Volume Xi Part 7 (1/2)
Besides cocoa-nuts, the Dutch found in Moa great plenty of pomegranates of exquisite taste, and abundance of _pisans_ or Indian figs. These refreshments were of infinite service to them, as without them the whole of both s.h.i.+ps companies must have inevitably perished; and immediately on returning to their s.h.i.+ps, they began to prepare for resuming their voyage. While engaged in these preparations, the inhabitants of Moa came off to the s.h.i.+ps in about 200 canoes, which they exchanged with the Dutch for various articles, apparently doing this to prevent the Dutch from making a second descent on their island: But on this occasion, though the Dutch received them kindly, and treated them with fairness in purchasing their provisions, they would only admit a few of them into the s.h.i.+ps at once; and when the islanders attempted to rush on board in crowds, they fired upon them.
On these occasions, the natives all ducked their heads, and when they raised them again broke out into loud laughter. This exchange was no sooner over than they weighed anchor and proceeded on their voyage.
The author of this narrative remarks, that such of the sick as had any strength remaining recovered surprisingly at these islands, through the excellent refreshments they procured there, while those who were already quite exhausted soon died.
Leaving these islands of _Moa_ and _Arimoa_, they continued their voyage through a part of the sea so very full of islands, that finding it difficult or impossible to count them, they gave them the name of _Thousand Isles_.[3] Their inhabitants were negroes, of a short squat make, and their heads covered with thick curled wool, being a bold, mischievous, and intractable race of savages. They were all naked, men, women, and children, having no other ornaments except a belt about two fingers broad, stuck fall of teeth, and bracelets of the same; and some of them wore light straw hats, adorned with the feathers of the _Bird-of-Paradise_. These birds are said to be found no where else but in these islands. Such of these islands as are situated near the west point of New Guinea are still called the _Islands of the Popoes_ or _Papuas_, the continent itself being called the _Land of Papua_, till Schouten imposed upon it the name of _New Guinea_, chiefly because of its being in the same lat.i.tude with _Old Guinea_.[4]
[Footnote 3: These appear, by the sequel, to have been the islands at the N.W. extremity of Papua or New Guinea, and from thence to Celebes--E.]
[Footnote 4: More probably because of its inhabitants being negroes.--E.]
When the inhabitants of these islands go to Ternate, Banda, Amboina, or any of the Moluccas, in order to sell their salt pork, amber,[5]
gold-dust, and other merchandise, they always carry some of these _Birds-of-Paradise_, which they constantly sell dead, affirming that they find them so, and that they know not whence they come or where they breed. This bird is always seen very high in the air. It is extremely light, as its bulk consists mostly of feathers, which are extremely beautiful, rendering it one of the greatest curiosities in the world. The plumage of the head is as bright as burnished gold; that of the neck resembles the neck of a drake; and those of the wings and tail are like those of a peac.o.c.k. In beak and form, this bird comes nearest to a swallow, though considerably larger. Such as deal in them endeavour to persuade strangers that they have no feet, and that they hang themselves, when they sleep, to the boughs of trees by means of their feathers. But, in reality, these traders cut off their feet, to render them the more wonderful. They also pretend that the male has a cavity on his back, where the female lodges her young till they are able to fly. They always cut off the feet of these birds so close to the body, that the flesh dries in such a manner that the skin and feathers perfectly unite, making it impossible to perceive the smallest scar. They also a.s.sert, that these birds are perpetually on the wing, subsisting on birds and insects, which they catch in the air. The feathers of the male are much brighter than those of the female. In the east, this bird is usually called _Mancodiata_, or the Bird-of-G.o.d. Great numbers of them are sent to Batavia, where they generally sell for three crowns each. The Moors, Arabians, and Persians are anxious to procure these birds, with which they adorn their saddles and housings, often mixing with them pearls and diamonds. They wear them also in their turbans, especially on going to war, having a superst.i.tious notion that they act as a charm or talisman, capable of preserving them from wounds. Formerly, the Shah and Mogul used to present their favourites with one of these birds, as a mark of esteem or favour.
[Footnote 5: Perhaps ambergris ought to be here understood.--E.]
Besides their girdle and bracelets, formerly mentioned, the _Popoes_, or inhabitants of the Thousand Isles, wear a bit of stick, the size of a tobacco-pipe and the length of a finger, thrust through the gristle of the nose, which they think renders them terrible to their enemies, as some Europeans consider mustachios. They are the worst and most savage people in all the South Seas. The continent of _New Guinea_ appeared a high country, extremely full of trees and plants of a vast variety of kinds, so that, in sailing 400 leagues along its coast, they did not observe one barren spot. Our author thinks that it probably contains many precious commodities, as rich metals and valuable spices, especially as most of the countries. .h.i.therto discovered under the same parallel are not deficient in such riches.
He was afterwards a.s.sured, that some of the free burgesses in the Moluccas go annually to New Guinea, where they exchange small pieces of iron for nutmegs. Schouten and other navigators conceived high ideas of this country, and represented it as one of the finest and richest in the world; but they were unable to penetrate any way into the interior, which could not be done with a small force, as it is extremely populous, and the natives are mostly well armed, and of a martial disposition.
Roggewein and his officers were at this time in considerable doubts, whether to prosecute the route formerly followed by Dampier, or to go by Ternate, Tidore, and Bacian, as the less dangerous pa.s.sage. To gain time, however, they chose the former, as they most otherwise have coasted round the last-mentioned islands, in their way to the Moluccas. In this view, they steered along sh.o.r.e, or rather through an innumerable chain of small islands, extending from the western point of New Guinea to the island of Gilolo, making their pa.s.sage with much difficulty and danger, and were greatly delighted and astonished on getting sight of the island of _Bouro_, in lat. 2 S. [3 30' S. and long. 127 E.] the most eastern country in which the Dutch East-India Company, maintain a factory. This island is mostly pretty high land, and abounds every where with trees and shrubs of various kinds. On their arrival upon its coast, they were spoken with by a small vessel, in which were two white men and several blacks. The white men examined them very strictly to whom they belonged, whence they came, and whither they were bound. To which they answered, that they came from New Guinea, and were going to Batavia, but wisely concealed belonging to the West-India Company, knowing that the East-India Company permitted no vessels, except their own, to navigate these seas, and had given strict orders to capture all strange vessels that might appear there. Yet, in spite of these precautions, the English sometimes find their way among these islands, to the no small displeasure of the Dutch company, although they keep s.h.i.+ps cruizing here during both monsoons, to preserve their monopoly of spices.
The island of _Bouro_ is about forty or fifty leagues in circ.u.mference, and is indifferently fertile, formerly producing abundance of clove-trees; but a detachment of Dutch soldiers is sent yearly to grub them up, as they do also in the other Molucca islands, because Amboina is thought to produce enough of that commodity to maintain their commerce. Formerly also the Dutch had a strong fort here, which the natives took and demolished after a long siege, putting all the garrison to the sword. At present, [in 1721,]
the company only sends a detachment of soldiers to root out the clove-trees, for which the inhabitants receive some present. The two whites who were on board this Dutch bark were the first Christians seen by Roggewein for the s.p.a.ce of ten months, or since leaving the coast of Brazil. Continuing their course for the island of _Bootan_, in hopes of meeting with refreshments, of which they were now in extreme want, they arrived there in lat 4 S.[6] and sailed along its coast for a whole day, in hopes of finding the strait for which they sought, and at length found they were eight leagues to leeward of it, and the monsoon now blew too strong to be able to bear up for the intended port. They had now no hopes of being able to find any port for refreshments till they should arrive at the island of Java; as, wherever they might attempt to land, they well knew that their s.h.i.+ps would be confiscated, in consequence of the invariable maxims of the East-India Company. All men therefore, but especially the sick and feeble, cast an anxious look on the fertile island now left behind them, presaging the melancholy effects which must necessarily attend so pernicious a measure.
[Footnote 6: The northern end of Bootan is in lat. 4 40' S.]
The situation of the island of _Bootan_ is remarkably advantageous, being in from 4 to 6 of S. lat.i.tude, and nearly equal in size to the island of _Bouro_. It is extremely fertile, especially in rice, and has abundance of cattle and fish. It would also produce plenty both of clove and nutmeg trees, if they were permitted to grow. The king of the island has a very strong fort, on which the Dutch standard is displayed, though there is no Dutch garrison; the company contenting itself with sending deputies yearly to see the spice trees destroyed, in consideration of which the king receives a considerable sum yearly from the company. This nation is the most faithful of all the inhabitants of the Indian islands to the India company, having not only a.s.sisted them in expelling the Portuguese, but also against the inhabitants of the Moluccas, whenever they have attempted to revolt; by which means the company has acquired the whole trade of this part of the world. In consideration of this, the inhabitants of Bootan enjoy many privileges that are denied to all other Indians: As, for instance, they are allowed to come into any of the Dutch forts armed, which is never allowed even to the natives of the countries in which the forts are situated. Some time before this voyage, the king of Bootan sent his eldest son amba.s.sador to the governor-general of Batavia, where he was received with every mark of honour and distinction. It would not have been easy to have known this prince for an Indian, had he not worn a triple-rowed turban, richly adorned with gold and precious stones, as the rest of his dress was entirely European, and he wore a sword instead of a cutla.s.s, which no Indian had done before. His train was numerous and splendid, all dressed in the Indian manner: Twelve of them were armed with cuira.s.ses and bucklers, carrying each a naked sword resting on his shoulder. At this time there was a prodigious mortality in Batavia, which carried off 500 of the attendants of this prince, and destroyed no less than 150,000 persons in one year, besides vast numbers of beasts. This mortality was occasioned by a malignant pestilential fever, which attacked indiscriminately all the inhabitants of Batavia, Europeans, natives, Chinese, and blacks. It spread also through Bengal and all the dominions of the Great Mogul, where it made incredible ravages, and extended even to j.a.pan in the most extreme violence, where numbers fell down dead in the streets, who had left their houses in perfect health. This dreadful malady was supposed to have arisen from excessive drought, as no rain had fallen during the s.p.a.ce of two years, whence it was conceived that the air was surcharged with mineral vapours.
Leaving the island of Bootan, and pa.s.sing through the channel of the Moluccas, or between the S.W. leg of Celebes and Salayr islands, during which course the crews of the two vessels suffered inexpressible miseries, by which the greatest part of them were carried off, Roggewein arrived on the coast of Java towards the close of September 1722.
SECTION VII.
_Occurrences from their Arrival at the Island of Java, to the Confiscation of the s.h.i.+ps at Batavia._
Roggewein came to anchor immediately in the road of j.a.para, and saluted the city and fort, after which the boats were hoisted out to go on sh.o.r.e, where they were astonished to find that it was Sat.u.r.day, whereas on quitting their s.h.i.+ps they conceived it to be Friday morning. This was occasioned by having come round from the east along with the sun, by which they had lost a day in their reckoning.
Roggewein immediately waited upon Ensign Kuster, a very civil and well-behaved gentleman, who commanded there on the part of the East-India Company, to whom he gave an account of his motives for coming to this place. Kuster immediately a.s.sembled a council, to consider what measures were to be taken on this occasion, and all were much moved at the recital of the miseries which Roggewein and his people had endured. In truth, never were men more worthy of compa.s.sion. Only ten persons remained in any tolerable health, and twenty-six were down in various sicknesses, by which, exclusive of those who had been slain in their different engagements with the Indians, they had lost seventy men during the voyage. Their next care was to get the sick men on sh.o.r.e, which was done with all care and diligence, slinging them in their hammocks into the boats. Four of these poor people were in so low a condition that it was thought impossible they could bear removal, and they were therefore left on board, the very thoughts of which, after their companions went ash.o.r.e, soon killed them. Those who were carried on sh.o.r.e were lodged under tents in an island, where they had every necessary afforded them that the country produced, yet many of them died.
Mr Kuster sent an immediate account of their arrival to the commandant of the coasts of Java, who instantly forwarded it to Mr _Swaardekroon_, at that time governor-general of the East Indies. He sent a favourable answer, promising every a.s.sistance in his power, and adding, that they had nothing to do but to get to Batavia as soon as possible. While waiting the answer of the governor-general and the recovery of their sick, they pa.s.sed their time agreeably enough at j.a.para, as their countrymen used them with all imaginable kindness.
In a few days, the seamen became as frolicsome and gay as if they had made a pleasant and fortunate voyage; insomuch, that those who, only a few days before, were weeping, sighing, praying, and making warm protestations of leading new lives, if G.o.d in his mercy were pleased to save them, now ran headlong into the greatest extravagances; spending their whole time in debauched houses, and in swearing and drinking. This our author attributed to the bad example of those among whom they lived, all the lower people at j.a.para being as lewd and profligate as could be imagined; insomuch, that the first question they put to strangers from Europe is, if they have brought over any new oaths.
The town of _j.a.para_ is seated at the bottom of a mountain of moderate height, is of a middling size, and is inhabited by Javans, Chinese, and Dutch; and was of more considerable extent than now, when in the hands of the Portuguese. Before getting possession of Jacatra, now Batavia, the Dutch East-India Company had their princ.i.p.al magazines for trade at this place, which was their chief factory, and on which all the other factories in Java were dependent; but it has fallen much in importance since the factory was transferred to Samarang. The port of j.a.para is both safe and commodious, and is defended by a fort, built mostly of wood, on the top of the mountain at the foot of which the town is seated. This fort is called the _Invincible Mountain_, because the Javanese were constantly defeated in all their attempts to get it into their hands, when in possession of the Portuguese; and its guns command the whole road.
The king of j.a.para mostly resides at a place called _Kattasura_, about twenty-nine leagues up the country, where the Dutch have a strong fort with a good garrison, serving at the same time to secure their conquest, and to guard the king. This prince is a Mahomedan, and is served entirely by women, of whom he takes as many as he pleases, either as wives or concubines. Some of his priests are obliged to go every year on pilgrimage to Mecca, in order to make vows for the safety and prosperity of the king and royal family. His subjects are extremely faithful, and devoted to his service; the princ.i.p.al persons of his court having to approach him on their knees, every time they have an audience; but in time of war, this slavish custom is dispensed with. Such as commit the slightest fault, are poniarded on the spot by a kriss or dagger; this being almost the only punishment in use among them, as the smallest faults and the greatest crimes are all equally capital. The natives of this country are mostly of a very brown complexion, tolerably well shaped, and having long black hair, which however many of them cut short. Their noses are all flat and broad, and their teeth very black, owing to the incessant chewing of betel and faufel.
The _faufel_ or _areka_ is a kind of nut, not much unlike a nutmeg, but smaller, and in a great measure tasteless, but yielding a red juice when chewed, which juice also is used by the Indians in painting chintzes, so much admired in Europe. The tree which bears this nut is very straight, and has leaves like those of the cocoa-nut tree. The _betel_ is a plant producing long rank leaves, shaped like those of the citron, and having an agreeable bitter taste. The fruit of this plant resembles a lizard's tail, and is about an inch and half long, having a pleasant aromatic flavour. The Indians continually carry the leaves of this plant, which also are presented at all ceremonious visits. They are almost continually chewing these leaves, and they mostly qualify their extreme bitterness by the addition of the faufel or areka-nut, and the powder of calcined oyster-sh.e.l.ls, which give them a very agreeable taste; though some mix their betel leaves with sh.e.l.l lime, ambergris, and cardamom seeds, while others use Chinese tobacco. After all the juice is chewed out, they throw away the remaining dry ma.s.s. Many Europeans have got into the habit of chewing betel, so that they cannot leave it off, though it has proved fatal to some of them; for the natives are very skilful in preparing betel so as to do a man's business as effectually as a pistol or a dagger.
The prevailing diversion among these people is called _tandakes_, which are a kind of comedies, acted by women very richly dressed, and consists chiefly in singing and dancing, accompanied by music, not very pleasant to European ears, the only instruments being small drums, on which they beat with much dexterity. Their dancing is mostly of a grotesque kind, in which they are very dexterous, throwing their bodies into all sorts of postures with astonis.h.i.+ng agility, and expressing by them the pa.s.sions of the mind so comically, that it is impossible to refrain from laughing. The men also practise a kind of war dance, in which the king and grandees bear a part. They also practise c.o.c.k-fighting, like the English, and bet such considerable sums on this sport as often beggars them.
The country abounds in all the necessaries of life, having abundance of beeves and hogs, and amazing quant.i.ties of fowls. The only thing scarce is mutton, chiefly owing to the richness of the pasture, which is very apt to burst the sheep. As to wild animals, they have buffaloes, stags, tygers, and rhinoceroses; which last animal is hunted by the Indians chiefly for the sake of its horns, of which they make drinking cups that are greatly valued, owing to a notion that they will not contain poison, but break immediately on that being poured into them. The high price of these tends to shew that the Javanese are addicted to the infamous practice of poisoning. The land is every where extremely fertile, producing vast abundance of pepper, ginger, cinnamon, rice, cardamoms, and other valuable articles. Of late they have planted coffee, and with such success as to have a reasonable hope of rendering it a princ.i.p.al commodity of the country.
Cocoa-nuts, figs, and a variety of other excellent fruits grow every where in the greatest profusion; and as the trees on which they grow are verdant during the whole year, and are planted in rows along the rivers, they form the most agreeable walks that can be conceived.
Sugar-canes also abound in Java. They have also plenty of vines, which produce ripe grapes seven times every year, but they are only fit for making raisins, and not wine, being too hastily ripened by the climate. The sea, and all the rivers, furnish an infinite variety of the finest fish. Thus, taking it altogether, it may be safely affirmed that Java is one of the most plentiful and pleasantest islands in the world.