(1) Gold Is Mined In The Northern Part Of
The Peninsula And Is A Staple Export Of Kalantan, Tringano, And Pahang,
Further Down.
Barbosa says gold was so abundant in Malacca that it was
reckoned by Bahars of 4 cwt.
Though Mr. Logan has estimated the present
produce of the whole Peninsula at only 20,000 ounces, Hamilton, at the
beginning of last century, says Pahang alone in some years exported above
8 cwt. (2) Brazil-wood, now generally known by the Malay term Sappan, is
abundant on the coast. Ritter speaks of three small towns on it as
entirely surrounded by trees of this kind. And higher up, in the latitude
of Tavoy, the forests of sappan-wood find a prominent place in some maps
of Siam. In mediaeval intercourse between the courts of Siam and China we
find Brazil-wood to form the bulk of the Siamese present. ["Ma Huan fully
bears out Polo's statement in this matter, for he says: This Brazil (of
which Marco speaks) is as plentiful as firewood. On Ch'eng-ho's chart
Brazil and other fragrant woods are marked as products of Siam. Polo's
statement of the use of porcelain shells as small change is also
corroborated by Ma Huan." (G. Phillips, Jour. China B.R.A.S., XXI.,
1886, p. 37.) - H.C.] (3) Elephants are abundant. (4) Cowries, according
to Marsden and Crawford, are found in those seas largely only on the Sulu
Islands; but Bishop Pallegoix says distinctly that they are found in
abundance on the sand-banks of the Gulf of Siam.
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