S U M A T R A. ^51 
timl>ers or bamboos, hmin the country parts, k is more commonly in- 
terwoven, or mattcdj in breadths of fix inches, and a piece, or fbeCit, 
formed at once of the Hze required/ In fome places they ufe for the 
fame purpofe the cooUUiiyQS^ or coolicoy, as it is pronounced by the Eu- 
ropeans, who employ it on board Ihip, as dunnage, in pepper and other 
cargoes. This is a bark procured from fome particular trees, of which 
the hmmot and uhoa are the mo ft common. When they prepare to take 
it, the outer rind is firft torn or cut away ; the inner, which aifords the 
material, is then naarked out with a prat^^ pated, or other tool, to the 
^fize required, which is uniformly three cubits by one ; it is afrcrwarda 
beaten for fome time with a heavy flick, to loofe it from the Item, and 
being peeled off, is laid in the fun to dry, care being taken to prevent 
it's warping. The thicker or thlmier forts of the lame fpecies of coo- 
litcayos, owe their dificrence to their being taken nearer to, or farther 
from, the root. That which is ufed in building has nearly the texture 
and hardnefs of wood. The pliable and delicate bark of which clothing - 
is made, is procured from a tree called ealawee^ a baftard fpecies of 
the bread-fruit. 
The moft general mode of covering houfes is with the aUi^p^ which 
is the leaf of a fpecies of palm called mepah* Thefe, previous to their 
being laid on, are formed into Iheets of about five feet long, and as deep 
as the length of the leaf will admit : they are then difpofed on the roof, 
fo as chat one Iheei ihaVl Up over the other, and are tied to the bam- 
boos which ferve for rafters. There are various other kinds of covering 
ufed. The coo litcayos, before defcribed, is fometimes employed for 
this purpofe ; the gahmpye — this is a thatch of narrow, fplit bamboos, 
fix feet in length, placed m regular layers, each reaching within two feet 
of the extremity of that beneath it, by which a treble covering is 
formed : ejoo — this is a vegetable production, fo nearly refembling horfe 
hair as fcarcely to be diftinguiihed from it* It envelopes the ftem of 
that fpecies of palm called awow, from which the bell toddy or palm 
wine is procured, and is employed by the natives for a great variety of 
purpofes. It is bound on as a thatch, in the manner we do flraw, and 
not 
