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
