Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
portion of the population are Chinese and Arabs, who carry on all the trade; while the only
Europeans are the civil and military officials of the Dutch Government. The town is situated
at the head of the delta of the river, and between it and the sea there is very little ground el-
evated above high-water mark; while for many miles further inland, the banks of the main
stream and its numerous tributaries are swampy, and in the wet season flooded for a consid-
erable distance. Palembang is built on a patch of elevated ground, a few miles in extent, on
the north bank of the river. At a spot about three miles from the town this rises into a little
hill, the top of which is held sacred by the natives, and is shaded by some fine trees, inhab-
ited by a colony of squirrels, which have become half tame. On holding out a few crumbs of
bread or any fruit, they come running down the trunk, take the morsel out of your fingers,
and dart away instantly. Their tails are carried erect, and the hair, which is ringed with grey,
yellow, and brown, radiates uniformly around them, and looks exceedingly pretty. They
have somewhat of the motions of mice, coming on with little starts, and gazing intently with
their large black eyes, before venturing to advance further. The manner in which Malays of-
ten obtain the confidence of wild animals is a very pleasing trait in their character, and is
due in some degree to the quiet deliberation of their manners, and their love of repose rather
than of action. The young are obedient to the wishes of their elders, and seem to feel none of
that propensity to mischief which European boys exhibit. How long would tame squirrels
continue to inhabit trees in the vicinity of an English village, even if close to the church?
They would soon be pelted and driven away, or snared and confined in a whirling cage. I
have never heard of these pretty animals being tamed in this way in England, but I should
think it might be easily done in any gentleman's park, and they would certainly be as pleas-
ing and attractive as they would be uncommon.
After many inquiries, I found that a day's journey by water above Palembang there com-
menced a military road, which extended up to the mountains and even across to Bencoolen,
and I determined to take this route and travel on till I found some tolerable collecting
ground. By this means I should secure dry land and a good road, and avoid the rivers, which
at this season are very tedious to ascend owing to the powerful currents, and very unpro-
ductive to the collector owing to most of the lands in their vicinity being under water. Leav-
ing early in the morning we did not reach Lorok, the village where the road begins, till late
at night. I stayed there a few days, but found that almost all the ground in the vicinity not
under water was cultivated, and that the only forest was in swamps which were now inac-
cessible. The only bird new to me which I obtained at Lorok was the fine long-tailed parro-
quet (Palæornis longicauda). The people here assured me that the country was just the same
as this for a very long way—more than a week's journey, and they seemed hardly to have
