1 86 THE WOODLANDS ORCHIDS 



a small force to be equipped, and meantime the Controleur 

 returned to his station. 



It was a rare opportunity for Ericsson. He begged per- 

 mission to accompany his new friend, who good-naturedly 

 presented him to the Governor. An historian may be 

 allowed to say that the hero of this narrative is fat, and there 

 is no offence in supposing that the most exalted functionary 

 has a sense of humour. His Excellency appears to have 

 been tickled. The cannibals would rage with disappoint- 

 ment in beholding this succulent mortal — beyond their 

 reach. He laughed and consented. I have no details of 

 the expedition striking enough to be set down in a brief 

 chronicle like this. It was a slow and toilsome march 

 through jungle and mountain passes, the Barizan range, 

 where a score of determined men might have stopped an 

 army. The Achinese proved that ; they held the force at 

 bay for hours in a gorge, though less than a score. But the 

 Battas would not fight even when their capital was reached, 

 on Lake Toba. The Rajahs submitted, paid an indemnity, 

 gave hostages, yielded up the surviving victims, and under- 

 took to have no more dealings with the Achinese. _ So the 

 matter ended. Ericsson found some new plants in their 

 country, and many old well worth collecting. Doubtless 

 the results would have been far more important could he 

 have wandered freely. But those demons of Achin hung 

 upon the line of march, joyously sacrificing their own lives 

 to kill a Dutchman. If his personal adventures were not so 

 curious, however — perhaps I should rather say so dramatic 

 — that I could single out one of them, Ericsson gained much 

 information about an extraordinary people. I can only set 

 down a few facts. 



He says that the Battas themselves do not regard their 

 cannibalism as an immemorial practice. They have a story, 

 not worth repeating, to account for it. But I may observe 



