August 18th, 1873. Light cloud; a gentle breeze.

At nine o'clock we reached Singapore. Because of a recent cholera epidemic we did not go ashore, and our ship was anchored at the harbour mouth.

The coastal region of the district of Malacca consists mostly of low hills with some scattered mountains. The people are Malays, descendants of migrants who came from Sumatra about the year 1200. They are followers of Islam, and in temperament and culture they are like the Sumatrans. Warlike and cruel by nature, they think nothing of killing. They are implacably vengeful and have no patience to bear wrongs. They have no fixed occupations, but often put out in boats to commit acts of piracy in nearby seas. In their arts and crafts they simply adhere to their customs and traditions and make no progress. In recent years they have started to engage more in trade. Foreigners who come here to trade find that once they have obtained their goodwill it is easy to establish friendly relations. But if anyone crosses them in the slightest way, they become enraged and will not forget the slight for a long time, and will invariably seek revenge. Because of this, all Europeans fear the people of the southern seas. They are as wary of them as of snakes or scorpions.