ON the morning of the 8th of January, 1858, I arrived at Ternate, the
fourth of a row of fine conical volcanic islands which shirt the west
coast of the large and almost unknown island of Gilolo. The largest
and most perfectly conical mountain is Tidore, which is over four
thousand Feet high--Ternate being very nearly the same height, but with
a more rounded and irregular summit. The town of Ternate is concealed
from view till we enter between the two islands, when it is discovered
stretching along the shore at the very base of the mountain. Its
situation is fine, and there are grand views on every side. Close
opposite is the rugged promontory and beautiful volcanic cone of Tidore;
to the east is the long mountainous coast of Gilolo, terminated towards
the north by a group of three lofty volcanic peaks, while immediately
behind the town rises the huge mountain, sloping easily at first and
covered with thick groves of fruit trees, but soon becoming steeper,
and furrowed with deep gullies. Almost to the summit, whence issue
perpetually faint wreaths of smoke, it is clothed with vegetation,
and looks calm and beautiful, although beneath are hidden fires which
occasionally burst forth in lava-streams, but more frequently make their
existence known by the earthquakes which have many times devastated the
town.
I brought letters of introduction to Mr. Duivenboden, a native of
Ternate, of an ancient Dutch family, but who was educated in England,
and speaks our language perfectly. He was a very rich man, owned half
the town, possessed many ships, and above a hundred slaves. He
was moreover, well educated, and fond of literature and science--a
phenomenon in these regions. He was generally known as the king of
Ternate, from his large property and great influence with the native
Rajahs and their subjects. Through his assistance I obtained a house;
rather ruinous, but well adapted to my purpose, being close to the town,
yet with a free outlet to the country and the mountain. A few needful
repairs were soon made, some bamboo furniture and other necessaries
obtained, and after a visit to the Resident and Police Magistrate I
found myself an inhabitant of the earthquake-tortured island of Ternate,
and able to look about me and lay down the plan of my campaign for the
ensuing year. I retained this house for three years, as I found it very
convenient to have a place to return to after my voyages to the
various islands of the Moluccas and New Guinea, where I could pack
my collections, recruit my health, and make preparations for future
journeys. To avoid repetitions, I will in this chapter combine what
notes I have about Ternate.
A description of my house (the plan of which is here shown) will
enable the reader to understand a very common mode of building in these
islands. There is of course only one floor. The walls are of stone up to
three feet high; on this are strong squared posts supporting the roof,
everywhere except in the verandah filled in with the leaf-stems of the
sago-palm, fitted neatly in wooden owing. The floor is of stucco,
and the ceilings are like the walls. The house is forty feet square,
consists of four rooms, a hall, and two verandahs, and is surrounded
by a wilderness of fruit trees. A deep well supplied me with pure cold
water, a great luxury in this climate. Five minutes' walk down the road
brought me to the market and the beach, while in the opposite direction
there were no more European houses between me and the mountain. In this
house I spent many happy days. Returning to it after a three or four
months' absence in some uncivilized region, I enjoyed the unwonted
luxuries of milk and fresh bread, and regular supplies of fish and eggs,
meat and vegetables, which were often sorely needed to restore my health
and energy. I had ample space and convenience or unpacking, sorting, and
arranging my treasures, and I had delightful walks in the suburbs of the
town, or up the lower slopes of the mountain, when I desired a little
exercise, or had time for collecting.
The lower part of the mountain, behind the town of Ternate, is almost
entirely covered with a forest of fruit trees, and during the season
hundreds of men and women, boys and girls, go up every day to bring down
the ripe fruit. Durians and Mangoes, two of the very finest tropical
fruits, are in greater abundance at Ternate than I have ever seen them,
and some of the latter are of a quality not inferior to any in the
world. Lansats and Mangustans are also abundant, but these do not ripen
till a little later. Above the fruit trees there is a belt of clearings
and cultivated grounds, which creep up the mountain to a height of
between two and three thousand feet, above which is virgin forest,
reaching nearly to the summit, which on the side next the town is
covered with a high reedy grass. On the further side it is more
elevated, of a bare and desolate aspect, with a slight depression
marking the position of the crater. From this part descends a black
scoriaceous tract; very rugged, and covered with a scanty vegetation of
scattered bushes as far down as the sea. This is the lava of the
great eruption near a century ago, and is called by the natives
"batu-angas"(burnt rock).
Just below my house is the fort, built by the Portuguese, below which is
an open space to the peach, and beyond this the native town extends for
about a mile to the north-east. About the centre of it is the palace
of the Sultan, now a large untidy, half-ruinous building of stone. This
chief is pensioned by the Dutch Government, but retains the sovereignty
over the native population of the island, and of the northern part of
Gilolo. The sultans of Ternate and Tidore were once celebrated through
the East for their power and regal magnificence. When Drake visited
Ternate in 1579, the Portuguese had been driven out of the island,
although they still had a settlement at Tidore. He gives a glowing
account of the Sultan: "The King had a very rich canopy with embossings
of gold borne over him, and was guarded with twelve lances. From the
waist to the ground was all cloth of gold, and that very rich; in the
attire of his head were finely wreathed in, diverse rings of plaited
gold, of an inch or more in breadth, which made a fair and princely
show, somewhat resembling a crown in form; about his neck he had a chain
of perfect gold, the links very great and one fold double; on his left
hand was a diamond, an emerald, a ruby, and a turky; on his right hand
in one ring a big and perfect turky, and in another ring many diamonds
of a smaller size."
All this glitter of barbaric gold was the produce of the spice trade, of
which the Sultans kept the monopoly, and by which they became wealthy.
Ternate, with the small islands in a line south of it, as far as
Batchian, constitute the ancient Moluccas, the native country of the
clove, as well as the only part in which it was cultivated. Nutmegs
and mace were procured from the natives of New Guinea and the adjacent
islands, where they grew wild; and the profits on spice cargoes were so
enormous, that the European traders were glad to give gold and jewels,
and the finest manufactures of Europe or of India, in exchange. When the
Dutch established their influence in these seas, and relieved the native
princes from their Portuguese oppressors, they saw that the easiest
way to repay themselves would be to get this spice trade into their own
hands. For this purpose they adopted the wise principle of concentrating
the culture of these valuable products in those spots only of which they
could have complete control. To do this effectually it was necessary to
abolish the culture and trade in all other places, which they succeeded
in doing by treaty with the native rulers. These agreed to have all the
spice trees in their possessions destroyed. They gave up large though
fluctuating revenues, but they gained in return a fixed subsidy, freedom
from the constant attacks and harsh oppressions of the Portuguese, and a
continuance of their regal power and exclusive authority over their own
subjects, which is maintained in all the islands except Ternate to this
day.
It is no doubt supposed by most Englishmen, who have been accustomed to
look upon this act of the Dutch with vague horror, as something
utterly unprincipled and barbarous, that the native population suffered
grievously by this destruction of such valuable property. But it is
certain that this was not the case. The Sultans kept this lucrative
trade entirely in their own hands as a rigid monopoly, and they would
take care not to give, their subjects more than would amount to their
usual wages, while: they would surely exact as large a quantity of spice
as they could possibly obtain. Drake and other early voyagers always
seem to have purchased their spice-cargoes from the Sultans and Rajahs,
and not from the cultivators. Now the absorption of so much labour in
the cultivation of this one product must necessarily have raised the
price of food and other necessaries; and when it was abolished,
more rice would be grown, more sago made, more fish caught, and more
tortoise-shell, rattan, gum-dammer, and other valuable products of the
seas and the forests would be obtained. I believe, therefore, that this
abolition of the spice trade in the Moluccas was actually beneficial to
the inhabitants, and that it was an act both wise in itself and morally
and politically justifiable.
In the selection of the places in which to carry on the cultivation,
the Dutch were not altogether fortunate or wise. Banda was chosen for
nutmegs, and was eminently successful, since it continues to this day
to produce a large supply of this spice, and to yield a considerable
revenue. Amboyna was fixed upon for establishing the clove cultivation;
but the soil and climate, although apparently very similar to that of
its native islands, is not favourable, and for some years the Government
have actually been paying to the cultivators a higher rate than they
could purchase cloves elsewhere, owing to a great fall in the price
since the rate of payment was fixed for a term of years by the Dutch
Government, and which rate is still most honourably paid.
In walking about the suburbs of Ternate, we find everywhere the ruins of
massive stone and brick buildings, gateways and arches, showing at once
the superior wealth of the ancient town and the destructive effects of
earthquakes. It was during my second stay in the town, after my return
from New Guinea, that I first felt an earthquake. It was a very slight
one, scarcely more than has been felt in this country, but occurring in
a place that lad been many times destroyed by them it was rather more
exciting. I had just awoke at gun-fire (5 A.M.), when suddenly the
thatch began to rustle and shake as if an army of cats were galloping
over it, and immediately afterwards my bed shook too, so that for an
instant I imagined myself back in New Guinea, in my fragile house, which
shook when an old cock went to roost on the ridge; but remembering that
I was now on a solid earthen floor, I said to myself, "Why, it's an
earthquake," and lay still in the pleasing expectation of another shock;
but none came, and this was the only earthquake I ever felt in Ternate.
The last great one was in February 1840, when almost every house in the
place was destroyed. It began about midnight on the Chinese New Year's
festival, at which time every one stays up nearly all night feasting
at the Chinamen's houses and seeing the processions. This prevented
any lives being lost, as every one ran out of doors at the first shock,
which was not very severe. The second, a few minutes afterwards, threw
down a great many houses, and others, which continued all night and part
of the next day, completed the devastation. The line of disturbance
was very narrow, so that the native town a mile to the east scarcely
suffered at all. The wave passed from north to south, through the
islands of Tidore and Makian, and terminated in Batchian, where it was
not felt till four the following afternoon, thus taking no less than
sixteen hours to travel a hundred miles, or about six miles an hour. It
is singular that on this occasion there was no rushing up of the tide,
or other commotion of the sea, as is usually the case during great
earthquakes.
The people of Ternate are of three well-marked races the Ternate Malays,
the Orang Sirani, and the Dutch. The first are an intrusive Malay race
somewhat allied to the Macassar people, who settled in the country at a
very early epoch, drove out the indigenes, who were no doubt the same
as those of the adjacent mainland of Gilolo, and established a monarchy.
They perhaps obtained many of their wives from the natives, which will
account for the extraordinary language they speak--in some respects
closely allied to that of the natives of Gilolo, while it contains
much that points to a Malayan origin. To most of these people the Malay
language is quite unintelligible, although such as are engaged in trade
are obliged to acquire it. "Orang Sirani," or Nazarenes, is the name
given by the Malays to the Christian descendants of the Portuguese, who
resemble those of Amboyna, and, like them, speak only Malay. There are
also a number of Chinese merchants, many of them natives of the place,
a few Arabs, and a number of half-breeds between all these races and
native women. Besides these there are some Papuan slaves, and a few
natives of other islands settled here, making up a motley and very
puzzling population, till inquiry and observation have shown the
distinct origin of its component parts.
Soon after my first arrival in Ternate I went to the island of Gilolo,
accompanied by two sons of Mr. Duivenboden, and by a young Chinaman, a
brother of my landlord, who lent us the boat and crew. These latter
were all slaves, mostly Papuans, and at starting I saw something of the
relation of master and slave in this part of the world. The crew had
been ordered to be ready at three in the morning, instead of which none
appeared till five, we having all been kept waiting in the dark and
cold for two hours. When at length they came they were scolded by their
master, but only in a bantering manner, and laughed and joked with
him in reply. Then, just as we were starting, one of the strongest men
refused to go at all, and his master had to beg and persuade him to go,
and only succeeded by assuring him that I would give him something; so
with this promise, and knowing that there would be plenty to eat and
drink and little to do, the black gentleman was induced to favour us
with his company and assistance. In three hours' rowing and sailing we
reached our destination, Sedingole, where there is a house belonging to
the Sultan of Tidore, who sometimes goes there hunting. It was a dirty
ruinous shed, with no furniture but a few bamboo bedsteads. On taking
a walk into the country, I saw at once that it was no place for me.
For many miles extends a plain covered with coarse high grass, thickly
dotted here and there with trees, the forest country only commencing
at the hills a good way in the interior. Such a place would produce few
birds and no insects, and we therefore arranged to stay only two days,
and then go on to Dodinga, at the narrow central isthmus of Gilolo,
whence my friends would return to Ternate. We amused ourselves shooting
parrots, lories, and pigeons, and trying to shoot deer, of which we saw
plenty, but could not get one; and our crew went out fishing with a net,
so we did not want for provisions. When the time came for us to continue
our journey, a fresh difficulty presented itself, for our gentlemen
slaves refused in a body to go with us; saying very determinedly that
they would return to Ternate. So their masters were obliged to submit,
and I was left behind to get to Dodinga as I could. Luckily I succeeded
in hiring a small boat, which took me there the same night, with my two
men and my baggage.
Two or three years after this, and about the same length of time before
I left the East, the Dutch emancipated all their slaves, paying their
owners a small compensation. No ill results followed. Owing to the
amicable relations which had always existed between them and their
masters, due no doubt in part to the Government having long accorded
them legal rights and protection against cruelty and ill-usage, many
continued in the same service, and after a little temporary difficulty
in some cases, almost all returned to work either for their old or for
new, masters. The Government took the very proper step of placing every
emancipated slave under the surveillance of the police-magistrate. They
were obliged to show that they were working for a living, and had some
honestly-acquired means of existence. All who could not do so were
placed upon public works at low wages, and thus were kept from the
temptation to peculation or other crimes, which the excitement of
newly-acquired freedom, and disinclination to labour, might have led
them into.