Padang

“ Padang is the capital and principal city of Sumatra. Padang is the native word for plain. It was applied originally to the level stretch of sandy country in which the city is located. The oldest part of the city, the business section, lies along the north bank of a small river, where the native prahus with their cargoes of coffee, rice, spices, etc., from up and down the coast, lie securely sheltered by a high promontory (the Appenberg) across the river to the south. Only the barest ridge of sand, which has been raised by the surf, separates the city from the Indian Ocean. ”

“ Padang is the center of the coffee trade of Sumatra. Most of the plantations, both government and private, are near the central portion of the island, the crops coming to this point for sale and shipment.
Although the city contains a population of over thirty thousand people, it is difficult to realize the fact; for, situated in a grove of cocoanut trees, it is almost entirely hidden from view. There are about 2,000 Europeans, practically all Dutch, and 5,000 Chinese ”

“ To put a stop to gambling in any Asiatic town, is beyond the power of man; and the attempt to do so, only drives the gamester to the secret haunts where he may indulge his propensity, and where, I fear, too often he becomes a witness of, if not a participator in deeds of blood. As a grand juror in Singapore, I have had evidence enough of this.
From Bencoolen, I proceeded to Padang, another Dutch settlement, about two hundred miles up the coast of Sumatra. Padang, as its name implies, is situated in a plain, and is a very few feet above the level of the sea; yet, it is a healthy place. ”

“ Nine-tenths of the natives of Sumatra live by agriculture, the rest by cattle-rearing, fishing, navigation, and, last but not least, from the products of the forests; they are therefore little concentrated in towns.
The Dutch government of the west coast, extending along the shore of the Indian Ocean from 2° 53′ N. to 2° 25′ S., comprises the residencies of the Padang lowlands, Tapanuli and the Padang highlands. The governor has his residence at Padang, which is also the capital of the lowlands residency. Padang Sidempuan, the chief town of Tapanuli, lies inland, south of Mt Lubu Raja. ”

“ I accepted this appointment as a distinction, and set out from Natal for Padang. I made the passage on board a French ship, the ‘Baobab,’ of Marseilles, which had loaded pepper at Atchin, and, of course, on arriving at Natal was in want of fresh water. As soon as I arrived at Padang, with the intention to depart from there to the interior, I wished, as in duty bound, to visit the Governor, but he sent word that he could not receive me; and, at the same time, that I must delay my setting out for my new situation till further orders. ”

“ Now I decided for Padang, because I knew I would be more apt to meet the Emden there, also because there was a German Consul there, because my schooner was unknown there, and because I hoped to find German ships there and learn some news. 'It'll take you six to eight days to reach Batavia,' a Captain had told me at Keeling. Now we needed eighteen days to reach Padang, the weather was so rottenly still.
Life on board the Ayesha.
"We had an excellent cook on board; he had deserted from the French Foreign Legion. But with water we had to go sparingly, each man received three glasses daily. ”

“ The streets are kept in excellent order for either foot or wheel. There is not a sidewalk in all Padang. The foreigner does not walk much nor far in such a climate, nor does the native if he is fortunate enough to have a fare in his pocket. ”

“ Large quantities of coconut-oil are prepared here and exported chiefly to Padang, the natives having had a quarrel with the Natal traders. The islands are governed by a single raja, who monopolizes the produce, his subjects dealing only with him, and he with the praws or country vessels who are regularly furnished with cargoes in the order of their arrival, and never dispatched out of turn. ”

“ All the inhabitants of a mukim have a right to open umòngs on an unoccupied padang, situated within that mukim, which umdngs thenceforward become their property; but this privilege is seldom availed of. It is more usual to open gardens on the padang, but this gives a right to what is planted only and not to the ground itself. The only padang in the neighbourhood of the capital was a small tract near Panté Piraʾ. Elsewhere in the lowlands it is rarely to be met with. ”

“ That coast is indented with bays, on one of which is the Dutch capital, Padang. East of the mountains the island spreads out into vast plains, watered by noble rivers. The soil is very rich, yielding all the fruits of the tropics in great abundance. The tobacco especially is of a much finer quality than that of Java, and brings twice as much in the market. This fertility will attract population both from Asia and from Europe, and under a good government this island may yet be the seat of an empire worthy of its greatness. ”

“ He passed on to Ungaran (near Padang) where he took a stone and threw it in the mouth of the bay, saying, "when this stone floats on the water, then will I again go a pirateering against Ujung Tuna Besar, the great peninsula. ”

“ The long distance, about 700 nautical miles, to Padang, the port to which I intended to go, was represented on the chart by a space of no more than a hand’s breadth.
Meanwhile the dinner hour had arrived. As there were not enough plates, forks, etc., to go round, we ate in relays. Each man’s portion was dished out by the cook under supervision of one of the petty officers of the commissary department. With the dinner, a cup of coffee or tea was also served. To while away the long afternoon, we prolonged the meal as much as possible, and, when it was over, usually indulged in an afternoon nap. ”

“ Padang: the principal Dutch settlement. Padang-guchi: river of. Padi: or rice, cultivation of upland. Of lowland. Transplantation of. Rate of produce. Threshing. Beating out. Paduka Sri: king of Achin, see Iskander Muda. Pagi (or Nassaus) : islands of. Palembang: river of. Rises in the district of Musi, near Bencoolen river. Dutch factory on it. Description of country on its banks. Government. City of. Many foreign settlers. Language. Interior country visited by the English. Palma-christi. Pandan: shrub, its fragrant blossom. Pangeran: nature of title. Authority much limited. ”

“ Peering over the hummock, the Padang was dimly seen emerging out of the river mists, and as she drew near the devastated creek, sharp voices could be heard on her forecastle head directing the preparing of an anchor. But, leaving nothing to chance, Vandersee had manned Houten's big launch and she was ready, held by a single line; and as the schooner swung around the last bend and let her canvas shake, the big Hollander called Barry and Gordon.
"Come, friends," he said, "here is work for us all, and in particular for you." ”

“ From Padang the road led to the northwest, over the low lands between the sea and the foot of the Barizan, or coast chain of mountains. In this low region we have crossed two large streams, which come down from these elevations on the right, and are now quite swollen from the recent rains. A long and large rattan is stretched across from one bank to the other, and a path made to slip over it is fastened to one end of a rude raft. This rattan prevents us from being swept down the boiling stream, while the natives push over the raft with long poles. ”

“ When the blowing of trumpets fails to bring their gods to life, the believers gather money, throw an image of some kind into the sea, and subside for another year.
The headland which juts out into the Indian Ocean just south of Padang commands an extensive view of the surrounding country. This Appenberg of the Dutch (or Boekit Munyeet of the Malays) is also interesting on account of its sacred monkeys. One Sunday when we had no pressing duties at the eclipse station, we paid a visit to the hill. The natives visit the hill and its monkeys to perform religious rites. ”

“ It is, as it were, the backbone of the Island of Java. It forms the boundary ridge between Jasinga and the Prianger Regencies, and is there about 5000 feet high. In the residency of Sourabaya, there are also Gunung kĕndang which are a few hundred feet above the sea. It is probably derived from Kanda, C. 104, a hill, with the Polynesian ng added to it; in the same way that it is supposed the Malay word Padang, a plain, is derived from Pada, C. 357 meaning a place, a scite. ”

“ After it had been repaired it was immediately broken a second time, and in 1861 the enterprise was given up, but now they are laying another cable across the Strait of Sunda, from Angir to the district of Lampong; thence it will extend up the west coast to Bencoolen and Padang, and, passing across the Padang plateau, through Fort de Rock and Paya Kombo, come to the Strait of Malacca, and be laid directly across to Singapore.
These Javanese ponies go well on a level or down-hill, but when the road becomes steep they frequently stop altogether. ”

“ Nature will not readily be forced from her course. The last time I visited that part there was a beautiful rising grove of these trees, establishing a possession in their proper soil. The country, as well immediately here about as to a considerable distance inland, is an entire bed of sand without any mixture of clay or mould, which I know to have been in vain sought for many miles up the neighbouring rivers. To the northward of Padang there is a plain which has evidently been, in former times, a bay. ”

“ Lumut we found to be only an opziener’s station. A Malay teacher is also employed here by the government, but the general appearance of the people has changed little since they were accustomed to enjoy their cannibal feasts, and this is true of all the natives we have seen this side of Padang Sidempuan. ”

“ The traders are Chinamen, Arabs, and a few Dutchmen. They obtain from the natives coffee and tobacco, and give them in return cotton goods, knives, [501] and various kinds of trinkets. The population of this region appears to be only a small fraction of what it is on the Padang plateau; if it were as large and industrious, the upper valley of the Musi would soon be transformed into one great garden, and Bencoolen, to which its products must be taken to be shipped abroad, would immediately become a port of the first importance. ”

“ In this manner the natives allow their land to lie fallow, and at the same time make it yield a good crop.
March 4th.—At 6 A. M., started from Rau for Padang Sidempuan, at the northern end of this valley, which begins on the south at Marisipongi, where we first saw the Battas. All day our route has been in the bottom of the valley, at a general elevation of one thousand feet. Sometimes we passed over gentle undulations, but usually over one monotonous level area covered with tall grass, in which were interspersed large clumps of shrubbery. ”

“ The Assistant Resident of Padang had made a report that sounded favourably for his suspended Controller, whose suspension got in this way a colour of injustice. The Padang scandal continued: people always were talking about the disappearance of the child ”

“ She's going to the post, apparently, and here it is long past midnight."
"Go ahead," grunted Little. "Barry, if we ever come across one single man in this goose chase that isn't wrapped in mystery, I'll kiss him, by Hokey!"
They drew the punt under the wharf well astern of the schooner, wondering, with all those men on board, why the Padang kept so careless a watch. Barry climbed up a pile and walked swiftly in the direction of the stockade, to intercept Natalie, and soon he saw a white figure hurrying towards him. ”

“ The extreme distance from the most northerly to the most southerly portions of the state is about 172 m., and the greatest breadth from east to west is about 100 m. The total area of the country is estimated at about 10,000 sq. m.
The Perak river, which runs in a southerly direction almost parallel with the coast for nearly 150 m. of its course, is navigable for small steamers for about 40 m. from its mouth, and by native trading boats for nearly 200 m. The Plus, Batang, Padang and Kinta rivers are its principal tributaries, all of them falling into the Perak on its left bank. ”

“ Wakeuëh lands.Ownership of the trees etc. planted, exclusive of ownership of the ground, is not confined to the padangs; it is also to be met with in the case of what are called wakeuëh lands, for instance those which extend to the depth of seven great fathoms (deupa meunara) on either side of the river, and which used to be at the disposal of the raja [127] . ”

“ The low, cool bungalows with their wide-spreading lawns gave place to the grass-thatched huts of the Chinese coolies, and the omnipresent eating-stalls. A hard-packed road carried us through almost endless cocoanut groves. At intervals a Malay kampong, or village, was revealed in the heart of the grove, its queer attap-thatched houses raised a man’s height from the ground, and connected with it by rickety ladders. ”

“ This may be considered the key to the geography of Perak in the North, just as the common source of the R. Muar and the southern branch of the R. Pahang is the key to the geography of the South of the Peninsula, and the knowledge of the country between the Northern branch of the R. Pahang and the R. Kelantan, is the key to the geography of the Interior of the Peninsula. ”

“ Jungle is cleared at the rate of 25s. per acre. The wages of Javanese coolies are 1s. a day, and a hut which will hold fifty of them can be put up for 5 pounds. Land can be had for three years free of charge. It is then granted in perpetuity for a dollar an acre, and there is a tax of 2-1/2 per cent. on exported produce. These arrangements are not regarded as altogether satisfactory, and will probably be improved upon. Tell some of our friends who have sons with practical good sense, but more muscle than brains, that there are openings in the jungles of Perak! ”