134 Voyage of the Novara. 



The channel through these straits is becoming more and more 

 contracted owing to the dehouche at this point of the river Perah. 

 Shallow sand-banks and small rocky islands impede the navi- 

 gation, and it is a common precaution for ships to cast anchor 

 at the least approach of foul weather, an operation which is 

 the more readily set about that the water is nowhere above 

 twenty fathoms, but good holding ground throughout the 

 straits. Moreover, the charts of these regions are thoroughly 

 reliable and accurate, while at the most dangerous spot, where 

 a sand-bank with only one fathom of water over it lies right 

 in the tracks of vessels, a light-ship is moored, which we 

 passed on the 13th of April, and continued our voyage 

 through the night in perfect safety. 



On the morning of the 14th April, the hill of Ophir (called 

 also Ledang or Pudang), 5700 feet high, lay fair before us. 

 We now found ourselves opposite the town of Malacca. The 

 channel at this point approaches so close to the mainland, 

 that we could easily distinguish churches and houses, and 

 the frigate exchanged signals with the neighbouring sema- 

 phore. 



Malacca, once the Malay capital, has at present altogether 

 lost its former importance, and of the three English colonies 

 in the Straits of Malacca, usually known as the Straits Settle- 

 ments^ is the least important in either a political or a com- 

 mercial sense. The entire region was, until within these few 

 years, in most evil repute for the atrocious piracies perpetrated 

 hero. Natives used to lie in wait in small canoes filled with 



