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MEMOIR OF THE LATE MR. WILLIAM JACK. 
menced a war-dance, with the most vio- 
lent gesticulations, sounding their shields 
to a kind of measured time. e then as- 
cended: on entering the Rajah's house, 
we were welcomed by a universal groan 
from the company, and invited to take the 
seat of honour, at the head of the spacious 
apartment. After a little while, the ladies 
" came to pay their respects; and the first 
time we saw them, we certainly opened 
our eyes, for their entire dress consisted 
of a cloth from their loins to their knees, 
leaving the whole upper part of the body 
quite naked; yet, such is the force of ha- 
bit, they were unconscious of the least 
indelicacy ; in recompence, their head and 
neck ornaments were elegant, and all of 
pure gold. We made them very happy 
by some little presents of coloured hand- 
kerchiefs. There is a native politeness 
about many of the people, that is highly 
. pleasing: the Rajah of Ilitubara is one of 
these. He isa young man, and attached 
Tübielf, from some cause or other, parti- 
cularly to me, always constituting himself 
my especial attendant, and by a number of 
little attentions, endeavouring to render 
himself agreeable. They are a handsome 
and warlike race, uncommonly active and 
athletic. Among the barbarous customs 
that we are surprized to find among such 
a people, is that of suspending human 
heads to their houses, on great occasions ; 
this is considered a privilege of royalty. 
The Slave Trade has been the cause of 
great evil to this country, and there will 
be some satisfaction in rescuing so fine a 
people from its horrors, which I hope we 
are in a fair way of effecting. We arrived 
9n this coast on the 14th of last month, 
and have been employed, ever since, in 
negotiations with the different chiefs. The 
island is divided into an infinite number of 
districts, all independent of each other, 
and with the chiefs of which it was neces- 
Sary to treat separately. The maps give 
No idea of this island, so I need not men- 
me much of places ;—it is actually far 
known than Otaheite. You may sup- 
pose that our objects were not always 
easily attained, especially as the restric- 
137 
tion on the Slave Trade struck at one 
great source of their profits; and there 
were other troublesome questions some- 
times involved, particularly when we came 
in contact with the Chinese, settled at 
some of the northern ports. I think that 
Sir Stamford will be satisfied, when he 
finds that all essential points are carried, 
though some lesser details are not exactly 
as I would have them. I doubt whether 
we shall reach Bencoolen this month; but 
I am in the best of health and spirits, 
busy in framing a report on Pulo Nias, 
and well satisfied with the successful re- 
sult of our labours." 
I extract the following pr npa ac- 
count of the island of P ias, from a 
notice given by Mr. Jack himself in the 
Malayan Miscellanies, Vol. 2, No. viii. 
“The island of Pulo Nias has hitherto 
been very imperfectly known to Europe- 
ans: it is the largest of that chain of 
islands which skirts the western coast of 
Sumatra, and is at the same time the most 
populous and best cultivated. It is about 
seventy miles in length, stretching from 
S.E: to N.W. Its surface is, for the most 
part, hilly, but not mountainous; it pos- 
sesses several rivers of considerable size, 
whose mouths or qualloes afford entrance 
to native vessels and boats. There are 
several good harbours, both at the north- 
ern and southern end of the island, and 
there is anchorage for ships almost all 
along the eastern coast. The general as- 
pect of the country is highly pleasing to- 
wards the sea, the slopes of the hills are 
either covered with cocoa-nut trees, or 
with long grass; but, it is not till looking 
down, from their summits, upon the coun- 
try beyond, that its full richness bursts 
upon the view. From thence, the valleys 
and sides of the hills appear a sheet of 
cultivation; their summits are crown wned 
with clumps of trees, which mark the sites 
of the different villages, and the dark som- 
bre hue of undisturbed forest is no where 
to be discovered. The soil is one of pecu- 
liar fertility, of great depth in the lowest 
ys, and even on the 
grounds and valle 
steep declivities of the hills, CHAM 
