Surabaya

“ The European part of Passeroewan is quite rus in urbe. The native population live near the sea and river sides, and the European houses occupy the rest of the ground, some situated in parks, and others with only small gardens facing the streets, which are lined with beautiful Verengen trees.
The European trade is by no means so considerable as that of Surabaya, the principal part of the coffee, cotton, sugar, and rice exported being conveyed in native craft to Surabaya, and there disposed of. ”

“ The houses are very good, and some are elegant, particularly the country seats of private individuals. Surabaya is situated within that narrow strait which is formed by the islands of Java and Madura, and is defended by batteries. ”

“ Happiness, industry, and fertility were everywhere visible, and few, very few wretched mendicants ever solicited our charity; proving in part, we thought, the absence of extreme poverty and Avant.
The provinces of Surabaya and Passeroewan are chiefly sugar manufacturing districts, though coffee also is largely cultivated on the hills and uplands. On returning to Surabaya, we visited a manufactory of considerable importance, regarding which I shall make some slight observations in another chapter. ”

“ Instead of going to Palm Beach next winter, or to Havana, or to the Riviera, why don't you go out to Bali and see its lovely women, its curious customs, and its superb scenery for yourself? You can get there in about eight weeks, provided you make good connections at Singapore and Surabaya. With no railways, no street-cars, no hotels, no newspapers, no theatres, no movies, it is a very restful place. ”

“ He was now really satisfied; and, though his eyes looked still much farther ahead and saw glimmering before them a seat on the Indian Council, and even the throne at Buitenzorg, he had days when, sober and contented, he declared that to become a resident of the first class—putting aside the higher pension—had little in its favour except at Samarang and Surabaya, but that the Vorstenlanden were absolutely a burden, while Batavia occupied such a peculiar and almost derogatory position, in the thick of so many higher officials, members of council and directors. ”

“ Sometimes the three bearers of the bunday, kumkum, and toy ah appear in sight, accompanied by unfortunate law-breakers, who are forced to " plod their weary way" to Surabaya under the protection of the law. Happily murder is a crime of rare occurrence, which speaks well for the peaceful disposition of the natives.
We arrived at Passeroewan in the afternoon of a sultry day, and drove to Booth's Hotel, kept by an Englishman and his wife. A gentleman, to whom I had a letter of introduction, called for us in the evening, and we drove out with him in his carriage, taking the road to Malang. ”

“ Chogius, who was at that time Governor-General of Java, lived in Surabaya, which, as all well know, was formerly the seat of Government instead of Batavia. Thinking the estate of the Chinaman a most desirable situation for a residency and hospital, he determined to make a considerable offer for it, quite convinced that nothing would induce the Chinaman to give it up unless it were greatly to his advantage. ”

“ Paddy, plantations of sugar-cane, and orchards with Bananas, Mangustin, Pulassan, and Rambutan, were seen here and there on all sides, with mountains in the distance, the view of which filled the gaps between the trees. There are seven posts between Surabaya and Passeroewan, each calculated to be about ten miles apart from the other. We generally took half an hour to drive from post to post, the horses going at full gallop all the way, and as they were relieved by fresh ones at every station, our ride was, as may be imagined, rapid, agreeable, and exciting. ”

“ The independent Prince Paku Alam has a palace of his own. As in Surakarta there are an old Dutch town and a fort. The Jogka market is one of the most important of all Java, especially for jewelry. The total population is 72,235 with 1424 Europeans. To the south-east lies Pasar Gedeh, a former capital of Mataram, with tombs of the ancient princes in the Kraton, a favourite residence of wealthy Javanese traders. Surabaya (q.v.) , on the strait of Madura, is the largest commercial town in Java. ”

“ Whalers, and merchant-ships bound to and from China in the western monsoon, however, frequently call here, because it is the only harbor of any kind near the southern end of the island. If the projected line of steamers between northern Australia, Surabaya, Batavia, and Singapore, is established, this port would be one of the places they would visit. The village is situated on a sandy beach, that is terminated on either hand by cliffs of coral rock, which the sea has worn out into caves and small projecting points of the most grotesque forms. ”

“ Sur bai di gusur, he trailed him along the ground.
Sur, Arabic, the zodiacal sign Taurus.
Sura, the word occurs often in the composition of proper names. sura, C. 752, from Sura, to shine, to be radiant. A god, a deity, the sun; a sage, a learned man; power, majesty, dignity, auspiciousness. In Java Sura generally is taken for a hero, a brave man.
Surabaya, the capital of the east-end of Java, in the straits of Madura, and name of an extensive residency. Sura, vide voce, or Suru, C. 754, a warrior, a hero. ”

“ They exist in two great zones: one in middle Java, one in eastern Java, each with its own distinguishing characteristics, both architectural and religious. The former begins in the Dyeng plateau, in the east of Banyumas, and extends into the east of Bagelen, Kedu and the neighbouring districts of Semarang, northern Jokjakarta, and the western corner of Surakarta. The latter lies mainly in Surabaya, Kediri and Pasuruan. A considerable number of ruins also exist in Probolinggo. Farther east they grow scarce. There is none in Madura. ”

“ Clear twenty-fifth for Surabaya.'
“Or maybe some English kid would break loose and tell the sunset how fed up he was sitting straddling the equator on some other God-forsaken steamer. And along after midnight the captain would come in with his white ducks and his little dyed English military mustache and a fine healthy grouch, and talk about money and women, the two things he didn't have and couldn't get along without.”
According to him the whole world was shot to pieces. ”

“ His name was Drahman, and he acted as my interpreter with the natives in the interior, the language in which I communicated with him being Malay.
All preparations for departure being made, my kind friend had our Rees-Wagen conveyed on board the S. S. Oenarang, in which we embarked on the 4th of October, and left the harbour of Batavia for Samarang and Surabaya.
Some people have asserted that, in order to see a country well, you ought either to go by yourself, or only with an intimate friend, but by no means with a lady, who is more likely to prove an encumbrance than anything else. ”

“ Malang is a province under the residency of Passeroewan. Until of late years both these districts were under the supervision of the Resident of Surabaya; but the increase of population, the extension of trade, and other circumstances, decided the Government in detaching them, and forming Passeroewan and Malang into a distinct residency.
The valley of Malang is said to be fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. The air consequently is not so hot as in the lower lands. The cultivation of coffee is carried on to a great extent in it ”

“ Surabaya (127) , a seaport on the NE. coast or Java, is the head-quarters of the Dutch military, and exports tropical products; of the population 6000 are European, and 7000 or so Chinese.
Surat (109) , a city of India, Bombay Presidency, on the Tapti, 14 m. from its entrance into the Gulf of Bombay; stretches along the S. bank of the river, presenting no architectural features of interest save some Mohammedan, Parsee, and Hindu temples, and an old castle or fortress; chief exports are cotton and grain ”

“ In the neighbourhood is the populous village of Mojosari. Pasuruan was until modern times one of the chief commercial towns in Java, the staple being sugar. Since the opening of the railway to Surabaya it has greatly declined, and its warehouses and dwelling-houses are largely deserted. The population is 27,152 with 663 Europeans. Probolinggo (called by the natives Banger) is a place of 13,240 inhabitants. The swampy tracts in the vicinity are full of fishponds. The baths of Banyubiru (blue water) to the south have Hindu remains much visited by devotees. ”

“ There's never any telling what goes on behind their little slant eyes. . . ."
The same residents of Surabaya said the same — but silently and with venom — the next time they saw their erstwhile fisherman-peddler-barber. This was when he arrived in town in the uniform of a Japanese colonel, at the head of the army of occupation.
The retreat was on. Every afternoon about four the planes came across from Broome to the landing field at Jokyokarta. The pilots climbed out stiffly, to walk a few steps and drop wearily in the dust of the field. They slept where they fell. ”

“ The Karimon Java archipelago, to the north of Semarang, numbers twenty-seven islands with an area of 16 sq. m. and a population of about 800 (having one considerable village on the main island) . Bavian [1] (Bawian) , 100 m. N. of Surabaya, is a ruined volcano with an area of 73 sq. m. and a population of about 44,000. About a third of the men are generally absent as traders or coolies. In Singapore and Sumatra they are known as Boyans. They are devout Mahommedans and many of them make the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Sapudi and Kangean archipelagoes are eastward continuations of Madura. ”

“ The port of Sourabaya, supreme in mercantile importance, ranks as the second city of Java, as it contains the military headquarters, the principal dockyards, and the arsenal. Leagues of rice and sugar-cane lie between Solo and Sourabaya, the landscape varied by gloomy teak woods, feathery tamarinds, and stately mango trees. White towns nestle in rich vegetation, and the green common known as the aloon-aloon marks each hybrid suburb, Europeanized by Dutch canals, white bridges, and red-tiled houses, planted amid a riotous wealth of palm and banana. ”

“ The food of the people, as in the other islands, is chiefly sago, and their exports coconuts, oil in considerable quantities, and swala or sea­slugs. No rice is planted there, nor, if we may trust to the Malayan accounts, suffered to be imported. Upon the same authority also we are told that the island derives its name of Batu from a large rock resembling the hull of a vessel, which tradition states to be a petrifaction of that in which the Buluaro people arrived. The same fanciful story of a petrified boat is prevalent in the Serampei country of Sumatra. From Natal Hill Pulo Batu is visible. ”

“ Before night I arrived at Saraburi, the chief town of the province of Pakpriau, and the residence of the governor.
SARABURI.
Saraburi is a place of some extent, the population consisting chiefly of Siamese, Chinese, and Laotian agriculturists; and consists, like all towns and villages in Siam, of houses constructed of bamboo. They peep out, half hidden among the foliage along the banks of the river; beyond are rice-plantations, and, farther in the background, extensive forests, inhabited solely by wild animals. ”

“ An exquisite plain, described by de Charnay as unrivalled even in Java, surrounds Sourakarta with belts of palm, avenues of waringen, and picturesque rice-fields of flaming green and vivid gold. Azure peaks frame the enchanting picture. The storied heights are rich in traditions of gods and heroes, with innumerable myths haunting the ruined temples which cluster round the base of the mountain range, and suggest themselves as relics of an earlier creed than Buddhism or Brahminism. ”

“ It is fair, however, to presume that Sumatra was the ancient seat of the race, and the wonderful valley of Menangkabau, surrounded by mountains ten thousand feet in height, that of its earliest civilization. The only Malay "colonial" kingdoms on the Peninsula which ever attained any importance were those of Malacca and Johore, and even their reliable history begins with the arrival of the Portuguese. The conversion of the Sumatra Malays to Mohammedanism arose mainly out of their commercial intercourse with Arabia ”

“ Our Sumatra is one-fourth of a quarter-square league, and grows mainly pepper--the island of Java is still larger, but not yet completed--on Banda, which is three times as large as the concert-hall, nature furnishes nutmegs, on Amboyna cloves--on Teidore stands the pretty country-seat of a well-known Scheerauer (the resident Doctor himself) --the little Moluccas which are dotted into the lake I can, with their products, thrust into my waist-coat pocket, but they have their merit. ”

“ The high mountain-ridges of Sumatra barred the west for all the first equatorial day, the land of this "Java Minor" sloping down and spreading out in great green plains and swamps on the fertile but unhealthy eastern coast. The large settlements and most attractive districts are on the west coast, where the hills rise steeply from the ocean, and coffee-trees thrive luxuriantly. ”

“ Beside those articles of trade afforded by the vegetable kingdom Sumatra produces many others, the chief of which is gold. This valuable metal is found mostly in the central parts of the island; none (or with few exceptions) being observed to the southward of Limun, a branch of Jambi River, nor to the northward of Nalabu, from which port Achin is principally supplied. Menangkabau has always been esteemed the richest seat of it; and this consideration probably induced the Dutch to establish their head factory at Padang, in the immediate neighbourhood of that kingdom. ”