eneath the wooded volcano possesses a bright
and cheery character, in keeping with the exhilarating climate, and
the beautiful Sturm Park, from palm-crowned hill and flowery terrace,
commands an exquisite prospect of the blue peaks belonging to the
borderland of those Native States extending to the Dutch possessions on
the Eastern coast. The curious houses of the Sumatran Highlands, with
their adjacent rice-barns, form distinctive features of this unique
island. The ridge of the steep thatch rises in sharp horns, interlaced
with black fibres of _aren_ palm, or covered with glittering tin. These
tapering points are considered talismans of good fortune, a fresh horn
being added on every occasion of marriage, for the married daughters,
under the provisions of the Matriarchate, remain in the home of their
childhood, and portions of the central division belonging to the house
are reserved for their use. Manifold horns frequently bristle above the
lofty roof, and the front of the main building is the common living
room for unmarried members of the large household. Houses and
rice-barns stand on high poles, after the Malay fashion, which
originated in the malarious districts of the Lowlands. The typical
rice-barns are lavishly decorated with gilding, carving, and colour,
inlaid with glass mosaic, and edged with balls of red and blue crystal,
the upward sweep of the slender horns sharply silhouetted against the
glowing cobalt of heaven. In every _kota_ (the Sumatran word signifying
a fortified place, or village), the beauty of the picturesque roofs
culminates in _Messighit_ and _Balei_, respectively the Mosque and Hall
of Consultation for the Village Council. The roofs of the Mosque rise
on thatched tiers, mounted on slender pine-stems, and the long _Balei_,
with mossy thatch prolonged into an open verandah on either side, shows
a multitude of curving horns pointing to Heaven, and symbolically
invoking celestial aid for the solemn assembly gathered beneath them,
when the full moon floods upland Sumatra with molten silver. Primitive
hospitality provides a _roemah negari_, or "House of Strangers," in
every village rich enough to erect this refuge for the toil-worn
wanderer, but where no special resting-place for pilgrims can be
offered, lodging can always be had in the open _Balei_, on application
to any member of the Village Council. The primitive simplicity of
Sumatran life remains practically unchanged in these remote hamlets of