310 



capital of this* district, lies on the same name, 

 and was formerly a reapectable village : it is at 

 present reduced to three houses. The Sooogei 

 Ayer Pa war h one of the clearest and widest ri- 

 vers in the island of Bintang ; at an hour s pull 

 from ils mouth there was formerly a considera- 

 ble village, which contained from four to five 

 hundred inhabitants, engaged in rice cultivation, 

 but subitisiiiig priut-'ipally by piracy. On the 

 return of ihe Dutch to Bintang in 1818, these 

 people ren»oved to Ret6, where they still conti- 

 nue their piratical practices. 



According to the statement of the head man 

 of this district, Soongei Ayer Pawar contained fif- 

 ty-two ganibier and pepper plantations, many 

 of which were, however, even in 1825, abandon- 

 ed on account of the trees being too old. The 

 exact population can no more be given of this 

 than of the preceding districts, but it was esti- 

 mated to contain about six hundred and sixty 

 in habit an ts« 



Soongei Dookoo is the fourth dibtrict, and lies in 

 a south-easterly direction from the last: it is the 

 most fully cleared and wealthiest portion of the 

 islajid. Upon the river which takes its source 

 from the hills by which the hamlet is sheltered, 

 lies the only village of the districtp called Soongei 

 Dookoo, which contains abotit twenty-seven 

 houses, besides two arrack distilleries, opium and 

 gambling farms. The popul^^*ion, which exceeds 

 1,500, is scattered throughout the ganibier and 

 pepper plantations of the district, of the former 

 of which there are one hundred and fifty, and of 

 the latter, one hundred, gardens. 



