Chapter 16
CHAPTER IX. THE EAST INDIES SINGAPORE. PART II. My previous satisfaction was greatly augmented on seeing several apes skipping about on the highest branches of the trees while others were heard chattering in our immediate vicinity.
This was the first time I had seen these animals in a state of perfect freedom, and I secretly felt very much delighted that the gentlemen with me did not succeed in shooting any of the mischievous little creatures. They brought down, however, a few splendid lorries, a sort of small parrot of the most beautiful plumage, and some squirrels.
But our attention was soon attracted by a much more serious object. We were remarked in the branches of one of the trees a dark body, which, on near inspection, we found to be that of a large serpent, lying coiled up and waiting, probably, to dart upon its prey. We ventured pretty near, but it remained quite motionless without turning its eyes from us,
and little thinking how near its death was. One of the gentlemen fired and hid in the side. As quick as lightning and with the greatest fury it darted from the tree, but remained fast with its tail entangled in a bough. It kept making springs at us with its forked tongue exposed to view, but all in vain as
we kept at a respectable distance. A few more shots put an end to its existence, and we then pulled up under the bough on which it was hanging. One of the boatmen, a Malay, made a small noose of strong, tough grass, which he threw round the head of the serpent, and thus dragged it into the boat.
He also told us that we should be sure to find a second not far off, as serpents of this kind always go in pairs, and true enough the gentleman in the other boat had already shot the second, which was also coiled up, on the branch of a large tree. These serpents were of a dark green colour, with beautiful yellow streaks, and about twelve feet in length.
I was told that they belonged to the Boa species. After having proceeded eight English miles in four hours, we left the boats, and following a narrow footpath, soon reached a number of plots of ground, cleared from trees, and planted with pepper and gambir. The pepper tree is a tall bush-like plant that, when trained and supported with props,
will attain a height varying from fifteen to eighteen feet. The pepper grows in small grape-like bunches, which are first red, then green, and lastly nearly black. The plant begins to bear in the second year. White pepper is not a natural production, but is obtained by dipping the black pepper
several times in sea water. This causes it to lose its colour, and become a dirty white. The price of a pickle of white pepper is six dollars, twenty-four shillings, whereas that of a pickle of black is only three dollars, twelve shillings. The greatest height attained by the gambir plant is eight feet.
The leaves alone are used in trade. They are first stripped off the stalk, and then boiled down in large coppers. The thick juice is placed in wide wooden vessels and dried in the sun. It is then cut into slips three inches long and packed up. Gambir is an article that is very useful in dying, and hence is frequently exported to
Europe. Labor plantations are always to be found near a plantation of the gambir plant, as the former are always manured with the boiled leaves of the latter. Although all the work on the plantations, as well as every other description of labour at Singapore, is performed by free labourers, I was told that it costs less than if it were
done by slaves. The wages here are very trifling indeed. A common labourer receives three dollars a month without either board or lodging, and yet with this he is enabled not only to subsist himself, but to maintain a family. Their huts, which are composed of foliage, they build themselves, their food consists
of small fish, roots, and a few vegetables, nor is their apparel more expensive, for, Beyond the immediate vicinity of the town and where all the plantations are situated, the children go about entirely naked, while the men wear nothing more than a small apron about a hand's breadth wide, and fasten between the legs. The women are the only persons dressed with anything like propriety.
The plantations that we now saw and which we reached about ten o'clock were cultivated by Chinese. In addition to their huts of leaves, they had erected a small temple where they invited us to a light. We immediately spread out upon the altar some refreshments which Madame Bayhoux, like a
good housewife, had given us, but instead of imitating the Chinese and sacrificing them to the gods, we were wicked enough to devour them ravenously ourselves. When we had satisfied our hunger, we skinned the serpent and then made a present of it the Chinese, but they gave us to understand that they would not touch it, at which I was greatly surprised, since they will generally eat anything.
I was afterwards convinced that this was all pretense, for, on returning some hours later from our hunting excursion and going into one of their huts, we found them all seated round a large dish in which were pieces of roast meat of the peculiar round shape of the serpent. They wanted to hide the dish in a great hurry, but I entered very quickly and gave them some
money to be allowed to taste it. I found the flesh particularly tender and delicate, even more tender than that of a chicken. But I have quite forgotten to describe our hunting excursion. We asked the labourers if they could not put us on the track of a tiger.
They described to us a part of the wood where one was reported to have taken up his abode a few days previously, and we immediately set off. We had great difficulty in forcing our way through the forest, having at every instant to clamber over prostrate trees, creep through brambles, or cross over swamps. But we had, at all events, the satisfaction of progressing, which we certainly should
not have had in the forests of Brazil, where such an undertaking would have been impracticable. It is true that there were creepers in orchids, but not in such numbers as in Brazil, and the trees, too, stand far wider apart. We saw some splendid specimens towering to a height of above a hundred feet. The objects which interested us most were the ebony and colem trees.
The timber of the first is of two kinds, a layer of brownish-yellow surrounding the inner stem, which composes that portion especially known as ebony. The colem tree diffuses an excessively strong odour similar to that of onions, indicating its sight at some distance off. The fruit tastes extremely like onions, and is very often used by the common people, but
its odour and taste are too strong for Europeans. I merely just touched a piece of fresh rind, and my hands smelt of it the next morning. We beat about the forest for some hours without meeting the game of which we were in search. We once thought that we had found the lair, but we soon found that we were mistaken. One of the gentlemen, too, affirmed that he heard the growl of a bear.
It must, however, have been a very gentle growl, as no one else heard it, although we were all close together. We returned home without any further addition to our stock of game, but highly delighted with our agreeable trip. Although Singapore is a small island, and all means have been used, and rewards offered
for the extirpation of the tigers, they have failed. Government gives a premium of a hundred dollars, and the Society of Singapore Merchants a similar sum for every tiger killed. Besides this, the valuable skin belongs to the fortunate hunter, and even the flesh is worth something, as it is eagerly bought by the Chinese for eating.
The tigers, however, swim over from the neighbouring peninsula of Malacca, which is only separated from Singapore by a very narrow channel, and hence it will be impossible to eradicate them entirely. The varieties of fruit found at Singapore are very numerous and beautiful. One of the best may be reckoned the mangosteen, which is said to grow only here and in Java.
It is as big as a middling-sized apple. The rind is of deep brown on the outside and scarlet inside, and the fruit itself is white and divided naturally into four or five sections. It almost melts in the mouth, and has an exquisite flavour. The pineapples are much more juicy, sweeter, and considerably larger than those at Canton.
I saw some which must have weighed about four pounds. Whole fields are planted with them, and when they arrive at full maturity, three or four hundred may be bought for a dollar. They are often eaten with salt. There is also another kind of fruit, soursop, which also often weighs several pounds and
is green outside and white or pale yellow inside. It very much resembles strawberries in taste, and like them, is eaten with wine and sugar. The gumala is divided into several distinct slices and resembles a pale yellow-orange, but it is not so sweet and juicy. Many people, however, prefer it.
It is at least five times as large as an orange. In my opinion, however, the Palm of Excellence is borne away by the custard apple, which is covered with small green scales. Footnote The mangosteen is unanimously pronounced the finest fruit in the world. End of footnote.
The inside, which is full of black pips, is very white, as soft as butter, and of the most exquisite flavour. It is eaten with the help of small spoons. A few days before my departure from Singapore, I had an opportunity of witnessing the burial of a Chinese in easy circumstances.
The procession passed our house, and in spite of a temperature of a hundred and thirteen degrees Fahrenheit, I went with it to the grave, which was three or four miles distant, and was too much interested in the ceremony to leave until it was concluded, although it lasted nearly two hours. At the head of the procession was a priest, and at his side a Chinese with a lantern two
feet high, covered with white cambric. Then came two musicians, one of whom beat a small drum at intervals, and the other played the cymbals. These persons were followed by the coffin, with the servant holding a large open parasol that part of it on which the head of the deceased lay.
Alongside walked the eldest son of the nearest male relative, carrying a small white flag, and with his hair hanging in disorder over his shoulders. The relations were all dressed in the deepest mourning, that is to say entirely in white. The men had even got white caps on, and the women were so enveloped in white cloths that it was impossible to see so much as their faces.
The friends in attendance who followed the coffin in small groups without order or regularity had all got a white strip of cambric bound round their head, their waist, or their arm. As soon as it was remarked that I had joined the procession, a man who had a quantity of these strips came up and offered me one which I took and bound round my arm. The coffin, which consisted of the trunk of a large tree, was covered with a dark-coloured
cloth. A few garlands of flowers were suspended from it, and some rice, tied up in a cloth, was placed upon it. Four in twenty men bore this heavy burden on immense poles. Their behaviour was excessively lively, and every time they changed they began quarrelling
or laughing among themselves. Nor did the other personages in the ceremony display either grief or respect. They ate, drank, smoked, and talked, while some carried cold tea in small pails for the benefit of such as might be thirsty. The son alone held himself aloof.
He walked, according to custom, plunged in deep sorrow by the side of the coffin. On reaching the road that led to the last resting place, the son threw himself upon the ground, and covering up his face, sobbed very audibly. After a little he got up again and tottered behind the coffin, so that two men were obliged to support him.
He appeared very ill and deeply moved. It is true, I was afterwards informed, that this grief is mostly merely assumed, since custom requires that the chief mourner shall be, or pretend to be, weak and ill with sorrow. On arriving at the grave which was seven feet deep, and dug on the declivity of a hill, they laid the pah-flowers and rice on one side, and then, after throwing in a vast quantity
of gold and silver paper, lowered the coffin, which I then for the first time perceived was of the finest workmanship, lacquered and hermetically closed. At least half an hour was taken up by this part of the proceedings. The relations at first threw themselves on the ground, and, covering their faces, howled horribly.
But finding the burial lasted rather long, sat down in a circle all round, and taking their little baskets of beetle, burnt mussel shells, and arico-nuts, began chewing away with the greatest composure. After the coffin was lowered into the grave, one of the attendants advanced to the upper part of it, and opened the small packet of rice on which he placed a sort of compass.
A cord was then handed to him. He placed it over the middle of the compass, and altered its position, until it lay exactly in the same direction as the needle. A second cord, with a plummet attached, was then held to the first, and let down into the grave, and the coffin moved backwards and forwards according to this line, until
the middle was in the same direction as the needle. This arrangement consumed at least another quarter of an hour. After this, the coffin was covered over with numberless sheets of white paper, and the person who had conducted the previous operation made a short speech, during which the children of the deceased threw themselves upon the ground.
When it was finished, the speaker threw a few handfuls of rice over the coffin, and the children, who held up the corner of their outer garments, so as to catch as many of the grains as possible. But as they only succeeded in obtaining a few, the speaker gave about a handful more, which they tied up carefully in the corner of their dress, and took away with them.
The grave was at last filled in, when the relation set up a most dismal howl, but, as far as I could remark, every eye was dry. After this, boiled fowls, ducks, pork, fruit, all kinds of pastry, and a dozen cups full of tea together with the teapot, were placed in two rows upon the grave, and six painted wax tapers lighted and struck in the ground near the refreshments.
During all this time immense heaps of gold and silver paper were set fire to and consumed. The eldest son now approached the grave again, and threw himself down several times, touching the ground on each occasion with his forehead. Six perfumed paper tapers were handed to him, alight, when he had swung them round in the air a few times he gave them back, when they also in their turn were fixed in the earth.
The other relations performed the same ceremony. During all this time the priest had been sitting at a considerable distance from the grave under the shade of a large parasol, and without taking the slightest share in the proceedings. He now, however, came forward, made a short speech, during which he rang a small bell several times, and his duty was at an end.
The refreshments were cleared away, the tea poured over the grave, and the whole company returned home in excellent spirits accompanied by the music, which had also played at intervals over the grave. The provisions, as I was informed, were distributed among the poor. On the following day I witnessed the celebrated Chinese feast of lanterns.
From all the houses, at the corners of the roofs, from high posts, etc., were hung innumerable lanterns, made of paper or gauze, and most artistically ornamented with gods, warriors, and animals. In the courts and gardens of the different houses, or where there were no courts or gardens, in the streets all kinds of refreshments and fruit were laid out with lights and flowers,
in the form of half pyramids on large tables. The people wondered about the streets, gardens, and courts, until nearly midnight, when the edible portions of the pyramids were eaten by the proprietors of them. I was very much pleased with this feast, but with no part of it more than the quiet and orderly behaviour of the people.
They looked at all the eatables with a scrutinising glance, but without touching the smallest fragment. The temperature is situated 58 nautical miles north of the line in 104 degrees east longitude, and the climate, when compared to that of other southern countries, is very agreeable. During the period of my stay, extending from September 3rd to October 8th, the heat seldom
exceeded 83 degrees 75 indoors and 117 degrees in the sun. There is never any great variation in the temperature, which is the natural consequence of the place being near the equator. The sun always rises and sets at 6am and 6pm respectively, and is immediately followed by full daylight or perfect night, the twilight hardly lasting 10 minutes.
In conclusion, I must remark that Singapore will shortly become the central point of all the Indian steamers. Those from Hong Kong, Ceylon, Madras, Kolkata and Europe arrive regularly once a month. There is likewise a Dutch war steamer from Batavia, and in a little time there will also be steamers running to and fro between this place and Manila and Sydney.
