SIRANG. 
27 
ling, commenced my journey in the rear of the carriages which con- 
veyed the other gentlemen of the embassy. * 
It was dark before I arrived at the house of Col. Yules, the resident: 
of the district of Sirang , from whose hospitality I obtained the plea- 
sure of remaining in a part of Java interesting in the highest degree 
from its scenery and productions, during the stay of the Embassador 
at Batavia. 
At day-light the following morning, Lord Amherst and many of 
the gentlemen quitted Sirang for Batavia, leaving behind Mr. Havell 
and myself. 
As my stay was to be limited to a few days, I consulted with 
several gentlemen at Col. Yules respecting objects of interest in the 
neighbourhood of Sirang, and directed my attention to those which 
were more immediately within my reach. Of these, Gunong Karang, 
a volcanic mountain distant about 18 miles S. E. of Sirang, parti- 
cularly excited my curiosity, through the accounts that I received of 
its magnificent crater. I therefore, at three o’clock in the afternoon 
of the 13th June, left Sirang in company with Capt. Soady, intend- 
ing to sleep at the native village of Plassur Pittee, situated on its 
declivity. 
Our way, during the first half of the journey, lay through a plain 
highly cultivated, covered with rice fields, and intersected by rivulets. 
By the side of the road, at the distance of every three or four miles, 
we met with small sheds, intended as stations for coolies or porters, 
who relieve each other in transporting packages, or who act as bearers 
of palanquins. They also serve as places of refreshment, their neigh- 
bourhood always abounding in cocoa-nut trees and bananas ; the 
fruit of which, together with the areca-nut, and betel-leaf, are exposed 
* A dooly is a kind of palanquin formed of bamboo, and resembling in shape a small 
house. It is well defended from the weather, and is carried by four or eight men, accord- 
ing to the size, who support it by transverse pieces of bamboo crossing the ends of poles 
which pass along its sides. Double sets of bearers generally attend it, to render the 
burden as light as possible, and they are relieved every four miles, by fresh relays. 
E 2 
