The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1924-08-07
SAVAGE MALAYS
DEFY WHITE MEN
Sumatra May Soon Expert
ence Oil Boom.

Washington, D. C.-"Down where
the monkeys chatter, where the plants
Outgrow the trees, where old men
climb the branches and drop like ripe
fruit to be eaten, and natives keep
their teeth filed close to the gums,
such." says bulletin from the Ma
tional Geographic society, sis Sumatra,
where the ubiquitous oil drill is reap
ing a remote harvest.
Reports that the Jambi petroleum
fields are to be developed give prom
Use that the worlds fifth largest island
may soon experience a boom like that
which has made its little sister, Java,
q garden spot of the world.
MaIays Defy White Mans Rule.
THE length of Sumatra is equal to
the distance from New York to St.
Louis; Its area Is greater than that
Of all the New England states, New
York and Pennsylvania it is four
times the size Of Java, vet has only
one-slxth as many people.
''The Dutch found the Javanese a
docile and Industrious people but the
mixed, warning and savage Malays o.
Sumatra to this day have defed the
white mans rule. The Achinese ma
tlves, in the north island country, first
rebelled against the newcomers in
1899, have fought steadily for the past
40 years, and are reputed to have cost
the Dutch 100000 lives and $780,
100000.
Volunteers for Cannibaiism.
"The Bataks, however, are the least
civilized of the island natives. The
Dutch have tried to stamp out canni-
balism, but there is no certainty that
they have been successful in their
humane endeavOr. When an aged war
riOr felt he no longer vas frst-class
fighting man he would climb tree.
Beneath it his relatives would chant
and dance. After a time he would fall
to the ground, symbolizing the drop
ping of ripe fruit, whereupOn the
'mourners' would promptly kill him by
a blow on the head and eat him.
"Even the Sumatran natives who
work on the great tobacco and rubber
plantations, and live along the beaten
paths cling to their native customs.
Women, wear wedding earrings, not
wedding rings, These are large, sill
yer, button-llke trinkets which must be
kept in evidence until the first child
Is born. or for five years if there is
no child, and then abandoned. The
sagging, buttonless ears of the older
women do not commend the custom.
Mother Her Own Peranrbulator.
"a Sumatran mother is her own
perambulatOr. She carries her baby
astride her hips, held there by a scarf
tied across her shoulder. Her single
piece gown, and only garment, is a
sarong which hangs loosely from un-
der the arms, or from the waist A
turban-llke headdress, of the same
dark blue cloth as her sarong, COM
pletes her costume.
"Sumatra is a botanical garden Of
amazing luXuriance. Some varieties
Of bamboo, which look like giant as
paragus stalks, grow foot or more
uoS anu III I1IItc VI lOuI uOulIlS
their waving tops appear above the
centuries-Old lockwood forest mon
archs. A flower which attains the pro-
diglous size of its name is the TIN
dawanmatabari.' All along the east
coast, which steaithily reaches out to
take the fringe of islands to it's bosom,
Is the mangrOve. When the man
groves seeds are ripe they do not fall
off. They terminate on the parent
tree and grow downward in long
shoots. These drop of their own
weight, take root in shoal water, and
help catch the silt worked down to
Sumatra's swampy coast by ralnfalls
almost as heavy as those of Rhodesia.
"Waterspouts, simOons and almost
daily thunderstorms add to the wealth
er variety of the east coast. The
spine-like mountain range extends
nearly the length of this island along
the west coast, on which side are few
rivers and more temperate weather
than one would expect in land mass
practically bisected by the Equator.
A principal river Of the east coast Is
the Jambi, which gives its name to the
region and town where the oil drills