ut grow in the woods. The bark is commonly taken from
the bodies of the trees of a foot or foot and half diameter; the bark
being so thin, when the trees are younger, as to lose all its qualities
very soon. I here inquired for the different sorts of cassia-tree of
which I had been told, but was now informed that there was only one sort,
and that the difference they mentioned was occasioned entirely by the
soil and situation in which the trees grow; that those which grow in a
rocky dry soil have red shoots, and their bark is of superior quality to
that of trees which grow in moist clay, whose shoots are green. I also
endeavoured to get some information with regard to their method of curing
and quilling the cassia, and told them my intentions of trying some
experiments towards improving its quality and rendering it more valuable.
They told me that none had been cut for two years past, on account of a
stop being put to the purchases at Tappanuli; and that if I was come with
authority to open the trade I should call together the people of the
neighbouring kampongs, kill a buffalo for them, and assure them publicly
that the cassia would be again received; in which case they would
immediately begin to cut and cure it, and would willingly follow any
instructions I should give them; but that otherwise they would take no
trouble about it. I must observe that I was prevented from getting so
satisfactory an account of the cassia as I could have wished by the
ill-behaviour of the person who accompanied us as guide, from whom, by
his thorough knowledge of the country, and of the cassia-trade, of which
he had formerly been the chief manager, we thought we had reason to
expect all requisite assistance and information, but who not only refused
to give it, but prevented as much as possible our receiving any from the
country people. July 14th. We left Batang Onan in order to return,
stopped that night at a kampong called Koto Moran, and the next evening
reached Sa-masam; from whence we proceeded by a different road from what
we had travelled before to Sa-pisang, where we procured sampans, and went
down the Batang-tara river to the sea. July 22nd we returned to Pulo
Punchong.

End of Mr. Miller's Narrative.

It has since been understood that they were intentionally misled, and
taken by a circuitous route to prevent their seeing a particular kampong
of some consideration at the back of Tappanuli, or for some other
interested object. Near