without any of the old customs of rum and feathering"
being kept up. The heat was intense.
Minto, the principal port of the large island of
Banca, the great tin emporium and Holland’s mine,,
in every sense of the word, was our next destination,
where goods had to be exchanged. I landed, to enjoy
a stretch in the cool shade of the forest, and here I
saw those wonderful insects belonging to the order
Orthoptera cursoria, the Walking-leaf (Phyllium)
and the Walking-stick (Phasmci), the most perfect
representation, when in repose, of leaves like those
of the jasmin, and of bits of dry branchlets a few
inches long. They are very curious, and I collected
a few specimens, along with their natural food, to
take with me, but they did not live beyond a few
days. They are very slow in their movements,,
especially at starting, as if it took them a little time
to recover from their trance or stupor.
After a few hours, delay we passed through the
narrow strait between Banca and the fever-stricken
coast of Sumatra. The climate on the latter is said
to be deadly to both Europeans and natives.
Frequent attempts have been made to clear its forests
and jungles, but the hand of death has invariably
put a stop to it. Its tall trees, 1 0 0 to 150 feet high,
which one sees so distinctly in passing through the
strait, are the Hard-camphor (Dryobalanops aroma-
tica) ; they are said to grow only here and in Borneo.
The camphor is obtained by cutting down the tree
and dividing the wood into small pieces, in the
division or natural cavities of which it is found in
crystalline masses. This tree is of quite a different
order to that of the Camphor-laurel (Camphora offici-
narum) which grows in China, Japan, and also m
India. The latter likewise grows to a great height;
but, in order to obtain the camphor, it is necessary
that stem and branches be chopped into fragments
and undergo some chemical process.
At one time we steamed so close to the coast of
Sumatra that we could distinctly see a little village,
consisting of wooden houses, ornamented with carving
and very picturesque high-pitched gables, either at
one end only, or at both, the roof considerably
dropping towards the middle, also smaller houses of
similar construction, built entirely of bamboo. This
was in a more southerly part of the island, which
was neither so densely wooded nor so unhealthy as
where the Hard-camphor-tree grows.
The pace of the “ Vice- Admiral Fabius ” had
gradually become a crawl, and although only-540
geographical miles from Singapore, it was not until
daybreak of the fourth day, or at an average rate of