388 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



Padang for Fort de Keck, sixty miles from tliis city. 

 A liea^'y shower during tlie night has purified the 

 air, and we have a clear, cool, and in its fullest sense 

 a lovely morning. This *' American" is generally 

 drawn by two horses, but the governor has had thills 

 put on 80 that one may be used, for he says, between 

 Fort de Kock, where the present post-road ends, and 

 Siboga, a distance of about one hundred and ninety 

 milesj by the crooked route that we must travel, that 

 we shall find it difficult to get one horse for a paH of 

 the way. Behind the caniage a small seat is fastened 

 where my footman sits or stands. His duty is to 

 help change the horses at the various stations, which 

 are about five miles apart. When the horses are 

 harnessed his next duty is to get them started, which 

 is by far the most difficult, for most of those we 

 have used to-day have been trained for the saddle, 

 and we have not dared to put on any breeching 

 for fear of losing oxir fender, these brutes are so 

 ready to use their heels^ though fortunately we have 

 not needed any hold-back but once or twice, and 

 then, by having the footman act as hold-back himself 

 with a long line, I have urged on the horse, and in 

 every case we have come down to the bottom of the 

 hill safely. With only a weak coolie tugging behind, 

 of course I have not been able to make these wild 

 horses resist the temptation to go down the hill at a 

 trot, and, after running and holding back until he wm 

 out of breath, the coolie has always let go, general- 

 ly when I was half-way down j nothing of coui'se 

 then remained to be done but to keep the horse gal- 

 loping so last that the caniage cannot run on to him, 



