long droughts had caused these reptiles to congregate where water was only to be found. The Malays killed them in numbers; I counted on one occasion no less than eight of these reptiles lying together, all crushed in the head, and although not large in girth, they varied in length from five to seven feet.

The natives of Tamelan declared most of them to be of the boa-constrictor species, not dangerous in their bite, but, when large, capable of killing a man or a strong deer by enveloping him in their folds: they said it was their poultry which principally suffered, but spoke of monsters in the deep forests, which might, if they came out, clear off the whole village—a pleasant feat for which Jadee, with a wag of his sagacious head, assured me that an "Oular Bessar," or big snake, was quite competent.

It was strange but interesting to find amongst all Malays a strong belief in the extraordinary size to which the boa-constrictors or Pythons would grow: they all maintained, that in the secluded forests of Sumatra or Borneo, as well as on some of the smaller islands which were not inhabited, these snakes were occasionally found of forty or fifty feet in length; and the vice of incredulity not being so strong in me then as it is now, I gave full credence to their

136

STORIES OF LARGE SNAKES.

tales, and consoled myself by remembering, when my faith was taxed by some tougher tale than usual, that my respected schoolmaster in the village of Chudleigh had birched into me the fact, attested by even a Pliny, that a snake 120 feet long had disputed the passage of a Roman army on the banks of the Bagrada, and killed numbers of legionaries before its skin could be secured to adorn the Capitol.

JADEE DECLINES TO CLEAN THE COPPER. 137

CHAP. XI.

Jadee declines to clean the Copper. - A Malay Prejudice.

A Malay Mutiny.

ficulty surmounted.

- The Dif

An

The lost Sheep return. Malayan mechanical Skill. Impromptu Dock.- An Accident, and quick Repairs. — Launch, and resume Station. Loss of my Canoe. — A Sampan constructed. — The Malayan Axe or Adze. - Ingenious mode of applying native Materials in Construction of Boats.

I HAD but one fracas in my gun-boat with my Malays, which, considering how young and inexperienced I was as a commander, was less than might have been expected; but as it assumed a rather serious character at one time, and showed the disposition of my men, it may be worth relating.

I had repeatedly pointed out to the coxswain, Jadee, that it was highly necessary, with a view to preserving the speed of the "Emerald," that the copper with which her bottom was covered should be kept as clean as possible, and where it was visible that it should shine like that of the "Hyacinth"-a vessel I naturally looked upon as my model in every nautical respect.

138

A MALAY PREJUDICE.

Jadee, however, shirked the question, and the copper did not improve. I then ordered him to clean it on the morrow, employing the whole crew for the purpose. He began a long rigmarole story about Malaymen not liking to clean copper.

I cut him short by saying white men did not much like doing it, either; but it was our principle to clean every part of a vessel, and that at 9 o'clock in the forenoon on the morrow I expected to see that the work had been done. I dined with Barclay on board the cutter, and paddled myself back in the evening in my canoe, and although Jadee received me respectfully, I saw he was sulky: like more civilised first-lieutenants, he wanted to have his own way; but I took no notice of that until next morning, when at the proper time I looked over the side and found the copper still very dirty. I need scarcely say I was very angry.

66

Jadee caught a thorough good wigging, and said something about being afraid of ordering the men to do it. I immediately desired him to pipe "Hands clean copper!" He did so. Every man in a bowling knot and over the side!" I next directed; and then, seeing that they knew what I wanted done, and were at work, I said, in all the Malay I could muster, that the copper was to be cleaned

A MALAY MUTINY.

139

daily, and pointed out the necessity of a clean bottom to catch fast prahus-a truism I could see they were perfectly aware of. All hands were soon splashing about cleaning the copper, and I fancied my difficulties at an end; addressing Jadee, I told him that I had had to do at 9 o'clock what he should have commenced at 5 o'clock; but that when the copper was clean, he could call his people out of the water, and meantime I was going to shoot in my canoe. He bowed silently, as if accepting my reproof, and I left the "Emerald." Firing at alligators and kingfishers, cranes, fishhawks, and wild pigeons, I did not return for three or four hours. As I was paddling past the cutter, my friend Barclay hailed me, to say I had better go and see what had happened, as Mr. Jadee and all the crew had just passed him, swimming and wading towards the senior gun-boat, the "Diamond," but he could not understand what they said. On reaching the "Emerald," I found no one on board of her but the cook and Jamboo. The latter was in a great fright, and vowed he did not know what would next happen, as all the crew had struck work after cleaning the copper, and, with Jadee at their head, had gone to the half-caste officer on board the "Diamond" to say so. Much amused at the novelty of a man-of