June r, 18S5.J 



THfi VftOPXCAL kGP.VC \ 1 L r U '-■' 'r 



947 



mon earth-worm in some degree; they are very soft, 

 scarcely bear handling. On their head is a shield as hard 

 as shell, with which they bore their way through 

 the hardest woods. The Orang laut esteem thern a delic- 

 acy. The white ants, though small, are to be found in 

 the forests and in every place where they can Gnd timber 

 suited to their taste. They are not particular what it is 

 they attack— everything short of iron or stone. If the 

 wood they com- to be hard or of a description they do 

 not like, such as teak, camphor-wood, or hallow, they 

 merely nibble a little at the heart and depart to seek 

 something more toothsome or agreeable to the palate. 

 When they coma upon a soft wood tree or pine-wood box 

 containing clothes, books, &c, the havoc they do in a very 

 short time is astonishingly complete. Frequently they'are 

 found whero least expected; a wardrobe may be opened, 

 and, to the surprise and loss of the owner, may be liter- 

 ally swarming with white ants, whose voracious little maws 

 may havo entirely destroyed whole suits of clothing, 6hoes, 

 and all. I have seen the bottom of a tar-barrel entirely 

 eaten away, and the beams of a house devoured so that 

 only a thin skin remained. Varous stories have been told 

 of their eating up rupees and dollars, leaving nothing, not 

 even the boxe6 ! 



There are a great variety of kinds and sizes of ants in 

 the forests, from the little red fellow, barely visible, to 

 the big red soldier ant, whose bite it is not in the least 

 desirable to feel. 



Birds are not numerous. Snakes and monkeys destroy 

 the eggs and young ones. Tribes of monkeys used to visit 

 the vicinity of Johor Bharu, and on Sundays when the 

 saw-mills were not at work and all was quiet, they gained 

 confidence and approached near the houses. It was interest- 

 ing to watch their gambols, and their agile and graceful 

 httunds from the branches of one tree to another, chatter- 

 rfrg and screaming the while, calling forth a deal of merri- 

 ment, especially when, after hanging a while by the tail, 

 they suddenly swung themselves upwards or downwards, 

 landing on an adjoining one ten or fifteen feet away. 



The forests yield also bamboos, canes, ratans, reeds, barks, 

 fibres, and fibrous substances, materials for paper making, 

 gurus, resins, iudiarubber, caoutchouc, various dyeing and 

 tanning substances found in woods, roots, flowers, leaves, 

 &c, wood oils, drugs, charcoal, timber, and various fruits 

 and seeds. Guttapercha, or. as the Malays call it getu'h 

 tah'an, was first? discovered, or at least first brought into 

 use, from the Johor forests. It was a fortunate thing that 

 ]ust when the telegraph was brought into use guttapercha 

 appeared in the market from those forests. . Nothing has 

 been found better adapted for covering deep sea cables 

 than guttapercha. As the tree is destroyed iu obtaining 

 the gutta, it is now getting scarce and very costly. It 

 would be well for either the British or Johor Government 

 to plant this invaluable tree, the gum of which may be 

 put to so many uses. 



Tigers are f?r from being 6carce; they kill not a few 

 Chinese gambier-planters and others during the year. H. 

 II the Maharajah otters fifty dollars for each tiger killed 

 and brought in. There is a courageous Malay, an old 

 man now, his son when ho is told 



• a tiger; and who is very sue 

 ■ful in killing them ; he places two loaded guns pointing 

 acros in path the tiger takes, a string is fastened to 

 each trigger, and as the beast goes along trailing tie 

 feet with cat-like motion, he trips on the string, off goes 

 the gun, and he is invariably shot through the body just 

 behind the foreshouldci 



A fori 10 paid a v; v ,; to Johor I 



have killed one. but did not One evening just 

 sundown, the gr: tei came behind my house 



on the verge of the forest and growled a growl. p.p, 

 hollow, vicious. My visitor, who had gone to Singapore, 

 was surprised of the circumstani r when He-returned. He 

 said "Ah! 1 vish 1 had been here, I voidd have shot 

 it." I said : " perhaps he may come again." .said he : 

 "Ah! I vish he voiid. 1 vould shoot." (us! 

 same time, sundown, next evening, wi heardamosl rit 

 making our hair stand on end and our blood u n '! > 

 I saiil : " Oh ! there is the tiger." " Ah ! give me your 

 rifle* ^"ive me your ritle, I vill shoot," said my visitor. 

 1 replied : " Now, do not think about it, let him go ; the 

 ;uuglc is very dense, it is getting dark, and you may be 



taken at a disadvantage ; do not go." " Yes 1" said he 

 vehemently, "Yes! I vill go, give me your rifle." So, to 

 please him I gavo him my rifle, aud instantly went into 

 another room to get a spear and accompany him, think- 

 ing that he had a chance of coming o/t second best. I 

 was not long in getting the spear, anil made baste to run 

 after him. but, to my astonishment, I had not far to run, 

 for there was my foreign friend perched a stride, legs 

 across tho ridge of the roof of the cook-house, calling out 

 in rather agitated toues: "Aha! Mosieu tigre, Mosieu 

 tigro, come on, I vil shoot.*' I laughed just a little, hut 

 my visitor did not seo anything to laugh at. He deliber- 

 ately descended, politely gave me back my rifle, and said 

 that " tigers wore very cowardly brutes." 



Ono day a tiger seized a wood-cutter by the right arm 

 whilst at work in the forest, his wife was by good fortune 

 near by, she instantly laid hold of her husband's left hand, 

 and whilst the tiger pulled one way she screamed and 

 pulled with might and main the other way — the tiger— 

 whether from fright or iu deference to a lady relaxed his 

 grip, gave up the contest and retreated. I have on two 

 occasions seen the bodies of wood-cutters brought in who 

 had been killed by tigers, both had their right arms torn 

 off at the shoulder. I suppose when the poor fellows 

 becamo aware that a tiger was upon them they instinctively 

 threw up their rig'ht arm to defend themselves. 



Elephants used to be found not far from the town of 

 Johor Bharu, but they are getting shy of the clearings 

 now, and to get a shot at an elephant one must go beyond 

 the Gunong Pulai Mountains or up the rivers Batu I'ahat 

 or Muar. They are not of the largest breed, No attempt 

 has beeu made to tame them for work, as in India and 

 Burma, where they work in the saw-mills, eaeh one doing 

 the work of 50 coolies. 



Wild cattle exist ; they are sometimes shot in the Muar 

 district; their scent is very keen, sight and hearing acnte 

 to a degree, so it is difficult to get within range of them. 

 If one is " below the wind " the smell of a herd may 

 be felt although they are not visible. They are adorned 

 with large horn6. 



The Johor steam saw-mills are situated at the edge of 

 what was once der.se forest ; now all around is clear of 

 timber and the town of Johor Bharu is becoming quite 

 an important little place, with its streets of brick and 

 tiled houses inhabited by Chinese and Malays principally. 

 Those mills were established iu the year 1859-60 and 

 have gradually increased their plant until they may be 

 pronounced the most extensive concern of the kind in 

 His Highness the Maharajah of .Johor gave facilities 

 and encouragement to a few private individuals to set 

 them agoing, and from their foundation up to the present 

 time large quantities of manufactured timber have been 

 shipped to China, India, Mauritius, Java, Ceylon, &c, be- 

 sides supplying local demands. Ships of all nations have 

 loaded at the mills, and as they lie at a jetty where 

 there is deep water, there an- facilities for loading with 

 • ' The machinery and engines are all (from the 

 best makers, Messrs. McDowell & Sons, of Johnstone, 

 having supplied by far the greater part, which has given 

 full satisfaction The "largest frame saw takes in a log 

 S feet diameter, The planing and moulding machines and 

 band saws are all in good working order, enduring the 

 tear and wear of upwards of twenty years exceedingly 

 well. To give some idea of the quality of the water of 

 Johor, it is found that when the boilers are cleaned out, 

 the iusides of them are as clear and smooth as a sheet of 

 paper. Any matter is washed off without difficulty. No 

 use has buen found for the vast quantities of saw dust 

 daily thrown I od only is burned, the fuel King 



rinds, saiabs, ei sawdusl is not utilised iu 



any way. 



Malay wood-cutter I. to go to the forests 



and bring the timbei in ram to the mills A eom 13 

 of six to ten is madi , thej gene: n Is and 



rel ition; ■ 1 and hi bri eld generally 



re m. -ili: to 

 iii, down when the agreement is made ; 

 with this money t' 1 1a boat and lay ina stock of 



; as, tools, fee. Ina month the headman makes his 



mice and receives another advance, reporting pro- 

 gress; this is repeated three, four, or five times accord- 

 ing to the sine of the raft they mean to bring. Some 



