T H E S T R A I T O F S U N D A .
C H A R VIE.
T H E S T R A I T OF SU N D A A N D I S E A N D OF J A V A -
Comparison between the Harbour o f Rio de Janeiro and the Strait o f Sunda—
Swallows’ Nests— Anjerie Point— Number of Sharks— Tomb o f Colonel
Cathcart— The Thousand Islands— The Fabrics o f marine Worms■— Coral
Islands more favourable fo r Plants than those o f volcanic Origin— Bay of
Batavia— Site o f Batavia— Bad Taste of the Dutch— Description o f Batavia—
Population.'— Great Mortality— Temperature— Diseases— Productions
of Java in the mineral and vegetable Kingdoms— Cocoa, Mangostan,
Mango, Rambootan, Poolosang, & c.— Curious, useful, or beautiful Plants—
The Nepenthes, or Pitcher Plant— The Upas— Effect o f poisonous Substances—
Hydrophobia, curious Case of—Animals.
w e took our departure from the burning island of Amsterdam
on the 2d of February, and on the 26th of the same
month entered the strait of Sunda; the passage of which to
the usual anchorage of the East India Company’s ships, near
North Island, (so called from its position in the northern
mouth of the strait,) occupied three days. .The features of
the two grand islands of Sumatra and Java, between which
this strait is formed, and indeed of all the smaller ones which
are interspersed around them, are distinguished in a very peculiar,
manner by the luxuriance, softness, and amenity of
their native tints of verdure. In sailing up the magnificent
harbour of Rio de Janeiro, the'varied hues of rude and un-
T H E S T R A I T O F S U N D A . 159
■cultivated nature, mingled with the still more varied shades
produced by human industry, and heightened and rendered
more prominent by the contrast of rugged and naked mountains,
imparted to the surrounding prospect an infinite diversity,
which the eye could not behold, nor the mind contemplate,
without experiencing that succession of new delight
which variety seldom fails to communicate; but here, in the
strait of Sunda, and particularly on the island of Sumatra,
which forms its left or western boundary, all is vegetation
and verdure—all repose, and yet not a single marked point
for the eye to rest on. The colour of the picture is one mass
of soft and luxuriant green, which, though theNmost agreeable
and delightful of tints, is particularly heavy unless relieved
by variety. The eye of the painter, whether it wanders in
s e a r c h of scenery whose character is softness, or rudeness, or
picturesqueness, still requires variety; like the taste of the
epicure, it is seldom contented to feast on simple food, or to
sit down to a single dish, however richly it may be seasoned.
To a moral philosopher the appearance of an unbounded and
unbroken forest, like that on Sumatra, is productive of few
consoling reflections, being the sure indication of a paucity
of human inhabitants, and of the little progress made by
those few in the arts of civilization. On the opposite shore
of Java the forests are considerably broken, and the intermediate
patches of cleared ground exhibit evident marks of
cultivation.
Of the many little islands scattered over the surface of
the strait we visited only two, that are situated at no great
distance from the shore of Java. They are known to seamen