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

16 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.CHAPTER II.SINGAPORE.(A SKETCH OF THE TOWN AND ISLAND AS SEEN DURING SEVERALVISITS FROM 1854 TO 1862.)Few places are more interesting to a traveller from Europethan the town and island of Singapore, furnishing, as it does,examples of a variety of Eastern races, and of many differentreligions and modes of life. The government, the garrison, andthe chief merchants are Englisli ; but the great mass of thepopulation is Chinese, including some of the wealthiestmerchants, the agriculturists of the interior, and most of themechanics and labourers. Tlie native Malays are usuallyfishermen and boatmen, and they form the main body of th^police. The Portuguese of Malacca supply a large number ofthe clerks and smaller mercliants.. The Klings of Western Indiaare a numerous body of Mahometans, and, with many Arab.?, arepetty merchants and shopkeepers. The grooms and washermenare all Bengalees, and there is a small but highly respectableclass of Parsee merchants. Besides these, there are numbers ofJavanese sailors and domestic servants, as well as traders fromCelebes, Bali, and many other islands of the Archipelago. Theharbour is crowded with men-of-war and trading vessels of manyEuropean nations, and hundreds of Malay praus and Chinesejunks, from vessels of several hundred tons burthen down tolittle fishing boats and passenger sampans ; and the town compriseshandsome public buildings and chui'ches, Maliometanmosques Hindoo temples, Chinese joss-houses, good Europeanhouses massive warehouses, queer old Kling and China bazaars,and long suburbs of Chinese and Malay cottages.By far the most conspicuous of the various kinds of people inSingapore, and those which most attract the stranger's attention,are the Chinese, whose numbers and incessant activity give theplace very much the appearance of a town in China. The Chinesemerchant is generally a fat round-faced man with an importantand business-like look. He wears the same style of clothing(loose white smock, and blue or black trousers) as the meanestcoolie, but of finer materials, and is alwaj^s clean and neat ; andhis long tail tipped Avith red silk hangs down to his heels. Hehas a handsome warehouse or shop in town and a good house inthe country. He keeps a fine horse and gig, and every eveningmay be seen taking a drive bareheaded to enjoy the cool breeze.He is rich, he owns several retail shops and trading schooners,he lends money at liigh interest and on good security, he makeshard bargains and gets fatter and richer every year.In tlie Chinese bazaar are hundreds of small shops in which a