411 
FIVE DAYS IN NANING; 
elucidation of the history of the Archipelago, and not more 
than 300 words of it were known. I experienced great 
difficulty in keeping up their attention, and although I took 
several in succession and endeavored, with the aid of the 
Malays, to amuse and interest them, they speedily felt 
exhausted by their unusual mental efforts, and became list¬ 
less and dull. After dining and drinking a few bottles of 
samsu, they became more lively and I made better progress. 
^ It required much persuasion to induce any of them to 
sing, each insisting that his neighbour sung better than 
himself. At last one of them overcame his modesty and 
sung several songs to different airs. The manner of singing 
was so new and sti iking as to be one of their most strongly 
marked peculiarities. The singer burst at once into the 
highest pitch of his voice, prolonged the first syllable, 
passed rapidly over those in the middle of the line, and hung 
on the last till h s strength failed him, and all this without 
once drawing breath. It might be thought that this would 
produce but a savage and dinning kind of music. On the 
contrary, from the power and melody of the tone, and the 
tender feeling which it expressed, it was as pleasing as it 
was extraordinary. The tones and air varied as he continu¬ 
ed, and one song was given in a rude abrupt manner, but 
the general character was tenderness or plaintiveness. The 
style of chanting was wholly different from that of the 
Malay or any other which I ever heard. 
After singing for some time they one after another drop¬ 
ped asleep, with the exception of one of the most intelligent 
and travelled called Nodo, who sat conversing with me till 
a late hour. He said they had remained in RSmb&u as long 
as they could, but the exactions of the Malays became so op¬ 
pressive that there was hardly a Besisi left in the latter country 
now. He and his comrades had come into the British territo¬ 
ry to see whether they could live there unmolested, The mata- 
n;ata of Malacca Pinda had been kind to them and allowed 
them to live on Bukit Panchur, and they were very glad to 
clear jungle and plant rice for him, but the Panghulu had 
once visited them and asked them to pay rent. fi Why 
should we do so for leave to live in the jungle ?” asked 
Nodo, and I could find no answer to such a question from a 
Besisi. He said that no Besisi had ever paid rent, and they 
were resolved rather to return to Rambau than do so ! He 
became so gratified with the interest I expressed In his race, 
and with the enquiries I made, that he offered to sit up all 
night answering questions. I asked him where the Besisi 
