vessel, to Pulo Kio; came to an anchor within pistol-shot of Adam's fort, and inquired of the persons left in charge, amounting to not more than ten or twelve effective men, if they intended any resistance; and having been answered in the negative, this chivalrous representative of his royal brother landed without opposition, and commenced an indiscriminate plunder of goods and chattels of all kinds that came within his reach. Indeed, he stripped the fort and dwelling of Adam of every thing valuable; the whole amounting to not less than four thousand. dollars. From such conduct on the part of the vice-king, may be judged with what hopes of success a demand might have been made of the King of Acheen himself, for indemnification for the robbery of the Friendship; with what hopes that the assassins of her crew might have been brought to punishment.

On the return of Po Adam, which happened a few days after this event, he lost no time in useless repining, but at once set about putting his fort in the best possible order of defence, and quietly awaited the return of the schooner. This happened in the course of a few weeks, when she was allowed peaceably to come to anchor within musket-shot of his fort. Adam had every thing prepared, and not having the fear of royalty before his eyes, opened a fire from four iron six-pounders, the only guns which had been left him. This attack was so unexpected, that the viceking instantly deserted his vessel, and fled in his boat, and the remainder of his officers and men followed his example; some took to their boats, while others jumped overboard and swam to the shore. Adam continued his fire until all hands were clear of her, and then going on board and cutting her cable, allowed her to drift on a coral reef not far from the shore, where she was stripped of many articles, and afterward went to pieces on the rocks. He seemed to be under no apprehension that the King of Acheen. would ever molest him for the opposition he had so successfully made to resist his authority.

It being remarked to him one day, that in consequence of the friendly manifestations he had evinced towards the Americans, the rajah of the adjacent ports might be induced to combine in a crusade for the purpose of destroying him, his reply was in broken English; "Suppose he come, me make fight; suppose he kill Po Adam now, one no can die morrow morning."

In common with the custom of the country, among those who can afford it, it appears Adam had indulged in a plurality of wives; but had it not been for Mr. Barry, who knew the fact, he would have impressed all present with the belief that he had but one. Within a twelvemonth past one of his wives had died, and instead of contracting other alliances, he pretended that the only one now remaining lived with him in the fort. When questioned how this could be possible, as he had frequently been seen putting up little packages with great care, and sending them to a female in Acheen by the coasting vessels-this was bringing the subject too close for Adam to escape, and he frankly acknowledged that such was the fact, and that he had another wife in the Imperial City. He laughingly admitted that it was a very impolite and bad custom, and that if one or two more were to die, he would most assuredly adopt the American system, and have but one.

The reason, philosophy, and religion of Po Adam on this subject, differed nothing from his whole sect, judging the plurality of wives a matter to be decided entirely by the rank of the person and his means to maintain them. Many of their marriage customs, laws, and festivities are curious, and worthy of being recurred to in another chapter. For instance: "If a younger sister be first married, the husband pays six dollars, add at pelilloo, for passing over the elder." Thus it would appear, that the customs of occasionally selecting the younger, as practised in Christian countries, is discouraged among the Sumatrans by a protecting duty in favour of the elder.

Upon the whole, taking all things into consideration, there seems to be much to interest one in the character of Po Adam; and when we reflect, that besides his recent losses, he had not less than two thousand dollars worth of property on board the Friendship when captured, it would seem a matter of some regret that our government had not made him a present, though it had only been a gilded toy, as a testimony of their approbation of his conduct.

It was thought he felt this, though he expressed no dissatisfaction, and seemed much pleased with his reception and treatment on board the Potomac. He received, however, a number of presents from the commodore and officers; and there is no doubt that his feelings of friendship for the Americans were much

strengthened, and will continue to be useful to our countrymen trading on that part of the pepper coast.

Through his agency, buffaloes, the only species of cattle they rear, were procured, together with vegetables,-such as pumpkins, yams, and sweet-potatoes, in sufficient quantities for the whole. crew; fowls were also procured for about eight cents apiece.

All these were embarked from Soo-soo, the watering-place; besides, sampans were constantly going and coming, loaded with fowls, cocoanuts, pumpkins, squashes, sugarcane, and every variety of tropical fruit.

It is difficult to describe the apparent astonishment of these people on first passing over the ship's sides on board; every thing was new to them, and on a scale of which they had no previous adequate conception. They were permitted to roam at will over all parts of the vessel; but the tremendous batteries seemed to be the objects of their greatest wonderment, and on them they fixed their eyes with unwavering attention; and well might they be astonished, for here they saw within a small compass a mighty engine of destruction, before which all the armed proas, schooners, and brigs of the whole coast and Acheen, might be scattered as the dry sand before the fierce Echnephia.

At this time the brig Olive, of Boston, arrived, seeking a cargo of pepper, which, to Po Adam, was very exhilarating news, as she had with her for sale guns, ammunition, and long knives. He acknowledged the probability that serious allegations might be brought against him after the departure of the Potomac, and felt the necessity of being prepared to meet them. Of the same vessel he purchased a quantity of opium.

But Po Adam, besides being a rajah, had been considered a priest. At his request the commodore consented that the buffaloes furnished for the vessel might be slaughtered on shore, in order that the poor of his dependants should avail themselves of the offal, which would not be used if the animal were dressed on board.

When the boats went on shore at daylight in the morning for water, a buffalo was found, tied to a cocoanut-tree, and Adam in attendance, ready to perform the part of executioner.

The animal was so restive and wild, that the Malays were afraid to approach it. The officer in charge growing weary of the de

un

lay occasioned by the awkwardness and timidity of the natives, ordered the animal to be shot in the head, and dressed by the men of his own party. The head, feet, and offal were left on shore; but the Malays would not touch an article of them, because, as it afterward appeared, the animal had been put to death by the " faithful." On the following morning, Adam was indulged in his own way of managing this business. The animal was made fast, as the day previous, and much time was taken in getting the head in a right direction. The animal moved, and again he was seized, and his head carefully pointed towards Mecca, when it was deemed lawful to kill him. These superstitions being thus far complied with, there was no further scruple manifested in appropriating to themselves, with keen appetites, such parts as had been allotted to them.

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CHAPTER IX.

Sumatra, the Ophir of Solomon-Described by Marco Polo-Visited by the Arabs -Discovered by the Portuguese-Size and location-Face of the countryMountains, rivers, lakes, &c.-Climate and temperature-Monsoons and other winds-Soil, minerals, metals, organic remains, &c.-Volcanoes and earthquakes -Origin of the inhabitants-Several distinct races-Description of their persons, dress, and ornaments-Effects of climate on character-Illustrated by the Esquimaux, the Laplander, and the Arab-The useful arts in Sumatra-Villages, houses, furniture, and food-Productions of the animal kingdom-Manner of cultivating pepper, trees, spices, gums, &c.

THERE is, perhaps, on no part of the globe, a spot of equal dimensions and geographical importance, which is so little known to Americans as the Island of Sumatra; and yet this island was once the seat of a powerful empire, and here was held the court of one of the most wealthy monarchs of the east. On the northwestern extremity of the island is situated the capital of Acheen, at that time the great emporium of oriental commerce and riches; and here met the enterprising merchants of the then western world, to barter and traffic for the precious merchandise of the Indian Archipelago. Here the all-grasping Portuguese, whose conquests in the Indian Ocean had lent a terror to their name, were bravely met, and frequently repulsed by the powerful monarch of Acheen, and made to tremble in their turn. The Dutch followed the Portuguese, and fought hard for a monopoly in the valuable trade of the island. But from neither of these nations has the world ever derived much information of the interior of the island, or of its history. Even the English had traded nearly a century with its inhabitants, before any tolerably correct account of them had been published.

There is no positive evidence that Sumatra was known to the ancients; as the knowledge of the Roman geographers did not, probably, carry them beyond the island of Ceylon. The idea of Sumatra being the land of Ophir, whither Solomon sent his fleets for the precious metals, is too vague even for conjecture; and the mountain bearing the name on the island was doubtless given to