IN SUMATRA. 



135 



Tmtig, the clik'f t'entro of the pepper and damiiinr tmde, where 

 tliore was niorci liigU Uuul and virgin tbrei^t. From this vithigo 

 iihme in the lieight of the pepi'jer season more thau fil'ty pouy 

 h>ai!.H go every week to the eotist, each tarrying 1| pieuk, 

 or 219 Amsterdam pounds weight. It is rare that mugle 

 hiuils are sent dow^n to thtj cmst, generally af^mall troop goes to- 

 gether, and the viUage square presents ratlier an exciting scejie 

 in the t'arly mttrnlng of a despatch of cargo. The strong but 

 wofnlly skumy creatures have, like their masters, little relish 

 fur hard work, and conduct themselves in thf? nmst refractory 

 manner possible— object ng ftrst of all to be caught, then 

 resenting with teeth and limbs the impost of pack-saddle ami 

 !>ags. When, however, the hist cord has been adjusted^ aft<>r r; 

 many imprecations and AIlah-il-Ajhihs from the pack-master, < 

 they give i|i to the inevitable witli jierfect gnit'e, marching 

 of?' as docilely m possilde generally l>ehind a belled leader, 

 and there^tfter require little or no attention* 



The price obtained tor amount of pepper at the coast 

 amounts to about £,\l><, no mean amount per week (during 

 the setison) for a small village, whose only outlay consists in 

 the ct>3t of food and the Government tax of one guilder per 

 head. It takes seven or eight yeai-s for a new pe|)per ganlen 

 to reach maturity, but when it is in fidl bearing, each shrul.> 

 will yield as much as 10s. 8(i worth of fruit in a season. 



The other great industry of tbo place is dammar collecting. 

 This substance, as is well known, is the resin which exudes 

 from notches made in various species of coniferous and 

 dipterocarpons trees. Some of these, especially of the latter 

 family, are immense giants, out of whose stem — which often 

 reaches 100 feet before branching— the native cuts large 

 notches, at intervals of a few feet, up to a height of some 

 forty or fifty feet from the ground. The tree is then left for 

 tliree or four months, when, if it he a very healthy one, suf- 

 ticieut dammar w ill have exuded to mnke it worth collecting ; 

 the yield may then be as much as ninety-fonr Amsterdam 

 pounds. Most trees, however, exude a far less quantity and 

 require a longer time. 



The damar attam (from the Ho;pea drtjohalanmdts and other 

 Dijjferomqitfi.; aiiTniot from the Dmnmam {Coui/erw) ), a beau- 

 tiliil clear glassdike substance— the " eye (hitDmar,*' as^e 



