Page:The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia (IA journalindianar00loga).pdf/377

 REMARKS ON THE SLETAR AND SABIMBA TRIBES.

In compliance with your request I send you a few notes on these tribes made during a late visit to the Old Straits of Singapore, when I came in contact with them. My duties have frequently led me to these parts, and my constant attention had been drawn to the fact of wild tribes existing in the creeks, and along the shores of the Strait above mentioned; but, notwithstanding all my anxiety to obtain an interview with any of them, my wishes had never been gratified. It is true that parties of the Slétar tribe had been often descried from the Gunboat, but we found them too shy and timid to allow of a near approach. This time we were more fortunate. A Panglima (i. e. Malay warrior) a notorious pirate, had been caught by one of the Tomungong's followers, who in former years had formed one of the crew of the Gunboat—elated with his success, he came to relate the circumstances of his bold feat; amongst these and other interesting matters regarding piracy, in which trade our friend had in former years even obtained honorable notoriety amongst his country men,—the wild men or Oráng Után were casually mentioned as being in the vicinity. The opportunity was not to be lost, and our friend, on certain conditions, agreed to bring several of their class to the Gunboat on the following day.

The next day, when anchored close to the shore, several small boats and canoes were seen skirting the mangrove, and slowly approaching to our anchorage; these proved to be two families of the Slétar tribe mentioned at the end of your article on the Oráng Binua of Johore. I found after careful examination that they were known to the Malays as the "Oráng Után Slétàr." On their first approach one could not help being struck with the extreme squalidness of their appearance, united as it was to a dull insensibility to what was going forward, a marked contrast to their pert Malay conductors, who assumed over them an air of superiority and command, which is never witnessed in the latter when in the presence of Europeans alone, and affording at once,