Adventures among the Dyaks of Borneo, etc

Front matter

ADVENTURES AMONG THE DYAKS OE 1.0I.NE0. LONDON : 8AVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, COVENT GARDEN. Gasing's Feast on the Batang Lupar ADVENTUKES AMONG TH« DYAKS OF BORNEO. SAKARRAN OIKL IN GALA COSTCMK. BY FREDERICK BOYLE, F.R.G.S. LONDON : HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1865. The right of Translation is reserved. TO WALTER WATSON, Esq., RESIDENT OF SEEIBA3, AND TO THE OFFICERS OF THE SABAWAK GOVERNMENT, THIS ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE, WHIOH OWED MUCH OF ITS PLEASURE TO THEIR KINDNESS AND HOSPITALITY, IS MOST GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY gtbiiattb BT ARTHUR AND FREDERICK BOYLE. CONTENTS.

Chapter I

Departure from England — Overland Route — Singapore — Tlie Rainbow — Coast of Borneo — Kuching — Government House — Little Bungalow — Capture of the Old Fort by Chinese — Present Fort — Court House — Strange Custom — Singular Law-case — Church and Mission — Chinese Quarter — Appearance of the Malays — Costume — Amok Madness — Kling Campong — Malay Campong — Houses — Animals — Government — Inhabitants of Sarawak — Languages pp. 1 — 28

Chapter II

Unfortunate Accident — Action with Chinese Insurgents — Belida Fort — Malay Cats — Rapids — River Scenery — Grogo — Sow Dyaks — Their Appearance — Costume — Houses — Deer-stalking — Walk to Nawang — Dyak Path — Fire Ant — Return to Buso pp. 29 — 44

Chapter III

Climate of Sarawak — Merriment of the Malay Character — Swimming — Proboscis Monkeys — Buso — Boatmen's Joke — Lumbong Angin — Bidi — Hospitality of Mr. Bentley — Unhealthiness of Bidi — Poisoning with " Tuba " — Caves of Bidi — Edible Birds' Nests — Night at the Caves — Butterflies — Snakes — Flowers — Blue Orchid — Dyak Bridge — Krokong — Tabooed House — " Parang Ilang " — Dyak Climbing — Modes CONTENTS. X of Striking Fire — Antimony Mines— Gold Washing — Chinese Marriages— Arrival of H.M.S. Rifleman — Departure for Kennowit PP- 45—72

Chapter IV

The Jolly Bachelor — Accident — People of Kennowit — Tatooing — Enlargement of the Ear — Rejang River — Deputation of Women — Invitation to a Kennowit Festivity — Narrow Escape —Dance of Warriors— " Joke"—" Mias" Dance — Deer Dance — Pantomimic Dance — Head-Hunting Dance — Female Performance pp. 73 — 87

Chapter V

The Venus — Colony of Sakarran Dyaks — War-Boat of the Kennowits — Fine Race of People— Valuable Jars — Comparison of Kennowits and Dyaks — Dyak Ear-rings — An Albino — Dyak Anxiety for Heads — Pakatans — Intended Removal of Kennowit — Bruni Currency — Attack on the Kyan Ambassadors — Scenery on the Egan — Bintulu — European Civilization in the East — Malay Love-Story — Dyak Hunting — Curious Law-case — Rich Costumes — " Kris " — Executions — " Parang Latok" — Sabres — Dout's Prowess .... pp. 88 — 119

Chapter VI

A Hot Pull — Malay Modes of Fishing — Muka Trade — Town — Siege by Rajah Brooke — Officers lost by the Rajah — Diseases of the Country — Muka Fort — Boa Constrictor — Black Monkeys — Milanowe — Boat Race — Saw Fish — Hospitality of Mr. Miller— A Close Shave — Floating Island — Water Snakes — Departure of the Rajah — Santubong — Cocoa-nut Beetles — Turtles — A Narrow Escape — Leeches — Chinese Riots — A Sunday Walk through the Jungle — Sandfiies — Ascent of the Mountain — Ants — Building a House pp. 120—157 CONTENTS. XI

Chapter VII

Chinese Suicide — Stoicism — Purchase of a " Mias" — Description — Great Fright — " Wa-wa " Ape — Musang — Palandok — Feathered Rat — Singular Horns — Piracy of Sea Dyaks — Present Tranquillity — Burial Ground — Malay Origin — Accident — Arab Reis — His Vessel — Sebooyoh — Sakarran — Seribas Dyaks — Sakarran Fort — Mr. Brereton's Fath — Visit to the Undups — A Watery Mission House— Sabooyong. pp. 158—191

Chapter VIII

Snapdragon — Description of the House — Tuah Bully — His Son — Medicine Man — Gasing's Speech — Illuminated Forest — Wood Devils — Dyak Looms — Charms — Life of an Undup Dyak — Agriculture — Amusements — Religion — Treatment of Women — Duties of the Tuah — Preserved Head of a Mias — Kyan War and Character — Dyak Dogs — Blackened Teeth — Rhinoceros Hornbill — Food — Charms of Speed — of Bravery — Dyak Happiness pp. 192 — 236

Chapter IX

Attack of Fever — Invitation to a Feast — Gasing's Gala Costume — Too Affectionate Friend — Dyak Beverage — Propitiation — Dance — Procession of Women — Singular Dances — Mischievous Girls— Strict Decorum — Pigeons — The Sumpitan —Upas Poison pp. 237—253

Chapter X

Miserable Morning — The Brok — Paham — Gasing's House — Renunciation of our Proj ect of reaching Pontianak Overland — Dyak Meal — Gasing's Valour — Pig Hunt — Voyage to Linga — Penang-chewing — Strange Mode of Skinning — " Bore" — Banting Mission — Fruits — " Mias" — Scarlet Monkeys — Tailed Men — Dyak Intellect — Treatment of Sick — Linga Fort — Alligators — Return to Kuching . . pp. 254 — CONTENTS.

Chapter XI

Bornean Slavery — Lanun Pirates — S'Ali — Tenacity of Life among Orientals — Exploit of Paham — Flower-snake — Government of Seribas — Defeat of Mr. Brereton at Sakarran — Removal of the Malay Datus — First Invasion of Seribas by the Tuan Mudah — Second Invasion — Repulse at Sadok — Murder of Fox and Steele — Support of the Rebels by the Governor of Labuan — General Outbreak on the Seribas — Successful Operations of Mr. Watson — Third Invasion by the Tuan Mudah — Evacuation of Sepuk — Retirement of Seribas Rebels to Sadok — Second Siege of Muka£— Third Attack on Sadok — Surrender of the Seribas Rebels — Storming of Sadok — Pacification of the Rivers — Our Departure from Sarawak. pp. 284—324

Chapter I

Departure from England — Overland Route — Singapore — The Rainbow — Coast of Borneo — Kuching — Government House — Little Bungalow — Capture of the Old Fort by Chinese — Present Fort — Court House — Strange Custom — Singular Law-case — Church and Mission — Chinese Quarter— Appearance of the Malays — Costume — Amok Madness — Kling Campong — Malay Campong — Houses — Animals — Government — Inhabitants of Sarawak — Languages. ON the first of February, 1S63, my brother and myself commenced our voyage to Sarawak. At that date we quitted England, and in the beginning of April we embarked from Suez for the far East. Surely no one can wish to hear anything of our journey by the Overland Route. The good ship in which we took our passage contained the usual assortment of Anglo-Indian characters. We found therein the old gentleman high up in the Civil Service, who guarded his pretty daughter like an Argus, making up in ferocity for his very ordinary vision; tbe nervous lady, suffering from cockroaches in the imagination ; the amiable general, and his aid-de-camp haughtily affable ; a crowd of ensigns escaped from depot; Manchester clerks going out B SINGAPORE. to China; such were our fellow-passengers.

If ever an age existed in which balls, and newspapers, and serious flirtation enlivened the tedium ofthe Indian voyage, that happy time has passed. Eating, drinking, smoking, and mild gambling are the sole amusements at present to be anticipated, and these pastimes are not so novel as to deserve description. After a month's voyage, broken only by the delay of twenty-four hours at Pointe de Galle, where we purchased rubies aud sapphires of coloured glass, and mistook the ipecacuanha bushes in the Cinnamon Gardens for groves of precious spices, we arrived in Singapore. An accident which had lately happened to Rajah Brooke's mail steamer, the Rainbow detained us here for nearly two months. Decidedly Singapore is the least sociable colony of England. No public amusement whatever exists there, and the English inhabitants rarely meet except in their warehouses or on horseback.

Each family gives one dinner party in six months and a ball once a year ; the military band plays three times a week upon the Esplanade ; races occur once in the twelve months. The environs of the town are dangerously infested with tigers, and a mountain five miles distant is alive with them. Under these circumstances the community is naturally addicted to gin and grum bling, but nevertheless a traveller is sure to be hospitably received among them. Assisted by kind friends, we entertained ourselves in the "City of the Tiger" as well as was humanly BORNEO. possible until the Rainbow came out of dock and was ready for her return voyage. This pretty little steamer, which gained so much glory by carrying the Bishop of Labuan and his " Terry " in the action with the Illanun pirates in May, 1862, is about 100 tons in burden, and carries two twelve pound guns.

She is at present the only steamer bearing Rajah Brooke's flag, but a companion vessel is building in Singapore, and will shortly be launched. Besides the Rainbow, the Sarawak Government possesses two small gunboats, the Venus and the Jolly Bachelor, of which I shall have much to say hereafter. These are employed in protecting the coast, and in carrying despatches to the out-stations, while the Rainbow plies continually between Singa pore and Kuching, bearing mails, passengers, and merchandise. As soon as the repairs were completed we em barked, and on the third morning after leaving Singapore, Borneo was sighted. Although this island cannot boast the delicate beauty which her innumerable palm groves give to the coast of Ceylon, yet our first view of it was very striking. A chain of lofty mountains far inland hung like blue clouds along the horizon ; as we approached the shore, a broad sandy beach was discerned dividing the blue waves from the dark forest ; and along the coast were scattered vast masses of rock still encircled by the fleecy mists of dawn.

These lofty islets were mostly uninhabited, but the rich b2 KUCHING. vegetation of the Tropics had clothed them from base to summit with a mass of soft foliage, and no spot in the world could present a picture more sunny and brilliant than one of these green hills surrounded by its circle of white surf. Our course was steered towards a high wooded peak called Santubong, under which lies the mouth of the river Sarawak. The little Malay village nestling among rocks and palm-groves under the mountain was once a famous rendezvous of piratical squadrons, Ulan uns, Sulus, and Seribas, but the bravest of them dare not now approach within a hundred miles of the spot. After passing this village we steamed up the river between banks rich in the luxuriant beauty of tropical vegetation. A hundred yards on either side extended a thick belt of mangrove, tenanted in that early morning time by many a rustling school of monkeys ; beyond this the jungle rose like a wall, and stretched, unbroken except by river or ravine, as far as the unknown mountains which loomed on the horizon.

The chief town of Sarawak is called by the natives "Kuching," which signifies "the cat;" why they should give it this name I know not ; by Europeans it is frequently called Sarawak, but as the country and the river have also that name, I will use the native appellation. The town lies about eighteen miles from the sea by the Santubong route, and twenty-five by the other channel of Maritabas. As far as Tanah Putih, where the Borneo Company GOVERNMENT HOUSE. have a factory, there are few signs of habitation along the river, but when that spot is passed, houses begin to appear on the banks, boats become thicker on the water, until, on rounding the last reach, Government House appears on the one hand, the Chinese quarter and the fort upon the other, the Rainbow backs to her wharf, and at length the long, long voyage is fairly concluded.

If, without mentioning its breadth, I were to state that Kuching extends three-quarters of a mile along either bank of the river, I should give ideas of a magnificence to which the capital, prosperous though it be, has not yet attained ; for, though such is indeed its length, the houses are rarely more than two or three deep, and, except in the Chinese quarter, are placed in any straggling position which the individual builder may fancy. As no census has ever been taken, it is only by a rough estimate, obtained from the returns of the hearth-tax, that Kuching is said to have eighteen thousand in habitants. Government House is situated nearly in the centre of the town, standing upon a small eminence over looking the river. The building is in no way remarkable for the beauty of its architecture; in deed its high-pitched shingle roof and blue-painted walls of log are thought by some to present rather the opposite appearance.

It is, however, cool, and airy, and comfortable, with ample room for all the Rajah's purposes. The ground-floor contains a LITTLE BUNGALOW. dining-room alone, with the necessary offices ; upon the upper floor is the drawing-room, which no one ever enters except to muster for dinner. The broad verandah which encircles this floor is the usual idling place through the heat of the day. Here lie the latest English papers, reviews, and books, while the amateur in weapons can amuse himself with the examination of numerous "parangs," and swords, and shields, and war cloaks, hung upon the wall. Below Government House, and standing some twenty yards from it, is a pretty little bungalow,* of which the ground-floor resembles a huge bird cage, being entirely surrounded with lattice-work. It is set apart for the Rajah's visitors, and we were conducted thither on landing.

From the verandah of this bungalow a delightful view is obtained. Between the trunks ofthe areca and cocoa-nut palms upon its bank appears the broad river and the pic turesque houses of the Malay " campong" lining the further shore. Occasionally, a group of natives in their brilliant costume may be seen lounging on the wharf, or crossing in the ferry-boat to Government House ; on the edge of the swift stream stands the pretty white fort bordered by a grove of cocoa-nut trees glittering in the fierce sun. * A "bungalow" in the East is understood to signify a building raised from the ground upon posts, or of which the ground floor is not inhabited. A " house " has a first floor aud a dining-room on the rez-de-chaussee. CAPTURE OF THE OLD FORT. Below the fort, the red-tiled roofs of the Chinese quarter rise over a thicket of slender masts, and, on the hill above, the houses of the Bishop and the Doctor display their painted gables among the encircling trees.

The vast blue ridge of Matang is conspicuous among the distant mountains tower ing over the upper waters of the river, behind which, each evening, the sun sinks abruptly in golden splendour. Truly, to lounge in that verandah and watch the sunset upon Matang, was worth much travel. The residence which the Rajah first built was burnt by the Chinese when they came down from the gold washings at Bow to seize the government ; in the conflagration the valuable library which Sir James Brooke and his friends had collected perished completely, and this loss has not yet been repaired. The building stood upon an eminence divided from that on which the present Government House stands, by a small stream which, at high tide, becomes a river. Through this the Rajah dived when his residence was attacked, and on gaining the other bank, seized his own steward by the throat and was about to thrust him through with a sword, when his voice was fortunately recognised.

On the same night, so memorable in the history of Sarawak, the old fort upon the other side of the river was captured by the insurgents after a desperate resistance. It is now occupied by the trea- MANIAC HERO. surer, but the marks of Chinese axes upon the door of the closet in which Sir James Brooke's plate was formerly stored are still distinctly visible, and a new panel in the log wall is pointed out to the visitor as the spot where a round shot from the steamer Sir James Brooke passed, when, in their turn, the Chinese garrison was attacked. When the assault was made the building contained only the former treasurer, Mr. Crymble, and a few Malay soldiers, who had charge of two prisoners and a madman. Considering theweakness ofthe garrison, it was decided to arm these three suspicious charac ters, and let them do what they could.

All behaved admirably, but the madman was the hero of the scene. His ecstasy of delight at the noise, and the blood, and the confusion, showed itself in the wildest acts of bravery. When the position was evidently no longer tenable, most of the garrison being killed or disabled, the captain and another sane individual named Dout — at present a police man in the Rajah's service — jumped from an em brasure, and cut their way through the Chinese. No remonstrances of theirs, however, produced any effect upon the madman. He was determined to hold the post as long as it would hold him, and he was last seen at the head of the stairs firing with undiminished energy among the insurgents, as they crowded into the fort. Possibly in the world's history, there have been more maniacs of this class than is generally suspected.

THE PRESENT FORT. At present the verandah in which this poor fellow perished so bravely is tenanted by two " wa-wa" monkeys, the gentlest, tamest, and prettiest imaginable. The moat still exists round the house, which is now occupied by Mr. Houghton, the Treasurer, and his little monkeys are conti nually climbing and chattering among the crimson shoe-blossoms which line its banks. Clusters of a delicate white flower cover the stagnant water, and pink lotuses bloom along the edge, while a flock of brilliant Moscovy ducks quack and splutter among the plants, or take healthful exercise by waddling into the treasurer's doorway. The present fort is a log building, and stands upon the river's edge opj)osite to Government House. It is surrounded by a deep but narrow moat, and though incapable of resistance for a moment against a European force, is, I should think, sufficiently defensible against any native attack ; the more so as the whole country is in a state of profound tranquillity and contentment, so that one is at a loss to see from whence the assailants are to come.

The building is occupied by the Tuan Resident, or, in Malay pronunciation, "Roseden," Mr. Crookshank, the third officer of the Government. Behind the fort stands the Court House, a large shedlike structure, furnished with a table, half a dozen arm-chairs, forms around the walls, and, in the centre, two benches for the policemen, plaintiff, STRANGE CUSTOM. and defendant. Here, in open court, all cases which the native chiefs find themselves unable to decide are tried by the Rajah or the Tuan Resi dent, assisted by the three Malay Datus, who give their opinion on the merits of the case and cite the customs of their ancestors. Connexion with the reigning family is the only patent of nobility recognised in Borneo. The sons, brothers, and uncles of the Sultan of Bruni, are termed Datus or Pangerans, and this title is here ditary.

The heir-apparent to the throne has the honorary title of Rajah Mudah, or young Rajah. In Sarawak, the three Datus who reside there are styled, respectively, Datu Patiinngi, Datu Bandar, and Datu Tumangong. The old pirate who for merly bore the latter title, — which strictly signifies, I believe, counsellor or vizier, — is now deceased, and his son, a young man of very different cha racter, reigns in his stead. In connexion with the old man's death, we heard a story which illustrates a very singular social custom of the Malays. Although family ties are much regarded among them, propriety exacts that a death in their house holds should always be announced with an air of the greatest exhilaration, and when the }roung Tumangong visited Government House to inform the Rajah of his father's decease, he entered the breakfast-room with the broadest possible grin upon the lower part of his face, while his eyes were choked with tears of real sorrow.

The old Datu, pirate, SINGULAR LAW-CASE. robber, and murderer though he was, possessed qualities which made him a favourite among the European residents, and among his own de pendents. Strange causes occasionally come into the Court House of this semi-civilized community ; one, which most men would probably feel some hesi tation in deciding, came under our own notice. One evening, when the tide was at its highest, a Chinaman descended the river to the town, and moored his " sampan," or boat, to a tree by the water's edge in the middle of the bazaar. At a later hour of the night another Chinaman arrived in a boat laden with merchandise, which he anchored in the stream immediately below the boat of No. 1 ; for as the latter came at high tide, and No. 2 at low tide, there was a steep bank of mud between the two boats.

Very shortly afterwards the scaven gers came in the dawn to clean the streets ; they found that boat No. 1 interfered with their duties in some manner, and incontinently cast off its moorings. In accordance with the law of gravity, boat No. 1 slipped rapidly down the mud, and, striking boat No. 2 amidships, sank her, merchandise and all. Who, then, ought to pay for the damaged cargo? Viewing the case according to common sense, it appeared that, since both China men were in their right in mooring their boats where they did, no one was much to blame for an unfortunate accident. If a fault existed it seemed THE CHURCH AT KUCHING. to lie with the scavengers, who should have been more careful in casting off boat No. 1. This, how ever, was not the opinion of the court, which settles all cases in accordance with native customs so far as is possible, and the owner of boat No. 1 was con demned to pay all losses, inasmuch as his boat absolutely did the mischief.

On the left of the court-house runs the only high road in the Sarawak territory ; it continues about two miles into the country, terminating abruptly in the primeval jungle. It leads nowhere, and is merely used by the Europeans for horse exercise. An enormous wild boar haunts this road, and nightly crosses the bishop's path on his constitutional ride. The church at Kuching was apparently built in a prophetic spirit, for it is a world too wide for its present congregation ; but if the kind persons who subscribed to raise it could be transported from England, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, to see the result of their generosity, I think they would feel little inclined for regret. The pretty interior is the very ideal of a Metropolitan Mission Church; though why it should have been constructed accord ing to the Gothic style of architecture passes com prehension.

The congregation is at present so small that the heat is not very inconvenient, in spite of the little arched windows and single door ; but it seems almost incredible that we English should transport the architecture of the chilly North to a land where the thermometer stands at 94° in the THE ENGLISH MISSION. shade. The arrangement of dwelling-houses in the far East is cool, graceful, and comfortable : a wide verandah surrounds the floor principally inhabited, and the overhanging eaves throw a shadow upon the whole interior ; each apartment is provided with as many doors as can be devised, all of which open on to the verandah, and ensure a continual draught of cool air. Contrast this system, suggested by com mon sense and the exigencies of the climate, with the small windows and narrow portals of the Gothic church, and no residence in the tropics will be requisite to enable everyone to decide which is the more suitable.

We were told that before the Mission was esta blished in Sarawak, the Malays were very loose in their observance of Mahomedan rites, and drank wine or broke any other of the prophet's laws as readily as a "fellah" on the Nile; but the coming of the missionaries seemed to rouse their pride, and I can answer for it that they now preserve the commandments of their religion under the greatest temptation. Under any circumstances, however, the English Mission must have benefited them, for surely the creed of Mahomet is better than none at all. But besides this advantage, which is perhaps open to theological objection, the clergy in Sarawak are performing a task of the very highest im portance in educating native children, and in familiarizing distant Dyak tribes with the conve niences of Christian conduct and civilisation.

THE CHINESE QUARTER. But truth compels me to state that throughout our travels we searched in vain for a single adult convert — Chinese, Malay, or Dyak. Just before our departure there was great triumph in Kuching over the conversion of the Orang Kaya of Lundu, a most powerful Dyak chieftain. If the worthy chief really knew what he was professing, such signal success is most gratifying; but our experience of the Dyak nature and intelligence would induce us to receive the report with the utmost caution. I say it without irreverence, but there is something almost ludicrous in the notion of a barbarous Dyak warrior comprehending or admiring the mysterious doctrines of the Christian faith. It is also much to be lamented that throughout the farther East a very strong disinclination seems to exist against taking as servants boys educated in the Mission school.

Upon the left of the court-house lies the Chinese quarter, parallel to the river ; in it are situated the principal shops and warehouses of the town. The houses, though very various in size, style, and decoration, present a tolerably level frontage to the muddy street, shadowed by cocoa-nut trees, which lies upon the river bank. All along the face of the bazaar is a colonnade about five feet wide, shaded from the glare upon the water by draperies huno from pillar to pillar. The shop is unprotected by glass or any other partition, and the stock-in trade has a great tendency to overflow its proper THE FISH-MARKET. limits, and in sacks, baskets, and trays, to block the passage so as scarcely to leave room for purchasers to pass along the colonnade. In this quarter is to be obtained almost every requisite of Eastern life — 'that is, if the customer's desires be not too expansive.

Native dresses, cotton, silk, and gold-embroidered ; Manchester prints, cut lery, fruit, edible birds'-nests, turtle-eggs, eatables of every sort ; " krises," spears, sword-blades, wonderful old Dutch guns, of no use to anyone but the vendor ; tarbooshes, Persian turbans, Kling caps of silk quilting, of fabulous value ; mats, beds, arrack, gin, shot, gunpowder, paroquets, macaws, skins, poultry, and tobacco ; all are piled up in the same shop, one above another, without order or conve nience; while day and night large Chinese dogs, long-haired, mangy, covered with all uncleanness, loaf, and snarl, and snap about the purchasers' heels, or lie asleep in the pathwaj', stretched out at full length. Passing thus through the Chinese quarter, or "Campong," jostled by perspiring coolies, politely made way for by neat-limbed Malays, stared at by wild Dyaks from the interior, after a walk of one hundred and fifty yards along the colonnade, the traveller reaches the fish-market, which is a new and thriving institution.

It is, however, so thoroughly a tropical Billingsgate, in which barbarous fish are sold in an unknown language for an inconvenient coinage, as to be scarcely worth description. A APPEARANCE OF THE MALAYS. little further on are the offices of the Borneo Com pany, which may be called the limits of the town proper in this direction. These buildings are most useful and admirable, and the agents are very hos pitable ; but warehouses have much the same character wherever they may be met with, and Mexican dollars exhibit no marked peculiarities even when transported to Sarawak. I will not, therefore, de scribe any of these matters, but return through the bazaar to the Malay " Campong." The bulk of the Kuching population is Malay. The Chinese residents are probably about 1000 in number, and the Hindoos about 500.

No Dyaks in habit the town, nor are they to be met with for some fifteen or twenty miles round. As a people the Malays of Sarawak are the ugliest I ever saw. Their skin is of a dirty yellow colour, and their features very Tartar-like in character ; the nose is flat, eyes small and protruding, mouth coarse and shapeless. Their stature is very low, averaging five feet two or three inches; but they are powerfully built and much stronger than might be anticipated from their height. The women of the upper classes are very pretty, — or at least such is the opinion of English ladies who have visited them in their harems, — but among the ordinary population, it is rarely a female is seen even moderately good looking. Possibly in consequence of this fact, they are not concealed with the jealousy usual in a Mahomedan community, nor do they wear veils of COSTUME. 17 any kind when abroad ; it is true, we never, to our knowledge, met any females of the higher families in the street.