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As for the westerly winds on that side the Cape, we like them never the worse for being violent, for they drive us the faster to the eastward; and are therefore the only winds coveted by those who sail towards such parts of the East Indies as lie south of the equator; as Timor, Java, and Sumatra; and by the ships bound for China, or any other that are to pass through the Straits of Sunda.
An orang-outang, fresh from the jungles of Sumatra, could scarcely display less intelligence concerning human handicraft than he; he bubbles over with laughter at seeing anything upset or broken, growls sullenly at receiving uncongenial orders, calls on Allah, and roars threateningly at the stallion, all in the same breath.
The last are of peculiar significance, since they are incapable of crossing even narrow channels of water, and must be regarded as products of a very late stage of biological evolution. The zoological evidence thus indicates a recent separation of Borneo and Sumatra from the continent, and a still more recent separation between the two islands.
The principal government, and whose jurisdiction in ancient times is understood to have comprehended the whole of Sumatra, is Menangkabau,* situated under the equinoctial line, beyond the western range of high mountains, and nearly in the centre of the island; in which respect it differs from Malayan establishments in other parts, which are almost universally near the mouths of large rivers.
A man who should attempt to exhibit in Sumatra the modern or irregular style of laying out grounds would attract but little attention, as the unimproved scenes adjoining on every side would probably eclipse his labours.
"Once through the passage south of Little Andaman, we shall sail due east for a day or two; and then lay her course nearly southeast, which will take us right up the straits between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula." "Are there any islands scattered about there?" "There is one nasty little group, called the Arroa Islands, nearly in mid-channel. I shall take care to pass them in daylight.
The Dutch possessions in the East Indies consist of: 1. Part of the island of Sumatra. Almost the whole of Java. The islands of Banca and Billiton. The islands of Bintang and Linga. Large parts of the northern portion of the island of Borneo, which have been recently incorporated into one or two regular residencies, and assimilated to their Javanese possessions.
Passing through the Straits of Saban, and along the island of Sumatra, and other islands on their left, named the Salites, they came to the islands of Palimbang and Lu-Suparam, whence they sailed by the noble island of Java, and eastwards between it and the island of Madura. In this last island the men are strong and warlike, and care little for their lives, even their women going out to war.
The Arab culture of the Malays, which took root in Sumatra in the twelfth century, is of course of no assistance in regard to events of earlier date, and does not give trustworthy and detailed accounts until the fifteenth century. The Chinese, on the other hand, always a literary people, carefully preserved in their archives all that could be gathered with regard to the "southern seas."
In Galela, to the west of New Guinea, women at their monthly periods may not enter a tobacco-field, or the plants would be attacked by disease. The Minangkabauers of Sumatra are persuaded that if a woman in her unclean state were to go near a rice-field, the crop would be spoiled.
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