KLINGS AND CHINESE.
They saw groups of Klings and Chinese along the road; and in one instance four of the former were holding a discussion over a basket of fruit, and making things so lively that the boys thought there would be a fight. The Klings do not bear a good reputation among the Europeans, and are not on friendly terms with the Chinese. They are first-class rascals in all their dealings where they can take advantage; and, if there is no danger of receiving punishment, they are almost certain to be insolent. On the other hand, they are cringing to their superiors, and make the utmost professions of friendship, while ready at any moment to indulge in the meanest treachery. The Chinese, with whatever disagreeable qualities they possess, are much to be preferred to the Klings.
NATIVE NURSES AND CHILDREN.
Frank and Fred were amused at the costumes of the native nurses, whom they occasionally saw in charge of European children. They were more noticeable for their comfort in the hot climate of the tropics than for elegance of design; and it was evident that the expense of keeping one of these nurses in clothing was not great. The native children go quite naked until five or six years of age, and even later; and it wasnot an uncommon sight to see a woman bearing a water-jar, and followed by a little urchin entirely destitute of clothing, in marked contrast to the European children, who were dressed after the custom of the country whence their parents came.
The native women are fond of ornaments in their ears, like the women of other countries, and a good many of them have their noses pierced and decorated. Anklets and armlets of silver and gold are also worn, and it is not unusual to see a woman, whose entire clothing has cost less than a dollar, almost weighted down with jewellery worth a goodly sum.
COALING AT THE DOCK.
They visited the new harbor of Singapore to see the ship on which they intended leaving the following morning for Java. The new harbor is known as Tangong Pagar, and has the advantage over the old one of allowing ships to lie at a dock instead of anchoring a considerable distance from shore. The docks are well built, and there are mountains of coal piled up there to meet the wants of ships. Singapore is an importantcoaling-station for ships in the Eastern trade, and sometimes a dozen of them may be seen taking coal at Tangong Pagar at the same time.
CARRYING COAL ON BOARD.
Our friends were satisfied with the appearance of the steamer; and when they had completed their inspection they returned to the hotel, and from there went to the office of the Dutch Steamship Company to engage passage. Every week there is a steamer leaving Singapore for Batavia. One week it is a French ship, and the next a Dutch one; the latter runs in connection with the Peninsular and Oriental line; while the former belongs to the great company which carries the French mail from Europe to the East. It happened to be the week of the Dutch ship when Doctor Bronson and his young companions were at Singapore, and they congratulated themselves that they would have the opportunity of going on a vessel of a nationality new to them.
Frank and Fred opened their eyes in astonishment when they learned the price they were to pay for passage to Java.
"Forty-six dollars!" exclaimed Frank; "and for a voyage of forty-eight hours!"
"And it is only five hundred miles from Singapore to Batavia," Fred responded. "How much does it cost to go from New York to England, and what is the distance?"
The Doctor informed him that it was about three thousand miles from New York to Liverpool, and the passage was usually a hundred dollars for the best places on the best steamers.
"At the rate from here to Batavia," said Fred, "we should have to pay two hundred and seventy-five dollars for the transatlantic voyage where we now pay one hundred dollars. Why does it cost so much more here than on the Atlantic?"
"In the first place," the Doctor explained, "there are comparatively few people travelling here, and the companies are compelled to ask high prices in order to keep up their ships. Where a steamer between New York and Liverpool would have a hundred passengers and more, and consider it only an ordinary business, you will rarely find more than twenty or thirty passengers on a steamer in the Far East. Coal is much more expensive here than in the North Atlantic ports, and so is nearly everything else that is used on a ship. In these hot regions the passengers need more room than on a transatlantic steamer, and more personal comforts generally."
"But don't they ever crowd the passengers rather uncomfortably?" Frank asked. "It seems to me that I have heard you speak of a verydisagreeable voyage you once had on account of the unusual number of people on the steamer you travelled on."
"You are quite right," the Doctor replied; "and it was on this very route, from Singapore to Batavia. I was on the French steamer; and the agents told me there would be plenty of room, as only a few passengers were engaged. She had eight rooms, with two berths to a room, so that her complement of passengers was sixteen. But when we came to start we found that we numbered fifty-two; and you can easily understand that we had a hard time of it. We were packed something like sardines in a can, and all were heartily glad when the voyage was over. If we could have laid hold of the Singapore agent of the company we should have treated him as roughly as the laws of the ocean permit; but he had the advantage of being on shore, and quite out of our reach."
SERVANTS ON DUTY.
The trio of travellers rose early the next morning, as the steamer was advertised to leave at seven o'clock, and the dock was a long distance from the hotel. Their baggage was piled in a small cart drawn by a bullock, and started off some time ahead of them, so as to be at the steamer before they reached there in the more expeditious garri. When they had swallowed their morning coffee and came out of the hotel, they found a group of servants waiting near the door to ask for money, as a reward for their services. Frank said the only energy the fellows displayed during his acquaintance with them was in this final act of begging; it was far from an easy matter to get any service out of them, as their chief occupation was gambling, and they were too much engrossed in it to pay any attention to common things.
The steamer sailed promptly on her advertised time. During the last half-hour of their stay at the dock, the passengers were amused by the antics of a lot of men and boys who dived for money. They were insmall boats close to the steamer, and whenever a coin, silver or copper, was thrown into the water, a dozen of the fellows plunged over in search of it. Generally they caught it before it had gone far below the surface, and sometimes there would be a struggle between two of the divers for the possession of a coin. The loser would appeal to the passengers to throw over a piece which could be his special property, and he very often succeeded in inducing them to do so.
The Doctor told the boys that the quarrel over the money was a clever bit of acting, as the fellows were associated, and the result of the day's work was divided equally among them. Sometimes they refuse to dive for copper coins, and will only go over for silver. If any coppers are thrown they decline to move, and say it is impossible to see copper at the bottom of the water. Consequently their harvest is in silver; and if any copper has been dropped, they dive for it after the ship has gone.
SCENE ON THE SUMATRA COAST.
The route of the steamer proved to be very picturesque. The numerous islands that lie at this part of the Straits of Malacca were visible in whatever direction our friends turned their eyes, and away to the right was the coast of Sumatra, thickly clothed in tropical verdure. The islands were so many, and lay so irregularly, that the steamer was obliged to change her course every few hours, and Fred thought before noon that they must have steered to every point of the compass since they left Singapore.
The sky was clear, and the heat of the sun poured fiercely down on the triple awning that covered the stern of the ship's deck. But it was less severe than the boys had expected to find it; and they both agreed that the Gulf of Siam was quite as uncomfortable as the Java Sea near the equator.
Our young friends were full of excitement at the prospect of going into southern latitude. They were frequently studying their maps and looking at their watches, so as to be on the lookout for the equator at the moment of crossing it.
"We left Singapore at seven in the morning," said Frank, "and we had eighty miles to go to reach the equator. The steamer is running ten miles an hour, and according to my calculation we should be on the equator about three o'clock."
Fred was of the same opinion; and it was determined that they would watch closely from two till four o'clock, and see if the southern hemisphere was in any way unlike the Northern one; and so they watched while the steamer moved on and on towards the south. A little past three in the afternoon the Doctor told them they were probably in the region of no latitude, and that the equator was under their feet.
"I tell you what, Frank," said Fred, "it may be all my imagination, but it seems to me that the sea has a different appearance here from anything I have yet seen."
"What is that?"
"Why, you know that everywhere else when we are at sea we appear to be in a hollow or basin, and the horizon line of the water is higher than we are. Now, as I look off from the steamer, it seems to me that the world rounds away from us, and if my eyesight was strong enough I could see the North and the South Poles. Instead of being in a hollow, as we have always appeared to be heretofore, I seem to be on a great globe, or the summit of a rounded hill."
Frank thought he had the same sensation, but not so strongly as Fred. They appealed to the Doctor, who said that the feeling was mostly imaginary, and grew out of the knowledge that they were crossing the equator. "But there is sometimes a condition of the atmosphere," he added, "which produces the appearance you describe. In all the time I have passed at sea I have seen it only on a few occasions—perhaps three or four in all. There is a suggestion of it at this moment, I observe, and your imagination has done the rest.
"And you may consider yourself fortunate," he continued, "that you are not making an old-fashioned voyage of twenty or thirty years ago."
"Why so?" Frank asked.
"Because," was the reply, "you would run the risk of an introduction to Father Neptune."
"I remember," said Fred, "that is the ceremony they talk about in crossing the line for the first time."
"Yes," Frank responded, "they play all kinds of pranks on the greenhorns, or those who have never been beyond the equator."
"My first crossing of the line was on an English ship," said the Doctor, "and the custom was allowed in its full force. They fastened below all of the crew who were not old sailors, and also all of the passengers. The latter were let off by paying half a sovereign each, to be expended in drink for the crew; three-fourths of them complied at once, and were let up to see the fun. But the greenhorns of the crew were not excused, and we had a chance to see how the ceremony was performed."
"And how was it?"
CROSSING THE LINE ON A MAN-OF-WAR.
"Just about daybreak the ship was hailed by a hoarse voice that seemed to come from under the bows. The voice was followed by Neptune in person, and he was accompanied by several attendants blowing conch shells. Neptune was one of the old sailors in disguise; he had a long beard made of rope-yarn, and a tin crown, and he carried a trident in his right hand as he marched along the deck. His attendants wereequipped with beards almost as long as those of Neptune, and, like their master, they were naked to the waist.
"He ordered the sailors to bring him a throne, and he was speedily mounted on the top of a cask. Then, one after another, the greenhorns were brought before him to be questioned and shaved.
"'Do you intend to serve me always, and be a good sailor?' was the first question that Neptune addressed to the subject before him.
"As the man opened his mouth to answer, the shaving-brush was thrust into it. The brush was a swab made of yarn, and the lather consisted of coarse soap mixed with water from the tub where the grindstone stood. The shaving was performed with a rusty iron hoop, and without any tenderness or delicacy. The victims were made to go through the performance in spite of their struggles, and when it was over the majority of them found their faces covered with scratches that lasted for several days.
"The ceremony very rarely takes place nowadays on merchant-ships, and only occasionally on men-of-war. No rudeness is now allowed on the part of Neptune and his assistants, and the sport is confined to drenchingthe greenhorns by getting them under a sail filled with water, or playing some other harmless prank. Generally all the officers come on deck to meet Neptune on his arrival, and there is a partial relaxation of discipline for half an hour or so."
The subject was dropped, and the boys devoted themselves to studying the appearance of the water, and the varying light and shadow on the Sumatran coast, which was constantly in sight. Suddenly Frank said he had thought of something he wished to ask the Doctor.
His question had reference to the Malay pirates, of which he had often read, and he wished to know if he was not in the vicinity of those disagreeable men.
"We are in their neighborhood," said the Doctor; "but I don't think we need fear anything from them."
"Of course not," cried Fred; "they would never disturb a steamer like this."
"Not unless she was disabled, and in their power," responded Frank; "and then, I suppose, they would not show much mercy."
"As to that," remarked the Doctor, "it is difficult to lay down an invariable rule. The pirates pursue their trade for love of gain, and are not likely to rush to destruction. If they should get in the way of this vessel she would be likely to run their boats down, and that would be an end of them. They have a wholesome fear of a steamer, and are careful to keep out of her way.
"Twenty or thirty years ago there were a great many pirates all through the Malay Archipelago. They carried on their business as an American would deal in wheat or conduct a hotel, and there were whole towns and villages entirely supported by piracy. They attacked Chinese or other native boats, and they also overpowered European ships that were becalmed in the straits between the numerous islands. The crews were murdered, or sold into slavery in many instances, while in others they were released after much suffering. The evil became so great that some of the civilized nations sent ships of war to destroy the villages where the pirates had their resorts, and also to capture the pirate craft.
"Against a sailing ship the pirates have a great advantage. Their proas, or boats, have a large number of men to row them, and when a ship is becalmed they can come out to her in strong force and rush upon her. They board the ship on both bows simultaneously by dozens and dozens, and in a few moments the crew is overpowered, and the vessel in their hands.
"One of the war-ships that came here was disguised as a merchantvessel, and she made so many captures that for some time the pirates were afraid to go near a vessel of her rig. An American ship was captured by some pirates from Qualla Battu, a town on the west coast of Sumatra, and the government of the United States sent a ship to teach the fellows a lesson. Qualla Battu was burnt, and the inhabitants that were not killed by the shells from the ship were scattered in the forest. The result was that for a long time afterwards no American ship was troubled by them.
"Singapore was formerly a business centre for the pirates, even after it went into the hands of the English. They swarmed among the channels of the islands in the vicinity, and they had spies in the fort to tell them of the movements of every craft that sailed from it. Their principal victims were the native traders, who could offer little resistance, and they used to conduct the business in the most systematic manner."
"How was that?"
CHIEF'S HOUSE IN A PIRATE VILLAGE.
"A chief of one of the small provinces or districts of the Malay States would make up his mind to embark in piracy as a regular business. He would gather as many men under his banner as he could get together, and go to one of the islands near Singapore. There he built a village, which could serve as a depot for slaves and merchandise, and a convenient resting-place for his men, when they had had a hard weeks' work. Then he stationed himself in one of the channels, where native traders pass on their way to and from Singapore; and very often he would know exactly when one of them was expected. Where he was successful, the chief would soon have a large fleet, sometimes hundreds of proas; and he gathered around him a great number of adventurers, who were proud to range themselves under his banners. His forces would become so large that he could divide them, and watch several channels; and sometimes it happened that serious troubles arose between rival pirates for the possession of some place that was particularly valuable for purposes of plunder.
HARBOR OF PIRATES.
"The ships they captured were taken to their settlements by the pirates; and after all the goods in them had been removed, the craft and its cordage would be burnt, to prevent identification. The plunder would be sent to Singapore in the chief's trading-vessels, and sold in the open market; and it often happened that a merchant who had sold goods to a native trader living far to the south was able to buy them back again, in a week or two, at a greatly reduced rate.
"The native crews of the captured ships were taken to some of the interior towns of Sumatra or Borneo, where they were sold as slaves towork on the pepper plantations belonging to the Malays. The pirates generally sailed in fleets of from four up to thirty proas, according to the class of ships they were looking for. Each proa carried from twenty to forty men, and had one or more small guns, in addition to muskets and pistols. Their favorite weapons were the Malay kriss or knife; and they had a supply of darts and other missiles, to be thrown on board their intended prizes.
"They always boarded over the bows, and they rushed on in such numbers that the small crew of a merchant-ship could offer no resistance. Once they met their match at the hands of a woman, and the fame of her stratagem lasts to this day."
"Oh! please tell us about it," said both the boys.
"She was a Quakeress," the Doctor replied; "and you know the Quakers do not believe in fighting.
"She and her husband were passengers on a brig that was becalmed in one of the straits of the Malay Archipelago. A dozen proas came out from a little harbor where there was a pirate settlement, and paddled straight towards the brig. The crew began preparations for defence, andthe captain called on the husband of this woman to perform his share of the work. He refused, on the ground that fighting was contrary to his religious principles; and his wife sustained the refusal.
"'But, if he cannot fight,' said she, 'he and I will do something for the general good of all on the ship.'
"She told her husband to bring on deck some dozens of beer bottles that had been emptied of their contents during the voyage. Then, with a hammer, she set to work to break these bottles into small pieces, which were scattered all over the deck. Her husband assisted her, and so did the crew, and, before the proas were along-side, the whole deck, from bow to stern, was covered with the bits of glass.
"The proas came up, and the pirates swarmed in over the bows, after their usual custom. These fellows are half-naked, and always barefooted—the rest of the story will almost tell itself."
"I think so," Frank responded. "The pirates trod on the fragments of glass, and cut their feet so that they could not stand. The crew and passengers were at the stern of the brig with their shoes on, and had nothing to do, as the glass did all the fighting for them."
THE PIRATES' VICTIM.
"That was about the way of it," said the Doctor. "The pirates nearly all came on board, but not one of them was able to get aft to where the crew stood. The deck was covered with Malays with lacerated feet, and they were so helpless that the captain directed his men to pay no attention to them, but to shoot the men in the proas. They were shot down accordingly, and only a few of the rascals escaped. Those whowere left saw that something was wrong, and so they pulled away to the shore for aid.
"They had not gone far before a breeze sprung up, the sails filled, and the brig began to move through the water. The breeze increased; and, before re-enforcements could come from the shore to aid the pirates, the brig was out of all danger."
"And what became of the pirates that were left on the deck of the brig?" Fred inquired.
"The captain had no use for them," the Doctor answered, "and so he dropped them overboard after sailing a few miles. The occurrence was a discouraging one to the pirates in that region, and for a long time afterwards they were very cautious about setting their bare feet on the deck of a foreign ship.
"There is very little piracy nowadays," the Doctor continued, "compared to what there was a quarter of a century ago. It is very rarely the case that a foreign ship is captured by the freebooters, or even molested by them. They confine their operations to native traders; but they are compelled to occupy the most secluded retreats, and therefore have little chance to do anything. The construction of steam gun-boats was the practical end of piracy, so far as its bearing upon foreign commerce was concerned; the pirates were pursued to their haunts and destroyed, and the native chiefs were made to understand that they would be held responsible for every unlawful act committed within their jurisdiction. Since the business became not only unprofitable but hazardous to the necks of those in authority, very little has been heard of it."
SINEWS OF WAR.
The boys had observed, as they journeyed to the southward, that the North Star declined lower and lower in the heavens in proportion as they receded from the Pole. At Singapore it was only a little way above the horizon, and after they passed the equator it disappeared altogether. From Singapore they had seen the Southern Cross, which is to the South what the Great Bear is to the North.
Frank made a note of this fact, and the first night they were beyond the equator they sat till a late hour on deck to study the appearance of the heavens. When they first began their observations they could not see The Cross, and Fred went to ask the Doctor the reason of its disappearance.
"It is not yet above the horizon," said the Doctor, "and will not be there till after midnight."
"How is that?"
"The Southern Cross is not over the South Pole, but about ten degrees from it. Therefore, when we are so near the equator as we are now, the Cross goes at times below the horizon. You must wait till late at night before you can see it."
They concluded to go to bed, and let the new constellation remain undisturbed where it was. As they were going still farther south, they would have abundant opportunity to see it before their return to Singapore.
The second day of their voyage they had the coast of Sumatra still in sight for a large part of the time, and the boys wished they could make a landing there and see something of the country. Among the passengers there was a gentleman who had been in Sumatra, and he kindly undertook to tell the boys something about the island and its people.
He began by asking if either of the youths could tell him what the geographies said about the island, and its extent and characteristics.
"Certainly," Frank replied. "We know that it is about one thousandmiles long by two hundred and fifty wide, and has about five million inhabitants. The Dutch have a part of it in their possession, and the rest is independent; but perhaps the Dutch will have the whole of it one of these days."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because the Dutch have been at war for some time with the native government of the province called Acheen. At any rate I have read so; and I have also read that when they succeed in capturing it they will have more than three-fourths of the island under their control."
"You are quite correct, I believe," said the gentleman; "but the Acheen war may yet last a long time. The natives are brave, and the country is very unhealthy for the Dutch. Fevers have killed more than the enemy's weapons since the Dutch went there, and the conquest will be a very costly one. But we will not trouble ourselves at present about the Acheen war, as it is rarely heard of in America, or, for that matter, in Europe.
A TRADING-STATION ON THE COAST.
"The Dutch possessions include Padang and Bencoolen, on the west coast of Sumatra; Lampong, on the southern end of the island; and Palembang, on the east coast. Banca and some other islands of lesser size lie near the coast of Sumatra; but they form separate governments, and are not to be considered as belonging to the great island we are discussing.Banca is famous for its mines of tin, which have been worked for a long time, and are the source of a large revenue. There are many good harbors on the coast, and there are two or three of them that can hardly be surpassed anywhere. On most of these harbors there are cities, and a considerable business is done in products of the tropics, such as rice, pepper, ginger, turmeric, spices, and camphor and other gums.
A BAYOU ON THE PALEMBANG RIVER.
"The only place in Sumatra I have visited," said the gentleman, "is Palembang. The city is quite large, and is on a river of the same name; to go to it you must ascend this river about a hundred miles, through a country that is low and rather swampy. The foliage is luxuriant, and there are numerous little bayous leading off from the river; so that you must have a good guide, or run the risk at times of losing your way.
"I went there in the rainy season, when much of the country was flooded. The city is built on the river, and extends three or four miles along a bend in the stream; so many of the houses are on floating rafts, that rise and fall with the tide, that it makes little difference to the inhabitants whether the river is high or low. If you have been in Siam you can form a very good picture of Palembang, as it is much like Bangkokin the number and arrangement of its floating houses. When you go to market, you go in a small boat, just as you do in Bangkok, and nearly everything is transported by water.
ARAB HOUSES AT PALEMBANG.
"It is a peculiarity of the Malays never to build a house on solid ground if they can find a place to stand it on piles in the water, and they prefer a boat to any other kind of a conveyance. At Palembang the most of the Malay inhabitants are thus located; but there are many Arab and Chinese residents who have their houses on the solid ground. Most of the trading is in the hands of these foreigners, and there are very few European inhabitants besides the officials who represent the Dutch government. They are very glad to have strangers come there, as it is a change from the monotony of their every-day life; and if you should happen to visit Palembang you may be sure of a kindly reception.
"The country is quite low and swampy all around Palembang, though the town itself is on a slight elevation that preserves it from overflowing. You must go twenty or thirty miles farther up the river to the firm country, and there you find the commencement of the tropical forests for which Sumatra is famous."
Fred asked what kind of trees are to be found in these forests.
LOUNGING UNDER A MANGO-TREE.
"As to that," was the reply, "the trees are not much unlike what you have seen in Malacca and Siam. They have several varieties of the palm, and they have rubber-trees from which they derive a good revenue. The mango-tree, with its broad branches and dark foliage, is frequently seen, and it is a favorite in the neighborhood of the villages. The natives like to swing their hammocks beneath it; and, for my own part, I do not know a better place to lounge in, in a hot afternoon, than the shade of a mango-tree.
ALLIGATORS TAKING SUN AND AIR.
"Being under the equator, Sumatra is a hot country, and one must be cautious about exposure to the sun. During the middle of the day you should remain at rest, and you will find great refreshment in bathing frequently; but take care how you plunge in the rivers, as many of them are full of alligators, and sometimes these brutes are hungry. Occasionally you may see dozens of them lying on the banks to enjoy the sun, and they are hunted so little that you may come quite near without disturbing them. At a little distance they look like logs, and you might easily mistake their black bodies for sticks of timber that have been partiallyburnt. There is one island just above Palembang where they swarm in large numbers, and are of all sizes, from very small to very large. The island also abounds in cranes; and sometimes they approach near enough to the alligators to come within reach of the powerful tails of those reptiles. In such a case there is a single sweep of the great lever, and the whole business is over.
"Since the Dutch went to Sumatra they have constructed roads, and done a great deal for the improvement of the condition of the people. The roads are divided into regular stages of ten or twelve miles, and if you send on in advance you will find everything ready on your arrival, so that you will not be delayed; but if you do not give notice beforehand, you can only go the distance of one stage in a day, which makes your progress very slow. At nearly every station there is a village; and if you want to study the habits of the people, you can do so very well by walking from one station to the next in the morning, and then strolling about the village and neighboring regions in the afternoon. There is always a house for strangers, and you have nothing to do but walk in and take possession: you pay for what you have at a fixed rate. The Dutch havebeen careful to adjust the prices of everything, so that there can be no dispute.
"Away from the rivers the houses of the natives are on poles or posts, just as they are when built in the water. The best of them are of boards or planks, and the more common ones of bamboo, and the floors are covered with mats, on which you may sit or lie. They have no beds, benches, or chairs; even in the houses of the chiefs you will see hardly a single article of furniture.
VIEW IN A SUMATRAN VILLAGE.
"There is a great similarity among the Sumatran villages. A village covers several acres, and is almost always surrounded by a high fence, to keep out the wild animals that abound in the island. The houses are dropped down higgledy-piggledy without the least attempt at regularity, and there is generally quite a grove of palm, banana, and other trees around them. The best of the dwellings have their ends ornamented with some elaborate carving in wood, and the ends of the roof rise in a graceful curve that terminates in a point.
"There is a curious combination of neatness and the reverse in the habits of the people of these interior villages. The ground is hard and clean, and the houses are frequently swept with the greatest care; but they have no system of drainage, and the only way of disposing of refuse of any kind is to throw it into a sink-hole under the house. The people seem to have adhered to the custom that prevails where their houses are built over the water, and the result is that your nose will often inform you, before your eyes do, that you are approaching a village."
Frank asked what birds or beasts were to be found in Sumatra.
"You find pretty much the same as you do in Malacca or Siam," was the reply. "There are plenty of elephants of the same species as on the main-land, and there is any number of tigers. They are very large, and proportionally fierce, and a great many of the natives are eaten by them every year. They do not often attack white men, but I had a close escape one evening from being eaten by one of them."
"How did that happen?"
"I had been visiting a planter of my acquaintance, and we did not separate till about dark. I had a ride of six or eight miles before me to reach the house where I was to stay for the night, but did not mind it in the least, as I had been over the ground before, and had no fear of losing my way. My friend cautioned me to look out for tigers, but I only laughed when he said so, as I had no idea that a tiger would attack a man on horseback.
"I was cantering gently along, when all at once my pony began to prick his ears and sniff the air, as though all was not right. Every moment he was more and more uneasy, and he exerted himself to the utmost to make good time over the road. Never in my life was I carried faster by a horse than on that occasion.
CHASED BY A TIGER.
"In a few minutes I heard the growl of a tiger, who was in full pursuit, and gaining at every stride. The road led to a creek, and it occurredto me that my whole safety consisted in reaching that creek before the tiger reached me. I threw my hat off to amuse the beast for a moment, and it gave my horse just the time he needed without a second to spare. The tiger did not try to follow through the water, and when I got to the house where I was to stay, I resolved not to venture again on that road after dark.
"Some of my friends were unkind enough to say that perhaps I was mistaken in the whole matter, and that the horse took fright at a thorn catching under the saddle-girth as we went through the jungle; so the next morning I invited one of them to go with me to the creek, and to the spot where I threw away my hat. The fragments of the hat were there, where the tiger had torn it in his rage, and the tracks of the beast were visible in the soft earth. From the extent of his foot-prints he was evidently of the largest size, and would have made short work of a man when once he had settled his teeth into his throat. It was the narrowest escape I ever had in my life. I have been treed by a bear, but the sensation was nothing compared to that of being chased by a tiger."
"Please tell us," said Fred, "how you happened to be treed by a bear."
"Certainly," said the gentleman; "but the story has nothing to do with Sumatra or any other island of the Malay Archipelago. It was in America that the incident happened.
"I was out hunting one afternoon, and had only a small fowling-piece loaded with bird-shot. Suddenly I came across a black bear, and very foolishly fired at him. The shot enraged him, and he ran for me.
TREED BY A BEAR.
"I ran a few yards, and knew that every moment he was gaining on me. I dropped my gun, and sprung for the nearest tree; I was young and active, and went up several feet at the first bound. It was a smooth sapling, with the lower partquite free from limbs, and I soon found that it was no easy matter to climb after the first spurt was over. The bear followed me, and had the advantage of claws; and he came on faster than was agreeable. I knew that a friend of mine was not far off, and I shouted with all the power of my lungs. He heard me, and came to my relief; and, just as the bear had taken me by the coat-tail, I heard a shot, and the beast tumbled to the ground. I don't like bear-hunting in that shape."
Fred inquired if there were any snakes in Sumatra.
"Yes, snakes in abundance," was the response; "and they sometimes grow to an enormous size. In some respects, Sumatra is the paradise of snakes, as they have a hot climate, and can always find plenty to eat."
"What kind of snakes do they have there?" queried Fred.
"The largest is the boa-constrictor," said the gentleman; "and I do not believe he grows to a greater size in any other part of the world."
"What is the greatest length you have ever known for one of these snakes?" Frank asked.
"The longest I ever saw was one that I killed myself. I was out hunting, and had three or four natives to carry my gun and other things, when suddenly one of them shouted, and pointed to a tree.
"I looked, and saw an enormous snake coiled up there, with his head over a limb, and evidently watching us as we approached.
"Du Chaillu and other hunters of experience say that the best thing for shooting a snake is not a bullet, but a charge of small shot, such as we use in duck-hunting. So I gave my rifle to one of the natives, and called for my fowling-piece.
SHOOTING A BOA-CONSTRICTOR.
"I managed to get around in order to have a good aim, and ventured so close to the snake that the natives warned me to be careful. I watched my chance, and just as the fellow darted his head forward I fired.
"My aim was accurate, and the snake's head was blown into a shapeless mass. He threw himself from the tree, and writhed on the ground, while I retired with my party to a safe distance. We watched him twisting his body into many shapes, and tearing up the small trees and bushes as he wound around them. In about an hour I continued my hunt, leaving one of the natives to watch the snake, so that we could skin him when he was done writhing.
A SNAKY CREEK.
"Wishing to explore a small creek, I sent another of the men to bring a boat; and he soon returned with it. It must have been a great day for snakes, as we had not gone far before the water seemed to be alive with them. They were of all the colors of the rainbow; and some of them had shades that the rainbow never possessed. The largest I should judge to have been eight or ten feet in length, but I had no opportunity to measure him.
"One tried to get into the boat, and I shot him just as he raised hishead over the bow; others swum close to the boat, and seemed in no hurry to get out of our way. There was a large boa, or python, coiled around a tree that overhung a bank; he darted his head rather defiantly, but made no other demonstration. I was quite willing to let him alone, provided he would be equally polite to me; and, as he manifested no intention of attacking us, I did not fire on him.
"We went back late in the afternoon, and found that our great boa had ceased his twistings, and was sufficiently quiet to be skinned. He measured thirty feet and a few inches in length, and was certainly one of the largest of his kind. He could kill and eat an ordinary-sized cow or bullock; and, as for a dog or monkey, he would dispose of one without the slightest trouble. The favorite food of this snake is the monkey; and he captures him by lying concealed among the trees, and waiting patiently till the monkey comes within his reach."