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+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76055 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+MALAY SKETCHES
+
+
+
+
+_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_
+
+
+UNADDRESSED LETTERS
+
+_Crown 8vo, 6s. Third Edition_
+
+“Deep gratitude is due to Sir Frank for giving these letters to the world
+... the lazy descriptions of Eastern life, the musings on great scenes,
+the stories, and the utterances of social wisdom are all delightful,
+and add body to a book remarkable for a rare delicacy and charm.”—_The
+Athenæum._
+
+“His narrative style is admirable, and his episodes are always
+interesting. One could read for many hours of the clever mongoose and
+tigers and crocodiles.... Sir Frank Swettenham has a pretty humour....
+The style in which these ‘Unaddressed Letters’ is written is excellent.”—
+_The Pall Mall Gazette._
+
+
+THE REAL MALAY
+
+PEN PICTURES
+
+_Crown, 8vo, 6s._
+
+“No pen except that of Mr. Conrad has drawn the Malay character so
+faithfully or so graphically.... It is a combination that is very
+alluring, and we confess to finding Sir Frank Swettenham’s book of Malay
+sketches most fascinating reading.”—_The Pall Mall Gazette._
+
+“Sir Frank Swettenham understands perhaps better than any other roving
+Englishman ‘The Real Malay.’”—_The Morning Post._
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+                              MALAY SKETCHES
+
+                                    BY
+                     SIR FRANK ATHELSTANE SWETTENHAM
+
+                        JOHN LANE: THE BODLEY HEAD
+                      LONDON AND NEW YORK MDCCCCIII
+
+                              THIRD EDITION
+
+                    Printed by BALLANTYNE HANSON & CO.
+                            London & Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                   PAGE
+
+          INTRODUCTION                               ix
+
+       I. THE REAL MALAY                              1
+
+      II. THE TIGER                                  12
+
+     III. A FISHING PICNIC                           19
+
+      IV. THE MURDER OF THE HAWKER                   25
+
+       V. MĔNG-GĔLUNCHOR                             31
+
+      VI. ÂMOK                                       38
+
+     VII. THE JÔGET                                  44
+
+    VIII. THE STORY OF MAT ARIS                      53
+
+     IX. LÂTAH                                       64
+
+      X. THE ETERNAL FEMININE                        83
+
+     XI. IN THE NOON OF NIGHT                        92
+
+    XII. VAN HAGEN AND CAVALIERO                    103
+
+   XIII. THE PASSING OF PĔNGLIMA PRANG SĔMAUN       112
+
+    XIV. BĔR-HANTU                                  147
+
+     XV. THE KING’S WAY                             161
+
+    XVI. A MALAY ROMANCE                            179
+
+   XVII. MALAY SUPERSTITIONS                        192
+
+  XVIII. WITH A CASTING-NET                         211
+
+    XIX. JAMES WHEELER WOODFORD BIRCH               227
+
+     XX. A PERSONAL INCIDENT                        248
+
+    XXI. NAKODAH ORLONG                             270
+
+   XXII. EVENING                                    281
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+This is not a book of travels, nor is it, in even the smallest sense, the
+record of a traveller’s experiences in a foreign land. It is a series of
+sketches of Malay scenery and Malay character drawn by one who has spent
+the best part of his life in the scenes and amongst the people described.
+
+These pages contain no statistics, no history, no geography, no science,
+real or spurious, no politics, no moralising, no prophecy,—only an
+attempt to awaken an interest in an almost undescribed but deeply
+interesting people, the dwellers in one of the most beautiful and least
+known countries in the East.
+
+The traveller will come in time, and he will publish his experiences of
+Malâya and the Malays; but while he may look upon the country with a
+higher appreciation and paint its features with a more artistic touch, he
+will see few of those characteristics of the people, none of that inner
+life which, I make bold to say, is here faithfully portrayed.
+
+                                                         FRANK SWETTENHAM.
+
+THE RESIDENCY, PERAK, _28 March 1895_.
+
+
+
+
+    “Quel est donc ce pays, disaient-ils l’un a l’autre, inconnu
+    a tout le reste de la terre, et où toute la nature est d’une
+    espèce si différente de la nôtre?”
+
+                                                            VOLTAIRE
+
+
+Imagine yourself transported to a land of eternal summer, to that Golden
+Peninsula, ’twixt Hindustan and Far Cathay, from whence the early
+navigators brought back such wondrous stories of adventure. A land where
+Nature is at her best and richest: where plants and animals, beasts of
+the forest, birds of the air, and every living thing seem yet inspired
+with a feverish desire for growth and reproduction, as though they were
+still in the dawn of Creation.
+
+And Man?
+
+Yes, he is here. Forgotten by the world, passed by in the race for
+civilisation, here he has remained amongst his own forests, by the banks
+of his well-loved streams, unseeking and unsought. Whence he came none
+know and few care, but this is the land that has given to, or taken from,
+him the name of a Race that has spread over a wider area than any other
+Eastern people.
+
+Malâya, land of the pirate and the _âmok_, your secrets have been well
+guarded, but the enemy has at last passed your gate, and soon the
+irresistible Juggernaut of Progress will have penetrated to your remotest
+fastness, slain your beasts, cut down your forests, “civilised” your
+people, clothed them in strange garments, and stamped them with the seal
+of a higher morality.
+
+That time of regeneration will come rapidly, but for the moment the Malay
+of the Peninsula is as he has been these hundreds of years. Education and
+contact with Western people must produce the inevitable result. Isolated
+native races whose numbers are few must disappear or conform to the views
+of a stronger will and a higher intelligence. The Malays of the Peninsula
+will not disappear, but they will change, and the process of “awakening”
+has in places already begun.
+
+It might be rash to speculate on the gain which the future has in store
+for this people, but it is hardly likely to make them more personally
+interesting to the observer. This is the moment of transition, and these
+are sketches of the Malay as he is.
+
+    Jetons-nous dans cette petite barque, laissons-nous aller au
+    courant: une rivière mène toujours à quelque en droit habité;
+    si nous ne trouvons pas des choses agréables, nous trouverons
+    du moins des choses nouvelles
+
+    “‘Allons,’ dit Candide, ‘recommandons-nous à la Providence’”
+
+                                                            VOLTAIRE
+
+
+
+
+MALAY SKETCHES
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE REAL MALAY
+
+    He was the mildest manner’d man
+      That ever scuttled ship or cut a throat
+
+                             BYRON, _Don Juan_
+
+
+To begin to understand the Malay you must live in his country, speak
+his language, respect his faith, be interested in his interests, humour
+his prejudices, sympathise with and help him in trouble, and share his
+pleasures and possibly his risks. Only thus can you hope to win his
+confidence. Only through that confidence can you hope to understand the
+inner man, and this knowledge can therefore only come to those who have
+the opportunity and use it.
+
+So far the means of studying Malays in their own country (where alone
+they are seen in their true character) have fallen to few Europeans,
+and a very small proportion of them have shown an inclination to get to
+the hearts of the people. There are a hundred thousand Malays in Perak
+and some more in other parts of the Peninsula; and the white man, whose
+interest in the race is strong enough, may not only win confidence
+but the devotion that is ready to give life itself in the cause of
+friendship. The Scripture says: “There is no greater thing than this,”
+and in the end of the nineteenth century that is a form of friendship all
+too rare. Fortunately this is a thing you cannot buy, but to gain it is
+worth some effort.
+
+The real Malay is a short, thick-set, well-built man, with straight
+black hair, a dark brown complexion, thick nose and lips, and bright
+intelligent eyes. His disposition is generally kindly, his manners are
+polite and easy. Never cringing, he is reserved with strangers and
+suspicious, though he does not show it. He is courageous and trustworthy
+in the discharge of an undertaking; but he is extravagant, fond of
+borrowing money, and very slow in repaying it. He is a good talker,
+speaks in parables, quotes proverbs and wise saws, has a strong sense
+of humour, and is very fond of a good joke. He takes an interest in
+the affairs of his neighbours and is consequently a gossip. He is a
+Muhammadan and a fatalist, but he is also very superstitious. He never
+drinks intoxicants, he is rarely an opium-smoker. But he is fond of
+gambling, cock-fighting, and kindred sports. He is by nature a sportsman,
+catches and tames elephants, is a skilful fisherman, and thoroughly at
+home in a boat. Above all things, he is conservative to a degree, is
+proud and fond of his country and his people, venerates his ancient
+customs and traditions, fears his Rajas, and has a proper respect for
+constituted authority—while he looks askance on all innovations, and
+will resist their sudden introduction. But if he has time to examine
+them carefully, and they are not thrust upon him, he is willing to be
+convinced of their advantage. At the same time he is a good imitative
+learner, and, when he has energy and ambition enough for the task, makes
+a good mechanic. He is, however, lazy to a degree, is without method or
+order of any kind, knows no regularity even in the hours of his meals,
+and considers time as of no importance. His house is untidy, even dirty,
+but he bathes twice a day, and is very fond of personal adornment in the
+shape of smart clothes.
+
+A Malay is intolerant of insult or slight; it is something that to him
+should be wiped out in blood. He will brood over a real or fancied stain
+on his honour until he is possessed by the desire for revenge. If he
+cannot wreak it on the offender, he will strike out at the first human
+being that comes in his way, male or female, old or young. It is this
+state of blind fury, this vision of blood, that produces the _âmok_. The
+Malay has often been called treacherous. I question whether he deserves
+the reproach more than other men. He is courteous and expects courtesy in
+return, and he understands only one method of avenging personal insults.
+
+The spirit of the clan is also strong in him. He acknowledges the
+necessity of carrying out, even blindly, the orders of his hereditary
+chief, while he will protect his own relatives at all costs and make
+their quarrel his own.
+
+The giving of gifts by Raja to subject, or subject to ruler, is a custom
+now falling into desuetude, but it still prevails on the occasion of the
+accession of a Raja, the appointment of high officers, a marriage, a
+circumcision, ear-piercing, or similar ceremony. As with other Eastern
+people, hospitality is to the Malay a sacred duty fulfilled by high and
+low, rich and poor alike.
+
+Though the Malay is an Islam by profession, and would suffer crucifixion
+sooner than deny his faith, he is not a bigot; indeed, his tolerance
+compares favourably with that of the professing Christian, and, when
+he thinks of these matters at all, he believes that the absence of
+hypocrisy is the beginning of religion. He has a sublime faith in God,
+the immortality of the soul, a heaven of ecstatic earthly delights, and a
+hell of punishments, which every individual is so confident will not be
+his own portion that the idea of its existence presents no terrors.
+
+Christian missionaries of all denominations have apparently abandoned the
+hope of his conversion.
+
+In his youth, the Malay boy is often beautiful, a thing of wonderful
+eyes, eyelashes, and eyebrows, with a far-away expression of sadness and
+solemnity, as though he had left some better place for a compulsory exile
+on earth.
+
+Those eyes, which are extraordinarily large and clear, seem filled with
+a pained wonder at all they see here, and they give the impression of a
+constant effort to open ever wider and wider in search of something they
+never find. Unlike the child of Japan, this cherub never looks as if
+his nurse had forgotten to wipe his nose. He is treated with elaborate
+respect, sleeps when he wishes, and sits up till any hour of the night if
+he so desires, eats when he is hungry, has no toys, is never whipped,
+and hardly ever cries.
+
+Until he is fifteen or sixteen, this atmosphere of a better world remains
+about him. He is often studious even, and duly learns to read the Korân
+in a language he does not understand.
+
+Then, well then, from sixteen to twenty-five or later he is to be
+avoided. He takes his pleasure, sows his wild oats like youths of a
+higher civilisation, is extravagant, open-handed, gambles, gets into
+debt, runs away with his neighbour’s wife, and generally asserts himself.
+Then follows a period when he either adopts this path and pursues it, or,
+more commonly, he weans himself gradually from an indulgence that has not
+altogether realized his expectation, and if, under the advice of older
+men, he seeks and obtains a position of credit and usefulness in society
+from which he begins at last to earn some profit, he will, from the age
+of forty, probably develop into an intelligent man of miserly and rather
+grasping habits with some one little pet indulgence of no very expensive
+kind.
+
+The Malay girl-child is not usually so attractive in appearance as the
+boy, and less consideration is shown to her. She runs wild till the
+time comes for investing her in a garment, that is to say when she is
+about five years old. From then, she is taught to help in the house and
+kitchen, to sew, to read and write, perhaps to work in the _padi_ field,
+but she is kept out of the way of all strange menkind. When fifteen or
+sixteen, she is often almost interesting; very shy, very fond of pretty
+clothes and ornaments, not uncommonly much fairer in complexion than the
+Malay man, with small hands and feet, a happy smiling face, good teeth,
+and wonderful eyes and eyebrows—the eyes of the little Malay boy. The
+Malay girl is proud of a wealth of straight, black hair, of a spotless
+olive complexion, of the arch of her brow—“like a one-day-old moon”—of
+the curl of her eyelashes, and of the dimples in cheek or chin.
+
+Unmarried girls are taught to avoid all men except those nearly related
+to them. Until marriage, it is considered unmaidenly for them to raise
+their eyes or take any part or interest in their surroundings when men
+are present. This leads to an affectation of modesty which, however
+over-strained, deceives nobody.
+
+After marriage, a woman gets a considerable amount of freedom which
+she naturally values. In Perak a man, who tries to shut his womenkind
+up and prevent their intercourse with others and a participation in
+the fêtes and pleasures of Malay society, is looked upon as a jealous,
+ill-conditioned person.
+
+Malays are extremely particular about questions of rank and birth,
+especially when it comes to marriage, and _mésalliances_, as understood
+in the West, are with them very rare.
+
+The general characteristics of Malay women, especially those of gentle
+birth, are powers of intelligent conversation, quickness in repartee,
+a strong sense of humour and an instant appreciation of the real
+meaning of those hidden sayings which are hardly ever absent from their
+conversation. They are fond of reading such literature as their language
+offers, and they use uncommon words and expressions, the meanings of
+which are hardly known to men. For the telling of secrets, they have
+several modes of speech not understanded of the people.
+
+They are generally amiable in disposition, mildly—sometimes
+fiercely—jealous, often extravagant and, up to about the age of forty,
+evince an increasing fondness for jewellery and smart clothes. In these
+latter days they are developing a pretty taste for horses, carriages, and
+whatever conduces to luxury and display, though, in their houses, there
+are still a rugged simplicity and untidiness, absolutely devoid of all
+sense of order.
+
+A Malay is allowed by law to have as many as four wives, to divorce
+them, and replace them. If he is well off and can afford so much
+luxury, he usually takes advantage of the power to marry more than one
+wife, to divorce and secure successors; but he seldom undertakes the
+responsibility of four wives at one time. The woman on her part can, and
+often does, obtain a divorce from her husband. Written conditions of
+marriage, “settlements” of a kind, are common with people in the upper
+classes, and the law provides for the custody of children, division of
+property, and so on. The ancient maiden lady is an unknown quantity,
+so is the Malay public woman; and, as there is no society bugbear, the
+people lead lives that are almost natural. There are no drunken husbands,
+no hobnail boots, and no screaming viragoes—because a word would get rid
+of them. All forms of madness, mania, and brain-softening are extremely
+rare.
+
+The Malay has ideas on the subject of marriage, ideas born of his
+infinite experience. He has even soared into regions of matrimonial
+philosophy, and returned with such crumbs of lore as never fall to the
+poor monogamist.
+
+I am not going to give away the secrets of the life behind the curtain;
+if I wished to do so I might trip over difficulties of expression; but
+in spite of the Malay’s reputation for bloodthirstiness, in spite of
+(or because of, whichever you please) the fact that he is impregnated
+with the doctrines of Islam, in spite of his sensitive honour and his
+proneness to revenge, and in spite of his desire to keep his own women
+(when young and attractive) away from the prying eyes of other men, he
+yet holds this uncommon faith, that if he has set his affections on a
+woman, and for any reason he is unable at once to make her his own, he
+cares not to how many others she allies herself provided she becomes his
+before time has robbed her of her physical attractions.
+
+His reason is this. He says (certainly not to a stranger, rarely even
+to his Malay friends, but to himself) “if, after all this experience,
+she likes me best, I have no fear that she will wish to go further
+afield. All Malay girls marry before they are twenty, and the woman who
+has only known one husband, however attractive he may be, will come
+sooner or later to the conviction that life with another promises new
+and delightful experiences not found in the society of the first man to
+whom destiny and her relatives have chosen to unite her. Thus some fool
+persuades her that in his worship and passion she will find the World’s
+Desire, and it is only after perhaps a long and varied experience that
+she realizes that, having started for a voyage on the ocean, she finds
+herself seated at the bottom of a dry well.”
+
+It is possible that thus she becomes acquainted with truth.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE TIGER
+
+    Yon golden terror, barred with ebon stripes
+    Low-crouching horror, with the cruel fangs
+    Waiting in deathly stillness for thy spring
+
+                                           ANON.
+
+
+Some idea of what Malays are in their own country may best be conveyed
+by taking the reader in imagination through some scenes of their daily
+life. The tiger, for instance, is seldom deliberately sought; if he
+kills a buffalo a spring gun is set to shoot him when he returns for his
+afternoon meal, but sometimes the tiger comes about a village, and it is
+necessary to get rid of so dangerous a visitor. Let me try and put the
+scene before you.
+
+But how describe an Eastern dawn? Sight alone will give a true impression
+of its strange beauty. Out of darkness and stillness, the transition to
+light—intense brilliant light—and the sounds of awakened life, is rapid
+and complete, a short half hour or less turning night into tropical day.
+The first indication of dawn is a grey haze, then the clouds clothing
+the Western hills are shot with pale yellow and in a few minutes turn to
+gold, while Eastern ranges are still in darkness. The light spreads to
+the Western slopes, moves rapidly across the valleys, and suddenly the
+sun, a great ball of fire, appears above the Eastern hills. The fogs,
+which have risen from the rivers and marshes and covered the land, as
+with a pall, rise like smoke and disappear, and the whole face of nature
+is flooded with light, the valleys and slopes of the Eastern ranges being
+the last to feel the influence of the risen sun.
+
+That grey half-light which precedes dawn is the signal for Malays to be
+stirring. The doors are opened, and, only half awake and shivering in
+the slight breeze made by the rising fog, they leave their houses and
+make for the nearest stream, there to bathe and fetch fresh water for the
+day’s use.
+
+A woman dressed in the _sârong_, a plaid skirt of silk or cotton, and
+a jacket, walks rapidly to the river, carrying a long bamboo and some
+gourds, which, after her bath, she fills, and begins to walk home
+through the wealth of vegetation that clothes the whole face of the
+country. She follows a narrow path up from the bed of the clear stream,
+the jungle trees and orchards, the long rank grasses and tangled creepers
+almost hiding the path. Suddenly she stops spellbound, her knees give way
+under her, the vessels drop from her nerveless hands, and a speechless
+fear turns her blood to water; for there, in front of her, is a great
+black and yellow head with cruel yellow eyes, and a half-open mouth
+showing a red tongue and long white teeth. The shoulders and fore feet
+of the tiger stand clear of the thick foliage, and a hoarse low roar
+of surprise and anger comes from the open mouth. An exceeding great
+fear chains the terrified woman to the spot, and the tiger, thus faced,
+sulkily and with more hoarse grumbling, slowly draws back into the jungle
+and disappears. Then the instinct of self-preservation returns to the
+woman, and, with knees still weak and a cold hand on her heart, she
+stumbles, with what speed she may, back to the river, down the bank, and
+to the friendly shelter of the nearest dwelling.
+
+It takes little time to tell the story, and the men of the house, armed
+with spears and _krises_ and an old rusty gun, quickly spread the
+news throughout the _kampong_, as each cluster of huts and orchards
+is called. Every one arms himself with such weapons as he possesses,
+the boys of sixteen or seventeen climb into trees, from which they
+hope to see and be able to report the movements of the beast. The men,
+marshalled by the _ka-tua kampong_, the village chief, make their plans
+for surrounding the spot where the tiger was seen, and word is sent by
+messenger to the nearest police-station and European officer.
+
+Whilst all this is taking place, the tiger, probably conscious that too
+many people are about, leaves his lair and stealthily creeps along a path
+which will lead him far from habitations. But, as he does so, he passes
+under a tree where sits one of the young watchmen, and the boy, seizing
+his opportunity, drops a heavy spear on the tiger as he passes, and gives
+him a serious wound. The beast, with a roar of pain, leaps into the
+jungle, carrying the spear with him; and, after what he considers a safe
+interval, the boy climbs down, gets back to the circle of watchers, and
+reports what has occurred.
+
+For a long time, there is silence, no one caring to go in and seek a
+wounded tiger—but this monotony is broken rudely and suddenly by a shot
+on the outskirts of the wide surrounding ring of beaters where a young
+Malay has been keeping guard over a jungle track. Instantly the nearest
+rush to the spot only to find the boy badly wounded, after firing a shot
+that struck the tiger but did not prevent him reaching and pulling down
+the youth who fired it.
+
+Hardly has a party carried the wounded man to shelter, than news arrives
+that, in trying to break the ring at another point, the tiger has sprung
+upon the point of a spear held in rest by a kneeling Malay, and, the
+spear, passing completely through the beast’s body, the tiger has come
+down on the man’s back and killed him. The old men say it is because,
+regardless of the wisdom of their ancestors, fools now face a tiger with
+spears unguarded, whereas in the olden time it was always the custom to
+tie a crosspiece of wood where blade joins shaft to prevent the tiger
+“running up the spear” and killing his opponent.
+
+The game is getting serious now and the tiger has retired to growl and
+roar in a thick isolated copse of bushes and tangled undergrowth from
+which it seems impossible to draw him, and where it would be madness to
+seek him.
+
+By this time, all the principal people in the neighbourhood have been
+collected. The copse is surrounded and two elephants are ridden at
+the cover, in the hope of driving the wounded tiger from his shelter.
+A vain hope, for, when the huge beasts get inconveniently near to
+him, the tiger, with a great roar, springs on to the shoulder of the
+nearest elephant and brings him to his knees. The terrified occupants
+of the howdah are thus deposited on the ground, but lose no time in
+picking themselves up and getting away. The elephant with a scream of
+terror whirls round, throwing off the tiger with a broken tooth, and,
+accompanied by his fellow, rushes from the place and will not be stopped
+till several miles have been covered and the river is between them and
+their enemy.
+
+Severe maladies want desperate and heroic remedies. After a short
+consultation, a young Malay chief and several of his friends, armed only
+with spears, express their determination to seek the tiger where he lies.
+They immediately put the plan into execution. Shoulder to shoulder and
+with spears in rest, they advance to the copse. They have not long to
+wait in doubt for the wounded and enraged beast, with open mouth and eyes
+blazing fell purpose, charges straight at them. There is the shock of
+flesh against steel, an awful snarling and straining of muscles and the
+already badly wounded tiger is pinned to the ground and dies under the
+thrusts of many spears.
+
+The general result of a tiger hunt, under such circumstances, is the
+death or serious injury of one or two of the pursuers.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+A FISHING PICNIC
+
+    I have given you lands to hunt in,
+    I have given you streams to fish in,
+    Filled the river full of fishes
+
+                             LONGFELLOW
+
+
+Now come to a Malay picnic.
+
+Again, it is early morning, the guests have been invited overnight and
+warned to come on their elephants and bring “rice and salt.” By the time
+the sun is well up there are fifty or sixty people (of whom about half
+are women), mounted on twelve or fifteen elephants, and some boys and
+followers are prepared to walk.
+
+The word is given to make for a great limestone hill rising abruptly out
+of the plain, for, close round the foot of this rock, eating its way into
+the unexplored depths of subaqueous caves, flows a clear mountain-bred
+stream, and, in the silent pools which lie under the shadow of the cliff,
+are the fish which with the rice and salt, will make the coming feast.
+
+The road lies through six or seven miles of open country and virgin
+forest, and it is 9 or 10 A.M. before the river is reached, the elephants
+hobbled, and the men of the party ready for business.
+
+In days gone by, the method would have been to _tuba_ the stream above
+a pool, but this poisoning of the water affects the river for miles,
+and dynamite which is not nearly so destructive is preferred. The plan
+is to select a large and deep pool round which the men stand ready to
+spring in, while the women make a cordon across the shallow at its lower
+end, ready to catch the fish that escape the hands of the swimmers. Two
+cartridges of dynamite with a detonator and a piece of slow match are
+tied to a stone and thrown into the deepest part of the pool, there is
+an explosion sending up a great column of water, and immediately the
+dead fish come to the surface and begin to float down stream. Twenty
+men spring into the pool, and with shouts and laughter struggle for the
+slippery fish; those which elude the grasp of the swimmers are caught by
+the women. It will then be probably discovered that no very big fish have
+been taken; and, as it is certain that some at least should be there,
+the boldest and best divers will search the bottom of the pool and even
+look into the water-filled caves of the rock that there rises sheer out
+of the stream. Success rewards this effort, and, from the bed of the
+pool, some sixteen or eighteen feet deep, the divers bring up two at a
+time, great silvery fish weighing ten to fifteen pounds each. There is
+much joy over the capture of these _klah_ and _tengas_, the best kinds of
+fresh water fish known here, and, if the total take is not a large one,
+the operation will be repeated in another and yet another pool, until a
+sufficient quantity of fish has been secured and every one is tired of
+the water.
+
+There is a general change of wet garments for dry ones, no difficult
+matter, while long before this fires have been made on the bank, rice
+is boiling, fish are roasting in split sticks, grilling, frying, and
+the hungry company is settling itself in groups ready for the meal. It
+is a matter of honour that no plates should be used, so every one has a
+piece of fresh green plantain leaf to hold his rice and salt and fish,
+while nature supplies the forks and spoons. Whether it is the exercise,
+the excitement, or the coldness of the two hours’ bath, that is most
+responsible for the keen appetites is not worth inquiring, but thorough
+justice is done to the food; and if you, reader, should ever be fortunate
+enough to take part in one of these picnics, you will declare that you
+never before realised how delicious a meal can be made of such simple
+ingredients. Some one has smuggled in a few condiments and they add
+largely to the success of the Malay _bouille-abaisse_, but people affect
+not to know they are there, and you go away assured that rice and salt
+did it all. That is part of the game.
+
+And now it is time to return, the sun has long passed the meridian, and
+there is a mile or two of forest before getting into the open country.
+The timid amongst the ladies feign alarm (Malays are sensible people who
+take only the young to picnics, and leave the old to mind the houses),
+and a desire to get away at once, but there are others who know what is
+in store for them.
+
+The elephants are brought up and each pannier is found to be loaded
+with jungle fruit, large and small, ripe and unripe, hard and soft,
+but generally hard as stones. Every one knows the meaning of this and,
+as the elephants kneel down to take their riders, you may observe that
+usually two men sit in front, two women behind, and the latter are
+anxious about their umbrellas and show a tendency to open them here
+where, in the gloom of the forest, they are not needed. The first two
+or three elephants move off quickly, and, having turned a corner in the
+path, disappear. It is necessary to proceed in Indian file, and as the
+next elephant comes to this corner he and his company are assailed by
+a perfect shower of missiles (the jungle fruit) from the riders of the
+first section of elephants who are slily waiting here to surprise those
+behind. The attack is returned with interest and the battle wages hot
+and furious. The leaders of the rear column try to force their way past
+those who dispute the path with them, and either succeed or put the enemy
+to flight only to find a succession of ambuscades laid for them, each
+resulting in a deadly struggle, and so, throughout the length of the
+forest, the more venturesome pushing their way to the front or taking up
+an independent line and making enemies of all comers, until, at last,
+the whole party clears the jungle and, taking open order, a succession
+of wild charges soon gets every one into the fray and, the supply of
+ammunition having run out, there is nothing left but to count the damage
+done.
+
+It is principally in broken umbrellas which have been used as shields,
+but some garments are stained, and there may be a few bruises treated
+with much good humour, and, by the time the party has straightened its
+dishevelledness, it is found that miles of otherwise tedious journey have
+been passed and every one is home ere the lengthening shadows suddenly
+contract and tell the sun has set.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE MURDER OF THE HAWKER
+
+    It is a damned and bloody work,
+    The graceless action of a heavy hand
+
+                              _King John_
+
+
+One afternoon, in 1892, a foreign Malay named Lenggang, who made a living
+by hawking in a boat on the Perak River, left Bota with his usual cargo
+and a hundred dollars which his cousin, the son of the _Penghulu_, had
+been keeping for him. He was alone in the boat and dropped down stream,
+saying he would call at some of the villages that line at intervals the
+banks of the river.
+
+The next day this man’s dead body, lying partly under a mosquito curtain,
+was discovered in the boat as it drifted past the village of Pulau Tiga.
+The local headman viewed it, but saw nothing to arouse his suspicions,
+for the boat was full of valuables and a certain amount of money, while
+nothing in it seemed to have been disturbed, and there were no marks of
+violence on the corpse, which was duly buried.
+
+When the matter was reported, inquiries were made but they elicited
+nothing. Some months after the relatives of the dead man appeared at
+Teluk Anson, and said they had good reason to believe that he had met
+with foul play, indeed that he had been murdered at a place called
+Lambor—a few miles below Bota and above Pulau Tiga. An intelligent Malay
+sergeant of police proceeded to the spot, arrested a number of people,
+who denied all knowledge of the affair, and took them to Teluk Anson.
+Arrived there, these people said they were able to give all the necessary
+information if that would procure their release, as they had only
+promised to keep their mouths shut so long as they themselves did not
+suffer for it.
+
+The details of the story as told in evidence are as follows, and they are
+very characteristic of the Malay:
+
+It appears that the hawker duly arrived in his boat at Lambor, and there
+tied up for the night to a stake, about twenty feet from the bank of the
+river. Shortly afterwards a Malay named Ngah Prang, stopped three of
+his acquaintances walking on the bank, asked them if they had seen the
+hawker’s boat, and suggested that it would be a good thing to rob him.
+They said they were afraid, and some other men coming up asked one of
+those to whom the proposal had been made what they were talking about,
+and, being told, advised him to have nothing to do with the business and
+the party dispersed.
+
+That evening, at 8 P.M., several people heard cries of “help, help, I
+am being killed,” from the river, and five or six men ran out of their
+houses down to the bank, a distance of only fifty yards, whence they saw,
+in the brilliant moonlight, Ngah Prang and two other men in the hawker’s
+boat, the hawker lying flat on his back while one man had both hands at
+his throat, another held his wrists, and the third his feet; but it is
+said that those on the bank heard a noise of rapping as though feet were
+kicking or hands beating quickly the deck of the boat. It only lasted for
+a moment and then there was silence.
+
+As those who had been roused by the cries came down the bank they called
+to the men in the boat, barely twenty feet away, and lighted at their
+work by the brilliancy of an Eastern moon, to know what they were doing;
+they even addressed them by their names, but these gave no answer, and,
+getting up from off the hawker, untied the boat, one taking a pole and
+another the rudder and disappeared down the river. The hawker did not
+move. He was dead.
+
+The witnesses of this tragedy appear then to have returned to their homes
+and slept peacefully. Several of them naïvely remarked that they heard
+the next day that the hawker had been found dead in his boat, and it
+appears that when one of these witnesses, on the following day, met one
+of the murderers, he asked him what he was doing in Lenggang’s boat, and
+the man replied that they were robbing him, that he held the hawker by
+the throat, the others by the hands and feet, but that really they had
+got very little for their trouble.
+
+Meanwhile the three murderers told several of the eye-witnesses of the
+affair that, if they said anything, it would be the worse for them,
+and nothing particular occurred till a notice was posted in the Mosque
+calling upon any one who knew anything about Lenggang’s death to report
+it to the village Headman. Then Ngah Prang, who apparently was the
+original instigator of the job, as so often happens, thought he would
+save himself at the expense of his friends, and actually went himself to
+make a report, and, meeting on the way one of the eye-witnesses going on
+a similar errand, he persuaded him to give a qualified promise to help in
+denying Ngah Prang’s complicity while convicting the others.
+
+Needless to say that, from the moment the first disclosure was made and
+communicated to the police, resulting in the arrest of a number of those
+who had actually witnessed the crime, every smallest detail was gradually
+brought to light, the hawker’s property, even his own clothes, gradually
+recovered, the money stolen from him traced, and no single link left
+wanting in the chain of evidence strong enough to convict and hang the
+guilty men. That indeed was the result.
+
+I have told the story of this crime, which is devoid of sensational
+incident, because it will give some idea of the state of feeling in
+a real Malay _kampong_ of poor labouring people far from any outside
+influence. The man murdered was a Malay; the idea that he was worth
+something which could be obtained by the insignificant sacrifice of his
+life seems to have at once suggested that Providence was putting a good
+thing in the way of poor people, and those who were not afraid determined
+that the opportunity was not to be lost. The murder is discussed
+practically in public; it is executed also in public, in the presence of
+a feebly expostulating opposition, and then every one goes to bed. The
+only further concern of the community in the matter is as to how much the
+murderers got. For them the incident ends there, and, if any one has any
+qualms of conscience, they are silenced by the threats of the men who so
+easily throttled the hawker.
+
+It is only when inquiries are pushed, and things are made generally
+unpleasant for every one, that the truth is unwillingly disclosed, and
+the penalty paid.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+MĔNG-GĔLUNCHOR
+
+    And falling and crawling and sprawling,
+    And driving and riving and striving,
+    And sprinkling and twinkling and winkling,
+    And sounding and bounding and rounding,
+    Dividing and gliding and sliding,
+    And trumping and plumping and bumping and jumping,
+    And dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing
+
+                                                SOUTHEY
+
+
+The Malays of Perak occasionally indulge themselves in a form of
+amusement which, I believe, is peculiar to them. Though of ancient
+origin, it is not well known even here, and, as new sensations are the
+desire of our time, I offer it to the jaded pleasure-seekers of the West.
+
+Given a fine sunny morning (and that is what most mornings are in Perak)
+you will drive four or five miles to the appointed place of meeting, and
+there find a crowd of one or two hundred Malay men, women, and children,
+who have been duly bidden to _mĕng-gĕlunchor_ and to take part in the
+picnic which forms a recognised accompaniment to the proceedings.
+
+A walk of a couple of miles along a shady jungle path brings the party to
+the foot of a spur of hills, whence a clear mountain stream leaps down
+a succession of cascades to fertilise the plain. There is a stiff climb
+for several hundred feet until the party gains a great granite rock in
+the bed of the stream, large enough to accommodate a much more numerous
+gathering. In a “spate” this rock might be covered, but now the water
+flows round it and dashes itself wildly over the falls below. Up-stream,
+however, there is a sheer smooth face of granite, about sixty feet long,
+inclined at an angle of say 45°, and, while the main body of water finds
+its way down one side of this rock and then across its foot, a certain
+quantity, only an inch or two deep, flows steadily down the face. The
+depth of water here can be increased at will by bamboo troughs, leading
+out of the great pool which lies at the head of the waterfall. At the
+base of the rock is an inviting lynn not more than four feet deep. On
+either side, the river is shut in by a wealth of jungle foliage through
+which the sun strikes at rare intervals, just sufficiently to give the
+sense of warmth and colour.
+
+It is delightfully picturesque with all these people in their
+many-coloured garments, grouped in artistic confusion, on bank and rock.
+They only sit for a brief rest after the climb, to collect wood, make
+fires and get the work of cooking started, and you will not be left long
+in doubt as to the meaning of _mĕng-gĕlunchor_. It is to slide, and the
+game is to “toboggan” down this waterfall into the lynn at its base.
+
+A crowd of little boys is already walking up the steep, slippery rock.
+They go to the very top, sit down in the shallow water with feet straight
+out in front of them and a hand on either side for guidance, and
+immediately begin to slide down the sixty feet of height, gaining, before
+they have gone half way, so great a speed that the final descent into the
+pool is like the fall of a stone. They succeed each other in a constant
+stream, those behind coming on the top of those who have already reached
+the lynn.
+
+But now the men, and lastly the women, are drawn to join the sliders and
+the fun becomes indeed both fast and furious. The women begin timidly,
+only half way up the slide, but soon grow bolder, and mixed parties of
+four, six, and eight in rows of two, three, or four each, start together
+and, with a good deal of laughter and ill-directed attempts at mutual
+assistance, dash wildly into the pool which is almost constantly full of
+a struggling, screaming crowd of young people of both sexes.
+
+If you understand the game, the slide is a graceful progress, but, if you
+don’t, if you fail to sit erect, if you do not keep your feet together,
+above all, if you lose your balance and do not remain absolutely straight
+on the slide, then your descent will be far from graceful, it may
+even be slightly painful, and the final plunge into the lynn will be
+distinctly undignified. It is well to leave your dignity at home, if you
+go to _mĕng-gĕlunchor_ with a Malay party, for those who do not weary
+themselves with tobogganing become absolutely exhausted with laughing at
+the sliders. The fascination of the thing is extraordinary, and, to read
+this poor description, you would think it impossible that any sane person
+would spend hours in struggling up a steep and slippery rock to slide
+down it on two inches of water, and, having gained a startling velocity,
+leap into a shallow pool where half a dozen people will be on you before
+you can get out of the way. And yet I am persuaded that, if your joints
+are not stiff with age and you are not afraid of cold water, or ridicule,
+or personal damage (and you will admit none of those things) you would
+_mĕng-gĕlunchor_ with the best of them, nor be the first to cry “hold,
+enough.”
+
+It is usual for the men, when sliding down the rock, to sit upon a
+piece of the thick fibre of the plantain called _upih_. It is perhaps
+advisable, but the women do not seem to want it. It is surprising that
+there are so few casualties and of such small importance—some slight
+abrasions, a little bumping of heads, at most the loss of a tooth, will
+be the extent of the total damage, and with a little care there need be
+none at all.
+
+By 1 P.M. every one will probably be tired, dry garments are donned,
+and a very hungry company does ample justice to the meal. An hour will
+be spent in smoking and gossip, and, as the shadows begin to lengthen,
+a long procession slowly wends its way back, down the slippery descent,
+across the sunny fields, and through the forest, to the trysting-place
+where all met in the morning and whence they now return to their own
+homes.
+
+The intelligent reader will realise that this is a game abounding in
+possibilities, but the players should be chosen with discrimination and
+with due regard to individual affinities.
+
+A sunny climate and surroundings of natural beauty are necessary; but
+a wooded ravine on the Riviera or by the shore of an Italian lake, a
+clear stream leaping down a steep rocky bed, and the rest can be easily
+arranged by a little cutting and polishing of stone.
+
+Besides the novelty and charm of the exercise, the exhilarating
+motion, the semblance of danger, the clutchings at the nearest straws
+for help—there are infinite opportunities for designing and donning
+attractive garments wherein the graceful lines of the human form would be
+less jealously hidden than in the trappings of stern convention.
+
+Puffed sleeves and a bell skirt, Louis XIV. heels and an eighteen inch
+waist, would be inconvenient and out of place when sliding down a
+waterfall in the hope of a safe and graceful plunge into a shallow lynn.
+
+But if the company be well chosen, the _venue_ and the climate such as
+can be found at a hundred places between St. Tropez and Salerno, if
+there is in the costumes and the luncheon only a fair application of
+Art to Nature, the Eastern pastime is capable of easy and successful
+acclimatisation in the West. And as the knights and dames stroll slowly
+down the wooded glen, and the sinking sun strikes long shafts of light
+across their path, glorifying all colours, not least the tint of hair
+and eyes, the pleasure-seekers, if they have not by then found some more
+mutually interesting topic, will be very unanimous in their praise of
+_Mĕng-gĕlunchor_.
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+ÂMOK
+
+                There comes a time
+    When the insatiate brute within the man,
+    Weary with wallowing in the mire, leaps forth
+    Devouring ... and the soul sinks
+    And leaves the man a devil
+
+                                     LEWIS MORRIS
+
+
+Mention has been made of the Malay _âmok_, and, as what, with our happy
+faculty for mispronunciation and misspelling of the words of other
+languages, is called “running amuck,” is with many English people their
+only idea of the Malay, and that a very vague one, it may be of interest
+to briefly describe this form of homicidal mania.
+
+_Mĕng-âmok_ is to make a sudden, murderous attack, and though it is
+applied to the onslaught of a body of men in war time, or where plunder
+is the object and murder the means to arrive at it, the term is more
+commonly used to describe the action of an individual who, suddenly and
+without apparent cause, seizes a weapon and strikes out blindly, killing
+and wounding all who come in his way, regardless of age or sex, whether
+they be friends, strangers, or his own nearest relatives.
+
+Just before sunset on the evening of the 11th February, 1891, a Malay
+named Imam Mamat (that is Mamat the priest) came quietly into the house
+of his brother-in-law at Pâsir Gâram on the Perak River, carrying a spear
+and a _gôlok_, _i.e._ a sharp, pointed cutting knife.
+
+The Imam went up to his brother-in-law, took his hand and asked his
+pardon. He then approached his own wife and similarly asked her pardon,
+immediately stabbing her fatally in the abdomen with the _gôlok_. She
+fell, and her brother, rushing to assist her, received a mortal wound in
+the heart. The brother-in-law’s wife was in the house with four children,
+and they managed to get out before the Imam had time to do more than stab
+the last of them, a boy, in the back as he left the door. At this moment,
+a man, who had heard the screams of the women, attempted to enter the
+house, when the Imam rushed at him and inflicted a slight wound, the man
+falling to the ground and getting away.
+
+Having secured two more spears which he found in the house, the murderer
+now gave chase to the woman and her three little children and made short
+work of them. A tiny girl of four years old and a boy of seven were
+killed, while the third child received two wounds in the back; a spear
+thrust disposed of the mother—all this within one hundred yards of the
+house.
+
+The Imam now walked down the river bank, where he was met by a friend
+named Uda Majid, rash enough to think his unarmed influence would prevail
+over the other’s madness.
+
+He greeted the Imam respectfully, and said, “You recognise me, don’t let
+there be any trouble.”
+
+The Imam replied, “Yes, I know you, but my spear does not,” and
+immediately stabbed him twice.
+
+Though terribly injured, Uda Majid wrested the spear from the Imam, who
+again stabbed him twice, this time in lung and windpipe, and he fell.
+Another man coming up ran unarmed to the assistance of Uda Majid, when
+the murderer turned on the new-comer and pursued him; but, seeing Uda
+Majid get up and attempt to stagger away, the Imam went back to him
+and, with two more stabs in the back, killed him. Out of the six wounds
+inflicted on this man three would have proved fatal.
+
+The murderer now rushed along the river bank, and was twice seen to wade
+far out into the water and return. Then he was lost sight of.
+
+By this time the news had spread up stream and down, and every one was
+aware that there was abroad an armed man who would neither give nor
+receive quarter.
+
+For two days, a body of not less than two hundred armed men under the
+village chiefs made ceaseless but unavailing search for the murderer. At
+6 P.M. on the second day, Imam Mamat suddenly appeared in front of the
+house of a man called Lasam, who had barely time to slam the door in his
+face and fasten it. The house at that moment contained four men, five
+women, and seven children, and the only weapon they possessed was one
+spear.
+
+Lasam asked the Imam what he wanted, and he said he wished to be allowed
+to sleep in the house. He was told he could do so if he would throw away
+his arms, and to this the Imam replied by an attempt to spear Lasam
+through the window. The latter, however, seized the weapon, and with the
+help of his son, wrested it out of the Imam’s hands, Lasam receiving a
+stab in the face from the _gôlok_. During this struggle, the Imam had
+forced himself halfway through the window, and Lasam seizing his own
+spear, thrust it into the thigh of the murderer, who fell to the ground.
+In the fall, the shaft of the spear broke off, leaving the blade in the
+wound.
+
+It was now pitch dark, and, as the people of the house did not know the
+extent of the Imam’s injury or what he was doing, a man went out by the
+back to spread the news and call the village headman. On his arrival the
+light of a torch showed the Imam lying on the ground with his weapons out
+of reach, and the headman promptly pounced upon him and secured him.
+
+The Imam was duly handed over to the police and conveyed to Teluk Anson,
+but he died from loss of blood within twenty-four hours of receiving his
+wound.
+
+Here is the official list of killed and wounded—
+
+                        KILLED.
+
+    Alang Rasak, wife of Imam Mamat     _aged_ 33
+    Bilal Abu, brother-in-law of Mamat    ”    35
+    Ngah Intan, wife of Bilal Abu         ”    32
+    Puteh, daughter of Bilal Abu          ”     4
+    Mumin, son of Bilal Abu               ”     7
+    Uda Majid                             ”    35
+
+                        WOUNDED.
+
+    Kâsim, son of Bilal Abu             _aged_ 14
+    Teh, daughter of Bilal Abu            ”     6
+    Mat Sah                               ”    45
+    Lasam                                       —
+
+It is terrible to have to add that both the women were far advanced in
+pregnancy.
+
+Imam Mamat was a man of over forty years of age, of good repute with his
+neighbours, and I never heard any cause suggested why this quiet, elderly
+man of devotional habits should suddenly, without apparent reason,
+develop the most inhuman instincts and brutally murder a number of men,
+women, and children, his nearest relatives and friends. It is, however,
+quite possible that the man was suffering under the burden of some real
+or fancied wrong which, after long brooding, darkened his eyes and
+possessed him with this insane desire to kill.
+
+An autopsy was performed on the murderer’s body, and the published
+report of the surgeon says: “I hereby certify that I this day made a
+_post-mortem_ examination of the body of Imam Mahomed, and find him to
+have died from hæmorrhage from a wound on the outer side of right thigh;
+the internal organs were healthy except that the membranes of the right
+side of brain were more adherent than usual.”
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE JÔGET
+
+      Every footstep fell as lightly
+    As a sunbeam on the river
+
+       LONGFELLOW’S _Spanish Student_
+
+
+Malays are not dancers, but they pay professional performers to dance
+for their amusement, and consider that “the better part” is with those
+who watch, at their ease, the exertions of a small class whose members
+are not held in the highest respect. The spectacle usually provided
+is strangely wanting in attraction; a couple of women shuffling their
+feet, and swaying their hands in gestures that are practically devoid
+of grace or even variety—that is the Malay dance—and it is accompanied
+by the beating of native drums, the striking together of two short
+sticks held in either hand, and the occasional boom of a metal gong. The
+entertainment has an undoubted fascination for Malays but it generally
+forms part of a theatrical performance, and for Western spectators it is
+immeasurably dull.
+
+In one of the Malay States, however, Păhang, it has for years been the
+custom for the ruler and one or two of his near relatives to keep trained
+dancing girls, who perform what is called the “Jôget”—a real dance with
+an accompaniment of something like real music, though the orchestral
+instruments are very rude indeed.
+
+The dancers, _bûdak jôget_, belong to the Raja’s household, they may even
+be attached to him by a closer tie; they perform seldom, only for the
+amusement of their lord and his friends, and the public are not admitted.
+Years ago I saw such a dance, and though peculiar to Păhang as far as
+the Malay States are concerned, it is probable that it came originally
+from Java; the instruments used by the orchestra and the airs played are
+certainly far more common in Java and Sumatra than in the Peninsula.
+
+I had gone to Păhang on a political mission accompanied by a friend,
+and we were vainly courting sleep in a miserable lodging, when at 1
+A.M. a message came from the Sultan inviting us to witness a _jôget_.
+We accepted with alacrity, and at once made our way to the _astâna_, a
+picturesque, well-built and commodious house on the right bank of the
+Păhang river. A palisade enclosed the courtyard, and the front of the
+house was a very large hall, open on three sides, but covered by a lofty
+roof of fantastic design supported on pillars. The floor of this hall was
+approached by three wide steps continued round the three open sides, the
+fourth being closed by a wooden wall which entirely shut off the private
+apartments save for one central door over which hung a heavy curtain. The
+three steps were to provide sitting accommodation according to their rank
+for those admitted to the _astâna_. The middle of the floor, on the night
+in question, was covered by a large carpet, chairs were placed for us,
+and the rest of the guests sat on the steps of the daïs.
+
+When we entered, we saw, seated on the carpet, four girls, two of them
+about eighteen and two about eleven years old, all attractive according
+to Malay ideas of beauty, and all gorgeously and picturesquely clothed.
+
+On their heads they each wore a large and curious but very pretty
+ornament of delicate workmanship—a sort of square flower garden where all
+the flowers were gold, trembling and glittering with every movement of
+the wearer. These ornaments were secured to the head by twisted cords of
+silver and gold. The girls’ hair, combed down in a fringe, was cut in a
+perfect oval round their foreheads and very becomingly dressed behind.
+
+The bodices of their dresses were made of tight-fitting silk, leaving the
+neck and arms bare, whilst a white band of fine cambric (about 1½ inches
+wide), passing round the neck, came down on the front of the bodice in
+the form of a V, and was there fastened by a golden flower.
+
+Round their waists were belts fastened with large and curiously worked
+_pinding_ or buckles of gold, so large that they reached quite across the
+waist. The rest of the costume consisted of a skirt of cloth of gold (not
+at all like the _sârong_), reaching to the ankles, while a scarf of the
+same material, fastened in its centre to the waist-buckle, hung down to
+the hem of the skirt.
+
+All four dancers were dressed alike, except that the elder girls wore
+white silk bodices with a red and gold handkerchief, folded cornerwise,
+tied under the arms and knotted in front. The points of the handkerchief
+hung to the middle of the back. In the case of the two younger girls the
+entire dress was of one material.
+
+On their arms the dancers wore numbers of gold bangles, and their fingers
+were covered with diamond rings. In their ears were fastened the diamond
+buttons so much affected by Malays, and indeed now by Western ladies.
+Their feet, of course, were bare.
+
+We had ample time to minutely observe these details before the dance
+commenced, for when we came into the hall the four girls were sitting
+down in the usual[1] Eastern fashion, on the carpet, bending forward,
+their elbows resting on their thighs, and hiding the sides of their
+faces, which were towards the audience, with fans made of crimson and
+gilt paper which sparkled in the light.
+
+On our entrance the band struck up, and our special attention was called
+to the orchestra, as the instruments are seldom seen in the Malay
+Peninsula.
+
+There were two chief performers, one playing on a sort of harmonicon,
+the notes of which he struck with pieces of stick held in each hand. The
+other, with similar pieces of wood, played on inverted metal bowls. Both
+these performers seemed to have sufficiently hard work, but they played
+with the greatest spirit from 10 P.M. till 5 A.M.
+
+The harmonicon is called by Malays _chĕlempong_, and the inverted bowls,
+which give a pleasant and musical sound like the noise of rippling
+water, a _gambang_. The other members of the orchestra consisted of
+a very small boy who played, with a very large and thick stick, on a
+gigantic gong—an old woman who beat a drum with two sticks, and several
+other boys who played on instruments like triangles called _chânang_.
+
+All these performers, we were told with much solemnity, were artists of
+the first order, masters and a mistress in their craft, and if vigour of
+execution counts for excellence they proved the justice of the praise.
+
+The Hall, of considerable size, capable of accommodating several hundreds
+of people, was only dimly lighted, but the fact that, while the audience
+was in semi-darkness, the light was concentrated on the performers added
+to the effect. Besides ourselves I question whether there were more than
+twenty spectators, but sitting on the top of the daïs near to the dancers
+it was hard to pierce the surrounding gloom.
+
+The orchestra was placed on the left of the entrance to the Hall, that
+is rather to the side and rather in the background, a position evidently
+chosen with due regard to the feelings of the audience.
+
+From the elaborate and vehement execution of the players, and the want
+of regular time in the music, I judged, and rightly, that we had entered
+as the overture began. During its performance, the dancers sat leaning
+forward, hiding their faces as I have described; but when it concluded
+and, without any break, the music changed into the regular rhythm for
+dancing, the four girls dropped their fans, raised their hands in the act
+of _Sèmbah_ or homage, and then began the dance by swaying their bodies
+and slowly waving their arms and hands in the most graceful movements,
+making much and effective use all the while of the scarf hanging from
+their belts.
+
+Gradually raising themselves from a sitting to a kneeling posture,
+acting in perfect accord in every motion, then rising to their feet,
+they floated through a series of figures hardly to be exceeded in grace
+and difficulty, considering that the movements are essentially slow,
+the arms, hands and body being the real performers whilst the feet are
+scarcely noticed and for half the time not visible.
+
+They danced five or six dances, each lasting quite half an hour, with
+materially different figures and time in the music. All these dances I
+was told were symbolical; one, of agriculture, with the tilling of the
+soil, the sowing of the seed, the reaping and winnowing of the grain,
+might easily have been guessed from the dancer’s movements. But those of
+the audience whom I was near enough to question were, Malay-like, unable
+to give me much information. Attendants stood or sat near the dancers and
+from time to time, as the girls tossed one thing on the floor, handed
+them another. Sometimes it was a fan or a mirror they held, sometimes
+a flower or small vessel, but oftener their hands were empty, as it is
+in the management of the fingers that the chief art of Malay dancers
+consists.
+
+The last dance, symbolical of war, was perhaps the best, the music being
+much faster, almost inspiriting, and the movements of the dancers more
+free and even abandoned. For the latter half of the dance they each held
+a wand, to represent a sword, bound with three rings of burnished gold
+which glittered in the light like precious stones.
+
+This nautch, which began soberly, like the others, grew to a wild revel
+until the dancers were, or pretended to be, possessed by the Spirit of
+Dancing, _hantu mĕnâri_ as they called it, and leaving the Hall for
+a moment to smear their fingers and faces with a fragrant oil, they
+returned, and the two eldest, striking at each other with their wands
+seemed inclined to turn the symbolical into a real battle. They were,
+however, after some trouble, caught by four or five women and carried
+forcibly out of the Hall, but not until their captors had been made to
+feel the weight of the magic wands. The two younger girls, who looked
+as if they too would like to be “possessed,” but did not know how to
+accomplish it, were easily caught and removed.
+
+The band, whose strains had been increasing in wildness and in time,
+ceased playing on the removal of the dancers, and the nautch, which had
+begun at 10 P.M., was over.
+
+The Raja, who had only appeared at 4 A.M., told me that one of the elder
+girls, when she became “properly possessed,” lived for months on nothing
+but flowers, a pretty and poetic conceit.
+
+As we left the Astâna, and taking boat rowed slowly to the vessel waiting
+for us off the river’s mouth, the rising sun was driving the fog from the
+numbers of lovely green islets, that seemed to float like dew-drenched
+lotus leaves on the surface of the shallow stream.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE STORY OF MAT ARIS
+
+    I smote him as I would a worm,
+    With heart as steeled, with nerve as firm;
+    He never woke again
+
+                                     WHITTIER
+
+
+It was in the year 1876 that a man named Mat Aris, of no occupation and
+less repute, persuaded one Sâhit to take his wife Salâmah and start on a
+journey through the jungle to a distant country. The interest of Mat Aris
+in this couple was a desire to get rid of Sâhit and possess himself of
+the woman Salâmah, for whom he had conceived an overmastering passion.
+
+The travellers began their journey at a spot many miles up the Perak
+River; their road lay along a jungle track, and so sparsely inhabited
+was the country they were to pass through, that they could not even find
+a habitation in which to pass the night. They had to look forward to
+many days’ journey through the primæval forest, the home of wild beasts
+and Sakai people, aboriginal tribes almost as shy and untamed as the
+elephant, the bison and the rhinoceros, with which they share the forests
+of the interior.
+
+Sâhit and his wife started on their journey in the company of two
+brothers of Mat Aris, but meeting him the brothers returned, Mat Aris
+undertaking the part of escort. In the afternoon of the first day’s march
+a Sakai named Pah Patin met the three, and, being known to Mat Aris, that
+worthy ordered him to accompany them. Pah Patin did as he was told, and
+when evening came on, as there was no dwelling within miles, a shelter
+was built in the jungle wherein the night was to be passed.
+
+It is as well to understand what a Malay jungle is like, for a good soil,
+well watered, in one of the hottest and dampest climates in the world,
+produces a forest that is not altogether the counterpart of all other
+forests.
+
+The reading public, no doubt, believes that the jungle of Darkest Africa
+is a place of gloom, terror and difficulty without parallel. It may be
+so, but few of those who know it have visited Malâya, and one is apt to
+exaggerate one’s own troubles. Whatever gruesome peculiarities there
+are about the African jungle, it seems possible for large bodies of
+men and women to make their way through it at a fair pace without great
+difficulty. In that respect at least it has the advantage of the Malay
+forest.
+
+To begin with there are the trees of all sizes, from the smallest shoot
+to the giants of the jungle, towering to a height of 150 feet. I know
+that is not excessive, but in this forcing climate there are an enormous
+number of such trees, treading on each others roots and crowding the
+older and feebler out of existence. These are nothing, they afford
+a pleasant shade from the pitiless rays of the sun, and though this
+mitigated light cannot by any stretch of imagination be called darkness,
+it is possible to take off your hat without fear of sunstroke. If it were
+only for the trees jungle walking would be pleasant enough.
+
+Under them, however, there is an undergrowth so thick as to beggar
+description. Every conceivable kind of palm, of bush, of creeper,
+flourishes there with a luxuriance, with a prodigality of vegetable
+life, that shows how richly Nature deserves her title of Mother. It is
+a curious fact, remarked by every one who has been brought in contact
+with the Malay forest, that a very large number of its shrubs, many of
+its palms, and most of its creepers are armed with spikes of various
+length, but all of about equal sharpness. Some are so formidable that the
+thickest skinned beasts avoid contact with them, and no human apparel
+has been devised, short of armour, that will resist their powers of
+penetration and destruction. Under the creepers lie fallen trees, and the
+ground is covered with ferns, rank grasses, and what is generally termed
+undergrowth, so thick that the soil is often entirely hidden. It may be
+added as a minor but unpleasant detail that this tangle of vegetation
+harbours every species of crawling, jumping, and flying unpleasantness;
+myriads of leeches that work their way through stockings and garments of
+any but the closest texture; centipedes, scorpions, wasps, and stinging
+flies, caterpillars that thrust their hairs into the skin and leave them
+there to cause intolerable irritation, snakes poisonous and otherwise,
+ants with the most murderous proclivities, and last, but not least,
+mosquitoes that, when they find a human being, make the most of their
+opportunity. I have not exhausted the catalogue of pests, but only given
+a sample of what any traveller will meet in a day’s journey through a
+Malay jungle. There is a wasp called “the reminder,” a thorn called
+“Kite’s talons,” and an ant known as the “fire ant.” The names are as apt
+as they are suggestive.
+
+To force a way through such a place is an impossibility, even on all
+fours it could not be crawled through, the only means of progress is by
+cutting a path.
+
+No one attempts to walk through virgin forest unless he be in pursuit
+of game, or has some special object and the means to clear his way. All
+Malay jungle is not as thick as that I have described, and as the beasts
+sought by the sportsman naturally frequent the more open places, tracking
+is possible, though severe enough work even at the slow rate of progress
+necessary to enable the pursuers to approach the quarry without being
+seen or heard.
+
+The lower and more swampy the country the thicker the undergrowth, and I
+have often noticed that, where a river flows between low banks clothed
+with virgin forest, it would be almost impossible for even a strong
+swimmer to force his way out of the water on to the land through the
+thickly interlaced tangle of branches, rattans, and other thorny creepers
+that stretch their uninviting arms from the bank far over the water of
+the stream.
+
+It will naturally be asked how travellers make their way through jungle
+such as I have described. The reply is that there are existing tracks
+(not worthy of the name of footpaths) which have been used for ages,
+originally no doubt formed by the passing and repassing of wild beasts,
+then adopted by the Sakais, and lastly by Malays. In other cases similar
+means of passage have been formed by driving tame elephants through the
+forest from place to place. For the pedestrian, especially if he be clad
+in the garments and boots of western civilisation, progress through the
+succession of holes filled with water and mud which marks the track of
+elephants is neither rapid nor pleasant.
+
+That is the jungle of daylight.
+
+When once the sun has set darkness falls upon everything within the
+forest, and it is a darkness so absolute as to give to wide-open eyes
+the impression of blindness. Those who have been so unfortunate as to be
+benighted in a Malay jungle without torches or lanterns know that there
+is nothing to be done but to sit down and wait for day.
+
+Such were the surroundings in which Sâhit and his wife found themselves
+compelled to spend a night in the company of Mat Aris and his Sakai
+acquaintance.
+
+Mat Aris had a house in this neighbourhood, and on the day following the
+events already narrated a Malay went to the Headman of his village and
+said there was a woman in the house of Mat Aris sobbing and saying her
+husband had been murdered. The Headman went to the place and saw Mat Aris
+was there and a woman with him. Mat Aris had a reputation which probably
+induced this Headman not to attempt to interfere with him further than to
+keep a watch on his proceedings.
+
+In places where there are no roads, and often when they do exist, Malays
+live on or close by the bank of a river, and, on the following day, the
+Headman observed Mat Aris and the woman in a boat going down the stream,
+here a succession of rapids and very difficult to navigate. The Headman
+followed by a jungle track, and getting near to a place called Kôta
+Tampan, the first police station, he hurried on and gave the information
+he possessed.
+
+When Mat Aris arrived at Kôta Tampan he landed, and was at once arrested
+by the native sergeant in charge of the station, who accused him of
+murdering Sâhit. Mat Aris denied the charge, but the woman said her
+name was Salâmah, and the sergeant said he must take them both to his
+Divisional Headquarters at Kuala Kangsar, distant thirty miles or more by
+river. Accordingly the sergeant and some police entered the boat and a
+start was made for Kuala Kangsar. It shortly appeared that the police,
+who were natives of India, were not very skilful in the management of the
+boat, and, as Mat Aris offered his services to steer and there was no
+doubt of his ability, this important post was given to him. Choosing a
+convenient place where the stream was both deep and rapid, Mat Aris upset
+the boat and threw every one into the water. Then seizing the woman, he
+swam with her to the opposite bank and they both disappeared. The police
+had enough to do, hampered by their uniforms, to get out of the river
+with their lives.
+
+For the next eight years Mat Aris eluded all attempts at capture. He
+lived in the jungle beyond the jurisdiction of the Perak Government, and,
+with his brothers, became the terror of the neighbourhood, levying black
+mail on all who passed his way. Mat Aris was the ringleader, and even
+more serious crimes were laid at his door.
+
+The woman Salâmah was known to be living with Mat Aris as his wife, and
+it was also known that she had a child by him. Of Sâhit nothing more was
+seen or heard.
+
+Meanwhile the Government of Perak had established a station in the
+neighbourhood of the spot where Sâhit had disappeared, and complaints of
+the lawless proceedings of Mat Aris were constantly made to the officer
+in charge of it, but he was helpless, for the outlaw was beyond his reach.
+
+Eight years is, however, a long time, especially to an Eastern,
+and travellers worth robbing having grown scarce, Mat Aris, in the
+consciousness of his own rectitude, went to the Perak officer and asked
+for work. That mistaken step resulted in his arrest on the strength of
+the warrant issued eight years before.
+
+This time the prisoner was conveyed in safety to Kuala Kangsar, where he
+was duly tried.
+
+It is one thing to give information against a man who is free, willing,
+and able to resent it, and quite a different thing to say what you know
+when that man is in the toils. There was a witness who was likely to know
+what had happened to Sâhit, and that was Pah Patin the Sakai, but Pah
+Patin did not speak, and Mat Aris and Salâmah were the only other people
+who knew what he could say. At least that appeared to be so, for who
+else would be likely to know what happened at night in the depths of the
+jungle miles from the nearest habitation?
+
+As for Salâmah, like the Sabine women, she seemed to have reconciled
+herself to her captor.
+
+But the strange part of this story is that, impossible as it may seem,
+there was a witness who saw what took place in that hut in the forest,
+whither the unsuspecting Sâhit had been lured with his wife under the
+escort of Mat Aris.
+
+That witness was a Sakai man who had been collecting _gĕtah_
+(gutta-percha), and, attracted by the firelight, noiselessly approached
+the hut and, whilst wondering at the unusual sight of these strangers
+sleeping in his wild and lonely jungle, he saw Mat Aris get up and stab
+to death the man, who stood between him and the woman he had determined
+to possess.
+
+The Sakai saw more than that, but when once he had disclosed what he
+knew, Pah Patin was found and induced to tell his tale, and other Sakais
+completed the narrative.
+
+It will be remembered that Sâhit and his wife, Mat Aris and the Sakai Pah
+Patin had built a shelter where they proposed to spend the night. A fire
+was lighted, food was cooked and eaten, and the four lay down to sleep.
+On one side of the fire Mat Aris, next him Salâmah, and then Sâhit; on
+the other was the Sakai.
+
+The man and his wife slept, the other Malay pretended to sleep, and the
+Sakai fell into that state which passes for sleep with creatures that are
+always on the alert for possible danger.
+
+Half an hour later Mat Aris rose up softly and with a _kris_ stabbed
+Sâhit in the throat. The wretched man staggered to his feet, fell and
+tried to struggle up again when Mat Aris shouted to the Sakai to strike
+him or he would kill him also. Pah Patin obeyed, and hit the wounded man
+on the head with a stick. “Then,” said Pah Patin when at last he told the
+story, “there was a little life in him, but he never moved after I struck
+him.”
+
+The woman rushed out of the hut, but Mat Aris followed her and brought
+her back to the mat by the body of the murdered man, and there they slept
+together, the Sakai returning to his place on the other side of the fire.
+The night was young then.
+
+Before daylight Pah Patin left Mat Aris and Salâmah still sleeping by the
+corpse, and by order of Mat Aris fetched two more Sakais, and these three
+buried Sâhit by the bank of the river in the presence of Mat Aris and the
+woman.
+
+Years afterwards, when the details were known, an attempt was made to
+find the body, but it failed; decomposition in this climate is rapid,
+even bones disappear, and the river had many times flooded its banks,
+trees had gone and others grown, the landmarks were no longer the same,
+and possibly the exact site of the grave was missed.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+LÂTAH
+
+    Ofttimes he falleth into the fire and oft into the water
+
+                                                    MATTHEW xvii. 14
+
+
+In the spring of 1892 I was privileged, by the kindness of a friend
+and the courtesy of Dr. Luys, to visit the Hospital _de la Charité_ in
+Paris, where I witnessed some very remarkable and interesting experiments
+in suggestion. There were patients undergoing successful treatment for
+nervous disorders where the disease was in process of gradual relief
+by passing from the afflicted person to a medium without injury to
+the latter; there was the strange power of hypnotising, influencing
+and awakening certain _sujets_ whose nervous organisations seem to
+be specially susceptible, and there was the astonishing influence of
+the magnet over these same _sujets_ when already hypnotised. There is
+something more than usually uncanny in the sight of a person filled
+with an inexplicable and unnatural delight in the contemplation of the
+positive end of a magnet, and when the negative end is suddenly turned
+towards him, to see him instantly fall down unconscious as though struck
+by lightning.
+
+The _sujets_ (there were two of them, a man and a woman) described the
+appearance of the positive end of the magnet as producing a beautiful
+blue flame about a foot high, so exquisite in colour and beauty that it
+transported them with delight. As to the negative end, they reluctantly
+explained, in hesitating words and with every appearance of dread, that
+there also was a flame, but a red one of fearful and sinister import.
+
+I was deeply interested in these “manifestations,” both for their own
+strangeness and because I had in the Malay Peninsula seen equally
+extraordinary proceedings of a somewhat similar kind.
+
+Amongst Malays there is a well-known disease (I use the word for want of
+a better) called _lâtah_; it is far more common at certain places than
+at others, and amongst certain divisions of the great Malay family. Thus
+while there is generally one or more _ôrang lâtah_ to be found in every
+_kampong_ in Krian, where the Malays are mostly from Kĕdah, in other
+parts of Perak it is rare to ever meet a _lâtah_ person. Again, speaking
+generally, the disease seems to be more common amongst the people of
+Amboina, in Netherlands India, than those of Java, Sumatra or the Malay
+Peninsula. In both cases heredity is probably accountable for the result,
+whatever may have been the original cause to produce the affliction in
+certain places more than in others. I can only speak of my own experience
+and what I have personally seen, for no English authority appears to
+have studied the matter or attempted to either observe _lâtah_ people,
+diagnose the disease (if it is one), search for its cause or attempt to
+cure it. I can vouch for facts but nothing more.
+
+In 1874 I was sent in H.M.S. _Hart_ to reside with the Sultan of
+Selangor. Though His Highness’s personal record was one of which he might
+be proud, for he was said to have killed ninety-nine men (_sa’ râtus
+kûrang sâtu_) with his own hand, his State was not altogether a happy
+one, for it had been the fighting-ground of several ambitious young Rajas
+for some years. An unusually hideous piracy, personally conducted by one
+of the Sultan’s own sons, and committed on a Malacca trading vessel, had
+necessitated a visit from the China fleet, and when the perpetrators,
+or those who after due inquiry appeared to be the perpetrators, had
+been executed (the Sultan lending his own _kris_ for the ceremony), I
+was sent to see that these “boyish amusements,” as His Highness called
+them, were not repeated. The place where the Sultan then lived was
+hardly a desirable residence, even from a Malay point of view, and it
+has for years now been almost deserted. _Bandar Tĕrmâsa_, as it was
+grandiloquently styled, was a collection of huts on a mud flat enclosed
+between the Langat and Jugra rivers. It was only seven miles from the
+sea, and at high tide most of the place was under water.
+
+With me there went twenty-five Malay police from Malacca, and we lived
+all together in an old stockade on the bank of the Langat river. Whether
+it was the mosquitoes, which for numbers and venom could not be matched,
+or whether it was the evil reputation of the place for deeds of violence
+is needless to inquire, but the police were seized with panic and had
+to be replaced by another batch from Singapore, selected not so much
+on account of their virtues as their so-called vices. The exchange was
+satisfactory, for whatever sins they committed they showed no signs of
+panic.
+
+Later on I was encouraged by the statement that Bandar Tĕrmâsa, for all
+its unpromising appearance, was a place for _men_, where those who had
+a difference settled it promptly with the _kris_, and cowards who came
+there either found their courage or departed. A story that amused the
+gossips was that, as a badly wounded man was carried from the duelling
+field past the palisade which enclosed the Sultan’s house, His Highness
+had asked, through the bars, what was the matter, and, being told, had
+laconically remarked, “If he is wounded, doctor him; if he is dead, bury
+him.”
+
+During my residence in the place a lady, for jealousy, stabbed a man of
+considerable note thirteen times with his own dagger, and sent the next
+morning to know whether I would like to purchase it, as she did not much
+fancy the weapon. The man was not killed, and made no complaint. Another
+lady, for a similar reason, visited our stockade one night, pushed the
+sentry on one side, and, finding the man she wanted, attempted to stab
+him with a long _kris_ she had brought for that purpose.
+
+That was then the state of society in Bandar Tĕrmâsa.
+
+I have said we lived all together in a stockade. It was a very rude
+structure with log walls about six feet thick and eight feet high, a mud
+floor, a thatch roof, and no doors. Outside it was a high watch-tower of
+the same materials, but the ladder to it had fallen down. Of roads there
+were none, but a mud path ran through the stockade from river bank to
+village, distant some 300 yards. My own accommodation was a cot borrowed
+from the _Hart_ and slung between two posts, while the men slept on the
+walls of the stockade.
+
+The place had drawbacks other than mosquitoes, for the public path ran
+through it, the tide at high water completely covered the floor, and the
+log walls were full of snakes. The state of the surroundings will best be
+understood when I say that during the many months I lived there I did not
+wear boots outside the stockade, because there was nothing to walk upon
+but deep mud, and that the only water fit to use was contained in a well
+or pond a quarter of a mile off, to which I walked every day to bathe.
+
+With the second batch of police had come an European inspector, and he
+and I were the only white men in the country.
+
+Amongst the twenty-five police were two men of the name of Kâsim; they
+were both natives of Amboina, but very different in disposition, and they
+were known among their comrades as Kâsim _Bĕsar_ and Kâsim _Kĕchil_—that
+is Kâsim Major and Kâsim Minor.
+
+Kâsim Major was a quiet, reserved, silent man of about twenty-five, and
+I afterwards realised that he had a somewhat violent temper when roused.
+Kâsim Minor, on the contrary, was a smiling, talkative, happy, and
+pleasant-looking young fellow of about twenty. They were not related to
+each other in any way.
+
+I used often to be away on the coast and up river, and on my return from
+one of these expeditions I noticed the men teasing Kâsim Minor, and saw
+at once that he was _lâtah_. I questioned the inspector, and he told me
+that during my absence he had one day been away on duty for some hours,
+and when he returned, about 4 P.M., he saw Kâsim Minor up a coco-nut tree
+just outside the stockade. On asking him what he was doing there, he
+replied he could not come down because there was a snake at the bottom of
+the tree. In reality there was a bit of rattan tied round the tree, and,
+this being removed, Kâsim came down.
+
+Now, it is no easy matter to climb a coco-nut tree; it requires a special
+training to do it at all, and Kâsim did not possess it. But the inspector
+ascertained that the other police had found out by accident that their
+comrade was _lâtah_, that they had ordered him to climb the tree, which
+he had at once done, and that then, out of sheer devilry, some one had
+taken a bit of rattan, said, “Do you see this snake? I will tie it round
+the tree, and then you can’t come down,” and so left him from 10 A.M.
+till the afternoon, when the inspector returned and released him.
+
+The time of Kâsim’s penance was probably greatly exaggerated, but that
+is how the story was told to me, and of all that follows I was an
+eye-witness.
+
+I made Kâsim Minor my orderly, and as he was constantly with me I had
+better opportunities of studying his peculiarities. About this time also
+I learnt that Kâsim Major was also _lâtah_.
+
+Speaking generally, it was only necessary for any one to attract the
+attention of either of these men by the simplest means, holding up a
+finger, calling them by name in a rather pointed way, touching them
+or even, when close by, to look them hard in the face, and instantly
+they appeared to lose all control of themselves and would do, not only
+whatever they were told to do, but whatever was suggested by a sign.
+
+I have seen many _lâtah_ people, male and female, but never any quite
+like these two, none so susceptible to outside influence, so ready to
+blindly obey a word or a sign.
+
+The kindly disposition of Kâsim Minor made him quite harmless, but the
+other Kâsim was rather a dangerous subject to play tricks with, as I will
+presently explain.
+
+The _lâtah_ man or woman usually met with, if suddenly startled, by a
+touch, a noise, or the sight of something unexpected, will not only show
+all the signs of a very nervous person but almost invariably will fire
+off a volley of expressions more or less obscene, having no reference
+at all to the circumstance which has suddenly aroused attention. As a
+rule it is necessary to _startle_ these people before they will say
+or do anything to show that they are differently constituted to their
+neighbours, and when they have betrayed themselves either by word or
+deed their instinct is to get away as quickly as possible. Children
+and even grown-up people cannot always resist the pleasure of “bating”
+a _lâtah_ person; for one reason because it is so exceedingly easy,
+for another because they are inclined on the spur of the moment to do
+ludicrous things or say something they would under ordinary circumstances
+be ashamed of. _Almost_ invariably _lâtah_ people of this class (and it
+is by far the most common one) are very good humoured and never seem to
+think of resenting the liberty taken with their infirmity. If by word or
+deed they commit themselves (and that is not uncommon) they either run
+away, or appear to be unconscious of having said or done anything unusual
+(this however is rare), or they simply say, “I am _lâtah_,” as a full
+explanation and excuse.
+
+If any one present accidentally drops something on the floor, if a lizard
+falls from the roof on to or near a _lâtah_ person, if the wind blows the
+shutter of a window to with a bang, a _lâtah_ person of the class I speak
+of will probably find it necessary to at least say something not usually
+heard in polite society. Of this class by far the majority are women.
+
+I have never seen a _lâtah_ boy or girl, but I know they are to be found,
+though the disease certainly becomes more evident as the subject grows
+older.
+
+It must be understood that except when under influence, when actually
+showing the evidences of this strange peculiarity, _lâtah_ people are
+undistinguishable from others. It is sufficient proof of this that
+amongst my twenty-five police there should have been two men more
+completely _lâtah_ than any I have seen before or since.
+
+I took occasion to carefully observe the two Kâsims. It was impossible to
+always prevent their companions teasing them, especially in a place where
+there was absolutely no form of amusement and all the conditions of life
+were as unpleasant as they well could be, but no harm was ever done, and
+I am satisfied that while influence was in any way exercised over the
+_lâtah_ man he was not conscious of his own actions, and directly it was
+removed he became his reasoning other self, and the utmost that remained
+on his mind, or came to him with the recovery of his own will, was that
+he might have done something foolish.
+
+If the attention of either of these men was arrested, as I have said by
+word, sign, or a meaning glance, from that moment until the influence was
+removed, the _lâtah_ man would do whatever he was told or signed to do
+without hesitation, whether the act signified were difficult, dangerous,
+or painful. When once under this influence any one present could give the
+order and the _lâtah_ man would immediately obey it; not only that, but
+even at some distance (as in the coco-nut tree incident), he appeared to
+be equally subject to the will imposed on his actions.
+
+A curious thing about both these men was that, having attracted the
+attention of either, if you said, “Kâsim, go and hit that man,” he would
+invariably repeat what was said, word for word, including his own name,
+while he carried out the order. When the person hit turned on him, Kâsim
+would say, “It was not I who hit you, but that man who ordered me.”
+
+I have seen Kâsim the younger, when the man influencing him put his own
+finger in his mouth and pretended to bite it, imitate the action but
+really bite his finger and bite it hard. Similarly I have seen him, in
+imitation and without a word being said, take a lighted brand from the
+fire, and he would have put it in his mouth if the experiment had been
+carried so far. Some one told him one day to jump into the river, and he
+did not get out again till he had swum nearly two hundred yards, for the
+stream was both broad and deep, with a terrible current, and infested
+by crocodiles. If at any moment you called out “_Tôlong_ Kâsim” (“help!
+Kâsim”), the instant he heard it he would jump up and crying “_Tôlong_
+Kâsim,” dash straight to you over all obstacles. If then you had put a
+weapon in his hand and told him to slay any one within reach I have not
+the slightest doubt he would have done it without hesitation.
+
+I have said there was a ladderless watch-tower outside the stockade. The
+police wanted firewood, they were not allowed to burn the logs forming
+our walls, but at the top of the watch-tower there were also log walls
+that they were told they could burn. They were lazy, however, and did
+not see how they were going to get up, so they ordered Kâsim the younger
+to climb up, which he did as he had climbed the coco-nut tree, and, when
+once there, they told him to throw down logs until they thought they had
+enough. I watched that operation, and the feverish haste with which the
+man swarmed up one of the supports, gained the platform of the tower,
+and threw down huge logs as though his life depended on it, was rather
+remarkable. I gave orders that the man’s infirmity was not to be used
+for this purpose again, but in my absence I know that when more firewood
+was wanted Kâsim went up to the watch-tower for it until that supply was
+exhausted.
+
+The path from the stockade to the village was in sight of the stockade
+throughout its length, and one day I noticed Kâsim Minor, as he walked
+leisurely down this mud embankment, stop every now and then and behave
+in a peculiar fashion as though he were having conversation with the
+frogs, snakes and other denizens of the ditches that bordered the path.
+When he had gone half way he stopped and peeped up into the branches of
+a small tree on the road side, then he seemed to be striking blows at an
+invisible enemy, ran to the ditch and began throwing lump after lump of
+hard mud into the tree. I had not seen this phase of his peculiarities
+before and could not make it out, but suddenly his arms went about his
+head like the sails of a windmill, and I realised that his enemies were
+bees or hornets, and that he was getting a good deal the worst of an
+unequal fight. I sent some of the men to fetch him back and found he had
+been rather badly stung, and when I asked him why he attacked the nest he
+said his attention was caught by things flying out of the tree and he was
+impelled to throw at them.
+
+I understood that the hornets flying out of the nest appeared to be
+thrown at him, and he could not help imitating what he saw in the best
+way he could, and so he took what was nearest his hand and sent it flying
+back.
+
+Kâsim the elder was quite as susceptible as his namesake, but his
+comrades were a little shy of provoking him as they soon realised that
+his temper made the amusement dangerous. One day they must have been
+teasing him, and, when he was allowed to recover his own will, I
+suppose their laughter made it evident to him that he had made himself
+ridiculous, for he suddenly ran to the arm-rack, and seizing a sword
+bayonet made for his tormentors with such evident intention to use it
+that they precipitately fled, and in a few seconds were making very good
+time across the swamp with Kâsim and the drawn sword far too close to be
+pleasant. I had some difficulty in persuading him to abandon his purpose,
+but after that and a lecture his comrades did not greatly bother him.
+
+I remember, however, that on another occasion we had secured and erected
+a long thin spar to serve as a flagstaff, but the halyard jammed and it
+seemed necessary to lower the spar when some one called out to Kâsim the
+elder to climb up it. Before I could interfere, he had gone up two-thirds
+of the height, and he only came down reluctantly. Had he gone a few feet
+higher the pole would inevitably have snapped and he would have had a
+severe fall.
+
+About this time a friend came and shared my loneliness for a fortnight.
+He had had experience of _lâtah_ people before, but the two Kâsims were
+rather a revelation, and he was perhaps inclined to doubt what I told him
+they could be made to do. One morning we were bathing as usual at the
+pond, and Kâsim the younger was in attendance carrying the towels, &c.
+
+The bath was over, and we were all three standing on the bank, when my
+friend said to Kâsim:
+
+“_Mâri, kîta tĕrjun_” (come, let us jump in), at the same time feigning
+to jump. Kâsim instantly jumped into the pond, disappeared, came up
+spluttering, and having scrambled out, said: “_Itu tîdak baik, Tûan_”
+(that is not good of you, sir).
+
+My friend said, “Why, I did nothing, I only said let us jump in and
+went like this,” repeating his previous action, when Kâsim immediately
+repeated his plunge, and we dragged him from the water looking like a
+retriever.
+
+When I was first ordered to Selangor, I thought it possible that some
+sort of furniture might be useful, and I took up a few chairs and other
+things, including a large roll of what is known as Calcutta matting. The
+things were useless in a place where the mud floor was often under water
+twice during twenty-four hours, and they lay piled in a corner of the
+stockade, and whenever a Malay of distinction came to see me for whom it
+was necessary to find a chair, it was advisable to see that the seat was
+not already occupied by a snake. The roll of matting, about four feet
+high and two-and-a-half feet in diameter naturally remained unopened.
+
+Every night, owing to the myriads of mosquitoes, a large bonfire was lit
+in the middle of the stockade, for only in the smoke of that fire was it
+possible to eat one’s dinner. One night some Malays from the village had
+come in, and the police were trying to amuse them and forget their own
+miseries by dancing and singing round the fire. Under such circumstances
+Malays have a happy knack of making the best of things, they laugh
+easily and often, and as I have said elsewhere, they have a strong sense
+of humour if not always of a very refined description. Some one had
+introduced one of the Kâsims, in his character of an _ôrang lâtah_, for
+the benefit of the strangers, and one of the men was inspired to fetch
+the roll of matting, and solemnly presenting it to Kâsim the younger,
+said, “Kâsim, here is your wife.”
+
+Even now I do not forget the smile of beatitude and satisfaction with
+which Kâsim Minor regarded that undesirable and figureless bundle.
+Breathing the words in a low voice, almost sighing to himself, “Kâsim,
+here is your wife,” he embraced the matting with great fervour,
+constantly repeating “My wife! my wife!” Some one said, “Kiss her!”
+and he kissed her—repeatedly kissed her. Then by another inspiration
+(I do not say from whence), some one brought up the other Kâsim, and
+introducing him to the other side of the roll of matting, said, also very
+quietly, “Kâsim, this is _your_ wife!” and Kâsim the elder accepted the
+providential appearance of his greatly-desired spouse, and embraced her
+with not less fervour than his namesake and rival.
+
+It was evident that neither intended to give up the lady to the other,
+and as each tried to monopolise her charms a struggle began between them
+to obtain complete possession, during which the audience, almost frantic
+with delight, urged the actors in this drama to manifest their affection
+to the lady of their choice. In the midst of this clamour the Kâsims and
+their joint spouse fell down, and as they nearly rolled into the fire and
+seemed disinclined even then to abandon the lady, she was taken away and
+put back in her corner with the chairs and snakes.
+
+It is a detail, which I only add because some readers hunger for detail,
+that neither of the Kâsims possessed a wife.
+
+I do not pretend to offer any explanation of the cause of this state
+of mind which Malays call _lâtah_. I imagine it is a nervous disease
+affecting the brain but not the body.
+
+I have never met a medical man who has interested himself in the matter,
+and I cannot say whether the disease, if it be one, is curable or not—I
+should doubt it.
+
+I have somewhere read that individuals similarly affected are found
+amongst the Canadian lumber-men.
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+THE ETERNAL FEMININE
+
+    Le bonheur de saigner sur le cœur d’un ami
+
+                                                       PAUL VERLAINE
+
+
+There was a woman of Kelantan named Siti Maämih; she was born of the
+people, neither good nor beautiful, nor attractive, nor even young, as
+youth goes in the East, but she had chosen to ally herself to a white man
+whom I will call Grant.
+
+I know nothing of these two, but that he had work far away in a Malay
+jungle and she shared his loneliness, herself a stranger in that country.
+It was apparently an arrangement formed for mutual advantage, like many
+others of a more permanent character. If the connection began without
+any semblance of romance, it more than satisfied the expectations of
+the contracting parties, and when the moment of trial came the highest
+affection and the most sacred bond could hardly have suggested a greater
+sacrifice than this woman offered.
+
+Whilst these two were living their unattractive lives there came
+difficulties between white man and brown—not specially between this white
+man and any with a darker skin: the quarrel was between white authority
+and Malay resentment of interference. Grant was not even remotely
+connected with the matter, but he was white, and under such circumstances
+a want of discrimination is not uncommon. There followed what is known
+as “a state of reprisals.” Uncivilised people, who do not understand
+fine distinctions in such matters, called it war. The disturbance was,
+however, comparatively local, Grant’s immediate neighbourhood did not
+seem affected, and he was probably unconcerned. Therefore he went about
+his work and took no special precaution, fearing no attack.
+
+But his hut was isolated, there was only one other white man anywhere
+near him, no police within miles, and Maämih, who understood Malays
+better than her protector, was on the watch for trouble.
+
+To expect is, sometimes, to go half way to meet, and the trouble came
+quickly.
+
+One morning two Malays appeared at Grant’s house, and, having given some
+trivial excuse for their presence and looked about the premises, took
+their departure. There was nothing unusual in that, and only a very
+nervous person would have seen in so simple an event any cause for alarm.
+But even ere this, prudence would have told most white men under similar
+circumstances that it would be well to see to their arms and keep them
+handy. Grant, however, took no precautions, as he had probably convinced
+himself that none were necessary; as for arms, he does not appear to have
+had any.
+
+That morning, or it may have been the evening before, three large boats
+and two small ones arrived in the river close by, but kept out of sight
+of Grant’s hut, and he probably did not know they were there. They
+belonged to a minor chief who had no connection with the Malays then in
+arms.
+
+The day wore on, Grant had been out all morning looking after his work,
+he had returned to breakfast, been out again, and now he was back and
+had thrown himself down to rest, glad to get under shelter from the
+oppressive heat. He was a busy man and his work took him out of doors,
+but though he had been about all day he had seen and heard nothing to
+arouse his suspicions.
+
+Seen nothing, certainly. That was not strange, it was a jungly place,
+and to be ten yards off in the jungle is as good, for those who seek
+concealment and know the jungle, as to be in another district. As
+for hearing anything, that too was most unlikely: the only people he
+could hear from were Malays, the only means of communication the Malay
+language, of which Grant knew very little, and the only condition on
+which information is to be obtained from Malays about Malays would be an
+intimacy with and respect for the threatened man to which Grant could
+hardly aspire. There must be some very powerful influence at work to
+induce a Muhammadan, who is not personally in danger, to tell a Christian
+that there is a Muhammadan plot against his life. Grant, at any rate, if
+he thought about it at all, could hardly expect that he, a new-comer,
+possessed friends who would do so much for him.
+
+He was still resting when, about 4 P.M., a party of nearly twenty armed
+men suddenly appeared in front of the house and stood some fifty yards
+away, while two of them, carrying only the ordinary jungle knives, came
+up to the house and asked Grant if he wanted to buy fowls. He told the
+inquirers to take them to his servant, and got up as the Malays left him.
+
+The men had no fowls, and instead of going to the servant’s quarters they
+rejoined their companions, and the whole body advanced towards the house.
+
+At this moment Maämih appeared, and instantly divining that the
+strangers meant no good, she screamed out, “They are going to murder us.”
+But Grant said that he and she had done no harm and the Malays could mean
+none, and, taking the woman with him, he went out of the house and a few
+steps forward to meet his assailants.
+
+These last stopped some twenty yards from Grant and the woman, and she
+said, “What harm have we done?” The answer was “_Titah_”—it is by order
+of the Raja—and they told the woman to leave the infidel and go away. But
+she replied, “I shall stay with him.”
+
+Then several men said, “If you do not go, we will kill you as well as the
+white man.”
+
+Grant may not have understood this sentence of death on himself, he may
+not have realised how strangely the times were out of joint, that he who
+was the enemy of no man, who had done no wrong, who represented no cause,
+should suddenly, in the broad light of day, hear his own death sentence,
+and in the same breath learn that he was facing his executioners and his
+account with the world was closed. There was no time to think: instinct
+said, “There is Death,” and doubtless instinct also said, “Death is
+disagreeable: shun it.”
+
+It is commonly reputed that there are people who do not know what fear
+is; to them in such a situation instinct no doubt suggests that death
+is a new and pleasant experience. With this man it was different; as he
+saw here and there a gun raised and pointed at him from a distance of a
+few paces, he probably felt the fear of sudden and violent death, and
+if he was in any way responsible for what he did in that supreme moment
+his thought must have suggested that these men would not harm a woman of
+their own nationality and religion, for he took her in his arms.
+
+A shot was fired, and the bullet shattered Maämih’s left arm. Then,
+seeing what had happened, Grant put her behind him and two more shots
+were fired, one of which struck Grant in the breast, and saying, “They
+have killed me,” he fell on his face to the ground.
+
+A Malay rushed up with a heavy chopping knife, but the woman threw
+herself on the body and put her unwounded arm over Grant’s neck to save
+him. The Malay’s first blow inflicted a deep wound on Maämih’s arm and
+made her loose her hold; the man then struck Grant a heavy blow on the
+back of the neck, but he was already dead.
+
+The murderers took no further notice of the woman, except to try and rob
+her of the jewellery she wore, but they plundered the house, and having
+decapitated the dead man and otherwise mutilated his body, they threw the
+remains into the river and departed.
+
+The woman was cared for by a countryman of her own until she could be
+removed to a hospital, where, after weeks of suffering, she recovered
+from her injuries.
+
+The motive of this outrage was simply the desire of an individual and
+his small following to wipe out the white man, and as Grant’s isolated
+position made him a specially easy prey, he fell a victim. His only
+European neighbour was also murdered by the same band. I know of no
+similar attack being made by Malays on a white man within modern times,
+and I question whether there is such another instance of a Malay woman’s
+devotion—not that they are not capable of such self-sacrifice, I think
+they are, but the circumstances necessary to call it forth very seldom
+arise.
+
+This woman realised what was going to happen before she left the shelter
+of the house, she had time after that to think, her life was not sought,
+she was told to go away and warned that if she did not separate herself
+from the white man she would share his fate. Moreover, she knew that no
+sacrifice of hers could save him, and more than all, as affecting her
+woman’s nerves, she saw face to face the men with murder in their faces
+and the means to accomplish it in their hands.
+
+The motive which kept Maämih by Grant’s side and which led her, after
+receiving the first shot, to interpose herself between his body and the
+weapons of his foes, must have been as high as it was powerful. Just as
+there was nothing to fear by standing aside (for none would have blamed
+her), so there was nothing to hope from the forbearance of Grant’s
+murderers, and that she did not also lose her life by her devotion to
+him was the accident of an ill-directed shot and a well-aimed blow which
+sought to sever the woman’s arm and reach the neck it protected—the neck
+of a dead man.
+
+United to the devotion which deemed no sacrifice too great for one she
+loved, was that other sort of courage which comes of knowledge and
+deliberate intention. No one can fail to admire the pluck which takes no
+thought of danger, the instinct which impels a wild beast to charge an
+enemy and probably achieve thereby its own destruction. Even then it can
+hardly be said that the sensation of fear has never been and cannot be
+experienced by the most formidable and gallant denizens of the forest
+and the desert. All sportsmen know the contrary, and a child has put a
+tiger to flight by suddenly throwing a basket in the face of the beast.
+Had the child run away, its death was probable, whereas it saved the life
+of an old man already in the tiger’s clutches, and yet the child’s action
+was not the result of courage but of fear.
+
+This Malay woman, in whom the love of life was strong, and on whose
+nerves the horror and certainty of what awaited her must have had a
+terrifying effect, deliberately renounced safety, with that higher
+resolve which, vanquishing fear, faces the unknown in the spirit
+described by the Persian who, writing eight centuries ago, has found so
+worthy an interpreter in the author of the lines—
+
+    “So when the Angel of the darker Drink
+    At last shall find you by the river brink
+    And, offering his Cup, invite your Soul,
+    Forth to your Lips to quaff—
+                    You shall not shrink.”
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+IN THE NOON OF NIGHT
+
+            Her soul upheld
+    By some deep-working charm
+
+                   KIRKE WHITE
+
+
+On the western coast of the Peninsula, more especially that part of
+it which forms one side of the Straits of Malacca, the shore-line is
+generally one long stretch of mud, covered with mangrove trees to the
+verge of high-water mark and rather further, for when the tide is up
+there are thousands of acres of mangrove whose roots and several inches
+of the stems are submerged. Beyond this forest the receding tide leaves
+great wastes of evil-smelling mire, soft and clinging, in which the
+searcher for shell-fish sinks almost to his waist.
+
+Many rivers, small and great, find their way to the sea through this wide
+flat. At high water they look imposing enough, but when the tide is out
+a narrow and shallow channel is left winding about between low slimy
+banks, and right and left the eye wanders over a desolation of glistening
+mud with an almost imperceptible slope to the edge of the distant sea.
+
+Pools of shallow water and tiny channels, through which the receding
+tide finds easier road to river or sea, alone break the monotony of the
+unsightly waste.
+
+That is as far as physical features go. The mud-flats have their
+denizens, but they are not over-attractive.
+
+First, there is the Malay fisherman, hunting for mussels and other
+shell-fish. If he is there at all he will be hard to see, for he pushes
+his little dug-out fifty or a hundred yards up a mud creek, leaves it and
+fossicks about, sunk above his knees in the mire.
+
+Then there are myriads of birds, attracted by the great possibilities of
+gain to the industrious searcher after garbage, stranded fish, and all
+sorts of particularly loathsome-looking and foul-smelling dead things
+to be found in such a place. These birds are often strange-looking
+creatures, vast of size, long and lank of leg, snaky of neck and spiky
+of bill. But they are wary to a degree, they always seems to be standing
+just in the tiny ripple of the smallest wavelets where you instinctively
+know the mud and sea meet, and there they watch the gradually receding
+tide with melancholy abstraction, as though they took no real interest in
+the daily toil of sustaining life.
+
+Last, there is something else here, and, if you are not quite a stranger,
+you will look first, look longest, and look always for this other thing.
+Perhaps it is the extraordinary fitness of her surroundings (I say _her_
+advisedly), perhaps the art with which nature has designed the body of
+the saurian to make you think her a log, or a stranded palm-branch, a
+half-buried spar of a wrecked boat, or even a lighter or darker ridge
+of the surrounding mud—certain it is that as the crocodile lies there,
+basking in the sun which makes air and water and blistering slime shimmer
+and dance before your eyes, you will not notice the creature, nay, even
+when pointed out to you, it is ten to one that you will not even then
+realise that she is there.
+
+But get nearer, speak no word and let your rowers pull a long and
+noiseless stroke till some one with a quick eye and a steady hand can
+put a bullet in the reptile’s neck. As that great mouth suddenly opens,
+disclosing the rows of shining teeth, as it shuts again with the noise
+of a steel trap, as the horrible scaly claws dig deep into the mud in
+their agony and the great spiked tail lashes round in fury, as the
+loathsome yellow belly slides over the ooze and you catch sight of the
+stony cruelty of the crocodile’s eye, then you will realise what manner
+of thing she is, and you will probably conceive for her and all her kind
+a deadly horror and loathing, and a consuming desire to slay the whole
+brood will seize you then and remain with you for all time.
+
+If it should happen to you to have to fight a wounded crocodile at close
+quarters, if accident brings you in contact with a man who has just lost
+arm or leg, or with a corpse out of which a crocodile has torn the life,
+your feelings towards these river-murderers will not be softened.
+
+There are Malay rivers so infested by these reptiles that at low water
+for a mile or two from the river’s mouth they will be seen, in twos and
+threes or larger groups, lying on either bank basking or sleeping in the
+sun. It repeatedly happens that they knock people out of their boats
+and then kill and devour them, and in places where the creatures are
+specially numerous, if a crocodile is shot dead on the bank, in less than
+half an hour the carcase will be dragged into the river and a crowd of
+the reptiles will be tearing it in pieces and fighting for the remains.
+
+Villages on the Malay coast are nearly always situated on the bank of
+a river; the sea is full of fish and the men of a coast village are
+mostly fishermen. If the village is of any size and the industry of any
+importance, the catching of fish is supplemented by curing—that is,
+salting and drying them.
+
+The whereabouts of a village of this kind may be recognised by the
+traveller on sea or land when he is yet a great way off. Probably for
+that reason, and because the cleaning of thousands of fish loads the
+water with food of a kind that is specially attractive to the saurian,
+the immediate neighbourhood of a fishing village is the favourite resort
+of the crocodile.
+
+At the mouth of a wide river on the Perak coast there is just such a
+village. It is thriving, and as there are a number of Chinese as well as
+Malay fishermen, it boasts a police-station. The houses are built for
+the most part on piles; at high water the sea washes under them, and the
+means of inter-communication are wooden stagings from house to house. At
+low water there is mud, great stretches of mud, running from the edge of
+the mangrove swamp which backs the village far out to the west and the
+waters of the Straits of Malacca.
+
+It was in the month of Ramthân, when begin those forty days of fast
+observed by all good Muhammadans—though so few of them know why they
+fast, or the details of the touching story which tells the sufferings
+of the Martyrs of Kerbela—that one night, past the middle of the month,
+but when the moon still lit up the water and made things plain as day, a
+strange thing happened at this small coast village.
+
+In it there lived a Malay revenue officer with his wife and child, and on
+the night in question these three, being at home, went to sleep about 10
+P.M. as was their wont.
+
+A slight breeze was blowing off the sea, blowing against the falling
+tide, and the moonlight glorified the hideous expanse of slime
+till it looked like a limitless mirror, blending far away with the
+haze-enshrouded waters of the sea, but bordered landwards by that dark
+fringe of mangroves, the thick forest forming a striking contrast to the
+moonlit beauty of the glistening shore.
+
+The wind sighed up the river, played through the great brown nets hanging
+up to dry, and, scarcely stirring the tops of the mangroves, swept gently
+towards the distant hills.
+
+All the village slept, except the one Guardian of the Peace, who showed
+his devotion to duty by punctually striking the hours on a huge metal
+gong.
+
+The night was far advanced, when suddenly he heard a child crying in the
+house of the Malay revenue clerk. Then there was the noise of footsteps
+and the voice of the man calling to his wife, but no answer. After a few
+minutes there was the sound of approaching feet, a shout from the Malay,
+followed by the man himself.
+
+The constable called out, “What is the matter, Che Mat?”
+
+Che Mat replied, “I was asleep, but awoke hearing the child crying for
+its mother. I could not see her anywhere, and she did not answer when I
+spoke. Then I got up and saw at once the door of the house was open, but
+she is nowhere to be seen. Have you heard anything of her?”
+
+The constable had heard nothing, but there was evidently something
+uncanny about this disappearance, for, in a village such as this, where
+the houses are more in the water than on land, where the pathless
+mangrove is the background, and the waters of the river the foreground,
+there are few places left in which to look for any one or anything with
+any chance of finding them.
+
+The man on guard roused his comrades, and, as Malays do not sit down
+and discuss plans of action, some one at once made a move; the others
+followed, and they all walked out to the last house on the platform, and
+then listened.
+
+“Hark! did you not hear something?” Yes, through the silence of the
+night, wafted on the incoming breeze, there was a distinct but faint cry
+from the direction of the sea.
+
+It did not take the men long to get down to the ground, and first
+hurrying along the edge of the trees, they went some distance, hearing
+the cries at intervals and ever more plainly, till it became necessary to
+strike right out across the mud. By this time there was no doubt about
+the source of the cries, for the voice of the object of their search
+was recognised, and that the woman was in sore distress did not admit
+of doubt. Making all the speed they could, sinking above their knees at
+every step, stumbling, falling, but ever pressing on, they saw at last to
+their horror, in the brilliant moonlight, the woman on the ground being
+literally worried by three crocodiles, each six or eight feet in length.
+
+As crocodiles go, six or eight feet is no great length, but to go to
+sleep in your own house and wake up at midnight within a hundred feet
+of the sea, but with half a mile of mud between you and anything like
+dry land, and at the same time assailed by _three_ crocodiles quite big
+enough to kill you, is calculated to shock the strongest nerves.
+
+After a short but exciting fight, the police beat off the scaly beasts
+with difficulty, and found the woman had been badly torn in legs, and
+arms, and neck.
+
+Whilst the men were arranging to carry her back, no easy matter over half
+a mile of soft but sticky wet mud and ooze, she told her tale:
+
+“I was sleeping,” she said, “and had a vision. Two radiant Beings
+appeared to me and bid me rise and follow them, and they would show me
+a sight more glorious than is vouchsafed to mortals. Transported with
+joy, I rose and followed them, and whilst filled with ecstatic rapture by
+the companionship of these Celestial Beings, I seemed to be borne along
+without effort of my own through enchanted fields of more than earthly
+beauty. Suddenly I was awakened by feeling the teeth of a crocodile in my
+leg, and, to my horror, I found I was out here on this mud-flat half a
+mile from home, but close to the sea, with three crocodiles attacking me,
+no means of defending myself, and little hope of help. I fell, and the
+beasts tore and worried me, biting my arms, and legs, and neck, while I
+screamed for help until you came and rescued me.”
+
+Well, after all, there is nothing very strange in that. A woman of
+peculiar nervous organisation, a somnambulist, dreams a dream and walks
+out into the balmy atmosphere of a moonlit Eastern night. She walks
+rather far, and has a rude awakening. That is nothing; other sleepers
+have walked further, and their awakening has been to the life beyond the
+grave.
+
+Only this was curious: that while the men sank deep into the mud at every
+step, the woman had never sunk in at all. When found, there was only mud
+on the _soles_ of her feet, and, though she had walked half a mile across
+the flat, and her tracks were plainly visible in the moonlight, they were
+all on the surface, and she had crossed the soft, unstable mire as easily
+as though it had been a metalled road.
+
+So the men bore her home, not wondering overmuch, for in this thing
+they saw the hand of the Celestial Beings who guided her feet with
+such consideration, to abandon her to the ferocious attentions of the
+crocodiles.
+
+The woman herself, her husband, and the police were satisfied as to the
+means, but found the end too hard for their understanding.
+
+The ideal woman, the product of higher education and deep research in
+divers subjects, supplies the real clue to the phenomenon, for, when
+asked “where the true Spirit of God is,” she modestly replies, “I can
+tell you: it is in us _women_. We have preserved it and handed it down
+from one generation to another of our own sex unsullied.”[2]
+
+Doubtless—from the time when the Spirit moved upon the face of the
+waters, and, later, on the Sea of Galilee; but it is more difficult
+to understand how woman, unaided, has handed anything down from one
+generation to another.
+
+The same idea is, however, more happily conveyed in the injunction of the
+President of the Scraggsville Woman’s Suffrage League to her husband,
+when ordering him to go and purchase a divided skirt. “If you are afraid,
+pray to God for courage; _She_ will help you.”
+
+The mere male has his uses, one of which is to assist the unsullied sex
+to perpetuate the Spirit of God, and another to be within hail when there
+are crocodiles about.
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+VAN HAGEN AND CAVALIERO
+
+    How loved, how honoured once, avails thee not,
+    To whom related, or by whom begot,
+    A heap of dust alone remains of thee
+
+                                             POPE
+
+
+Not many months after my first arrival in the East I met, in a club in
+Singapore, an Italian called Cavaliero. He was quite young, tall, dark,
+and good-looking, of a pronounced Italian type. What his occupation was
+I have no idea; I suppose he had some sort of business, but it could not
+have been very attractive or profitable, for one day I was told that he
+and a Hollander named Van Hagen had collected about a hundred natives of
+all sorts and conditions and had accepted service with the Viceroy of the
+Sultan of Selangor.
+
+Selangor was then an absolutely independent Malay State, so independent
+in fact that the principal and almost only employment of its inhabitants
+was fighting.
+
+The Sultan was and is an old gentleman for whom I have the highest
+regard, and I desire to speak of him with the greatest respect. He had
+had his own fighting day and was tired of it, he wished to be left alone,
+that was all; but he recognised that boys will be boys, and if the young
+Selangor Rajas took their pleasure in this way, he was inclined to regard
+their escapades with an indulgent eye, provided they did not interfere
+with his _opium cum dignitate_ and his immediate surroundings.
+
+The Sultan’s own sons were very much interested in the guerilla warfare
+that was then being carried on throughout Selangor, and the feature of
+the disturbances was that every chief said he had the Sultan’s approval
+of his proceedings. Some time later I was myself in Selangor, and, as
+this statement was constantly being dinned into my ears, I took the
+liberty of asking his Highness what it meant.
+
+He promptly pointed out that each of these Rajas in turn came to him,
+stated his case, and asked the Sultan if that was not correct. His
+Highness always replied, “Quite correct,” but, as he explained to me,
+“_bĕnar ka-pâda dia, bûkan bĕnar ka-pâda kami_,” which being interpreted
+means, “correct in their view, not in mine.” He was evidently tickled by
+this happy inspiration and laughed heartily at his own ingenuity.
+
+The gossips declared that his Highness was always requested to give a
+tangible proof of his approval in the shape of gunpowder and lead, and
+that he gave them to every applicant with strict impartiality. On this
+point the Sultan told me nothing, and I was not indiscreet enough to
+inquire, but as Selangor is no more free from gossip than its neighbours,
+I put the statement down to irresponsible chatter.
+
+All this is, however, by the way. Certain Rajas held certain important
+strategical points from which other Rajas kept trying to oust them, and
+the fight waxed hottest about Klang, the principal port of the State, and
+Kuala Lumpor, the principal mining centre.
+
+As to Klang, it had just been captured by a notable warrior named Raja
+Mahdi, and its whilom defenders driven out when the Sultan gave his only
+daughter in marriage to Tunku dia Udin, brother of the Sultan of Kĕdah.
+The Sultan’s son-in-law espoused the cause of those who had been driven
+from Klang, and, as he was created Viceroy and had powerful support in
+Singapore, matters were further complicated.
+
+The Viceroy and his friends recovered possession of Klang and secured the
+friendship and assistance of the Chinese miners at Kuala Lumpor.
+
+These Chinese were led by one Ah Loi, a remarkable man, styled the
+“Capitan China,” whose instincts were distinctly warlike and his
+authority with his countrymen supreme.
+
+Raja Mahdi also had friends who were acting against the Chinese in the
+interior, and supporters outside the State who helped him with money,
+stores, and arms, and thus the ball rolled merrily along.
+
+Dame Fortune was, as usual, fickle, and success was now with the Viceroy
+and now with Mahdi and his friends. The Capitan China did his share in
+his own way. He offered fifty silver dollars for every enemy’s head
+delivered in the market-place in front of his house at Kuala Lumpor, and
+he told me himself that his man who stood there ready to receive the
+hideous trophies and pay the money did quite a brisk business.
+
+As with all Malay war, the operations languished and revived by fits and
+starts. Plenty of money meant plenty of men, arms, and ammunition, and
+with them a spasmodic effort would be made and probably a success gained.
+Then would follow dire scarcity, and the other side, having raised some
+money, would in their turn gain an advantage.
+
+Thus the tide of battle ebbed and flowed for months and years, and the
+only plain and evident result was that the population of Selangor was
+rapidly diminishing, the ground in the immediate neighbourhood of Kuala
+Lumpor town being thickly planted with corpses, for there the battle was
+always the hottest, both because of the Capitan China’s special method
+and because of the value of the mines. The survivors on both sides
+were not only being reduced to penury, but their leaders were becoming
+involved in debts which only the complete success of one side followed by
+lasting peace and order could enable the victors to pay from the revenues
+derived from the tin-mines. The debts of the defeated would naturally be
+irrecoverable.
+
+While the State was distracted by all this trouble the Sultan still
+secured a comparative tranquillity by his diplomatic sympathy with the
+combatants, and whichever side held the Klang custom-house supplied him
+with funds. That was the price of his qualified approval.
+
+It was at this time that the Viceroy’s party, being in funds, conceived
+the plan of raising a force in Singapore with which they hoped to deal
+an effective blow to their enemies.
+
+I have said I knew little of Cavaliero, but of Van Hagen, who took
+command of the recruits, I know less. I was told that he had been an
+officer in the Netherlands army, and that he lost his commission owing to
+some breach of discipline, but that he was a man of birth, character, and
+courage.
+
+His heterogeneous force, composed of natives of half-a-dozen
+nationalities, went by sea to Klang, disembarked and made its way
+with guides through the jungle to Kuala Lumpor. There they stockaded
+themselves on a hill above the town and did valiantly in its defence. But
+the place was invested by the enemy, supplies were cut off, and while the
+force was daily harassed by the fire from the enemy’s works, provisions
+ran short and the men were threatened at once with starvation and the
+probability of being surrounded and entirely cut off from their base at
+Klang, twenty-five miles distant by a jungle track.
+
+Under these circumstances, and probably moved by the growing discontent
+of their men, Van Hagen and Cavaliero determined, ere it should be too
+late, to endeavour to make their way back to the port.
+
+They were all strangers in the country, and they could find no one to
+guide them through the jungle, but their difficulties became so great
+that they decided to risk the journey as a choice of evils, and early one
+morning they set out.
+
+I have elsewhere tried to describe a Malay jungle, and the path which
+these men had to traverse was, as I know from my own experience, beset
+with peculiar difficulty, and led for a great deal of the way through
+swamp and water, where, of course, there was no track visible. It is not
+surprising that the party lost its way. Not only that, but weak from want
+of food, wanting in cohesion and discipline, and with the knowledge that
+they were seeking blindly for a road unknown to all, a feeling of despair
+overcame many of them, and they wandered off in different directions
+never to be seen or heard of again.
+
+The main body, with Van Hagen and Cavaliero, after a weary day’s march
+and no food, arrived in the evening, utterly exhausted, at a place called
+Patâling, only four miles from Kuala Lumpor! They had been walking in a
+circle, and had got back to a point not far from that of their original
+departure.
+
+Patâling was held by a considerable body of the enemy under two Malay
+Rajas, and the weary wanderers walked straight into their arms and gave
+themselves up without a struggle.
+
+Another story says that, at the last moment before leaving Kuala Lumpor,
+a guide presented himself and offered his services, which were accepted;
+that he led the party hither and thither through the jungle, and in the
+evening, when thoroughly exhausted, took them into Patâling.
+
+I never heard rightly what became of the rank and file; they may have
+been given their liberty and told to find their own way out of the State.
+For the officers was reserved another fate.
+
+Finding the principal defenders of Kuala Lumpor had withdrawn, the place
+was occupied without difficulty by those who had for so long invested it.
+The leading Chinese were made very uncomfortable, but on them depended
+the working of the mines, and they were allowed to purchase their lives.
+
+I do not think this alternative was offered to Van Hagen and Cavaliero.
+They were escorted from Patâling to Kuala Lumpor, and, arrived there,
+they were taken out and shot.
+
+In excavating for the foundations of the houses which now form the town
+of Kuala Lumpor, it was usual to dig up a large number of skeletons, the
+bones of those who had fallen during the years of Selangor’s internecine
+strife. As many as sixteen skeletons have been discovered in digging out
+the foundations for one house.
+
+One day, not many years ago, two skeletons were thus discovered. The
+bones were larger, the figures taller, than those usually met with. They
+were the skeletons of two men face to face, and locked in each other’s
+arms.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+THE PASSING OF PĔNGLIMA PRANG SĔMAUN
+
+    Oh vengeance! thou art sweet
+
+                    LEWIS MORRIS
+
+
+On the Perak River, about fifty miles from its mouth, and just above
+the tidal influence, where the water is clear and shallow and the banks
+are lined with palm groves and orchards, there is a large Malay village
+called Bandar.
+
+More than twenty years ago there dwelt in this village a man named Mĕgat
+Raja, married to a particularly well-favoured girl named Mĕriam. The fact
+of her marriage drew her into some sort of notoriety, and her attractions
+were soon the gossip of the place. The gilded youths of Bandar were fired
+by the description of Mĕriam’s charms, and one of them, a boy of good
+family, position, and means, got sight of and fell in love with her.
+
+The husband, Mĕgat Raja, was conveniently called away to accompany the
+Sultan on a journey to Penang and Che Nuh, the youth aforesaid, profiting
+by that opportunity, pushed his addresses with such fervour and success
+that he became the lady’s lover.
+
+Late one night when Che Nuh was in the house of his mistress, Mĕgat Raja
+unexpectedly returned and the first the lovers knew of their danger was
+the demand of the husband to be admitted. The house was a large one
+enclosed by a palisade, and Mĕriam thus suddenly surprised, and fearing
+instant death if her husband should discover Che Nuh, implored her lover
+to escape by the door at the back of the house while that at the front
+was being opened.
+
+Che Nuh complied, but the husband had evidently heard something of what
+had been going on in his absence, and, as the lover was about to descend
+the steps, he drew back seeing Mĕgat Raja waiting on the ground beneath
+them.
+
+He drew back, but not before his presence had been perceived.
+
+Mĕgat Raja called out “Who is that?”
+
+Che Nuh replied “It is I, Che Nuh.”
+
+The husband, drawing his _kris_, said “What are you doing in my house at
+this time? Come down on to the ground.”
+
+Mat Nuh was alone and Mĕgat Raja was accompanied by two other men, but
+the youth unsheathed his _kris_ and went down ready to accept the chances
+of a hand-to-hand struggle.
+
+Seeing that Mat Nuh would defend himself, and knowing that he was no
+contemptible adversary, the three men hesitated. What was of more account
+in their minds was that Che Nuh belonged to a powerful family, and
+his father was one of the principal chiefs in the country. There was,
+therefore, the certainty of retaliation should they kill him, and the
+uncertainty of his guilt, for Mĕriam was not the only woman in the house.
+As the men stood mutually on the defensive, Mĕgat Raja asked him whom he
+had come to see, and Che Nuh replied that it was a girl in the house.
+Thinking to assure himself on this point, the husband entered the house
+and questioned one of the servant-women, but dissatisfied with what he
+heard he dashed out again determined to attack Che Nuh.
+
+The latter had, however, taken advantage of Mĕgat Raja’s momentary
+absence to get outside the gate of the palisade, and once there he
+shouted for help and was soon surrounded by his friends.
+
+In reply to a call, Che Nuh bid his adversary come outside the gate and
+he would give him any satisfaction he pleased.
+
+That of course meant an internecine struggle between the two parties, and
+Mĕgat Raja declined it, for the odds were now against him, and he was
+still uncertain whether his wife were unfaithful or not.
+
+On the strong suspicion that he held, his inclination was to at least
+make short work of the woman, but here again he was deterred by the
+knowledge that her relations would certainly be revenged on him. He,
+therefore, decided on another course of action. On the assumption that
+his wife was guilty (and of this he became tolerably well assured), he
+treated her as though he held the proofs, divorced her, turned her out of
+his house, and declined to let her have any of her own possessions or to
+remove any of his.
+
+This action was considered a very serious indignity by Mĕriam’s friends,
+and it so happened that she possessed a relative named Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun, an adherent of the Sultan’s Wazîr, the Raja Bĕndahâra, and he was
+reputed one of the principal warriors in the country.
+
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun called upon the Chief of Bandar and laid a formal
+complaint against Mĕgat Raja, demanding to know why he had taken the
+law into his own hands and treated Mĕriam in a manner to put all her
+relatives to shame.
+
+The Chief of the village of Bandar was also one of the great officers
+of State named the Ôrang Kâya Shabandar. He was a man renowned for his
+courage, was wealthy, a trusted officer of the Sultan, the receiver of
+customs, and lived at the upper end of the village.
+
+He listened politely to Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, and when the latter wound
+up his complaint by saying he would certainly attack Mĕgat Raja if he
+obtained no redress, the Shabandar put his advice in the form of this
+ancient saw:
+
+“If you have no gold, it is well to sing small; if you have no pivot-guns
+(jingals), it is well to put a pleasant face on the matter; and if you
+have no cannon, it is better to be quiet.”
+
+The advice was meant in good part and not as a taunt, but Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun took it as the latter and retired with rage in his heart, saying
+“It is well for you who have gold and jingals and cannon to tell me I
+have none of these things, but I will have my revenge of you with only a
+_kris_.”
+
+Then he returned to his own home to think how this was to be worked out.
+
+The Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun’s house was between these of the Shabandar,
+up stream, and Mĕgat Raja, down stream, and he knew that he was not
+strong enough to resist a combined attack from both of them. Therefore he
+determined that force must be backed by cunning if he was to achieve his
+end. He concluded that his only plan was to attack the Shabandar, dispose
+of him first as the most important, and then deal with Mĕgat Raja at his
+leisure.
+
+Meanwhile, Che Nuh had expressed his desire to marry Mĕriam, but as his
+relatives recognised that such an open avowal of his _liaison_ must lead
+to trouble with Mĕgat Raja and his folk, they declined to allow him to do
+this, and Che Nuh’s negative attitude towards the lady only increased the
+wrath of her kinsman, Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun.
+
+I have said that this bravo, for that was his _métier_, was the henchman
+of the Raja Bĕndahâra, the highest authority in the State after the
+Sultan. Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, having determined to kill the Shabandar,
+felt it necessary to report the intention to his master and, mindful of
+possible wrath to come, to ask his sanction.
+
+Accordingly the Pĕnglima went up river to Blanja where the Bĕndahâra
+lived, told his tale and asked for leave to kill the Shabandar.
+
+The reply of the Bĕndahâra was, “If you think you are able to do it, go
+on.”
+
+That was enough. Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun returned to Bandar with a kindred
+spirit named Haji Ali, another bravo of reputation as evil as his own,
+and these two worthies soon settled their plan of operations.
+
+The Sultan was at Pâsir Panjang (only a few miles above Bandar), with a
+large following and a crowd of boats, and the Pĕnglima and his friend
+determined to wreak their vengeance on the Shabandar on the _Râya Haji_,
+the day to which the most religious Muhammadans prolong the fast of
+Ramthân.
+
+The day did not, however, suit, there were too many people constantly
+about the Shabandar’s house, and the conspirators had to return home
+without effecting their purpose.
+
+On the following day, however, in the afternoon, Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun,
+Haji Ali, and three others, made a formal visit to the Shabandar,
+obtained admission to his house, and found in it no one besides himself
+and a Sumatran Raja, a visitor from down river. I say no one else but,
+as Pĕnglima Prang well knew, there were in the Shabandar’s house two aged
+ladies, the mother of the Sultan’s children and her sister.
+
+The five men waited until they saw the Sumatran Raja take his departure,
+and in order to do this visitor honour, the Shabandar unarmed and
+unattended, accompanied him to the river-bank and there bid him farewell.
+
+This was the moment for the development of the plot.
+
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun took leave of the Shabandar and shook hands with
+him. Haji Ali, a very big powerful man, then also took leave and grasped
+the Shabandar’s hand, but instead of letting it go he drew the Dâtoh
+towards him, and the reply to his question of what this meant was a stab
+in the back from Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun’s _kris_.
+
+The blade did not pierce the skin, it bent, and the thrust was repeated
+with the same result, Haji Ali all the while holding the unarmed man by
+the hand.
+
+Then the Pĕnglima threw away the useless weapon, and, seizing another
+_kris_, plunged it time after time into the helpless body of the
+Shabandar, who fell to the ground, while Haji Ali and each of the others
+stabbed him in turn.
+
+Leaving the body lying on the bank, the men rushed straight back into the
+house, shut the gates of the enclosure and immediately prepared to defend
+themselves, taking particular care that the two ladies already mentioned
+should not get away.
+
+The news of a murder perpetrated like this is carried on the breeze,
+and for a few minutes the Shabandar’s adherents rushed up one after the
+other to be slaughtered as they arrived by the Pĕnglima and his party
+reinforced by their own men who had been awaiting the _dénoûement_.
+
+Then gates and doors were closed, windows barred, cannon, pivot-guns,
+and muskets loaded, and Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun having rifled the house
+(which contained the customs collections as well as the Shabandar’s
+private property), and thus possessed himself of all those things which
+he previously lacked, sat down to calmly await the development of events.
+
+The plot had been cunningly conceived. The brutal murder of the unarmed
+chief was certain to be instantly avenged, and that would have been done
+by an attack on the house had it not been that it contained, besides the
+murderers, the Sultan’s late wife and her sister, who were well-nigh sure
+to come to harm in the assault.
+
+The risk of that possibility deterred the Sultan’s people, who had
+surrounded the house with stockades, and all that could be done was to
+prevent the Pĕnglima, Haji Ali, and their men, from escaping. The process
+of starving out the besieged could not be resorted to, for here also the
+ladies would have suffered.
+
+The moment the deed was done, Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun proclaimed that he
+was merely the instrument of the Sultan’s Wazîr, and that he had acted on
+the authority of the Raja Bĕndahâra. That, if true, complicated the case
+considerably, and as matters had arrived at an _impasse_, a parley was
+called, and it was arranged that the Pĕnglima and his people should be
+given a safe-conduct to the Sultan at Pâsir Panjang.
+
+Accordingly, the Pĕnglima Prang, Haji Ali, and the others left their
+shelter and embarked in boats provided for them, but they took good care
+not to let the ladies, who were their prisoners, get out of reach.
+
+Arrived at Pâsir Panjang, Pĕnglima Prang at once sent a messenger to
+the Raja Bĕndahâra to inform him of the state of affairs and ask his
+aid. The Bĕndahâra responded to this appeal by taking boat, and, with a
+great following, descended the river to Pâsir Panjang. Once there, he
+availed himself of an ancient custom called _îkat-diri_—that is, to “bind
+yourself”—and, accompanied by all his people, he went and stood in front
+of the Sultan’s house with his hands loosely tied behind his back with
+his own head-kerchief, and, thus uncovered in the sun, he and all his
+following shouted _âmpun Tûan-ku, be-rîbu-rîbu âmpun_—“Pardon, my lord, a
+thousand-thousand pardons.”
+
+After a quarter of an hour’s waiting, while the air was filled with this
+plea for mercy, and the Bĕndahâra and his company stood like prisoners in
+front of the closed house, a door opened, a herald bearing the Sultan’s
+insignia appeared and cried out: “Our lord pardons you, and permits you
+to enter into his presence.”
+
+That settled the affair. The Sultan’s minister had accepted the
+responsibility for what had been done; he was far too great a man to
+be treated as a criminal, and, taking advantage of an old custom, he
+confessed his fault, offered himself a prisoner, sought and obtained the
+Sultan’s pardon.
+
+Amongst those who had received the message of peace, and who entered into
+the presence, were the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, Haji Ali, and the three
+other murderers of the Shabandar.
+
+Now, the Shabandar had a brother, and he was a man of war, and the Sultan
+well knew that this method of dealing with the murderers would not
+satisfy him, so he at once created him Dâtoh Shabandar in succession to
+the dead man, in the hope that the gift of this dignity might make for
+the general peace.
+
+The Raja Bĕndahâra, accompanied by Pĕnglima Prang and his friends, then
+returned to Blanja.
+
+The new Shabandar had no intention of leaving his brother’s murderers
+to boast of their exploit, and, in a very short time, he asked for the
+Sultan’s permission to attack them and wipe out the disgrace of his
+relative’s unavenged death.
+
+The Sultan said the request must be preferred to the Raja Bĕndahâra, for
+so long as the Pĕnglima Prang was in his village he could not be attacked
+without the Wazîr’s sanction. Application was duly made to the Bĕndahâra,
+who replied that it would be contrary to custom to attack the Pĕnglima
+Prang while living at his door, but that if they could get him away they
+might do what they pleased.
+
+The Pĕnglima Prang was, however, far too wary to be lured away from
+safety, and matters were in this state when there returned from a
+pilgrimage to Mecca a man called Haji Mûsah, nearly related to the late
+Shabandar.
+
+Haji Mûsah was at this time a rather small, spare man of middle age, but
+his heart was out of proportion to the size of his body, and when he
+heard what had recently taken place in Bandar, and how Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun and Haji Ali had got away unpunished, his anger knew no bounds.
+
+He promptly waited upon the Sultan and begged for permission to attack
+the Pĕnglima, and, if necessary, to include in the operations his
+protector, the Raja Bĕndahâra.
+
+The Sultan hesitated to give the desired permission, but the fact that
+the proposal had been made very soon reached Blanja and the ears of both
+the Wazîr and Pĕnglima Prang. Whatever the latter was he could not be
+accused of cowardice, and he at once offered to anticipate an attack by
+making an expedition against Haji Mûsah to silence so arrogant a foe.
+
+The Raja Bĕndahâra enraged at the idea that his name should have been
+mentioned with so little respect, and apprehensive that Haji Mûsah might
+find the means (as he knew he had the will) to carry out his suggestion,
+cordially approved the Pĕnglima’s proposal.
+
+It did not take long to collect from the neighbouring village of Lambor
+enough men to fill two boats, and, as that was all the Pĕnglima wanted
+for his purpose, the party had started for Bâtak Râbit (Haji Mûsah’s
+village) before the down-stream people had the smallest inkling of their
+intention. The time was specially well chosen from the fact that the
+Shabandar was absent in a remote district.
+
+In Japan they say, “If you have not seen Nikko you cannot say _gekko_,”
+and if there is anyone who knows the Malay Peninsula and yet has never
+watched the sun set across the rice-fields, when the ripe grain hangs
+heavily in the ear, his knowledge of the beauties of Malay scenery is
+very incomplete.
+
+A wide, flat plain covered by the golden harvest, the rice-stalks
+standing five or six feet above the ground from which they have sucked
+all the water which nourished them in the earlier stages of growth. One
+yellow sea of yellow ears, the green stalks only discernible in the near
+foreground.
+
+This sea is broken by islands of palms and fruit-trees in which nestle
+the picturesque brown huts of cottagers, houses of wood, built on wooden
+piles with palm-thatched roofs and mat walls.
+
+The setting sun strikes in great beams of saffron light across this
+wide expanse of grain bounded by distant ranges of soft blue hills. How
+greedily one drinks it all in! and, as the Eye of Day droops lower,
+there shoot from between its closing lids rays of fire which tinge the
+glistening palms with a rosy effulgence, followed all too soon by the
+pale opalescent shades which proclaim the approach of the fast-driving
+chariot of night.
+
+A grey haze rises from the damp earth, spreads in thin wreaths across the
+darkening plain, thickens to a heavy dead-white vapour, and as the silver
+sickle rises over the distant hills it shines upon clustered plumes of
+dark fronds mysteriously poised above a motionless drift of snow-like
+cloud.
+
+On the edge of such a field was the home of Haji Mûsah. Behind stretched
+the rich plain, in front a great river, both wide and deep, its banks
+lined by groves of coco-nuts in the neighbourhood of villages, but
+elsewhere covered by forest and the _nipah_ palm.
+
+The dwelling stood a few feet back from the river, and, as its owner was
+a man of means, the structure was of some size, the floor and walls of
+stout planks and a strong palisade enclosed the surrounding yard. The
+house was, as usual, on wooden piles, and the kitchen, also on piles but
+separated from the main building, was connected with it by a platform.
+
+It was here that Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, Haji Ali, and the rest of their
+crew arrived one morning before daylight and quickly landed under the
+cover of darkness.
+
+The enterprise they had undertaken was a perilous one. Their force
+numbered about thirty men all told, they had come about ninety miles
+right into the heart of the enemy’s country, and, if there were any
+failure, retreat was a choice between a return against the current with a
+hostile people on either bank, or a long pull to the river’s mouth under
+the same conditions and then the sea.
+
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun had, however, calculated the chances, and he
+counted on a successful surprise and, if need be, the pursuit of those
+tactics which he had already, at Bandar, found so useful.
+
+Once on shore the palisade of Haji Mûsah’s house was cautiously
+approached, and, the gate being locked, it was scaled, and the whole
+party noiselessly established themselves beneath the house and waited for
+daylight.
+
+It so happened that the house contained only two men and two women—Haji
+Mûsah and his wife, Haji Hawah, and their daughter and son-in-law, the
+latter named Haji Sâhil.
+
+At daybreak the back door of the house was opened and the two women came
+out and went into the kitchen. In a moment Haji Hawah discovered that
+the space beneath the house was full of armed men, and with a scream she
+rushed back towards the door. Ere she could gain it, Haji Ali sprang upon
+the platform and seized one of her hands, while her husband, unpleasantly
+alive to the situation, caught hold of the other and tried to pull her
+within the door, an effort which she seconded with all her might.
+
+A real tug-of-war was carried on for a few moments, and Haji Ali was
+joined by another man.
+
+Local tradition says that Haji Ali experienced suddenly a feeling that
+something dire was going to happen, and he asked his companion to relieve
+him of his hold of the woman’s hand. The man took it, and Haji Mûsah from
+the inside making a great effort drew his wife towards him, and at the
+same time, with a spear, thrust out beyond her with so true an aim that
+he transfixed her would-be captor. The man released his hold, fell with
+a groan into Haji Ali’s arms, and Haji Mûsah, drawing his wife into the
+house and believing he had wounded Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, shouted as he
+closed the door, “That has wetted you, Pĕnglima!”
+
+Wetted him with blood.
+
+Haji Ali called to the Pĕnglima, “Help me, a ‘watering’ has befallen our
+friend”; a polite way of expressing a disaster. By the time they got the
+man to the ground he was dead, for the spear had struck home.
+
+The Pĕnglima, furious at this sight, leapt on the platform, and, finding
+the door immovable, dashed open a small side-window with the butt end of
+a musket and fired into the house, but hurt no one.
+
+In the scuffle before the door was closed Haji Mûsah had accidentally
+given his son-in-law a flesh wound on the shoulder, and that had disabled
+him, so the defence of the position rested on one man alone.
+
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun now summoned Haji Mûsah to surrender, but the reply
+was, “I will not surrender.”
+
+“Then,” said the Pĕnglima, “I will riddle the house with bullets.”
+
+“Shoot away,” was the reply.
+
+“I will burn the house down.”
+
+“Burn it,” said Haji Mûsah, “and do whatever else you like, but I will
+not give in.”
+
+“Let us burn it,” said the Pĕnglima. But Haji Ali protested. “Are you
+mad,” he urged, “already our enemies are collecting outside, you would
+burn the house down and these people in it, and then what should we do?
+Caught like fish in a basket, without walls or roof to shelter us, what
+will become of us?”
+
+The wisdom of this advice was apparent, and as it was necessary to deal
+with those in the house quickly the leader set to work to devise another
+plan.
+
+An evil inspiration came to the Pĕnglima, and he told Haji Ali to get
+Haji Mûsah into conversation again while he, having loaded with all
+manner of missiles a pivot-gun which he found under the house, listened
+attentively to the sound of Haji Mûsah’s voice, and tying the gun to a
+post just beneath the spot where he thought the Haji must be standing,
+fired it.
+
+A large hole was rent in the floor, and, the various missiles scattering
+in all directions, one of them struck Haji Mûsah in the thigh, seriously
+wounding him and placing him _hors de combat_. His wife was also hit, but
+only slightly injured.
+
+The assailants realised the effects of the shot from what they heard
+said within and again called upon Haji Mûsah to yield, but he declined
+utterly to do so.
+
+His wife said, “What is the use, you are wounded and cannot fight, so am
+I and so is Haji Sâhil, what can we do, better make terms with them?”
+Haji Mûsah stubbornly declined to listen to this persuasion and only
+said, “Let them do their worst, I will not yield.”
+
+Strange to say it was only then that Haji Hawah realised that her
+daughter was missing. She remembered that the girl had left the house
+with her and gone into the kitchen, but until that moment, what with the
+discovery that the enemy was within their gates, the struggle at the door
+and subsequent events, she had not thought of the girl further than to
+suppose she was sitting terrified in some corner of the never brilliantly
+lighted house.
+
+Now, however, it was certain that she had failed to get back before the
+door was closed and must have fallen into the hands of the enemy.
+
+As a matter of fact nothing of the kind had happened. On the first alarm,
+seeing the crowd of strange men and her mother’s struggles to gain the
+house, the girl was too terrified to leave her shelter and had hidden
+herself in the kitchen. The enemy being all under the house when the
+women first came out, no one had particularly noticed the girl or ever
+thought of entering her hiding-place.
+
+The moment Haji Hawah was convinced her daughter was not in the house,
+she became equally certain she was in the hands of the enemy, and that
+was an intolerable idea. She, therefore, besought her husband to offer
+to yield provided the girl were restored. This new factor in the case
+persuaded him, and Haji Mûsah called out that he would yield if his
+daughter were given back to them.
+
+At first the besiegers could not understand the meaning of this proposal,
+but light very soon came to them and they argued that if the girl was not
+inside the house or in their hands, she must be in the kitchen, and a
+search of that place very soon discovered her.
+
+The Pĕnglima accordingly replied that he accepted the proposal and would
+restore the girl on condition her father yielded. The door was then
+opened and the girl admitted, but no sooner was she in the house than it
+was closed again and Haji Mûsah declined to give himself up.
+
+Shortly after, however, the loss of blood and pain of his stiffening limb
+made movement impossible and compelled Haji Mûsah to abandon all idea of
+further resistance.
+
+The Pĕnglima and his friends having gained the house proceeded to make
+themselves comfortable and did not attempt to disturb or annoy Haji
+Mûsah and his family. These latter occupied a curtained portion of the
+principal room, and underneath their only window a sentry was placed
+night and day.
+
+Meanwhile the Shabandar, informed by messenger of what had taken place,
+hurried back to the neighbourhood and reinforced the adherents of Haji
+Mûsah, who so far had contented themselves with building and occupying
+stockades to command Haji Mûsah’s house.
+
+The Pĕnglima’s tactics were again completely successful, and as it was
+impossible to fire on the captors without danger to their imprisoned
+friends the Shabandar, who now commanded the investing force, set himself
+to devise a plan whereby he might gain his end by craft.
+
+The Pĕnglima’s men occupied the house and one or two small stockades
+close by it. The Shabandar’s party had built a series of enclosing works
+which practically cut off escape to landward. In front was the river
+and here again, both up stream and down, there lay a small fleet of
+guard-boats.
+
+The Pĕnglima’s own two boats were chained to the landing-stage where they
+were safe, for it would have been impossible to seize them without being
+exposed to fire from the house, to which no reply could be made.
+
+A month went by, and in that time Haji Mûsah, his wife, and son-in-law
+had fairly recovered from their injuries. Meanwhile the Shabandar, by
+means of spies, learned that the prisoners occupied a side of the house
+where there was but one window, and that always guarded at night by the
+same man. Through this man there was the best chance of escape for the
+prisoners, if only he could be bought over.
+
+This sentry, who had some authority over part of the band, was a
+foreigner, he was getting tired of the game and probably did not
+altogether like the outlook or see how his party was to turn the
+situation to their own advantage. At any rate communications were opened
+between the Shabandar and him, and for a sum of two thousand dollars he
+promised to get the prisoners out of the window and through the lines to
+their friends.
+
+In the dead of a dark night (and moonless Eastern nights can be black as
+a sepulchre) he assisted the four prisoners to make their escape through
+the window, while the Pĕnglima, Haji Ali, and a number of their men slept
+peacefully on the other side of the sheltering curtain that gave privacy
+to the women.
+
+Guided by the traitor, their movements hidden in Cimmerian darkness,
+the little party made its way in safety to the friendly shelter of the
+Shabandar’s stockade. He was expecting them, and he had also prepared
+an unpleasant surprise for the cuckoos in temporary occupation of their
+stolen nest.
+
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun and his friends were awakened from sleep by the
+banging of jingals and muskets and a hail of various missiles.
+
+A moment’s search showed that the prisoners had escaped, and the Pĕnglima
+instantly realised that he was in the toils.
+
+He had already shown that he was a man of resource, and his presence of
+mind did not desert him in this dangerous crisis. The darkness alone
+protected them, and that would not last; moreover, he could not tell at
+what moment his position might not be rushed. It was clear that for them
+was reserved the fate of those who when they got up in the morning were
+all dead men.
+
+The Pĕnglima called his followers together, explained the situation and
+its urgency, pointed out the choice that lay before them—an attempt
+to pass the enemy’s stockades under cover of the night or to run the
+gauntlet of the guard-boats, where capture was, as he said, certain.
+
+The men of the band, the wretched Lambor contingent, elected, as the
+Pĕnglima had meant they should do, to try and force their way through
+the enemy’s lines, never thinking that if they succeeded they would only
+reach a pathless jungle swamp, where they, strangers in that part of the
+country, must either perish miserably or return to the tender mercies of
+the investing foe.
+
+Of these deplorable eventualities they took no thought; there was little
+time for hesitation; tightening the grasp upon their weapons they went
+out into the night, and in a few moments the shouts from the surrounding
+stockades showed that their intention had been discovered.
+
+This was exactly what Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun had expected; he had created
+a diversion, and seizing his opportunity, accompanied by Haji Ali and a
+few of his particular associates, he made for the river and got into one
+of his boats, cast off and pulled out into the stream.
+
+A very wily man was the Pĕnglima. Every one in the guard-boats was on the
+alert, the firing and shouts from the shore had warned them that the fox
+was being hunted in the covert, and the pack were after him in full cry.
+Still there was just a trifle of uncertainty about it, and that was the
+Pĕnglima’s one chance of salvation.
+
+The slightest hesitation now, the smallest of false steps, and neither
+the Pĕnglima nor any of those with him would ever see the dawn. He knew
+it well enough, and as he ordered those who had taken the oars to pull
+out boldly into the stream, he grasped the helm and steering straight up
+the middle of the river, _against_ the tide, he gave orders that no man
+should speak, undertaking the whole responsibility himself.
+
+It was still so dark that no one could see quite whence this boat came,
+or distinguish who was in it, but as it moved with plenty of noise and no
+attempt at concealment right towards the line of guard-boats, some one
+called out, “Who goes there?”
+
+“It is I,” replied the Pĕnglima, “I bring the Shabandar’s orders to you
+to keep a good look-out, they are attacking the Pĕnglima Prang, and as
+he can’t hold out he will probably try to escape by the river. Be ready
+for him, I am going to warn the boats down stream,” and turning round the
+craft disappeared towards the other line of river-sentinels.
+
+No one of course suspected a ruse under such a bold disguise as that,
+and, pulling straight for the down-stream boats, steering right on and
+through them, the Pĕnglima called out, “_Jâga-jâga_, ‘be on your guard,’
+the Shabandar sends orders to watch for the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, he is
+trying to escape, I am warning all the boats.”
+
+No one could distinctly see who this messenger was, or even catch more
+than a shadowy glimpse of a spectral craft as she glided through the
+line, and in the excitement of expectation, the noise of firing and
+rival battle-shouts on shore, no one took special heed as to which way
+the messengers went, or whether that was the sound of their oars echoing
+faintly in the distance.
+
+The Shabandar on his part made no long tarrying, but eager to revenge the
+murder of his brother, and feeling that at last the Pĕnglima and Haji Ali
+were in his power, he determined to _mĕng-âmok_, to rush the house at
+once without waiting for daylight.
+
+Whilst summoning his men for the assault, he heard the cries that told
+him the besieged were making an attempt to break through his stockades,
+and without further delay he dashed into Haji Mûsah’s house, only to find
+it empty, the renowned Pĕnglima and his amiable friend gone, and with
+them a considerable quantity of dollars and everything that was both
+valuable and easily portable.
+
+Torches and an examination of the muddy ground soon established the
+direction taken, and the missing boat, coupled with the missing property,
+convinced the least astute that by this way went the Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun.
+
+Many shouted questions from the bank drew forth many assurances from
+those on the water that no enemy had passed that way. The evidence to the
+contrary was, however, all too plain, and as the boats one by one came up
+to the landing-place, and the watchers told their tale, it became evident
+that once again the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun had justified his reputation
+for both daring and resource.
+
+He had made for the sea, his party did not number ten, and they were
+in one boat. There was still time to overtake or intercept them at the
+river’s mouth, and, as the grey light of dawn began to lift the veil of
+mist and the freshening breeze swept in chilly gusts over the water, a
+fleet of boats set off to search the creeks and backwaters, while others
+had orders to pull straight to the river’s mouth, and there take line and
+see that none passed out to sea.
+
+The Pĕnglima meanwhile had wasted no time. ’Twixt the devil behind and
+the deep sea in front, he had no difficulty in determining which way
+lay safety; but he also realised that it could not be an hour, it might
+be only a few minutes before his ruse would be discovered, and with his
+crew he could not hope to reach the sea without being overtaken. The
+rowers needed little exhortation to strain every nerve, and after a few
+miles had been travelled, the boat was forced through heavy overhanging
+branches into an all but imperceptible creek, so narrow the entrance and
+so thoroughly concealed that no one would dream of its existence. The
+boat could only be got a few yards up this ditch, and the party, leaving
+it entirely hidden, ensconced themselves in a tangled mass of jungle
+foliage from which they commanded a view of the river.
+
+Here the fugitives lay all day, and watched the boats of their enemies
+pass by intent on the fruitless search.
+
+It was not a pleasant place nor did they spend an altogether happy day,
+for they were not yet out of the wood, indeed the chances of escape were
+still decidedly against them, but for the moment they were safe, and
+whatever was to come could not be worse than the situation from which
+their leader had already extricated them.
+
+Whilst the Pĕnglima was running the gauntlet of the guard-boats his late
+companions, the men of Lambor, some twenty or thirty in number, were
+having a worse experience on shore.
+
+Being a large party and in their haste not over-cautious, they were, of
+course, discovered as they tried to break through the line of stockades.
+Some were shot, others were speared and _krised_ in hand-to-hand
+encounters, while a few got away to the forest under cover of the
+darkness. But when these stragglers fully realised that it was a choice
+between the enemy and painful wandering in a swampy and well-nigh
+impenetrable jungle, with the prospect of starvation and a lingering
+death, they chose rather to return to the light and a speedier reckoning.
+
+None of this band returned to Lambor, and if they sought their fate and
+made an unprovoked attack upon Haji Mûsah it is not altogether surprising
+that to this day there is no wasted affection between the people of
+Lambor and the Lower Perak Chiefs.
+
+All through that sultry day, as one by one these doomed men appeared
+from the jungle fastness and went down before the weapons of their
+adversaries, waiting tirelessly expectant in the certainty that no
+refuge would be found in those inhospitable depths, the Pĕnglima and his
+little band lay close in their concealment and longed for sheltering
+night.
+
+All day long the Shabandar’s boats passed hither and thither, and with
+the nightfall many appeared to abandon the search and returned on the
+rising tide.
+
+Then an hour or two of the new-born moon, and after that thick darkness.
+
+The Pĕnglima and his friends had regained their boat, and as, about
+midnight, the tide began to ebb, the vessel was pushed noiselessly out
+into the river and bracing themselves for a final effort the rowers
+gripped their oars, stiffened their backs and put their whole strength
+into the work before them.
+
+The river as it approaches the sea grows wider at every bend, the
+searchers were exhausted and asleep, or had already returned up-stream,
+the night was dark and the fugitives were unmolested until, between 4
+A.M. and 5 A.M., in the last reach, they saw a line of boats guarding the
+river’s mouth.
+
+There were wide intervals between each vessel, but even in that uncertain
+light it was impossible for a boat to run this blockade without being
+seen.
+
+At this final juncture the Pĕnglima’s Familiar did not desert him.
+
+Of course the earth ought to have opened and swallowed up this hardened
+criminal as it did Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and all their company; he ought
+to have been shot or drowned or speared if he were not being reserved
+for hanging. At any rate this was an excellent opportunity for getting
+rid of two hardened villains, and a few other passably wicked men. The
+Lambor people, whose crimes were as snow compared to those of these two
+arch-criminals, had all met with violent deaths and no miracle, not even
+so much as a small streak of luck, like falling into a well and being
+tended by a beautiful maiden, had saved the life of one of them.
+
+Why was it then that, as these cold-blooded assassins cowered together
+and wondered how they were going to elude the vigilance of their enemies,
+a palpable miracle was wrought to save their miserable skins?
+
+It cannot be said that anything very unusual happened, because the thing
+is of common occurrence, but it was certainly thoughtfully arranged that
+at that moment there should sail round the bend of the river, in the
+strongest flow of the ebb-tide (now of course slackening), an enormous
+mass of floating palms, a very island of foliage broken away from some
+undermined bank and drifting majestically to the wider waters of the sea.
+
+If these great clumps of root and branch and foliage may be seen sailing
+every day down a Malay river into the Straits of Malacca, this particular
+island was so gigantic, that in size at least it was miraculous. It is
+possible that to another man the passing drift would have suggested
+nothing, but the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun was on such terms with Fortune
+that he knew exactly the psychological moment at which to take her. Here
+he remembered that the Malays call these floating islands _âpong_, and
+that boats know very much better than to get in their way. His craft then
+he promptly steered right into the back of this Satan-sent refuge, and,
+forcing it in amongst the palms and covering it as well as was possible,
+he calmly sat down and awaited the issue.
+
+The island sailed slowly along, and when the huge mass got near enough
+to the guard-boats for them to realise their danger, there was a deal of
+shouting and pulling of anchors, kicking up sleepy boatmen and frantic
+struggles to avoid this river Juggernaut.
+
+So passed the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun; not to the vales and Queens of
+Avilion, but to the open sea, from sore stress to safety, from an earthly
+death to an earthly life.
+
+One can almost hear him chuckle as he sails through that last danger and
+watches his enemies’ efforts to get back into their places.
+
+Malays do not pine for manual labour, they had already had more than
+enough of it, and as they were now being towed idly along, they lay
+down to sleep, vaguely wondering, in that moment of tired but delicious
+drowsiness, what occult powers this leader possessed to secure at such a
+moment the powerful help of this great leviathan, under whose green and
+shady sails they were being wafted to safety and “the haven where they
+would be.”
+
+A day or two of pleasant coasting, a walk across country, and Pĕnglima
+Prang Sĕmaun, with Haji Ali and a considerable booty, arrived safely at
+Blanja and received the congratulations of his master, the Raja Bĕndahâra.
+
+We read that when it was the fashion for knights to devote themselves to
+the service of distressed damsels, they wrought many startling deeds,
+which cannot always be satisfactorily explained without recognising that
+devotion in so good a cause was sometimes supernaturally aided.
+
+Unfortunately, the practice has fallen into desuetude; let us hope it is
+because the damsels of the nineteenth century are never in distress, want
+no assistance, or despise that of the mere man.
+
+Malays are perhaps, in some respects, a few hundred years behind the
+age, and I like to think that in this veracious story the Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun made his first appearance as the champion of a lady in distress.
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+BĔR-HANTU
+
+    Striving to reach the mystic source
+    of things, the secrets of the earth
+    and sea and air
+
+                              L. MORRIS
+
+
+We could all see the _tunggul mêrah_, the crimson streak which boded the
+death of the King. Looking from the top of our green-terraced hill across
+the clear wide river late one afternoon, this curious phenomenon appeared
+in the sky, above the last spur of a picturesque range of mountains which
+separates the valleys of two considerable streams whose united waters
+flow into the Straits of Malacca.
+
+Standing on the right bank of the river, a stretch of level land lies
+between the opposite bank and the foot of this range, and the wealth
+of foliage hides from view the houses, orchards, and rice-fields which
+cover that fertile plain. But the Sultan’s house, a palm-thatched wooden
+structure, three houses on piles joined together by short platforms
+after the accepted Malay pattern, stands out clearly enough, rather
+down-stream than opposite the point of view.
+
+The crimson portent is not visible for long, and we realise that,
+whatever it means, it is accounted for by the segment of a rainbow
+shining through a bank of low clouds which obscure the rest of the “arch
+of heaven,” and so blur the prismatic colours that nothing is clearly
+discernible but a short column of flame, all the more striking for its
+dull grey background. The tradition of ill-omen is of ancient origin,
+but the fact that the Sultan now lies grievously ill gives an air of
+probability to the gossip of the prophets.
+
+That evening, as we sat at dinner, we were suddenly startled by the
+cry of the banshee. Up till that moment we had none of us had any
+personal acquaintance with the banshee, but this was it sure enough.
+A long-drawn-out distressing wail, as of a lost child, repeated at
+uncertain intervals, now here now there, first on one side of the house
+and then on the other, at one moment unpleasantly close, and the next a
+piteous little half-choked sob in the distance. Without any doubt this
+was the banshee, and as the moonlight was now streaming fitfully through
+the clouds across the white pillars of the verandah, we thought we might
+have the good fortune to see this harbinger of doom.
+
+We walked out on to the moonlit terrace, and the beauty of the night was
+so intense that one felt it as through a new sense.
+
+The hill on which the house stood was cut into a series of terraces, and
+the highest of these, a wide lawn of velvety grass, was surrounded by
+tall graceful coco-nut trees, not close together but each standing alone
+with its spiky leaves clearly delineated against the sky.
+
+Overhead a moon shedding that wonderful soft light only seen in the
+East, where atmosphere, foliage, and all the surroundings seem specially
+designed to make the ascendancy of the Queen of Night superbly beautiful.
+
+The exquisite feathery fronds of the bamboo, bending in graceful curves,
+with each leaf clearly defined against a background of grey-blue sky; a
+dozen varieties of palms, from the lofty coco-nut and the stately jagary
+to the thick clumps of _bertam_, like gigantic ferns; picturesque groups
+of flowering trees and shrubs on terrace after terrace, carry the eye
+down to the shimmering gleam of the wide river on which the moonlight
+falls lovingly, throwing into greater contrast the deep shadows that
+lie under the overhanging foliage of the banks. Four miles of glistening
+water, then the river narrows and fades into the mist-enshrouded forest.
+
+Close beneath us twinkle the lights of the village, the houses spreading
+from river-brink to the high ground which rises abruptly on our left.
+In front and on either side, range after range of jungle-covered hills,
+from fifteen hundred to several thousands of feet in height. There is a
+luminous haze over all distant objects, giving the idea of indefinite
+height and distance, making all things vague and unsubstantial, yet
+infinitely satisfying that other sense which only awakes under the
+influence of perfect beauty.
+
+The extraordinary charm of this scene intoxicated us as with draughts of
+nectar, and in that enravishment, kings, omens, and ghostly warnings were
+forgotten.
+
+But hark! Yes, there is the cry, wailing in the distance—now much nearer,
+and now—before our very eyes the banshee itself!
+
+Sailing slowly through the air between the feathery leaves of the
+palms, like a lost soul wending its uncertain, purposeless way through
+the balmy Eastern night, was a creature with heavy dark wings, a head
+disproportionately large, and horns, veritable horns! As it slowly passed
+and moaned its childlike plaint, no reasonable being could doubt that he
+had heard and seen the messenger of death.
+
+That weird apparition, sobbing its fateful cry, broke the spell under
+which we had stood enthralled, and though we felt that the King’s fate
+was sealed, that did not prevent us from returning to dinner.
+
+Just after midnight a scared Malay came to say that it was feared the
+Sultan was dying. I hurried down the hill, took boat across the river,
+and, stumbling along the bank, reached the house where the sick man lay.
+
+I entered upon a peculiar scene. I said the building was in three parts,
+the first a sort of ante-room, beyond which strangers of inferior
+rank did not in ordinary circumstances pass; then came the principal
+structure, which consisted of one large room, wooden pillars dividing off
+verandahs on either side, while the third house was exclusively devoted
+to women, and attached to it was an excrescence forming the kitchen.
+
+The unsteady light of several lamps and many candles showed that both
+the centre and ante-rooms were full of people sitting on the mats which
+covered the floor. There must have been between one and two hundred
+present, and I noticed that there were about equal numbers of men and
+women, and all the principal Malays of the neighbourhood were there. The
+curtains which usually divided the centre room were up, but on one side
+there was evidently a bed, screened by patchwork hangings, and there I
+concluded His Highness lay.
+
+It was plain from the preparations that, despairing of effecting a cure
+by native medicines administered by native doctors, it was intended
+to try a little witchcraft and have a performance of what is called
+_Bĕr-hantu_. That seemed to me to fall in very well with the _tunggul
+mêrah_ and the banshee, and I was therefore quite prepared for the
+raising of the Devil or any other uncanny manifestation.
+
+I may as well say here that _hantu_ is a ghost, devil or spirit, and
+_bĕr-hantu_ means _to devil_, to raise the devil, or, at any rate, to
+engage in something as nearly akin to a witches’ revel on the Brocken as
+Malay traditions and surroundings will permit. It is a treatment commonly
+resorted to in Perak when other remedies fail. When, however, the friends
+of the patient decide that the time has arrived for _bĕr-hantu_, nothing
+will satisfy them but to have it, and if the sick man or woman dies
+during the performance, there is still the satisfaction of knowing that
+everything was done for them which love and skill could devise, and the
+issue was with God. _La-illahâ il-Allah, Muhammad Rasul-Allah_—“There is
+but one God, and Muhammad is His Prophet.”
+
+This pious confession of faith has, however, nothing to do with the
+_bĕr-hantu_; it comes in afterwards when the seal of death is so
+evidently on the lips of the sufferer that his friends cease to call on
+the Devil, and commend the soul of the dying man to God. The _bĕr-hantu_
+is, of course, a survival of præ-Islam darkness, and the priests
+abominate it, or say they do; but they have to be a little careful,
+because the highest society affects the practice of the Black Art.
+
+To return to the King’s house. In the middle of the floor was spread
+a _puâdal_, a small narrow mat, at one end of which was seated a
+middle-aged woman dressed like a man in a short-sleeved jacket, trousers,
+a _sârong_, and a scarf fastened tightly round her waist. At the other
+end of the mat was a large newly-lighted candle in a candlestick. Between
+the woman and the taper were two or three small vessels containing rice
+coloured with turmeric, parched _padi_, and perfumed water. An attendant
+sat near at hand.
+
+The woman in male attire was the _Pâwang_, the Raiser of Spirits, the
+Witch, not of Endor, but of as great repute in her own country and among
+her own people. In ordinary life she was an amusing lady named Raja
+Ngah, a scion of the reigning house on the female side and a member of
+a family skilled in all matters pertaining to occultism. In a corner of
+the room were five or six girls holding native drums, instruments with a
+skin stretched over one side only, and this is beaten usually with the
+fingers. The leader of this orchestra was the daughter of Raja Ngah.
+
+Shortly after I sat down, the proceedings began by the _Pâwang_ covering
+her head and face with a silken cloth, while the orchestra began to
+sing a weird melody in an unknown tongue. I was told it was the spirit
+language; the air was one specially pleasing to a particular _Jin_, or
+Spirit, and the invocation, after reciting his praises, besought him to
+come from the mountains or the sea, from underground or overhead, and
+relieve the torments of the King.
+
+As the song continued, accompanied by the rhythmical beating of the
+drums, the _Pâwang_ sat with shrouded head in front of the lighted taper,
+holding in her right hand against her left breast a small sheaf of the
+grass called _daun sambau_ tied tightly together and cut square at top
+and bottom.
+
+This _châdak_ she shook, together with her whole body, by a stiffening of
+the muscles, while all eyes were fixed upon the taper.
+
+At first the flame was steady, but by and by, as the singers screamed
+more loudly to attract the attention of the laggard Spirit, the wick
+began to quiver and flare up, and it was manifest to the initiated that
+the _Jin_ was introducing himself into the candle. By some means the
+_Pâwang_, who was now supposed to be “possessed” and no longer conscious
+of her actions, became aware of this, and she made obeisance to the
+taper, sprinkling the floor round it with saffron-coloured rice and
+perfumed water; then, rising to her feet and followed by the attendant,
+she performed the same ceremony before each male member of the reigning
+family present in the room, murmuring all the while a string of gibberish
+addressed to the Spirit. This done, she resumed her seat on the mat,
+and, after a brief pause, the minstrels struck up a different air, and,
+singing the praises of another _Jin_, called upon him to come and relieve
+the King’s distress.
+
+I ascertained that each Malay State has its own special Spirits, each
+district is equally well provided, and there are even some to spare for
+special individuals. In this particular State there are four principal
+_Jin_; they are the _Jin ka-râja-an_, the State Spirit—also called
+_Junjong dŭnia udâra_—Supporter of the Firmament; _Mâia udâra_, the
+Spirit of the Air; _Mahkôta si-râja Jin_, the Crown of Royal Spirits; and
+_S’tan Ali_.
+
+These four are known as _Jin âruah_, Exalted Spirits, and they are the
+guardians of the Sultan and the State. As one star exceeds another
+in glory, so one _Jin_ surpasses another in renown, and I have named
+them in the order of their greatness. In their honour four white and
+crimson umbrellas were hung in the room, presumably for their use when
+they arrived from their distant homes. Only the Sultan of the State is
+entitled to traffic with these distinguished Spirits; when summoned they
+decline to move unless appealed to with their own special invocations,
+set to their own peculiar music, sung by at least four singers and led by
+a _Bĕduan_ (singer) of the royal family. The _Jin ka-râja-an_ is entitled
+to have the royal drums played by the State drummers if his presence is
+required, but the other three have to be satisfied with the instruments I
+have described.
+
+There are common devils who look after common people: such as _Hantu
+Songkei, Hantu Malâyu and Hantu Blîan_; the last the “Tiger Devil,” but
+out of politeness he is called “Blîan,” to save his feelings.
+
+Then there is _Kĕmâla ajâib_, the “Wonderful Jewel,” _Israng_, Raja
+Ngah’s special familiar, and a host of others. Most _hantu_ have their
+own special _Pâwangs_, and several of these were carrying on similar
+proceedings in adjoining buildings, in order that the sick monarch might
+reap all the benefits to be derived from a consultation of experts, and,
+as one spirit after another notified his advent by the upstarting flame
+of the taper, it was impossible not to feel that one was getting into the
+very best society.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Meanwhile a sixteen-sided stand, about six inches high and shaped like
+this diagram, had been placed on the floor near the _Pâwang’s_ mat. The
+stand was decorated with yellow cloth; in its centre stood an enormous
+candle, while round it were gaily decorated rice and toothsome delicacies
+specially prized by _Jin_. There was just room to sit on this stand,
+which is called _Pĕtrâna panchalôgam_ (meaning a seat of this particular
+shape), and the Sultan, supported by many attendants, was brought out and
+sat upon it. A veil was placed on his head, the various vessels were put
+in his hands, he spread the rice round the taper, sprinkled the perfume,
+and having received into his hand an enormous _châdak_ of grass, calmly
+awaited the coming of the _Jin Ka-râja-an_, while the minstrels shouted
+for him with all their might.
+
+The Sultan sat there for some time, occasionally giving a convulsive
+shudder, and when this taper had duly flared up and all the rites had
+been performed, His Highness was conducted back again to his couch, and
+the _Pâwang_ continued her ministrations alone.
+
+Whilst striding across the floor, she suddenly fell down as though shot,
+and it was explained to me that Israng, the spirit by whom she was
+possessed, had seen a dish-cover, and that the sight always frightened
+him to such an extent that his _Pâwang_ fell down. The cause of offence
+was removed, and the performance continued.
+
+There are other spirits who cannot bear the barking of a dog, the mewing
+of a cat, and so on.
+
+Just before dawn there was a sudden confusion within the curtains which
+hid the Sultan’s couch; they were thrown aside, and there lay the King,
+to all appearance in a swoon. The _Jin Ka-râja-an_ had taken possession
+of the sick body, and the mind was no longer under its owner’s control.
+
+For a little while there was great excitement, and then the King
+recovered consciousness, was carried to a side verandah and a quantity of
+cold water poured over him.
+
+So ended the _séance_.
+
+Shortly after, the Sultan, clothed and in his right mind, sent to say he
+would like to speak to me. He told me he took part in this ceremony to
+please his people and because it was a very old custom, and he added, “I
+did not know you were there till just now; I could not see you because I
+was not myself and did not know what I was doing.”
+
+The King did not die, after all—on the contrary, I was sent for twice
+again because he was not expected to live till the morning, and yet he
+cheated Death—for a time.
+
+That reminds me of the banshee. I saw it sitting in a Malay house
+some months later, and they told me the boys had caught it, that
+it was an owl, and its name was _Toh ka-tampi_. It had very round,
+yellow eyes, and there was no mistake about the horns. It seems that
+with Malays it is an ill-omened bird, the herald of misfortune and
+death, and it shares this reputation with two other owls, which are
+called respectively _Tumbok lârong_, that is “Nail the coffin,” and
+_Chârek kafan_, “Rend the cloth for the shroud.” _Toh ka-tampi_ means
+“Old-man-winnow-the-rice-for-the-burial-feast.” The names are rather
+gruesome, and are said to be suggested by the peculiar cries of these
+“ghost birds.”
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+THE KING’S WAY
+
+    We know what Heaven or Hell may bring
+    But no man knoweth the mind of the King
+
+                            RUDYARD KIPLING
+
+
+He was the Sultan of an important Malay State, but to those who knew him
+best he was, and will remain, “Craddock’s King,” principally because he
+always sent for Craddock whenever he wanted anything that he thought
+needed the assistance of a European officer, and, on the rare occasions
+when he travelled outside his own dominions, Craddock used to go with him
+as guide, interpreter, and shield.
+
+The King was one with whom things had gone badly until the appearance
+of the white man in his country. His character had not endeared him to
+the people, who should have been his subjects, but were, almost without
+exception, his enemies; and the consequence was that when he ought to
+have been elected to a high office, and later, when his birth entitled
+him to be nominated Sultan, his claims were ignored in favour of junior
+men. Up to the age of fifty or more he had passed his life in poverty,
+and even in want, and often in open resistance to such authority as
+existed. These strained relations with his own people made him loyal to
+the British, and as his claims were indisputable, and the opportunity
+came when they might be satisfied, he at last attained to the position
+which was his by right.
+
+I will try to draw the man as he was at this time. Tall for a Malay,
+rather fair, with grey hair and a white moustache; very broad-shouldered
+and thick-set, a powerful figure, though now inclined to over-stoutness;
+a firm, upright carriage; in his face an exceeding _hauteur_, and in
+his manner something more than this—the plain evidence of a masterful
+and overbearing disposition. The strength of mind, the obstinacy of
+character, were writ large in both face and figure; while an imperious
+manner was accentuated by a loud voice and impatient speech, caused to
+some extent by the difficulty of understanding one whose teeth were few,
+and whose tongue was plainly over-large.
+
+The King affected gay colours, and his appearance, when he took his
+walks abroad, was striking, not to say remarkable. A tartan silk jacket,
+combining many violent colours and fastened at the neck only, clothed
+his body; this jacket had a high collar which enclosed the wearer’s
+bull-neck and reached to the ears. The nether garment was a pair of very
+wide and loose white silk trousers fastened by many yards of a scarlet
+silk waist-cloth. These trousers reached a point low down on the calf of
+the leg, leaving a fair expanse of uncovered limb between them and the
+sky-blue canvas shoes which encased the stockingless feet. On his head,
+tilted rakishly over one ear, the King wore a wonderful round bright
+yellow cap, flat on the top with stiff sides, on which were sewn, in
+Arabic characters of black cloth, a verse from the Korân.
+
+In his waist-cloth the King usually carried a short knife in a polished
+wooden sheath, and when walking he leant upon a spear or long bamboo
+stick. Both hands and feet were white with an unnatural and mottled
+whiteness, caused, His Highness averred, by eating the flesh of the white
+buffalo, and, in walking, the toes were turned out to such an extent as
+to give a decided waddle.
+
+For people with whom loyalty to their rajas is an article of faith, the
+dislike in which the King was held by them was extraordinary. It is
+charitable to suppose that early disappointment had embittered his life,
+for he possessed good qualities. He was undeniably intelligent, and had
+a wider knowledge of his country and its ancient customs than any other
+man in it. He knew his own mind, was determined to obstinacy, and asked
+counsel of few. He was a keen sportsman, courageous, and, having sought
+the friendship of the British, never wavered in his loyalty. If it be
+said that in this he consulted his own interest and knew his unpopularity
+with his own people, his consistency and good faith were still a merit.
+On the other hand, his defects and vices were numerous, and just those
+likely to earn him the dislike of Malays. He was incredibly mean, he was
+overbearing to cruelty, rapaciously grasping, jealous of the good fortune
+of any of his subjects, selfish, difficult of access, and unconcerned
+with the misfortunes of others; vindictive to those who offended him or
+opposed his wishes, a gambler who nearly always contrived to win, and
+in matters where the other sex were concerned, decidedly unreliable.
+He was not an opium-smoker, nor was he in any sense a religious man,
+and, though the “Defender of the Faith” in his own country, he observed
+none of its outward forms. It cannot, therefore, be said that he was in
+good odour with the priesthood and yet one of his firmest friends—for a
+time—was the priest of the neighbouring village who, whenever a witness
+was needed to support the King in any action or statement, was ready both
+to vouch to supposed facts and prove his master’s case by the authority
+of Muhammadan writings.
+
+The constant appeal to the priest for justification and the persistence
+with which this man found excellent reasons for the King’s peculiar
+methods was a little discouraging; but there came an estrangement. The
+King, accompanied by the priest and others, visited a neighbouring
+British possession, stayed there some days, and at the moment of his
+return was faced by a serious indignity. It appeared that someone in this
+place who did not understand the King’s peculiarities had, or thought he
+had, sold to His Highness a tricycle and a musical-box for which he could
+not obtain payment, and, having ascertained that the King was going and
+did not care about the things, this misguided individual somehow obtained
+a summons against His Highness to appear before a local tribunal and
+answer to the plaint.
+
+The King, being informed, expressed his extreme unconcern, and said
+that, as it was the priest’s business and his only, he could settle it.
+The priest raised the amount necessary to meet the bill, and the party
+returned to their own State with the musical-box and tricycle.
+
+Then “a private pique arose” between King and Priest as to who should
+finally pay for these playthings. For the first time these firm friends
+appeared in opposition to each other, and both parties gave their
+respective versions of the transaction before a highly edified and
+delighted Council of Arbitration.
+
+First the King: He knew nothing of any musical-box, did not like
+musical-boxes, had no ear for music, and did not understand the
+discordant noises made by these inventions of the white man. He had seen
+a thing of the kind in his house, had heard it, had even himself made it
+play its absurd tunes, did not enjoy it in the least, and had done it
+without thinking, but knew it would please the priest as he had bought
+the thing, and he supposed he would not have done so unless he wanted to
+have it played.
+
+As for the tricycle, how in the name of misfortune could a tricycle
+concern him? The bare idea of a man of his age and figure riding a
+tricycle was enough to make a dog bark (and here His Highness laughed
+consumedly at the spectacle he had conjured up). Had anyone ever seen
+him ride a tricycle? Where was he going to ride it? Was it on the sandy
+shore of the river where he lived? and if not there, then where? He
+understood that tricycles would neither go through the jungle nor across
+_padi_ fields, and, if he were to take “the creature” out shooting,
+he supposed it would not greatly help him to get a shot at a bison or
+a rhinoceros. Did anyone imagine he was going to carry letters? that
+he was going to join the Post Office? If the imputation were not so
+stupid he could almost be angry with the priest, a man whom he had heard
+over and over again say that the one thing he desired was a tricycle,
+something on which he could take exercise, and at the same time get
+about his district. He had even asked him, the King, to lend him money
+to buy the machine, but he had no money to lend and tried to dissuade
+the man because he thought that in his inexperience he might fall and
+hurt himself. Malays did not understand things that ran on three wheels
+without ever a horse or a bullock, or even a buffalo to pull them. He saw
+the tricycle lying under his house, and he heard the priest haggling
+with someone about the price, but he would take any oath that the priest
+or anyone else could devise that he had never set eyes on the man who
+sold the thing. All he knew was that he had been insulted by the issue of
+a summons because of the priest’s extravagant tastes, and, while any one
+who liked might pay, it would not be he.
+
+Then the Priest:
+
+Long before they left the State, His Highness told him that when
+they made this visit it was his desire to purchase a musical-box (in
+the sweet strains of which his soul delighted) and a tricycle, the
+beautiful three-wheeled silent carriage which cost little to start with
+and nothing to keep, wanted no horses, nor harness, nor expensive and
+impertinent horse-keepers, which never shied at bullock-carts or ran
+away from elephants, and which lasted through the lives of many beasts.
+Therefore, he, the priest, the obedient slave of the King, had sought the
+sweet-voiced box and the stomachless carriage, and after much difficulty
+he had found them. By the express order of the King the priest had bidden
+the owners bring them to the house in which the King was lodging, and
+there the whole details of the two transactions were arranged. The
+people who trafficked in these goods could not be taken into the presence
+of his master, and, indeed, the King had expressly declined to see them
+(was not the King all-wise?), but they had been brought into a room of
+the house across which hung a heavy curtain, and while he, the priest,
+discussed the terms with the seller on one side, the King sat on the
+other, and not only heard all that was said, but in the end, when the
+priest went behind the curtain to consult his royal master, had expressed
+his entire approval of the price, only stipulating that he should first
+hear the box sing and ride the stomachless horse. This he had arranged
+with some little difficulty, because the sellers were needy men and
+wanted the money; moreover, they seemed to distrust his master, the King,
+for some reason which he could not fathom. But he arranged that the
+singing-box and the seat on three wheels should stay with his master for
+four days, and that then they should be returned or paid for; those were
+the orders of the King. So they stayed, and the King turned the handle of
+the box and made it sing, or, more often, from prayer-time to prayer-time
+he, the priest, had to turn the handle and make music, and the King drank
+in the sound and was glad. As for the three wheels, they lay under the
+house, and the King looked upon the machine and said it was good and
+cheap and would eat nothing.
+
+These are the words of the Priest: “The four days went by and the men
+came to be paid, and I told my master, but he seemed to be busy with
+other things, and I sent them away to come again the next day. In this
+way the time passed till the day for our departure, and I knew the men
+who owned the box and the carriage were angry, but I saw my master wanted
+the things. When at last the trouble came, and the King said it was not
+his business but mine, I told the men they could take the box and the
+carriage back because they did not please the King, but they would not,
+and I was afraid lest shame should come on my master, and I went out and
+borrowed the money and paid it. Could I, who am a priest, play with a box
+that sings not of God nor the Prophet? Can I, who am a poor man, who only
+live to pray and to preach, to exhort the living and to bury the dead,
+can I ride on the stomachless horse with three wheels, I whose duty is in
+the mosque and by the grave? My master the King knows that in this thing
+as in others I have but obeyed the voice of my master.”
+
+So Church and State quarrelled, and the priest found no more favour in
+the sight of the King. But there were many who said:
+
+    “_Sĕpĕrti Nasrûan dëngan Bahtek_
+     _Bĕr-sâtu rangkêsa_
+     _Bĕr-chĕrei jâdi sentôsa._”
+
+“They are like Raja Nasrûan and his minister Bahtek; their union
+brought ruin, their divorce solace.” Indeed, it was the opportunity of
+the proverb-monger, and such sayings as, “It is sometimes one’s own
+forefinger which pokes one in the eye,” and, “While you carry the Raja’s
+business on your head, don’t forget to keep your own under your arm,”
+were heard on all sides.
+
+The King had a clerk who had served him faithfully for twenty years or
+more. The clerk had a wife, and the King’s eye fell upon her approvingly;
+so the King sent the clerk into a far country to chase a wild bird, and
+bestowed his favour upon the wife who remained under his care. The King
+also bestowed upon the lady sundry jewels of price, things that please
+poor heathen women with hardly any moral character and no education to
+speak of.
+
+By-and-by the King got tired of the woman, as unprincipled Eastern kings
+will do, and he sought about for some means, not to rid himself of her,
+that was simple enough, but to get back his gifts (for they would serve
+again as they had done already) and at the same time to throw a little
+dust in the eyes of the clerk, who was known to be on his way back.
+Accordingly, a youth of no account was arrested by the King’s people, and
+charged with carrying on a _liaison_ with the lady during the absence of
+her husband. The crime was, of course, aggravated by the fact that she
+was under the special protection of the King! The clear proof of guilt
+was the alleged possession by the woman of a _sârong_[3] belonging to the
+man.
+
+This charge was sufficient ground for the display of royal displeasure,
+and procured the restitution of the jewels, but it failed to convince
+anyone that the man accused by the King had done any wrong, and, in spite
+of the strenuous exertions of His Highness to get the man banished from
+the country, nothing was done to him. The plan, therefore, miscarried to
+some extent, and when the clerk returned it is probable that he learnt
+the facts, for he declined to further serve the King, and even said
+bluntly things about his late master that were not altogether loyal.
+
+I have elsewhere stated that Malays try to wipe out, what in their
+uncivilised minds they count as dishonour, in a savage and bloodthirsty
+fashion, but this does not apply when the offender is a raja and the
+injured man of lesser rank. The person of a raja is sacred to a Malay,
+and if he feels that he has been disgraced beyond bearing, the result
+will probably be, sooner or later, an access of blind fury resulting in a
+case of _âmok_.
+
+The King had as many wives as the Muhammadan law permitted, and, as his
+country possessed the infinite blessing of a civil list which limited
+his own income, he was always anxious that whenever he took to himself
+a new wife she should receive an allowance from the State. His Highness
+made a special point of this grant to the ladies, because he said the
+knowledge that if they divorced him or compelled him to divorce them they
+would lose the allowance, had an excellent effect on their behaviour.
+He had succeeded in securing allowances for several wives, when a new
+lady, named Raja Sarefa, consented to share the royal smiles, and the
+King immediately applied on her behalf for the usual civil list. The
+application, however, was not successful, though several times renewed.
+
+Then the King fell ill of some fell disease that no native medicine-man
+could diagnose, and the evil spirit, with which he seemed to be
+troubled, had its will of him, so that all men said the King must die.
+
+During an interval of temporary return to consciousness, when for a
+few hours the patient seemed to have a rest from the attacks of the
+tormentor, he ordered that a young nephew should be sent for, also a
+divorced wife of his own, and a priest. Then, against the earnest wishes
+of both parties, he insisted upon these young people being married in his
+presence, and shortly after relapsed into his former state.
+
+After weeks of torment, when every day seemed certain to be his last, the
+iron constitution prevailed, and the King recovered. In the first days of
+his convalescence I went to see him, and found him lying on his bed, in
+his eyes the light of consciousness and intelligence, and sitting by him
+the wife, Raja Sarefa.
+
+He was weak, spoke slowly and in a small voice, but said that by God’s
+grace he only wanted time to regain his strength. After expressing my
+thankfulness at seeing him so well on the way to recovery, I said that I
+had often been over to see him when he was ill, and that the Raja Sarefa
+had tended him with extraordinary devotion, never seeming to leave his
+bedside. At once he said, “You noticed that, did you?” I replied that I
+had been very much struck by her care of him. “I was blind,” he said; “I
+do not know what happened, but I am very glad you remarked how carefully
+Sarefa nursed me, and that you have mentioned it, for now you will
+recognise that she ought to have an allowance.”
+
+In the presence of the lady, even though she did not raise her eyes from
+the floor, it was difficult not to recognise that, if curses come home to
+roost, blessings sometimes go astray.
+
+After a respite of eighteen months, the evil spirit again took possession
+of the King, and this time made short work of him.
+
+The scientific explanation, deriding the evil-spirit theory, said that a
+tumour on the brain, caused by no matter what, accounted for the first
+attack, and that as sometimes, but rarely, happens, the growth was for a
+time arrested, the tumour contracted, and the pressure on the brain was
+removed. But the mischief was there, and a sudden rapid development of
+the disease brought on a return of the symptoms, a violent but hopeless
+struggle, and death.
+
+It is the custom in the country of which I now write to, in a manner,
+canonise its Sultans. At the burial, when the moment arrives for
+carrying the body to the place of sepulture, the dead man is given a new
+name, by which he is ever afterwards known. That name is chosen with
+some reference to his earthly life. Thus, there is Al-mĕrhum or Mĕrhum
+Pâsir Panjang (that is, “The Sultan who died at Pâsir Panjang”), Mĕrhum
+Kahar-Allah (“The late Sultan to whom God gave strength”), and so on.
+
+When this King was buried, the name conferred upon him was Mĕrhum
+Rafir-Allah, and the meaning is, “May God pardon him.”
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+NOTE.—Since writing the above, I have read the following in the _Home
+News_:
+
+    “In the Lord Mayor’s Court on Oct. 14, before the Assistant
+    Judge and a jury, the case of ‘Fischer _v_. Brown’ was
+    concluded. This (says the _Times_) was an action brought by
+    Fischer and Co., a firm of Bombay merchants, to recover from
+    Messrs. Brown, Saville, and Co., who carry on business in
+    this country, the sum of £73, money paid by the plaintiffs to
+    the defendants, for which they had received no consideration.
+    It appeared that in July, 1892, the plaintiffs received an
+    order for a special perambulator, which was to be given to
+    His Highness Tikah Sahib, Rajah of Patalia, as a birthday
+    present by his secretary, Sham Shir Sing. The perambulator was
+    to be painted dark green and old gold, which were the colours
+    of the Rajah, and there was to be a good strong musical-box
+    under the seat, and also an automatic arrangement by which the
+    perambulator, on being wound up, would run by itself. This
+    order was given to the defendants by the plaintiffs on July 4,
+    and the perambulator was to be ready for shipment to Bombay
+    by Aug. 15, in order that it should reach the Rajah by Oct.
+    1, which was the date of his birthday. The defendants did not
+    finish the work in time, and the Rajah’s birthday had passed
+    before the present arrived, and then the secretary refused
+    to take it, and it had to be sent back. In the meantime the
+    defendants had drawn a bill upon the plaintiffs for the price
+    of the perambulator, and this the plaintiffs had accepted and
+    had paid the money, which they were now suing to recover.
+    For the defence it was stated that the cause of the delay in
+    delivering the perambulator was Mr. F. Fischer’s interference.
+    The wheels and springs of the perambulator, it had been agreed,
+    should be electro-plated, but when Mr. Fischer heard this he
+    said it would not suit the Rajah, and they must be gilded. He
+    was told this could not be done in time, and it was implied
+    by the orders he gave (which were that the perambulator should
+    have elephant-headed handles and papier-maché figures of
+    elephants and peacocks) that a further allowance of time would
+    be given. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiffs for the
+    amount claimed.”
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+A MALAY ROMANCE
+
+    Every heart in which heaven has set the lamp of love, whether
+    that heart inclines to Mosque or Synagogue, if its name be
+    written in the Book of Love it is freed from the fear of Hell,
+    and the hope of Paradise
+
+                                    JUSTIN MCCARTHY’S _Omar Khayyam_
+
+
+A quarter of a century ago there lived on the bank of a broad river, just
+at the point where stream meets tide, a Malay Raja and his youthful wife.
+She has been dead for twenty years, but in this land of brief regrets her
+memory is still green, the fame of her wit and beauty has become a byword
+with the people.
+
+She was a girl of royal descent; her name, Raja Maimûnah. Exceeding fair,
+for a Malay, slight but graceful in figure, with very small hands and
+feet, an oval face and splendid eyes, glistening blue-white wells in
+which floated, lotus-like, the dark iris, flashing or wooing in changeful
+expression from wide-open or half-closed lids deeply shaded by long
+black lashes. Her nose was small, straight, and well cut, and the curved
+smiling lips disclosed teeth of perfect shape and singular whiteness. In
+either cheek a dimple, _lĕsong mâti_, as the Malays call it, the dimple
+which so fascinates the beholder that it will lure him even unto death.
+Her jet-black hair, fringing the forehead in an oval frame, was drawn
+straight back over the well-shaped head and fastened in a simple knot
+with four ruby-studded hairpins; the heads firmly fixed against one side
+of the coil, while the golden points protruded for an inch or more beyond
+the other.
+
+Her dress was that worn by all ladies of rank, and usually consisted of a
+silk skirt of softly-blended colours reaching to the ankles and fastened
+at the waist by a belt with a large golden buckle. The only other
+garment was a satin jacket of some dark colour on which were stitched
+cunningly-wrought designs of beaten gold. This jacket had a tight collar,
+and the close-fitting sleeves were fastened by a long row of jewelled
+buttons reaching almost from wrist to elbow; it was loose at the waist
+and just covered the belt. Tiny heelless shoes, embroidered with gold and
+silver thread, completed the attire.
+
+When out of doors, the Raja Maimûnah would wear a veil of darkest blue,
+black or white gossamer embroidered with very narrow gold ribbon, a most
+becoming head-dress, the product of Arabian skill. Over this, again, was
+held coquettishly, to conceal the face from male eyes, a scarf of rich
+Malay-red silk, heavy with interwoven threads of gold, while one or two
+more silken _sârongs_ of varying colour and richness of material were
+worn over the under-skirt.
+
+Jewels depend upon the wealth and station of the wearer, but Maimûnah’s
+jacket was fastened with buttons that matched the hairpins. She was
+seldom seen without diamond solitaires in the ears and a number of
+diamond rings on her fingers, while on State occasions she wore heavy
+gold bangles on her wrists and one or more gold necklaces.
+
+I cannot draw an equally attractive picture of Raja Iskander, the
+husband of this lady. He was about thirty years of age, while she
+was one-and-twenty. He was short and spare for a Malay, and his
+distinguishing features were a large ugly mouth with a downward turn at
+the corners and an almost perpetual expression of extreme discontent.
+
+His vanity was inordinate, his extravagance continually led him into
+difficulty, and he smoked opium to excess and to the neglect of all his
+duties and his interests; moreover, he lacked courage, and sought counsel
+from men of no standing, whose only thought was their own profit.
+
+A Malay Raja has many wives. He begins early and rings the changes often,
+until (especially if he have pretensions to become ultimately the ruler
+of his country, as was the case with Iskander) his relatives decide that
+he should marry a lady of his own rank. Then, if he is young, her people
+usually insist that any wife he has must be divorced, and, that done, the
+marriage takes place.
+
+At the time of which I write, Raja Iskander had been married to Maimûnah
+for about three years; she was the mother of two children, but her
+husband thought he had good reason to doubt her fidelity, and he was
+palpably neglecting her for a concubine. That he should have other wives
+or concubines was of course only what she had been educated to expect,
+and, in acting on his right, Raja Iskander was simply following the
+practice of his ancestors and the custom of the country. The Muhammadan
+law is nevertheless extremely strict in its injunctions that all wives
+are to be treated with equal consideration, and, while their claims are
+clear, the concubine has none. To neglect a wife for a concubine is a
+dire offence to Malay women, and the slight is enormously exaggerated
+when the wife is of high birth, and the favourite only a woman of the
+people.
+
+The house where Raja Iskander then lived was within a hundred feet of
+the bank of the stream, an unattractive spot fifty miles from the mouth
+of the river, but yet not far enough to escape the tidal influence and
+the unlovely accompaniments of turbid water, muddy banks, and flat
+surroundings. Raja Iskander passed a good deal of his time in boats, the
+lazy life suited him and his habits, and, instead of having to provide a
+house for each of the ladies in his harem, he supplied a boat. That was
+much more economical, and economy was an object, for, like many people
+with extravagant tastes, his extravagance was purely selfish.
+
+The boats lay in the river in front of the house, and as Raja Iskander’s
+presence was the excuse for a rendezvous of all the gamblers,
+cock-fighters, and opium-smokers of the neighbourhood, a good many boats
+besides his own were always in attendance.
+
+Amongst the visitors attracted to this spot at this time was a man called
+Raja Slêman, a stranger from a neighbouring State.
+
+It might have been the cock-fighting or the gambling always to be found
+in the society of Raja Iskander that drew Raja Slêman to the place. It
+might also have been the congenial society of another opium-smoker, or
+possibly the fame of Raja Maimûnah’s attractions. Whatever the lodestone,
+Raja Slêman appeared with two boats and about fifteen followers, and,
+once arrived, he elected to remain.
+
+Raja Iskander passed most of his time on the water, but Maimûnah lived
+in the house on shore. A very modest dwelling it was; a building of mat
+sides and thatched roof raised from the damp and muddy earth on wooden
+piles, a flight of steps led into the front of the house and a ladder
+served for exit at the back. The interior accommodation consisted of a
+closed-in verandah, one large room, and a kitchen tacked on behind.
+
+The edges of the muddy river were fringed by the _nipah_ palm, which
+is never seen beyond tidal influences; the banks were covered by rank
+grasses, the country was flat and desolate, the jungle insignificant, and
+in the heat of the day the oppression of steaming mud and shelterless
+plain was so great that sleep seemed to force itself on insect, reptile,
+and every living thing.
+
+At night the myriads of fireflies sparkling in the riverside bushes,
+their twinkling lights reflected in the water, gave some relief to tired
+eyes; but the gain in the change of temperature and scene was hardly
+appreciated when the mosquitoes and sand-flies began their merciless
+attacks.
+
+Under such circumstances and amidst such surroundings, Raja Slêman came
+into the life of Maimûnah.
+
+He was about the same age as Raja Iskander, but in other respects there
+was a striking difference between the two men. Slêman was a man of
+pleasing features, extremely quiet, and of courtly manners; the casual
+observer would probably fail to realise that this outward appearance
+concealed a firm determination and a dauntless courage. Of worldly goods
+he had little enough, and small prospect of multiplying them, but in rank
+he was almost, if not quite, the equal of Raja Iskander.
+
+One day as Slêman sat in his boat he saw Maimûnah and her maidens come
+down to the river to bathe. In his country he had never beheld a woman
+as beautiful as this one, and he fell hopelessly in love with Iskander’s
+wife. Then each day he watched for her, and never failed, morning and
+evening, to follow her with his eyes for the few moments when she slowly
+wended her way from house to river and back again.
+
+Meanwhile, Maimûnah, suffering from the _spretæ injuria formæ_ and
+chafing under the monotony of existence, had heard all about the arrival
+of Slêman and readily listened to the tales of his valorous deeds. Soon
+she began to look for him, and as he was ever watching for her coming it
+was not long before their eyes met. He pleased her, and, when she saw
+in his face the admiration he had no desire to conceal, she would drop
+the covering that hid all but her eyes, and what he then beheld only
+increased his passion.
+
+Malay ladies are adepts in speaking the language of the eyes, the chances
+of verbal speech are but few, and so carefully is this art cultivated,
+so thoroughly understood, that principals and witnesses never fail to
+rightly interpret the signs.
+
+Slêman and Maimûnah had already mutually declared themselves without the
+exchange of a syllable, and it was with perfect confidence that Slêman
+sought a closer intimacy by the friendly aid of a messenger.
+
+Iskander was too much engaged with his opium and his latest favourite,
+too generally satisfied with himself, to notice what was going on. Had
+he realised the state of affairs he would not have been indifferent to
+the disgrace that must be his, should his wife’s _liaison_ become public
+property. It is unlikely that he had any suspicion of Slêman, but, if he
+had, it would never occur to him that any man would have the courage to
+do more than carry on a clandestine intrigue, and of that he suspected
+Maimûnah had already been guilty. Least of all would it seem possible
+for a foreigner supported by a dozen followers to brave the power and
+resentment of well nigh the greatest chief of a powerful State.
+
+In this, however, he was misled by the _suave_ manners of the quiet
+stranger.
+
+Slêman’s suit prospered, and he was not satisfied to continue
+indefinitely filling the _rôle_ of false friend to Iskander and fearful
+lover to his wife. However much he despised the man, however easily he
+found he could profit by Iskander’s indifference, he meant to play a
+bolder game and make Maimûnah his own at all hazards if she were prepared
+to face the risk.
+
+Her courage was equal to his own (for failure meant probably death to her
+as to him), and one night, while Iskander lay in his boat dreaming over
+his opium-pipe, the stranger was carrying off his royal spouse within
+earshot, almost from under his very eyes.
+
+Once in Slêman’s boat, and the bark had been silently unmoored and
+allowed to drift out of sight and hearing, little time was lost in
+getting out the oars and pulling with might and main down river towards
+the coast.
+
+All night long the rowers bent to their work, but when morning broke and
+less than half the distance to the river’s mouth had been traversed,
+Slêman ordered the men to pull in to the bank, fasten up the boat and
+rest.
+
+It seemed a foolhardy proceeding to waste the precious time, for with the
+dawn the elopement would be discovered and Iskander would be in pursuit
+before the sun had cleared the tops of the jungle trees.
+
+Raja Slêman’s quiet serenity was not disturbed by anticipations of
+capture or fear of the outraged husband’s fury. On the contrary, he
+procured a small boat and a messenger, and he indited a letter to Raja
+Iskander, informing him he had carried away the Raja Maimûnah, but that
+he had not gone far, having only reached the place he named. He added
+that he would wait there for one night and one day against the coming of
+any who might wish to try and take the lady from him, and that after that
+time he should continue his journey to the coast and thence to his own
+country.
+
+Raja Iskander received this missive whilst yet undecided what course to
+take in the untoward disaster that had befallen him. The letter did not
+greatly help him to arrive at a decision, and he was still discussing
+with his chiefs who should have the honour of pursuing and punishing the
+abductor when the twenty-four hours expired.
+
+Neither Iskander nor any of his people ever started on that quest, and
+Raja Slêman carried Maimûnah in safety to his own country.
+
+The disconsolate husband, whose ideas were in accord with a civilisation
+beyond the education or sympathetic comprehension of his subjects,
+decided to divorce his faithless wife and leave her lover to marriage
+and the punishment of his own conscience. It is a painful fact that this
+conduct earned him not the admiration but the contempt of his people.
+
+Iskander had one revenge: he discovered amongst Maimûnah’s women two who
+had carried messages between the lovers. One was a woman of twenty-five,
+the other a girl of fourteen, and both were incontinently strangled.
+
+As for Slêman and Maimûnah, they were duly married, and she bore him a
+daughter in all respects like her mother, though not, the old people
+say, her peer in beauty. The _laudator temporis acti_ is a common and
+flourishing plant in Malâya.
+
+In the two children born before the elopement, it is difficult to trace
+any resemblance to their mother.
+
+Maimûnah died years and years ago, the victim of a malignant disease;
+but Slêman still lives in his own country, his hair is getting grey,
+but otherwise he shows few signs of age. Time has only intensified
+the courteous bearing and quiet repose of manner which seem to fitly
+accompany his gentle winning voice; no one would suspect that this man,
+almost single-handed, carried off the chief spouse of an Oriental prince,
+and then defied the whole country to take her from him.
+
+There are no local bards to record Slêman’s story in deathless song, and
+the people are so impregnated with vice that they seek for no excuses
+to palliate his conduct, and have no condemnation for this ruthless
+destroyer of Iskander’s happy home. But they are Muhammadans, and seldom
+allow themselves the luxury of burning moral convictions. I have never
+seen a missionary proselytising amongst the Malays, but many years ago
+I was told that a Christian missionary came to Malâya full of zeal and
+confident of success. He began with a man who seemed an earnest, truthful
+person, anxious to learn, a promising subject. The missionary told him
+the story of the Immaculate Conception. The Malay listened to the end,
+showing great interest in the miraculous narrative of the Blessed Virgin;
+then he said, “If that had happened to my wife, I should have killed
+her.”
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+MALAY SUPERSTITIONS
+
+    There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
+    Than are dreamt of in your philosophy
+
+                                               _Hamlet_
+
+
+Malay superstitions are the survival of a time antecedent to the advent
+of the gospel of Islam, and their strong hold on the people is only
+another proof of the conservative tendencies of the race. What was the
+Faith of Malâya seven hundred years ago it is hard to say, but there is
+a certain amount of evidence to lead to the belief that it was a form of
+Brahmanism and that no doubt had succeeded the original Spirit Worship.
+
+I do not propose to attempt to enumerate all the various forms of
+superstition, their name is legion, but only to describe a few that are
+both curious and interesting.
+
+I have already referred to what is known as _bĕr-hantu_, the practice
+of a kind of witchcraft for the healing of the sick; it reminds one
+of “casting out devils in the name of Beelzebub the Prince of the
+devils”—and I might here give some of the incantations commonly spoken
+by the exorcist, but one will suffice. Here is the translation of a most
+potent exorcism believed to be efficacious against the malevolent attacks
+of a thousand lesser demons:
+
+Heigh! thou Spirit whose name is Jin Pari of the Jin Âruah; Rabiah Jâmil
+was thy mother’s, Imam Jâmil thy father’s name; thou art the grandchild
+of Hakim Baisuri, the great-grandchild of Mâlim of the Forest. Thou
+Spirit of the path Lôrin, Spirit of the rising ground Sri Permâtang,
+Spirit of the ant-hill known as “Piebald Horse.” Heigh! you white ants
+Sekutânai, why do you, Sekutâpa, flying up stream make me think you are
+on your way down, and flying down stream give the impression that you are
+going to the interior?
+
+I know your origin, spawn of Hell’s spouting flame; do not any longer
+torment this person.
+
+If you disobey, I will curse you by the name of the Most High, saying,
+“By the Grace of God, by the Grace of God, by the Grace of God.”
+
+The final threat to drive out the demon by using the name of the Almighty
+is curious as showing how the exorcist seeks by a judicious blending of
+tradition with his latter-day Faith to get the better of the tormentor.
+
+A very widespread superstition is that certain persons have familiar
+spirits who will, at the instance of their owners, enter into and plague
+any one whom it may be desired to injure. These evil spirits are known
+as _Bâjang_, _Pôlong_, _Pĕlsit_, and _Langsûior_, the last being a
+female spirit. They are either inherited or acquired by the practice of
+witchcraft, and the way in which their possession is brought home to any
+member of the community is as little reasonable as the “proof” of the
+exercise of similar powers in the Western witch not so many centuries ago.
+
+Some one in a village falls ill of a complaint, the symptoms of which
+are unusual; there may be convulsions, unconsciousness, or delirium,
+possibly for some days together or with intervals between the attacks.
+The relatives will call in a native doctor, and at her (she is usually
+an ancient female) suggestion, or without it, an impression will arise
+that the patient is the victim of a _bâjang_. Such an impression quickly
+develops into certainty and any trifle will suggest the owner of the
+evil spirit. One method of verifying this suspicion is to wait till the
+patient is in a state of delirium and then to question him or her as to
+who is the author of the trouble. This should be done by some independent
+person of authority who is supposed to be able to ascertain the truth.
+
+A further and convincing proof is then to call in a “_Pâwang_” skilled in
+dealing with wizards (in Malay countries they are usually men), and if he
+knows his business his power is such that he will place the sorcerer in
+one room, and, while he in another scrapes an iron vessel with a razor,
+the culprit’s hair will fall off as though the razor had been applied to
+his head instead of to the vessel! That is supposing he _is_ the culprit;
+if not, of course he will pass through the ordeal without damage.
+
+I have been assured that the shaving process is so efficacious that, as
+the vessel represents the head of the person standing his trial, wherever
+it is scraped, the wizard’s hair will fall off in a corresponding spot.
+It might be supposed that under these circumstances the accused is
+reasonably safe, but this test of guilt is not always employed. What more
+commonly happens is that when several cases of unexplained sickness have
+occurred in a village, with possibly one or two deaths, the people of
+the place lodge a formal complaint against the supposed author of these
+ills and desire that he be punished.
+
+Before the advent of British influence it was the practice to kill the
+wizard or witch whose guilt had been established to Malay satisfaction,
+and such executions were carried out not very many years ago.
+
+I remember a case in Perak less than ten years ago when the people of an
+up-river village accused a man of keeping a _bâjang_, and the present
+Sultan, who was then the principal Malay Judge in the State, told them he
+would severely punish the _bâjang_ if they would produce it. They went
+away hardly satisfied and shortly after made a united representation to
+the effect that if the person suspected were allowed to remain in their
+midst they would kill him. Before anything could be done they put him,
+his family, and effects on a raft and started them down the river. On
+their arrival at Kuala Kangsar the man was given an isolated hut to live
+in, but not long afterwards he disappeared.
+
+The hereditary _bâjang_ comes like other evils, the unsought heritage
+of a dissolute ancestry, but the acquired _bâjang_ is usually obtained
+from the newly-buried body of a stillborn child, which is supposed to
+be the abiding-place of a familiar spirit until lured therefrom by the
+solicitations of someone who, at dead of night, stands over the grave and
+by potent incantations persuades the _bâjang_ to come forth.
+
+_Pôlong_ and _Pĕlsit_ are but other names for _Bâjang_, the latter is
+chiefly used in the State of Kĕdah where it is considered rather _chic_
+to have a _pĕlsit_. A Kĕdah lady the other day, eulogising the advantages
+of possessing a familiar spirit (she said that amongst other things it
+gave her absolute control over her husband and the power of annoying
+people who offended her), thus described the method of securing this
+useful ally:
+
+“You go out,” she said, “on the night before the full moon and stand with
+your back to the moon and your face to an ant-hill so that your shadow
+falls on the ant-hill. Then you recite certain _jampi_ (incantations),
+and bending forward try to embrace your shadow. If you fail try again
+several times, repeating more incantations. If not successful go the next
+night and make a further effort, and the night after if necessary—three
+nights in all. If you cannot then catch your shadow, wait till the
+same day on the following month and renew the attempt. Sooner or later
+you will succeed, and, as you stand there in the brilliance of the
+moonlight, you will see that you have drawn your shadow into yourself,
+and your body will never again cast a shade. Go home and in the night,
+whether sleeping or waking, the form of a child will appear before you
+and put out its tongue; that seize and it will remain while the rest
+of the child disappears. In a little while the tongue will turn into
+something that breathes, a small animal, reptile or insect, and when you
+see the creature has life put it in a bottle and the _pĕlsit_ is yours.”
+
+It sounds easy enough, and one is not surprised to hear that everyone in
+Kĕdah, who is anybody, keeps a _pĕlsit_.
+
+_Langsûior_, the female familiar, differs hardly at all from the _bâjang_
+except that she is a little more baneful, and, when under the control of
+a man, he sometimes becomes the victim of her attractions, and she will
+even bear him elfin children.
+
+It is all very well for the Kĕdah ladies to sacrifice their shadows
+to obtain possession of a _pĕlsit_, leaders of society must be in the
+fashion at any cost; but there are plenty of people living in Perak who
+have seen more than one ancient Malay dame taken out into the river, and,
+despite her protestations, her tears and entreaties, have watched her,
+with hands and feet tied, put into the water and slowly pushed down out
+of sight by means of a long pole with a fork at one end which fitted on
+to her neck. Those who witnessed these executions have no doubt of the
+justice of the punishment, and not uncommonly add that after two or three
+examples had been made there would always ensue a period of rest from the
+torments of the _bâjang_. I have also been assured that the _bâjang_, in
+the shape of a lizard, has been seen to issue from the drowning person’s
+nose. That statement, no doubt, is made on the authority of those who
+condemned and executed the victim.
+
+The following legend gives the Malay conception of the origin of all
+_Jin_, _hantu_, _bâjang_, and other spirits.
+
+The Creator determined to make Man, and for that purpose He took some
+clay from the earth and fashioned it into the figure of a man. Then He
+took the Spirit of Life to endue this body with vitality and placed the
+spirit on the head of the figure. But the spirit was strong, and the
+body, being only clay, could not hold it and was reft in pieces and
+scattered into the air. Those fragments of the first great Failure are
+the spirits of earth and sea and air.
+
+The Creator then formed another clay figure, but into this one He
+wrought some iron, so that when it received the vital spark it withstood
+the strain and became Man. That man was Adam, and the iron that is in
+the constitution of his descendants has stood them in good stead. When
+they lose it, they become of little more account than their prototype the
+first failure.
+
+Another article of almost universal belief is that the people of a small
+State in Sumatra called Korinchi have the power of assuming at will the
+form of a tiger, and in that disguise they wreak vengeance on those they
+wish to injure. Not every Korinchi man can do this, but still the gift of
+this strange power of metamorphosis is pretty well confined to the people
+of the small Sumatran State. At night when respectable members of society
+should be in bed, the Korinchi man slips down from his hut, and, assuming
+the form of a tiger, goes about “seeking whom he may devour.”
+
+I have heard of four Korinchi men arriving in a district of Perak,
+and that night a number of fowls were taken by a tiger. The strangers
+left and went further up country, and shortly after only three of them
+returned and stated that a tiger had just been killed, and they begged
+the local headman to bury it!
+
+On another occasion some Korinchi men appeared and sought hospitality in
+a Malay house, and there also the fowls disappeared in the night, and
+there were unmistakable traces of the visit of a tiger, but the next day
+one of the visitors fell sick, and shortly after vomited chicken-feathers!
+
+It is only fair to say that the Korinchi people strenuously deny the
+tendencies and the power ascribed to them, but aver that they properly
+belong to the inhabitants of a district called Chenâku in the interior
+of the Korinchi country. Even there, however, it is only those who are
+practised in the _elĕmu sĕhir_, the occult arts who are thus capable of
+transforming themselves into tigers, and the Korinchi people profess
+themselves afraid to enter the Chenâku district.
+
+It was my misfortune some years ago to be robbed of some valuable
+property, and several Malay friends strongly advised me to take the
+advice of an astrologer or other learned person who (so they said) would
+be able to give the name of the thief, and probably recover most of
+the stolen things. I fear that I had no great faith in this method of
+detection, but I was anxious to see what could be done, for the East is
+a curious place, and no one with an inquiring mind can have lived in it
+long without seeing phenomena that are not always explained by modern
+text-books on Natural Philosophy.
+
+I was first introduced to an Arab of very remarkable appearance. He was
+about fifty years old, tall, with pleasant features and extraordinary
+grey-blue eyes, clear and far-seeing, a man of striking and impressive
+personality. I was travelling when I met him, and tried to persuade him
+to return with me, but that he said he could not do, though he promised
+to follow me by an early steamer. He said he would be able to tell me all
+about the robbery, who committed it, where the stolen property then was,
+and that all he would want was an empty house wherein he might fast in
+solitude for three days, without which preparation, he said, he would not
+be able to see what he sought. He told me that after his vigil, fast, and
+prayer, he would lay in his hand a small piece of paper on which there
+would be some writing, into this he would pour a little water, and in
+that extemporised mirror he would see a vision of the whole transaction.
+He declared that, after gazing intently into this divining-glass, the
+inquirer first recognised the figure of a little old man. That having
+duly saluted this _Jin_, it was only necessary to ask him to conjure up
+the scene of the robbery, when all the details would be re-enacted in
+the liquid glass under the eyes of the gazer, who would there and then
+describe all that he saw. I had heard all this before, only it had been
+stated to me then that the medium through whose eyes the vision could
+alone be seen must be a young child of such tender years that it could
+have never told a lie! The Arab, however, professed himself not only able
+to conjure up the scene, but to let me see it for myself, if I would
+follow his directions. Unfortunately, my grey-eyed friend failed to keep
+his promise, and I never met him again.
+
+A local Chief, however, declared his power to read the past by this
+method, if only he could find the truthful child. In this he appeared
+to succeed, but when, on the following day, he came to disclose to me
+the results of his skill, he said that a difficulty had arisen because
+just when the child (a little boy) was beginning to relate what he saw
+he suddenly became unconscious, and it took the astrologer two hours
+to restore him to his normal state. All the mothers of tender-aged and
+possibly truthful children declined after this to lend their offspring
+for the ordeal.
+
+My friend was not, however, at the end of his resources, and, though
+only an amateur in divination, he undertook to try by other methods to
+find the culprit. For this purpose he asked me to give him the names of
+everyone in the house at the time the robbery was committed. I did so,
+and the next day he gave me one of those names as that of the thief. I
+asked how he had arrived at this knowledge, he described the method and
+consented to repeat the experiment in my presence. That afternoon I went
+with him to a small house belonging to his sister. Here I found my friend
+the Chief, his sister, and two men whom I did not recognise. We all sat
+in a very small room, the Chief in the centre with a copy of the Korân
+on a reading-stand, near to him the two men, opposite to each other,
+the sister against one wall and I in a corner. A clean new unglazed
+earthenware bowl with a wide rim was produced. This was filled with
+water, and a piece of fair white cotton cloth tied over the top, making a
+surface like that of a drum.
+
+I was asked to write the name of each person present in the house when
+the robbery was committed on a small piece of paper, and to fold each
+paper up so that all should be alike, and then to place one of the names
+on the cover of the vessel. I did so, and the proceedings began by the
+two men placing each the middle joint of the forefinger of his right
+hand under the rim of the bowl on opposite sides, and so supporting it
+about six inches above the floor. The vessel being large and full of
+water was heavy, and the men supported the strain by resting their right
+elbows on their knees as they sat cross-legged on the floor and face to
+face. It was then that I selected one of the folded papers, and placed
+it on the cover of the vessel. The Chief read a page of the Korân, and
+as nothing happened he said that was not the name of the guilty person,
+and I changed the paper for another. This occurred four times, but at
+the fifth the reading had scarcely commenced when the bowl began to
+slowly turn round from left to right, the supporters letting their hands
+go round with it, until it twisted itself out of their fingers and fell
+on the floor with a considerable bang and a great spluttering of water
+through the thin cover. “That,” said the Chief, “is the name of the
+thief.”
+
+It was the name of the person already mentioned by him.
+
+I did not, however, impart that piece of information to the company, but
+went on to the end of my papers, nothing more happening.
+
+I said I should like to try the test again, and as the Chief at once
+consented we began afresh, and this time I put the name of the suspected
+person on first, and once more the vessel turned round and twisted
+itself out of the hands of the holders, till it fell on the floor and
+I was surprised it did not break. After trying a few more I said I was
+satisfied, and the ordeal of the bowl was over.
+
+Then the Chief asked me whose name had been on the vessel when it moved,
+and I told him. It was a curious coincidence certainly. I wrote the names
+in English, which no one could read; moreover, I was so placed that no
+one could see what I wrote, and they none of them attempted to do so.
+Then the papers were folded up so as to be all exactly alike, they were
+shuffled together, and I did not know one from the other till I looked
+inside myself. Each time I went from my corner and placed a name on the
+vessel already held on the fingers of its supporters. No one except I
+touched the papers, and no one but the Chief ever spoke till the _séance_
+was over. I asked the men who held the bowl why they made it turn round
+at that particular moment, but they declared they had nothing to do with
+it, and that the vessel twisted itself off their fingers against their
+inclination.
+
+The name disclosed by this experiment was certainly that of the person
+whom there was most reason to suspect, but beyond that I learnt nothing.
+
+Another plan for surprising the secret of a suspected person is to get
+into the room where that person is sleeping, and after making certain
+passes to question the slumberer, when he may truthfully answer all
+the questions put to him. This is a favourite device of the suspicious
+husband.
+
+Yet another plan is to place in the hand of a _pâwang_, magician, or
+medium, a divining-rod formed of three lengths of rattan tied together at
+one end, and when he gets close to the person “wanted,” or to the place
+where anything stolen is concealed, the rod vibrates in a remarkable
+manner.
+
+A great many Malays and one or two Europeans may be found who profess
+to have seen water drawn from a _kris_. The _modus operandi_ is simple.
+The “pâwang” (I dare not call him conjurer) works with bare arms to show
+there is no deception. He takes the _kris_ (yours, if you prefer it) from
+its wooden handle, and, holding the steel point downwards in his left
+hand, he recites a short incantation to the effect that he knows all
+about iron and where it comes from, and that it must obey his orders.
+He then with the thumb and first two fingers of his right hand proceeds
+to gently squeeze the steel, moving his fingers up and down the blade.
+After a little while a few drops of water fall from the point of the
+_kris_, and these drops quickly develop into a stream that will fill a
+cup. The “pâwang” will then hand round the blade and tell you to bend it;
+this you will find no difficulty in doing, but by making two or three
+passes over the _kris_ the “pâwang” can render it again so hard that it
+cannot be bent.
+
+The only drawback to this trick or miracle is that the process ruins the
+temper of the steel, and a _kris_ that has been thus treated is useless.
+
+One evening I was discussing these various superstitions with the Sultan
+of Perak, and I did not notice that the spiritual teacher of His Highness
+had entered and was waiting to lead the evening prayer. The _guru_,
+or teacher, no doubt heard the end of our conversation and was duly
+scandalised, for the next day I received from him a letter, of which the
+following is the translation:
+
+    “First praise to God, the Giver of all good, a Fountain of
+    Compassion to His servants.
+
+    “From Haji Wan Muhammad, Teacher of His Highness the Sultan of
+    Perak, to the Resident who administers the Government of Perak.
+
+    “The whole earth is in the hand of the most High God, and He
+    gives it as an inheritance to whom He will of His subjects.
+    The true religion is also of God, and Heaven is the reward of
+    those who fear the Most High. Salvation and peace are for those
+    who follow the straight path, and only they will in the end
+    arrive at real greatness. No Raja can do good, and none can be
+    powerful except by the help of God the Most High, who is also
+    Most Mighty.
+
+    “I make ten thousand salutations. I wish to inquire about the
+    practice of _bĕr-hantu_, driving oneself mad and losing one’s
+    reason, as has been the custom of Rajas and Chiefs in this
+    State of Perak; is it right according to your religion, Mr.
+    Resident, or is it not? For that practice is a deadly sin to
+    the Muhammadan Faith, because those who engage in it lose their
+    reason and waste their substance for nothing; some of them cast
+    it into the water, while others scatter it broadcast through
+    the jungle. How is such conduct treated by your religion, Mr.
+    Resident, is it right or wrong? I want you in your indulgence
+    to give me an answer, for this practice is very hard on the
+    poor. The Headmen collect from the _rayats_, and then they make
+    elaborate preparations of food, killing a buffalo or fowls,
+    and all this is thrown away as already stated. According to the
+    Muhammadan religion such proceedings lead to destruction.
+
+    “I salute you many times, do not be angry, for I do not
+    understand your customs, Mr. Resident.
+
+                                “(Signed) HAJI MUHAMMAD ABU HASSAN.”
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+WITH A CASTING-NET
+
+    Where fountains of sweet water run between,
+    And sun and shadow chequer-chased the green
+
+                                           JÂMI
+
+
+Perak is one of the largest and most populous of the States of the Malay
+Peninsula, it is the one where probably the rulers can claim the clearest
+genealogy and the longest recorded descent, and it is unquestionably here
+that all ancient rites and customs have been most carefully preserved.
+
+Whilst it was to Perak that the first British Resident was appointed, and
+this State is now the most wealthy, advanced, and prosperous of all those
+under British influence, the Malays still maintain their traditions and
+observe their honoured customs as though railways and steamers, education
+and sanitation had no more part in their lives than when Albuquerque was
+striving to effect a landing on the shores of Malacca.
+
+For ages it has been a practice of the Sultans of Perak to reserve
+certain waters for their own fishing, and certain jungle tracts (usually
+surrounding a hot spring of mineral water) for their own hunting. There
+they would resort, annually or oftener, and with their relatives, chiefs,
+and followers take their kingly pleasure, as it was duly chronicled had
+been the custom of their ancestors.
+
+In the lull after the first heavy rains, that is about the month of
+December, when the river has been swollen to flood-height for a couple
+of months, the _tuntong_ or river-turtles ascend the Perak River in
+considerable numbers and lay their eggs on certain convenient sand
+stretches in the neighbourhood of Bota, about 100 miles from the river’s
+mouth.
+
+The most frequented of these laying grounds is a place called _Pâsir
+Tĕlor_ (egg-sand), just below Bota, and it is here that the ladies of the
+Court annually assemble to dig up the eggs, which the Malay considers one
+of the greatest delicacies known to him.
+
+The river-turtle is a great deal smaller than the sea-turtle, but it lays
+a larger egg, and one much more valued by Malays.
+
+As soon as the river rises watchers are stationed on the sands, and the
+turtles are said to lay three times. The nests are dug between two and
+three feet under the sand, and contain from about fifteen to thirty-five
+eggs each. During the laying season boats are not allowed to stop at the
+sands for fear they should disturb the turtles.
+
+When the first set of eggs has been laid and the turtles have returned
+to the river, the watchers open the nests and send the eggs up to the
+Sultan. The second set of nests is opened by the royal party, and the
+third is left to hatch, an operation that takes six months. There is no
+sitting, the young turtles simply emerge from the sand, walk down into
+the river and swim away.
+
+It is said that if the first and second nests are left untouched, the
+turtles themselves open them and scatter and destroy the eggs; but that,
+after the third “lay,” they take their departure, having accomplished
+their task.
+
+Directly the watchers report that the turtles have made the second
+nests, the Sultan and his family, with the neighbouring chiefs and their
+families, take boat and paddle down the stream to Pâsir Tĕlor.
+
+Fifteen or twenty large house-boats and several bamboo rafts containing
+about one hundred and fifty people make an imposing procession. The rafts
+are simply floating houses, with mat walls and a high thatched roof,
+and are manned by crews of from four to sixteen polers; but the boats
+are graceful and picturesque barges, of which the foundation is a long
+dug-out of hard wood drawing very little water, the freeboard is raised
+by the breadth of one or two planks, and over the stern half of the
+boat is built a palm-thatched covering on a slight wooden frame, while
+curtains secure privacy. Inside this house, the roof of which rises in a
+sharp curve towards the stern, sit and lie on mats and cushions the owner
+and his family or friends. The crew occupy the forward half of the boat,
+where they sit to paddle down stream or stand to pole up. The steersman
+has a high seat in the stern, from whence he is able to see clear of the
+cabin-roof.
+
+The covered portion of the barge which carries the Sultan’s principal
+wife is decorated with six scarlet-bordered white umbrellas. Two officers
+stand all day long, just outside the state-room, holding open black
+umbrellas with silver fringes, and two others are in the bows with long
+bamboo poles held close together and erect. The royal bugler sits on
+the extreme end of the prow, and from time to time blows a call on the
+antique silver trumpet of the regalia. Flags are flown, other boats carry
+gongs and drums, and altogether the pleasure-fleet makes a brave show and
+a considerable noise, attracting the attention of all the dwellers on the
+riverine.
+
+The journey from the Sultan’s palace at Kuala Kangsar occupies two days,
+and on the morning of the third all the ladies of the party, with all
+their attendants and children (a good many still in arms), disembark for
+the ceremony of digging out the turtle-eggs.
+
+The ladies are in their smartest garments and wear their costliest
+jewels. It is a blaze of brilliant-coloured silks, of painted _sârongs_,
+cloth-of-gold scarves, and embroidered gauze veils; of bright sunshades,
+gold bracelets, necklaces, and bangles; of curious jewelled brooches,
+massive hairpins, and rings flashing with the light of diamonds and
+rubies.
+
+The men appear in jackets, trousers, and _sârongs_ of hardly less
+striking hues; but the horror of Western dyes and Western schemes of
+colour has not yet demoralised the Malay’s innate sense of beauty and
+fitness, and nothing offends the eye as all this wealth of bravery moves
+slowly across the strand.
+
+A scorching sun shines down on the gaily-clad figures with their
+background of dark jungle, on the yellow sands and sparkling river, with
+its burden of picturesque boats, and gives light and shadow to a charming
+picture.
+
+The watchers have marked with twigs the various nests, and each lady of
+rank, with her little crowd of attendants, makes for one of these, and
+with her hands begins to dig up the sand in search of the eggs. But the
+nest is deep down, and the sides of the hole have a way of falling in on
+the digger, so a man or boy is desired to remove the overburden and make
+things easy for the lady. The overlying sand is quickly scooped out until
+one or two of the white eggs are disclosed, and then the lady, sitting on
+the edge and stooping far down, can just manage to reach the nest, and
+the eggs are carefully handed up.
+
+Besides the pleasure of actually removing the eggs with one’s own hand,
+of displaying to admiring eyes a vision of taper fingers and rounded
+wrist, of showing how little it matters that the costliest garments
+should trail in the sand, there is the rivalry of whose nest yields
+the largest number of eggs. Anything over twenty-five is considered a
+satisfactory find.
+
+By the time all the nests have been rifled, the sands are growing so hot
+under the rays of the fiery sun that bare feet can hardly endure what
+is little short of torture. There is an almost hurried return to the
+boats, the finery is exchanged for simpler garments, and all the men and
+many of the ladies take to the river, and there disport themselves in
+a manner that is refreshing to sun-scorched bodies and the eyes of the
+Western spectator who is fortunate enough to see how it is possible to be
+unconventionally natural and yet perfectly modest.
+
+It is only on such occasions as this that a strange man can see these
+ladies unveiled and even so he is not expected to look at them or go very
+near them; but their bathing-costume differs hardly at all from that
+which they commonly wear, and they thoroughly enjoy this opportunity of
+revelling in the clear waters of the sand-bedded stream.
+
+Then every one scrambles back into the boats, which are pushed off into
+deep water, the rowers seize their paddles and with beat of gong and the
+musical notes of the silver _serûnai_, with jest and laughter, pennons
+waving, and bright eyes sparkling behind the rainbow-coloured blinds, the
+picturesque flotilla glides on its course down the long sunny reach,
+in and out amongst the islets, round a heavily-wooded, deeply-shadowed
+headland, past the riverside hamlets and the orchards, the stately palms,
+the clusters of bamboo that overhang the water like great plumes of pale
+green feathers, and so ever onward through sunlight and shadow till
+another bourne is reached.
+
+The graceful turn of the leading barge towards a sand-spit flanked by a
+long inviting backwater, the roll of a drum and every prow is headed for
+the shallows of the bank that divides the _âyer mâti_, the “dead water,”
+from the living hurrying stream.
+
+The boats arrange themselves in divisions, the crews land, make fires,
+and boil the rice for their mid-day meal, while the cooking and
+breakfasting of the members of the “court” is done on board the various
+barges.
+
+In this feudal and conservative country when the people eat they
+_mâkan_, but the Raja does not _mâkan_, with him it is _santap_. When
+“the masses” bathe they _mandi_, but the same operation in the case of
+a Raja is called _sêram_; a chief or a beggar may sleep and that is
+_tîdor_, but when the Raja sleeps he is said to _bĕr-âdu_. This does
+not mean that a wide gulf divides Malay classes, there is rather that
+communion as of the members of an old Scotch clan, but respect and
+courtesy are characteristic of the race, a prized legacy which it is not
+yet considered a sign of either independence or good manners to despise.
+People of the same class, rajas and chiefs, children and parents,
+brothers and sisters, speak to each other with studied deference and
+never forget the little distinctions that mark fine shades of rank or
+age. Boys and girls are as careful in the observance of these courtesies
+as are their elders.
+
+Education and contact with Europeans will alter all this, and in the
+next century there will be more equality and probably less politeness
+and fraternity. But then also there will be no royal preserves, no class
+privileges, and no State junketings where noble and peasant meet in
+generous rivalry of skill with a single desire to snatch from the toil,
+the disappointments, and the sorrows of life one week of pleasure wherein
+individual joy may grow greater in the knowledge that it is shared by
+many.
+
+Future possibilities do not disturb our friends, whose guiding principle
+is rather “insufficient for the day is the pleasure thereof.” They
+have attacks of hatred and gloom, and then they kill, if the desire is
+strong enough, but these fits are rare, and when not actively engaged
+in amusing themselves they are lotus-eating, sometimes figuratively,
+sometimes in reality.
+
+This is a time for action, and, the mid-day meal disposed of, all the men
+of the party get ready their casting-nets and don the garments that will
+least hamper the free use of their limbs and will not be injured by a
+thorough wetting.
+
+The backwater has a narrow and shallow entrance on the river, and this
+entrance is staked across to guard it from what in the West would be
+called poachers. Through the stakes a way has now been made wide enough
+to admit of the passage of boats. The Sultan’s barge and a few other
+house-boats have passed the barrier, and these are accompanied by a fleet
+of fifty uncovered dug-outs, each with a light grating of split-bamboos
+over half its length, and each carrying two or three paddlers, one of
+whom steers and one man standing on the extreme end of the bow ready to
+cast the net.
+
+These nets are of local make, the mesh is small, the thread of twisted
+strands of finest cotton, and the length varies according to the ability
+of the owner to cast it. A very short net is five or six cubits in length
+from centre to edge, a long one is twelve or thirteen cubits, and to
+cast that with accuracy so that it reaches the water perfectly extended
+requires a very skilful hand. The bottom or edge of the net is weighted
+with small leaden rings that sink it rapidly through the water, while a
+fine cord from the centre is attached to the right wrist of the thrower.
+The net is usually dyed a dark brown with a solution made from the bark
+of the mangrove.
+
+The backwater where this annual netting is done is a long narrow strip
+of fairly deep water widening slightly in the centre and contracting at
+the ends. On one side it is bordered by a low grass-grown shore and on
+the other by a jungle-covered bank from which the overhanging branches
+cast dark shadows on the glassy surface, stirred here and there into tiny
+wavelets by every passing zephyr.
+
+By 3 P.M. all is ready; some of the oldest and most skilful netters stand
+in the bows of the royal barges, a dozen young rajas are in dug-outs
+and the others are occupied by their owners, men from the neighbouring
+villages who have come to join in the sport.
+
+The Sultan gives the signal, and the boats move off slowly and at once
+form themselves into a crescent, with the royal barges in the centre.
+The horns of the crescent draw towards each other, the boats make a
+simultaneous in-turn, the circle is completed, and at the moment when
+it becomes sufficiently circumscribed every net is cast, covering the
+whole surface of the water within the ring of boats. Directly the nets
+have been cast they sink, the paddlers back-water, and each net is slowly
+drawn to the surface and the fish taken are disengaged from the fine
+meshes and thrown into the boat under the bamboo grating.
+
+Almost every net contains fish, and the numbers vary from two or three
+to fifty or sixty bright silvery fishes weighing from half a pound to a
+pound each.
+
+The operation is then repeated, and the fleet of boats works its way
+slowly from end to end of the backwater, a distance of about a mile.
+
+Sometimes every net makes a good haul, sometimes only one or two do very
+well, and all the rest indifferently. It is no easy matter with such
+an insecure foothold to cast a long and heavy net, but, well done, the
+act of casting is graceful and attractive. First the slack of the cord
+is taken up in loops in the right hand and after it the net, until the
+leaden rings clear the boat and reach to about the thrower’s knee. Then
+with his left hand he takes up part of the skirt of the net and hangs
+it over his right arm and shoulder. This done he seizes the balance of
+the skirt in his left hand, swings his body backwards and then forwards
+with a strong propelling movement of arm, shoulder, and back that sends
+the net straight out over the water to fall perfectly extended, like a
+huge brown cobweb, the outer edges sinking instantly under the weight of
+the leaden rings and drawing together by reason of the resistance of the
+inner surface of the net.
+
+The game _looks_ easy enough, but try it and you will probably find
+yourself in the water at the first cast with the net tied up into an
+inextricable knot.
+
+Watch the experienced hand. The boats are now at a bend in the middle of
+the backwater, the circle is formed, the in-turn is given to the bows,
+the ring narrows, and at this moment the scene is picturesque to a degree
+and strangely weird.
+
+Atmospheric changes come quickly here; the sky has become suddenly
+overcast, a heavy rain-cloud is being rapidly driven before a rising
+wind, and the water is now dark and gloomy. This _cordon_ of low black
+boats, so close to each other that they almost touch, on every bow a
+half-bent, quaintly-clad form with the net hanging in graceful folds
+from arm and shoulder, while fifty dark earnest faces gaze eagerly on
+the narrowing space. In that instant it flashes across the spectator’s
+mind that some mystic rite of fell intent is to be performed within that
+magic zone. Then heigh! Abracadabra! The word is given to cast, and from
+fifty boats the nets fly out with a swirl and settle on the water with a
+gentle hiss. But the skilful thrower waits for a second or two, knowing
+that the fish, frightened by this rain of lead, will dash for the only
+spot where there seems to be a gap. Then deftly he casts a net with a
+diameter of forty feet, and the moment he strains the cord he realises
+that he has made an extraordinary capture. He pulls the net up a little
+way, and then, plunging his arms into the water, grasps the meshes on
+either side and calls for help to raise the struggling mass of fish. All
+eyes are fixed on the lucky Raja, and as the take is lifted into the boat
+there are shouts of delight and congratulation and clapping of hands from
+the ladies, who are keenly interested. By this single cast the thrower
+has secured one hundred and twenty-one fish, and his contribution for the
+afternoon is over seven hundred “tails.”
+
+Just as the furthest end of the backwater is reached the rain, which has
+been long threatening, comes down in torrents, and there is a race for
+shelter and dry clothes. The dug-outs with three or four paddlers easily
+beat the barges with a dozen, but long before the river is reached the
+netters are as wet as the fish, and have a swim in the warm water of the
+river before changing into dry clothes.
+
+Then there is a lull in the storm, and the more enthusiastic return to
+the netting and, unmindful of hunger, darkness, and rain, still cast the
+nets till 10 P.M., when they return thoroughly tired out, but happy in
+the knowledge that the bag numbers over ten thousand fish.
+
+Amongst these late comers and most ardent sportsmen are several ladies
+who, not satisfied with the ease and dignity of a royal barge, have
+braved the elements and gone fasting to share the excitement of the
+netting in the discomfort of the dug-outs.
+
+That is how the Sultan of Perak’s annual fishing party takes its
+pleasure, and about the very same time His Highness of Păhang will be
+leading a similar expedition in the quiet waters of an old channel of the
+Păhang River.
+
+There, however, the method is rather different—the water is poisoned with
+the juice of the _tuba_ root, and the stupefied fish are speared and
+netted as they float and swim aimlessly about. The fun is much the same,
+perhaps, but the pursuit is less sporting than by the means employed
+in Perak. It is not however, perfectly easy to spear even drugged fish
+without both skill and practice.
+
+In Păhang, also, the pageant is conducted with much state and ancientry,
+and, as the nature of the pastime requires only a moderate effort, the
+ladies of the Harîm smile on the proceedings and, armed with silken nets
+on hafts of gold, themselves essay to scoop up the scaly quarry. Amongst
+the ladies of the Court are some the exceeding fairness of whose skin,
+the perfect oval of their faces, and the glances of their liquid eyes so
+embarrass the men of the party that many a spear flies wide of its mark.
+
+There are some things still hidden from the ken of Cook and the race
+of Globe trotters, and I do not fear to reveal the secrets of this
+remote corner of the earth, for, if any be thereby induced to visit the
+Peninsula in search of such displays as I have tried to describe, he will
+meet with disappointment.
+
+You cannot, in the language of Western culture, put a penny in the slot
+and set in motion the wheels of this barbarous Eastern figure.
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+JAMES WHEELER WOODFORD BIRCH
+
+    Such was our friend, formed on the good old plan,
+    A true and brave and downright honest man
+
+                                            WHITTIER
+
+
+On the 2nd November 1875, Mr. James Wheeler Woodford Birch, British
+Resident of Perak, was assassinated by Malays at a place called Pâsir
+Sâlak on the Perak River. I propose to describe why and how this murder
+was committed.
+
+Mr. Birch began life as a midshipman in the Royal Navy. He abandoned the
+sea for Government employment in Ceylon, where he spent the best years
+of his life, and was promoted to be Government Agent of the Eastern
+Province, one of the highest positions in the Island. In 1870 Mr. Birch
+was appointed Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements, and when
+Major-General Sir Andrew Clarke, R.E., then Governor of the Straits
+Settlements, concluded the Pangkor Treaty with the Perak Chiefs in 1874
+and introduced a new departure in the relations between the British
+Government and the Malay States, he selected Mr. Birch for the difficult
+post of adviser to the Sultan of Perak.
+
+Mr. Birch assumed his duties in the end of 1874, and very soon found
+that, looking to the people with whom he had to deal and his own
+powerlessness to enforce an order, he had undertaken a well-nigh
+impossible task. At that time the Malay Peninsula was a _terra incognita_
+to white men, and the characteristics, customs, peculiarities and
+prejudices of the Malay had yet to be learnt.
+
+Of all the States in the Peninsula Perak was probably the least well
+suited for the schooling of a Resident and the initiation of the
+interesting but dangerous experiment of Government by the advice of a
+British officer.
+
+It had a large Malay population, people whose ancestors had for
+generations belonged to the place and who were saturated with ancient
+customs, prejudices, and superstitions that had to be learned, and with
+many of which it was difficult to sympathise. It had an unusual number of
+Rajas and Chiefs, each with some kind of privilege or vested interest.
+The revolting practice of debt-slavery, under which the slaves often
+suffered indescribable wrongs, was rife in the land, and, though contrary
+to the Muhammadan religion, was supported and clung to by all the upper
+classes. The State was torn by internal dissensions, the jealousies and
+rivalries of opposing claimants to the Sultanship and other high offices.
+The rivers and jungle tracks were the only means of getting about the
+country. The white man was an unknown and unfeared quantity.
+
+Mr. Birch, unfortunately, for all his long Eastern experience, knew very
+little of Malays and almost nothing of their language, and, though he
+always had with him a very capable Malay interpreter, the inability to
+carry on a direct conversation with chiefs and people greatly increased
+his difficulties. He was not, however, the man to sit down in the face
+of opposition either to save himself trouble or to acknowledge defeat,
+and the consequence was that his extraordinary energy in travelling about
+the country, “spying out the land,” and his persistence in attempting to
+redress grievances, to save lives, to bring the guilty to punishment,
+and to induce the then Sultan, Abdullah and his immediate following to
+mend their ways, earned him the determined opposition of all those
+who disliked interference, and preferred the state of uncontrolled
+lawlessness to which they were accustomed.
+
+Mr. Birch lived in Perak as its Resident for barely twelve months, but
+to trace with care the reasons why his relations with Abdullah grew
+daily more strained till matters culminated in the assassination of the
+Resident, would be to write a volume. It is sufficient to state a few of
+the more prominent facts.
+
+First, it is necessary to say in the most positive terms that Mr. Birch
+was assassinated solely and entirely for political reasons, for the
+reasons I have already given. He was white, he was a Christian and a
+stranger, he was restless, climbed hills and journeyed all over the
+country, he interfered with murderers and other evil-doers, he constantly
+bothered the Sultan about business and kept pressing him to introduce
+reforms, while every change is regarded by the Malay with suspicion and
+distrust. That was his crime in their eyes; of personal feeling there
+was none, wherever Mr. Birch went there were people who had to thank him
+for some kindness, some attention. The Malays have always admitted this,
+and, if it seems strange that I should make a point of the motive, it is
+because Europeans who did not know have suggested that the Resident’s
+murder was due to non-political causes, a suggestion for which there is
+not a semblance of foundation.
+
+By September 1875, matters had come to a deadlock. With the Resident,
+in what was called the down-stream country, was a Sultan, Abdullah,
+created by the British Government, but declining to accept the advice
+of the Resident who had been appointed at his special request.
+Abdullah’s opposition was mainly negative but absolutely effective, for
+as the Resident could only tender advice and had no commission, and
+no sufficient means to compel its adoption, his voice was that of one
+“crying in the wilderness.” Up-stream there was another Sultan, Ismail,
+elected by some of the chiefs but admitted to have no sufficient claim
+to the post. Between the partisans of these rival Sultans, very strained
+relations existed.
+
+Then there was another claimant to the Sultanship in the person of the
+Raja Muda Jusuf, who lived still further up country, and while his claims
+were undoubtedly the best, his personal unpopularity was so great that
+the people would not accept him as Sultan.
+
+The success of the Residential idea (for no one had attempted to
+formulate any scheme or system) depended on the existence of mutual
+confidence and friendship between Sultan and Resident. That was,
+unfortunately, wanting, and, as after many months of patient effort on
+the part of Mr. Birch the desired result seemed further away than ever,
+the governor of the neighbouring colony (then Major-General Sir W.
+Jervois, R.E.) determined to visit Perak and see what chance there was of
+establishing administrative authority, collecting revenue, and otherwise
+carrying out the provisions of the Pangkor Treaty.
+
+As the result of that visit and of interviews between the Governor and
+the Chiefs, a proposition was made to Sultan Abdullah that the government
+of the State should be carried on in his name by British officers. He
+hesitated for some days, but, finding that the Raja Muda and others had
+at once and gladly accepted the suggestion, he determined to do the
+same, fearing, no doubt, that otherwise he might be left out of the
+administration altogether.
+
+It was the Malay fasting-month, the _bûlan puâsa_, when these last events
+occurred. It is not an auspicious time for conducting negotiations with
+Malays, they do not even attempt to work for that month, they sleep
+for most of the day and sit up most of the night, eating and talking,
+discussing affairs and hatching plots. This, at least, is the case with
+the upper classes, and it is they only who are concerned in political
+movements; the common people do not fast as a rule, and leave the
+plotting to the chiefs, whose business they think it is to scheme and to
+direct, theirs to obey.
+
+In Lower Perak during this particular month of Ramthân, an unusual amount
+of discussion had been carried on between Sultan Abdullah and his chiefs,
+and they determined not only that the British Resident should be got rid
+of, but one of them, entitled the Maharaja Lela, undertook to do the
+business the next time Mr. Birch visited him.
+
+This man, the Maharaja Lela, was a chief of considerable rank, after the
+Sultan he was the seventh in the State. He lived at Pâsir Sâlak, on the
+right bank of the Perak River, about thirty miles above the residence
+of Sultan Abdullah, and about forty below that of ex-Sultan Ismail. He
+avoided Mr. Birch whenever it was possible (though living only five miles
+from him), and managed to keep friends with both Sultans.
+
+During the month, Sultan Abdullah, who was then with his boats at Pâsir
+Panjang, a couple of miles below the Maharaja Lela’s house, summoned his
+chiefs and informed them that he had given over the government of the
+country to Mr. Birch. This announcement was received in silence by the
+others, to whom it was doubtless no news, but the Maharaja Lela said,
+“Even if your Highness has done so, I do not care at all. I will never
+acknowledge the authority of Mr. Birch or the white men. I have received
+letters from Sultan Ismail, the Mĕntri and the Pĕnglima Kinta telling me
+on no account to obey the English Government in Perak. I will not allow
+Mr. Birch to set his foot in my kampong at Pâsir Sâlak.”
+
+The Sultan said, “Do you really mean that, Maharaja Lela?” and the Chief
+replied, “Truly I will not depart in the smallest degree from the old
+arrangement.”
+
+Another chief, the Dâtoh Sâgor, who lived on the other side of the river,
+exactly opposite to Pâsir Sâlak, said, “What the Maharaja Lela does I
+will do.”
+
+The Sultan then got up and withdrew.
+
+Two or three days before the end of the month the Sultan called another
+meeting of his chiefs at a place called Durian Sa’bâtang, ten miles below
+the small island on which the Resident’s hut stood. At that meeting
+the Sultan produced the proclamations which were to be issued, placing
+the administration in the hands of British officers, and asked his
+chiefs what they thought of them. The Laksâmana, an influential chief,
+said, “Down here, in the lower part of the river, we must accept the
+proclamations”; but the Maharaja Lela said, “In my kampong I will not
+allow any white man to post those proclamations. If they insist on doing
+so, there will certainly be a fight.” To this the Sultan and other chiefs
+said, “Very well.”
+
+The Maharaja Lela immediately left, and having loaded his boats with
+rice, returned up river to his own kampong.
+
+Pâsir Sâlak was the usual collection of Malay houses scattered about
+in groves of palm and fruit trees by the river-bank. Prominent amongst
+these was the Maharaja Lela’s own dwelling, a large and comparatively new
+building of a more than ordinarily substantial kind, round which he had
+for months past been digging a great ditch and throwing up a formidable
+earthwork crowned by a palisade. These preparations had been duly noted
+by the Resident.
+
+Arrived at his own home, the Maharaja Lela sent out messengers to summon
+all the men in his immediate neighbourhood, and when they were collected
+he addressed them and stated that Mr. Birch was coming up the river in
+a few days, and that, if he attempted to post any notices there, the
+orders of the Sultan and the down-river chiefs were to kill him. The
+assembled people said that, if those were the commands of the Sultan and
+the Maharaja Lela, they would carry them out. The chief then handed his
+sword to a man called Pandak Indut, his father-in-law, and directed that
+everyone should give to him the same obedience as to himself. The people
+then dispersed. It was one or two days after this that Mr. Birch arrived
+at Pâsir Sâlak.
+
+Before describing the events of the 2nd November I must go back for a
+moment.
+
+A number of officers, of whom I was one, had accompanied Sir W. Jervois
+in his journey to Perak. When the Governor and those with him left the
+State I was directed to remain behind with Mr. Birch to assist him in his
+negotiations with the chiefs. A fortnight later I went to Singapore with
+important papers and the drafts of proclamations defining the authority
+of the Resident under the new arrangement. These proclamations were
+printed, and I returned to Perak with them, joining Mr. Birch in his
+house on the 26th October.
+
+I found the Resident had met with an accident; he had slipped down and
+so badly sprained his ankle that he could not walk without crutches.
+Lieut. Abbott, R.N., and four bluejackets were at Bandar Bharu (the
+Residency), where were also quartered the Sikh guard (about eighty men),
+the boatmen, and others.
+
+Mr. Birch undertook to distribute the proclamations himself in the
+down-river districts, and directed me to go up river, to interview the
+ex-Sultan Ismail, the Raja Muda, the Raja Bĕndahâra, and other up-country
+chiefs, and, having distributed the proclamations at all important
+villages from Kôta Lâma downwards, to try to meet him at Pâsir Sâlak on
+the 3rd November. There, he told me, he expected trouble for which he was
+quite prepared.
+
+The Sikh guard was in a state bordering on mutiny in the evening of
+the 27th, but by the following morning they seemed to have returned to
+their senses, and about noon I left Bandar Bharu with two boats for the
+interior, Mr. Birch starting down stream at the same time.
+
+He must have got through his part of the work more rapidly than he
+expected, for he reached Pâsir Sâlak with three boats at midnight on the
+1st November, and anchored in midstream. The 1st November was the _Hâri
+Râya_, the first day after the Fast. At daylight his boats went alongside
+the bank, and the Resident’s own boat was made fast to the floating
+bath-house of a Chinese jeweller, whose little shop stood on the high
+bank a few feet from the riverside. This was the only Chinese house in
+Pâsir Sâlak.
+
+Mr. Birch was accompanied by Lieut. Abbott, an armed guard of twelve
+Sikhs, a Sikh orderly, the Malay interpreter (an eminently respectable
+Malay of nearly fifty named Muhammad Arshad), and a number of Malay
+boatmen and servants. There must have been about forty people in the
+party. Mr. Birch had with him a 3-Pr. brass gun, a small mortar, and a
+number of English firearms and Malay weapons, besides other property.
+
+Directly after their arrival Mr. Abbott borrowed a small boat from the
+Chinaman and went across the river to Kampong Gâjah to shoot snipe, the
+Chief of that place, the Dâtoh Sâgor, returning in the boat to Pâsir
+Sâlak, where he at once sought an interview with Mr. Birch.
+
+After this conversation, which was held in the Resident’s boat, the Dâtoh
+Sâgor and Mr. Birch’s interpreter went to the Maharaja Lela’s house,
+and the interpreter said to the Maharaja Lela that the Resident wished
+to see him and would go to his house for that purpose, but if the Chief
+preferred it, and would go to Mr. Birch’s boat, he would be glad to meet
+him there. The Maharaja Lela said, “I have nothing to do with Mr. Birch,”
+and the interpreter returned to the boat and reported to his master the
+result of his interview.
+
+The news of the Resident’s arrival had been spread in every direction,
+and all those in the neighbourhood were ordered to come in. By this
+time, sixty or seventy men had assembled and were now standing about on
+the bank of the river close to Mr. Birch’s boats. They were all armed
+with spears and _krises_, and Mr. Birch asked the Dâtoh Sâgor what they
+wanted, and that they should be told to stand further away. The Dâtoh
+told them to move away, and they gave a few yards, but at the same time
+began to abuse the Resident, calling him an “infidel,” and asking what
+he meant by coming there asking questions and speaking like one in
+authority. Probably the Resident did not understand these ominous signs,
+but his boatmen heard and realised that trouble was brewing.
+
+Mr. Birch now gave some proclamations to the interpreter, who took them
+on shore and posted them on the shutters of the Chinaman’s shop. Almost
+immediately, Pandak Indut, the Maharaja Lela’s father-in-law, tore them
+down and took them off to the Maharaja Lela’s house. That chief’s dictum,
+was “Pull down the proclamations, and, if they persist in putting them
+up, kill them.” Then it may be supposed he washed his hands of all
+responsibility, and Pandak Indut went out to execute his master’s orders.
+
+Meanwhile, Mr. Birch had handed to his interpreter some more
+proclamations to replace those removed, and, after giving directions to
+prepare his breakfast, went into the Chinaman’s bath-house to bathe,
+leaving his Sikh orderly at the door with a loaded revolver. This
+bath-house was of the type common in Perak, two large logs floating in
+the stream, fastened together by cross-pieces of wood, and on them built
+a small house with mat sides about five feet high, and a roof closing on
+the sides but leaving two open triangular spaces at front and back. The
+structure is so moored that it floats parallel to the bank, and a person
+even standing up inside it cannot see what is taking place on the shore
+close by.
+
+It was now about 10 A.M., and in spite of the threatening attitude of the
+large crowd of armed Malays standing in groups and passing between the
+river-bank and their chief’s house, the Resident was composedly bathing
+in the river, while his people were some of them cooking on the bank,
+others sleeping in the boats, and a few, the Malays, anxiously expectant,
+fearing the signs boded a catastrophe.
+
+They had not long to wait. The interpreter was still replacing the
+proclamations on the Chinaman’s hut, when Pandak Indut and a number of
+other men came quickly from the Maharaja Lela’s house.
+
+The crowd asked, “What are the Chief’s orders?”
+
+Pandak Indut replied, “He leaves the matter to me.”
+
+Going straight up to the Chinese shop, he began tearing down the
+newly-posted papers; the interpreter protested, and, seeing no heed was
+paid to him, turned towards the bath-house. He had not made half a dozen
+steps, when Pandak Indut overtook him and thrust his spear into the man’s
+abdomen. The wounded man fell down the bank into the river and caught
+hold of his master’s boat, but others followed him and cut him over the
+head and hands, so that he let go and struggled out into the stream.
+
+The interpreter disposed of, Pandak Indut cried out, “Here is Mr. Birch
+in the bath-house, come, let us kill him,” and, followed by three or four
+others shouting _âmok, âmok_, they leapt on to the floating timbers and
+thrust their spears through the open space in the front of the house.
+
+At that time men in the boats could see Mr. Birch’s head above the mat
+wall; it disappeared without any sound from him, and a moment after
+he came to the surface of the water astern of the house. Some of the
+murderers were already waiting there, and one of them, a man called
+Sipûtum, slashed the Resident over the head with a sword. He sank and was
+not seen again.
+
+The Sikh orderly, standing with a revolver at the door of the bath-house,
+jumped into the river without any warning to his master, swam off to one
+of the boats and saved himself.
+
+The river-bank was now the scene of a general _mêlee_. A Malay boatman
+and a Sikh had been killed, but the others had got one of the boats away
+from the bank into midstream and towards it two of Mr. Birch’s Malays
+were swimming while they supported the grievously wounded interpreter.
+With difficulty they gained the boat and got the man in. As they
+dropped down the river Mr. Birch’s coxswain urged the Sikhs to fire
+on the Malays, but they said they could not do so without an order! He
+accordingly gave the order, and some shots were fired which for a moment
+cleared the bank. A small boat with two men in it put out lower down
+stream to intercept the fugitives, and two of them were wounded by shots
+from these men. The coxswain then wrenched a rifle from a Sikh and shot
+one of these assailants. After this the boat proceeded unmolested to
+Bandar Bharu. Long before they arrived there the interpreter died.
+
+Mr. Abbott, shooting on the other bank, was warned of what had taken
+place, and with great difficulty got into a dug-out and made his way down
+stream under the fire of the Malays on the bank.
+
+The attack, the murder of the Resident, his interpreter, the Sikh and
+the boatman, and the escape of the rest of the party was the work of a
+few minutes. Whilst still the passion of strife and bloodthirst swayed
+the crowd, the Maharaja Lela walked into their midst and asked whose
+hands had done the Resident and his men to death. Instantly Pandak Indut,
+Sipûtum, and the others, claimed credit for their murderous work. The
+Chief said, “It is well, none but those who struck blows can share in
+the spoil.” He then called a man forward and said, “Go and tell the
+Laksâmana that I have killed Mr. Birch.” The message was delivered the
+same day, and the Laksâmana said, “Very well, I will tell the Sultan.”
+
+That evening the Maharaja Lela sent a letter to ex-Sultan Ismail
+describing what he had done, and, to remove any doubt on the subject, he
+sent with it the Resident’s own boat.
+
+These are the facts about Mr. Birch’s assassination, and it may be of
+some interest to add that the Resident’s two boats were immediately
+rifled and all their contents carried up to the Maharaja Lela’s house.
+
+An attack upon the Residency was planned, ordered to be carried out that
+night, and a number of men started on the expedition, and even got within
+a few hundred yards of Bandar Bharu; but it began to rain, and a man at
+whose house the party called told them they would get a warm reception,
+and it would be quite a different thing to murdering the Resident, so
+they elected to return with their object unattained.
+
+By the help of a friendly Malay, a foreigner, Mr. Birch’s body was
+recovered, brought to Bandar Bharu, and there buried on the night of the
+6th November.
+
+The Maharaja Lela and his neighbour the Dâtoh Sâgor, having “burnt their
+ships,” proceeded to stockade their villages, and those stockades were
+subsequently taken, the rebels driven out, and their villages destroyed.
+
+Sooner or later punishment overtook every man directly concerned in this
+crime, and also nearly all those who were indirectly responsible. Some
+fell during the subsequent fighting, one died an outlaw in the jungle.
+
+The first man captured was Sipûtum. He was brought in to Bandar Bharu
+late one evening in the early part of 1876, and I went to see him in the
+lock-up about midnight. A wilder looking creature it would have been hard
+to find. He was a _Pâwang_, a medicine man, a sorcerer. For many weeks
+he had been a hunted outcast, and he seemed to think that capture was
+almost preferable to the life he had been leading. He sat on the floor
+and described to me his share in Mr. Birch’s murder, pausing between the
+sentences to kill mosquitoes on the wall of his cell. He volunteered the
+statement that Mr. Birch was a good man, who had been kind to him, and
+that what he did was by order of his Chief, whom he was bound to obey.
+The responsibility of the individual for his own actions was a doctrine
+that was strange to him, and he learnt it too late to profit by it.
+
+In December 1876, the Maharaja Lela, the Dâtoh Sâgor, Pandak Indut, and
+four others were arraigned before the Raja Muda Jusuf and Raja Alang
+Husein, and charged with murdering Mr. Birch and the others at Pâsir
+Sâlak on the 2nd November 1875.
+
+They were prosecuted by Colonel Dunlop, R.A., and myself, on behalf of
+the Government, and defended by an able and experienced member of the
+Singapore Bar. After a trial which lasted eight days, they were severally
+found guilty and condemned to death, but the extreme penalty was exacted
+only in the cases of the three first named.
+
+Sultan Abdullah, and other Chiefs whose complicity in the assassination
+was established by the fullest evidence, were banished from the State,
+and a like sentence was passed upon the ex-Sultan Ismail and some of his
+adherents.
+
+In Mr. Birch the British Government lost one of its most courageous,
+able, and zealous officers, but, by the action which his death made
+necessary, the State of Perak gained in twelve months what ten years of
+“advice” could hardly have accomplished. That was not all, for the events
+of those twelve months, when they came to be fully known, threw a light
+on the inner life of the Malay and his peculiar characteristics, that was
+in the nature of a revelation. It is all too soon to forget the lesson or
+disregard its teachings.
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+A PERSONAL INCIDENT
+
+    Haud multum abfuit quin interficeretur
+
+                                    HORACE
+
+
+            _From CAPTAIN SPEEDY, Queen’s Commissioner,
+                Larut, to H.E. SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS,
+                     Governor of the Straits._
+
+                                       LARUT, _November 9th, 1875_.
+
+    [Extract:]
+
+    “In the second report, that of 7th instant, Sergeant Din
+    states that he was told by one Kulup Riau that Mr. Swettenham
+    had been murdered by the Raja Lela at Pâsir Sâlak on the 5th
+    instant. I regret to state that I have every reason to believe
+    that the report is but too true. My inspector, Din Mahomed,
+    reached Kuala Kangsar (where I sent him with a party of men
+    immediately on hearing of Mr. Birch’s death, to warn and guard
+    Mr. Swettenham) at 2 P.M. on 4th instant, but, on his arrival,
+    he found that Mr. Swettenham had unfortunately left, to return
+    by the river a few hours previously; owing to the rapidity of
+    the current, the boats should have reached Pâsir Sâlak by the
+    following day. I have sent detectives, both Chinese and Malay,
+    to inquire into the matter, and to obtain, if possible, the
+    remains of these unfortunate officers.”
+
+I came across the above passage in a Blue Book, and I will explain why
+Captain Speedy had every reason to believe in the certainty of my death,
+and how it was that my remains were not to be collected just then.
+
+In the preceding sketch I mentioned that I left Bandar Bharu at noon on
+the 28th October with two boats, and intended, if it were possible, to
+meet Mr. Birch at Pâsir Sâlak about the 3rd November.
+
+Besides the Malay boatmen, I had with me a very celebrated Selangor
+chief named Raja Mahmud, a man whose whole life had been passed in
+jungle warfare, and as he had come through it scathless he was regarded
+by Malays as invulnerable and respected accordingly. His latest exploit
+had been to take command of a body of Malays in an engagement with Her
+Majesty’s troops in a neighbouring State (Sungei Ujong), and as I had
+subsequently persuaded him to go to Singapore and give himself up to
+the Governor, he had attached himself to me and thoroughly enjoyed the
+possibility of trouble in Perak.
+
+Then I had a Manila boatman, one of the best coxswains on the river, a
+marvellous dancer of hornpipes and no less courageous than Raja Mahmud
+himself—more so he could hardly be. Lastly, Mahmud had a couple of men
+devoted to himself, and I had a Chinese servant.
+
+This being the wet season the river was high, poling difficult and
+progress slow, so that it was not till the morning of the 30th that we
+reached Blanja, the village of Sultan Ismail. As Ismail had been elected
+Sultan by a number of influential chiefs who declined to recognise either
+Jusuf or Abdullah (though both of them had far superior claims), and, as
+by the Pangkor Treaty and recognition of Abdullah, Ismail no doubt felt
+aggrieved, I did not expect a very friendly reception from him, nor did I
+suppose that I should be specially welcome as the bearer of proclamations
+which could not be otherwise than distasteful to him. It was only
+six weeks since I had been at Blanja with the Governor, and again a
+fortnight later I went there alone. Since then Ismail (or his advisers
+in his name) had summoned nearly all the principal people of the upper
+country, and a very large number of boats had arrived at Blanja, bringing
+all the chiefs and their retainers. Moreover, to increase his following
+the ex-Sultan had resorted to an expedient not unknown in England;
+certain high offices of State were vacant, and into these he inducted his
+own adherents—in fact, created peers, to give himself a majority in the
+Upper House.
+
+I waited half the day hoping to see Ismail, but failed. They said he was
+asleep and meant to remain asleep a long time. That is a common form of
+Malay diplomacy, and, as I could not afford to delay longer, I explained
+the proclamations, left a number of copies and said I would call on
+Ismail on my way back in a few days. As a piece of news they told me a
+customs station had been established at Blanja, and everyone who passed
+would be taxed, white men or Malays. I said I should be glad to see the
+collector, and he was introduced, but seemed embarrassed, and assured me
+he was only carrying out his master’s orders, so I continued my journey.
+If any conclusion could be drawn from the conversation and manner of the
+Blanja people, disturbances (war, they called it) were imminent.
+
+The next day I was at the Raja Muda’s village, and had a long talk with
+him. He also was for war, but did not think the Malays would begin it.
+He said no good would be done in the country, till “the malcontents”
+had been taught a lesson. Unfortunately, as far as could be seen, all
+the chiefs with very few exceptions, were in that category. The people
+hardly count, they are passive and recognise that they live to obey their
+leaders.
+
+That night I reached Kuala Kangsar, and the then important personage of
+the place, an old lady who lived on the hill where now the Residency
+stands, informed me that she had been living in daily fear of attack by
+the people of a neighbouring village called Kôta Lâma. The shops in Kuala
+Kangsar were all closed, and everyone was waiting for the bursting of the
+storm.
+
+The latest excitement here was that a notoriously bad character named
+Raja Alang, living in a house by the path which led from Kuala Kangsar to
+the neighbouring district of Larut, saw a foreign Malay (a man of Patâni)
+walking past with his wife and two children. When the man got opposite
+Raja Alang’s house he raised his trousers to keep them out of the mud,
+and as Raja Alang considered this disrespectful to him, he called to the
+man and told him he must pay a fine of a hundred dollars. The man was
+of course unable to comply with this monstrous demand, so the Raja took
+him, his wife and children, into the house, and said he would keep them
+there till the money was paid. After a couple of days, during which they
+were given no food, Raja Alang said he would sell the woman and children
+to raise the amount of the fine. Just at dawn on the following morning
+the Patâni man got up, took from a Malay lying near him a _kris_, and
+with it stabbed the owner to death. Then he struck out wildly, killing
+another man, a woman, his own two children, and a child of Raja Alang,
+while he wounded his own wife. Raja Alang hastily left the house, hurting
+himself considerably, for he forgot the steps in the hurry of his exit.
+The murderer went next door and killed two more women and then escaped.
+Altogether he killed nine people and wounded three. It is a detail,
+I mention it only as showing the state of society, and because this
+incident, at the time of my arrival, was, with rumours of war, dividing
+the interests of the people of Kuala Kangsar.
+
+On the 1st November I read and posted the proclamations in Kuala
+Kangsar, and on the following day I went to see the Raja Bĕndahâra, the
+third highest officer in the State. He lived across the river, and to him
+and a large crowd of his followers I read the proclamation, and gave the
+Bĕndahâra some copies, which I asked him to have posted.
+
+Amongst the crowd was Raja Alang, who gave me his version of the _âmok_,
+and denied that he had ill-treated the Patâni man. I see from the journal
+I kept in those days that I expressed my surprise that such things were
+not of daily occurrence, looking to the infamous way in which the people
+were treated by the Rajas, to which he replied that he had done wrong
+but was now _taubat_ (a reformed character), that he wished to go to
+Mecca (the desire of all Malays who want to wipe out a bad record and
+rehabilitate themselves with society), and would be obliged if I would
+lend him a thousand dollars for the purpose!
+
+On the 3rd November I distributed the proclamations in villages between
+Kuala Kangsar and Larut, and in the afternoon went with Raja Mahmud and
+one boat up river to Kôta Lâma. This village had then, as indeed it has
+still, the unenviable reputation of being the most impossible place
+in Perak. It was a very large village, and the people in it prided
+themselves on their independence; their neighbours called it impudence. A
+few months before Mr. Birch had visited Kôta Lâma, but the people turned
+out with firearms, and said that if he landed they would shoot him. He
+had no means of forcing a landing then, nor of compelling an apology
+later, and, therefore, he had not since been to the place.
+
+I had been in Kôta Lâma a month before this; I went to see a man who
+had been shot through the shoulder the night before by two men who had
+a grudge against him, and had settled it in a truly Irish fashion. They
+called at his house, and while engaging him in conversation and eating
+his _sîreh_, had measured the distance of his sleeping mat from the walls
+of the house. It was a wooden building, and, like all Malay houses,
+the floor was raised high above the ground. That night they had got
+underneath it, and, having carefully calculated their host’s position,
+they fired simultaneously and decamped. One bullet missed the victim’s
+head by an inch or two, and the other went through the floor and the mat
+and penetrated his shoulder.
+
+I now went to see this man again and found him doing badly, and advised
+his relatives to send him to Kuala Kangsar. Then we walked about the
+village, talked to the people, and in the absence of the headman I sent
+for his deputy. He came accompanied by four or five men all armed to the
+teeth, and we had a conversation wherein I think each side did its best
+to “bluff” the other. It so happened that we had come away without the
+proclamations, and I asked the headman to send to Kuala Kangsar, when I
+got back, and I would give the papers, that he might post them in Kôta
+Lâma.
+
+He said they only acknowledged one chief in Kôta Lâma, and he was the
+Raja Bĕndahâra, and they would do nothing without his orders. I told
+them I would ask the Bĕndahâra to give the necessary instructions, but
+inquired, “What about the Sultan?” To which they replied that he lived
+a long way off. They added, “We won’t hinder you if you want to post
+the proclamations,” but they did not say it in the politest fashion,
+and I told them the permission was unnecessary, as, if I had had the
+proclamations, I should have posted them. After this we had a long and
+comparatively friendly talk, and it was nearly dark when I left them.
+
+Raja Mahmud stood by and said nothing, but they knew well enough who
+he was, and it is possible they might have acted differently had he
+not been there. On our way back he told me he was so amazed at the
+way the Kôta Lâma men talked that he felt it wiser not to join in the
+conversation.
+
+Arrived at Kuala Kangsar, I found the Raja Muda Jusuf, and told him
+the result of my visit to Kôta Lâma. The Raja Muda’s feelings towards
+the Kôta Lâma people were quite beyond expression, and they were very
+cordially reciprocated.
+
+The next morning, the 4th November, my work being done, I started
+down river at 8.30 A.M. I saw the Raja Muda before I left, and, again
+referring to my journal, I find that he said: “No early or permanent
+settlement can be made without force, without making an example of some
+of the opposition. They are quiet now because you are here; as soon as
+you go they will begin again. If you and Raja Mahmud will come, and we
+may use force, we can settle the matter in a fortnight.”
+
+Little as he thought it, the time for force was at hand, for some was
+already past; but if his prediction was right, his estimate of the means
+required to settle matters was over-sanguine.
+
+Stopping only for breakfast, my boats reached Blanja at 4 P.M. It was
+my intention to spend the night there, interview ex-Sultan Ismail, and
+continue my journey the next day.
+
+The river at Blanja shoals rapidly towards the left bank, which is
+bordered by a long and wide strip of sand. The boats of those who call
+here are dragged as close in as possible, and while our men were engaged
+in doing this, and still some distance from the shore, a man called Haji
+Ali waded out to my boat and came on board. We had noticed the unusual
+number of people on the sands—not less than two or three hundred—and of
+boats alongside there were at least fifty, but we were hardly prepared
+for the news that awaited us.
+
+This Haji Ali, a tall, well-made man in the prime of life, was the
+genial person of evil reputation who, with Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, had
+already distinguished himself by murdering one of the low-country chiefs.
+Notwithstanding this fact the Haji was always anxious to convey the
+impression that he was entirely friendly to me, but I distrusted him in
+common with the rest of the Blanja faction.
+
+Haji Ali seated himself in my boat and at once stated that Mr. Birch had
+gone to Pâsir Sâlak, that there he and sixteen of his people had been
+murdered by the Maharaja Lela, who had then attacked and captured Bandar
+Bharu, killing all the Sikhs who had not saved themselves by flight. This
+news was so startling that I could not believe it and said so, but the
+man assured me it was true, and added as a proof that the Maharaja Lela
+had sent Mr. Birch’s own boat to Blanja to prove to Ismail the truth of
+his statement. Ismail, he said, had declined to receive the boat, telling
+the men who brought it that as the Maharaja Lela had killed Mr. Birch he
+had better keep his boat, and the messengers had accordingly left with it
+only two hours before our arrival.
+
+At Haji Ali’s first words Raja Mahmud had caught up his _kris_, and was
+now tightening his waist-belt and preparing for instant trouble.
+
+The Haji completed his information by considerately telling me that the
+Maharaja Lela and his people had staked the river right across at Pâsir
+Sâlak, making it impassable for boats, that they knew I was returning,
+and were waiting for me, it being their belief that when once they had
+got rid of Mr. Birch and myself they would have no further interference
+from white men, as no one else knew the country. He concluded with an
+invitation from the ex-Sultan to go and see him on shore.
+
+I thanked him, and to get rid of him asked him to go back and say that I
+was coming.
+
+As soon as he had left the boat I held a hasty consultation with Raja
+Mahmud, who said it would be madness to land at Blanja, where we should
+be like rats in a trap, and the only course was to go on at once and at
+all hazards before they had time to stop us.
+
+The idea of returning up-river was unpleasant and well nigh impossible,
+it was therefore discarded at once.
+
+All the men in both my boats had heard what Haji Ali said, and as some
+of them did not relish the prospect of trying to run the gauntlet, I
+decided to leave one boat and only take those who volunteered to go. That
+question was very soon settled, every Perak man declined the journey;
+my Manila boy took the rudder, three foreign Malays and Mahmud’s two
+men formed the crew, and Mahmud and I were the passengers. There was my
+Chinese servant, he was not a man of war, and I thought he would prefer
+to remain where he was, for they all realised that the danger would be
+in staying with me. When I asked him, however, he smiled a not quite
+pleasant smile, and producing a long knife said he did not mean to move.
+It was quite clear that if it came to close quarters he would give a good
+account of himself.
+
+By this time we were ready to start, but just as the men were preparing
+to get the boat out into the stream, Haji Ali appeared again to take us
+on shore. I at once told him that if his story was true I could not
+stop at Blanja and must go on at once. How far he had been acting before
+was doubtful, but his surprise now was genuine enough. He said, “It is
+impossible, the whole country down stream is in arms, you cannot pass, it
+is certain destruction.” We told him that whatever it was we were going,
+and we pointed out to him that as the boat was moving into deep water he
+had not much time to get out if he wanted to return to the shore. He got
+out, and it was rather deep, but he stood there and shouted, “No doubt
+you think yourselves very fine fellows, but you will be killed all the
+same.”
+
+He was still standing in the same place when we had gone some distance,
+and as we passed outside the long line of boats the many people on shore
+realised that we had started again and were rapidly dropping down stream.
+It seemed to us that for them the unexpected had happened.
+
+The pleasure of thinking that we had at any rate cheated the Blanja
+people did not last us long and I believe every man in the boat—certainly
+I can speak for myself—believed that he had started on a journey of which
+sudden death was the inevitable bourne.
+
+The Resident, we were told, had been murdered at Pâsir Sâlak, and we
+could not well doubt the truth of that report. Then the people on both
+banks of the river for miles above and below Pâsir Sâlak were on the
+watch for us; the Residency was in the hands of the Maharaja Lela’s
+people, the Sikhs killed or fugitives in the jungle; worst of all, the
+river at Pâsir Sâlak was staked from bank to bank, and if so no boat
+could pass that barrier.
+
+There were two points of minor moment—first, that the Residency boats
+were all painted white, we had one of them, and no native-owned boat in
+the country was white. That fact made us so conspicuous that we did not
+think it worth while to lower the Union Jack we carried at the stern.
+Secondly, up to that time no house-boat had ever made the journey from
+Blanja to Pâsir Sâlak in anything like twelve hours, and we calculated,
+therefore, that we should reach the point of greatest danger in broad
+daylight, probably about 9 A.M. the next morning. Speed was our best
+chance, but here again we were handicapped by the fact that our men had
+been paddling since 8.30 A.M., they had had one meal, and now there was a
+night’s work before them and no time to stop for cooking.
+
+If the conditions were as they had been stated, and as we believed them
+to be, nothing could save us, for with two rifles and a shot gun we could
+hardly hope to force the barrier unless aided by a miracle.
+
+The river was high, the current strong, and just at dusk we reached Bota.
+Fastened by an island opposite the village we saw Mr. Birch’s own boat,
+the “Dragon,” and with that all doubt as to his fate was at an end. Raja
+Mahmud suggested that we might stop and attack the people in charge. The
+idea was attractive and no doubt it would have been a surprise to them,
+but we decided that it was unwise to waste the time and rouse the whole
+village. As we passed the boat we could see no one in or about it.
+
+The night was moonless but starlit, fine and clear enough for our
+purpose, dark enough to conceal us when we were in the middle of the
+stream. But the Perak is a river where the navigable channel wanders
+from side to side in a way that often baffles the most skilful pilot.
+The height of the water lessened our difficulties, but for all that we
+were driven at times very close to the banks. Between 9 and 10 P.M. a
+thick white mist came down and enveloped the river in impenetrable fog.
+This was very confusing, for, while it lasted, it was impossible to see
+half a boat’s length in any direction. The mist lifted and fell again at
+intervals all through the night, and so dense was it that at one time we
+lost our way, and at last discovered by a snag that we had got the boat
+completely round and were paddling up stream!
+
+That discovery gave us rather a bad shock, for we calculated that we had
+lost half an hour of precious time, and if we could make such a mistake
+once it might occur again. It was possible because we dared not have any
+light, and only smoked with the utmost precaution.
+
+I was so tired that about half-past ten I could no longer keep awake, and
+several times the wearied boatmen dropped asleep over their paddles. We
+were not at all certain of our whereabouts, but some time after eleven
+o’clock we realised, by the succession of watch-fires on the banks and
+the numbers of men moving about, that we were getting into the zone of
+danger. It seemed to me, dozing and waking, that this lasted for a long
+time; we were getting callous of the people on the bank when we found
+that no one seemed to observe us however close we were forced to go.
+
+I had told them to rouse me when we got near to Pâsir Sâlak, for now, to
+our great surprise, it seemed evident that we should reach the place
+hours before dawn. About 1.30 A.M. Mahmud quietly woke me, and the
+boatmen nerved themselves for the final effort.
+
+We knew that to get past Pâsir Sâlak it was necessary to go right under
+one bank or the other, and the deepest water was on the left or Kampong
+Gâjah side. That we decided to take. Huge fires were blazing on the bank,
+and round each were grouped a number of armed men—indeed, the whole place
+was apparently on the _qui vive_. As noiselessly as possible, but none
+the less vigorously, the men plied their paddles, and we made for the
+deep water under the bank. Just at this moment the thick white veil of
+mist came down over the river, and under its sheltering cover we glided
+swiftly down, the light of the blazing logs, close though they were,
+shining vaguely through the fog, while now and then a man’s figure, of
+seemingly gigantic proportions, loomed out from the fire-lit haze.
+
+Every instant we expected to feel the shock of the boat against the
+barrier, and we had determined that when that happened we would push
+our boat along it till we found the usual opening closed by a floating
+log and guarded, as we supposed, by boats. In the darkness we meant to
+try and force our way through or take one of the enemy’s boats on the
+down-stream side of the stakes.
+
+We could hardly realise the truth when we found ourselves at the lower
+end of the village without having encountered any obstruction. The
+barrier never existed in fact—only in the imagination of Haji Ali, or,
+more probably, the Maharaja Lela had intended to make it, but the Malay
+habits of laziness and procrastination defeated his plan.
+
+Just as I was thinking a very sincere thanksgiving, the bow of the boat
+suddenly ran on the shore and stuck there fast. We were so close to the
+bank that this happened without the slightest warning. For an instant
+the steersman had given the rudder a wrong turn, and we were stranded.
+To my dismay, I saw on the high bank, exactly over us, a large fire with
+eight or ten men round it. I seized the shot-gun, Mahmud had a rifle, and
+we knelt with fingers on trigger covering two of the figures that were
+distinct enough in spite of the mist, for we were hardly ten feet distant
+from them.
+
+Two of our men with poles were making superhuman efforts to push off the
+boat, when a man on the bank called out, “Whose boat is that?” One of our
+men replied, “Haji Mat Yassin’s,” having seen his boat at Blanja. “Where
+are you from?” was the next inquiry, and the reply was, “Blanja.” “Where
+are you for?” and other questions followed, but by this time the bow of
+the boat was off and we were drifting stern-foremost out into the stream
+and the sheltering fog. As the distance widened and shouts came to stop,
+the answers returned were derisive and misleading, for everyone felt that
+the real danger was past and the life he had made up his mind to lose
+would not be required of him that night after all.
+
+It was true that we had yet to pass the Residency at Bandar Bharu, five
+miles lower down, and we had been told this was in the hands of the
+Maharaja Lela, but there at least there was no barrier, and we were
+confident that we had nothing more to fear.
+
+We passed Bandar Bharu quietly, we saw a light on each bank and a man on
+watch by the light, and we said to each other that it would be very easy
+to shoot the men as they placed themselves so conveniently _en évidence_.
+
+Ten miles lower down the river, it being then only 3 A.M., we were
+suddenly hailed by a voice threatening death and other penalties if
+we did not immediately declare who we were. That was a very welcome
+challenge, for I recognised the voice, and in a few seconds we were
+alongside a Selangor steam-launch.
+
+Only then we learnt that Bandar Bharu had not fallen into the hands
+of the enemy, and we had therefore come ten miles further than was
+necessary; but we congratulated ourselves on the forbearance we had shown
+in not shooting the sentries, and later in the morning, when we got up
+to the Residency, suggested that if the Sikh felt lonesome in the night
+watches it would perhaps be wiser for him not to stand in the full blaze
+of a large lamp.
+
+The Maharaja Lela and his friends professed themselves both surprised and
+disappointed when they found I had arrived at Bandar Bharu, having passed
+Pâsir Sâlak without their knowledge. I daresay, however, that some of
+them were not altogether sorry that they had been spared a meeting with
+Raja Mahmud, for he was reckoned a mighty man of valour. In my case he
+was also a wise counsellor, for subsequent disclosures proved that had
+I landed at Blanja the intention was to immediately attack and murder
+me, and when we so abruptly left that place the ingenuous Haji Ali and
+his friend the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun with a number of their men were
+sent after us in fast boats on a mission similar to the one they had
+previously undertaken and successfully carried out. As we saw nothing of
+them I conclude they did not exert themselves to overtake us.
+
+During the subsequent military operations in Perak, Haji Ali fell into
+our hands, and, after some weeks spent on a British man-of-war, he became
+quite a reformed character. I occasionally see him now, but he seems
+depressed, and when I find him looking at me there is no anger in his
+face, only a great sorrow as of a man who is misunderstood by the world
+and who suffers without resentment.
+
+I don’t know why, but this expression is a source of unfeigned amusement
+to the Malays who happen to see it. It is very unfeeling of them.
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+NAKODAH ORLONG
+
+    Two things greater than all things are,
+    One is Love and the other War
+
+                           RUDYARD KIPLING
+
+
+On the day after my arrival at Bandar Bharu, Captain Innes, R.E., came
+from Penang accompanied by two officers and sixty men of the First
+Battalion of H.M. 10th Regiment, together with the Superintendent of the
+Penang Police (Hon. H. Plunket) and twenty native constables armed with
+rifles.
+
+Captain Innes, an exceptionally able member of his distinguished corps,
+was then in civil employ as head of the Public Works Department in
+Penang. When the news of Mr. Birch’s murder reached that place, the
+nearest British Settlement, Captain Innes was sent with a force to take
+charge of the Residency.
+
+It is not my intention to detail the subsequent events except in so far
+as is necessary for a right understanding of an incident connected with
+the death of a man called Nakodah Orlong, a Sumatran Malay.
+
+With the force at our disposal, which included Lieut. Abbott, R.N., his
+four bluejackets, and about fifty so-called Sikhs, it was determined to
+attack Pâsir Sâlak before the Maharaja Lela had time to collect a large
+following. An immediate advance was also considered advisable to prevent
+the number of our enemies being increased by what might look like our
+indecision. With Easterns, to sit still and stockade your position is
+probably, under such circumstances, the worst course possible.
+
+We knew that the Maharaja Lela was throwing up works, not only in his
+village, but outside of it, and to force them it was decided to take two
+howitzers and a rocket-tube.
+
+The distance from Bandar Bharu to Pâsir Sâlak was five miles, every yard
+of it covered with vegetation of some sort, the only road a narrow path
+by the river-bank; moreover, Pâsir Sâlak was not on our side of the
+river. It was, therefore, settled that we should start at daylight the
+next morning, the 7th November, in boats, that we should pole up stream
+two miles and walk the rest, the guns being served by the bluejackets
+from two boats that would be kept in line with the shore party.
+
+All that was wanted was a body of scouts to feel the way, and I undertook
+to find these. There were Raja Mahmud, his two followers, and the Manila
+boy already spoken of, but it was hard to say where any other trustworthy
+Malays could be got at such short notice. Late that evening, however,
+Nakodah Orlong, whom I knew well, came in, and when I asked him if he
+would join us he at once consented, and said he could bring fourteen of
+his own men with him. That made us twenty, and was enough for the purpose.
+
+We were up at 4.30 A.M. on the 7th, got all the men into boats, and made
+a start by 7.30 A.M., not without difficulty, however, for we were hard
+pressed for hands to do the poling. It was only after we had started
+that I learnt the intention of taking guns had been abandoned, a very
+unfortunate change of plan as it turned out. To attack, without guns, any
+work defended by Malays means a certain sacrifice of life, as we found to
+our cost, and took care that the mistake was never repeated. The carriage
+of guns and rockets through the jungle means delay and hard work, but,
+whatever the trouble and delay, hardly any consideration will justify an
+attack without at least one gun.
+
+The river journey was accomplished without incident, a landing was
+effected, and the party moved off. The scouts were in front, followed at
+an interval by half the detachment of the 10th, Captain Innes and the
+sailors with a rocket-tube came next, then the Sikhs and Penang Police
+under Mr. Plunket, and last of all the remainder of the 10th Regiment.
+
+We began the march gaily enough, not expecting to meet with any
+resistance till near Pâsir Sâlak. After walking a mile or so, always
+close by the river-bank, we came to a large field of Indian corn. The
+plants were eight or ten feet high, and so thick and close that it was
+impossible to see more than three or four yards in any direction; the
+ground between the corn-stalks was planted with hill-padi, and that was a
+couple of feet in height.
+
+On entering this field we opened out to cover as large a front as
+possible, and, when half way through the corn, passed a gigantic fig-tree
+growing on the edge of the river bank. On my right was Nakodah Orlong,
+and to the right of him one of his men called Alang; on my left was Raja
+Mahmud the Manila boy, and the rest of the scouts. We had been walking
+fast, and of the rest of the force we could see and hear nothing.
+
+We were talking and laughing (being still a long way from Pâsir Sâlak)
+when suddenly we came to the end of the cover, for the last few feet of
+the corn had been cut down. At this moment Nakodah Orlong said, “There
+they are,” and the words were hardly out of his mouth when we were
+greeted by a volley from the enemy concealed behind a stockade not a
+dozen yards in front of us.
+
+Nakodah Orlong fell without uttering another sound, and, the enemy
+maintaining a brisk fire, our position was so uncomfortable that my
+own inclination was unhesitatingly to get out of the way. Probably my
+intention was apparent, for Raja Mahmud said, “Stand fast and shoot.” I
+was obliged to him and followed his advice, but as the Manila boy and I
+were the only possessors of shooting-weapons, and the enemy were hidden
+behind a rampart of logs and banana-stems, while we had no shelter
+whatever, our continued existence was due simply to their want of skill.
+
+The absurdity of the situation was apparent, and its unpleasantness was
+heightened by the opening of a brisk fusilade in our rear. That decided
+us and we stepped back under cover, and then moved to the sheltering
+trunk of the fig-tree. Arrived there we found that besides Nakodah Orlong
+(about whose fate there was no doubt, for he fell within a yard of me),
+Alang was the only one missing. He was the last man on the right, and, as
+no one had seen him, we concluded that he also had been killed. It was
+at once proposed that we should go back and secure the bodies, but our
+own people keeping up a merciless discharge in rear, and the enemy doing
+their best in front, we were between two fires, and thought it best to
+try and stop our friends at any rate from shooting us.
+
+We shouted, but that, of course, was no use, no one could either see or
+hear us, and it was some minutes before we were able to let Captain Innes
+know of our position. In that time we realised that even a large tree
+offers poor shelter from a cross fire. It did not, however, take us long
+to decide that the side towards the enemy was the safest.
+
+That was only the beginning of misunderstanding; twice again during the
+day we were placed in the same uncomfortable position, and a man kneeling
+behind me was shot in the _back_ of his thigh. Once also the Sikhs made
+a determined attack on the men with me as we were trying to outflank the
+Malays, and in spite of our shouts only desisted when almost within
+touch of us. It is true, of course, that the cover was so dense they
+could not see us until the last moment. They were so dispirited by this
+waste of effort, that they incontinently left the place and went straight
+home in spite of all Plunket’s attempts to stop them. That was in no
+sense his fault, for they were not his men, and he had never seen them
+before the previous evening. The Penang police had retired _en masse_ at
+an even earlier hour, and explained afterwards, with much force, that it
+was not for this kind of work that they had engaged.
+
+The enemy’s stockade was a long rampart impenetrable to bullets; it was
+faced by a deep and wide ditch cut at right angles to the river, with one
+end on the bank and the other in high jungle. The work was backed by a
+thick plantation of bananas, affording perfect cover, and those defending
+it were commanded by the Maharaja Lela in person, and his father-in-law
+Pandak Indut, foremost of Mr. Birch’s murderers.
+
+I am not now concerned with the details of the attack, it is sufficient
+to say that it did not take long to prove how serious a mistake had been
+made in leaving the howitzers behind. The rockets, an old pattern, were
+ineffective, and as they all went over the top of the stockade were
+greeted by the jeers of the enemy. We were close enough to hear even what
+they said in the intervals between the firing. Experience is usually
+costly, and what we learnt on the 7th enabled us, a week later, to carry
+this and a succession of other stockades without the loss of a man.
+
+About 1 P.M. (our force being then reduced to the officers, the men of
+the 10th, bluejackets, and Malay scouts) Captain Innes gave the order to
+charge the stockade. That was done, but without guns to clear the way it
+was a hopeless task. We could not get across the ditch in the face of
+an unseen, protected enemy, while we were entirely at their mercy. We
+had to retire with the loss of Captain Innes killed, both the officers
+of the 10th (Lieutenants Booth and Elliott) severely wounded, and other
+casualties. If men with weapons of precision and the knowledge to handle
+them had held the work, none of our party ought to have escaped. But with
+Malays you can take liberties; their weapons take some time to load, but
+they are deadly enough at a few yards distance if the men who hold them
+would not fire at the tree-tops. The Malay’s idea is to loose off his
+piece as often as he can, it makes a noise and that puts heart into the
+man who fires, fear into the enemy.
+
+Though we had gained nothing by rushing the place, the enemy did not
+like that style of attack and retired, only we did not know it then. We
+were engaged in counting the cost, picking up the wounded and organising
+an orderly retreat, for it was late, we had some miles to go, and
+we expected the Malays would leave their shelter and come after us.
+Personally I did not know Captain Innes had been killed, I was in the
+centre and he was on the extreme right. My party was hampered by having
+to carry a wounded man, and when we got back to the middle of the field
+where Abbott and Plunket were waiting, Innes and the others had already
+been taken away. We had no surgeon, no stretchers, and the return journey
+was one that is not pleasant to recall.
+
+We reached our boats at 3 P.M., and the Residency a quarter of an hour
+later.
+
+For some time I was very busy trying to attend to the wounded, but then
+my Malay friends asked me for a boat, as they said they must go and
+fetch Nakodah Orlong’s body, and see what had become of Alang. A British
+soldier was also missing. I gave the boat and they started.
+
+About 8 P.M. they returned with Alang and the body of his chief; they had
+met the lad swimming down the river with his master’s body.
+
+When Nakodah Orlong fell, and the rest of us got away behind the great
+tree, this boy stayed by the dead man, and as he was right in the line of
+the thickest cross-fire, Alang pulled the body as close to the bank as
+he could, and there remained from morning till evening, making no sign,
+but simply declining to abandon the corpse. A man even came out from the
+stockade and attacked him with a _kris_, wounding him on the hand, but
+Alang beat him off. After the final charge, when our people passed close
+by him, it was he who saw the Malays retire, and he allowed us all to go
+away and leave him without giving any indication of his whereabouts.
+
+Then, the coast being clear, unable to carry the body so great a
+distance, he dragged it into the river and was swimming down stream with
+it when the boat met him.
+
+I went down to the boat to see Nakodah Orlong; he looked just as I had
+seen him last, except that his hair and clothes were drenched with water
+and there was a great hole in the centre of his forehead, marking, no
+doubt, the track of an iron bullet from a swivel-gun. Of that, however,
+he could never have been conscious, nor yet of the devotion of the man
+whose life had been in extremest peril throughout a long day to guard
+his chief’s dead body, without thought of gain or praise, only determined
+that none but loving hands should be laid upon the voiceless, pulseless
+clay he once called master.
+
+Given a glorious sunny day and a good cause, the idea of ending existence
+suddenly and painlessly in the pride of life and in face of the foe has
+its attractions, and robs the inevitable of its sting.
+
+But who can hope that after his death there will be one other being whose
+love is great enough to offer his own life a willing sacrifice to guard
+the thing that was to-day a friend and to-morrow will be corruption?
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+EVENING
+
+      Phœbus loosens all his golden hair
+    Right down the sky
+
+                             ERIC MACKAY
+
+
+The tale of these little lives is told. If I have failed to bring you
+close to the Malay, so that you could see into his heart, understand
+something of his life, and perhaps even sympathise with the motives that
+will lead him to acts of high courage and self-sacrifice, then the fault
+is mine.
+
+The glory of the Eastern morning, the freshness and the fragrance of the
+forest, the sultry heat of these plains and slopes of eternal green on
+which the moisture-charged clouds unceasingly pour fatness—these are the
+home of the Malay, the background against which he stands.
+
+Come, we have done with it all; let us leave the plain, seething in the
+heat of early afternoon, and ride up this mountain path, through all the
+wealth and the magnificence of tropical jungle, and look down on the
+land for the last time.
+
+Our callous eyes—surfeited with years of gazing on brilliant colours,
+great stretches of sea and forest, huge trees, a bewildering luxury of
+foliage, beasts measured by the elephant and rhinoceros, birds by the
+argus pheasant and the peacock—are blind to the infinite beauty of our
+surroundings. This path, by which we slowly rise to cooler altitudes
+and a new flora, would excite in the stranger feelings of wonder and
+rapturous delight.
+
+The road itself is cut through soil of a deep shade of _terra cotta_,
+the colour all the more vivid by reason of the hues of green by which
+it is environed. The sunlight strikes in rays of brilliant light across
+this path, falling on red soil, granite boulder and massive tree-trunk,
+intensifying colour and deepening shadow. Here and there are seen
+glimpses of the plains below, the distant sea, the peaks and valleys of
+other hill ranges, and the ear constantly catches the delightful sound
+of falling water, the voices of numerous streams dashing down the steep
+mountain sides in cascades of sparkling foam.
+
+The path twists and winds, often by sharp zigzags, up the face of the
+hill, across a narrow saddle and then by an even steeper ascent, till at
+last we gain the summit of the mountain.
+
+Stand here. The limit of vision is wide; you will scarce find a grander
+spectacle in this Peninsula. We are nearly 5,000 feet above the sea,
+and from north to south the eye travels over a distance not far short
+of two hundred miles. Eastward, those distant hills are fully a hundred
+miles away, and soon on the western horizon the sun will meet the sea in
+a blaze of glory, as though kindling at the touch of loving arms long
+waiting for his coming.
+
+That faint blue peak in the north, hazy and indistinct, is Gûnong Jerai
+in Kĕdah, and the island to the westward, which smiles through a golden
+veil, is Penang. A grey streak of water shot with gleams of sunlight
+divides it from the mainland, and the forty miles of country thence to
+the foot of this hill, and far south again to those blue islets off the
+Dinding coast, lie flat and fertile, a feast for the eyes. Vivid green
+patches mark thousands of acres of sugar-cane and rice-field, but the
+general effect is an unbroken expanse of dark jungle, mostly mangrove,
+for all this land from hill-base to sea-shore is of comparatively
+recent formation, the erosion from the hills carried down seawards and
+covered with a wealth of foliage ever renewed by the excessive heat and
+excessive moisture of this forcing tropical climate. No rocks, no bare
+hills, no arid plains, everything covered with vegetation: new graves
+look old in a month, the buildings of a year, for all their seeming,
+might have stood for half a century.
+
+Only at our feet does the hand of man make any mark on the landscape.
+There, amid trees and gardens, nestle the red roofs of Taiping. You might
+cover the place with a tablecloth for all its many inhabitants, its long
+wide streets, open spaces, and public buildings.
+
+And those pools of water all around the town, what are those?
+
+They are abandoned tin-mines, alluvial workings from which the ore has
+been removed, and water mercifully covers, in part, this desolation of
+gaping holes and upturned sand.
+
+The shore, due west and distant some twenty miles from the foot of the
+range on which we stand, is deeply indented by three great bays. They
+are the mouths of three rivers, short, shallow and insignificant in
+themselves; it is difficult to understand why they should make such an
+imposing entry on the sea. A mile or two inland from the coast the eye
+is caught by twenty little lakes, on which the sun loves to linger,
+burnishing them to gold when the setting in which these jewels lie has
+turned to purple. They are fragments of estuaries, deep waveless lagoons
+winding through the mangroves, and showing to the distant spectator only
+broken reaches, glimpses of bay and headland.
+
+The shore-line is a ribbon of glistening light, bordering the wide
+expanse of forest trees, whose roots stand deep in water when the tide is
+high. The mangrove cannot live beyond the reach of the brine from which
+it seems to draw the sap of life, and these mud flats, in their gradual
+accretion, are as yet scarcely above the level of the sea.
+
+Turning to the north-east, a deep valley lies beneath us, the source of a
+long river, the Kurau. Miles and miles beyond rise range after range of
+lofty mountains, Biong and Inas and Bintang, running into the heart of
+the Peninsula. Further eastward is the country near the sources of the
+Perak River, and across the narrow valley, through which its upper waters
+dance in a succession of rapids, may be discerned peaks of the main range
+which look down on the China Sea.
+
+Now we are facing the south-east and the valley of the Perak River. The
+ridge on which we stand divides it from the Province of Larut, and surely
+there are few fairer sights in the East than this same valley through
+which the river, plainly visible twenty miles away, winds in a silver
+streak. On the right stands Gûnong Bubu, the isolated mass terminating
+in a needle-like point nearly 6000 feet high. The spurs of this mountain
+spread out in every direction, north to the Pass from Larut into the
+Perak Valley, east to the Perak River, and southwards nearly to the
+coast. In the south-east, across the Perak River, rise five or six ranges
+of hills of ever-increasing height. Over the first range can be seen the
+valley of the Kinta, with its many fantastic limestone cliffs standing
+clearly out; then follow Chabang, Korbu, and finally the mountains
+dividing Perak from Păhang. Those hills fading out of sight in the
+far-away south are near the borders of Perak and Selangor.
+
+As we turn our faces back to the setting sun, the great disc, now grown
+a deep crimson, is sinking through a bank of clouds into a sea of flame.
+The waters beyond the influence of the sun’s light are a brilliant
+sapphire, a reflection of the sky above. There is only one long, low bank
+of cloud, and that is on the horizon.
+
+A moment later and the sun itself has gone, but from the spot where it
+disappeared is radiating a lurid glow which kindles the clouds into fire
+and shoots rays of gold over Penang in the north and the Dinding Islands
+in the south, seventy miles apart. This golden light spreads for a space
+upward through the bank of clouds, till, paling into a belt of grey that
+again deepens into blue, and ever gaining in intensity, it rises to the
+zenith and fills the empyrean.
+
+Meanwhile the darkness which seemed to be settling over the distant
+eastern ranges is gradually suffused with soft tints of _rose dorée_,
+transfiguring peak after peak and clearly defining every ridge and
+valley. This aftermath of day, wherein the sun returns to kiss the hills
+with one last lingering caress, fills the whole atmosphere with a rosy
+effulgence, then fades reluctantly away. ’Twixt western sea and eastern
+hill lies that great sea-indented plain over which night settles slowly
+but surely, while still the sky and hills are vivid with colour. But even
+the plain assumes its night garb with no less grace and beauty. A faint
+mist has risen from swamp and river, and, spreading itself over the land,
+takes soft hues of opal and heliotrope deepening into purple, while only
+the pools and river-reaches shine out, like scraps of mirror stealing
+borrowed glory from the sky.
+
+Soon this light wanes; purple turns to grey, the colours fade from sky
+and sea, only the shore-line keeps its sheen. Then this too dies, and
+great white clouds, coming from out the mines and marshes like a troop
+of giant spectres risen in their grave-clothes, stalk slowly round the
+foothills of the mountain, through the Pass into the valley of the Perak
+River.
+
+Here, at this elevation, the night is not quite yet.
+
+Close around us still the jungle, but the trees are dwarfed, the boughs
+are covered with moss and lichen, orchids and ferns flourish in the
+forks, gorgeously blossomed creepers twine round the branches and hang
+from tree to tree. The air is full of the scent of the magnolia, the
+moss-carpeted ground is gay with a myriad flowers, some brilliantly
+plumaged songless birds flit silently between the trees, and a great bat
+sails aimlessly across the waning light. The shrill scream of the cicada
+is but faintly heard far down the height, and night comes, like a closing
+hand grasping in resistless darkness all things visible. The only sound
+to break the silence is the fitful and plaintive croak of a wood-frog.
+
+If night treads closely on the heels of day, there is no need for
+regret. The darkness is but for a moment, and over the eastern peaks
+spreads a silvery sheen, herald of that great orb of splendour which,
+rising rapidly, clears the mountain and sheds a flood of wonderful,
+indescribable, mellow radiance over forest, plain, and sea, softening
+what is crude, pointing with brilliance the most striking features,
+and casting into a fathomless shadow the dark valleys of the western
+slopes. There is nothing cold about this Eastern moon. Seen, half-risen,
+against the dark foliage of the mountain, it glitters like molten silver,
+dazzling the eyes, and as it soars serenely upward seems the very
+perfection of beauty, light, and purity.
+
+Strange that the delight and glory of mankind since ever the earth was
+peopled, the emblem of unattainable longing, should be only a gigantic
+cinder.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+
+[1] The attitude is that obtained by transferring the body directly from
+a kneeling to a sitting position.
+
+[2] “The Heavenly Twins,” book iii., chap. iii.
+
+[3] The _Sârong_ is the Malay national garment, a sort of skirt, usually
+in tartan, worn by men and women alike.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE ON THE COVER DESIGN
+
+
+_The colours used on the cover of this book are those recognised as
+“Royal” colours in one or other of the Malay States. Throughout the
+Peninsula yellow is the special colour worn or used by those of Raja
+birth. By the ancient Malay sumptuary laws the lower classes were not
+allowed to wear yellow garments, nor to use this colour in the decoration
+of furniture of their houses. These laws are no longer rigidly observed,
+but in most Malay States the use of yellow fabrics is confined to the
+Raja class._
+
+_It is a universal practice to put letters addressed to Malay rulers
+(when they are of Raja birth) into covers of yellow cotton cloth or
+yellow satin, while those addressed to Rajas who have no official
+position, or to chiefs of importance but not of Raja birth, are stitched
+into covers of white cotton._
+
+_In some of the States the royal flag is yellow, in others it is white or
+black, while in several of the more important States of Sumatra (as for
+instance in Acheen), black garments are the special privilege of the Raja
+class._
+
+_In Perak the three highest native authorities in the State, the Sultan,
+his heir (styled Raja Muda), and his Wazîr (the Raja Bĕndahâra), fly
+flags of white, yellow, and black respectively, and these three colours
+united have, for the last twenty years, been adopted as the Perak State
+flag._
+
+_The three daggers on the cover are good types of the Malay “kris,” the
+favourite national weapon. The originals of these particular specimens
+are in the Perak museum and were photographed for this design._
+
+                                                                _F. A. S._
+
+_Xmas day, 1895._
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76055 ***
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+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76055 ***</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_i"></a>[i]</span></p>
+
+<h1>MALAY SKETCHES</h1>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter adbox">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ii"></a>[ii]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak smaller x-ebookmaker-important" id="BY_THE_SAME_AUTHOR"><i>BY THE SAME AUTHOR</i></h2>
+
+<h3>UNADDRESSED LETTERS</h3>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Crown 8vo, 6s. Third Edition</i></p>
+
+<p>“Deep gratitude is due to Sir Frank for giving
+these letters to the world ... the lazy descriptions
+of Eastern life, the musings on great scenes, the
+stories, and the utterances of social wisdom are all
+delightful, and add body to a book remarkable for
+a rare delicacy and charm.”—<i>The Athenæum.</i></p>
+
+<p>“His narrative style is admirable, and his episodes
+are always interesting. One could read for many
+hours of the clever mongoose and tigers and crocodiles....
+Sir Frank Swettenham has a pretty
+humour.... The style in which these ‘Unaddressed
+Letters’ is written is excellent.”— <i>The Pall Mall
+Gazette.</i></p>
+
+<h3>THE REAL MALAY<br>
+<span class="smaller">PEN PICTURES</span></h3>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Crown, 8vo, 6s.</i></p>
+
+<p>“No pen except that of Mr. Conrad has drawn
+the Malay character so faithfully or so graphically....
+It is a combination that is very alluring, and we
+confess to finding Sir Frank Swettenham’s book of
+Malay sketches most fascinating reading.”—<i>The Pall
+Mall Gazette.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Sir Frank Swettenham understands perhaps
+better than any other roving Englishman ‘The Real
+Malay.’”—<i>The Morning Post.</i></p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iii"></a>[iii]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="title" style="max-width: 29.6875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/title.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p class="titlepage larger">MALAY SKETCHES</p>
+
+<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br>
+SIR FRANK ATHELSTANE SWETTENHAM</p>
+
+<p class="titlepage">JOHN LANE: THE BODLEY HEAD<br>
+<span class="allsmcap">LONDON AND NEW YORK</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;MDCCCCIII</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iv"></a>[iv]</span></p>
+
+<p class="titlepage smaller">THIRD EDITION</p>
+
+<p class="titlepage smaller">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne Hanson &amp; Co.</span><br>
+London &amp; Edinburgh</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v"></a>[v]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"></td>
+    <td>INTRODUCTION</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#INTRODUCTION">ix</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">I.</td>
+    <td>THE REAL MALAY</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#I">1</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">II.</td>
+    <td>THE TIGER</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#II">12</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">III.</td>
+    <td>A FISHING PICNIC</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#III">19</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">IV.</td>
+    <td>THE MURDER OF THE HAWKER</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#IV">25</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">V.</td>
+    <td>MĔNG-GĔLUNCHOR</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#V">31</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">VI.</td>
+    <td>ÂMOK</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#VI">38</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">VII.</td>
+    <td>THE JÔGET</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#VII">44</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">VIII.</td>
+    <td>THE STORY OF MAT ARIS</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#VIII">53</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">IX.</td>
+    <td>LÂTAH</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#IX">64</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">X.</td>
+    <td>THE ETERNAL FEMININE</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#X">83</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XI.</td>
+    <td>IN THE NOON OF NIGHT</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XI">92</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XII.</td>
+    <td>VAN HAGEN AND CAVALIERO</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XII">103</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XIII.</td>
+    <td>THE PASSING OF PĔNGLIMA PRANG SĔMAUN</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XIII">112</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XIV.</td>
+    <td>BĔR-HANTU</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XIV">147</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XV.</td>
+    <td>THE KING’S WAY</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XV">161</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XVI.</td>
+    <td>A MALAY ROMANCE</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XVI">179</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XVII.</td>
+    <td>MALAY SUPERSTITIONS</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XVII">192</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XVIII.</td>
+    <td>WITH A CASTING-NET</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XVIII">211</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XIX.</td>
+    <td>JAMES WHEELER WOODFORD BIRCH</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XIX">227</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XX.</td>
+    <td>A PERSONAL INCIDENT</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XX">248</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXI.</td>
+    <td>NAKODAH ORLONG</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XXI">270</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXII.</td>
+    <td>EVENING</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#XXII">281</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>[vi]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii"></a>[vii]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>This is not a book of travels, nor is it, in even
+the smallest sense, the record of a traveller’s
+experiences in a foreign land. It is a series of
+sketches of Malay scenery and Malay character
+drawn by one who has spent the best part of
+his life in the scenes and amongst the people
+described.</p>
+
+<p>These pages contain no statistics, no history, no
+geography, no science, real or spurious, no politics,
+no moralising, no prophecy,—only an attempt to
+awaken an interest in an almost undescribed but
+deeply interesting people, the dwellers in one of
+the most beautiful and least known countries in the
+East.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller will come in time, and he will
+publish his experiences of Malâya and the Malays;
+but while he may look upon the country with a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii"></a>[viii]</span>
+higher appreciation and paint its features with
+a more artistic touch, he will see few of those
+characteristics of the people, none of that inner life
+which, I make bold to say, is here faithfully portrayed.</p>
+
+<p class="right">FRANK SWETTENHAM.</p>
+
+<p class="hanging"><span class="smcap">The Residency,<br>
+Perak</span>, <i>28 March 1895</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter" id="INTRODUCTION">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ix"></a>[ix]</span></p>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<p>“Quel est donc ce pays, disaient-ils
+l’un a l’autre, inconnu a tout le
+reste de la terre, et où toute la nature
+est d’une espèce si différente
+de la nôtre?”</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Voltaire</span></p>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Imagine yourself transported to a land of eternal
+summer, to that Golden Peninsula, ’twixt Hindustan
+and Far Cathay, from whence the early
+navigators brought back such wondrous stories of
+adventure. A land where Nature is at her best
+and richest: where plants and animals, beasts of
+the forest, birds of the air, and every living thing
+seem yet inspired with a feverish desire for growth
+and reproduction, as though they were still in the
+dawn of Creation.</p>
+
+<p>And Man?</p>
+
+<p>Yes, he is here. Forgotten by the world, passed
+by in the race for civilisation, here he has remained<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_x"></a>[x]</span>
+amongst his own forests, by the banks of his well-loved
+streams, unseeking and unsought. Whence
+he came none know and few care, but this is the
+land that has given to, or taken from, him the name
+of a Race that has spread over a wider area than
+any other Eastern people.</p>
+
+<p>Malâya, land of the pirate and the <i>âmok</i>, your
+secrets have been well guarded, but the enemy has
+at last passed your gate, and soon the irresistible
+Juggernaut of Progress will have penetrated to your
+remotest fastness, slain your beasts, cut down your
+forests, “civilised” your people, clothed them in
+strange garments, and stamped them with the seal
+of a higher morality.</p>
+
+<p>That time of regeneration will come rapidly, but
+for the moment the Malay of the Peninsula is as he
+has been these hundreds of years. Education and
+contact with Western people must produce the
+inevitable result. Isolated native races whose
+numbers are few must disappear or conform to the
+views of a stronger will and a higher intelligence.
+The Malays of the Peninsula will not disappear,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xi"></a>[xi]</span>
+but they will change, and the process of “awakening”
+has in places already begun.</p>
+
+<p>It might be rash to speculate on the gain which
+the future has in store for this people, but it is
+hardly likely to make them more personally interesting
+to the observer. This is the moment of
+transition, and these are sketches of the Malay
+as he is.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xii"></a>[xii]</span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquote smaller">
+
+<p>Jetons-nous dans cette petite barque, laissons-nous
+aller au courant: une rivière mène toujours à quelque
+en droit habité; si nous ne trouvons pas des choses
+agréables, nous trouverons du moins des choses
+nouvelles</p>
+
+<p>“‘Allons,’ dit Candide, ‘recommandons-nous à la
+Providence’”</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Voltaire</span></p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p>
+
+<h1>MALAY SKETCHES</h1>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="I">I<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE REAL MALAY</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">He was the mildest manner’d man</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">That ever scuttled ship or cut a throat</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Byron</span>, <i>Don Juan</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>To begin to understand the Malay you must live
+in his country, speak his language, respect
+his faith, be interested in his interests, humour his
+prejudices, sympathise with and help him in trouble,
+and share his pleasures and possibly his risks. Only
+thus can you hope to win his confidence. Only
+through that confidence can you hope to understand
+the inner man, and this knowledge can therefore
+only come to those who have the opportunity
+and use it.</p>
+
+<p>So far the means of studying Malays in their own
+country (where alone they are seen in their true<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span>
+character) have fallen to few Europeans, and a very
+small proportion of them have shown an inclination
+to get to the hearts of the people. There are a
+hundred thousand Malays in Perak and some more
+in other parts of the Peninsula; and the white man,
+whose interest in the race is strong enough, may not
+only win confidence but the devotion that is ready
+to give life itself in the cause of friendship. The
+Scripture says: “There is no greater thing than this,”
+and in the end of the nineteenth century that is a
+form of friendship all too rare. Fortunately this is
+a thing you cannot buy, but to gain it is worth some
+effort.</p>
+
+<p>The real Malay is a short, thick-set, well-built
+man, with straight black hair, a dark brown complexion,
+thick nose and lips, and bright intelligent
+eyes. His disposition is generally kindly, his
+manners are polite and easy. Never cringing, he
+is reserved with strangers and suspicious, though he
+does not show it. He is courageous and trustworthy
+in the discharge of an undertaking; but he
+is extravagant, fond of borrowing money, and very
+slow in repaying it. He is a good talker, speaks in
+parables, quotes proverbs and wise saws, has a strong
+sense of humour, and is very fond of a good joke.
+He takes an interest in the affairs of his neighbours<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span>
+and is consequently a gossip. He is a Muhammadan
+and a fatalist, but he is also very superstitious. He
+never drinks intoxicants, he is rarely an opium-smoker.
+But he is fond of gambling, cock-fighting,
+and kindred sports. He is by nature a sportsman,
+catches and tames elephants, is a skilful fisherman,
+and thoroughly at home in a boat. Above all
+things, he is conservative to a degree, is proud and
+fond of his country and his people, venerates his
+ancient customs and traditions, fears his Rajas, and
+has a proper respect for constituted authority—while
+he looks askance on all innovations, and will
+resist their sudden introduction. But if he has time
+to examine them carefully, and they are not thrust
+upon him, he is willing to be convinced of their
+advantage. At the same time he is a good imitative
+learner, and, when he has energy and ambition
+enough for the task, makes a good mechanic. He
+is, however, lazy to a degree, is without method or
+order of any kind, knows no regularity even in the
+hours of his meals, and considers time as of no importance.
+His house is untidy, even dirty, but he
+bathes twice a day, and is very fond of personal
+adornment in the shape of smart clothes.</p>
+
+<p>A Malay is intolerant of insult or slight; it is
+something that to him should be wiped out in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span>
+blood. He will brood over a real or fancied stain
+on his honour until he is possessed by the desire
+for revenge. If he cannot wreak it on the offender,
+he will strike out at the first human being that
+comes in his way, male or female, old or young.
+It is this state of blind fury, this vision of blood,
+that produces the <i>âmok</i>. The Malay has often been
+called treacherous. I question whether he deserves
+the reproach more than other men. He is courteous
+and expects courtesy in return, and he understands
+only one method of avenging personal insults.</p>
+
+<p>The spirit of the clan is also strong in him. He
+acknowledges the necessity of carrying out, even
+blindly, the orders of his hereditary chief, while he
+will protect his own relatives at all costs and make
+their quarrel his own.</p>
+
+<p>The giving of gifts by Raja to subject, or subject
+to ruler, is a custom now falling into desuetude,
+but it still prevails on the occasion of the accession
+of a Raja, the appointment of high officers, a
+marriage, a circumcision, ear-piercing, or similar
+ceremony. As with other Eastern people, hospitality
+is to the Malay a sacred duty fulfilled by high and
+low, rich and poor alike.</p>
+
+<p>Though the Malay is an Islam by profession, and
+would suffer crucifixion sooner than deny his faith,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span>
+he is not a bigot; indeed, his tolerance compares
+favourably with that of the professing Christian,
+and, when he thinks of these matters at all, he
+believes that the absence of hypocrisy is the beginning
+of religion. He has a sublime faith in God,
+the immortality of the soul, a heaven of ecstatic
+earthly delights, and a hell of punishments, which
+every individual is so confident will not be his own
+portion that the idea of its existence presents no
+terrors.</p>
+
+<p>Christian missionaries of all denominations have
+apparently abandoned the hope of his conversion.</p>
+
+<p>In his youth, the Malay boy is often beautiful, a
+thing of wonderful eyes, eyelashes, and eyebrows,
+with a far-away expression of sadness and solemnity,
+as though he had left some better place for a compulsory
+exile on earth.</p>
+
+<p>Those eyes, which are extraordinarily large and
+clear, seem filled with a pained wonder at all they
+see here, and they give the impression of a constant
+effort to open ever wider and wider in search of
+something they never find. Unlike the child of
+Japan, this cherub never looks as if his nurse had
+forgotten to wipe his nose. He is treated with
+elaborate respect, sleeps when he wishes, and sits
+up till any hour of the night if he so desires, eats<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span>
+when he is hungry, has no toys, is never whipped,
+and hardly ever cries.</p>
+
+<p>Until he is fifteen or sixteen, this atmosphere of
+a better world remains about him. He is often
+studious even, and duly learns to read the Korân
+in a language he does not understand.</p>
+
+<p>Then, well then, from sixteen to twenty-five or
+later he is to be avoided. He takes his pleasure,
+sows his wild oats like youths of a higher civilisation,
+is extravagant, open-handed, gambles, gets
+into debt, runs away with his neighbour’s wife, and
+generally asserts himself. Then follows a period
+when he either adopts this path and pursues it, or,
+more commonly, he weans himself gradually from
+an indulgence that has not altogether realized his
+expectation, and if, under the advice of older men,
+he seeks and obtains a position of credit and usefulness
+in society from which he begins at last to
+earn some profit, he will, from the age of forty,
+probably develop into an intelligent man of miserly
+and rather grasping habits with some one little pet
+indulgence of no very expensive kind.</p>
+
+<p>The Malay girl-child is not usually so attractive
+in appearance as the boy, and less consideration is
+shown to her. She runs wild till the time comes
+for investing her in a garment, that is to say when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span>
+she is about five years old. From then, she is
+taught to help in the house and kitchen, to sew, to
+read and write, perhaps to work in the <i>padi</i> field,
+but she is kept out of the way of all strange menkind.
+When fifteen or sixteen, she is often almost
+interesting; very shy, very fond of pretty clothes
+and ornaments, not uncommonly much fairer in
+complexion than the Malay man, with small hands
+and feet, a happy smiling face, good teeth, and
+wonderful eyes and eyebrows—the eyes of the little
+Malay boy. The Malay girl is proud of a wealth
+of straight, black hair, of a spotless olive complexion,
+of the arch of her brow—“like a one-day-old
+moon”—of the curl of her eyelashes, and of the
+dimples in cheek or chin.</p>
+
+<p>Unmarried girls are taught to avoid all men
+except those nearly related to them. Until marriage,
+it is considered unmaidenly for them to raise
+their eyes or take any part or interest in their
+surroundings when men are present. This leads to
+an affectation of modesty which, however over-strained,
+deceives nobody.</p>
+
+<p>After marriage, a woman gets a considerable
+amount of freedom which she naturally values. In
+Perak a man, who tries to shut his womenkind up
+and prevent their intercourse with others and a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span>
+participation in the fêtes and pleasures of Malay
+society, is looked upon as a jealous, ill-conditioned
+person.</p>
+
+<p>Malays are extremely particular about questions
+of rank and birth, especially when it comes to
+marriage, and <i>mésalliances</i>, as understood in the
+West, are with them very rare.</p>
+
+<p>The general characteristics of Malay women,
+especially those of gentle birth, are powers of
+intelligent conversation, quickness in repartee, a
+strong sense of humour and an instant appreciation
+of the real meaning of those hidden sayings which
+are hardly ever absent from their conversation.
+They are fond of reading such literature as their
+language offers, and they use uncommon words and
+expressions, the meanings of which are hardly
+known to men. For the telling of secrets, they
+have several modes of speech not understanded of
+the people.</p>
+
+<p>They are generally amiable in disposition, mildly—sometimes
+fiercely—jealous, often extravagant
+and, up to about the age of forty, evince an
+increasing fondness for jewellery and smart clothes.
+In these latter days they are developing a pretty
+taste for horses, carriages, and whatever conduces
+to luxury and display, though, in their houses, there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span>
+are still a rugged simplicity and untidiness, absolutely
+devoid of all sense of order.</p>
+
+<p>A Malay is allowed by law to have as many as
+four wives, to divorce them, and replace them. If
+he is well off and can afford so much luxury, he
+usually takes advantage of the power to marry
+more than one wife, to divorce and secure successors;
+but he seldom undertakes the responsibility of four
+wives at one time. The woman on her part can,
+and often does, obtain a divorce from her husband.
+Written conditions of marriage, “settlements” of
+a kind, are common with people in the upper
+classes, and the law provides for the custody of
+children, division of property, and so on. The
+ancient maiden lady is an unknown quantity, so is
+the Malay public woman; and, as there is no society
+bugbear, the people lead lives that are almost
+natural. There are no drunken husbands, no hobnail
+boots, and no screaming viragoes—because a
+word would get rid of them. All forms of madness,
+mania, and brain-softening are extremely rare.</p>
+
+<p>The Malay has ideas on the subject of marriage,
+ideas born of his infinite experience. He has even
+soared into regions of matrimonial philosophy, and
+returned with such crumbs of lore as never fall to
+the poor monogamist.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span></p>
+
+<p>I am not going to give away the secrets of the
+life behind the curtain; if I wished to do so I
+might trip over difficulties of expression; but in
+spite of the Malay’s reputation for bloodthirstiness,
+in spite of (or because of, whichever you please) the
+fact that he is impregnated with the doctrines of
+Islam, in spite of his sensitive honour and his
+proneness to revenge, and in spite of his desire to
+keep his own women (when young and attractive)
+away from the prying eyes of other men, he yet
+holds this uncommon faith, that if he has set his
+affections on a woman, and for any reason he is
+unable at once to make her his own, he cares not
+to how many others she allies herself provided she
+becomes his before time has robbed her of her
+physical attractions.</p>
+
+<p>His reason is this. He says (certainly not to a
+stranger, rarely even to his Malay friends, but to
+himself) “if, after all this experience, she likes me
+best, I have no fear that she will wish to go further
+afield. All Malay girls marry before they are
+twenty, and the woman who has only known one
+husband, however attractive he may be, will come
+sooner or later to the conviction that life with
+another promises new and delightful experiences
+not found in the society of the first man to whom<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span>
+destiny and her relatives have chosen to unite her.
+Thus some fool persuades her that in his worship
+and passion she will find the World’s Desire, and
+it is only after perhaps a long and varied experience
+that she realizes that, having started for a voyage
+on the ocean, she finds herself seated at the bottom
+of a dry well.”</p>
+
+<p>It is possible that thus she becomes acquainted
+with truth.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="II">II<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE TIGER</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">Yon golden terror, barred with ebon stripes</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Low-crouching horror, with the cruel fangs</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Waiting in deathly stillness for thy spring</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Anon.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Some idea of what Malays are in their own
+country may best be conveyed by taking the
+reader in imagination through some scenes of their
+daily life. The tiger, for instance, is seldom deliberately
+sought; if he kills a buffalo a spring gun is
+set to shoot him when he returns for his afternoon
+meal, but sometimes the tiger comes about a village,
+and it is necessary to get rid of so dangerous a
+visitor. Let me try and put the scene before you.</p>
+
+<p>But how describe an Eastern dawn? Sight
+alone will give a true impression of its strange
+beauty. Out of darkness and stillness, the transition<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span>
+to light—intense brilliant light—and the sounds
+of awakened life, is rapid and complete, a short half
+hour or less turning night into tropical day. The
+first indication of dawn is a grey haze, then the
+clouds clothing the Western hills are shot with pale
+yellow and in a few minutes turn to gold, while
+Eastern ranges are still in darkness. The light
+spreads to the Western slopes, moves rapidly across
+the valleys, and suddenly the sun, a great ball of
+fire, appears above the Eastern hills. The fogs,
+which have risen from the rivers and marshes and
+covered the land, as with a pall, rise like smoke and
+disappear, and the whole face of nature is flooded
+with light, the valleys and slopes of the Eastern
+ranges being the last to feel the influence of the
+risen sun.</p>
+
+<p>That grey half-light which precedes dawn is the
+signal for Malays to be stirring. The doors are
+opened, and, only half awake and shivering in the
+slight breeze made by the rising fog, they leave
+their houses and make for the nearest stream, there
+to bathe and fetch fresh water for the day’s use.</p>
+
+<p>A woman dressed in the <i>sârong</i>, a plaid skirt
+of silk or cotton, and a jacket, walks rapidly to the
+river, carrying a long bamboo and some gourds,
+which, after her bath, she fills, and begins to walk<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span>
+home through the wealth of vegetation that clothes
+the whole face of the country. She follows a narrow
+path up from the bed of the clear stream, the jungle
+trees and orchards, the long rank grasses and tangled
+creepers almost hiding the path. Suddenly she
+stops spellbound, her knees give way under her, the
+vessels drop from her nerveless hands, and a speechless
+fear turns her blood to water; for there, in front
+of her, is a great black and yellow head with cruel
+yellow eyes, and a half-open mouth showing a red
+tongue and long white teeth. The shoulders and
+fore feet of the tiger stand clear of the thick foliage,
+and a hoarse low roar of surprise and anger comes
+from the open mouth. An exceeding great fear
+chains the terrified woman to the spot, and the
+tiger, thus faced, sulkily and with more hoarse
+grumbling, slowly draws back into the jungle and
+disappears. Then the instinct of self-preservation
+returns to the woman, and, with knees still weak
+and a cold hand on her heart, she stumbles, with
+what speed she may, back to the river, down the
+bank, and to the friendly shelter of the nearest
+dwelling.</p>
+
+<p>It takes little time to tell the story, and the men
+of the house, armed with spears and <i>krises</i> and an
+old rusty gun, quickly spread the news throughout<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span>
+the <i>kampong</i>, as each cluster of huts and orchards
+is called. Every one arms himself with such
+weapons as he possesses, the boys of sixteen or
+seventeen climb into trees, from which they hope
+to see and be able to report the movements of
+the beast. The men, marshalled by the <i>ka-tua
+kampong</i>, the village chief, make their plans for
+surrounding the spot where the tiger was seen, and
+word is sent by messenger to the nearest police-station
+and European officer.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst all this is taking place, the tiger, probably
+conscious that too many people are about, leaves
+his lair and stealthily creeps along a path which will
+lead him far from habitations. But, as he does so,
+he passes under a tree where sits one of the young
+watchmen, and the boy, seizing his opportunity,
+drops a heavy spear on the tiger as he passes, and
+gives him a serious wound. The beast, with a roar
+of pain, leaps into the jungle, carrying the spear
+with him; and, after what he considers a safe
+interval, the boy climbs down, gets back to the
+circle of watchers, and reports what has occurred.</p>
+
+<p>For a long time, there is silence, no one caring to
+go in and seek a wounded tiger—but this monotony
+is broken rudely and suddenly by a shot on the outskirts
+of the wide surrounding ring of beaters where<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span>
+a young Malay has been keeping guard over a
+jungle track. Instantly the nearest rush to the
+spot only to find the boy badly wounded, after
+firing a shot that struck the tiger but did not prevent
+him reaching and pulling down the youth who
+fired it.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly has a party carried the wounded man to
+shelter, than news arrives that, in trying to break
+the ring at another point, the tiger has sprung upon
+the point of a spear held in rest by a kneeling Malay,
+and, the spear, passing completely through the beast’s
+body, the tiger has come down on the man’s back
+and killed him. The old men say it is because,
+regardless of the wisdom of their ancestors, fools
+now face a tiger with spears unguarded, whereas in
+the olden time it was always the custom to tie a
+crosspiece of wood where blade joins shaft to prevent
+the tiger “running up the spear” and killing
+his opponent.</p>
+
+<p>The game is getting serious now and the tiger
+has retired to growl and roar in a thick isolated
+copse of bushes and tangled undergrowth from
+which it seems impossible to draw him, and where
+it would be madness to seek him.</p>
+
+<p>By this time, all the principal people in the neighbourhood
+have been collected. The copse is surrounded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span>
+and two elephants are ridden at the cover,
+in the hope of driving the wounded tiger from his
+shelter. A vain hope, for, when the huge beasts
+get inconveniently near to him, the tiger, with a
+great roar, springs on to the shoulder of the nearest
+elephant and brings him to his knees. The terrified
+occupants of the howdah are thus deposited on the
+ground, but lose no time in picking themselves up
+and getting away. The elephant with a scream of
+terror whirls round, throwing off the tiger with a
+broken tooth, and, accompanied by his fellow,
+rushes from the place and will not be stopped till
+several miles have been covered and the river is
+between them and their enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Severe maladies want desperate and heroic
+remedies. After a short consultation, a young
+Malay chief and several of his friends, armed only
+with spears, express their determination to seek the
+tiger where he lies. They immediately put the plan
+into execution. Shoulder to shoulder and with
+spears in rest, they advance to the copse. They
+have not long to wait in doubt for the wounded and
+enraged beast, with open mouth and eyes blazing
+fell purpose, charges straight at them. There is the
+shock of flesh against steel, an awful snarling and
+straining of muscles and the already badly wounded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span>
+tiger is pinned to the ground and dies under the
+thrusts of many spears.</p>
+
+<p>The general result of a tiger hunt, under such
+circumstances, is the death or serious injury of one
+or two of the pursuers.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="III">III<br>
+<span class="smaller">A FISHING PICNIC</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">I have given you lands to hunt in,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">I have given you streams to fish in,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Filled the river full of fishes</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Longfellow</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Now come to a Malay picnic.</p>
+
+<p>Again, it is early morning, the guests have
+been invited overnight and warned to come on their
+elephants and bring “rice and salt.” By the time
+the sun is well up there are fifty or sixty people (of
+whom about half are women), mounted on twelve or
+fifteen elephants, and some boys and followers are
+prepared to walk.</p>
+
+<p>The word is given to make for a great limestone
+hill rising abruptly out of the plain, for, close
+round the foot of this rock, eating its way into the
+unexplored depths of subaqueous caves, flows a
+clear mountain-bred stream, and, in the silent pools
+which lie under the shadow of the cliff, are the fish<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span>
+which with the rice and salt, will make the coming
+feast.</p>
+
+<p>The road lies through six or seven miles of
+open country and virgin forest, and it is 9 or
+10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> before the river is reached, the elephants
+hobbled, and the men of the party ready for
+business.</p>
+
+<p>In days gone by, the method would have been to
+<i>tuba</i> the stream above a pool, but this poisoning of
+the water affects the river for miles, and dynamite
+which is not nearly so destructive is preferred. The
+plan is to select a large and deep pool round which
+the men stand ready to spring in, while the women
+make a cordon across the shallow at its lower end,
+ready to catch the fish that escape the hands of the
+swimmers. Two cartridges of dynamite with a detonator
+and a piece of slow match are tied to a stone
+and thrown into the deepest part of the pool, there is
+an explosion sending up a great column of water,
+and immediately the dead fish come to the surface
+and begin to float down stream. Twenty men
+spring into the pool, and with shouts and laughter
+struggle for the slippery fish; those which elude the
+grasp of the swimmers are caught by the women.
+It will then be probably discovered that no very big
+fish have been taken; and, as it is certain that some<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span>
+at least should be there, the boldest and best divers
+will search the bottom of the pool and even look into
+the water-filled caves of the rock that there rises
+sheer out of the stream. Success rewards this
+effort, and, from the bed of the pool, some sixteen
+or eighteen feet deep, the divers bring up two at a
+time, great silvery fish weighing ten to fifteen pounds
+each. There is much joy over the capture of these
+<i>klah</i> and <i>tengas</i>, the best kinds of fresh water fish
+known here, and, if the total take is not a large
+one, the operation will be repeated in another and
+yet another pool, until a sufficient quantity of fish
+has been secured and every one is tired of the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>There is a general change of wet garments for
+dry ones, no difficult matter, while long before this
+fires have been made on the bank, rice is boiling,
+fish are roasting in split sticks, grilling, frying, and
+the hungry company is settling itself in groups
+ready for the meal. It is a matter of honour that
+no plates should be used, so every one has a piece of
+fresh green plantain leaf to hold his rice and salt and
+fish, while nature supplies the forks and spoons.
+Whether it is the exercise, the excitement, or the
+coldness of the two hours’ bath, that is most responsible
+for the keen appetites is not worth<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span>
+inquiring, but thorough justice is done to the food;
+and if you, reader, should ever be fortunate enough
+to take part in one of these picnics, you will declare
+that you never before realised how delicious a meal
+can be made of such simple ingredients. Some one
+has smuggled in a few condiments and they add
+largely to the success of the Malay <i>bouille-abaisse</i>,
+but people affect not to know they are there, and
+you go away assured that rice and salt did it all.
+That is part of the game.</p>
+
+<p>And now it is time to return, the sun has long
+passed the meridian, and there is a mile or two of
+forest before getting into the open country. The
+timid amongst the ladies feign alarm (Malays are
+sensible people who take only the young to picnics,
+and leave the old to mind the houses), and a desire
+to get away at once, but there are others who know
+what is in store for them.</p>
+
+<p>The elephants are brought up and each pannier
+is found to be loaded with jungle fruit, large and
+small, ripe and unripe, hard and soft, but generally
+hard as stones. Every one knows the meaning of
+this and, as the elephants kneel down to take their
+riders, you may observe that usually two men sit in
+front, two women behind, and the latter are anxious
+about their umbrellas and show a tendency to open<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span>
+them here where, in the gloom of the forest, they
+are not needed. The first two or three elephants
+move off quickly, and, having turned a corner in the
+path, disappear. It is necessary to proceed in Indian
+file, and as the next elephant comes to this corner
+he and his company are assailed by a perfect shower
+of missiles (the jungle fruit) from the riders of the
+first section of elephants who are slily waiting here
+to surprise those behind. The attack is returned
+with interest and the battle wages hot and furious.
+The leaders of the rear column try to force their
+way past those who dispute the path with them, and
+either succeed or put the enemy to flight only to find
+a succession of ambuscades laid for them, each
+resulting in a deadly struggle, and so, throughout
+the length of the forest, the more venturesome
+pushing their way to the front or taking up an
+independent line and making enemies of all comers,
+until, at last, the whole party clears the jungle and,
+taking open order, a succession of wild charges soon
+gets every one into the fray and, the supply of ammunition
+having run out, there is nothing left but to
+count the damage done.</p>
+
+<p>It is principally in broken umbrellas which have
+been used as shields, but some garments are stained,
+and there may be a few bruises treated with much<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span>
+good humour, and, by the time the party has
+straightened its dishevelledness, it is found that
+miles of otherwise tedious journey have been
+passed and every one is home ere the lengthening
+shadows suddenly contract and tell the sun has
+set.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="IV">IV<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE MURDER OF THE HAWKER</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">It is a damned and bloody work,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The graceless action of a heavy hand</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><i>King John</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>One afternoon, in 1892, a foreign Malay named
+Lenggang, who made a living by hawking
+in a boat on the Perak River, left Bota with his
+usual cargo and a hundred dollars which his cousin,
+the son of the <i>Penghulu</i>, had been keeping for him.
+He was alone in the boat and dropped down stream,
+saying he would call at some of the villages that
+line at intervals the banks of the river.</p>
+
+<p>The next day this man’s dead body, lying partly
+under a mosquito curtain, was discovered in the
+boat as it drifted past the village of Pulau Tiga.
+The local headman viewed it, but saw nothing to
+arouse his suspicions, for the boat was full of
+valuables and a certain amount of money, while
+nothing in it seemed to have been disturbed, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span>
+there were no marks of violence on the corpse, which
+was duly buried.</p>
+
+<p>When the matter was reported, inquiries were
+made but they elicited nothing. Some months after
+the relatives of the dead man appeared at Teluk
+Anson, and said they had good reason to believe that
+he had met with foul play, indeed that he had been
+murdered at a place called Lambor—a few miles
+below Bota and above Pulau Tiga. An intelligent
+Malay sergeant of police proceeded to the spot,
+arrested a number of people, who denied all knowledge
+of the affair, and took them to Teluk Anson.
+Arrived there, these people said they were able to
+give all the necessary information if that would
+procure their release, as they had only promised to
+keep their mouths shut so long as they themselves
+did not suffer for it.</p>
+
+<p>The details of the story as told in evidence are as
+follows, and they are very characteristic of the
+Malay:</p>
+
+<p>It appears that the hawker duly arrived in his
+boat at Lambor, and there tied up for the night to
+a stake, about twenty feet from the bank of the
+river. Shortly afterwards a Malay named Ngah
+Prang, stopped three of his acquaintances walking
+on the bank, asked them if they had seen the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span>
+hawker’s boat, and suggested that it would be a good
+thing to rob him. They said they were afraid, and
+some other men coming up asked one of those to
+whom the proposal had been made what they were
+talking about, and, being told, advised him to have
+nothing to do with the business and the party
+dispersed.</p>
+
+<p>That evening, at 8 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, several people heard
+cries of “help, help, I am being killed,” from the
+river, and five or six men ran out of their houses
+down to the bank, a distance of only fifty yards,
+whence they saw, in the brilliant moonlight, Ngah
+Prang and two other men in the hawker’s boat, the
+hawker lying flat on his back while one man had
+both hands at his throat, another held his wrists,
+and the third his feet; but it is said that those on
+the bank heard a noise of rapping as though feet
+were kicking or hands beating quickly the deck of
+the boat. It only lasted for a moment and then
+there was silence.</p>
+
+<p>As those who had been roused by the cries came
+down the bank they called to the men in the boat,
+barely twenty feet away, and lighted at their work
+by the brilliancy of an Eastern moon, to know what
+they were doing; they even addressed them by
+their names, but these gave no answer, and, getting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span>
+up from off the hawker, untied the boat, one taking
+a pole and another the rudder and disappeared down
+the river. The hawker did not move. He was
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>The witnesses of this tragedy appear then to have
+returned to their homes and slept peacefully.
+Several of them naïvely remarked that they heard
+the next day that the hawker had been found dead
+in his boat, and it appears that when one of these
+witnesses, on the following day, met one of the
+murderers, he asked him what he was doing in
+Lenggang’s boat, and the man replied that they
+were robbing him, that he held the hawker by the
+throat, the others by the hands and feet, but that
+really they had got very little for their trouble.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the three murderers told several of
+the eye-witnesses of the affair that, if they said
+anything, it would be the worse for them, and
+nothing particular occurred till a notice was posted
+in the Mosque calling upon any one who knew
+anything about Lenggang’s death to report it to the
+village Headman. Then Ngah Prang, who apparently
+was the original instigator of the job, as so
+often happens, thought he would save himself at the
+expense of his friends, and actually went himself to
+make a report, and, meeting on the way one of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span>
+eye-witnesses going on a similar errand, he persuaded
+him to give a qualified promise to help in
+denying Ngah Prang’s complicity while convicting
+the others.</p>
+
+<p>Needless to say that, from the moment the first
+disclosure was made and communicated to the
+police, resulting in the arrest of a number of those
+who had actually witnessed the crime, every smallest
+detail was gradually brought to light, the hawker’s
+property, even his own clothes, gradually recovered,
+the money stolen from him traced, and no single
+link left wanting in the chain of evidence strong
+enough to convict and hang the guilty men. That
+indeed was the result.</p>
+
+<p>I have told the story of this crime, which is
+devoid of sensational incident, because it will give
+some idea of the state of feeling in a real Malay
+<i>kampong</i> of poor labouring people far from any
+outside influence. The man murdered was a Malay;
+the idea that he was worth something which could
+be obtained by the insignificant sacrifice of his life
+seems to have at once suggested that Providence
+was putting a good thing in the way of poor people,
+and those who were not afraid determined that the
+opportunity was not to be lost. The murder is
+discussed practically in public; it is executed also<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span>
+in public, in the presence of a feebly expostulating
+opposition, and then every one goes to bed. The
+only further concern of the community in the matter
+is as to how much the murderers got. For them
+the incident ends there, and, if any one has any
+qualms of conscience, they are silenced by the
+threats of the men who so easily throttled the
+hawker.</p>
+
+<p>It is only when inquiries are pushed, and things
+are made generally unpleasant for every one, that
+the truth is unwillingly disclosed, and the penalty
+paid.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="V">V<br>
+<span class="smaller">MĔNG-GĔLUNCHOR</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">And falling and crawling and sprawling,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And driving and riving and striving,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And sprinkling and twinkling and winkling,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And sounding and bounding and rounding,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Dividing and gliding and sliding,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And trumping and plumping and bumping and jumping,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Southey</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>The Malays of Perak occasionally indulge themselves
+in a form of amusement which, I believe,
+is peculiar to them. Though of ancient origin, it is
+not well known even here, and, as new sensations
+are the desire of our time, I offer it to the jaded
+pleasure-seekers of the West.</p>
+
+<p>Given a fine sunny morning (and that is what
+most mornings are in Perak) you will drive four or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span>
+five miles to the appointed place of meeting, and
+there find a crowd of one or two hundred Malay
+men, women, and children, who have been duly
+bidden to <i>mĕng-gĕlunchor</i> and to take part in the
+picnic which forms a recognised accompaniment to
+the proceedings.</p>
+
+<p>A walk of a couple of miles along a shady jungle
+path brings the party to the foot of a spur of hills,
+whence a clear mountain stream leaps down a succession
+of cascades to fertilise the plain. There is
+a stiff climb for several hundred feet until the party
+gains a great granite rock in the bed of the stream,
+large enough to accommodate a much more numerous
+gathering. In a “spate” this rock might be
+covered, but now the water flows round it and
+dashes itself wildly over the falls below. Up-stream,
+however, there is a sheer smooth face of
+granite, about sixty feet long, inclined at an angle
+of say 45°, and, while the main body of water finds
+its way down one side of this rock and then across
+its foot, a certain quantity, only an inch or two deep,
+flows steadily down the face. The depth of water
+here can be increased at will by bamboo troughs,
+leading out of the great pool which lies at the head
+of the waterfall. At the base of the rock is an inviting
+lynn not more than four feet deep. On either<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span>
+side, the river is shut in by a wealth of jungle
+foliage through which the sun strikes at rare
+intervals, just sufficiently to give the sense of
+warmth and colour.</p>
+
+<p>It is delightfully picturesque with all these people
+in their many-coloured garments, grouped in artistic
+confusion, on bank and rock. They only sit for a
+brief rest after the climb, to collect wood, make fires
+and get the work of cooking started, and you will
+not be left long in doubt as to the meaning of
+<i>mĕng-gĕlunchor</i>. It is to slide, and the game is to
+“toboggan” down this waterfall into the lynn at its
+base.</p>
+
+<p>A crowd of little boys is already walking up the
+steep, slippery rock. They go to the very top, sit
+down in the shallow water with feet straight out in
+front of them and a hand on either side for guidance,
+and immediately begin to slide down the sixty feet
+of height, gaining, before they have gone half way,
+so great a speed that the final descent into the pool
+is like the fall of a stone. They succeed each other
+in a constant stream, those behind coming on the
+top of those who have already reached the lynn.</p>
+
+<p>But now the men, and lastly the women, are drawn
+to join the sliders and the fun becomes indeed both
+fast and furious. The women begin timidly, only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span>
+half way up the slide, but soon grow bolder, and
+mixed parties of four, six, and eight in rows of two,
+three, or four each, start together and, with a good
+deal of laughter and ill-directed attempts at mutual
+assistance, dash wildly into the pool which is almost
+constantly full of a struggling, screaming crowd of
+young people of both sexes.</p>
+
+<p>If you understand the game, the slide is a graceful
+progress, but, if you don’t, if you fail to sit erect, if
+you do not keep your feet together, above all, if you
+lose your balance and do not remain absolutely
+straight on the slide, then your descent will be far
+from graceful, it may even be slightly painful, and
+the final plunge into the lynn will be distinctly
+undignified. It is well to leave your dignity at
+home, if you go to <i>mĕng-gĕlunchor</i> with a Malay
+party, for those who do not weary themselves with
+tobogganing become absolutely exhausted with
+laughing at the sliders. The fascination of the
+thing is extraordinary, and, to read this poor description,
+you would think it impossible that any
+sane person would spend hours in struggling up a
+steep and slippery rock to slide down it on two
+inches of water, and, having gained a startling
+velocity, leap into a shallow pool where half a dozen
+people will be on you before you can get out of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span>
+way. And yet I am persuaded that, if your joints
+are not stiff with age and you are not afraid of
+cold water, or ridicule, or personal damage (and you
+will admit none of those things) you would <i>mĕng-gĕlunchor</i>
+with the best of them, nor be the first to
+cry “hold, enough.”</p>
+
+<p>It is usual for the men, when sliding down the
+rock, to sit upon a piece of the thick fibre of the
+plantain called <i>upih</i>. It is perhaps advisable, but
+the women do not seem to want it. It is surprising
+that there are so few casualties and of such small
+importance—some slight abrasions, a little bumping
+of heads, at most the loss of a tooth, will be the
+extent of the total damage, and with a little care
+there need be none at all.</p>
+
+<p>By 1 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> every one will probably be tired, dry
+garments are donned, and a very hungry company
+does ample justice to the meal. An hour will be
+spent in smoking and gossip, and, as the shadows
+begin to lengthen, a long procession slowly wends
+its way back, down the slippery descent, across the
+sunny fields, and through the forest, to the trysting-place
+where all met in the morning and whence they
+now return to their own homes.</p>
+
+<p>The intelligent reader will realise that this is a
+game abounding in possibilities, but the players<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span>
+should be chosen with discrimination and with due
+regard to individual affinities.</p>
+
+<p>A sunny climate and surroundings of natural
+beauty are necessary; but a wooded ravine on the
+Riviera or by the shore of an Italian lake, a clear
+stream leaping down a steep rocky bed, and the
+rest can be easily arranged by a little cutting and
+polishing of stone.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the novelty and charm of the exercise,
+the exhilarating motion, the semblance of danger,
+the clutchings at the nearest straws for help—there
+are infinite opportunities for designing and donning
+attractive garments wherein the graceful lines of
+the human form would be less jealously hidden than
+in the trappings of stern convention.</p>
+
+<p>Puffed sleeves and a bell skirt, Louis XIV.
+heels and an eighteen inch waist, would be inconvenient
+and out of place when sliding down a
+waterfall in the hope of a safe and graceful plunge
+into a shallow lynn.</p>
+
+<p>But if the company be well chosen, the <i>venue</i>
+and the climate such as can be found at a hundred
+places between St. Tropez and Salerno, if there is
+in the costumes and the luncheon only a fair application
+of Art to Nature, the Eastern pastime is
+capable of easy and successful acclimatisation in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span>
+the West. And as the knights and dames stroll
+slowly down the wooded glen, and the sinking sun
+strikes long shafts of light across their path,
+glorifying all colours, not least the tint of hair and
+eyes, the pleasure-seekers, if they have not by then
+found some more mutually interesting topic, will be
+very unanimous in their praise of <i>Mĕng-gĕlunchor</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="VI">VI<br>
+<span class="smaller">ÂMOK</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent12">There comes a time</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">When the insatiate brute within the man,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Weary with wallowing in the mire, leaps forth</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Devouring ... and the soul sinks</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And leaves the man a devil</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Lewis Morris</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Mention has been made of the Malay <i>âmok</i>,
+and, as what, with our happy faculty for
+mispronunciation and misspelling of the words of
+other languages, is called “running amuck,” is with
+many English people their only idea of the Malay,
+and that a very vague one, it may be of interest to
+briefly describe this form of homicidal mania.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mĕng-âmok</i> is to make a sudden, murderous
+attack, and though it is applied to the onslaught of
+a body of men in war time, or where plunder is the
+object and murder the means to arrive at it, the
+term is more commonly used to describe the action
+of an individual who, suddenly and without apparent
+cause, seizes a weapon and strikes out blindly, killing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span>
+and wounding all who come in his way, regardless
+of age or sex, whether they be friends, strangers,
+or his own nearest relatives.</p>
+
+<p>Just before sunset on the evening of the 11th
+February, 1891, a Malay named Imam Mamat (that
+is Mamat the priest) came quietly into the house
+of his brother-in-law at Pâsir Gâram on the Perak
+River, carrying a spear and a <i>gôlok</i>, <i>i.e.</i> a sharp,
+pointed cutting knife.</p>
+
+<p>The Imam went up to his brother-in-law, took
+his hand and asked his pardon. He then approached
+his own wife and similarly asked her pardon, immediately
+stabbing her fatally in the abdomen with the
+<i>gôlok</i>. She fell, and her brother, rushing to assist
+her, received a mortal wound in the heart. The
+brother-in-law’s wife was in the house with four
+children, and they managed to get out before the
+Imam had time to do more than stab the last of
+them, a boy, in the back as he left the door. At
+this moment, a man, who had heard the screams of
+the women, attempted to enter the house, when the
+Imam rushed at him and inflicted a slight wound,
+the man falling to the ground and getting away.</p>
+
+<p>Having secured two more spears which he found
+in the house, the murderer now gave chase to the
+woman and her three little children and made short<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span>
+work of them. A tiny girl of four years old and
+a boy of seven were killed, while the third child
+received two wounds in the back; a spear thrust
+disposed of the mother—all this within one hundred
+yards of the house.</p>
+
+<p>The Imam now walked down the river bank,
+where he was met by a friend named Uda Majid,
+rash enough to think his unarmed influence would
+prevail over the other’s madness.</p>
+
+<p>He greeted the Imam respectfully, and said, “You
+recognise me, don’t let there be any trouble.”</p>
+
+<p>The Imam replied, “Yes, I know you, but my
+spear does not,” and immediately stabbed him twice.</p>
+
+<p>Though terribly injured, Uda Majid wrested the
+spear from the Imam, who again stabbed him twice,
+this time in lung and windpipe, and he fell. Another
+man coming up ran unarmed to the assistance of
+Uda Majid, when the murderer turned on the new-comer
+and pursued him; but, seeing Uda Majid get
+up and attempt to stagger away, the Imam went
+back to him and, with two more stabs in the back,
+killed him. Out of the six wounds inflicted on this
+man three would have proved fatal.</p>
+
+<p>The murderer now rushed along the river bank,
+and was twice seen to wade far out into the water
+and return. Then he was lost sight of.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span></p>
+
+<p>By this time the news had spread up stream and
+down, and every one was aware that there was
+abroad an armed man who would neither give nor
+receive quarter.</p>
+
+<p>For two days, a body of not less than two hundred
+armed men under the village chiefs made ceaseless
+but unavailing search for the murderer. At 6 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>
+on the second day, Imam Mamat suddenly appeared
+in front of the house of a man called Lasam, who
+had barely time to slam the door in his face and
+fasten it. The house at that moment contained four
+men, five women, and seven children, and the only
+weapon they possessed was one spear.</p>
+
+<p>Lasam asked the Imam what he wanted, and he
+said he wished to be allowed to sleep in the house.
+He was told he could do so if he would throw away
+his arms, and to this the Imam replied by an attempt
+to spear Lasam through the window. The latter,
+however, seized the weapon, and with the help of
+his son, wrested it out of the Imam’s hands, Lasam
+receiving a stab in the face from the <i>gôlok</i>. During
+this struggle, the Imam had forced himself halfway
+through the window, and Lasam seizing his own
+spear, thrust it into the thigh of the murderer, who
+fell to the ground. In the fall, the shaft of the
+spear broke off, leaving the blade in the wound.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was now pitch dark, and, as the people of the
+house did not know the extent of the Imam’s injury
+or what he was doing, a man went out by the back
+to spread the news and call the village headman.
+On his arrival the light of a torch showed the Imam
+lying on the ground with his weapons out of reach,
+and the headman promptly pounced upon him and
+secured him.</p>
+
+<p>The Imam was duly handed over to the police and
+conveyed to Teluk Anson, but he died from loss of
+blood within twenty-four hours of receiving his wound.</p>
+
+<p>Here is the official list of killed and wounded—</p>
+
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <th colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Killed.</span></th>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Alang Rasak, wife of Imam Mamat</td>
+    <td><i>aged</i></td>
+    <td class="tdr">33</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Bilal Abu, brother-in-law of Mamat</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdr">35</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Ngah Intan, wife of Bilal Abu</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdr">32</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Puteh, daughter of Bilal Abu</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdr">4</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Mumin, son of Bilal Abu</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdr">7</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Uda Majid</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdr">35</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <th colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Wounded.</span></th>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Kâsim, son of Bilal Abu</td>
+    <td><i>aged</i></td>
+    <td class="tdr">14</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Teh, daughter of Bilal Abu</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdr">6</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Mat Sah</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdr">45</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Lasam</td>
+    <td class="tdc"></td>
+    <td class="tdr">—</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is terrible to have to add that both the women
+were far advanced in pregnancy.</p>
+
+<p>Imam Mamat was a man of over forty years of
+age, of good repute with his neighbours, and I never
+heard any cause suggested why this quiet, elderly
+man of devotional habits should suddenly, without
+apparent reason, develop the most inhuman instincts
+and brutally murder a number of men, women, and
+children, his nearest relatives and friends. It is,
+however, quite possible that the man was suffering
+under the burden of some real or fancied
+wrong which, after long brooding, darkened his
+eyes and possessed him with this insane desire
+to kill.</p>
+
+<p>An autopsy was performed on the murderer’s
+body, and the published report of the surgeon says:
+“I hereby certify that I this day made a <i>post-mortem</i>
+examination of the body of Imam Mahomed, and
+find him to have died from hæmorrhage from a
+wound on the outer side of right thigh; the internal
+organs were healthy except that the membranes of
+the right side of brain were more adherent than
+usual.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="VII">VII<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE JÔGET</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent2">Every footstep fell as lightly</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">As a sunbeam on the river</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Longfellow’s</span> <i>Spanish Student</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Malays are not dancers, but they pay professional
+performers to dance for their amusement,
+and consider that “the better part” is with
+those who watch, at their ease, the exertions of a
+small class whose members are not held in the
+highest respect. The spectacle usually provided is
+strangely wanting in attraction; a couple of women
+shuffling their feet, and swaying their hands in
+gestures that are practically devoid of grace or even
+variety—that is the Malay dance—and it is accompanied
+by the beating of native drums, the striking
+together of two short sticks held in either hand, and
+the occasional boom of a metal gong. The entertainment
+has an undoubted fascination for Malays
+but it generally forms part of a theatrical performance,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span>
+and for Western spectators it is immeasurably
+dull.</p>
+
+<p>In one of the Malay States, however, Păhang, it
+has for years been the custom for the ruler and one
+or two of his near relatives to keep trained dancing
+girls, who perform what is called the “Jôget”—a
+real dance with an accompaniment of something like
+real music, though the orchestral instruments are
+very rude indeed.</p>
+
+<p>The dancers, <i>bûdak jôget</i>, belong to the Raja’s
+household, they may even be attached to him by a
+closer tie; they perform seldom, only for the amusement
+of their lord and his friends, and the public
+are not admitted. Years ago I saw such a dance,
+and though peculiar to Păhang as far as the Malay
+States are concerned, it is probable that it came
+originally from Java; the instruments used by the
+orchestra and the airs played are certainly far more
+common in Java and Sumatra than in the Peninsula.</p>
+
+<p>I had gone to Păhang on a political mission
+accompanied by a friend, and we were vainly
+courting sleep in a miserable lodging, when at
+1 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> a message came from the Sultan inviting us
+to witness a <i>jôget</i>. We accepted with alacrity,
+and at once made our way to the <i>astâna</i>, a
+picturesque, well-built and commodious house on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span>
+the right bank of the Păhang river. A palisade
+enclosed the courtyard, and the front of the house
+was a very large hall, open on three sides, but
+covered by a lofty roof of fantastic design supported
+on pillars. The floor of this hall was approached
+by three wide steps continued round the three open
+sides, the fourth being closed by a wooden wall
+which entirely shut off the private apartments save
+for one central door over which hung a heavy curtain.
+The three steps were to provide sitting
+accommodation according to their rank for those
+admitted to the <i>astâna</i>. The middle of the floor,
+on the night in question, was covered by a large
+carpet, chairs were placed for us, and the rest of
+the guests sat on the steps of the daïs.</p>
+
+<p>When we entered, we saw, seated on the carpet,
+four girls, two of them about eighteen and two
+about eleven years old, all attractive according to
+Malay ideas of beauty, and all gorgeously and
+picturesquely clothed.</p>
+
+<p>On their heads they each wore a large and
+curious but very pretty ornament of delicate workmanship—a
+sort of square flower garden where all
+the flowers were gold, trembling and glittering with
+every movement of the wearer. These ornaments
+were secured to the head by twisted cords of silver<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span>
+and gold. The girls’ hair, combed down in a fringe,
+was cut in a perfect oval round their foreheads and
+very becomingly dressed behind.</p>
+
+<p>The bodices of their dresses were made of tight-fitting
+silk, leaving the neck and arms bare, whilst
+a white band of fine cambric (about 1½ inches wide),
+passing round the neck, came down on the front of
+the bodice in the form of a V, and was there
+fastened by a golden flower.</p>
+
+<p>Round their waists were belts fastened with large
+and curiously worked <i>pinding</i> or buckles of gold,
+so large that they reached quite across the waist.
+The rest of the costume consisted of a skirt of cloth
+of gold (not at all like the <i>sârong</i>), reaching to the
+ankles, while a scarf of the same material, fastened
+in its centre to the waist-buckle, hung down to the
+hem of the skirt.</p>
+
+<p>All four dancers were dressed alike, except that
+the elder girls wore white silk bodices with a red
+and gold handkerchief, folded cornerwise, tied under
+the arms and knotted in front. The points of the
+handkerchief hung to the middle of the back. In
+the case of the two younger girls the entire dress
+was of one material.</p>
+
+<p>On their arms the dancers wore numbers of gold
+bangles, and their fingers were covered with diamond<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span>
+rings. In their ears were fastened the diamond
+buttons so much affected by Malays, and indeed
+now by Western ladies. Their feet, of course,
+were bare.</p>
+
+<p>We had ample time to minutely observe these
+details before the dance commenced, for when we
+came into the hall the four girls were sitting down
+in the usual<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Eastern fashion, on the carpet, bending
+forward, their elbows resting on their thighs, and
+hiding the sides of their faces, which were towards
+the audience, with fans made of crimson and gilt
+paper which sparkled in the light.</p>
+
+<p>On our entrance the band struck up, and our
+special attention was called to the orchestra, as the
+instruments are seldom seen in the Malay Peninsula.</p>
+
+<p>There were two chief performers, one playing on
+a sort of harmonicon, the notes of which he struck
+with pieces of stick held in each hand. The other,
+with similar pieces of wood, played on inverted
+metal bowls. Both these performers seemed to
+have sufficiently hard work, but they played with
+the greatest spirit from 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> till 5 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span></p>
+
+<p>The harmonicon is called by Malays <i>chĕlempong</i>,
+and the inverted bowls, which give a pleasant and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span>
+musical sound like the noise of rippling water, a
+<i>gambang</i>. The other members of the orchestra
+consisted of a very small boy who played, with a
+very large and thick stick, on a gigantic gong—an
+old woman who beat a drum with two sticks, and
+several other boys who played on instruments like
+triangles called <i>chânang</i>.</p>
+
+<p>All these performers, we were told with much
+solemnity, were artists of the first order, masters
+and a mistress in their craft, and if vigour of execution
+counts for excellence they proved the justice of
+the praise.</p>
+
+<p>The Hall, of considerable size, capable of accommodating
+several hundreds of people, was only
+dimly lighted, but the fact that, while the audience
+was in semi-darkness, the light was concentrated on
+the performers added to the effect. Besides ourselves
+I question whether there were more than
+twenty spectators, but sitting on the top of the daïs
+near to the dancers it was hard to pierce the surrounding
+gloom.</p>
+
+<p>The orchestra was placed on the left of the
+entrance to the Hall, that is rather to the side and
+rather in the background, a position evidently chosen
+with due regard to the feelings of the audience.</p>
+
+<p>From the elaborate and vehement execution of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span>
+the players, and the want of regular time in the
+music, I judged, and rightly, that we had entered as
+the overture began. During its performance, the
+dancers sat leaning forward, hiding their faces as I
+have described; but when it concluded and, without
+any break, the music changed into the regular
+rhythm for dancing, the four girls dropped their
+fans, raised their hands in the act of <i>Sèmbah</i> or
+homage, and then began the dance by swaying their
+bodies and slowly waving their arms and hands in
+the most graceful movements, making much and
+effective use all the while of the scarf hanging from
+their belts.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually raising themselves from a sitting to a
+kneeling posture, acting in perfect accord in every
+motion, then rising to their feet, they floated through
+a series of figures hardly to be exceeded in grace
+and difficulty, considering that the movements are
+essentially slow, the arms, hands and body being
+the real performers whilst the feet are scarcely
+noticed and for half the time not visible.</p>
+
+<p>They danced five or six dances, each lasting
+quite half an hour, with materially different figures
+and time in the music. All these dances I was told
+were symbolical; one, of agriculture, with the tilling
+of the soil, the sowing of the seed, the reaping<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span>
+and winnowing of the grain, might easily have been
+guessed from the dancer’s movements. But those
+of the audience whom I was near enough to question
+were, Malay-like, unable to give me much information.
+Attendants stood or sat near the dancers and
+from time to time, as the girls tossed one thing on
+the floor, handed them another. Sometimes it was
+a fan or a mirror they held, sometimes a flower or
+small vessel, but oftener their hands were empty, as
+it is in the management of the fingers that the chief
+art of Malay dancers consists.</p>
+
+<p>The last dance, symbolical of war, was perhaps
+the best, the music being much faster, almost
+inspiriting, and the movements of the dancers more
+free and even abandoned. For the latter half of
+the dance they each held a wand, to represent a
+sword, bound with three rings of burnished gold
+which glittered in the light like precious stones.</p>
+
+<p>This nautch, which began soberly, like the others,
+grew to a wild revel until the dancers were, or
+pretended to be, possessed by the Spirit of Dancing,
+<i>hantu mĕnâri</i> as they called it, and leaving the
+Hall for a moment to smear their fingers and faces
+with a fragrant oil, they returned, and the two
+eldest, striking at each other with their wands
+seemed inclined to turn the symbolical into a real<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span>
+battle. They were, however, after some trouble,
+caught by four or five women and carried forcibly
+out of the Hall, but not until their captors had been
+made to feel the weight of the magic wands. The
+two younger girls, who looked as if they too would
+like to be “possessed,” but did not know how to
+accomplish it, were easily caught and removed.</p>
+
+<p>The band, whose strains had been increasing in
+wildness and in time, ceased playing on the removal
+of the dancers, and the nautch, which had begun at
+10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, was over.</p>
+
+<p>The Raja, who had only appeared at 4 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, told
+me that one of the elder girls, when she became
+“properly possessed,” lived for months on nothing
+but flowers, a pretty and poetic conceit.</p>
+
+<p>As we left the Astâna, and taking boat rowed
+slowly to the vessel waiting for us off the river’s
+mouth, the rising sun was driving the fog from the
+numbers of lovely green islets, that seemed to float
+like dew-drenched lotus leaves on the surface of the
+shallow stream.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="VIII">VIII<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE STORY OF MAT ARIS</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">I smote him as I would a worm,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">With heart as steeled, with nerve as firm;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">He never woke again</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Whittier</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>It was in the year 1876 that a man named Mat
+Aris, of no occupation and less repute, persuaded
+one Sâhit to take his wife Salâmah and
+start on a journey through the jungle to a distant
+country. The interest of Mat Aris in this couple
+was a desire to get rid of Sâhit and possess himself
+of the woman Salâmah, for whom he had conceived
+an overmastering passion.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers began their journey at a spot many
+miles up the Perak River; their road lay along a
+jungle track, and so sparsely inhabited was the
+country they were to pass through, that they could
+not even find a habitation in which to pass the
+night. They had to look forward to many days’<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span>
+journey through the primæval forest, the home of
+wild beasts and Sakai people, aboriginal tribes
+almost as shy and untamed as the elephant, the
+bison and the rhinoceros, with which they share the
+forests of the interior.</p>
+
+<p>Sâhit and his wife started on their journey in the
+company of two brothers of Mat Aris, but meeting
+him the brothers returned, Mat Aris undertaking the
+part of escort. In the afternoon of the first day’s
+march a Sakai named Pah Patin met the three, and,
+being known to Mat Aris, that worthy ordered him
+to accompany them. Pah Patin did as he was told,
+and when evening came on, as there was no dwelling
+within miles, a shelter was built in the jungle
+wherein the night was to be passed.</p>
+
+<p>It is as well to understand what a Malay jungle
+is like, for a good soil, well watered, in one of the
+hottest and dampest climates in the world, produces
+a forest that is not altogether the counterpart of all
+other forests.</p>
+
+<p>The reading public, no doubt, believes that the
+jungle of Darkest Africa is a place of gloom, terror
+and difficulty without parallel. It may be so, but
+few of those who know it have visited Malâya,
+and one is apt to exaggerate one’s own troubles.
+Whatever gruesome peculiarities there are about<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span>
+the African jungle, it seems possible for large bodies
+of men and women to make their way through it at
+a fair pace without great difficulty. In that respect
+at least it has the advantage of the Malay forest.</p>
+
+<p>To begin with there are the trees of all sizes,
+from the smallest shoot to the giants of the jungle,
+towering to a height of 150 feet. I know that is
+not excessive, but in this forcing climate there are
+an enormous number of such trees, treading on each
+others roots and crowding the older and feebler out
+of existence. These are nothing, they afford a
+pleasant shade from the pitiless rays of the sun, and
+though this mitigated light cannot by any stretch of
+imagination be called darkness, it is possible to take
+off your hat without fear of sunstroke. If it were
+only for the trees jungle walking would be pleasant
+enough.</p>
+
+<p>Under them, however, there is an undergrowth
+so thick as to beggar description. Every conceivable
+kind of palm, of bush, of creeper, flourishes
+there with a luxuriance, with a prodigality of vegetable
+life, that shows how richly Nature deserves
+her title of Mother. It is a curious fact, remarked
+by every one who has been brought in contact with
+the Malay forest, that a very large number of its
+shrubs, many of its palms, and most of its creepers<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span>
+are armed with spikes of various length, but all of
+about equal sharpness. Some are so formidable
+that the thickest skinned beasts avoid contact with
+them, and no human apparel has been devised, short
+of armour, that will resist their powers of penetration
+and destruction. Under the creepers lie fallen trees,
+and the ground is covered with ferns, rank grasses,
+and what is generally termed undergrowth, so thick
+that the soil is often entirely hidden. It may be
+added as a minor but unpleasant detail that this
+tangle of vegetation harbours every species of crawling,
+jumping, and flying unpleasantness; myriads of
+leeches that work their way through stockings and
+garments of any but the closest texture; centipedes,
+scorpions, wasps, and stinging flies, caterpillars that
+thrust their hairs into the skin and leave them there
+to cause intolerable irritation, snakes poisonous and
+otherwise, ants with the most murderous proclivities,
+and last, but not least, mosquitoes that, when they
+find a human being, make the most of their opportunity.
+I have not exhausted the catalogue of pests,
+but only given a sample of what any traveller will
+meet in a day’s journey through a Malay jungle.
+There is a wasp called “the reminder,” a thorn
+called “Kite’s talons,” and an ant known as the “fire
+ant.” The names are as apt as they are suggestive.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span></p>
+
+<p>To force a way through such a place is an impossibility,
+even on all fours it could not be crawled
+through, the only means of progress is by cutting a
+path.</p>
+
+<p>No one attempts to walk through virgin forest
+unless he be in pursuit of game, or has some special
+object and the means to clear his way. All Malay
+jungle is not as thick as that I have described, and
+as the beasts sought by the sportsman naturally
+frequent the more open places, tracking is possible,
+though severe enough work even at the slow rate
+of progress necessary to enable the pursuers to
+approach the quarry without being seen or heard.</p>
+
+<p>The lower and more swampy the country the
+thicker the undergrowth, and I have often noticed
+that, where a river flows between low banks clothed
+with virgin forest, it would be almost impossible for
+even a strong swimmer to force his way out of the
+water on to the land through the thickly interlaced
+tangle of branches, rattans, and other thorny creepers
+that stretch their uninviting arms from the bank far
+over the water of the stream.</p>
+
+<p>It will naturally be asked how travellers make
+their way through jungle such as I have described.
+The reply is that there are existing tracks (not
+worthy of the name of footpaths) which have been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span>
+used for ages, originally no doubt formed by the
+passing and repassing of wild beasts, then adopted
+by the Sakais, and lastly by Malays. In other
+cases similar means of passage have been formed by
+driving tame elephants through the forest from place
+to place. For the pedestrian, especially if he be
+clad in the garments and boots of western civilisation,
+progress through the succession of holes filled
+with water and mud which marks the track of
+elephants is neither rapid nor pleasant.</p>
+
+<p>That is the jungle of daylight.</p>
+
+<p>When once the sun has set darkness falls upon
+everything within the forest, and it is a darkness so
+absolute as to give to wide-open eyes the impression
+of blindness. Those who have been so unfortunate
+as to be benighted in a Malay jungle without torches
+or lanterns know that there is nothing to be done
+but to sit down and wait for day.</p>
+
+<p>Such were the surroundings in which Sâhit and
+his wife found themselves compelled to spend a
+night in the company of Mat Aris and his Sakai
+acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>Mat Aris had a house in this neighbourhood,
+and on the day following the events already narrated
+a Malay went to the Headman of his village and said
+there was a woman in the house of Mat Aris sobbing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span>
+and saying her husband had been murdered. The
+Headman went to the place and saw Mat Aris was
+there and a woman with him. Mat Aris had a
+reputation which probably induced this Headman
+not to attempt to interfere with him further than to
+keep a watch on his proceedings.</p>
+
+<p>In places where there are no roads, and often
+when they do exist, Malays live on or close by the
+bank of a river, and, on the following day, the Headman
+observed Mat Aris and the woman in a boat
+going down the stream, here a succession of rapids
+and very difficult to navigate. The Headman
+followed by a jungle track, and getting near to a
+place called Kôta Tampan, the first police station,
+he hurried on and gave the information he possessed.</p>
+
+<p>When Mat Aris arrived at Kôta Tampan he
+landed, and was at once arrested by the native
+sergeant in charge of the station, who accused him
+of murdering Sâhit. Mat Aris denied the charge,
+but the woman said her name was Salâmah, and the
+sergeant said he must take them both to his Divisional
+Headquarters at Kuala Kangsar, distant thirty
+miles or more by river. Accordingly the sergeant
+and some police entered the boat and a start was
+made for Kuala Kangsar. It shortly appeared that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span>
+the police, who were natives of India, were not very
+skilful in the management of the boat, and, as Mat
+Aris offered his services to steer and there was no
+doubt of his ability, this important post was given
+to him. Choosing a convenient place where the
+stream was both deep and rapid, Mat Aris upset
+the boat and threw every one into the water. Then
+seizing the woman, he swam with her to the opposite
+bank and they both disappeared. The police
+had enough to do, hampered by their uniforms, to
+get out of the river with their lives.</p>
+
+<p>For the next eight years Mat Aris eluded all
+attempts at capture. He lived in the jungle beyond
+the jurisdiction of the Perak Government, and, with
+his brothers, became the terror of the neighbourhood,
+levying black mail on all who passed his way.
+Mat Aris was the ringleader, and even more serious
+crimes were laid at his door.</p>
+
+<p>The woman Salâmah was known to be living with
+Mat Aris as his wife, and it was also known that
+she had a child by him. Of Sâhit nothing more was
+seen or heard.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the Government of Perak had established
+a station in the neighbourhood of the spot
+where Sâhit had disappeared, and complaints of the
+lawless proceedings of Mat Aris were constantly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span>
+made to the officer in charge of it, but he was helpless,
+for the outlaw was beyond his reach.</p>
+
+<p>Eight years is, however, a long time, especially
+to an Eastern, and travellers worth robbing having
+grown scarce, Mat Aris, in the consciousness of his
+own rectitude, went to the Perak officer and asked
+for work. That mistaken step resulted in his arrest
+on the strength of the warrant issued eight years
+before.</p>
+
+<p>This time the prisoner was conveyed in safety
+to Kuala Kangsar, where he was duly tried.</p>
+
+<p>It is one thing to give information against a man
+who is free, willing, and able to resent it, and quite
+a different thing to say what you know when that
+man is in the toils. There was a witness who was
+likely to know what had happened to Sâhit, and that
+was Pah Patin the Sakai, but Pah Patin did not
+speak, and Mat Aris and Salâmah were the only
+other people who knew what he could say. At
+least that appeared to be so, for who else would be
+likely to know what happened at night in the depths
+of the jungle miles from the nearest habitation?</p>
+
+<p>As for Salâmah, like the Sabine women, she
+seemed to have reconciled herself to her captor.</p>
+
+<p>But the strange part of this story is that, impossible
+as it may seem, there was a witness who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span>
+saw what took place in that hut in the forest,
+whither the unsuspecting Sâhit had been lured
+with his wife under the escort of Mat Aris.</p>
+
+<p>That witness was a Sakai man who had been
+collecting <i>gĕtah</i> (gutta-percha), and, attracted by
+the firelight, noiselessly approached the hut and,
+whilst wondering at the unusual sight of these
+strangers sleeping in his wild and lonely jungle, he
+saw Mat Aris get up and stab to death the man,
+who stood between him and the woman he had
+determined to possess.</p>
+
+<p>The Sakai saw more than that, but when once
+he had disclosed what he knew, Pah Patin was
+found and induced to tell his tale, and other Sakais
+completed the narrative.</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that Sâhit and his wife,
+Mat Aris and the Sakai Pah Patin had built a
+shelter where they proposed to spend the night. A
+fire was lighted, food was cooked and eaten, and
+the four lay down to sleep. On one side of the
+fire Mat Aris, next him Salâmah, and then Sâhit;
+on the other was the Sakai.</p>
+
+<p>The man and his wife slept, the other Malay
+pretended to sleep, and the Sakai fell into that
+state which passes for sleep with creatures that are
+always on the alert for possible danger.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span></p>
+
+<p>Half an hour later Mat Aris rose up softly and
+with a <i>kris</i> stabbed Sâhit in the throat. The
+wretched man staggered to his feet, fell and tried to
+struggle up again when Mat Aris shouted to the
+Sakai to strike him or he would kill him also.
+Pah Patin obeyed, and hit the wounded man on the
+head with a stick. “Then,” said Pah Patin when
+at last he told the story, “there was a little life in
+him, but he never moved after I struck him.”</p>
+
+<p>The woman rushed out of the hut, but Mat Aris
+followed her and brought her back to the mat by
+the body of the murdered man, and there they
+slept together, the Sakai returning to his place on the
+other side of the fire. The night was young then.</p>
+
+<p>Before daylight Pah Patin left Mat Aris and
+Salâmah still sleeping by the corpse, and by order
+of Mat Aris fetched two more Sakais, and these
+three buried Sâhit by the bank of the river in the
+presence of Mat Aris and the woman.</p>
+
+<p>Years afterwards, when the details were known,
+an attempt was made to find the body, but it failed;
+decomposition in this climate is rapid, even bones
+disappear, and the river had many times flooded its
+banks, trees had gone and others grown, the landmarks
+were no longer the same, and possibly the
+exact site of the grave was missed.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="IX">IX<br>
+<span class="smaller">LÂTAH</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<p>Ofttimes he falleth into the fire and
+oft into the water</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Matthew</span> xvii. 14</p>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1892 I was privileged, by the
+kindness of a friend and the courtesy of Dr.
+Luys, to visit the Hospital <i>de la Charité</i> in Paris,
+where I witnessed some very remarkable and interesting
+experiments in suggestion. There were
+patients undergoing successful treatment for nervous
+disorders where the disease was in process of gradual
+relief by passing from the afflicted person to a
+medium without injury to the latter; there was
+the strange power of hypnotising, influencing and
+awakening certain <i>sujets</i> whose nervous organisations
+seem to be specially susceptible, and there was the
+astonishing influence of the magnet over these same
+<i>sujets</i> when already hypnotised. There is something
+more than usually uncanny in the sight of a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span>
+person filled with an inexplicable and unnatural
+delight in the contemplation of the positive end
+of a magnet, and when the negative end is suddenly
+turned towards him, to see him instantly
+fall down unconscious as though struck by lightning.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>sujets</i> (there were two of them, a man and a
+woman) described the appearance of the positive end
+of the magnet as producing a beautiful blue flame
+about a foot high, so exquisite in colour and beauty
+that it transported them with delight. As to the
+negative end, they reluctantly explained, in hesitating
+words and with every appearance of dread,
+that there also was a flame, but a red one of fearful
+and sinister import.</p>
+
+<p>I was deeply interested in these “manifestations,”
+both for their own strangeness and because I had
+in the Malay Peninsula seen equally extraordinary
+proceedings of a somewhat similar kind.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst Malays there is a well-known disease
+(I use the word for want of a better) called <i>lâtah</i>;
+it is far more common at certain places than at others,
+and amongst certain divisions of the great Malay
+family. Thus while there is generally one or more
+<i>ôrang lâtah</i> to be found in every <i>kampong</i> in Krian,
+where the Malays are mostly from Kĕdah, in other<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span>
+parts of Perak it is rare to ever meet a <i>lâtah</i> person.
+Again, speaking generally, the disease seems to be
+more common amongst the people of Amboina, in
+Netherlands India, than those of Java, Sumatra or
+the Malay Peninsula. In both cases heredity is probably
+accountable for the result, whatever may have
+been the original cause to produce the affliction in
+certain places more than in others. I can only
+speak of my own experience and what I have
+personally seen, for no English authority appears
+to have studied the matter or attempted to either
+observe <i>lâtah</i> people, diagnose the disease (if it is
+one), search for its cause or attempt to cure it. I
+can vouch for facts but nothing more.</p>
+
+<p>In 1874 I was sent in H.M.S. <i>Hart</i> to reside
+with the Sultan of Selangor. Though His Highness’s
+personal record was one of which he might
+be proud, for he was said to have killed ninety-nine
+men (<i>sa’ râtus kûrang sâtu</i>) with his own hand, his
+State was not altogether a happy one, for it had
+been the fighting-ground of several ambitious young
+Rajas for some years. An unusually hideous piracy,
+personally conducted by one of the Sultan’s own
+sons, and committed on a Malacca trading vessel,
+had necessitated a visit from the China fleet, and
+when the perpetrators, or those who after due<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span>
+inquiry appeared to be the perpetrators, had been
+executed (the Sultan lending his own <i>kris</i> for the
+ceremony), I was sent to see that these “boyish
+amusements,” as His Highness called them, were
+not repeated. The place where the Sultan then
+lived was hardly a desirable residence, even from
+a Malay point of view, and it has for years now
+been almost deserted. <i>Bandar Tĕrmâsa</i>, as it was
+grandiloquently styled, was a collection of huts on a
+mud flat enclosed between the Langat and Jugra
+rivers. It was only seven miles from the sea, and
+at high tide most of the place was under water.</p>
+
+<p>With me there went twenty-five Malay police
+from Malacca, and we lived all together in an old
+stockade on the bank of the Langat river. Whether
+it was the mosquitoes, which for numbers and
+venom could not be matched, or whether it was the
+evil reputation of the place for deeds of violence is
+needless to inquire, but the police were seized with
+panic and had to be replaced by another batch from
+Singapore, selected not so much on account of their
+virtues as their so-called vices. The exchange was
+satisfactory, for whatever sins they committed they
+showed no signs of panic.</p>
+
+<p>Later on I was encouraged by the statement that
+Bandar Tĕrmâsa, for all its unpromising appearance,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span>
+was a place for <i>men</i>, where those who had a difference
+settled it promptly with the <i>kris</i>, and cowards
+who came there either found their courage or
+departed. A story that amused the gossips was
+that, as a badly wounded man was carried from the
+duelling field past the palisade which enclosed the
+Sultan’s house, His Highness had asked, through
+the bars, what was the matter, and, being told, had
+laconically remarked, “If he is wounded, doctor
+him; if he is dead, bury him.”</p>
+
+<p>During my residence in the place a lady, for
+jealousy, stabbed a man of considerable note thirteen
+times with his own dagger, and sent the next
+morning to know whether I would like to purchase
+it, as she did not much fancy the weapon. The
+man was not killed, and made no complaint.
+Another lady, for a similar reason, visited our
+stockade one night, pushed the sentry on one
+side, and, finding the man she wanted, attempted
+to stab him with a long <i>kris</i> she had brought for
+that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>That was then the state of society in Bandar
+Tĕrmâsa.</p>
+
+<p>I have said we lived all together in a stockade.
+It was a very rude structure with log walls about
+six feet thick and eight feet high, a mud floor, a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span>
+thatch roof, and no doors. Outside it was a high
+watch-tower of the same materials, but the ladder
+to it had fallen down. Of roads there were none,
+but a mud path ran through the stockade from
+river bank to village, distant some 300 yards. My
+own accommodation was a cot borrowed from the
+<i>Hart</i> and slung between two posts, while the men
+slept on the walls of the stockade.</p>
+
+<p>The place had drawbacks other than mosquitoes,
+for the public path ran through it, the tide at high
+water completely covered the floor, and the log
+walls were full of snakes. The state of the surroundings
+will best be understood when I say that
+during the many months I lived there I did not
+wear boots outside the stockade, because there was
+nothing to walk upon but deep mud, and that the
+only water fit to use was contained in a well or
+pond a quarter of a mile off, to which I walked
+every day to bathe.</p>
+
+<p>With the second batch of police had come an
+European inspector, and he and I were the only
+white men in the country.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst the twenty-five police were two men of
+the name of Kâsim; they were both natives of
+Amboina, but very different in disposition, and they
+were known among their comrades as Kâsim <i>Bĕsar</i><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span>
+and Kâsim <i>Kĕchil</i>—that is Kâsim Major and Kâsim
+Minor.</p>
+
+<p>Kâsim Major was a quiet, reserved, silent man of
+about twenty-five, and I afterwards realised that
+he had a somewhat violent temper when roused.
+Kâsim Minor, on the contrary, was a smiling,
+talkative, happy, and pleasant-looking young fellow
+of about twenty. They were not related to each
+other in any way.</p>
+
+<p>I used often to be away on the coast and up
+river, and on my return from one of these expeditions
+I noticed the men teasing Kâsim Minor, and
+saw at once that he was <i>lâtah</i>. I questioned the
+inspector, and he told me that during my absence
+he had one day been away on duty for some hours,
+and when he returned, about 4 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, he saw Kâsim
+Minor up a coco-nut tree just outside the stockade.
+On asking him what he was doing there, he replied
+he could not come down because there was a snake
+at the bottom of the tree. In reality there was a
+bit of rattan tied round the tree, and, this being
+removed, Kâsim came down.</p>
+
+<p>Now, it is no easy matter to climb a coco-nut
+tree; it requires a special training to do it at all,
+and Kâsim did not possess it. But the inspector
+ascertained that the other police had found out by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span>
+accident that their comrade was <i>lâtah</i>, that they had
+ordered him to climb the tree, which he had at
+once done, and that then, out of sheer devilry,
+some one had taken a bit of rattan, said, “Do you
+see this snake? I will tie it round the tree, and
+then you can’t come down,” and so left him from
+10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> till the afternoon, when the inspector
+returned and released him.</p>
+
+<p>The time of Kâsim’s penance was probably
+greatly exaggerated, but that is how the story was
+told to me, and of all that follows I was an eye-witness.</p>
+
+<p>I made Kâsim Minor my orderly, and as he was
+constantly with me I had better opportunities of
+studying his peculiarities. About this time also I
+learnt that Kâsim Major was also <i>lâtah</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Speaking generally, it was only necessary for any
+one to attract the attention of either of these men
+by the simplest means, holding up a finger, calling
+them by name in a rather pointed way, touching
+them or even, when close by, to look them hard in
+the face, and instantly they appeared to lose all
+control of themselves and would do, not only whatever
+they were told to do, but whatever was suggested
+by a sign.</p>
+
+<p>I have seen many <i>lâtah</i> people, male and female,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span>
+but never any quite like these two, none so susceptible
+to outside influence, so ready to blindly obey
+a word or a sign.</p>
+
+<p>The kindly disposition of Kâsim Minor made him
+quite harmless, but the other Kâsim was rather a
+dangerous subject to play tricks with, as I will presently
+explain.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>lâtah</i> man or woman usually met with, if
+suddenly startled, by a touch, a noise, or the sight
+of something unexpected, will not only show all the
+signs of a very nervous person but almost invariably
+will fire off a volley of expressions more or less
+obscene, having no reference at all to the circumstance
+which has suddenly aroused attention. As
+a rule it is necessary to <i>startle</i> these people before
+they will say or do anything to show that they are
+differently constituted to their neighbours, and when
+they have betrayed themselves either by word or
+deed their instinct is to get away as quickly as
+possible. Children and even grown-up people
+cannot always resist the pleasure of “bating” a
+<i>lâtah</i> person; for one reason because it is so exceedingly
+easy, for another because they are inclined on
+the spur of the moment to do ludicrous things or
+say something they would under ordinary circumstances
+be ashamed of. <i>Almost</i> invariably <i>lâtah</i><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span>
+people of this class (and it is by far the most common
+one) are very good humoured and never seem to
+think of resenting the liberty taken with their
+infirmity. If by word or deed they commit themselves
+(and that is not uncommon) they either run
+away, or appear to be unconscious of having said
+or done anything unusual (this however is rare), or
+they simply say, “I am <i>lâtah</i>,” as a full explanation
+and excuse.</p>
+
+<p>If any one present accidentally drops something on
+the floor, if a lizard falls from the roof on to or near
+a <i>lâtah</i> person, if the wind blows the shutter of a
+window to with a bang, a <i>lâtah</i> person of the class
+I speak of will probably find it necessary to at least
+say something not usually heard in polite society.
+Of this class by far the majority are women.</p>
+
+<p>I have never seen a <i>lâtah</i> boy or girl, but I know
+they are to be found, though the disease certainly
+becomes more evident as the subject grows older.</p>
+
+<p>It must be understood that except when under
+influence, when actually showing the evidences of
+this strange peculiarity, <i>lâtah</i> people are undistinguishable
+from others. It is sufficient proof of
+this that amongst my twenty-five police there
+should have been two men more completely <i>lâtah</i>
+than any I have seen before or since.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span></p>
+
+<p>I took occasion to carefully observe the two
+Kâsims. It was impossible to always prevent their
+companions teasing them, especially in a place
+where there was absolutely no form of amusement
+and all the conditions of life were as unpleasant as
+they well could be, but no harm was ever done, and
+I am satisfied that while influence was in any way
+exercised over the <i>lâtah</i> man he was not conscious
+of his own actions, and directly it was removed he
+became his reasoning other self, and the utmost
+that remained on his mind, or came to him with the
+recovery of his own will, was that he might have
+done something foolish.</p>
+
+<p>If the attention of either of these men was
+arrested, as I have said by word, sign, or a meaning
+glance, from that moment until the influence
+was removed, the <i>lâtah</i> man would do whatever he
+was told or signed to do without hesitation, whether
+the act signified were difficult, dangerous, or painful.
+When once under this influence any one present
+could give the order and the <i>lâtah</i> man would
+immediately obey it; not only that, but even at
+some distance (as in the coco-nut tree incident), he
+appeared to be equally subject to the will imposed
+on his actions.</p>
+
+<p>A curious thing about both these men was that,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span>
+having attracted the attention of either, if you said,
+“Kâsim, go and hit that man,” he would invariably
+repeat what was said, word for word, including his
+own name, while he carried out the order. When
+the person hit turned on him, Kâsim would say,
+“It was not I who hit you, but that man who
+ordered me.”</p>
+
+<p>I have seen Kâsim the younger, when the man
+influencing him put his own finger in his mouth and
+pretended to bite it, imitate the action but really
+bite his finger and bite it hard. Similarly I have
+seen him, in imitation and without a word being
+said, take a lighted brand from the fire, and he would
+have put it in his mouth if the experiment had been
+carried so far. Some one told him one day to
+jump into the river, and he did not get out again
+till he had swum nearly two hundred yards, for the
+stream was both broad and deep, with a terrible
+current, and infested by crocodiles. If at any
+moment you called out “<i>Tôlong</i> Kâsim” (“help!
+Kâsim”), the instant he heard it he would jump up
+and crying “<i>Tôlong</i> Kâsim,” dash straight to you
+over all obstacles. If then you had put a weapon
+in his hand and told him to slay any one within
+reach I have not the slightest doubt he would have
+done it without hesitation.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span></p>
+
+<p>I have said there was a ladderless watch-tower
+outside the stockade. The police wanted firewood,
+they were not allowed to burn the logs forming our
+walls, but at the top of the watch-tower there were
+also log walls that they were told they could burn.
+They were lazy, however, and did not see how they
+were going to get up, so they ordered Kâsim the
+younger to climb up, which he did as he had
+climbed the coco-nut tree, and, when once there,
+they told him to throw down logs until they thought
+they had enough. I watched that operation, and
+the feverish haste with which the man swarmed up
+one of the supports, gained the platform of the
+tower, and threw down huge logs as though his
+life depended on it, was rather remarkable. I gave
+orders that the man’s infirmity was not to be used
+for this purpose again, but in my absence I know
+that when more firewood was wanted Kâsim went
+up to the watch-tower for it until that supply was
+exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>The path from the stockade to the village was in
+sight of the stockade throughout its length, and one
+day I noticed Kâsim Minor, as he walked leisurely
+down this mud embankment, stop every now and
+then and behave in a peculiar fashion as though he
+were having conversation with the frogs, snakes and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span>
+other denizens of the ditches that bordered the path.
+When he had gone half way he stopped and peeped
+up into the branches of a small tree on the road
+side, then he seemed to be striking blows at an
+invisible enemy, ran to the ditch and began throwing
+lump after lump of hard mud into the tree. I
+had not seen this phase of his peculiarities before
+and could not make it out, but suddenly his arms
+went about his head like the sails of a windmill,
+and I realised that his enemies were bees or hornets,
+and that he was getting a good deal the worst of
+an unequal fight. I sent some of the men to fetch
+him back and found he had been rather badly stung,
+and when I asked him why he attacked the nest he
+said his attention was caught by things flying out
+of the tree and he was impelled to throw at them.</p>
+
+<p>I understood that the hornets flying out of the
+nest appeared to be thrown at him, and he could
+not help imitating what he saw in the best way he
+could, and so he took what was nearest his hand
+and sent it flying back.</p>
+
+<p>Kâsim the elder was quite as susceptible as his
+namesake, but his comrades were a little shy of
+provoking him as they soon realised that his temper
+made the amusement dangerous. One day they
+must have been teasing him, and, when he was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span>
+allowed to recover his own will, I suppose their
+laughter made it evident to him that he had made
+himself ridiculous, for he suddenly ran to the arm-rack,
+and seizing a sword bayonet made for his
+tormentors with such evident intention to use it that
+they precipitately fled, and in a few seconds were
+making very good time across the swamp with
+Kâsim and the drawn sword far too close to be
+pleasant. I had some difficulty in persuading him
+to abandon his purpose, but after that and a lecture
+his comrades did not greatly bother him.</p>
+
+<p>I remember, however, that on another occasion
+we had secured and erected a long thin spar to
+serve as a flagstaff, but the halyard jammed and it
+seemed necessary to lower the spar when some one
+called out to Kâsim the elder to climb up it. Before
+I could interfere, he had gone up two-thirds of the
+height, and he only came down reluctantly. Had
+he gone a few feet higher the pole would inevitably
+have snapped and he would have had a severe
+fall.</p>
+
+<p>About this time a friend came and shared my
+loneliness for a fortnight. He had had experience
+of <i>lâtah</i> people before, but the two Kâsims were
+rather a revelation, and he was perhaps inclined to
+doubt what I told him they could be made to do.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span>
+One morning we were bathing as usual at the pond,
+and Kâsim the younger was in attendance carrying
+the towels, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The bath was over, and we were all three standing
+on the bank, when my friend said to Kâsim:</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Mâri, kîta tĕrjun</i>” (come, let us jump in), at
+the same time feigning to jump. Kâsim instantly
+jumped into the pond, disappeared, came up spluttering,
+and having scrambled out, said: “<i>Itu tîdak
+baik, Tûan</i>” (that is not good of you, sir).</p>
+
+<p>My friend said, “Why, I did nothing, I only said
+let us jump in and went like this,” repeating his
+previous action, when Kâsim immediately repeated
+his plunge, and we dragged him from the water
+looking like a retriever.</p>
+
+<p>When I was first ordered to Selangor, I thought
+it possible that some sort of furniture might be
+useful, and I took up a few chairs and other things,
+including a large roll of what is known as Calcutta
+matting. The things were useless in a place where
+the mud floor was often under water twice during
+twenty-four hours, and they lay piled in a corner of
+the stockade, and whenever a Malay of distinction
+came to see me for whom it was necessary to find a
+chair, it was advisable to see that the seat was not
+already occupied by a snake. The roll of matting,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span>
+about four feet high and two-and-a-half feet in
+diameter naturally remained unopened.</p>
+
+<p>Every night, owing to the myriads of mosquitoes,
+a large bonfire was lit in the middle of the stockade,
+for only in the smoke of that fire was it possible to
+eat one’s dinner. One night some Malays from the
+village had come in, and the police were trying to
+amuse them and forget their own miseries by dancing
+and singing round the fire. Under such circumstances
+Malays have a happy knack of making the
+best of things, they laugh easily and often, and as I
+have said elsewhere, they have a strong sense of
+humour if not always of a very refined description.
+Some one had introduced one of the Kâsims, in his
+character of an <i>ôrang lâtah</i>, for the benefit of the
+strangers, and one of the men was inspired to fetch
+the roll of matting, and solemnly presenting it to
+Kâsim the younger, said, “Kâsim, here is your
+wife.”</p>
+
+<p>Even now I do not forget the smile of beatitude
+and satisfaction with which Kâsim Minor regarded
+that undesirable and figureless bundle. Breathing the
+words in a low voice, almost sighing to himself,
+“Kâsim, here is your wife,” he embraced the
+matting with great fervour, constantly repeating
+“My wife! my wife!” Some one said, “Kiss<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span>
+her!” and he kissed her—repeatedly kissed her.
+Then by another inspiration (I do not say from
+whence), some one brought up the other Kâsim,
+and introducing him to the other side of the roll
+of matting, said, also very quietly, “Kâsim, this
+is <i>your</i> wife!” and Kâsim the elder accepted
+the providential appearance of his greatly-desired
+spouse, and embraced her with not less fervour
+than his namesake and rival.</p>
+
+<p>It was evident that neither intended to give up
+the lady to the other, and as each tried to monopolise
+her charms a struggle began between them to obtain
+complete possession, during which the audience,
+almost frantic with delight, urged the actors in this
+drama to manifest their affection to the lady of their
+choice. In the midst of this clamour the Kâsims
+and their joint spouse fell down, and as they nearly
+rolled into the fire and seemed disinclined even
+then to abandon the lady, she was taken away
+and put back in her corner with the chairs and
+snakes.</p>
+
+<p>It is a detail, which I only add because some
+readers hunger for detail, that neither of the Kâsims
+possessed a wife.</p>
+
+<p>I do not pretend to offer any explanation of the
+cause of this state of mind which Malays call <i>lâtah</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span>
+I imagine it is a nervous disease affecting the brain
+but not the body.</p>
+
+<p>I have never met a medical man who has interested
+himself in the matter, and I cannot say
+whether the disease, if it be one, is curable or not—I
+should doubt it.</p>
+
+<p>I have somewhere read that individuals similarly
+affected are found amongst the Canadian lumber-men.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="X">X<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE ETERNAL FEMININE</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<p>Le bonheur de saigner sur le cœur
+d’un ami</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Paul Verlaine</span></p>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>There was a woman of Kelantan named Siti
+Maämih; she was born of the people, neither
+good nor beautiful, nor attractive, nor even young,
+as youth goes in the East, but she had chosen to
+ally herself to a white man whom I will call Grant.</p>
+
+<p>I know nothing of these two, but that he had
+work far away in a Malay jungle and she shared
+his loneliness, herself a stranger in that country.
+It was apparently an arrangement formed for mutual
+advantage, like many others of a more permanent
+character. If the connection began without any
+semblance of romance, it more than satisfied the
+expectations of the contracting parties, and when
+the moment of trial came the highest affection and
+the most sacred bond could hardly have suggested
+a greater sacrifice than this woman offered.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span></p>
+
+<p>Whilst these two were living their unattractive
+lives there came difficulties between white man and
+brown—not specially between this white man and
+any with a darker skin: the quarrel was between
+white authority and Malay resentment of interference.
+Grant was not even remotely connected
+with the matter, but he was white, and under such
+circumstances a want of discrimination is not uncommon.
+There followed what is known as “a
+state of reprisals.” Uncivilised people, who do not
+understand fine distinctions in such matters, called it
+war. The disturbance was, however, comparatively
+local, Grant’s immediate neighbourhood did not seem
+affected, and he was probably unconcerned. Therefore
+he went about his work and took no special
+precaution, fearing no attack.</p>
+
+<p>But his hut was isolated, there was only one
+other white man anywhere near him, no police
+within miles, and Maämih, who understood Malays
+better than her protector, was on the watch for
+trouble.</p>
+
+<p>To expect is, sometimes, to go half way to meet,
+and the trouble came quickly.</p>
+
+<p>One morning two Malays appeared at Grant’s
+house, and, having given some trivial excuse for
+their presence and looked about the premises, took<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span>
+their departure. There was nothing unusual in
+that, and only a very nervous person would have
+seen in so simple an event any cause for alarm.
+But even ere this, prudence would have told most
+white men under similar circumstances that it would
+be well to see to their arms and keep them handy.
+Grant, however, took no precautions, as he had probably
+convinced himself that none were necessary;
+as for arms, he does not appear to have had any.</p>
+
+<p>That morning, or it may have been the evening
+before, three large boats and two small ones arrived
+in the river close by, but kept out of sight of Grant’s
+hut, and he probably did not know they were there.
+They belonged to a minor chief who had no connection
+with the Malays then in arms.</p>
+
+<p>The day wore on, Grant had been out all morning
+looking after his work, he had returned to
+breakfast, been out again, and now he was back and
+had thrown himself down to rest, glad to get under
+shelter from the oppressive heat. He was a busy
+man and his work took him out of doors, but though
+he had been about all day he had seen and heard
+nothing to arouse his suspicions.</p>
+
+<p>Seen nothing, certainly. That was not strange,
+it was a jungly place, and to be ten yards off in the
+jungle is as good, for those who seek concealment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span>
+and know the jungle, as to be in another district.
+As for hearing anything, that too was most unlikely:
+the only people he could hear from were Malays, the
+only means of communication the Malay language, of
+which Grant knew very little, and the only condition
+on which information is to be obtained from Malays
+about Malays would be an intimacy with and respect
+for the threatened man to which Grant could hardly
+aspire. There must be some very powerful influence
+at work to induce a Muhammadan, who is not personally
+in danger, to tell a Christian that there is
+a Muhammadan plot against his life. Grant, at any
+rate, if he thought about it at all, could hardly
+expect that he, a new-comer, possessed friends who
+would do so much for him.</p>
+
+<p>He was still resting when, about 4 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, a party
+of nearly twenty armed men suddenly appeared in
+front of the house and stood some fifty yards away,
+while two of them, carrying only the ordinary jungle
+knives, came up to the house and asked Grant if he
+wanted to buy fowls. He told the inquirers to take
+them to his servant, and got up as the Malays left him.</p>
+
+<p>The men had no fowls, and instead of going to
+the servant’s quarters they rejoined their companions,
+and the whole body advanced towards the house.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Maämih appeared, and instantly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span>
+divining that the strangers meant no good, she
+screamed out, “They are going to murder us.”
+But Grant said that he and she had done no harm
+and the Malays could mean none, and, taking the
+woman with him, he went out of the house and a
+few steps forward to meet his assailants.</p>
+
+<p>These last stopped some twenty yards from Grant
+and the woman, and she said, “What harm have
+we done?” The answer was “<i>Titah</i>”—it is by
+order of the Raja—and they told the woman to
+leave the infidel and go away. But she replied,
+“I shall stay with him.”</p>
+
+<p>Then several men said, “If you do not go, we
+will kill you as well as the white man.”</p>
+
+<p>Grant may not have understood this sentence of
+death on himself, he may not have realised how
+strangely the times were out of joint, that he who
+was the enemy of no man, who had done no wrong,
+who represented no cause, should suddenly, in the
+broad light of day, hear his own death sentence, and
+in the same breath learn that he was facing his
+executioners and his account with the world was
+closed. There was no time to think: instinct said,
+“There is Death,” and doubtless instinct also said,
+“Death is disagreeable: shun it.”</p>
+
+<p>It is commonly reputed that there are people who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span>
+do not know what fear is; to them in such a situation
+instinct no doubt suggests that death is a new
+and pleasant experience. With this man it was
+different; as he saw here and there a gun raised
+and pointed at him from a distance of a few paces,
+he probably felt the fear of sudden and violent
+death, and if he was in any way responsible for
+what he did in that supreme moment his thought
+must have suggested that these men would not
+harm a woman of their own nationality and religion,
+for he took her in his arms.</p>
+
+<p>A shot was fired, and the bullet shattered Maämih’s
+left arm. Then, seeing what had happened, Grant
+put her behind him and two more shots were fired,
+one of which struck Grant in the breast, and saying,
+“They have killed me,” he fell on his face to the
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>A Malay rushed up with a heavy chopping knife,
+but the woman threw herself on the body and put
+her unwounded arm over Grant’s neck to save him.
+The Malay’s first blow inflicted a deep wound on
+Maämih’s arm and made her loose her hold; the
+man then struck Grant a heavy blow on the back of
+the neck, but he was already dead.</p>
+
+<p>The murderers took no further notice of the
+woman, except to try and rob her of the jewellery<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span>
+she wore, but they plundered the house, and having
+decapitated the dead man and otherwise mutilated
+his body, they threw the remains into the river and
+departed.</p>
+
+<p>The woman was cared for by a countryman of
+her own until she could be removed to a hospital,
+where, after weeks of suffering, she recovered from
+her injuries.</p>
+
+<p>The motive of this outrage was simply the desire
+of an individual and his small following to wipe out
+the white man, and as Grant’s isolated position made
+him a specially easy prey, he fell a victim. His
+only European neighbour was also murdered by the
+same band. I know of no similar attack being made
+by Malays on a white man within modern times,
+and I question whether there is such another instance
+of a Malay woman’s devotion—not that they are
+not capable of such self-sacrifice, I think they are,
+but the circumstances necessary to call it forth very
+seldom arise.</p>
+
+<p>This woman realised what was going to happen
+before she left the shelter of the house, she had
+time after that to think, her life was not sought, she
+was told to go away and warned that if she did not
+separate herself from the white man she would share
+his fate. Moreover, she knew that no sacrifice of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span>
+hers could save him, and more than all, as affecting
+her woman’s nerves, she saw face to face the men
+with murder in their faces and the means to accomplish
+it in their hands.</p>
+
+<p>The motive which kept Maämih by Grant’s side
+and which led her, after receiving the first shot, to
+interpose herself between his body and the weapons
+of his foes, must have been as high as it was
+powerful. Just as there was nothing to fear by
+standing aside (for none would have blamed her), so
+there was nothing to hope from the forbearance of
+Grant’s murderers, and that she did not also lose
+her life by her devotion to him was the accident of
+an ill-directed shot and a well-aimed blow which
+sought to sever the woman’s arm and reach the neck
+it protected—the neck of a dead man.</p>
+
+<p>United to the devotion which deemed no sacrifice
+too great for one she loved, was that other sort of
+courage which comes of knowledge and deliberate
+intention. No one can fail to admire the pluck
+which takes no thought of danger, the instinct which
+impels a wild beast to charge an enemy and probably
+achieve thereby its own destruction. Even
+then it can hardly be said that the sensation of fear
+has never been and cannot be experienced by the
+most formidable and gallant denizens of the forest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span>
+and the desert. All sportsmen know the contrary,
+and a child has put a tiger to flight by suddenly
+throwing a basket in the face of the beast. Had the
+child run away, its death was probable, whereas it
+saved the life of an old man already in the tiger’s
+clutches, and yet the child’s action was not the
+result of courage but of fear.</p>
+
+<p>This Malay woman, in whom the love of life was
+strong, and on whose nerves the horror and certainty
+of what awaited her must have had a terrifying effect,
+deliberately renounced safety, with that higher resolve
+which, vanquishing fear, faces the unknown in
+the spirit described by the Persian who, writing
+eight centuries ago, has found so worthy an interpreter
+in the author of the lines—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“So when the Angel of the darker Drink</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">At last shall find you by the river brink</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And, offering his Cup, invite your Soul,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Forth to your Lips to quaff—</div>
+    <div class="verse indent16">You shall not shrink.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XI">XI<br>
+<span class="smaller">IN THE NOON OF NIGHT</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent8">Her soul upheld</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">By some deep-working charm</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Kirke White</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>On the western coast of the Peninsula, more
+especially that part of it which forms one side
+of the Straits of Malacca, the shore-line is generally
+one long stretch of mud, covered with mangrove
+trees to the verge of high-water mark and rather
+further, for when the tide is up there are thousands
+of acres of mangrove whose roots and several inches
+of the stems are submerged. Beyond this forest the
+receding tide leaves great wastes of evil-smelling
+mire, soft and clinging, in which the searcher for
+shell-fish sinks almost to his waist.</p>
+
+<p>Many rivers, small and great, find their way to
+the sea through this wide flat. At high water they
+look imposing enough, but when the tide is out a
+narrow and shallow channel is left winding about<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span>
+between low slimy banks, and right and left the eye
+wanders over a desolation of glistening mud with an
+almost imperceptible slope to the edge of the distant
+sea.</p>
+
+<p>Pools of shallow water and tiny channels, through
+which the receding tide finds easier road to river
+or sea, alone break the monotony of the unsightly
+waste.</p>
+
+<p>That is as far as physical features go. The
+mud-flats have their denizens, but they are not over-attractive.</p>
+
+<p>First, there is the Malay fisherman, hunting for
+mussels and other shell-fish. If he is there at all
+he will be hard to see, for he pushes his little dug-out
+fifty or a hundred yards up a mud creek, leaves
+it and fossicks about, sunk above his knees in the
+mire.</p>
+
+<p>Then there are myriads of birds, attracted by the
+great possibilities of gain to the industrious searcher
+after garbage, stranded fish, and all sorts of particularly
+loathsome-looking and foul-smelling dead things
+to be found in such a place. These birds are often
+strange-looking creatures, vast of size, long and lank
+of leg, snaky of neck and spiky of bill. But they
+are wary to a degree, they always seems to be standing
+just in the tiny ripple of the smallest wavelets<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span>
+where you instinctively know the mud and sea meet,
+and there they watch the gradually receding tide
+with melancholy abstraction, as though they took no
+real interest in the daily toil of sustaining life.</p>
+
+<p>Last, there is something else here, and, if you are
+not quite a stranger, you will look first, look longest,
+and look always for this other thing. Perhaps it is
+the extraordinary fitness of her surroundings (I say
+<i>her</i> advisedly), perhaps the art with which nature
+has designed the body of the saurian to make you
+think her a log, or a stranded palm-branch, a half-buried
+spar of a wrecked boat, or even a lighter or
+darker ridge of the surrounding mud—certain it is
+that as the crocodile lies there, basking in the sun
+which makes air and water and blistering slime
+shimmer and dance before your eyes, you will not
+notice the creature, nay, even when pointed out to
+you, it is ten to one that you will not even then
+realise that she is there.</p>
+
+<p>But get nearer, speak no word and let your rowers
+pull a long and noiseless stroke till some one with a
+quick eye and a steady hand can put a bullet in the
+reptile’s neck. As that great mouth suddenly opens,
+disclosing the rows of shining teeth, as it shuts
+again with the noise of a steel trap, as the horrible
+scaly claws dig deep into the mud in their agony and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span>
+the great spiked tail lashes round in fury, as the
+loathsome yellow belly slides over the ooze and you
+catch sight of the stony cruelty of the crocodile’s
+eye, then you will realise what manner of thing she
+is, and you will probably conceive for her and all
+her kind a deadly horror and loathing, and a consuming
+desire to slay the whole brood will seize you
+then and remain with you for all time.</p>
+
+<p>If it should happen to you to have to fight a
+wounded crocodile at close quarters, if accident
+brings you in contact with a man who has just lost
+arm or leg, or with a corpse out of which a crocodile
+has torn the life, your feelings towards these river-murderers
+will not be softened.</p>
+
+<p>There are Malay rivers so infested by these
+reptiles that at low water for a mile or two from the
+river’s mouth they will be seen, in twos and threes
+or larger groups, lying on either bank basking or
+sleeping in the sun. It repeatedly happens that
+they knock people out of their boats and then kill
+and devour them, and in places where the creatures
+are specially numerous, if a crocodile is shot dead on
+the bank, in less than half an hour the carcase will
+be dragged into the river and a crowd of the reptiles
+will be tearing it in pieces and fighting for the
+remains.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span></p>
+
+<p>Villages on the Malay coast are nearly always
+situated on the bank of a river; the sea is full
+of fish and the men of a coast village are mostly
+fishermen. If the village is of any size and the
+industry of any importance, the catching of fish is
+supplemented by curing—that is, salting and drying
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The whereabouts of a village of this kind may be
+recognised by the traveller on sea or land when he
+is yet a great way off. Probably for that reason,
+and because the cleaning of thousands of fish loads
+the water with food of a kind that is specially
+attractive to the saurian, the immediate neighbourhood
+of a fishing village is the favourite resort of
+the crocodile.</p>
+
+<p>At the mouth of a wide river on the Perak coast
+there is just such a village. It is thriving, and as
+there are a number of Chinese as well as Malay
+fishermen, it boasts a police-station. The houses
+are built for the most part on piles; at high water
+the sea washes under them, and the means of inter-communication
+are wooden stagings from house to
+house. At low water there is mud, great stretches
+of mud, running from the edge of the mangrove
+swamp which backs the village far out to the west
+and the waters of the Straits of Malacca.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was in the month of Ramthân, when begin
+those forty days of fast observed by all good
+Muhammadans—though so few of them know why
+they fast, or the details of the touching story which
+tells the sufferings of the Martyrs of Kerbela—that
+one night, past the middle of the month, but when
+the moon still lit up the water and made things plain
+as day, a strange thing happened at this small coast
+village.</p>
+
+<p>In it there lived a Malay revenue officer with his
+wife and child, and on the night in question these
+three, being at home, went to sleep about 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>
+as was their wont.</p>
+
+<p>A slight breeze was blowing off the sea, blowing
+against the falling tide, and the moonlight glorified
+the hideous expanse of slime till it looked like a
+limitless mirror, blending far away with the haze-enshrouded
+waters of the sea, but bordered landwards
+by that dark fringe of mangroves, the thick
+forest forming a striking contrast to the moonlit
+beauty of the glistening shore.</p>
+
+<p>The wind sighed up the river, played through the
+great brown nets hanging up to dry, and, scarcely
+stirring the tops of the mangroves, swept gently
+towards the distant hills.</p>
+
+<p>All the village slept, except the one Guardian of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span>
+the Peace, who showed his devotion to duty by
+punctually striking the hours on a huge metal gong.</p>
+
+<p>The night was far advanced, when suddenly he
+heard a child crying in the house of the Malay
+revenue clerk. Then there was the noise of footsteps
+and the voice of the man calling to his wife,
+but no answer. After a few minutes there was the
+sound of approaching feet, a shout from the Malay,
+followed by the man himself.</p>
+
+<p>The constable called out, “What is the matter,
+Che Mat?”</p>
+
+<p>Che Mat replied, “I was asleep, but awoke hearing
+the child crying for its mother. I could not see
+her anywhere, and she did not answer when I spoke.
+Then I got up and saw at once the door of the
+house was open, but she is nowhere to be seen.
+Have you heard anything of her?”</p>
+
+<p>The constable had heard nothing, but there was
+evidently something uncanny about this disappearance,
+for, in a village such as this, where the houses
+are more in the water than on land, where the pathless
+mangrove is the background, and the waters of
+the river the foreground, there are few places left in
+which to look for any one or anything with any
+chance of finding them.</p>
+
+<p>The man on guard roused his comrades, and, as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span>
+Malays do not sit down and discuss plans of action,
+some one at once made a move; the others followed,
+and they all walked out to the last house on the
+platform, and then listened.</p>
+
+<p>“Hark! did you not hear something?” Yes,
+through the silence of the night, wafted on the
+incoming breeze, there was a distinct but faint cry
+from the direction of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>It did not take the men long to get down to the
+ground, and first hurrying along the edge of the
+trees, they went some distance, hearing the cries at
+intervals and ever more plainly, till it became
+necessary to strike right out across the mud. By
+this time there was no doubt about the source of
+the cries, for the voice of the object of their search
+was recognised, and that the woman was in sore
+distress did not admit of doubt. Making all the
+speed they could, sinking above their knees at every
+step, stumbling, falling, but ever pressing on, they
+saw at last to their horror, in the brilliant moonlight,
+the woman on the ground being literally
+worried by three crocodiles, each six or eight feet
+in length.</p>
+
+<p>As crocodiles go, six or eight feet is no great
+length, but to go to sleep in your own house and
+wake up at midnight within a hundred feet of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span>
+sea, but with half a mile of mud between you
+and anything like dry land, and at the same time
+assailed by <i>three</i> crocodiles quite big enough to kill
+you, is calculated to shock the strongest nerves.</p>
+
+<p>After a short but exciting fight, the police beat
+off the scaly beasts with difficulty, and found the
+woman had been badly torn in legs, and arms, and
+neck.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst the men were arranging to carry her back,
+no easy matter over half a mile of soft but sticky
+wet mud and ooze, she told her tale:</p>
+
+<p>“I was sleeping,” she said, “and had a vision.
+Two radiant Beings appeared to me and bid me
+rise and follow them, and they would show me a
+sight more glorious than is vouchsafed to mortals.
+Transported with joy, I rose and followed them, and
+whilst filled with ecstatic rapture by the companionship
+of these Celestial Beings, I seemed to be borne
+along without effort of my own through enchanted
+fields of more than earthly beauty. Suddenly I was
+awakened by feeling the teeth of a crocodile in my
+leg, and, to my horror, I found I was out here on
+this mud-flat half a mile from home, but close to the
+sea, with three crocodiles attacking me, no means of
+defending myself, and little hope of help. I fell, and
+the beasts tore and worried me, biting my arms, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span>
+legs, and neck, while I screamed for help until you
+came and rescued me.”</p>
+
+<p>Well, after all, there is nothing very strange in
+that. A woman of peculiar nervous organisation, a
+somnambulist, dreams a dream and walks out into
+the balmy atmosphere of a moonlit Eastern night.
+She walks rather far, and has a rude awakening.
+That is nothing; other sleepers have walked further,
+and their awakening has been to the life beyond the
+grave.</p>
+
+<p>Only this was curious: that while the men sank
+deep into the mud at every step, the woman had
+never sunk in at all. When found, there was only
+mud on the <i>soles</i> of her feet, and, though she had
+walked half a mile across the flat, and her tracks
+were plainly visible in the moonlight, they were all
+on the surface, and she had crossed the soft, unstable
+mire as easily as though it had been a metalled road.</p>
+
+<p>So the men bore her home, not wondering overmuch,
+for in this thing they saw the hand of the
+Celestial Beings who guided her feet with such
+consideration, to abandon her to the ferocious
+attentions of the crocodiles.</p>
+
+<p>The woman herself, her husband, and the police
+were satisfied as to the means, but found the end
+too hard for their understanding.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span></p>
+
+<p>The ideal woman, the product of higher education
+and deep research in divers subjects, supplies
+the real clue to the phenomenon, for, when asked
+“where the true Spirit of God is,” she modestly
+replies, “I can tell you: it is in us <i>women</i>. We
+have preserved it and handed it down from one
+generation to another of our own sex unsullied.”<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>Doubtless—from the time when the Spirit moved
+upon the face of the waters, and, later, on the Sea
+of Galilee; but it is more difficult to understand how
+woman, unaided, has handed anything down from
+one generation to another.</p>
+
+<p>The same idea is, however, more happily conveyed
+in the injunction of the President of the
+Scraggsville Woman’s Suffrage League to her
+husband, when ordering him to go and purchase a
+divided skirt. “If you are afraid, pray to God for
+courage; <i>She</i> will help you.”</p>
+
+<p>The mere male has his uses, one of which is to
+assist the unsullied sex to perpetuate the Spirit of
+God, and another to be within hail when there are
+crocodiles about.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XII">XII<br>
+<span class="smaller">VAN HAGEN AND CAVALIERO</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">How loved, how honoured once, avails thee not,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">To whom related, or by whom begot,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">A heap of dust alone remains of thee</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Pope</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Not many months after my first arrival in the
+East I met, in a club in Singapore, an
+Italian called Cavaliero. He was quite young, tall,
+dark, and good-looking, of a pronounced Italian
+type. What his occupation was I have no idea; I
+suppose he had some sort of business, but it could
+not have been very attractive or profitable, for one
+day I was told that he and a Hollander named
+Van Hagen had collected about a hundred natives
+of all sorts and conditions and had accepted service
+with the Viceroy of the Sultan of Selangor.</p>
+
+<p>Selangor was then an absolutely independent
+Malay State, so independent in fact that the principal
+and almost only employment of its inhabitants was
+fighting.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Sultan was and is an old gentleman for
+whom I have the highest regard, and I desire to
+speak of him with the greatest respect. He had
+had his own fighting day and was tired of it, he
+wished to be left alone, that was all; but he recognised
+that boys will be boys, and if the young
+Selangor Rajas took their pleasure in this way, he
+was inclined to regard their escapades with an indulgent
+eye, provided they did not interfere with
+his <i>opium cum dignitate</i> and his immediate surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan’s own sons were very much interested
+in the guerilla warfare that was then being carried
+on throughout Selangor, and the feature of the disturbances
+was that every chief said he had the
+Sultan’s approval of his proceedings. Some time
+later I was myself in Selangor, and, as this statement
+was constantly being dinned into my ears, I
+took the liberty of asking his Highness what it meant.</p>
+
+<p>He promptly pointed out that each of these Rajas
+in turn came to him, stated his case, and asked the
+Sultan if that was not correct. His Highness
+always replied, “Quite correct,” but, as he explained
+to me, “<i>bĕnar ka-pâda dia, bûkan bĕnar ka-pâda
+kami</i>,” which being interpreted means, “correct in
+their view, not in mine.” He was evidently tickled<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span>
+by this happy inspiration and laughed heartily at
+his own ingenuity.</p>
+
+<p>The gossips declared that his Highness was
+always requested to give a tangible proof of his
+approval in the shape of gunpowder and lead, and
+that he gave them to every applicant with strict
+impartiality. On this point the Sultan told me
+nothing, and I was not indiscreet enough to inquire,
+but as Selangor is no more free from gossip than its
+neighbours, I put the statement down to irresponsible
+chatter.</p>
+
+<p>All this is, however, by the way. Certain Rajas
+held certain important strategical points from which
+other Rajas kept trying to oust them, and the fight
+waxed hottest about Klang, the principal port of
+the State, and Kuala Lumpor, the principal mining
+centre.</p>
+
+<p>As to Klang, it had just been captured by a
+notable warrior named Raja Mahdi, and its whilom
+defenders driven out when the Sultan gave his only
+daughter in marriage to Tunku dia Udin, brother of
+the Sultan of Kĕdah. The Sultan’s son-in-law
+espoused the cause of those who had been driven
+from Klang, and, as he was created Viceroy and
+had powerful support in Singapore, matters were
+further complicated.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Viceroy and his friends recovered possession
+of Klang and secured the friendship and assistance
+of the Chinese miners at Kuala Lumpor.</p>
+
+<p>These Chinese were led by one Ah Loi, a remarkable
+man, styled the “Capitan China,” whose
+instincts were distinctly warlike and his authority
+with his countrymen supreme.</p>
+
+<p>Raja Mahdi also had friends who were acting
+against the Chinese in the interior, and supporters
+outside the State who helped him with money,
+stores, and arms, and thus the ball rolled merrily
+along.</p>
+
+<p>Dame Fortune was, as usual, fickle, and success
+was now with the Viceroy and now with Mahdi and
+his friends. The Capitan China did his share in
+his own way. He offered fifty silver dollars for
+every enemy’s head delivered in the market-place in
+front of his house at Kuala Lumpor, and he told me
+himself that his man who stood there ready to
+receive the hideous trophies and pay the money did
+quite a brisk business.</p>
+
+<p>As with all Malay war, the operations languished
+and revived by fits and starts. Plenty of money
+meant plenty of men, arms, and ammunition, and
+with them a spasmodic effort would be made and
+probably a success gained. Then would follow dire<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span>
+scarcity, and the other side, having raised some
+money, would in their turn gain an advantage.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the tide of battle ebbed and flowed for
+months and years, and the only plain and evident
+result was that the population of Selangor was
+rapidly diminishing, the ground in the immediate
+neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpor town being thickly
+planted with corpses, for there the battle was always
+the hottest, both because of the Capitan China’s
+special method and because of the value of the
+mines. The survivors on both sides were not only
+being reduced to penury, but their leaders were
+becoming involved in debts which only the complete
+success of one side followed by lasting
+peace and order could enable the victors to pay
+from the revenues derived from the tin-mines. The
+debts of the defeated would naturally be irrecoverable.</p>
+
+<p>While the State was distracted by all this trouble
+the Sultan still secured a comparative tranquillity by
+his diplomatic sympathy with the combatants, and
+whichever side held the Klang custom-house supplied
+him with funds. That was the price of his
+qualified approval.</p>
+
+<p>It was at this time that the Viceroy’s party, being
+in funds, conceived the plan of raising a force in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span>
+Singapore with which they hoped to deal an effective
+blow to their enemies.</p>
+
+<p>I have said I knew little of Cavaliero, but of Van
+Hagen, who took command of the recruits, I know
+less. I was told that he had been an officer in the
+Netherlands army, and that he lost his commission
+owing to some breach of discipline, but that he was
+a man of birth, character, and courage.</p>
+
+<p>His heterogeneous force, composed of natives of
+half-a-dozen nationalities, went by sea to Klang,
+disembarked and made its way with guides through
+the jungle to Kuala Lumpor. There they stockaded
+themselves on a hill above the town and did valiantly
+in its defence. But the place was invested by the
+enemy, supplies were cut off, and while the force
+was daily harassed by the fire from the enemy’s
+works, provisions ran short and the men were
+threatened at once with starvation and the probability
+of being surrounded and entirely cut off from their
+base at Klang, twenty-five miles distant by a jungle
+track.</p>
+
+<p>Under these circumstances, and probably moved
+by the growing discontent of their men, Van Hagen
+and Cavaliero determined, ere it should be too late,
+to endeavour to make their way back to the port.</p>
+
+<p>They were all strangers in the country, and they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span>
+could find no one to guide them through the jungle,
+but their difficulties became so great that they
+decided to risk the journey as a choice of evils, and
+early one morning they set out.</p>
+
+<p>I have elsewhere tried to describe a Malay jungle,
+and the path which these men had to traverse was,
+as I know from my own experience, beset with
+peculiar difficulty, and led for a great deal of the
+way through swamp and water, where, of course,
+there was no track visible. It is not surprising that
+the party lost its way. Not only that, but weak
+from want of food, wanting in cohesion and discipline,
+and with the knowledge that they were seeking
+blindly for a road unknown to all, a feeling of
+despair overcame many of them, and they wandered
+off in different directions never to be seen or heard
+of again.</p>
+
+<p>The main body, with Van Hagen and Cavaliero,
+after a weary day’s march and no food, arrived in
+the evening, utterly exhausted, at a place called
+Patâling, only four miles from Kuala Lumpor!
+They had been walking in a circle, and had got
+back to a point not far from that of their original
+departure.</p>
+
+<p>Patâling was held by a considerable body of the
+enemy under two Malay Rajas, and the weary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span>
+wanderers walked straight into their arms and gave
+themselves up without a struggle.</p>
+
+<p>Another story says that, at the last moment
+before leaving Kuala Lumpor, a guide presented
+himself and offered his services, which were
+accepted; that he led the party hither and thither
+through the jungle, and in the evening, when
+thoroughly exhausted, took them into Patâling.</p>
+
+<p>I never heard rightly what became of the rank
+and file; they may have been given their liberty
+and told to find their own way out of the State.
+For the officers was reserved another fate.</p>
+
+<p>Finding the principal defenders of Kuala Lumpor
+had withdrawn, the place was occupied without
+difficulty by those who had for so long invested it.
+The leading Chinese were made very uncomfortable,
+but on them depended the working of the
+mines, and they were allowed to purchase their
+lives.</p>
+
+<p>I do not think this alternative was offered to
+Van Hagen and Cavaliero. They were escorted
+from Patâling to Kuala Lumpor, and, arrived there,
+they were taken out and shot.</p>
+
+<p>In excavating for the foundations of the houses
+which now form the town of Kuala Lumpor, it was
+usual to dig up a large number of skeletons, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span>
+bones of those who had fallen during the years of
+Selangor’s internecine strife. As many as sixteen
+skeletons have been discovered in digging out the
+foundations for one house.</p>
+
+<p>One day, not many years ago, two skeletons
+were thus discovered. The bones were larger, the
+figures taller, than those usually met with. They
+were the skeletons of two men face to face, and
+locked in each other’s arms.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIII">XIII<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE PASSING OF PĔNGLIMA PRANG SĔMAUN</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">Oh vengeance! thou art sweet</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Lewis Morris</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>On the Perak River, about fifty miles from its
+mouth, and just above the tidal influence,
+where the water is clear and shallow and the banks
+are lined with palm groves and orchards, there is a
+large Malay village called Bandar.</p>
+
+<p>More than twenty years ago there dwelt in this
+village a man named Mĕgat Raja, married to a particularly
+well-favoured girl named Mĕriam. The
+fact of her marriage drew her into some sort of
+notoriety, and her attractions were soon the
+gossip of the place. The gilded youths of Bandar
+were fired by the description of Mĕriam’s
+charms, and one of them, a boy of good family,
+position, and means, got sight of and fell in love
+with her.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span></p>
+
+<p>The husband, Mĕgat Raja, was conveniently
+called away to accompany the Sultan on a journey
+to Penang and Che Nuh, the youth aforesaid, profiting
+by that opportunity, pushed his addresses
+with such fervour and success that he became the
+lady’s lover.</p>
+
+<p>Late one night when Che Nuh was in the house
+of his mistress, Mĕgat Raja unexpectedly returned
+and the first the lovers knew of their danger was
+the demand of the husband to be admitted. The
+house was a large one enclosed by a palisade, and
+Mĕriam thus suddenly surprised, and fearing instant
+death if her husband should discover Che Nuh,
+implored her lover to escape by the door at the
+back of the house while that at the front was being
+opened.</p>
+
+<p>Che Nuh complied, but the husband had evidently
+heard something of what had been going on in his
+absence, and, as the lover was about to descend the
+steps, he drew back seeing Mĕgat Raja waiting on
+the ground beneath them.</p>
+
+<p>He drew back, but not before his presence had
+been perceived.</p>
+
+<p>Mĕgat Raja called out “Who is that?”</p>
+
+<p>Che Nuh replied “It is I, Che Nuh.”</p>
+
+<p>The husband, drawing his <i>kris</i>, said “What are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span>
+you doing in my house at this time? Come down on
+to the ground.”</p>
+
+<p>Mat Nuh was alone and Mĕgat Raja was accompanied
+by two other men, but the youth unsheathed
+his <i>kris</i> and went down ready to accept the chances
+of a hand-to-hand struggle.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing that Mat Nuh would defend himself, and
+knowing that he was no contemptible adversary, the
+three men hesitated. What was of more account in
+their minds was that Che Nuh belonged to a
+powerful family, and his father was one of the
+principal chiefs in the country. There was, therefore,
+the certainty of retaliation should they kill him,
+and the uncertainty of his guilt, for Mĕriam was not
+the only woman in the house. As the men stood
+mutually on the defensive, Mĕgat Raja asked him
+whom he had come to see, and Che Nuh replied that
+it was a girl in the house. Thinking to assure himself
+on this point, the husband entered the house
+and questioned one of the servant-women, but dissatisfied
+with what he heard he dashed out again
+determined to attack Che Nuh.</p>
+
+<p>The latter had, however, taken advantage of
+Mĕgat Raja’s momentary absence to get outside the
+gate of the palisade, and once there he shouted for
+help and was soon surrounded by his friends.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p>
+
+<p>In reply to a call, Che Nuh bid his adversary
+come outside the gate and he would give him any
+satisfaction he pleased.</p>
+
+<p>That of course meant an internecine struggle
+between the two parties, and Mĕgat Raja declined
+it, for the odds were now against him, and he was
+still uncertain whether his wife were unfaithful or
+not.</p>
+
+<p>On the strong suspicion that he held, his inclination
+was to at least make short work of the woman,
+but here again he was deterred by the knowledge
+that her relations would certainly be revenged on
+him. He, therefore, decided on another course of
+action. On the assumption that his wife was guilty
+(and of this he became tolerably well assured), he
+treated her as though he held the proofs, divorced
+her, turned her out of his house, and declined to let
+her have any of her own possessions or to remove
+any of his.</p>
+
+<p>This action was considered a very serious indignity
+by Mĕriam’s friends, and it so happened that
+she possessed a relative named Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun, an adherent of the Sultan’s Wazîr, the
+Raja Bĕndahâra, and he was reputed one of the
+principal warriors in the country.</p>
+
+<p>Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun called upon the Chief of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span>
+Bandar and laid a formal complaint against Mĕgat
+Raja, demanding to know why he had taken the law
+into his own hands and treated Mĕriam in a manner
+to put all her relatives to shame.</p>
+
+<p>The Chief of the village of Bandar was also one
+of the great officers of State named the Ôrang Kâya
+Shabandar. He was a man renowned for his
+courage, was wealthy, a trusted officer of the Sultan,
+the receiver of customs, and lived at the upper end
+of the village.</p>
+
+<p>He listened politely to Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun,
+and when the latter wound up his complaint by
+saying he would certainly attack Mĕgat Raja if he
+obtained no redress, the Shabandar put his advice
+in the form of this ancient saw:</p>
+
+<p>“If you have no gold, it is well to sing small;
+if you have no pivot-guns (jingals), it is well to put
+a pleasant face on the matter; and if you have no
+cannon, it is better to be quiet.”</p>
+
+<p>The advice was meant in good part and not as a
+taunt, but Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun took it as the
+latter and retired with rage in his heart, saying
+“It is well for you who have gold and jingals and
+cannon to tell me I have none of these things,
+but I will have my revenge of you with only a
+<i>kris</i>.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span></p>
+
+<p>Then he returned to his own home to think how
+this was to be worked out.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun’s house was between
+these of the Shabandar, up stream, and Mĕgat Raja,
+down stream, and he knew that he was not strong
+enough to resist a combined attack from both of
+them. Therefore he determined that force must be
+backed by cunning if he was to achieve his end.
+He concluded that his only plan was to attack the
+Shabandar, dispose of him first as the most important,
+and then deal with Mĕgat Raja at his
+leisure.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Che Nuh had expressed his desire to
+marry Mĕriam, but as his relatives recognised that
+such an open avowal of his <i>liaison</i> must lead to
+trouble with Mĕgat Raja and his folk, they declined
+to allow him to do this, and Che Nuh’s negative
+attitude towards the lady only increased the wrath
+of her kinsman, Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun.</p>
+
+<p>I have said that this bravo, for that was his
+<i>métier</i>, was the henchman of the Raja Bĕndahâra,
+the highest authority in the State after the Sultan.
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, having determined to kill
+the Shabandar, felt it necessary to report the intention
+to his master and, mindful of possible wrath to
+come, to ask his sanction.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p>
+
+<p>Accordingly the Pĕnglima went up river to Blanja
+where the Bĕndahâra lived, told his tale and asked
+for leave to kill the Shabandar.</p>
+
+<p>The reply of the Bĕndahâra was, “If you think
+you are able to do it, go on.”</p>
+
+<p>That was enough. Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun
+returned to Bandar with a kindred spirit named Haji
+Ali, another bravo of reputation as evil as his own,
+and these two worthies soon settled their plan of
+operations.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan was at Pâsir Panjang (only a few
+miles above Bandar), with a large following and a
+crowd of boats, and the Pĕnglima and his friend
+determined to wreak their vengeance on the Shabandar
+on the <i>Râya Haji</i>, the day to which the
+most religious Muhammadans prolong the fast of
+Ramthân.</p>
+
+<p>The day did not, however, suit, there were too
+many people constantly about the Shabandar’s
+house, and the conspirators had to return home
+without effecting their purpose.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, however, in the afternoon,
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, Haji Ali, and three others,
+made a formal visit to the Shabandar, obtained admission
+to his house, and found in it no one besides
+himself and a Sumatran Raja, a visitor from down<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span>
+river. I say no one else but, as Pĕnglima Prang
+well knew, there were in the Shabandar’s house two
+aged ladies, the mother of the Sultan’s children and
+her sister.</p>
+
+<p>The five men waited until they saw the Sumatran
+Raja take his departure, and in order to do this
+visitor honour, the Shabandar unarmed and unattended,
+accompanied him to the river-bank and
+there bid him farewell.</p>
+
+<p>This was the moment for the development of the
+plot.</p>
+
+<p>Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun took leave of the Shabandar
+and shook hands with him. Haji Ali, a very
+big powerful man, then also took leave and grasped
+the Shabandar’s hand, but instead of letting it go he
+drew the Dâtoh towards him, and the reply to his
+question of what this meant was a stab in the back
+from Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun’s <i>kris</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The blade did not pierce the skin, it bent, and the
+thrust was repeated with the same result, Haji Ali
+all the while holding the unarmed man by the hand.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Pĕnglima threw away the useless
+weapon, and, seizing another <i>kris</i>, plunged it time
+after time into the helpless body of the Shabandar,
+who fell to the ground, while Haji Ali and each of
+the others stabbed him in turn.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p>
+
+<p>Leaving the body lying on the bank, the men
+rushed straight back into the house, shut the gates
+of the enclosure and immediately prepared to defend
+themselves, taking particular care that the two ladies
+already mentioned should not get away.</p>
+
+<p>The news of a murder perpetrated like this is
+carried on the breeze, and for a few minutes the
+Shabandar’s adherents rushed up one after the other
+to be slaughtered as they arrived by the Pĕnglima
+and his party reinforced by their own men who had
+been awaiting the <i>dénoûement</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Then gates and doors were closed, windows
+barred, cannon, pivot-guns, and muskets loaded, and
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun having rifled the house
+(which contained the customs collections as well as
+the Shabandar’s private property), and thus possessed
+himself of all those things which he previously
+lacked, sat down to calmly await the development
+of events.</p>
+
+<p>The plot had been cunningly conceived. The
+brutal murder of the unarmed chief was certain to be
+instantly avenged, and that would have been done
+by an attack on the house had it not been that it
+contained, besides the murderers, the Sultan’s late
+wife and her sister, who were well-nigh sure to
+come to harm in the assault.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span></p>
+
+<p>The risk of that possibility deterred the Sultan’s
+people, who had surrounded the house with
+stockades, and all that could be done was to prevent
+the Pĕnglima, Haji Ali, and their men, from escaping.
+The process of starving out the besieged could not
+be resorted to, for here also the ladies would have
+suffered.</p>
+
+<p>The moment the deed was done, Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun proclaimed that he was merely the instrument
+of the Sultan’s Wazîr, and that he had acted
+on the authority of the Raja Bĕndahâra. That, if
+true, complicated the case considerably, and as
+matters had arrived at an <i>impasse</i>, a parley was
+called, and it was arranged that the Pĕnglima and
+his people should be given a safe-conduct to the
+Sultan at Pâsir Panjang.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, the Pĕnglima Prang, Haji Ali, and
+the others left their shelter and embarked in boats
+provided for them, but they took good care not to
+let the ladies, who were their prisoners, get out of
+reach.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at Pâsir Panjang, Pĕnglima Prang at
+once sent a messenger to the Raja Bĕndahâra to
+inform him of the state of affairs and ask his aid.
+The Bĕndahâra responded to this appeal by taking
+boat, and, with a great following, descended the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span>
+river to Pâsir Panjang. Once there, he availed
+himself of an ancient custom called <i>îkat-diri</i>—that
+is, to “bind yourself”—and, accompanied by all his
+people, he went and stood in front of the Sultan’s
+house with his hands loosely tied behind his back
+with his own head-kerchief, and, thus uncovered in
+the sun, he and all his following shouted <i>âmpun
+Tûan-ku, be-rîbu-rîbu âmpun</i>—“Pardon, my lord, a
+thousand-thousand pardons.”</p>
+
+<p>After a quarter of an hour’s waiting, while the
+air was filled with this plea for mercy, and the
+Bĕndahâra and his company stood like prisoners in
+front of the closed house, a door opened, a herald
+bearing the Sultan’s insignia appeared and cried
+out: “Our lord pardons you, and permits you to
+enter into his presence.”</p>
+
+<p>That settled the affair. The Sultan’s minister
+had accepted the responsibility for what had been
+done; he was far too great a man to be treated as
+a criminal, and, taking advantage of an old custom,
+he confessed his fault, offered himself a prisoner,
+sought and obtained the Sultan’s pardon.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst those who had received the message of
+peace, and who entered into the presence, were the
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, Haji Ali, and the three
+other murderers of the Shabandar.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p>
+
+<p>Now, the Shabandar had a brother, and he was
+a man of war, and the Sultan well knew that this
+method of dealing with the murderers would not
+satisfy him, so he at once created him Dâtoh
+Shabandar in succession to the dead man, in the
+hope that the gift of this dignity might make for
+the general peace.</p>
+
+<p>The Raja Bĕndahâra, accompanied by Pĕnglima
+Prang and his friends, then returned to Blanja.</p>
+
+<p>The new Shabandar had no intention of leaving
+his brother’s murderers to boast of their exploit,
+and, in a very short time, he asked for the Sultan’s
+permission to attack them and wipe out the disgrace
+of his relative’s unavenged death.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan said the request must be preferred to
+the Raja Bĕndahâra, for so long as the Pĕnglima
+Prang was in his village he could not be attacked
+without the Wazîr’s sanction. Application was duly
+made to the Bĕndahâra, who replied that it would
+be contrary to custom to attack the Pĕnglima
+Prang while living at his door, but that if they
+could get him away they might do what they
+pleased.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima Prang was, however, far too wary
+to be lured away from safety, and matters were in
+this state when there returned from a pilgrimage to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span>
+Mecca a man called Haji Mûsah, nearly related to
+the late Shabandar.</p>
+
+<p>Haji Mûsah was at this time a rather small, spare
+man of middle age, but his heart was out of proportion
+to the size of his body, and when he heard
+what had recently taken place in Bandar, and how
+Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun and Haji Ali had got away
+unpunished, his anger knew no bounds.</p>
+
+<p>He promptly waited upon the Sultan and begged
+for permission to attack the Pĕnglima, and, if
+necessary, to include in the operations his protector,
+the Raja Bĕndahâra.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan hesitated to give the desired permission,
+but the fact that the proposal had been made
+very soon reached Blanja and the ears of both the
+Wazîr and Pĕnglima Prang. Whatever the latter
+was he could not be accused of cowardice, and he
+at once offered to anticipate an attack by making
+an expedition against Haji Mûsah to silence so
+arrogant a foe.</p>
+
+<p>The Raja Bĕndahâra enraged at the idea that
+his name should have been mentioned with so little
+respect, and apprehensive that Haji Mûsah might
+find the means (as he knew he had the will) to
+carry out his suggestion, cordially approved the
+Pĕnglima’s proposal.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span></p>
+
+<p>It did not take long to collect from the neighbouring
+village of Lambor enough men to fill two
+boats, and, as that was all the Pĕnglima wanted for
+his purpose, the party had started for Bâtak Râbit
+(Haji Mûsah’s village) before the down-stream
+people had the smallest inkling of their intention.
+The time was specially well chosen from the fact
+that the Shabandar was absent in a remote district.</p>
+
+<p>In Japan they say, “If you have not seen Nikko
+you cannot say <i>gekko</i>,” and if there is anyone who
+knows the Malay Peninsula and yet has never
+watched the sun set across the rice-fields, when
+the ripe grain hangs heavily in the ear, his knowledge
+of the beauties of Malay scenery is very incomplete.</p>
+
+<p>A wide, flat plain covered by the golden harvest,
+the rice-stalks standing five or six feet above the
+ground from which they have sucked all the water
+which nourished them in the earlier stages of
+growth. One yellow sea of yellow ears, the green
+stalks only discernible in the near foreground.</p>
+
+<p>This sea is broken by islands of palms and fruit-trees
+in which nestle the picturesque brown huts of
+cottagers, houses of wood, built on wooden piles
+with palm-thatched roofs and mat walls.</p>
+
+<p>The setting sun strikes in great beams of saffron<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span>
+light across this wide expanse of grain bounded by
+distant ranges of soft blue hills. How greedily one
+drinks it all in! and, as the Eye of Day droops
+lower, there shoot from between its closing lids
+rays of fire which tinge the glistening palms with a
+rosy effulgence, followed all too soon by the pale
+opalescent shades which proclaim the approach of
+the fast-driving chariot of night.</p>
+
+<p>A grey haze rises from the damp earth, spreads
+in thin wreaths across the darkening plain, thickens
+to a heavy dead-white vapour, and as the silver
+sickle rises over the distant hills it shines upon
+clustered plumes of dark fronds mysteriously poised
+above a motionless drift of snow-like cloud.</p>
+
+<p>On the edge of such a field was the home of
+Haji Mûsah. Behind stretched the rich plain, in
+front a great river, both wide and deep, its banks
+lined by groves of coco-nuts in the neighbourhood
+of villages, but elsewhere covered by forest and the
+<i>nipah</i> palm.</p>
+
+<p>The dwelling stood a few feet back from the
+river, and, as its owner was a man of means, the
+structure was of some size, the floor and walls of
+stout planks and a strong palisade enclosed the
+surrounding yard. The house was, as usual, on
+wooden piles, and the kitchen, also on piles but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span>
+separated from the main building, was connected
+with it by a platform.</p>
+
+<p>It was here that Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, Haji
+Ali, and the rest of their crew arrived one morning
+before daylight and quickly landed under the cover
+of darkness.</p>
+
+<p>The enterprise they had undertaken was a
+perilous one. Their force numbered about thirty
+men all told, they had come about ninety miles
+right into the heart of the enemy’s country, and, if
+there were any failure, retreat was a choice between
+a return against the current with a hostile people
+on either bank, or a long pull to the river’s mouth
+under the same conditions and then the sea.</p>
+
+<p>Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun had, however, calculated
+the chances, and he counted on a successful
+surprise and, if need be, the pursuit of
+those tactics which he had already, at Bandar,
+found so useful.</p>
+
+<p>Once on shore the palisade of Haji Mûsah’s house
+was cautiously approached, and, the gate being
+locked, it was scaled, and the whole party noiselessly
+established themselves beneath the house and
+waited for daylight.</p>
+
+<p>It so happened that the house contained only two
+men and two women—Haji Mûsah and his wife,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span>
+Haji Hawah, and their daughter and son-in-law, the
+latter named Haji Sâhil.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak the back door of the house was
+opened and the two women came out and went into
+the kitchen. In a moment Haji Hawah discovered
+that the space beneath the house was full of armed
+men, and with a scream she rushed back towards
+the door. Ere she could gain it, Haji Ali sprang
+upon the platform and seized one of her hands,
+while her husband, unpleasantly alive to the situation,
+caught hold of the other and tried to pull her
+within the door, an effort which she seconded with
+all her might.</p>
+
+<p>A real tug-of-war was carried on for a few
+moments, and Haji Ali was joined by another man.</p>
+
+<p>Local tradition says that Haji Ali experienced
+suddenly a feeling that something dire was going to
+happen, and he asked his companion to relieve him
+of his hold of the woman’s hand. The man took
+it, and Haji Mûsah from the inside making a great
+effort drew his wife towards him, and at the same
+time, with a spear, thrust out beyond her with so
+true an aim that he transfixed her would-be captor.
+The man released his hold, fell with a groan into
+Haji Ali’s arms, and Haji Mûsah, drawing his wife
+into the house and believing he had wounded Pĕnglima<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span>
+Prang Sĕmaun, shouted as he closed the door,
+“That has wetted you, Pĕnglima!”</p>
+
+<p>Wetted him with blood.</p>
+
+<p>Haji Ali called to the Pĕnglima, “Help me, a
+‘watering’ has befallen our friend”; a polite way
+of expressing a disaster. By the time they got the
+man to the ground he was dead, for the spear had
+struck home.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima, furious at this sight, leapt on the
+platform, and, finding the door immovable, dashed
+open a small side-window with the butt end of a
+musket and fired into the house, but hurt no one.</p>
+
+<p>In the scuffle before the door was closed Haji
+Mûsah had accidentally given his son-in-law a flesh
+wound on the shoulder, and that had disabled him,
+so the defence of the position rested on one man
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun now summoned Haji
+Mûsah to surrender, but the reply was, “I will not
+surrender.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then,” said the Pĕnglima, “I will riddle the
+house with bullets.”</p>
+
+<p>“Shoot away,” was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>“I will burn the house down.”</p>
+
+<p>“Burn it,” said Haji Mûsah, “and do whatever
+else you like, but I will not give in.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Let us burn it,” said the Pĕnglima. But Haji
+Ali protested. “Are you mad,” he urged, “already
+our enemies are collecting outside, you would burn
+the house down and these people in it, and then
+what should we do? Caught like fish in a basket,
+without walls or roof to shelter us, what will
+become of us?”</p>
+
+<p>The wisdom of this advice was apparent, and as
+it was necessary to deal with those in the house
+quickly the leader set to work to devise another
+plan.</p>
+
+<p>An evil inspiration came to the Pĕnglima, and he
+told Haji Ali to get Haji Mûsah into conversation
+again while he, having loaded with all manner of
+missiles a pivot-gun which he found under the
+house, listened attentively to the sound of Haji
+Mûsah’s voice, and tying the gun to a post just
+beneath the spot where he thought the Haji must be
+standing, fired it.</p>
+
+<p>A large hole was rent in the floor, and, the
+various missiles scattering in all directions, one of
+them struck Haji Mûsah in the thigh, seriously
+wounding him and placing him <i>hors de combat</i>.
+His wife was also hit, but only slightly injured.</p>
+
+<p>The assailants realised the effects of the shot
+from what they heard said within and again called<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span>
+upon Haji Mûsah to yield, but he declined utterly
+to do so.</p>
+
+<p>His wife said, “What is the use, you are wounded
+and cannot fight, so am I and so is Haji Sâhil, what
+can we do, better make terms with them?” Haji
+Mûsah stubbornly declined to listen to this persuasion
+and only said, “Let them do their worst, I
+will not yield.”</p>
+
+<p>Strange to say it was only then that Haji Hawah
+realised that her daughter was missing. She
+remembered that the girl had left the house with her
+and gone into the kitchen, but until that moment,
+what with the discovery that the enemy was within
+their gates, the struggle at the door and subsequent
+events, she had not thought of the girl further than
+to suppose she was sitting terrified in some corner
+of the never brilliantly lighted house.</p>
+
+<p>Now, however, it was certain that she had failed
+to get back before the door was closed and must
+have fallen into the hands of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>As a matter of fact nothing of the kind had
+happened. On the first alarm, seeing the crowd of
+strange men and her mother’s struggles to gain the
+house, the girl was too terrified to leave her shelter
+and had hidden herself in the kitchen. The enemy
+being all under the house when the women first<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span>
+came out, no one had particularly noticed the girl
+or ever thought of entering her hiding-place.</p>
+
+<p>The moment Haji Hawah was convinced her
+daughter was not in the house, she became equally
+certain she was in the hands of the enemy, and that
+was an intolerable idea. She, therefore, besought
+her husband to offer to yield provided the girl were
+restored. This new factor in the case persuaded
+him, and Haji Mûsah called out that he would yield
+if his daughter were given back to them.</p>
+
+<p>At first the besiegers could not understand the
+meaning of this proposal, but light very soon came
+to them and they argued that if the girl was not
+inside the house or in their hands, she must be in
+the kitchen, and a search of that place very soon
+discovered her.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima accordingly replied that he accepted
+the proposal and would restore the girl on condition
+her father yielded. The door was then opened and
+the girl admitted, but no sooner was she in the
+house than it was closed again and Haji Mûsah
+declined to give himself up.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after, however, the loss of blood and
+pain of his stiffening limb made movement impossible
+and compelled Haji Mûsah to abandon all idea
+of further resistance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima and his friends having gained the
+house proceeded to make themselves comfortable
+and did not attempt to disturb or annoy Haji Mûsah
+and his family. These latter occupied a curtained
+portion of the principal room, and underneath their
+only window a sentry was placed night and day.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the Shabandar, informed by messenger
+of what had taken place, hurried back to the neighbourhood
+and reinforced the adherents of Haji Mûsah,
+who so far had contented themselves with building
+and occupying stockades to command Haji Mûsah’s
+house.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima’s tactics were again completely
+successful, and as it was impossible to fire on the
+captors without danger to their imprisoned friends
+the Shabandar, who now commanded the investing
+force, set himself to devise a plan whereby he might
+gain his end by craft.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima’s men occupied the house and one
+or two small stockades close by it. The Shabandar’s
+party had built a series of enclosing works which
+practically cut off escape to landward. In front
+was the river and here again, both up stream and
+down, there lay a small fleet of guard-boats.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima’s own two boats were chained to
+the landing-stage where they were safe, for it would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span>
+have been impossible to seize them without being
+exposed to fire from the house, to which no reply
+could be made.</p>
+
+<p>A month went by, and in that time Haji Mûsah,
+his wife, and son-in-law had fairly recovered from
+their injuries. Meanwhile the Shabandar, by means
+of spies, learned that the prisoners occupied a side
+of the house where there was but one window, and
+that always guarded at night by the same man.
+Through this man there was the best chance of
+escape for the prisoners, if only he could be bought
+over.</p>
+
+<p>This sentry, who had some authority over part of
+the band, was a foreigner, he was getting tired of
+the game and probably did not altogether like the
+outlook or see how his party was to turn the
+situation to their own advantage. At any rate
+communications were opened between the Shabandar
+and him, and for a sum of two thousand dollars he
+promised to get the prisoners out of the window
+and through the lines to their friends.</p>
+
+<p>In the dead of a dark night (and moonless Eastern
+nights can be black as a sepulchre) he assisted the
+four prisoners to make their escape through the
+window, while the Pĕnglima, Haji Ali, and a number
+of their men slept peacefully on the other side of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span>
+the sheltering curtain that gave privacy to the
+women.</p>
+
+<p>Guided by the traitor, their movements hidden in
+Cimmerian darkness, the little party made its way
+in safety to the friendly shelter of the Shabandar’s
+stockade. He was expecting them, and he had also
+prepared an unpleasant surprise for the cuckoos in
+temporary occupation of their stolen nest.</p>
+
+<p>Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun and his friends were
+awakened from sleep by the banging of jingals and
+muskets and a hail of various missiles.</p>
+
+<p>A moment’s search showed that the prisoners had
+escaped, and the Pĕnglima instantly realised that he
+was in the toils.</p>
+
+<p>He had already shown that he was a man of
+resource, and his presence of mind did not desert
+him in this dangerous crisis. The darkness alone
+protected them, and that would not last; moreover,
+he could not tell at what moment his position might
+not be rushed. It was clear that for them was
+reserved the fate of those who when they got up in
+the morning were all dead men.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima called his followers together,
+explained the situation and its urgency, pointed out
+the choice that lay before them—an attempt to pass
+the enemy’s stockades under cover of the night or to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span>
+run the gauntlet of the guard-boats, where capture
+was, as he said, certain.</p>
+
+<p>The men of the band, the wretched Lambor contingent,
+elected, as the Pĕnglima had meant they
+should do, to try and force their way through the
+enemy’s lines, never thinking that if they succeeded
+they would only reach a pathless jungle swamp,
+where they, strangers in that part of the country,
+must either perish miserably or return to the tender
+mercies of the investing foe.</p>
+
+<p>Of these deplorable eventualities they took no
+thought; there was little time for hesitation; tightening
+the grasp upon their weapons they went out
+into the night, and in a few moments the shouts
+from the surrounding stockades showed that their
+intention had been discovered.</p>
+
+<p>This was exactly what Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun
+had expected; he had created a diversion, and
+seizing his opportunity, accompanied by Haji Ali
+and a few of his particular associates, he made for
+the river and got into one of his boats, cast off and
+pulled out into the stream.</p>
+
+<p>A very wily man was the Pĕnglima. Every one
+in the guard-boats was on the alert, the firing and
+shouts from the shore had warned them that the fox
+was being hunted in the covert, and the pack were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span>
+after him in full cry. Still there was just a trifle of
+uncertainty about it, and that was the Pĕnglima’s
+one chance of salvation.</p>
+
+<p>The slightest hesitation now, the smallest of false
+steps, and neither the Pĕnglima nor any of those with
+him would ever see the dawn. He knew it well
+enough, and as he ordered those who had taken the
+oars to pull out boldly into the stream, he grasped
+the helm and steering straight up the middle of the
+river, <i>against</i> the tide, he gave orders that no man
+should speak, undertaking the whole responsibility
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>It was still so dark that no one could see quite
+whence this boat came, or distinguish who was in it,
+but as it moved with plenty of noise and no attempt
+at concealment right towards the line of guard-boats,
+some one called out, “Who goes there?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is I,” replied the Pĕnglima, “I bring the
+Shabandar’s orders to you to keep a good look-out,
+they are attacking the Pĕnglima Prang, and as he
+can’t hold out he will probably try to escape by the
+river. Be ready for him, I am going to warn the
+boats down stream,” and turning round the craft
+disappeared towards the other line of river-sentinels.</p>
+
+<p>No one of course suspected a ruse under such a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span>
+bold disguise as that, and, pulling straight for the
+down-stream boats, steering right on and through
+them, the Pĕnglima called out, “<i>Jâga-jâga</i>, ‘be on
+your guard,’ the Shabandar sends orders to watch
+for the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, he is trying to
+escape, I am warning all the boats.”</p>
+
+<p>No one could distinctly see who this messenger
+was, or even catch more than a shadowy glimpse of
+a spectral craft as she glided through the line, and
+in the excitement of expectation, the noise of firing
+and rival battle-shouts on shore, no one took special
+heed as to which way the messengers went, or
+whether that was the sound of their oars echoing
+faintly in the distance.</p>
+
+<p>The Shabandar on his part made no long tarrying,
+but eager to revenge the murder of his brother,
+and feeling that at last the Pĕnglima and Haji Ali
+were in his power, he determined to <i>mĕng-âmok</i>, to
+rush the house at once without waiting for daylight.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst summoning his men for the assault, he
+heard the cries that told him the besieged were
+making an attempt to break through his stockades,
+and without further delay he dashed into Haji
+Mûsah’s house, only to find it empty, the renowned
+Pĕnglima and his amiable friend gone, and with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span>
+them a considerable quantity of dollars and everything
+that was both valuable and easily portable.</p>
+
+<p>Torches and an examination of the muddy ground
+soon established the direction taken, and the missing
+boat, coupled with the missing property, convinced
+the least astute that by this way went the Pĕnglima
+Prang Sĕmaun.</p>
+
+<p>Many shouted questions from the bank drew forth
+many assurances from those on the water that no
+enemy had passed that way. The evidence to the
+contrary was, however, all too plain, and as the
+boats one by one came up to the landing-place, and
+the watchers told their tale, it became evident that
+once again the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun had justified
+his reputation for both daring and resource.</p>
+
+<p>He had made for the sea, his party did not
+number ten, and they were in one boat. There
+was still time to overtake or intercept them at the
+river’s mouth, and, as the grey light of dawn began
+to lift the veil of mist and the freshening breeze
+swept in chilly gusts over the water, a fleet of boats
+set off to search the creeks and backwaters, while
+others had orders to pull straight to the river’s
+mouth, and there take line and see that none passed
+out to sea.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima meanwhile had wasted no time.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span>
+’Twixt the devil behind and the deep sea in front,
+he had no difficulty in determining which way lay
+safety; but he also realised that it could not be an
+hour, it might be only a few minutes before his ruse
+would be discovered, and with his crew he could
+not hope to reach the sea without being overtaken.
+The rowers needed little exhortation to strain every
+nerve, and after a few miles had been travelled, the
+boat was forced through heavy overhanging branches
+into an all but imperceptible creek, so narrow the
+entrance and so thoroughly concealed that no one
+would dream of its existence. The boat could only
+be got a few yards up this ditch, and the party,
+leaving it entirely hidden, ensconced themselves in
+a tangled mass of jungle foliage from which they
+commanded a view of the river.</p>
+
+<p>Here the fugitives lay all day, and watched the
+boats of their enemies pass by intent on the fruitless
+search.</p>
+
+<p>It was not a pleasant place nor did they spend an
+altogether happy day, for they were not yet out of
+the wood, indeed the chances of escape were still
+decidedly against them, but for the moment they
+were safe, and whatever was to come could not be
+worse than the situation from which their leader
+had already extricated them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span></p>
+
+<p>Whilst the Pĕnglima was running the gauntlet
+of the guard-boats his late companions, the men of
+Lambor, some twenty or thirty in number, were
+having a worse experience on shore.</p>
+
+<p>Being a large party and in their haste not over-cautious,
+they were, of course, discovered as they
+tried to break through the line of stockades. Some
+were shot, others were speared and <i>krised</i> in hand-to-hand
+encounters, while a few got away to the
+forest under cover of the darkness. But when
+these stragglers fully realised that it was a choice
+between the enemy and painful wandering in a
+swampy and well-nigh impenetrable jungle, with
+the prospect of starvation and a lingering death, they
+chose rather to return to the light and a speedier
+reckoning.</p>
+
+<p>None of this band returned to Lambor, and if
+they sought their fate and made an unprovoked
+attack upon Haji Mûsah it is not altogether surprising
+that to this day there is no wasted affection
+between the people of Lambor and the Lower Perak
+Chiefs.</p>
+
+<p>All through that sultry day, as one by one these
+doomed men appeared from the jungle fastness and
+went down before the weapons of their adversaries,
+waiting tirelessly expectant in the certainty that no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span>
+refuge would be found in those inhospitable depths,
+the Pĕnglima and his little band lay close in their
+concealment and longed for sheltering night.</p>
+
+<p>All day long the Shabandar’s boats passed hither
+and thither, and with the nightfall many appeared to
+abandon the search and returned on the rising tide.</p>
+
+<p>Then an hour or two of the new-born moon, and
+after that thick darkness.</p>
+
+<p>The Pĕnglima and his friends had regained their
+boat, and as, about midnight, the tide began to ebb,
+the vessel was pushed noiselessly out into the river
+and bracing themselves for a final effort the rowers
+gripped their oars, stiffened their backs and put
+their whole strength into the work before them.</p>
+
+<p>The river as it approaches the sea grows wider
+at every bend, the searchers were exhausted and
+asleep, or had already returned up-stream, the
+night was dark and the fugitives were unmolested
+until, between 4 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> and 5 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, in the last reach,
+they saw a line of boats guarding the river’s mouth.</p>
+
+<p>There were wide intervals between each vessel,
+but even in that uncertain light it was impossible
+for a boat to run this blockade without being seen.</p>
+
+<p>At this final juncture the Pĕnglima’s Familiar did
+not desert him.</p>
+
+<p>Of course the earth ought to have opened and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span>
+swallowed up this hardened criminal as it did Korah,
+Dathan, Abiram, and all their company; he ought
+to have been shot or drowned or speared if he were
+not being reserved for hanging. At any rate this
+was an excellent opportunity for getting rid of two
+hardened villains, and a few other passably wicked
+men. The Lambor people, whose crimes were as
+snow compared to those of these two arch-criminals,
+had all met with violent deaths and no miracle, not
+even so much as a small streak of luck, like falling
+into a well and being tended by a beautiful maiden,
+had saved the life of one of them.</p>
+
+<p>Why was it then that, as these cold-blooded
+assassins cowered together and wondered how they
+were going to elude the vigilance of their enemies,
+a palpable miracle was wrought to save their miserable
+skins?</p>
+
+<p>It cannot be said that anything very unusual happened,
+because the thing is of common occurrence,
+but it was certainly thoughtfully arranged that at
+that moment there should sail round the bend of the
+river, in the strongest flow of the ebb-tide (now of
+course slackening), an enormous mass of floating
+palms, a very island of foliage broken away from
+some undermined bank and drifting majestically to
+the wider waters of the sea.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span></p>
+
+<p>If these great clumps of root and branch and
+foliage may be seen sailing every day down a
+Malay river into the Straits of Malacca, this particular
+island was so gigantic, that in size at least it
+was miraculous. It is possible that to another man
+the passing drift would have suggested nothing, but
+the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun was on such terms
+with Fortune that he knew exactly the psychological
+moment at which to take her. Here he
+remembered that the Malays call these floating
+islands <i>âpong</i>, and that boats know very much better
+than to get in their way. His craft then he
+promptly steered right into the back of this Satan-sent
+refuge, and, forcing it in amongst the palms and
+covering it as well as was possible, he calmly sat
+down and awaited the issue.</p>
+
+<p>The island sailed slowly along, and when the huge
+mass got near enough to the guard-boats for them
+to realise their danger, there was a deal of shouting
+and pulling of anchors, kicking up sleepy boatmen
+and frantic struggles to avoid this river Juggernaut.</p>
+
+<p>So passed the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun; not to
+the vales and Queens of Avilion, but to the open
+sea, from sore stress to safety, from an earthly
+death to an earthly life.</p>
+
+<p>One can almost hear him chuckle as he sails<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span>
+through that last danger and watches his enemies’
+efforts to get back into their places.</p>
+
+<p>Malays do not pine for manual labour, they had
+already had more than enough of it, and as they
+were now being towed idly along, they lay down to
+sleep, vaguely wondering, in that moment of tired
+but delicious drowsiness, what occult powers this
+leader possessed to secure at such a moment the
+powerful help of this great leviathan, under whose
+green and shady sails they were being wafted to
+safety and “the haven where they would be.”</p>
+
+<p>A day or two of pleasant coasting, a walk across
+country, and Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, with Haji
+Ali and a considerable booty, arrived safely at Blanja
+and received the congratulations of his master, the
+Raja Bĕndahâra.</p>
+
+<p>We read that when it was the fashion for knights
+to devote themselves to the service of distressed
+damsels, they wrought many startling deeds, which
+cannot always be satisfactorily explained without
+recognising that devotion in so good a cause was
+sometimes supernaturally aided.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately, the practice has fallen into desuetude;
+let us hope it is because the damsels of the
+nineteenth century are never in distress, want no
+assistance, or despise that of the mere man.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span></p>
+
+<p>Malays are perhaps, in some respects, a few
+hundred years behind the age, and I like to think
+that in this veracious story the Pĕnglima Prang
+Sĕmaun made his first appearance as the champion
+of a lady in distress.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIV">XIV<br>
+<span class="smaller">BĔR-HANTU</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">Striving to reach the mystic source</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">of things, the secrets of the earth</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">and sea and air</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">L. Morris</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>We could all see the <i>tunggul mêrah</i>, the crimson
+streak which boded the death of the King.
+Looking from the top of our green-terraced hill
+across the clear wide river late one afternoon, this
+curious phenomenon appeared in the sky, above the
+last spur of a picturesque range of mountains which
+separates the valleys of two considerable streams
+whose united waters flow into the Straits of
+Malacca.</p>
+
+<p>Standing on the right bank of the river, a stretch
+of level land lies between the opposite bank and the
+foot of this range, and the wealth of foliage hides
+from view the houses, orchards, and rice-fields which
+cover that fertile plain. But the Sultan’s house, a
+palm-thatched wooden structure, three houses on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span>
+piles joined together by short platforms after the
+accepted Malay pattern, stands out clearly enough,
+rather down-stream than opposite the point of
+view.</p>
+
+<p>The crimson portent is not visible for long, and
+we realise that, whatever it means, it is accounted
+for by the segment of a rainbow shining through a
+bank of low clouds which obscure the rest of the
+“arch of heaven,” and so blur the prismatic colours
+that nothing is clearly discernible but a short column
+of flame, all the more striking for its dull grey background.
+The tradition of ill-omen is of ancient
+origin, but the fact that the Sultan now lies grievously
+ill gives an air of probability to the gossip of
+the prophets.</p>
+
+<p>That evening, as we sat at dinner, we were
+suddenly startled by the cry of the banshee. Up
+till that moment we had none of us had any personal
+acquaintance with the banshee, but this was it sure
+enough. A long-drawn-out distressing wail, as of
+a lost child, repeated at uncertain intervals, now
+here now there, first on one side of the house and
+then on the other, at one moment unpleasantly close,
+and the next a piteous little half-choked sob in the
+distance. Without any doubt this was the banshee,
+and as the moonlight was now streaming fitfully<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span>
+through the clouds across the white pillars of the
+verandah, we thought we might have the good
+fortune to see this harbinger of doom.</p>
+
+<p>We walked out on to the moonlit terrace, and the
+beauty of the night was so intense that one felt it as
+through a new sense.</p>
+
+<p>The hill on which the house stood was cut into
+a series of terraces, and the highest of these, a wide
+lawn of velvety grass, was surrounded by tall graceful
+coco-nut trees, not close together but each standing
+alone with its spiky leaves clearly delineated against
+the sky.</p>
+
+<p>Overhead a moon shedding that wonderful soft
+light only seen in the East, where atmosphere,
+foliage, and all the surroundings seem specially
+designed to make the ascendancy of the Queen of
+Night superbly beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>The exquisite feathery fronds of the bamboo,
+bending in graceful curves, with each leaf clearly
+defined against a background of grey-blue sky; a
+dozen varieties of palms, from the lofty coco-nut
+and the stately jagary to the thick clumps of <i>bertam</i>,
+like gigantic ferns; picturesque groups of flowering
+trees and shrubs on terrace after terrace, carry the
+eye down to the shimmering gleam of the wide
+river on which the moonlight falls lovingly, throwing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span>
+into greater contrast the deep shadows that lie under
+the overhanging foliage of the banks. Four miles
+of glistening water, then the river narrows and fades
+into the mist-enshrouded forest.</p>
+
+<p>Close beneath us twinkle the lights of the village,
+the houses spreading from river-brink to the high
+ground which rises abruptly on our left. In front
+and on either side, range after range of jungle-covered
+hills, from fifteen hundred to several thousands
+of feet in height. There is a luminous haze
+over all distant objects, giving the idea of indefinite
+height and distance, making all things vague and
+unsubstantial, yet infinitely satisfying that other
+sense which only awakes under the influence of
+perfect beauty.</p>
+
+<p>The extraordinary charm of this scene intoxicated
+us as with draughts of nectar, and in that enravishment,
+kings, omens, and ghostly warnings were
+forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>But hark! Yes, there is the cry, wailing in the
+distance—now much nearer, and now—before our
+very eyes the banshee itself!</p>
+
+<p>Sailing slowly through the air between the
+feathery leaves of the palms, like a lost soul wending
+its uncertain, purposeless way through the
+balmy Eastern night, was a creature with heavy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span>
+dark wings, a head disproportionately large, and
+horns, veritable horns! As it slowly passed and
+moaned its childlike plaint, no reasonable being
+could doubt that he had heard and seen the messenger
+of death.</p>
+
+<p>That weird apparition, sobbing its fateful cry,
+broke the spell under which we had stood enthralled,
+and though we felt that the King’s fate was sealed,
+that did not prevent us from returning to dinner.</p>
+
+<p>Just after midnight a scared Malay came to say
+that it was feared the Sultan was dying. I hurried
+down the hill, took boat across the river, and,
+stumbling along the bank, reached the house where
+the sick man lay.</p>
+
+<p>I entered upon a peculiar scene. I said the
+building was in three parts, the first a sort of ante-room,
+beyond which strangers of inferior rank did
+not in ordinary circumstances pass; then came the
+principal structure, which consisted of one large
+room, wooden pillars dividing off verandahs on
+either side, while the third house was exclusively
+devoted to women, and attached to it was an excrescence
+forming the kitchen.</p>
+
+<p>The unsteady light of several lamps and many
+candles showed that both the centre and ante-rooms
+were full of people sitting on the mats which covered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span>
+the floor. There must have been between one and
+two hundred present, and I noticed that there were
+about equal numbers of men and women, and all the
+principal Malays of the neighbourhood were there.
+The curtains which usually divided the centre room
+were up, but on one side there was evidently a bed,
+screened by patchwork hangings, and there I concluded
+His Highness lay.</p>
+
+<p>It was plain from the preparations that, despairing
+of effecting a cure by native medicines administered
+by native doctors, it was intended to try a little
+witchcraft and have a performance of what is called
+<i>Bĕr-hantu</i>. That seemed to me to fall in very well
+with the <i>tunggul mêrah</i> and the banshee, and I was
+therefore quite prepared for the raising of the Devil
+or any other uncanny manifestation.</p>
+
+<p>I may as well say here that <i>hantu</i> is a ghost,
+devil or spirit, and <i>bĕr-hantu</i> means <i>to devil</i>, to raise
+the devil, or, at any rate, to engage in something as
+nearly akin to a witches’ revel on the Brocken as
+Malay traditions and surroundings will permit. It
+is a treatment commonly resorted to in Perak when
+other remedies fail. When, however, the friends of
+the patient decide that the time has arrived for <i>bĕr-hantu</i>,
+nothing will satisfy them but to have it, and
+if the sick man or woman dies during the performance,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span>
+there is still the satisfaction of knowing that
+everything was done for them which love and skill
+could devise, and the issue was with God. <i>La-illahâ
+il-Allah, Muhammad Rasul-Allah</i>—“There is
+but one God, and Muhammad is His Prophet.”</p>
+
+<p>This pious confession of faith has, however,
+nothing to do with the <i>bĕr-hantu</i>; it comes in afterwards
+when the seal of death is so evidently on the
+lips of the sufferer that his friends cease to call on
+the Devil, and commend the soul of the dying man
+to God. The <i>bĕr-hantu</i> is, of course, a survival of
+præ-Islam darkness, and the priests abominate it,
+or say they do; but they have to be a little careful,
+because the highest society affects the practice of
+the Black Art.</p>
+
+<p>To return to the King’s house. In the middle
+of the floor was spread a <i>puâdal</i>, a small narrow
+mat, at one end of which was seated a middle-aged
+woman dressed like a man in a short-sleeved
+jacket, trousers, a <i>sârong</i>, and a scarf fastened
+tightly round her waist. At the other end of the
+mat was a large newly-lighted candle in a candlestick.
+Between the woman and the taper were two
+or three small vessels containing rice coloured with
+turmeric, parched <i>padi</i>, and perfumed water. An
+attendant sat near at hand.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span></p>
+
+<p>The woman in male attire was the <i>Pâwang</i>, the
+Raiser of Spirits, the Witch, not of Endor, but of
+as great repute in her own country and among her
+own people. In ordinary life she was an amusing
+lady named Raja Ngah, a scion of the reigning
+house on the female side and a member of a family
+skilled in all matters pertaining to occultism. In a
+corner of the room were five or six girls holding
+native drums, instruments with a skin stretched
+over one side only, and this is beaten usually with
+the fingers. The leader of this orchestra was the
+daughter of Raja Ngah.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after I sat down, the proceedings began
+by the <i>Pâwang</i> covering her head and face with a
+silken cloth, while the orchestra began to sing a
+weird melody in an unknown tongue. I was told
+it was the spirit language; the air was one specially
+pleasing to a particular <i>Jin</i>, or Spirit, and the
+invocation, after reciting his praises, besought him
+to come from the mountains or the sea, from underground
+or overhead, and relieve the torments of the
+King.</p>
+
+<p>As the song continued, accompanied by the
+rhythmical beating of the drums, the <i>Pâwang</i> sat
+with shrouded head in front of the lighted taper,
+holding in her right hand against her left breast a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span>
+small sheaf of the grass called <i>daun sambau</i> tied
+tightly together and cut square at top and bottom.</p>
+
+<p>This <i>châdak</i> she shook, together with her whole
+body, by a stiffening of the muscles, while all eyes
+were fixed upon the taper.</p>
+
+<p>At first the flame was steady, but by and by, as
+the singers screamed more loudly to attract the
+attention of the laggard Spirit, the wick began to
+quiver and flare up, and it was manifest to the
+initiated that the <i>Jin</i> was introducing himself into
+the candle. By some means the <i>Pâwang</i>, who was
+now supposed to be “possessed” and no longer
+conscious of her actions, became aware of this, and
+she made obeisance to the taper, sprinkling the
+floor round it with saffron-coloured rice and perfumed
+water; then, rising to her feet and followed
+by the attendant, she performed the same ceremony
+before each male member of the reigning family
+present in the room, murmuring all the while a
+string of gibberish addressed to the Spirit. This
+done, she resumed her seat on the mat, and, after a
+brief pause, the minstrels struck up a different air,
+and, singing the praises of another <i>Jin</i>, called upon
+him to come and relieve the King’s distress.</p>
+
+<p>I ascertained that each Malay State has its own
+special Spirits, each district is equally well provided,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span>
+and there are even some to spare for special individuals.
+In this particular State there are four principal
+<i>Jin</i>; they are the <i>Jin ka-râja-an</i>, the State
+Spirit—also called <i>Junjong dŭnia udâra</i>—Supporter
+of the Firmament; <i>Mâia udâra</i>, the Spirit of the
+Air; <i>Mahkôta si-râja Jin</i>, the Crown of Royal
+Spirits; and <i>S’tan Ali</i>.</p>
+
+<p>These four are known as <i>Jin âruah</i>, Exalted
+Spirits, and they are the guardians of the Sultan
+and the State. As one star exceeds another in
+glory, so one <i>Jin</i> surpasses another in renown, and
+I have named them in the order of their greatness.
+In their honour four white and crimson umbrellas
+were hung in the room, presumably for their use
+when they arrived from their distant homes. Only
+the Sultan of the State is entitled to traffic with
+these distinguished Spirits; when summoned they
+decline to move unless appealed to with their own
+special invocations, set to their own peculiar music,
+sung by at least four singers and led by a <i>Bĕduan</i>
+(singer) of the royal family. The <i>Jin ka-râja-an</i> is
+entitled to have the royal drums played by the State
+drummers if his presence is required, but the other
+three have to be satisfied with the instruments I
+have described.</p>
+
+<p>There are common devils who look after common<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span>
+people: such as <i>Hantu Songkei, Hantu Malâyu and
+Hantu Blîan</i>; the last the “Tiger Devil,” but out
+of politeness he is called “Blîan,” to save his
+feelings.</p>
+
+<p>Then there is <i>Kĕmâla ajâib</i>, the “Wonderful
+Jewel,” <i>Israng</i>, Raja Ngah’s special familiar, and a
+host of others. Most <i>hantu</i> have their own special
+<i>Pâwangs</i>, and several of these were carrying on
+similar proceedings in adjoining buildings, in order
+that the sick monarch might reap all the benefits to
+be derived from a consultation of experts, and, as
+one spirit after another notified his advent by the
+upstarting flame of the taper, it was impossible not
+to feel that one was getting into the very best
+society.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp75" id="diagram" style="max-width: 12.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/diagram.jpg" alt="An eight-pointed star (its
+  outline has sixteen sides)">
+</figure>
+
+<p>Meanwhile a sixteen-sided stand, about six inches
+high and shaped like this diagram, had been placed
+on the floor near the <i>Pâwang’s</i>
+mat. The stand was decorated
+with yellow cloth; in its centre
+stood an enormous candle,
+while round it were gaily decorated
+rice and toothsome
+delicacies specially prized by <i>Jin</i>. There was
+just room to sit on this stand, which is called
+<i>Pĕtrâna panchalôgam</i> (meaning a seat of this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span>
+particular shape), and the Sultan, supported by
+many attendants, was brought out and sat upon it.
+A veil was placed on his head, the various vessels
+were put in his hands, he spread the rice round the
+taper, sprinkled the perfume, and having received
+into his hand an enormous <i>châdak</i> of grass, calmly
+awaited the coming of the <i>Jin Ka-râja-an</i>, while the
+minstrels shouted for him with all their might.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan sat there for some time, occasionally
+giving a convulsive shudder, and when this taper
+had duly flared up and all the rites had been performed,
+His Highness was conducted back again to
+his couch, and the <i>Pâwang</i> continued her ministrations
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst striding across the floor, she suddenly fell
+down as though shot, and it was explained to me
+that Israng, the spirit by whom she was possessed,
+had seen a dish-cover, and that the sight always
+frightened him to such an extent that his <i>Pâwang</i>
+fell down. The cause of offence was removed, and
+the performance continued.</p>
+
+<p>There are other spirits who cannot bear the
+barking of a dog, the mewing of a cat, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>Just before dawn there was a sudden confusion
+within the curtains which hid the Sultan’s couch;
+they were thrown aside, and there lay the King, to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span>
+all appearance in a swoon. The <i>Jin Ka-râja-an</i>
+had taken possession of the sick body, and the mind
+was no longer under its owner’s control.</p>
+
+<p>For a little while there was great excitement, and
+then the King recovered consciousness, was carried
+to a side verandah and a quantity of cold water
+poured over him.</p>
+
+<p>So ended the <i>séance</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after, the Sultan, clothed and in his right
+mind, sent to say he would like to speak to me.
+He told me he took part in this ceremony to please
+his people and because it was a very old custom,
+and he added, “I did not know you were there till
+just now; I could not see you because I was not
+myself and did not know what I was doing.”</p>
+
+<p>The King did not die, after all—on the contrary,
+I was sent for twice again because he was not
+expected to live till the morning, and yet he cheated
+Death—for a time.</p>
+
+<p>That reminds me of the banshee. I saw it sitting
+in a Malay house some months later, and they told
+me the boys had caught it, that it was an owl, and
+its name was <i>Toh ka-tampi</i>. It had very round,
+yellow eyes, and there was no mistake about the
+horns. It seems that with Malays it is an ill-omened
+bird, the herald of misfortune and death,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span>
+and it shares this reputation with two other owls,
+which are called respectively <i>Tumbok lârong</i>, that is
+“Nail the coffin,” and <i>Chârek kafan</i>, “Rend the
+cloth for the shroud.” <i>Toh ka-tampi</i> means
+“Old-man-winnow-the-rice-for-the-burial-feast.” The
+names are rather gruesome, and are said to be
+suggested by the peculiar cries of these “ghost
+birds.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XV">XV<br>
+<span class="smaller">THE KING’S WAY</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">We know what Heaven or Hell may bring</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But no man knoweth the mind of the King</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Rudyard Kipling</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>He was the Sultan of an important Malay State,
+but to those who knew him best he was, and
+will remain, “Craddock’s King,” principally because
+he always sent for Craddock whenever he wanted
+anything that he thought needed the assistance of
+a European officer, and, on the rare occasions when
+he travelled outside his own dominions, Craddock
+used to go with him as guide, interpreter, and shield.</p>
+
+<p>The King was one with whom things had gone
+badly until the appearance of the white man in his
+country. His character had not endeared him to
+the people, who should have been his subjects, but
+were, almost without exception, his enemies; and
+the consequence was that when he ought to have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span>
+been elected to a high office, and later, when his
+birth entitled him to be nominated Sultan, his
+claims were ignored in favour of junior men. Up
+to the age of fifty or more he had passed his life
+in poverty, and even in want, and often in open
+resistance to such authority as existed. These
+strained relations with his own people made him
+loyal to the British, and as his claims were indisputable,
+and the opportunity came when they might
+be satisfied, he at last attained to the position
+which was his by right.</p>
+
+<p>I will try to draw the man as he was at this
+time. Tall for a Malay, rather fair, with grey hair
+and a white moustache; very broad-shouldered and
+thick-set, a powerful figure, though now inclined
+to over-stoutness; a firm, upright carriage; in his
+face an exceeding <i>hauteur</i>, and in his manner
+something more than this—the plain evidence of
+a masterful and overbearing disposition. The
+strength of mind, the obstinacy of character,
+were writ large in both face and figure; while
+an imperious manner was accentuated by a loud
+voice and impatient speech, caused to some extent
+by the difficulty of understanding one whose
+teeth were few, and whose tongue was plainly
+over-large.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span></p>
+
+<p>The King affected gay colours, and his appearance,
+when he took his walks abroad, was striking,
+not to say remarkable. A tartan silk jacket, combining
+many violent colours and fastened at the
+neck only, clothed his body; this jacket had a high
+collar which enclosed the wearer’s bull-neck and
+reached to the ears. The nether garment was a
+pair of very wide and loose white silk trousers
+fastened by many yards of a scarlet silk waist-cloth.
+These trousers reached a point low down on
+the calf of the leg, leaving a fair expanse of
+uncovered limb between them and the sky-blue
+canvas shoes which encased the stockingless feet.
+On his head, tilted rakishly over one ear, the King
+wore a wonderful round bright yellow cap, flat on
+the top with stiff sides, on which were sewn, in
+Arabic characters of black cloth, a verse from the
+Korân.</p>
+
+<p>In his waist-cloth the King usually carried a short
+knife in a polished wooden sheath, and when walking
+he leant upon a spear or long bamboo stick.
+Both hands and feet were white with an unnatural
+and mottled whiteness, caused, His Highness
+averred, by eating the flesh of the white buffalo,
+and, in walking, the toes were turned out to such
+an extent as to give a decided waddle.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span></p>
+
+<p>For people with whom loyalty to their rajas is
+an article of faith, the dislike in which the King was
+held by them was extraordinary. It is charitable
+to suppose that early disappointment had embittered
+his life, for he possessed good qualities. He was
+undeniably intelligent, and had a wider knowledge of
+his country and its ancient customs than any other
+man in it. He knew his own mind, was determined
+to obstinacy, and asked counsel of few. He
+was a keen sportsman, courageous, and, having
+sought the friendship of the British, never wavered
+in his loyalty. If it be said that in this he consulted
+his own interest and knew his unpopularity
+with his own people, his consistency and good
+faith were still a merit. On the other hand, his
+defects and vices were numerous, and just those
+likely to earn him the dislike of Malays. He was
+incredibly mean, he was overbearing to cruelty,
+rapaciously grasping, jealous of the good fortune of
+any of his subjects, selfish, difficult of access, and
+unconcerned with the misfortunes of others; vindictive
+to those who offended him or opposed his
+wishes, a gambler who nearly always contrived to
+win, and in matters where the other sex were concerned,
+decidedly unreliable. He was not an opium-smoker,
+nor was he in any sense a religious man,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span>
+and, though the “Defender of the Faith” in his own
+country, he observed none of its outward forms. It
+cannot, therefore, be said that he was in good odour
+with the priesthood and yet one of his firmest friends—for
+a time—was the priest of the neighbouring village
+who, whenever a witness was needed to support
+the King in any action or statement, was ready both
+to vouch to supposed facts and prove his master’s
+case by the authority of Muhammadan writings.</p>
+
+<p>The constant appeal to the priest for justification
+and the persistence with which this man found
+excellent reasons for the King’s peculiar methods
+was a little discouraging; but there came an
+estrangement. The King, accompanied by the
+priest and others, visited a neighbouring British
+possession, stayed there some days, and at the
+moment of his return was faced by a serious
+indignity. It appeared that someone in this place
+who did not understand the King’s peculiarities had,
+or thought he had, sold to His Highness a tricycle
+and a musical-box for which he could not obtain
+payment, and, having ascertained that the King was
+going and did not care about the things, this misguided
+individual somehow obtained a summons
+against His Highness to appear before a local
+tribunal and answer to the plaint.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span></p>
+
+<p>The King, being informed, expressed his extreme
+unconcern, and said that, as it was the priest’s business
+and his only, he could settle it. The priest
+raised the amount necessary to meet the bill, and
+the party returned to their own State with the
+musical-box and tricycle.</p>
+
+<p>Then “a private pique arose” between King and
+Priest as to who should finally pay for these playthings.
+For the first time these firm friends
+appeared in opposition to each other, and both
+parties gave their respective versions of the transaction
+before a highly edified and delighted Council
+of Arbitration.</p>
+
+<p>First the King: He knew nothing of any musical-box,
+did not like musical-boxes, had no ear for
+music, and did not understand the discordant
+noises made by these inventions of the white man.
+He had seen a thing of the kind in his house, had
+heard it, had even himself made it play its absurd
+tunes, did not enjoy it in the least, and had done it
+without thinking, but knew it would please the priest
+as he had bought the thing, and he supposed he
+would not have done so unless he wanted to have
+it played.</p>
+
+<p>As for the tricycle, how in the name of misfortune
+could a tricycle concern him? The bare idea of a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span>
+man of his age and figure riding a tricycle was
+enough to make a dog bark (and here His Highness
+laughed consumedly at the spectacle he had conjured
+up). Had anyone ever seen him ride a
+tricycle? Where was he going to ride it? Was
+it on the sandy shore of the river where he lived?
+and if not there, then where? He understood that
+tricycles would neither go through the jungle nor
+across <i>padi</i> fields, and, if he were to take “the
+creature” out shooting, he supposed it would not
+greatly help him to get a shot at a bison or a
+rhinoceros. Did anyone imagine he was going to
+carry letters? that he was going to join the Post
+Office? If the imputation were not so stupid he
+could almost be angry with the priest, a man whom
+he had heard over and over again say that the one
+thing he desired was a tricycle, something on which
+he could take exercise, and at the same time get
+about his district. He had even asked him, the
+King, to lend him money to buy the machine, but
+he had no money to lend and tried to dissuade the
+man because he thought that in his inexperience he
+might fall and hurt himself. Malays did not understand
+things that ran on three wheels without ever
+a horse or a bullock, or even a buffalo to pull them.
+He saw the tricycle lying under his house, and he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span>
+heard the priest haggling with someone about the
+price, but he would take any oath that the priest or
+anyone else could devise that he had never set eyes
+on the man who sold the thing. All he knew was
+that he had been insulted by the issue of a summons
+because of the priest’s extravagant tastes,
+and, while any one who liked might pay, it would not
+be he.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Priest:</p>
+
+<p>Long before they left the State, His Highness
+told him that when they made this visit it was his
+desire to purchase a musical-box (in the sweet
+strains of which his soul delighted) and a tricycle,
+the beautiful three-wheeled silent carriage which
+cost little to start with and nothing to keep, wanted
+no horses, nor harness, nor expensive and impertinent
+horse-keepers, which never shied at bullock-carts
+or ran away from elephants, and which lasted
+through the lives of many beasts. Therefore, he,
+the priest, the obedient slave of the King, had
+sought the sweet-voiced box and the stomachless
+carriage, and after much difficulty he had found
+them. By the express order of the King the priest
+had bidden the owners bring them to the house in
+which the King was lodging, and there the whole
+details of the two transactions were arranged.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span>
+The people who trafficked in these goods could not
+be taken into the presence of his master, and, indeed,
+the King had expressly declined to see them
+(was not the King all-wise?), but they had been
+brought into a room of the house across which
+hung a heavy curtain, and while he, the priest, discussed
+the terms with the seller on one side, the
+King sat on the other, and not only heard all that
+was said, but in the end, when the priest went
+behind the curtain to consult his royal master, had
+expressed his entire approval of the price, only
+stipulating that he should first hear the box sing
+and ride the stomachless horse. This he had
+arranged with some little difficulty, because the
+sellers were needy men and wanted the money;
+moreover, they seemed to distrust his master, the
+King, for some reason which he could not fathom.
+But he arranged that the singing-box and the seat
+on three wheels should stay with his master for four
+days, and that then they should be returned or paid
+for; those were the orders of the King. So they
+stayed, and the King turned the handle of the box
+and made it sing, or, more often, from prayer-time
+to prayer-time he, the priest, had to turn the handle
+and make music, and the King drank in the sound
+and was glad. As for the three wheels, they lay<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span>
+under the house, and the King looked upon the
+machine and said it was good and cheap and would
+eat nothing.</p>
+
+<p>These are the words of the Priest: “The four
+days went by and the men came to be paid, and I
+told my master, but he seemed to be busy with
+other things, and I sent them away to come again
+the next day. In this way the time passed till the
+day for our departure, and I knew the men who
+owned the box and the carriage were angry, but I
+saw my master wanted the things. When at last
+the trouble came, and the King said it was not his
+business but mine, I told the men they could take
+the box and the carriage back because they did not
+please the King, but they would not, and I was
+afraid lest shame should come on my master, and I
+went out and borrowed the money and paid it.
+Could I, who am a priest, play with a box that sings
+not of God nor the Prophet? Can I, who am a poor
+man, who only live to pray and to preach, to exhort
+the living and to bury the dead, can I ride on the
+stomachless horse with three wheels, I whose duty
+is in the mosque and by the grave? My master
+the King knows that in this thing as in others I
+have but obeyed the voice of my master.”</p>
+
+<p>So Church and State quarrelled, and the priest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span>
+found no more favour in the sight of the King.
+But there were many who said:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“<i>Sĕpĕrti Nasrûan dëngan Bahtek</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Bĕr-sâtu rangkêsa</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Bĕr-chĕrei jâdi sentôsa.</i>”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noindent">“They are like Raja Nasrûan and his minister
+Bahtek; their union brought ruin, their divorce
+solace.” Indeed, it was the opportunity of the
+proverb-monger, and such sayings as, “It is sometimes
+one’s own forefinger which pokes one in the
+eye,” and, “While you carry the Raja’s business on
+your head, don’t forget to keep your own under
+your arm,” were heard on all sides.</p>
+
+<p>The King had a clerk who had served him faithfully
+for twenty years or more. The clerk had a
+wife, and the King’s eye fell upon her approvingly;
+so the King sent the clerk into a far country to
+chase a wild bird, and bestowed his favour upon the
+wife who remained under his care. The King also
+bestowed upon the lady sundry jewels of price,
+things that please poor heathen women with hardly
+any moral character and no education to speak of.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by the King got tired of the woman, as
+unprincipled Eastern kings will do, and he sought
+about for some means, not to rid himself of her,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span>
+that was simple enough, but to get back his gifts
+(for they would serve again as they had done
+already) and at the same time to throw a little dust
+in the eyes of the clerk, who was known to be on
+his way back. Accordingly, a youth of no account
+was arrested by the King’s people, and charged with
+carrying on a <i>liaison</i> with the lady during the
+absence of her husband. The crime was, of course,
+aggravated by the fact that she was under the
+special protection of the King! The clear proof of
+guilt was the alleged possession by the woman of a
+<i>sârong</i><a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> belonging to the man.</p>
+
+<p>This charge was sufficient ground for the display
+of royal displeasure, and procured the restitution of
+the jewels, but it failed to convince anyone that the
+man accused by the King had done any wrong, and,
+in spite of the strenuous exertions of His Highness
+to get the man banished from the country, nothing
+was done to him. The plan, therefore, miscarried
+to some extent, and when the clerk returned it is
+probable that he learnt the facts, for he declined to
+further serve the King, and even said bluntly things
+about his late master that were not altogether loyal.</p>
+
+<p>I have elsewhere stated that Malays try to wipe<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span>
+out, what in their uncivilised minds they count as
+dishonour, in a savage and bloodthirsty fashion, but
+this does not apply when the offender is a raja and
+the injured man of lesser rank. The person of a
+raja is sacred to a Malay, and if he feels that he
+has been disgraced beyond bearing, the result will
+probably be, sooner or later, an access of blind fury
+resulting in a case of <i>âmok</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The King had as many wives as the Muhammadan
+law permitted, and, as his country possessed the
+infinite blessing of a civil list which limited his own
+income, he was always anxious that whenever he
+took to himself a new wife she should receive an
+allowance from the State. His Highness made a
+special point of this grant to the ladies, because he
+said the knowledge that if they divorced him or
+compelled him to divorce them they would lose the
+allowance, had an excellent effect on their behaviour.
+He had succeeded in securing allowances for several
+wives, when a new lady, named Raja Sarefa, consented
+to share the royal smiles, and the King
+immediately applied on her behalf for the usual
+civil list. The application, however, was not successful,
+though several times renewed.</p>
+
+<p>Then the King fell ill of some fell disease that
+no native medicine-man could diagnose, and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span>
+evil spirit, with which he seemed to be troubled,
+had its will of him, so that all men said the King
+must die.</p>
+
+<p>During an interval of temporary return to consciousness,
+when for a few hours the patient
+seemed to have a rest from the attacks of the
+tormentor, he ordered that a young nephew should
+be sent for, also a divorced wife of his own, and a
+priest. Then, against the earnest wishes of both
+parties, he insisted upon these young people being
+married in his presence, and shortly after relapsed
+into his former state.</p>
+
+<p>After weeks of torment, when every day seemed
+certain to be his last, the iron constitution prevailed,
+and the King recovered. In the first days of his
+convalescence I went to see him, and found him
+lying on his bed, in his eyes the light of consciousness
+and intelligence, and sitting by him the wife,
+Raja Sarefa.</p>
+
+<p>He was weak, spoke slowly and in a small voice,
+but said that by God’s grace he only wanted time
+to regain his strength. After expressing my thankfulness
+at seeing him so well on the way to
+recovery, I said that I had often been over to see
+him when he was ill, and that the Raja Sarefa had
+tended him with extraordinary devotion, never<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span>
+seeming to leave his bedside. At once he said,
+“You noticed that, did you?” I replied that I had
+been very much struck by her care of him. “I was
+blind,” he said; “I do not know what happened,
+but I am very glad you remarked how carefully
+Sarefa nursed me, and that you have mentioned it,
+for now you will recognise that she ought to have
+an allowance.”</p>
+
+<p>In the presence of the lady, even though she did
+not raise her eyes from the floor, it was difficult not
+to recognise that, if curses come home to roost,
+blessings sometimes go astray.</p>
+
+<p>After a respite of eighteen months, the evil spirit
+again took possession of the King, and this time
+made short work of him.</p>
+
+<p>The scientific explanation, deriding the evil-spirit
+theory, said that a tumour on the brain, caused by
+no matter what, accounted for the first attack, and
+that as sometimes, but rarely, happens, the growth
+was for a time arrested, the tumour contracted, and
+the pressure on the brain was removed. But the
+mischief was there, and a sudden rapid development
+of the disease brought on a return of the symptoms,
+a violent but hopeless struggle, and death.</p>
+
+<p>It is the custom in the country of which I now
+write to, in a manner, canonise its Sultans. At the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span>
+burial, when the moment arrives for carrying the
+body to the place of sepulture, the dead man is
+given a new name, by which he is ever afterwards
+known. That name is chosen with some reference
+to his earthly life. Thus, there is Al-mĕrhum or
+Mĕrhum Pâsir Panjang (that is, “The Sultan who
+died at Pâsir Panjang”), Mĕrhum Kahar-Allah
+(“The late Sultan to whom God gave strength”),
+and so on.</p>
+
+<p>When this King was buried, the name conferred
+upon him was Mĕrhum Rafir-Allah, and the meaning
+is, “May God pardon him.”</p>
+
+<p class="tb"><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—Since writing the above, I have read the
+following in the <i>Home News</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“In the Lord Mayor’s Court on Oct. 14, before
+the Assistant Judge and a jury, the case of ‘Fischer
+<i>v</i>. Brown’ was concluded. This (says the <i>Times</i>)
+was an action brought by Fischer and Co., a firm
+of Bombay merchants, to recover from Messrs.
+Brown, Saville, and Co., who carry on business in
+this country, the sum of £73, money paid by the
+plaintiffs to the defendants, for which they had
+received no consideration. It appeared that in July,
+1892, the plaintiffs received an order for a special
+perambulator, which was to be given to His Highness<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span>
+Tikah Sahib, Rajah of Patalia, as a birthday present
+by his secretary, Sham Shir Sing. The perambulator
+was to be painted dark green and old gold,
+which were the colours of the Rajah, and there was
+to be a good strong musical-box under the seat, and
+also an automatic arrangement by which the perambulator,
+on being wound up, would run by itself.
+This order was given to the defendants by the
+plaintiffs on July 4, and the perambulator was to
+be ready for shipment to Bombay by Aug. 15, in
+order that it should reach the Rajah by Oct. 1,
+which was the date of his birthday. The defendants
+did not finish the work in time, and the Rajah’s
+birthday had passed before the present arrived, and
+then the secretary refused to take it, and it had to
+be sent back. In the meantime the defendants had
+drawn a bill upon the plaintiffs for the price of the
+perambulator, and this the plaintiffs had accepted
+and had paid the money, which they were now
+suing to recover. For the defence it was stated
+that the cause of the delay in delivering the perambulator
+was Mr. F. Fischer’s interference. The
+wheels and springs of the perambulator, it had
+been agreed, should be electro-plated, but when
+Mr. Fischer heard this he said it would not suit the
+Rajah, and they must be gilded. He was told this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span>
+could not be done in time, and it was implied by
+the orders he gave (which were that the perambulator
+should have elephant-headed handles and
+papier-maché figures of elephants and peacocks)
+that a further allowance of time would be given.
+The jury found a verdict for the plaintiffs for the
+amount claimed.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVI">XVI<br>
+<span class="smaller">A MALAY ROMANCE</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<p>Every heart in which heaven has set
+the lamp of love, whether that heart
+inclines to Mosque or Synagogue, if
+its name be written in the Book of
+Love it is freed from the fear of Hell,
+and the hope of Paradise</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Justin McCarthy’s</span> <i>Omar Khayyam</i></p>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>A quarter of a century ago there lived on
+the bank of a broad river, just at the point
+where stream meets tide, a Malay Raja and his
+youthful wife. She has been dead for twenty
+years, but in this land of brief regrets her memory
+is still green, the fame of her wit and beauty has
+become a byword with the people.</p>
+
+<p>She was a girl of royal descent; her name, Raja
+Maimûnah. Exceeding fair, for a Malay, slight but
+graceful in figure, with very small hands and feet,
+an oval face and splendid eyes, glistening blue-white
+wells in which floated, lotus-like, the dark
+iris, flashing or wooing in changeful expression<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span>
+from wide-open or half-closed lids deeply shaded by
+long black lashes. Her nose was small, straight,
+and well cut, and the curved smiling lips disclosed
+teeth of perfect shape and singular whiteness. In
+either cheek a dimple, <i>lĕsong mâti</i>, as the Malays
+call it, the dimple which so fascinates the beholder
+that it will lure him even unto death. Her jet-black
+hair, fringing the forehead in an oval frame,
+was drawn straight back over the well-shaped head
+and fastened in a simple knot with four ruby-studded
+hairpins; the heads firmly fixed against one side of
+the coil, while the golden points protruded for an
+inch or more beyond the other.</p>
+
+<p>Her dress was that worn by all ladies of rank,
+and usually consisted of a silk skirt of softly-blended
+colours reaching to the ankles and fastened
+at the waist by a belt with a large golden buckle.
+The only other garment was a satin jacket of some
+dark colour on which were stitched cunningly-wrought
+designs of beaten gold. This jacket had
+a tight collar, and the close-fitting sleeves were
+fastened by a long row of jewelled buttons reaching
+almost from wrist to elbow; it was loose at the
+waist and just covered the belt. Tiny heelless
+shoes, embroidered with gold and silver thread,
+completed the attire.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p>
+
+<p>When out of doors, the Raja Maimûnah would
+wear a veil of darkest blue, black or white gossamer
+embroidered with very narrow gold ribbon, a most
+becoming head-dress, the product of Arabian skill.
+Over this, again, was held coquettishly, to conceal
+the face from male eyes, a scarf of rich Malay-red
+silk, heavy with interwoven threads of gold, while
+one or two more silken <i>sârongs</i> of varying colour
+and richness of material were worn over the under-skirt.</p>
+
+<p>Jewels depend upon the wealth and station of
+the wearer, but Maimûnah’s jacket was fastened
+with buttons that matched the hairpins. She was
+seldom seen without diamond solitaires in the ears
+and a number of diamond rings on her fingers,
+while on State occasions she wore heavy gold
+bangles on her wrists and one or more gold necklaces.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot draw an equally attractive picture of
+Raja Iskander, the husband of this lady. He was
+about thirty years of age, while she was one-and-twenty.
+He was short and spare for a Malay, and
+his distinguishing features were a large ugly mouth
+with a downward turn at the corners and an almost
+perpetual expression of extreme discontent.</p>
+
+<p>His vanity was inordinate, his extravagance<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span>
+continually led him into difficulty, and he smoked
+opium to excess and to the neglect of all his duties
+and his interests; moreover, he lacked courage, and
+sought counsel from men of no standing, whose only
+thought was their own profit.</p>
+
+<p>A Malay Raja has many wives. He begins
+early and rings the changes often, until (especially
+if he have pretensions to become ultimately the
+ruler of his country, as was the case with Iskander)
+his relatives decide that he should marry a lady
+of his own rank. Then, if he is young, her
+people usually insist that any wife he has must
+be divorced, and, that done, the marriage takes
+place.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of which I write, Raja Iskander had
+been married to Maimûnah for about three years;
+she was the mother of two children, but her husband
+thought he had good reason to doubt her fidelity,
+and he was palpably neglecting her for a concubine.
+That he should have other wives or concubines was
+of course only what she had been educated to
+expect, and, in acting on his right, Raja Iskander
+was simply following the practice of his ancestors
+and the custom of the country. The Muhammadan
+law is nevertheless extremely strict in its injunctions
+that all wives are to be treated with equal consideration,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span>
+and, while their claims are clear, the concubine
+has none. To neglect a wife for a concubine is a
+dire offence to Malay women, and the slight is enormously
+exaggerated when the wife is of high birth,
+and the favourite only a woman of the people.</p>
+
+<p>The house where Raja Iskander then lived was
+within a hundred feet of the bank of the stream, an
+unattractive spot fifty miles from the mouth of the
+river, but yet not far enough to escape the tidal
+influence and the unlovely accompaniments of turbid
+water, muddy banks, and flat surroundings. Raja
+Iskander passed a good deal of his time in boats,
+the lazy life suited him and his habits, and, instead
+of having to provide a house for each of the ladies
+in his harem, he supplied a boat. That was much
+more economical, and economy was an object, for,
+like many people with extravagant tastes, his
+extravagance was purely selfish.</p>
+
+<p>The boats lay in the river in front of the house,
+and as Raja Iskander’s presence was the excuse for
+a rendezvous of all the gamblers, cock-fighters, and
+opium-smokers of the neighbourhood, a good many
+boats besides his own were always in attendance.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst the visitors attracted to this spot at this
+time was a man called Raja Slêman, a stranger from
+a neighbouring State.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span></p>
+
+<p>It might have been the cock-fighting or the
+gambling always to be found in the society of Raja
+Iskander that drew Raja Slêman to the place. It
+might also have been the congenial society of
+another opium-smoker, or possibly the fame of Raja
+Maimûnah’s attractions. Whatever the lodestone,
+Raja Slêman appeared with two boats and about
+fifteen followers, and, once arrived, he elected to
+remain.</p>
+
+<p>Raja Iskander passed most of his time on the
+water, but Maimûnah lived in the house on shore.
+A very modest dwelling it was; a building of mat
+sides and thatched roof raised from the damp and
+muddy earth on wooden piles, a flight of steps led
+into the front of the house and a ladder served for
+exit at the back. The interior accommodation consisted
+of a closed-in verandah, one large room, and
+a kitchen tacked on behind.</p>
+
+<p>The edges of the muddy river were fringed by the
+<i>nipah</i> palm, which is never seen beyond tidal influences;
+the banks were covered by rank grasses,
+the country was flat and desolate, the jungle insignificant,
+and in the heat of the day the oppression
+of steaming mud and shelterless plain was so great
+that sleep seemed to force itself on insect, reptile,
+and every living thing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span></p>
+
+<p>At night the myriads of fireflies sparkling in the
+riverside bushes, their twinkling lights reflected in
+the water, gave some relief to tired eyes; but the
+gain in the change of temperature and scene was
+hardly appreciated when the mosquitoes and sand-flies
+began their merciless attacks.</p>
+
+<p>Under such circumstances and amidst such
+surroundings, Raja Slêman came into the life of
+Maimûnah.</p>
+
+<p>He was about the same age as Raja Iskander,
+but in other respects there was a striking difference
+between the two men. Slêman was a man of
+pleasing features, extremely quiet, and of courtly
+manners; the casual observer would probably fail
+to realise that this outward appearance concealed a
+firm determination and a dauntless courage. Of
+worldly goods he had little enough, and small
+prospect of multiplying them, but in rank he was
+almost, if not quite, the equal of Raja Iskander.</p>
+
+<p>One day as Slêman sat in his boat he saw
+Maimûnah and her maidens come down to the river
+to bathe. In his country he had never beheld a
+woman as beautiful as this one, and he fell hopelessly
+in love with Iskander’s wife. Then each day
+he watched for her, and never failed, morning and
+evening, to follow her with his eyes for the few<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span>
+moments when she slowly wended her way from
+house to river and back again.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Maimûnah, suffering from the <i>spretæ
+injuria formæ</i> and chafing under the monotony of
+existence, had heard all about the arrival of Slêman
+and readily listened to the tales of his valorous
+deeds. Soon she began to look for him, and as he
+was ever watching for her coming it was not long
+before their eyes met. He pleased her, and, when
+she saw in his face the admiration he had no desire
+to conceal, she would drop the covering that hid all
+but her eyes, and what he then beheld only increased
+his passion.</p>
+
+<p>Malay ladies are adepts in speaking the language
+of the eyes, the chances of verbal speech are but
+few, and so carefully is this art cultivated, so
+thoroughly understood, that principals and witnesses
+never fail to rightly interpret the signs.</p>
+
+<p>Slêman and Maimûnah had already mutually
+declared themselves without the exchange of a
+syllable, and it was with perfect confidence that
+Slêman sought a closer intimacy by the friendly aid
+of a messenger.</p>
+
+<p>Iskander was too much engaged with his opium
+and his latest favourite, too generally satisfied with
+himself, to notice what was going on. Had he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span>
+realised the state of affairs he would not have been
+indifferent to the disgrace that must be his, should
+his wife’s <i>liaison</i> become public property. It is unlikely
+that he had any suspicion of Slêman, but, if
+he had, it would never occur to him that any man
+would have the courage to do more than carry on a
+clandestine intrigue, and of that he suspected Maimûnah
+had already been guilty. Least of all would
+it seem possible for a foreigner supported by a
+dozen followers to brave the power and resentment
+of well nigh the greatest chief of a powerful State.</p>
+
+<p>In this, however, he was misled by the <i>suave</i>
+manners of the quiet stranger.</p>
+
+<p>Slêman’s suit prospered, and he was not satisfied
+to continue indefinitely filling the <i>rôle</i> of false friend
+to Iskander and fearful lover to his wife. However
+much he despised the man, however easily he found
+he could profit by Iskander’s indifference, he meant
+to play a bolder game and make Maimûnah his own
+at all hazards if she were prepared to face the risk.</p>
+
+<p>Her courage was equal to his own (for failure
+meant probably death to her as to him), and one
+night, while Iskander lay in his boat dreaming over
+his opium-pipe, the stranger was carrying off his
+royal spouse within earshot, almost from under his
+very eyes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p>
+
+<p>Once in Slêman’s boat, and the bark had been
+silently unmoored and allowed to drift out of sight
+and hearing, little time was lost in getting out the
+oars and pulling with might and main down river
+towards the coast.</p>
+
+<p>All night long the rowers bent to their work,
+but when morning broke and less than half the
+distance to the river’s mouth had been traversed,
+Slêman ordered the men to pull in to the bank,
+fasten up the boat and rest.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed a foolhardy proceeding to waste the precious
+time, for with the dawn the elopement would be
+discovered and Iskander would be in pursuit before
+the sun had cleared the tops of the jungle trees.</p>
+
+<p>Raja Slêman’s quiet serenity was not disturbed
+by anticipations of capture or fear of the outraged
+husband’s fury. On the contrary, he procured a
+small boat and a messenger, and he indited a letter
+to Raja Iskander, informing him he had carried
+away the Raja Maimûnah, but that he had not
+gone far, having only reached the place he named.
+He added that he would wait there for one night
+and one day against the coming of any who might
+wish to try and take the lady from him, and that
+after that time he should continue his journey to
+the coast and thence to his own country.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span></p>
+
+<p>Raja Iskander received this missive whilst yet
+undecided what course to take in the untoward
+disaster that had befallen him. The letter did not
+greatly help him to arrive at a decision, and he was
+still discussing with his chiefs who should have
+the honour of pursuing and punishing the abductor
+when the twenty-four hours expired.</p>
+
+<p>Neither Iskander nor any of his people ever
+started on that quest, and Raja Slêman carried
+Maimûnah in safety to his own country.</p>
+
+<p>The disconsolate husband, whose ideas were in
+accord with a civilisation beyond the education or
+sympathetic comprehension of his subjects, decided
+to divorce his faithless wife and leave her lover to
+marriage and the punishment of his own conscience.
+It is a painful fact that this conduct
+earned him not the admiration but the contempt
+of his people.</p>
+
+<p>Iskander had one revenge: he discovered amongst
+Maimûnah’s women two who had carried messages
+between the lovers. One was a woman of twenty-five,
+the other a girl of fourteen, and both were incontinently
+strangled.</p>
+
+<p>As for Slêman and Maimûnah, they were duly
+married, and she bore him a daughter in all respects
+like her mother, though not, the old people say, her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span>
+peer in beauty. The <i>laudator temporis acti</i> is a
+common and flourishing plant in Malâya.</p>
+
+<p>In the two children born before the elopement, it
+is difficult to trace any resemblance to their mother.</p>
+
+<p>Maimûnah died years and years ago, the victim
+of a malignant disease; but Slêman still lives in his
+own country, his hair is getting grey, but otherwise
+he shows few signs of age. Time has only intensified
+the courteous bearing and quiet repose of
+manner which seem to fitly accompany his gentle
+winning voice; no one would suspect that this
+man, almost single-handed, carried off the chief
+spouse of an Oriental prince, and then defied the
+whole country to take her from him.</p>
+
+<p>There are no local bards to record Slêman’s story
+in deathless song, and the people are so impregnated
+with vice that they seek for no excuses to palliate
+his conduct, and have no condemnation for this
+ruthless destroyer of Iskander’s happy home. But
+they are Muhammadans, and seldom allow themselves
+the luxury of burning moral convictions. I
+have never seen a missionary proselytising amongst
+the Malays, but many years ago I was told that a
+Christian missionary came to Malâya full of zeal
+and confident of success. He began with a man
+who seemed an earnest, truthful person, anxious to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span>
+learn, a promising subject. The missionary told
+him the story of the Immaculate Conception. The
+Malay listened to the end, showing great interest in
+the miraculous narrative of the Blessed Virgin; then
+he said, “If that had happened to my wife, I should
+have killed her.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVII">XVII<br>
+<span class="smaller">MALAY SUPERSTITIONS</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Than are dreamt of in your philosophy</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><i>Hamlet</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Malay superstitions are the survival of a time
+antecedent to the advent of the gospel of
+Islam, and their strong hold on the people is only
+another proof of the conservative tendencies of the
+race. What was the Faith of Malâya seven hundred
+years ago it is hard to say, but there is a certain
+amount of evidence to lead to the belief that it was
+a form of Brahmanism and that no doubt had succeeded
+the original Spirit Worship.</p>
+
+<p>I do not propose to attempt to enumerate all the
+various forms of superstition, their name is legion,
+but only to describe a few that are both curious and
+interesting.</p>
+
+<p>I have already referred to what is known as <i>bĕr-hantu</i>,
+the practice of a kind of witchcraft for the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span>
+healing of the sick; it reminds one of “casting out
+devils in the name of Beelzebub the Prince of the
+devils”—and I might here give some of the incantations
+commonly spoken by the exorcist, but one
+will suffice. Here is the translation of a most
+potent exorcism believed to be efficacious against
+the malevolent attacks of a thousand lesser
+demons:</p>
+
+<p>Heigh! thou Spirit whose name is Jin Pari of
+the Jin Âruah; Rabiah Jâmil was thy mother’s,
+Imam Jâmil thy father’s name; thou art the grandchild
+of Hakim Baisuri, the great-grandchild of
+Mâlim of the Forest. Thou Spirit of the path
+Lôrin, Spirit of the rising ground Sri Permâtang,
+Spirit of the ant-hill known as “Piebald Horse.”
+Heigh! you white ants Sekutânai, why do you,
+Sekutâpa, flying up stream make me think you are
+on your way down, and flying down stream give the
+impression that you are going to the interior?</p>
+
+<p>I know your origin, spawn of Hell’s spouting
+flame; do not any longer torment this person.</p>
+
+<p>If you disobey, I will curse you by the name of
+the Most High, saying, “By the Grace of God, by
+the Grace of God, by the Grace of God.”</p>
+
+<p>The final threat to drive out the demon by using
+the name of the Almighty is curious as showing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span>
+how the exorcist seeks by a judicious blending of
+tradition with his latter-day Faith to get the better
+of the tormentor.</p>
+
+<p>A very widespread superstition is that certain
+persons have familiar spirits who will, at the
+instance of their owners, enter into and plague any
+one whom it may be desired to injure. These evil
+spirits are known as <i>Bâjang</i>, <i>Pôlong</i>, <i>Pĕlsit</i>, and
+<i>Langsûior</i>, the last being a female spirit. They are
+either inherited or acquired by the practice of witchcraft,
+and the way in which their possession is
+brought home to any member of the community is
+as little reasonable as the “proof” of the exercise
+of similar powers in the Western witch not so many
+centuries ago.</p>
+
+<p>Some one in a village falls ill of a complaint, the
+symptoms of which are unusual; there may be
+convulsions, unconsciousness, or delirium, possibly
+for some days together or with intervals between
+the attacks. The relatives will call in a native
+doctor, and at her (she is usually an ancient female)
+suggestion, or without it, an impression will arise
+that the patient is the victim of a <i>bâjang</i>. Such an
+impression quickly develops into certainty and any
+trifle will suggest the owner of the evil spirit. One
+method of verifying this suspicion is to wait till the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span>
+patient is in a state of delirium and then to question
+him or her as to who is the author of the trouble.
+This should be done by some independent person of
+authority who is supposed to be able to ascertain
+the truth.</p>
+
+<p>A further and convincing proof is then to call in
+a “<i>Pâwang</i>” skilled in dealing with wizards (in
+Malay countries they are usually men), and if he
+knows his business his power is such that he will
+place the sorcerer in one room, and, while he in
+another scrapes an iron vessel with a razor, the
+culprit’s hair will fall off as though the razor had
+been applied to his head instead of to the vessel!
+That is supposing he <i>is</i> the culprit; if not, of
+course he will pass through the ordeal without
+damage.</p>
+
+<p>I have been assured that the shaving process is
+so efficacious that, as the vessel represents the head
+of the person standing his trial, wherever it is
+scraped, the wizard’s hair will fall off in a corresponding
+spot. It might be supposed that under
+these circumstances the accused is reasonably safe,
+but this test of guilt is not always employed.
+What more commonly happens is that when several
+cases of unexplained sickness have occurred in a
+village, with possibly one or two deaths, the people<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span>
+of the place lodge a formal complaint against the
+supposed author of these ills and desire that he be
+punished.</p>
+
+<p>Before the advent of British influence it was the
+practice to kill the wizard or witch whose guilt had
+been established to Malay satisfaction, and such
+executions were carried out not very many years
+ago.</p>
+
+<p>I remember a case in Perak less than ten years
+ago when the people of an up-river village accused
+a man of keeping a <i>bâjang</i>, and the present Sultan,
+who was then the principal Malay Judge in the
+State, told them he would severely punish the
+<i>bâjang</i> if they would produce it. They went away
+hardly satisfied and shortly after made a united
+representation to the effect that if the person suspected
+were allowed to remain in their midst they
+would kill him. Before anything could be done
+they put him, his family, and effects on a raft and
+started them down the river. On their arrival at
+Kuala Kangsar the man was given an isolated hut
+to live in, but not long afterwards he disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>The hereditary <i>bâjang</i> comes like other evils, the
+unsought heritage of a dissolute ancestry, but the
+acquired <i>bâjang</i> is usually obtained from the newly-buried
+body of a stillborn child, which is supposed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span>
+to be the abiding-place of a familiar spirit until
+lured therefrom by the solicitations of someone
+who, at dead of night, stands over the grave and
+by potent incantations persuades the <i>bâjang</i> to come
+forth.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pôlong</i> and <i>Pĕlsit</i> are but other names for <i>Bâjang</i>,
+the latter is chiefly used in the State of Kĕdah
+where it is considered rather <i>chic</i> to have a <i>pĕlsit</i>.
+A Kĕdah lady the other day, eulogising the advantages
+of possessing a familiar spirit (she said that
+amongst other things it gave her absolute control
+over her husband and the power of annoying people
+who offended her), thus described the method of
+securing this useful ally:</p>
+
+<p>“You go out,” she said, “on the night before
+the full moon and stand with your back to the moon
+and your face to an ant-hill so that your shadow
+falls on the ant-hill. Then you recite certain <i>jampi</i>
+(incantations), and bending forward try to embrace
+your shadow. If you fail try again several times,
+repeating more incantations. If not successful go
+the next night and make a further effort, and the
+night after if necessary—three nights in all. If
+you cannot then catch your shadow, wait till the
+same day on the following month and renew the
+attempt. Sooner or later you will succeed, and,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span>
+as you stand there in the brilliance of the moonlight,
+you will see that you have drawn your shadow into
+yourself, and your body will never again cast a
+shade. Go home and in the night, whether sleeping
+or waking, the form of a child will appear before
+you and put out its tongue; that seize and it will
+remain while the rest of the child disappears. In
+a little while the tongue will turn into something
+that breathes, a small animal, reptile or insect, and
+when you see the creature has life put it in a bottle
+and the <i>pĕlsit</i> is yours.”</p>
+
+<p>It sounds easy enough, and one is not surprised
+to hear that everyone in Kĕdah, who is anybody,
+keeps a <i>pĕlsit</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Langsûior</i>, the female familiar, differs hardly at
+all from the <i>bâjang</i> except that she is a little more
+baneful, and, when under the control of a man, he
+sometimes becomes the victim of her attractions,
+and she will even bear him elfin children.</p>
+
+<p>It is all very well for the Kĕdah ladies to sacrifice
+their shadows to obtain possession of a <i>pĕlsit</i>, leaders
+of society must be in the fashion at any cost; but
+there are plenty of people living in Perak who have
+seen more than one ancient Malay dame taken out
+into the river, and, despite her protestations, her
+tears and entreaties, have watched her, with hands<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span>
+and feet tied, put into the water and slowly pushed
+down out of sight by means of a long pole with a
+fork at one end which fitted on to her neck. Those
+who witnessed these executions have no doubt of
+the justice of the punishment, and not uncommonly
+add that after two or three examples had been made
+there would always ensue a period of rest from the
+torments of the <i>bâjang</i>. I have also been assured
+that the <i>bâjang</i>, in the shape of a lizard, has been
+seen to issue from the drowning person’s nose.
+That statement, no doubt, is made on the authority
+of those who condemned and executed the victim.</p>
+
+<p>The following legend gives the Malay conception
+of the origin of all <i>Jin</i>, <i>hantu</i>, <i>bâjang</i>, and other
+spirits.</p>
+
+<p>The Creator determined to make Man, and for
+that purpose He took some clay from the earth and
+fashioned it into the figure of a man. Then He
+took the Spirit of Life to endue this body with
+vitality and placed the spirit on the head of the
+figure. But the spirit was strong, and the body,
+being only clay, could not hold it and was reft in
+pieces and scattered into the air. Those fragments
+of the first great Failure are the spirits of earth and
+sea and air.</p>
+
+<p>The Creator then formed another clay figure, but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span>
+into this one He wrought some iron, so that when
+it received the vital spark it withstood the strain
+and became Man. That man was Adam, and the
+iron that is in the constitution of his descendants
+has stood them in good stead. When they lose it,
+they become of little more account than their prototype
+the first failure.</p>
+
+<p>Another article of almost universal belief is that
+the people of a small State in Sumatra called
+Korinchi have the power of assuming at will the
+form of a tiger, and in that disguise they wreak
+vengeance on those they wish to injure. Not
+every Korinchi man can do this, but still the gift
+of this strange power of metamorphosis is pretty
+well confined to the people of the small Sumatran
+State. At night when respectable members of
+society should be in bed, the Korinchi man slips
+down from his hut, and, assuming the form of a
+tiger, goes about “seeking whom he may devour.”</p>
+
+<p>I have heard of four Korinchi men arriving in a
+district of Perak, and that night a number of fowls
+were taken by a tiger. The strangers left and
+went further up country, and shortly after only
+three of them returned and stated that a tiger had
+just been killed, and they begged the local headman
+to bury it!</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span></p>
+
+<p>On another occasion some Korinchi men appeared
+and sought hospitality in a Malay house, and there
+also the fowls disappeared in the night, and there
+were unmistakable traces of the visit of a tiger, but
+the next day one of the visitors fell sick, and shortly
+after vomited chicken-feathers!</p>
+
+<p>It is only fair to say that the Korinchi people
+strenuously deny the tendencies and the power
+ascribed to them, but aver that they properly belong
+to the inhabitants of a district called Chenâku in
+the interior of the Korinchi country. Even there,
+however, it is only those who are practised in the
+<i>elĕmu sĕhir</i>, the occult arts who are thus capable
+of transforming themselves into tigers, and the
+Korinchi people profess themselves afraid to enter
+the Chenâku district.</p>
+
+<p>It was my misfortune some years ago to be
+robbed of some valuable property, and several
+Malay friends strongly advised me to take the
+advice of an astrologer or other learned person who
+(so they said) would be able to give the name of
+the thief, and probably recover most of the stolen
+things. I fear that I had no great faith in this
+method of detection, but I was anxious to see what
+could be done, for the East is a curious place, and
+no one with an inquiring mind can have lived<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span>
+in it long without seeing phenomena that are not
+always explained by modern text-books on Natural
+Philosophy.</p>
+
+<p>I was first introduced to an Arab of very remarkable
+appearance. He was about fifty years old, tall,
+with pleasant features and extraordinary grey-blue
+eyes, clear and far-seeing, a man of striking and
+impressive personality. I was travelling when I
+met him, and tried to persuade him to return with
+me, but that he said he could not do, though he
+promised to follow me by an early steamer. He
+said he would be able to tell me all about the
+robbery, who committed it, where the stolen property
+then was, and that all he would want was an
+empty house wherein he might fast in solitude for
+three days, without which preparation, he said, he
+would not be able to see what he sought. He told
+me that after his vigil, fast, and prayer, he would
+lay in his hand a small piece of paper on which
+there would be some writing, into this he would
+pour a little water, and in that extemporised mirror
+he would see a vision of the whole transaction.
+He declared that, after gazing intently into this
+divining-glass, the inquirer first recognised the
+figure of a little old man. That having duly saluted
+this <i>Jin</i>, it was only necessary to ask him to conjure<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span>
+up the scene of the robbery, when all the details
+would be re-enacted in the liquid glass under the
+eyes of the gazer, who would there and then
+describe all that he saw. I had heard all this
+before, only it had been stated to me then that the
+medium through whose eyes the vision could alone
+be seen must be a young child of such tender years
+that it could have never told a lie! The Arab,
+however, professed himself not only able to conjure
+up the scene, but to let me see it for myself, if I
+would follow his directions. Unfortunately, my
+grey-eyed friend failed to keep his promise, and I
+never met him again.</p>
+
+<p>A local Chief, however, declared his power to
+read the past by this method, if only he could find
+the truthful child. In this he appeared to succeed,
+but when, on the following day, he came to disclose
+to me the results of his skill, he said that a difficulty
+had arisen because just when the child (a little boy)
+was beginning to relate what he saw he suddenly
+became unconscious, and it took the astrologer two
+hours to restore him to his normal state. All the
+mothers of tender-aged and possibly truthful
+children declined after this to lend their offspring
+for the ordeal.</p>
+
+<p>My friend was not, however, at the end of his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span>
+resources, and, though only an amateur in divination,
+he undertook to try by other methods to find
+the culprit. For this purpose he asked me to give
+him the names of everyone in the house at the time
+the robbery was committed. I did so, and the next
+day he gave me one of those names as that of the
+thief. I asked how he had arrived at this knowledge,
+he described the method and consented to repeat
+the experiment in my presence. That afternoon I
+went with him to a small house belonging to his sister.
+Here I found my friend the Chief, his sister, and
+two men whom I did not recognise. We all sat in a
+very small room, the Chief in the centre with a copy
+of the Korân on a reading-stand, near to him the
+two men, opposite to each other, the sister against
+one wall and I in a corner. A clean new unglazed
+earthenware bowl with a wide rim was produced.
+This was filled with water, and a piece of fair white
+cotton cloth tied over the top, making a surface like
+that of a drum.</p>
+
+<p>I was asked to write the name of each person
+present in the house when the robbery was committed
+on a small piece of paper, and to fold each
+paper up so that all should be alike, and then to
+place one of the names on the cover of the vessel.
+I did so, and the proceedings began by the two<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span>
+men placing each the middle joint of the forefinger
+of his right hand under the rim of the bowl on
+opposite sides, and so supporting it about six inches
+above the floor. The vessel being large and full of
+water was heavy, and the men supported the strain
+by resting their right elbows on their knees as they
+sat cross-legged on the floor and face to face. It
+was then that I selected one of the folded papers,
+and placed it on the cover of the vessel. The Chief
+read a page of the Korân, and as nothing happened
+he said that was not the name of the guilty person,
+and I changed the paper for another. This occurred
+four times, but at the fifth the reading had scarcely
+commenced when the bowl began to slowly turn
+round from left to right, the supporters letting their
+hands go round with it, until it twisted itself out of
+their fingers and fell on the floor with a considerable
+bang and a great spluttering of water through the
+thin cover. “That,” said the Chief, “is the name
+of the thief.”</p>
+
+<p>It was the name of the person already mentioned
+by him.</p>
+
+<p>I did not, however, impart that piece of information
+to the company, but went on to the end of my
+papers, nothing more happening.</p>
+
+<p>I said I should like to try the test again, and as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span>
+the Chief at once consented we began afresh, and
+this time I put the name of the suspected person on
+first, and once more the vessel turned round and
+twisted itself out of the hands of the holders, till it
+fell on the floor and I was surprised it did not break.
+After trying a few more I said I was satisfied, and
+the ordeal of the bowl was over.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Chief asked me whose name had been on
+the vessel when it moved, and I told him. It was
+a curious coincidence certainly. I wrote the names
+in English, which no one could read; moreover, I
+was so placed that no one could see what I wrote,
+and they none of them attempted to do so. Then
+the papers were folded up so as to be all exactly
+alike, they were shuffled together, and I did not
+know one from the other till I looked inside myself.
+Each time I went from my corner and placed a name
+on the vessel already held on the fingers of its
+supporters. No one except I touched the papers,
+and no one but the Chief ever spoke till the <i>séance</i>
+was over. I asked the men who held the bowl why
+they made it turn round at that particular moment,
+but they declared they had nothing to do with it,
+and that the vessel twisted itself off their fingers
+against their inclination.</p>
+
+<p>The name disclosed by this experiment was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span>
+certainly that of the person whom there was most
+reason to suspect, but beyond that I learnt nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Another plan for surprising the secret of a
+suspected person is to get into the room where that
+person is sleeping, and after making certain passes
+to question the slumberer, when he may truthfully
+answer all the questions put to him. This is a
+favourite device of the suspicious husband.</p>
+
+<p>Yet another plan is to place in the hand of a
+<i>pâwang</i>, magician, or medium, a divining-rod formed
+of three lengths of rattan tied together at one end,
+and when he gets close to the person “wanted,” or
+to the place where anything stolen is concealed, the
+rod vibrates in a remarkable manner.</p>
+
+<p>A great many Malays and one or two Europeans
+may be found who profess to have seen water
+drawn from a <i>kris</i>. The <i>modus operandi</i> is simple.
+The “pâwang” (I dare not call him conjurer)
+works with bare arms to show there is no deception.
+He takes the <i>kris</i> (yours, if you prefer it) from its
+wooden handle, and, holding the steel point downwards
+in his left hand, he recites a short incantation
+to the effect that he knows all about iron and where
+it comes from, and that it must obey his orders. He
+then with the thumb and first two fingers of his
+right hand proceeds to gently squeeze the steel,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span>
+moving his fingers up and down the blade. After
+a little while a few drops of water fall from the
+point of the <i>kris</i>, and these drops quickly develop
+into a stream that will fill a cup. The “pâwang”
+will then hand round the blade and tell you to bend
+it; this you will find no difficulty in doing, but by
+making two or three passes over the <i>kris</i> the
+“pâwang” can render it again so hard that it cannot
+be bent.</p>
+
+<p>The only drawback to this trick or miracle is
+that the process ruins the temper of the steel, and a
+<i>kris</i> that has been thus treated is useless.</p>
+
+<p>One evening I was discussing these various
+superstitions with the Sultan of Perak, and I did
+not notice that the spiritual teacher of His Highness
+had entered and was waiting to lead the evening
+prayer. The <i>guru</i>, or teacher, no doubt heard the
+end of our conversation and was duly scandalised,
+for the next day I received from him a letter, of
+which the following is the translation:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“First praise to God, the Giver of all good, a
+Fountain of Compassion to His servants.</p>
+
+<p>“From Haji Wan Muhammad, Teacher of His
+Highness the Sultan of Perak, to the Resident who
+administers the Government of Perak.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The whole earth is in the hand of the most
+High God, and He gives it as an inheritance to
+whom He will of His subjects. The true religion
+is also of God, and Heaven is the reward of those
+who fear the Most High. Salvation and peace are
+for those who follow the straight path, and only
+they will in the end arrive at real greatness. No
+Raja can do good, and none can be powerful except
+by the help of God the Most High, who is also
+Most Mighty.</p>
+
+<p>“I make ten thousand salutations. I wish to
+inquire about the practice of <i>bĕr-hantu</i>, driving
+oneself mad and losing one’s reason, as has been
+the custom of Rajas and Chiefs in this State of
+Perak; is it right according to your religion, Mr.
+Resident, or is it not? For that practice is a
+deadly sin to the Muhammadan Faith, because
+those who engage in it lose their reason and waste
+their substance for nothing; some of them cast it
+into the water, while others scatter it broadcast
+through the jungle. How is such conduct treated
+by your religion, Mr. Resident, is it right or wrong?
+I want you in your indulgence to give me an answer,
+for this practice is very hard on the poor. The
+Headmen collect from the <i>rayats</i>, and then they
+make elaborate preparations of food, killing a buffalo<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span>
+or fowls, and all this is thrown away as already
+stated. According to the Muhammadan religion
+such proceedings lead to destruction.</p>
+
+<p>“I salute you many times, do not be angry, for
+I do not understand your customs, Mr. Resident.</p>
+
+<p class="right">“(Signed) <span class="smcap">Haji Muhammad Abu Hassan</span>.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVIII">XVIII<br>
+<span class="smaller">WITH A CASTING-NET</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">Where fountains of sweet water run between,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And sun and shadow chequer-chased the green</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Jâmi</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Perak is one of the largest and most populous
+of the States of the Malay Peninsula, it is
+the one where probably the rulers can claim the
+clearest genealogy and the longest recorded descent,
+and it is unquestionably here that all ancient rites
+and customs have been most carefully preserved.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst it was to Perak that the first British
+Resident was appointed, and this State is now the
+most wealthy, advanced, and prosperous of all those
+under British influence, the Malays still maintain
+their traditions and observe their honoured customs
+as though railways and steamers, education and
+sanitation had no more part in their lives than<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span>
+when Albuquerque was striving to effect a landing
+on the shores of Malacca.</p>
+
+<p>For ages it has been a practice of the Sultans of
+Perak to reserve certain waters for their own fishing,
+and certain jungle tracts (usually surrounding
+a hot spring of mineral water) for their own hunting.
+There they would resort, annually or oftener, and
+with their relatives, chiefs, and followers take their
+kingly pleasure, as it was duly chronicled had been
+the custom of their ancestors.</p>
+
+<p>In the lull after the first heavy rains, that is
+about the month of December, when the river has
+been swollen to flood-height for a couple of months,
+the <i>tuntong</i> or river-turtles ascend the Perak River
+in considerable numbers and lay their eggs on certain
+convenient sand stretches in the neighbourhood
+of Bota, about 100 miles from the river’s mouth.</p>
+
+<p>The most frequented of these laying grounds
+is a place called <i>Pâsir Tĕlor</i> (egg-sand), just below
+Bota, and it is here that the ladies of the Court
+annually assemble to dig up the eggs, which the
+Malay considers one of the greatest delicacies
+known to him.</p>
+
+<p>The river-turtle is a great deal smaller than the
+sea-turtle, but it lays a larger egg, and one much
+more valued by Malays.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span></p>
+
+<p>As soon as the river rises watchers are stationed
+on the sands, and the turtles are said to lay three
+times. The nests are dug between two and three
+feet under the sand, and contain from about fifteen
+to thirty-five eggs each. During the laying season
+boats are not allowed to stop at the sands for fear
+they should disturb the turtles.</p>
+
+<p>When the first set of eggs has been laid and the
+turtles have returned to the river, the watchers
+open the nests and send the eggs up to the Sultan.
+The second set of nests is opened by the royal
+party, and the third is left to hatch, an operation
+that takes six months. There is no sitting, the
+young turtles simply emerge from the sand, walk
+down into the river and swim away.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that if the first and second nests are
+left untouched, the turtles themselves open them
+and scatter and destroy the eggs; but that, after
+the third “lay,” they take their departure, having
+accomplished their task.</p>
+
+<p>Directly the watchers report that the turtles
+have made the second nests, the Sultan and his
+family, with the neighbouring chiefs and their
+families, take boat and paddle down the stream to
+Pâsir Tĕlor.</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen or twenty large house-boats and several<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span>
+bamboo rafts containing about one hundred and
+fifty people make an imposing procession. The
+rafts are simply floating houses, with mat walls and
+a high thatched roof, and are manned by crews of
+from four to sixteen polers; but the boats are
+graceful and picturesque barges, of which the
+foundation is a long dug-out of hard wood drawing
+very little water, the freeboard is raised by the
+breadth of one or two planks, and over the stern
+half of the boat is built a palm-thatched covering
+on a slight wooden frame, while curtains secure
+privacy. Inside this house, the roof of which rises
+in a sharp curve towards the stern, sit and lie on
+mats and cushions the owner and his family or
+friends. The crew occupy the forward half of the
+boat, where they sit to paddle down stream or
+stand to pole up. The steersman has a high seat
+in the stern, from whence he is able to see clear of
+the cabin-roof.</p>
+
+<p>The covered portion of the barge which carries
+the Sultan’s principal wife is decorated with six
+scarlet-bordered white umbrellas. Two officers
+stand all day long, just outside the state-room,
+holding open black umbrellas with silver fringes,
+and two others are in the bows with long bamboo
+poles held close together and erect. The royal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span>
+bugler sits on the extreme end of the prow, and
+from time to time blows a call on the antique silver
+trumpet of the regalia. Flags are flown, other boats
+carry gongs and drums, and altogether the pleasure-fleet
+makes a brave show and a considerable noise,
+attracting the attention of all the dwellers on the
+riverine.</p>
+
+<p>The journey from the Sultan’s palace at Kuala
+Kangsar occupies two days, and on the morning of
+the third all the ladies of the party, with all their
+attendants and children (a good many still in arms),
+disembark for the ceremony of digging out the
+turtle-eggs.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies are in their smartest garments
+and wear their costliest jewels. It is a blaze of
+brilliant-coloured silks, of painted <i>sârongs</i>, cloth-of-gold
+scarves, and embroidered gauze veils; of bright
+sunshades, gold bracelets, necklaces, and bangles;
+of curious jewelled brooches, massive hairpins, and
+rings flashing with the light of diamonds and
+rubies.</p>
+
+<p>The men appear in jackets, trousers, and <i>sârongs</i>
+of hardly less striking hues; but the horror of
+Western dyes and Western schemes of colour has
+not yet demoralised the Malay’s innate sense of
+beauty and fitness, and nothing offends the eye as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span>
+all this wealth of bravery moves slowly across the
+strand.</p>
+
+<p>A scorching sun shines down on the gaily-clad
+figures with their background of dark jungle, on the
+yellow sands and sparkling river, with its burden
+of picturesque boats, and gives light and shadow to
+a charming picture.</p>
+
+<p>The watchers have marked with twigs the various
+nests, and each lady of rank, with her little crowd
+of attendants, makes for one of these, and with her
+hands begins to dig up the sand in search of the
+eggs. But the nest is deep down, and the sides of
+the hole have a way of falling in on the digger, so
+a man or boy is desired to remove the overburden
+and make things easy for the lady. The overlying
+sand is quickly scooped out until one or two of the
+white eggs are disclosed, and then the lady, sitting
+on the edge and stooping far down, can just manage
+to reach the nest, and the eggs are carefully
+handed up.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the pleasure of actually removing the
+eggs with one’s own hand, of displaying to admiring
+eyes a vision of taper fingers and rounded wrist, of
+showing how little it matters that the costliest
+garments should trail in the sand, there is the
+rivalry of whose nest yields the largest number of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span>
+eggs. Anything over twenty-five is considered a
+satisfactory find.</p>
+
+<p>By the time all the nests have been rifled, the
+sands are growing so hot under the rays of the
+fiery sun that bare feet can hardly endure what is
+little short of torture. There is an almost hurried
+return to the boats, the finery is exchanged for
+simpler garments, and all the men and many of the
+ladies take to the river, and there disport themselves
+in a manner that is refreshing to sun-scorched
+bodies and the eyes of the Western spectator who
+is fortunate enough to see how it is possible to be
+unconventionally natural and yet perfectly modest.</p>
+
+<p>It is only on such occasions as this that a
+strange man can see these ladies unveiled and even
+so he is not expected to look at them or go very
+near them; but their bathing-costume differs hardly
+at all from that which they commonly wear, and
+they thoroughly enjoy this opportunity of revelling
+in the clear waters of the sand-bedded stream.</p>
+
+<p>Then every one scrambles back into the boats,
+which are pushed off into deep water, the rowers
+seize their paddles and with beat of gong and the
+musical notes of the silver <i>serûnai</i>, with jest and
+laughter, pennons waving, and bright eyes sparkling
+behind the rainbow-coloured blinds, the picturesque<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span>
+flotilla glides on its course down the long sunny
+reach, in and out amongst the islets, round a
+heavily-wooded, deeply-shadowed headland, past
+the riverside hamlets and the orchards, the stately
+palms, the clusters of bamboo that overhang the
+water like great plumes of pale green feathers, and
+so ever onward through sunlight and shadow till
+another bourne is reached.</p>
+
+<p>The graceful turn of the leading barge towards
+a sand-spit flanked by a long inviting backwater,
+the roll of a drum and every prow is headed for
+the shallows of the bank that divides the <i>âyer mâti</i>,
+the “dead water,” from the living hurrying stream.</p>
+
+<p>The boats arrange themselves in divisions, the
+crews land, make fires, and boil the rice for their
+mid-day meal, while the cooking and breakfasting
+of the members of the “court” is done on board
+the various barges.</p>
+
+<p>In this feudal and conservative country when
+the people eat they <i>mâkan</i>, but the Raja does not
+<i>mâkan</i>, with him it is <i>santap</i>. When “the masses”
+bathe they <i>mandi</i>, but the same operation in the
+case of a Raja is called <i>sêram</i>; a chief or a beggar
+may sleep and that is <i>tîdor</i>, but when the Raja
+sleeps he is said to <i>bĕr-âdu</i>. This does not mean
+that a wide gulf divides Malay classes, there is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span>
+rather that communion as of the members of an
+old Scotch clan, but respect and courtesy are
+characteristic of the race, a prized legacy which it
+is not yet considered a sign of either independence
+or good manners to despise. People of the same
+class, rajas and chiefs, children and parents,
+brothers and sisters, speak to each other with
+studied deference and never forget the little distinctions
+that mark fine shades of rank or age. Boys
+and girls are as careful in the observance of these
+courtesies as are their elders.</p>
+
+<p>Education and contact with Europeans will alter
+all this, and in the next century there will be more
+equality and probably less politeness and fraternity.
+But then also there will be no royal preserves, no
+class privileges, and no State junketings where
+noble and peasant meet in generous rivalry of skill
+with a single desire to snatch from the toil, the
+disappointments, and the sorrows of life one week
+of pleasure wherein individual joy may grow
+greater in the knowledge that it is shared by many.</p>
+
+<p>Future possibilities do not disturb our friends,
+whose guiding principle is rather “insufficient
+for the day is the pleasure thereof.” They have
+attacks of hatred and gloom, and then they kill,
+if the desire is strong enough, but these fits<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span>
+are rare, and when not actively engaged in amusing
+themselves they are lotus-eating, sometimes figuratively,
+sometimes in reality.</p>
+
+<p>This is a time for action, and, the mid-day meal
+disposed of, all the men of the party get ready their
+casting-nets and don the garments that will least
+hamper the free use of their limbs and will not be
+injured by a thorough wetting.</p>
+
+<p>The backwater has a narrow and shallow
+entrance on the river, and this entrance is staked
+across to guard it from what in the West would be
+called poachers. Through the stakes a way has
+now been made wide enough to admit of the passage
+of boats. The Sultan’s barge and a few other
+house-boats have passed the barrier, and these are
+accompanied by a fleet of fifty uncovered dug-outs,
+each with a light grating of split-bamboos over half
+its length, and each carrying two or three paddlers,
+one of whom steers and one man standing on the
+extreme end of the bow ready to cast the net.</p>
+
+<p>These nets are of local make, the mesh is small,
+the thread of twisted strands of finest cotton, and
+the length varies according to the ability of the
+owner to cast it. A very short net is five or six
+cubits in length from centre to edge, a long one is
+twelve or thirteen cubits, and to cast that with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span>
+accuracy so that it reaches the water perfectly
+extended requires a very skilful hand. The bottom
+or edge of the net is weighted with small leaden
+rings that sink it rapidly through the water, while
+a fine cord from the centre is attached to the right
+wrist of the thrower. The net is usually dyed a
+dark brown with a solution made from the bark of
+the mangrove.</p>
+
+<p>The backwater where this annual netting is done
+is a long narrow strip of fairly deep water widening
+slightly in the centre and contracting at the ends.
+On one side it is bordered by a low grass-grown
+shore and on the other by a jungle-covered bank
+from which the overhanging branches cast dark
+shadows on the glassy surface, stirred here and
+there into tiny wavelets by every passing zephyr.</p>
+
+<p>By 3 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> all is ready; some of the oldest and
+most skilful netters stand in the bows of the royal
+barges, a dozen young rajas are in dug-outs and
+the others are occupied by their owners, men from
+the neighbouring villages who have come to join in
+the sport.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan gives the signal, and the boats move
+off slowly and at once form themselves into a
+crescent, with the royal barges in the centre. The
+horns of the crescent draw towards each other, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span>
+boats make a simultaneous in-turn, the circle is
+completed, and at the moment when it becomes
+sufficiently circumscribed every net is cast, covering
+the whole surface of the water within the ring of
+boats. Directly the nets have been cast they sink,
+the paddlers back-water, and each net is slowly
+drawn to the surface and the fish taken are disengaged
+from the fine meshes and thrown into the
+boat under the bamboo grating.</p>
+
+<p>Almost every net contains fish, and the numbers
+vary from two or three to fifty or sixty bright
+silvery fishes weighing from half a pound to a
+pound each.</p>
+
+<p>The operation is then repeated, and the fleet of
+boats works its way slowly from end to end of the
+backwater, a distance of about a mile.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes every net makes a good haul, sometimes
+only one or two do very well, and all the rest
+indifferently. It is no easy matter with such an
+insecure foothold to cast a long and heavy net, but,
+well done, the act of casting is graceful and attractive.
+First the slack of the cord is taken up in
+loops in the right hand and after it the net, until the
+leaden rings clear the boat and reach to about the
+thrower’s knee. Then with his left hand he takes
+up part of the skirt of the net and hangs it over his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span>
+right arm and shoulder. This done he seizes the
+balance of the skirt in his left hand, swings his
+body backwards and then forwards with a strong
+propelling movement of arm, shoulder, and back that
+sends the net straight out over the water to fall
+perfectly extended, like a huge brown cobweb, the
+outer edges sinking instantly under the weight of
+the leaden rings and drawing together by reason of
+the resistance of the inner surface of the net.</p>
+
+<p>The game <i>looks</i> easy enough, but try it and you
+will probably find yourself in the water at the first
+cast with the net tied up into an inextricable knot.</p>
+
+<p>Watch the experienced hand. The boats are
+now at a bend in the middle of the backwater, the
+circle is formed, the in-turn is given to the bows,
+the ring narrows, and at this moment the scene is
+picturesque to a degree and strangely weird.</p>
+
+<p>Atmospheric changes come quickly here; the sky
+has become suddenly overcast, a heavy rain-cloud is
+being rapidly driven before a rising wind, and the
+water is now dark and gloomy. This <i>cordon</i> of low
+black boats, so close to each other that they almost
+touch, on every bow a half-bent, quaintly-clad form
+with the net hanging in graceful folds from arm and
+shoulder, while fifty dark earnest faces gaze eagerly
+on the narrowing space. In that instant it flashes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span>
+across the spectator’s mind that some mystic rite of
+fell intent is to be performed within that magic
+zone. Then heigh! Abracadabra! The word is
+given to cast, and from fifty boats the nets fly out
+with a swirl and settle on the water with a gentle
+hiss. But the skilful thrower waits for a second or
+two, knowing that the fish, frightened by this rain of
+lead, will dash for the only spot where there seems
+to be a gap. Then deftly he casts a net with a
+diameter of forty feet, and the moment he strains
+the cord he realises that he has made an extraordinary
+capture. He pulls the net up a little way, and
+then, plunging his arms into the water, grasps the
+meshes on either side and calls for help to raise the
+struggling mass of fish. All eyes are fixed on the
+lucky Raja, and as the take is lifted into the boat
+there are shouts of delight and congratulation and
+clapping of hands from the ladies, who are keenly
+interested. By this single cast the thrower has
+secured one hundred and twenty-one fish, and his
+contribution for the afternoon is over seven hundred
+“tails.”</p>
+
+<p>Just as the furthest end of the backwater is
+reached the rain, which has been long threatening,
+comes down in torrents, and there is a race for
+shelter and dry clothes. The dug-outs with three<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span>
+or four paddlers easily beat the barges with a dozen,
+but long before the river is reached the netters are
+as wet as the fish, and have a swim in the warm
+water of the river before changing into dry clothes.</p>
+
+<p>Then there is a lull in the storm, and the more
+enthusiastic return to the netting and, unmindful of
+hunger, darkness, and rain, still cast the nets till
+10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, when they return thoroughly tired out, but
+happy in the knowledge that the bag numbers over
+ten thousand fish.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst these late comers and most ardent
+sportsmen are several ladies who, not satisfied with
+the ease and dignity of a royal barge, have braved
+the elements and gone fasting to share the excitement
+of the netting in the discomfort of the dug-outs.</p>
+
+<p>That is how the Sultan of Perak’s annual fishing
+party takes its pleasure, and about the very same
+time His Highness of Păhang will be leading a
+similar expedition in the quiet waters of an old
+channel of the Păhang River.</p>
+
+<p>There, however, the method is rather different—the
+water is poisoned with the juice of the <i>tuba</i> root,
+and the stupefied fish are speared and netted as they
+float and swim aimlessly about. The fun is much
+the same, perhaps, but the pursuit is less sporting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span>
+than by the means employed in Perak. It is not
+however, perfectly easy to spear even drugged fish
+without both skill and practice.</p>
+
+<p>In Păhang, also, the pageant is conducted with
+much state and ancientry, and, as the nature of the
+pastime requires only a moderate effort, the ladies
+of the Harîm smile on the proceedings and, armed
+with silken nets on hafts of gold, themselves essay
+to scoop up the scaly quarry. Amongst the ladies
+of the Court are some the exceeding fairness of
+whose skin, the perfect oval of their faces, and the
+glances of their liquid eyes so embarrass the men
+of the party that many a spear flies wide of its
+mark.</p>
+
+<p>There are some things still hidden from the ken
+of Cook and the race of Globe trotters, and I do
+not fear to reveal the secrets of this remote corner
+of the earth, for, if any be thereby induced to visit
+the Peninsula in search of such displays as I have
+tried to describe, he will meet with disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>You cannot, in the language of Western culture,
+put a penny in the slot and set in motion the wheels
+of this barbarous Eastern figure.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIX">XIX<br>
+<span class="smaller">JAMES WHEELER WOODFORD BIRCH</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">Such was our friend, formed on the good old plan,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">A true and brave and downright honest man</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Whittier</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>On the 2nd November 1875, Mr. James
+Wheeler Woodford Birch, British Resident
+of Perak, was assassinated by Malays at a place
+called Pâsir Sâlak on the Perak River. I propose
+to describe why and how this murder was committed.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Birch began life as a midshipman in the
+Royal Navy. He abandoned the sea for Government
+employment in Ceylon, where he spent the
+best years of his life, and was promoted to be Government
+Agent of the Eastern Province, one of the
+highest positions in the Island. In 1870 Mr. Birch
+was appointed Colonial Secretary of the Straits
+Settlements, and when Major-General Sir Andrew<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span>
+Clarke, R.E., then Governor of the Straits Settlements,
+concluded the Pangkor Treaty with the Perak
+Chiefs in 1874 and introduced a new departure in
+the relations between the British Government and
+the Malay States, he selected Mr. Birch for the
+difficult post of adviser to the Sultan of Perak.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Birch assumed his duties in the end of 1874,
+and very soon found that, looking to the people
+with whom he had to deal and his own powerlessness
+to enforce an order, he had undertaken a
+well-nigh impossible task. At that time the Malay
+Peninsula was a <i>terra incognita</i> to white men, and
+the characteristics, customs, peculiarities and prejudices
+of the Malay had yet to be learnt.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the States in the Peninsula Perak was
+probably the least well suited for the schooling of a
+Resident and the initiation of the interesting but
+dangerous experiment of Government by the advice
+of a British officer.</p>
+
+<p>It had a large Malay population, people whose
+ancestors had for generations belonged to the place
+and who were saturated with ancient customs, prejudices,
+and superstitions that had to be learned,
+and with many of which it was difficult to sympathise.
+It had an unusual number of Rajas and
+Chiefs, each with some kind of privilege or vested<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span>
+interest. The revolting practice of debt-slavery,
+under which the slaves often suffered indescribable
+wrongs, was rife in the land, and, though contrary
+to the Muhammadan religion, was supported and
+clung to by all the upper classes. The State was
+torn by internal dissensions, the jealousies and
+rivalries of opposing claimants to the Sultanship
+and other high offices. The rivers and jungle tracks
+were the only means of getting about the country.
+The white man was an unknown and unfeared
+quantity.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Birch, unfortunately, for all his long Eastern
+experience, knew very little of Malays and almost
+nothing of their language, and, though he always
+had with him a very capable Malay interpreter, the
+inability to carry on a direct conversation with chiefs
+and people greatly increased his difficulties. He was
+not, however, the man to sit down in the face of
+opposition either to save himself trouble or to acknowledge
+defeat, and the consequence was that his
+extraordinary energy in travelling about the country,
+“spying out the land,” and his persistence in attempting
+to redress grievances, to save lives, to bring the
+guilty to punishment, and to induce the then Sultan,
+Abdullah and his immediate following to mend their
+ways, earned him the determined opposition of all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span>
+those who disliked interference, and preferred the
+state of uncontrolled lawlessness to which they were
+accustomed.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Birch lived in Perak as its Resident for barely
+twelve months, but to trace with care the reasons
+why his relations with Abdullah grew daily more
+strained till matters culminated in the assassination
+of the Resident, would be to write a volume. It is
+sufficient to state a few of the more prominent
+facts.</p>
+
+<p>First, it is necessary to say in the most positive
+terms that Mr. Birch was assassinated solely and
+entirely for political reasons, for the reasons I have
+already given. He was white, he was a Christian
+and a stranger, he was restless, climbed hills and
+journeyed all over the country, he interfered with
+murderers and other evil-doers, he constantly
+bothered the Sultan about business and kept pressing
+him to introduce reforms, while every change is
+regarded by the Malay with suspicion and distrust.
+That was his crime in their eyes; of personal feeling
+there was none, wherever Mr. Birch went there
+were people who had to thank him for some kindness,
+some attention. The Malays have always
+admitted this, and, if it seems strange that I should
+make a point of the motive, it is because Europeans<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span>
+who did not know have suggested that the Resident’s
+murder was due to non-political causes, a suggestion
+for which there is not a semblance of foundation.</p>
+
+<p>By September 1875, matters had come to a deadlock.
+With the Resident, in what was called the
+down-stream country, was a Sultan, Abdullah,
+created by the British Government, but declining to
+accept the advice of the Resident who had been
+appointed at his special request. Abdullah’s opposition
+was mainly negative but absolutely effective,
+for as the Resident could only tender advice and
+had no commission, and no sufficient means to
+compel its adoption, his voice was that of one
+“crying in the wilderness.” Up-stream there was
+another Sultan, Ismail, elected by some of the chiefs
+but admitted to have no sufficient claim to the post.
+Between the partisans of these rival Sultans, very
+strained relations existed.</p>
+
+<p>Then there was another claimant to the Sultanship
+in the person of the Raja Muda Jusuf, who
+lived still further up country, and while his claims
+were undoubtedly the best, his personal unpopularity
+was so great that the people would not accept
+him as Sultan.</p>
+
+<p>The success of the Residential idea (for no one
+had attempted to formulate any scheme or system)<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span>
+depended on the existence of mutual confidence and
+friendship between Sultan and Resident. That was,
+unfortunately, wanting, and, as after many months
+of patient effort on the part of Mr. Birch the desired
+result seemed further away than ever, the governor
+of the neighbouring colony (then Major-General Sir
+W. Jervois, R.E.) determined to visit Perak and see
+what chance there was of establishing administrative
+authority, collecting revenue, and otherwise
+carrying out the provisions of the Pangkor Treaty.</p>
+
+<p>As the result of that visit and of interviews
+between the Governor and the Chiefs, a proposition
+was made to Sultan Abdullah that the government
+of the State should be carried on in his name by
+British officers. He hesitated for some days, but,
+finding that the Raja Muda and others had at once
+and gladly accepted the suggestion, he determined
+to do the same, fearing, no doubt, that otherwise he
+might be left out of the administration altogether.</p>
+
+<p>It was the Malay fasting-month, the <i>bûlan puâsa</i>,
+when these last events occurred. It is not an
+auspicious time for conducting negotiations with
+Malays, they do not even attempt to work for that
+month, they sleep for most of the day and sit up
+most of the night, eating and talking, discussing
+affairs and hatching plots. This, at least, is the case<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span>
+with the upper classes, and it is they only who are
+concerned in political movements; the common
+people do not fast as a rule, and leave the plotting
+to the chiefs, whose business they think it is to
+scheme and to direct, theirs to obey.</p>
+
+<p>In Lower Perak during this particular month of
+Ramthân, an unusual amount of discussion had
+been carried on between Sultan Abdullah and his
+chiefs, and they determined not only that the
+British Resident should be got rid of, but one
+of them, entitled the Maharaja Lela, undertook to
+do the business the next time Mr. Birch visited
+him.</p>
+
+<p>This man, the Maharaja Lela, was a chief of considerable
+rank, after the Sultan he was the seventh
+in the State. He lived at Pâsir Sâlak, on the right
+bank of the Perak River, about thirty miles above
+the residence of Sultan Abdullah, and about forty
+below that of ex-Sultan Ismail. He avoided Mr.
+Birch whenever it was possible (though living only
+five miles from him), and managed to keep friends
+with both Sultans.</p>
+
+<p>During the month, Sultan Abdullah, who was
+then with his boats at Pâsir Panjang, a couple of
+miles below the Maharaja Lela’s house, summoned
+his chiefs and informed them that he had given over<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span>
+the government of the country to Mr. Birch. This
+announcement was received in silence by the others,
+to whom it was doubtless no news, but the Maharaja
+Lela said, “Even if your Highness has done
+so, I do not care at all. I will never acknowledge
+the authority of Mr. Birch or the white men. I
+have received letters from Sultan Ismail, the Mĕntri
+and the Pĕnglima Kinta telling me on no account to
+obey the English Government in Perak. I will not
+allow Mr. Birch to set his foot in my kampong at
+Pâsir Sâlak.”</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan said, “Do you really mean that,
+Maharaja Lela?” and the Chief replied, “Truly I
+will not depart in the smallest degree from the old
+arrangement.”</p>
+
+<p>Another chief, the Dâtoh Sâgor, who lived on the
+other side of the river, exactly opposite to Pâsir
+Sâlak, said, “What the Maharaja Lela does I will
+do.”</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan then got up and withdrew.</p>
+
+<p>Two or three days before the end of the month
+the Sultan called another meeting of his chiefs at a
+place called Durian Sa’bâtang, ten miles below the
+small island on which the Resident’s hut stood.
+At that meeting the Sultan produced the proclamations
+which were to be issued, placing the administration<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span>
+in the hands of British officers, and
+asked his chiefs what they thought of them. The
+Laksâmana, an influential chief, said, “Down here,
+in the lower part of the river, we must accept the
+proclamations”; but the Maharaja Lela said, “In
+my kampong I will not allow any white man to post
+those proclamations. If they insist on doing so,
+there will certainly be a fight.” To this the Sultan
+and other chiefs said, “Very well.”</p>
+
+<p>The Maharaja Lela immediately left, and having
+loaded his boats with rice, returned up river to his
+own kampong.</p>
+
+<p>Pâsir Sâlak was the usual collection of Malay
+houses scattered about in groves of palm and fruit
+trees by the river-bank. Prominent amongst these
+was the Maharaja Lela’s own dwelling, a large and
+comparatively new building of a more than ordinarily
+substantial kind, round which he had for
+months past been digging a great ditch and throwing
+up a formidable earthwork crowned by a
+palisade. These preparations had been duly noted
+by the Resident.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at his own home, the Maharaja Lela sent
+out messengers to summon all the men in his
+immediate neighbourhood, and when they were
+collected he addressed them and stated that Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span>
+Birch was coming up the river in a few days, and
+that, if he attempted to post any notices there, the
+orders of the Sultan and the down-river chiefs were
+to kill him. The assembled people said that, if
+those were the commands of the Sultan and the
+Maharaja Lela, they would carry them out. The
+chief then handed his sword to a man called Pandak
+Indut, his father-in-law, and directed that everyone
+should give to him the same obedience as to himself.
+The people then dispersed. It was one or
+two days after this that Mr. Birch arrived at Pâsir
+Sâlak.</p>
+
+<p>Before describing the events of the 2nd November
+I must go back for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>A number of officers, of whom I was one, had
+accompanied Sir W. Jervois in his journey to
+Perak. When the Governor and those with him
+left the State I was directed to remain behind with
+Mr. Birch to assist him in his negotiations with the
+chiefs. A fortnight later I went to Singapore with
+important papers and the drafts of proclamations
+defining the authority of the Resident under the new
+arrangement. These proclamations were printed,
+and I returned to Perak with them, joining Mr.
+Birch in his house on the 26th October.</p>
+
+<p>I found the Resident had met with an accident;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span>
+he had slipped down and so badly sprained his
+ankle that he could not walk without crutches.
+Lieut. Abbott, R.N., and four bluejackets were at
+Bandar Bharu (the Residency), where were also
+quartered the Sikh guard (about eighty men), the
+boatmen, and others.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Birch undertook to distribute the proclamations
+himself in the down-river districts, and
+directed me to go up river, to interview the ex-Sultan
+Ismail, the Raja Muda, the Raja Bĕndahâra,
+and other up-country chiefs, and, having distributed
+the proclamations at all important villages from
+Kôta Lâma downwards, to try to meet him at
+Pâsir Sâlak on the 3rd November. There, he told
+me, he expected trouble for which he was quite
+prepared.</p>
+
+<p>The Sikh guard was in a state bordering on
+mutiny in the evening of the 27th, but by the
+following morning they seemed to have returned
+to their senses, and about noon I left Bandar
+Bharu with two boats for the interior, Mr. Birch
+starting down stream at the same time.</p>
+
+<p>He must have got through his part of the work
+more rapidly than he expected, for he reached
+Pâsir Sâlak with three boats at midnight on the
+1st November, and anchored in midstream. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span>
+1st November was the <i>Hâri Râya</i>, the first day
+after the Fast. At daylight his boats went alongside
+the bank, and the Resident’s own boat was
+made fast to the floating bath-house of a Chinese
+jeweller, whose little shop stood on the high bank
+a few feet from the riverside. This was the only
+Chinese house in Pâsir Sâlak.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Birch was accompanied by Lieut. Abbott,
+an armed guard of twelve Sikhs, a Sikh orderly,
+the Malay interpreter (an eminently respectable
+Malay of nearly fifty named Muhammad Arshad),
+and a number of Malay boatmen and servants.
+There must have been about forty people in the
+party. Mr. Birch had with him a 3-Pr. brass gun,
+a small mortar, and a number of English firearms
+and Malay weapons, besides other property.</p>
+
+<p>Directly after their arrival Mr. Abbott borrowed
+a small boat from the Chinaman and went across
+the river to Kampong Gâjah to shoot snipe, the
+Chief of that place, the Dâtoh Sâgor, returning in
+the boat to Pâsir Sâlak, where he at once sought
+an interview with Mr. Birch.</p>
+
+<p>After this conversation, which was held in the
+Resident’s boat, the Dâtoh Sâgor and Mr. Birch’s
+interpreter went to the Maharaja Lela’s house, and
+the interpreter said to the Maharaja Lela that the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span>
+Resident wished to see him and would go to his
+house for that purpose, but if the Chief preferred
+it, and would go to Mr. Birch’s boat, he would be
+glad to meet him there. The Maharaja Lela said,
+“I have nothing to do with Mr. Birch,” and the
+interpreter returned to the boat and reported to his
+master the result of his interview.</p>
+
+<p>The news of the Resident’s arrival had been
+spread in every direction, and all those in the
+neighbourhood were ordered to come in. By this
+time, sixty or seventy men had assembled and were
+now standing about on the bank of the river close
+to Mr. Birch’s boats. They were all armed with
+spears and <i>krises</i>, and Mr. Birch asked the Dâtoh
+Sâgor what they wanted, and that they should be
+told to stand further away. The Dâtoh told them
+to move away, and they gave a few yards, but at the
+same time began to abuse the Resident, calling him
+an “infidel,” and asking what he meant by coming
+there asking questions and speaking like one in
+authority. Probably the Resident did not understand
+these ominous signs, but his boatmen heard
+and realised that trouble was brewing.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Birch now gave some proclamations to the
+interpreter, who took them on shore and posted
+them on the shutters of the Chinaman’s shop.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span>
+Almost immediately, Pandak Indut, the Maharaja
+Lela’s father-in-law, tore them down and took them
+off to the Maharaja Lela’s house. That chief’s
+dictum, was “Pull down the proclamations, and, if
+they persist in putting them up, kill them.” Then
+it may be supposed he washed his hands of all
+responsibility, and Pandak Indut went out to
+execute his master’s orders.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Mr. Birch had handed to his interpreter
+some more proclamations to replace those
+removed, and, after giving directions to prepare his
+breakfast, went into the Chinaman’s bath-house to
+bathe, leaving his Sikh orderly at the door with a
+loaded revolver. This bath-house was of the type
+common in Perak, two large logs floating in the
+stream, fastened together by cross-pieces of wood,
+and on them built a small house with mat sides
+about five feet high, and a roof closing on the sides
+but leaving two open triangular spaces at front and
+back. The structure is so moored that it floats
+parallel to the bank, and a person even standing
+up inside it cannot see what is taking place on the
+shore close by.</p>
+
+<p>It was now about 10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, and in spite of the
+threatening attitude of the large crowd of armed
+Malays standing in groups and passing between<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span>
+the river-bank and their chief’s house, the Resident
+was composedly bathing in the river, while his
+people were some of them cooking on the bank,
+others sleeping in the boats, and a few, the Malays,
+anxiously expectant, fearing the signs boded a
+catastrophe.</p>
+
+<p>They had not long to wait. The interpreter
+was still replacing the proclamations on the Chinaman’s
+hut, when Pandak Indut and a number of
+other men came quickly from the Maharaja Lela’s
+house.</p>
+
+<p>The crowd asked, “What are the Chief’s
+orders?”</p>
+
+<p>Pandak Indut replied, “He leaves the matter to
+me.”</p>
+
+<p>Going straight up to the Chinese shop, he began
+tearing down the newly-posted papers; the interpreter
+protested, and, seeing no heed was paid to
+him, turned towards the bath-house. He had not
+made half a dozen steps, when Pandak Indut overtook
+him and thrust his spear into the man’s
+abdomen. The wounded man fell down the bank
+into the river and caught hold of his master’s boat,
+but others followed him and cut him over the head
+and hands, so that he let go and struggled out into
+the stream.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span></p>
+
+<p>The interpreter disposed of, Pandak Indut cried
+out, “Here is Mr. Birch in the bath-house, come,
+let us kill him,” and, followed by three or four others
+shouting <i>âmok, âmok</i>, they leapt on to the floating
+timbers and thrust their spears through the open
+space in the front of the house.</p>
+
+<p>At that time men in the boats could see Mr.
+Birch’s head above the mat wall; it disappeared
+without any sound from him, and a moment after he
+came to the surface of the water astern of the house.
+Some of the murderers were already waiting there,
+and one of them, a man called Sipûtum, slashed
+the Resident over the head with a sword. He sank
+and was not seen again.</p>
+
+<p>The Sikh orderly, standing with a revolver at the
+door of the bath-house, jumped into the river without
+any warning to his master, swam off to one of
+the boats and saved himself.</p>
+
+<p>The river-bank was now the scene of a general
+<i>mêlee</i>. A Malay boatman and a Sikh had been
+killed, but the others had got one of the boats away
+from the bank into midstream and towards it two
+of Mr. Birch’s Malays were swimming while they
+supported the grievously wounded interpreter.
+With difficulty they gained the boat and got the man
+in. As they dropped down the river Mr. Birch’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span>
+coxswain urged the Sikhs to fire on the Malays,
+but they said they could not do so without an
+order! He accordingly gave the order, and some
+shots were fired which for a moment cleared the
+bank. A small boat with two men in it put out
+lower down stream to intercept the fugitives, and
+two of them were wounded by shots from these
+men. The coxswain then wrenched a rifle from a
+Sikh and shot one of these assailants. After this
+the boat proceeded unmolested to Bandar Bharu.
+Long before they arrived there the interpreter died.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Abbott, shooting on the other bank, was
+warned of what had taken place, and with great
+difficulty got into a dug-out and made his way down
+stream under the fire of the Malays on the bank.</p>
+
+<p>The attack, the murder of the Resident, his interpreter,
+the Sikh and the boatman, and the escape
+of the rest of the party was the work of a few
+minutes. Whilst still the passion of strife and
+bloodthirst swayed the crowd, the Maharaja Lela
+walked into their midst and asked whose hands had
+done the Resident and his men to death. Instantly
+Pandak Indut, Sipûtum, and the others, claimed
+credit for their murderous work. The Chief said,
+“It is well, none but those who struck blows can
+share in the spoil.” He then called a man forward<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span>
+and said, “Go and tell the Laksâmana that I have
+killed Mr. Birch.” The message was delivered the
+same day, and the Laksâmana said, “Very well, I
+will tell the Sultan.”</p>
+
+<p>That evening the Maharaja Lela sent a letter to
+ex-Sultan Ismail describing what he had done, and,
+to remove any doubt on the subject, he sent with it
+the Resident’s own boat.</p>
+
+<p>These are the facts about Mr. Birch’s assassination,
+and it may be of some interest to add that the
+Resident’s two boats were immediately rifled and
+all their contents carried up to the Maharaja Lela’s
+house.</p>
+
+<p>An attack upon the Residency was planned,
+ordered to be carried out that night, and a number
+of men started on the expedition, and even got
+within a few hundred yards of Bandar Bharu; but
+it began to rain, and a man at whose house the
+party called told them they would get a warm
+reception, and it would be quite a different thing to
+murdering the Resident, so they elected to return
+with their object unattained.</p>
+
+<p>By the help of a friendly Malay, a foreigner,
+Mr. Birch’s body was recovered, brought to Bandar
+Bharu, and there buried on the night of the 6th
+November.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Maharaja Lela and his neighbour the Dâtoh
+Sâgor, having “burnt their ships,” proceeded to
+stockade their villages, and those stockades were
+subsequently taken, the rebels driven out, and their
+villages destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>Sooner or later punishment overtook every man
+directly concerned in this crime, and also nearly
+all those who were indirectly responsible. Some
+fell during the subsequent fighting, one died an
+outlaw in the jungle.</p>
+
+<p>The first man captured was Sipûtum. He was
+brought in to Bandar Bharu late one evening in the
+early part of 1876, and I went to see him in the
+lock-up about midnight. A wilder looking creature
+it would have been hard to find. He was a
+<i>Pâwang</i>, a medicine man, a sorcerer. For many
+weeks he had been a hunted outcast, and he seemed
+to think that capture was almost preferable to the
+life he had been leading. He sat on the floor and
+described to me his share in Mr. Birch’s murder,
+pausing between the sentences to kill mosquitoes
+on the wall of his cell. He volunteered the statement
+that Mr. Birch was a good man, who had
+been kind to him, and that what he did was by
+order of his Chief, whom he was bound to obey.
+The responsibility of the individual for his own<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span>
+actions was a doctrine that was strange to him,
+and he learnt it too late to profit by it.</p>
+
+<p>In December 1876, the Maharaja Lela, the
+Dâtoh Sâgor, Pandak Indut, and four others were
+arraigned before the Raja Muda Jusuf and Raja
+Alang Husein, and charged with murdering Mr.
+Birch and the others at Pâsir Sâlak on the 2nd
+November 1875.</p>
+
+<p>They were prosecuted by Colonel Dunlop, R.A.,
+and myself, on behalf of the Government, and
+defended by an able and experienced member of
+the Singapore Bar. After a trial which lasted
+eight days, they were severally found guilty and
+condemned to death, but the extreme penalty was
+exacted only in the cases of the three first named.</p>
+
+<p>Sultan Abdullah, and other Chiefs whose complicity
+in the assassination was established by the
+fullest evidence, were banished from the State, and
+a like sentence was passed upon the ex-Sultan
+Ismail and some of his adherents.</p>
+
+<p>In Mr. Birch the British Government lost one of
+its most courageous, able, and zealous officers, but,
+by the action which his death made necessary, the
+State of Perak gained in twelve months what ten
+years of “advice” could hardly have accomplished.
+That was not all, for the events of those twelve<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span>
+months, when they came to be fully known, threw
+a light on the inner life of the Malay and his
+peculiar characteristics, that was in the nature of a
+revelation. It is all too soon to forget the lesson
+or disregard its teachings.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XX">XX<br>
+<span class="smaller">A PERSONAL INCIDENT</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">Haud multum abfuit quin interficeretur</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Horace</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p class="center"><i>From <span class="smcap">Captain Speedy</span>, Queen’s Commissioner,<br>
+Larut, to <span class="smcap">H.E. Sir William Jervois</span>,<br>
+Governor of the Straits.</i></p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Larut</span>, <i>November 9th, 1875</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">[Extract:]</p>
+
+<p>“In the second report, that of 7th instant, Sergeant
+Din states that he was told by one Kulup
+Riau that Mr. Swettenham had been murdered by
+the Raja Lela at Pâsir Sâlak on the 5th instant. I
+regret to state that I have every reason to believe
+that the report is but too true. My inspector, Din
+Mahomed, reached Kuala Kangsar (where I sent
+him with a party of men immediately on hearing of
+Mr. Birch’s death, to warn and guard Mr. Swettenham)
+at 2 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on 4th instant, but, on his arrival,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span>
+he found that Mr. Swettenham had unfortunately
+left, to return by the river a few hours previously;
+owing to the rapidity of the current, the boats
+should have reached Pâsir Sâlak by the following
+day. I have sent detectives, both Chinese and
+Malay, to inquire into the matter, and to obtain,
+if possible, the remains of these unfortunate
+officers.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I came across the above passage in a Blue Book,
+and I will explain why Captain Speedy had every
+reason to believe in the certainty of my death, and
+how it was that my remains were not to be collected
+just then.</p>
+
+<p>In the preceding sketch I mentioned that I left
+Bandar Bharu at noon on the 28th October with
+two boats, and intended, if it were possible, to
+meet Mr. Birch at Pâsir Sâlak about the 3rd
+November.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the Malay boatmen, I had with me a very
+celebrated Selangor chief named Raja Mahmud, a
+man whose whole life had been passed in jungle
+warfare, and as he had come through it scathless he
+was regarded by Malays as invulnerable and respected
+accordingly. His latest exploit had been
+to take command of a body of Malays in an engagement<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span>
+with Her Majesty’s troops in a neighbouring
+State (Sungei Ujong), and as I had subsequently
+persuaded him to go to Singapore and give himself
+up to the Governor, he had attached himself to me
+and thoroughly enjoyed the possibility of trouble in
+Perak.</p>
+
+<p>Then I had a Manila boatman, one of the best
+coxswains on the river, a marvellous dancer of
+hornpipes and no less courageous than Raja Mahmud
+himself—more so he could hardly be. Lastly,
+Mahmud had a couple of men devoted to himself,
+and I had a Chinese servant.</p>
+
+<p>This being the wet season the river was high,
+poling difficult and progress slow, so that it was
+not till the morning of the 30th that we reached
+Blanja, the village of Sultan Ismail. As Ismail
+had been elected Sultan by a number of influential
+chiefs who declined to recognise either Jusuf or
+Abdullah (though both of them had far superior
+claims), and, as by the Pangkor Treaty and recognition
+of Abdullah, Ismail no doubt felt aggrieved,
+I did not expect a very friendly reception from him,
+nor did I suppose that I should be specially welcome
+as the bearer of proclamations which could not be
+otherwise than distasteful to him. It was only six
+weeks since I had been at Blanja with the Governor,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span>
+and again a fortnight later I went there alone. Since
+then Ismail (or his advisers in his name) had
+summoned nearly all the principal people of the
+upper country, and a very large number of boats
+had arrived at Blanja, bringing all the chiefs and
+their retainers. Moreover, to increase his following
+the ex-Sultan had resorted to an expedient not unknown
+in England; certain high offices of State
+were vacant, and into these he inducted his own
+adherents—in fact, created peers, to give himself a
+majority in the Upper House.</p>
+
+<p>I waited half the day hoping to see Ismail, but
+failed. They said he was asleep and meant to
+remain asleep a long time. That is a common form
+of Malay diplomacy, and, as I could not afford to
+delay longer, I explained the proclamations, left a
+number of copies and said I would call on Ismail
+on my way back in a few days. As a piece of
+news they told me a customs station had been
+established at Blanja, and everyone who passed
+would be taxed, white men or Malays. I said I
+should be glad to see the collector, and he was introduced,
+but seemed embarrassed, and assured me
+he was only carrying out his master’s orders, so I
+continued my journey. If any conclusion could be
+drawn from the conversation and manner of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]</span>
+Blanja people, disturbances (war, they called it) were
+imminent.</p>
+
+<p>The next day I was at the Raja Muda’s village,
+and had a long talk with him. He also was for
+war, but did not think the Malays would begin it.
+He said no good would be done in the country, till
+“the malcontents” had been taught a lesson. Unfortunately,
+as far as could be seen, all the chiefs
+with very few exceptions, were in that category.
+The people hardly count, they are passive and
+recognise that they live to obey their leaders.</p>
+
+<p>That night I reached Kuala Kangsar, and the
+then important personage of the place, an old lady
+who lived on the hill where now the Residency
+stands, informed me that she had been living in
+daily fear of attack by the people of a neighbouring
+village called Kôta Lâma. The shops in Kuala
+Kangsar were all closed, and everyone was waiting
+for the bursting of the storm.</p>
+
+<p>The latest excitement here was that a notoriously
+bad character named Raja Alang, living in a house
+by the path which led from Kuala Kangsar to the
+neighbouring district of Larut, saw a foreign Malay
+(a man of Patâni) walking past with his wife and
+two children. When the man got opposite Raja
+Alang’s house he raised his trousers to keep them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span>
+out of the mud, and as Raja Alang considered this
+disrespectful to him, he called to the man and told
+him he must pay a fine of a hundred dollars. The
+man was of course unable to comply with this monstrous
+demand, so the Raja took him, his wife and
+children, into the house, and said he would keep
+them there till the money was paid. After a couple
+of days, during which they were given no food,
+Raja Alang said he would sell the woman and children
+to raise the amount of the fine. Just at dawn
+on the following morning the Patâni man got up,
+took from a Malay lying near him a <i>kris</i>, and with
+it stabbed the owner to death. Then he struck out
+wildly, killing another man, a woman, his own two
+children, and a child of Raja Alang, while he
+wounded his own wife. Raja Alang hastily left the
+house, hurting himself considerably, for he forgot
+the steps in the hurry of his exit. The murderer
+went next door and killed two more women and
+then escaped. Altogether he killed nine people and
+wounded three. It is a detail, I mention it only as
+showing the state of society, and because this incident,
+at the time of my arrival, was, with rumours
+of war, dividing the interests of the people of Kuala
+Kangsar.</p>
+
+<p>On the 1st November I read and posted the proclamations<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span>
+in Kuala Kangsar, and on the following
+day I went to see the Raja Bĕndahâra, the third
+highest officer in the State. He lived across the
+river, and to him and a large crowd of his followers
+I read the proclamation, and gave the Bĕndahâra
+some copies, which I asked him to have posted.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst the crowd was Raja Alang, who gave
+me his version of the <i>âmok</i>, and denied that he had
+ill-treated the Patâni man. I see from the journal
+I kept in those days that I expressed my surprise
+that such things were not of daily occurrence, looking
+to the infamous way in which the people were
+treated by the Rajas, to which he replied that he had
+done wrong but was now <i>taubat</i> (a reformed character),
+that he wished to go to Mecca (the desire
+of all Malays who want to wipe out a bad record
+and rehabilitate themselves with society), and would
+be obliged if I would lend him a thousand dollars
+for the purpose!</p>
+
+<p>On the 3rd November I distributed the proclamations
+in villages between Kuala Kangsar and Larut,
+and in the afternoon went with Raja Mahmud and
+one boat up river to Kôta Lâma. This village had
+then, as indeed it has still, the unenviable reputation
+of being the most impossible place in Perak.
+It was a very large village, and the people in it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span>
+prided themselves on their independence; their
+neighbours called it impudence. A few months
+before Mr. Birch had visited Kôta Lâma, but the
+people turned out with firearms, and said that if he
+landed they would shoot him. He had no means
+of forcing a landing then, nor of compelling an
+apology later, and, therefore, he had not since been
+to the place.</p>
+
+<p>I had been in Kôta Lâma a month before this;
+I went to see a man who had been shot through
+the shoulder the night before by two men who had
+a grudge against him, and had settled it in a
+truly Irish fashion. They called at his house, and
+while engaging him in conversation and eating his
+<i>sîreh</i>, had measured the distance of his sleeping mat
+from the walls of the house. It was a wooden
+building, and, like all Malay houses, the floor was
+raised high above the ground. That night they
+had got underneath it, and, having carefully calculated
+their host’s position, they fired simultaneously
+and decamped. One bullet missed the victim’s
+head by an inch or two, and the other went through
+the floor and the mat and penetrated his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>I now went to see this man again and found him
+doing badly, and advised his relatives to send him
+to Kuala Kangsar. Then we walked about the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span>
+village, talked to the people, and in the absence of
+the headman I sent for his deputy. He came
+accompanied by four or five men all armed to the
+teeth, and we had a conversation wherein I think
+each side did its best to “bluff” the other. It so
+happened that we had come away without the proclamations,
+and I asked the headman to send to
+Kuala Kangsar, when I got back, and I would give
+the papers, that he might post them in Kôta Lâma.</p>
+
+<p>He said they only acknowledged one chief in
+Kôta Lâma, and he was the Raja Bĕndahâra, and
+they would do nothing without his orders. I told
+them I would ask the Bĕndahâra to give the
+necessary instructions, but inquired, “What about
+the Sultan?” To which they replied that he lived
+a long way off. They added, “We won’t hinder
+you if you want to post the proclamations,” but
+they did not say it in the politest fashion, and I
+told them the permission was unnecessary, as, if I
+had had the proclamations, I should have posted
+them. After this we had a long and comparatively
+friendly talk, and it was nearly dark when I left
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Raja Mahmud stood by and said nothing, but
+they knew well enough who he was, and it is
+possible they might have acted differently had he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span>
+not been there. On our way back he told me he
+was so amazed at the way the Kôta Lâma men talked
+that he felt it wiser not to join in the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at Kuala Kangsar, I found the Raja
+Muda Jusuf, and told him the result of my visit to
+Kôta Lâma. The Raja Muda’s feelings towards the
+Kôta Lâma people were quite beyond expression,
+and they were very cordially reciprocated.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, the 4th November, my work
+being done, I started down river at 8.30 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>
+I saw the Raja Muda before I left, and, again
+referring to my journal, I find that he said: “No
+early or permanent settlement can be made without
+force, without making an example of some of the
+opposition. They are quiet now because you are
+here; as soon as you go they will begin again. If
+you and Raja Mahmud will come, and we may use
+force, we can settle the matter in a fortnight.”</p>
+
+<p>Little as he thought it, the time for force was at
+hand, for some was already past; but if his prediction
+was right, his estimate of the means required
+to settle matters was over-sanguine.</p>
+
+<p>Stopping only for breakfast, my boats reached
+Blanja at 4 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> It was my intention to spend
+the night there, interview ex-Sultan Ismail, and
+continue my journey the next day.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span></p>
+
+<p>The river at Blanja shoals rapidly towards the
+left bank, which is bordered by a long and wide
+strip of sand. The boats of those who call here
+are dragged as close in as possible, and while our
+men were engaged in doing this, and still some
+distance from the shore, a man called Haji Ali
+waded out to my boat and came on board. We
+had noticed the unusual number of people on the
+sands—not less than two or three hundred—and
+of boats alongside there were at least fifty, but we
+were hardly prepared for the news that awaited us.</p>
+
+<p>This Haji Ali, a tall, well-made man in the prime
+of life, was the genial person of evil reputation
+who, with Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun, had already
+distinguished himself by murdering one of the low-country
+chiefs. Notwithstanding this fact the Haji
+was always anxious to convey the impression that
+he was entirely friendly to me, but I distrusted him
+in common with the rest of the Blanja faction.</p>
+
+<p>Haji Ali seated himself in my boat and at once
+stated that Mr. Birch had gone to Pâsir Sâlak, that
+there he and sixteen of his people had been murdered
+by the Maharaja Lela, who had then attacked
+and captured Bandar Bharu, killing all the Sikhs
+who had not saved themselves by flight. This
+news was so startling that I could not believe it and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span>
+said so, but the man assured me it was true, and
+added as a proof that the Maharaja Lela had sent
+Mr. Birch’s own boat to Blanja to prove to Ismail
+the truth of his statement. Ismail, he said, had
+declined to receive the boat, telling the men who
+brought it that as the Maharaja Lela had killed
+Mr. Birch he had better keep his boat, and the
+messengers had accordingly left with it only two
+hours before our arrival.</p>
+
+<p>At Haji Ali’s first words Raja Mahmud had
+caught up his <i>kris</i>, and was now tightening his
+waist-belt and preparing for instant trouble.</p>
+
+<p>The Haji completed his information by considerately
+telling me that the Maharaja Lela and his
+people had staked the river right across at Pâsir
+Sâlak, making it impassable for boats, that they
+knew I was returning, and were waiting for me, it
+being their belief that when once they had got rid
+of Mr. Birch and myself they would have no further
+interference from white men, as no one else knew
+the country. He concluded with an invitation from
+the ex-Sultan to go and see him on shore.</p>
+
+<p>I thanked him, and to get rid of him asked him
+to go back and say that I was coming.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as he had left the boat I held a hasty
+consultation with Raja Mahmud, who said it would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span>
+be madness to land at Blanja, where we should be
+like rats in a trap, and the only course was to go on at
+once and at all hazards before they had time to stop us.</p>
+
+<p>The idea of returning up-river was unpleasant and
+well nigh impossible, it was therefore discarded at
+once.</p>
+
+<p>All the men in both my boats had heard what
+Haji Ali said, and as some of them did not relish
+the prospect of trying to run the gauntlet, I decided
+to leave one boat and only take those who volunteered
+to go. That question was very soon settled,
+every Perak man declined the journey; my Manila
+boy took the rudder, three foreign Malays and
+Mahmud’s two men formed the crew, and Mahmud
+and I were the passengers. There was my Chinese
+servant, he was not a man of war, and I thought he
+would prefer to remain where he was, for they all
+realised that the danger would be in staying with
+me. When I asked him, however, he smiled a not
+quite pleasant smile, and producing a long knife said
+he did not mean to move. It was quite clear that
+if it came to close quarters he would give a good
+account of himself.</p>
+
+<p>By this time we were ready to start, but just as
+the men were preparing to get the boat out into
+the stream, Haji Ali appeared again to take us on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span>
+shore. I at once told him that if his story was
+true I could not stop at Blanja and must go on at
+once. How far he had been acting before was
+doubtful, but his surprise now was genuine enough.
+He said, “It is impossible, the whole country down
+stream is in arms, you cannot pass, it is certain
+destruction.” We told him that whatever it was
+we were going, and we pointed out to him that as
+the boat was moving into deep water he had not
+much time to get out if he wanted to return to
+the shore. He got out, and it was rather deep, but
+he stood there and shouted, “No doubt you think
+yourselves very fine fellows, but you will be killed
+all the same.”</p>
+
+<p>He was still standing in the same place when
+we had gone some distance, and as we passed outside
+the long line of boats the many people on
+shore realised that we had started again and were
+rapidly dropping down stream. It seemed to us
+that for them the unexpected had happened.</p>
+
+<p>The pleasure of thinking that we had at any rate
+cheated the Blanja people did not last us long and
+I believe every man in the boat—certainly I can
+speak for myself—believed that he had started on
+a journey of which sudden death was the inevitable
+bourne.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Resident, we were told, had been murdered
+at Pâsir Sâlak, and we could not well doubt the
+truth of that report. Then the people on both
+banks of the river for miles above and below Pâsir
+Sâlak were on the watch for us; the Residency
+was in the hands of the Maharaja Lela’s people,
+the Sikhs killed or fugitives in the jungle; worst of
+all, the river at Pâsir Sâlak was staked from bank
+to bank, and if so no boat could pass that barrier.</p>
+
+<p>There were two points of minor moment—first,
+that the Residency boats were all painted white, we
+had one of them, and no native-owned boat in the
+country was white. That fact made us so conspicuous
+that we did not think it worth while to lower
+the Union Jack we carried at the stern. Secondly,
+up to that time no house-boat had ever made the
+journey from Blanja to Pâsir Sâlak in anything like
+twelve hours, and we calculated, therefore, that we
+should reach the point of greatest danger in broad
+daylight, probably about 9 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> the next morning.
+Speed was our best chance, but here again we were
+handicapped by the fact that our men had been
+paddling since 8.30 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, they had had one meal,
+and now there was a night’s work before them and
+no time to stop for cooking.</p>
+
+<p>If the conditions were as they had been stated,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span>
+and as we believed them to be, nothing could save
+us, for with two rifles and a shot gun we could
+hardly hope to force the barrier unless aided by a
+miracle.</p>
+
+<p>The river was high, the current strong, and just
+at dusk we reached Bota. Fastened by an island
+opposite the village we saw Mr. Birch’s own boat,
+the “Dragon,” and with that all doubt as to his
+fate was at an end. Raja Mahmud suggested that
+we might stop and attack the people in charge. The
+idea was attractive and no doubt it would have been
+a surprise to them, but we decided that it was unwise
+to waste the time and rouse the whole village.
+As we passed the boat we could see no one in or
+about it.</p>
+
+<p>The night was moonless but starlit, fine and clear
+enough for our purpose, dark enough to conceal us
+when we were in the middle of the stream. But
+the Perak is a river where the navigable channel
+wanders from side to side in a way that often
+baffles the most skilful pilot. The height of the
+water lessened our difficulties, but for all that we
+were driven at times very close to the banks.
+Between 9 and 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> a thick white mist came
+down and enveloped the river in impenetrable fog.
+This was very confusing, for, while it lasted, it was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span>
+impossible to see half a boat’s length in any direction.
+The mist lifted and fell again at intervals all
+through the night, and so dense was it that at one
+time we lost our way, and at last discovered by a
+snag that we had got the boat completely round
+and were paddling up stream!</p>
+
+<p>That discovery gave us rather a bad shock, for
+we calculated that we had lost half an hour of precious
+time, and if we could make such a mistake
+once it might occur again. It was possible because
+we dared not have any light, and only smoked with
+the utmost precaution.</p>
+
+<p>I was so tired that about half-past ten I could no
+longer keep awake, and several times the wearied
+boatmen dropped asleep over their paddles. We
+were not at all certain of our whereabouts, but
+some time after eleven o’clock we realised, by the
+succession of watch-fires on the banks and the
+numbers of men moving about, that we were getting
+into the zone of danger. It seemed to me, dozing
+and waking, that this lasted for a long time; we
+were getting callous of the people on the bank when
+we found that no one seemed to observe us however
+close we were forced to go.</p>
+
+<p>I had told them to rouse me when we got near
+to Pâsir Sâlak, for now, to our great surprise, it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span>
+seemed evident that we should reach the place
+hours before dawn. About 1.30 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> Mahmud
+quietly woke me, and the boatmen nerved themselves
+for the final effort.</p>
+
+<p>We knew that to get past Pâsir Sâlak it was
+necessary to go right under one bank or the other,
+and the deepest water was on the left or Kampong
+Gâjah side. That we decided to take. Huge fires
+were blazing on the bank, and round each were
+grouped a number of armed men—indeed, the whole
+place was apparently on the <i>qui vive</i>. As noiselessly
+as possible, but none the less vigorously, the
+men plied their paddles, and we made for the deep
+water under the bank. Just at this moment the
+thick white veil of mist came down over the river,
+and under its sheltering cover we glided swiftly
+down, the light of the blazing logs, close though
+they were, shining vaguely through the fog, while
+now and then a man’s figure, of seemingly gigantic
+proportions, loomed out from the fire-lit haze.</p>
+
+<p>Every instant we expected to feel the shock of
+the boat against the barrier, and we had determined
+that when that happened we would push our boat
+along it till we found the usual opening closed by
+a floating log and guarded, as we supposed, by
+boats. In the darkness we meant to try and force<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span>
+our way through or take one of the enemy’s boats
+on the down-stream side of the stakes.</p>
+
+<p>We could hardly realise the truth when we
+found ourselves at the lower end of the village
+without having encountered any obstruction. The
+barrier never existed in fact—only in the imagination
+of Haji Ali, or, more probably, the Maharaja
+Lela had intended to make it, but the Malay habits
+of laziness and procrastination defeated his plan.</p>
+
+<p>Just as I was thinking a very sincere thanksgiving,
+the bow of the boat suddenly ran on the
+shore and stuck there fast. We were so close to
+the bank that this happened without the slightest
+warning. For an instant the steersman had given
+the rudder a wrong turn, and we were stranded.
+To my dismay, I saw on the high bank, exactly
+over us, a large fire with eight or ten men round it.
+I seized the shot-gun, Mahmud had a rifle, and we
+knelt with fingers on trigger covering two of the
+figures that were distinct enough in spite of the
+mist, for we were hardly ten feet distant from them.</p>
+
+<p>Two of our men with poles were making superhuman
+efforts to push off the boat, when a man on
+the bank called out, “Whose boat is that?” One
+of our men replied, “Haji Mat Yassin’s,” having
+seen his boat at Blanja. “Where are you from?”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span>
+was the next inquiry, and the reply was, “Blanja.”
+“Where are you for?” and other questions followed,
+but by this time the bow of the boat was off
+and we were drifting stern-foremost out into the
+stream and the sheltering fog. As the distance
+widened and shouts came to stop, the answers
+returned were derisive and misleading, for everyone
+felt that the real danger was past and the life
+he had made up his mind to lose would not be
+required of him that night after all.</p>
+
+<p>It was true that we had yet to pass the Residency
+at Bandar Bharu, five miles lower down, and we
+had been told this was in the hands of the Maharaja
+Lela, but there at least there was no barrier, and
+we were confident that we had nothing more to
+fear.</p>
+
+<p>We passed Bandar Bharu quietly, we saw a light
+on each bank and a man on watch by the light, and
+we said to each other that it would be very easy to
+shoot the men as they placed themselves so conveniently
+<i>en évidence</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Ten miles lower down the river, it being then
+only 3 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, we were suddenly hailed by a voice
+threatening death and other penalties if we did not
+immediately declare who we were. That was a
+very welcome challenge, for I recognised the voice,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span>
+and in a few seconds we were alongside a Selangor
+steam-launch.</p>
+
+<p>Only then we learnt that Bandar Bharu had not
+fallen into the hands of the enemy, and we had
+therefore come ten miles further than was necessary;
+but we congratulated ourselves on the forbearance
+we had shown in not shooting the sentries, and
+later in the morning, when we got up to the
+Residency, suggested that if the Sikh felt lonesome
+in the night watches it would perhaps be wiser for
+him not to stand in the full blaze of a large lamp.</p>
+
+<p>The Maharaja Lela and his friends professed
+themselves both surprised and disappointed when
+they found I had arrived at Bandar Bharu, having
+passed Pâsir Sâlak without their knowledge. I
+daresay, however, that some of them were not altogether
+sorry that they had been spared a meeting
+with Raja Mahmud, for he was reckoned a mighty
+man of valour. In my case he was also a wise
+counsellor, for subsequent disclosures proved that had
+I landed at Blanja the intention was to immediately
+attack and murder me, and when we so abruptly
+left that place the ingenuous Haji Ali and his friend
+the Pĕnglima Prang Sĕmaun with a number of their
+men were sent after us in fast boats on a mission
+similar to the one they had previously undertaken<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span>
+and successfully carried out. As we saw nothing
+of them I conclude they did not exert themselves to
+overtake us.</p>
+
+<p>During the subsequent military operations in
+Perak, Haji Ali fell into our hands, and, after some
+weeks spent on a British man-of-war, he became
+quite a reformed character. I occasionally see him
+now, but he seems depressed, and when I find him
+looking at me there is no anger in his face, only a
+great sorrow as of a man who is misunderstood by
+the world and who suffers without resentment.</p>
+
+<p>I don’t know why, but this expression is a source
+of unfeigned amusement to the Malays who happen
+to see it. It is very unfeeling of them.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XXI">XXI<br>
+<span class="smaller">NAKODAH ORLONG</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">Two things greater than all things are,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">One is Love and the other War</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Rudyard Kipling</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>On the day after my arrival at Bandar Bharu,
+Captain Innes, R.E., came from Penang
+accompanied by two officers and sixty men of the
+First Battalion of H.M. 10th Regiment, together
+with the Superintendent of the Penang Police (Hon.
+H. Plunket) and twenty native constables armed
+with rifles.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Innes, an exceptionally able member of
+his distinguished corps, was then in civil employ as
+head of the Public Works Department in Penang.
+When the news of Mr. Birch’s murder reached that
+place, the nearest British Settlement, Captain Innes
+was sent with a force to take charge of the
+Residency.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is not my intention to detail the subsequent
+events except in so far as is necessary for a right
+understanding of an incident connected with the
+death of a man called Nakodah Orlong, a Sumatran
+Malay.</p>
+
+<p>With the force at our disposal, which included
+Lieut. Abbott, R.N., his four bluejackets, and
+about fifty so-called Sikhs, it was determined to
+attack Pâsir Sâlak before the Maharaja Lela had
+time to collect a large following. An immediate
+advance was also considered advisable to prevent
+the number of our enemies being increased by what
+might look like our indecision. With Easterns, to sit
+still and stockade your position is probably, under
+such circumstances, the worst course possible.</p>
+
+<p>We knew that the Maharaja Lela was throwing
+up works, not only in his village, but outside of it,
+and to force them it was decided to take two
+howitzers and a rocket-tube.</p>
+
+<p>The distance from Bandar Bharu to Pâsir Sâlak
+was five miles, every yard of it covered with
+vegetation of some sort, the only road a narrow
+path by the river-bank; moreover, Pâsir Sâlak was
+not on our side of the river. It was, therefore,
+settled that we should start at daylight the next
+morning, the 7th November, in boats, that we<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span>
+should pole up stream two miles and walk the rest,
+the guns being served by the bluejackets from two
+boats that would be kept in line with the shore
+party.</p>
+
+<p>All that was wanted was a body of scouts to feel
+the way, and I undertook to find these. There
+were Raja Mahmud, his two followers, and the
+Manila boy already spoken of, but it was hard to
+say where any other trustworthy Malays could be
+got at such short notice. Late that evening,
+however, Nakodah Orlong, whom I knew well, came
+in, and when I asked him if he would join us he at
+once consented, and said he could bring fourteen of
+his own men with him. That made us twenty, and
+was enough for the purpose.</p>
+
+<p>We were up at 4.30 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> on the 7th, got all the
+men into boats, and made a start by 7.30 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, not
+without difficulty, however, for we were hard
+pressed for hands to do the poling. It was only
+after we had started that I learnt the intention of
+taking guns had been abandoned, a very unfortunate
+change of plan as it turned out. To attack,
+without guns, any work defended by Malays means
+a certain sacrifice of life, as we found to our cost,
+and took care that the mistake was never repeated.
+The carriage of guns and rockets through the jungle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span>
+means delay and hard work, but, whatever the
+trouble and delay, hardly any consideration will
+justify an attack without at least one gun.</p>
+
+<p>The river journey was accomplished without
+incident, a landing was effected, and the party
+moved off. The scouts were in front, followed at
+an interval by half the detachment of the 10th,
+Captain Innes and the sailors with a rocket-tube
+came next, then the Sikhs and Penang Police under
+Mr. Plunket, and last of all the remainder of the
+10th Regiment.</p>
+
+<p>We began the march gaily enough, not expecting
+to meet with any resistance till near Pâsir Sâlak.
+After walking a mile or so, always close by the
+river-bank, we came to a large field of Indian corn.
+The plants were eight or ten feet high, and so
+thick and close that it was impossible to see more
+than three or four yards in any direction; the ground
+between the corn-stalks was planted with hill-padi,
+and that was a couple of feet in height.</p>
+
+<p>On entering this field we opened out to cover
+as large a front as possible, and, when half way
+through the corn, passed a gigantic fig-tree growing
+on the edge of the river bank. On my right was
+Nakodah Orlong, and to the right of him one of his
+men called Alang; on my left was Raja Mahmud<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span>
+the Manila boy, and the rest of the scouts. We
+had been walking fast, and of the rest of the force
+we could see and hear nothing.</p>
+
+<p>We were talking and laughing (being still a long
+way from Pâsir Sâlak) when suddenly we came to
+the end of the cover, for the last few feet of the
+corn had been cut down. At this moment Nakodah
+Orlong said, “There they are,” and the words were
+hardly out of his mouth when we were greeted by
+a volley from the enemy concealed behind a stockade
+not a dozen yards in front of us.</p>
+
+<p>Nakodah Orlong fell without uttering another
+sound, and, the enemy maintaining a brisk fire, our
+position was so uncomfortable that my own inclination
+was unhesitatingly to get out of the way.
+Probably my intention was apparent, for Raja
+Mahmud said, “Stand fast and shoot.” I was
+obliged to him and followed his advice, but as the
+Manila boy and I were the only possessors of
+shooting-weapons, and the enemy were hidden
+behind a rampart of logs and banana-stems, while
+we had no shelter whatever, our continued existence
+was due simply to their want of skill.</p>
+
+<p>The absurdity of the situation was apparent, and
+its unpleasantness was heightened by the opening
+of a brisk fusilade in our rear. That decided us<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span>
+and we stepped back under cover, and then moved
+to the sheltering trunk of the fig-tree. Arrived
+there we found that besides Nakodah Orlong (about
+whose fate there was no doubt, for he fell within a
+yard of me), Alang was the only one missing. He
+was the last man on the right, and, as no one had
+seen him, we concluded that he also had been killed.
+It was at once proposed that we should go back and
+secure the bodies, but our own people keeping up a
+merciless discharge in rear, and the enemy doing
+their best in front, we were between two fires, and
+thought it best to try and stop our friends at any
+rate from shooting us.</p>
+
+<p>We shouted, but that, of course, was no use, no
+one could either see or hear us, and it was some
+minutes before we were able to let Captain Innes
+know of our position. In that time we realised
+that even a large tree offers poor shelter from a cross
+fire. It did not, however, take us long to decide
+that the side towards the enemy was the safest.</p>
+
+<p>That was only the beginning of misunderstanding;
+twice again during the day we were placed in the
+same uncomfortable position, and a man kneeling
+behind me was shot in the <i>back</i> of his thigh. Once
+also the Sikhs made a determined attack on the men
+with me as we were trying to outflank the Malays,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span>
+and in spite of our shouts only desisted when almost
+within touch of us. It is true, of course, that the
+cover was so dense they could not see us until the
+last moment. They were so dispirited by this waste
+of effort, that they incontinently left the place and
+went straight home in spite of all Plunket’s attempts
+to stop them. That was in no sense his fault, for
+they were not his men, and he had never seen them
+before the previous evening. The Penang police
+had retired <i>en masse</i> at an even earlier hour, and
+explained afterwards, with much force, that it was
+not for this kind of work that they had engaged.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy’s stockade was a long rampart impenetrable
+to bullets; it was faced by a deep and
+wide ditch cut at right angles to the river, with one
+end on the bank and the other in high jungle. The
+work was backed by a thick plantation of bananas,
+affording perfect cover, and those defending it were
+commanded by the Maharaja Lela in person, and his
+father-in-law Pandak Indut, foremost of Mr. Birch’s
+murderers.</p>
+
+<p>I am not now concerned with the details of the
+attack, it is sufficient to say that it did not take long
+to prove how serious a mistake had been made in leaving
+the howitzers behind. The rockets, an old pattern,
+were ineffective, and as they all went over the top of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span>
+the stockade were greeted by the jeers of the enemy.
+We were close enough to hear even what they said
+in the intervals between the firing. Experience is
+usually costly, and what we learnt on the 7th enabled
+us, a week later, to carry this and a succession
+of other stockades without the loss of a man.</p>
+
+<p>About 1 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> (our force being then reduced to the
+officers, the men of the 10th, bluejackets, and Malay
+scouts) Captain Innes gave the order to charge the
+stockade. That was done, but without guns to clear
+the way it was a hopeless task. We could not get
+across the ditch in the face of an unseen, protected
+enemy, while we were entirely at their mercy. We
+had to retire with the loss of Captain Innes killed,
+both the officers of the 10th (Lieutenants Booth and
+Elliott) severely wounded, and other casualties. If
+men with weapons of precision and the knowledge
+to handle them had held the work, none of our
+party ought to have escaped. But with Malays you
+can take liberties; their weapons take some time to
+load, but they are deadly enough at a few yards
+distance if the men who hold them would not fire at
+the tree-tops. The Malay’s idea is to loose off his
+piece as often as he can, it makes a noise and that
+puts heart into the man who fires, fear into the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Though we had gained nothing by rushing the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span>
+place, the enemy did not like that style of attack
+and retired, only we did not know it then. We were
+engaged in counting the cost, picking up the wounded
+and organising an orderly retreat, for it was late, we
+had some miles to go, and we expected the Malays
+would leave their shelter and come after us. Personally
+I did not know Captain Innes had been
+killed, I was in the centre and he was on the extreme
+right. My party was hampered by having to carry
+a wounded man, and when we got back to the
+middle of the field where Abbott and Plunket were
+waiting, Innes and the others had already been
+taken away. We had no surgeon, no stretchers,
+and the return journey was one that is not pleasant
+to recall.</p>
+
+<p>We reached our boats at 3 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, and the Residency
+a quarter of an hour later.</p>
+
+<p>For some time I was very busy trying to attend
+to the wounded, but then my Malay friends asked
+me for a boat, as they said they must go and fetch
+Nakodah Orlong’s body, and see what had become
+of Alang. A British soldier was also missing. I
+gave the boat and they started.</p>
+
+<p>About 8 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> they returned with Alang and the
+body of his chief; they had met the lad swimming
+down the river with his master’s body.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span></p>
+
+<p>When Nakodah Orlong fell, and the rest of us
+got away behind the great tree, this boy stayed by
+the dead man, and as he was right in the line of the
+thickest cross-fire, Alang pulled the body as close
+to the bank as he could, and there remained from
+morning till evening, making no sign, but simply
+declining to abandon the corpse. A man even
+came out from the stockade and attacked him with
+a <i>kris</i>, wounding him on the hand, but Alang beat
+him off. After the final charge, when our people
+passed close by him, it was he who saw the Malays
+retire, and he allowed us all to go away and leave
+him without giving any indication of his whereabouts.</p>
+
+<p>Then, the coast being clear, unable to carry the
+body so great a distance, he dragged it into the
+river and was swimming down stream with it when
+the boat met him.</p>
+
+<p>I went down to the boat to see Nakodah Orlong;
+he looked just as I had seen him last, except that
+his hair and clothes were drenched with water and
+there was a great hole in the centre of his forehead,
+marking, no doubt, the track of an iron bullet from
+a swivel-gun. Of that, however, he could never
+have been conscious, nor yet of the devotion of the
+man whose life had been in extremest peril throughout<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280"></a>[280]</span>
+a long day to guard his chief’s dead body, without
+thought of gain or praise, only determined that
+none but loving hands should be laid upon the
+voiceless, pulseless clay he once called master.</p>
+
+<p>Given a glorious sunny day and a good cause,
+the idea of ending existence suddenly and painlessly
+in the pride of life and in face of the foe has its
+attractions, and robs the inevitable of its sting.</p>
+
+<p>But who can hope that after his death there will
+be one other being whose love is great enough to
+offer his own life a willing sacrifice to guard the
+thing that was to-day a friend and to-morrow will
+be corruption?</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281"></a>[281]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XXII">XXII<br>
+<span class="smaller">EVENING</span></h2>
+
+<div class="epigram">
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent2">Phœbus loosens all his golden hair</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Right down the sky</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Eric Mackay</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>The tale of these little lives is told. If I have
+failed to bring you close to the Malay, so
+that you could see into his heart, understand something
+of his life, and perhaps even sympathise with
+the motives that will lead him to acts of high
+courage and self-sacrifice, then the fault is mine.</p>
+
+<p>The glory of the Eastern morning, the freshness
+and the fragrance of the forest, the sultry heat of
+these plains and slopes of eternal green on which
+the moisture-charged clouds unceasingly pour fatness—these
+are the home of the Malay, the background
+against which he stands.</p>
+
+<p>Come, we have done with it all; let us leave the
+plain, seething in the heat of early afternoon, and
+ride up this mountain path, through all the wealth<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282"></a>[282]</span>
+and the magnificence of tropical jungle, and look
+down on the land for the last time.</p>
+
+<p>Our callous eyes—surfeited with years of gazing
+on brilliant colours, great stretches of sea and
+forest, huge trees, a bewildering luxury of foliage,
+beasts measured by the elephant and rhinoceros,
+birds by the argus pheasant and the peacock—are
+blind to the infinite beauty of our surroundings.
+This path, by which we slowly rise to cooler altitudes
+and a new flora, would excite in the stranger
+feelings of wonder and rapturous delight.</p>
+
+<p>The road itself is cut through soil of a deep
+shade of <i>terra cotta</i>, the colour all the more vivid by
+reason of the hues of green by which it is environed.
+The sunlight strikes in rays of brilliant light across
+this path, falling on red soil, granite boulder and
+massive tree-trunk, intensifying colour and deepening
+shadow. Here and there are seen glimpses of
+the plains below, the distant sea, the peaks and
+valleys of other hill ranges, and the ear constantly
+catches the delightful sound of falling water, the
+voices of numerous streams dashing down the
+steep mountain sides in cascades of sparkling
+foam.</p>
+
+<p>The path twists and winds, often by sharp zigzags,
+up the face of the hill, across a narrow saddle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283"></a>[283]</span>
+and then by an even steeper ascent, till at last we
+gain the summit of the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Stand here. The limit of vision is wide; you
+will scarce find a grander spectacle in this Peninsula.
+We are nearly 5,000 feet above the sea, and from
+north to south the eye travels over a distance not
+far short of two hundred miles. Eastward, those
+distant hills are fully a hundred miles away, and
+soon on the western horizon the sun will meet the
+sea in a blaze of glory, as though kindling at the
+touch of loving arms long waiting for his coming.</p>
+
+<p>That faint blue peak in the north, hazy and
+indistinct, is Gûnong Jerai in Kĕdah, and the island
+to the westward, which smiles through a golden
+veil, is Penang. A grey streak of water shot with
+gleams of sunlight divides it from the mainland, and
+the forty miles of country thence to the foot of this
+hill, and far south again to those blue islets off the
+Dinding coast, lie flat and fertile, a feast for the
+eyes. Vivid green patches mark thousands of acres
+of sugar-cane and rice-field, but the general effect is
+an unbroken expanse of dark jungle, mostly mangrove,
+for all this land from hill-base to sea-shore is
+of comparatively recent formation, the erosion from
+the hills carried down seawards and covered with a
+wealth of foliage ever renewed by the excessive<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284"></a>[284]</span>
+heat and excessive moisture of this forcing tropical
+climate. No rocks, no bare hills, no arid plains,
+everything covered with vegetation: new graves look
+old in a month, the buildings of a year, for all their
+seeming, might have stood for half a century.</p>
+
+<p>Only at our feet does the hand of man make any
+mark on the landscape. There, amid trees and
+gardens, nestle the red roofs of Taiping. You might
+cover the place with a tablecloth for all its many
+inhabitants, its long wide streets, open spaces, and
+public buildings.</p>
+
+<p>And those pools of water all around the town,
+what are those?</p>
+
+<p>They are abandoned tin-mines, alluvial workings
+from which the ore has been removed, and water
+mercifully covers, in part, this desolation of gaping
+holes and upturned sand.</p>
+
+<p>The shore, due west and distant some twenty
+miles from the foot of the range on which we stand,
+is deeply indented by three great bays. They are
+the mouths of three rivers, short, shallow and insignificant
+in themselves; it is difficult to understand
+why they should make such an imposing entry on
+the sea. A mile or two inland from the coast the
+eye is caught by twenty little lakes, on which the
+sun loves to linger, burnishing them to gold when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>[285]</span>
+the setting in which these jewels lie has turned to
+purple. They are fragments of estuaries, deep
+waveless lagoons winding through the mangroves,
+and showing to the distant spectator only broken
+reaches, glimpses of bay and headland.</p>
+
+<p>The shore-line is a ribbon of glistening light,
+bordering the wide expanse of forest trees, whose
+roots stand deep in water when the tide is high.
+The mangrove cannot live beyond the reach of the
+brine from which it seems to draw the sap of life,
+and these mud flats, in their gradual accretion, are
+as yet scarcely above the level of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the north-east, a deep valley lies
+beneath us, the source of a long river, the Kurau.
+Miles and miles beyond rise range after range of
+lofty mountains, Biong and Inas and Bintang,
+running into the heart of the Peninsula. Further
+eastward is the country near the sources of the
+Perak River, and across the narrow valley, through
+which its upper waters dance in a succession of
+rapids, may be discerned peaks of the main range
+which look down on the China Sea.</p>
+
+<p>Now we are facing the south-east and the valley
+of the Perak River. The ridge on which we stand
+divides it from the Province of Larut, and surely
+there are few fairer sights in the East than this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286"></a>[286]</span>
+same valley through which the river, plainly visible
+twenty miles away, winds in a silver streak. On
+the right stands Gûnong Bubu, the isolated mass
+terminating in a needle-like point nearly 6000 feet
+high. The spurs of this mountain spread out in
+every direction, north to the Pass from Larut into
+the Perak Valley, east to the Perak River, and
+southwards nearly to the coast. In the south-east,
+across the Perak River, rise five or six ranges of
+hills of ever-increasing height. Over the first range
+can be seen the valley of the Kinta, with its many
+fantastic limestone cliffs standing clearly out; then
+follow Chabang, Korbu, and finally the mountains
+dividing Perak from Păhang. Those hills fading
+out of sight in the far-away south are near the
+borders of Perak and Selangor.</p>
+
+<p>As we turn our faces back to the setting sun,
+the great disc, now grown a deep crimson, is sinking
+through a bank of clouds into a sea of flame.
+The waters beyond the influence of the sun’s light
+are a brilliant sapphire, a reflection of the sky above.
+There is only one long, low bank of cloud, and that
+is on the horizon.</p>
+
+<p>A moment later and the sun itself has gone, but
+from the spot where it disappeared is radiating a
+lurid glow which kindles the clouds into fire and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287"></a>[287]</span>
+shoots rays of gold over Penang in the north and
+the Dinding Islands in the south, seventy miles
+apart. This golden light spreads for a space upward
+through the bank of clouds, till, paling into a
+belt of grey that again deepens into blue, and ever
+gaining in intensity, it rises to the zenith and fills
+the empyrean.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the darkness which seemed to be
+settling over the distant eastern ranges is gradually
+suffused with soft tints of <i>rose dorée</i>, transfiguring
+peak after peak and clearly defining every ridge and
+valley. This aftermath of day, wherein the sun
+returns to kiss the hills with one last lingering
+caress, fills the whole atmosphere with a rosy
+effulgence, then fades reluctantly away. ’Twixt
+western sea and eastern hill lies that great sea-indented
+plain over which night settles slowly but
+surely, while still the sky and hills are vivid with
+colour. But even the plain assumes its night garb
+with no less grace and beauty. A faint mist has
+risen from swamp and river, and, spreading itself
+over the land, takes soft hues of opal and heliotrope
+deepening into purple, while only the pools and
+river-reaches shine out, like scraps of mirror stealing
+borrowed glory from the sky.</p>
+
+<p>Soon this light wanes; purple turns to grey, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288"></a>[288]</span>
+colours fade from sky and sea, only the shore-line
+keeps its sheen. Then this too dies, and great
+white clouds, coming from out the mines and
+marshes like a troop of giant spectres risen in their
+grave-clothes, stalk slowly round the foothills of
+the mountain, through the Pass into the valley of
+the Perak River.</p>
+
+<p>Here, at this elevation, the night is not quite
+yet.</p>
+
+<p>Close around us still the jungle, but the trees are
+dwarfed, the boughs are covered with moss and
+lichen, orchids and ferns flourish in the forks, gorgeously
+blossomed creepers twine round the branches
+and hang from tree to tree. The air is full of the
+scent of the magnolia, the moss-carpeted ground is
+gay with a myriad flowers, some brilliantly plumaged
+songless birds flit silently between the trees, and a
+great bat sails aimlessly across the waning light.
+The shrill scream of the cicada is but faintly heard
+far down the height, and night comes, like a closing
+hand grasping in resistless darkness all things
+visible. The only sound to break the silence is the
+fitful and plaintive croak of a wood-frog.</p>
+
+<p>If night treads closely on the heels of day, there
+is no need for regret. The darkness is but for a
+moment, and over the eastern peaks spreads a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289"></a>[289]</span>
+silvery sheen, herald of that great orb of splendour
+which, rising rapidly, clears the mountain and sheds
+a flood of wonderful, indescribable, mellow radiance
+over forest, plain, and sea, softening what is crude,
+pointing with brilliance the most striking features,
+and casting into a fathomless shadow the dark
+valleys of the western slopes. There is nothing
+cold about this Eastern moon. Seen, half-risen,
+against the dark foliage of the mountain, it glitters
+like molten silver, dazzling the eyes, and as it soars
+serenely upward seems the very perfection of beauty,
+light, and purity.</p>
+
+<p>Strange that the delight and glory of mankind
+since ever the earth was peopled, the emblem of
+unattainable longing, should be only a gigantic
+cinder.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290"></a>[290]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> The attitude is that obtained by transferring the body
+directly from a kneeling to a sitting position.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> “The Heavenly Twins,” book iii., chap. iii.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> The <i>Sârong</i> is the Malay national garment, a sort of skirt,
+usually in tartan, worn by men and women alike.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291"></a>[291]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="NOTE_ON_THE_COVER_DESIGN">NOTE ON THE COVER DESIGN</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<p><i>The colours used on the cover of this book are those
+recognised as “Royal” colours in one or other of the
+Malay States. Throughout the Peninsula yellow is the special
+colour worn or used by those of Raja birth. By the ancient
+Malay sumptuary laws the lower classes were not allowed to
+wear yellow garments, nor to use this colour in the decoration
+of furniture of their houses. These laws are no longer rigidly
+observed, but in most Malay States the use of yellow fabrics is
+confined to the Raja class.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>It is a universal practice to put letters addressed to Malay
+rulers (when they are of Raja birth) into covers of yellow
+cotton cloth or yellow satin, while those addressed to Rajas
+who have no official position, or to chiefs of importance but not
+of Raja birth, are stitched into covers of white cotton.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>In some of the States the royal flag is yellow, in others it is
+white or black, while in several of the more important States<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292"></a>[292]</span>
+of Sumatra (as for instance in Acheen), black garments are the
+special privilege of the Raja class.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>In Perak the three highest native authorities in the State,
+the Sultan, his heir (styled Raja Muda), and his Wazîr
+(the Raja Bĕndahâra), fly flags of white, yellow, and black
+respectively, and these three colours united have, for the last
+twenty years, been adopted as the Perak State flag.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>The three daggers on the cover are good types of the Malay
+“kris,” the favourite national weapon. The originals of these
+particular specimens are in the Perak museum and were
+photographed for this design.</i></p>
+
+<p class="right"><i>F. A. S.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>Xmas day, 1895.</i></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" style="max-width: 100em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76055 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
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+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
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+this book outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+book #76055 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76055)