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A GLANCE AT RHIO, 
By J. T. Thomson, Esq., 
M. Newcastle IS at, Bist. Socy., Surveyor to Government, 
We left Singapore in the H. C. Steamer Hooghley for the neigh¬ 
bouring Dutch town of Rlu'o, (we call it neighbouring, in this part 
of the-world, tho’ distant 50 miles), on the morning of the 1st. 
inst., (July). Daybreak found us off the Pan Shoal—a large coral 
reef situated in the centre of the channel, and a stumbling block 
to mariners,—there being no good laud marks or transit bearings 
for clearing it, nor beacon to denote its position. As the morning 
advanced, we found continually disclosed to view the numerous 
bushy Islands which bestud the calm waters of the Strait, until, at 
noon, we anchored off the small Island of Piningat which fronts 
' the settlement and fort of Rhio. 
From the anchorage we could not help admiring the neat ap¬ 
pearance of the town and its vicinity, with the well built fort 
crowning a grassy eminence, the white walls of which, standing out 
from the surrounding verdure, helped to give variety to the pic¬ 
turesque scenery. The town of Rhio does not stand on the Island 
of Rintang, but on a small island adjoining it called Pulo Pinang, 
from which it is divided by a narrow strait. It is to the produce 
of the large island that Rhio owes it importance, having been long 
known for its gambier and pepper cultivation. The island of Rintang, 
lying on the high road between India and China, seems to have 
been of early importance, affording excellent harbours and shelter 
from the storms of the China Sea in the North East monsoon j and we 
find Marco Polo, in his celebrated travels, mentioning it under the 
name of Bentan, while Singapore is passed unnoticed. The shape 
of Bintang is not, as its name would denote, that of a star, though 
the untutored Malayan voyager, who could only view its shores in 
detail, might be led to fancy such a resemblance in the numerous 
long points and capes which radiate from the body of the island. 
The shape is more a crescent, whose convex side stems the waves of 
the China Sea, and in the concave side of which the calm harbours 
already noticed are formed. 
On landing at the wooden jetty, we found the European town 
