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Isabella L. Bird - The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither
for reasons which appear good to other elephants, has been expelled from the herd, and has been made
mad and savage by solitude), which, after killing two men, has crossed the river into Selangor, and is
man-killing here. A few days ago a man catching sight of him in the jungle took refuge in a tree, and the
brute tore the tree down with its trunk, and trampled the poor fellow to death, his companion escaping
during the process.
Yesterday evening we had service in the hall, the whole white population being "rounded up" for it;
seven men and two women, three of whom are Roman Catholics. The congregation sat under one punkah
and the Resident under another, both being worked by bigoted Mohammedans! Everything was
"ship-shape," as becomes Mr. Douglas's antecedents; a union jack over the desk, from which the liturgy
was read, and a tiger-skin over the tiles in front, the harmonium well played, the singing and chanting
excellent. We had one of the most beautiful of the Ambrosian hymns, and possibly Dr. Bonar may like to
hear that his hymn, "I heard the voice of Jesus say," was sung with equal enjoyment by Catholics and
Protestants in the wilds of the Golden Chersonese.
There is an almost daily shower here, and it is lovely now, with a balmy freshness in the air. No one
could imagine that we are in the torrid zone, and only 3 degrees from the equator. The mercury has not
been above 83 degrees since I came, and the sea and land breezes are exquisitely delicious. I wish you
could see a late afternoon here in its full beauty, with palms against a golden sky, pink clouds, a pink
river, and a balm-breathing air, just strong enough to lift the heavy scented flowers which make the
evenings delicious. There has been a respite from mosquitoes, and I am having a "real good time."
But I had a great fright yesterday (part of the "good time" though). I was going into the garden when six
armed policemen leapt past me as if they had been shot, followed by Mr. Daly, the land-surveyor, who
has the V.C. for some brave deed, shouting "a cobra! a cobra!" and I saw a hooded head above the plants,
and then the form I most fear and loathe twisting itself toward the house with frightful rapidity, every one
flying. I was up a ladder in no time, and the next moment one of the policemen, plucking up courage,
broke the reptile's back with the butt of his rifle, and soon it was borne away, dead, by its tail. It was over
four feet long. They get about three a day at the fort.
There is a reward of 20 cents per foot for every venomous snake brought in, 50 cents per foot for an
alligator, and 25 dollars for every tiger. Lately the police have got two specimens of an ophiophagus, a
snake-eating snake over eighteen feet long, whose bite they say is certain death. They have a horrible
collection of snakes alive, half dead, dead, and preserved. There was a fright of a different kind late at
night, and the two made me so nervous that when the moonlight glinted two or three times on the
bayonet of the sentry, which I could see from my bed, I thought it was a Malay going to murder the
Resident, against whom I fear there may be many a vendetta.
LETTER XIV (Continued)
Yachting in the Malacca Straits - A Tropic Dream - The Rajah Moussa - Tiger Stories - A Grand
Excitement - A "Man-Eating Kris" - A Royal Residence - A Council of State - The Sultan's Attendants -
The "Light of the Harem" - The Sultan's Offering
S.S. "ABDULSAMAT," LANGAT RIVER, SELANGOR
I was glad to get up at sunrise, when the whole heaven was flooded with color and glory, and the
lingering mists which lay here and there over the jungle gleamed like silver. Before we left, Mrs.
Douglas gave me tea, scones, and fresh butter, the first fresh butter that I have tasted for ten months. We
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