In the evening, we received intelligence from our trading-place that no

buffaloes or hogs had been brought down, and only a few sheep, which had

been taken away before our people, who had sent for money, could procure

it. Some fowls, however, had been bought, and a large quantity of a kind

of syrup made of the juice of the palm-tree, which, though infinitely

superior to molasses or treacle, sold at a very low price. We complained

of our disappointment to Mr. Lange, who had now another subterfuge; he

said, that if we had gone down to the beach ourselves, we might have

purchased what we pleased; but that the natives were afraid to take

money of our people, lest it should be counterfeit. We could not but

feel some indignation against a man who had concealed this, being true;

or alleged it, being false. I started up, however, and went immediately

to the beach, but no cattle or sheep were to be seen, nor were any at

hand to be produced. While I was gone, Lange, who knew well enough that

I should succeed no better than my people, told Mr. Banks that the

natives were displeased at our not having offered them gold for their

stock; and that if gold was not offered, nothing would be bought. Mr.

Banks did not think it worth his while to reply, but soon after rose up,

and we all returned on board, very much dissatisfied with the issue of

our negociations. During the course of the day, the king had promised

that some cattle and sheep should be brought down in the morning, and

had given a reason for our disappointment somewhat more plausible; he

said that the buffaloes were far up the country, and that there had not

been time to bring them down to the beach.

The next morning we went ashore again: Dr. Solander went up to the town

to speak to Lange, and I remained upon the beach, to see what could be

done in the purchase of provisions. I found here an old Indian, who, as

he appeared to have some authority, we had among ourselves called the

prime minister; to engage this man in our interest, I presented him with

a spying-glass, but I saw nothing at market except one small buffalo. I

enquired the price of it, and was told five guineas: this was twice as

much as it was worth; however, I offered three, which I could perceive

the man who treated with me thought a good price; but he said he must

acquaint the king with what I had offered before he could take it. A

messenger was immediately dispatched to his majesty, who soon returned,

and said, that the buffalo would not be sold for any thing less than

five guineas. This price I absolutely refused to give; and another

messenger was sent away with an account of my refusal: this messenger

was longer absent than the other, and while I was waiting for his

return, I saw, to my great astonishment, Dr. Solander coming from the

town, followed by above a hundred men, some armed with muskets, and some

with lances. When I enquired the meaning of this hostile appearance, the

Doctor told me, that Mr. Lange had interpreted to him a message from the

King, purporting that the people would not trade with us, because we had

refused to give them more than half the value of what they had to sell;

and that we should not be permitted to trade upon any terms longer than

this day. Besides the officers who commanded the party, there came with

it a man who was born at Timor, of Portuguese parents, and who, as we

afterwards discovered, was a kind of colleague to the Dutch factor; by

this man, what they pretended to be the King’s order, was delivered to

me, of the same purport with that which Dr. Solander had received from

Lange. We were all clearly of opinion that this was a mere artifice of

the factors to extort money from us, for which we had been prepared by

the account of a letter from Concordia; and while we were hesitating

what step to take, the Portuguese, that he might the sooner accomplish

his purpose, began to drive away the people who had brought down poultry

and syrup, and others that were now coming in with buffaloes and sheep.

At this time, I glanced my eye upon the old man whom I had complimented

in the morning with the spying-glass, and I thought, by his looks, that

he did not heartily approve of what was doing; I therefore took him by

the hand, and presented him with an old broad sword. This instantly

turned the scale in our favour, he received the sword with a transport

of joy, and flourishing it over the busy Portuguese, who crouched like a

fox to a lion, he made him, and the officer who commanded the party, sit

down upon the ground behind him: the people, who, whatever were the

crafty pretences of these iniquitous factors for a Dutch company, were

eager to supply us with whatever we wanted, and seemed also to be more

desirous of goods than money, instantly improved the advantage that had

been procured them, and the market was stocked almost in an instant. To

establish a trade for buffaloes, however, which I most wanted, I found

it necessary to give ten guineas for two, one of which weighed no more

than a hundred and sixty pounds; but I bought seven more much cheaper,

and might afterwards have purchased as many as I pleased almost upon my

own terms, for they were now driven down to the water side in herds. In

the first two that I bought so dear, Lange had certainly a share, and it

was in hopes to obtain part of the price of others, that he had

pretended that we must pay for them in gold. The natives, however, sold

what they afterwards brought down much to their satisfaction, without

paying part of the price to him as a reward for exacting money from us.

Most of the buffaloes that we bought, after our friend, the prime

minister, had procured us a fair market, were sold for a musket a piece,

and at this price we might have bought as many as would have freighted

our ship.

The refreshments which we procured here, consisted of nine buffaloes,

six sheep, three hogs, thirty dozen of fowls, a few limes, and some

cocoa-nuts; many dozen of eggs, half of which however proved to be

rotten; a little garlic, and several hundred gallons of palm-syrup.

CHAP. IX.

A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF SAVU, ITS PRODUCE AND

INHABITANTS, WITH A SPECIMEN OF THEIR LANGUAGE.

THIS island is called by the natives SAVU; the middle of it lies in

about the latitude 10° 35ʹ S., longitude 237° 30ʹ W.; and has in general

been so little known that I never saw a map or chart in which it is

clearly or accurately laid down. I have seen a very old one, in which it

is called Sou, and confounded with Sandel Bosch. Rumphius mentions an

island by the name of Saow; and he also says, that it is the same which

the Dutch call Sandel Bosch; but neither is this island, nor Timor, nor

Rotte, nor indeed any one of the islands that we have seen in these

seas, placed within a reasonable distance of its true situation. It is

about eight leagues long from east to west; but what is its breadth, I

do not know, as I saw only the north side. The harbour in which we lay

is called Seba, from the district in which it lies: it is on the

north-west side of the island, and well sheltered from the south-west

trade-wind, but it lies open to the north-west. We were told, that there

were two other bays where ships might anchor; that the best, called

Timo, was on the south-west side of the south-east point: of the third

we learnt neither the name nor situation. The sea-coast, in general, is

low; but in the middle of the island there are hills of a considerable

height. We were upon the coast at the latter end of the dry season, when

there had been no rain for seven months; and we were told that when the

dry season continues so long, there is no running stream of fresh water

upon the whole island, but only small springs, which are at a

considerable distance from the sea-side: yet nothing can be imagined so

beautiful as the prospect of the country from the ship. The level ground

next to the sea-side was covered with cocoa-nut trees, and a kind of

palm called _Arecas_; and beyond them the hills, which rose in a gentle

and regular ascent, were richly clothed, quite to the summit, with

plantations of the fan-palm, forming an almost impenetrable grove. How

much even this prospect must be improved, when every foot of ground

between the trees is covered with verdure, by maize, and millet, and

indigo, can scarcely be conceived but by a powerful imagination, not

unacquainted with the stateliness and beauty of the trees that adorn

this part of the earth. The dry season commences in March or April, and

ends in October or November.

The principal trees of this island are the fan-palm, the cocoa-nut,

tamarind, limes, oranges, and mangoes; and other vegetable productions

are maize, Guinea corn, rice, millet, callevances, and water-melons. We

saw also one sugar-cane, and a few kinds of European garden-stuff;

particularly celery, marjoram, fennel, and garlic. For the supply of

luxury, it has betel, areca, tobacco, cotton, indigo, and a small

quantity of cinnamon, which seems to be planted here only for curiosity;

and indeed we doubted whether it was the genuine plant, knowing that the

Dutch are very careful not to trust the spices out of their proper

islands. There are however several kinds of fruit, besides those which

have been already mentioned; particularly the sweet sop, which is well

known to the West Indians, and a small oval fruit, called the _Blimbi_,

both of which grow upon trees. The blimbi is about three or four inches

long, and in the middle about as thick as a man’s finger, tapering

towards each end: it is covered with a very thin skin of a light green

colour, and in the inside are a few seeds disposed in the form of a

star: its flavour is a light, clean, pleasant acid, but it cannot be

eaten raw; it is said to be excellent as a pickle; and stewed, it made a

most agreeable sour sauce to our boiled dishes.

The tame animals are buffaloes, sheep, goats, hogs, fowls, pigeons,

horses, asses, dogs and cats; and of all these there is great plenty.

The buffaloes differ very considerably from the horned cattle of Europe

in several particulars; their ears are much larger, their skins are

almost without hair, their horns are curved towards each other, but

together bend directly backwards, and they have no dewlaps. We saw

several that were as big as a well grown European ox, and there must be

some much larger; for Mr. Banks saw a pair of horns which measured from

tip to tip three feet nine inches and an half, across their widest

diameter four feet one inch and an half, and in the whole sweep of their

semicircle in front seven feet six inches and a half. It must however be

observed, that a buffalo here of any given size, does not weigh above

half as much as an ox of the same size in England: those that we guessed

to weigh four hundred weight did not weigh more than two hundred and

fifty; the reason is, that so late in the dry season the bones are very

thinly covered with flesh: there is not an ounce of fat in a whole

carcase, and the flanks are literally nothing but skin and bone: the

flesh however is well tasted and juicy, and I suppose better than the

flesh of an English ox would be, if he was to starve in this sun-burnt

country.

The horses are from eleven to twelve hands high, but though they are

small, they are spirited and nimble, especially in pacing, which is

their common step: the inhabitants generally ride them without a saddle,

and with no better bridle than a halter. The sheep are of the kind which

in England are called Bengal sheep, and differ from ours in many

particulars. They are covered with hair instead of wool, their ears are

very large, and hang down under their horns, and their noses are arched;

they are thought to have a general resemblance to a goat, and for that

reason are frequently called _cabritos_: their flesh we thought the

worst mutton we had ever eaten, being as lean as that of the buffalo’s,

and without flavour. The hogs, however, were some of the fattest we had

ever seen, though, as we were told, their principal food is the outside

husks of rice, and the palm syrup dissolved in water. The fowls are

chiefly of the game breed, and large, but the eggs are remarkably small.

Of the fish which the sea produces here, we know but little: turtles are

sometimes found upon the coast, and are by these people, as well as all

others, considered as a dainty.

The people are rather under, than over the middling size; the women

especially are remarkably short and squat-built: their complexion is a

dark brown, and their hair universally black and lank. We saw no

difference in the colour of rich and poor, though in the South Sea

islands, those that were exposed to the weather were almost as brown as

the New Hollanders, and the better sort nearly as fair as the natives of

Europe. The men are in general well-made, vigorous, and active, and have

a greater variety in the make and disposition of their features than

usual: the countenances of the women, on the contrary, are all alike.

The men fasten their hair up to the top of their heads with a comb, the

women tie it behind in a club, which is very far from becoming. Both

sexes eradicate the hair from under the arm, and the men do the same by

their beards, for which purpose, the better sort always carry a pair of

silver pincers hanging by a string round their necks; some however

suffer a very little hair to remain upon their upper lips, but this is

always kept short.

The dress of both sexes consists of cotton cloth, which being died blue

in the yarn, and not uniformly of the same shade, is in clouds or waves

of that colour, and even in our eye had not an inelegant appearance.

This cloth they manufacture themselves, and two pieces, each about two

yards long, and a yard and a half wide, make a dress: one of them is

worn round the middle, and the other covers the upper part of the body:

the lower edge of the piece that goes round the middle, the men draw

pretty tight just below the fork, the upper edge of it is left loose, so

as to form a kind of hollow belt, which serves them as a pocket to carry

their knives, and other little implements which it is convenient to have

about them. The other piece of cloth is passed through this girdle

behind, and one end of it being brought over the left shoulder, and the

other over the right, they fall down over the breast, and are tucked

into the girdle before, so that by opening or closing the plaits, they

can cover more or less of their bodies as they please; the arms, legs,

and feet are always naked. The difference between the dress of the two

sexes consists principally in the manner of wearing the waist-piece, for

the women, instead of drawing the lower edge tight, and leaving the

upper edge loose for a pocket, draw the upper edge tight, and let the

lower edge fall as low as the knees, so as to form a petticoat; the

body-piece, instead of being passed through the girdle, is fastened

under the arms, and cross the breast, with the utmost decency. I have

already observed, that the men fastened the hair upon the top of the

head, and the women tie it in a club behind, but there is another

difference in the head-dress, by which the sexes are distinguished: the

women wear nothing as a succedaneum for a cap, but the men constantly

wrap something round their heads in the manner of a fillet; it is small,

but generally of the finest materials that can be procured: we saw some

who applied silk handkerchiefs to this purpose, and others that wore

fine cotton, or muslin, in the manner of a small turban.

These people bore their testimony that the love of finery is an

universal passion, for their ornaments were very numerous. Some of the

better sort wore chains of gold round their necks, but they were made of

plaited wire, and consequently were light and of little value; others

had rings, which were so much worn, that they seemed to have descended

through many generations; and one person had a silver-headed cane,

marked with a kind of cypher, consisting of the Roman letters V, O, C,

and therefore probably a present from the Dutch East India Company,

whose mark it is: they have also ornaments made of beads, which some

wear round their necks as a solitaire, and others, as bracelets, upon

their wrists: these are common to both sexes, but the women have besides

strings or girdles of beads, which they wear round their waists, and

which serve to keep up their petticoat. Both sexes had their ears bored,

nor was there a single exception that fell under our notice, yet we

never saw an ornament in any of them; we never indeed saw either man or

woman in any thing but what appeared to be their ordinary dress, except

the king and his minister, who in general wore a kind of night-gown of

coarse chintz, and one of whom once received us in a black robe, which

appeared to be made of what is called prince’s stuff. We saw some boys,

about twelve or fourteen years old, who had spiral circles of thick

brass wire passed three or four times round their arms, above the elbow,

and some men wore rings of ivory, two inches in breadth, and above an

inch in thickness, upon the same part of the arm: these, we were told,

were the sons of the rajas, or chiefs, who wore those cumbrous ornaments

as badges of their high birth.

Almost all the men had their names traced upon their arms in indelible

characters of a black colour, and the women had a square ornament of

flourished lines, impressed in the same manner, just under the bend of

the elbow. We were struck with the similitude between these marks, and

those made by tattowing in the South Sea islands, and upon inquiring

into its origin, we learnt that it had been practised by the natives

long before any Europeans came among them; and that in the neighbouring

islands, the inhabitants were marked with circles upon their necks and

breasts. The universality of this practice, which prevails among savages

in all parts of the world, from the remotest limits of North America, to

the islands in the South Seas, and which probably differs but little

from the method of staining the body that was in use among the antient

inhabitants of Britain, is a curious subject of speculation.[1]

The houses of Savu are all built upon the same plan, and differ only in

size, being large in proportion to the rank and riches of the

proprietor. Some are four hundred feet long, and some are not more than

twenty: they are all raised upon posts, or piles, about four feet high,

one end of which is driven into the ground, and upon the other end is

laid a substantial floor of wood, so that there is a vacant space of

four feet between the floor of the house and the ground. Upon this floor

are placed other posts or pillars, that support a roof of sloping sides,

which meet in a ridge at the top, like those of our barns: the eaves of

this roof, which is thatched with palm leaves, reach within two feet of

the floor, and overhang it as much: the space within is generally

divided lengthwise into three equal parts; the middle part, or centre,

is inclosed by a partition of four sides, reaching about six feet above

the floor, and one or two small rooms are also sometimes taken off from

the sides, the rest of the space under the roof is open, so as freely to

admit the air and the light: the particular uses of these different

apartments, our short stay would not permit us to learn, except that the

close room in the center was appropriated to the women.

The food of these people consists of every tame animal in the country,

of which the hog holds the first place in their estimation, and the

horse the second; next to the horse is the buffalo, next to the buffalo

their poultry, and they prefer dogs and cats to sheep and goats. They

are not fond of fish, and, I believe, it is never eaten but by the poor

people, nor by them, except when their duty or business requires them to

be upon the beach, and then every man is furnished with a light casting

net, which is girt round him, and makes part of his dress; and with this

he takes any small fish which happen to come in his way.

The esculent vegetables and fruits have been mentioned already, but the

fan-palm requires more particular notice, for at certain times it is a

succedaneum for all other food both to man and beast. A kind of wine,

called toddy, is procured from this tree, by cutting the buds which are

to produce flowers, soon after their appearance, and tying under them

small baskets, made of the leaves, which are so close as to hold liquids

without leaking. The juice which trickles into these vessels, is

collected by persons who climb the trees for that purpose, morning and

evening, and is the common drink of every individual upon the island;

yet a much greater quantity is drawn off than is consumed in this use,

and of the surplus they make both a syrup and coarse sugar. The liquor

is called _dua_, or _duac_, and both the syrup and sugar, _gula_. The

syrup is prepared by boiling the liquor down in pots of earthen ware,

till it is sufficiently inspissated; it is not unlike treacle in

appearance, but is somewhat thicker, and has a much more agreeable

taste: the sugar is of a reddish-brown, perhaps the same with the Jugata

sugar upon the continent of India, and it was more agreeable to our

palates than any cane sugar, unrefined, that we had ever tasted. We were

at first afraid that the syrup, of which some of our people eat very

great quantities, would have brought on fluxes, but its aperient quality

was so very slight, that what effect it produced was rather salutary

than hurtful. I have already observed, that it is given with the husks

of rice to the hogs, and that they grow enormously fat without taking

any other food: we were told also, that this syrup is used to fatten

their dogs and their fowls, and that the inhabitants themselves have

subsisted upon this alone for several months, when other crops have

failed, and animal food has been scarce. The leaves of this tree are

also put to various uses, they thatch houses, and make baskets, cups,

umbrellas, and tobacco pipes. The fruit is least esteemed, and as the

blossoms are wounded for the tuac or toddy, there is not much of it: it

is about as big as a large turnip, and covered, like the cocoa-nut, with

a fibrous coat, under which are three kernels, that must be eaten before

they are ripe, for afterwards they become so hard that they cannot be

chewed; in their eatable state they taste not unlike a green cocoa-nut,

and, like them, probably they yield a nutriment that is watery and

unsubstantial.

The common method of dressing food here is by boiling, and as fire-wood

is very scarce, and the inhabitants have no other fuel, they make use of

a contrivance to save it, that is not wholly unknown in Europe, but is

seldom practised except in camps. They dig a hollow under ground, in a

horizontal direction, like a rabbit burrow, about two yards long, and

opening into a hole at each end, one of which is large and the other

small: by the large hole the fire is put in, and the small one serves

for a draught. The earth over this burrow is perforated by circular

holes, which communicate with the cavity below; and in these holes are

set earthen pots, generally about three to each fire, which are large in

the middle, and taper towards the bottom, so that the fire acts upon a

large part of their surface. Each of these pots generally contains about

eight or ten gallons, and it is surprising to see with how small a

quantity of fire they may be kept boiling; a palm leaf, or a dry stalk,

thrust in now and then, is sufficient: in this manner they boil all

their victuals, and make all their syrup and sugar. It appears by

Frazier’s account of his voyage to the South Sea, that the Peruvian

Indians have a contrivance of the same kind, and perhaps it might be

adopted with advantage by the poor people even of this country, where

fuel is very dear.

Both sexes are enslaved by the hateful and pernicious habit of chewing

betel and areca, which they contract even while they are children, and

practise incessantly from morning till night. With these they always mix

a kind of white lime, made of coral stone and shells, and frequently a

small quantity of tobacco, so that their mouths are disgustful in the

highest degree both to the smell and the sight: the tobacco taints their

breath, and the betel and lime make the teeth not only as black as

charcoal, but as rotten too. I have seen men between twenty and thirty,

whose fore-teeth have been consumed almost down to the gums, though no

two of them were exactly of the same length or thickness, but

irregularly corroded like iron by rust. This loss of teeth is, I think,

by all who have written upon the subject, imputed to the tough and

stringy coat of the areca nut; but I impute it wholly to the lime: they

are not loosened, or broken, or forced out, as might be expected, if

they were injured by the continual chewing of hard and rough substances,

but they are gradually wasted like metals that are exposed to the action

of powerful acids; the stumps always adhering firmly to the socket in

the jaw, when there is no part of the tooth above the gums: and possibly

those who suppose that sugar has a bad effect upon the teeth of

Europeans, may not be mistaken, for it is well known that refined loaf

sugar contains a considerable quantity of lime; and he that doubts

whether lime will destroy bone of any kind, may easily ascertain the

fact by experiment.

If the people here are at any time without this odious mouthful, they

are smoking. This operation they perform by rolling up a small quantity

of tobacco, and putting it into one end of a tube about six inches long,

and as thick as a goose quill, which they make of a palm leaf. As the

quantity of tobacco in these pipes is very small, the effect of it is

increased, especially among the women, by swallowing the smoke.

When the natives of this island were first formed into a civil society,

is not certainly known, but at present it is divided into five

principalities or nigrees: LAAI, SEBA, REGEEUA, TIMO, and MASSARA, each

of which is governed by its respective raja or king. The raja of Seba,

the principality in which we were ashore, seemed to have great

authority, without much external parade or show, or much appearance of

personal respect. He was about five-and-thirty years of age, and the

fattest man we saw upon the whole island: he appeared to be of a dull

phlegmatic disposition, and to be directed almost implicitly by the old

man who, upon my presenting him with a sword, had procured us a fair

market, in spite of the craft and avarice of the Dutch factors. The name

of this person was MANNU DJARME, and it may reasonably be supposed that

he was a man of uncommon integrity and abilities, as, notwithstanding

his possession of power in the character of a favourite, he was beloved

by the whole principality. If any difference arises among the people, it

is settled by the raja and his counsellors, without delay or appeal,

and, as we were told, with the most solemn deliberation and impartial

justice.

We were informed by Mr. Lange, that the chiefs who had successively

presided over the five principalities of this island, had lived for time

immemorial in the strictest alliance and most cordial friendship with

each other; yet he said the people were of a warlike disposition, and

had always courageously defended themselves against foreign invaders. We

were told also, that the island was able to raise, upon very short

notice, 7300 fighting men, armed with muskets, spears, lances, and

targets. Of this force, Laai was said to furnish 2600, Seba 2000,

Regeeua 1500, Timo 800, and Massārā 400. Besides the arms that have been

already mentioned, each man is furnished with a large pole axe,

resembling a wood bill, except that it has a straight edge, and is much

heavier: this, in the hands of people who have courage to come to close

quarters with an enemy, must be a dreadful weapon; and we were told that

they were so dexterous with their lances, that, at the distance of sixty

feet, they would throw them with such exactness as to pierce a man’s

heart, and such force as to go quite through his body.

How far this account of the martial prowess of the inhabitants of Savu

may be true, we cannot take upon us to determine; but during our stay,

we saw no appearance of it. We saw indeed in the town-house, or house of

assembly, about one hundred spears and targets, which served to arm the

people who were sent down to intimidate us at the trading place; but

they seemed to be the refuse of old armories, no two being of the same

make or length, for some were six, and some sixteen feet long: we saw no

lance among them, and as to the muskets, though they were clean on the

outside, they were eaten into holes by the rust within; and the people

themselves appeared to be so little acquainted with military discipline,

that they marched like a disorderly rabble, every one having, instead of

his target, a cock, some tobacco, or other merchandise of the like kind,

which he took that opportunity to bring down to sell, and few or none of

their cartridge boxes were furnished with either powder or ball, though

a piece of paper was thrust into the hole to save appearances. We saw a

few swivel guns and pateraros at the town-house, and a great gun before

it; but the swivels and pateraros lay out of their carriages, and the

great gun lay upon a heap of stones, almost consumed with rust, with the

touch-hole downwards, possibly to conceal its size, which might perhaps

be little less than that of the bore.

We could not discover that among these people there was any rank of

distinction between the raja and the land-owners: the land-owners were

respectable in proportion to their possessions; the inferior ranks

consist of manufacturers, labouring poor, and slaves. The slaves, like

the peasants in some parts of Europe, are connected with the estate, and

both descend together; but though the land-owner can sell his slave, he

has no other power over his person, not even to correct him, without the

privity and approbation of the raja. Some have five hundred of these

slaves, and some not half a dozen: the common price of them is a fat

hog. When a great man goes out, he is constantly attended by two or more

of them: one of them carries a sword or hanger, the hilt of which is

commonly of silver, and adorned with large tassels of horse hair; and

another carries a bag which contains betel, areca, lime, and tobacco. In

these attendants consists all their magnificence, for the raja himself

has no other mark of distinction.

The chief object of pride among these people, like that of a Welchman,

is a long pedigree of respectable ancestors, and indeed a veneration for

antiquity seems to be carried farther here than in any other country:

even a house that has been well inhabited for many generations, becomes

almost sacred, and few articles either of use or luxury bear so high a

price as stones, which having been long sat upon, are become even and

smooth: those who can purchase such stones, or are possessed of them by

inheritance, place them round their houses, where they serve as seats

for their dependants.

Every raja sets up in the principal town of his province, or nigree, a

large stone, which serves as a memorial of his reign. In the principal

town of Seba, where we lay, there are thirteen such stones, besides many

fragments of others, which had been set up in earlier times, and are now

mouldering away: these monuments seem to prove that some kind of civil

establishment here is of considerable antiquity. The last thirteen

reigns in England make something more than 276 years.

Many of these stones are so large, that it is difficult to conceive by

what means they were brought to their present station, especially as it

is the summit of a hill; but the world is full of memorials of human

strength, in which the mechanical powers that have been since added by

mathematical science, seem to be surpassed; and of such monuments there

are not a few among the remains of barbarous antiquity in our own

country, besides those upon Salisbury plain.

These stones not only record the reigns of successive princes, but serve

for a purpose much more extraordinary, and probably altogether peculiar

to this country. When a raja dies, a general feast is proclaimed

throughout his dominions, and all his subjects assemble round these

stones: almost every living creature that can be caught is then killed,

and the feast lasts for a less or greater number of weeks or months, as

the kingdom happens to be more or less furnished with live stock at the

time; the stones serve for tables. When this madness is over, a fast

must necessarily ensue, and the whole kingdom is obliged to subsist upon

syrup and water, if it happens in the dry season, when no vegetables can

be procured, till a new stock of animals can be raised from the few that

have escaped by chance, or been preserved by policy from the general

massacre, or can be procured from the neighbouring kingdoms. Such,

however, is the account that we received from Mr. Lange.

We had no opportunity to examine any of their manufactures, except that

of their cloth, which they spin, weave, and dye; we did not indeed see

them employed, but many of the instruments which they use fell in our

way. We saw their machine for clearing cotton of its seeds, which is

made upon the same principles as those in Europe, but it is so small

that it might be taken for a model, or a toy; it consists of two

cylinders, like our round rulers, somewhat less than an inch in

diameter, one of which, being turned round by a plain winch, turns the

other by means of an endless worm; and the whole machine is not more

than fourteen inches long, and seven high; that which we saw had been

much used, and many pieces of cotton were hanging about it, so that

there is no reason to doubt its being a fair specimen of the rest. We

also once saw their apparatus for spinning; it consisted of a bobbin, on

which was wound a small quantity of thread, and a kind of distaff filled

with cotton; we conjectured therefore that they spin by hand, as the

women of Europe did before the introduction of wheels; and I am told

that they have not yet found their way into some parts of it. Their loom

seemed to be in one respect preferable to ours, for the web was not

stretched upon a frame, but extended by a piece of wood at each end,

round one of which the cloth was rolled, and round the other the

threads; the web was about half a yard broad, and the length of the

shuttle was equal to the breadth of the web, so that probably their work

goes on but slowly. That they dyed this cloth we first guessed from its

colour, and from the indigo which we saw in their plantations; and our

conjecture was afterwards confirmed by Mr. Lange’s account. I have

already observed, that it is dyed in the yarn, and we once saw them

dyeing what was said to be girdles for the women, of a dirty red, but

with what drug we did not think it worth while to inquire.

The religion of these people, according to Mr. Lange’s information, is

an absurd kind of paganism, every man choosing his own god, and

determining for himself how he should be worshipped; so that there are

almost as many gods and modes of worship as people. In their morals,

however, they are said to be irreproachable, even upon the principles of

Christianity: no man is allowed more than one wife; yet an illicit

commerce between the sexes is in a manner unknown among them: instances

of theft are very rare; and they are so far from revenging a supposed

injury by murder, that if any difference arises between them, they will

not so much as make it the subject of debate, lest they should be

provoked to resentment, and ill-will, but immediately and implicitly

refer it to the determination of their king.

They appeared to be a healthy and long-lived people; yet some of them

were marked with the small-pox, which Mr. Lange told us had several

times made its appearance among them, and was treated with the same

precautions as the plague. As soon as a person was seized with the

distemper, he was removed to some solitary place, very remote from any

habitation, where the disease was left to take its course, and the

patient supplied with daily food by reaching it to him at the end of a

long pole.

Of their domestic economy we could learn but little: in one instance

however their delicacy and cleanliness are very remarkable. Many of us

were ashore here three successive days, from a very early hour in the

morning till it was dark; yet we never saw the least trace of an

offering to Cloacina, nor could we so much as guess where they were

made. In a country so populous this is very difficult to be accounted

for, and perhaps there is no other country in the world where the secret

is so effectually kept.

The boats in use here are a kind of proa.

This island was settled by the Portuguese almost as soon as they first

found their way into this part of the ocean; but they were in a short

time supplanted by the Dutch. The Dutch however did not take possession

of it, but only sent sloops to trade with the natives, probably for

provisions to support the inhabitants of their spice islands, who

applying themselves wholly to the cultivation of that important article

of trade, and laying out all their ground in plantations, can breed few

animals: possibly their supplies by this occasional traffic were

precarious; possibly they were jealous of being supplanted in their

turn; but however that be, their East India Company, about ten years

ago, entered into a treaty with the Rajas, by which the Company

stipulated to furnish each of them with a certain quantity of silk, fine

linen, cutlery ware, arrack, and other articles, every year; and the

Rajas engaged that neither they nor their subjects should trade with any

person except the Company, without having first obtained their consent,

and that they would admit a resident on behalf of the company, to reside

upon the island, and see that their part of the treaty was fulfilled:

they also engaged to supply annually a certain Quantity of rice, maize,

and calevances. The maize and calevances are sent to Timor in sloops,

which are kept there for that purpose, each of which is navigated by ten

Indians; and the rice is fetched away annually by a ship which brings

the Company’s returns, and anchors alternately in each of the three

bays. These returns are delivered to the Rajas in the form of a present,

and the cask of arrack they and their principal people never cease to

drink, as long as a drop of it remains.

In consequence of this treaty, the Dutch placed three persons upon the

island: Mr. Lange, his colleague, the native of Timor, the son of an

Indian woman by a Portuguese, and one Frederick Craig, the son of an

Indian woman by a Dutchman. Lange visits each of the Rajas once in two

months, when he makes the tour of the island, attended by fifty slaves

on horseback. He exhorts these Chiefs to plant, if it appears that they

have been remiss, and observes where the crops are got in, that he may

order sloops to fetch it; so that it passes immediately from the ground

to the Dutch store-houses at Timor. In these excursions he always

carries with him some bottles of arrack, which he finds of great use in

opening the hearts of the Rajas with whom he is to deal.

During the ten years that he had resided upon this island he had never

seen a European besides ourselves, except at the arrival of the Dutch

ship, which had sailed about two months before we arrived; and he is now

to be distinguished from the natives only by his colour and his dress,

for he sits upon the ground, chews his betele, and in every respect has

adopted their character and manners: he has married an Indian woman of

the island of Timor, who keeps his house after the fashion of her

country; and he gave that as a reason for not inviting us to visit him,

saying, that he could entertain us in no other manner than the Indians

had done; and he spoke no language readily but that of the country.

The office of Mr. Frederick Craig is to instruct the youth of the

country in reading and writing, and the principles of the Christian

religion; the Dutch having printed versions of the New Testament, a

catechism, and several other tracts, in the language of this and the

neighbouring islands. Dr. Solander, who was at his house, saw the books,

and the copy-books also, of his scholars, many of whom wrote a very fair

hand. He boasted that there were no less than six hundred Christians in

the township of Seba; but what the Dutch Christianity of these Indians

may be, it is not perhaps very easy to guess, for there is not a church,

nor even a priest, in the whole island.

While we were at this place, we made several enquiries concerning the

neighbouring islands, and the intelligence which we received is to the

following effect.

A small island to the westward of Savu, the name of which we did not

learn, produces nothing of any consequence but areca-nuts, of which the

Dutch receive annually the freight of two sloops, in return for presents

that they make to the islanders.

Timor is the chief, and the Dutch residents on the other islands go

thither once a year to pass their accounts. The place is nearly in the

same state as in Dampier’s time, the Dutch having there a fort and

storehouses; and, by Lange’s account, we might there have been supplied

with every necessary that we expected to procure at Batavia, salt

provisions and arrack not excepted. But the Portuguese are still in

possession of several towns on the north side of the island,

particularly Laphao and Sesial.

About two years before our arrival, a French ship was wrecked upon the

east coast of Timor; and after she had lain some days upon the shoal, a

sudden gale broke her up at once, and drowned the Captain, with the

greatest part of the crew: those who got ashore, among whom was one of

the lieutenants, made the best of their way to Concordia; they were four

days upon the road, where they were obliged to leave part of their

company through fatigue, and the rest, to the number of about eighty,

arrived at the town. They were supplied with every necessary, and sent

back to the wreck, with proper assistance for recovering what could be

fished up: they fortunately got up all their bullion, which was in

chests, and several of their guns, which were very large. They then

returned to the town, but their companions who had been left upon the

road were missing, having, as it was supposed, been kept among the

Indians, either by persuasion or force; for they are very desirous of

having Europeans among them, to instruct them in the art of war. After a

stay of more than two months at Concordia, their number was diminished

nearly one half by sickness, in consequence of the fatigue and hardship

which they had suffered by the shipwreck, and the survivors were sent in

a small vessel to Europe.

Rotte is in much the same situation as Savu; a Dutch factor resides upon

it to manage the natives, and look after its produce, which consists,

among other articles, of sugar. Formerly it was made only by bruising

the canes, and boiling the juice to a syrup, in the same manner as

toddy; but great improvements have lately been made in preparing this

valuable commodity. The three little islands called the Solars are also

under the influence of the Dutch settlement at Concordia: they are flat

and low, but abound with provisions of every kind, and the middlemost is

said to have a good harbour for shipping. Ende, another little island to

the westward of the Solars, is still in the hands of the Portuguese, who

have a good town and harbour on the north-east corner of it, called

Larntuca: they had formerly a harbour on the south side of it, but that

being much inferior to Larntuca, has for some time been altogether

neglected.

The inhabitants of each of these little islands speak a language

peculiar to themselves, and it is an object of Dutch policy to prevent,

as much as possible, their learning the language of each other. If they

spoke a common language, they would learn, by a mutual intercourse with

each other, to plant such things as would be of more value to themselves

than their present produce, though of less advantage to the Dutch; but

their languages being different, they can communicate no such knowledge

to each other, and the Dutch secure to themselves the benefit of

supplying their several necessities upon their own terms, which it is

reasonable to suppose are not very moderate. It is probably with a view

to this advantage that the Dutch never teach their own language to the

natives of these islands, and have been at the expense of translating

the Testament and catechisms into the different languages of each; for

in proportion as Dutch had become the language of their religion, it

would have become the common language of them all.

To this account of Savu, I shall only add a small specimen of its

language, by which it will appear to have some affinity with that of the

South Sea islands, many of the words being exactly the same, and the

numbers manifestly derived from the same source.

_A man_, Momonne.

_A woman_, Mobunne.

_The head_, Catoo.

_The hair_, Row catoo.

_The eyes_, Matta.

_The eye-lashes_, Rowna matta.

_The nose_, Swanga.

_The cheeks_, Cavaranga.

_The ears_, Wodeeloo.

_The tongue_, Vaio.

_The neck_, Lacoco.

_The breasts_, Soosoo.

_The nipples_, Caboo soosoo.

_The belly_, Dulloo.

_The navel_, Assoo.

_The thighs_, Tooga.

_The knees_, Rootoo.

_The legs_, Baibo.

_The feet_, Dunceala.

_The toes_, Kissovei yilla.

_The arms_, Camacoo.

_The hand_, Wulaba.

_A buffalo_, Cabaou.

_A horse_, Djara.

_A hog_, Vavee.

_A sheep_, Doomba.

_A goat_, Kesavoo.

_A dog_, Guaca.

_A cat_, Maio.

_A fowl_, Mannu.

_The tail_, Carow.

_The beak_, Pangoutoo.

_A fish_, Ica.

_A turtle_, Unjoo.

_A cocoa-nut_, Nieu.

_Fan-palm_, Boaceree.

_Areca_, Calella.

_Betele_, Canana.

_Lime_, Aou.

_A fish-hook_, Maänadoo.

_Tattow, the marks on the Tata.

skin_,

_The sun_, Lodo.

_The moon_, Wurroo.

_The sea_, Aidassee.

_Water_, Ailea.

_Fire_, Aee.

_To die_, Maate.

_To sleep_, Tabudge.

_To rise_, Tateetoo.

_One_, Usse.

_Two_, Lhua.

_Three_, Tullu.

_Four_, Uppah.

_Five_, Lumme.

_Six_, Unna.

_Seven_, Pedu.

_Eight_, Arru.

_Nine_, Saou.

_Ten_, Singooroo.

_Eleven_, Singurung usse.

20, Lhuangooroo.

100, Sing assu.

1000, Setuppah.

10,000, Selacussa.

100,000, Serata.

1,000,000, Sereboo.

In this account of the island of Savu it must be remembered, that except

the facts in which we were parties, and the account of the objects which

we had an opportunity to examine, the whole is founded merely upon the

report of Mr. Lange, upon whose authority alone therefore it must rest.

CHAP. X.

THE RUN FROM THE ISLAND OF SAVU TO BATAVIA, AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE

TRANSACTIONS THERE WHILE THE SHIP WAS REFITTING.

IN the morning of Friday the 21st of September, 1770, we got under sail,

and stood away to the westward, along the north side of the island of

Savu, and of the smaller that lies to the westward of it, which at noon

bore from us S. S. E., distant two leagues. At four o’clock in the

afternoon, we discovered a small low island, bearing S. S. W., distant

three leagues, which has no place in any chart now extant, at least in

none that I have been able to procure: it lies in latitude 10° 47ʹ S.,

longitude 238° 28ʹ W.

At noon on the 22d, we were in latitude 11° 10ʹ S., longitude 240° 38ʹ

W. In the evening of the 23d, we found the variation of the needle to be

2° 44ʹ W.; as soon as we got clear of the islands we had constantly a

swell from the southward, which I imagined was not caused by a wind

blowing from that quarter, but by the sea being so determined by the

position of the coast of New Holland.

At noon, on the 26th, being in latitude 10° 47ʹ S., longitude 249° 52ʹ

W., we found the variation to be 3° 10ʹ W., and our situation to be

twenty-five miles to the northward of the log; for which I know not how

to account. At noon, on the 27th, our latitude by observation, was 10°

51ʹ S., which was agreeable to the log; and our longitude was 252° 11ʹ

W. We steered N. W. all day on the 28th, in order to make the land of

Java; and at noon, on the 29th, our latitude by observation was 9° 31ʹ

S., longitude 254° 10ʹ W.; and in the morning of the 30th, I took into

my possession the log-book and journals, at least all I could find, of

the officers, petty officers, and seamen, and enjoined them secrecy with

respect to where they had been.

At seven in the evening, being in the latitude of Java Head, and not

seeing any land, I concluded that we were too far to the westward: I

therefore hauled up E. N. E., having before steered N. by E. In the

night, we had thunder and lightning; and about twelve o’clock, by the

light of the flashes, we saw the land bearing east. I then tacked and

stood to the S. W. till four o’clock in the morning of the 1st of

October; and at six, Java Head, or the west end of Java, bore S. E. by

E., distant five leagues: soon after we saw Prince’s Island, bearing E.

½ S.; and at ten, the island of Cracatoa, bearing N. E. Cracatoa is a

remarkably high-peaked island, and at noon it bore N. 40 E., distant

seven leagues.

I must now observe, that during our run from Savu, I allowed twenty

minutes a-day for the westerly current, which I concluded must run

strong at this time, especially off the coast of Java, and I found that

this allowance was just equivalent to the effect of the current upon the

ship.

At four o’clock in the morning of the 2d, we fetched close in with the

coast of Java, in fifteen fathom; we then stood along the coast, and

early in the forenoon, I sent the boat ashore to try if she could

procure some fruit for Tupia, who was very ill, and some grass for the

buffaloes that were still alive. In an hour or two she returned with

four cocoa-nuts, and a small bunch of plantains, which had been

purchased for a shilling, and some herbage for the cattle, which the

Indians not only gave us, but assisted our people to cut. The country

looked like one continued wood, and had a very pleasant appearance.

About eleven o’clock, we saw two Dutch ships lying off Anger Point, and

I sent Mr. Hicks on board of one of them to enquire news of our country,

from which we had been absent so long. In the mean time it fell calm,

and about noon I anchored in eighteen fathom with a muddy bottom. When

Mr. Hicks returned, he reported that the ships were Dutch East Indiamen

from Batavia, one of which was bound to Ceylon, and the other to the

coast of Malabar; and that there was also a fly-boat or packet, which

was said to be stationed here to carry letters from the Dutch ships that

came hither to Batavia, but which I rather think was appointed to

examine all ships that pass the Streight: from these ships we heard,

with great pleasure, that the Swallow had been at Batavia about two

years before.

At seven o’clock a breeze sprung up at S. S. W., with which having

weighed, we stood to the N. E. between Thwart-the-way-Island and the

Cap, sounding from eighteen to twenty-eight fathom: we had but little

wind all night, and having a strong current against us, we got no

further by eight in the morning than Bantam Point. At this time the wind

came to the N. E., and obliged us to anchor in two-and-twenty fathom, at

about the distance of two miles from the shore; the point bore N. E. by

E., distant one league, and here we found a strong current setting to

the N. W. In the morning we had seen the Dutch packet standing after us,

but when the wind shifted to the N. E. she bore away.

At six o’clock in the evening, the wind having obliged us to continue at

anchor, one of the country boats came alongside of us, on board of which

was the master of the packet. He seemed to have two motives for his

visit, one to take an account of the ship, and the other to sell us

refreshments; for in the boat were turtle, fowls, ducks, parrots,

paroquets, rice-birds, monkies, and other articles, which they held at a

very high price, and brought to a bad market, for our Savu stock was not

yet expended: however, I gave a Spanish dollar for a small turtle, which

weighed about six-and-thirty pounds; I gave also a dollar for ten large

fowls, and afterwards bought fifteen more at the same price; for a

dollar we might also have bought two monkies, or a whole cage of

rice-birds. The master of the sloop brought with him two books, in one

of which he desired that any of our officers would write down the name

of the ship and its Commander, with that of the place from which she

sailed, and of the port to which she was bound, with such other

particulars relating to themselves, as they might think proper, for the

information of any of our friends that should come after us: and in the

other he entered the names of the ship and the Commander, himself, in

order to transmit them to the Governor and Council of the Indies. We

perceived that in the first book many ships, particularly Portuguese,

had made entries of the same kind with that for which it was presented

to us. Mr. Hicks, however, having written the name of the ship, only

added “from Europe.” He took notice of this, but said, that he was

satisfied with any thing we thought fit to write, it being intended

merely for the information of those who should inquire after us from

motives of friendship.

Having made several attempts to sail with a wind that would not stem the

current, and as often come to an anchor, a proa came alongside of us in

the morning of the 5th, in which was a Dutch officer, who sent me down a

printed paper in English, duplicates of which he had in other languages,

particularly in French and Dutch, all regularly signed, in the name of

the Governor and Council of the Indies, by their secretary: it contained

nine questions, very ill expressed in the following terms:

“1. To what nation the ship belongs, and its name?

“2. If it comes from Europe, or any other place?

“3. From what place it lastly departed from?

“4. Whereunto designed to go?

“5. What and how many ships of the Dutch Company by departure from the

last shore there layed, and their names?

“6. If one or more of these ships in company with this, is departed for

this or any other place?

“7. If during the voyage any particularities is happened or seen?

“8. If not any ships in sea, or the Streights of Sunda, have seen or

hailed in, and which?

“9. If any other news worth of attention, at the place from whence the

ship lastly departed, or during the voyage, is happened?

“BATAVIA, in the Castle.

“By order of the Governor-General

“and the Counsellors of India,

“J. BRANDER BUNGL, Sec.”

Of these questions I answered only the first and the fourth; which when

the officer saw, he said answers to the rest were of no consequence: yet

he immediately added, that he must send that very paper away to Batavia,

and that it would be there the next day at noon. I have particularly

related this incident, because I have been credibly informed that it is

but of late years that the Dutch have taken upon them to examine ships

that pass through this Streight.

At ten o’clock the same morning, we weighed, with a light breeze at S.

W.; but did little more than stem the current, and about two o’clock

anchored again under Bantam Point, where we lay till nine; a light

breeze then springing up at S. E., we weighed and stood to the eastward

till ten o’clock the next morning, when the current obliged us again to

anchor in twenty-two fathom, Pulababi bearing E. by S. ½ S., distant

between three and four miles. Having alternately weighed and anchored

several times, till four in the afternoon of the 7th, we then stood to

the eastward, with a very faint breeze at N. E. and passed Wapen Island,

and the first island to the eastward of it; when the wind dying away, we

were carried by the current between the first and second of the islands

that lie to the eastward of Wapen Island, where we were obliged to

anchor in thirty fathom, being very near a ledge of rocks that run out

from one of the islands. At two the next morning we weighed with the

land wind at south, and stood out clear of the shoal; but before noon

were obliged to come to again in twenty-eight fathom, near a small

island among those that are called the thousand Islands, which we did

not find laid down in any chart. Pulo Pare at this time bore E. N. E.,

distance between six and seven miles.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went ashore upon the island, which they found

not to be more than five hundred yards long, and one hundred broad; yet

there was a house upon it, and a small plantation, where among other

things was the _Palma Christi_, from which the castor-oil is made in the

West Indies: they made a small addition to their collection of plants,

and shot a bat, whose wings when extended measured three feet from point

to point: they shot also four plovers, which exactly resembled the

golden plover of England. Soon after they returned, a small Indian boat

came alongside with two Malays on board, who brought three turtles, some

dried fish, and a few pumpkins: we bought the turtle, which altogether

weighed a hundred and forty-six pounds, for a dollar, and considering

that we had lately paid the Dutchman a dollar for one that weighed only

six-and-thirty pounds, we thought we had a good bargain. The seller

appeared equally satisfied, and we then treated with him for his

pumpkins, for which he was very unwilling to take any money but a

dollar; we said that a whole dollar was greatly too much; to which he

readily assented, but desired that we would cut one and give him a part:

at last, however, a fine shining Portuguese petack tempted him, and for

that he sold us his whole stock of pumpkins, being in number twenty-six.

At parting, he made signs that we should not tell at Batavia that any

boat had been aboard us.

We were not able to weather Pulo Pare this day, but getting the land

wind at south about ten o’clock at night, we weighed and stood to the E.

S. E. all night. At ten in the morning, we anchored again, to wait for

the sea breeze; and at noon it sprung up at N. N. E., with which we

stood in for Batavia road, where at four o’clock in the afternoon we

came to an anchor.

We found here the Harcourt Indiaman from England, two English private

traders of that country, thirteen sail of large Dutch ships, and a

considerable number of small vessels. A boat came immediately on board

from a ship which had a broad pendant flying, and the officer who

commanded, having enquired who we were, and whence we came, immediately

returned with such answers as we thought fit to give him: both he and

his people were as pale as spectres, a sad presage of our sufferings in

so unhealthy a country; but our people, who, except Tupia, were all rosy

and plump, seemed to think themselves so seasoned by various climates

that nothing could hurt them. In the mean time, I sent a lieutenant

ashore to acquaint the Governor of our arrival, and to make an excuse

for our not saluting; for as I could salute with only three guns, except

the swivels, which I was of opinion would not be heard, I thought it was

better to let it alone. As soon as the boat was dispatched the carpenter

delivered me an account of the defects of the ship, of which the

following is a copy:

“The defects of his Majesty’s bark Endeavour, Lieutenant James Cook

Commander.

“The ship very leaky, as she makes from twelve to six inches water an

hour, occasioned by her main keel being wounded in many places, and the

scarfs of her stern being very open: the false keel gone beyond the

midships from forward, and perhaps farther, as I had no opportunity of

seeing for the water when hauled ashore for repairing: wounded on the

larboardside under the main channel, where I imagine the greatest leak

is, but could not come at it for the water: one pump on the larboard

side useless; the others decayed within an inch and a half of the bore.

Otherwise masts, yards, boats, and hull, in pretty good condition.”

As it was the universal opinion that the ship could not safely proceed

to Europe without an examination of her bottom, I determined to apply

for leave to heave her down at this place; and as I understood that it

would be necessary to make this application in writing, I drew up a

request, and the next morning, having got it translated into Dutch, we

all went ashore.

We repaired immediately to the house of Mr. Leith, the only Englishman

of any credit who is resident at this place; he received us with great

politeness, and engaged us to dinner: to this gentleman we applied for

instructions how to provide ourselves with lodgings and necessaries

while we should stay ashore, and he told us, that there was a hotel or

kind of inn, kept by the order of government, where all merchants and

strangers were obliged to reside, paying half per cent. upon the value

of their goods for warehouse room, which the master of the house was

obliged to provide; but that as we came in a king’s ship, we should be

at liberty to live where we pleased, upon asking the Governor’s

permission, which would be granted of course. He said, that it would be

cheaper for us to take a house in the town, and bring our own servants

ashore, if we had any body upon whom we could depend to buy in our

provisions; but as this was not the case, having no person among us who

could speak the Malay language, our gentlemen determined to go to the

hotel. At the hotel, therefore, beds were immediately hired, and word

was sent that we should sleep there at night.

At five o’clock in the afternoon, I was introduced to the

Governor-general, who received me very courteously; he told me, that I

should have every thing I wanted, and that in the morning my request

should be laid before the council, which I was desired to attend.

About nine o’clock, we had a dreadful storm of thunder, lightning, and

rain, during which the main-mast of one of the Dutch East Indiamen was

split, and carried away by the deck; the main-top-mast and

top-gallant-mast were shivered all to pieces; she had an iron spindle at

the main-top-gallant-mast-head, which probably directed the stroke. This

ship lay not more than the distance of two cables’ length from ours, and

in all probability we should have shared the same fate, but for the

electrical chain which we had but just got up, and which conducted the

lightning over the side of the ship; but though we escaped the

lightning, the explosion shook us like an earthquake, the chain at the

same time appearing like a line of fire: a centinel was in the action of

charging his piece, and the shock forced the musket out of his hand, and

broke the rammer rod. Upon this occasion, I cannot but earnestly

recommend chains of the same kind to every ship, whatever be her

destination, and I hope that the fate of the Dutchman will be a warning

to all who shall read this narrative, against having an iron spindle at

the mast-head.

The next morning I attended at the council-chamber, and was told that I

should have every thing I wanted. In the mean time, the gentlemen ashore

agreed with the keeper of the hotel for their lodging and board, at the

rate of two rix-dollars, or nine shillings sterling a day for each; and

as there were five of them, and they would probably have many visitors

from the ship, he agreed to keep them a separate table, upon condition

that they should pay one rix-dollar for the dinner of every stranger,

and another for his supper and bed, if he should sleep ashore. Under

this stipulation they were to be furnished with tea, coffee, punch,

pipes and tobacco, for themselves and their friends, as much as they

could consume; they were also to pay half a rupee, or one shilling and

three-pence a-day, for each of their servants.

They soon learnt that these rates were more than double the common

charges of board and lodging in the town; and their table, though it had

the appearance of magnificence, was wretchedly served. Their dinner

consisted of one course of fifteen dishes, and their supper of one

course of thirteen, but nine or ten of them consisted of bad poultry,

variously dressed, and often served up the second, third, and even the

fourth time: the same duck having appeared more than once roasted, found

his way again to the table as a fricassee, and a fourth time in the form

of forced meat. It was not long, however, before they learned that this

treatment was only by way of essay, and that it was the invariable

custom of the house, to supply all strangers, at their first coming,

with such fare as could be procured for the least money, and

consequently would produce the most gain: that if, either through

indolence or good nature, they were content, it was continued for the

benefit of the host, but that, if they complained, it was gradually

amended till they were satisfied, which sometimes happened before they

had the worth of their money. After this discovery, they remonstrated,

and their fare became better; however, after a few days, Mr. Banks hired

a little house, the next door on the left hand to the hotel, for himself

and his party, for which he paid after the rate of ten rix-dollars, or

two pounds five shillings sterling a-month; but here they were very far

from having either the convenience or the privacy which they expected;

no person was permitted to sleep in this private house occasionally, as

a guest to the person who hired it, under a penalty; but almost every

Dutchman that went by ran in without any ceremony, to ask what they

sold, there having been very seldom any private persons at Batavia who

had not something to sell. Every body here hires a carriage, and Mr.

Banks hired two. They are open chaises, made to hold two people, and

driven by a man sitting on a coach-box; for each of these he paid two

rix-dollars a-day.

As soon as he was settled in his new habitation, he sent for Tupia, who

till now had continued on board upon account of his illness, which was

of the bilious kind, and for which he had obstinately refused to take

any medicine. He soon came ashore, with his boy Tayeto, and, though

while he was on board, and after he came into the boat, he was

exceedingly listless and dejected, he no sooner entered the town than he

seemed to be animated with a new soul. The houses, carriages, streets,

people, and a multiplicity of other objects, all new, which rushed upon

him at once, produced an effect like the sudden and secret power that is

imagined of fascination. Tayeto expressed his wonder and delight with

still less restraint, and danced along the street in a kind of extasy,

examining every object with a restless and eager curiosity, which was

every moment excited and gratified. One of the first things that Tupia

remarked, was the various dresses of the passing multitude, concerning

which he made many enquiries; and when he was told that in this place

where people of many different nations were assembled, every one wore

the habit of his country, he desired that he might conform to the

custom, and appear in that of Otaheite. South Sea cloth was therefore

sent for from the ship, and he equipped himself with great expedition

and dexterity. The people who had seen Otourou, the Indian who had been

brought hither by M. Bougainville, enquired whether Tupia was not the

same person: from these enquiries, we learned who it was that we had

supposed to be Spaniards, from the accounts that had been given of two

ships by the Islanders.

In the mean time, I procured an order to the superintendant of the

island of Onrust, where the ship was to be repaired, to receive her

there; and sent by one of the ships that sailed for Holland, an account

of our arrival here, to Mr. Stephens, the Secretary to the Admiralty.

The expenses that would be incurred by repairing and refitting the ship,

rendered it necessary for me to take up money in this place, which I

imagined might be done without difficulty, but I found myself mistaken;

for, after the most diligent enquiry, I could not find any private

person that had ability and inclination to advance the sum that I

wanted. In this difficulty I applied to the Governor himself, by a

written request; in consequence of which, the Shebander had orders to

supply me with what money I should require out of the Company’s

Treasury.

On the 18th, as soon as it was light, having by several accidents and

mistakes suffered a delay of many days, I took up the anchor, and ran

down to Onrust: a few days afterwards, we went along-side of the wharf,

on Cooper’s Island, which lies close to Onrust, in order to take out our

stores.

By this time, having been here only nine days, we began to feel the

fatal effects of the climate and situation. Tupia, after the flow of

spirits which the novelties of the place produced upon his first

landing, sunk on a sudden, and grew every day worse and worse. Tayeto

was seized with an inflammation upon his lungs, Mr. Banks’s two servants

became very ill, and himself and Dr. Solander were attacked by fevers:

in a few days, almost every person both on board and ashore were sick;

affected, no doubt, by the low swampy situation of the place, and the

numberless dirty canals which intersect the town in all directions. On

the 26th, I set up the tent for the reception of the ship’s company, of

whom there was but a small number able to do duty. Poor Tupia, of whose

life we now began to despair, and who till this time had continued

ashore with Mr. Banks, desired to be removed to the ship, where, he

said, he should breathe a freer air than among the numerous houses which

obstructed it ashore: on board the ship, however, he could not go, for

she was unrigged, and preparing to be laid down at the careening-place;

but on the 28th, Mr. Banks went with him to Cooper’s Island, or, as it

is called here, Kuypor, where she lay, and as he seemed pleased with the

spot, a tent was there pitched for him: at this place both the sea

breeze and the land breeze blew directly over him, and he expressed

great satisfaction in his situation. Mr. Banks, whose humanity kept him

two days with this poor Indian, returned to the town on the 30th, and

the fits of his intermittent, which was now become a regular tertian,

were so violent as to deprive him of his senses while they lasted, and

leave him so weak that he was scarcely able to crawl down stairs: at

this time, Dr. Solander’s disorder also increased, and Mr. Monkhouse,

the surgeon, was confined to his bed.

On the 5th of November, after many delays, in consequence of the Dutch

ships coming along side the wharfs to load pepper, the ship was laid

down, and the same day, Mr. Monkhouse, our surgeon, a sensible skilful

man, fell the first sacrifice to this fatal country, a loss which was

greatly aggravated by our situation. Dr. Solander was just able to

attend his funeral, but Mr. Banks was confined to his bed. Our distress

was now very great, and the prospect before us discouraging in the

highest degree: our danger was not such as we could surmount by any

efforts of our own; courage, skill, and diligence, were all equally

ineffectual, and death was every day making advances upon us, where we

could neither resist nor fly. Malay servants were hired to attend the

sick, but they had so little sense either of duty or humanity, that they

could not be kept within call, and the patient was frequently obliged to

get out of bed to seek them. On the 9th, we lost our poor Indian boy

Tayeto, and Tupia was so much affected, that it was doubted whether he

would survive till the next day.

In the mean time, the bottom of the ship being examined, was found to be

in a worse condition than we apprehended: the false keel was all gone to

within twenty feet of the stern post; the main keel was considerably

injured in many places; and a great quantity of the sheathing was torn

off, and several planks were much damaged; two of them, and the half of

a third, under the main channel near the keel, were, for the length of

six feet, so worn, that they were not above an eighth part of an inch

thick, and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers; yet

in this condition she had sailed many hundred leagues, where navigation

is as dangerous as in any part of the world: how much misery did we

escape, by being ignorant that so considerable a part of the bottom of

the vessel was thinner than the sole of a shoe, and that every life on

board depended upon so slight and fragile a barrier between us and the

unfathomable ocean! It seemed, however, that we had been preserved only

to perish here; Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were so bad, that the

physician declared they had no chance for recovery but by removing into

the country; a house was therefore hired for them at the distance of

about two miles from the town, which belonged to the master of the

hotel, who engaged to furnish them with provisions, and the use of

slaves. As they had already experienced their want of influence over

slaves that had other masters, and the unfeeling inattention of these

fellows to the sick, they bought each of them a Malay woman, which

removed both the causes of their being so ill served; the women were

there own property, and the tenderness of the sex, even here, made them

good nurses. While these preparations were making, they received an

account of the death of Tupia, who sunk at once after the loss of the

boy, whom he loved with the tenderness of a parent.

By the 14th, the bottom of the ship was thoroughly repaired, and very

much to my satisfaction; it would, indeed, be injustice to the officers

and workmen of this yard, not to declare that, in my opinion, there is

not a marine yard in the world, where a ship can be laid down with more

convenience, safety, and dispatch, nor repaired with more diligence and

skill. At this place they heave down by two masts, a method which we do

not now practise; it is, however, unquestionably more safe and

expeditious to heave down with two masts than one, and he must have a

good share of bigotry to old customs, and an equal want of common sense,

who will not allow this, after seeing with what facility the Dutch heave

down their largest ships at this place.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander recovered slowly at their country-house,

which was not only open to the sea breeze, but situated upon a running

stream, which greatly contributed to the circulation of the air: but I

was now taken ill myself; Mr. Sporing, and a seaman who had attended Mr.

Banks, were also seized with intermittents; and indeed there was not

more than ten of the whole ship’s company that were able to do duty.

We proceeded however in rigging the ship, and getting water and stores

aboard: the water we were obliged to procure from Batavia, at the rate

of six shillings and eight-pence a leager, or one hundred and fifty

gallons.

About the 26th, the westerly monsoon set in, which generally blows here

in the night from the S. W. and in the day from the N. W. or N. For some

nights before this, we had very heavy rain, with much thunder; and in

the night between the 25th and 26th, such rain as we had seldom seen,

for near four hours without intermission. Mr. Bank’s house admitted the

water in every part like a sieve, and it ran through the lower rooms in

a stream that would have turned a mill; he was by this time sufficiently

recovered to go out, and, upon his entering Batavia the next morning, he

was much surprised to see the bedding every where hung out to dry.

The wet season was now set in, though we had some intervals of fair

weather. The frogs in the ditches, which croak ten times louder than any

frogs in Europe, gave notice of rain by an incessant noise that was

almost intolerable, and the gnats and musquitos, which had been very

troublesome even during the dry weather, were now become innumerable,

swarming from every plash of water like bees from a hive; they did not,

however, much incommode us in the day, and the stings, however

troublesome at first, never continued to itch above half an hour, so

that none of us felt in the day, the effects of the wounds they had

received in the night.

On the 8th of December, the ship being perfectly refitted, and having

taken in most of her water and stores, and received the sick on board,

we ran up to Batavia Road, and anchored in four fathom and an half of

water.

From this time, to the 24th, we were employed in getting on board the

remainder of our water and provisions, with some new pumps, and in

several other operations that were necessary to fit the ship for the

sea, all which would have been effected much sooner, if sickness and

death had not disabled or carried off a great number of our men.

While we lay here, the Earl of Elgin, Captain Cook, a ship belonging to

the English East India Company, came to an anchor in the Road. She was

bound from Madras to China, but having lost her passage, put in here to

wait for the next season. The Phœnix, Captain Black, an English country

ship, from Bencoolen, also came to an anchor at this place.

In the afternoon of Christmas eve, the 24th, I took leave of the

Governor, and several of the principal gentlemen of the place, with whom

I had formed connections, and from whom I received every possible

civility and assistance; but in the mean time an accident happened,

which might have produced disagreeable consequences. A seaman had run

away from one of the Dutch ships in the Road, and entered on board of

mine: the Captain had applied to the Governor, to reclaim him as a

subject of Holland, and an order for that purpose was procured: this

order was brought to me soon after I returned from my last visit, and I

said, that if the man appeared to be a Dutchman, he should certainly be

delivered up. Mr. Hicks commanded on board, and I gave the Dutch officer

an order to him, to deliver the man up under that condition. I slept

myself this night on shore, and, in the morning, the Captain of the

Dutch Commodore came and told me that he had carried my order on board,

but that the officer had refused to deliver up the man, alleging, not

only that he was not a Dutchman, but that he was a subject of Great

Britain, born in Ireland; I replied, that the officer had perfectly

executed my orders, and that if the man was an English subject, it could

not be expected that I should deliver him up. The Captain then said,

that he was just come from the Governor, to demand the man of me in his

name, as a subject of Denmark, alleging, that he stood in the ship’s

books as born at Elsineur. The claim of this man as a subject of Holland

being now given up, I observed to the Captain that there appeared to be

some mistake in the General’s message, for that he would certainly never

demand a Danish seaman from me, who had committed no other crime than

preferring the service of the English to that of the Dutch. I added,

however, to convince him of my sincere desire to avoid disputes, that if

the man was a Dane he should be delivered up as a courtesy, though he

could not be demanded as a right; but that, if I found he was an English

subject, I would keep him at all events. Upon these terms we parted, and

soon after I received a letter from Mr. Hicks, containing indubitable

proof that the seaman in question was a subject of his Britannic

Majesty. This letter I immediately carried to the Shebander, with a

request that it might be shewn to the Governor, and that his Excellency

might at the same time be told I would not upon any terms part with the

man. This had the desired effect, and I heard no more of the affair.

In the evening, I went on board, accompanied by Mr. Banks, and the rest

of the gentlemen who had constantly resided on shore, and who, though

better, were not yet perfectly recovered.

At six in the morning of the 26th, we weighed and set sail, with a light

breeze at S. W. The Elgin Indiaman saluted us with three cheers and

thirteen guns, and the garrison with fourteen, both which, with the help

of our swivels, we returned, and soon after the sea-breeze set in at N.

by W., which obliged us to anchor just without the ships in the Road.

At this time the number of sick on board amounted to forty, and the rest

of the ship’s company were in a very feeble condition. Every individual

had been sick except the sail-maker, an old man between seventy and

eighty years of age, and it is very remarkable that this old man, during

our stay at this place, was constantly drunk every day: we had buried

seven, the surgeon, three seamen, Mr. Green’s servant, Tupia, and Tayeto

his boy. All but Tupia fell a sacrifice to the unwholesome, stagnant,

putrid air of the country, and he who, from his birth, had been used to

subsist chiefly upon vegetable food, particularly ripe fruit, soon

contracted all the disorders that are incident to a sea life, and would

probably have sunk under them before we could have completed our voyage,

if we had not been obliged to go to Batavia to refit.

CHAP. XI.

SOME ACCOUNT OF BATAVIA, AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY; WITH THEIR FRUITS,

FLOWERS, AND OTHER PRODUCTIONS.

BATAVIA, the capital of the Dutch dominions in India, and generally

supposed to have no equal among all the possessions of the Europeans in

Asia, is situated on the north side of the island of Java, in a low

fenny plain, where several small rivers, which take their rise in the

mountains called Blaeuwen Berg, about forty miles up the country, empty

themselves into the sea, and where the coast forms a large bay, called

the Bay of Batavia, at the distance of about eight leagues from the

strait of Sunda. It lies in latitude 6° 10ʹ S., and longitude 106° 50ʹ

E. from the meridian of Greenwich, as appears from astronomical

observations made upon the spot, by the Reverend Mr. Mohr, who has built

an elegant observatory; which is as well furnished with instruments as

most in Europe.

The Dutch seem to have pitched upon this spot for the convenience of

water-carriage, and in that it is indeed a second Holland, and superior

to every other place in the world. There are very few streets that have

not a canal of considerable breadth running through them, or rather

stagnating in them, and continued for several miles in almost every

direction beyond the town, which is also intersected by five or six

rivers, some of which are navigable thirty or forty miles up the

country. As the houses are large, and the streets wide, it takes up a

much greater extent, in proportion to the number of houses it contains,

than any city in Europe. Valentyn, who wrote an account of it about the

year 1726, says, that in his time there were, within the walls, 1242

Dutch houses, and 1200 Chinese; and without the walls 1066 Dutch, and

1240 Chinese, besides 12 arrack houses, making in all 4760: but this

account appeared to us to be greatly exaggerated, especially with

respect to the number of houses within the walls.

The streets are spacious and handsome, and the banks of the canals are

planted with rows of trees, that make a very pleasing appearance; but

the trees concur with the canals to make the situation unwholesome. The

stagnant canals in the dry season exhale an intolerable stench, and the

trees impede the course of the air, by which, in some degree, the putrid

effluvia would be dissipated. In the wet season the inconvenience is

equal, for then these reservoirs of corrupted water overflow their banks

in the lower part of the town, especially in the neighbourhood of the

hotel, and fill the lower stories of the houses, where they leave behind

them an inconceivable quantity of slime and filth: yet these canals are

sometimes cleaned; but the cleaning them is so managed as to become as

great a nuisance as the foulness of the water: for the black mud that is

taken from the bottom is suffered to lie upon the banks, that is, in the

middle of the street, till it has acquired a sufficient degree of

hardness to be made the lading of a boat and carried away. As this mud

consists chiefly of human ordure, which is regularly thrown into the

canals every morning, there not being a necessary-house in the whole

town, it poisons the air while it is drying to a considerable extent.

Even the running streams become nuisances in their turn, by the

nastiness or negligence of the people: for every now and then a dead

hog, or a dead horse, is stranded upon the shallow parts, and it being

the business of no particular person to remove the nuisance, it is

negligently left to time and accident. While we were here, a dead

buffalo lay upon the shoal of a river that ran through one of the

principal streets above a week, and at last was carried away by a flood.

The houses, are in general, well adapted to the climate; they consist of

one very large room or hall on the ground floor, with a door at each

end, both which generally stand open: at one end a room is taken off by

a partition, where the master of the house transacts his business; and

in the middle, between each end, there is a court, which gives light to

the hall, and at the same time increases the draught of air. From one

corner of the hall the stairs go up to the floor above, where also the

rooms are spacious and airy. In the alcove, which is formed by the

court, the family dine; and at other times it is occupied by the female

slaves, who are not allowed to sit down any where else.

The public buildings are, most of them, old, heavy, and ungraceful; but

the new church is not inelegant; it is built with a dome, that is seen

from a great distance at sea, and though the outside has rather a heavy

appearance, the inside forms a very fine room: it is furnished with an

organ of a proper size, being very large, and is most magnificently

illuminated by chandeliers.

The town is enclosed by a stone wall, of a moderate height: but the

whole of it is old, and many parts are much out of repair. This wall

itself is surrounded by a river, which in some places is fifty, and in

some a hundred yards wide: the stream is rapid, but the water is

shallow. The wall is also lined within by a canal, which in different

parts is of different breadths; so that, in passing either out or in

through the gates, it is necessary to cross two draw-bridges; and there

is no access for idle people or strangers to walk upon the ramparts,

which seem to be but ill provided with guns.

In the north-east corner of the town stands the castle or citadel, the

walls of which are both higher and thicker than those of the town,

especially near the landing-place, where there is depth of water only

for boats, which it completely commands, with several large guns that

make a very good appearance.

Within this castle are apartments for the Governor-general, and all the

Council of India, to which they are enjoined to repair in case of a

siege. Here are also large storehouses, where great quantities of the

Company’s goods are kept, especially those that are brought from Europe,

and where almost all their writers transact their business. In this

place also are laid up a great number of cannon, whether to mount upon

the walls or furnish shipping, we could not learn; and the Company is

said to be well supplied with powder, which is dispersed in various

magazines, that, if some should be destroyed by lightning, which in this

place is very frequent, the rest may escape.

Besides the fortifications of the town, numerous forts are dispersed

about the country to the distance of twenty or thirty miles; these seem

to have been intended merely to keep the natives in awe, and indeed they

are fit for nothing else. For the same purpose a kind of houses, each of

which mounts about eight guns, are placed in such situations as command

the navigation of three or four canals, and consequently the roads upon

their banks: some of these are in the town itself, and it was from one

of these that all the best houses belonging to the Chinese were levelled

with the ground in the Chinese rebellion of 1740. These defences are

scattered over all parts of Java, and the other islands of which the

Dutch have got possession in these seas. Of one of these singular forts,

or fortified houses, we should have procured a drawing, if our gentlemen

had not been confined by sickness almost all the time they were upon the

island.

If the Dutch fortifications here are not formidable in themselves, they

become so by their situation: for they are among morasses where the

roads, which are nothing more than a bank thrown up between a canal and

a ditch, may easily be destroyed, and consequently the approach of heavy

artillery either totally prevented or greatly retarded: for it would be

exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to transport them in boats, as

they all muster every night under the guns of the castle, a situation

from which it would be impossible for an enemy to take them. Besides, in

this country, delay is death; so that whatever retards an enemy, will

destroy him. In less than a week, we were sensible of the unhealthiness

of the climate; and in less than a month half the ship’s company were

unable to do their duty. We were told, that of a hundred soldiers who

arrive here from Europe, it was a rare thing for fifty to survive the

first year; that of those fifty, half would then be in the hospital, and

not ten of the rest in perfect health: possibly this account may be

exaggerated; but the pale and feeble wretches whom we saw crawling about

with a musket, which they were scarcely able to carry, inclined us to

believe that it was true. Every white inhabitant of the town indeed is a

soldier; the younger are constantly mustered, and those who have served

five years are liable to be called out when their assistance is thought

to be necessary; but as neither of them are ever exercised, or do any

kind of duty, much cannot be expected from them. The Portuguese, indeed,

are in general good marksmen, because they employ themselves much in

shooting wild hogs and deer: neither the Mardykers nor the Chinese know

the use of fire-arms; but as they are said to be brave, they might do

much execution with their own weapons, swords, lances, and daggers. The

Mardykers are Indians of all nations, who are descended from free

ancestors, or have themselves been made free.

But if it is difficult to attack Batavia by land, it is utterly

impossible to attack it by sea: for the water is so shallow, that it

will scarcely admit a longboat to come within cannon shot of the walls,

except in a narrow channel, called the river, that is walled on both

sides by strong piers, and runs about half a mile into the harbour. At

the other end, it terminates under the fire of the strongest part of the

castle; and here its communication with the canals that intersect the

town is cut off by a large wooden boom, which is shut every night at six

o’clock, and upon no pretence opened till the next morning. The harbour

of Batavia is accounted the finest in India, and to all appearance with

good reason; it is large enough to contain any number of ships, and the

ground is so good that one anchor will hold till the cable decays: it

never admits any sea that is troublesome, and its only inconvenience is

the shoal water between the road and the river. When the sea breeze

blows fresh, it makes a cockling sea that is dangerous to boats: our

longboat once struck two or three times as she was attempting to come

out, and regained the river’s mouth with some difficulty. A Dutch boat,

laden with sails and rigging for one of the Indiamen, was entirely lost.

Round the harbour, on the outside, lie many islands, which the Dutch

have taken possession of and apply to different uses. To one of them,

called Edam, they transport all Europeans who have been guilty of crimes

that are not worthy of death: some are sentenced to remain there

ninety-nine years, some forty, some twenty, some less, down to five, in

proportion to their offence; and, during their banishment, they are

employed as slaves in making ropes, and other drudgery. In another

island, called Purmerent, they have an hospital, where people are said

to recover much faster than at Batavia. In a third, called Kuyper, they

have warehouses belonging to the Company, chiefly for rice, and other

merchandise of small value; and here the foreign ships, that are to be

laid down at Onrust, another of these islands, which with Kuyper has

been mentioned before, discharge their cargoes at wharfs which are very

convenient for the purpose. Here the guns, sails, and other stores of

the Falmouth, a man of war which was condemned at this place when she

was returning from Manilla, were deposited, and the ship herself

remained in the harbour, with only the warrant-officers, on board for

many years. Remittances were regularly made them from home; but no

notice was ever taken of the many memorials they sent, desiring to be

recalled. Happily for them, the Dutch thought fit, about six months

before our arrival, to sell the vessel and all her stores, by public

auction, and send the officers home in their own ships. At Onrust, they

repair all their own shipping, and keep a large quantity of naval

stores.

The country round Batavia is for some miles a continued range of

country-houses and gardens.—Many of the gardens are very large, and, by

some strange fatality, all are planted with trees almost as thick as

they can stand; so that the country derives no advantage from its being

cleared of the wood that originally covered it, except the fruit of that

which has been planted in its room. These impenetrable forests stand in

a dead flat, which extends some miles beyond them, and is intersected in

many directions by rivers, and more still by canals, which are navigable

for small vessels. Nor is this the worst, for the fence of every field

and garden is a ditch; and, interspersed among the cultivated ground,

there are many filthy fens, bogs, and morasses, as well fresh as salt.

It is not strange that the inhabitants of such a country should be

familiar with disease and death: preventative medicines are taken almost

as regularly as food; and every body expects the returns of sickness, as

we do the seasons of the year. We did not see a single face in Batavia

that indicated perfect health, for there is not the least tint of colour

in the cheeks either of man or woman: the women indeed are most

delicately fair; but with the appearance of disease there never can be

perfect beauty. People talk of death with as much indifference as they

do in a camp; and when an acquaintance is said to be dead, the common

reply is, “Well, he owed me nothing” or, “I must get my money of his

executors.”

To this description of the environs of Batavia there are but two

exceptions. The Governor’s country-house is situated upon a rising

ground; but its ascent is so inconsiderable, that it is known to be

above the common level only by the canals being left behind, and the

appearance of a few bad hedges: his Excellency, however, who is a native

of this place, has, with some trouble and expense, contrived to inclose

his own garden with a ditch; such is the influence of habit both upon

the taste and the understanding. A famous market also, called Passar

Tanabank, is held upon an eminence that rises perpendicularly about

thirty feet above the plain; and except these situations, the ground,

for an extent of between thirty and forty miles round Batavia, is

exactly parallel to the horizon. At the distance of about forty miles

inland, there are hills of a considerable height, where, as we were

informed, the air is healthy, and comparatively cool. Here the

vegetables of Europe flourish in great perfection, particularly

strawberries, which can but ill bear heat; and the inhabitants are

vigorous and ruddy. Upon these hills some of the principal people have

country-houses, which they visit once a year; and one was begun for the

Governor, upon the plan of Blenheim, the famous seat of the Duke of

Marlborough in Oxfordshire, but it has never been finished. To these

hills also people are sent by the physicians, for the recovery of their

health, and the effects of the air are said to be almost miraculous: the

patient grows well in a short time, but constantly relapses soon after

his return to Batavia.

But the same situation and circumstances which render Batavia and the

country round it unwholesome, render it the best gardener’s ground in

the world. The soil is fruitful beyond imagination, and the conveniences

and luxuries of life that it produces are almost without number.

Rice, which is well known to be the corn of these countries, and to

serve the inhabitants instead of bread, grows in great plenty: and I

must here observe, that in the hilly parts of Java, and in many of the

eastern islands, a species of this grain is planted, which in the

western parts of India is entirely unknown. It is called by the natives

_Paddy Gunung_, or Mountain Rice: this, contrary to the other sort which

must be under water three parts in four of the time of its growth, is

planted upon the sides of hills where no water but rain can come: it is

however planted at the beginning of the rainy season, and reaped in the

beginning of the dry. How far this kind of rice might be useful in our

West Indian islands, where no bread-corn is grown, it may perhaps be

worth while to enquire.

Indian corn, or maize, is also produced here; which the inhabitants

gather when young, and toast in the ear. Here is also a great variety of

kidney-beans, and lentiles, which they called _Cadjang_, and which make

a considerable part of the food of the common people; besides millet,

yams both wet and dry, sweet potatoes, and European potatoes, which are

very good, but not cultivated in great plenty. In the gardens, there are

cabbages, lettuces, cucumbers, radishes, the white radishes of China,

which boil almost as well as a turnip; carrots, parsley, celery,

pigeon-peas, the egg-plant, which, broiled and eaten with pepper and

salt, is very delicious; a kind of greens resembling spinnage; onions,

very small, but excellent; and asparagus; besides some European plants

of a strong smell, particularly sage, hyssop, and rue. Sugar is also

produced here in immense quantities; very great crops of the finest and

largest canes that can be imagined are produced with very little care,

and yield a much larger proportion of sugar than the canes in the West

Indies. White sugar is sold here at two-pence half-penny a pound; and

the molasses makes the arrack, of which, as of rum, it is the chief

ingredient; a small quantity of rice, and some cocoa-nut wine, being

added, chiefly, I suppose, to give it flavour. A small quantity of

indigo is also produced here, not as an article of trade, but merely for

home-consumption.

But the most abundant article of vegetable luxury here, is the fruit; of

which there is no less than six-and-thirty different kinds, and I shall

give a very brief account of each.

1. The pine apple, _Bromelia Ananas_. This fruit, which is here called

_Nanas_, grows very large, and in such plenty that they may sometimes be

bought at the first hand for a farthing a piece; and at the common fruit

shops we got three of them for twopence half-penny. They are very juicy

and well flavoured; but we all agreed that we had eaten as good from a

hot-house in England: they are, however, so luxuriant in their growth

that most of them have two or three crowns, and a great number of

suckers from the bottom of the fruit; of these Mr. Banks once counted

nine, and they are so forward, that very often while they still adhered

to the parent plant they shot out their fruit, which, by the time the

large one became ripe, were of no inconsiderable size. We several times

saw three upon one apple, and were told that a plant once produced a

cluster of nine, besides the principal: this indeed was considered as so

great a curiosity, that it was preserved in sugar, and sent to the

Prince of Orange.

2. Sweet oranges. These are very good, but while we were here, sold for

sixpence a piece.

3. Pumplemoeses, which in the West Indies are called Shaddocks. These

were well flavoured, but not juicy; their want of juice, however, was an

accidental effect of the season.

4. Lemons. These were very scarce; but the want of them was amply

compensated by the plenty of limes.

5. Limes. These were excellent, and to be bought at about twelve-pence a

hundred. We saw only two or three Seville oranges, which were almost all

rind; and there are many sorts, both of oranges and lemons, which I

shall not particularly mention, because they are neither esteemed by

Europeans nor the natives themselves.

6. Mangos. This fruit during our stay was so infested with maggots,

which bred in the inside of them, that scarcely one in three was

eatable; and the best of them were much inferior to those of Brazil:

they are generally compared by Europeans to a melting peach, which,

indeed, they resemble in softness and sweetness, but certainly fall much

short in flavour. The climate here, we were told, is too hot and damp

for them; but there are as many sorts of them as there are of apples in

England, and some are much superior to others. One sort, which is called

_Mangha Cowani_, has so strong a smell that a European can scarcely bear

one in the room; these, however, the natives are fond of. The three

sorts which are generally preferred, are the _Mangha Doodool_, the

_Mangha Santock_, and the _Mangha Gure_.

7. Bananas. Of these also there are innumerable sorts, but three only

are good; the _Pissang Mas_, the _Pissang Radja_, and the _Pissang

Ambou_: all these have a pleasant vinous taste, and the rest are useful

in different ways; some are fried in batter, and others are boiled and

eaten as bread. There is one which deserves the particular notice of the

botanist, because, contrary to the nature of its tribe, it is full of

seeds, and is therefore called _Pissang Batu_ or _Pissang Bidjie_; it

has however no excellence to recommend it to the taste, but the Malays

use it as a remedy for the flux.

8. Grapes. These are not in great perfection, but they are very dear;

for we could not buy a moderate bunch for less than a shilling or

eighteen pence.

9. Tamarinds. These are in great plenty, and very cheap: the people

however do not put them up in the manner practised by the West Indians,

but cure them with salt, by which means they become a black mass, so

disagreeable to the sight and taste, that few Europeans choose to meddle

with them.

10. Water-melons. These are in great plenty, and very good.

11. Pumpkins. These are beyond comparison, the most useful fruit that

can be carried to sea; for they will keep without any care several

months, and with sugar and lemon-juice, make a pye that can scarcely be

distinguished from one made of the best apples; and with pepper and

salt, they are a substitute for turnips, not to be despised.

12. Papaws. This fruit when it is ripe is full of seeds, and almost

without flavour; but, if when it is green it is pared, and the core

taken out, it is better than the best turnip.

13. Guava. This fruit is much commended by the inhabitants of our

islands in the West Indies, who probably have a better sort than we met

with here, where the smell of them was so disagreeably strong, that it

made some of us sick; those who tasted them, said, that the flavour was

equally rank.

14. Sweet-sop. The _Annona squammosa_ of Linnæus. This is also a West

Indian fruit; it consists only of a mass of large kernels, from which a

small proportion of pulp may be sucked, which is very sweet, but has

little flavour.

15. Custard-apple. The _Annona reticulata_ of Linnæus. The quality of

this fruit is well expressed by its English name, which it acquired in

the West Indies; for it is as like a custard, and a good one too, as can

be imagined.

16. The cashew-apple. This is seldom eaten on account of its

astringency. The nut that grows upon the top of it is well known in

Europe.

17 The cocoa-nut. This is also well known in Europe; there are several

sorts, but the best of those we found here is called _Callappi Edjou_,

and is easily known by the redness of the flesh between the skin and the

shell.

18. Mangostan. The _Garcinia Mangostana_ of Linnæus. This fruit, which

is peculiar to the East Indies, is about the size of the crab apple, and

of a deep red-wine colour: on the top of it is the figure of five or six

small triangles joined in a circle, and at the bottom several hollow

green leaves, which are remains of the blossom. When they are to be

eaten, the skin, or rather flesh, must be taken off, under which are

found six or seven white kernels, placed in a circular order, and the

pulp with which these are inveloped, is the fruit, than which nothing

can be more delicious: it is a happy mixture of the tart and the sweet,

which is no less wholesome than pleasant; and with the sweet orange,

this fruit is allowed in any quantity to those who are afflicted with

fevers, either of the putrid or inflammatory kind.

19. The jamboo. The _Eugenia Mallaccensis_ of Linnæus. This fruit is of

a deep red colour, and an oval shape; the largest, which are always the

best, are not bigger than a small apple; they are pleasant and cooling,

though they have not much flavour.

20. The jambu-eyer. A species of the _Eugenia_ of Linnæus. Of this fruit

there are two sorts of a similar shape, resembling a bell, but differing

in colour; one being red, the other white. They somewhat exceed a large

cherry in size, and in taste have neither flavour nor even sweetness,

containing nothing but a watery juice, slightly acidulated; yet their

coolness recommends them in this hot country.

21. Jambu-eyer mauwar. The _Eugenia jambos_ of Linnæus. This is more

grateful to the smell than the taste; in taste it resembles the conserve

of roses, and in smell the fresh scent of those flowers.

22. The pomegranate. This is the same fruit that is known by the same

name all over Europe.

23. Durion. A fruit that in shape resembles a small melon, but the skin

is covered with sharp conical spines, whence its name; for _dure_, in

the Malay language, signifies prickle. When it is ripe, it divides

longitudinally into seven or eight compartments, each of which contains

six or seven nuts, not quite so large as chestnuts, which are covered

with a substance that in colour and consistence very much resembles

thick cream: this is the part that is eaten, and the natives are fond of

it to excess. To Europeans it is generally disagreeable at first; for in

taste, it somewhat resembles a mixture of cream, sugar, and onions; and

in the smell, the onions predominate.