FISHING INDUSTRY OF KRIAN AND KURAU, PERAK. 113 



fish to the farmer. I suppose the farmer could claim it if he 

 liked, but has never yet asked for it. The people here, whit 

 the exception of grumbling a little at the scarcity of fish, and 

 at having to pay for licenses for nets, boats, &c, had little to 

 complain of. The farmer, old Kow Chung, however, stated 

 that, in the old days of the Sultan, he only had to pay $1 per ball 

 duty on opium and was allowed to cook it himself. Now he 

 has to pay $7 per ball to the coast farmer. There were no 

 other taxes at all formerly, and now the proceeds of the fish- 

 ing only produce about $8 per month profit for each man — a 

 large fall from the $20 and more sometimes gained by each 

 in good times, but nevertheless sufficient, I think, to live on 

 comfortably with a little to spare. The farmer has to pay to 

 the farmer at Kwala Kurau $25 per month for his license to 

 sell chandoo. He buys it at $ 1.35 and sells it at $1.50 per 

 tael. He says he is now losing money, as he only sells about 

 no taels per month. 



Three years ago the crocodiles were very bad here. One 

 man had his leg bitten very badly and was sent to Pe- 

 nang, where it was amputated, and he is still living and has 

 gone to Trong, Larut, and lives with Malays, attap-making. 

 Three men were afterwards bitten in one day. The Malay 

 paddy-planters at the place (only about seven families) then 

 arranged to call a Pawang from Perak to charm away the 

 crocodiles and to bring back the former prosperity to their 

 crops. Each Malay house subscribed 25 cents, and every 

 Chinaman in the fishing village subscribed 30 cents. This 

 was to pay for the buffalo for the sacrifice, the Pawang 1 s ex- 

 penses being paid by the Malays. The son-in-law of the for- 

 mer Datoh Ali of Kurau called the Pawang. The ceremony 

 took place, and there have been no crocodiles there ever since 

 and the Malays' crops improved. 



There is no separate account kept of the export of fish 

 from Telok Rubiah. They declare their cargoes at Kwala 

 Kurau, running in there to take out port clearances, and the 

 declared amount of fish is entered in the Kwala Kurau book 

 as if it was Kwala Kurau fish. 



