TRAVELSIN THE

EAST INDIANARCHIPELAGO

BY

ALBERT S. BICKMOREWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

JOHN BASTIN

SINGAPORE

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSOXFORD NEW YORK

1991

INTRODUCTION

ALBERT SMITH BICKMORE was born at St. George, a small townon the coast of Maine, opposite Monhegan Island, on 1 March1839, the son of John Bickmore, a sea captain and shipbuilder,and his wife, Jane (nee Seavey). When he was eight years oldhis father took him on his ship to Bordeaux in France, and hisfascination for a life of travel and the study of nature com­menced at this time. Much of his youth was spent in roamingthe woods and shores of Maine, collecting rock specimens,shells, and other natural curiosities, and he began to study forcollege at Thomaston, Maine, and completed his prepar­atory course at New London, New Hampshire, underDr C. W. Gardner. He entered Dartmouth College in 1856,where he studied chemistry and geology, and graduated in1860. During his college vacations he travelled in the vicinityof Hanover, studying the geology of the region and collectingnatural history specimens. He was encouraged at Dartmouthto approach the Swiss zoologist, Professor Louis Agassiz, ofHarvard University, with the objective of studying zoology,_andhe was accepted as one of his pupils in the Lawrence ScientificSchool and as his assistant in the Museum of ComparativeZoology in charge of radiates and molluscs.

In 1862 he visited Bermuda to collect for the Museum inCambridge, and on his return he joined the 44th Mas­sachusetts Volunteers in which he served during the Civil Warfrom 22 October 1862 until 18 June 1863, mainly in NorthCarolina. Soon after his return to Harvard he ran foul ofAgassiz, who controlled his students in a somewhat dictatorialmanner by not allowing them to publish their research until hedecided, and who forbade them from applying for jobs without

[vi] INTRODUCTION

his permission. When Agassiz discovered that Bickmore wassecretly raising money from friends and supporters for anexpedition to re-collect in the Indonesian island of Ambon theshells figured in Rumphius's D'Amboinsche Rariteitkamer(Amsterdam, 1705), he refused to recommend him to a per­manent post as his assistant, which in effect meant his beingdismissed.

Having raised sufficient funds for his proposed expedition,Bickmore sailed from Boston in January 1865 aboard theAmerican ship Memnon (Captain Freeman) via the Cape ofGood Hope for Indonesia, and arrived at Jakarta in April ofthat year. Armed with a letter of introduction from Governor­General Baron Sloet van de Beele, giving him permission totravel freely throughout the Netherlands Indies, he leftJakarta on 7 June aboard a Dutch mail-steamer for Ambon,which he reached at the end of the month, after calling atSemarang, Surabaya, Macassar (Ujung Pandang), and Timor.From then, until early in the following year, he travelled exten­sively in eastern Indonesia to Seram, Banda, Buru, Gilolo(Halmahera), Ternate, Tidore, Sulawesi Utara, Kema, Manado,Tondano, and Ujung Pandang, during which time he madelarge natural history collections, particularly of shells, insects,and birds. He returned to Jakarta, via Surabaya andSemarang, in February 1866, and then proceeded to Padang inwest Sumatra, where he visited Tapanuli and the Batakregions of north-central Sumatra, as well as Bengkulu on thesouth-western coast. He travelled across the island toPalembang, and on to Bangka, Riau, and Singapore, where hearrived on 18 May 1866. From there he took a French ship forHong Kong, which called at Saigon, and then journeyedthrough the interior of China, voyaging down the YangtzeRiver to Shanghai. Afterwards he travelled northwards toPeking and Korea, and visited a number of the coastal ports ofChina before going on to Japan. He next journeyed to themouth of the Amur River and overland through Siberia toMoscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin, and London.

After his return to the United States in 1867, Bickmorebegan to prepare his volume of travels for publication. It hadnot been his primary intention to write such a book, but he wasencouraged to work up the materials contained in his journals,

INTRODUCTION [vii]

and he did this by integrating large sections of informationdrawn from the works of Raffles, Crawfurd, Horsfield, Earl,Wallace, Jukes, Kolf!, and Valentijn, and early Portuguesesources. Whether or not the book gains from these somewhatartificial insertions may be doubted, since they remove some­thing from the spontaneity of Bickmore's writing, which isinfused with the enthusiasm of a young man in his twentiescoming face to face with the exciting natural world ofIndonesia. The book was published in London by John Murrayin December 1868, and thus preceded, by four months, thepublication of Alfred Russel Wallace's classic work, The MalayArchipelago, which also presented much new information oneastern Indonesia. An American edition of Bickmore's book waspublished in New York in 1869 by D. Appleton and Companyfrom stereotype plates of the London edition, but with thecurious omission from the Appendix of 'A list of the birds col­lected by the author on the island of Buru'. In the same year aGerman translation of the work by J. E. A. Martin was pub­lished in Jena, Reisen im Ostindischen Archipel in den Jahren1865 und 1866, and a Dutch edition, with additional notes byJ. J. Hollander, was published in two volumes in Schiedam in1873 under the title, Reizen in den Oost-Indischen Archipel.

The book enjoyed much critical acclaim at the time of itspublication, some contemporary reviewers preferring it toWallace's work because it contained more up-to-date informa­tion. It gained its author a Life Fellowship of the RoyalGeographical Society of London, and in the year of its publica­tion he was elected to the Professorship of Natural History inMadison (now Colegate) University at Hamilton, New York. In1869 he resigned this post to become Superintendent of theAmerican Museum of Natural History of New York, which heoriginated, and secured its first general subscription. Heserved the Museum for the remainder of his life, first asSuperintendent until 1884, and then as Professor in Charge ofthe Department of Public Education, a role for which he wasespecially suited. From 1882 until his retirement in 1914, hedelivered no less than 418 public lectures upon 213 differentsubjects relating to geography and natural history to a. totalaudience of 16,638 persons. And, as many of these lectureswere repeated by the Board of Education in New York, under

[viii] INTRODUCTION

the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction,they reached over one million pupils in the State NormalSchools, the Teachers' Institutes, and public schools in thestate.

Bickmore travelled widely every year to gain new materialfor his lectures, and during his life he visited virtually everycountry north of the equator, with the exception of India. In1914, on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday, shortlybefore his death, his colleagues in the Faculty of the Museumpresented him with a message of congratulation in which werepraised his 'far-sighted prescience and boundless enthusiasm'in conceiving 'the idea of a great general museum of naturalhistory to be located in the metropolis of the western world'.The extraordinary thing is that even when he was travelling inthe Indonesian archipelago as a young man of twenty-six,Bickmore carried with him as his two closest possessions hisBible and a fully worked out plan on paper of the Museumwhich was to become his permanent monument.

Eastbourne, UKOctober 1990

JOHN BASTIN

CONTENTS.

-CHAPTER I.

THE STRAIT OJ' SUlIDA AND BATAVIA.

Object of the Travels described in this volume-Nearing the coast of Java­Balmy breezes of the Eastern Isles-King ..Eolus's favorite seat-A. veil ofrain-First view of Malays-Entering the Java Sea-The Malay language­Early history of Java-Marco Polo-Hinduism in Java-History of Bata­via-The roadstead of Batavia-The city of Batavia-Houses of Europeans-Mode of cooking-Characteristics of the Malays-Collecting butterflies­Visit Rahden Saleh-A.ttacked with a fever-receive a letter from the Gov­ernor-General . 13-41

CHAPTER II.

llA.ll,I.RANG AND SURA.BAYA..

Sail from Batavia for the Moluccas-My companions-Mount Slamat-Thenorth coast of Java-Mount Prahu-Temples at Boro Bodo and Bramba­nan-Samarang-Mobammedan mosque-History of Mohammedanism­Mount Japara-The Guevo Upas, or Valley of Poison-Gresik-Novelmode of navigating mud-fiats-Surabaya-Gove~ent dock-yard and ma­ehine-shops-Zoological gardens-History of Hinduism-The Klings-Ex­cursion to "a sugar plantation-Roads and telegraphic routes in Java­Malay mode of gathering rice-The kinds of sugar-cllne 42-70

CHAPTER ill.

THE FLORA. AlID FAUNA OJ' THE TBOPICAL EAST.

Leave Surabaya for Macassar-Madura-The Sapi-Manufacture of salt-TheTenger Mountains-The Sandy Sea-Eruptions of Mount Papandayang andMount Galunggong-Java and Cuba compared-The forests of Java-'-Falinaof Java-The cocoa-nut palm-The Pandanus-The banana-Tropical "fruits-The mangostin-The rambutan-mango--dliku-<1urian-bread - fruit-

8 CONTENTS.

Bali-Javanese traditions-Limit between the fauna of Asia and thatof Australia-A plateau beneath the sea-Caste and suttee practices onBali 71-96

CHAPTER IV.

Cj;LEBES A..1m Tum&.

History of Celebes-De Barros-Diogo de Cauto-Head-hunters of Celeoes­The harbor of MacasEar-Voyages of the Bugis-Skilful diving-Fort Rot­terdam-The Societeit, or Club-A drive into the country-The tomb of anative merchant-Tombs of ancient princes-8ail for Kupang, in Timur­Flying-fish-The Gunong Api in Sapi Strait-Gillibanta-8umbawa-Erup­tion of Mount Tomboro-The Eye of the Devil-Floris and Sandal-woodIsland-Kupang-Fruits on Timur-Its barrenness and the cause of it­Different kinds of people seen at Kupang-Human sacrifice-Purchas­ing shells-Geology of the vicinity of Kupang-8ail for Dilli-Villageof Dilli-Islands north of Timur-The Bandas-Mousoons in the Javaand China Seas 9'7-129

CHAPTER V.

AMBOINA..

Description of the island and city of Amboina-Dutch mode of governing thenatives-A pleasant home-A living nautilus is secured-Excursion toHitu-Hassar steering-History of the cocoa-tree-Indian corn-Huntingin the tropics-Butterflies-Excursion along the shores of Hitu for shells­Mode of travelling in the Spice Islands-The pine-apple-Covered bridges­Hitulama-Purchasing specimens-History of the Spice Islands-Enormoushermit-crabs-An exodus-Assilulu-Babirusa shells from Buru-Greatcuriosities-Jewels in the brains of snakes and wild boars-Description ofthe clove-tree-History of the clove-trade-Watched by the rajah's wives­Lariki and Wakasihu-A storm in tile height of the southeast monsoon­Variety of native dialects-Dangerous voyage by night-An earthquake­Excursion to Tulahu 130-176

CHAPTER VI.

THE 1JLIASSERS .L'ffi CERAM.

The arrival of the mail at Amboina-The Uliassers-Chewing the betel-nut andsiri-Haruku-We strike on a reef-Saparua Island, village, and bay­Nusalaut-Strange reception-An Eastcrn banquet-Examining the nativeschools-Different classes of natives-Yield of cloves in the Uliassers-Nul­lahia, Amet, and Abobo-Breaking of the surf on the coral reefs-TanjongO-Travel by night-Ceram-Elpaputi Bay and Amahai-Alfura, or head-

CONTENTS. 9

hunters, come down from tbe mountains and dance before us-Land on tbesoutb coast of Ceram-Fiendish re,els of the nati,es-Return to Saparuaand .Amboina 177-212

CHAPTER VII.

BAl<'1lA..

Governor Arriens invites me to accompany bim to Banda-The Gunong Api­Road of the Bandas-Banda Neira and its forts-Geology of Lontar-TheBandas and tbe crater in tbe Tenger Mountains compared-The .groves ofnutmeg-trees-Tbe canari-tree-Orang Datang-We ascend the volcano­In imminent peril-The crater-Perilous descent-E~uptions of GUllongApi-Earthquakes at Neira-Great extent of the Residency of Banda-TheRi and Arrn Islands-Return to .Amboina-Geology of the island of Amboi·na-Trade of Amboina-The grave of Rumphius-His history 213-252

CHAPTER VIII.

BURU.

Adieu to .Amboina-North coast of Ceram-Wabai-Buru-Rayeli-Excur­sions to various parts of the bay-A bome in the forest-Malay cuisine­Tobacco and maize-Flocks of parrots-Beautiful birds-History of Buru­The religion and laws of the Alfura-Sha,ing the head of a young child-Awcdding-feast-Marriage laws in Mohammedan countries-A Malay mar­riagc-Opium, its effects and its history-Rayu-puti oil-Gardens beneaththe sea-Roban-Skinning birds-Tropical pests-A deer-hunt-Dinding­A threatening f1eet-A page of romance-A last glance at Buru 253-297

CHAPTER IX.

TERNA.TE, TIDORE, L'ID GILOLO.

Seasons in Ceram and Buru-Bachian and Makian-Eruptions of Ternate-Ma­geIIan-Former monopolies-The bloodhounds of Gilolo--Migrations-Abirth-mark-The Molucca Passage-Malay pirates-They challenge theDutch 298-322

CHAPTER X.

THE NORTHERN PEKINSULA. OF CELEBES.

Mount Rlabat-Rema-A bunt for babirusa-A, camp by the sea-Enormoussnakes-From Rema to Menado--Ernption of Mount Remaas-Populatjonof the Minahassa-Thrown from a horse-The Bantiks-A living death­History of the colfee-tree-In the jaws of a crocodile-The bay of Menado-­Lake Linu-A grove by moonlight 323-355

10 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.

THE KINAHASSA.

The waterfall of Tinchep-A mud-well-A boiling pool-The ancient appear­ance of our earth-Lake Tondano-One of thc finest views in the world­Palm-wine-Graves of the natives-Christianity and education-TanjongF1asc~Gold-minesin Celebes-The island of Buton-Macassar-A ravingmaniac . .356-383

CHAPTER XII.

SUKATIU.

Padang-Beautiful drives-Cros~ing the streams-The cleft-Crescent-shapedroofs--Distending the lobe of the ear-Canons-The great crater of Manin­dyu-Immense amphitheatres-Ophir-Gold-mines 384-406

CHAPTER XIII.

TO THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS.

Valley of Bondyol-Mcnkeys-The orang-utan-Lubu Sikeping-Tigers andbuffaloes-The Valley of Rau-A Batta grave-Riding along the edge of aprecipice-Twilight and evening-Padang Sidempuan-.A.mong the canni­bals-Descent from the Barizan-The suspension bridge of rattan-Orna­ments of gold-The camphor-tree . 401-434

CHAPTER XIV.

RETURN TO PADANG

Bay of Tapanuli-The Devil's Dwelling-Dangerous fording-Among the Bat­tas-Missionaries and their brides-The fe'dSts of the cannibals-The pep­per trade-The English appear in the East-Struck by a heavy squall-AyarBangia and Natal-The king's birthday-Malay ideas.of greatness 435-415'7

CHAPTER XV.

THE .PADANG PLATEAU.

Thunder and lightning in the tropics-Paya Kombo and the Bua Valley-TheBua cave-Up the valley to Suka Rajah-Ancient capitals of Menangkabau­The reformers of Korinehi-Malay mode of making matchlocks-A simplemeal-Geological history of the plateau-The Thirteen Confederate Towns­The flanks of the Marapi-Natives of the Pagi Islands-Where the basin ofthe Indian Ocean begins • 4158-485