Perak and the Malays: 'Sārong' and 'Krīs' ... Illustrated ... from photographs taken by the author

Front matter

KRIS PERAK AND THE MALAYS. INCHE MAIDA, P1UNCESS OF PERAK, HElt HUSBAND, NAK.ODA IKONO, AND ATTENDANTS. PERAK AND THE MALAYS "SARONG" AND "KRIS." BY MAJOR FRED. McNAIR {Late Royal Artillery) COLONIAL ENGINEER AND SURVEYOR-GENERAL, STRAITS SETTLEMENTS ; LATE OFFICIATING H.M. CHIEF-COMMISSIONER, PERAK ; FELLOW OF THE LINNÆAN SOCIETY, ETC. ETC. ASSOCIATE INSTITUTE CIVIL ENGINEERS. MALAY WOMAN. illnstrateb toith thirteen Œnaralnngs bj JE. knight, txaxn Shotafiritphs taken b*> the LONDON: TLNSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND. 1878. [AU Rights of Translation Reserved.] CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.

Preface

. Being in England on a few months' leave of absence, for the purpose of recruiting my health, after a severe attack of jungle fever, contracted in Perak, it occurred to me that a brief account of that comparatively unknown country and its people might not be alto gether unacceptable to the English reader. This Malayan State, it will be remembered, came into public notice in 1875-76, through the murder there of the British Resident, and the despatch by our Government of a combined naval and military force to exact satisfaction for the outrage. As I accompanied the Governor of the Straits Settlements on his progress through the country just prior to the disturbances, and was also with the force subsequently sent there, I enjoyed exceptional opportunities for observation, of which I availed myself, in making the notes which have since been •embodied in this work. i*

PREFACE.

. VI I may say in addition, that my general knowledge of the manners and customs of the Malays has been acquired during a residence of over twenty years in the Straits Settlements. I am indebted to the Reports which have been made from time to time by the various officers of the Government for the confirmation of my own opinions, and also for much valuable information gleaned by them in portions of the country which it was not my good fortune to visit. For much of the past history of the Malays I have consulted the works of Crawfurd, Newbold, Loubere, Pritchard, Pickering, Marsden, and Dr. Vincent ; Moor's " Notes on the Archipelago," and the Colonial State Papers — these being among the principal autho rities that have treated of the origin and progress of this peculiar and wide-spread race ; while, as the work is intended for general reading, I have thought it better to omit all scientific terms. CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Page

Perak — Preliminary sketch — Extent of the country — A run up a river — Coast-line — Malays and Chinese — The river and its tributaries — Geographical features — Gounong Pondoh — Bukit Berapit — Absence of roads 1

Chapter VII

Vegetable-food supply — Curries and their preparation — Kachang — The gourd family — European vegetables — Herbs — Indigo — Pepper — Gambier — Sugar — Coffee — Tobacco — ■ Cinchona — Rice-growing — Clearing the jungle — Medicinal and poisonous plants CONTENTS. VIII CHAPTER VHI. TAGE Noxious animals — The python — Varieties of serpent — Leeches — The tortoise and turtle — Dangerous saurians — Government rewards — Fish and fishing — Various methods ... 76

Chapter IX

Sea-fish — Delicacies for the table — Condiment and caviare — Shell-fish and pearls — Coral-groves — The Malay fisherman —The skipjack— The kay long 86

Chapter X

Insect pests — Strange beetles — The leaf insect — Fireflies — A Tartar — Fine field for the entomologist ... ... ... 94

Chapter XI

Birds : The argus-pheasant — " Coo-ey " — Fatal crowing — Quail — Peafowl — The peacock of the Old Testament — -Artificial hatching — Talking birds — Pets — Humming and sun birds — Birds of prey ... ... ... 99* CHAPTER XH. Malay buffaloes and their domestication — The elephant — Deer — Wild-boar — The Malay bear — Black leopard — Tiger and trapping — Monkeys — Domestic animals ... ... ... 112

Chapter XXII

The kris : Sizes — Damasking — The execution kris — The sword of state — The klawang — The parang — -The limbing — Spear of state — Blowpipes — Poisoned arrows — Firearms — Matchlocks — Lelahs — Stockades ... ... 238

Chapter XXIII

Swimming— Music— Games : Ball-play— Chess— Cock-fighting —The national sport 260-

Chapter XXIV

Seafaring— Boat-building— The dragon boat— Sampans— Praus — Little Mercy— Piratical craft ... CONTENTS. X PAOE 282 290- 319 332 348;

Chapter XXV

The Jugra piracy — A native's evidence in a native court — The execution kris — An execution — The Sultan on piracy

CHAPTER XXVL

Titles of chiefs— Taxation and tolls— The Sultan's slaves- Sultanas — Court observances — The royal family — Ancient descent — Vanity and superstition — A Malay document . . .

Chapter XXXI

The Pangkore treaty — Deposition of Sultan Ismail — Sultan Abdullah — Mr. Birch's appointment — Troubles with the Sultan — His reproof by the Governor — The proclamations — The murder of Mr. Birch — Lieutenant Abbott and Mr. Swettenham at the Residency CONTENTS. XI TACE 375 404

Chapter XXXII

The attack on Passir Sala — Repulse — Burial of Mr. Birch and Captain Innes — Proceedings of the Government — Renforcements from China — Capture of Passir Sala — Mr. Birch's dragon boat — Troops from India — Proceedings of the northern column — Qualla Kungsa and Kota Lamah

Chapter XXXIII

'The southern column — Blanja — The march through the jungle — Stockade-fighting — Capture of Kinta — Flight of Ismail — The Terrachee valley — The stockades at Bukit Putoos — Captain Channer's attack — The rising at Klang — Suppression of the revolts 389

Chapter XXXIV

The capture of Ismail — Escape of Maharajah Lela — Taking of the Datu Sagor — Charges against Abdullah— Arrests of the chiefs — Their transportation — The Perak regalia ...

Chapter XXXV

Hants to settlers — The climate — Safety of life and property — ■ Health — Diseases to guard against — Supplies — Sport — Food — A Christmas dish — Dress — Itinerary of the Ulu, or Upper Perak country 414

Chapter XXXVI

An ascent of Mount Ophir from Malacca — The hot springs — Chabow — On the track — Night in the jungle — Camping-out — Gounong Padang Batoo — Tondoh — Cry of the argus-pheasant — ■ Ledang — The view from the summit — The descent — A fine field for the naturalist ... m 426

Chapter XXXVII

The future of Perak — Capital and labour — Advance in civilisation — The food supply — Convict labour — A Malay saying — Policy with the people — Civilised Malays — Sir James Brooke — Wheeler Woodford Birch LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. INCHE MAIDA, PBINCESS OF PEKAK, HER HUSBAND, NAKODA TRONG, and attendants Front ispiece Malay womajj ... ... ... Vignette TO FACE PAGB CAMPONG ON PERAK RIVER 57 PERAK ELEPHANTS 117 WILD TRIBES OF PERAK, OR " SAKAIS." 138 RESIDENCE OF PRINCESS OF PEBAK AT QUALLA KUNGSA 169 PERAK CHIEFS AND ATTENDANTS 201 GENERAL ASPECT OF A MALAY VILLAGE ON A RIVER BANK ... 229 THE RESIDENT'S BOAT 273 EX-SULTAN ABDULLAH AND CHIEFS OF PERAK 297 SITE OF THE GRAVES OF MR. BIBCH AND CAPTAIN INNES 377 JUNCTION OF KUNGSA AND PERAK RIVERS AT QUALLA KUNGSA ... 421 THE PRESENT RULER OF TERAK — RAJAH YUSUF — AND HIS TWO SONS

Chapter I

Perak — Preliminary sketch — Extent of the country — A run up a river — Coast-line — Malays and Chinese — The river and its tributaries — Geographical features — Gounong Pondoh — Bukit Berapit — Absence of roads. It is hardly too much to assume that, prior to 1875, when the sad news reached England of the rising* of a people under British protection, and the murder of Mr. Birch, the state of Perak was, to the ma jority of people, a terra incognita. They knew, of course, that the Malay peninsula was a long tongue of land stretching nearly to the equator, and that it was in close proximity to Sumatra and Java, with innumerable islands generally known as the Malay archipelago ; but saving those interested in the British Straits Settlements — Singapore, Malacca, and Penang — it may be taken for granted that few people were aware that a large and rich territory, ruled over by a sultan and his petty chiefs, had been, so to speak, B placed under the wing of the British Government, whose representatives, under the name of residents and assistant-residents, were at the court of the ruler, to counsel and advise for the better management of a country whose people were suffering from anarchy and misrule.

Picture this tropical land : Not a sun-baked region of parched desert and insufferable drought ; but a rich moist country, almost touching the equator, but rarely suffering from excessive heat ; a land of eternal summer, where refreshing rains fall ; where the mon soons blow regularly ; where the frightful tempests of the east are unknown ; and which is, for the most part, covered with a luxuriant vegetation, the produce of a fertile soil. This Perak — pronounced as though spelt Payrah — is one of the largest of the native states into which the Malay peninsula is divided, and lies upon the western coast, having there, for its ninety miles' boundary line, the bright prau-traversed waters of the Straits of Malacc f. To be geographically accurate, its boun daries -—north, south, and east — may be named as the states of Quedah or Keddah, which in the native language signifies an elephant-trap ; Salangore ; Pa hang, and Tringanu.

These are all native states, whose rule and people are very similar to those of the land in question. Perak signifies silver — a name given to it not from the abundance of that metal, for its existence has been PERAK. 3 little traced, but probably from the vast amount of silvery-looking tin which has been, and promises still to be, one of its principal productions. Taken roughly — for we are yet dependent upon native sources for our knowledge of its unsurveyed boundaries — the depth inland of the state is about forty-five miles, thus giving an area of somewhere about 4000 square miles, of a land metaphorically flowing with milk and honey ; but badly ruled, thinly in habited, poorly cultivated, and asking the direction of Western capitalists, and the busy hands of the Chinese people to make it one of the most productive under the sun.

The nature of the country may be seen if we take a rapid glance through it by means of its great water way, the Perak river, which intersects the wide central plain from north to south, and fairly divides the state, having west the fertile lands reaching to the sea, and on the east the gradually-rising country to the central ridge of mountains — the backbone, or watershed, of the whole peninsula — whose mineral resources are only known from the rich treasures in gold and tin that have been, in the course of ages, washed dowii into the alluvial lands. Sailing, steaming, or even paddling up one of these Perak rivers, we have on either hand, if the tide be down, the regular mud-banks of a tropical shore, with the dense mangrove forest standing up in its labyrinth of water-washed roots, as if nature had b " KRIS." 4 set the example, followed by the dwellers in the land, of building a rough scaffold, on which to support the tree-trunks, high and dry above the flood.

If, on the contrary, the tide be up, right and left the mangrove forest seems to be growing directly out of the river, the stream passing unhindered among the roots. The silence is solemn in its intensity ; for, save the plashing of the water to paddle or screw, not a sound is to be heard, and the traveller seems to be penetrating into one of nature's unexplored retreats, as he looks in vain for some trace of life beside that of the dense vegetation on either bank. At last he sees it in the shape of a white eagle, gliding with silent wing athwart the stream : and ****< o ***> 3 farther on, suddenly, from some exposed mangrove root, there is a flash of blue, and, like a vivid azure streak, away darts a kingfisher, one of the brilliantly feathered birds of the country, disturbed while waiting for its gorgeously-scaled prey.

As the light-winged bird disappears, and the eye is still filled with its beauty, the ear is at last saluted with a sound to break the utter stillness of the river, for there is a dull heavy splash, an eddying in the water, as, from amidst the mud or mangrove roots, a huge alligator rushes into the stream, the traveller being, perhaps, in time to see a portion of its rugged, muddy-hued, loathsome body ; and he may be fortunate enouo-h to see, just upon the surface, the two hill-crowned eyes and long snout of some other reptile, the head turning PRELIMINARY SKETCH. 5 slightly from side to side, as its owner sends a shudder through the spectator, who knows that the monster is on the watch for prey. As the boat glides on and on, beyond the tidal influence, the character of the forest changes : the mangroves give place to jungle growth, and on either side, columnar and beautiful, rise the stately growths of palm, with their wondrously-straight trunks and tufted heads.

Suddenly the first trace of human habitation appears, in the shape of a Malay campong or village — a cluster of houses of bamboo and other wood, in a grove of cocoa-nut palms and other fruit-trees. The huts are raised on posts, so as to be beyond the reach of flood and noxious beast, and look neat with their woven sides of split bamboo or reed, while their roofs are thatched with attap, an arrangement of the palm leaves, that grow close at hand. If the campong be of any extent, there is probably a mosque ; while, secured to bamboo posts, or run up safely on the mud, are the boats of the people. These boats play a prominent part in the daily life of the Malay ; for, roughly speaking, Perak is now a land of jungle, and its rivers are the highways, upon which its villages are built ; while its roads are only a few elephant-tracks but little used, and pathways through the jungle known to the country people alone.

Continuing our course either up the main stream " KRIS." 6 or one of its tributaries, the jungle disappears here and there, to give place to traces of cultivation, where padi or rice is grown in the low, moist, alluvial soil. As we still ascend, the native boats, or sampans, may be met coming down with the stream, laden with produce, or containing some fisherman, equipped for his pursuit. As we ascend higher, it is to find that the stream grows more rapid, and if in a small boat, poling, or as we should call it punting, our skiff against the stream, is the custom adopted. And now, from time to time, fresh traces of the sparse population of the country appear, battling with the ever-encroaching primeval forest. Buffaloes are seen, standing knee deep in the river-edge ; children approach the river bank to stare at our boat ; and then there is the forest once more, the gliding riy~~ with increasing shallows, and higher still the rapids.

The coast-line is broken with endless numbers of mangrove-fringed creeks, and small tidal estuaries, and these have ever been the hiding-places of the much-dreaded praus, those famous piratical craft with which the name of the Malay has so long been associated. The principal rivers that here form estuaries are the Perak ; the Krean and Bernam, which form the northern and southern boundaries of the state ; the Laroot river, which drains the principal tin-land ; and the Dinding, off which lie the islands of the same name. MALAYS AND CHINESE. 7 These islands, like Penang to the northward, have now become British territory, and afford capital anchorage between them and the shore, with an ample supply of fresh water to be obtained on the principal island, Pulo Pangkore. This is the largest of the group, and, unhke the greater proportion of the mainland, is now becoming rapidly peopled by the Malays and Chinese ; these latter making a busy home wherever there is gold or tin to be mined, or money to be earned by straightforward industry.

Here at Pulo Pangkore they are mostly employed as woodcutters, and in making lime, for which abundant material is found all round the island, in the shape of the limestone coral and madrepores. This zoophyte-produced limestone, as seen from a boat, when peering down through the limpid water, presents a scene of wondrous beauty, with its many tints and shades of colour, forming a perfect sub marine garden of endless loveliness, through whose flowers and shrubs glide the brilliant fish of the tropic region, clad in armour whose hues are at times dazzling, and far outrival the corals amongst which they rove. The dry coral is easily burned by the Chinese into lime, and procures a high price for building purposes at Penang. The Malays, on the contrary, occupy small tracts of land, which they plant with fruit-trees, principally the plantain or banana, and the chumpada or small jack-fruit, a variety of the bread-fruit of Polynesia.

"S-iRONG" AND "KRIS." 8 The Dutch were the former occupants of this island at the time that they held Malacca, and the remains of their fort and factory are still to be seen close to the shore, and within reach of Anson Bay. The Perak river is a fine broad stream, averaging for the first fifty miles about one-fourth of a mile in width, navigable for about one hundred and eighty miles from its mouth — an assertion that sounds some what paradoxical, when the limits of the country are given as only ninety miles from north to south. Its serpentine wanderings, however, fully account for this. Although navigable to so great a distance, this is only for boats : still goodly vessels may make their way up for forty miles to Durian Sabatang, after which the draught of boats must become smaller and smaller, while in Ooloo, or Upper Perak, rapids are encountered in several places, long before the sources are reached, at a range of hills, called Titti-Wangsa, in the adjacent state of Quedah.

These rapids in the ascent of the river are generally passed on rafts, which are very skilfully constructed by the Malays, out of the large hollow bamboos of the country, lashed securely together with rattans. They will readily make a raft of this kind fifty feet long and six feet wide, containing upon it a palm-thatched house. Two men paddle, while two more stand fore and aft with long poles, by means of which they keep the raft clear of boulders, as on entering the rapids it glides frequently between rocks THE PERAK RIVER. 9 only eight or ten feet apart, contact with which would mean an utter collapse of the light raft, and too probably a fatal accident. The most dangerous of these rapids is one known by the Malays as Jeram Panjang, at the present known boundary of Perak, towards the state of Patani.

Here there is a huge boulder, and before attempting to pass it the boatmen make certain propitiatory offerings, in the shape of bananas and betel-nuts, accompanied by a speech, in which leave is asked to go down the rapid. It is no light task this rapid, for the fall amounts to a dozen feet in the space of forty yards, through a passage only from ten to fourteen feet wide. To prevent accidents rattans are secured to the raft to hold it back ; but in spite of this many accidents occur amid the rush and turmoil of the hurrying waters, which eddy and form dangerous whirlpools, and lives have occasionally been lost. Some idea of the difficulties of the navigation in these higher parts of the river may be formed, when it is announced that according to a late voyager — Mr. Daly — down the stream, there were over fifty rapids ■ — the most dangerous being the above-named, and one known as Jeram Kling.

These rapids are not the only obstacles to the navigation, for after the freshets the trunks of large trees are frequently brought down, many of which strand in the shallows, and form those dangerous impediments which the Americans call " snags," and "KRIS." 10 " sawyers," and which are fatal to the unfortunate boat that encounters them in its way. Like most rivers of its kind, the Perak has a large bar at its mouth, of sufficient importance to necessitate careful pilotage through the channel, for large vessels inward or outward bound. Of its tributaries the principal are the Plus, Kungsa, Kinta, and Batang Padang rivers, all rising in the east and north-east, amongst the heights of the central range ; while numerous streams of minor growth tend to make the state an admirably-watered country, and, as already intimated, form the highways for the limited commerce that is carried on.

This is no land of huge volcanic peaks, for the mountains only attain to an average altitude of 5000 or 6000 feet ; 7000, as far as present surveys go, probably being the extreme. Here the ancient forest reigns supreme in all its grandeur ; in fact, with few exceptions, as soon as the river-banks, with their sparse villages, are left behind, the traveller plunges into the jungle, and then finds the land almost wholly uninhabited, save by a few wild tribes, who migrate from spot to spot, as they are moved by their superstitious reverence for good or evil omens. The general knowledge of the eastern portion of Perak is at present very imperfect ; and though the Malay peninsula has been crossed to the north and south, so far it is probable that no European has GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 11 made his way through Perak to the opposite coast, thus leaving open a goodly exploration for anyone of adventurous mind.

The indefatigable Russian traveller, Baron Maclay, has traversed a considerable portion of the interior ; but the information he obtained from native sources was, on the whole, so contradictory and untrustworthy as to be but of little value. There are two minor ranges between the higher mountains and the seaboard, and, running almost parallel with the backbone of the peninsula, they form the valleys of the Perak and Kinta rivers. The range nearest the sea contains several tolerably high mountains, the principal of which are Gounong Booboo and Gounong Hijau — "gounong" being the Malay term for a mountain, as " bukit " is for a hill. The ascertained height of Gounong Booboo is 6100 feet, the latter being only a little lower. Other eminences are known, as the North and South Mounds, and Bukit Sigari, or the False Dinding.

The most peculiar mountain of the country, however, is one known as Gounong Poncloh, lying a little north of the direct route between the mouth of the Laroot river and Qualla Kungsa, one of the principal stations of the upper Perak river. Gounong Poncloh is a singular eminence, standing alone, and rising out of the plain like a huge beehive ; for it is one mass of red and white limestone, about 1000 feet high, bare and time-worn in places, " KRIS." 12 and perforated with the caves peculiar to this formation. This eminence is distinctly seen on entering the mouth of the Laroot river, and also forms a very prominent object from Qualla Kungsa on the Perak river. A similar hill is found in the neighbouring state of Quedah, and is there known as the Elephant Rock. It is likewise of limestone, and its peculiar formation must be a problem for geologists.

The caverns of these limestone hills are well worthy of a visit, and make no great demand on the explorer. In the case of the Elephant Rock there is first a stiff climb over the rocks to reach the arched entrance, which is richly fringed with the stalactites common to limestone caves. One of these stalactites has been broken, and on being struck by the club of the Malay guide, the peculiar sonorous tone emitted reverberates through the cavern with a hollow roar. During a visit in 1872, torches were lit which displayed on all sides the peculiar shapes taken by the congela tions of lime-charged water, these shapes being grotesque in the extreme, some even assuming a strong resemblance to the human profile, with flowing beard and locks, carved in white marble by some clever sculptor's hand. Some idea of the extent may be gained when it is mentioned that the roof is some seventy feet above the floor, while large un explored passages extend in different directions.

Prevalent as are the stalactites, their corresponding stalagmites are comparatively few. Many, however, BUKIT BERAPIT. 13 are doubtless buried beneath the excreta of bats, which covers the floor to a great depth ; and doubtless below this the geologist will find many relics of the older fauna of the peninsula when the time for excava tion comes. On the occasion of this visit the party had a narrow escape, for one member was moved with a strong desire to let off a rocket in the interior of the cave; a proceeding which would probably have re sulted in bringing down tons of stalactites on his com panions' heads. He was however stopped in time. The cavern is entered from the land side, and the mountain is completely pierced, so that the explorer comes at length upon an opening of some fifty feet by thirty, looking straight out to sea through a glorious fringe of stalactites and ferns, giving the ojiening, with its ferny and mossy terraces, the aspect of a beautiful proscenium, from which the eye is taken with regret.

The road mentioned as extending from the mouth of the Laroot river to Qualla Kungsa is notable as being one of the principal in the state, and has been developed, under the management of the British Resi dent, from a mere elephant-track into one suitable for the transport of produce. The mention of a road some twenty-seven miles in extent may sound a trifle, but in a land where the rivers form almost the sole means of intercommunication, the existence of one good road, setting aside the military advantages, means the opening out of the country to a new form "KRIS." of traffic. This road leads through the pass of Bukit Berapit, a ravine of great beauty though of no vast extent. The granite crops out here of a fine gray variety, similar to our Aberdeen ; tall forest trees tower up, rich in their gorgeous greens, whilst at their feet cluster ground-orchids quaint and curious in form, and far more beautiful than the stunted kinds seen in our hothouses at home.

In clearings where the forest gives place to the traces of former cultivation, fruit-trees are found in abundance, the Malays planting extensively wherever they settle. Clump after clump of fruit-bearing trees is passed, lend ing the beauty of their foliage and burdens to the scene, already brightened here and there by bubbling streams of delicious water, rushing over the rocks of the narrow gorges on their way to swell the Laroot river below the pass. The trees here are frequently grand in their growth, rising up without a branch a hundred feet before inter weaving with their fellows to form a shade so dense, that farther in the forest a dim twilight reigns even at noonday. This road passing through Bukit Berapit divides the district of Laroot from Perak proper. It was commenced by Captain Speedy, Her Majesty's Assis tant-resident at Laroot, with the aid of the Muntri of Perak, one of the principal officers of the Sultan's little court, and one who has for many years claimed to be the governor of the above district.

It was ABSENCE OF ROADS. 15 pushed on with vigour by the civil and military authorities during the disturbances of 1875-76, and a line of telegraph was laid along it to connect the military post of Qualla Kungsa with the anchorage in the Laroot river at Teluk Kartang, the nearest point to our old settlement at Penang. A good idea may be formed of the primitive nature of the country, when it is considered that this is the only road worthy of the name. There are, however, certain tracks important from their com munications, not from their condition. One of these leads from a place called Boyah, north of Sengang, on the Perak, to Kinta, a place of importance from its having been the old seat of the Government of Perak. This track passes through several villages during its course of about forty miles ; while a back pathway of about twenty miles in length will take the traveller again to the river at a village called Blanja, where, if the Perak be crossed, a couple of fresh tracks diverge, each of which leads to the sea by communication with the rivers Trong and Dinding, whose mouths are about twenty-five miles apart.

A road to connect the mouth of the Perak river with Banda Baru, the Residency, is in course of con struction, and this will do away with the necessity for a long and tedious journey along the serpentine windings of the lower reaches of the river. Besides this there are a few jungle pathways, as intimated, only known to the natives, and but little used.

Chapter II

Elephant-tracks — Xavigable rivers — Climate — Lakes — Geological features. Liberally supplied as they have been, then, by nature with water-ways, in the shape of rivers, the necessity for roads does not seem to have occurred to the Malays, especially as they are by nature essentially a sea-going and boating people ; and consequently they for the most part budd their campongs or villages on the river-banks ; and where elephant-tracks do exist they are mostly in places where it has been found convenient to carry tin to the nearest market, obtaining in return rice, salt, and salt-fish, which form the staple food of the Malays. During the petty war which followed the murder of Mr. Birch, one of these elephant-tracks was traversed by General, now Sir Francis, Colborne, K.C.B., with his little force, which marched through the jungle from Blanja to Kinta; but it was only with great difficulty — a difficulty which will be understood when it is stated that the elephant, from notions of safety, always plants his feet in the ELEPHANT TRACKS. 17 tracks of his fellows who have gone before, from time immemorial, with the natural result that the track becomes a series of pit-holes, almost im passable for travellers on foot.