The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

310 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.all that is strange and new and wonderful to young imaginations—London !By the help of some kind friends I was introduced to theowner of one of the large praus which was to sail in a few days.He was a Javanese half-caste, intelligent, mild, and gentlemanlyin his manners, and had a young and pretty Dutch wife, whomhe was going to leave behind during his absence. When wetalked about passage money he would fix no sum, but insistedon leaving it entirelj^ to me to pay on my return exactly whatI liked. " And then," said he, " whether you give me one dollaror a hundred, I sliall be satisfied, and shall ask no more."The remainder of my stay was fully occupied in laying instores, engaging servants, and making every other preparationfor an absence of seven months from even the outskirts ofcivilization. On the morning of December 13th, when we wenton board at daybreak, it was raining hai'd. We set sail and itcame on to blow. Our boat was lost astern, our sails damaged,and the evening found us back again in Macassar harbour. Weremained there four days longer, owing to its raining all thetime, thus rendering it impossible to dry and repair the hugemat sails. All these dreary days I remained on board, andduring the rare intervals when it didn't rain, made myselfacquainted with our outlandish craft, some of the peculiaritiesof which I will now endeavour to describe.It was a Aessel of about seventy tons burthen, and shapedsomething like a Chinese junk. The deck sloped considerablydownward to the bows, which are thus the lowest part of theship. There were two large rudders, but instead of being placedastern they were hung on the quarters from strong cross beams,which projected out two or three feet on each side, and to whichextent the deck overhung the sides of tlie vessel amidships. Theruddei\s Avere not hinged but hung with slings of rattan, thefriction of which keeps them in any position in which they areplaced, and thus perhaps facilitates steering. The tillers werenot on deck, but entered the vessel through two square openingsinto a lower or half deck about three feet high, in which sit thetwo steersmen. In the after part of the vessel was a low poop,about three and a half feet high, which forms the captain'scabin, its furniture consisting of boxes, mats, and pillows. Infront of the poojD and mainmast was a little thatched house ondeck, about four feet high to the ridge ;and one compai'tmentof tliis, forming a cabin six and a half feet long by live and ahalf wide, I had all to myself, and it was the snuggest and mostcomfortable little place I ever enjoyed at sea. It was enteredby a low sliding door of thatch on one side, and had a very smallwindow on the otiier. The floor Avas of split bamboo, pleasantlyelastic, raised six inches above the deck, so as to be quite dry.It was covered with fine cane mats, for the manufacture of whichMacassar is celebrated ;against the further Avail Avere arrangedmy gun-case, insect-boxes, clothes, and books ; my mattress