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Phote-Lithoaraph of Ftiqe 64ofAhduZla£ manuscript, Two thirds tJu seals nt'tfie Oriamal
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE
HAKAYIT ABDULLA
(BIN ABDULKADAR), MUNSH1.
WITH COMMENTS BT
J. T. THOMSON, F.R.G.S.,
AVTHOK OF "SOME GLIMPSES INTO LIFE I.N THE FAR EAST," ETC., ETC.
Hexry S. King & Co.,
65 CORNHILL, AND 12 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 1874.
{All rights renewed).
In compliance with currenl copyright law, LBS Archival
Products produced this
replacement volume on paper
that meets the ANSI Standard
Z39.48-1984 to replace the
irreparably deteriorated original.
1988
>
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PREFACE
One who writes an autobiography yields his spirit for consideration and study by his fellow-men or by the world. That a native of the Far East should have done this is certainly, as far as my information goes, a signal event, as I can call to memory only such another case, viz., "The Memoirs of a Malay Family," translated by Marsden. Casting my memory thirty- five years back, this was a melancholy tale. The present memoirs, on the contrary, will show the vigor- ous and lively representation of personal feelings and opinions, as well as acute observations on men, manners, and cotemporary events.
In bringing the following translations before the public, I am moved by several inducements. In the first place, the Autobiographer himself, when in life, asked me to translate his writings; this was in the year 1846, but I was too much engaged in business to permit of the attempt. At the same time this is to
o 3
513316
LIB SETS
VI PREFACE.
be regretted, as I could then have done more justice to the task than now, having had to undertake the work after eighteen years' absence from Singapore, and without the assistance of a munshi, or native scholar. Still, as an offset to this, if I can bring less familiar acquaintance with the ideology of the language, I can bring more experience of influences outside, which have to be considered in remarking on many of the topics.
In the second place, I have had an ever-recurring interest in the scenes and countries among which the Autobiographer recounts his experiences, and I warmed to the subject on taking up and perusing the long- neglected manuscript * which I obtained from the Autobiographer himself. In the third place, the topics are connected with that period when English valour and statesmanship won the prize of Insular India, an Island Empire of twenty millions of inhabitants : so the transactions cannot have lost their interest. As the Autobiographer was in close connection with one of the leading actors in the achievements, and saw many others, his remarks (the remarks, be it reiterated, of a native) on their familiar conversations in un-
* I understand that it has also been printed in Malay letters. The language used by the Autobiographer is Malay, and the writing Jawi ; that is, what may be called mixed characcer, founded on, or rather being essentially Arabic.
PREFACE. Vll
restrained moments, and daily doings, picture them more interestingly than can be found in grave history. It is an erroneous assumption in Europeans to think that their actions are not critically canvassed by the natives of India, the contrary being the case, an example in proof of which will be seen in the following pag< - ; indeed, their actions are closely watched, and too often unfavourably criticised and misrepresented. This results from mutual misunderstanding, — a state of matters hitherto unavoidable, whatever the future may bring forth.
Lastly, the translations will show how unfeigned and unfailing esteem may be generated in the native mind by just conduct and refined manners. It would be sur- prising if contrary bearing did not create the opposite feelings, hurtful to British moral and material ascend- ancy. Further, the opinions and views expressed by an intelligent and well-disposed native, such as Abdulla, on events passing among his fellow-countrymen, give an insight into their motives, prejudices, partialities, hatreds, superstitions, and other impulses, from a qualified source, and this in a manner never to be thoroughly attained by an European.
It will be observed that, as the Autobiographer's point of view is different to that of an European, many subjects are painted in new colours, and sometimes, as
Y111 PREFACE.
between nationalities, with naive impartiality. This has suggested to me a course of observations in my comments, which will I hope be found useful if not entertaining.
Portions of the work have already been translated by Mr. Braddell (now iUtorney-General for the Straits' Settlements), viz., Abdulla's schooling, Colonel Far- quhar's seeking for a settlement, and the Tan Tae Hoey which appeared in the Journal of the Indian Archi- pelago, 1852 ; and by myself, viz., Abdulla's family, Christian missionaries, and Malay Governments, which appeared in a work termed " Some Glimpses into Life in the Far East," published in London in 18G3. The above are not reproduced here, but they, as well as the remaining untranslated portions, will be shortly noticed.
The Translator.
Otago, New Zealand,
3rd December, 1873.
CONTENTS.
TRANSLATION. SUBJECT. PAGE
I. Abdulla's Introduction and Apology ... ... ... 1
II. His Mother's Pride and Father's Satisfaction ... ... 9
III. Description of Malacca Fort, and its Demolition ... 14
IV. An Elephant Hunt 27
V. Character of Colonel Farquhar ... ... ... ... 37
VI. A Scamp 40
VII. Mr., afterwards Sir T. Stamford Raffles 45
VIII. The Java Expedition. — Lord Minto and the Tuanku ... 59
IX. The Dutch Repossess Malacca ... ... ... ... 96
X. An Active Town. Major ... ... ... ... ... 114
XL The Singapore Inscription ... ... ... ... ... 122
XII. An Amok 126
XIII. On Wearing Weapons 135
XIV. Raffles Founding the Singapore Instituto ... ... 137
XV. The Slave Trade 147
XVI. Raffles and the King of Siam 165
XVII. Raffles and the Gambling Farm ... ... ... ... 171
XVIII. Departure of Sir S. Raffles 173
XIX. Departure of Colonel Farquhar ... 186
XX. John Crawfurd, Esq., F.R.S 191
XXI. Wonders of English Surgery ... ... ... ... 193
X CONTEXTS.
TRANSLATION. SLliJECT. PAC.E
XXII. Treaty of Singapore 200
XXIII. Flight of the Harem 206
XXIV. Christian Chapel versus Chinese Joss House ... ... 210
XXV. Steam Vessels first heard of ... ... ... ... 216
XXVI. The Doctrine of Free Will 221
XXVII. The Friendly Lieutenant 225
XXVIU. The Great Fire 228
XXIX. English Justice 2,32
XXX. Abdnlla's Estimate of the New Missionaries .. ... 235
XXXI. Captain Newbold 243
XXXII. The Nanning War 258
XXXIII. Native Princes 267
XXXIV. Mr. Alfred North 278
XXXV. Perturbations of the Natives about the English Church 285
XXXVI. His Daughter's Death 292
XXXVII. American Missionaries. — Voyage to Tringanu. — Loss of
his Wife.— Bible Translations, etc 296
Translator's Concluding Remarks 322
APPENDICES.
I. Translation of Frontispiece ... ... ... ... ... 337
II. Frontispiece in Roman Letters ... ... ... ... ... 339
III. Malay Spelling 341
IV. Extracts from the Koran ... ... ... ... ... ... 341
DIRECTIONS FOR PRONOUNCING MALAY WORDS.
Sound a as in father.
e ,, faith.
i „ feel. o ,, sole.
n ,, blue
By putting double consonants after the following, the sounds will be thus : —
e as in fell. \ In the last syllable,
■I fill. by terminating with
o „ sodden. h, the same sounds
u „ sudden. ) are indicated.
The following double letters are sounded thus : —
aw as in awe.
ai ,, be.
au „ thou.
eu „ yew.
ei „ sight.
er ,, inner.
Sound g hard always, and k soft in terminations only. The sign - is put over syllables of unusual length. The authorized orthography of well-known words is not altered, as Malacca, Macassar, Bencoolen, etc.
ERRATA
Page 2'.!, line 28, for " after words " read "afterwards." Page 28, line 6, for " to," at the end of the line, read "and."
HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
ABDUL-LA'S INTRODUCTION AND APOLOGY.
"In the name of God the Compassionate and the Mer- ciful !
It came to pass about the year of the Hejira 125G, on the fifth day of the month Shaaban Almakram, viz., on the second day of the month of October, 1840, that at that time an intimate friend of mine* kept constantly pressing me to let him know nry origin, the nature of my history, as "well as the whole circumstances of my life, which he suggested should be written in a book composed in the Malay language.
Now because of this I became so much concerned that I sat ruminating over this desire of my friend, as all the events of my life, with their concomitants, had gone by with their age. Furthermore, I became loaded with anxiety at the thoughts of my being only a simple person, whose understanding and experience in the
* It is believed the Rev. Alfred North.
B
2 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
science of language was imperfect, and whose pro- ficiency in this sort of composition was limited ; besides, my position in the course of my daily avocation was one of ups and downs. Thus, while I considered all these things I was ill at ease in heart.
Then I said to myself, Let me examine myself on what I have heard and seen, especially as other people in this age generally are not backward in putting themselves forth as clever ; while as to their talk, it is enormously big, in order that folks may believe in their cleverness ; but their talk is all empty air. For when people ask them to do anything, whether it be in composition, in writing, or explaining language, to a certainty they are found wanting : for this reason, that all their tall talk is not based on training, but on hearsay by the way- side. Thus they neither know the ins nor the outs of it.* Furthermore, there are many people who are helpless, as gold dealers are without their touchstone in their hands, when they listen to the ' spoutings ' of people of this description. Is their conduct not like the person stumbling at the pushing of a pillow while sound asleep. Thus they regard them without testing them, one way or another ; just as a feather standing erect in their idea is a pole of wood of good stuff, straight, with no bends in it, so, as a matter of course, they think it must have weight in it. Now this is the reckoning of a man who, seeing a nice doll, halves it first to see into it, but finds it empty. Nevertheless, as says the critic, of course the jeweller knows the precious stone, and more especially in this age of wonders, wherein the wilderness is made into a town, the quarry into a vulture, the bug into a tortoise, and the worm into a dragon !
In the first place, all these miracles come of riches ; for even if one be low and ignorant to the last degree,
* Abdulla was a teacher himself.
abdulla's introduction and apology. 6
yet if lie have riches he is, as a matter of course, clever and mighty ; hut if he he clever and mighty, hut not wealthy, as a matter of course he is low agam.
Moreover, all my sayings, my circumstances, and the like, I take by way of prototype of myself. In the first place, the lowness of my existence ; secondly, the poor manner of making my living ; thirdly, my want of know- ledge and experience ; and fourthly, it is not in me that rests the work of composition, and certainly neither have I the power or the direction, but this is of God alone. And further, on no account will I conceal my own backslidings and omissions at their times and periods.
After I had considered all the above, it suddenly occurred to me as if I had been startled by a person from my sleep, when I instantly answered him thus: If they think you are lowly, ask of those who are mighty ; if you are poor, ask of those who are rich ; and if you are in- experienced, ask of the Lord, who has promised that He will give to those who ask of Him. And if you thus believe in His providence, by the blessing of the Almighty, so I pray for assistance (as far as it can be vouchsafed) to that Lord who created the mighty sky, and who upholds it without props, that He may allow me to accomplish the wish of my friends. And if it rest not on me to do this, yet do I place my entire trust in Him to permit me to enter on this smaU undertaking. .
There ! now hear me, 0 my friends. As I compose this work on myself, so I shall call it the 'Hakayit, or Auto- biography of Abdulla ' ; and there will be jottings m it up to the times to which I have lived, and back to the period of my birth in Malacca, relating to things that I have seen or have heard of ,— including every particular of the occurrences in the country of Malacca or Singapore— these shall be noticed by me till the period of completing
HAKATIT ABDULLA.
the book. But in the relation no doubt there will be found many mistakes, lapses, and things forgotten, both in style and narrative, as well as in junction of the letters, or in the entanglement of words.
Now may I bow my head before the European and native gentlemen who take the trouble to read my story, so as properly to have acquaintance therewith ; and as thus at the very beginning of my book I have acknow- ledged my deficiencies and ignorance, I all the more heartily and willingly ask pardon and forgiveness ; and I further state that it has no claim to the name of being a clever one, but, on the contrary, is full of stupidities and errors in every time and period."*
Note by Translator.
The autobiographer, Abdulla bin Abdulkadar, munshi, was a Mahomedan and a British subject, having been born in Malacca in the year 1797, which date is derived from information given near the end of the manuscript, wherein he states that in the year 1843 he was forty-six years of age. He was the son of Abdulkadar and his wife Salama, both of Malacca, which Abdulkadar was the son of Mahomed Abraim, of Nagore, South India, and his wife Perbagi, of Malacca, and Mahomed Abraim was the son of Abdulkadar, an Arab of Yemen. Thus Abdulla was of mixed race, three removes from the Arab. He would have been called Inchi or Mr. amongst his countrymen, had he not earned the designation of Padre, or Father, by his close connection with the Protestant missionaries. In physiognomy he was a
* This has the same -weight as " Tour obedient humble servant " at the end of an English letter.
AJ3DULLA'S eahly life. o
Tamilian of South Hindostan. He was tall, slightly bent forward, spare, energetic, bronze in complexion, oval faced, high nosed, and one eye squinted a little outwards. He dressed in the usual style of Malacca Klings or Tamils, having an Acheen saluar (trowsers), checked sarong (kilt), printed baju (coat), a square skull cap, and sandals.
He had the vigour and pride of the Arab, the per- severance and subtilty of the Hindoo— in language and national sympathy only was he Malay.* But the translations will better illustrate the man, modified undoubtedly as his character was by contact with superior European and American intellects, such as Raffles, Milne, and North.
He was a literary man by descent, and his father had the honour and felicity to be guru, or native teacher, to Marsden, the well-known author of the "History of Sumatra" and the "Malayan Dictionary." Abdulla's original native education appears to have been liberal and arduous, according to the standard of his country- men, comprising as it did Malay, Tamil, Arabic, and Hindee. This training qualified him highly for- the pursuits into which he was led, first as a Malay writer in the employment of Sir Stamford Raffles, and as a translator and Malay teacher in connection with the Protestant missions at Singapore and Malacca.
His autobiography will be seen to commence with the usual initial phrases at the head of all Mahomedan books, and he well describes the palpitating doubts of one about to undertake the load of authorship, but he, notwithstanding this, clearly gives us to understand that he will hold his own against all competitors. He tells of
* Thus he was an ethnographical example of a process that has gone on from time immemorial in the tropics, viz., the fathers perpetuate the features, the mothers perpetuate the language.
HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
his huraility and poverty, but this must be taken as it is intended. Thus the native editor of the " Sijara Malayu," at the commencement of that well-known Malay work calls himself a fakir, or mendicant, but meaning so only in the sight of God, as being given to religious or humane pursuits in contradistinction to those engaged in traffick- ing or money-making. So also Abdulla places his work on God, as having no self power. As comment on this topic would lead us into a dangerous controversy on the doctrine of " self will," we will avoid doing so.
The simile that Abdulla draws in regard to the jeweller and his touchstone for testing the quality of gold appears to have this intention, that he, as one having special knowledge of literature, is in a position to test the quality of the teachings of men who are mere pretenders to that knowledge, and of which the com- monalty can be no judges, and are thus imposed on. At the same time I may say, that, having been personally under the teaching of several munshis, it was abundantly evident that in the far east the same jealousies amongst experts and artists existed as are found in other parts of the world, and not a whit less detraction.
It will be noticed, also, that while he extols learning he decries wealth. This is a common practice amongst moralists, which is the result of their position, and it would be unnatural in them to. do otherwise.
Following the preface, the autobiographer relates his genealogy — the main facts of which I have already given ; he then tells of his father's avocations, his political missions, then his own birth, and his rearing and schooling; of the latter he gives a very full and characteristic account, from which we make some extracts. He says he got on till he was seven years of age without ever being punished or scolded, and, in consequence, learned nothing. But such pleasant times
abdulla's early life. 7
did not last ; for afterwards he was often beaten, besides having the reading boards broken over his head, and many°" rattans," or canes, used up on his body. His finders would be swollen with stripes for mistakes in writing, and he well exclaims, "With what difficulties is not the acquisition of knowledge attended!" At this time Arabic alone was taught in Malacca, but merely as a dead language— the pupils being taught to repeat the Koran, as parrots, without knowing the meaning — no harder lot for school children could be devised. The native language was never thought worth teaching ; and in passing, I may remark that no people have to undergo greater hardships in learning the rudiments of their religion than the Mahomedans with their Koran; yet what sect is more zealous than they ? The strokes of the propagator seem to draw the affection of their children, and not to destroy it. Is it because we love that best which costs us most ? But the Mahomedan school- master seems to have outdone even our old-fashioned holders of the birch in the variety of his torture of the youthful and tender charges under his care. Amongst the numerous modes of punishment so practically de- scribed, we have the "Chinese squeezer," an apparatus made with five pieces of cane, which are tied together at one end, but the other ends have a line passed through them; the manner in which it was used being to put the four fingers between the cane, when by pulling the line they were squeezed or pressed, ad libitum, in the manner of the thumb-screws of Lauderdale. Then we have the " smoker," which consisted of dry cocoa- nut husk set on fire, over which the young hopeful had his head held firmly, and to add to the torture, Chili pepper (Cayenne) was added, which entered the boy's nose, mouth, and eyes, causing excruciating pain, no doubt very much to the amusement of the schoolmaster
8 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
and edification of the other school boys. Again we have the " hanger," by which boys were hung by the wrists to a beam by cords, and thus held so high up that their feet could not touch the ground. No doubt this was a happy mode for the "moralists" I have above mentioned of recouping themselves for their abnegation of the good things of this world in the private sport and excitement they thus obtained by caning suffering humanity in its tenderest period.
After passing through this delightful curriculum, Abdulla informs us that he was engaged in the study of the Tamil language, and that after some time at this he was taken in hand by his father, who was very severe upon him, looking at him always with a sour counten- ance, and whipping him with a cane for each error in dictation. Again, not dismayed or crushed by all these appalling events, he entered on the study of Hindostanee with a Bengalee Sepoy in the Malacca Fort, where he seems to have gained some ease and comfort, for he informs us he there became a great favourite with the Sepoys.
He at times was induced to complain to his mother of his father's treatment, at which times she put her arms round his neck, and kissing him said, " My dear, do not be foolish ; you are yet young and silly, and cannot know the value of education." This incident speaks volumes for a Malay mother, and indicates her common humanity in the world ; and he admits after- wards, that he came ee what she said was true, as he found the real advan,.._ie of knowledge, and his triumph was in due time to come, which, however, must be given in his own words.
( 9 )
II.
HIS MOTHER'S PRIDE AND FATHER'S SATISFACTION.
" Moreover there came upon a certain day a native skipper to our house, searching for my father, in order that he might have a bond drawn out in acknowledg- ment of a debt due to a Chinese merchant to the amount of 300 Spanish dollars. Now just at that time my father was very busily engaged at the resi- dence of Mr. Adrian Kock, so that the skipper waited on till evening. So when I came out from the inner apart- ment, I asked of him, as is the custom, in this manner, 'Where are you from, 0 skipper; and what are you seeking for?' to which he replied, 'lam seeking for your "old man ; " ' upon which I told him that he was very busy, as above related. He then said that the business with my father was about an agreement which he had to draw out before his sailing. To which I replied, that if he liked it, I would prepare the document ; to this he assented, with the remark that it might be possible for a young tiger to become a kitten. Says I, ' Not too fast, 0 skipper ; let me try.' So in a jiffy I retired to the inner apartment, where I was accustomed to do my exercises, and asking the names of the debtor and creditor, wrote them down, and brought out the writing to show him. When he had read it with a glance of intelligence, he said, ' It is correct, youngster ; now let
10 HAKAYTT AEDULLA.
me put my signature to it before you.' So he did this, and considering within himself while he was about to go out at the door, and showing me a dollar in his hand, he said, ' Take this, youngster, to buy sweetmeats.' So I took it in great delight at the thoughts of having got possession of such a sum. On this he bid me good-bye.
Just at this moment, while I was in the act of thanking him, my father returned, and on seeing the skipper said, ' What news,' 0 skipper ? When did you come here ? ' And when I had caught sight of my father I flew into the inner apartment, and remained there with bated breath and great misgivings about the making of the writing. The skipper rej)lied to my father that he had waited a long time for him, even from mid-day, and on his not appearing, he had asked his son, Inchi Abdulla, to make out a bond for him. When I heard him mentioning my name, my heart palpitated with fear. Perchance it might be wrong, for I had never made a writing of that sort before ; further- more, it was not under instruction, but out of foolhardi- ness and self-conceit. When my father saw the writing, he smiled, and said, ' The mischievous boy has been showing off his own cleverness ; but you can use it. So go, 0 skipper, and deposit it in the office of registry.' On this the skipper took his departure, when my father came into the room with so smiling yet mysterious a deportment, that my mother asked what pleased him. Then said my father, 'If this day I had got a present of 1000 dollars, I could not have been so over- joyed as I am, seeing that my son can now help me.' So he told the whole story over to my mother, at which they both laughed, crying, — ' God has augmented his understanding ! ' Again said my father, ' On this day have I got a son such as was born of you ; yes, on this
nis mother's pride and father's satisfaction. 11
day. And if he had not known how to learn or how to write, but had remained in ignorance, I would have counted him as if he had been dead.' Thus I heard all the conversation of my parents from out of their own room, and thiB was the first time that I came to fully know their love of me, as well as the use of all their teachings and the good of knowledge. So from that day I was convinced in my heart that all the lessons of my father were true, proper, and good.
After this my father came into my own room, where I was accustomed to be taught, with a sour face, saying, 'What have you been doing to-day? You know I have been out, and you have not been studying and writing : this comes of your laziness. Even though you know nothing of letters, here you have been making out a bond for a Siak skipper, with ever so many blunders in it ; and so you think that you have mastered these things.'
Now I perceived that my father would on no account allow that I was competent or expert; nor would he praise me in any way, lest I should be proud. Yet it happened after this, in regard to post letters, or receipts, or powers of attorney, or wills, and the like, if people came to us for these, he ordered me to attend to them. He first told me such and such are the circum- stances, such are the amounts, such the periods, letting me compose the instruments myself ; and for a time or two only were there a few faults, for on the third trial all was correct. From that time he made over to me all his writing material and desks.
Moreover, at that time persons who were competent to write and compose were highly appreciated, for there were only four who could be engaged upon such employ- ment. The name of the first was Mama Hoj Mahomed, a Malacca born Kling, who was employed by the Com-
12 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
pany.* After him was Mama Jamal Mahomed bin Nur Mahomed, of Surat ; then my father, Abdulkadar bin Mahomed Ibrahim, and Mama Mahadin bin Ahmed Libby. Now these persons were Klings of mixed race, excepting Jamal Mahomed, who was born at Malacca, but his father was a Suratee and not a Malay.
Now, it was on account of the diligence of these persons in literature and language as a science, that they attained excellence. Further, in whatever em- ployment— be it in that of writing or composition of Malay, or Tamil and such like — it was they that con- victed people and put them to shame in council. Thus they gained their living, and by no other means; and because of the liberality of the Malacca people at that time, they were kept constantly busy — there was daily work ; and from this came not one advantage only, for their names became extolled in various countries, and they were cited by Europeans with high honour in their great courts."
Thus the knowledge to draw out a receipt had been attained. Laugh not at this, ye scholars of Europe ; considering the depressing influences, both artificial and natural, it was a great event. Amongst a people sunk in apathy and ignorance, Abdullahad a right to be proud of himself. Had the Arab priest had his own way, he would have confined Abdulla's acquisitions to crying out texts from the Koran without his knowing the remotest meaning thereof. By this method the priest perpetu- ated a mysterious influence over the people which gave him absolute power ; and he feared to impart even the most rudimentary knowledge. The pride of the parents
* Meaning the East India Company.
his mother's pride and father's satisfaction. 13
is also so well described as to be truly natural. The father's reticence and mock severity heap up honours on the son's head, and at length the finished schoolboy, after all his pains, by way of compensation finds the greatest of all pleasures, viz., that he can make himself
useful.
It is a remarkable fact, that out of a population of 60,000 souls, only four could write the language of the country correctly. What power is thus running to waste ! How prostrate must not a people be so situated in these modern days ! After this there follows a disquisition on Malay literature, into which we need not now enter.
14 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
III.
DESCRIPTION OF MALACCA FORT, AND ITS DEMOLITION.
" Now at this time I had no other employment than that of constantly reading manuscript or writing, this only ; when shortly there came a rumour to Malacca that the English intended to destroy the fort, but none of the races of people inhabiting the town would believe that such could be done so easily, saying one to another, that the life of the Governor would not be long enough to finish such an undertaking. This was, in then* opinion, owing to the strength, workmanship, and hardness of the stones, and its extraordinary position. And on account of these circumstances such an event could not come home to their understandings, nor that the fort could be quickly knocked down. So many people went about saying, Now is the time coming for poor people to get rich in earning wages at the fort demolition. Another one would suggest that if they meddled with it many would die, for how many of the devil's imps were inside of it ! Again, half the people cried that it comes of the knowingness of the English, this destroying the fort ; for should it happen to fall into the hands of another power, it would be a long war to get it back again, owing to its great strength and the skill with which it had been constructed.
DESCRIPTION* OF MALACCA FORT, AND ITS DEMOLITION, lo
To proceed. The nature of the Fort of Malacca, as I observed it by walking along its ramparts and proceeding down to its foundations, was of stones called outerite, red coloured, of a half fathom to a fathom in length. These stones had been originally very smooth and straight, as if they had been chiselled. Further, the face of the walls inclined a little backwards, with a round moulding. The fort had four sides, and there were eight bastions ; and the breadth of the ramparts of the bastions was from ten to thirteen fathoms, and it was here where the cannons were ranged around ; and the thickness of the cm-tain was two and a half fathoms, while at each bastion there were underground cells, with folds, wells, and stables, and within the rampart walls of the fort there was a path, by which people could proceed round to the bastions, whence there were sally-ports.
Again, the height of the fort was about ten fathoms, as seen from above, and it is reported that the foundations were as much below the surface, for when they were about to demolish it, they went down seven or eight fathoms, and had not yet reached the lowest course.
Also the fort had four gates, and the largest gate had attached to it the great bridge. The large gate had also a small one, by which people went out and in after eight o'clock in the evening. This was eight or ten fathoms distant on the right wing. There was also another gate, for taking out and in merchandise, as also carriages, — all these went by this way. At these two gates Sepoys stood sentry by turns. Again, on the side of the Chinese Hill,* there was one small gate, and on the side towards Banda Illiar there was another of the same description as the great gate. And its bridges were three in number : one great one, viz., towards the town of Malacca ; the second, called the little gate, towards the
* Bukit China.
16 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
Chinese Hill ; and the third towards Banda Hilar. All these were made so as to be drawn up, which they did at night-time ; but if there was any disturbance, or war, or such like, they kept them up. When large vessels were entering the river they had to pay dues, as well as when going out.
Moreover, around the fort there was a breastwork of earth, whose thickness was two fathoms, and at the foot of it they planted sharp iron spikes, and at the side of the spikes there was a ditch, whose breadth was about five fathoms, with about the same depth, from whence water could be let in or out. The sluice for inlet was near to the small bridge, but that for outlet was seaward, near the landward bridge. There were also banks round the moat planted with trees. And in the moat there were numbers of alligators and sikap fish, with mullets and prawns. Again, on the top of the fort, at about every two fathoms, they placed a cannon, also what was called a monkery-house — a place for the sepoys to watch ; thus it was all romid the fort. Then after six in the evening they would allow no one to enter — but only to walk outside, and when it was eight, they fired a gun and lifted the drawbridges, after which, if we did not carry lights we were taken hold of, and if we did not answer to the call we were fired at from above. There was also a road round the fort of ten or twelve fathoms in width, from the banks of the moat, all kept beaten down and planted with senna trees at seven fathom distances. Thus it was as far as the small bridge.
To proceed. Now there was a hill in the interior of the Malacca fort — just in the centre — of moderate eleva- tion, on whose top stood a Dutch church, but which originally belonged to the Portuguese (Nazarenes). So when the Dutch had taken possession they converted it
DESCRIPTION OF MALACCA FORT, AND ITS DEMOLITION. 17
to their own purposes. It is now used as a burial-place by the latter. The fort, however, was built by the Portuguese, and the way I know this is by the evidence of certain figures, over one of the gates, which were cotemporary with its construction, and whose appear- ance is that of that nation. These figures are made of stucco, standing erect, and of the size of children They are to be seen at this day on the gate towards Banda Ilhar : but the gate on the Malacca side was broken down by Colonel Farquhar. Near the church there is a garden belonging to the East India Company in which are a great variety of plants, consisting of fruit trees, flowers, and all kinds of vegetables. There was also a well of many hundred fathoms depth indeed of unknown depth, for if we threw a stone into it, it was a space before we heard the sound of it. Outside of the garden there was also another well of the same descrip- tion. At the foot of the hill was situated the Governor's house, of elaborate construction, whence there led a covered passage into the hill leading to a water-gate
Then behind the garden of the East India Company is the place of burial of Rajah Hajee, a Malay man of might, but of Bugis descent. It was he who made war on Malacca when the Dutch held it— which happened about fifty years ago, i.e., about a.d. 1790, at which time he nearly took it, for he had gained all the suburbs and surrounding villages, merely leaving the circuit of the town itself untaken. At that time aU the different peoples of Malacca bore arms, including Malays Klines Chinese, Portuguese, each under their respective cap- tains and leaders. And after some years of warfare Rajah Hajee was struck by a ball at a place called Tan- jong Pallas, when the Dutch, obtaining his corpse, carried it to Malacca and buried it there ; this, as I have had related to me, was in a pig-sty. Twenty or thirty years
18 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
after this came bis son from Linga and Ebio to Malacca, asking of the English Governor that he might carry the remains away for burial to Ehio, for which he obtained consent. Now, the history of the war of Raja Hajee is a very long one, and to go on with it would protract the work in hand, so I must set it aside.
Furthermore, there is on that side of the hill a prison, named by the Malacca people miskurdia (misericordia ?) that is in the Portuguese language, or tronko ; and in that place there is a room called tronko glap (dark dungeon), for the keeping of the greatest criminals. Here night and day are equally the same. And at the side of this are the instruments for putting people to death, or for other punishments ; the name of the place being " trato," that is, where people were racked on wood, when their joints were all separated and broken before being hung or gibbeted at Pulo Java (to which place the body was removed). Again, here were brand- ing irons, used on criminals, whose print was about the size of a dollar. The branding was done before persons were put in chains, either to be strangled or to be rolled in a barrel full of spike nails, with the points inwards. Now the criminals were put into the barrel and rolled round the town till their bodies were mere pulp. I have not, however, seen this of myself, but have been told it by old people. Still, there were the instruments in existence, and the barrel stuck full of nails, besides all the other material of the Dutch for punishing and correcting the people. All these things, with their dungeons and the customs thereof, have now been done away with and burnt. The dark cell was demolished at the time of the war of Batavia, i.e., the taking of Java by the English. While Lord Minto was in Malacca he put an end to these brutal practices, the instruments of torture being either burnt or thrown into the sea.
DESCRIPTION OF MALACCA FORT, AND ITS DEMOLITION. 19
Now I return to the subject of Colonel Farquhar's undertaking to demolish the fort. He first called all the workmen (coolies) of various nations to commence land- ward, near the Chinese Hill, and he set on several hun- dreds of them ; hut they could not break a single stone in several days, for they were in such a fright, they being surely persuaded that there were evil spirits in the fort. This idea was caused by many people having dreamed different manner of things, amongst which were of some having been slapped in the face by Satan himself, calling for their death's blood, or bringing on them numerous kinds of diseases. Thus the panic amongst the workmen increased the more and more. These no doubt were absurdities arising out of a strong prepossession and mere timidity, which made the fear of danger a reality to them : just as lime sticking to a stone is taken for the stone itself, and the smell of it as if it had just been put on. When it was found so difficult to break up the masonry, then they were set to undermine the found- ations ; but the further down they went, there were less hopes of reaching them in this manner ; they failed in this also. They measured the upper part, and found they had gone down the same distance below ; so they stopped the work of digging down to the foundation, but they were ordered to commence demolishing on the seaward side— using hoes, rakes, pickaxes, and the like tools, but this proved but a sore trouble, so that many left off from fear, many men having died or fallen sick. The wages now rose to half a dollar per diem, but this even was not a sufficient inducement. Thus the demolishing of the fort became more and more difficult, and the people of Malacca began to think, at this period, that it would not be the English who could do it, by reason of its strength and the multitude of evil spirits opposing them. Thus it went on for three months, in sicknesses, and
20 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
other disagreeables, as well as in the men dying or breaking their legs and arms. While such were the circumstances, it was bruited abroad that the Governor had ordered a mine to be carried under the sea bastion, where he intended to deposit powder boxes, with the view of blowing it up. When this was known, people cried out, What kind of an affair is this ? Hundreds went to see it, myself amongst the number ; and true enough, they had dug holes about one fathom square, of great depth to then desire. Then they dug the earth at the side of these wells, at about a fathom distance, in which they put the powder chests, to which they applied a fuse below the ground, — whose length was about ten fathoms, — made with cloth. The grains of the powder were rough, and as big as one's great toes. They then ordered these holes to be closed, which they plugged hard with stones and earth. They worked at these for five or six days, with ten or twenty men ; after which they sent round the gong to make people aware that on the morrow, at eight o'clock in the morning, no persons were to come to the fort side of the river, or into the houses near, but to go to houses at a distance. Then, on the morrow, came Colonel Farquhar on horse- back, holding a staff in his hand. He ordered his men to mount the fort and drive all people across the river, which they did pell mell. Immediately after this he lighted the fuse. This being done he spurred his horse; and in about four or five minutes the mine was fired with a noise like thunder, and out flew stones as big as houses and elephants, right out to the sea. There were also stones that were carried across the river to the tops of the houses. The people, when they heard the sound, got into a high state of alarm and conster- nation, for they never had heard such a noise before. The mighty power of gunpowder blowing up into the
DESCRIPTION OF MALACCA FORT, AND ITS DEMOLITION. 21
air as it did stones as big as houses, filled them with astonishment.
Now only did people begin to believe that the English could demolish the fort. They now sagely wagged their heads, saying that great were the in- genuities and contrivances of the white people, but what a pity that such a beautiful fort should be destroyed as it were in a moment; for if it had to be erected again, how many years would this not take ! For the glory of Malacca was its fort, and having destroyed this the glory had gone out of it ; like the corpse of a woman, the husband no longer glories in her face. But this is the dispensation of the Almighty ; the world is not ever- lasting: what is He maketh to be not, and what is not He maketh to arise.
Now the stones of the fort were removed by people in various directions — some made houses of them, and some even carried them off to Batavia during the Dutch tenure {i.e., in 1818 to 1825), and lately also to Rhio, the English taking them on board ships to make the harbour of Bara. There are also some sunk in the river ; others remain in heaps like hills to this time, for people to take as they like.
Some days after this they essayed to blow up the bastion towards the Kling quarter, when they gave notice by gong for the people to remove. Now, there was on the other side of the river the house of one Hatib Musi, whose distance was near about twenty fathoms. So all the people removed themselves, excepting a friend of the above Musi, called Basir Membarak, with a child called Abrahim. These hid themselves at the back of the house, in order to see the sport. So betimes the fuse was lighted, and the men had run for it ; the powder had fired and blown up with a great noise, then came down stones as big as elephants, right on the top of the
22 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
house, and broke it down, crushing the hiders and covering them with rubbish. Upon this an alarm was given that five or sis men had been killed. So all ran to the place — myself amongst the rest — to see the accident, for at that time I was ordered by my mother to keep at least a mile away. So when I had got there, I learned that in the centre of the house a Pulicut man, called Abdastar, was at meals when a frag- ment of rock struck his forehead, cutting the same. I then went inside, and coming to the boy Basurj I could see his legs only, and over his body were stones in heaps, of all sizes, from a quarter to one fathom. Nine or ten of these had crushed him ; and they uncovered him to see if life remained. And over the boy Abrahim three stones had fallen, of a fathom in length, covered with earth. Thereupon they dug him out, and finding one of his legs broken in three places, they carried him off to the Pali quarter. And as to the one named Basir Membarak, he also was covered with earth and stones, and when he was got out his bones were crushed ; so he was carried off to the English doctor. Basir, however, died, whilst Abdastar and Abrahim were brought round by medicine, so that God has given them life even to this day,* but they are both lame. Now what else could be done ? for it was of their own fault that they went into mischief, so that people lay the fault on them. And when the people of Malacca saw all these things, they became alarmed, and after words at each blast they cut and run as far as they could, deserting their homes and chasing off the children.
Thus it came about that Colonel Farquhar made an easy job of demolishing the fort ; and all those who did not believe in the possibility now shut their mouths, not saying another word. And all the evil spirits that were
* 1843.
DEMOLITION OF MALACCA FORT. 23
in the brains of people went back to their originators, being afraid of the smoke of gunpowder, and the affair now stood thus, that the beautiful fort of Malacca was destroyed, blown to the winds, by powder; but if they had tried it stone by stone, it would have been standing yet."
The Fort of Malacca was surrendered by the Dutch to the English in the year 1795, the names of the English officers being Major Brown and Captain Newcome. It, with the adjacent territory, had been held by the Dutch since 1641, in which year it was captured by them, with the assistance of the King of Lahore, from the Portuguese. The Portuguese held Malacca from the year 1511, at which time they captured it from the Malays, who had been settled there, as Newhoff informs us, for about 250 years previously.
The demolition of the fortifications of so renowned a city is therefore a notable work in the history of Europeans in the East Indies, and it is interesting to note the impressions of a native who saw the actual operations. In his account he forcibly brings out one of the features in native character, and their occasional freaks which cannot be understood by Europeans, viz., their superstitious dread of evil spirits, which urges them on to unaccountable panics, or sometimes worse courses. He mentions that the fort was built by the Portuguese, but I have not been able to find the date of its foundation. Since it has disappeared, its style can only be guessed at. The fort at Point de Galle may. however, be pointed out as a type of its class, though the Malacca one appears to have been much larger.
It was in 1805 that the Directors of the East India Company ordered the abandonment of Malacca, they
24 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
desiring to retain Penang only ; and the Supreme Government of India in consequence ordered the de- struction of the fort on the 5th October of that year. The fort was accordingly demolished in the years 1807-8, at which- time Abdulla would be eleven years of age. In his description, therefore, we see the remi- niscences of a boy rather than of a man ; and we smile when we peruse his account of the excessive difficulties, when we learn from Low that the total cost of the process was only 10,241 Spanish dollars, a little over £2,000 sterling.
Valentyn calls the rampart along the river St. Domingo, and on the sea-side Taypa, stretching towards Fort St. Jago. Adjacent to the church on the top of the hill he mentions the Monastery of St. Paul's, and those on the adjacent hills, Minnebroeders and Madre de Dios. The former still stands. The church itself is now deserted, and has been long used as a burying- place for the Dutch leading families, who have many exquisitely carved and cut tombstones. Here lies also the second Bishop of Japan, who died in the Straits of Singapore, during the latter part of the 16th century. The church is said to have been founded by St. Francis Xavier.
The figures which Abdulla alludes to by way of proof of Portuguese construction were still preserved in 1848, when I took a drawing of them which is now by me ; and it is amusing to think how differently we judge of things. In the first place, the date over the gateway is 1G70, that is during Dutch occupation. The design over this is rudely done in plaster, and would stand very well for, if it is not actually, the coat of arms of the Dutch East India Company. In the centre, sur- rounded by an astragal, there is a galiot of mediaeval design, on the left side of which stands a burgher or
DESCRIPTION OF MALACCA FORT. 25
soldier with a shield on the left arm and sword in the right hand, holding a crown on the point of it. On the right side there stands what appears to be an angel with a flaming sword, and surrounding all are decorations of warlike weapons. The architecture of the gate itself is debased Ionic, — column on column, — and the workman- ship is coarse.
Simultaneously with the Malays of the south end of the Straits of Malacca endeavouring to expel the Dutch, the Malays at the north end made attempts on the English settlement of Penang, but in either case they were defeated. The tradition related by Abdulla of the treatment of the remains of Raja Hajee, I believe to have insufficient grounds for credence. In the first place, the Dutch would have many Mahomedans in their employ- ment as soldiers and sailors, .etc., and of course would not do a deed most insulting to their faith. The tra- dition, however, is notable in giving an indication of one of those slumbering rumours that pass through the native mind, and which are remembered against Europeans to their disadvantage when a period of weakness comes. Thus the Dutch inhabitants of Palembang were, in 1811, carried out to sea by the natives and mercilessly sunk in a watery grave.
The modes of torture exemplified by the instruments in the Malacca jail would, however, prove that such cruelty, as was only perpetrated in mediaeval times and under the excitement of fierce religious conflict, had been indulged in to a late period.
The commencement of the demolition of the fort shows clearly how inefficient is native labour, and the more so when to this is added the weakening influence of superstition; and here we may note how Abdulla himself, by education and converse with a superior race, had thrown off the latter. His simile is excellent. It
26 HAKAYIT AEDULLA.
is curious to observe his glorying in the fort and lament- ing its destruction, seeing it was by this that the European powers had overawed the natives ; it shows how far sentiment will carry us, in revering things that have gone by. His remarks on the foolhardiness of Abdastar and his mates are good, and he truly points out to whom the blame of the accident attached. As to the jins or evil spirits, I have often remarked that the natives were thoroughly persuaded that Europeans were beyond their influence ; so that they were under no apprehension of danger whilst acting under their super- vision and direction.
( 27 )
TV.
AN ELEPHANT HUNT.
" Now all the four races* in Malacca were exceedingly fond of and attached to the governorship of Major Farquhar. The country itself was tranquil, and mer- chants came and went from all quarters to traffic here. The poor people even got a good living, as more especiallv did the rich. All got good wages in foreign trade, and many people from other countries also arrived to seek a living, and who took wives to themselves. Thus the mixed race became numerous in Malacca under the good laws and customs of the place. Each race had its captain ; these again installed elders in each village, who, in the first place, looked over and settled small matters, and if they could not settle them, then the subject was taken to the captain, and afterwards, if it could not be settled by him, it was taken before the fiscal, and if again it could not be settled, then it went to the court. The country, it is true, belonged to the English, but the laws and customs were Dutch ; and as to the language and names' of leading men, all were
Dutch.
Shortly after this Major Farquhar was created Colonel, and thereupon European sentries guarded his door. Now, the sentry on guard feigned that he loaded
* Malays, Chinese, Klinge, and Portuguese.
28 HAEAYIT ABDULLA.
his gun as usual ; but he put in two balls, and as the Colonel was descending he fired, and with the report one ball glanced past him on the left, and the other on the right, which startled him ; but as it was not to be his fate to die, he escaped. The distance between him to the sentry was only eight fathoms. Malacca was now in consternation at their Governor being fired at. Such was the case. The sentry was now laid hold of and put in prison till he was sent to Bengal, but I did not hear of his further disposal.
I now come to relate the story of Colonel Farquhar' s elephant hunt. At this time there was a man in Malacca who came from Tringanu, called Pawang Gaga. He was originally a Kiddah or Queda man, understand- ing the habits of elephants well, and their medicine ; so he came to Malacca to seek employment in this manner. He remained some time in Malacca, where he soon became well-known as an elephant doctor, both in catching and medicating. He did nothing else but range the woods. On one day he came to the house of Inchi Sulong, who was at that time native foreman to Colonel Farquhar, over whose garden operations he was the head, — finding men and such like. Thus the Pawang spoke to him, and told him that in the Malacca forest there were numbers of elephants, so that if the Governor would order it, he would catch ever so many. On Inchi Sulong hearing this, he went to Colonel Farquhar to let him know. On this Colonel Farquhar ordered that if it were true he would give the due authority for the hunt. This was told to the Pawang, who now appeared before the Governor, when it was agreed that he should go in search of the elephants, and on finding their tracks, that he should return and obtain sixty or seventy men to go with him ; and should they be caught, he asked, what will be the agreement ? On this Colonel Farquhar said
AN ELEPHANT HUNT. 29
that be would give a hundred dollars for every one brought into the town. To this the Pawang replied, "Very good; but the cost of the operations are to be on you, and to commence with, I wish a little advance." This was assented to, when the Pawang retired. He now took two companions and entered the jungle where he remained about eleven days, after which he returned to Inchi Sulong to tell him that he had come on a herd of sixty elephants, so that men should be sent with him to make a pen or fold ; so this was agreed to. The pen was to be made at Sabatu, two days' jomney from Malacca easterly. Inchi Sulong sent with him sixty or seventy men to work by shifts. The atten- tion of the Malacca people now became general towards the intended hunt at Sabatu, all wanting to go to see it, as they had never seen such a thing before. My own notions at that time need not be mentioned ; I was like a bird complete with two wings about to fly dn-ect to the
place to see it.
I will now explain the manner of making the pen.
The first thing done was to fell large trees in pieces of
twelve cubits in length (eighteen feet) ; after collecting the
timber the pieces were stuck into the ground close and
well-bound together. The size of the pen was twenty
fathoms square. On the top of the fence a shed was
erected, for people to sit in, made very strong, all the
materials used in it being large. And after this had been
erected they made wing walls, like fishing stakes, i.e.,
they stuck in posts, close together, to the right and the
left, to the length of one hundred fathoms. They then
stuck between these walls plantain trees and sugar cane,
extending into the pen or trap. When all this was
finished, the news created the greatest hubbub in Malacca,
and all the Europeans, and the four other races, either
on foot, in carriages, or on horseback, went to see ; and
30 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
I amongst them. I was on the road two days ; and on arriving at Sabatu, I examined the whole affair, and saw it was one of design only, not, as my neighbours would have it, of spells, medication, and spiritism. These were lying foolishness.
On the same evening the Pawang with hundreds of men entered the jungle to drive the elephants ; and when they met with the herd they surrounded them at a distance, being thus engaged for six or seven days in this manner trending them to the fences. Now, between these were plantain trees and sugar cane as bait (as related above), which when the elephants saw, they went straight for this food. On this the drivers got nearer, till they commenced to fire and shout on the right and left : thus the elephants, being now enclosed, made for the pen, led on at the same time by the bait.
Now men were ready stationed above the door of the pen, which was held up by a rope ; so when all the elephants had entered they let go, and the door fell, thus entrapping the herd, which counted, large and small, male and female, sixty-two tails* (heads). The Pawang now ordered hundreds of men to get on to the top of the fence, all holding spears and staffs, and when the elephants seized the timbers of the fence, intending to break it, they were speared so that they let go : thus it was all round the pen, — here there was striking, there there was spearing. At this time I also tried to get on the top of the fence to see the fun, but the men would not let me ; so I went softly to the Pawang, and showed him a rupee (2s.), and when he saw it in his hand, he said, "Very good, Inchi, get up." So his people set me up, and giving me a stick in my hand, they told me, when the elephants seized, to strike them ; this I did. In the interior of the pen it was like a great battle, and
* Natives count by the tails.
AN ELEPHANT HUNT.
31
the roars were like thunder without end, — each animal was doing according to its instinct: some scratching the ground, others throwing the sand up in the air, others switching themselves in the branches and in the earth with various sounds, some were piercing the fence with their tusks. The big ones were outside and the small ones inside. Thus the area got puddled two or three cubits in depth with the treading. People now set off to tell the news at Malacca to the Governor ; who came next day with Dr. Chalmers and other Europeans in carriages; and, when they had ascended the fence, they then saw the elephants going round the area trying to get out, but wherever they laid hold men beat them. They were thus kept starving for six or seven days ; and as they made fierce efforts to break the fence, the Pawang now took a little stalk of plantain, and with an exorcism he threw it into the area — there was quietness by this. I then heard people remarking, What a clever Pawang that is ! See how potent his exorcism is ; the elephants even are afraid ! But this was entirely false, for the brutes, having fasted several days, were quiet on getting something to eat, and the little ones were appeased. After the herd had been ten days in the pen a little more plantain was thrown into a trap, when an elephant would come and become entangled by the neck — the trap being fastened to a tree. On this the Pawang would enter, and hobbling it right and left, he would get it out of the pen and tether it on the hill ; this was done to all. All this time he gave them neither meat nor drink, being afraid that they might have strength to break the fence or their fastenings. Even with all this precaution, his people were chased by the elephants many times, even though on the top of the fence, with frightful noises. Some got broken faces, and often did the animals try to knock down the
32 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
fence, grasping the posts with then trunks, thus shaking the whole enclosure, and if they had not been at once hit with a stick, the whole would have fallen down. Further, many of the Malays and Chinese, as well as others, believed in the Pawang's supernatural powers over elephants by his exorcisms, — all the elephants of the forests being afraid of him, so especially should mankind. On this account thousands went to buy medicine, talismans, and amulets of him. But all these are false and foolish ideas, a misfortune to the buyers and believers. All comes of sense only, not from occult
art.
The end of this is that I heard that nearly all the elephants died, only six or seven having been brought to Malacca. So Colonel Farquhar and Dr. Chalmers paid the Pawang as agreed on, and the bones of the dead ones were taken by them to send to Europe."
The above is an account of an elephant hunt which took place to the eastward of Malacca during the government of Colonel Farquhar ; and when in the district, in the year 1848, I fomid that all the older inhabitants took that event as their era for reckoning. And thus it is with all aboriginal people, they have little knowledge of the value of historical dates, so they seize for their reckoning any unusual circumstance that may have happened during their lifetimes.
Abdulla tells us that the native hunter was a Pawang Gaja from Kiddah, meaning that he was a man believed by the natives to have supernatural skill over elephants, that is, an elephant doctor. Kiddah is the name of a small state near Penang, and means elephant enclosure, the state having received this name from the fact of its
TAWANGS.
33
being a province in which elephants were caught for export to India. Ahdulla here again shows his con- tempt for the superstitious observances of the Pawang, and gives the scientific solution in a simple fact, viz., the elephants cried for hunger, and having got something to eat they were quiet. Here is his appreciation of cause and effect— crying from hunger, quieting by satiety; in this he was far above his countrymen.
The Pawangs or Poyongs of the Malay Peninsula may be likened to the medicine-men of American India, as described by Catlin, but they are not so ghostly,— both are embryo priests. I met one at the house of my friend and school-fellow, the late Mr. J. 11. Logan (editor of the Journal of the Indian Archipelago), at Singapore. This Pawang belonged to the Mlntera Tribe, and came with a party of his fellows from the interior of the Malay Peninsula. Mr. Logan says of him (Journal of Indian Archipelago, 1848), "The most remarkable of the party was the Pawang, who displayed much sense and firmness in his character, and a slight degree of pride and reserve in his manners. He was looked up to by his companions as a man of superior ability and knowledge, and his reputed skill in natural and super- natural medicines made him an object of much attention to the Malays in the neighbourhood, who invited him to their houses and visited him to solicit herbs and charms. The women in particular regarded him as a magician of undoubted art, and many on first approaching him threw themselves at his feet. His head was decidedly intel- lectual in its formation." The above is the opinion of a highly cultivated mind on the mental status of an indi- vidual belonging to a tribe that are called " wild men " by Europeans, and Orang Utan (men of the bush) by natives.
Amongst many of the spells and exorcisms recited to Mr. Logan by the Pawang, the following is one relating
34 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
to the attacking of elephants. "Hong, quake; ghost, quake. I wish to cast down ; I wish to strike. Go to the left, go to the right. I cast out. The Ghost quakes. The elephant murmurs. The elephant wallows on the other side of the lake. The pot boils, the pan boils on the opposite side of the point. Go to the left, go to the right, go to the water vessel. Ghost of grandfather (the elephant to wit), I let loose the fingers of my hand!"
Elephant hunting is seldom attempted by Europeans in the Malay Peninsula, I presume owing to the dense nature of the forest. I have frequently come across their tracks and heard their cries, but never saw one in a wild state.
We are indebted to Dr. Oxley for a lively and exciting description of an elephant hunt in the same district, which I transcribe from the Journal of Indian Arche- pelago, 1850. After having bagged game of various kinds, including the sapi, or wild cow, he states that "on pulling in shore (on the Moar river) we soon per- ceived a large elephant enjoying his morning bath, and so little did he seem to care for us, that he deliberately swam towards the boat. It was an exciting moment, for the great fear was of his escape. As I have said, there was but little light, but we could see his large body and the great nob on the top of his head pretty distinctly. The word was given, 'Be steady now,' and at about two paces' distance a couple of balls were put into his head. With this he turned round, and again he was saluted with a couple or more bullets. Not liking such a reception, he made for the land, and got upon the river bank, when a well-directed rifle-shot hit him hard and made him scream with pain. But instead of making off, as he might have done, the noble beast instantly came back into the river to take vengeance on his adversaries ; but he was received so warmly, he could
AN ELEPHANT HUNT. 35
never make up his mind to a regular onslaught on the boat, and when he turned and made off we followed, pouring in volley after volley upon his devoted head. Finding the side of the river we first saw him on, rather too hot to he pleasant, he made up his mind to a charge, and across the river he went. Then, indeed, he was at our mercy, and we followed, giving him the contents of three double barrels, one after the other in rapid succession, for by the time the third had fired, number one was again loaded. All this time we were having target practice at the large bump on the top of the head, for we could see nothing else at ten yards' dis- tance. Every shot told, and the poor beast spouted water from his proboscis, uttering low yells of dissatis- faction. But his merciless pursuers had no pity, although when he did reach the land, and we heard him at the edge of the river uttering plaintive cries, they did elicit a few words of sympathy, such as, ' Poor beast ! he is surely hurt ; do you think he can get away? ' When the boat was close to the shore he made one more attempt to get back into the river, getting so close to the boat as to put us in no small jeopardy from his tusks; but we gave way, .and repulsed him with a regular broadside. He then took to the shore again. By this time morning began to break, and there was sufficient light to see him standing at the river's verge, tossing his trunk from side to side with his head towards us. Two of us caught sight of him at this moment and saw the large hollow in the forehead where the animal is most vulnerable. We pulled our triggers simultane- ously, and when the smoke cleared away his large carcase lay stretched on the ground with the head reclining in the river."
The Moar and Kissang rivers present excellent arenas for sport, and I may add the whole Malay Peninsula.
36 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
Ceylon is more famous ; but the former, being virgin ground, has actually more objects of attraction. With a few trusty Penang or Malacca Malays, a sportsman could go anywhere — having due regard to the feelings of the native governments, — and he could do so with perfect safety to health with a few precautions. First, he should be a water-drinker ; and only carry spirits to be taken after being exposed to wet for a long time. He should never sit with wet feet, nor lie on the ground ; avoid deep valleys at night time ; take meals regularly ; and never over fatigue himself. In the tropics I can claim great experience in these matters, though not as a sportsman, and have often seen the spirit and wine drinker completely done up before the water-drinker had any thoughts of being tired.
( 37 )
V. CHARACTER OF COLONEL FARQUUAR.
" Now, Colonel Farquhar was a man of good parts, slow at fault-finding, having an equal bearing to poor as well as to rich, holding neither the one lower nor the other higher. If persons, however poor or mean, should come before him to lay a complaint, they had immediate access, and the whole plaint was listened to, and he gave advice and counsel till he had appeased them. Thus they returned rejoicing. And if he went out walking, driving, or riding, the poor people and others would salute him, on which occasions he would always return the same. His was an open hand to all God's slaves. All these circumstances became as a rope to tether the hearts of mankind to him. As dew falls at night and expands the flowers in the garden with its beneficence, which again diffuse their odours over the face of the earth. Thus all the deer that roam in the forest, even they come forth and assemble in that garden, to collect these flowers which are most beautiful ; to wit, as for example it is the opinion of the intelligent reasoner from the above, when a man is really good, he is named as good for all ages to come ; and even when dead his good name attaches' to his memory. Now, if it be the idea of the great or the rich or the mighty, that by giving respect to the low or the poor their
38 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
greatness or mightiness is deteriorated thereby, I ask, What says the proverb ? ' Does a snake by coiling round the root of a bamboo lose its poison ? And whilst a great elephant has four feet, yet he sometimes trips, and at other times falls prostrate. Further, the birds that fly in the air, even they, at times, fall to the ground. And more especially is it with us human beings, whose nature is weak, whose life is uncertain, and who are perishable creatures, which state is not to be avoided, from one age to another ; for the greatness and mightiness of this world flits — they are not guaranteed to one for any length of time, but only the name of being good or bad. This people speak of after they are gone.' "
The above testimony, penned by a native, and long after the officer was dead and gone, is all the more creditable ; and I felt the more pleasure in translating this as I have had, in previous works, to comment on some officials unfavourably. It is a trying position for a man in power, so far removed from control, to act entirely unselfishly, as Colonel Farquhar appears to have done, and this with grace and benevolence. The ques- tion that always must disturb such breasts is, How far shall I neglect my own family by public devotion ? The East India Company's arrangements gave ample scope for the worse course.
The term " God's slaves " I have translated literally, as to do otherwise would not be rendering the Maho- medan's meaning correctly, the word he uses being "harnba," — i.e., slave, and not "mehkluk," creature. The phrase is strange to the European ear, and is used by Mahomedans, I presume, from motives of doctrine,
CHARACTER OF COLONEL FARQUHAR. 39
they not believing that man is a part of the Divine Essence.
The simile of the deer assembling in the garden seems to convey this meaning: that the innocent and weak had such protection under Colonel Farquhar's government, that he held their entire confidence. Again, that of the snake coiling round the root of a bamboo would indicate the following lesson : the root of the bamboo being a favourite hiding-place of the snake, danger from it or other causes is more to be dreaded than if it were in the open; thus bad government harbours an insidious enemy, because it nourishes fatal causes unseen to itself. The simile of the elephant and the bird is obvious, the former being considered by the Malays the most stable footed of all animals, and the latter the surest on the wing — yet they fall.
40 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
•VI.
A SCAMP.
"Moreover, after a few days came two great men from England, one as chief of the Bengal Sepoys stationed at Malacca, who took up his abode near the Trankera Gate, in that same house now converted into the Anglo- Chinese College. Formerly this was the residence of an English gentleman called Captain Dallam, master attendant, who owned it. There remained this great
man by name, Mr. B . Now, this person was of a
very mischievous and wicked disposition. One of his acts was to station two sepoys at his gate to catch any boys that passed by, and bring them inside his enclosure, shutting the door after them, and in case of the sepoys not being able to catch the boys, then he set his dog after them till they fell, when they were caught hold of and brought back; and when he had collected a large number he pitched two and two against each other, and those who would not fight he would switch with a rattan, on which they would set to at each other from fear. This was so great a delight to him, that he commenced laughing and dancing; and as to the fighters, some got swollen faces and bloody noses, and as to those who bled, to them he would give more coppers, but to those who did not he gave less, and let them go. And as
A SCAMP. -11
to other amusements, be had no other pleasures, hut only this daily, viz., to see the blood of mankind flowing. Now, all the wicked boys, or those who had run away from school, attracted by the coppers, collected there to fight ; thus the place became a regular fighting ring, and no one dare to interfere ; so that the better class of people were put in a state of anxiety, as they were afraid to allow their children to pass that way. But after a while he tired of the boys ; but now he would have grown up men to fight, so that wherever there were poor people they went to this work for the sake of a living. In this manner twenties collected daily to fight.
Now, at this time there were not many English at Malacca, so that people looked at them as if they were tigers ; and on the arrival of one or two English ships, the whole of the townsfolk locked their doors ; and at such times the streets were filled with drunken sailors, — some breaking the doors of houses, others racing after the women that were proceeding along the streets, others were fighting amongst themselves, with broken faces ; thus were disturbances got up, by the chasing of people and the looting of the merchandise exposed in the market-places. So if people wished to correct naughty children, they would say to them, ' Be quiet, or we will bring the drunken English to take you away.' This made them hold their peace at once! When even one English ship arrived, not one woman would be seen in the streets alone ; that is not to say respectable woman, but even the very slaves kept out of the way, owing to these outrageous proceedings and egregious improprieties. By this means the people were estranged ; and when an example was set by the great men, such as the officer above, people were the more terrified.
42 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
But to go on with the story of this bad officer in a high position, who set people to fight with each other. This continued for a few months, when he stopped and commenced cock-fighting. Now, cock-fighting made the place all astir, people coming frorn great distances with their cocks to pitch against each other. From the sea shore and from the interior cocks in twenties were brought to be slain, and many people thereby obtained money. Again, after a certain time, he tired of this sport, and took to buying ducks by the twenty, and let them out into the sea in front of his house, when he hounded on two dogs, which were very fierce, to catch them ; this seemed to afford him pleasure of a sort, and many people went to see this. And what ducks the dogs could not catch he covered with his gun ; firing at them with ball cartridge till they all were killed, — half being torn by the dogs, half being shot. This set him jumping with delight. A few days after this he bought wild pigeons, and when he was standing ready with his gun, he ordered his men to let them loose, one by one, for him to fire at ; thus some were struck and fell dead, others flew away. Again, he bought a number of apes and let them to the top of an ar senna tree in front of his house, and shot them dead. Thus it was with this scamp of a gentleman ; there was not a day that passed without some mischief or wickedness, which I need not detail, which fell on the lives of poor brute beasts or the sorenesses of mankind. Thus one cannot know how much money he squandered amongst minions. And as long as he lived in that house not a single woman dare walk in the vicinity for fear of his disorderly conduct. Now, I was the more astonished at this, as Colonel Farquhar was Governor of Malacca at that time ; but notwithstanding he glossed over this man's faults, though such things are considered debased by other
A SCAMT. 43
races; for to their idea it was the habit of the English, and especially of the high bred : as says the Malay proverb, ' One buffalo under the mire makes all buffalos in the mire.'
Now, all these doings were remembered by the people for long, by one relating them to another, and even from one district to another."
By way of contrast Abdulla immediately gives us an account of a bad officer, whom he mentions by name, but which now cannot be of importance to any one to know. He seems to have been one of those ordinary characters whose tendency was to go down in the scale of civilization rather than to rise. His amusements no doubt were consistent with the age, sixty years ago, but whose respectability even then was on the wane. He evidently was a purely sporting character, and after all there may not have been much bad in him. A good winter campaign would have been the very thing for him, — here, in the genial climate of Malacca, his energy ran to weeds. After all, it is amusing to see Abdulla so morally indignant at a white gentleman's doings, while he sees nothing immoral in the general possession of human slaves by his countrymen. So little do we see our own faults when we are all alive to the faults of others. In Malacca, at that time, slaves were held who had been torn from their mother's breasts : husbands, wives, sons, and daughters had been separated to minister to the ease of his neighbours ; yet to shoot an ape was a "most outrageous proceeding and an egregrious impropriety."
Connected with our own " social evils" in England and
44 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
her colonies, we could point out many inconsistencies equally glaring, but the reader's own sense will detect them, in their various phases, as they come across his experience.
( 45 )
VII.
MB., AFTERWARDS SIR T. STAMFORD RAFFLES.
" A few days after this the news came that the English intended to attack Java, and it was about two or three months from the arrival of such a rumour, that Mr. Baffles (afterwards Sir Stamford Raffles) unexpectedly arrived with his wife, accompanied by an English clerk called Mr. Merlin, also a Malay writer called Ibrahim, a country-bom Kling of Pulo Penang. So Mr. Raffles stayed at Malacca at the Banda Iliar quarter, in the plantation of the Capitan China, named Baba Chang- lang, and he brought with him numerous European goods, such as boxes of guns and pistols, satin cloth of great value, and prints with plain flowers, and many implements of which I had never seen the like. Also woollen cloth of soft texture, with clocks and watches, and paper for writing letters thereon to Malay princes, on which were printed flowers of gold and silver, besides many articles intended as presents to them. Then on a certain day came the writer called Ibrahim, to tell of the intention of Mr. Raffles, as to his engaging another; also that he desired to buy Malay writings with histories of former times, and to ask those who had them to bring them to his house.
Now, at that time there was my uncle, whose name was Ismail Libbey, who had a most beautiful hand,
46 HAXATIT ABDULLA.
also another uncle, named Mahomed Latip ; these were at once engaged as writers, and I also went along with them daily to write, and another person, a com- panion of mine, called Tumbie Ahmed bin Merikan, a country-born Kling. And the object of the engagements was for the copying of histories or the writing of letters for post, or for considering the idioms of the Malay language; also poems of various kinds. Each in their departments.
And when I first saw Mr. Raffles, he struck me as being of middle stature, neither too short nor too tall. His brow was broad, the sign of large heartedness ; his head betokened his good understanding ; his hair being fair betokened courage ; his ears being large betokened quick hearing ; his eyebrows were thick, and his left eye squinted a little ; his nose was high ; his cheeks a little hollow ; his lips narrow, the sign of oratory and persuasiveness ; his mouth was wide ; his neck was long ; and the colour of his body was not purely white ; his breast was well formed ; his waist slender ; his legs to proportion, and he walked with a slight stoop.
Now, I observed his habit was to be always in deep thought. He was most courteous in his intercourse with all men. He always had a sweet expression towards European as well as native gentlemen. He was extremely affable and liberal, always commanding one's best attention. He spoke in smiles. He also was an earnest enquirer into past history, and he gave up nothing till he had probed it to the bottom. He loved most to sit in quietude, when he did nothing else but write or read ; and it was his usage, when he was either studying or speaking, that he would see no one till he had finished. He had a time set apart for each duty, nor would he mingle one with another. Further,
MB., AFTERWARDS SIR T. STAMFORD RAFFLES. 47
in the evenings, after tea, be would take ink, pen, and paper, after the candles had been lighted, reclining with closed eyes in a manner that I often took to be sleep ; but in an instant he would be up, and write for awhile till he went to recline again. Thus he would pass the night, till twelve or one, before he retired to sleep. This was his daily practice. On the next morning he would go to what he had written, and read it while walking backwards and forwards, when, out of ten sheets, probably he would only give three or four to his copying clerk to enter into the books, and the others he would tear up. Such was his daily habit. He kept four persons on wages, each in their peculiar departments : one to go to the forests in search of various kinds of leaves, flowers, fungi, pulp, and such like products. Another he .sent to collect all kinds of flies, grasshoppers, bees, in all their varieties, as well as scorpions, centipedes, and such like, giving him needles as well as pins with a box to stick the crea- tures therein. Another he sent with a basket to seek for coral, shells, oysters, mussels, cockles, and such like ; also fishes of various species ; and another to collect animals, such as birds, jungle fowl, deer, stags, moose- deers, and so forth. Then he had a large book with thick paper, whose use was for the keeping of the leaves and flowers. And when he could not put them there, he had a Chinese Macao painter, who was good at painting fruit and flowers to the life, these he set him to copy. Again, he kept a barrel full of arrack, or brandy, and when he had got snakes, scorpions, centi- pedes, or such like, he would put them into it till they were dead, before putting them in bottles. This occupa- tion astonished the people of Malacca, and many people profited from going to search for the living creatures that exist in the sky and the earth, sea or land, town
48 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
or country ; whether they flew or crawled, whether they sprouted or grew out of the earth, it was as above related. Further, people brought books of Malayan history to the number of many hundreds, so as to nearly finish the national literature. They brought them from all parts, owing to the good price given. Thus were sold two or three hundred books, also divers poems, pantuns, and such like. At that time the histories stored up in Malacca were nearly exhausted, being sold by the people ; and what were only to be borrowed, these he had copied.
Thus, daily, people brought various kinds of animals and moths which are seldom seen by men, such as Javanese butterflies. Then came presents from the Raja of Sambas, in the shape of a mawas, — which white men call orang outang, — a young tiger, birds, and other kinds of brutes from various countries. So he put trowsers on the mawas, with coat and hat complete, which made it as like a little man as possible, and he let it go, when it soon became apparent that its habits were those of man- kind, the only fault being that it could not speak. And when I was engaged writing, it would come so softly up to the table that you would not perceive its footsteps, just like apes and monkeys ; then it would slowly take the pen up to its neck, and when I told the animal to put the pen down, down it would put it. The belly of the mawas was large, but when the animal was sitting it puckered up like that of a sick person. So I asked of it, "What ails you ? when it held its stomach, as if it understood my language; but this by instinct only. There were a pair, male and female, but after they had been in Malacca for four or five months, the female died. After this the male had all the appearance of a man in sorrow; it left off its food, and in a few days also died, and I was much touched at this, seeing that even
Ml;., AFTERWARDS SIR T. STAMFORD RAFFLES. 40
brutes had such affection as between the sexes, and especially should we men take an example by this. Afterwards he had a great many beasts and lards, each with their cages.
Now, Mr. Raffles took great interest in looking into the origin of nations, and their manners and customs of olden times, examining what would elucidate the same. He was especially quick in the uptake of Malay with its variations. He delighted to use the proper idioms as the natives do ; he was active in studying words and their place in phrases, and not until we had told him would he state that the English had another mode. It was his daily labour to order post letters to the various Malay countries to support their good understanding with his nation, and increase the bond of friendship — this with presents and agreeable words. This gained the good will of the various Rajas, who returned the compliment with respect and thanks, and moreover with presents. There also came a great many presents of books from various countries.
Now, Mr. Eafrles's disposition was anything but covet- ous, for, in whatever undertakings or projects he had in view, he grudged no expense so that they were accom- plished. Thus his intentions had rapid consummation. There were numbers of people always watching about his house, ready to seek for whatever he wanted, to sell to him or take orders ; so that they might obtain profit. Thus loads of money came out of his chest daily, in buying various things, or in paying wages. I also perceived that he hated the habit of the Dutch who lived in Malacca of running down the Malays, and they detested him in return ; so much so that they would not sit down beside him. But Mr. Raffles loved always to be on good terms with the Malays, the poorest could speak to him ; and while all the great folks in Malacca
E
50 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
carue to wait on him daily, whether Malays or Euro- peans, yet they could not find out his object of coming there — his ulterior intentions. But it was plain to me that in all his sayings and doings there was the intelli- gence of a rising man, together with acuteness. And if my experience be not at fault there was not his superior in this world in skill or largeness of heart.
Again, on a certain day, as Mr. Baffles was speaking
to his writer, regarding the answer to a letter from the
Raja of Sambas, there suddenly came a Malay with six
durians, with the hope that he would get them sold. So
the smell of them reached the interior of the house as
he stood at the door, and was sniffed by Mr. Baffles, on
which he held his nose and made off upstairs. The
people were astonished at this, not knowing his distaste
to the smell of the fruit. On this he instantly called a
sepoy, who was on the watch, asking, ' Who brought these
durians ? Show me that Malay.' So he was immediately
ejected, with an injunction to the sepoy not to allow
durians to be brought there again ; and from that day
no one dare bring a durian to his house. This was the
first time I knew of Mr. Baffles' peculiarity in this
respect, that not to eat the fruit alone, but to smell it
even was most obnoxious to him. And as he went
below again, he remarked that he was taken ill with
headache from the smell of durians, adding, ' It is most
nauseous eating.' So we all smiled at this instance of
the differences of habit, which makes others long for a
taste of this fruit, so much so as to be a passion with
them.
Now, on a certain evening, as I was about to go home, Mr. Baffles palled to me saying, ' Inchi, come and take a walk with me, as I want to see a Malay school.' On this I went out with him, and got upon his carriage and proceeded along with him towards Trunquera; and
MR., AFTERWARDS SIR T. STAMFORD RAFFLES. 51
■when we had arrived at the house of Libhy Abdulranark, ■we entered. Here we saw that three boys had been punished : one by a chain round his waist, the end being nailed to the end of a beam, and which he was required to carry : the other with a chain only, with which he had to stud}*- : and the other he had tied in a hanging posture. Then said Mr. Raffles, ' Why, 0 Inchi, has the schoolmaster put chains on these children? this is a very bad custom; try and ask him.' So I ashed of him, to which he replied that they had run away for eight days, and had now just been caught and brought in by men from a place called Kandar, a day's journey from this. ' The father of one of them has paid one dollar for the service, and on this account I am punishing him. As for this other boy, he had deserted for two days, having climbed up a tree for that time in the forest, and this is his punishment. As for this one, all his lessons he has forgotten, and thus I order him to read.' To this Mr. Raffles replied, 'If it is so, you do right.' Again, Mr. Raffles asked why the schoolmaster did not teach Malay. To this the school- master replied, 'It is the boys' own fathers that have ordered me to teach the Koran first ; and when the}" have completed this, then can the}7 commence Malay. This is our custom. Further, it is not the custom of this place to maintain a school for the Malay language.' Then said Mr. Raffles, 'Very good, 0 master ! I want to know only ; don't be angry with me, 0 Guru.' So he said good-bye, and went out. And as he was going, he said to me, ' Is this truly the custom of the Malays, 0 Inchi? ' To this I replied, 'True, sir.' He then smiled and said, 'If I live I shall have a school set agoing for teaching Malay. I am most anxious about this, as it is a beautiful language ; further, it is of great utility.' So he stepped into his carriage and returned home.
52 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
I observed of Mr. Raffles that bis constant pleasure was to inquire into the condition of countries, their laws, the circumstances of their upper classes, and the methods of government. Also what the Malays liked best ; their customs at marriage and death ; the names of the hills and places in Malacca territory ; what were the pursuits of the people ; what merchandise came out thereof ; also he wished to find out whether the Malacca people liked the government of the Dutch or English. In all these things he made most diligent inquiries.
Then as to his wife, she was not an ordinary woman, but was in every respect co-equal with her husband's position and responsibilities ; bearing herself with pro- priety, politeness, and good grace. She was very fond of studying the Malay language, saying, What is this in Malay? and what that? also, whatever she saw she wrote down, and, whatever her husband intended to under- take, or when buying anything, he always deferred to her. Thus if it pleased his wife it pleased him. Further, her alacrity in all work was apparent ; indeed, she never rested for a moment, but she was always busy, day after day. In this diligence which I observed there is a very great distinction between the habits of the natives (of Malayan countries) and the white people. For it is the custom of the Malayan women, on their becoming the wives of great people, to increase their arrogance, laziness, and habitual procrastination. Further, their talk is only of their own bigness, and to their apprehension it is mean to do anything what- ever, or to busy themselves in any way; thus all that they do is to sit, sleep, or recline, or else order about then slaves ; and as for the latter, all that they know is how to serve up meals on their knees. In the mornings they do not rise till ten or eleven, then they eat and drink, and go again to sleep till evening. Thus it goes
ME., AFTERWARDS SIR T. STAMFORD RAFFLES. 53
till they have got the name of being old ; — thus marriage is entered into with great men. But to look at Mrs. Raffles, her hands and feet were in continual motion, like chopping one Lit after another. Then there was sewing, which was succeeded by writing; for it is a real truth that I never saw her sleep at mid-day, or even reclining for the sake of ease, but always at work with diligence, as day follows day. This the Almighty knows also. And if I am not wrong in the conclusion that I have arrived at, these are the signs of good sense and understanding which qualify for the undertaking of great deeds. Thus her habits were active ; so much so, that in fact she did the duty of her husband ; indeed, it was she that taught him. Thus God had matched them as king and counsellor, or as a ring with its jewels. Thus it was fit that she should be a pattern and friend to those who live after her time. Such were her habits and deportment as above related, and of which I have composed a pantun as below.
Puyoh pnyoh gunan nama nia, Dedalam qualam gunan tamput nia ; Chante manis barung lakunia, Serta dingau budi basa nia.
Dedalam qualam gunan tamput nia, De pigek nlih Laksi mana ; Chante manis barung lakunia, Serta dingan bijak sana.
"Which may be translated thus : —
The quail 'tis certain is the name,
The pool 'tis certain is its place : Beautiful and sweet indeed his mein,
Combined -with charming wit and grace.
The pool 'tis certain is its place,
Her loving chief her only guard ; Sweet indeed her mein with grace,
While prudence claims its best reward.
54 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
For especially do we see in those men who have taken wives to themselves — if the husband wants to go up the wife wants to go down ; the husband calls a thing white, then the wife calls it black. Thus they "wrangle from day to day, fighting with each other like cats and dogs. There are others who, because of their beauty, tread the husband beneath their feet ; thus to their idea God is very distant from the position of women of their quality. Nay, apart from their disregard of then obligations as wiles, they do not even consider it necessary to behave as friends to their husbands. On this subject I have made the following pantun :
Apaka guna berkein batck Kalan tada dingan suchi nia ? Apaka guna berbini chante, Kalan tada dingan budi nia ?
Kalan tada dingan suchi nia Pakeian Jawa de ruma nia ; Kalan tada dingan budi nia, Iawkan dirimu deri pada nia.
Which may be translated as under : —
What is the use of printed robes
If filth and dirt abound ? To wed to beauty what's the use,
Where virtue is not found ?
If squalid filth and dirt abound
In robes of Java's make ; Where gracious virtue is not found
'Sunder let the union break.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was probably the most prominent Englishman in the Indian Archipelago at the commencement of this century, as he was the main instrument in perfecting arrangements for the conquest of Java, an island at that time containing about 5,000,000 of inhabitants, and of which he was after-
MR., AFTERWARDS SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES. DO
wards the Governor. His life was written by Lis widow, from which we learn that he was born at sea, on tin 5th July, 1781. His early education was imperfect, and he entered as a clerk at the India House when only fifti i a years of age, and where it is stated by his biographer that he showed much talent and industry. After this he was appointed Under Secretary to the new government of Pulo Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, where he devoted his attention to studying the Malay language. Here he was soon appointed as Chief Secretary, but intense application brought on serious illness, owing to which he was compelled to go to Malacca in 1808 for the recovery of his health. During his stay he mixed with the natives congregating from all parts of the Indian Archipelago ; and in 1809 he published his first essay on the Malayan nation, which attracted the notice of Lord Minto, at that time Governor-General of India, who sent for him to Calcutta, and was anxious to put him in charge of the government of the Moluccas.
It was in 1808, therefore, that Mr. Raffles came under the observation of our native autobiographer, who would be eleven or twelve years of age. The personal descrip- tion that he gives of the Indian statesman is said to be excellent ; but I can only judge of it by the bust by Chantre}7 which I have seen in the Singapore Institu- tion, wThich supports the written picture. He himself probably little thought that he had so apt a sketcher as the little native boy in his office. Mr. PiafHes un- doubtedly had the faculty of attaching his subordinates closely to him, as I have often heard Old Burrows, one of them, relate.
Malacca presents an excellent field for the study and admiration of natural history. The plumage of the birds especially is magnificent ; but even the sea, in its fishes, displays not less gorgeous colours. "When I was
56 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
engaged with the erection of the Horsburgh Lighthouse at Pedra Branca, I was particularly struck with this fact. As the building rose we could see further into the waters that surrounded us. During neap tides the water was perfectly clear, and displayed in its bosom numerous fish, of various species, playing about the rocks and corals. A beautiful green species particularly attracted our attention from the splendour of its tints : the colours of the others were various, — purple, blue, and yellow, with other brilliant hues, were not uncommonly seen to adorn the finny tribes; others were spotted and striped.
Abdulla notices the evident political movements of Mr. Eaffles's sojourn at Malacca, which his hatred of the Dutch portended ; but the latter appears to us, at this distance, unworthy of the man, and unbecoming towards a kindred and Protestant nation. Yet we must not mis- judge on this point, for at that time the Dutch had sided with a great rival against our nation, and held the most powerful sway in insular India.
The durian fruit mentioned by Abdulla is famous in those parts, and much esteemed for its flavour by natives and initiated Europeans; yet the odour of it is most obnoxious to new comers, indeed, detestable. So much is it liked by the Malays, that they take voyages of hundreds of miles to obtain it, and when I was surveying the east coast of the Malay peninsula, I found numbers of Orang Laut, or sea gypsies, frequent- ing the little island of Pulo Tingi, where there are groves.
The account of the visit to the schoolmaster is in- teresting as showing the state and object of education amongst Mahomedan Malays, and the narrow limits within which it is imparted. On the part of the Arabs, who are the most influential class, education in its real
HE., AFTEIUYARDS SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES. hi
sense would not be given to the Malays from policy, as intelligence in the people would frustrate their moral power.
Here we learn the everyday doings of Mr. Raffles while he was preparing his essay on the Malay nation. If the real truth was known, the natives care as little for the English as the Dutch, and would be glad to get rid of both, till anarchy made regular government agreeable again.
The account of Mrs. Raffles is a photographic likeness of a woman I fail to remember to have seen mentioned in the life of Sir Stamford by his widow ; however, in the foregoing translation she is reproduced as full as life. I have often heard her spoken of by an old friend who was the cotemporary of Raffles ; and a beautiful hill in Penang yet bears her name — Mount Olivia. Further, in the works of the Admirable Crichton of the Far East, viz., Dr. Leyden, there are some verses inscribed to her. Thus she existed, though ignored. She seems to have also inspired Abdulla's muse. Under her influence he is quite poetical. Altogether, Raffles's first wife seems to have been an excellent woman, and had more to do with the elevation of her husband than has been recorded. Abdulla's similes are clever, and his admiration well founded.
Why Mr. Raffles, a poor, half-educated clerk, should have been promoted suddenly to a position that would give a salary of £'2400 a year (knowing the mercenary nature of the Leadenhall Street Directors) was always an .anomaly to me, till I had the cause explained, and which I will repeat in as gentle a manner as possible. The fact of the matter is, that young Raffles got a precious woman to wife and a good salary from the same disposer of patronage, whose name I need not mention. This gave such umbrage to the ladies of Governor Dundas's suite,
58 HAKAYIT AEDULLA.
that both were sent to Coventry. Thus Nature, true to her principles, in young Eaffles's humiliation opened the road to his future elevation. Had he been carried away by the gaieties of society he could never have studied the native languages deeply, nor could he have mixed with the chiefs so as to gain their confidence. What sym- pathies he could not interchange with his own country- men he perforce interchanged with them; and by this means he established a position which a high and noble- minded man like Lord Minto was not slow to appreciate- Thus also was it with his wife. If ladies of her hus- band's rank would not associate with her, the wives of native chiefs would, and thus she gained in one way what she lost in the other ; and by devoting her talents to the cause of her husband, she was, as Abdulla very beautifully expresses himself, the jewel in the ring.
Of the Malay pantun I must explain that the second line of each verse is put first in the next. The Malays are fond of this style of versification, and see more in it than Europeans are able to appreciate. By way of contrast, Abdulla gives us a pantun to a bad wife, not a bad idea.
( 59 )
VIII.
THE JAVA EXPEDITION.— LORD MINTO AND TEE TUANKU.
"Now Mr. Raffles bad stayed iu Malacca about four months, sending letters with presents to all tbe Malay princes, east and west, when came Tuanku Pangeran, Raja of Siak, known as Tuanku Pengbma Besar, bis name being Syed Hassin. But as to bis coming, whether be bad been fetched by Mr. Baffles, or that be bad come of bis own accord to see him, I have not learned. He came to Malacca, bringing with him two sons ; and when be arrived, Mr. Baffles received him with the greatest consideration, placing a bouse and garden at Banda Ilhar at his disposal, with attendants, carriages, and horses. He never needed to walk, but either drove or rode, visiting Mr. Baffles every other day, to converse, and then returning to his place.
Now, at that time many Engbsh ships went to blockade tbe island of Java, seizing all boats and vessels that carried the Dutch flag, and bringing them to Malacca. Then did people begin to surmise that the EngHsh were at war with the Dutch, or about to commence it. At this time one or two English ships bad arrived at Malacca, bringing material for this war ; such as tents by the hundred, carriages and the implements of cannon, guns and powder, and such bke.
GO HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
Then, on a certain da}', came Tuanku Penglima Besar to converse with Mr. Baffles, who informed him of the intention of the English to attack Java, mentioning the difficulty of obtaining persons to carry letters to the Susanan (native emperor) at Bantaram,* to tell him the news and learn as to his mind about siding with the Dutch or not. He also hinted that he would be very glad if he could get any one to do this service. On this Tuanku Penglima Besar rose up, and drawing his kris, said with vehemence, ' What is the use of this kris ? As long as I have strength, wherever you go I shall lead : let me die before you. Write a letter, and I am the man that will take it to the Susanan at Bantaram.' Now, when Mr. Baffles heard what Tuanku Penglima Besar said, his face brightened, and smiling, he thanked the Tuanku, promising that the East India Company would well reward him and assist him in any manner he desired. So they grasped each other's hands by way of clenching the agreement as to carrying the letter.
Now, there was at that time the son of some great man in Java stopping in Malacca, at the Ujong Pasir quarter, whose name was Pangeran, f he also was friendly with Mr. Baffles. So Mr. Baffles called him, on which he came directly. He went over the whole subject with him ; when the Pangeran replied, ' I would undertake to open a road to the Susanan were it not for the numerous English vessels that watch every port of Java ; on this account there is no getting out nor in ; and further, the Dutch are very vigilant at the river entries, and were they to find such a letter on me, to a certainty they would hang me without another thought.' Then replied Mr. Baffles, ' Don't be afraid, Pangeran, on that account, for I will give you a note in case of your meeting any English vessels at sea, and when you show
* Mataram. •)■ Pangeran is a title, not a name.
THE JAVA EXPEDITION.— LOUD MINTO AND THE TUANKU. 01
it they are bound to assist you; farther, they will be bound to show you a place where you can land and the Tuanku Penglima Besar can take the letter.' bo when the Pangeran had heard what Mr. Raffles said, he said < That will do.' Then said Mr. Raffles, < Come this night to my house, when we can compose the letter to be sent ; for this work is one of importance and cannot be delayed, for in four or five days hence many ships will arrive here, and in fifteen days more the ships carrying Lord Minto and the General of the Madras army, bo the Pangeran replied, 'Very good;' when he returned to Uion- Pasir. Then said Mr. Raffles to Tuanku Penglima Besa?, 'Could you go in my vessel two days hence?' to which he assented; so he also returned to Ins house. Then when evening had arrived he again called the Pangeran, and when he had come he told him to com- pose a letter which he desired to send to the Susanan at Bantaram, in the Javanese language. So he did accordingly, being engaged at it till about twelve o clock. So this was duly prepared, Mr. Raffles placing his sig- nature and stamp to it, together with the present, of various sorts, to the value of five or six hundred Spanish dollars. On this the Pangeran returned homy. Then in the morning Tuanku Penglima Besar was again sent for, and on his arrival Mr. Raffles gave him lour hundred Spanish dollars for the expenses of himself and companions ; and the vessel having been got ready they prepared to sail, taking with them all the men of Siak that they had brought, also the two sons of the Tuanku. Mr. Raffles now gave them three boxes and another two hundred Spanish dollars, having instructed them m every matter, at the same time arming them witii a letter, mitten in the English language, to show to any ships of that country which they might fall in with, whose assistance would thus be commanded. He further
G2 HAKAYIT ABDfLLA.
enjoined that it was to be understood that Tuanku Penglima Besar was to be the captain of the vessel, whom the Pangeran was to obey ; and they both were to arrange, under any circumstances, to bring word back before the fleet left Malacca for Java. ' This is for Lord Minto's information,' said Mr. Baffles; 'so return as quickly as possible ; don't anchor at sea, nor tarry any- where.' Thus, after then provisions were all ready, on the morrow, at 6 a.m., the vessel sailed. Mr. Baffles and Colonel Farquhar conveyed Tuanku Penglima Besar and the Pangeran to the shore, and both shaking hands they bid them farewell ; so they embarked and sailed.
But I will now leave this matter for a time and proceed to relate about the English fleet collecting at Malacca before going on to attack Java. After the vessel of the Tuanku had left, in about five days, there came to Malacca about three or four vessels daily, and after- wards six or seven. All these carried Bengal lascars and sepoys, with a great many high people: these erected then tents from Lambongan as far as Tanjong Kling, this without break, each with their entrances. And amongst these were various races of Hindoos and Mussulmen ; and I saw others, who ate like dogs, to wit, they licked their food with their tongues; while there were others who, on being seen eating, would throw the food away, and chase you as if they would kill you, they were so angry. There were others who only half heated the food, and eat it there covered with perspira- tion, as if bathing in it. And when they had eaten they buried the rice and curry that was over in the sand. And there were others who tied three strands of thread round their belly before they ate, nor did they stop eating till the thread had broken. There were others who took white and red earth and smeared it on their breasts, with three stripes on their arms and brow;
THE JAVA EXPEDITION. — LOUD JUNTO AND TIIE TUANKU. 63
then they bowed themselves in front, then to the right and to the left, then to the back, when off they ran into the sea up to their navels, and worshipped the sun for some time, turning their faces to the right and to the left. Then they came ashore, and went to eat within white cloth screens, so that no one could see them at meals. But if persons should happen to see them, they would cast out then- food and break the earthen vessels in pieces, buying others for the next time. Others there were who could eat before people, but they could not speak; but their mouths kept repeating the cjomita kamita (?) and their fingers kept counting while they were eating, nor could they stir from this position. I saw many other foolish customs. Others there were who could not taste fish and flesh, or things of blood, but only vegetables. How many forms of people did I then not see, and kinds of dresses that I had never in my life seen before. And it was to be perceived that the English had provided then leaders with different dresses, some had tigers' skins for coats, others had hats covered with fowls' feathers dyed red, white, or black ; while others had beasts' skins for trowsers; there were also others who had clothes spotted like leopards. Also at that time I had an opportunity of inspecting various kinds of tents; some were like houses, with their sleeping chambers, and rooms furnished with tables and chairs, also doors and windows, bath-house and water-closet, all of cloth ; others were contrived so as to be red inside and white outside, decorated with various flowering.
Now, their daily routine, morning and night, was to drill them in companies ; others to fire cannon, and in rank and file to use musketry. Again, others to draw cannon with big bullocks ; and much was I astonished to see them fire the great guns close to the ears of these bullocks, as they did neither start nor move in the
64 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
slightest. And when the officers ordered the sepoys to run, the bullocks also ran with them ; and when halt was cried, they also halted at the same moment ; and if the men went at slow pace, they also did the same, as if they had the intelligence of mankind. Now, this brought some thoughts into my head. Here were brutes, that had no reason in them, yet how did they learn ; especially then should we (who have reason given to us to know bad from good, but who love to sit in idleness, and refuse to learn anything of wisdom or utility) do likewise.
Again, after a few days came a very large ship, carrying troops to the number of 300 men. These were all Mussulmen, under three English officers. So they landed, and were quartered at Banda Illiar, in the garden of Mr. Adrian Kock. Many people went to see them, myself amongst the rest ; and I saw them being exercised by their officers in the middle of the open ground, all on horseback, and then- horses were of the Arab breed, standing high, and of the same colour of hair and beauty. And the men were alike of great height and build, and all decorated ; their coats, trowsers, and hats being pearly, each having a musket slung from behind, with a cartridge box attached to the left side, also a forage bag hung to his shoulder, and two pistols in the saddle locked. And when he mounted, there were two skirts of leather binding his waist, so that he might not fall, for he did not have much grasp of any bridle, the horses being so well trained. They raced their horses as if they were flying ; and neither did they fall and rise in the firing of their guns, and re-loading, or in cutting with the sword. In the first place, their officer taught them this, not by the mouth but by the trumpet in the hand. And as he wished he sounded by the trumpet, when all the horses raced with a swiftness equal to
TIIE JAVA EXPEDITION". — LORD MINTO AND TIIE TUANKU. G5
lightning. Then he would sound the halt, when each horse would halt at the same moment in close line. The sound would he again for the horses to separate, when they would form a true square, as if they had heen a fort. Then would he another blast, when the men would fire at once, as if they were one. Then they would all load again. At another hlast they would sling their muskets and draw their swords. Then the trumpet would again be sounded, and they would go full speed up the hill, surrounding it, so as to have the appearance of a fort. Then would come the wood-cutters, ready with ropes round their waists, with the view to tie the wood after it was cut down ; each would then carry a bundle, and in this manner soon make all clear in front of the troops. Then the trumpet would sound, when all the cavalry would rush down, like the sound of the hurricane, to range themselves round then- officers, who were also on horsehack.
Now, I was much more astonished at the intelligence of the horses than I was at that of the bullocks which drew the cannon ; for the former obeyed the sound of the trumpet as if they had been spoken to, and this without a slip, however great the distance ; neither did the rider guide with the bridle, but ■ the horses manoeuvred by their own intelligence. Further, the horses of the officers were higher than those of the sepoys; and when they had done drilling, and were returning, they did not take the horses through the gates, but leaped the fence, which was seven cubits high* (ten and a half English feet). This was the case daily. And the Malacca people in hundreds came every day to see this feat, and to witness the officers leaping the fence, loud were they in their cries of astonishment at seeing the skill of the horses — equal as it was to that of mankind — in
* Oriental hyperbole.
F
06 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
understanding the sound of the trumpet. Says one, This is not men's but jins' work. Further, the sepoys were well acquainted with the reading of the Koran, understanding the Arab language, and especially Hindo- stanee. And amongst them were many descendants of the Arabs of the race of Syeds. They were gracious and manly and courteous. And I asked them how the English had got hold of them ; when they informed me that they were from Delhi, the Nabob's men, and the English having asked for their services, the Nabob had sent them. Then they added, ' We are three hundred, but we have left behind many thousands, all horsemen as we are.' Then I asked, ' What wage do you get ?' when they told me that the Nabob's allowance to each of them was 300 rupees monthly, and that the English allowed them the same, but with a further proviso that if they should take Java they were to have prize-money besides. Three days after this there came six large vessels, and in one of these was the General of Madras ; and when it had anchored, they saluted him from the fort. And immediately there were brought into Malacca about one thousand rank and file of sepoys from Lambongan and Kalambri, preceded by drums, fifes, etc., playing. And when they had arrived they were arranged in three lines on the right and left of the street, from the sea-shore to the Government House. On this the General dis- embarked, when I had an opportunity of seeing his mightiness. His face was long and red, his body was stumpy, of half the usual height of men. He wore a long black coat, with a star on his breast. There were four or five gentlemen with him. Then Mr. Baffles, Colonel Farquhar, and other leading men of Malacca, shook hands with him with due respect, and just as his feet touched the shore the guns were fired, and the guard of honour presented arms as he proceeded to the
THE JAVA EXPEDITION. — LORD MINTO AND THE TUANKU. C7
Government House. And when he looked to the right and the left he perceived the multitude saluting him, at which he bowed on either side ; and when he was about to ascend the stairs, the guard of honour fired three times in succession, with a sound as if the earth of Malacca were topsy-turvy. After this all returned to their homes.
Five or six days after this came the General from Bombay, who also was saluted from the fort ; and when he came on shore he was also received by Mr. Raffles as in the manner above related, only he had fewer guns given him than the Madras General got. His appear- ance was that of a short person, with a round face, hair white, body of moderate proportions ; but he seemed nervous at the crowd gazing on him. Him also Mr. Raffles saluted and carried to the Government House ; and as he stepped in, the regiments also fired as before, and then returned to their tents. Thus it went on daily, vessels continually arriving, to the number of four or five, till the anchorage was filled, like a fence of masts. This created a great rise in the price of provi- sions: three eggs for two wangs (about one shilling), one fowl for a rupee, while vegetables and fish were not to be had ; the mud fish in the creeks, in all their filthiness, were thus finished.
And at that time, with the people of Malacca, the poor spoke as the poor, and the rich spoke as the rich, each in their own degrees in making their livings. Also at that time not a woman stirred out of her house, for the streets were defiled with men ; some were drunk, others were fighting. The pings (?) were kept constantly busy in taking up drunkards ; for at that time peons or policemen were not known, but only the fiscal's officials, called pings (?). All the drunkards were sent to their places. And at that time no dollars or
68 • HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
other kinds of coin were to be seen, but Sicca rupees only, and all these newly coined. And the Hindoo sepoys died in great numbers, because when at sea they would not touch rice, but only cocoa-nut kernel and sugar : so on their debarkation on tasting rice they were taken with bowel complaints : thus they died day by day. They had also another custom, which was to bathe before meals. They had many other complaints in them, faintnesses and swellings.
Two or three days after this, a ship was espied at a great distance, painted black, having a certain signal at the mast head ; and when this had been made out by the various ships of the fleet, they all hoisted their colours, so also did the signal station on the top of the hill. This stirred Malacca, the news being that Lord Minto had arrived ; and it was soon discovered that his ships had pennants. There now went out an order for every one to clean their frontages in all the streets. Then thousands, of all races, collected at the sea-shore to have a sight of him and his dress, his name being so great. After this a great noise was heard of the regiments coming in full force from Lambongan, Kalebang Kitchil, and Kalebang Besar, Batang Tiga Libri, and Tanjong Kling," these with the music of drums and fifes and other- instruments, such as trumpets, mingling with the sound of the tramp of the men, all the sepoys and officers being clothed in new dresses which shone under the rays of the sun. And the length of the army was an hour's walking without break, and the men were four and eight deep, all in scarlet. And the multitude in Malacca increased so greatly, that there was no knowing who they were, but that they were of the human race. Now the regiments arranged themselves in three lines, from the sea-shore to the Government House. Soon after this was heard the sound of trumpets from Banda Hilar,
THE JAVA EXPEDITION. — LORD MINTO AND THE TUANKU. GO
with the coming of the cavalry with their officers, which were arranged outside of the foot regiments.
Now there was a pinnace of the East India Company, which was decorated with a flag on its prow, and its crew were all in red coats and trowsers. In this went Mr. Baffles, Colonel Farquhar, and other leading men, to pay then- respects to Lord Minto. And in about an hour's time he descended; and at the time of his leaving his ship the cannon roared like thunder, with- out ceasing for near two or three horns. The sea became dark with smoke. In a short time the pinnace arrived at land, where all the officers with their regi- ments were waiting, and on his stepping ashore cannons were fired from the hill.
And when I had seen the appearance and circum- stance of Lord Minto, I was much moved ; for I guessed in my mind as to his appearance, position, and height, that these would be great, and his dress gorgeous. I then thought of the Malay proverb : ' If you want news as to form, bite your fore-finger.' But his appearance was of one who was middle-aged, thin in body, of soft manners, and sweet countenance ; and I felt that he ^couldnot carry twenty cutties (about thirty pounds), so slow were his motions. His coat was black cloth, trowsers the same, nor was there anything peculiar. And when the leading men desired to pay their respects they remained at a distance, none daring to grasp his hand ; but they took off their hats and bent then- bodies. And the officers called out to all their men to present arms, by way of honour. And when he landed he bowed to the right and the left, then slowly walked up the centre between the files, the cannon roaring all the time ; nor -did he cease bowing with his hands as related before. Now, he had not the remotest appearance of pomposity ■or lofty-headedness ; but there was real modesty, with
70 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
kindly expression. And all that were there paid their respects to him while he waited for a little, raising his hands and returning the compliment to the poor of the Malays, Chinese, filings, and Portuguese ; and this he did with many smiles. Then did the hearts of these slaves of God open, asking for many blessings on this good sight and the loved of the people. Then thought I of the truth of the Malay proverb, to the effect, if the snake skirts (a bamboo root), it does not lose its venom, but increases it. As the Chinese proverb says, ' Is the water at the top not heaved by the water in the middle of the barrel ? it is that which moves it.' So especially are great men in this age like one who lays a table ; he has no office, but his haughtiness is so great, that when a poor man bows to him, even for three or four times, he does not see him. And if he has a carriage to sit in, his pride is beyond all description, he has got a rise. As say the children, ' If a monkey get a flower, of what use is it but to be torn in pieces and thrown to the earth ?' Say the Malays, ' High as the storks fly, they at last come to sit on a buffalo's back.' So it is the case, with the greatest of men, his end is to go under ground. But I beg most humble pardon of those great people just mentioned, if gentlemen read this my autobiography during my lifetime, and to assure them that I do not for a moment entertain such thoughts from spite or bad feeling, but only because it is our usage in our short days in this world to call that good, which is good, and that bad which is bad; as the Malays say, 'A dead tiger leaves its stripes, but a dead elephant leaves its bones.' Thus do men leave their names to those who come after them. So I return to the subject of Lord Minto.
Then after a short time, having returned the salutes of the people, he walked on slowly, bowing his head, till
THE JAVA EXPEDITION.— LORD MINTO AND THE TUANKU. 71
he had arrived at the Government House, and ascended. Then all the leading men of Malacca followed him, to wait on him ; hut of those Mr. Raffles was the only one who dare approach close to him ; as for the others, they stood at some distance, and having presented themselves they retired, the regiments then fired three salutes and returned to their camp. Then, as the day advanced, Lord Minto first went to the debtors' prison, as well as to that of the malefactors. Some had been imprisoned for three years, others for six or seven months. And when he had arrived, and the doors had been opened, all the prisoners came forward, some prostrating them- selves before his feet, others weeping, all making their plaints. On this the jailer came to keep them back, but he was requested not to do so ; for when his lordship had seen the condition of the suppliants his eyes were bathed in tears, and he spoke to them in Hindostanee, saying, ' Don't be afraid ; I will soon let you go.' On this they were delighted, and worshipped at his feet : they felt as they had now become princes. So he re- turned to the Government House.
Now Colonel Farquhar, with the jailer, soon after this arrived at the jail with the pings (?) and constables, carrying the keys to open the doors, when he cried out, saying, ' All of you come out, for Lord Minto has ordered it.' So they were all astir, and poured out with ex- pressions of thanks, and asking benedictions on him that the Almighty would give him long life and make him victorious over all his enemies ; and as he has thus leniently dealt with us for our faults, so may God relieve him in the pains of hell.
On the morrow Lord Minto next went to see the dark dungeon, and when he arrived he viewed the various instruments for torturing people, also the site of the scaffold, the stocks, the site for the gallows, and the
72 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
several implements left here since the time of the Dutch. And when he had done looking at all these, he gloomed heavily, and spitting, said to the keeper, ' Take them below and burn the whole of them ; let not one remain.' Then in a jiffy the convicts of the East India Company were brought in to remove the implements, when they were placed near the foot of the hill and burnt.
After this Lord Minto went to see the dark prison, and there he found three men confined, who had committed grave crimes — these even he let out, ordering at the same time that the dark cells should be demolished, and that a better gaol, such as stands at present, should be built ; and as to the comparison between them, it is as earth and sky, for the old jail had no openings, nor even a place to sit down on, or to sleep upon, but only the bare earth. Day and night were all the same, and it was a great receptacle for filth, and those who were put in it were put into such a place as hell is. But the present one has twenties of windows and lattices, secured by iron-work, and the insides of the floors are made of flat tiles, divided into apartments, as in other houses ; there are also sleeping places, with numbers of lamps kept lighted, the only annoyance being that the prisoners cannot go out when they wish ; and their wives and children can come to see them there. On this account most people say that the jail is a beautiful one, for men like to be put in it, and have no fear of it, as this is no punishment. But my notion is this : that such sayings are by people who have not thought the subject out, for, to their idea, can people be afraid of punishment? It appears to me that this is the instinct and disposition of those who have no heart for their fellow-creatures. Now do not punish, for the incarceration is sufficient. Is it not notorious that a jail is a place of infamy? and
,'
THE JAVA EXPEDITION.— LORD MEn'TO AND THE TUANKU. 73
this incarceration in itself is a punishment on the slaves of God ; .and if, in addition, one feels that they were wrong, it is equal to death itself.
And on a certain evening Lord Minto took a walk as far as the residence of Mr. Baffles, to see the garden. And immediately he arrived, Mr. Baffles descended to welcome him ; and when they came into the room where we were all employed writing, we rose to pay our respects, and as he was passing near my desk I retired, as I was the smallest there, to wit the youngest. On this he took me by the hand, saying in the language of Hindostan, ' Are you well ? ' and I felt his hand that it was as soft as a child of one year old. He then in- spected my writing, the nature of the letters, and in a little he ordered me to write ; and tapping my arm, lie asked, with a smile, how I could write so quickly, because of the writing being from right to left ; further, he added, ' It would be well if you were to learn English.' To which I replied, ' I would be delighted to learn English, sir.' After this he ascended the house and was introduced to Mrs. Raffles, on which he returned. But Mr. Baffles went daily to see him at the Government House. Now, as long as Lord Minto remained in Malacca he took a round in his carriage every evening, one day visiting the mosque, another the Chinese Joss- house, another the Dutch and Portuguese churches; and thus he went over the whole town, and wherever he was met, by rich, poor, or low, they stopped to make their bow, which in every case he returned, and on account .of the frequency of his doing so, he kept his hand con- tinuously to his hat, he could not put it on. ^ He held it in his hand, owing to these constant greetings, with good-hmnour and courtesy, without the slightest shade of pomposity either in his manner or dress. His attend- ants were dressed as gentlemen, with silk umbrellas,*
74 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
■watches, and ordinary clothes ; but many of them were yery troublesome and oppressive in the markets, and the dealers were afraid of them as being dependants of a mighty person. In dealing with the people they followed the custom of the dependants of Malay princes, •who do as they like with the inhabitants, and where in case of any one being killed, seven are devoted to death by way of reparation. These do not know the excellence of English customs. Don't mention great princes, for they will not do wThat is improper ; for if they kill a man (improperly), so do they kill their own laws; for on no account can they allow by custom a single person to do injury to another one, whether great or small, whether prince or subject — all are equal in the sight of the law". Yet it is bounden in us to do honour to the great : this for his office only, and not because he is oppressive, or covetous, or a maladministrator.
Now I will return to the affair of Tuanku Penglima Besar, whom Mr. Raffles had ordered On a mission to convey letters to Java, along with Pangeran, the son of a man of influence. Three months had now passed over since they went. The fleet had arrived at Malacca, filling the anchorage ; and I may state that the ships lay from Tanjong Kling to Pulo Panjang, in number one hundred, great and small, besides numerous others coming and going to the land of Java. Then there came the man who watched the flag-staff, to Mr. Raffles, saying, ' Sir, the schooner that you sent with Tuanku Penglima Besar has returned.' This newrs delighted him much, as the fleet was on the eve of its departure, having prepared all the implements and provisions. Soon after this the schooner anchored, when the Tuanku Penglima Besar and the Pangeran landed and came to the house of Mr. Raffles, carrying a letter enclosed in yellow cloth. Mr. Raffles sat in expectation, and
THE JAVA EXPEDITION. — LORD MEs'TO AND THE TUANKU. 7o
when he saw them he extended his hand to them, giving them every token of respect. Then said Mr. Raffles, 1 What news, oh Tuanku ; are you well ? ' Then said the Tuanku, ' I am well, were it not that I had been nearly stabbed, when two of my followers were killed as we landed with the letter;'— the whole circumstances of which he detailed to Mr. Raffles. Then said Mr. Raffles, < Never mind ; the East India Company will fully reward you for all your troubles ; and should we conquer Java, I shall ask of Lord Minto to confer a government on you, wherever you desire that should be. But what news does the letter contain ? ' The letter was then brought out in its yellow cloth. Then said Mr. Raffles, « Did you see the Susanan yourself?' The Tuanku replied, 'I saw him at night-time, when he told me that when the English came to take Java, he would be ready to assist them from the landward ; but he had little time to speak to me, owing to the watchfulness of the Hollanders. And when I had got the letter, there came people from the Dutch to try and catch me ; when I fought with them, two of my men being killed, and as to how many of them were killed I could not know, as it was very dark.' And as he was relating this the Pangeran was present concurring. Then said Mr. Raffles, 'The East India Company thank you greatly.' Leaving the letter, the Tuanku departed for his house. The Pangeran also returned, Mr. Raffles grasping the hands of each with great respect as they went out.
Then when evening arrived, Mr. Raffles called the Pangeran to read the letter, as he knew the Javanese language ; so he came at once, when Mr. Raffles told him to open the letter. And he read the complimen- tary part, giving respect to the East India Company, and good wishes to Mr. Raffles ; it also acknowledged the receipt of Mr. Rames's letter, and, as requested, the
76 HAEAYIT ABDULLA.
Susanan agreed to wait the coming of his friend (Mr. Baffles), when he would assist froni the landward. And when Mr. Raffles had heard the intent of the letter, momentary misgiving was apparent ; and when it was read, the Pangeran returned to his house. Then from the time that Mr. Raffles had heard the sound of the letter, he appeared as if he did not know what to think of it, till evening; for at one time he would take the letter in his hand only to lay it down again. Thus he went on.
Now, his daily custom was to go out in his carriage for a drive in the evening, but on that evening the carriage waited at his door till night, and he did not come down to it. The next morning I came at nine o'clock, and then I saw Mr. Raffles reclining betimes, and rising be- times, his hand still holding the letter. So when he had eaten he came below to see the people bind up the articles, yet holding the letter in his hand. He again went upstairs, but shortly he came down again hurriedly, and calling out to Ibrahim, he told him to bring out the five or six leaves of paper in the press, and when this was done, he immediately took the letter with the paper, and showed them to his clerk, asking the whole of us at the same time whether they were of the same sample, when we replied, ' They are exactly the same, without difference ; only that one had the writing somewhat more cramped.'
Thereupon he at once ordered a messenger to go and call the Pangeran, who at once came. But I now per- ceived that his colour had changed to pallidness ; and as he arrived Mr. Raffles was still holding the letter, walk- ing backwards and forwards in the upper-floor verandah. So the Pangeran went up, and when Mr. Raffles saw him fully, he looked askant at him, and without welcoming him; so he remained standing near the railing while
TIIE JAVA EXPEDITION. — LORD MINTO AND THE TUANKU. 77
Mr. Raffles was going back-wards and forwards for ten or twenty times, observing him as if he would thrash him, for I was peeping at them through the chink of the door. And as he glanced at him, the Pangeran got frightened. Then Mr. Baffles said to him, without naming him, ' Is this the letter of the Susanan at Bantaram or not ? ' At this the face of the Pangeran was deathlike — all the blood had fled, and he made no answer. Then said Mr. Baffles, ' I hear no answer ; but if you do not tell the truth, I will have you hung.' And when the Pangeran saw the fierce rage of Mr. Baffles, his arms and legs shook as he stood in such a manner as I have never seen ; and as for Mr. Baffles, his colour became blue, and his hands trembled with anger, when he cried, ' You* will not tell the truth.' When the Pangeran replied, 'What can I do ?' So he was silent for a moment. Then said Mr. Baffles, 'What do you say is the truth?' To which the Pangeran replied, ' I am a small man, under the authority of Tuanku Penglima Besar ; and what he ordered that I did. 0, sir, and if I had not done so he would have killed me ! ' Then said Mr. Baffles, ' Let me know how this came about : try and relate it truly, else you are a dead man.' Then said the Pangeran, ' How can I relate the circumstances, seeing that I have bound myself by oath on the Koran not to divulge anything ? ' To this Mr. Baffles said, ' I will not accept this excuse ; relate the circumstances you must.' To this the Pan- geran said, ' Very well, sir. At the commencement, we had sailed from this but twelve days, when we arrived at Palembang, and were struck by a squall from the south-east. The Tuanku then essayed to make for the Jambie, owing to the strength of the gale ; but I told him of your orders not to put in anywhere, but he replied, "If so, how many of us will die ? for how many
* Lie : as to a low fellow.
78 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
more die at sea than on land." He said this in anger ; so I said, "Do as you like." So off we sailed to Jambie, and reached there in two days ; and when we had arrived, he disembarked the opium and merchandise, and he, with his followers and sons, went on shore, myself and sailors staving on board. And I remained waiting for one, two, three, up to six days, but none of them returned till then ; when his followers came asking for what mer- chandise there was remaining. Of these I was afraid, lest they should stab me. So they took the things off to the shore, where they remained fifteen or sixteen days; after this the Tuanku returned to the ship with a sour face, and in a very ill-humour, and went to his bunk to sleep ; as for his men, they kept cooking and eating only, for five or six days, and went on shore again, saying, " It is a very severe .monsoon this year; let us stop awhile before sailing." To this I replied, " Very good, Tuanku." So he stopped on shore this time for, five or six days, when he came on board again, and ordered anchor to be raised and sail set, proceeding to a small creek, where we anchored again, and remained six or seven days. Then there came a tope (native craft) to pass that way, at which we fired ; but it returned the fire, killing two of our men ; and having fought till sundown, the breeze freshened, and the tope sailed away, to what part we could not tell. After that we took three proivs, and the crews having all escaped into the water, we boarded and took their merchandise. Thus we were employed for about fifteen days. After this the Tuanku called me one morning, asking me what I had to suggest, as we would not now be able to carry the letter to the Susanan, by reason of the strength of the monsoon. I replied, "Why not? We could get on by tacking, the full strength of the monsoon not being against us." When he heard this he was dreadfully angry with
THE JAVA EXPEDITION. LORD MIXTO AXD THE TUAXKU. 79
me, and his face became sour ; so I was silent, lest he might stab me. On this he said, "I have got a pro- posal, in which I wish you all to enter." We all asked, " What is it ?" To this he replied, " I wish you all to swear silence regarding it ; and if any of you will not do as I wish, say so now." Then said we all, " 0 Tuanku, let us know what you wish." At this he pulled out the Koran, and calling me he ordered me to swear on it. So I was put in terror by his very appearance — his excessive rage, as if he would murder us all. So I thought to myself, if I do not give in he will murder me. So I swore that I would keep his secret ; and all the men did likewise. When we had done this, then he ■said, "Let us prepare a letter to the effect as if the Susanan had replied to you." So I composed the letter, when he enclosed it in yellow cloth ; and from that date he pressed on us the compact as to keeping silence. This done, we sailed for Malacca. This, sir, is the state of the case, from its commencement to its com- pletion.'
When Mr. Baffles heard all this he scratched his ears and stamped his feet with rage, and with a blank face told him to go below to wait there ; and to look at Mr. Raffles, you would take him as one under great trouble, without ceasing, for on that day it was intended to put his effects on board ship, it being the day for sailing. The whole sea of Malacca was dark with ships under sail. The town of Malacca was also busy on this account. On this day about fifty or sixty ships sailed, leaving fifty or sixty only. And about three o'clock in the afternoon there came a gentleman in his carriage to the house of Mr. Raffles, to hear the news brought by the letter from Java. But Mr. Raffles had got a great affront, owing to every one wishing so much to see the tenor of it. Lord Minto also came and was received by
80 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
Mr. Eaffles with a pallid countenance. And when the gentlemen had all collected, Mr. Raffles ordered the Tuanku to be called, ordering the sentries at the same time that when he arrived his followers were not to be allowed entrance. Now, it had been his custom on former occasions to come at once, but this time he did not come till the messengers had been sent, as he was collecting his goods to be off. At last, however, he came, bringing with him ten or twelve followers, all armed with their krises, these with his two sons also ; but when they came to the gate, the sepoys would not allow them to enter, but only the Tuanku himself, so they remained outside. He was thus unsupported, and proceeded by himself slowly. And as he was going to ascend the stairs, he was not permitted to do so by the watchman ; but this was made known to Mr. Eaffles. On this the latter descended, and gazed at the face of the Tuanku, who saluted, but Mr. Eaffles took no notice of his salutation, by reason of vexation, but told him that he was a liar, and that he would have him blown from a cannon's mouth; further, that he should not stand there, as the schooner was about to sail that night. He added, ' Go you on board at once, for at four o'clock it sails : and at sea I shall blow you from the cannon's mouth. It was my intention to sail to-morrow morning, if it had not been for you. You ought to be hung here. Go ; don't stand before me ; I hate the sight of a liar and a pirate ! ' The face of the Tuanku now took the appearance of a corpse, and he could not say a word ; as the stones sound in the distance, so was his sound, owing to his having got this fright. So also Mr. Eaffles had received a great affront before these great people assembled, especially before Lord Minto, for he had spoken well of the Tuanku, and he would have been less sorry to lose ten thousand dollars than to have been duped in this-
THE JAVA EXPEDITION. — LORD MrNTO AND TnE TUANKU. 81
manner. He had been set at fault before the leading men, and so brought to shame.
Now, to my notion, he designedly told the Tuanku to make off with himself, so that he might be out of the sight of his coadjutors, otherwise he would have done as he intended. So the Tuanku Penglima Besar returned to his house ; and as to the house of Mr. Raffles, it was all in confusion, owing to his intended departure, and in this confusion the Tuanku escaped by night in a swift boat across the Straits to Siak.
Truly this was a subject of great wonder to me, and it should stand as a remembrancer to all persons wanting a trustworthy agent, or who put undue faith in one. It was, however, a rare circumstance. And in this age, if there be a want of faithfulness in work that requires rapid completion, there will be cause for repentance. This was Mr. Eaffles's case ; but why should there be any- more to-do about it ? As say the Malays, ' Eepent before- hand, for it is little use repenting afterwards ; ' and it is a wise saying, that 'A blue drop spoils the milk in the pail.' So, as Mr. Raffles was not sufficiently strict in an important undertaking, he was found at fault afterwards. But this was of little consequence, for if a crow were to bathe in attar of roses, and were it to be fed on amber- gris and musk, still it would not make its feathers white — but black they would remain.
Two days after this the whole fleet sailed. And at night-time one large ship took fire off Tanjing Kling, and the cause of the accident was from a person smoking cheroots, one of which he had thrown down in the hold, which was set ablaze, so that all the merchandise was con- sumed ; the conflagration commencing at midnight and continuing till eleven next morning, at which time the powder magazine was reached, when the ship was blown up with the sound of thunder — even Malacca quaked ;
G
82 IIAKAYIT ABDULLA.
the ship then went down. The captain was on shore at the time ; and when the fire was seen by the fleet, all the ships weighed their anchors to escape from the flames, and sailed. For several days after this event the Malacca people picked up articles and implements strewed along the sea-shore.
Mr. Raffles asked me to go along with him to Java, but my mother would not allow it, and with tears in her eyes she pleaded that she had not two or three sons, but only me ; and I the apple of her eye. To this Mr. Raffles replied, 'Are you afraid that he will die ? ' To this my mother said, ' It is not death I fear, but he is yet a youth, and not yet accustomed to be away from his mother and father. I hear, also, that Java is a very sickly country, and for this reason I cannot make up my mind to part with him. To this Mr. Raffles replied, ' Very well, my lady; if my life be spared, I shall return here, and I can take 'him into my employ again.' So he returned to his office, and calling me in he wrote a certificate, and going to his cashbox, he brought out thirty dollars, and showing me the certificate, he said, 'If any English gentlemen wish to learn Malay, show this to them, and you will get em- ployment;' the which I took with respect. After this he told me to go and pay my respects to his wife ; so I went to her, and did as he ordered, when she gave me ten dollars, with half a roll of flowered cloth, em- broidered with gold, saying, 'With this make a coat.' On this I retired, by reason of my sorrow and my excessive love for Mr. Raffles ; and secondly, because I regarded his lady as my foster-parent. At that time, had it not been from fear of my parents, my feeling was to go with them ■wherever that had been. This was owing to their courteous manners and kind admonitions, which God alone can repay in this world with greatness and mighti- ness, with long life in His remembrance and tranquillity.
THE JAVA EXPEDITION.
At the same time Mr. Raffles made overtures to my uncle, Ismail Libby, who agreed ; so on the morrow they sailed in the ship of Lord Minto. And of the rest of the fleet not one ship remained in the Roads of Malacca."
The employment of Tuanku Penglima Besar by Raffles is an episode in the Java war which, but for Abdulla, would have never seen the light. Sixty years after the event no harm can come of its exposure, but only amusement to his Dutch and English friends. It is a most candid revelation of the secrets of diplomacy, and contains an excellent moral for modern tropical Govern- ments to digest. The system of setting up native chiefs against other European powers is at best an unworthy act on the part of the white man, and much more so when a common religion binds the belligerent powers. No doubt, if we search over the world, we find abundant precedents for such acts, yet these are, on enlarged principles, abhorrent to our better judgments. Raffles indeed had to stoop to conquer ; and what great men have not to do this ? The escort by Raffles and Far- quhar of two such scoundrels is particularly enjoyable. I presume such things must be, and always will be, notwithstanding.
The Java Expedition reached Batavia on August 4th, 1811, and gathered in Malacca two months pre- viously, viz., June 1st, 1811. The expedition consisted of ninety sail, carrying G000 Europeans and 6000 native troops. Abdulla would be at this time fourteen years of age. He, being a Mahomedan, shows an aversion to the Hindoos and their customs, while he paints them to the life : it is the description of the army of Xerxes over again, as given by the father of history
84 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
himself, to wit, Herodotus. On the contrary, he is bewitched with the manner and bearing of the Ma- homedan cavalry) of which he seems to have retained vivid impressions, though evidently exaggerated by admiration and time.
Here we have an illustration of a common bond of union of a very powerful nature, viz., the Koran. I have often asked myself why the children were so thumped and beaten to instil its precepts into them, and the solution is, that a common religious standard — a mystery to the vulgar — coheres the masses. How do priests and statesmen use this fact ?
In describing the ceremonies, like every other Asiatic, Abdulla is in his element, though these can have little interest to the European reader. The commander-in- chief he describes was Sir Samuel Ahmuty. The cause of disease amongst the Hindoos he correctly notices, and in doing so brings to our view the miseries of caste, and the practical objections to their sects being transported over the "kala pani," or sea, owing to the great priva- tions they have to suffer. In dealing with these men this has not always been intelligently understood, and miscarriages and misfortunes have been the conse- quence.
The observations on Lord Minto, at that time Governor-General of India, are peculiarly full and in- teresting. This was Gilbert Elliot, second Earl of Minto, an eminent scion of that noble and amiable family, an honour to the Borders. How highly he was appreciated in these distant regions will be learnt from the pen of our native author. He had indeed been scanned by a young eye, yet the impressions left on the mind of the youth are apparent, and these impressions were of a large-minded philanthropy. England's honour and prestige would always be safe in such hands. But the
TOE POPULARITY OF LORD JUNTO. OO
native annalist docs not sec with our eyes, nor weigh things with our mind ; his old saws are strange to as, his proverbs difficult to unriddle. The snake and the bamboo root seems to he a favourite simile, and its application in this easel do not fully apprehend; but the Chinese proverb quoted seems to imply that, how- ever high an individual might be, yet his heart-strings are moved by the people : without them he could have .no mightiness, no sphere, no arena. In this way my old Malay Mend Oamat's proverb was apt, which was to this effect, "What is the use of being a raja if you have no ryots (subjects) '?" The habit of the stork, which iiies high, is to sit on the buffalo's back and clean that .animal's skin of vermin, an office apparently mutually agreeable ; so high people sometimes have to come down .to menial offices. The parallel of the monkey and the flower would indicate that parvenus misguide their wealth by not knowing its true objects, and thus make them- selves obnoxious and ridiculous.
The benedictions of the wretched prisoners on thesoul of Lord Minto are extremely characteristic, and provide a lesson to those who have to deal with the tropical races. Thus, while the highest authority in the Empire of India had done a most gracious act, emanating from a most philanthropic purpose, these incorrigible recipients of a generous favour wiU not unbend a jot in their religious doctrine, viz., that all go to hell, the Governor-General of India amongst the rest, excepting the good or elect of their own sects. The furthest limit to which they can unbend is to wish him relief in the pains of hell. Of course these poor people are not singular in such a . doctrine, for even some Englishmen cannot regard then- neighbours without harbouring similar feelings. But we tread on dangerous ground, and will avoid it at present. However, as a memento of this and other
SG HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
high-minded acts at Malacca, Lord Minto's portrait was procured and hung up in the resident magistrate's office, ■where he is represented as breaking the shackles of cruelty. When I saw it, in 1848, I viewed it with great curiosity. The climate had so destroyed the colours that it might have been taken for a black Madonna.
Again, when we read Abdulla's remarks on the new jail, we have an instance of his enlightenment, far in advance of the opinions of his countrymen ; indeed, they are equal to our most advanced civilization, which, when carried to extremes, ends in a morbid old-icomanism which is unjust to society.
While Abdulla has the highest respect for Lord Minto, he appears to have been impressed with an opposite feeling towards his followers ; this is too common a case all the world over, and unavoidable.
The sequel to the proceedings of the two "worthy'' native ambassadors is related by Abdulla with much "gusto;" they illustrate the natural courses of two debased, unprincipled adventurers, who seem to have had cunning enough to hoodwink Raffles. It will be readily seen that their concocted story was not plaus- ible enough to disarm his immediate suspicion ; and Raffles' s perplexities and behaviour under the circum- stances are inimitably drawn. The portrait is to the life ; the actors behaved exactly as they should have done in then respective characters. So this is too true an un- veiling of one of the cast-nets wove for circumscribing the Dutch. Raffles's mortification at the failure of his project, and his rage at the unblushing duplicity of his agents, are written down just as we could imagine the actual facts. The whole of the Pangeran's confession is so circumstantial as to command credence ; and we see Raffles struck with blank disappointment at the end of
THE JAVA EXPEDITION. 87
the narrative, when the forgery is admitted; but his worst trial was to come in the visit of the Governor- General himself to hear the result of the great embassy. Abdulla's summation is truly philosophical; viz., repent before, for it is of no use to rej>ent afterwards ; and his simile of the crow is synonymous with the English saying, You cannot wash a black man white. Common sense is the same in all races, though the motives that impel us vary.
The influence of Raffles over the natives and those coming in contact with him must have been great, but not more so than can be attained by any well-educated and well-behaved European who likes to exercise self- abnegation and pursue a well-defined course. In later years Sir James Brooke was an excellent example of such a man. He was, like Raffles, ambitious, but for the good of the people.
But to return : the expedition at length sails, and Abdulla is left behind; he parts from Mr. Baffles with grief, a circumstance creditable to both parties. Batavia was taken by a coup de main under the lead of Colonel Gillispie, and Java, with its 5,000,000 of inhabitants, was conquered by 12,000 men. The Dutch and French having surrendered, the Javanese now attempted to regain their independence, but without avail. Whilst, previous to 1795, the English had only two outlying and inconsider- able settlements in the great Indian Archipelago, viz., Penang and Bencoolen, in sixteen years afterwards their flag covered the whole vast area. In this consummation Baffles was the most prominent actor. But as social subjects rather than historical are congenial to this story, we will ask how so slight an army could effect so great a conquest? Simply in this way: I have not been able to find out the numbers of Dutch and French opposed to the English, but this we may take as certain, that their
88 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
numbers would be very inferior, tbough the native levies might be enormously in excess ; yet the whole burden of defending Java would fall on the Europeans. As between English and Dutch, the natives in their hearts would stand aloof ; they had no practical interest in the quarrel, excepting to get rid of both. On asking a Malay friend the cause of this, he said, "An elephant eats sugar-cane, and a tiger eats kids ; but when they quarrel we do not know their motives, certain it is, if we interfere we may be eaten by the one or crushed by the other, so our sense of preservation tells us to avoid the melee." That these sentiments are not confined, as between the black and the white races, is proved by the Commentaries of Alboquerqui, in which De Barros states, that on the invasion of Malacca by the Portuguese the Malabarese, Peguans, and Javanese favoured the enterprise against the Malays themselves.
The next subject that the autobiographer takes up is his intercourse with the Protestant missionaries, who had established a station at Malacca under the auspices of the London Mission Society. He states that these first arrived in 1823, but from the context this is evidently a mistake ; for we find, in the life of Dr. Morri- son, that Dr. Milne was sent out in 1813. Thus Abdulla's age would be at that time sixteen. He says that the name of the missionary was Mr. Milne, whose daughter was called Maria, and whose twin sons were called William and Piobert. He got news that English was taught gratuitously, nor was a charge even made for paper, ink, or pens. This news delighted him, for he still remembered the advice of Lord Minto and Mr. Raffles, to study English, which would be of great service to him by-and-by. Of Dr. Milne he observes that his bearing and deportment were those of a gentle-
THE MALACCA MISSION. 89
man; his conversation was polite and refined. Even in anger his countenance gleamed with mildness. He was indcfatigahle in studying all things, and had a retentive memory ; and he naively adds, if he was taught anything one month he could answer correctly the next. This was reversing positions. A little native hoy teach- ing an old man, on whose shoulders were placed the responsibilities of great future events. However, I pre- sume one must stoop to conquer. The stronger mind in the long run will heat.
Betimes the native hoy became attached to Mr. Milne's family; for further on he says, "As I went daily to teach Mr. Milne, the boys became familiar with me, insomuch that they came to my house to eat and drink. Under such circumstances I became fond of them, and they of me. Further, Mrs. Milne was a nice lady, drawing one's affection and regard with gentleness and sweetness of countenance."
Of Dr. Morrison, the great Chinese scholar, Abdulla says that a short time after Mr. Milne had removed to his new house, Dr. Morrison came to Malacca to stay with him, when he employed himself constantly, night And day, in studying and writing Chinese. He wrote with a Chinese hair-pencil, as is their custom. Abdulla believes that at that time there was not a single European so learned in Chinese as Dr. Morrison ; and Mr. Milne got lessons from him. He adds that his only fault was that he wore the Chinese costume, for in the Chinese dress no one could have taken him for a white man ! His reason for saying this is, that his manner, voice, furniture, and instruments, were all Chinese. He adds, moreover, that there was one quality in Dr. Morrison, viz., that he had the mein of a gentle- man, gaining great influence over one's feelings by soft and gentle conversation, and giving good counsel.
{)0 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
Abdulla was at this time, be tells us, learning the Gospel of St. Matthew, when Dr. Morrison would explain diffi- cult passages.
So much for Abdulla's idea of the learned North- umbrian. That he could see no difference between him and a Chinaman appears astonishing ; but I presume the autobiographer was affected with the same obtuse- ness of perception that people in general have in looking at sheep—they say sheep are all alike, while the shepherd himself sees the most marked difference of features and expression. On the same principle, I have heard people remark that all Chinamen are alike; Chinamen, no doubt, remark the same of us. Abdulla expresses his astonishment that men such as Dr. Morrison should condescend so much ; and as a reason for this, he ex- plains that intelligent men do so for the good it does to posterity. No doubt this is an admirable solution of a very difficult and perplexing problem.
In course of time Abdulla tells us that he became an agent of the missionaries, to "call Malay children" to come to learn to read and write, but which undertaking soon called down on him the wrath of his co-religionists, they having taken fright lest their children might be forced, as Abdulla expresses himself, to become "Eng- lish," meaning Christians. He seems to have argued and explained to no purpose, telling them that the object was no other than to teach them their own language, and the language of the English, as these acquisitions in after-life would greatly facilitate their earning a liveli- hood. But this would not do, for the Mahomedan parents got the other idea into their heads, and there was no pacifying them— the more he harangued, the more they avoided him. Matters came to such a pitch at last, that they conceived a spite against him, so they complained to his father. Upon this high words took place between
THE MALACCA MISSION. 91
father and son, till at length the former went into his room to seek a rattan to Hog our autobiographer ; but this was avoided by Abdulla falling at his father's feet. Matters between father and son were at length made up by the missionary calling on tlie father and apparently pacifying him with regard to his religious scruples. After this Abdulla prospered, so that his co-religionists' spite was inflamed the more, on which they nicknamed him "Abdulla Padre," an opprobrious epithet in the feelings of Mahomedans.
This candid confession leads us to look at the principle of action on the part of the English missionaries, nor is this principle confined to their body, but I have seen it practised both by French and Portuguese as occasion offered. They, it is true, take their commission from the home societies to propagate the Gospel, then why should they pretend to the natives to do another thing ? Is this honest ? and if not honest, will the measure not re-act against the real object ? Or, provided that the mission- aries honestly ignore the gospel in then- teaching, and give secular instruction only, are they doing their duty to those who sent them out? In either case there is a dilemma out of which various minds will extricate themselves in different ways; some will say the ends justify the means ; others, enlighten first and proselytize afterwards ; others (I have known them) resign the task, as not being straightforward. I have seen a few of the enlightened subjects of this secular teaching, and in mind and genius they were young Bengal on a small scale ; they had lost what reverence for religion and respect for parents they had ever had. and revelled in full freedom of thought and license of behaviour. The melancholy address of Dr. Duff to the Free Church Assembly of Scotland was inspired by this state of matters.
02 IIAKAYIT ABDULLA.
Abdulla informs us that he remained six or seven years at these duties, during which time he translated many books. At length he got married, and had the honour of entertaining his principals. When dinner was over they complimented him, and desired to see his wife, when he took them in (to the inner apartments), where they shook hands with her, a most unusual thing for Christian gentlemen to do to Mahomedan ladies ; but in this we see the force of the progress of good under- standing. It is therefore notable.
Of Dr. Milne our autobiographer appears to have con- ceived a very high opinion. He says of him, "He was gentle, mindful, and helpful to me, with great kindness. These benefits I can never repay to him. It is God alone who will give him seven-fold blessings. I shall never forget him as long as I live. It was now only that I was over head and ears in debt, as the Malay proverb goes; the debt of gold can be repaid, but the debt of gratitude we carry to our graves. But the change of the world fell on him, — his wife died, and after this he seemed always buried in grief. He tired of study and fell sick, and in a short time died also." Thus a noble spirit was lost to the earth, too often the sad fate of the ardent, the benevolent, and the truly pious. This was in 1822, thus the event has been made to precede the •course of the narrative.
And while on this subject, I may notice the habits of Protestant missionaries in warm climates as being obnoxious to their bodily health. As I have observed them, they generally arrive in the tropics after they are no longer young men ; thus their habits are confirmed, and these, being generally of a studious and sedentary nature, aggravate the climatic influences working against them. They seldom, I may say never, mix in the social circles of then countrymen, which induces an ascetic form
THE MALACCA MISSION. 93
of thought which tells in time to their bodily disad- vantage. In no part of the world is muscular Christianity more required, as it supports a frame of mind that will enter into all active pursuits and recreations without abating a jot of self-respect or enthusiasm in the sacred cause ; and in this respect I have observed of the French Catholic missionaries, with whom my feelings are in no way enlisted, that they pursue an active and enterprising line of duty calculated not only to spread their influence, but to preserve their European vigour of constitution. At Singapore, and other settlements, you might see them walking to great distances, under the heat of the sun, and at all times of the day and night, pursuing their calling. The consequence of this line of action has been that, while they count thousands of converts, the class-room and house-keeping Protestant missionaries have, I may say, done nothing, — absolutely nothing — in the same direction.
I do not make these comments in a hostile spirit, but as one of their well-wishers, who would like to see their efforts better directed, and crowned with more success. Amongst the natives secular education will not effect what is aimed at, it in fact does damage — as I have shown above — rather than good. It must be religious teaching, open and undisguised, and this is only to be arrived at by personal contact with the people in their homes. But the lady influence is against this consum- mation ; — the Catholic missionaries have not this draw- back, such as it is. By lady influence, I mean the not unnatural attraction to stop at home, an impediment which no doubt an exceptional few despise and get over. An unmarried priesthood, on the contrary, finds the wide world its appropriate sphere. Thus Le Favre ransacked the forests of the wild interior, while his confreres spread themselves over Cochin China, Corea,
94 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
Tartary, and Thibet, while our married missionaries stayed in the European settlements. Uxoriousness was the great fault imposed on our missionaries by their fellow Protestants, and so much am I im- pressed with its application, that I would advocate that no man should be advanced to the high office of missionary till he had served ten years unmarried, and had stood the ordeal with an unblemished character for virtue and self-abnegation. The pious world would thus rid itself of sensualism and save a deal of mis-spent money.
If this portion of the narrative is not the most re- assuring part of Abdulla's account of the Malacca Mission, his troubles with the German missionary are at least unique. It appears that Abdulla was handed over to this missionary by Dr. Milne, to assist in trans- lating the New Testament into Malay, the original one by the Dutch being a bad one. But now commenced a series of squabbles that upset our autobiographer's equanimity. The German's system seems to have been to first construct a Malay grammar out of the rules of Lindley Murray, and then to translate the Scriptures on these principles, which thus became a Bible in Malay words but in English idiom. This, of course, was utterly unintelligible, and the sources of constant quarrels ; but Abdulla was true to his salt, and at last gave in, telling the German it was Ids Bible, so he could do as he liked. When they got to the Acts of the Apostles, the German at length told Abdulla, "that where a phrase is wrong, it is of little consequence, as these are a mere historn." Whatever the German's views may be, I cannot forget the teaching of an ortho- dox Calvinist, to this effect, — that damnation would come of not believing every word. Yet here is a missionary saying many of these words were of little consequence.
THE MALACCA MISSION. 95
So when they got to the end of their labours, we have the humiliating admittance that there were in the whole work not to be found ten phrases which were not wrong. Now I have merely the manuscript of Abdulla's work, but it was afterwards printed in full at the mission press itself, and affords the best proof that his criticisms were true.
96 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
IX.
THE DUTCH REPOSSESS MALACCA.
" Thus it was with me when a rumour reached Malacca that an English schooner had been captured by pirates between Penang and Malacca, in which there was an English lady, whom they had carried off somewhere to the eastward. The schooner had sailed out of Penang. Two or three days after this another report got abroad, that Colonel Farquhar was about to sail in search of her. And he took with him four or five natives of Malacca, with a clerk called Inchi Iabin Abdul Ujia, that is he who is named Inchi Siang. So they sailed from Malacca ; and it was kept a close secret from the first, no one knowing, only this, that Colonel Farquhar had gone to seek the lady ; but of this I cannot write, for I did not know the circumstances. However, after they had re- turned to Malacca, I made cautious inquiries, when I learnt that the English had gone to seek a place to found a new town. First, Colonel Farquhar went to Siak, with a view of getting the raja to allow of a town being settled at Tanjong Iati ; but it was found that at that place in the north-east monsoon the waves were so high that neither ships nor prows could withstand them. On this account the place would not suit ; so they went to Diak, but hence, owing to some reason unknown to me,
THE DUTCH REPOSSESS MALACCA. 97
they passed on to Carimon. And when they arrived here they viewed the land and the hills, with which they were much pleased ; so they sought an anchorage, but they could nowhere find a secure harbour. Further, they sounded all round, but found the water too deep, and there was no shelter in gales, owing to the proximity of rocks. So this would not suit, and they embarked and sailed for Johore, where they landed and viewed the place. But what was their notion of it ? I do not know, for they again embarked and returned to Malacca ; and having arrived there, a day did not go over before they created Captain David (Davis) deputy in charge of Malacca, and they sailed again in the same direction.
Two days after Colonel Farquhar had sailed from Malacca, there came two large Dutch ships and one schooner, bringing with them the Governor and secre- taries, with officers and Dutch troops, also Javanese, with their equipments : these came to take over Malacca. And at that time the majority of the races inhabiting Malacca were glad of the Dutch taking the country, as they were imbued with the opinion that then they would have more easy times of it than they had under the English ; but they did not anticipate that with these would come leeches that would draw the very blood from their bodies. And at that time I was in great distress, owing to the thoughts of my useless labour, so long continued, in mastering the language and letters of the English ; and should these not remain, to whom could I sell my merchandise ;* moreover, they would be forbidden goods. And I did not know a word of Dutch, so I felt depressed, and was ashamed when I met the Dutch descendants in Malacca, for their faces were red with joy, as their race had now returned. And many of them said to me, ' What is the use of English to you now you
* That is, his professional acquirements.
H
98 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
have learnt it ? but if you bad learnt Dutch, there would have been some sense in it, as now they have got the country they will keep it for good.' So my despondency increased on hearing these words, and I even blamed myself for having learnt English ; yet, under the circum- stances, I put my trust in the Almighty, who feeds His slaves, and whom His creatures cannot comprehend. And this was not because of my knowledge of either the Dutch or the English, but because of an unexpected event having come on me.
To proceed. The Dutch that came in the above ships landed, and they remained at Banda Illiar ; and the country was not given over to them, for its Governor was absent ; but in five days Colonel Farquhar returned, when he gave authority to Captain Davis to hand over Malacca, on which he sailed again. Then, according to my recollection, it was at seven in the morning of the next day that the Dutch soldiers entered the fort along with their officers, accompanied with the drum and fife and other noises ; also the Governor and secretaries, carry- ing with them a Dutch flag, and having drawn swords in their hands. These approached the flag-mast at the top of the hill, where were already waiting the English soldiers, headed by their officers and leaders with drawn swords in their hands, and drums and fifes playing. Then at the first the English hoisted their flag, with the drums beating and fifes playing with a plaintive note ; and I observed that their appearance was distressed and sorrowful, like corpses, all having doleful faces. Then, after about ten minutes, they lowered the flag. Now, at the foot of the mast companies of both Dutch and English soldiers were drawn up, but each on their respective sides, and the inhabitants filled the area in order to see the proceedings. There were also persons engaged to read proclamations in four languages. They
THE DUTCH REPOSSESS MALACCA. 99
now hoisted the Dutch flag, when their music struck up with lively airs. The flag remained up also for about ten minutes ; and when it was descending, to see the soldiers of the two different races, you would think that they would have murdered each other in their wrath, their faces were so red, like tigers about to spring on their prey, each with weapons in their hands. They now hoisted both flags together, and held them for a moment at the mast-head ; they then lowered them. This they did three times before they lowered the English flag, which they did very slowly ; and at this period the tears were seen to start in the eyes of many of the English, for their drums and fifes played slowly, as the sound of people wailing : this moved the hearts of those that saw them. And when the English flag had reached the ground, they then read the proclamation in four lan- guages, to this effect : —
1 Know all ye that we read this for your information : Whereas the King of England, in council, has agreed, to wit, that the country of Malacca shall be made over (srah) by His Majesty the King of England to His Majesty the King of Holland.'
After this had been read, all the English officers and their followers returned to their homes, and the Dutch officers proceeded to relieve the English guards at the various stations.
The name of the new Governor was Timmerman Tysen ; the name of his secretary, Baumhoor (?) ; and the name of the commandant, Myor (?), to wit, Fernus (?) The Governor went to the Stadt House, the secretary to a house in the fort on the sea-side, this with his guard.
But to return to the affairs of Colonel Farquhar, who sailed in a vessel. This he ordered to proceed towards Singapore, the reason of this being that he had been
100 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
acquainted of old with Tuanku Long, son of Sultan Mahmud, at the time he lived in Malacca. And there was a report at that time that Tuanku Long had ob- tained a deal of money from Colonel Farquhar, and for that he was about to give the island of Singapore to the English. From this it arose that Colonel Farquhar wished to see him at Rhio, to conclude the agreement ; nor till this was done did he return to Malacca to give over the place to the Dutch, as I have related. And as to the whole that passed between him and Tuanku Long, he made Mr. Raffles,* who at this time was at Penang, aware of the same by letter. Mr. Raffles there- upon reported to the Governor-General in Bengal, who returned for answer, that the East India Company would guarantee no more expenses in settling the place than the salaries of himself and Colonel Farquhar ; but if it became a place at a future time, the Company would consider the subject. On this Mr. Raffles admitted that he had an understanding with Colonel Farquhar that he should, under all hazards, found the Settlement of Singapore. After this he came to Malacca, and con- sulted with Colonel Farquhar; and when they had settled operations, he ordered him to return to Singapore and arrange there as he should think fit, till he came himself, he at that time being under orders, from the Governor-General, to settle some disputes existing amongst the Rajas of Acheen, to wit, Acheen Pedier and Tallo Samaway, who were about to be at warfare, when they had sent a letter to Bengal asking for intervention, with a view to settlement.
So Mr. Raffles sailed to Acheen, and Colonel Far- quhar set out for Singapore, and when he arrived he landed from the vessels, having with him some Malacca
* Now Sir Stamford, though Abdulla yet calls him Tuan Raffles, which I literally translate.
FOUNDING THE SETTLEMENT OF SINGAPORE. 101
men as followers. He proceeded to the plain, where the court-house now stands, which at that time was covered with kamunting and kadudu plants. Towards the river there were four or five small huts, where were also planted six or seven cocoa-nut trees, and one hut, somewhat larger, in which the Tomungong lived. Colonel Farquhar walked round the plain, and when the Orang Laut (sea Malays) met him they ran away, to give notice to their chief, on which he came out at once to meet him. At this time Colonel Farquhar was rest- ing below a kalat tree in the centre of the plain, and when they approached they paid their respects and shook hands, on which Colonel Farquhar was escorted to the Tomungong's house, where they entered into con- versation as to the object of coming, with the origin of the whole affair, till the time that Mr. Eaffles had sent a letter from Bencoolen, requesting that a good site be chosen for a new settlement, now that the English had given over Malacca to the Dutch.
Now if this place would do, and the English should make a town, it would be a good thing for the Malays in carrying on their traffic, and where also all the Europeans would collect, bringing their merchandise. This was said, with much other argument and counsel, with cajolings to soften the heart of the Tomungong, as sugar melts in the mouth.
Thus answered the Tomungong: 'I am a mere cast- away, my desire having taken me to Ehio, and you know the custom of the Malay rajas is self-aggrandisement. Owing to this I have cast myself away on this island, in the middle of the sea ; but yet I am the inheritor of it by the Malayan law, for it is the Tomungong's right to govern the islands, for the true sovereign is dead, viz., Sultan Mahmud. And he had two princes, but they are not full brothers : one is named Abdulrahnian, and the
102 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
other Hassin, who is called Tuanku Long. Now since the death of the sovereign, the leading men of Ehio, Diak, and Pahang hare sought thousands of faults, as to whom should be established, by the Bindoharn, for they are both equally princes. It is the wish of Tuanku Putri, the wife of the deceased, to elevate Tuanku Long, but of the leading men to elevate Tuanku Abdulrahman. From this comes thousands of troubles : such is the state of things. Tuanku Abdulrahman has gone to Tringanu, leaving Tuanku Long in Ehio : such is the state of affairs. In the first place, however, the regalia are all in the possession of Tuanku Putri.'
And when Colonel Farquhar heard this he smiled, saying, ' My prince, all these things Mr. Baffles has well considered, and he can put them straight.' He then asked the name of the hill behind the plain, when he was told that of old it was called Bukit Larungan. Then he asked the reason of such a name, when the Tomungong replied, that when the Piaja resided here in olden times, he erected his palace there, and would allow no one to go up ; this is the reason of its being named the Forbidden HiU.
Then said Colonel Farquhar, ' With reference to my coming here, and the agreement which has been made with Mr. Raffles, under the approval of Tuanku Long, the son of Sultan Mahmud, of Ehio and Linga, in regard to the making over (srah) of this island to the East India Company for the founding of a settlement, which will revive the names of the sultans of old, and remain a sign of the friendship of Tuanku Long and yourself to- wards the English Company, let us two make arrange- ments before the coming of Mr. Baffles, as between your- selves on the one side and the East India Company on the other ; what do you think of this ?' The Tomungong was silent for a while, and then said that he was under
FOUNDING THE SETTLEMENT OF SINGAPORE. 103
the government of Tuanku Long : if it be bis pleasure, so "will it be mine. Colonel Farqubar then said, 'If such be your feeling, then let us have it done in writing.' Then said tbe Tomungong, ' "What is tbe use of my signature ; is not my tongue enough ? ' To this Colonel Farqubar replied, that tbe custom of "white men was to have a signature, so that agreements might be unalterable. He then told Inchi Siang to make out a document as the Tomungong might direct. This was done at once, to the effect as above related, i.e., ' This is the sign that the Tomungong desires friendship with the English Com- pany ; and he will engage, under the approval of Tuanku Long, to give over (membrikan) the Island of Singapore to them, i.e., to Mr. Raffles and Colonel Farqubar, to make a settlement.' This done he signed it. Colonel Farqubar then held the Tomungong's band, and clasping it said, ' From this day we are friends, never to be separated till eternity.'
Then said Colonel Farqubar, ' Tuanku, I would like to bring the tents ashore from tbe ships ; where shall we find a place?' To this the Tomungong replied, 'Where- ever you like.' Then said Colonel Farquhar, ' I will choose this plain.' So the people brought their boat from the ship, bringing with them tents and baggage. Then one half commenced to cut down the scrub, while the other half erected the tents. This took two hours. Colonel Farquhar after this ordered them to dig a. well below the kalat tree, of which they all drank. And there were in all about thirty Malacca men, who watched the camp at night-time. The next morning they were ordered to raise a mast of about six fathoms in length, this was on the sea side, and on which the English flag was hoisted. But there was no food to be obtained, so Colonel Farquhar gave his men twenty dollars to go and buy food ; but they could get nothing, so all had to come from
104 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
the vessels. There was nothing to be had anywhere, as there were only two or three small huts near the house of the Tomungong, and at the extreme of Campong Glam there were two or three more, belonging to the Glam tribe or clan, who made their living by making kadjangs and mat sails, hence the name of the place."
The home policy at length made itself felt. Thus Malacca and all the greater dependencies of the Dutch had to be given back. This policy affected infinitesimal interests as well as world-wide ones ; and now Abdulla had to bewail all his past troubles in learning what would henceforth be an useless language. Further, he had to face the jeers and scorn of the Dutch descendants, who were correspondingly elated on the occasion.
Thus Malacca was returned to the Dutch, according to European convention, on the 18th September, 1818 ; this would be when Abdulla had reached his twenty-first year, and he gives a very animated and feeling description of the ceremonies.
In the proclamation making over the territory to the Dutch, the Malay expression srah is used by him. This is important, as it is again used in the deed making over the Settlement of Singapore to the English by the Malays. What is the exact meaning of that term ? for in speaking to a native chief many years ago, he interpreted the word srah as merely allowing of temporary occupation, as long as the allow- ance was paid. If so, the Settlement of Singapore could not be handed over to another power without consent of the Malays. Yet in making over Malacca to the Dutch the same term is used in giving up the sovereignty over the territory for ever. Indeed, might is right in
ORANG LAUT, OR SEA GYPSIES.
101
such cases, as Bencoolen was afterwards made over to the Dutch against an express protest by the original Malay sovereign or chief, probably under similar deeds. The word srah, therefore, seems to be one of those convenient diplomatic words that can be interpreted by the two contracting parties by opposite meanings. For instance, after the English had given over Malacca to the Dutch, could they have handed it over to the French, Germans, or Russians without question on the part of the English ? I doubt it. Thus also stands the tenure of Singapore with reference to the Malay kingdom, such as it is. As the chief remarked to me, it was not sold
(joal).
As a counterpoise to the loss of Malacca, Singapore was negotiated for with the Tomungong of Johore, and taken possession of, under treaty, on the 6th February, 1819. Abdulla seems to have visited the place soon afterwards, and he conveys his impressions, one or two of which are worth noticing. Of the aborigines, whom he calls Orang Laut, he tells us that "they live in prows, and they are like wild beasts. When they meet any one, if possible they would paddle for the shore, but if they have not an opportunity of escaping in that way, they jump overboard and dive like fishes. Perhaps they would remain for half an hour under water, when they would appear again one or two hundred fathoms off." This of course is oriental hyperbole, and merely conveys the meaning— that the people were uncultivated, and expert divers, which is the case. When we say a man runs like a race-horse, or that a person is as sharp as a needle, we mean no more tttan Abdulla meant. And here I may observe how hard one Asiatic race is on another, even though but slightly divergent. These Orang Laut are radically Malays ; they speak the language, with slight variations, and they are nominally, though not
IOC) HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
actually, Mahomedans, their primitive faith being that same fetishism that prevails in all untutored peoples. When surveying the east coast of Pahang and Johore, in 1849, I had a good opportunity of studying the habits of the Orang Laut, having there been in their camping- grounds, and also having engaged two of them to accom- pany me in exploring the shores, rivers, and islands. I extract my account which was published in the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, 1851 : —
"At Pulo Tingi we found many Orang Laut, or sea gypsies, assembled. A large crop of durians had this year attracted tribes of them from the coasts of the Peninsula, as well as from the islands of the Johore Archipelago. Six boats from Moro, an island of that group, we found on their way to Pulo Tingi. They had travelled by sea one hundred and eighty miles to partake of the fascinating fruit. This would appear incredible were it not explained that these people always live in their boats, changing their positions from the various islands and coasts, according to the season.
" During the south-west monsoon the eastern coast of the Peninsula is much frequented by them, when they collect, as they proceed, rattans, dammar, turtle, etc., to exchange for rice and clothing. The attractions of Pulo Tingi are also of a more questionable kind, by its offer- ing, during the season that the Cochin Chinese visit Singapore in their small unarmed trading junks, con- siderable facilities in committing occasional quiet piracies on that harmless class of traders. Prior to the introduction of steam vessels into the Archipelago by the Dutch and English Governments, these sea gypsies were notorious for their piratical propensities, though less formidable than Illanuns, owing to the smallness of their prows ; which, while it rendered them harmless to European shipping, did not cause them to be the less
0RANG LAUT, OR SEA GYTSIES. 107
dangerous to the native trade, which is generally carried on in vessels of small burdens. The smallness of the draught of their boats, and the thorough acquaintance which their crews had with the coasts, enabled them to lurk amongst the rocks or under the shelter of the man- grove bushes. Thus concealed, they could watch oppor- tunities to pounce on the traders whom they judged they could easily master. By these means they kidnapped, when even on the threshold of their homes, the inhabit- ants of the coast of Java, Sumatra, and the Malayan Peninsula, to which countries their cruising ground was mostly confined. This piratical propensity, though curbed, is by no means extinguished, but only lies dormant. The tribes, though professing Islamism, are only partial observers of its tenets ; they circumcise, and refrain from eating the flesh of swine, but are immoder- ately fond of intoxicating liquors. They had purchased arrack in large quantities for then carousals at Pulo Tingi, and I have seen an individual of their class swallow half a bottle of brandy without flinching. Like most indigenous tribes, the small-pox proves dreadfully fatal to them ; of its vicinity they betray the greatest terror, so much so as to overcome all natural feelings. While I was surveying the shores of the island in July, 1849, I learned that one of their chiefs, by name Batin Gwai, had brought the seeds of the disease with him from Singapore, where it was then raging, and was now ill of it at Pulo Tingi, in a small hut on its western shore. In this miserable condition he was deserted by his mother and family, and would have died in solitude, had there not even here been found a good Samaritan, in the person of a Chinese, who, notwithstanding he and all his goods incurred the pantang (taboo) for a month, attended upon him to the last, and buried him when dead. The Chinaman was a small trader, and made his living
108 HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
by exchanging rice, etc., with the Orang Lauts ; but they would buy nothing of him, nor have any personal com- munication with him until the month was elapsed.
" The Orang Laut believe that the small-pox is a separate malignant spirit, who moves about from one place to another ; and those of the tribe that were located on the east side of the island closed all the paths that led to the western with thorns and bushes, for as they said, 'He {i.e., the spirit) can get along a clear pathway, but he cannot leap over or pass through the barrier that we have erected.'
" We took on board of our surveying vessel two young men of the Bru tribe to point out and name the shoals and other topographical features, — Chalong and Attak, the former of rather prepossessing appearance and pleasing deportment, considering the race he belonged to, who, judging from the large collection that I saw, were the most ill-favoured of races. Living, as they do, constantly in small boats, — men, women, and children, with cats, dogs, fireplace and cooking utensils, huddled together, — cleanliness and regularity, with their concom- itant comforts, were unknown. One prow generally contains, besides the head of the family, a grandmother, mother, and several young children, — these, when on expeditions, they carry to a place of safety, and the male part only proceed dut. The filthiness of their habits, and* coarse mode of living, generate cutaneous diseases; leprous discolouration of the skin is frequent, particularly on the hands and feet ; itch covers, in some cases, their bodies, from head to foot, with a scaly covering. Their complexion is made darker than the agricultural or land Malays, and their features are much coarser. Some of the men were notable for their great muscular strength and breadth of shoulder. Their hair they allow to grow and fall down in long shaggy matted locks over their
ORAXG LAUT, OR SEA GYPSIES. 109
face and shoulders ; when it straggled so far forward as
to interfere with then vision, they would shake it off
backwards, disclosing a face sometimes the most ugly
and disagreeable that I had ever witnessed ; in which
the symptoms of no stray virtue could be detected, but
utterly forbidding and typical of ferocity and degeneracy.
I could not fancy such a people to be capable of a single
act of commiseration to the unhappy victims of their
piracy, and could only feel pity for those that are so
unfortunate as to come under then power. They and
their tribe look upon the Chinese and Cochin Chinese as
of no account, and are well known frequently to despatch
them in cold blood, as they would spear a turtle, for the
sake of a bag of rice, or a few cents which then victims
may have about them.
"Though the vice of piracy may be stamped on the whole race, this development of ugliness of features did not extend to all ; but it was extremely common. The women, with more subdued features, are equally ill- favoured; such as are good looking are only so at a tender age, — the exposed mode of living, and their share in the toils of their husbands, combine to expel whatever beauty they are possessed of. At early old age many are absolutely hideous; the wrinkled skin and pendulous exposed breasts, which they betrayed no wish to conceal, presented a picture by no means pleasing to dwell on.
" The two young men of the tribe whom we took on board as pilots, though necessarily upon their good behaviour, could not occasionally entirely conceal the predisposing habit of the toiler. Judging from occa- sional expressions which escaped front them, they appeared to look upon piracy as a highly manly pursuit, and as giving them a claim to the approval of their fellows. Thus Attak would occasionally say, the Orang (men of) Gallang do so and so, or, such is the custom
HO HAKAYIT ABDULLA.
with them. He appeared to think that notorious class of pirates highly worthy of imitation. When asked to sing, he would say, ' I have none hut Gallang songs ; ' and such as he gave I