134- 
abandoned. Now you will, of course, 
suppose that these people are sunk in the 
lowest state of barbarism; but, strange in- 
consistency! it is quite the reverse; and 
they possess many noble and estimable 
qualities.. In point of veracity and sense 
of honour, they are as much superior to 
the Benghalees, as we are to both. Their 
deportment and behaviour are manly and 
independent; and in some things their no- 
tions are carried to a most extravagant 
length. man must not marry a woman 
of his own tribe, but must seek a wife in 
some other tribe, that acknowledges differ- 
ent ancestors. The breach of this rule is 
punishable with eating, which is carrying 
the idea of consanguinity much further 
than we do. If two men quarrel, and their 
difference cannot be settled by mediation, 
they go to war, but must, before commencing 
hostilities, publicly proclaim their design 
in the fairs, that the other may have due 
warning. If one man should kill another 
without this public proclamation, he would 
be sentenced to be eaten; but after it, all is 
- fair. Even then, however, being only a 
private quarrel, he is not permitted to eat 
his enemy, though he may kill him, as it is 
only on grand occasions, when the whole 
nation goes to war, that cannibalism is 
permitted. At the fairs, it is a point of 
honour that no violence or treachery be 
committed ; a man who carries his musket 
to the fair sticks a green branch in the 
muzzle, as proof of his peaceable inten- 
tions. The Battas have a written charac- 
ter, peculiar to themselves, and books on 
various subjects; we have got an account 
of five or six. 
“ The country in the interior is populous 
and well cultivated—and further, it abounds 
with gold. Camphor (Dryobalanops Cam- 
code and Benjamin (Styraz Benzoin) 
wild products of the forests, and 
ene: in no other part of the world ; 
thus few countries surpass Sumatra in na- 
tural riches. The people of the interior 
have an aversion to the sight of the sea, 
— «obige abode of evil spirits, 
inhabitants of the coast are conse- 
Eme an Rss race. They acknow- 
MEMOIR OF THE LATE MR. WILLIAM JACK. 
ledge one Supreme God, and three inférior 
divinities, whose names, as well as the title 
of their greatest chief, Sa Singa Maha Ra- 
jah, which is pure Sanscrit, proclaim their 
Hindoo origin. So extraordinary a people 
would require to be better known, and we 
shall, probably, sooner or later, make an 
expedition into their country, which will 
be very practicable, as the Chief of Baroos, 
one of our friends, has lately married the 
daughter of a Batta chief. I should have 
mentioned that women are excluded from 
these human feasts. Who knows but we 
may yet civilize and reclaim these people? 
I think they have sterling qualities that 
would make it worth the while. At 
events, I should like to get among them, 
and have ocular proof of their customs. 
Perhaps I may yet be present at one of 
their human feasts! We told the chiefs we 
were anxious to partake, and asked which 
were the epicurean morsels. They laugh- 
ed, but said that the palms of the hands 
and soles of the feet were the pieces most 
prized. 
“The harbour of Tappanooly is most 
noble and extensive : the hills come down 
to its edge, and are clothed with luxuriant 
forests of camphor, &c. Our settlement is 
on a very small island in the midst of it, 
most romantically situated, where there is 
a small Fort, two or three houses for the 
Resident and his assistants, and a 
Bazaar of three or four hundred people. 
The population around is very scanty, and 
their villages are situated in the hollows of 
the hills, where they lie hid until you come 
close upon them. The camphor-trees are 
the monarchs of the forest, rising often to 
a height of one hundred feet perpendicular, 
before giving off a single branch, straight 
as masts, and of proportionate diameter. 
We had one cut down, and got a little 
camphor in it; this substance is found in 
concrete masses, lying in hollows and cracks a4 
in the heart of the tree. Very little of it — 
finds its way to Europe—it chiefly goes to — | 
China, where it bears a price about thirty 
times higher than the Chinese camphor, 
which is the article we use. The latter is 
the produce of the Laurus Camphora, and 
