。 32 M I N G Bush 1. Woo suing SHANGHAE 1229 Gooqle
THE CLOSING EVENTS OFT且E CAMPAIGN IN CHINA, &c. CHAPTER I. 8 FRAIT8O里SUNDA.一EQUATORIAL CHANGE8.一THE MON- 8OON8.一BANCA AND8 UMATRA,一THE DUGONG.一MALAY SUPERSTITION8.-BINGAPORE.-POPULATION AND TRADE OF THE I8LAND,一CHINESE ETIQUETTE.一8 IT TO THE J0s-H008B, LATE on the evening of the 26th of April,1842, we rounded Java Head and entered the Straits of Sunda,the great western entrance to the China Sea. Our passage so far had been prosperous;we sailed from Plymouth Sound on the 23d of January,and anchored in Simon's Bay on the 21st of March.To our surprise,we there found Lord Saltoun and his troops.They had left England five weeks before us,and we may attri- bute our good fortune in overtaking them to the light and variable winds they experienced between B
THE CLOSING EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN CHINA, &c. CHAPTER I. STRAITS OF SUNT) A. EQUATORIAL CHANGES. THE MON SOONS. — BANCA AND SUMATRA. — THE DUGONG. —MALAY SUPERSTITIONS. SINGAPORE. POPULATION AND TRADE OF THE ISLAND. —CHINESE ETIQUETTE. — VISIT TO THE JOS-HOUSE. Late on the evening of the 26th of April, 1842, we rounded Java Head and entered the Straits of Sunda, the great western entrance to the China Sea. Our passage so far had been prosperous ; we sailed from Plymouth Sound on the 23d of January, and anchored in Simon's Bay on the 21st of March. To our surprise, we there found Lord Saltoun and his troops. They had left England five weeks before us, and we may attri bute our good fortune in overtaking them to the light and variable winds they experienced between
2 EQUATORIAL CHANGES. CHAP.I. Rio de Janeiro and the Cape.They sailed the forenoon after our arrival,and four days before us:it remains to be seen whether we have gained stronger and better winds since leaving the Cape by steering a parallel latitude farther south,and continuing it farther to the eastward than the usual track veesels follow,or Horsburgh recom- mends.Hitherto our daily runs have been par- ticularly good,having accomplished a distance of 5752 miles in 31 days. 形ednesday,.27 th of April.一I rose before sun- rise to enjoy a sight that is seen to greater advantage in this climate than in any other,and to appreciate fully the satisfactory sensation of a ship sailing in smooth seas after an antarctic passage. The water was as little disturbed as an inland lake,-only slightly rippled by a six-knot breeze, wafting“the spicy gales of the sweet South”to our up-turned noses.No pack of fox-hounds were ever more anxious to sniff Reynard's tail than we were to inhale the smell of the land. For the last few days the winds have been light and variable,and the temperature extremely oppressive;to us particularly so,who only a week before had snow upon our decks. This is the month of change,the month in which the easterly winds and fair weather are
2 EQUATORIAL CHANGES. CHAP. I. Rio de Janeiro and the Cape. They sailed the forenoon after our arrival, and four days before us : it remains to be seen whether we have gained stronger and better winds since leaving the Cape by steering a parallel latitude farther south, and continuing it farther to the eastward than the usual track vessels follow, or Horsburgh recom mends. Hitherto our daily runs have been par ticularly good, having accomplished a distance of 5752 miles in 31 days. Wednesday, 27th of April. —I rose before sun rise to enjoy a sight that is seen to greater advantage in this climate than in any other, and to appreciate fully the satisfactory sensation of a ship sailing in smooth seas after an antarctic passage. The water was as little disturbed as an inland lake, —only slightly rippled by a six-knot breeze, wafting " the spicy gales of the sweet South " to our up-turned noses. No pack of fox-hounds were ever more anxious to sniff Reynard's tail than we were to inhale the smell of the land. For the last few days the winds have been light and variable, and the temperature extremely oppressive; to us particularly so, who only a week before had snow upon our decks. This is the month of change, the month in which the easterly winds and fair weather are
CHAP.L THE MONSOONS. 3 ushered in by lightning and tempests,violent tornadoes,and deluges of rain.After a short period the heavy clouds disappear;the atmosphere expands;the air becomes pure and refreshing; nature revives,and the earth is once more clad with beautiful verdure.In September,nature begins to droop;the breezes become light and fitful;the strongest are oppressed with languor; clouds assemble in huge masses,which,in Oc- tober,burst forth in thunder,lightning,and heavy squalls.These squalls frequently ripen into gales;and thus the rainy S.W.monsoon sets in,continuing until the sun is again within the tropic of Cancer. This is the climate of the islands to the south and upon the equator.The great continent of Asia alters the direction of these winds.The summer monsoon of Java and Sumatra is N.E.; it is N.W.over China and Hindostan;in like manner the S.W.monsoon of the Archipelago is the S.E.of the mainland. During the day three canoes came off with some unripe fruit,fowls,and paroquets;they were manned by Malays,all ready and anxious to take every advantage in disposing of their commodities.The canoes are scooped from single trees and finished in the rudest manner.It is strange how much the natives of the South Sea B2 Google
chap. I. THE MONSOONS. 3 ushered in by lightning and tempests, violent tornadoes, and deluges of rain. After a short period the heavy clouds disappear ; the atmosphere expands; the air becomes pure and refreshing; nature revives, and the earth is once more clad with beautiful verdure. In September, nature begins to droop; the breezes become light and fitful ; the strongest are oppressed with languor ; clouds assemble in huge masses, which, in Oc tober, burst forth in thunder, lightning, and heavy squalls. These squalls frequently ripen into gales ; and thus the rainy S. W. monsoon sets in, continuing until the sun is again within the tropic of Cancer. This is the climate of the islands to the south and upon the equator. The great continent of Asia alters the direction of these winds. The summer monsoon of Java and Sumatra is N. E. ; it is N. W. over China and Hindostan ; in like manner the S. W. monsoon of the Archipelago is the S. E. of the mainland. During the day three canoes came off with some unripe fruit, fowls, and paroquets ; they were manned by Malays, all ready and anxious to take every advantage in disposing of their commodities. The canoes are scooped from single trees and finished in the rudest manner. It is strange how much the natives of the South Sea B 2
4 TROPICAL VEGETATION. CHAP.I. Islands excel in neatness and ingenuity these people,who,in some of the useful arts,are their superiors. We skirted the verdant shores,which were every where beautiful,exhibiting all the rich variety of tropical vegetation;-the teak,owing a borrowed fragrance and bloom to the parasitical plants that clung to it;the gigantic suren,dying within the embrace of a creeper larger than itself;the palm and the valued cocoa nut;the bamboo and the betel nut;the sago palm of Amboyna,and its sister in produce the Sagurus rumpnii;the wax and the cotton tree,and other plants supplying every want to a lazy race;and in the arid spots,we learned,that the pitcher plant,Nepenthes distillatoria,is found,with its beautiful provision for securing and retaining sufficient moisture for its support under an equa- torial sun. The famous upas,or poison tree,also flourishes here,distinguished by its straight and stately stem rising to the height of seventy or eighty feet; too noble a vegetable,one would suppose,to have ever obtained so bad a reputation. We were also told of that fearful valley within which no living creature can exist;and a story of a poor convict,who,having escaped from Batavia,had,in his anxiety to elude pursuit
4 TBOPICAL VEGETATION. chap. i. Islands excel in neatness and ingenuity these people, who, in some of the useful arts, are their superiors. We skirted the verdant shores, which were every where beautiful, exhibiting all the rich variety of tropical vegetation ; —the teak, owing a borrowed fragrance and bloom to the parasitical plants that clung to it ; the gigantic suren, dying within the embrace of a creeper larger than itself; the palm and the valued cocoa nut; the bamboo and the betel nut; the sago palm of Amboyna, and its sister in produce the Sagurus rumpnii; the wax and the cotton tree, and other plants supplying every want to a lazy race ; and in the arid spots, we learned, that the pitcher plant, Nepenthes distillatoria, is found, with its beautiful provision for securing and retaining sufficient moisture for its support under an equa torial sun. The famous upas, or poison tree, also flourishes here, distinguished by its straight and stately stem rising to the height of seventy or eighty feet ; too noble a vegetable, one would suppose, to have ever obtained so bad a reputation. We were also told of that fearful valley within which no living creature can exist ; and a story of a poor convict, who, having escaped from Batavia, had, in his anxiety to elude pursuit