CHAPTER XXI.

Country about Pedir—“White Lions”—The rajah’s habits—A decision—Ornaments for the ear—Female curiosity—The rajah’s horses—War between the rajah of Acheen and the rajah of Trumong—A native’s account of the quarrel—Purchase of betel-nut—The Areka-nut—Trade in that article—Anecdote—A Chittagong brig—Dried fish—Beautiful appearance of the Golden Mountain—Assemblage of the mountains—Tornados—The fire king and his demons—Yamora—Burial-ground—Large tree—Small crabs—Game called Mein Achu—Leprosy—Party of natives—The Viverra musanga—Applications for medicine—Rajah of Putu—His retinue—Object of his visit.

The country about Pedir, as far as I had an opportunity of seeing it, was very picturesque, abounding in a luxuriant, natural vegetation, as well as in a state of cultivation. The native habitations are almost hidden by cocoa-nut, plantain, areka, eju, jack, and other trees; fragrant odours were exhaled from the multitude of flowers which strewed the surface of the ground; and a variety of profuse vegetation was spread over the face of nature. The soil is rich, and the numerous vegetables (among which the purple and white yams are abundant) planted in the gardens of the natives, are most prolific.[152] The habitations, as I have before noticed, are raised upon posts, which I should suppose, in these marshy situations, are intended to guard against the miasmata which must rise from the surface of the ground after the rains, and to the influence of which the inhabitants would be much exposed, if their dwellings were not placed on an elevated site. The plain is beautiful, and the back-ground of the landscape is terminated by mountains, varying in elevation, and extending in a direction principally from east to west;[153] sometimes covered by fleecy clouds, and at others, glowing in the varying and beautiful tints of a setting sun, which cast its expiring rays, undimmed by a cloud, over the towering masses.

After walking in the vicinity of the village,—for our guides evinced no desire of taking us further inland,—we were desired to enter a house to rest ourselves: by an invitation to enter, is only meant being seated in the verandah; for we did not, or rather were not permitted to, intrude ourselves into any other parts of the dwelling. At this place cocoa-nut water was again offered as a refreshment. We requested to be taken further in the interior of the country; but, although a refusal was never given, yet we found we were invariably taken, by other paths, back to the place from whence we came. We became at last, from this and other circumstances, convinced that our Moor friends were fearful of exposing themselves to the krisses of the “Hill people,” from whom they appear to have conquered some portion of the country, establishing themselves as traders.

We returned after a short ramble, and were conducted into the bazaar, and seated with a semicircle of the natives before us, all staring quietly and decorously at the “_white lions_.” From this place we adjourned to the fort, near the rajah’s residence, where we waited for the appearance of his highness, who had not yet risen from his couch. The old minister gave us some account of the rajah’s habits; one of which was, that he lies in bed until three P.M., except when there is any particular business, such as the arrival of a ship, to induce him to rise earlier; and he does not retire to rest until three A.M., after smoking a pipe of opium. The old gentleman must have been guilty of an exaggeration, when he stated that the rajah would smoke a ball of opium in four days. His highness is only eighteen years of age, and has not at present the appearance of an opium smoker: it must have been the quantity consumed by the rajah and his numerous followers that was meant, the whole of which was placed to the rajah’s account. Pipes of opium were offered to us to regale ourselves, but of course were refused.[154]

After some delay, the rajah came to visit us, having just risen from his couch, unwashed, and attired in unclean garments. He shook hands, in the European manner, with the party; and then, having but little to say, from want of some other employment, he amused himself with my insect boxes, and the insects placed in them transfixed by pins: this led to an explanation of my professional pursuits, and its collateral branches; but as the subject was rather beyond his comprehension, he became attracted from it to a cloth cap worn by one of the party, about which there was much discussion, the result of which was, that the rajah and his followers came to the important decision, that it would make a very good pocket or case for containing betel-nut, and the accompanying articles required to be used with it. Being heartily tired, we were happy to escape from the royal presence; and the boat being ready, we returned on board.

All the women had the lobes of the ears enormously distended, from wearing, when very young, round pieces of wood, polished and ornamented, or rolls of leaves in them: the richer classes wear large ornaments of gold and silver: the old women have the lobes hanging down to a great length, but without ornament; that they formerly had placed them in the lobes was evident by the distended orifices, which, having lost their elasticity, prevented their retention as before. The poorer classes are content with neatly polished and ornamented round pieces of wood, or a roll of the plantain or some other kind of leaf, as a substitute for those of gold and silver worn by the higher and richer classes. The lower class of females were usually attired in cotton cloth _sarongs_, and the _cabaya_, passing over the head, of a black colour, or other dark patterns. As we passed their dwellings, they came forth, with the usual feminine curiosity, to view the strangers: indeed, we appeared to be as much objects of curiosity among them, as I had before been when landing upon many of the unfrequented islands of the Polynesian Archipelago; and the natives, that arrived in the boats with Areka-nut, from the villages on the coast, seemed to regard us as wonders, and surrounded the entrance of the poop-cuddy at meal-times, as if to satisfy themselves how such animals fed.

We had an offer of some of the rajah’s horses to ride about the village: at first it was thought that some dun cows, with horns cut off close to the head, and a preternatural erection of the ears, were the animals offered; but it appears they were real ponies: if we had ridden them, however, it must have been without any saddle or bridle, for there were no articles of that description to be procured at Pedir.

The barque at present at anchor in Pedir roads, under the Acheenese flag, was captured from the rajah of Trumong, on the west coast of Sumatra, by the man-of-war grab belonging to the rajah of Acheen: the cause of it was this:—the Trumong rajah is tributary to the king, or rajah, of Acheen: he had not paid tribute for three years; and on its being demanded, the Trumong rajah returned for answer, that he intended paying it with _iron balls_; war was therefore declared against this rebellious rajah, and the barque was captured by the following stratagem: the commander of his Acheenese majesty’s grab fell in with the barque at sea, assured her commander that all differences had been adjusted between the two rajahs, and requested him to come on board. The captain of the barque unsuspectingly accepted the invitation, taking presents with him. On stepping upon the deck of the grab, himself, crew, and presents were detained, and a boat, with a number of men well armed, sent on board the barque; and having secured the guns, hauled down the Trumong rajah’s colours, and hoisted those of his Acheenese majesty, the vessels will sail, in company, for Acheen in a few days.

A Madras native, who spoke a little English, amused us with his version of the affair. “I belong, and barque belong, to the rajah of Trumong. Acheen rajah and my rajah make war; Trumong rajah plenty dollars, and go buy ships at Pulo Penang, to fight rajah Acheen. Acheen rajah very poor, one day buy ship, in a month want sell, because very poor—Acheen rajah no good, no pay Lascars—Trumong rajah, my king, pay well, plenty dollars. My barque got seven guns and twelve Lascar men. The grab send a boat and ask ‘whose barque this?’ My captain say, ‘rajah Trumong’s;’ then grab’s men take prisoners, and say, ‘barque belong now to Acheen rajah;’ so he pull down colours—our colours before white and black—now Acheen colours red and white.”

The quantity of betel-nut agreed for (three thousand peculs) was sent on board; and a further agreement entered into for three thousand peculs more, to be delivered in a few days after. Opium, at nine hundred dollars the chest, was taken in part payment: this was a high price, but netted to the sellers a profit of only ninety-five Java rupees, or forty-seven dollars; from the large quantity in the market at this place, it was with the greatest difficulty it could be disposed of even at that price: the dollars to be given in addition must have been the principal inducement, for opium had been purchased from the Penang brig, “Calder Bux,” at seven hundred and seventy dollars the chest; but we afterwards found only one dollar the pecul, or rather laxar, had been paid by that vessel, which will account for their giving in barter a higher price for the opium.

On the second agreement being made, the rajah and suite came on board to ratify it, which, after some disputes and discussions with all parties, was effected by the supercargo of the ship.

The principal article of exportation from this coast is Areka-nut, and a small quantity of rice; the latter, however, appeared of an inferior quality, and one-and-a-half dollar a pecul was demanded as the lowest price; the vessel would be required to furnish bags for the rice, as there are none manufactured on the coast, and a delay of the vessel would be also required to procure it. Areka-nut must, therefore, be regarded as the principal article of trade, as it is to be purchased cheap, and of a quality as excellent as in any part of the Eastern islands, or Cochin China.

The Areka palm is the _Areka catechu_ of botanists; it is a palm of elegant growth, rising with a very erect and small stem to the height of forty or even sixty feet, the summit terminating in a tuft of dark-green foliage; the circumference of the trunk is seldom more than one-and-a-half to two feet, when of early growth of dark-green, and when old of a dark-grey colour; the circles formed by the clasping petioles of the fronds being very visible upon it: the tree bears fruit only once during the year, at which period the tree, with its long bunches of orange oval-shaped fruit, pendent from the upper part of the trunk, contrasted by the dark-green foliage, has a beautiful appearance. The Areka-nut, when planted, takes three years to arrive at a sufficient size to produce fruit; the wood of this palm is used at this place for a variety of purposes.

The fruit grows in long pendulous clusters, each about the size of a small hen’s egg; the external covering is thick, fibrous, covered by an orange-coloured epidermis; and on the thick fibrous husk being cleared away, the nut is discovered surrounded by its own immediate epidermis, which often proves difficult of removal. The nut is conical, but varies in some, having an elevated apex and small base, and others a large base and very slightly elevated apex. One nut is the natural produce of each fruit, although sometimes double or triple nuts are found, anomalies often met with in the vegetable kingdom.[155]

Many of the common drinking and baling utensils in the boats are made from the spathe of the Areka palm; and I have frequently seen a vessel for holding water made from it, which was not dissimilar to those made by the Australian natives from the bark of the Eucalypti trees; they use the flower spathe also for nailing upon the bottoms of their boats. May, June, and July, are the months for collecting the nuts. They had loaded nine ships this season; but forty vessels, of all sizes, have been freighted in one season, for Pinang, &c., from whence it is exported to China, Madras, and other parts of continental India.

The nuts vary in size; their quality, however, does not at all depend upon this property, but upon their internal appearance when cut, intimating the quantity of astringent matter contained in them. If the white, or medullary portion, which intersects the red or astringent part be small, has assumed a bluish tinge, and the astringent part is very red, the nut is considered of good quality; but when the medullary portion is in large quantity, the nut is considered more mature, and not possessing so much astringency, is not esteemed so valuable.

The quantity of nut produced on this coast is stated to be eighty thousand peculs. When there is no immediate demand for this article, it is not shelled, but preserved in the husk, as it is considered not to be so liable to be destroyed by the worm in that state; but although this is the opinion of the natives on the coast, yet I have seen nuts destroyed totally by the worm while in the husk, in the space of two months. The produce of the first month, or month-and-a-half, amounting usually to forty thousand peculs, the natives informed us is exported; and the second gathering, amounting to about the same quantity, is consumed in the country. The nuts were brought on board the ship in large boats, (originally built and employed as fishing vessels, except when required for this employment, they are from three to four tons burthen each, and are to be purchased for twenty or twenty-five dollars,) in bulk, and Manilla mat-bags, and are taken on board the ships in bulk. The quantity of Areka-nut imported by the Chinese, amounts to forty-five or forty-eight thousand peculs annually, exclusive of that brought from Cochin China, the amount of which is not known; in 1832, from a failure of the usual supply of nuts from Cochin China, forty-eight thousand peculs, imported from other places, sold so high as four dollars and three-quarters the pecul; the price it usually fetches in the China market is from two to three and three-quarter dollars the pecul. The principal consumption of the nut as a masticatory (in conjunction with the leaf called betel, produced from a vine, the _Piper betel_) is in the provinces of Quang, ton, (Canton, of Europeans,) Quang, si, and Che, keang, and may be seen, exposed for sale, on little stalls about the suburbs of Canton, with the other additional articles used in the preparation; it is also used as a mordant for coarse dyes. The Areka-nuts brought from Cochin China are considered by the Chinese the best imported. This may, however, arise from prejudice in favour of the production of a country so nearly allied to them, to that introduced by foreigners. In the central provinces of Hoo, kwang, and Kang, si, the nut is, after being bruised and pounded, mixed with the green food of horses as a preventive against a diarrhœa, to which that kind of food sometimes subjects them. It was likewise mentioned to me by a Chinese, that it is used as a domestic medicine in the north of China, small pieces being boiled; the decoction is administered in various visceral affections.

A cargo of this article generates so much heat as to raise the thermometer in the hold forty degrees above that on the deck; and from this circumstance, and the quantity of steam generated, the crew are prevented from sleeping between decks.

The Areka-nut is commonly known by the very prevailing Malay name of _Pinang_, or _Pinong_, but in the Acheenese language it is called _Pénu_, and the tree _Ba, penu_; _Ba_, signifying tree, is usually prefixed to the specific name, as _Un_, signifying plant, is prefixed to the name of a plant.

The ripe Areka-nut is called also _Pénu, massa_, and the green _Pénu, mudr_; the Gambir, used with the Betel, _Gambé_; the Betel-leaf, _Ránu_; the Chunam, _Gapu_; the tobacco, _Bákun_.

The rajah of Pedir claims ten per cent. as a duty levied in kind upon all the Areka-nut disposed of to ships arriving in his territory; and, besides this, his subjects are obliged to dispose of the nuts to the ship, at the price he or his ministers have agreed upon with the supercargo.[156]

The red colour, produced by chewing the Betel-leaf, in combination with the Areka-nut, lime, &c., is not produced by them when used separately. The mastication of the “_Betel_” is considered very wholesome by those who are in the habit of using it: it may be so, but the black appearance it gives to the teeth, although it is said to be an excellent preserver of them, together with the brick-red lips and mouth, give any thing but an agreeable appearance.[157] Its use certainly does not impart additional beauty to the native females, who habituate themselves to an equal extent to those of the opposite sex.[158]

There was an old native of Madras, a Moorman, forming one of the rajah’s attendants on board, whose duty it was to visit ships, and report their arrival to his highness, and also to attend the ship daily to see the cargo taken on board; this individual had one of his hands rendered useless by a blow from a Klawang, or Malay sword. Besides the scar resulting from this wound, there was an unreduced dislocation of the carpal extremity of the ulna, and a fracture of the radius, which, being disunited, an artificial joint had been formed: the cause of this personal injury, he said, proceeded from an attack made upon a vessel he was in, by one belonging to the rajah of Acheen, in which several people were killed. This individual, being on board one morning, although professing in external appearances the Mahometan creed, expressed a desire of having a tumbler of the stimulating beverage denominated “grog,” if it could be _administered_ without its being seen; proving that his religious scruples were not so strong in private as his veneration for public opinion, or a fear of losing _caste_. A stiff glass of grog was, therefore, prepared for him, which the old withered disciple of Mahometanism regarded with glittering eyes. There was also on board another Mussulman, whose duty it was to take account of the cargo as it came to the ship, and report the quantity to the rajah; the sinner was about to raise the glass to his mouth, exclaiming, “What would the other man say if he was to see me now?” when the old saying was verified, of “there is many a slip between the cup and the lip;” for the scribe was, at the same instant, seen descending, and there was only time to conceal the glass before he was close to him. The old fellow stroked his whiskers, and began seriously to talk about opium; and as the white turbaned man saw him clear out from below, the long-sought enjoyment was obliged to be postponed.

A Chittagong brig, commanded by a black Portuguese, anchored in the roads, on the 10th of July, from the Maldive islands, bound to Penang, with a cargo of dried fish and some tortoiseshell, which had been procured in exchange for rice; his object was to dispose of his cargo in exchange for dollars and Betel-nut at this place. The dried fish was the _Bonito_ cut into small pieces. The Maldive natives prepare it in the following manner:—A long slice is cut from each side of the fish, and these again are divided into two parts, so that each fish is divided into four pieces; it is then boiled for a short time in salt water, after which it is smoked and placed in the sun to dry; it then becomes extremely hard, and resembles, when broken, a piece of wood, having a reddish appearance at the fractured parts: after it has been soaked, it is used for curries and other native dishes.

The “Golden Mountain” is a very conspicuous and beautiful object from the anchorage; but it ought to be mentioned, that, from this position, two mountains are seen to the westward, one towering to a peak, and densely wooded, the other, anterior to it, is a lofty rounded hill: the first is the one known to Europeans as the “Golden Mountain;” the second, or rounded mountain, is not named in the charts, but it may be called the “Pedir Mountain.” The “Golden Mountain” is called by the natives _Yamori_, and the other _Yamora_; the first the natives designate as the father, the second the mother (probably of all the little mountains about them).

The natives state, that once every year the mountains come together, occasioning rain, thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and violent storms; the _Urong Salle_, or Fire King, then sits upon the mountain, surrounded by hideous demons, enjoying the noise and uproar occasioned by the conflict of the elements; the winds blow in violent tornados; the thunder is so loud as to occasion the earth to tremble under the feet of the terrified inhabitants: the rain causes tremendous mountain torrents, inundating habitations and plantations, carrying all before them in their impetuous course, and spreading devastation around. In the midst of this dreadful conflict of the elements, the mountains meet with a horrible crash. As the forked lightning plays around them, the Urong Salle, or Fire King, surrounded by his satellites, laughs and sports in the scene; the mountains remain united for a minute, when they again separate, regaining their former position. No person dare ascend the hill at any time, for there sits the Fire King and his demons, and should any mortal cast his eyes upon him, that instant he would be struck with blindness.

_Yamora_ is stated to be distant, inland from Pedir, two days’ journey travelling on foot, and _Yamori_ is the same distance from the other mountain; not, however, as the crow flies, but it would take that period of time to reach it, from the winding and difficulties of the road. From this account there is every reason to suppose that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are occasionally felt upon this coast. As far as we could ascertain, there was no appearance of a burning volcano existing in either of the mountains just mentioned; they were both densely clothed with vegetation, more especially the “Golden Mountain.”

Near the banks of the river, a short distance up, is an uninclosed native burial-ground; the graves had a stone or piece of wood placed both at the head and foot: there were several trees of _Hibiscus tiliaceus_, _Tamarindus Indica_, and a very large one, called _Ba, Glumpong_ by the natives, (_Sterculia fœtida_, Linn.) which was described by them as being poisonous, producing violent vomiting and pains in the head, if the fruit be eaten. I subsequently saw it, planted about the fences in the village. There were two of these fine, lofty, and spreading trees in the burial-ground, and I procured specimens both of the flowers and fruit: the former grew in clusters upon erect spikes, with the corolla of a dark red, mixed with yellowish green. They have a handsome appearance, but diffuse so fœtid a smell around, as soon to fill a room with the exceedingly disagreeable effluvia. The fruit is kidney-shaped; the trees were sixty or seventy feet in height, and from eight to ten feet in circumference.

A piece of sandal wood, of good quality, was brought off to the ship by one of the natives; he stated that large quantities of it could be procured, as the tree grew abundantly in the mountains. He gave it the usual Indian appellation of _Chandana_.[159]

In some brackish pools I collected several small living species of the _Cerethium_; and about the banks a great number of a small crab, remarkable from one of the claws being greatly disproportioned to the size of the other parts of the animal, and entirely different in colour. When I first beheld them, I mistook them for small crabs running away with the claws of larger ones. They are difficult to catch, from the exceeding rapidity of their motions, and escape, on the slightest movement or noise being made, into their subterraneous dwellings in the sand. The body and feet of the animal are bluish black, with a few white marks across, and the large claw is of a light or occasional darker red colour. The natives call them _Biong, po_. They are seen in great numbers about the pools, but are not eaten by the natives. I procured several specimens, which I preserved in spirits. On being placed in strong rum, they survived for the space of full three minutes; and if more than one was placed in the same bottle, they would fight and pull the claws off each other in their death agonies.

Near the village, several boys were playing a game with Areka-nuts, called _Mein-achu_, in some degree resembling our game at marbles. Four nuts were piled up in form of a pyramid, twelve such forming a row; a nut was then fillipped off with some degree of force against the heaps, from a distance of about three yards. If the thrower succeeds in destroying one of the pyramids, he renews his throw at the others, always at the distance where his nut remained, until he misses, when the next player takes his turn: the game thus continuing until all the pyramids are thrown down.

I was much surprised a few days since, while passing a house in the vicinity of the village, to see apparently a European lad, of about six years of age; and on examining him closer, found his skin of a white colour, thinly scattered over with small light-brown patches. On passing the same house again, I made inquiry on the subject, and then had an opportunity of seeing two others, who were females,—one about sixteen or eighteen years of age, the other an infant just able to run about. They were described to us as children of native Malay parents, of the usual colour of their race; but we did not see them, as they had gone a short distance into the country. The children were named _Ceté_, _Theté_, and _Cebreté_. They had a plump appearance; flaxen hair, light-blue eyes; and the boy and young woman were slightly covered with scattered small brown patches; but the infant had not a blemish on its integument. The natives could give no reason for this variety; they looked upon it as curious, but did not seem, as far as I could ascertain, to regard it as a disease. They have the flat nose of the Malay, but otherwise would be considered the offspring of European parents, the skin being in some degree freckled. It ought certainly to be regarded as a variety of, if not actually the disease called, leprosy.[160]

I met several natives going into the interior; they were all well armed with krisses, klawangs or Malay swords, spears, and blunderbusses or musquets; the country in the interior being described as in a very unsettled state. Some of the spears were about six feet long, resembling walking-staves, covered above by a wooden sheath, similar to the other part of the weapon, and ornamented with rims of silver; the upper part, or sheath, being taken off, displays the head of the spear.

I purchased a specimen of the _Viverra musanga_, similar to one I had before procured at Java, for half a rupee; although very wild with strangers, it was exceedingly domesticated with its master, following him like a cat, as he walked along the path: they called him, on this coast, as at Java, “Mussang.”

This specimen was very little larger than one I had before procured; but they attain, I was informed, the size of our domestic cat, living, in the wild state, upon the summits of the trees, eating fruit, and catching birds as their food. The animal is very fond of sugar-cane, plantain, rice, and the flesh of fowls, and will also kill and eat those troublesome insects, the cock-roaches. It, however, became so very savage on board, that I was obliged at last to destroy it.

I was frequently applied to by the natives, when sick, to administer medicines to them. There were several suffering from different kinds of tumours; one, near the nose, I offered to remove; but although the person promised to come on board for the purpose, I afterwards heard he was afraid, and altered his mind. Among many patients was a little girl, belonging to a Moorman, suffering from _Diarrhœa mucosa_: her body had been rubbed entirely over with a mixture of turmeric, sandal-wood, and oil, as a remedy for the disease. The yellow appearance—the usual indication of sickness—was not the result, as may have been expected, of some disease, but merely a daubing over the body of the above-mentioned composition,—this being the remedy for all diseases. The common Hindoo application of cow-dung and turmeric is frequent for external wounds or bruises, and considered a very efficacious remedy. Cutaneous diseases were very numerous, and the native applications proved very inefficacious in removing them.

I had an opportunity of seeing another rajah—the rajah of Putu (a village and district not far distant, on the sea coast). He was ill-looking in person, and carried with him the appearance of being addicted to opium-smoking. He was attired in a _sarong_ of a handsome pattern, the borders of which were woven with gold threads. These sarongs are the manufacture of the country, and are sold at high prices. The rajah was tall and young, and was attended by a numerous retinue, attired in red cloth jackets ornamented with gold lace, and handsome sarongs: others could only wear a cotton _baju_, or jacket. They were armed with spears, klawangs, krisses, and old rusty blunderbusses. The object of his visit to this place, was to pay his respects to the old queen (grandmother of the present rajah) of Acheen, who was residing at Pedir, and was about to embark in a few days in the Acheenese grab for Acheen, and was described as being an excellent old lady.

NOTE.

(_See_ page 13, vol. i.)

A method has since been mentioned to me, by which the colours of the flowers of plants are well preserved. The process was this:—The paper being first heated before the fire, or in an oven, the plant recently gathered is placed between the hot sheets, and pressed. It is requisite, however, that the paper, in the same heated state, be renewed at intervals, on account of the expressed juices from the stalks and leaves fermenting, which might otherwise injure the plants.

There is also a method of preserving plants in flower, by which their natural form, as well as colours, can be preserved. It consists in placing the plant in a jar, and pouring fine sand upon it, until the whole plant is covered: it is then to be placed, still kept in the jar, into an oven; after which, being taken out, and the sand removed, the plant is found preserved both in its form and colour.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Madeira signifies, in the Portuguese language, “woody;” and the island was so named from the very wooded appearance it had on its discovery.

[2] In summer, Horsburgh states that the north-east winds prevail, and a south-west current sets through the channel, between Madeira and the Desertas. The current along the south side of Madeira and the Desertas mostly sets to the leeward in strong gales; but at the conclusion of a gale, it sometimes changes suddenly, and sets contrary to the wind.

[3] They are called “Guinea Ships” by the old navigators, from their floating like a vessel on the water, and from having very probably been first seen in great numbers about the coast and gulf of Guinea.

[4] Mr. John Fuge, of Plymouth, informed me that he captured a specimen of the _Physalia pelagica_, in the Catwater, (Plymouth Sound,) a few years since, in the month of August; it was floating upon the surface of the water, and living when caught; he placed it in a glass globe of sea water, and preserved it for three weeks. The only motion he observed in the animal, was an occasional contraction and elongation of the beaked end of the bladder portion of the animal, and the tentaculæ were also drawn up and thrust forward.

[5] Physalis tuberculosa, P. megalista, P. elongata, and P. pelagica, are the species given by Lamarck. (Sur les Animaux sans Vertèbres, tom. ii. p. 478.)

[6] On the 5th of April, 1834, in latitude 29° 17′ north, and longitude 42° 57′ west, temperature of the atmosphere 68° to 72°, I caught in my towing net a very fine specimen of _Physalis pelagica_, adorned with the usual beautiful tints, but not so vivid as I have usually seen them. The specimen was the largest I had before witnessed. During the month of April, 1834, I observed specimens of this mollusca as far north as latitude 38° 32′ north, and longitude 34° 30′ west. The lowest range of the thermometer being 58°, and highest 72°. In March, 1831, I had seen them as far north as the latitude of the Azores or Western Islands. Often when we had very strong westerly winds, with a heavy sea running at the time, I saw them; yet not, to use a nautical expression, “furling sail” and sinking; this was sufficient to prove the absurdity of the opinion that they collapse and sink during stormy breezes. I have frequently seen them capsized by a wave, but almost instantly after regain their natural position.

[7] “Praya” signifies, in the Portuguese language, “a beach or shore.”

[8] “The largest tree in the world is the Adansonia or Baobab tree, the trunk of which has been found with a diameter of thirty feet; but its height is not in proportion. It is emollient and mucilaginous in all its parts. The leaves dried and reduced to powder constitute _Lalo_, a favourite article with the Africans, which they mix daily with their food, for the purpose of diminishing the excessive perspiration to which they are subject in those climates; and even Europeans find it serviceable in cases of diarrhœa, fevers, and other maladies. The fruit is, perhaps, the most useful part of the tree. Its pulp is slightly acid and agreeable, and frequently eaten; while the juice is expressed from it, mixed with sugar, and constitutes a drink which is valued as a specific in putrid and pestilential fevers.”—_Hooker’s Bot. Mag._ 2792.

“The dried pulp is mixed with water, and administered in Egypt in dysentery. It is chiefly composed of a gum, like gum senegal, a sugary matter, starch, and an acid, which appears to be malic.”—_Delile Cent._ 12. _Quoted in Lindley’s Int. to the Nat. Syst. of Botany._

[9] (In June, 1831.) “Canary orchilla fetches in the London market from 270_l._ to 290_l._ per ton, while that which is brought from Madeira fetches only 140_l._, and Barbary not more than from 30_l._ to 45_l._ The total quantity imported in 1829, amounted to 1,813 cwt. or 90½ tons.”—“Archil is generally sold in the form of cakes, but sometimes in that of moist pulp.”—_M’Culloch’s Dict. of Commerce._

[10] At the time of our arrival a Portuguese brig was lying in the bay, having a cargo of this weed on board, which was estimated at a low calculation to be worth 30,000_l._

[11] “The dyer’s lichen was first exported from the islands of the Archipelago to Venice, Genoa, France, and England, for the use of the dyers. Towards the commencement of the last century it was discovered in the Canary Islands, and was soon placed among the regalia of the Spanish crown. This excited the attention of the Portuguese, who collected it without restriction in the Cape de Verd Islands, Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Azores. In the year 1730, the Jesuits asked of King John V. the privilege of collecting the _Hervinha secca_; but the crown took the advantage into its own hands, and farmed the right of collecting it. At a later period the lichen was ceded to the mercantile company of Gram Pará and Maranhâo; and, lastly, in the year 1790, the government again took this branch of commerce under its own care, because it had declined considerably under the bad management of the company. At present the exportation is small; but more considerable, however, from the Cape de Verd Isles.” (See I. Da Silva Feijó, in the _Memorias Economicas da Acad. de Lisboa_, vol. v. 1815, p. 143.)—_Spix and Martius Travels in Brazil_, vol. i. p. 125.

[12] Abel’s Voyage to, and journey into the interior of, China. 4to. p. 6.

[13] Captain Basil Hall. See Fragments of Voyages and Travels.

[14] It would be interesting, but at the same time difficult, to ascertain where one particular species commences and another terminates, and the extent of their range. In the summer season they are found off the Cape of Good Hope, Port Jackson, and even on the banks of Newfoundland; and I have good authority for asserting that in the month of August, in even more than one year, they have been seen in Plymouth Sound.

[15] My journal remarks the atmosphere to have been very chilly during the day, but much milder in the evening; the range of the thermometer during the day being from 49° to 56°.

[16] How will this accord with the geographical distribution of the mollusca by Péron and Leseur? After studying the _Holothuria Medusæ_, and other congeners of delicate and changeable forms, they came to the conclusion that each kind has its place of residence determined by the temperature necessary to support its existence. Thus, for example, they found the abode of _Pyrosoma atlanticum_ to be confined to one particular region of the Atlantic Ocean.—_Voy. aux Terres Aust._ tom. 1, p. 492, _quoted in Lyell’s Principles of Geology_, vol. ii. pp. 111, 112.

[17] Albicores, bonitos, and dolphins, often follow the ship for several days in succession; we had occasion to note an albicore that was marked on the back by some sharp instrument, leaving a large sear by which it could readily be recognized. It was first seen in 3° north latitude, and following the ship to latitude 11° south, a distance of eight hundred and forty miles.

[18] This petrel is said to be found from 24° to 60° south latitude.

[19] Respecting the name given to this bird, it has been observed, that the first Portuguese navigator called them, the boobies, and other sea-birds, _alcatros_ or _alcatras_. Dampier applied this name to an actual kind; Grew changed it to _albitross_, and Edwards into _albatross_. The French name these birds _mouton du cap_. There are a number of species enumerated; but it will require frequent and cautious observation previous to the determination of a new one, as they vary so much in plumage from sex and age.

[20] The condor is supposed by some to be the “Roc” of the Arabian Nights.

[21] The other species I have seldom known to measure more than eight feet across the expanded wings.

[22] This bird is evidently aided by its long wings as well as tail in directing its flight: they are never seen to soar to any great height, and are often observed to change their course, by turning the wings and body in a lateral direction, and oftentimes, when raising themselves, would bend the last joint of the wings downwards.

[23] Cuvier enumerates five species; but at the same time says, “On a observé divers albatrosses plus ou moins bruns ou noirâtres, mais on n’a pu encore constater jusqu’à quel point ils forment des variétés ou des espèces distinctes.”—_Regne Animal_, tom. i. p. 555.

[24] The building was originally erected as a theatre, at a very great expense, and after its completion the governor, at that time General Darling, refused to grant a licence for dramatic performances, in consequence of which it was fitted up as a spacious hotel. On the present Governor, General Burke, granting permission for theatrical entertainments, a portion of the building has reverted to the original purpose for which the whole had been erected.

[25] “It is at least certain that on this microscopic character of the equal existence of cutaneous glands on both surfaces of the leaf, depends that want of lustre which is so remarkable in the forests of New Holland.”—_Sketch of the Botany of the Vicinity of Swan River, by R. Brown, Esq. F.R.S., published in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London_, vol. i. 1830, 1831.

[26] The dried cones of the _Banksia_ are used by the aborigines for retaining fire, as they will keep ignited for a considerable length of time.

[27] The analysis of the chemical properties of this gum is mentioned in Decandolle’s Organographie Végétale, tom i.

[28] I remarked that the wood of a species of _Banksia_, (I believe _dentata_,) which was used for firewood, was of a beautiful red colour, and when split in a longitudinal direction displayed a curious interlaced appearance; it had an astringent taste when chewed, staining the saliva of a dark reddish colour, and I think it would be worth trying if a dye would be furnished by it.

[29] The _Kennedia_ is called the “woodbine” by some of the shepherds in the colony, who use a decoction of its leaves as a lotion for scabby sheep, and they declare it is a cure for that disease; but their declarations of the curative properties of the plant is not borne out by the experience of others, who have found it quite useless as a remedy for that disease.

[30] Among the _Psittaceæ_ tribe is the _Psittacus Novæ Hollandiæ_, curious as being one of the parrot tribe, seen and mentioned by Captain Cook, but is a very rare species in the present known parts of the colony,—(it is, more correctly, a species of cockatoo, and which, I believe, Mr. Vigors has; or intends, to place in a new genus,)—and has not been seen even in those portions of the colony visited by Cook. The specimen in the collection, is one among a few of this species that was seen at Wellington Valley a few years since, during a prevailing drought, and since that period they have not been seen in that or any other known part of the colony. I heard at Yas Plains, that it was not uncommon at some seasons of the year to observe birds, before unknown to the colonists, appear, and soon after again disappear, and are, perhaps, never seen again until years after, and often not at all.

[31] It would also be desirable to have the cases made in such a manner, as to be opened if required, and a closer inspection of the specimens obtained, which is often requisite for scientific examinations. To George Macleay, Esq. the museum is indebted for many valuable species of birds, which he had collected during his arduous journey in the exploration of the course of the Murrumbidge river, in the expedition under Captain Sturt.

[32] Captain Cook observes, “Of this plant, there are two sorts; the leaves of both resemble those of flags, but the flowers are smaller, and their clusters more numerous: in one kind, they are yellow; and in the other, a deep red.” This plant is also indigenous to Norfolk Island, which, in its vegetation, partakes more of New Zealand than the Australian continent. Captain Cook observes, that at Norfolk Island, “we observed many trees and plants, common at New Zealand, and, in particular, the flax plant, which is rather more luxuriant here than in any part of the country.”

[33] Captain George Harris, R. N., C. B., and member for Grimsby, in the present parliament, has recently been manufacturing rope and cables of the phormium tenax, or New Zealand flax; and instead of tar, substitutes a solution of gum, or some such substance, (principally, we suspect, the caoutchouc or Indian rubber,) by which, it is contended, the rope is rendered stronger, more pliant, and less liable to part in short bends, turns, or clinches, and being stronger, smaller ropes than those now in use will answer for ships’ rigging; the consumption of hemp, of course, diminishes in proportion—we say hemp, because the solution will also impart to the hemp the qualities we have named. If, however, a substitute is to be found for hemp and tar, we are rendered independent of the Russian trade in these articles;—a most desirable object, should the state of Europe at any time involve us in a difference with that nation. The bogs and rough ground of Ireland, all our African possessions and West Indian islands, and New South Wales, are particularly adapted to the culture of the phormium tenax. Captain Harris was here on Monday, and superintended the making of a 14½ inch cable, which is to be tried on his Majesty’s ship _Rainbow_. A trial is also to be made of the relative strength of the phormium tenax and hemp in this yard, in a few days, for which a piece of 14½ inch cable has been expressly manufactured. The price of hemp per ton is £38; that of the phormium tenax £28. Of the experiments that have been made at Woolwich, by order of the Admiralty, the following are the results:—

T. cwt. lbs. A 4½ inch rope of the old sort broke at a strain of 3 8 40 4 inch phormium, with the solution 5 10 0 4 inch bolt rope, Italian yarns, present sort 4 15 0 4 inch ditto, with the same yarns, with the preserving solution 6 8 56 4 inch common rope 5 7 56 4 inch hempen rope, with coal or mineral tar 3 7 56 4 inch phormium, with the solution 5 16 70

The strongest proof is thus given of its strength. Its power, however, to resist wet, and its durability, are yet to be ascertained.—_Hampshire Telegraph._

[34] The following was mentioned to me as the origin of the name given to this point. Governor Phillip, at an early period of the colony, formed a pic-nic party to proceed up the Paramatta river, and a person was sent on before to prepare kangaroo steaks. They landed at this point, and having regaled themselves, the gentlemen, following the maxims of John Hunter, laid down upon the grass, and aided digestion by falling asleep; the ladies finding themselves deserted began to propose winning gloves, and therefore kisses were taken, and on their awaking the forfeit was demanded, and of course not refused. Before leaving the place the governor wished some name to be bestowed upon the point, and one of the ladies being requested to do so, in consequence of the occurrence just mentioned, named it “Kissing Point.”

[35] This creek, commonly called the Paramatta river, is a creek or inlet of the sea from Port Jackson; the true river, which is very small, falls into this creek at Paramatta.

[36] _Boyams_ are the roots of different genera and species of the Orchideæ family; some are called, by the colonists, “double or single _boyams_,” according to the appearance of the roots, and they all form an article of food among the aboriginal tribes.

[37] The dimensions of the large specimen were as follows:

Feet. Inch. From the vertex of the head to the tip of the tail 2 3 Breadth across the shoulders 0 3 Length of the tail 0 11½ Breadth of the loins 0 3²⁄₈ Length of the fore-leg to the claws 0 6⅝ hind-leg to do. 0 7⅜ Length of the head to the snout 0 4 Length of the ear 0 2½

The tail is naked underneath from its extremity to within five inches of the base, and is prehensile.

The colour of the male specimen was greyish; a short fine fur covers the back, being also continuous of the same colour to within four inches of the tail; after which the fur becomes longer, more glossy, and of a black colour; the fur on the abdomen was of a yellowish white colour; near the feet the fur is short, of a dirty yellow colour, with brownish patches; the colour is similar under the chin, throat, and angles of the jaw; the upper part of the ears is nearly bare; the thumbs of the hind feet have no claw, but the fore-feet are pentadactyle, and armed with sharp claws; the four toes of the hind-feet are also armed with claws, the first dividing into two phalanges, each having a claw. The young specimen differed from this only in having a yellowish tinge mixed with the grey over the back, legs, and abdomen; angles of the jaw and throat of a brownish yellow; the under portion about the eyes and upper part of the head of a yellowish colour.

[38] The Hobart Town Colonist of Oct. 12, 1832, contains the following paragraph respecting the capability of the opossum fur being used in manufactures.

“We have been favoured with the sight of a pair of mittens spun and knit by Mrs. M’Kenzie, of the Lower Clyde, from the _fur of the opossum_. In texture and appearance they very much resemble the best sort of Angola mittens, but to us they appear of superior quality. The pair that we saw are now in the possession of Mr. Gordon, of Forcett, to whom they were presented by Mr. M’Kenzie.”

[39] Besides the vine, other fruit-tree cuttings blossom and even bear fruit in a very short period of time. I saw a peach cutting, in a garden near Sydney, about six inches long, which had been planted only ten days, and was covered with a profusion of blossoms.

[40] The box-tree of the colonists (_Eucalyptus, sp._) is used in the colony for the spokes and fellies of wheels, and the “apple-tree” (_Angophora lanceolata_) for the naves.

[41] The “turpentine tree” attains the elevation of from sixty to ninety feet, and a diameter of three feet.

[42] Mount York, according to Oxley, is 3,292 feet above the level of the sea.

[43] “Pi” signifies “to hit or break,” and “cobera,” “head.”

[44] It has been stated frequently to me, that the females destroying their offspring allege as a reason, that they are too much trouble to carry about: however, it is well known, that, as their children become older, they evince much attachment towards them.

[45] This is not confined to the Australian natives, for it also occurs in Polynesia. Spix and Martius also observe, in their Travels in Brazil, (Eng. Trans. 8vo. vol. ii. p. 241,) “We did not meet with any deformed persons or cripples among the Indians; for which reason, some people believe that they put them to death immediately after their birth.”

[46] “Netbul,” (the net-bag of the aborigines,) is a corrupted native word; “culy” is one of the native appellations.

[47] Those philanthropic individuals who think to change the habits of these savage tribes, expecting those who have lived from the earliest period of their existence on the produce of the chase, to abandon their wandering life, and settle down to cultivate the soil—an employment to which they are quite unaccustomed—can never have reflected how difficult, even in our boasted civilized state, it is to change habits acquired in early childhood. “Men,” observes Hartley, in his Essays on Man, (page 190,) “are brought to any thing almost sooner than to change their habit of life, especially when the change is either inconvenient or made against the force of natural inclination, or with the loss of accustomed indulgences. It is,” he continues, “the most difficult of all things to convert men from vicious habits to virtuous ones, as every one may judge from what he feels in himself as well as from what he sees in others.” “It is almost,” says Paley, after making the above quotation in his Evidences of Christianity, “like making men over again.”

[48] At New Zealand the placenta is named “fenua,” which word signifies land. It is applied by the natives to the placenta, from their supposing it to be the residence of the child: on being discharged, it is immediately buried with great care, as they have the superstitious idea that the priests, if offended, would procure it; and, by praying over it, occasion the death of both mother and child, by “praying them to death,” to use their own expression.

[49] At New Zealand the women are attended, during labour, by their husbands; but, if it is a difficult labour, they suppose the spirits to be angry, and therefore send for the Tohunga, or priest. On the arrival of the Tohunga, he strides over and breathes on the woman, and then, retiring to a short distance, sits down and prays to the spirits; if the labour terminates favourably, it is looked upon as resulting from the influence of the Tohunga in averting the anger of the spirits; but should the termination be fatal, the priest is considered to have incurred the displeasure of the spirits, and lost his influence.

[50] This animal is called “Goribun” by the Yas natives.

[51] Distance of miles in travelling in the interior of the colony is nominal, and the time occupied in riding the distance is usually taken into consideration; some stages seem often to be over and others under-calculated. “Shepherd’s miles,” it is a saying in the colony, “are short, those of stockmen long.”

[52] The different trees of the _Eucalyptus_ genus are confused, and require botanical arrangement: many, termed species, are merely varieties; and the botanical characters of but few species are accurately known.

[53] The “wire-grass” is said to indicate good soil, being found growing in alluvial soil, in clumps, upon flats, swamps, &c.

[54] Sedge-grass is used for thatching, as well as beds for the sheep during shearing time, after they have been washed.

[55] The “swamp oak” bears much resemblance to the larch. I know not why this and other species of the casuarina trees have received the colonial appellation of “oaks,” as forest-oak, swamp-oak, she oak, &c., as they have not the slightest resemblance to that tree in external character, unless the name may have been given from some similarity in the wood.

[56] The granite soil at Bolam is said to injure the teeth of the sheep, the teeth of young sheep being as much worn down by it as in other soils is often seen in the old sheep.

[57] In February, 1833, the ship “Prince Regent” arrived at Port Jackson, from England, with emigrants and a general cargo; she was immediately placed under quarantine, on account of the small-pox having occurred at two distinct periods on board the vessel during the passage. The vessel was not released from her unpleasant situation until the commencement of March, having been, previous to her release, thoroughly fumigated, and the clothes of all the infected persons burnt and washed at the quarantine station, before being admitted into the cove of Sydney.

[58] This is not uncommon among savage nations; the introduction of dysentery at Otaheite, or Tahiti, was attributed to Vancouver; and in Beechey’s interesting narrative we are told that the Pitcairn islanders had imbibed similar notions with regard to shipping calling at their island, of leaving them a legacy of some disease. Mr. Hamilton Hume, (the well-known Australian traveller,) who accompanied Captain Sturt in his expedition to the northward, says the natives were suffering severely from this eruptive malady, when they arrived among them, and numbers had died, and many more were still dying, from its virulence. The description of the disease he gave me accords in most points with that given by Dr. Mair.

[59] Quoted in Good’s Study of Medicine, vol. iii. page 82.

[60] We tasted some excellent ale which had been brewed on the farm, and it was gratifying to find that so wholesome a beverage could be made by the colonists. The hop thrives well in this part of the colony, and I understand succeeds even better on the farms at the Hunter’s River.

[61] This pass in the mountain range was discovered by Mr. Hamilton Hume, (in the expedition made to the south-west of Australia, by those enterprising travellers, Messrs. Hovell and Hume,) and from which the important discovery of Yas (or according to the aboriginal pronunciation, Yar) Plains was made.

[62] Derived from two Malay words, Kayu puti, signifying “white wood;” (Kayu, wood; puti, white). The mode of preparing the oil is as follows:—“The leaves are collected in a hot dry day, and put into thoroughly dry bags, in which, nevertheless, they soon spontaneously heat and become moist, as if macerated in water. They are then cut in pieces, infused in water, and left to ferment for a night, after which they are distilled. The quantity of oil they yield is very small, scarcely more than three fluid drachms being obtained from two bags of leaves.”—_Rumphius._

“When newly drawn it is very limpid, pellucid, and volatile; and Rumphius says, smells strongly of cardamoms, but is more pleasant. On account of the high price of real Caju puti oil, it is said to be often adulterated with oil of turpentine, and coloured with resin of milfoil.”—_Thompson’s London Dispensary_, 8vo. page 416.

[63] At New Zealand a pit is dug in the ground, in which some stones are placed, and a fire lighted upon them, and suffered to remain until they are well-heated; after the fire is removed, water is thrown over the stones, and damp leaves placed also upon them, which causes much steam to arise; the meat, potatoes, &c., are then placed into this oven, enveloped in leaves, and the whole entirely covered with earth; it remains for nearly an hour, when the cooking process is found to be completed.

[64] Among the Coroados Indians in the interior of Brazil, “it is very common for several families to quit their abodes and settle where new fruits are ripening, or where the chase is more productive.”—_Spix and Martius Travels in Brazil_, 8vo. Eng. Trans. vol. ii. p. 248.

And why, we may ask, do the inhabitants of civilized countries emigrate? It may be answered, to gain recompence for their labour, and to be able to maintain themselves and families. Yet we blame savages for acting upon the same principle, their wants causing them to lead a wandering life.

[65] It is also recorded of the Coroados Indians in the interior of Brazil, according to Spix and Martius, “When they carry on war, their leader is the best hunter, he who has killed the greatest number of Enemies, Ounces, &c., and has the greatest share of cunning. At home his commands are not attended to—every body commands at home, according to his own pleasure.”—_Travels in Brazil_, 8vo. Eng. Transl. vol. ii. p. 245.

[66] This fish is of the family of perches, and probably the same as described by the French naturalists, as a new genus, under the name of _Gryptes Brisbanii_.

[67] The aborigines are expert fishermen; and I have seen them capture a number of fish, when Europeans trying near them have not had even a nibble. About the Fish river, the aborigines have a novel manner of fishing—by placing a bait at the end of a spear, when the water is clear, and on the fish approaching, they transfix it with much expertness.

[68] The black cockatoo (of which at present there are only two species known) feeds on the larvæ of insects, or seeds of the _Banksia_, _Hakea_, and even those of the _Xanthorrhœa_, or grass tree.

[69] “Krardgee,” signifying a person who attends on the sick; and “kibba,” a stone.

[70] Yas Plains are distant one hundred and eighty-six miles from Sydney.

[71] Forest scenery in Australia is of a very dull character: with all my admiration of the vegetable kingdom, I could find but very little that was interesting in their appearance, unless flowering shrubs and plants were in profusion.

[72] The settlers in Australia, as in America, call wheat, barley, &c. grain; and when Englishmen speak of corn-fields, they consider he alludes to maize, which is alone called corn in this country. This often leads to mistakes in conversation.

[73] It is the beautiful Neem tree of India; the root is stated to be bitter and nauseous, and is used in North America as anthelminthic.

[74] The patients are persons only under the employ of government, or assigned servants of the settlers; for the latter the master pays a shilling daily for a month, or as many days less as the man may remain in the hospital; but should he remain longer than a month, no further charge is made.

[75] Since the above was written, this inconvenience has been obviated, by government establishing an hospital at Goulburn Plains.

[76] The following is the definition of a clergyman, as once given by one of the aborigines: “He, white feller, belonging to Sunday, get up top o’ waddy, pile long corrobera all about debbil debbil, and wear shirt over trowsel.”

[77] The largest specimen measured—

Inch. Length of the body 4½ Length of the claw 3⁶⁄₈ Breadth of the shield 1⅜ Breadth of the claw 1⅛ Breadth of expanded tail 1⅞ Length of the anterior antennæ 4²⁄₈ Length of the posterior antennæ 1½

The colour of the upper part of the body, in the large specimens, was brownish green; the upper part of the claws blueish green, occasionally mottled; under surface, whitish; joints, red. The smaller specimens had the upper surface of the body of a dark green colour, claws blueish green and mottled: several of the females had a quantity of ova in the usual situation.

[78] In March the season commences, at Sydney, for “cray-fish,” which are caught in large quantities, and of enormous size, about the sea-coast, and are hawked about the streets at a cheap rate; therefore, in this colony, cray-fish abound in the sea, and lobsters in the river.

[79] Both the black and brown snakes take to the water on the appearance of danger; indeed they evidently procure their food from the banks of streams, and may be considered both land and water snakes.

[80] From the following paragraph, copied from the “Sydney Herald” newspaper, the bite of this reptile does not prove so immediately fatal as had been represented to me.

“The overseer of Mr. Cox, at Mulgoa, _a few days_ since, was bitten by a _yellow snake_. The piece was cut out, but the unfortunate man still remains in a dangerous state.”—_October 25th, 1832._

[81] There is a fine stuffed specimen of this reptile deposited in the Colonial Museum, in which the colours are well retained.

[82] For an account of this unnatural fact, and the supposed cause that produced it, see a separate account in the Appendix, at the end of the second volume.

[83] This occasioned a lady at home to declare, that of all the wonderful productions of Australia, she thought nothing could equal the “feathered donkey.”

[84] From secondary limestone rocks on Yas Plains, about one mile and a-half distant from the river, I collected large masses of what appears to be fossil _Rotularia_.

[85] The fossil bones found in the cave at Wellington Valley refer to eight species of animals, of the following genera:—

Dasyurus, or Thylacinus. Hypsiprymnus, or Kangaroo Rat. Phascolomys one species. Kangaroo two, if not three species. Elephant one species. Halmaturus two species.

Of these eight species, four belong to animals unknown to zoologists; viz.

Two species of Halmaturus. One species of Hypsiprymnus. One species of Elephant.

_Kangaroo_—three species not easily ascertained. _Dasyurus_ is doubtful, no head having been found.

_Edinburgh Journal._

[86] But little doubt exists in the minds of naturalists that this animal is not indigenous to Australia; its not being met with in Van Dieman’s Land (when all the other genera peculiar to Australia are found there) will rather tend to confirm the hypothesis.

[87] The Australian dog never barks; and it is remarked by Mr. Gardiner, in a work entitled the “Music of Nature,” “that dogs in a state of nature never bark; they simply whine, howl, and growl: this explosive noise is only found among those which are domesticated. Sonnini speaks of the shepherds’ dogs in the wilds of Egypt as not having this faculty; and Columbus found the dogs which he had previously carried to America, to have lost their propensity to barking. The ancients were aware of this circumstance. Isaiah compares the blind watchmen of Israel to these animals—‘they are dumb, they cannot bark.’ But, on the contrary, David compares the noise of his enemies to the dogs round about the city. Hence the barking of a dog is an acquired faculty—an effort to speak, which he derives from his associating with man. It cannot be doubted, that dogs in this country bark more, and fight less, than formerly. This may be accounted for by the civilization of the lower orders, who have gained a higher taste in their sports and pastimes, than badger-baitings and dog-fights; and it may with truth be asserted, that the march of intellect has had its influence even upon the canine race, in destroying that natural ferocity for war which (happily for the world) is now spent more in words than in blows.”

[88] Upon this mountain, and some other parts of the hilly country in the vicinity, but not, I believe, very common, is a species of kangaroo rat; (“Narru” of the aborigines;) but I was not sufficiently fortunate to procure a specimen.

[89] Most of the stations in the interior have the native names of the place given them; but they are often better known by the name of the stock-keepers in charge, as in the above instance, to which many others might be added.

[90] When on one occasion the head of a native was under examination, a gentleman present asked the wondering black, “if he knew what was doing to his head?” Blackee answered in the negative. “Why you will no more be able to catch kangaroos or opossums.” No sooner was this said, than the black started away in anger, seized and flourished his spear, exclaiming, “What for you do that? What for you do all the same that!” And the unfortunate manipulator of savage craniums, as also his companion, began to be apprehensive, that the practice of the science was in a high degree dangerous among uncivilized beings.

On another occasion, the temporal muscle was found unusually large in the head of a native black under investigation: this was remarked by the phrenologist to a gentleman who stood near him, at the same time squeezing it, and saying to blackee, “Cobbong (large) this.” “Ah!” exclaimed the black as he made off at a rapid pace, “me now see what you want; you want patta,” (eat) and escaped as quickly as possible from the ravenous cannibal appetite he supposed the phrenologist to possess.

[91] The black cockatoo usually feeds on the trees; the white species almost invariably upon the ground.

[92] The Murrumbidgee natives call grass by the general name of “Narluk,” but they bestow different names on distinct species. Those among the native blacks, who have pretensions to an acquaintance with the English language, call our _hair_ grass.

[93] The plumage of this bird is green; legs and bill of an orange colour, with an orange mark under the eye; irides brown. Length of the male specimen seven inches and a-half. Its food is insects.

[94] The following extract, from the introduction to “Tuckey’s Unfortunate Expedition to explore the River Congo,” is curious as coinciding, as regards another portion of the globe, with the above remark.

“He named it” (alluding to Diego Cam) “the Congo, as that was the name of the country through which it flowed; but he afterwards found that the natives called it the Zaire, two names which, since that time, have been used indiscriminately by Europeans. It now appears that Zaire is the general appellative for any great river, like the Nile in North Africa, and the Ganges in Hindoostan; and that the native name of the individual river in question is Moienzi enzaddi, or the river which absorbs all other rivers.”—_Introduction_, page xi.

[95] “Damper” is merely a cake of flour and water, or milk, baked in the ashes; it is the usual mode of bread-making in the bush; it is sweet, wholesome, and excellent eating.

[96] The Americans employ several well-known methods to track bees to their hives. One of the most common, though ingenious modes, is to place a piece of bee-bread on a flat surface, a tile for instance, surrounding it with a circle of wet white paint. The bee, whose habit it is always to alight on the edge of any plane, has to travel through the paint to reach the bee-bread. When, therefore, she flies off, the observer can track her by the white on her body. The same operation is repeated at another place, at some distance from the first, and at right angles to the bee line just ascertained. The position of the hive is thus easily determined, for it lies in the angle made by the intersection of the bee lines. Another method is described in the Philosophical Transactions for 1721. The bee-hunter decoys, by a bait of honey, some of the bees into his trap; and when he has secured as many as he judges will suit his purpose, he encloses one in a tube, and, letting it fly, marks its course by a pocket compass. Departing to some distance, he liberates another, observes its course, and in this manner determines the position of the hive, upon the principle already detailed. These methods of bee-hunting depend upon the insect’s habit of always flying in a right line to its home. Those who have read Cooper’s tale of the “Prairie,” must remember the character of the bee-hunter, and the expression of “lining a bee to its hive.”—_Insect Architecture_, pp. 145, 146.

[97] When travelling as a stranger in the most secluded part of the colony, and sometimes obliged to seek refuge for the night in a hut, of whom the person in charge and those about him, were convicts, or having to depend upon them for directions as to the road, having my watch and other property with me, I never missed the most trifling article, and always found them ready and willing to afford every assistance: there are, of course, always exceptions among a multitude; but I state the result of my own experience, after travelling upwards of six hundred miles in the colony.

[98] A small species of _Xanthorrhœa_, or yellow gum tree, called Modandara by the aborigines, was abundant on the ranges. The bases of the young leaves of this plant are eaten by the natives, and the taste is agreeable.

[99] Mr. Hamilton Hume informed me that the Bugong is found also by the aborigines inhabiting the country about the Snow Mountains, to the southward; forming their principal food during the summer. These insects are said to ascend from the lowland to the more elevated spots, only during the summer season.

[100] Among the botanical specimens collected in this part of the country, were _Eryngium_, resembling _vesiculosum_; _Utricularia dichotoma_, (with blue, and also a variety with white flowers,) in the swamps; _Drosera peltata_; and species of the following genera:—_Westringia_; _Grevillea_; _Croton_; _Convolvulus_; _Leptospermum_; _Dillweynia_; _Malva_; _Linum_; _Brownea_; _Davisea_; _Juncea_; _Loranthus_; _Cyperus_; _Veronica_; _Senecio_; _Callytris_; _Centaurea_; _Sida_, &c. &c.

[101] This second group was situated on a gradually declining part of the mountain, in many parts densely wooded; but from which we commanded a fine view of the continuous range to a great distance.

[102] Captain Cook mentions, that at Thirsty Sound, on the coast of New South Wales, he found an incredible number of butterflies; so that, for the space of three or four acres, the air was so crowded with them, that millions were to be seen in every direction, at the same time that every branch and twig was covered with others that were not upon the wing: and Captain King observes, (Survey of the Coasts of Australia, vol. i. p. 195,) “Here, (Cape Cleveland,) as well as at every other place that we had landed upon within the tropic, the air is ‘crowded’ with a species of butterfly, a great many of which were taken. It is, doubtless, the same species as that which Captain Cook remarks as so plentiful in Thirsty Sound. The numbers seen by us were indeed incredible; the stem of every grass tree, (_Xanthorrhœa_,) which plant grows abundantly upon the hills, was covered with them; and on their taking wing, the air appeared, as it were, in perfect motion. It is a new species; and is described, by my friend Mr. W. S. Macleay, under the name of _Euploea hamata_.”

[103] The atmosphere, sultry on the plain below, was cold upon this mountain, although the sun shone brilliantly. I was told, that last year, in December, (one of the summer months in the colony,) some snow fell, in a small quantity, at this place.

[104] The “Walbun,” or “Culibun,” is usually made from one of the knotty protuberances so commonly seen upon the trunks of the large Eucalypti trees.

[105] When the natives about the Murrumbidgee river heard, on my return, that I had visited the “Bugong Mountain,” they expressed great delight, and wished to see what I had collected. On showing them the few insects I had, they recognized them instantly; but I thought there was a feeling of disappointment at their curiosity only, not appetites, being gratified by my little entomological collection.

[106] The spears are six to twelve feet long; the shorter are made of reed pointed with hard wood; the longer are rude sticks sharpened at the extremity. They use a throwing-stick, similar to the one seen among the natives in the vicinity of Sydney and other parts of the colony.

[107] According to Spix and Martius, “The Coroados Indians in the interior of Brazil have their language, in respect to numbers, very imperfect. They generally count only by the joints of the finger, consequently only to three; every greater number they express by the word ‘many.’ Their calculation of time is equally simple—merely according to the returning season of the ripening of the fruits, or according to the phases of the moon,—of which latter, however, they can express in words only the appearance, without any reference to the cause.”—_Travels in Brazil_, 8vo. Eng. Transl. vol. ii. p. 255.

[108] The natives name the kangaroo “Bundar and Wumbuen,” but have separate names for each species. At Goulburn Plains the red species is called “Eran and Warru;” and, although the language of the different tribes vary in other respects, there is often a similarity of the names of animals among them, each having two or three distinctive appellations, which may have been the cause of so much confusion existing among this genus of the mammalia; for Mr. Ogilby, who devoted much time and research to the marsupial quadrupeds of Australia, correctly observes respecting the kangaroos, “They are at present involved in the greatest confusion, and are mentioned in catalogues in the most vague and general, as often incorrect terms, without any distinguishing marks. No department of Australian mammalogy has given me so much trouble as the history of the kangaroos; in none have I arrived at a less satisfactory conclusion.” I only regret that the brief sojourn made in Australia, would not permit me to investigate the subject to the extent I desired. From what I observed there does not appear so much difficulty to ascertain the different species, as has been supposed.

[109] I was informed that a white kangaroo had been seen; it was an Albino, with the usual pink eyes, and is extremely rare.

[110] A ludicrous instance of this mistake once occurred (and it may be said there is scarcely an individual who has travelled in the bush but has made a similar mistake although, perhaps, not to the same extent.) A settler lost himself in the bush, and thinking he saw a native at a distance, he hailed with the usual “Cu, he; cu, he,” (which can be heard at a great distance, and is borrowed from the natives,) until he made the woods resound; but receiving no reply, he galloped up to the object, and then discovered it was merely _a charred stump of a tree_; so this may be some apology for the poor kangaroos.

[111] These animals, like the cattle, frequent those places where the grass, having been recently burnt, they meet with the sweet young herbage. This may account for our finding them so numerous about those situations, in preference to the plain, although the latter seemed to offer the temptation of more luxuriant but coarser feeding.

[112] They are mentioned in the catalogue of the museum of the London Royal College of Surgeons, “Preparations of Natural History in Spirit,” Fasc. 1, part 4, p. 37, as a doubtful species of _Filaria_. “_Filaria Macropi majoris._”

[113] This assertion accords with my remarks, for I did not observe these cysts in the females, but only in the male specimens I dissected.

[114] The maggots can be produced alive from the parent fly by pressure upon the lower part of the abdomen; the annoyance of these flies is great during the summer season; depositing their progeny upon every thing, even blankets. Specimens of natural history, in the preparation of which arsenical soap had been used, the larva of this fly has been deposited, and found lying dead in clusters, from the effects of the poison. This renders dissection so difficult during the hot season of the year, and for some portions of the anatomy it is the only time for examining them in the recent state. I have even seen game “blown” a minute after it has been killed. During my journey, a man at one of the stations complained to me of a dull pain in his ear, and as if something was moving in it; he first felt it after sleeping in a hut a few nights previous. By pouring brine into the ear, a large white maggot crept out, and afterwards some smaller ones. The ear being well washed out, he suffered no more pain or inconvenience; no wound or disease of the ear appeared to exist.

[115] On the surface of the tooth there is sometimes deposited a substance termed the _tartar_ of the teeth. It frequently assumes a yellow colour, with a smooth surface, in the ox and the sheep, and has been ignorantly considered as gold derived from the pasture. It is merely a precipitation from the saliva. Berzelius found it to consist of earthy phosphate, 79.0; mucus not yet decomposed, 12.5; peculiar salinary matter, 1.0; and animal matter, soluble in muriatic acid, 7.5 = 100.0.—_An. Phil._ vol. ii. p. 381.—_Quoted in Fleming’s Philosophy of Zoology_, vol. ii. p. 166.

[116] It is remarked (in a pamphlet of a Journey of Discovery to Port Philip, New South Wales, by Messrs. Hovel and Hume, Sydney. 8vo. 1831, undertaken in 1824 and 1825,) that “the impressions of the feet of the aboriginal natives may be readily distinguished from those of Europeans, by the narrowness of the heel, the comparative broadness of the fore part of the foot, the shortness of the toe, and a peculiar bend of the internal edge of the foot inwards, (a form very probably incident to the method employed by these people in climbing trees,) and the smallness of the entire impression, compared with that of an European.”

[117] The common opossum is called by the aborigines, in this part of the country, “Wille,” and “Wadjan;” the ring-tailed opossum, “Bokare,” and “Kindine.”

[118] The men at one of the farms, when occupied in shearing, complained of a small green-coloured fly annoying them exceedingly, by flying about their eyes; so much so, as frequently to oblige them to discontinue their labour: an itching sensation of the eyes followed, and it seemed, to use their own words, “as if they were about to have an attack of the blight.”

[119] Alluding to large trees, I heard a person, who had fully persuaded himself of the fact, endeavour to impress his auditors with the belief that a tree existed upon the estate of the Van Dieman’s Land Company nine hundred feet high!!! This gigantic vegetable production would certainly beat “Raffle’s flower,” or “Crawford’s root,” and must be very valuable if only as a gigantic curiosity.

[120] An excellent ley for soap, is made from the “swamp oak,” when burnt; and a ley is also procured at the island of Tahiti, in the South Seas, from the Casuarina equisetifolia for a similar purpose.

[121] The aborigines call our domestic fowls, as well as all birds, by the general name of “Bújan.”

[122] The “black leg” is evidently the disease among the cattle, known in Ireland as the “_crippawn_,” a kind of paralytic affection of the limbs, which generally ends fatally; the customary course is by bleeding, and changing them to a drier pasture.

[123] Called honeysuckle by the colonists, because the flowers secrete a quantity of honey, which is attractive to the natives, and the numerous parroquets, when the trees are in bloom.

[124] The name of the native that accompanied me was “Buru, birrima,” which he said he received from the name of the place where he was born. This appears a common method among the aborigines of bestowing names upon persons, as well as from any personal defect. The native name of Mr. Bradley’s farm is “Bungee,” and his little child born there will usually be known by that name among the aborigines.

[125] There is also at Batavia a bird which emits a melancholy scream and whistle during the night; it is called by the Javanese “_Borong Matee_,” or “Death bird,” and is regarded by them, as well as by some of the European residents, as a bird of ill-omen; and its note is supposed to indicate the approaching death of some individual. I was informed, that the decease of a gentleman at Batavia was indicated some time before by one of these birds uttering its melancholy screams, and hovering near the dwelling, and this was mentioned by a European, who credited the superstitious idea that these birds were ominous.

[126] Governor King, when at Norfolk Island, cut down one which measured, after it was felled, two hundred and twenty-eight feet long, and eleven feet in diameter.

[127] Thompson’s _London Dispensatory_. 8vo. p. 532.

[128] The Trial Rocks are thus mentioned in the “Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier,” published in the Edinburgh Cabinet Library, page 448.

“Dampier intended once more to attempt New Holland in about 20°. Here he found soundings at forty fathoms, but did not see the land; and steered westward, to search for the Trial Rocks, (so named from an English ship called the Trial having been wrecked upon them many years before,) which were supposed to lie in this parallel, and about eighty leagues westward of the coast. But Captain Dampier was sick, and unable to maintain perpetual watch himself, and the officers inefficient and careless, so that this important point was not ascertained.”

[129] These are certainly the most delicate and beautiful of the oceanic birds; their peculiar shrill, raucous note indicates their presence about the ship; hovering over the vessel, or darting into the water in pursuit of prey, and as the sun shines upon the chaste and elegant plumage of the white species, or the rosy-tinted feathers of the red species, or _phœnicurus_, their beauty is increased.

[130] Some ships, seeking freights, anchor outside the roads, by which it seems the port charges are saved; and then anchor in the roadstead, if they consider there is a sufficient inducement for them to remain at this port.

[131] The “far-famed Mangoosteen” is certainly an agreeable fruit, but still I cannot join the various writers who have lavished such praises upon it—it may be want of _taste_ in me; and probably the fruit will still retain “its luscious qualities, surpassing all other fruits in the world, combining the excellence of the whole;” but I must candidly confess that I am not so great an admirer of this or other tropical fruits, although I at the same time allow many to have excellent flavour, yet none can bear comparison with the delightful acidulated European fruits; and the Mangoosteen is even, in my opinion, beneath the orange or pine-apple, although still a very agreeable fruit.

[132] At Singapore, observing one of these monkeys in a stable, I inquired if Java horses were kept there; the answer was in the affirmative; so Jacko was probably imported with the horses to keep them in health.

[133] The Malay name for Weltervreden is “Pasārsānan,” which signifies Monday market, (Pasār, market; sānan, Monday.)

[134] This plant emits its fragrant smell powerfully after sunset, and has been “observed in a sultry evening, after thunder, when the atmosphere was highly charged with electric fluid, to dart small sparks, or scintillations of lucid flame, in great abundance from such of its flowers as were fading.”—_Edin. Philos. Journal_, vol. iii. p. 415.

[135] This officer, now a captain in the army, and by all accounts an excellent and brave soldier, I saw at the same time at this hotel, where he at present resided; he appeared attached to Santot, and they conversed much together; he had lately returned from the Sumatran coast, having been recently employed in the war in the interior of that island.

[136] The following paragraph appeared in one of the Calcutta journals, and was copied into most of the India papers:—“A passenger who came round from Batavia has favoured us with the following intelligence relative to the Dutch squadron, &c. In Batavia roads there were—one line-of-battle ship, mounting sixty guns; three large frigates; four brigs and smaller vessels of war, all well armed and manned. In the canal there were—twenty gun-boats, mounting two long brass guns each. All the troops were marching in from the interior, and the _fortifications_ were placed in a complete state of defence. A large frigate was lying at Sourabaya, well manned and armed. _If the Dutch should determine on making reprisals, a few days’ sail would take them to Lintin, where they might seize British property to an immense amount._”

A very kind hint! deserving the thanks of the _Dutch Government_; for the capture would have been easy, the loss of British property great, being without a vessel of war to protect them. This is the way British affairs are conducted in the east.

[137] These doves when on board _cooed_, or, as the Malay said, _talked_ when the bells were struck, but as frequently _cooed_ or _spoke_ out of the regular time, so they did not answer the purpose of a clock!

[138] It is recommended (I was informed by some intelligent persons at Singapore) for ships proceeding to the north-east coast of Sumatra, at this season of the year, to take the passage by the Straits of Banca and Malacca, by which the voyage would rarely be protracted beyond ten or twelve days. From the length of time we took to Pedir, by the outside passage, there was evidently an error in taking it in preference to the one recommended, by persons accustomed to trade about those places.

[139] “_Pulo_,” in the Malay language, signifies island, but Europeans frequently use the word Island before it.

[140] It is passable for light ships’ boats at half ebb, and even at low water, at the latter time the boats occasionally grounding; those heavily laden can only pass at high water.

[141] The fruit of the Areka palm is incorrectly called in commerce “Betel-nut,” which has occasioned mistakes; many writers considering it the fruit of the “Piper Betel,” or Betel vine, the leaves of which are used with the Areka-nut as a masticatory; but as the whole mixed together, and eaten by the natives, constitutes what is called “chewing the betel” by Europeans, the nut probably derived its commercial appellation from that source. The confusion existing between the Areka palm, producing the nuts, and the Betel vine, by most writers, has caused me to insert this explanatory note.

[142] A small investment of various articles of cutlery would have no doubt met with a ready sale;—a set of excellent razors, the cost price of which in London was thirty shillings, was sold for twenty-five dollars, and other articles, of a good quality, would have sold at equally good prices. A rifle gun, case complete, was also sold for one hundred and fifty dollars; and a pair of duelling pistols, of French manufacture, seventy-five dollars.

[143] A “flock of the swinish breed” would prove efficacious in clearing the decks of a ship of the Mahometan Malays, who have a religious abhorrence of the pollution occasioned by such company.

[144] The Chinese have several species indigenous to the _Celestial Empire_.

[145] The general name for crab among the natives on this coast is “_Biong_,” but all the various species have distinct names given them.

[146] They are evidently the ova of some fish, but of what genus it is as yet difficult to form an opinion.

[147] The language spoken by the aboriginal natives of this country is the Acheenese, which is a dialect of the Malay. A Javanese, however, could not understand the Acheenese language. The people on the coast, nevertheless, mix the Acheenese with other dialects of the Malay, and also with some Hindoostanee words.

[148] See Appendix, No. 2. in the second volume.

[149] The fort is also partly surrounded by a palisade of bamboos, and a moat exterior to it, abounding on its banks with a dense vegetation.

[150] During this month the weather was generally fine and clear; a few days only being squally and unsettled weather, with showers of rain.

[151] The Archeenese name for this tree, was _Bánawa_, or _Búnawa_; and I afterwards ascertained that the castor-oil tree had the same appellation given to it.

[152] Among which the _Caladium costatum_, or Berar of the natives, was also seen planted; the root of which is eaten by them, after it has been previously washed in water for some time.

[153] The mountains behind Pedir range in various directions.

[154] We were informed, that a law had been made by the late rajah, which still remained in force, that any native robbing, or otherwise ill-using, a European in his territory, should lose his right hand.

[155] New Betel nut will lose, during a voyage to China, from eight to ten per cent.

[156] I understand that a large quantity of the Areka-nut is grown upon the Pelew islands, and could be procured in barter for tobacco, rum, and other articles; this was ascertained by a vessel which visited those islands in 1830. The natives of this group of islands also use it as a masticatory.

[157] It is also by a combination of substances that the Otaheitans produce a red dye from the fruit of a species of _Ficus_, called Matti, and the leaves of a species of _Cordia_, called “Tou.”

[158] I have often seen on this coast, as well as in Java, small bunches of the abortive fruit, taken from the spathe of the Areka palm, placed as an ornament at the stern and bows of the native boats.

[159] It was stated to me that sandal wood can be procured at Acheen as well as other parts of the north-east coast, and is sold by the large pecul or bar (which is equal to three peculs) at twenty-four dollars the bar.

[160] It is mentioned in _Labillardières Voyage_, (Eng. Transl. 8vo. vol. i. p. 358,) that at Amboyna “I saw, on my return, a white negro, a Papuan man by birth; he had light hair, his skin was white, and marked with reddish freckles, like those of the Europeans who have red hair; but he was not weak-sighted, as is generally the case with other Albinos”.