A TRA\ELER'S NOTES ON JAVA 



99 



known as the Rijst-tafel or rice-table. 

 Seated in a spacious pavilion, an army 

 of beturbaned Alalays brought us soup. 

 Then large, deep plates were placed be- 

 fore us in which a supply of rice was 

 deposited. On top of this basic stratum 

 two inches deep we were expected to 

 place an extraordinary variety of vege- 

 tables, curries, dried fish, eggs, fowls, 

 and meats flavored with a variety of 

 peppery condiments. After depositing on 

 my plate eight of the dishes offered, limi- 

 tations of appetite and space demanded 

 a halt, and the remaining half of the 

 sixteen varieties were allowed to pass 

 untouched. Subsequent experience with 

 this rice-table — so fearfully and wi nder- 

 fully made — taught me discretion ; but I 

 shall never forget the bewildering dismay 

 of that first encounter. In this connec- 

 tion, a recent writer remarks that "it is 

 humanly impossible to partake of the 

 rice-table and not to grossly overeat one's 

 self." Perhaps in this daily over-indul- 

 gence in the pleasures of the tables we 

 may find the explanation of the fact that 

 the great majority of .resident Hollanders 

 are inclined to corpulence. 



In the cool of the afternoon we re- 

 turned to Tandjong Priok •anj;l boarded 

 a vessel of the Royal Packet Company's 

 fleet, which sailed the same evening for 

 Soerabaya. A sail of 36 hours brought 

 us to this city, the most important sea- 

 port in Java, with a good harbor at the 

 mouth of the Solo River. We anchored 

 off shore and soon after, embarking in 

 one of the native boats, made our way 

 amid the crowded shipping to the landing 

 stage and passed the customs without 

 delay. 



Although commercially of great im- 

 portance, Soerabaya is hot and presents 

 few attractions to the visitor. We ob- 

 served an air of bustling activity in the 

 streets which seemed to verify the city's 

 reputation for alertness and ascendency 

 in the mechanical arts. 



Turning our backs on Soerabaya, a 

 two hours' ride on the railway, through 

 a densely tropical region, brought us to 

 Pasourouan, where we entered the curi- 

 ous carts of the country, called dos-a-dos, 



bound for the delightful mountain resort 

 of Tosari. Ever ascending, we advanced 

 past miles of rice and sugar fields to a 

 pretty little hotel on the lower slopes of 

 the mountain range, where we lunched. 

 The remainder of the climb to Tosari 

 was too steep for vehicles, so horses and 

 palanquins Vv-ere used for the final stage 

 of the journey. The entire excursion 

 was full of interest, taking us through 

 dift'erent climatic zones, each exhibiting 

 their characteristic growths in wild pro- 

 fusion. While two of us were advancing 

 ahead of the main party we surprised a 

 large black ape, which was walking in 

 the road. He viewed us with interest for 

 a moment and then disappeared into the 

 forest. 



With a feeling of intense satisfaction 

 we arrived at this delightful sanitarium, 

 where a sojourn of several days in the 

 salubrious air of the mountains gave us 

 renewed strength for our travels in the 

 lowlands. 



A walk along the single street of the 

 village gave us some idea of the mode 

 of life of these mountaineers, who are 

 quite distinct from their neighbors of the 

 lower valleys. Here ^re found the homes 

 o'f the Teiiggerese, that hardy tribe who, 

 at the timetpf "the Aloslem invasion, re- 

 treated to th^se mountain strongholds 

 and successfully defended their homes 

 against the invaders. 



The lofty location of Tosari, perched 

 on a flank of the Tengger massif at an 

 elevation of 5.480 feet above sea-level, 

 invites one, by its invigorating air, to 

 undertake walking trips and mountain- 

 eering excursions, which in other parts of 

 the island would be out of the question. 



Two of these jaunts which abide in 

 memory as among the choicest of Java- 

 nese experiences were the trips to the 

 crater of the active Bromo volcano and 

 another early morning climb to the sum- 

 mit of Penandjaan, a loftier eminence 

 which commands an extensive view of 

 the eastern part of the island. 



IN THE HE.VRT OF OLD JAVA 



With pleasant memories of our moun- 

 tain sojourn, we discard our heavier 



