46 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE DINDINGS. 



ally at Pangkor, but the bulk of the trade is carried on by- 

 native craft, chiefly Chinese. 



The one drawback to this beautiful island is its unhealthi- 

 ness. From the appointment of the first Superintendent up 

 to the present time, the journals of the officers in charge 

 have been one long record of sickness caused by the malarial 

 fever which seems to have made Pangkor its home, and which 

 spares no one. Judging from appearances, one would say that 

 the island ought to be very healthy, and it is difficult to say 

 what causes the fever. The late Rev. J. E. TENNISON-WOODS, 

 who spent some weeks at Pangkor in 1884, attributed the 

 unhealthiness of the place to the fish-curing which is carried 

 on at Raja Bayang, the principal village of the island. He 

 says: "The effluvium around the village of Raja Byong was 

 unbearable to those who had not been inured to it by pre- 

 vious education. Whenever the wind blew from the village 

 towards our quarters, we had to leave the house. Our Chinese 

 servants, in spite of every prohibition, spread their mats un- 

 der the bungalow at night, and exposed themselves to the full 

 force of these mephitic breezes. The consequence was that 

 they were all stricken down with fever, and some nearly died. 

 Pankore has the name of being a very unhealthy place, but 

 the marvel is how anybody lives there at all. The inhabi- 

 tants suffer much from what is called malarial fever, but the 

 malaria here is undoubtedly mephitism from putrid fish 

 offal." * This may be true as far as the village of Raja Ba- 

 yang is concerned, but other parts of the island, where there 

 is no fish-curing, are just as unhealthy, and the cause must, 

 therefore, be sought elsewhere. It is probable that nothing 

 but extensive clearing of the jungle will effect any improve- 

 ment. The headquarters of the district were moved last 

 year to Lumut at the mouth of the Dindings River, which it 

 was hoped would be a healthier position, but the results of 

 the move have not been very encouraging so far. 



The group of islands called Pulau Sembilan lie about 10 

 miles to the South of Pangkor, opposite the mouth of the 



* Essay on the Fisheries of the Oriental Region, p, 27. The italics are 

 mine.-— E, M. M. 



