LIFE IN MALAY STATES.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19057, 20 July 1927, Page 13

LIFE IN MALAY STATES.

PERILS OF THE WILDS.

AUCKLAND WOMAN'S THRILLING EXPERIENCES.

[THE PBES3 Special Sorvice.] AUCKLAND, July 19. Life in the Federated Malay States has brought adventure a>d thrills, in plenty to Mrs J. Best, who arrived at Auckland by the Marama from Sydney. Mrs Best is a daughter of Mr G. McBride, of Auckland, and she went out to the East with her husband, Captain C. C. Best, also of Auckland, about four years ago. With her little daughter, she is on a visit to her parents.

When they first went to the Malay States, Captain Best was chosen by the Administration to make a survey of the wild and little-known State of Trengganu. Mrs Best accompanied him on this expedition, and she had the honour of being the first white woman to penetrate to the interior. "The expedition was an arduous one," stated Mrs Best. "The nativeswere inclined to be curiously hostile, and as they had not seen a white woman before, I was the subject of many hard stares and much comment." While Captain and Mrs Best were staying in the British Eesidency at the town of Kuala in the State, a sensation was caused by a native who ran amok. Armed with a spear, he killed 14 and wounded a large number. In addition to this he was responsible for the burning of 21 mosques. Finally, he was tracked down to a hen-coop by the British Besident and Captain Best, and was shot dead.

"This is one of the dangers of life in the Malay States," added Mrs Best. "Natives frequently run amok and do a fearful amount of damage. It is the custom there never to take any notice of a madman until he has murdered someone, and I might state this is a very uncomfortable custom." It was at the hands of a madman that Mrs Best nearly lost her life. She-was alone in a house one day when a Chinese crept in and grabbed her by the throat. She fainted, and knew no more about the incident until her husband returned. It was subsequently discovered that the intruder - had taken away a sum of money. Mrs Best never had' an opportunity of seeing her assailant, and he was never caught. Snakes and tigers have given her her fair share of fright. One evening she was alarmed to see two bright eyes piercing the darkness outside the wire netting surrounding her baby's cot It proved to be a' tiger, and fortunately ran off. When Mr and Mrs Best were visiting the State of Kedah, Mrs Best was in peril from a hamadryad snake, or king cobra. She woke up ono night to discover a m'onster at the head of her bed. It did not attack her, the reason for this being discovered later, when a quantity pf blood and feathers were found on "the floor at the back of the bed. It is presumed the snake had caught some birds. and had sought refuge behind the bed to eat its quarry. An* experience of a different kind came the way of Captain and Mrs Best when they were living at Kualalipis, in the State of Pahang, last Christmas. Two large rivers in the district rose 70 feet, burst their banks, and the flood waters created havoc. . "The whole of the town was inundated, some of the houses being completely covered over," stated Mrs Best "Many natives were'killed, and the damage to property ra.n into thousands of pounds. Fortunately, our house was on a hill, and was not touched by the flood waters. My husband and a companion had a narrow escape from death. They had to climb a coconut tree, and remained marooned for two hours. Our house was picked out as a refuge, and over 70 coolies lived in the motor for a number of days. In the nursery slept a native prince and his four children, while we also accommodated a number of Chinese. Food supplies ran short, and" we had to subsist on a bare portion of rice. Eventually, however, the flood waters subsided and people were able to get about again." In spite of all these unpleasant experiences, Mrs Best is delighted with the life in the East. She stated that the white people had a wonderful time, and among their many pleasures was the game of golf, generally' played in bathing suits and a large sun hat.

Mrs Best will remain in- the Dominion some months before returning to the Malay States. '