VISIT THE SULTAN OF BANKALANG. 143 



tain Blackwood and a party of the officers of the Fly, 

 to accompany him on a visit to the Sultan of Bank- 

 alang, in the island of Madura, on December 10th, 

 Lieut. Risk and Messrs. Harvey, Melville, and I, 

 gladly availed ourselves of the opportunity. The Re- 

 sident, accompanied by Captain Blackwood and the 

 two Messrs. Fraser, came down to the naval arsenal 

 at eight o'clock, when we all embarked in the Sul- 

 tan's state-barge, that had been sent over for us. It 

 was, however, dead low water, and on arriving at 

 the mouth of the Kali mas we found the shoals did 

 not admit of our passing out in a boat of such bur- 

 then, and we called for tambangans. Messrs. Pym 

 and Soper, happening to pass in one at the time, 

 came to render assistance, and were invited to accom- 

 pany us. Crossing the strait, we landed on a stone 

 pier, with a small shed or pandopo at the end of it, and 

 on reaching the shore found a kind of guest-house, 

 or passangerang, with a table covered with fruit 

 and refreshments, where we were received by M. 

 Van Graoul, the Assistant-resident stationed at the 

 court of the Sultan, and by one of the Sultan's sons. 

 The latter was a small man, in the uniform of a 

 Dutch cavalry- officer, but with a dark handkerchief 

 tied round his head, in the distinctive fashion that 

 marks the native chief. Four carriages were wait- 

 ing for us, in which we proceeded along a pretty 

 good road, that for the first three or four miles 

 crossed some very low swampy ground, occupied 

 partly by paddy-fields, partly by fields of Indian 



