"
CHARLES. "Sumatra is, next to Borneo, the largest island in the
Eastern seas. It is situated in the midst of the torrid zone, is
upwards of 1000 miles long, nearly 200 in breadth, and is divided
from Java by the Straits of Sunda.
"The Sumatrans are a well-made people, with yellow complexions,
sometimes inclining to white. They have some of the customs of the
South Sea Islanders; amongst others, those barbarous practices of
flattening the noses, and compressing the heads of children
newly-born, whilst the skull is yet soft or _cartilaginous_. They
likewise pull out the ears of infants to make them stand at an angle
from the head. They file, blacken, and otherwise disfigure the
teeth; and the great men sometimes set theirs in gold, by casing the
under row with a plate of that metal."
GEORGE. "Is Sumatra a gold country?"
"Why," said Mr. Wilton, smiling, "have you never heard of the gold
of Mount Ophir? Well, that is the name of the highest mountain in
Sumatra."
GEORGE. "Then there is gold in Sumatra, and I suppose it is washed
down by the rivers. Is there any other metal there?"
MR. WILTON. "Gold is the most abundant; but saltpetre and naphtha
are among the products. Quantities of rice are grown here, and a
singular method is adopted for separating the grain from the ear.
The bunches of paddy are spread on mats, and the Sumatrans rub out
the grain under their feet, supporting themselves, for the more easy
performance of this labor, by holding with their hands a bamboo
placed horizontally over their heads.
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