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A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' by Annie Allnut Brassey

A >> Annie Allnut Brassey >> A Voyage in the \'Sunbeam\'




On reaching the yacht, after some delay in embarking, we slipped our
anchor as quickly as possible, and soon found ourselves in a nasty
rolling sea, which sent me to bed at once. Poor Tom, though he felt so
ill that he could hardly hold his head up, was, however, obliged to
remain on deck watching until nearly daylight; for rocks and islands
abound in these seas, and no one on board could undertake the pilotage
except himself.

_Thursday, March 8th_.--When I went on deck at half-past six o'clock
there was nothing to be seen but a leaden sky, a cold grey rolling
sea, and two fishing junks in the far distance, nor did the weather
improve all day.

_Friday, March 9th_.--Everybody began to settle down to the usual sea
occupations. There was a general hair-cutting all round, one of the
sailors being a capital barber, and there is never time to attend to
this matter when ashore. The wind was high and baffling all day. At
night the Great Bear and the Southern Cross shone out with rivalling
brilliancy: 'On either hand an old friend and a new.'

_Saturday, March 10th_.--A fine day, with a light fair breeze. Passed
the island of Hainan, belonging to China, situated at the entrance of
the Gulf of Tonquin, which, though very barren-looking, supports a
population of 150,000.

Repacked the curiosities and purchases from Canton and Hongkong, and
made up our accounts.

About noon we passed a tall bamboo sticking straight up out of the
water, and wondered if it were the topmast of some unfortunate junk
sunk on the Paranella Shoal. There were many flying-fish about, and
the sunset was lovely.

_Sunday, March 11th_.--We feel that we are going south rapidly, for
the heat increases day by day. The services were held on deck at
eleven and four.

About five o'clock I heard cries of 'A turtle on the starboard bow,'
'A wreck on the starboard bow.' I rushed out to see what it was, and
the men climbed into the rigging to obtain a better view of the
object. It proved to be a large piece of wood, partially submerged,
apparently about twenty or thirty feet long. The exposed part was
covered with barnacles and seaweed, and there was a large iron ring
attached to one end. We were sailing too fast to stop, or I should
have liked to have sent a boat to examine this 'relic of the sea' more
closely. These waifs and strays always set me thinking and wondering,
and speculating as to what they were originally, whence they came, and
all about them, till Tom declares I weave a complete legend for every
bit of wood we meet floating about.

_Tuesday, March 13th_.--About 2.30 a.m. the main peak halyards were
carried away. Soon after we gybed, and for two or three hours knocked
about in the most unpleasant manner. At daybreak we made the island of
Pulu Lapata, or Shoe Island, situated on the coast of Cochin China,
looking snowy white in the early morning light.

The day was certainly warm, though we were gliding on steadily and
pleasantly before the north-east monsoon.

_Wednesday, March 14th_.--The monsoon sends us along at the rate of
from six to seven knots an hour, without the slightest trouble or
inconvenience. There is an unexpected current, though, which sets us
about twenty-five miles daily to the westward, notwithstanding the
fact that a 'southerly current' is marked on the chart.

_March 16th_.--There was a general scribble going on all over the
ship, in preparation for the post to-morrow, as we hope to make
Singapore to-night, or very early in the morning. About noon Pulo Aor
was seen on our starboard bow. In the afternoon, being so near the
Straits, the funnel was raised and steam got up. At midnight we made
the Homburgh Light, and shortly afterwards passed a large steamer
steering north. It was a glorious night, though very hot below, and I
spent most of it on deck with Tom, observing the land as we slowly
steamed ahead half speed.




CHAPTER XXIV.


SINGAPORE.

_Betwixt them lawns, or level downs, and flocks_
_Grazing the tender herb, were interpos'd,_
_Or palmy hillock, or the flow'ry lap_
_Of some irriguous valley spread her store,_
_Flowers of all hues, and without thorn the rose._

_Saturday, March 17th_.--We were off Singapore during the night. At 5
a.m. the pilot came on board and took us into Tangong Pagar to coal
alongside the wharf. We left the ship as soon as possible, and in
about an hour we had taken forty-three tons of coal on board and
nearly twenty tons of water. The work was rapidly performed by
coolies. It was a great disappointment to be told by the
harbour-master that the Governor of the Straits Settlement and Lady
Jervoise were to leave at eleven o'clock for Johore. We determined to
go straight to the Government House and make a morning call at the
unearthly hour of 8 a.m. The drive from the wharf was full of beauty,
novelty, and interest. We had not landed so near the line before, and
the most tropical of tropical plants, trees, flowers, and ferns, were
here to be seen, growing by the roadside on every bank and dust-heap.

The natives, Malays, are a fine-looking, copper-coloured race, wearing
bright-coloured sarongs and turbans. There are many Indians, too, from
Madras, almost black, and swathed in the most graceful white muslin
garments, when they are not too hard at work to wear anything at all.
The young women are very good-looking. They wear not only one but
several rings, and metal ornaments in their noses, and a profusion of
metal bangles on their arms and legs, which jingle and jangle as they
move.

The town of Singapore itself is not imposing, its streets, or rather
roads of wooden huts and stone houses, being mixed together
indiscriminately. Government House is on the outskirts of the city in
the midst of a beautiful park which is kept in excellent order, the
green turf being closely mown and dotted with tropical trees and
bushes. The House itself is large and handsome, and contains splendid
suites of lofty rooms, shaded by wide verandahs, full of ferns and
palms, looking deliciously green and cool. We found the Governor and
his family did not start until 11.30, and they kindly begged us to
return to breakfast at half-past nine, which we did. Before finally
leaving, Sir William Jervoise sent for the Colonial Secretary, and
asked him to look after us in his absence. He turned out to be an old
schoolfellow and college friend of Tom's at Rugby and Oxford; so the
meeting was a very pleasant one. As soon as the Governor and his suite
had set off for Johore we went down into the hot dusty town to get our
letters, parcels, and papers, and to look at the shops. There are not
many Malay specialities to be bought here; most of the curiosities
come from India, China, and Japan, with the exception of birds of
Paradise from New Guinea, and beautiful bright birds of all colours
and sizes from the various islands in the Malay Archipelago.

The north-east monsoon still blows fresh and strong, but it was
nevertheless terribly hot in the streets, and we were very glad to
return to the cool, shady rooms at Government House, where we
thoroughly appreciated the delights of the punkah.

There are very few European servants here, and they all have their own
peons to wait on them, and carry an umbrella over them when they drive
the carriage or go for a walk on their own account. Even the private
soldier in Singapore has a punkah pulled over his bed at night. It is
quite a sight to meet all the coolies leaving barracks at 5 a.m., when
they have done punkah-pulling.

At four o'clock Mr. Douglas called to take us for a drive. We went
first to the Botanical Gardens, and saw sago-palms and all sorts of
tropical produce flourishing in perfection. There were many beautiful
birds and beasts, Argus pheasants, Lyre birds, cuckoos, doves, and
pigeons, more like parrots than doves in the gorgeous metallic lustre
of their plumage. The cages were large, and the enclosures in front
full of Cape jasmine bushes (covered with buds) for the birds to peck
at and eat.

From the gardens we went for a drive through the pretty villas that
surround Singapore in every direction. Every house outside the town is
built on a separate little hill in order to catch every breath of
fresh air. There is generally rather a long drive up to the houses,
and the public roads run along the valleys between them.

It was now dark, and we returned to dine at Government House.

_Sunday, March 18th_.--At six o'clock this morning Mabelle and I went
ashore with the steward and the comprador to the market. It is a nice,
clean, octagonal building, well supplied with vegetables and curious
fruits. The latter are mostly brought from the other islands, as this
is the worst season of the year in Singapore for fruit. I do not quite
understand why this should be, for, as it is only a degree above the
line, there is very little variation in the seasons here. The sun
always rises and sets at six o'clock all the year round; for months
they have a north-east monsoon, and then for months together a
south-west monsoon.

We tasted many fruits new to us--delicious mangosteens, lacas, and
other fruits whose names I could not ascertain. Lastly, we tried a
durian, _the_ fruit of the East, as it is called by people who live
here, and having got over the first horror of the onion-like odour we
found it by no means bad.

The fish market is the cleanest, and best arranged, and sweetest
smelling that I ever went through. It is situated on a sort of open
platform, under a thick thatched roof, built out over the sea, so that
all the refuse is easily disposed of and washed away by the tide. From
the platform on which it stands, two long jetties run some distance
out into the sea, so that large fishing boats can come alongside and
discharge their cargoes from the deep at the door of the market with
scarcely any exposure to the rays of the tropical sun.

The poultry market is a curious place. On account of the intense heat
everything is brought alive to the market, and the quacking, cackling,
gobbling, and crowing that go on are really marvellous. The whole
street is alive with birds in baskets, cages, and coops, or tied by
the leg and thrown down anyhow. There were curious pheasants and
jungle-fowl from Perak, doves, pigeons, quails, besides cockatoos,
parrots, parrakeets, and lories. They are all very tame and very
cheap; and some of the scarlet lories, looking like a flame of fire,
chatter in the most amusing way. I have a cage full of tiny parrots
not bigger than bullfinches, of a dark green colour, with dark red
throats and blue heads, yellow marks on the back, and red and yellow
tails. Having bought these, everybody seemed to think that I wanted an
unlimited supply of birds, and soon we were surrounded by a chattering
crowd, all with parrots in their hands and on their shoulders. It was
a very amusing sight, though rather noisy, and the competition reduced
the prices very much. Parrakeets ranged from twelve to thirty cents
apiece, talking parrots and cockatoos from one to five dollars. At
last the vendors became so energetic that I was glad to get into the
gharry again, and drive away to a flower shop, where we bought some
gardenias for one penny a dozen, beautifully fresh and fragrant, but
with painfully short stalks.

Towards the end of the south-west monsoon, little native open boats
arrive from the islands 1,500 to 3,000 miles to the southward of
Singapore. Each has one little tripod mast. The whole family live on
board. The sides of the boat cannot be seen for the multitudes of
cockatoos, parrots, parrakeets, and birds of all sorts, fastened on
little perches, with very short strings attached to them. The decks
are covered with sandal-wood. The holds are full of spice, shells,
feathers, and South Sea pearl shells. With this cargo they creep from
island to island, and from creek to creek, before the monsoon, till
they reach their destination. They stay a month or six weeks, change
their goods for iron, nails, a certain amount of pale green or Indian
red thread for weaving, and some pieces of Manchester cotton. They
then go back with the north-east monsoon, selling their goods at the
various islands on their homeward route. There are many Dutch ports
nearer than Singapore, but they are over-regulated, and preference is
given to the free English port, where the simple natives can do as
they like so long as they do not transgress the laws.

As we were going on board, we met the Maharajah of Johore's servant,
just going off with invitations to dinner, lunch, and breakfast for
the next two days for all our party, and with all sorts of kind
propositions for shooting and other amusements.

Some of our friends came off before luncheon to see the yacht, and we
returned with them to tiffin at Government House. At four o'clock the
carriage came round to take us to Johore. We wished good-bye to
Singapore and all our kind friends, and started on a lovely drive
through the tropical scenery. There is a capital road, fifteen miles
in length, across the island, and our little ponies rattled along at a
good pace. There was a pleasant breeze and not much dust, no sun, and
a stream ran the whole way by the side of the road. The acacia
flamboyante--that splendid tree which came originally from Rangoon and
Sumatra--was planted alongside the road, and produced a most charming
effect. It is a large tree, with large leaves of the most delicate
green; on its topmost boughs grow gorgeous clusters of scarlet flowers
with yellow centres, and the effect of these scarlet plumes tossing in
the air is truly beautiful. As we were driving along we espied a
splendid butterfly, with wings about ten inches long. Mr. Bingham
jumped out of the carriage and knocked it down with his hat; but it
was so like the colour of leaves in grass that in the twilight nobody
could distinguish it, and, to our great disappointment, we could not
find it. We were equally unsuccessful in our attempted capture of a
water-snake a couple of feet long. We threw sticks and stones and our
syce waded into the stream, but all to no purpose; it glided away into
some safe little hole under the bank.

We reached the sea-shore about six o'clock, and found the Maharajah's
steam-launch waiting to convey us across the Straits to the mainland.
These Straits used to be the old route to Singapore, and are somewhat
intricate. Tom engaged a very good pilot to bring the yacht round, but
at the last moment thought that he should like to bring her himself;
the result being that he arrived rather late for dinner. The Maharajah
and most of the party were out shooting when we arrived; but Sir
William Jervoise met us and showed us round the place, and also
arranged about rooms for us to dress in. Johore is a charming place;
the Straits are so narrow and full of bends that they look more like a
peaceful river or inland lake in the heart of a tropical forest than
an arm of the mighty ocean. As we approached we had observed a good
deal of smoke rising from the jungle, and, as the shades of evening
closed over the scene, we could see the lurid glare of two extensive
fires.

We sat down thirty to dinner at eight o'clock. There were the
Maharajah's brothers, the Prime Minister, Harkim or judge, and several
other Malay chiefs, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, his
family and suite, and one or two people from Singapore. The dinner was
cooked and served in European style; the table decorated with gold and
silver epergnes full of flowers, on velvet stands, and with heaps of
small cut-flower glasses full of jasmine. We were waited on by the
Malay servants of the establishment, dressed in grey and yellow, and
by the Governor's Madras servants, in white and scarlet. The Maharajah
and his native guests were all in English evening dress, with white
waistcoats, bright turbans, and sarongs. The room was large and open
on all sides, and the fresh evening breeze, in addition to the
numerous punkahs, made it delightfully cool. The Maharajah is a strict
Mohammedan himself, and drinks nothing but water. I spent the three
hours during which the dinner lasted in very pleasant conversation
with my two neighbours. We returned on board soon after eleven
o'clock.

[Illustration: Maharajah of Johore's House.]

_Monday, March 19th_.--Mabelle and I went ashore at six o'clock for a
drive. It was a glorious morning, with a delightfully cool breeze,
and the excursion was most enjoyable. We drove first through the old
town of Johore, once of considerable importance, and still a place of
trade for opium, indigo, pepper, and other tropical products. Nutmeg
and maize used to be the great articles of export, but latterly the
growth has failed, and, instead of the groves we had expected to see,
there were only solitary trees. After leaving the town we went along a
good road for some distance, with cottages and clearings on either
side, until we came to a pepper and gambir plantation. The two crops
are cultivated together, and both are grown on the edge of the jungle,
for the sake of the wood, which is burned in the preparation of the
gambir. I confess that I had never heard of the latter substance
before, but I find that it is largely exported to Europe, where it is
occasionally employed for giving weight to silks, and for tanning
purposes.

The pepper garden we saw was many acres in extent. Some of the trees
in the forest close by are very fine, especially the camphor-wood, and
the great red, purple, and copper-coloured oleanders, which grow in
clumps twenty and thirty feet in height. The orchids with which all
the trees were covered, hanging down in long tassels of lovely
colours, or spread out like great spotted butterflies and insects,
were most lovely of all. By far the most abundant was the white
phalaenopsis, with great drooping sprays of pure white waxy blossoms,
some delicately streaked with crimson, others with yellow. It was a
genuine jungle, and we were told that it is the resort of numerous
tigers and elephants, and that snakes abound.

On our way back through the town we stopped to see the process of
opium making. This drug is brought from India in an almost raw state,
rolled up in balls, about the size of billiard balls, and wrapped in
its own leaves. Here it is boiled down, several times refined, and
prepared for smoking. The traffic in it forms a very profitable
monopoly, which is shared in Singapore between the English Government
and the Maharajah of Johore.

We also saw indigo growing; the dye is prepared very much in the same
way as the gambir. That grown here is not so good as that which comes
from India, and it is therefore not much exported, though it is used
by the innumerable Chinese in the Malay peninsula to dye all their
clothes, which are invariably of some deep shade of blue. We saw
sago-palms growing, but the mill was not working, so that we could not
see the process of manufacture; but it seems to be very similar to the
preparation of tapioca, which we had seen in Brazil.

On our passage through the town we went to look at a large gambling
establishment; of course no one was playing so early in the morning,
but in the evening it is always densely crowded, and is a great source
of profit to the proprietor. I could not manage to make out exactly
from the description what the game they play is like, but it was not
fan-tan. We now left the carriage, and strolled to see the people, the
shops, and the market. I bought all sorts of common curiosities,
little articles of everyday life, some of which will be sure to amuse
and interest my English friends. Among my purchases were a wooden
pillow, some joss candles, a two-stringed fiddle, and a few preserved
eggs, which they say are over a hundred years old. The eggs are
certainly nasty enough for anything; still it seems strange that so
thrifty a people as the Chinese should allow so much capital to lie
dormant--literally buried in the earth.

At half-past nine o'clock the Maharajah, with the Governor and all his
guests, came on board. His Highness inspected the yacht with the
utmost minuteness and interest, though his Mohammedan ideas about
women were considerably troubled when he was told that I had had a
great deal to do with the designing and arrangement of the interior.
At half-past eleven the party left, and an hour afterwards we went to
make our adieux to the Maharajah.

On our departure the Maharajah ordered twenty coolies to accompany
us, laden with fragrant tropical plants. He also gave me some splendid
Malay silk sarongs, grown, made, and woven in his kingdom, a pair of
tusks of an elephant shot within a mile of the house, besides a live
little beast, not an alligator, and not an armadillo or a lizard; in
fact I do not know what it is; it clings round my arm just like a
bracelet, and it was sent as a present by the ex-Sultan of Johore.
Having said farewell to our kind host and other friends, we pushed off
from the shore, and embarked on board the yacht; the anchor was up,
and by five o'clock a bend in the Straits hid hospitable and pleasant
Johore from our view, and all we could see was the special steamer on
her way back to Singapore with the Maharajah's guests on board. At
Tanjore we dropped our funny little pilot, and proceeded on our course
towards Penang. The Straits are quite lovely, and fully repaid the
trouble and time involved in the detour made to visit them. The sun
set and the young moon arose over as lovely a tropical scene as you
can possibly imagine.

[Illustration: The pet Manis.]

_Tuesday, March 20th_.--At 5.30, when we were called, the Doctor came
and announced that he had something very important to communicate to
us. This proved to be that one of our men was suffering from
small-pox, and not from rheumatic fever, as had been supposed. My
first thought was that Muriel had been with the Doctor to see him
yesterday evening; my next, that many men had been sleeping in the
same part of the vessel with him; my third, that for his greater
comfort he had been each day in our part of the ship; and my fourth,
what was to be done now? After a short consultation, Tom decided to
alter our course for Malacca, where we arrived at half-past nine; the
Doctor at once went on shore in a native prahu to make the best
arrangements he could under the circumstances. He was fortunate enough
to find Dr. Simon, nephew of the celebrated surgeon of the same name,
installed as head physician at the civil hospital here. He came off at
once with the hospital boat, and, having visited the invalid, declared
his illness to be a very mild case of small-pox. He had brought off
some lymph with him, and recommended us all to be re-vaccinated. He
had also brought sundry disinfectants, and gave instructions about
fumigating and disinfecting the yacht. All the men were called upon
the quarter-deck, and addressed by Tom, and we were surprised to find
what a large proportion of them objected to the operation of
vaccination. At last, however, the prejudices of all of them, except
two, were overcome. One of the latter had promised his grandfather
that he never would be vaccinated under any circumstances, while
another would consent to be inoculated, but would not be vaccinated.
We had consulted our own medical man before leaving England, and knew
that for ourselves the operation was not necessary, but we
nevertheless underwent it _pour encourager les autres_. While the
Doctor was on shore we had been surrounded by boats bringing monkeys,
birds, ratan and Malacca canes, fruit, rice, &c., to sell, and as I
did not care to go ashore, thinking there might be some bother about
quarantine, we made bargains over the side of the yacht with the
traders, the result being that seven monkeys, about fifty birds of
sorts, and innumerable bundles of canes, were added to the stock on
board. In the meantime Dr. Simon had removed our invalid to the
hospital.

Malacca looks exceedingly pretty from the sea. It is a regular Malay
village, consisting of huts, built on piles close to the water,
overshadowed by cocoa palms and other forms of tropical vegetation.
Mount Ofia rises in the distance behind; there are many green islands,
too, in the harbour. By one o'clock we were again under way, and once
more _en route_ for Penang.

[Illustration: MALACCA]

_Wednesday, March 21st_.--During the night we had heavy thunder
storms. About 11 a.m. we passed a piece of drift-wood with a bird
perched on the top, presenting a most curious effect. Several of the
men on board mistook it for the back fin of a large shark. About 5
p.m. we made the island of Penang. After sunset it became very hazy,
and we crept slowly up, afraid of injuring the numerous stake nets
that are set about the Straits most promiscuously, and without any
lights to mark their position. Before midnight we had dropped our
anchor.

_Thursday, March 22nd_.--At 5 a.m., when we were called, the whole sky
was overcast with a lurid glare, and the atmosphere was thick, as if
with the fumes of some vast conflagration. As the sun rose in raging
fierceness, the sky cleared, and became of a deep, clear, transparent
blue. The island of Penang is very beautiful, especially in the early
morning light. It was fortunate we did not try to come in last night,
as we could now see that we must inevitably have run through some of
the innumerable stake nets I mentioned. As we approached Georgetown,
the capital of the province, we passed many steamers and sailing ships
at anchor in the roads. A pilot offered his services, but Tom declined
them with thanks, and soon afterwards skilfully brought us up close in
shore in the crowded roadstead. The harbour-master sent off, as did
also the mail-master, but no Board of Health officials appeared; so,
after some delay, the Doctor went on shore to find the local medical
man, promising shortly to return. He did not, however, reappear, and,
after waiting a couple of hours, we landed without opposition. We
packed off all the servants for a run on shore, and had all the fires
put out in order to cool the ship. Our first inquiry was for an hotel
where we could breakfast, and we were recommended to go to the Hotel
de l'Europe.

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