SUMATHA. 



SUMATRA. 



j 1* St' snd 3V X. lt there arc thtvo large Islands, called 

 Baalist*, radang. snd llankan, which lire divi led from Sumnlnx )>y 

 Itowvr's Strait, or SUl Panjsng. Thin *tnit in from 1 to 5 miles 

 wiilr. but navigable for lanje vessel*. The coast line of these islands 

 nd that of Sumatra in these parts ii low and generally iwampy. 

 Rootli uf the southern extremity of Brewer** Strait, as far a* the 

 Strait of Bane*, and along the western ihorej of thU strait to Cape 

 I.uccpara, and thence, to the eastern entrance of Sutida Strait, the 

 coast line is exceedingly low. and part of it it inundated at high-water. 

 Shoals and mod banks of from 2 to 10 miles in width, extend along 

 tb* coast. 



Smfut* MM! StiL The north-eastern side of Sumatra in a low and 

 level plain ; the south wrstrrn is eitlior mountainous or hilly, but our 

 information respecting the interior is imperfect The mountain region 

 begins on the shores of the Straits of Sundo, with the elevated pro- 

 montories of Tanjong Tooa and Tanjong Kamnntara. At a short 

 distance from the flrt-natned cape, and near the eastern shores of 

 Urn pong Bay. is the Raja Bassa Peak, which is about 1600 feet high. 

 Tbu mountain summit is connected with the extensive mountain 

 MUM* which separate I.ampon; Bay from Samam-ka Bay, and on which 

 the Kvywr's Prak probably rises to 5000 foet Another range of 

 mountains, which risn at the back of the flat tract between Tanjong 

 Chins and Flat Point, runs north-west, and joins the great mass north 

 of the innermost recess of Samangka Bay. The mountain region thus 

 formed covers a tract about 100 miles in length by about 40 miles in 

 width. In this part of the mountain region the country along the 

 sea is a succession of high hills and narrow valleys, very little culti- 

 vated, and very thinly inhabited. It produces however much pepper. 

 East of this range a much more elevated chain of mountains occurs at 

 about 20 miles from the shores of the Indian Ocean. Some of the 

 summits are visible from the fen. The space inclosed by the two 

 parallel ridgei is an elevated table-land, the surface of which is very 

 broken and hilly; and it contains several large lakes, as those of 

 Ransn snd of Lukitan. The level undulating country which surrounds 

 these lakes is of great fertility, well cultivated, and comparatively well 

 settled. It produces pepper, cotton, indigo, tobacco, sugar-can?, 

 maize, rice, sweet potatoes, and several other roots; and also plantains 

 mid pine apple*. The numerous rivers which flow eastward constitute 

 the principal branches of the two large rivers Tulan Booting and 

 Pah in' ang. 



The ccntr..! mountain rrgion may be considered as extending from 

 4' 30' S. Int. to Tapanooly Bay, or 1 40' N. lat It contains the 

 highest ranges in the whole system, and occupies a much larger tract 

 in width than the other portions of the mountain region ; but the 

 mountains do not advance close to the shores of the Indian Ocean, 

 being divided from it by a comparatively low tract, generally 20 miles 

 in breadth, in some places le^s, and in others widening to 30 miles. 

 This low* r tract we aro better acquainted with than any other portion 

 of Sumatra, as several European settlements have existed here for two 

 centuries. Tho surface of this tract is intersected and rendered 

 uneven to a surprising degree by extensive swamps, which in many 

 spots encompass islands and peninsulas of considerable size. The 

 general level of the country rises very gradually to the b.isc of the 

 mountains, where the ascent is very abrupt and rather steep. The 

 >il coniiats of a fine red vegetable clay, covered with a layer of black 

 mould of no considerable depth. To the south of Bencoolen the 

 country is almost an impervious forest. Springs are abundant, and 

 the rivers are very numerous. The rivers are usually navigable for 

 small craft from the point where they enter the low marshy ground 

 to their mouth. But all the rivers have a bar across their embouchure, 

 the effect of the surf which breaks along this coast-line. 



There are only two seasons, the dry and wet, which are regulated 

 by the monsoons. In most parts of India to the north of the equator 

 the north-ea^ monsoon prevails when the sun is in the southern 

 hemisphere, and the south-western when the sun is in the northern 

 hemi'pbere, but on thi coast of Sumatra the monsoons are changed 

 by the direction of the land, the north-eastern into a north-western, 

 and the south-weitern into a south-eastern monsoon. The south- 

 eastern monsoon begins about May and leaves off in September; the 

 north-western monsoon begins in November and blows to the end 

 of May. The touth-eastern monsoon blows with great force and 

 sUadiiieu from the cud of Juno to late in September ; and during 

 thu |Msriod rain seldom falls, except in showers, and generally in the 

 night When the north-writ monsoon is strongest, from November 

 to January, the rain is abundant Tho rains do not sensibly abate 

 until March. Thunder and lightning are very frequent The atmos- 

 phere is generally more cloudy than in Europe. The fog, which is 

 observed to rise every morning among the distant hills, is dense to a 

 surprising drgree, and it seldom disperses till about three hours after 

 sunrise. When the monsoons abate their strength sea and land 

 br**ra prevail. The sea-breeze sets in between nine and ten o'clock 

 in the morning, subsequent to a calm, and declines with the setting 

 ran; the Und-brerae begins early in the night, and continues till 

 eight or nine o'clock in the morning. Tho land-breezes are rather 

 cool, a circumstance which influences the temperature of the night. 

 The beat in the day-time is considerable, but rather less than might 

 be expected near Uie equator. At Bencoolen the thermometer never 

 rises above 80*, and even at Natal not above 88 : at sun-rise it is 



usually as low as 70*, on account of the cool land-breeze which 

 descends from the mountain*, covered with clouds, and bathed in 

 constant vapours or rain. Tho mean annual temperature is probably 

 between 82 and S3*. As this region is traversed by the equator, the 

 temperature is nearly equal all the year round. 



Although the country is thinly inhabited and ill cultivated, except 

 no.ir the European settlements and a few ports which are visited by 

 traders, it produces several articles of export, as popper, camphor- 

 barus, gold-dust, ivory, and benzoin. The productions include rice, 

 maize, tobacco, cotton, indigo, sugar, coffee, and the most exquisite 

 fruits in the Indian Archipelago, as the mangosteeu, durian, jack-fruit, 

 plantains, oranges, and others. 



Tho mountain region which lies at the back of this low tract has 

 only been partially explored by Europeans. It appears to be traversed 

 by three, and in some parts by more than three, ranges, running 

 parallel to the coast in the direction of the inland from south-c.ist to 

 north-west This region contains several volcanoes The most southern 

 of the volcanoes in Sumatra, Gunong Dcmpo, which is known, is near 

 3 40' a lat. Its three peaks rise to about 12,000 feet above the sea, 

 and arc always enveloped in smoke. A volcano of moderate elevation 

 occurs about 30 miles cost of Bencoolen, which made an eruption 

 about a century ago, and emitted smoke for a long time. Near 

 1 30' S. lat is the volcano of Quuong Api, or Berapi, which rises to a 

 great elevation. Mount Ophir, or Qunong Pasaman, which is near 

 5' N. lat, and 13,850 feet above the sea, has also the form of a volcano, 

 but is not active. There are several other volcanoes in Sumatra. 

 Near the lakes, us near that of Koriuchi, or St George's Lake, there 

 are rice-fields. Indigo, cotton, and sugar-cane are also cultivated. 

 The mountains which separate these cultivated tracts from the 

 Indian Ocean attain a great elevation. The most remarkable of these 

 countries inclosed within the mountain region is that of Menangcal.au, 

 which extends from 1 8. lat to near the equator. It is a plain, 

 extending about 50 miles in every direction, and surrounded by high 

 mountains. The ranges which lie west of it, and separate it from the 

 lower tract along the Indian Ocean, are only from 5500 to G500 feet 

 high, but those which lie south of it are much higher : one of the 

 summits, the Buckit Talang, is 10,032 feet above the sea level. Tho 

 range which lies east of the plain contains no lofty summits. But on 

 the north-east stands the mountain mass of the Ivisiimbi, the highest 

 mountain in Sumatra, which rises to about 15,000 feet above the sea- 

 level, and west of it are the volcanoes of Berapi and Sinkalong. Tho 

 surface of the plain is rather hilly and broken than undulating, and 

 the lowest part of it ia occupied by the Lake of Sincara, which is 1035 

 feet above the sea-level. The whole country is one continued scene of 

 cultivation, interspersed wiih numerous towns and villages shaded by 

 the cocoa-nut and fruit-trees. Sir Thomas llallles estimates the popu- 

 lation at about a million. Every kind of grain, fruit, or root cultivated 

 in any part of Sumatra is grown here in abundance, anil the people 

 apply themselves also to manufactures. The waters which descend 

 from the neighbouring mountains to the Lake of Sincara are carried 

 off by a river called Ambiloug, the most remote source of the river 

 Indragiii, which falls into the China Sea between and 30' S. lat 

 The plain of Menangcabau, not being greatly elevated above the level 

 of the sea, does not materially differ in climate from the lower country 

 along the shores of the Indian Ocean ; but other parts aro more 

 elevated, and beyond the most western ridge the temperature is much 

 lower. 



The northern part of the mountain region, or that which extends 

 from 1 N. lat to the most northern extremity of the island, contains 

 n low plain, which lies along the Indian Ocean, and may be about 1 

 or 12 miles in width, and rather a billy tract, which lies at the back 

 of the plain, and is about 25 miles across. The greater part of the 

 plain is uncultivated, and very thinly inhabited. The mountain true -t 

 is traversed in the direction of the island by three or four ridges, which 

 occupy only a small width and are separated by extensive plains. The 

 central ridge seems to rise to the greatest height, and at its most 

 northern extremity, south-east of the town of Acheen, is the QiKen's 

 Mountain, whose summit is at least 6900 feet above the sea-level. The 

 most southern ridge terminates in Acheen Head, a bluff but not very 

 lofty promontory. The ridges themselves are overgrown with forests, 

 in which the camphor-tree is frequently met with south of 3 S. lat, 

 and also the cassia-tree, and the tree from which benzoin is obtained. 

 The whole country is cleared, and either planted with rice and maize, 

 or used as posture-ground* for buffaloes, cattle, and horses. Pepper 

 plantations are numerous. The watershed in this region is generally 

 formed by the eastern ridge of mountains, and consequently the rivers 

 which drain the plains and longitudinal valleys have a longer cuuive 

 and are less rapid than farther south, and are used for inland naviga- 

 tion. One of the plains between .the mountains is occupied by a Inrgo 

 lake, the Laut Ayor Tawar Lake, which appears to be of great extent 

 In this region the dry season does not take place during tho south- 

 eastern, but during the north-western monsoon. 



Tho hilly tract which extends along the north coast of Sumatra, 

 from the valley of Acheen and Queen's Mountain on tho west to 

 Diamond Point on the east, a distance of about 130 miles, may be 

 considered as an appendage of the mountain-region. From the high 

 coast which bounds the sea the country rises gradually to the south, 

 until it attains an elevation of about 1000 foet above, the sea. The 



