The Sheaths Are Of Ornamental Wood And
Ivory, Often Covered On One Side With Gold.
The blades are
beautifully veined with white metal worked into the iron, and
they are kept very carefully.
Every man without exception carries
a kris, stuck behind into the large waist-cloth which all wear,
and it is generally the most valuable piece of property he
possesses.
A few days afterwards our long-talked-of excursion to Gunong Sari
took place. Our party was increased by the captain and supercargo
of a Hamburg ship loading with rice for China. We were mounted on
a very miscellaneous lot of Lombock ponies, which we had some
difficulty in supplying with the necessary saddles, etc.; and most
of us had to patch up our girths, bridles, or stirrup-leathers
as best we could. We passed through Mataram, where we were joined
by our friend Gusti Gadioca, mounted on a handsome black horse,
and riding as all the natives do, without saddle or stirrups,
using only a handsome saddlecloth and very ornamental bridle.
About three miles further, along pleasant byways, brought us to
the place. We entered through a rather handsome brick gateway
supported by hideous Hindu deities in stone. Within was an
enclosure with two square fish-ponds and some fine trees; then
another gateway through which we entered into a park. On the
right was a brick house, built somewhat in the Hindu style, and
placed on a high terrace or platform; on the left a large fish-
pond, supplied by a little rivulet which entered it out of the
mouth of a gigantic crocodile well executed in brick and stone.
The edges of the pond were bricked, and in the centre rose a
fantastic and picturesque pavilion ornamented with grotesque
statues.
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