For a whole night longer we lay exposed to the shower of ashes; and
though we were standing away from their source, they in no perceptible
way diminished in density. At length, at the hour the sun should appear
once more in the east, a light gleamed forth, the ashes grew less dense,
and daylight once more gladdened our eyes. On examining the ashes, they
had the appearance of calcined pumice-stone, nearly of the colour of
wood ashes. In many places on the deck they lay a foot thick. They
were perfectly tasteless, and had no smell of sulphur, though there was
a slight burnt odour from them. We now stood back towards Sumbawa, as,
with the wind from the eastward, it was the only course we could steer.
As we approached it, we saw right ahead a shoal several miles in length,
with several black rocks on it.
Van Graoul was puzzled in the extreme. "I never heard of that shoal
before," he observed; and, on examining the chart, none was marked down.
The lead gave us no bottom where we then were. The shoal, we agreed,
must have been thrown up by the earthquake. We stood on till we were
within half a mile of it, and then Fairburn lowered a boat and went to
examine it. He pulled on till the boat, instead of grounding as we
expected, went into the midst of it. It proved to be a complete mass of
pumice-stone floating on the sea, some inches in depth, with great
numbers of trees and logs, which had the appearance of having been burnt
and shivered by lightning. We passed several similar floating islands;
and on one occasion got so completely surrounded by a mass of ashes,
that we had no little difficulty in forcing our way through it, fearful
every instant of encountering some log which might injure the vessel.
At last the Tomboro mountain hove in sight. We passed it about six
miles off. The summit was not visible, being enveloped in clouds of
smoke and ashes. The sides were, in several places, still smoking,
evidently from the lava which had flowed down them not yet having
cooled; and one large stream was discernible from the smoke arising from
it, and which had reached all the way from the summit to the sea.
Beating along the coast, we entered a bay where there was good
anchorage, and on going on shore we heard sad accounts of the ruin the
irruption had caused. The whirlwind had destroyed whole villages,
rooted up trees, and thrown the vessels and prahus at anchor in the
harbour on the shore, aided by the sea, which rose at the same time;
while the ashes had ruined the crops, and the stones, and rocks, and
streams of lava had killed many thousands of the inhabitants.
Afterwards I learned that the explosions had been heard at Sumatra, 970
miles from Tomboro, and that the ashes had fallen thickly near Macasa,
217 miles from the mountain. The unfortunate inhabitants of the island
suffered afterwards greatly from famine, their yearly supply of food
being totally lost.
The wind coming more from the northward, we shaped our course for Dilli,
in Timor, on the chance of there hearing of the _Emu_. We kept a
constant look-out night and day for her, but not a sail hove in sight.
In five days we reached Dilli, which is a Portuguese settlement on the
north-west coast of Timor. A Portuguese naval officer boarded us in the
outer roads, and piloted us through a narrow channel to the inner roads.
It is a wretched-looking place; and the houses, small, dirty, and
ruinous, were scattered without any order or symmetry in all directions.
Van Graoul, who could speak Portuguese, landed with me, as I wished to
pay my respects to the Governor. On each side of the town were two
half-ruinous forts, on which were mounted some old iron guns of small
calibre. The sentinels were but a quarter clothed, and certainly not in
uniform, for not two were alike. The only point in which most agreed,
was in being destitute of shoes. Some had one shoe and a boot, others
had sandals, and others wore wisps of straw wrapped round their feet,
but the greater number stood on their bare soles. Many were without
jackets, some had no trousers, a sort of kilt serving the purpose, made
of every variety of material. Military hats or caps were a rarity.
Some left their bare heads exposed to the sun; others covered them with
handkerchiefs, straw hats, or mere turbans of straw; while the greatest
number of their muskets had no locks, the only serviceable arms which
all possessed being a long knife or dagger, stuck in a belt by their
sides.
The Governor was taking his siesta when we arrived, and we had to walk
up and down in the sun, in front of his dwelling, a miserable
tumble-down cottage, for two hours, before any one ventured to arouse
him. At length we were admitted into his presence. We found him
sitting in a room without a matting; a few chairs and benches forming
its only furniture. He was rubbing his eyes as we entered, as if not
yet awake, and in a sleepy tone he inquired our business. What Van
Graoul told him I do not know; but his manner instantly became very
polite, and bowing towards me, he motioned me to be seated. Van Graoul,
who acted as interpreter, said he would be happy to do anything I
wished; that if the _Emu_ came into the harbour, he should have the
satisfaction of blowing her to pieces; that he had heard of her
depredations, but that no Portuguese cruisers had met with her, or her
fate would have been sealed; that he would supply me with cattle and
provisions, or anything from his stores; and that if I happened to have
a fancy to purchase any slaves, he should be happy to do a little
business in that way also. I found afterwards that the Governor and all
the government officers trafficked in slaves, and that some fitted out
vessels to run to the Australian coasts, or to those of New Guinea, to
pick up a supply for their market.
In addition to the slave trade, a commerce is carried on in wax and
sandal-wood, which the natives are forced to deliver up at a small and
almost nominal price. The Governor and his officials allow no one else
but themselves to embark in trade, greatly to the disgust of the natives
and Chinese, who expressed a strong wish to be freed from the yoke of
such a people. This information was received from Van Graoul, who was a
Dutchman, it must be remembered, and certainly prejudiced against the
Portuguese. We parted, however, on excellent terms. I sent the
Governor a box of cigars; and he in return sent us off some sheep and
shaddocks.
We now steered for the Dutch settlement of Coupang, to the south of
Timor. As we sailed along the coast, we observed a number of ridges of
lofty mountains, some of which appeared to be a great distance in the
interior. The country behind Coupang rises to the height of five
hundred feet, the higher hills being covered with woods, the lower with
cocoa-nut trees. On a cliff above the town is the fort of Concordia,
and near it a brook, just deep enough to float small prahus for a few
yards. East of it is the town, which consists of two principal streets,
running parallel with the beach for about a quarter of a mile, with two
small irregular streets crossing them. The houses near the sea are
simply small shops, belonging to Chinese. Behind the town is an open
space of grass, shaded by fine tamarind trees, with the Governor's house
on one side; and some roads run up thence to some good houses belonging
to Europeans, and to some clusters of huts inhabited by Malays. While
we were there, the stream was always occupied by people either bathing
or washing their clothes. I remember also a valley full of cocoa-nut
trees, bamboos, bananas, and tamarinds; but beyond, the country had
somewhat of an arid appearance. The current coin of the country was of
copper, called a _doit_, the value of one sixth of a penny. By my
notes, I see that I entered a schoolhouse, where a very intelligent man
was instructing a large number of Malay children in the Christian
religion, and in useful knowledge, with, I understood, most satisfactory
success. The native Timorese are a frizzle-haired race, who live in
rude huts, roofed with palm-leaves, attend but little to agriculture,
and are addicted to cutting off the heads of their enemies in battle,
and carrying them away as trophies like the Dyaks of Borneo.
The Governor received me very politely; and, from the inquiries he
enabled me to make, I felt very certain that the _Emu_ had visited the
place at the time described by the Chinese pedlar Chin Fi. What had
afterwards become of her no one knew. There were rumours, however, that
a suspicious sail had been seen in the neighbourhood of the Serwatty and
Tenimber Islands, while others spoke of the Arru Islands, and the
western coast of New Guinea. For want of better information to guide
us, we resolved accordingly to cruise among them, and to prosecute our
inquiries of the inhabitants. A large part of the population of the
Serwatty and Tenimber Islands have, through the instrumentality of the
Dutch missionaries, become Christians.
The first place we touched at was the island of Kessa, at an anchorage
not far from the chief village, called Mama. As the people are much
addicted to trade with all the neighbouring islands, I was in hopes that
we might here possibly gain the information I required. We were much
amused with the costume in which the people assembled to attend church
the day we were there. Some wore old-fashioned coats with wide sleeves
and broad skirts; others garments of the same description, but of a more
modern cut; while the remainder were clad in long black kaligas, or
loose coats, the usual dress of native Christians. The costume of those
who were clad in the old-fashioned coats, was completed by short
breeches, shoes with enormous buckles, and three-cornered hats. Many of
the women wore old Dutch chintz gowns, or jackets, the costume of the
remainder being the native sarong and kabya. The heads of the women
were adorned with ornaments of gold and precious stones; but the men
wore their long hair simply confined with a tortoise-shell comb. They
appeared a very simple-minded, amiable people. I was much struck by the
course of instruction adopted at the schools, where all the children
under ten years of age assembled to learn the rudiments of Christianity,
and reading and writing. Yet these people, we in England should call
savages. Can we boast that the children of our poor are so well cared
for?
We could here gain no intelligence of the _Emu_, so we again sailed. At
another island we touched at, called Lette, we found one portion of the
aborigines converted to Christianity; and the remainder, who were still
heathens, serving them willingly as persons of a superior order. The
people are tall and well formed, with light brown complexions, pointed
noses, high foreheads, hair black, though rendered yellow by rubbing in
a composition of lime. It is confined by a bamboo comb. The men wear
no other clothing than a piece of cloth made from the bark of a tree
wrapped round the waist. The women, in addition, wear a sort of kabya,
or short gown, open in front. They worship a wooden idol in human
shape, placed on a square heap of stones, under a large tree in the
centre of the village. We were visited by a number of chiefs, who came
in lightly constructed prahus, with high stems and sterns, and awnings
of palm-leaves raised over them. One of their chiefs was clad after the
fashion of the seventeenth century. He wore a large wig, a
three-cornered hat, short breeches, with large knee-buckles, and a coat
with wide sleeves, ruffles, and spacious skirts, while on his feet he
had high shoes with heavy silver buckles. He was evidently perfectly
satisfied that he was in the fashion. During a stroll I took into the
interior, I observed a number of bees' nests hanging from the branches
of the high trees, some of which were more than two feet in
circumference. The wax and honey are collected with very little
difficulty; and the bees, when driven from their nests, generally build
another on the same tree.
It will be impossible for me to mention a tenth part of the curious
sights we saw, or the number of places we visited. For several weeks we
were engaged in running from island to island, among the numerous groups
which are to be found between Java and the coast of New Guinea. At
length we reached the Arru Islands, and entered the port of Dobbo, which
is a place of considerable trade with the neighbouring countries, and
much frequented by the Bugis and Macassars of Celebes.
These islands export a considerable quantity of _trepang_,
tortoise-shell, edible birds' nests, and pearls. The trepang is a sort
of sea-slug, which is dried and used by the Chinese to make soup. The
edible birds' nests are of a glutinous nature, and with but little
taste, and are used for thickening soup. They are considered a great
delicacy. The chief food of the people is the pith of the sago tree.
The chief man among them is called Orang Kaya. Their prahus are seventy
feet long; their greatest beam not being more than ten feet, and they
sit very low on the water. The mass of the people are heathens; but
some have been converted to Mahommedanism, and many to Christianity, the
good effects of which are visible in their conduct.
I invited a number of the chiefs to come on board, and had a feast
prepared for them, as Van Graoul considered that it would be the very
best way to gain their friendship, and to obtain the information I
required. We had a table spread on deck, and an awning stretched over
it. Fairburn sat at one end, and I at the other; and Van Graoul was
placed at the centre, to act as interpreter for us both. They ate
prodigiously, and each man drank enough arrack to intoxicate any three
Europeans, without appearing to feel the slightest ill effects from the
spirit. All of us made speeches, which were, without doubt, very
complimentary; and when words failed us we supplied their places with
signs and gesticulations, which did infinitely better, as they were far
more generally understood. At the conclusion of a toast I ordered the
guns to be fired to give it due effect, when so surprised were our
guests with the unexpected sound, that up they jumped as if electrified:
some went overboard, not knowing what was to follow; others hid
themselves under the table, and the rest tried to find their way below.
They were, however, in no way offended, when they discovered that no one
was hurt. The clothes of those who had been in the water were speedily
dried, and perfect harmony was restored.
We lay here for some days, in order to refresh the crew, and to supply
ourselves with wood, water, and fresh provisions. I will not say that I
began to despair of falling in with the _Emu_; but I was much
disappointed in not finding her. I had now been many months engaged in
the search, and was still as far as ever, I supposed, from the success I
wished for. We expected the last of our stores on board during the day,
and should immediately have sailed, when one morning a vessel was
observed in the offing, standing towards the island. We were curious to
know what she could be, and were watching her approach. Van Graoul made
her out to be a brig; and as she drew near, we saw that she was a small,
low black vessel, with the American ensign flying at her peak. My heart
beat with an extraordinary sensation of doubt and fear, as I saw her.
"Fairburn," I exclaimed, touching his shoulder, "what do you think of
that craft? Does she not answer the description of the _Emu_?"
"Indeed she does," he answered; "but she may not be the _Emu_; and if
she is, your friends may not be on board her."
"We will speedily learn," I exclaimed. "Let us get under weigh, and go
out and meet her."
"Wait a bit," observed Van Graoul. "Her people do not know who we are.
Let her come in and drop her anchor; and when her people go on shore to
amuse themselves, then we will go on board and see who they have got
below."