NEW GUINEA.
Armed Boats sent on Shore.--Treacherous Attack of the Natives.--A
Soldier killed.--Cowardly Conduct of the Officers in Charge of the
Watering-Party.--The Author personally visits the Bay.--Causes of
the Barbarism of the Natives of New Guinea.--Faithless and arbitrary
Conduct of the Ceramese.--Profitable Nature of the Trade.--Departure
from New Guinea.
The friendly meeting with the chiefs, coupled with the assurances of
the interpreters, who had been in the habit of making yearly visits
to the coast, determined me to obtain here a supply of water, this
necessary of life having become scarce on board. On the morning of the
20th, therefore, I caused the empty casks to be put into the tender,
which was armed with a one-pounder gun, and manned with an European
warrant-officer and a seaman, eighteen rowers, and a corporal with six
soldiers. The chief command was given to a midshipman, who, with six
European and four native seamen, went in the jolly-boat in company with
the tender.
The command of the armed party, who were to cover the waterers, was
entrusted to the corporal, who had been highly recommended to me at
Amboyna, and to whom I gave a written order to guide his proceedings.
As I wished to superintend the watering in person, and also to visit
the village, I caused another of the boats to be lowered, and sent, in
the first place, to examine the depth of water to the north-east and
north-west, the result proving the impossibility of approaching nearer
to the land with the brig. An affection in the chest, with which I had
been afflicted since my voyage to the Bay of Boni, being more than
usually troublesome in the morning, forced me, however, to defer my
visit to the afternoon.
About noon, hearing guns fired on shore, I sent an officer with an
armed boat to enquire the cause, furnishing them with ammunition
for the tender. When close to the island he encountered the boats
returning, and remarked that great disorder prevailed among their
crews, three of the number being badly wounded. They stated that all
their cartridges being wet, and some of the soldiers having thrown away
their arms, they had nothing remaining with which they could defend
themselves. Although the officer sent to their assistance had with him
a dozen good muskets, and cartridges both for them and for the small
cannon, he thought it best to return on board, which I did not regret
when I heard of the events that had occurred. It appeared that our
people met with a friendly reception from the Papuas, who showed them
the watering-place, while those who had visited the brig the previous
night brought them presents of cocoa-nuts and _sagoweer_, or palm wine.
On his first arrival the midshipman made arrangements according to his
instructions, and had scarcely finished filling his casks in readiness
to be put on board the tender, when the natives suddenly attacked our
party with a shower of spears and arrows. The Javanese seamen, who had
been stupid enough to leave their arms behind them, immediately left
the water casks, and fled towards the tender, while the corporal, who
should have been the last to retreat, left his post at the first shout
of the Papuas, and throwing away his musket and sword, followed their
example. The Javanese Mandor,[49] however, took up the musket and
fired it at the attackers. The shameful flight of the corporal created
great confusion among the covering party, to whom the former cried out
that they were to follow him, which they did, after making a short
stand. The Papuas naturally acquired fresh courage on seeing this, and
fell on the hindmost, whom they could easily wound as they fled, while
little opposition could be made on our side, as the tender had already
shoved off, and the muskets of the people in the boat had become
useless from their being wetted as their owners waded on board.
The soldiers and seamen made heavy complaints against the corporal,
to whose cowardice the unfortunate result of the affair was to be
attributed, he having caused the greatest confusion by cutting the
grapnel rope of the tender, and shoving her off. Concerning the conduct
of the midshipman I would rather be silent. On subsequent examination I
discovered, alas! that my orders had not been followed, and that some
had thought more of amusing themselves than of executing the duty on
which they had been sent.
At the commencement of the attack, H. Smit, a seaman who was sentry at
the well, was wounded by two spears, and Ziengo, a soldier, who had
stoutly maintained his post, was dreadfully injured, being pierced
with no less than two-and-twenty wounds; while another of the seamen,
Van Grieken, was wounded slightly by an arrow in the shin-bone. The
courageous Ziengo died immediately after his arrival on board, while
under the hands of the doctor.
Several small casks, a couple of muskets, some cartridge-boxes, and
a quantity of clothing, having been left on shore, I determined to
send the tender (into which a carronade had now been placed) and an
armed boat to bring them off, and to efface the shame which our people
had brought upon them. Being still too unwell to leave the brig, I
entrusted the command of the boats to one of the officers, with orders
to obtain the last articles if possible; but should circumstances
render this unadvisable, he was to keep the natives in check during the
night, and await my arrival in the morning with additional force. A
strong easterly wind, accompanied by heavy showers of rain, prevented
them, however, from reaching the island; and at daylight the signal
for their return to the brig was made, and they came alongside. The
carronade was now taken out of the tender, and two one-pounder guns
placed on board her in its stead, when we stood towards the island,
the tender and the boat carrying in all thirty men. We soon reached
the shore, when the spot on which the encounter had taken place was
pointed out to me. I landed with a portion of the men, and reached the
thick forest that bounded the path to the well, this being about a
pistol-shot distant from the beach. Every thing that our party left on
shore was found, but several of the casks were in pieces. Much blood
was seen scattered about, especially near the well, where the natives
had probably washed their wounds.
From the information I could collect concerning this unfortunate
occurrence, it appeared that the Papuas, who were probably unacquainted
with the deadly effect of our weapons, attacked our people in great
numbers when the latter were off their guard, and probably without
arms.[50] Several shots were fired at them from the muskets, and from
the one-pounder loaded with grape-shot, which must have done great
execution. The courageous Javanese Mandor, who had remained ashore
with the jolly-boat for some time after the midshipman had retreated
with the tender, in order to bring off the wounded men, had kept up a
constant fire at the natives with two muskets, and declared that he had
seen three fall, who were carried into the forest by their companions.
The unfortunate soldier, Ziengo, had been set upon by a number at
once, and had received the most deadly of his numerous wounds from an
axe that had been thrown away by some of our party. The natives would
not have left him but for the continued fire from the jolly-boat.
Notwithstanding the superior numbers of the natives, our people would
never have been routed had they been on their guard. Unfortunately, my
orders were not followed, and they separated from each other, thinking
more of amusing themselves by bathing and walking, than of preparing
against attack, which gave the natives an opportunity of falling upon
them unawares, and had the latter known how to avail themselves of the
confusion they had created, our loss must have been much greater than
it was. The conduct of my countrymen grieved me deeply.
At the watering-place we could find no traces of people having been
there since the previous night. The arms that had been thrown away,
and the clothes left by the bathers, remained untouched. The ground,
from the beach to the forest, was strewed with arrows and spears, among
which were two intended for striking fish; these were provided with
iron points, but the others were merely bamboos, the ends of which had
been pointed and hardened in the fire. The arrows had wooden points and
barbs; the bows, by which they were discharged, being formed merely
of a bamboo-stick with a string of rattan. The force with which these
arrows were shot was so small, that even from a short distance they
scarcely did more than penetrate the clothes of our people, many of
whom found the wooden points of the arrows sticking in their garments
after the affair was over.
As the cocoa-nut trees are not numerous on the coast, while their
produce forms an indispensable article of subsistence, I caused those
scattered along the coast to be cut down, partly to show that we had
not been driven away by fear, and partly to deter them from committing
similar misdeeds in future. The interpreters assured me this would be
a severe chastisement, and that they were in the habit of killing the
relatives of those who injured the cocoa-nut trees.
We now went further into the bay to Kayu Merah, and pulled down some
huts we found standing at the bottom of the heights, immediately
behind the island. Men were occasionally seen, who took flight on
our approach, and climbed into the trees, the better to observe our
motions. Having rowed round the bay without meeting with any occurrence
we turned towards the brig, on which a number of the natives made their
appearance on the beach, who took flight, however, when we turned the
boats' heads to the shore.
The treacherous conduct of the Ceramese cannot be sufficiently
reprehended. It was related to me, and I afterwards had evidence of
its truth, that these people, on their arrival with their prahus
at New Guinea, endeavoured to pick a quarrel with the natives. If
the Ceramese Raja has two or three men killed, it will be of little
consequence, as they will probably be Papua slaves, and even if the
natives take and plunder one of his vessels the loss will still be
trifling. The Raja will be rejoiced at having an excuse for chastising
the natives, and will not only attack and plunder the village, but also
catch as many of the inhabitants as he can, whom he will carry away,
under the plea of taking satisfaction for the injury that has been done
to his people. Similar transactions occur but too often.
Be this as it may, it grieved me deeply to meet with so unfavourable a
reception, as I had so anxiously wished to bring these people under our
Government, and to show them, by the distribution of presents, that we
entertained none but the most peaceable and friendly intentions towards
them. Their barbarism is mainly to be attributed to the sinister
dealings of the Ceramese, who, to retain their exclusive trade with
the coast, inspire them with hatred and aversion to all foreigners
but themselves. Until the rapacious and inhuman people of Kilwari,
Keffing, and the Goram Islands are stopped in their arbitrary career,
and are taught in an impressive manner to pay a proper respect to
the Dutch Government, the coast of New Guinea will never be available
to us for commercial purposes. Traders would gladly visit these parts
could they do so with safety, for the productions, as massoy-bark,
nutmegs, trepang, tortoise-shell, pearls, edible birds'-nests, birds
of paradise, and other articles of value, would support an important
commerce. The quantity of these rich productions purchased by the
Ceramese on the coast for an almost nominal price, and carried by them
to Bali and Singapore, is incredible. It may appear surprising that
under these circumstances the Ceramese are not in a more flourishing
state, but it must be taken into consideration that a restless people,
constantly at war, do not hoard their riches, but squander it in
leading a luxurious life. I have often been assured that traders, who
have left their homes with a valuable cargo, have returned without
sufficient property to pay their men, the whole having been lost by
gambling, or similar modes of getting rid of wealth.
The people of Kilwari visit the bay of Lakahia regularly once or twice
a year, with coarse white calico, arrack, tobacco, iron ware, &c., to
give in exchange for the productions of the country. The natives of
this part of the coast bear much resemblance in stature and complexion
to those of the easternmost of the Arrus. According to the account of
the interpreters they lead a wild and idle life.
The east monsoon now drawing to a close rendered it inadvisable to
trace the coast to the westward, which should be examined during the
other season; for the coast lies open to the southerly winds, while the
steep nature of the shore affords but insecure anchorage. My opinions
on this point were confirmed by those of intelligent natives.
As one of the principal objects of the present expedition was to visit
the Tenimber Islands, so important to the native trade, during the
return voyage, (while, were I to remain longer on the coast of New
Guinea, this could not be effected,) I determined to take my departure,
being encouraged in my decision by having already fulfilled, to the
best of my power, the instructions furnished me by the Government, and
at the same time being convinced that the coast to the eastward of the
spot where we found ourselves was not visited by foreign traders.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 49: The Mandor is the head of the native seamen on board
ships navigating these seas, his duties according somewhat with
those of boatswains of European ships, but from various causes
their authority and responsibility are greater than those of the
latter.--_Translator._]
[Footnote 50: When the Dutch corvette _Triton_ founded the
settlement in the adjacent harbour two years subsequently to this
occurrence, the Raja of Lakahia stated, that his people had not
attacked the Dutch until the latter had commenced cutting down a
cocoa-nut-tree.--_Translator._]