390 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



beautiful tree-ferns, which, unlike their humbler rep- 

 resentatives in our temperate regions, grow up into 

 trees fifteen to eighteen feet high. They are interest- 

 ing, not only on account of their graceful forms and 

 limited distribution, but because they are the living 

 representatives of a large family of trees that flour- 

 ished during the coal period. 



As we proceeded, our road approached the base 

 of the Barizan chain until we were quite near them, 

 and then curved again around some spur that pro- 

 jected toward the sea-shore. Late in the afternoon 

 we came to the opening of a broad, triangular valley, 

 and beheld on our right, and near the head of the 

 valley, the towering peak of Singalang, whose summit 

 is nine thousand eight hundred and eighty feet above 

 the sea. Large numbers of natives were seen here 

 travelling in company, returning homeward from the 

 market at Ka^oi Tanam, the next village. Their holi- 

 day dress here as elsewhere is a bright red. Beyond 

 Kayu Tanam the road ran along the side of a deej) 

 ravine, having in fact been cut in the soft rock, a nar- 

 row wall of it being left on the outer side to prevent 

 carriages from sliding off into the deep chasm. Sud- 

 denly, as we whirled round the sharp corners while 

 dashing through this place, we came into a deep 

 canon extending to the right and left, called by the 

 Dutch the Kloof, or " Cleft," a very proper name, for 

 it is a great cleft in the Barizan chain. Up this cleft 

 has been built a road by which all the rich products 

 of the Padangsclie Bovenlanden^ or " Padang pla- 

 teau," are brought down to the coast. Opposite to 

 us was a torrent pouring over the perpendicular side 



