THE NORTH-EAST MONSOON.

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CHAP. V.

The North-east Monsoon.

Unsatisfactory News of our

Siamese Allies. — The Pelicans.-Alligators abound. — The Cowardice of the Alligators. - Encounter and Capture an Alligator.-Extraordinary Strength and Vitality of those Reptiles. A Strange Antidote against Fever.-The Rahmadan and "Quedah Opera."-The Malays endeavour to evade the Blockade.-The Watchfulness of my Native Crew.

THE north-east monsoon had fairly set in. All day long we had a delightfully pleasant breeze off the land, for the Malayan peninsula has so small a breadth, that the winds which blow upon it from the China Sea reached us before they were robbed of their moisture or heated to an unpleasant degree by the action of the land occasionally the monsoon would freshen, for a day or so, into a double reefed top-sail breeze, or at other times become squally without rain, but our nights were invariably fine, with only just wind enough to fill the mat sails of a prahu. The sea was seldom ruffled, and more delightful weather for boat-work cannot be conceived. All we were required to do, was to guard against sleeping in the night-dews,

60

UNSATISFACTORY NEWS OF OUR ALLIES.

and by so doing, we all enjoyed better health than those cooped up in the ship.

Our new position inside Quedah bar became at last to be acknowledged by the Malays as our right, and from that time we often had communications with the fishermen who came out to visit their fishingweirs. Through them we learnt that fighting was going on with the Siamese, a long distance off: according to their version, the Malay rajahs were everywhere victorious; several large towns and many slaves had fallen into their hands, and there was no probability of a Siamese army being able to act upon the offensive during that monsoon.

This was decidedly very cheerless news, but the authority was a questionable one; and we could see slight defensive preparations taking place in the fort, which betokened something else than entire confidence and security.

Meantime, each day brought with it novelty and amusement. Anchored as we now were, within the river and close to the stockade, broad mud-banks extended themselves on either hand whenever the tide was low. Asiatic birds and reptiles haunted these banks; some of the former, such as the snipe and curlew, were well known to us, and, until scared away, added to our daily fare. The pelicans, at first,

PELICANS.

--

ALLIGATORS ABOUND,

61

were the sole robbers of the fishing-weirs, but they soon found themselves no match for the expert seamen of the pinnace and gun-boats, and left us for some other spot. The alligators, however, were not to be frightened, although they took uncommonly good care not to enter into any of the personal combats upon the mud which the Malays, and after them the English sailors, were constantly trying to entrap them into. The numbers of these loathsome brutes to be seen at a time was extraordinary; but whatever might be the danger of falling in with them, if wading or swimming alone through these waters, there was no doubt of their being arrant cowards when fallen in with on shore. With the rising tide, the alligators generally found their way up to the edge of the jungle, and there lay among the roots of the trees (which they strongly resembled), as if waiting for cattle, or wild animals, that might come down to drink: we, however, never saw them catch anything during a period of several months. The ebbing tide would often thus leave the brutes several hundred yards from the edge of the water, and very much they appeared to enjoy themselves when so left, with an Indian sun pouring down upon their tough hides; and, as if in the very height of the dolce far niente, they would open back their hideous

62

COWARDICE OF THE ALLIGATORS.

jaws, and remain in that position for more than an hour at a time. As to trying to shoot them, we soon found it mere waste of time, as well as of powder and ball; for, mortally wounded or not, they invariably carried themselves far beyond our reach. The Malay sailors showed us how, at any rate, we could frighten the alligators exceedingly, even if we could not capture them-by landing lightly equipped with a sharp spear or boarding-pike, and thus obliging the reptile to make a long détour to escape being assailed. Occasionally I have seen the men, by dint of great activity, get near enough to fling their weapon and strike the alligators; but as in such cases they invariably struck the upper part of the back, they might as well have tried to spear a rock. The natives showed the utmost indifference to the presence of alligators in their neighbourhood, and, when questioned upon the subject, asserted that in salt or brackish water, at the mouths of rivers, the alligator was never dangerous to man; and that it was only up rivers, and in marshy places, where they lived, as it were, amongst human beings, that they screwed up their courage to indulge in such a dangerous luxury as eating men or women.

Of the enormous strength and extraordinary vitality of these reptiles, we had a pretty good

CAPTURE OF AN ALLIGATOR.

63

proof; for one evening, when the pinnace, as usual, dropped alongside the weir to take out fish for the evening meal, the men who went into the "pocket" to see what had been caught, were obliged to move their legs nimbly to escape the gin-like jaws of a good-sized alligator which had got into the weir after the fish, and, having devoured them, could not escape. The pinnace-men cheered with delight, and proceeded at once to capture the prisoner. It was, however, a good tough job: the brute, some ten or twelve feet long, lay in the bottom of an enclosed space of about equal diameter; the water was about three feet deep, and extremely muddy, rendered more so by the splashings and convulsions of the animal. Attempts were at first made to thrust sharp boardingpikes down through his hide; and from the height the seamen stood over the creature, and the weight they were able to bring to bear upon the pikes, it appeared probable that some weak spot would be found. But, no; although sometimes eight or nine powerful men pressed down with as many pikes, the brute did not suffer a scratch; and, incredible as it may appear, more than one of our boarding-pikes, strong as they are, were bent in the neck. It was evident that a soft spot must be sought for under his "calipash," as, in imitation of turtle, the men called his upper