498 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



These natives also make many fine imitations of fruit 

 and flowers in silver, like those of the Padang plateau. 

 Their sarongs and scarfs they manufacture themselves, 

 and ornament very skilfully with figures and leaves 

 wrought in with silver-thread. 



April 20th. — Rode this morning from Taba 

 Pananjong over the Barizan or Coast Range, which 

 here, as elsewhere, is generally higher than the ranges 

 parallel to it on the east, and therefore fonns the 

 water-shed between the east and west coasts. The 

 road had been well built, but was extremely muddy 

 and badly washed away in some places by the heavy- 

 rains which have lately occurred in this vicinity. It 

 is, however, sufficiently good for the natives to use 

 their padatis, or carts drawn by buffaloes, but most of 

 the men I met were carrying their produce to market 

 on their backs. 



All the mountains are covered with a most dense 

 forest, but the low lands which spread from their 

 bases to the sea appear quite unfertile, especially 

 when compared with the low lands of Java. The 

 morning air was still and clear, and troops of large 

 black monkeys made the valleys and ravines continu- 

 ally resound with their loud trumpeting. From the 

 top of the pass, which is from two thousand five 

 hundred to three thousand feet in height, a magnifi- 

 cent view is obtained, to the southwest, of the low 

 lands extending to Bencoolen, and also of Pulo Tikus 

 in the distance, and the heavy sui'f breaking on its 

 coral reefs and sparkling brightly in the sunshine. 

 On the opposite or interior side of the chain was 

 spread out before me the lovely and highly fertile 



