178 
VOYAGE OP THE POTOMAC. 
[December^ 
boo, which they use on a hasty retreat by planting them obhqtiely 
in the pathways, and among the high grass, to annoy and retard 
their pursuers. 
These people are frequently engaged in hostilities to support 
the tottering throne of their chief ; and a part of their forces are 
sometimes mounted on horseback, although the troops of this de- 
scription do not deserve the name of cavalry. The spoils, or 
plunder taken from the enemy is always divided among the com- 
mon soldiers, and this is the only pay they receive ; so that, pa- 
triotism apart, they are sure to annoy the enemy, at least in his 
property, as much as possible. But they have never been so 
much distinguished for bravery as the people of some other dis- 
tricts, particularly in the north ; though the Dutch at Padang 
have often found them not only too restive for control, but in 
more than one instance, have found their only safety in the strength 
and height of their fortresses, and the means of enduring a siege. 
There is no part of the island where the Mahometan faith so 
exclusively prevails, as in the central principality of Menangcar- 
bow ; which may, perhaps, be accounted for by the fact, that this 
region is the very Potosi of Sumatra, whether it be the Ophir of 
Solomon or not. It abounds with gold, "the Avhite man's god;" 
and so far as it can purchase sensual gratification, the Moslem's 
Allah. This was, doubtless, the grand inducement which led the 
prophet's missionaries to locate themselves in the golden region 
of Menangcabow. 
The natives, however, not only embraced a new religion, but it 
appears that an entire revolution took place in their language, 
manners, and customs, which could only have been effected by 
the Malays from the peninsula having settled among them. The 
natives of Menangcabow so much resemble, in personal appear- 
ance, the natives of the peninsula, that they are generally consid- 
ered, on the Island of Sumatra, as one and the same people. 
Indeed, the term Malay has long ceased, in most parts of the 
east, to signify strictly an inhabitant of Malaya ; but generally 
denotes such as have adopted the Malay language and religion ; 
and hence, as a general remark, in speaking of the inhabitants of 
Sumatra, we call them Malays. 
In proceeding from the Menangcabow country to the north, the 
next considerable tribe, or clan, is that of the Battas ; whose 
