A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Viii Part 11

-- 1. _Description of Java, with the Manners and Customs of its Inhabitants, both Javanese and Chinese_.

Java Major is an island in the East Indies, the middle of which is in long. 104 E. and in lat. 9 S.[120] It is 146 leagues long from east to west, and about 90 leagues broad from south to north.[121] The middle of the island is for the most part mountainous, yet no where so steep as to prevent the people from travelling to their tops either a-foot or on horseback. Some inhabitants dwell on the hills nearest the sea; but in the middle of the land, so far as I could learn, there were no inhabitants; but wild beasts of several sorts, some of which come to the valleys near the sea, and devour many people. Towards the sea the land for the most part is low and marshy, whereon stand their towns of princ.i.p.al trade, being mostly on the north and north-east sides of the island, as Chiringin, Bantam, Jackatra, and Jortan or Greesey. These low lands are very unwholesome, and breed many diseases, especially among the strangers who resort thither, and yield no merchandise worth speaking of, except pepper, which has been long brought from all parts of the island to Bantam, as the chief mart or trading town of the country. Pepper used formerly to be brought here from several other countries for sale, which is not the case now, as the Dutch trade to every place where it can be procured, and buy it up.

[Footnote 120: The longitude of the middle of Java may be a.s.sumed at 110 E. from Greenwich, and its central lat.i.tude 7 15' S. The western extremity is in long. 105 20' and the eastern in 114 48' both E. The extreme north-west point is in lat. 6, the most southeastern in 8 45', both S. It is hard to guess what Mr Scot chose as his first meridian, giving an error of excess or difference of 30 from the true position; as the meridian of Ferro would only add about 18 degrees.--E.]

[Footnote 121: The difference of longitude in the preceding note gives 189 leagues, being 43 more than in the text, whereas its greatest breadth does not exceed 28 leagues, not a third part of what is a.s.signed in the text.--E.]

The town of Bantam is about three English miles long, and very populous.

It has three markets held every day, one in the forenoon and two in the afternoon. That especially which is held in the morning abounds as much in people, and is equally crowded with many of our fairs in England; yet I never saw any cattle there for sale, as very few are bred or kept in the country. The food of the people is almost entirely confined to rice, with some hens and fish, but not in great abundance. All the houses are built of great canes, with a few small timbers, being very slight structures; yet in many houses of the princ.i.p.al people there is much good workmans.h.i.+p, with fine carvings and other embellishments. Some of the chiefest have a square chamber built of brick, in a quite rude manner, no better than a brick-kiln; the only use of which is to secure their household stuff in time of fires, for they seldom or never lodge or eat in them.

Many small rivers pervade the town, which also has an excellent road for s.h.i.+pping; so that if the people were of any reasonable capacity, it could easily be made a goodly city. It is entirely surrounded by a brick-wall, built in a very warlike manner, with flankers and towers, scouring in all directions; and I have been told by some that it was first built by the Chinese. In many places this wall has fallen to ruin.

At one end of the city is the Chinese town, being divided from that of the Javanese by a narrow river, which, after crossing the end of the Chinese town, runs past the king's palace, and then through the middle of the great town, where the tide ebbs and flows, so that at high water galleys and junks of heavy burden can go into the middle of the city.

The Chinese town is mostly built of brick, every house being square and flat-roofed, formed of small timbers, split canes, and boards, on which are laid bricks and sand to defend them from fire. Over these brick warehouses a shed is placed, constructed of large canes, and thatched; some being of small timber, but mostly of canes. Of late years, since we came here, many wealthy persons have built their houses fire-proof all the way to the top: but, on our first coming, there were none other in that manner except the house of the Sabander, and those of the rich Chinese merchants: yet even these, by means of their windows, and the sheds around them, have been consumed by fire. In this town stand the houses of the English and Dutch, built in the same manner with the others; but of late the Dutch have built one of their houses to the top of brick, but with much trouble and expence, in hopes of securing themselves from fire.

The King of Bantam is an absolute sovereign, and since the deposition and death of the late Emperor of _Damacke_ he is considered as the princ.i.p.al king of the whole island. He uses martial law on any offender he is disposed to punish. If the wife or wives of any private individual are guilty of adultery, upon good proof, both the woman and her paramour are put to death. They may put their slaves to death for any small fault. For every wife that a free Javan marries he must keep ten female slaves, though some keep forty such for each wife, and may have as many more as they please, but can only have three wives; yet may use all their female slaves as concubines. The Javanese are exceedingly proud, yet very poor, as hardly one among them of a hundred will work. The gentry among them are reduced to poverty by the number of their slaves, who eat faster than their pepper and rice grow. The Chinese plant, dress, and gather all the pepper, and sow the rice, living as slaves under the Javanese proprietors; yet they absorb all the wealth of the land by their industry, from the indolent and idle Javanese. All the Javanese are so proud that they will not endure an equal to sit an inch higher than themselves. They are a most blood-thirsty race, yet seldom fight face to face, either among themselves or with other nations, always seeking their revenge after a cowardly manner, although stout men of good stature. The punishment for murder among them is to pay a fine to the king: but evermore the relations of the murdered person seek for revenge upon the murderer or his kindred; so that the more they kill one another the more fines come to the king. The ordinary weapon, which they all wear, is a dagger, called a _criss_, about two feet long, with a waved blade, crooked to and fro indenture ways, like what is called a flaming sword, and exceedingly sharp, most of them being poisoned, so that not one among five hundred wounded in the body escapes with life.

The handles of these weapons are of horn or wood, curiously carved in the likeness of a devil, which many of these people wors.h.i.+p. In their wars they use pikes, darts, and targets; and of late some of them have learnt to use fire-arms, but very awkwardly.

The better sort wear a _tuke_ or turban on their heads, and a fine piece of painted calico round their loins, all the rest of their bodies being naked. They sometimes wear a close coat like a _mandilion_,[122] made of cloth, camblet, velvet, or some other silk; but this is seldom, and only on extraordinary occasions. The common people have a flat cap of velvet, taffeta, or calico, on their heads, cut out in many pieces, and neatly sewed together, so as to fit close. About their loins they wrap a piece of calico made at _Clyn_, put on like a girdle, but at least a yard broad, being mostly of two colours. There come also from the same place many sorts of white cloth, which they dye, paint, and gild, according to their own fas.h.i.+ons. They can also weave a kind of striped stuff, either of cotton or the rinds of trees; but, owing to their indolence, very little of that is made or worn. The men for the most part wear their hair, which is very thick and curly, and in which they take great pride, and often go bare-headed to show their hair. The women go all bare-headed, many of them having their hair tucked up like a cart-horse, but the better sort tuck it up like our riding geldings. About their loins they wear the same stuffs like the men; and always have a piece of fine painted calico, of their country fas.h.i.+on, thrown over their shoulders, with the ends hanging down loose behind.

[Footnote 122: The editor of Astley's Collection subst.i.tutes the word _ca.s.sock_ at this place.--E.]

The princ.i.p.al people are very religious, yet go seldom to church. They acknowledge Jesus to have been a great prophet, calling him _Nabu Isa_, or the prophet Jesus, and some of them entertain Mahometan priests in their houses: but the common people have very little knowledge of any religion, only saying that there is a G.o.d who made heaven and earth and all things. They say that G.o.d is good, and will not hurt them, but that the devil is bad, and will do them harm; wherefore many of them are so ignorant as to pray to him, for fear he should harm them. a.s.suredly, if there were here men of learning, and having a sufficient knowledge of their language to instruct them, many of these ignorant people might be drawn over to the true Christian faith, and civilized; for many with whom I have conversed upon Christian laws have liked all very well, except the prohibition of a plurality of wives, as they are all very lascivious, both men and women.

The better sort of the Javanese, who are in authority, are great takers of bribes; and all of them are bad payers when trusted, although their laws for debt are so strict, that the creditor may take his debtor, wives, children, slaves, and all that he hath, and sell them in satisfaction of the debt. They are all much given to stealing, from the highest to the lowest; and surely they were, in times past, canibals or man-eaters, before they had trade with the Chinese, which some say is not above a hundred years ago. They delight much in indolent ease and in music, and for the most part spend the day sitting cross-legged like tailors, cutting a piece of stick, by which many of them become good carvers, and carve their criss handles very neatly; which is all the work that most of them perform. They are great eaters; but the gentry allow nothing to their slaves except rice sodden in water, with some roots and herbs. They have also an herb called _betel_, which they carry with them wherever they go; in boxes, or wrapped up in a cloth like a sugar-loaf; and also a nut called _pinang_,[123] which are both very hot-tasted, and which they chew continually to warm them within, and to keep away the flux. They also use much tobacco, and take opium. The Javanese are a very dull and blockish people, very unfit for managing the affairs of a commonwealth, so that all strangers who come to their land get beyond them; and many who come here to dwell from the country of _Clyn_, grow very rich, and rise to high offices, as the _sabander, laytamongon_, and others. The Chinese especially, who live crouching under them like Jews, rob them of their wealth, and send it to China.

[Footnote 123: Probably that called _areka_ on the continent of India; the areka and betel being chewed together, along with powdered chunam, or sh.e.l.l-lime.--E.]

The Chinese are very crafty in trade, using every conceivable art to cheat and deceive. They have no pride in them, neither will they refuse any labour, except they turn Javans, when they have committed murder or some other villainy, when they become every whit as proud and lazy as a Javan.[124] They follow several different sects of religion, but are mostly atheists; many of them believing, that if they lead good lives, they will be born again to great riches, and be made governors; whereas those who lead bad lives will be changed to some vile animal, as a frog or toad. They burn sacrifices every new moon, mumbling over certain prayers in a kind of chanting voice, tingling a small bell, which they ring aloud at the close of each prayer. When any of them of good account lies sick and like to die, they sacrifice in this manner: Their altars are furnished with goats, hens, ducks, and various kinds of fruit, some dressed fit for eating, and others raw, which are all dressed and eaten; after which they burn a great many pieces of paper, painted and cut out into various devices. I have often asked them, to whom they burn their sacrifices? when they always said, it was to G.o.d; but the Turks and Guzerates who were there, alleged it was to the devil: If so, they are ashamed to confess.

[Footnote 124: Though not obviously expressed, it would appear, that for murder, and some other crimes, the Chinese had to become Mahometans, to be ent.i.tled to redeem their lives by a fine.--E.]

Many of them are well skilled in astronomy, keeping an exact account of the months and years. They observe no Sabbaths, neither keep they any day holier than another; except that, on laying the foundation of a house, or beginning any great work, they note down the day, and keep it ever after as a festival. When any of them that are wealthy die at Bantam, their bodies are burnt to ashes, which are collected into close jars, and carried to their friends in China. I have seen when some of them lay dying, that there were set up seven burning perfumes, four of them great s.h.i.+ning lights, arranged on a cane laid across two crochets, six feet from the ground, and three small dim lights on the ground directly under the others. On asking frequently the meaning of this ceremony, I could never get any other answer than that it was the custom of China. They do many other such foolish things, not knowing wherefore, but only that it has been so done by their ancestors.

They delight much in the exhibition of plays, and in singing, but certainly have the worst voices in the world. These plays and interludes are exhibited in honour of their G.o.ds, after burning sacrifices at the beginning, the priests many times kneeling down, and kissing the ground three times in quick succession. These plays are made most commonly when they think their junks are setting out from China, and likewise when they arrive at Bantam, and when they go away back to China. These plays sometimes begin at noon, and continue till next morning, being mostly exhibited in the open streets, on stages erected on purpose. They have likewise among them some soothsayers, who sometimes run raging up and down the streets, having drawn swords in their hands, tearing their hair like so many madmen, and throwing themselves on the ground. When in this frantic state, they themselves affirm, and it is believed by the Chinese, that they can foretell what is to happen. Whether they be possessed of the devil, who reveals things to them, I know not; but many of the Chinese use these conjurers when they send away a junk on any voyage, to learn if the voyage shall succeed or not; and they allege that it hath happened according as the soothsayer told them.

The Chinese are apparelled in long gowns, wearing kirtles, or shorter garments, under these; and are a.s.suredly the most effeminate and cowardly nation in the world. On their heads they wear a caul or close bonnet, some of silk and some of hair, having the hair of their heads very long, and bound up in a knot on their crowns. Their n.o.bles and governors wear hoods of sundry fas.h.i.+ons, some being one half like a hat and the other half like a French hood, others of net-work with a high crown and no brims. They are tall and strong built, having all very small black eyes, and very few of them have any beards. They will steal and commit all manner of villainy to procure wealth. At Bantam they purchase female slaves, as they cannot bring any women out of China. By these slaves they have many children; and when they go back to China, without intending to return to Bantam, they carry all their children along with them, but sell their women. They send always some of their goods to China by every fleet of junks; for if they die at Bantam, all the goods they have there fall to the king. If they cut their hair, they must never return to China; but their children may, providing their hair has never been cut.

-- 2._A brief Discourse of many Dangers by Fire, and other Treacheries of the Javanese_.

After our two s.h.i.+ps, the Dragon and Hector, were laden, and all things set in order, our general, Sir James Lancaster, departed from Bantam on the 21st February, 1603, leaving nine persons resident in that city, over whom he appointed Mr William Starkie to be chief commander. He likewise left thirteen others, who were appointed to go in our pinnace for Banda, over whom Thomas Tudd, merchant, was const.i.tuted chief commander, and Thomas Keith master of the pinnace. At his departure, the general left orders that the pinnace should be sent away with all speed; wherefore, having taken on board fifty-six chests and bales of goods, she set sail at night on the 6th March; but meeting with contrary winds, was forced to return to Bantam after having been two months at sea, beating up to no purpose. Also, at our general's departure, he left us two houses full of goods, besides some being at the Dutchman's house; but we were too few in number to have kept one house well, had not G.o.d of his great mercy preserved us.

Before the departure of our s.h.i.+ps, a quarrel had taken place between our people and the Javanese, who sought by all manner of ways to be revenged; so that presently after the departure of our pinnace, they began to attempt setting fire to our princ.i.p.al house, by means of fire-arrows and fire-darts in the night; and when we brought out any quant.i.ty of our goods to air, they were sure to set some part of the town on fire to windward not far from us. If these fire-arrows had not, by G.o.d's good providence, been seen by some of our people, that house and all its goods had surely been consumed, as plainly appeared when we came afterwards to repair the roof. But, as the malice of the rascal sort began now plainly to appear, and continued for two years against us, so did the merciful protection of G.o.d begin to shew itself, and continued to the last day, as will manifestly be seen in the sequel of this discourse: For which blessed be his holy name.

Immediately after dispatching the pinnace, we began to lay the foundation of our new house, which was seventy-two feet long, and thirty-six broad. And as at this time a new protector of the kingdom was chosen, we were put to some trouble and cost before we could get permission to go through with it. In airing our prize goods, Mr Starkie unadvisedly caused the leather covers to be stripped off from most of the bales, by which we found afterwards that they did not keep their colour near so well as the others. On the 21st of March, in consequence of a cannon being fired off by a Chinese captain, the town was set on fire, and many houses full of goods were consumed. Among the rest the Dutch house was burnt down, in which we had sixty-five packs of goods, besides some pepper. We had also a considerable quant.i.ty of pepper in the house of a Chinese which was burnt down, in which we lost 190 sacks entirely, besides damage received by the rest. Our loss by this fire was great, yet we were thankful to G.o.d it was no worse, considering how near the fire came to our two houses, which were at that time very unfit for such danger, especially one to which the fire came within three yards, so that the jambs of the windows were so hot one could hardly lay their hand upon them, yet did not its old dry thatch take fire, to the great admiration of all who were there of many nations. All the villains of the place gathered round our house, so that we durst take no rest, lest they should set it on fire. Some of them even were so impudent in the evening as to ask how many of us lay in that house, as if meaning to set upon us in the night and cut all our throats. They were even so bold as to come in the day time before our very faces, to observe how our doors were fastened in the inside; and we were often warned by our well-wishers to keep good watch, as there were a knot of thieves who intended to rob and murder us. There were only four of us in this house, who, with over-watching, and by the disease of the country, which is a dysentery, were quite spent with weakness, and two of us never recovered. Nine sail of Hollanders came into the road on the 19th of April, 1603, of which fleet Wyorne van Warwicke was general; who shortly after sent two s.h.i.+ps to China, two to the Moluccas, and one to Jortan, two remaining at Bantam. We were much beholden to this general for bread, wine, and many other necessaries, and for much kindness. He used often to say that Sir Richard Lewson had relieved himself, when like to perish at sea, for which he held himself bound to be kind to the English wherever he met them; and he shewed much reverence for our queen on all occasions.

Thomas Morgan, our second factor, died on the 25th of April, after having been long sick; and Mr Starkie began to grow very weak. The 28th, our pinnace which had gone to Banda came back to Bantam, having lost William Chace, one of her factors, and all the others in her were weak and sickly. The new protector now forbade us from proceeding with our house; but by the favour of the Sabander, and _Cay Tomogone Goboy_ the admiral, we were with much ado allowed to finish it. Mr Starkie, our princ.i.p.al factor, died on the 30th June, whose burial General Warwicke caused to be honoured by the attendance of a company of shot and pikes, with the colours trailed, as at the funeral of a soldier.

The great market-place on the east side of the river was set fire to on the 4th July, in which fire several Chinese who were indebted to us lost their all, so that we sustained some loss. Thomas Dobson, one of the factors appointed for Banda, died on the 17th July. The town was fired again on the east side of the river on the 27th. The 5th, several Dutch captains came to our house, saying that the regent had asked if they would take our parts in case he did us any violence; when they told him we were their neighbours, and they would not see us wronged. I went immediately to the regent, to whom I gave a small present, and thanked him for the men he had lent us to help our building; but I could see by his countenance that he was angry. The same day the admiral of Bantam sent his son to the regent to enquire why he used threats against us, which he denied; and, sending for me next morning, he asked me who had said he meant to harm us. Saying it was the Dutch captains, he answered if any Javan or Chinese had said so, he would have sent for them and cut their throats before my eyes. He then blamed me for not coming to him when we had any suits, and going always to the sabander and admiral; upon which, I said that he was only newly appointed, and we were not yet acquainted with him, but should apply to him in future.

About this time an affray broke out between the Hollanders and the Chinese, in which some on both sides were slain and wounded, owing to the disorderly and drunken behaviour of the lower Dutchmen when on sh.o.r.e. They got the worst on this occasion, not indeed from the Chinese themselves, but from some Javan slaves of turn-coat Chinese, who would steal unawares on the Hollanders of an evening, and stab them in a cowardly manner. One day, when the Hollanders were very importunate about one of their men who had been a.s.sa.s.sinated, the regent asked, whether they brought a law along with them into a foreign country, or whether they were governed by the laws of the country in which they resided? They answered, that they were governed by their own laws when on s.h.i.+p board, and by those of the country when on sh.o.r.e. Then said the regent, "I will tell you what are the laws of this country in regard to murder. If one kill a slave, he must pay 20 ryals of eight, if a freeman 50, and if a gentleman 100." This was all the redress they had for the slaughter of their man.

About the 5th September there came a junk full of men from the island of _Lampon_ in the straits of Sunda, who are great enemies to the Javans, and yet so very like them as not to be distinguishable. These men, having their junk in a creek near Bantam, and being in all points like the Javans, used to come boldly into the town and into the houses, even at noonday, and cut off the people's heads, so that for near a month we had little rest for the grievous lamentations of the towns people. After a time, many of them becoming known, were taken and put to death. They were men of comely stature, and the reason of their strange procedure was, that their king rewarded them with a female slave for every head they brought him, so that they would often dig up newly-buried persons at Bantam and cut off their heads, to impose upon their savage king.

About this time, we got notice from the admiral and other friends to be much on our guard, as some of the princ.i.p.al natives in respect to birth, though not in wealth or office, had conspired to murder us for the sake of our goods, and then to give out that it had been done by the _Lampons_. These devils came several times in the intention to execute their horrid purpose, but seeing always lights about our house, which we had set up that we might see them, and hearing our drum at the end of every watch, their hearts failed them for fear of our small arms, both which and our _murderers_ [blunderbusses] we had always ready for their reception. At length they fell out among themselves and dispersed.

By our continual alarms, and the grievous outcries of men, women, and children, who were nightly murdered around us, our men were so wrought upon, that even in their sleep they would dream of pursuing the Javans, and would suddenly start out of bed, catch at their weapons, and even wound each other before those who had the watch could part them; but yet we durst not remove their weapons, lest they should be instantly wanted, of which we were in constant dread. Being but few of us, I had to take my regular turn of watch with the rest, and have often been more in fear of our own men than of the Javans, so that I had often to s.n.a.t.c.h up a target when I heard them making any noise in their sleep, lest they might treat me as they did each other. So terrified were we on account of fire, that though, when we went to sleep after our watches were expired, our men often sounded their drum at our ears without awakening us, if the word fire had been spoken, however softly, we would all instantly run from our chambers; so that I was forced to warn them not to talk of fire in the night without urgent occasion. I do not mention these things to discourage others from going hereafter to Bantam: for we were then strangers, but have now many friends there, and the country is under much better regulation, and will more and more improve in government as the young king grows older. In three months time, the town on the east side of the river was five times burnt down; but, G.o.d be praised, the wind always favoured us; and although the Javans often set it on fire near us, it pleased G.o.d still to preserve us, as there was little wind, and the fire was put out before it got our length.

-- 3. _Differences between the Hollanders, styling themselves English, and the Javans, and of other memorable Things_.

About this time there was again a great outcast between the Hollanders and the natives, owing to the rude behaviour of the former, and many of them were stabbed in the evenings. The common people did not then distinguish between us and the Hollanders, calling both of us English, because the Hollanders had usurped our name on first coming here for trade, in which they did us much wrong, as we used often to hear the people in the streets railing against the English, when they actually meant the Hollanders; so that, fearing some of our men might be stabbed instead of them, we endeavoured to fall upon some plan to make ourselves be distinguished from them. And as the 17th of November drew nigh, which we still held as the coronation-day of queen Elizabeth, knowing no better, we dressed ourselves in new silk garments, and made us scarfs and hat-bands of red and white taffeta, the colours of our country, and a banner of St George, being white with a red cross in the middle. We, the factors, distinguished ourselves from our men, by edging our scarfs with a deep gold fringe.

When the day arrived, we set up our banner on the top of our house, and, with our drum and fire-arms, marched up and down the yard of our house; being but fourteen in number, we could only _cast ourselves in rings and esses_ in single file, and so plied our shot. Hearing our firing, the sabander, and some others of the chief people of the land, came to see us, and enquired the cause of our rejoicing; when we told them that our queen was crowned on that day forty-seven years ago, for which reason all Englishmen, in whatever country they might then happen to be, were in use to shew their joy on that day. The sabander commended us mightily, for shewing our reverence to our sovereign at so great a distance from our country. Some of the others asked, how it happened that the Englishmen at the other house or factory did not do so likewise; on which we told them that they were not English but Hollanders, having no king, and their land being ruled only by governors, being of a country near England, but speaking quite a different language.

The mult.i.tude greatly admired to see so few of us discharge so many shots, for the Javans and Chinese are very inexpert in the use of fire-arms. In the afternoon, I made our people walk out into the town and market-place, that the people might see their scarfs and hat-bands, making a shew that the like had never been seen there before, and that the natives might for the future know them from the Hollanders; and many times the children ran after us in the streets, crying out, _Orang Engrees bayk, Orang Hollanda jahad_: The Englishmen are good, the Hollanders are bad.

The 6th December two Dutch s.h.i.+ps came in, that had taken a rich Portuguese carak near Macao, by which they got great plunder, and were enabled so to bribe the regent, that he began to listen to their desire of being permitted to build a handsome house. About this time the regent sent for me to lend him 2000 pieces of eight, or at least 1000; but I put him off with excuses, saying we had been left there with goods, not money, that the natives owed us much which we could not get in, and that we were under the necessity of purchasing pepper to load our s.h.i.+ps, which we were expecting to arrive daily.

The 6th February, 1604, Robert Wallis, one of our company, died, and several others of our men were very weak and lame, owing to the heat of the pepper, in dressing, screening, and turning it; so that we were in future obliged to hire Chinese to do that work, our own men only superintending them. The 16th of that month there came in a great s.h.i.+p of Zealand from Patane, which made us believe that General Warwicke was coming to load all his s.h.i.+ps here; for which reason we immediately bought up all the good and merchantable pepper we could get. This s.h.i.+p had made some valuable prizes, but they had sworn all the English mariners on board to tell us nothing, on pain of losing their wages, which we took as very unkind. There was at this time in Bantam three houses of the Hollanders, all upon separate accounts, which all bought up as much pepper as they could get.

The 5th March, the regent sent again to borrow 1000 pieces of eight in the name of the king; and I was forced to lend him 500, lest he might have quarrelled with me, which would have given much pleasure to the Hollanders. In this country, when a Javan of any note is to be put to death, although there is a public executioner, yet the nearest of kin to the criminal is generally allowed to execute the office, which is considered as a great favour. The 14th March, Thomas Tudd, who had been left here as chief factor for Banda, departed this life, having been long sick; so that of seven factors left here for Bantam and Banda, two only were in life, besides several others of our men having died; we being now only ten men living and one boy.

A great junk from China came in on the 22d of April, which was thought to have been cast away, being so late, as they usually come in during February and March. In consequence of her very late coming, _cashes_ kept all this year at a very cheap rate, which was a great hindrance to our trade, as when _cashes_ are cheap, and pieces of eight consequently dear, we could not sell any of our prize goods at half the value we did at our first arrival. Besides this, the Chinese sent all the ryals they could get this year to China; for which reason we were obliged to give them credit, or must have lost the princ.i.p.al time of the year for making sales. The Hollanders had purchased all the pepper, except what was in our hands, and what belonged to the sabander, who would not sell at any reasonable price. Our goods now began to be old, and many of their colours to fade; for the warehouses are so hot and moist, that they will spoil any kind of cloth that is long in them, though we take never so much pains in airing and turning them.

-- 4. _Treacherous Underminings, and other Occurrences_.

A Chinaman turned Javan was our next neighbour, who kept a victualling-house or tavern, and brewed arack, a hot drink used in these parts instead of wine. He had two outhouses, in one of which his guests were in use to sit, and the other was his brewhouse, which joined the pales on the south side of our house. He now commenced a new trade, and became an engineer, having leagued with eight other villains to set our house on fire and plunder our goods. These nine ruffians dug a well in the brewhouse, from the bottom of which they wrought a mine quite under the foundation of our house, and then upwards to our warehouse; but on coming to the planked floor of the warehouse, they were at a stand how to get through, being afraid to cut them, as they always heard some of us walking over them night and day. They had gone wrong to work; for if they had continued their mine only to our next adjoining wareroom, they would have found 30,000 pieces of eight buried in jars for fear of fire; beside that room was not boarded. After waiting two months in vain for an opportunity to cut the boards, one of them, who was a smith, proposed to work through our planks by means of fire. Accordingly, about ten at night of the 28th May, 1604, they put a candle to the planks, through which they presently burnt a round hole. When the fire got through, it immediately communicated to the mats of our bales, which began to burn and spread. All the while we knew nothing of the matter, by reason of the closeness of the warehouse, all the windows being plastered up for fear of fire over-head.

After the first watch was out, one of which I had been, the second watch smelt a strong _funk_ of fire, as it was by that time much increased, but they could not find out where it was after searching every corner.

One of them remembered a rat-hole behind his trunk, whence he could plainly perceive the smoke steaming out, on which he came immediately to me, and told me our cloth warehouse was on fire. Going down immediately, and opening the doors of the warehouse, we were almost suffocated by the smoke, which was so thick we could not perceive whence it came. We had at this time two jars of gunpowder in this warehouse, which made us greatly fear being blown up: But, laying aside fear, we pulled every thing away that lay upon these jars, and got them out to our back-yard, the jars being already very hot. We now searched boldly for the fire, and at last found it. At length, by the aid of some Chinese merchants and others, we cleared the room of above fifty packs of goods, sixteen of which were on fire.

We wondered how this fire had come, suspecting the Portuguese had hired some Malays to do it: But a Chinese bricklayer, who wrought at the Dutch house, told a Hollander next morning, who had been long in the country, that it was done by the Chinese brewer and his accomplices, who were now fled, and if we looked well in the room we should find how it had been done. The Dutchman told this to an English surgeon, desiring him to come and tell us, while he, the Dutchman, being perfect in the native language, would go and enquire after the incendiaries. The surgeon came to me, and desired to see the room which had been on fire; on going into which with a candle, he presently discovered a little round hole, burnt quite through one of the planks of the floor, and putting down a long stick, we could feel no bottom. I then called for an axe, with which we wrenched up the plank as softly as possible, under which was a hole through which the largest trunk or pack in our warehouse might have gone down. I immediately took three of our men armed, and went to the house whence the mine came. Leaving one at the door, with orders to let no person out, I went into the house with the other two of my men, where we found three men in one of the rooms. There were two more in another room, who immediately fled on hearing us, by means of a back-door which we did not know of. After a few blows, we made the three men prisoners, and brought them away. One was an inhabitant of the brewer's house, but we could prove nothing against the others, yet we laid all three in irons. I immediately sent Mr Towerson to the regent, to give him an account of the matter, and to desire the villains might be sought out and punished. He promised this should be done, but was very slack in performance. The Dutch merchants, hearing we had taken some of the incendiaries, and fearing the Chinese might rise against us, came very kindly to us armed, and swore they would live and die in our quarrel.

After laying out such of our goods to dry as had been wetted in extinguis.h.i.+ng the fire, we examined the person who dwelt with the brewer, who told us the names of six who were fled, but would not confess that he knew any thing about the mine, or setting our warehouse on fire. Then threatening him with a hot iron, but not touching him, he confessed the whole affair, and that he was concerned in it, saying, that the two out-houses were built expressly for the purpose, though put to other uses to avoid suspicion. I sent him next morning to execution; and as he went out at our gate, the Javans reviled him, to which he answered, that the English were rich and the Chinese poor, therefore why should not they steal if they could from the English?

Next day the Javan admiral took one of the incendiaries, who was found hid in a privy. This was he who put the fire to our house. He confessed to the admiral that he had clipped many ryals, and had counterfeited some; he even confessed some things concerning our matter, but not much, and would tell us nothing. Because of his obstinacy, and that he had set our house on fire, I caused him to be burnt, by means of sharp irons thrust under the nails of his thumbs, fingers, and toes, and the nails to be torn, off; and, because he never flinched, we thought his hands and feet had been benumbed with tying, wherefore we burnt him in other parts, as the hands, arms, shoulders, and neck, but even this had no effect. We then burnt him quite through the hands, and tore out the flesh and sinews with rasps, causing his s.h.i.+ns to be knocked with hot searing irons. I then caused cold iron screws to be screwed into the bones of his arms, and suddenly s.n.a.t.c.hed out, and to break all the bones of his fingers and toes with pincers: Yet for all this he never shed a tear, neither once turned his head aside, nor stirred hand or foot; but, when we asked a question, he would put his tongue between his teeth, and strike his chin on his knees to bite it off. After using the utmost extremity of torture in vain, I made him be again laid fast in irons, when the ants, which greatly abound there, got into his wounds, and tormented him worse than we had done, as might be seen by his gestures.

The king's officers desired me to shoot him to death, which I thought too good a death for such a villain; but as they insisted, we led him out into the fields and made him fast to a stake. The first shot carried away a piece of his arm, bone and all; the next went through his breast near the shoulder, on which he bent down his head and looked at the wound. At the third shot, one of our men used a bullet cut in three pieces, which struck his breast in a triangle, on which he sunk as low as the stake would allow. Finally, between, our men and the Hollanders he was shot almost in pieces.[125]

[Footnote 125: This monster might have graced the holy office! He must have delighted in cruelty, or he could not have devised such horrible torments, and given a recital of them. The Dutch at Amboyna did not inflict more savage tortures on the English. Had not these things been related by the author himself, we could scarcely have believed such cruelty could have existed in an Englishman.--_Astl._ I. 295, a.]

At this time the admiral and sabander sent us an armed guard every night, lest the Chinese might rise against us. We were not, however, in any fear of them; yet we kept four of them to be witnesses for us, in case of their rising, that what we did was in our own defence. By means of a bribe, I procured another of the incendiaries, who confessed against his a.s.sociates. These were _Uniete_ the chief; _Sawman_ his partner, dwelling in the same house; _Hynting_, Omygpayo, Hewsamcow; Utee_, who was shortly after _crissed_ for being caught with a woman; the informant, named _Boyhoy; Irrow_ and _Lackow_, who were fled to Jackatra, neither of whom I had before heard of. I used every means to get them, but could not, unless I had been at great charges. Some of them belonged to great men among the Javans, and had taken refuge in their houses, so that we could not get at them: Yet some of their masters offered to sell them, on which we higgled for their price as one would do for an ox or calf, but they held them so dear that I could not deal with them. I offered as much for each as would have bought a slave in their stead; but they were fit instruments for their purpose, being practised in all manner of villainy, so that they would not part with them, except for large sums; for all the Javans and Chinese, from the highest to the lowest, are thorough-paced villains, without one spark of grace. Were it not for the sabander and admiral, and one or two more, who are natives of _Clyn_, there would be no living for Christians among them, without a fort, or a strong house all of brick or stone. We did not torture _Boyhoy_, because he had confessed, but crissed him.