THE BATTAS OF MANDHELING AND PERT1BI. 378 
or has he means beside the gambling, then he purchases his 
liberty for a stipulated price, and twice to six times that 
amount. Has he nothing ? Then he pawns his relations once 
more, to save I imself from fatigue. Too lazy to milk his cattle, 
too lazy for the amusements of fishing and hunting, and al¬ 
most too lazy to cook his own food, he satisfies himself with 
jogong and suffers many privations, but what matter? He 
buys on credit a wife, and extorts from her as much work as 
another person would extort from his beast of burden. Al¬ 
ways before her time she is old and wrinkled, and while she, 
a weak woman, toils under domestic and field labours, he, a 
man, sits with the child on his knee, smoking his cigar when he 
cannot find any other mode of killing time, as gambling, plead¬ 
ing or politics. 
None of these pictures are exaggerated and the shame¬ 
ful treatment of the women is certainly national. Certainly it 
would be a slander on the nation to ascribe all these modes 
of laziness to the whole mass, but the number of individuals 
who are inflicted with it is so great, that they may be justly 
taken as the means of judging of the character of the nation. 
Generally only misery or force can compel the native to a 
lame and careless labor which decreases according as the 
spring loses its force. The principal reason of the vice, as will 
afterwards be shewn, must certainly be sought in the institu¬ 
tions, and by the amelioration of these, the Batta* in no long 
time will be as little governed by laziness as the other Indians. 
With respect to courage the Batta' certainly possesses 
moral courage to oppose to misfortune patience. He shows 
intrepidity in swimming, climbing and fatigues ; be seeks for 
the elephant, the rhinoceros and the tiger in the jungle, and 
kills them with his imperfect weapons, but whether he can 
make a claim to courage in battle remains very doubtful. The 
former contests between one community and another were 
nothing but duels of masses, and improbative in their 
nature, and at the time of the usurpation of the Padries the 
parties were in too unequal force to draw unfavorable con¬ 
clusions from defeat. But it all indications be put together it 
appears clearly that the Battas are not possessed of inborn 
martial fire like the Bugis and the Makassars ; and that on the 
other hand, their fidelity and submissiveness to their beads, join¬ 
ed with a hardihood to meet privations and fatigues, enabled 
them to render good services in the war under good leaders 
when they are employed as auxiliary bands. 
(To be continued.) 
C c e 
