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VOYAGE

OF THE

UNITED STATES FRIGATE POTOMAC,

UNDER THE COMMAND OF

COMMODORE JOHN DOWNES,

DURING THE

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE,

IN THE

YEARS 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1834;

INCLUDING A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE ENGAGEMENT AT QUALLAH-BATTOO, ON THE COAST OF SUMATRA; WITH ALL THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE SAME.

BY J. N. REYNOLDS.

"NAVAL POWER IS NATIONAL GLORY."

ILLUSTRATED BY SEVERAL ENGRAVINGS.

NEW-YORK:

PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS,

NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET,

AND SOLD BY THE PRINCIPAL BOOKSSELLERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.

1835.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1835,
By Harper & Brothers,
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York.

DEDICATION.

      We have been a commercial people from the very germe of our existence; we must ever remain so; and it is the dictate of common sense to protect this commerce. This can only be done by an effective navy. This doctrine was well understood by our ancestors, who, nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, made great exertions to raise a naval force for the purpose of taking Quebec; and in all the subsequent wars up to the time of the siege of Louisburg, a half a century afterward, they continued to increase it, and it was to them power and fame. The spirit of their fathers was then on the wave, and guided them to victory. At this time the provincial armed vessels became quite formidable, and caused great destruction to the French commerce and fisheries. In the war of the revolution our navy crowned itself with glory, in the number and character of the battles it fought. At the time of our difficulties with France, in the days of her revolution, the American navy avenged the insults offered our flag, and gained new laurels. The spirited efforts of our navy in destroying the Barbary powers, for their piratical conduct to us, as well as to other nations, received the highest praise from all the Levant, which was, by the exertions of our naval force, freed from plunder and constant agitation. Even the Pope joined his voice to the plaudits which rang along the shores of the Mediterranean, for the service our naval heroes had rendered the commercial world. In

      the last war, in which our navy was so efficient and successful, «

most of the officers now holding a high rank bore an honourable part. In that contest they not only fought and conquered those

but at the same time achieved a more wondrous victory over the prejudices of many of their own nation; and secured to all coming ages the existence of a navy in this country. The importance of a navy is agreed to by all; and to sustain it as our pride and hopes, has become a common sentiment, beyond the mountains as well as on the seaboard. There breathes not a man in our country "of soul so dead," whose heart is not warmed at the recital of our naval exploits. The slightest deviation of duty, even on board a revenue-cutter, would be a wound to our national pride.

      The navy has duties to perform in peace as in war; if not so arduous and dangerous, still they are not less useful. Our flag should be borne to every portion of the globe, to give to civilized and savage man a just impression of the power we possess, and in what manner we can exercise it when justice demands reparation for insulted dignity. A few instances of prompt retaliation have a lasting effect. The strong man, "knowing his rights, and knowing, dares maintain," is seldom ill treated; the weak and timid are those who are trampled upon. While impressing on others our spirit and efficiency, we may learn their ability and resources. With all the enterprise of our countrymen, their navy and commercial marine, still we can say, –

there is room enough for centuries, with all our zeal, to know and to do.

      I have had an opportunity of observing the devotedness of some of our naval officers abroad, in the great cause of national honour; where they have exerted themselves seriously to impress on the minds of all, that the United States, as a people, have no appetite for conquest – no desire for monopoly; but wish for peace and reciprocal commerce with every nation under the sun, – offering no insults, committing no injuries, nor submitting to any offered to themselves.

      With these views and feelings, I take the liberty of respectfully dedicating this volume, containing an account of the voyage of the United States ship Potomac, under the command of Commodore John Downes, in the years eighteen hundred and thirty-one, two, three, and four, to the Honourable the Secretary and Officers of the United States Navy, – believing that, whatever is well done by one, among a band of brothers, is done by all in feeling and principle; for this is the only way of making up the treasury of a nation's glory.

      April, 1835.

CONTENTS.

PLATES.^*

INTRODUCTION.

      In the month of October, 1829, I sailed from the city of New-York in the brig Annawan, N. B. Palmer captain, to the South Seas and Pacific Ocean. The particulars of this voyage, and the circumstances which led to it, as well as those of my subsequent travels by land through the Republic of Chili, and the Araucanian and Indian Territories to the south, will be given to the public in another volume. Suffice it here, that I was at Valparaiso in October, 1832, just three years from the commencement of my voyage, when Commodore Downes arrived at that place, from the coast of Sumatra and some of the principal ports in the East Indies.

      He had been for some time expected on that station; and early in the afternoon on the day of his arrival, it had been announced by telegraph, from the high hill which overlooks the town, that a large ship was in the offing. An hour passed away, and the signal announced a man-of-war, southwest from Playa Ancha, with all sail set, standing directly for the port. The wind was fresh, and she approached rapidly. The stripes and stars were seen waving from the mizzen peak of a stately frigate, which was now pronounced by all to be the Potomac. She entered the harbour late in the afternoon, making several seamanlike tacks against a strong southerly breeze. Crowds gathered upon the beach, and the Americans in port evinced emotions of pleasure, as each one felt that the strong and protecting arm of his government was near him.

      On the following day I went on board, with the view of visiting several of the officers with whom I had been previously acquainted. Here I received an invitation from the commodore to join the Potomac as his private secretary, the

gentleman who had previously filled that station having died at sea. This is a pleasant birth on board a flag-ship, and I accepted it, as the stay of the commodore on the station promised me a fine opportunity to improve my knowledge of the institutions, natural capacities, commercial resources, and political condition and prospects of so large a portion of South America, which hitherto I had not been able to visit.

      The cruise of the Potomac, thus far, had been one of great interest, and the services performed by her of high importance to our commercial interests in the east. News of her arrival at the Island of Sumatra, and her action with the Malays, reached the United States in the early part of July, 1832, at which time Congress was still in session.

      Partial statements relative to the occurrences at Quallah-Battoo had been published in the journals of the day; and those papers had now reached the Pacific. The attention of Congress had been called to the subject. Mr. Dearborn, of the House of Representatives, on the 12th day of July, submitted a resolution calling on the President for the instructions under which Commodore Downes acted, in his attack on the Malays of the Island of Sumatra. The resolution was adopted without objections from any quarter; and before the adjournment of the House on the next day, a communication covering the instructions was received from the President, recommending that these papers should not be made public until a full report of the proceedings at Quallah-Battoo should be received from Commodore Downes; intimating, that the vague rumours and partial statements before the public relative to the transactions at that place, when compared with the instructions under which that officer acted, might create an unfavourable prejudice against him in the public mind, which ought to be guarded against during his absence from the country, and until all the circumstances which influenced his mind should be authentically known.

      On the reception of these papers, the House of Representatives referred them to the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and after being examined by that committee, the latter unanimously concurred with the President, that the instructions ought not to be published until official, full, and accurate information was received, as to the manner in which the instructions had been executed.

      Without taking any further measures on the subject, Congress adjourned on the 16th of July.

      It seemed evident that the public mind, though always just when correctly informed, had, in this instance, been misled by partial statements and publications of irresponsible persons, who attempted to pronounce upon the merits of the proceedings at Quallah-Battoo without knowing, or having it in their power to know, a single motive which had influenced the mind of the commodore during his stay on the Malay coast.

      These circumstances, together with the extent and nature of the Potomac's voyage, — the direct manner in which the attention of Congress and the country at large had been thus early called to it — seemed to require that an authentic record should be prepared; in which not only the incidents of the voyage, but the public considerations which led to it, — and the motives which, at different periods of the cruise, had operated on the mind of its commander, in carrying into execution the views and instructions of the government, should be faithfully preserved.

      It was at this time, and under these circumstances, and with the express sanction of the commodore himself, that I undertook the task of preparing this record — in the execution of which every facility was offered me. Though more or less indebted to most of the officers of the higher grades for some incidents of the voyage, noted down by them on going below from their watches on deck, yet I feel it my duty especially to acknowledge my obligations to Lieutenant R. Pinkham and Acting-lieutenant S. Godon. The former, an intelligent officer, had kept a copious record, day by day, as the incidents of the voyage passed before him, which notes were placed in my hands. The latter, a young officer of high promise, had been an attentive observer, and recorded what he saw. For days, and weeks, and even months, he was ever ready to pore over the charts with me; and, by a vivid recollection, to recall the rich tints of a tropical sky, the phosphorated gleamings of the ocean, or the mellow hues of the landscape among the "summer isles." , The commodore's private journal was also in my hands; while the daily communication and unrestrained intercourse which existed between us, enabled me to speak with knowledge of all the public considerations which guided the movements of the frigate under his command.

      In comparing what I had written from these authentic sources with the journal kept by N. K. G. Oliver, Esq., the commodore's private secretary during the early part of the voyage, I found not a line to erase, and scarcely a word to add. In addition to all these advantages combined, the length of residence on board of the Potomac, in the midst of those who had been eye-witnesses and actors, by whom the incidents of the past were so often brought in review before us, I found no difficulty in filling up even the lights and shades of the whole picture, up to the period at which I joined the frigate — some twenty months previous to her return to the United States. Being thus familiar with the whole subject, I have found it most convenient to adopt the first person and present tense in the narrative, from the beginning to the end of the cruise.

      Where I have travelled beyond the record of the voyage, and say something on our commercial interests in the east, of its history, present condition, and means of its further extension; of sailing directions and the monsoons; of the Chinese, their peculiarities and pagodas; of the Sandwich and Society Islands, their population, missionaries, and foreign residents and traders; of the great Pacific whale fleet, the present derangement of this important branch of commerce, and the necessity of some action on the part of the United States government for the preservation of this interest; of the people of South America, their political and social institutions; of the controversy with the Argentine Republic in relation to the Falkland Islands; or of Rio and the empire of Brazil — I repeat, that what I say on any of these subjects, or others of a like nature, will be at all times on my own responsibility.

      A short time after the return of the Potomac, I addressed a line to the Honourable Levi Woodbury, at that time Secretary of the Navy, requesting permission to examine certain public documents on file in the department, from our commercial agents in different parts of the world where the Potomac had touched, and which might contain matter useful in rendering more perfect the details of my work. To this request I received the following reply: —

            "Sir,

      "Your letter of the 5th inst. has been read; I shall be happy to oblige you with the inspection of any papers in this department which are not confidential, and may be useful to you in your contemplated publication.

      "To J. N. Reynolds, Esq."

      The same facilities, in answer to a similar request, were politely proffered me by the Honourable John Forsyth, Secretary of State.

      One important object still remained to be accomplished, and without which the work would be very defective; and this was to obtain a copy of the official and public documents connected with the cruise. As there had been special, as well as general instructions from the department to Commodore Downes, I deemed it my duty to inform the latter of my application to the department for copies of these papers, and received from him the following reply; a copy of which I enclosed to the Secretary of the Navy: —

            "Dear Sir,

      "In answer to your note of the 19th inst., I have to state, that your having undertaken to prepare a Journal of the Potomac's Cruise while on the Pacific station, with my knowledge and approbation, and so often having held free communication with me on the subject; and knowing, as you do, my wish, that whatever is published should be authentic, I can of course have no objection that my instructions from the Navy Department, under which I acted while on the coast of Sumatra, with all official papers and reports made or received during the cruise, should be placed in your hands, with the sanction of the department, for the illustration of your book.

      "J. N. Reynolds, Esq., New-York."

            "Sir,

      "Your letter of the 27th ultimo has been received, enclosing a copy of Commodore Downes' letter to yourself, consenting to your application for a copy of his instructions.

      "The Secretary of the Navy will be here in a few days, when your request shall be submitted to him.

      "J N. Reynolds, Esq., New-York."

            "Sir,

      "Your letter of the 20th inst. has been received; Commodore Downes has the permission of the department to furnish you with copies or extracts, as may be most desirable to you, of his instructions and reports in relation to his operations at Quallah-Battoo.

      "P. S. Commodore Downes has this day been authorized to furnish the above papers.

      "J. N. Reynolds, Esq., New-York."

      With such credentials in my hands, and the consciousness of a well intended effort in my heart, I would respectfully make my debut before the American public — uninfluenced by vain ambition, unembarrassed by ill-timed diffidence. If my plain narrative of maritime incidents, perils, and achievements —

has no pretension to the charms of fine writing, it has at least the honest merit of truth and fidelity in the delineation of such facts as it purports to record.

V0YAGE

OF THE

UNITED STATES FRIGATE POTOMAC.

CHAPTER I.

      The United States frigate Guerriere, under the command of Commodore Thompson, having nearly fulfilled her term of service on the west coast of South America, in the Pacific, it became necessary to despatch another ship-of-war to relieve her on that important station. For this purpose, early in the year 1831, the Navy Department selected and for the first time put in commission the frigate Potomac, then lying at the navy yard in Washington city. She had been built at the same place ten years previously, and is of the first class of frigates, a fine model, and commanding, warlike appearance.

      The officers intended for the cruise had received their orders in the early part of the year; and in the month of March a number of them had repaired on board, and reported themselves to the first lieutenant as ready for duty. On the 10th of May Commodore Downes was notified of his appointment to the command of the Potomac, then fitting for sea at the navy yard at Washington, for the purpose of joining the squadron in the Pacific. Being at that period employed on other public duties, he was only able to visit the frigate once previous to her removal from the seat of government. He then left her in the

charge of the executive officer until she should, arrive in the port of New-York.

      During the whole month of May the most active preparations were going on aboard, so that by the 31st she was hauled out from the navy yard wharf, and by the aid of two steam-boats was towed over the bar, and moored head and stern off the mouth of the eastern branch of the Potomac. Previous to her removal from the navy yard, she had been visited by the President and Honourable Secretary of the Navy.

      The period from the 1st to the 14th of June was exclusively occupied in the outfits of the ship, and in getting off stores and various other articles; though all the sea-stores could not be taken in at this place, owing to the want of a sufficient depth of water in many parts of the Potomac river. In the mean time the ship had undergone a material change in her appearance and internal arrangements, and not only began to assume more of the regularity of a man-of-war among her inmates, but in every other respect bespoke preparation for a distant voyage. She was at this time, 15th, again visited and inspected by the Honourable Secretary of the Navy and Navy Commissioners.

      On the following morning, the 16th, orders were issued to the commanding officer to proceed with the Potomac down the river to Norfolk. The anchor was immediately weighed, and the frigate put in motion by the aid of a fine steam-boat selected for towing her down the river to Hampton-Roads,

      The movements of a vessel of such dimensions down the intricate channel of a river which rises so many leagues from the ocean, was not only calculated to produce a painful anxiety, but was, in fact, a matter of no small responsibility. The city of Washington, it is well known, is that point in the United States to which the largest vessels can be navigated the farthest into the interior of the continent. This single fact evinces the wisdom and foresight of him whose advice thus located the capital of the empire which he founded.

      Neither sectional partiality nor prejudice, it appears, had the least influence in determining this important matter; for the father of his country did not recommend the spot where the city of Washington now stands, until he had bestowed great and unwearied pains, and made laborious and interesting reconnoissance

of the country adjacent; and though the conflicting claims of other states, particularly those of Pennsylvania, were strongly urged against the measure, yet, fortunately for the nation, the popularity and influence of Washington surmounted every obstacle, and permanently fixed the seat of the general government in, perhaps, the best possible position that could be selected in any part of the United States.

      It may be mentioned as a curious coincidence, and a fact not generally known, that the present permanent seat of our national legislature is contiguous to the very spot where formerly were lighted the council-fires of the Powhattans, the most prominent, numerous, and powerful nation of red men in Virginia; and on the banks of the Potomac, extending from the shores of Chesapeake to the Patuxent. These people lived under a royal government, their despotic monarch being the father of the celebrated Pocahontas. The valley at the foot of Capitol-Hill, washed by the Tiber Creek, the Potomac, and the Eastern Branch, was, as we are informed by tradition, periodically visited by the Indians, who named it their fishing-ground, in contradistinction to their hunting-ground. Here, the tradition adds, the aborigines assembled in great numbers, in the vernal season, for the double purpose of preserving fish and consulting on the affairs of the nation. Greenleafe's Point was their principal camp, and the residence of the chiefs, where councils were held among the various tribes thus gathered together. This tradition was doubtless familiar to Washington.

      It has been said above that a more eligible site for the seat of our national government could not have been selected. It is true that a hostile fleet has once violated the purity of these waters, conveying a sufficient military force to invest the capital of the nation, from which most of its physical strength had been drawn to defend points which seemed more exposed to immediate attack. But we were then a young, weak, and divided people, contending with a gigantic power. Things have changed since that period; and the waters which have borne the warlike Potomac with her frowning batteries so many leagues from the interior to her destined element, can scarcely again, in the course of human events, be agitated by a hostile keel.

      Under the old confederation, by which the states were nomi-

nally bound together, Congress was dependant upon the several sovereignties for "a local habitation," and might have been virtually dissolved by the mere refusal to permit the occupation of public buildings. This inconvenience was provided for, probably at the suggestion of Washington himself, in the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution, which gave express power to Congress "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as might by session of particular states and the acceptance of Congress become the seat of the government of the United States."

      In accordance with this provision, the states of Virginia and Maryland ceded to the United States their jurisdiction over a district of ten miles square, situated on both sides of the Potomac, nearly two hundred miles from its mouth. This cession was formally accepted by the United States government, in an act of Congress passed on the 16th of July, 1790; and ten years afterward, during the presidency of John Adams, the government was removed thither, and permanently established in the infant city called after the deathless name of its patriotic founder. On the 3d of May, 1802, Congress passed an act by which the city of Washington became incorporated; the appointment of mayor being vested in the president annually, and the two branches of the council elected by the people in a general ticket. By a new charter granted by Congress in 1820, the mayor is now elected by the people for a term of two years. The city is rapidly increasing in wealth and population.

      Our gallant, though as yet untried frigate, moved gracefully and majestically upon the waters of the river whose name she bears; and passing Mount Vernon with flag half-mast in token of respect for the sacred relics which were there deposited, she again came to anchor without accident at India Head.

      The reader is doubtless aware that the consecrated spot alluded to is situated on the Virginia side of the Potomac river, the course of which at this place is nearly southwest, though its general course is to the southeast. Mount Vernon, therefore, is on the western bank of the river, and rises at least two hundred feet above its surface. It is about fifteen miles below the city of Washington, and eight miles from Alexandria. It was so named in honour of Admiral Vernon, in whose celebrated expedition

against the Spaniards Washington's brother Lawrence served; and he was the original proprietor of this delightful sylvan retreat. It afterward passed into the general's hands, and it was here that he resided when retired from the cares and labours of public employment; and it is here that his ashes now repose, together with those of his connubial partner, and several relatives of the family. To visit this place is deemed a sort of pious or rather patriotic pilgrimage, which few would willingly neglect to make at least once in the course of their lives, should circumstances call them to the seat of government.

      The mansion in which Washington resided till his death is a plain edifice of wood, cut in imitation of freestone, two stories high, surmounted by a cupola, and ninety-six feet in length, with a portico in the rear, overlooking the river, extending the whole length of the building. The central part of this edifice was erected by Lawrence Washington, who named it as before mentioned; the two wings were afterward added by the general, who caused the ground to be planted and beautified in the most tasteful manner.

      The house fronts northwest, looking on a beautiful lawn of five or six acres, with a serpentine walk around it, fringed with shrubbery and planted with poplars. The tomb, or family vault, in which rest the hero's remains, is about two hundred yards southwest from the house, and about one hundred and fifty from the river bank: "A more romantic and picturesque site for a tomb," says a late writer, "can scarcely be imagined. Between it and the river Potomac is a curtain of forest-trees, covering the steep declivity to the water's edge, breaking the glare of the prospect, and yet affording glimpses of the river even when the foliage is thickest. The tomb is surrounded by several large native oaks, which are venerable by their years, and which annually strew the sepulchre with autumnal leaves, furnishing the most appropriate drapery for such a place, and giving a still deeper impression to the memento mori. Interspersed among the rocks, and overhanging the tomb, is a copse of red cedar; but whether native or transplanted is not stated. Its evergreen boughs present a fine contrast to the hoary and leafless branches of the oak; and while the deciduous foliage of the latter indicates the decay of the

body, the eternal verdure of the former furnishes a beautiful emblem of the immortal spirit."

      La Fayette's visit to the tomb of Washington, as described by M. Levasseur, is interesting and touching. "As we approached," says he, "the door of the tomb was opened. La Fayette descended alone into the vault, and a few minutes after he reappeared with his eyes overflowing with tears. He took his son and myself by the hand, and led us into the tomb, where by a sign he indicated the coffin of his paternal friend, alongside of which was that of his companion in life, united for ever to him in the grave. We knelt reverently near his coffin, which we respectfully saluted with our lips; rising, we threw ourselves into the arms of La Fayette, and mingled our tears with his."

      The subject of this digression will naturally plead its excuse. While lying in sight of Mount Vernon in a ship-of-war, comprising within her oaken walls more effective force than the whole American navy could display at the time this beautiful spot first received the name it bears, such reminiscences occurred too forcibly to the mind to be passed unnoticed. But the anchor was again weighed, and our new ship-of-war soon left Mount Vernon far in the distance.

      After a passage of several days, requiring great vigilance, and without encountering any serious accident, the Potomac came to anchor on the afternoon of the 23d June in Hampton-Roads, about eight miles below Norfolk, which is the most commercial town of Virginia, and is defended by several forts, the most im-

portant of which is on Craney Island, near the mouth of the Elizabeth river, about five miles below the town. The United States commissioners who were appointed in 1818 to survey the lower part of Chesapeake Bay, reported that Hampton-Roads, though extensive, were capable of adequate defence, so as to prevent the entrance of an enemy's fleet. We therefore trust that our national metropolis will henceforth be secure from invasions.

      The general instructions of the secretary of the navy to Commodore Downes, as commander of the Potomac and of the Pacific squadron, are dated on the 27th of June, 1831. He was ordered to proceed to New-York by the 1st of August, if possible; and there receive on board the Honourable Martin Van Buren and suite, the recently-appointed minister to the court of St. James, who was to be landed at Portsmouth, or some other convenient port in the British channel. The commodore was then directed to make the best of his way to the Pacific Ocean by a passage round Cape Horn, first touching at Brazil. These instructions contain full and official directions as to the steps to be taken for the protection of American commerce and sustaining the honour of the American flag, as well as for increasing the domestic resources of our own country, by obtaining and preserving such foreign staple productions as might be naturalized in our own soil. These instructions, so creditable to the department and to the character of our country, are given at length in the Appendix.

      Our frigate lay in Hampton-Roads until the 15th of July, during which period all hands were busily employed in taking on board such necessary stores as could be procured at this place. Here her officers first received the intelligence of a third point to a coincidence of a very remarkable character. On the 4th of July, the anniversary of our national independence, James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, breathed his last, in the city of New-York, at the residence of his son-in-law, Samuel Governeur, Esq. This event had been for some time expected, and was several days previous to his death momentarily looked for. His spirit, however, was permitted to linger in the body until his country's birthday came round; and he departed while a grateful nation, for whose independence he had fought and bled — a nation which venerated him while living, and which

hallows his memory now as in the foremost rank of its benefactors — was holding its jubilee! Thus, by a coincidence for which it would be difficult to find a parallel in history, three patriots of the revolution, who had successively graced the presidential chair, were called away to a more permanent state of existence on the glorious anniversary of the independence which they had so zealously laboured to achieve. The death of James Monroe on the 4th of July, 1831, completed the threefold miracle that was doubtless intended to convince the most skeptical of the divine superintendence of that providence which raised up these three statesmen and patriots for the purpose of achieving the work of independence. "Did this event stand single in our annals," says an orator of much deserved celebrity, "were it unconnected in our memories with the deaths, on a former anniversary of the same glorious day, of two of his illustrious predecessors, — even then a similar removal of the deceased would have been deemed admonitory, and would have commanded a solemn and appropriate notice. But following, as it does, that signal union in their flight from this world of the immortal spirits of Adams and Jefferson, the departure of Monroe must impress us with an awful sense of a divine interposition, and awaken a lively gratitude for the favour and protection of an overruling providence."

      On the 15th of July the Potomac, in conformity to orders, sailed from Hampton-Roads for the port of New-York, for the purpose of completing her outfits of all kinds, and also to receive her commander on board; who, having received his orders from the department, was nearly ready to take the immediate command. Nothing material occurred during the passage of the frigate to New-York. On Wednesday, the 20th of July, she was announced by telegraph as being anchored outside the bar, waiting for a fair wind to enter the harbour. On the following day she proceeded up the bay in gallant style, and came to anchor off the Battery, in the Hudson river.

      Although it was for some time intended that the Potomac should proceed from New-York to England, in order to convey our newly-appointed minister, the Honourable Martin Van Buren, to the court of St. James as before stated, this arrangement, it will be seen, was ultimately abandoned, and Mr. Van Buren proceeded to England in the regular packet-ship President, which

sailed on the 9th of August; while new and additional orders were issued from the navy department, which totally changed the intended course of the Potomac, and sent her round the southern cape of the opposite continent.

      On the 4th of August the United States frigate Hudson, Captain Cassin, arrived in New-York from Rio Janeiro, via Bahia, having left the latter place on the 2d of July. There were now three commanders' pennants floating over the waters of this port; viz. the blue of Commodore Chauncey, who commanded the station; the red of Commodore Downes, who commanded the Potomac; and the white of Commodore Cassin, who commanded the Hudson; — blue, red, and white being the order of the navy.

      About the middle of July information was received in the United States of the piratical attack which had been made upon the ship Friendship, of Salem, on the coast of Sumatra, in the month of February preceding; the Malays having treacherously seized that vessel, and massacred part of her crew, who were receiving on board a cargo of pepper. The particulars of this unparalleled outrage on the United States flag and the lives and property of her citizens, will be given in detail in its proper place, where a chapter shall be devoted exclusively to the subject. The public were unanimous in calling for a redress of such an atrocious grievance, and the Potomac was now designated by government to perform that service instead of proceeding directly to her original destination. The route of the frigate to her station in the Pacific, as contemplated in the previous instructions, was therefore immediately changed, that measures might be promptly and effectually taken to punish so outrageous an act of piracy; Mr. Van Buren having, for this purpose, magnanimously relinquished his purpose of taking passage in the frigate, as the landing him in England would delay her arrival at the scene of this perfidious attack.

      Messrs. Silsbee, Pickman, and Stone, of Salem, addressed a letter to Washington, dated on the 20th July, 1831, requesting that measures might be adopted by government for the punishment of the offenders in the case of the Friendship; but before this letter had reached Washington, arrangements for that purpose had been put in progress by the secretary of the navy on the 19th of that month, and a letter written to Salem on the subject on

the 22d, of which they were apprized by another letter dated the 25th of July, in reply to that of the 20th before referred to; in which they were requested to furnish the department with such local information relative to the region where the outrage was committed, as might become essential in seeking indemnity or inflicting punishment on the perpetrators. A copy of this letter will also be found in the Appendix. Through the medium of this correspondence the government obtained the services of a gentleman of Salem, who had been personally concerned in the pepper-trade on the coast — was on board the Friendship when attacked, and was well acquainted with that part of Sumatra.

      The preparations being completed, additional instructions on this branch of the cruise were given to the commander, as before mentioned, by the secretary of the navy, on the 9th of August. In order to appreciate the judgment and caution with which these instructions on so delicate and important a subject were drawn up, as well as to enable the reader, in the sequel, to judge of the faithful and officer-like manner in which they were carried into execution, it will be necessary for him to recur to the copy which we have been permitted to insert at length in the Appendix. By these instructions it will be seen he was directed to proceed from Rio Janeiro to the east by the Cape of Good Hope, to call the treacherous Malays to an account, and redress our grievances in that quarter; and from thence, after visiting certain ports in the Chinese Seas, to cross the vast Pacific, and take command of the squadron on the west coast of South America.

      With reference to the outrage in question, the public press evinced a sensitiveness which did honour to the editorial corps. Only a few days previous to the sailing of the Potomac, many articles on the subject appeared in the daily papers, from one of which the following extracts are copied: — "As far as public sentiment can be collected from the newspapers and from general conversation, it appears to be the unanimous wish of the nation that one or more of our ships-of-war should be despatched to the western coast of Sumatra, to look after our commercial interests in that remote sea, and punish the natives for the outrage recently committed upon the ship Friendship, of Salem." In the same article it is added, "A high-handed outrage has been committed, and if it be suffered to pass by unavenged, we know not how

many others may occur. The approaching departure of the Potomac will afford the government an opportunity of intrusting the expedition to an intelligent, active, and gallant officer, who, we apprehend, would teach these piratical vagabonds such a lesson respecting American manners and customs as would hereafter induce them to mend their own."

      Although Commodore Downes had hoisted his broad pennant on board of the Potomac on the 24th of July, he was still absent on business until the 23d of August. During this period the Potomac lay at anchor off Castle Garden, in the North river, and every arrangement deemed necessary for a long and distant voyage was completed.

      The wind, which for several days had blown from an unfavourable quarter, chopped round on the morning of the 24th of August,* and gave us a fine light breeze from the northwest. "All hands up anchor, ahoy!" was the cheerful cry which passed through the ship before five o'clock, ere the rising sun had gilded the tallest spires of the city. This summons was succeeded by a scene of bustle and excitement which can only be realized by one who has witnessed its effects on the officers and crew of a man-of-war bound on a distant cruise. The Potomac's canvass wings were suddenly expanded, as if by magic, and the gallant vessel moved slowly but gracefully from her anchorage down the bay, until Sandy Hook lighthouse bore east by south half-south, when she' was again brought to anchor. . â–

      The wind and tide both favoured the departure of the Potomac on the morning of the 26th, and by eight o'clock she had passed the bar with a fine leading breeze. The maintopsail was now laid to the mast, while the pilot made his hasty preparations to depart. At such a moment most vessels, but, perhaps, especially a man-of-war, present a busy and interesting scene. There had been ample leisure for writing during the days of detention by contrary winds; but the last moment on such occasions must always be embraced; and the state-rooms of the officers, the ward-room, steerage, and cockpit, are occupied by writers penning hasty adieus, despatching the last little earnest of continued affection. If this be a mere matter of feeling, be it so; there is something sacred in it which the warm heart can always appreciate — for a line written at the moment the noble vessel lies

shaking in the wind, and about to bound fearlessly on her destined track, must always possess a value that under no other circumstances can be imparted to it.

      The pilot, having taken charge of these sacred scraps, hastened to his little boat, which had been dancing on the undulating billows near the Potomac like another nautilus during the whole / of the morning. The ship was now filled away, and every drawing sail set, bearing to the south and east.

      There have so often pretty things been said, and so many fine.changes rung on language in describing the feelings of the heart on bidding to our "native land good night," that we shall attempt nothing of the kind here. We are well aware, however, that thousands are daily taking their departure without evincing any unusual emotions about it; and yet we do really believe no one can thus depart without experiencing emotions which do credit to the human heart.

      In four hours, and they were short ones, the last faint lines of the highlands had vanished, and the active duties to which many were called seemed to relieve them from the recollections of home. But it is the youth, the young ' "reefers," who have for the first time left the parental fireside, who are likely to feel much in moments like these. Though previous to their embarcation they think they have a tolerably correct idea of the privations and toils of the mariner's life, and feel their minds well fortified to combat the most untoward events; yet, when in the space of a few hours they find themselves tossing upon the mighty deep, and that deep begirt only by the open horizon, the ship dashing with each freshening breeze, with accumulated velocity, from all their young affections hold dear; 'tis then that the heart, desponding, shorn of every pride, feels its frailty, and owns how strong is that cord which binds to country and home.

      They now remember with the liveliest feelings and emotions of filial affection, that the kind admonitions of a father were really and in truth kind. Bygone hours and days, spent from home with convivial friends, or in search of some momentary pleasure, now present themselves to their lively imaginations, shaking their "gory locks," upbraiding them with their time mispent — or, if not entirely mispent, they feel they might have been much better employed in the society of a fond mother or sister — of those

whom they now sensibly feel are and ever must be the truest objects of their affections and obedience.

      Having gained a sufficient offing, the anchors were, as is usual, securely stowed, cables unbent and coiled in, their respective tiers, and, in the language of a thrifty housewife, as well as of the sailor, every thing "made snug"

CHAPTER II.

      On the second day following her departure from Sandy Hook, a tumbling sea caused an irregular pitching and rolling motion of the vessel, peculiarly unpleasant to those who were unaccustomed to the turbulent domains of Neptune. The certainty, however, that sea-sickness is not fatal in its effects, and that, sooner or later, a restoration to health will ensue, has sometimes encouraged others, whose stomachs are proof against this scourge of the "fresh man of the sea," to sport in wanton mood with the dejected feelings of the sufferer. Yes, we repeat, sufferer, for woful experience has taught, that, of all the "evils which flesh is heir to," none is so unpleasant, for the time being, as sea-sickness. The spirits droop, the heart sickens — a total indifference to life, death, friends, home, country, succeeds — until every thing seems swallowed up in that nauseating stupor which preys upon the very spirit itself! '

      The autumnal equinox was now fast approaching, a season of the year which frequently introduces itself into the North Atlantic with storms and tempests, and even violent and destructive hurricanes.

      As the Potomac approached the gulf-stream, she underwent the usual preparation for storms and squalls, so generally met with in this portion of the Atlantic; so usual, indeed, that it has become proverbial —

      The commodore had hoped to escape every thing like a gale, quite content to try the qualities of his ship for sailing with fine

breezes and clear weather. In this, he was disappointed; as, on the twenty-eighth, the wind, which had for some hours prevailed from the eastward, with rain, partially died away, the sky became overcast with threatening appearances, which the wary and experienced seamen very soon recognised as the prelude to the approaching gale. No light sails were spread to woo the fickle breeze, but topgallant and royal yards were sent upon deck, and the flying jib-boom housed. As the night set in, the wind increased.

      The courses were hauled up, jib stowed, mizzen-topsail furled, spanker lowered, and the fore and main-topsails double reefed. It is at such times, and on such service as this, that the brave daring, the recklessness of danger, the ambition to be foremost when duty calls, no matter where, shine most conspicuous in the character of the thorough-bred and true sailor.

      Indeed, the true sailor takes pleasure in doing his duty amid real dangers, when he feels that the "superior officer set over him" is competent to judge whether or not that duty is performed in a seaman-like manner. .

      The gale, for by eight, P. M., it had the strength of one, increased every moment till ten, when the ship was brought to, head to the southward and westward, under close-reefed fore and main-topsails, and courses furled; when, at the same time, the foretopmast-staysail was hauled down, and the fore-storm staysail set.

      Soon after midnight the gale had increased to almost a perfect hurricane, and the ship was pressed down by the irresistible blast, until relieved by furling the close-reefed fore-topsail, and setting the main and mizzen-storm staysails. From twelve to

four, A. M., it blew with a violence seldom witnessed, even in this region of tempests. The sea, which the evening before had been comparatively smooth, now rolled in mountains before the storm. Seldom had the electric fluid assumed such a variety of colours in so short a period of time. Though the flashing was incessant, yet in the space of a few seconds were exhibited, in the coruscations of the subtile fluid, all the varying colours of the rainbow; twice did it pass down the fore-conductor, assuming on the second descent a most singular appearance. As the fluid followed the conductor, at each link of the chain, an electric spark was thrown off of the deepest red, while the livid line of light simultaneously marking the direction of the conductor, rendered it a singular phenomenon.

      The rain, at intervals, fell in torrents; indeed, the roar of winds, and heavy peals of thunder, the successive and vivid flashes of lightning, laying bare the angry surface of the troubled waters, and presenting to the view, masts, ropes, rigging, and the men toiling upon the yards, and at the next moment all in darkness, imparted to the night a character of wild and terrific grandeur seldom surpassed.

      To the green reefers, as the younger midshipmen are sometimes jocosely called on board a man-of-war, this was rather a rough introduction into the mysteries of their profession. Indeed, it may be doubted, if any protege of Neptune, even one of his eldest sons, could view, without concern, the high and soul-stirring sublimity of such a storm at sea; his stately ship, like a huge animal struggling with the elements, now poising on the top of a deeply undulatory wave, now sinking in the trough of the sea, and again rising and bursting through the phosphoric gleamings of the crested billow, and dashing the water from her sides, as the lion shakes the dewdrops from his mane.

      As the morning dawned, the gale abated, and moderate breezes from the north succeeded, with a high and irregular sea. The latitude was 36° north, longitude 66'' west.

      The metamorphosis which a vessel undergoes, after the abatement of a storm, is always a pleasant sight; and hence no sound is heard with more joy, on such occasions, than the vociferation of the boatswain, as "all hands make sail, ahoy!" is repeated by his mates through all parts of the vessel. To this call officers

and men respond with alacrity, as it is the harbinger of fine weather and clear skies. The stately topmasts of pine soon bear their flowing sheets, while the unfolding brails of the heavier sails add apparent dignity and strength to all below. Topgallant sails, royals, and studding sails, spread, as if by magic, their white surface to the breeze, and bright eyes, and. cheerful glee, show that the storm has sunk to rest.

      Early on the morning of the twenty-first September, St. Antonio, one of the Cape de Verd islands, was in sight, bearing southeast, and about ten miles distant. This is the most western, or rather northwestern island, of the whole group, being in latitude 14° north, longitude 25° 30' west. The reefs were turned out of the topsails, with the view of keeping off, and, if possible, avoiding the calms which ships are liable to experience when they pass near this lofty island, some of the mountains of which are nearly as high as the Peak of Teneriffe. As a general remark, all vessels not wishing to touch at the Cape de Verds, should keep at least thirty miles to the west of St. Antonio, and thereby avoid the frequent calms which take place within ten or fifteen miles of the land.

      The voyage of the Potomac, thus far, had not been very favourable, as her course had not been facilitated by any winds which were entitled to the appellation of trade. On the day following, the commodore stood in close with the island of Brava, the most southern of the group, and by far the most fruitful. Two boats were now despatched towards the shore, in charge of Lieutenant Pinkham, to procure, if possible, fruits and vegetables. The principal landing-place is on the northeast part of the island, though hopes were entertained that a landing might be effected on the west side, in the of&ng of which the Potomac lay.

      After rowing several miles to the southeast, along the shore, without finding a single spot against which the sea did not break with violence, the boats were compelled to return to the frigate, Upon the sides of almost perpendicular mountains and cliffs, goats and monkeys were seen; the latter keeping up an incessant chattering, as if alarmed at the near approach of the boat towards their airy and solitary abode. But no human beings were visible, save two only, who were seated on a rock, fishing, in a state of perfect nudity. Thus failing in his intention of procuring

refreshments, the commodore shaped his course for the capital of the Brazilian empire.

      In approaching the equator, a rather unusual share of baffling winds and showers of rain were thought to prevail. In latitude of about three, north, on the night of Saturday, the first of October, a brilliant light was seen from the deck, in a northwest direction. Many believed it a vessel on fire; but on more attentive examination, it was found to be a whale-ship, "taking care" of the successful labours of the preceding day.

      On the following morning, which was Sunday, the vessels were so near each other, that the commodore allowed a boat to be lowered, to board the whaler. She proved to be the ship Mercury, forty days from New-Bedford, bound to the Pacific; having had the good fortune to take a "hundred barrel" spermaceti, not a common circumstance; as, we believe, that of more than ten thousand a year taken by our ships, only four have been known to produce more than one hundred and twenty barrels.

      This vessel, the Mercury, had been distinguished as the swiftest sailer in the South Sea fleet; and had gained no little notoriety in the year 1828, in a trial of speed with the United States frigate Brandywine, both leaving Payta, on the coast of Peru, and beating dead against the southerly tradewinds; in which contest the Mercury came out in advance. A similar trial of speed took place between the whaler and our own goodly ship, as win be seen directly.

      At meridian, on the second of October, a sail was reported from aloft, directly ahead, and standing for us. At half past two, we had neared the stranger sufficiently to perceive that she was a clipper brig; and she, on her part, appeared to be satisfied with the view she had of the frigate, as she soon tacked, and stood on the same course as ourselves, which was directly opposite to her track when first discovered. At three, P. M., beat to quarters, and' run in the gun-deck guns, closed up the ports, and otherwise disguised the Potomac as a merchantman, as much as possible. It was about a four-knot breeze, and all the sail we could put on the ship to advantage, had been spread from the first of the chase; at dark we lost sight of her, about two points on our weather bow, and distant about five miles. The Mercury was now near us, on our weather quarter. We had gained considerably on the

chase, but not sufficiently to bring her within range of the eye after the night had set in. From that time until daylight, we tacked four times, endeavouring to get to windward, and intercepting what we had made up in our minds was a slaver; the Mercury following our motions, and keeping as near as she could. .

      At daylight on Monday morning, the third, the Mercury was on our lee-beam, and, as our logbook expresses it, "the brig on our weather quarter." We were on the other tack immediately which brought us directly in her wake, and we felt assured that she could not escape us. Owing to the light wind, it was twelve o'clock (noon) before we came within hailing distance, when, as she showed no disposition to heave to, our colours were hoisted, and she was ordered by the commodore to do so, when she hoisted English colours, and immediately complied. Our boat was sent to board her; and, in a short time, returned with the information that she was the English brig Brothers, from Liverpool, bound to Pernambuco. Great was our surprise to learn from the captain, that that morning was the first of his seeing us! The chase of yesterday had escaped.

      After several days of light winds and calms, a fine breeze from the southeast sprang up on Wednesday, the fifth. .Our friend the whaler, who was still near us, stood his ground for some time with the Potomac; while the speed of the latter did not exceed seven or eight miles an hour. But as the wind increased, the frigate began to draw ahead; and, from being, at nine o'clock, A. M., within gunshot, at three in the afternoon, he could only be seen, indistinctly, from the mast-head, astern! From this fact something could be inferred as to the good qualities of the Potomac.

      On crossing the equator, there was nothing seen of Neptune or Amphitrite, in the process of inducting those of the crew who had never crossed the line, or been initiated into the mysteries of his marine highness. Commanders differ in opinion as to the propriety of permitting the "old sea-dog" to exercise his rough jokes upon those who are about to pass, for the first time, into the southern hemisphere.

      We are not of that school who foresee ruin to the navy, and annihilation to commerce, because sailors have cut off their long

queues, and, in a thousand other respects, are different from what they were an age ago; and the antique custom just alluded to, a relic of heathen superstition, without even the merit of classical embellishment to recommend, it, may be well dispensed with, as it must often do harm, and cannot, in any possible instance, be productive of good.

      In an age like the present, distinguished for the march of improvement, and replete with discovery and advancement in every department of human science and knowledge; when a single day produces results which years could not have formerly effected, it cannot be expected that the sailor alone should remain uninfluenced by the revolutions which every thing else in the moral universe is perpetually undergoing. The changes which have been wrought in his manners and customs, have been most unquestionably for the better.

      In illustration of this remark, it may be here mentioned, that, during the passage from New-York, great attention had been paid to drill the men in the exercise of the great guns. Every day, when the weather would permit, these exercises were performed; and, once a week, all went to general quarters, when all the exercises and manoeuvring of a regular attack and defence were carried through with the same precision as if the frigate were engaged in a real action with an enemy. A division of one hundred and fifty men, at this time, also, were being drilled to the use of the musket; and they evinced a readiness in the acquisition of this new species of seamanship, not to have been expected, from the generally supposed repugnance, on the part of Jack Tar, to the use of small arms; or to the acquirement of any accomplishment which more properly appertains to the soldier.

      It is not strange, that, in the olden time, when sailors were dragged by force into involuntary servitude on board ships-of-war, and performed their allotted duties only at the point of the bayonet, that strong dislike should have been engendered against those who were mere tools in the hands of others, to enforce the observance of regulations to which they had never willingly subscribed. Shipping articles, in those days, were mere mockeries, and the marines were relied on to hold the sailors in bondage. It required time to smooth such asperities in the human breast, and hence, no doubt, arose the prejudice of the sailor to the life, char-

acter, and profession of the soldier. On board of the Potomac, this animosity did not seem to exist; or, if it did exist, its influence was but weak, as sailor and marine appeared to mingle together in peace and good-will, as men who might be required mutually to stand by and support each other.

      Nothing material occurred until the morning of Sunday, the sixteenth, when the exhilarating announcement of "Land, ho!" from the mast-head, produced a new excitement through every part of the ship. It proved to be Cape Frio, or Cold Cape, as it is called, which bore west-northwest, forty -five miles distant; and at six, P. M., the same cape bore north by east, twenty-five miles distant. This cape is in latitude 23° 30', longitude 42° 2', about twenty leagues east of Rio Janeiro. The ship was hoven to, during the night, with her head to the south-and-east; the weather being cloudy, and the wind fresh. At about midnight, a vessel was seen to the eastward, but not near enough to be spoken.

      In the morning, it was found that the current, which uniformly sets to the southward and westward along this part of the coast, together with a high sea, at this time heaving in the same direction, had borne the Potomac to the leeward of the entrance of the harbour of Rio Janeiro. While in the act of wearing ship, in the midst of a squall. Razor Island was discovered; and,immediately afterward, the breakers on Baga Island, while the thickness of the weather hid from view every other part of the coast. The instant these landmarks were recognised, the commodore ordered the ship brought upon the wind, on the starboard tack; and such confidence had he in her qualities to weather the island and enter the harbour, that he directed the mainsail, jib, and spanker to be set, in addition to the single-reefed topsails and foresail. It was a moment of some anxiety; and the Potomac, by occasionally immerging the muzzles of her gun-deck guns in the water, gave evidence of the powerful exertions she was making; though a strong weather-bow current was running, together with a heavy head sea. Still, her wake was as straight, apparently, as a clipper's; and, in an hour, the island was weathered, and, with square yards, she was brought to her anchorage in fine style. The maritime community were not a little surprised to see a frigate enter the harbour on such a morning, and in a living gale of wind.

      There were lying in the harbour at this time, his Britannic majesty's ship Dublin, a razee of fifty guns, thirty-two-pounders, Lord James Townsend in command; the Druid frigate. Captain Hamilton, and two sloops of war; a small Swedish frigate, and the French commodore, in a double banked frigate. Also, the Brazilian frigate Constitution, the only one in commission, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Jewett.

      From each of these vessels, officers were sent to the Potomac, offering to Commodore Downes, in the name of their commanders, such assistance as he might stand in need of. The Brazilian government, through an officer despatched to the proper authorities, immediately on the Potomac coming to anchor, congratulated the commodore on his safe arrival, and expressed their willingness to return the salute customary to be interchanged between nations at peace with each other. For the seventeen guns of the Potomac, nineteen were returned from the Brazilian fort. This was probably an error; if not, it was highly complimentary to our flag. Be this as it may, instances are not wanting, where the friendly feeling of these people has been made manifest towards the star-spangled banner of the United States. So far as our country had been represented at Rio by the lamented Tudor, the Brazilians could not be at a loss for a motive to pay the highest respect to our national flag. In the successor to this worthy man, we have been fortunate in having secured the services of the Honourable E. A. Brown, a ripe scholar, possessing every requisite qualification for usefulness in such a station.

      Mr. Brown visited the Potomac during her stay at Rio, and was received with the salute usually given to the foreign representatives of our country. The hospitality of our consul, Mr. Wright, and of other American citizens resident in Rio, is gratefully recollected by the officers of the Potomac; and Mr. Brown, our charge d'affaires, seems to have made many friends by his urbanity and gentlemanly deportment. With these, the house of the Messrs. Burkitts was often visited with pleasure, and added not a little to the enjoyment of our officers during their stay at Rio.

      The United States ship Lexington, Master-commandant Duncan, had arrived at Rio some time before the Potomac, in sixty-two days from Norfolk. Like the frigate, she had been disap-

pointed in meeting with the northeast trades; and had, also, experienced much calm weather near the equator.

      Our claims on the Brazilian government have been adjusted. These claims were founded on a "few mistakes" which had occurred during the late war with Buenos Ayres, when the blockading squadron of the La Plata had appropriated to their own use and behoof sundry vessels and cargoes, belonging to sundry good citizens of the United States, who were navigating the high seas upon "their lawful occasions."

      The British government was at this time urging its claims to indemnity for spoliations upon her commerce, committed under similar circumstances with those upon our own vessels; but, it would appear, with less success. Both parties were evidently growing warm upon the subject, and, but a short time previously, the commander of the British squadron threatened that he would blockade the port, and make reprisals. Whether the threat was officially communicated to the Brazilian government or not, we do not pretend to know; but the fleet did get under way, and proceed off the harbour; and, after backing and filling for a day or two in a rather menacing manner, returned to its original anchorage.

      There were those who were ready, of course, to indulge in a. sarcastic smile at this manoeuvre of Admiral Baker, which, it appears, had not the desired effect, if it had been done for that purpose. The Cortez was at this time in session; and the claims preferred by the British government seemed to give rise to much excitement between the two parties.

      "We have stated above, that our claims on the Brazilian government were adjusted; that is, the principle of settlement had been agreed on, though much in detail remained to be done.

CHAPTER III.

      Had human agency been exercised in planning and' Constructing', for human use, the harbour of Rio Janeiro, it would be impossible to conceive a more felicitous result. It is a beautiful and capacious basin, imbosomed among elevated mountains, whose conical summits are reflected from the translucent surface of its quiet waters. The entrance is so narrow, and its granite barriers so bold, that it was, doubtless, often passed by early navigators, before it was suspected that such a retired and hidden inlet existed. To the aborigines of the country, it was known by a name corresponding to its character; for they called it "Hidden water," which, in their language, is expressed by the term Nithero-hy.

      As this part of the Brazilian coast runs nearly east and west, the entrance of the harbour opens to the south, a few miles, of the tropic of Capricorn. It is defended by the Fort of Santa Cruz on the east, opposite to which are others of suitable strength, in vicinity of a high conical hill, called the "Sugarloaf," which some modern travellers have compared to the "leaning tower of Pisa.",

      The entrance to this celebrated estuary, when seen from the offing, presents the appearance of a gap, or chasm, in the high ridge of mountains which skirt this part of the coast; and which, doubtless, once dammed up the waters within, until their continually accumulating weight burst the adamantine barrier which

had hitherto held them in confinement, and, spurning farther restraint, forced a passage to the ocean. In the same manner, the Blue Ridge of Virginia was evidently rent in twain by the two united rivers, whose mingled waters now form the Potomac; and some suppose that the highlands of the Hudson once exhibited the same phenomenon. The fragments created by this convulsion of nature at Rio, are supposed to have been thrown into the sea, where they still remain, before the entrance of the harbour, in the form of a bar, on which there is never more than ten fathoms of water, while, just within it, there is not less than eighteen. However this may be, the chasm itself, as it now exists, presents a most picturesque appearance, opening as it does between two lofty mountains — Signal Hill on the right, the Sugarloaf cone on the left. These two remarkable piles of almost naked granite, present a striking contrast with the rest of the broken ridge, to which they now form abutments, as every other prominent part is covered with luxuriant vegetation.

      On extending the view a little farther inland, the frowning batteries of Santa Cruz castle, With the Brazilian banner floating above them, are seen on the right, based on a solid rock of granite, thirty feet in height, projecting westwardly from the foot of Signal Hill. Opposite to this, on the left, eastwardly of Sugarloaf cone, .another fortress is discovered, of inferior strength; while between the two, but nearest to the latter, is a little island, strongly fortified, known by the appellation of Fort Lucia, which reduces the width of the passage to about three quarters of a mile; The Sugarloaf is said to be nearly seven hundred feet in height, and every accessible spot on that side the entrance is occupied by batteries, lines, and forts, or rather bears the evidence of having thus been occupied.

      After passing all these naturally strong-holds, the harbour suddenly expands, and extends itself into a circular, or rather elliptical, inland lake, which- is sprinkled over with islands which

and surrounded by mountains rising in many ridges behind each other, like a vast natural amphitheatre. The tide rises in the harbour between four and five feet, and there is always sufficient depth of water to float vessels of the largest size.'

      The natural scenery which surrounds the harbour and city of Rio, has been frequently described, and often highly coloured by travellers. It is, indeed, beautiful to the eye; but, for our own part, we do not think that the meandering streams and gently murmuring rivulets of Brazil, pursue a more tortuous or fanciful course than those of the United States; nor can we perceive that their murmurings are, in the least degree, more "musically plaintive," or excite more tender emotions of the heart, than a creek of the Alleghany, or a small stream at the foot of the Stony Mountains, gurgling over the limestone pebbles, to pay its tributary mite to the majestic Missouri. Yet, among the objects that must arrest the attention on entering this majestic harbour, is the noble sheet of water, filling an oval basin of thirty miles in length and nearly fifteen in breadth, sufficiently capacious to contain all the fleets in the world — protected by a chain of mountains rising from its narrow mouth, and extending back, one above another, until the eye loses them amid white and fleecy clouds, which play in graceful curls around their airy summits. This view is certainly pleasing and exhilarating, and it is diversified, in many places, by cultivated spots, even to the highest elevation; while the valleys beneath are filled with the rich and rare fruits, peculiar to the tropics. The shores of this "emerald gemm'd" basin are also indented with numerous inlets, many of which are the mouths of rivulets that dash down the declivities ©f the mountains, as if eager to mingle with the tranquil waters of this great bay. Almost every eminence around it, as well as many of its islands, is crowned with a fort or a castellated parapet — a church — a convent — or a picturesque ruin.

      Although the fortifications already alluded to completely protect, by their positions, the entrance of the harbour, the whole of which is commanded from within, by works long since erected on nearly all the surrounding heights and many of the islands, but now in ruins or ill repair; still, the defence of the place is thought to depend principally on a very strong fort, on the Ilha dos Cobras, or Snake Island, directly in front and near the north angle of the city, from which it is separated only by a deep channel of moderate width. This island is a solid rock, of about nine hundred feet in length, three hundred in breadth, and, at the point where the citadel stands, eighteen feet in height. All around, and

close alongside of this strongly-fortified rock, which gradually declines, at one end, to within a few feet of the water, vessels of the largest burden may lie in perfect security. Here, also, are found wharves, dock-yards, magazines, arsenals, naval stores, a sheer-hulk, and many facilities for heaving down and careening vessels. Between Fort Lucia and the citadel is another fort, which commands the anchorage.

      The site selected for the town by the early settlers, is, perhaps, the best that could have been chosen out of many excellent ones that everywhere present themselves. The city of Rio, otherwise called St. Sebastian, is situated on the southwest side of the harbour, or basin, about four miles from its entrance, and stands on a quadrangular peninsula, or square tongue of land, extending, on an inclined plane, a short distance into the bay. The town itself, which also exhibits the form of a parallelogram, and rises between four fortified eminences, which flank it at each corner, presents a northeast aspect of the basin, whose waters wash three sides of the square promontory on which it is built On a height flanking its eastern angle is a square fort, commanding and protecting stores of light ordnance, when deposited on the point below. Between this and the north angle of the peninsula, is a beautiful quay, built of solid blocks of chiselled granite, and forming an elegant facade in front of the city, and an eligible line for musketry and light cannon, to oppose the landing of an enemy's force, in case they should get possession of the harbour. On the north angle is another conspicuous eminence, on which stands the Benedictine convent, overlooking the island Dos Cobras on its east, from which it is separated only by a deep narrow channel, as before mentioned. On this side of the peninsula, near the water's edge, is a range of storehouses, overlooked by another square fort, flanking the west angle of the city, and commanding the imperial dock-yard beyond it. On the south angle of the town is the fourth eminence alluded to, on which is built the reservoir for receiving from the great aqueduct the water which supplies the city, and of which we shall speak presently. Between the last-mentioned eminence and the waters of the basin which wash the southeast side of the peninsula, is a public garden called the Passeo Publico, which is handsomely laid out in shrubberies, lawns, walks, and parterres.

      The city is well built, most of the houses being of stone, and the whole laid out in squares, the streets crossing each other at right angles. The palace, or imperial residence, faces the water; and with the open capacious square in front of it, one entire side of which it occupies, is in full view from the anchorage. This square, which is the first object that catches the attention of strangers, is surrounded on three of its sides with, buildings, while the fourth, which is bounded and lined by the stone quay, is open to the water. On the quay itself, near its central flight of stairs, which is the principal landing-place, in front of the square, is a beautiful fountain in the form of an obelisk, constructed, like the pier, of hewn granite; and from each of its four sides is constantly ejected a stream of pure limpid water, for the use of the lower part of the town, and the shipping in the harbour,

      On advancing up the square from the landing, the visiter finds it paved with a smooth, solid surface, of the same kind of granite of which the obelisk and quay are constructed, and copiously sprinkled over with quartzose sand, which, together with the glistening mica of the Rio granite, is very trying to the eyes under the fervid rays of a tropical and sometimes vertical sun. The palace, which occupies the upper side of the square, though extensive in its dimensions, has nothing particularly magnificent in its appearance. The other public buildings, including the imperial chapel, a cathedral, churches, convents, nunneries, theatre, opera-house, &c., do not exhibit any imposing views of elegant architecture. Though originally built with much post and labour, no pains have been taken to keep them in repair. The streets are generally straight, but the most of them are narrow and dirty. The houses are commonly two stories high, with little wooden balconies in front of the upper windows, where the ladies sometimes present themselves, but not so frequently as in olden time, to throw flowers and nosegays at the foot passengers, or to listen to the nocturnal serenades of their lovers. But whether in Italy, Portugal, or Rio, latticed windows, without glass, always wear a dull and gloomy aspect to a traveller from England or the United States. The principal streets of Rio have flagged sidewalks, like those of our own cities.

      The shops are generally large and commodious, and well supplied with English goods, and various other kinds of merchandise.

      Chinese goods can also be purchased here at a reasonable rate. There are many American and English merchants in the city, who, it is said, are doing a lucrative business; the export trade being almost entirely monopolized by them. The jewellers and lapidaries are principally found in Gold-street, which is the general resort of strangers who wish to procure articles in that line.

      Although the city of Rio is the capital, and commercial emporium of the Brazilian empire, with a population of less than two hundred thousand souls, including slaves; and although it is constantly visited by merchants, traders, and travellers, from Asia, Europe, and the United States, speckling its harbours with the flags of almost every nation; yet it cannot boast of a hotel, coffee-house, inn, tavern, restaurateur, refectory, boarding-house, or any decent resort, at which strangers can procure refreshment, and a comfortable night's lodging. Comfort, indeed, even in the imperial palace, must be entirely out of the question, unless royalty enjoy some better protection from the attack of mosquitoes than the common republican curtains of network can afford; for if, by any accident, a single intruder find his way beneath the netting, wo betide the helpless sufferer within! Its rascally hum throughout the night, sometimes within a most threatening vicinity of the ear, is even worse than the puncture made in the skin with its sharp proboscis; for the latter will, at the most, but cause an irritating titillation, accompanied with a slight degree of swelling and some inflammation; but its tuneful serenade is a perpetual menace, that cannot fail to drive sleep from the pillow of one who is not drugged with poppies, or worn out with fatigue. These insects are troublesome enough in some portions of our own country, but here we console ourselves with the hope, that they will dearly pay for their temerity on the first appearance of an autumnal frost. But between the tropics they are immortal; or, at least, a new generation is constantly springing up to take the places of their progenitors; and, as with the fruits of the same climate, their existence is perennial.

      With regard to the character, manners, and habits of the Portuguese Brazilians, we are not in this place prepared to say much; for they seem determined that the eye of foreign curiosity shall never penetrate the sanctity of the domestic circle; and that strangers shall know but little of them in the private walks and

social relations of life. They are, in fact, as suspicious and jealous of foreigners as their ancestors were before them; and so politely forbidding, generally, are their manners towards visiters, that no traveller, or temporary sojourner, can penetrate the mystery of their domestic economy.

      All travellers agree in charging the Brazilians with the want of hospitably to strangers, and many futile reasons have been adduced as the cause of this peculiar trait in their national character. It is said that they were not always so; but having found their hospitality so frequently requited by ingratitude and ridicule on the part of their guests, they have of late years assumed this reserve. This explanation, however, is not satisfactory. The effect seems to be too disproportioned to the cause; and, on looking further for the solution, it is thought that it may be found . deeply rooted in their feelings and prejudices, and strongly marking their national character. Yet still, as a people, they are certainly entitled to the appellation of polite:; and many of our officers while on shore, and visiting some of their finest gardens, were very civilly treated by the owners, who not only seemed to take a pleasure in showing their visiters all that was interesting, but in treating them to fruits and flowers, which were tastefully arranged^in the gardens.

      The lower classes, however, the filthiness of whose exteriors is thought to be a correct indication of the pollutions within, are said to be revengeful in the extreme; and assassinations sometimes occur among them.. This is often the case in most countries where the protection of the church is paramount to secular power, and where offenders find, or think they find, if not sanction, at least acquittal, in the forms of their religion; and believe that clerical absolution is divine justification. In its true spirit, we know that they do not. In Rio, many of their priests are not what they ought to be, and most of them follow but slowly in the moral and scientific improvements of the age. For, often hypocrites themselves, they are prone to practise on the credulity and superstitions of their ignorant followers; and, in the support of their dominion over the minds of the lower orders, they hesitate not to commit acts, which, under laws human and divine, render the laity obnoxious to punishment. But more of this anon.

      With respect to a majority of the higher classes, persons of

rank and merchants of affluence, we might appropriately apply part of the epitaph of Lord Lyttleton —

      With them, sleeping, eating, and heartless ceremonies, consume the four-and-twenty hours; the same dull and unprofitable routine alternately succeeding with each revolving day, without variety and without pleasure. The unnatural restraint and undue seclusion imposed upon the fair sex, render the ebullitions of their heartfelt vivacity, when suffered to mingle with society, more conspicuous and more fascinating. But even in their public amusements, of which there are not many, the ladies seem to be watched with a jealous care, by husbands, fathers, or brothers; but when they venture to steal a glance at a stranger, their eloquent black eyes speak volumes of interesting matter. There is a theatre and an opera-house here; but we witnessed the performance of neither. The former, it is said, droops from a paucity of talent; and the latter, though more worthy of it, meets with but little encouragement. Concerts and balls occur occasionally, but the climate is not favourable to dancing. The Passeo Publico is frequented in the evening by small parties, to enjoy the promenade, the music, and the fireworks. But there can be but little taste for rational amusements among a people proverbially indolent, superstitious, and jealous of each other.

      The Passeo Publico affords a pleasant promenade, and contains many native plants and flowers of exquisite beauty. At the lower end of this garden is a broad terrace walk, from which the company have a delightful view of the bay and its rising shores, which are everywhere fringed with coppices. On looking south a little promontory is seen projecting into the water, on the castellated brow of which stands a monastery, and immediately beyond it an arm of the harbour, extending westwardly into the land. On extending the view further south, the beautiful eminence of Flamingo appears, covered with verdure; beyond which is another hill, on the declivity of which stands a religious edifice, called Gloria Church, and in the extreme distance are seen the Sugarloaf and Signal Hill, lifting their aspiring heads to the clouds, and

overlooking the castle Santa Cruz. At the distance of about a mile from the city, another fort is seen, emerging, as it were, from the water, and occupying a position just half way between Fort Lucia and the citadel on Dos Cobras. Still further north, on the eastern shore of the basin, appear romantic little villages, hamlets, gardens, orange-groves, and rustic cottages, without number; giving a beautifully picturesque finish to the whole picture.

      At the time of the Potomac's arrival at Rio, it being their first summer month, rains were very frequent, and the clouds hung heavy around the summits of the neighbouring mountains, giving to their spiral points, peering above this misty covering, the appearance of immense rocks suspended in the air. The city itself looked dismal and gloomy, as if to be in keeping with the manners of its inhabitants. The climate here, however, is perhaps as favourable to health, comfort, and even to longevity, as that of any other place between the tropics. Situated under the extreme edge of the celestial belt, they have the sun nearly vertical for a few weeks in December, when the heat is oppressive, particularly during the Christmas holydays, which is their midsummer. At this season a monsoon regularly sets d9wn the coast to the southwest, and refreshing seabreezes seldom fail to visit the inhabitants at about ten o'clock in the morning, invigorating them with new life and spirits.

      During all the summer months, say from October to April, they also suffer considerable inconvenience from heavy rains, to which they are seldom subject in the months of May, June, July, August, and September, when the monsoon blows in an opposite or contrary direction. Both climate and soil are favourable to the growth of wheat and other grains of the United States, together with vegetables and fruits of almost every description. Industry and enterprise are all that is necessary to render this region the garden of the world; but these are qualities seldom found beneath a tropical sky, or in any climate where all the necessaries, and many of the luxuries of life, are produced spontaneously, and where lassitude and indolence are constitutional maladies.

      The food served up at their meals is not such as would generally please a guest from the United States, the principal part of

their diet consisting of fish, vegetables, fruit, and a dish of farinha de pao, or flour of the maniota root. Almost every thing they put in their mouths is first dipped in oil, and then rolled in the flour just named, and made up into little balls in the palm of the hand. Beef, butter, cheese, and milk, are very scarce in Rio, and of very indifferent quality. Of mutton, we saw none that was good. The fertile and extensive plains of the southern provinces abound with innumerable herds of horned cattle, which are slaughtered principally for the sake of their hides, while the carcasses are left as a banquet for the tiger, panther, condor, and eagle, who share it between them. The richness of the soil renders the grasses too luxuriant, rank, and acrid, for the sustenance of sheep.

      It is believed that there are very few diseases peculiar to this part of Brazil, except such as necessarily arise in all low latitudes, from bad diet, the neglect of personal cleanliness, and the indulgence of various propensities. During the rainy seasons, however, and for a month or six weeks afterward, dysenteries and intermittent fevers are said to be prevalent. Cutaneous eruptions are common among all classes, particularly those of the lower order, and among the coloured population especially. Leprosy and elephantiasis are among the afflictions of the latter.

      But if the diet of the inhabitants of Rio be not always the most favourable to health, they enjoy one blessing which will counterbalance a thousand trivial evils, — a supply of pure and wholesome water. We have already alluded to the reservoir from which the city is supplied with this indispensable article, and which is fed by a splendid stone aqueduct, leading from the mountains, built, it is said, after the manner , of similar works in Rome. This work, which is called Arcos de Cariaco, extends across a deep valley, resting on a double tier of lofty arches, one above another, and- the water is conducted to the reservoir by a succession of stone troughs, laid on the top of this two story bridge, under an arched covering of brickwork. Each tier comprises more than forty arches, and the whole of this great work of utility is highly ornamental to the city, and reflects lasting honour on the name of Vasconcellas, the viceroy under whose administration it was constructed. All the fountains of Rio are supplied from this source; and the name of the public-spirited projector.

      Vasconcellas, is recorded on one side of the obelisk before mentioned, with an appropriate inscription in Latin.

      The Brazilian empire, of which the city of Rio Janeiro is the capita], lies on the eastern coast of South America, and spreads to the west, until it covers more than thirty degrees of longitude; its eastern extremity being on the thirty-fourth, and its western on the sixty-fifth meridian, west from Greenwich. Its extent from north to south, where it tapers off to a point, is about three thousand miles, being from latitude 4° north, to 34° south, including a debatable region called Banda Oriental, on the north side of the Rio de la Plata. The entire territory of Brazil is therefore bounded on the north by Guyana; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the south by Banda Oriental; and everywhere else by the North and South Atlantic Oceans.

      This country was first discovered by accident, in the year 1500, by the Portuguese Admiral Pierre Alvazez Cabral, who was on his way to India, via the Cape of Good Hope, with a squadron of thirteen ships, manned by twelve hundred men. In order to avoid the tedious calms and baffling winds which had so much retarded the progress of all his predecessors in running down the western coast of Africa, he made a more circuitous route, and crossed the equator several degrees farther west than any other navigator had done before him. The consequence was, a brisk southeast tradewind carried him directly to the coast of South America, in latitude about sixteen south, where he found a convenient bay, in which he could anchor his squadron with safety. To this inlet, which is some five hundred miles north of Rio Janeiro, he gave the name of Porto Seguro; and, naturally concluding that he had thus discovered a more southern part of the same continent which had but recently been made known by Columbus, he took possession of it in the name of his sovereign, under the appellation of Santa Cruz, or the Holy Cross. The mouth of the Orinoco, in latitude nine north, was the southern limit of the discoveries made by Columbus.

      The natives were at first much alarmed at this unexpected visit of the Portuguese, and incontinently fled to their hills and woods. But having secured two of their number, the admiral presented them with mirrors, brass rings, bells, and other trinkets, and then set them at liberty to rejoin their fugitive companions, whose ter-

rors were soon appeased, and their confidence restored. A mutual good understanding now prevailed between the natives and the Portuguese, who found the country to be extensive, fertile, and finely wooded, particularly with that valuable species now known by the name of Brazil wood. Cabral immediately despatched one of his vessels back to Portugal to communicate the news of his discovery, and then proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, and to his original destination.

      Don Emanuel, the King of Portugal, immediately sent out ships to explore the coasts of this new country, and to plant colonies in several places, for the avowed purpose of converting the natives to the Christian faith. These new settlements, however, soon dwindled away, and were finally broken up. The zealous monarch, still anxiously solicitous for the salvation of the heathen, and willing to relieve them of some of the mineral treasures with which it was expected their country abounded, hit upon a new plan of colonization. He decreed that all convicted felons under sentence of death, should be banished thither — all who were obnoxious to the Holy Inquisition — all who were suspected of heresy, sorcery, witchcraft, and, above all, of Judaism; — in short, all the outcasts and dregs of society, were doomed to perpetual exile on the shores of Brazil. To the Jews, indeed, banishment was a welcome sanctuary from the injustice and rapacity they constantly experienced at home; and neither they nor their companions in exile had any reason to complain of the arrangement. To all of them, emigration was emancipation from tyranny and oppression. *

      As these new settlers treated the natives kindly, they were well received, and soon found their situation much improved. The fame of the new colony, as being productive of excellent sugar,and several other valuable articles, gradually attracted to its coast many adventurers from Portugal and elsewhere, and several settlements were soon formed in its vicinity. So rapidly did it increase under the good management of these banished outlaws, these dregs of humanity, as they were considered, that in less than fifty years from its commencement, the mother country began to yearn with tenderness towards her transatlantic children, and she at length resolved to take them under her own protection, and into tier own especial keeping. For this purpose, Thomas de Sousa

was sent over to superintend the colony as governor-genera] to make war upon the hospitable and unoffending Indians, in order to reduce them at once to slavery and the true faith; and to compel them to cultivate the ground for the colonists, on such terms as he chose to dictate.

      This outrageous course of conduct, as might naturally have been expected, quickly roused the free independent spirit of the natives, whose courage and numbers would have soon swept the intruders from their soil, had it not been for the interference of some Jesuit missionaries, who had already acquired great influence over the Indians near the coast, whom they endeavoured to persuade to accede to terms of reconciliation with the colonists. Some consented, and thus became subservient to their invaders; but the great mass of the original population, having lost confidence in their double-dealing neighbours, refused to hold any further intercourse with such monsters of injustice, but indignantly retired into the interior, resolved, as afterward did the Araucanians on the western side of the same continent, to maintain their independence at all hazards. Thus failing in the nefarious attempt to make slaves of the natives, and being too indolent to perform their own agricultural labours, they turned their eyes towards ill-fated Africa, and were the first to commence that horrible traffic in human flesh, which, for three hundred years since, has been the disgrace of humanity!

      The proscribed outlaws who formed the nucleus of this colony, which has since grown to a mighty empire, and is now an independent nation, originally seated themselves at Porto Seguro, from whence they gradually extended themselves to Bahia de Todas Santos, or the Bay of All Saints, in latitude 13° 13' south, longitude 38° 24' west, where they founded, the city of St. Salvador. Here, for many years, was the seat of the colonial; government, and the emporium of Brazilian commerce; the principal articles of importation being African slaves, twenty thousand of which were, but a few years ago, imported annually into the different ports of Brazil

      Fifteen years after Cabral's first landing in Brazil, during which period the Portuguese navigators had explored a great portion of the Southern American coast north of the La Plata, the harbour of, Rio Janeiro was first discovered by Solis. This hap-

pened, on the first day of January, being the feast of St. Januarius. In honour of the day, he conferred the saint's name on those waters which had hitherto remained concealed from every eye but those of the natives; who, as before stated, had given to this tranquil basin the significant appellation of Hidden Water. A thriving colony, in due course of time, surrounded the safe and capacious harbour, on the banks of which a city was founded, which grew rapidly in wealth and splendour.

      Still, however, for a long period, the seat of government and of commerce remained at Bahia de Todas Santos; which, though one of the smallest provinces of Brazil, was yet one of the most fertile, populous, and luxuriant; St. Salvador would probably have still been the capital of the empire, but for the fortuitous (we will not say fortunate) discovery of the rich gold and diamond mines within three hundred miles of Rio Janeiro, which gave a decided preponderance to the latter. The viceroy removed thither, and Rio became the seat of government. It now grew more rapidly; and had it not been for the unjust and impolitic restrictions of the mother country, it would have still increased in trade, industry, and opulence, and in time become one of the largest and most wealthy cities of the world. But Portugal thought to retain her colonies by oppressing them. So thought England, thirty years before her. Both of these acted under this impression, and both of them lost the brightest jewels of their crowns.

      For a commercial city, a better location can scarcely be imagined; surrounded as it is by a country, whose natural capacities and resources are equal to the highest expectations. The harbour, as we have stated, is among the best on the whole surface of the globe. Vessels are never detained in the offing,- as the regular tradewinds facilitate their entrance; while the land breezes of the morning favour their standing out from the anchorage; nor is a pilot needed, as seven fathoms is the shoalest water in the entrance to the harbour. The facilities for watering vessels are great, while provisions of all kinds may be had in abundance. But with all its natural advantages, capabilities, and resources, Rio still drooped wider the mistaken policy of the mother country, until one political event gave it a fresh impulse, and a new start on the race-course of commercial prosperity.

      The event here alluded to, which proved indirectly and inci-

dentally the very means which enabled Brazil to assume the standing which, at this early period of her political existence, she now holds among the nations of the earth, was the removal of the royal family and court from the capital of Portugal to the shores of America, The people, delighted at any change which might improve the condition of their country, and especially- one that raised them from a colony to a kingdom, received the royal emigrants with a respect bordering on adoration. This event took place in the year 1803, and the city of Rio Janeiro was determined on as the seat of government and the location of the royal court. From this period, Brazil improved with almost unparalleled rapidity; for with the court came numerous wealthy and respectable families, together with numberless merchants and artisans of all descriptions. The face of the whole country changed, and Rio began to assume the appearance of a city; Portugal gradually becoming the colony, and Brazil assuming the functions of a mother country.

      Indeed, the necessary consequence of the removal of the court from Portugal, was that of the whole importance of the country going with it; while the disturbances of Europe also contributed to advance this new state of things in Brazil, whose ports were open to receive emigrants and imports from every part of the world. Rio was made a free port, and the whole coast was opened to foreign commerce. Vessels of all nations flocked to her ports; mercantile houses were established; trade went on" briskly; and a few more years of such a wise and liberal policy must have made the country rich indeed.

      But disturbances broke out. The Brazilians, dissatisfied, became jealous of the strangers, as they now regarded the royal family. Quarrels ensued, difficulties were created, and the old and weak monarch, Don John, who had left Europe to seek quiet in his colonies, was now compelled reluctantly to return.And thus, in the year 1823, the king embarked for Lisbon with all his family, except Don Pedro, his son, who was left as regent. The latter, however, Was soon recalled by his father, which determined the Brazilians to shake off the yoke of Portugal altogether. To the wishes of his father, Don Pedro had promised implicit obedience. On several occasions, however, he had been suspected of creating disturbances,- although he always had the

address to remove these impressions, and again to establish himself in favour.

      He now, however, went with the people, and declared himself in favour of the disaffected Brazilians. The yoke of provincialism was shaken off; Brazil was declared free and independent. A new form of government was established, under the title of "Empire of Brazil," of which Don Pedro was declared emperor and perpetual defender; the country became quiet; commerce flourished; emigration increased; good faith was restored; and every thing seemed to promise a bright and prosperous future.

      Unfortunately, this state of things was not allowed to continue. A war broke out about this time, between Brazil and Buenos Ayres. The question in dispute was that tract of country bordering on the La Plata, and known by the name of Banda Oriental. A war of three years was the consequence, which reduced and deranged the finances of the country, and added nothing to the credit of the Brazilian arms; but, on the contrary, had the tendency to betray her weakness, and the folly of her ruler. Finally, the war was terminated by a treaty, declaring the Banda Oriental an independent province for the term of five years, after which the inhabitants should be left free to unite with either of the contending powers.

      This termination of the war displeased the Brazilians, and doubtless gave impulse to the dislike which at this time began to manifest itself towards the emperor. But no one could have supposed that, in the short space of two years, Don Pedro would be compelled to abdicate his throne in favour of his infant son. Such, however, was the case. The ministry became unpopular, and the emperor was requested to change it. This he refused to do; when the bold language was used, that "the ministry must be changed, or himself leave the throne."

      It was now evident that the imperial days of Brazil were numbered; and as he daily saw the royal authority falling into disrepute, he determined to abdicate the throne in favour of his infant son, only five years of age. This happened in the year 1831; and he immediately embarked in an English seventy-four, bearing with him the whole resources of the treasury, and all the moveable wealth of the country, together with the hatred and curses of his former subjects.

      For several months after his departure, the country Was in a most unsettled state. Commerce came to a stand; confidence Was again destroyed; revolts took place daily; and quiet and security seemed banished from the land. The regency was put into the hands of General Lima and the Marquis of Barbecina, while great efforts were made for the restoration of peace and tranquillity, A new form of government was again discussed; and, after some time, public affairs seemed gradually to assume a more favourable appearance.

      Still, however, at the period of the Potomac's arrival at Rio, the Brazilian government could not be said to be in a settled or tranquil condition, and many disorders in the state seemed to threaten other and still greater changes. But a short time had elapsed since a number of convicts joined with a party of disbanded soldiers, to the number of about three hundred, the greater part of whom were negroes. This rabble had the temerity to fire upon the city, from a small island of which they had obtained possession, and directed their shots from six and nine pounders towards the palace square, to the manifest annoyance of those loyal subjects of the empire who were promenading very leisurely this beautiful area. A volunteer corps was soon formed, consisting principally of citizens, by whom the insurgents' works were stormed, and the greater part of them made prisoners.

      A national guard of citizens, of about five thousand men, has been recently formed. They have an appropriate uniform, and nothing was more common than to see respectable citizens doing the duty of vigilant sentinels at the numerous posts throughout the city — marching and countermarching, and suffering a fatigue which evinced how much they were ready to encounter before they would again submit to the yoke which Don Pedro had so very obligingly taken under his arm, and with which he had departed.

      Liberal principles are certainly on a rapid advance in Brazil; and bigoted opinions, both in politics and religion, which have been handed down from their forefathers, and which are inseparable from despotism, are being fast exploded from among the laity. The clergy, as before intimated, are far behind, the age they live in, as respects moral or scientific improvement. They were originally sent over here for the avowed object of converting the native In-

dians to the Christian faith; and for this purpose they have been plentifully provided with churches, convents, and colleges, all amply endowed by the government of the mother country from coffers which were supplied from the colony itself; the bowels of whose territory were teeming with treasures, which they were forbid to touch on pain of death. But whatever might have been the zeal and fidelity of their predecessors, a portion of the members of the clerical body now resident at Rio, evidently prefer the ease and luxury of a monastic life, to the labours and privations attending the office of a missionary. If a native should come to them and pay for a prayer or a shrift, he would no doubt be accommodated. But they have no idea of carrying out such precious goods to scatter gratis in the wilderness!

      In alluding to the subject in a former part of this chapter, we intimated that they often winked at transgressions of the lower orders, most of whom are said to be very revengeful. As an illustration of that remark, we shall here record the following incident which occurred at Rio, and was related to us by an eyewitness of the facts. A murder was committed under circumstances peculiarly aggravating. The assassin, closely pursued by the relatives of the deceased and the officers of justice, sought shelter from the threatening arm of the civil law beneath what proved, at least in this instance, the more powerful arm of the ecclesiastical law. Having attained the sanctuary which is ever found beneath the vaulted roof of a religious edifice, the murderer, his hands still reeking with blood, kneeled and most piously invoked the protection of the saint to whom the church had been dedicated. As a matter of superstition, the pursuit was abandoned for the moment; which allowed the culprit time to make his escape, after paying the priest, the immediate representative and accounting agent of the saint to whom the church belonged, the amount exacted for his protection, and the preservation of his life.

      Indeed, the influence which such drones in the community exercise over the poorer orders of the flock, is almost incredible. Their deceptions and religious exactions, and the ingenious methods frequently adopted to carry on their systems of extortion, are often amusing, and always instructive, as affording to the curious sufficient data, within a very short compass, from which to draw a

fair estimate of the true moral and religious condition of this portion of the community.

      We cannot refrain from recounting one of these scenes, which took place in the same city. Walking with a friend, in rather a remote part of the town, our attention was attracted by the approach of two clerical personages. One of them was seated on a fine charger, that would not have disgraced the rich valleys of Andalusia, and the other on a sleek mule! And yet they were both mendicants, as could readily be perceived from the baskets of the one, and the alforjas (saddle-bags) of the other. As they approached leisurely along, keeping a "bright lookout "on either side, we asked an old woman, who was seated near the door of her humble rancho, who they were? "Signiors," said she, "they are of the church of St. Augustine, dispensing grace to poor sinners." They had by this time passed us at a short distance, and we began to despair of witnessing any of this singular dispensation. Just as they approached the termination of the street, we saw a woman, about the middle age, rush from her hovel, nearly opposite to where we were, standing and calling out to them vehemently, "Stop! stop! and give me a little grace!

      The horse and mule were brought to a stand, while we followed close to the woman, who now approached the man on horseback, hurrying along with her a child of perhaps ten years of age, sallow, and evidently in extremely bad health. We now saw that within the basket was a waxen image of the Virgin, having in her arms another waxen image of the infant Saviour.

      The poor woman insisted upon having some grace, "without money and without price," for the benefit of her sick child, in consideration of not having a single copper, and having never failed to pay the priest, for whom he was selling grace, punctually for confessing her. He was, however, inexorable; and would have gone off had the poor woman not implored him to wait for another moment, to see if she could procure any thing with which to buy a little grace for her sick child; and stepping into a neighbouring hut, returned with a single egg. When the egg was deposited in the basket, in despite of frowning, we took a look within, where were to be seen, carefully deposited in their proper places, some fowls ready for the spit, eggs, vegetables, &c. All was fish, it appeared, which came to this net. The

child was raised up, and imprinted upon the feet of the saint a feeble kiss; and the saintly one moved on, seeking farther "whom he might devour."

      We felt for a moment as though we could have cut off the fellow's ears, together with those of his employer; and he looked at us as if he could have willingly served us in the same manner.

      There may be those who will deem the relation of this incident an attack on the Roman Catholic religion; but, gentle reader, it is not so intended; no, not even as we find that religion in the Brazilian empire. We have travelled some in Catholic countries, and shall have something to say on the moral and religious condition of these countries in another place, perhaps in another volume. We shall state abuses where we have seen them, fearlessly, independently; but, if we shall trace the causes of these abuses to sources different from many writers, it is because we have seen differently. Yet in these days, even the abuses of religion cannot always be adverted to with safety, or its professors named, unless it be indiscriminately to praise. Of this timeserving timidity we have none; believing that there is much truth in the appropriate language of the poet who has said —

      On no subject have we heard such contrariety of opinions, as in relation to the population of Rio; the various estimates not agreeing with each other by one hundred thousand. We will also give our opinion. The city of Rio has been divided into seven parishes; and it has, of late, been ascertained with considerable accuracy that each of these sections contains, on an average, twenty thousand inhabitants, giving an aggregate of one hundred and forty thousand souls; and allowing for slaves whose masters did not give them in, from fear of taxation or some other motive, we may say, with the utmost confidence, that Rio does not contain less than the number just stated, nor more than one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants.

      Whatever may be the condition of the slaves in' the interior provinces of Brazil, they do not seem in general to be cruelly treated in Rio, and we saw but few instances in which they seemed to be overworked. In fact, from our own observations we are inclined to believe, that the Brazilian slaves, generally speaking, need not wish to exchange places with those of any other country in the world. The master requires of them only four days' labour in the week; on the other two workingdays they must labour for themselves, to earn their own food and raiment for the week; and so little do the latter cost, that in the course of a few years they frequently lay by a sufficient sum to purchase their own freedom. The human frame feels fewer wants, and consequently is not exposed to so many evils, in a warm as in a cold climate. The general abundance of fruits within the tropics, and the limited necessity for clothes and winter quarters, tend greatly to ameliorate the condition of slaves in warm countries like Brazil. In and about Rio, they appear to be cheerful and happy.

      Previous to taking leave of Brazil for the present (as our second visit to Rio will be found in a subsequent part of this narrative), it may be expected that we should say something of the natural productions of this part of South America. In doing so, we shall at this time confine ourselves to such only as came under our own immediate observation. Almost every traveller has so enlarged upon this theme, that there is little of novelty to be exhibited.

      Among the most useful vegetable productions which a beneficent Providence has wisely caused to abound in every tropical region, are the banana, the plantain, the cocoanut, and the breadfruit-tree. The three last named are, perhaps, more peculiar to the islands of the Pacific than to either continent; but the first is unquestionably the most useful and important production of Brazil. A single banana daily, has been known to sustain the life of an individual for months. The fruit is from ten to twelve inches in length, ana ' about two in diameter; at first green, and afterward of a pale yellow. They are generally cut, for use before they are fully ripe; the green envelope is then peeled off, and the fruit roasted, forming an excellent substitute for bread. The negroes live almost entirely upon them, and they likewise serve to fatten all domestic animals. Every part of the tree,

which grows to the height of from fifteen to twenty feet, is converted to some useful purpose; fans, for instance, being made of the leaves. There are two kinds of this fruit cultivated at Rio; one, Small and sweet, the other somewhat larger, and of coarser grains. The tree bears in a few months after being planted; and, as before intimated, the quantity of nutriment in the fruit is very considerable.

      Next to this, in quality, quantity, and importance, is the Brazilian orange, of which there are several varieties; and the orchards or groves in which they are cultivated are replete with beauty and redolent of fragrance. Pineapples, in their season, are extremely plentiful. The custard-apple, the guava, the fruit of the passion-flower, and the rich pulpy tamarind, are also very abundant, and of delicious flavour. The cashewnut, so well known in Jamaica and Barbadoes, abounds in Brazil, and yields a juice which is easily converted into a pleasant wine. The cocoanut-tree, which flourishes luxuriantly on the very margin of the sea, often exceeds the height of fifty feet, with leaves or branches from twelve to fourteen feet in length. Its fruit is delicious, and too well known to require a description. Besides these just enumerated, are melons of all kinds, mangoes, and many different species of northern fruits, which are cultivated with much success. Cabbages, yams, sweet potatoes, brinjals, peas, and cucumbers, are plentiful, and grow very rapidly.

      In addition to these, wheat, barley, guinea-corn, millet, rice, coffee, sugar, manhiot, pepper, honey, wax, tobacco, cotton, and hemp, may be raised in any quantity, and of superior quality. Of die-stuffs, there are logwood, redwood, fustic, indigo, cochineal, and a variety of others; and of drugs, Peruvian bark, jalap, ipecacuanha, the Palma Christi, &c. In short, medical and odoriferous shrubs are without number. Timber of the finest quality, suitable for civil or naval architecture, is apparently inexhaustible. Satinwood, rosewood, and several other precious sorts, suitable for ornamental cabinet-work, are found in all the forests. Flowers of the most beautiful teints and delicious fragrance, surround the traveller on every side, whether he be on the open plain or the mountain — in the secluded vale, or beneath the umbrageous canopy of the forest. In one word, the vegetable riches of Brazil are, perhaps, unequalled in any section of the

globe; and though they cannot, of course, claim the same intrinsic value, they are infinitely more various, more beautiful to the eye, and of more real utility to the nation, than the glittering productions of boasted mines, —

      Of natural productions in the animal kingdom, Brazil can doubtless boast her share, though of far less variety than is found on the opposite continent. Their horses are mostly brought from the south, descendants of the wild herds which roam in a state of unrestrained freedom over the extensive pampas or prairies of Argentine and Patagonia. The original stock, it is said, was brought from Europe, at an early period of the discovery, together with that of the black cattle which now overrun the more southern regions of the continent. Among the wild animals, the largest is probably the tapir, or land hippopotamus; but the most formidable is the jaguar, or South American tiger, which seldom, however, approaches the haunts of man. Sloths and wild dogs are numerous, besides several species of quadrupeds that burrow in the earth. Among the latter is the seven-banded, armadillo, a curious little animal, well known in all our museums, and other depositories of natural history; having the snout of a pig, the tail of a lizard, and the feet of a hedgehog. He is armed with a coat of impenetrable scales, burrows in the earth during the daytime, and sometimes grows to the length of three feet. The Brazilians use it as an article of food, the flesh being white, tender, and well tasted. Bats are numerous, of a large size, and very sanguinary, The blood of cattle is their favourite food, on which, at night, they take the liberty to banquet, without invitation or license.

      Of the feathered tribe, Brazil can count great numbers, and many varieties. The great imperial condor of Peru is sometimes seen descending on her plains, to prey upon the fragments of the jaguar's meal, or to bear away some living quadruped to his aerial retreat on the highest pinnacle of the Andes. The royal eagle, and the bandit vulture, make similar and more frequent incursions; while fowls and birds of various descriptions

pursue their instinctive habits as nature dictates. The smaller tribes are numerous, and are more distinguished for brilliancy of plumage than for sweetness of melody. Many varieties of parrots and paroquets are found in the woods, and the orange gardens are peopled with hummingbirds.

      Of reptiles and insects peculiar to Brazil, the enumeration would be endless. Venomous snakes, together with toads and spiders of enormous magnitude, exist in formidable numbers; as also do scorpions, centipedes, scalopendras, &c. But the greatest pest of all is the ant, whose numbers are literally infinite, and whose depredations are so serious, that villages and hamlets have been nearly undermined by them. Mosquitoes, as we have seen and felt, are also numerous, and intolerably annoying; but the butterflies are beautiful beyond description, and of great variety.

      With these brief, excursive, and somewhat desultory remarks, we will now return to the Potomac, on whose busy decks every preparation was on foot for resuming her course to the "far east." Wood, water, and other requisites for so long a voyage, were daily being received on board, where every thing presented diligence, activity, and order.

      Nearly a fortnight had elapsed since the Potomac first came to anchor in the harbour of Rio, when her officers, in return for the civilities which they had received from a number of ladies and gentlemen on shore, determined to get up a fête for their entertainment on board the frigate. During her passage from New-York, some encouragement had been given to the men in favour of forming a small Thespian corps, which might afford occasional amusement during the long cruise of circumnavigating the globe. To many, it might appear difficult to procure proper materials for such a company among a crew of hardy sailors. But such is not the fact. On board of a man-of-war of the, size of the Potomac, there are perhaps more men of different avocations, than in any village of even twice the number of inhabitants. Indeed, when we consider that the crew of such a ship is mostly composed of persons who, from desperate circumstances, a roving inclination, or from a desire to see the world, as they term it, enlist in such an expedition, it is not to be wondered that they comprise men of almost every attainment. The profession of an actor is always one of doubtful success. Even with the most gifted

genius, years of toil and repeated efforts are necessary to attain eminence. In the many attempts some must fail, and are thrown out of the vocation by dissipation, and find themselves from necessity on board a man-of-war. On board the Potomac there were one or two rather above mediocrity; who, being well qualified to take the management, as a matter of course, entered into the subject with great spirit.

      On Saturday, the twenty-ninth of October, the theatre was rigged on the quarterdeck, and invitations were sent on shore, to the ladies and gentlemen with whom the officers had become acquainted; and, among these, several natives of the country. The piece selected for the evening had been frequently rehearsed; and, as the performers improved and acquired confidence in every new attempt, it was hoped that the evening's amusement would pass off well. At eight o'clock, the deck was thronged with the officers of the Warren and Lexington, the former having just arrived. It was indeed pleasant to meet thus, on a foreign station, so many acquaintances and former shipmates; and memory, active in the reminiscences of other days and bygone times, brought up incidents again to be talked over and enjoyed anew. ,

      But our brightest anticipations are often subject to disappointment, and the sunny smile of beauty was doomed to be lacking on this occasion. The weather suddenly changed, the heavens became overcast, and the prospect of the attendance of the ladies from on shore every moment grew more faint. The performance was finally opened without them; but still it contributed greatly to the amusement of all who were present.

      Matters, however, were not allowed to terminate thus. Another evening was set apart for the purpose; the theatre was again opened; and all who had not been able to attend on the preceding evening, were now present. The performance went off with spirit; a dance followed, and the ladies and gentlemen from the city seemed much pleased with their visit on board, and the entertainments prepared for the occasion. But the time had now come for the Potomac to depart, and pursue the objects of her destination.

CHAPTER IV.

      On Saturday, the fifth of November, the stores of the Potomac having been completely replenished, and time not permitting longer delay, orders were given to get under way early in the morning. The anchor was weighed at daylight; but as the breeze continued light and baffling, the harbour was not cleared until late in the forenoon.

      In addition to the boats of the Potomac, which were sent ahead to tow the ship, others from the several men-of-war in the harbour were sent to proffer their assistance; and among these, one from his Britannic Majesty's frigate Druid. Her commander, Captain Hamilton, has been long known in naval life, in which he ranks high for nautical skill, and for his urbanity of manners and gentlemanly deportment.

      The bows of the Potomac were now laid close to the wind, to the east; and conjecture, even among the crew, as to her destination, seemed at an end. The Cape of Good Hope, Sumatra, East Indies, and round the world, to South America, were in the mouth of every one; while the prospect of passing through new scenes, and encountering new adventures, a little out of the beaten track, gave rise to feelings which seemed to pervade and animate all on board.

      A passage from Rio Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope, however, over a track of ocean which has for centuries been the common highway of nations, cannot be expected to abound with novelty or interest. The logbook tells of continued headwinds — irregular head and cross seas — and, south of latitude 29°, of falling in with whale-ships, and every day encountering the right, or black whale, so called in contradistinction to the spermaceti whale, which is so much more highly prized, on account of its

yielding the valuable article from which its name is derived. But, so changeable are the scenes of a sailor's life, so fickle and treacherous the elements above and beneath him, that even this passage was not without its soul-touching and heart-thrilling incidents, embracing in their extremes, and in the highest possible degree, the essential qualities of the beautiful and the sublime.

      There are but few, perhaps, who have not experienced and felt the charms of evening, as the last golden beams of the setting sun cast a milder glow of mellowing light and shade on all around. It is not romance: — there is a high-wrought sympathy — a pure and holy feeling, which often passes over the mind in contemplation of such a scene. We had enjoyed it on shore; but never dreamed that the ocean-tossed mariner was favoured with aught so lovely. It was an evening when the troubled waters of the ocean had not wholly subsided from the effects produced by a heavy blow of several days. The sun was slowly declining in the west, making his passage through numerous silvery and golden clouds, which threw upon a bank of other dark vapours which were still hovering in the east, an appearance not unlike billows of fire, undulating like the sea beneath them.

      To the north and to the south rose masses of beautiful clouds of snowy whiteness, whose upper edges were tinged with gold; these changing into every form above, while the dark red tinge upon the water, or sparkling sea beneath, presented, altogether, a picture so beautiful, that language has not power to describe it; nor could the pencil command sufficiently varied colours, though dipped in the teints of the rainbow, and touched by the hand of a Raphael, to delineate the scene, or impart its beauties to the glowing canvass. None will call this language too strong except such as have not seen, and of course cannot appreciate, the grandeur of ocean's landscape, upon which the oldest and roughest sailor cannot look without a brighter countenance, and a silent but heartfelt acknowledgment of that Being "who stretcheth out the firmament, and holdeth the ocean in the hollow of his hand!"

      In approaching the Cape of Good Hope, but more frequently to the south and east of that promontory, navigators have often to encounter storms from the northward, which rage with great violence. With these winds, the sea always runs high, and one of the most dangerous features in the character of such gales, is the sudden, and often instantaneous, change which occurs from the wind breaking out, with equal or even augmented fury, from another and nearly opposite quarter. The experienced navigator of these seas, therefore, always keeps a bright lookout during the prevalence of such gales, to the southwest. However strong the squall may be raging, however rough the sea may be rolling, or copiously the rain may be falling, yet, a bright spot in the west, or southwest, is a sure indication of a sudden change of wind.

      It was on Tuesday, the fifteenth of November, in latitude 34° south, and longitude 30° east. The morning opened with strong gales from the northwest, which increased in violence until the afternoon. Sail after sail was taken in, or reefed, until the Potomac wore little else than a storm dress. The sea was exceedingly high, rough, and unpleasant; and the ship rolled and laboured heavily. The white spot was seen in the south, but experience alone could tell the power it contained. In an instant the gale from the north "let go its hold;" the little canvass that remained spread flapped loosely on the yards; and, ere there was time for thought or action, a gale from the southwest struck the vessel with such power, and with a change so sudden, that it required the utmost exertion, of professional skill to prepare her to meet the fierce encounter.

      The high and combing waves, running quick from the northeast, thus met and arrested in their course by*violent gusts from the southwest, created upon the whole extent of the ocean's, surface, at least as far as the eye could reach, sheets of flying foam, as the water was carried from the cap of each rolling billow in masses to leeward. This sudden encounter of the

winds and the waves caused the latter to mount up into vast and moving pyramids of angry foam.

      It is in such a moment as this that the profession of a sailor becomes really sublime! It is a contest for mastery between the elements and the intellectual daring of man! At such a moment all hands are called; and, fore and aft- — from the fore, main, and mizzentops — each officer and sailor stands in deathlike silence, to receive and execute whatever orders the commander in a low and subdued tone, through the officer of the deck, may see fit to give. He is the master-spirit whose coolness, experience, and intellectual energies alone can control the demon of the tempest.

      On the present occasion, every requisite order had been given, and each of them had been executed with a prompt and fearless obedience. The gallant Potomac, recovering from the unexpected shock she had received in the sudden change of the wind, and raising herself with a graceful majesty from the sullen and involuntary obeisance which she had paid to the blast, began to obey the impulse of her helm, when the appalling and terrific cry of "a man overboard!" resounded fore and aft.

      The usual orders in such an emergency are — "Hard down the; helm! Cut away the life-buoy! and stand by to lower the lifeboat!" which is always suspended from the ship's quarters, with suitable and appropriate lashings. But the commodore very properly hesitated to give such orders on the present occasion; for it was but too evident that no boat could live, for a single moment, among the turbulent billows which were beating round and climbing up the sides of the frigate. The feeling that pervades one at such a crisis is painfully intense; — we know of no excitement on shore that can possibly be compared with it. It is in such emergencies that the thorough-bred sailor exhibits traits of character which should cover a multitude of sins. The fury of the storm — the tempest-tost ocean — the certainty of death before them, could not restrain the generous impetuosity of the crew. They had gathered en masse on the ship's quarter, with hands upon the ratlins, ready to leap into the boats on either side, to rescue a shipmate from destruction, or share with him a watery grave.

      The suspense, which had now become insufferable, was soon relieved by the cheerful exclamation from the larboard gangway, of "there he is! there he is!" and the man was borne aft as one snatched from the very portals of death. It appears that he had been sent into the forechains, to clear ,the foresheet, as the sudden change of wind came on; and the ship rolling at the time very deep, he was washed from thence into the sea. Fortunately, he had done his work so well, by overhauling the sheet, that a bite had fallen near the water; so that when the ship rolled again towards him he succeeded in seizing it, and but a moment elapsed before the welcome exclamation of "here he is! here he is!" relieved the feelings of all.

      On the sixth of December, land was seen; and, before night, made out to be Table Mountain. On the following day, after a passage of thirty-one days from Rio, the Potomac came safely to anchor at Cape Town, near the southern extremity of the African continent, which stretches out into the sea, as if to interrupt all further progress to the east. The breeze, which had promised an anchorage on the evening of the preceding day, had died away with the setting sun; and during the night, the restless clouds flitting swiftly in different directions, indicated that the spirit of the tempest still resided in the neighbourhood of the cape. On the same afternoon salutes were exchanged between the Potomac and the fort on shore, and all hands seemed much delighted with their arrival once more in port.

      The peninsula of the Cape of Good Hope is a mountainous ridge, stretching nearly north and south for fifty or sixty miles, and connected on the east side, and near its northern extremity, with the main body of Africa, by a flat, sandy isthmus about ten miles broad, having Table Bay on the north of it, and False Bay on the south. The southern extremity of this peninsula, extending into the sea, with False Bay on the east, and the ocean on the south and west, is properly the "Cape of Good Hope," and is nearly the most southern point of Africa. We say nearly, because after doubling the cape from the Atlantic, the coast is found to incline southeasterly for about one hundred miles, when it suddenly changes to a northeasterly direction. The most southerly point of Africa is, therefore, a projection of the coast called Cape Agullus, extending a few leagues further into the Indian Ocean

than the Cape of Good Hope itself, being in latitude 34° 40' south, longitude 18° 26' east; whereas the latter is in latitude 34° 20' south, longitude 20° 20' east. At this point, the chain of mountains which forms the peninsula, though rugged, is lower than it is at the northern end, where it is terminated by Table Mountain and two others, which form an amphitheatre overlooking Table Bay, and opening at the north like the bay itself. The ridges of the mountains extending from the cape to the termination of the peninsula on the north vary in shape, but the most frequent forms incline more or less to sharp conical points. The three mountains that terminate the peninsula on the north are, the Table Mountain in the middle; the Lion's Head, sometimes called the Sugarloaf, on the west side; and the Devil's Peak on the east. The Lion's Head, which is about 2160 feet above the level of the sea, is separated from Table Mountain by a valley that descends to the depth of? 500 or 2000 feet below the summit of Table Mountain, which is itself 3582 feet above the level of the sea. On the west of the Lion's Head there is a lower eminence, named the Lion's Rump, 1142 feet high, from which the ground gradually declines to the sea. The amphitheatre formed by these three mountains is about five or six miles in diameter, in the centre of which is placed Cape Town, before which the gallant Potomac now lay safely moored, sheltered from every annoying blast that might, at this season of the year, threaten to disturb the placidity of her repose. Between May and October, this remark would not be applicable.

      On the arrival of vessels in Table Bay, as in most other places, a proper anchorage is pointed out for them by the captain of the port. When discharging their cargoes, they are to be moored as near the jetty as safety will permit. Vessels touching for refreshments are allowed to ride at single anchor, with a long scope of ninety fathoms of chain, as they run less risk of parting or fouling. It is recommended that ships be kept as snug as possible, to counteract the effect of periodical winds, which at times blow with considerable violence. Too much praise cannot be bestowed upon the local authorities for the wise measures they have adopted to counteract the occasional violence of the winds, sudden and destructive in their effects. Certain signals have been adopted by the postoffice, from which vessels in port may receive timely

warning of the approach of winds, as indicated by the barometer; and long and careful observations and experience have left no room to doubt the correctness of these observations.

      Though these regulations, in a commercial point of view, cannot be of much moment to us, yet they are interesting; and as our vessels are in all seas and climes, chance may render them valuable to our own flag.

      While in Table Bay, all vessels are strongly enjoined to observe the following signals from the postoffice, founded on unerring barometrical observations; —

      "Union Jack, over white pierced blue, — Veer to a whole cable,

      "Union Jack, over blue white, blue, — Strike lower yards and topmasts, and rig in jibboom."

      Through the same office, it is arranged, that vessels can make their wants known in rough and stormy weather; when any assistance required will be strictly attended to, so far as is practicable. A vessel not supplied with Maryott's code of signals, may communicate in the following manner with her ensign: —

      "1st. Ensign in the foretopmast rigging, — I am in want of a cable,

      "2d. Ensign in the maintopmast rigging, — I am in want of an anchor.

      "3d. Ensign in fore rigging,- — I have parted a bower cable.

      "4th. Ensign in main rigging, — J am in want of cable and anchor.

      "5th. White, where best seen, — I am in want of a boat."

      To enter Table Bay at night, from the north, and meaning to pass north of Robben Island, a ship should keep the light eastward of south nine degrees east, or about south-by-east, until she gets soundings under twenty fathoms, at a little more than a mile from the lighthouse. She may then steer E. S. E., or E. by S., not to come under ten fathoms, until the light bears W. S. W. She may then steer for the anchorage, and anchor as soon as the lights are shutting in behind the Lion's Tail. This track leads almost a mile clear of danger, on Green Point; but a ship need not approach so near, if she have, by seeing Robben Island, ascertained by its bearings that she is clear of rocks, in which case she may round it at a greater distance from Green Point if desirable, but the soundings in that case will not be a safe guide.

      In coming from the southwest, a ship should not get less than forty fathoms before the light bears southeast, or east-southeast, nor less than twenty fathoms before it bears south-by-east; when the preceding directions may be followed. From the north, inside of Robben Island, the light should be kept about southwest-by-south, until the ship has passed that island, in doing which she may have in some cases from six to eight fathoms; and when on that course the water deepens to eleven or twelve fathoms, she may steer for the anchorage by the plan as before stated.

      On beating around Green Point, a ship should never shoal her water under eleven or twelve fathoms, until she has brought the light to bear west-southwest, as before directed.

      In beating between Robben Island and the main, to enter Table ' Bay, the soundings may be taken from the island, as it shoals very regularly. In standing towards the main, it appears prudent to look at the first cast of the lead after the water shoals, and in all cases it is taken for granted that a vessel will keep her lead agoing. By day, or when the shore or surf can be seen, or indeed under any circumstances, the plan ought to be a sufficient guide.

      Europe was totally unacquainted with this country, and even ignorant of its existence, anterior to the year 1493, when it was discovered by Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese navigator, who, under the immediate auspices of his sovereign, John II., had extended the Portuguese discoveries along the whole western coast of Africa. When near the southern extremity of the continent, he was driven out of sight of land, and hurried by a violent storm far into the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese sailors now gave themselves up as lost, while for thirteen days they were buffeted about by the relentless tempest. After being partially acclimated to the sultry gales of Africa, they found the damp cold blast of the Antarctic seas almost intolerably severe. When the storm abated, ignorant of their real situation, they steered eastward to regain the coast from which they had been driven, but nothing but the unbounded ocean was to be seen. Surprised and bewildered, they steered to the north, and finally made a point of Africa, considerably to the eastward of that which we now call the Cape of Good Hope. As numerous herds were seen feeding on the shore, Diaz called his new discovery "the Bay of Cows." He then steered westward until he came to a small island, on which he planted a

pillar, as lie had previously done on the western coast of the same continent, for an ensign of the Portuguese dominion.

      A general murmur, however, amounting to a mutinous movement, now arose among his exhausted and dispirited crew. They urged that they had already discovered enough of land for one voyage, that their vessel was shattered, and their provisions drawing to a close; in a word, they positively insisted on returning home. Diaz called a council of his officers, who all concurred in the wishes of the men; so that the enterprising and indefatigable navigator was here compelled to relinquish a still brighter * chaplet than he had already acquired; one which was in full view, and almost within his ~ reach. He yielded, it is said, with deep reluctance, and parted with the island where he had planted his last ensign, "as a father parts from an exiled son." In regaining the Atlantic, they for- the first time doubled, in full view, the long sought-for cape or promontory, to which Diaz, tortured by his feelings of mortification and chagrin, gave the name of "Cobas totas Tormentas" — "the Cape of all Torments;" but his joyful sovereign, on his return to Portugal, inspired with a well-grounded hope that the long sought-for passage to India was at length discovered, changed the appellation to that which it noW bears, the "Cape of Good Hope." In 1497 this hope was fully realized by Vasco de Gama, another Portuguese discoverer, who doubled the cape, and explored his way to India, landing at Colicut on the twenty-second of May in the following year.

      A pathway for all nations was now opened to the "land of promise," whose precious merchandise soon began to be poured into the lap of every European country with profuse abundance. But notwithstanding their constant passing and repassing the Gape of Good Hope, its admirable locality for furnishing refreshments, and the inviting aspect of the country, none conceived the idea of planting a civilized colony among its sable native residents. But in 1650, one hundred and fifty-seven years after its first discovery, Van Riebeck, a surgeon of one of the Dutch East India Company's ships, pointed out to the directors the great advantages which would be derived from establishing a settlement on the southern extremity of Africa, and they listened to the suggestion. In two years afterward his views were carried into effect, and he himself appointed governor of the new colony. From that time,

to the year 1795, it remained in the hands of the Dutch, gradually improving. In the meantime, the English possessions in the east had greatly increased; and John Bull had not passed so often round the cape without casting a wishful eye oh this thriving establishment, which 'he thought might answer so well to refresh his vessels at. In 1795, the state of Europe and the fortunes of war gave him the power; and as he is an old gentleman who is not remarkable for being' over fastidious in respecting the rights of his neighbours, and having just suffered the loss of his best transatlantic dependances, he proceeded to take possession of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope; and it has, with the exception of a few years (during which the Dutch held it under the treaty of Amiens), remained in the hands of the British, much to the discontent of the descendants of the old governor, Pietr Van Roode Van Oudtshoorn.

      Cape Town itself is beautifully situated on a plain, and is overshadowed by a stupendous rock or mountain.^* The streets are spacious, and intersect each other at right angles with great exactness. The houses are mostly of stone, and whitewashed without, which gives them a neat and cleanly appearance; there are few built over two stories, on account of the winds, which blow sometimes excessively strong. The residence of the governor, and the public buildings, are suitable to the purposes for which they are used, but possess nothing which deserves particular description. The public square presents a neat appearance, and is kept in fine order; and there are some pleasant promenades in the environs, tastefully overshadowed with spreading branches of oak.

      The progress of literature at Cape Town is very promising, and the cause of education has numerous and powerful adherents. A newspaper, called the South African Commercial Advertiser, has been established for several years, and is said to be well supported, notwithstanding all the obstacles thrown in its way by the jealousy and cupidity of the Dutch residents. It has uniformly and strenuously advocated the cause of ameliorating the condition

of the slaves, as respects their food, clothing, hours of labour punishment, marriages, &c. This was wormwood to the Dutch, who consider their slaves in the same light as some teamsters do their horses: — "If there be any work in the animal," say they, "we must bring out our money's worth by the lash of the whip." They therefore convened a meeting, and passed resolutions to denounce the Commercial Advertiser, as unworthy their patronage and support; and, as a joint-stock company, to establish an opposition paper, called the Zuid Afrikain, which maintains a policy diametrically opposed to that advocated by the other. Whether this, competition of clashing interests is calculated to produce beneficial effects, is a question that time will determine. There is also another periodical published here, called the Literary Gazette, which, is said to be entitled to no inconsiderable share of praise for the liberality of its doctrines, and the literary merit of its original articles.

      The public library is an honour to the colony, having, in the course of five or six years, increased in books and subscribers until it has attained to a degree of prosperity unrivalled in any colonial annals. Its shelves present a brilliant display of the best works on all subjects and in divers languages. The librarian, who is also secretary to the institution, and the editor of the Literary Gazette, is distinguished for his affable deportment, urbanity of manners, and polite attention to visiters. A museum has also been established, which is rich in specimens of natural history, especially in those branches of it which are so numerous in Southern Africa. A very large and interesting menagerie of wild beasts likewise, as we were informed, once existed in this place, and was a great object of attraction to strangers; but it has since dwindled away to a "beggarly account of empty" cages, there being not at present half a dozen subjects in the enclosure.

      Two infant schools have been established here, which appear to be conducted on excellent principles, and meet a very general support. Schools and academies for the higher branches are also in a flourishing condition. But the institution which merits the most attention, is the South African College, which embraces all the advantages of an English seminary and university, — admitting pupils with the slightest possible preparation, and instructing them in the highest branches of science, and the widest range of liter-

ature, at a trifling cost. Most of the professors are stated to be men of the first scientific attainments; and many of the pupils have evinced a vigour of understanding and an extent of acquirements which convey indubitable testimony of the value of the institution.

      . This college was founded on the first of October, 1829, having been in existence but a little more than two years when the Potomac arrived at the cape, at which period the number of pupils amounted to one hundred and fifty. The branches taught here, as we understand, are Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Dutch, English, writing, drawing, French, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, the principles of geography, ^and astronomy. The qualifications of a student for admission are, reading, writing, and a knowledge of the first rules of arithmetic. No distinction exists as to rank or religion. The building contains a number of spacious

      The climate of the cape is healthy, judging either from the temperature, or from the ruddy countenances of its inhabitants. From a meteorological journal kept for a number of years at the cape, the mean temperature of the year is 67 1/3° Fahrenheit; while the mean of the coldest month is 57°, and that of the hottest 79°. This temperature seems to vary but little in the other districts of the colony; that of Stellenbosch gives the mean of one year 66°, extremes 87° and 50°; while that of Zwartland appears to be 66 1/3°, extremes 89° and 54°. At Zulbagh, situated in the valley of the great chain of mountains which divide the western from the eastern provinces of the colony, the mean temperature of the year is 66 2/3°, that of the coldest month 55 1/2°, of the hottest 80 1/2°, extremes 95° and 52°; mean of their winter 56 1/2°, of their summer months 79°, least heat in summer 60°. Here, as in the south of Europe; and most warm climates of a temperate zone, the wind commonly blows cold in summer, at the same time that the sun shines with great power; and this is the circumstance which distinguishes a warm from a hot climate.

      At the foot of the cape mountains, and within the range of their influence, the heat of the atmosphere over the valleys and the plains is mitigated by a cool wind descending from the mountains, and the coldness of the blast is tempered by the reflected heat of

the earth's surface. Hence a moderate temperature, where the wind has free progress, is the result in summer at the Cape of Good Hope. During the warm season, although the southeast monsoon predominates, westerly winds are not unfrequent, and they are always moist; when southeasterly winds blow, they bring from the shallow sea, over La Guillas' bank, humidity, which is condensed upon the summits of the mountains.; it is seen rolling down the western cliffs in volumes of thick vapour, and the elevation at which this is dissipated, as it descends, answers precisely to the hygrometric state of the air.

      Few have visited the cape without' having cause to admire the peculiarity of the clouds and vapours. The mountain being colder than the plain below, condenses and renders visible the passing vapour, whenever the dryness of the wind is less than the difference of temperature between its summit and base. Owing to radiation, the influence of the mountain's summit extends to a column of air near it, and a cloud at rest is accordingly seen suspended high above, which, from its white fleecy appearance, is called the Table-cloth. The heat of the plain has a like influence on the atmosphere over it, and affects the temperature immediately above. The vapour there, as it quits the mountain, passes into a warmer region, when it is dissolved, and thus it traverses, transparent and invisible, to be again condensed and made apparent on approaching another mountain. This is a simple explanation of the appearances which are so commonly seen during the continuance of the southeast wind at the cape.

      Volumes of vapour are seen rolling over the summit and down the sides of Hanglip, Hottentots, Holland, and the rest of the chain of high mountains; while above the valleys and over the isthmus scarcely a passing cloud is seen. But the vapour is thickly condensed on the peninsular group of mountains, rolls over their summits, descends to a certain distance down the cliff, and is dissipated and becomes transparent as it passes onwards. Clouds at rest, while the wind is blowing with violence, are frequently to be seen over Table Bay, and likewise over Cape Downs, precisely similar to clouds suspended over peaks. Generally during a southeast wind, the sky is clear on Hanglip and Table Mountains.

      But, now and then, a small silvery cloud suddenly appears

above the sea, on the shore; grows, changes shape without change of place (although the wind, meantime, continues to blow most, violently), wastes, and vanishes. Dr. Arnott, in his elements of physics or natural philosophy, thus accounts for the singular beauty and density of the clouds which frequently envelop Table Mountain: — "The reason of the phenomena is, that the air constituting the wind from the southeast having passed over the vast Southern Ocean, comes charged with as much invisible moisture as the temperature can sustain. In rising up the sides of the mountain it is rising in the atmosphere, and is therefore gradually escaping from a part of the former pressure; and on attaining the summit, it has dilated so much, and has consequently become so much colder, that it has let go part of its moisture: and it no sooner falls over the edge of the mountain, and again descends in the atmosphere, where it is pressed, and condensed, and heated as before, than it is re-dissolved and disappears, the magnificent apparition dwelling only on the mountain top."

CHAPTER V.

      The British colonial establishment at the Cape of Good Hope is rapidly improving, and is unquestionably destined, at no very late period, to become of much importance to the mother country, and collaterally, to the commercial world. The settlements are rapidly extending towards the interior, there being no less than ten districts at this time composing the colony.

      The Cape District has been much extended of late, embracing the Residency of Simon's Town. The north point of the district extends to Verlone Valley, one hundred and ninety miles from Cape Point, but in no part does the district exceed thirty miles in breadth. This district is divided into eleven divisions, one of which is Constantia, so celebrated for its wines. There are no streams which serve for irrigation, and the crops depend almost wholly on the periodical rains. In this district there are several fine turnpike-roads, the tolls on which, in the year 1830, amounted to 1863l., while the repairs during the same period amounted to 1400l. In this district is Saldanha Bay, in 33° 8' south latitude, which is one of the finest in the whole colony, and will in time become the anchorage to the seat of justice for another district. Captain Morrell was in this bay in 1829, in the schooner Antarctic, and is quite full in his description.

      There are thirty thousand acres cultivated, seven hundred and forty thousand- waste, and two thousand acres planted with vines, giving two millions six hundred and one thousand six hundred and fifty plants, yielding one thousand four hundred and sixty leaguers,^*

or two hundred and twenty-two thousand and seventy-two gallons of wine.

      The district of Stellenbosch contains four thousand six hundred square miles, and is situated in the western division of the Cape of Good Hope, and about twenty-five miles from Table Bay The chief produce of Stellenbosch is wine, and the average quantity made is twelve thousand five hundred leaguers, and six hundred leaguers of brandy, per annum; grain and fruits are abundant, when the season is favourable to farmers, though the district is not adapted for grazing.

      The district of Worcester, also, on the western part of the cape, is one of the most extensive in the colony, being two hundred and sixty miles long, and, in one place, one hundred and thirty in width. It is divided into no less than twenty divisions; the six first produce wine, grain, and cattle, and the remainder are only grazing farms. The cedar is found only in this district, and is procured from the mountains with great labour.

      The district of Swellendam once belonged to Stellenbosch, and was separated from it in the year 1745. It is estimated to contain nearly nine thousand square miles. The chief products are butter, tallow, soap, aloes, cattle, and a small quantity of grain and wine. The horses of this section of the country are celebrated for draught and saddle, and some of the finest wool of the colony has been produced at Joetendal's Valley. But the capacities of this district seem best adapted to grain; and, by proper industry and labourers, immense quantities might be produced for exportation. At this time, it is said, there are not less than eighteen thousand five hundred acres under cultivation; one hundred only in vines, one million four hundred and sixteen thousand in pasturage, and four millions two hundred and forty-eight thousand five hundred and twenty-nine uncultivated. At a village called Caledon, there are two warm medicinal springs, and their heat is 92°. These baths have been found useful in chronic rheumatism, diseases of the skin, and scorbutic ulcers.

      On the southeastern coast of the colony is situated the district of George, adapted only to th^e raising of grain and cattle. Near the mouth of Courits and Small Brak rivers are a few small salt lakes, though not very productive in this useful article. Spanish sheep succeed well, and Small Brak river abounds in the greatest

variety of choice fish, near its confluence with Mossel Bay; next to Simon's, this is the best and safest bay on the east coast of the colony, and is suited to vessels of all descriptions. A whale-fishery is carried on in this place with tolerable success. A few small divisions of this district are productive in wheat of the best quality; also wine, brandy, and tobacco, are cultivated to a limited extent; there are fine- groves of timber in the mountains, and many of the border settlers are employed in getting it out. There are ten thousand acres under cultivation, embracing all kinds of productions. This district is large, embracing one million four hundred and twenty-four thousand one hundred and thirty- three acres.

      The district of Uitenhage is situated on the east coast of South Africa, and is skirted on the south by the Southern Ocean. It has two bays and several fine rivers, and is about five hundred miles from Cape Town. Algoa Bay is the principal port, and its trade is rapidly increasing; vessels from the east, in the winter season, often stop in this bay, though Port Elizabeth may be considered the principal .on the east part of the colony. Uitenhage, the 'capital of the district, is one of the most flourishing towns of the colony, and was formerly the headquarters of the frontier; but the Caffres having made frequent incursions into the district, it was found necessary to remove the troops to Graham's Town, upwards of a hundred miles further in advance.

      The town of Uitenhage affords a number of spacious buildings, public and private; agricultural societies, reading-rooms, and a turf-club are established, and managed with spirit. ' A seminary was established in 1822, and has at present one hundred and thirty pupils. There are lead mines near this place, though not worked. About seven miles northeast of Uitenhage are immense beds of seashells and seashellfish, particularly oysters; these beds are about ten miles from the sea, and many hundred feet above its level. '

      The local advantages of the district consist in its supply of water, and great capabilities for raising black cattle. A large portion of the butter, soap, and tallow exported from Algoa Bay, is from this district, whose main resources will always arise from its grazing qualities. The value of a fat ox is about two pounds sterling, and the amount of the black and breeding cattle in the

district is estimated at sixty-four thousand two hundred and fifty-two. In June, 1829, eighteen whales were killed in Algoa Bay, the value of which was estimated at near four thousand pounds sterling; and, in the year 1830, fifteen were taken of proportionate value.

      The appearance of the district of Albany is highly pleasing, and is romantically diversified by gentle undulations, by precipitous woody ravines or kloofs, by stupendous ports or passes through the mountains, and by clumps of elegant evergreens; while the whole face of the country, with slight exceptions, is adorned by a covering of verdant pasturage, and the soil is generally of an excellent quality. It is bounded on the east by the Great Fish river, on the south by the Southern Ocean; it is sixty-six miles in extent, and from thirty to forty-six in breadth; producing wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, potatoes, peas, beans, and lentils. The animals, in 1829, amounted to one thousand seven hundred and ninety horses, three thousand and seventy horned cattle, sixty-seven thousand four hundred cape sheep, ten thousand Spanish. sheep, and fourteen thousand nine hundred and fifty goats. In no part of .the colony have the inhabitants manifested more zeal in the establishment of schools, than in this district. This laudable spirit is not only manifest in the establishment of common schools for the children of the settlers, of Sunday schools for the indigent, and an academy for the higher branches; but -its benevolence extends to the improvement of the intellectual condition of the Caffres — the poor, degraded, and long-misrepresented Hottentot. The missionaries have laboured incessantly to improve the moral degradation and horrid barbarity of these savages, and the result has been found most encouraging. Schools have been established among them, and the number of children of the Caffres now under instruction, amounts to more than six hundred; and it is said, but for the want of teachers, the number might have been greatly increased. They are taught in the Caffre and English languages, and many of them speak the latter with, considerable fluency.

      The exports of this district for the year 1830, in hides, horns, sheep-skins, tallow, butter, soap, gums, ivory, ostrich feathers, and salted beef and pork, amounted to about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars; which, for the number of inhabitants in a set-

tlement of ten years' standing, certainly bespeaks great prosperity.

      In the neighbouring district of Graaf Rainet, the number of inhabitants is fourteen thousand five hundred. The climate is equal in salubrity to any part of the colony; and, like Albany, is most favourable to grazing. In the year 1830, it had three thousand nine hundred and forty-one saddle and wagon horses; five thousand four hundred and forty-four breeding mares; eleven thousand five hundred and ninety-three oxen; fifty-two thousand one hundred and fifteen breeding cattle; three thousand Spanish sheep; nine hundred and seven thousand two hundred and sixty-seven colonial sheep; and fifteen thousand goats.

      Such are the features presented by the several districts composing the present colony of the Cape of Good Hope. We have given this sketch somewhat more in detail, because the subject* appeared to possess much interest, and will at least be new to the generality of American readers. The delay of the Potomac at the Cape did not allow these remarks to be made from personal observation; but it did allow time to see much evidence of the prosperity here spoken of, and of acquiring the materials from which the picture has been drawn.

      By casting an eye over the map of the world, it will be seen that the Cape of Good Hope occupies a commanding position. From Brazil and Buenos Ayres, the distance may be run in a month; while to the 'Dutch colonies of Surinam, Berbice, and Essequibo, it will not occupy more than six weeks. To the Red Sea, Coromandel, and Malabar, the voyage may be performed in two months.

      Halfway from Europe to India, it forms a fine refreshing point for vessels engaged in the commerce of the east. During the year 1829, no less than two hundred and fifty-one vessels had entered the ports of the colony, the greater portion in Table Bay; amounting to seventy-three thousand two hundred and sixteen tons of shipping, and giving employment to five thousand and sixty-two seamen. The trade from the colony itself to England is important, considering that it does not contain more than one hundred and forty thousand free inhabitants. The following table shows how this population is distributed among the several districts: —

      Great Britain requires the colony to pay all the expenses of its establishment, except the army and navy. For the purposes of revenue, 3per cent, is levied by the colony on all British goods, and ten per cent, on all foreign goods, though introduced in British bottoms; and ten per cent, on goods imported from the east. On the subject of commerce, figures are always most valuable; and from the' following table it will be seen that the commerce of the cape has assumed an importance not to be expected from the productions of the colony and number of its inhabitants.

      Here we have a commercial view of the trade carried oh to South Africa,. and the evidence of no small share of enterprise on the part of its resident merchants, in order to sustain, so well as they appear to do, the balance of trade against the heavy importations from the mother country. The affairs of the colony seem to be Well managed by his excellency general, the honourable Sir G. L. Cole, governor of the colony," president of the council, and commander-in-chief of the forces.

      In each district there is a civil commissioner, magistrate, protector of slaves, and other subordinate officers, for the preservation of peace, and the discharge of all the subordinate duties of. the civil government. The duties of the protector are various, and are intended to ameliorate the condition of the slave, as much as is compatible. He is bound to inquire into all abuses, to redress all wrongs, to restrain the strong, protect the weak; in a word, to be what his office would indicate, the protector of slaves. There is but one in the colony, but he has his agents in all the districts where they are needed.

      In the judicial establishment there is a supreme court, with a chief-justice and three associate judges, who hold four terms in the year, in March, June, September, and December. Besides, the associate judges hold their separate courts at appointed periods, for hearing minor causes.

      In the year 1827, a charter was granted by the king of England, conceding to the colony the right of trial by jury in criminal cases; and the council have taken the proper measures to carry this arrangement into execution, by issuing an ordinance declaring the qualification of jurors, nine being the number agreed upon, and, under certain circumstances, six are to constitute a legal tribunal. Attached to the supreme court is the office of high sheriff of the colony, which office was created in the year 1828. His duty is to carry into execution all the sentences and decrees of the supreme or circuit courts; and, for this purpose, he is authorized to appoint deputies in all the districts.

      The energy of the colonial government pervades every part of the settlement; and the communications kept up with remote districts are regular through the postoffice establishment, which has no less than twenty branches distributed throughout the colony.

      The number of humane and religious institutions, which may

be placed under the head of the church establishment, would seem to be greatly disproportioned to the number and even the wealth of the inhabitants. The true spirit of toleration prevails in the colony among the members of the Church of England, Dutch Reformed, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, Lutheran, &c. It is pleasant to see the harmony and good feeling which pervade these societies, and their co-operation in doing good; under their separate or united direction, are. Bible and School Commissions, Orphans' Houses, Philanthropic Society, Bible African Union, Infant School, African Mission Society, Branch of London ditto, with numerous schools and teachers, and missions among the Hottentots, Caffres, and neighbouring tribes.

      While on the subject of societies, there is one which deserves particular attention, — the Cape of Good Hope Philanthropic Society, for aiding deserving slaves and slave children to purchase their freedom. This society, with his excellency the governor at its head, and his lady as principal patroness, appears to deem the emancipation of female slave children as the best method of employing its limited funds for the present.

      The children manumitted are to be apprenticed, under judicious regulations, until they are sixteen years of age. The society, in all its acts, declares its intention of proceeding without injury to the property, or interference in any respect with the claims, of the proprietor; a precaution*' founded in justice, which can never be too scrupulously observed by those who attempt to ameliorate, or even touch upon the subject of slavery.

      It has been said that the colony defrays the expenses of its own establishment, except the army and navy. Its revenue cannot be accurately known from any published returns, but may be estimated at one hundred and twenty thousand pounds. About seventy-five per cent, of this amount is expended in salaries, and the remainder in the civil and military pension list, in support of the judiciary, hospitals, postoffice expenditure, and a thousand other objects in the civil administration.

      The military establishment is chiefly intended for the defence of the colony from the incursions of the hostile tribes of the frontier. Included in this force is a fine mounted rifle corps, and the 72d regiment of Highlanders, whose national dress of tartan plaid, Scotch bonnet, and waving plume, gives them a highly

beautiful and martial air. The seventy-fifth regiment, called the Duke of Albany's own guard, was also on the station, and is a good looking corps. The appearance of all the troops is remarkably fine, and their movements in the morning and evening drills, in the public square, show them to be in a high state of discipline.

      In our remarks on the district of Albany, an allusion was made to the laudable efforts, now in successful operation, to introduce the light of education among the children of the native Caffres and Hottentots. This is a subject of so much interest to the philosopher and the philanthropist, that we shall be excused for recalling to it the particular attention of the reader.

      That portion of South Africa which has long been known under the general appellation of Caffraria, lies between latitude 30° and 34°, south, on the eastern coast; it is bounded by Great Fish river on the southeast, which separates it from the country of the Hottentots, and by Natal Bay on the north. Its western boundaries are not yet ascertained. The Caffres are tall and well proportioned, and in general evince great courage in attacking lions and other wild beasts. Their skin is jet black, their teeth whiter than polished ivory, and their eyes large and intelligent. The dress of both sexes is nearly the , same, consisting almost entirely of the hides of cattle, which, by a peculiar mode of preparing, are rendered as soft and pliant as cloth. They are very industrious, and fond of agricultural pursuits, particularly the breeding of cattle, in which the valuable part of their worldly wealth consists. Their huts are more elevated, and far more commodious, than those of the Hottentots. ,

      But oppression and wrongs have driven them to predatory acts of retaliation, which amount to robbery, and have involved them in numerous conflicts with the colonists, steeping their native soil in blood, which only enriches it for the benefit of the ever-encroaching whites. The pioneers of all colonial settlements in a foreign land are generally composed of adventurers; hardy, courageous, and enterprising, indeed, but destitute of those gentler virtues which constitute the refinement and happiness of older and more permanent communities. Hence it has happened, that in almost every instance, the kind reception and hospitality of the natives have been requited by acts of rapine, cruelty, and oppression, On the part of the colonists, which are naturally followed by some

      dreadful reaction. Such was too often the case, even with the pious and enlightened founders of our own nation; and acts originating in a similar mistaken policy have stained the annals of the Cape colony. The true character of the natives in both countries has been but little understood, and much misrepresented.

      Captain Benjamin Stout, a relative of our elder Adams, the second president of the United States, was shipwrecked in the year 1796, on the southeastern coast of Africa, near the river Infanta, in the country of Caffraria; and he was perhaps the first writer who described these people according to their real character. In a letter to his illustrious relative, the.n chief magistrate of the nation, he speaks of them in the following terms: —

      "Cast, with sixty of my people, on the shores of Caffraria, after combating the horrors of a tempest, which, I believe, has but few parallels in the history of naval misfortune, I found in the natives a hospitality, and received from them a protection, which, on many of the shores that belong to the polished nations of Europe, I might have sought for in vain. These unfortunate inhabitants of Caffraria, who have been so often and so wickedly denominated savages that delight and revel in human slaughter, I found possessed of all those compassionate feelings that alone give a lustre to and adorn humanity;. living in a state of perpetual alarm from the persecuting and avaricious disposition of the colonists, and instructed by their fathers to consider a white man as a being who never hesitates to murder when plunder is in view, still a justifiable revenge yielded to the virtuous impulse of compassion, and our necessities were generously relieved, without even the prospect of recompense. When thrown, by the raging of the elements, on the sandy shores of their country, we were all unarmed, not having saved from the wreck a single article, either for our defence, clothing, or subsistence. In this situation we were completely at the mercy of the natives; but, instead of remembering and revenging the wrongs they and their predecessors had endured from the savage white, they made a fire to dry and refresh us; they slaughtered a bullock, which they gave us for our subsistence; they conducted us to a spring of the most limpid and wholesome water; and, when we were enabled to travel, furnished us with guides through the deserts of their country. Such was the conduct of a people who have been described as

barbarians, possessing no other semblance of the human character than what they derive from their formation."

      The captain then, with a feeling truly national, recommends that measures be taken for planting a colony of Americans among these people. This project, however, being foreign to the policy of our new government, was, of course, never acted upon. But, after our late war with England, in the year 1819, the British ministry held out such flattering inducements to those who felt willing to abandon their country and their home, and become residents in the wild but delightful region of southern Africa, that large numbers in the following winter embarked for the Cape of Good Hope, for the express purpose of settling in Caffraria. Among the number were several families of various religious denominations, who were warmly in favour of extending the advantages of education to the rising generation of the natives. Among these, some of the Methodist persuasion took the most conspicuous part. Their numbers were sufficiently large to entitle them to the promised annual stipend of seventy-five pounds sterling, for the support of a clergyman. Application was accordingly made, previous to embarking, to the Wesleyan Missionary Committee in London, for a suitable person to fulfil the duties of that station, and the Reverend William Show was appointed to accompany the emigrants in that capacity. It was thus that the district of Albany first became a missionary station, the beneficial influence of which arrangement is now felt and acknowledged with gratitude by hundreds of enlightened and partially civilized natives. .

      The Caffres were always a warlike people, whereas their neighbours, the Hottentots, in general, and those near the Cape in particular, are described as a mild, simple, affectionate, and inoffensive race; but as extremely indolent in their habits, and limited in their intellectual faculties. But, wherever any sort of effort has been made to cultivate their powers, and give them a feeling of hope and liberty in their occupations, they have proved active, intelligent, and useful. They are of common stature, but not so short as the whites in general, while their hands and feet are remarkably small. Their skin is of a yellowish-brown hue, resembling that of a white man severely affected with the jaundice. Their appearance, however, indicates health and contentment:

they are excellent swimmers, and bathe three or four times a day.. The females have a mode of braiding or plaiting their woolly hair, and adorn themselves with necklaces of shells. Both sexes generally go bareheaded, and without shoes. There are other tribes of Hottentots at a greater distance from the cape, whose appearance indicates the last degree of wretchedness. But very few attempts, we believe, have been made to civilize or even to humanize them. Our present concern is with those in the immediate vicinity of the Cape colony (we mean the children). Both Hottentots and CafFres enjoy the privileges of the school in Albany district, where, notwithstanding all those complicated obstacles which invariably attend the first settlers in a new country, there are no less than nine chapels; seven of which are Methodist, one Congregational, and one Baptist, in particular parts of the district, all erected by voluntary contributions . Another was contemplated to be erected in Graham's Town some time in the course of 1831. Most of these places of worship have Sunday schools connected with them, affording to the rising generation, black as well as white, regular instruction in the rudiments of learning, as well as the first plain principles of practical religion.

      In treating of this interesting subject, the Graham's Town Journal, weekly paper of much merit, sa3rs, "Government has also done much to foster and promote the progress of education, by the appointment of schoolmasters at different stations, with suitable allowances; providing eligible school-rooms, and furnishing them with the necessary materials for conducting the several schools on the Lancasterian system. These schools, though unquestionably productive of much good, are not so popular, nor so well suited to the circumstances of the people, as Sunday and evening schools, which have been established, and are supported by private individuals. The children of the poorer inhabitants are compelled to tend cattle, or afford other assistance, from a very early age; and so indispensable are their services, that it is only on Sundays, or after the close of their daily labour, that they are disengaged, or that time can possibly be spared for the acquirement of more useful knowledge. The total number under instruction in the district cannot, at a moderate computation, be less than one thousand, which gives the unexampled ratio of rather more than one to every seven of the entire population.

      "The progress made by many of the children at Sunday schools is generally encouraging, and in some instances extraordinary. At the late annual public examination of the scholars, such manifest indications of improvement are often exhibited, and such intellectual acuteness displayed, as afford the greatest encouragement to the patrons of the several institutions; and it is almost impossible to form too high an estimate of the vast benefit which must be derived by- the next generation from the diffusion, through so many different channels, of religious and other knowledge among the youth of this district. Several of the Sunday schools have juvenile libraries, from which the more advanced scholars obtain the loan of various publications, not only of a moral and religious tendency, but also on general subjects. The good effect of these institutions has been remarkable: many who were formerly scholars, are noW' gratuitous teachers; and numbers have become exemplary characters, merely in consequence of the instruction they received, and the habits they imbibed, while attending these schools."

      An infant school was established at Graham's Town a few months only subsequent to the visit of the Potomac, the rapid progress of which we learn has been truly astonishing; a temperance society, and also a savings' bank, are in ">the full tide of successful experiment." A press has likewise been established, from which is issued the journal above named.

      Immediately adjoining Albany, to the northwest, lies a tract of country which was, about four years before our frigate made her appearance at Cape Town, allotted to the scattered Hottentots within the colony. It is located near the confluence of the Manhazana and Kat rivers, and is, in fact, an extensive valley or glen, surrounded on all sides by mountains, except where it opens to the colony on the south. The number of Hottentots who are here collected from different parts of the country, is about five thousand.. Very little encouragement w^as offered them, with the exception of the location itself. No actual assistance, indeed, was ever promised them, nor have they received any, with the single exception of fire-arms for self-defence; no preparations were made for their reception, and neither rations, implements, nor money were provided for them. But they carried their greatest and only treasures with them, viz., industry, temperance, and perseverance;

and their success has been every way equal to their diligence and good conduct, neither of which has ever been surpassed. The former desert, under their management, in the short space of three years, has become a delightful garden, and "blossoms like the rose."

      During the season previous to the arrival of the Potomac, there were produced in this settlement four hundred and fifty muids of wheat, fifteen hundred muids of barley, and four hundred muids of Indian corn, besides large quantities of Kaffer corn, potatoes, pumpkins, sweet cane, and. other provisions. . Independently of the labour required in the cultivation of the soil, instances of uncommon exertion are manifested in the construction of canals, which convey water to irrigate their fields and gardens. In some' places, these have been carried through the solid rock; in others it has been necessary to cut to the depth of twelve feet to preserve the level, while their entire length, throughout all the locations, is upwards of twenty thousand yards.

      There are two missionaries in this settlement, both of whose chapels are always filled, and several schools crowded with orderly and intelligent children. There is not a single magistrate, lawyer, or physician in the village; and, as a natural consequence, they have had no strifes, divisions, discontents, or diseases among them. And yet, with this picture of rural happiness before their eyes, there were men in the colony who, from mere motives of cupidity, were base, enough to join in a conspiracy for attacking and destroying this peaceful little settlement. While the Potomac was lying at Cape Town, near the close of the year 1831, this diabolical plan was in agitation. The following account of it was published in the Cape Literary Gazette the very day before the frigate sailed.

      "The overt facts of this conspiracy are briefly these: About the close of 1831, rumours were industriously circulated, by persons unknown, among the Dutch African boors of the eastern frontier, to the effect that the Hottentots of Kat river were preparing to attack them on New- Year's day. The boors promptly assembled in arms under their veld-cornets; and these local functionaries, instead of communicating the information to the government, immediately led their rude militia to attack the Hottentots. Fortunately, the frontier commandant. Colonel Somerset,

got information of their designs, and marched with rapidity to Kat river. He reached the settlement before them, on New-Year's day. It .was Sunday, and he found the Hottentots quietly congregated, unarmed, in their different places of worship. In one place there was a congregation of about five hundred souls,' one hundred and nine of whom had just taken the sacrament. He informed the people of the rumours that had been spread against them; assured them of his perfect conviction of their entire innocence; and, taking with him three of their veld-cornets, Groepe, Valentyn, and Stoppels (religious and quiet men, all well known to the author), he rode to meet the troop of colonial militia, who had by this time approached within view of the settlement. By energetic remonstrances and threats, he prevailed on these violent and vindictive men to return quietly to their homes; and on the 11th of January, 1832, a strong proclamation was issued by the governor, reprehending in the severest terms the mischievous and irrational conduct of the colonists and their local officers. Had Colonel Somerset acted with less promptitude and energy, this Hottentot settlement would, in all human probability, have been deluged with innocent blood, and a bitter feud begun between the white and coloured classes, which might have lasted for generations."

      Brighter prospects are evidently opening for this long oppressed and benighted region of the globe. "Long indeed has Africa been neglected, and suffered to remain the devoted victim of cruelty and oppression; we cannot, therefore, but hail many recent and highly important events, which go far to prove that her 'day of visitation' has arrived. Now is stirred up the philanthropist to plead her cause, and unweariedly to exert himself in behalf of her fettered millions; the traveller and man of science to explore her unknown deserts; the missionary to establish himself in the most pestilential of her climes; and the Christian colonist to fix his habitation in the very neighbourhood of her warlike tribes."

CHAPTER VI.

      As the Potomac was to proceed from Cape Town direct to the coast of Sumatra, and in order that the policy of our government in sending her thither may be fully understood, it will now be proper (and cannot fail to, be interesting) in this place to give a plain statement of the treachery and cruelty of the Malays, which called down upon their heads a severe, though unavoidable and just punishment.

      It appears that the ship Friendship, of Salem (Massachusetts), Captain Charles M. Endicott, arrived upon the coast of Sumatra in September, 1830, for the purpose of purchasing a cargo of pepper. Finding, the old crop nearly disposed of, he was compelled to wait the coming in of the new one, which generally begins to arrive from the interior about the last of April. In the meantime. Captain Endicott visited some of the other pepper ports on the adjacent coast, and succeeded in obtaining about two thousand piculs (the picul of Sumatra being about 133 1/2 pounds), with which he returned to his former anchorage, off the town of Quallah-Battoo.

      In the latter part of January, 1831, he made a contract with the rajahs and principal merchants of the place for the completion of his cargo, at a stated price per picul, which they agreed to furnish in fifteen days, all to be of the old crop.

      From this period up to the time of the assault upon the ship, the Malays had never betrayed the least signs of treachery. But Captain Endicott was too well acquainted with the reckless and treacherous character of these people, to be lulled into security; the usual vigilance was observed, and no boat was allowed to

come near the ship at night; nor even in the daytime were any except in small numbers, allowed to come on board, and not even then, until they had divested themselves of their arms. The arms of a Malay usually consist of a kris, or dagger, secured to the left side by the fold of a long sash wrapped several times around the loins, and a knife, the blade of which and handle are generally about eighteen inches long. The blades of these knives are kept extremely sharp.

      On the morning of the fatal ninth of February following his arrival. Captain Endicott went on shore, as usual, in one of his boats, taking with him Mr. John Barry, of Salem, second officer, and four of the crew, to assist in weighing and despatching the pepper. The pepper, as soon as weighed, was placed in the large boats of the Malays, and by them rowed off to the ship, and passed on board, when the bags were started and returned, as is done till all is thus embarked.

      In the afternoon of the day abovementioned, one of the boats, having been loaded near the banks of the river, from which the place takes its name (river of Stones, or Stone river), and about one fourth of a mile from its mouth, was despatched with her Malay crew for the ship. Observing that the boat did not proceed directly to the ship, but made a halt near the mouth of the river, and near the opposite shore, two of the four men were despatched to observe her motions, and see that the Malays were not stealing pepper from the boat, a trick' of which they are frequently guilty. Before, however, these men had arrived near enough to perceive what had actually been going on, the boat was pushing off towards the ship; when they returned and reported accordingly, that they had seen nothing suspicious, and that the boat had her usual complement of men. Captain Endicott was not satisfied, as he thought that he perceived in the boat, while rowing off, a rather unusual number of Malays. â–. The facts were these: In pursuance of a preconcerted plan, made days before by the rajahs, and the very men who had engaged to furnish the cargo, and which a majority of the inhabitants were privy to, the boat had stopped at the mouth of the river to exchange crews, the hired boatmen leaving her, and the assassins, eleven in number, who were to be liberally paid if successful in their enterprise, carried the boat alongside of the ship, and be-

gan passing up the pepper to two of the crew upon a stage made fast to the outside.

      As but a few hands could work at a time in the pepper-boat, numbers of the Malays came on board; and, on being questioned by Mr. Knight, the first officer, who was in the gangway, taking an account of the pepper, as to their business, their reply was, that they had come to see the vessel. Mr. Knight ordered them into their boat 'again, and some of them obeyed; but only to return immediately to assist in the work of death, which was now commenced by attacking Mr. Knight and the rest of the crew on board. The crew of the vessel being so scattered, it was impossible to concentrate their force so as to make a successful resistance. Some fell on the forecastle, one m the gangway, and Mr. Knight fell upon the quarterdeck, severely wounded by a stab in the back, while in the act of snatching from the bulwarks a boarding-pike, with which to defend himself.

      The two men on the stage having vainly attempted to get on board to the assistance of their comrades, were compelled to leap into the sea. One of them, Charles Converse, of Salem, being very severely wounded, succeeded in swimming to the bobstays, to which he clung until taken on board by the Malays; and, from some cause, he was not afterward molested. His companion, John Davis, being unable to swim, drifted with the tide near the boat tackle, or davit falls, the blocks being overhauled down near the water; one of these he laid hold of, which the Malays perceiving, dropped their boat astern, and despatched him! The cook sprang into a canoe alongside, and in attempting to push off, she capsized; and, being unable to swim, he got on the bottom, and paddled ashore with his hands, where he was made prisoner. Gregory, an Italian, sought shelter in the foretopgallant-crosstrees, where he was fired at several times by the Malays, with the muskets of the Friendship, which were always kept loaded and ready for use, while on the coast.

      Joseph Powell, John Muzzy, William ______, and a Swede, leaped into the sea, and swam to a point of land near a mile distant, to the northward of the town; and, unperceived by the Malays on shore, pursued their course to the northward, towards Cape Felix, intending to go to the port of Annalaboo, about forty-five miles distant. Having walked all night, they found them-

selves on the following morning near the promontory, and still twenty-five miles distant from Annalaboo.

      Leaving these unfortunate men in consultation on what was best to be done for their safety, for the present, let us return to the banks of the river, where were left Captain Endicott, Mr. Barry, and the four seamen. A brig having been standing in from sea, Captain Endicott requested Mr. Barry to go to the beach and ascertain, if possible, what colours she had. Having arrived at the beach, and happening to cast his eyes towards the Friendship, he saw the persons already named jumping into the sea. The truth now, with all its horrors, flashed upon his mind, that the vessel was attacked; and this seemed to account for the unusual number of Malays which had been observed during the afternoon, hovering around. Believing that the whole town was privy to this inhuman outrage, as a majority of them unquestionably were, Mr. Barry, with a prudence which showed his presence of mind, walked leisurely back, and, with apparent unconcern, passed through among the armed crowd; and, unperceived by them, or, at least, not understood, and in a low tone of voice, said to Captain Endicott, "There is trouble on board, sir!" Captain Endicott, following the same prudent manner, and without evincing the least excitement, directed Mr. Barry and the four men to get into the boat; and, having followed them, the boat was about to put off into the stream, when a rajah, a man of considerable wealth, sprang into the boat.

      This rajah, named Po Adam, was the proprietor of a fort and considerable property at a place called Pulo Kio, but three miles distant from the mouth of the river Quallah-Battoo. More business had been done by this rajah during the eight years past than by any other on the pepper coast; — he had uniformly professed himself friendly to the Americans, and he has generally received the character of being honest. At all events, in this instance he gave the most unequivocal evidence of his friendship, and evinced, by his conduct, the most unqualified disapprobation and abhorrence at the villany of his countrymen. Speaking a little English, as he sprang into the boat he exclaimed, "Captain, you get trouble; Malay kill you, he kill Po Adam too!"

      Part of the plan was, that if the piratical wretches succeeded in taking the ship, notice was to be given of their triumph, by hang-

ing or suspending their sashes from the rigging, at which time those on shore were to be massacred. The boat had scarcely gained her length from the bank of the river, when the wished-for signal was seen, and answered by a savage shout of exultation from the shore, the Malays at the same time making a rush into the water to seize the boat! In this they were unsuccessful, as the boat was now in the middle of the stream, which was about one hundred yards wide, and was gliding swiftly, with the help of the current and hard rowing, towards the sea. But the alarm of the probability of the boat's escape having been communicated by the shouting savages who were collected in great numbers about the mouth of the river, and enjoying the spectacle of the victorious signals hanging about the rigging of the captured ship, a large canoe, or sampan, was instantly manned by the Malays, and in the next moment was in the mouth of the river, to intercept the retreating party. This, however, had not been anticipated in their matured plan of attack. The captain and those with him were to have been murdered on shore; and the instant manning of this boat only showed the general co-operation, and the eagerness with which they pursued their murderous purposes. The little party saw that escape by flight was impossible, and determined either to intimidate their assailants in the sampan, or to sell their lives as dearly as possible. At the same instant they steered directly for the hostile boat, while Mr. Barry, in the bows, flourished in a menacing manner at them the cutlass of Po Adam, in fact the only weapon of defence in the boat. It had the desired effect; and the Malays, alarmed at this bold bearing of their intended victims, retreated at once to the shore.

      Captain Endicott now continued to row towards his ship, to reconnoitre; and intensely painful indeed must have been his feelings to see her in the hands of the Malays. As soon as they approached near enough, the pirates commenced a fire from the ship with muskets, which Captain Endicott disregarded, until he saw them clearing away one of his six-pounders, which he knew to be shotted with round and grape, when he deemed it prudent to seek a place of safety. They then rowed for the little town of Soo-soo, distant, to the southward, about nine miles from Quallah-Battoo. Here a fine stream of fresh water throws itself rapidly into the sea, on the banks of which is a small village, to which

village, however, the captain did not proceed, fearing lest its inhabitants might be in some way leagued with those of Quallah-Battoo. Po Adam's estate and fort, which he keeps well armed, lay nearly equidistant from these two places. It being now dark, and a keg of fresh water having been procured from the stream, it was determined to row to Muckie, another town of considerable importance in trade, and situated twenty-five miles further south. During this fatiguing pull, Po Adam took his turn at the oar with the rest. They arrived, early on the morning of the tenth of February, at Muckie, where they found the ship James Monroe, of New-York, brig Governor Endicott, of Salem, and brig Palmer, of Boston.

      After a short consultation, it was determined on the part of the captains of these vessels to get immediately under way, and proceed to Quallah-Battoo, with the intention of retaking the Friendship. The cheerfulness and promptitude with which the commanders, and officers, and crews espoused the cause of their countrymen, do them great honour; for, in little more than an hour after Captain Endicott had communicated the distressing intelligence, the little fleet was under way, standing to the northward under a crowd of sail.

      By four o'clock on the same day, they gained an anchorage off Quallah-Battoo, though not sufficiently near to attempt a recapture. The Malays, in the meantime, had removed on shore every moveable article belonging to the vessel, including specie, besides several cases of opium, amounting, in all, to upwards of thirty thousand dollars. This was done on the night of the ninth; and on the morning of the tenth, they contrived to heave in the chain cable, and get the anchor up to the bows; and the ship was drifting finely towards the beach, when the cable, not being stopped abaft the bitts, began suddenly to run out with great velocity; but a bight having by accident been thrown forward of the windlass, a riding turn was the consequence, and the anchor, in its descent, was suddenly checked, about fifteen fathoms from the hawse. A squall soon after coming on, the vessel drifted obliquely towards the shore, and grounded upon a coral reef, near half a mile to the southward of the town.

      On the eleventh, having obtained a convenient anchorage, a message was sent by a friendly Malay, who came on board at

      Soo-soo, demanding the restoration of the ship. The rajah replied that he would not give her up, but that they were welcome to take her, if they could! A fire was now opened from the vessels on the Friendship, whose decks were crowded with Malays, who promptly returned the fire, as did also the forts on shore. This mode of warfare appeared undecisive, and it was determined to decide the contest by a close action. A number of boats being manned and armed, with about thirty officers and men, a movement was made to carry the Friendship by boarding. The Malays did not wait the approach of this well-armed and determined attack, but all deserted the vessel to her lawful owners; when she was taken possession of, and soon warped out into deep water.

      The poor fellows whom we left at Cape Felix soon came to a determination to turn back, pass Quallah-Battoo in the night, if possible, and proceed to Muckie; on Wednesday, the eleventh, at midnight, they found themselves in the neighbourhood of Quallah-Battoo, and, taking a canoe, they passed safely to, Pulo Kio. At daylight in the morning, Po Adam discovered them from his fort, and took them in. They were in a wretched and suffering condition, having swum ashore with but few clothes, and were severely blistered by the sun. In the course of the day they joined their ship. The wounded men, together with the Italian, Gregory, who gave himself up from the crosstrees, were afterward ransomed for ten dollars each. The killed were Mr. Knight, George Chester, and John Davis. The voyage was of course abandoned, and the Friendship returned to Salem.

      Who cannot see, from the perusal of these incidents, that this piracy was the deliberate act of the rajahs, principal traders, and inhabitants of Quallah-Battoo? The manner of changing the boat's crew at the mouth of the river; the signals concerted between the assassins and the chiefs and populace on shore; the ready attack made by the sampan to cut off the retreat of Captain Endicott; the corresponding shouts and exultations when the flags or signals of success were seen from the vessel; the robbing the Friendship; the refusal of the rajah to deliver her up, and the attempt to defend her, by firing from the forts on shore, all stamp their proceedings with the character of outlaws, meriting the most summary chastisement.

      Under such circumstances, were the inhabitants of Quallah-Battoo to be considered and treated as a part of a body politic, when it is notorious that the inhabitants of Sumatra are divided into as many petty sovereignties as there are large rivers or ports in the island? Are they united together for the purpose of promoting each other's welfare, mutual safety, and advantage, by joint efforts of their own strength? Have they a common government, common rules, to which they hold themselves responsible, and whose authority they obey? Have they been careful to avoid the violation of their duties, in order that they may, consistently with moral justice, demand the observance of those rules at the hands of other nations and people visiting and trading on their coast?

      It will be seen, in the following pages, that they have scarcely one of these essential requisites to constitute them a sovereignty, and entitle them to any of the formalities observed between nations. Indeed, at Soo-soo, but a few miles from Quallah-Battoo, there are other independent chiefs, who are often at war with their perfidious neighbours, in relation to whose character Horsburgh, in his valuable East India Directory, says, "Small ships frequent Quallah-Battoo; to procure pepper and other articles of trade; but it is prudent to be always guarded against the perfidy of the natives, who have been several times successful in assaulting and taking possession of ships which came to trade with them." In one word, had the perpetrators of the outrage on the Friendship any plea to exempt them from the summary chastisement due to those whose crimes have placed them without the pale of the civil law? A milder method was, however, adopted, and would have been carried into effect, had their consciousness of guilt permitted them to listen to conditions, as will be seen in the sequel.

      To be fully prepared for either alternative. Commodore Downes, in compliance with his instructions, had been diligently assiduous to gain all the information it was possible to acquire, both at Rio and Cape Town, respecting their national character, strength, and military resources. At the latter place in particular, he obtained such intelligence as left no doubt on his mind of the piratical character of the Quallah-Battooans, and the probable necessity of strong measures in procuring indemnification for the outrages committed on the Friendship. He was also assured at the Cape, by British officers high in command, both in the army and navy;

officers, too, who had themselves been much in India, and among the islands, and on the pepper coast, that the natives against whom he was sent to act were by no means to be despised as enemies; that they were notorious for their treachery; and, in their own manner of fighting, were not at all deficient in courage. Thus furnished and armed with the necessary knowledge, for conducting this untried enterprise, the commodore felt anxious to reach the spot, and settle the account at once — ^peaceably if he could — forcibly if necessary.

      In the meantime, the few days spent at Cape Town had been rendered exceedingly pleasant by the interchange of civilities between the officers of the Potomac and the inhabitants. Soon after _the ceremonies and visits which would be deemed usual on such occasions, the commodore was invited to dine at the country seat of his excellency Sir Lowry Cole, a few miles from the town; the excursion, occupying about an hour's ride, was over a fine Macadamized turnpike.

      The governor's palace, though not magnificent, was spacious and convenient, and every thing about it indicated good taste. On the same day, the commodore and his officers had been invited to partake of a dinner by the colonel and officers of the seventy-second regiment of Scotch Highlanders, then stationed at Cape Town, and forming a part of the regular force of the colony. But, as the governor was about to depart on a visit of inspection to some of the interior stations, the colonel's dinner was politely postponed until the day following. Both were served up in a style of excellence that evinced the finest taste. Indeed, the inhabitants generally seemed to emulate each other in extending the rights of hospitality to their republican visiters, which they evinced by their proffered civilities, and frequent visits on board the frigate. Numerous excursions were made on shore by the officers of the frigate, some as far as the farms of Constantia, so celebrated for the fine qualities of their wine. This exquisite article is made from a grape which is only found to flourish in a few localities, and the wine of which cannot be procured at the vintage for less than five dollars per gallon. In short, so delightfully had the time passed, and so much were all pleased with Cape Town, that it was with no little reluctance they took leave of that place on the twelfth of December.

      A heavy sea, with strong currents, and unfavourable winds, did not permit the Potomac to double the cape until the fourteenth; when, on the afternoon of that day, the wind, which had been blowing fresh from the south-southwest, requiring double-reefed topsails, veered to the west, and afforded a pleasant run for the distance of one hundred and fifty miles. This respite from elemental opposition, however, was of short duration, as the wind soon hauled round to the southward and eastward, so that but little headway was made for the space of eight or nine days.

      The time had now arrived when it was necessary to make provisions for the attack, if hostilities should be found necessary on reaching the coast of Sumatra. Dispositions were therefore made of a portion of the crew, by forming them into divisions of sixty, each to be placed under the immediate command of one of the several lieutenants detailed to accompany the expedition on shore. The marines were to act under their own officers.

      The object of equipping so large a force was, to be prepared for a vigorous attack, if such were found necessary; but more especially to be able to effect the object of the disembarcation, by surrounding the forts, and preventing the escape of the principal rajahs, who had notoriously been the instigators and principal actors in the capture of the Friendship, and the murder of her crew. This seemed to be the only plan that promised the least hopes of success, by which the rajahs could be brought to punishment, if not compelled to make indemnification for the loss sustained by the Friendship.

      Other plans were thought of, but they seemed liable to many and serious objections. By means of threats or promises, a portion of the pirated property might possibly be recovered, but would this give any security for the future? Would the Malays be deterred from committing like abuses, when they saw that the only punishment which followed their depredations, was that of yielding a moiety of the property plundered? The object of a just war, or hostility, is to avenge or prevent injury; to punish the offender, with the view of providing for our future safety; to obtain justice by force, when it cannot be attained by other and milder means. The sword drawn in a good cause, and used only for the pm-poses of self-preservation, may itself become an instrument of humanity.

      In one respect, we are not without our sympathy for the Malays. We know the wrongs they have suffered, in common with the other natives of India, and we may speak of these wrongs in another place; but whatever injustice they may have received, it has not been from our hands. We have made no conquests, dethroned no sultans, oppressed and enslaved no inhabitants of the eastern world. We have to do with the Malays as we find them, without stopping to inquire how they became so; or what, under more favourable circumstances, they might have been.

      The information already obtained seemed to leave no doubt, that neither the character of the people on the coast of Sumatra, particularly at Quallah-Battoo, nor the government under which they nominally lived, and under whose sanction piracies had frequently been committed on commerce, promised the least hopes of success from a mere formal demand for restitution, unless that demand was accompanied, at the same time, by a force sufficient to carry it into effect. If a mawkish sensibility, a timid and shrinking fear of responsibility, should say that this was a departure from the usages of nations, in seeking indemnification from each other, let it be remembered, that the question at issue was not one of a mere commercial character, where a treaty had been violated, or a seizure made on illegal grounds, by a government possessing the requisites of sovereignty; but a rapacious, a piratical attack, on the lives as well as the property of our citizens, under the most aggravated circumstances, and that, too, by the chiefs of a people who have openly trampled justice under foot; despised and violated the rights of others whenever they found an opportunity; acknowledging no superior; at least, for whose acts no other, or superior chiefs, would hold themselves responsible.

      Under these circumstances, feeling the full weight of responsibility, and justly fearing the ruinous consequences which would inevitably follow an unsuccessful demonstration of our force in a part of the world where it had never been displayed, and among a people who hitherto had treated the very idea of our strength with derision, the commodore felt compelled to prepare for efficient measures; and, under any circumstances, to bring the guilty to punishment, and to leave an impression of our sense of justice, power, and readiness to punish aggressors, that should extend and pervade every inhabitant of the whole pepper coast.

      From this period, the decks of the Potomac almost daily presented the novel spectacle of two hundred and fifty men under arms, learning the use of the musket; to march and countermarch, load, prime, and take aim, who probably never before, in all their lives, had handled a piece of less calibre than a thirty-two-pounder. These exercises, and the object to which they led, seemed now to engross the minds and feelings of the whole crew; so that the ordinary tediousness of headwinds and cross seas was but partially felt. In these exercises the marines on board were of great service, and served as a nucleus upon which to form and drill the other divisions.

      On the afternoon of Friday, the fifth of January, the island of St. Paul was seen, bearing by compass east-half-south. On the morning of the following day, the wind hauling ahead, the island could not be reached by several tacks; a boat was then sent on shore to procure some fish, of which there is a great abundance, and of the finest quality, in the waters surrounding this "barren little isle of the ocean."

      The island of St. Paul, which was first discovered by the Dutch navigator Vlaming, in 1697, is in the Indian Ocean, latitude 38° 42' south, longitude 76° 54' east. Its dimensions are variously estimated by navigators; some giving it only four miles in length, and two and a half in breadth, while others allow it a length of eight or ten miles, with a breadth of five. The truth, probably, lies between the two. When bearing northeast from the observer, the island presents an elevated and somewhat level aspect, sloping down to the sea at each extremity. It is evidently of volcanic origin, as cones, with regular-formed craters, are to be found in several parts of it. The soil, being formed of decomposed lava, is a rich mould, that produces grass, but no trees. It contains several hot springs, in some of which fish could be cooked fit for the table. These, together with the constant rising of vapour and steam, plainly indicate the existence of internal fires.

      This island is inaccessible except on its eastern side, where is an indentation, cove, or basin, formed by the sea's forcing a lateral breach through that side of the principal crater; through which the tide flows in and out, at the rate of three miles an hour, rising and falling eight or nine feet, at the full and change of the moon. The shape of this basin is that of an ellipsis, about a mile and a

half in circumference, opening eastwardly, with a prominent headland on each side of the entrance, abreast of which vessels may find anchorage in from twenty to twenty-three fathoms; bottom of black sand. The depth of water in the centre of the crater is. about thirty fathoms. From the northeast point of this island, a low rocky reef "makes out" about half a mile into the sea, on which the kelp may be seen growing to a great length, and rising to the surface of the water. From the north and west points of the island, breakers project about a quarter of a mile into the sea. From its western extremity, also, a reef makes out some distance, on which the sea breaks. Here, in an east wind, a sealing vessel was lost, and usually ships are not safe with the wind from that quarter.

      The waters around this island abound with fish, among which is a species of the cod, bream, striped perch, red perch, and rock cod, with crawfish in myriads; dogfish and sharks are also found here in formidable numbers, together with whales, grampuses, porpoises, sealions, and seals. Indeed, so abundant are the fish, that almost every year the island is visited to procure and salt them, for the market of the island of Mauritius. As respects climate, sealers who have resided long upon this desolate spot say, that the weather is very fine in summer, but stormy in the winter, when the rains descend in torrents upon the island, and its surface is often swept with resistless tornadoes and whirlwinds. Numerous birds, such as the albatross, penguin, puffin, seaswallow, large black peterel, blue peterel, gray peterel, stormy peterel, and Mother Carey's chickens, abound on the island, and eggs are plenty.

      The variation of the needle here, in 1747, was 17° 55' west; in 1764, it was 18° 45' west; and in 1789, it was 19° 45' west.

      In sight of this island, to the north, is Amsterdam island, which is not high, but contains more Vegetation, and also fresh water. The Dutch navigators, who first discovered these islands, gave their favourite name of Amsterdam to the northern, and that of St. Paul to the southern. Captain Cook designated them in the same manner. But later navigators, it appears, have transversed these cognomens, and christened each anew. We adhere to the original appellation, and recognise St Paul's as the southern island.

      When the British embassy to China, in 1792, with his excellency Earl Macartney as ambassador, touched at this island, they were not a little astonished to find it inhabited at the time by a small party, whom, on first sight, they supposed must be some unfortunate shipwrecked sailors. Such, however, was not the case. Though on so small an island, located in so vast a waste of waters, their exile was voluntary, nay, cheerful and lucrative — for they were busily engaged in the common prosecution of a voyage. It appears that they had come last from the Isle of France, being part of the crew of a sealing vessel, the joint property of Americans and Frenchmen, and landed on St. Paul's for the purpose of remaining long enough to procure a cargo of twenty-five thousand sealskins for the Canton market. At the time the embassy touched at the island, they had resided there about four months; and had already collected eight thousand skins, and were in hopes that in ten months more their whole cargo would be completed.

      This vessel, it seems, had been fitted out in the Isle of France, in the Indian Ocean, and had now gone to Nootka Sound, on the northwest coast of America, with the view of buying some sea-otterskins for the same market, intending to touch at St. Paul's on her return, for the skins collected during her absence. Thus it was intended to ply alternately between Nootka Sound, St. Paul's, and Canton, so long as the owners found the business lucrative.

      While our boat was absent at St. Paul's island, a strange sail was seen to the northward. A gun was immediately fired, and signal made for the return of the fishing party, who, in a short time, were alongside, with a plentiful supply of fish. The boat was instantly run up, and all sail set to come up with and speak the stranger, who proved to be the French brig Naide, Captain De Aliens, from Nantz, and bound to Batavia.

      From this date to the seventeenth, nothing occurred at all deserving note. The wind had been variable, and the passage regular. After some squalls and flying clouds, the weather gradually cleared up, giving every indication of our being in the regular tradewinds. This expectation, however, was not finally realized ,• as the winds continued, for many days, exceedingly variable, rendering the passage more tedious than we could have

wished; so that Hog Island, on the coast of Sumatra, was not made until January the twenty-ninth. The wind was light and baffling; indeed, perplexing would be a better term; and, after succeeding in doubling the small islands called Cocoas, off the northwest extremity of Hog Island, the long-looked-for coast of Sumatra hove in sight. This land can be seen at a great distance, sometimes as far as thirty leagues at sea. The range of mountains extending from one end of this immense island to the other, are some of them very high, and vary in distance from the southwestern shore, from fifteen to twenty-five miles.

      The approach to the coast of Sumatra by a vessel of the Potomac's dimensions, is attended with much danger; and the responsibility of such a command, when unaided and unattended by a consort, to ensure safety to life in case of accident, must ever be accompanied with feelings of anxiety painfully intense.

      Coral reefs are numerous; and in light weather, when the sea is smooth, there are no breakers to indicate their position, which renders it indispensable for a ship with a heavy draught of water to proceed with the greatest caution. The leads, which were kept constantly going, indicated the most irregular soundings, varying more than one hundred fathoms in the course of a few rods.

      It is to be remembered that the northwest monsoon, sometimes called the little monsoon, which some authors say blows from November to May, does not always do so; and though the prevailing winds within one or two hundred miles of the coast of Sumatra may be from the northwest, yet there are many intervals of calms, thick, cloudy weather, and sometimes heavy squalls, which, though generally of short duration, may frequently be entitled to the appellation of gales. The rise and fall of the tides appears to be governed by no laws, except those of the winds; indeed, the currents in these seas will be found to depend, principally, on the prevailing winds.

      More than one hundred and fifty miles from this coast, a current had been found to run from west to northwest, and varying very much in velocity. On approaching the coast it became very irregular, sometimes from north-northwest, and then changing more to the westward, the intervals being quite uncertain. From these causes it will be perceived, that the Potomac's ap-

proach to this coast must have required the utmost vigilance to avoid, the reefs, so common and so little explored.

      Hog Island was made on the lee how, about forty miles distant; yet so light and so variable w^as the wind, with occasional calms, that, in despite of every effort, but little headway could be made; and it was ascertained by observation, as well as from the bearing of the land, that the vessel was drifted not less than twenty miles in twenty-four hours, to the southward and westward, by quite a contrary current from the one named before. At this time the wind hauled ahead to the northeast, and it was not for seven days after making Hog Island, that the Potomac was brought to her anchorage off Quallah-Battoo.

      In relation to the approach to this place, Lieutenant Pinkham, in his notes, says; "From what I myself felt, with others of my watch officers upon the occasion, I think I can judge somewhat of the intense anxiety felt by the commodore upon approaching a coast so little known; the lead constantly indicating the most alarming changes. I remember upon one occasion, the ship not moving at a rate of more than half a mile an hour, the lead suddenly indicated a change from thirty-five to twenty fathoms; another cast was immediately made, and before the ship had proceeded more than once her length, no bottom could be found with a hundred and ten fathom line!"

      The commodore was often heard to speak of this part of his cruise in the east as having been one of great solicitude and sleepless nights; and well might he thus speak, when it is recollected the value of the cargo intrusted to his care, of not less than five hundred souls, that must have perished had the Potomac struck upon, as she must have passed near to, some of these hidden and dangerous coral reefs.

      By vigilance, however (in such seas the sailor's only chart), perseverance, and the blessings of Divine Providence, the Potomac had now reached in safety her first anchorage in the east; when the plan of operations on Quallah-Battoo was to be put into immediate execution.

CHAPTER VII.

      In order that the Malays might not comprehend the real designs and character of the Potomac, the stump topgallant masts were got up, the maindeck guns run in and ranged fore and aft, the half ports shut in, and the white streak so altered as to show only ten ports on a side. The frigate was thus made to assume the appearance of a merchant ship of great burden and capacity, like many of the East India traders. When all was prepared, the commodore, on the fifth of February, stood in, and came to anchor about five miles from the land.

      From a manuscript chart, which had previously been taken by Captain Endicott, a tolerably correct idea could be formed of the local situations of the forts. The commodore, however, deemed » it important that still more accurate information should be procured, if practicable, of their true positions; at least, that those intended to lead the several divisions should, previous to their landing with the forces which were intended for the settlement of accounts with these people, be fully aware of what they had to encounter, in effecting this object.

      Voluntary justice on the part of the Malays, for the piratical act of which we complained, was not to be looked for, and was entirely out of the question. It was the act of a whole community, with at least the connivance of their rulers the rajahs. The only plan, therefore, that promised success in compelling them to do us justice, was that of securing the persons of some of

their principal rajahs, and retaining them as hostages until the actual perpetrators of this atrocious act of piracy were brought to condign punishment, and ample restitution of property made to the owners of the ship Friendship, and her unfortunate officers and crew. When similar acts of aggression are perpetrated by the primitive proprietors of the American soil — when a robbery or murder has been committed by one or more individuals of a tribe on our western frontiers — the nearest local authority immediately makes a demand that the culprits be forthwith given up to abide the penalties of our own laws; and, if refused, the demand is quickly enforced by the arm of military power; and chiefs, like Black Hawk, have been retained in custody as hostages for the future good behaviour of their tribes. Ought the bloodthirsty inhabitants of Sumatra to be treated with any more lenity than the much wronged and oppressed aborigines of our own country? Let justice and humanity answer the question.

      In order, then, to secure the persons of the rajahs without bloodshed, it was desirable, as before intimated, to gain more accurate information than the commodore possessed, respecting the exact position of the several fortresses in which these oriental princes were to be found. To effect this object, the commodore directed that the following system of espionage be adopted: — a boat was prepared to visit the shore, and Lieutenant Shubrick, in citizen's dress, was to represent the captain of the Potomac as a merchantman; while Lieutenant Edson was to represent the supercargo, anxious to procure a supply of - pepper. Lieutenants Pinkham, Hoff, Ingersoll, and Acting-sailing-master Totten, dressed as sailors, rowed the boat; and it was intended that they should stroll about the village ground, and pick up what information they could in relation to the state of defence of the Malay forts, while the mock captain and supercargo should open negotiations in relation to a cargo of pepper. These officers having received the necessary instructions from Mr. Barry, as to the plan of opening negotiations with the rajahs, the boat put off from the ship.

      The Potomac had anchored in twenty fathoms, soft bottom, the town bearing north five miles distant. The boat had not proceeded beyond hail of the frigate, when the bottom was perceived under her; which induced Lieutenant Shubrick to hail the

ship, and communicate the fact. A boat was immediately sent to sound, and found a coral reef, of two or three acres in extent, with but five fathoms of water upon the shoalest part.

      In the meantime, as the other boat approached the beach, the Malays began to collect in considerable force. There was much surf on the shore at the time; and of the number collected around the boat, not less than two hundred were armed, some with krisses and knives, and others with blunderbusses. It seemed evident that they had some suspicion of the character and object of their visiters; and appeared so formidable in numbers and weapons, that the party deemed it imprudent to land; which caution was approved by the commodore, who had watched with great anxiety the boat's approach to the beach, with the great number of Malays which were seen gathered round the spot where it was expected she would land. The party, of course, returned to the frigate.

      From all that had thus far been witnessed, there was nothing that seemed to require the least alteration in the mind of the commodore, as to the correctness of the plans he had previously matured; on the contrary, every thing seemed to confirm and strengthen them. The physical force of the Malays was by no means inconsiderable; and their fastnesses in the jungle rendered them exceedingly formidable. Prompt measures, and such as were calculated, if possible, to effect a surprise, were evidently indicated as the only course compatible with humanity and sound policy. As soon as it was dark the boats were hoisted out, and during the night every preparation was made for landing.

      The several divisions were now, to a man, impatient to be under way. Indeed, the spirit of the enterprise pervaded the whole ship's company to such a degree, that even the sick-list was reduced lower than it had previously or has since been known; so eager was every one to be ranked among the combatants. Men who could not be detailed for this service were found stowed away and concealed in the boats, with the hope of joining their companions on shore. The very uncertainty of the character, or final result of the enterprise, seemed to give it a new and irresistible charm in the eyes of every genuine sailor.

      The rules of the service not permitting the commodore to leave the ship in person, the command of the expedition devolved

upon Lieutenant Shubrick, to whom the commodore had very fully imparted his instructions, and explained his views in general, for the whole management of the enterprise. Foreseeing, however, that the plan of operations on shore would inevitably lead to a separation of the several divisions, the commodore took occasion, while the whole party stood under arms on the spardeck, to explain to the officers at the head of their respective divisions, as well as to the men, the nature and objects of the service upon which they were about to engage, and for which they had been ordered by their government to this distant part of the world; and that, however few in numbers, or humble the enterprise, that much good or evil to the future safety of American interest, and the lives of their countrymen engaged in commercial pursuits in these seas, might depend on their good conduct that night.

      He then explained to them that their first object on landing should be to surround the several forts, so as to intercept the flight of the rajahs, as the first and all important preliminary step towards opening a successful parley, and final investigation in relation to the Friendship, the outrages committed upon which vessel had alone led to their present visit to this island; and that in no instance, and on no account whatever, were they to commence hostilities, nor fire a gun upon the Malays, unless the attack first came from them; in which case, they were not only to defend themselves, but should rush at once to the assault; and at every hazard carry the forts which had thus refused to hold conference. Should the conflict become warm, he trusted they would bear in mind that humanity to the vanquished was ever more honourable to the victor than valour; and, above all, he charged them to lessen, by every means in their power, the sufferings and alarm of the unarmed and defenceless.

      He next reminded them, and earnestly urged the fact on their attention, that but little was known respecting the localities of the place where they were about to land, and still less of the strength of the forts they were to invest, the number and arms of the enemy, or the resistance they might make. He charged them not to forget that the honour of their country, so far as committed to their keeping, as well as their own honour and safety, might, and most probably would, depend upon their steadiness, and the alacrity

with which they supported each other in the impetuosity of their attack, should such become the unpleasant alternative. In a word, they were to look to Lieutenant Shubrick as their leader; and to execute, with implicit obedience, his orders in the general movements, as well as the commands of officers in charge of the several divisions, while separated from each other.

      Orders were now given to pass over the side of the ship, and take their places, as arranged, in the several boats. These orders were obeyed with a half suppressed and willing ardour which gave confidence as to the result of the enterprise, as well as an earnest of what still might be expected from American seamen when their country shall require their services on a more important theatre, and on a larger scale. One of the sections of each division was armed with pistols and boarding-pikes, the rest with muskets. The boats in which the whole embarked were, the launch, four cutters, and the life-boat.

      The six-pounder, familiarly known to the officers and men by the cognomen of "Betsey Baker," was placed in the launch, to which a small stage had been fitted, and towed astern, for the purpose of facilitating the landing of the gun and the men, in case the surf should be found so high as to endanger the arms and ammunition. Every thing being now ready, and the men at their oars, the little flotilla left the frigate, led by Lieutenant Shubrick in the whale-boat, to indicate the place of landing. The other boats, with the largest ahead, followed in line, all with muffled oars, and silent as the grave.

      It was now about two o'clock, A. M., on the morning of Monday, the sixth of February. The night was still — the stars bright — but no moon. Not a word was spoken above the low, suppressed whisper, as the boats glided swiftly on towards the shore. The place of landing having been selected previously to leaving the ship, no difficulty was found in steering the boats to the designated spot, which was not far from the fort of the powerful rajah, Muley Mahomet. This place is almost a mile to the north of the town, and was selected as promising the most convenient spot for the men to land on, and form in their respective divisions; and as being in some measure protected from a view of the town by a projecting point of land.

      On approaching the shore, two lights were seen moving in dif-

ferent parts of the town; but they soon disappeared. A moment more, and the order, "Oars," was given. The boats immediately "backed in," when the launch let go her kedge; and, as the surf was high, rigged out her stage, over which the division in her passed on shore, without difficulty or accident — scarcely wetting a single piece. The six-pounder, by the same means, was also landed in safety. By this time, the other boats had also commenced disembarking their respective divisions; and, in fifteen minutes, all were safely landed, formed, and in order of march;; each man having found his place, according to the position he occupied while being drilled on the decks of the Potomac. The marines formed in front, facing to the south; the other divisions in like manner, the right of each being near the water's edge; the left but a few yards from the groves of cocoanut-trees and jungle.

      While this little force stood thus under arms on the beach, before receiving orders to advance, what an interesting spectacle must they have presented to an American eye! Who could behold, without feelings of the deepest interest, so small a body of men, thus paraded on a foreign and hostile shore, armed, and eager to march whithersoever led, in the stern demand for justice, on account of wrongs suffered by their unoffending and unprotected countrymen! Rough, hardy sailors, as most of them, were, they presented a picture that was by no means deficient in those exquisite touches which constitute the "moral sublime."

      The morning star had shone some time above the horizon, and the streaks of light began to make their appearance. The matches were now lighted, and all was expectation and eagerness. At the moment, some hesitation was felt as to the exact course to take; a Malay, who had probably been placed as a sentinel, was observed to run some distance ahead, from the beach towards the jungle, and the instant was seized to move forward.

      The town of Quallah-Battoo does not contain less than two thousand inhabitants, and nearly five hundred fighting men. It is situated on a small bight about two miles long; a small stream, passing through the rear of the town, divides it into two very unequal portions, the main part being on the northwest side, where the divisions landed. It is regularly laid out into streets, interspersed with jungle and cocoanut-trees, and contains five forts,.

owned and commanded by different rajahs or chiefs. The natives and their leaders rely exclusively on these forts and their citadels for defence at all times, when engaged in their numerous petty wars with each other, or when expecting an attack from an enemy without; and long have they believed that within these walls no enemy, however formidable, could ever be able to reach them.

      Through Mr. Barry, an outline of the situation of the forts had been obtained, and the attack accordingly planned as follows, by the commodore, previously to the divisions' leaving the ship: Lieutenant Hoff, who commanded the second division, was to invest the fort belonging to Muley Mahomet (or Poloa-en-Yamet), situated at the northwest extremity of the town, and about sixty yards from the water's edge. Lieutenants Edson and Terrett, at the head of the marines, were ordered to proceed to the investment of the fort belonging to Tuko de Lama, about five hundred yards in the rear of Mahomet's fort, while about six hundred yards to the right of these stood the fort of Catchey Duraman, directly in the rear of the town, to which Lieutenant Pinkham was ordered with the first division; while Lieutenant Ingersoll, commanding the third division, with "Betsey Baker" in the rear, and in front the boats under Passed-midshipman Godon, should invest the main fort, commanded by the powerful rajah Chedula, situated within thirty yards of the beach, and directly in front of the town. The fifth fort is situated to the east of the rest, and across the stream alluded to, and is surrounded by an inaccessible jungle.

      These forts, and particularly the citadels, were generally bedded deep in the jungle, which prevents them from sudden surprise and abrupt attacks, and gives to the defenders the means of holding out longer and to better advantage. As the small column proceeded onwards, the boats kept up with them to the point of land where the town and the nearest forts were in clear view, when the party moved, to the left and entered the path cut through the jungle. As yet, no movement had been seen on the part of the natives; but a moment more, and a shot from the fort of Muley Mahomet announced their vigilance and readiness to receive their morning visiters.

      Lieutenant Hoff's division now filed off to this point of attack,

while the main body still moved onward, up a little steep; when Lieutenants Pinkham and Edson both marched off to their respective forts; while the third division and Betsey Baker, accompanied by Lieutenant Shubrick, still passed through the town. In a few moments the attack became general, the Malays in no instance allowing time fox parley; but received each division with an unexpectedly spirited fire from their small cannon, muskets, and blunderbusses. Lieutenant Hoff, as the nearest division, was the first engaged, and a spirited fire was kept up, while a part of his division attempted to breakdown a heavy gate which appeared to form the only or principal barrier to coming within close quarters. This being forced, a part of the division entered, but still found themselves distant from the citadel within, on account of a barrier of close jungle which surrounded it. Here, however, the men were partially protected from the fire of the Malays, which . was now idly directed. At this time Lieutenant Hoff called to them to desist, by a few words he had learned for the purpose from Mr. Barry, and the attack should cease; but they only answered with shouts, and redoubling their exertions, by hurling javelins and firing down upon them. Two men were wounded.

      This put a stop to all further conference, and the men were ordered to prepare for storming, which they did by throwing up a platform of brush and other loose materials found lying on the beach, but a short distance from the fort. Having literally built themselves up to a level with the top of the wall, an effort was made to reach its summit, where they were met by the Malays, hand to hand, when several of the assailing party were severely wounded; but Mahomet and the principal leaders having fallen, but feeble resistance was made by the rest, and the fort was instantly carried.

      Lieutenants Edson and Terrett, with the marines, with equal success, had forced their way into the fort destined for their attack. The Malays met them with firmness, but could not stand before the superior discipline of the marines, whose ardour seemed fully to compensate for their want of numbers. Lieutenant Terrett, with a guard, being left in charge of the fort. Lieutenant Edson, with the remainder of his men, proceeded through the town to join Lieutenant Shubrick, and receive his further orders.

      In the meantime Mr. Barry, who had been sent to point out

the fort destined to the attack of the first division, not being able to discover it, from recent alterations made in the general dispositions of the place, Lieutenant Pinkham turned his division to the right, and joined in the attack of the third division on the fort of Chedulah. The gateway having been forced, with great difficulty, by the pioneers, parts of the two divisions entered, under a brisk fire from a high platform situated at the southwestern extremity of the fort, and enclosed with lofty palisades. To this spot the enemy had retreated, followed by the divisions, which were now partly screened by the walls of the fort, and the brisk and well-directed fire kept up by Betsey Baker, under the direction of Passed-midshipman Totten.

      Finding this spot no longer tenable, the Malays retreated to within the walls of the fort, which was now being attacked in front by the boats. The outer walls were fired, and the flames, spreading with great rapidity, soon communicated to the inner apartments, and in a few minutes an explosion took place, from a large quantity of powder, which fortunately did no injury to the attacking party; when another effort was made, headed by Lieutenant Ingersoll, for the main fortress. In this assault, William P. Smith, seaman, was killed; Midshipman Taylor and three men wounded, one dangerously.

      The firing from the fort now began to slacken; the Malays not being able to stand the cross fire from the boats and the two divisions; but still they held out. The men from the boats were now called on shore; Lieutenant Edson had arrived, and Lieutenant Hoff at the same moment came up with a part of his division, having left the remainder with an officer in charge of his fort. A general attack was ordered, and the fort was instantly taken by assault, the Malays making precipitate retreat through their secret avenues into the jungle. The guns were dismounted, spiked, and thrown from the walls; the small arms taken and sent to the boats.

      At this time the Malays, collecting in numbers, began to rally at the back of the town, and to advance. The fort of Duraman had commenced firing upon the small body of marines under Lieutenant Terrett, left in charge of the fort they had captured. This was the fort the first division had been unable to find; but being now discovered. Lieutenants Pinkham and Edson, with parts of their divisions, were ordered to attack it; while the remainder

forced the Malays, with some loss, to fall, back into their jungle. The fort was instantly taken, with the loss of one man killed, and three more severely wounded.

      Nothing now remained to be done. The Malays had been beaten at all points, and forced to retreat; their forts dismantled, and the outworks consumed, from which the fire had spread to many other buildings in the town. The surf was rising rapidly, when from two kent-bugles the air of Yankee-doodle was sounded, which, as previously agreed on, brought all the scattered divisions to headquarters, when they commenced embarking, under cover of a guard of marines. The services performed by the guard did them great credit. By this we mean nothing exclusive. Where all performed their duty so promptly, so fearlessly, and with so much effect, it would be equally invidious and unjust to draw distinctions or make comparisons. The whole manner of attack had been conceived in judgment, and executed with a sailor's natural impetuosity; but had the assault been less skilfully or successfully made, or the re-embarking divisions pressed by an advancing enemy in their rear, the marines, still unbroken in line, would probably have rendered a service, and given an argument of their importance, as a constituent of our navy, that might not be easily refuted.

      Every attention had been paid to the wounded by Assistant-surgeons Foltz and Pawling, who were at all points, as their professional services were needed.

      As the boats pulled off from their shore, a shot, from the still unsubdued fort across the stream, struck close to the launch, ricochetting over several of the boats, but without doing any injury; and at ten, A. M., the whole party had arrived on board, receiving the commendations of their commander, whose mind had been kept so long in the most painful suspense. From the commencement, he had witnessed the constant firing of small arms, the frequent discharge of cannon, the explosion of the forts, the movement of men to and fro, without being able to distinguish who they were, or what fortune was attending them, until thus so happily relieved, by beholding his crew once more within the strong walls of the Potomac, and that so few had suffered during the morning's excursion. In the afternoon, the burial service

was witnessed by all hands, over the bodies of their deceased shipmates, who had fallen before the forts on shore.

      The following are the official reports from Commodore Downes to the secretary of the navy, in relation to this transaction.

      "Sir,

      "I have the honour to acquaint you with the arrival of the Potomac on this coast upon the fifth inst.; I anchored off Quallah-Battoo, distant about three miles; my object in so doing being to prevent discovery of the character of the ship, which I had taken care previously to disguise, and so effectually, that a number of fishermen who came on board after I had anchored, did not discover that she was other than a merchant ship, until they came over the side. They were detained on board till after the capture of Quallah-Battoo.

      "Finding no vessels on the coast, I could obtain no information in addition to that already possessed respecting the nature of the government, the piratical character of the population, or the flagrant circumstances of the injury done to the Friendship.

      "No demand of satisfaction was made previous to my attack, because I was satisfied, from what knowledge I had already of the character of the people, that no such demand would be answered, except by refusals, and that such refusals would proceed from want of ability, as well as from inclination, it being a habit generally among this people to spend their money as soon as obtained.

      "Soon after anchoring, Lieutenants Shubrick, Pinkham, Hoff, Ingersoll, and Edson of marines, together with Passed-midshipman Totten, went on shore in the whale-boat, for the purpose of learning the situation of the town and forts; but every thing being built in close concealment, they were unable to arrive at any satisfactory result, except as to one of the forts erected immediately at the place of landing.

      "No precautions were taken to cut off the opportunity of escape from any inhabitants of the town, the nature of the place rendering it absolutely impossible, situated as it is, in the midst

of wood and jungle, impenetrable, except by private passages, known only to the natives.

      "As soon as it became sufficiently dark to prevent our movements from discovery by the people on shore, the boats were hoisted out, and every preparation made for landing, which was effected about daybreak of the sixth inst. The party under the command of Lieutenant Shubrick consisted of two hundred and fifty men.

      "I adopted this mode of enforcing our demands, in hopes of getting possession of the rajahs, by surrounding and surprising the forts in which they usually reside, and thus, most probably, inducing the payment of money for their ransom. I regret to say, however, that in consequence of their desperate fighting, neither giving nor receiving quarter, no prisoners were made, nor was any property found belonging to the Friendship, save the medicine chest.

      "Lieutenant Shubrick has my warmest acknowledgments for the able and gallant manner in which he conducted the expedition, and I enclose herewith that gentleman's report, wherein he gives a detailed account of the attack, together with other particulars. [See Appendix.]

      "The midshipmen who were on shore and engaged in the action, but named by Lieutenant Shubrick, were William May, in the first division under Lieutenant Pinkham; Messrs. Alonzo B. Davis, James G. Stanley, and Charles W. Morris, of the second division, commanded by Lieutenant Hoff; and of the third division under command of Lieutenant Ingersoll, Messrs. Charles Hunter, Eugene Boyle, and James L. Parker, with Midshipman George T. Sinclair in the launch.

      "Their gallantry and good conduct in the action are spoken of as deserving the highest praise. Inconsequence of the fort situated south of the river having fired upon our men while attacking Quallah-Battoo, I ran in with the ship and fired about three broadsides into it, when a white flag was hoisted; upon this I ceased firing, soon after got under way, and stood for this anchorage, where? am taking on board wood and water.

      "While lying here, a flag of truce has been sent off from Quallah-Battoo; and I was informed by the bearer of the same, that a great many had been killed on shore, and that all the prop-

erty had been destroyed. He begged that I would grant them peace. I stated to him that I had been sent to demand restitution of the property taken from the Friendship, and to insist on the punishment of those persons who were concerned in the outrage committed on the individuals of that ship.

      "Finding it impossible to effect either object, I said to him, that I was satisfied with what had already been done, and I granted them the peace for which they begged. I at the same time assured him, that if forbearance should not be exercised hereafter from committing piracies and murders upon American citizens, other ships of war would be despatched to inflict upon them further punishment.

      "Several rajahs, from towns in the vicinity, have visited my ship, and others who are distant have sent deputations to me. All of them have declared their friendly disposition towards the Americans, and their desire to obtain our friendship. Corresponding assurances were given on my part, and they left the ship apparently well satisfied.

      "Having wood and water, and refreshed my crew, I shall leave here to-morrow for Batavia.

"The Honourable Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Navy."

      Though deviating from the chronological course of events, still it seems more proper, in this place, to insert the following correspondence: —

      "Sir,

      "Your letters, dated twenty-sixth of August, sixteenth of September, twentieth, twenty-ninth, and thirty-first of October, and eleventh of December, 1831; seventeenth of February, and eleventh and twelfth of March, 1832, have all been received.

      "The president regrets that you were not able, before attacking the Malays at Quallah-Battoo, to obtain there, or near, fuller information of the particulars of their outrage on the Friendship, and of the character and political relations of the aggressors.

      "It was desirable, also, that a previous demand should have been made for restitution and indemnification; as, whether necessary or not on principles of national law, it would have furnished the most favourable opportunity for success in obtaining redress, and would have tended to remove any complaint in any quarter, on account of the nature and consequences of the attack.

      "On every circumstance, influencing your judgment to dispense with these, he wishes the fullest information, since it may hereafter become material.

      "At the same time, the president wishes me to express his highest commendation for the coolness, firmness, and skill, evinced by yourself, officers, and men, in the whole attack; and hopes that the best consequences to our trade and national character will result from it, in that region of the world.

      Sir,

      "I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, bearing date the sixteenth of July, 1832; containing the wish of the president, that I would communicate all the circumstances which influenced my judgment in directing the manner of attack on the town of Quallah-Battoo.

      "I was directed in my instructions, on arriving at the island of Sumatra, to obtain from the intelligent shipmasters, supercargoes, and others engaged in American trade in that neighbourhood, such information as they possessed in relation to the nature of the government there, the piratical character of the population, and the flagrant circumstances of the injuries before-mentioned.

      "The above were the only sources of information to which I was referred in my instructions, and in reference to which I stated, in my communication to the department dated February seventeenth, 1832, that finding no vessel on the coast, I could obtain no information in addition to that already possessed respecting the nature of the government, &c. &c.

      "There were other sources of information, however, to which

I had access; but, not coming within the range of those pointed out in my instructions, I did not deem it necessary to refer to them in my official report above alluded to; at present, however, it may be proper to do so.

      "At Rio de Janeiro, I obtained such information relative to the character of the people of Quallah-Battoo as went strongly to impress me with the opinion, that a demand made on the rajahs, previous to my getting them into my power, or to taking any steps towards cutting off the retreat of the participators in the outrage committed on the Friendship, must have led to an utter defeat of the expedition.

      "At the Cape of Good Hope I made known the object of my visit to the island of Sumatra, to the officers highest in rank, both in the army and in the navy. These officers had resided a long time in India, and several of them had been on the coast of Sumatra, and were well acquainted with the Malay character.

      "By the representations of these gentlemen, the natives were cruel and treacherous on all parts of the coast, and by no means to be trusted; they represented Quallah-Battoo as independent of, and not subject to, any regular government; and as to indemnification, it seemed quite out of the question; as the inhabitants could, on the slightest alarm, or from motives of policy, retire and conceal themselves, and what tangible treasure they possessed, beyond the reach of our guns, and beyond the possibility of pursuit; as the whole country bordering the seashore, and a few miles inland, is covered by a close, and, except to themselves, an impenetrable jungle.

      "I was advised to proceed with the greatest caution, as they assured me that the character -of the Malays of Sumatra was generally but little understood; that they were cunning and brave, and by no means to be despised as enemies.

      "In confirmation of all this, they communicated to me the particulars of the British expedition, which had been sent against a tribe on the west coast of Sumatra, but a short distance south of Quallah-Battoo. The squadron approached the anchorage, the object and force of the expedition were known to the natives, and they as soon retired, leaving the place to be taken and burned by the disembarking force without opposition. The attacking party, holding their enemies in too much contempt, did not take

the necessary precaution to prevent surprise; and the consequence was, that the Malays sailed' from their secret places, and cut off and destroyed the English divisions to a man.

      "In addition to this, I learned that the natives had made several recent attempts to cut off vessels, and that the Quallah-Battooans, in particular, were notoriously the greatest pirates on the coast of Sumatra; that they even extended their depredations to the coast of Java, where they were never known to spare man, woman, or child, which had unfortunately fallen into their hands.

      "Such was the character of these people, as derived from sources entitled to my highest confidence; such it was represented to me, at a subsequent period, while in Batavia; and such the whole of my own personal observations have confirmed it to be.

      "In addition to my instructions, these were the lights I had to guide me in my operations, on the still imperfectly known coast of Sumatra, and its still less perfectly known inhabitants. I felt the full weight of my responsibility, and even a painful anxiety to merit the approbation and meet the reasonable expectations of my country. I could not believe, for a moment, that my government despatched a vessel of such dimensions, to a point so distant, and through seas so dangerous, without attaching to her movements expectations of national importance.

      "The knowledge I had acquired of the character of the people against whom I had to operate, left me no room to doubt, that a movement prompt and efficient in its character could alone carry with it the least possible hopes of success; to approach that coast, and to make that movement, was a task neither light nor easy of execution; what I had to do I knew must be done quickly. The coast was to be made, the town approached, and the character of the vessel concealed; a landing effected through a dangerous surf, and the place surrounded, before the Malays could penetrate our true character, or know the object of our visit.

      "The intelligence brought by the party sent to reconnoitre, showed but too clearly what must have been the result of a disembarcation in the day. It must have ended in one of two ways; either the natives would have fled, leaving their empty huts, which, if destroyed, could have been in short time rebuilt; or they would from forts, and from their jungles, have severely annoyed, if not totally defeated, our light divisions. In either case

we must have been virtually defeated, and an impression left on the inhabitants that we had not the power to punish them for outrages committed on our commerce.

      "In such a case the defeat would have been more complete, as there was no higher authority or government to which we could make our appeal, and from which we could expect indemnification. Indeed, within a short distance, there were other tribes and chiefs separate and independent of those of Quallah-Battoo.

      "While making arrangements to open a communication with the chiefs, and to make a formal demand of indemnification, I felt it to be my imperative duty to take such steps at the same time as would cut off the retreat of those who had participated in the piracy of the Friendship; and while in the execution of the only feasible plan by which these objects could be effected, our divisions were fired on, and our strength put at defiance; the action was thus unavoidably commenced; and, as to its result, I need only refer you to my previous communication.

      "I ascertained, after the attack, that the whole inhabitants of Quallah-Battoo were concerned in the plunder of the Friendship, and that the character of the transaction agreed substantially with that furnished by the department, marked A and B. The specie and opium had been divided between the four principal rajahs; and all the other articles taken from the ship were distributed among the people of Quallah-Battoo.

      "All the intercourse I had with the natives while lying at Soosoo, confirmed me in the correctness of the course adopted; and also that the chastisement inflicted on Quallah-Battoo, though severe, was unavoidable and just; and that it will be the means of giving a permanent security to our commerce for a long time to come.

"The Honourable Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Navy."

CHAPTER VIII.

      That nothing should be left undone to leave an indelible impression on the minds of these people, of the power of the United States to inflict punishment for aggressions committed on her commerce, in seas however distant, the ship was got under way the following morning, and brought to,- with a spring on her cable, within less than a mile of the shore, when the larboard side was brought to bear nearly upon the site of the town.

      The object of the commodore, in this movement, was not to open an indiscriminate or destructive fire upon the town and inhabitants of Quallah-Battoo, but to show them the irresistible power of thirty-two pound shot, and to reduce the fort of Tuca de Lama, which could not be reached on account of the jungle and stream of water, on the morning before; and from which a fire had been opened and continued during the embarcation of the men into their boats, on their return to the ship.

      The policy of this measure cannot be too highly appreciated, when it is remembered that these people, while practising their piracies, or watching every favourable opportunity to capture ships trading with them, were frequently told by our captains that outbreakings or violence on their part would most assuredly cause the government of America to send out an adequate force to punish them; and that there was always a disposable one, ready to perform such service. At this idea they always tossed their heads in a contemptuous manner, exclaiming with a loud laugh, "Ameri-

can ship big gun! no have got big gun American ship." One of the rajahs, when Mr. Barry was endeavouring to convince him that the people, and the great rajah of his country, possessed large ships, loaded with nothing but guns, powder, and shot, and having hundreds of men on board, for the purpose of redressing the wrongs done to his people abroad, laughed in his face most heartily, and replied, that he had spoken a falsehood. Mr. Barry insisted that what he had stated was true; when the rajah again replied, that it could not be so. If we had ships which he could not take with his sampans and proas, "why had they never been on the coast?" The prevalence of this belief is not to be wondered at. American trade on that coast had been carried on for nearly forty years, without the shadow of protection from the arm of government; while other nations, whose trade did not amount to one tenth of our own, had sent armed vessels to look after it.

      From the manner in which the Potomac was disguised, and her previous distance from the shore, the natives could not, until her firing had actually commenced, have formed the most distant idea of the tremendous effect of thirty-two pound shot, when discharged from a gun of that calibre.

      The fort of Tuca de Lama was very soon deserted, while the shot was cutting it to pieces, and tearing up whole cocoa-trees around it by the roots.

      In performing this service, there was a fine opportunity of observing the great proficiency the crews of the guns had made in that highly important part of their profession, loading and firing. Though the cannonade was brisk and constant for more than half an hour, not the most trifling accident occurred, and the shots were directed against De Lama's fort with great precision. When silence had been commanded, and the firing ceased, the Malays embraced the opportunity to exhibit, in conspicuous places along the shore, white flags; that colour being considered among them a signal for peace.

      The commodore was pleased to see this movement on their part; and, behoving that they would not very soon deny "that the Americans had big ships and large guns," directed an answering flag of white to be hoisted at the mainmast head, and the batteries to be secured.

      It appears that the rajah's of Quallah-Battoo had some diffi-

culty of a serious nature with the people of Soo-soo or Pulo Kio, and that both parties were ready to commence hostilities at the slightest provocation; and we have since learned that it was principally owing to this cause, that the forts were in so good a state of defence, and had so many well-armed Malays to defend them, at the time of the attack by the divisions from the Potomac.

      In a former chapter it has been mentioned that Soo-soo was but a few miles to the southward and eastward of Quallah-Battoo and the establishments and fort of the friendly rajah, Po Adam, at the head of a small cove called Pulo Kio, or Woody Island; the little promontory resembling an island when viewed from the sea. r

      These people, dreading lest they might be considered as having been participators in the late offence of their neighbours, would probably have fled to their forts and "their jungles, had not Po Adam assured them that his prediction, the fulfilment of which they had so long doubted, was now in truth coming to pass; that the great rajah of America had now sent a big ship to punish those who had robbed and murdered his people.

      So much influence over their minds and feelings did he exercise, that they witnessed the cannonade without the slightest apprehension of the guns being turned in their direction; indeed, many of ' them came out some distance in their proas around a point, in order to have a better vi^w of the bombardment of De Lama's fort.

      In the course of the afternoon, a boat came off from the shore bearing a flag of truce to the commodore, beseeching him, in all the practised forms of submission common to the east, that he would grant them peace, and cease to fire his big guns. He seemed to be fully aware, of the object of his visit, and of the enormity of their offence, as they not only asked to be forgiven for past errors and offences, but most solemnly promised, in the name of the people who had sent them, that no further outrages should ever -be committed by them on our commerce.

      In bidding them be more at their ease, and giving them assurance that hostilities had now ceased, the commodore directed them to say to the remaining rajahs and people of Quallah-Battoo, and all others with whom they had any intercourse on the whole coast, that the object of his government in sending him to their shores

had now been consummated in the punishment of the guilty, who had committed their piracies on the Friendship; that they must now be cautious of the misconceptions they had formed of the naval power of his country, and how reckless and inconsiderate they must be ever again to provoke that power. Though he had taken their town, it was instantly restored to them; as it formed no part of the policy of his government to make conquest, and form establishments in foreign ports. That his countrymen would still continue to visit their ports, and trade with them, as they had done before; and that, while they Conducted themselves with justice and humanity, they need be under no apprehension of future attacks from the big ships of his country; but in case they should, either here, or .at any other port on the coast, be guilty of cutting off another of the merchant ships of his country, they might rest perfectly assured that punishment, though for a. time delayed, would fall upon them at a moment perhaps when they least expected it.

      Po Adam was the interpreter during this interview, which was conducted with the greatest solemnity, and seemed to sink deeply into the minds of these ambassadors of peace. It is hoped the effect may be for good. Their astonishment on getting a view of the ship's batteries, masts, and rigging, seemed very great; and no doubt, the account they bore to their companions on shore of the wonderful engines of destruction they had seen, will have a salutary influence in preventing outbreakings among them; as fear is the only restraint to a people who acknowledge no moral obligations.

      By way of a peace-offering, they had brought off a number of cocoanuts, a quantity of sugarcane, and fruits of various kinds; which, being received by the commodore, they were dismissed to return on shore. .

      At six A.M., on the morning of the eighth, the Potomac was under way from the place where she had come to anchor on the evening before, and stood for Soo-soo, with a light wind from the northward and eastward. This distance, like other portions of the coast, was run entirely by the guidance of the lead; the numerous and dangerous coral reefs making this precaution necessary for a vessel drawing so great a depth of water. At eight A.M., the anchor was let go in twenty-seven fathoms, Quallah-

Battoo bearing north-by-west-half-west; Pulo Kio, northeast-by-north; and Soo-soo, northeast-by-east-half-east.

      Lieutenant Wilson was immediately despatched on shore in the launch, attended by a suitable guard, to make arrangements for watering the ship; bearing with him a flag of truce. He found corresponding white flags flying in several places along the shore; and having met with no difficulties in making arrangements for getting off water, before noon he returned on board.

      At the place of watering, the river is enclosed between two abrupt banks of sand; the northwest side answering the double purpose of confining the river to its bed, and of forming the little bay of Soo-soo upon the other. The launch and third cutter were the boats put in requisition for this service; the superior officers, in turn, taking charge of them, protected at all times by an armed guard, besides the launch, bearing in her a six-pounder which the sailors declared was own cousin to Betsey Baker, that had behaved so well a morning or two before, at Quallah, and to which they had given the name of Miss Polly Hopkins. The boats, as there was some surf upon the beach, more particularly when the seabreeze sets in, were necessarily moored, with a grapnel seaward and a rope upon the shore. The distance from' the shore of the bay across to the river is about thirty yards.. Elevated upon some casks, the hose-tube was placed securely and the hose led to the boats, which were moored outside the surf; a few hands being left in the boats to attend to the filling. The party on shore waded into the river, carrying the water in buckets and pouring it into the hose-tube, which being elevated five or six feet in the distance of twenty yards, the water glided rapidly into the casks in the boats.

      While this duty was going on, the' Malays collected in large numbers on the banks of the river, armed, as usual, with krisses and long knives, and watching with much apparent curiosity this method of watering.

      It was soon ascertained that many of these spectators were from Quallah-Battoo; and as the natives of Sumatra are so famed for cunning, fickleness, and treachery, it was thought they might possibly, under present excitement, seek any favourable opportunity that might offer to renew hostilities with any unguarded portion of the watering party. This, however, was not probable,

as they must have observed the party well armed for defence; for, besides a guard of marines, there was Miss Polly Hopkins keeping a steady eye upon the multitude, under the immediate direction of a midshipman.

      Po Adam, the friendly rajah, was, during this time, nearly a constant visiter on board; distinguished at all times for an independent bearing and manly deportment. He seemed not the least elevated on account of his present reception on board the frigate; though he could not conceal, and indeed often expressed, the satisfaction he felt at her arrival, "authorized by what he had long considered to be a powerful nation, a part of whose duty he, Po Adam, felt assured, was to do justice to his motives; and that his acts with regard to the Friendship had been approved by the government and people from whom she came. His fort at Kio is strong, and well manned by his vassals and hired adherents, who, for a small stipend in money, some dried fish and rice, with an occasional quid of opium, were always to stand by and defend him."

      Po Adam, in stature, is rather below the middle, size, and though his forehead is rather retiring, his eyes bespeak a mind ever awake to all that is passing around him. One feature in the face of this intelligent and high-minded rajah is very peculiar, as being so materially different from that of the generality of his countrymen; and that is, a finely formed aquiline nose; a feature which most of his countrymen have so clumsily wrought upon their faces, that any beauties they may otherwise possess, are, in most instances, thrown into the shade. Though his mouth is rather wide, his lips are thin, teeth strong and regular, and of shining ebony blackness, produced by a constant chewing of the betele-nut; a practice to which all his countrymen are inveterately addicted,and of which they are very fond, on account of the slight exhilarating effect it produces. Their principal stimulus (never using spirits) is opium, an article of trade which has entered largely into the transactions of the coast in the purchase of pepper. Like the rest of his countrymen, he always went barefoot, and his dress consisted merely of a pair of short white cotton trowsers, put on over a pair of drawers; a shirt without a collar, made of the same texture; and a long, rich silk sash around his loins, which not only supplied the place of suspenders, but also that of a belt

for an enormous kris, the blade of which was of the finest polished steel, and the handle and scabbard of the finest gold, bespangled with diamonds.

      This intelligent, and, in all respects, remarkable rajah, seemed to pride himself that he was a native of the city of Acheen. The king of this city considers many of the tribes and inhabitants of, the island, particularly of the west coast, tributary to him, and liege subjects of his crown; but this pretension and this power, as will be seen hereafter, are but the shadow without the substance. No one respects his power, nor holds himself tributary when he can, by any means, even by force, resist the collection of- revenue, which is occasionally demanded and enforced in proportion to the power of the crown; the principal revenue or tribute to the crown being, however, by one means or another, collected from the pepper coast. The king has several vessels of war carrying guns of small calibre, which are sent . along the coast every year to receive the per centage on the sales of pepper. The system of administering the revenue laws may be inferred from the following circumstance of an interesting character, which we received from an authentic source.

      During the month of August, following the capture of the Friendship, the brother of the King of Acheen visited, among other places, the port of Quallah-Battoo, for the annual collection of dues; intending, of course, to demand of Po Adam his tax, when matters should be settled with the Rajah of Quallah. The vice-king, however, had scarcely arrived, when the rajah and people of that place hastened to inform him of the part Po Adam had taken in the late affair of the captured ship; stating, that had it not been for his interference, they would have had it in their power to have presented their sovereign, the King of Acheen, with a fine vessel, taken from the Americans. The vice-king, for so he was called, was there in command of a schooner of one hundred tons, carrying twelve six-pounders, and a crew of sixty men. He appeared greatly incensed at the loss his brother had sustained, and threatened immediate vengeance on Adam, as the author of this disappointment. He seized the moment when Adam was absent as an agent for a French brig, seeking a cargo of pepper (he would hardly have dared so much had this gallant rajah been at home; but now there was no danger), and proceeded, with his

vessel, to Pulo Kio; came to an anchor within pistol-shot of Adam's fort, and inquired of the persons left in charge, amounting to not more than ten or twelve effective men, if they intended any resistance; and having been answered in the negative, this chivalrous representative of his royal brother landed without opposition, and commenced an indiscriminate plunder of goods and chattels of all kinds that came within his reach. Indeed, he stripped the fort and dwelling of Adam of every thing valuable; the whole amounting to not less than four thousand dollars. From such conduct on the part of the vice-king, may be judged with what hopes of success a demand might have been made of the King of Acheen himself, for indemnification for the robbery of the Friendship; with what hopes that the assassins of her crew might have been brought to punishment.

      On the return of Po Adam, which happened a few days after this event, he lost no time in useless repining, but at once set about putting his fort in the best possible order of defence, and quietly awaited the return of the schooner. This happened in the course of a few weeks, when she was allowed peaceably to come to anchor within musket-shot of his fort. Adam had every thing prepared, and not having the fear of royalty before his eyes, opened a fire from four iron six-pounders, the only guns which had been left him. This attack was so unexpected, that the vice-king instantly deserted his vessel, and fled in his boat, and the remainder of his officers and men followed his example; some took to their boats, while others jumped overboard and swam to the shore. Adam continued his fire until all hands were clear of her, and then going on board and cutting her cable, allowed her to drift on a coral reef not far from the shore, where she was stripped of many articles, and afterward went to pieces on the rocks. He seemed to be under no apprehension that the King of Acheen would ever molest him for the opposition he had so successfully made to resist his authority.

      It being remarked to him one day, that in consequence of the friendly manifestations he had evinced towards the Americans, the rajah of the adjacent ports might be induced to combine in a crusade for the purpose of destroying him, his reply was in broken English; "Suppose he come, me make fight; suppose he kill Po Adam now, one no can die morrow morning."

      In common with the custom of the country, among those who can afford it, it appears Adam had indulged in a plurality of wives; but had it not been for Mr. Barry, who knew the fact, he would have impressed all present with the belief that he had but one. Within a twelvemonth past one of his wives had died, and instead of contracting other alliances, he pretended that the only one now remaining lived with him in the fort. When questioned how this could be possible, as he had frequently been seen putting up little packages with great care, and sending them to a female in Acheen by the coasting vessels — this was bringing the subject too close for Adam to escape, and he frankly acknowledged that such was the fact, and that he had another wife in the Imperial City. He laughingly admitted that it was a very impolite and bad custom,and that if one or two more were to die, he would most assuredly adopt the American system, and have but one.

      The reason, philosophy, and religion of Po Adam on this subject, differed nothing from his whole sect, judging the plurality of wives a matter to be decided entirely by the rank of the person and his means to maintain them. Many of their marriage customs, laws, and festivities are curious, and worthy of being recurred to in another chapter. For instance: "If a younger sister be first married, the husband pays six dollars, add at pelilloo for passing over the elder." Thus it would appear, that the customs of occasionally selecting the younger, as practised in Christian countries, is discouraged among the Sumatrans by a protecting duty in favour of the elder.

      Upon the whole, taking all things into consideration, there seems to be much to interest one in the character of Po Adam; and when we reflect, that besides his recent losses, he had not less than two thousand dollars worth of property on board the Friendship when captured, it would seem a matter of some regret that our government had not made him a present, though it had only been a gilded toy, as a testimony of their approbation of his conduct.

      It was thought he felt this, though he expressed no dissatisfaction, and seemed much pleased with his reception and treatment on board the Potomac. He received, however, a number of presents from the commodore and officers; and there is no doubt that his feelings of friendship for the Americans were much

strengthened, and will continue to be useful to our countrymen trading on that part of the pepper coast.

      Through his agency, buffaloes, the only species of cattle they rear, were procured, together with vegetables, — such as pumpkins, yams, and sweet-potatoes, in sufficient quantities for the whole crew; fowls were also procured for about eight cents apiece.

      All these were embarked from Soo-soo, the watering-place; besides, sampans were constantly going and coming, loaded with fowls, cocoanuts, pumpkins, squashes, sugarcane, and every variety of tropical fruit.

      It is difficult to describe the apparent astonishment of these people on first passing over the ship's sides on board; every thing was new to them, and on a scale of which they had no previous adequate conception. They were permitted to roam at will over all parts of the vessel; but the tremendous batteries seemed to be the objects of their greatest wonderment, and on them they fixed their eyes with unwavering attention; and well might they be astonished, for here they saw within a small compass a mighty engine of destruction, before which all the armed proas, schooners, and brigs of the whole coast and Acheen, might be scattered as the dry sand before the fierce Echnephia.

      At this time the brig Olive, of Boston, arrived, seeking a cargo of pepper, which, to Po Adam, was very exhilarating news, as she had with her for sale guns, ammunition, and long knives. He acknowledged the probability that serious allegations might be brought against him after the departure of the Potomac, and felt the necessity of being prepared to meet them. Of the same vessel he purchased a quantity of opium.

      But Po Adam, besides being a rajah, had been considered a priest. At his request the commodore consented that the buffaloes furnished for the vessel might be slaughtered on shore, in order that the poor of his dependants should avail themselves of the offal, which would not be used if the animal were dressed on board.

      When the boats went on shore at daylight in the morning for water, a buffalo was found, tied to a cocoanut-tree, and Adam in attendance, ready to perform the part of executioner.

      The animal was so restive and wild, that the Malays were afraid to approach it. The officer in charge growing weary of the de-

lay occasioned by the awkwardness and timidity of the natives, ordered the animal to be shot in the head, and dressed by the men of his own party. The head, feet, and offal were left on shore; but the Malays would not touch an article of them, because, as it afterward appeared, the animal had been put to death by the "unfaithful." On the following morning, Adam was indulged in his own way of managing this business. The animal was made fast, as the day previous, and much time was taken in getting the head in a right direction. The animal moved, and again he was seized, and his head carefully pointed towards Mecca, when it was deemed lawful to kill him. These superstitions being thus far complied with, there was no further scruple manifested in appropriating to themselves, with keen appetites, such parts as had been allotted to them.

CHAPTER IX.

      There is, perhaps, on no part of the globe, a spot of equal dimensions and geographical importance, which is so little known to Americans as the Island of Sumatra; and yet this island was once the seat of a powerful empire, and here was held the court of one of the most wealthy monarchs of the east. On the northwestern extremity of the island is situated the capital of Acheen, at that time the great emporium of oriental commerce and riches; and here met the enterprising merchants of the then western world, to barter and traffic for the precious merchandise of the Indian Archipelago. Here the all-grasping Portuguese, whose conquests in the Indian Ocean had lent a terror to their name, were bravely met, and frequently repulsed by the powerful monarch of Acheen, and made to tremble in their turn. The Dutch followed the Portuguese, and fought hard for a monopoly in the valuable trade of the island. But from neither of these nations has the world ever derived much information of the interior of the island, or of its history. Even the English had traded nearly a century with its inhabitants, before any tolerably correct account of them had been published.

      There is no positive evidence that Sumatra was known to the ancients; as the knowledge of the Roman geographers did not, probably, carry them beyond the island of Ceylon, The idea of Sumatra being the land of Ophir, whither Solomon sent his fleets for the precious metals, is too vague even for conjecture; and the mountain bearing the name on the island was doubtless given to

it by modern writers. In the original Hebrew, the word signifies ashes^* It is generally supposed that the Arabians first discovered Sumatra, about the year 1173, and gave to it the name of Ramni. The writings of the great Venetian traveller, Marco Paulo, published in the year 1269, and so long looked upon as fabulous, do, nevertheless, bear many internal evidences of being descriptive of this island. It was the Portuguese, however, in their expedition to the east, under the command of Alphonso de Albuquerque, in the year 1510, who first gave to Sumatra its place upon the charts, and made its actual existence known to the rest of the world.

      Sumatra, which is one of the largest islands on the globe, is the most westerly of that group called by geographers Sunda Islands. It is computed to be more than nine hundred miles in length, and from one hundred to one hundred and fifty in breadth. But though this island, as we have said, was known to the Arabian voyagers before the completion of the twelfth, century, and has since that period been so much frequented by the Portuguese, Dutch, Eng-

lish, and latterly by our own countrymen; yet its breadth in particular has not been ascertained with that degree of accuracy, and in a sufficient number of places, to afford data from which the superficies of the island may be computed. As it is delineated on Blackford's chart of the China Sea, published in 1816, and which, he says, is "drawn from the best and latest authorities," its dimensions far exceed those above-mentioned; for its greatest breadth, as there represented, being from Indrapoor Point on its southwest coast, across to the mouth of Dancer river on its southeast side, covers more than two hundred and fifty miles, according to his scale of degrees; while its length, by the same computation, exceeds one thousand.

      The general direction of this elongated and comparatively attenuated island, is from northwest to southeast, extending across the equator, which divides it into two nearly equal parts: its northwestern extremity, which is Acheen Head, being in latitude 5° 53' north, and its southeastern extremity, which is Hog Point, bounding the Strait of Sunda, in latitude 5° 56' south. Acheen Head is in longitude 95° 34' east, and Hog Point in 105° 50' east. Thus it appears that the Island of Sumatra extends across more than eleven parallels of latitude, and more than ten meridians of longitude. Its central point, which is directly on the equator, and is that of its greatest breadth, is in longitude 102° east. Quallah-Battoo is in latitude 3° 20' north, longitude 96° 30' east.

      The whole of the southwest coast of Sumatra is washed by the waters of the great Indian Ocean; the northwestern point of the island stretching into the Bay of Bengal. Its opposite or northeastern shore, or so much of it as lies in the' northern hemisphere, forms one side of the Strait of Malacca, which separates the island from the Malay peninsula on the east; while that portion of the same coast which extends into the southern hemisphere, is washed by waters flowing through the Straits of Sabon, Lingin, and Banca. The Strait of Malacca, at its northern entrance, is about one hundred and fifty miles in width, but gradually contracts as it extends to the southeast, until the distance across, at its southern entrance, a little north of the equator, is less than forty miles. Two degrees south of the equator, on the northeast of Sumatra, is the Island of Banca, and the strait of the same name. This island was ceded to the British in the year 1812,

by the new Sultan of Palembang, and was then called the Duke of York's Island; the tin of which has long been a source of much profit in the Japan market. The Malay peninsula, being the extreme southeast point of the Birman empire and of continental Asia, is the western boundary of the Gulf of Siam, east and north of which is the China Sea.

      The face of the country is very unequal, broken, and irregular; and along its western coast, within twenty or thirty miles of the shore, a chain of lofty mountains stretches from one end of the island to the other, like the cordilleras of the South American Andes. This chain is in some places separated into parallel ridges, and though not sufficiently elevated to be covered with indissoluble snow, often shoots up into aspiring volcanic cones, whose craters are continually breathing clouds of smoke, and at times vomit forth rivers of burning and consuming lava. Mount Ophir, situated immediately under the equator, is the highest on the island, and has been ascertained, by actual measurement, to be thirteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-two feet above the level of the sea, which is about two thirds the height which is ascribed to the most elevated of the Andes, and- somewhat exceeding the Peak of Teneriffe.

      Between these ridges and mountains are many extensive and rich plains, so far elevated above; the low lands of the coast as to give them a comparatively fine, cool, and healthy climate. These plains are esteemed the most eligible portions of the country, and are by far the best improved and most thickly inhabited. Many extensive and beautiful lakes are reported by the natives to exist in the interior of these extensive plains, which serve greatly to facilitate their intercourse with each other. We say, "reported to exist;" for even at this day but little is known of the interior of the island, from the actual observations of foreigners. These lakes doubtless form the sources of the numerous rivers of the island, particularly those which discharge themselves into the straits on the eastern coast, and which are larger than those on the west side of the mountains, in proportion to the more extensive range of country through which they flow. Of these, Palembang, Jambi, Indergeree, Bakan and Battoo, Barra or Barroo, are the largest, rising on the east of the mountains, and receiving in their course the waters of many tributary streams and subsidiary rivu-

lets. They are also augmented by the aid of more extensive vapours and rains, which prevail on the east of the mountains; , while their course is rendered more steady and uniform by the less undulating face of the regions through which they find their way to the ocean. They also derive great advantages from the shelter and protection afforded them by the Island of Borneo, which, breaking the force of the ocean's swell, guards their mouth from that accumulation of sand, which, in the form of bars, too frequently obstructs the navigation of rivers not thus protected.

      The rivers of the west, however, are by no means inconsiderable, particularly the Cattown, Indrapoor, Tabooyong, and Sinkell. The mouths of these rivers, however, lying exposed to the whole strength of the winds and ocean on the west, which create a continued action of the surf, more powerful than the current of the streams, renders them inaccessible to vessels of any size, and.often dangerous even to boats.

      From what has been said respecting the location of Sumatra, in the very centre of the tropics, it may be inferred that an atmosphere of very high temperature must be the necessary consequence. Such, however, is not the fact. Experience has shown that it is more temperate than many regions beyond the torrid zone. The hour of greatest heat is about two o'clock in the afternoon, when the thermometer fluctuates between eighty-two and eighty-five degrees of Fahrenheit, and seldom rises above eighty-six in the shade. Some few localities, influenced by peculiar circumstances, may perhaps form exceptions; but the above is correct as a general remark applied to the coast. Further inland, beyond the first range of hills, the air is quite cool, so that even fires are not unpleasant in the morning, but often desirable. The thermometer there stands at about seventy, which in our country would not be deemed a low temperature, although the system, relaxed in a warm climate, is sensibly affected by it; as are also the fruits of the island, more especially the cocoanut, which comes more tardily to perfection in the more elevated situations.;

      The formation and shape of the island naturally produce these , results. Being a long narrow strip of land, rising from the bosom the ocean, the breezes that play over its surface carry with them the coolness and freshness of the sea. There are no sandy

deserts or plains to reflect back the rays of a vertical sun, as in the equatorial regions of Africa and South America, while the clayey qualities of the soil, and the thick luxuriant growth of verdure and forest, tend greatly to ameliorate the temperament of the atmosphere. Frost, snow, and hail are unknown; but the vapours on the island are frequently dense, and clouds descend low; while the morning fogs, which it requires several hours sun to dispel, lie between the hills, with outlines well defined.

      All writers, from the earliest Portuguese voyagers, agree that this island and its vicinity are often visited, during the northwest monsoon, with most terrific tempests of thunder and lightning, scarcely surpassed in any other part of the world; the whole appearing to tremble from the reiterated explosions; and the heavens, for hours at a time, presenting an expansive sheet of vivid fire.

      On the west coast of Sumatra, the southeast monsoon, or dry season, begins about May, and continues until about September. The northwest monsoon begins about November, and the heavy rains cease about March; while the months of April and May, as well as October and November, are, generally distinguished on the coast by light and variable winds. The causes of "these periodical winds, which are known by the appellation of monsoons, as well as their influence on commercial operations, have often been alluded to by many able writers; and they are of so much importance, and so necessary to be understood by the intelligent merchant, in selecting the seasons for sending his vessels into these seas, that we shall devote a chapter exclusively to this subject in another part of the work.

      The soil of Sumatra, generally speaking, is of a reddish stiff clay, covered in most places with a dark rich mould, from which springs, spontaneously, a strong luxuriant vegetation of perpetual verdure. This manifests itself in various species of grass, shrubbery, jungle, fruit-trees, and forests of timber, proportioned to the length of time the surface of the ground has remained undisturbed by agricultural or mining operations. In many places along the western coast of the island, are also extensive marshes, bogs, fens, or swamps, whose irregular and winding course may sometimes be traced, in a continuous chain, for many miles, until' they terminate on the low margin of a river, a lake, or the sea

shore. The more elevated spots which these marshes partially or wholly encompass, in the course of their extensive range, appear like so many peninsulas, promontories, capes, islands, isthmuses, and. ridges; presenting in some places gentle declivities, and m others high and precipitous cliffs.

      In mineral and metallic productions, the island is very rich; and it also abounds with fossil animal remains. In all ages it has been celebrated for its gold, of which it is still productive, and might be made abundantly more so, were the inhabitants industrious, and better versed in the sciences of mineralogy and metallurgy. The copper mines are also rich; and the ore, like that of Japan, is impregnated with gold. Iron is found in abundance, and the steel produced from it possesses a brilliancy, acuteness, and durity, which have never been equalled in any other part of the world. Tin, called by the natives temar, has always been one of the export commodities of the island, and has generally been procured near Palembang; though it is also found in other places, especially near Pedattee, in the vicinity of the English settlement of Bencoolen.

      The soil is also impregnated with nitre, or saltpetre, of which the natives extract large quantities, by a process peculiar to themselves. Coal, rock-crystal, and mineral and hot springs, have been discovered in many districts; and the oleum terrae, or oil of earth, is found in several places, being probably the same as the fountain of naptha, at Pedir, a town on the north end of the island, about forty miles east-southeast of Acheen, and which is so much celebrated by the Portuguese. Petrifications of shells of various kinds, and also of wood, are often found fifty feet above the level of the sea, and sometimes as many feet below the same level. These objects, deposited in situations so far beyond the reach of any assignable agency, may be admitted as corroborative testimony in favour of the hypothesis which supposes this globe of ours, at some remote period, to have writhed and shaken under some terrific convulsion.

      The island under consideration, at all events, has been, and probably still is, subject to those feverish throes of nature which have been known to produce results not less singular than the phenomena just alluded to. In fact, there are few islands in the eastern Archipelago that do not exhibit irresistible evidence of

volcanic action. We have already alluded to the occasional eruptions of burning mountains, of which there are several, generally quiescent, on the island. Earthquakes are frequent, though not often violent or destructive in their effects, w^hen compared with those which have successively shaken the western coast of South America. Writers have alluded to one which occurred in the district of Manna, on the southwest coast of Sumatra, about one , hundred and fifty miles northwest from the Strait of Sunda, in the year 1770; when a village was destroyed by the houses falling and taking fire, with the loss of some lives. The ground was rent for some distance, presenting a yawning chasm or fissure of several fathoms in depth, from the sides of which issued a bituminous matter, and the earth was observed alternately to contract and dilate for many days. The hills in the interior seemed to nod, as in obeisance to each other; and new formations were produced on the seashore. Another, still more disastrous in its effects, occurred at Padang, in 1097, when more than three hundred lives were lost.

      The origin of the inhabitants of Sumatra is a question of difficult solution, being involved in as much doubt and conjecture as is that of the aborigines of our own country. The term Malay cannot be indiscriminately applied to the Sumatrans en masse, as they evidently comprise several other very distinct races of people, both as to origin, language, religion, &c. viz: — the Acheens of the north, with a mixture of Moorish blood, from western India — the Battas, the Rejangs, and the Lampoons. It is true that the distinctive traits which marked those various tribes, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, have in some measure disappeared; owing to a more general intercourse between them, by the breaking up of various monarchies and petty kingdoms, whereby something analogous to a national character has been given to the whole accessible population, at least on the seaboard.

      Still, however, it must be conceded that the inhabitants of the interior cannot be included in this general remark. They have either kept aloof from the supposed amalgamation, or their moral as well as personal features are too strongly marked to be readily changed by a mixture of blood; for they still remain a distinct people. This remark is perhaps applicable to every island in the Archipelago, and tends to prove that the Malays were not

the original possessors of the soil on which they are now found. Several writers on this subject maintain that all the oriental nations have sprung from two grand stocks, viz.: — the Hindoos and the Tartars. The people of the interior evidently derive their origin from the former, and the Malays as obviously from the latter.

      In Marsden's History of Sumatra, with which island the author had every opportunity of being well acquainted, having resided on it for several years in the capacity of "Secretary to the President and Council of Fort Marlborough," near Bencoolen, a settlement of the English East India Company, he says, that the Malays, now so called, are, in comparison with the natives of the interior, "but as people of yesterday." In the course of his inquiries among the natives concerning the aborigines of the island, he was informed of two different species of people dispersed in the woods, and avoiding all communication with the inhabitants nearer the coast. These they called Orang Cooboo and Orang Coogoo. The former, he was informed, were quite numerous, especially in that part of the country lying between Palembang and Jambee. He adds, that some of these interior natives have been caught, and kept as slaves in Laboon, and that a man of that place was actually married to a tolerably handsome Cooboo girl, who was carried off by a party who discovered their huts. He says they have a language quite peculiar to themselves, and that they eat promiscuously whatever the woods afford, — as deer, elephant, rhinoceros, wild hog, snakes, or monkeys. The Coogoos, he says, are by far less numerous; and that, excepting the use of speech, they differ but little from the orang-outang of Borneo, their bodies being covered with long hair. Mr. Marsden does not vouch for these facts, but gives them as they were communicated to him by the Malays, who have more than once caught, domesticated, and intermarried with them. The immediate fruits of such marriages are said to be somewhat of the Esau species; but this peculiarity disappears in the third generation. The natives of Java, according to Barrow, have also a tradition, that their ancestors originally sprang from a species of ape, called the wowwow.

      As a general description, the Sumatrans are rather below the middle stature, but well-proportioned. Their limbs are light and finely shaped, with small wrists and ankles; their figures, though

not commanding, are not deficient in grace and symmetry. Their completion, which is lighter than the natives of India, is properly yellow, wanting the red tinge that constitutes a tawny or copper-colour. Some of the women of the higher classes approach to a degree of northern fairness; and would pass in any part of the world for beautiful brunetts. But the great mass of the females are so entirely destitute of personal charms, as even to be disgusting in their appearance. Like the Chinese, the men of superior rank in Sumatra allow the nails of their fingers, and even those of their toes, to grow to an extraordinary length.

      When this island was first visited by Europeans, the natives were dressed in garments made of the same kind of cloth as that which now is usually worn on most of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and which has received the general cognomen of Otaheitean cloth. It is still used in Sumatra by some tribes of the interior.

      The usual dress of the men consists of a close waistcoat, with a pair of short drawers next the skin. The former is without sleeves, fastened round the throat like a shirt, with a metallic I button, the intrinsic value of which depends upon the rank or pecuniary circumstances of the wearer — it is often of gold filigree. I Over this they wear the badjoo, which resembles a morning-gown,open at the neck, but fastened close at the wrists, and buttoned half-way up the arm. The young men, who in all countries are i prone more or less to affect the dandy, wear the badjoo much shorter than those of riper years, which sometimes descend as; low as the ankles. They are usually made of blue or white cotton; while the better sort wear them of chints, and the: rajahs of flowered silk. Over the right shoulder is often thrown a scarf, which hangs down on the left side, not unlike a Scotch Highlander's plaid, and is called the cayen-sarong. It is simply a long piece of variegated cloth, of a yard or more in width, sewed together at the ends. It is frequently. permitted to fall from the shoulders, to be gathered in plaits around the waist and hips, where, ' in full dress, it is closely belted by the girdle or sash in which the kris, or dagger, is worn. This sash, which is of crimson silk, passes several times around the body, and has a loop at the end in which the sheath of the kris is suspended. Their drawers, which are often of taffeta, seldom reach lower than half-way

down the thigh, leaving no covering for the legs or feet. On their heads is fastened a coloured handkerchief, in a form somewhat resembling a turban; the country people substitute a piece of white or blue muslin. This head-dress, on ordinary occasions, leaves the crown exposed; but when they are proceeding on a journey they wear a toodong, or umbrella-shaped hat, of such dimensions as completely to protect them from the weather.

      The females, though not accustomed to waste much time in the arrangement of their toilet, dress, of course, more tastefully than the other sex. They also wear a short waistcoat, which conceals and defends the breast, and reaches to the hips; all below which is enveloped with the cayen-sarong, which comes up as high as the arm-pits, where it is kept in its place simply by folding and tucking it over at the bosom. As an additional security, it is frequently confined about the waist by a girdle or zone, which is usually made of embroidered cloth, but is sometimes a hoop of gold or silver about two inches in breadth, fastening in front with a large clasp of filigree or chased work, in the centre of which is set some kind of precious stone, or, at least, an imitation of one. Their badjoo, or upper gown, differs little from that of the men, buttoning in the same manner at the wrists. Around the neck is thrown a piece of fine blue cloth, of nearly two yards in length, neatly fringed at the ends, which hang down before; this not only serves as a shawl, but also as a veil, for females of rank, when they make their appearance abroad.

      They permit their hair to grow luxuriantly long, both before and behind; and the whole of it is carefully combed back together, ready for its final adjustment. This is performed in two ways; one of which is, by winding the hair circularly, or, in nautical parlance, coiling it on the top of the head, where it is fastened by a silver bodkin or pin. This fashion is similar to that of the Chinese ladies, from whom it was probably borrowed. The other, and by far the most common mode of disposing the hair, after combing it back, is that of giving it a twist or two with the hands, and then doubling it, and passing the bight through a lock ' or tuft raised from the mass for that purpose on the back of the head. As an additional security, tortoise-shell combs are used, sometimes highly ornamented with gold or silver. Among the poorer classes, the hair is always kept moist by a free use of the

oil of cocoanut; while those whose circumstances will permit, make use of an aromatic oil, extracted from gum benjamin, as a very pleasant perfume. The females wear no covering on their heads, either for protection or ornament, with the exception of a modest wreath of flowers; their hair, in the language of St. Paul, being their "covering and their glory." The flowers which compose this wreath are generally white, or of a pale yellow, and are always selected when only half blown, and strung with neatness and simplicity, without the least indication of show or gaudiness.

      Among the country people, and more especially in the southern districts, the young and unmarried females are distinguished by a narrow fillet, which, passing round the forehead and over the hair, is fastened at the back of the head. Among the wealthy, this fillet is generally of gold or silver, to match the zone; while the poorer classes substitute a single leaf of the neepah-tree. Their maiden state is also denoted by bracelets of silver or gold on the wrists. The young women in the country villages manufacture the cloth for their own cayen-sarong, which, with them only, reaches from the breast to the knees. Those worn by the Malay ladies nearer the coast, are of greater length, and more showy and expensive; and yet the rural maids, with their shorter dress, evince more innocent simplicity and genuine modesty, than their metropolitan neighbours.

      Both sexes practise the unaccountable custom of filing, blacking, and otherwise disfiguring their teeth, especially by an inordinate use of the betele-nut. The women in the Lampoon district actually file their teeth nearly down even with the gums; and never seem to be satisfied while a single natural beauty is retained in their mouths; thus evincing the greatest ingratitude to nature, from whom they each originally derived two beautiful rows of pearls, set in coral arches of the brightest red. Their teeth naturally are regularly set, and of the most exquisite whiteness.

      Having thus very cursorily touched upon the geographical location and geological features of the Island of Sumatra, together with its climate, winds, mountains, rivers, lakes, soil, minerals, and inhabitants, including a brief description of the persons and dress of the latter, we shall now proceed to drop a few words on their villages, buildings, and domestic arts.

      It has been justly observed, that in proportion as the arts in use with any people are connected with the primary demands of nature, they carry the greater likelihood of originality; because those demands must have been administered to from a period coeval with the existence of the people themselves.

      The arts of a primitive people, like their wants, are generally few, confined principally to the protection and sustenance of the mere animal body — to the construction of such abodes as are required to defend them from the inclemencies of the elements, and external assaults of every description, and to the numerous ingenious expedients for procuring food, as climate or circumstances may require it to be sought, either from the plain or the forest, the mountain or the seashore. Man's earliest effort is to avoid pain, and his second to procure pleasure. The two requisites just named, of shelter and sustenance, are so simple in themselves, and act so immediately on the external senses of the most wild or uncultivated of the human species, that the efforts made to supply them are little else than an instinctive obedience to the mandates of nature, as both of them are essential to the continuance of life.

      In a country like Sumatra, generally rich in soil, warm in climate, and abundant in a vast variety of nourishing and delicious' fruits, which grow and ripen without the labour of man, and almost drop into his mouth as he indolently stretches him-' self in the shade of teeming boughs, on which blossoms and maturity are promiscuously mingled, — the springs of necessity, which are the primum mobile of invention, soon lose their power and elasticity. As a natural consequence, the intellectual machine will perform fewer and more simple revolutions, than where a more rigorous climate, producing more complicated wants, imparts health and vigour to the body, fresh incentives to the mind, and new activities to ingenuity.

      Roused to action by the rude necessities of his arctic climate, the feeble Esquimaux has invented comforts which do honour to his race. With no other materials than the frozen snow around him, he constructs a neat and commodious habitation, perfectly adapted in form and capacity to the nature of the region he in-habits. The rapidity and neatness with which he raises this edifice, and renders it impervious to the rigorous atmosphere around

it, is truly admirable. Its shape is that of a hemispherical beehive, and he enters it on his belly, when it affords him a similar protection to that which the vegetable kingdom receives from a covering of snow, and hence the contrivance doubtless originated. He has also invented arts and stratagems to capture the walrus and seal on the edge of the ice. The skin of the seacalf forms his swift-sailing canoe, while its carcass furnishes him with fuel and light; and he patiently' works a gray porous stone into the shape of kettles and pitchers, the brims and edges of which he tastefully ornaments.

      The Laplander, in obedience to similar calls of necessity, has invented methods by which he can catch the raindeer, and train it for domestic use, to convey him on distant journeys, or to supply his little dairy with luxuries. His boat-shaped sledge, in which he travels, is invented and constructed by himself, while his wife or daughter draws milk from the deer's distended udder and converts it to butter and cheese. He has learned to make garments of its skin, and to preserve its flesh for food; to draw forth the finny tribes from the sea; and to build conical habitations of poles, with their tops united and covered with skins. He is ever active in his fishing or the chase; in at-' tending to his raindeer, or in constructing canoes, sledges, harness, cups, bowls, &c., while his wife is equally busy in making nets, curing the fish, drying the venison, and tanning hides. The Being from whom he derived his inventive faculty, "knoweth that he hath need of all these things." ~

      The lawless Arab of the desert, like the wild and independent Indian of the Argentine pampas, glories in the fleetness of his horse, and constructs portable habitations, well adapted to his itinerant life and habits; but it is the latter that invented the lasso, with which he captures wild cattle, and animals of various kinds j it is he who, far less tame himself than the snorting wild-horse which he with inimitable grace bestrides, collects, and folds, and leads to fertile pastures, the bullocks of the pampas it is he

      Thus it appears, that it is the call of necessity which brings into action the intellectual and physical energies of man; and that the inhabitants of more rigorous climates make more rapid

advancements in improvement; while those within the tropics, feeling less necessity for exertion, remain much longer in their primitive state. The happy medium, as usual, lies between the two, for it needs no argument to prove that the arts and sciences have always flourished with the most vigour under the temperate zone. We may thus, in some measure, account for the fact, that the Asiatic nations, though of great antiquity, have made far less rapid advances in the arts and sciences, and every species of improvement, than modern nations in more northern latitudes, who sprang into existence, as it were, but yesterday.

      This proposition will be more fully illustrated when we come to speak of the Chinese, who appear to have stuck at a certain point in the scale of improvement, above which they have not risen since the days of Confucius.

      The Sumatrans, however, without being impelled by keen necessity in the construction of their habitations, have advanced many degrees beyond most other islanders in the luxurious and effeminating climate of the eastern world. Their doosoons, or villages, are generally erected on some commanding site, near a river or lake, which not only affords them facilities for bathing, — a recreation of which they are very fond, and which is required by health, as well as enjoined by the Mahometan faith; but serves also as a channel of communication for personal intercourse and the transportation of merchandise. The frames of their houses are of wood, resting on tall upright posts, sunk a few feet in the ground. The roofs are variously covered, but most generally with the leaf of the neepah, or palm-tree. The floor consists of bamboos, placed across in form of sleepers, which are covered with laths of the same material, each of which is about an inch in breadth, and over these is spread a carpet of mats, rendering the apartments quite comfortable, as there is no cold to be excluded. The lightness of the materials which form such an edifice, and the simplicity of its construction, are admirably adapted to a country liable to be frequently shaken to its centre by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions; being less perilous to the inhabitants than if built of clay, or even of mud. Necessity has taught them this fact; but yet, as an art or a science, the Sumatrans know nothing of architecture.

      The furniture of these dwellings comprises but few articles, and

is quite plain, corresponding to the simplicity of manners which characterizes the people. In the article of bedding, they evince considerable taste. Each bed is furnished with several pillows, neatly fringed at the ends with a light substance resembling foil. For chairs and stools they have, of course, no use, as they always sit upon mats on the floor, and generally cross-legged, like the Turks. Rice is always a leading dish at their meals. In their various kinds of curry, the knife and spoon are generally dispensed with, and the thumb and finger substituted, which are frequently immersed in water during the repast.

      Rice is a great article of consumption in all countries that lie near the equator. Like wheat in our own temperate latitudes, it is the tropical "staff of life." It is probable that not less than fifty millions of the human family depend for their sustenance almost exclusively upon this farinaceous and esculent article of food. In India, rice is called, while yet in the husk, paddee; but acquires a different appellation from every process through which it passes. In Sumatra and the adjacent islands, this article is distinguished by the Malays as "upland and lowland paddee," a distinction, we believe, not unknown among the rice-planters of our own country. The upland rice, being of a superior quality and more durable, always commands a higher price; while the other, or lowland, is more productive, yielding a greater return; and though not so durable, or by any means so nutricious, is yet in more general use.

      The plantations, or paddee-fields, are often prepared with great labour, in clearing away the aquatic shrubs with which the marshes or lowlands are generally overrun; while even greater efforts are required in removing the venerable groves which have shaded the mountains for ages. The fields are sowed in September or October, about the commencement of the periodical rains. When additional moisture becomes necessary, artificial irrigation is resorted to, which is easily effected, from the numerous little streams which intersect the interior of the island in every direction. "When the rice begins to blossom and form into ears, "sweet bashful pledges of delicious harvest, wafting their influence to the ripening sun," the water is carefully drained off; after which the crop rapidly advances to a state for the gatherer.. In the district of Manna, and that occupied by the Battoos, the

arts of cultivation are exercised in much greater perfection than in any other parts of the island; owing probably to the greater density of population, and the consequent necessity of industry. The crops yield variously in different parts of the island, but in none are they more productive than in the interior from Quallah-Battoo.

      The cocoanut, nature's most bountiful gift to her rude children throughout the tropical world, is found in all parts of Sumatra; and, in one way or another, is extensively used by the inhabitants as an article of food; though, from the great variety of other productions, it is not actually indispensable, as is the case in some islands. Oil is extracted from it for moistening the hair, and also for burning in lamps; though in the interior of the island, lights are procured from a species of turpentine called dammar. From this and other species of palm, is also extracted a liquor used in the manufacture of arrack; while from the head of the same tree is procured a kind of cabbage. The villages are carefully surrounded and adorned with cocoanut-trees wherever the air and soil are favourable; while in the seaport towns, where the demand is greater, the groves are proportionably larger. The soil best adapted to their growth is low and sandy, and near the seashore, where they come to maturity and, bear fruit in the course of a few years.

      The betele-nut-tree, greatly resembling in its appearance the cocoanut, is cultivated by the natives in large plantations, and is eaten with see-see, a creeping plant of a pleasant aromatic odour. Ginger and tobacco are raised in small quantities. The palmachristi, of which the best of castor-oil is made, grows here in great abundance, and without any trouble.. Sugar is extracted horn anou, a species of the palm. The natives plant a dwarf kind of mulberry for the use of the silkworm, but their silk is of an inferior quality. Sugarcane is cultivated, though not to any great extent, and is chewed as a delicacy. They plant yams

of various kinds, to the culture of which the soil is well adapted; likewise sweet potatoes and pulse, a species of French bean, as well as the egg-plant, probably introduced from China, all of which are much used for food. Maize is planted, and much eaten while green, but not relied on as an essential article of subsistence. The indigo, taroom, found on all their plantations, is used as a die-stuff; but is not in general prepared in solid pieces as we see in the southern ceroons. Diewoods of various kinds, some of which are very valuable, are found on the island, with the virtues and qualities of which the natives appear to be well acquainted.

      No portion of the globe can probably boast of so many indigenous fruits as the Malay islands. Here nature, in liberal profusion, has poured forth her most delicious productions. The mangusteen — how shall we describe it? The pride and boast of India! Where shall we find language that will convey to those who never tasted it, an idea of its inexpressible delicacy; — unlike, as it is unequalled by, any fruit in the world. It is a drupe, consisting of a soft, succulent, and thick rind, encompassing kernels, which are covered with a juicy and perfectly white substance, that dissolves in the mouth. It is so innocent in its effects, that it may be partaken in any quantity, without danger.

      There is another fruit, called the doosean, of which the natives are extremely fond, and subsist on it almost entirely during its season. This is a rich fruit, grows on high trees, and not pleasant, either in flavour or odour, to those who are unaccustomed to it. Besides those already mentioned, and various other fruits found on the vine, the shrub, or the trees of the forest, there are mangoes, Indian figs, bananas, pineapples, oranges, limes, and lemons, in abundance; also, pomegranates, melons, watermelons, tamarinds, and grapes, though in limited extent; the latter grow wild, and are scarcely cultivated at all.

      But prolific nature has by no means exhausted all her energies on the vegetable kingdom in Sumatra. The island not only abounds with plants, flowers, fruits, and gigantic forests, but also in beasts, birds, reptiles, and insects; which, though extremely numerous, being similar to those found in other portions of India, can receive but a partial notice at our hand. Those of most note are the. following, distinguished by their native and foreign

names: — horse, coodo; small, well made, and hardy; cow, sappee; small breed; sheep, beeree-beeree; small, probably introduced from Bengal; goat, cambing; goat of the woods, cambing-ootan; resembling the gazelle; hog, babee; Chinese breed; dog, angin; cat, cochin; rat, teecoose; elephant, gaja; rhinoceros, buddah; hippopotamus, coodoo-ayer; tiger, reemow, or machang; very ferocious and destructive to human life; bear, broorong (Latin, bruin); otter, angin-ayer; sloth, telleggo; porcupine, landa; armadillo, tangeeling; very rare, and much esteemed by the natives; deer, rooso-keejang; many species, some of which are very large; monkey, moonia; prodigious variety , squirrel, toopye; bat, boorong-tecoose, &c. &c.

      The buffalo, though obstinate, dull, and capricious, is still subdued to the yoke, and performs with great patience all the domestic labours of the Sumatrans, and constitutes a great part of their food. There are two species, the black and the white, and both are domesticated. The forests abound with elephants, which sometimes commit great depredations on the plantations of the natives. The birds are very numerous, and of great variety in their plumage. We cannot even attempt to name even the few that have been described. It is here that the famous Sumatran, or Argos pheasant is found; a specimen of which, we presume, is not contained in any of our public collections. The natives call it the coo-ow. It is a bird of uncommon beauty; perhaps the most delicately rich, without any gaudiness, of all the feathered tribe. Like the quail of our own country, it cannot be domesticated, and seldom lives more than a month when deprived of its liberty. It is said to have a great antipathy to light; but when kept in a moderate degree of darkness, it is more cheerful, and then sometimes makes use of the notes from which its name is derived, coo-ow, coo-ow, in a plaintive style, and not harsh like the peacock's. There are many species of the stork, some of which are very large; and parrots are without number. Doves are also numerous, and the domestic fowl is found in great perfection, far surpassing in size and flavour their puny descendants in any other part of the world.

      â– Of all the productions of the island, regarded as articles of commerce, their pepper has held, and deservedly too, the

first rank; and has added not a little to the value of our commercial intercourse with the natives of the Malay coast. Every effort has been secretly made by the East India Companies of Europe, to get this valuable trade into their own exclusive power. It was for the monopoly of this single article that the Dutch maintained so long, and at so great a sacrifice of human life, their factory at the productive but sickly port of Padang, on the west coast of Sumatra, about fifty miles south of the equator, grasping at the whole traffic on that coast. Actuated by a similar policy, the British East India Company exerted their whole strength, and finally succeeded in getting the ascendency; so that in the year 1774, a short time before her American colonies declared their independence, their exports of pepper alone, from the west coast of Sumatra, amounted to no less than twelve hundred tons per annum. It is not our present purpose, however, to go into the statistics of this valuable trade; but rather to show the natural capacities of the island, and the articles of commerce which are indigenous to the soil. It may not be improper, however, to add, that Padang has been alternately in the possession of the English and Dutch several times; but finally surrendered to the latter hi 1814. In 1797, while in possession of the British, it was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake, when upwards of three hundred lives were lost.

      The pepper grows on a vine, or creeping plant, with a ligneous stalk, and leaves of a dark green, heart-shaped, pointed, and not poignant to the taste, and having little or no smell. The blossom is small and white, and the fruit hangs in bunches, or clusters, resembling those of the currant-tree, but larger and less pliant. It is from four to five months in coming to maturity. The berries are at first green, and gradually become a bright red when ripe, and soon fall off if not gathered. All the bunches on the stems do not become ripe at the same time, and the natives frequently go through their little farms with small baskets, plucking off each bunch as they become ripe. When gathered, it is spread out on mats, or clean places, to dry. That which has been gathered at a proper age will shrink least; while those skilled in the trade will readily distinguish that which has been plucked prematurely, by rubbing it in the hand, when it will impart much dust, and even crumble to pieces.

      The pepper vine runs up on poles, like our beanpoles, previously planted for that purpose, six feet apart, as our farmers plant their Indian corn. The culture of one thousand such plants is occupation sufficient for a man and his wife; while five hundred is the amount allotted to a single person. But these allotments carry, us back to times when the natives were more severely dealt by ' than they are at present; when grasping monopolies laid heavy exactions on the petty chiefs, who in their turn tyrannised over their harmless and unresisting subjects.

      There are said to be three species of pepper, and known in different sections of the country by different names. That which is raised in the Rajang district, is called lado cawoor; is strong, bears a large leaf and fruit, and is slow in coming to perfection. The leaf and fruit of the lado manna are smaller, but the vine bears sooner, and in much greater quantities. The Jambee is small in leaf and fruit, and has long since fallen into disrepute. It is probable that the different qualities of the soil have an agency in producing these varieties.

      The pepper season, as well as the ripening of other fruits in Sumatra, are liable to great irregularities from the uncertainty of the monsoons, which are not always so exactly periodical as they are in some other parts of India. In ordinary seasons, the pepper vine produces two crops in the year. The first is a large one, called poopool-augoong, about the month of September, when the sun is crossing the equator, in his declination towards the south; the other, called the lesser or half crop, booalello, in the month of March, when the sun is returning across the equator, towards the north. For on every spot between the tropics, the sun is vertical twice in each year, so that each experiences a double season. In the beautiful language of Thomson —

      These different crops are generally brought from the interior to the seashores by rafts of bamboo or other timber, floated on the current of rapid streams.

      Among the indigenous productions of the island is the camphire-tree, producing a gum, or resin, so celebrated and valuable

as an article of commerce. Camphire was long known and appreciated by the Arabians before a European flag had been unfolded in the eastern seas. The camphire-tree is found only on the southern parts of the island; it grows without culture, and sometimes attains to an immense magnitude, measuring no less than fifteen feet in circumference. The wood of this tree is highly esteemed for many purposes, particularly by the trunk-makers, as the camphorated odour of the wood prevents the inroads of moths and other insects. From the interstices of the timber, when split open, the camphire is often taken in a dry concrete state; while there is another tree, of a different species, which produces it in a liquid form. The camphire of this island has always commanded a high price, but is seldom met with in our country in an unadulterated state. A great portion of that which is brought from India is, we believe, procured at Japan, of an inferior quality, being from a tree which abounds in all parts of that country, and known to naturalists by the name of laurus camphora. The camphire-oil, or rather liquid, as it is destitute of every oleaginous quality, is highly esteemed as a medicine by the natives, who use it as we do, for strains, swellings, and inflammations; its extreme subtilty rendering it very penetrating to whatever part applied. It is not manufactured, nor does it undergo any preparation; but is distilled as a volatile resin, from a species of the camphire-tree.

      Benjamin, or benzoin — caminyan — is also found in Sumatra, on the more northern parts of the island. It is generally denominated a gum, although from its ready solubility in alcohol, it is more properly a resin. The tree is small, and not suitable for mechanical purposes. In some parts near the seacoast, the natives have been in the habit of cultivating large groves of it, its growth being rapid, and affording a quick return for their labour. Much of this odoriferous resin is used in Catholic countries, where it is burnt as incense in their religious ceremonies. It is also used, we believe, in medicine; and the ladies of wealth in Sumatra anoint their heads with a fragrant oil extracted from it.

      Cassia — covleet-manees. This species of cinnamon is found in the interior of the island, and is mostly procured in those districts which lie inland from Tappanooly; it abounds also in Moosee, the country where the Palembang river takes its rise. The trees grow to the height of forty or fifty feet, with wide-

spreading, horizontal branches, reaching nearly to the ground. No pains are taken in cultivating it by the natives, or the sale of its bark might be turned to good account.

      In addition to the productions already enumerated, there are — rattans, cotton, betele-nut, coffee, turpentine, gums, &c.; while the forests abound with a great variety of valuable woods, such as ebony, pine, sandal, eagle or aloes, teak, manchineel, iron-wood, and the far-famed banyan-tree — more properly named by the Portuguese, arbor de raiis, and by the Malays, jawee-jawee. This tree, as is well known, possesses the singular property of dropping fibres from such parts of its boughs as incline to the earth, which take root, and become new stems or trunks. It thus goes on increasing, until one has been known to measure in circumference upwards of one thousand feet — to cast a shade at noon of more than eleven hundred feet — and to afford abundant shelter for a troop of horse. We have seen an account of one of these trees, which waved its boughs at the height of two hundred feet; rising from, or rather resting on, roots, if they may be so called, occupying at least one hundred feet, forming, by the close and singular combination, the appearance of a venerated Gothic pillar. It stood near the plains of Crocup; and, like other monuments of antiquity, has had its period of existence, and has long since been no more!

      Besides the many articles of commerce afforded by the varied vegetable kingdom of Sumatra, there are productions appertaining to another kingdom which claim to be enumerated among the riches of this island. We have already, in a previous part of this article, very briefly alluded to the various metals which are found blended with, or lying beneath, the soil. Gold abounds in some parts of the island, but principally in the centre; south of the Leemoon, a branch of the Jambi river, and to the north of Nalohoo, from whence Acheen is principally supplied. It was the vicinity of these treasures which probably, in the first instance, induced the Dutch to establish themselves at Padang. The Malays are the only class of inhabitants who make a business of procuring the precious metal, either from the beds of rivers, mingled with the sand, or sometimes by loosening, the adjacent banks. In a few instances they have attempted digging; but their excavations have never extended deep. The metal is pro-

cured in a malleable state, and seldom undergoes any process of" refining to purify it for the market, where opium and fine goods are expected in return. Mines of copper and tin, as before stated, abound in the island and its neighbour Banca, where it is said to have been accidentally discovered by the burning of a house in 1710, and was long worked by a colony of Chinese, under the control of the Dutch, at Palembang, who grasped at the whole trade. We have already stated that the island of Banca was ceded to the British by the Sultan of Palembang, in the year 1812; Billeton Isle, which lies about sixty miles east of Banca, was ceded at the same time. This last named island, which is almost a perfect quadrangle, with a coast facing the four cardinal points of the horizon, is about fifty miles in extent each way, and has long been celebrated for producing the fine steel of which the Malays manufacture their arms. Banca had, for many years, been the resort of a numerous horde of pirates, who acted under the immediate protection of the sultan and court of Palembang. Minto, the capital of the island, is situated near the sea, towards the west, at the foot of the mountain called Monophin. There is anchorage in from six to twelve fathoms; a sandy point at the northwest affording shelter to ships from the boisterous waves which roll into the straits from the Java, Sea, as well as from the northwest winds, which often blow very hard along the coast of Sumatra during the monsoons. At the pacification of Europe in 1814, Banca was again ceded to the Dutch by treaty.

      We have thus taken a hasty and excursive view of the Island of Sumatra, and trust that the reader has accompanied us. We have seen the capacities of its soil, and the varied richness of its vegetable and animal kingdom. How rich, in point of external appearance and grandeur, is the inheritance of the Malay! In the soft and rich teints of its mountains, the velvet covering of its hills, — its wild cascades, placid lakes, rapid streams, — Sumatra may challenge comparison with the world! Why has nature been so extravagant? Why bestow in many parts where human footsteps seldom tread, all that is sublime — all that is beautiful — all that is calculated to elevate the mind which is susceptible of noble impressions!

      Is it solely for the Malay, the living Ishmaelite of the world, that prolific nature has been thus bountiful? The Malay —

treacherous, cruel, and vindictive as he is — fierce and unrelenting as the tiger of his own mountains, by which he is often destroyed, — is still a being entitled to the sympathy and compassion of the civilized world; and we cannot but pity his condition, even when his vices demand a measure of punishment at our hands. How black and damning would be the page containing an account of his wrongs from boasted Christians, since the year 1510, when Albuquerque landed on his shores. For three centuries, what has been the history of Europeans trading on his coast, under the direction of heartless, grasping monopolies, but a record of oppressions, cruel exactions, and abominable injustice! To the honour of the British name, though her track in the east has, in all directions, been stained with blood, she has ever shown more humanity than either of her former powerful competitors; whose every thought, impulse, and action, appear to have been concentrated in one festering canker — insatiable avarice!

      But we leave this picture to be resumed in another place; and from the leafy groves, rich plains, and varied productions, shall attempt a more close analysis of the Malay himself; and trust that the reader will find something to repay him for his trouble in turning our pages.

CHAPTER X.

      Agreeably to our promise made in the conclusion of the last chapter, we now proceed to a closer analysis of the character of the inhabitants of Sumatra. This is not a very easy task to perform, as we find in many places but little indigenous among them. There is also some difficulty in adopting a standard with which to compare them, divided, as they are, into numerous tribes, and presenting, as they do, at each step, in the same tribe, so many lights and shades, vices mingled with some virtues, forming an endless chain of perplexing contradictions.

      Perhaps the standard adopted by Le Poivre, Robinson, Richardson, and other writers of reputed learning, is the best that can be given. They agree in, assigning to nations various grades;, giving to Greece and Rome, in the days of their ancient splendour, the first rank, with which may now be classed England, France, some of the other nations of Europe, and the United States.The second will include the Asiatic empires and Turks, in the days of their dominion, magnificence, and grandeur; while in the third, fourth, and fifth classes, as they are distinguished by the degree of perfection of their agriculture, progress in the arts, science of numbers, and use of abstract terms, may be classed the Sumatrans, in common with the Holoans, and other states of the eastern Archipelago; the nations on the northern coast of Africa; Mexicans and Peruvians before the conquest; together with the Carribs, New-Hollanders, Laplanders, and Hottentots. Possessing shades of character in common with all these will be

found the Sumatrans, and we leave the reader to make his own distinctions, and form his own comparisons, as we proceed.

      The Malay language, long and justly celebrated for its smoothness and softness, like the Malays themselves, has partially extended itself over the whole island; at least, there are few parts of the island where it is not understood by some, while in other districts it forms the lingua franca of all classes.

      They devote many of their leisure hours to singing extemporaneous sonnets, which are more remarkable for sententious qualities than truly poetic spirit, if the following may be considered a fair sample: —

      The city of Palembang, so long the emporium of the inland commerce of the island, is the point which has always been considered as taking the lead, and fixing the court etiquette among the Malay princes, and the language spoken there as the standard of the Malay tongue. In writing, the Arabic characters are used, introduced at the time of the dissemination of the Mahometan religion. They have paper and ink of their own composition, and write with the pen of the anou-tree. We believe it has never been ascertained that even the Malays of the Peninsula of Malacca had any original written language peculiar to themselves, previous to the country being overrun by Mussulmen during the thirteenth century.

      There are several languages, however, besides the Malay, spoken on the island, especially in the interior. And what appears to be most remarkable is, that two tribes, the Battas and Rejangs,

both possessing equal and undisputed claims of being the original inhabitants, not only speak languages different from each other, but employ characters essentially different. All this has occurred among tribes residing but a comparatively short distance apart, and bearing unquestionable evidence of having descended from the same original stock. The language of the Lampoons bears a close affinity to that spoken by the Rejangs, while the Achenese, using the Arabic characters in considerable purity, has less claim to originality.

      The inner bark of a tree, or pieces of bamboo, split and shaped for the purpose, serve as tablets for the preservation of their records. In writing, they move the hand and form the line from , left to right, as we do; while the- Malays and Arabs practise the contrary. In harmony, these languages are far inferior to the Malay, as will be seen by the following table from Marsden, which we introduce for the gratification of the curious,

      In personal appearance, the Malays do not differ so much from the other and original inhabitants of the island, as in the qualities of their minds. They possess the semblance of more pride, but it is not that laudable pride which restrains from the commission of dishonourable and mean acts. Under the most subdued and studied composure of countenance, with cunning and plausible duplicity, they will dissemble the most violent passions and inveterate hatred, until a favourable moment of wreaking their vengeance on the object of their dislike shall arrive. Veracity, gratitude, and integrity, cannot be said to belong to the list of their virtues, while sentiments of honour and infamy, as a general remark, are scarcely distinguishable among them. In courage, a thousand examples of desperate conflicts with the Portuguese, Dutch, and English, to say nothing of the recent combat at Quallah-Battoo, might be adduced to show they are not wanting. But it is generally the effect of momentary enthusiasm, rather than that cool and deliberate bravery which bears up under reverses, and is at all times superior to misfortune.

      Indeed, the tout ensemble of their character seems strongly marked by degeneracy, and they give but little promise of any immediate improvement. The influence of the age has effected them but little, nor have they gained much by three hundred years' communion with the Christian world. This is not to be wondered at. That intercourse has not been of a character to do them good. In point of example, they have too often witnessed licentiousness in the foreign establishments on their shores; pleasures of the table, excessive use of wine, boisterous mirth, and puerile amusements. These things could not pass before their eyes without exciting contemptuous animadversions.

      They have seen foreign manufactures brought ready for their use, in exchange for the productions of their soil, but they have not witnessed the process by which these articles M^ere made. How, then, could they improve by their intercourse with the boasted Christianizers of the heathen world? They feel, and often acknowledge, their inferiority. It is mentioned by Marsden, that a native had been heard to exclaim, after contemplating the structure and use of a house clock, "Is it not fitting that such as we should be slaves to people who have the ingenuity to invent, and the skill to construct, so wonderful a machine as this?" —

      The sun," he added, "is a machine of this nature." — "But who winds it up?" said his companion. "Who but Allah?" replied he.

      It is to be hoped, however, that the more humane and liberal spirit which so happily begins to mark the intercourse of Christian nations in their commercial transactions with the east, will ultimately produce happier results upon the moral condition of its inhabitants. The period of subjugation, of dethroning and setting up sultans, as the sordid interests of heartless and almost irresponsible companies may require, it is hoped, is drawing rapidly to a close. England, with her immense wealth and extended influence, has an awful responsibility in this great work; the independent and probing spirit which has marked her recent parliamentary proceedings and investigations into the abuses and condition of her East India Company concerns, promises much that is' favourable in coming time: while the noble and really true commercial spirit of our own country, carrying on trade to all parts of the world, without caring for or wanting possessions in foreign soil, is destined to have its full share of influence; and may, if properly looked to by our government, be turned greatly to our advantage, as it has already, in many places, attracted the attention of the natives, and rendered them friendly disposed towards us.

      But this is a digression, and we return to the native inhabitants of the island, who, from long intercourse with the Malays, appear to have imbibed many of their vices; so that the virtues they still retain are rather negative in character. They are mild, peaceable, and forbearing, except when roused by some sudden and violent provocation, when they too can show a full share of implacability in their resentments. They are temperate and

sober, living principally on vegetables, while their only beverage is water, taken in cocoanut-shells from the limpid stream; and though they will kill a fowl or a goat for a stranger, whom perhaps they never saw before, nor ever expect to see again, they are seldom known to indulge in such luxuries themselves; not even at their festivals, where the entertainment is prepared with meats in abundance, are they known to indulge to excess. In manners they are simple, in apprehension quick, and by no means wanting in sagacity. Their women are modest, and evince a good share of sensibility. In deportment they are grave, and always courteous and guarded in their expressions. This is the bright side of the picture. On the other side are represented litigations, indolence, incorrigible gambling, dishonesty in their dealings with strangers — deemed among them no moral defect — suspiciousness, want of regard for truth, meanness in their transactions, and improvidence of the future. The latter can scarcely be charged as a crime to them, for the climate in a great measure has made them improvident, as it makes all people, more or less, when nature, with wonderful facility, supplies all that is essential to existence.

      South of Indrapoor, once the seat of a considerable monarchy ill the southern portion of the island, is the country of the Rejangs, who live in villages, or doosoons, each under the government of a magistrate called dupatty; while the chief, who presides over and governs all, is called pangeran. But among a people without arts, without industry, and above all, without property, the authority of the prince must be limited, and his government founded on opinion, and the obedience and submission of his subjects voluntary. So it is with the Rejangs; so it has ever been with primitive man; and so it is with other governments throughout the island. Where the natives have been subjugated by foreign powers, held by the spirit of conquest long in subjection, the feudal maxims may be seen to prevail; while those who have occupied remote situations, from disposition, or no matter from what cause, have remained undisturbed and unaffected by the various changes which have been going on around them: there may still be seen the rules, the simplicity, of patriarchal life.

      In appointing the heads of the doosoons, the pangeran does little else than confirm the nominations of the people themselves. The

      1832.] ISLAND OF SUMATRA.

line of descent is hereditary from father to son; though in case of minority, or other defect, a brother or near relation may take upon himself the supreme authority, not as regent, for the minor, if there be one, can only come in at the next vacancy.

      Until about one hundred and fifty years ago, the southern part of Sumatra, including the Rejang country, and as far north as the river Oori, was dependant on the King of Bantam, and annually received a commissioner from him to superintend the collection of revenue and confirm the deputed authority. In the districts bordering on the coasts, extensive pepper plantations were formerly cultivated, and it was these people who acted so enthusiastically and bravely in expelling the English from Fort Marlborough in the year seventeen hundred and nineteen.

      Custom, among the Rejangs, constitutes the supreme law of the land, the authority consulted on all occasions in the settlement of their disputes, and from which none claim exemption. Indeed, there has been discovered no word among any of the native languages on the island, which may be said properly to signify law; nor are there any individuals among them regularly clothed with legislative powers. The chiefs, when pronouncing their sentences in the most important cases, accompany their verdict with the expression, "such is the custom." When a new case arises, for the decision of which there appears to be no precedent, great formality and deliberation are observed in coming to a conclusion. The pangeran himself cannot decide the question; he must consult the proalteens or inferior chiefs, who, upon their part, frequently ask time to reflect and to consult with the inhabitants of the doosoons; but when a point has thus been deliberately considered and acted on, it takes rank with the customs which have been handed down from time immemorial, and its authority cannot be called in question.

      On these principles, at certain appointed times, the chiefs of the district assemble together and form a sort of court for hearing and deciding on all disputed questions brought before them.

      Their customs, which may be said to constitute their common law, under another name, after having been long preserved and handed down from one generation to another, were, during the last century, formed into a written code, as it appears, at the instance

of the British resident residing in their country, and exercising no small degree of influence over them.

      In the prosecution of all suits under these rules, the plaintiff and defendant are allowed to make their own statements before the chiefs of the doosoons, or they may employ a proatteen, or any other person to appear for them, which in their language is called "pinjam mooloot, to borrow a mouth." Their rules of evidence are peculiar to themselves, as they do not admit testimony on both sides of any disputed point. He who brings a suit against another, is asked in the commencement by whom he intends to prove his allegation. His witness must not be his relation; he must not be a party concerned; and, in some instances, he must not even reside in the same village. The point to which he is expected to give testimony is then mentioned to him, when, if he confirm the statement, the question at issue is established.

      Their oaths are appeals to superior powers, to whom alone they are answerable; a false swearer not being amenable to punishment by the usages of the Rejangs. A general and deeply pervading sentiment, however, prevails, that the unseen powers punish the perjured, either in person, in his children, or in his great-grandchildren. Nor has this superstitious belief been slow to record many instances, when the most direful judgments have fallen upon the person or family of the false swearer. They are solemn, superstitious, and gravely ceremonious in their forms of administering an oath; often visiting the graves of their ancestors, for the sake of greater solemnity. This only takes place far in the interior; while along the coast, the Malay customs and Koran prevail. They sometimes swear by placing their hands upon the earth, and wishing it may never again bring forth nourishment to them if they bear false witness. Sometimes they lay their hands upon bullets, krisses, gun-barrels, &c.; these being instruments of destruction. It is then the Rejang, who trembles with fear at the idea of the harm he may receive from an invisible power, in which he believes, without having any just conception of his own immortality, is restrained from the crime of bearing false witness against his neighbour. "For when the gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law; these having not the law, are a law unto themselves."

      On the death of a Rejang, his male children inherit his property

in equal shares; the widow and daughters being dependant on the sons. In these divisions, the paternal residence, as a general rule, falls to the lot of the eldest: the exception is, when a younger member of the family is more talented or worthy, he may take precedence of the elder, and succeed to the patrimony of the doosoon.

      For a long time, the custom has prevailed among them of setting apart a portion of their money to be deposited in some secret place, known to themselves only. To this hidden treasure they are accustomed to look for consolation, when overtaken by any unforeseen misfortune. This is probably a borrowed custom, as it is practised by the Malays at the present time, along the whole pepper coast. Whatever may be the motive, or its origin among the Rejangs, it is not adopted by the Malays from motives of prudential foresight, but from a feeling of universal distrust, as well of each other as of strangers. A Malay, generally speaking, has confidence neither in his father nor his mother; nor is his wife intrusted with his confidence, for his money is usually buried where no one can approach the spot but himself. Almost every Malay, therefore, on his deathbed, has some important secret to impart to his family or his immediate friends: when sudden death overtakes him, the treasure is irredeemably lost.

      A person unwilling to be answerable for the debts or actions of his son, or other relations under his charge, may outlaw him, by which, from that period, all family connexion is relinquished, and he is no longer responsible for his conduct. All debts, however, must be paid up to the period when the individual is outlawed.

      The Saxons had a custom very similar to this among them, but it related more particularly to the murderer. The family became exempt from feuds when they abandoned the culprit to his fate, binding themselves neither to hold communion with him, nor afford him assistance.

      In order to convict, in all cases of theft, the article stolen must either be found on the thief, or he must be taken in the act. The "punishment is, to pay double the value of the goods stolen, a fine of twenty dollars, and a buffalo; for smaller offences, a fine of five dollars and a goat.

      If any person shall pass the night in the house of another, and leave it in the morning before daybreak without giving notice to

the family, he shall be held, responsible for whatever may be lost during the night: but if he commit any thing in keeping to the care of his host, then, if his effects be lost, he must be made good. When the owner and his guest both lose property, then they shall make oath to each other of their mutual innocence. As stated before, where the Mahometan religion prevails, the Koran is used for administering oaths.

      Among the Rejangs, murder, the greatest of all crimes, may be expiated by the payment of a fine; the amount is not proportioned in any case to the rank and condition of the murderer, but according to the importance of the person whose life has been sacrificed. The value of mens' lives, therefore, is not esteemed equal. If a murderer have not property sufficient to pay the fine imposed on him by the authorities, then his nearest family relations are held responsible, and even the village where he lives, or he may be sold as a slave.

      In this, as in many other respects, there is a striking resemblance between their customs and those of the Araucanian Indians of South America. We once travelled twenty leagues in company with a cacique, or chief, who was on his journey to receive a number of horses and cattle from a distant settlement, where one of his relatives had been murdered; and the atonement, in this instance, had been assumed by the family of the murderer, who was himself too poor to pay. It does not appear, therefore, from the spirit of their customs, that fines are imposed so much for the punishment of the guilty, as for an atonement or compensation to the family of the deceased. This is confirmed by the fact, that they make no distinction between wilful murder and manslaughter: the loss to the living being the same, the fines are equal.

      This custom comes down by tradition from a remote period, beyond the introduction of Mahometanism upon the island. Among our Saxon ancestors, and northern nations, a compensation was admitted for murder: it is the "eric of Ireland, and the aponai of the Greeks." Among the Rejangs, corporeal punishments are rare, and confinement in chains unknown; the dangerous persons are sometimes enclosed in small houses prepared for the purpose, or, in their own significant language, "We pen him up as we would a bear." The right of holding persons in slavery

is admitted, though not much practised, except by the Malays along the coast.

      As respects courtship and marriage, the Rejangs have several curious observances not undeserving of notice. They practise but little ceremony in their courtships; their characters and manners do not admit of it. The lover and his mistress are carefully kept separated as soon as the old folks have an inkling that there is such a thing in agitation. Indeed, the fair one is seldom permitted to leave the shelter of her mother's wing.

      The young Rejangs, however, are not to be considered as wanting in gallantry; for it is said that they often evince a degree of delicacy towards the sex which might, perhaps, be emulated with advantage by people of higher pretensions to refinement. This trait, however, must not be considered as applicable to every individual. Months and years are not wasted in wooing a coy and fickle fair one. He does not assail her with a volley of darts, flames, and raptures. When he has selected a female as the object of his choice, he knows exactly what she is to cost him; not in sighs and tears, and doubts and fears, but in good hard cash, the amount of which is probably all he is worth in the world, and which, once paid, places the obligation in his favour.

      The principal intercourse of the young people takes place at their dances, festivals, and other amusements, where they are not backward in making their own selections; for old maids and old bachelors are by no means so plenty in Sumatra as catamounts and tigers. As soon as his choice is fixed, the lover, or boojong, employs an old woman to communicate his sentiments to the mistress of his affections, or gaddees, whose parents then take the affair into their own hands, and if no obstacle intervene, bring it to a final consummation.

      There are several modes of marriage practised among them. The joojoor is a fixed sum of money paid down by the man to the father as a compensation for his daughter. In a marriage of this sort, the relation which is established between the husband and wife can differ but little from that which exists between a master and his slave. The relation may be one of great kindness; but if so, it must be from condescension on the one part, and not from equality of the parties. By leaving a part of the price unpaid, which is generally done from a sense of delicacy,

though it be only five dollars, the relationship is still preserved between the families, and the parents of the female can interfere in her behalf in case of ill treatment. But if from any cause the balance be finally paid, then the right of the husband becomes absolute, and the woman is to all intents and purposes his slave; when her power to claim a divorce ceases, and she may be disposed of at the will of her husband; provided, that in all instances the offer be first made to her relations.

      It very often happens, however, as before stated, that marriages take place without the whole of the money being paid down; and that years are allowed to roll on without any demand being made. The debt, however, is deemed sacred, and can never be outlawed by time, and is sometimes collected by the second and third generations.

      There is a form of marriage called sebage, in which exchanges are made; the daughter of one neighbour for the son of another; and a brother will give a sister in exchange for a wife for himself. The prices paid vary often according to contract; though when suits arise, and the amount has to be fixed by law, or the decisions of the authorities, the sum of one hundred and twenty dollars is always awarded.

      So completely is the marriage contract a matter of commercial arrangement among these people, that it not unfrequently occurs that friends and neighbours borrow a girl from each other to effect some matrimonial arrangement, binding themselves at the same time to return another in her place when needed, or to pay the joojoor when required. If the parents or relations of a youth go to the parents of a girl to make a contract, the sum of six dollars is usually paid as an earnest of the compact; after which, the girl cannot be disposed of to another without incurring upon the parents a fine for failing to comply with the first agreement. This fine, however, is often incurred; for while the old people are arranging their family affairs in reference to the approaching nuptials between their children, miss takes it into her head to love some other youth, and very naughtily determines to form a match of her own choice by eloping with her favourite swain; and the law, breathing a spirit of indulgence and humanity, sanctions the act.

      By the Mosaic law, if a man left a widow without children,

his brother was to marry her with or without children — so among the Rejangs and Malays, a brother or near relation marries the widow, and assumes all the legal responsibilities of the deceased.

      There is another mode of marriage practised, though growing out of use in late years, called ambelana; by which a young man, by marrying into a family, becomes, in fact, the property of his wife's parents, and occupies a place between that of a son and a debtor. He partakes in the use of all the property of the family, but has no right or title in it. His plantation, his pepper gardens, are all the property of his newly-made parents, who in turn become responsible for him and all the debts he may contract; holding" also a power of divorcing him at will, and of sending him back, poor and naked, to his family, or as an outlaw upon, the community.

      The mode of marriage, however, most common, is the semundo, introduced by the Malays, which is much more simple and just, as the parties meet and treat with each other on the principle of equality. All the effects, gains, and earnings become joint property; and should a divorce take place at any subsequent period by the mutual consent of the parties, the property shall, in all such cases, be equally divided between them. By the influence and authority of the Rejang chiefs and Malay padres, this custom by semundo has become very generally adopted.

      But by whatever mode the nuptial ceremonies are consummated, joy and hilarity, dances, feasting, and song, are the usual attendants; nor do these amusements cease for several days, unless the whole supplies prepared for the occasion are exhausted. The young women, gaddees, or goddesses, are dressed in their finest attire, and not only mingle with sprightliness in the dance, but sing in low, sweet, and plaintive airs the outpourings of their hearts, in the soft suffusions of their loves; which, as a point of the utmost gallantry and fashion, is responded to by the boojongs, or young men, who gain credit in proportion to their adroitness in this indispensable accomplishment.

      Among the amusements of the men, there is nothing of which they are so fond as of cock-fighting. This is a vice common to the whole island; it is, indeed, their master passion. Their bets often run high, staking all they are worth; and instances have occurred of a father staking his children, his wife, or a sister, on

the issue of a fight. They have regular rules adopted for the government of these feathered tournaments, and observe them with great scrupulosity. Besides this, they pit and fight quails; practise the amusement of fencing, a rude sport, in which they practise strange antics and contortions of the body, resembling in some respects the pyric, or war-dance, of the ancients. They have also a diversion among them of tossing a ball, in which they show a great deal of dexterity, receiving or tossing it with equal agility from the hand, toe, or heel of the foot, either into the air, or obliquely from one place to another. The Phoenicians practised a similar amusement, as described by Homer.

      The use of the betele-nut pervades all ranks, and both sexes learn to chew it at an early age. No one goes abroad without the article with him; the wealthy carrying it in gold or silver boxes, and the poor in brass boxes or mat bags. It enters into all their little courtesies and civilities of life; is always offered on meeting, and as a matter of politeness is never refused. When the first salutation is over, the betele is offered as a token of hospitality. Of tobacco they are also fond, and use it of their own raising, as well as the importations of that article from China.

      Oratory is highly esteemed, and there are many fluent speakers among them. This is natural among people in whose deliberations all are allowed to speak, and where superior talents are sure to give a corresponding degree of influence and importance to the possessor.

      The women among the Rejangs, like the fruits of their country, are soon ripe, and soon decay; they are mothers at fifteen, look old at thirty, and are gray-headed and shrivelled at forty. They keep no record of their ages, though fifty maybe considered old, and few live beyond the period of sixty years.

      In the villages a broad plank is kept, sometimes for generations, upon which, at their funerals, the corpse is carried to the burial-grounds. No coffin is used, and the subject is interred at a decent depth, wrapped round with a white piece of cloth. The women who attend the funeral keep up a hideous howl. At the head of the grave, a little shrub, or white flower, is always planted with care, and at the end of twelve months, a visit to the grave is performed by surviving friends; at which time a buffalo is killed, and a feast takes place, in honour of the deceased. All their

burial-places are regarded with an extraordinary degree of reverence.

      Beyond the influence of Mahometanism, the Rejangs have not, and probably never have had any religion of their own. None at least has ever been discovered among them. They have no form of prayers, no processions, no meetings, no images, no priests. They believe, however, in the existence of invisible spirits of some kind, and attribute to them the power of influencing their destinies for good or for evil while in this world; and it is to these powers they are accustomed to make their appeals in their forms of taking an oath. They are said to have no idea of a future state, except such dim glimmerings as have been shed upon them by the Mahometan religion. Our own observations, however limited, on savage life, have gone far to impress us with the belief, that the eternal principle, the vital spark, which is incased in every human body, however remote from civilization, or low and degraded in the scale of human beings, will, under one form or another, if rightly understood, give evidence of its own consciousness of immortality. ,

      If it be not so, why does the Laplander picture to himself that after this life he shall traverse verdant plains, ever blooming in spring, and abounding with herds of fat raindeer, as a reward for his good deeds in this world, or bleak, desolate mountains, as a punishment for his bad actions? Why does the Hindoo believe in the transmigration of the souls of men into animals; why the Araucanians bury their dead in rude canoes, with provisions to last during the unknown passage across the great water, whose tranquil waves, as they believe, wash the confines of another world? These are the dim lights of immortality in the breast of rude man. To mark these gleamings of the spirit, and trace out their existence, constitute one of the most pleasing inquiries of the Christian philosopher.

      Nor will the Rejangs be found an exception; for they believe that tigers are end owed with the spirits of departed men; and so strong' is this superstition, that they will not put one of these animals to death, except in actual self-defence. Indeed, the very

name of the tiger inspires them with awe, and they have a belief among them, that in some remote and hitherto unfrequented portion of the island, these animals have a village, a court, and live in huts, thatched with women's hair. The destruction committed by these ferocious beasts upon the inhabitants is almost incredible; for whole villages are said to have been nearly depopulated by them. When attacked, they often show great courage in defending themselves and each other.

      It was related to us by one of our most intelligent shipmasters, who had frequented the coast, that while lying at anchor in one of their small ports, a native was brought in shockingly lacerated in the hip and side by the fangs of the tiger. He had been visiting his pepper garden, but a short distance from the village, and on his return, fortunately with a companion, the animal lay couched in a secret spot, and springing out, suddenly seized him, before he had warning that danger was nigh. His companion, who had passed a few rods ahead, heard his screams, and though armed with nothing but a kris, he returned, and attacked the monster with such courage and effect, that he was soon glad to let go his hold; and with the blood streaming from his wounds, bounded off, and was soon hid from sight amid impenetrable jungle. The wounds of the native were seared over with a hot iron, and by other arts peculiar to themselves, he was soon restored to perfect health.

      They believe that trees, especially such as have an antiquated or venerable appearance, are the residence of the immaterial spirits of the woods, which, with a little poetic license, might be called the classic Dryades of Sumatra!

      The country of the Lampoons, a people different in many, though no essential particulars, from the Rejangs, is situated on the southern extremity of the island. The Lampoons, of all the tribes on the island, most resemble the Chinese in appearance. Their complexion is fairer than that of the Rejangs, and their women are taller, more graceful, and more comely. In the reception of strangers, they are sumptuous and free in their manners. The Mahometan religion prevails, and in most villages mosques may be seen; though they still entertain a superstitious veneration for the crammats or burying-grounds of their ancestors, piously adorning and excluding them, by enclosures, from the inclemency of the weather.

CHAPTER XI.

      The ancient and comparatively powerful empire of Menangcabow, comprises an extensive tract in the centre of the Island of Sumatra, reaching several leagues to the north, and nearly one hundred miles to the south of the equator. It also communicates,by several rivers, with the seacoast on each side of the island.. The seat, or capital of this monarchy, is called Paggarooyoong, where the sultan or emperor holds his court, from whence his power and influence were formerly felt in almost every part of the island. Even the sultans and kings of Acheen, Indrapoor, MocoMoco, Palembang, and Jambee, confessed his supremacy, and paid him an annual tribute; while his name and power were acknowledged and respected by the neighbouring princes of the east.

      But the period of this greatness and splendour is lost in the mists of antiquity, and only known to us by tradition; for when Sumatra was first visited by Europeans, as has been seen in preceding pages, the sultans of Acheen, Pasay, &c., were all independent of the monarch of Menangcabow; although some of them still paid him a complimentary tribute. For centuries past there has been a great deal of mystery thrown around the history and character of this inland' imperial court by Mahometan priests, who affect to regard the sultan as the sovereign head of their faith, on the island; although his present power is in fact but little more, if any, than that of a common rajah.

      The proclamations and imperial edicts which have emanated

from this court are generally ridiculously pompous, as those of weak monarchs most generally are; carrying terror to the ignorant and imbecile, while they are contemned by the intelligent and the strong. The titles and epithets applied to this inland potentate, and adopted by himself, are the most extravagant and absurd; far surpassing those assumed by the emperors of Persia and Tartary, or even by the head of the Celestial Empire himself, the "Father of ten thousand years." The reading world is indebted to Alexander Dalrymple, Esq., for rescuing from oblivion one of these curious productions, written by the Sultan of Menangcabow about a century since, and addressed to the Sultan of Moco-Moco.

      In style, this imperial document is far more rational than many similar effusions we have seen; and is, taking it altogether, a production so remarkable, especially when the magnitude of its object is taken into view, that it forcibly reminds us of the well-known comparison of

      The reader, therefore, we feel assured, will not regret its introduction in this place.

      "Praised be Almighty God! Sultan Gaggar Allum, the great and noble king, whose extensive power reacheth unto the limits of the wide ocean; unto whom God grants whatever he desires, and over whom no evil spirit, nor even Satan himself, has any influence; who is invested with an authority to punish evil-doers, and has the most tender heart in the support of the innocent; has no malice in his mind, but preserveth the righteous with the greatest reverence, and nourisheth the poor and needy, feeding them daily from his own table. His authority reacheth over the whole universe, and his candour and goodness are known to all men. (Mention made of the three brothers.) The ambassador of God, and his prophet Mahomet; the beloved of mankind; and ruler of the island called Percho. At the time God made the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, and even before evil spirits were created, this Sultan Gaggar Allum had his residence in the clouds; but when the world was habitable, God gave him 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 inheritance, 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 Menangcabow, which will be renowned and mighty until the judgment day.

      "This Maha Rajah Doorja is blessed with a long life, and an uninterrupted course of prosperity, which he will maintain in the name, and through the grace of the holy prophet, to the end that God's divine will may be fulfilled upon earth. He is endowed with the highest abilities, and the most profound wisdom and circumspection in the governing the many tributary kings and subjects. He is righteous and charitable, and preserveth the honour and glory of his ancestors. His justice and clemency are felt in distant regions, and his- name will be revered until the last day. When he openeth his mouth he is full of goodness, and his words are as grateful as rose-water to the thirsty. His breath is like the soft wind of the heavens {janatecool ferdoors), and his lips are the instruments of truth; sending forth perfumes more delightful than benjamin or myrrh. His nostrils breath ambergris and musk; and his countenance has the lustre of diamonds. He is dreadful in battle, and not to be conquered, his courage and valour being matchless. He, the Sultan Maha Rajah Doorja, was crowned with a sacred crown from God; and possesses the wood called kainat, in conjunction with the emperors of Rome and China. He is the sultan that keeps the cloth called sansista kallah, which weaves itself, and adds one thread yearly of fine pearls; and when that cloth shall be finished, the world will be no more. He also possesses the true negataroona, and a kind of gold called jatta jattee, which is so heavy that a small lump will snap the datte wood. This is the sultan that enjoys the sword se mandang gerey, which has one hundred and ninety wide notches in the field of battle, and is the weapon that killed the spirit of kattee moone; the dagger, known by the name of hangin singa, is also his, and will, at his command, fight for itself, with which he has vanquished many nations. He also possesses the lance lambing lamboora, the blade of which, called segar, was given him by an inhabitant of the sea. He likewise has horses of infinite strength and courage; and mountains of spontaneous fire. This is the sultan who keeps the flower champaka, that is

blue, and to be found in no other country but his (being yellow elsewhere). He possesses the shrub sera mangeree, and the reed arver priendue, to which birds of all countries come at the time of their death. He has also drums made of the tree silagooree, and another instrument of the like nature of the wood called pooloot-pooloot, which send their sound through his whole dominions whenever they are beat. He has a bechar house, built of the hallowed wood jylatong, and each beam in it, though strong and large, is yet as light as bamboo. He also possesses a carpet made of grass, and a lump of gold in the shape of a man, given him by a god of the woods.

      "After this salutation, and the information I have given of my greatness and power, which I attribute to the good and holy prophet Mahomet, I am to acquaint you with the commands of the sultan, whose presence bringeth death to all who attempt to approach him without permission; and also those of the Sultan of Indrapoor, who has four breasts. This friendly sheet of paper is brought from the two sultans above named, by their bird ongas, unto their son Sultan Condam Shah, to acquaint him with their intention, under this great seal, which is, that they order their son, Sultan Condam Shah, to oblige the English Company to settle in the district called Biangnoor, at a place called ' field of sheep,' that they may not have occasion to be ashamed at their frequent refusal of our goodness in permitting them to trade with us and with our subjects; and that in case he cannot succeed in this affair, we hereby advise him that the ties of friendship subsisting between us and our son are broken; and we direct that he send us an answer immediately, that we may know the result, and take our measures accordingly — for all this island is our own."

      The Malays of Menangcabow are expert in the use of the Arabic characters; but their writing is confined almost exclusively to transcribing portions of' the Alcoran, and never extended to the more important use of preserving records connected with the history of their country. They have, however, acquired no little celebrity in composing cabars, or historical tales, which are generally a mixture of truth with fiction, written in a style not unlike the romances of Arabia, highly poetical, and abounding with the marvellous. The recitation of these stories is a common amusement in all parts of the island.

      In the useful arts, they excel the natives of every other section of Sumatra; displaying no inconsiderable skill and ingenuity in their handicrafts, particularly in filigree-work of gold and silver. In the working of iron, steel, and other metals, many of these Malays are firstrate artists; and it is from their factories and armories that the more warlike tribes of the north have been accustomed to procure their fire-arms and other martial weapons from time immemorial; The arts of smelting iron, casting cannon, and manufacturing firelocks, have been practised by them from a very remote period; as appears from the fact, that such weapons were adroitly used by the Sumatrans, in their earliest conflicts with the Portuguese.

      The delicate and difficult process of preparing steel from iron, has also been long familiar to them, as has been already intimated in another place. The quality of their swords and kris blades has never been equalled in any other part of the world; the steel of which they are composed appearing entirely different from that which we are accustomed to handle, and exhibiting veins of different colours. The shape of the blade is peculiar, it being neither straight like a dagger or dirk, nor uniformly curved like a cutlass or sabre; but it is waving, like the attenuated flame of a torch, which gives an increased magnitude to the wounds they inflict, and render them more difficult to heal. The hafts or handles of these weapons are curiously wrought and ornamented, generally embellished with the carved head and beak of a bird, with human arms, like the Isis of the Egyptians.

      The art of making gunpowder with them is of course coeval with, if not anterior to, that of constructing engines for its use. It was no doubt brought from the continent by the first emigrants for fire-arms of some description were used in India, even before its invasion by Alexander the Great, as appears from the writings of Philostratus. This celebrated historian, in his life of Apollonus Typhaneus, tells us that the cities of Oxydracia, in farther India, could never have been taken by Alexander, "for they come not out into the field (says he) to fight those who attack them; but these holy men, beloved by the gods, overthrow their enemies with lightnings and thunderbolts, shot from their walls."

      The military forces of Menangcabow, in addition to their firearms, are provided with ranjows, or sharp-pointed spears of bam-

boo, which they use on a hasty retreat by planting them obliquely in the pathways, and among the high grass, to annoy and retard their pursuers.

      These people are frequently engaged in hostilities to support the tottering throne of their chief; and a part of their forces are sometimes mounted on horseback, although the troops of this description do not deserve the name of cavalry. The spoils, or plunder taken from the enemy is always divided among the common soldiers, and this is the only pay they receive; so that, patriotism apart, they are sure to annoy the enemy, at least in his property, as much as possible. But they have never been so much distinguished for bravery as the people of some other districts, particularly in the north; though the Dutch at Padang have often found them not only too restive for control, but in more than one instance, have found their only safety in the strength and height of their fortresses, and the means of enduring a siege.

      There is no part of the island where the Mahometan faith so exclusively prevails, as in the central principality of Menangcarbow; which may, perhaps, be accounted for by the fact, that this region is the very Potosi of Sumatra, whether it be the Ophir of Solomon or not. It abounds with gold, "the white man's god;" and so far as it can purchase sensual gratification, the Moslem's Allah. This was, doubtless, the grand inducement which led the prophet's missionaries to locate themselves in the golden region of Menangcabow.

      The natives, however, not only embraced a new religion, but it appears that an entire revolution took place in their language, manners, and customs, which could only have been effected by the Malays from the peninsula having settled among them. The natives of Menangcabow so much resemble, in personal appearance, the natives of the peninsula, that they are generally considered, on the Island of Sumatra, as one and the same people. Indeed, the term Malay has long ceased, in most parts of the east, to signify strictly an inhabitant of Malaya; but generally denotes such as have adopted the Malay language and religion; and hence, as a general remark, in speaking of the inhabitants of Sumatra, we call them Malays.

      In proceeding from the Menangcabow country to the north, the next considerable tribe, or clan, is that of the Battas; whose

district is bounded on the north by the kingdom of Acheen, and on the southwest by Passumman. This is a populous region; and from the great Bay of Tappanooly, which penetrates deeply into the country, a considerable trade was once carried on, and monopolized for a long time by the English, who took it from the Achenese.

      In personal appearance, the Battas are smaller and fairer than the Malays, which may be owing to their distance from the sea. Their dress is plain, consisting of common cotton cloth of their own manufacture, died of a brown colour, or a deep blue. The young women are fond of ornaments, wearing occasionally not less than fifty tin rings in their ears at the same time.

      The food of the lower orders is principally maize and sweet-potatoes; while the rajah, and people of rank and wealth, indulge in the greater luxury of rice. They are fond of horse flesh, and feed these animals with great care for the express purpose of food.

      In their domestic relations, there is no striking difference between them and other tribes already noticed. Polygamy prevails; and in their marriage contracts, the parents of the bride always receive a valuable consideration in buffaloes in exchange for their daughter. The women labour in the fields, while the men, when not engaged in war, pass their time in idleness and gaming; the latter being a vice which prevails among them without limit or restriction, and is generally prosecuted with an ardour that terminates only in the ruin of one of the parties, who is perhaps sold as a slave to pay his debts of honour!

      That trait in the character of the Battas which has given them most notoriety among the inhabitants of Sumatra, is the custom, attributed to them by all early writers, of eating human flesh. How far they may have been the real anthropophagi of the ancients, is not known; but all modern accounts agree, that when human flesh is now eaten among them, it is not from any unnatural, sensual appetite; but the very natural moral appetite of barbarians for savage triumph and revenge; to manifest the utter detestation in which they hold their enemies; or their abhorrence of the crimes for which their malefactors may have suffered death.

      The country of the Battas is divided into numerous petty districts, each of which is headed by a rajah, who extends his power

in proportion to the means and arms he can get in his possession. Their chiefs are extremely jealous of each other, and never unite, except in common defence against some external enemy. The political relations between the rajahs and their vassals, are quite feudal in their character. Their standard, in war, is a horse's head, and their arms such as are used in other parts of the island. They fortify their villages by ramparts of earth; together with ditches, brushwood, and palisades of camphire timber.

      They have priests among them who perform certain ceremonies on the occasion of burying the dead; and their ideas of a Supreme Being and an hereafter, are more clearly manifested than among the Rejangs. The funeral obsequies of a deceased rajah, or any man of superior consequence, are performed with much ceremony, and months are consumed in their consummation. The corpse is deposited in a coffin of the anou-tree, which is covered with rosin, and from the end of which a bamboo tube extends into the ground, to carry off all disagreeable effluvia.

      When the coffin is brought out for burial, baskets of rice are placed by the women near the corpse, A buffalo or horse is then killed, and a feast takes place; after which, the attending priest kills a fowl, and allows its blood to run upon the coffin, as a charm to drive away evil spirits. When the ceremonies and several other rites have been all strictly observed, the coffin is buried in the earth, and the people retire peaceably to their homes.

      The Battas, perhaps more than any other people in the northern part of the island, have preserved their original character, manners, habits, and customs, to the present day.

      The next and last nation of Sumatra which our prescribed limits will permit us to notice, is that of Acheen, at the northern extremity of the island; a people to whom we have already so frequently alluded, that but little more remains to be said of them. It may here, however, be observed in brief, that Acheen is the only kingdom on the island which ever reached such a state of political importance as to become a subject of general history. But at the period when the forces of this government drove the Portuguese from the island, the extent of its territory was far greater than it is at present. The king then claimed dominion as far down on the western coast as Indrapoor, two degrees south of the equator; whereas his present jurisdiction only reaches to

Baroos, comprising about half that distance on the west; while on the east it scarcely extends forty miles.

      The city of Acheen, the capital, is built on a river, which empties itself into the sea near the northwest point of the island, commonly called Acheen Head. This city, which was once a place of great trade, and frequented by vessels from all the countries of Europe, as well as from China, and all parts of India, has greatly fallen off from its former importance, especially since the king removed his court to Tulisamaway. It is, however, a considerable town, containing a great number of public edifices, but without any pretensions to magnificence. There appear to be no regular streets, each house being separate, and surrounded with trees, communicating with each other by foot-paths. The houses are of one story, meanly built of bamboo, and thatched with cocoanut leaves, and raised some feet from the ground on account of the overflowing of the river.

      The town is situated on an extensive plain, between two high ridges; it is about five or six miles wide on the seacoast, and extends a long distance, in a southeast direction, into the interior.

      The main river, which traverses the plain near its centre, is forty fathoms wide opposite the custom-house, which stands about three miles from its mouth; and is elevated about two feet above the surface of the water. It is very shallow at the bar, and in the dry monsoon, will not admit vessels of any burden, which must anchor without, in the road formed by the islands of the point. This is the common anchorage, with from eight to fourteen fathoms of water, the town bearing south-half-east to southeast.

      This people differ extremely in their persons from every other class on the island; being taller, stouter, and of darker complexion; supposed to be a mixture of Moors, Malays, and Battas. In their character and dispositions, they are also unlike their neighbours; being more active, industrious, and penetrating, and possessing a greater share of sagacity and general knowledge. They are all Mahometans, and having a great number of mosques and priests, the rites and ceremonies of that faith are observed with much greater strictness. Manufactures are here carried on to more perfection than in any other part of Sumatra. This remark will apply to trade, commerce, and navigation.

      It has been observed by an intelligent traveller, whom we are proud to claim as a highly valued friend, that the proas of the Malays are, in form, construction, rigging, and even to the most minute particular as respects the hull, precisely similar to the vessels of the Mediterranean which are represented in the paintings of Salvator Rosa, in the Pitti Palace at Florence. This artist, we believe, flourished in the fifteenth century.

      The punishment of crimes has ever been severe and rigorous in this country; and there is no commutation admitted, as we have seen to be the case among the natives farther south. Petty thefts are punished by torturing the culprit in various ways, such as maiming, amputating, and other kinds of mutilation. Highway robbery and burglary, by drowning, and afterward suspending the body on a stake for a few days; but if the robbery has been committed on a priest, the criminal is burnt alive! The adulterer is cut to pieces by a mob of the injured husband's friends, and the mutilated corpse refused the rights of sepulture.

      At Quallah-Battoo, one of the nominal dependances of Acheen, the same rigour is exercised towards offenders. A highly intellectual friend has related to us an instance of this severity and cold-blooded cruelty, which fell under his own observation, and was also witnessed by several other Americans present. A slave, who had been condemned to death for a trifling offence, was bound to a stake driven in the ground, as a mark for sportsmen to shoot at for several hours. The whole village was assembled to witness the sport; laughing, shouting, joking, and betting, on the chances, of every shot! The instinctive shrinking of the poor wretch, when a musket was levelled at him, and his agonizing supplications for mercy, were either unheeded or mocked and ridiculed! He was eventually, after receiving sundry wounds, thrown into the sea, where his sufferings were terminated in a watery grave!

      Such are the pastimes of the inhabitants of Quallah-Battoo! the just punishment of whose outrage on our own flag, and the lives of our fellow-citizens, called forth the premature and misplaced sympathies of philanthropists, who only erred in permitting their feelings to outrun their knowledge of facts, being not fully acquainted with those peculiar circumstances which imperiously demanded the prompt interference of a protecting government.

      The government of Acheen is an hereditary monarchy, and

more or less absolute, in proportion to the talents of the reigning prince. For the last half century, to go no further back, the sceptre of Acheen has been merely the symbol of sovereignty, without its potency; sustained by a feeble arm, though with a title ancient and undisputed. The throne has been surrounded by chiefs, all of whom acknowledged the sovereign's authority, though none of them submitted to his control. Too feeble to reduce revolters, he has only been able to keep up a state of continual alarm and warfare, bordering on that of actual rebellion.

      Prohibited by European interference from levying a duty on his own subjects, he was compelled by the mandate of strangers to forego the only means by which he could have preserved his dominions from the anarchy and confusion which followed. In short, we must add, on the authority of Sir Thomas Raffles, that the last of the ancient dynasty of Acheen has been compelled to abdicate his throne in favour of the son of a Pinang merchant!

      Of the personal appearance and dress of the Achenese, a few additional particulars may not be deemed inappropriate. We have already stated, that in size and stature they surpass the other inhabitants of Sumatra. Their heads are somewhat flat, or compressed, the face broad and open, with high cheek bones, flattened nose, and large mouth; though many of them have features similar in form and expression to Europeans. Their complexion may be called a dark copper-colour; their chest is broad and full, their position erect, and their height generally is about five feet ten inches. When several are walking together, they always proceed in single file, taking precedence according to rank, age, or consequence. They generally walk well, quite erect, and are easy in their movements. They wear their hair very closely cut or shaved; but instead of shaving their beards, they pluck it out, reserving their mustaches in the Turkish fashion.

      Their dress, also, differs in many respects from that of other Sumatrans. The men have recently adopted the European jacket, with or without a collar, of blue or black broadcloth, which are the most common colours. This is frequently seen embroidered with fine gold thread, and a stripe of embroidery, about an inch wide round the border, neatly wrought with a needle. But that which we consider a genuine Achenese dress, is a jacket or frock, somewhat similar to a shirt without a collar. This is gen-

erally richly embroidered. with gold thread, according to the taste or fancy of the wearer. Also, a pair of loose trowsers, which reach to the calf of the leg. Another article of their wardrobe is a garment, the name of which we do not recollect, about a yard in width, long enough to pass once or twice round the waist, the lower edge hanging below the knees; forcibly reminding one of the Highland kilt. A silken belt closely embraces the loins, concealing the upper edge of the nameless garment just mentioned, and also securing the trowsers. A turban, which is usually a shawl or handkerchief, embroidered with gold thread, completes the dress.

      They also frequently wear another article of dress, formed of a piece of cloth two yards and a half in width, sewed together at the ends. This garment, which we have already alluded to in a previous chapter, as the sarong of the Sumatrans, has generally a graceful appearance, and is worn by the Achenese as an outside garment, to protect them from the weather, This description refers to a dress of the best kind; but there are few who do not wear such as a holyday suit. Their common dress is similar in fashion, but made of less costly materials. Sometimes the jacket is omitted, leaving the chest naked from the waist up, with only a small scullcap; the latter, however, is always worn with a turban.

      An Achenese, in full dress, presents a martial and picturesque appearance, that would well become the stage; and reminds one of the Highland uniform in the British army. We think that a regiment in such costume would present a brilliant spectacle. But let us not forget the kris, which is always worn, and is often of great value. Its sheath is sometimes of pure wrought gold, as is also the handle. Another indispensable appendage is a handkerchief of silk, embroidered with gold thread; and among higher classes, with gold ornaments on the corners; together with a gold chenam-box, tweezers, toothpick, &c. This is usually thrown over the shoulders, Their feet are never covered.

      In speaking of the beauty of the Achenese dress, we mean when it is clean, which is seldom the case, unless it be new. Cleanliness of apparel is not considered by these people as one of the requisites of a gentleman. They frequently wear a light-coloured cotton garment until it is worn out, without having it washed! Fortunately, however, for those who approach them,

they perform their ablutions like good Mussulmen, washing their bodies several times a day; particularly when they repeat their prayers.

      The Achenese, in general, are grave and decorous in their deportment, considering it beneath the dignity of a man of consequence to laugh and talk much; and they have often been heard to express the same idea. They are not, however, unsocial in their manners; but are in the habit of assembling in groups for conversation. Their mode of salutation is extremely courteous and ceremonious. When equals meet, they exchange handkerchiefs with a graceful inclination of the body. The object of this is, that they may prepare a serah for chewing, for which each has the materials in his handkerchief. They seldom commence conversing on these occasions, until the handkerchiefs are returned in the same graceful manner, the whole ceremony occupying two or three minutes. Their salutation generally on presenting the handkerchief is, "Ah-sah-lah-moo, alin, loo-coom!" expressing a sentiment analogous to "Peace be with you," corresponding to our familiar "How do you do?" But this short sentence is uttered with so much rapidity, that to an unpractised ear it sounds exactly like "Salam ali cume!"

      When an inferior meets his superior, the former very respectfully takes the other's hand, bowing gracefully over it, until his forehead touches it. As he raises his head, the other carries the hand of his inferior towards his own forehead, and frequently gives him his handkerchief, without taking one in return. When an individual of very humble station approaches one of elevated rank, the former bends very low, as if he would throw himself at his feet, the other merely making a condescending gesture with the hand. We believe that a man of rank and station never neglects to return the salutation of another.

      When the Achenese assemble to deliberate or confer on any particular subject, they sit cross-legged in a circle. The speaker joins his open hands, and extends them, with a bow, to the individual he is about to address, who offers his attention by a similar action, If the whole company is to be addressed, the same ceremony is observed to each. The orator then pitches his voice in a peculiar monotonous tone, evidently studied and acquired for the sole purpose of public speaking, and this tone is seldom

changed until his speech is concluded. Another succeeds, observing the same preliminary ceremonies. They appear to think that monotony of tone, combined with a rapid but uniform flow of words, is the perfection of eloquence. Nearly all their public discourses commence with "Tookoo, shallah te Allah;" that is, "Sir, with the blessing of God," or, "by Divine permission."

      The commerce of Acheen, which was once so flourishing, has dwindled away to almost nothing. The kingdom having been shaken and rent by internal factions and insurrections, too powerful to be suppressed by so weak a government, the interests of trade were almost totally neglected.

      But it is with the pepper trade, and those ports on the western coast of the island which are nominally appertaining to this sovereignty, that we, as Americans, have the most immediate concern; and on this subject, in addition to what we have already said, a few facts and remarks may not be inapplicable.

      During the suspension or interruption of our commerce, by the last war between the United States and Great Britain, the pepper-growers, having little demand for the article, greatly neglected its cultivation; although it is known to be their principal, not to say only, article of export. The natural consequence was,that in the first pepper season subsequent to the restoration of peace, in eighteen hundred and fifteen, not more than two or three vessels were enabled to procure cargoes.

      On the revival of our commerce at that period, the satisfaction which these people evinced and expressed on seeing their former profitable customers once more among them, was the subject of remark by every American on the coast. They looked upon the event as the precursor of more prosperous times; and, with an alacrity and industry indicating a correct estimation of their pecuniary interest, they immediately began to extend their plantations, on a scale corresponding to the anticipated demand for this staple of the island.

      As the pepper vine, however, occupies three or four years in coming to maturity, there was no material increase in the quantity produced until the year eighteen hundred and eighteen, when we had from four to five thousand tons of shipping upon that coast, a great portion of which obtained cargoes. From this period to eighteen hundred and twenty-three, the high price which

this article maintained, both in Europe and India, held out so much encouragement to the pepper planters of Sumatra to increase its cultivation, that the quantity produced in that one year was from one hundred to one hundred and twenty thousand piculs of one hundred and thirty-seven and a half American pounds each; employing, at the least calculation, six thousand tons of shipping, and a capital of one million two hundred thousand dollars! Nearly the whole crop of that year, together with the crop of several preceding years, were taken off in American vessels! Since that period, this trade has been very fluctuating; and the low price to which pepper has been reduced in America, has tended much to discourage the natives from increasing their crops.

      There are few other articles of trade to be procured on the pepper coast; but in its neighbourhood, and immediately south of it, at the ports of Tappoose, Sinkel, and Barroos, gum-benzoin and crude camphire are produced in considerable quantities. The last named article is bought by the coasting craft at the rate of about twelve dollars per pound! In all the pepper plantations, the soil appears to be perfectly congenial to the coffee-plant, which in many places seems to grow spontaneously. This, together with the sugarcane, which grows here profusely, is, no doubt, indigenous to the island.

      The present monarch of Acheen appears to exercise little or no authority over those rajahs who are situated at any distance from the capital; and nothing but his presence and actual force, which he has heretofore frequently employed, will compel them to pay him his lawful tribute. The probability is, that at this time, out of forty or fifty thousand dollars, his annual revenue from the exports of pepper, he is not able to collect more than five or six thousand. The rajahs, therefore, of the different forts, although they nominally acknowledge allegiance to the king, are virtually so many independent rulers, exercising individual authority, waging and carrying on war with each other, deceiving and cheating the king in every possible manner. They appear, however, to exercise very little authority over their own subjects, and in many cases it seems merely nominal. The king is frequently at war with the rajahs; and the latter, in their turn, are frequently at war with the different factions which beset their

territory; while an almost universal state of anarchy appears to prevail among them.

      We have said that the sovereignty of Acheen once extended to Indrapoor, on the west coast of Sumatra, two degrees south of the equator. Of course, it included the seaport of Troumon, in latitude 2° 47' north. This is, perhaps, the only place on the pepper coast, where any faith can be safely placed in a verbal or written contract. The former rajah, who died about the year eighteen hundred and twenty-two, left his dominions to two sons; one of whom was by his lawful wife, and the other by a concubine from Pulo Nyas, who was, as a matter of course, first purchased as a slave. The son of the bond-woman governs Troumon, and is highly respected, both by his own people, and such foreigners as visit the place for pepper.

      The other son governs a more southern district; where he is almost universally despised by his own people, and is too well known to be trusted by strangers. There was, for a time, much difficulty, and some bloodshed, in consequence of the enmity of these brothers; but the quarrel was finally adjusted to the satisfaction of all parties, and the reconciliation was duly ratified, according to the custom of the country, by a grand feast over the graves of their fathers.

      This incident occurred in eighteen hundred and twenty-four, when the amount of pepper collected by both governments was thirty-five thousand piculs. This is the only article of export to be procured at this place, and this they cultivate to the entire neglect of every thing else; and notwithstanding it frequently happened that they were almost starving for rice, they never attended to its cultivation until very lately, although the soil is excellent for that purpose. And yet they have frequently been compelled to give a picul of pepper for a picul of rice. They even neglect to raise vegetables, and fowls are very scarce; so much so, that it is very difficult for a vessel to procure sufficient for the cabin.

      The rajah's house, bazaar, &c., are situated on the south side of the river, which, after extending some distance inland, becomes two separate rivers, one flowing from the north, and the other from the south, all the banks thickly covered with trees. But like most of the rivers on the west coast of Sumatra, it is obstructed

by a sand-bar, which is shifted by the heavy northwest gales that frequently occur on this coast during the stormy monsoon. The water of this river is not good, but vessels can be supplied with excellent water from wells in the village. The imports to this place are similar to those of other ports on the coast, consisting of opium, cloths, muskets, powder, and slaves, principally females, which are brought from Pulo Nyas, and sold for concubines.

      The Rajah of Troumon is the only one on the coast that carries on trade to any distance. He owns two or three brigs, which are navigated by Englishmen, or half-caste; and perform voyages to Madras and other places. He sometimes declares war against the other rajahs, and has a great desire to enlarge his territories and increase his power.

      The Achenese appear to be very inimical to the Dutch, and manifest much jealousy of that nation; probably from a fear that they may, at some future period, attempt to colonize among them. The Dutch trade to this coast is very limited; and at least two thirds or three fourths of the whole is in our hands. The natives very readily distinguish between people of different nations; and the conduct and deportment of Americans towards them is always a subject of high commendation; and they are ever ready with expressions of kindness, friendship, and good feeling for us. That they are prompted to this, in most instances, by motives of interest, there can be no doubt; and this species of flattery has been frequently employed to allay any suspicions which we might entertain in our intercourse with them, to enable them the more readily to accomplish any base or sinister purpose they may have in view. It is difficult to ascertain the real state of feeling of a people so wholly rude and treacherous.

      Such diseases as are incident to other portions of the east are also found to prevail here; such as bilious fever, ague and fever, diarrhoea, cholera, spotted and scaly leprosy, &c. These people are likewise subject to a peculiar cutaneous disease, much resembling the itch in appearance, attended with a constant irritation of the skin. This is said to be produced by unwholesome diet, such as salted fish in an almost putrid state, and other things equally repugnant to a delicate stomach.

      It is common to see among them the most loathsome-looking objects, covered with offensive ulcers and incurable sores Some

unfortunate wretches are afflicted with the elephantiasis, a dreadful disease, in which the skin comes off in flakes, and the flesh falls from the bones. This disease being deemed highly infectious, the hapless sufferer is driven from society into the woods, where food is conveyed to him by his relations, until death puts a termination to his misery. They are almost totally ignorant of the science of medicine or surgery, and are frequently annoying in their solicitations for remedies and medical advice; so that visiters frequently resort to quackery to get rid of their importunities.

      The face of the country, a short distance from the seacoast, is distinguished by a bold outline of prominent features, sometimes rising into lofty mountains, like most other parts of the western side of the island. The mountains abound with wild beasts of various species. Here are found the elephant, the black and striped tiger, rhinoceros, deer, antelope, wild-hog, &c. Reptiles are numerous, and many of them venomous. Among those of the serpent kind is a snake which possesses the chamelion's faculty of assuming the colour of any object with which it comes in contact. Though small in size, its bite is almost instant death. Alligators abound in the rivers, and the guana is also found here. The boa-constrictor is said to be a formidable tenant of the interior forests.

      Having thus given as full a description of the island and inhabitants of Sumatra as our limits will permit, we cannot, perhaps, make a more appropriate conclusion to this chapter than by briefly describing a number of smaller islands which line its western coast in a parallel chain, lying about sixty miles distant, and extending nearly the whole length of the parent island, for in that relation we consider them. These islets, for such they are, compared with Sumatra, are at present very imperfectly known except that several of them are from seventy to eighty miles in length, and that the inhabitants of those which have been visited differ materially from each other in appearance, language, and character. On the charts, with few exceptions, the outlines of these islands are drawn wholly from imagination. As there has never been any actual survey, a few only of the points are known with much precision, although the passages between them are much frequented by our vessels.

      The channels along the west coast of Sumatra are three in

number. The outer one, west of all the islands, should always be adopted, if practicable, being far more safe and pleasant for vessels that do not wish to anchor. The middle passage within the chain of islands just mentioned, but outside a range of smaller ones, which are nearer the Sumatra shore, should never be selected from choice; as vessels are liable to be driven about by currents, and tantalized with light and baffling winds. There is no safe anchorage in this passage; while in many places towards the main coast are dangerous shoals and reefs, from one to two and three fathoms under water. The inner channel, close along the shores of Sumatra, having in most places anchorage, is preferable to the middle passage; but from the numerous islands and reefs, either unknown or not marked on the charts (except that portion which is embraced in some recent surveys), it is both intricate and perplexing.

      It is not improbable that this chain of islands, which runs parallel with the coast of Sumatra, once formed a part of that island; they have been separated from it either by the attrition of the sea, or by some more sudden and violent effort of nature. This supposition derives strength from the fact, that in several places, particularly about Pally, detached pieces of land, in the form of islands, stand several hundred yards from the shore, and evidently once formed points of headland; their surface still remaining covered with trees, while their sides are bare, abrupt, and perpendicular. The northwest and southeast position of Sumatra, the similarity of soil, the regularity of the soundings within the range of the large islands, and the unfathomable depth of water without, add still further confirmation to the hypothesis.

      Hog Island, or Pulo Oo, the most northerly of the range, is moderately hilly, covered with trees, and may be seen twelve or fifteen leagues in clear weather. It is thinly inhabited by emigrants from Acheen, who carry on a small trade in cocoanut oil and cocoanuts. As vessels have always given this island a wide birth, such dangers as may exist in its immediate vicinity are but little known. Between its southern extremity and two small islands, several leagues to the south, there is a safe passage.. The Cocoas, about twenty miles to the westward of Hog Island, are in latitude 3° 1' north,

      Pulo Nyas is the largest of all the islands on this coast, and is

surrounded by numerous smaller ones. It has a fine river, good anchorage, and refreshments of various descriptions, including excellent water. The inhabitants are mild and inoffensive, very different from their neighbours on the main, or on any other island in the range. The inhabitants sell their daughters to the slave-dealers, who convey them to Batavia, and other markets, where they are purchased for wives or slaves, as the case may be. The reason assigned for this unnatural conduct is, in some instances, that the inhabitants of Pulo Nyas have become so deeply involved in debt by gaming, that they cannot extricate themselves but by selling their children, if they have any; if not, by giving up themselves for slaves for a certain period. The consequence is, that several hundred girls and boys are exported annually.

      Our informant was at Troumon, and present at the landing of one cargo of these unfortunate beings. They were principally females and boys of about sixteen years of age, who, after being counted, were marched up to the slave-market. These females, like all who come from this island, were beautifully formed, with complexions much lighter than those of the natives of Sumatra. The captain of the vessel which brought them to Troumon was the son of a Scotchman, by a Nyas woman, while his own wife was daughter to the King of Nyas.

      About ninety miles south of the equator is another of the islands,of considerable size, known by the name of Pulo Pogy, with a companion of smaller dimensions on the south. The north Pogy is of very irregular shape, and thickly indented with bays and coves, particularly on its western side. The south Pogy is narrow,and tapering towards its southern extremity. Both of them are inhabited, but very little is known of their history or character, except that they are tattooed like the natives of most islands in the South Sea and Pacific Ocean.

      The most southerly of these islands is Engano, situated in latitude 5° 20' south. It is about eight leagues in extent, of a triangular form, and presents a level appearance when viewed at the distance of ten or twelve miles. It is about sixty miles from the coast, and has an iron-bound shore, surrounded by rocks and breakers. The only account which we have ever seen of the inhabitants is contained in the sixty-eighth volume of Philosophical Transactions, for the year seventeen hundred and seventy-eight. The

writer describes them as large, well made, naked savages; very numerous, and extremely ill-disposed. The men in general are represented as about five feet eight or ten inches in height, and well-proportioned. The women are shorter, and not well shaped. Their complexion is of a deep red, with straight black hair, which the women very neatly roll up on the top of their heads. The men always go armed with lances of the cabbage-tree, which is extremely hard. They have no iron tools that the writer could discover, yet they construct canoes, and erect houses of a circular form, resting on ten or twelve iron-wood piles about six feet long, planted in the ground. These humble habitations are floored with rough planks, the roof rising immediately from the base in a conical form, like a straw beehive. They have neither cattle, fowls, nor even rice; but appear to subsist altogether on cocoanuts, sugarcane, sweet-potatoes, and fish. They speak a language peculiarly their own; do not chew betele-nut, and have white teeth.

      The prevailing winds on this coast of Sumatra, north of the equator, are from northwest and southwest, with land breezes during the night. The regular monsoons are subject to many variations and interruptions, not only on account of the surrounding islands, but by the very shape and location of Sumatra itself, extending, as it does, across the equator in a northwest and southeast direction. <

      The dry season generally begins in May, and continues until October. From June until late in September, while the southerly winds blow more steadily, the land-breezes are very light, and sometimes scarcely perceptible. At other times, brisk seabreezes prevail from the southwest during the day, and land or variable winds during the night. Vessels, therefore, intending to touch upon the west coast during this season, should never fall in with the land north of their port of destination. Although the southeast or southerly monsoons mostly prevail on this coast south of the equator, yet northwesters are liable to blow for days at a time, particularly about the change of the moon.

      The northwest monsoon prevails on the same coast, particularly south of the equinoctial line, from October to April; not unfrequently attended with rain, thunder, and lightning. During this northwest monsoon, unsettled land-winds, squally weather, and

rain, prevail during the night. In March, the heavy rains abate, and the land and sea-breezes become more regular.

      It is to be observed, that in most parts of India north of the equator, the northeast monsoons prevail when the sun is in the southern hemisphere; but on the Island of Sumatra they are changed to a northwest monsoon, by the direction of the land. From December to April, and even May, the weather is often settled and. pleasant in north latitude, with land and sea-breezes; but at other times this wind blows strong, producing high seas, breaking in heavy surf along the coast, rendering it dangerous to lie in any of the open roadsteads.

      The currents on the west coast of Sumatra are greatly influenced by the winds, but seldom set to the north in either monsoon, except when the wind continues for some time to blow strongly from the south. When the northwesters prevail, the current sets to the southeast, particularly along that part of the coast which lies north of the equator; while it frequently happens that another current in the open sea, westward of the neighbouring islands, is setting in an opposite direction.

      During the months of October, November, and December, it is often difficult to sail north along the coast from the equator to Acheen Head, on account of baffling northwest winds and southerly currents, which sometimes extend to a great distance from the island. On the south of the equator, from June to October, while the southerly winds blow with considerable strength, a current is impelled to the northward, rendering it very difficult to work to the south. The tides do not rise more than two or three feet.

      While thus feeling our way among these islands and shoals, with the extensive coast of Sumatra in view, the reader may possibly expect something in the shape of "Sailing Directions," for the guide of other mariners.. Such was, indeed, our original intention, and we had actually prepared an article for the purpose. This duty, however, has since been much more ably performed than it could have been with our present limited space and materials.

      For this important service, our country is indebted to Captains Charles M. Endicott and James D. Gillis, of Salem, Massachusetts. The former, who was master of the Friendship when she

was seized by the Malays at Quallah-Battoo, has been trading on this coast for more than fifteen years, during which period he has, profitably for his country, filled up all the tedious and vexatious delays incidental to a pepper voyage, by a laborious and careful survey of the coast, of which no chart was previously extant which could be relied on. Captain Endicott has since published the result of his labours in a neat, well-executed chart, on a large scale, accompanied with sailing directions, comprising almost every item of information requisite for navigators in these waters. This chart comprises all that portion of coast which is included between Sinkel, in 2° 18' and 4° 15' north.

      Actuated by a like commendable zeal for the commercial interests of his native country. Captain Gillis has extended the surveys to latitude 5° north, and published an excellent chart, accompanied also with sailing directions.

      These are important acquisitions to our knowledge of this coast, and will increase the security of our merchants and mariners. When, in pursuance of the present wisely-adopted policy of our government, she shall send another armed vessel in the track of the Potomac, to visit this coast and look after our commercial interests there, it is hoped that she may be supplied with copies of these charts, on which reliance may be placed as far as they go; and that she will not, as was the case with the Potomac, run up into the mountains by chart, before in fact she reaches the shore! We gladly embrace this opportunity to acknowledge our obligations to both these gentlemen for much valuable information and many interesting facts.

CHAPTER XII.

      The earliest account we have seen of pepper having been exported from any part of the Island of Sumatra, was in 1509, in a few Portuguese vessels which touched at Pasay, a port of no little importance at that time, situated about twenty leagues from Acheen to the east. These vessels were on their way to China. The spirit of glory, of plunder, and of commerce, which burned so ardently in the Portuguese at this period, received a new impulse, as new expectations were suddenly raised of the importance of this trade, and the resources of the island. As early as 1520, Diego Pacheco, an experienced commander, was despatched to the southwest coast to search for a certain island, of which rumour had spoken much of its treasures in gold. Having proceeded as far as Paya, he was astonished to meet in that port many native vessels from other parts of the island, as well as several from India, which brought with them cotton manufactured goods, for the supply of the inhabitants. Near this port, he was so unfortunate as to lose one of his best vessels; which circumstance put an end to further search of the Isla d' Ouro, which the natives represented to be one hundred leagues off, amid labyrinths of shoals and reefs, where none but small vessels or boats could steer with safety.

      On his return to Malacca, Pacheco passed through the Strait of

Sunda, and was thus the first European navigator to sail round the Island of Sumatra. But here, as elsewhere, they had scarcely set foot upon the island, before contentions and bloody feuds took place between them and the Sultans of Acheen and Pasay. It was at the latter place, in 1521, they made an attack on the town and ruling prince Geinal, with the ostensible object of setting up the legal heir to the throne; but which was no sooner accomplished, than they required of this prince, as the reward of their magnanimous interference, the whole monopoly of the pepper trade within his territory, the expenses of the enterprise, and permission to erect forts and establish themselves on his soil. Protection it was: but it was that protection the tiger gives to the kid, when left alone upon the mountains!

      Flushed with success, and urged on by cold, heartless, insatiate, all-grasping avarice, during the same year, an expedition under Brito, three hundred strong, and without the slightest provocation, was directed against Acheen. But here a different destiny awaited them. At the moment of landing, other vessels entered the port and proffered their assistance. This was not accepted, as it would increase the number among whom the gold must be divided. The Achenese waited their arrival, couched as the tiger of their own native mountains, and at a concerted signal, rushed upon them with all the tiger's fierceness. The slaughter was terrible, and scarcely a Portuguese escaped.

      In less than two years they were driven from their establishment at Pasay, by the same Sultan Abraham, who, having thrown off his allegiance to the King of Pedeer, now reigned at Acheen. This warlike monarch for years not only kept the Portuguese in check, but often, with large armaments, carried on offensive operations against their principal establishment on the coast of Malacca.

      In fifteen hundred and thirty-seven, he was succeeded by Alnadin, who followed in his footsteps, and waged perpetual war against their treacherous invaders, whom, in derision, they called "Caffres." The force called into existence by these people is astonishing! Expedition after expedition sailed from Acheen. At one time, no less than one hundred and fifty sail, with seven thousand men, crossed the channel for the destruction of their enemies. At this period arose the great warrior Lacsemanna, whose deeds are still remembered among the Malays. For forty years did he contend

against the Portuguese with various success, but always with a spirit above misfortune.

      In fifteen hundred and seventy-five, the King of Acheen, after several years preparations, covered the straits with his forces and armed vessels. These vessels were mostly small, though there were a few junks which carried six hundred men each. In this enterprise were nearly twenty thousand men. The Portuguese were made to tremble for their establishments on the opposite coast, where they were soon besieged. The conflict was bloody and lasted long; several Portuguese frigates were destroyed, and the garrisons were only saved by a timely reinforcement.

      In fifteen hundred and eighty-six, the kingdom of Acheen was in the greatest splendour; its friendship was courted by all the Indies, and its ports frequented by the trading vessels from Mecca in the west, to Japan in the east.

      It was the close of the sixteenth century before the Hollanders made their appearance in the eastern world; and not until the year sixteen hundred did they touch upon the coast of Sumatra. The English followed close upon their track, and only two years afterward visited the city of Acheen, with a respectable force under the command of Lancaster, who, bore a letter from Queen Elizabeth to her "royal and puissant brother," the King of Acheen. In despite of the jealousy of the Portuguese and Spaniards (at that period indeed the same people), Lancaster was most "graciously" received; was banqueted and entertained by "singing and dancing damsels," and, what was more important, succeeded in making a very advantageous commercial treaty. The sultan extended great favour to the English; allowed them to establish a factory; showed them many indulgences; and not far from this time, even condescended to send a message to King James, with the request that a lovely English woman might be sent out to him for a wife; holding out at the same time, as an inducement to the fair one who should become the object of his royal affections and star-ascendant of his harem, that her first son should be made his heir, and succeed him to the throne of all the Sumatras! Neither history nor any oral tradition that has come to our knowledge informs us how this intended honour was received by our fair ancestors! but we shrewdly suspect that such an overture from an oriental sovereign could not fail to inspire them with glow-

ing ambition, at the thoughts of crowns and diadems, and of becoming mothers to a long race of pepper monarchs and spicy kings. How such a proposition would be received at the present day by our own republican fair ones; how far it might inspire them with the desire to depart from the simplicity of their grandmothers, we would not for the world even hazard an opinion!

      The Dutch were also viewed with favour by this prince, who appears to have been more mild and humane than some of his immediate predecessors. This harmony, however, was not destined to last long. News of the cruelty and oppression of the Dutch over their neighbours the Javanese was now daily reaching him, and could not but produce in his mind sentiments unfavourable to their characters, as well as create well-grounded fears, that the time might not be far distant when he and his people might become victims to the same policy; and these well-grounded apprehensions on his part led to the interruption of that harmony, which, for several years, had so happily existed.

      In sixteen hundred and twenty-one, the French sent out a fleet with magnificent presents to the Sultan of Acheen, the importance of whose trade was greatly exaggerated, and which, in fact, never had been commensurate with his military power and resources. They were by no means successful in their negotiations, and received from the king but little encouragement.

      In sixteen hundred and forty-one, a new sultan had ascended the throne, with whom the Dutch concerted a joint expedition against the Portuguese establishments on the coast of Malacca. The Achenese entered with spirit into this campaign, as it was a conquest their ancestors had long, though unsuccessfully, attempted to achieve by their own strength. The Portuguese could not withstand the combined forces of the allies, and were, after a short though desperate struggle, compelled to yield to the fortunes of war. It was the long contest with this power that had raised the Achenese monarchy to so great a height, and with the overthrow of this enemy, its power and splendour began rapidly to decline.

      In sixteen hundred and eighty-four, the English turned their attention to Sumatra again, having recently lost their possessions at Bantam, after having had a foothold there for more than eighty years. A deputation was sent to Acheen, to effect such arrangements as would continue to secure them in a share of the pepper

trade. Here they met certain rajahs from Priaman and other ports on the west coast, who had visited the seat of government to seek protection from the Dutch, who had begun to make encroachments in that quarter. These rajahs applied to the English for protection, and proposed to give them not only the profits of an exclusive trade, but to allow them soil, and the privilege of establishing forts. So eager were the rajahs to effect this arrangement, that they embarked for Madras, formally to effect this object with the governor. An expedition was immediately put in preparation, intended to sail for the country of Priaman; but which was diverted for a time from this object, by a similar request having, on the eve of departure, been received from the rajahs of Bencoolen; to which place the English at once made sail, intending afterward to visit Priaman, and complete their establishments in that quarter. The Dutch, in the meantime, had penetrated the designs of the English, and hastened to anticipate them in their establishments in Priaman. The contest between the English and Dutch was severe; the latter continuing to annoy their rivals by every means in their power; often joining with the natives, and compelling the English to leave some of their less considerable establishments — but not Bencoolen, which improved rapidly, and by sixteen hundred and eighty-nine had acquired much strength and respectability, and numbered among its inhabitants many industrious and useful Chinese colonists. By sixteen hundred and ninety-one, the Dutch power was greatly reduced, and that of the English and their trade proportionably increased. The settlement of Natal was established in seventeen hundred and fifty-two, and that of Tappanooly shortly afterward, which involved the English again in fresh disputes with the Dutch, who laid claim to the whole of the country where these forts were situated. i

      In seventeen hundred and sixty, the French, under Count d'Estaigne, destroyed all the English settlements on the coast of Sumatra, but which were all re-established again under the treaty of Paris in seventeen hundred and sixty-three. In seventeen hundred and eighty-one, the British in their turn took possession of Padang and other Dutch factories, in consequence of war with that nation; and again in seventeen hundred and ninety-four.

      We have now arrived at that period in the commercial history;

of Sumatra, when it becomes necessary to introduce upon the theatre of eastern competition another actor; a people whose very existence in that part of the world was scarcely known. On the thirtieth of August, seventeen hundred and eighty-four, the stripes and stars of our beloved republic, which Heaven in its mercy long preserve, the "home of the free," were first unfolded in Canton. An incident of so much importance in our history shall not pass without due notice, in its proper place.

      The first American vessel that ever procured pepper from the Island of Sumatra, was a schooner, Jonathan Carnes master. She had been fitted out from Salem for the East Indies, in the year seventeen hundred and ninety-three. While in Bencoolen, the captain learned something of the pepper trade, at that period confined principally on the west coast to the single port of Padang. To this point he shaped his course, without any other knowledge or directions than such as he had by accident been enabled to procure from a pilot, whose services he secured to accompany him. On arriving at Padang, he found that but little pepper was raised there, but was brought in small quantities by the natives, in their proas, from other ports further to the north. These ports he did not visit at this time, but after some considerable delay, was successful in procuring a cargo, when he sailed for the United States; but while touching at some of the West India islands, was so unfortunate as to lose his vessel on a reef, and with her the whole of his cargo. On arriving in Salem, he made his owners acquainted with the new channel of trade he had opened. The whole matter, however, was kept a profound secret. A vessel of one hundred and fifty tons, called the Rajah, was built by Mr. Peale, and the captain in seventeen hundred and ninety-five set out for Sumatra; and this was the first vessel that ever sailed direct from this country to that island, for the purpose of procuring pepper. After arriving at Padang, he procured such further information of the coast as induced him to make sail for other ports further to the north. Without chart or guide of any kind, he made his way amid numerous coral reefs, of which navigators have so much to dread even at the present day, as far as the port of Analaboo, touching also at Soo-soo, where he succeeded in procuring a large portion of his cargo.

      On the arrival of Captain Carnes at Salem, which happened

without accident on his passage, great excitement and curiosity were produced, to learn in what part of the eastern world he had been so successful in loading his vessel in so short a time with pepper.

      There had never been so much of this article brought in one vessel to the United States; and we have heard it amusingly related, that there were not wanting, at that time, very intelligent persons, who went into minute calculations to show that the amount of stock on hand would be found greatly beyond the immediate demand. It is worthy of remark, also, that at this period a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons was deemed quite large enough to bring the whole crop raised on the west coast of Sumatra! The cost of that cargo was about eighteen thousand dollars, and sold at a profit of seven hundred per cent. At this early period of our commercial history, while our merchants, with little else than true enterprise for capital, were extending their trade to remote parts of the world, and opening new channels through which so much individual and national prosperity was to flow into our country in after years, it is easy to imagine the new feelings of competition called into existence by so extraordinary a voyage as that of the Rajah, which had now just returned with so much profit to her owners. But still the matter was a secret. No one had been able to penetrate the mystery; while evident preparations for another voyage showed the owners had confidence that the new stream of their prosperity might still flow on. It was known, however, that Captain Carnes had received his first knowledge of the trade while at the port of Bencoolen. What he had accomplished, others felt themselves able to do; so that in a very short time vessels were fitted out from Salem and Beverly, directed to Bencoolen, with instructions to find out, if possible, the directions which had been given to Captain Carnes. In this they were not successful. The jealousy of the European colonists became awakened, though little did they dream of the young Hercules who had just set foot upon their shore, whose youthful vigour was so soon to gain an entire and undisputed ascendency in the pepper trade of that coast! Of the west coast, north of Padang, nothing was known; no charts, no sailing directions were to be found; while the most unfavourable accounts of the danger of the navigation were pointed out, and were exag-

gerated by the English, but more particularly by the Dutch, in order to deter the new adventurers. These vessels, therefore, failing to procure the requisite information, and being unable to get on the track of their more successful pioneer, proceeded on, and made up their voyages in some of the other ports of India.

      We have been greatly interested in looking over the record of our mercantile enterprise to the east, about this period, as preserved in the port-folios of the Salem East India Marine Society. The time may come when these documents will be referred to, and written up, as interesting items belonging to the history of our country. In turning over the pages of this record we have made a few hasty abstracts, which may properly be introduced in this place, for the purpose of showing how rapidly our trade had extended at the period of which we are speaking.

      The secret voyages to Sumatra did not continue long. By the first of the present century the mystery was penetrated, and the whole ground occupied by enlightened competition.

      The ship Friendship, J. Williams master, sailed from Salem for Batavia, August first, seventeen hundred and ninety-seven; made St. Paul's Island, and reached the coast of Sumatra, passing near Egano Island. When in latitude 5° 25' south, Little Fortune Island bore southeast, and Mount Pangong, on the Sumatra shore, northeast, distant eight leagues. Left Batavia for the United States, March fourth, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight. This was among the first American vessels at Batavia. While passing through the straits, made observations to ascertain the variation of the needle; found considerable difference between the morning and evening observations; discrepances which have been noticed by many navigators, particularly, if we remember right, by Captain Cook, in one of his voyages. While in the Strait of Sunda, Little Cambuys bearing northwest-by-west, the leadsman in the chain, and heaving the line; he had just cried nine fathoms; but while drawing in the line the ship struck, and remained for a minute on a coral patch of only two fathoms water. These dangers are now noted on the charts, but they go to show the dangerous navigation in coral seas.

      On the fourteenth of January, eighteen hundred and two, the ship Fanny, E. Smith master, sailed from Boston for New-Holland, Batavia, Tranguebar, Hindostan; passed through Brass's

Straits, discovered rocks not laid down on any chart then in use; passed through the Straits of Sunda, touched at Batavia, and from thence to Tranguebar; and finally making Hog Island, coast of Sumatra, and touching at the Isle of France, returned in safety and with profit to the United States.

      Ship John, J. Barton master, sailed from the United States for the east in eighteen hundred and two; made the coast of Sumatra, and came to anchor at South Tally ninth of May, eighteen hundred and three. From thence sailed to Acheen, and afterward to Manilla, passing near Puloway, the largest of the Acheen islands; high and uneven; may be seen twelve leagues; and along the south side of it, in some parts, there is said to be soundings near the shore. Passed Diamond Point, forming the eastern extremity of the coast of Pedir, or, as old authors spell it, Pedeer, When sailing from Acheen, along this part of the coast, kept near it, where in most parts anchorage may be found if necessary. The golden mountain was visible, rising like a cone seven thousand feet above the level of the sea; and may be seen ninety miles from deck in a clear day, forming a soft outline above the horizon. In fine weather, this beautiful mountain, rising only about eight leagues from Acheen in the interior, forms a good mark for pointing out a ship's situation, when wishing to pass through Malacca Strait, particularly when the distance is so great that the land near King's Point cannot be seen, Pulo Verella was the next island made; is not more than six leagues from the Sumatra shore, high, and may be seen eight or ten leagues distant. At the south end water may be procured, and at the southeast end anchorage in twelve or eighteen fathoms, about one mile from shore. Boats landing here are cautioned, even at the present day, to look out for the Battoo-bara people from the adjacent coast, who are often lurking about these places in their proas, and never fail to attack boats when within their power. Having passed along the Sumatra coast from Diamond Point, a vessel may go on either side of Pulo Verella; if on the outside, give a birth to the reef; if you pass inside, steer towards, and pass to the east of the Brothers, two islands lying five or six miles from each other. The channel between these islands and the coast is not well known; besides, the outside channel is more frequented.

      In 1° 28' north, 103° 10' east, made Pulo Pisang, not high, covered

with wood, and may be seen eight leagues. Both to the east and west sides of Pisang, are small islets. From Mount Formosa to this island, it is low and woody, except a small mount near the sea, half way from Formosa towards Pisang, It has long been observed, as a general rule, that on the edges of the shore-banks throughout the straits, the depths decrease suddenly; and in like manner on the edges of those in the offing.

      Having sailed near to, or within sight of, Carimou, Red Island, Pedra Branca, Pulo Tingy, Pulo Timor, Pulo Sapata, and Goat Island, the ship John came to anchor at Canite, west side of the Island of Luconia. — Sailed from Manilla, passed Corrigidor, corrected the longitude of High Island; and after touching at numerous islands, among the rest Celebes, where the Dutch have an establishment, next at the Isle of France,^* sailed from thence, without accident, to the United States.

      On the eighteenth of January, eighteen hundred and three, the ship Fame, Briggs master, sailed from Salem to Cochin China, Manilla, and back. The details of this voyage show much perseverance on the part of the captain. The natives do not appear to have been unfriendly, and the vice-king showed no

repugnance to trade, and gave, without much apparent suspicion, license for the captain to enter and trade in other ports.

      The ship Three Friends, Stewart master, made a voyage from Salem to Batavia in the year eighteen hundred and one. Bally Strait, situated between an island of the same name and the east end of Java, is about six leagues wide. On the sixteenth of January, eighteen hundred and two, the Three Friends was accompanied by a ship called the Margaret. The morning began with fresh contrary winds, while beating into the Strait of Bally. Having got part way in, the wind fell off, and the current being ahead, brought to an anchor in twenty fathoms sandy bottom, the Java shore distant half a mile. At half past six in the evening, the current having shifted, weighed, and drove with the stream — light airs from the Java coast — and at dark lost sight of the Margaret. The wind being from the western quarter, carried quite over to the Bally side; the current carrying the vessel around a point, and shortly afterward, within a cable's length of the shore, drove along for a few minutes, found soundings in thirty fathoms, let go the sheet-anchor, and brought her up at about one hundred and fifty feet from the rocks, where she rode a few minutes. At nine P.M., light air came off the land; a boat being ahead, the cable was cut, time not permitting to heave it up; in a moment the wind died away, and the next, came right on shore, all sail being set, she took aback and struck! The after-guns were immediately thrown overboard, water started, and the decks cleared of wood; in short, every thing that could be done to lighten her, but all to no effect. The captain and officers supposing little on their part could be done, the current running five knots per hour, the wind, what there was, directly on shore, four men sick — minute-guns were fired, and fortunately answered by the Margaret, whose superiority in sailing had enabled her to gain safe anchorage in Palembang Bay on the Java shore: and answering minute-guns were now heard from the Dutch forts at Palembang. The situation of the captain and his crew was now deplorable. Driven on shore, on the savage and inhuman coast of Bally, the vessel on her beam-ends, four men sick, not able to work a single remaining gun, the idea of losing the ship and cargo, and of being, themselves massacred by the savages, presented a picture gloomy enough; when they were somewhat relieved by the appearance

of Captain Derby, of the Margaret, in a boat with six men, who immediately set off to the Dutch settlement to procure proas to lighten the vessel of her cargo. At three A. M., saw proas approaching fast and full of men, whom the captain concluded were savages; and deeming it impossible in his weak state to defend his vessel against a force apparently so unequal, ordered all the arms and powder down into the forecastle, where he felt he could defend himself to the last, that point being accessible in one place only. He naturally supposed that they would not fire the vessel, on account of the plunder she contained; and if they did, it was only a choice of evils to remain on board and share her fate, Every thing being in this train, and the proas within hail, he ordered one alongside; when, greatly to his relief, he found they were Dutch soldiers, sent by the governor of the Dutch forts to defend him from the savages. The officer came on board, and ordered all the soldiers to pitch their tents on the shore opposite to the vessel. On the following morning Captain Derby returned, when the vessel was lightened by taking out two proas loads of coffee. At 8 A. M., an anchor having been carried out, and the tide serving, they succeeded in heaving her off; but there being no wind, they lay at anchor until the next day; when, getting the light spars on board, got under way, and in the evening came safe to anchor alongside the Margaret. On the eighteenth, the two captains went on shore to wait on the governor, and thank him for the great assistance he had rendered them. They found his carriage in waiting to carry them to his residence in the fort, having a drawbridge, over which they had to pass. On being presented to the governor, the captains were very much pleased with his manners, and astonished with his open and generous behaviour. The pleasure he evinced on seeing them safe, and the hospitality with which he treated them, did great credit to the goodness of his heart. During the whole of their stay there, they had the satisfaction to see his friendship increase towards them, and he even loaded them with presents on the day of their departure.

      Bally Strait, as has been observed, is between the southeast end of Java on the west, and Bally on the east. The land on the island is more elevated than on the east end of Java, which is even, sloping down at each end, resembling, when seen at the distance of six or seven leagues, the Island of Banditti. The

southerly winds generally prevail near the south coast of the islands which form this strait, from February to September; while from November to March, strong westerly winds are frequent, producing a westerly current, setting along the coast of Java and the islands to the east. On most parts of this coast are soundings near shore, and good anchorage in several bays, frequented but little, however, by strangers. Vessels should keep mid-channel, with boats ahead in light winds, as the passage is dangerous, tides strong, with numerous eddies, which are liable to horse a ship on the rocky shore of Java. On Bally there is a burning mountain.

      On the ninth of May eighteen hundred and one, the ship Active, G. Nichols master, arrived on the coast of Sumatra, making, as is now usual among ships, Hog Island, as the first point. In coasting along the western side, there appeared to be a great many breakers, some of which lay at a considerable distance, particularly from the western extreme; where, by the charts, there is a shoal eight or ten miles off, though they did not appear to the captain to be more than four or five miles from the shore. He sailed along from two and a half to three leagues from the coast, but did not see breakers which appeared to extend more than a mile from shore.

      He passed between this island and the Cocoas, which he found to be very erroneously laid down on the charts, which place them northeast six or seven leagues from the northern extremity of Hog Island; instead of which, they lay nearly west from said extremity at the distance of about six leagues.

      His destination was the Port of Muckie, which not being laid down on any chart, or noticed in any sailing directions, and the accounts of persons differing no less than twelve miles in the latitude assigned to it, he had to proceed with the utmost caution. The charts he had were English, of the latest date at that time; but still he found no reliance could be placed on them. The country around Muckie was very inaccurately delineated, and the winds and weather still more imperfectly described in the East India Directory.

      On the fourteenth of May, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, after many days of anxiety and fatigue, he came to anchor, without accident, at Muckie. During the whole of the time while

making the coast and harbour, light winds and rain occasionally prevailed, with the set of the current to the north, but not strong. Muckie he placed in 3° 24' north, but it has since been ascertained, by repeated observations, to he in 3° 28'. The harbour is small; only three miles deep, and one fourth of a mile wide at the entrance. The anchorage is in from seventeen and a half to eighteen fathoms. Six or eight vessels might he here in perfect safety. The shore is coral, except a small place where the pepper is taken off; this is sand, on which the surf breaks, but not so as to prevent getting off cargoes; indeed, it is said there is not a better place to load oh the whole coast. While in this bay, from the fourteenth of May to the sixth of June, the land and sea-breezes were regular; the weather was generally pleasant, though once in two or three days there was commonly a squall from the northward and westward, which lasted about an hour, and sometimes blew quite fresh.

      Pepper, the only article of export, amounted at this time to about ten thousand piculs annually, though this year there was nearly double that quantity raised and exported. A portion of this, however, is brought from other small ports in the neighbourhood; such as Laboan Hadjee, only a few miles to the north, where there is also good anchorage.

      Respecting the natives, the captain says he always found them friendly, though he acknowledges that it was dangerous to irritate them, or to permit many of them to come on board at the same time. He says they always carried their knives with them; that there had been instances of their taking vessels; and, from what he saw, he imagined they were always willing to take advantage of a favourable opportunity to do a like act upon an unguarded vessel; still there appeared not to be the least danger to go on shore among them, and not to irritate them; a line of conduct which he appears constantly to inculcate. He describes them as lazy, a point in their character about which there has never been room for more than one opinion. Respecting their government, he knew but little. In that part of the country there appeared to be but two men in authority among them, who made the bargains and controlled the trade. He met with several who could speak a little of the English language, and that of the Malay did not appear to him difficult to acquire. The inhabitants were estimated at

      o

three thousand of all descriptions of natives. The Malays and Achenese, though called by the same general name Malay, are not in fact of the same origin.

      The ship Recovery, Luther Dana master, sailed from Salem for the Island of Sumatra on the fifteenth of June, eighteen hundred and two, and came to anchor in Muckie on the nineteenth of May following. Dana was an intelligent master, and noted with a practical eye all he saw. He describes Lamboan Hadjee Bay as being formed by Point Mangin on the north, and Jampatnan on the south, comprehending within it Jampatnan, Muckie, Pulo Matt, Lamboan Hadjee Point, Pulo Cann, and Mangin, with some other places of less note. Muckie at that time was the residence of a powerful rajah, who owned a number of large proas. Lamboan Hadjee was much larger than Muckie, but its rajah was by no means so powerful or rich. At the southern part of the district is Pulo Matt, Pulo Cann at the northern, and Lamboan Hadjee in the centre, forming in all the district of the same name.

      Proas and small craft commonly lie within a shoal bay, bordered on the southerly side by Lamboan Hadjee town; near which is the landing, and the only place allowed for trade in the district. To the east of Lamboan Hadjee Point, the land is low, and covered with trees, while from the northerly side of the bay there were but a few houses, the place having been lately burnt.

      A low, small, sandy island, which is formed on a coral bank, nearly covered at high water, lies between Pulo Matt and Lamboan Hadjee Point. This small island is not much or any more than a hundred rods from the mainland, and cannot be seen more than two or three miles from a ship's deck. Between this and the main shore is safe anchorage and smooth water, while the surf breaks high and continually on the outside of the island; the shore where the surf is formed may be half a mile or more in length, and at low water is nearly bare, while the soundings are deep close aboard, and all around it. Turtles resort here in great numbers at certain seasons. To the southward and eastward of the island, near to the main, there are several dangerous shoals, and within a mile and a half of the island, which serve to defend the landing of Pulo Matt in front from the western swell, and from the south part of the bay within the island.

      The passage to the anchoring ground or harbour within the island

is at the northern end, at the distance of two cable lengths from a coral shoal, over which the swell sometimes breaks. Vessels intending to anchor within this little island must round the north end near to; when between it and the main, moor where it suits, laying the heaviest anchor to the northwest, on account of the heavy swell from that quarter. The soundings are three or four fathoms near the shore on either side, and the channel is clear, with ten or fifteen fathoms water, muddy bottom. The tides ebb and flow from two and a half to three feet. At low water it is not convenient to land at the beach in a common boat, on account of the coral reef and shoals that extend some way from the landing-place. Here were found small wells of excellent water. The rajah of Lamboan Hadjee claimed jurisdiction at the island and harbour, and together with the rajah of Soo-soo, appeared anxious to trade and hold friendly communication with Americans visiting the coast. He found head men at all the landing-places within the districts, but says instances have occurred, when they can get arms and a few vagabonds about them, that they have declared their independence of the principal rajahs; but not being supported by any force that can be relied on, they are generally soon overcome. A surprise from these fellows, he says, is chiefly to be guarded against on the coast at first landing, or at any of the small unfrequented places.

      The captain remarks, that he was at some pains to inquire into the truth of the many frightful reports of vessels being cut off, plundered, men murdered, &c., but could not learn that any thing of the kind had ever taken place on the west coast under the authority of any of the legal governments, except against vessels which had committed acts of piracy by seizing coasting proas, and forcibly taking away their cargoes. Occurrences of this kind had taken place even in Lamboan Hadjee Bay, by vessels from some of the European settlements. When any thing of this kind happens, the rajahs unite forces and take the vessels by storm, stratagem, or any means in their power. The natives do not easily forget such wrongs, but embrace the first opportunity of doing themselves, as they deem, justice, by retaliation upon the first aggressors.

      At this period, the King of Acheen had several armed brigs and proas, which he frequently sent along the coast to enforce the

laws and collect the revenue, as well as to prevent traders from going into ports not approved of or licensed to trade. "We were frequently," says the captain, "on shore at Lamboan Hadjee, a mile or two from the vessel, with large quantities of pepper, which could not be got off till a late hour at night, but had no cause to complain for the want of protection, or of having any of it stolen, though only one or two hands were left in charge of it. Several of the ship's company went back into the country as far as the settlements, and even to the mountains, either out of curiosity or to shoot hogs, which were very plenty; and always met with the utmost civility and kindness from the natives. Probably if we had treated them," he continues, "as the Europeans are generally disposed to act towards the meaner castes of India, these privileges might not have been allowed, or at least would have been attended with more danger." From observations made during his stay, it was found that a trifle, with friendly manners, would always secure their friendship. He saw but little quarrelling among themselves; robberies and other crimes were severely punished among them, and that too in the most summary manner. For theft, the criminal is secured to a kind of wooden cross, by order of the rajah, who constitutes the whole court, and "thrown into the water of a pit or some other dirty place, and is there held until strangled to death. There is no delay between trial and execution, no irons, no prisons! ' When the vessel was ready to depart, the rajah and many of his people came down to the beach, not as beggars, but with evident signs of friendship, bringing and putting into the boats sugarcane, a few fowls, cocoanuts, with other trifles; and when a short distance from the shore, two six-pounders were fired from the rajah's fort in compliment to the captain. They had more pepper on the beach for sale, but as his accounts were closed he could not take it, and it seemed to be a matter of perfect indifference to them whether he did or not.

      Such is the interesting picture drawn by Dana of his visit among these people, in the year eighteen hundred and two. How much of human suffering had been prevented throughout agonized and bleeding India, had the early European voyagers to the east been governed by principles so just and so humane! But while he noted the favourable incidents of his visit, he seems not to

have been without some misgivings, and has left a warning to other navigators, which shows, notwithstanding all he had previously said, an entire want of confidence in the general character of the people; for he would not feel safe doing business at any of the outports, without a sufficient number of men and arms on board to defend his vessel in case of any attempt to surprise. A strong and vigilant watch was at all times necessary. He recommended, as highly prudent in vessels procuring cargoes of pepper, to have strong crews, notwithstanding the additional expense; for it is not possible always to make despatch, if doing business on shore. While some of the men are on land, others in the boats, there should always be a sufficient force on board to manage or defend the vessel, as emergences required. If there should be any of the crew sick, as often happens, and generally from imprudence, without a strong crew business would go on but slowly; as there is no getting the Malays to work when they can possibly avoid it.

      Within Lamboan Hadjee Bay are many coral shoals, and a long heavy swell sometimes heaves in from the westward, often breaking high, and should not be too carelessly encountered, either in boats or by a vessel. A coral shoal, over which the waves sometimes break, bears from Sandy Island southwest or southwest-by-west, distant four or five miles. Point Mangin is low land, covered with lofty trees, with the little huts of the inhabitants interspersed among them. There are many corals about this point, and it is difficult, at all times, to land, on account of the rollers that break upon the beach. At the distance of about two miles north of Point Mangin is Tally Pow,from which Soosoo, eight or nine miles further north, may be seen. Abreast of these places, Tally Pow and Mangin, there is good anchorage in from seven to seventeen fathoms, clay bottom, which is convenient to the beach of either place. In Soo-soo Bay, about a mile north of Tally Pow, there is a large shoal, over which the sea continually breaks, which serves, however, as a defence to the landing at Tally Pow, and affords inside of it smooth water and sandy bottom. When in the offing, a league or two from shore, the mountains in the interior have a broken and rugged appearance. Between the shore and foot of the mountains is a large tract of

low land, over which are spread out, in extensive cultivation, the pepper plantations.

      On the twenty-sixth of April, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight, Captain Joseph Ropes, in the ship Recovery, left Salem, bound direct for Mocha, Arabia Felix, and arrived in that port on the ninth of September. This was the first American vessel that ever displayed the stripes and stars in that part of the world. The captain, who is still living, informed us that the arrival of the strange ship was viewed with great interest by the authorities, who could not divine from whence she came, and made frequent inquiries to know how many moons she had been coming. The same captain visited Padang, Sumatra, in eighteen hundred; found the natives well disposed, and was very successful in procuring a cargo of pepper.

      We shall notice but one more of these early voyages, as the trade had already assumed much importance, and many vessels were now in the business. The ship Putnam sailed from Salem, November twenty-first, eighteen hundred and two. An idea of the rapid growth of the trade may be inferred from the fact, that during the same year, no less than thirty American vessels, generally small, visited the coast, seeking cargoes of pepper. The range of ports on the west side had proportionably increased, such as Analaboo, Soo-soo, Tangar, North Tally Pow, besides several smaller ports. From Analaboo were shipped a thousand piculs; Soo-soo, eighteen-hundred piculs; Tangar, fifteen hundred piculs; North Tally Pow, five thousand six hundred piculs; Laboan Hadjee, eight thousand piculs; Muckie, eighteen hundred piculs. Soo-soo and Muckie were at that time the most important ports on the coast.

      From this period up to the time of the interruptions occasioned by the late war with Great Britain, the trade on the coast of Sumatra was regularly prosecuted by our merchants, from several ports of the United States, Salem always taking the lead. We cannot conclude this chapter, therefore, without again recurring to the space this latter place has filled in the commercial history of our country. In the revolutionary struggles, Salem took a decided and early stand. When the port of Boston was shut by an act of the British parliament, in retaliation for the destruction of the tea which the Bostonians had thrown overboard, the merchants of

Salem offered their friends of Boston the free use of their wharves and stores until the act should be repealed, or the dispute settled.

      Salem, with the neighbouring towns, Marblehead and Beverly, were foremost in taking out letters of marque and reprisal, and were wonderfully successful. The records of these early times show that the bravery of these hardy adventurers was a theme of praise throughout the colonies, and also among their enemies. When peace arrived, and our independence was acknowledged, the merchants of Salem, as has appeared in this chapter, were among the first to explore new channels of trade, disdaining to confine themselves to the narrow track of a colonial commerce, such as they had been restricted to when under Great Britain. With a few erroneous maps and charts, a sextant, and "Guthrie's Grammar," they swept round the Cape of Good Hope, exhausted the markets of the Isles of France and Bourbon, and pushing onward, entered the Straits of Babelmandel, and secured the trade of the Red Sea. They brought from Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay, the best of their staples, and had their choice of the products of Ceylon and Sumatra.

      They had also a double share of the Canton trade; in fact, their ships were seen in every part of the Indian Seas, and were held in respect by all commercial nations. Much credit is due to the foremost in these enterprises. Derby, Gray, Crowningshield, Peale, White, Forrester, and others, were followed by Thorndike, Peabody, Pickman, West, Silsbee, the sons of the elder Derby and of Crowningshield, and many other enterprising merchants.

      While engaged in this profitable commerce, they were assiduous in gaining a knowledge of the countries they visited, and gathered many curiosities and antiquities of the east, of which they have formed a splendid museum for the benefit of science and the arts, and the gratification of the curious who visit their town.

      "The Salem East India Marine Society is composed of persons who have actually navigated the seas beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, as masters or supercargoes of vessels belonging to Salem. It was founded in October, seventeen hundred and ninety-nine, and obtained an act of incorporation in eighteen hundred and one. Two hundred and eighty-two members have been admitted, ninety-one have died, and seven have retired

from the society; so that at present it consists of one hundred and eighty-four members, of whom one hundred and thirty-two still reside in Salem."

      The chief objects of the institution are, to assist the widows and children of its members, when they need it, from the funds of the society; to collect facts and make observations, which may tend to the improvement and security of navigation; and to form a museum of natural and artificial curiosities, to consist chiefly of such as are brought from beyond the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.

      The very nature of these voyages gave a peculiar character to the people. The length of time they passed on the ocean, gave the officers in these ships fine opportunities to improve their minds in various branches of knowledge. From among the masters, supercargoes, and other officers of these Indiamen, it is said there have been, from the town of Salem, a great number of the members of each branch of the legislature of the state: we know there have been three members of congress, two secretaries of the navy, a United States senator, and a great mathematician, second to no one in ancient or modern times; one who has corrected the works of Newton, and enlarged the heavens of La Place; and, in fine, many distinguished minds in every walk of life. Whatever our success in commerce hereafter may be, the enterprise of Salem will still continue an era in our annals, worthy the pen of the first commercial historian.

CHAPTER XIII.

      Before we take a final leave of Sumatra, it may be well to pause a moment and to inquire, what will be the effect of the Potomac's visit to the pepper coast, and whether it will tend to the security of our commercial interests, and to the personal safety of our countrymen, in their future intercourse with the natives of that place. These are momentous inquiries, and they not only deserve to be treated with the greatest attention, care, and frankness, but also to be illustrated by every fact that can throw a single ray of light upon a subject of such paramount importance.

      We are now ready to meet these questions promptly and fairly; for up to the present moment we have reason to believe that the minds of no inconsiderable portion of the American people, who take an interest in such matters, have been misled with regard to the true merits of the case and the inevitable result of this highly important enterprise. We are now prepared to determine the point, and to prove by the strongest testimony of which the case is susceptible, that the Potomac's visit to the western coast of Sumatra has resulted decidedly and unequivocally in the complete attainment of the objects contemplated by our government; and that the enterprise was not only wisely conceived, and faithfully and ably executed, but that any deviation from the course actually pursued, must have been followed by an almost inconceivable train of evils. The time has arrived when we can speak knowingly on the subject.

      While in the Pacific Ocean, we fell in with a vessel which had visited Quallah-Battoo after the departure of the Potomac. Since

our return to the United States we have made it a point to go any distance, and in almost every direction, for the purpose of seeing, conversing with, and closely examining the intelligent masters, supercargoes, and officers of such American vessels as have been in the habit of trading and holding intercourse with the inhabitants, both previous and subsequent to our attack on Quallah-Battoo, on the sixth of February, eighteen hundred and thirty -two.

      In prosecuting this investigation, the points to which our inquiries have been especially directed are, the general deportment of the Malays before the outrage on the Friendship; the effect of that successful act of piracy along the coast, previously to the arrival of the Potomac; and the apparent feelings and deportment of the same people since the occurrence of that event.

      To all these respectable and intelligent individuals we have uniformly propounded the same questions, and have received their distinct, separate, and individual replies, without the knowledge or possibility of concert with each other. These answers have afterward been carefully compared; and from more than twenty written documents, taken from the mouths of our informants, it is scarcely possible to select the least item of discrepance; a very material fact, which goes far to confirm the following views, which we now give as the abstract and substance of their united testimony. Of the fidelity of our statements they will be able to judge.

      It is agreed that piracy had become a system with many petty chiefs on the coast, and particularly at Quallah-Battoo. Three or four years previous to the capture of the Friendship, they had attempted to cut off, or manifested evident intentions to do so, almost every vessel that had entered their ports. We shall only mention a few, out of many cases that might be cited.

      A Salem brig was on the coast with specie, but had not commenced loading: the captain had never traded with the Malays, and was a stranger to most of the inhabitants of Quallah-Battoo. A proa was fitted out by them, for the express purpose of capturing his vessel while she lay at anchor; but he most fortunately suspected their designs, and would not permit them to come alongside. On their return to Battoo, they made no secret of the object of their unsuccessful expedition; the leader of which has lately been executed by the Dutch for piracy.

      Another American brig was trading at Quallah-Battoo, a few weeks before the disaster of the Friendship, with weights so much lighter than are required for a Malay picul, that several of them who owned no pepper, and who saw that the captain was entirely ignorant of trade, advised him to make them heavier. A plan was also projected to take this vessel in the same manner they afterward did the Friendship, by sending a greater number of Malays with the pepper to the vessel. This was prevented by one of the native clerks, who takes an account of the pepper; and who knew that if they succeeded, his only means of support would be cut off, in consequence of vessels avoiding the port; and embracing a moment when no one was observing him, said to the captain, "Twenty bags pepper — twenty-five men — take care!" A boat usually carries one hundred bags and seven men.

      The clerk had good reasons to be cautious; as, not long before, it is said another had been poisoned for giving a similar intimation of an intended act of piracy; and it is often owing to the clerks that so many projected schemes of villany have been frustrated. In the present instance, the captain being thus apprized of his danger, took immediate measures to defeat the nefarious intentions of the conspirators; who, in this instance, had certainly no provocation. The same captain afterward went to Soo-soo; where they detained him on shore, under some frivolous pretext, and he was finally compelled to pay two hundred dollars for his release or ransom.

      These unsuccessful attempts at cutting off vessels on the coast had become so common, that the utmost vigilance was necessary on the part of every shipmaster engaged in the trade. One of our intelligent informants was marked as the prey of the pirates, on his first voyage to Sumatra. Soon after his arrival on the coast, before he had opened any dealings with them, a large proa was sent from Quallah-Battoo to capture his vessel. Quick in their discrimination of strangers, they presumed upon his supposed ignorance of their character, and had made powerful arrangements for carrying their nefarious design into execution.

      The captain, however, had not come upon the coast without his precautionary lesson; and, therefore, suspecting mischief, instead of permitting the well-manned proa to lie alongside, he compelled them, to anchor at a distance. He had but eight men

on board, and had the well-armed Malays resolutely sprang among them, nothing could have saved the vessel. The captain afterward ascertained to a certainty, that the intended assailants were well prepared with loaded blunderbusses, concealed in the hold, of which fact they openly boasted at Quallah-Battoo, and expressed the bitterest chagrin at failing in the avowed object of their expedition.

      The leader of this lawless gang, whose name is Mattavee, afterward armed a proa, and commenced a system of piracy against his own countrymen. Indeed, the instances of their piracy on each other are very common; and they often display as much treachery in their intercourse with each other, as they exercise towards strangers. Every Achenese who has the means, resides in a fort, with swivels pointed out of the room in which he sleeps, and guns mounted over the gate, which is seldom opened, a small hole being cut in it, just sufficiently large to admit one man at a time. Though always armed, a single man rarely ventures to pass from one village to another, particularly in the night. In one word, such a thing as mutual confidence does not exist among them.

      Every advantage which accident or the misfortune of a shipmaster may give these people, is sure to be improved in extorting money from him; and often without the least shadow of justice, as the following incident will show.

      The master of an American vessel, who took in a part of his cargo at Muckie, had promised, on certain conditions, to give the chief fifty dollars. Something, however, occurring to prevent the latter fulfilling his part of the contract, it was mutually agreed between them that the promise of the captain was null and void, and that the chief had no claim upon him. Nothing further was said on the subject until the vessel had completed her loading, when the captain was decoyed into a room on shore by several Achenese, where the chief before mentioned advanced with a drawn kris, and demanded of him fifty dollars!

      The captain reminded him of their mutual arrangement on this subject, and the clear understanding that the money was not to be paid; and that there were witnesses present who could testify to the fact. The chief replied, that the captain had met with a great misfortune in losing his memory, and that the money must and

should be paid! A compromise was finally effected, and the vessel sailed. The next season, this same chief acknowledged, in the presence of several Americans, that the money was not due; and this happened at a place where the people were justly esteemed to be the best on the coast.

      While the brig Thule, of New-York, was lying at Quallah-Battoo, several of her men deserted, whom the rajah took under his protection, gave them arms, and told them to shoot the captain if he attempted to molest them. He then negotiated with the captain to restore the men at a certain stipulated price. The men, however, were never given up; and the captain, having lost several others by sickness, was compelled to leave the port with only seven hands, including himself, being about half her complement.

      Po Quallah, while at Joo-Joo, boasted of his success in taking, the Friendship; and observed, to adopt his own expression — "My feet are now stained with blood; and if I dip my whole body, it will be no worse for me in this world or the next. I will now cut off every American vessel that falls in my power." This remark implies a consciousness of wrong, even in a religious point of view, and the Malays, at other ports, have frequently admitted that the people at Quallah-Battoo deserved punishment. Yet it is a well-known fact, that after the piratical capture of the Friendship, almost every Malay on the coast exulted, considering it a national triumph over "the invincible white man." In fact, on every part of the coast, as can be testified by many respectable, witnesses, they boastingly threatened that if the American government did not notice the outrage at Quallah-Battoo, every American vessel that visited the coast on the following season would suffer the fate of the Friendship. This was repeatedly uttered, at ports so distant from each other, and so soon after the event, that it goes far to prove the piratical propensities of these people; and that if they could rob and murder with impunity, neither moral considerations, nor their allegiance to any superior power, should restrain them.

      Willing and anxious as we are to meet the whole question, let it be admitted, for a moment, that among the victims of our justice at Quallah-Battoo, there were some innocent individuals. If such be the fact, no one can regret it more than ourselves, as

one of the inseparable evils to a state of warfare. But let us be permitted to ask, how many innocent persons there could have been in the place, when almost the whole population poured out from the village, and rushed down to the water's edge — nay, even waded into the surf, flourishing their weapons, to prevent the escape of Captain Endicott to his ship, on board of which the massacre of his crew had already commenced? Who will say that all did not participate in the outrage, when every one exclaimed, as he saw the preconcerted signal of success waving from the tafferel, "The ship is taken! — the ship is ours!"

      We freely admit the justice and humanity of that legal maxim which allows ninety and nine guilty persons to go "unwhipped of justice," rather than one innocent being should suffer; for it is perfectly applicable to that state of society in which are vigilant guardians of the peace, and where the strong arm of the law arrests the culprit almost as soon as the offence is committed. But it cannot be appropriately applied to the present case, where, as we have abundantly shown, every shadow of law and justice is recklessly trampled under foot; where the lives and property of our citizens, while engaged in their peaceful and lawful pursuits, can receive no protection from the nominal rulers; where the elevation of rank and station is seldom accompanied by the elevation of moral character; and where the rajahs themselves descend to the same petty tricks that are practised by their meanest subjects. Lenity to such people is inhumanity to the honest and deserving.

      Knowing, as we do, the character of this people, the length of time which has elapsed since the commencement of our intercourse with them, and the number of vessels trading on the coast, the only matter of astonishment is, that they should have escaped so long! It is, doubtless, owing in part to the unceasing vigilance of the masters of vessels trading on the coast, and partly from an exaggerated idea of the physical superiority of the Americans, and the apprehension of the more wealthy of losing our trade, which to them is a matter of the utmost importance. But their diminished resources, in consequence of the present depreciation in the value of pepper, and their additional wants, arising from the increased consumption of opium, have of late years rendered many so desperate, that they are ripe for the commission

of any crime, from which they are not restrained by the fear of punishment. In confirmation of this fact we have numerous incidents before us, with one of which only we shall trouble the reader.

      Soon after the affair of the Friendship, the brig Homer, Captain Loveitt, came to anchor off Quallah-Battoo; and though he happened to be, from vague rumour, aware that something wrong had occurred, he was not exactly acquainted with what it was; and, in consequence, went directly and confidently on shore in his boat with two men. He had the precaution, however, to order his men in the boat to shove off to some distance from the beach, while he advanced to communicate with the rajahs.

      It was not many minutes before he found himself a prisoner, and surrounded by a vast number of armed Malays, determined to despatch him. They held a solemn debate among themselves on the policy of the measure; the amount of which, together with their fatal determination, was communicated to the captain by one of the minority, in broken English. Expostulations he knew would be fruitless, and he was about resigning himself to the dreadful fate which appeared inevitably to await him, when an aged Achenese arose, and with the usual salutatory gesture, spoke on the unpopular side of the question. His arguments in favour of the prisoner were not appeals to their justice or humanity, but to their self-interest. He maintained that if they laid violent hands on the captain, the getting possession of his vessel was still a very doubtful matter; while, in either case, the loss of the American trade was equally certain. Here was much to lose and nothing to gain. This argument was deemed unanswerable, and the captain was finally restored to liberty.

      The same kind of feeling at that time pervaded the natives along the whole coast, and the same sentiments were boldly and hourly expressed up to the period of the Potomac's arrival. The Malays daily became more insolent and presuming, and without the most incessant vigilance and wary precaution, no American's life was safe. Many of the pepper planters, who had become ruined by the indulgence of their extravagant and dissipated propensities, sometimes staking a whole crop on a single cock-fight, were no better than reckless desperadoes, inciting and urging each other to acts of piracy and murder; while others, of more power

and influence, were not only restrained by motives of policy and self-interest, but they recollected that twelve moons had not yet passed away, and that the big ship, with whose visit they had been threatened, might yet come to their shores.^*

      Hence it appears evident, that a regular system of piracy on our commerce with Sumatra was only prevented by the conflicting passions of fear and cupidity on one part, and the increased caution and vigilance of shipmasters on the other. From the concurrent testimony of every person familiar with the Malay character, and who happened to be on the coast at the period alluded to, we are fully convinced, that had not our government sent an armed vessel to redress our grievances, or had the commander of that vessel acted with indecision and want of energy, the United States' commerce on that coast would, in a very short time, have been totally annihilated.

      To what extent the commercial interests of our country were actually affected by the piratical capture of the Friendship, we are not prepared to say, with any degree of precision; but official records show that our imports from and exports to India and China, were, for the years 1830, 1831, and 1832, as follows: —

      From the above it will be seen, that in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-one, the commencement of which was distinguished by the piratical capture of the Friendship, mercantile confidence was impaired; or, from some cause or other, our imports from the east were much reduced in amount from those of the preceding year. But after the visit of the Potomac, and the punishment of the

pirates, an event which marked the commencement of eighteen hundred and thirty-two, our imports from the east were augmented more than one third, while our exports of domestic produce were increased in the same ratio. The increase was still greater in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-three,- up to the month of September. To China, the exports of domestic produce were $537,774; foreign produce, $895,774; and to Asia generally,domestic produce, $60,152; foreign, $477,042. Imports from China, $7,541,570; Asia generally, $269,425.

      Along the whole pepper coast, since the visit of the Potomac, a remarkable change has taken place in the deportment of the natives. Ever since that (to them) memorable event, they have been far less presuming and insolent; are guilty of fewer unjust exactions; acknowledge on all hands that they have received new lights on the subject of our national character, and confess that, contrary to their former opinion of our being "merely a nation of traders," they now own the superiority of our power, and sensibly feel that we have both the will and the means to redress our grievances.

      The port of Muckie, as we have already stated, is a place of considerable trade, about twenty-five miles south of Quallah-Battoo. Here resides a young native of some consequence and notoriety, both as a pilot and pepper trader, by the name of Mahommed Bundah. He is shrewd, intelligent, and enterprising, and is respected by his countrymen as second only to the rajah. He is well acquainted on the coast, particularly at Laboan Hadjee, a port but a few miles further north, occasionally visited by American traders.

      Previous to the capture of the Friendship, a similar project was in agitation, by a gang of young desperadoes at Laboan Hadjee, for seizing an American vessel then lying at that port; and as they wished for a bold and active leader, they sent a message to Mahommed Bundah, at Muckie, stating that they wished to see him on business of importance. Ignorant of their intentions, the young man repaired to Laboan Hadjee, where they let him into the secret of their conspiracy, and solicited him to join the expedition, with a promise of one half the booty which might accrue from the adventure, in case of success.

      Young Bundah resisted the temptation, as he says, on the

grounds that if they were even successful, which was extremely doubtful, the sum of money which would fall to his share would be no compensation for the loss he should sustain in mercantile reputation, together with the confidence and trade of the Americans; while the attempt, without succeeding, would be all loss and no gain. He would therefore have nothing to do with it.

      After the disaster of the Friendship, her commander, Captain Endicott, told Mahommed Bundah that within the space of twelve months from the perpetration of that piratical act, a big ship from the United States would most assuredly visit Quallah-Battoo, and severely punish the aggressors. Young Bundah was seriously struck with this solemn assurance, and expressed strong feelings of alarm for the result. Captain Endicott therefore assured him that no one would suffer but the guilty, as Americans never injured the unoffending; and that he and his friends need be under no apprehensions on account of their property or personal safety. As a pledge of his sincerity, the captain gave Mahommed a letter of introduction and recommendation to the commander of the hostile force, whoever he might be, that should visit the coast.

      Bundah was not alone in being affected by this menace of national vengeance, so solemnly predicted by Captain Endicott. It was circulated and talked of all along the coast. Some, like their friends in another quarter, "believed and trembled." Many reckless spirits heard it with indifference; and the great majority ridiculed it as an impossibility.

      In the mean time, "moons waxed and waned," time rolled on, and the first influence of the prediction became gradually weakened in the minds of all. Like the Jews of old, they began to doubt the veracity of the prophet, and to mock at the tardiness of justice.

      Twelve months had nearly elapsed — the thirteenth moon was at hand, and they still reposed in fancied security, continually projecting new acts of piracy, in the execution of which they were so often defeated. In two days more, they would hail the anniversary of the Friendship's capture, which would occur on Friday, the ninth of February, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, and all were deriding the idea of the threatened visitation of the "big ship."

      But on Monday the sixth, the inhabitants of Muckie were thrown into a paroxysm of terror and alarm, by the fatal tidings

of the entire destruction of Quallah-Battoo, with an exaggerated account of the slaughter of the Malays — that "the big ship" had indeed come, within two days of the specified period! that the arm of vengeance had fallen Upon them in an hour when they looked not for it; and that the smouldering ruins of Quallah-Battoo might be gazed upon as a monument of American justice.

      Young Bundah was powerfully affected by this intelligence; but he also recollected his letter to the commanding officer, and resolved, at all hazards, to visit the big ship, and to deliver it himself.

      The frigate was lying at anchor at Soo-soo, where he determined to visit her, and, if possible, appease the just wrath of her commander, according to oriental usage, by the choicest presents he could command. He accordingly freighted his canoe with fowls, together with all such fruits of the island as he thought would prove acceptable to the American chief. But just as he was on the point of starting, his mother heard of his desperate intentions; and, with the amiable tenderness of a fond and anxious parent, was so much alarmed for tho safety of her only son, that she begged him, with tears, to desist from a purpose which to her excited imagination was so fraught with peril, if not leading to certain death. The chiefs and principal men of the place united their entreaties with hers, in endeavouring to dissuade the young man from his rash enterprise, which they considered as running voluntarily into the tiger's mouth. As he still persisted in his purpose, the superior rajah, at the instigation of his mother, peremptorily forbade him to proceed.

      Silenced, but not convinced, young Bundah affected to acquiesce and conform to their wishes. He unloaded his canoe, and professed to have abandoned his intentions. But no sooner had night drawn a veil over his proceedings, than his ready bark was cautiously reladen; and, accompanied with only one Malay, he pushed his little vessel from the shore, and both laying their muscular arms to the oars, directed their course for Soo-soo.

      They had no light of the moon to cheer their lonely passage, and having now sufficient time for reflection, the young adventurer began to feel some serious apprehensions for the effect of his rashness. Parental authority and affection had been requited by filial disobedience, which is almost the only crime that re-

ceives universal reprehension among these people. But believing that he had advanced too far to recede, he resolved to go on with firmness, but with every requisite caution. He therefore changed his plan so far as to land at Soo-soo, to reconnoitre and make inquiries. He did so, and the next morning's sun lighted his little well-freighted bark on her way to the frigate.

      His feelings, on thus approximating to the big ship, which had just poured such a cataract of ruin on the pirates of Quallah-Battoo, can more easily be conceived than described. He himself describes them in a style of frank simplicity that is highly amusing. His first idea, on becoming sensible of the vessel's actual magnitude, was, "No enough piculs of pepper to load such big ship!" On rowing alongside, he was instantly recognised by Mr. Barry, second officer of the unfortunate Friendship, who invited him on board, and pledged himself for his protection and kind treatment.

      Reassured by this unexpected welcome by an old acquaintance, Mahommed was soon on the spardeck of the Potomac, where the first thing that arrested his attention was the splendid naval uniform of the officers; a costume which he had never seen before. But from the commanding deportment and golden epaulets which distinguished one individual on the quarterdeck, he was at no loss as to where his respects were first due. Conducted by Mr. Barry, he timidly proceeded aft, and uncovering his head, made a low and almost reverential salam to the commodore; while the latter, with a smile of welcome, took him by the hand, and assured him of his friendship and protection. Nearly bewildered with joy at this unlooked-for reception, Mahommed produced the letter of Captain Endicott, which the commodore perused, and again bid him welcome. The young rajah then pointed to his canoe, and spoke of the refreshments it contained; on which the commodore ordered them to be passed on board, and presented his visiter with twenty dollars as a compensation. By this time, Mahommed was almost beside himself with pleasure, not unmingled with pride, as he said to himself, "What the rajah and my mother say to this?"

      The commodore then assigned Mahommed to the care and protection of a middy, who conducted him through various parts of the ship, and explained every thing which his wondering inquisi-

tiveness required. On descending to the gundeck, which was somewhat obscured by the closed ports, he started with surprise and alarm at the formidable appearance of what he at first mistook for a range of wild buffaloes, lying on each side of the ship; but he was soon given to understand, that these thirty-two-pounders were far more dangerous to pirates and murderers than all the buffaloes in the wilds of Sumatra.

      After feasting his eyes until he was satisfied, Mahommed took his leave, and soon filled with joy and admiration the bosoms of his mother and friends at Muckie, who had all given him up for lost. From that day forward this young man has been looked up to with more admiration and respect, on account of this perilous achievement, than Columbus was ever honoured with while living, for the discovery of a new world!^*

      Nor was Mahommed Bundah alone in his feelings of increased admiration and respect for the American character, after the attack on Quallah-Battoo. The powerful rajah of Troumon, whose character we have already had occasion to mention in a favourable light, has often been heard to express his astonishment, that after he, with all his armed brigs, had vainly endeavoured for two years to reduce Quallah-Battoo, the Americans, with the crew of a single vessel, had destroyed it in two hours.

      The lust of cupidity and thirst for plunder, which, after the capture of the Friendship, spread like a contagion along the coast from one port to another, has measurably passed away; and even the surviving rajahs of Quallah-Battoo now frequently express their wishes to be visited by our merchant vessels for the purposes of trade; and profess that they intend hereafter so to demean themselves, as never again to provoke the visit of the big ships of war.

      In another point of view, they now behold our national character in a new light. In the history of the past, the investment and capture of a native town was always followed, as a matter of course, by the possession and occupation on the part of the conquerors. When Quallah-Battoo was taken by the forces under

Commodore Downes, not only its inhabitants, but every one else in the neighbourhood, supposed that the Americans intended to establish themselves at that place, and erect fortifications- for its defence. They are now beginning to learn the important lesson, that conquest forms no part of our national policy; and the good effects of this lesson are already strikingly apparent.

      But the work has only been fairly commenced — much still remains to be accomplished. At intervals, but not too remote from each other, our armed vessels should visit this coast. A sloop of war and a schooner would be amply sufficient, if conducted by a judicious commander. They should arrive on the coast in March, and remain until October. Every pepper port should be visited, and conferences should be held with all the principal rajahs, explaining to them the nature of our commerce, and the principles on which we always conduct our trade; impressing on them the necessity of acting with justice, and of restraining their dependants from acts of outrage. It should be particularly and emphatically represented to them, that an awful responsibility rests upon those in authority for any act of piracy that may be hereafter committed on the coast; and that an adequate punishment will assuredly tread close upon the heels of the offenders.

      The officers of our vessel, while engaged in this service, might also devote a share of their time and attention in making additional surveys on the coast: while much useful information in other departments of knowledge might be collected. Something might thus be done towards removing the reproach, that we have contributed nothing to improve the hydrography of the Indian Seas. In the event of a war, to which contingency, in common with other nations, our country is ever liable, we shall feel the want of a more perfect knowledge of those remote places to which our commerce is extended.

      As it respects climate at the pepper ports on the west coast of Sumatra, we have an interesting fact before us: that of one hun-

dred and fifty seamen employed in that trade during the year eighteen hundred and thirty, in ten vessels, very much exposed as they usually are on the coast, only one died in the space of four months; and his disease was not malignant in its character. In selecting an anchorage, a close harbour should be avoided. Rigas Bay should not be entered unless from necessity. As a general rule, it would be imprudent to anchor where the breezes blow over low land, and water from the wells is generally brackish and unwholesome. That article, however, can be procured, of an excellent quality, from streams which flow from the mountains.

      Again we repeat, that the result of the most patient inquiry, from sources which we believe could not lead us astray, has left no doubt on our mind, that our interests on the coast of Sumatra have been placed on a footing of security hitherto unknown. The policy which directed the Potomac to that coast, to be lasting in its effects, must be followed up at all hazards and at any expense; though there exists no reason why either the one or the other should be formidable.

      In every port of India to which our commerce has extended, our vessels of war should occasionally make their appearance; for it is always better by a wise policy and timely foresight to prevent the effusion of blood, than to be under the painful necessity of avenging it!

      Let our intelligent shipmasters, supercargoes, and officers, whose adventurous spirits lead them to visit the ports of semi-barbarians, reflect that they too have an important part to perform. They should never forget that they are American citizens; and in those remote situations, often the only representatives of our national character. Let them study to elevate that character in the estimation of the natives by an honourable intercourse, a just and fair competition in trade. For while our government shall continue ever vigilant and ready to protect its citizens in their lawful trade, and to avenge their wrongs at the most distant points of the globe, however difficult and hazardous to approach by heavy-armed vessels, considerations of honour, justice, and humanity require that we should always be in the right.

      An evil still exists on the pepper coast of Sumatra which requires correction, while we confess ourselves at a loss to propose

a proper remedy. We allude to the want of a regular standard of weights. The Malay picul is one hundred and thirty-three and a third pounds; but so far is this from prevailing in all the ports, that the standard of weight is as much a matter to be regulated by contract, as the price of the pepper itself. The consequence must be obvious; the Malay will sand or wet his pepper, and the trader will provide against loss by endeavouring to procure greater weight. The trader in a neighbouring port, fearing that his competitor will get better measure than himself, and thus enter the home market to better advantage, will exert himself in his contract, so as to guard against such a contingency. While this state of things exists, difficulties will occasionally occur; and though not of great importance, they are still annoying and perplexing, without bringing profit or advantage to any one.

      We have conversed with no one interested in this subject, who does not feel anxious that this difficulty should be removed by the establishment of some standard; and it can make but little difference what that standard is, so that it be uniform. By concert of action, in one season the difficulty might be settled. This concert, however, is hard to bring about; for while all feel the necessity, who shall begin the reform?

      There can be no impropriety in having this question decided and put to rest by government. An armed vessel, visiting the coast, might be provided with a standard of one hundred and thirty-three and one third pounds weight, to be left with the rajahs of the principal ports, with a plain explanation of its object, and every cause for cavil or dispute would be immediately removed. We offer this as a suggestion, in the adoption of which our merchants and traders would, we have no doubt, most cheerfully acquiesce.

      But we have lingered long — perhaps the reader may think too long — upon the Island of Sumatra. If there be any of this opinion, we beg them to reflect that forty years — a large portion of our national existence — have now passed away since the commencement of our trade on that coast; that as early as eighteen hundred and three, thirty vessels, small ones it is true, were in the trade; that it has been continued with varied success and occasional interruptions to the present time; employing from six

hundred to twelve hundred thousand dollars capital annually; that the direct and circuitous trade springing from this island, has formed no inconsiderable item of our commercial prosperity; that if the aggregate of the whole trade could be ascertained, it would probably not fall far, if any, short of a sum equal to the entire capital of the Bank of the United States; and yet, only a short time since, when it became necessary to despatch an armed vessel to that point, a chart of the coast was not to be found in the possession of our government! And though the inquiry was not actually to be made, in what part of the world Sumatra was located, yet almost every thing that was known of it beyond the circle of those who were engaged in the trade, will be found in the Appendix marked A. and B.

      This is not the only point to which these remarks might be applied; for many others could be named, were it our present purpose to do so. The genius of our people is strongly and decidedly imbued with the spirit of maritime adventure; and it is hoped, for the honour of our country and the American name, that the time has at length come, when the knowledge and protection of our government shall at least keep pace with, if not lead in, the enterprise of its citizens.

      Previous to the Potomac, no public vessel had visited India and China for the special protection of our commerce, since the Congress frigate in eighteen hundred and twenty-two; and none had passed through these seas since, except the Vincennes, on her return from the Pacific in eighteen hundred and thirty. Following in the track of the Potomac, the Peacock and Boxer have both been in the east, and through a commercial agent, who went in the Peacock, we have understood that some new channels of trade have been opened, and obstructions in old ones removed. There is still room for further action; while further comment is reserved for another place.

      An ample supply of wood and water, and fresh provisions from Soo-soo, had now been taken on board; and the rajahs of the neighbourhood continued to pay their visits to the commodore, or to send their deputations with professions of peace, and the promise of their future good deportment towards the Americans. It might have been well, had time permitted further con-

ference; but that was impossible. Other places in the east were to be visited, and the wide Pacific was to be crossed, ere the Potomac could reach the place of her original destination; so that on the morning of the eighteenth of February, the word was given to get under way.

CHAPTER XIV.

      As stated at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, the Potomac left the coast of Sumatra on Saturday, the eighteenth day of February, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, and for four days afterward was constantly tantalized with light and variable winds. Although at considerable distance from land, on the morning of Wednesday, the twenty-second, and within the usual range of the regular monsoon, the latter was found to be so much affected by the influence of alternate land and seabreezes, that the frigate was virtually deprived of the benefit of both. Hence, she was almost constantly becalmed, and the slightest breeze was hailed as a welcome visiter — all hands running on deck to meet it.

      Besides, this day, the twenty-second of February, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, was the centennial anniversary of the birth of Washington! How many manly and patriotic hearts on board that gallant ship, were throbbing with fervid emotion, responsive to the reflections which naturally suggested themselves! — "What a glorious day is this, in our own country, where it is consecrated by patriotism, and hallowed by the gratitude of millions of independent freemen! What multitudes are now met together, indulging in pleasing recollections of the past, and in fond anticipations of the future! A century! One hundred years! What a little point in the annals of time! — what a small space in the age of a nation! What was our country, and what were we as a people one hundred years ago! What changes — what eventful vicissitudes have we passed through! If true to ourselves, what high destinies await us!

      "Insulated and distant as we are from our homes and the soul-exciting ceremonies and festivities of the day, — with nearly the whole diameter of the globe between us — still we exult in the proud name and privileges of American citizens, and feel that the national tie which binds us to that beloved region, strengthens by distance. Though antipodes to those of our joyful countrymen who are now united in celebrating the birthday of Washington, we are with them in heart, and warmly embrace them with the arms of affection, gratitude, and patriotism. We pledge them in the deep musings of the silent heart; and between the change of watch, and the pressure of a tropical sun, we honour the day as well as our nautical duties will permit."

      Such doubtless were the unexpressed feelings of many on this interesting occasion; neither were the brave tars forgotten, on whose valour and steadiness the efficacy and glory of our navy depend. They were treated by the commodore to an extra exhilarating draught; or, in language more technically correct, they were all called to "splice the main brace."

      But they were recalled from the pleasing visions of their distant homes and national festivities, by the sadder duties incidental to their present situation. The sick-list had begun to swell on board the Potomac, and now comprised more invalids than it had at any former period since she left the United States. Some of these new cases were dysentery, — that ruthless scourge of seamen in the East Indies, and brought on, perhaps, in this instance, by change of diet, and drinking the river-water of Sumatra; but all things considered, the ship's crew might even then be termed very healthy.

      From the last-mentioned date until the first of March, the Potomac stood along the outer channel, from the north, almost constantly beset by squalls, particularly for the last two or three days. But even these changes were acceptable, as they cooled the air, and relieved the redundant pulse and throbbing temple. On Thursday, the first of March, the wind was again fresh and steady, so that the ship was once more throwing the spray and

curling the water under her bows, in the fine style of ten knots an hour. In the evening, land was again announced from aloft, which proved to be the Island of Engano, the most southerly of the large islands on the west side of Sumatra. We lay to during the night with the maintopsail to the mast. On the following morning we again made sail, and stood for the Strait of Sunda, which, has two channels leading into it from the northward: — viz., the small channel between the west end of Java and Prince's Island, and the great channel to the north of this island, between it and the south coast of Sumatra.

      The channel between Prince's Island and Java Head is about four miles wide. This island, which is called by the natives Pulo Poutaugh, is the largest of any at the mouth of the strait, and yet not more than five leagues in extent, lying in latitude 6" 30' south, and longitude 105° 10' east. Near its centre are some hills of moderate elevation, but near the shores the land is low, particularly on the west side, fronting the open sea. The Dutch were formerly in the habit of traversing this narrow channel, considering it the safer passage of the two. Many ships continue to do the same, although the other and wider channel between Prince's Island and Crockatoa is most generally frequented.

      At eight o'clock on the morning of Friday, the second of March, Java Head was in sight; but did not present, as was expected, the appearance of a high bluff or promontory, although elevated land was seen over it, which may have been often taken for Java Head itself. A little to the eastward of it the land is also high, with steep cliffs facing the sea.

      Java Head lies in latitude 6° 48' south, and longitude 105° 11' east,: and 1° 41' west from the city of Batavia. The coast of Sumatra, in a soft blue mist, was visible on the west, and the strait was expanding directly ahead, to the northeast. At this moment a wreck was reported, which brought all hands on deck. The unfortunate stranger could be distinctly seen lying on her beam ends, with stump-topmasts extending out horizontally. Even the suffering survivers could be distinctly discerned clinging to the helmless hull, and the sympathies of all were quite awakened, as the Potomac's course was altered to bear down upon it. This amiable excitement, however, was but of short duration; as, on nearing the object of solicitude, it proved to be the trunk of a large pal-

metto-tree, which had loomed so largely that all were astonished at the deception.

      A most beautiful and perfectly-defined circle appeared round the sun this morning, of a dark cloudy colour, with its edges' tinged with the brightest yellow and pink. Some say that this phenomenon is indicative of a gale. Such an appearance around the moon, we believe, is always considered, both by seamen and landsmen, as the precursor or premonitory symptom of an impending storm. Thus Falconer, in his beautiful nautical poem of the Shipwreck — (a dreadful disaster, in which the poet himself was a participator and one of the few survivors) — describes the phenomenon alluded to in the following lines: —

      By noon, Prince's Island was close aboard, and the Island of Crockatoa began faintly to pencil its outlines on the distant horizon. About four P. M., the wind hauled aft, and directly into the strait. The frigate was now standing up the passage, before the wind, with yards across, and the breeze fresh, moving at the rate of twelve knots, all steering sails set, and the water foaming and curling around her bows. The ship's band was playing in a lively and animating style. Every officer and man was at his post on deck, land was in view on every side, comprising some of the most picturesque landscapes in nature. On the left, the great Island of Sumatra was expanding her arms as if to meet the similar advances of her neighbour Java, while a numerous progeny of lovely little islands were smiling between them — the clouds above, at the same time, arched with several rainbows, the effect of different squalls. In one word, the coup-d^oeil of the picture was beautiful beyond description; and though perhaps not equal in grandeur and sublimity to the mountain scenery which surrounds and enriches the view at Rio Janeiro, yet in softness, gayety, and mellowness of appearance, it is not inferior to that or any other in the world.

      Our frigate had now fairly entered this highly interesting pas-

sage, called the Strait of Sunda, which is formed by the near approximation of Java to Sumatra, the western extremity of the one approaching to within a few leagues of the southeastern extremity of the other. These two extensive, but comparatively narrow islands, were probably once united at the point where this very passage now exists; and this supposition is strengthened by the fact, that the channel between them is speckled with numerous little islands of various dimensions. This strait is between fifty and sixty miles in length, and varying from twenty to fourteen in breadth. The features of the two grand islands are presented to the spectator while passing between them, and distinguished by the peculiar luxuriance, softness, and amenity of their native teints of verdure. On both these great islands, and particularly on Sumatra, which forms the western boundary of the strait, all is vegetation and verdure — all repose — all silent, monotonous, and unvarying; there is no particular point for the eye to rest on. Like the new and virgin isles of the west, when first discovered by Columbus, the prospect presents one continued extent of soft and luxuriant green — communicating refreshment to the eye, but conveying no cheering sentiment to the heart. Such to the first man might have been the aspect of the earth prior to the formation of his helpmate. It is associated with such a cheerless idea of solitude, of loneliness, and of the total absence of social affections and intercourse, that one might well exclaim with the poet —

      On directing the eye to the east side of the strait, the coast of Java (particularly the shore of Bantam) presents a different aspect. The forests have been broken in upon by the arts of civilization, and the intermediate patches of cleared ground exhibit evident testimony of the progress of agriculture, imparting variety and beauty to the prospect, and teaching the wanderer to feel that civilized beings are near him, ready to participate with him in those social enjoyments, debarred from which every place is a desert.

      The wind had slackened some, but still our well-trimmed vessel

moved on at the rate of eight knots, and every one expected to reach Lampoon Bay, which is situated on the Sumatra side of the strait, on the following day. At ten o'clock, P. M., however, the wind had become so light that it was necessary to come to anchor, which was done in sixty-two fathoms of water, and about five miles distant from the Island of Crockatoa. At daylight the next morning, Saturday, March the third, our ship was again got under way, and as the wind was dead ahead from, the northeast, the whole day was employed in beating up towards Lampoon Bay. As this process afforded an excellent opportunity for examining both sides of the strait, we shall here give a short description of that interesting avenue, which leads from the Indian Ocean into the China Sea.

      The southwesternmost extremity of Sumatra, which bounds the west entrance to the Strait of Sunda on that side, is called Flat Point, and is in latitude 104° 40' east, distant about three leagues southeast from Fortune Island. Flat Point is a long neck of land, jutting out and projecting several leagues from the mainland of Sumatra, and forming the southwest side of Keyser's Bay. The south part of this neck of land is low and woody, and its extreme point is sometimes called Tanjong Chinna, Vessels have anchored on the east side of this point in seventeen fathoms, where they were sheltered from northwest winds, and procured a supply of water.

      On proceeding further up the strait, the coast of Sumatra is found to be indented by two large bays; one of which is Keyser's, just mentioned, and the other, further north, Lampoon Bay. There are also, along this side of the strait, several islands and rocks of various dimensions. Keyser's Bay projects into the land about five leagues, in a northwesterly direction, and is about three leagues wide, having water of various depths, from fifty to one hundred fathoms, inside along the western shore, and at the upper part, where the anchorage is good, over a muddy bottom. The village of Borne stands close to the northwest end of the bay, where there are some shoal rivulets. The shores are generally low, and the lands marshy near the sea; but in some places there are pepper plantations. A little inland from the northwest angle of the bay, rises a high conical mountain, called Samanca, or Semanco Peak, also Keyser's Peak. There are other moun-

tains eastward, between this peak and Lampoon Bay, the most elevated of which is called Lampoon Peak. These mountains can be seen a great way at sea in clear weather, by vessels running for the Strait of Sunda.

      In the middle of the entrance to Keyser's Bay is Tubooan, or Keyser's Island, which is high, bold, and safe to approach, the channel on either side being spacious and clear of danger; but the water is deep, and the bottom rocky in some places. On the northeast side of the island, there is anchorage in fifteen or sixteen fathoms, sandy bottom, about a mile from the shore. Near the east point there is a salt water creek, six feet deep at the entrance, with fresh water at the head, where a supply may be procured. There are some pepper plantations on the island; and at the east end are tall trees, fit for masts. There is an excellent harbour, with five, six, and seven fathoms water in it near the east point of Keyser's Bay, which may be known by some islets close to the entrance, one of them resembling a sugarloaf.

      Lampoon Bay, which the Potomac was now endeavouring to reach, is further up the strait, on the same coast, about thirty miles from Flat Point and Keyser's Bay. It is formed between Tanjong Tekoos on its west, and Rajah Bassa on its east side; and is not less than twenty miles wide at its entrance, and extends northward into the land nearly the same distance. From Tanjong Tekoos, the west point of the bay, a chain of islands extends a considerable way to the eastward, having channels between some of them, and also between them and the point, with soundings from forty to twenty fathoms. Other islands line the western shore of the bay inside, between which and the main there are several good roads or places of shelter, formed by the adjoining islands and shoals, with small villages opposite to them on the main.

      The outermost and largest island near the entrance of the bay, is called Pulo Lagoondy, and is separated from Tanjong Tekoos by a channel about half or three fourths of a mile wide, with thirty or forty fathoms water in it, and no soundings outside in the entrance, which seems to render it rather intricate for large ships, as it is formed by high land, liable to produce eddy winds, accompanied at times by strong currents. But with a leading land-breeze in the morning, a ship may run out through it with safety.

      On the north side of Pulo Lagoondy is a small bay called Naanga Harbour, with the small island of Pulo Patappan in the middle of its entrance, on the east side of which is the best passage into the harbour, by borrowing near the shore of Pulo Lagoondy. The depths are here from fifteen to ten fathoms, and inside the harbour from twelve to seven fathoms, where a ship may moor secure from all winds, and careen, if necessary.

      Rajah Bassa Road, situated directly under the highland called Refreshment Head, which forms the east side of Lampoon Bay, is an excellent place for procuring good water with facility; together with refreshments, such as turtle, fowls, buffaloes, oranges, plantains, &c. But the purchaser must always be on his guard against treachery. Large vessels ought not to anchor in less than ten fathoms; for although the soundings decrease regularly over a soft bottom to six or seven fathoms in general, yet the shore is fronted by a rocky bank, which projects out to five or six fathoms in some places, and is also quite steep.

      Rajah Bassa Peak, also called Ejow Peak, is about one thousand six hundred feet in height. The anchorage of the road opposite is in latitude 5° 50' south, and it is about seven miles east of Crockatoa Peak, or in longitude 105° 32' east. The water deepens to twenty-five and twenty-seven fathoms towards the Three Brothers, three isles which are situated about four miles west-by-north from Cocoanut Point, which is the south extremity of Rajah Bassa Road. There is a depth of eighteen fathoms in the gut between the middle and south Brothers. In coming from the eastward, these three islands appear as one, and do not begin to open until the vessel approaches Rajah Bassa Road. The depths in crossing Lampoon Bay to Pulo Lagoondy are from thirteen to nineteen fathoms, regular soundings and good anchorage.

      Cocoanut Point is low, overhung by cocoanut-trees, from whence the coast tends easterly, forming a concavity between it and Hog Point. The land is rather low near the latter, but rises gradually to an elevated peak, about a league eastward of Cocoanut Point.

      The northeastern boundary of the Sunda Strait, on the Sumatra side, is a sharp projection of land, called Tanjong Toca, or Hog Point, which is situated about four leagues to the southeast

of Lampoon Bay, in latitude 5° 54' south, longitude 105° 43' 30" east, or 1° 8' 30" west from Batavia, by chronometer. This point forms the southeast extremity of Sumatra, and here is the narrowest part of the strait, it being only fourteen miles across to Java.

      There is a rock six or seven feet above water, two miles northwest from Hog Point, called Collier's Rock, being about fifty feet in circuit, and fifty distant from it lies a coral rock under water. These two dangers are about a mile distant from the shore, with fifty or fifty-five fathoms close to them on the outside. There is another rock above water bearing south from Hog Point, distant two thirds of a mile, with sixty-five or seventy fathoms outside of it, and deep water between it and the point, which is very bold, and surrounded by deep water.

      Fronting the Sumatran shore to the northeast of Hog Point, are Zutphen Islands, which are sometimes called Hog Islands, and sometimes the Hounds. Between them and the main are several shoals and islets, with anchorage among them in some places. The largest of these islands, and part of the coast adjacent, are high land, mostly covered with wood; to the southward they are very steep, having from forty to fifty fathoms of water very near them, where they ought not to be closely approached; but towards the northernmost of the group there are from twenty- three to thirty fathoms, and here ships might occasionally anchor, particularly off the north end of this island, which lies in latitude 5° 50' south. A river empties its waters near this place, and about a mile and a half from its mouth stands a village called Tangrea, with rice-fields around it, cattle, poultry, and plenty of cocoanuts. But the natives are not to be trusted.

      Having thus taken a brief look at the Sumatran shore on the northwest side of the Strait of Sunda, we now beg the reader to accompany us "on the other tack," and take a peep at the Java coast, which lines the southeast side of the same strait.

      We have already stated that there are two channels to enter the Strait of Sunda from the Indian Ocean, one between Java Head and Prince's Island, and the other outside of Prince's Island, the latter being the one selected by the Potomac. The channel between this island and the shores of Java is about four miles broad. It is called Prince's Strait, and sometimes the Behouden, or Safe Pas-

sage of the Dutch. It is not so much frequented as the other, but is always adopted if a ship intends to water at Mew Bay, which is more convenient for that purpose than Prince's Island.

      Java Head, which bounds the southwestern entrance to the Strait of Sunda on the Java side, is a projection of land, not pointed, but about twelve miles wide at its extremity. It is generally high and steep, projecting a little in the middle.

      About six miles north of Java Head is a projection of land known by the name of "First Point of Java," otherwise called Tanjong Jungkulan; and this is the south point of the entrance of Prince's Strait. It is easily known by a remarkable rock off it, called the Friar, which lies nearly southeast-by-south, about five miles from the Carpenters, which bound the other side of Prince's Strait. The First Point is in latitude 6° 44' south, about two leagues north of the Head, and the coast between them, which forms a bight, is fronted by high rocks, in some places stretching out about a mile. On these rocks, as also on the Friar and Carpenters, the sea beats high during westerly winds or in bad weather. Ships proceeding through Prince's Strait during the northwest monsoon, should keep near to Prince's Island and the Carpenters, particularly in working out against westerly winds; for a current will then generally be found setting out in their favour. During the other monsoon, when winds prevail from the southeast and south, vessels ought to keep nearest to the Java shore and the Friar; which rock may be approached within one or two cables' length.

      About a league northeast of First Point is Mew Island, situated in a bay of the same name. This island, which is also sometimes called Cantoe, lies in latitude 6° 43' south, and is small and hilly, abounding with wood. Between it and First Point there is an islet near the Java shore, and regular soundings over a sandy bottom are found to stretch along the side of Prince's Strait. There is a safe but narrow channel between Mew Island and Java, with various soundings from five to eight and ten fathoms, in mid-channel, over a sandy bottom, where a ship may lie landlocked, sheltered from all winds.

      Second Point, or Tanjong Along-along, is in about latitude 6° 36' south, and three leagues to the northeast of Mew Island. It may be approached to fifteen or sixteen fathoms, about one and a

half or two miles distant. On the east side of the point lies Welcome Bay, extending a great way into the land, and containing several islets and shoals, particularly on the west side. The eastern side is more clear, with good shelter in the southeast monsoon; but in the westerly monsoon this bay ought to be avoided.

      Third Point, or Tanjong Lussong, is in latitude 6° 27' south, separating Welcome Bay from Pepper Bay, the latter being situated on the east side of this point, and it bears nearly northeast-by-east-half-east, five or six leagues from Second Point. To the eastward of the point there is an islet inside of Pepper Bay, with a shoal to the northwest, rendering the approach to it dangerous, which is the case throughout Pepper Bay, the water being generally shoal. When a ship is abreast of Third Point, about a league distant, a small island is seen at the northeast part of Pepper Bay, bearing about east-by-north, but will then be confounded with the contiguous coast. If intending to touch there, it will be prudent to steer across the bay, keeping the island on the starboard bow, and not borrow towards the shoal water near the Java shore. This little island is called Seriguy, or Paulo Papapale.

      Fourth Point, or Tanjong Cicorang, is situated about four and a half leagues north-by-east from Seriguy. This point is low to seaward; and most of the coast between it and Welcome Bay is low, interspersed with hills in some places, and abounding with cocoanuts. On coasting along between Seriguy and Fourth Point, a ship should keep a league or more from the shore, in soundings from twenty to thirty fathoms, in order that she may be enabled to come to anchor, if calms and contrary currents should render it necessary. If a ship, having entered Prince's Strait, be abreast of Second Point, she ought to steer a direct course for Fourth Point, bearing nearly northeast from the former, distant about thirteen leagues; or, having entered by the great channel to the north of Prince's Island, she should run for the same point if she intend to stop at Anger Road, or is bound to Batavia, — for it will be prudent to keep near the Java coast during the monthly monsoon, and to pass between it and Thwart-the-Way, whether bound to Batavia or Banca Strait. From Second Point to Fourth Point there is generally good ground for anchoring, occasionally in eighteen to twenty fathoms.

      Anger, or Angere Village, is in latitude 6° 3' 30" south, longitude

105° 54' east, about two leagues eastward of Fourth Point. It is not easily perceived in coming from the westward, being situated in a bay where the houses or huts are scattered among the cocoanut-trees, and nearly obscured by them, and by an elevated chain of inland hills. The most easterly of these is a sharp-peaked hill, called Anger Peak, directly over the village. Ships frequently touch at this place in the southerly monsoon, to procure refreshments; but the road is not considered safe or convenient in the opposite season, for it is then dangerous landing, on account of the high surf. Here may be procured buffaloes, hogs, poultry, vegetables, and sometimes turtle. The common anchorage is in Anger Road, in from nine to fourteen fathoms, abreast of the village, and water may be had by employing boats for that purpose.

      John Barrow, Esq., who was here with the English embassy to Cochin China in February, 1793, very warmly recommends this place, in preference to any other in the strait, for procuring water and refreshments. After mentioning the low prices at which they procured fowls, capons, and buffaloes, he adds — "The natives usually come off" in their canoes, to ships which may anchor here, with plentiful supplies of the fruits peculiar to the island, and other vegetables that may be in season. The air is dry and pleasant; and a cool refreshing breeze descends from the high lands of Java, spreading its fragrance to a distance much beyond the anchorage of the ships. Yet because this side of the strait is occasionally subject to calms, which may sometimes have caused the delay of two or three days at the utmost, few of the outward-bound China ships touch at Anjerie, preferring to take in a fresh supply of wood and water at North Island, or rather on the Sumatra shore opposite to this island, where only wood and water are procurable, and where numbers of seamen yearly fall a sacrifice, either to Malay treachery, from the plunderers who are always lurking among the forests on this part of the coast, or to the unhealthiness of the place, occasioned by the heavy nightly fogs that hang over this low marshy shore, and the noxious vapours arising from the putrefactive fermentation of vegetable matter; an operation which, in this region of the world, is incessantly carrying on." These observations were made many years ago; and whether they be applicable now, we are not prepared to say, as the Potomac did not touch on either side to procure

refreshments. We hope, however, to be excused for making another short extract from this close observer and elegant writer.

      "Of the many little islands scattered over the surface of the strait we visited only two, that are situated at. no great distance from the shore of Java. They are known to seamen by the names of the Cap and the Button. In a deep cavern, worked by the sea into the side of the former, we disturbed such a multitude of bats and swallows, that we were literally driven back by the successive volleys in which they assailed us. The bats, in particular, were excessively troublesome, by flying entirely at random, owing to their imperfect vision on encountering the light at the mouth of the cave. The swallows were of that species which, in the Systema Naturae, is called esculenta, from the abundant use made of their nests in Chinese cookery. We found some thousands of these nests attached to the sides of the cavern, some containing young birds, and others eggs. The nests were of an oval shape, slightly joined to each other at the extremities of the longest diameter. Their external coating appeared to be the filaments of some species of seaweed, cemented together by a viscous substance, which was collected probably on the seashore; stripped of this coating, they were about the eighth of an inch in thickness, had much the appearance of a piece of hard glue, semi-transparent, and evidently composed of the same kind of gelatinous matter which kept together the interior fibres, and with which the stones and marine plants on the shores of the island were covered. On the Button Island we shot an inguana, which measured four feet in length, and the flesh of which, when roasted, was as white and delicate as that of a chicken."

      Cap and Button Islands are about six miles from each other. The first is called by the Malays Pulo Oolar, or Snake Island, which bears north-northeast from Anger village, distant about four or five miles, and nearly east-southeast from the south part of Thwart-the-Way, between which and the Cap is the channel, having various depths of water, from twenty to fifty fathoms, over an uneven and generally rocky bottom. The Button, or Great Cap, as it is sometimes called, is situated in latitude 5° 53' south, and two leagues north from the Small Cap, of similar appearance, but larger and higher, steep, and covered with small trees.

      Seven miles east-by-north from the Button is Bantam, or St.

Nicholas's Point, in latitude 5° 52' south, longitude 106° 2' east, or fifty miles west from Batavia by chronometer. It is a high, bold headland, and on each side of it, close to the shore, are some small islands. The soundings of this part of the coast are generally regular, and ships may anchor in some places in twenty fathoms, clay or sand, about two or three miles from the point. The coast is high between St. Nicholas or Bantam Point, with indifferent anchorage in the channel, until the latter is approached. This point is the northern boundary of the Strait of Sunda.

      On Saturday, the third of March, as before mentioned, the Potomac was beating up the strait, against a head wind and opposing current. She passed Crockatoa Island on its eastern side, enjoying a beautiful prospect of the Java shore. This island, which is about six or seven miles in length, and four or five in breadth, extending nearly northwest and southeast, is elevated and imposing in its appearance, steep on the south side, but sloping gradually to the water's edge on the north and western sides. Although every one had been enraptured with the scenery on the preceding day, all were still more delighted with the prospect which presented itself on Saturday evening, about sunset, which was far more soft, rich, and lovely, than any which had yet been seen in these waters. The atmosphere was now clear and transparent, while numerous high, various, and fancifully-shaped peaks, tinged by the setting sun, whose parting beams were fading away on the richest vegetation, displayed a landscape not to be equalled by the pencil of art.

      A new-invented apparatus was this day completed and put in successful operation, for pumping the foul air from the hold of the ship. It is a very ingenious contrivance of Lieutenant B. Wilson, and perfectly answers the purpose for which it was intended. But little headway was made by the Potomac this day, owing to the lightness of the wind, and an opposing current, which set about west by south, at the rate of two miles an hour; and the frigate was again compelled to come to anchor. The tides in this strait seemed to be so much influenced by the wind as to resemble currents.

      The whole of the following day, which was Sunday, the fourth, was exhausted in a vain attempt to beat up to the frigate's anchorage in Lampoon Bay. Not being able, however, to stem the

current with a light northeast wind, she at last came to an anchor in a bight formed by a low flat island and Crockatoa, about a league distant from them.

      The frigate did not leave her anchorage on Monday, the fifth, as there was no prospect of making any headway. A boat was lowered, however, and several officers went to try their luck in fishing, but were not rewarded with any very flattering success. They afterward attempted to land, but found it very difficult, as the whole island was surrounded by a coral rock. They at length reached the shore on a small sandy beach, where they procured some shells; but the jungle was so thick that they could not penetrate twenty yards from the water's edge. Birds of exquisitely rich plumage were seen in great numbers; and on firing a gun, the growling of tigers was thought to be heard but a short--distance from the party. The weather was pleasant on the frigate's deck, while over the shores the clouds hung low, and the rain fell in copious showers.

      The wind blowing fresh and fair on Tuesday morning, March the sixth, the Potomac once more weighed anchor, and "spreading her bellying canvass" to its impulse, stood to the northeast, passing Lampoon Bay at about ten o'clock, with a fine leading breeze, which came up the strait, and wafted her onward at the rate of nine miles per hour. She soon came up with and passed Thwart-the-Way, an island which the Malays call Pulo Renyang, lying in the nearest part of the strait, but somewhat nearer to Hog Point on its western side than to the Java shore. This island is moderately elevated, and about four miles in extent. Not far from this island, near the Java shore, are the Cap and Button before mentioned.

      As the frigate moved gracefully along the shores of Bantam, the western aspect of Java, as far as the eye could reach, opened on the view with a richness beyond conception, the land stretching in the distance in alternate hills and valleys, clothed with luxuriant and variegated verdure. Numerous hamlets, surrounded by shadowing groves, appeared scattered over the undulating surface; while tangled vines and creepers, laving their tendrils in the crystal stream, added new charms to the exhilarating picture. The hand of man had been here — of civilized, social man. The features of the country proclaimed the fact — divided into square

fields, and neatly hedged around. At length, after sailing along this coast for some time with a smart breeze, the frigate emerged from the strait, doubled Bantam Point, and came to anchor on its eastern side, about two miles from the shore, and not far from Bantam Bay, where she anchored on the day following, about two and a half leagues southeast from St. Nicholas or Bantam Point.

      Bantam Bay is extensive, containing several islands, the largest of which is Pulo Panjang, covered with trees, and situated in the west part of the entrance. A ship intending to anchor here may pass on either side of this island; but the eastern channel is greatly to be preferred. On the following day, the vessel's birth was changed for Pangoriang, as being a convenient place to obtain a supply of fresh water, and only four miles east of Point St. Nicholas. The anchorage in this spot is in fourteen to sixteen fathoms, and was much frequented by the English vessels during the short period that Batavia was in their possession. There is a passage of four fathoms within two small islands called Pulo Kaly, and safe anchorage for small vessels. These islands lie about half way between Pangoriang and the red bluff which forms the extreme west side of Bantam Bay, which the reader will bear m mind is situated on the north side of Java, a few miles east of the strait.

      Here the surrounding scenery continued to be an inexhaustible source of enjoyment, in its endless variety of features, and the mingled softness and brilliancy which enriched its ever-varying hues. The land of Java, as it recedes from the shore, gently ascends with a billowy, undulating surface of hill and dale, to the distance of about a mile, all divided into fields, and cultivated to the hill-tops. Towering its foliage-crested head proudly above the rest, rises Bantam Hill, cultivated like the humbler eminences around it, with the exception of its summit, which is surmounted with a coronet of majestic trees, like a forest in the air. Between the foot of the hill and the shore are human habitations, almost entirely hid in a grove of cocoanut, plantain, and banana-trees, which are also scattered in clumps over all the landscape. The fields of rice and gardens of pepper vines which climb the hillsides or checker the flats and bottoms, present the changing aspects of the young and green blade, just sprouting through the variegated soil, to the yellow and matured crop, ready for the hands

of the gatherer, while the borders of the beach were lined and fringed with bamboos and shrubbery to the water's edge.

      On the following morning, which was Thursday, the eighth, some of our boats visited a couple of islands to look for curious shells, in which pursuit they were quite successful, bringing off with them a large and well-assorted collection. During the whole day the frigate was only visited from the shore by one canoe, which only brought off a few fish of an indifferent quality. The natives seemed to feel, and they certainly evinced, but little curiosity on account of the Potomac's first appearance on their coast; but rather seemed disposed to keep aloof from holding any intercourse with their strange visiters.

      The town of Bantam, which was formerly the capital of the kingdom and the seat of royalty, is situated on the bank of a small river which empties into the bay. The English and Danes had factories here until 1682, when they were expelled by the Dutch, who deposed the native monarch, erected two forts to defend it against any subsequent intruder, and soon monopolized the entire traffic of the country. It was then populous and flourishing — it is now a poor place, and its commerce is transferred to Batavia. It is in latitude 6° 20' south, longitude 105° 26' east.

      An officer of the frigate was sent next day to wait on the rajah, and to inquire if a supply of wood and water could be furnished for the ship. The chief not only willingly acceded to this request, but treated the messenger and his companions with great politeness, and even kindness. On the same day the boats were hoisted out, and this service was commenced under the charge of proper officers. Wood of a good quality and in great abundance was easily procured on the beach, and the carpenters were all set to work at cutting it up, ready for passing it on board; while another party was successfully occupied in procuring water from some of the numerous little streams which came tumbling down the sides of the hills to the water's edge, rendering the operation convenient and easy by the application of a hose. While this was going on, the officers embraced every opportunity to extend their perambulations, and observe whatever was interesting, for some distance in the interior.

      From fifty to one hundred yards from the beach, the soil was thickly covered with underbrush and trees of various kinds. Be-

yond this, for about the distance of a mile, there was nothing but rice-fields, accommodated to the rising ground, surrounded and intersected by numerous little canals, adapted to the purpose of irrigation, as the different stages of the crops required. The rice looked well, some of it being nearly matured, and other portions just springing from the soil. Beyond the lowland rice-fields the land began to swell into hills, the sides of which were partially covered with fine groves of cocoanut-trees. Numerous paths were seen leading back from the shore, each of which terminated in a small Malay village, built of bamboos, and containing from fifty to two hundred inhabitants. The huts were miserably constructed, each containing two or three sleeping apartments, and a substitute for a kitchen, in one corner of which were the fire and some cooking utensils, but no chimney, the smoke being allowed to escape as it could through the loose texture of the bamboos, imparting to the whole establishment a sooty and filthy appearance. It will be seen, in the sequel, that there is a striking difference between the Malays and the Javans, who are cleanly, neat, and industrious.

      The Malays in the villages, if they did not actually resent their intrusion, were evidently not very highly delighted with our officers' visits; and all the women immediately deserted their houses on the appearance of the strangers. When welcomed by woman, "dear woman, the manifested form of love and hospitality," the wanderer is ever perfectly at home; but if her cheering smile be lacking, he feels too sensibly that he is an intruder indeed! The features of these people are by no means displeasing in the young, but extremely so in those who are far advanced in life. Their complexion is a yellowish brown, with black hair, some of which is of the finest texture; their eyes are black, quick, and penetrating. Their teeth are regular, well set, and carefully filed, but generally black, from the nauseous habit of chewing the betele-nut, as in Sumatra.

      Their dress, in the villages above alluded to, consisted of the coarsest materials, and was quite indifferent; and in no respect are these Malays to be compared in appearance with those of Sumatra. The children were entirely naked; and the men carried no arms, nor did they appear to be in possession of any, except a large curved knife, for cutting rice and bamboos, trimming

cocoanut-trees, and such other uses as are required in their husbandry. This implement in several instances was suspended from the neck, hanging down the back; in others, guarded by a sheath, and attached to a belt. But though behind their neighbours of Sumatra in personal appearance, they are certainly superior to them, in temper and character; being more mild and honest, and far less savage, vindictive, and treacherous in their dispositions. They seemed rather inclined to be courteous and amiable; and where they did form attachments for any of our officers, evinced no little degree of liberality.

      But industry is not one of their virtues; for no people can be more lazy, if general report be true, than the Malays of Bantam. This trait in their character is doubtless the result of local circumstances. The climate and soil itself may tend to produce it, as there is little inducement to labour where all the necessaries of life are spontaneously produced. All their movements are slow, and they appeared to our officers to be incapable of deep emotion or great excitement of any kind, either of curiosity, fear, or revenge. Nominally Mahommedans, they yet appear to pay very little attention to the rites and ceremonies of that persuasion, or indeed of any other, being probably infidels at heart, and giving: themselves no concern whatever on the subject of religion, or a future state of existence. They resemble the Turks in an aversion to have their women exposed to the view of strangers. Few of them were ever to be seen during the period of the Potomac's visit, and those few were dressed very similar to the men, and were not much better looking, excepting that their complexion was somewhat lighter.

      Though shrinking from exertion on ordinary occasions, some of them have taken considerable pains to perform good offices and acts of courtesy to such of our ship's company as they happened to take a fancy to. While on shore with his fowling-piece, one of the officers was met by a native who appeared to take great pleasure in showing him the birds, and who was anxious to have him shoot them. He also climbed a cocoanut-tree, more than fifty feet in height, and procured a nut for him, the milk of which is very refreshing in so warm a climate, being only six degrees south of the equator. This polite and attentive native adhered to the side of his new acquaintance while passing through the

villages, talking and chatting all the time, and assiduously directing the attention of his visiter to whatever he thought would be deemed worthy of notice. He finally accompanied the officer to the water's edge, lingering and delaying his departure to the last moment. All this friendly attention was voluntarily bestowed, apparently without any interested motive or expectation of reward, as he appeared to experience unanticipated pleasure on receiving a few toys in requital for his kindness. They all appear very fond of trinkets, though possessing very few.

      At our watering-place on shore, and also on board the ship, we were daily visited by small parties from the neighbouring villages, with fruits and other articles for sale or barter. In exchange they received knives, handkerchiefs, and naval buttons; some of our middies stripping their jackets to buy cocoanuts, chickens, and other palatable productions. These natives seem to have some, though very imperfect, knowledge of the value of money. If one of them with half a dozen fowls was asked the price of the lot, his reply was, invariably, "dollar," and precisely the same answer would be made by another with a lot of double the number. Though very shy at first, their boats were now almost constantly alongside the frigate, with every kind of refreshment that this part of the island could furnish.

      Independent of a great variety of fruits and vegetables, they have the flesh of buffaloes, goats, and sheep; pork of course is forbidden in the Mahommedan code. Their buffaloes are large and fat, and are kept tied by small cords, passed through a perforation made between the animals' nostrils. They are tame and docile to the natives, but wild and restiff whenever any of our countrymen approached them.

      The canoes of the natives are constructed of a single piece of timber, the trunk of a large tree, cut or burned out, and elevated at the head and stern. The mast, yard, and paddles are made of bamboo, and the sail of matting; they will carry two or three, and sometimes four persons. They have also larger boats, or proas, some of which were daily seen passing along the coast, probably from Bantam, filled with Malays, and bearing the Dutch flag.

      On Tuesday, the thirteenth of March, not having yet completed her supply of wood and water, the Potomac still lay at her an-

chorage in Bantam Bay. At five o'clock in the morning the commodore, accompanied by an officer, left the frigate on a boat-excursion to a small island about four leagues distant, in search of shells, with which the waters and shores of these islands abound. Indeed, conchology appeared to be the favourite study of all the officers when off duty; and the commodore, ever since his arrival in the eastern Archipelago, had evinced much interest, taste, and industry, in adding to his already valuable collection.

      In the afternoon a smart little squall occurred, which terminated in a breeze so fresh that it was found necessary to give the ship more cable. As night set in, there was no appearance of the commodore's boat returning to the vessel, which occasioned much solicitude on board on account of his safety. The squall had been sudden and severe, and it was feared that his boat had been capsized, or that some other accident had befallen him. Rockets were let off, and blue-lights burned during the whole night, to point out the situation of the ship.

      It appears, that after having landed and been successful in procuring some rare and beautiful specimens of conchology on the Island of Pulo Baby, the commodore left, at about five o'clock in the evening, with the view of returning on board the frigate; but had not proceeded far, when he found that there was not only a strong current, but a fresh wind directly against him: so much so, that in three hours of hard pulling, not more than two miles of headway had been made. At this time a squall struck the boat with such violence, that it was found impossible to keep her head to the wind by the utmost exertions of the men tugging at their oars; and in falling off she was several times on the point of being swamped, and was, with the utmost difficulty, kept afloat. Fortunately, the squall subsided in less than half an hour, though the wind still continued fresh, with an ugly, sharp sea, so that it was still impossible to pull to windward.

      The commodore's situation now became exceedingly uncomfortable; exposed as he was in an open boat to the rain, which fell in torrents, in a climate where such exposure is deemed fatal to the unclimated stranger. A return to the Island of Pulo Baby seemed to offer no safety, as the ocean, broken by the numerous rocks and coral reefs surrounding the island, was now white with foam. Sail was then made on the boat, in the hope of being able

to weather the reef, which makes out about five miles north from the cape, forming the east side of Bantam Bay, and, if possible, find shelter under the lee of some of the small islands lying in that direction. The run across the bay was one of fearful uncertainty; the land was hid from view by the rain and thick weather, so that the boat, close-hauled on the wind, was the only guide.

      Thus he continued for several hours, relieving the boat by bailing, as she took in water. At length, land was seen; and a moment after, the breakers on it, by which the commodore knew that he had either gone to windward, or fallen sufficiently to leeward to escape the extensive and dangerous reef. About one o'clock in the morning, the land seen turned out to be a small island, the lee of which furnished a neat little bay, into which the boat was run, and, greatly to his relief, he found her completely protected from the storm, though the rain still continued to fall in drenching showers. At seven in the morning he left the little harbour, which the boat's crew insisted upon calling "Ariel Bay," after their boat, which had behaved so well the night before. About nine he returned on board the frigate, greatly exhausted from fatigue, having been wet to the skin for more than twelve hours; from which, and even sleeping a short time in the boat, he fortunately suffered no bad effects.

      On Friday, the sixteenth, the Potomac still remained at her anchorage near the watering-place. Although the wind was this day very strong from the south and south-by-east, which sometimes increased into powerful puffs, yet so strong was the current, that the ship at no time rode by the wind. The natives this day continued to visit the ship for traffic, and in greater numbers than on any former occasion; bringing such supplies, and selling so reasonable, that the finest poultry was to be seen on the tables of all the messes. No buffaloes, however, were procured, though no doubt such an arrangement might have easily been made, as all the villages abound with them. Numerous monkeys, procured by the sailors, were now on board, affording great diversion to all hands by their endless chatter and amusing antics.

      News came on board this day, from some of the natives, that there was a pirate in the strait, and that two Dutch men-of-war were in pursuit of her. The subsequent report of distant cannon, rendered the rumour quite probable.

      On Sunday, the eighteenth, there was a little improvement in the weather, which for the two preceding days had presented little else than a succession of squalls, attended with considerable rain, thunder, and lightning, while the height of the surf on the shore had much retarded the progress of procuring a supply of water. But little rain, however, had fallen near the anchorage of the frigate, as the clouds appeared to be attracted by the lofty summits and peaks of the neighbouring mountains. In the meantime, our officers had been much on shore, and seen considerable of the natives, visited the villages, and rambled over an interesting section of the ancient kingdom of Bantam. It was easy to perceive that the Dutch had much power over the natives, and exercised it with no little rigour. No inducements are held out to encourage their advance in knowledge, refinement, and the arts of civilized life; but they appear to be kept in such a state of servile degradation, that they still remain almost as wild and uncultivated as they did before the island was first visited by Europeans, They are slaves to their own rajahs, who are, in their turn, slaves to the Dutch colonists.

      The town of Bantam, at the head of the bay, would perhaps have afforded good anchorage for the frigate, had not the commodore preferred to remain in an open position, in order that he might more readily get under way in case of a typhoon.^* In

addition to this, it was requisite to lie in a situation where were greater facilities for taking in wood and water than the town could afford, and a more favourable spot for that purpose than the one selected could hardly be desired. At any rate, it was decidedly preferable to Batavia, where such duty must have greatly exposed both officers and men to the baleful effects of insalubrious exhalations which surround the Dutch capital; besides the gratification derived from an opportunity of seeing so much of this out-of-the-way portion of the island. It is even doubtful whether the water in the vicinity of Batavia be wholesome for a ship's use. Mr. Barrow, before quoted, says, that "a glass of water taken out of the canal of Batavia, becomes, in the course of a few hours, a mass of animated matter, the minute portions of which, multiplying by division and subdivision, move about with astonishing rapidity. The bay (of Batavia), swarming with myriads of living creatures, exhibits, in the night-time, a phosphorescent light like a sheet of fire. The stream of fresh water which falls into it, being more highly charged with animal life, is distinctly traced in the bay, by a train more luminous and brilliant than the rest of the surface, appearing like another milky-way in the midst of a firmament of stars."

      Having now completed her supply of wood and water, the Potomac got under way on the morning of Monday, the nineteenth, and shaped her course for Batavia Roads, a distance of more than twenty leagues east from her recent anchorage. This was a passage of unusual beauty and interest, the surface of the sea being thickly studded with little evergreen islands, of almost every shape and variety. The indolent Dutch colonists, despairing of ever furnishing a name for each, have lumped the whole group, and given it the name of the Thousand Islands. The French did the same at the head of the St. Lawrence. The sea here,

on the northern coast of Java, when calm and unruffled, resembles a sheet of silver on which have been promiscuously scattered emeralds of different sizes, every one of these numerous islets being completely clothed with an ever-varying teint of the liveliest verdure. They are all based on a calcareous foundation, and owe their origin to the zoophites of Linnaeus. The weather was pleasant, and moderate breezes from the north and west wafted the frigate gently along her sinuous course among the Thousand Islands; around which were dangerous shoals, which rendered it necessary to keep a boat out ahead, feeling the way for the frigate. The lead was kept going in from fifteen to twenty-two fathoms. At three P.M., took in the royals and hauled up the foresail. The coast of Java, from Bantam Mountain to Batavia, is flat and low; and though ever changing, ever new, and ever beautiful, exhibits few of those remarkable outlines which form points of remembrance, until the frigate approached Lampoon Island; a small and solitary spot, but beautiful in its solitude, near which she anchored about sunset, in fifteen fathoms, and veered out forty-five fathoms of chain cable. Several villages were now seen lining the shore and paddee fields extending as far as the eye could reach, all gilded by the oblique rays of the setting sun.

      The passage selected by the commodore in approaching the anchorage was not the one generally adopted. When Maneater Island bore southeast-by-east, instead of pursuing the track north, between the Great Cambuys and Angenilla, he bore off more to the south, and ran between the former and Maneater Island, passing within half a mile of Little Cambuys, and discovering a shoal southeast of it, not laid down or noted in any of the most recent charts. Soundings vary in the passage from a quarter less nine to eleven fathoms. He then ran for the Island Dapour, soundings thirteen fathoms. At seven P., M., shortened sail and came to anchor as before stated, with Dapour Island bearing northwest-half-north; Amsterdam Island, southwest-by-west, and Edam Island, east-by-south-quarter-south.

      The weather continued pleasant throughout the night, with gentle breezes from the north and west. On Tuesday morning, the twentieth, at five A. M., just as the call of "All hands, up anchor!" resounded through the ship, a report was made that one of the seamen had just departed this life, so that the order to get

under way was countermanded. At nine o'clock the body of the deceased was committed to the deep, with the usual religious ceremonies. It was a source of deep regret to all, and of gloomy forebodings to some, thus to lose one of our best men at this time, and in such a place, by a disease which has often been so fatal in this part of the world; though thus far we had certainly been more healthy than has often fallen to the lot of many ships' crews of equal numbers.

      Immediately after the performance of this melancholy duty, the frigate was again got under way, with a fine breeze, and stood for Batavia Roads. At eleven she once more came to anchor, about seven miles from the city, outside of all the shipping, in nine and a half fathoms of water, and veered out forty-five fathoms of chain cable; Batavia bearing south-by-east; Leyden Island, east-by-north-half-north; Enkhuysen Island, northeast-quarter-north; and Edam Island, northeast-by-north. The commodore was induced to anchor thus far from the city, to avoid the pestilential atmosphere generated by the stagnant water, in and adjacent to the marshy site of that Dutch Venice, which, if conflagrated, would "hiss in its foundations;" so low indeed is it, and so thickly planted with cocoanut, tamarind, canary, and a variety of other trees, that no part of it except the cupola of the great church could be seen from the deck of the Potomac.

      Before she reached her anchorage, the frigate was, boarded by a boat from the city, bringing several American gentlemen, who communicated the agreeable intelligence that Batavia was unusually healthy. News of the Potomac's intended visit had reached the city, and "rumour with her hundred tongues" had blazoned far and near the account of her exploit at Quallah-Battoo; all had been in daily expectation of her arrival. There was only one American vessel here; the French brig which the Potomac spoke off St. Pauls had arrived, and again left the harbour; of Dutch vessels there were about twenty of all descriptions, including one or two men-of-war. As is usual and always advisable for foreign vessels at this port, a number of Malays were engaged to man the frigate's boats, intended to ply between the ship and the shore; thus saving our men from exposure and probable sickness.

      A boat was sent on shore with an officer to wait on the au-

thorities and regulate the salute; and on her return, the first intelligence was confirmed of the present health of the city; so that the commodore changed his anchorage by moving to a more pleasant birth, within about four miles of the commercial capital of Java.

      As this chapter has been principally devoted to a description of the Strait of Sunda, and the Potomac's passage through it on the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, we cannot more appropriately conclude it than by adding the following document, containing a table of the beacons, twenty-two in number, on the shoals in the navigable waters of the Strait of Sunda, to and from Batavia Roads, replaced by order of the Dutch government, June sixth, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, three months after the Potomac's visit. The names of the shoals marked with an asterisk(*) have a beacon with a cross; those marked thus (†) have only a cross.

      The beacons with crosses, are beams, with a crosstree painted white; those without are single beams, painted white, both kinds extending twelve feet above water. In case one or more of the beacons should be removed by violence of the weather or otherwise, bamboo stakes, fifteen or twenty feet above water, with baskets covered with cloth painted black and white, will be placed in their stead, until they can be replaced by proper wooden pillars. Beacon number eleven stands upon a rock not laid down on any chart, to which the name of Mathilda Rock has been given, it being known in Malay language by the name of Karang Prol. The rocks on which beacons eighteen and twenty are placed, have hitherto had no Dutch names, they are now called the Wrange and the Midden Rock. The native names are in parentheses. The number of feet mentioned after the situation of the beacon, shows the depth at low water.

      Father Smit's Bank† (Poeloe Poetrie), situated on the northeast point, nine feet; Leyden bearing north-northwest-half-west, and the beacon on Neptune's Shoal bearing west-quarter-south. Neptune's Shoal† (Karang Passier), on northwest point, twelve feet; Leyden northeast-quarter-north; eastern point of Hoorn north-northwest-three-quarters-west. The Pasop† (Karang Tanglam), on northeast point, twelve feet; Leyden northeast-half-north; eastern point of Hoorn north-northwest-quarter-west. Rhynland

      Shoal† (Karang Tahan), on east point, twelve feet; Hoorn north-by-west-quarter-west; Kuiper northwest-by-west-half-west. Rygersdaal Bank† (Karang Camal), on east point, nine feet; Hoorn north-northeast-quarter-east; Kuiper north-northwest. The Arms of Purmerend† (Karang Djalan), on east point, thirteen feet eastern point of Hoorn north-by-east; Rotterdam northwest. The rocks bearing west of the Island of Hoorn† (Karang Poeloe Ayer), in the centre, twelve feet; northern point of Hoorn east-half-south; Rotterdam west-quarler-north. The Reef of Rotterdam† (Karang Poeloe Obie), in the centre, fifteen feet; southern point of Hoorn east-three-quarters south; western point of Onrust Kerkhof south-half-west. The Reef of Purmerend†(Karang Poeloe Sakiet), on southwest point, nine feet; southern point of Purmerend north; Kuiper west-northwest-quarter-west. The Stone of Onrust† (Karang Poeloe Kelor), on west point, nine feet; Rotterdam north-northeast-quarter-east; Kuiper southeast-by-south. The Mathilda Rock* (Karang Prol), on northeast point, twelve feet; southwestern point of the Kuiper southeast; eastern point of Rotterdam northeast-three-quarters-north. The Reef of Onrust* (Karang Poeloe Kapal), on west point, nine feet. The two points of the reef bearing northwest of the Island of Kuiper* (Karang Poeloe Kuiper), on northwest point, nine feet; the Reefs of Onrust, and the two points of that bearing northwest of the Island of Kuiper, extend to the Islands of Onrust and Kuiper. The Reef of Ontong Java† (Tanjong Ontong Java), on north point, thirteen feet; Haarlem east; western point of Middelburg north-by-west. The Reef of Middelburg† (Karang Poeloe Ramboet), on southeast point, fifteen feet; and the same Reef† (Karang Poeloe Ramboet), on southeast point, fifteen feet; the coral reef on which these beacons are placed is connected with the island. The Wrange Rock† (Karang Sepat), on west point, twelve feet; south point of Middelburg southeast-by-east-half-east; Poeloe Dapoor northeast-half-north; at a cable's length to the westward from this is another rock, eleven feet below the surface. The Myndert's Shoal† (Karang Gosson), in the centre, twelve feet; Klein Kombuis northwest-quarter-west; Poeloe Dapoor northeast-by-east. The Middle Rock† (Karang Loemboeng), on southwest point, twelve feet; Klein Kombuis northeast-by-north-half-east; south point of the Great Kombuis northwest

by-west-three-quarters-west. The Reef of the Great Kombuis† (Karang Poeloe Lantjang, or Karang Papedjie), on west point, fourteen feet; south point of the Great Kombuis east-southeast-half-east; eastern point of Maneater Island southwest-three-quarters-west. The Southeast Rock† in the centre, fifteen feet; eastern point of Maneater Island south-half-west; northern point of the Great Kombuis northeast-three-quarters east; beacon on the Great Kombuis southeast-by-east-three-quarters-east.

      The Potomac passed the Strait of Sunda in March, eighteen hundred and thirty two. The following is a list of the whole number of vessels which were reported at Anger, or Anjere, a village on the Java shore, as having passed the strait in the same year, viz: — Dutch, fifty-eight out, fifty-four home; English, twenty-eight out, twenty-seven home; American, twenty-nine out, twenty-nine home; French, two out, one home; Hamburgh, two out, one home; Russian, one out; Swedish, one out; Danish, one home. Total reported, two hundred and thirty-eight. This list is doubtless imperfect, as many that passed without touching at Anger could not have been reported; but it shows the great proportion of American vessels trading in these seas.

CHAPTER XV.

      In our description of the Strait of Sunda, in the preceding chapter, an idea was suggested that the islands of Sumatra and Java had probably once been united at some very remote period, and formed but one island. Indeed, there is a tradition recorded in the annals of Java, which says — "It is related that in former times the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sumbaya were united, and afterward separated into nine different parts; and it is also said, that when three thousand rainy seasons have passed away, they will be reunited." Admitting for a moment the fact of their former union, the hypothesis might very naturally be extended still further, including in the same semicircular range the Malay Peninsula on the northwest, together with the islands on the east, including Lombok, Flores, Timor, Timorlant, Arroo, and New Guinea, By those are formed that great chain or barrier, which locks up the China Sea on the south and west, and probably once completely separated it from the great Indian Ocean. The waters of the latter have in divers places either forced or insinuated themselves through this circling arm of continental Asia, or the mighty ridge has been severed and shivered by some terrible convulsion of nature, — forming those numerous straits which are now the avenues of communication and commercial intercourse between the Atlantic ports and the Celestial Empire. Thus, that elongated portion of the broken ridge which bears the

name of Java, is washed on its western end by the Strait of Sunda, which is at one point only fourteen miles in width; and by the Strait of Bali, on its eastern extremity.

      This division, or breaking up of the great eastern peninsula, is supposed by some writers to be alluded to in the book of Genesis, where the sacred penman, in his account of Noah's descendants, and their various locations in the postdiluvian world, says — "And unto Eber were born two sons; the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided." Speaking of the sons of Javan, it is written — "By these were the isles of the gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations." From this passage it has been inferred, that the island under consideration was named "after the family" of Javan, or Java. That caravans of merchants once traded and held intercourse with a rich country in the east called Javan, appears from Ezekiel, who describes them as traders in "the persons of men, and vessels of brass, to the market of Tyre, and who, going to and fro, occupied in her fairs, brought bright iron [steel], cassia, and calamus." One of the sons of Javan was called Elishah; and the prophet speaks of "blue and purple from the isles of Elishah." His brother's name was Tarshish; — "Tarshish was thy merchant by the reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they all traded in thy fairs." The brothers of Javan were called Mecheck and Tubal: — "Javan, Tubal, and Mecheck, they were thy merchants; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass, in thy market." A nephew of Javan was called Togarmah: — "They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen, and mules."

      In all these passages, some writers see, or think they see, a direct allusion to the extensive caravan-routes, formed at an early period, for conveying the fine manufactures of the east into the kingdoms of the west. Although "the embroidered work and chests of rich apparel bound with cords," mentioned by Ezekiel, are said to have been brought from depots on the banks of the Euphrates, yet it is not supposed that they were manufactured there, but drawn from more distant countries of eastern Asia; probably from the great chain of islands now under consideration.

      But all this is curious and amusing speculation; and we shall

leave it to those who are better versed in the subject to trace the connexion between the Javan of Holy Writ, and the Java of modern times, the location of which we now proceed to describe.

      The whole Island of Java extends in a direction nearly east and west, with only a slight deviation to the north and south; its western extremity being in longitude 105° 11', and its eastern in longitude 114° 33' east. The length of the island is about seven hundred miles, while its breadth varies from sixty to one hundred and forty miles; and it is estimated to contain an area of about fifty thousand miles, with a population of five millions; including Javans, Chinese, Arabs, Moors, Bugis, Malays, and the Dutch colonists.

      The Island of Java occupies a considerable space in the history of commerce. Three centuries before the Dutch had penetrated to the east, Java had been visited by the celebrated Venetian traveller Marco Polo. Tradition says that about eight hundred years after the Christian era, a vessel was cast away on the coast of Java, while attempting to cross from Siam to the Straits of Macassar, the crew of which travelled over much of the island. These people, on their return to Siam, gave such a glowing account of the countries they had seen, that the son of the King of Siam was induced to visit Java, and soon after colonized it. Since then, many other tribes from India came and settled on it, particularly Arabs, as Marco Polo, who visited both Java and Sumatra in twelve hundred and ninety-six, mentions several of them. Another tradition says that the first inhabitants came in vessels from the Red Sea, and that in their passage they coasted along the shores of Hundustan; that peninsula then forming an unbroken continent with the land in the Indian Archipelago. These people are supposed to have been banished from Egypt, and to have been idolaters of various descriptions.

      But whatever might have been the origin of the inhabitants, it is pretty generally conceded, that they were all idolaters until about the year thirteen hundred and seventy, when the Arab missionaries came among them, and commenced the work of conversion with their usual zeal, but with less violence than had heretofore marked the rapid spread of the Mahommedan faith. They possessed a knowledge of medicine, which enabled them to effect several cures of persons of high rank, as well as many of the

common people, of dangerous and what were then considered fatal disorders. This gained them a reputation for superior and supernatural attainments, which furthered their missionary projects to the extent of their wishes.

      About the year fourteen hundred and twelve, according to the Javan records, a considerable number of Chinese emigrants obtained a settlement in the island. Mild and inoffensive in their manners, and backward to resent acts of oppression, they were subject to many restrictions and exactions from which the natives were exempt. They often intermarried with the Javans, however, and thus introduced a mixed breed, which are called by the Dutch Pernakans. The Chinese still remained distinct from the natives, from whom they were distinguished by being more intelligent, more laborious, and more luxurious. They were, in fact, the life and soul of the commerce of the country. The Malays obtained a footing much earlier than the Chinese, though we cannot refer to the exact date. They were from the Malayan peninsula, which was then overrun with pirates and Arabian free-booters. These were viewed as honourable occupations, worthy of being followed by young princes and nobles. No wonder that their descendants are fond of navigation, war, plunder, emigration, adventures, and gallantry; talk incessantly of their honour and bravery, while in their habits and conduct they are the most treacherous and ferocious people on the face of the globe.

      After the Portuguese had discovered a new route to India, by the Cape of Good Hope, they soon visited all the principal islands of the Indian Archipelago, for the ostensible purpose of opening a commercial intercourse with the inhabitants, but with the ulterior view of obtaining territorial jurisdiction for their sovereign in the east. Success attended their measures, though blood and desolation too often tracked their progress. In fifteen hundred and eleven, the enterprising and victorious Alphonso de Albuquerque, having conquered the city of Malacca, on the western coast of the Malay peninsula, opposite Sumatra, which island he had previously visited, sent envoys to announce to such islanders as had been in the habit of trading with Malacca, inviting them to continue their intercourse, and making liberal promises of encouragement and fair dealing. To Java he sent Antonio de Abrew, who landed, it is supposed, at Gresik, on the northeast coast, in the

Strait of Madura. After delivering his message, and obtaining a favourable reply, Abrew sailed on the same errand to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, lying further east. The final result of this embassy was the erection of a Portuguese factory at Bantam, where then reigned a Hindoo prince, although Mahommedanism was rapidly spreading over the whole island.

      In fifteen hundred and thirteen, Joan Lopez Alvrin was sent to Java by the Governor of Malacca, on commercial business, and was well received at every port where he touched, but particularly at Sidaye, which lies north of Gresik, then belonging to a prince who had been defeated at Malacca. About this time Albuquerque was superseded in his command, which disgrace broke his heart, and he died on his passage to Goa, on the sixteenth of December, fifteen hundred and fifteen. About six years afterward, Antonio de Brito, a Portuguese, with six vessels under his command, bound to the Spice Islands, touched at Gresik, in the Strait of Madura, where he remained seventeen days; during which time he sent a boat across the strait to the Island of Madura, for the purpose of exploring it; but the men landing incautiously, were surprised and made prisoners. They were subsequently ransomed with much difficulty.

      The first notice with which Java was honoured by the British, was in fifteen hundred and seventy-nine; and that was merely a flying visit, as Sir Francis Drake only sailed along the coast, without holding any intercourse with the inhabitants. But eight years afterward, in fifteen hundred and eighty-seven, Cavendish coasted the island, and opened a friendly communication with some of the chiefs. This event occurred subsequently to the reign of a sovereign in Java, called Pananbaham Senapati, who reduced the provinces of Madion and Branaraga, and built a palace, the walls of which are still standing at Krapiac, a place at the foot of a range of hills lying along the South Sea, a short distance from Matarem. He died after a reign of twelve years, esteemed on account of the general tranquillity which prevailed after the firm establishment of his government.

      His successor, who was distinguished by the title of Agung, or the great, commenced a flourishing reign by a victory which brought all the eastern provinces under his subjection; and shortly afterward brought the whole of the western chiefs to acknowl-

edge his supremacy. Thus the whole island was now under his dominion, to which he soon after united the Island of Madura.

      In the meantime, while the victorious monarch was pursuing this career of success, a new and more insidious enemy had obtained a footing on the island. The Dutch, after having driven the Portuguese from Ceylon, and other places where they had settled, availed themselves of the divisions and convulsions by which the empire of Java was distracted, and established themselves at Bantam, with whose prince the Portuguese were then at war. Admiral Houghton, who commanded the Dutch fleet, offered his assistance to the king, and obtained, in return, permission to establish a factory, which was erected in sixteen hundred and two, being the first Dutch settlement in the east. They subsequently subdued, by force of arms, the neighbouring province of Jacatra; and having a powerful force at their command, they determined to build a city, which should become the capital of their Asiatic possessions, and the centre of their political and commercial transactions. They fixed upon their newly-conquered province of Jacatra, on the north side of the island, about ninety miles from the Strait of Sunda, where they founded a city in sixteen hundred and nineteen, which they called Batavia, from the ancient appellation of their own country, and soon rendered it a great and flourishing station.^*

      Previously to this, however, the English East India Company, following the example of the Dutch, fitted out a fleet for the east. the command of which was given to Captain Lancaster, who sailed from London in sixteen hundred and one; first to Acheen, in Sumatra, as stated in a preceding chapter, where he procured part of his cargo, and entered into a treaty with the king, of which a copy is yet in existence. From Acheen he proceeded to Bantam, where he established a factory, which was the first possession of the English in the East Indies. Captain Lancaster took home a letter from the King of Bantam, addressed to Queen Elizabeth, in sixteen hundred and two, which is said to be still on file in the English state-paper office, and to which the virgin queen made a most gracious reply.

      Another English fleet of four ships, commanded by Captain, afterward Sir Henry Middleton, arrived in Bantam Roads near the close of December, sixteen hundred and four. Here the vessels separated, two of them remaining to take in a cargo of pepper, one going to Banda, while Middleton himself proceeded to the Spice Islands. He found the Moluccas the seat of a most ferocious war between the Dutch and Portuguese; the former assisted by the King of Ternate, and the latter by the King of Tidore. The King of Ternate was prevailed upon by the Dutch not to permit any commercial intercourse with the English, whom they represented as a mere band of pirates, and boasted that the King of Holland was more powerful at sea than all Europe beside. Of course Middleton effected no trade at the Moluccas.

      In October, sixteen hundred and twelve. Captain John Saris, commanding a fleet in the service of the East India Company, arrived at Bantam, which was still considered as the chief English factory in the east. But as he could not procure cargoes, he steered for the Moluccas; where the dreadful tragedy was soon after enacted by the jealous and envious Dutch, celebrated by the name of "the Massacre of Amboyna," in which the English Captain Towerson and nine others, after being most cruelly tortured, were put to death. The news of this ruthless and bloody catastrophe caused great excitement in England, who made reprisals

on the Dutch ships in her ports, and it was many years before the aggression was atoned for. The English, however, still maintained their settlement at Bantam, which they had even made the capital of their eastern possessions. But the constantly increasing power of the Dutch, and the greater attractions presented to the English on the continent of India, induced them gradually to relinquish their insular stations, with the exception of a few on the coast of Sumatra. They finally withdrew their establishment from Bantam, in sixteen hundred and eighty-three.

      The Dutch, now without a rival on the island, monopolized the whole trade, and became more insolent than ever. They had always assumed a high tone from their first landing, which was the cause of all the quarrels, massacres, and other acts of atrocity of which they were perpetually guilty. Such is ever the case with colonial rulers situated so far from the immediate reach or control of the mother country. But there was a period when the government of Holland seriously contemplated the project of transporting its wealth, its enterprise, and its subjects to another hemisphere, and fixed upon Batavia, already the seat of its eastern commerce, as the capital of its new empire. This plan was in agitation in the summer of sixteen hundred and seventy-two, when the French troops under Louis the Fourteenth had overrun the territory of Holland. But what that republic only contemplated the King of Portugal afterward put in practice. Had the government of Holland removed to Java, it is probable there would not have been so much cause of complaint against the cruelty and injustice of their Batavian governors, as now stains the page of their colonial history.

      The Chinese emigrants and their descendants in Java, have been and still are subject to restraints and extortions from the Dutch government at Batavia, as unnecessary and impolitic as they are unjust; for this class of inhabitants are the most inoffensive and the most industrious on the island. And yet the Dutch affect to be suspicious of them, and often punish them without a cause, on pretence of their being concerned in some conspiracy against the government. Such an event, says Barrow, occurred in the year seventeen hundred and seventy-two, when the supposed chief of such a conspiracy, who we believe was a Dutchman, with twenty of his alleged adherents, were condemned to suffer

death "by being stretched on a cross, — the flesh of their legs, arms, and breast torn away with redhot pincers, — their bellies ripped up, and their hearts thrown in their faces, — their heads cut off, and stuck upon poles; and their mangled carcasses exposed to be devoured by the fowls of the air, &c. &c. And after this sentence was put in execution, a solemn thanksgiving was proclaimed; and the following day thirty more were broken on the wheel."

      In seventeen hundred and forty, as we find by a reference to the same author, the Governor of Batavia, Valkanier, was guilty of a still greater outrage, in order to get rid of a redundance of population, which had begun to create suspicion and alarm. Disappointed in not being able to extort a large sum of money from the Chinese chiefs for permission to celebrate some particular feast, the governor accused them of a treasonable plot against his authority and life. The Chinese chief, whom he chose to designate as the leader of the conspiracy, was dragged to the stadthouse, where the most horrid torture was employed for the purpose of extorting from him the confession of a crime which he never thought of; and at the same time five hundred of his countrymen were cast into prison, where they were most inhumanly butchered. About four hundred who fled to the hospital, a building of their own construction, shared the same fate. An indiscriminate slaughter of the Chinese was at the same time going on in the streets, which literally ran with blood. Escape was impossible, as the gates were doubly guarded, and all the sailors had been landed from the ships in the road, to assist in this horrid tragedy; in which neither age nor sex was spared. The timid Chinese made no resistance, but, according to the Dutch account, in their public records, "suffered themselves to be led as sheep to the slaughter." The number stated to have perished is computed in the same records to be twelve thousand souls! A day was immediately set apart by the governor as a public thanksgiving to the God of mercy, for their happy deliverance from the hands of the heathen!

      In seventeen hundred and ninety-two, the English embassy to Cochin China stopped at Batavia for several days. Mr. Barrow was of the party, and he gives a melancholy account of the broken spirit of the Javan chiefs and people, the native lords of the island.

He represents their state and condition as by no means enviable. Sunk into the lowest stage of apathy, they seemed to be utterly incapable of any great exertions. "Their princes are prisoners to a handful of Dutchmen, and the landholders are slaves to the princes." The ambassador and suite endeavoured to pay a visit to the King of Bantam, but were prevented by a Dutch officer, who commanded the fort in which he resided.

      In seventeen hundred and ninety-seven the Americans began to frequent the market of Batavia, and it was principally through them that the trade was carried on till the conquest of the island by the British, except during the short interval of the peace of Amiens. From that time until eighteen hundred and fourteen, during the existence of the odious "orders in council," and the retaliating decrees of Milan and Berlin, the American trade was carried on with Batavia to the greatest extent. Our adventurers then purchased the Java coffee at a very low rate, and by a circuitous route carried it into the French ports, where they found a ready market for it at an advance of one hundred per cent.

      After Louis Bonaparte ascended the throne of Holland, in eighteen hundred and six, he appointed Lieutenant-general Daendels, whom he had previously loaded with well-deserved honours, Governor-general of Batavia, who held that important office until Java was taken by the British, in eighteen hundred and eleven. During the administration of Daendels, whose liberal and enlightened policy did much for the moral regeneration of Batavia, justice was distributed with a milder and more impartial hand; and if slavery was not abolished, through respect for private property, the condition of that unfortunate class was greatly ameliorated. If commercial prosperity was not restored, the health of the city was greatly improved, to the salvation of thousands of human lives. That prisonhouse of contagion and pestilence, which had been locked up for nearly two centuries, was now thrown open to a free circulation of air; and all such nuisances removed, as were the obvious causes of disease. But more of this in another chapter.

      In the year eighteen hundred and eleven, Holland was united to France, and the French flag was hoisted at Batavia; and on the eleventh of September, in the same year, the British government was declared supreme in the Island of Java, by a proclamation

of that date signed by the Earl of Minto, Governor-general of Bengal. On the seventeenth of the same month a capitulation was entered into, by which all the dependances fell into the hands of Great Britain. But on the thirteenth of August, eighteen hundred and fourteen, the whole were restored to the Dutch by treaty, at the general pacification of Europe. The flag of the Netherlands was hoisted again at Batavia, on the nineteenth of August, eighteen hundred and sixteen.

      The Javans, as we have already stated, are Mahommedans. Indeed, as early as the year fourteen hundred and twenty, during the reign of Pangeran Trangana, the Moslem faith so far prevailed, that a mosque had been completed, and the Hindoo idolatries almost entirely exploded. But the ruins of their ancient temples are still to be seen, with thousands of antiquities and inscriptions, which, no doubt, if correctly understood, would throw much light on the early history of Java.

      Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who was for some time lieutenant-governor of that island and its dependances, and president of the Society of Arts and Sciences at Batavia, published an excellent history of that country in eighteen hundred and seventeen, accompanied with a complete map and a quarto volume of plates, illustrating the antiquities of the island, consisting of curious specimens of sculpture on stone, and casts in brass; the ruins of temples, images, figures, inscriptions on stone and copper, tombs, coins, &c., with copious scientific and plausible remarks on their origin and purpose. We acknowledge ourselves indebted to this work for many valuable facts, which could be obtained from no other source.

      On the whole there can be no doubt that the original inhabitants were of Hindoo origin, and that the religion of Mahommed was induced or forced upon them by the Arabs at the time they carried their conquests to the eastern shores and islands of Asia, overspreading those delightful regions like the locusts of their own deserts. But notwithstanding they were compelled to embrace a new religious faith, the Javans even to this day are still devotedly attached to their ancient institutions, and retain a high respect for the laws, usages, and national observances, which prevailed before the introduction of Mahommedanism. And though the Javans, in general, acknowledge that "there is one

God, and Mahommed was his prophet," they are not much acquainted with the tenets of the Moslem faith, and in fact care very little about them. Although they practise the rites of the faithful, yet all classes drink wine, and other inebriating liquors, whenever they feel disposed; and those who abstain are not actuated by any religious motives.

      Not only the features, the manners, and the remains of the civil and religious institutions of the Hindoos are still apparent among the Javanese, but it is said that they have preserved the fragments of a history, according to which they derive, their origin from Vishnoo. This history terminates with the account of a dreadful deluge which swept away a vast portion of mankind. In the interior of the island, it is well known that they still observe a scrupulous abstinence from every kind of animal food, under the old Hindoo idea of a transmigration of souls. They are in no respects so strict in the religious observances of Mahommed as.they appeared to be when the Dutch first established themselves on Java; at that time the natives, including their princes, were in the habit of making pilgrimages to Mecca, the birthplace of the prophet. But this practice was kept in check as much as possible by the Dutch, as was also the admission of Arab missionaries; not so much from any pious desire to promote Christianity in opposition to the Mahommedan faith, but to prevent the natives' acquiring a character for sanctity, that might give them an importance among themselves dangerous to the power and tranquillity of the Dutch.^*

      But from whatever stock the Javans may have originally sprung — whether from the Hindoos, the Tartars, or, according to one of their traditions, from a species of ape, their personal appearance

may be stated in a few words. In stature they are rather below the middle size, well shaped, and erect in their figures; with hands, feet, wrists, and ankles remarkably small. An instance of deformity is scarcely known among them; though females, in the arrangement of their toilet, often injure the luxuriant symmetry of the bust, by drawing that part of the dress too tightly over the bosom. The colour of their skin is a deep brown, inclining to yellow. Their bards and lyric poets compliment their mistresses as having complexions of "virgin gold." The forehead is high and smooth; the eyebrows well defined and arched, and not too near to the eyes, which are generally black and prominent. The nose is not very protuberant, but rather broad and somewhat flattened; the cheek bones are unusually prominent. The mouth is well formed, the upper lip a little projecting, not much thickened, but highly arched. They have but little beard, and the hair of their head is generally lank and black; though it is sometimes seen waving in curls, and partially tinged with a deep reddish brown. The tout-ensemble of the person is pleasing, and the countenance is mild, placid, and thoughtful; easily varying to express respect, gayety, earnestness, indifference, bashfulness, or anxiety. They have a firm steady gait, and seem to feel, at least to affect, a superiority over the other inhabitants of the island. They anoint the head, face, and other parts of the body which are exposed to the view, with a composition of cocoanut oil and sandal-wood dust, as a preventive against a too copious perspiration, and the biting of moschetoes and other annoying insects.

      The women, as usual among demi-barbarians, in general are not so good looking as the men; and when advanced in years, are actually ugly, according to our standard of female beauty. This circumstance, however, as regards the lower classes, is in a great measure owing to the severe duties which they have to perform in the field, exposed to a sultry climate, carrying heavy burdens, &c. The higher orders, who are exempt from such drudgery, and kept within doors, are often beautiful in youth, and comely at all periods of life.

      The dress of the Javanese is like that we have already described in our account of Sumatra, and is, in fact, common to all classes in the Archipelago. The same kind of short drawers, a close waistcoat without sleeves, the loose gown, and the sarongs

which is either worn slung over the shoulders as a sash, or tucked round the waist and descending to the ankles, so as to enclose the legs like a petticoat. The higher ranks sometimes display, on particular occasions, an article somewhat like the sarong, but much larger, and not united at the ends, which is worn in the same way; but from its size, and the manner of its being tucked up, it assumes the form of drapery, which is peculiar to Java. The females, also, vary very little in their dress from those of the same rank in Sumatra. Both sexes, of all classes, wear rings on their fingers.

      But like the Sumatrans, a Javan is not considered dressed without his kris, or dagger. This weapon is believed to have been first introduced into the oriental islands by Panji, a Javanese prince, who is supposed to have flourished about A. D. eight hundred and twenty, and for whose name the Javanese have such a reverence, that they represent him as an incarnation of Vishnoo; and some maintain that all the countries in which the kris is now worn, acknowledged his supremacy. Another tradition attributes the introduction of this weapon to Sa Putram, one of the early Hindoo sovereigns, who is said to have come into the world with a kris by his side. At all events, the Javans appear to have a great reverence for this ancient weapon, and many unthinking writers have condemned them unheard, because "they invariably use the deadly kris." But the fact is, though sometimes resorted to by the Javans, this weapon is worn by them almost exclusively as a personal ornament, especially when in full dress, as small swords are worn at every court in Christendom.

      The children of the lower orders go naked, from the age of fifteen or eighteen months to six or seven years. Females sometimes wear rings or bracelets round the wrist, chains about the neck, and chaplets of flowers in the hair, which is generally done up in a knot, with an appendage of large studs, either of buffalo-horn or brass, which they use for ear-rings. The dress of females of rank does not in fashion differ essentially from that of the lower orders; but the fabrics are of finer texture and richer quality; gold studs and rings, and ornamented precious stones, being substituted for those of inferior metals. Both sexes of the higher classes wear sandals, shoes, or slippers, in the house. Neither sex cut their hair, but allow it to grow to its natural length;

whereas, the Malays and Bugis always wear it short. The men generally gather it up on the crown of the head, twist it round, and fasten it by means of a semicircular tortoise-shell comb fixed in front; but among the higher classes it generally flows in curls, which is considered as a mark of respect in presence of a superior. All classes anoint their hair with oils and "precious ointments," as is the custom with all oriental nations; they also perfume their dresses, and are addicted to the use of musk. In the houses of the higher orders, they are in the habit of burning incense of benjamin and other odoriferous gums. The dress of the priests is white, with turbans on their heads, after the fashion of the Arabs. The court-dress and war-dress vary in many respects from that of the common inhabitants.

      In common with the Sumatrans and other inhabitants of the Archipelago, both sexes of all ranks adhere to the singular and painful custom of filing and blackening the teeth, as they consider it disgraceful to have white teeth like dogs and monkeys. The object of filing, it seems, is to make the front teeth concave, and more susceptible of the black die. This cruel and barbarous custom, which generally takes place at the age of eight or nine years, tends to destroy the teeth at a very early period of life, although it is said that their rapid decay is not attended with any pain.

      The character of the Javans is generally amiable; we allude to the middling classes, who have not been corrupted by indulgence on the one hand, or spirit-broken and stripped by oppression on the other. They are a generous and warm-hearted people. In their domestic relations they are said to be kind, affectionate, gentle, and contented; in their public ones they are obedient, honest, and faithful. In their intercourse with society they display, in a high degree, the virtues of honesty, plain dealing, and candour. They are ingenuous almost to a fault, and their simplicity and credulity are proverbial. Had this not been a prominent feature in their character, the Arabs would not so easily have laid the yoke of Mahommed upon their necks. They easily become the dupes of any religious fanatic, and credit, without scruple or examination, his claim to superior powers. They are ever prone to be influenced by omens, to prognostics, to prophets, and to quacks. They are great observers of lucky or unlucky

days, and regulate the time of an enterprise or a journey accordingly. Eclipses, earthquakes, and other phenomena of nature, fill them continually with superstitious fears and unnecessary alarms.

      The Javans are conspicuous for the amiable qualities of social order, politeness, hospitality, and temperance. They are a sort of patriarchal people, still retaining many of the virtues, and all the simplicity, which distinguish that state of society. Their village settlements constitute detached societies, in which the greatest internal concord prevails, all its members paying due respect and deference to their local chief and priest. This patriarchal spirit is further manifested in the almost instinctive veneration which they pay to age, experience, rank, and superior attainments. In manners they are easy and courteous, and respectful even to timidity; but they have a great sense of propriety, and are never rude or abrupt. In their deportment they are pliant and graceful, the higher ranks carrying with them a considerable air of fashion and elegance. .

      Hospitality has always been celebrated as an oriental virtue, some affecting instances of which are recorded in sacred as well as profane history. But in no country are its rites and duties more strictly enjoined by institutions, or more conscientiously and religiously observed by custom and practice, than by the Javans. By the custom of the country, good food and lodging are ordered to be provided for all strangers and travellers arriving at a village. But the Javan institutions go still further. "It is not sufficient," say they, "that a man should place good food before his guest; he is bound to do more: he should render the meal palatable by kind words and treatment, to sooth him after his journey, and to make his heart glad while he partakes of the refreshment." This is the refinement of hospitality.

      The Javans are remarkably temperate in their diet, which forms a great contrast with that of their oppressors, the indolent and luxurious Dutch. A principal part of their food consists of rice, sometimes fried in oil, and sometimes boiled in plain water, with which are used a few capsules or heads of capsicum or cayenne pepper, and some salt, to render it a little more palatable. With animal food the Javans are generally unacquainted, and of milk they are very sparing, except the vegetable milk of the cocoa-

nut. They are a sober people, although Europeans, in order to serve their own purposes, by inducing some of the chiefs to drink wine to excess, have partially succeeded in corrupting the habits of some individuals in this respect. The use of opium, it must be confessed with regret, is too prevalent among them.

      Though not much addicted to excess, and of rather a moderate temperament, they are, in general, expensive according to their means, seldom hoarding their wealth, or betraying a penurious disposition. Fond of show and pomp, they lay out all their spare money in dress and equipage. They are proud to a fault, if we may take the Dutch testimony for the fact; and not only so, but if one be a person of rank, or in affluent circumstances, he is, on such testimony, "superstitious, proud, jealous, vindictive, mean, and slavish towards his superiors — but haughty and despotic towards his inferiors." We have reason to dissent from this opinion; and also from that expressed by Jono de Barros, who says, the "Javans are so proud, that they think all mankind their inferiors; so that if a Javan were passing along the street, and saw a native of any other country standing on any hillock or place raised higher than the ground on which he was walking, if any such person did not immediately come down until he should have passed, the Javan would kill him, for he will permit no person to stand above him; nor would a Javan carry any weight or burden on his head, even if they should threaten him with death."

      This we take to be the romance of early travellers and wonder-makers. That the Javans have pride, we are sensible; but we must have stronger evidence than we yet possess, to believe that it was ever carried to such ridiculous excess. "Their nationality," says Raffles, "which is very strong, although it delights in the traditionary narratives of ancient Javan exploits, and supports a hope of future independence, which they are not backward to express, does not lead them to despise the character, or to undervalue the acts of strangers." It is true, that those of the higher ranks esteem it disgraceful to be engaged in trade; but the common people are industrious in their several callings, and the chiefs are ever ready to encourage the labours of agriculture.

      On the whole, the Javans are a mild, quiet, and domestic people, justly proud of their ancestors, and, like the Jews, are confidently looking forward to the fulfilment of some traditionary

expectation of being restored to their former magnificence and power. They are, however, very little given to adventure or foreign enterprise, not easily roused to violence or bloodshed, and little disposed to irregularities of any kind. The character of treachery and revenge, so justly applicable to the Malays, by no means applies to the Javans.

      The character of Javanese females has been represented in a highly favourable light, as daughters, wives, and mothers — alike amiable and exemplary in all their domestic and social relations. Raffles assures us that it is part of their domestic economy, that the women of every family should spin and weave all the cloth necessary for the apparel of the men; and that this rule prevails, from the first consort of the sovereign to the wife of the humblest.

      In every cottage there is a spinning-wheel and a loom, and in all ranks a man is accounted to pride himself on the beauty of a cloth woven either by his wife, mistress, or daughter. These occupations of the women are performed on an elevated veranda, or kind of open portico, in front of their dwellings, where they are protected from the rays of a vertical sun by an extended projection of the pitch of the roof, like many of the Dutch houses in the United States.

      The females of Java soon arrive at maturity, and enter early into the married state. They are considered marriageable at the age of ten or twelve, and the other sex at sixteen. There are no pecuniary obstacles to these early conjugal connexions. The conveniences which the young married couple require are few and. easily procured. Subsistence is easily obtained, and even comforts are not wanting. If they be blessed with children, and we have never heard of any exception, the latter are not long a burden, but soon become the means of assistance, and ultimately the source of wealth. Their food, clothing, and education, cost them comparatively nothing. The women of all classes nurse their own offspring, if we except the wives of the regents or the sovereign. So that each fair Javanese matron, even in a pecuniary point of view, may point to her children, and say with the mother of the Gracchi — "Behold my jewels!"

      Marriage contracts are all made by the parents, relations, or guardians, apparently without much respect to the inclinations or tastes of the parties most immediately concerned. After the negotiation has advanced to a certain stage, the intended bridegroom sends a present corresponding to his means to the bride elect, and her acceptance of it renders the contract binding. Should the lover, however, afterward evince any reluctance to fulfil his engagement, the present is forfeited to his betrothed; but if she express a similar disinclination, she is bound to return it to the donor. A period of several weeks generally elapses between the betrothing and the marriage, for which all parties are very careful to select a lucky day. The marriage ceremony appears to be a mere civil contract, liable to be dissolved on certain specified contingences. After leaving the mosque, not forgetting to pay the priest the marriage fees,^* a procession is generally formed, consisting of the new-married couple, with their parents and relations, which moves through the town, attended by a band of music and accompanied by the firing of cannon. A feast is given in the evening at the house of the brides' parents. Such festivities last sometimes for several days.

      Notwithstanding the Javanese females marry at so early an age, they generally continue to bear children until a late period of life; so that it is not uncommon for a mother to attend the accouchement of her own grandmother. The wives of the Javans, however, are not so prolific as many women of other countries; though instances are not wanting of one of them being the mother of thirteen or fourteen. Half a dozen may be taken as an average; but the early formation of new families is a continual check to"the numerical increase of the parental household. An unmarried man, past the age of twenty, is seldom to be met with, and an old maid is considered a rara avis in terra. The labour of the women in Java is estimated almost as highly as that of the men, and thus a married couple can maintain eight or ten persons; and as a family seldom exceeds half that number, they have com-

monly half of their earnings applicable for the purchase of little comforts, for implements of agriculture, for clothing, and lodging.

      We have said that the marriage contract was liable to be dissolved by certain contingences; and perhaps there is no part of the world where divorces are more frequent than on the Island of Java. Whenever a woman becomes dissatisfied with her husband, she may demand a dissolution of the marriage contract, by paying him a sum established by custom, according to the rank of the parties; say from twenty to fifty dollars. It is true, the husband is not bound to accept it; but he is generally induced to do so from a consideration that the opinions and customs of the country require it; that he could not be happy with a wife who disliked him, &c. &c. A widow may marry again at the expiration of three months and ten days after the death of her husband. Polygamy is of course permitted in Java by their religion, but is not practised to any great extent. Public opinion is opposed to it, and were it not, it is very seldom convenient for a man to have more than one wife at a time.

      The food of the Javans is very simple, being principally of a vegetable character, of which rice is the most prominent article. Still, however, fish, flesh, and fowl, are daily served up at their meals, according to the circumstances of the parties. They eat no amphibious animals, and abstain from pork, milk, butter, cheese, and spirituous liquors. They eat the flesh of the buffalo, the ox, the deer, the goat, and even the horse, when maimed or unfit for service. Salt is obtained in abundance throughout every part of the island, and sugar is made from the sap of the palm-trees, like the maple-sugar of our own country. In addition to these, they eat salted eggs, white ants, and various species of those worms which are so much esteemed by the Chinese, and are found in teak and other trees. The cooking utensils are of the most simple kind, being either of coarse pottery or copper. Rice is boiled or steamed; Indian corn is roasted in the ear; and they have pastry and sweetmeats in profusion. They eat all their meals on the ground, which is covered with a mat for that purpose. They have but two meals a day, and sometimes a slight lunch in the morning.

      The amusements of the Javans are various, and all partake more or less of their national characteristic simplicity. They

consist principally of stated . religious festivals, and occasional civic feasts, musical concerts, dancing, dramatic exhibitions, equestrian exercises, chivalry, tilting and tournaments, tiger-fighting, together with a variety of games of skill and chance.

      The musical instruments of the Javans, together with the various exhibitions which still form so essential a part of the popular amusements, are all supposed to have been introduced by Panji, to whom is also attributed the introduction of the kris, as before mentioned. These instruments are peculiar in themselves, and it requires from ten to fifteen to form a band. The general principle on which the sounds are generated, is the vibration of metallic bars, when, as manifested on a small scale in our music-boxes, struck with hammers. Among the tones produced are some corresponding to those of the guitar, harmonica, musical glasses, the spinet, and other stringed instruments; the flagelet, and the pandean reeds; together with tambarines, bells, triangles, and the Chinese gong.

      Many of the Javanese musical instruments, when played separately, produce very sweet, soft, and melodious sounds; but it is the unison and harmony of the whole united which gives to the music of Java its peculiar character among Asiatics. However simple and monotonous their airs may appear when played by themselves, with no accompaniment, they never tire on the ear when performed by a full band; and it is not unusual, on some occasions, for a band to continue their performances for days and nights in succession. They have no written music, but play altogether by the ear. The Javans say that the first music of which they have an idea was produced by the accidental admission of the wind into a bamboo tube which was left hanging on a tree; the idea is poetical at least.

      Dancing, with the Javans, as it is with the Asiatics in general, consists principally in graceful attitudes of the body, and in the slow movement of the limbs, particularly of the arms, even to the hands and fingers. It is emphatically the "poetry of motion." Feats of agility and muscular activity form no part of a Javanese dance, which is a total stranger to pirouettes, and every other caprice of the modern French school. The music is slow and solemn, to which every motion of the dancer exactly corresponds, and such movements as might become a holy oriental monarch

in dancing before the ark of his faith. To dance gracefully is an accomplishment expected in every Javan of rank; and on days of festivity, all the chiefs are accustomed to join in the exercise alternately, commencing with the youngest.

      Their dramatic entertainments are of two kinds; the topeng, wherein the characters are represented by men who generally wear masks like the ancient Greek performers; and the wayang, in which they are represented by shadows, something like the spectacular entertainments exhibited by Professor Martin. The subject of the topeng is invariably taken from the life and adventures of the celebrated Panji, the favourite hero of Javan story. In the performances before the sovereign, where masks are not worn by the actors, the several characters themselves rehearse their parts; but in general, the manager recites the speeches, while the players have only to suit the action to the word. These performances are somewhat melo-dramatic, as the music of a band accompanies the piece, and varies in expression, according to the nature of the action, or the kind of emotion to be executed. Buffoonery is sometimes introduced, as it is on our own stage, for the sole purpose of raising a laugh; but in Java, it is never suffered to interfere with the regular course of the performance. The actors are engaged by the night, for about ten rupees and a supper.

      Jousts, tilts, or tournaments, constitute another favourite amusement of the Javans. They are generally exhibited before the sovereign on the great square fronting the palace, on which occasions all the princes, nobles, and public officers are present, and the assemblage of the people is generally very great. The weapons with which the champions perform their shamfights are blunted spears and they themselves are mounted on horses richly caparisoned, with splendid trappings and housings, and go through their exercises and feats with no little address and dexterity.

      There are several other manly exercises to which the Javans are addicted; among which we will merely name (our limits will not permit a description) that of hunting the stag, which they pursue on horseback, and kill with a spear and cutlass. They have also a favourite national spectacle, often exhibited — which is a combat between the buffalo and the tiger, in a large cage expressly prepared for the purpose. It seldom fails that the buffalo is triumphant; and one buffalo has been known to destroy several full

grown tigers in succession. A combat between two bulls is a common amusement, as is also a contest between the ram and wild-hog. Cockfighting, and other similar amusements, are principally confined to the Malays, of whose character they are certainly characteristic.

      Among the games of skill in which the Javans indulge themselves, may be mentioned those of chess, backgammon, and draughts, besides several minor ones, played on boards of a similar construction. The throwing of dice and other games of chance are numerous; and betting is very common.

      But though the Javans are fond of amusements, they seldom permit them to interfere with the calls of duty and industry. The Javans, by their ingenuity, application, and docility in working under European direction, have made no inconsiderable progress in many of the common arts and handicrafts appertaining to civil life.

      In Raffles's History of Java we find a list of thirty, for which they have terms in their language, and in many of which they are highly proficient: — viz., ironsmith and cutler, carpenter, kris-sheath-maker, carver, spear-shaft-maker, mat-maker, turner, brush-maker, stone-cutter, lime-maker, wayang-maker, musical instrument-maker, brazier, coppersmith, goldsmith, potter, distiller, bookbinder, weaver, cotton-printer, dier, oil-maker, diamond-cutter, paper-maker, tailor, embroiderer, seamstress, draftsman, painter, and tooth-filer.

      In constructing a habitation for himself and family, the Javan is sufficiently expert for all the purposes required to accommodate every rank, from the peasant to the prince. The cottage or hut of the poor man, is invariably built on the ground, with the sleeping-places a little elevated above the level of the floor, and accord in simplicity with other parts of the dwelling. The sides or walls are generally formed of bamboo, flattened and interwoven, which also forms the partitions, if any such there be. The roof is thatched, either with grass or palm-leaves. In the western districts, where the materials are more easily obtained, the frames are generally made of timber instead of bamboo, and the interior of the building, as well as the front veranda, are raised about two feet from the ground. They require no other light than what is admitted by the door, as all their domestic operations are carried

on in the open air, and in that climate shade is more requisite than shelter. In short, the cottage of the humblest Javanese peasant presents a greater degree of convenience and comfort than those of a similar class on continental India.

      The dwellings of the petty chiefs are distinguished by having eight slopes, or roofs; four superior, and four secondary; and those in which the chiefs and nobles reside are of larger size, with supporters and beams of timber. Such light structures as those just described, are well adapted to the climate and the means of the lower orders; but they do not necessarily imply an ignorance of more durable materials; for bricks are manufactured in almost every part of the island; while the ruins of temples, and other antiquities of the country, afford abundant testimony that the arts of architecture, sculpture, and statuary in stone, at one period reached a very high pitch in Java.

      The palace of a Javanese prince or sultan, which is in fact a rectangular fort or castle, comprises an extensive square, surrounded by a high wall, lined on the top with cannon, outside of which there is generally a moat or ditch. Both in front and rear there is a large open square for promenades, and the exercise of feats of arms and horsemanship. Its interior is handsomely finished and tastefully furnished.

      The furniture of the houses or cottages of the lower orders is of course simple, and comprises but few pieces, and those such as necessity demands. Like the Sumatrans, they attach more importance to the bed than to any other article of convenience, comfort, or luxury. We like their taste; for the couch of repose is the sweet requiter of the toils and the sorrows of the day: "let that give peace, and we forget the rest."

If the spirit of ornament enter the cot of a Javan at all, it lights first on his bed — for the hand of fond, confiding, and devoted woman, can always there be traced. The bed of a Javan, whatever be his pecuniary circumstances, is a fine mat (and sometimes several piled upon each other), with a number of pillows, tastefully fringed at the ends, together with a kind of canopy and val-

ance of variegated colours over the head. Such a bed is fit for a prince. Tables, chairs, &c., are not wanted, as they always sit cross-legged on a mat like the Turks, and generally convey the food to their mouths with the thumb and finger. Knives are unnecessary, except for carving. The houses of the higher classes are furnished more conveniently, and, of course, more expensively. Some even indulge in the luxury of tables, chairs, and looking-glasses, in imitation of the European settlers on the island.

      But the Javans not only know how to build habitations suitable to their wants, and to furnish them comfortably, but they also know how to manufacture many conveniences and luxuries, for which they are indebted to their own ingenuity and industry; — such, for instance, as cutlery, bricks, thatch, mats, cotton, cloths, dies, leather, cordage, paper, salt, saltpetre, gunpowder, &c. They likewise fell trees, hew timber, make boats, build ships, and work in various kinds of metals. Their fisheries are very ingeniously and profitably conducted; and their markets are well supplied with these treasures of the deep, both fresh and salt; as they are also with poultry, meat, vegetables, &c.

      Agriculture is an art in which the Javans are all, more or less, interested; as rice is not only their principal diet, but a conspicuous article in the export commerce of the island. They have been called, and are emphatically, "a nation of husbandmen;" and the whole island is a great agricultural garden. All its wealth is drawn from its soil, the produce of which answers every purpose in Java that money does in other countries. Rice, however, is the grand staple of the island, and to the cultivation of this, every other species of husbandry is subordinate. It is seen in vast fields gilding the slopes of mountains, smiling on level plains, and lining most valleys with the freshest verdure — gracefully waving to the fragrant breeze —

      Rice cannot flourish without water, and the hill-sides of Java generally furnish it with a plentiful supply; and where this is not the case, artificial irrigation is easily substituted at very little

labour or expense. But the prospect is not confined to, or limited by, rice-fields alone; it is occasionally relieved by cornfields of yellow maize, and enclosures of palma christi, cotton, tobacco, indigo, sugarcane, coffee-plants, pepper-vines, and wheat; frequently interspersed with, gardens rich in vegetables of almost every description.^*

      A cultivator requires but little farming stock; a pair of buffaloes, or a yoke of oxen; a number of sheep, goats, fowls, &c.,; with a few rude implements of husbandry, comprise the whole. The buffalo, like the ox, "lends his patient shoulder to the yoke," and becomes very useful in ploughing and other agricultural exercises where strength is requisite. He is of smaller size than the buffalo of Sumatra, but he is also a strong, tractable animal, capable of long and continued exertion when not unreasonably exposed to the heat of the mid-day sun. Though sensitively shy of Europeans — and we do not wonder at it — he submits to be managed by the smallest child of the family in which he is domesticated. He is instinctively partial to the golden teint of a Javan's skin, though he himself is either white or black; those of the latter hue, being of larger size, are generally considered superior to the other. Either from the luxuriance of the pastures, the greater care of the keepers, or a climate more congenial to their nature, both the buffalo and the ox appear in much better condition on the Island of Java, than they do in Sumatra or any other part of India. But though the ox thrives well, the cows do not, being a degenerate breed, affording little or no milk beyond what is barely sufficient for the nourishment of the calf. They also bow their necks to the yoke of labour, in imitation of their oppressed masters.

      With respect to commerce, the Javans, like every other half

civilized, half savage people, are limited in their knowledge of those arcana on which alone its success and prosperity generally depend; and were this not the case, they would stand but little chance in competition with the Dutch colonists, who directly or indirectly command all the resources of the island. The Javans were by nature intended for a mercantile people; and, in obedience to her dictates, they opened, at a very early period, a commercial intercourse with merchants of the continent for the interchange of articles, to supply their mutual wants; the manufactures of India and China being received in payment for the natural productions of Java. To this intercourse, and to the fertility of the soil, which soon rendered the island an agricultural country, may be attributed the high degree of civilization and of advancement in the arts, which it is evident it once attained; for the arts and sciences ever follow in the train of commerce.

      Japora, a seaport on the northeast of the island, with a good harbour, was the capital of a considerable kingdom when the Dutch first established themselves at Java. At that time three hundred merchant vessels, none of which were less than two hundred tons, were accustomed to sail to and from that port alone. Like every thing else, this trade also fell into the hands of the all-grasping Dutch colonists; and from that period may be dated the decline and fall of Javanese commerce. No doubt that it had been carried on principally in foreign bottoms, and under different flags. So much the better; the Javans were never intended for daring maritime adventurers, but for a quiet agricultural people; and their country has long been considered as the granary of the eastern islands.^*

      The native internal and coasting trade of the Javans is still considerable. The produce and manufactures of the country are conveyed from one district to another, and to the principal sea-

ports, both by water and land-carriage, as good roads and navigable streams intersect each other throughout the island in many and various directions. Bazaars, or public markets, are established at convenient sites in every district, and are held several times a week. At these markets, which in Europe would be called fairs, are frequently assembled some thousands of people, chiefly of the softer sex, on whom devolves the duty — would it were not so — of conveying thither the various productions of the country. Sheds, shanties, and other temporary coverings of bamboo or thatch, are generally prepared for the accommodation of the people, to protect them from the rays of the sun. Refreshments of every kind, including victuals ready cooked, and comprising most of the fruits and vegetables of the country occupy a considerable space in the fair, and find a ready sale.

      There are many articles imported into Java from other islands in the Archipelago, among which are — camphire, tortoise-shell, edible birds'-nests, biche de mer, bees'-wax, and gold-dust. These are exchanged for opium, iron, steel, tobacco, rice, salt, European and India goods, &c. Here are also collected, at the principal ports, for re-exportation, Banca tin, gold-dust, diamonds, camphire, gum-benjamin, and other drugs, birds'-nests, biche de mer, rattans, bees'wax, tortoise-shell, dying woods, sandal-wood, nutmegs, cloves, mace, and other spices.

      The government of the Javans, when administered on its original principles, is a pure, unmixed, and absolute despotism. The sovereign, or sultan, appoints subordinate and delegated governors to preside over the several provinces; and these, like their master, though tenacious of power, are ever willing to surrender it for ease and pleasure. Their prime minister, or vizier, is the actual ruler of the country, while the sultan is satisfied with flattery, pomp, and the seraglio. The same remark will apply to the provincial governors, who all have their subordinates on a small scale. The people and the soil are in fact the property of the sovereign, but his right in this respect is not generally exercised;. and there are customs of the country, of which the people are very tenacious, and which the sultan seldom invades. Yet he being considered as the sole proprietor of the soil, all lands are held of him, under the tenure of military service, and a certain proportion of their

produce. But since the sultan and his delegates are all more or less subordinate to the Dutch colonial government, the cultivators of the soil are made to feel the evil of a multiplicity of masters. The several chiefs not only oblige the peasantry to cultivate particular articles suitable for exportation, but take from them such portion of the produce as will not only liquidate their own tribute, but also meet the terms of their agreement with the Dutch. Formerly they exacted one half of the produce, by way of rent, but they are now said to demand at least two thirds of the crop. Pepper and coffee are the two principal articles that are required to be cultivated, as best suiting the purpose of the Dutch, to whom they are delivered by the Javanese princes at a low rate. The doctrines of the Koran are the laws of the land; while the executive and judicial powers are exercised by the same individual.

      Since the whole island has submitted to the Dutch supremacy, the military spirit which formerly characterized the Javans has gradually subsided. By the existing treaties between the Dutch and the native princes, the latter are restricted to the number of troops which they may maintain. Those of the sultan are limited to a body-guard of one thousand men. Such further number as may be requisite for the tranquillity of the country, the European government undertakes to furnish. Before the sultan was under this restriction, he used to raise such force as he wanted by a requisition upon the government of each province, for a specified quota; in the same manner as the President of the United States calls on the several states when the militia are required to act in the defence of the nation. Thus, in a country like Java, where every man wears a kris, or dagger, and where the spear or pike is the principal military weapon, an army was easily collected in a few days. The gatherings of the Highland . clans in Scotland were never effected with much greater facility.

      The naval power of the Javans was at one period quite formidable. Previous to the arrival of the Dutch, warlike expeditions, consisting of many hundred vessels, are often reported to have been fitted out against Borneo, Sumatra, and the peninsula. But the sun of her naval glory is eclipsed.

      Of the literature of the Javans, our limits will not permit us

to say much. Like most of the orientals, they think in poetry, and consequently cannot fail to speak and act it. Their progress in the fine arts has been limited and retarded by obvious circumstances; but with proper culture, Heaven has endowed them with sufficient mental faculties for any thing. Our allotted course, however, compels us to leave this interesting people, and pay our respects to the citizens of civilized Batavia.

CHAPTER XVI.

      The city of Batavia stands at the head of the spacious bay in which the Potomac now lay at anchor; the numerous islands by which the shipping is sheltered, rendering it one of the finest harbours in the world. It is a remarkable fact, that during the long period it has been in the possession of the Dutch, not a vessel has ever been lost in the roads. The capacity of Batavia Bay is sufficient to contain almost any number of vessels; and its waters have often supported, at one time, an almost impenetrable forest of foreign masts. The principal islands that surround it are those which bear the names of Onrust, Purmerent, Kuiper, and Edam; most of which are clothed with trees. On the first are the naval arsenal, dock-yard, storehouses, saw-mills, and work-shops of the artificers. This is the great marine depot, where ships, when they require repairs, are hove down by cranes erected on the wharves, It is a busy, bustling place, and abounds with inhabitants.

      Batavia, as before mentioned, was founded in the year sixteen hundred and nineteen, and rose rapidly into importance on account,of its excellent harbour, and its advantageous position for European and oriental commerce. Nor was it without reason that the Dutch selected this spot for the capital of their new empire in the east. In adverting to this subject, Adam Smith thus expresses himself: — "What the Cape of Good Hope is between Europe

and every part of the East Indies, Batavia is between the principal countries of the East Indies. It lies upon the most frequented road from Hindostan to China and Japan, and is nearly about midway on that road. Almost all the ships, too, that sail between Europe and China, touch at Batavia; and it is, over and above all this, the centre and principal resort of what is called the country trade of the East Indies; not only of that part of it which is carried on by Europeans, but of that which is carried on by the native Indians; and vessels navigated by the inhabitants of China and Japan, of Tonquin, of Malacca, of Cochin China, and the Island of Celebes, are frequently to be seen in its port. Such advantageous situations have enabled these two colonies to surmount all the obstacles which the oppressive genius of an exclusive company may have occasionally opposed to their growth; they have enabled Batavia to surmount the additional disadvantage of, perhaps, the most unwholesome climate in the world."

      During the eighteenth century, Batavia was deemed the finest European settlement in all Asia; and although justly considered unhealthy, from circumstances purely local, its wealth, trade, and commercial splendour procured for it the titles of "Queen of the East," and the "Tyre of the Oriental Archipelago." It was doubtless at the climax of its glory at the breaking out of the French revolution; and continued to retain that pre-eminence until nearly the close of the century. But the various European wars which successively grew out of, or flowed from that tremendous event, produced effects which were ultimately felt at the remotest corners of the globe.

      The same extraordinary state of things which gave such an unparalleled onward impulse to the mercantile enterprise of the United States, partially paralyzed that of every foreign competitor. Those were the "golden days" of our commercial prosperity; and Columbia might have exclaimed, with Lady Macbeth —

      Batavia, however, had not very sensibly felt the effects of those devastating conflicts in seventeen hundred and ninety-three. But soon after the invasion of Holland by the French, in the beginning of seventeen hundred and ninety-five, when the stadtholder

and his family ,took refuge in England, it was plainly perceived in Europe that the political troubles of the mother country must sooner or later very sensibly affect the commercial interests of her colonies in the east. But they, luxurious and indolent, were the last to perceive the impending evil; they forgot that the sun of their prosperity might not always remain unobscured by a cloud; while their proud city seemed to say in her heart, "I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow" — until it came upon them like the suffocating sirocco of Syria, to the sudden prostration and almost total annihilation of their commerce. The roads of Batavia became nearly deserted by shipping, while trade and business of all kinds were at a complete stand, Population declined in a corresponding ratio; of which some idea may be formed from the fact, that in seventeen hundred and ninety-three, the city and immediate suburbs of Batavia contained, of all classes, a grand total of one hundred and fifteen thousand nine hundred and sixty souls; while, by a census of eighteen hundred and fifteen, the whole population was less than sixty thousand.

      A more eligible site, in a commercial point of view, could not have been selected for the city of Batavia, than the one on which it stands; nor could a worse one have been chosen on account of health. To whatever section of the globe the Dutch emigrate, it has always been their endeavour to make the tastes and prejudices of their faderland assimilate with the soil and climate of their new location. There were certainly some insurmountable obstacles to the indulgence of this propensity on the elevated banks of the Hudson; but the temptation which presented itself on the low marshy shores of the Jacatra, in Java, proved to be irresistible. Here was a glorious opportunity for the display of dikes and canals, and they eagerly seized upon the facilities. It was an extended level of rich alluvious land, with a copious river serpentining through it, with so indolent a current that it could be diverted from its original course, and conducted in any direction at pleasure. This river has its rise in the Blue Mountains, about fifty miles south of the bay, into which it empties; its mouth abounding with sharks and alligators, the latter having been known to upset boats, and devour the unfortunate inmates.

      The first operation of the colonists appears to have been to divide the stream of the Jacatra into two branches, sufficiently

separated to leave a spot of ground between them large enough for the site of their projected city. These branches were again united below, and the insulated space enclosed with a quadrangular wall of coral rock, twenty feet in height, flanked with twenty redoubts for the mounting of cannon. Four great gates on each side opened upon drawbridges, which led to the suburbs. The citadel, or castle, was erected on the north side of the city, without the walls, but surrounded by a wall of its own about thirty feet in height. This fortress was flanked by four bastions, the names of which are indicative of the vain-glorious affectation of their sponsors — the Diamond, the Pearl, the Sapphire, and the Ruby. But let it not be inferred that these precious appellations corresponded with the building materials, which were nothing but calcareous coral rock, and the indurated lava of some crater among the mountains. The walls of the citadel included the residence of the governor-general, the chapel, and most of the public offices.

      The coral rock for these works was brought from some of the neighbouring islands, as there is no stone of any kind to be found for many miles or in any direction around the city. The marble and granite used in the public edifices, were brought hither from China. But the patient Dutch think nothing of such importations. New-York was first built with bricks from Holland. Bricks also are liberally used in Batavia, but they are manufactured on the island. A part of the town wall is built of dense lava, from the central mountains of Java.

      Many of these useless high walls, enclosing natural laboratories of pestilential miasmata, have been removed by orders of the late Governor-general Daendels; who, during his short administration, did much and projected more for improving the health of Batavia, as well as facilitating internal intercourse and native trade throughout the whole island. That the health of Batavia at the period of the Potomac's visit was such is to warrant the commodore's removing the frigate to an anchorage nearer to the city, and himself and officers daily visiting their friends on shore, is mainly attributable to the changes and alterations effected by the liberal policy of Marshal Daendels; and had his administration continued until his great conceptions had all been realized, Java would have had reason to honour him as a philanthropist and a public benefactor.

It was he who established, the new cantonment at Weltervreden, about three miles east of the city, and removed the troops thither, being convinced that the great labour and vast wealth which had been expended on the castle of Batavia were worse than thrown away, as far as health and life are concerned. The large and commodious citadel was therefore abandoned; and the health of the troops at Weltervreden, where they have since continued, honours the sagacity of the governor.

      But notwithstanding these heterodox innovations in the costume of the "Queen of the East," the city of Batavia still greets the eye of a stranger with many attractive beauties, which become more pleasing as he approaches it. Its form, we mean the ground plan, is an oblong square, and the streets are laid out in a corresponding manner, crossing each other at right angles. Each street has its canal in the centre, the sides of which are faced with smooth stone walls, rising in parapets on the two margins, eighteen inches or two feet above the level of the street. A row of trees, dressed in perpetual verdure, which is in most cases mingled with fragrant blossoms and odoriferous flowers, runs parallel with the canal on each side of it, and about six feet from its margin. Along this shady promenade of two yards in width, there formerly stood, "in olden time" as we are informed, pleasant little arbours or pavilions, at convenient distances, where the luxurious burghers used to sit with their friends in the cool of the evening to enjoy their pipes, drink their beer, and muse upon the wealth, strength, and magnificence of their high-walled city; each one at the same time inhaling a sufficient quantity of marsh miasmata to send an unaclimated American to his long home.

      The street on each side of the canal is from thirty to sixty feet in width, and is a fine gravelled road, lined on the opposite side near the footpath with a corresponding row of shady and flowering trees. This is the general carriage-way for wheeled vehicles of every description, horses, cattle, &c. The flagged sidewalk, or trottoir, is about six feet in breadth; so that the whole width of the Batavian streets, including the canal, carriage-ways, and sidewalks, varies from thirty-eight to sixty-eight yards. There were said to be twenty such streets in the city in seventeen hundred and ninety-three, with about thirty stone bridges over the canals. The style of architecture is, generally speaking, that of the Nether-

lands, the houses being principally of one story, with high walls. But there are some pleasing exceptions; as Batavia contains many buildings which may lay claim to architectural taste and elegance. The stadt-house, churches, Mahommedan mosque, and Chinese temple, are all worthy of a stranger's inspection.

      We wonder not that the Dutch were prone to boast of Batavia, in the brightest days of its commercial prosperity. They were just the people to be proud of such a city. With what condescending self-complacency would a high born-burgher then act as a chaperon to his European guest! He would point out as a master-piece of elegance in its design, the large octagon church, with its magnificent and fine-toned organ; its pulpit of teakwood; its curious carving and laborious workmanship; and with affected nonchalance mention that it cost a mere trifle, eighty thousand pounds! Then would follow the citadel, the stadthouse, the governor's mansion and chapel, the Lutheran and Portuguese churches, the mosque, the pagoda, the spin-house, the infirmary, the orphan-house, the market, and some of the burghers' dwellings, the canals, the city gates, the drawbridges, and the suburbs. The European would doubtless be dazzled, and inclined to envy his hospitable host, the luxurious Batavian.

      But a very few days' experience, and a more critical investigation would convince the startled stranger that this fair city — this boasted mart of the world — this great emporium of oriental commerce — was but a garnished sepulchre, — a splendid lazar-house, teeming with contagion, pestilence, and death. Such was pre-eminently the case in the days of its brightest glory and proudest magnificence! How could it be otherwise? Look at its position! So near the equator, — surrounded on all sides by stagnant waters, fens, bogs, and oozy ditches — every street intersected by canals, bordered with trees, into which every description of filth was thrown, with vegetable and animal remains, there to undergo decomposition in the sun, or find their tardy way to the sea, by channels which had scarcely any current!

Such circumstances might possibly exist with impunity in the latitude of European Amsterdam, but never between the tropics. Add to these, — the country, for miles around Batavia, was one complete sheet of tope and rice-fields, which could not fail to produce unwholesome exhalations. Many of these nuisances have been corrected or abated.

      Nothing, perhaps, can be more gratifying to the eye, than the general appearance of the fertile country which surrounds the city of Batavia; diversified with plantations, fields, and gardens, and embellished with villas in the oriental style, which are surrounded by trees loaded with the most delicious fruits, and shrubs covered with the most fragrant flowers. The roads in the environs are very numerous, and invariably lined with trees on each side, which not only give them a beautiful appearance, but render them very refreshing to those who make rural excursions twenty or thirty miles from the city. Our officers frequently extended theirs to the distance of forty miles.

      Besides the several lesser roads intersecting each other at various points, and interspersed with several little villages and country-seats, there is one which was commenced by Marshal Daendels, and afterward carried to completion by the English, for many miles from Batavia, through the low country of Krawang, intersecting, near Cheribon, the great military road, which crosses the Blue Mountains from Buitenzorg to Cheribon, and from thence along the north side of the island to its eastern extremity. Along this road, at intervals of less than five miles, are regular post stations and relays of carriage-horses.

      On the Jacatra road, which runs directly south from the city to Buitenzorg, near the Blue Mountains, there is, besides other elegant buildings, that of Goonong Sarie, the former residence of the old Dutch governors. The building, and the grounds belonging to it, are spacious. To the east, the eye is gratified by fertile plains and luxuriant rice-fields, exhibiting all that is cheerful and pleasant to the senses for administering to the comforts of human life; while, on the opposite side, a dismal contrast presents itself in the vast cemetery filled with Chinese sepulchres, spreading to a great and melancholy extent. Numerous villas and country-seats also adorn the environs of Batavia in every direction; — to the east, as far as Chillingchug; and to the west, as far as Tan-

gerang, which is the boundary of the kingdom of Bantam; while to the south of the city, they are scattered over a distance of forty or fifty miles.

      The village of Buitenzorg, on the Jacatra road, is about five miles northeast of Mount Salak, which is more than half way across the island, from Batavia on the north, to Wyn Cooper's Bay on the south. It was formerly an active volcano, and its last eruption was in seventeen hundred and sixty-one. The southeastern foot of Mount Salak is connected with Mount Gede, over the northeastern limb of which the great road was originally made. This laborious pass, however, occasioned great delay and inconvenience to the passengers, which induced Governor Daendels to project the new road, along the lowlands, from Batavia to Cheribon, by which the former inequalities are all avoided, and a distance saved of fifty miles. The route is now so level that it might be converted into a railroad, or be accompanied with a canal by the side of it.^*

      Mount Salak and Mount Gede are plainly to be seen from the shipping in Batavia Roads; and from the appearance they exhibit are usually termed the Blue Mountains, where the Jacatra takes its rise, about sixty miles south of Batavia. Near the village of Buitenzorg are the celebrated ruins of the ancient capital of Pajajaran, among which, several curious antiquities have been found. This city, according to Javanese tradition, was founded about the year thirteen hundred, and soon became the capital of the kingdom and seat of the royal court. It was overthrown by the Mahommedans, in their conquest of Java, and many of the inhabitants fled to Cheribon. Among the curious relics which have been discovered among its ruins, were several rude images and inscriptions on stone. Sir Thomas Raffles mentions, also, an ancient manuscript, a copy of which he took home to England, containing drawings of pagan deities, the twelve signs of the zodiac, and numerous other astronomical (or astrological) devices.

He also mentions the remains of intrenchments by which the city was defended, and which are still plainly to be seen near the ruins. The Jacatra road is cut through several of them.

      The population of Batavia and its immediate vicinity, according to a census taken by the British government, in the year eighteen hundred and fifteen, is computed at sixty thousand. At the period of the Potomac's visit, in eighteen hundred and thirty-two, it was said to amount to ten thousand more, but probably overran that number. We will therefore proceed on the supposition that Batavia and its suburbs contain seventy thousand souls. This population is divided, or divisible, into several different classes, of which the slaves are by far the most numerous, and therefore deserve to be first noticed.

      The slaves on the Island of Java are either foreigners themselves, or the immediate descendants of foreigners; as the native Javans are never reduced to this condition; or, if they should happen to be seized and sold by pirates, a satisfactory proof of their origin would be sufficient to procure their enfranchisement. The slave-merchants have, therefore, been under the necessity of resorting to the neighbouring islands for a supply, and the greatest number has been procured from Bali^* and Celebes. These slaves are the property of the Europeans and Chinese alone; the native chiefs never require the service of slaves, nor engage in the traffic of slavery. There are not less than twenty thousand of these unfortunate beings in Batavia.

      The next class of foreigners which claim our notice, both for numbers and industry, is composed of Chinese, either emigrants or their mixed descendants, as they are not allowed to bring any Chinese women with them. About a thousand or more used to arrive annually at Batavia, from China, in Chinese junks, carrying from three to five hundred each, without money or resources, who by dint of their industry, soon acquired comparative opulence.

From the city, many of them dispersed over the whole island, which possibly now contains more than one hundred and fifty thousand of them. Many return to China annually in the junks, but comparatively a small proportion. There are at least sixteen thousand of this class in Batavia, who live in a separate compong, under a chief of their own nation. They are among the most useful and industrious of the inhabitants; indefatigable in their pursuits, and eagerly bent on making money. In their hands are all the manufactures, and nearly all the retail trade of the city, or of every other place where they are located; and their labours contribute largely to the prosperity of the island. They are hated by the Javans and Malays, because they are constantly overreaching their less industrious and unsuspecting neighbours; and hence it is not to be wondered at that these tribes should seize every opportunity to inflict wrong and even outrage upon them. From the Dutch they have suffered many unjust exactions and cruel oppressions, which have more than once goaded them into acts of insurrection and rebellion, for which they were dreadfully punished. Witness the massacre of seventeen hundred and forty.

      The Chinese compong comprises the whole of the southwestern suburbs, and is very extensive. Among them, every house is a shop, and the streets exhibit a constant scene of noise and bustle. Their captain, or hingho, has a number of lieutenants under him, who assist in regulating the police of this numerous population. As the emigration of Chinese females is expressly prohibited by the government, they either marry among the natives, or purchase slaves for their wives. They are called great cheats by the natives, although in their intercourse with foreigners they are polite and wellbred. Among the colonists they are not usually employed as servants. They are distinct from the natives; and are, in a high degree, more intelligent, more industrious, more enterprising, and much more luxurious than the Javans or Malays, They are, in fact, refined epicures in their way; and their tables, three times in a day, are loaded with rice, curry, fish, pork, fowls, ducks, together with all kinds of vegetables. The higher orders, especially, indulge in every luxury, and spare no expense in procuring any thing calculated to please the palate. Edible birds'-nests, biche de mer, and other luxuries, however costly, are always

found on the table of a wealthy Chinese voluptuary; and they are acknowledged to be hospitable.

      Their festivals are very grand and imposing, especially the one in celebration of the new year, which continues from the first to the twentieth of February. On this occasion, the streets in the Chinese compong are thronged with carriages and crowds of men, women, and children, of all classes, countries, colours, and denominations, who parade the illuminated streets until late at night. For eight or ten days during this festival, business is at a stand, and every house is a scene of festivity. The wealthy spread richly-furnished tables, at which the Europeans frequently partake; while the hosts, by every means in their power, try to show how much they are pleased with the attendance of their guests. Various mountebank exhibitions are performed on large stages erected for the purpose. Their marriage ceremonies are conducted with great splendour; and though the most of them have been colonized in the island for centuries, they retain, in all respects, their national customs.

      Next to the new year, the burials are the greatest festivals among the Chinese in Java; and these are solemnized according to the rank of the individual deceased. An immense multitude attend the interment, carrying images of men and women resembling the deceased members of the same family, while a numerous procession of priests, accompanied by musical instruments, precede the corpse. The cemetery of the Chinese extends over an immense surface of soil on the southeast side of the city. They allot a separate piece of ground for each subject, and raise over it a mound of earth in shape of a crescent, carved and ornamented according to the wealth and importance of the deceased.

      To these sacred repositories, the Chinese, as an indispensable duty, pay an annual visit; which mournful ceremony takes place in April. Stages are erected, from which the priests deliver their funeral orations in honour of the dead; and the neighbourhood of Jacatra, over which their cemetery extends, exhibits the affecting spectacle of multitudes of people prostrate before the numerous tombs, which are decorated with flowers; spreading viands and fruits as offerings, and bowing their faces to the earth. Although they have a temple, in which are placed images and burning tapers, they do not appear to attend to any particular

form of worship. Every house has, probably, its own altar, and its oWn collection of idols, as in China; the form, number, and quality of which are generally in proportion to the taste 6f the head of the family to select, and his ability to purchase.

      The third class of aliens, adhering to the same numerical decrease in numbers, is composed of Balians, or Baliers, who originally sprang from the inhabitants of Bali, a small island on the east of Java. They are very different from those of their unfortunate countrymen who have been sold to slavery, which condition ever, more or less, degrades the human character. In their native state of freedom, they are active and enterprising,and free from that listlessness and indolence which are observable in the Javans, Although of the same original stock, they exhibit several striking differences in their characters, features, and personal appearance. Their manners are said to appear abrupt, unceremonious, coarse, and repulsive to a stranger; but upon further acquaintance this becomes less perceptible; and their undisguised frankness commands reciprocal confidence and respect.

      In their domestic relations they are amiable, respectful, and decorous. Their wives are treated with tenderness and respect, and their children with mildness and gentleness, and they are strangers to the vices of drunkenness, libertinism, and conjugal infidelity. In a word, they are distinguished for energy, honesty, and an irrepressible love of independence. There are probably above ten thousand of this class in the city of Batavia and its suburbs, who are divided into compongs, under their respective overseers. The Balian slaves are valued highly in Batavia, on account of being considered more trustworthy than other, particularly the females, from among whom the Chinese of note generally choose their wives.

      The Javans, of whom there are about four thousand five hundred in the city of Batavia, occupy two compongs, each under the immediate control of separate and independent chiefs. Some of them are fishermen; but in general they are cultivators of the soil.

      There are probably near four thousand Malays in Batavia, who are generally traders, navigators, and builders of small proas, in the construction of which they are said to be very expert. As before intimated, they are passionately fond of cockfighting, and

almost every other species of gambling, and do not hesitate to risk their last possession on a single bet; being often driven by their losses to acts of desperation and horror. Gambling-houses are licensed by the Dutch, from which they derive considerable revenue; thus tolerating these nurseries of vice, and then sitting in judgment, and punishing with torture the victims of crime and guilt. The Malays have their quarter of the town allotted to them in the same manner as the Chinese, and are subject to the immediate authority of their respective captains.

      The Macassars, originally from the Island of Celebes, where the Dutch have a considerable settlement called Fort Rotterdam, are another class in the city of Batavia, amounting to more than two thousand of both sexes. Their countenance&, particularly those of the females, more nearly resemble the Tartar features than any other. The intercourse of these islanders with the natives of Java seems to have been ancient and frequent; and they are represented as active and enterprising traders.

      The Buggis, or Bugges, are from part of the same island, and their number in Batavia is supposed to be about equal to that of the Macassars. They are represented as a treacherous, quarrelsome, and revengeful race; the same may be said of the Macassars, whom they in many respects resemble. Their valour has been often tested, and the reputation which they hold in the east is a parallel to that which the Swiss formerly held in Europe; on which account the Dutch formerly enlisted many of them into their army.

      The Arabs are not numerous in Batavia — perhaps not over five hundred; and there are numbers of them also in Palembang, or Balambuan, at the eastern extremity of the island, on the Strait of Bali. They are generally engaged in the coasting trade, and are represented as by no means deficient in commercial intelligence.

      There are also here about two hundred and fifty Sumbawas, from an island of that name on the east of Java, the third from Bali; about the same number of Mandharese, from the district of Mandar, in the Island of Celebes; perhaps one hundred Ambonese and Bandas, from Amboyna and Banda; and a few Timorese and Butanese, from the Island of Timor, &c. The number of Moors in Batavia is not supposed to exceed one hundred

and fifty. These are natives of the Coromandel and Malabar coast. They appear to be the remnant of a once extensive class of settlers; but their numbers have considerably decreased since the establishment of the Dutch monopoly. The Amboynese occupy a compong on the left of the Jacatra road; some of them are Christians, — are less stubborn than the Bugges, and have in modern times been found to make better soldiers. The Mardykers are natives of different nations or tribes, who, having obtained their freedom, live in the city. Many of them are employed in the coasting trade, and others are successful cultivators of the soil.

      The burgher class comprehends the Dutch population at Batavia, but is so much mixed up with Portuguese and Malay colonists, that, as a mass, they can scarcely be called Europeans. The same may be said of other towns on the coast, indeed of the Dutch settlements in general throughout the east. To a large proportion of these residents the mother country is only known by name; particularly to the ladies, few of whom have ever been in Europe. Their features, and the contour of their faces, bespeak European origin; while their complexion, character, and mode of life approach nearer to those of the natives. Though" fair, they have none of that healthful ruddy hue seen in Europe and the United States; but a pale sickly languor overspreads their countenances. The number of this class in Batavia, always including the suburbs,- is probably now not more than- three thousand, though in seventeen hundred and ninety-three it exceeded six thousand, at which period the whole population was estimated at one hundred and sixteen thousand; out of which died annually four thousand.

      The fatality of the Batavian climate has been without a parallel in history. This city has been designated the storehouse of disease; with how much justice, a few melancholy but authentic facts will clearly demonstrate. Between the years seventeen hundred and fourteen and seventeen hundred and seventy-six, a period of fifty-two years, there perished in the hospitals of Batavia above eighty-five thousand sailors and soldiers; and from the year seventeen hundred and thirty to seventeen hundred and fifty-two, a period of twenty-two years, the total amount of deaths was more than a million!

      The physical and immediate causes of this mortality are ob-

vious, and have already been alluded to; but the more remote moral and political causes must be sought for in that mistaken policy of the colonial government, which, in order to maintain its commercial monopoly, kept the European population confined within the narrow walls of this unhealthy city — where they were compelled to reside as prisoners in a pesthouse. But from the moment that a more liberal and humane policy was introduced under the administration of Governor Daendels, when the walls of the city were demolished, the drawbridges let down, and free egress and ingress to and from the country permitted, the population began to migrate to a more healthy spot; and they had not to go above one or two miles beyond the precincts before they found themselves in a different climate.

      Since the date of these changes and the clearing of the country in the vicinity, together with the draining off the surrounding stagnant waters, Batavia has been, and still is, a comparatively healthy city; completely so in the daytime, and all persons of respectability get through their business and retire to their villas in the neighbourhood before the heavy dews of evening begin to descend, and meet and mingle with the rising vapours of the city's marshy foundation. Few places in the east, or between the tropics in any part of the world, are more healthy and beautiful than the neighbouring villas and country-seats. Had the Dutch adopted this plan in season, how many thousands of human lives had been preserved or prolonged! But we will dismiss this subject with a few words respecting Governor Daendels.

      William Herman Daendels was born in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-two, at Hattem, a town of Holland, in Guelderland, seated on the Issel, four miles southwest of Zwoll. At the age of twenty-five, he took an active and important part in the troubles which began in Holland in seventeen hundred and eighty-seven, on the side of the patriots, with a number of whom he was compelled to take refuge in France. In seventeen hundred and ninety-three, he was appointed to the new legion of volunteers, and was of great service to Dumourier, in his expedition against Holland. He rendered still greater service to Pichegru, in the campaign of seventeen hundred and ninety-four, which made the French commander master of all Holland. He now became lieutenant-general in the service of the new Batavian republic,

and took an important part in the change of the government. When Louis Bonaparte became King of Holland, in eighteen hundred and six, at the age of forty-four, he was appointed Governor-general of Batavia, as before stated. He was recalled by Bonaparte in eighteen hundred and eleven, and afterward published a history of his colonial administration in two volumes, quarto, which we believe has never been translated into English.

      The next subject which naturally presents itself for our consideration is the manner in which the Island of Java has been divided.

      The two natural and grand divisions of Java are the eastern and western, which are nearly two equal portions of the island; separated by the river Losari on the north side, and the river Chitandui on the south, in long. 108° 52' east, about two hundred and forty miles from Java Head, in the Strait of Sunda. That part of the island which lies east of the Losari is called Java by the natives, who designate the western division by the name of Sunda. Such was the division when the whole island comprised only two distinct kingdoms, each governed by a powerful and independent sovereign; and between the descendants of those two nations there is still a marked and striking distinction. Those provinces which are now under the immediate authority and administration of the European government, are the western, the northern, a few inland districts, and the Island of Madura, on its northeast coast; the rest of Java, comprising the southeastern provinces, is still subject to the native princes.

      Those portions of the island which are under European authority, are divided into sixteen residences, or separate administrations, including the seat of the colonial government.

      1st. Bantam, comprising three thousand four hundred and twenty-eight square miles, and containing two hundred and thirty-one thousand six hundred and four inhabitants, This division comprises the northwestern section of the island, being washed on three sides by the sea and the Strait of Sunda, including several dependant islands scattered along its shores, with bays and harbours. The town has been deserted by the European establishment, which has removed about seven miles inland, to a more elevated and healthy station, called Sirang, or Ceram.

      2d, Batavia and its environs, including Buitenzorg, comprising

two thousand four hundred and eleven square miles, and four hundred and eight thousand three hundred and twenty-seven inhabitants. This division comprises what formerly constituted the native province of Jacatra. The city of Batavia is the capital, and the seat of the colonial government.

      3d. Batavian and Priangen Regencies, comprising ten thousand square miles, and two hundred and forty -three thousand six hundred and twenty-eight inhabitants. This division, which is extremely mountainous, lies southeast of that just mentioned, and extends from the Blue Mountain ridge to Wyn Cooper's Bay on the south coast, and from thence eastwardly to the river Chiwulan.

      4th. Cheribon, comprising thirteen hundred and thirty-four square miles, and two hundred and sixteen thousand inhabitants. This division extends across the island from north to south, at the point where its breadth, by an abrupt indentation of both coasts, is suddenly reduced from one hundred to fifty miles, its narrowest part, except one across the province of Probolingo, near the east end of the island. Cheribon, on the north coast, is the capital.

      5th. Tegal, comprising twelve hundred and ninety-seven square miles, and one hundred and seventy-eight thousand four hundred and fifteen inhabitants. This division, which is bounded on the north by about fifty miles of seacoast, extends southwardly to the centre of the island, with Cheribon on its west and Pakalongan on its east. The town of Tegal, on the north, is the capital.

      6th. Pakalongan, comprising six hundred and fifty square miles, and one hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred and forty-two inhabitants. This division, which is also bounded on the north by the Sea of Borneo, extends southwardly between Tegal on the west and Semarang on the east. Ulujami, on a river of the same name, is the capital.

      7th. Semarang, comprising eleven hundred and sixty-six square miles, and three hundred and twenty-seven thousand six hundred and ten inhabitants. This division is bounded by Japara and the sea on the north, Pakalongan on the west, Kedu on the south, and Grobogan on the east. Kandal, on the river Bodri, is the capital.

      8th. Kedu, comprising eight hundred and twenty-six square miles, and one hundred and ninety-seven thousand three hundred and ten inhabitants. This division is bounded by Semarang on

the north, Kertasura on the east, and the native provinces on the south and west. Probolingo is the capital.

      9th. Grobogan and Jipang, comprising twelve hundred and nineteen square miles, and sixty-six thousand five hundred and twenty-two inhabitants. This division is bounded by Japara on the north, Gresik and Surabaya on the east, Kerta Sura on the south, and Semarang on the west. Qrobogan is the capital.

      10th. Japara, comprising one thousand and twenty-five square miles, and one hundred and three thousand two hundred and ninety inhabitants. This division comprehends a peninsula which juts out on the north side of the island, at the point of its greatest breadth; it being here one hundred and thirty-five and a half miles wide, between the southwest point of Pachitan Bay and the north point of Japara. Japara is, of course, washed on three sides by the sea; which, with Rembang, bounds it on the east, Grobogan being on its south, and Semarang and the sea on its west. Jawana, on its northwest, is the capital.

      11th. Rembang, comprising fourteen hundred square miles, and one hundred and fifty-eight thousand five hundred and thirty inhabitants. This division is bounded by the sea on its north, by Gresik on the east, by Jipang on the south, and Japara on the west. Rembang, on a river of the same name, is the capital.

      12th. Gresik, comprising seven hundred and seventy-eight square miles, and one hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred and forty-two inhabitants. This division includes Point Panka, the northeastern extremity of the island, at the entrance of Madura Strait. It is, of course, bounded on the north by the sea, on the east by the strait, on the south by Surabaya, and on the west by Rembang. The town of Gresik, on the strait, is the capital,

      13th. Surabaya, comprising twelve hundred and eighteen square miles, and one hundred and fifty-four thousand five hundred and twelve inhabitants. This division is bounded on the north by Gresik, on the east by the Strait of Madura and the sea, on the south by Pasuruan and the native provinces, and on the west by Jipang. The town of Surabaya, which has an excellent harbour, is the capital. It is near the principal mouth of a river of the same name, the second in magnitude of the whole island, which discharges itself into the Strait of Badua by five outlets, which form as many separate rivers.

      14th. Pasuruan, comprising nineteen hundred and fifty-two square miles, and one hundred and eight thousand eight hundred and twelve inhabitants. This division is bounded on the north by Surabaya and the sea, on the east by Probolingo, on the south by mountains, and on the west by the native provinces. The town of Pasuruan, near the coast, is the capital.

      15th. Probolingo, comprising two thousand eight hundred and fifty-four square miles, and one hundred and four thousand three hundred and fifty-nine inhabitants. This division is bounded on the north by the sea, on the east by Banyuwangi, on the south by,the Indian Ocean, and on the west by Pasuruan. The town of Probolingo, on a river of the same name, is the capital.

      16th. Banyuwangi, comprising twelve hundred and seventy-four square miles, and eight thousand eight hundred and seventy-three inhabitants. This is the last European division, and is the eastern extremity of the island; bounded on the north by the sea, on the east by the Strait of Bali, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the west by Probolingo. The capital is a town of the same name, on the strait.

      The native provinces contain eleven thousand three hundred and thirteen square miles, and one million six hundred and fifty-seven thousand nine hundred and thirty-four inhabitants; and the Island of Madura, comprising two residences, has twelve hundred and sixty square miles, and two hundred and eighteen thousand six hundred and fifty-nine inhabitants. Total number of square miles in Java and Madura, forty-five thousand seven hundred and twenty-four. Total population, four million six hundred and fifteen thousand two hundred and seventy.

      The face of the country presents a bold outline of prominent features. The same series, or range of mountains, which characterize Sumatra, is continued through the whole length of the Island of Java; varying in their height from five to twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. The round bases and pointed conic tops of these gigantic elevations indicate their volcanic origin; and some of their craters are still in a state of partial inflammation, breathing sulphureous vapours and smoke; others are extinct. The last eruption of Mount Salak was in seventeen hundred and sixty-one; that of Chermai, in Cheribon, in eighteen hundred and twenty-five; that of Lomongon, in Probolingo, in

eighteen hundred and six; that of Gunter, in Priangin, in eighteen hundred and seven. The Papondayang, in the western part of Cheribon, was formerly one of the largest volcanoes in the island; but the greatest part of it, according to Dr. Horsefield, was swallowed up in the earth, after a short but very severe combustion. Many of the flying inhabitants were ingulfed with it.

      There are, likewise, extensive ranges of mountains of an inferior elevation, sometimes connected with the larger series, and sometimes not, which are also volcanic. The whole country is traversed by ridges of hills, in various directions; and is everywhere undulating and uneven.

      Although the width of the island does not admit the formation of very large rivers, still Java can boast of some of respectable magnitude. There are as many as fifty, on which, in the wet season, rafts of timber, and other rough produce of the country, are floated to the coast; and not less than half a dozen of these are navigable several miles into the interior. There are no lakes of any considerable size on the island, although in the wet season many extensive swamps assume that appearance. Although the northern coast is in many parts flat and uninteresting, the interior and southern provinces are mountainous, and present a picture of much diversified and romantic scenery. The prospects from the highlands, in many places, may challenge the world to produce any equally sublime and beautiful.

      Unlike her divorced partner, Sumatra, the constitution of Java is unfavourable to metals, and neither diamonds nor precious stones of any description are to be found on the island. Many minerals of the schorl, quartz, potstone, feldspar, and trap kind, however, exist in the mountains of secondary elevation, towards the southern shores of the islands, sometimes in extensive veins. Prase, hornstone, flint, chalcedony, hyalite, jasper, jasper-agate, obsidian, and porphyry, are found in various situations.

      The climate of Java is various; being hot and sultry along the seacoast, but cool and pleasant further inland. In penetrating the interior from the city of Batavia, we feel, at the end of every five miles we advance, a sensible improvement in the atmosphere and climate; at every step, we breathe a purer air and survey a brighter scene. On reaching the highlands in the neighbourhood

of Buitenzorg, we find an atmosphere that retains its freshness in the hottest season. Here the boldest features of nature are softened by the rural arts of man; for the labours of the mountain farmer have clothed the scene with the variegated garb of enchantment.

      At Salatiga, in Semarang, the seventh division, and in many other inland towns, the air is said to be sometimes uncomfortably cool, and ice as thick as window-glass has been seen in the mountains. At Weltervreden, a short distance east of Batavia, the thermometer is generally at 86° during the dry season, or southeast monsoon, which extends from April to October; and from 83° to 90° during the wet monsoon, from November to March. In the mountains about Chipanas, south of Buitenzorg, and only sixty miles from Batavia, the thermometer generally stands at 65°, sometimes, less, but seldom exceeding 70°. There is a constant succession of sea and landbreezes. The first prevail from ten in the morning until four or five in the afternoon, after which it is calm for two or three hours, when the landbreezes commence, and continue until near morning. The seabreezes are fresh and healthy; but not so the landbreeze, when it comes over extensive marshes and swamps, of which there are many on the north side of the island. The most pleasant and healthy season is from May until October.

      The monsoons are not regular. Heavy rains do not set in, in some seasons, until December, in which case the heaviest are in the months of February and March, The wet season is naturally the period of germination, and the dry season that of fructification; and wherever there is sufficient moisture, the sun is, at all times, powerful enough to quicken vegetable life. During the rainy season there are many days free from showers, when the mornings are generally clear, as during the dry season, the atmosphere is refreshed by occasional showers, and the landscape is, at all times, covered with the brightest verdure. From all that has been said on the subject of climate and health in the Island of Java, the general inference which has been drawn by professional men is, that the country at large "stands on a level, in point of salubrity, with the healthiest parts of British India, or of any tropical country in the world." The term of life among the natives is nearly as long as it is in the United States. Many

persons, of both sexes, attain the advanced age of seventy or eighty, and some complete a century and upwards.

      The soil of Java is as remarkable for its richness and its depth, as it is for the great abundance and almost infinite variety of its productions. It generally resembles the richest garden mould, and but little labour is required to cover it with a luxuriant crop of whatever the cultivator pleases. The deepest and richest moulds of Java are alluvial soils of the valleys, near the bases of the loftier mountains. In such spots they are found from ten to twenty, and sometimes to even fifty feet deep. It is scarcely necessary to observe that mountains of great height, being colder than the atmosphere at the same elevation, attract the passing clouds, abstract from them their caloric, and so cause them to descend in showers.^* Thus, in these equatorial regions, perennial streams are continually pouring down the mountains' sides, teeming with the causes of fertility, by being impregnated with the mountain soil, and furnishing ample means for irrigating the plains below; To the concurrence of these causes the Island of Java is indebted for its peculiar fecundity. The richest mould is of an ash colour, and is found, as before intimated, at the bottom of valleys, between lofty mountains. On the plains and gentle declivities, the soil is of a darker hue, probably containing too great a proportion of vegetable matter, and is of an inferior quality. Everywhere, the plains and mountains are covered with gigantic forests, fruit trees, or luxuriant herbage. ,

      The vegetable productions of Java are too multifarious for even an attempt to enumerate the whole; and we must, therefore, content ourselves with mentioning a few of the most useful and abundant, viz: — Rice, upland and lowland; maize, or Indian corn; wheat, beans, potatoes, coffee, sugar, pepper, indigo, cotton, hemp, tobacco, ginger, anise, cummin, cubebs, socha-delicious, kachang-goring, or catjang, palma christi, &c. Of fruits, we will name the mangusteen, or mangoostan, the most fascinating to the eye and gratifying to the taste of all the fruits in the east, or perhaps the world.^† The mango, which grows on a large spreading

tree somewhat like the English walnut and has a delicious flavour. The rambootan and the poolasang, or red fruit, which are cool and agreeable, of a delicate subacid flavour, and quite refreshing in a tropical climate. The cocoanut, tamarind, pomegranate, roseapple, guava, annona, date, banana, jack-fruit, doorian, durian, or duren, boa-lansa, pineapple, lanseb, papaw, custard-apple, &c. Oranges, citrons, shaddocks, lemons, and limes, are plenty; and in some provinces, peaches, Chinese pairs, and raspberries.

      The flowers of Java are celebrated for their beauty and fragrance. There is a tree called the mitchelia tchampaca, of two varieties, one of which bears white and the other yellow flowers, of exquisite odour. The coral-tree puts forth large clusters of scarlet flowers; while the magnolia, the melia, and bignonia, present a showy and elegant appearance. Among the innumerable flowers which bloom in perpetual succession, are the champaka, tanjong melati-kananga, and nagasari, which are used by the natives as ornaments, and are remarkable for their fragrance. The myrtle and rose are found in the gardens of the Europeans.

      Large tracts of the island, particularly in the eastern provinces, are covered with forests of that excellent timber called teak, which has long been celebrated for its strength and durability in ship-building, &c. It is said to be in these respects every way equal to live oak, and even superior in the fineness of its grain and beauty of its colour. It is of different shades, from light to intense brown, with a cast of violet, verging sometimes to red or black; and furnishes excellent materials for handsome cabinetwork. This tree is slender and erect; shoots up with considerable vigour and rapidity, but increases in diameter very slowly, and is many years, at least a century, in arriving at maturity. It

neither loves the mountain nor the vale, but grows at a moderate elevation above the level of the ocean.

      There are several other kinds of timber-trees employed for various domestic purposes, many of which bear beautiful flowers of delicious fragrance. There are some resembling our red cedar, pitch-pine, white-wood, larch, hickory, ash, &c. There are others which resemble rose-wood and satin-wood. There are several which furnish excellent masts and spars for shipping. The kusambi is heavy, hard, and close, and is suitable for vessels' blocks, pestles, &c. The sawur resembles mahogany, but has a closer grain. The pilang is another very hard wood, and is employed instead of lignumvitae. The pung, equally hard, is used by builders for pegs, pins, and treenails. The janglot is considered by the natives as the toughest wood produced in the island, and is always employed for bows when procurable. In short, Java produces wood of nearly every texture, weight, and colour, and suitable for all purposes. There are but few resinous trees in Java, and the camphire-tree, which abounds in Sumatra, is here unknown. The bamboo, or bambu, or pring, found in all tropical countries, grows here in great abundance; and from the greater luxuriance and variety by which it is here distinguished, no doubt finds a soil peculiarly congenial to its growth. The rattans are said to be inferior to those of Sumatra.

      Besides the trees already alluded to, we would name the palm of numerous kinds, the mimosa of many varieties, the breadfruit, the aren, the plantain, and the soap-tree. The fruit of the latter is used to a great extent in washing. The kasemak, which produces a varnish for umbrellas; the sampang, from the resin of which the natives also make a transparent varnish; the bombax, or cotton-tree, which bears a long pod, containing a silky substance, which is much used in stuffing pillows, mattresses, cushions, ottomans, &c. The wax-tree produces an oil resembling wax, which may be either burned in lamps, or converted into candles, as it becomes hard by age. The bendud is a shrub, and produces the substance of which the elastic gum is made, commonly called India-rubber; the art of preparing it, however, is unknown in Java. It makes excellent torches, and is used in that way by those who explore caverns to hunt for edible birds'-nests. The tallow-tree grows abundantly in some parts of the island. There

is no doubt that Java would produce many of the spices which abound in the Moluccas, particularly the nutmeg and clove. The vine was once extensively cultivated in some of the eastern provinces of the island; but the Dutch East India Company discouraged it, because they then possessed the Cape of Good Hope, where the business would be more profitable.

      It is doubtless expected that before we leave this subject, a word should be said respecting the far-famed Upas-tree, of Java; for though the fable, for such it was, in detail, has long been exploded, it is not every reader that knows on what basis the romantic fiction was erected. A Dutch surgeon, by the name of N. P. Foersch, was, according to his own account, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, at Batavia, in the year seventeen hundred and seventy-six, and having heard much of the terrible effects of the poison of the bohun upas, resolved to ascertain the fact whether there was such a tree or not. The result of his alleged investigation was first published in an English dress, in a very popular London periodical, called the Gentleman's Magazine, in seventeen hundred and eighty -three, from which it was copied into almost every similar publication on both sides of the Atlantic. He professes to relate nothing but facts of which he was an eyewitness, as "I was resolved (says he) to trust only to my own observations."

      Foersch describes the very location of this "hydra-tree of death" as being only eighty miles from Batavia, and sixty from Tinkjoe, which would place it on the map of Java in the area of a triangle formed by Mount Tankuban, Mount Maruyung, and Mount Tilo, — near the line of the great military road, occupying about the centre of our third division of Java. He says, "I have made the tour all around this dangerous spot at about eighteen miles from the centre, and I found the aspect of the country on all sides equally dreary." He conversed with the old Malayan priest who prepared the criminals to go on their perilous embassy after the poison, and was assured by him that out of great numbers he had sent, not more than one out of ten survived to return; with some of these the surgeon also conversed. He describes the upas-tree as the sole individual of its species, standing alone, in a scene of solitary horror, on the middle of a naked blasted plain, surrounded by a circle of mountains, the whole area of which is covered with the skeletons of birds, beasts, and men.

Not a vestige of vegetable life is to be seen within the contaminated atmosphere; not even a solitary spear of grass; and that even the fishes die in the water. But even of the progenitors of this finny tribe he gives us no information. The divinity of Darwin's muse has consecrated this fable in the following beautiful lines: —

      But as even the classic fictions of antiquity, when figuratively and rightly understood, have their origin in truth, so has this more modern Dutch fable of the bohun upas. Vegetable poisons, it is well known, exist in almost every part of the world, particularly in the tropical regions. On the Island of Java there are several different species of shrubs and plants which exude matter deleterious to animal life. To each of these the natives have applied the appellative upas, which is a word in their language signifying poisonous. Thus the ubi upas, means a poisonous potato; and the seed of a certain tree is called upas bidjee, in English, poisonous seed. But there is a tree, says Dr. Horsefield, common to the eastern provinces, and one of the largest trees in the forests of Java, from the sap of which a poison is made, "equal in fatality, when thrown into the circulation, to the strongest animal poisons hitherto known. The tree which produces this poison is the anchar, and grows in the eastern extremity of the island. The anchar belongs to the twenty-first class of Linnaeus, the monoecia. The stem is cylindrical, perpendicular, and rises completely naked to the height of sixty, seventy, or eighty feet; at which height it sends off a few stout branches, which, spreading