VOYAGE OF THE POTOMAC, 
CHAPTER IX. 
Sumatra, the Ophir of Solomon — Described by Marco Polo— Visited by the Arab® 
— Discovered by the Portuguese — Size and location — Face of the country — 
Mountains, rivers, lakes, &c. — Climate and temperature — Monsoons and other 
winds — Soil, minerals, metals, organic remains, &c. — Volcanoes and earthquakes 
— Origin of the inhabitants — Several distinct races— Description of their persons,, 
dress, and ornaments — Effects of climate on character — Illustrated by the Esqui- 
maux, the Laplander, and the Arab — The useful arts in Sumatra — ^Villages^ 
houses, furniture, and food — Productions of the animal kingdom — Manner of cul- 
tivating pepper, trees, spices, gums, &c. ^ 
There is, perhaps, on no part of the globe, a spot of equal di- 
mensions and geographical importance, which is so little known 
to Americans as the Island of Sumatra ; and yet this island was 
once the seat of a powerful empire, and here was held the court 
of one of the most wealthy monarehs of the east. On the north- 
western extremity of the island is situated the capital of Acheen, 
at that time the great emporium of oriental commerce and riches ; 
and here met the enterprising merchants of the then western world, 
to barter and traffic for the precious merchandise of the Indian 
Archipelago. Here the all-grasping Portugaese, whose conquests 
in the Indian Ocean had lent a terror to their name, were bravely 
met, and frequently repulsed by the powerful monarch of Acheen, 
and made to tremble in their turn. The Dutch followed the Por- 
tuguese, and fought hard for a monopoly in the valuable trade of 
the island. But from neither of these nations has the world ever 
derived much information of the interior of the island, or of its 
history. Even the English had traded nearly a centmy with its 
inhabitants, before any tolerably correct account of them had been 
published. 
There is no positive evidence that Sumatra was known to the 
ancients ; as the knowledge of the Roman geographers did not, 
probably, carry them beyond the island of Ceylon, The idea of 
Sumatra being the land of Ophir, whither Solomon sent his fleets 
for the precious metals, is too vague even for conjecture ; and the 
mountain bearing the name on the island was doubtless given to 
