S U M A T It A. e| 
foil it flood on» and beautiful beyond what pencil can defcrlbe, annihi- 
lated, for the temiwary ufe of the fpace it occupied. It appears a vio- 
lation of nature, in the cxcrcifc of a too arbitrary right. The timber 
thus felled is of no value, from it*s abundance, the fmallnefs of con- 
fumptioOj and it's diftance^ in common, from the banks of rivers, by 
the means of which alone it can be tranfported to any diftance. Trees, 
whofe amazing bulk, height, and flreightnefs would excite the admira-> 
tion of a traveller, compared to w^hich the niaits of men of war are 
diminutive, fall in the general ruin. The branches are lopped oflT, and 
when the continuance of the dry weather has rendered them fufficiently 
arid, they are fet fire to, and the country is, for the fpace of a month, 
in a general blaze, till the whole is con funded. The expiring wood, 
beneficent to it's ungrateful deftroyer, fertilizes for his ufe, by it*s aihes 
and their faks, the earth from which it fprung, and which it fo long 
adorned. 
Unfeafonable wet weather at this period, which fometimcs happens, 
h produ£tive of much inconvenience, by lofs of prelent time, and 
throwing the crop back* There are impoftors that make a profit of the 
credulity of the hufbandmen ; who, like all others whofe employments 
expofe them to riiks, are prone to fuperftition ; by pretending to a 
power of cauiing, or retarding rain. One of thefe will receive, at the 
time of burning the laddangs, a dollar or more from each family in the 
neighbourhood, that he may procure favorable wf athcr for their bufi- 
nefs. To accompli/h this purpde, he abftaina, or pretends to abftain, 
for many days and nights, from food and fleep» and performs various 
trifling ceremonies, continumg all the time in the open air. If he cf- 
pics a cloud gathering, he immediately begins to fmoak tobacco with 
great vehemence, walking about quick, and throwing the puffs towards 
it with all the force of his lungs. How far he is fuccefsful, it is no dif- 
ficult matter to judge. His ikill, in f^adt, lies in chufing his time, when 
there is the greatefl* profpedt of a continuance of fair weather in the 
ordinary courfe of nature : but Should he fail, there is an effe^ual fal\ o. 
He always promifes to fulfill his agreement, with a mknfc claufe, 
and 
