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Afterwards, when commanding a ship at Bencoolen, every European under his command died, and he alone escaped, yet all this time he was an absolute infidel; and, when having made a fortune, he was returning home, he appeared so utterly hardened against all the arguments that the zealous Thomas could bring in favour of Christianity, as to make him in despair remark to the chief officer that he should have more hope of converting the Lascar sailors than of Captain Wilson.
On his arrival at Bencoolen in March, 1819, he set himself once more to achieve that object for which he had incessantly worked ever since his first appearance in the East the establishment of British influence in Malaya and the Eastern Archipelago.
The tail differs however in the northern and southern parts of the island, being at Natal twenty-four pennyweights nine grains, and at Padang, Bencoolen, and elsewhere, twenty-six pennyweights twelve grains. At Achin the bangkal of thirty pennyweights twenty-one grains, is the standard.
There is but a single range, and it is a fact that from the navigable part of the Musi river to a place on that of Bencoolen where rafts and sampans may be used is to the natives a walk of no more than eight hours. Musi is populous, well cultivated, and the soil exceedingly rich.
In passing over these, the wind becomes of course charged with malaria, which it distributes in every house between it and the sea; and woe betide the European who fails to keep out of its way! Most places that I have visited, have a healthy, as well as an unhealthy season. Bencoolen is an exception to this rule, being unhealthy all the year through.
A young female slave, who was born and bred up among the English at Bencoolen, and had learnt a little of the language, told Mr Banks, that her father, when he was dying, acquainted her that he had a crocodile for his sudara, and solemnly charged her to give him meat when he should be dead, telling her in what part of the river he was to be found, and by what name he was to be called up: That in pursuance of her father's instructions and command, she went to the river, and standing upon the bank, called out, Radja Pouti, white king, upon which a crocodile came to her out of the water, and eat from her hand the provisions that she had brought him.
After many inquiries, I found that a day's journey by water above Palembang there commenced a military road which extended up to the mountains and even across to Bencoolen, and I determined to take this route and travel on until I found some tolerable collecting ground.
A hard struggle was maintained by those planters who remained behind, but without success; and the place is now very little more than a station for a Dutch Assistant-Resident and a small garrison. Bencoolen harbour is a dangerous one, particularly during the prevalence of the boisterous north-west monsoon, which blows with such violence on this part of the west coast of Sumatra.
I am far from wishing to diminish the horror that should ever accompany the general idea of a state which, whilst it degrades the species, I am convinced is not necessary among mankind; but I cannot help remarking, as an extraordinary fact, that if there is one class of people eminently happy above all others upon earth it is the body of Caffres, or negro slaves belonging to the India Company at Bencoolen.
From one end of the continent of America to the other their increase had been undeniably established; and this to a prodigious extent, though they had to contend with the severe cold of the winter, and in some parts with noxious exhalations in the summer. This was the case also in the settlement of Bencoolen in the East Indies. It appeared from the evidence of Mr.
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