SUMATRA AND ITS PECULIARITIES.—SNAKES AND ORANG-OUTANGS.
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 thousand miles 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 Bangkok in 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 partially burnt. 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 have been 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 occurred to 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 part quite 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 his head 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."
MONKEY EXAMINING A TORTOISE.
"Then there are monkeys in Sumatra?" said one of the boys.
"Certainly," was the reply, "there are monkeys in abundance. The naturalists have found no less than eleven distinct species of the monkey family, and it is thought there are several yet undiscovered in the forests. There is one monkey called the simiang, that has tremendously long arms; Mr. Wallace measured one that was only three feet high, but his arms were five and a half feet when stretched out. This monkey will swing himself from one tree to another with the utmost ease, over distances that most of the other monkeys would hardly venture to go."
"Do they find the variety of monkey known as the orang-outang in Sumatra?" one of the boys asked.
"Yes," said their informer, "the animal is found only in Sumatra and Borneo, but he is rarely seen on the first-named island. In parts of Borneo he is quite abundant; and the most of the specimens in the museums all over the world came from that wild region."
Frank asked how large was the largest of these beasts that had been captured and measured.
FEMALE ORANG-OUTANG.
(From a Photograph.)
"As to that," said the gentleman, "there is a considerable conflict of testimony. Mr. Wallace says that the largest killed by him during his stay in Borneo was four feet two inches from head to heel; and his outstretched arms were seven feet nine inches from tip to tip of his fingers. The face was thirteen inches wide, and the body measured forty-three inches around. Mr. Wallace further says that he measured seventeen freshly-killed orangs, and the skeletons of two others; sixteen were full-grown adults—nine males and seven females. The males varied from four feet one inch to four feet two inches in height; and the outstretched arms from seven feet two inches to seven feet eight inches. The measurements of other naturalists closely agree with his, and he therefore concludes that the stories of orangs exceeding five feet in height are extremely doubtful.
NATIVES OF BORNEO FIGHTING WITH AN ORANG-OUTANG.
"The natives say the orang is king of the forest, and the only animals that venture to attack it are the crocodile and the python. They only do so on rare occasions, and are apt to get the worst of the battle whenever they provoke it. One of the native chiefs says that when food is scarce in the forest, the orang goes to the banks of the streams to feed on the lilies, and in such cases he is sometimes attacked by the crocodile. His arms are so strong that he has been known to pull the crocodile's jaws open, and rip up his throat; the chief claims to have witnessed such a fight, which occurred on the bank of a stream, and was won in a short time by the orang.
"The same chief said that the python found his match in the orang—the latter biting the python's throat, and tearing him with his powerful claws. The natives have a great dread of the orang, unless they have the advantage of fire-arms; they sometimes attack him with their spears and hatchets, but they do so with reluctance, as some of them are apt to be severely wounded, if not killed outright in the encounter."
Fred wanted to know if the animal they were discussing was in the habit of walking erect like a man, as he had seen represented in pictures.
"The best authorities say he does not," was the reply; "and I think that such pictures as you mention are far more imaginary than real. He spends nearly all his time in the trees, and when he goes through the forest he moves from one tree to another by following the limbs that interlace. He feeds in the trees in the daytime, and sleeps there at night; his bed is composed of leaves gathered together in the fork of a tree, and he never remains long in one spot. The natives say he finds a new resting-place and makes a new bed every night; but there is some doubt as to the correctness of this theory. When he has been wounded, and feels faint from loss of blood, he will gather a quantity of leaves and form a bed, where he lies down and dies. In such a case the tree must be cut down to get his body, as no amount of shaking will dislodge it; or the natives must be hired to climb up and remove it. This they will not do readily, as the animal has great vitality, and has been known to spring up suddenly and do a great deal of damage after he was supposed to be dead."
"There are some other curious products of this tropical region," said the narrator, "which I will endeavor to describe briefly. There is a frog that flies through the air, and—"
"How funny!" Fred exclaimed. "A flying-frog! He ought to be a relative of the fish that climbs a tree, and travels on dry land."
A FLYING-FROG.
"Whether he is a relative or not of that fish, I am unable to say," was the reply, "but that he exists there is no doubt. He comes down from the top of a high tree to the ground in a slanting direction, just as you have seen a flying-squirrel go from one tree to another. His toes are very long, and webbed to their extremities. The body of the frog is about four inches long, and when spread out the webs of his feet have a square surface of at least twelve inches. This is much more than he needs for swimming, and we must, therefore, conclude that Nature has thus equipped him so that he can fly through the air.
"There are many varieties of butterflies in Sumatra, and some of them are very beautiful. All the tropical islands abound in butterflies, that arouse the enthusiasm of the naturalist by the brilliancy of their colors and the great size they attain. There are numerous birds, especially of the parrot family, and sometimes you will see hundreds of them in a walk of an hour or more through the forests where they live. The parrot is inclined to be sociable, and likes his fellow-parrots; you will rarely see one of these birds quite alone, and when you do, you may conclude that the occurrence is an accidental one.
"Among the habits of birds there is none more singular than that of the Sumatran hornbill."
"What is that?" Frank inquired.
"The hornbill, whose scientific name is Buceros bicornis, makes its nest in a hole in a tree. When the female has laid an egg, the male plasters up the entrance of the hole with mud, and keeps his mate there until the young bird has been reared to the proper age for coming out in the world."
"How does she manage to live all that time?" said one of the boys.
"The hole is not entirely closed," was the reply. "A small opening is left, and through it the male bird feeds her, and he is constantly on duty around the outside of the nest to protect her from harm. When the young bird begins to eat, the mother takes in her beak the food which her mate has brought, and gives the youth his proper allowance. He is a funny-looking fellow when about half grown; his body is plump and soft, without a single feather, and his skin is half transparent, so that you almost expect to see through it."
"A remarkable bird," said Fred.
"And a remarkable country he lives in," Frank replied.
And with this comment the conversation about Sumatra and its products came to an end, with a vote of thanks on the part of the boys to their amiable informant.
A SUMATRAN BUTTERFLY.