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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1901)
Queer Stories About the Island of Sumatra iliu Iluvnua cigars. The exports of tobacco vail only In brick districts. Those Dat- uinoiitit to about $15,000,000 n year. Ono ' iiiniiariy tlio 1)111 MnntschapplJ han p.iM n dividend of 7fi pur cent pur nniiiim for iwonty-llve years. This la tin1 lending to-ii.-u i ii company of .Sumatra. It Is along this mime coast that pepper Im foiiml. Sumatra raises moru pepper than niiy other Islaml of the world, ami It has in'i n raUInu II for centuries. It was the take who have come In contact with the Dutch are soml-clvlllzed and many of them can read and write. They have an alphabet of their own mid wrlto upon palm leaves instead of paper. The Ilattaks are pagans, but I doubt whether missionaries would bo allowed by the Dutch to go among them, ns they think missionary work disturbs the natives. irado in spices which brought tho Dutch to Some of the people aro Mohammedans and i lie far cast, ami a la rue- part of their llrst peppt r tdilpmctits were from Sumatra, til ' hough they gut somu from India. They lost India tin 1 1 1 k I Hit' overchaigos of the pi ppor tiust About I lie I lino of Queen Eliabolh the had HoltlcmcntH both In In iliu ami In these Islands, and were doing tiumt of the earning trade of this part of ihti world. They ihen sold their pepper at 7i cents a pound, but, triistlikc, as they hail i lie monopoly, thought they could double the price, water their stock and still de clare big dividends. Tho English mor chants, however, objected to paying $1.50 a pound, and oigmilcd tho famous Hast ludl.i coiiipany, which drove the Dutch out of llllidoostan and gave India to England. Hero In Sumatra the Dutch still own pep per plantations. The sultan of Achlu has Ills pepper districts, and In tho Iimpotigs others bellevo In thrco deities a creator, n preserver and n destroyer. They have also a touch of lllndoolsm. They nro on tho whole mild and peaceable, hospltablo and very courteous. I have several pictures of llattak girls brought to I lata via by a recent traveler !u that country. I urn surprised at their looks. Tiny have better forms and features than the Javanese and they dress better. Young Kills wear a ureal deal of Jewelry every maiden carries her whole dowry on her per s u. Her arms are covered with bracelets from her wrlnts to her shoulders and In her cars are buttons and hooks of sliver and (Old. Some Klrls have high hack combs plated with gold and some have sarongs of silk In terwoven with gold threads and decorated with small coins. It is not uncommon for thero am other pepper cwlates which yield woman to cover the whole tipper part of A IIATTAK CANNIIIAl. WOMAN S1 (Copyright, I'M, by l'"ranll O Carpenter) IINGAPOIIE, Straits of Malacca, Nov II Special Correspond ence of Tho lice.) I mlled for two davH along the coast of Su ' malm in coining to Singapore The Island belongs almoit entiiely to iln Dutch, but 11 has vast tracts mill Inhabited by savages and a largo section which tho Dutch have been trvliii: for vears to subdue. Dining in ' will iay the Agricultural departmeiit to In ostlguto It for the rhlllpplties. Mindanao and tho Sill n archipelago have plenty or liiuil suited to the crop, and the moist, waiui climate there Is Just right for It, Tho pepper grows upon hushes, which rise to a height of from twenty to thirty feet. conversation with the governor general Tho plants are Bet out from cuttings so . . .it n.. it,..i ........ ...m t.nnw i r.nrt of the Dutch Mast Indies ho referrea to tins mm iuhuuh-i uhu "nu u m tn-m -,Uv war and pointed out the province of Achln plants. In Sumatra, where wages aro per- oii the map. It lies at the extreme north- haps a little lower than In tho Philippines, em ...! nf Sumatra and Is Inhabited by It costs only W to bring an acre of pepper Malas. who are better lighters ami more Plants Into bearing, and nftcr that rebellious than our own Tagalns In r person with silver dollars, beginning with a row at the neck and running In con cent lie rows down to the depths of it very decollete dress. I am told that some of the women wear silver nail protectors, such as are used by the Chinese, and that many I havu made boiiio Inquiries as to tho pep. mvo KO, belts and gold and sliver buckles per luminous and os far as I can learn It t mutcn their sarongs. well. In a good year Sumatra exports In tho neighborhood of 400,000 pounds, or about two-thirds of all tho pepper that tlcklcB tho palates of humankind. Pepper for the I ' Ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 I n m. It Is Uucei- .MiirrliiKc CuxtoiiiN. Murrlago Is largely a case of courtship and love in many parts of Sumatra. Still the daughters have to be bought by their husbands from the parents. This purchase Is Hecret, but It Is necessary, nevertheless, and Is nlwnys Insisted upon unless the girl Is old and tough and the prospective hus band has little. Then he may lie taken Into tho family of his bride with no payment whatever. In tho latter cane, however, the ceremony Is different from me regular additions can bo recog nized by tho prougH which extend up from thu roof, and you see sometimes half u dozen hnu.es so Joined to gether. In some villages there are houses somewhat like the club houses of New Guinea. In the LampoiigH even small places have their town halls, where the men. w o m e u and children to eel together a li d where all public busl uess Is done. About these the peddlers and marketmeii collect, story tollers stand and Mug their tales and here dancing Is sometimes held, lasting for several days and nights. Ton iin of Miiimtrii. 1 have talked with the Dutch o 111 c lain about the towns of Su nt a t r a . Tin natives nearly everywhere live In villages and there are only a few cities of any size. I have al ready spoken of 1'adaug This Is the capital of the west coast. It has about n.'.ono people and of these about 1.700 are Europeans. The prov ince Is ruled by the Dutch mid the town has many beautiful Dutch villages, somewhat like tluwo of Java. Many also live In bungalows, constructed of wood and bamboo, with the Honrs several feel above the ground. Sumo Mernpl volcano. Iron has been smelted for MALAY WOMEN I'itOM Till: E ST CONST OK SI M VITtA. (Minim ilini witiltlifSt ' tiv ntv v - i i I i H said tho pepper from them can bo annually marrlago ceremony and the husband s r lints aro aiso iiiiicreiu. nu m-tumio, m It. Achln every man la a sn.iller ami eve y -. - "I",; 'o bear at short, tho slave of l.ls wife's parents and village has Its army ready for seryl o o uior . .im. ho pi wits b g o be or at jf time of war Tim pcop o have been llg Mil g r K- rs In ... o M .. nm. in B n t co,Htlon he may apply for a until inn in I linen veni-H itv .t,.i. of the villas arc roofed with thatch of tapa leaves, Tho native live In thatclud huts with curiously pointed roofs Thilr Iioiims aro shaded by cocoauut trees, and l'ailang centuries b certain of the tribes and there are coal oil llelds which arc the source of much specu!ntlon In the stock markets of the various ports of the far east. There Is one oil region known as the I.angkat which makes you think of an Immense park with has made fortunes on paper for the forelgn- i , i , i , 1 1 1 t t b discovered by wm o men. .. . ,o . lM ,8 ft pnn of Simmlnl whuro I'olo vlslleil It in l.Ji anu aiimii inu uiuu . .. - n,.,., ,.f A,,,rle,. niintlier Ho- ries, wnicil nro nisi green ami ropoan landed there and wrote of its pep per, aloes and silk. Queen Kll.abeth made b thoy begin to r pen and dried on a treaty with Its sultan and considerable " l'-'n 11 'r- 'rx hoy turn bl trading was done before the country came '' whl to pepper s made by ya8hlng Into tho hands of the Dutch. From time lo time the different foreign nations tried to subdue the Achluese, but they fought them ono after another, and at r hi) end of live centuries aro still uncoii uuered. Already tho Dutch have lost then mil the women nre said to bo the real rulers. and when ripe are yellow. They nro picked nils is in llie niKiuio oi uio isiauu, u mats pari oi tno country senium peuuiiuivu uj black, travelers. Tliero tlio women nave moru and property rights than tho men. U n man rubbing tho black berries and drying thorn 'Ucs his possessions go to his father and nioiner, out ir tlio woman uies uer propenj goes to the children. For this reason tho men give their property to their wives, and tho result Is that most of tho wealth of tho tribe Is owned by the women. Tho hus baml can dlvorco his wife whenever ho chooses, but ho must nllow her to keep this the in the sun. Vnioiiu Die IIiiIIiiKn. Somo of the best pepper plantations In Sumatra nro in the land of the Ilattaks, a vast tribe of Heml-Bavages, who lives In tho about 10,000 men In trying to control them ,1 south of Achln. These people aro Ma- aud have spent, It Is said, more than $85.- ya intermix! d with Dynks of Ilorneo and the property In her possession. Kor 1100,000. They now have an army In tho with Hindoos They are taller than our reason there nre fow divorces and Held against them, and although they pos- KHipiuos, darker In complexion and moro people are said to lie uncommonly moral, sess a part of the coast thoy are no nearer heavily haired Many of them havo boards. They are generally monogamists, notwlth- comiuorlng them than they were a gonora- in tho wilder portions of tho country thoy standing their .Mohammedanism. Several lion ago. Thu country of tho Achlnosa Is nro very savage and cannibals aro found, families will often live in one house. If n about as largo as West Virginia, It con- Tho pennltles for certain crimes aro that daughter gets married a new addition Is tains rich pepper districts and has also, It thu guilty shall be cut In plocea and be built on at tho back and in thl3 sho lives Is said, much gold nnd Mlver. Its peoplu eaten alive These practices, howover, pre- and brings up her children Tho various nro Mohammedans and they usu the Arabic characters In writing. They are said to be treacherous, but of late years on account of tho wars no one has been able to travel among them, ll IllUllimtl lalllllll. Tho greater part of Sumatra Ib practl cally unknown, nnd still It Is one of the richest Islands of tho far oast. It has enor nous tracts of fertile soil, and It produces pepper, coffee nnd rice In vast quantities It Is the largest Island of the world, with the exceptions of Ilorneo, New (luluea and perhapn Greenland. It Is longer than from New York to Chicago and in one place as wide as from Washington to Albany Its area Is four times that of Ohio plus that of Massachusetts. It Is n land of mountains and plains. Along tho west roast then) nre pcaku from two to thrco miles In height while on tho east opposite this town of Singapore there Is a vast plain, much of which Is under water during a part of the year. This Is especially so of the Uim pongs, the province nearest Java The word l.iimpongs means bobbing In the water. Hero you can travel 150 miles over lands nlmoat perfectly level and then by going thirty miles further reach tho tops of peaks which aro two mile above tho sen The very best of our Java coffco comes from Sumatra. This statement I made In my colTeo lettor on Jnvn and the Informa tion canto to nni from the coffco exporters at llatavla. Thero Is a town called radang about tho center of tho west coast of Su matra which Is surrounded by coffee plan tations, and thero nro other regions In which the berry grows woll, It Is culti vated In tho mountainous districts, tho Ara blan plant being used. Tho exports aro largo and tho most of thorn go to the United States. Tho methods of cultivation are about tho samo as In Java. Tolmcco Trimt Which l'nn. Tho best tobacco lands aro on tho north sldo of tho Island. Much Is raised about 1)111, on tho Straits of Malacca Tho leaf Is especially valuable for wrappers, the best of tho product going to Kurope and thence to Cuba, whoro It Is used for tho tlnest of these curious houses scattered through It. The town Im close to the mountains and It Is said to bo very healthy. It Is not far from coal llelds, which are connected with It by rati. Not far from 1'adaug Is Ilcnkulcu, which was onco tho English capital of the country. It has 12,000 people, but Is not prosperous. Dill Is tho Dutch capital of the east coast. It Is at tho mouth of a river on Malacca strait, Just a Uttlo below Pndang. Here the Dutch civil nnd military olllclals live ns well as many Kurnpeau merchants, mak ing a very pleasant foreign colony. Dill Is laid out In modern style. Its utreets being lighted with electricity. It hns two banks, two good hotels, two clubs, a racing asso ciation and many Chinese, Japanese, In dian, Malay and Kllng business houses. It Is tho center of tho tobacco exporting trado and It Imports n great deal of rice from the Straits Settlements. In eastern Sumatra Is tho largest city of tho Island. It Is known ns I'alembang and Is tho capital of tho residency of that name. It lias a population of about 60,000 and has considerable export nnd import trade with Singapore, Slam, llatavla and China. It has a European quarter, with tho usual as. sortmcnt of clubs, business houses, etc. The peoplo nro largoly Mohammedans and It has ono mosque, floored with marble, which has n minaret 100 feet high. IIimv the Dutch Govern Siinintru. Tho Dutch havo applied tho samo govern ment to Sutnntra as to Java, but their suc- ets in Shanghai, hut so far an I can learn no great quantity of petroleum has yet come from them. iin Mines ill' lllliil.lt. Among the richest mluei.-il n glons of this part of the world nre these on some of tho smaller Islands about Sumaiira. I passed tho Island of llanka In c tiling to Singapore This Island Is separated fiom Sumatra by tho llanka straitH. Almost adjoining It is tho Island of Dllllton. llanka is about half again as largo as Porto ltlco and Hllllton about ono and one-half times the size nf Ithode Island, lloth these Islands have enormous deposits of tin, their output amounting to several million dollars annu ally. Tho mines aro a monopoly of tho Dutch government, which works them with Chinese cheap labor. Much of the tin Is alluvial; It Is woshed out and smelted by tho Chinese. The chief town of Ilankn Is Muntok, which Is tho scat of the Dutch gov ernment. It Is n llttlo city of 1,000 and Is a port of call for Dutch steamers between llatavla and Singapore KltANK 0. CAHI'ENTEIt. Kxcessive Smoking Edison, when ho Is deeply absorbed In wiulc. consumes about twenty cigars a day; when he Is less acthe. mentally, about ten. They are alwavr strong cigars. The in ventor as that this excessive smoking hns nevir, so far .is he win dlscocr. done him anv harm Ills family has been one of cess In controlling tho peoplo has been far HmK,,,-Si his grandfather, who lived to bo greater In tho latter Island. Tho Malaya of haMm? been an Inveterate smoker and UATHEHINO I'Kl'PKH IN SUMATRA Til E PEPPEH OKOWS UPON HUSHES. Sumatra aro moro wild and savage than the Javanese. Many of them, like tho Achlnese, refuse to bo controlled nnd tliero are fro qucnt rebellions. Eastern Sumatra Is still divided Into n number of semi-Independent states, each ruled by Its own prlnco or chief, who may bo called sultan, rajah or datto, These rulers are assisted by tho Dutch nlllclnls, and as far as posslblo tho government Is carried on through thorn. Tho Dutch hnvo a court at Dill and also native courts elsewhere. Tho most Impor tant cases aro token to llatavla to bo tried and matters of note are referred to the gov ernor general of the Dutch East Indies at that point. I-nnds may be leased of the princes for a certain number of years and labor may to hired under certain conditions. The laws requlro that tho wages must bo paid by the month nnd that tho employer must furnish his laborers with medical attendance nnd food when they nre sick. All land contracts to Europeans aro subject to the consent of tho resident Dutch governor and mining contracts havo to bo approved by tho Dutch governor general. In nearly all tho prov ince tho Dutch collect the customs duties nnd ordinary revenues. I have not been nblo to discover much as to tho minora) wealth of Sumatra, Gold and silver are known to exist and tho coun try has a Mount Ophlr, but whother Its unmo has anything to do with tho gold of Ophlr I do not know. There are gold field about Padang which have been noted for centuries and placer mines In other parts of tho Island which are still In oporatlon Thoro Is some tin along tho coast of tho strait and thero aro copper mines near the a chewer of tobacco as well. A con.1 iooklnR 4tTffi liorn!i'l poor look- ' ItlR lllirilUHH tlio i-tA tort kind vt a coin- f?TH?JJi Eureka SRV Harness Oil not only niukn t do launch and ttin 1! Inir Imk tietter. tint iniikct ttio Ml littttieruoltiinil pliable piiHIUn coll. inn ti, illtiiitt to lint twice hi Ifcng Jj mimlA . ' orillnsrlly would. M MlYi( STANDARD ,' ! OIL CO. MM Give Your Horse a Chance! S3