C i ï E T A n i m a i ,
“ miferable; the culture of the lands, abandoned to ilaves, is
“ fallen into contempt. Thefe wretched laborers, dragged in-
“ ceflantly from their ruftic employments, by their reftlefs
« mailers, who delight in war and maritime enterprifes, have
“ rarely time, and never refolution, to give the neceffary atten-
“ tion to the laboring o f their grounds; their lands, in general,
“ remain uncultivated, and produce no kind o f grain for the
if fubfiftence o f the inhabitants.”
Malacca abounds with quadrupeds, efpecially with tigers, and
others o f the moil favage kind. It is cuftomary here and in
Pegu, for the tyrants o f the country to make banilhment into the
woods, for a certain time, a punilhment; the unhappy objedls
are fure o f never returning; they quickly become a prey to the
tiger, or i f they chance to efcape the fangs of that cruel animal,
fall vidtims to hunger or corroding fear.
T h e only peculiar quadruped feenis to be the Civet defcribed
by M. Sonnerat *, an elegant fpecies, o f the lize of a common
cat; the ground color is a periaceous grey, darkeft on the upper
part of the body; above the eyes is a line of four fmall fpots;
on the hind part of the head commence three black bands ending
on the fhoulders ; another divides the belly lengthways; on
the reins are three, which end at the tail; on the fides- and
thighs are feven rows o f round black fpots, fixty-one in
number; the tail is long, and annulated with black and grey.
This animal inhabits the woods, leaps from tree to tree, and is
extremely fierce. It diftils from the opening placed near the
genitals, a muiky liquor, which the Malayes colleft, and pretend
* VoL ii, 14.4. tab. xci.
that
that it fortifies the ftomach, and excites the amorous pallions ;
for which lait purpofe it is bought and highly efteemed by the
Cbinefe.
M. Sonnerat * gives a very apocryphal account o f the wild Wild Men.
men of Malacca, who inhabit the woods and live in the trees.
I f they fee any one pafs, they inftantly defcend and devour him.
There is, fays he, another kind, lefs ferocious, and which ihun
the fociety o f their anthropophagous brethren ; thefe live on
fruits, are monogamous, and never cohabit with their wives, but
when nature invites ; fome even will enter into a fort of traffic
with the Malayes, and depofit at the foot o f their tree-habita-
tions, the tin they collect on the mountains, for which the
natives leave fruits, and any trifles they think acceptable to
their fecluded brethren; their language is unknown. M. Sonnerat
fays he faw one (taken young) in the ferviçe o f a
eounfellor o f Malacca. I with he had fallen to the lot o f a
Scotch Judge ; what a treafure would he have been to Lord
Monboddo ! Serioufly, M. Sonnerat muff have colledted fome
tales of thé Ourang Outang, poffibly a native of this country, as.
it is o f the Malayan archipelago.
T he Malayes are a well made people, but rather below
(fays Mr. Marfden) the middle flature; their limbs fmall, well
ihaped, and particularly flender at the wrifts and ancles; their
complexions tawney ; their eyes large ; their nofes flat, probably
by art ; their hair black, fhining, and very long..
T here are a few birds that I mention, beeaufe M. Sonnerat B i r d s .
afcribes them to the peninfula ; yet all that are found here mull
* VoL ii. 102.
alio