EXPERIENCES IN SUMATRA. 



301 



' Orang Malay.' idly kicking his heels in the air, while his better half 

 passes by with the burden on her head. 



We frequently witnessed the operation of repairing worn places in 

 the streets. This work was all done by native prisoners and most 

 elaborately. At first we wondered where the representative of the 

 law was, for no uniform was visible other than the brown one of the 

 convict and the white band of the ' trusty.' Inquiry furnished a more 

 than adequate explanation. The convicts in Sumatra were Javanese, 

 and the hatred between the natives of the two islands is so bitter 

 that there was no danger of prisoners getting away. A similar system 

 was followed in the disposition of native soldiers. To prevent thieves 

 being abroad at night all natives and Chinese were required to carry 

 lights. 



Cocoanut trees were plentiful in and around the eclipse camp, and 

 the fruit often furnished a delicious bit of refreshment. jSTo one drinks 

 the milk of the ripened fruit ; for this purpose the green nut is selected, 

 before the formation of the meat has begun. One of the native boys 



A Side Street in Padang. (Betel Tree in the Foreground.) 



