https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/ Recent content in Travels In The East Indian Archipelago on Superphysics Hugo en https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-01/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-01/ <p>By ALBERT S. BICKMORE, M.A., 1868.</p> <!-- PREFACE. The object of my voyage to Amboina was simply to re-collect the shells figured in Rumphius’s “Rariteit Kamer,” and the idea of writing a volume of travels was not seriously entertained until I arrived at Batavia, and, instead of being forbidden by the Dutch Government to proceed to the Spice Islands, as some of my warmest friends feared, I was honored by His Excellency, the Governor-General of “the Netherlands India,” with the order given on page 40. Having fully accomplished that object, I availed myself of the unexampled facilities to travel afforded me in every part of the archipelago, and all except the first six chapters describe the regions thus visited. The narrative given has been taken almost entirely from my journal, which was kept day by day with scrupulous care. Accuracy, even at any sacrifice[6] of elegance, has been aimed at throughout; and first impressions are presented as modified by subsequent observation. My sincerest thanks are herein expressed to the liberal gentlemen to whom this volume is dedicated; to Baron Sloet van de Beele, formerly Governor-General of the Netherlands India; to Mr. N. A. T. Arriens, formerly Governor of the Moluccas; to Mr. J. F. R. S. van den Bosche, formerly Governor of the West Coast of Sumatra; to the many officers of the Netherlands Government, and to the Dutch and American merchants who entertained me with the most cordial hospitality, and aided me in every possible way throughout the East Indian Archipelago. Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A., Sept. 1, 1868. --> <!-- Object of the Travels described in this volume—Nearing the coast of Java—Balmy breezes of the Eastern Isles—King Æolus’s favorite seat—A veil of rain—First view of Malays—Entering the Java Sea—The Malay language—Early history of Java—Marco Polo—Hinduism in Java—History of Batavia—The roadstead of Batavia—The city of Batavia—Houses of Europeans—Mode of cooking—Characteristics of the Malays—Collecting butterflies—Visit Rahden Saleh—Attacked with a fever—Receive a letter from the Governor-General 13-41 CHAPTER II. SAMARANG AND SURABAYA. Sail from Batavia for the Moluccas—My companions—Mount Slamat—The north coast of Java—Mount Prau—Temples at Boro Bodo and Brambanan—Samarang—Mohammedan mosque—History of Mohammedanism—Mount Japara—The Guevo Upas, or Valley of Poison—Gresik—Novel mode of navigating mud-flats—Surabaya—Government dock-yard and machine-shops—Zoological gardens—History of Hinduism—The Klings—Excursion to a sugar plantation—Roads and telegraphic routes in Java—Malay mode of gathering rice—The kinds of sugar-cane 42-70 CHAPTER III. THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE TROPICAL EAST. Leave Surabaya for Macassar—Madura—The Sapi—Manufacture of salt—The Tenger Mountains—The Sandy Sea—Eruptions of Mount Papandayang and Mount Galunggong—Java and Cuba compared—The forests of Java—Fauna of Java—The cocoa-nut palm—The Pandanus—The banana—Tropical fruits—The mangostin—The rambutan—mango—duku—durian—bread-fruit—Bali—Javanese[8] traditions—Limit between the fauna of Asia and that of Australia—A plateau beneath the sea—Caste and suttee practices on Bali 71-96 CHAPTER IV. CELEBES AND TIMUR. History of Celebes—De Barros—Diogo de Cauto—Head-hunters of Celebes—The harbor of Macassar—Voyages of the Bugis—Skilful diving—Fort Rotterdam—The Societeit, or Club—A drive into the country—The tomb of a native merchant—Tombs of ancient princes—Sail for Kupang, in Timur—Flying-fish—The Gunong Api in Sapi Strait—Gillibanta—Sumbawa—Eruption of Mount Tomboro—The Eye of the Devil—Floris and Sandal-wood Island—Kupang—Fruits on Timur—Its barrenness and the cause of it—Different kinds of people seen at Kupang—Human sacrifice—Purchasing shells—Geology of the vicinity of Kupang—Sail for Dilli—Village of Dilli—Islands north of Timur—The Bandas—Monsoons in the Java and China Seas 97-129 CHAPTER V. AMBOINA. Description of the island and city of Amboina—Dutch mode of governing the natives—A pleasant home—A living nautilus is secured—Excursion to Hitu—Hassar steering—History of the cocoa-tree—Indian corn—Hunting in the tropics—Butterflies—Excursion along the shores of Hitu for shells—Mode of travelling in the Spice Islands—The pine-apple—Covered bridges—Hitu-lama—Purchasing specimens—History of the Spice Islands—Enormous hermit-crabs—An exodus—Assilulu—Babirusa shells from Buru—Great curiosities—Jewels in the brains of snakes and wild boars—Description of the clove-tree—History of the clove-trade—Watched by the rajah’s wives—Lariki and Wakasihu—A storm in the height of the southeast monsoon—Variety of native dialects—Dangerous voyage by night—An earthquake—Excursion to Tulahu 130-176 CHAPTER VI. THE ULIASSERS AND CERAM. The arrival of the mail at Amboina—The Uliassers—Chewing the betel-nut and siri—Haruku—We strike on a reef—Saparua Island, village, and bay—Nusalaut—Strange reception—An Eastern banquet—Examining the native schools—Different classes of natives—Yield of cloves in the Uliassers—Nullahia, Amet, and Abobo—Breaking of the surf on the coral reefs—Tanjong O—Travel by night—Ceram—Elpaputi Bay and Amahai—Alfura, or head-hunters,[9] come down from the mountains and dance before us—Land on the south coast of Ceram—Fiendish revels of the natives—Return to Saparua and Amboina 177-212 CHAPTER VII. BANDA. Governor Arriens invites me to accompany him to Banda—The Gunong Api—Road of the Bandas—Banda Neira and its forts—Geology of Lontar—The Bandas and the crater in the Tenger Mountains compared—The groves of nutmeg-trees—The canari-tree—Orang Datang—We ascend the volcano—In imminent peril—The crater—Perilous descent—Eruptions of Gunong Api—Earthquakes at Neira—Great extent of the Residency of Banda—The Ki and Arru Islands—Return to Amboina—Geology of the island of Amboina—Trade of Amboina—The grave of Rumphius—His history 213-252 CHAPTER VIII. BURU. Adieu to Amboina—North coast of Ceram—Wahai—Buru—Kayéli—Excursions to various parts of the bay—A home in the forests—Malay cuisine—Tobacco and maize—Flocks of parrots—Beautiful birds—History of Buru—The religion and laws of the Alfura—Shaving the head of a young child—A wedding-feast—Marriage laws in Mohammedan countries—A Malay marriage—Opium, its effects and its history—Kayu-puti oil—Gardens beneath the sea—Roban—Skinning birds—Tropical pests—A deer-hunt—Dinding—A threatening fleet—A page of romance—A last glance at Buru 253-297 CHAPTER IX. TERNATE, TIDORE, AND GILOLO. Seasons in Ceram and Buru—Bachian and Makian—Eruptions of Ternate—Magellan—Former monopolies—The bloodhounds of Gilolo—Migrations—A birth-mark—The Molucca Passage—Malay pirates—They challenge the Dutch 298-322 CHAPTER X. THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF CELEBES. Mount Klabat—Kema—A hunt for babirusa—A camp by the sea—Enormous snakes—From Kema to Menado—Eruption of Mount Kemaas—Population of the Minahassa—Thrown from a horse—The Bantiks—A living death—History of the coffee-tree—In the jaws of a crocodile—The bay of Menado—Lake Linu—A grove by moonlight 323-355[10] CHAPTER XI. THE MINAHASSA. The waterfall of Tinchep—A mud-well—A boiling pool—The ancient appearance of our earth—Lake Tondano—One of the finest views in the world—Palm-wine—Graves of the natives—Christianity and education—Tanjong Fiasco—Gold-mines in Celebes—The island of Buton—Macassar—A raving maniac 356-383 CHAPTER XII. SUMATRA. Padang—Beautiful drives—Crossing the streams—The cleft—Crescent-shaped roofs—Distending the lobe of the ear—Cañons—The great crater of Manindyu—Immense amphitheatres—Ophir—Gold-mines 384-406 CHAPTER XIII. TO THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS. Valley of Bondyol—Monkeys—The orang-utan—Lubu Siképing—Tigers and buffaloes—The Valley of Rau—A Batta grave—Riding along the edge of a precipice—Twilight and evening—Padang Sidempuan—Among the cannibals—Descent from the Barizan—The suspension bridge of rattan—Ornaments of gold—The camphor-tree 407-434 CHAPTER XIV. RETURN TO PADANG. Bay of Tapanuli—The Devil’s Dwelling—Dangerous fording—Among the Battas—Missionaries and their brides—The feasts of the cannibals—The pepper trade—The English appear in the East—Struck by a heavy squall—Ayar Bangis and Natal—The king’s birthday—Malay ideas of greatness 435-457 CHAPTER XV. THE PADANG PLATEAU. Thunder and lightning in the tropics—Paya Kombo and the Bua Valley—The Bua cave—Up the valley to Suka Rajah—Ancient capitals of Menangkabau—The reformers of Korinchi—Malay mode of making matchlocks—A simple meal—Geological history of the plateau—The Thirteen Confederate Towns—The flanks of the Mérapi—Natives of the Pagi Islands—Where the basin of the Indian Ocean begins 458-485[11] CHAPTER XVI. CROSSING SUMATRA. Bay of Bencoolen—Rat Island—Loss of Governor Raffles’s collection—A trap for tigers—Blood-suckers—Pits for the rhinoceros—virgin children—Plateau of the Musi—From Kopaiyong to Kaban Agong—Natives destroyed by tigers—Sumatra’s wealth—The Anak gadis—Troops of monkeys—From Tebing Tingi to Bunga Mas—We come upon an elephant—Among tigers—The Pasuma people—Horseback travel over—The land of game 486-520 CHAPTER XVII. PALEMBANG, BANCA, AND SINGAPORE. Mount Dempo—Rafts of cocoa-nuts—Floating down the Limatang—Cotton—From Purgatory to Paradise—Palembang—The Kubus—Banca—Presented with a python—The python escapes—A struggle for life—Sail for China 521-542 Appendix A. Area of the principal islands, according to Baron van Carnbée 543 ” B. Population of the Netherlands India, 1865 543 ” C. A table of heights of the principal mountains in the archipelago 544 ” D. Coffee sold by the government at Padang 545 ” E. Trade of Java and Madura during 1864 546 ” F. A list of the birds collected by the author on the island of Buru 547 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. --> <p>On April 19, 1865, I was fifty miles east of Christmas Island, floating on the good ship “Memnon” toward the Strait of Sunda.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-02/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-02/ <p>On June, 7 as the twilight was brightening in the eastern sky, I left my new Batavia home, and was hurriedly driven to the “boom.” A small steamer was waiting to take passengers off to the mail-boat that goes to Celebes, Timor, and Amboina, the capital of the Spice Islands.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-03/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-03/ <p>June 15 8am. We left our anchorage off Surabaya, and steamed down the Madura Strait for Macassar, the capital of Celebes. Along the shores of the strait were many villages of fishermen, and bamboo weirs extending out to a distance of five or six miles from both the Java and Madura shores, and showing well how shallow the water must be so far from land.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-04/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-04/ <p>June 18th.—We anchored this evening close in to the coast of Celebes on a shallow plateau, which is really only a slightly-submerged part of the island itself. This word Celebes is not of native origin, and was probably introduced by the Portuguese, who were the earliest Europeans that visited this island. It first appears in the historical and descriptive writings of De Barros,[14] who informs us that it was not discovered until 1525, fourteen years after the Portuguese first came to the Moluccas; but at that time they were only anxious to find the regions where the clove and the nutmeg grew. Afterward they were induced to search for this island from the rumors that came of the gold found here; and, indeed, to this day, gold is obtained in the northern and southwestern peninsulas. At first, Celebes was supposed to[98] consist of many islands, and this belief appears to have given it a name in a plural form. It consists of a small, irregular, central area and four long limbs or peninsulas, and De Cauto[15] very aptly describes it as “resembling in form a huge grasshopper.” Two of these peninsulas extend to the south, and are separated from each other by the Gulf of Boni: one takes an easterly direction, and the other stretches away six degrees to the north and northeast. In the southwest peninsula, which is the only one that has been completely explored, two languages are spoken—the Mangkasara, in the native tongue, or Mangkasa, in the Malay (of which word, “Macassar,” the name of the Dutch capital, is only a corruption), and the Wugi or Bugi, which was originally more particularly limited to the coast of the Gulf of Boni. North of Macassar, in the most western part of the island, is another people—the Mandhar—who speak another language. On the island of Buton, which ought to be considered a part of the peninsula east of the Gulf of Boni, another language is spoken. The eastern peninsula is unexplored. The northern contains the people speaking the Gorontalo and the Menado languages.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-05/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-05/ <p>June 29. We are this morning approaching Amboina, the goal of my long journey, and the most important of the Spice Islands.</p> <p>Amboina is both the name of the island and its chief city. In form the island is nearly elliptical, and a deep, narrow bay, fourteen miles long, almost divides it longitudinally into two unequal parts. That on the west, which forms the main body of the island, is called Hitu; and that on the east Laitimur, which in Malay means “the eastern leaf.”</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-06/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-06/ <p>The arrival of the mail here, at Amboina, causes a general rejoicing. Indeed, it is the only thing there is to break the dull monotony of a residence in this enervating climate, unless, as happened this month, there is an earthquake, which affords a grand opportunity for the old residents to describe to all newcomers the fearful shocks they have experienced, and this they invariably do with that peculiar kind of semi-boasting with which a veteran fights over his battles in the presence of raw recruits.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-07/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-07/ <p>Two months had now passed since I arrived at Amboina, and I had not only collected all the shells figured in Rumphius’s “Rariteit Kamer,” which I had come to seek, but more than twice as many species besides. I was therefore ready to visit some other locality, and turn my attention to a different branch of natural history. During all the time I had been gathering and arranging my collection, Governor Arriens had frequently honored me with a visit, and, as I was finishing my work, he called again, this time to give me a pleasant surprise. He had a fine steam-yacht, of three or four hundred tons. It was necessary that he should go to Banda, and he took it for granted that I would accompany him. If I had planned for myself, what could I have desired more; but he added that, when his yacht, the Telegraph, returned, there would be an item of business for her to do on the north coast of Ceram, which I should also visit, though alone, and that, when she returned to Amboina a second time, we would go together to Ternate, and, taking the Resident stationed there, proceed to the north coast of Papua—a royal programme.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-08/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-08/ <p>Sept. 25. I ateamed down the bay from Amboina, this time not without a slight feeling of sadness as I recalled the many happy hours I had passed gathering shells on its shores and rambling over its high hills, and as I realized that it would probably never be my privilege to enjoy those pleasures again. Only three months had elapsed since my arrival at Batavia, but I had passed through so many and such different scenes, that Amboina appeared to have been my home for a year—and so it seems to this day.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-09/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-09/ <p>As we steamed out of the bay of Kayéli a heavy rain came on, for the rainy season, which had been prevailing on the south side of Buru, was now beginning on the north side.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-10/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-10/ <p>CHAPTER X. THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF CELEBES. On the morning of the 13th of December Mount Klabat, a conical volcanic mountain attaining an elevation of six thousand five hundred feet, appeared on the horizon; and soon after, north of Klabat, was seen Mount Sudara, “The Sisters,” a twin cone whose highest peak is about four thousand four hundred feet above the sea. North of this again is Batu angus, two thousand three hundred feet in height. Its name in Malay means “the hot rock,” but it is really a large volcano, whose top has been blown off and a great crater thus formed; and this shows the fearful fate that awaits each of the other two cones, as soon as the gases pent up beneath their mighty masses have acquired the necessary power. We now approached Limbi, a high, uninhabited island with abrupt shores extending in a northwest and southeast direction, and soon after came to anchor in the road off Kema, the coast here curving inward so as to form a small bay. This is the port used now in the western monsoon. During the eastern monsoon, steamers and ships go round the northern end of Celebes to Menado, in the Strait of Macassar. Kema is a village of two thousand inhabitants. Its streets are very broad,[324] and cross each other at right angles. The houses are well built, and placed on piles twelve or eighteen inches in diameter and six feet high—a remnant of the old custom of placing their huts on high posts to avoid attacks of enemies, which was practised by these people previous to the arrival of Europeans. It is certainly a good custom, not only because all such unwelcome intruders as the large snakes, which are very numerous here, are thus avoided, but also to keep the house dry and cool, by allowing a free circulation of air beneath. Each house has a small plot of ground, and this is separated from that of its neighbor by hedges, which also border the streets, and give the whole village a charming air compared to the irregular, unsightly appearance of those I had been visiting. Most of the streets are also lined with shade-trees, and in the gardens, behind the hedges, are rows of orange-trees, some of their branches bearing flowers, some green fruit, and some drooping under the abundance of their golden-yellow loads.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-11/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-11/ <p>December 29th.—Early this morning rode about two miles from Sonder in a northwest direction, down over the edge of the plateau on which that village is situated. The road was nothing but a narrow path, and led along a deep ravine, whose sides in several places were high precipices. A short distance beyond the native village of Tinchep is the beautiful waterfall Munte, nine hundred and sixty-four feet above the sea, but six hundred and fifty below Sonder. The height of the fall is about sixty feet, and the width of the stream at this time is nearly twenty. The rock over which it pours is a perpendicular wall of trachytic lava. The place from which travellers view the fall is some two hundred feet above it, where the road runs along the side of a mountain-chain, that curves in the form of a horseshoe around it, and makes a magnificent background for this charming picture. Luxuriant foliage hangs over the stream above the cataract, and vines and small trees have found a foothold in the crevices and on the projecting ledges of the steep wall beneath; and as the showers of falling drops strike the ends of their branches, they continually[357] wave to and fro, though where the beholder stands, not the slightest breeze is moving in the air. We had come at just the right time to see it when it is most charming, for the early sun was then shooting oblique bands of bright light across the falling water, and as the stream is divided into millions of drops the moment it curves over the edge of the cliff, those pearly spheres were now lighted up and now darkened, as repeatedly they shot out of the shaded parts into the bands of golden light.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-16/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-16/ <p>April 17.</p> <p>Took the steamer at Padang for Bencoolen. Nearly all the way we had a heavy wind from the southeast, though the southeastern monsoon has not yet begun in the Java Sea. The western limit of this monsoon region, I judge, after many inquiries, may be considered to be the Cape of Indrapura, but both monsoon winds prevail occasionally as far north as Padang. Farther north the winds are constantly variable. At Tapanuli Bay I was informed that heavy “northers” occasionally prevail for several days; and I was earnestly advised not to go off to the adjacent island of Mensalla in a ship’s boat, though the sea was calm for two or three days at a time.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-17/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-17/ <p>May 4 at 7am I began to glide down the Limatang for Palembang.</p> <!-- It was a cool, clear morning, and I enjoyed a fine view of Mount Dempo and the other high peaks near it. The current at first was so rapid that the only care of my men was, to keep the boat from striking on the many bars of sand and shingle. To do this, one stood forward and one aft, each provided with a long bamboo. We soon shot into a series of foaming rapids, and here the river bent so abruptly to the right and left that I thought we should certainly be dashed against a ragged, precipitous wall of rock that formed the right bank at that place, but we passed safely by, though the stern of the boat only passed clear by a few inches. My boat was about twenty feet long and five broad, flat-bottomed, and made of thin plank. Its central part was covered over with roof of atap, like the sampans in China, and on this was another sliding roof, which could be hauled forward to protect the rowers from rain or sunshine. --> <p>From Lahat to the mouth of the Inem River relays of[522] natives stood ready on the bank to guide our boat. This service they render the Dutch Government instead of paying a direct tax in money.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-14/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-14/ <p>Back of Siboga rises a high peak, and from its summit I was confident that I could enjoy a magnificent view over the whole bay. A native engaged to show me the way to its top, but after we had travelled a long distance I found he had even less idea of how we were to reach the desired spot than I had myself. Other natives gave me directions, but that day was too far spent for such a journey, and I therefore made my pretended guide travel with me the next day for nothing, as a punishment for his lying. Following up a stream back of the settlement, we took a minor valley to the south, and discovered a narrow path by which the Battas sometimes come down from the interior. This led up through a thick forest to a large place where that people had partially cleared the land by burning down the trees. In the irregular spaces between the stumps they had planted pine-apples and yams, which were both thriving remarkably well. When we had gained that place I found the desired peak still above us. My attendant now begged me not to attempt to reach it, less, as I afterward learned, from his fear of the Battas than from his fear of the evil spirit who is[436] said to inhabit that high point, and whom he believed we should certainly meet. But we gained the summit without meeting any unearthly intruders. There I found the whole bay and its shores spread out before me like a map. The broad coral banks bordering several of the points and islands were of a light-clay color in the dark-blue water, which was only here and there ruffled by the light morning breezes then moving over its limpid surface. This bay is said to closely resemble the bay of Rio Janeiro by those who have seen both. To the north it has a long arm, but on the south its boundary is sharply defined when viewed from the lofty point where I stood, while off the mouth of the bay was the high island of Mensalla, its hills making a sharply-serrated line against the sky.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-12/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-12/ <p>On the third day from Macassar we arrived safely at Surabaya, and thence proceeded westward to Samarang, and, on the first of February, 1866, I was again in Batavia, having been absent in the eastern part of the archipelago eight months. Through the courtesy of Messrs. Dümmler &amp; Co., of that city, who obligingly offered to receive and store my collections and forward them to America, I was left entirely free to commence a new journey.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-13/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-13/ <p>February 26 at 7am.</p> <p>I rode down the edge of the plateau to the bottom of a deep ravine, and then climbed up the opposite ridge. Here we met all the rajahs and their attendants in the vicinity, and again descended to the bottom of a second ravine to the little village of Pisang. As the way was exceedingly rough, I preferred to ride a nice horse the controleur had given me, to being jolted in the carriage. Beyond Pisang our road lay in a narrow valley, and, as the sky was clear and the neighboring hills prevented any breeze from reaching us, we seemed to be at the focus of a great burning lens. In the thick woods on either hand troops of large, black monkeys kept up a hooting or trumpeting, their prolonged cries sounding exactly like a score of amateurs practising on trombones. In some places the din they made was quite deafening. In one place the road passed through a deep cut through strata, composed of sand and conglomerate, which probably once filled the whole valley. From Pisang, which is at an elevation of seventeen hundred feet, we continued to descend until we came to the small valley of Bondyol, which is only seven hundred and forty feet above the[408] sea. On the way we met the controleur superintending the construction of a bridge, for the officials in these small places have to plan buildings and bridges and be at the same time judges, architects, and masons. The residence of this officer was located on a hill rising on one side of the small valley. It was nicely shaded, and commanded a view over the adjoining lowlands, which were all sawas. At this place I saw some of the beautiful little musk-deer of this region—a deer that is only about a foot and a half high, without antlers, and weighs less than a rabbit.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-15/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-15/ <p>As I had seen only a small portion of the Padangsche Bovenlanden, or Padang plateau, I again set off for the interior, following the same route that I had taken before, namely, north, over low lands to the left of the Barizan chain. As the governor’s “American” had not arrived from Saboga, he kindly borrowed for me a “bendy,” that is, a small, heavy, two-wheeled chaise. He gave me an order allowing me to use two horses if I pleased; and, by the time I had travelled twenty miles, I was glad to avail myself of the privilege. A bamboo was fastened across the thills and allowed to project four or five feet on one side, and the additional horse was then placed beside the other, the usual mode of driving tandem in this country. To complete the odd style of harnessing these half-tamed steeds, the natives arranged the reins so that I was obliged to hold two in the left hand and but one in the right. The result was, that the outer horse was as loose as those harnessed in a similar manner in Russia, and altogether beyond my control. Whenever we came to a slight descent, he would always spring into a full gallop, and the one in the thills would follow his example.[459] Then came a few severe shocks against the large stones in the road, and we found ourselves at the bottom of the hill One time the shocks were so severe that my footman, who had a seat behind, and a good place to hold on with both hands, was missing when I reached the bottom of the hill, and, on looking round, I found the bendy had flung him off some distance upon the rough stones. When we reached Kayu Tanam, thick clouds, that had been gathering on the adjacent lofty peaks, rolled down and poured out a perfect flood of rain. The drops were so large, and fell with such momentum, that it seemed like standing under a heavy shower-bath. The lightning gleamed as it only does in tropical lands, and the thunder roared as if the great Barizan chain on my right was splitting open again, and forming another immense “cleft.” I was wondering that my horses were not frightened amid such terrific peals, when suddenly a piercing flash dazzled my eyes, and the same instant came a sharp crash like the sudden breaking of a thousand heavy timbers, and for a moment I was quite bewildered. Both horses reared until they nearly stood on their hind feet, and then plunged forward in a perfect state of fright. The road there chanced to be straight, and I let them go at the top of their speed for a mile or two, when they again became somewhat manageable, and in this way we flew along high up the side of a great ravine and came into the deep cleft. Ascending the cañon, we came to Padang Panjang, and the next day to Fort de Kock. The waterfall opposite where we entered the cleft was considerably swollen by the[460] heavy rains, and a small stream, separate from the main fall, was shooting over the high edge of the precipice. On a steep declivity near by, a small stream had coursed part way down, completely hidden from view by the thick sheet of vegetation that covered the rocks, until, striking some obstacle, it flew off into the air in a great jet, which appeared to come out of the solid rock.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-17b/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/chapter-17b/ <h2 id="women-of-palembang-palembanghigh-water">Women Of Palembang Palembang—High Water</h2> <p>Palembang occupies both banks of the Musi for four or five miles, but there are only three or four rows of houses on each bank.</p> https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/appendix/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.superphysics.org/research/countries/indonesia/travels/appendix/ <p>APPENDIX A. Area of the Principal Islands, according to Baron Melville van Carnbée. Square English geographical miles. Java and Madura 38,251.2 Sumatra 128,560.0 Pulo Nias 1,200.0 Babi 480.0 Pagi 560.0 Banca 3,568.0 Billiton 1,904.0 Borneo 203,888.0 Celebes 57,248.0 Buton 1,379.2 Bali 16,848.0 Lombok 16,560.0 Sumbawa 4,448.0 Floris 4,032.0 Timur 9,808.0 Sandal-wood Island 3,784.0 Tenimber Islands 2,400.0 Aru Islands 1,040.0 Islands of Banda 17.6 Ceram 4,944.0 Buru 2,624.0 Gilolo 5,016.0 Bachian 800.0 Ternate 11.2 Amboina 2,128.0 Total area of the Netherlands India 445,411.2 APPENDIX B. Population of the Netherlands India, 1865. ISLANDS. Europeans. Natives. Chinese. Arabs. Other Eastern nations. Total. Java and Madura 27,105 13,704,535 156,192 6,764 22,772 13,917,368 “West Coast” of Sumatra, including the islands from Nias to the Pagis 1,188 872,173 3,172 54 1,110 877,703 Residency of Bencoolen 174 119,691 596 6 47 120,514 ” Lampong 52 88,113 180 8 4,666 93,019 ” Palembang 182 622,345 2,790 1,716 67 527,050 Banca 116 37,070 17,097 56 54,339 Billiton 34 12,786 1,781 1,223 15,824 Rhio 136 10,454 19,972 2 119 30,683 Borneo (the parts under the Dutch Government) 328 802,889 26,393 1,736 597 931,843 Celebes 1,176 292,619 4,385 42 298,222 Residency of Amboina 1,219 104,841 311 85 817 107,273 ” Banda 545 5,876 153 12 6,586 ” Ternate 732 2,062 427 70 3,291 The Minahassa 550 102,423 1,437 11 104,418 Timur 190 Unknown. 752 3 945 Bali and Lombok 863,725 863,725 Total 33,677 17,641,602 235,535 10,565 31,424 17,952,803 [544]</p>