230 TCLLOU AYER TAWAB DISTRICT, 



The Pry river disembogues a little to the southward 

 and rastward of Penang Town. It is about a couple 

 of hundred yards wide at its mouth. There is a bar 

 which may however he crossed at flood-tide by ves- 

 sels of 300 tons hurden at least. These might even 

 proceed ten or twelve miles up the river; for it is 

 deep and maintains a pretty uniformly decreasing 

 breadth of from 10O to 50 yards up to this point. 

 Afterwards it suddenly diminishes to a narrow creek, 

 over which the branches of trees from both banks 

 thickly entwine, admitting only of the passage of 

 boats. But this diminution of its volume takes 

 place beyond the British territory. 



It might perhaps be shewn that this river once 

 flowed into the sea at the spot described. 



Captain Forrest, the well-known old Straits na- 

 vigator, mentions in his account of these seas, that 

 be was chased by a French privateer in the vicinity 

 of Penang [then unoccupied] and escaped by run- 

 ning up the Pry, in his small vessel, until he could 

 ascend no higher. 



Elephants are occasionally shipped from this river 

 for the Coromandel Coast, as I have already noticed 

 in a preceding chapter. The last vessel which took 

 elephants to that Coast, shipped them in Keddah, 

 and the vessel was afterwards lost. 



The banks, about half a mile up from the em- 

 bouchure, are high and muddy ; and docks might be 

 easily cut out of them, especially close to the Chinese 

 village, at a very moderate cost. Native vessels of 

 300 to 400 tons burden or even more, have refitted 

 here, This village is the chief dep&t for firewood 

 for the shipping and the Island. Along the beach, to 

 the northward of the mouth of this river, may be seen 

 the remains of the stockade which the commanders 

 *f the Lanoon fleet erected ; when, having confede- 



