SUMATRA. 



SUMATRA. 



roo 



Ajcr alasi ia the early part of iU eours*, but in the lower part is 

 Tm-^j tk Tal-ng. The Musi River become* navigable for boat* 

 Mbr* it l*v** UM mouuUin rrgion at Muara Mulang, which is about 

 MO mil** frwn UM MB. Moit of the southern dutrioU of the moan- 

 taut rvfton Mod their good* to Palembang, and receive by this river 

 tns foreign article* which are consumed by the inhabitants. Moat 

 of the branch** (all into the Tatong in the vicinity of the town of 



PalMntang. when the river ia above a mile wide. From Palembang 

 downward* toe river ia called Falembang Uivor. After the confluence 

 of iU numerooa Imnchea it turn* northward, and begins to divide 

 Me several anna, reaching the MB with four mouths, which, with the 

 intervening islands, occupy a ipaoe of more than 24 miles on the 

 aboret of the Strait of Bauca. These arma are called from eaat to west 

 Salaee lUver, Fahw River, Palembang River, and Salt River. The 

 depth of tbeae riven varies between 3 and 10 fathoms; but in front 

 of their mouths is an extensive bank of hard sand, with a thin super- 

 stratum of black mud, which ia hardly covered at low water. The 

 channel* acrosa this bank have only from 1 4 to 2 fathoms at low- 

 water. At the full and change of the moon the tide rises from 7 to 

 8 feet 



The Tulan Booang, the moat southern of the larger rivers of 

 Sumatra, rise* in the mountain region, but little ia known of its 

 course. 



Climate. The temperature of the coasts and lower parts of Sumatra 

 t* rerjr agreeable. On the west coast, south of the equator, earth- 

 quake* are frequently felt ; but in general they are slight. Water- 

 spout* are very frequent along the western coast 



/YodtKftoiu. Several varieties of rice are cultivated in the lowest 

 plains and in the elevated valleys of the mountain range. Rice forms 

 an important article of export from Acheen to Hindustan, and from 

 the north-eastern coast to the British settlements on the Strait of 

 Malacca, Some maize is grown. The most common esculent veget- 

 able* are red and white yams, the St. Helena yam, sweet potatoes, 

 common potatoes in the more elevated districts; bredy, a kind of 

 sptnaoh ; lobnck, or the Spanish radish ; the large purple brinjall, or 

 egg-plant; many different sorts of beans, white and green peas, and 

 onvms Chili, or capsicum, ginger, coriander, and cummin-seed are 

 raised, especially on the western coast. Hemp is extensively culti- 

 vated, but only for smoking with tobacco. Tobacco is also grown, 

 and is an article of export Melons are raised on the plains. Sesti- 

 inurn is cultivated for its oil ; and the Palma Christ!, from which 

 castor-oil ia obtained, grows wild. The plantations of betel-vines are 

 extensive. Indigo and cotton are raised for domestic use only. 



Sumatra, like all the islands of the Indian Archipelago, is noted for 

 the variety of its fruit-trees ; the most important is the cocoa-nut tree. 

 There are also plantations of plantains, bauana, the bread-fruit tree, 

 jack-tree, mangosteena, durians, mango, different kinds of orange- and 

 lemon-trees, the pine-apple, the janibo, the guava, the papaya, the 

 custard-apple, the pomegranate, and the tamarind. 



Of the other plants and trees the most important ia the pepper-vine, 

 of which there are extensive gardens. The second as to importance is 

 the areca-palm, which ia grown most abundantly on the coast between 

 Acheen Head and Diamond Point Oil the eastern coast the plant 

 from which gambier is obtained ia largely cultivated. Sago is grown 

 in several places on the eastern plain, but especially on the island of 

 Kantau: large quantities go annually to Singapore. Clove- and 

 nutmeg-trees were introduced by the English in 1798. 



The tree from which the camphor-barus is obtained grows only in 

 the northern districts, between and 3 N. lat, north and south of 

 the town of Baroos, from which the article has received its distin- 

 guishing name. In the rame district are grown the tree from which 

 bcaiout is obtained, and those which yield cassia. In most places there 

 are the dragon's-blood trees, and trees from which caoutchouc is 

 obtained. Agibvwood is common. Extensive tracts of the eastern 

 plain are covered with different kinds of canes, known by the general 

 name of rattan*, Urge quantities of which go to Europe and China. 

 The forest* cover about three-fourths of the island. The most useful 

 tree* are the poon, u*ed for masts and spars ; the marbau, used as 

 beams for ahip* and bouses; the iron-wood tree, the ebony-tree, and 

 the rangi, which resembles mahogany. 



The most useful of the domestic animals is the buffalo, which attains 

 an extraordinary size, and is used for agricultural purposes and as an 

 animal of burden. There are two kinds white and black. The flesh 

 u eaten, but that of the black kind is preferred. The milk is employed 

 in making butter. Black cattle are not numerous, except on the coast 

 !rt. "" Plgh drawn by oxen. The horse is of a small 

 breed, bat well made and hardy. Sheep are few, and of a small size 

 Ooat* are numerous, but they are also small. The hog is of the 

 Cbioc** breed. 



Elephant* are numerous, especially in the forests of the plain. The 



them with poion for the tusks and skin. The buffalo ia 



Tho rhinoceros is common, both that with a 



the double-horned species. Bears are numerous, and 



moo*; them fa the sun-bear. There are different kinds of deer, among 



which is the kanohil, called by Huflbn chevrotin,' whoso extreme 



length is only 1 inebe*, and the height 10 inches behind and 8 inches 



at the .boulders. The varieties of the monkey-tribe are innumerable, 



nd among them the orau-utau is met with. There are sloths and 



squirrels. The tiger is very large, and frequently destroys men and 

 uioat animals. There are also tiger-cats, civet-cats, polecats, porcu- 

 pines, hedgehog*, and pangolins, a species of Manii. Bats are very 

 numerous. Alligators abound in most of the rivers. There are seve- 

 ral species of lizards, of which the guana is eaten. Chameleons and 

 flying lizards (JJraco t-o/an( are frequent Snakes occur in great 

 variety, among which is the boa. A few of them are poisonous. 

 Oysters are frequently found adhering to the roota of the mangrove- 

 trees with which the coast is lined. There is a great variety of shell- 

 fmb, particularly the gigantic keema, which is throe feet in'diaineter, 

 and more than two feet across. 



No part of the ocean is so abundant in fish as the sea which imr- 

 rounds the Indian Archipelago ; but fish seem to be less plentiful on 

 the western than on the eastern coast. The largest fishery in in 

 Brewer's Strait opposite the town of Bcrkit lintu, where boat* are 

 engaged at all seasons in fishing the trubu, a fish about n cubit long ; 

 the roe is an article of trade, and the dried fish are sent into the inte- 

 rior of the island. In the Strait of Malacca is the dugong (// 

 dugonff) and great numbers of sharks, the fins of which are ex] 

 to Singapore and China. 



Besides the common fowl, which is as abundant as in most other 

 countries, there is a much larger kind of domestic fowl in the Lampong 

 country, where there is also that diminutive kind called the bantam. 

 The wild fowl which is found in the woods differs little from thr 

 common sort, except in the uniformity of its brown colour. A mong 

 the wild birds the Sumntran pheasant is conspicuous for its beauty. 

 Peacocks, eagles, and vultures are rare, but kites, crows, jackdaws, 

 woodpeckers, and kingfishers are common. The horubill is abundant 

 There are several species of storks, pigeons, and doves; and quails and 

 partridges are common. The island swarms with insects. The variety 

 of ants is astonishing. Bees are very abundant, but the honey is infe- 

 rior to the English. The silk-worm is reared in a few places. 



Sumatra was once noted for its gold, and a considerable quantity is 

 still exported. The places in which it abounds are the mountains 

 which surround the table-land of Menangcabau, but it is also found 

 south and north of that country. Tin occurs in several places on the 

 great plain, but is very little worked. Copper is found in the northern 

 portions of the mountain region (between 2 and 3' N. lat.) to the 

 south-east of Analaboo, where it occurs in great abundance in an 

 extensive tract : it contains gold, but is not much worked. There is 

 iron in the mountains of Meuangcabau, where it is worked to a small 

 extent. Sulphur is obtained from some of the volcanoes, and arsenic 

 is found in several places. Saltpetre is found, and it is used by the 

 natives for making gunpowder. Coal has been found in one or two 

 places on the western coast. A little salt is made. 



Inhabitants. The interior of most of the larger islands of the Indian 

 Archipelago is occupied by a race of negroes called Australian ; but 

 it does not appear that such a race is found in Sumatra. Marsden 

 mentions two different races called Orang-Kuba and Orang-Gugu, 

 who are dispersed in the woods. They live in the tract that sepa- 

 rates the country of Labung from Palembang, speak a peculiar 

 language, and eat whatever the woods afford. Another race called 

 Orang-Abung is mentioned as inhabiting some mountainous tracts 

 near Samaugka Bay. If these small tribes are not the remnants of 

 the aborigines of the island, the present inhabitants must be con- 

 sidered such. They all belong to the same race. Their languages 

 may be considered as dialects of the same original language, though 

 they have adopted different modes of writing them. There are how- 

 ever some differences in these points, which have led writers on this 

 subject to divide them into five nations : the Atcheenese, the Battas, 

 the Malays, the Sumatrans, and the Lampongs. The Acbeenese occupy 

 the most northern part of the island, and differ considerably from the 

 other nations, being in general rather taller, stouter, and of a darker 

 complexion. [ATCHEES.] The Battas occupy the sea-coast on the 

 west side of the island from the river Sinkel to that of Tabuyong, 

 and extend across the island to the east coast; they are rather 

 below the stature of the Malays, and their complexions are fairer. 

 [BATTAS.] The Malays occupy, to the exclusion of all other nations, 

 the whole of the great plain from the river Rakan on the north to 

 that of Masusi on the south, and also the shores north of the Rakan 

 River as far as Timian. The mountain table-land of Menaugcabau 

 was, according to the history of the Malays, the original seat of their 

 nation, and from it they are supposed to have spread over the Indian 

 Archipelago. The inhabitants of Menangcabau are still distiugu 

 from all other nations of Sumatra by the advanced state of their 

 agriculture, their manufactures, and civilisation; while the Malays, 

 who inhabit the shores of the Strait of Malacca, appear to be a 

 degenerated tribe, and are chjefly occupied in piracy. The ,M 

 are Mohammedans, but not strict observers of the ceremonies of their 

 faith. The name of Sumatrans comprehends all the tribes th.it 

 inhabit the west coast, from the river Tabuyong (40' N. lat) on the 

 north, to the rivtr Padang-Ouchi (4 40' S. lat.) on the south, and also 

 occupy the mountain region south of Menanjcabou as far as 5 

 S. lat. They are rather below the middle stature. Their limbs are 

 generally slight, but well shaped, and particularly small at the wrists 

 and ancles. Their eyes are uniformly dark ami clear; the eyes of 

 the southern women particularly bear a strong resemblance to those 

 of the Chinese, being narrow and somewhat lower at the inner angles. 



