145 



A FISH-DRIVE. 



SCHOOLS, railways, and foreign immigration are mak- 

 ing the Perak Malays of the present generation a 

 class of men very different from their fathers ; and 

 old Alang Abdullah was one of a type that is fast 

 disappearing. 



He and the men of his age saw the younger men 

 hurry in to the towns and mining centres to pit 

 their brains and energies against those of the im- 

 migrant Chinese and Indians; but they themselves 

 stood back from the press and turmoil, and watching 

 the fever of the money-getting around them with un- 

 comprehending eyes, explained their want of under- 

 standing by saying that they were Orang Hutan 

 " forest men." 



Alang Abdullah had been born within a few miles 

 of the spot where his present house stood, and all 

 his life long he had never been any greater distance 

 from it than he could cover easily on foot within 

 two days. The year for him was one uneventful 

 circle, marked only by the padi time, the fruit time, 

 the rainy season, and the dry season. He was a 

 Muhammadan, of course " there is no God but Allah, 

 and Muhammad is His Prophet " ; and he would have 



K 



