A.CHEET. 49 



It is in war, however, that they come out strong, for they 

 evidently have acquired knowledge from some more civilised na- 

 tion, to judge from the clever way they form their entrenched 

 positions and take advantage of the ground for the formation of 

 rifle pits, and bomb-proof underground tunnels, into which they 

 retire when bullets and shells pour in thickly. 



The coin universally used is the Carolus dollar or ringgit 

 " Meriam, " and Straits copper, while at one time their currency 

 consisted of small gold pieces called derhams and tiny lead half - 

 cent pieces. 



Their ornaments are of silver, or a mixture of gold and copper 

 which the}' value highly. 



Their weights and measures are, for pepper, on the West 

 Coast, as follows : — A bamboo or hari of: pepper should hold 

 as much as a quantity of rice having a weigh! equivalent to $63, 

 (Carolus dollars), while dealing in rice the equivalent weight 

 is only 56 Carolus ■ dollars ; 16 of these bamboos go to a nalih, 

 and 5 nalih to the pikul ; or -10 bamboos go to the tong or 

 tub. and 2 tubs to the pikul; 40 tubs or 20 pikuls going to the 

 Teoyan. Along the East Const, 20 hari or bamboos go to a tub 

 of pepper, SO tubs going to the coy an. There, and along the 

 North Coast, as regards betelnut, 16 bamboos or hari go to a nalih, 

 10 nalih to a knnclut, 10 Jeuncha to a 7cogan, which gener- 

 ally gave 20 to 23 pikuls.- With rice, 40 catties equalled I] nalih, 



Their language, as will be seen from the few words used in this 

 paper, is fundamentally Malay, with some additional words picked 

 up from their neighbours— the Gayus and Nias — and others they 

 have come into constant contact with. Their dialect, however, is 

 peculiar, the Achinese rolling their words and having the habit of 

 clipping them, so that it is quite impossible for one unacquainted 

 with the language, however conversant he may be with either 

 Sumatran or Straits Malay, to understand them. 



