VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA. 195 



round the ship were very phosphorescent, which made us hope 

 for east wind. 



16. — All during last night we had travelled along the coast, 

 and at day-break we passed the harbour of Queda, where we 

 only saw one big English ship at anchor, which had been our 

 companion from Salangor, and which we had lost sight of a few 

 days ago. They had cast their anchors here to buy provisions, 

 which could be done here very easily, and then they followed us 

 to Junk Zeylon. 



At sunrise we passed a mountain called the Elephant, on 

 account of its resemblance to this animal. It is a medium high 

 mountain, overgrown with trees, and is situated in a plain. The 

 wind was favourable for us to-day and we also had fine weather, 

 therefore w^e advanced quickly in the channel, which lies between 

 the islands Pullu Lada, Cancag and Trottim (Terntan). The 

 channel in most places is betw^een two and three German miles 

 wide, and several miles long. 



We kept close to the above-mentioned island, because the 

 water is deepest at their sides. The continent, specially at the 

 entrance of the channel, had high mountains, which stretched 

 along the coast for a considerable distance, a id seemed to get 

 gradually lower; there were many small islands lying near the 

 continent. The above-mentioned islands stretched from south- 

 east to south-west, but they w^ere frequently intersected by 

 mountains and valleys, and the further we advanced in the 

 channel the more intersected they did gTow; some of the mountains 

 having the shape of pillars, which of course locked very peculiar. 

 The whole formation resembled the volcanic formations of Iceland 

 very much. The highest mountains were near the coast, but 

 they were all covered with trees. In some places the mountains 

 had perpendicular slopes, which were quite covered with a white 

 shiny substance, probably some matter which had been dissolved 

 by the rain and ran down ; at times describing a zigzag. We 

 saw a very nice Malay ship ; they are called Prohs; it was sailing 

 between the islands. It was supposed to belong to the renters 

 of the bird's nests, and w^as either there to collect them, or to 

 guard them from anj^^ one else collecting them. 



After it had grown dark, the anchor was cast, because we 

 were in the mouth of the channel, where it grows very narrow, 

 and there were several islands to be passed as well, so it was 



