quently, they do not care about selling it, and there are only two or three inhabitants that can collect it in any quantity, and they are the only people that ever can realize property upon these islands. It seems of little consequence to them, as I do not think there are any five men of the whole who have an idea of ever quitting the island. The principal people here say, their only reason for coming to settle at these islands was, to live retired from the world, and gain a bare existence; some of them had been unfor tunate, and had lost all their property, and were disgusted with the world. After remaining some time, they found the cotton-plant grow very luxuriant, and have carried on the cultivation of it to a certain extent; and some of them now have from 150 to 200 slaves at work, and will be soon men of fortune. The climate is such that they have little occasion for clothes; their principal wants are some white cloth and some blue dungaree, or blue cloth (Pondicherry). The slaves wear nothing but a small piece of blue cloth; I should think one yard would serve them a year; they pay no kind of respect to dress; you will see the most respectable amongst them going without shoes, and some of them with half-shoes tied on their feet with strings: all this is from custom, and having no communication with the world.

Notwithstanding, the people in general live very well, are rather hospitable, and have abundance at their tables; but it is chiefly the produce of their own plantations.

VOL. LVIII.

That these islands were of great importance to France, while that power possessed those of France and Bourbon, there cannot be the least doubt, not only as affording facilities for the annoyance of our trade in the East, but, also, as being admirably placed to keep up a constant communication between those islands and the Court of Persia, if the latter should, at any time, have entered into the hostile views of our enemy, against the British power. But, that any material advantages are likely to accrue, either to the colony of the Isle of France, or to Great Britain in general, from intercourse with or possession of the Seychelle Islands, other than that of keeping the enemy out of them, I cannot possibly foresee.

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS.

Before I close, I shall beg leave to call your attention to the Admiralty Islands, lying a small distance to the S. W. of Seychelle Islands.

This group is so exceedingly ill placed in all charts, both with respect to longitude, and their bearings from each other, that no vessel can navigate the sea with safety in that neighbourhood; whereas, if a couple of small schooners were employed by Government a few months, in surveying them, their actual position would be easily ascertained; and, if an European vessel, in consequence of such survey, be preserved from shipwreck, more than the expense of the survey (independent of preserving men's lives) will have been saved.

Live Cattle.-There are about 2 S two

two hundred head of bullocks and about one hundred sheep; the inhabitants could spare, to ships in distress, about twenty bullocks, and about sixty sheep; it would take some years to replace the latter.

Poultry. One hundred dozen of ducks, fowls, and turkeys might be procured here. There are no other animals of any kind upon these islands, but rats, which are in abundance; there is no game of any kind, and but few birds; pigeons, doves and perroquets, seem the principal. There is no wheat grows in these islands; they raise Indian corn, cassadarout, and a sufficient quantity of rice, just to supply their own wants, and feed their slaves; but I do not think at any time you could purchase ten bags of rice: the whole of the inhabitants might collect ten thousand pounds weight in grain, out of their different stores, to ships in distress.

There is a great variety of fish at all these islands, and seemingly very fine; salt is very scarce, consequently they are only for immediate use.

PRINCE OF WALES'S ISLAND.

(From the same.)

Prince of Wales's Island, called by the natives Pulo or Poolo Penang, from a Malay word signifying Areca-nut and Betel, lies on the fifth parallel of north latitude, and in 100 deg. 20 min. 15 sec. (George-town) of east longitude, at the entrance of the straits of Malacea.

It is somewhat in the shape of an oblong square, about sixteen

miles in length, and from six to eight in breadth, distant between two and three miles from the Malay shore.

It was given to Capt. Light by the King of Queda, and first settled in 1786. The greater part of the island is occupied by a lofty irregular ridge of mountains (running in the direction of the island, north and south), the northern extremity of which, is by far the highest; and here they have a signal house, and several bungalows erected.

The whole of this ridge is covered with a forest of trees of immense size, and between its eastern base and the sea, facing the coast of Queda, there is a level slip of land, from two to four miles in breadth, and ten or twelve miles long. This is well cultivated and laid out in gardens, plantations of pepper, betel, areca, cocoa-nut trees, &c. intersected in all directions with pleasant carriage roads, whose sides are lined with a variety of shrubs and trees that are in perpetual verdure. The whole of this space is interspersed with villas and bungalows, where the Europeans occasionally retire to enjoy the country air, as a relaxation after business in town.

On the no: th-eastern point of this slip of land are situated Fort Cornwallis and George-town, called by the natives Tanjong Painaique.

This island may contain European settlers and their dependants, Malays, Sumatrans, Chinese, &c.... .. 11,000 sauls, Of itinerants. 1,000 do.

of excellent fish are caught in every direction round the island, which, from the salubrity of its air, is justly eeteemed the Montpelier of India.

Coups de soleil are seldom experienced in this settlement, although the Europeans walk and ride about at all times of the day, completely exposed to a vertical

sun.

In short, as soon as the wet docks are established on Poolo Jaraja (a small island between Penang and the main), this will be the most beautiful, healthy, and flourishing settlement in the East Indies.

From the dawn of day, until the sun has emerged above the high mountains of Queda, and even for some time after this period, Penang rivals any thing that has been fabled of the Elysian fields.

The dews which have fallen in the course of the night, and by remaining on the trees, shrubs, and flowers, have become impregnated with their odours, early in the morning begin to exhale, and fill the air with the most delightful perfumes; while the European inhabitants, taking advantage of this pleasant season for exercise, crowd the roads (some in carriages, some on horseback, and others on foot), till the sun getting to some height above the mountains of Queda, becomes so powerful as to drive them into their bungalows, to enjoy a good breakfast with a keen appetite.

A small party of us having obtained permission to occupy the Convalescent Bungalow on the mountain, for the purpose of breathing a cooler and purer

air, we repaired thither early in March.

The distance from the town to that part of the base of the mountain where the path commences, is about five miles, and from thence to the summit, better than three.

The pathway, which is not more than eight or ten feet wide, is cut with incredible labour, through a forest of immensely tall trees, whose umbrageous foliage uniting above, excludes, except at some particular turnings, the least glimpse of the heavens, involving one, all the way up, in pensive gloom.

It frequently winds along the brinks of yawning and frightful precipices, at the bottoms of which one shudders to behold huge trunks of trees rived and fractured, while precipitating themselves down the craggy and steep descent.

Steep and rugged as this path is, the little Sumatran horses mount it with great safety; the ladies, however, are generally carried up in a kind of sedan chair, borne on the shoulders of some stout Malays.

After a tiresome ascent of two or three hours, we gained the summit; and were amply rewarded for our labour by the most extensive and beautifully variegated prospect we had ever seen in India.

The eye ranges over a beautiful plain, laid out in pepper plantations, gardens, groves of the cocoa-nut, betel, areca, and various other trees, checkered throughout with handsome villas and bungalows, intersected by pleasant carriage-roads, and 282

watered

watered with meandering rills, that flow from the mountain's side, clear as the crystal.

Here may be seen standing in perfect peace and amity with each other, the Hindoo temple and pagoda; the Chinese josshouse; the Christian chapel, and various other places of worship; every one enjoying the unmolested exercise of his religion.

From hence, the eye stretches over the beautiful strait that separates the island from the main; and whose glossy surface reflects the faint images of the clouds above, and lofty mountains that tower on each of its sides.

The thermometer at the bungalows, generally ranges from 70 to 80 degrees; sometimes at night, however, it stands as low as sixty-two degrees; and indeed, so cold did we feel it, that we generally slept with a blanket over us; a very rare occurrence within six degrees of the equator. As soon as it gets dark on this mountain, there arises on every side, a singular concert of birds and insects, which deprived us of sleep for the first night or two. Far above the rest, the trumpeter (a very curious animal, about an inch in length) saluted our ears regularly for a few hours after sunset, with a sound so strong, that the first time I heard it, I actually thought a party of dragoons were approaching the bungalows, nor could I be persuaded for some time, that such a diminutive creature could possibly possess organs capable of emitting such a tremendously loud note.

Deer of a very curious species, are sometimes, though rarely, found in the woods of this island;

but lions, tigers, and other ferocious animals, are unknown. A tiger did once swim across from the Queda shore, and made for the mountains here, but was shot soon after his landing; he was supposed to be the only one that ever was on the island. Birds of the most beautiful plumage, are seen on almost every branch of a tree, through this island; but nature has been so very bountiful in clothing them with her most gaudy liveries, that she has thought proper to make a drawback, by depriving them of the melodious tones which so often charm us in birds of a more homely exterior.

There is, however, one small bird on this island (whose name I forget), which perches among the leaves of the tall areca tree, and sings mornings and evenings, in a style far superior to that of any bird I have seen between the tropics.

The Argus pheasant is found in this island, but they are generally brought over dried, from the Malay coast, where they abound, and are here sold for a dollar each.

With respect to the domestic animals, they are but few; and those brought from the neighbouring parts: horses from Pedir, on the coast of Sumatra; huffaloes from Queda; and sheep, &c. from Bengal.

The buffaloes are brought over from the opposite coast, in a very curious manner; six or eight of them being collected together on the beach, thongs of leather, or pieces of rattan, are passed in at one nostril and out at the other, then made fast to the sides and stern of the boat, which is pushed

off from the shore, and the buffaloes driven into the water, along with it; these thongs, or rattans, keeping their noses above water, and assisting them in swimming, until they gain the opposite shore, unless seized on their passage by the alligator.

The buffaloe often becomes a most dangerous animal when enraged by the heat of the sun, or any other cause. At these periods the animal rushes furiously upon any thing in its way, and dashes into the houses, upsetting and breaking through all obstructions; as it is possessed of great muscular strength, and runs about with impetuous velocity, there is no mode of subduing it, but by killing the animal with spears or shot.

A large one lately made a desperate sally through Georgetown, while the gentlemen of the settlement fired on him in all directions, from their verendahs; at length he rushed through the governor's kitchen, upsetting the cook and all his utensils; but what was still worse, a ball from a rifle, aimed at the furious buffalo, unfortunately struck the poor harmless cook; and between the fright occasioned by the animal, and the idea of being shot to boot, he very nearly died.

As these creatures have very little hair on their bodies, they are utterly unable to bear the scorching rays of the sun towards mid-day: at these times, therefore, they betake themselves to every pool and puddle in the neighbourhood, rolling themselves in the mud, and then lying with their nostrils just above water, until the fervency of the at

mosphere has somewhat abated. On coming out from their cool retreats, they are the most uncouth and disgusting objects imaginable, having a coat of clay an inch or two in thickness, which, in a few minutes, is hardened by the sun into a crust that defends their hides from his powerful rays during the remainder of the day.

They are the only animals used in labour; their flesh is tolerably good, and an excrescence that grows on the top of their shoulders called a hump, when salted and well preserved (especially in Bengal), is esteemed excellent eating; in short, it is the most useful animal in India.

Alligators are very common round the shores of this island, rendering it very unsafe to bathe on any part of the coast. Snakes of an immense size have likewise been found here by the early settlers, but are now very rare. Bandicotes (a species of large rat) are extremely numerous on the island, and do a great deal of mischief, as does likewise the white ant. It is astonishing what effects these very small insects are capable of producing; they will destroy the interior parts of the beams and rafters in houses; leaving a thin external shell of solid wood, that completely deceives the eye, and lulls into a false security the unsuspecting lodger, who frequently sees with astonishment the whole fabric come tumbling to the ground without any apparent cause, or perhaps is himself involved in its ruins!

When these dangerous insects find their way on board ships it becomes a very serious concern;

as