On rounding Acheen Head we passed the mouth of a river bearing the same name, two miles from whose outlet, in the interior, is the town of Acheen, where there is a Mahommedan chief, and a daily market is held between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, at which eggs, fowls, and fruits can be procured, and if a day’s notice be given, ships can also get bullocks and goats. A little beyond the mouth of the Acheen River there is an anchorage for vessels; and three ships, two English and one Turkish, were lying there as we passed. Pepper, which is the chief article of produce, is obtained in large quantities in traffic with the natives. Coasting for two days along the shores of this beautiful island, we occasionally had an excellent view of a native village, situated in what seemed to be a fine grazing country or well-cultivated fields. Doubtless the apparent cultivation was mostly wild, tropical luxuriance; for nature in every phase was attractive and lovely as seen from our stand-point; but where every man carries a savage knife, called a creese, at his girdle, and is not to be trusted if any temptation comes in his way, distance not only “lends enchantment to the view,” but also produces a feeling of decided security, which, under the circumstances, cannot for a moment admit of wishing for a nearer acquaintance. Great care and skill are necessary in navigating this strait, on account of the dangerous shoals and numerous small rocky islands which are met with in making the passage. Fortunately, however, we had moonlight nights, and Captain Briggs, fully equal to every emergency, never shirked any of his duties or responsibilities, but night after night remained upon deck directing the soundings, which were made with extreme caution as we proceeded through the channel. During one of those nights we passed a very extensive and dangerous shoal, on which, not long before, a steamer had struck and been wrecked. There was formerly no light upon, or near it, but sometime before our passage a vessel was moored near the shoal, which displays a light every night as a beacon to mariners. We caught our first glimpse of the continent of Asia on the morning of the 11th of January, and during the day kept our eyes almost constantly turned towards those extensive countries, between India and China, where, an old writer tells us, “Ptolemy places his man-eaters, and Mandevylle found men without heads, who saw and spoke through holes in their breasts.” In the afternoon we were off the city of Malacca, which presented, upon the depressed or flat coast, an extended line of low buildings, with a high flag-staff near the water, from which we were signalled. There was quite a show of shipping in the harbor, and a lofty mountain range loomed in the distance; while beyond lay the Central Flowery Kingdom to which our steps were hastening.