another is one of the staples of their simple food. 
Give a Malay fish, salt, rice, and the fruits he culti- 
vates near his hut, and he is content, especially if he 
can in addition obtain a little Java tobacco. If he 
cannot, he is content with his own rough growth, 
which he rolls up into a large cigarette in a piece of 
palm-leaf sheath ; or else smokes with no little enjoy- 
ment out of a pipe made from the short joint of a 
bamboo for bowl, and a stem composed of a thin shoot ; 
while, should he be at a loss for a light in the jungle, 
he can obtain it by rubbing the sharp edge of one 
piece of bamboo on a notch cut in another, the sharp 
piece sawing through and the dust igniting inside. 

Fish of infinite variety abound in the rivers and 
pools of Perak ; and frequently, after heavy rains, 
small drains and ditches that have been fishless are to 
be found swarming with small kinds of five or six 
inches in length, offering themselves for capture by 
the boys and women. For not only is fishing an 
occupation with the Malays, and a means of getting 
their livelihood, but one of their favourite amuse- 
ments ; and it is no uncommon thing to see an old lady, 
venerable in years, come out of her hut, armed with 
bamboo rod and line, and sit and fish for hours, 
generally with pretty good success. Her take will 
generally consist of what the people call the ikan 
sambilang, or fish of nine, so called from the number 
of barbs at its head. This fish abounds in the ponds 

G 2 



84 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

near the rice-fields, and in the running streams, and 
is a big-headed fellow, something between a burbot 
and a gudgeon. It is a great favourite, and adds a 
relish to the frugal meal of the captors. 

Fond as both sexes are of rod-fishing, the Malays 
make frequent use in their rivers of the small seine or 
drag-net, whose lower edge is loaded with weights to 
keep it at the bottom. Their way of using it is much 
the same as at home here in England, in dragging a 
small river or pond. It is stretched across from side 
to side of a river, and then cautiously drawn to the 
bank, great care being needed to prevent the escape 
of the fish. During the disturbances at Perak, while 
the troops were quartered at Qualla Kungsa, the 
Deputy-commissioner became an adept in the use of 
the drag-net, catching some good bags of a kind of 
perch, which formed a very agreeable variety to the 
sameness of the up-country mess-table. 

The cast-net is also known to the Malays, and this 
they throw with great dexterity ; but they are not 
always so straightforward, from an English point of 
view, in their fishing, for they not unfrequently poison 
the fish in convenient places, in a very poacher-like 
fashion, using the root of a creeping shrub called 
toobah. This, like cocculus indicus, has the property 
of drugging the fish, which eat it with avidity, and 
then come to the surface, and are easily taken by 
hand. This same root is largely used by the Chinese 
for destroying insect life amongst their growing plants ; 



SHOOTING FISH. 85 

and after some effort, the writer has succeeded, 
through the kindness of Singapore friends, in getting 
it safely to the Botanic Gardens at Kew, where it is 
now flourishing. 

The Perak streams most probably contain trout, 
and they abound in curious examples of fish life, some 
of which are remarkably brilliant in their colouring. 
One little fellow is of a brilliant scarlet, with a broad 
band of bright blue across its sides. Another is re- 
markable for its pugnacity ; for if a couple confined in 
separate bottles or globes are brought near to one 
another, they commence with a severe examination, 
and end by setting up their dorsal fins, and butting 
at each other fiercely, like a couple of piscine rams. 
Perhaps the greatest curiosity of all, though, is the 
little shooting-fish, which, if kept in confinement in 
basin or tank, will sail round and round, firing a water 
shot every time, like a shell from a tiny cannon, at 
any unfortunate fly or ant that may be on the side of 
the fountain or basin, or upon an overhanging twig, and 
this with good aim, till the insect is brought down 
and swallowed. When three or four of these little 
creatures are in the same basin, they will fire in turn, 
one after the other, with singular regularity. They 
are prettily marked black-and-white fish, some three or 
four inches long, and principally found in Siam, but 
are not uncommon in the waters of the peninsula. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Sea-fish Delicacies for the table Condiment or caviare Shell-fish 
and pearls Coral groves The Malay fisherman The skipjack 
The kaylong. 

THE sea lias its curious fish off the Malayan coast, 
one of which, the ekaii buntal or pillow-fish, is very 
common. It is beaked somewhat like a parrot, and 
has the power of inflating itself into a globular form 
when alarmed or touched, an act which sets up all 
over it a wonderful array of spines. It has, more- 
over, the peculiarity of being vocal, for when touched 
it emits a sound somethiDg between a grunt and the 
hoot of an owl. The Malays never eat it, but when 
it is taken with other fish, they shake it out of the 
net upon the sea-shore, where it may often be found 
in all stages between life and death. 

As in other parts of the world, it is to the sea that 
the common people look for their best supply of fish 
for food. Of those which are brought to the table of 
the European resident in the Settlements, the principal 
are the tungeree, the red mullet, and the pomfret a 
very delicious fish not unlike a turbot. There is also 



SEA FISH. 87 



the tongue-fish, which somewhat resembles our sole, 
though very different in flavour. Prawns, shrimps, 
crabs, and cray-fish are plentiful. Both rock and river 
oysters may be had, but they are elongated in shell, 
and not equal to our natives. The mussel, too, is not 
unknown. 

As a matter of course the fishing-grounds of Perai 
are not developed, and thus during the investigation 
of the country, little besides a kind of gray mullet 
could be obtained ; but north and south in the settled 
parts the waters teem with fish. Among other kinds, 
a little smelt is brought in, a delicious yellow fish with 
a silver stripe along its side ; a kind of skate ; sharks, 
especially the hammer-headed, abound, and the smaller 
kinds are caught and eaten, being frequently exposed 
for sale. Salt fish is much eaten by the Malays, and 
that caught and dried at Salangore, under Chinese 
direction, is admirable as a relish, and quite as satis- 
factory as the fish-roe of Siak, which is always obtain- 
able in the markets. To the lovers of the durian 
that is, people who do not object to peculiar gaminess 
of flavour may be recommended for a relish, with 
curry, the blachang of the Malays. 

This favourite condiment is generally made by the 
Malay fishermen on the sands, where, in a kind of bag, 
they trample semi-putrefied shrimps and prawns into 
a mass, salt it, and keep it. Tastes are various, and 
this odorous compound is much in favour. These 
fishers are fond of collecting shell-fish from the sands 



88 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

after tlie tide lias gone down, very much as it is done 
upon our own shores ; facts which place the civilised 
and the uncivilised nations very closely together in 
this respect. In Perak they gather quantities of the 
little donax, and it is no uncommon thing to see a 
Malay down upon the sea-shore busy with a kind of 
hook and a bag or basket, going cautiously over the 
sand till his well-trained eye lights upon a peculiarly- 
shaped hole, when the barbed iron is thrust down and 
one of the familiar razor shells, or solens,is dragged out. 
In such waters as there are here, a few steps in the 
direction of oyster-culture must have abundant results. 
The pearl-oyster exists, but it is not now sought for. 
In bygone times, fully a century back, the Malays had 
the reputation of being great pearl-fishers ; but now 
their pearls, some of which are very fine, are obtained 
from those of their nation who trade from the Moluccas. 
They make a curious assertion respecting this softly- 
lustrous gem, and that is, that if pearls are kept 
together in a box they will increase in number ; a 
fact (?) this that might prove valuable to the possessor 
of a few good specimens. 

Allusion has been made to the beauty of the 
submarine groves of coral, but the pen fails in any 
attempt to describe the wondrous scene spread out 
beneath him who gazes down through the limpid 
water in the neighbourhood of a coral reef. Zoophytes 
of endless graceful forms and lovely tints are glowing 
in these strange groves, where sea-anemones spread 



SEA-SNAKES. 89 



their life -destroying petals, and large medusae, from 
a foot to eighteen inches in diameter, float or navigate 
slowly the clear depths below. The rainbow-like tints 
of these sting-armed creatures are glorious in the 
sunshine ; and the beholder often pauses to ask himself 
why was all this beauty bestowed upon such lowly 
works of the Creator's hand. But ere the question 
has well been formed, other creatures of beauty glide 
by, in the shape of the brilliantly-marked fish which 
make these submarine groves their home. It is off 
these coral-bound reefs that sea-snakes may often be 
seen writhing through the water, many of them five 
and six feet in length. It might be imagined that the 
power of the sun, and the intensity of the light shed 
through the crystal waters, had something to do with 
the brilliancy of tint and strong contrasts of the 
scales of the fish. Stripes seem mostly the fashion, 
for many of them are of the perch family ; and vivid 
yellows and scarlets are boldly contrasted with velvety 
blacks. 

The Malays who live near the coast will frequently 
proceed for many miles out to sea, when bound on a 
fishing excursion. The canoe used is very small, and 
will contain two at the outside. It is navigated by 
means of a paddle and a matting sail ; and the Malay, 
armed with his line, hooks, and bait generally shrimps 
goes off quite happy and content for his long trip. 
He usually protects his head with a circular hat 
made from the nipah-palm, and ornaments it with a 



90 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

shaving-brush-like tuft of the black fibres of the 
gamooty. This hat is parasol as well, and screens his 
head and shoulders from the vertical rays of the sun. 
In the stern of the little craft a grooved Avooden 
upright is placed, for guiding the line ; while, when 
great depths are fished, a small windlass is contrived 
for ease in getting it up. 

At times the object of the Malay fisherman's 
attentions is that curious specimen of natural history, 
the skipjack (caranx) ; a long snipe-beaked fish, which 
may often be seen playing along the surface of the 
smooth water, darting out, and then bobbing along for 
forty or fifty yards upon its tail, hardly seeming to 
touch the surface as it propels itself along. The 
Malay will set sometimes capturing these strange fish, 
or their smaller relatives the poopoot, with thirty or 
forty baits around his boat, at the end of float- 
furnished lines. 

The people have a proverb relating to this fish 
" Ikan todo lungar Singapore," to the effect that 
some day or other it will force a landing on Singa- 
pore. 

It is sometimes dangerous to bathers ; an instance 
having occurred off the coast, in which one of these 
fish darted into a man's mouth, and it was with no 
little difficulty that it was withdrawn when the 
bather was brought ashore to a planter's estate. 

Cockles are a favourite article of diet with the 
Malays. These little bivalves seem to have abounded 



SHELL FISH. 91 



on the west coast for ages. As was before intimated 
in the allusion to the geographical features of the 
country, these shells are to be seen in the Muda 
district, Province Wellesley, in enormous mounds, 
twenty to thirty feet in height. How they came 
there is a puzzle, and one which some competent 
geologist may perhaps unravel. The only theory 
that suggests itself to the writer, but far from satisfies 
him, is, that at some early date before the elevation 
of the country, these must have been points where 
the currents of river and sea met, and there swept 
up together the fish that were plentiful near the shore. 

Mention of that singular relic of the Old-world 
crustaceans, the king-crab, must not be omitted. It 
is exceedingly like the picture of that curious fossil 
the cephalaspis, or buckler-head, and its shells are 
very common on the shore. It forms a part of the 
food of the Malays, but to a European it is rather 
.an objectionable-looking creature, though not more so 
perhaps than the cuttle-fish, which are great favourites 
with the Chinese, for whose especial benefit they are 
often caught and dried. 

Of the shells generally sea, river, and land the 
writer was unable to obtain any information, and his 
stay in Perak itself was too limited in duration to 
enable him to include them in his researches. This is 
the more to be regretted, as it is quite untried ground, 
where fine specimens could be obtained. A large 
selection made by the writer in the Straits and 



92 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Labuan, and rivers south of Perak, became merged 
in the collection of the late Mr. Cuming, of Gower 
Street. 

Mention has been made of the manner in which 
the Malays use the ordinary drag and casting nets for 
the capture of fish, but they have a more wholesale 
way of obtaining their finny prey, by means of what 
may be looked upon as an extended fish-trap. This is 
the kaylong or fishing stakes, which are planted in the 
shore, so as to run out sometimes as far as half a mile. 
In fact, at the British settlements, these rows of stakes 
would become a dangerous interruption to navigation, 
were it not for the vigilance of the officials, whose duty 
it is to prevent their too great increase. Kaylongs 
have been in use from a very distant time, but whether 
invented by the Malays, who are one of the great 
fishing families of mankind, it is not easy to say. 

There is no reason why it should not have been one 
of their customs from the earliest ages, and if it was, 
it is a strong proof of their being the people who 
migrated to Arabia and Africa, and were mentioned 
by Herodotus, as catching fish in " nets extended along 
the shoals upon the coast," " whose habitations were 
formed of the bones of the whale, and to whom fish 
rather than bread has ever been the staff of life." But 
though this may all be said to be true of the 
" Icthyophagi," it does not necessarily relate only to 
the Malays. 

The kaylongs are made of hurdles composed of 



THE KATLONG. 93 



strips of bamboo, some five feet long, fastened closely 
together with rattans, which are nearly as useful and 
strong as so much wire. These hurdles are attached 
to stout stakes driven at intervals into the sand or 
mud of the shore. The fish swim over these hurdles 
at high water, but as the tide recedes, their progress 
seaward is stopped by the water falling below the top 
of the bamboos, and they try to effect their escape by 
an opening left in the fence, but this only leads into 
a square enclosure in which a net is kept lowered. 
Over this enclosure a small covered shed is constructed, 
in which the men work who raise and lower the net. 

At times these kaylongs, which are used in common 
by both Malays and Chinese settlers, are contrived so 
that pointed bamboos are arranged in the opening to 
the enclosure, so as to allow the entry of the fish, 
which on trying to escape are repelled by the points, 
just as they are in our own waters in the ordinary 
fish-pot or trap of wickerwork raised and lowered in 
the Thames weirs, to the puzzling of many a fat eel 
astir when the waters are up. 



CHAPTER X. 



Insect pests Strange beetles The leaf insect Fireflies A 
Tartar Fine field for the entomologist. 



ONE of the great pests of tropical lands which are 
well watered is undoubtedly that persevering little 
creature, the mosquito. It has puzzled every tra- 
veller, from time immemorial, how to account for the 
fact that, no matter how much energy he throws into 
his blows, he rarely can strike one ; and at last, from 
being angrily aggressive, he assumes the passively 
defensive state, taking refuge behind mosquito-cur- 
tains, and leaving the virulent little insects to lay 
siege to his fortalice. 

In passing, a few words must be said respecting 
the insects of Perak ; and the mosquitoes may well 
stand first, from the way in which they insist upon 
making their presence known. They abound in the 
country, some of them being of very large size ; but 
the most virulent is a small striped variety, banded 
with black and white. 

Cicadas of the noisiest kind and grasshoppers are 



INSECT PESTS. 95 



plentiful enough in the plains, the latter being much 
sought for by the Malay youths for feeding their larks 
and quails. They catch them very readily by means 
of a little instrument of open rattan-work. This is 
formed something like a child's sea-side shovel, only 
larger, and is used with great dexterity by the boys, 
who are light and active in the extreme. 

Scorpions are pretty abundant, and those un- 
pleasant-looking creatures, the centipedes, some of 
which seem to possess pedal appendages enough to 
merit the term of thousand legs, while the ants are 
some of them enormous. One black kind is from one- 
and-a-half to two inches in length ; but these are not 
seen in large numbers together. There is the termes, 
or white ant, and the biting red ant, called by the 
Malays Jcrangga. This little creature makes its nest 
between the leaves of trees, rolling them up and 
securing them with gluten, and is much dreaded, from 
the severity of its bite, which is as bad as a severe 
nip with a pair of forceps. It is fortunately not 
poisonous, but forms one of the principal supplies of 
that curious acid in use amongst photographers, and 
known as formic. Spiders naturally abound, and, 
judging from journeys through the country, the ento- 
mologist might collect many new species. Flies are 
also abundant. In fact, in this unexplored region 
there is open ground for lovers of every phase of 
natural history ; and the stag and rhinoceros beetles 
would alone form a collection. Every marshy place 



96 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

is wonderful for its varieties of dragon-flies, flitting 
about on their gauzy wings, and some of them are of 
very great beauty, while the hornets are of immense 
size, the largest the writer has seen up the eastern 
archipelago. 

But for brilliancy of colouring, the butterflies and 
moths bear off the palm. Their colours are lovely, 
and in the moist, sunny openings of the jungle, they 
flap along on wings painted with the most refulgent 
dyes. The capture of some is very difficult, from 
their lofty flight ; but the merest tyro may net an 
abundance of the beautiful moisture-loving specimens, 
not excepting the great Atlas moth, which is found in 
high perfection, many being nine and ten, and even 
twelve, inches across their wings. 

Leaf insects have often been described ; but 
probably the custom existing here in the Malay 
peninsula has not been noticed namely, that of 
keeping them in little cages, as curious specimens of 
natural history. They are found about an inch-and-a- 
half long, and are singular for their exact resemblance 
to a leaf. Beautiful as these leaf insects are, they 
bear no comparison to a remarkable species which 
the writer has found haunting the trees of one kind 
only. It is less than two inches in length, of a lovely 
gray, liberally spotted with red. Its flight is the 
most wonderful quality of the insect, for it goes from 
tree to tree after the fashion of a bird. Attempts to 
bring it to Europe have as yet failed, but, as far as 



FIREFLIES. 97 



can be made out, it is an insect quite new to col- 
lectors, and peculiar to this part of the world. 

Perhaps one of the most beautiful sights in Perak 
is a mangrove swamp on a soft, still, dark night, when 
the fireflies are out in myriads, flashing from leaf to 
leaf, and darting like brilliant sparks from tree to 
tree in showers of light. Every here and there they 
settle, and then seem disturbed, when the coruscations 
of tiny stars are perfectly wonderful. Every fly seems 
to send out its light in pulses or throbs, like the 
flashes from a signal lamp ; and so great is the beauty 
of this scene that the lover of natural history would 
deem it alone worth a journey to the east to see. 

There are plenty of destructive insects, one of the 
worst being the carpenter beetle, which is so in- 
dustrious in its habits that it will riddle the beams of 
a building, if of .wood that finds favour. Numerous 
accounts of its evil doings are given, the Government 
bungaloh at Malacca having suffered very severely. 
Doubtless, however, remedies for these insect pests 
could be found. 

We were especially fortunate in our travels in 
Perak in not coming across a fly said to be peculiar to 
the peninsula. This insect is not unlike a cicada in 
form, but it has been furnished by nature with a long 
and sharp proboscis, with which it can inflict a wound 
that gives the most acute pain. On one occasion the 
writer was passing through the jungle at the foot of 
Mount Ophir in Malacca. The party was progressing 



AND "KRIS. 



in single file, and very slowly ; for the leader, a Malay, 
had to make use of his parang, or heavy wood-knife 
which answers to the machete of the South American 
to cut a way through the tangled undergrowth and 
rattans. Suddenly the foremost man uttered a cry of 
pain, and darted aside, a movement followed by the 
others in succession ; and before the Europeans of the 
party, who stood in the position of " ready," could ask 
the reason for this peculiar flank movement, three of 
the Malays who had been pierced by these insects 
were brought to us, with the proboscis apparently 
left in the wound. The remedy resembles that of our 
sailors, who, no matter what the injury, apply a little 
tobacco ; that of the Malays being a little of the lime 
formed from burnt shells, and carried about with them 
for chewing with their betel-nut and leaf. Efficacious 
it may have been, but, like the infallible nostrums 
for toothache, it evidently did not cure the pain 
instantaneously. 

For students of entomology there are endless 
objects asking the collector's hand ; and though the 
writer is unable to call attention to many insects that 
might be considered peculiar to the State of Perak, 
so great is the extent of totally unexplored ground 
tracts apparently never yet trodden by the foot of 
man that doubtless a very valuable entomological 
collection might be made. 



CHAPTER XL 

Birds The Argus pheasant Gooey Fatal crowing Quail Pea- 
fowl The peacock of the Old Testament Artificial hatching 
Talking birds Pets Humming and sun birds Birds of prey~ 

THIS is not the land of the wondrous birds of paradise,, 
whose brilliant plumes rise from beneath their wings, 
and curve down like the waters of a golden fountain 
but Perak possesses an avi-fauna of very great beauty, 
and even a cursory survey of the country displays its- 
richness in this respect. For this is the home of the 
glorious Argus pheasant, with its long extending tail 
and largely-penned wings, each quill of which, with its 
extremely broad web, is dotted with a row of eyes, 
similar to those on the tail of the peacock. This 
pheasant is rarely shot, on account of its nocturnal 
habits ; even the practised hunter of the country only 
shooting perhaps one or two in a long course of years. 
It is, however, occasionally trapped ; but if taken alive,, 
soon pines and dies. The Malays call it " coo-ow," from 
its peculiar shrill cry. It is unmistakable when heard 
in the jungle solitudes by night, the writer ofterk 

H 2 



100 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

recognising it, as the birds called one to the other in 
the up-country when he was camping out. This cry 
is almost exactly the same as that of the jacoons the 
orang-utan, or wild hill-men of the country ; the 
reader being warned not to suppose that the huge 
ape of Borneo is here meant, orang-utan being Malay 
for wild man. It seems probable that the jacoons have 
adopted the call from the bird ; while a remarkable 
fact is that this cry- " coo-ay "- bears a wonderful 
similarity to the "coo-ee" of the Australian savage. 
The cry of the argus pheasant when once heard is 
never forgotten, from its impressiveness in the still 
night. There has always been great difficulty in 
bringing it to England alive ; and this is probably 
due to the fact that its habits have not been properly 
studied, for it is essentially a night-bird, and if care 
were not taken to afford it shelter, failure would 
probably result. 

There is another very handsome pheasant, namely, 
the peacock, or ocellated, and also one resembling our 
own, but with a short tail, in the forest in which the 
jungle-cock abounds a beautifully-feathered bird, the 
probable ancestor of our game-cock. The pugnacity 
of this latter causes his ruin ; for residents of shooting 
proclivities, or even those who like an addition to 
their table, take advantage of the bird's habits, and 
picket an ordinary Malay game-fowl in their boat 
when going up the streams. The tame bird's challenge 
soon rings out, and is answered, when jungle-cock 



QUAIL AND PEAFOWL. 101 

after jungle-cock is tempted out of the safe solitudes, 
and falls a victim to the gun. 

Quails are pretty plentiful, and there is a variety 
of the plover and partridge. As to snipes, they 
abound in the low grounds, and a pretty good shot is 
sure of excellent sport. During the Duke of Edin- 
burgh's visit to the Straits Settlements he made a 
tremendous bag in Province Wellesley, this being a 
sport for which' no preparation in the way of beating 
or selecting warm corners could be made, His Royal 
Highness having to take his chance, as would any 
other sportsman a fact which shows the abundance 
of the birds. 

Peafowl form a magnificent addition to the birds of 
Perak. The male is not the ordinary peacock of 
Ceylon and Southern India, but the variety known as 
the Javanese ; the principal differences being that it is 
a little smaller, that instead of rich blue, the neck is 
covered with green scale-like feathers, and that the 
crest is different in form ; but the train is equally 
large and beautiful. Altogether it is a magnificent 
bird, and the flesh when eaten proves to be delicate 
in flavour and quite tender ; for this there is the 
authority of Mr. Wallace. 

This presence of the peacock in the peninsula, as 
already referred to, appears favourable to the theory 
that Solomon's vessels traded to the Eastern archi- 
pelago ; and when it is taken into consideration what 
tremendous distances the praus of the present day 



102 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

journey, the surprise is lessened. It may be argued 
that Solomon's ships must necessarily have been small 
and ill-made. So are the present-day praus, some of 
which, however, are of seventy tons burden, and wholly 
made without a scrap of iron, pegs and rattans taking 
the place of bolts, while the sails are composed of 
matting, and such a thing as a compass is unknown. 
There is, however, one great argument in favour of the 
supposition that Ophir was the present-day Ophir of 
Malacca ; that argument is supplied by a consideration 
*of the language. 

Prior to Pliny, in the first century, history does 
very little to help us to a conclusion ; though the 
important statement that apes and peacocks formed 
part of the cargo of Solomon's ships, supports the 
theory that the journey was made rather to India or 
Malaya than to the east coast of Africa, To get over 
the difficulty it has been sought to translate the 
Hebrew word "tukyim " or " tuchim " (peacock) as re- 
presenting a parrot ; and Crawfurd says that the Persian 
word " tota " or " toti " (parrot) has a very near resem- 
blance to the Hebrew word " tuchim ; " and he adds 
that, as parrots can bear longer voyages than pea- 
cocks, it is more than probable that we have in this 
the right interpretation of the word. 

Dr. Kitto, too, says : "It is a question more of 
geographical and historical than of biblical interest to 
decide whether the " thukyim " (1 Kings x. 22) and 
""thukyim" (2 Chronicles ix. 21) denote peacocks, 



DOMESTIC FOWLS. 103 

strictly so called, or some other species of animal or 
bird ; for on the solution of the question in the affir- 
mative depends the real direction of Solomon's fleet, 
i. e. whether, after passing the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, 
it proceeded along the east coast of Africa towards 
Sofala, or whether it turned eastward, ranging along 
the Arabian and Persian shores to the peninsula of 
India, and perhaps went onward to Ceylon, and pene- 
trated to the great Australian, or even to the Spice 
Islands." Dr. Kitto believes that the rendering of 
"tukyim" peacocks is correct. There are, as known, 
only two species of true peafowl, namely, that common 
in India, which is the one familiar in England, and 
that just described as existing in Perak. 

Now it is a singular fact that in the language of 
the Orang Benua, or wild men of the peninsula, the 
word for peacock, which in the modern Malay is 
" marrak," is in the aboriginal " chim marak ; " and 
here we have the exact termination of the Hebrew 
" tuchini " in the language of the very people who must 
have lived in the peninsula and near Mount Ophir in 
the days of Solomon, namely, the Orang Benua, or m'eii 
of the country. This name for a bird " tchem " or 
" chim "-is mentioned in a report given only a short 
time since by Mr. Daly, who collected a number of 
common words from the wild people during a tour 
through Perak. 

The Malays cultivate domestic fowls pretty ex- 
tensively; principally, however, on account of their love 



104 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 



for cock-fighting. Their champions are evidently 
tlie progenitors of the hard, close-feathered, high- 
shouldered Malay cocks of our poultry-shows ; but 
these latter have been so bred to points by dealers and 
fanciers that they are very different in appearance. 
They have also a peculiar breed of fowl on the penin- 
sula, which is remarkable for the manner in which its 
feathers turn out the wrong way. Varieties of this 
have been exhibited in England. 

Both ducks and fowls are plentiful in Perak, 
but not to the extent they might be ; owing to the 
indifference of the people, who look upon any branch 
of industry as soosa, or trouble ; much of which, how- 
ever, is due to the uncertain tenure of the land, and 
the oppression of their chiefs, who take tithe to an 
alarming extent. The Chinese settlers, though, take 
advantage of the nature of the country, and breed 
ducks extensively, and their plan is singularly suc- 
cessful. The " Heathen Chinee " does not trust to 
maternal solicitude, for the eggs are placed in sand or 
husks of padi, and are then submitted to artificial heat ; 
and the difficulty here is to assimilate this heat to that 
of nature. When hatched, the ducklings are fed with 
prawns, bits of crab, and boiled rice ; and being hardy 
little things they are in a few days able to look out 
for their own supplies, when they are turned into 
small enclosures containing pools of shallow water, and 
as they grow older are removed to more extensive 
pasture-grounds. An old Chinaman generally acts 



TALKING BIRDS. 105 



the part of mamma, and the way in which the little 
troops of ducklings know him and obey his call is very 
amusing. Hundreds may be seen in one enclosure, 
and the Chinese are often encountered followed by 
droves of the downy little things, which are being 
taken probably to new feeding-grounds. 

Domestic pets are common amongst the Malays, who 
are very clever at catching birds by means of horse- 
hair nooses and springes snipes being one of their 
favourite captures and also by imitating their call. 
By this means doves and pigeons, some of them very 
beautiful, are readily taken ; the juice of the gutta or 
indiarubber tree being sometimes used as bird-lime, as 
before intimated. These doves are kept in bamboo 
cages. There are two varieties of the minah in Perak. 
This bird is said to be the best imitator of the 
human voice of any known, and hence it often enters 
into captivity. The Malay boys are exceedingly clever 
with the " sumpitan," or blow-pipe, and with this they 
are too apt to destroy the best songster of the peninsula 
the Straits nightingale ; and they are also very apt 
at capturing the tiny little green and blue red-beaked 
love-bird a small species of paroquet which swarms 
in some of the forest trees. These, after capture, they 
imprison in an ingeniously-made cage, formed of strips 
of bamboo, arranged in a circle and bent over to a 
point, tied and furnished with a hook at the top ; a 
bamboo perch, and two short joints of bamboo for 
containing rice and water are secured within ; and the 



106 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

clever little construction, with a pair of prisoners, can 
be readily bought for coins representing twopence of 
our money. 

One of their pets, which, like some of the cloves, 
becomes very tame and fetches large prices, is a bird 
they call " baru-baru." It is of the size of a dove, but 
like a greenish-brown thrush, and speaks with great 
distinctness. 

The ornithologist would find an ample field for his 
researches, the beauty of some of the birds being 
especially worthy of note, while their more sober- 
plumaged brethren are remarkable for their habits. 
On the rivers, wild ducks and teal are plentiful, while 
from the overhanging branches dart kingfishers of the 
most brilliant hues and of the largest size, such as 
make our pretty English specimen a quietly-painted 
dwarf in comparison. Several of these, however, are 
not fishers correctly speaking, as they live on insects. 
The beautifully-crested hoopoe is common in the 
forest, and so tame that it will readily approach the 
traveller, while its beauty will perhaps prevent its 
tameness from being " shocking " to him, as in the 
case of Alexander Selkirk, according to the poet. 
Every here and there magnificent toucans, with their 
apparently cumbrous but cellular bills and gorgeously- 
painted gorgets, are to be seen hopping from twig to 
twig, while literally abounding, and making the jungle 
echo with their shrieks, the long fork-tailed collared 
paroquets flutter amongst the trees. These are very 



HUMMING AND SUN BIRDS. 107 

beautiful birds, and with their delicate green feathers 
and brilliant coral-tinted beaks, form conspicuous 
objects in the jungle. 

Those brilliant little gems the humming-birds are 
not absent in the open sunny glades, where flowers 
open their tempting petals ; while those almost equally 
beautiful objects of nature, peculiar to the Eastern 
archipelago, the sun-birds, with their scaly plumage 
of gorgeous metallic hues, are as frequent in their 
search for the honey of the blossoms. On some of the 
forest trees the nests of what are there called tailor- 
birds probably the sociable grosbeak are seen, deli- 
cately woven out of grass and cocoa-nut fibre, hanging 
from the boughs and forming a very curious feature in 
the scenery. While speaking of nests, the limestone 
caves of the coasts must not be forgotten. These 
caves are the resort of the bird's-nest swallow, whose 
peculiar glutinous nursery is sought for in the most 
dangerous places by the Malays, who obtain it by 
means of bamboo ladders. Their idea is that the 
gluten which hardens into the nest is obtained from. 

o 

the sea-foam ; and probably some kind of seaweed 
does afford them the material, which by a natural 
process, similar to the production of beeswax, is first 
formed and then built up into their nests. It is of 
course well known that these nests are regularly 
harvested, and form an object of trade with the 
Chinese, for their bird's-nest soup. 

Apparently so many distorted relatives of the 



108 "SARONG" AND "KRI8." 

toucans are the hornbills, which, in spite of the 
monstrous proportions of their bill with its large upper 
story, are wonderfully active birds, and use their 
apparently clumsy beak with great dexterity in seeking 
fruit. Two or three varieties, one being very large, 
are found here. The writer has not seen their nesting, 
but it is so remarkable that Mr. Wallace's account 
thereof is well worthy of note. It seems that the nest 
is formed in some large hollow of a tree, and at the 
time of incubation the male bird plasters up the 
entrance hole with clay, merely leaving an orifice 
sufficiently large for the hen bird to be fed ; and this 
attention to his mate, and afterwards to her one 
offspring which is at first a great gelatinous-looking 
creature, a shapeless featherless lump, as big as a 
pigeon is scrupulously performed. 

One very pretty little object is the grass-bird, 
which seems to stand on the top of a thin feathery 
stalk by a swamp, but which all the time is balancing 
itself by means of the rapid motion of its wings. 
The buffalo-bird, with its wattle like a minah, is 
common, and hangs about the large bovine quadrupeds 
in search of food, as the starling does at home ; which 
is also strongly called to mind by the constant presence 
of the familiar old chirping sparrow in his black cravat, 
whose note is for all the world the same as may be 
heard at early morn in a London square. There is 
the little Java sparrow too, with its drab-speckled 
feathers and tiny reddish* beak ; while in nearly all 



PADI-BIRDS. 109 



marshy ground, many varieties are seen in flocks of 
the so-called padi-bird, with here and there, in the 
water-holes and swamps, the little dusky moorhen, and 
very fine herons watching for the small fish, with cranes 
and rails; while especially in Perak and Quedah there 
is found a wading-bird, said to be common in Egypt 
and Palestine perhaps the " porphyrion" of Kitto. It 
has a hard crimson shield upon its forehead and 
flesh-coloured legs ; the head, neck, and sides are of 
turquoise blue, shading off into a dark but brilliant 
indigo. The natives tame it with ease ; and among 
other places, the writer has frequently seen it stalking 
about the gardens of the Hon. Mr. Whampoa, one of 
the principal Chinese residents at Singapore. 

The padi-birds are netted by thousands and eaten 
by the Chinese as a delicacy; for, as at home, the birds 
flock together at certain seasons in search of food. 
One very pretty instance of this is at the time when 
the waringhan tree, already mentioned for its beautiful 
clustering blossoms, is covered with red berries. 
These form an attraction to thousands of tiny birds, 
which at daybreak seem to keep the tree in a perpetual 
twitter, as they busily flit from spray to spray. These 
small birds of the jungle are not without their enemies, 
for there is a pretty plentiful supply of hawks to check 
their increase. These are for the most part very similar 
to the ordinary sparrowhawk of England ; while in 
turn they have an enemy that attacks them bravely, 
in the shape of a bird of the crow family; with long 



110 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 



racket-shaped produced feathers in its tail. It is a 
handsome bird, of an intense black. 

Very commonly at evening a bird familiar at 
home is seen in the shape of the night-jar, which, 
after sitting for some time motionless on a branch, 
after the fashion of its kind, like a lump of feathers, 
sweeps round the tree in an easily-performed circle 
and returns to its perch with one of the beautiful 
moths or beetles of the jungle. Similar to this bird 
in marking, with its brown-mottled feathers, is the 
ordinary owl of the peninsula ; a bird which again 
recalls home by its familiar aspect. By day the 
hollow trees resound with the busy hammer of the 
woodpecker, which also seems to belong to Old 
England instead of this tropic shore, so simple 
and quiet is its plumage and familiar its well-known 
sound. 

The eagles of the country have been alluded to, 
but not the vultures, which are of a very familiar type. 
They are encountered on the river-banks in Perak, of 
very large size, with enormous claws, and are evidently 
birds of great power. On one occasion the writer 
came upon a group that had been attracted by the 
body of a dead buffalo, which after being carried down 
the stream had been washed ashore. The birds were 
feasting on the carrion, while, from time to time, one 
of those singular animals the pangolins, or scaly 
ant-eaters, was making a run at them, the animal 



BIRDS OF PREY. Ill 

evidently resenting the intrusion of the vultures, who 
interfered with his feast of carrion-flies. As for the 
vultures, they took but little notice of the aggressor, 
merely moving a little aside, and then resuming with 
bill and claws their disgusting banquet. 



CHAPTER XII. 



Malay buffaloes and their domestication The elephant Deer Wild- 
boar The Malay bear Black leopard Tiger and trapping- 
Monkeys Domestic animals. 



THE buffaloes mentioned in the last chapter are a 
large heavy kind of ox, domesticated by the Malays. 
There are two varieties, called the white and black ; 
but the former is more of a pink tint. They are used 
by their owners both as draught cattle and as beasts 
of burden. In the rice-fields it is a common thing to 
see them yoked, and drawing the clumsy plough to 
prepare the soil, a rattan cord through their noses 
being the general way of leading them. When 
attached to one of the long, narrow, roughly-made 
country carts, they can draw very heavy loads ; but 
in this task they are rarely yoked in pairs, on account 
of the narrowness of the roads and the width of 'the 
buffaloes' horns, the points of which are more than 
four feet from tip to tip. 

When used as a beast of burden, the buffalo's load 
is arranged as a pack, placed in a pair of rattan 
panniers on either side of the great animal's back. 



DOMESTIC BUFFALO. 113 

This is the custom in the more unfrequented parts, 
where a track for a cart is seldom seen. The buffalo 
has tremendous strength, and is very enduring, though 
exceedingly slow, and the animal is much petted and 
caressed by its Malay owner, great care being taken 
to keep it clean ; though, like our domestic friend the 
pig, nothing delights a buffalo more than a good roll 
and wallow in one of the mud-pools by the padi-fields. 
When drawing burdens the buffaloes are often un- 
yoked to bathe in the rivers and streams they pass, 
while an awning is stretched to shield them from the 
power of the sun ; and to protect them from those 
pests the mosquitoes, a fire is lit by night, of which 
the great beasts are sagacious enough to take full 
advantage, for they always go to leeward, so that the 
smoke may blow all over their backs and sides. No 
doubt the rolling in the mud-holes is an instinctive 
proceeding, so that the mud may cake over them, and 
thus form an effectual armour against the flies. 

The great strength of the buffalo renders it a for- 
midable adversary to the tiger, and its encounters 
with this beast when wild or in the forest paths have 
doubtless been the origin of one of the principal sports 
of the Malay the buffalo and tiger fight, of which an 
account will be given in a succeeding chapter. Gentle 
in the extreme with their owners, and greatly attached 
to their young, which at times they will carry from 
place to place on their back, buffaloes seem to have 
the same dislike to anything white that our English 



114 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

bulls are said to have for that which is red ; and this 
makes an encounter with them, when grazing in a 
herd at a distance from a village, rather an unpleasant 
thing for a European. For at the sight of a white 
face they lay back their horns, raise their muzzles, 
and make ready for an attack with wonderful rapidity, 
the whole herd charging in a way that would startle a 
square of infantry. "With the Malays, on the con- 
trary, the word of command, or a pull at the cord from 
a boy, is quite sufficient to ensure obedience, though 
instances have been known of a native being gored 
from maltreatment of some unusually ferocious beast. 

The natives seldom use the milk of the buffalo, 
though it is doubtful whether it does not at times find 
its way into the milk of the ordinary domestic cow 
which is supplied in the Settlements to the European 
residents these cows, like draught bullocks, being im- 
ported ; and it is a fact worthy of note that the troop 
cattle, principally bulls from Quedah, used during the 
progress of the little army through Perak in the dis- 
turbances, suffered a great deal from foot-and-mouth 
disease, the remedy used being turmeric and salt. 

The flesh of the buffalo is very unpalatable and 
tough to a European, but the Malays have a great 
liking for it, and consider the flesh of the black to be 
preferable to that of the pink variety. Upon the 
occasion of some special festival, it is customary to 
kill a buffalo, when pretty well the whole of a village 
will take part in the proceedings. So valuable is this 



A PIECE OF STRING. 115 

beast to a Malay that their code of laws contains 
special references to it, and the forfeitures to be 
made for losing or killing a borrowed buffalo, or for 
being the possessor of one that is vicious, and has 
done injury to personal property. Theft of a buffalo 
is a serious crime. Petty thefts amongst the Malays 
are rare, though it is no uncommon thing for the in- 
habitants of one village to make a raid upon the 
dwellers in another who are weaker, and carry off 
their herds a form of cattle-lifting which, with several 
other points to be afterwards mentioned, links them 
singularly with the northern clans of old. As for the 
lower-class Chinese that have settled in the states, they 
are most expert thieves, and will steal cattle whenever 
they have a chance. 

There is a story told of one gentleman of the 
pigtail who, while suffering imprisonment under the 
native Government, was condoled with by his friends 
on account of the severe sentence inflicted upon him, 
for, according to his own account, merely picking up a 
piece of string, which he thought might prove to be 
useful. It turned out, however, that the piece of 
string was the nose-cord of a buffalo, and that it was 
attached to the animal, with which Ah Sin had walked 
off bodily. 

There are droves of these buffaloes wild in the 
country, and also a variety of the family more 
resembling our own ox, but they are not often 
encountered ; neither are the troops of wild elephants, 

i 2 



116 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

which are in the more remote fastnesses of the jungle. 
The supply of these huge beasts, though, that has 
been obtained by the native chiefs, is derived from the 
forests. A full account of the capture is unnecessary, 
as it has been given so often in works of travel. 
Suffice it that the great quadruped is taken much after 
the same fashion as in Ceylon and Siam, namely, by 
driving it into a strong enclosure of bamboos, and then 
stabling it with a steady old elephant, to which it is 
attached by stout ropes of rattan. The supply of 
food is made very meagre for a month, but kindness is 
tried as well as coercion, the animal being petted and 
fed with stems of the plantain, sugar-cane, with other 
succulent dainties, and cakes. Elephants are pro- 
verbially fond of bathing and syringing themselves 
with water from their trunks, so the wild animal is 
allowed to go down to the river after a few days, but 
of course strongly secured to his tame companion. 
Then begins a struggle for freedom, but it results in 
the tired beast giving in and going back quietly to his 
old bonds in the stable, where he is once more securely 
fastened. 

This process is kept up, with the addition of a 
man occasionally getting upon his back and walking 
upon him, till the elephant submits to the mind, and 
owns by his passive obedience that he is conquered ; 
though he cannot be thoroughly trusted for perhaps two 
years, during which time he is frequently troublesome, 
and requires the society of the female to keep him in 




PERAK ELEPHANTS. 



THE ELEPHANT. 117 

order. After this an elephant is considered safe for 
any mahout to manage. These mahouts are very 
often men of good position. They sit, as in India, 
upon the animal's neck, with its great flap-ears acting 
as a protection, and drive by means of a sharp iron 
rod provided with a hook an instrument that is some- 
times used in the case of a restive elephant with 
terrible effect. 

Every elephant has his own familiar name, and the 
mahout has its history quite by heart; and while 
fondling and talking to the animal, will frequently 
remind it of the various striking episodes in its life. 

The howdahs, as shown in the engraving, are very 
different from those of India, being really nothing 
more than panniers of rattan, over which sometimes a 
tilt is stretched on canes. Eaw hides are placed 
beneath the howdah, to keep it from fretting the 
elephant's back, and it is then secured by bands of 
rattan, which are formed into girths passing behind the 
animal's shoulders and before his hind legs ; and the 
howdah is further kept in position by a rope round 
the chest, and one in the form of a crupper. The 
basket is then pretty well filled with leaves, over 
which a cover is placed, and the rider mounts to his 
very uneasy position ; for elephant-riding, though not 
so bad as camel-riding, has a tendency towards shaking 
the body all to pieces, and aches and pains in the 
joints are frequent after the first trials. Not that the 
animal is to blame, for he generally goes at about the 



118 "SAEONG" AND "KRIS." 

rate of two miles an hour, and will at the word of 
command snap off an interposing tree the thickness of 
a man's leg as easily as if it were a twig. 

Elephants here are not the monstrous beasts found 
in some parts of the world, those of ten feet high 
being exceptionally large. Their principal disease 
seems to be a kind of leprosy, which shows itself in 
the ears. 

They are the chief beasts of burden of the country, 
and will walk away comfortably with half a ton of 
tin ; but where the load is of a bulky nature, from four 
to six hundred weight is considered sufficient. They 
are naturally the property of the Sultan and his chiefs, 
and elephants are looked upon as part of the Sultan's, 
regalia, fifty being reckoned in his regal list. 

The well-known white, or as it should be called 
flesh-coloured, elephant is very rare, but is not, like 
its darker brethren, held in much veneration by the 
Malays. All elephants are petted and caressed and 
considered of great value ; but their treatment is very 
different to that received in the neighbouring country 
of Siam, where those belonging to the king are objects 
of the greatest dignity, each having its own following 
of royal attendants. In fact the white elephant, which 
Dr. Finlayson looks upon as being an albino of its 
family, is believed by the Siamese, who speak of it as- 
an animal " so noble, so docile, and so strong," to be 
animated by the illustrious soul that formerly occupied 
the body of some prince an idea due to the fact that 



THE RHINOCEROS. 119 

these people being Buddhists, believe in the doctrine 
of the transmigration of souls. 

It is related that one Siamese prince despatched 
three elephants as presents to the grandsons of the 
then king of France, a nation with whom the Siamese 
have long held intercourse. As the animals were 
going he whispered to them : " Go, depart cheerfully ; 
you will be slaves, indeed ; but you will be so to three 
of the greatest princes of the world, whose service is 
as moderate as it is glorious." After this address the 
elephants were hoisted into the ship, and because they 
bowed themselves to go under the deck, the Siamese 
cried out with admiration of their sagacity. 

A curious trait of the elephant is worthy of notice. 
"When not observed, the great animal will go to a 
cocoa-nut tree, and, to obtain the nuts and young 
blossoms, place his head against the trunk, and then 
commencing a swaying movement, throw the whole 
weight of the body against the tree over and over 
again, till it comes down with a crash, leaving the 
coveted treasures at his feet. 

The rhinoceros is occasionally seen, and two- 
varieties are believed to exist. They are very shy, 
and at the approach of man rush off through the 
jungle ; being very different to their relatives in 
Africa, one kind of which charges directly he perceives 
man or horse, even a hut or a fire being an object 
upon which he will vent his fury. The natives tell of a 
beast that they call the Jeooda-ayer, or water-horse, by 



120 "8A&ONG" AND "KRIS." 

some supposed to be a hippopotamus ; but it is evi- 
dently either a rhinoceros or one of the larger tapirs, 
which are found in the marshy places, calmly browsing 
on the herbage by means of their prehensile upper lip, 
waiting, like the rhinoceros, for the time in the future 
when the gun of the sportsman shall disturb their 
rest. 

There is plenty of game for the hunter who does 
penetrate the jungles, splendid deer of very large size 
being common. Some of these approach the elk in 
magnitude, and among them are the sambre, the 
spotted-deer, hog-deer, and the chevrotin or palandok. 
Wild-boars are not at all uncommon not the pro- 
genitors of the pigs of the Settlements, for their pre- 
sence is due to the Chinese the Malay, from his 
religion, rejecting pork. The boars are both large 
and fierce, one poor fellow a convict employed on 
the road dying of the injuries he received from one 
of these beasts up in Province Wellesley. His dog 
was baying at something in the jungle, and, on enter- 
ing the forest, he found that the animal was holding 
a wild-boar in check. The latter set upon him at 
once, ripping him terribly, the beast being afterwards 
shot by the European overseer of the works. These 
boars' tusks are very large and white ; and taking 
advantage of their peculiar curve, a Chinese goldsmith 
in Penang joins the root and point with a chain, 
letters the ivory, and forms of them very handsome 
decanter labels. That these boars have other enemies 



THE MALAY BEAR. 121 

besides man has been shown in the attack of the boa- 
constrictor. 

There is only one representative of the bear, in the 
person of that peculiar little black animal familiar to 
most visitors to the Zoological Gardens. It is a 
smooth-coated little fellow, black, with a patch of 
white on the throat, and, from its cleverness in raising 
itself upon its hind legs, and curious actions, has a 
great resemblance to a short thick-set monkey. They 
are pretty common in Perak, but quite harmless, save 
to the young cocoa-nut plantations, amidst which they 
create great havoc. 

Otters are common, though not, of course, the 
English variety ; the polecat family is pretty well 
represented ; squirrels may be seen amongst the 
trees, as well as those curious little animals the bats. 
Of these there are several varieties, the fruit-bats 
being the most worthy of note. These, which are 
commonly known as flying-foxes, visit the peninsula 
during the fruit season in enormous flocks, coming 
from the direction of Sumatra, and settle and 
destroy the fruit to an enormous extent. They are of 
the size of a large rat, and their wings have a spread 
of from two to three feet, while in the larger variety, 
which is equally destructive, the stretch of the wings 
from tip to tip has been known to be over five feet. 
Specimens as large as this are at the present time 
in the museums. Java and Sumatra are the prin- 
cipal homes of these creatures, but they find their 



122 "SARONG" AND 



way to Perak, as if led by some strange instinct to a 
place where fruit abounds. They come with a slow 
steady flight, in a straight line, and devour indis- 
criminately every kind of fruit that comes in their 
way. They are however easily shot, and their de- 
struction is a boon to the place. 

For Perak is a land where it is necessary to com- 
bine the use of the gun with research and travel, since 
at any time the journey may be interrupted by some 
fierce beast of the feline kind, as there is the tiger-cat 
and the black leopard a magnificent beast, whose 
coat is jetty in one light, but displays the peculiar 
spots in another. Taken altogether, it is in its wild 
state one of the most beautiful creatures of the 
jungle. 

An amusing incident occurred at the time of the 
Duke of Edinburgh's visit to the peninsula, with a 
black leopard, which had been captured and was kept 
in a cage, roaming slowly up and down, or crouching, 
with that far-off look, which seems to see the native 
wilds through the impertinent gazers who disturb the 
privacy of the noble beast. A medical officer present 
had been talking of the power of the human eye over 
the untamed animal, and went up to the cage to prove 
it by fixing the dilating eye of the savage beast with 
his own. 

The leopard bore the stare for some little time 
with gathering anger, and then, without the slightest 
warning, made one fierce bound at the gentleman 



THE TIGER. 123 



with the magnetic eyes. There was a growl, a dash, 
an ejaculation, and the officer staggered back, with his 
cap torn off, and his cheek laid open by the animal's 
claws, the peak of the cap having saved the beast- 
quelling eyes. 

But the animal par excellence of Perak and other 
parts of the peninsula is undoubtedly the Malay tiger, 
fine specimens of which are in the gardens of the 
Zoological Society, as are also others of the black 
leopard, which were sent direct from the Malay 
peninsula, and presented to the society by Sir Harry 
St. George Ord, late governor of the Straits Settle- 
ments. The Malay tiger is rather smaller than that 
of Bengal, and displays more white in its under 
parts ; in fact, it thoroughly answers, save in size, to 
that graphically-described beast the moollah of Cap- 
tain Lawson's New Guinea a book of travels of 
which the critics have expressed strong doubts, as its 
wonders do somewhat trench on the narratives of our 
older navigators of the world. 

The Malay tiger is a fierce and terrible beast, and 
exaggerated stories are told of its appetite in the 
island of Singapore, where those that frequent the 
jungle are said to have eaten a man per diem all the 
year round. There has been terrible loss of life in the 
island, but this is very far beyond the mark. There 
are no doubt many in Perak, and their lairs are fre- 
quently seen ; but from the country being so thinly 
populated, few people are killed. It is, however, one of 



124 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the misfortunes of a place, that the tiger takes to haunt- 
ing new settlements, lying in wait for or stalking the 
unfortunate coolies stooping and picking the gambier 
leaves, upon whom it springs, after waiting hours for 
its opportunity. In almost every case the first blow, 
which is almost always on the back of the neck, 
seems to be fatal, the power of the paw being 
enormous. There is good work here in Perak, un- 
doubtedly, for the sportsman's rifle ; but to seek the 
tiger in the dense forests would be almost suicidal, 
the beast that is being tracked in the dusky 
twilight of the jungle being probably watching his 
would-be destroyer unseen. One plan frequently 
adopted is to place some animal for a bait, and then 
to sit in a tree and wait all night for the tiger's 
coming a plan that rarely succeeds, and conse- 
quently the governmental fifty-dollars reward is not 
very often earned. Fortunately, the increase of this 
beast is kept down by the love of the male tiger for 
his own offspring as food. He devours them when- 
ever he has an opportunity, for he is wide in his 
choice of dainties, and will put up with buffalo when 
he cannot obtain man, crushing in the thick skull of 
this animal with one blow if he can take it unawares, 
and avoid impalement upon its formidable horns. 

The Malays make pitfalls for the tiger, funnel- 
shaped holes of fifteen feet deep, right in its track, 
knowing full well that it will return by the way it 
has gone. If this were merely covered with sticks 



TIGER-TRAPPING. 125 



and leaves, the tiger would be suspicious, try it, and 
go another way ; therefore the Malay cuts down a tree, 
so that it falls across that side of the hole by which his 
enemy will approach, and then hides the opening with 
leaves and boughs. The fall of a tree in the forest is 
so common a thing that the tiger's suspicion is not 
excited. A tree has fallen across its path voild tout. 
It plants its fore-paws on the trunk, draws up its hind- 
legs, and leaps lightly down crash through the frail 
covering into the pitfall, where it is approached with 
sublime respect, the Malays hardly daring to go near 
enough to give the coup de grace to the dreaded beast. 

Another way, as the cookery-books say over a 
fresh recipe to dress the joint previously dealt with : 
The Malays, on finding the track of a tiger, very inge- 
niously hang a heavy balk of timber across the path 
from the projecting bough of a tree. The string 
which suspends the beam is attached to a cleverly- 
made trigger, and the trigger again to a noose, which 
is arranged right in the animal's track. The result is 
as may be anticipated : if the tiger's mind be occupied 
with how to provide for the next repast, an unguarded 
foot is placed in the noose, the string is drawn tight, 
the trigger is touched, the beam falls, and the tiger 
lies paralysed, with a broken back, awaiting his 
destroyers' spears. 

The Malays are equally clever in capturing the 
monkey, by means of a noose through which the 
active little thing puts its hand, and draws the string 



126 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

tight. In fact, the noose is a favourite plan with the 
inhabitants of the peninsula and the isles adjacent. 
Mr. Wallace mentions how cleverly the natives of 
Waigiou, near New Guinea, noose the birds of para- 
dise ; and allusion has already been made to the way 
in which the argus pheasant is taken, and " springes," 
not " to catch woodcocks " but snipe, are made. 

Of those curious little creatures monkeys there 
are many kinds ; but, as far as the writer can tell, no 
apes, such as the mias or orang-utan of Borneo, and 
the wa-wa of Java, a tailless animal something like 
the agile gibbon. The most rare is one of a milk- 
white colour. Only two specimens have come under 
the writer's notice during a long residence in these 
parts ; and it may after all be, as Dr. Finlayson says 
of the white elephant of Siam, only an albino. It is a 
small monkey, only about eighteen inches high, and 
very peculiar. 

One large short-tailed monkey is a great favourite 
with the people of Perak. To its master it is very 
tame and greatly attached, acting as his protector in 
a journey through the woods, from campong to cam- 
pong, and being ready to attack any aggressor, even 
as a dog would in England. It is a large strongly- 
built animal, standing as high as an ordinary dining- 
table, and possesses large canine teeth, with which it 
will seize its enemy by the back of the neck, and hold 
on so tightly that it is hard to shake it off. 

The Malay being too sedate, dignified, and often 



MONKEYS. 127 



too idle to climb a tree himself, trains this monkey 
to pick cocoa-nuts for him. The writer has fre- 
quently seen one with a string attached to it run 
up a tree with the greatest activity and seize a nut. 
A pull of the string shows the monkey that this is 
the wrong fruit ; and by constant guidance with the 
string, the little parody of humanity readily dis- 
tinguishes the particular object it is to obtain, and 
at once seizing it with its hands, begins to screw it 
round and round, till the footstalk gives way, and the 
heavy nut with its thick husk of fibre falls with a 
thud to the ground. 

This anecdote savours so of " the travellers' tale," 
that it may be well to repeat in all sincerity that it is 
a fact, and that the practice is common. 

Several of the smaller kinds are easily tamed when 
captured by the Malays, though it must be said that 
some of the larger species are very vicious, one that 
was given to an English sailor proving too wild to 
keep. It is amusing to see them in the jungle, 
apparently watching the intruders, and peering round 
from the far side of branches. Troops of them may 
be seen on the sands at the mouths of the rivers when 
going up, their object being to search for the shell-fish 
which abound, and which seem to be a favourite 
delicacy to the simian palate. 

The loris, one of their near relatives, is pretty 
common : but to be brief, the fauna of Perak is an 
extensive one, and embraces many animals that have 



128 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

been passed unnoticed, among others the musang and 
the porcupine, which can be often found in a suitable 
habitat. 

Of the more domestic animals, that most useful of 
creatures the horse is not found in Perak, neither has 
it been naturalised anywhere else in the peninsula, 
though found in Burmah, Pegu, and Siam, as well as 
in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and several other of the 
islands of the Archipelago. One variety imported is 
really a spirited pony, but probably from there being 
no extensive plains suitable for their increase, even 
this diminutive form of the horse has found no 
dwelling-place in the interior. 

The goat is domesticated by the Malays, as it is 
everywhere by people of their faith, Mahomet having 
attached a special blessing to the possession of this 
animal. The attempts made at Malacca and Singapore 
to introduce sheep resulted in failure. They could 
only be kept by placing them at night upon a plank 
flooring raised above the earth, and by feeding them 
with imported hay. Neither the pasture at Malacca 
nor in the island seemed to suit them. But there is 
the possibility that the pasture of Perak might prove 
better, and attempts should be made to acclimatise the 
Indian breed ; or perhaps that of the Chinese might 
prove more hardy, for as the country becomes more 
opened out and cultivated, there is no reason why 
sheep should not thrive as well as the goat. The, 
advantage to settlers would be no trifle, as will be seen 



WILD-CATS. 129 



when it is stated that good mutton, at Singapore, 
costs about half-a-crown a pound. 

Kabbits have been essayed, but they soon fell a 
prey to the musangs or wild-cats, and this will pro- 
bably be for some time their fate, these fierce little 
animals catching them quite close up to the houses; 
and even in the suburbs of Singapore rabbits and 
pigeons have to be carefully secured, or their inde- 
fatigable enemy will find them out and destroy them 
without mercy. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

The people of Perak Bugis Korinchi Eawa and Mandeling 
Cannibalism The Malay Wild tribes Jacoon or Sakai 
Samangs Diseases. 

THE inhabitants of Perak are of several races. The 
bulk of the population, which is excessively small and 
scattered for so fine a country one which cannot 
show even a village of any great size consists of the 
Malays ; the Batta Barak, Eawa, Mandeling, and 
Korinchi people of Sumatra ; the Bugis ; and lastly, 
the wild tribes of the interior. There are of course 
the few European settlers, and a certain number of 
Chinese, whose skilled labour in mining, agriculture, 
and artifice is a valuable acquisition to the country. 

The Bugis are evidently a distinct race from the 
Malays, and come originally from the southern part of 
the island of Celebes. They compare most favourably 
with the Malays proper, being intelligent, courageous, 
and enterprising ; and though very similar to them in 
appearance, they speak a different language. The 
Malays fear and respect them above all the other races 
of the Archipelago ; and among them are to be found 



THE BUGIS. 131 



the principal native traders and merchants ; but their 
influence has greatly dwindled since the time when 
they had the principal amount of the trade in their 
hands. 

The Bugis at one time made a strong movement 
westward, and overran Quedah and several other 
portions of the peninsula ; but at the present date 
there are but few of them actually established in the 
country, their habits being wandering and unsettled, 
as they seem to have been of old. When the con- 
version of the different races to Islamism took place, 
these people were the last to go over to Mahomet, and 
probably are held now amongst the most strict of his 
followers. The character given to the Bugis is not 
always of the best, for he has been termed a beggar, 
treacherous, given to stealing, braver than a Malay, 
but not possessing the other's good points, being one 
who will lay his plans to obtain revenge on the 
offending party. 

The Bugis race has kept itself very distinct from 
the people amongst whom it dwells, but occasionally 
inter-marriages take place. One of the most important 
of late has been that of the well-known Bugis chief of 
Perak, Nakoda Trong, who led to the hymeneal altar 
one of the Perak ladies of distinction, Inche Maida, 
or Princess Maida. Their portraits are given in the 
accompanying engraving, with the female attendants. 
This princess has her home at the station high up the 
Perak river at Qualla Kungsa ; and she won the good- 



132 "SAEONG" AND "KR18." 

will of many of the Europeans engaged in quelling the 
disturbances, by her singular hospitality, and also by 
the ready aid she has always given to the British 
officers since the country has been under our protection. 
Inche Maida's lord and protector was however found 
somewhat wanting at the time of the disturbances, his 
Bugis nature and unsettled habits coming uppermost, 
with the result that he found an imperative call for 
absenting himself on business, leaving his lady to the 
wars, while he sought for more peaceful regions and 
the protection of his noble self away from Perak. 

Among the settlers named, the Korinchi are 
immigrants from the interior of the island of Sumatra. 
They are Malays in manners and language ; but giving 
themselves the credit of being a purer race of Mahome- 
dans, they hold aloof from the ordinary Malay, and 
dress always in white garments. Greatly resembling 
the Perak Malays, they are more industrious, with the 
natural result that they live, in better style, and 
surround themselves with more comforts than those 
amongst whom they dwell. They write the Malay 
language in a peculiar character of their own, one 
which Mr. Crawfurd is of opinion was the original 
character of the Malay people, and generally used 
before the adoption of the Arabic, which is now in 
common use. 

These Korinchi people are peaceable, and were 
found to be quite willing to assist the British in 
making roads and felling jungle; but, with the 



CANNIBALISM. 133 



customary dignity of the Malay race, objected to 
being employed as coolies in carrying weights, or, 
as they expressed it, being treated as beasts of 
burden, their idea of the creature man being rather 
higher than amongst the busy nations of the 
West. 

The Kawa and Mandeling people are also immi- 
grants from Sumatra, not far from the particular dis- 
trict of the Batta Barak tribe, who inhabit a portion of 
the eastern coast of the island in the same latitude as 
the state of Salangore, across to which state of the 
peninsula many of them have also migrated. In their 
own country they are principally fishermen-; but the 
progressive instinct which has sent them to seek 
pastures new renders them more amenable to the 
advance of civilisation, and ready to clear the jungle, 
cut down trees, plant, and generally prepare the land 
for a better state of things. The Mandeling people 
are said to be a branch of the Batta of the interior 
of Sumatra, a tribe who have enjoyed the unenviable 
reputation of being eaters of human flesh, and the 
most fierce and warlike people of the land. 

This cannibalistic charge was repeated many 
years later by Mr. Anderson, viz. in 1823, and though 
denied by many, was subsequently distinctly proved. 
Whether the custom still exists the writer is unable to 
say, but it is still mentioned ; and if at an end, the 
discontinuance of the practice is of very recent date. 
Sir Stamford Eaffles's remarks, in which he quotes 



134 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Dr. Leyden's opinion, are worth repeating. He says, 
in 1823 : 

The Batta language, which I regard as the most ancient language 
of Sumatra, is used by the Batta tribes, who chiefly occupy the 
centre of that island. The singularity of their manner, and par- 
ticularly the horrid custom of anthropophagy, practised by a nation 
in other respects more civilised than the Malays by whom they are 
surrounded, has attracted the attention of Europeans from the time 
of the earliest voyagers to our own times, but no very satisfac- 
tory account has ever been given of them as a nation. The 
best description of them is certainly given by Marsden, in his 
History of Sumatra ; but even that is very imperfect and super- 
ficial, and at variance in some respects with the information I 
received from individuals of the nation. Marsden confines their 
cannibalism to two cases that of persons condemned for crimes, 
and that of prisoners of war; but they themselves declare that 
they frequently eat their own relations, when aged and infirm; 
and that not so much to gratify their appetite, as to perform a reli- 
gious ceremony. Thus, when a man becomes infirm and weary of 
the world, he is said to invite his own children to eat him, in the 
season Avhen salt and limes are cheapest. He then ascends a tree, 
round which his friends and offspring assemble, and, as they shake 
the tree, join in a funeral dirge, the import of which is : " The 
season is come, the fruit is ripe, and it must descend." The 
victim descends, and those that are nearest and dearest to him 
deprive him of life, and devour his remains in a solemn banquet. 
This account is certainly more likely to excite incredulity than the 
account of Marsden ; but it is the account of some of the Battas 
themselves, as well as that of the Malays in their vicinity. 

The Malays of Perak, like those of Malacca, are 
doubtless descendants of that parent stock which in 
bygone times migrated from the district of Menang 
Kabau, in the island of Sumatra ; and by all good 
Malays this is looked upon as the original seat of their 
race. The whole of the traditions of the people tend to 



THE MALAY. 135 



show that this was their origin ; and even at the present 
day a stranger coming among them from Menang 
Kabau brings with him, so to speak, a pass which 
ensures him the respect and veneration of all Malays. 

Physically, they have broad flat features, the nose 
wide, and dilated at the nostrils ; cheek-bones high,, 
and eyes placed as in the European, and in no case even 
slightly oblique, as some writers have said in trying 
to classify them with the Mongolian or Tartar races. 
In fact, it has been asserted that if a Malay were 
dressed in Chinese costume, he could not be distin- 
guished from a Chinaman. This is a grave error, for 
the Malay of the peninsula is never found with the 
oblique eyes peculiar to the Mongolian race. The 
Malay's forehead is slightly prominent ; the hair of 
the head lank, coarse, and universally black ; but 
very slight trace of beard ; the mouth large, with 
the upper lip slightly lifted; complexion of a dark 
yellowish brown. Their arms are long, chests broad, 
and their lower limbs strong and muscular ; they are, 
as a rule, below the middle height, but, on the whole, 
sturdy formidable-looking fellows. 

Amongst some of the chiefs there is an evident 
trace of Arab descent ; and this was particularly 
noticeable in the Laksamana of Perak, who was per- 
haps the most clever and intriguing of the native 
chiefs of Perak during and preceding the late 
emeute, not even excepting the Muntri, who in his 
intriguing ways frequently descended to the low 



136 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

cunning of the Kling, or native of Southern India, 
whose blood to some extent was said to course in 
his veins. 

The Malay women compare very unfavourably 
with their lords in a European's eyes, for they seem, 
with very rare exceptions, coarse, plain, and wanting 
in the charms nature generally bestows on the softer 
sex. "When quite young, however, they occasionally 
possess good looks, as may be seen by the illustration 
showing Inche Maida's attendants, which gives a fair 
idea of the better-class young girls among the Malays. 

Marriages are made at a very early age, in conse- 
quence of the rapid approach of maturity, though 
extreme longevity is not uncommon ; and when, as 
is customary amongst the poor, polygamy is not prac- 
tised, the average number of a man's children is 
from three to four, large families being rarely, if ever, 
known. Polygamy, however, which is authorised 
by the Mahomedan faith, is largely practised by the 
more wealthy of its followers ; and it has brought 
about its customary train of evils in Perak, in the 
shape of slavery in some of its worst forms, and a 
gradual depopulation of a country already far too 
thinly inhabited. 

The wild tribes of the interior of Perak form a 
very interesting subject for consideration. They may 
be roughly divided into two classes : the Aborigines 
and the Oriental Negroes; or the " Orang Benua" and 
Samangs of the Malays. The words Orang Benua 



WILD TRIBES. 137 



literally mean "men of the country;" and these people 
have been variously styled Jacoons, Basisi, or Sakai, 
with other terms from the localities or rivers upon 
which they are found. Sakai is the name generally 
given to them by the Perak Malay, though sometimes 
they may be called Orang Laut sea-gipsies, or men of 
the sea ; and Orang Bukit men of the hill, or hill- 
tribes. 

There can be no doubt that these people are the 
aboriginal Malays, such as the present ruling race 
were before their partial civilisation and conversion to 
Islam. For though they have a peculiar dialect and 
idiom of their own, their language is essentially of 
Malay origin. In appearance they greatly resemble 
the Malays ; but are much shorter in stature ; 
and, like most rude nations, very little addicted to 
injuring their figures by the adoption of tight and 
inconvenient clothing. They trade a little with 
the superior race ; and by means of barter obtain 
sometimes the sarong, or national kilt of these people? 
and the sapu tangang, or kerchief, for the head, which 
they wear in the same way, excepting that the women 
leave the bosom uncovered save when, imitating the 
more civilised of their sex, they throw a small cloth 
over then: shoulders. 

The kris, or native dagger, and parang, or knife, 
they obtain from the villages ; but for their weapon of 
offence they use the " surnpitan," or blow-pipe, whose 
tiny darts they send through the tube to a long 



138 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 



distance, with great precision and with considerable 
force. By means of these tiny arrows they kill birds 
and other animals, which, with wild fruit and roots, 
form the staple of their food supply. 

In Sumatra, on the contrary, according to Mr. 
Marsden, these people do not hold any intimate com- 
munication with their more civilised neighbours, who 
when anxious to obtain honey, wax, or other products 
of the forest from them, place clothes and tobacco in 
some part of the jungle they are known to visit, and 
after a certain time, on going they find their offering 
removed, and the products of the forest of greater value 
laid in the place. 

The sumpitan is formed out of a piece of bamboo ; 
and the arrows are in some cases poisoned at the tips, 
the other end being furnished with a tuft of cotton or 
similar growth, which tightly fits the hollow of the 
cane, so that a strong puff from the lungs has more 
effect upon the dart. When at rest these people will 
stand on one leg, resting with ,the foot of the other 
leg against their knee, and the hand grasping the blow- 
pipe for a support, just as the Australian blacks rest 
upon their spear. Some of these sumpitans are very 
neatly made and ornamented, while the arrows used 
are both plain and barbed. 

The engraving, taken from a photograph of a group 
of these people, gives a good idea of their peculiar 
characteristics. In this some two or three are seen 
with the " limbing," or spear. This is not common 



m 






















THE SAKAIS. 139 



with them, but when possessed has been obtained from 
the Malays. The photograph was one taken by the 
late Besident, Mr. J. W. W. Birch, who to his many 
other qualifications added those of being an excellent 
naturalist and a clever photographer. 

Efforts are being made to civilise these people, 
dating from some years ago, when a French mis- 
sionary of the name of Borrie went into the jungle of 
Malacca, and seeking out the Jacoons, as they are there 
called, found them migrating from spot to spot, as 
food was plentiful or scarce. Selecting a suitable 
place he made signs to them, and in their presence 
planted seeds and tapioca slips, encouraging them to 
watch what he was doing. Some little time after, 
on their return to the same spot, he pointed out to 
them the rooting and growing of the seeds and slips ; 
and in this -way, by the exercise of great patience, 
combined with kindness, he induced them to begin 
tilling the ground for themselves. 

The writer visited the home of this pioneer of 
civilisation ; and it was impossible to avoid lending 
admiration to the devotion of M. Borrie to his work. 
From his labour of love he had apparently lost all 
thought of the outer world. The French mission has 
also already extended its work to Perak, where it has 
erected a little church on the very confines of the 
jungle, and is eagerly pursuing its self-inflicted task 
amongst the half-civilised Malays of the state. 

It was whilst visiting the lonely home of the 



140 "8IRONQ" AND "KRIS: 



French missionaries, that the writer was a witness to 
the wonderful skill of the Jacoons with the sumpitan, 
their aim being almost unerring, and the weapon 
deadly in its effects. 

The class of wild people known by the Malays as 
Samangs, have been called by Europeans Oriental or 
Asiatic Negroes Negro Malayan people ; and, when 
compared with those who inhabit the Philippine 
Islands, Negritoes, Aetas, or Little Negroes. Some 
recent geographers taking the Malayan word Papua, 
literally "curly," have given this name to New Guinea, 
and dubbed the inhabitants of this great island with 
those of Fiji and others in the Pacific, Papuans, 
with whom they class the Samangs of Perak and other 
portions of the Malay peninsula. 

The writer's knowledge of the so-called Papuans is 
not of that thoroughly personal description to enable 
him to speak with decision on the subject, and he 
can only judge from the accounts given by others ; 
but the Samangs, who range from the Nicobar group, 
through the Malay peninsula though, singularly 
enough, not found in the island of Sumatra cannot 
be classed with the race of small squat negroes of the 
Andamans and Philippines, as described by Crawfurd 
and other writers. 

For these Samangs differ widely from the little 
aborigines the Sakai, or Jacoons, of Perak being of 
about the same size as the Malay ; are in complexion 
of a dark brown, more than black, with flat nose, thick 



THE 8AHANG8. 141 



lips, large mouth, and hair not lank and black like the 
Malay, nor woolly like the Ethiopian negro, but long 
and in tufts. 

Baron Maclay, the Eussian traveller, with whom 
the writer is personally acquainted, has been recently 
making a careful study of the habits and features of 
these people, and will doubtless soon issue an opinion 
worthy of all respect ; but according to the informa- 
tion now possessed, it seems correct to place the 
Samang with the class called by Dr. Pickering 
Malayised negroes, and the same which will be subse- 
quently referred to in the chapter on the ancient 
history of the people, as being found on the island of 
Madagascar. 

It seems only reasonable to suppose that in the 
constant intercourse which took place in early times 
between the Arabs and maritime Malays, and between 
these latter and the people on the island of 
Madagascar, people of this class were conveyed by 
the Malays to their own country; and that, not being a 
maritime people, and strangers to the land, they 
retreated towards the interior, even as the new Malay 
colonists from Sumatra drove back also with them the 
aboriginal inhabitants, the Orang Benua, or Sakai, 
who were originally dwellers on the coast. 

To return to the Malays of Perak : it may not be 
uninteresting to say a few words respecting their 
diseases. Like most people who live a simple natural 
life, they are comparatively free from the ailments of 



142 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

civilisation ; but disease is by no means rare. That 
scourge of Eastern lands, leprosy, is not often seen ; 
but occasionally a Malay may be encountered whose 
hands and feet are covered with white spots, though 
these are said not to be contagious. That terrible 
swelling of the leg known as elephantiasis, is some- 
times to be seen ; and in cases of this kind the 
Malays seem to look upon the afflicted person with a 
kind of awe. In fact, in the interior, the people 
looked upon an individual thus afflicted as invulner- 
able, and blindly followed his advice in matters 
appertaining to war. 

The ordinary blood diseases and fevers are known ; 
and among them the small-pox, from which they 
suffer a good deal, but look upon the European custom 
of vaccination as opposed to a sincere religious faith 
being in fact an endeavour to frustrate the ends of Pro- 
vidence in sending disease. By judicious explanations 
though, and management on the part of the medical 
officers of the Government, the prejudice has to a great 
extent been overcome. 

Dysentery, one of the complaints that affect Euro- 
peans, is not general ; but the inhabitants suffer a 
great deal from entozoa, for which nature seems to 
have prepared a specific in the male pomegranate tree. 
Eheumatism, too, is common, and called by them "wind 
in the joints ; " their remedy for it being beating and 
kneading till the pain has gone. Many of these simple 
remedies are very efficacious ; and the knowledge pos- 



DISEASES. 143 



sessed by the natives of plants and roots is not un- 
worthy of respect. Pressed leaves are applied to their 
cutaneous eruptions ; and though dirty in their homes, 
the Malays have a good idea of the sanitary value of 
cleanliness, the bath being daily used ; while en- 
closures of mats and bamboo are contrived at the 
ends of their boats for bathing-places as shown in 
one of the engravings, the sign that such a place is 
temporarily occupied being given by hanging the 
sarong, or skirt, over the outside. 

Far as these people are removed from civilisation, 
they are fully awake to the effects of bhang, an intoxi- 
cating liquor prepared from hemp ; to destroy which 
they chew betel-nut, which is said to counteract the 
effects of an overdose, even as amongst Europeans 
chlorodyne is said to remove the intoxication pro- 
duced by an over-indulgence in stimulants. The 
Malays being an intensely nervous race this may be 
so ; in fact, so highly strung are they, that in some 
instances they have a singularly wild way of mimicking 
any movement made to them, and if it is continued 
it seems to have the effect of working them up into a 
complete state of frenzy. To these peculiarities further 
allusion will be made when treating of the strange 
madness known as amok, or, as it has been commonly 
called, "running a muck." 



CHAPTEE XIV. 



Dress The sarong Dress of the Bugis Dress of the Malay 
European costumes Ornaments Coquettish toilets. 



PROBABLY in no country is the custom of keeping 
to the national costume more thoroughly adhered to 
than amongst the Malays. Civilisation has naturally 
introduced many articles of clothing ; but no matter 
how many of these are adopted, the Malay, from the 
greatest sultan of the peninsula down to the poorest 
inhabitant of a squalid campong on the banks of a 
stream, always wears the sarong, which literally means 
a case or envelope. 

This is an oblong cloth, from two to four feet in 
width, and some two yards long. The ends are 
sewn together, and there, in its simplest form, is a 
skirt or kilt, which is worn by men and women alike 
on the men reaching to just below the knees, on the 
women to the ankles. The men tighten it round the 
waist by two or three ingenious twists, thus forming 
with it a skirt and belt at one and the same time, in 
which they carry the kris, or native dagger, tighten- 
ing or loosening the band at pleasure. The women 



THE SAEONG. 145 



wear one that is wider, and secure it close up under 
the armpits so that it covers the breasts, throwing 
another over their heads as a veil and to cover the 
shoulders ; and when abroad and they meet men, they 
extend this upper sarong by holding their hands at a 
distance on either side of the head, so as to form with 
the garment a long narrow slit, covering the face and 
forehead in such a way that the eyes alone are visible 
to the stranger's gaze. 

This ingenious and very simple form of yashmak, 
as it would be called amongst the followers of the 
Prophet in Turkey, is of course used in accordance 
with Mussulman traditions. 

The sarong greatly resembles the tartan of our 
own Highlanders, inasmuch as it is invariably a check, 
and generally of gay colours, very tastefully woven by 
native hands. They are manufactured at many places 
in the peninsula, and in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. 
Those from Tringanu and Johore are held in great 
esteem, while the cotton sarongs from the Celebes 
fetch high prices. The best are of silk from China, 
dyed before it is brought over, thougk the Malays are 
very ingenious in the use of dyes ; but there is an 
intermediate quality, of silk and cotton combined ; 
while the sarong of the lower classes is of simple 
cotton. It is singular that a check should be adopted 
by these people for their national robe, one which 
really answers to the Scotch plaid scarf, and is often 



146 "SAEONG" AND "KRIS." 

worn in precisely the same way, as in many respects 
they resemble our Highlanders in their clannish or 
tribal habits, and thoroughly chief tain -like ways of 
dealing with their fellows. 

The extremely simple garb of the Sakai or 
aborigines, and the Samangs or negro Malays has 
been already alluded to, as likewise has that of the 
Sumatra tribes, who adhere to white. The particular 
dress of the Bugis may be gathered from that of 
Nakoda Trong, in the engraving. The trousers are 
of calico, frequently ornamented with open work at 
the base, and over this is worn the sarong, kilt fashion. 
This, with the Bugis, is invariably of cotton, and after 
protecting the loins by day, is opened out and becomes 
a sheet at night. The jacket, worn loose to the figure, 
is called a baju ; it is made with long sleeves, and 
generally of white but sometimes of coloured cotton : 
in the latter case the pattern is the check to which 
the Malay is so partial. The headdress is a handker- 
chief nattily tied on, and this kerchief is common to 
the Bugis and Malay of Perak ; but with the former it 
is mostly of a larger size. 

The Malay chieftain, while adhering to the sarong 
which is a garment most suitable to the climate, very 
convenient, and giving great freedom to the limbs is 
very fond of adopting European costumes. Sultan 
Abdullah ordered a magnificent uniform from England, 
.something between that of a field-marshal and a 
hussar colonel's, of which, with its little engineer 



MALAY COSTUME. 147 

busby, lie was very proud ; though, as will be seen 
from the group of which he forms the centre, it is 
doubtful whether he looked so well as the chiefs of 
his court, who stood on either side when they were 
photographed by the writer. 

The general Malay costume is very similar to that 
described as worn by the Bugis. It consists of an inner 
vest, having a collar to button tight round the neck, 
and the baju or jacket, often of light-coloured dimity, 
for undress ; trousers worn loose and long, or what are 
now often preferred, a loose pair of short drawers, 
made of cotton or silk. In the case of a chief, these 
trousers or drawers are of richly-patterned yellow silk, 
and often very handsome. Next comes the sarong, 
which, by the way, is sometimes made to do duty as a 
scarf by both sexes, who are as tasty in their manipu- 
lation of this robe as a Spanish lady in Seville. 

As an example of the tribal nature of the costume, 
the inhabitants of many places wear distinctive-pat- 
terned sarongs ; and though this is not evident to 
Europeans unacquainted with the peculiarities of the 
.people, a Malay will readily tell from what part a 
stranger comes by a glance at his dress. Speaking 
generally, however, a Malay's costume in Perak may 
be said to consist of the loose trousers, baju or jacket 
which is made of any kind of material to suit the 
fancy and the sarong. 

The chiefs have taken a great fancy of late to a 
natty and very effective little skull-cap, of a military 

L 2 



148 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

shape, and the use of this has extended amongst the 
better classes of the people. It is generally of black 
and white, and greatly resembles that in favour 
amongst the Klings, or natives of Southern India, from 
whom it was probably adopted. But while the Kling 
delights in making it of gorgeous colours, with which 
he ornaments his wife and everything appertaining to 
him, the Malay keeps to modest sober tints ; and a 
chief will occasionally wear one formed out of a kind 
of reed, and have a text from the Koran embroidered 
on the front. 

The national headdress however of the Perak 
Malay is the handkerchief, which is stiffened and tied 
with a peculiar twist round the head. When on a 
journey, and expecting to be exposed to the weather, 
it is not uncommon for the battek or skull-cap to be 
worn inside the handkerchief, both being arranged in 
no ungraceful manner, for the Malay has a very good 
idea of attending to his personal appearance. Mr. 
Crawfurd is of opinion that the Malay took the idea 
of his kerchief as worn upon the head from India ; but 
it is far more probable that, like the sarong, it had its 
origin far enough back, with the original tribes who 
came from Menang Kabow, and who are, as has been 
intimated, looked up to by the better-class Malays, 
as the 'ancestors from whom they trace descent. 

Another form of headdress often worn is that 
which has been already alluded to as used by the 
Malay fishermen for protection from the sun. It is 



SUITABLE DRESS. 149 

also worn by the peasants, and, in its umbrella-shape 
and cane-work head-frame, greatly resembles that with 
which we are familiar in pictures of the people of 
China and Siam. 

Where the Malays have associated much with 
Europeans, and have adopted our ordinary costume, 
they are much given to the short military patrol 
jacket, and cover their feet with our socks, and not 
only the ordinary, but the patent-leather shoe ; though 
they have not yet adopted our chimney-pot hat. 
Still the sarong is retained; and in these cases it 
never looks incongruous ; for, startling as the state- 
ment may seem, a gracefully put on sarong, either 
with our ordinary dress, or even a military uniform, 
has not only an admirably picturesque effect, but it is 
invaluable to the European ; and those who have 
worn it day and night in these latitudes will, from 
the better health they have enjoyed, have learned to 
respect the Malays for their experience-bought know- 
ledge of what is most suited for their climate. In 
this question of dress, as well as in more weighty 
matters, the Malays of the peninsula have good reason 
to feel grateful to the Maharajah of Johore, who has 
set an admirable example in adopting the sensible 
customs of the Europeans, to the rejection of those 
unfitted for the climate and absurd. 

The Malay wears his hair cut short, or shaved, pre- 
senting a striking contrast to the Chinaman, with his 
tail plaited with silken threads, and coaxed down to 



150 "SAEONG" AND "KEIS." 

touch his heels. The face is little adorned by nature 
with hair, and is generally denuded of what little 
appears, except in the case of the chiefs, who retain a 
thinly-cut moustache that sometimes reminds one of 
Albert Smith's description of that worn by a young 
gentleman of his acquaintance, whose eyebrows seemed 
to have slipped down on to his upper lip. 

The hair of the women, however, is long and luxu- 
riant, and is kept beautifully clean by means of the 
juice of lemon and vegetables, which with the soap- 
nut makes a good lather, and is either worn over the 
crown of the head, or twisted up at the back in the 
universal mode that was perhaps established in the 
days of our mother Eve. Through this knot, which is 
often so jetty and massive that it resembles the chig- 
non of modern European society, are thrust pins very 
often of gold ; and on festive days jasmine, chum- 
paka, and other sweet-smelling flowers are introduced 
in a coquettish and very tasteful manner. These pins 
or bodkins are called clmchu Jcundei, and, like the 
other gold ornaments that are mentioned, are very fre- 
quently tinged of a rich red hue, probably caused by 
burning in a charcoal fire ; and seen against the jetty 
hair, they have an excellent effect, though only second 
to the flowers. 

The ordinary dress of a Malay woman is, amongst 
the more prosperous, an inner garment of white cotton 
cloth, covering the breasts, and hanging down to the 
hips. Over this is the sarong, held up at the waist 



THE FINDING. 151 



by a twist, as in the case of the men, and falling in 
graceful folds to the ankles, but further supported by a 
belt or zone of silver or gold, or of embroidered cloth, 
and ornamented in front where an English lady would 
wear a buckle by a large oval plate called a pinding. 
This is about the size of the oval mount to a photo- 
graphic cabinet portrait, and is either of silver or gold ; 
while, in the case of ladies about the little native palm- 
palace courts, it is frequently studded with precious 
stones, and beautifully chased by the native goldsmiths. 
Over all this , is worn a long loose dressing-gown style 
of garment, called the Jcabaya. This robe falls to the 
middle of the leg, and is fastened down the front with 
circular brooches known by the Malays as krosong. 

Very frequently the sarong and kabaya are the only 
garments ; and when going to bathe a matter of daily 
custom amongst the Malay women of Perak and other 
parts of the country the sarong is perhaps alone 
worn ; and it is in these instances that it is neatly 
and decorously held up close beneath the arm-pits by 
an ingenious tuck in the folds, the part hanging over 
the breast being called panchong. Simple as the Malay 
woman's costume is, it is far from unbecoming ; and 
it possesses this advantage, one which will be held 
in esteem by every paterfamilias in our empire 
namely, it never is out of fashion, so as to cause the 
outcry so cleverly satirised by Mr. Butler " Nothing 
to wear." 

One necessary part of the female attire has how- 



152 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

ever been omitted necessary or unnecessary, as the 
case may be namely the salendang, which is a very 
pretty graceful sash, made of cotton or silk of the 
most delicate texture. This is worn over the shoulder 
or waist, according to the taste of the wearer; fre- 
quently after the fashion that an English lady wears 
her Shetland shawl. 

Except when walking, and likely to meet strangers, 
or when liable to be exposed to the sun, the head is 
seldom covered ; and then it is that the second sarong 
is thrown over the head, and drawn out, leaving a 
narrow slit for the eyes. It is worthy of remark that 
the less bountiful nature has been to the Malay 
woman in the matter of beauty of feature, the narrower 
she contrives that the slit shall be a work of superero- 
gation, that, it is to be presumed, is not confined to 
the Malays, since strange use is sometimes made in 
European countries of a veil or fan. 

The covering of the feet is generally omitted by 
the women, though they in nowise resemble the 
Chinese in smallness, nor those of European ladies in 
beauty ; but Malays are very clever in embroidering 
slippers in gold tinsel, and these, like those of the 
Turks, are worn by the higher-class ladies just over 
the toes. By way of protection in walking, they 
sometimes wear a kind of clog, which is made of 
a light white wood ; and this is not held on by strap, 
toe-piece, or leather covering, but by the simple inser- 
tion of a peg on the top, so arranged that it passes 



AN ECCENTRIC CUSTOM. 153 

between the toes, and so holds the clog on in what 
seems to be a very precarious and uncomfortable 
manner. 

The umbrella, or sunshade, is the property of the 
nobler sex, and is generally of some gay colour ; while 
amongst the chiefs it will be of rich silk, and often 
richly fringed and worked in gold. The use of these 
protections from the torrid rays is probably borrowed 
from the Siamese, who are great in umbrellas, many 
of them being of a very gorgeous kind. 

Both male and female wear rings the fore and 
little fingers being the most in favour for displaying 
the ornaments ; but the greatest piece of dandyism 
observable amongst the Malay gentlemen in the way 
of decoration quite equalling the ladies' custom of 
using henna to their nails is in the custom of display- 
ing the status as a man who never works. The 
custom is that of wearing the finger-nail long. In 
one instance, that of Kooloop Mahomed, a relative of 
the Princess of Perak, the fore-nail of the left hand 
had been allowed to grow till it was about two inches 
long. It was carefully tended and kept clean ; while 
to preserve it from dangers, its owner wore it in a 
sheath, something like a stiffened elongated finger- 
stall. Whether this custom has been derived from the 
Chinese, who have long nails, it is impossible to say, 
but such a talon always speaks for itself, and says 
to the world at large : " This gentleman never toils." 

Amongst the little points of personal ornamenta- 



154 "82RONQ" AND "KRIS." 

tion adopted by the Malay women are the wearing of 
earrings, or ear-jewels, with swivels, necklaces, and 
armlets or bangles. Some of these are very beautifully 
worked in silver and gold like the pinding, the gold- 
smiths having no mean idea of finish in their 
art. Less admirable however are their practices of 
rouging a custom confined to married ladies alone 
and using antimony after the fashion of kohl, to 
darken the eyelids, and give a lustrous look to the 
eyes. But after all, these customs are infinitely 
preferable to those of the Hindoos, who give a ghastly 
yellow tinge to their faces, by the use of a powder 
composed of turmeric. 

A glance at the engravings will give a very good 
idea of the dress, both of male and female, amongst the 
Malays, and at the same time it will be seen how fond 
they are of introducing a little variety, even while 
adhering to the formal custom of the country in which 
they dwell. 



CHAPTER XY. 



The villages of Perak Inhabitants Causes of depopulation War 
Extent of population Bird scaring Malay dwellings Untidy 
habits Bathing House-building Chinese and convict labour. 



THE villages of Perak, which take the place of towns, 
are, as has been intimated, nearly all situated on the 
various rivers. They are mostly of very little im- 
portance, but as in the opening out of the country 
they may rise to the dignity of busy commercial 
emporiums, and as reference to them is made in these 
pages, it is necessary to give their names. They con- 
sist of Chigagala, Kotah Lamah, Korinchi, Saiyong, 
Boyah, Sengang, Blanja, Campong Syang, Botah, 
Pulo Tiga, Passir Sala, Kotah Lumat, Durian Sabatang, 
Batu Rabit, and Kotastia, on the Perak river, with 
Kinta and several smaller villages on the river of that 
name ; Thai-peng and Kamunting have already been 
referred to in the Laroot or tin district, but there is 
also in this district the village of Bukit Ganting, the 
residence of the Muntri of Perak. Near the Bruas 
river is the village of Chindrong Klubi ; and on the 
Kurow river is another village named Mandring 



156 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Semboh. Qualla Kungsa, so often alluded to, has 
become of importance as the military station of 
the British Government. 

The custom of polygamy seems partly to blame 
for the state of these villages and the surrounding 
country, bringing about, as it has done, a gradual 
depopulation, misery amongst the people, with slavery, 
and a variety of other abominations ; while no doubt 
many have fallen victims to smallpox, fevers, and 
other diseases for which these people have no remedy, 
but being fatalists, leave them to fate to perform 
the cure. 

Doubtless many years ago there was a great drain 
on the male population, who went across to Sumatra 
to re-people Acheen, which has been a very hotbed of 
wars for some time past ; but under a wise and good 
regime, with the people assured of personal safety and 
protection for their property, Perak would have occu- 
pied a very different position as to population to that 
at present shown. This question of inhabitants in an 
uncivilised country is always one that is difficult to 
decide. There are no adequate means of judging 
where the villages are scattered in all directions, many 
being in out-of-the-way spots, perhaps untrodden by 
-a European foot. In fact there is no doubt that the 
chiefs themselves are in utter ignorance of the numbers 
of the settled, wandering, and floating population of 
their district. That of Perak has been variously 
estimated at from thirty thousand to eighty thousand, 



THE POPULATION. 157 

with five or six thousand to represent the wild 
tribes. 

To make an approximation of the numbers by 
reckoning from the houses and villages on the river- 
banks, would naturally give a very unsatisfactory and 
doubtful result ; but after pretty well traversing the 
country in all directions, the impression made on the 
writer's mind is that the lower estimate would be about 
correct. Mr. Birch, however, the late Resident, a man 
who had seen more of the country than any European, 
and who had been up every river in the interior, was 
of opinion that the higher number was correct. 

Mr. Birch's opinion may be accepted as reliable ; 
but it must be taken into consideration that during the 
disturbances of 1875-76, there most probably was a 
very extensive emigration across the mountains, to the 
states of the east coast ; and if this proves to have 
been the case, there is every prospect of a strong 
return current as the country becomes, as it is 
becoming, more settled. This is greatly to be hoped 
for, since the return of the people to their old homes 
will add materially to the prosperity of the country. 

Though many of the Malays reside in the interior, 
and on the pathways or tracks through the jungle 
between the different rivers, the bulk of the population 
chose the banks of the rivers themselves for setting 
up their homes, for many reasons : one of the principal 
being that as a maritime people and giv6n to boating, 
here was to a certain extent their habitual life at hand ; 



158 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

though probably, fear of the tribes whose land they 
had invaded, had something to do with the choice of 
dwelling of the first settlers of the country. Con- 
sequently the Perak Malays have come to be known 
as the tribe of such and such a river, instead of being 
reckoned as dwellers in a province or district of the 
country. 

It has already been stated that the rivers are the 
chief highways to the sea, and hence they became the 
means by which the people obtained the supplies brought 
into the country such as salt, salt-fish, and the simple 
necessaries on which they depend for support ; while 
a current of trade set in the other direction, tin and 
rice being sent out in exchange. This river system 
has made it very convenient for the chiefs of the 
country to obtain their dues ; for no sampan or prau 
goes up or down the river without being squeezed by 
the followers of the chief, whose boats are ready at the 
campong at which the lord resides. One is strongly 
reminded of the robber chieftains, or barons of the 
Rhine, in the case of the Perak and its tributaries ; 
though here the enforced tribute has been exacted in 
a far milder way. 

Another reason, doubtless, for the choice of the 
banks of a stream for residence is the fact that the 
Malays, who migrated from Sumatra, became, as they 
drove back the Aborigines into the interior, accustomed 
to till the ground for the cultivation of rice, their 
staple food. For rice is now extensively grown, as it 



BIRD SCARING. 159 



has been cultivated more and more with the progress 
of civilisation. This grain, in its many varieties, culti- 
vated on both wet and dry ground, is coming more 
and more into fashion with the people, especially the 
dry ground, or mad padi, which yields a crop in the 
shortest time. 

It is, to one who studies the manners and customs 
of the Malays, curious to see how habits approximate 
in different countries. One sees the scarecrows and 
plans laid to keep off the birds at home, and on going- 
thousands of miles away to the clearings in the jungle 
of the far East one meets with them again. That ubiqui- 
tous bird the sparrow, has been mentioned as amongst 
the birds of the country, and as he will grub up and 
devour the peas at home in a suburban garden, so he 
makes himself, with other mischievous bird-bandits, 
busy here. The consequence is that the rice-fields are 
made grotesque by means of long strings which radiate 
from little bamboo huts in the centre of the fields. 
To these strings are attached bells, dolls, feathers, rags, 
anything light and striking, and seated in the hut is a 
little Malay boy or girl, whose sole costume is a red 
chintz or cotton bib, which just covers the chest, while 
the child's duty is to play spider, and agitate the webs 
that emanate from this centre, though not to attract, 
but to drive the birds away. Miniature windmills, 
too, are set up to spin round and rattle in the breeze ; 
but the sparrows of Perak are as impudent as those 
elsewhere, and often treat these plans with contempt. 



160 "SAEONG" AND " KRIS." 

Allusion has already been made to the harvesting, 
which is here a time of rejoicing, as at home ; but it 
has not been said that prejudice necessitates the 
cutting of the rice stalks one by one, while the 
valuable straw is destroyed and burnt, its ashes being 
about the only manure that superstition allows the 
Malay to apply to his land. 

Situated as it is, with the river flowing before it, 
the appearance of a Malay village amongst its palms 
and other fruit trees is exceedingly picturesque, the 
graceful aspect of the waving trees, with their beau- 
tiful columnar trunks, and feathery fronds, shading 
the quaint bamboo palm-thatched structures, being 
pleasing in the extreme. There is but little attention 
paid to order ; but the houses are placed here and there 
according to the taste and convenience of the owner, 
who readily plants cocoa-nut trees around, though he 
has to wait about seven years for their fruiting. 
When there are so many houses that a double row 
occupies the river-bank, a line of communication exists 
between them that does not deserve the title of road, 
for the Malay never thinks of constructing anything 
of this kind, but leaves as much as possible to Dame 
Nature. In this case the houses are built, and as the 
people walk to and fro the path comes of itself. 

Below the houses as may be seen in the illustra- 
tion, which gives a very good general impression of an 
ordinary Malay village posts are driven into the soil, 
and upon these small sheds are erected, which serve as 



BATHING. 161 



bathing-places, and are extensively used by both 
men and women, and it is upon the palm-thatch of 
these places that the sarong is thrown as a sign of 
occupation. In fact, it is a rare thing to go up or 
down a river without seeing someone bathing, for the 
Malays of both sexes are very fond of the water ; but 
great care has to be taken on account of the alligators, 
which are in places exceedingly numerous. After a 
bath the all-important sarong frequently occupies the 
place of a towel ; and amongst the better classes 
cosmetiques are used to rub the body, which at other 
times, if not sufficiently lithe and pliable at the joints, 
is made to undergo a kind of shampooing or kneading, 
the joints being folded, the limbs stretched and pulled, 
and the knuckles carefully cracked ; but this is gene- 
rally when the Malay is ailing, or suffering from 
" wind in the joints." 

The residence of the Malay is invariably built upon 
posts, some of which are close to and over the water, 
though there are no floating bamboo raft-houses as in 
Siam. The floor is from four to six feet above the 
ground; in fact, in the jungle, houses may be found 
built upon the natural posts formed by the growing 
trees, the floor, which is reached by a ladder, being- 
fifteen, twenty, or even thirty feet from the ground. 
This is for protection from wild beasts, cases having 
been known of that formidable cat, the tiger, entering 
a hut and bearing its occupant away. 

The Malay who desires to have a comfortable 



162 "8I&ONQ" AND "KRI8." 

home literally builds two houses or huts one at the 
back of the other separately roofed, but with a way 
of communication to join them and form one shelter. 
The front house is the place for general reception ; 
while the back, which is shut off by a doorway and 
curtain, is the exclusive home of the women and 
children. Again, behind this, there is a kind of 
shed or lean-to, in which the ordinary domestic 
arrangements, such as cooking and preparing food, are 
carried on. 

The ground-floor, if it may be so called that is to 
say the space between the supporting posts is the 
general receptacle of all the dirt and refuse of the 
family ; and so wanting in sanitary arrangements, and 
so idle is the Malay peasant, that sooner than construct 
drains, or clear away this rubbish, he will allow it to 
lie and fester, so that it very frequently brings on 
ailments which a due attention to cleanliness would 
have warded off. 

Palm and bamboo are the chief village building 
materials, though in the Settlements good houses are 
constructed of bricks, for which there is plenty of ex- 
cellent clay, while lime made from the limestone coral 
that abounds is easily procurable. It is mostly pre- 
pared by the Chinese, who build up a kiln of alternate 
layers of coral and timber, and after the requisite 
burning, a ready sale is found. 

The uprights of a house and its sides having been 
constructed of bamboo or palm by the Malay of a 



HOUSE-BUILDING. 163 

campong, lie makes the flooring either of bamboo, 
or, what is preferable, the nibong palm, which can 
readily be split into laths. This flooring is elastic, and 
not unpleasant to bare feet ; and upon it the people, who 
sit upon the floor, are in the habit of spreading mats, 
which form their seats by day and beds by night. 
The sides of a house of the lower class are either made 
of the bark of trees or of split reeds ; but in the better- 
class houses the walls are of far more elaborate work, 
being sometimes composed of planks which are labo- 
riously cut from the serayah tree, though more often 
of a kind of mat which is in very general use. These 
mats are called kadpangs, and are made of the leaves 
of a kind of palm, carefully dried in the sun, and then 
literally stitched together with the universal rattan ; 
for the Malay is most apt in the way in which he 
utilises the abundant materials that nature has placed 
to his hand. 

Windows are not forgotten, and these are placed 
at a height suitable to the convenience of a gazer 
Seated upon the floor ; and in the better- class houses 
they are provided with a mat shutter, and a great 
deal of tasty work is visible in their framing. But, 
just as in our own land, there are very careless 
builders ; and in some of the poorer houses, the sup- 
ports being held together with rattans instead of nails, 
these former w^ork loose, and at last the whole house 
goes over bodily right out of the perpendicular. 

In such a case it might be supposed that, with 

M 2 



164 "SABONG" AND "KRIS." 

abundant materials in the jungle, the Malay would at 
once proceed to rebuild. He does nothing of the 
kind ; but evidently content with feeling that the slip 
has tightened the rattan lashings of his home, he ac- 
commodates himself to the new circumstances, and to 
the want of the horizontal in his dwelling, and goes on 
perfectly happy in the feeling that he is after all not 
called upon to take the trouble to rebuild his hut. In 
fact, there seems to be a belief that it is unlucky to 
pull down the old dilapidated dwelling, which stands 
till it falls ; and the Malay strongly reminds one, in 
his home arrangements, of the Irish cotter, who could 
not get at the roof of his house to mend it when 
it was wet, while when it was dry it did not need 
repair. 

The universal roofing of a Perak house is at tap 
stretched over bamboo rafters and ridge-poles. This 
attap is the dried leaf of the nipah-palm, doubled over 
a small stick of bamboo or nibong. The pieces of 
attap for roofing are generally about four feet in 
length, and are bound on to the rafters with rattans'; 
series overlapping series, and forming a splendid rain- 
proof thatch. Like all thatches, however, the attap 
will show tender places in time ; when the Malays, 
instead of re-covering the whole roof, ingeniously in- 
troduce new leaves in the bad spots ; for when driven 
to take measures, they are adepts at saving themselves 
trouble. Where extra protection seems to be needed, 
it is not uncommon for palm-leaves to be laid along 



CHINESE AND CONVICT LABOUR. 165 

the ridge of a roof over the pole, the leaflets being 
tightly plaited in and out ; these efforts to obtain a 
waterproof roof being very necessary in a land where 
at times the rains are exceedingly heavy. 

The attap makes a very cool and pleasant roofing 
material, and is used extensively by the Europeans of 
the Settlements, in place of slates or tiles for their 
dwellings ; the former having to be brought from 
England at great cost and risk of breakage, while the 
latter are not easily procurable of good quality ; those 
of Malacca however are the best. The objections to 
the attap-thatch are its inflammability and want of 
lasting qualities, since it has to be renewed every 
three o r f ur 7 ears - It i g st ill however used over 
the European barracks, and for the roofs of many of 
the residences in the Settlements. 

The best European residence in Perak is one that 
was built by the Assistant-resident in Laroot a 
house to which allusion was made as overlooking the 
tin mines of Thai-peng. In this case adze-squared 
timber was used ; some portions of the verandah, 
rails, doors, and flooring, being actually planed a 
wonderful novelty in Perak ; while greater novelty 
still some of the timbers were painted ; but a great 
part of this was done by means of Chinese labour, 
which is far more costly and finished than that of 
the Malay. 

At the same time, it must be granted, that the 
Malays are very ingenious in the construction of their 



166 "SARONG" AND "KR-I8." 

houses, a great part of the work being clone with a tool 
which they call a biliong. It is made of iron, and is 
so constructed that it can be shifted in its rattan 
socket, and becomes either adze or hatchet at the 
workman's pleasure. Still, for any particular or neat 
joiners' work, the Europeans are mostly dependent on 
the Chinese, who have erected nearly all the handsome 
dwellings in the British Settlements north and south 
of Perak ; though a large share of praise is due to the 
admirable application of convict labour. These con- 
victs, mostly from India, were employed generally in 
the construction of our roads, and in building the 
Government House, that handsome structure the 
cathedral at Singapore, and other public buildings 
both at Penang and Malacca ; but transportation to 
the Straits Settlements has ceased for many years, 
and India now sends her convicts to the Andaman 
Islands. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

House-building Inche Maida Campongs Picking the Cocoa-nut 
Preparations Poultry Sambals. 

THE Malay, when put to the test, and compelled by 
necessity to work for his own benefit, is by no 
means slow in protecting himse]f from the elements. 
After a weary heating walk through the jungle, and 
securing his return journey by blazing or marking 
the trees with his parang, he does not think of lying 
down upon the ground to rest, but rapidly fits up a 
few posts, and a floor upon them, a yard above the 
level, places a palm-leaf roof over the structure, and 
then protects his loins from the wind as he lies down, 
by means of a few palm-leaves. 

But it is in the building of a chiefs house that 
the best efforts are put forth ; and very picturesque 
are some of the efforts in this way, with their neat 
thatching, matted windows, and elegantly-woven 
sides, gracefully shadowed by the beautiful growth 
of palms ; though there are irreverent Englishmen 
found ready to make comparisons between these 
jungle palaces and the barns of their native land. 



168 "82BONG" AND "KRIS." 

A house of this kind will be decorated by the 
sides being formed of matting composed of split reeds, 
woven into a neat check pattern, red and white ; 
while other parts are of strips of bamboo neatly 
interlaced. An elegant lattice- work is often intro- 
duced with admirable effect, and various little efforts 
are made to embellish a building that is thoroughly 
in keeping with the jungle scene. Such a place will 
be protected by surrounding it with a stout fence of 
split bamboo ; the best example of this being at the 
home of the Muntri of Laroot, at Bukit Gantang, 
which is perhaps one of the best-built places in Perak. 
At times these fences, are so strong that they will 
throw off a musket-ball ; and those not acquainted 
with the country, who have come across these pagars, 
as they are called, have taken them for the stockades 
used by the Malays in time of war. Sometimes these 
fences are merely placed round the base of a house 
itself, thus enclosing the open part between the posts 
through which an enemy could otherwise make his 
way. A necessary precaution ; for it is said that 
at times, where revenge is sought, a Malay will wait 
till his enemy is at rest, and then, having obtained a 
knowledge of where he sleeps, will go beneath the 
house and pass his kris between the palm-strip floor- 
ing into the recumbent body the mat which forms 
the unfortunate person's only bed being no protection 
against the keenly-pointed blade. 

The residence of the Princess of Perak at Qualla 



INCHE MAZDA'S HOUSE. 169 

Kungsa gives as will be seen in the illustration, 
from a photograph taken by the author during the 
Governor's progress a very full idea of a Malay 
noble's residence. The house to the left is really 
the kitchen, while that on the right is, as far as its 
principal apartment is concerned, fitted up with a bed 
which occupies about two-thirds of the room, greatly 
resembling in the matter of size the Bed of Ware. 
This house, with the whole of the campong adjoining, 
was placed by Inche Maida at the disposal of the 
British during the disturbances, and formed the head- 
quarters of the general commanding and the com- 
missioner with the contingent of troops from India. 

Inche Maida's principal apartment boasted little 
furniture ; but the bed possessed a coverlid of red 
calico with an ornamental border, and curtains meant 
as a protection from the mosquitoes, but of a texture 
stout enough to set at naught the attack of a swarm 
of locusts. Down the centre extended a long pillow, 
or "Dutch wife," ornamented at either end with 
gold brocade embroidery, the work of the princess's 
own fingers ; while round pillows similarly worked 
finished off the head of the bed. Upon the intro- 
duction taking place between general and princess, 
the lady claimed the former as her guest, and with all 
the pride of an English country dame of the last 
century over her well-filled ticks, drew his attention 
to the bed, which had been, she said, prepared regard- 
less of expense ; but the general was so simple in his 



170 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

tastes that he preferred to make his resting-place of a 
camp-cot. 

There are Malay chiefs though, who, having been 
more in contact with European civilisation, follow our 
example not only in dress but in the construction of 
their dwellings. One instance of this is found in 
Eajah Bot, ruler of Lookoot in the Soonghy Ujong 
territory near Malacca, who has supplied himself with 
a house precisely similar to that which would be built 
by a European ; while ascending higher in the scale 
of improvement we have the palace of the ruler of 
Johore, at Johore Bahru or New Johore, which has 
been built somewhat on the model of our own 
Government House at Singapore, the Balei or Hall 
of Audience being' altogether unique in its exquisite 
taste and elegance. Lookoot and Johore have, how- 
ever, been for many years on the borders of European 
civilisation. Going north though, we have the Eajah 
of Quedah making similar advances ; the impulse 
being doubtless given by our settlements in Penang 
and Province "Wellesley. This latter chief has gone 
so far as to have the grounds about his palace taste- 
fully laid out with gravelled paths, flower-beds, 
shrubberies, fish-ponds, and various other adjuncts 
of a wealthy person's garden at home. 

In such a house as that of the Princess of Perak 
the bedding is formed only of mats ; one of these and 
the sarong for cover being all that a Malay in this hot 
climate seems to need. The apartments are divided 



CAMPONG HOUSES. 171 

by curtains, and a tasty effect is produced by the use 
of hangings of dimity or chintz upon the walls ; the 
ceilings of rough thatch and bamboo being covered 
with the same material of various patterns. But the 
Malay ladies, as in the case of Inche Maida and her 
coverlid and pillows, are very clever in embroidering 
on frames, producing very pretty effects with silk and 
gold threads or tinsel, which they are fond of working 
in patterns on red and white cloth. 

The various objects that take attention about the 
poorer houses of a canipong are very interesting. On 
approaching a hut, with its ladder-like flight of steps 
to the door, close by will be seen the small enclosed 
shed or granary, with sides of bark, in which the 
Malay stores his rice for the family during the season. 
Inside the hut, and swinging from a rafter of the 
ceiling, is that universal adjunct to a married home 
the cradle, with its little dusky occupant fast asleep. 
A couple of children of larger growth, nude save the 
chintz bib hanging from their necks, have taken a 
peep at the strangers and bounded away ; or probably 
the mother has been encountered carrying one, 
walking with a firm, elastic swing, with the child 
sitting astride upon one of her shoulders. These 
brown -skinned little fellows are not without edu- 
cation ; for where there are native schools, antiquity 
asserts itself, and they are seen, as we have read of 
them in the old geographical works dealing with 
Arabia, seated upon the floor before boards covered 



172 "8IMONG" AND "KRIS." 

with sand, upon which they are taught to trace the 
Arabic characters with the points of their fingers. 
The way up to the house has been along a narrow 
track, for the Malays never walk abreast, but always 
in single file, and so silent is the place that but for 
the tops of the huts it might be imagined that no 
trace of habitation was near. 

About the houses the tamed pets of the Malays 
may be noticed doves, minahs, or parrots, with 
occasionally a monkey ; but as a rule the huts alone 
are seen, the natives avoiding the sight of a stranger, 
more often than not from fear. Very frequently, 
however, an offering in the way of hospitality is laid 
where the stranger can find it, this being a cocoa-nut 
fresh and green; though where the people are not so shy, 
the fruit is fetched for the traveller by one of the Malays, 
who, if he be unprovided with one of the monkeys 
to screw off the stalk, will himself take a band, make of 
it a sling which embraces the tree and his body, and 
then proceed to climb one of his fruit-trees for the 
refreshing nut. This he does by hanging back against 
the sling and pressing his feet against the leaf knots 
in the bark, shifting his band and his feet alternately, 
and gaining about twenty inches at a time as he 
ascends ; of course grasping the tree stem tightly with 
his hands the while, till he reaches the crown of great 
leaves, when, selecting a suitable nut, it is lopped 
off by a blow from his parang or knife, and falls to 
the ground. 



COCOA-NUT PREPARATIONS. 173 

At times, however, the Malay cuts little steps for 
his toes in the sides of the trees, and climbs them in 
this manner. When this fresh green cocoa-nut is 
opened for the visitor with the parang, its contents 
are not the hard white nut to which we are accustomed, 
but a grateful sub-acid water, very refreshing after a 
journey through the forest. 

This cocoa-nut is one of the most valuable of the 
Malay's home fruits, and it is used at different periods 
on its journey to ripeness. At one time it is soft and 
white inside, and can be eaten with a spoon ; while 
when the nut grows hard it is either boiled for its oil 
or rasped and steeped, and its milky juice used in a 
variety of ways for cooking. 

The common people have two ways of performing 
this rasping process, not being at all deficient in 
culinary utensils. One way is to pass the nut rapidly 
over an iron implement, shaped like a military spur, 
the other is by rubbing on a sort of coarse wire brush, 
whose bristles are short pieces of wire stuck in a small 
neatly-formed board. 

This rasped cocoa-nut enters largely into their food 
preparations, and is particularly palatable, especially 
in curries, which can never be tasted in perfection 
except in the east, on account of the absence of fresh 
cocoa-nuts and other ingredients. 

Mutton is generally unknown, but beef, in the 
form of buffalo flesh, is much in favour with the Malays, 
who use it when on journeys, after cutting it in strips, 



174 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

which are dried in the sun ; the intense heat acting 
upon the meat too rapidly to allow of decomposition 
taking place, and prepared in this way it is very 
tender and good. Fish is of course largely eaten, for 
a Malay never loses an opportunity of catching those 
of river and sea ; but he would think it a sin to cut 
or crimp it w r hen alive, and carefully puts it to death 
before it is prepared for food. Salt fish is largely 
consumed, and brought from long distances into the 
interior, with large quantities of sun-made salt. 

The Malay has a very good appreciation of 
poultry, both for his amusement and eating ; hence 
the familiar crow of the cock is often heard about 
the campongs. These people are even discriminating 
in their choice of them for food, but choose those 
which would be rejected by every good English 
housewife, who is particular to pick out clean, white- 
legged Dorkings, while the Malay epicure prefers his 
poultry with black joints, considering them far better 
and more tender. 

It may be interesting to the reader to have the 
description of Malay mixtures or sambals for eating 
with curry, as it will doubtless seem more appetising 
than the blachang or fish condiment, already described 
as being composed of putrescent shrimps mashed up 
in the sun. For the mixtures to eat with his curry, 
which is always of a very simple kind, the Malay 
takes dried prawns, cut cucumber sliced in cocoa-nut 
milk, chillies ground up into a pulp, yam carefully 



SAHBALS. 175 



cooked and chopped small, the balimbing fruit cut 
into pieces, mangoes occasionally, chutnies of various 
kinds, and green ginger shredded small with vinegar. 
These mixtures are served up on saucers, and eaten with 
the curr y, as we English at home eat pickles, and salad 
from those handy gibbous- moon plates which are seen 
at some highly- civilised tables. And it is not only 
amongst the Malays that this custom obtains, for the 
Chinese and Japanese have trays especially designed 
for their sambals or sweetmeats. These trays are 
circular, and have the appearance of a large Pope Joan 
board, only that the divisions are saucers to contain 
the mixtures. 

In India the curries themselves are made hot with 
chillies, but the Malay makes his curry of very simple 
materials, with a great deal of cocoa-nut milk therein. 
Very often the dish is entirely vegetable, and the hot 
spices are mixed in the sambal or condiment which 
is eaten therewith. Taking it for granted that the 
native knows best what is suited for the digestion in 
his climate, this custom is freely followed by the 
European residents, who add the curry mixture to 
their breakfast and dinner as a rule. 

But it is with their staple food rice that the 
Malays, whose right hands are cunning in culinary 
preparations, contrive their greatest variety of 
dishes. It is eaten dry or parched ; plain boiled, after 
being washed by these particular people in six or 
seven different waters ; made into cakes with scraped 



176 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

cocoa-nut and sugar, and then neatly arranged in a 
scrap of cocoa-nut leaf, which is pinned together with 
one of the native pins that is to say, a tiny skewer 
of bamboo. Plantain-leaves too are great favourites 
for food purposes, and are often used as dishes from 
which the native eats his rice ; and it is needless 
to say that such nature-supplied dishes are never 
washed, but renewed from the garden for the mor- 
row's meal ; while should a convenient fire for cooking 
be required, nature has supplied a stove and fuel 
ready to hand, which will go on burning at a 
powerful red heat for many days. This unpatented 
stove is the mound of the white ant, which contains 
in itself all the necessaries for this sustained com- 
bustion, supplying a want and at the same time 
getting rid of a noxious pest ; as an antidote to 
which the Malays use one kind of wood-oil, or 
this product in combination with arsenic and sugar 
of lead. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Food Tobacco Opium-smoking Betel-chewing Toddy Arak 
Domestic implements Dammar Metal work Gold filigree. 

A PEOPLE who are fond of condiments to flavour 
their simple preparations of rice, and who are enor- 
mous eaters of fruit, may very naturally be supposed 
to have a taste for sweets, and this is the case. One 
of their favourite dishes is a sort of syllabub, com- 
posed of sago, which the palm yields them in abun- 
dance, boiled down with sugar, and covered with 
cocoa-nut milk. This is known as booboor. These 
are but a few of the culinary preparations of the 
Malay, who has in addition his sugar-cane, of which 
he is inordinately fond eating it largely raw, and 
taking lengths of it, to peel off the silicious skin, 
and then cut it in convenient pieces for chewing ; 
maize, and the rice, and abundant fruits and vege- 
tables onions among the latter being great favourites ; 
while by way of luxury the use of tobacco is not at all 
uncommon. 

N 



178 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

As a rule the Malay prefers Javanese tobacco, but 
failing this he uses his own coarse preparation of the 
leaf, grown in his own patch of garden, with very little 
trouble. He makes no hubble-bubble pipe as a rule- 
though these are occasionally constructed out of the 
native tin but contents himself with one rapidly 
extemporised out of a cutting of bamboo for bowl, and a 
shoot of the same for stem. More frequently, however, 
he goes to nature in her simplest form to aid him in 
what some people would call his very bad habit. 
Turning to his universal friend, the palm, he obtains 
from it a supply of cigarette papers ; in other words, 
he takes the roko, or outer sheath of the palm-leaf, or 
else the thin sheath of the plantain, or pisang, rolls in 
it a little tobacco, forming rather a large cigarette, and 
smokes in peace. In fact, in no part of the world has 
nature furnished man with so many means to his hand 
for supplying his simple wants ; and even when these 
simple wants grow into those of a more luxurious kind, 
the forest still seems to provide a never-failing store, 
only asking to be sought for by those who need. 

For opium - smoking the Malay is doubtless 
indebted to the nations farther east. It is not greatly 
practised by the poorer Malays, but it is a luxury too 
frequently indulged in by the chiefs, to the great 
detriment of their health and mental vigour. This, 
of course, is from the excess of use ; for there are 
authorities of great experience who tell of the practice 
of smoking opium being carried on to an extreme old 



OPIUM-SMOKING. 179 



age without deleterious effects. There is no doubt, 
however, that when a man becomes a slave to the 
habit, decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a miserable 
early death result. The Chinaman is the greatest 
consumer of the drug in the peninsula, and in the 
Settlements either smokes at home, or goes to one or 
other of the opium-houses. 

The process of smoking opium has often been 
described perhaps never more vigorously than by the 
late Mr. Charles Dickens but it is so peculiar a prac- 
tice that it may bear repetition. The opium as used 
by the smoker has been purified from the coarse, 
heavy, dank-smelling gum of commerce, roughly pre- 
pared from the poppies grown for the purpose, and 
when ready resembles thick treacle in consistency. 
This is placed ready to the chiefs hand, and he then 
reclines upon his mat and takes his opium-pipe, which 
is generally of thin cane, with a metallic bowl. A 
tray with a lamp and a little fork form part of the 
paraphernalia. Upon this fork a little bit of opium 
is twisted up and applied to the pipe, which in turn 
is held to the flame of the lamp, and the little point 
or fork is used to keep up the supply of opium, clear 
the pipe, and generally, so to speak, stoke or poke the 
tiny fire, so that it receives a sufficient supply of 
oxygen. This kind of smoking is quite a serious 
matter, and takes as much time as a Turkish bath, the 
smoker having to sink into a state of lethargy, enjoy 
his dreams, and lie passive till he wakes. In fact, it 

N 2 



180 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

is a kind of intoxication, during which he who 

' O 

indulges sinks into a state that should only be allow- 
able to calm the anguish of a terrible disease. Then 
it would be a valuable medical aid, but as an indul- 
gence, it is degrading to mankind, and sensual in the 
extreme. 

The habit of betel-chewing is not much to be com- 
mended, but it is universal, and seems not to be injurious 
to those who practise it. In fact, betel-chewing is so 
national a custom with the Malay that he will actually 
reckon time by the space occupied in the consumption 
of a "quid ;" the term is vulgar, but too appropriate 
not to be used. For instance, a Malay visits you on 
business, and sitting down he will not commence the 
object of his mission until such a time has elapsed as 
he considers that the chewing of his betel should take. 
During this interval he is most probably squatted 
upon his heels, looking remarkably absurd, with his 
mouth distended, his eyes half-closed, unable almost 
to speak save in monosyllables or grunts. There are 
exceptions, however, many Malays holding the betel 
between the upper lip and teeth, and conversing pretty 
freely. 

Both sexes indulge in this habit, which is com- 
menced at a very early age ; and extends from the 
lowest, who carry their supply in a bag, to the Sultan; 
in whose regalia there are a certain number of betel- 
boxes, some of the choicest make. Its use, to quote 
the quaint saying, is probably "as old as the hills." 



THE BETEL. 181 



In looking back into ancient chronicles, it is found 
that according to Salmasius, even in the first century, 
betel formed an article of commerce, and was sent 
from the Golden Chersonese for lovers of the drug in 
Arabia and Persia, and that as a compound it was 
sold in the markets of those countries under the name 
given to it by the Greeks of Mala-bathron batJiron 
being the name for the betel, or areca palm, or the 
betel of Mala or Ta-Mala. No doubt it was known 
to the Arabs long before this period, and it is worthy 
of note that the Arabic name Tambal has some 
resemblance to Ta-Mala. In fact, as the ingredients 
of the mixture as used have always been produced in 
the Malay peninsula in the highest perfection, and the 
habit of chewing it is more prevalent there than 
probably among any people on the face of the globe, 
it may not be unreasonable to draw from the above a 
further proof of the extremely early acquaintance of 
the nations of the more Western lands with the Ta- 
Mala, Tanah Malai, or Land of the Malays, which has 
previously been suggested as the notable Ophir of 
Solomon. 

This betel is a curious mixture, being composed of 
several ingredients, according to the taste or quality 
of the person using it. Generally, however, it 
*is the leaves of the sirih, a creeping plant, that is 
trained up a stick, and much cultivated in gardens. 
It is probably one of the pepper family ; and its leaves 
are gathered, tied in little bundles of fifteen or twenty, 



182 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

and sold at the bazaars or little shops of the 
villages. The second component is the nut of the 
areca-palm, or betel-nut, which grows in clusters on 
the tree, and somewhat resembles a nutmeg, with a 
yellowish fibrous coating. These nuts are also sold by 
the dealers ; and for the convenience of the purchaser a 
quaint-looking instrument, like a combination of nut- 
crackers and scissors, is kept at hand, to enable the 
chewer to break up the nut into small pieces. Next, 
there is a fine kind of lime, formed by burning sea- 
shells, and kept like a paste in a brass box about the 
size of that used for tooth-powder at home, while the 
more luxurious use gambler, sold in strips or cakes of 
a gum somewhat like jujube this to give astringencv 
and a clove which, by the way, is an expensive 
luxury in these parts. 

The betel-chewer, thus provided, takes a sirih leaf 
from his bag, smears a little lime upon it from his 
box, places a scrap of areca-nut upon the lime, rolls 
and folds the leaf up into a neat little packet, and 
transfers it to his mouth, where after a little masti- 
cation the saliva begins to assume a vermilion hue, 
and the custom for w T hich our sailors have become 
famous is in full force. Where, however, it is a rajah 
who is chewing betel, he uses a spittoon, frequently 
shaped like a handsome chalice, and of pure gold. 
In such a case the chief has a regular tray before him, 
bearing the spittoon and lime-box, and another for 
betel, full of compartments containing spices as well^ 



BETEL-CHEWING. 183 

His wives, stationed behind him, are employed beat- 
ing up the components, to save trouble in mastication ; 
and, using a curiously-elongated pestle and mortar of 
brass, they beat nut, leaf, and gum into a red paste, 
which is presented to the rajah on a bright copper 
spatula, which he draws across his tongue, chews, and 
is supremely happy. 

This brass pestle and mortar are also used by old 
people whose dentition has become imperfect or worn 
out. The flavour of the betel-nut, if tested by a 
European, is very pungent, aromatic, and astringent ; 
and one essay is generally sufficient to decide the 
experimentalist that betel-chewing is not a practice or 
vice that it is worth while to contract, even though it 
is sedative, and probably intoxicating to a certain 
extent. The effect is to stain the teeth of a dark red, 
in some cases almost black, and seen in a young girl 
this is to a European anything but pleasant ; but the 
Malays believe it to be a great addition to a person's 
appearance. They consider it to be a sign of refine- 
ment, and say that it is only monkeys and other 
animals who should glory in the possession of white 
teeth a saying by no means complimentary to the 
European residents of the place. This betel-chewing 
seems however to possess one good quality namely, 
that of preserving the teeth ; for that racking pain of 
civilised life, the toothache, is rarely heard of in Perak 
or the neighbouring states. 

The following quaint description of betel-chewing 



184 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

amongst the neighbours of the Malays of Perak, the 
Siamese, though bearing somewhat the nature of a 
repetition, is worthy of notice from showing how 
thoroughly similar was the custom in the past to 
that of the present day. The account was written 
by De la Loubere, the French envoy, nearly two 
hundred years ago. 

The Areca, which the Siaineses do call Plou, is a kind of great 
acorn, which yet wants that wooden cup wherein our acorn grows. 
When this fruit is yet tender, it has at the center or heart a 
greyish substance, which is as soft as pap. As it drys it waxes 
yellower and harder, and the soft substance it has at the heart 
grows hard too. It is always very bitter and savory. After 
having cut it into four parts with a knife, they take a piece every 
time and chew it with a leaf resembling ivy, called Betel by the 
Europeans which are at the Indies, and Mak by the Siameses. They 
wrap it up to put it the more easily into the mouth, and do put on 
each a small quantity of lime made of cockle-shells, and redded 
by I know not what art. For this reason the Indians do always 
carry this sort of lime in a very little china dish, for they put so 
little on every leaf that they consume not much in a day, altho' 
they incessantly make use of the Areca and the Betel. The Areca 
whilst tender wholly consumes in the mouth, but the dry always 
leaves some remains. 

The sensible effect of this acorn and this leaf is to excite much 
spitting, if they care not to swallow the juice ; but it is good to 
spit out the two or three first mouthfuls at least, to avoid swallow- 
ing the lime. The other less sensible effects, but which are not 
doubted in the Indies, are to carry from the gums, perhaps by 
reason of the lime, whatever may prejudice them ; and to f ortifie 
the stomach, either by reason of the juice, that is swallowed at 
pleasure, and which may have this quality, or by reason of the 
superfluous moistures which they discharge by spitting. Thus have 
I never found any person at Siam with a stinking breath, which 
may be an effect of their natural sobriety. ]S"ow as the Areca 



TODDY. 185 



and Bdcl do cause a red spittle independently on the red lime 
which is niix'd therewith, so they leave a vermilion tincture on the 
lips and teeth. It passes over the lips, but by little and little it 
thickens on the teeth till they become black ; so that persons that 
delight in neatness do blacken their teeth, by reason that otherwise 
the spittle of the Areca and Betel, mix'd with the natural white- 
ness of the teeth, causes an unpleasant effect, which is remarked in 
the common people. I shall transiently declare that the vermilion 
lips, which the Siameses saw in the pictures of our ladies which we 
had carried to this country, made them to say that we must needs 
have in France better Betel than theirs. To blacken their teeth 
they do thereon put some pieces of very sowre lemon, which they 
hold on their jaws or lips for an hour or more. They report that 
this softens the teeth a little. They afterwards rub them with a 
juice, which proceeds either from a certain root or from the Coco 
when they are burnt, and so the operation is performed. 

Betel-chewing, combined with the ordinances of 
Mahomet, probably accounts for the fact that the 
Malays are not much given to drinking to excess. 
There are, however, intoxicating drinks in the country, 
one of which, known as samshoo, is prepared by 
fermenting rice, and is chiefly used by the Chinese 
settlers, the native having ready to his hand the toddy 
of the palm. This is obtained by simply climbing 
the tree and tapping it in a particular place, just 
among the great fresh leaves, when the sap or juice 
exudes, and runs pretty copiously into the little 
earthen jars which the Malay ties beneath. When 
the juice first runs from the tree it is sweet and 
perfectly innocent as a beverage, but if left a short 
time, the heat of the sun produces fermentation, and 
an intoxicating drink is the result. 



186 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Arak, as it is called, is an intoxicating spirit 
evidently produced by distillation, which is, however, 
practised to a very small extent in Perak, though the 
Malays know the still, or alembic, whose use they 
were probably taught by the Arabs. They call it 
kukusan, from a word which signifies smoke or steam. 
That distillation is not more practised is explained by 
the ease with which fermented liquor can be obtained, 
nature's process with the palm-juice being thoroughly 
appreciated by one who looks upon matters requiring 
effort as soosa trouble. 

Domestic implements are not very abundant in 
Perak, but the people seem to have all their simple 
wants demand. The popular plate or dish has already 
been mentioned as growing on the palm-tree, some of 
whose leaves make a covering to be envied, being a 
spear-blade ten feet long by as much as four feet in 
its greatest width. To the palm, or pisang, they go for 
leaves for wrappers ; palm-sheaths form cases instead 
of paper for parcels, or they are cleverly skewered 
together with splints of bamboo, and become buckets 
that will hold water ; or better still, a thick bamboo ? 
three or four feet long, is a very convenient water 
vessel, and is often seen standing up against a hut. 
Buckets are also made from the outer bark or skin of 
the plantain, across which a stick is tied, and a rope 
attached for drawing up water from the river for 
drinking or bathing purposes ; for the natives do not 
as a rule dig wells, and it is a matter of custom 



DAMMAR. 187 



to wash the feet after a journey before entering a 
house. 

Iron vessels are not plentiful, but many families 
have a kind of pan which they use in their cooking, 
while the half shell of a cocoa-nut, with a stick passed 
through two holes near the edge, forms a capital ladle. 
The cleverness of the women at embroidery has been 
mentioned ; they are also adepts at netting, while the 
men can scheme a basket or cage out of a few rattans 
and a bit or two of bamboo in a very short time. In 
this way they will twist together a cage big enough to 
carry a wild cat, monkey, or the largest bird, and all 
made and tied with freshly-gathered rattans. 

If the Malay requires a light for his house he 
has but to procure a cymba shell, laying in it a wiok 
formed of fibrous wood or pith, filling the shell with oil 
from cocoa-nut or palm, and he has a lamp of antique 
pattern and graceful shape. If, on the contrary, the 
light is to illumine the way through the jungle, or to 
keep off troublesome beasts, a rough torch is readily 
made of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree tied together; 
but the better kind are formed of a resinous product 
known as dammar. This is placed between palm 
leaves, and burns fiercely with a capital light ; while 
for temporary purposes an extempore cresset is often 
made by fixing an entire cocoa-nut husk on the top of 
a bamboo pole, and filling the opening with dammar. 

This dammar, which is the general Malayan name 
for resin, is dug out of the forests by the Malays, and 



188 " SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

seems to be the fossilised juices of former growths of 
the jungle, probably palms, and is of infinite value to 
a people who use no coal. A peculiar kind of this 
resin has been lately discovered in Borneo. It is 
opaque-white, but where broken freshly the fracture is 
of a beautiful translucent blue, but soon grows opaque 
on being exposed to the air. Like the dammar of the 
Malay, it burns very readily, and is the more remark- 
able from being the fossil production of a land where 
the coniferse or pine family are almost unknown. This 
curious production, which might almost be looked 
upon as a white amber, is now undergoing tests in 
the laboratory of the School of Mines, Jermyn Street ; 
but at the period of writing this work, has not yet 
been pronounced upon by the chemist who is investi- 
gating its qualities. 

Not only are mats woven for the sides of their 
houses, but very fine ones are often made for orna- 
mental purposes. Though not especially tidy about their 
dwellings, the Malay nations have that most domestic 
of utensils, a broom, which is made from the midribs 
of cocoa-nut leaves tied to a bamboo handle ; while 
among other articles will be found bamboo baskets, 
and, if the people are very fortunate, a china basin 
and a spoon. At a rajah's house it is no unusual 
thing to find a complete tea-set, of which the owner is 
very proud, but invariably follows the Chinese fashion 
of preferring an earthenware teapot to one of other 
material. 



GOLD FILIGREE. 189 



Metal finds its way, though, into some of the 
domestic utensils, the metal generally being the 
native tin, of which they construct ewers and water- 
bottles. As to gold, the work of some of the better 
articles is very beautiful, notably the gold and silver 
flowers presented as tribute to the King of Siam. 
These are some eighteen inches high, and exquisitely 
worked in filigree. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Chinese tallymen Debt-slavery Slave-hunting Punishments- 
British influences Difficulties of Eesidents. 



ALLUSION has been made before to the similarity of 
habit amongst peoples in far-distant parts of the world. 
In any county court in our agricultural districts the 
judge's pest is the ever-recurring case of the tallyman, 
who summons ten or even twenty labourers for small 
debts, caused by their wives running up accounts with 
these travelling drapers and tea-men in their absence. 
Precisely similar cases take place in Perak, where, 
however, there are neither tallymen nor county 
courts. But the place of the former is taken by the 
ubiquitous Chinaman, who, in the most adventurous 
manner, goes off into the interior with his wares, 
consisting principally of calicoes, chintzes, and sarongs, 
borne upon the ends of a bamboo, while in one hand 
he carries a rattle-drum to announce his coming ; this 
latter being a tiny instrument formed out of three or 
four inches of hollow bamboo, covered at the ends 
with python skin, and pierced through the centre 



CHINESE TALLYMEN. 191 

with a stick which, serves as a handle. The percussion 
is caused by means of a pea at the end of a string 
attached to the middle of the bamboo, which the China- 
man twists rapidly backwards and forwards by means 
of the handle as he enters a campong, when the pea 
strikes first one and then the other end of the drum. 

This signal has its effect upon the Malay women, 
whose husbands are away at work in the fields, and 
the pedlar's visit is welcomed as readily as that of 
his prototype in England. Then comes the taking 
of credit followed by the day of reckoning, when 
furious quarrels arise ; the husband not unfrequently 
resenting the demand for payment with his kris, to 
the serious injury of the heathen pedlar, who is 
sometimes murdered in the up country, for the sake 
of the money he has collected in his adventurous 
rounds. 

These sarongs, by the way, are always presenting 
themselves under fresh auspices : one of the most 
peculiar uses to which they are put is that of slinging 
one upon a bamboo, after placing therein the body of 
an injured or slain man, and the bamboo being lifted 
on the shoulders of a couple of Malays, the sufferer is 
borne away in this extemporised litter with ease. 

Debt is a serious thing in a land like Perak, where 
bankruptcy is not exactly paid for with a pound of 
flesh, as in the days of Shylock, but with the whole 
nine or ten stone which form the bankrupt's body, 
and this too often becomes the creditor's property 



192 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

for life, the unfortunate debtor's wife and children 
succeeding to the bondage in their turn. 

The Bugis may sell himself to another Bugis, 
if he is indebted to him, and he can at any time 
redeem himself if he can raise the purchase-money ; 
but this is not the case with the Malay, who becomes 
a slave indeed, and has no way out of his state of 
bondage. If a debt cannot be paid, the Malay is 
handed over at once ; and failing himself, his child 
or some other relative has to take the place, though 
exceptions are made by which the security of the debt 
depends on the life of the person alone. 

The debtor lives with the family of his creditor, to 
whose benefit the work done is applied, and even 
Chinese in the Settlements obtain the labour of their 
debtors in this way. In fact, the strict manner of 
defraying debts is a remarkable trait in the customs or 
the Malays, who are very punctilious in paying their 
dues. Damage done by cattle or elephants is appraised 
and paid for, their code of laws containing forfeits for 
these matters ; while, if the damage be nocturnal, and 
arising from neglect in confining buffaloes, the penalty 
is particularly severe. 

This custom of debt-slavery exists to a great 
extent, and seems, says Mr. Davidson, her Majesty's 
Resident at Salangore, " to have arisen from the 
abuse of an old practice in Malay countries. It is 
contrary to the Mahomedan religion for a person 
born in a Mahomedan country, and brought up in 



SLAVE-HUNTING. 193 

that faith, to be a slave, though the reduction to 
slavery of the Battak people, and those who do not 
profess the Mahomedaii faith, seems nowhere pro- 
hibited by the laws of that faith." 

Kevolting as slavery is to the feelings of an 
Englishman, and eminently un-Christian as it is, we 
must remember that it is a peculiar soil in which it 
has grown, and not deal with it from our own vantage- 
ground ; for the slavery of Perak is an institution of 
the country. That it is a custom at times terribly 
abused there can be no doubt ; but, on the w r hole, the 
regime under which the slave lives is mild and not 
disadvantageous. Among the evils of slavery, the 
power of the Sultan or chiefs to seize upon the person 
of any one to whom they take a fancy, will be treated 
of in a future chapter, in connection with the Govern- 
ment of the country. There are, however, other evils, 
which it is to be hoped have been greatly exaggerated 
by those who narrate the matters as facts. For 
instance, it is asserted that the Sakais, or Jacoons, are 
literally hunted down, captured, sold, and made slaves; 
and the late Mr. Birch states that from his experience 
these people were far worse treated than others of their 
class ; since they were badly clothed and fed, and made 
to work excessively hard ; while they were considered 
as debt-slaves on account of the money that had been 
expended upon them. It might be considered that 
these people, accustomed to a wild life, would readily 
escape to the woods ; but they have little chance of 



194 "8ABQNQ" AND "KRIS." 

getting away, and the penalties are too heavy, the 
least being severe ill-usage, perhaps death ; for if a 
Malay killed one of these slaves, it would excite no 
attention amongst the owner's people. 

Instances of this slave-hunting are not at all 
uncommon, as recorded by the various Eesidents ; 
one of whom specially notifies Perak as the scene 
of these outrages. The Sakai women seem to have 
been frequently hunted down like wild beasts, 
becoming with their children slaves through gene- 
ration after generation. Not that this practice is 
approved of by the Malays, who speak very strongly 
in reprehension of the cruel act ; and in one case 
that is recorded, where fourteen of the wild people 
were caught and carried off in chains, attempts were 
made to discover the offenders and set the Sakais 
free though doubtless this was on the action taken 
by the British Eesident. 

Instances are given of death being inflicted for 
these attempts at flight, and even for far more 
trivial offences ; whilst one, special in its atrocity, 
is reported from Salangore. In this case three debt- 
slaves, two girls and a boy, all under twenty years of 
age, fled from their master, and took refuge at a place 
some two miles down the river. They were, however, 
caught, brought back, and the boy was at once taken 
to a field and put to death by a thrust from a kris. 
As, however, it was not the custom to kris or stab 
girls, these two poor creatures were told by the Kajah's 



SLAVE PUNISHMENT. 195 

wife that she was going to bathe, and they were 
ordered to accompany her to the river. This was 
only a short distance from the house ; and upon 
their reaching a log lying in the water, one girl was 
seized and held, while a follower of the Eajah's wife 
caught the other by the hair, thrust her into the 
water, and held her head down beneath the surface 
with his foot until she was dead. The other was 
then seized in the same manner and drowned ; the 
poor girls' bodies being afterwards left upon the muddy 
river's bank, exposed to the attacks of the alligators, 
until such time as the relations might come and 
remove them. These were slaves of the Sultan of 
JSalangore, and were killed by order of the Eajah, his 
second son ; and upon the Sultan expressing anger at 
the deed, the Eajah generously presented the relatives 
with winding-sheets for the bodies of the dead. Only 
a short time subsequent, another son of the same 
Sultan krissed one of his debt-slaves, not for an 
actual offence, but for threatening to become a thief. 

One very general way of getting in debt amongst 
the Malays is through gambling. By an infatuated 
love of play, a man gets so in debt that, he gives 
himself up, with perhaps wife and children, to his 
successful opponent ; and then, so far from being cured 
of his mania, he is seized with an insatiable desire to 
free himself by the same practice, and gambles to 
raise the money to buy himself from his owner. How 
often he is successful may be readily surmised. In 

o 2 






196 "SARONG" AND "KEIS." 

fact, it is almost beyond credence to see how exten- 
sive is the range of debt caused by gambling, and 
how frequently a Malay will pledge self or child to 
his creditor by way of payment. 

In addition, there are in Perak many intricate 
points in connection with the system which make it 
excessively hard for those innocent of complicity in 
the incurring of the debt. For instance, the con- 
traction of a debt by a married man binds his wife 
and children ; and, what is more, those children who 
may afterwards be born to him. Again, if an un- 
married man or woman be in debt, and afterwards 
marry, the husband or wife so taken becomes part of 
the bond, and the children who result from the mar- 
riage are in like evil state. Their destiny is to work, 
often under hard usage, for the creditor, who must 
repay himself many times over for his original loss ; 
and this must be a great temptation to the Malays to 
keep up the system, though they frankly own that it 
is wrong, and contrary to the laws of the Prophet. 

One curious fact in connection with this custom, 
as showing how thoroughly secured a creditor is, 
deserves mention. In cases where a child is placed 
with a creditor as a security for a debt, and this 
child dies, another is supplied in its place ; and in 
the case of a Eajah, the whole family may be taken 
into his house. 

In spite of the objectionable nature of this custom, 
and its opposition to progress amongst the people, it 



BRITISH INFLUENCE. 197 

would be extremely injudicious to try and put a stop 
to it at once, as it is like dealing with a man's pro- 
perty to ask him to give up that which produces him 
his daily supplies, or in some cases represents capital 
that he has lost. Eigid measures of suppression 
would be ill-advised and out of place ; for the course 
to be taken should be one which would tend to soften 
and modify by degrees the arduous^ character of the 
native laws by influence and persuasion, when the 
example set by the higher classes would presumably 
result in the customs falling slowly into disuse. This 
has been the case in the states where British influence 
has been for some time at work ; and there can be no 
doubt that, time being given, it would prove to be so 
here. 

Somewhere about 1820, when Sir Stamford Baffles 
was trying to reform the Mengiring system at Ben- 
coolen in Sumatra, he laid down certain rules which 
were admirably adapted to the purpose in view ; for 
they afforded the greatest relief to the debtor con- 
sistent with the just claims of the creditor. These 
regulations are quoted in Moor's "Notices of the Indian 
Archipelago," and are well worthy of repetition here. 

Any person who had fallen into the condition of a slave, or was 
liable to it from inability to pay the amount of his debt, might 
redeem himself by entering into a voluntary contract, with any 
person who should agree to pay the amount, to serve for a specified 
period of time proportionate to the sum paid ; such sum being con- 
sidered as an advance to be liquidated by a certain definite service 
to be rendered by the debtor. Thus, in lieu of absolute and un- 



198 "8ARONQ" AND "KRIS." 

limited slavery, will be substituted a system of free and voluntary 
contract, by which the debtor or slave enters at once into all the 
privileges of freedom, subject only to the fulfilment of an equitable 
contract, at the same time that the interest of the creditor is fully 
secured. 

Similar regulations would be most appropriate for 
Perak, but would of course be only applicable to that 
slavery which is due solely to debt. 

It is much to be desired that in Perak and other 
native states, now more closely under the wing of 
British protection, steps should be taken to abolish by 
degrees this system of debt-slavery, through which 
the improvement of the country is greatly retarded, 
and all general efforts to increase the industry and 
commerce are blighted in the offset. When once the 
native rulers are taught that a way out of the per- 
nicious system can be found, and without prejudice 
to the creditor, there is no doubt that they will gladly 
forsake what they know to be contrary to the Maho- 
medan law ; and the oppressive regulations will give 
place to a milder and more civilised code. 

Other existent forms comprising the slavery about 
the palace ; that of the Battak people, who have been 
regularly bought and brought over ; and also that of 
the people and girls of the country will not be so 
easy to eradicate, and must be left to the influence 
which time and the spread of civilisation will bring 
about. 

To turn for a few minutes, before concluding this 
subject, to the oppressive way it may be said the 



DIFFICULTIES OF RESIDENTS. 199 

barbarous way in which debt-slavery acts, let the 
following be given by way of illustration. The reader 
must be asked to suppose what would be the opinion 
of Englishmen upon a case at home, were it possible, 
in which a labourer who was in debt to the amount 
of five-and-thirty shillings, being unable to pay the 
sum, should be seized by his creditor, with his wife, 
both thus becoming bond-servants or slaves, unable 
to free themselves, or their children to come, from 
their position. And yet such things have occurred 
amongst the Malays. One of the ktest travellers 
through Perak, the Hon. W. Adamson, quotes a case 
in which a man and his wife became slaves for a 
debt of seven dollars. Endless are the hardships of 
these poor people, whose children become hereditary 
bond-servants ; and though, as a rule, their treatment 
is good, yet the iniquity of the system is monstrous, 
and leads amongst the women to a degradation that 
lowers the whole tone of the country. The misfortune 
is that, until the upper classes of the Malays grow 
more enlightened, the position cannot be altered ; 
Sultan and chiefs setting the example of being the 
hardest taskmasters, and feeling it, under the present 
regime, to be to their interest to maintain the status 
of the slave ; while one of the greatest difficulties the 
British Eesidents have had to deal with has been the 
settling of disputes, when, urged by some faint echo in 
their wretched souls of the knowledge of England's 
persistence on every man's freedom, some unfortunate 



200 "&LBOJM3" AND "KRIS." 

or another has fled to Her Majesty's representatives 
for protection from a cruel master. 

Every visitor to the state joins in condemning 
the practice ; but to each in turn the feeling is 
brought home that nothing can be done by a sudden 
change. Our position in the country is only that of 
protectors and advisers ; and stern persistence would 
only result in embittering the chiefs, without im- 
proving the condition of the slave. It is an old ulcer 
on a beautiful land, and must take time for its cure. 
"Wherever the beneficent light of civilisation has begun 
to shine, there the position of the bondsmen has 
rapidly improved, as in the states of Johore, Salangore, 
and Quedah. Perak is comparatively new ground; 
but even here our Eesidents have made improvements, 
such as have vastly benefited the lower orders. In 
short, the good seed has been sown, and in time a 
better state of things will brighten the face of the 
land. 




PERAK CHIEFS AND ATTENDANTS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



The Malay character Dealings with chiefs Mr. Muntinghe at 

Palembang. 



PERHAPS in no people is a more singular combination 
of qualities found than in the Malay. In his general 
character in Perak, or other parts, where his inter- 
course with the European or Chinese has been 
infrequent, he can be described only by a knowledge 
of his internal disposition, and by the associations by 
which he has been surrounded since he first emerged 
from what was little better than barbarism. Naturally 
he is dull, heavy, and listless, fond of a life of slothful 
ease, and takes a good deal of coaxing to make an 
effort for the improvement of his state, or to do any- 
thing conducing to his profit or advantage even, it 
may be said, to his amusement. But when once 
roused and sometimes a very slight thing will be 
sufficient his energy is remarkable, and the dogged 
determination he will throw into the pursuit of his 
object is surprising, bringing out, as it does, so dif- 
ferent a phase of character that he seems to have a new 
existence. 



202 "SAKONG" AND "KEIS." 

With, such a disposition, upon which was grafted 
the various ideas brought about by intercourse with 
the Arabs, and the subsequent adoption of the reli- 
gion of Mahomet, the natural result was an increased 
indolence and listlessness of character, and incapacity 
for steady labour. In fact, the Malays gradually 
imbibed much of the careless lawless nature of the 
Arabs . of the desert ; and the adventurous spirit of 
the marauder whose hand is against every man, broke 
out in the various acts of piracy for which the Malay 
has so long been famed. These dangerous forays were 
quite in keeping with the clannish habits of the Malay, 
while, being now by religion made fatalists, they grew 
careless of exposing their lives, since the future was 
secure. 

They recognise however no such thing as caste, 
like the Hindoos ; though so tribal are they in their 
tendencies, that when the Viceroy of 'Salangore, himself 
a Quedah man, sent for some of his people to come and 
support him during a petty war in Klang, the Malays 
of the country looked down upon these newcomers as 
aliens and strangers, not belonging to this tribe, and 
nicknamed them Orang-Quedah, or men of Quedah 
as they do to this day. This strong feudal pride, 
arising from their principle of tribal associations under 
chiefs a practice common to both Arab and Malay 
races with its natural independence of spirit and love 
of liberty, makes it at all times a difficult task to 
render them tractable under coercion, though capable,' 



MALAY CHARACTER. 203 

tinder a patriarchal sway, of readily yielding an 
implicit and cheerful obedience. The obstinacy, how- 
ever, and determination of the Malay, make him at 
times strongly to resemble the spoiled child, who will 
destroy all rather than give up a single point. 

Their sense of power, which, under the influence of 
higher civilisation is a fine trait in their character, 
renders them, in a less civilised state, morbidly sensi- 
tive to slight or insult. In fact, one of their proverbs 
says : " A wound may heal, but will always leave a 
scar." Acting upon this, a Malay rarely forgets an 
offence against him, but nurses it in his bosom until 
opportunity arrives for revenge ; and as his idea is 
that the insult must be washed out in blood, and as 
likewise he always carries the familiar kris, fatal cases 
of retaliation are not uncommon. 

In demeanour among themselves, and towards the 
European, the Malays are at all times courteous ; while 
with one who speaks their language and understands 
and respects their manners and customs, they are 
extremely social and friendly ; but, from their own 
staid and retiring ways, they very quickly lose 
respect for anyone who is boisterous in his mirth, 
impulsive and rude in his habits, and otherwise dis- 
plays a thoughtless disposition such as is so foreign 
to their own nature. For a Malay, as a rule, speaks 
slowly, giving to every word a distinct emphasis, 
while he is utterly unable to take a joke, or to view it 
in the light in which it has been intended. 



204 "82RONG" AND "KRIS." 



In their own social life they are fond of their 
wives and children, and live, as a rule, in great 
unity ; petty thefts amongst themselves being almost 
unknown. They hesitate a good deal about dis- 
playing their worldly possessions, but this is chiefly 
from a dread of exciting the cupidity of the chiefs, 
by whom, in so many instances, they are hardly 
oppressed. 

So courteous are the Malay chiefs by nature, that 
in the pla.ces where they have not yet come under 
European influence, they will apparently acquiesce in 
any measure that may be proposed by saying, Baik 
tuan, or, " Very good, sir." This expression must not, 
however, be always taken to mean that the chief agrees 
with the views expressed by the speaker, though there is 
much in the way of the delivery of the words ; but more 
often they may be taken to mean that the views of the 
speaker shall receive due consideration. At the same 
time, there is the probability that this may be a polite 
way of giving an acquiescent reply for the moment, 
but with no ulterior idea of following out the wishes 
expressed. 

Chiefs of this stamp, of whom there are many in 
Perak and in the native states, possess great capa- 
bilities for dissembling, and very rarely show in their 
features that which is passing in their minds ; so that 
the carrying out of any act of revenge that may have 
been determined on, is often reserved for a fitting oppor- 
tunity, the victim, in the meantime, not having the 



DEALINGS WITH CHIEFS. 205- 

slightest suspicion of that which has been planned 
against his life. 

In political interviews with such chiefs it is always 
well to keep to the point under discussion, and to 
force them to follow your example. The subject 
should be approached with perfect good temper and 
gentleness of manner, but with a firm determination 
to carry the point, coiite qiii coute; the opponent being 
made to understand this more from the speaker's 
manner than from the words expressed ; and as diffi- 
culties are advanced from their point of view, they 
should be assured that all these have been thought 
of and duly considered from sources of information 
which the speaker possesses, but which are naturally 
beyond the reach of the chiefs. All doubt or hesita- 
tion in such meetings may be looked upon as almost 
invariably fatal to success. 

Again, in all intercourse with this class of Malay 
chief and here let it be clearly understood that a 
marked distinction is drawn between this class and 
those with whom we have been brought in contact, 
more especially in Johore, Quedah, Tringanu, and 
other places the examples of the past should not 
be lost sight of, some of which are unfortunately 
only too fresh in our memories, both as regards the 
peninsula and Sumatra. 

A Malay has a great idea of his own dignity as a 
man, his love of, and belief in liberty, causing him to 
resent what he looks upon as insolence or overbearing 



206 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

treatment, and it is at such times as this that he dis- 
plays his most dangerous traits. Left to himself, like 
the poisonous snake of the jungle, he will avoid the 
coming footstep and pass on ; but arrest him, and try 
to force him to your will, and he strikes. A good 
example of this peculiarity of character was shown in 
a case which occurred some years back on the frontiers 
of Malacca, where a European official was passing 
along a path followed by a policeman. Meeting a 
Malay peasant, the man passed on without salaaming 
the official. The latter, indignant at w T hat he looked 
upon as a want of respect, angrily spoke to the ryot, 
asking him how he dared to pass without saluting. 
The Malay calmly replied that he did not know the 
official, who then sharply laid his hand upon the 
offender's shoulder. In an instant the man's kris flashed 
in the air, and a deadly thrust was delivered, but fortu- 
nately the blade fell to the ground, and the blow, given 
like lightning, was delivered with the handle alone. 
But for this incident in his resentment at what he 
looked upon as an insult, the Malay would have killed 
the European, who was however saved from further 
attack by the policeman seizing the offender. 

Moor also, in his "Notices," as far back as 1824, 
gives us an instance of failure in dealing with this 
people which occurred to Mr. Muntinghe, who was 
a member of council, at Palembang, in Sumatra, 
during the British and Netherlands administration 
of Java. 



MR. MUNTINGHE. 207 

Before proceeding to Palembang, as commissioner 
of the Javanese settlement, Mr. Muntinglie dwelt with 
much complacency and self-conviction on the idea that 
he should, in less than twelve months, establish the 
revenue system there as firmly as it had been done 
in Java ; and that then it could soon be extended 
to all ]?ulo Percha, or Sumatra. He was cautioned 
against this plan by Mr. Raffles, afterwards Sir Stam- 
ford Raffles, who said that it was unsuitable to the 
place and people ; but Mr. Muntinghe, perhaps from 
a, want of practical or intimate knowledge of the 
people, and not persuaded that such a diversity of 
character existed between the Javanese and the 
Malays, held to his determination, and was rather 
strengthened in his private plan, and lured on by the 
hiefs, as usual, into a belief that all his wishes might 
be gratified and accomplished. The attack on the 
fort and the Residency, the precipitate flight of Mr. 
Muntinghe from Palembang, and the subversion of all 
his measures, were the work of a single day. 

The wise Grecian legislator of old said : "I gave 
to the Athenians, not the best laws, but those most fit 
for them;" and the notice ends with the very just 
remark: " It should not be necessary in the nine- 
teenth century to write laws with blood." 

The most advanced of the chiefs in European 
civilisation is the Maharajah of Johore, a gentleman 
who has, while retaining his native state, adopted our 
English manners and customs almost in their entirety, 



208 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

and where they are mingled with those of Malaya, 
far from having a barbaric effect, they are on the 
whole pleasing. His Istana, or palace, at Johore is a 
handsome building, admirably furnished ; the drawing- 
room, with piano for the use of English visitors, being 
perfect in its appointments. The Europeans of the 
Settlements are frequently his guests ; and in every 
possible way his efforts seem to be directed towards 
making them feel that they are being entertained by 
an English in place of an Eastern prince. 

A good deal of this is due no doubt to the effect 
of a visit to England some years back ; where during 
his stay an amusing illustration of our ignorance of 
the qualities and state of Eastern chiefs, was afforded 
in the way in which the late Sir Eoderick Murchison 
introduced the present Maharajah at a meeting of 
the Eoyal Geographical Society. 

It was while a speech was being made by Sir 
Eoderick that a paper was passed to him as a 
reminder of the coming of the distinguished visitor, 
when he remarked : " Ladies and gentlemen, I had 
almost omitted to mention to you that we are 
honoured here this evening by the presence of 
an eminently intelligent Eastern prince the Jinny- 
gong of Tohore." 

A whisper immediately passed on to him by way 
of correction, and referring once more to the paper 
he exclaimed : " I beg your pardon, ladies and gentle- 
men the Tumongong of Johore." Then to the giver 



THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S VISIT. 209 

of the paper pettishly : " Your T's and J's are all 
alike." 

The Maharajah, always celebrated for his hospi- 
tality, gave the Duke of Edinburgh a very notable 
reception on the visit of His Royal Highness to the 
Straits Settlements. Here the mingling of Eastern 
pomp and European customs was very remarkable ; for 
while carriages of British construction, and servants 
in liveries of the royal Malay colours, green and rich 
yellow, were in attendance, a grand effect was pro- 
duced by the Maharajah's state barges, which were 
painted and manned for the occasion in a very 
striking manner. Each barge was rowed by sixty 
or seventy men, all wearing silk jackets of a brilliant 
hue. One barge would be painted bright blue, the 
jackets of its rowers being to match ; another was of 
a bright green ; another yellow, and so on. Open 
house was kept and sports were arranged ; the whole 
forming an event in the history of the peninsula which 
is recalled with pleasure by the natives to this day. 

Upon another occasion, the Maharajah entertained 
a departing Governor and his lady at a banquet at the 
Istana, or palace, when the menus were printed on 
pieces of rich yellow satin bordered with green silk 
lace. As an example of the style in which an Eastern 
prince who adopts our customs can give a dinner, it 
may not be out of place to print here in extenso the 
contents of the bill of fare, in spite of the peculiarity 
of the Malay language. It is unnecessary to give a 



210 "8ABQNQ" AND "KElS." 

translation in full, and the reader will surmise that 
Tim signifies soup, Ikan fish, and so on. Sambdls 
have already been described ; while amongst the 
Manissan, or sweets, plum-pudding and custard are 
sufficiently English to need no interpreter. Suffice 
it that the list contains all the delicacies to be pro- 
cured in the Straits, not omitting Dodol Baku (ices), 
Ananas, Susu, and Limau. 

SAXTAPAN. 

TIM. 

Panggang pringi dungan badam. 
Sayur kerchachan. 

IKAN. 

Kendang Tengiri. 
Merah kwah anchovy. 
Dainblang kwah tritep. 

IDANGKAN. 

Opo etek dungan kanah. 
Kendang chinchang Plentong. 
Burong pati chindawan busote. 
Panchur sarak tritep. 
Eusuk daging biri-biri. 
Smnbret panggang pringi. 

PAHHAR. 

Tanggang kalkun isi trufle. 
Ayam blanda rubus di Jawa. 
Daging biri-biri di panggang. 
Kanibing rubus pati santan. 
Lumbo golie. 
Leda sapi dalam belda. 



A MALAY MENU. 211 



SAYUR. 

Kintang. Loba mera. Kachang hijau. 
Sulo di France. Bunga kobis. Jagong rauda. 

Goulai di Johore. Goulai Santan. 

Singapore Curry. Madras Curry. 

Sayur Kechambak. 

SAMBAL. 

Serai. Tumis blacliang. 

Asam. Tumis kuchai. 

Trubo. Tumis hudang. 

Telor di rendang. Tumis blimbing. 

Seconding. 

MANISSAN. 

Limping dungan limau China. 

Plum-pudding. 

Buahulu dungan custard. 

Serikaya. 

Pengannan buah-buah. 



Belda Susu. Belda Sirop. 



Jubun rendang. Keju. 

Plampong di "Whampoa. 



Halwa buah Kring. Halwa Cliayir. 



DODOL BAKU. 

Ananas. Susu. Limau. 



Courteous, religious, social and hospitable, gentle 
in his ways when calm, and his passions not roused, 
the Malay, when angry or under excitement, is reck- 

p 2 



212 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 



less and bloodthirsty in the extreme. He may, in 
fact, be described as volcanic : presenting to the eye 
all that is goodly and fair, while beneath the surface 
a fire is always smouldering, ready to burst forth 
without warning, and spread ruin and destruction 
around. There can be no doubt that by nature the 
Malay is of an extremely nervous temperament ; 
and in several ways this is made known to the 
Europeans with whom he comes in contact. For 
instance, under certain circumstances that peculiar 
nervous affection already alluded to, is seen, where a 
man's will appears completely under the influence of 
those he meets, and he seems bound to imitate every 
gesticulation or movement that is made ; but the 
affection or mania that makes these people a terror and 
a danger to their fellows, is that known as AmoJc. 

" Eunning a-muck," as it is popularly called, is so 
common that the term has been adopted among our 
own quaint sayings to apply to any person who is 
reckless or wild in his doings ; but probably the 
extent to which this practice obtains is not known to 
the reader. Even while this work has been passing 
through the press, Kajah Mansur, one of the sons of 
Yusuf, the present ruler of Perak, during a strange 
fit of excitement, drew his kris and rushed off, strik- 
ing right and left, killing six and severely wounding 
two persons, and finally making his escape into the 
jungle. In the illustration which is given of the 
Sultan and his two sons, the one upon his left is the 



AMOK. 213 



young man in question. He was only about twenty 
years old. 

Even in European countries, example amongst 
people with overstrung or disorganised nerves seems 
to be contagious, and the sufferers apparently feel 
compelled to perform acts that would, while in sound 
health, be repugnant to every disposition of their 
nature ; and among the Malays this custom of Amok 
has unfortunately grown to be national, and is looked 
for just as the Japanese performs the hari-kari 
as a termination to his career. In this latter case, 
however, the unfortunate is content with destroying 
his own life, while the Malay may be the cause of 
death or severe injury to twenty or thirty people 
before he is literally hunted down and destroyed, like 
a mad dog. 

Physiologists attribute this uncontrollable fury to 
disease in fact, to a kind of monomania induced by 
disorder of the digestive organs ; but there are occa- 
sions when the practice is made subservient to the will, 
and a Malay will "run amok" to gratify revenge, or, 
as if for a forlorn hope, adopt it in the little wars of 
the people, rushing amongst the enemy and killing 
right and left. In fact, it will be seen that on the 
occasion of the murder of Mr. Birch, the cry of 
" Amok, amok ! " was raised, and a savage rush was 
made by all present, who seemed to be animated with 
but one desire to kill. The Malay, speaking of 
Amok, says : " My eyes got dark and I ran on." In 



214 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

other words, lie says lie was blind with fury : or he 
will attribute the seizure to vertigo. 

In the Settlements the first warning of such an 
event is given by the cry of " Amok, amok ! " when 
there is a rush, and people fly right and left to shelter; 
for the runner makes no distinction between friend 
and foe ; his eyes are indeed dark, and he is blind to 
everything but the intense desire to kill all he can 
before he renders up his own wretched life. Shrieks, 
cries of warning, the rush of feet, people trampling 
over each other in their hurry to escape, and the eager 
excited eyes of the Malays, as each man's hand goes 
to the twisted band of his sarong to draw forth the 
deadly kris. For, as the runner's desire is now to kill 
all he can, that of the peaceable is to slay him before 
he can do much mischief. 

The cry goes on far in advance of the madman, 
and the Sikh police clutch their weapons, the Euro- 
peans seize gun or revolver, and every eye is strained, 
every nerve attent for the coming peril. 

" Amok, amok ! " followed by a wild shriek or two 
and a groan, as the madman rushes on, striking here 
and there, taking people at a disadvantage, and 
marking his course with bleeding victims, while his 
pursuers gather in numbers, the Malays among them 
growing as madly excited as the runner they pursue. 

The object nowadays is to take the man alive, to 
try him by our laws, and punish him for murder; and 
to further these ends, the police in the Settlements 



AN AMOK. 215 



are provided with a huge short-pronged pitchfork, to 
catch the madman by the throat, and pin him to a wall 
when he is driven to bay. 

But this is not yet, and he runs on in his fury, 
driving his kris into one fleeing unfortunate's back, 
leaping over his body, avoiding a thrust made by an 
opponent, and returning it with deadly effect. Or it 
may be that he is gashed with cuts, and bleeding from 
the stabs he has received himself. Shots are fired 
at him, some taking effect; more, from the hurry, 
missing the flying maniac, who still runs on, marking 
his course with his own blood and that of fresh 
victims, his strength in his exaltation being prodigious, 
and wonderfully enduring, so that he is a match for 
two or three of his fellows ; and so he goes on and on, 
till he falls from some shot, or sinks from exhaustion, 
to be despatched by the ready krisses carried by every 
Malay. 

But there are times when, cut off and hemmed in, 
the Amok runner stands at bay in some house, or 
against a wall, glaring with bloodshot eyes, dripping 
with blood, and holding out his stained kris, he defies 
anyone to approach. Now it is that the police of 
the Settlements bring into use the great fork men- 
tioned, deftly thrusting at him till he is caught by 
the throat, pinned to the wall, and held there by 
the strength of two powerful arms, when his kris is 
wrested from his gory hand, he is quickly pinioned, 
and if he does not die of his wounds he is tried and 



216 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

executed by the English or native laws. For in such 
a case the man has become far more dangerous than 
the fiercest tiger that could haunt the jungle, and by 
all verdicts his fate is sealed. 

Some years ago at an " amok " in Singapore, the 
Malay was pursued to, and took refuge in, the canal, 
where, as he would not surrender, he was fired upon 
while cunningly diving to avoid the shots, and it was 
some time before he was wounded and secured. 

If, however, the madman can force his way through 
the people who hem him in, he may possibly continue 
his course and escape to the jungle, as in the case 
of Sultan Yusuf s son ; but, generally speaking, the 
fate of the Amok runner is a violent death, few 
being reserved for trial. Various have been the 
opinions given upon this subject. There have not 
been wanting writers who have attributed the custom 
to the use of opium and its effects upon the system ; 
but there can be no doubt that the Amok had its 
origin in the deed of some desperate Malay ; that 
tradition handed it down to his highly-sensitive suc- 
cessors, and the example was followed and continues 
to be followed as the right thing to do, by those who 
are excited to frenzy by apprehension, or some injury 
that they regard as deadly, and to be washed out in 
blood. In fact, Newbold says that he has seen letters 
in which, alluding to the desire to revenge an insult, 
Malays make use of the following expression : " I 
ardently long for his blood to clean my face blackened 



AN AMOK. 217 



with charcoal;" or, "to wash out the pollution of the 
hog's flesh with which he has smeared me." 

In these last words we have thoroughly the feeling 
of the Mussulman expressed, and his deadly hatred to 
the pollution of a touch from the flesh of the pig a 
pollution that was often made the excuse for the 
terrible rising in India, where it was spread abroad 
that the cartridges the natives had to use were 
greased with the fat of the hog. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Propitiatory offerings Superstitions Ideas of Creation Con- 
version to Islamism Malay conversion Pilgrimages The 
Mosque. 

IN a people of so highly nervous a temperament, and 
of so morbid a disposition, it is not surprising that 
superstition should be strongly mingled with their 
religious tenets. For instance, they have a thorough 
belief in the efficacy of charms and amulets ; and this 
is not only seen amongst the lower orders, but exists 
even in the chiefs. Rajah Abbas, who suffered from 
that loathsome disease elephantiasis, had recourse to 
charms for its cure. Amulets in the shape of written 
words are often worn, or even placed about a house. 
But a very favourite charm or preventive of disease 
is the tiger-claw, which the Malay is very fond of 
wearing -very sensibly too if he looked upon it as 
for the prevention of injury from these fierce beasts, 
-and the practice of wearing the claws became uni- 
versal. They examine horoscopes, and study the stars, 
so as to obtain a propitious day for some adventure 
or plan ; and from their connection with the Indians 



PROPITIATORY OFFERINGS. 219 

they have doubtless acquired their belief in the 
existence of many orders of celestial beings. 

Some of their beliefs approach the superstitions of 
the lowest savages in the scale ; and it is a constant 
matter to find them making offerings to some spirit 
or another by way of propitiation. When a Euro- 
pean wishes to penetrate some unexplored portion of 
mountain or jungle, he is met with opposition, for 
the simple-minded native sees the horrible in the 
unknown ; and the would-be explorer is begged not 
to enter the domains held by evil spirits, who may 
withhold rain, send storms or diseases, or in some way 
show their displeasure at the sanctity of their homes 
being invaded. So dangerous are these spirits of the 
woods considered, that in the jungle campongs, high 
up amongst the trees, pieces of wood are carefully 
prepared, and hung up in a way that causes them to 
give forth plaintive musical sounds, similar to those of 
an ^Eolian harp, or the stretched wires of the electric 
telegraph when the wind blows through them the 
traveller often being startled by the mournful notes. 
These are supposed to keep off the goblins, and make 
them leave the campong dwellers in peace. 

Mines have always been supposed in Europe to 
hold their special spirit or demon from the earliest 
times, but it seems singular that the superstition 
should exist in such an out-of-the-way part of the 
world as Perak. And yet it is so with the tin-miners, 
who make offerings to propitiate the good spirit who 



220 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

presides. Mr. Daly gives an interesting account of 
this propitiation of spirits in his late journey down 
the Perak river, where, before the passage of the 
dangerous rapid, Jeram Pangang, at the entrance to 
which is a large boulder, called by the Malays " Berala 
Bujok," which literally means "the idol to be propi- 
tiated/' everyone is expected to make an offering and 
ask permission to pass. Upon the occasion in ques- 
tion the pilot stood up and made a speech to the rock, 
asking for leave to go down the rapid in safety, as 
there was a white man on board, and if anything 
happened to him it would be the cause of much 
trouble to the people. This being ended, bananas 
and betel-nuts, combined with a biscuit, supposed to 
be the w r hite man's offering, were thrown upon the 
rock, and then the passage was commenced. 

The idol upon this occasion must have been dis- 
satisfied with the value or extent of the offerings ; for 
when the bamboo raft upon which the traveller was 
journeying came to the worst part it telescoped, the 
great bamboos snapped like matches from the force of 
the water, and went floating down the stream. This 
rapid is a source of great terror to the natives, who 
tell a number of stories concerning the mishaps that 
have occurred there ; and when joked about them 
in this instance, replied in all seriousness that Berala 
Bujok was angry at the offer of the biscuit, and 
because a white man had descended the river. 

The objects held in reverence are innumerable : 



SUPERSTITIONS. 221 

the tiger, the cow, the monkey, and even the 
waringhan-tree, are all revered or feared, as the 
case may be. There are demons who utter cries in 
the woods and haunt burial-grounds ; spirits who can 
be domesticated, and if fed with their owner's blood 
can be utilised for purposes of revenge ; demon hunts- 
men, who have their own dogs ; witches, who leave 
their human bodies by night to feast on the above 
sanguinary diet ; and spirits of the storms and winds ; 
and one Rajah is stated to have krissed a woman with 
his own hand, and without a word of inquiry, for 
being suspected of creating, and having in her posses- 
sion, a "Pulong," a name that the Malays give to a 
horrible phantasy of theirs, a sort of "bottle-imp/' 
which they believe can be let loose and made to take 
demoniacal possession of the enemies of its creator. 
The doctrine of metempsychosis has obtained some 
little hold upon the Malays, who consequently hesitate 
to slay the tiger, lest his body should be the tenement 
of some human being. In fact, they believe that, 
after the fashion of the wehr-wolf of German romance, 
certain people have the power of occupying the body 
of the tiger by night, and transforming themselves at 
pleasure. So great is considered the power and intel- 
ligence of this beast, that the Malay will reluctantly 
mention its name in the jungle, lest evil should 
befall him ; and if asked if a tiger is nigh, will pro- 
bably give his answer in the faintest whisper, and 
with trembling voice. 



222 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Their little observances for the procuring of good 
luck are many, and extend even to the most trivial 
acts : for instance, a betel-chewer will almost inva- 
riably spit to the left ; and this superstitious feeling, 
combined with idleness, has something to do with the 
reluctance of a Malay to repair an injured house in 
fact, even when he builds a new one the old is left 
standing. 

As a body, the Malays follow very strictly the 
religion they profess Islamism ; and, whether they 
have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca or not, many 
keep regularly the Kamadhan : but, as may be seen 
from the foregoing, they mix their religion up with 
the traditionary customs and superstitions ; this natu- 
rally being chiefly amongst the poorer classes. One very 
favourite theory is that certain persons can render 
themselves invulnerable through the agency of spirits. 
Several such instances have been mentioned in Perak, 
notably in the case of a man called Eajah Abbas, 
previously alluded to as trying to charm away ele- 
phantiasis. It is related of one pretender to this 
invulnerability, that an officer put him to the proof, 
and exposed the silly belief to the surrounding crowd 
by pricking the Achilles-like skin of the man's arm 
with the point of his sword. The invulnerable man's 
blood flowed, and it was nearly followed by that of 
the officer ; for the pretender vowed revenge, and had 
to be kept at a distance to prevent him from making 
a savage attack. 



IDEAS OF CREATION. 223 

The ordinary diseases and epidemics are supposed 
to be driven away, either by conciliating the spirits 
with offerings, or else by the practice of affixing cages 
and palm-leaves to trees in the neighbourhood of the 
dwellings or campongs. The ignorant seem always 
to believe strongly in those yet more ignorant than 
themselves ; hence we have the Malays attaching 
great faith to the supernatural powers of the abori- 
gines, and trusting frequently to their knowledge of 
herbs and simples in cases of disease. Both in Perak, 
and beyond our frontier in Malacca, the writer has 
known the people to have a great veneration for the 
Sakais, or Jacoons, and Mr. Swettenham, who has^tra- 
velled much among them, and is well acquainted with 
the habits of the Malays, says that in Him, a part of 
the country between Perak and Salangore, the common 
people frequently consult them and ask their advice 
on important matters. 

Those curious freaks of nature, Albinos, are found 
amongst the Malays ; and where they exist they are 
looked upon by the people with a kind of superstitious 
awe. One of these men was seen by an English party 
at the village of Kotah Lamah ; and Newbold speaks 
of one as having been in 1838 the chief of Jellabu, 
near Malacca. He was a descendant of a prince from 
Menang Kabau, and was looked upon with the gretaest 
reverence by the superstitious Malays, on account of 
his having white or very light blue eyes and jet black 
hair. Dr. Pickering, too, speaks of one having been 



224 "SARONG" AND "KElS." 

seen amongst the Malays in one of the islands of the 
Polynesian group : but their occurrence is particularly 
rare. 

Beliefs as to their origin are remarkably curious, 
and the geographical notions of the common people are 
very strange. One is that the world is surrounded 
by mountains, which they call by the name of " Kaf." 
The following is the idea of the Creation taken from 
their own literature : 

From the Supreme Being first emanated light towards chaos ; 
this light diffusing itself became the vast ocean. From the bosom 
of the waters thick vapour and foam ascended. The earth and sea 
were then formed each of seven tiers. The earth rested on the 
surface of the water from east to west. God, in order to render 
steadfast the foundations of the world, which vibrated tremulously 
with the motion of the watery expanse, girt it round with an 
adamantine chain, viz. the stupendous mountains of Caucasus, the 
wondrous region of genii and aerial spirits. Beyond these limits is 
spread out a vast plain, the sand and earth of which are of gold 
and musk, the stones rubies and emeralds, the vegetation of odori- 
ferous flowers. . . . From the range of Caucasus all the mountains 
of the earth have their origin as pillars, to support and strengthen 
the terrestrial framework. 

With regard to the particular form of Islam em- 
braced by the Malays, it will naturally be inferred, 
when it is remembered that their intercourse with the 
Arabs dates from a very early period, and was very 
extensive, while that with the Persians was narrowed 
in its limits to the meetings with them in trade at 
Engrah on the Persian Gulf, that they would embrace 
that followed by the Arabs in the purest form ; and 



MALAY CONVERSION. 225 

accordingly we find them to be chiefly belonging to 
the sect of Shafeites, with here and there, in Perak 
and Quedah, Hanefites and Hunbalites, but also the 
orthodox sect, or Sonnites. The so-called sect of Ali 
is rarely met with amongst the Malays ; but they may 
exist, though not to the writer's knowledge. 

According to Yule's " Marco Polo," a Malay chro- 
nicle of Acheen dates the accession of the first 
Mahomedan king of that state the nearest point of 
Sumatra to India and Arabia in the year answering to 
A.D. 1205 ; and this is the earliest conversion among 
the Malays on record. It is extremely doubtful, how- 
ever, whether there were kings of Acheen in 1205, 
or for centuries after : and it is therefore open to 
question whether this date applies to any real event 
or not. 

The dates of the conversion of the Malays to their 
present religion are variously given, however; but 
Crawfurd, who is perhaps the best authority, follows 
pretty closely the above idea, and puts the conversion 
of the Acheenese at 1206 of our era, the Malacca 
Malays at 1276, and the Javanese at 1478 ; while the 
general conversion of the people of Celebes did not 
take place till the arrival of the Portuguese in their 
midst, or about 1510. This progress of conversion 
took several centuries to accomplish, and was not 
effected by the Arabs in the same rapid way as 
that of the natives of Western and Central Asia ; 
for the Malays were too numerous and powerful 



226 "SARONG" AND "KR18." 

in those days to be subdued and overcome by these 
people. 

The ultimate aim of every good Moslem is to 
make the pilgrimage to Mecca ; and accordingly 
every year a very numerous concourse of Malays 
proceed from the various states of the peninsula on 
this religious errand. When the pilgrim returns to 
his own country he is privileged to wear the Arab 
costume, and to be styled by his fellows Tuan haji. 
Unfortunately, however, the influence he now possesses 
is not always employed to benefit his fellow-country- 
men, but often for intriguing to his own advantage, so 
as to recoup himself and family for the outlay to which 
he has been put in his long and weary journey to the 
west. A very recent writer on these Malay hajis 
speaks of them as making the voyage "in order on 
their return to be ordained as priests, when they may 
wear turbans, and will commence a life of idleness- 
doing nothing, except, perhaps, inciting the populace 
to revolt or to make amok, and living like leeches on 
the toil of their fellow-men." 

In Perak these people have been found to be at 
the root of every system of oppression ; and, if not 
the actual instigators of the assassination of the late 
Resident, they at least stimulated the worst characters 
in the place to open rebellion ; and finding themselves 
supported by the recognised chiefs of their religion, 
the rebels were the less punctilious in carrying out 
their lawless designs. 



PILGRIMAGES. 227 



It must be owned, however, that the pilgrimage is 
an arduous task ; and some years ago the ships in 
which the voyage was made were in so terrible a con- 
dition, from overcrowding, that the interference of our 
Government became a necessity. Now, however, the 
pilgrim is able to make the voyage across to Jeddah 
in comparative comfort ; and it is only when he 
arrives in port that the real hardships of the journey 
commence. Some of the pilgrims succumb to these 
hardships, but they meet death with the calm stoicism 
of the fatalist ; and when the news of a death reaches 
friends and relatives at home, the end is looked upon 
as a glorious one, and using their proverbial expres- 
sion which accepts it as inevitable, they are at once 
contented and resigned. 

Amongst their religious practices the Malays are 
in the habit of indulging in relic- worship, which takes 
the form of a visit to the tomb of some revered person 
on particular days of the year. They wear a kind of 
rosary of beads for telling, and are very particular 
about the month of fasting, which, like the Arab 
Kamadhan, is in the ninth Mahomedan month of the 
year. So punctilious are they as Mahomedans, that 
it was only with difficulty that the writer could obtain 
their consent to sit for their photographs, though after 
a time less objection was made. One Kajah, however, 
and one of the more civilised, absolutely refused. This 
was the Eajah of Quedah. 

In their religious observances they are very par- 

Q 2 



228 "SARONG" AND "KKIS." 

ticular, and at the proper times the sight of the 
Malay at prayer is very common ; his carpet, or that 
which answers the purpose, is spread, and the pros- 
tration follows with the seven members of the body 
which touch the ground namely, the forehead, the 
palms of the two hands, the knees, and the feet. 
When speaking of the Portuguese, or the people of 
mixed European and Malay blood, it is worthy of note 
that they call them Ncisarini, the origin being most 
probably the old term Nazarene. 

It will not be out of place here, in the face of late 
discussions on the belief in, and implied support given 
by the Moslems of the East to, the Sultan of Turkey, 
to say that, though the Malays believe in Istamboul, 
or Eoum, as the centre of their faith, and look upon 
the Sultan as the chief temporal sovereign, with 
Constantinople as the principal seat of Mahomedan 
government, they are very little influenced by what 
may happen in the fortunes of that country. Mecca 
is to them the Holy City, and the Koran, as expounded 
by Arab teachers, supplies them with their rule and 
practice of faith ; and, come what may in the future, 
they are never likely to be moved to any religious 
war against the Christians on account of the neglect 
by us of the welfare of Turkey, in leaving her to 
pursue her own line of policy in opposition to the 
propositions of the great Powers of Europe. 

When a village or campong grows to any size 
that is to say increases to over forty houses it is 



THE MOSQUE. 229 



considered to be of sufficient importance to need 
officers, and the religious welfare of the place is 
better provided for. It will be seen from these 
points how little deserving of the title of savages 
the Malays are, and how misinformed are they who 
have been in the habit of looking upon them as merely 
a bloodthirsty set of pirates, infesting a marshy coast. 
When, as above stated, the village has so increased, 
the usual Malay officers are selected. These include 
the Punghulu, or head-man ; the Mata-mata, a kind 
of policeman ; and a Billed and Khateeb, or preacher. 
A mosque is also formally built and instituted, and 
the welfare of the people is then considered to be 
properly cared for. 

In the engraving giving the general aspect of a 
Malay village on a river -bank, the mosque will be 
seen occupying a central position. In this case the 
building was carefully finished, the finial of the roof 
being one solid mass of coral-rock elaborately cut. As 
funds flow in, improvements are made ; one of the 
most important being a large tank, built of masonry, 
kept filled with water, to enable the faithful to per- 
form the proper legal and religious ablution before 
entering the house of prayer. On the outer verandah 
of the mosque a large instrument somewhat resem- 
bling a drum is placed ; and this is struck by the 
muezzin, and gives out sonorous tones at the appointed 
time of prayer, both before and after he gives the 
customary call to the faithful to attend. This drum 



230 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

is a hollowed cone of wood, made sonorous by having 
stretched over it a head formed of buffalo-hide. 
Where a minaret has been erected, as in Malacca, 
a gong is used in place of the drum, but this latter is 
in common use. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Religious ceremonies Sacrifices Teeth filing Marriage Wedding 
feasts Funerals Salutation Polygamy The kris. 

THE children of the Malays are received into the 
world quite in religious form, prayer being said, and 
the Azan, or Allah Akbar, pronounced by the father 
with his lips to the tender infant's ear. On the 
seventh day the head is shaved ; and later on the old 
religious ceremony, common to all Mahomedans and 
the Jews from the time of Abraham, is performed. 
The children have a name bestowed upon them at 
their birth, but this is allowed to lapse when later on 
their regular name is given. Allusion to their edu- 
cational instruction has already been made. 

It is at their religious ceremonies, such as births 
and weddings, that buffaloes are sacrificed; and at 
the particular feasts, as with the Jews, the animal 
must be, according to Newbold, " without blemish or 
disease ; its fore and hind leg bones must not be 
broken after death, nor the spine ; neither are the 
horns to be used for common purposes." The animal 
to be sacrificed is bound as to its legs, thrown down, 



232 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

its head fastened, water is poured upon it, and the 
priest after prayer divides the windpipe and arteries 
with a sacrificial knife. The animal is next skinned, 
and divided into two portions : one of which goes to- 
the people, and is cooked and eaten on the spot ; the 
other part is divided between the punghulu and 
priests. 

Marriage amongst the wild tribes is a very simple 
affair in fact, it is a case of exchange and barter; 
for the enamoured youth has to make his arrange- 
ments with his intended's father, and give him what 
is considered an equivalent for the lady's worth ; that 
is to say a small quantity, of tobacco, some cotton 
stuff, such as a sarong, and a knife. That is all ; and 
the lady becomes the donor's wife. But the affair is. 
far more ceremonious amongst the civilised Malays, 
who surround the event with a considerable amount 
of formula. 

The engagement is generally settled by the lady 
friends of the parties. Then the friends of the bride- 
groom have to wait upon the bride's father and make 
presents. The bride's marriage-portion is talked over; 
the marriage expenses are paid ; and the portion, a 
sum in accordance with the position of the parties, is- 
arranged. Just previous to this the bride-elect has to 
go through the ceremony of having her teeth filed : a 
most unpleasant operation, which is performed by a 
woman while the patient reclines. It is no simple 
ceremony, for the teeth are cut down perhaps a, 



MARRIAGE. 233 



fourth, and the effect is to render the gums swollen 
and painful for days. But there is this satisfaction 
for the maiden : she is now allowed to commence 
chewing the sirih leaf, and her teeth soon become 
blackened, and to a European eye repulsive, though it 
is considered a beauty with her own people. This 
blackening of the teeth is aided by the use of a liquid 
which is obtained from the shell of the cocoa-nut, 
prepared by fire in a peculiar way. 

The hair also comes in for a certain amount of 
preparation, being cut off short on the forehead, some- 
what after the fashion that has of late been popular in 
England. Henna is applied to dye the palms, and also 
to the nails of the hands and feet ; and then matters 
are supposed to be sufficiently progressed for the 
approaching marriage ceremony. But it must be 
premised that probably the gentleman has never yet 
seen the lady ; and very likely he will have to take her 
veiled, in the Eastern fashion, without a sight first of 
her face. This is often the case ; and at the marriage 
feast, if the lady, on being unveiled, prove to be 
very plain, the bridegroom is bantered and laughed at 
unmercifully. 

There are, however, certain concessions made to 
the lover when engaged. As with the native of 
Hindostan, who is allowed to taste rice that has been 
placed to the lips of his intended, so with the Malay. 
He is permitted to chew a piece of betel that has been 
tasted by his inamorata ; and the young gallant feasts 



234 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

on the delight of knowing that the lips of his lady 
have touched the betel he masticates. If, after the 
ceremony has been performed in accordance with the 
rites of the Mahomedan religion, the wife is consi- 
dered to be of sufficient age that is to say, fourteen 
or fifteen the husband is allowed to take her home. 
But as very frequently these betrothals and weddings 
take place when the contracting parties are very 
young, a young wife will sometimes be for years at 
her father's house before she goes to one of her own. 
In fact, it is no uncommon thing, says one observer of 
the Malays, to see little girls running about one year 
in the extremely light clothing of childhood, and to 
see them married women and mothers the next. For 
life is rapid in these hot climes, and growth in pro- 
portion ; while, on the other hand, the woman is 
an aged wrinkled crone by the time she is forty ; 
though, as has been stated, cases of extreme old age 
are not unknown. 

According to the means of those wedded, the cere- 
mony is accompanied by more or less showy proceedings. 
Both parties are liberally decorated with jewellery, 
flowers, and gay attire ; the wedding paraphernalia 
being to a great extent a kind of family heirloom, 
like the plate of an English house, and having to do 
duty again and again. The bride is, when dressed, 
set up at the end of the house in state, and holds a 
kind of drawing-room, being visited by all her friends 
and relatives, in company with vast numbers of guests 



WEDDING FEASTS. 235 

attracted by the occasion. After the wedding the 
young people are placed together in a seat of honour 
above the rest of the guests, when, amidst the feast- 
ing, the use of the sirih-box and betel-chewing are 
made prominent. Flowers are largely used ; music is 
introduced ; and the whole ceremony is made as much 
a feast and time of rejoicing as amongst the civilised 
nations of the West. 

At these wedding feasts goats or buffaloes are 
killed for the feasting of as many as like to come 
and partake ; for a large wedding is considered very 
honourable to the father of the bride. To the 
expenses of the wedding feast, however, large con- 
tributions are made by relatives, and even neighbours, 
who send rice and fruit. One end of the house is set 
apart on these occasions for the young women, who 
are screened from the other guests by curtains ; and 
this part of the building is made gay with cotton 
cloth, chintz, and choice mats. As for the young 
men, they engage in various sports and pastimes, 
among which ball and cock-fighting take their places ; 
while their elders sit and sagely discuss the doings of 
the neighbourhood, and probably canvass the various 
exactions of their chiefs. 

One great peculiarity of the people is that they 
like these special events amongst themselves to be 
largely attended, especially if it be a matter of con- 
tract ; for they argue that written deeds may be 
forged, destroyed, or altered, "but the memory of 



236 "82MONQ" AND "KRIS." 

what is transacted in the presence of a thousand 
witnesses must remain sacred." 

In the marriage agreement of the Malay the 
stipulation is made that all effects and savings are to 
be equally the property of both, and in case of divorce 
all is to be equally divided; but if the man is the 
party who insists upon the divorce, he gives half the 
effects to the woman, and forfeits the sum paid as 
addat the marriage-portion or purchase. If, on the 
other hand, it is the woman who claims to be divorced, 
she makes forfeit, and can only take her personal 
effects, and the husband may require from the relatives 
the sum paid as addat, but this is rarely demanded. 

The ceremonies at death are of a far more simple 
character. The deceased is washed and shrouded in 
cotton cloth, and partly clothed in the garments of 
life, and then placed upon a bier formed of a couple 
of planks, which, with the regular ceremonies of the 
Mahomedan faith, is borne to the place of sepulture. 
The graves are dug in accordance with a certain 
custom which has obtained amongst them; and, so 
far from being dependent on circumstances, are inva- 
riably of the same depth that is to say, the digger 
continues his work until his ear is on a level with the 
surface. But it is not a simple fosse, as with us ; for 
a kind of niche or cavity is dug in the side, of the 
necessary length, and about two feet high. This side 
chamber, so to speak, is intended for the reception of 
the corpse, which, on being lowered down, is there 



POLYGAZIY. 237 



placed of course, coffinless and is then shut in by 
means of the two boards that formed the bier. The 
body is thus enclosed in a rude earthen tomb, and the 
earth is thrown in gently, at first, till on a level 
with the top of the boards, and afterwards filled up 
in the ordinary manner. Offerings to the dead, in the 
shape of spices and flowers, are made afterwards at 
intervals, and stones or wooden posts are put up at 
the head and foot of the graves ; while, in accordance 
with old usage, the Malays plant at times the chum- 
paka and sulasih. 

To return for a moment to their marriage customs : 
the Malays are on the whole a moral people ; and 
though by the Mahomedan religion a man is allowed 
to marry four wives if he can support them, it is rare 
for a Malay to adopt this custom, which, with con- 
cubinage, is the practice of the more riotous chiefs. 
The ordinary native is a simple courteous being, 
who joins with an intense love of liberty a great 
affection for his simple home and its belongings ; and 
is ever ready to greet his fellow in the peculiar 
manner adopted in the country, where the newcomer 
or visitor approaches his host, or the man he wishes 
to salute, with hands joined as if in supplication, 
while the other touches them lightly with his own on 
either side, and afterwards raises his hands to his lips 
or forehead. The custom of nose-rubbing has been 
attributed to the Malays in their greetings, but it has 
never been seen by the writer. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

The kris : Sizes Damasking The execution kris The sword 
of state The klawang The parang Lance Spear of state 
Blowpipes Poisoned arrows Firearms Matchlocks Lelahs 
Stockades. 

HARDLY any weapon has attained to so evil a noto- 
riety as the kris of the Malay. It has been accredited 
with being deadly, fatally poisonous, and used upon 
the most trivial occasions by its owner. In fact, there 
have been writers who have made the Malay out to be 
worse than the swaggering followers of the Japanese 
chieftains, whose great delight is said to be to try the 
temper of their keen blades upon anything or any 
person they meet ; and have accused them of plunging 
a new kris into the body of the first comer to see its 
effect, while the lookers-on curiously examined the 
wound. Now, that the kris is a deadly weapon must be 
at once admitted, and that its use is far too frequent 
cannot be denied ; but when it is taken into considera- 
tion that in Perak every Malay wears a kris as part of 
his dress, "and that he is by nature quick to resent an 
insult, it will not be thought surprising that wounds 
are frequently given and deaths result. In fact, such 
occurrences were only too frequent in our own land 



TEE KRIS. 239 



when it was the custom for every gentleman to carry 
a sword ; and it is not so very long since, according 
to our code of honour, it was considered necessary for 
an insult to be washed out in blood. Fairly speaking, 
with the kris always ready to their hand, the wonder 
is that it is not more frequently used amongst the 
Malays than proves to be the case. In our Settle- 
ments, however, the people are not permitted to 
wear either the kris or any other weapon under the 
penalty of a fine. There are exceptions, though, to 
this police regulation in the special permission given 
to followers of the Maharajah of Johore and some 
other important chiefs. 

The great sin with which the kris is accredited by 
Europeans is that it is poisonous ; but though there 
may be cases where a kris has had its blade smeared 
with some virulent concoction, these are decidedly 
the exceptions, for the rule is that the blade is not 
poisoned ; and when on various occasions, while 
examining the weapon, the writer has alluded to the 
care necessary with so deadly an instrument, the 
Malay has ridiculed the idea of its being envenomed. 
In fact, it seems reasonable that this is not the case ; 
for if prepared with a vegetable poison, as it would 
probably be, the effect would only be transitory, from 
the action of the atmosphere destroying the deadly 
nature of the preparation, which would have to be 
constantly renewed ; while a Malay himself will say,, 
Why should it be poisoned when it will make so 



240 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

fatal a wound without ? There is great force in this 
last argument, for from its wavy flame-shaped blade, 
the kris, with its double edge, divides the flesh in a 
cut in a terrible manner, the wound being enormous 
as produced by so small a weapon ; and when it is 
used with the knowledge gained by experience, as 
in executions, a thrust seems to be almost instanta- 
neously fatal. 

To so wide a notoriety has this blade then 
attained, that it will be only fair to give it the 
precedence before firearms in describing the weapons 
of the Malay. As intimated, it is worn by all from 
the golo, a kris made of very inferior iron, carried by 
the poorest Malay, to the elaborate weapon orna- 
mented with gold, ivory, and precious stones ; one 
of which, as seen in the sarong of a chief in Lombok, 
was, from its diamond setting, valued at seven hun- 
dred pounds. A chief will frequently wear two or 
even more of these weapons. 

The spelling and pronunciation of this name have 
often been a difficulty with Europeans : the Por- 
tuguese, according to De la Loubere, calling it 
"christ," from the Malayan "crid," of which the 
best in his day came from Acheen. Crawfurd, the 
distinguished writer on Malay questions, thinks it 
is an abbreviation of the word karis, a dagger ; and 
that it took its rise in the scarcity and dearness of 
iron, which, unless imported, must have been rarer 
and dearer than gold itself. " It is not to be sup- 



SIZE OF KRIS. 241 



posed," he says, " without a cause so adequate, 
that the Indian Islanders, any more than semi- 
barbarians acquainted with the use of iron, could 
have neglected the useful and formidable sword for 
the trifling and ineffectual dagger ; and that the 
Indian Islanders have continued the use of their 
favourite weapon after the cause has in great measure 
ceased to operate needs not explanation to those who 
are aware of the obstinate adherence of barbarians to 
ancient habit and custom, particularly in matters 
where national pride and vanity are engaged." 

The blade of the Malay kris varies in width from 
one inch to one and a half, and in length from four- 
teen to eighteen inches. It is of various forms, accord- 
ing to the taste or station of the wearer, and is formed 
straight, slightly curved at the apex, and waving 
throughout from hilt to point ; sometimes with two or 
three curves, often with ten or a dozen. It is inva- 
riably two-edged, and very keen ; and many of the 
finer blades are veined and damascened in a very 
beautiful manner, having a dull dead silvery appear- 
ance for burnished steel finds no favour with these 
people. In the more ancient kinds it is no unusual 
thing to find the blade veined with gold or silver, 
which adds greatly to the beauty of the weapon. 
In fact, the maker of krises is looked upon by 
the Malays as a person of importance, just as the 
armourer was in ancient days with us ; and his blades 
are considered, as he fashions them of various designs, 



242 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

great works of art. This veining or watering a kris 
is called by the Malays pamur, and its mode of 
execution is admirably given by Mr. Newbold, who, 
in his " Straits of Malacca," dwells at some length on 
the method of damasking krises, a process which it 
has not been the writer's good fortune to witness. 
The recipe is doubtless obtained from the Malays 
themselves, and runs as follows : 

Place on the blade a mixture of boiled rice, sulphur, and salt, 
beat together, first taking the precaution of covering the edges of 
the weapon with a thin coat of virgin wax. After this has remained 
on seven days the damask will have risen to the surface. Take the 
composition off, and immerse the blade in the water of a young 
cocoa-nut, or the juice of a pine-apple, for seven days longer, and 
brush it well with the juice of a sour lemon. After the rust has 
been cleared away, rub it with arsenic (warangan) dissolved in 
lime-juice, wash it well with spring-water, dry, and anoint with 
cocoa-nut oil. 

The iron of which the blades is composed is a 
mixture obtained from Celebes and Java, which is 
blended with steel, and beaten up so that, as in our 
best gun-barrels, the welded metal shows a distinct 
grain, upon which the various artists pride themselves 
greatly an immense amount of care and industry 
being bestowed upon this work, as there is also upon 
the handles, which, from their peculiar curve, seem to 
a European very unsuitable for grasping in the hand. 
But when it is taken into consideration that they are 
held dagger- wise, it will be seen that a good grip can 
be taken, and the weapon used with deadly effect. 



THE EXECUTION KRIS. 243 

These handles are made of either gold, ivory, ebony, 
or the kamooning wood, and occasionally of buffalo- 
horn ; and in either case they are carved and polished 
with great taste, but generally with scrupulous atten- 
tion to the customs of their ancestors. 

Of late, a great deal of the manufacture of these 
weapons has been done by the Chinese, who are not 
only good smiths, but clever artificers in adorning and 
perfecting their work, especially the sheaths. These 
latter are composed of three distinct parts : the sam- 
piran, which is the ornamental part of the hilt ; the 
main sheath or envelope of the blade, which, like the 
garment, is called sarong ; and the buntul, or ferrule, 
at the end. The sheath is mostly of wood, with 
ornaments of ivory, hard-wood, or gold, to form the 
ferrule ; but in the case of valuable weapons it is 
formed wholly of gold ; while gold, brass, or an alloy 
of the two metals, is used to form the ornament to 
the handle. 

The kris is the instrument of execution, and one 
belonging to the Sultan of Salangore, which is used 
upon these occasions, is made with a straight narrow 
blade, and with a sheath of pure gold. The Malays 
are exceedingly punctilious in the shape, size, and 
general formation of their kris, and look upon its 
due perfection with superstitious awe ; for to certain 
weapons they attach as much importance as to the 
Excalibur of ancient chivalry.' Different forms of 
clamask produce different effects. With one kind 

E 2 



244 "SARONG" AND "KKIS." 

the owner of such a kris cannot be overcome ; others 
are generally auspicious ; another gives luck to its 
wearer when trading or voyaging ; and, generally, the 
value of the weapon does not depend on its costly orna- 
mentation, but upon the accuracy of proportion in its 
blade ; while a kris that has frequently shed blood 
is greatly increased in superstitious value. There is a 
reverse to this, however ; for where one of these 
weapons does not answer to certain proportions in 
its measurement with a piece of string, which is 
doubled or folded in three according to a very puerile 
formula, it is denounced as unlucky for the wearer 
not for him who receives its stab. The superstitions 
are, however, many in connection with this blade. 
If it has been an heirloom, or presented by some 
superior, it is proportionately esteemed ; and no 
greater reverence or higher qualities could have 
been attached to any of the celebrated blades of 
romance than is paid to this, the peculiar weapon of 
the Malay. 

The best krises are made by the Bugis, or at the 
ancient seat of the Malay power in Sumatra, already 
referred to as Menang Kabau ; but their manufacture 
is common in many of the native states, though the 
quality of the metal and the temper of the blade is 
not considered to be so good. 

The kris is held in far higher esteem than the 
lance, and these various points of estimation, as 
enumerated, are mentioned by several of the olden 



SWORD OF STATE. 245 

visitors to the countries inhabited by the Malays ; in 
fact, these peculiarities are very prominent, and are 
readily observed, having been handed down from 
generation to generation, and impressed upon the 
young as part of their ^.ucation. Considered an 
almost indispensable article of his dress, the Malay 
always wears his kris on the left side, where it is 
held up by the twisting of the sarong, with which 
during an interview it is considered respectful to 
conceal the weapon; and its handle is turned with 
its point close to the body if the wearer is friendly. 
If, however, there is ill blood existing, and the wearer 
be angry, the kris is exposed, and the point of the 
handle turned the reverse way. To refer once more 
to the question of poisoning the blade, no instance of 
this has come to the knowledge of the writer, either 
in Perak or the other states of the peninsula. 

The sword is also held in much veneration. It is, 
to all intents and purposes, an ornament, being seldom 
worn or used in war, but taking its place amongst the 
various objects forming the regalia of a native state ; 
and on state occasions it is always carried by a 
faithful and special attendant upon the sultan, rajah, 
or chief, who is styled the Buntara, or sword-bearer. 
His care of the sword is excessive, and when he rests 
it anywhere it is only upon his right shoulder, with 
the hilt uppermost, and not there till he has first 
placed for it to rest upon a handkerchief or cloth kept 
for the purpose. Kespect for the weapon demands 



246 "SAEONG" AND "KRIS." 

that this shall invariably be done ; and in the illus- 
tration representing Sultan Abdullah and his chiefs, 
these points will be seen rigorously attended to by the 
various buntaras who carry the swords or weapons of 
state. These frequently have the hilts jewelled very 
richly, and the scabbards covered with the royal yellow 
in silk or velvet ; and the custom of sending the sword 
with its bearer as an ambassador in advance of the 
chief is not uncommon. In fact, if the buntara carries 
the Eajah's sword to a house where, as is elsewhere 
referred to, there is a maiden the chief desires, it is 
sufficient, and the superior's command is obeyed. This 
custom of sending the sword in advance has been 
more than once adopted by European officials in the 
peninsula, who have been well acquainted with the 
habits of the people, and who probably considered 
that this acceptance of their forms would be agree- 
able ; but whether appreciated by the Malays is quite 
another matter. The sword seems to be associated by 
these people more with their idea of antiquity, and its 
use is tinged with religion. It is a weapon of form, like 
our own swords of state and those placed behind the 
judges ; and the Malay's veneration for it is probably 
derived from the respect which they found the Arabs 
to possess for the sword as handed down to them by 
Mahomet. In fact, a Mahomedan conqueror of the 
Greeks is called by them one of the Swords of God. 

There is a sword of state in the regalia of Perak ;. 
and this, with other articles composing it, including 



SWOED OF STATE. 247 

no fewer than twenty of the choicest elephants of the 
country elephants being a part of the regalia was 
carried off by Sultan Ismail during the " little war," in 
his flight from Blanja and Kinta, when startled by 
the Malays under Eajah Mahmood forming the 
advance-guard of our troops. 

The Malays related to us an incident concerning 
this sword which is worthy of repetition, as it shows 
the great respect paid by the people to this weapon. 
During his flight Ismail was at a place in the jungle 
called Campong Kampayan, and in his distress he 
sent for his chief punghulu, or native chief, who, 
probably seeing the hopeless state of the country after 
the murder of Mr. Birch, and concluding that his 
master's chance was irretrievably gone, refused to 
come. Upon learning this, Ismail drew this sword 
from the scabbard, and planting it in the ground, 
thus addressed it : " If you are, as I believe, the 
invulnerable pillar of the state, I shall yet return 
to my country." Then reverently replacing the sword 
in its scabbard, he hastily mounted his elephant, and 
fled with his wives to Chumoh. 

According to Newbold, the Malays consider the 
sword to have prior claims to antiquity to the spear, 
and it is said to be found sculptured on ancient 
temples and tombs in Java ; while one celebrated 
weapon of legendary lore is said to have been em- 
ployed to kill an enormous serpent, which ravaged 
Menang Kabau in the twelfth century. Amongst the 



248 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

other swords found amongst the Malays there is the 
Jclawang, a long heavy blade, with a peculiarly-shaped 
buffalo-horn handle, the blade increasing in width to 
nearly the point, somewhat after the representations 
of the old scimitar of the artist, but in this case the 
blade is straight ; and there is also the naga, or 
dragon-headed sword, a somewhat similar weapon to 
the last, only that its buffalo-horn hilt is carved into 
the Malayan idea of a dragon, the same as the prows 
of their dragon-boats. It is richly ornamented with 
silver, and borne by the attendants as previously 
described. The weapon worn by Sultan Abdullah in 
the engraving, it should be mentioned, is probably 
of European manufacture, and goes with his uniform, 
both being extra Malay in every point. 

A knife is invariably carried at the waist by the 
lower-class Malay, or he may have instead the little 
common kris known as a golo ; but the peasant's 
regular cutting instrument, one which serves the 
purpose of both knife and weapon, is the parang, 
which he wears slung at his left side like a short 
sword ; and the dexterous way in which this is used 
in cutting a way through the jungle is often the 
admiration of the European. It is so well weighted 
and balanced at the point, that a very slight effort is 
needed to cut through the brushwood of the forest^ 
They have also a sword with a thin blade, which 
being of a finely-tempered steel, is capable of taking 
a remarkably good edge. The Malays are very dex- 



THE LIMBING. 249 



terous in its use, and perform one feat with it of 
which they are as proud as the horseman is of his 
tent-pegging on the plains of India. The Malay 
places a plantain-stem loosely on the ground, and 
then, without suffering it to fall, divides it again and 
again, slicing directly through the stem by means of a 
series of right and left cuts, delivered with admirable 
rapidity and effect. 

The earliest weapons of the Malays were, after 
clubs, in spite of their own opinions, most probably 
spears, of which the forest would yield an inex- 
haustible supply in the shape of bamboos ; which 
were hardened at the ends with fire, and then brought 
to a point, and used in connection with a wooden 
shield or buckler. At the present time the spear is 
still a favourite weapon ; and in his attacks upon his 
enemies the Malay places great faith in its deadly 
qualities. It is called a limbing, and is not only 
used with great effect as a lance, but when driven to 
desperation the Malay hurls it like a javelin with 
almost unerring aim. The shaft is from five to seven 
feet in length, and is usually made of a hard red 
wood ; but, unlike that of the ancient Malays, its 
head is of fine steel, dagger-shaped, and sharpened to 
an edge equal to that of a razor. The men of Perak 
are particularly expert in the use of this weapon, as 
many of us, in view of those we lost during the little 
war at the piratical village of Kotah Lamah, had only 
too accurate and painful evidence ; for the thrower was 



250 "SARONG" AND 



often unseen, while the spear came like an arrow in 
its velocity, and inflicted a wound nearly as deadly as 
a bayonet- thrust. 

Another spear or lance used by these people is 
known as the torribak bandrang, and this is more a 
spear of state. Like the spear carried by the Bugis, 
it is largely ornamented with hair, dyed red or black ; 
and this flows down from the upper part of the 
handle. These have their special bearers, and are 
carried before the chiefs on state occasions. The 
sling, it seems, was also known, but very little used, 
as was also the case with the bow; but both these 
weapons seem to have been considered of light value 
even before the introduction of firearms. Probably this 
was due to the expert use made of the sumpitan, or 
blow-pipe, which in some cases was made to act as 
the shaft of a spear as well. 

These blow-pipes are especially in use amongst the 
Sakais, who also carry the parang and a long-shafted 
spear. A small quiver of bamboo contains the arrows, 
and these are decidedly of two kinds the poisoned 
and non-poisonous. Some of these slender darts are 
sent with such swiftness from the long blow-pipe, 
which is frequently nine or ten feet in length, that 
for a considerable distance they are invisible, and the 
aim is wonderful in its precision. The sumpitan is 
of course a narrow tube ; while the arrow is about as 
thick as a crowquill, eight inches long, and pointed, 
the other end being covered with down or pith to 



POISONED ARROWS. 251 

make it fit the tube. The point, if venomed, is coated 
with the poisoning preparation for about an inch ; 
and where it ends the wood is cut, so that the point 
may easily break off in a wound. 

The Sakais use different kinds of poison for these 
arrows, and prepare them with a great deal of the 
mummery of superstition ; so that the concoction 
somewhat resembles the work of witchcraft. Ipoh, 
or upas ; tuba, the plant used for poisoning fish, 
and which is apparently the cocculus indicus of our 
druggists' shops; and red arsenic, or warangan, are 
amongst the primary articles used in their prepara- 
tions, mingled with others which probably only act 
the part of vehicle. A decoction is, however, made 
in various forms over a charcoal fire, simmered down 
to a syrup, and afterwards poured into bamboos for 
preservation. These various poisons are of a dark 
colour, and emit a strong narcotic odour, probably 
from the opium added. Their power, however, seems 
to be evanescent, as they deteriorate by keeping. 

In experiments made before Lieutenant Newbold, 
a squirrel, after being shot, died in twelve minutes ; 
young dogs in about forty ; a fowl in two hours, 
though one lingered over seven. One of their pre- 
parations, however, is asserted by the Benua to be so 
strong, that three arrows tipped with it will kill a 
man in less than an hour, and a tiger in three. 

The Malays must have been acquainted with 
artillery from very early times, for De Barros, in 



252 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

speaking of the taking of Malacca by the Portuguese 
in 1510, says that the guns were of great size, " but 
that they found no more than 3000 out of 8000, said 
to be by Ruy de Arajo" (a prisoner of Segueera's fleet), 
in this city. Among them was one " very beautiful 
piece, which the King of Calicut had lately sent a 
Hindu prince, called by the Portuguese, Zamosin." 
And later still, the same writer, in giving an account 
of an expedition sent by the Malays of Java against 
Malacca, after its possession by the Portuguese, says 
that the force was provided with artillery made in Java. 

As to lighter pieces, matchlocks have also been 
known to the Malays since at least the middle of the 
fourteenth century, and the name they give them is 
snapang, probably from the Dutch snap-pan, and 
from these they fire tin bullets, in which it is said 
they frequently insert pieces of common earthenware 
or china. This has not been observed by the writer ; 
but in some that were fired against the expedition 
during the late rising, it was no uncommon thing to 
find a grain of rice. Old-fashioned blunderbusses, 
too, seem to have been in favour, several of which 
were seen in Kotah Lamah, which was a regular haunt 
of fighting men. 

The matchlocks made at Menang Kabau which 
for many generations has been famous for its arms 
are the most in favour, but they are clumsy pieces, 
with stocks literally for holding the barrel, as they do 
not fit the shoulder ; while the gun itself is laid, on 



LELAHS. 253 



account of its weight, in a rest, and the aim taken by 
lowering the piece is very indifferent. They have 
finely-worked locks of brass, which are made for hold- 
ing the match of coir-rope ; but these pieces are natu- 
rally set aside when European guns can be obtained, 
and muskets and rifles are now not uncommon. Like 
the handle of the naga, the natives are very fond of 
having their blunderbusses with mouths worked up 
into the form of the dragon's head ; and this is done 
with some skill. As to the barrels, the native smiths, 
with very indifferent tools, twist a bar of tough iron 
round a rod, weld it together, and after inserting the- 
barrel in the earth for steadiness, bore it smoothly 
out, and produce twisted barrels of very handsome 
workmanship, though they fail in the finer mechanism 
of the locks. 

The heavy guns employed in stockades are gene- 
rally long pieces of brass called lelahs ; they are, large 
guns, but have a very small bore, and only carry a 
two or three pound iron shot. These are the guns that 
are used in the large praus in piratical expeditions, and 
their ordinary range is four or five hundred yards,, 
though with elevation the distance can be much in- 
creased. In these more peaceful times, when piracy 
is nearly extinct, they are kept for more harmless pur- 
poses, one Eajah at the native state of Tringanu a 
celebrated place for the manufacture of ordnance 
having four mounted on swivels upon the beach, where 
they are used for firing salutes. 



254 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Occasionally, however, heavier guns are purchased 
at Penang and Singapore, where they can easily be 
procured, and in this way some of the rajahs are pos- 
sessed of six-pounder iron guns and carronades. These 
iron guns they call miriams, derived probably, says 
Crawfurd, from the name of " Mary," as being known 
to them first from the Arabs, who had obtained them 
from the Christians a derivation that might be 
looked upon as of not much value, only for the 
peculiar instances that are met with again and again. 
The swivel is the favourite means of mounting their 
guns, especially the smaller lelahs, which are found 
with bores as small as an inch in diameter ; and from 
these slugs are fired, as in the case of the matchlocks, 
made of tin. As may readily be supposed, these 
bullets, from the lightness of the metal, have only a 
short range. 

For the manufacture of their gunpowder the 
natives of Perak have a fair supply of nitre, or salt- 
petre, in the state ; the preparation of charcoal is very 
common ; and the sulphur has been probably obtained 
from the Bugis traders, who brought it from Java and 
the Celebes, or such volcanic islands in the neighbour- 
hood as produced it in abundance. A good deal of 
nitre is easily procurable from the caverns in the lime- 
stone, where the excreta of bats lies to a considerable 
depth, and gives forth this salt on preparation. As a 
rule, the native gunpowder the art of manufacturing 
which was probably learned from the Chinese is poor 



STOCKADES. 255 



in strength, and coarse in grain ; but, to meet this 
difficulty, they prepare a finer sort, which is retained 
for the purpose of priming their guns. Cartridges 
are not unknown, but cane is substituted for paper, 
and these seem to resemble the old bandoleers 
of our musketeers of two or three hundred years 

ago- 
Taken altogether, the Malay has proved very slow 

at adopting the implements of war of more civilised 
nations, and though he possesses firearms in their 
various forms, the favourite weapons are still the 
limbing, or lance, and the kris, as shown by the native 
proceedings in the late war. 

One of the principal features of their warfare is 
the stockade, in the construction of which defence 
the Malays are very expert. In fact, they are at their 
best when fighting under cover a fact of which they 
are wdl aware, and hence the care that is taken 
in the woodland fortifications. As an enemy they 
are very little to be dreaded in the open, seldom 
if ever venturing to make a regular attack, except on 
single men or defenceless parties on the line of com- 
munication, as they showed during the war, when the 
postal runners were frequently speared while going 
with despatches from post to post. In making their 
stockades which the reader is aware consist of strong 
fences of bamboo or other material, to keep out an 
enemy they display great dexterity, both in the 
selection of a suitable locality to place the fortification, 



256 "SAKONG" AND "KElS." 

and the choice and manipulation of the materials at 
their command. 

In Perak, excepting at Passir Sola, there were no 
stockades of any importance during the little war, 
probably because there was no real intention on the 
side of the chiefs elsewhere to forcibly resist the 
British authority, as there was in fact no ankatan, or 
rising : or it may have been that the measures taken 
by the authorities, consequent upon the murder of 
Mr. Birch at this place, were too rapid to enable a 
slow-moving people to erect defences and prepare for 
war. Hence it was that all the principal villages 
which might have been provided with this means of 
defence remained open to attack. 

In other parts of the peninsula, however, stockades 
of a very formidable nature existed, such as could not 
be taken by a European force without the aid of the 
vertical fire of artillery. Among these were the de- 
fences erected by the Malays in the Terrachee valley 
in Songhy Ujong. These were well manned, and 
would probably have held out against us, had they 
not been taken by surprise and gallantly turned by 
Major Channer, V.C., and the force under Colonel 
Clay. 

The favourite positions for erecting these fortifica- 
tions are often such as would be chosen by a trained 
European engineer, since natural strength is selected, 
and the protection afforded by defiles, hills, or a river 
or impassable swamp. In some cases the walls are 



STOCKADES. 257 



made of mud, in others of stout pieces of hard- wood 
laid side by side, while a favourite plan is to drive 
two rows of stakes deeply into the soil, point their 
ends, and fill up the space between with mud and 
stones, thus forming a strong wall. Outside this 
fence or wall, a ditch is dug of an average depth of 
five feet, and a similar width, the earth being thrown 
outwards, when it is not required inside the stockade 
to make platforms for the guns, or for filling up the 
spaces between the rows of stakes. 

One stockade at Sempang, Malacca, was of a 
different form ; in fact, it almost merited the title of a 
military blockhouse. It was built on a point of land 
with the branch of a river flowing on either side, and 
was capable of containing thirty or forty men. The 
sides were of stout planking, loopholed for musketry, 
with trap-doors to let down like the portholes of a 
ship, in which guns were placed to command the river. 
The roof was the feeblest part, being merely attap; but 
it was built on posts in a deep trench, the earth of 
which was thrown up at the sides, and sloped so as to 
form a glacis right up to the loopholes and embrasures 
of the guns. The entrance was by means of a ladder, 
which was afterwards drawn up within, effectually 
preventing further ingress, while the raised floor was 
perforated here and there, so as to enable the defenders 
to keep their enemy at a distance to the very last. 
The interior was shown in a drawing sent to the 
Graphic and published in November, 1875. 



258 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

In the rear of this building were two more kooboos, 
or stockades, so placed as to give a command of fire 
right and left of the main defence. So cleverly was 
the whole designed, that all pointed to the fact that 
the Malay who constructed the place had obtained 
some of his ideas from Western nations, probably from 
what he had seen done by the British soldiery during 
the Naning War of 1832 ; or he may have profited by 
the works of the Dutch and Portuguese engineers, 
whose practice it was to build forts whenever a factory 
or trading emporium was established. These were 
erected all over the peninsula, and the remains of 
many of them exist to the present time. 

The Malay is very ingenious in hampering the 

advance of an enemy, or hindering him when in pursuit. 

One favourite instrument for this purpose is the 

ranjow, which is of various sizes, and composed of 

bamboo hardened in the fire and sharply pointed. 

These ranjows, or stakes, are stuck about in the long 

grass, with their points towards the coming enemy, 

and in their native wars cause terrible injuries to the 

bare feet and legs of the people ; and even with 

European troops they are obstacles not to be despised 

in a march through the jungle. In warfare a Malay 

will carry a bundle of these upon his back, ready to 

plant here and there, whilst larger kinds are not unfre- 

quently placed about their stockades, which are often 

provided with an ambush in the shape of extensive 

growths of maize or sugar-cane. 



STOCKADES. 259 



Trees are often cut down, either to fall across a 
track, or with their tops towards the coming foe, and 
these form a serious obstacle to the advance of troops 
where the jungle is like an impenetrable wall on either 
side. This was done on the elephant-track to Kinta, 
near a place called Chankat Dungla, along which 
General Colborne and his forces successfully threaded 
their way with their guns in the face of obstacles of 
every kind. For the people of Perak, in spite of the 
frequent sounding of the gong for the signal to attack 
during the late war, proved themselves, probably from 
native jealousies, incapable of being organised, and led 
to perform a feat of any magnitude ; the injury to our 
forces being for the most part in surprises or attacks 
upon the weak and unprepared. 



s 2 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Swimming Music Games : Ball-play Chess Cock-fighting 
The national sport. 

ALLUSION has been made more than once to the love 
of bathing displayed by the Malays, but their power 
as swimmers has not been mentioned. In this pursuit 
they are very able, and as divers exhibit qualities of 
endurance that are surprising. One instance of their 
power in this direction is well worthy of note. It was 
in the case of a ship that had touched upon a coral- 
reef and made a rent in the sheathing, when a Malay, 
being furnished with a sheet of copper suitable in size, 
and perforated with holes round the edge, dived down 
with the piece, a hammer, and a nail, staying under 
water long enough to fit the copper in its place over 
the leak, and drive in one nail before coming to the 
surface, and then going down to drive in nail after 
nail till the plate was fixed, his movements being 
perfectly visible through the clear water. 

Tanks are favourite bathing -places ; and over 
these, amongst the higher classes, it is a common 
practice to erect a room for dressing and perfuming 



MUSIC. 261 



themselves ; and excursions in boats to bathing-places 
form the Malay idea of a picnic, for they will make 
their journey, and then spend the day in bathing, 
dressing, and the preparation of delicious dishes for 
feasting, while the return home from the trip amongst 
the lilies and lotus-plants is made pleasant with music 
and singing. Altogether, there is something very 
dreamy and delicious in these excursions, indulged in, 
as they are, in a soft climate, amidst the beautiful 
vegetation of the eastern land ; and it is to be re- 
gretted that all the Malayan peasants are not so inno- 
cent and idyllic. 

They are particularly fond of singing, and often 
engage in musical contests, displaying a good ear and 
readily catching up European airs. In fact, the 
Maharajah of Johore has trained a band of young Malays 
to play on the regular brass and stringed instruments 
of our own country, and their rendering of operatic airs 
is anything but despicable, their performances being, 
indeed, quite equal to those of the bands of Siam, 
which have obtained some notoriety. 

Amongst the native instruments the violin is the 
favourite, but there is also a kind of guitar. The per- 
cussion instrument that stands first with the Malays 
is the gong, which is their beau ideal of martial music? 
and is sounded as a signal of assembly or alarm, and 
for commencing a fight in war-prau or stockade. They 
have also a kind of wooden gong or bell, formed 
of the trunk of a tree, a portion of which is hoi- 



262 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

lowed out and suspended from a framework. When 
this is struck with a mallet, the hollow boom is carried 
to great distances, and the idea has been taken up and 
used for signalling at our police stations in the Settle- 
ments. In fact, the Malays have a very good idea of 
the sonorous properties of wood, as evinced in the 
wooden instrument, with its sad, but not unpleasing 
wail, suspended in their trees, and also in a kind of 
harmonicon, formed of graduated pieces of hard-wood 
or bamboo, ranged in a coffin-shaped box, and struck 
with a small hammer, having a pliable handle. The 
mosque drum has been mentioned, but they have also 
one which they call tambour, a very familiar and 
evidently borrowed name, just as the term biola for 
the one-stringed violin must be of western origin. 

Dancing is indulged in occasionally at festivals, 
where the young people meet, but strict watch is kept 
the while by the elder dames, for a Mahomedan does 
not approve of our western customs in this respect. 
They have, however, professional dancing-girls, whose 
costume is made attractive with artificial flowers and 
a crown of tinsel and gilding ; these are, however, rare 
in Perak. 

The people of Perak and the peninsula, though 
not players at cricket and lawn tennis, which will 
doubtless come with the spread of civilisation, have 
something in the shape of athletic sports, for the 
young men will indulge in wrestling bouts with some 
display of vigour. They are very expert, too, in 



GAMES. 263 



tossing the raga, or wicker-ball, which is thrown in 
the air to one of the party, and the object then is to 
keep it up, this being done with hands, feet, shoulders, 
or knees, every part of the body being brought into 
play to keep the elastic ball from falling to the ground. 
Their dexterity at times over this is wonderful, and 
the game forms a healthy, invigorating amusement, 
that might well come into fashion in England, in spite 
of its resemblance to our own football, upon which 
it may by some be considered as a refinement. 

Sometimes at their festivals a kind of imitation 
war-dance is indulged in, which has the drawback, 
however, of the opposing parties waxing warm with 
excitement, and exchanging the artificial for the 
genuine, getting up quite a real fight, and having to 
be withdrawn. The Malays of Province Wellesley, 
who accompanied Mr. W. Maxwell, our Deputy-com- 
missioner to Perak, gave us at his request some very 
amusing exhibitions of this kind. This was during 
the expedition to put down the rising ; and these Pro- 
vince Wellesley Malays, who have been for some time 
under British rule, were most loyal in their behaviour, 
and certainly deserved some recognition of the action 
they took a recognition that it would not have been 
bad policy to give them in some significant way. For 
they stood bravely by their officers when under fire in 
a most cheerful and steady manner ; and it must have 
been very galling to their own countrymen and co- 
religionists in Perak to witness this, while it was a 



264 u 82BONa" AND "KRIS." 

remarkably trying test of their own faithfulness to 
their Christian masters. 

Among their quieter games the Malays are not 
unaware of the amusement afforded by riddles and 
enigmas, some of which, as propounded by the more 
educated classes, are clever and hard to solve. Chess 
too is known, and played by them on what they 
call papun chatoor literally, a plank with chequers. 
Their pieces are very similar to the European, and 
they give them the names of 

Eajah. King. 

Muntri, or Vizier. Queen. 

Gajah (Elephant). Bishop. 

Koodah (Hare). Knight. 

Ter (Chariot). Castle. 

Beedah (Foot-soldier). Pawn. 

The game they call gajah main gajah, " the game 
of elephant." Check is sah ; and mat, check-mate. 

This word main signifies to play or gamble, and 
is in the latter case used in conjunction with the word 
judi. This was originally main judi, to gamble with 
small shells, or judis, hence the term. Gambling is 
one of the Malay's greatest failings, for a man will not 
only stake his all, but even his person, and, if mar- 
ried, his wife and children, becoming, as already inti- 
mated, the slaves of the more fortunate players. Dice 
and cards have been introduced by the Chinese, and 
over these considerable sums (for them) are lost : but 
it is with their more national games that perhaps the 



COCK-FIGHTING. 265 



heaviest stakes are hazarded. For under the term 
national may be included the quail and cock fighting, 
and the bull and tiger fight. 

Cock-fighting especially is much practised by the 
inhabitants of Perak and other parts of the 1 peninsula, 
though wisely interdicted in our own settlements. 
Like many other Malay customs, it seems to have 
been first introduced from the island of Sumatra, 
probably from Menang Kabau, and has gradually 
spread itself all over the Archipelago, making its chief 
home in Manilla, where it is now recognised by the 
Government though it is said not to have been 
known there till the arrival of the Malays to colonise 
or trade. 

So great is the love of this sport, that not only 
have poems eulogising it been written, but codes 
describing the laws and best breeds of fighting-cocks. 
No less than ten good kinds are mentioned under 
specific names ; and their breeding and training is made 
more of an art amongst the people than, according to 
the writer's own knowledge, it was some years since 
amongst the princes of Central India. The Malays 
frequently use the artificial spur of steel, called by 
them golok or taji. This is from an inch and a half to 
two inches in length, about one-eighth of an inch in 
breadth, sharpened on both sides, keenly pointed, and 
straight or curved according to the taste of the owner 
one being generally used, but two if to match a weak 
bird against one that is stronger. This spur is tied 



266 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

on the leg, either above, below, or on the natural 
spur itself. Upon important occasions large bets are 
made on the result of the contest in the golongan, or 
cockpit; and the losers, as is usual in most gaming 
transactions, are often driven to great desperation, 
and bitter feuds are consequently engendered. 

Quails are often fought in the same way ; for 
these and several other varieties of birds can easily 
be trained to display their pugnacity in a battle with 
a stranger-bird ; while even crickets are matched one 
against the other, and fight with vigour. 

The cock-fights are cruel in the extreme ; for the 
spurs are sharpened on a fine whetstone, and the 
gashes inflicted upon the unfortunate birds frequently 
result in death ; for the combatants are as daring as 
our own game-fowl. But they are not dubbed and 
trimmed, as used to be the custom in our own more 
barbarous days, but fight in full feather. 

The grand national sport is the tiger and buffalo 
fight ; but this is not very frequently indulged in, on 
account of the great trouble and expense necessitated 
in preparing a fitting enclosure, and also perhaps 
from the difficulty of obtaining suitable animals to pit 
one against the other in the contest. 

Upon the occasion of the Duke of Edinburgh's 
visit to the Straits Settlements, one of these displays 
was prepared by a native prince ; and on the day 
arranged the two beasts were placed in a strong 
enclosure made of stakes of the nibong-palm, tho- 



THE NATIONAL SPORT. 267 

roughly secured and strengthened with iron, so that 
there was not the slightest risk to the lookers-on. In 
the centre was a large curtain, which divided the 
buffalo from the tiger ; and for a time the spectators 
had an opportunity of examining the peculiarities of 
each animal. The buffalo was a splendid creature of 
its kind, fresh from roaming about in its native pas- 
tures, but it was heavy and dull-looking in the ex- 
treme. The tiger too was a magnificent animal, with 
its glossy coat and lithe graceful movements ; but it 
had the disadvantage of having been confined to its 
cage since its capture. 

Upon a signal being given the two animals, which 
had been calmly observant of the crowd, were sud- 
denly brought face to face by the quick withdrawal of 
the curtain, and then the change in each was remark- 
able. The dull and heavy buffalo suddenly assumed 
an aspect of intense ferocity. The horns, usually 
pointed back, were thrown forward ; the thick strong 
neck seemed to swell out till it was twice its natural 
size ; the body was curved into an arch ; the tail 
erect : and quite motionless, but watchful in the ex- 
treme, the animal awaited the tiger's attack. The tiger 
on its part seemed nothing loath to engage in the con- 
test. Its eyes dilated ; the hair about its neck stood 
erect ; its face seemed to flatten out and grow broader ; 
and with its lithe tail twisting and writhing gently, it 
crawled for a short distance close to the ground, and 
then gathered itself up for its tremendous spring. 



268 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Meanwhile the buffalo remained, with its pointed 
horns and eyes fixed upon its adversary, awaiting the 
charge, which was not long in coming ; for the tiger 
made one tremendous bound with apparently irre- 
sistible force, trying to catch the buffalo by the back 
of the neck ; but in this case it was unsuccessful, and 
only made a flesh-wound with its powerful claws, 
before it was thrown off with apparent ease. 

Foiled in its attack, it now began to sidle off like 
a great cat, when, before it could get ready for another 
spring, it was set upon by the buffalo in turn, the 
furious beast rushing at it, and with a roar of rage 
burying one of its sharp horns in the striped flank, 
and then following it up with a series of thrusts and 
tossings till its feline enemy was gored to death. 

This was one of the now rare exhibitions of the 
kind ; for the buffalo and tiger fight, and other bar- 
barous practices, are rapidly dying out before the 
advance of .Western civilisation, and the introduction 
of more humanising games. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Seafaring Boat-building The Dragon boat Sampans Praus 
Little Mercy Piratical craft. 

THE generally-received idea of a Malay is that lie is 
a pirate, who goes about in a prau, armed with a kris, 
and robs and murders every unfortunate being he 
encounters : but probably the reader who has gone so 
far through these pages has come to the conclusion 
that the native of the peninsula and the neighbouring 
isles is a man a little higher in the scale. " Some 
writers/' says Marsden, "have compared the human 
species inhabiting a country to the animals indige- 
nous to the same place : hence the Malay is said to 
resemble both the tiger and the buffalo of his land. 
In his domestic state he is like the latter indolent, 
stubborn, and voluptuous ; while in his adventurous 
life and. in his ire he is like the tiger bloodthirsty, 
cruel, and rapacious." 

This comparison is greatly overdrawn, but there is 
a grain of truth in it, for coupled as the Malay has 
been by early association with the Arab, and having 
embraced his religion, it is in no wise surprising that 



270 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

we should find the " robber of the desert " converted 
in some instances into the " inveterate pirate/' with, 
at the same time, that utter indifference to the future 
which fatalism alone engenders. It must not, how- 
ever, be supposed that as a rule the Malay is a pirate 
of the old school, for the piracies are, for the most part, 
chieftain-like raids. There is no petty thieving, but 
bold attacks upon vessels by men who seem to have 
considered that they had a right to mulct the travellers 
on the great highway of the sea at their will. "With 
such ideas then, and having always been a great 
maritime nation, whose wanderings have extended 
from the east coast of Africa to the Pacific, it is not 
surprising that to a great extent the Malays have been 
freebooters. Good sailors they have always been, and 
to the present day they are the best eastern seamen a 
captain can obtain ; and the fame of the Lascars is 
known to every trader on the sea, some captains going 
so far as to say that they would infinitely prefer 
Lascars to English seamen for the former are always 
sober, quiet, and to be depended upon. 

A bad character has, however, attached to them in 
the past, and to a great extent this has been deserved, 
for the piracies of the chiefs have been many and 
frequent. In the neighbourhood of the Straits they 
have, through the vigilance of the cruisers, become 
very rare ; but a few years back the smaller trading 
vessels, such as those of the Bugis, had to run a 
dangerous gauntlet, especially anywhere in the neigh- 



SAMPANS. 271 



bourhood of Borneo. Lingin, an island near the Straits 
of Banca, was a regular stronghold of piracy, and its 
inhabitants forayed principally on the Malay and 
Bugis praus, seizing the goods, and selling captain 
and crew for slaves. European vessels were pretty 
generally respected, especially those bearing the 
English flag; probably, says the narrator of the 
danger of these seas, fro*m the fact that five praus 
attacked an English sloop-of-war one hazy morning in 
mistake for an Arab vessel. " In less than five minutes 
four of the five were sunk, each having received one 
broadside only, while the fifth got under the land by 
the help of her oars. These praus had six guns each 
and one hundred and seventy men." 

We read, too, that in bygone times the Chinese 
vessels that traded with Ceylon and India were not 
only built in a superior manner to Indian and Arabian 
ships, but were very much larger, in consequence of 
having to defend themselves from the remorseless 
pirates who appear from time immemorial to have 
infested the Straits of Malacca. These ships were 
manned with from two to five hundred, and even a 
thousand men, were well-armed, and provided with 
naphtha to burn their assailants' vessels. 

The boats built by the Malays are called sampans, 
whilst those intended for sea-going purposes, no matter 
what their size, are termed praus. They are in fact 
canoes, with plank built upon plank, to the height 
of bulwark considered necessary, while the sternpost 



272 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

is carried up to a great height, from which the planks 
curve down to the side. The material used for making 
the bottoms of their boats water-tight is called by the 
Malays gala-gala, and is a composition of the resin 
dammar and lime ; the seams being caulked with either 
the soft bark of a tree which grows in marshy places, 
or the scraped peel of a kind of cane in both cases 
dammar is afterwards used as we apply pitch. Bar- 
thema speaks of the praus of his day as being large 
vessels, capable of carrying on a trade between Malacca 
and Masulipatam, the port in India which, according 
to D'Anville, Ptolemy refers to as being near to the 
place whence vessels traded to Malacca. 

The lines of the vessels are peculiar to the Malay, 
and by those who are competent to judge they are 
pronounced excellent ; though Mr. Wallace had strong 
doubts of the stability of those in which some of his 
trips to the eastern islands were made, the open ports 
constructed at the sides for steering purposes being 
dangerous from their liability to ship water in a high 
sea : but the same writer speaks very highly of the 
boat-building qualities of some of the people he en- 
countered. 

The sampans are capable of being propelled through 
the water at a high rate of speed by means of the 
Malay dayong, or oar ; and in a long journey, when 
the powers of endurance would have to be called into 
play, Europeans would have some difficulty in dis- 
tancing the natives. When sails are used they are 



THE DRAGON SO AT. 273 

of matting or cloth ; and in steering, the paddle is 
frequently used in preference to the rudder, and 
managed with great cleverness and dexterity. Men- 
tion was made of their anchors being used in connec- 
tion with a heavy weight of stone ; and an old writer 
speaks of this in saying : " For their galleys they 
have only wooden anchors, for they know not how to 
melt the iron of their iron mines ; and to the end that 
their anchors may sink to the bottom, they fasten 
stones unto them. They have neither pins nor 
needles, nor nails, nor chisels, nor saws." 

This holds good to the present day concerning 
the anchors, which, in the common vessels, are fre- 
quently lost in the interstices of the coral reefs ; but 
the captain of the boat has this advantage : he halts 
at the next suitable island, and fits himself with fresh 
anchors from the crooked wood of the jungle. 

Specimens of the sampans of the Perak river are 
seen moored to the side in the illustration represent- 
ing the general appearance of a Malay village on the 
river-bank ; and in the accompanying engraving a 
representation is given of a sampan made specially, 
and under his own inspection, for the late Eesident, 
and in which the late Governor, Sir William Jervois, 
visited the country prior to the disturbances. Such 
a boat is called by the people a sampan naga, or 
dragon sampan, from the representation on its figure- 
head of a fabulous serpent. It was when ascending 
the river in this boat that Mr. Birch was so brutally 



274 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

set upon and murdered at Passir Sala ; and the boat 
was afterwards sent up the river to ex-Sultan Ismail by 
the murderers, but at once returned, and is now, to the 
best of the writer's belief, still in use at the Eesidency. 

Such a barge is provided with a kind of matting- 
tent in the stern, giving room for sleeping, and for 
the arrangement of guns and spears on the sides. A 
kind of platform exists in the extreme stern for the 
steersman, and in front is an awning of mats, with 
seats for the rowers or paddlers, and poles laid along 
ready for punting through the shallows. The Malay 
boatmen employed by the Government wear a white 
tunic ; and a flat white cap resembling those of the 
Prussians. 

The rafts, so cleverly constructed by binding 
bamboos together with rattans, have been mentioned 
in connection with crossing the rapids, and in the far 
interior the Malays even reside upon them ; but they 
always prefer to build their houses on the shore, and 
on posts well raised from the ground. 

To turn to the praus that have been used by the 
Malays for their piracies : these average about ten tons 
burden, though some are made of fifty, sixty, or even 
one hundred tons, and are propelled through the water 
with paddles at a very great rate. The stockade style 
of fighting is introduced, for they erect wooden screens 
which will keep off musket-balls, and from behind 
these the crew fire their swivel-mounted lelahs till the 
vessel they attack shows signs of giving in, or board- 



PRAUS. 275 



ing is attempted in answer to the signal given by the 
gong. Then the limbings, or spears, krises and 
klewangs, come into play, with hatchets and blun- 
derbusses, and the onslaught is of a very daring 
nature. Malay praus generally attack in parties or 
fleets of several together, making their advance upon 
a ship disabled by the want of wind, while from their 
great power in paddling, the pirates are able to ap- 
proach in any direction so as to take their prey at a dis- 
advantage, and, if beaten off, can escape with ease; 
while, in cases where they are pursued, their local 
knowledge of the inlets and channels of the man- 
grove-fringed coast-line, with its many rivers, enables 
them to escape, and leave their pursuers baffled and 
impotent to avenge the injury. 

At home then on the sea, of which they are great 
lovers, as shown even by their language, which con- 
tains many terms connected with an ocean life, and of 
a restless, roving nature, evident proof of which 
abounds in the numberless points and headlands 
throughout the islands and as far as Madagascar bear- 
ing names of Malayan extraction ; loving, too, the 
excitement of adventure, the Malays became the terror 
of the Archipelago ; for when prey was afloat they put 
out from the many creeks and inlets of the coast in 
praus thoroughly fitted in build and armament for 
speed and resistance. Of late however this spirit has 
been diverted into more peaceful channels, and such 
as will prove profitable to themselves and less in- 

T 2 



276 "SARONG" AND "KRI8." 

jurious to their neighbours and the visitors to their 
shores. Still, every now and then there is not wanting 
proof that in native states, where the rein of government 
is held with slackened hand, piracy on the high seas is 
often indulged in and even encouraged by the chiefs. 

It would be hard to say whether the east or west 
coast of the peninsula has had the worse character for 
piracy, but certainly a very unenviable notoriety has 
attached in the past to Salangore and Perak. To go 
farther afield, some of the inhabitants of the Nicobar 
islands, lying just to the northward of Sumatra, have 
exhibited a disposition of a remarkably savage kind ; 
and in this respect differ widely from the Samangs, or 
negro Malays, to whom they have a strong affinity. 
So serious have been their acts of piracy in quite 
recent times in seizing vessels, and also in attacking 
and murdering the crews of those putting in at the 
islands for water, that the British government was 
compelled to take special notice of their acts. The 
consequence was that an expedition was fitted out in 
1867, consisting of Her Majesty's ships Wasp and 
Satellite. The expedition was accompanied by a 
brother of H.H. the Maharajah of Johore, and 
T. D unman, Esq., as Commissioner. The latter was 
then the Inspector-general of Police at Singapore, 
and was not only possessed of a thorough knowledge 
of the language, but also of a singular aptitude in 
understanding the Malay character. 

The vessels, after punishing the principal villages, 



LITTLE MERCY. 277 



brought down three or four of the piratical leaders, 
who had severally dubbed themselves under English 
names and titles, such as "Sir George Brown," &c. 
These men were of the average height, had the thick 
lips and curly hair of the Samang race, combined 
with the high cheek-bones and expanded nose of the 
Malay. Photographs of these people, with a full de- 
scription, were sent by the writer to his friend the 
late Mr. Crawfurd, who read a paper on the subject 
before the Ethnographical Society. The late Captain 
Edye, of H.M.S. Satellite, also brought down a little 
captive girl, who had evidently been taken by these 
people from one of the vessels they had destroyed. 
She was a Eurasian, and only about ten years of age, 
having in all probability been taken when quite an 
infant, for the language she spoke was very mixed, 
and she had no recollection of her capture. 

When received on board the vessel, she imme- 
diately became the pet of the sailors, and was treated 
with all the kindness for which the British bluejacket 
has made himself a worthy name, and was soon 
clothed in a dress made from navy serge, with a girl's 
hat of the latest fashion, cleverly improvised out of a 
man-o'-warsman's " straw," and ornamented with a 
cock's feather for plume. 

On her arrival at Singapore, she was first placed in 
the girls' school attached to the late Mr. Keasberry's 
mission one of the most valued institutions in the 
settlement and upon its being closed she was trans- 



278 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

f erred by the Government to the Chinese girls' school, 
where she was tenderly nursed and educated, and 
baptised under the name of little "Mercy." The 
poor child, however, did not long survive, but was 
one of the victims about two years later to cholera. 

And here it would be unjust not to notice the vast 
amount of good that has been done by the Society 
for Female Education in the East. The task of this 
Society is one that must bear fruit in connection with 
our endeavours to civilise the native states ; for its 
efforts are directed towards the education of the Malay 
and Chinese girls ; each of whom must in time form a 
centre from which will radiate the beneficent know- 
ledge she has acquired, for the permanent advantage 
of those around. 

Among the more notorious acts of piracy in these 
parts that have taken place recently may be men- 
tioned the seizure of a junk, and the murder of the 
Chinese crew and passengers. This vessel sailed in 
1871 from Penang, bound for Laroot, the tin district 
of Perak, only about thirty-six hours distant, but did 
not arrive ; and on enquiries being made, it was 
found that an ingenious plot had been laid, by which 
about fifteen pirates had gone aboard as passengers ; 
and that at an appointed time these people had risen, 
murdering the crew and genuine passengers, number- 
ing in all about thirty-four souls men, women, and 
children and carried off the valuable junk and her 
freight, a portion of which was a large sum in dollars. 



PIRATICAL CRAFT. 279 

The colonial steamer Pluto was immediately sent 
out with orders to search for the missing junk, which 
was found lying off Salangore, with the money gone, 
and the greater part of the cargo in the shops of 
the town. The junk was secured, with nine of the 
pirates ; but a rajah and his followers taking their 
part, krises were drawn, and firing took place upon 
the Pluto, which immediately left for Penang, where 
she arrived with the prisoners and her prize. 

Such a resistance to the British authority, and so 
cruel an act of piracy on a vessel trading in our port, 
could not be allowed to go unpunished ; so the acting 
Governor despatched an expedition to secure the 
remainder of the pirates and recover the stolen pro- 
perty. 

The expedition arrived off the Salangore river, 
entered it, and armed boats proceeded to search the 
vessels at anchor and some huts. Soon after, in a 
dispute about the Eajah going on board the Pluto, 
hostilities were commenced by the natives, who fled 
to the jungle ; and in the firing that ensued seven 
men of the British were wounded, including the lieu- 
tenant in command of the landing-party, who received 
a cut on the hand from a kris. More could not be 
done then, as the men, crowded in boats, were ex- 
posed to the fire of an enemy hidden in the jungle ; so 
the forces were drawn off. 

The next morning Commander Eobinson steamed 
up the river in H.M.S. Rinaldo a very risky pro- 



280 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

ceeding, as there was a dangerous bar at the mouth. 
In addition, he had no surgeon on board ; and he 
knew it would be twelve hours before the tide would 
allow them to pass out again. But this was a noto- 
rious piratical haunt; and after the treacherous attack 
of the previous day, it was necessary to punish the 
people for their insult to our flag, and to teach them 
that they were not secure in their positions. In a 
short time a hot and well-directed fire was opened on 
the steamer from the forts, and in five minutes there 
were three men wounded, and the Rinaldo had suf- 
fered severely ; but by steaming on, the defences were 
turned, and before their guns could be got round, 
they were dismounted, or the forts knocked to pieces. 
Musketry-fire was then opened on the ship, but 
without much effect, and soon after she grounded in 
soft mud, presenting a fair mark to the enemy : but 
fortunately his guns were all silenced and kept down 
by the steamer's fire. 

After awhile, the tide rising, the vessel steamed out 
of the river, returning with the Pluto soon after, bring- 
ing a detachment of the 19th Madras Light Infantry; 
and after a little firing the Malays fled, when the 
town was completely burnt down, the forts destroyed, 
and the guns spiked or broken up Commander 
Kobinson, who was in charge, saying that the town 
would have been spared had there been anyone with 
whom to make terms, and had the rest of the pirates 
been given up. In addition, five piratical praus were 



RETRIBUTION. 281 



burned in this nest of pirates ; three being armed with 
two twenty-four pounders and one small gun each, 
with an abundance of small-arms, spears, muskets, and 
pistols. They were of the largest class of praus, and 
measured from eighty to one hundred tons each. 

The result of this expedition was that the Sultan 
of Salangore outlawed the Eajahs who had taken part 
in the affair ; and all the pirates that could be found 
were sent to Malacca, one having died in the interim. 
His Highness then gave up a thousand dollars' worth 
of tin belonging to one of the offending chiefs, and 
presented Her Majesty with a very handsome pair of 
elephant tusks. 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

The Jugra piracy A native's evidence in a native court The 
execution kris An execution The Sultan on piracy. 

EVEN so late as the year 1873, the piracies from the 
native states, especially that of Salangore, were of so 
formidable a nature as to again necessitate steps being 
taken by our Government for their suppression. It was 
in this year that a daring act of piracy took place in 
the south of this particular state, namely in the Jugra 
river. It was so serious in its nature that it will be 
remembered in the peninsula for many years to come. 
So swift, however, was the punishment enforced, and 
so salutary the lesson taught, that it is gratifying to 
know that a complete check was placed upon any 
further attempts for the time being. Various other 
acts of piracy had occurred just prior to this, notably 
in the Laroot river, as will be described, the Laroot 
pirates being routed, and their vessels and stockades 
destroyed by H.M.S. Midge and Thalia, while other 
stockades were finally razed in Perak, and a more 
reputable state of affairs assured. 

In the case of the Jugra piracy, which, as will be 



THE JUGBA PIRACY. 283 

told in the words of the sole survivor who escaped, as 
given in a minute of the court, the perpetrators were 
afterwards recognised and were cleverly taken by the 
authorities of Malacca ; and it was at first intended 
to try, and punish them in one of our own courts ; 
but Sir Andrew Clarke, receiving an offer from the 
Viceroy of Salangore, and probably believing in the 
effect it would produce, decided that the criminals 
should be tried by the native court, at the very place 
where the act of piracy was committed. In this case 
the writer was employed as joint Commissioner with 
Mr/ Davidson. 

At the trial the charge against the eight pirates 
was that they had plundered a boat at or near the 
mouth of the river Jugra, and murdered eight men, 
being the passengers and crew. The court was com- 
posed of the Viceroy of Salangore, with three Native 
Commissioners appointed by the Sultan, while the two 
English Commissioners watched the proceedings. The 
sitting of the court took place at a stockade. 

The survivor then gave his evidence, which, in 
addition to its peculiarity as a sample of a statement 
in a native Malay court, is interesting for the insight 
it gives into the habits and customs of the boatmen 
on the rivers and coast : 



I live at Tranquerra, in Malacca, and am a seafaring man ; I left 
Langat on the 25th of the month of Poasah, in a naddy (boat) belong- 
ing to Malacca ; there were three Chinese passengers, whose names 
I do not know, and six Malays belonging to the boat, named Hadjee 



284 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Doraman, who was the nacodah (skipper), Ah Kim, Tamb Itam, 
Meman, Mambi, and myself. The naddy was loaded with rattans ; 
there were also boxes. There were 2000 dollars 011 board, belonging 
to Ah Kim, of Langat, and the nacodah. I assisted to bring the 
dollars on board the boat, and the nacodah told me there were 
2000 dollars. We left Bandar Langat about six o'clock A.M. ; we 
arrived here (the stockade at the mouth) about one o'clock, and 
showed our pass to Arsat, who was in charge of the stockade. We 
went outside the river about a mile and anchored, because the wind 
was against us. We anchored about three o'clock ; the nacodah 
told us to rest, and we would sail at night. About three o'clock, 
the juragan called the crew to boil rice. We cooked rice, and about 
five o'clock I saw two boats coming out of this river. I asked the 
juragan what boats they were, and he said two friendly boats from 
the stockade. They pulled up near us, and Doraman asked where 
they were going, and the reply was, they were going to fish. Musa 
replied from the boats. One of the boats came alongside, and 
Musa and three or four others came on board. The other boat 
came alongside on the other side. [ There were about twenty men 
on the two boats.] They talked to Doraman. About six o'clock 
Doraman told us to bring the rice. When he was about to begin 
eating, shots were fired from both boats. Doraman fell to the shots. 
Musa then called out to " amok." Three of our people jumped 
into the water and were stabbed, and all the others in my boat 
were also stabbed and killed. I jumped into the water, hung on 
to the rudder, and after dark floated away to the shore : when I 
floated away the three boats were still together in the same place. I 
floated to the piles of this jetty and got hold of one. There was a 
Bugis boat lying about three fathoms off. I held on to the pile 
about an hour, and the pirates came in their own boats, bringing 
Doraman's boat with them. One man came out from the stockade 
on to the jetty and asked " Sudah habis 1" (Is it all over 1). From 
the boats a man replied " Sudah habis " (It is all over). " We 
are taking the property to Tunku Allang." They all went 
up the river with their boats and my boat. The two boats 
returned in about an hour without mine. They all came up on 
this jetty. People from the stockade asked if it was finished, 
and they said it was all finished. After all was quiet here, I 
went to the Bugis boat and asked them to assist me, and they 



THE JUGRA PIRACY. 285 

took me into their boat. The Bugis asked me whose boat it was, 
and I told them Doraman's. The Bugis advised me not to say 
anything about the affair here or I would be killed. When I was 
speaking to the Bugis the people from the stockade came and asked 
them for me. The Bugis refused to give me up, but said they 
would show me next morning. All the prisoners were in the boats 
that attacked us. It was daylight, and I could see them quite well. 
No. 1 shot the juragan. No. 2 came into the boat and shot and 
stabbed people. Ko. 3 remained in his own boat and had a spear. 
"No. 4 came into our boat and stabbed Tamb Itam. No. 5 was in 
his own boat, he had a spear and stabbed people in the water. 
No. 6 came into our boat and stabbed Meman and others. Xo. 7 
remained in his own boat and had a spear and assisted to stab my 
friends in the water. No. 8 was in one of the boats, and I did 
not see him do anything. 

The next day the Bugis took me on the jetty, and showed me 
to the headman of the stockade, named Marsat. All the prisoners 
were present with Marsat at the time. Nos. 1 and 4 asked the 
Bugis to give me up, but the Bugis refused. I saw on the jetty the 
boxes of many of my friends, also bags belonging to the boat scat- 
tered about, and met also two muskets belonging to my boat, and 
one spear and a sword. The Bugis then took me up to Langat to 
the Yam Tuan, who was asleep, and then they took me up to the 
Datu Bandar. He asked me if I knew the men who had done it. 
I said I did. He then asked me where they belonged to, and I 
said to the stockade. He then said to me : If you are asked, say 
you do not know who did it ; if you say you know them you will 
be killed. After this the Bugis took me back to the Yam Tuan, 
and I told him all that had occurred. He then asked me if I knew 
the people who had done it, and I said no, as I was afraid of being- 
killed. When I was speaking to the Yam Tuan No. 1 and No. 4 
ame in and said : We want this man (pointing to me) ; Tiuiku 
Allang wants to take him to the Qualla. Yam Tuan told me to go 
with them. I said I was afraid. Yam Tuan said if I was afraid 
they had better let me go to Mahomed Syed's shop. Mahomed 
Syed was present, and I was given up to him. Mahomed Syed 
sent a letter by Belal Ismain to my uncle Manioot at Malacca. My 
uncle arrived at Langat from Malacca on the 27th of the month of 
Poasah, and the same day I left Langat with my uncle. When I 



286 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

was leaving I saw our boat at Qualla Sungie Durien, in this river ; 
no one was on board. Qualla Sungie Durien is Tunku Allang's place. 

About twenty days after my arrival at Malacca I was on the 
bridge at Malacca, and saw two boats coming up the river, and 
saw some of the prisoners in the boats. I reported to Mr. Hayward, 
and I went with Duffadar Mahomed, and pointed out Nos. 1, 2, and 
3, and Mahomed arrested them in their boats. Two days after that 
I saw another boat coming into Malacca, and reported it to Mr. 
Hayward ; he ordered Mr. Warne to arrest, and I went and pointed 
out Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8, and they were arrested. No. 6 was arrested 
at Ujong Kubu, in Malacca. 

In the boat where Nos. 1, 2, and 3 were arrested we found a 
musket, a sword, and a spear, which belonged to Doraman, and 
were in his boat when she was plundered. 

In the boat where IS"os. 4, 5, 7, and 8 were arrested were found 
an anchor and a sarong. The anchor belonged to Allang, but was on 
board the naddy when she was plundered. The sarong belonged to 
Meman. 

[The gun, sword, and sarong are produced, and identified by the 
witness.] 

Two days ago I went up the Langat river in one of the man-of- 
war's boats, and saw Doraman's boat inside the Sungie Durien. It 
was tied to the mangroves as if hidden. There was a house on 
shore near the place ; it belongs to Tunku Allang. The naddy was 
then brought down the river, and is here now. This is the naddy. 
After coming down with the naddy, I came on shore here, and 
found a water-cask in this stockade belonging to the naddy, and 
which was on board when it was plundered. 



The case lasted three days, a great deal of corro- 
borative evidence being given, sufficient to prove the 
facts without doubt ; and finally the eight prisoners 
were all found guilty of piracy and murder of the 
eight British subjects, and seven were condemned to be 
executed on the following day; sentence upon one 
being suspended on account of his youth. 



AN EXECUTION. 287 



The execution by the kris is carried out in a very- 
solemn manner, by men specially appointed to perform 
the duty. As a rule, execution is immediate upon 
sentence, but in this case it was deferred as above. 
Mention of the execution kris has already been made, 
as being perfectly straight and narrow in the blade ; 
the one mentioned being kept in a sheath of gold. 

Early on the morning of the appointed day an 
armed guard of seamen and marines was landed from 
Her Majesty's ships, and marched out to a rising 
ground behind the stockade where the trial had taken 
place. Some followers of the Viceroy were also in 
attendance with the executioner, the kris for the 
purpose having been sent down during the night by 
the Sultan : this weapon always being in the custody 
of the ruler of the country, who alone has the power 
of life and death. 

The prisoners offered not the slightest opposition, 
their fatalist religion making them behave with a 
calm stoicism, as they placed themselves kneeling 
with their heads turned from the executioner. This 
latter official places then a small pad of cotton on the 
left shoulder to prevent the effusion of blood ; pass- 
ing the point of the kris through this he waits for a 
given signal, upon receiving which, one thrust in a 
slanting direction sends the blade into the criminars 
heart, and death follows almost instantaneously, when 
the kris is drawn back nearly bloodless through the 
pad. 



288 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

As soon as death had ensued, and each body was 
stretched out, the executioner made two or three brisk 
steps over and around it, the object of this custom 
being to drive away the evil spirits who might be 
hovering round, seeking to prevent the soul from 
ascending to the paradise of Allah. Generally the 
criminals executed are buried on the spot, a grave 
being previously prepared ; but in this case the bodies 
were at once removed by the relatives, to be interred 
on a point of land higher up the river ; while the 
Viceroy had a notice-board put up that in future this 
spot should be called " The Place of Execution." 

After this it devolved upon the Commissioners to 
consider the amount of compensation that should be 
demanded of the Sultan of Salangore, whose people 
had committed this act of piracy, and taken the lives 
of eight British subjects, natives of Malacca ; and after 
due consideration, a note was despatched to him, 
announcing the decision as being a demand for five 
thousand dollars, or its equivalent in slabs of tin, and 
requiring also that this compensation should be at 
once placed on board one of her Majesty's ships lying 
off the Sultan's residence at Langat. 

Very little time was wasted, for the lesson read of 
British power and determination to put down piracy 
was severe enough to insure immediate compliance. 
In effect, the piratical boat was handed over and 
taken off in tow to Malacca by H.M.S. Rinaldo, 
and the Commissioners received a note from the 



A LITTLE GAME. 289 

Sultan, informing them that two hundred and eighty- 
six slabs of tin (about seven tons) had been placed on 
board H.M.S. Midge ; and the next day, in company 
with the Viceroy, the Commissioners visited other 
places in search of piratical haunts, and during their 
investigations warnings were issued which had due 
effect. 

But to show how indifferent the Malay, in his half- 
civilised state, is to the commission of piracy at* sea, 
which he seems to look upon as his own proper poach- 
ing-ground, a circumstance may be mentioned which 
occurred at Langat just prior to the trial and execu- 
tion that have been recorded. Our Admiral had an 
interview with the Sultan, who was surrounded by his 
chiefs and people, and in as much state as he was 
capable of showing. The Admiral, in referring to the 
barbarity of the Jugra piracy, advised and urged upon 
the Sultan to caution his people against being guilty 
of such acts in future, pointing out how it was impos- 
sible that they could be left unpunished, as in the 
interests of the Settlements, as well as the native 
states, our Government was determined upon putting 
down the custom. 

The Sultan listened very attentively, and then 
turning quickly round to his people, he exclaimed : 
Dungar lah, jangan Idtak main main lagi \ " Hear 
now, my people ! Don't let us have any more of this 
little game !" 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Titles of chiefs Taxation and tolls The Sultan's slaves Sultanas 
Court observances The royal family Ancient descent 
Yanity and superstition A Malay document. 

PRIOR to the occupation of the country by the British 
forces, the government of Perak embraced a Sultan 
elected from the princes of the royal blood of the 
reigning house ; the Rajah Muda, or heir apparent ; 
with four officers of the first rank, eight of the second, 
and sixteen of the third. 

The proper signification, by the way, of this title, 
" Rajah," is a person over whose actions no one has 
any control. He is one, too, who is exempt from 
having to obey certain laws in the Malay code, and 
hence his power is of a very extended nature, and can 
be largely exercised for the good or evil of the people. 
So great is the power, in fact, of the native chiefs, 
that one of the ex-Sultans, in correspondence with the 
Governor of the Straits Settlements expressed his 
sorrow for certain crimes committed by the chiefs, 
and owned that his control over them was next to 
nothing, for they did what they pleased. 



TITLES OF CHIEFS. 291 



The chiefs of the first rank were 

I. The EAJAH BANDAHARA, who was the Sultan's chief execu- 
tive officer, minister, lawgiver, and ruler over the peasantry. His 
powers were very great, his sway extending over the extreme limits 
of the kingdom. 

II. The ORANG KAYA BUSAR, the keeper of the Sultan's privy 
purse. 

III. The TUMONGONG, or chief magistrate, preventer of oppres- 
sion, and punisher of transgressors. This officer's place of honour 
in procession was at the head of the Sultan's elephant. 

IV. The MUNTRI, or chief adviser of the Sultan. 

In the second rank 

I. The MAHARAJAH LELAH, who was the commander of the 
land and sea forces. 

II. The LAKSAMANA, who was high admiral, his prau always 
taking the lead of the fleet. The Sultan's zenana was also under 
his charge when ashore ; while in procession the Laksamana's post 
was by the Sultan's palanquin, or he bore his sword after him when 
riding in state upon an elephant. 

III. The SHAHBANDAR, or harbour and custom-house master. 

IV. The SEDIKA EAJAH. 

V. The PANGLIMA KINTA, who had charge of the regalia and 
the district on the left bank of the river. 

VI. The PANGLIMA BUKIT GANTANG, the high district officer 
of the right bank of the river. 

VII. The DATU SAGOR, the head of the river boats and 
navigation; and 

VIII. The IMAM PADUKA TUAN, or chief priest. 

In the third rank were 

The SREE MAHARAJAH LELAH ; and 
The DATU MATA-MATA. 

The others held offices of but little moment. 

u 2 



292 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

The subject of slavery was treated of pretty fully 
in a previous chapter, but the relations between the 
Sultan and his bond-servants was left to be dealt with 
under the question of Government. Here, no doubt, 
is the source of the whole evil, for the example set in 
high places has been eagerly followed by the chiefs, 
while their dependants in turn have gladly taken, in 
bygone ages, to a system that was aggrandising to a 
degree. The government under the late Sultan being 
arbitrary and despotic, and having but little control 
over the many chiefs, these latter have been as 
tyrannical and freebooting as the barons of the Khine, 
or those of our own land in the days of Magna Charta 
John ; but without making the slightest effort to 
benefit anyone but themselves. Their sole thought 
seems to have been to enrich themselves as rapidly as 
possible at the expense of the poor toilers in the 
field ; and consequently every chief picked out a 
snug and convenient spot upon some reach of the 
river, and built himself a bamboo castle, with an attap 
roof, where he could sit in wait for every boat-load of 
produce coming up and down the stream, and by 
means of his followers levy black-mail, or help himself 
to the booty of the industrious bees, who, though they 
carried dangerous stings in the shape of krises, dared 
not use them against their more powerful, hornet-like 
oppressors. Tin, salt, fish, rice, fruit, anything would 
do for the chief so long as the quality was good and 
the quantity large; in fact, the unfortunate ryot 



TAXATION AND TOLLS. 293 

seemed born to be oppressed, and oppressed he was, 
till his time for working had ceased to be. If he could 
be charged with some trivial offence he was fined ; and 
when this levying of black -mail failed to provide 
sufficient for the wants of the chief, lawful indulgences 
were converted into offences, and the wretched people 
were compelled to pay for such absurd things as 
wearing a sarong a few inches too long or too short. 
In fact, nothing was considered too trivial by the 
ruling wolves who wished to prove that their subser- 
vient lambs had sullied the water flowing at their 
noble feet. Under such a government, as was most 
natural, every form of abuse and oppression was prac- 
tised ; and the only resource for the people was to 
connect themselves with the most arbitrary and 
powerful of the chieftains, so as to be robbed by one 
and one only, instead of having to submit to an indis- 
criminate oppression from the chiefs at large who, 
fortunately for the poorer classes, were extremely 
jealous one of another. 

The consequence of this state of things was that, 
naturally objecting to labour, the Malays grew 
thoroughly averse to every kind of work, caring little 
for doing more than providing for their simplest wants. 
It was no advantage to a man to cultivate a goodly 
piece of land, and raise crops that were not for his own 
eating ; to grow fruits that were absorbed by Sultan 
or chief and their numerous followings ; or to become 
the possessor of buffaloes that might be seized any day 



294 "SARONG" AND " 



to draw the properties of his lord. All this has had 
much to do with the careless state into which the 
Malay has fallen, and it requires a good and safe 
government, with the protection of wise and just 
laws, properly carried out, to make the people take 
to the industrious life that means prosperity to his- 
country. 

This industry could not be expected where one chief 
levied a royalty of five dollars a coyan on rice, another 
sixteen dollars tariffs being apparently regulated at 
the pleasure of the chief. These taxes were nominally 
levied for the benefit of the Sultan, who was supposed 
to obtain eleven dollars on every bhar* of tin, but he 
never received more than six. Then private owners 
of mines, though often imaginary beings, were suffi- 
ciently substantial in some form or another to levy 
their tax of ten dollars a bhar, making a total impost 
of twenty-one dollars a sum which, as the late 
Mr. Birch said, no tin could pay. Tin and rice were 
only examples of the treatment of other articles of 
produce. In his own place, says the same gentleman, 
every chief took something. " At the Qualla Kinta " 
(or mouth of the Kinta) "the Bandahara sublets to 
the Rajah Makota a farm of extra customs-duties on 
every import and export, thus making the miners and 
inhabitants on that river pay at least double the 
amount paid by all other people in the country." . . . 

* Coyan, about two tons ; Bhar, about three and a half hundredweight. 



THE SULTAN'S SLAVES. 295 

" At Sengang, where Eajah Yusuf lived, lie used to stop 
every boat up or down, and levy one-tenth of every- 
thing, but he has lately given this up." Higher up 
the river, where the Sedika Kajah resided, they levied 
again a tenth on all imports and exports. 

But in addition to all these oppressive levies of 
taxes, the inhabitants suffered from a system of forced 
labour, each male having to render to his chief a 
fourth of his year of labour, and to turn out to assist 
him in time of tumult or war. 

Many of these oppressions have, through the efforts 
of the Kesidents, been ameliorated, but there is still 
this terrible custom of debt-slavery ; and the chiefs, 
having the means and great power in the state, are 
always able to make the wretched people appear, in 
some form or another, in their debt. As this debt 
can rarely be liquidated, the unfortunate ryot is, as 
before shown, bound over with his family to serve the 
chief, sinking calmly into his wretched state of servi- 
tude and suffering with all the customary patience of 
the eastern believer in Kismet fate. If the debt be 
liquidated, it is generally only for the family to change 
hands, and become the slaves of a new proprietor : it 
is to be hoped though this is very doubtful for the 
bettering of their condition. 

The Sultan's slaves who are about his palace were 
acquired in an exceedingly simple manner in a way, 
in fact, that thoroughly exemplifies the old-fashioned 
dealing of the eastern potentate, who, however, in this 



296 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

case, is but a petty sultan or rajah, living in no 
gorgeous Aladdin-like palace, but in such a home as 
Mr. Birch describes as that of Sultan Abdullah at 
Batarabit, where "the house compound is a most un- 
wholesome swamp of green stagnant water, and the 
paths and streets sloughs of slippery mud." It was 
not surprising that this Sultan preferred to live on 
the river in boats. 

When one of these rulers took a fancy to a slave, 
his custom was to send a messenger with his sword or 
kris to the house where the poor girl lived, and how- 
ever much the parents might grieve at the loss of 
their child, the despot's command, as represented by 
the sword, was a law that no inferior thought of re- 
sisting. It was another case of kismet the command 
of royalty and the maiden was hurried off to the 
zenana, where she might in time attain to the high 
dignity of using a pestle and mortar to pound betel 
mixture for her lord to chew, if, like Abdullah, he 
were not a confirmed smoker of opium, and a reveller 
in the drugged drams that turn so many of these 
eastern rajahs into weak, mentally incapable rulers of 
the fair country that is at their feet. 

The life of these sultanas is not an enviable one ; 
for though there is no bowstring in force for refractory 
or unfaithful ones, and no Bosphorus with saline tide, 
yet there are plenty of rivers, and, as has been shown, 
a very rugged and cruel drowning for the slave who 
dares to rise in spirit against her lord. But these are 



COURT OBSERVANCES. 297 

necessarily only the exceptional cases ; for, as a rule, 
the slave-girl's lot is to be kindly treated, while in 
old age the Sultan or chief is bound in very shame to 
provide for her sustenance and clothing. 

The observances in a Malay court are, as may be 
supposed, very strict, and the points of etiquette care- 
fully studied and observed. Thus it was stated that 
the Tumongong and Laksamana have certain places by 
the Sultan's elephant. The Muntri has also to take 
his place at the head of his litter, and in the illustra- 
tion given of Sultan Abdullah and his court, the 
various chiefs and officers are seen in their correct 
positions, according to rank and station, as they were 
placed for the taking of the photograph. The sword- 
bearers carry these weapons of state, and they are held, 
quite according to etiquette, upon the right shoulder. 
In this case the Sultan is seated on a chair, and as is 
always observed, no other chief can take such a seat 
unless it is of a lower level than that of his lord, and 
consequently they all sit or crouch upon their hams. 
Quite a difficulty occurred on board one of our vessels, 
when a Sultan and his officers paid a visit, the Muntri 
refusing to take a chair on account of one being 
already occupied by his chief. Indeed, Mr. "Wallace 
gives an amusing instance of this Malay stickling for 
pride of place, in an anecdote that he relates of the 
chief of one of the islands he visited. This gentleman 
had a great love of European customs, and had gone 
so far as to order a carriage from England for his own 



298 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

use. Unfortunately, however, the vehicle had to be 
condemned on account of a great failing in its con- 
struction ; for, had it been made use of, the coachman 
or driver would have occupied a higher seat than his 
master, and in the code of Malayan etiquette such 
things could not be. In fact, sitting on the ground 
or standing is the attitude of respect. 

Even in such a small matter as colour, the Malay 
is excessively particular as to his dress, the tint of his 
umbrella, and the envelopes he uses to send his Arabic 
written letters. The royal colour, as intimated, is 
yellow, and the envelopes used by the Sultan are 
always of this colour, and composed of silk. 

When a Malay meets a European a polite salutation 
is accorded to him, and it mostly consists of the words 
Tdbik, Tuan " I salute you, sir; " but among them- 
selves it is " Peace be with you !" the reply being, " And 
to you also." The etiquette as to the kris-handle will 
be remembered, as necessitating its being kept covered, 
and these points, along with all those relating to the 
due respect to be rendered to the various chiefs, the 
shape and style, colour and arrangement of garments, 
are rigorously kept up in the states at a distance from 
the European settlements. One of the most striking 
things, though, with respect to court observances, is 
the amount of superstitious veneration that exists for 
the person of the sovereign. To shed royal blood 
would evoke for the Malay, according to his ideas, a 
train of punishment which, in his superstitious awe, 



THE EOYAL FAMILY. 299 

he could not contemplate without a shudder ; and in 
consequence the person of the monarch is perfectly 
safe, while the halo of his sanctity spreads around and 
illumines all his relatives present and, what is more, is 
reflected straight away clown " the corridors of time "" 
to come ; for every one who claims descent from 
royalty enjoys also this immunity from danger at the 
hands of a people who might be ready to resent an 
injury by the use of the kris. 

The royal family of Perak, like most of those in 
the native states of the peninsula, traces its origin 
with the greatest care from the royal family of Menang 
Kabau, or Kabowe, as it is variously spelled. The 
chief city of this state is called by some writers 
Paggar-oodong, or Battang Selo, probably the Paggar- 
ooyoong of Marsden, the writer on Sumatra ; and the 
chief founder was Maha Eaja de Eaja, supposed to be 
a great-grandson of Mahomet. The late dynasty in 
Perak in more modern times is referred back to Sultan 
Mahomed Bansoo, who had issue by a former rajah's 
daughter Eajah Eenoo, who married a daughter of 
Sultan Mahomed Muda, who had issue Eajah Cholam, 
who came to the throne of Perak as Sultan Mahomed 
Sapi. Eajah Cholam married a daughter of Eajah 
Kassim. 

Sultan Mahomed Bansoo had also issue by four 
concubines, one being named Eajah Mundo Beeso, the 
second, Eajah Manda; the third, Mahomed Kusso; 
and the fourth, Mahomed Saboot. 



300 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

We read in Moor's " Notices " that there were two 
chiefs at Menang Kabau under a certain Eajah Allam, 
who, though brought up in all the learning of the 
age, gave himself up to vicious pursuits. Hence he 
was seldom called upon to exercise his authority, which 
was vested in the two chiefs. These were a Eajah 
Addat, or rajah judging over cases of laws and 
custom ; and a Eajah Ebaddat, or judge of cases of 
sacred appeal. They originally formed members of 
the Paggar-ooyoong house, and though from length 
of time relationship cannot be traced, yet the depen- 
dence is claimed and admitted on all sides ; and as the 
Eajah Allam can only marry in one of these families, 
and those of the Eang ampat selo, a proper under- 
standing and subordination still exist. 

The chiefs under the Eajah Allam were Eang duo 
selo, and these resided at Soompoo Coodoos, now called 
Lintow, of which Bangsa and Boohoo are the principal 
cities. 

Next in rank to these are the Eang ampat selo, 
whose origin is altogether fabulous. Their names or 
titles are Bandahara of Soongye Taru, Mangcoodoom 
of Si Maneea, Endomo of Sooroowassa, and Caleea of 
Padang Gunteeang. Of these four the Bandahara is 
the principal chief, and is never called upon for per- 
sonal service when the Eajah Allam moves, while the 
remaining three, distinguished by the denomination of 
Eang tega selo, accompany and attend upon the 
Eajah Allam in all his processions and travels, each of 



VANITY AND SUPERSTITION. 301 

these possessing a large extent of territory, and a 
numerous body of dependants. 

The grand assembly of the nation was formed of 
the six Selo, and all matters of judgment or policy were 
settled by them. The Duo selo had casting votes 
according to whether the case was secular or ecclesias- 
tical ; but final reference or appeal could be made to 
the Eajah Allam. 

Tradition carries the Perak royal family safely 
back so far; but not content with that, they are, 
from their vanity and great love of antiquity of 
families, fond of trying to trace their descent to 
Mahomet, when, instead of being interesting, their 
account only tends to amuse, and reminds the listener 
of the account given by Dalton of the Sultan of Coti 
in the Island of Borneo. This great potentate was the 
chief of a large district in the south-east of that island, 
and his genealogical tree was written in these words, 
in the Koran of the Kragi of Tongarron, his chief city, 
by Nabbee Ahmet, who came down from heaven on 
purpose to perform this duty for the Sultan, who was 
one of the most - barbarous head-hunters of that 
notorious land. 

Soon after the great prophet Mahomet ascended into heaven 
from Mecca, his second and favourite brother, whose name was 
likewise Mahomet, dreamed that the prophet appeared to him in 
the shape of a comet, inviting him forth to preach the true doc- 
trine. He accordingly arose, and embarked on board a ship with 
some chosen followers. They had no occasion for compass or sails, 
as the comet kept before the vessel, and the wind favoured them. 



302 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

After being on the ocean one year, during which period no land 
was seen, a country was descried in the west, over which the comet 
remained stationary. This was Coti. Mahomet landed at a place 
now called Cinculemm, when he fell asleep, and his brother again 
appeared before him, standing upon the mountain Baley Papancj. 
With a loud voice he ordered a kingdom to be founded, and a 
capital built, which should be considered second only to Mecca. 
The prophet disappeared after leaving the Koran, written by a 
celestial hand. On awaking, Mahomet found himself in another 
part of the country, where he built the capital, calling it Ton- 
fjarron, after the name of the ship which brought them safe. Here 
it was the Koran was first opened by Mahummud Sali Hooden, 
the first Sultan, who, after reigning forty-seven years, was taken 
tip to heaven in a flash of lightning, since which period the family 
has given a succession of Sultans to Coti. 

These facts the Sultan and his priest say are known throughout 
the world, and acknowledged by all rajahs in India, who formerly 
paid tribute. He has no superior or equal except the Sultan of 
Turkey. 

This peculiar form of vanity runs strongly through 
the whole family of Malay sultans, whose titles and 
epithets are in some cases as extraordinary as they 
are absurd. Those of Menang Kabau excel in this 
direction, as the following copy of a warrant from 
that place will abundantly show. The extract is from 
Marsden, and in the original it commences with three 
chops in the Arabic character. A chop, it may be 
necessary to inform some readers, is a seal in these 
eastern lands, though very frequently it is adopted to 
signify the trade-mark of some large commercial firm 
in China. The chop of a Malay sultan is generally 
about a couple of inches across, is formed of silver, 
engraved with Arabic characters, and is affixed at 



A MALAY DOCUMENT. 303 

the beginning of a document, the impression being 
made, not with sealing-wax, but with Indian ink, 
pretty liberally applied. 

Here is the document, which was sent to a high 
priest : 

(Three circular seals with these inscriptions in Arabic characters.) 

(Eldest Brother) (Second Brother) 

Sultan of Rome Sultan of China 

Key Dummool Allum Nour Allum 

Maharaja Alliff. Maharaja Dempeng. 

(Youngest Brother) 
Sultan of Menang Cabow * 

Aour Allum 
Maharaja de Eaja. 

The Sultan of Menang Cabow, whose residence is at Paggar 
ooyoong (after pardon asked for presuming to mention his name), 
who is king of kings, son of Rajah Izounderzulcar-nainny, and was 
possessed of Muncooto, who was brought from heaven by the 
prophet Adam ; master of the third of the wood maccummat, 
one of whose properties is to enable matter to fly; of the lance 
ornamented with the beard of Jangee, of the palace of the city 
of -Rome, whose entertainments and diversions are exhibited in the 
month of Dul-hadjee, and where all Alims, Pukkeeahs (faquirs), 
and Moulannocarrees, praise and supplicate God; of the gold of 
twelve grains named coodarat coodarattee, resembling a man ; who 
receives his taxes in gold by the lessong (quasi bushel) measure ; 
whose betel-stand% of gold set with diamonds ; who is possessed of 
the sword named Chooree-se-mendong-geree, which has an hundred 
and ninety gaps, made in the conflict with the arch-devil Se-cattee- 
moono, whom it slew ; who is master of fresh water in the ocean 
to the extent of a day's sailing ; possessed of a lance formed of a 



* Supposed to be derived from two Malay words : Menang, to win, and 
, a buffalo; from a fabulous story of a fight between tigers and 
buffaloes, in which the latter obtained the victory. 



304 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

twig of edjoo; of a calewang wrapped in an unmade chinday; 
of a crease formed of the soul of steel, which by a noise expresses 
an unwillingness at being sheathed, and shows itself pleased 
when drawn ; of a date coeval with the Creation ; possessed of a 
gun brought from heaven named Soubahanahououatanalla ; of a 
horse of the race of sorimborahnee, superior to all others ; sultan 
of the burning mountain, and of the mountains Goontang-goontang, 
which divide Palembang and Jambee ; who may slay at pleasure, 
without being guilty of a crime ; who is possessed of the elephant 
named Settee-dewa ; who is vicegerent of heaven ; sultan of the 
golden river ; lord of the air and clouds ; master of a balli, whose 
pillars are of the shrub jelattang ; of gandangs (drums) made 
of hollowed branches of the minute shrubs pooloot and seelo- 
sooree ; of the gong that resounds to the skies ; of the buffalo 
named Se Binnooang Sattee, whose horns are ten feet asunder ; of 
the unconquered cock Sengoonannee ; of the coco-nut tree, whose 
amazing height, and being infested with serpents and other noxious 
reptiles, render it impossible to be climbed ; of the flower named 
Seeree menjeree of ambrosial scent ; who when he goes to sleep 
wakes not till the gandang nobat sounds ; one of whose eyes is 

as the sun, and the other as the moon To his subjects declares 

this his will, &c. &c. 

In another communication to Mr. Marsden by Mr. 
Dalrymple, the same exaggerated language is taken 
up to show the antiquity of the royal family of Me- 
nang Kabau : God gave to Gaggar Allum, who had his 
residence in the clouds, " a bird called ' Hocinet/ that 
had the gift of speech. This he sent down on earth to 
look out for a spot where he might establish an inhe- 
ritance, and the first place he alighted upon was the 
fertile island of Lancapore, situated between Palimban 
and Jambee ; and from thence sprang the famous 
kingdom of Manancabou, which will be renowned and 
mighty until the Judgment Day." 



MALAY DOCUMENTS. 305 

When all that is worthless and fabulous in these 
documents is sifted out, there are, however, several 
grains of common-sense left behind ; inasmuch as one 
can at least gather from the writings, their style, 
their allusions, and their use of so many Sanscrit, 
Persian, and Arabic terms, that the Malays must in 
early times have had most extensive dealings with 
the peoples by whom these several languages were 
spoken. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

The Malay language Its origin Connection with Arabic Rhymes 
and poetry, proverbs and sayings Love songs Literature 
Quaintness of expression Letter-writing A Malay interpreter. 

THE Malay language would present a very interesting 
study to the philologist ; for, so far from being a bar- 
barous dialect, it is a soft rich tongue, that has been 
worthily called the " Italian of the East." This is of 
course from its tuneful and flowing nature. The 
" French of the East " would be a more appropriate 
term, however ; for as with that language a traveller 
may make his way right through the Continent, so with 
a good knowledge of the Malayan tongue a voyager can 
make himself understood through the whole of that 
enormous chain of islands stretching by the equator : 
beginning with Sumatra, and running right past New 
Guinea, with the innumerable places north and south. 
This language, as is commonly, and probably very 
reasonably, supposed, took its rise in the seat of the 
Malayan nation itself; for doubtless tradition is quite 
right in setting this down ^as Menang Kabau. This 
district is opposite to Malacca on the peninsula, and 
divided from it by the straits of that name. It was 



THE MALAY LANGUAGE. 307 

at Malacca that the Malays of Menang Kabau first 
effected a landing, and doubtless gave to it the name 
which has been corrupted or altered into the one it now 
bears. The consequence of their migration was that 
the Orang Benua, as the aborigines of any country are 
called by the Malays, were driven into the fastnesses 
of the great jungles and back towards the mountains. 

From the fact of the Malayan language being 
found in the island of Madagascar to the west, and 
also far away in the many islands of the Pacific, where 
there is scarcely a spot without its Malay words, some 
writers have concluded that these people are Poly- 
nesian in origin. Others again have thought that 
the Malays once peopled India, and were afterwards 
driven out into the countries and islands lying to the 
east of Hindostan. This, however, seems to be quite 
a fanciful conclusion, for the languages spoken in 
India show no trace of Malay words ; therefore, in- 
looking at the structure and composition of the lan- 
guage, it is far more reasonable to assume that it 
naturally had its origin amongst the people who spoke 
it in the central plains of Sumatra that is, in or near 
Menang Kabau, where the Malays have remained less 
intermixed than in any other part of the peninsula or 
islands. 

When first known to the European, the Malay 
tongue was considerably leavened with Arabic, Per- 
sian, and Sanscrit words, evidently due to a long-con- 
tinued intercourse with the nations speaking those 

x2 



308 SARONG " AND "KRIS." 

languages, and, as shown in the last chapter, exist- 
ing very largely in documents and literary works. 
For instance, the Malays had from the Arabs, along 
with their religion, such words as related to the faith 
and laws of Islam ; and these were regularly imported 
into the language. So great an impress did this make 
upon the people, that they gave up the native charac- 
ter, in which their language was expressed in writing, 
and adopted the Arabic, in which they read the 
Koran. The Sanscrit and Persian words were pro- 
bably added to the language by degrees, as the 
Malays traded with these people : the adoption of 
certain terms being a natural result. 

Being a people who may be said never to have 
entered on the high road to progressive improvement, 
their language was never rich, nor did they possess 
anything worthy the name of literature for which 
they were not indebted to the Arabs, Persians, 
Indians, and Javanese, with the exception of a few 
works of traditional poetry, and a set of historical 
tales, called the " SejaraMalayu " these being fictions 
of a highly-exaggerated character. 

The nation may be considered as having been at 
its zenith in the sixteenth century, when Acheen was 
in its most prosperous state of wealth ; but even then 
there seems to have been no one sufficiently advanced 
above the general body of the people to leave any his- 
torical trace of their progress, or any record to show 
that cultivation of the habit of thought had had 
existence. 



RHYMES AND POETRY. 309 

More lately, intercourse with, western civilisation 
and with the Chinese has made its mark upon the 
Malay tongue by enriching it with many additions ; 
and a more complete dictionary than that which we 
already possess, both from British and other sources, 
is greatly to be desired. 

It is from the absence of combinations of conso- 
nants, and the prevalence of vowels and liquids that 
the language derives its soft and harmonious effect. 
Even the gutturals of the words introduced from the 
Arabic become toned down and pleasing when used by 
the Malays ; and the effect of the harsh Arabic word, 
when uttered by Malay lips, is very remarkable for 
the alteration that has been made in its asperities. 
The purest Malay is said to be spoken at Malacca and 
Johore, Perak standing next in the scale ; and those 
who have heard it spoken by the chiefs of these places 
will have had no difficulty in arriving at this conclu- 
sion, the dialect of Perak differing but little from that 
used in Johore. 

Ehymes and poetry are in good favour amongst 
the people ; and it is no uncommon thing to find 
.amongst them those who are able to act the part of 
improvisatore, and extemporise stanzas of no mean 
order. When the writer has been on excursions far 
away in the interior, with only Malays for his com- 
panions, he has often been struck by the aptness of 
these people in putting the events of the journey or 
adventure into verse, and singing it to one of 



310 "SIRONQ" AND "KRIS." 

their plaintive airs, keeping up the ditty in a whining 
melancholy way, till they fall off to sleep. This love 
of poetry may have been, derived from the Arabs, who 
greatly esteemed such a style of conveying the thoughts, 
just as they were lovers of stories, and held in honour 
the man who was a good narrator. The Malays fol- 
lowed them in this latter, the extempore speaker or 
composer of verse being highly esteemed. 

An example or two of the style of a Malay 
poem will not be out of place, as exemplifying the 
peculiar line of thought taken by these people in their 
verse ; for, as will be seen, the lines take the form of a 
proverb or aphorism. 



Apa goona passang paleeta 

Kalo teedah dangan soomboonia 1 

Apa goona bermani mata 

Kalo teedali dangan soongoonia ] 

"What signifies attempting to light a lamp 

If the wick be wanting 1 
What signifies making love with the eyes 

If nothing in earnest be intended ? 



This love of proverbs and ingenious or clever sen- 
tences is prominent amongst these people, and as was 
intimated in the chapter on that subject, is included 
in their amusements. Many of these sayings have 
been handed down amongst them as traditions in the 
language, and could an intelligent Malay be induced 
to undertake the duty, a collection would be of great 



PROVERBS AND SAYINGS. 311 

interest. On such a thing being mentioned to them, 
however, they seem to be particularly averse to the 
proceeding, and we can readily understand how it is 
that so few records of the past exist, when even an 
account of the visit of a native ruler to England, which 
was promised at the time, has not yet seen the light. 

Here is another extract from the same author, to 
exemplify the proverbs of the Malays : 

Hearing of a person's death they say 

NGIL matee, matee, nen eedoop be-kraja. 
Kalo sampi-la, janejenia, apa boleh booat 1 

Those who are dead are dead ; those who survive must work. 
If his allotted time was expired, what resource is there ? 

The ' c apa boleh booat' 7 is a very frequent expression 
of the Malay to signify that the matter was inevitable, 
and is adopted in all cases of accident, death, or mis- 
fortune. It is, in fact, the saying of the fatalist. It 
was to be ! That is enough for the Malay, who shrugs 
his shoulders and meets death or misfortune with the 
same calm resigned aspect. 

A dictionary of the language was compiled by Mr. 
Marsden, from whose pen a grammar also emanated. 
For this latter, however, there is but little need, on 
account of the extremely simple construction of the 
tongue ; though it would be the delight of school- 
boys, and would, in their estimation, compare most 
favourably with the solemn Latin or sonorous Greek, 
since the verbs have no conjugation, and the nouns no 



312 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

cases. Hence, by means of a simple vocabulary, or 
a dictionary, combined with conversation with the 
natives, a European may render himself a Malay 
scholar, and acquire the language sooner than any 
that is spoken under the sun. 

It would be surprising if a people who have held 
so much intercourse with Arabia and Persia did not 
possess their amatory poems or songs ; therefore it is 
in no way astonishing to find verses breathing tender- 
ness, and veined in some instances with true poetic 
feeling. Amongst the pieces that have been preserved, 
the following is from Newbold, and however much 
the reader may object to the author for his bad taste 
in alluding to the crow eating the young rice, when 
his native forests teemed with more graceful and 
pleasing images, nothing can be more poetical than 
the idea in the two last lines : 

Tinggih tinggili poko lamburi 

Sayang puchok-nia meniapu awan 

Habis teloh puwas ku chari 
Bagei punei mencliari kawan. 

Bulan trang, bintang ber chay-ya 

Burong Gagah ber-makan padi 
Jeka Tuan tiada per chay-ya, 

Bela dada, melihat hati. 

TRANSLATION. 

Lofty, lofty grows the lamburi tree, 

Its branches sweep the clouds; 
It is over, my search is vain ; 

I am like the wild-dove bereft of its mate. 



LOVE SONGS. 313 



The moon gives her light, the stars glitter, 

The crow is eating the young rice ; 
If niy mistress believeth not my faith, 

Lay open my bosom and view my heart. 

In these days, too, of drawing-room ballads that 
are as empty, vapid, and inane of course, allowing for 
exceptions as it is possible for them to be, what can 
be sweeter than this song from a people whose home 
is in the far-off jungles of their Eastern land? It is 
taken from Captain Forest's Voyage, as given in the 
< { Asiatic Journal" of 1825. 

Cold is the wind, the rain falls fast, 
I linger though the hour is past. 
Why come you not ? Whence this delay ? 
Have I offended say 1 

My heart is sad, and sinking too ; 
Oh break it not ! it loves but you. 
Come then, and end this long delay. 
Why keep you thus away 1 

The wind is cold, fast falls the rain, 
Yet weeping, chiding, I remain. 
You come not still, you still delay. 
Oh ! wherefore can you stay ? 

Amongst the favourite prose literary productions of 
the Malays are their romances, which they derive from 
India and Java. From Arabia and Persia naturally 
come the various treatises on the Koran, and the 
narrative fictioDS dealing with history and the demi- 
gods and heroes of the traditionary past. The 



314 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

"Hikayet Hamzah" is one that deals with the exploits 
of the uncle of Mahomet. The " Sejara Malay u " is 
another favourite piece, which tells of the gallant 
defence of Malacca by the Malays, when attacked by 
the Portuguese under Albuquerque, and is intended to 
rouse them to emulation. The first of these pieces 
strongly resembles the eastern tales that we have had 
from the Arabic, only that it is written in a strain 
of almost greater hyperbole. Chivalry and doughty 
deeds pervade it throughout, and it is considered one 
of their greatest compositions. 

The " Hikayet Hong Tuah " is said to be of pure 
Malayan origin, and deals with the romantic adven- 
tures of a young noble, or Hong, of Malacca. He was 
a kind of King Arthur of his time; and, like other 
romances, it is listened to with great delight by the 
Malays. The custom is for these stories to be related 
by the elders or priests of the villages to admiring 
circles. The " Hong Tuah " has been praised by some 
writers, condemned by others ; but is considered by 
Newbold to deserve the enthusiastic praise as little as 
the sweeping censure, being only a fair specimen of 
its class. There are several more of these Hikayets, 
or compositions some of which approach the stories 
of the " Arabian Nights " in their highly- coloured 
descriptions ; and among these is the " Hikayet of 
Isma Yatim," a story of Hindoo origin. This is a 
capital specimen of pure Malay language, and remark- 
able for its introduction of Malay customs. 



QUAINTNESS OF EXPRESSION. 315 

The language is not wanting, either, in quaint 
peculiarities, many of which are figurative, while 
others are terse and to the point ; while in many 
things they reverse our expressions in a manner that 
sounds to one unaccustomed to the people highly 
incongruous. Thus, in speaking of cattle or fish, a 
Malay will say " so many tail " not head. A spring 
will be called an eye of water, and a policeman all 
eyes. The ankle is the eye of the foot ; the sun the 
eye of day. Then as to time, they reckon by nights 
past instead of days ; though this they often judge of 
by the opening and closing of a flower. 

The word soosa, trouble, has been mentioned as 
very commonly used in fact, it represents the view 
taken by the people of anything tending towards their 
advance. They speak of a friend as a place where 
you can store your cares and joys ; of a neighbour, as 
one privileged to come up the ladder of a hut. In 
praise of a beautiful woman, a common expression is, 
not that she has a beautiful face, good figure, or 
small hands or feet, but that she has heels rounded 
like the eggs of a bird. The following sounds pecu- 
liar, but it is on consideration very apropos viz. to 
speak of the metropolis as the mother of a country, 
for it really is. Kegarding the situation of the Malay 
peninsula on the globe, they divide all countries as 
being to windward and leeward. Arabia, Persia, and 
the like are the former ; their own peninsula, Sumatra, 
and Siam, the latter. 



316 "SARONG" AND "KRlS." 

It would be out of place here to give many 
Malayan words and their meanings, but they are very 
quaint and original in numerous cases. For instance, 
the word bunga, meaning a flower, which is applied 
in many ways. They will thus speak of interest 
as the flower of money the blossom it bears ; of 
ground-rent as the flower of the ground, and so on. 
It is, however, in their proverbial expressions that the 
quaintness of the people is most marked. Thus, a 
cowardly despicable person is called, in allusion to 
their popular sport cock-fighting a duck with spurs. 
One who is intoxicated is said to mount the green 
horse. Their proverb with regard to investing, answers 
to dropping a bucket in the water of a well, and only 
pulling up the string. When the rain and sunshine 
come together, they say that some one is coming to a 
violent end. 

There are numbers of similar expressions. They 
say those who in dry times empty the jar because 
thunder is heard in the air will probably die of thirst. 
" Clear water cannot be drawn from a muddy foun- 
tain." " A tiger cannot help showing his stripes/ 7 
" How can a dog's whelp become a civet cat ? " 

Of treacherous people they have sayings such as 
Sits like a cat, but leaps like a tiger ; and a capital 
one of the garrulous person : " The tortoise produces 
thousands of eggs without anyone knowing it ; the 
lien produces a single egg, and tells all the world." 

Letter- writing is looked upon as a fine art, and the 



LETTER-WRITING. 317 

pen used is formed out of the black spike of the 
gamooty palm. Paper envelopes are used by the 
inferior people, who wafer them with lac. It is only 
in the cases of chiefs or sultans that the yellow silk 
envelope or bag is used, in which the missive is sewn. 

A highly- educated person's letter is according to- 
the most rigid form. The introductory portion of the 
letter, the seals, folding, paper, envelopes, all are 
matters to be duly studied, and in many cases really 
are carefully attended to by the person who writes. 
In fact, according to Newbold, a Malay letter ought 
to consist of six distinct parts, namely : A short 
Arabic sentence ; the chop or seal ; the exordium ; 
the substance of the letter ; the concluding portion ; 
and the superscription for each of which they have 
special terms. Mingled with the business-like or 
friendly letter are the terassuls, which are the flowery 
introductions or interpolations so popular amongst 
certain people the " May your shadow never be less " 
type of compliment ; though frequently a letter will be 
accompanied by a pious prayer that Allah may cause 
the missive to arrive in safety at its destination. 

Among the difficulties of the Malay language is 
that of getting good interpreters that is to say men 
who will give a clear, succinct translation of a Malay 
speech into English, or vice versd, without flowery 
additions, or rendering the one or the other at the 
expense of their clearness and perspicuity. Some 
very amusing passages take place in consequence of 



318 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the native interpreter's want of knowledge of the 
weight and value of a word, and the exact sense in 
which it is applied. For instance, in one of the 
courts, when a case was in process of investigation 
before an English official, a witness, who was a poor 
shrimper and shell-fisherman, was brought up for ex- 
amination, when the judge asked : 

" What is he ? " 

INTERPRETER (in Malay). What are you ? 

WITNESS (also in Malay). Shrimp-catcher. 

INTERPRETER (importantly, in English]. He is an 
apprehender of shrimps, my lord. 

It is hardly fair, though, to take the natives to 
account for these mistakes in our language, when it is 
said that amongst the European residents who have 
spent their days in the Straits, and the descendants of 
the old settlers who make their appearance on grand 
days in dress-suits as antiquated as the days of George 
and William IV., blunders of the most humorous 
nature are perpetrated from forgetfulness or sheer 
ignorance of our tongue. Of these, one gentleman is 
credited with having pleaded, in excuse for not 
making a longer stay in one of the settlements, that 
he was only "a bird of paradise," when it is to be 
presumed " passage " was intended. 



CHAPTER XXVIII, 

Ancient history Menang Kabau Migrations Arab associations 
Cinnamon Early trade in spices Malays in Madagascar The 
Aurea Chersonese Opinions of the ancients Voyagers of the 
past. 

So far but little has been said respecting the ancient 
history of the Malay people of Perak ; but they have 
& history which shows that, in place of being a poor 
spiritless body of tribes, they have been, from the 
earliest times, a race whose enterprise has been wide- 
spreading to a degree. 

Crawfurd, in his dictionary of the Indian islands, 
says in regard to the Malayan state of Perak, that 
when or how it was founded is unknown " a mys- 
tery, like the founding of all the other states of the 
peninsula." 

Doubtless it is involved in obscurity, and very 
little has come down to us by which we can trace its 
early history before it became known to Europeans ; 
but still, some approximation may be made as to 
its first colonisation by an inquiry into the rise and 
progress of the Malayan race, which is now dominant 
there, and in the various native states adjacent. 



320 "SARONG" AND "KRlS." 

Now, this race, which is at the present day so 
widely scattered over the Eastern archipelago that 
they may be found in the great majority of the 
islands, while in the others there is frequently a trace 
of Malay occupation, is believed by some writers to 
have first had its origin on the Malabar coast of the 
continent of India ; others, again, who class the Malay 
as a branch of the great Mongolian or Tartar race, 
consider that they gradually progressed southward, 
peopling first the peninsula, and then extending 
gradually through the many islands of the eastern 
group. Others, and among these not a few who have 
visited Sumatra, Java, and other islands of the archi- 
pelago, and, better still for observation, resided for a 
long time amongst the people themselves, favour the 
theory adopted by the higher-class Malays that their 
parent state was Menang Kabau. 

In the sequel we shall see that the views of the 
last portion of theorists' appear to be most consonant 
with the past history of the race, who, occupying this 
portion of the earth's surface from extremely early 
ages, migrated across the Indian ocean, conveying 
the productions peculiar to their country, while ever 
looking to Sumatra as their original home, and to the 
district of Menang Kabau on that island as the seat of 
their ancient power. Crawfurd, who is perhaps our 
best authority, says that this district is eminently 
favourable for the development of an early civilisation. 

In these early migrations, possible enough to a 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 321 

maritime people whose vessels were imposing, and 
who had by experience learned the ease with which a 
voyage across the Indian ocean could be made, and its 
return secured by taking advantage of the monsoons, 
which robbed that voyage of the dread felt by the early 
navigators that they might never be able to return, 
the Malays became closely associated with the Arabs, 
whose connection is so strongly marked in religion 
and custom to this day ; and, consequently, it will be 
quite in keeping with the character of this work to 
endeavour to trace out the early intimacy of this 
latter nation with the countries of the east. In this 
we are much aided by an examination of the products 
which the Arabs appear to have been the first to 
import westward. 

About sixteen hundred years before the Christian 
era we find in Holy Writ that cinnamon was one of 
the ingredients used in preparing the anointing oil. 
Now, this cinnamon, or rather kinnamon, is the pecu- 
liar growth of India, Ceylon, and the Eastern archi- 
pelago ; and Herodotus, writing about twelve hundred 
years later, says Kitto, "describes Arabia as the last 
inhabited country towards the south, and as the only 
region of the earth which produces frankincense, 
myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, and ledanium ; and, as to 
cinnamon, he says : ' Which we, as instructed by the 
Phoenicians, call kinnamon/ Herodotus, moreover, 
states that the Arabians were unacquainted with the 
particular spot in which it was produced, but that 



322 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

some asserted it grew in the region where Bacchus 
was educated. From all this we can only infer that 
it was the product of a distant country probably 
India and that it was obtained by the route of the 
Eed sea." 

There appear to have been two kinds of this spice 
known to the ancients and even to the present day as 
cassia and cinnamon ; the former being a coarser product, 
and known in the Hebrew as kiddak ; and the latter as 
Idnnamon, probably derived, according to Kitto, from 
the cacyn-nama dulce-lignum of the Cingalese or 
the Malayan Jcayoo-manis. It is true that cinnamon 
is now known to the Malays as koolit-manis, or sweet 
skin ; but this designation is more probably of later 
date, as in contrast to kayoo-manis, or sweet-wood ; 
and these people still have the kayoo-pait, or bitter- 
wood. The name given to cassia by the Hebrews as 
Jciddah is not so easy to determine ; for though it may 
have grown in the country of Keddah, or Quedah, and 
been obtained originally from thence, it would rather 
appear that the state of Keddah takes its name from 
one given by the Malays to an elephant-trap. 

Kitto adds, there can be no reasonable doubt, as 
cinnamon and cassia were known to the Greeks, that 
they must have been known to the Hebrews also, as 
the commerce with India can be proved to have been 
much more ancient than is generally supposed. It is 
moreover sufficiently clear that the ancient Arabians 
obtained this spice from the three sources of India, 



EARLY TRADE IN SPICES. 323 

Ceylon, and the Malay islands ; and as we proceed, 
we shall see that this was not the only product early 
imported by the Arabians from the far East. 

In an able disquisition on a work called the 
"Periplus of the Erythrean Sea," written probably 
about the year 129 B.C., Dr. Vincent informs us that 
perhaps the most ancient record that we possess of a 
trade between Arabia and the countries of the east is 
obtained in " Ezekiel ; " and this trade, then, must have 
been carried on before the siege of Tyre, or about 
588 B.C. The articles then imported by the Arabians 
from India and these countries seem to have been 
gold and spices. But in those days Tyre had 
the commerce almost entirely in her own hands ; 
excepting during the reign of Solomon, who, though 
he exacted a tax from the kings and governors of 
Arabia upon their imports, and shared in the profits 
of their trade, had not, says Dr. Vincent, any fleets in 
the Mediterranean, nor commerce on that sea. This 
circumstance, he adds, gave Tyre a monopoly of the 
whole communication with the Western world. 

The extensive trade which the Arabians had with 
the East gave them great power and influence, not only 
upon the Red sea and the north-east coast of Africa, 
but as far south, upon the eastern coast of that conti- 
nent, as Cape Corrientes. This trade was at its 
height long before any visits paid to the Red sea by 
Greek or Roman ; and the chief ports at which their 
imported produce was received seem to have been 

T 2 



324 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Mosyllon and Point Aromata. So particular was the 
trade in gums and spices that their productions were, 
in the markets of Alexandria, always designated by 
the term " Mosyllitick ; " and probably our term 
aromatic, as applied to such articles, is derived from 
the name of the ancient port of Aromata. 

In the occupation, however, of the island of Mada- 
gascar, and probably of certain ports though this 
is not so clear the Arabs were forestalled by the 
Malays ; and for this information we are indebted to 
the researches of Dr. Pickering, among others. This 
gentleman says, in his " Eaces of Man/' that the 
Malayan race is actually present upon the island of 
Madagascar, and dominant there ; and as to the time 
of their arrival, it is sufficiently evident that Malay 
influence has preceded the visits of the Arabs. 

Some writers have, however, questioned this asser- 
tion of the prior occupation of Madagascar by the 
Malays ; and excellent authorities have, while ac- 
knowledging the fact, demurred to the inference 
sought to be drawn from it of a migration thither of 
the people of this nation. Let us take, then, the evi- 
dence. First, we have upon the island a class of man 
bearing such clear traces of being a hybrid between 
the Malay and the Negro, that Dr. Pickering unhesi- 
tatingly classifies these people under the title of Malay- 
ised Negroes, evidently the same race as the Samangs 
of the Nicobar islands and the interior of the pen- 
insula. Then, again, if the Madagasci language be 



MALAYS IN MADAGASCAR. 325 

taken, we shall find that it contains many words from 
the Malayan tongue, the Malay numerals being wholly 
imported into it. For names of places on the island, 
there are on the east coast where the Malays would 
naturally first land such terms as Manambatoo, 
Manam Hari, &c. ; batoo being the Malay for a stone, 
and hari for a day; while the word manam is evidently 
a corruption of the Malay term anam, six. 

In the etymology of the island itself, says Dr. 
Vincent, we should rather make our researches in the 
Malay than in any other language. The Arabs called 
it the Island of the Moon ; but it was first known 
to them as Madaster, or Magaster, and it was this 
name that was the first brought into Europe by 
Marco Polo, who doubtless had it from the Arabs. Ma 
or media- , and daster are both Malayan words ; but 
the former would more likely have its origin in the 
Sanscrit, and the latter in the Persian language. 
These words might, however, be readily imported 
into the Malayan tongue from an almost simul- 
taneous intercourse with India and Persia ; which is 
subsequently confirmed by the visits of the Malays 
to India and the Persian gulf, for purposes of trade, 
in conjunction with the Arabs. The Persians them- 
selves were not a maritime people, neither were the 
inhabitants of India, as compared with the Malays ; 
while the Arabs themselves would scarcely have 
borrowed a name from another tongue. 

Another thing in favour of the supposition that 



326 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Madagascar was peopled by the Malays, and known 
to have been by the Arabs, is that we find an early 
Arabian chart in the twelfth century giving the 
island in question, not as lying on the east coast of 
Africa, but contiguous to the Straits of Malacca ; 
doubtless from the fact that reports had reached the 
Arabs of there being Malays upon it, rather than from 
the supposed error of Ptolemy, in carrying the coast 
of Africa round to the east. From these points 
enough evidence may surely be drawn to prove that 
the Malays held intercourse with, and peopled the 
island, long prior to any visit paid to it by the Arabs. 

In further testimony, however, of the early migra- 
tion of the Malayan race westward, we have undeniable 
proof of their adventurous journeys by sea ; for, unlike 
many other eastern nations, they had no religious or 
other obstacle to prevent their crossing the ocean ; 
the voyages to and fro being made, as suggested, 
remarkably easy by the regularity of the monsoons. 
If, then, we recognise this conclusion one which 
seems almost forced upon us it stands to reason that 
with the Malay came the merchandise of his own land ; 
which in due course fell into the hands of the Arabs, 
and was by them carried into Arabia, Judea, and 
parts of Egypt. 

We have it recorded distinctly by Pliny, in the 
first century, that a regular communication was known 
to be open between Arabia, India, and parts beyond ; 
and that the Arabs, who were established at Ceylon 



THE AUREA CHERSONESE. 327 

then known as Taprobane, and the people as 
Singalese, from singha, a lion, from a fable of a 
king of Ceylon born of a lion were spreading their 
superstitions amongst the natives on the coast, and 
were receiving the trade of China (the country of silk) 
from the Ceeres, or Chinese, who had reached this 
island ; and that the father of the Kajah who came on 
an embassy to Claudius had been in that island. 
Which statement on the old historian's part, shows 
that prior to his day an intercourse had existed 
between China and Ceylon by way of the sea ; and 
the route for this trade must have been, as it is at the 
present day, by the Straits of Malacca, between the 
peninsula and Sumatra, then inhabited by the Malays. 
In the second century Ptolemy tells us of a port 
on the Coromandel coast of India which was a rendez- 
vous for this trade, and that fleets were fitted out to 
sail from thence to the Golden Chersonese the 
modern Malay peninsula. This port was called by 
the old geographer Nigama, and is said to correspond 
to the position of the modern Negapatam a place 
which bears evident traces of having been an im- 
portant mart for trade at a very early period. And 
the visits there of the Chinese seem amply confirmed 
by the remains which they have left, especially one 
particular pagoda, which, says Colonel Yule, in his 
" Marco Polo," is constructed in a style of architecture 
not unlike the Chinese. The trade from this port, 
with occasional fluctuations, has continued down to 



328 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the present time ; and vessels are still fitted out there 
for the ancient Aurea Chersonese, not merely to 
convey the produce of India, but to embark large 
numbers of emigrants and coolies for our eastern 
settlements. 

But Ptolemy elsewhere refers very definitely to 
the Aurea Chersonese, and seems clearly to indicate it 
as the country of the Malays. He mentions in con- 
nection with it especially two places, Malai-oo-kolon 
and Ta-mala. Some geographers have placed the 
former near the modern Cape Eoumania perhaps the 
most southern part of Asia and the latter as far 
north as the Tenasserim coast of Burmah. If, how- 
ever, we look a little into the etymology of the word, 
we shall be rather inclined to agree with Dr. Vincent 
in assuming that Malai-oo-kolon could be no other 
than the modern Malacca ; and being, moreover, 
placed in the neighbourhood of the pirates, who have 
given a character to the Malays in all ages, adds 
strongly to the same supposition. The view taken is 
strongly supported by the etymology of the words 
ta mala, which, without attempting to force a con- 
clusion, can only be associated with Tanah-malai, 
which, literally translated from the Malayan tongue, 
is the "country of the Malays." 

We have here, then, without trying to build up a 
wild theory, Ta-mala, or the country of the Malays, 
and Malai-oo-kolon, or Malacca, as probably then 
their chief city, to which they had doubtless migrated 



OPINIONS OF THE ANCIENTS. 329 

from their primitive home upon the island of Sumatra, 
then known as Java Minor, and, somewhat later, as 
Pulo Percha Pulo being the general name for an 
island with the Malays ; while at this period Singha- 
pura the modern Singapore was known, according 
to different authorities, as Zaba and Sebana, and the 
state of Perak was probably Ptolemy's Argusa. 

Dr. Vincent was quoted a short time back as re- 
ferring to the Malays of quite ancient times as pirates. 
This character of the people may need some support ; 
and it is given here, by reference to Yule's " Marco 
Polo," where we read that 

This character for piracy and adventure the Malays seem 
steadily to have borne until the year 1267 A.D., when they became 
so powerful by sea as to fit out a fleet for the invasion of Ceylon, 
and which they successfully carried out under a leader named 
Chandra Baun. Marco Polo, who visited Ceylon in the same 
century, thinks this leader to be the same as Sendeman. 

It would be reasonable to assume, in fact, that the 
Malays, having become more powerful by virtue of 
this trade with the Arabs in the west, and, in all pro- 
bability, with the Chinese also in the east, had 
migrated to Malacca as a convenient entrepdt on the 
high road between China, India, and Arabia. Colonel 
Yule, however, considers, from the evidence at his 
command, that Singhapura was rather the first great 
mart in these seas, and any demur to his statements 
must be made with great diffidence ; but as he refers 



330 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

to a place called by Marco Polo Malai-an, and of 
which, he adds, there is no clear evidence to show 
what country or place was really meant, might not 
the reference have been to Malacca ? for Malai-an 
would seem to indicate a place of collection for 
Malays. We have certainly this very clear evidence 
that while Malacca on the main bears evident traces 
of having, at some remote period, been very largely 
peopled, there is not the slightest indication of this in 
the island of Singapore ; a point which is fully sus- 
tained by Crawfurd, who considers that there is 
nothing there to support the old traveller De Barros 
in speaking of the celebrated old city of Cinghapura, 
"to which resort all the navigators of the western 
seas of India, and of the eastern of Siam, China, 
Champa, and Camboja, as well as the thousands of 
islands to the eastward." 

Lastly, from Marco Polo we have ample testimony 
of the increase in number of the Arabs on the coast of 
India, and the dissemination of their doctrines. He 
mentions that the trade from China no longer met 
that from the Eed sea in Ceylon, but on the Malabar 
coast, probably at Calicut, where the ships from Aden 
obtained their lading from the east, and carried it up 
the Eed sea for Alexandria, from whence it was taken 
into Europe by the Venetians. 

Enough has now been said in regard to this trade 
between Arabia and the east to show that it existed 
from the very earliest times that it was known in 



VOYAGEES OF THE PAST. 331 

Egypt and India ; and though we do not gather from 
the sacred writings that any nations corresponding to 
the Malays or Chinese took part in this trade, it is 
not unreasonable to believe that they did, from the 
frequent reference made to them in the subsequent 
testimony of the profane writers of the first and 
second centuries. Were further corroboration neces- 
sary, it could be added from the writings of the 
voyager Cosmas in the sixth century, and from the 
journals of the Arabian geographers published in the 
ninth. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 



'First migrations Voyages to the East Diaz Yasco di Gama 
The Eastern passage Sumatra The Acheen king Malacca 
First mention of Perak Treaty with Siam Disturbances. 



A FEW words have now to be said to show that the 
Asiatic Malays treated of in this work have, in their 
first migration eastward from Sumatra and the dis- 
trict of Menang Kabau, first landed at Malacca. 

It has been stated that these people at the present 
time all refer to Menang Kabau as their original 
home, and the seat of power of their race and nation ; 
and although there is no written history to confirm 
this, we have it on the testimony of their chiefs, both 
in Perak and the other states, that such is the case. 
Moreover, to this day they treat with veneration and 
respect any Eajah who can trace his descent from one 
of the leading families of that state. In addition, 
Mr. Crawfurd, though he gives up as hopeless all 
endeavours to accurately trace the exact locality from 
which the Malayan nation sprang, yet admits the fact 
of this tradition in the following words : 



FIEST MIGRATIONS. 333 

All the central Malays of the peninsula claim their origin from 
Sumatra and from Menang Kabo, the most powerful state of that 
island ; but they do not pretend to state the time or the cause of their 
migration. Some of the states of the interior even call themselves 
men of Menang Kabo, the chiefs receiving an investiture from that 
place; indeed, the migration from Menang Kabo to the penin- 
sula, although in driblets, goes on down to the present time. The 
Malays of Borneo, in like manner with those of the peninsula, 
claim their descent from the same Menang Kabo. 

In further support of this we have the authority 
of Mr. Braddell, the Attorney- General of the Straits 
Settlements, a gentleman whose long residence in 
the country, and intimate knowledge of the lan- 
guage and people, entitles his statement to be received 
with the greatest respect. He, however, places 
Singapore as the first seat of Malayan power on the 
peninsula, and not Malacca. He says, in reference to 
the singular fact of nine petty governments bordering 
on Malacca, that it is difficult to understand how these 
little states, the whole of which, when taken together, 
do not equal in size one of the recognised modern 
Malay dominions, should have been established and 
allowed to remain ; and goes on to mention a tradi- 
tion that soon after the foundation of the first Malay 
empire at Singapore, by members of the Menang 
Kabau, family in the twelfth century, a settlement 
was made in Malacca by a chief who, with his 
followers, had crossed from Sumatra. These people 
married the w r omen of the aborigines, and formed a 
large colony, the people of which were called by the 



334 "SARONG' 1 AND "KRIS." 

old Dutch writers Menang Kabowes. Afterwards 
they divided into and formed the nine states, or, as 
they are called, Nagri Sanibilang. 

If the view be correct that the first migration 
eastward made by the Malays was to Malacca, we 
can then understand how the first colonists would, 
in accordance with their national habits of govern- 
ment, land under their respective chiefs, spread 
themselves in different localities, each chief inde- 
pendent of the others, but all subordinate to the 
parent state of Menang Kabau; the fact of their 
allegiance to so powerful a state preventing them 
from being molested, and enabling them to maintain 
their independence amidst the wars and changes 
around them a separate independence, which is a 
source of great pride amongst them to the present 
day. 

"We may now pass on to take in rapid review the 
intercourse carried on since the days of Marco Polo by 
Europeans with the Malays and people of the Eastern 
archipelago. 

John the Second of Portugal, in the year 1484, 
fitted out three ships, and placing them under the 
command of Bartholomew Diaz, sent them out with 
instructions to try and skirt, and, if possible, circum- 
navigate the continent of Africa ; and about the same 
time he despatched a tried soldier named Covilhan, 
who had served in Africa, and was well acquainted 
with the Arabic language, to make his way to India 



VOYAGES TO THE EAST. 335 

by the route of Egypt and the Ked sea. Covilhan 
learning from the Arabs of the great trade carried on 
at Calicut, made his way to that port, and also to Goa, 
which was then a great rendezvous for merchants from 
all parts. 

A few years later, in 1497, Vasco di Gama made 
his famous voyage from Lisbon, and rounding the 
Cape of Good Hope sailed up the eastern shores of 
Africa. He had visited the coast of India, and made 
port at Calicut, giving to his nation the paramount 
power of the Indian seas from Malacca to the Cape of 
Good Hope, a power which was maintained for upwards 
of a century. 

It is worthy of notice in this voyage of Yasco di 
Gama, that upon his arrival off Mozambique, he states 
that they were visited by the natives in boats which 
had sails made of palm. This roused the attention of 
those on board, who looked upon it as a remarkable 
circumstance, but their attention was taken in a more 
significant manner in a few days time, for two men of 
a superior rank came on board, dressed in garments 
of cotton, silk, and satin. This was the first infallible 
token the voyagers round these unknown seas had 
received of their approach to India, and hope glowed 
in every heart. The language of their visitors was, 
however, unknown to them, and the new arrivals could 
not comprehend either the negro dialect or the Arabic 
spoken by two of the voyagers, though one of them 
seemed to have a slight knowledge of the latter tongue. 



330 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

They conversed, however, with the Portuguese by 
signs, and seemed to indicate that in the north they 
had seen ships as large as that upon whose deck they 
stood. 

The point most noticed by these early navigators 
was that their visitors were a different race of people 
to those of Mozambique, which was at that time under 
the government of Quiloa, whose sovereign ruled from 
Sofala to Melinda, and over most of the neighbouring 
isles. 

Now, it seems quite possible that these men of 
superior rank, who differed from the people of Mozam- 
bique, were Malays. From their intercourse with 
the Chinese, they could easily have been dressed, as 
described, in silks ; and might either have been 
settlers, or merely there as the result of one of their 
commercial voyages across the Indian ocean. 

Later on in 1503 or 1504 Benthema gives a 
description of his hazardous voyage, and of his 
having proceeded from Borneo to Java, and from 
thence on to Calicut, at which port he arrived in 
1506, just seven years before the Portuguese reached 
Malacca. This writer says that the people of India 
were then no seamen, but entrusted their navigation 
to foreign sailors, " who were Mahomedans." Here, 
again, there seems little doubt but that these people 
were Malays, who to this day are the Lascars of the 
native vessels navigating the Eastern seas. He also 
relates, respecting Calicut, there were then about 



MALACCA. 337 



fifteen thousand Arabs there, who also abounded in 
Ceylon and on the Coromandel coast. 

About this time the port of Goa having become of 
considerable importance from its trade, and from its 
being the rendezvous for the Mahomedans who came 
from all parts of India and Ceylon to embark for 
Jeddah, to make their pilgrimage to Mecca, the 
Portuguese had determined to occupy it, and it was 
taken by Albuquerque in 1510, was recovered by the 
Mahomedans the same year, and finally retaken by 
the Portuguese in 1511. 

In 1513 we arrive at very distinct and important 
statements respecting the Malay peninsula ; for King 
Emmanuel, of Portugal, thinking it to be his duty, 
writes to inform the Pope of his successes in India, and 
tells him how the Portuguese general, Albuquerque, had 
sailed to the Aurea Chersonese, called by the natives 
Malacca, He had found it an enormous city of twenty- 
five thousand houses, and abounding in spices, gold, 
pearls, and precious stones. This city he had attacked 
twice ; taken, slaughtered the Moors, sacked it, and 
finally burnt the place. The king, who fought upon 
an elephant, was wounded badly and fled. After this 
the general built a fortress at the mouth of the river 
flowing through the city, making the walls fifteen feet 
thick, and using for the purpose the stones taken 
from the ruined mosques. At that time there were 
many foreign merchants at Malacca, including those 
from Sumatra, Pegu, Java ? (Ja'aes), Gores, and the 



338 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

extreme east of China. Great store was obtained from 
the people by the conquerors ; and upon hearing of 
the fall of the city the king of Ansiam meaning Siam, 
called by the historian the most powerful monarch 
of the east, from whom Malacca had been usurped by 
the Moors sent a golden cup, with a carbuncle and a 
sword inlaid with gold, as a token of his friendly 
feeling towards the conquerors. In return, Albu- 
querque sent some of his ablest men with presents, 
and instructions to explore the country for the benefit 
of their faith. 

Here then we have distinct proofs of the wealth, 
power, and size of Malacca in the sixteenth century, 
and allusion to its former position under the king of 
Siam a condition that has not been unfrequent with 
Malay states ; instances being quite lately given of the 
paying of tribute to the Siamese, who exact the gold 
and silver flowers mentioned as of such exquisite 
filigree work in an earlier chapter. The statement as 
to the size of Malacca is quite possible, though the old 
historian may have exaggerated ; but at the present 
day there is every trace of the city having once been 
of great extent, while the eastern houses are of such 
a slight character that a conflagration would sweep 
an enormous number away. 

In 1589, less than one year after the defeat of the 
Spanish Armada, a body of English merchants sent a 
memorial in to the queen, asking for permission to 
send ships to trade with India and examine the 



THE EASTERN PASSAGE. 339 

Portuguese settlements, with their occupations of 
Malacca and certain islands of the archipelago. They 
pointed out that there were a number of important 
places that might be visited with advantage by English 
ships. The queen, who was ever alive to the interests 
of commerce, and ready to give the weight of her 
authority, granted the petition, and three vessels sailed 
in 1591, under the command of Captain George 
Eayniond. Hakluyt gives an account of this expedi- 
tion, taken from the lips of Edward Barker, the 
lieutenant of the voyage. Purchas gives another 
account, derived from the purser, and other writers 
have dealt with the subject ; but all agree that the 
vessels were overtaken by a storm and separated, that 
the captain was never heard of again, and that after 
many extraordinary adventures extraordinary then, 
but matters of course to-day the voyage was ac- 
complished by Master James Lancaster. The ad- 
venturers were disappointed in their speculation, but 
the knowledge obtained of the feasibility of the scheme 
encouraged others to make the attempt. This it is 
stated, by more than one authority, was the first 
English voyage to the East Indies. Accounts, how- 
ever, of two previous voyages are to be found in 
Purchas and Hakluyt one having been undertaken 
in 1579 by Thomas Stephens, and another in 1583 
by Ralph wherein the then novel accounts of the 
peoples they encountered, with their trade, manners, 
and customs are carefully described. 

z 2 



340 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

The next voyage to the east of which there is any 
account is that of Captain Benjamin Wood, in 1596 
a voyage that turned out to be most unfortunate. 
Three ships were fitted out, mostly at the charge of 
Sir Eobert Dudley, and sailed from England the 
bearers of Queen Elizabeth's letter to the emperor of 
China; but this attempt to open up trade with the 
east failed, for not one of the company ever returned 
to give an account of the fate that befel the rest. It 
is a quaint specimen of the naivete and simplicity of 
the times that the letter borne by the little fleet re- 
commended two merchants of London to the emperor, 
and vouched for the probity of their dealings ; at the 
same time offering protection to any of the Chinese if 
they liked to come and open a trade to any port in 
Her Majesty's dominions. 

By the year 1600, the Portuguese, into whose 
hands had fallen the major part of the commerce in 
the Straits of Malacca, now carried on a great trade 
at Arracan in Pegu, Si am, Tenasserim, Quedah, and 
other states in the peninsula. Sumatra was at that 
time divided into so many separate kingdoms, the 
most important of which was Acheen the state that 
has of late given so much trouble to the Dutch. The 
king of this state besieged the Portuguese more than 
once in their stronghold of Malacca, sending an 
" expedition of more than five hundred sail, one hun- 
dred of which were of greater size than any then 
constructed in Europe, and the warriors or mariners 



THE ACHEEN KING. 341 

which it bore amounted to sixty thousand, com- 
manded in person by the king." 

The king of Acheen is described by Captain Best, 
who voyaged there in 1613, as being 

A proper gallant man of warre ; of thirty-two years ; of middle 
size : full of spirit ; strong by sea and land ; his country populous ; 
his elephants many, whereof we saw 160 or 180 at a time. His 
gallies and frigates carry in them very good brasse ordnance, demi- 
cannon, culverine, sakar, minion, &c. His building is stately and 
spacious, though not strong ; his court at Acheen pleasant, having 
a goodly branch of the main river about and through his palace, 
which branch he cut and brought six or eight mile off in twenty 
days, while we continued at Acheen. 

He desired the captain, whom he had called 
Orang-Kaya-Puteh, or white lord, to commend him 
to the king of England, and to entreat him to send 
him two white women for his wives, saying that if he 
had a son he would make him king of the coast from 
whence the English fetched their pepper, so that they 
should go no more to Calicut, but to their own 
English king, for their commodities. 

The narrative goes on to say : " Wee all this while 
dranke tobacco in a silver pipe given by his women, 
which are in a close roome behind him " giving an 
accurate account of the custom observed in an ordi- 
nary Malay house to this day. Captain Best, how- 
ever, does not speak very highly of the people he 
encountered, saying that with their king they were 
griping, base, and covetous ; that the trade was bad ; 



342 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

and that any ship going to Acheen should be furnished 
with some one who could speak Malay. 

It should, however, in fairness to this monarch, be 
said that, when visited at a somewhat earlier date by 
Captain Lancaster, "at an audience to take leave, the 
king said to him : ' Have you the Psalms of David 
among you ? ' The captain answered : ( Yea, and we 
sing them daily.' Then said the king : ' I and the 
rest of these nobles about me will sing a psalm to God 
for your prosperity ;' and so they did very solemnly ; 
and after it was ended the king said : ' I would have 
you sing another psalm, although in your own lan- 
guage ;' so there being in the company some twelve 
of us, we sang another psalm ; and after the psalm 
ended, we took leave, the king desiring God to bless 
us on our journey, and to guide us safely into our 
own country." 

We find, too, about this time, the first mention of 
Johore, or, as it was called, Jhor, and Perak. The 
Portuguese had another powerful enemy in the king 
of the former country, who had formed a close alliance 
with the king of Acheen by marrying his sister. 
These kings united their forces in their attacks upon 
Malacca, but were each time heroically repulsed by 
what was, as compared to their own men, a mere 
handful of Portuguese. These latter had, however, an 
ally in the king of Perak, then a very powerful and 
wealthy state, to which many ships resorted for trade. 
On one occasion, in 1813, as related by Captain Best, 



FIRST MENTION OF PERAK. 343 

the Shahbandar of Acheen had gone on an expedition 
to this country, but had been driven from Perak by 
the Portuguese, and as this officer had set off without 
the knowledge of the king of Acheen, the latter con- 
fiscated the Shahbandar 's state, making excuse that 
he had gone to Perak, the home of his enemies. 

Perak is again spoken of in the instructions given 
by the East India Company to their factor, John 
Jourdain, in 1614, where, in giving a list of the 
places for trade in the east, it is mentioned in con- 
nection with several better-known places, such as 
Bengala, Pegu, and the Coromandel coast, and with 
Malacca and Patani, both states of the peninsula; 
while later on, when it was conquere4 by the 
Acheenese, Perak is stated to have been Assessed of 
" much wealth." 

The Portuguese were, in the face of these powerful 
native enemies, whom, by their crusades against 
Mahomedanism, they had converted into the most 
bitter opponents, unable to maintain their position 
for any great length of time in these seas ; besides 
which they had to contend against the jealous hatred 
of the Dutch, who, readily gaining the friendship and 
aid of these native princes against the Portuguese, 
besieged them in Malacca in the year 1606 and 1608 ; 
but though repulsed with loss on both occasions, in 
the year 1641, after a blockade of nine months' 
duration, the town fell into the hands of the Dutch, 
and this was followed by the downfall of Portuguese 



344 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

influence in the archipelago, after an occupation of one 
hundred and thirty years. 

It was while the Dutch were in possession of 
Malacca, and, saving for the piracies, comparative 
peace reigned in the archipelago, that M. De la Loubere 
was despatched by the French king as Envoy extra- 
ordinary to the king of Siam, and his account of his 
voyage, which is a most ably written narrative, was 
afterwards published in France, and translated into 
English in 1693. So important a country as the 
Malay peninsula, lying contingent to Siam, of course 
did not elude his notice, and in describing it he 



In fine, the mountains which lie on the common frontiers of Ava, 
Pegu, and Siam, gradually decreasing as they extend to the south, 
do form the peninsula of India extra Gangem, which, terminating 
at the city of Sincapura, separates the gulfs of Siam and Bengala^ 
and which, with the island of Sumatra, form the famous Strait of 
Malacca, or Sincapura. Several rivers defile from every part of 
these mountains into the gulfs of Siam and Bengala, and render 
their coasts habitable. Opposite to Camboya, viz. in the peninsula 
extra Gangem, which lies on the west of the gulf of Siam, the 
gulf of Siam extends to Quedah and Patana the territories of the 
Malayans, of which Malacca was formerly the metropolis. 

In describing the boundaries of Siam, and 
enumerating its provinces at that time, he includes 
Jor (Johore), and Patani, going on to say that 
" the governor of Jor renders obedience to the king 
of Siam no longer, the Portuguese having given him 
the title of king; and it may be he never intends to 



TREATY WITH SIAM. 345 

obey, unless the kingdom of Siam should extend itself 
as relations declare, to the whole peninsula extra 
Gangem. Jor is the most southern city thereof, seated 
on a river which has its mouth at the cape of Sinca- 
pura, and which forms a most excellent port." 

Furthermore, he says, in describing the peninsula 
state, Patani : 

The people of Patana live like those of Acheen in the island of 
Sumatra, under the domination of a woman, whom they always 
elect in the same family, and always old, to the end that she may 
have no occasion to marry, and in the house of whom the most 
trusty persons do rule. The Portuguese have likewise given her the 
title of queen, and for tribute she sends to the king of Siam every 
three years two small trees, the one of gold and the other of silver, 
and both loaded with flowers and fruits ; but she owes not any 
assistance to this prince in his wars. Whether these gold and 
silver trees are a real homage, or only a respect to maintain the 
liberty of commerce, as the king of Siam sends presents every 
three years to the king of China, in consideration of trade only, I 
cannot allege : but as the king of China honours himself with these 
sort of presents, and takes them for a kind of homage, it may well 
be that the king of Siam does, not less value himself in the 
presents he receives from the queen of Patana, although she be 
not perhaps his vassal. 

This gold and silver flower is the bunga amas, 
given by some native states to the king of Siam to 
this day as an evidence of tributary allegiance. 

In De la Loubere's book is a quaint but very 
correct map of the Malayan peninsula, prepared by 
M. Cassini, the Director of the Observatory of Paris 
in 1668, from which is gathered the fact that Perak 
then continued to be looked upon as second only to 



346 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Malacca on the western coast. The river Perak is not 
very correct in its representation, being made more to 
resemble a tidal creek. This is doubtless due to the 
information received that the rivers to the north 
joined the Perak, which, in the case of the Juramas 
and the Bruas is very nearly correct. 

Perak has always maintained an independent posi- 
tion, and has exhibited great pride of authority. After 
the defeat of the Portuguese, however, it was overrun 
by the Acheenese ; and its inhabitants were carried 
away by thousands to repeople that part of Sumatra 
after the many sanguinary wars in which the Malayan 
kings of the state had been engaged. Later on, as 
the power of the Acheen sovereigns was on the 
decline, Perak again began to assert a powerful 
independence, and was treated by the Dutch as a state 
of some considerable importance during the whole of 
their occupation of Malacca. Evil times how- 
ever were in store for the country, and in the 
year 1818 it was attacked by a very large, force from 
the state of Quedah, to the north, with which it 
had always been on friendly terms. But the rajah of 
Quedah, being a tributary of the king of Siam, and 
Perak refusing to own all such allegiance, the rajah 
of Quedah was ordered to invade the country, and 
punish its Sultan for his contumacy. From this date 
it is stated that the chiefs of Perak have always 
resided on the left bank of the river. 

The Siamese retained control over the country for 



DISTURBANCES. 347 



only four years, when the people of Perak formed an 
alliance with Rajah Ibrahim, the powerful and warlike 
chief of Salangore, by whose aid the Siamese authority 
was overthrown in 1822. A few years later a treaty 
on behalf of Perak was made by the English now 
established in Malacca with the king of Siam, which 
provided that the country should be governed by the 
Sultan according to his own will, and the British 
power bound itself to protect Perak from attack on 
the side of either Siam or Salangore ; but if the Perak 
Sultan chose to send his tribute gold and silver 
flowers to the King^as of old, no interference was to 
take place on the part of the English to prevent him. 

Since then Perak has been in a state of chronic 
anarchy and confusion, extending back for some time, 
caused principally by disunion among the chiefs. 
This culminated during the last few years in a dis- 
turbance foreign really to the state, though it was of 
such extent that the chiefs were necessarily mixed up 
with it. For years past large numbers of the Chinese 
had made their way into the country, pursuing various 
industries becoming wood-cutters, charcoal and lime- 
burners, gold-miners, and traders ; but the bulk were 
employed at the tin mines of Laroot, where, after 
various displays of petty jealousy, open warfare was 
commenced between two rival factions of these people. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

The Laroot riots The Muntri Fresh disturbances Eival factions 
British intervention Insult to our flag Sir Andrew Clarke 
Plans for pacifying Disarmament of the Chinese Chiefs' dis- 
putes Proposal for Eesidents. 

LAROOT, which has been so frequently mentioned in 
these pages as the district in the north of Perak, has 
been for some time ruled over by an officer or chief 
known as the Muntri of Laroot, or, as it should be 
more correctly, the Muntri of Perak ; but his power 
had of late become so great, and his connection with 
the district in question so fully acknowledged, that he 
was almost invariably spoken of as the chief of the 
subsidiary place. 

The late Muntri is the son of one Inchi Long 
Jaafar, an enterprising man, who, prior to 1855, was 
appointed by the then reigning sultan of Perak to 
take charge of the Laroot district, which at that time 
was limited to the river and the mines. He bore no 
title, being a mere trader, whose dealings were with 
the then small colony of Chinese miners who had 
settled in the place ; but by his keen management he 



THE LAROOT RIOTS. 349 

soon became a person of some importance. His duties 
were appointed by the Sultan, and no doubt he had to 
receive the greater part of the revenues of Laroot ; his 
appointment being endorsed by every successive 
Sultan. These revenues were the tithes of the rice 
cultivation of the district, and later on, the tax or 
royalty on the tin that was smelted, so that in time 
his privilege became very valuable, especially as for 
some reason the district had its borders largely 
augmented towards the south, and fresh Chinese were 
constantly arriving to increase the workings, and of 
course the produce of the tin. 

The Sultans being careless, indolent men, and it 
is believed unwilling to take the management of an 
extensive district, now inhabited by large numbers of 
Chinese, who were of a very factious nature, Inchi 
Jaafar would have very little difficulty in keeping 
them in ignorance of the vast revenue he was gradually 
receiving ; and kept them satisfied by means of large 
presents given to them from time to time as tribute ; 
so that he rapidly grew in power, wealth, and position 
as ruler over this enormously rich district, and, it 
seems, kept the Chinese miners in a good state of 
subjugation till his death, when he was succeeded by 
his son. 

The Chinese, being a clannish people, were divided in? 
Laroot into two parties, namely a body of Macao men, of 
four districts, and one of Keh Chinese, of five districts, 
the two parties being known as the See Kwan and the 



350 "SARONG" AND "KEIS." 

Go Kwan ; and between these rival factions a serious 
outbreak took place soon after the death of Jaafar. 
This ruler had held a nominal command over the 
people, siding with neither faction ; but as they 
rapidly increased in numbers, and the disturbances 
arose, the present chief, Nga Ibrahim, lost control 
over them, and his power was set at naught. 

At first during this period, the chief was merely in 
correspondence spoken of as Nga Ibrahim, but shortly 
after the Sultan promoted him to the high rank of one 
of his four chief officers, making him Muntri of Perak ; 
and before long he was practically acknowledged to be 
the independent ruler of the district between the rivers 
Krean on the north, and Bruas on the south. His 
political management was clever, for on the outbreak 
of the great quarrel between the Chinese, when the 
two parties were quite beyond his control, he joined 
one of the rival factions, and aided it by throwing the 
Malay influence into the scale, thus reducing the other 
party to submission. 

This was in 1862, and was, not taking into con- 
sideration minor quarrels, the commencement of the 
disturbances in Laroot. After the fight, one of the 
leaders of the defeated party, who was a British sub- 
ject, raised a complaint to our Eepresentative concern- 
ing the destruction of his property at the mines ; and 
the result of this was that his cause was espoused by 
our Government, and a claim made by General 
Cavenagh upon the Sultan for compensation to the 



BRITISH INTERVENTION. 351 

defeated party to the amount of seventeen thousand 
dollars. This was enforced by a blockade of the 
Laroot river by a British man-of-war. The Sultan 
replied that this money ought to be paid by the ruler 
of Laroot ; and by him the indemnity was found. It 
is considered that the title of Muntri was bestowed 
upon him for supplying this large sum but at all 
events the honour was conferred; and subsequently 
Laroot became one government, and the Muntri en- 
joyed the revenues of the country, whose inhabitants 
so increased that at the end of 1871 the Chinese 
mining population was estimated at forty thousand, 
and the value of the tin annually exported was some- 
where about a million of dollars. 

With the increasing strength of the Chinese, that 
of the Muntri began to fail. They made demands of 
him which he yielded ; for principally through the fact 
of having sided with one party, he could not maintain 
his prominent position as ruler over both ; and so it 
was that, though he was able to exact the regular 
royalty paid to him on tin, the Chinese refused to pay 
to him the revenues obtained through the gambling 
farm on which he had levied dues, and also that 
which had accrued to him from the sale of their 
favourite drug opium. Further signs of contempt for 
the Muntri's power too were being shown ; for one of 
the great sugar-planters who rented the farms of the 
Krean district refused to pay his rent, alleging that 
the amounts were due to the Sultan, and not to the 



352 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Muntri, whom he treated as a subordinate officer, and 
not as the ruler of the district. 

Soon after that is in the beginning of 1872 
fresh quarrels arose between the rival Chinese factions, 
whose position had now altered so that the defeated 
party had grown the stronger ; and consequently the 
Muntri threw over his former allies, and sided with 
his old enemies, with the result that the conquerors 
of the preceding fight were beaten, and literally driven 
out of the country. 

Eumours of these fights reached England ; but it 
is probably not known what sanguinary engagements 
they were, inasmuch as they were looked upon as the 
petty riots of some Chinese, in an out-of-the-way part 
of the world. But this is far from being a correct 
idea of their extent. The Chinese are a busy, indus- 
trious people, and, when in small numbers, are glad 
to obtain the protection of the Malay chiefs ; but as 
soon as they are in sufficient strength, they display a 
disposition to set that power at defiance, refusing to 
acknowledge their rule over the mines, and declining 
to pay the revenues ; but having no control over the 
rivers by which they carry off their metallic produce, 
they pay the royalties here to the Malay chiefs who 
live on the banks and hold the stream under their 
control. In their quarrels the Chinese run to great 
excesses, and the disturbances between rival tribes 
arise from small matters a squabble between two 
boys, or some case of petty jealousy when the whole 



THE LAROOT RIOTS. 353 

party on either side will be drawn into the ensuing 
fight. 

In the autumn of 1872 the Go Kwans who had 
been expelled, and had spent their time in warlike 
preparations, made an effort to regain their position. 
Arms and ammunition were sent up the Laroot river, 
and at last a desperate attack was made upon the 
faction in possession of the mines. The engagement 
seems to have been most sanguinary ; three thousand 
Chinamen are said to have lost their lives. The way 
of retreat was strewn with dead bodies ; and great 
numbers of fugitives, many of whom were wounded, 
made their way to Penang, while the conquerors 
installed themselves at the mines. The Muntri again 
espoused the cause of the victorious party, which was 
strongly aided by the Chinese merchants in various 
parts, who equipped junks, and furnished the sinews 
of war ; but so little was this state of affairs appreciated 
by the more wealthy and thoughtful Chinamen, that 
one leading man is reported to have said : " When 
the British flag is seen over Perak or Laroot, every 
Chinaman will go down on his knees and bless God ! " 

In this latter disturbance fighting men were 
recruited from China ; while on the side of the 
Muntri, and for the preservation of law and order, 
the Chief of Police in the district, Captain Speedy, 
with one hundred men, went to his aid ; but on the 
whole the effect produced was not very great, for in 
spite of the moral support of the Government and the 

2 A 



354 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

aid of Captain Speedy 's trained men, the Muntri's 
enemies could not be driven from the country ; while, 
being short of provisions, they took to sending out 
large row-boats to forage. But from this they gradually 
took to genuine piracy; till, in 1873, they were attack- 
ing everything that came in their way, and committing 
such atrocities that finally the Government was forced 
to seriously interfere. 

Prior to this, though, attempts had been made 
to settle the difficulties ; for in September, 1873, 
H.M.S. Thalia and Midge proceeded to the scene of 
these piracies, and sailing up the Laroot river, were 
fired upon by the pirates, and, after various little 
encounters, proceeded to attack the powerful stockade 
which defended the stream, in company with well- 
manned row-boats ; the enemy firing from muskets, and 
also sending rounds of grape from their larger guns. 
The engagement was continued for some time, when 
our forces were drawn off, the stockade not having 
been destroyed, though great loss was inflicted upon 
the enemy, ours being confined to two sub-lieutenants 
dangerously wounded. 

This gross insult to our flag demanded immediate 
action; and a few days later H.M.S. Midge, in com- 
pany with the boats of the Thalia, ascended the river, 
where they were soon within reach of the pirates, 
who received them with the fire of three large war- 
junks and that of a strong stockade. Our forces were 
not long in replying, and soon after the boats dashed 



BE1TISH INTERVENTION. 355 

in ; the junks were boarded, and the stockade carried, 
with very little loss to ourselves ; while finally the 
junks and a second stockade were totally destroyed. 

The Chinese were well armed, mounting, as they 
did, some five-and-twenty guns, though of small 
calibre, and having plenty of Snider rifles. They 
however were very severely punished, and the town 
of Laroot surrendered unconditionally, with nearly 
four thousand men ; and the report of the officers in 
command stated that everything was done for the 
relief of the enemy's wounded ; while, as a specimen 
of the fighting powers of these Chinese pirates as 
opposed to our seamen and marines, our losses were 
only two men wounded, as in the previous action. 

This was a severe lesson to the piratical party, 
but it proved impossible to capture their swift row- 
boats, which evaded pursuit in the various creeks 
with which the coast here is intersected ; and soon 
after the departure of the men-of-war the action of 
the Chinese became bolder and more serious than 
ever, while the fighting was renewed. 

Such being the state of the country, steps were 
absolutely necessary on the part of the Government to 
prevent the contagion from spreading to our own 
Settlements, especially to Penang and Singapore, 
where the Chinese had many sympathisers, and from 
whence the rival tribes were frequently receiving 
supplies of men, arms, and ammunition ; the result 
being constant attacks upon defenceless trading-boats 

2 A 2 



356 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

passing up and down the Straits. In fact, these Straits 
notorious for their Malay piracies were now gain- 
ing an evil name for those perpetrated by the subjects 
of the Celestial Empire. To so great an extent were 
these proceedings carried, that attacks were planned 
and carried out upon our own isolated police stations, 
and notably upon the light-keeper and his party at 
the lighthouse at Cape Kachado. 

This being the state of affairs on the accession of 
Sir Andrew Clarke to the governorship in November, 
1873, he proceeded to try and obtain a settlement of 
the disturbances by dealing personally with the 
matter, and procuring a general peace in the troubled 
districts ; for it was believed that the Chinese factions, 
whose fighting had degenerated from a little war into 
open piracy, must have now suffered to such an 
extent as to be willing to make terms for the general 
and peaceable occupation of the mines, " if they 
could be relieved from the complications arising out 
of their alliances with the contending Malay parties ; " 
for at this time influence on the part of ex-Sultan 
Ismail was being brought to bear against the Muntri 
of Laroot, who had grown too powerful and rich to 
give satisfaction to the princes of the country, of 
which his was, after all, but a division. 

To further these arrangements the Governor 
decided to go from Singapore to Perak, to discuss 
the troubles with the Perak chiefs ; but first it 
was necessary that all fighting should cease. 



SIR ANDREW CLARKE. 357 

Mr. Pickering, one of our officers, who, from his inti- 
mate knowledge of the Chinese language and customs, 
had obtained great influence with the Chinese of the 
Settlements, was then sent to Penang, where he 
conferred with the head men, to find out whether 
they were willing to come to terms with each other, 
disarm, and let the arbitration of their disputes be 
arranged by Government. Mr. Pickering succeeded 
most fully. The head men agreed to leave their 
differences to be settled by the Governor, and to 
give up their arms. Whereupon Captain Dunlop 
and the writer were despatched to carry out the dis- 
armament, and receive all arms and row-boats, and at 
the same time to obtain such information as was 
possible respecting the dispute then existing amongst 
the Perak chiefs, as to the right of succession to the 
country. After some difficulties this was done, and 
the chiefs of Perak, and the leading men of the 
Chinese, met the Governor at the Bindings, where, as 
regarded the preservation of peace in Perak itself, it 
was decided that the Kajah Muda Abdullah should 
become Sultan, and in spite of his vacillating be- 
haviour with the Chinese, it was thought better in the 
interests of peace that the Muntri's appointment 
should be ratified as governor of Laroot, and these 
arrangements were made to the exclusion of Ismail, 
with the full assent of the Perak chiefs. 

In dealing with the Chinese difficulty the rivers 
were searched in pursuit of row-boats and arms ; 



358 "82&ONO" AND "KRIS." 

among the guns taken being a Krupp. A number of 
women and children, who were kept in a state of 
slavery, were searched for, so as to set them at liberty, 
which was subsequently done; and the leading Chinese, 
many of whom were men of property, bound them- 
selves over to preserve peace towards each other and 
towards the Malays, in a penalty of fifty thousand 
dollars, and furthermore undertook to disarm and 
destroy all their stockades. For the further settle- 
ment of all difficulties, three officers were appointed, 
with the full consent of the Sultan, to settle all points 
of disagreement with respect to the mines, and who 
were to discover and set free the women and children . 

3 

the Chinese agreeing to accept the decisions of these 
officers as final. 

Following upon this, the result of the discussion, 
and the feeling of the Malay chiefs that they could not 
of themselves deal with the Chinese immigrants, was 
that the Sultan Abdullah requested the Governor to 
appoint Eesidents in the country. This, with the full 
consent of the native princes, was done ; a Kesident 
being appointed at the Sultan's court at Perak, and an 
Assistant-resident at Laroot ; the expenses connected 
with which appointments were to be borne out of 
the revenue of the state. The two Kesidents were 
Mr. J. "W. W. Birch and Captain Speedy ; the former 
taking up his abode at Banda Baru, and the latter 
as Assistant-resident at Laroot. Their duties were to 



PLANS FOR PACIFYING. 359 

advise the respective rulers in matters of revenue, and 
those of a judicial character especially. Mr. Birch was 
a man of great experience and knowledge of the people, 
and had held high administrative and judicial offices 
at Ceylon and Singapore ; and, had he lived, would 
have greatly added to the development and prosperity 
of Perak. Captain Speedy had been busily engaged, 
with the hundred trained men under his command, in 
assisting, as Chief of the Police, in putting down the 
disturbances on the Laroot river boarding junks, 
making seizures, and the like, and acting generally 
on the side of law and order on behalf of the Muntri 
of the country. This officer's position now as a 
partisan chief of armed men being no longer tenable 
in Laroot, and the necessity for the disposal of his 
body of fighting men having arisen, he was formally 
appointed the Assistant -resident, and his men dis- 
charged and re- enlisted as the Kesident's Guard. For 
it was considered that this officer, being held in high 
respect by both the Malays and the Chinese, would 
now that he was freed from all engagements with the 
Muntri, and acting under government become a 
power, from his knowledge and his influence with the 
above chief, in the pacification and management 
this part of the country. 

These arrangements having been made, all that 
was now necessary was to send back the disarmed 
men and boats to Laroot, towed by two steamers ; and 



360 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the miners, satisfied of the peace that was in future to 
reign, returned cheerfully to their avocations at the 
mines. 

In this way, then, was a serious chain of outbreaks 
begun by the Chinese, but with which the Malay 
chiefs had gradually embroiled themselves on the 
disputed question of the right of succession and the 
position of the Muntri of Laroot, brought to an end ; 
while, had the new Sultan proved, in his fresh career, 
equal to the opinions formed respecting him by Sir 
Andrew Clarke, when only Eajah Muda, or next in 
succession, a career of prosperity would have begun 
for the country, in place of the troubles which sub- 
sequently had place. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



'The Pangkore treaty Deposition of Sultan Ismail Sultan Abdullah. 
Mr. Birch's appointment Troubles with the Sultan His 
reproof by the Governor The proclamations The murder of 
Mr, Birch Lieut. Abbott and Mr. Swettenham at the Kesidency. 



THE engagement made with the chiefs, as described in 
the last chapter, was signed on January 20th, 1874, 
and was called the Pangkore Treaty, and among the 
arrangements embraced by it, the acting Sultan Ismail 
was allowed to retain the title of Sultan Muda only, 
and had a pension and a certain small territory 
assigned to him suitable to his position as ex-Sultan. 
The rest of the treaty was taken up with questions of 
boundary, the payment of the Residents, the appoint- 
ment of native officers, and matters of revenue and 
the collection thereof. 

The ex-Sultan Ismail was deposed, but he had only 
been intended, it seems, to be a temporary occupant of 
the throne on the death of the late Sultan ; for he was 
not of the blood -royal, and his only claim to the 
position was that he had married into the royal family 
and when placed in the ruling seat he was kept there by 
intrigue. He had occupied important positions during 



362 "BlBQW AND "KRIS." 

the past two reigns, and from his high office and 
age seemed to be a suitable man for temporarily 
occupying the throne ; while once there, as he inter- 
fered scarcely at all with the matters of government, 
living a retired life far up the country on the Perak 
river, it is probable that the principal chiefs wished to 
keep matters as they were, and therefore resisted the 
claims of the Eajah Muda Abdullah, to the disturbance 
of the state. 

These difficulties it was the Governor's aim to end, 
and after his discussion with the chiefs wherein it 
was elicited that the claims of Ismail were not good, 
and that his position as sultan would, if continued, 
lead to the continuance of the troubled state of the 
country, proceedings went on for the confirmation 
of the Eajah Muda Abdullah as sultan of Perak ; and 
here it will be interesting to the reader to have the 
portion of the discussion relating to this matter as 
given by Mr. Braddell, the Attorney-General of the 
Straits Settlements, in his report of the proceedings 
at Perak and Laroot on the occasion of the Governor's 
visit. 

The Governor then asked all present: If the Eajah Muda accepts 
the Sultanship, are there enough great men of the country present 
to confirm him 1 To which there appeared to be a general assent ; 
"but the Muntri fenced, and at last, on being pressed, he said I 
think there are enough, if the Eajah Muda thinks he ought to be 
made Sultan. 

The Governor then addressed the whole assembly and intreated 
them to state if there was any objection to the Eajah Muda as 



DEPOSITION OF ISMAIL. 3GS 

Sultan, and did they know of any other person who should be 
installed 1 The Muntri said, whatever the Bandahara says, I ani 
bound to obey. 

The GOVERXOR. But tell me your own opinion. 

The MUNTRI. The proper thing would be to inquire of all the 
inhabitants of the country. 

The GOVERNOR. Have you ever heard of the people (ryots) 
being consulted in a Malay country as to who is to be king 1 

The MUNTRI. When Ismail was chosen the people were there r 
and, I suppose, took a part in the business. (This, however, was 
denied by the other chiefs.) 

At this time the Laksarnana arrived, and took his place. 

The GOVERNOR. What would become of Ismail if the Eajah 
Muda is made Sultan 1 

The Muntri said he did not know ; but the Laksamana 
said, in times gone by there had been ex-Sultans, called Sultan 
Muda, as the present Eajah Muda's grandfather was, and Ismail 
might have a revenue, and a small district to govern as Sultan 
Muda. 

The GOVEBNOR. What ceremonies should be performed for the 
installation of the Eajah Muda as Sultan ? 

The LAKSAMANA. He should be crowned at Banda, in the Perak 
river ; and even if some of the great men were not present, it would 
suffice if the Bandahara and Eajah Muda were present. 

On this the Governor asked all : Are you ready to have the 
questions as to Ismail and the Eajah Muda settled now 1 

The LAKSAMANA. How about those who are not here 1 

The GOVERNOR. This point has already been discussed. Are 
you yourself willing to give your adhesion to the Eajah Muda as 
Sultan 1 

The LAKSAMANA. Individually, yes. 

The BANDAHARA. Yes. 

EAJA OSMAN. Yes. 

EAJA ABBAS. Yes. 

The MUNTRI. If the people like it I have no place, I of course 
follow them. 

The TUMONGONG. I follow the course of the Bandahara. 

The DATOH GAPAR. Same as Tumongong. 



364 "SAKONG" AND "KRIS." 

The MAKOTAH. I follow the Bandahara. 

The DATOH EOUAH. Yes. 

The SHAHBANDAR. I will follow the Baja Muda. 

Hajee Hussain and Hajee Mohamed Syed and five others all 
agreed. 

The GOVERNOR. Does Ismail take any interest in the govern- 
ment of the country ? 

The BAXDAHARA. He lives a retired life. 

The Governor then said that what they had been discussing 
would form the subject of a treaty, and asked them to name 
deputies to attend for them. 

All agreed. 

The following were then chosen : Eajah Muda, Bandahara, 
Laksamana, Muntri, and Shahbandar; and at the request of the 
Muntri, his friend the Tumongong was added. 

The Muntri, on being asked to state anything ho might have 
in his mind, said : " As to the succession I have nothing further to 
say." 

On this, sireh and tea was served, and the conference broke up. 

Great expectations were formed of the result of 
this Pangkore treaty ; but shortly after Mr. Birch 
had taken up his residence in Perak, troubles began ; 
for the Governor was soon obliged to write to the 
Sultan, complaining of his not taking the advice of 
the Resident, and calling him to account for breaking 
the solemn promises he had made. In fact, it seems 
that, from the first, great dissatisfaction was felt by 
both the Sultan and chiefs who had signed, and they 
objected strongly to Mr. Birch's plans for collecting 
the revenue. Later on, a full and comprehensive 
scheme for this purpose was laid before the Sultan 
one that had the approval of the Governor but it 
found no favour with the ruler and chiefs of Perak. 



TROUBLES WITH THE SULTAN. 365 

In fact, Mr. Birch soon found that he had a task 
of a most onerous nature in dealing with a man whom 
he describes as being eminently silly and foolish, and 
one who indulged largely in opium. He could hardly 
ever be kept to a subject for any time when on ques- 
tions of great import to the state, but was, with 
childish vanity, constantly asking questions and draw- 
ing attention to his dress. In short, he was a weak 
sensual man, whose sole thoughts were devoted to his 
own gratification when not taken up by trifling 
matters of the time. 

At the end of a year namely in January, 1875 
Mr. Birch was so out of favour with the Sultan that 
the latter wrote to ex-Sultan Ismail not to sign 
the Pangkore treaty, lest it should strengthen the 
Kesident's authority in Perak. In fact, on other 
occasions, the Sultan showed a disposition to take 
part with his old opponent Ismail against the Eesi- 
dent ; and as time wore on, ominous little signs began 
to tell of the coming of mischief. The Maharajah 
Lela, a powerful chief, began to erect a strong stockade 
round his house at Passir Sala. The Muntri of Laroot 
took precautions for the safety of his family by re- 
moving them from Durian Sabatang to Laroot ; while 
in many other instances little clouds began to form, 
indicative of the coming storm. 

At last, in April, Sir Andrew Clarke wrote another 
letter to the Sultan, reproving him for his resistance 
to the reforms proposed by Mr. Birch, and telling him 



366 "SARONG" AND "KRIS. 11 

that lie was breaking the Pangkore treaty. At the 
same time he enclosed a proclamation under his own 
hand, which warned all men against collecting the 
revenue in any form excepting only such as were ap- 
pointed by the Kesident. Soon after this the Sultan 
sent to the Governor at Singapore, making complaints 
against Mr. Birch, so as to get him removed from the 
Kesidency ; but Sir Andrew Clarke declined to inter- 
fere, as he was leaving the Straits. This letter not 
succeeding, and being still more embittered against 
the Eesident, who was pressing him to sign certain 
papers in connection with his scheme of taxation, it 
seems that the Sultan called together his chiefs at 
Durian Sabatang; and it is believed that at that time it 
was decided to kill Mr. Birch, and, by a combination 
of the people, to attack Banda Baru, and drive the 
English completely out of Perak. 

Later on that is in September, 1875 Sir William 
Jervois, having npw succeeded Sir Andrew Clarke as 
Governor, visited Perak, and, during his progress 
through the country, made proposals both to the ex- 
Sultan at Blanja, and to Sultan Abdullah at Banda 
Baru, that the country should be handed over to the 
management of British officers ; proposing certain 
allowances for the chiefs if they agreed to the arrange- 
ment, as this seemed to him the only way of settling 
the knot into which affairs had run : for the treaty was 
openly violated, the government was wretched, slavery 
ran riot, and Mr. Birch had embittered himself still 



THE PROCLAMATIONS. 367 

more by interfering in certain slavery matters. After 
consideration, the ex-Sultan Ismail refused these pro- 
posals, and declared that he was not bound by the 
Pangkore treaty, while Abdullah expressed his wish to 
abide by the treaty, but asked for time for considera- 
tion, and received fifteen days. 

At last the proposals were accepted by the Sultan, 
and he received a promise in writing from Mr. Birch 
that he should be paid two thousand dollars per 
month. On the same day a letter was brought to 
Abdullah, by the colonial steamer, consenting that 
the government should be carried on in the Sultan's 
name ; another letter being at the same time conveyed 
to Mr. Birch for the Rajah Muda, or heir to the 
throne, Yusuf, offering to make him sultan if Abdullah 
had declined the Governor's proposals as to the 
government. Matters however still hung fire, the 
Sultan hesitating to sign the proclamations placed 
before him by Mr. Birch, and it was only under the 
pressure of a threat to send the Governor's letter to 
Yusuf that the Sultan affixed to the proclamations his 
chop, or seal. 

One of these proclamations, in the name of the 
Sultan, announced to the people of the country that 
it had been found advisable to place the land for its 
better government in the hands of British officers, who 
were to try cases ; but in matters of life and death 
no capital sentence could be executed without the 
Sultan's consent. The other proclamation dealt with 



368 "SARONG" AND "KElS." 

the new arrangements to be made as to the gathering 
of the revenue, and stopping the illegal squeezing 
carried on by the chiefs. Following upon these, a 
proclamation was issued by the Governor at Singa- 
pore, and was afterwards sent up to Mr. Birch. But 
meanwhile troubles were thickening. Three slave 
women had fled from the Sultan, and sought and 
obtained protection at the Eesidency ; the Sultan 
was receiving visits from his chiefs, and is believed to 
have given his signed consent to the murder of Mr. 
Birch. Then the women were claimed, and consent 
was given for them to go ; but Mr. Birch declared 
that, now he held full authority from the Sultan, he 
should interfere if the women required his protection. 

The plot too was thickening in another direction ; 
for communications were being opened up with ex- 
Sultan Ismail, and it was in consideration what steps 
should be taken to defeat the British authority. At 
last matters came to a climax ; for soon after, that 
is at the end of October, copies of the Governor's and 
the Sultan's proclamations were brought to the 
Kesidency at Banda Baru, and were posted under 
a salute of twenty-one guns ; while just about the 
same time, bullets were being made, powder obtained, 
and men were gathered preparatory to a rising. 

On the 1st November Mr. Birch ascended the river 
Perak in his dragon boat, the same given in the illus- 
tration. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Abbott, 
E.N., and a small native guard, in a large and small 



MURDER OF MR. BIRCH. 369 

boat, as escort ; and they made their way up to Passir 
Sala, where, as soon as it was known that they had 
arrived, announcements were sent round in all direc- 
tions. Passir Sala was the residence of the Maharajah 
Lela, a chief who had shown all through a most 
determined opposition to the Governor's proposed new 
method of administering the affairs of the country ; 
but so little was danger apprehended, that the two 
officers dined and slept that night on board the 
Resident's boat, in the belief of their absolute security. 
The next morning a memorable one in the history 
of Perak Lieutenant Abbott crossed the river for 
awhile to shoot, and Mr. Birch shortly after sent Arshad, 
his interpreter, into the village of Passir Sala, to post 
the Governor's and Sultan's proclamations. This was 
resented, however, by the Malays, who kept tearing 
them down as fast as they were posted up ; which 
so enraged the interpreter that at last he struck one of 
their number with a stick, an indignity which was at 
once resented with the kris, and the poor fellow ran 
bleeding to the river and jumped in. This was the 
spark that set fire to the train ; a cry of amok 
immediately ensued, and the infuriated Malays, armed 
with spears and krises, made a rush in a body down 
to the river-bank, where Mr. Birch was ashore at the 
bathing-house, his orderly being on guard with a 
revolver. He let his leader, however, be taken com- 
pletely by surprise, and at a great disadvantage, leaping 
into the river, holding up his revolver, and swimming 

2 B 



370 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

for his life. Mr. Birch was a lithe active man, of un- 
daunted bravery, and had he been in the boat, where 
he was well provided with firearms and spears, he 
would have sold his life most dearly. As it was he was 
savagely attacked, some of the Malays driving their 
keen limbings through the rattan mat that formed a 
screen, while others went to the end of the bath, and, 
as the wounded Eesident struggled up out of the 
water, one man cut at him with a sword, when he 
sank, and for the time being was seen no more. 

Meanwhile Arshad, wounded as he was, made for 
the dragon boat, and got hold of the gunwale, trying 
to sustain himself; when two of the Malays jumped 
into the boat, and cut at him with their swords till he 
lost his hold, and floated down the stream to be 
picked up by the coxswain of Mr. Birch ; who had in 
the melee swum off to one of the two boats which 
accompanied the dragon, and who now tried to save 
the interpreter, and dragged him in. A portion of the 
escort of Sepoys were in this boat, and they now 
commenced firing at the Malays, driving them off 
for the time ; but as this boat now dropped down 
the stream they took courage and followed, firing at 
the guard ; and then taking a sampan, they crossed the 
river and began firing again, scaring the escort so that 
they took to the water. A few more shots were ex- 
changed, and then the small boat was allowed to 
proceed in peace ; but before they had gone much 
farther it was found that the interpreter, who by his 



MURDER OF MR. BIRCH. 371 

rash act had commenced the trouble, was dead, while 
several of the Sepoys and boatmen were killed and 
wounded, the larger boat having been sunk during the 
disturbance. 

The native guard had been ordered by Mr. Birch 
not to use their firearms, for he had said if the Malays 
made a disturbance he would leave. In fact, the 
men were cleaning their rifles, and were so taken by 
surprise by the large party of well-armed Malays that 
resistance seems to have been the last thing dreamed 
of; while the whole attack was so sudden and un- 
expected that nothing seems to have been done to save 
Mr. Birch ; the English companion on whose aid he 
could have counted, and without whose lead the 
Sepoys seem to have been helpless, being far away. 

As soon as the disturbance was over, Mr. Birch's 
dragon boat was taken by one of the chiefs for a short 
distance down the stream, and plundered ; the principal 
part of the Kesident's things being afterwards found 
in the house of the Maharajah Lela, who was con- 
sidered to be the leading spirit in the attack, aided by 
another chief, known as the Datu Sagor ; and proof is 
not wanting of the preparations that had been made 
for the cowardly attack. No doubt the train was 
already laid, and it wanted but the spark to be 
applied. In fact, just before his death, Mr. Birch had 
noticed a body of about forty Malays, all armed with 
spears and krises, crowding towards his boat, and 
warned them to keep away ; but he evidently felt so 

2 B 2 



372 - "SARONG" AND " KRIS." 

secure that he took no further heed to their proximity, 
although such a gathering was unusual. The excuse 
for the rising was furnished by the interpreter's act, 
one which he paid for dearly in the loss of his own 
life ; while he was the immediate cause of the death of 
a valuable public officer, whose body was some four 
days afterwards taken away, towed behind a boat, by 
some Bugis men, and was afterwards found ashore in: 
the jungle, about two hundred yards from the river, by 
Kajah Deiu, a Bugis. 

Lieutenant Abbott was in the meantime unaware 
of what had taken place, being absent for about three 
hours, shooting on the farther shore ; but, on his 
return to the river, he was met by the Datu Sagor, 
who had but a short time before taken part in the? 
emeute, and now told the lieutenant that there had 
been a disturbance at Passir Sala, advising him to> 
take refuge in the jungle, as his life was not safe for 
a minute where he then was. 

This advice savoured strongly of treachery ; for, 
under the circumstances, concealment in the jungle 
would have been a very hopeless proceeding, and 
must have resulted in the fugitive being hunted out 
and shot down. It is evident that Lieutenant Abbott 
took this view of the position alone there with his one- 
companion and rejecting this advice, and feeling that 
with his leader and escort gone, his best plan w T as to 
flee to the Residency, he watched his opportunity, and 
seized a small canoe, or dug-out, in which he and his 



LIEUT. ABBOTT AND MR. SWETTENHAM. 373 

follower embarked, and paddled off into mid-stream, 
so as to allow it to drop down with the current to 
Banda Baru. 

If he had had any doubt before of the wisdom of 
trusting to himself, instead of the Datu Sagor, it was 
swept away directly ; for fire was opened upon him 
from both banks, the gauntlet of which he ran till he 
was beyond the reach of the Malays, and arrived at 
the Eesidency in safety, where he at once made up his 
mind to put it in a state of defence. Fearing that an 
attack would soon follow, he called in all the Sepoys 
and police to the small island upon which the Resi- 
dency was built. Mr. Swettcnham, of the Straits 
Civil Service, who had a few days previously ascended 
the river, for some distance, on the same mission of 
posting the proclamations, heard on his way back of 
,the events at Passir Sala, where he was told that the 
Malays were on the look-out to kill him. He, too, was 
advised by a friendly rajah; but the advice he received 
was not to land, but to retreat; and this he did, making 
the best of his way down the river under the cover of 
the night, an unusual mist fortunately prevailing at 
the time when he reached Passir Sala, and concealing 
his little craft till he was safely by ; and he finally 
succeeded in joining Lieutenant Abbott at the Resi- 
dency. Thereupon the determination was made to 
hold the place, and defend the flag to the last. 

The island being only separated by a small creek 
from the bank of the river, and having but sixty men 



374 "&UBOW AND "KRIS." 

at his disposal, Lieutenant Abbott entrenched his posi- 
tion, told off his four seamen to the native detach- 
ments to work the field-pieces on the spot, and 
generally put the place in a good state for resisting 
the enemy. But previous to this being fully accom- 
plished he had written to the Sultan, telling him of 
the murder of Mr. Birch, and asking him to collect 
men and come to his assistance. To this Abdullah 
responded by coming at once, accompanied by the 
Laksamana, the Shahbandar, and a large following. Mr. 
Swettenham, however, did not feel full confidence in 
the presence of these Malay chiefs and their followers 
in the little British camp, where they might easily 
convey information to the enemy ; and, consequently, 
while accepting their services, requested them politely, 
but with firmness, to move lower down the river, ready 
to act when called upon, and this was acceded to at 
once. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The attack on Pas sir Sala Repulse Burial of Mr. Birch and Cap- 
tain Innes Proceedings of the Government Reinforcements 
from China Capture of Passir Sala Mr. Birch's dragon boat 
Troops from India Proceedings of the northern column 
Qualla Kungsa and Kota Lamah. 

THE position of the young Englishmen at the Resi- 
dency was a perilous one ; but their prompt behaviour 
was not without its influence on the people, and they 
were not long left in suspense ; for the news having 
been conveyed to Penang by Captain Welner, of the 
Straits Government steamer Pluto, the Lieutenant- 
governor lost not a moment in sending off a detach- 
ment of Her Majesty's 10th Foot, and some police, 
under the local head of the force, the Hon. H. 
Plunket. At the same time, Captain Innes, of the 
Royal Engineers, an officer of great judgment, was 
sent to act as commissioner, and Mr. Kynnersley, of 
the Straits Civil Service, as interpreter. The news of 
the coming of these reinforcements was conveyed in a 
letter from Captain Innes, and was gladly received at 
the Residency, as it contained the information that the 
little force would be at Banda Baru on the following 



376 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

day. On the arrival of the troops no time was lost, 
preparations being hurried on ; and Mr. Swetten- 
ham's plan for attacking the enemy by sending a 
small force up each bank of the river, supported by 
two guns lashed in the boats, was generally approved, 
while rockets were also to be taken in the boats for use 
if required. 

It w T as at this time that the body of Mr. Birch was 
brought in, the Bugis who were its bearers giving 
information of there being a strong stockade at Passir 
Sala, and another four or five hundred yards inland. 

The party marched to the attack on November 7th, 
preceded by Malay scouts, and accompanied by a rocket 
party with four blue-jackets, the troops being under 
the command of Captain Booth and Lieutenant Elliot. 
On approaching the stockade, the attacking party had 
many difficulties to hinder them the thickness of the 
field of Indian corn and padi, and the trees, fences, and 
height of the stockade, which, in spite of their efforts, 
was but little injured by the rocket party. A heavy 
fire was opened upon the little force as soon as they 
came within range of the stockade, which was found 
to be held in force ; and in spite of the vigorous 
reply of our troops, the men fell fast. But the 
advance was still kept up until the infantry were close 
up to the Malay stronghold, when Lieutenant Elliot- 
was wounded severely, and his party fell back behind a 
tree. The firing was however still kept on, and 
another of the 10th men went down ; and on his 



ATTACK ON PASSIR 8ALA. 



being carried to the tree where the lieutenant was taken, 
it was found that Captain Booth was also wounded, 
and the lieutenant and Captain Innes had both been 
taken to the rear, the latter shot through the heart. 

Under these circumstances, three officers of the 
little force being hors de combat, it was considered 
wiser to retire until reinforcements could be procured ; 
and after carrying the wounded to the rear, a volley 
was fired into the stockade, and the little party, bur- 
dened with its injured men, steadily began to retreat. 
They had a distance of about a couple of miles to 
traverse to reach the boats, where all were embarked, 
and proceeded to the Eesidency, the Malays being 
satisfied with beating off the attack, and making no 
attempt at pursuit, or even at hindering the re-embar- 
kation. 

This was a severe repulse, the losses of the little 
force being no less than seventeen killed and wounded, 
two of the killed being Captain Innes and a man of the 
10th, whose body afterwards floated down the river, 
shot through the head and chest. Fortunately, how- 
ever, surgical assistance was at hand, and the wounded 
were well attended to. 

Mr. Birch was buried beneath the palms close by 
the Eesidency a faithful representation of the place 
being given in the accompanying engraving, produced 
from the series of photographs taken by the writer 
during one of his visits to Banda Baru. 

This spot was chosen for Mr. Birch's interment, as 



378 "8AMQNG" AND "KRIS." 

being one of the portions of the jungle which he had 
cleared for about two or three hundred yards along 
the bank for the site of the new Eesidency he meant 
to build, where the barracks, armoury, and magazine 
had been established, as shown in the cut, with a 
police station a little lower down. On the occasion of 
the bringing in of the body, and its interment, the 
people, who were greatly attached to their leader, 
made bitter lamentation. It was an impressive scene, 
the more especially as it took place at a time of peril, 
when no man felt that his life was safe. The service 
was read by Mr. Swettenham, and due military 
honours were accorded to the fallen man, three volleys 
being fired by the Sikhs over his grave just as the 
sun was sinking. Only a short time later the ground 
had to be again disturbed to form a grave for Captain 
Innes, who was buried with the same ceremonies 
beside Mr. Birch, as the moon was rising on the night 
of the day on which he fell. 

A few days later the Governor visited Perak in 
person, bringing with him in H.M.S. Fly, Captain 
Bruce, a detachment of H.M. 80th Foot with some 
artillery, and leaving his instructions with Major 
Dunlop, E.A., who had come up as Commissioner, he 
sent on also H.M.S. Thistle, Captain Stirling, which 
was then at Klang, farther down the coast. Prior, 
however, to leaving Singapore, the Governor had in- 
structed the Colonial Secretary, Mr. C. J. Irving, to 
telegraph to Hong Kong for more troops, and to 



REINFORCEMENTS FROM CHINA. 379 

summon H.M.S. Modeste from Labuan; and with 
praiseworthy despatch General Oolborne arrived at 
Singapore by the 16th, with three hundred of H.M. 
80th Foot. 

But before the general had had time to leave 
Singapore, Major Dunlop and Captain Stirling had 
concerted measures for a combined attack upon Passir 
Sala by land and water. At the same time it may be 
mentioned in passing, that the Governor's idea for 
reducing the Malays' to submission was for one force 
to proceed up the river by Passir Sala, while another 
crossed the country from the Laroot river to Qualla 
Kungsa, so as to proceed down the Perak river these 
two points giving a practical control of the country. 

Major Dunlop and Captain Stirling's plan was 
carried out on November 16th, and in this attack 
upon Passir Sala, Sultan Abdullah, who had been 
applied to for help against the rebellious chiefs? 
furnished sixteen boats for the transport of the men 
and artillery, but without " polers." This difficulty 
was however got over by the seamen, though it was 
an onerous duty for men unaccustomed to the work, 
and in a sharp stream. The plans w r ere well carried 
out, Captain Stirling's naval force taking up its position 
in the river, and Major Dunlop's land forces theirs 
near Passir Panjang, bugle signals being arranged so 
as to keep up the co-operation when the two forces 
were separated. The fire was opened from the stockade 
upon the boats in the river, and vigorously kept up 



380 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

on both sides ; while leaving the jungle, the land forces 
advanced through the thick Indian corn till fire was 
opened upon them. Then a gun (a 12-pound howitzer) 
was brought up, and after four or five rounds of case- 
shot had been discharged into the stockade its fire was 
silenced, and the troops dashed in to find it deserted. 
It was a strong place, with deep ditch, earth- work, 
wattled fence, and pointed bamboos, while it was 
armed with a large iron gun and a small pivot 
" lelah." 

These guns were spiked and thrown into the river, 
and the force then moved on through a dense plantation 
of bananas till fire was opened upon them from another 
stockade, a short distance from the spot where Mr. 
Birch was murdered. The Malays in the second 
stockade were driven out by the blue-jackets, and the 
attention of all was then directed to a formidable one 
close into the village, which was firing on the boats. 
No time was lost, for the eagerness of the men was 
roused by the sight of Mr. Birch's boat and the bath- 
house where he was murdered, and with a rush they 
charged and took the stockade, the land and river 
forces entering it at the same moment, to find that 
the Malays had retreated. Here were found four 
guns, one being the small brass piece taKen from 
Mr. Birch's boat ; two were lelahs, and the other an 
iron 6 -pounder, which had just burst, evidently having 
been struck by one of the English shells. 

By this last stroke, Mr. Birch's dragon boat and 



CAPTURE OF PASSIR SALA. 381 

his row-boat were recovered, and the village was in 
the possession of the English, who now turned their 
attention to the Maharajah's house, which was found 
to be strongly fortified, being surrounded by an earth- 
work eight feet high, with ditch containing water, 
and on the top of the earthwork a stockade formed of 
short sharpened bamboos. The place might have been 
held and given a good deal of trouble to capture, but 
it had evidently been left in a hurry, and on search 
being made, a number of the articles belonging to 
Mr. Birch, which had been plundered from his boat, 
were found. 

The village was then burnt, and soon after 
Campong Gaja, a place a little lower down, the 
residence of the Datu Sagor, who, as we have seen, 
either took part in or countenanced the murder of 
Mr. Birch, by being present at the time. This 
place had also been fortified with a couple of stockades, 
but very little attempt was made to defend it. At 
the other stockades, however, a gallant defence was- 
made, and the enemy must have suffered heavily. 
They however retreated in good order, carrying off 
their arms with their wounded and dead ; the principal 
trophies obtained, beside the guns, being the war-gong, 
shot through by a bullet, and several drums, with 
powder and cartridges in some quantity. The loss on 
our side was not one man killed, while only two men, 
one of whom was a civilian following the forces, were 
wounded. 



382 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Consequent upon the condition of Perak, and the 
inflammable nature of the Malay character, the other 
states began to show strong symptoms of a rising, as 
if contingent upon the Perak outbreak, and further 
reinforcements being urgently needed, India was 
appealed to by telegram ; and so rapid now are the 
movements of forces when summoned by wire that by 
the 27th of the same month the first portion of the 
reinforcement reached Penang. It was so admirably 
adapted for the service in hand, so complete in itself 
in every detail of its composition, and showed through- 
out how all had been contrived by a prevailing master- 
mind, that it may be well here to give an account in 
full of this miniature army designed for jungle fight- 
ing. 

The head-quarters and 600 men of H.M. 3rd Eegt. 
(Buffs), Col. Cox, C.B.; head-quarters and 400 men of 
1st Ghoorkhas ; 3-5th Eoyal Artillery, with four 
mountain guns (7-pounder M.L.E. steel, 150lb.); two 
5-Jr-inch mortars, with 500 rounds per piece, and 200 
rockets; a field telegraph of 100 miles of wire, one 
superintendent, and ten signallers ; a company of the 
Madras Sappers and Miners ; a proportion of medical 
officers, doolies, and doolie-bearers for conveyance of 
sick ; with sea provisions for six weeks and shore 
provisions for ten days, camp equipage, light tents, 
and "Lascars' pawls." 

This force was capable of division into three parts, 
and was composed with this view in officers, men, 



TROOPS FROM INDIA. 383 

equipment, guns, and ammunition. Each ship had a 
complete equipment for the number of troops aboard, 
so as to make them independent of the movement of 
the other vessels. 

Brig. -Gen. Eoss was in command, with staff as 
follows : Major Mark Heathcote, Assistant Quarter- 
master-General ; Major H. J. Hawkins, Major of 
Brigade; Lieutenant Preston, Rifle Brigade, A.D.C.; 
Capt. Badcock, Deputy- Assist. Commissary-General ; 
Major Twigge, R.E., Capt. Crawford, E.E., Lieut. 
North, E.E., Field Engineers. 

H.M.S. Philomel also came from Bombay, and 
Admiral Eyder sent from China H.M.S. Egeria 
and Ringdove; H.M.S. Modeste, Capt. Buller, senior 
naval officer, which was on her way when the distur- 
bances commenced, reached the Straits about the 
20th November. 

General Colborne (now Sir F. Colborne, K.C.B.) 
had now a considerable force under his command, 
one that must have made a great impression on the 
Malay chiefs, as an example of the power and promp- 
titude of England when called upon to maintain 
the dignity of the Empire, and avenge so cruel an 
insult as the present to her flag. In conjunction 
with the Governor, then, it was arranged to hold the 
country until the murderers of the late Eesident were 
given up a reward having already been issued for 
the capture of the Maharajah Lela and satisfaction 
duly rendered for the outrage. 



384 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

The Indian column, which was appointed to- 
occupy the upper portion of the country, had to march 
by way of Laroot, a distance of twenty-seven miles 
the pass they had to traverse has been men- 
tioned in the early part of this work arrangements 
having been made and stations appointed for their 
encampment. In this work the Muntri lent every 
assistance in his power, by furnishing elephants and 
men for the improvement of the track, which is now 
occupied by the first good road which was made in 
Perak. Detachments were left at Bukit Gantang 
and Campong Boy ah, with which places communica- 
tions were kept up ; these being spots that had been 
chosen as sites for encampments by Captain Satter- 
thwaite, E.E., in concert with Captain Speedy, the 
writer being the Commissioner and Mr. W. Maxwell 
the Deputy- commissioner with this force. 

The southern column was under the command of 
General Colborne in person, with Majors Lloyd and 
Huskisson as Brigade-Majors; and Commissary Eobin- 
son, of the Control Department, a gentleman who, 
from previous visits to the country, was able to render 
most valuable assistance. The artillery force was com- 
manded by Major (now Colonel) Nicolls. The medical 
officers in charge were Drs. Randall and Orton, the 
former of whom was wounded, and is since dead. 
Major Dunlop was the Commissioner with this force, 
and Mr. Swettenham Deputy-commissioner. 

The naval portion was under the command of 



THE NORTHERN COLUMN. 385 

Captain Buller, C.B., and the naval brigades formed 
from it were under Captain Buller and Captain 
Garforth the former with General Colborne and 
the southern column, and the latter with Brigadier- 
General Eoss in the north. 

The northern column duly crossed the country 
from Laroot to Qualla Kungsa, which became the 
military station for the time being ; and it was while 
the troops were here that an absurd alarm took place. 
An attack from the Malays was at any moment 
deemed imminent, and careful supervision was exer- 
cised during the night over the various sentries ; 
therefore a sudden outcry from one of the camp fol- 
lowers, who had been lying asleep, was quite sufficient 
to produce a stampede amongst the undisciplined 
portion of the people, and it was some time before the 
cause of the cries could be made out. The matter 
was very simple : the alarmist had been lying asleep 
on his back beneath a cocoa-nut tree, and one of the 
huge husk-covered nuts, being over-ripe, had become 
dislodged in the night, and in falling had struck the 
poor fellow in the epigastric region, causing, no doubt, 
as much pain as fear. 

The chief value of this northern column was in its 
presence in Upper Perak, where it kept the disaffected 
chiefs in check, and thoroughly prevented them from 
combining in any active measures against the Govern- 
ment, and also from joining those below stream in the 
disturbances. It had however its actual work, among 

2 c 



386 "SARONG" AND "KEIS." 

the principal events of which was its attack upon 
Kotah Lamah a place that had long been noted as a 
resort for the worst characters, and freebooters of the 
vilest description. In fact, Mr. Birch, during one of 
his visits was threatened by the people with loaded 
guns. On the arrival of the troops at Qualla Kungsa 
these people were not openly hostile. The acts of the 
head men of the place however at last called for inter- 
ference ; and as it became necessary to make an 
example of the village before the departure of the 
troops, it was determined to disarm the people. For 
this purpose a small force was sent up the river 
beyond Qualla Kungsa, and the demand for arms to 
be given up was acceded to on being made by Captain 
Speedy ; but armed men were seen rushing off, in two 
or three instances, to the jungle. The military force 
made their way right through the campong and back 
without being opposed ; and after this General Boss 
and his party landed at the middle of the village, and 
were searching the various houses to see that they 
contained none but women and children, when, under 
cover of a brisk fire, well maintained from the jungle, 
they were assailed by a body of fifty or sixty spear- 
armed Malays, who had been hidden amongst the trees. 
These men suddenly rushed out, and nearly succeeded 
in surrounding the little party, which had to retire 
fighting as they went, the marines and sailors main- 
taining a most gallant front till the river was reached. 
Shortly before this several officers had gone in the 



KOTAH LAMAH. 387 



direction of the river, and Major Hawkins is supposed 
to have been following them when he received a 
frightful spear wound, the blade passing right through 
his chest. A sailor named Sloper ran to his help, 
and shot two Malays who were running up to -con- 
tinue the attack, when Major Hawkins is reported to 
have exclaimed : " Save yourself, you can do me no 
good now." The officers who had gone on towards 
the river now returned, and tried to move him, but 
they were compelled in turn to fall back towards the 
river, Surgeon Townsend being the first to be assailed 
by three Malays with spears. One he shot with his 
revolver, but the man struck him down in falling, and 
his two companions dashed in to spear him, when 
they were bayoneted by a couple of the seamen. This 
engagement was successful, however, from the fact that 
, large quantity of arms were taken, including lelahs 
and a 12-pounder iron gun, which was spiked and 
thrown into the river. 

Far from being disconcerted by their losses, the 
people of Kotah Lamah began soon after erecting 
stockades, and were guilty of so many lawless acts, 
that the Governor finally decided that a severe chas- 
tisement should be inflicted upon them, and for this 
purpose he consulted with General Colborne. The con- 
sequence was that a further expedition was arranged 
to be carried out against the Kotah Lamah people, the 
great body of whom had now gone farther up the 
river, to the two villages of Enggar and Prek; and this 

2 c 2 



I 



388 "SARONG 11 AND "KRIS." 

expedition was somewhat Lurried by an appeal for help 
which came from Eajah Muda Yusuf, whose people 
had been attacked by a body of the Kotah Lainah 
people, under Toh Sri Lela, their chief. This party 
was driven off by some of the Ghoorkhas, but unfortu- 
nately two of Eajah Yusuf s friendly Malays were 
killed and two wounded by mistake. 

The next day our forces were sent up the river to 
Enggar, where the Malays opened fire from two or 
three lelahs, but after a short and sharp return fire 
they were effectually driven out of their village. A 
portion of the force was then directed to bivouac in 
the village for the night, and then move forward and 
attack Prek, to which place Toh Sri Lela and his fol- 
lowers had fled. Here, the next day, the enemy were 
again driven out, making a precipitate retreat, a re- 
sult which, when achieved, was followed by the return 
of our troops to Qualla Kungsa, the power of the Kotah 
Lamah chief being completely broken. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The southern column Blanja The march through the jungle 
Stockade-fighting Capture of Kinta Flight of Ismail The 
Terrachee valley The stockades at Bukit Putoos Captain 
Channer's attack The rising at Klang Suppression of the 
revolts. 

THE brunt of the work however in the Perak outbreak 
fell upon the southern column, which had to be 
brought up the river in boats against the rapid stream, 
the means of progression being by " poling," which 
was admirably performed by the blue-jackets whose 
behaviour throughout, whether in boating or skirmish- 
ing in the jungle, was always gallant and deserving of 
praise. 

It was on December 8th that the forces left Banda 
Baru, but with so large a flotilla forty-five boats- 
crowded with troops the current strong, and the 
heat of the sun very great, only about eight miles 
were accomplished on that day ; and the little army 
encamped on an island just above Passir Sala. The 
9th, 10th, and llth were passed in the same slow toil 
up the river ; and on the 12th the force encamped 
about a couple of miles below Blanja, the site of their 



390 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

projected operations for here the Sultan Ismail had 
had his place of residence. 

The next day the troops marched into Blanja by 
eight o'clock in the morning, but to find no enemy ; 
for the news of the coming of the little force had pre- 
ceded them, and the place was deserted. On every 
side lay the traces of a hasty flight : boxes and 
packages prepared for conveying away lay in all direc- 
tions, but had evidently proved too cumbersome for 
the ex-Sultan's retreat, and had therefore been aban- 
doned. Had there been any doubt as to the line of 
retreat, the information could have been readily ob- 
tained, for the way open was by the elephant-track, 
running nearly at right angles to the river towards 
the interior, where the capital of Perak Kinta lay, 
on the river of that name the river which, after a 
course nearly parallel with the Perak, empties itself 
into the latter near the Eesidency at Banda Baru. 

This elephant-track presented plenty of obstacles 
to the passage of a little army ; for the peculiarity, 
already described, of the elephant, in always placing 
its feet in the same holes, no matter how deep they 
are in mud and water, soon results in the formation of 
a series of pits, which are almost impassable, except 
by the huge animals themselves, who, feeling satisfied 
of the safety of a place where an elephant has planted 
his feet before, wallow through them in a slow pon- 
derous way that is remarkable, when firmer ground 
might easily be found. Under the circumstances of a 



MARCH THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 391 

beaten track being in such a deplorable state, it might 
be supposed that the troops could make a fresh one 
to the right or left ; but it must be thoroughly under- 
stood that, saving to wild animals, the jungle is im- 
passable, presenting as it does a dense green wall of 
vegetation on either side, that cannot be penetrated, 
on account of the manner in which the trees and 
undergrowth are matted and woven together by 
creepers and the wiry rattans. In addition, there are 
thorns of the most pungent kind, one of which is 
known by the natives as tigers' claws, from its hooked 
and formidable nature, while to crown, or rather to 
form a base to, these difficulties, the soil is often one 
continuous marsh or swamp, covered with vivid green 
moss, which gives way beneath the traveller's feet. 

This density of the jungle is the more insisted on 
here from the fact of its being explanatory of the 
difficulties of the troops, and to prepare the reader 
for the statements of the march being arrested by the 
Malays felling a tree or two, so that they lay across 
the track. To the ordinary reader, the obvious way 
of escape from such a difficulty seems to be to strike 
out into the jungle, as might be done in a forest-path 
in our own country ; but this can only be accom- 
plished by literally cutting, hacking, and clearing a 
way through the wilderness of vines and creepers. 

Three hours after the arrival of the troops, Blanja 
was garrisoned, and the force, now quitting the 
river, took to the woods to cross to Kinta, where a 



392 "BlBDNP* AND "KRIS." 

severe fight was anticipated, in consequence of the 
reports that had come in respecting the collecting 
together there of disaffected chiefs, now joined by the 
ex-Sultan Ismail, who was stated to be sheltering the 
Maharajah Lela, and to have the intention of protect- 
ing him. To meet these difficulties the little land 
force consisted of two hundred infantry and forty 
artillerymen, with two 7 -pounder rifled guns, and 
forty seamen, with a couple of rocket tubes the rocket 
being a missile that creates great consternation 
amongst the Malays. Consequent upon the difficulties 
of the task, and the weight of the guns which had to 
be dragged over and through a variety of serious 
obstacles, only four miles were advanced in two hours 
and a half, and at the end of this time the first 
symptom of the presence of the enemy was found in 
the shape of several trees felled across the track, inter- 
laced with bushes, behind which the Malays were 
making a stand, receiving the advance guard of the 
force with a sharp fire of musketry, which resulted in 
Dr. Randall being severely wounded. 

A halt was immediately called, and while the 
enemy was held in play with return fire, for the most 
part at a completely invisible foe, one of the 7-pounder 
guns was got to the front, well served, and a few 
rounds sent crashing through the trees in the direc- 
tion of the enemy, in company with a couple of 
rockets. The Malays then retreated, and the obstacles 
having been hacked and cleared away, the troops^ 



STOCKADE-FIGHTING. 393 

who had suffered no other casualty, proceeded, feeling 
their way cautiously along a jungle path that might 
have been easily defended by an able enemy. Nothing 
further occurred for a couple of hours, when the 
advance was again checked by trees felled across the 
path and another innocuous fire of musketry ; but a 
rocket sent hissing through the trees a second time 
dislodged the Malays, and the march continued for 
another half mile, when a strong stockade arrested 
further progress. This, however, the enemy did not 
attempt to hold, but evacuated it before it was reached 
by the troops, who found plenty of traces of hasty 
flight in the shape of water-bottles and sleeping-mats 
left beneath the huts which had been set up ; the idea 
having apparently been to turn this into what it could 
easily have been made a very formidable p]ace for 
defence. 

The stockade having been destroyed, the advance 
was continued till the troops came to a halt, having 
succeeded in dragging their guns and camp necessaries 
about eight miles through the jungle. This halt was 
called after every effort had been made to overtake 
Ismail, who was evidently only a short distance ahead, 
making his escape to Kinta on elephants. But the 
progress of our men was too slow, for they had to- 
carry the heavy 24-pound rockets and tubes through 
a series of quagmires, and at last all hope of overtaking 
the ex-Sultan was given up for that evening. The 
next day was spent in getting up supplies, and on the 



394 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

following day the little force marched to a place called 
Pappan, some six or seven miles farther the general 
rate of progress through the dense jungle being only 
about one mile an hour. 

From here Mr. Swettenhani, in company with a 
friendly rajah and a body of Malay scouts, proceeded 
onward, finding the road grow worse, consisting at last, 
as he describes it, of nothing but logs, roots of trees, 
and elephant holes full of water ; but the bad ground 
was passed at last, and he halted a short distance from 
Kinta, to send forward scouts to discover the where- 
abouts of the enemy, and two more to give information 
to General Colborne of his position. 

The next morning the war-gongs were heard close 
at hand, and an attack was evidently intended, when 
the advance guard of the forces came up, but beyond 
a little scattered firing nothing took place till the 
arrival of the main body of the troops, when rockets 
were discharged in the direction of Kinta and a cam- 
pong close at hand. These were followed by shells as 
soon as the gun was brought up. There was a little 
firing then amongst the Malay scouts, who encountered 
the scattered enemy ; and the advance continuing, the 
force at last stood on the banks of the Kinta river, 
here about fifty yards in width, with the village upon 
an island in mid-stream. As the skirmishers advanced 
the enemy began firing upon them, from their lelahs, 
but these were soon silenced by the gun and rockets, 
and the river being waded, an entry was made into the 



CAPTURE OF KINTA. 395 

little capital, which the soldiers found now to be quite 
deserted, Ismail and his followers having fled up the 
stream report saying that the Maharajah Lela was 
with him, and that the whole party were well furnished 
with elephants, the departure taking place just before 
the entry of the troops. 

The troops then encamped in the deserted village, 
and on making search they found nine brass guns by 
way of trophies. It was soon found, however, that 
Ismail had contrived to take with him the whole of 
the Perak regalia, his purpose being apparently to 
make his way due north, and to cross into Patani, on 
the borders of Queclah. The commanding officer had, 
however, though unsuccessful in capturing the ex- 
Sultan, the satisfaction of making this most toilsome 
march of three days through the jungle, and taking 
possession of the capital without the loss of a single 
man, excepting Dr. Eandall, who was wounded soon 
after the start from Blanja, 

The troops now thoroughly occupied the country, 
and beyond a few petty attacks upon boats and 
isolated police by the Malays, all of which were 
promptly punished, no attempt was made at resist- 
ance ; while at the beginning of January reliable 
information was brought in of the whereabouts of 
Ismail and the Maharajah Lela, the people friendly 
to our Government having been stimulated by the 
large rewards offered for the capture of these chiefs. 
The report stated that Ismail was in "the mountains 



390 "8ARQNQ" AND "KRIS." 

near the source of the Perak river, when an armed 
force of police were sent to ask the co-operation of a 
friendly native chief for the capture. The attack was 
made, but Ismail and the greater part of his people 
escaped once more, though with the loss of nine 
followers and seventeen elephants. Four of the men 
were killed one being reported a chief, and another 
Pandak Indut, who was believed to be the actual 
murderer of Mr. Birch while a short time later three 
more of the assassins were secured. 

Meanwhile the proceedings in Perak had not been 
without their effect in another part of the peninsula ; 
matters having assumed a threatening appearance at 
Sunghie Ujong, while the Malays in the neighbour- 
hood of our settlement at Malacca were becoming so 
disorderly that the Government had further to con- 
sider what steps should be taken for quelling the 
movements of the lawless in these parts. 

SuDghie Ujong is a state lying to the south of 
Perak, from which it is separated by the state of 
Salangore, while on the south it nearly approaches the 
boundary of our settlement of Malacca. 

H.M.S. Thistle was called into service, and a 
portion of the Indian column of General Ross was 
detached for service in the disturbed districts, the 
various reports coming in being of a very alarming 
tendency. Colonel Anson went as the Government 
representative, with Mr. Neubronner as interpreter. 
Before their arrival, however, hostilities had com- 



THE TERRACHEE VALLEY. 397 

inenced ; for the Malays who were disaffected had 
been collecting in armed force at a place in Sunghie 
Ujong, called, Terrachee, and made a threatening 
attack upon Mr. Daly, who is the Government Sur- 
veyor, and who was engaged in making certain topo- 
graphical researches. They confined themselves, how- 
ever, to threats ; but on Captain Murray, who was in 
charge of troops there, coming upon the scene, he was 
fired at by the Malays. A short skirmish ensued, 
which resulted in Captain Murray's men running short 
of ammunition, and having to retire towards the Eesi- 
dency ; when the Malays followed in a very threaten- 
ing manner, stockading a pass in the Terrachee valley, 
and also occupying a village called Faroe, a few miles 
distant. 

During the next few days the disaffected kept 
increasing in numbers and erecting stockades, where- 
upon a reconnaissance was made by the troops 
under Lieutenant Hinxman, who found the enemy 
so strongly entrenched that he and his men were 
forced to retire. Later on, however, the Malays were 
attacked, and compelled to retreat from the village of 
Faroe, the Lieutenant-governor of Malacca, the Hon. 
C. B. Plunket, being present on the occcasion, and 
some native police, under Bird and Skinner, who ably 
supported the small detachment of H.M. 10th Foot. 
The Malays, says Captain Murray, numbered from 
three to six hundred men, and were encouraged by 
the greatest men in the country. But in spite of 



398 "'BiMOtSFff" AND "KRIS." 

their number and strong defences Lieutenant Hinx- 
man's small force carried all before it, and at the point 
of the bayonet drove the enemy in full rout from 
their stockades. 

From here the enemy made for the Terrachee 
valley, where they took up a very strong position at a 
place called Bukit Putoos. To give some idea of the 
kind of country in which the troops had to operate, it 
must be understood that though about Faroe the 
land was tolerably open, though uncultivated, farther 
on towards Terrachee the jungle became thick, 
with a narrow ascending path, which gradually grew 
steeper, till it reached the narrow defile or pass 
of Bukit Putoos, which forms the way across the 
mountain. Here the path is only eighteen inches 
wide at the bottom, the sides of the rock being nearly 
perpendicular, and twenty feet high, so that it was 
only possible for one man to go forward at a time, and 
a bold enemy might have kept an army at bay. In 
addition there was the jungle on either side, with 
sharp mountain streams to cross, rough boulders, the 
path of the worst, and the enemy in front, who had 
stockaded the place to the best of their ability ; while 
at the various approaches trees were felled, and the 
way made perilous with ranjows the spikes of bam- 
boo or palm these people force into the ground, with 
their points towards the enemy. 

Upon the relief forces coming into the country, 
they marched for the Terrachee valley, and finally 



CAPTAIN CHANNELS ATTACK. 390 

were divided into two columns, the first under 
Lieutenant- Colonel Hill, who had with him Captain 
Stirling, E.N., Captain Murray, Assistant-resident, 
with about one hundred Ghoorkhas, a naval brigade 
from H.M.S. Thistle, ten artillerymen, a 7-pounder 
steel gun, and some rockets. This little army was 
directed to make a detour, marching for the villages 
of Pantay and Terrachee, while the other division, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Clay, made direct for the 
pass. 

This latter force consisted of a detachment of 
H.M. 10th Foot, with artillerymen, under Captain 
Eigg ; Lieutenant North, R.E., with intrenching tools ; 
a hundred and fifty Ghoorkhas ; an Arab contingent 
under Captain de Fontaine; a gun, a mortar, and 
some rockets. 

The day after the marching of Colonel Hill's force, 
Colonel Clay's was set in motion, so as to attack the 
pass in front as soon as time had been given for the 
former to make a detour and come upon the enemy 
in the rear. 

On reaching the foot of the pass, a reconnoitring 
party, consisting of a small body of Ghoorkhas, was 
despatched under Captain Channer, and after some 
delay he sent word back that, on account of the density 
of the jungle, it was impossible to discover where the 
stockade was situated ; when orders were sent by the 
commanding officer for him to go as near as possible, 
and endeavour to find out whether an available place 



400 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

could be found for the guns and rockets if brought to 
the front. 

Captain Channer, with whom was Lieutenant 
North, K.E., pushed on his route having been along 
the bed of a torrent till the way was blocked by felled 
trees. A rearguard was left to cut through these 
obstructions ; and nothing daunted by the rough 
nature of the country, Captain Channer threw out 
men right and left, himself leading the left body of 
twenty-five men. He had given up his guides, for 
they evidently knew nothing of the position of the 
enemy ; and trusting to himself, he went on working 
cautiously through the jungle, till he saw the enemy's 
smoke and fires, and soon after came upon one of 
the stockades, and reconnoitered the Malay defences. 
This jungle fort was composed of logs surrounded 
by a palisade, and sharp spiked bamboos were every- 
where about the ground. 

This was an important moment ; for if the Malays 
had caught sight of the attacking force the alarm 
would have been given at once ; but by using precau- 
tions, and watching the enemy, Captain Channer was 
able to learn the easiest way into the stockade. Then, 
supported by two Ghoorkhas, he leaped over the pali- 
sade, where he could hear the Malays talking inside 
no look-out being kept, as the enemy was cooking ; 
and then dashing forward, followed by his two men, 
he boldly attacked the twenty or thirty who con- 
stituted the garrison, shot down one man with his 



STOCKADES AT BT7KIT PUTOOS. 401 

ravolver, while the two Ghoorkhas each shot down 
theirs. Five Malays in all were killed in the first 
instance, and the remainder of the little flanking 
party coming up, the enemy, believing themselves to 
be surrounded, took to flight, making for two other 
stockades at about eighty and one hundred and 
sixty yards distance, the latter extending right across 
the pass. 

The first of these in which a 4-pounder iron 
gun was found from being a defence, was now turned 
into an attacking point ; and Captain Channer, getting 
his men well under cover, opened a sharp fire on both 
strongholds in his front, with the effect that, after 
half-an-hour's fighting, the enemy evacuated the lower 
stockade, and soon after the rapid firing drove them 
out of the one that crossed the pass. As the Malays 
always, when they have time, carry off their dead and 
wounded, it was impossible to ascertain exactly the 
full extent of their losses ; but, from the traces left, it 
was evident that they must have suffered severely. 
On our side we had only one killed and three 
wounded. 

The duties of Colonel Hill's little column were not 
light, though they encountered less active opposition. 
Their presence had no doubt great influence in pacify- 
ing the district, which was crossed under great diffi- 
culties, the Muar river having to be forded nearly 
twenty times, while swamps, dense jungle, and the 
various obstacles of a country unprovided with roads 



402 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

harassed their march. Neither had the natives been 
idle in trying to stay their advance. Trees were 
felled wherever they could hinder the march.; the 
river Muar was staked with ranjows at the crossing- 
places ; and in the Terrachee valley a stockade had to- 
be attacked, the Ghoorkhas taking it in the rear 
after some skirmishing and a shot or two fired 
from the guns. Altogether it was a most arduous 
march one which would have been impossible but 
for the information obtained from the Malay scouts by 
Captain Murray. As it was, the advance was made 
under most untoward circumstances, heavy rains often 
falling, and the troops having nightly to clear away 
enough of the dense jungle for them to obtain a place 
whereon they could bivouac. Finally they reached 
the rear of Bukit Putoos, and a party was sent out to- 
arrest the defenders, who were reported to be in full 
retreat ; but they got clear away, escaping into the 
jungle, where it was impossible to pursue. 

These well-directed efforts completely broke the 
spirit of the disaffected in these parts, and by the time 
the two columns formed a conjunction, the rising may 
be said to have been completely at an end. But about 
the same time there were troubles at Klang, in the 
south of Salangore, where Mr. Davidson was the Eesi- 
dent; the turbulent characters in these parts, think- 
ing this a favourable opportunity for plundering and 
showing their opposition to Toonkoo-dia-udin, the 
Viceroy of Salangore, who holds Klaug under the 



THE RISING AT KLANG. 403 

authority of the Sultan of that country; though a 
claim for it has always been set up by one Eajah 
Mahdie, who was, however, kept from all active 
measures in the disturbances by being lodged under 
police surveillance at Singapore. In fact, some time 
before the rising the British government had thought 
it necessary to issue a warning that if Eajah Mahdie 
made any hostile expedition against Klang they 
would not feel justified in interfering to save his life, 
and therefore any such piece of aggression would be 
entirely at his own risk. 

A little sharp work took place over these risings, 
but Mr. Davidson, the Eesident, considered himself 
quite equal to cope with them ; and though the offer 
of the Arab contingent was made by the Government, 
he declined it, and beyond the occasional visit of a 
man-of-war, he received no aid whatever. The little 
force he raised for suppressing the marauding parties 
that were formed, consisted of his own faithful 
Malays and some Chinese miners. By the aid of these 
men he dispersed the lawless bands in a few vigorous 
attacks, with the result that he completely pacified 
his district, and maintained authority throughout. 

In this manner were the risings in Perak and the 
neighbouring states effectually suppressed ; but there 
yet remained the punishment of the instigators of the 
rebellions and the murderers of Mr. Birch. Condign 
measures, however, were adopted for this purpose, as 
will be stated in the following chapter. 

2 D 2 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



The capture of Ismail Escape of Maharajah Lela Taking of the 
Datu Sagor Charges against Abdullah Arrest of the chiefs 
Their transportation The Perak regalia. 



COINCIDENT with arrangements for the return of a 
portion of the troops, whose services were no longer 
needed, steps were being taken by the Government 
for securing the persons of the offenders who had fled 
from Perak ; and to effect this, one of the first things 
done was to communicate with the Government of the 
king of Siam, in one of whose dependencies namely 
Patani they had taken refuge, and to request that 
they might be removed into Singora, and kept there 
until their future should be arranged. The result of 
this request, as brought before the Siamese power by 
her Majesty's Consul-General at Bankok, was that it 
was decided to send a gunboat to Patani, bearing a 
Siamese commissioner, who should take charge of any 
of the chiefs of Perak who should be found in Patani, 
or any of the Siamese provinces ; and that they should 
be taken to Bankok; and such of them as were 
reasonably supposed to be implicated in the murder 



THE CAPTURE OF ISMAIL. 405 

of Mr. Birch were to be handed over to the British 
government, while the remainder should be kept 
under surveillance until it was decided what should 
be their fate. The whole of this arrangement was 
made by Mr. Knox, whose position was rather a deli- 
cate one, as not only had we no extradition treaty 
with Siam, but the offence with which the chiefs were 
charged was not committed on British ground. 

The Eajah of Quedah, in whose state the fugitives 
were believed to be at times harbouring, on being 
communicated with, also expressed his willingness to 
deliver up Ismail and his followers ; and it was near 
his territory that the unsuccessful attempt was made 
to capture the ex-Sultan the one which resulted in 
the death of four of his people among whom was the 
Sedikah Eajah while several were wounded, and the 
seventeen elephants were captured. 

For a whole month longer, however, Ismail and the 
remnant of his followers remained at liberty near the 
head of the Perak river; until, feeling that if they 
were permitted to remain unmolested in their retreat, 
they would form the nucleus of a fresh disturbance, 
the Governor sent orders to Penang for another effort 
to be made from that settlement to effect the ex- 
Sultan's capture. The plan proposed was that, after 
obtaining information as to the exact whereabouts of 
the fugitives, three combined movements should be 
made by Malays under Eajah Muda Yusuf, by men 
from Salama, and a force from Quedah. 



406 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

In accordance with these orders, an expedition 
started, under Mr. Hewick, the Assistant-superin- 
tendent of Police of Province Wellesley ; and he soon 
found, by the action taken by the Patani men, that 
the orders of the king of Siam for the prevention of 
the entrance of the fugitives into his province had 
been stringent : but they acted in a double-edged 
manner ; for the instructions being to the authorities 
to prevent all Perak men from entering Patani terri- 
tory, and as there was no road from Perak to Quedah 
that did not pass through Patani, the whole expedi- 
tion, with its Perak men, was brought to a standstill. 
While matters were in this state news was brought in 
that Ismail was wearied out and ready to give himself 
up, and was on the frontier waiting. 

There were still some difficulties to get over, as 
now there was a chance of hindrance being thrown in 
the way of the capture ; for the Patani men showed a 
disposition to meddle, and sent parties out to interfere. 
By a little judicious management, however, Mr. 
Hewick, had Ismail taken to a place called Cheeah, 
and following him. there, found him encamped in the 
jungle with his people, to the extent of about one 
hundred and seventy men, women, and children. In 
the interview which followed the ex- Sultan under- 
took to proceed quietly to Quedah, and from thence to 
meet the Lieutenant-Governor at Penang. 

When questioned as to his participation in the 
murder of Mr. Birch, he denied all knowledge of it, 



THE CAPTURE OF ISMAIL. 407 

saying that it happened in Sultan Abdullah's territory, 
and therefore he left it to him to inquire into the 
matter ; while his reason for not coming in when 
summoned to meet Her Majesty's Commissioner was 
that as he was starting, a rumour was brought in of 
the approach of an inimical rajah with a force, and not 
wishing to submit his wives and children to the 
chances and horrors of war, he had fled with them into 
the jungle, where he had continued roaming from 
place to place ever since. Mr. Hewick states that it 
was perfectly evident that Ismail had no power over 
his chiefs, who rendered to him no respect whatever; 
and in hut building, catching elephants, or other 
offices of a similar kind, he had to act for himself, 
like the rest. 

By careful marches Ismail was then brought down 
till he met the Sultan of Quedah, whose well-armed 
force of about a thousand men had been so disposed 
in the rear of the ex- Suit an and his followers that 
escape was impossible, though great care was exercised 
not to let him know how he was surrounded. The 
march was afterwards continued to Qualla Muda, where 
the ex-Sultan, the regalia, and the chiefs and followers, 
to the number of eighteen, were embarked and taken 
to Penang, while the women and children and twenty- 
seven elephants were left in Quedah. 

It seems that the sufferings of Ismail and his 
followers must have been very severe ; for when he 
surrendered he was in a destitute condition, his people 



408 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

emaciated, many of them ill, while many more had- 
been left behind in the jungle and had died off. But 
one of the most important of the chiefs was still at 
liberty in the person of the Maharajah Lela, who was 
stated to be somewhere in Upper Perak ; but neither 
he nor the Orang Kaya Besar was taken on that 
occasion, though the latter was willing to surrender 
the Superintendent of Police being too anxious to- 
secure the ex-Sultan and his large following. 

From Penang, Ismail, with his two sons and the 
attendants, was sent down in H.M.S. Ringdove to 
Singapore, and from thence by the same vessel to> 
Johore, where the Maharajah had consented to receive 
them ; and here they were detained on parole, with 
the arrangements necessary for the prevention of 
intrigue. 

The capture of the Datu Sagor, the chief who 
stood by while Mr. Birch was murdered, was effected 
through the instrumentality of Mr. Swettenham, a few 
days before the surrender of Ismail. The Datu had 
for the most part kept in hiding in the neighbourhood 
of Banda Baru, and he was at last captured where 
he had taken refuge with Sultan Abdullah at Pulo 
Tiga. As for the Maharajah Lela, he was still at large r 
and though an effort was made to effect his capture 
at Kendrong, he escaped across the river into Patani, 
where the authorities refused to give him up to Mr. 
Maxwell, the Deputy-commissioner, who was in quest 
of lum with a following of forty Malays. Finally 



THE MAHARAJAH LELA. 409 

however he surrendered with his followers, in July, 
1876, to the representatives of the Maharajah of 
Johore at Kota Lamah, and was conveyed to Johore 
Bahru, with the understanding that he was to have a 
fair trial; and after a week's stay he was removed to 
Singapore, and thence to Laroot as the murder having 
taken place in Perak, it was necessary that the trial 
should be held in the same state. 

Whatever may have been the expectations of the 
Malay chiefs, they had a severe lesson to learn in the 
proceedings taken against them by the Government, 
Ismail and his sons were prisoners ; the Maharajah 
Lela, Datu Sagor, and Pandak Indut, who had been 
falsely reported slain, were also under arrest, as well 
as several of their followers. In addition, the three 
men who had been seized and tried for the murder 
at the native court of Sultan Abdullah, were sentenced 
to death by Eajah Dris, the judge appointed by the 
Sultan ; but the Governor subsequently advised that 
the sentence on two of the men should be commuted 
to penal servitude for life. 

In the trials which followed, the Maharajah Lela, 
Datu Sagor, and Pandak Indut were found guilty of 
the murder of Mr. Birch, and were hanged ; while 
such important evidence came out in connection with 
the cruel outrage as determined the Government upon 
requesting the attendance of Sultan Abdullah, and also 
of the Laksamana and the Shahbandar at Singapore, 
serious charges being also made against the Muntri 



410 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

In the protracted and careful inquiry before the 
Commissioners a number of facts transpired which 
implicated these chiefs, and showed that they had 
favoured the determination to kill the British Eesi- 
dent and drive his staff out of the country. In 
fact, that they were all in the conspiracy, and had 
held meetings to discuss the question. The Sultan 
was charged with authorising the deed; with pur- 
chasing and supplying arms and ammunition ; with 
assisting the plans ; with issuing his warrant to the 
Maharajah Lela for the murder; that after the murder 
he aided and protected this chief, and, furthermore, 
sent him arms and provisions to aid him in resisting 
the British officers; and that he aided and protected 
the Datu Sagor. 

These charges were generally denied by the Sultan, 
who asserted that the papers and instructions he was 
said to have issued, with their chops, or seals, were 
forgeries. 

As an example of the superstitious nature of even 
the best educated Malays, it may be mentioned that 
in the evidence it was asserted that certain incanta- 
tions were made at Abdullah's instigation, and that 
these were continued for three successive night ; on 
the last of which the spirit invoked declared that 
Mr. Birch would be dead at the end of three months ; 
while other witnesses asserted that the Sultan wanted 
to kill Mr. Birch by sorcery, and to injure him by put- 
ting poisonous plants in the place where he bathed. 



ARREST OF THE CHIEFS. 411 

The charges against the Muntri and the other 
chiefs were of a similar character, the Muntri being 
accused of favouring the Eesident's death, counselling 
the Sultan against the British, and instigating attacks 
upon them. 

During the time occupied in the examinations 
connected with these inquiries by the Commissioners, 
Abdullah and his chiefs resided, under supervision, in 
Singapore ; and as soon as the inquiries were con- 
cluded, and answers received from the Home Govern- 
ment to the Governor's despatches, the now ex-Sultan 
was, with his chiefs, arrested, their case was heard, 
and they were finally lodged in Singapore gaol to 
insure their safe custody while their future was taken 
into consideration ; the sentence upon them being that 
they should be deported from the country. The 
Muntri received the same sentence, and orders were 
issued also for his arrest, which were fully carried 
out. 

The circumstances of the case against Sultan 
Ismail and his following were considered sufficient 
also to justify their continued detention at Johore, 
where the Maharajah undertook to provide against 
their being intrigued with in connection with the 
future affairs of Perak ; while for the maintenance of 
the various chiefs provision was arranged for out of 
the revenue of Perak. 

In connection with these arrangements, a procla- 
mation was issued by Sir William Jervois, in March 



412 "SARONG" AND " KRIS." 

of the present year (1877), abrogating that of Sir 
Andrew Clarke of 1874, and concluding in these 
words : 



BE IT KNOWN TO ALL MEN, that Abdullah has ceased to 
be Sultan of Perak, and that the Government of the State of Perak 
is, for the present, conducted by the Kajah Yusuf, son of the late 
Sultan Abdullah Mahomed Shah, as the Chief ^Native authority in 
the State. 

Kajah Yusuf, heretofore mentioned as the Eajah 
Muda, was thus made ruler of Perak, the government 
being carried on in his name, and with the aid and 
advice of a Kesident Mr. Hugh Low receiving the 
onerous appointment. Yusuf gained the confidence of 
the British Government by the way in which he re- 
fused to join in the contemptible little plots of the chiefs 
against Mr. Birch, and also by the spirited way in which 
he came forward with his following of friendly Malays 
to aid in the capture of the various fugitives, and in the 
pacification of the country. He is a man over the 
middle age, and is described as being of considerable 
ability, feared and hated by many of the chiefs, and 
as being of a fierce and cruel disposition ; but he was 
a proved man as to his loyalty ; and there being no 
desire on the part of Government to annex the state 
of Perak, his appointment was the wisest course that, 
under the circumstances, could be pursued. 

The last steps for the full pacification of the state 
had been the appointment of a Resident's guard of 
two hundred men, and a police force of five hundred ; 



TRANSPORTATION. 413 

and finally, in July this year, the transportation of 
ex- Suit an Abdullah, and his three chiefs with their 
families to the island of Mahe, one of the group of 
the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean an island lying 
only about ten degrees north of Madagascar, the seat 
of the early Malay migrations. The embarkation, 
according to the Straits Times, of July 21st, caused 
but little excitement, and a guard of six police was 
deemed sufficient for the charge of the four chiefs and 
their fifty followers, principally, however, women and 
children the few male servants, like the chiefs, being 
quite unarmed. The report adds, that the chiefs 
did not appear dejected or cast down, but rather 
"pleased with the change from prison walls to the 
deck of the ship." 

In this case, history seems to have repeated itself. 
In bygone ages the ancestors of these chiefs, from 
their own wandering and investigating nature crossed 
the ocean westward to the Mauritius and Madagascar, 
while now they have been transported to similar 
westward homes, though for the purposes and at the 
command of the dominant power. 

The Perak regalia, which was captured with ex- 
Sultan Ismail, consisted, besides elephants, merely of a 
few golden krises, swords, bells, dragons, and various 
gold and silver articles of a personal character. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Hints to settlers The climate Safety of life and property Health 
Diseases to guard against Supplies Sport Food A Christ- 
mas dish Dress Itinerary of the Ulu, or Upper Perak country. 

LIFE in Perak, though as yet tested to a very small 
extent by Europeans, is very bearable, and the con- 
tented mind would meet with a continuous feast of 
enjoyment, if only by paying heed to that which is 
spread on all sides, without taking pains to investi- 
gate the wonders of the land. During the three last 
months of the year the rains are so heavy as to make 
an umbrella the best of friends to him who ventures 
to travel, while it is almost as welcome during the 
heat of the day of the other nine months. The 
mornings and evenings are, however, deliciously cool 
and fresh. 

It may be taken for granted that amongst the 
more enlightened Malays there is a disposition 
to welcome the English, and to avail themselves, 
'for the benefit of their country, of our know- 
ledge, laws, and capital. To the present day the 
visit of the Duke of Edinburgh to the peninsula is 



HINTS TO SETTLERS. 415 

talked of with pleasure, and the incidents in connec- 
tion therewith are well remembered by the Malays. 
In connection with this visit, it may be mentioned 
that the two cocoa-nut trees obtained from Dr. Little's 
cocoa-nut plantation, which were with due ceremony 
planted by His Royal Highness in the grounds of the 
Government House at Singapore, are thriving well, 
and promise to be fine fruit-bearers. 

Safety to life and property is increasing daily; and 
any person who chooses to make himself acquainted 
with the Malay people, and by his consistent conduct 
shows his respect for their customs and religion, may 
find himself amongst stanch friends ; for any one who 
has read so far through these pages must by now be 
convinced that in character the Malay approaches far 
nearer to the gentleman than to the bloodthirsty 
savage he has been so often painted. True there is the 
kris always worn at the waist of his sarong, but so 
was the rapier worn by our gentry of a generation or 
two back ; and, however much we may have advanced 
during the past few years, no one will charge our 
fathers and grandfathers with being bloodthirsty 
because the small-sword formed a portion of their 
attire. 

Granting this safety, then, from the natives, the 
next question that seems to arise is as to the noxious 
beasts of the country. The only one of these to be 
really dreaded is the tiger, and the accidents from 
it are far more rare than may be supposed, espe- 



416 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

cially since measures have been taken to keep down 
its increase. Where mishaps have occurred, they 
have been generally amongst the Chinese coolies en- 
gaged in the plantations, or in similar work, which 
rendered them very much exposed to attack ; while in 
the course of years, as the country is opened out, 
these must grow less and less frequent. From serpents 
there is scarcely anything to fear, the python, as far 
as the writer knows, never attacking man, while the 
poisonous kinds are always ready to flee from the 
sound of his foot. What he has to fear from the 
animal world is really the attack of the tiniest of insect 
plagues, which up the rivers of the country are indeed 
a pest, and require all possible caution to keep them 
at a distance. 

The next great question is the health, and the 
most insidious of its assailants, jungle fever ; but taken 
altogether the country is salubrious, and with due 
precaution there is very little more to fear than one 
may encounter in one's own land ; in fact, many of 
our native ailments are escaped. There can be no 
doubt that several of the diseases from which the 
natives suffer are brought on by their own defiance of 
the simplest sanitary laws ; while, from his superior 
knowledge of such matters, the European may go 
comparatively scathless. At the same time, nature 
has undoubtedly aided the inhabitant of the East and 
of tropic lands, and protected him by the colour given 
to his epidermis. After violent exercise the white skin 



DISEASES. 417 



cools very rapidly, and causes the chills, colds, rheu- 
matic pains, and bowel complaints from which a 
European may suffer in the East ; while, when in the 
same heated state, the black or brown skin cools 
slowly, and the inflammation is averted. 

Care in the choice of an abode, in cutting down 
the jungle, in picking out a resting-place when camp- 
ing out, are all conducive to the health. For when 
the trees are cut down the miasma that rises from the 
ground has nothing to absorb it ; hence the advice 
not to clear away the jungle without leaving the 
brushwood. When camping out, the writer has seen 
in the morning the value of his mosquito curtain, 
which has not only kept at bay the virulent little 
insects, but has acted as a purifier of the atmosphere 
he breathed, the outside being covered with the 
miasma-impregnated moisture that had arisen during 
the night. 

It is very curious how the sicknesses of these 
eastern countries come about, but they may often be 
traced to the exhalations consequent upon animal or 
vegetable decay. For instance, in a coral island, the 
side whereon the wind blows may be perfectly healthy 
until the change of the monsoon, when an epidemic may 
ensue ; and this be entirely due to the fact that where 
the coral is laid bare by the receding tide, and ex- 
posed to the sun, it decays and produces noxious ex- 
halations. So long as the wind sweeps from the 
native village towards the exposed reef all are healthy ; 

2 E 



418 "SARONG" AND " KRlS." 

but on the change taking place, the vapour is wafted 
to the dwellings of the people, and sickness results ; 
which, however, may be avoided by changing the 
sites of the huts. This is well known to the people, 
who are able to escape by exercising care. 

Most people who go to the Straits are affected 
directly after their arrival by an unpleasant cutaneous 
disease. The treatment of it is, however, very simple, 
and it is not an ailment that need be looked upon 
with dread, a tolerably copious application of borax 
in solution being found to be a specific for its cure. 
Moderation and temperance are the two best aids 
to health in the peninsula ; and these can be easily 
supplemented by such little matters as taking care 
not to get chilled after the toil of walking through 
a hot and moisture- charged atmosphere, that is often 
like a vapour-bath ; sleeping always with a broad 
woollen bandage round the waist, as a protection to 
the more vital parts of the organism such a precau- 
tion being invaluable for warding off all attacks of a 
choleraic tendency. Again, it is wise when up the 
country to take a little quinine daily as bitters, so 
as to keep off fever, for a system so prepared will 
often escape when a stronger constitution falls. 

To settlers, travellers, or sportsmen, it should be 
said : Bear in mind that the simpler your supplies 
are the better. The best kit consists of a waterproof 
sheet, a thin cork mattress, and a mosquito curtain. 
These are ingeniously fitted in quite a small box by the 



SUPPLIES. 419 



Chinese, the box afterwards forming a pillow. For 
supplies in the way of medicine, which no one should 
be without, take a sufficiency of quinine, Lamplough's 
pyretic saline which is invaluable and the genuine 
chlorodyne. These three form a medical armoury 
that will keep most diseases at bay ; while, by way of 
fortification, a supply of brandy for medicinal use or 
burning should form a portion of the medical stores 
therein : in cases where brandy is wanting, and a 
good stomachic is needed, a tea made by the infusion 
of green ginger answers admirably. Lastly, a bottle 
of Lea and Perrin's Worcester sauce, which is not 
only a relish, but -acts when taken alone by a tra- 
veller wanting appetite, as a splendid stomachic, and 
an excellent "pick-me-up." 

For additional provisions, the modern tinned meats 
and soups are invaluable, affording as they do variety; 
whi]e their condensed form and convenient shape 
for packing, afford a wonderful contrast to the old- 
fashioned casks of salt beef and pickled pork. The 
convenience of these tinned meats to a person in 
the jungle can hardly be realised, unless the reader 
were put to the test. Weary, hot, and hungry, a 
halt is made, and the preparation of food is a task 
that is trying; but a tin of sausages is opened, a 
little brandy or spirit poured into a saucer, ignited, 
the sausage held in the flame for a few minutes, and 
there is a hot dish that for piquancy of flavour is 
indescribable, and outrivals the efforts of the most 

2 E 2 



420 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

famous Pall Mall chef. The air and appetite may 
have something to do with the enjoyment, but the 
simplicity of the cooking is worthy of note. 

The sportsman or resident who can handle a gun 
can of course make ample additions to his larder 
from the surrounding jungle, or the swamps and 
lagoons, where teal and wild-duck in many varieties 
abound. Snipe absolutely swarm in Province Wel- 
lesley, and wherever there is a suitable habitat. In 
the above shooting-grounds H.K.H. the Duke of 
Edinburgh shot more couples in the course of a few 
hours than have fallen to any man since. Deer are 
to be found, and wild-boar ham is considered by 
some a dainty. There are some, too, who have tried 
curried monkey, and declare it to be delicious ; and 
for those who like to make this addition to their 
bill of daily fare there is abundance of supply. 
There seems to be something repulsive in the idea 
of eating the little semi-human creature ; but one 
thing in its favour is that the monkey is a fruit-eater, 
and in several parts of the world it is a regular 
object of diet. 

Some rather humorous adventures were met with- 
during the journey through the state of Perak with 
Sir "William Jervois, and also during the time of the 
little war. When near the river good draughts of 
fish were sometimes obtained ; but upon one occasion 
a halt was made at night, the present supplies were 
exhausted, all others were at a distance there was. 



FOOD. 421 



nothing to catch, nothing to shoot, and the Governor 
had declared that he was starving. The late Mr. 
Birch, who was wonderfully fertile in expedient, was 
at his wits' end, for there was the fire and no food 
to cook. Just when every one was in despair, and 
about to accept his fate of waiting for the arrival 
of supplies, there was suddenly heard a loud " baa ! " 

Poor goat ! it was speaking its own sentence of 
death ; for in a twinkling it was seized, slain, the kid- 
neys whipped out, roasted on a bamboo, Malay fashion, 
and served up to the Governor with sauce and mango 
pickle, to his great satisfaction, and the relief of all 
^concerned. 

Better fare was welcomed by a party during the 
little war, when the writer was postmaster at Qualla 
Kungsa of which station the engraving gives a very 
j excellent representation. The reader is looking across 
-"the Kungsa river, which is flowing on to its confluence 
with the Perak the further and larger of the two 
rivers represented. The bamboo bridge and landing- 
place were all arranged for the coming of the Governor. 
About this time, or near to it, the post-runners had to 
risk being shot down or speared by the inimical 
Malays, who were always on the watch ; but upon 
the occasion in question the regular communication 
remained perfect. The Postmaster - General at 
St. Martin's -le- Grand gives accounts from time to 
time of the remarkable things that pass through the 
Npost live, dead, and miscellaneous ; but few things 



422 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

that he annually reports exceed in grotesqueness the 
contents of the official letter-shaped packet that 
arrived at Qualla Kungsa, sent by a lady in the 
Settlements to an officer upon the station. The packet 
was square and thick and soft, and, on being opened, 
proved to be a plum-pudding. It need hardly be 
added that the season was Christmas, though summer- 
like in temperature, and that the gift was eaten with 
delight by those who mingled with their thanks to 
the donor many a thought of the home beyond the 
seas, and the pleasant meetings and festivities in pro- 
gress far away. 

White clothes are de rigueur here, and, with pith 
helmets, are universally adopted by the Europeans ; 
but the visitor to Perak, with its hot moist climate, must 
not forget the value of flannel, which is one of the 
greatest preservatives of European health. The pith 
helmets are admirably adapted for repelling heat, and 
their arrangements for obtaining ventilation are ex- 
cellent in cooling the head ; but for a European there 
is no better protection against the sun than a piece of 
plantain-leaf, big enough to go inside the hat, where 
its powers are almost beyond belief in keeping down 
the temperature of the head. So cooling are its 
properties that it is regularly used for outward appli- 
cations in the hospitals of the Settlements, while the 
traders adopt it for wrapping up butter, and prevent- 
ing it from assuming the quality of oil. 

The fowling-pieces and rifles to be taken out by 



SPORT. 423 



those who visit Perak and the peninsula, either as 
travellers or to stay, must be regulated by individual 
taste ; but it may be borne in mind that in the Moar 
district, north of Johore regarding which place, since 
the death of Sultan Allie, some question as to the 
succession has arisen there is excellent ground for 
elephant-shooting, and a tiger may be occasionally 
bagged. They may also regulate the calibre of their 
pieces, and choose between the " Express " and other 
modern rifles in regard to the huge alligators of the 
rivers, many of which are of monstrous size, and 
almost impenetrable hide. 

In the way of settlement, steps are gradually being 
taken; for the land, as has been said, offers facilities for 
the production of tea, spices, sugar, tobacco, indigo, 
and gambier, while on the other hand the mining 
presents abundant work for capital. The labour is 
the difficulty ; but this is to some extent met by the 
Chinese, who really are born artisans, and from their 
patient industry, aptness in learning, and readiness to 
work for moderate pay, promise to become the skilled 
labourers of the future. 

The maps given in this work contain the moun- 
tains, rivers, and villages of the state, as far as it has 
been surveyed. It will be useful, though, to give a 
few further particulars of the country, which are 
founded on good native information, and will be 
valuable to anyone making a trip inland ; and though 
the rivers and places are not named in the maps, 



424 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the writer is fully of opinion that future surveys 
will confirm this description of the Ulu interior, 
or up-stream, as opposed to the Ilir, or down- 
stream. 

Soonghy Tekan is a little river that rises near 
Kinta and runs into the Soonghy or River Raya, 
which is a tributary of the Kinta. When leaving 
this part, and flying into the Ulu after the retreat 
from Kinta, leaves and roots of trees were all that 
Ismail and his fugitive subjects could get by way of 
supplies. Their course was from Kinta by Campong 
Kapayang, Qualla Tekan, the mouth of the river just 
named, Kantan and Kerbu at the sources of the 
Plus river, Kerbu, Kernei, and Balla. From Balla, 
Baling is easily reached, and then there is a pathway 
to a tributary of the Muda river in the Quedah 
territory. 

Balla and the country beyond it are, strictly 
speaking, in the Perak state; but the Patani people 
have encroached a good deal beyond their own borders ; 
and by moving from Kerbu to Balla, it was evident 
that Ismail's object was to reach the Quedah state. 
Patani proper is arrived at by journeying between the 
two ranges Gounong Titiwangsa and Gounong Pan- 
jang, where the Perak and Muda rivers rise. Boats 
cannot go up the river much beyond Balla ; for above 
the rapids called Jeram Panjang, previously men- 
tioned, the river Perak becomes a mere torrent. 
There is, however, a pathway along its bank which 



THE ULU. 425 



leads to Patani ; and the natives declare that it can be 
reached in seven or eight stages, namely : 

1. Ulu Jeram Panjang to Jeram Jambu. 

2. Jeram Jambu to Kenering. 

3. Kenering to Pelang Gali (inhabited by Patani people). 

4. Pelang Gali to Berkuming. 

5. Berkuming to Ehril. 

6. Ehril to Belong. 

7. Belong to Jerum, the boundary between Perak and Patani. 

8. Jerum to Jerum Belakap. 

Beyond Jerum Belakap are villages named Paropoh, 
Tul (which is inhabited by thirty or forty Siamese 
families), Nerwat, Hijau, Goar Kapur, and Koon 
Panang, which latter is on the Buka river. 



CHAPTEE XXXVI. 

An ascent of Mount Ophir from Malacca The hot springs On the 
track Chabow Night in the jungle Camping-out Gounong 
Padang Batoo Tondoh Cry of the argus-pheasant Ledang 
The view from the summit The descent A fine field for the- 
naturalist. 

BEFORE closing this work it may not be uninteresting, 
as so much prominence has been given to the question 
of Mount Ophir in Malacca being in all probability 
the Ophir of Solomon, to give a short account of an 
ascent of the mountain made by the writer some years 
since, in company with Captain Prothero, then aide- 
de-camp to the Governor, General Cavenagh, and now 
superintendent of the Andaman Islands. General 
Cavenagh was the last Governor of the Straits Settle- 
ments under the Indian Government, and was a 
member of the Commission appointed by Her Majesty 
to inquire into the revenue and expenditure of the 
Settlements prior to their transfer to the Crown. 

The trip was proposed by way of variation to the 
monotony of a residence in Malacca. Besides which, a 
natural desire must be felt by every European to 
inspect a mountain whose name has so many historical 
associations connected with it, especially when so 



MOUNT OPHIE. 427 



many facts suggest themselves to the student in proof 
of its being the genuine Ophir of Scripture; while to the 
traveller, the knowledge of the common term formerly 
applied to gold workings in these parts, namely 
" Ophirs," and the abundance of these ancient mines 
about the mountain conveys no slight corroborative 
evidence of the truth of the question. 

Mount Ophir is situated in the territory of Moar, 
in the middle of the peninsula, about fifty miles east 
of Malacca ; and at the time of the excursion to be 
described had not for many years been visited by 
Europeans. The time at the command of the little 
party would not allow of any lengthy preparation 
being made for the ascent ; but considerable facilities 
were afforded by the resident Councillor of Malacca, 
who kindly arranged that a small body of about 
twenty Malays, under the Punghulu, or head-man, of 
the village of Chabow, should meet the expeditionists 
at the above place on the day appointed for the start, 
to act as guides and porters, and to clear the way; 
the Punghulu, who was an intelligent Malay named 
Lawih, proving an excellent guide, and of great service 
during the trip. 

The first part of the journey was performed by 
carriage, and the route was through a place called by 
the Malays Ayer Panas, or Hot Water, on account of 
the hot springs. These springs, with some others, are 
the only traces of volcanic action in the peninsula, 
and are of the ordinary sulphur-impregnated character. 



428 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

Bubbles of gas rise from time to time from the bottom 
of the springs, which have the character of wells, 
being about three feet in diameter, and twice that 
number of feet in depth. There are three of these 
wells, of which the water in one is much hotter than 
in the others, being of so high a temperature as to be 
nearly unbearable, while on a level with the surface a 
curious deposit of a greenish hue is formed. 

The view across the country was very beautiful, 
the eye roving over the billowy green expanse of 
jungle rising by slow degrees across hill after hill, 
till bounded by the triple-crowned heads of Mount 
Ophir, rising in softened outline far above the wooded 
heights. The first part of the journey had been 
through Chinese and Malay villages, but the country 
soon grew wilder and more difficult, though very en- 
joyable ; and pushing on, we reached Jassing soon 
after midday, having progressed a little over twenty 
miles from Malacca in our morning's run. 

Beyond this, as the road lay through padi fields 
and water- courses, we could make no further progress, 
either by carriage or on ponies ; so from here our 
journey began in earnest upon foot; and starting 
about one, we followed the track through the village 
of Kehirn, about a mile farther east. After this we 
found the land begin to rise till we reached much 
higher ground, and plunged at once into the dense 
jungle. Here all the beauty of the eastern forest was 
-on either side of the sun-shaded track, with the 



OSASOW. 



wonderfully-rich foliage flourishing in the hot steam- 
ing atmosphere. There were, however, the accom- 
panying discomforts of forest travel, leeches abounding 
in the moist places, and the track not being altogether 
free from mud. This dense jungle, which completely 
robs the traveller of views of the surrounding country, 
continued till we were about two miles from Chabow. 
where we were to meet our contingent of Malays and 
the guide. 

On emerging from the forest, the track entered 
upon an extensive open plain, which had evidently 
been cleared of jungle in times long gone by ; and 
now full in our view lay the whole range of the. 
mountains of Ophir piled high in our front, but, on 
the whole, somewhat disappointing as regarded their 
height. 

It was four o'clock before Chabow was reached, 
the distance being about eleven miles from Jassing, 
progress during the latter part of the journey being 
naturally far more slow mainly, though, in conse- 
quence of one of the heavy downpours of rain which 
are so common in this part of the world, and which 
seemed to come rolling down in rain-clouds from the 
mountain-sides with an impetuosity that it was hard 
work to withstand. On our approach, though, to 
Chabow, we were gladdened by the sight of the guide 
Punghulu Lawih, who, true to the orders he had re- 
ceived, came to the entrance of his campong to give 
us welcome, and led the way to his house, where the 



430 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

whole of the front portion of his bamboo mansion 
was placed at the travellers' disposal, and everything 
possible done to render the sojourn agreeable. 

The evening was spent in resting, and making every 
possible arrangement for the start on the morrow. 
Packages were disposed for carriage during the ascent, 
dinner was discussed, and at last, wearied out, the 
simple couches were sought, with the soft highly- 
pitched hum of mosquitos making itself heard as 
these insect pests prepared themselves for their noc- 
turnal banquet upon the tired travellers intentions, 
however, carefully frustrated, by turning each couch 
into a fortress with covered ways formed of mosquito 
curtains. These effectually kept off the enemy, whose 
frantic dashes were all repelled, the curtains offering 
no means of ingress to the insects ; but they were 
powerless to ward off the insidious onslaught of a 
peculiarly objectionable odour, which not only per- 
vaded the room but soon filled the space within the 
curtains. This peculiarly strong and singular odour 
proceeded from the durian fruit in the Punghulu's 
house, and proved quite sufficient to banish sleep 
for some considerable time ; but at last weariness 
prevailed, and sinking into a profound slumber we 
managed to obtain a very fair night' s rest before the 
call came to rise at daybreak, so as to be ready 
for setting off on the more arduous march at six 
o'clock. 

Before starting came the customary squabble and 



ON THE TRACK. 431 



fight amongst the bearers for who should get the 
lightest and most convenient packages to carry ; but 
these minor matters were soon put right by the 
Punghulu, and at about half -past seven the expedition 
was under march from the campong, swelling by 
degrees as it progressed for such an event was an 
uncommon one here and volunteers and friends of 
the Malays soon increased the party from twenty 
to forty in number, the greater portion taking 
as much interest in the novel trip as so many 
children. 

The route lay through Soonghy Dua, and the 
deserted village of Assahan, a ruined place, which 
told plainly of its ancient date in the ample testi- 
mony afforded by the extensive growth of aged fruit- 
trees, which abounded in every direction, the clearings 
between indicating where had stood the houses of the 
bygone inhabitants of the place. Here we were re- 
freshed by partaking of the finest and largest mango- 
steen that we had ever seen, growing wild as it were 
in this desert place, lying about six miles from the 
campong where we had passed the night. 

Passing through Assahan, the direction of our 
route for the mountains lay fifteen degrees west of 
north, but about ten o'clock we had to change our 
way to due east, so as to make for the northern slope 
of the mountain, by which our ascent was to be 
made. Soon after this we crossed the Soonghy 
Chobong, a stream which divides the Malay and 



432 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

British territory, and at this point we changed again 
to a north-easterly direction. 

Our intention was to reach the foot of the moun- 
tain before nightfall, where we proposed to stay at a 
place called Gumnri, and therefore pushed on so as to 
be there in sufficient time to prepare our hut for the 
night, and arrange for the morrow's ascent. Our next 
place of call was to be Soonghy Ayer Bangkong, which 
we hoped to reach by vigorous walking a little after 
noon ; but a good track assisted us no longer, for the 
latter part of our journey had been through high 
lallang grass, so that the miles became wearisome and 
slow, as may be surmised, from the want of progress 
made upon this second day. Hitherto the track had 
been fairly visible, and offered but few obstacles to 
ordinary walking ; but after threading our way 
through the coarse stiff lallang, there was no further 
vestige of a pathway, the route before us now con- 
sisting of the sturdy brushwood of the secondary 
jungle the undergrowth that springs up after the 
primeval forest has been cleared away. 

From this point the genuine hard work began ; for 
the Malays had to come to the front with their sword- 
like parangs, and hew and hack a path for us through 
the brush. For a good hour this work continued, the 
progress being diversified by a fall into a swamp now 
and then, when we got through the piece of wilder- 
ness and came upon the old track once more. The 
Malays then suggested that we should follow in 



CAMPING-OUT. 433 



the steps of former travellers to the mountain, and 
encamp for the night at Ayer Bangkong, and on the 
left bank of the river ; but we made up our minds to 
push forward to the very foot of the mountain, so 
that an entire day could be devoted to its ascent. 
Ayer Bangkong was reached about the time we 
anticipated; and here the advance party came 
suddenly upon a number of the Sakais, or Jacoons, 
who proved their wild nature on the instant by 
dashing off at full speed into the jungle, as if in 
terror at the sight of white men and their enemies 
the more civilised Malays. 

Mooning was the next place reached, and here our 
course had veered to the south-east ; and pushing on, 
Gummi was reached by three o'clock, and preparations 
immediately made for making ready the little camp. 
And now their ability of adapting themselves to 
circumstances was strongly shown by the Malays, 
who in a very short time had set to work and built 
up a rough stage, about two feet from the ground. 
Upon the cross-sticks of this they laid strips of the 
bark of the Maranti tree, till the structure assumed 
the proportions of a capital sleeping-floor, over 
which a slight roof of sticks was tied, and again 
over this a couple of kadjangs, or palm-leaf mats, 
were thrown ; extemporising for us a capital hut 
or shed, sufficient to afford a good screen from the 
weather. 

While the evening meal was being prepared over 

2 F 



434 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

the fire that had been lighted a meal that was to 
consist of a tin of soup and a " sudden death," other- 
wise a spatchcock a look round was taken, and a 
waterfall was found only a short distance away ; while 
upon reaching its foot, where the glistening foam 
sparkled and played in rainbow tints in the afternoon 
light, the geological formation of the rocks over which 
the water sprang was examined. These proved to be 
of granite, with patches here and there of quartz and 
clay- slate. The granite largely predominated, as it 
did, in fact, as far down the bed of the stream as could 
be explored. Amongst the granite boulders were here 
and there deep pools, upon which the Malays made an 
onslaught, and soon succeeded in drawing therefrom a 
good supply of fish. Their next visit was to the wild 
durian trees, from whose fruit they concocted a curry, 
and thus from the nature-spread bounty their wants 
were very easily supplied. 

In spite of the rocky nature of the ground, the 
jungle around us was very dense, forming a good 
harbour for any of the wild beasts of the peninsula, 
if any were near at hand ; but no visit was antici- 
pated, for during the day's journey nothing had 
crossed the path larger than squirrels or monkeys, 
though every now and then we came across the tracks 
of elephants, rhinoceros, bears, deer, and wild-pig. 
These, however, were old, and the creatures that had 
imprinted them were most probably far away. The 



CAHPING-OUT. 435 



monkeys were plentiful, and were for the most part of 
the black kind, with a white fringe of hair around the 
face. Lest, however, we should be troubled by noc- 
turnal visits in a land where the tiger is not unknown, 
the Malays prepared camp-fires all around us ; and 
choosing one of the most brisk in the centre, piled 
up the dead wood they had gathered together, and 
then seated themselves in a knot, with the warm glow 
reddening the bronze of their faces, and forming a 
wonderfully picturesque group, as seen against the 
black background of that forest land. 

For hours and hours these people kept up quite a 
little social entertainment by improvising amusing 
stories, which they set to their own native music, and 
sang aloud, after the manner of their sun-nun-dongs, 
to harmonious airs, the whole joining in a chorus of 
" Aha !" after every line. One of the party then 
toning down the refrain to a lower key, went on to 
sing a lament that a high official had lost his leg in 
the wars, and could not therefore indulge in such an 
expedition, so as to enjoy the pleasure of a mountain 
climb. Then another took up the refrain in a higher 
key, keeping up the idea, and described how that, 
as this high official could not climb Mount Ophir 
himself, he had done the next best thing to it he 
had sent his Muntri, or secretary, who would no 
doubt some day be a great man too. 

The Malay of this improvised song may not be 

2 P 2 



436 "SARONG" AND "KE1S." 

without its interest to some readers, and this is the 
excuse for its insertion here : 

Tuan Governor, dia adali satu kaki, sahja. 

(CJiorus.) Alia ! aha ! 
Dia ta boleh naik Bukit sahja. 

Aha 1 aha ! 
Pandi kereem, dia Muntri sahja. 

Aha ! aha ! 
Eang jadi Governor, sundiri sahja. 

Aha ! aha ! 

Improvising songs could not be kept up all night, 
and by degrees the party dropped off to sleep, till 
all was silent a silence only broken now and then 
by the loud breathing of some sleeper, or the soft 
whispering of the wind amongst the tree-tops in 
the jungle. The novelty of the position, however, 
banished sleep from the European eyes for some 
time, and we lay listening till the silence was sud- 
denly broken by the shrill note of the coo-ow, as 
the natives call the argus-pheasant, whose cry seemed 
to rise from the jungle, and was then echoed from 
the surrounding hills in every direction. The cry 
of this bird is wonderfully sharp and clear, and, as 
has been said, it bears a singular resemblance to the 
savage " coo-ey," its piercing nature being so peculiar 
that it can be heard at a very great distance. 

Sleep overtook the whole party at last, and, for- 
getful of the dangers to be apprehended from wild 
beasts, a calm slumber was enjoyed, from which we 



THE ASCENT. 437 



woke very early, quite refreshed ; and, rising, at once 
proceeded to reduce our luggage as much as possible, 
so as to get what was absolutely necessary for the 
rest of the journey into as small a compass as we could, 
it having been decided to leave the remainder here, 
in charge of two or three of the older members of 
the party. Breakfast was then partaken of, and we 
made our start for the real ascent at about eight 
o'clock. 

Just before setting off, that is to say about a quarter 
past seven, the thermometer was examined, when the 
mercury stood at eighty-one degrees, a great height con- 
sidering that the air seemed to be perceptibly colder. 

The first part of the ascent lay along the left bank 
of the Gummi river, and proved to be toilsome and 
precipitous, but it was relieved every here and there 
by bits of level ground. Every few yards gained, 
though, began to show that much harder work was 
in store, and before long the ascent became so arduous 
that we could get no foothold in our boots, and these 
had to be discarded, the whole remaining part of the 
journey, ascent and descent, having to be performed 
with no stronger covering for the feet than woollen 
socks. Persevering, though, we brought our hands 
to the help of our feet, and making use of the various 
creepers, gradually dragged ourselves up higher and 
higher, till we had topped the first of the hills which 
form the Ophir range, descending afterwards into 
the valley on the other side, which we reached about 



438 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

eleven o'clock, after finding the slope on this side 
shelving more than on the one by which we had 
ascended. 

From this valley, the next hill to climb was- 
Gounong Padang Batoo, an enormous mass of granite, 
offering to us almost perpendicular sides, which were 
in places entirely denuded of soil and vegetation. In 
other parts, though, the fissures were rich in an abun- 
dance of mosses, lichens, and ferns, with a shrubby 
plant not unlike the rhododendron in its growth. At 
this point the climb became so arduous that one of 
the party gave up, and had to relinquish the ascent, 
which was made the more difficult by the loads that 
it was necessary to bear. Leaving him there, we 
pushed on, and finally at one o'clock this granite 
mass was climbed. 

Water was the first thing thought of, and on 
looking about we found to our left the bed of a 
mountain torrent; but at this time of the year 
it contained very little water, though the well-worn 
stones plainly showed that in the rainy season a 
heavy torrent must flow through it from higher up 
the mountain. The moisture here, though, had its 
effect, for the rugged banks were fringed with stunted 
vegetation, but it presented a strong contrast to the 
lush growths of the steaming jungle. 

But very little time was spent here, however, for 
there w r as plenty of arduous work before us, and 
tramping on we reached Gounong Tondoh about half- 



VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. 439 

past two, with the European part of our little expedi- 
tion very much exhausted ; for the mountain here was 
very precipitous, and step after step could only be won 
by grasping the trees, shrubs, and climbers, which 
very fortunately lay ready to hand. At the summit 
of this mountain is a small plateau some thirty square 
yards in area, and covered with dense scrub, a few fir 
trees, and the vegetation peculiar to such altitudes. 
From here there was a good view of the work yet to 
be done, the triple peaks of the mountain being 
visible Gounong Ledang, the highest, rising very 
abruptly between the other two. 

A rest was however necessary before attempting 
further progress, and this having been taken, a fresh 
start was made, with a short descent ; and then began 
a sheer scramble and climb up the face of Gounong 
Ledang, holding on by points, roots, moss, anything 
that offered itself to the grasp, till at last, just at four 
o'clock, we reached the summit of the Ophir range, 
completely fagged ; for the thermometer, when exposed, 
even at this altitude, registered ninety- six degrees. The 
crest of the mountain is formed of one large overhang- 
ing block of granite, called by the natives Batoo Sardung. 
The mass is about twenty-five feet high, and its over- 
hanging side offered a fair amount of shelter to our 
party, for we had determined upon spending the night 
upon the summit. 

The view from this point is grand and extensive, 
but is on the whole monotonous, on account of the 



440 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

extent of jungle upon which the eye rests, the billowy 
waves rolling off mile after mile in every direction. 
Here and there, however, the landscape was relieved 
by the vivid green of the clearings, where the rice 
grew in its delicate luxuriance. Moar, Rumbowe, 
Jompole, Pahang, all lay in the distance as we 
turned from side to side ; while far away to the west 
was Malacca, with the sea-coast, the "Water islands, 
and Salangore. 

At length, having satiated ourselves with the view 
of mountain, jungle, plain, and winding river, our 
attention was directed to the little plateau upon which 
we stood, and the great block of granite, upon which 
former travellers had carved the initials : " W. F.," 
" W. T. L.," and "T. B." Then came the prepara- 
tions for encamping for the night. This proved by 
comparison rather cold; for the thermometer fell 
rapidly, and at sunrise it only marked sixty-two 
degrees, having probably been some degrees lower 
during the night. On rising, the fact was announced 
that scarcely any water was to be obtained on the 
summit ; so, welcome as it would have been, the 
Malays had to postpone the preparation of breakfast 
until a descent had been made as far as Gounong 
Padang Batoo, the great granite mass we passed over 
on our way up. This want quickened the return, 
for, arduous as had been the climb up, the descent 
was comparatively easy, and we made such progress 
that Padang Batoo was reached by half-past seven ; 



THE DESCENT. 441 



and the meal having been prepared, and a short halt 
made, we continued our progress down the mountain, 
and gained our first camping-ground at Gummi by 
half-past twelve. 

At this point we rejoined the portion of the party 
who had found the ascent too arduous, with the little 
camp looking very welcome after the toil of the last 
twenty-four hours. It was determined to proceed no 
farther that day, and we remained here for the night, 
so as to be fresh for the long march on the morrow ; 
when, starting early, we made a double journey to 
Ayer Panas, through Chabow and Jassing, parting 
from our Malay companions at their campong, 
where they had met us on our way. They had 
proved very friendly and helpful, and parted from 
us with plenty of good wishes expressed on either 
side. 

Ayer Panas was reached at seven in the evening, 
and we proceeded to the Government bungaloh there, 
where we put up, and restored ourselves wonderfully 
after the long day's march by indulging in a bath in 
the hot springs of the village, the effect of which upon 
our aching limbs was almost wonderful. The follow- 
ing morning saw us back in Malacca. 

By a careful comparison of two aneroid barometers 
on the summit of Mount Ophir, we made the height 
above the sea-level to be 4000 feet a height 
which does not correspond with that given by New- 
bold, who places it at 5693 feet, while Crawfurd 



442 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

gives it as 4300. Mr. Wallace, however, who 
ascended the mountain some years previous to our 
own expedition, gives precisely the same result as 
ourselves. 

Future travellers who may wish to climb Mount 
Ophir are recommended to make the attempt on the 
north side ; to post ponies to Jassing from Malacca ; 
sleep the first night at Chabow, and procure the aid of 
the Punghulu of that place, who will provide a good 
guide and coolies, at the rate of twenty-five cents a 
day. The second night should be passed at Gummi, 
and the third at Gounong Padang Batoo, where there 
is a sufficiency of water ; while Gounong Ledang, the 
highest peak of Ophir, could be leisurely visited the 
next day. 

This short account of a hasty trip was written 
merely with the view of affording information to those 
who might wish to spend ten days pleasantly at 
Malacca, Our visit was much too hurried to admit of 
more than a mere cursory inspection of the country, 
but it was sufficient to give evidence that a more 
leisurely examination of the many points of interest 
which present themselves would fully repay those who 
commanded plenty of time to attempt the ascent. 
The interest that is sure to be taken in the endless 
traces, round the foot, of gold workings some of 
which are modern, but many exhibiting traces of the 
greatest antiquity affords plenty of food for considera- 



FIELD FOE THE NATURALIST. 443 

tion as to when the search for the precious metal was 
first commenced. To the naturalist generally, what- 
ever may be his particular study botany, geology, or 
zoology there would appear to be a very wide field 
for research. 



CHAPTEK XXXVII. 



The future of Perak Capital and labour Advance in civilisation 
The food-supply Convict labour A Malay saying Policy with 
the people Civilised Malays Sir James Brooke Wheeler 
Woodford Birch. 



IN treating of the future of Perak many questions of 
policy arise, and after all, no single one is equal to 
that of precedent ; for in the past we have mapped 
out for our guidance the smooth waters and the 
stormy seas, with the various rocks that have been 
the cause of many a wreck. It must not be supposed, 
though, that it is intended here to inculcate solely the 
oldest and most anti-progressive policy ; for in manag- 
ing fresh people, fresh plans must be grafted upon 
the old, so as to suit the circumstances of the case. 
There is a great deal then to do for Perak : and first 
and foremost must be the insuring to the country of 
a good government, giving safety to the humblest 
coolie therein, as well as protection to those who bring 
in their property. By this means European capital 
and Chinese labour will open out the whole peninsula ; 
a country which, square mile for square mile, is one of 




THE PRESENT RULER OF PERAK RAJAH YUSUF AND HIS TWO SONS. 



CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 



the richest in mineral produce in the whole world. It is 
only in the course of time that its vast undeveloped 
resources can be worked ; but with this gradually in- 
creasing prosperity in the one state, a steady im- 
provement in the systems of the others must follow, 
so that in time the peninsula may become one vast 
field of British commerce. It is even possible, and 
would probably tend greatly to the development of 
trade, if in the future efforts were made to try and 
open up a route to China through Siam, lying, as it 
does, between the peninsula and that vast empire ; 
while already it has been proposed to cut through the 
Isthmus of Kra, which forms the neck, and so to 
secure water communication between the Bay of 
Bengal and the Gulf of Siam. 

At the present time the cupidity of their chiefs,. 
and the fear of exciting their jealousy, prevent the 
Malays from attempting to improve their condition, 
or raising any structure better than the ordinary hut, 
They grow just sufficient for their wants, acquire one 
or two buffaloes ; and it is only when they get near 
the towns, and under the salutary British rule, that they 
attain to a position in any way resembling comfort ; 
and doubtless this oppression has much to do with the 
careless indolent habits of too many of the people. 
That they approve of the protection and example of 
British rule is constantly being shown. Already in 
Laroot cases are tried magisterially, and there is a 
well-built prison to confine offenders ; while the people 



446 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

gladly seek the court, because they feel sure of justice 
a something that they find as novel as it is beneficial 
to them all. Again, they must see for themselves 
that they, the Malays of Perak, suffer by comparison 
with their neighbours of Province "Wellesley, who, ex- 
isting under British rule, are better fed, and live in 
peace and content. A great deal may be done by 
encouraging them to contribute to the resources of 
their own country by various agricultural pursuits, 
and by securing to them more freedom under their 
chiefs. By this means a sure, even though slow, 
advance may be made ; and one certainly more ad- 
vantageous to the country than a wholesale annexa- 
tion, and bringing the territory under British rule. 

But much has yet to be done by the Government, 
who will have to give attention to the food-supply of 
the country before very long. Then the works 
connected with irrigation and water-supply for other 
purposes will have to be taken in hand. Water would 
bring many parts of Malacca into value, by rendering 
the barren fertile ; and though some attention has been 
given to the economical use of water in the mines of 
Perak, it will have to be further considered when the 
mines come to be extended. Fortunately however the 
water is there ; it is only the question of storing and 
directing that has to be dealt with. 

A great step in the direction of settling Perak 
anight have been taken most advantageously by the 
Government in encouraging the Indian convicts, now 



CONVICT LABOUR. 447 

on ticket-of-leave at Singapore, to go up the country, 
furnishing them with money for the purpose, and 
giving them tracts of land to cultivate. For the most 
part these men are agriculturists or herdsmen ; and by 
giving these settlers a start a great deal would have 
been done to render them useful to the state, and give 
additional security to life ; while in making the place 
better, they would have been forming a nucleus to 
which there would have been some encouragement for 
other people to flock. As it is, there is a natural re- 
luctance amongst those who have all the desire to 
settle to go and make themselves the pioneers of the 
new civilisation. These convicts, by the way, are the 
remainder left after the cessation of the receipt of 
prisoners at Singapore ten years ago. Many of them 
are Madrassees or Klings, and are now, for the most 
part, decent people, to whom the character of criminal 
attaches merely as connected with old offences, expiated, 
and to a great extent condoned. 

As it has taken time for the Malays who live 
under our government in the Settlements to become 
acquainted with the justice of our laws, and the firm 
and equitable collection of the revenue, with protec- 
tion to life and property religiously insured on all 
hands, so must we expect that in Perak, and such 
other native states as we may take under our protec- 
tion, there must be a great deal of tedious delay before 
we shall find the mass of the chiefs and people yield- 
ing due respect to the laws and institutions which are 



448 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

so adverse to tlieir own, and which strike at the root 
of the profit and advantage which accrue to them as 
gained by fraud and oppression. It requires a display 
of great judgment, with a large amount of temper and 
patience, on the part of those who are deputed to the 
carrying out of these important duties ; so that more 
by example and suasion, than by the exercise of coer- 
cion, they should carry on their intercourse with the 
Malays. 

According to the Malay saying nanti-palla-han 
the lizard gives the fly time to say its prayers 
before he makes his final spring to devour his prey ; 
and setting aside the seizure of the prey, this must be 
our policy with the Malays; we must give them 
time deal with them firmly but gently, and all 
will be well. It may be argued that we gave the 
Turks time, and what has been the result ? If we had 
kept them to their Constitution which, it is true, was 
given under pressure it is possible that there would 
not have been this bloodshed. The Malays have been 
punished for their gross outrage ; and this being at an 
end, now what is necessary is to insure them good 
government, and then give them time, when there 
is no fear but that in Perak and other states we may 
have as loyal and trustworthy a set of people as now 
exist in Province Wellesley and Malacca, and in the 
towns of Singapore and Penang. 

By encouragement and teaching, the Malays are 



POLICY WITH THE PEOPLE. 449 

not incapable of being led on to industrious pursuits ; 
but even in this the giving-time policy should be 
adopted, and they should at first be allowed to derive 
profit from their produce in the way that comes most 
natural to them, and in accordance with their customs 
for generations past. There exists no reason why 
the Malay should not become in all points a good 
citizen; and though he may not possess the native 
intelligence of the Chinese as a trader and artisan, 
nor the shrewd cleverness of the Kling in his business 
and monetary transactions, he will be found no 
whit behind them in agricultural pursuits ; and both 
in Perak and elsewhere, as he gradually learns the 
value of our institutions, he will follow in the foot- 
steps of those of his countrymen who are now our 
fellow-subjects, and than whom none could be more 
loyal and devoted to the British Crown. 

It is questionable whether great blame does not 
attach to us as a nation for the little we have done 
during our long occupation of the settlements of 
Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, towards the pacifica- 
tion and improvement of the states on the peninsula. 
We have been too often content to merely draw 
from them the products that suit us in trade, while so 
long as the commerce was in a flourishing condition, 
the improvement of the people and the introduction 
of the arts of civilisation were neglected. We have 
perhaps held back on political grounds, and from 

2 a 



450 "SARONG" AND "KElS." 

the fear that if we became entangled in the " native 
question/' we should either have to retreat with loss 
of prestige, or have to carry out a policy which would 
drive out the native chiefs and government, but 
would necessarily only be effected by resort to arms, 
or at least by a display of force which would either 
cast a burden upon the Settlements which they could 
ill afford, or fall upon the imperial revenues a state 
of affairs to which the British taxpayer would readily 
object. The medium policy of placing an English 
Kesident at the native courts, so common on the 
continent of India, was never undertaken, singularly 
enough, when the Settlements were under Indian 
rule ; and when attempted but two years ago in Perak 
led to disastrous consequences for the time, the out- 
come of causes which were, however, preventible. In 
Salangore, on the contrary, as in other states, it has 
hitherto been continued with marked success; and 
if in the future we are judicious, and avoid taking 
steps which might lead the people to believe that 
we intended to meddle with their established cus- 
toms points upon which they are extremely jealous 
of interference the resident system will doubtless be 
carried on in Perak with equally good results. 

The effect of such a mild form of policy will not 
only be vastly advantageous to ourselves, in bringing 
a large mass of people into a more civilised state, and 
opening up to our commerce the mineral and other 



SIR JAMES BROOKE. 451 

wealth of this country ; but we shall be able o take 
to ourselves the satisfaction of having at least done 
our duty in bringing no inconsiderable portion of the 
earth's surface under the benign influence of British 
rule, and within the reach of that Christian truth 
without which no people can be fully civilised, and 
the spread of whose knowledge it is Britain's privilege 
and glory to foster and encourage. 

In the earlier chapters of this work allusion was 
made to the failure of Mr. Muntinghe's commission at 
Palembang, which was due to his want of knowledge of 
the Malay character, and too great eagerness to en- 
force a novel system that, though perhaps admirable 
in Java, was utterly unsuited to the people amongst 
whom he wished it to take root. Contrast with this 
the excellent management, in his successful dealing 
with the people, of one whom the writer is proud of 
being able to say he could call a friend the late Sir 
James Brooke, of Sarawak. Singly and unaided did 
this English gentleman, animated from first to last by 
the highest motives, gain the respect and affection of 
^very Malay with whom he was brought in contact, 
both among the chiefs and the people. Fear of 
Mm existed only in the hearts of those who, in 
direct opposition to his mild counsel and sugges- 
tions, persistently endeavoured to maintain a system 
of cruel piracy and oppression. Even, however, in 
dealing with these last he tempered his justice with 



452 "SARONG" AND "KRIS." 

mercy, knowing full well that time is necessary for 
the eradication of a national vice ; and that it would 
be simple madness to attempt to change, as by the 
touch of a wizard's wand, that which had been the 
growth of centuries in other words, the whole 
character of a nation. 

Sir Andrew Clarke, when Governor of the Straits 
Settlements, was animated by a similar spirit, and, by 
his wise policy, paved the way for peace and good 
government in Perak; and had he not been sum- 
moned away to a higher appointment, it is probable 
that many of the troubles in Perak would not have 
had place. He was possessed of a wonderful faculty 
of dealing with the natives, whom he won to his side 
by his frankness and openness of manner, through 
which, though, always shone firmness of character, 
mingled with a high sense of justice, and that which is 
due from man to man. He was in favour of the Besi- 
dent principle the presence with a native ruler of 
one who would advise and lead towards right, without 
seeming to control, and always exerting his influence 
for good with both chiefs and people. 

This is undoubtedly the course that should be 
followed out, and the various chiefs taught how to 
increase the value of their country by good govern- 
ment and improvement, as they invited co-operation 
by making life and property safe. For, given such a 
country and such a people, by good advice, an ad- 



WHEELER WOODFORD BIRCH. 453 

ministration may be brought about similar to those of 
Johore and Quedah, where, from their contiguity to 
our civilisation, this has permeated their own ; and in 
consequence we have native princes ruling by our 
laws, and keeping down the evil principles of their 
states, with magistrates, stations, regular trials, and 
convict gaols, while on the other hand peace and pros- 
perity have a permanent reign. This has been the 
result of time, and of letting the people see and learn the 
value of our institutions, the chiefs' power increasing 
with the progress of their land. 

In conclusion, it must never be forgotten that 
whatever may be the future of Perak, and however 
great a position it may reach in the scale of civilised 
countries, it was the death of one man that first drew 
the attention of our home Government fully to the 
state for its development and ultimate prosperity. 
For these, he who literally acted as the pioneer of its 
civilisation unceasingly toiled ; falling, though, in the 
dawning of that day of progress for which he had 
so earnestly laboured, when the bright sun of western 
light was beginning to brighten the waving palms of 
this far distant forest land. Though his family will 
never cease to bewail his loss, there is a mournful 
satisfaction in knowing that he laid the foundation 
of a better government in Perak ; and that as our 
influence over the peninsula still further extends, his 
memory will ever be associated with the advance and 



454 "SARONG" AND " KKIS." 

civilisation of this portion of Her Majesty's domains ; 
while those who loved him can always say He had 
the progress of Perak thoroughly at heart, and its 
prosperity was the work- of 

J. WHEELER WOODFORD BIRCH. 



FINIS. 



CHARLES DICKENS AND BVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS. 



100 




Dinc. 






BINDING LIST SEP 1 1944 





















to 

CD 



I 



< to 

O <H 

H <tf 



T3 

$* 

.! 

O 

11 

^ O 
H P- 

cd 

1 



cx 
to 

CO CD 

aiH 
S^ 



University of Toronto 
Library 



DO NOT 

REMOVE 

THE 

CARD 

FROM 

THIS 

POCKET 




Acme Library Card Pocket 
LOWE-MARTIN CO. LIMITED