VISIT OF A PARTY OF ORANG MINTIRA TO 
SINGAPORE. 
In October last my Malay writer, Inche Mahamad bin Haji Abdul 
Fatha, whom I had sent to Malacca to collect additional materials 
for a comparison of the languages of the aboriginal tribes, informed 
me that he had brought a party of the Mintira to his house in Ma¬ 
lacca, and thought he could induce them to visit me in Singapore, 
that I might be enabled to gain a more thorough knowledge of the 
character and condition of the aborigines than I could do during the 
short intercourse which I had had with some of them when I was in 
Malacca. The party in question had come into the British territory 
some time previously, and settled at Rumbiah on Mr. Westerhout’s 
land. I requested Mahamad to bring them to Singapore, and they 
arrived here on the 16th, of October and remdfhed till the 7th. of 
this month (November.) The party consisted of Pawang and his 
wife, Parut and his wife, and Talla. 
'They hesitated much to undertake the voyage, as the race, like all 
the other tribes of the interiour, have a hereditary dread of the sea, 
and no Mintira had ever ventured upon it from time immemorial. 
When they came on hoard the Skochf they were at once placed be¬ 
low, to prevent their being frightened by the waves and the motion of 
the vessel. They soon became very seasick, and it was not till the boat 
Was opposite Pulo PI sang that one of the men had so far recovered as 
to venture to rise and look round. But no sooner did the rolling 
waves meet his sight than he was seized with fear, and plunged be¬ 
low the deck again. 
When they took up their residence in my kampong , they were at 
first a little reserved, although they had evidently seen Europeans 
frequently. On the second and third days their principal employ¬ 
ment, while their poisoned arrows lasted, was to shoot birds, and 
they soon discovered more species in the kampong than we had 
ever observed. On the second day they had depopulated all the 
trees. Amongst the spoils which they seemed to prize most were 
two owls and a colony of bats. The latter they seized upon with 
great glee, carried at once to their house, broiled slightly, and devour- 
