MALAYAN ISLES.

THOSE who conſult the map of this portion of the globe, will inſtantly perceive the effect of the rapid diſ⯑charge of the waters after the deſtruction of the old world by the deluge, aided by volcanic fury. Volcanoes, or veſ⯑tiges of volcanoes, are to be ſeen in moſt parts to this day; amazing caverns, mountains piled upon mountains, with all the teſtimonies of the mighty confuſion; we know not the ante⯑cedent form, but it was evidently ſhattered by that great event. From the top of the bay of Bengal to the very pole, it ſwept every thing before it, and left a vaſt expanſe of ocean, uninter⯑rupted by any land, except the diminutive ſpots of Kerguelin iſlands, or the leſſer ſpeck of Amſterdam and St. Paulo.

FROM Cape Negrais, the ſouthern point of Pegu, the waters ſeem to have been impelled towards the vaſt Pacific Ocean. The iſles of Andaman and Nicobar firſt ſhew that tendency in a ſlight degree; all the peninſula of Malacca was affected in a higher. The iſland of Sumatra follows the curvature of that part of the continent. At Java it begins to ſhew the ſury of the [2]attracted courſe of the waters towards the eaſt. Java, Cumbava, Timor, the Molucca iſlands, and New Guinea were formed by their influence. At New Guinea the torrent took a ſoutherly direction, and rent into fragments all that part of the primitive world, even to the remoteſt of the Society iſlands, which, like the train of a comet, ſhew the innumerable remnants of land, moſt evident witneſſes of its courſe. The amazing iſland of New Holland reſiſted the force, and continues, more worthy of the name of a continent. New Zealand remains divided from all the reſt; to the eaſt is ſea as far as America, and remote as the pole itſelf on the ſouth. The north part of the vaſt Pacific is contracted by the ap⯑proximation of Aſia and America. The creſcent of iſlands from Alaſchka to Kamtſchatka mark the antient union of the preſent continents. The flood formed from the ſouth of Kamtſchatka the Kuril iſles, Matmay, and Japan, Liqueo and Formoſa, the Philippine iſlands, the great Borneo, and all the groups ſcattered over the ocean to the north-eaſt, ſuch as the Pelew, the La⯑drones, and the Carolinas, and the range named after Lord Mul⯑grave. Such is the hypothetical view of this face of the globe.

Sumatra, SUMATRA. the firſt iſland which ſtrikes our eye, bounds the weſt ſide of the ſtreights of Malacca. The equator croſſes it in the middle, and divides it into almoſt two equal parts. Acheen head lies in Lat. 5° 33′ north, and Hogs point in 5° 5′ ſouth. The length is about eight hundred miles, and the greateſt breadth a hundred and thirty. All the weſtern ſide is very low, and in⯑terſected with ſwamps, inſulating certain patches ſlightly ele⯑vated. A range of mountains runs through the whole iſland, much nearer to the weſtern than the eaſtern coaſt. In ſome [3]places they are double and treble, with beautiful vallies between each chain; but, excepting where cleared, both valley and mountain are clothed with ſhady foreſts. Theſe chains approxi⯑mate to the coaſt on the whole of the weſtern ſide. At their foot is low, and often ſwampy land.

SOME of the mountains are of a vaſt height; Ophir, MOUNT OPHIR. ſituated immediately under the line, is 13,842 feet high, or two miles one thouſand and ninety-four yards. No ſnow is ever ſeen on it, yet the inhabitants of all the chains are, like thoſe of other alpine regions, ſubject to monſtrous wens or goitres: this malady owes its origin to the water, or the thick, cold, and foggy vapors which univerſally ariſe from the vallies. Theſe people are not infeſted with any particular diſeaſe, the reſult of the tumors; they enjoy the ſame health as others; BAD CLIMATE. but the climate of Sumatra near to the ſea, or amidſt the ſwamps, is dreadful. "Near Indrapour," ſays Lind ^*, ‘is a place where no European can venture to ſleep one night on ſhore during the rainy ſeaſon without running the hazard of his life, or at leaſt of a dangerous fit of ſickneſs; and at Podang, a Dutch ſettlement on the ſame iſland, the air has been found ſo bad, that it is commonly called the Plague Coaſt. Here a thick peſtilential vapor or fog ariſes after the rains, from the marſhes, which deſtroys all the white inha⯑bitants.’

IN all theſe chains are numbers of volcanoes, VOLCANOES. which are called by the Malayes, Goonong Appee; they generally ſmoke, but ſel⯑dom emit flames or lava ^†. I believe no accurate obſervations have been yet made on their nature, being at a conſiderable [4]diſtance inland, and the approach impeded by deep and almoſt impenetrable foreſts. Sulphur may be collected in any quantity about their ſides.

THE iſland abounds with minerals. MINERALS. It has been long famous for its gold; GOLD. ſome is dug out of the earth; but by reaſon of the unwholeſomeneſs of the climate, no Europeans dare attempt to work, and the natives are too lazy to go to any depth. The greateſt part is taken out of the rivers, and waſhed from the ſand and gravel. The amount brought annually to the weſtern parts of Sumatra, does not exceed ten thouſand ounces. Menanga⯑cabow, a central and principal kingdom, has the greateſt quan⯑tity, the richeſt mines lying within its territory. The Malayes are moſt ſkilful artiſts in works of fillagree, in both gold and ſilver. Mr. Marſden ^* gives an ample account of the manufac⯑ture, which, with the coarſeſt of inſtruments, is carried on to the moſt amazing degree of elegance and perfection. On mention of that gentleman, let me own my obligation to his admirable hiſ⯑tory of Sumatra, for moſt of the articles on the ſubject of that iſland.

I FIND no mention of any ſilver being found here; COPPER. but it produces abundance of copper, of the richeſt kind.

TIN is met with in vaſt plenty, TIN. chiefly near Palambang, on the eaſt coaſt, and on the iſle of Banka; it is a conſiderable ar⯑ticle of trade, and, ſmelted into ſmall pieces, is exported in great quantities to China.

IRON is found in Menangacabow, IRON. where it is fuſed for uſe.

COAL is a production of Sumatra. COAL. Naptha, or earth oil, is [5]another, and is principally uſed to reſiſt the ravages of the termes, or white ants.

SALTPETRE is procured in abundance out of the vaſt caverns with which the iſland is hollowed, and is extracted out of the dung of the ſwallows called Layang Layang, which build by thouſands in the roofs. Theſe ſeem to be the kind which make the eſcu⯑lent neſts. The dung extends often twenty feet in breadth, and is from four to ſix feet in depth.

Napal, or the Steatites earth, forms the baſis of the cliffs, and often the beds of the rivers.

I SHALL now purſue the other parts of the natural hiſtory, begin with the zoology, and treat of it on the authority of Mr. Marſden, flinging it into a ſyſtematic form.

THE Horſes are ſmall and hardy; HORSES, COWS, SHEEP. the cows and ſheep are alſo ſmall; the laſt ſuppoſed to be of the Bengal breed.

THE buffalo, BUFFALO. or carbow, the moſt uſeful animal of the iſland, is the beaſt of draught, and ſupplies the inhabitants with milk and butter. There are none at preſent in a ſtate of nature.

DOMESTIC goats are common, and are called Cambing. GOATS. As to the Cambing Ootan, or goat of the woods, of Mr. Marſden, his deſcription is not ſufficient for me to aſcertain the ſpecies: "One," ſays he ^*, ‘which I ſaw, was three feet in height, and four feet in the length of the body. It had ſomething of the gazelle in its appearance; and, excepting the horns, which were about ſix inches long, and turned back with an arch, it did not much reſemble the common goat. The hinder parts were ſhaped like thoſe of a bear, the rump ſloping round off [6]from the back. The tail was very ſmall, and ended in a point. The legs clumſy. The hair along the ridge of the back riſing coarſe and ſtrong, almoſt like briſtles. No beard. Over the ſhoulder was a large ſpreading tuft of greyiſh hair; the reſt of the hair black throughout. The Scrotum globular. Its diſ⯑poſition ſeemed wild and fierce, and it is ſaid by the natives to be remarkably ſwift.’

THE deer ſeem to be the different ſort of axis, DEER. Hiſt. Quad. i. p. 117. Mr. Marſden names it the Hog-deer, N^o 59, but certainly not the Baby-roſſa, as he ſuppoſes it, which we ſhall hereafter ſhew to be a hog.

THE wild boar is frequent; WILD BOAR. the domeſtic is of the kind we call the Chineſe.

THE one-horned Rhinoceros is common. RHINOCEROS. Mr. Charles Miller informed me by a friend, that the two-horned, N^o 80, is ſome⯑times ſeen here.

THE foreſts abound with elephants: ELEPHANTS. few are applied to uſe; about ten are kept for ſtate by the king of Acheen; and that faithful traveller, Mr. Forreſt ^*, adds, that the inhabitants of the capital make uſe of them as horſes in their journies into the country. Much of the ivory is ſent to China and to Europe. The wild elephants collect in great herds, and are very deſtructive in the plantations. The natives contrive to poiſon them, by in⯑ſerting a fatal drug into the ſugar-canes, ſplit for that purpoſe.

OF the digitated quadrupeds are found variety of apes: APES. the Gibbon, or long-armed, N^o 88, in vaſt multitudes, generally perched by hundreds on the tops of trees, and very ſeldom de⯑ſcending. [7]The Ourang Outang is ſaid to be found in Sumatra, which is probable, as it is met with in the adjacent iſlands. The pig-tailed Baboon, N^o 102, is an inhabitant of this country.

AMONG the Battas are numbers of ſmall black dogs, DOGS. with erect ears, which are fattened for food. Wild dogs inhabit all parts of the iſland.

Tigers are numerous, and very deſtructive; TIGERS. they annually kill in the pepper country a hundred people; there are even in⯑ſtances of their depopulating whole villages; yet the natives will not deſtroy them, for they hold the doctrine of tranſmigration, and fear that in the tiger they may hurt the ſoul of an an⯑ceſtor.

HERE are two or three ſpecies of leſſer kind, called tiger cats.

THE Bear, N^o 209, is ſmall and black, BEARS. and devours the heart or pith of the coco-palms.

Otters and civets finiſh the liſt given us of the rapacious ani⯑mals of this iſland. OTTER. Mr. Marſden mentions an animal called a Stinkard, I ſuppoſe one of the mephitic weeſels.

THE creſted Porcupine, N^o 314, and I think the long-tailed, PORCUPINE. N^o 316, are found in this country.

Squirrels ^*, ſmall, and of a dark color, SQUIRREL. inhabit the woods.

Mr. Marſden mentions a Sloth, the two-toed, N^o 451, SLOTH. and the Armadillo; he names it the Tanqueeling, which is the ſhort-tailed Manis, N^o 460. As to the Armadillo, the whole tribe is confined to South America.

THE vaſt Bats, N^o 495, or N^o 496, ſwarm here, BATS. as they do in all the iſlands. They fly from iſland to iſland, and in their [8]paſſage are often ſeen dipping into the ſea, probably to ſnatch up the ſmaller fiſhes.

IT is very difficult to aſcertain the birds; [...]RDS. I can readily ſuppoſe them to be the ſame with thoſe of India, or the neighboring iſlands. I ſhall mention only two; one, the ſcarce ſpecies the Argus Pheaſant, ſpoken of before among the Chineſe birds ^*; I here add, that it is very common in the woods of Sumatra, &c.

THE other bird is the Caſſowary, Latham, iii. p. 10. tab. 72. This curious genus is related to the Oſtrich, but is moſt local, being confined to the torrid zone, and only to that part which includes this iſland, Java, Banda, and a few others of this great Archipelago. It runs faſt, is very fierce when in the wild ſtate; grunts like a hog, and will kick violently like the Oſtrich. Its food is vegetables, but will ſwallow iron, ſtones, or any thing that is offered.

I SHALL take notice of only one inſect, INSECTS. which is the common bee, the Apis Mellifica, which in theſe hot countries is left to it⯑ſelf unhived. Vaſt quantities of the wax is exported to China, Bengal, and other parts of India; as to the honey it is far inferior to the European kind.

I MAY mention that among the lizards is the Crocodile, CROCODILE. which makes dreadful havock among the bathers, who cannot be per⯑ſuaded from the performance of that rite notwithſtanding the danger; beſides, they look upon theſe terrible reptiles with a de⯑gree of reſpect, probably for the ſame reaſon as they do the tiger.

Sumatra ſtill wants its floriſt. I muſt content myſelf with [9]giving a liſt of ſuch of the vegetable kingdom as contribute to commercial purpoſes, or to the general uſe of the natives.

Pepper is the great ſtaple of the iſland. PEPPER. It was for the ſake of that ſpice that we defied the wretched climate. Mr. Marſden ^* gives a long and curious account of its cultivation; he alſo informs us that the white is only black stripped of the outer coat.

THE Piper Betel is cultivated greatly, BETEL. and ſent to the coaſt of Coromandel, and to Telinga, for the purpoſe of chewing, wrapped round the Areca, as we have already mentioned ^†.

THE Arundo Bambos is very common, BAMBOO. and not only furniſhes materials for building the houſes, but as I imagine, produces the quantities of canes that are exported from the weſtern ſide of the iſland.

THE Calamus Rotang, Rumphius, ROTANG. vol. v. p. 97. tab. 51. and num⯑bers of the following pages and plates, furniſhes annually great cargoes, chiefly from the eaſtern ſide of the iſland, which the Dutch ſend to Europe, and the country traders to the weſtern parts of India. The ſpecific name (Rotang) ſignifies in the Malayan language a ſtaff or walking ſtick; the common thick canes which ſerve for this purpoſe, and the ſmall limber canes imported from India, are all varieties of the Calamus Rotang—The former is,

Palmi juncus Calapparius, Var. A. Linn. and is accurately de⯑ſcribed by Rumphius, Amb. vol. v. p. 97. The texture of its wood, its leaves and flowering ſtems, bear a ſtriking reſemblance to ſome ſpecies of palm. Hence Rumphius has not unaptly named it Palmi juncus, or Palm ruſh. Its natural ſituation is in [10]woody mountanous tracts; there it pervades the higheſt trees, and interlacing its branches from bough to bough, forms, by its innumerable ramifications and ſpinous ſtems, an impenetrable thicket.

IN order to fit this cane for the purpoſe of a walking ſtick, a ſingle interſtice of ſufficient length between two joints is made choice of; this is loaded with a weight, or bound tight to a board, for the ſpace of a month, and alſo expoſed to ſmoak, to diminiſh ſomewhat of its natural pliability.

Rumphius obſerves, Herb. Amb. vol. 5. p. 100, that no author he had ſeen deſcribed this cane, which he imputes to its growing only in the remote parts of India, and ſequeſtered mountains, rarely viſited by Europeans, till they acquired ſovereign power over ſome of the regions.

Laurus Caſia ^*, CASIA. or baſtard cinnamon, grows in abundance in the interior parts of the north of the iſland; it is ſometimes fifty and ſixty feet high, and two feet in diameter; much of the bark is exported as the true cinnamon; and from the root, a camphor may, as is ſaid, be extracted.

A TREE ^† producing camphor, CAMPHOR. abounds here and in Borneo; it grows near to the ſea, and is equal in bulk to our largeſt oaks, being ſometimes fifteen feet in circumference, and a hundred feet high. The timber is excellent for the uſe of the carpenter, being light and durable, and reſiſts the injury of inſects. This valuable drug, Camphor ^†, is as much valued by the Sumatrans as by the Europeans, and ſerves for medical purpoſes. It has very [11]long been in uſe among the Arabs; much is ſent to China as well as Europe.

THE Styrax Benzoin of Mr. Jonas Dryander ^*, BENZOIN. grows chiefly in the Battas country, but not to a great ſize. The gum is pro⯑cured by inciſion, and ſent down to the ports in large cakes; a vaſt quantity is tranſmitted to Europe, where in Roman Catholic countries it is uſed as incenſe; the reſt is a moſt valuable medicine as an expectorant and ſtyptic, and forms the baſis of Turlington's balſam. It is burnt in all the Malaye iſles to perfume the rooms, to expel the inſects, the unwholeſome air, and noxious exhala⯑tions. I am doubtful whether this tree has been well aſcer⯑tained, for Linſchotten ^†, who ſeems well acquainted with it, ſpeaks of it as of vaſt height and ſize.

Coffee is cultivated in Sumatra, but, for want of ſkill, COFFEE. the ber⯑ries are not in any eſteem.

BOTH the Goſſypium arboreum and herbaceum, COTTON. may be had here in any quantities, but for want of encouragement, no more is cultivated than ſerves for the uſes of the country.

Bombax Ceiba is planted near every village, and ſtrikes the eye of ſtrangers by its ſingular form, being in ſhape of the branches like a dumb waiter; ſo regularly do they ſpread one above the other.

EBONY, Dioſpyros melanoxylon ^†, EBONY. that valued wood for furni⯑ture, ſo highly eſteemed by our anceſtors, is common here. It has been known ſince the days of Virgil.

[12] Pliny gives us a whole chapter on this wood ^*; he ſays it was ‘Trunco enodi materie nigri ſplendoris, ac vel ſine arte protinus jucundi.’ Virgil was miſtaken by confining ebony to India, it was alſo produced in Aethiopia. Hexodotus (in Thalia) tells us that the Aethiopians paid their tribute every three years in that article to the Perſian kings. It was eſteemed the moſt valuable tribute after gold and ivory. Pompey had an ebony tree carried before him in his triumph over Mithridates; yet to this day we have not one to place in our celebrated garden at Kew.

THE Teek ^†, Tectona grandis, TEEK. Tectona grandis, the pride of the eaſtern foreſts, grows in the north and eaſt of Sumatra.

THE pines which captain Cook found in the different parts of the ſouth ſeas are common here, PINES. and are called Arou; they flouriſh in a light ſandy ſoil, and are the firſt trees that grow on lands deſerted by the ſea. At page 70, tab. 51, of the firſt volume of Captain Cook's ſecond voyage, is ſome account of this tree, which as yet has not been claſſically deſcribed.

Sandal wood ^†, SANDAL., Pterocarpus Santolinus, both the white and the red, are produced in Sumatra.

THE poiſonous Manchineel tree, MANCHINEEL. Hippomane Mancinilla §, ^§, is common here, as well as in the Weſt Indies, and furniſhes a moſt uſeful timber, as it reſiſts the attacks of the Termes, or white ants; it is alſo valuable in works of ornament, the wood being finely veined; but the juice is ſo noxious, that if any falls on the eyes it will occaſion a blindneſs of many days, and the very drop⯑pings [13]of the leaves after rain, raiſe bliſters on the ſkin; ſtanding under its ſhade for any length of time affects the ſenſes.

ONE of the Sideroxylons, or iron woods, is common here, IRON WOOD. and of great uſe on account of its extraordinary hardneſs; it may be the Sideroxylon inerme, Hort. Elth. 357. tab. 265. Hort. Kew. i. 260.

THE pitch called Dammer, DAMMER. mentioned in the article Pulo con⯑dor, is extracted in abundance from certain reſinous trees which go under the common Malayan name of Canari; they grow in vaſt plenty in the ſpice iſlands, but we find that ſome ſpecies have extended far more weſt. Rumphius deſcribes all of them; but the ſpecies productive of this article are the Dammara nigra, vol. ii. p. 160. tab. 52, and the Dammara nigra legitima, 162. tab. 53, quantities are ſent to Bengal and other places, for the ſame uſes as pitch and tar are in Europe, and particularly for the ſhip⯑ping.

AMONG the trees or vegetables productive of the neceſſary food for the natives, ESCULENTS. is the Coco palm; rice, the Padda or upland; the common Mayz; Seſamum in great quantities, for the oil it produces, which is uſed only in burning; Ricinus palma Chriſti, for the caſtor oil, grows wild; Coſtus Arabicus, Amomum zeram⯑bet, and ſeveral others are raiſed for medicinal purpoſes. A Rumphius is wanted to pervade the foreſts of this vaſt iſland, and bring to light the numberleſs hidden treaſures it contains, im⯑portant perhaps in mechanics, medicine, and the luxuries of life.

THE Cycas circinalis, or ſago tree ^*, begins to appear here, but is not in ſuch general uſe as a food, SAGO. as we ſhall find it in the [14]more eaſtern iſlands: the plenty of rice ſuperſedes the neceſſity of it in Sumatra. I muſt not paſs over the knowledge that our great traveller Sir John Mandeville ^* had of this valuable tree, who found it in a great Yle he calls Pathen.

"IN that lond," ſays that flower of chivalry, ‘growen trees that beren mele, whereof men maken gode bred and white, and of gode ſavour; and it ſemethe as it were of whete, but it is not allynges of ſuche ſavour. And zif zou like to here how the mele comethe out of the trees, I ſhalle ſeye zou. Men hewen the trees with an hachet, alle aboute the fote of the tree, tille that the bark be parted in many parties; and than comethe out therof a thikke lykour, the whiche thei reſceyven in veſ⯑ſelles, and dryen it at the hete of the ſonne; and than thei han it to a mylle to grynde; and it becomethe fair mele and white.’

I SHALL conclude this ſubject with mentioning that on this coaſt, STRANGE PLANT OF PURCHAS. near Tappanooly, Mr. Charles Miller ^† found the ‘ſtrange plant,’ as Purchas ^† calls it, diſcovered by Sir James Lancaſter on the iſland of Sombrero, who ſpeaks of it as a tree which ſhrunk into the ground as ſoon as it was touched. Wonderful things were related of it by our old navigator. It is named, ſays Mr. Miller, by the Malayes, Lalan-laut, or ſea graſs. ‘It is found in ſandy bays or in ſhallow water, where it appears like a ſlender ſtrait ſtick, but, when you attempt to touch it, im⯑mediately withdraws itſelf into the ſand. I could never ob⯑ſerve any tentacula; a broken piece near a foot long, which after many unſucceſsful attempts, I drew out, was perfectly [15]ſtrait and uniform, and reſembled a worm drawn over a knit⯑ting needle; when dry it is a coral.’

THAT Sumatra was known to the antients is moſt probable, but that only partially. This, and two others which Ptolemy unites, ſeem in the opinion of Mr. Caverhill to have been the Sabaddibae of the old geographer. The Mahometan travellers of the year 1173 called it Ramni. They ſpeak of its gold mines, and excellent camphor, and of the inhabitants being cannibals. Marco Polo is very diffuſe in his account of this iſland, which he calls the little Java; he actually travelled over ſix of its eight kingdoms, and gives various particulars, long ſince confirmed by the later travellers. He mentions the cuſtom of eating human fleſh; he deſcribes the Rhinoceros under the name of Licorne, camphor, ſago, the cocoa palms, and the tapping them for the acquiſition of the liquor Toddy, ſo neceſſary a drink to the inha⯑bitants.

AFTER a very long interval the Portugueſe again diſcovered Sumatra. PORTUGUESE. Lopez Sequeira, in 1508, by the command of his great maſter, ſailed on a voyage of diſcovery, and arrived at the port of Pedeer, to the eaſt of Acheen, at the northern end of the iſland ^*; there he found ſhips from Pegu, Bengal, and ſeveral other countries. The king, a Mahometan, treated him with much civility. The great Albuquerque viſited the iſland in per⯑ſon, and entered into a treaty with the king of Pedeer. The Portugueſe afterwards engaged deeply in the wars between the petty monarchs of the country; but I do not find that they ever made any ſettlement.

[16]THE Dutch followed them in 1595. DUTCH. An account of that voyage may be ſeen in L'Hiſtoire de la Navigation de L'Inde ori⯑entale, printed at Amſterdam in 1609. In future I ſhall, in my references to thoſe voyages, cite them by the name of Nicolas's collection, who was the publiſher. At p. 18 is given an account of their firſt deſcent, and a plate of the dreſſes of the inhabitants. The Dutch formed ſeveral factories in Sumatra, which flouriſh to this day; the principal is at Padang, in the neighborhood of the gold country. Their next is at Palanbang, for the ſake of the tin which is dug by the natives, and fuſed on the iſle of Banca, on the eaſt ſide of Sumatra, oppoſite to the diſcharge of the river of Palambang. The city ſtands ſome miles from the mouth: It once belonged to the king of Bantam in Java, and is even to this day peopled by Javans; but ſince the Dutch have rendered that monarchy in a manner dependant on themſelves, they moſt probably may be ſtyled its maſters. Beſides making it the magazine of the tin drawn from Banca, they collect vaſt quantities of pepper from the neighboring parts. In 1662 this city was attacked by a Dutch fleet ſent from Batavia to revenge ſome moſt barbarous murders committed on their countrymen, it was ſtrongly fortified with trunks of trees cloſely put together, and mounted with numbers of cannon. Notwithſtanding this, the Dutch ſucceeded, and burnt the city to the ground.

THE Engliſh are at preſent in poſſeſſion of the great trade of Sumatra. ENGLISH. The reputation of its vaſt wealth gave riſe to the firſt voyage ever made by our countrymen to the Eaſt Indies. Eliza⯑beth, in the 43d year of her reign, iſſued her patent which con⯑ſtituted [17]originally the Eaſt India company. It is given at length by Purchas ^*.

IN conſequence of this, that able ſailor James Lancaſter, SIR JAMES LANCASTER. afterwards Sir James, was ſent there, and ſailed from Torbay on April 2d, 1601. He commanded the Dragon of ſix hundred tons, and had with him the Hector of three hundred, the Aſcen⯑ſion of two hundred and ſixty, and one more. Her Highneſs furniſhed her general, as he was called, with letters to divers of the eaſtern potentates, among others, one to the king of Acheen, the chief and firſt object of the voyage. He did not arrive at Su⯑matra till May 2d, 1602. The fame of Elizabeth's victories over the Spaniards had reached the king's ears, and in conſequence Lancaſter was moſt favorably received; he preſented gifts of great value on the part of his miſtreſs, and received others in return. The Portugueſe did all in their power to prevent a good under⯑ſtanding between the Engliſh and the king, but to no purpoſe. Lancaſter even made a ſhort cruiſe, and took a rich ſhip from Saint Thome on the Coromandel coaſt, belonging to the Portu⯑gueſe, which was deemed a lawful prize, that kingdom being then in poſſeſſion of our great enemy Philip II. Our general got in part of his lading of pepper in this iſland; the reſt in Ma⯑lacca; and after obtaining many valuable privileges from the king of Acheen, returned with a moſt friendly letter from the Sumatran prince. He met with a dreadful ſtorm off Mada⯑gaſcar; in the midſt of the confuſion, he thought of the ſervices he might render to his country by this remarkable notice: ‘The paſſage to the Eaſt Indies lies in 62 degrees 30 minutes, by the [18]north-weſt on the American ſide.’ After encountering many difficulties, he anchored ſafe in the Downs on September 11th 1603. Sir James acquired great wealth and reputation by this voyage, which he lived thirty years after to enjoy, as he well deſerved.

WE followed the advantages of this enterprize. The Dutch who had ſettled themſelves in the iſland, entertained the higheſt jealouſy of our riſing commerce, and gave all poſſible oppo⯑ſition; they even once expelled us from Bantam, where we had a factory. We then turned our thoughts towards Acheen, and met there ſome of the iſland chieftains in the year 1685, who invited us to ſettle on their lands; this, gave riſe to our eſta⯑bliſhment at Bencoolen, BENCOOLEN. which became the ſupreme factory. The fort called fort Marlborough was founded; we are now the prin⯑cipal traders in the iſland, and export from thence annually twelve hundred tons of pepper, the greateſt part to Europe, the reſt to China. This ſettlement is unwholeſome, the air full of malignant vapors; the mountains continually cloathed with thick heavy clouds, which break out in lightning, thunder, rain, and ſhort-lived ſtorms; the fort is tolerably healthy during the ſickly ſeaſon, and to that place the merchants ſhould make their retreat.

IN the year 1760, the French admiral D'Eſtaign deſtroyed this fort, and all our other ſettlements on the iſland, in order to drive us from the lucrative pepper trade; but they were ſoon re-eſtabliſhed, and our poſſeſſions ſecured to us in 1763 by the treaty of Paris.

ON the coaſt of the Battas country are two ſettlements, NATAL. one at Natal, and another on a ſmall iſle in the noble bay of Tappanoly, [19]which penetrates deeply inland, and is capable of containing all the navies of Europe, ſo as to ride ſecurely in any weather, with ſuch a multitude of harbors that a large ſhip could remain concealed ſo as to elude all ſearch. In this bay is found plenty of that enormous ſhell the Keemo or Chama Gigas ^*, it is often three foot broad, and of the weight of five hundred pounds; and is taken in deep water, by thruſting a long bamboo between the ſhells while they are gaping, which cloſe, and then are drawn up; the ſhell is quite white, and worked by the natives like ivory. The fiſh weighs often thirty pounds, and is excellent when ſtewed.

Sumatra is divided into numerous little kingdoms, ACHEEN. but that of Acheen is the moſt powerful. It once had a ſtrong and nume⯑rous fleet, with which it conteſted the ſuperiority of the ſea with the adjacent princes. Acheen was the great emporium of the iſland, and the reſort of the Arabs for the gold, camphor, ben⯑zoin, pepper, and all the commercial productions of the country. The government is entirely feudal, being founded on the Ma⯑layan plan. As to the genuine Sumatrans they are called Orang Ooloo, or countrymen, from their reſidence in villages. The Sultan of the empire of Menangecabow, EMPIRE OF MENANGECA⯑BOW. for a long time reigned lord paramount over all the other princes, who owned their au⯑thority to be derived from him: at preſent his real power is not ſuperior to that of a common Rajah; yet ſtill a ſuperſtitious re⯑gard is paid to his perſon; he is ſovereign pontiff; the opinion of his ſanctity is ſupported by the Mahometan prieſts, and an [20]air of myſtery ſurrounds his court; he iſſues out dictatorial edicts, which are received with reſpect; but attended to no far⯑ther than is conſiſtent with the intereſts or pleaſure of them to whom they are addreſſed. All the Sumatrans are originally de⯑rived from the Malayes, or inhabitants of the peninſula of Ma⯑lacca; when ſpoken of in this iſland, the word Malaye implies the Mahometans, who chiefly inhabit the coaſts. Mahometaniſm is the religion of all the Malaye governments; all obſerve the feudal ſyſtem, FEUDAL CUSTOM. and commute the puniſhment of crimes for money, which have their price as cuſtomary among the Ger⯑mans and Britons. Murder, as well as other crimes, having its price; this cuſtom is a dreadful encouragement, particularly ſince the Daltoos or magiſtrates receive the ranſom. Our factory was deſirous of putting a ſtop to the frequent aſſaſſinations, but was told by the Daltoo that he ſhould be a loſer, as he got twenty dollars a head when the families proſecuted. Some of theſe governments are very antient, being formed ſoon after the firſt population of the iſland. Menangecabow is one which received the Mahometan faith in later times from the Malayes of Ma⯑lacca, who had made a conqueſt of their antecedent brethren.

IN p. 33 of the preceding volume, I have given the general de⯑ſcription of the perſons of the Malayes. I cannot help thinking that thoſe of Malacca were a diſtinct people, who drove the an⯑tient inhabitants of the peninſula to take refuge in Sumatra, where they retain their language and alphabet, and that the Malayes in future times re-conquered the deſcendants of theſe refugees, and each ſtill retain their peculiar language and writing.

[21]I SHALL not attempt to give an account of the various na⯑tions into which this iſland is divided: NATIVES OF THE BATTAS. That of the Battas is too remarkable to be overlooked; they are of ſmaller ſtature than the reſt of the Sumatrans, and their complexions fairer; their religion is paganiſm, yet from very antient cuſtom they hold in reſpect the ſultan of Menangecabow, in all probability from the period in which both were of the ſame religion. We have our ſettlement on their coaſt, which enabled two of our factory, Mr. Charles Miller and Mr. Holloway, to undertake a journey into the interior parts of the country. I refer my reader for the par⯑ticular account to the lxviiith volume of the Philoſophical Tranſ⯑actions. From this expedition is verified the circumſtance of the natives being anthropophagi, and eat the fleſh of priſoners of war, or of offenders condemned for capital crimes. As ſoon as the man is put to death, they ruſh on the body, cut pieces of the yet tremulous limbs, dip it in lemon juice and ſalt, and eat it with exquiſite pleaſure. Mr. Miller ſays, they ſpake in raptures of the ſoles of the feet, and palms of the hands, as pe⯑culiar dainties. Marco Polo ^* tells us, that in the kingdom of Dragoiam they eat the bodies of their relations and beſt friends who chance to die, thinking it a peculiar reſpect to the deceaſed. They then bury the bones in the caverns of the mountains. Polo mentions this horrid cuſtom in other iſlands, ſo that it cer⯑tainly had ſpread far more extenſively than is imagined. The opinion was generally exploded, till the voyages in our days fur⯑niſhed us with ſeveral examples; ſome moſt dreadful, in which many Europeans fell victims to the cannibal appetite: Even the [22]illuſtrious Cook found in part a ſepulchre in the maws of the inhabitants of the Sandwich iſlands.

ON the iſland of Enganho, ENGANHO ISLAND. about ninety miles ſouth of fort Marlborough, are inhabitants of moſt ſavage appearance, and of a language unintelligible to the few who have viſited the place. It was ſcarcely known to have been inhabited, as it was long deemed inacceſſible by reaſon of the rocks, and dreadful break⯑ers. Commodore Beaulieu calls it L'Iſle Trompeuſe, and adds, that the natives murder all that come on ſhore. It appears from the Eaſt India pilot ^* to be of a triangular form. Mr. Charles Miller was hardy enough to viſit it. He found the men from five feet eight to five feet ten inches high, of a red color, with black ſtrait hair cut ſhort; that of the women long, and rolled into a neat curl on the top of the head. The men went quite naked; the women had no more than a plantain leaf to hide their nakedneſs; the arms of the men were lances headed with the bone of fiſh, their canoes made of two boards ſewed together, and the ſeam filled with pitch. Their houſes were circular, ſup⯑ported on ſtakes of iron-wood; they had no ſort of fowl, cattle, or rice; they lived on cocoa nuts, ſugar canes, and ſweet po⯑tatoes, or fiſh dried in the ſmoke. The fiſh they caught with their lances, or in nets very neatly manufactured by themſelves. Their behavior was hoſpitable, nor did they give any ſort of um⯑brage, till ſome imprudent conduct on our ſide excited an alarm. Conch ſhells, the Murex Tritonis, reſounded in all parts of the iſland, and our people thought fit to make a ſudden retreat.

A MOST furious ſurf riſes on great part of the weſtern and [23]ſouthern ſide of Sumatra, SURF. ſuch as vexes the weſtern coaſts of Africa. ‘It begins, ſays Mr. Marſden ^*, to aſſume its form at ſome diſtance from the place where it breaks, gradually accumu⯑lating as it moves forward, till it gains a height, in common, of fifteen to twenty feet, when it overhangs at top, and falls like a caſcade, nearly perpendicular, involving itſelf as it deſcends; the noiſe made by the fall is prodigious, and, during the ſtill⯑neſs of the night, may be heard many miles up the country. It forms ſometimes but a ſingle range along the ſhore; at other times, there is a ſucceſſion of two, three, four, or more, behind each other, extending perhaps half a mile out to ſea. The number of ranges is generally in proportion to the height and violence of the ſurf.’

Java is ſeparated from the iſland of Sumatra, JAVA. by the narrow ſtreights of Sunda; their depth is from thirty to fifty fathoms, and in ſome places are no ſoundings; the voyager is adviſed of the approach to Java by vaſt drifts of bamboos, and flocks of the booby ^†, or, according to Mr. Aſbeck's reference, the Pelecanus piſcator of Linnaeus. The currents are ſtrong in the narroweſt part, and from January to April uſually run from the weſtward; the reſt of the year from the eaſtward.

THE ſtreights begin with great breadth between Sumanca bay in Sumatra, and Welcome bay in Java. Sumanca and other peaks mark the former. PRINCE'S ISLAND. Prince's iſland lies near the Javaneſe ſhore, and is known by a ſmall mount called Java head, or the Pico. The latitude of the anchoring place in Kaſuarus bay, is 6° 36′ 15″ ſouth. This iſland is univerſally wooded, and vegeta⯑tion [24]advances ſo rapidly, that notwithſtanding what is cut for the uſe of the ſhipping, it ſeems nothing impaired. It has ſome in⯑habitants ſo like in figure, color, manners, and even language, to thoſe of the ſouth ſea iſlands, as greatly to ſtrike Captain Cook, who anchored here in 1780, after having been ſo long converſant with them. The chief buſineſs of the natives is to ſupply the ſhipping with fowls, ſmall tortoiſes, or green turtle, hog deer weighing about forty pounds; monkies, ſome vegetables, and above all water.

THIS iſland is as unhealthy as the reſt of theſe fatal coaſts; ISLAND OF CRACATOA. which has induced many navigators to prefer taking water at the iſle of Cracatoa, a ſmall ſpot about nine miles in circum⯑ference, and ſome leagues to the north-eaſt of Prince's iſland. In one part is a hot ſpring, uſed by the natives as a bath. The iſland is high, riſing gradually from the ſea, and covered with trees. In the coral reefs which ſkirt the ſhores are plenty of ſmall green turtle.

BETWEEN Hog point in Sumatra, and Cickorang in Java, the ſtreights ſuddenly contract. In the middle are the ſmall iſles, called Midchannel iſland, the Iſle de Milieu, and the rock Le grand Toque. Le Brun ^* calls the breadth a league and a half. After doubling the point, BANTAM. appears the bay of Bantam, deep, round, and ſprinkled over with many ſmall iſles; at the bottom is the city, capital of the kingdom. After Sir James Lancaſter left Acheen he ſailed to this port; the king was one of the Indian mo⯑narchs whom Elizabeth honored with her correſpondence; her letter was graciouſly received. Lancaſter eſtabliſhed here our [25]firſt factory in the Indian ſeas, and after loading his ſhip with pepper, took his departure for England.

THE Portugueſe viſited this coaſt in the time of the great Albuquerque; PORTUGUESE. the commanders in that expedition were Roderigo Brittio, and Ferdinand Andrada, who took part with one of the princes of the country, engaged in war with the king of Ban⯑tam, and gained a great victory over his fleet. Not long after George Albuquerque made an attempt to ſtorm Bantam ^*, but was repulſed with great loſs. Lacſemanna, the general of Malacca, the ableſt officer of his age, had the moſt conſiderable ſhare in the defeat.

AT the firſt arrival of the Europeans, Java (according to Sir Thomas Herbert ^†) was under one ſupreme, the emperor of Ma⯑tara; next to him was the king of Bantam, whom Sir Thomas only ſtyles a viceroy; poſſibly at firſt the government might have been like that of the primaeval eſtabliſhments of Sumatra, and in after times the delegated powers aſſumed an independene.

THE ſubtil Dutch took more efficacious methods to gain footing in the country; DUTCH. after various great events, various quar⯑rels and reconciliations, by an eſſential ſervice done in 1680 to one of the monarchs of Bantam, they received from him an excluſive grant of the trade of his kingdom. This they ſupport by a ſlight armed force; in fact, they are real maſters of the iſland, notwithſtanding they pay a pretended reſpect to the na⯑tive powers. Before that acquiſition of privilege by the Dutch, the Engliſh and Danes had very flouriſhing factories, but both were expelled by the influence of their Batavian rival.

[26] Le Brun ^* viſited this court in 1706, and exhibits a fine pic⯑ture of the effeminacy of the Oriental monarch, illuſtrating it with a print. All the attendants were females, even his body guards. One is ſeen with her muſket on her ſhoulder, others with lances. Dancing girls, and two diminutive dwarfs, perform⯑ing before his majeſty, ſhew the feſtivity of the court; let me add that one of the ladies, officers of ſtate, bore the ſword, another the golden bowl, and ſo to the number of ten, each carrying a different badge of ſtate. Near this city he alſo ſaw a miracle in this climate; a lady of the age of a hundred-and-thirty.

AFTER paſſing ſome leagues to the eaſt, through the group of the Thouſand iſles, we arrive at the bay of Batavia, amidſt others equally numerous, each named by the Dutch in memory of their own country. The traveller would imagine himſelf in Holland, and more ſo when he enters the great and magnificent city of Batavia, BATAVIA. ſeated in a ſwamp, as like as poſſible to their boaſted capital Amſterdam; but here, overhung with peſtilential vapors, that would ſoon by their fatal effects depopulate the na⯑tive country, did not the teeming Germany annually pour down the Rhine its thouſands to ſupply the loſs, in a place ſo injudici⯑ouſly fixed on through national prejudice. As to the troops, they are picked out of the vagabonds of Amſterdam, and ſent to certain death, for in the ſpace of three years, not five ſurvive out of a battalion of an equal number of hundreds. Let Doctor Lind ^† deſcribe the fatal effects of the injudicious ſelection of ſituation of this proud capital, on ſome of the Britiſh ſubjects, who unfortunately put in here: ‘During the ſickly ſeaſon at [27] Batavia, a boat belonging to the Medway, which attended on ſhore every night, was three times ſucceſſively manned, not one having ſurvived that ſervice. They were all taken ill in the night, when on ſhore, or when returning on board, ſo that the officers were at length obliged to employ none but the natives of the country on that buſineſs.’

ON the arrival of the Europeans in this country, JACATRA. a town then called Calappa, and about the year 1607 changed to that of Jacatra, ſtood on the ſite of Batavia. The regulus of the place had made an alliance with the Engliſh, which gave great umbrage to the Dutch, who had likewiſe their ſettlements here, under the protection of a fort or two; the rivals came to action; for a time we had the ſuperiority, and in the year 1619, after a ſucceſsful battle at ſea, compelled the Dutch commodore Koen, to retreat to Amboina; but he ſoon returned in ſuch force, as to oblige the Engliſh, by capitulation, totally to evacuate the place. This was not a national war, but carried on entirely be⯑tween the two companies.

Koen utterly deſtroyed the town of Jacatra, FOUNDED IN 1620. and built in its place the preſent Batavia, on a far more extenſive ſcale. The anniverſary is obſerved in honor of the founder to this day. The ſtreets are regular, each has its canal, which in the dry ſeaſon emit a moſt horrid ſtench, from the filth flung into them, and the cloſeneſs of the trees planted on the banks pre⯑vent the due circulation. No place could poſſibly be ſelected more unwholeſome; ſo that what Purchas relates of Bantam, may well be applied to this city, SICKLY CLIMATE. ‘that it is not a place to re⯑cover [28]men that are ſick, but to kill men who come there in health.’ The Jacatra, and other rivers which creep through the city, almoſt ſtagnate. A dead buffalo or hog flung into them, is perhaps many days in reaching the ſea. Theſe ſtreams paſs through a fenny plain, riſing from the Blauenberg or blue moun⯑tains, about forty miles diſtant. For the benefit of a quick and eaſy conveyance of ſuch as are in a convaleſcent ſtate, an excel⯑lent road is formed for ſeventy miles, leading from Batavia to the mountains, equal to any turnpike road in England.

Batavia is the ſeat of the viceroy of the Indies; the Dutch ſupport him with a ſplendor equal to that of moſt crowned heads, nor does he go out without his guards, magnificently dreſſed; this is to inſtil reſpect into the natives. The town is prodigiouſly populous; but neither the public or the private buildings are particularly fine; they poſſibly are in the ſame ſtate as they were in the time of Mr. Nieuhoff, who in his tra⯑vels ^* has given views of many of both kinds. The whole city is ſurrounded with gardens for a great diſtance, and the canals, cut far into the interior of the iſland, ſerve to convey all ſorts of proviſions to market; many forts are diſperſed over the country to awe the inhabitants.

THE Chineſe, MASSACRE OF THE CHINESE. attracted by the ſweets of gain, ſettled here in vaſt numbers; they are ſaid to have had, in the year 1726, two thou⯑ſand four hundred houſes in the city and ſuburbs, ſome of which were the beſt in Batavia; many of them were levelled to the ground in the infamous maſſacre of this nation in the year 1740. It began on occaſion of the celebration of a feſtival in [29]honor of their idol, the Jootſje de Batavia, a hideous likeneſs of the Devil (the Dutch only worſhipped him in private); the en⯑thuſiaſm of the devotees created diſorder; they grew riotous, and a guard ſent to reſtrain their zeal, executed its commiſſion with great vigor, which excited the rage of the Chineſe, ſo that much blood was ſhed. The governor and council, under pretence of public ſecurity, ordered every Chineſe to be put to the ſword, women and children excepted; reduced to deſpair, they ſet fire to their own houſes; numbers periſhed in the flames, and thoſe who ruſhed out were put to death by the ſoldiery; above twelve thouſand periſhed in this horrible affair. The Dutch publiſhed their account, which is left to the judgment of the reader to be⯑lieve or diſbelieve; they would make the cauſe to have been a regular conſpiracy, yet the governor, two of the counſellors of the Indies, and the attorney general, were depoſed and impri⯑ſoned; the Dutch certainly thought them guilty. The wealth of the Chineſe ſeems to have been the inducement to the bloody buſineſs. The governor's effects, which he was endeavoring to carry to Europe, amounted to half a million ſterling. So little were the Dutch apprehenſive of any harm from a new coloniza⯑tion of the Chineſe, that they permitted any number which pleaſed to ſettle again in Batavia, and multitudes reſorted there as if nothing had happened. The governor thought proper to ſend an apology to the emperor of China, which he received with unconcern, conſidering that his empire was overcharged with inhabitants, and indifferent to ſubjects who had deſerted the tombs of their anceſtors.

THE Chineſe ſeem to have been on the beſt footing with the [30] Dutch. In 1632, they gave a proof of their reſpect by having a noble medal ſtruck in honor of the governor, James Speks. On one ſide is the plan of Batavia; on the reverſe a Chineſe inſcrip⯑tion, and beneath the following Latin tranſlation:

Von Loan preſerves this mark of gratitude by a figure ^*.

IN all inſtances of real rebellions, DUTCH CRUELTY. and of the puniſhment of the ſlaves, a ſpirit of cruelty pervades the Batavians beyond the inhabitants of any other ſettlements; penetrate but into a grove near Batavia, and hundreds of naked corpſes will be ſeen hang⯑ing on the trees, by their legs, arms, or necks, all lacerated by the rapacious birds, and emitting the moſt peſtilential ſtench; no notice is taken of the death of a ſlave: the Dutchman ſcarcely ever ſuffers for any crime. Sir Thomas Herbert is perhaps too ſevere on this city, when he calls it "a ſecond Sodom."

BESIDES Batavia, the Dutch have numbers of ſmaller ſettle⯑ments on the coaſt, to collect the rich productions of the iſland. At Tſierobon is one, which country is governed by a depen⯑dent ſultan. He furniſhes them with the productions of his [31]dominions; an immenſe quantity of rice, coffee, ſugar, pepper, cotton, and Areca; all theſe are bought at the price the con⯑ſciences of the company fix, which is certainly not at the higheſt rate. Falſe weights are in general uſe with the company's ſer⯑vants, nor are they in any danger of being called to account, as it tends to the ſervice of their congenial maſters. PEPPER. Pepper is the great commodity of the iſland; Bantam furniſhes the Dutch with three millions of pounds annually.

LET us now paſs on the the iſland of Madura, in Lat. 7° ſouth.

THE Dutch picked a quarrel with its prince in the year 1747, PRINCE OF MADURA, HIS TRAGICAL STORY. who, after ſeeing his country invaded, his ſubjects maſſacred, and his own ruin to be certain, collected all his treaſures, and with his young ſon, wives, concubines, and a few ſelect friends, fled to Borneo in hopes of an aſylum. He was cloſely purſued, but by putting into creeks and inlets, for a ſhort time eſcaped; the unhappy fugitives ſet ſail in the night, and retreated into their hiding places in the day. At length, to their great joy, they ſaw a ſhip with Engliſh colors. They flung themſelves on the pro⯑tection of the commander, who received the prince and his trea⯑ſure. The Dutch Guarda coſta came up with him; as he knew force could not prevale, he by treachery ſeized on the Engliſh captain, put him into irons, nor would he ſet him at liberty, till the unhappy prince was delivered into the power of his ene⯑mies. Grown deſperate, he barricaded the cabin; it was forced open; jealous of the honor of his women, he ſtabbed two to the heart; others equally delicate flung themſelves over board. Oppreſſed with numbers, and greatly wounded, the aged ſultan was ſeized, and conveyed to Batavia, and from thence to the [32]wretched iſland of Robben, near the cape of Good Hope ^*, where he was living in April 1775, dragging on a miſerable being, in the character of a common ſlave. Whoever wiſhes to have a fuller account of this tragical and infamous event, may find it patheti⯑cally told in a voyage to the Eaſt Indies, 1747, 1748, publiſhed in 1762: the peruſal will be a trial of the heart of the reader.

Balimbuan is another little kingdom, SAME OF THE PRINCE OF BALIMBUAN. at the eaſtern extremity of the iſland. It ſeems that the Dutch, apparently without any motives of emolument, attacked alſo the prince of this country; he defended himſelf vigorouſly for two years, was overpowered, himſelf confined for life in the caſtle of Batavia, his family torn from him, and ſent to keep company with the Madurian prince at Robben iſland.

Matara, MATARA. the capital of the once potent empire of that name, is in about Lat. 8° 12′, on the ſouth ſide of Java. Even this em⯑pire was, after many conteſts, rendered dependent on the Dutch, who having depoſed the uſurping ſovereign, placed the rightful heir on the throne; but they choſe for him his place of reſi⯑dence, ſecured his allegiance by a citadel, and ſupplying him with every conveniency for his pleaſures, rendered this weak prince entirely ſubſervient to their will. In this part of the iſland is plenty of Teek, and timber for the building of ſhips, or for exportation to other parts of India; here they have their docks; beſides they carry on great commerce in rice, ſalt, pepper, and many other valuable productions.

Java wants its Marſden; but with ſuch lights as I can pro⯑cure, I ſhall attempt a brief deſcription of this important iſland. [33] Marco Polo is very conciſe in his account of it, which he names ſimply Java ^*. In his days there was only one monarch. It was greatly frequented by merchants for the ſake of the pepper and other ſpices; he mentions nutmegs, which probably have been ſince extirpated by the political Dutch. James Bontius, BONTIUS. a phyſician of great eminence, who flouriſhed here very ſoon after the foundation of Batavia by Koen, has furniſhed very good materials for the medical and natural hiſtory of the iſland. It is from a variety of authors I muſt ſelect accounts relative to other ſubjects.

Java extends from Weſt Point, in Lat. 6° 36′ ſouth, EXTENT OF JAVA. Long. 121° 33′ from Paris, to Eaſt Point, in Lat. 8° 33′ Long. 132°, near ſeven hundred miles in length. The courſe is weſt and eaſt, with an inclination to the ſouth; the greateſt breadth is about forty leagues, and nearly of equal diameter, except where the bays make ſome ſmall contractions.

THE land on the coaſts varies; at the weſtern and eaſtern ex⯑tremities it is high, but I believe in general the ſhores are low, ſwampy, and unhealthy. A lofty chain of mountains runs from weſt to eaſt through the middle, with numbers of branches iſſuing from each ſide to uncertain diſtances from the ſea. Some of the mountains are very lofty, and the air cool and ſalubrious; among them are very active volcanoes; VOLCANOES. the mountain of Parang is the principal, and ſaid to be very productive of gold; the Dutch ſpent near a million in attempting the diſcovery, but were diſ⯑appointed in their ſearch; theſe mountains produce beſides Ru⯑bies and Sapphires. Earthquakes are frequent and dreadful.

[34]I AM not qualified to give any account of the natives of theſe Appennines of Java. NATIVES. The general deſcription is, that their faces are flat, their cheeks broad, their hair ſhort and black, their eye⯑brows large, their eyes very ſmall. They boaſt that they are de⯑ſcended from the Chineſe; if true, we may account for the pro⯑bability of that nation migrating to this iſland; they may have been from the beginning in the conſtant habit of frequenting the coaſts. The manners of the mountaneers are ſaid to be fierce and barbarous, and their rites idolatrous. The inhabitants of the cities and coaſts are Mahometans. Repreſentations of the perſons of the Javaneſe in different characters are given by Mr. Nieuhoff, in his travels ^*, in Linſchotten ^†; and in the very curious old book of voyages already cited, are numbers of prints, begin⯑ning at p. 27, and continued to p. 37; and at p. 36 is given the manner of a dance, or rather a mimical repreſentation, exactly like the elegant one at p. 248, plate 16, 17, of the firſt volume of Captain Cook's laſt voyage.

Le Brun ^‡ repreſents a very curious figure of one of the ſavage natives of the ſouthern coaſt: he ſeemed a fine made man, almoſt black; his head covered with thick frizzled hair, lips large, noſe depreſſed, body naked, except a cloth round his waſte; on the right arm and left leg an ivory ring; his wea⯑pons were a ſtrong bow, ſeveral lances headed with ſomething ſharp, and one with a bearded bone, perhaps that of ſome ray. The painter, however, has certainly got hold of a native of the Papua iſlands, and not of the ſouth of Java.

IN enumerating the quadrupeds of this iſland, QUADRUPEDS. I ſhall omit all [35]which are in common to Sumatra; and that I believe, with very few exceptions, to be the caſe.

HORSES were found here on its firſt diſcovery; HORSES. they are ſmall, but ſtrong and ſpirited, and run wild among the interior mountains.

OXEN, the ſame as my Indian, Hiſt. Quad. p. 20, 21, OXEN. are com⯑mon, with and without hunches; thoſe without are higher ſhoul⯑dered than uſual; they are miſerably lean, with a finer grain, but leſs juicy than the European. Mr. Loten told me that wild oxen, of a reddiſh brown color, with vaſt horns, and of a great ſize, are found in Java.

THE African or Cabrito ſheep are common, SHEEP. and very bad eating. The broad-tailed is brought from the Cape for ſale, and is eſteemed excellent.

THE Axis, N^o 56, is found in this iſland, DEER. as is the middle ſized, N^o 57.

THE Ribbed Face, N^o 60, called by the Javans, Muntjak, is reckoned delicate food.

THE little Indian Muſk, N^o 67, and the Guinea, N^o 68, perhaps a variety, inhabit Java. The Poet-jang of the Javans are caught in ſnares, brought in cages to market, and ſold for the value of two pence halfpenny a piece.

THE one-horned Rhinoceros, N^o 81, is frequent. RHINOCEROS. As to ele⯑phants, they are not mentioned by Mr. Nieuhoff, and Bontius even ſays that they are not found in this iſland.

THE Sucotyro of the Chineſe is engraven by the former ^*, SUCOTYRO. and thus deſcribed: it is of the ſize of a large ox; has a ſnout like a [36]hog, two long rough ears, and a thick buſhy tail; the eyes placed upright in the head, quite different from other beaſts; on the ſide of the head, next to the eyes, ſtand two long horns, or rather teeth, not quite ſo thick as thoſe of an elephant; it feeds on herbage, and is but ſeldom taken. I have enquired about this animal from Mr. Loten and others, who never heard of it. I ſuſpect Mr. Nicuhoff was impoſed on by a fictitious drawing.

THE monkey tribe are very numerous; MONKIES. at their head is the Ourang Outang, common to Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, and this iſland. I ſhall ſpeak more of that ſpecies when I reach Borneo. The Egret, N^o 119, the Monea, N^o 120, and ſeveral other kinds, abound; and Sir Joſeph Banks ſaw near Batavia a great black one, but it ran away before he could aſcertain the ſpecies.

THAT ſingular animal the flying Maucauco, MAUCAUCO. N^o 156, is found here, and is well repreſented by Bontius. It inhabits alſo the Phi⯑lippine iſles.

Tigers are found in great numbers in the foreſts of Java, TIGERS. and annually deſtroy multitudes who are employed in hunting, or cutting of wood. Bontius, p. 55, ſays, that Leopards or Pan⯑thers are leſs common than the Tiger, but he does not fix the ſpecies.

THE Javan Opoſſum, OPOSSUM. N^o 219, is well engraven by Le Brun ^*.

THE Phalanger, N^o 226, I ſuſpect to be native of the ſame iſland.

THE four-toed Weeſel, WEESEL. or Surikate, N^o 257, is another animal of this country.

[37]THE long-tailed Porcupine, N^o 316, PORCUPINE. is excellently figured by Seba ^*. Bontius mentions it at p. 54, but his figure is of the Bra⯑zilian.

HERE are found the Javan Squirrel, N^o 335, SQUIRRELS. and the Palm, N^o 346; this lives much among the coco trees; and being very fond of the Sury, or liquor procured from the tree, is called the Suricatsje, or little cat of the Sury, a name improperly given to the Weeſel above mentioned. The Plantane Squirrel, N^o 348, is alſo very common here, rattling over the dry leaves of the Plan⯑tane.

THE Sailing Squirrel, N^o 349, is a very curious ſpecies, common to this and other neighboring iſles. The Arrow Squirrel is a ſmaller ſpecies, furniſhed with membranes, and has not yet been engraven.

THE Perfuming Shrew, N^o 424, is very common.

I PASS over the birds, excepting two, but may obſerve, PARROTS. that here the Parrot tribe become more numerous. The black Cockatoo, Edw. 316, inhabits Java; it ſometimes grows as large as a raven; all the birds of rich plumage begin to increaſe. In one of thoſe hot days when the fowls of the air fall down, and often periſh, unable to reſpire, that moſt beautiful ſmall pigeon the black capped, Ind. Zool. tab. viii. was found on the ground. It is a ſpecies of ſuch elegance, that I cannot reſiſt mentioning it in its native place. At Amboina I may begin to be more parti⯑cular; for in the Latitude of the Moluccas nature hath been laviſh of her beauties on the feathered claſs.

[38]THE wonders among the fiſhes are the Chaetodon Roſtralus, FISHES. JACULATOR. or Jaculator, Phil. Tranſ. vol. liv. 89. tab. 9.; the Sciaena, vol. lvi. 186. tab. 8.; and the Sparus Inſidiator of Pallas, Spicil faſe. viii. 41. tab. 5. fig. 1.; all remarkable for their method of laying in wait for infects, and by ſpouting out of their mouths a drop of water, diſable the prey from getting out of their reach. In Ba⯑tavia theſe fiſhes are kept in great vaſes for the amuſement of the gentry, by obſerving the curious oeconomy beſtowed on them by nature for the entrapping the infect tribe.

THE Ray, HURS RAY. which furniſhes the tuberculated ſkin called by the Engliſh joiners Hurs, and which is alſo uſed inſtead of Shagreen, is caught in theſe ſeas; it is of the Whip Ray kind; the ſlender long tail apterous, and beſet with ſhort ſpiny tubercles. Sir Jo⯑ſeph Banks had one brought to him at Batavia, but before he could examine it farther, the incurious cook had prepared it for the pot.

THE great Tunny, GREAT TUNNY. Br. Zool. iii. N^o 133, the Orcinus of Ron⯑deletius, extends to this coaſt. Bontius ſays, that the Javaneſe name is Ican Bouda, or the Horſe Fiſh. Our Burbolt, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 14, is found in the freſh waters of this diſtant country.

THAT moſt curious Star Fiſh the Aſterias Echinites, with twenty rays, covered with moveable ſpines, like the Echini, has been found on the Batavian ſide of the iſland. It is finely en⯑graven by Mr. Ellis, in the 60th table of his Zoophytes, and de⯑ſcribed at p. 206.

IN the ſame ſea is found the Gorgonia Umbraculum, ZOOPHYTES. Ellis, 80. tab. 10. That gentleman has in the ſame work favored us with numbers of the Zoophytes of the Indian ſeas. I cannot exactly [39]aſcertain their places, but think I cannot err in giving them as natives of this great archipelago.

• Antipathes Ulex, Ellis, 100. tab. 19. fig. 7.
• Pennatula Argentea, 66. tab. 8. fig. 1. 2.
• Millepora Caerulea, 142. tab. 12. fig. 4. Streights of Sunda in immenſe maſſes.
• Madrepora Faſcicularis, 151. tab. 30.
• Madrepora Anthrophyllites, 151. tab. 29.
• Madrepora Faſtigiata, 152. tab. 33.
• Madrepora Hirtilla, 155. tab. 37.
• Madrepora Aſpera, 156. tab. 39.
• Madrepora Cineraſcens, 157. tab. 43.
• Madrepora Pileus, 159. tab. 45.
• Madrepora Areolata, 161. tab. 47.
• Madrepora Meandrites, 161. tab. 48.
• Madrepora Abdita, 162. tab. 50.
• Madrepora Folioſa, 164. tab. 52. Theſe laſt are uſually ranked among Marine Fungitae.
• Madrepora Seriata, 171. tab. 31.
• Madrepora Porus, 172. tab. 47.

MR. MARTYN, the conchyologiſt, communicated to me a moſt curious vermes ^*, which ſhall conclude this liſt. It was fiſhed up off the iſland of Caſſimata, June 30th, 1781, by Captain Young, of the Vanſittart; was extremely ſenſible, and on being touched, aſſumed the form of a purſe.

[40]A FEW ſingular reptiles merit attention: TESTUDO SQUAMATA. the Teſtudo Squa⯑mata, Bontii, 82. Gmel. Lin. 1040, the ſcaly tortoiſe, or the Taunah of the Javaneſe, and Lary of the Chineſe, is a ſpecies little known; excepting in the great breadth of the body, it has much reſem⯑blance to the Manis; the tail is nearly the length of the body, and covered with ſcales like thoſe on that animal; the head is ſmall, reſembling that of a ſnake; the belly ſoft, and eaſily wounded; it is called Taunah, or the digger, becauſe it forms large burrows in the banks of rivers, where it conceals itſelf; it feeds on ſmall fiſhes; is amphibious, like the ſea tortoiſe; a ſluggiſh animal, and, like the reſt of its kind, ſlow of pace. The Chineſe phyſicians make uſe of the ſcales in ſeveral diſeaſes.

THE Boas ſerpent has been taken in Java of the length of thirty-ſix feet. BOAS. I ſhall give a full account of the manners of this monſter of its tribe.

THE Amphiſboena is ſaid by Bontius to be a moſt fatal ſpecies. AMPHISBOENA. The Javaneſe ſtyle it Oular Matti, or the worm of death. The ſpecies engraven in Bontius ſeems the ſame with the Amphiſhoena Varia of Linnaeus, and of Seba, i. p. 87. tab. 53. fig. 7.

Crocodiles grow here to a vaſt ſize; Hamilton killed one in this iſland of the length of twenty-ſeven feet.

THESE beautiful lines, BOHON UPAS. from a ſingular and delightful poem, is my introduction to the account of the moſt violent of poiſons, extracted from the celebrated Bohon Upas, of Java; the Arbor Toxicaria, or Ipo of Rumphius, vol. ii. p. 263. tab. 86.; and the Epu of Kaempf. Amoen. Exot. p. 575. I ſhall extract from the firſt what he has ſaid reſpecting this dreadful tree, A DREADFUL POISON. in order to eſtabliſh the truth of what has been reported of its dire effects, and illuſtrate the relation with certain melancholy proofs; after which will be given the more than apocryphal tales of the manner of procuring that infernal juice.

THE tree, STRANGE ACCOUNT OF. ſo long famed in many of the Eaſt India iſlands for the wonderful, and almoſt incredible effects of its poiſonous juice, has hitherto eluded the prying eye of the naturaliſt; and, con⯑ſequently, its claſs in the botanical ſyſtem has never yet been aſcertained, notwithſtanding the indefatigable reſearches of Eu⯑ropeans to obtain full information upon ſo intereſting a ſubject; all we know for certain of the tree itſelf is, the figure of its leaf, and fruit, which the learned and accurate Rumphius has exhi⯑bited in the Herbarium Amboinenſe. After much entreaty, and perſevering application to the Dutch governors of Celebes (the moſt noted of all the iſlands of the Eaſt Indies for the production of this tree), Rumphius was favored by De Cops, governor of Ma⯑caſſar, with a branch of it, and a ſpecimen of its poiſonous juice. An enſign of the army was deputed in form to be the meſſenger of ſo rare a preſent. Of ſuch a penetrating and malignant na⯑ture [43]was this found to be, that the very touching with the hand the Bamboo in which it was incloſed, occaſioned a tingling and numbneſs like that felt in a limb that had been expoſed to in⯑tenſe cold, and ſuddenly brought to the fire.

NATURE has wiſely ordained that this baneful tree ſhould be extremely rare, and its ſituation the moſt ſequeſtered from the buſy haunts of men, amidſt mountains of difficult acceſs, and inhabited by the moſt barbarous tribes; they alone are ac⯑quainted with the effects that this ſubtile poiſon has upon the circumambient air, and ſuch animals as approach its tremendous ſhade. The atmoſphere is here ſaid to be ſo infected by the de⯑leterious quality of the effluvia of this peſtilential tree, that birds which accidentally perch upon its boughs are ſeized with torpor, and drop down dead. No man dares approach it without his hands, feet, and head being well ſhrouded with linen cloths; were this precaution neglected, he would become benumbed, and preſently loſe the uſe of his limbs. The dripping of rain water from the tree upon the body, cauſes it to ſwell; and ſhould it fall upon the bare head, the loſs of all the hair would enſue. No other tree can exiſt in its vicinity, and the earth be⯑neath it is parched and withered; ſo that Death ſeems emi⯑nently to have fixed his ſtation here.

IT is no wonder that the love of the marvellous, natural to mankind, has added ſomewhat to the truly aſtoniſhing ſcenes that the environs of this tree exhibit. Hence the rude nations of this mountanous tract have made it the habitation of a ſer⯑pent, whoſe eyes glare like fire in the night, and remind us of [44]the fabled gardens of the Heſperides in claſſic lore, whoſe ſta⯑tionary centinel was a watchful dragon.

THE Dutch call this tree Macaſſerne Gift-boom, or Spatten⯑boom; and in the Malaye language it is termed Caju-Upas, that is to ſay poiſon-tree, and the fruit ſimply Upas. By the people of Macaſſar, and throughout Celebes, both the tree and its poiſon are called Ipo.

THE darts to which the natives apply this poiſon, are a foot or eighteen inches in length, very ſlender, made of reed, or light wood, and armed with the tooth of the Lamia ſhark ſmeared with poiſon. Theſe are fixed in a tube five or ſix feet long, and blown by the breath of the aſſailant with great force to the diſtance of piſtol ſhot: upon reaching the deſtined ob⯑ject, the barbed tooth adheres, and the wood only can be ex⯑tracted, or ſometimes detaches itſelf, and falls to the ground. The effect of the poiſon is to produce a ſenſation of heat in all parts of the body, and oppreſſive Vertigo in the head, which is preſently ſucceeded by a total debility, and death within the ſpace of half an hour is the certain conſequence. Nay ſo rapid are its effects in ſome inſtances, as to prove fatal in leſs than a quarter of an hour. And farther, ſo inſtantaneouſly does its virus pervade the whole human frame, that by experiments made upon malefactors, it has been proved, that if the thumb or the foot only be wounded by the poiſonous dart, and am⯑putation immediately performed upon the affected member, aſtoniſhing to relate! death infallibly enſues.

AFTER a long intercourſe, and many bloody conteſts with the [45]natives of Celebes, which may be ſtiled the Colchos of India, being an iſland noted for many other ſorts of poiſon, the Dutch acquired the knowlege of ſome ſpecifics among the in⯑digenous plants, which diſarmed this tremendous weapon of much of its terrors. Here are ſaid to be two ſpecies of the Ipo, diſtinguiſhed by the names of male and female, and that the poiſon of the latter is much leſs efficacious than that of the for⯑mer, and uſed chiefly for the deſtruction of game. The juice is extracted from the tree by piercing the bark of the trunk, and inſerting therein long bamboos ſharpened at the point. Four or five of theſe are fixed to one tree, and remain three or four days, that the ſap may leiſurely diſtil into them, and when filled they are removed for uſe.

Mr. N. P. Foerſch, a Dutch ſurgeon ſtationed at Batavia in 1774, gives the following account of the ſituation of the tree, and the manner of collecting the poiſon. The reader is left to form a judgment of the writer's authority, and how far his cre⯑dulity is to be cenſured. "It is," ſays he, ‘ſeated about twenty⯑ſeven leagues from Soura, the ſeat of the emperor, encircled by high hills and mountains, and the country around, to the diſtance of ten or twelve miles, has neither tree nor ſhrub, or even the leaſt plant or graſs. I have made the tour all around this dangerous ſpot, at about eighteen miles diſtant from the centre, and I found the aſpect of the country on all ſides equally dreary. The eaſieſt aſcent of the hills is from that part where the old eccleſiaſtic dwells. I had procured a re⯑commendation from an old Malayan prieſt, to another prieſt who lives on the neareſt inhabitable ſpot to the tree, which is [46]about fifteen or ſixteen miles diſtant. The letter proved of great ſervice to me in my undertaking, as that prieſt is ap⯑pointed by the emperor to reſide there, to prepare for eternity the ſouls of thoſe who for different crimes are ſentenced to approach the tree, and to procure the poiſon. From his houſe the criminals are ſent for the poiſon, into which the points of all warlike inſtruments are dipped. It is of high value, and produces a conſiderable revenue to the emperor.’

‘THE poiſon which is procured from this tree, is a gum that iſſues out between the bark and the tree itſelf, like the cam⯑phor. Malefactors, who for their crimes are ſentenced to die, are the only perſons who fetch the poiſon; and this is the only chance they have of ſaving their lives. After ſentence is pronounced upon them by the judge, they are aſked in court, whether they will die by the hands of the executioner, or whether they will go to the Upas tree for a box of poiſon. They commonly prefer the latter propoſal, as there is not only ſome chance of preſerving their lives, but alſo a certainty, in caſe of their ſafe return, that a proviſion will be made for them in future by the emperor. They are alſo permitted to aſk a favor from the emperor, which is generally of a trifling nature, and commonly granted. They are then provided with a ſilver or tortoiſeſhell box, in which they are to put the poiſonous gum, and are properly inſtructed how to pro⯑ceed while they are upon their dangerous expedition. Among other particulars, they are always told to attend to the direc⯑tion of the winds; as they are to go towards the tree before the wind, ſo that the effluvia from the tree are always blown [47]from them. They are told likewiſe to travel with the utmoſt diſpatch, as that is the only method of inſuring a ſafe return. They are afterwards ſent to the houſe of the old prieſt, to which place they are commonly attended by their friends and relations. Here they generally remain ſome days, in expec⯑tation of a favorable breeze. During that time, the eccle⯑ſiaſtic prepares them for their future fate by prayers and ad⯑monitions.’

‘WHEN the hour of their departure arrives, the prieſt puts them on a long leather cap, with two glaſſes before their eyes, which comes down as far as their breaſt; and alſo pro⯑vides them with a pair of leather gloves. They are then conducted by the prieſt, and their friends and relations, about two miles on their journey. Here the prieſt repeats his in⯑ſtructions, and tells them where they are to look for the tree. He ſhews them a hill, which they are told to aſcend, and that on the other ſide they will find a rivulet, which they are to follow, and which will conduct them directly to the Upas. They now take leave of each other; and, amidſt prayers for their ſucceſs, the delinquents haſten away.’

‘THE worthy old eccleſiaſtic has aſſured me that during his reſidence there for upwards of thirty years, he had diſmiſſed above ſeven hundred criminals in the manner which I have deſcribed; and that ſcarcely two out of twenty have returned. He ſhewed me a catalogue of all the unhappy ſufferers, with the date of their departure from his houſe annexed, and a liſt of the offences for which they had been condemned; to which was added, a liſt of thoſe who had returned in ſafety. I after⯑wards [48]ſaw another liſt of theſe culprits, at the jail-keeper's at Soura Charta, and found that they perfectly correſponded with each other, and with the different informations which I afterwards obtained.’

‘I WAS preſent at ſome of theſe melancholy ceremonies, and deſired different delinquents to bring with them ſome pieces of the wood, or a ſmall branch, or ſome leaves of this wonderful tree. I have alſo given them ſilk cords, deſiring them to meaſure its thickneſs. I never could procure more than two dry leaves that were picked up by one of them on his return; and all I could learn from him concerning the tree itſelf, was that it ſtood on the border of a rivulet, as de⯑ſcribed by the old prieſt; that it was of a middling ſize; that five or ſix young trees of the ſame kind ſtood cloſe by it; but that no other ſhrub or plant could be ſeen near it; and that the ground was of a browniſh ſand, full of ſtones, almoſt im⯑practicable for travelling, and covered with dead bodies. After many converſations with the old Malayan prieſt, I queſ⯑tioned him about the firſt diſcovery, and aſked his opinion of this dangerous tree; upon which he gave me the following anſwer:’

‘WE are told in our new Alcoran, that above an hundred years ago, the country around the tree was inhabited by a people ſtrongly addicted to the ſins of Sodom and Gomorrha; when the great prophet Mahomet determined not to ſuffer them to lead ſuch deteſtable lives any longer, he applied to God to puniſh them; upon which God cauſed this tree to grow [49]out of the earth, which deſtroyed them all, and rendered the country for ever uninhabitable.’

‘SUCH was the Malayan opinion. I ſhall not attempt a com⯑ment; but muſt obſerve that all the Malayans conſidered this tree as an holy inſtrument of the great prophet to puniſh the ſins of mankind; and therefore to die of the poiſon of the Upas is generally conſidered among them as an honorable death. For that reaſon I alſo obſerved, that the delinquents who were going to the tree, were generally dreſſed in their beſt ap⯑parel.’

‘THIS however is certain, though it may appear incredible, that from fifteen to eighteen miles round this tree, not only no human creature can exiſt, but that, in that ſpace of ground, no living animal of any kind has ever been diſcovered. I have alſo been aſſured by ſeveral perſons of veracity that there are no fiſh in the waters, nor has any rat, mouſe, or any other vermin been ſeen there; and when any birds fly ſo near this tree that the effluvia reaches them, they fall a ſacrifice to the effects of the poiſon. This circumſtance has been aſcertained by different delinquents, who, in their return, have ſeen the birds drop down, and have picked them up dead, and brought them to the old eccleſiaſtic.’

Mr. Foerſch gives us an account of the fatal effects in the fol⯑lowing melancholy narration. ‘In the year 1776, in the month of February, I was preſent at the execution of thirteen of the emperors concubines, at Soura Charta, who were convicted of infidelity to the emperor's bed. It was in the forenoon, about eleven o'clock, when the fair criminals were led into an open ſpace within the walls of the emperor's palace. There the [50]judge paſſed ſentence upon them, by which they are doomed to ſuffer death by a lancet poiſoned with Upas. After this the Alcoran was preſented to them, and they were, according to the law of their great prophet Mahomet, to acknowlege, and to affirm by oath, that the charges brought againſt them, together with the ſentence and their puniſhment, were fair and equitable. This they did by laying their right hand upon the Alcoran, their left hands upon their breaſts, and their eyes lifted towards heaven; the judge then held the Alcoran to their lips, and they kiſſed it.’

‘THESE ceremonies over, the executioner proceeded on his buſineſs in the following manner:—Thirteen poſts, each about five feet high, had been previouſly erected, to theſe the de⯑linquents were faſtened, and their breaſts ſtripped naked. In this ſituation they remained a ſhort time in continual prayers, attended by ſeveral prieſts, until a ſignal was given by the judge to the executioner, on which the latter produced an in⯑ſtrument, much like the ſpring lancet uſed by farriers for bleeding horſes. With this inſtrument, it being poiſoned with the gum of the Upas, the unhappy wretches were lanced in the middle of their breaſts, and the operation was performed upon them all in leſs than two minutes.’

‘MY aſtoniſhment was raiſed to the higheſt degree, when I beheld the ſudden effects of that poiſon, for in about five mi⯑nutes after they were lanced, they were taken with a tremor, attended with a ſubſultus tendinum, after which they died in the greateſt agonies, crying out to GOD and Mahomet for mercy. In ſixteen minutes by my watch, which I held in my hand, all the criminals were no more; ſome hours after [51]their death, I obſerved their bodies full of livid ſpots, much like thoſe of the Petechioe, their faces ſwelled, their color changed to a kind of blue, their eyes looked yellow, &c. &c ^*.’

THIS tree did not eſcape the notice of our great Sir John Mandeville; he makes the poiſon produced from it to be taken inwardly. I ſhall give his words, and alſo the horrible opinion held at that time, againſt the Hebraean race, whom he accuſes of a deſign of poiſoning all Chriſtendom with this infernal juice. After ſpeaking of the trees of beneficent uſe, he ſays ^†, ‘and there ben other trees that beryn venym; azenſt the whiche there is no medicyne but on; and that is to taken here propre leves, and ſtamp hem and tempere hem with watre, and than drynke it; and elle he ſchalle dye; for triacle will not avaylle, ne non other medicyne. Of this venym the Jewes had let ſeche of on of here frendes, for to empoyſone alle Chriſtiantee, as I have herd hem ſeye in here confeſſioune, before here dyenge. But thanked be alle myghty God, thei fayleden of hire purpos; but alle weys thei maken gret mor⯑tallitee of people.’

IN reſpect to the other trees and plants of Java, I can only ſay that they agree with thoſe of Sumatra, and other iſlands of the great Archipelago. Moſt will be found in my Flora Indica. Let me only remark, that the earlieſt Dutch navigators have [52]given tolerable deſcriptions of ſeveral, in the often cited old book publiſhed by Nicholas, from p. 39 to p. 42, accompanied with plates as expreſſive as could be cut on wood.

THE vaſt iſland of Borneo is divided from the northern coaſt of Java by a ſound between two and three hundred leagues in breadth. BORNEO. According to M. D'Anville's ſcale, the iſland is in length from ſouth to north near three hundred leagues, and its greateſt breadth two hundred; the circumference is eſtimated at two thouſand miles; ſo that it may juſtly be conſidered as the greateſt iſland in the world. It is of a pyriform ſhape; its ſhores rude, with projecting promontories, and is divided by the equator into two unequal portions. The far greater part of Borneo next to the ſea, eſpecially the northern, conſiſts of ſwamps, co⯑vered with foreſts of trees of numberleſs ſpecies and great ſizes, which penetrate for ſcores of miles towards the centre of the iſland. Theſe unſtable muddy flats are divided by rivers, which branch into multitudes of canals, and are the only roads into the interior parts. Lofty mountains are ſaid to riſe in the middle of the iſland; many are volcanic, and often occaſion tremendous earthquakes.

THIS great iſland is little known, except merely on the coaſts, and even thoſe remain yet ſo imperfectly explored, that leſs can be ſaid of it than of many ſmaller tracts. So unſtable are the ſwampy out-ſkirts, that in the attempts to eſtabliſh factories, the Europeans have been obliged to build them on piles driven into the ground; or, after the manner of the country, to erect in the rivers their houſes on poſts, fixed to floats formed of bodies of great trees, and thoſe moored by rattans to thoſe growing on ſhore, to prevent their being carried away by the floods. In [53]ſuch a manner are many of the towns of Borneo conſtructed; they riſe and fall with the tide, which here flows but once in the twenty-four hours, and that only in the day. At ſpring tide, theſe towns on the Banjar river experience the riſe and fall of twelve feet.

THE whole coaſts are in the hands of Malayans, Moors, INHABITANTS. Ma⯑caſſars, and even Japaneſe, who have perhaps for centuries driven the antient inhabitants into the interior parts. The aborigines are of a black complexion, a middle ſtature, with long and black hair, and generally better featured than the Guinea Negroes, feeble in their bodies, and very indolent and inactive. The women ſmall, handſome, and of a better color than the men. Their general religion is of a mongrel kind of Mahometaniſm. Theſe maintain a feudal government under chieftains, miſ⯑called by our ſailors, kings. The ſeat of the principal is at Tatas, near to Bandar Maſſeen, ſome miles up the country on the northern ſide, and ſeated on a great river, which for many miles is twice as broad as the Thames at Graveſend, and bounded by trees of moſt ſtupendous height. It is navigable far beyond Bandar Maſſeen for the largeſt ſhips, and is greatly frequented by the Chineſe jonks; the river is called China for that reaſon. We are not acquainted with the length of its navi⯑gation; but it riſes in the very middle of the iſland, and runs all the way due ſouth. On this river we attempted to form a ſettle⯑ment under the Mr. Cunningham we have before mentioned; but by ſome imprudencies gave offence to the inhabitants, and the greater part of our people were maſſacred. The ſame fate has attended other factories of different European nations who [54]have endeavored to form ſettlements at Succadana, Samba, and many other places. Tatas has its ſultan. Theſe ſovereigns com⯑mand the trade of the iſland, and furniſh the European ſhips, who happen to arrive, with cargoes of pepper, the ſtaple of the country; that article is brought down from the interior parts, and ſold to the Europeans, or to the commercial Aſiatic nations.

IT is to Captain Daniel Beeckman that we owe the beſt ac⯑count of Borneo; he viſited it in the beginning of this cen⯑tury, and publiſhed his account in the year 1718. At p. 36 he gives the following liſt of the productions of the country, PRODUCTIONS OF. which abounds with pepper, the beſt dragon's blood, bezoar, moſt ex⯑cellent camphor, pine apples, citrons, oranges, lemons, water melons, muſk melons, plantains, banana, coco nuts, and all ſorts of fruit that are generally found in any part of the Eaſt Indies; the mountains yield diamonds, gold, tin and iron; the foreſts, honey, cotton, deer, goats, buffaloes, wild oxen, wild hogs, ſmall horſes, bears, tigers, elephants, and a multitude of monkies.

THE pepper grows far up the country, PEPPER. and is collected by the very pooreſt people only; they have all the different ſorts, black, white, and long.

Sanguis Draconis, SANGUIS DRACONIS. or dragon's blood, is a gum, the exudation of certain trees, of a bloody color. There is a conjecture that this is the Cinnaberis of Dioſcorides, lib. v. c. 69. Pliny, lib. xxxiii. c. 7, ſays that the name is Indian; and then fables, that it is the Sanies of the dragon oppreſſed by the weight of an ele⯑phant expiring with the bite, and that the Cinnaberis is the mixed blood of each animal. The antients procured under this notion the real drug, and uſed it in medicine. It was often adul⯑terated [55]with the blood of goats; the genuine kind was ſold at a great rate.

THE trees or ſhrubs which we know to produce this medi⯑cine in our diſpenſatory are the Dracaena Draco, of which Van⯑delli has given a good figure in his monograph on the ſubject. According to Kaempfer, Amoen. Exot. 554, another of the ve⯑getables it is extracted from is a Palmapinus Rottani Dſierenang, one of the Rotangs deſcribed by Rumphius under the name of Palmijuncus Draco, v. p. 115 tab. 58. fig. 1. This grows in the thick and almoſt impervious foreſts of Java.

ANOTHER kind is the produce of the Santalum Rubrum, SANDAL WOOD. or Red Sanders; and again, from the Dracoena Terminalis of Lin⯑naeus, Rumph. iv. p. 18. tab. 34, called in Ternate, Ngaſſi, or Haſſi. This ſpecies grows in Borneo, and bears a fruit, ſays Beeckman, as red as a cherry; the juice, the beſt in the world, is extracted from the tree, and the color tried by rubbing it on paper. The natives bring it in drops, wrapped in leaves; but are ſo apt to adulterate it, that we do not chuſe to purchaſe without previous examination.

ANOTHER kind is procured from the Gladiolus Odoratus In⯑dicus, Rumph. v. p. 185. tab. 73. For further accounts I muſt re⯑fer to that Pliny of the Indies in the places cited, to vol. ii. p. 252.; and to Kaempfer, 551 to 557. The drug, from whatſo⯑ever tree or plant it be gotten, maintains its place in our diſ⯑penſatory.

AT times a conſiderable quantity of gold has been brought here, GOLD. which is found in the mines in the interior parts of the country. Some is melted into bars, and uſually adulterated by a [56]cover of baſe metal. The natives have a very juſt notion of the lord of the irritamenta malorum, for they ſay, that the devil is ſole maſter of the gold and diamond mines.

DIAMONDS form another article of commerce, DIAMONDS. but they are far leſs valuable than thoſe of Golconda.

BEES-WAX, BEES-WAX. in cakes of about thirty-four pounds, is common at Sambas, which being the common money of that part of the iſland, was wont to be bartered with the Chineſe for various ne⯑ceſſaries. Pearls of conſiderable beauty are ſaid to be another article of exchange in the ſame country.

THE bezoar found in the monkies has a moſt ſuperſtitious value, BEZOAR. and is ſold for four or five times its weight in ſilver.

THE unrefined camphor of Borneo, CAMPHOR. is reckoned ſuperior to any in the world. We are not acquainted with the tree which produces that valuable drug.

THE edible (ſwallows) neſts are found in vaſt abundance; EDIBLE NESTS. and the Bambu walking canes, form two other articles of trade.

IN the liſt of quadrupeds is the Ourang Outang; OURANG OUTANG. there ap⯑pears to be two ſpecies, one that never exceeds two feet and an half in height; ſee Mr. Voſmaer's account, p. 12, tab xiv. xv. and Hiſt. Quad. i. p. 180. tab. 36. which I have taken the liberty of copying from M. Voſmaer. Mr. Beeckman ſpeaks of ſome ſpecies growing to the height of ſix feet; he bought a young one, which was ſtronger than any man in his ſhip, but it died before it was a year old. Borneo has abundance of theſe animals. It ſwarms alſo with variety of baboons and monkies, ſo this, [57] Celebes, and another iſland, may probably have been the inſulae Satyrorum of Ptolemy.

THE Ourang Outang is found alſo in Java; Hamilton ^* ſaw one in that iſland which was four feet high, and mentions a ſmaller ſpecies called Oumpaes. He confirms the account of the grave or melancholy habit of the greater ſpecies; of its lighting a fire, and blowing it with its mouth; and of its broiling a fiſh to eat with its boiled rice, imitative of the cuſtom of the human race.

THE aborigines of Borneo are called Byajos; BYAJOS. they inhabit the interior parts, live under chieftains, and are an independent people, poſſeſſing their proper language and religion; the laſt is called Paganiſm, yet they pay no reſpect to idols; but offer ſa⯑crifices of ſweet ſcented wood to one ſupreme beneficent Deity, who in other worlds rewards the juſt and puniſhes the wicked. They marry only one wife, are ſtrictly faithful to their nuptial vows, and have the character of general honeſty. Mr. Beeckman makes a different report, but fairly confeſſes that he received it from the Banjareens, who will not ſuffer the Europeans to have any intercourſe with the natives, and tell many frightful tales of their barbarity. The Byajos often come down the river to the port of Maſſeen, in ill ſhaped praws, with gold duſt, diamonds, rattans, bezoar, and other articles of commerce, of which the Banjareens are ſole factors, and conſequently highly intereſted in keeping the pretended ſavages from our knowlege.

THE Byajos are taller and ſtronger than the other inhabitants; they go naked, excepting a ſmall wrapper about their loins; [58]they ſtain their bodies with blue, and by weights affixed to their ears when young, ſtretch them till they fall on their ſhoulders. The chieftains pull out their fore teeth, and ſubſtitute others of gold, and by way of ornament fling ſtrings of tigers teeth round their necks and bodies. Their arms are lances and poiſoned arrows; ſome of them lead a piratical life in the great rivers, and are moſt formidable enemies.

LET me here obſerve that tigers, TIGERS. thoſe cruel animals, ſwarm in this iſland, beyond which they happily ceaſe; nor are they known in any of the iſlands to the north or to the eaſt of Borneo.

AFTER navigating along the northern coaſt of the iſland, we arrive, SAMBAAR POINT. in Lat. 2° 28′, on the point of Sambaar. Between this and the iſle of Billetou to the weſt, is a channel of a hundred and fifty miles in breadth. Near to the weſt of that iſland is the ſmall iſle of Salt, ISLAND OF SALT AND BANCA. and then the iſle of Banca, all belonging to Java.

FROM Sambaar point the coaſt turns towards the north. In Lat. SUCCADANA AND SAMBAS. 0° 15′ ſouth, is Succadana, and in Lat. 2° north is Sambas, both at times frequented for the ſake of commerce. From Tan⯑jong point the iſland trends to the north-eaſt. The city of Borneo ſtands in about Lat. CITY OF BORNEO. 5° 25′ north, on a large river, in the bottom of a bay.

WHEN the famous navigator Von Noort was there in 1601, it conſiſted of three thouſand houſes, all built on poſts and floating planks, in the manner we have deſcribed, ſo that whenever the ſultan choſe to change his poſition, he would move with all his city to another part of the river. Von Noort found this port [59]much frequented by the Chineſe, who to this day ſeem to be the greateſt and moſt conſtant traders to Borneo of all the Aſiatic nations.

FROM Lat. 6° north, to Tangio Sampanmangco, the moſt nor⯑thern promontory of Borneo, in Lat. 7°, the coaſt changes its na⯑ture, being ſkirted all the way with a lofty chain of mountains; and within are appearances of others of very uncertain extent; that northern headland has another correſpondent, called Inoran⯑tang, facing likewiſe the north; between both is the deep bay of Malbordoo, penetrating far to the ſouth; oppoſite to the laſt headland is the ſmall iſland of Banguey, ISLAND OF BANGUEY. lofty and mountanous, as if rent from it by ſome violent convulſions.

A LITTLE to the weſt of that iſland, in Lat. 7° 20′, ISLAND OF BA⯑LAMBANGAM. is the iſle Balambangan, compoſed of ſand and ſwamps, and famous for the intention of the Eaſt India company, in 1773, to form on it a vaſt emporium of the commodities of China, and of all this great eaſtern archipelago. We got the ceſſion of this little ſpot (then uninhabited) from the king of Soolo; we took poſſeſſion of it at a vaſt expence, according to Raynal ^* it coſt us £.375,000. A com⯑pany of European troops, and a number of Seapoys, were detained for the protection of the ſettlement; and a colony of Malayes from Bencoolen, and another of Chineſe, were induced to eſtabliſh them⯑ſelves there. We could not have fixed on a more unwholeſome ſituation; the diſeaſes of the climate attacked both the military and the coloniſts, and very few ſurvived the ſickly ſeaſon, ſo that ſcarcely one in ten outlived the monſoon: the Abbe Raynal aſſerts that we were attacked, and the factory deſtroyed, and inſinuates it [60]to have been done by the inſtigation of the Dutch or Spaniards, jealous of their commercial intereſts in that neighborhood.

AT a ſmall diſtance to the north, MANILLA I [...]AN [...]S. about Lat. 7°, begins the vaſt group of the Philippine iſlands; theſe are much more pro⯑bably the Maniolae of Ptolemy, than the leſſer Andaman, which D'Anville ſuppoſes it to have been. Theſe iſlands were known to the antients by the Indian name, which is ſtill retained in Manilla; Ptolemy ſpeaks of them as ten iſlands immediately be⯑yond the tres inſulae Satyrorum, or Borneo, &c. They were firſt diſcovered by the great Magellan, who came in ſight of them on April 17th 1521, and named them the Archipelago of St. Lazarus. He landed on one of them called Mactan, near to Zebu, where, ac⯑ording to Pigafetta, a companion and eye witneſs, he, with eight or nine of his men, was ſlain in an encounter with the natives.

THE diſcovery of theſe iſlands was completed in 1541, WHEN DISCOVERED. by a Spaniard of the name of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, who named them the Philippine, in honor of Philip prince of Spain, after⯑wards Philip II. We chuſe to retain the antient name the Ma⯑nillas.

THE firſt ſettlement made by the Spaniards in theſe iſlands was not till the year 1565, when Michael Lopez de Lagaspi built a town in the iſle of Zebu. ZEBU. He ſecured it by a ſmall garriſon, and then proceeded to the conqueſt of other iſlands more worthy of his arms. He ſailed into a fine bay in the iſland of Manilla or Luconia, ISLAND OF LUCONIA. and was, in 1571, the founder of the city of Manilla, ſo celebrated for its opulence, and for being the common repoſi⯑tory and place of exchange of the productions of both the Indies; [61]one may alſo ſay, thoſe of the old and the new world; of Europe, of India, and of China; and in return it receives the ſilver of Potoſi. The indolence of the Spaniards will not ſuffer theſe iſlands to produce any one article of commerce, GOLD. a little gold ex⯑cepted, brought down the ſloods into the channels of the ri⯑vers. The group certainly contains rich mines of the pretious metal, but as wealth flows in ſuch abundance with very little trouble to the coloniſts, they will not be at the pains of exploring the veins. Luconia alſo produces abundance of excellent iron and copper.

THE fruitfulneſs of ſoil is a perpetual reproach to the ſloth⯑fulneſs of its lords. A very few exceptions are to be found; one friend to the iſland introduced the Coco tree, Theobroma cacao, Cateſby, Suppl. tab. 6, which is cultivated with ſuch ſucceſs, as to become almoſt the ſupport of the inhabitants, by giving them the favorite food of the Spaniards, chocolate; indigo, INDICO. which grows ſpontaneouſly, owes of late years its uſe in their manu⯑factories to the ſagacity of an individual. It was not till the year 1744, that the ſluggiſh Spaniards ever knew the culture of European grains or eſculents. As to the native productions, it poſſeſſes every tree or fruit common to the torrid zone, and num⯑bers probably peculiar to itſelf, few only of which are brought to view, and that by the induſtry of a Sonnerat.

THE unwiſe expulſion of the Jeſuits will long retard, poſ⯑ſibly for ever prevent, the improvement of the Manilla iſlands. The domains of that intelligent order were covered with cattle innumerable; their meadows ſtretched numbers of miles, wa⯑tered and fertilized by the rivers of the country.

[62] Manilla, CITY OF MANILLA. by being the mere repoſitory of the goods of other nations, grew into a moſt flouriſhing city; the ſtreets regular, the churches and publick buildings ſuperb. A ſplendid luxury pervades every part, in the appearance of dreſs, and equipage, and inſide of the houſes of the proud and lazy coloniſts.

THE port of Manilla is at Cavite, three leagues diſtant, and is ſubject to many inconveniences; being greatly infeſted with the worm, the teredo navalis, which in a little time would render the galleons, and the veſſels which trade to Manilla, incapable of keeping the ſea; neither is it ſecure from the north and north⯑weſt winds; beſides, ſhips lying there are obliged to ſend far for water, and to employ for that purpoſe the flat boats of the country.

THE city of Manilla is fortified, well built, and the ſtreets very regular, but the third part is occupied by convents; the num⯑ber of chriſtians is computed at about twelve thouſand. Gomez Peres de las Marignas ſurrounded it with walls in 1590.

IT is from hence the great commerce between Manilla and Acapulco, ACAPULCO SHITS. on the coaſt of Mexico, is carried on, in one and ſome⯑times in two ſhips, ſent annually, fitted out at the expence of the king, but freighted by the merchants. They are of an enormous ſize, heavy and unwieldy, as big as a firſt rate man of war, and having a complement of twelve hundred men; the leſſer is above twelve hundred tons burden, has from three hundred and fifty to ſix hundred hands, paſſengers included, and carries fifty guns, but often mounts only thirty-ſix. It leaves Manilla the middle of July, but does not reach Acapulco till the middle of January. One miracle of this voyage is, that notwithſtanding they put on [63]board all the water they can ſtow, conſiſtent with the full cargo, they depend for a ſupply from the heavens, between Lat. 30° and 40°, and hazard the moſt dreadful of deaths, ſhould their ex⯑pectations be diſappointed; when they arrive in theſe latitudes, they prepare their mats, which they ſpread to direct the deluge of rain into various veſſels, and, wonderful to ſay, there is not an inſtance in which their hopes have failed.

Manilla is the great magazine of all the goods of India, China, and Europe, which are laid up here annually to be con⯑veyed acroſs the Pacific ocean, to ſupply the wants or luxuries of the new world. "There are," as the editor of lord Anſon's voyage informs us, at p. 237, ‘ſpices, all ſorts of Chineſe ſilks and ma⯑nufactures, particularly ſilk ſtockings, of which I have heard that no leſs than fifty thouſand pair were the uſual number ſhipped on board the annual ſhip; vaſt quantities of Indian ſtuffs, as callicoes and chintz, which are much worn in Ame⯑rica, together with minuter articles, as goldſmiths work, &c. which is principally done at the city of Manilla itſelf by the Chineſe; for it is ſaid there are at leaſt twenty thouſand Chineſe who conſtantly reſide there, either as ſervants, manu⯑facturers, or brokers; all theſe different commodities are col⯑lected at Manilla, thence to be tranſported annually, in one or more ſhips, to the port of Acapuico in the kingdom of Mexico.’

THE return from the new world is only in ſilver, either in ſpecie or virgin metal; the author of Lord Anſon's voyage, con⯑feſſes to only 1,313,843 pieces of eight, and 35,682 ounces of virgin ſilver, or £.400,000 of our money, having been ſound in [64]the Manilla ſhip, out of which the family have realized their vaſt-eſtate. Even when the ſhip arrives ſafe, the treaſure is of little advantage to the Spaniards; it is inſtantly diſperſed over half the world, to pay for the merchandize of its outward voyage.

THE city of Manilla was beſieged and taken by the Engliſh in 1762. MANILLA [...] 1762. Our little ſquadron, under vice admiral Corniſh, appeared before it on September 23d, our land forces were under colonel Draper; after a ſhort reſiſtance the city was taken by ſtorm, with as little ſlaughter as the nature of circumſtances would admit. The iſland of Luconia, and every iſland dependent on it, ſurren⯑dered to our arms; a large ſum was accepted to ſave the place from plunder, hoſtages given for the payment, and bills drawn by the archbiſhop or viceroy, which in part were never ac⯑cepted, and our ſoldiers and ſeamen deprived of the reward due to their valor.

THIS archipelago conſiſts of about twelve or thirteen greater iſlands, with ſmall ones innumerable, divided from each other by narrow channels of very difficult navigation, all of them moun⯑tanous, and many of them volcanic. Manilla, the largeſt and moſt northern, is a hundred and fifteen French leagues in length, not reckoning the peninſula of Camarines, which juts irregularly from the main body, and extends far to the ſouth; Raynal re⯑preſents all the iſlands as terribly majeſtic. They are covered with baſaltes, with lava, with ſcoriae, with black glaſs, with melted iron, with grey and friable ſtones filled with the wrecks of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, with ſulphur kept in a ſtate of fuſion by the continual action of ſubterraneous fires, and [65]with burning waters which communicate with hidden flames. All theſe great accidents of nature, are the effect of extinguiſhed volcanoes, of ſome that are ſtill burning, and of others that are forming in theſe deep cavities, where combuſtible materials are perpetually in agitation.

EARTHQUAKES are frequent and ſometimes tremendous. EARTHQUAKES. Mr. Pye, in the Philoſophical Tranſactions ^*, gives an account of one of uncommon horror in 1750, which laſted for three months, with almoſt continual tremblings, and at laſt broke out in an eruption, from a ſmall iſland, in the middle of a lake, round which the bottom is unfathomable. The third day after the com⯑mencement of the eruption, there aroſe four more ſmall iſlands all burning; and about a mile diſtance from one there is a conti⯑nual fire which iſſues from the water, where there is no ground for upwards of an hundred fathoms deep.

IT is generally ſuppoſed that before the arrival of the Euro⯑peans, the Chineſe had poſſeſſed themſelves of the ſea coaſts of theſe iſlands. The Japaneſe alſo boaſt of having been once lords of the Philippines, and the vicinity to both thoſe empires may make it probable.

THE Chineſe were ſo numerous in Manilla about the year 1600, CHINESE [...]. as to excite in the Spaniards the greateſt fear of the danger ariſing from any plots they might enter into againſt the coloniſts. The Spaniards, aſſiſted by the Japaneſe and other foreigners, took the uſual method of preventing them, by putting no leſs than twenty-five thouſand to the ſword; the maſſacre of theſe people was far greater than that of Batavia. The Spaniards [66]aſſert that the Chineſe had actually begun to revolt, and had mur⯑dered ſeveral of the Europeans. The Chineſe charge the horrible tranſaction on the Europeans, and ſay it was excited by their ava⯑rice, in order to make themſelves maſters of the rich effects of their countrymen. The emperor ſent an embaſſador to demand ſatisfaction, and ſpoke in high terms of the revenge he would take; all ended by a pacification; the Chineſe fleets reſorted to Manilla in as great a number as ever, and the ſuburbs were ſoon re-peopled with inhabitants. The wealth that we are told the Chineſe brought into the iſlands was unſpeakable. The Jeſuits were expelled the country in 1768, and in the year following, by the bigotry of the governor, every one of the Chineſe were ba⯑niſhed from the Philippine iſlands, ſince which trade and the arts have declined, and depopulation and diſtreſs promiſe to be the conſequences of ſo imprudent a meaſure.

IN the mountanous parts of the iſlands are remnants of the original inhabitants, NATIVES. a moſt ſingular race of men, who through an exceſſive love of liberty, have relapſed into a ſtate of na⯑ture. Thoſe who inhabit the foot of a mountain are mortal enemies to thoſe that reſide at the top, and both are equally hated by thoſe who live in the middle; happy picture of enthuſiaſtic independency! They are ſeen wandering ſingly amidſt the woods, armed with bows and arrows; naked, excepting the ſkin of a goat flung over their ſhoulders; they lodge in hollow trees, or hollows of the rocks; have no notion of ſociety, and, like the primaeval inhabitants of the world, ‘Venerem incertam rapientes, more ſerarum.’

THESE men are ſtrongly made, CURLED HEADED INDIANS. of haggard countenances, black, [67]with curled hair like the negroes, and called by the Spaniards, Negrillos. They certainly are of the ſame race as the Papuans or people of New Guinea, who might originally have ſpread themſelves over this tract. Theſe curled headed tribes are found in moſt of the other iſlands. Navarette mentions other black Indians; the men paint themſelves with white, the women with other colors. Theſe, and other Indian people, often deſcend on the Spaniſh ſettlements, and commit horrible murders. Some of them, like the antient Scythians, make drinking cups of the ſculls of their enemies.

THERE are other Indians that profeſs a ſort of dependency on the Spaniards, and have an Alcayde among them; yet their manners are barbarous; they are brave, but ferocious; and ap⯑pear to have been deſcended from the Malayans, ſettled here in very early times. They are called Tagaleſe, and the Negrillos pretend, that they had been originally their ſlaves. Their arms are bows and arrows; they took part with the Spaniards during the ſiege of the capital; and ignorant of the laws of nations, ſlew in the moſt ſavage manner our admiral's ſecretary, carrying a flag of truce, and even the nephew of the Spaniſh Governor, who attempted to reſcue him from their fury. The ſtrength of their arms was ſatally experienced by that gallant officer major More, who fell transfixed by an arrow in leading our troops to the ſtorm.

I SHALL now mention a few particulars reſpecting the natu⯑ral hiſtory of the Manillas. NATURAL HISTORY. It is not to be wondered that in one ſo abundant in volcanoes, there ſhould be found ſprings of hot water. The moſt noted is that which appears two leagues from [68] Calamba; the ſtream which runs from it is of a boiling heat; and raiſed the liquor in M. de Reaumur's thermometer to the height of 69 degrees, even at the diſtance of a league from the ſource. M. Sonnerat obſerved five ſhrubs, the roots of which were drenched by the ſtream, and the top enveloped in the va⯑por, yet grew with vigor. At the ſame time the ſwallows which happened to ſkim the brook, at the height of ſeven or eight feet from the ſurface, fell down motionleſs.

THE Baſhee iſlands lie midway between Manilla and For⯑moſa; BASHEE ISLANDS. the middlemoſt of them is, according to Lord Anſon, in Lat. 2° 4′ north. I ſpeak of them here notwithſtanding they belong to neither one or the other. Dampier, in the year 1687, being engaged in theſe ſeas in a buccaneering expedition, wiſhed for a temporary concealment. He had ſeen in certain charts, the figure V. which denoted their number ^*. He ſailed to the ſpot, and found them to correſpond in poſition and number. None of them had names, ſo he beſtowed on them thoſe of Orange, Grafton, Monmouth, Goat, and Baſhee, the laſt from a ſort of beer made of the boiled juice of the ſugar cane, and ſome ſmall black berries, which was put into jars to ſettle, and was thought by our ſeamen an excellent liquor, capable of giving the pleaſure of ebriety, without the bad effects. The natives ſold it to them in plenty, for which reaſon they made it the general name of the iſlands.

Monmouth and Grafton iſles are very lofty, SINGULAR VILLAGES. with a nume⯑rous ſucceſſion of precipices one above another. On theſe the natives build their villages, which affords the ſingular proſpect [69]of three or four rows of ſmall houſes, erected on poſts, and wattled with boughs. They have no other way of getting to their habitations but by a ladder, which is pulled up after them, if they mean to aſcend to the upper villages, or to ſecure them⯑ſelves from an aſſault. Theſe two iſlands are the moſt populous, as they have more of theſe precipices. Baſhee iſland has but one precipice, and in conſequence only one town. Orange is lofty, yet ſo plain as to furniſh no ſpot ſitted for the ſite of their villages, and is therefore uninhabited.

THE produce of theſe iſlands are a few of the tropical fruits, PRODUCE. pine apples, ſugar canes, plantains, bananas, calabaſhes, yams, and potatoes. Theſe are planted in the vallies, which are well watered with ſmall ſtreams; they are alſo well wooded, but the trees do not grow to any large ſize. Their animals are hogs and goats in plenty; their poultry ſew; among the wild fowl, par⯑roquets and ſome other ſmall birds.

THE natives are ſhort and ſquat, round viſaged, NATIVES. with low foreheads and thick eye-brows; ſhort low noſes, eyes ſmall and hazel, but larger than thoſe of the Chineſe; lips and mouth of a middle ſize, hair black, thick, lank, and cut ſhort, ſo as juſt to cover the ears. The deſcription of theſe people agrees ſo exactly with that of the Japaneſe given by Kaempfer ^*, that there cannot be any doubt of their origin.

THEIR government is quite patriarchal; GOVERNMENT. their religion has no exterior rites, but probably is mental, as is common with many orientaliſts. There is no appearance of idols on any of their iſlands: They certainly have laws; for Dampier ſaw the crime of theſt puniſhed in a young man who was buried alive in the [70]preſence of a great multitude aſſembled on the occaſion. Their manners were innoffenſive, friendly, and honeſt, not only among themſelves, but to the new viſitants, who poſſibly were the firſt Europeans they had ſeen.

IN general the men went naked, excepting the uſual wrapper about their loins; ſome had jackets of plantain leaves; the rudeſt, ſays Dampier, of all clothing. The women had a ſtrong thick ſhort petticoat of cotton, made of the leſſer cotton plant, the pro⯑duct of their own iſles. Both ſexes wore large ear-rings of a yellow metal, which was found in their mountains; it was heavy, and, GOLD. like the paler gold, it faded with time, but the natives re⯑ſtored it to its original brightneſs, by ſmearing it over with a red earth, and flinging it into a fire till it was red hot. Our na⯑vigator had no means of proving whether it was gold.

To the women was left the care of the plantations. BOATS. The men were engaged in fiſhing; they built with much ſkill their ſmall boats, which reſembled the Deal yawls, formed of very narrow planks, faſtened with pins and nails. They had alſo larger boats, which carried forty or fifty men, and were rowed by twelve or fourteen oars on a ſi [...]e. It ſeems as if they went to the iſland of Manilla for their iron; which they manufactured at home. ARMS. From thence they get their other only import, pieces of buffaloes hides, with which they make their defenſive armor, or buff coats: their ſole offenſive weapons are lances headed with iron; all this implies the fear of enemies, and makes it pro⯑bable that they are ſubject to the attacks of the piratical Indians.

AFTER this digreſſion, MANILLAS AGAIN. let me return to the great group of the Manillas. The iſland of Mindora lies ſouth of that of Manilla; and [71]is very lofty and mountanous; many of the natives pay tribute to the Spaniards. Sonnerat ^* ſays, that moſt voyagers aſſert, that there is a race of men in this iſland which have tails: the ſame is feigned of certain people in Borneo, but the fact turns out that they happen to have the Os Coccygis a little more elon⯑gated than is uſual in the human ſpecies.

SOUTH of Mindora is the cluſter of ſmall iſles called the Ca⯑lamianes, with others ſtill ſmaller to the eaſt of them. CALAMIANES. The iſland of Paragua ſtretches from the Calamianes near ſeventy leagues in length; and at the ſouthern end approaches the iſles of Ba⯑lambangan off the coaſt of Borneo. The Spaniards have here ſome tributary Indians; part of the iſland is ſaid to be ſubject to a ſultan in Borneo.

ALL theſe iſlands form the weſtern boundary of a great gulph: GREAT CENTRAL BAY IN THE MIDST OF THE MANILLAS. The reſt of the Manillas, and the Soolo Archipelago, are on the north and eaſt ſides; the end of Borneo is on the ſouth. A few ſmall iſles are ſcattered over the middle. To go on with the far⯑ther account of the iſland; Manduque, Maſbate, and numbers of ſmall iſles, fill the part next to Luconia or Manilla. Samal, a large iſland, faces the ocean on their outſide to the eaſt. Its pro⯑montory, El Spirito ſanto, is remarkable by the capture of the rich Manilla ſhip by lord Anſon, it being the firſt of the iſlands which thoſe veſſels make in their courſe from Acapulco to their port of Manilla.

PANAY-BUGLAS, or iſle of Negros, Zebu and Leyte, PANAY. with the leſſer iſle of Bohol, range nearly eaſt and weſt, parallel to each other, a little to the ſouth of the preceding. The principal ſettle⯑ments [72]of the Spaniards are Ho-Ho and Antigue, in the iſland of Panay; but off Antigue is the ſole anchorage, and that only in the months of November, December, and January. The inha⯑bitants of this iſland are infinitely more induſtrious than thoſe of Luconia; they have a manufactory of handkerchiefs, and a ſort of linen compoſed of cotton, and the fibres of a certain plant of the country; they clothe themſelves with the coarſer kinds, and diſpoſe of the reſt among the neighboring iſles. This iſland is moſt exuberantly fertile, and very populous; ſome authors make the numbers of inhabitants to exceed ſixteen thouſand, and aſſert that there are fourteen pariſhes belonging to the monks of St. Auguſtine, three benefices of ſeculars, and formerly a col⯑lege of Jeſuits. Notwithſtanding the happy ſoil of Panay, the in⯑habitants are diſcouraged from taking advantage of that bleſſing, by reaſon of the neglect of the government, which leaves them un⯑protected againſt the depredations of the piratical Malayes, who land, plunder, and carry away priſoners all thoſe who cannot eſcape into the woods. Theſe pirates are Mahometans of Borneo, Mindanao, and other iſlands between the Manillas and the Mo⯑luccas. They infeſt the coaſts to a high degree, and will carry away people almoſt from under the walls of the capital, and ſell them for ſlaves in Borneo, and even in Batavia. They not only ſeize the ſmaller fiſhing veſſels, but even ſhips richly laden.

THE country abounds with deer, ANIMALS. wild hogs, buffaloes, oxen, and horſes; the two laſt run at liberty, and are common to the whole iſland.

ZEBU is a ſmall iſland, ZEBU. but remarkable for having been the [73]firſt which the Spaniards colonized. It is pretended that there were, at the time the Europeans arrived, three thouſand families of warlike Indians. The Spaniards have had, wherever they came, a happy talent in reducing the redundancy of people.

HERE, in 1598, Philip erected the town, built by Logaſpi, into a city, and dignified it with an epiſcopal foundation; an Auguſ⯑tine, Pietro de Agurto, firſt filled the ſee. This iſland was in⯑dulged with ſending ſhips to Calao in Peru, but after the Spa⯑niards had made the conqueſt of Luconia, and given to its capital the privilege of the Manilla ſhips, the trade of Zebu declined faſt; inſomuch that its city is now ſunk into a village. The paſſage from hence to the new world was far more expeditious than that from Manilla, having been performed in two months, and the return in three, and ſeldom without the diſcovery of ſome iſlands in the vaſt Pacific.

WE have before ſaid, that on Matta or Mactan, MACTAN. or poſſibly the Maſbate of modern maps, a ſmall adjacent iſland, Magellan, like his illuſtrious compeer Cook, met with a premature death from the hands of ſavages.

THE iſland of Mindanao, or Magindanao, ISLE OF MINDANAO. is the laſt and moſt ſouthern of the great group. Many writers ſeparate Mindanao from the Manilla or Philippine iſlands, among others our judi⯑cious countryman Mr. Dalrymple. Though ſo very near as evi⯑dently to form one of that vaſt archipelago, the inhabitants may differ in manners, but the productions of all are nearly ſimilar. The Spaniards have on it ſome unprofitable ſettlements, the chief is at Sambouange, in Lat. 6° 54′ N. on the ſouth ſide of the iſland. They have fortified it with a citadel of ſtone and bricks, [74]and with a wooden fort, erected to check the excurſion of the corſairs of Yolo; but in vain; they cannot even protect their own ſubjects who happen to be out of the reach of their cannon.

THE iſland extends eaſt and weſt about ninety leagues, EXTENT. is tri⯑angular, and the ſhores greatly indented by bays; the circum⯑ference is ſaid to be about eight hundred miles. It is very moun⯑tanous; the vallies conſiſt of a rich ſoil, black, fat, prodigiouſly fruitful, and finely watered with the pureſt rills: the ſides of the mountains rocky, yet well clothed with trees of large growth. The beauty of ſcenery in various parts is unſpeakable: we are obliged to Mr. Forreſt for giving us ſome idea of it in his Voyage to New Guinea; in plate 19, is a view of Tetyan harbor, of La⯑bugan, and of the circular harbor of Ubal, in the iſle of Bunwoot, on the eaſt ſide of the bay of Illano, near the great iſland.

Mindanao is inhabited by ſeveral different nations, NATIVES. ſpeaking various languages, governed by ſultans or rajahs. Mr. Forreſt, and our faithful voyager Dampier, give accurate accounts of the manners of the country, HARAFORAS. but particularly the firſt. The Hara⯑foras, the primitive people, now driven into the interior parts, are highly taxed and oppreſſed by the Mahometan nations who poſſeſs the coaſts. Dampier ^* deſcribes what he names the Minda⯑nayans, properly ſo called, as men of mean ſtature, ſmall limbs, ſtrait bodies, little heads, oval faces, flat foreheads, ſmall black eyes, ſhort low noſes, pretty large mouths, thin red lips, black teeth, black ſtrait hair, tawny ſkins, inclining more to brighter yellow than other Indians; and adds, that they are of good un⯑derſtanding, ingenious, and active, when they chuſe to exert themſelves, otherwiſe, like all other Indians, extremely indo⯑lent; [75]ſtately in their gait, but very civil to ſtrangers; vindictive, and given to the crime of poiſoning. The dreſſes of the inha⯑bitants is given in one of Mr. Forreſt's plates, repreſenting the nuptials of two young people of rank.

THE capital town is on the great bay of Illano, on the ſouth ſide of the iſland, in Lat. 7° 20′ the houſes, even the palace, are ſupported on poſts, from fourteen to twenty feet high, to keep them clear of the water in the ſeaſon of inundations. Cap⯑tain Forreſt, in his Voyage to New Guinea ^*, mentions the Lano, a great lake far inland; LANO LAKE. it is about ſixty miles in circum⯑ference, and in one place ſome hundred fathoms deep, in others ten, twenty, and thirty; has four iſlands, and abounds with fiſh. The inhabitants of its banks are called Illanos, and amount to thirty thouſand, intermixed with Haraforas, all of whom are ſaid to be very much civilized.

IN mentioning the productions of this archipelago, PRODUCTIONS. I ſhall juſt diſtinguiſh the few that, with great uncertainty, are thought pe⯑culiar to Mindanao. Gold is common to all. It has its ſaltpetre cave, from which much of that article is extracted; on the roofs are infinite cluſters of ſmall bats, the dung of which is ſuppoſed to be one cauſe of the ſalt; a brook of a moſt offenſive taſte and ſmell, and of a ſky blue color, iſſues from the mountain which incloſes the cavern.

THESE iſlands ſeem to produce all the animals common to thoſe adjacent with the addition of an ugly hog, QUADRUPEDS. with great knobs over the eyes, evidently my Aethiopian Boar, Hiſt. Quad. i. N^o 76; numerous in the woods, and very lean, but ſweet.

[76]THE Civet Weeſel, i. N^o 274. The ſpecies which produces the perfume is a native of theſe iſlands; and the Foſſane, N^o 280, is another ſpecies of ſpotted Weeſel.

THE Dugung is a ſpecies of Walrus which inhabits theſe ſeas; as yet we are acquainted with only the head.

Dampier ^* mentions a Manatee, which does not weigh above ſix hundred weight; but he commends the fleſh as being very ſweet.

THE Birds are all enumerated in the Faunula of my Indian Zoology, BIRDS. and may be known by their trivial names, and re⯑ferences to M. Sonnerat; yet I ſhall mention a few diſtinguiſhed by beauty, or any ſtriking property.

THE White Turtle, Sonnerat, Voy. N. Guinea, tab. 20, is of a moſt gloſſy whiteneſs, with a blood-red ſpot on the breaſt, as if it had received a ſtab in that part. The Quail of Luconia, tab. 24, is the leaſt of the genus, being only four inches long.

THE Shrike, tab. 25, flies ſwiftly in the air, and can balance itſelf like a ſwallow; is an inveterate enemy to the raven, which it never fails to attack, and in the end to put to flight.

THE Antique Shrike, tab. 114, is ſingular for the great hook of its upper mandible hanging far over the lower.

Parrots are very numerous, and of various ſpecies; they en⯑liven the woods with their brilliant colors, and deafen people by their cries.

THE Jacana, tab. 45, is moſt remarkable, not only by the vaſt length of toes and claws, characters of the genus, but by the [77]three ſlender ſhafts iſſuing from the greater feathers of each wing, and extending to the tail, and finiſhed with webs like other feathers.

THE bird called by M. Sonnerat, p. 86. tab. 49, Le Paon Sau⯑vage de l'iſle de Lucon, is evidently a plover; the bill is long, a little thicker near the point; on the head is a very long creſt, paſſing horizontal far beyond the hind part of the head, and ending in a point; things naked far above the knee; it has only three toes, and thoſe are nearly ſemi-palmated; creſt, head, neck, and breaſt, bright grey, barred with black; the top of the creſt quite black; belly white; back, wings, and tail plain brown; length from the tip of the tail to the end three feet. M. Son⯑nerat ſays, that this ſpecies is found near the Cape of Good Hope; but ſurely he miſtakes the Umbre, Brown's Illuſtr. tab. 35, for this bird.

Le Secretaire, tab. 50. Latham, i. p. 20. tab. 2, that ſingular vulture, a compound of many genera, is found here as well as in the Cape of Good Hope.

THE creſted Spoonbill, tab. 52, has its head ornamented with a large creſt, beginning a little beyond the bill, and falling be⯑hind the head in a great buſh; the feathers have unconnected webs, like the plumes of the Egrets.

IN Panay, is a very ſmall Thruſh, tab. 73, not bigger than our Hedge Sparrow, of a moſt beautiful violet color, blue and black, all changeable; it has a moſt charming note, for which reaſon it is called the muſician; they live in flocks of thouſands, and make their neſts in the pigeon-houſes.

THE Coliou, tab. 74, and the creſted Coliou of Panay, tab. 75, [78]are diſtinguiſhed by the vaſt length of their tails; that of the firſt ſtrait, of the other incurvated.

THE Hornbill, tab. 83. Latham, i. 353; the bill, as uſual, great and incurvated, and each mandible marked acroſs with ſe⯑veral prominent moldings of a brown color, and the interme⯑diate furrows pale yellow; the acceſſory bill is ſtrait, and ends abrupt, about half the length of the real.

THE Philippine Hornbill, Latham, i. 345. Pl. Enl. 873, is black above, white beneath; the bill is vaſt, with the acceſſorial bill convex at the top and in front, one third black, the hind part white; this bird is as large as a great fowl, and the beak nine inches long.

THE Manilla Hornbill, Latham, i. 354. Pl. Enl. 891, has a ſimple bill; the head, neck, breaſt, and belly are white; be⯑neath the cheek is a black ſpot; back and wings black.

THE above, and two ſpecies hereafter to be mentioned, are natives of theſe iſlands and of the Moluccas; their food is fruit; they inhabit the higheſt trees, and are the groteſque birds of the Indian archipelagos.

RESPECTING the trees, PLANTS. ſhrubs, or plants of the Manillas, I muſt content myſelf with giving the few engraven by M. Son⯑nerat, or deſcribed by that moſt induſtrious naturaliſt.

THE Sapotte Negro, tab. 14, a ſpecies of Achras, is a ſmall tree, with a round green fruit, containing four kernels, in ſhape of an almond, much admired by the Indians.

THE Berkias, tab. 48, is a ſhrub bearing a flower of an ele⯑gant form. Sonnerat puts it under the genus of the Pande⯑quaqua, [79]a barbarous name. The Chiococca Racemoſa, Linn. Suppl. p. 145, a leſſer ſpecies, is a milky plant, ſee tab. 19, the juice of which is uſed by the Indians for healing their wounds. The larger bears an oval fruit full of ſeed, tab. 43.

Le Rocou, or Atchiote, is a ſhrub with a ſmall pointed fruit covered with briſtles, containing numbers of ſeeds, which give a beautiful red dye.

THE Ignatia amara, Linn. Suppl. p. 149, which produces the beans of St. Ignatius, of ſuperſtitious uſe, grows in theſe iſlands.

THE Cocoa tree, tab. 61. 62. Theobroma cacao. COCOA TREE. I imagine that Linnaeus muſt have been a great admirer of chocolate, as he names the tree which produces it, Theobroma, or the food of the Gods. This tree is a native of the Antilles, and hotter parts of South America, and has been introduced into theſe iſlands by the Spaniards, from the great fondneſs that nation has for its pro⯑duce; otherwiſe they would not have given themſelves any trouble about a leſs favored tree.

THE celebrated bread fruit ^*, the Soccus Lanoſus, granoſus, BREADFRUIT. and ſylveſtris of Rumphius, v. p. 110. 12. 14. tab. 32. 33. 34. Artocar⯑pus Inciſa, G. Forſter, Florul. inſ. auſtr. N^o 332. Plant. Eſc. N^o 1. J. R. Forſteris Genera, 51. tab. 51. 51. a. and Mr. John Ellis, in his monograph on this tree, is frequent in theſe iſlands. It begins to appear on the eaſtern parts of Sumatra, where it is named by the Malayes, Soccum Capas, again in Prince's iſland, about Bantam, and in Malega, and finally in all the iſlands to the eaſt, and from thence to Otahcite, and many others in the South Sea.

Dampier, i. 296, firſt diſcovered it in Guam, one of the La⯑drone [80]iſlands, and gives a very faithful deſcription of the fruit and its uſes; Lord Anſon, and his great follower Cook, are full of its praiſes. Of late years we caught the benevolent idea of tranſ⯑porting this tree of life to our own iſlands; captain Bligh had the honor of being the perſon deputed to convey this manna to our wretched negroes. A Satan counteracted (under the feigned form and name of the moſt beneficent of ſects) this great benefit to our hard-fated brethren; like his great prototype he ſucceeded in the onſet, but the adventure is reſumed under the auſpices of the ſame faithful leader, and I hope that I do not make a falſe prophecy if I preſage ſucceſs.

THIS fruit is the bread of the iſlands on which it has been be⯑ſtowed; it grows on a tree of the ſize of a middling oak, and to the bulk of a child's head, and even to the diameter of twelve inches. Rumphius diſtinguiſhes the varieties into Granoſus, Lano⯑ſus, and Soccoſus; the firſt is the parent tree, and has in it ſeeds. John Reinhold Forſter, plate 51. a. gives us an idea of the whole fruit, with the rind hexagonally reticulated; the majority have no ſeeds, as we find is often the caſe with the Barberry, and a few other fruits; theſe, therefore, are incapable of propagation, ex⯑cept by ſuckers. In the generality of the iſlands, the ſeeded ſort is quite loſt, the other kind cultivated in orchards. The account of the fruit as given by Dampier, abnormis ſapiens, is worthy the reader's attention; ‘When it is ripe it is yellow and ſoft, and the taſte is ſweet and pleaſant; the natives of this iſland uſe it for bread: they gather it when full grown, while it is green and hard; then they bake it in an oven, which ſcorcheth the rind, and makes it black, but they ſcrape off the outſide black cruſt, [81]and there remains a tender thin cruſt, and the inſide of it ſoft, tender, and white, like the crumbs of a penny loaf. There is neither ſeed nor ſtone in the inſide, but all is of a pure ſub⯑ſtance like bread; it muſt be eaten new, for if it is kept above twenty-four hours, it becomes dry, and eats harſh and choaky, but it is very pleaſant before it is too ſtale. This fruit laſts in ſeaſon eight months in the year, during which time the na⯑tives eat no other ſort of food of bread kind.’

THE fruit which M. Sonnerat, p. 99, calls Le Rima, ou fruit a pain, and which he has engaven in tab. 57. 58. 59. and 60, is the perfect fruit, or ſoccus granoſus. Juſt beneath the rind is a ſeries of large almond-like kernels, adhering to a central placenta, and of a farinaceous ſubſtance, which when roaſted eat like cheſ⯑nuts. The fruit itſelf is large and ſpherical; the natives of the Philippines cut it into ſlices, dry and eat it like bread; it will keep two years. This is the variety Mr. Ellis calls the Ducdu, and ſeems to make it a ſeparate ſpecies.

A MINUTE orange, tab. 63, ORANGE. reſembling the Citrus trifoliata of Linnaeus, is found here; the fruit is very ſmall, of a bright red co⯑lor. It has no ſections, but only one lodgment for the ſeeds. The pulp is ſlightly acid, and very agreeable. It may be the Ssi or Karatas Banna of the Japaneſe, Kaempf. Amoen. Ex. 801. 2. Thunberg, Fl. Japon. 294.

IN Mindanao are found three fruits engraven by M. Sonnerat: the Manſſanus or Maſſon, tab. 94, reſembling a Jujube tree; the leaves are alternate, the fruit a berry, covering a hard kernel, containing two nuts of a green color.

THE next is the Menichea roſata, tab. 93. The fruit is be⯑tween [82]two and three inches long, oval, and containing a large nut.

THE third is La Houette, tab. 90, a very lofty tree.

BETWEEN the ſouth end of Mindanao, SOOLO ISLES. and the north-eaſt point of Borneo, is a chain of ſmall iſles, extending about two hundred miles in length, called the Soolo, from the name of the chief iſland. The principal was about the middle of this cen⯑tury governed by a ſultan, according to M. Sonnerat, the very counterpart of Peter the Great; endowed with the ſame abilities, the ſame thirſt after knowlege, and the ſame ambition of ap⯑plying it to the improvement of his ſubjects. Like Peter, he quitted his throne, and took to travelling during ſeveral years. He went afterwards to Batavia, where he concealed his name and quality, and aſſociated himſelf with the common ſailors to learn their buſineſs. He next changed his company for that of the carpenters, to be inſtructed in their art. He bought tools of all ſorts, and inſtruments of huſbandry, and then returned to his throne. Still he wiſhed for more intellectual improvement; ſailed for Mecca to learn the law of Mahomet; made himſelf maſter of the Arabic tongue, brought home the uſe of let⯑ters, and introduced money, the firſt ever known in the iſlands.

THIS monarch obtained poſſeſſion by conqueſt of a ſmall part of Borneo next to his dominions, which involved him in a quar⯑rel with ſome Dutch, who pretended they were allies to the Bornoeſe. Our prince found he never could be a match for theſe people without the uſe of fire-arms. He fitted out a few ſhips, loaded them with articles of commerce, and ſailed to Manilla, in [83]order to ſupply his wants. The rapacious governor ſeized on the monarch and all his treaſure, under pretence that he intended the conqueſt of the iſland. The ſultan remonſtrated in vain, he endured a long captivity; his ſubjects, enraged at the treatment their prince had met with, made horrible ravages on the coaſts of Luconia. The governor did not dare to complain, as he knew his court would not approve his conduct. He ſtipulated with the prince that he would reſtore him to liberty, provided he would conſent to eſtabliſh in his dominions a miſſion of Jeſuits. He refuſed to comply; the Jeſuits, determined on revenge and con⯑queſt, obtained an armament, and taking the Soolo monarch, ſailed for Sambouange, and from thence to Soolo, where they landed, and laid ſiege to the only fort on the iſland. The warriors of Soolo ſurpriſed them, and drove them with diſgrace to their ſhips. At Sambouange he found means to eſcape on board an Engliſh veſſel, which conveyed him to Soolo; his ſubjects crowded to him, and he remounted his throne, to the great joy of his people; he ceded a ſmall iſland to the Engliſh, and declared his ports open to all piratical adventurers, to encourage them to re⯑venge his cauſe on the treacherous Spaniards. Mr. Forreſt vi⯑ſited this iſland, and found there an Engliſh factor; it was then governed by Iſrael, ſon of the captive ſultan, who had received his education at Manilla.

MR. Dalrymple viſited theſe iſlands, and left us ſome account of their natural hiſtory: they are particularly rich in pearls; PEARLS. the banks on which the different ſhells are found containing thoſe gems are of great extent; the pearl is not confined to one ſpecies of ſhell, Mr. Dalrymple deſcribes ſeveral, but as he does not do it [84]ſcientifically, I am at a loſs to define the kinds, except⯑ing the Mytilus Margaritiferus; every one of theſe ſhells have in them two ſmall lobſters, to which the Indians attribute the formation of the pearls. The banks were once pri⯑vate property, and belonged to ſeveral individuals, but by the Mahometan law, they are now common even to ſtrangers. The divers are ſlaves to the ſultan; they ſeem to be hired out, and to receive a certain portion for their ſhare. Pigafetta, the com⯑panion of Magellan in his circumnavigation, viſited theſe iſlands in 1521. He calls Soolo, Zolo, and ſays from report ^*, that two pearls had been taken there, the property of the king of Borneo, which were round, and as big as hens' eggs.

THE ſwallows with edible neſts ſwarm here; they build in caves open at top, but with their ſides communicating with the ſea beneath its ſurface. The neſts are got by divers, who plunge through the entrance, and riſe within the vaſt caverns, which are inacceſſible from above.

THE Upas or poiſon tree is found in Soolo.

MR. ANIMALS. Fooreſt has given us a brief account of the animals; the Soolos have plenty of horſes, which the ladies of faſhion have learned to ride with much grace. Here are abundance of goats and cattle, but the people do not milk the cows; wild hogs ſwarm, and with the wild elephant do great miſchief. The ele⯑phants are not aboriginal, but bred from ſome that had been ſent as preſents to the Soolo princes. The Spotted Deer or Axis is found here.

Soolo is thirty miles long and twelve broad, LENGTH OF SOOLO. and very populous, [85]which obliges the inhabitants to have recourſe to agriculture in a far greater degree than others of the adjacent iſles; the whole chain is ſaid to have ſixty thouſand inhabitants: the ſoil is very fertile, and productive of moſt of the tropical fruits; teek trees abound here. The rainy ſeaſon is very uncertain, for which reaſon the crops of rice cannot be depended on; yams, potatoes, and other eſculents, are cultivated to ſupply the defect. The na⯑tives have learned the art of engrafting from the Chineſe ſettled among them. Mr. Forreſt ſays that the cinnamon tree is found amongſt theſe iſlands.

THE Soolos are a poliſhed people, NATIVES. probably from the examples of their two monarchs: both ſexes dreſs with elegance; they are fond of muſic and dancing. Sultan Iſrael and his niece, could perform a tolerable minuet, and ſome of the people of faſhion could go down a country dance. They have many ſlaves, to whom they are ſaid to be very cruel, and beſides are reckoned perfidious in their general dealings.

ANOTHER chain of iſlands, SANGIR. of far greater length than the for⯑mer, runs from the weſtern cape of Mindanao quite to the moſt eaſtern cape of the great iſland of Celebes; the chief of which is Sangujan or Sangir, between Lat. 3° 30′ and 4° 30′ north; moſt of them are inhabited, and governed by their chieftains ^*. The Dutch have now poſſeſſion of Sangir, and ſome others, as out⯑guards to the ſpicy iſles. Theſe, part of Mindanao, the Soolo iſles, Borneo, and Celebes, bound a great and open gulph, of clear na⯑vigation.

Celebes or Macaſſar extends north and ſouth between Lat.CELEBES OR MACASSAR. 1° [86]55′ north, and Lat. 5° 50′ ſouth; it is of an oblong form, but al⯑moſt divided by two deep bays, one, which penetrates far weſt into the country near the north end; and another which pene⯑trates ſtill moſt extenſively from the north, running above a hundred and fifty miles due ſouth.

THIS iſland is prodigiouſly mountanous, VOLCANOES. and lofty; the mountains increaſe in height towards the central parts, and are generally richly clothed with wood. In Macaſſar, as well as in Mindanao, are ſome active volcanoes. Mr. Dalrymple, in the 29th plate of his elegant views of land, gives a fine idea of the country. Mr. Loten informed me that none of the Indian iſlands had ſuch grand and beautiful ſcenery. It abounds with rivers, which ſpring high in the mountains, and precipitate down vaſt rocks, among a ſylvan ſcene of lofty and ſingular trees. The lakes, and more ſtill parts of the rivers, give ſecurity to numberleſs water fowl of the larger and more clumſy kinds, which retire there by fear of the crocodiles, which haunt the lower and marſhy parts. Thoſe are not deſerted by the leſſer palmated birds, ſuch as ducks and teal, which being quick ſighted and nimble, eaſily evade the approach of the enemy.

THIS iſland was diſcovered in 1525, by Antonio de Britto and Garcias Henriguez, who at that time commanded in the Moluc⯑cas. Celebes was reckoned one of the greateſt of thoſe iſlands. The Portugueſe eſtabliſhed themſelves here, and whether their conduct was more moderate than in other places I know not, but they gained the good opinion of the inhabitants, who pre⯑ſerved towards them the moſt inviolable fidelity. They kept their ground here till the year 1660, when the Dutch, with a ſtrong [87]ſquadron, landed and defeated them, and their faithful ally the king of Macaſſar, a potent prince on the weſt ſide of the iſland, and near the ſouthern end. Here the Portugueſe had their colony. The Dutch expelled them, raſed their churches to the ground, and ſeized all the effects of the Jeſuits, whom they juſtly con⯑ſidered as their greateſt enemies. The king made one more at⯑tempt to expel theſe invaders; but was unſucceſsful, and obliged to ſubmit to the Batavian yoke. The Engliſh had alſo for a long time great intercourſe with this iſland, for the ſake of the rich productions of the Spicy iſles, till at length the ſubtile Dutch ſucceeded in preventing all commerce with Macaſſar. The Dutch have now the monarch of this iſland, and all its other princes, at their command, ſo they may more truly be ſaid to be the governors of the country. The Chineſe are the only people who are per⯑mitted to trade here to ſupply the wants of the iſlanders. The Macaſſars have a great commercial fiſhery around their iſland; they go in fleets of more than a hundred ſail, which conſiſt of proas from twelve to twenty tons burden, and carry from ſixteen to twenty men; they go out with one monſoon, and come in with another, and ſend their fiſh to the China market; the produce of its own ſeas not being equal to the demand of that overſtocked empire. It is remarkable that all theſe proas carry Dutch colors. The iſland itſelf exports gold, rice, ſago, wax, and ſlaves; but its chief uſe to the Dutch is to keep other nations at a diſtance from the great repoſitories of ſpices. Our old voyagers ſeldom failed of touching at Celebes to profit of the trade.

I AM ſorry to obſerve, SLAVES. in the account I meet with of all the iſlands, even from Sumatra itſelf, that the infamous ſlave trade [88]prevales in almoſt every one. They are either brought to market by the piratical Malayes or Buggeſſes, who make them one object of their cruizes or petty invaſions; or they are kidnapped by the co-inhabitants of the ſame iſlands. The Mahometans think they have the ſame right to hunt down and catch a Pagan, as the gentry of Liverpool or Briſtol have to encourage the trepanning of a curled-pated negro: and all theſe bring them to market with as little remorſe. I call as evidence Mr. Marſden ^*, Captain Forreſt ^†, in his voyage to Mergui, and old Dampier ^‡. Slaves from Celebes, Mindanao, and even Java itſelf, are ſeen at Batavia in numbers incredible; let me do the Batavians the juſtice to ſay, that ſome of their ſlaves are kept with great neatneſs, and are inſtructed in mechanical trades. The Dutchman, fortunately for them, finds it his intereſt to employ them in the loom, ra⯑ther than conſume them under the preſſure of labor, beneath a vertical ſun.

OUR able officer, captain Carteret, in his return from his cir⯑cumnavigation, attempted to put into Macaſſar, but was repulſed by the jealouſy of the Dutch; his diſtreſs paſſed expreſſion; moſt of his crew near the point of death, by the hardſhips of his long voyage; nothing could equal the unfeelingneſs of the Dutchman's heart; there ſeemed to be little difference in its temper in the year 1768, and that of its rudeſt days. Mr. Carte⯑ret, by amazing reſolution, at length got leave to anchor and procure refreſhments in Bonthain bay, about thirty miles from the capital. There he ſuffered all kinds of extortion, and ob⯑ſerved every ſpecies of inſolence and cruelty to the natives. [89]Phlegmatic conſtitutions never feel for the ſuffering of others; their calloſity is incorrigible; warm tempers may do wrong, but they ſoon return to their native milkineſs. As to the Dutch, they forced the refreſhments from them at a ſmall price, and con⯑tented themſelves with a thouſand per cent. profit from our com⯑mander. What Captain Carteret tells us from p. 622. to p. 648. is worthy of peruſal; excepting his voyage, which was moſt ably written by himſelf, all the reſt of the three volumes is Mr. Hawkſworth's compilation, from the journals of the navigators.

MR. Carteret could obſerve that the city of Macaſſar, CITY OF MACASSAR. in Lat. 5° 30′, was large, and moſt delightfully ſituated. It is ſaid alſo to be very ſtrong. About Bonthain bay are numerous villages, and the country abounding with proviſions and timber.

GREAT quantities of Sualloo, or ſea ſlug, SUALLOO. an animal of the Molluſca tribe, is fiſhed up here, eſpecially about the thirteen ſmall iſles called the Pater-noſters, in the ſtreight between Celebes and Borneo; it is ſuppoſed to be a ſpecies of Actinia, and lies on the ſandy bottom, and often on that which is environed with coral rocks. The fiſhers ſtrike it with four-bearded iron prongs, placed parallel to each other, on the ſurface of two iron ſhot, of ſix or nine pounds weight, faſtened to a ſtrong line. This Sualloo ſometimes weighs half a pound; numbers of boats with the crew and family on board ſubſiſt by this buſineſs, and dry it in the ſmoke. The black or beſt kind is ſold to the Chineſe (who uſe it in their nice diſhes) for forty dollars a pecul; whereas the worſe or white only brings in four or five.

THE people employed in this fiſhery are chiefly Badjoos; BADJOOS PEOPLE. they inhabit many of the ſhores of the ſmaller iſlands around the [90]greater; they may be called the Tartars of the Sea; ſome few are ſtationary, living in ſtilted houſes cloſe to the water's edge; others live altogether in boats, and with their families ſhift their quarters and change their reſidence along with the Monſoons. Mr. Forreſt computes that they have about ſeven hundred boats; and adds, that they live chiefly on fiſh, have a ſquealing voice, and moſt ſavage appearance. He ſuppoſes them to have been originally fugitives from Macaſſar, Java, and other places.

THE Buggeſſes, BUGGESSES. or native Macaſſars, are the braveſt people in India; of proved fidelity, if treated with confidence; of the deepeſt revenge, if inſulted. They ſpread far and wide on the ocean in character of freebooters, and attack veſſels with moſt aſtoniſhing deſperation, eſpecially when inſpired by opium. On land their arms are lances, or ſlender arrows, pointed with the teeth of fiſh, dipped in the fatal poiſon of the Upas tree, which grows in this iſland. Theſe arrows they blow out of hollow trunks, and hit their mark at a conſiderable diſtance. So ſubtile is the venom, that it almoſt inſtantaneouſly effects de⯑ſtruction; nor do the Macaſſars themſelves know any remedy. Nicuhoff ſaw ſeveral Dutch ſoldiers cured by ſwallowing human dung, by way of a vomit; but others died, notwithſtanding the filthy remedy. A certain root is ſpoken of growing in the iſland which is uſed as an antidote.

M. Tavernier was eye-witneſs to the rapid effect of this poiſon, EFFECT OF UPAS POISON. which I think too ſingular to be omitted: "One day," ſays he ^*, ‘an Engliſhman, in heat of blood, had killed one of the king of Macaſſar's ſubjects; and though the king had [91]pardoned him, yet both Engliſh, Hollanders, and Portugals, fearing if the Engliſhman ſhould go unpuniſhed, leſt the iſlanders ſhould revenge themſelves upon ſome of them, be⯑ſought the king to put him to death; which with much ado being conſented to, the king, unwilling to put him to a lin⯑gering death, and deſirous to ſhew the effect of his poiſon, reſolved to ſhoot the criminal himſelf; whereupon he took a long trunk, and ſhot him exactly into the great toe of the right foot, the place particularly aimed at: two chirurgeons, one an Engliſhman and the other a Hollander, provided on purpoſe, immediately cut off the member; but for all that the poiſon had diſperſed itſelf ſo ſpeedily, that the Engliſhman died at the ſame time.’

‘ALL the kings and princes of the eaſt are very diligent in their enquiry after ſtrong poiſons; and I remember that the chief of the Dutch factory and I tried ſeveral poiſoned arrows, with which the king of Acheen had preſented him, by ſhoot⯑ing at ſquirrels, who fell down dead as ſoon as ever they were touched.’

Boutan, a ſmall iſle near the ſouth-eaſt of Celebes, BOUTAN. is inde⯑pendent, and has its ſultan, who mimics all the ſtate of a greater monarch. Our countryman, Mr. David Middleton ^*, viſited this iſland in 1609, and there paſſed a ſtrong intercourſe of civilities between him and the reigning prince. Middleton ſailed from England with a commercial view; nor would he have been diſ⯑appointed, had not the king's rich magazine of goods been juſt burnt by his enemies. The natives are like the Mindanayans in [92]ſhape, and ſpeak the Malaye language. All are Mahometans, as are the people of Celebes: the ſtory is, that a certain king, from the arguments he had heard on the topic of religion from ſome Chriſtians and Mahometans, took a great diſlike to his own, but being unable to determine which to chuſe, he convened a general aſſembly, and after a moſt fervent prayer to Heaven, reſolved to prefer the religion of that party which ſhould firſt land on his dominions: poſſibly the Mahometans were in the ſecret; their miſſionaries arrived, and the whole iſland em⯑braced the doctrine of that ſect.

I NOW deſcend towards the eaſtern end of Java, and paſs through the ſtreights of Balli, which divide Java from the iſland of that name. ISLAND OF BALLI. The ſtreights are narrow, rapid, and bounded by pictureſque hills, many of a conoid form. This is a much-frequented paſſage.

THE iſland abounds with every neceſſary of life, both in the vegetable and animal creation. When the Dutch touched here, in their firſt voyage of the year 1595, they found it governed by a king, who appeared in great ſtate, was attended by his guards, and drawn in a chariot by milk-white oxen. The great men were carried in their bamboo palanquins, and lived in the higheſt luxury. The religion was then Paganiſm; and the women, as in India, devoted themſelves to the funeral pile on the deceaſe of their huſbands. In Le Promier Livre de Navigations, &c. are ſome prints ^* of the cuſtoms of the iſland.

THIS iſland, SLAVES. and that of Macaſſar, has the inſamy of furniſh⯑ing as many ſubjects to the ſlave trade as any part of the known [93]world, excepting Guinea; and they are ſold with as little re⯑morſe as in any portion of the hardened univerſe.

FROM Balli is a long chain of iſlands (which I ſhall, TIMORIAN CHAIN. from Timor Laut, call the Timorian chain) running eaſtward, and ex⯑tends very near the coaſts of New Guinea, inclining a little to⯑wards the north as they approach that great iſland. The names of the moſt conſiderable are Lomboc, Gumbava, Ende, or Flores; from the laſt they are broken into ſmaller iſles, ſuch as Solor, Omba, and others, ſcattered over the ſea, or grouped in cluſters; Timor Laut and Arrou are the moſt eaſtern, and the largeſt of the latter claſs.

VERY near to the ſouth ſide of Omba is the great iſland of Timor, which points to the ſouth-weſt; TIMOR ISLAND. and with the adjacent iſle of Anamboa, forms a large triangular baſon, of which the iſle of Sandel Boſche, or ſandal wood, is the weſtern ſide. Timor was diſcovered in 1522 by the companions of Magellan, who found it full of white ſandal wood. They report, that on this archipelago the diſeaſe of St. Job (which they interpret the in⯑famous diſeaſe) reigneth more than in any other part of the world. I ſuſpect it to be the horrid diſeaſe called by Bontius ^* the Amboynſe Pocken.

THE Portugueſe attempted to make themſelves maſters of this iſland, but were obliged to abandon their deſign, by a reſiſtance of twenty years from the brave inhabitants. They had ſettled on the bay of Cupang; from which they were expelled by the Dutch in 1613, who built a fort named Concordia. They keep this iſland merely for the ſake of making it an out-port to the [94]ſpicy iſlands, of which they have the moſt extreme jealouſy; for there is nothing they apprehend ſo much as the intercourſe of other nations with their uſurpations in theſe parts. Timor yields ſo little profit, that, except for the reaſon juſt given, it would have been long ſince abandoned. LENGTH. The length of this iſland is near two hundred miles, the breadth about ſixty; it is divided into many kingdoms, ſuch as Cupang and others. In Dampier's time there were many Portugueſe ſettlements, or ra⯑ther of the mixed breed; the principal is at Laphao, on the northern ſide; but even there he ſaw but three white men, the reſt were copper-colored, with lank black hair; they ſpoke Por⯑tugueſe, were of the Roman catholick religion, and would be very angry if they were not thought Portugueſe, as they value themſelves greatly on their mongrel deſcent.

THE natives are ſaid to be the braveſt of any in all this vaſt archipelago, NATIVES. but at the ſame time the moſt ſavage. They con⯑ceal their nakedneſs by a ſort of ſhort apron, made of many narrow ſtripes; have bracelets round their arms, and collars of ſhells round their necks, and their hair ſtands erect. Their wea⯑pons are vaſt ſabres, made of ſandal wood; with which, it is ſaid, they can cut a man aſunder at one blow. Mr. Nieuhoff ^* gives the figures of the different wild ſoldiery of the iſlands.

CAPTAIN Cook paſſed under a conſiderable part of the ſouthern ſide of Timor, in his return from his firſt voyage. The land ap⯑peared very high, mountain above mountain riſing in ſlopes from the ſea, chiefly clothed with foreſts. In ſome parts were ſwamps and mangrove-trees; in others cleared land, the marks [95]of inhabitants; and in other places groves and coco-palms, that reached a mile inland, and cloſe to them houſes and plantations innumerable.

THE domeſtic animals of Timor ſeem to have been introduced there by the Europeans, except the hogs and buffaloes. ANIMALS. Mon⯑kies are numerous, but I believe very few other native animals. Here are infinite varieties of birds. The woods abound with bees, which produce quantities of honey and wax; and the ſea with fiſhes and ſhell-fiſh; and as to the vegetable kingdom, it yields moſt of the tropical trees, fruits, and plants.

NEW HOLLAND.

I NOW digreſs to the ſtupendous iſland of New Holland, and fairly confeſs that the zeal of the zoologiſt has laid hold of me, and that a deſire to inveſtigate ſo fine a field, has made me wil⯑lingly ſubmit to the impulſe. I ſhall cloſe the original ſubject by returning to the Molucca iſlands, and breathe my laſt words in their ſpicy air, or their latitude. Little hiſtory is to be expected of the land I now viſit; brief accounts of the various diſcoverers is all that can be given till we arrive on the eaſtern coaſt; which the unfortunate acquaintance with in 1770, has peopled with the profligate outcaſts of our country, cruelly redeemed from the gibbet to undergo a lingering life of nakedneſs and famine in this moſt diſtant land.

New Holland is in length from the north point, in Lat. VAST EXTENT. 11° to 46° 30′ ſouth, about two thouſand miles, and its greateſt breadth from its moſt weſtern part, in Long. 109° 30′, to its moſt eaſtern in Long. 152° 30′, about three thouſand miles. Its extent in the ſouthern parts is unknown, as much of the weſtern ſide remains to be diſcovered. This vaſt tract proves equal in ſize (according [98]to the eſtimate of our later navigators) to all Europe. I ſee no reaſon why it ſhould not be called a fifth continent; America itſelf is but an inſulated continent, ſuperior as it may be to that of New Holland.

IN tracing the diſcovery of that immenſe region, DISCOVERED IN 1618. I ſhall begin at the very northern extremity, oppoſite to the iſles of Arrou. The name it bears in that part is Arnheim's Land, and the diſ⯑covery ſixed in the year 1648. I ſhall proceed to the weſtern ſide, and then ſurround the country till I arrive at the point I am now leaving.

IN Lat. DAMPIER'S BAY, BY DAMPIER IN 1688. 16° 50′ ſouth, 119° Eaſt Long. from London, is land diſcovered in 1688 by our great navigator Dampier ^*. Geo⯑graphers have not even honored the ſpot with a name; I will therefore ſtyle it Dampier's Bay. Our countryman took his de⯑parture from Timor, and paſſing by a ſhoal of ſand and rock in Lat. 13° 50′, in water ſo deep that he could not fathom it with his line, on January 5th he anchored in a deep bay, full of ſmall iſlands, about two miles from ſhore. The land was low and even; with dunes at the water edge ſkirted with rocky points.

THE inhabitants were the moſt miſerable our countrymen ever ſaw; NATIVES. without any cloathing, except the rudeſt cover for their na⯑kedneſs, conſiſting of nothing more than the ſlip of the rind of a tree for a girdle, and a little graſs ſtuffed into it before as an apron. They were tall, ſtrait, and thin, their limbs very ſmall and long; their heads large, their foreheads round; they had great bottle noſes, wide mouths, full lips, and their eyes [99]perpetually winking or kept ſhut, from their being ſo greatly annoyed with flies, that from habit they never open them like other people, but are obliged to hold up their heads if they wiſh to ſee any thing above their level. They have no beards, and the people of both ſexes univerſally want two of the upper fore teeth, which they draw out; their viſages are long; and their general aſpect the moſt diſagreable imaginable; their ſkins are coal black; their hair ſhort and frizzled like the African negroes. They had neither houſes or dwellings, but lay in the open air, and aſſociated in companies of twenty or thirty, men, women, and children; their arms were wooden ſwords and lances; Dampier found many on one of the iſlands; they had not the appearance even of a canoe, but muſt have ſwam from place to place; and as to food, they could only collect the ſhells and animals flung up by the ſea. They were exceedingly timid. Dampier at⯑tempted to make them work in carrying water to the ſhip, but they had not ſtrength or dexterity enough to carry as much as a boy of ten years of age.

SEA tortoiſes and Manatee were found in plenty on the coaſt, MANATEE. and abundance of fiſh; the tides roſe here about five fathoms.

THE trees were neither large nor numerous; one kind, exuding a red gum like the Sanguis draconis, was frequent; we ſhall take notice of it hereafter.

G. F. de Witt's Land, in Lat. 19° ſouth, was diſcovered, DE WITT'S ISLAND. accord⯑ing to Arrowſmith, in 1616, according to others in 1628.

IN about Lat. 20° Dampier thought he had diſcovered a ſtreight or paſſage to the eaſtward; but in all probability (ſee his voyage, vol. iii. p. 135) it was no more than a channel be⯑tween [100]a cluſter of iſlands. From Roſemary iſlands, a diſcovery of his in Lat. ENDRACHT'S LAND. 20° 50′, the land turns ſoutherly. Endracht's Land lies juſt under the tropic of Capricorn, diſcovered, according to Hawkeſworth's map, in 1616.

Dirk Hartog iſlands and Sharks bay are in Lat. SHARKS BAY. 25°. The land ſo high as to be ſeen nine or ten leagues diſtant. It bore neither ſhrubs or trees above ten feet high. The prognoſtics of the approach of land were a ſort of grey tern as big as a lap⯑wing, and like that bird flapping its wings. The eyes encircled with black, the bill red, the tail forked.

SEA ſnakes appeared in great abundance; SEA SNAKES. one ſpecies was four feet long, yellow, with a flat tail, four fingers broad.

THE other was ſmaller, and round, ſpotted with black and yel⯑low. Dampier ſaw others very long and ſlender, others as thick as a man's leg, with a red head. This reminds me of the ſpecies deſcribed by Arrian, in his Periphus Maris Erythroei, to which he gives black ſkins, and blood-red eyes. I dare ſay his account is juſt, only his informer confined the color of the head to the eyes.

ON land was an Avoſetta with the head and neck red; AVOSETTA. and a ſea pie exactly reſembling ours, only thoſe parts were totally black.

Dampier ^* alſo diſcovered a ſpecies of Kangaroo, KANGAROO. an animal with very ſhort fore legs, which it went jumping on; but his Guano was an horrible animal, too diſguſting even for him to eat, who had been uſed to food of all ſorts, as ſnakes, alligators, and cro⯑codiles, ſo offenſive was this in look and ſmell; his deſcription is ſo forcible, that we may well give him full credit. ‘At the [101]rump, inſtead of the tail there, they had a ſtump of a tail, HORRIBLE LIZARD. which appeared like another head; but not really ſuch, being without mouth or eyes; yet this creature ſeemed by this means to have a head at each end; and which may be reckoned a fourth difference, the legs alſo ſeemed all four of them to be fore-legs, being all alike in ſhape and length, and ſeeming, by the joints and bending, to be made as if they were to go in⯑differently either head or tail foremoſt. They were ſpeckled black and yellow like toads, and had ſcales or knobs on their backs like thoſe of crocodiles, plated on to the ſkin, or ſtuck into it as part of the ſkin. They are very flow in motion, and when a man comes nigh them, they will ſtand ſtill and hiſs, not endeavouring to get away. Their livers are alſo ſpotted black and yellow; and the body when opened has a very un⯑ſavoury ſmell.’

I HAVE little doubt but that this is the horrible animal figured by Seba ^* under the name of Salamandra vera Seu Gekko Cey⯑lonicus. He deſcribes it as moſt dreadfully venomous, even ſo as to infect the very waters to ſuch a degree, as to poiſon any perſon who is ſo unfortunate to drink of them.

HE found here green turtle weighing two hundred pounds; and abundance of large ſharks, from which he gave name to the bay. In the maw of one he diſcovered what he calls the head of a Hippopotamus; the hairy lips were ſound; and two of the teeth he pulled out were eight inches long, and a little crooked; the reſt only four. I muſt queſtion whether this was the real Hippopotamus, or the Dugon?

[102]COMMODORE Francis Pilſtaert, PILSTAERT, IN 1629. being ſent on a voyage of diſcovery with eleven ſhips, was in 1629 wrecked in the Batavia on this coaſt near Edels-land, EDELS-LAND. in Lat. 28°. He eſcaped; returned in a ſkiff to Batavia; and was obliged to leave ſeveral of his crew behind. Part had conſpired, and cruelly murdered the reſt; but on his coming back to reſcue from de⯑ſtruction thoſe whom he had left, he ſeized on the miſcreants, and gave them into the hands of the executioner.

Van de Leuwins' Land, VAN DE LEU⯑WINS, IN 1622. in Lat. 33° 40′, was diſcovered in 1622. From hence the ſhore runs due eaſt for a courſe of ſome hundred miles. PETER NUYTS IN 1627. In 1627 the famous commodore Peter Nuyts ſailed along the coaſt, and made many attempts to land, but was always repulſed. Is not this a proof that the ſouthern ſhores of New Hol⯑land poſſeſs a ſuperior population, and ſuperior valor in the in⯑habitants, to all the reſt of the known parts of this vaſt country? The tract is to this day called after his name.

FROM certain iſlands called St. Francis's and St. Peter's, in Lat. 32° ſouth, Long. 132° eaſt, no farther diſcoveries have been made. The land is ſuppoſed to take a ſouthern curvature, and to contract its breadth gradually. The courſe is marked with the dotted line, nor do we recover land till we reach the very ſouthern extremity, which ſpreads to no great breadth; one ſide ends in South-weſt Cape, in Lat. 43° 37′, the other in South Cape, in Lat. 43° 42′, and the land from each runs northward.

THIS part of New Holland was diſcovered in 1642, TASMAN, IN 1642. by Abel Taſ⯑man, who was ſent for that purpoſe by the ſtates; he named it Van Diemen's Land, gave names to ſeveral iſlands and bays, and made ſome remarks on the country; if he was accurate, [103]they prove a variety in the inhabitants. He ſays they were a large-made people, of a color between brown and yellow; their hair long, and almoſt as thick as that of the Japaneſe, and that like them they combed it up, and fixed it at the top of their heads with a pin. They covered their middle with a mantle, ſome with a kind of mat, others with a ſort of woollen cloth; their ingenuity might reach the fabricating a mat, but I doubt the poſſibility of the latter.

IN 1773, Taſman, after a long interval, CAPTAIN FURNEAUX, IN 1773. was followed by captain Furneaux, who had been ſeparated from captain Cook, and di⯑rected his courſe for the purpoſe of purſuing the diſcovery of the Dutch navigator; he fell on the very ſame country, and found the ſame bays and headlands obſerved by Taſman. He ſaw the land eight or nine leagues diſtant; it was rather high, broken, and with bold ſhores, but beaten by a moſt violent ſurf: it probably having the whole weight of the Antarctic ocean from the very pole rolling on this great headland.

THE ſoil here was black, rich, but thin ^*, SOIL. the ſides of the hills covered with trees, and the view greatly beautified by the vaſt cataracts, tumbling from immenſe heights, and a rock with fluted pillars, poſſibly baſaltic. Captain Furneaux ſaw none of the natives, but met with their miſerable wigwams, and ſome bags and nets in which they carried their proviſions, and alſo a ſtone to ſtrike fire with, and ſome tinder.

IN January 1777, CAPTAIN COOK, IN 1777. this country was viſited in perſon by our great navigator, who had the good fortune to meet with ſome of the natives, who came to him with the utmoſt confidence, and [104]without any ſign of fear. NATIVES. They were of the common ſtature, ſlender, black, and with hair as frizzled as any negroe, but not diſtinguiſhed by remarkable thick lips or flat noſes, and their features far from diſagreeable; their teeth were good, but very dirty; nor did they want any of the upper fore teeth, as Dampier obſerved in thoſe whom he ſaw. The hair of theſe was clotted with a ſort of red ointment, and their faces were painted with the ſame; they had buſhy beards on their chins and upper lips, which was another variation from the moſt northern people, yet the eyes of theſe were by no means affected like the miſerable na⯑tives of the environs of Sharks bay. The hair of the women was cut or ſhaven, ſometimes wholly, ſometimes partially; and ſome had a circle of hair left, like the tonſure of the Roman catholick clergy. The men were quite naked, the women had the ſkin of the Kangaroo tied over their ſhoulders, and round their waiſts; the ſkins of both ſexes were marked with ſcars.

THEIR habitations were little wigwams, made of ſticks covered with bark; DRYADES. others reminded you of thoſe of the Dryades of the poets: they formed a hollow in the vaſt trees of the country, to the height of ſix or ſeven feet, which they effected by fire; they left ſo much untouched that the tree grew moſt luxuriantly, and gave the image of Taſſo's enchanted grove: this is the only foreſt tree of the country; the bark is white, the ſtem quite ſtrait, and clear of branches to the height of ſixty feet; it yielded a tranſparent gum or reſin, and the leaves of the leſſer branches had an aromatic ſmell. The wood is very long and tough, fit for ſpars, oars, and even maſts, for which purpoſe, could it be made ligther, none would be better.

[105]No other ſpecies of quadrupeds were obſerved here, but the Opoſſum, Hiſt. Quadr. N^o 223, and the Kangaroo, N^o 229. Captain Cook very humanely turned into the woods a boar and ſow pig, which if they eſcape the ſight of the natives for ſome years, may prove the ſtocking of the country with animals equally uſeful to the inhabitants and caſual viſitants.

ABUNDANCE of fiſh are found on the coaſt, as the elephant fiſh, rays, ſoles, flounders, and the Atherina Hepſetus ^*, which extends to our ſhores.

I SHALL form as complete a liſt of the birds of this amazing tract, as I may be enabled from the late diſcoveries, and ſhall only mention here, as perhaps local, the White Eagle ^†, the Superb Warbler ^†, remarkable for the rich blue of its frontal creſt and cheeks, and the Van Diemen's warbler ^‖.

THE firſt port which Captain Cook put into in the voyage of 1777, was Adventure Bay, in Lat. 43° 21′, ADVENTURE BAY. between the Fluted Cape and Cape Frederick Henry. He continued his voyage towards New Zealand. The coaſt to the north had been explored by Captain Furneaux, who paſſed in his way ſouthward Maria's iſland, Schoutens, and other places named by Taſman. As we ad⯑vance farther north, we find Furneaux's and the Siſters. The laſt is in Lat. 39° 45′, and Long. 149°, the land from which he bore away for New Zealand.

IN Lat. 38° ſouth, Long. 211°, we arrive off Cape Hicks, 1770. CAPE HICKS. which may be celebrated as the firſt place ever diſcovered on the eaſtern coaſt of New Holland; this great event took place on April 19th. [106]1770, under the auſpices of Captain Cook. It was in this voyage that Mr. Banks (afterwards Sir Joſeph) and doctor Solander, were his philoſophical companions. TROPIC BIRD. A tropic bird was ſeen in Lat. 38° 29′, an uncommon ſight, as it very rarely exceeds the limits of the tropics. Proceeding northward, he paſſed by a mountain he called the Dromedary. On the twenty-ſeventh, he obſerved the wondering natives collected on the rocks, in admiration of the novel ſight; BOTANY BAY. and on the 28th anchored in Botany Bay, of later years well known, as the common retreat of the unfortu⯑nate brave!

THE natives of theſe parts differed very little from thoſe ob⯑ſerved in the more ſouthern latitudes. NATIVES. There can be no doubt but our appearance was very hoſtile; they were diffident of us to the higheſt degree, declined all intercourſe, and refuſed all our preſents: our navigators certainly did not uſe the arts of con⯑ciliating their affections. After frequently treating them with a volley of ſmall ſhots on their legs, or more muſcular parts, we are not to wonder at their diſlike to the ſtrangers who had viſited their coaſts. Their wants, by reaſon of the happineſs of the climate, did not demand cloathing, and their minds were ſu⯑perior to the accepting of gew-gaws; but they were frequently preſſed by hunger.

IN Endeavour river, they boldly came on board the ſhip, and ſeeing plenty of turtle, wiſhed to have a ſhare; they ſeized on two, truſting to the rites of hoſpitality, or the juſtice of partaking of the proviſions found in their own ſeas (to which they had a natural title); inſtead of that they were roughly treated, and ſo highly irritated, as to take an inſtant revenge, by ſetting fire to [107]the graſs that ſurrounded our tents: they were brave to a degree of temerity; two have been known to oppoſe the landing of forty of our people: their offenſive weapons were ſwords made of ſome hard wood, and darts or lances, armed at the end with fiſhes bones, or the ſpine of the ſting rays; their defenſive arms a round buckler. They were painted like the people of Van Diemen's land, and as an additional ornament, had a great bone of ſome bird ſtuck through their noſes, and another through each car. Mr. Parkinſon gives a good repreſentation in plate xxvii. of two of the natives armed for fight, and in the attitude of com⯑bat: as to cloathing, neither ſex made the leaſt attempt to con⯑ceal their nakedneſs.

THESE people, ſavage as they may ſeem, are not ignorant of the rudiments of drawing; Mr. Phillip ^* obſerved on many of the rocks figures of animals, ſhields, weapons, and even men; and one in particular of a man beginning to dance, and this in rather a ſuperior ſtyle: ſurely it muſt be admitted that people thus tinctured with a liberal art, are capable of civilization under proper treatment.

WHAT religious rites they have is unknown, but it is evi⯑dent, from the ſame authority ^‡, that they burn their dead.

THEIR habitations are moſt miſerable; they lie under the pro⯑tection of ſome great pieces of bark flung over a ridged frame, made of boughs of trees ^†.

THEIR food are fiſh, ſhell fiſh, or any thing they can collect on the ſhores. They have a moſt artleſs ſpecies of canoe, made of bark, ſtretched on a frame, and tied together at each [108]end; two, ſometimes more, will venture in one of them; they keep along the ſhoals to ſtrike the fiſh, which appears to be their principal ſubſiſtence; they alſo eat the fowls, or the few quadrupeds they can contrive to take. On many of the tall trees were cut notches in the ſtems to facilitate their aſcent. They ſeemed to conceal themſelves on the top, and by that means ſurpriſe the birds as they alight, or catch them at rooſt; or from this ſituation, kill with their lances any beaſt that chances to paſs beneath. As to their cookery, they content themſelves with eating their meat raw, or at beſt with giving it a ſlight broiling over their fires.

THE country is hilly, but not mountanous; part covered with tall trees, quite clear from underwood; in ſome parts near the ſhores, were extenſive tracts hid by bruſhwood; and in many places ſwamps full of the Mangrove, or Rhizophora mangle ^*. Many rills diſcharge themſelves into Botany bay, but it wanted depth of water to give room for ſhips of large ſize. The ſoil in places was black and fat, and gave Captain Cook reaſon to believe it would be productive of any ſort of grain. The trees were filled with birds of moſt beautiful colors, particularly thoſe of the parrot tribe. The country abounded with plants, and from that circumſtance the harbor was called Botany Bay. All this coaſt was named New South Wales, from the extreme ſouth to the extreme north; a denomination given near two centuries ago to part of the territories adjacent to Hudſon's bay.

IN the year 1787, OUR CON⯑VICTS SENT THERE. when we began to be at a loſs about the diſpoſal of our criminals, legiſlature was adviſed to baniſh into [109]this country, all thoſe who had been by royal mercy re⯑prieved from death, or who had been convicted of crimes liable only to the puniſhment of tranſportation to our late co⯑lonies.

AN act was paſſed for that purpoſe in the ſame year, and in conſequence a fleet was prepared to convey to this diſtant country as many convicts, as at that time fell under the penalty of the law. The Syrius frigate was fitted out to convoy the governor. The gentleman ſelected for the arduous charge was captain Arthur Phillip, who had long ſerved in our navy with great credit, GOVERNOR PHILLIP. and for ſome time was engaged in the ſervice of Portugal, during part of which he with great good conduct and humanity per⯑formed a duty ſimilar to that his country now committed to him; for he was employed once, if not oftener, in conveying the criminals of that nation to its colonies of the Brazils.

THE governor ſailed from Spithead on May 13th, 1787. On June 3d he and his fleet reached Teneriff; on Auguſt 5th an⯑chored off Rio de Janeiro; on October 13th in Table Bay, at the cape of Good Hope, which he left on November 12th in the Supply; reached Botany Bay on January 3d, 1788, having per⯑formed, in a bad ſailer, a voyage of ſeven thouſand miles in fifty⯑one days; the Syrius and the whole convoy anchored safely in the bay on the 19th and 20th of the ſame month.

IT is a popular opinion that the expence of tranſportation of the convicts amounted to three hundred pounds a man, including the proviſion made for their cloathing and ſupport for ſome ſmall time after their landing. I was in hopes that two pamphlets, publiſhed by Debrett in 1791, 1792, under authority of govern⯑ment, [110]would have confirmed or refuted the report, eſpecially as one of them pretended to give an account of the expences; but the detail is ſo very imperfect, that I am not able to ſatisfy either my own or the reader's curioſity.

MR. Phillip had previouſly taken a moſt exact ſurvey of every part of the propoſed place of ſettlement; he found it bad as a port, and from the wet nature of the environs, ſuſ⯑pected that the air would affect the health of the new co⯑loniſts. He obſerved that Captain Cook mentioned a bay, in Lat. 33° 5′ ſouth, very little diſtant from the other, which he had named Port Jackſon, PORT JACK⯑SON. and where he thought there was good anchorage. Mr. Phillip loſt no time, but made a thorough ex⯑amination of that alſo; he found it equal at leaſt to our celebrated harbor, Milford Haven, in old South Wales. It opens with an ample mouth, and after ſome ſpace, divides into two moſt exten⯑ſive meandering branches, with numbers of other ſmall bays, creeks, or coves, pointing again to the right and to the left, ſo as to form the fineſt and moſt ſecure harbor in the world, capable of containing the navies of Europe itſelf.

HERE Mr. Phillip determined to eſtabliſh his colony; SYDNEY COVE. and fixing on a place which he named Sydney Cove, began immedi⯑ately to trace the outlines of the firſt ſtreet of his intended town. The officers live in huts, but houſes are building of brick and ſtone; the governor is very moderate in that deſigned for him⯑ſelf, which contains only ſix rooms. The land allotted for cul⯑tivation has been found to be very good, and to return on the firſt trial two hundred buſhels of wheat, and ſixty of [111]barley ^* The deſtruction made by rats was very great; in a ſhort time they deſtroyed not leſs than twelve thouſand pounds of flour and rice, brought over with the firſt tranſportation. There are alſo vegetables in plenty, from ſeeds brought from England. I cannot enter into the account of the whole proceed⯑ings; by the detail given in the two pamphlets publiſhed by J. Debrett, imperfect as they are, may be ſeen the humanity of government in providing every neceſſary for the uſe of the con⯑victs, yet I fear it has been diſappointed in its hopes. The im⯑menſe expence we have been at in ſending proviſions from hence, from the cape of Good Hope, and from China (notwithſtanding the gloſſing over ſeveral particulars) gives reaſon to imagine that our colony has been at the point of ſtarving.

THE Kangaroo, and others of the Opoſſum tribe, may be eaten, but thoſe animals, which never were numerous, will ſoon become extinct in the neighborhood of the colony, and we dare [112]not, for fear of the natives, treſpaſs beyond our bounds; the New Hollanders ſtill continue very hoſtile. Fiſh is found in plenty, but the turtle, on which we ſeemed to have ſome dependence, is a very precarious article.

THE colony looks up for ſupport to a little ſpot called Norfolk Iſland, NORFOLK ISLAND. in Lat. 29° ſouth, Long. 168° eaſt. It contains from twelve to thirteen thouſand acres, and does not exceed in circumference ſixteen miles, is very mountanous, and covered with a thick wood, choaked up with underwood; it is ſurrounded with cliffs forty fathoms high, and quite perpendicular, excepting at a few creeks, dignified with the name of bays, to which often a raging ſurf denies all approach.

THE iſland is happy in many ſtreams of fine water, ſome co⯑pious enough to turn a mill. The mold, in places freed by our people from trees, is the richeſt and deepeſt in the world; abun⯑dance of pumice-ſtones and porous red lava is ſcattered over its ſurface, and even mixed with the ſoil, giving ſtrong reaſon to ſuppoſe it to have been of volcanic origin.

A SMALL colony was detached, COLONIZED. on February 14th, 1788, from Jackſon Port to this iſland, in hopes of its contributing in time to the ſupport of the parent ſtate. It conſiſted only of a ſu⯑baltern officer, a ſurgeon, two men who underſtood the cultiva⯑tion and dreſſing of flax, nine male and ſix female convicts; and over them was appointed Lieutenant King, of the navy, ſole go⯑vernor of this ſea-girt reign. With his little colony he paſſed the ſingular interval of above two years, till he received, on March 6th, 1790, a mighty reinforcement of two companies of marines, five men and three women from the civil department, [113]and a hundred and ſixteen male and ſixty-ſeven female convicts. This detachment ſowed wheat and barley from May to Auguſt, and got in their harveſt in December, which produced twenty⯑five fold. Mayz ſucceeds well; the ſugar-cane, vines, and oranges thrive exceedingly; and potatoes produce two crops in a year. All kinds of garden plants come to good perfection. The rat (its only quadruped) was at firſt a peſt to the colony. If this iſle proves the nurſing mother to our eſtabliſhment at Port Jackſon, as the iſle of Angleſea, or Môn mam Cymru, is ſaid to have been to Wales, I ſhall think it the prodigy of the age.

Norfolk iſland, ſeated as it is, BIRDS. midway between New Zealand and the New Hebrides, produces the birds of both; but my liſt will be very ſmall: Parrots and Hawks are found there.

THE noiſy Roller ^* inhabits this iſle in great flocks; is a very ſtupid bird, watches during night, is very reſtleſs, and makes the woods reſound with its cries: it is nearly of the ſize of a crow, and wholly black, except the vent, the baſe, and tip of the tail.

THE bronzed wing Pigeon ^† is of a grey color, with a rich bronzed ſpot on the wing, varying with red and green.

HERE are variety of ſmall birds, among others ſome that ſing moſt delightfully, and enliven this ſequeſtered ſpot: the red⯑bellied Fly Catcher ^‡ is one of great beauty; the forehead is white, a white band croſſes the wings, all above (beſides) is black, the lower part of a rich ſcarlet.

A MOST curious milk-white Gallinule ^§ A WHITE GALLINULE. in ſize larger than a dunghill fowl; bill, crown of the head, and irides red.

[114]THE Grey Petrel, PETREL. Latham, vi. 399. Phillip, 161. tab. 25. is of a ſooty brown above, and deep aſh beneath. The white-breaſted, Latham, vi. 400. The Pintado, vi. 401. Edw. 90. is a third. The Shcar Water, Br. Zool. ii. N^o 258.

THE Diving, vi. 413. duſky above, white beneath, not nine inches long; ſits on the water in vaſt flocks, croaking like frogs and cackling like hens; it dives with amazing agility.

FINALLY, to this claſs may be added the broad-billed, vi. 414. with diſtinct noſtrils, ſwarming either among the woods in bur⯑rows about the roots of trees, or in the crevices of the rocks, making an inceſſant noiſe like the former, and at times buſied in its nimble divings in queſt of food. All theſe ſpecies are to the ſouthern regions what the Auks are to the northern.

I HAVE omitted two Britiſh birds frequent in theſe remoter parts, SKUA. GANNET. the Skua ^‡ and the variety of the Gannet ^§, with black fea⯑thers in the tail, known by the name of Suda Hoieri.

IN reſpect to quadrupeds there are only two, the Rat and the Flying Squirrel; Hiſt. Quad. ii. N^o 352. the membranes extend from leg to leg; the color is grey; a black line extends from the nape, along the middle of the back, to the tail, the farther half of which is black.

THERE is little doubt but all the pelagic birds of theſe Lati⯑tudes frequent the coaſts, Albatroſſes, both the common and the yellow-noſed, and various other ſpecies. Our navigators of the year 1774 were the firſt of the human race who ever landed on this iſland. The birds which bred on ſhore, ſuch as the Boobies, [115]and many others, were ſo tame and ſtupid as to ſuffer themſelves to be taken by the hand.

LIEUTENANT King, the hiſtorian of the iſle, TREES. enumerates five ſpecies of trees which afford good timber, the Pine, live Oak, a yellow wood, a hard black wood, and one like the Engliſh Beech; of theſe we can only aſcertain one, the Cypreſſus Columnaris ^*. CYPRESSUS COLUMNARIS.. This magnificent tree grows to the height of a hundred and eighty, and even two hundred and twenty feet, and is from ſix to nine feet in diameter; eighty feet clear of branches, and with eighty or ninety feet of ſound timber ^†: it is as light as the beſt Norway Deal for maſts, and yields a fine turpentine. We are not to wonder at the ſize, for the foreſt of the iſle had never been diſturbed, but by old Time, ſince its creation.

THE Areca Sapida Solandri ^‡ is a uſeful tree, ARECA SAPIDA. for it yields a cabbage like the Areca Oleracea, or cabbage-tree; but Captain Cook compares the taſte more to that of an almond than a cab⯑bage, and adds, that it proved an excellent reſource as an eſculent. It is the ſecond ſort mentioned by Hawkeſworth ^§.

A Fern Tree is mentioned by Captain Phillip, a Dickſonia? which grows even as high as twenty feet, and proves good food for ſheep.

A WILD Muſa, or plantane, grows in this iſland; and Mr. Phillip mentions the Supple Jack of the Weſt Indies, SUPPLE JACK. the Paulinia Pinnata of Linnaeus ^‖, which is interwoven in all directions, and greatly impedes the progreſs through the foreſts.

[116] Blackburnia Pinnata, G. Forſter, Flor. Auſtr. 10. or Ptelea Pinnata, Linn. Suppl. 126. J. R. Forſter, Gen. 6.

Gynopogon Stellatum, G. Forſter, Flor. Auſtr. 19. J. R. Forſter, Gen. 18.

Gynop. Alyxia, G. Forſter, 19.

Bupthalmum Uniſtorum, ibid. 91.

AN Euphorbia, 90.

Tetragonia Halimifolia, Flor. Auſtr. 39.

Meſembryganthemum Auſtrale, ibid. 90.

Phormium Tenax, FLAX. 153. Linn. Suppl. 204. Cook's Voy. 2d. p. 96. tab. 96.

THESE are the only plants which the ſparing communications of our philoſophical travellers will permit us to mention. The laſt is of the greateſt importance to the natives, and may hereafter become ſo to every nation in Europe, as it produces the beſt and moſt tenacious hemp in the world. I ſhall deliver the deſcrip⯑tion and hiſtory of it, borrowed from vol. iii. p. 39. of Captain Cook's Firſt Voyage: "There is," ſays our great navigator, ‘however, a plant that ſerves the inhabitants inſtead of hemp and flax, which excels all that are put to the ſame purpoſes in the world. Of this plant there are two ſorts; the leaves of both reſemble thoſe of flags, but their flowers are ſmaller and their cluſters more numerous; in one kind they are yellow, and in the other a deep red. Of the leaves of theſe plants, with very little preparation, they make all their common apparel; and of theſe they alſo make their ſtrings, lines, and cordage for every purpoſe, which are ſo much ſtronger than any thing we can make with hemp, that they will not bear a compa⯑riſon. [117]From the ſame plant, by another preparation, they draw long ſlender fibres, which ſhine like ſilk, and are as white as ſnow; of theſe, which are alſo ſurpriſingly ſtrong, the finer cloths are made; and of the leaves, without any other preparation than ſplitting them into proper breadths and tying the ſtrips together, they make their fiſhing nets; ſome of which, as I have before remarked, are of an enor⯑mous ſize.’

Norfolk Iſland is peculiarly happy in its climate: CLIMATE. the air is pure, ſalubrious, and delicious, freed from exceſſive heat by the conſtant breezes from the ſea; and of ſo mild a temperature throughout the winter, that there is a perpetual vegetation; crop ſucceeds crop, and the refreſhing ſhowers maintain a con⯑ſtant verdure: ſometimes there are great droughts. From Fe⯑bruary to Auguſt may be called the rainy ſeaſon; not that it is regular, for there is ſometimes fine weather for a fortnight to⯑gether, but when the rain does fall, it is in torrents.

ABOUT midway between Norfolk Iſland and New Holland is Lord Howe Iſland, LORD HOWE ISLAND. diſcovered in 1788 by Lieutenant Henry Lidg⯑bird Ball, a ſon of the late George Ball, of Irby, in Cheſhire, Eſquire. This iſle is ſmall in extent, in length only ſeven leagues, and in form of a creſcent. In ſome parts it riſes into lofty craggy hills, that called Ball's Pyramid is very ſingular, formed on one ſide of Baſaltic columns; and ſo lofty as to be ſeen at the diſtance of twelve leagues. Another rock is circular at top, ſo as to look like a ſpread fan; the reſt ſo low as to give theſe rocks the form of iſlands. Mr. Ball ſays that it abounds in cabbage-palms, or Areca Sapida, with mangrove-trees, and Man⯑chineel, [118]or Hippomane Mancinella ^*, which ſpread even to the tops of the mountains. Lord Howe Iſland ſwarms with birds, ſuch as parrots, parroquets, large pigeons, and ſeveral other land birds; alſo gannets in infinite numbers, rails, white gallinules, like thoſe of Norfolk Iſle, and a land fowl of a duſky brown color, with a bill four inches long, feet like a chicken, very fat, and very good food.

THE coaſt ſwarms with fiſh; but what will render this iſland of unſpeakable uſe to our coloniſts, are the amazing abundance of turtle which frequent its ſhores during ſummer, and may be taken in that ſeaſon in any numbers; but at the approach of winter they all retire northward. Norfolk Iſland alſo abounds with fiſh, and in the ſeaſon with very fine turtle.

VIEWS of this ſingular iſland is given by Mr. Phillip ^†.

SPICY ISLANDS.

WE now proceed to the Molucca iſlands, ARROU ISLES. and taking a courſe due north, paſs between thoſe of Timor-laut and Arrou. The laſt is the moſt eaſtern of the Timorian chain, and forms a group conſiſting of three or four larger iſles, and a multitude of little rocks and reefs cloſely cluſtered, adjoining the eaſt end of Arrou proper. We are now arrived within reach of the perfumed air of the Molucca, or famous ſpicy iſlands, a land of romance, where nature aſſumes a new ſhape in pictureſque ſcenery, and in the beautiful and ſingular form of numbers of the animal and vegetable creation, whether inhabitants of land or water.

THE long celebrated Manucodialae, BIRDS OF PARADISE. or birds of paradiſe, firſt begin to appear in theſe iſlands. Theſe birds, ſo ſingular in the ſtructure and diſpoſition of their feathers, ſo elegant in their form, and ſo romantic in their hiſtory, gave occaſion, ſoon after their diſcovery, to the ſuppoſition of their having been the celebrated Phoenix of the antients. The learned Forſter, with his uſual depth of judgment, hath collected every thing relating to that ideal bird, [149]in his Latin and German tranſlation of the Indian Zoology, and effectually diſproved that the invention originated from any one of this genus. I refer the reader to his diſſeration, and barely mention, that the antient deſcribers of the Phoenix, give it the form and ſize of an eagle, with an exquiſite richneſs of coloring; they ſay that it lived Dclx years, and at the completion of that period, formed its neſt with the twigs of the moſt odoriferous trees, and died upon them. A young one ſprung from its re⯑mains, and conveyed them to Panchaia, the city of the ſun, per⯑formed the funeral rites, and placed them on the altar. Pliny, from whom this relation was taken, adds, that it was reported one had been brought to Rome, but, with his uſual good ſenſe, ſtamps on it the charge of fiction.

NOTWITHSTANDING the remoteneſs of the native country of this whole genus, I cannot abſolutely affirm the impoſſibility of the antients being acquainted with ſome of the ſpecies. They had from diſtant times a regular trade with India. Before the days of Ptolemy, they puſhed their navigation beyond the peninſula of Malacca to Cattigara, the modern Ponteamas, and the Metropolis Sina, the preſent Cambodia. Notwithſtanding the antients might have penetrated no farther, yet, as the Indians were extremely commercial, the Romans might receive from them accounts of the moſt diſtant iſles, their commodities, and even their curioſities. The birds of India were known to the Romans; it is poſſible that they might have ſeen, or at leaſt heard of thoſe of Paradiſe: no words could better ſuit theſe moſt ſin⯑gular ſpecies, than diſcolores maxime et inenarrabiles ^*, birds of [150]different colors, and not to be deſcribed; and few are more dif⯑ficult to be repreſented in words, than thoſe of this genus.

THE time in which they were brought to Europe was very early, and I ſuſpect long before they were obſerved by any na⯑turaliſts. There is reaſon to believe that the Turks received them by means of the Arabians, who procured them from India by their commerce on the Red ſea or Perſian gulph, and ſold them for ornaments to the turbans of the great officers of the Janiſ⯑ſaries. Belon firſt took notice of them, and credulouſly believed them to have been the Phoenix; in one place he ſuppoſes them to have been the Rhyntaces; he juſtly deſcribes them as forming a vaſt maſs of feathers iſſuing from a ſmall body, out of which the Arabians had extricated the fleſh; which agrees with the uſual method of preparation. Nicholas de Nicholai actually gives the figure of a captain of Janiſſaries ornamented with its plumes: Geſner is the firſt who cauſed this bird to be engraven, and his figure and that of Cluſius was long copied by ſucceeding natu⯑raliſts.

FEW birds are more circumſcribed in their limits than the Birds of Paradiſe. They are confined within the Papua iſlands, and that of New Guinea, and are found only from Latitude 8° ſouth, to Lat. 3° north of the equator, and between Longitude 127 and 140.

SUCH is the general view of theſe wonderful birds. COMMON. The Paradiſea Apoda ^*, of which there are two varieties called the greater and leſſer birds of Paradiſe, chiefly inhabit the Arrou iſles ^†. They are natives of both New Guinea as well as of theſe iſlands, are ſuppoſed to breed in the firſt, [131]and to reſide there during the wet monſoon, but retire to the Arrou iſles, about a hundred and forty miles to the eaſt, during the dry or weſtern monſoons. In the eaſt monſoon they moult their long feathers, but recover them in the weſt. They always migrate in flocks of thirty or forty, and have a leader, which the inhabitanſs of Arrou call the King: he is ſaid to be black, to have red ſpots, and to fly far above the flock, which never deſert him, but ſettle where he ſettles. They conſtantly avoid flying with the wind, which ruffles and blows their looſe plumage over their heads, and often forces them down to the ground, from which they are unable to riſe without ſome ad⯑vantage; hard ſhowers of rain are equally deſtructive to them. When they are ſurpriſed with a ſtrong gale, they inſtantly ſoar to a higher region, beyond the reach of the tempeſt; there they float at eaſe in the ſerene ſky, on their light flowing feathers, or purſue their journey in ſecurity; during their flight they cry like ſtarlings, but in the diſtreſs of a ſtorm blowing in their rear, they expreſs it by a note reſembling the croaking of ravens.

WHEN they alight, it is on the higheſt trees, the king taking the lead; they prefer the varinga parvifolia ^*, on the berries of which theſe birds and various ſorts of parrots feed; ſome ſay that they feed on nutmegs, on butterflies, and even ſmall birds; the ſtrength of their claws favors that opinion; yet that circum⯑ſtance may alſo be requiſite to birds, which are always to live perched. The natives of Arrou watch their arrival, and either ſhoot them with blunt arrows, or catch them with bird-lime or [152]nooſes; when taken, they will make a vigorous reſiſtance, and defend themſelves ſtoutly with their bills; they are inſtantly killed, exenterated, and the breaſt bone taken out, then dried with ſmoke and ſulphur, and exported to Banda, where they are ſold for half a rix-dollar, but on the ſpot for a ſpike nail, or a bit of old iron. They are exported to all parts of India and to Perſia, to adorn the turbans of people of rank, and even the trappings of the horſes, as I have before mentioned; they even reach Turkey ^*.

No birds have ever had ſo much fable mixed with their hiſtory; it was believed, that they remained always floating on the ſpicy Indian air, and of courſe not to be in want of legs or feet, of which they were ſuppoſed to be deſtitute; that when they wanted to ſleep, they hung themſelves by their two long feathers to the boughs of a tree; that they performed the act of love during their flight, and that even ovation, and excluſion of the young was diſcharged in that element, the male receiving the egg in an orifice nature had given it for that purpoſe; that they lived on the dew of Heaven, and had no evacuation like other mortal birds. From their being ſo much converſant in the higher regions, the Portugueſe ſtyled them Paſſaros da ſol, or Sparrows of the Sun; the iſlanders Manu-co-dewata, or the birds of God, and moſt of the Europeans name them the birds of Paradiſe. So happily did the opinion work on the little kings of the iſles, that ſeeing them deſcend (as it often happened) dead from the heavenly regions, they became converts to the truth of the im⯑mortality of the ſoul.

[153]THE next that may be ſuppoſed to belong to this genus, KING. is chiefly brought from Arrou and Sopelo-o. It is called the King of the Birds of Paradiſe, and by the people of Arrou, Wowi Wowi. Our claſſical ornithologiſts ſtyle it, after Linnaeus, Paradiſea regia, Le roi des oiſeaux de paradis ^*. I do not know what title it has to King, for it never aſſociates with any other ſpecies, never aſpires to lofty trees, but flits ſolitary from buſh to buſh to feed on berries. It is ſuppoſed to migrate to Arrou in the dry monſoon, and to make its neſt in New Guinea. It is taken in ſnares of Gumatty, or with bird-lime prepared from the juice of Sukkom, bread fruit, or artocarpus communis.

NOTWITHSTANDING voyagers give an exact locality to the different ſpecies of theſe birds, I cannot readily aſſent to the opi⯑nion, as the whole extent of the reſidence of the genus is ſo ſmall, that it is improbable but that each of them muſt at times treſpaſs beyond their pretended bounds.

THE Arrou iſlands have been under the juriſdiction of Banda ſince the year 1623; they are low, flat, and well peopled with blacks. It was reckoned that in 1703, there were about two hundred and forty chriſtians. Off one of the iſlands is a fiſhery of ſmall pearl, but the chief trade is Sago; and ſlaves, which they kidnap in New Guinea, and ſell to the Dutch at Banda.

I AM ſo deficient in materials, that I muſt haſten to the next iſles, or thoſe of Banda; let me premiſe, that the intervening expanſe of water, has ſparingly ſcattered over it ſeveral ſmall iſlands, diſtant from each other, one of them called by Dam⯑pier, [154]the Burning Iſle, and was, when he paſſed by it in 1699 ^*, a moſt fierce volcano.

THE Banda iſlands lie in about Lat. 4° 30′ BANDA ISLANDS., ſouth, and are in⯑cluded under the general name of the Spicy Iſlands. Their names are Gonnipo, Banda (which gives name to the whole group) Lontare, Poolaway, and Pooloroon. Theſe, and the neighboring Moluccas, were diſcovered at the ſame time, in 1511, by Francis Serrano, and Antonio D'Abreau, who were ſent on that ſervice by the great Albuquerque; they ſpent ſome years in the diſcovery. The Portugueſe, to deter other nations from paying attention to theſe ſources of wealth and luxury, gave out that they were ſcarcely approachable by reaſon of the ſhal⯑lowneſs of the ſeas; Pigafetta diſproved the report, by ſounding the coaſts, and finding a depth of a hundred and two hundred fathoms.

THE Chineſe were the firſt who had made themſelves maſters of theſe iſlands. CHINESE. The Javans and the Malayan Moors next ſuc⯑ceeded, and with them were introduced the religion and language of Mahomet, which in theſe and the Moluccas found their moſt remote but wonderful extent. PORTUGUESE. The Portugueſe arrived after them at the period juſt mentioned. Argenſola repreſents ſome of the kings of theſe little iſlands as incredibly powerful, and aſſerts, that they could collectively raiſe above a hundred and twenty thouſand fighting men. The prince of Ternate was the moſt potent; he was lord of ſeventy-two iſles.

THE Portugueſe, by violence or treachery, eſtabliſhed them⯑ſelves in theſe valuable poſſeſſions. The Spaniards indeed laid [155]clame to them under the falſe pretence that they were firſt diſ⯑covered by Magellan; the Spaniſh fleet, in the reign of Charles V. ſailed to the Moluccas: the Portugueſe were engaged in war with the king of Ternate, and the monarchs of Tidor and Gilolo, who ſided with the Spaniards; but about that time John III. thought proper to make his brother-in-law Charles a preſent of three hundred and fifty thouſand ducats, on condition the Por⯑tugueſe ſhould remain in quiet poſſeſſion till the ſum was repaid. Notwithſtanding this, Charles offered them to ſale to Henry VII. but the bargain never took place.

IT is ridiculous to conſider that Charles V. clamed theſe iſlands by virtue of the famous line of demarcation, by which Pope Alexander VI. in 1493, divided, by his infallible power, between the Spaniards and Portugueſe, all countries which ſhould be diſ⯑covered on the ſide of a certain meridian drawn by his holineſs from pole to pole, allotting one part to Ferdinand and Iſabel of Spain, the other to John II. of Portugal, and their ſucceſſors ^*. This Alexander did in hopes of preſerving peace in the world, but the effect proved the reverſe. I muſt refer to Oſorio, and others who have treated on the ſubject.

THE Dutch, DUTCH. after ſome unſucceſful attempts for the diſcovery of a north-eaſt paſſage to the Eaſt Indies, determined to follow the courſe of the enterprizing Portugueſe. In 1595 they reſolved to ſhare in the rich adventure; four ſhips, with no more than two hundred and forty-nine men, ſailed from the Texel on April 2d; they ſaw the Cape of Good Hope on Auguſt 4th; touched at Madagaſcar, and on January 1ſt, 1546, reached the ſtreights [156]of Sunda. Near Bantam they met with their antient enemies the Portugueſe, who had long been maſter of theſe ſeas; they inſtantly attacked ſome of their merchant ſhips, one of which, burnt by the Portugueſe themſelves, had fifty tons of cloves on board; another, which they took, had twenty; this foretaſte of the riches of the iſlands, whetted their reſolution of purſuing their plan, and of ſupplanting the tyrants in this invaluable branch of commerce. The ſecond voyage was performed under the conduct of the great Heemſkirk in 1598. From Bantam, he ſailed with four ſhips to the very Moluccas, found the moſt cor⯑dial reception from the monarchs of Amboina and Ternate, and returned laden with cloves, nutmegs, mace, pepper, and cinna⯑mon: fleet followed fleet: the Dutch attacked the Portugueſe in all parts of the iſlands, and never deſiſted till they had, in 1603, completed the conqueſts of both the Banda and Molucca iſlands. At this period Portugal was ſubject to the crown of Spain. In 1605, Philip III. determined to recover theſe diſtant territories: he ſent his orders to Don Pedro D'Acunha, a gallant officer, go⯑vernor of the Philippines, to take the command of the expedition. He ſailed with a numerous fleet, attacked Ternate, took that iſland, and in a ſhort ſpace reduced the whole to his maſter. This conqueſt was but ſhort lived; the Dutch returned in great force, and favoured by the reguli of the iſlands, repoſſeſſed them⯑ſelves of the whole, and to this day remain entire maſters of what is juſtly ſtyled the gold mines of Holland; they immediately deſtroyed every nutmeg-tree they could find on the adjacent iſlands, built ſmall forts on every one that lay to the ſouth and to the weſt, as out poſts to prevent the acceſs of other European na⯑tions, [157]executed with the moſt cruel rigour all ſmugglers; and to this day became ſole maſters of the trade in nutmegs, mace, cloves, and cinnamon.

THE Engliſh viſited the Spice Iſlands in the year 1602, ENGLISH. in their firſt voyage to the Eaſt Indies. Sir James Lancaſter, during his ſtay at Bantam ^*, fitted out a ſmall pinnace, and furniſhing it with ſuch articles as he thought would be acceptable to the natives, diſpatched it to the Moluccas under the command of Mr. William Starky. The pinnace returned after the departure of Lancaſter, and forwarded to England the firſt cargo of nut⯑megs and cloves it ever received in a bottom of its own.

IN our ſecond voyage the fleet was commanded by Sir Henry Middleton, knight, who, in 1604, after a month's ſtay at Bantam, ſailed directly for Amboina, leaving two ſhips to take in a cargo of pepper. From Amboina the admiral went to the Moluccas, and diſpatched the other ſhip, commanded by Mr. Colthurſt, to Banda; we are not told the circumſtance of this voyage, any more than that Sir Henry returned to England, and that the Dragon, his principal ſhip, loſt by ſickneſs forty-three out of fifty-three men, between Bantam and the Cape.

William Keeling, commander of the expedition which was made in 1667, was the firſt who began a regular commerce with the Spicy Iſlands. He reached Banda on February 8th, 1608; de⯑livered his monarch's, James the Firſt's, letter and preſents at Nera, the capital town, and obtained leave to eſtabliſh a factory at Puloway; he actually built a houſe, but the jealous Hollanders pulled it down, when Keeling returned to England with a rich [158]cargo of ſpices. We perſiſted in our lucrative voyages, and, notwithſtanding the numberleſs obſtructions we met with from the Dutch, formed a ſettlement in theſe iſlands. The natives of Banda, on a quarrel with the Dutch, by a formal inſtrument, made a reſignation of their iſland to us; and thoſe of Lantore did the ſame. In 1620 Puloroon and Puloway were alſo added to the Britiſh dominions, and our peaceful monarch aſſumed the title of king of thoſe iſlands: he alſo received the moſt friendly epiſtles from his brother kings of Ternate, Tidor, and Bantam. The accounts given by old Purchas, vol. i. from p. 701 to 705, are well worth the reader's peruſal. Theſe ceſſions were con⯑firmed by treaty between James I. and the Dutch in 1619; not⯑withſtanding which, at the very concluſion of a treaty, they de⯑termined on our expulſion. They attacked with a ſtrong force Lantore and Poleroon; they ravaged the iſlands, ſeized our fac⯑tories and magazines, and after ſtripping the factors naked, firſt whipped them, loaded them with irons, and after all maſſacred them, by flinging them over the walls, and in the moſt ſavage manner dragged their remains in chains through the ſtreets. The quantity of ſpices ſeized by theſe barbarians will ſerve to give an idea of the extent of our commerce: they found in our magazines twenty-three thouſand pounds of mace, and a hun⯑dred and fifty thouſand pounds of nutmegs. The narrative of theſe proceedings are preſerved in the eighth volume of Church⯑hill's Collection, but it is too horrible to be repeated; and the apology of the Dutch ſo futile and ſo falſe as not to merit the recital. Cromwell, in 1654, had the glory of compelling the Dutch to reſtore to us the iſland of Poleroon, and to make ample [159]ſatisfaction for their barbarities at Amboina. As to Poleroon, it was kept but a very ſhort time; for in 1664, in the inglorious reign of his profligate ſucceſſor, it was taken from us by a ſingle ſhip.

THE Abbé Raynal gives the following deſcription of theſe iſlands: "They ſeem," ſays he ^*, ‘to have been thrown up by the ſea, and may with reaſon be ſuppoſed to be the effect of ſome ſubterraneous fire. Lofty mountains, the ſummits of which are loſt in the clouds, enormous rocks heaped one upon another, horrid and deep caverns, torrents which precipitate themſelves with extreme violence, volcanoes perpetually an⯑nouncing impending deſtruction; ſuch are the phaenomena that give riſe to this idea, or aſſiſt in confirming it.’ By the ſequel of my account it will appear that the Abbé's deſcription and inference ſeem to have been very well founded.

THIS is the general view of them. I collect the following particulars of thoſe of Banda (the Moluccas I reſerve till my ar⯑rival on their coaſts): the firſt called Gonnapo, or Goenong-api, GOENONG-API. in 1621 emitted fire, ſmoke, and cinder; and had, perhaps, long before left neither woods, fruits, or water. The eruptions have been at times ſo violent as to carry deſolation to part of the neighboring iſland of Banda, overwhelming the woods and greateſt trees, and to fling ſtones of three or four tons weight from one iſland to the other. Even in the laſt year (1791) we are informed, that it made a very conſiderable cruption. In the Phil. Tranſ. Abridg. ^† is an account of a moſt horrible eruption of this mountain in November 1694, attended with noiſes like the diſcharge of artillery. It caſt up ſuch a quantity of ſtones as [160]entirely to fill a noted fiſhing place in the neighboring ſea of the depth of forty fathoms, ſo as to leave it entirely dry. The ſame volume fully accounts for the appearance of theſe iſlands, and the Banda, ſo graphically deſcribed by the French Abbé. In the year 1693 and 1694 ſeveral other iſlands, as if by conſent, raged with volcanic fury. The mountains of Celebes, Sorea, Ter⯑nate, Banda, and Neyra, at one time, caſt up fire, lava, aſhes, cinders, and boiling water. There was no approaching the water by reaſon of the exceſſive heat. In Sorea the ground ſunk in, and diſcovered a great lake.

Which ſpreading farther and farther, threatening the whole iſland, terrified the inhabitants ſo much that they unanimouſly tranſported themſelves to Banda, leaving their moveables behind for want of veſſels. All theſe iſlands are ſubject to terrible earth⯑quakes, which affect the ſea ſo greatly as particularly to endanger the ſhips lying at anchor in the fine harbor between this iſland and Banda. I am not certain that Goenong is inhabited ſince the dreadful eruption.

Banda is defended by a ſtrong caſtle. The name of the capital is Nera. A powerful garriſon is kept in this iſland, it being the ſeat of government, notwithſtanding it is not above twelve leagues in circumference.

Lontoir, LONTOIR. the largeſt of all the group, is inacceſſible on moſt parts, by reaſon of its lofty precipitous ſhores; yet the Dutch [161]have given it the additional defence of a caſtle. It has not a tree on it but which bears fruit, and is particularly productive of nutmegs.

Pulo aya, or Puloway, ſays my old informant Humphrey Fitzherbert ^*, ‘is the Paradiſe of all the reſt, entermitting pleaſure with profit. There is not a tree on that iſland but the nutmeg and other delicate fruits of ſuperfluitie, and withall full of pleaſant walkes, ſo that the whole countrey ſeemes a contriued orchard with varieties. They haue none but raine water, which the keep in jarres and ciſternes, or fetch it frome the above-named iſlands, which is their only defect. The ſea ſhore is ſo ſteepe, that it ſeemeth Nature meant to reſerue this iſland particularly to herſelfe. There is but one place about the whole iſland for a ſhip to anchor in, and that ſo dangerous, that he that letteth fall his anchor ſel⯑dome ſeeth the weighing of it again; beſides hee incurreth the imminent dangers of his ſhip.’

Poloroon, or more properly Poeloron, is the laſt. POLOROON.. Theſe iſlands are the antient ſeats of the nutmegs, NUTMEGS. as the Moluccas were of the cloves. At firſt they grew ſpontaneouſly on moſt of the neighboring iſles, and poſſibly we ſhall have occaſion to ſhew, that they ſpread much farther than is generally known. Marco Polo ^† ſpeaks of the Noix d'Inde, and the des clous de Giroſle, or cloves, as being found on the iſland of Necuram; but where that iſland ſtood I am not certain. Originally the Arabs engroſſed this rich trade, and conveyed the ſpices up the Red Sea, and from thence to Alexandria, from whence they were [162]diſperſed to all parts of ſouthern Europe. The general original name of the nutmeg-tree is Pata. The Arabs called the fruit Giauz-hant and Gjeu-zottibi, or the aromatic nut; it was never mentioned but by the later Greek writers, who named it [...], and the Latins, nux moſchata; ſo that it was not known till long after the clove. We retain the uſe of them in our diſ⯑penſatory; they are an agreeable aromatic, and uſed as aſtrin⯑gents in diarrhaeas and dyſenteries: even in India they are pre⯑ſcribed in the ſame diſorders. Gerard informs us, that in his days they were chewed to correct a bad breath; ‘that it is good againſt freckles in the face, quickeneth the ſight, ſtrengthens the belly and feeble liver; it taketh away the ſwelling in the ſpleene, ſtayeth the laſke, breaketh winde, and is good againſt all cold diſeaſes in the body.’

IT is often uſed as an aphrodiſiac, eſpecially among the Negroes. The Europeans in India apply it as a philtre in caſes of love. The eating the raw fruit is often attended with moſt dangerous conſequences; idiotcy, and even phrenzy enſues, and ſome⯑times death. This boaſted perfumed air, which ſalutes the voyager at great diſtances from land, is pregnant with the moſt fatal diſeaſes. Few countries are ſo very unwholeſome as the Spicy Iſlands.

As ſoon as the Dutch made themſelves maſters of the Banda Iſlands, they began with extirpating the nutmeg-trees and cloves on all thoſe adjacent, in ſome by force, in others by employing the natives for hire. Some of the princes of the Moluccas, re⯑duced by wars, conſented to receive penſions for that purpoſe; the king of Ternate had about ſix thouſand pounds a year, and the [163]monarch of Tidor about five hundred. This treaty has been twice renewed.

WHEN the Dutch firſt took poſſeſſion of the iſlands, they met with ſome difficulties. The natives were impatient of the yoke, and killed the Governor, William Verhoeven, as they could not ſee the juſtice of having their nutmeg-woods robbed by ſtrangers, they thought themſelves juſtified in putting to death any thieves they met within their limits; but the Captain General, the great Koen, came in force in the year 1621, and put a ſtop to the evil, by the radical cure of a general maſſacre.

THE white inhabitants, or rather Creoles, and chiefly the out⯑caſts of the world, or refugees of the moſt abandoned princi⯑ples, often ſent here by their relations, ſo that Banda itſelf is called the houſe of correction. Theſe are the coloniſts who re⯑peopled the iſland, and who get ſlaves from the neighboring places to cultivate the land. Happily the climate is ſo un⯑healthy that very few of theſe exiles, we may call them, ever return to be a peſt to their country or their relations.

IN the Banda group, the nutmeg trees are permitted to grow only on that iſland, Lontoir, and Pulo aya; the beſt are thoſe of Lontoir, among the lofty and rocky mountains, and on the edges of the precipices, which makes the gathering of the fruit a work of great danger.

Pulo aya is only two miles long, quite flat, and ſo deſtitute of water, either rain or ſpring, that they are obliged to get it from the neighboring iſles, and preſerve it in ciſterns; yet here grow the loftieſt trees, and ſo productive are they, that the whole [164]world might be ſupplied from hence. GARDENS OF NUTMEGS. The iſland ſeems one beautiful garden of nutmeg trees.

THE trees are loaden with fruit the whole year, either ma⯑ture or ripening, but it is gathered only at certain times. The principal harveſt is in the middle of the rainy ſeaſon, or in part of July and Auguſt, there is another in November, and a third in March and April. The nuts are carried home and cleanſed, and the mace carefully taken off with a knife, and expoſed to the ſun to be dried. The exterior coat is thick, like that of a walnut; the mace is the immediate covering of the nutmeg, and poſſeſſes the ſame virtues. The oil is a well-known article in our ſhops.

AFTER ſome time the nutmegs are divided into three heaps; the firſt conſiſts of the fineſt and largeſt, which are ſent to the European markets. The next is reſerved for that of India; and the third, which is compoſed of the damaged nuts, is never ſent abroad, but reſerved for the oil which is expreſſed from them.

THE green or unripe nuts are frequently preſerved with ſugar, and diſpoſed of in all parts of India and China; and even ſome are ſent to Europe.

THERE are, beſides the genuine ſpecies, ſix others of the wild kind, called Palae, with ſome diſtinguiſhing epithet, and alſo Palalae. After ſaying that theſe trees are of little or no uſe but for the wood, I refer to Rumphius, who ^* has given deſcriptions and plates of the ſeveral ſorts.

THE references to this plant among the beſt botanical writers are as follows: Nux myriſtica femina, Clus. Exot. 13. 14. Nux [165]Moſchata, Gerard, 1536. Bauhin, Pinax, 407. Nux Myriſtica, Rumph. Amb. ii. p. 14. tab. 4. Myriſtica officinalis, Linn. Supp. 265. Le Muſcadier, Sonnerat, N. Guinée, p. 194. tab. 116. 117. 118: and nutmeg tree, Woodville, Medic. Bot. ii. 363. tab. 134.

NUTMEGS are the food of a variety of birds, FOOD OF BIRDS. ſuch as Cock⯑atoos, different ſorts of pigeons, Jaar vogels, or the wreathed Horn-bills, Latham, i. 358. The pigeons are generally ſuppoſed to be the diſſeminators of theſe valuable ſpices, and have been abſurdly imagined as the only inſtruments of their propagation; but the nuts grow equally well by the common method of ſow⯑ing. The pigeons pull off the external coat, before they devour the nut; the mace is digeſted, but the kernel paſſes through them entire; ſuch as falls among the thick graſs, is ſure to ſuc⯑ceed. By this accident the trees are ſpread over all the iſlands, and ſome which are very diſtant, ſo as to elude the utmoſt dili⯑gence of the Dutch to effect the total extirpation of the nutmeg.

THE Columba aenea of Linnaeus, Pl. Enl. 164, NUTMEG PIGEON. or the Nutmeg Pigeon of Latham, iv. 636. and var A. 637, Sonnerat, 168. tab. 102, is the firſt ſpecies. The whole upper part of the body is green gloſſed with gold and copper. A bird of this kind, perhaps a variety, or perhaps of a different ſex, was ſhot by John Reinhold Forſter on the iſland of Rotterdam, with two undigeſted nutmegs in its craw, a proof how remotely this ſpice may be diſſeminated; what folly it is therefore in the Dutch to endeavour to conſine it to the narrow bounds of the Mollucca or Banda groups, when the very fowls of the air are able to baffle ſo unjuſt a mo⯑nopoly.

THE next, the White, Latham, 638; Sonnerat. N. Guinée, [166]169. tab. 105, is wholly of a pure white, except the greater feathers of the wings, and the tail, which are black.

LET me queſtion whether (from its name) the Aromatic Pigeon, Latham, iv. 631; Pl. Enl. 163, does not feed on theſe pretious fruits, and contribute likewiſe to their diſperſion.

Amboina is about 30 leagues to the north-weſt of the Banda iſles. AMBOINA. This is in reſpect to cloves, what thoſe are in reſpect to nutmegs. The Dutch have made it the great and ſole plantation of that valuable ſpice. They deſtroy with the ſame zeal all that they can find on the iſlands within their reach, or bribe or compel the natives to do it for them. The governor of Amboina makes annually in great ſtate the tour of the iſlands, with a fleet of perhaps fifty ſail of Corocoros, the veſſels of the country, to enforce obedience, and to ſhew his power to the people, and the inhabitants of the ten iſlands dependent on it.

SOME gold duſt ſeveral years ago was obſerved to be waſhed down by the mountain torrents; GOLD. it was traced to the ſource, and the mine diſcovered. I am not able to give my readers the con⯑ſequences, nor the preſent ſtate of the produce. This iſland has alſo its volcano. The Brimſtone mountain called Wawani, in 1695 made a dreadful eruption.

Amboina lies in Lat. 4° 25′ ſouth, and is divided very nearly in two by a long bay, which, with the ſea, contracts it into two peninſulas, joined at the eaſtern end by ſo very narrow and ſandy an iſthmus, that ſmall veſſels may eaſily be dragged over. The larger or more northern portion is called Hitoe, the other Ley Timor. The whole iſland is full of mountains, covered not only with woods of clove trees, but with the richeſt productions of [167] Flora; for variety and ſingularity of vegetation, no part of the torrid zone can (in even far greater ſpace) vie with it in num⯑bers and elegancy. The whole length of the greater portion of this double iſland, I may call it, is ſeventy miles. The inter⯑vening ſpace of water is a moſt ſecure and beautiful meandering bay, with numberleſs ſtreams falling from the hills, a bleſſing enjoyed by every ſide of the iſland. Dampier ^* tells us, that the ſea ſurrounding it is a hundred fathom deep; the bottom ſandy and unfit for anchoring, except at the Ley, at the weſt end, where it may be done in twenty fathoms.

Amboina was diſcovered by Antonio d'Abreu ^†, WHEN DIS⯑COVERED. about the year 1511. It is ſaid to have been even then peopled with Malayans, and poſſibly ſome of the Aborigines, repreſented as a moſt barba⯑rous race. Their preſent religion is Mahometaniſm mixed with Paganiſm. By the wooden print given at p. 10. of the old edition of Heemſkirk's Voyage, ſome of the people had no more than a wrapper round their middle, others were cloathed in long garments, and the military in a ſhirt and ſort of ſhort breeches. Their weapons were ſpears, ſcymetars, poiſoned darts blown out of tubes, and even matchlocks, as early as the year 1598, which laſt they probably got from the Portugueſe, their firſt maſters: their defenſive arms were ſhields, very long and narrow. Nieu⯑hoff gives a print of an Amboineſe ſoldier in the Dutch ſervice at Batavia: many Amboineſe are ſettled there, and are repreſented as a moſt dangerous and turbulent people.

THE conqueſt of Amboina by the Portugueſe aroſe from this circumſtance. CONQUERED BY THE PORTUGUESE. In 1546 Galoun, governor of Ternate, had obſerved great numbers of ſmall veſſels reſorting from Java, Macaſſar, [168]Banda, and even this iſland, to the Moluccas, for the ſake of the cloves. This trade he reſolved to ſuppreſs; ſitted out his fleet; and by his admiral defeated that of the Indians; landed, and forced the natives to ſubmit to his will: and in the year 1564 the ſovereignty of Amboina was veſted in the Portugueſe by the king of the iſland. Stephen de Sa built a fort there in the ſame year, and his countrymen kept poſſeſſion till about 1607, when the Dutch made themſelves maſters of Amboina, and of all the Spicy Iſlands. The Engliſh laid in their clame for a ſhare of the com⯑merce, and after many diſputes, in 1619 a treaty was ſigned be⯑tween the two nations, ſtipulating that the Moluccas, Amboina, and the Banda iſles ſhould be common to both: that the Engliſh ſhould have one third of the produce, and the Dutch two, at a fixed price, and that each ſhould contribute to the defence of the iſlands in proportion to the benefit received. The inquiſitive reader may find the whole of this curious treaty in Rymer's Foedera ^*. It has often been remarked, that after a treaty ſo well calculated to eſtabliſh laſting peace and harmony between the two companies, nothing could interrupt thoſe bleſſings. The reverſe took place. The Dutch, actuated by their inſatiable avarice, determined, by the moſt diabolical means, to free them⯑ſelves from all competitors. MASSACRE OF THE ENGLISH. They forged a plot of the Engliſh againſt their lives and liberties; but ſuch a plot that none but idiots could have been ſuppoſed to have projected. The charge was, that ten factors, and eleven foreign ſoldiers, were to ſeize on the caſtle, garriſoned by two hundred men. A fooliſh queſ⯑tion aſked by an Indian ſoldier, as to the ſtrength of the place, [169]was the foundation of the tragedy. He was ſeized, and put to the moſt exquiſite tortures that hell itſelf could invent; and in his agonies anſwered the artful interrogatories in the manner the Fiſcal could wiſh. Our countrymen, and the eleven foreign ſoldiers underwent the ſame horrid torments, which were continued at intervals during eight days. The means are too dreadful for the humane pen to recite, or the humane ear to bear. The conſtancy of the poor ſufferers was often overcome; they made ſuch anſwers as they thought would ſooneſt free them from the rack, and which they recanted as ſoon as the torture ceaſed. They were then recalled to their torments. At length the record of examination was read, and the greater part were relieved by a ſpeedy execution: thoſe who were reprieved could drag but a miſerable life, with mangled bodies or diſlocated limbs. The ſufferers, before death, were confronted with each other, Engliſh with Indians: both be⯑wailed their infirmity, for accuſing the other under the preſſure of torture, and mutually exchanged forgiveneſs. A full account is given of this horrid tranſaction by the ingenious Campbel ^*, in his collection of travels; we could well excuſe his ſpeaking to our eyes by a moſt horrible print. The foreign ſoldiers ^†, from good authority, he ſuppoſes to have been Koreans, an adventurous naval people even in that early time.

THE name of the caſtle, after this cruel deed, VICTORIA CASTLE. was changed to Victoria. Dampier was ſhewn the place into which the bodies of our unhappy countrymen were thrown, for the ſavage Dutch did not think them worthy of the rites of burial. The natives who [170]live in the mountains are a brave race of men, diſdain a de⯑pendent life, and never fail to ſacrifice the Dutch to their fury, whenever they make their deſcent from their heights.

BY means of the Arabs, CLOVES. the clove was introduced into Europe by the common paſſage over the Iſthmus of Suez; but before their conqueſts towards the Indian Archipelago, it was carried to the ports of weſtern Hindooſtan, and from thence, by Roman mer⯑chant ſhips, to Myoſhormus, the great emporium on the Red Sea. I cannot but think that the clove was early known, and that the Garyophyllon of Pliny ^* was the ſpice which he might truly ſay, "tradunt in Indico luco id gigni. Advehitur odoris gratia." The Romans were particularly fond of aromatic perfumes. Pliny may not be over accurate in his deſcription; but he is exact in place and property; and the name, except in one letter, agrees entirely with the Latin retained to this day.

THE native place of the clove is ſaid by Rumphius to have been Machian, one of the Molucca iſlands, which we ſhall have occaſion ſoon to mention. The Dutch thought proper to con⯑fine the growth of them to Amboina, and to extirpate them in every other iſland in the manner we have related. There are none here growing wild, but all are raiſed from the ſeed, and diſpoſed of in plantations. They are alſo diſſeminated and pro⯑pagated by the pigeons, Horn-bills, and Caſuary, in the ſame manner as the nutmegs. Of quadrupeds, hogs and deer are found in this iſland.

No country was ever ſo happy in a Floriſt as Amboina. OF RUMPHIUS. The celebrated George Everard Rumphius, made it his reſidence a [171]great number of years. He was born in 1627, and became doctor of phyſic in the univerſity of Hanover. He went over to this iſland in character of con [...]l and merchant; and applied his leiſure moments to the ſtudy of botany; but by the vaſt fruits of his labors, he muſt be ſuppoſed to have dedicated his whole time to that purſuit. Buy his continual reſearches after plants, and other objects of natural hiſtory on this burning ſoil, he had, at the age of forty-three, the misfortune of loſing his ſight. Notwithſtanding this he perſevered in his purſuits, and being deprived of his viſual faculties, acquired that of diſtinguiſhing plants by the ſenſes of feeling and ſmell. He formed a Hortus Siccus, in ten folio volumes, and in 1690 dedicated them to the governor and council of the Eaſt India Company, who depoſited it in the India houſe of Amſterdam; with them he probably depoſited his de⯑ſcription of fiſhes, and other animals of the iſland. His bota⯑nical labors were not printed during his life; they had the good fortune to fall into the hands of that able naturaliſt Doctor John Burman, who publiſhed the firſt volume of the celebrated Herbarium Amboinenſe in 1740, and completed the whole by the year 1751. It conſiſts of ſix folio volumes, and an Auctuarium, which are illuſtrated with ſeven hundred plates, relative to the ſubject, beſides two portraits, one of Rumphius, in the ſixty-eighth year of his age, in a ſtate of blindneſs. He is repreſented feel⯑ing the plants and ſhells, placed before him on a table; the other portrait is of his publiſher, Doctor Burman. I do not know for certain the time of his death; it probably was at Amboina, for he dates the dedication of his Hortus Siccus, from the caſtle of Victoria, 1690, in the 63d year of his age.

[172]GOVERNOR Loten gave a curious anecdote in reſpect to the fate of his drawings and deſcription of the fiſhes of the iſland. There is reaſon to ſuppoſe that they were ſent into the world in 1726, in a work publiſhed by Francis Valentyn, a Dutch clergy⯑man who had reſided in the Molucca and Bonda iſlands. Baron Imhoff, governor general of the Indies, communicated to Mr. Loten his ſuſpicions, that Valentyn got the materials out of the India houſe by means of his ſon-in-law, who was firſt clerk to the ſecretary of the company; theſe Valentyn baſely applied to his own uſe, not daring to make the acknowlegement; certain it is, they never could be found, notwithſtanding the moſt diligent ſearch has been made after them. Valentyn's work was pub⯑liſhed under the title of India Orientalis antiqua et nova, in five volumes folio. The figures of the fiſhes lie under the impu⯑tation of being fictitious, from the extravagancy of their forms; but I am told it is far from being the caſe, nature having ſported wonderfully in the conſtruction of thoſe of the Amboineſe ſeas.

THE other works of the great Rumphius were the imagines piſcium teſtaceorum, firſt printed at Leyden in 1711, and reprinted in 1739: The figures are finely executed. He might have added cruſtaceorum, for there are beſides in that work numbers of the lobſter and crab kind. No ſort of letter-preſs attends this work, except a catalogue of the ſubjects, with the names in different languages, eſpecially the Indian. From the immenſity of his labors, he juſtly left behind him the title of the Pliny of the Indies.

THE weſt end of Ceram is at a very ſmall diſtance from Amboina. CERAM. That iſland ſtretches acroſs the channel from eaſt to [173]weſt, a length of about eighty leagues. Ceram and Buero divide nearly in two equal parts the Spicy ſea: this the geographers will find to be a new name, but I think fit to diſtinguiſh by that epithet, all the ſpace which comprehends the Banda iſles, the Molucca, the Papuan, with Ceram and Buero, the central iſles; bounded on the ſouth by the Timorian chain, on the weſt by Celebes, and on the eaſt by New Guinea. The inhabitants of its water, of the air, and the vegetation of the iſlands, are all moſt ſingular, which make it merit a title of diſtinction from all the reſt of the Indian ocean. The breadth of Ceram is inconſide⯑rable; the land near the ſea is low, ſwampy, and wooded; within, it riſes into mountains of great height. It is wonderful how little I can collect concerning this great iſland; Mr. Forreſt ſays that it produced clove trees, poſſibly in places inacceſſible to the Dutch. On the authority of Rumphius ^*, we may ſay that there are vaſt foreſts of the Sago tree on this iſland; the pith is prepared there into bread, and is exported to other places in great quantities; let me add from Dampier ^†, that it is much uſed in Mindanao, and our honeſt traveller gives us the proceſs of preparing that uſeful viand.

Manipa and Keylan are two ſmall iſlands, but very lofty, MANIPA AND KEYLAN. ſeated a little to the weſt of the weſtern end of Ceram. In the time of Dampier they were well inhabited by Malayes; on the firſt was a Dutch corporal and ſix ſoldiers, employed to cut down the clove trees. On Manipa grew abundance of thoſe valuable trees, and alſo of rice; both which were ſent in quantities by the little Dutch garriſon to Amboina.

[174]THE iſland of Buero is a few leagues to the weſt of Manipa and Keylan; BUERO. the ſea round it is of a vaſt depth, from whence the ſhore riſes gradually, and ſurrounds the whole iſland like a ſteep wall. The mountains ſeemingly riſe to the very ſky, and in ſome parts are ſo lofty as to aſpire above the clouds, and may ſometimes be ſeen at the diſtance of twenty-eight leagues. The circumference of Buero is about ſixty leagues; near the coaſts it is extremely well wooded, and productive of moſt of the tropical trees; a green ebony and an iron wood is mentioned among them. The ground in general is very fertile, but like the other iſlands much ſubject to earthquakes.

THE inhabitants are almoſt black, and both ſexes go naked, excepting when a wrapper covers their waiſts: they were no⯑minally ſubject to the king of Ternate; but in 1660 the Dutch built a fort, and compelled all the natives to live about the bay of Keyel, in fourteen villages neatly built of cane; they alſo compelled them to cut down and burn the woods, and turn them into fields, gardens, and orchards; before that time they lived in the moſt wretched hovels. They bemoan their dead relations with great lamentations, but after the corpſe is buried, they make great rejoicings; they line the graves with brick, and cover them with clay and ſtones.

IN the mountains are the civet weeſel, WEESELS. Hiſt. Quad. N^o 274, from which the natives procure the civet, and ſell it very cheap. In this iſland is that very curious hog, called the Babyrouſſa or horned, N^o 79, the Sus Babyruſſa of Linnaeus, Seb. mus. i. p. 80. tab. 50; Raii. Quad. p. 96; Bontius, fig. 61; Grew, p. 27; Nieu⯑hoff, p. 195. tab. p. 96; and de Buffon, xii. p. 379.

[175]THE laſt author, and perhaps a few others, extend this ſpecies to Africa, but the kind they miſtake it for is my Cape Verd hog, N^o 77. Linnaeus makes it an inhabitant of Borneo, and Gmelin of Java, and others ^* of Celebes and Mindanao, but poſſibly they miſtake for it the Aethiopian, which is found in the laſt ^†: Pliny had certainly heard of it, for he deſcribes ſome hogs found in India with four horns. ‘In India Cubitales dentium flexus gemini ex roſtro, totidem a fronte ſeu vituli cornua, exeunt, Pilus Aereo ſimilis agreſtibus, caeteris niger.’ As to the [...] of Aelian, de Nat. Anim. lib. xvii. c. 10, it certainly is the Aethio⯑pian. The ſpecies appears to me to be limited to this iſland, and perhaps is the moſt local of any of the greater quadrupeds. I am decidedly of opinion that it is found wild in Buero only. It may poſſibly be domeſticated on ſome adjacent iſles. As to thoſe of New Guinea, the Papuan iſles, and the Moluccas, I can⯑not find ſufficient authority for their exiſtence in thoſe places: Mr. Forreſt never ſpeaks of this ſingular animal; he gives figures of thoſe of the Papuan iſles, but not the leaſt intimation of their differing from other hogs. They are made in their bodies like our common hog, and have not the elegant deer-like form given it by Nieuhoff. They are ſometimes kept tame in the Indian iſles, live in herds, have a very quick ſcent, feed on herbs and leaves of trees; never range gardens like other ſwine; their fleſh well taſted. When purſued and driven to extremities, ruſh into the ſea, ſwim very well, and even dive, and paſs thus from iſle to iſle; in the foreſt often reſt their head, by hooking [176]their upper tuſks on ſome boughs. Their tuſks, from their form, uſeleſs in fight.

OVER the upper portion of the Spicy ſea are ſcattered ſeveral iſlands, UPPER PART OF THE SPICY SEA. which extend rather irregularly from the iſle of Celebes to the coaſt of New Guinea. I have now before me M. D'An⯑ville's map, and that of our countryman captain Forreſt, who with infinite hazard examined or paſt by moſt of the iſlands of this part of the ſea, for the patriotic deſign of procuring the nutmeg tree for the benefit of our country. I ſhall add his names to thoſe of the French geographer, as more familiar to us. The moſt weſterly on the coaſt of Celebes is Bangy; then appears grouped Xulla, Xulla beſſy, and a larger, the Xulla Mangoli of D'Anville, and two or three leſſer iſles. Farther to the eaſt, in Lat. 1° 40′ ſouth, is the long iſland of Ouby, with the little ones of Tappa, Mya, Lyong, and Gomman, near its coaſts. To the eaſt is Mixoal, or Myſol, a triangular iſle of ſome extent. To the north-weſt is the ſmall iſle of Kanari, and north of that are the very ſmall iſles of Polo Piſang, Bo, and Popo.

Ouby is one of the larger iſles. OUBY. The Datch have a ſmall fort on the weſt ſide; the inhabitants of this iſland are fugitive ſlaves from Ternate, and other places, who have no communication with any people except ſome Buggeſſes, who come in their prows to buy the cloves (which Ouby produces) from the runnaways. The general form of the mountains of this iſland are given by Mr. Forreſt in his fifth plate.

Lyong is a ſmall iſle off the eaſt end of Ouby; LYONG, PULO PISANG, &c. to the eaſt of that are to be ſeen the pretty wooded iſles of Liliola, Tapiola, [177]and Pulo Piſang, in Lat. 1° 30′ ſouth, moſt beautifully covered with trees ^*.

STILL more to the eaſt of Ouby, MIXAOL: is the triangular iſland of Mixaol, of a moderate height, even at top ^†, and the ſhore bold. On the ſouth ſide is the ſecure harbor of Ef-be, EF-BE HARBOR: in Lat. 2° 12′ ſouth, with ſeveral pictureſque iſlands off the entrance, one in particular, named Crown iſland, topt with wood. Myſol is well wooded, and water is got there without any difficulty. The village of Linty conſiſts of about thirteen houſes, VILLAGE OF LINTY. built in the water upon poſts. The iſland is but very thinly inhabited; the natives reported that the birds of Paradiſe came there in flocks from the eaſtward, ſettled on the trees, and were caught with bird-lime.

THE Kanari iſlands are a little to the north-weſt of the weſtern end of Myſol; KANARI ISLANDS. they alſo are of a moderate height, and tolerably even ^†, covered with wood, and the ſides in ſome places clifty. They take their name from the timber being chiefly of that tur⯑pentine kind called by Rumphius, ^§ Kanari. He deſcribes, at p. 151, 154, 155, 156, and tab. 48, 49, many more kinds; they grow to a great height; ſome afford very good maſts, and bear an eatable oily nut.

OFF the north-eaſt part is a cluſter of little iſles, ſuch as the Caniſter, the long, the round, and the turtle. On the firſt is a grove of the pine tree, called by the Malayes, Arrou; none of the Kanari iſles are inhabited.

Bo and Popo ^‖ are two cluſters of little iſles, BO AND POPO. lying in the clear [178]expanſe of water, north of the Kanari iſles, in Lat. 1° 17′ ſouth. They are well inhabited, and produce plenty of fiſh, ſalt, and coco nuts, and the Kima Chama. Almoſt contiguous to Popo, are nine or ten ſmall low iſles, ſaid to be well inhabited, and the reſidence of a Rajah.

DUE north of Oubi are the celebrated Molucca iſlands, MOLUCCA ISLANDS. which form a chain from the little iſle of Seland, in Lat. 0° 50′ ſouth, to Ternate, in about Lat. 0° 50′ north. Within that ſpace are con⯑tained the immenſe treaſures of cloves in poſſeſſion of the Dutch. Their hiſtory and fate are ſo nearly ſimilar to thoſe of Banda, and ſo intermixed, that we have included them in our account of thoſe iſlands. The names of the Molucca group, are Ternate, Tidor, Motir, Matchian, and Batchian. M. D'Anville makes theſe rich iſlands comprehend the whole from Moratay or Morty, at the north of Gilolo, quite to the Timorian chain; but the above is the true definition of the Molucca iſles.

THE ſmall iſle of Selang may be ſpoken of as an appurtenance to Batchian; ISLE OF SE⯑LANG. it is nearly united to its ſouthern end by a coral reef, which has in the middle a gap of a hundred fathoms in width, and twelve in depth, with a muddy bottom; on each ſide of the reef is a ſafe harbor. The iſland is moderately high, affords good water, and produces nutmeg trees of a great height. Mr. Forreſt ſaw the fruit lying on the ground, and in a ſtate of vegetation. He gives, in plate 5, a plan of the harbor, and a view of part of the iſland, and of the high wooded hills of La⯑bukat, on the iſle of Batchian.

Batchian is the largeſt of the Moluccas. BATCHIAN. It is governed by a ſultan, the leaſt dependent on the Dutch of any of theſe Reguli. [179]He is ſovereign of Ouby, Ceram, and Goram, an iſle in Lat. 4° 5′, to the ſouth-eaſt of Ceram. So prevalent is the Mahometan re⯑ligion, that there are on this little ſpot thirteen moſques; this is the moſt caſtern extent of the religion of the arch impoſtor. The inhabitants of all the ſultan's dominions are Mahometans; they paid the higheſt reſpect to Tuan Hadjee, pilot of Mr. For⯑reſt's veſſels, becauſe he was a deſcendant from an Arabian Scherif. So zealous are they in their religion, that they always go to ſea with the Alcoran, and have a place ſet apart for their devotions called the Koran, as was the caſe in Mr. Forreſt's veſſel.

Laſitau ^* ſays that there was a total converſion of this iſland, MOLUCCAS CONVERTED TO CHRISTI⯑ANITY. and the reſt of the Moluccas, to Chriſtianity, by the labors of St. Francis de Xavier: the ſultan himſelf was baptized: but theſe changes produced civil wars, for whole villages ſoon abjured the new faith; the Portugueſe, as may be imagined, took an active part in behalf of the believers. It is ſaid that as late as the year 1722, the king of Ternate was a Chriſtian, but thoſe of Tidor and Batchian had relapſed into Mahometaniſm. Theſe three monarchs firmly believe that their anceſtors were the wiſe men of the Eaſt, who viſited our Savior at Bethlehem, and who are ſo well known by the name of the three kings of Cologne.

THE Portugueſe for a time remained in favor with the na⯑tives; but unable to bear their habitual tyranny, eſpecially what they ſuffered in 1530, united in a general league of all the iſlands againſt their oppreſſors.

WE find in Purchas ^†, that the Dutch had a caſtle on this [180]iſland in 1621, and that the cloves lay three or four inches thick on the ground, for want of people to gather them.

Batchian riſes to a conſiderable height, ſwells into waved eminences, and in ſome parts into hills terminating in points, and well wooded. On the greater part of its coaſts, as of all the Moluccas, and other iſlands in the various Indian archipelago, are prodigious rocks or coral reefs, of infinite variety and beauty.

THE Sooloo, and other fleets which ſail annually to cruiſe among the Philippines, depend ſolely for their ſubſiſtence on the fiſh, and ſhell fiſh, which the reefs afford, and only lay in ſome rice and ſago bread. Mr. Forreſt gives a view, in plate 5, of a coral rock off Batchian, and a man gathering the Gigantic Chama. Among other ſhells there repreſented, is a figure of a turbinated one of a great ſize.

I AM uncertain of the number of parts into which this iſland is divided. In the map, on the weſtern ſide is ſtreight Labuhat; I do not know whether it penetrates quite through. On this is fort Barnevelt, the fortreſs that awes the Batchians. A little farther to the north is a great bay, ISLE OF BALLY. with the iſle of Bally in the middle, in Lat. 0° 30′ ſouth; it is about two miles round, and well ſupplied with wood and water. At the bottom of the bay is a very narrow paſſage, that divides Batchian in two; the northern diviſion is called the iſle of Mandioly, the reſidence of the ſultan. The paſſage widens conſiderably towards the weſt, and opens in the ſtreights of Patientia, which divide this iſland from the great one of Gilolo. I think Mandioly to be the iſland Fitzherbert, in Purchas, calls old Bachan. The Portugueſe and [181] Spaniards eſtabliſhed garriſons here, and formed leagues with the natives; but the Dutch in 1610 expelled them, and became ſucceſſors to their advantages and oppreſſions.

IN Biſſory harbor, in Lat. 0° 18′ ſouth, BISSORY HARBOR. on the weſtern ſide of the iſland, is excellent anchorage, in twelve or fifteen fathoms water. The entrance is marked by ſome elegant little iſles, with rocky precipitous baſes, and beautiful rounded wooded heads ^*. This iſland gave ſhelter to Mr. Forreſt for ſome time, when the pilot went on a viſit to his relation, the ſultan Tuan Hadjee.

OFF the north-weſtern end of Mandioly is Tappa, ISLAND OF TAPPA. a ſmall iſle, with three large rocks, hollowed into caves, harboring the ſwal⯑lows which make the delicious edible neſts; it lies only a few minutes to the north of the equinoctial line. Between Tappa and the iſle Lalaletta are the ſtreights of that name, LALALETTA: about a mile and a half long, and ſcarcely forty yards wide, with deep water. A fragrant ſmell is wafted from the ſhores. Tappa has alſo that comfort to mariners, a delicious pond of freſh water. Mr. Forreſt ^† gives us a view of theſe iſlands and rocks. On the north-weſt part is the little ſnug harbor or cove of Ma⯑laleo, where a ſhip may lie ſafe in four fathoms water, HARBOR OF MALALEO. with the cable faſtened to trees.

DUE north of Mandioly, in Lat. 0° 25′ north, are the Giaritchas, GIARITCHAS. a cluſter of ſmall iſles, conſiſting of rocks of a moderate height, mixed with trees; and about ſix leagues more to the north is the iſland of Matchian, ISLAND OF MATCHIAN. one of the little kingdoms of the Mo⯑luccas, ſubject to the king of Ternate; it is of a conic form, ſoars above the clouds, and has not in its whole extent a level [182]place. In 1621, before the Dutch had determined to fix the ſeat of cloves at Amboina, they had here three factories, and a caſtle, very difficult of acceſs by ſea, placed on one of the rude cliffs which bound the iſland, and built, after they had diſpoſſeſſed the Spaniards, in 1609.

Motir is the next, MOTIR. in form, but not in ſize, reſembling the former. Fitzherbert ſays, ‘That Venus and voluptuouſneſs had here their habitation.’

Tidor is a fine and fertile iſland, TIDOR. and the ſeat of a monarch. There were violent wars waged between that prince and the king of Ternate, which the Europeans took advantage of. In the time of Charles V. the Portugueſe and Spaniards fought againſt each other for the poſſeſſion of theſe rich ſpots, and with great animoſity; the people of Ternate ſided with the firſt, and thoſe of Tidor and Gilolo with the latter. By the ceſſion of the Moluccas to the Portugueſe by Charles, theſe ſeas were for a time left in peace. The Dutch next arrived, in 1607, and made a fruitleſs attack on the Spaniards; they even ſuffered a ſignal defeat, in 1610, off this very iſland; their admiral, Willert, was defeated and ſlain, and three capital ſhips taken, by the gallant Spaniard, Don Juan de Sylva; but at length, by the aſſiſtance of the king of Ternate, the Hollanders made themſelves maſters of the fort, and were received by the monarch of Tidor in the moſt friendly manner. The iſland had been four times moſt bar⯑barouſly ravaged by the Portugueſe and Caſtilians. The Tidorians naturally conſidered theſe new Europeans as their deliverers from moſt inveterate enemies. Here are twenty-five moſques, the chief of which belongs to the ſultan. As to his temporalities, [183]he poſſeſſes, beſides Tidor, great part of the ſouth and eaſt of Gilolo, and clames the Papuan iſles of Waygiou, Myſol, and Patenta.

Ternate is the moſt northern and moſt important of all the Moluccas, TERNATE. yet it is not more than eight leagues in circum⯑ference. Dependent on its monarch are the greateſt part of the north of Gilolo, and of the north-eaſt of Celebes; the iſle of Morti, that of Batchian and Motir; and ſeveral other diſtant iſles, ſuch as Xula, Bucro, Sanguir, and Veranulla, near Am⯑boina; he had even part of New Guinea, and received a tribute of gold, amber, and birds of Paradiſe. All theſe, New Guinea excepted, contribute their quota of militia. Mr. Forreſt gives ^* a regular liſt of the number formerly furniſhed, exactly pro⯑portioned to their ſize or population, as we do at preſent in the regulation of the militia to be raiſed in each Britiſh county; the ſum total amounted to 90,700. The naval power was alſo very conſiderable, and they and the Tidorians have had ſome well⯑conteſted battles with the Europeans. Soon after the arrival of the Portugueſe, they burnt at once all the foreſts of cloves; but they ſpeedily revived with as much vigor as ever. The Portu⯑gueſe rendered themſelves maſters of the iſland, and built a ſtrong fort. The natives thrice abandoned their country; till at length, deſperate with the oppreſſions of ſtrangers, in 1530 they re⯑turned in the night, and burnt and deſtroyed even their own habitations.

THE Dutch, on their arrival, were received as deliverers; but the natives ſoon diſcovering that the object of every Eu⯑ropean [184]was the ſame, they took to arms, and had a long and ſevere conteſt for independency. At length the invaders effected by fraud, what might have coſt too dear to obtain by violence. In 1638 they wiſely entered into a league with the king of Ternate, and the leſſer princes, as we have before mentioned. This treaty has been twice renewed; but in order to enforce the obſervance, three ſtrong forts, with ſuitable garriſons, are eſtabliſhed in Ternate, and others in the neighboring iſles.

THE ſultan reſides at Ternate in great ſtate, SULTAN. but neither he nor the prince of Tidor are better than fettered monarchs. The Dutch pay to him all external reſpect, but at the ſame time curb him in every commercial attempt. If he fits out a proa of any ſize, the Dutch muſt know the place of its deſtination; if bound to any diſtant parts, for cloth or other ſpecies of merchandize, they immediately ſay they are happy that they can ſupply him with better from their own magazines, and all is at his ſervice; if his Majeſty continues obſtinate, they ſend him a preſent of the fineſt callicoes, ſuch as they know will be acceptable to his ladies, and add bribes to his favorite females, who generally di⯑vert him from his deſign; if that fails, they always obtain leave to ſend a truſty officer with the veſſel, for the Dutch are ſtudious to avoid an open rupture.

Myo and Tyfory are two ſmall iſles to the north-eaſt of Ternate, MYO AND TYFORY. and ſubject to its ſultan; the firſt is in Lat. 1° 33′. Myo was once inhabited when the Spaniards were poſſeſſed of the Mo⯑luccas; but the Dutch, to prevent the ſmuggling of ſpices, re⯑moved the inhabitants. It has on it many goats, is productive of cloves, and poſſeſſes a good harbor. In old times theſe iſles fur⯑niſhed [185]their quota of four hundred militia men to the ſultan of Ternate.

THE ſhipping of the Molucca iſles conſiſts of a ſort of veſſels called Corocoro, SHIPPING. with a high arched ſtem and ſtern like the point of a half moon; the largeſt are of about ten tons burden. On each ſide of the veſſel are out-riggers or frames made of timber, interſecting each other, and extending like wings far over the water, of different dimenſions, according to the ſize of the coro⯑coro. The rowers, or rather paddlers, ſit in a moſt ſingular manner on the interſections of the ſuſpended frames over the water. In a ſmooth ſea they move with vaſt ſwiftneſs. Mr. Forreſt gives figures of ſeveral of theſe ſingular veſſels ^*; but the moſt magnificent is a corocoro of Banda, repreſented at p. 13 of the old Dutch voyages. Some have banks of rowers, like the Roman triremes. M. de Pages ^† gives a curious deſcription and figure of one he ſaw in the Manilla iſles.

No Chineſe veſſel is allowed to come farther than Macaſſar. The Sooloos veſſels trade to Ternate, but nobody dare ſend one to Sooloo; in a word, the moſt jealous attention is paid to the pre⯑vention of ſmuggling any of the pretious products of the iſles. The Sooloos may poſſibly be the carriers for the Chineſe; their lading conſiſts chiefly of articles from China, and they bring back rice, ſuallo, ſhark fins, tortoiſe ſhells, ſome ſmall pearls, and abundance of Loeri parrots.

THE religion of the iſland is that of Mahomet: here are ſome moſques, one Dutch church, and the ruins of ſeveral once be⯑longing to the Portugueſe; but none are permitted to be uſed; [186]and the people who call themſelves Portugueſe, are now as black as the very natives.

IN reſpect to the nature of the iſland, it conſiſts of very high land, abounding with good water, which ſtreams from the clouded peaks. Ternate, and every other of the Moluccas, have their volcanoes: in 1693 that of Ternate burnt in a dreadful man⯑ner; ſtones and other matters are frequently caſt out of the cra⯑ters, and noiſes (by the force of fancy compared to the crying of many people) are almoſt conſtantly heard within the bowels of the mountains. I think it was at the ſame time that the moun⯑tains Kemas, or the two brothers, in the diſtrict of Manado, in the iſle of Celebes, a part correſpondent with Ternate, were blown up with a dreadful noiſe; the ſound, like that of thunder, reached Ternate, attended with great darkneſs, and the tremendous con⯑vulſions of an earthquake. Through all theſe chains of iſlands, even to Banda, are poſſibly chambered galleries, which convey the train from iſle to iſle, whenever the great Author of Nature directs thoſe awful admonitions.

THE liſt of the quadrupeds of the Moluccas is eaſily made out: QUADRUPEDS. they have goats, deer, and hogs; but the ſpecies of deer are unknown to me.

THE Molucca Opoſſum; Hiſt. Quadr. i. N^o 218. Seb. Mus. i. p. 64. tab. 39; is not only found in theſe iſlands, but in thoſe of Arrou; in the former they are called Coes Coes; they are rec⯑koned delicate eating, and are frequent at the tables of the great, who rear the young in the ſame places in which they keep their rabbits.

[187]THE great bat called the Ternate, N^o 495; the Cordated, N^o 499; Schreber, tab. 48; and the Molucca, N^o 508, a large⯑headed ſpecies, Schreber, tab. 41, deform, I may ſay, the ſpicy air of theſe countries.

THIS claſs is numerous, and of ſingular beauty; BIRDS. for want of further information I muſt at once paſs to the parrot tribe.

HERE are three ſpecies of cockatoos; a great one, PARROTS. deſcribed by Mr. Latham, i. 256. Pl. Enl. 263. 115. Raii. Syn. Av. 30. Wil. Orn. 112. tab. 15. This is as big as a common fowl, wholly white, except the quil and lateral feathers of the tail, which are ſulphur colored.

THE next is the red creſted; Latham, i. 257. Pl. Enl. 498. 116. Edw. tab. 160. The under part of the creſt is red; the reſt of the plumage white.

THE third is the leſſer white; Latham, i. 258. Pl. Enl. 14. 118. Edw. 317. This has the under part of the creſt ſulphur colored, and is leſs and more docile than the preceding. Theſe birds are found in infinite numbers in all the iſlands, and deafen people with their ſcreams; yet ſtill, by their ſnowy plumage, give great ſpirit to the gloom of the woods.

Gramineous Loeri; Latham, i. 279. Pl. Enl. 862. 132. LOERIS. The leaſt brilliant of any; the crown and primaries pale blue; a black ſtripe from each eye to the bill; all the reſt of the plumage green.

THERE are ſeveral other elegant birds, I poſſibly might add to this diviſion; but as they are given by ornithologiſts to other iſlands, I here omit them, notwithſtanding my ſuſpicions are ſtrongly [188]in favor of the Moluccas. I would add ſtill greater beauties to the pictureſque trees of the iſlands. The Erythrina Corallo⯑dendron ^*, with its elegant coral colored ſpikes of flowers, are the greateſt haunt of theſe birds. Both contribute to enliven the ſhores of numbers of the iſlands. Theſe trees love watery places, and hang waving over the ſea. The beautiful birds which inhabit its branches, conſtitute a valuable article of com⯑merce; the natives lying in wait for them, catch numbers by twigs limed with the viſcus of the Socci-lacte.

THE red Amboina Loeri; Latham, i. 210. Pl. Enl. 248. 88; is the moſt ſplendid of the gay kind. The head and body rich ſcarlet; wings green; back and tail of rich blue.

Red-breaſted; Latham, i. 212. Edw. 232. Pl. Enl. 61. 90. The character of this ſpecies is a ſcarlet breaſt, barred with rich ma⯑zarine blue. The reſt of the colors are of the moſt vivid brilliancy.

Blue-headed; Latham, i. 212. Pl. Enl. 743. 91. Upper part of the body and tail green; the laſt very long; two middle feathers far exceed the others in length; breaſt and belly of rich red, blue, and yellow.

Black crowned; Latham i. 213. Seb. Muſ. i. 63. Wings, tail, and upper part of the body, rich blue; under part fine light red.

THE late earl of Orford had a parrot, a true Macaw, which he was certain came from the Eaſt Indies; it was as large as the Braſilian; the upper part blue; the lower part of the breaſt deep [189]yellow. This account was tranſmitted to Lord Barrington, in a letter from Lord Orford, Auguſt 28th, 1786.

Violet, Indian; Latham, i. 217. Pl. Enl. 143. The predominant colors are violet and red; the primaries rich yellow.

Beautiful, Latham, i. 217, compoſed of the richeſt colors; back brown, edged with red. Moluccas?

Crimſon Loeri; Latham, i. 273. Edw. 170. Pl. Enl. 518. 127. Brown illuſtr. tab. 6. The head, front of the neck, the breaſt, back, tail, and wings, except the primaries, crimſon; primaries, belly, and hind part of the neck deep blue.

Gilolo Loeri; Latham, i. 274. Sonnerat, 177. Tab. 112. Pl. Enl. 519. 128: entirely ſcarlet, except a blue ſpot on the vent, a few black ſpots on the wings, and the primaries, which are alſo black.

Scarlet Loeri; Latham, i. 269. 270. N^o 76. A. B. Edw. 172. Pl. Enl. 216. 123: of tranſcendent beauty; head and body ſcarlet; a rich ſpot of yellow on the back, and on the ridge of each wing; wings and tail of a fine green; primaries black, the reſt ſcarlet.

Grand Loeri; Latham, i. 275. Pl. Enl. 683. Voſmaer, tab. 7; of equal beauty; head, back, and wings, and upper part of the tail rich ſcarlet; neck, breaſt, belly, and primaries fine deep blue; vent and tip of the tail yellow; a large ſpecies. Voſmaer certainly miſtakes Ceylon for its place.

Green and red Loeri; Latham, i. 278. Pl. Enl. 514. 130. Edw. 231. Sonnerat, 174. tab. 108. The head, neck, breaſt, belly, back, and coverts of wings the richeſt green; ridge of the wings and primaries fine blue; under coverts of the wings ſcarlet; on the belly a few blood-red and blue ſpots.

[190] Molucca; HORN-BILL.Wil. Ornith. tab. xvii. Pl. Enl. 283. 173; the Indian, Latham, i. 351, with a ſlatted concave plate on the head and bill; and the wreathed, Latham, i. 358; the Jaar Vogel of the Dutch, are found on theſe iſlands, and that of Banda. That called the Indian raven of Bontius, deſcribed by Mr. Willughby, p. 126, and engraven in tab. xvii. from Bontius, p. 62, is another kind, with a very thick bill, the upper mandible greatly incur⯑vated; the temples colored like thoſe of the turkey; the head and neck black. Bontius gives us no further deſcription; but ſays it feeds on the nutmegs, is good eating, and has an aromatic taſte. All theſe birds are very detrimental to the plantations of this rich ſpice. M. Salerne, p. 91, ſays it is kept tame, and is very uſeful in deſtroying the rats and mice. He confounds the ſpecies tab. 283. Pl. Enl. with this kind; ſee his figure, tab. ix.

THE Moluccas have the ſhort-tailed pie; PIE. Latham, i. p. 399; Pl. Enl. 257. 207; in form but not in color reſembling that of Ceylon.

Brown; WOODPECKER. Latham, ii. 577. Pl. Enl. 748. 313. The upper part of the body, wings, and tail, of a browniſh black waved with white; beneath whitiſh, marked with irregular black ſpots pointing downwards; head full of feathers, duſky, and ſlightly ſpotted with white; cheeks white: ſize of the ſmaller Engliſh ſpotted wood⯑pecker.

Ternate; KINGFISHER. Latham, ii. 634. Pl. Enl. 116. 350. The bill and legs of this fine ſpecies are ſcarlet; the head, upper part of the neck, the back and wings of a moſt rich mazarine blue; from the chin to the vent white; the tail white, and equal at the end; the two mid⯑dle feathers only are longer than the others by about five inches; [191]they are only webbed near the baſe, which is white, marked on the outward ſides with a pale blue ſpot; the ſhafts are naked, and black almoſt to the ends, which are white, and dilate to the form of a Spatula. This ſpecies is of the ſize of a ſtare. The natives of Ternate call this bird the Goddeſs, on account of the exquiſite brightneſs of its colors.

Green-headed; Latham, ii. 620. Pl. Enl. 783. Head green, ſurrounded with a band of black; back, wings, and tail of the ſame color; on the two laſt changing to bluiſh green; throat and neck white: inhabits Buero.

Molucca; Latham, ii. 684. Le Polochion de Buffon, BEE-EATER. vi. 477. cheeks black; nape mixed with white; general color of the reſt of the plumage grey, deepeſt on the upper part; tail compoſed of feathers of equal length.

Creſted; Latham, ii. 691. Seb. Muſ. i. tab. 30. fig. 5. Head, PROMEROPS. throat, and neck of a fine black; head moſt elegantly creſted; wings, tail, and upper part of the body pale cheſnut; lower parts light aſh; length from tip of the bill to the tail five inches; of the tail fourteen and a half; the two middle feathers fourteen, of the outmoſt feathers only three. Seba calls it a Manucodiatae, or bird of Paradiſe.

Amboina; Latham, ii. 741. Seb. Muſ. ii. tab. 62. fig. 2. Cucopit, CREEPER. Rumph. v. 113. Head and neck yellow, edged with green; breaſt of a rich red; wings black, edges of the feathers yellow; reſt of the plumage, grey above, green beneath, all moſt gloſſy and brilliant. This ſpecies has a tubular tongue, and extracts with it the honey of the flowers. It perhaps might be ranged among the Meliſugae.

[192] Amboina; THRUSH. Latham. iii. 74. vii. 143. Seb. Muſ. 62. fig. 4. Head; upper part of the body, primaries and tail, reddiſh brown; under ſide of the tail golden yellow; breaſt and belly light yellow: rather bigger than a lark; ſings finely; flirts its tail quite on the back in the ſeaſon of love.

Molucca; GROSBEAK. Latham, iii. 141. Pl. Enl. 139. Forehead, front, and ſides of the neck, black; hind part of the head, back, and prima⯑ries brown; breaſt and belly tranſverſely ſtriped with black and white; tail and its coverts black.

Amboina; TANAGRE. Latham, iii. 244. Seb. Mus. i. tab. 38. fig. 6. Crown black; back variegated with black and blue; cheeks, throat, and breaſt blue; coverts of the wings blue, marked with a purple ſpot; belly white; tail brown.

Green Turtle; PIGEON: Latham, iv. 653. Pl. Enl. 653. Forehead and throat cinereous; the predominant color of the reſt of the bird a green gold, gloſſed with copper; on the front of the neck a beautiful violet purple; length only ſeven inches and three quarters.

THIS makes the ſum of the birds I can collect in the iſlands; the liſt is ſmall, but their beauty will compenſate.

WE know very little of their reptiles. REPTILES. The Boa is found in Ternate, and other of the iſles, of a vaſt ſize. I ſuſpect alſo that the Cobra de capello, or Naja, inhabits Amboina. Rum⯑phius, ii. 131, mentions the Munalatu, a broad-headed ſerpent, a moſt dangerous kind; the bite of which excites great heat, and dreadful anxiety; numbers of people die of the conſequences; but it is curable with the root of the Soulamoe, or Rex Amaroris, [193]deſcribed in the ſame volume, p. 129. tab. 40. Rumphius alſo ſpeaks of the Lacerta chalcidica as a very dangerous ſpecies of lizard. This poſſibly is the Anguis quadrupedes of authors, and the Seps of M. La Cepede, i. 433. tab. 31, which is found in Java and Amboina.

As to fiſhes and ſhells they are extremely numerous; FISHES. the firſt very ſingular in their forms; the laſt of great beauty.

THE large iſland of Gilolo or Halamahera is not claſſed among the Moluccas, but lies nearly contiguous to them, GILOLO. and extends north and ſouth from Lat. 3° 10′ north, to Lat. 0° 50′ ſouth. The equator paſſes over the lower part. The weſtern ſide is ſtraight, and runs parallel with thoſe iſlands, and at the ſouthern end finiſhes oppoſite to Batchian, but at the northern extends very far beyond Ternate. On the eaſt ſide is a branch that points due eaſt, and from the baſe of that another, due north, leaving between it and the weſtern extent of the iſland, a bay extremely narrow, but of a vaſt length, penetrating above half of the length of the whole. Dampier ^* reckons this among the low iſlands of the Indian ſeas; yet in the interior parts it riſes into very lofty horns or peaks.

IT is ſaid to have been once governed by one ſovereign, a Scherif from Mecca. We have mentioned that the Sultans of Ternate and Tidor, now are maſters of a conſiderable part of Gilolo; the chief towns are Maba, Weda, and Patanay. The laſt is at the extremity of the eaſtern branch; it ſtands on what is called Patany Hook, a point in Lat. 0° 20′ north, PATANY HOOK. three miles in circum⯑ference, [194]of great ſtrength, faced with precipices; flat at top, con⯑taining many houſes and gardens, and inacceſſible unleſs by ladders.

THIS iſland abounds with oxen, buffaloes, goats, deer, and wild hogs, but ſcarcely any ſheep.

THE natives have a turn to manufactures, but it is checked by the Dutch; notwithſtanding this, they import a great deal of cotton yarn from Balli, and the Buggeſs country, which they fabricate into cloth.

IN Gilolo, SAGO TREE. in all the Moluccas, and other iſlands of that diſtrict, and even in New Guinea, grows the Rima or Bread Fruit. I have before mentioned that uſeful tree, the Cycas circinalis, Sago or Libby tree, which appears firſt in Siam, grows in Sumatra, Borneo, Johor, Java, and Mindanao, is continued through all the iſlands, and becomes in theſe countries a vegetable of the firſt importance, for the ſubſiſtence of the inhabitants. It is as wheat to the Europeans, mayz to the Americans, dates to the Arabs, and rice to the Hindoos. The uſe of rice, the great food of India, ceaſes; either the ground is unfit for the cultivation, or the natives are too lazy to ſow it, when nature offers them a more ready food. The ſago trees grow in great numbers in every one of theſe iſlands. It ſometimes attains the height of thirty feet, and the branches extend twenty; the circumference of the ſtem is as much as a man can embrace; the head ſpreads into leaves like a palm, to which genus it bears a great reſemblance; but Linnaeus chooſes to fling it among the ferns. Rumphius (who is very diffuſe in his account of it) places it among the palms, under the name of Sagu, and Palma farinaria ^*; Mr. Forreſt gives [195]the beſt account of this moſt neceſſary article: I ſhall therefore borrow from him what is to be ſaid on the ſubject.

‘THE ſago or libby tree, has, like the cocoa-nut tree, no diſ⯑tinct bark that peels off, and may be defined a long tube of hard wood, about two inches thick, containing a pulp or pith, mixed with many longitudinal fibres. The tree being felled, it is cut into lengths of about five or ſix feet; a part of the hard wood is then ſliced off, and the workman coming to the pith, cuts acroſs (generally with an adze made of hard wood called a neebong) the longitudinal fibres, and the pith to⯑gether, leaving a part at each end uncut, ſo that, when it is excavated, there remains a trough, into which the pulp is again put, mixed with water, and beat with a piece of wood; then the fibres, ſeparated from the pulp, float at top, and the flour ſubſides. After being cleared in this manner by ſeveral waters, the pulp is put into cylindrical baſkets, made of the leaves of the tree; and if it is to be kept ſome time, thoſe baſkets are generally ſunk in freſh water.’

‘ONE tree will produce from two to four hundred weight of flour; no wonder then if agriculture be neglected, in a country, where the labour of five men, in felling ſago trees, beating the flour, and inſtantly baking the bread, will main⯑tain a hundred. I have often found large ſpecies of the ſago tree on the ſea-ſhore, drifts from other countries. The ſago, thus ſteeped in the ſalt water, had always a four diſagreeable ſmell; and in this ſtate, I dare ſay the wild hogs would not taſte it. The leaf of the ſago tree makes the beſt covering for houſes of all the palm kind; it will laſt ſeven years. [196]Coverings of the Nipa or common Attop, ſuch as they uſe on the ſouth-weſt coaſt of Sumatra, will not laſt half the time. When ſago trees are cut down, freſh ones ſprout up from the roots; the wild hogs frequent the places where ſago trees have lately been cut down, and the flour or pith has been taken out; they there feaſt and fatten on the remains.’

‘WE ſeldom or never ſee ſago in Europe but in a granulated ſtate. To bring it into this ſtate from the flour, it muſt be firſt moiſtened, and paſſed through a ſieve into an iron pot (very ſhallow) held over a fire, which enables it to aſſume a globular form.’

‘THUS all our grained ſago is half baked, and will keep long. The pulp or powder of which this is made, will alſo keep long, if preſerved from the air, but, if expoſed, it preſently turns ſour.’

‘THE Papua oven for this flour is made of earthen ware; SAGO OVEN. it is generally nine inches ſquare, and about four deep; it is divided into two equal parts by a partition parallel to its ſides; each of thoſe parts is ſubdivided into eight or nine, about an inch broad (tab. 27.); ſo the whole contains two rows of cells, about eight or nine in a row. The ſago bread, freſh from the oven, eats juſt like hot rolls. Bread thus baked will keep, I am told, ſeveral years; I have kept it twelve months, nor did vermin deſtroy it in that time.’

OTHER writers who have treated of this uſeful tree are, Kaempfer, Amoen. Exot. 897; Thunberg, Fl. Jap. 229; Raii. Hiſt. pl. 1360; Seb. Muſ. i. 39. tab. 25; Dampier, i. 310; and G. Forſter, Flor. Auſtr. inſ. p. 78, who ſays it is found in the Friendly Iſles [197]and New Hebrides. Rumphius deſcribes ſome other ſpecies of this tree, or of the palm which contains the ſago. To that moſt admirable writer I muſt refer the reader for a copious hiſtory of the valuable nutriment.

ON this tree, perhaps more frequent than any palm, is found lodged in the center of the pith the inſect called Curculio Palma⯑rium, CURCULIO PALMARIUM. Lin. Jacq. Am. 278; Merian, Surin. tab. 48. fig. 3; the Coſſus Saguarius of Rumphius, i. 78. 79. 83. tab. 17. Its Coſſus, or caterpillar, is eſteemed a delicacy among the natives of both Indies, as the Coſſi Altiles, or fatted caterpillars, were among the Romans. Pliny, lib. xvii. c. 24, ſays that the largeſt and moſt delicious were thoſe of the oak, which his luxurious country⯑men fattened with flour.

Morty, MORTY. an iſland that nearly divides the mouth of the long bay at the north of Gilolo, riſes with great beauty out of the ſea; it is particularly noted for the ſago trees; is thinly inhabited, but much frequented by parties from Gilolo, for the ſake of cutting the trees for the pith; the Dutch, therefore, to prevent the ſmuggling of the ſpices, conſtantly keep ſome of the country veſſels cruizing between the two iſlands. Morty belongs to Ter⯑nate.

WE now arrive at the Papuan Iſlands, PAPUAN ISLANDS. the group which lies between Patany Point and New Guinea (they take their name from the land of Papua, or New Guinea), and as low as the iſland of Ceram. The names of the principal are Waggiou, Gammon, Patanta, Salwatty, and Myxoal, ſurrounded by others, ſmall, and of little note, unleſs by being the places where the adventurous Forreſt touched in his voyage in ſearch of the nutmeg trees. [198]He had the double hazard of falling into the hands of the Dutch, or periſhing by the fury of the wild natives; but the firſt he fortunately eſcaped; and by his own prudent and conciliating behavior (added to his having a crew entirely Indian, excepting two), he ſailed not only unmoleſted, but even befriended, by theſe apparent barbarians.

THE moſt weſtern of theſe iſlands is Gibby, GIBBY. under the equator, to the ſouth-eaſt of Patany Hook, and about ſix leagues diſtant. Its length is four or five leagues, its breadth ſmall, and its ap⯑pearance like two hills divided by a low iſthmus, and full of in⯑habitants. VISITED BY THE FRENCH. The French, actuated by the laudable ſpirit of im⯑proving their colonies by the introduction of nutmeg trees, made more than one voyage for the procuring that valuable ſpice. The firſt was in the year 1769, in which the celebrated natu⯑raliſt M. Sonnerat, and the more celebrated philoſopher M. Le Poivre, embarked and ſailed from the iſle of France. They ſtu⯑diouſly concealed the names of the iſlands they viſited, and the means they uſed to accompliſh the ends of their miſſion. M. Son⯑nerat went a ſecond time, in 1771; has publiſhed the account of his voyage, but has given us only a deſcription of the more cu⯑rious birds, and of the Papuans, the natives of the iſles, and of New Guinea. The French touched at the iſland of Gibby, which they call Gweby. During their ſtay there they were viſited by the rajah or prince of Patany, the ſultan of Tidor, and even received an embaſſy from one whom they ſtiled the emperor of Salwatty. They were moſt reſpectfully treated by theſe poten⯑tates; and by the friendſhip of the prince of Patany, obtained the object of the voyage. They carried forty thouſand nutmeg [199]trees to the iſland of Bourbon, and others were ſent to the iſle of France; another cargo was ſent to the iſles of Sechelles. If I recollect right, we found on the Grenades nutmeg trees, when we took thoſe iſlands, which had been planted by the French. Thoſe which had been tranſported to the iſle of France bore fruit, but, I believe, not to that perfection as they do in their native ſoil.

Gag is a ſmall uninhabited iſland, in Lat. 0° 18′ ſouth, GAG. but has the advantage of a ſafe bay, of freſh water, and of timber, which induces people to touch there. Syang, SYANG. another little iſle north of the line, in Lat. 0° 30′, has alſo both wood and water; Captain Forreſt procured the laſt by obſerving, that on cut⯑ting a tree he calls the Arrow Plant, that water diſtilled from it; he then dug, and found a ſpring. On a little ſandy iſle called Pulo eye he met with the eggs of the turtle, directed to them by the marks of the ſins on the ſand.

OTHER ſmall iſles, that lie a little to the north and to the ſouth of the line, in about Long. 127° eaſt from Greenwich, may be mentioned, to ſhew the indefatigable induſtry of our country⯑men: ſuch are Ruib and Een, or fiſh iſle, to the north; RUIB. and to the ſouth is Waglol, a ſmall flat iſle, the reſidence of a ſynagee. WAGLOL. or chieftain, of the country, diſtinguiſhed by having half his coat, and long drawers, clouded with red, white, and yellow; the other half with blue, white, and green; the turband was of white calico, pinked; the clouded part of the dreſs was Hin⯑dooſtan calico, dyed by the natives of the Moluccas. Some of theſe chieftains are men of moſt poliſhed manners.

Tomoguy, and the two iſlands of Patang and Pally, TOMOGUY. form between them the ſafe harbor of Manafuin; a ſtreight four [200]miles long, with a mud bottom. Piamis and Tamuay are iſles of no note, SALWATTY. ſtill more ſouth; but Salwatty, the moſt remote of the Papuas, and of a conſiderable ſize, is divided from the coaſt of New Guinea by the narrow ſtreight of Galoway. It is of a lozenge ſhape, very populous, and governed by a rajah. In 1770 the rajah, with more than a hundred of the Papuan boats, from that iſland, Arrou, and Myxoal, made the tour of the iſles, and ſailed up the ſtreights which divide Gilolo from Batchian. The Dutch, apprehenſive of ſome miſchief, made their chieftains preſents of cloth, &c. Their ſtay was ſhort, for after fiſhing and hunting a few days, they diſperſed and went home, the rajah excepted, who, with a few of his people, remained behind, without offering the leaſt offence. The Dutch treacherouſly inveigled him to Ternate, and even made him a preſent of a bag of dollars, to be laid out in any of the European articles he choſe out of their magazines. He entered the fort with a few of his men, and was immediately in⯑formed that he was a priſoner. His people inſtantly gave ſigns of running a muck to ſave their maſter, or to ſell their own lives dearly. The generous rajah whiſpered to them an order of for⯑bearance, and to endeavor their own eſcape, which they ef⯑fected. The prince gave up his cris, and was ſoon tranſported to the Cape, to join the miſerable exiles on Robben Iſland.

THE Dutch might have ſome cauſe for their fears, it being cuſtomary for the Papuans of New Guinea and Salwatty to aſ⯑ſemble in great numbers in the months of March and April (when the ſeas are generally ſmooth), and make war on Gilolo, Ceram, Amboina, and as far as Aulla Beſſi. In 1765 they plun⯑dered [201]the iſle of Amblou, near Buero, and carried away many of the inhabitants.

THE Papuans, the inhabitants of theſe iſles, PAPUAN PEOPLE. and of the land of Papuas, or New Guinea, and (according to Mr. Forreſt, p. 68.) the internal parts of the Moluccas, are a moſt ſingular race of men, of a horrible appearance and great ferocity; brave, ſays M. Son⯑nerat, lovers of war, cruel, ſuſpicious, and treacherous. Mr. Forreſt ſaw them frequently, but his account of them is brief; they behaved to him eaſy and familiar, and even furniſhed him with fiſh, or ſuch proviſions their iſlands afforded. Forreſt con⯑ciliated their affection. It is highly probable that Sonnerat re⯑ceived his accounts from ſome Europeans who had provoked them by their inſults. They live chiefly on fiſh or turtle, of which they have abundance, and neglect every ſpecies of agri⯑culture. When they want bread, they carry live turtle, and ſauſages made of their eggs, dried fiſh, &c. to the iſland of Waggiou, where they exchange them for ſago, baked or freſh. Their own iſles furniſh the trees in quantity; but ſo lazy are they, that they very ſeldom will give themſelves the trouble of cutting them down. They alſo bring with them tortoiſe-ſhell and ſuallo, which they ſell to the Chineſe whom they find trading in the different iſlands. Their wives and children accompany them in theſe voyages, which are performed in boats like thoſe we call punts, ſquare at each end, and furniſhed with an out-rigger of a ſingle frame; they row with very broad oars. They take with them their bows, arrows, and lances; and for fiſhing are provided with a ſmall round net, diſtended at the end of a pole, of the ſame kind as our Engliſh landing net. Add to this two or three [202]fox-looking dogs, for the purpoſe of purſuit by ſea or land; for the Papuans have a moſt ſingular water chaſe, which is that of hogs; WATER CHASE OF HOGS. they follow thoſe animals as they are ſwimming among the ſmall iſlands, and ſhoot them with their arrows, or transfix them with ſpears. The ſwine ſwim in a line, and the hindmoſt hogs reſt their ſnouts on the backs of the preceding. Mr. Forreſt ^* gives us a repreſentation of this kind of hunting, and alſo of the perſons, boats, and the naval apparatus of theſe ſportſmen. They are excellent archers; their arrows are often ſix feet long; the bow is generally of ſlit bamboo, and the ſtring of ſplit rattans.

THE aſpect of theſe people is frightful and hideous; FORM OF THE PAPUANS. the men are ſtout in body, their ſkin of a ſhining black, rough, and often disfigured with marks like thoſe occaſioned by the leproſy; their eyes are very large, their noſes flat, mouth from ear to ear, their lips amazingly thick, eſpecially the upper lip; their hair woolly, either a ſhining black or fiery red: M. Son⯑nerat imagines the laſt to be owing to ſome powder. It is dreſſed in a vaſt buſh, ſo as to reſemble a mop; ſome are three feet in circumference, the leaſt two and a half; in this they ſtick their comb, conſiſting of four or five diverging teeth, with which they occaſionally dreſs their frizzled locks, to give them a greater bulk; they ſometimes ornament them with feathers of the birds of Paradiſe; others add to their deformity by boring their noſes, and paſſing through them rings, pieces of bone, or ſticks; and many, by way of ornament, hang round their necks the tuſks of boars. The heads of the women are of leſs ſize than thoſe of the men, and in their left ear they wear ſmall braſs rings. [203]The men go naked, excepting a ſmall wrapper round their waiſts, made of the fibres of the coco. The women uſe a covering, in general of the coarſe Surat baftas, tucked up behind, ſo as to leave their bodies and thighs expoſed to view. The children have no ſort of cloathing.

ON an iſle in Lat 3° 44′, WOMEN. Schouten obſerved that the women were more hideous than the men; their face reſembled that of a monkey; their breaſts hung down to their middle; their ſto⯑machs enormouſly large, and their limbs moſt diſproportionally ſlender; one ſquinted; a ſecond had an arm monſtrouſly ſwelled; a third, a leg; in ſhort, there was not one but had ſome defect that indicated an unwholeſome climate. Such is the account given in ^* Les Navigations aux Terres auſtrales.

OFF the north-weſt part of Salwatty is the long iſle of Patanta, PATANTA. divided from the former by a narrow but long paſſage, called Pitt's ſtreights; Mr. Dalrymple gives views of both of the iſlands. The land is high on each ſide, but that of Patanta remarkably ſo; the mountains are double and treble, and riſe above each other into moſt exalted ſummits, ending in points, or in rounded forms, and quite cloathed with fine woods.

Dampier, in 1699, ſailed between the north ſide of Patanta and the adjacent iſland, through a ſtreight ſeen in the maps under the name of the new Paſſage; Dampier miſtook the iſle of Patanta for the extreme north-weſt part of the Papuas land, or New Guinea, and paſſed under cape Monkaite, the moſt weſterly point of Patanta, which he ſuppoſes to have been the cape Maho of the Dutch. Immediately afterwards he fell in with ſome ſmall iſlands, [204]which he named Cockle iſle, ISLE OF KING WILLIAM. Pigeon iſle, and king William's iſles Mr. Dalrymple, in his view of headlands, gives a point on the laſt the title of cape Maho; that judicious writer makes king Wil⯑liam's iſland the northern boundary of the new ſtreight, or as he names it Dampier's ſtreight; king William's iſland is very moun⯑tanous and woody, and greatly reſembling that of Patanta. Dampier viſited a ſmall low iſland, off the weſtern part of king William's, which he called Pigeon iſle, from its ſwarming with a ſpecies of thoſe birds.

THE third he named Cockle iſle, COCKLE ISLE. from the number of the Chama Gigas of Linnaeus, which he found on the coral rocks. This monſtrous ſhell is deſcribed by Rumphius, tab. 47. fig. E; Bonanni, lib. ii. tab. 88; Seb. iii. tab. 86. fig. i; Argenville, tab. 23. fig. E; Born, p. 80; Da Coſta, Conchyl. tab. 7. fig. 4; and Chemnitz, vol. vii. tab. 9. fig. 495. Dampier calls them cockles; he ſays that at firſt he could get only ſmall ones of ten pounds weight, but afterwards his men brought him a ſingle ſhell that weighed two hundred and fifty-eight pounds, VAST CHAMAE. ſo that the pair muſt have weighed five hundred and ſixteen pounds, excluſive of the fiſh, which in ſome weighs thirty pounds. This is eſteemed very good ſtewed, and, with the Sago bread of theſe iſlands, may at any time be a ſure relief to navigators. By reaſon of the ſize of theſe ſhells, it is unſafe to attempt taking them into a ſmall canoe: the method of managing them in ſuch circumſtances, is to put a pole into the gaping ſhell, which inſtantly cloſes, and holds ſo faſt that it may be drawn up to the ſurface of the water; the fiſh, on being ſtabbed with a cutlaſs, dies immediately, and may be taken out, and the ſhells dropped into the ſea. M. Da Coſta [205]ſays that ſometimes a pair of ſhells weigh ſix and even ſeven hun⯑dred pounds. Mr. Gmelin ^* relates that the fiſh is large enough to feed a hundred and twenty men, and that the ſhells are able to ſnap a cable in two, or to cut off a man's hand! the laſt I can credit, poſſibly the firſt is an exaggerated proof of their ſtrength.

MR. Born, p. 81. (from Davila) informs us, that from the li⯑gament of the hinge is made a gem called Pavonium by litho⯑logiſts.

NORTH of Patanta is a narrow anonymous iſle, lying midway, and at but a ſmall diſtance from it, that of Gammon, ſituated near to Waygiou, one of the greateſt of the Papuan iſles. WAYGIOU. On the ſouth this is divided by two great bays, which penetrate deeply into the country; the northern ſide is gently incurvated, and bends at each end towards the ſouth; the equator paſſes over the middle of the iſland. The land is very lofty, and the moun⯑tains divide frequently into peaks, the loftieſt of which is diſ⯑tinguiſhed by the name of the Buffalo's Horn. The iſland is faid to be forty leagues in circumference, to be governed by chieftains, and to contain a hundred thouſand inhabitants, who are perpetually at war with each other. On the ſouth ſide are two very good harbors, Piapis and Offak. Mr. Forreſt gives plans of them in his ninth plate, and of the pictureſque harbor of Rawak, in plate 10. In the ſame, and alſo in tab. 9, are views of the iſland itſelf.

BESIDES the little iſles, ſuch as Ruib, Een, and others, to the north and north-weſt of the harbor of Piapis, are ſeveral which [206]are to be found to the north-eaſt of that of Offak, OFFAK. and among them is Manouanan ^*, an iſland of a middling height, preci⯑pitous on the ſides.

THE group of the little iſles of Aiou or Yowl, ISLES OF YOWL. are in about Lat. 0° 38′ north, at ſome diſtance to the north-north-eaſt of Manouanan, and incloſed in regular reefs ^†; the number of iſlands is ſixteen. In the leſſer cluſter is included Aiou Baba, or Father Aiou, the largeſt of the whole, and of the height of more than five hundred feet, and about five miles in circumference; all the other iſlands, except Abdon and Konibar, are low.

IN the greater group are Abdon, ABDON.Konibar, and ſeveral others of leſſer note: the reef here forms a very conſiderable bed, run⯑ning from north to ſouth, but the reef itſelf muſt be paſſed in order to get at the iſles. Abdon is in Lat. 0° 36′ north. The ſoil on this iſland and Aiou Baba is rich, and rudely planted with Papaws trees, or Carica Papaya ^‡, lime trees, or Citrus limon, and Capſicum, or Cayenne pepper; Konibar with yams, potatoes, and ſugar canes. On Aiou Baba is a pool of freſh water; that ar⯑ticle is to be found by digging, even on the low grounds. The ſeas abound with fiſh, turtle, and Suallo, which the Papuans ſell to the Chineſe, who muſt always be furniſhed with Dutch paſſes. Let me not leave theſe little iſles, without ſaying that Mr. For⯑reſt met with the utmoſt hoſpitality from the natives, and from the Moodoos, LAND OF PAPUAS. or chieftains, even a ſpecies of politeneſs. Theſe iſlands command a view of the lofty mountains of the land of Papuas, or New Guinea.

HERE the reader may be told that this country was diſcovered [207]in 1528, WHEN DIS⯑COVERED. on the day of the Epiphany, by Don Alvar de Saavedra, who ſailed from a port in Mexico, by order of the great Ferdi⯑nando Cortez, who was inſtigated to it by an eccleſiaſtic of the name of Juan d'Arragzaga, in order to promote a farther know⯑lege of the ſpicy iſles. He reached the Moluccas, where he found ſome remains of the fleet of Magellan; from Tidor, he took his departure on his return to Mexico, and fell in with the Papuan iſles, and the land of Papua itſelf, which he called New Guinea, on the miſtaken opinion that it lay in the ſame meri⯑dian circle as the African Guinea.

THE firſt remarkable place on this part of that vaſt iſland is the cape of Good Hope ^*, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. lying very nearly under the equator, it is to be ſeen at the diſtance of thirty-ſix miles, ſloping down to the very water. Abundance of drift wood was obſerved, not only here, but about New Britain, and all the iſlands to the north.

THE whole coaſt continues very lofty, and the land a vaſt ſuc⯑ceſſion of mountain above mountain, richly cloathed with woods. The little iſle of Yowry, in Lat. 0° 15′ ſouth, Long. 130° 45′ eaſt, ISLE OF YOWRY. has behind it a ſafe harbor, and on it the nutmeg tree; farther is the land of Dory, with a ſmall hooked promontory of the ſame name, and within that, in Lat. 0° 21′ ſouth, Long. 131° eaſt, is the harbor, of an appearance moſt uncommonly beautiful and pic⯑tureſque, bounded by ranges of mountains riſing above each other to amazing heights, and finely wooded. MOUNTAINS OF ARFACK. Thoſe of Arfack are the moſt diſtant from the coaſt, and appear to ſoar above [208]the reſt. Numbers of fires were ſeen, poſſibly made by the mountaneers.

THE ſhores were planted with coco palms, PAPUAN HOUSES. and varied with the groteſque inhabitants, and their ſingular habitations, built over the water on ſtages erected on poſts, far projecting into the bay, and conſtructed exactly like ſome of the ſtairs on the river Thames. A few yards from this is another ſtage in deeper water, on which ſtands a ſmall more elevated hut; the firſt tenement is the largeſt, and contains fourteen cabins (ſome are leſſer) ſeven on a ſide, beſides a common hall. In the laſt the women ſit, ſome making mats, others pots out of the ductile clay, which they afterwards burn with dry graſs or bruſh wood; the women do moſt of the work; they often are ſeen with an axe pre⯑paring the timber for the ſtages, while the men indulge in in⯑dolence, or preparation for the chaſe of wild hogs. The mar⯑ried people, with their families, live apart from the batchelors in the greater houſes; the batchelors in thoſe on the end of the ſtage; ſuch is ſaid to be the caſe with the Battas on Sumatra, and the Moroots on Borneo. The frontiſpiece to Mr. Forreſt's book gives a full idea of theſe tenements, and the ſurrounding ſcenery, and in tab. 12. is a beautiful view of the entrance, with one of thoſe little round-headed button-ſhaped iſlands, covered with wood to the water edge, and which characteriſe the archi⯑pelagos of theſe parts of the Indian ſeas.

IN the inland part of the country is a race of men called Haraforas, HARAFORAS. who are a ſort of gardeners, and cultivate the plan⯑tanes, and ſome other eſculents; theſe they ſupply the Papuas with, by a certain tenure; for if a Papuan preſents a Harafora [209]with an axe or chopping knife, his lands and labor are ſubject to a tax for ever to the donor. If the Harafora loſes his axe, he is ſtill ſubject to the tax; if he breaks or wears it out the Papuan muſt ſupply him with another, or the tax ceaſes. The Haraforas wear long hair, but are Pagans like the Papuans. They live in trees, which they aſcend by a long notched pole, which they draw after them to prevent ſurpriſe.

I CAN give no account of the religious rites of either of theſe people. TOMBS. The Papuans form tombs of the rude coral rock; Mr. Forreſt ſaw one with the wooden figure of a child about eight years old, completely dreſſed; a real ſcull, with a wooden head, was placed in the upper part.

THEIR commerce is chiefly with the Chineſe; COMMERCE. from them they purchaſe their iron tools, chopping knives, and axes, blue and red baftas, China beads, plates, baſons, &c. The Chineſe carry back Miſory bark, which they get to the eaſtward of Dory, at a place called Warmaſine or Warapine, it is worth thirty dollars a pecul on Java. They trade alſo in ſlaves, ambergris, Suallo, or ſea ſlug, tortoiſe-ſhell, ſmall pearls, black Loeries, large red Loeries, birds of Paradiſe, and many kinds of dead birds which the Papuans have a particular way of drying. As to the Mi⯑ſory bark, the Chineſe carry it to the iſland of Java, and ſell it to the natives, who reduce it to powder, and rub their bodies with it, as the Gentoos on the Coromandel coaſt do with the ſandal wood.

AFTER this extract, let me obſerve how very prevalent is the infamous traſſic in our fellow creatures, for it reaches poſſibly to the remoteſt part of New Guinea. The man I mention at p. 34 of [210]this volume, engraven by Le Brun, was one of ſix ſeized on the coaſt of New Guinea in 1706, by the commander of the Vink, a Dutch ſhip, who brought them to Batavia, where they were treated with great humanity; it having been the deſign of the Dutch to ſend them back to their own country, in order to conci⯑liate the affections of the natives. The Papuans trade in their brother Papuans, and carry them to any chance cuſtomers they may meet with. Captain Forreſt met with a boat with only four men, two of which were ſlaves for ſale; each had round his neck a rattan collar, with a log of wood cut into the form of a ſugar loaf, and of five or ſix pound weight, pendant behind. Theſe were offered very cheap to the captain, but he declined the purchaſe. He ſeems to have been before provided, for he tells us ^* he bought a linguiſt at Yowl.

I AM reminded of the ornithology of New Guinea and the Papuan iſlands, by the curious birds, which make another article of commerce; nature here grows voluptuouſly rich in the forms of various of the feathered tribe which wanton in its ſpicy air. BIRDS OF PARADISE. The birds of Paradiſe, The grand Promerops, and a few other ſpecies, are diſtinguiſhed by ſome eccentricity of plu⯑mage. I ſhall continue my account of the former as the moſt eminent, and refer to p. 148 for the preface to the genus, and hiſtory of the firſt ſpecies. I ſhall reſume the ſubject with the Shague, SHAGUE. a ſmaller bird of Paradiſe ^†, differing from the former chiefly in ſize; it has all the characters of the common, but its colors are leſs bright; the back is of a greyiſh yellow, bill lead color.

[211]THIS inhabits the Papuan iſles only; a chain which extends from the ſouth end of Gilolo, to the weſt extremity of New Guinea. They never migrate, but rooſt on the loftieſt trees of the moſt mountanous parts of the country, and are likewiſe ſaid to have their king or leader. They are ſhot with blunt arrows by the natives of Mixoal; others ſay, that when the natives obſerve where they come to drink, they poiſon the water with the Cocculi Indici, which ſo ſtupifies them that they are caught readily. They love to feed on the fruit of the Tſhampedeh, which they pierce with their bills, and extract the kernel. The natives pre⯑ſerve them by drawing the entrails, and ſearing the inſide with a hot iron, after which they put them in the hollow of a bam⯑boo for their ſecurity. The Papuans call them Shag or Shague. They differ from the former in being reſidentiary birds, other⯑wiſe I might have been tempted to have joined this and the former as varieties. They likewiſe might clame the title of Manu-co Dewata, for like the preceding, they aſpire to the heavenly regions. A fable (not unlike part of that of the Phoe⯑nix) is related of this ſpecies, that when it finds its end approach⯑ing, it ſoars directly up to the ſun, till exhauſted with its flight, it falls dead upon the earth.

Magnificent; de Buffon, iii. 166. Pl. Enl. 631. Sonn. N. Guinée, MAGNIFICENT. 163. tab. 98. Latham, ii. 477. tab. xix; inhabits New Guinea; I ſhall not trouble the reader with deſcription, but refer to the beautiful figure given by Mr. Latham.

Creſted; Manucodiata cirrhata, Aldr. lib. xii. c. 25. p. 401; CRESTED. with a long black bill ſomewhat hooked; at the junction of the bill, the feathers were yellow; head, neck, and wings black; near [212]the nape of the neck a creſt compoſed of ſtiff yellow briſtles, rather than feathers, three inches high; length, to the end of the wings, eighteen inches: moſt probably an inhabitant of New Guinea, but ſeems unknown ſince the days of Aldro⯑vandus.

Gorget; GORGET.Latham, ii. 478. tab. xx. This was undeſcribed till Mr. Latham favored us with an account of it; he ſuppoſes it to be the ſame with one mentioned by captain Forreſt, p. 140, who ſays that the Alfoories, or inhabitants of the mountains in Mixoal, ſhoot theſe birds, and ſell them to the people of Tidore.

Superb; SUPERB.Sonn. N. Guinée, 157. tab. 96. De Buffon, iii. 169. Pl. Enl. 632. Latham, ii. 479. The Black, Forreſt, 139. An in⯑habitant of New Guinea, its hiſtory unknown. M. Sonnerat places a ſmall bird in its claws, ſo one may conclude it to be a rapacious ſpecies, but it is a moſt elegant kind; the long feathers ſpringing from the ſhoulder are beſt expreſſed in the figure given in Les Planches Enluminces: in Mr. Sonnerat they are left quieſcent.

Furcated; FURCATED.Latham, ii. 480. 2d paragraph. Lev. Mus. with the head wholly black; the wings had been cut off, but near their origin riſes a tuft, like thoſe of the preceding, on the upper part of the belly.

Six-wired; SIX-WIRED.L'oiſeaux de Paradis a gorge d'or; Sonn. N. Guinée, 158. tab. 97. Le Siſelet, ou manucode a ſix filets; de Buffon, iii. 171. Pl. Enl. 633. Latham, ii. 481. Size of a turtle. The long ſhaft⯑leſs feathers on each ſide of the neck, make it the moſt ſingular ſpecies of any we are acquainted with.

Damaſked blue green; DAMASKED BLUE GREEN.Latham, ii. 482. Sonnerat, 164. tab. 99. [213] Pl. Enl. 634. This ſpecies has none of the eccentric feathers of the others, yet each feather on the head and body appears curled at the edges. The color is that of damaſked ſteel, re⯑flecting blue, green, and purple. The feathers in the bird de⯑ſcribed by Mr. Sonnerat, lie quite cloſe on each other; length ſixteen inches.

Golden; Edw. 112. Latham, ii. 483. GOLDEN. This ſpecies is of a bril⯑liant gold color; throat of a velvet black; edge of the wings and tail black.

White; Forreſt, 140. Latham, index, p. 197. WHITE. Theſe are very uncommon; one is ſaid to be quite white, the other black and white: found only in the Papuan iſlands, eſpecially in Waggiou.

White-winged; Latham, vii. Supp. 92. Its general color is black; WHITE⯑WINGED. about the neck gloſſed with copper; primaries white, edged with black; the middle feathers of the tail twenty inches long, the exterior only ſeven.

I NOW paſs to another genus which produces ſpecies inferior only to the preceding. The Grand of Mr. Latham, ii. p. 695. GRAND PROMEROPS. Le grand Promerops de la Nouvelle Guinée; Sonn. Voy. p. 166. pl. 101. Pl. Enl. 639. Le grand Promerops a paremens friſès; Buf. Ois. vi. p. 472.

THE extravagancy of the plumage is admirably expreſſed in the figure referred to; the ſize is that of a middle ſized pigeon; the tail is moſt enormous; the middle feathers being two feet four inches long.

THE rayed is the other ſpecies; New Guinea, brown; Latham ii. 694. Le Promerops brun de la Nouvelle Guinée; Sonn. Voy. 164. tab. 100. Le Promerops brun a ventre rayèe; Buf. Ois. vi. p. 471. [214]pl. 22. Promerops de la Nouvelle Guinée; Pl. Enl. 638. The tail of this ſpecies is alſo long, but far inferior to that of the other, which is a chef d'oeuvre of nature in its kind.

THESE birds being peculiar to the land of Papua or New Guinea, I have, out of all ſyſtem, began with them. I now re⯑ſume the regular order, and go on with the firſt proper genus of the liſt.

New Guinea; PARROT. Sonnerat, 174. tab. 108. Latham, i. 296: with upper mandible pale yellow, lower black; head, neck, breaſt, coverts of wings, and the tail of a bright graſs green; primaries of an indigo color, inner coverts carmine: inhabits New Guinea.

Papuan Loeri; Latham, i. 215. Sonn. N. Guinće, iii. 175: with red bill and legs; head, neck, and breaſt of a lively carmine color. On the hind part of the head is an oblong tranſverſe ſpot, of a moſt ſtriking blue above, and violet black beneath; on the middle of the neck behind is another of a violet black; wings ſhort, and of a gay green; back, between the ſhoulders, of the ſame color; the reſt of the back is ornamented with a ſtripe of bright blue quite to the tail, bounded on each ſide by lively red. On each ſide of the breaſt, and beneath the thighs, is a ſpot of bright yellow; upper part of the belly and vent feathers red; middle of the belly blue. The tail is for two thirds of its length green, lower part yellow: two of the middle feathers exceed the others greatly in length. This alſo is a native of the Papuan iſles.

Great-billed Loeri; de Buffon, vi. 122. Pl. Enl. 713. Latham, i. 178: with a bill of a blood red, moſt diſproportionably large; head blue; neck of a bright green, gloſſed with gold; back of [215]a ſea blue; breaſt and belly yellow, ſhaded with green; coverts [...] wings black, edged with yellow; primaries gloſſed with ſky blue and green; tail azure, tipt with yellow; length above fourteen inches. Inhabits New Guinea.

Black Loeri; Latham, i. 221. Sonnerat, 175. tab. 110: with a duſky bill; whole plumage black, with the gloſs of metallic blue, and the appearance of velvet; tail below of a ſordid green; legs duſky. Inhabits New Guinea and the Papuan iſles.

Gueby Loeri; Latham, i. 219. Pl. Enl. 684. Sonnerat, 174. tab. 109: with a pale red bill; head, neck, breaſt, belly, vent, and middle of the back rich ſcarlet; behind each eye an oblique ſtroke of black; breaſt, hind part of neck, and the belly, croſſed with ſhort ſemilunar ſpots of dark violet; coverts of wings ſcarlet; the lower irregularly ſpotted with black; primaries and ſecondaries black, varied with a few red ſpots; a great trian⯑gular ſpot of dark violet marks the farther parts of the wings about the ſcapulars, and covers the adjacent part of the back; tail of a copper color; length about nine inches. Inhabits Gueby, between Gilolo and New Guinea.

Gilolo Loeri; Latham, i. 274. Sonnerat, 177. tab. 112. Pl. Enl. 519: with the whole plumage ſcarlet, except the firſt primaries, and the ends of the others, which are black; on the coverts are two blue ſpots, and on the vent another; tail of a ſine carmine, the end cheſnut. Inhabits Gilolo.

IT may be obſerved that the name of Loeris is given to ſuch parrots as have the bill weaker, leſs crooked, and more ſharp pointed than the others; which have a more lively look, greater alacrity and ſuddenneſs in their movements; their voice more [216]piercing, and the note having ſome ſimilitude to the word Lori [...] they learn to ſpeak with amazing facility, and will repeat words even at the firſt hearing. They are alſo to an individual natives of the Molucca iſles or New Guinea.

New Guinea CROW.; Dampier's Voy. iii. 187; with the outſide of the feathers black, their inſides white; in ſize and form reſembling the Engliſh crows, and the white color imperceptible, unleſs the feathers are examined. Inhabits Pulo Sabuda, an iſle on the coaſt of New Guinea.

Barred; JACKDAW. Choucas de la Nouvelle Guinée; de Buffon, iii. 80. Pl. Enl. 629. Latham, i. 381: with a ſtrong black bill; from the forehead a black ſtroke paſſes beneath, and beyond each eye; head, neck, and upper part of back cinereous; breaſt, belly, lower part of back, and rump, white barred with black; tail, wings, and legs black; length near thirteen inches. Inhabits New Guinea; has the appearance of a Jackdaw.

Grey; Le choucari de la N. Guinée; de Buffon, iii. 81. Pl. Enl. 630: with a ſmall black ſpot beginning at the bill, and ſurround⯑ing the eyes; head, neck, wings, back, and tail of a deep cine⯑reous grey, declining into dirty white on the breaſt and belly; legs cinereous; length above eleven inches: found in New Guinea.

Pied ROLLER.; Latham, i. 415. Pl. Enl. 628. The bill ſtrong and thick; head, neck, and upper part of the back black; primaries and tail black, and moſt remote tertial; the exterior feathers of the laſt tipt with white; reſt of the plumage white; length thirteen inches.

[217] Great Brown; has been mentioned at p. 124, KING-FISHER. among the birds of New Holland.

The Spotted; Sonnerat, 171. tab. 107; or the New Guinea, Latham, ii. 614; is moſt remarkable in its colors, being black, univerſally marked on head, back, wings, and tail, with ſmall round ſpots of white; and on the neck, breaſt, and belly, with ſhort downward ſtreaks of the ſame color. On the ſides of the cheek is a large elegant pear-ſhaped white ſpot, and be⯑neath that, another exactly circular. This ſpecies is as large as a crow.

New Guinea; Latham, iv. 789. Sonnerat, 170. tab. 105. QUAIL. This is a dwarf ſpecies, of half the ſize of the Engliſh Quail; color brown; coverts of the wings edged with dirty yellow; primaries black.

Great crowned; Latham, iv. 620. Edw. 338. PIGEON. Columba Coro⯑nata; Lin. 282. Pl. Enl. 118. Sonnerat, 169. tab. 104. The head of this ſpecies is adorned with a vaſt ſuperb circular creſt of fea⯑thers, ſtanding erect, and compoſed of looſe unconnected webs of a fine pale bluiſh aſh; the eyes lodged in a ſhuttle-ſhaped band of black; the leſſer coverts of the wings, and upper part of the back of a dark reddiſh purple; the firſt greater coverts white, edged with red. All the reſt of the plumage, wings, and tail, of the color of the creſt.

THIS is the giant of the kind, MANNERS. being equal in ſize to a com⯑mon turkey. It has been miſnamed a pheaſant, but beſides the generical marks, it has the manners of a pigeon, billing, inflat⯑ing its breaſt, and cooing; but the laſt (as might be expected from the bulk) is ſo ſonorous, as to approach, when in fulneſs [218]of love, the ſound of bellowing; at which ſeaſon it brings its head to its breaſt, and emits its amorous note. They ſoon grow tame, and take to the food which is placed before them; they are pugnacious, and will ſtrike a hard blow with their wings, which are armed with a horny excreſcence. It is ſaid that they are kept in the Eaſt Indies in the court yards as domeſtic poultry. They have been brought alive to France, where the female has formed its neſt in a tree in the Menagery, and laid eggs, but they never produced young. They breed in their native country on the higheſt trees, and lay a very large egg. Our authority, Dampier, ſaw a bird of this kind ſhot on the coaſt of New Guinea as big as the largeſt dunghill cock. M. Bougainville met with them in the ſame country; they alarmed his crew by the loud⯑neſs of their note, who miſtook it for a ſavage roaring of the natives. It is a ſpecies very local, confined to New Guinea, Pulo, Sabuda, a ſmall iſle off the ſame country, and Tomoguy another. The Molucca people call them Mulutu, the Papuas Manipi. M. Sonnerat gives them the name of Goura; the Dutch ſtile it the Kroon vogel or Crown bird. Sonnerat denies that theſe birds are natives of Banda, and aſſerts that they are only brought there, and purchaſed by the Dutch.

Papuan; Latham, iv. 532. Pl. Enl. 707. The head and whole upper part of the body, wings, and tail black, the lower white, with an orange ſpot on the middle of the belly.

New Guinea HERON.; Latham, v. 71. Pl. Enl. 926. The whole of this ſpecies is black. Length only ten inches.

Patagonian; PINGUIN. Latham, vi. 563. Pl. Enl. 975; Sonnerat, 179. tab. 113; Phil. Tranſ. lviii. 91. tab. 5; Gen. Birds, p. 66. tab. 14. [219]I refer the reader to the Philoſophical Tranſactions for my ac⯑count of this gigantic ſpecies. The figure there is bad, taken from an ill-ſtuffed ſkin; that in my Genera of Birds excellent, done from one taken from the life by Doctor Forſter. This ſpe⯑cies extends from near the equator to the moſt frozen regions of the ſouth.

Collared; Latham, vi. 571; Sonnerat, 181. tab. 114. This ſpecies has the neck, and all the upper part of the body black; in front of the neck is a collar of white, reaching only half round; the eyes ſurrounded with a naked ſkin of blood red; breaſt and belly white: length eighteen inches.

Papuan; Latham, vi. 565; Sonnerat, 181. tab. 115. The head and whole upper part of the body black; the hind part of the head marked with a white ſpot; breaſt and belly white: length two feet and a half.

I WILL conclude this incomplete liſt by ſaying, that the cir⯑cumambient ſeas of New Guinea, as well as the Spicy Sea, have all the pelagic birds of the tropical regions, PELAGIC BIRDS. TROPIC BIRDS. beſides thoſe which wander within them from the north and from the ſouth. Tropic birds are here ſeen hovering at amazing heights, or darting on the flying fiſhes, driven out of their element by the purſuit of the Bonito, Albicore, and other of their congenial enemies; ſometimes reſting on the water, or on the backs of the ſleeping tortoiſes, ſtupidly ſuffering themſelves to be taken by the navigators who happen to paſs by. They breed in ſeveral places within the Tropics, in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, both on the ground, and in trees along with the frigates, and in ſuch numbers, that the [220]trees are loaden with theſe pictureſque birds in a moſt ſingular manner.

THE frigate birds appear gliding in the air at times at ſtu⯑pendous heights, FRIGATE. and often making the clouds their place of reſt, ſuſtaining themſelves long motionleſs on their vaſt expanſe of wing. Then, from a ſituation ſo lofty as to render them ſcarcely viſible, will, by virtue of their penetrating eyes, ſee and dart down on a fiſh with aſtoniſhing rapidity, and with their prey as ſuddenly regain their former aerial ſituation. Gulls are often their at⯑tendants, and diſpute the booty with them.

Petrels of different kinds are ſeen ſkimming the ſurface; PETRELS. ſome are accuſtomed to ſnatch the fiſhes as they paſs along; others, collected in multitudes, ſuddenly dart in concert beneath the water for their food, riſe again, and repeat their exerciſes in long ſucceſſion.

Pelecans, PELECANS. and the duller Corvorants, keep near to the ſhores. The Pelecans are often ſeen in the air ſhifting from place to place; their ſnowy color, and vaſt bulk of body, and expanſe of wing, render them aſtoniſhing objects; they fly, like wild geeſe, in wedge-ſhaped phalanxes, and afford a moſt amuſing variety in the animated atmoſphere.

THE fin-winged Pinguins keep erect on the ſhore, PINGUINS. till, com⯑pelled by hunger, they are driven in ſearch of food into the ſea. Their rapid diving is among the wonders; they are ſeen be⯑neath the tranſparent waves darting after their prey with all the ſwiftneſs of the Albicore or Bonito.

WATER ſpouts are phaenomena moſt frequent in theſe ſeas; WATER SPOUTS. [221]they appear hanging out of the clouds in a funnel ſhape, the baſe uppermoſt, but at times aſſume different forms. Let me ſpeak to the eyes, by referring to Phil. Tranſ. Abridg. ii. 104. tab. p. 164; vol. iv. part 2d, p. 103. tab. 1; vol. viii. 655. tab. 6; to Gentil's Voy. ii. tab. 9; but above all, to Thevenot, Engl. Tranſ. folio, p. 185, in which their ſhapes and progreſs are variouſly re⯑preſented, either riſing in a thick column from the ſea, or fal⯑ling from the clouds, to the terror of the mariners, who expect to be overwhelmed by the quantity and weight of water, an accident that never has been well proved to have happened. Dampier, who was moſt converſant in maritime phaenomena of any man in his, or perhaps any other time, confeſſes he never knew of any damage done by a water ſpout except once ^*; and that appears to have been by the cauſe, and not by the ſpout itſelf, which fell into the ſea, near the ſhip, with a vaſt noiſe and agitation of the water: the mizen maſt, fore maſt, and boltſprit were ſnapped ſhort off; but this injury aroſe entirely from the rage of the whirlwind which formed the ſpout: its firſt blaſt blew the ſhip all along on one ſide, and almoſt overſet her; then ſuddenly whirling round with the ſame fury, very nearly overſet her on the contrary ſide. Sailors are always full of terrors at the appearance of ſpouts; they diſcharge cannon into them, in order to break and make them fall at a diſtance, but never with effect. The experienced Dampier concludes with ſaying, "that the fright was always the greateſt harm."

I NOW reſume the element of earth. Off the harbor of Dory extends the iſland of Manaſwary; it is about five miles in com⯑paſs, [222]and full of trees. Here Captain Forreſt accompliſhed the end of his miſſion; he found on it abundance of nutmeg trees ^*, and paid five pieces of baftas, his promiſed reward, to any perſon who diſcovered them. The fruit was pendent on the old trees, and the young plants growing under their ſhade. He took up above a hundred, put them into baſkets with earth round them, and then haſtened on his return to Balambangan.

CAPTAIN FORREST finiſhed his voyage at port Manſingham, PORT OF MANSINGHAM. at a very ſmall diſtance from Dory harbor. The land from that port recedes deeply to the ſouth, and forms a large bay, gra⯑dually narrowing to the bottom. In Mr. Arrowſmith's map the lower part is under the ſuſpicion of being an iſland; it is marked on each ſide with double dotted lines, expreſſive of ſtreights, which opens ſoutherly towards the Arrou iſles. The promon⯑tory of Dory and Geetvinks Point are the two horns of this bay. Long Iſland lies at a ſmall diſtance to the north of Geetvinks Point; LONG ISLAND. SCHOUTENS'. and in Lat. 0° 46′ S. is Schouten's, named in honor of the great circumnavigator who diſcovered it in 1616. It is about twenty leagues in length, high and fertile, populous, and the inhabitants an active race. The coaſt extends far to the eaſt. Off it is a ſucceſſion of ſmall iſles, ſeveral of them volcanic, and called by Schouten, Vulcans, and by Dampier, burning iſles. Jamna and Moa are other ſmall iſlands, JAMNA AND MOA well inhabited, and abounding with cocoa nuts and various fruits. Captain Forreſt gives us two prints repreſenting the natives and their canoes: their hair is flatted on the top of the head; ſome decorate it with a feather, and others bind a wreath round their temples [223]and head. They wear great ear-rings, and bones ſtuck through their ears and noſtrils. Men women and children go armed with bows and arrows.

AFTER proceeding along the coaſt farther eaſtward, the diſ⯑coveries of our famous navigator Dampier thicken on us; an archipelago appears with the Crown Iſland, that of Sir Robert Rich, another long iſland, Sir George Rooke's, and ſeveral others, SIR G [...] ROOKE many of which were active volcanoes.

IN Lat. 1° 18′ S. Dampier diſcovered a new land to the north, divided from New Guinea by a ſtreight from ſix to ſeven leagues wide, each ſide marked by a lofty cape; to one he gave the name of King William's, to that on the north ſide Cape Anne, and within each was a very high mountain, ſloping gradually to the ſea; the mountains and lower lands finely cloathed with trees, intermixed with beautiful Savannas of the moſt flouriſhing verdure. NEW BRITAIN. This northern land he named New Britain.

WE will follow his track as far as will prove it to be an iſland, or poſſibly more than one. Let me obſerve, that Dampier's approach was the reverſe from that which we now take. In Lat. 6° 10′ ſouth, he put into a bay named by him Port Montagu. PORT MONTAGU. The country was mountanous, wooded, full of rich vallies and pleaſant ſtreams of freſh water. The trees were of various kinds, ſome in flower, others bore berries, and others large fruits, and cocoa palms in abundance, but the nuts were ſmall; here were alſo yams, and other good eſculent roots, and ginger. The quadrupeds were hogs and dogs; poſſibly it was from hence that the South Sea iſles were ſtocked with thoſe animals, [224]being the neareſt place they could be ſupplied from. Among the birds were parrots, cockatoos, pigeons, crows, and abun⯑dance of other ſpecies. There was alſo fiſh in plenty. How unfortunate were our convicts, that this rich iſland was not thought of as the place of their involuntary retreat.

A VERY little to the north of Montagu Bay was diſcovered, in 1767, another ſtreight, of ſmall breadth, but which ſevers New Britain into two iſlands, leaving the northern the largeſt. It was not Dampier's fortune to diſcover it; he paſſed it by, and, in Lat. 5° 25′ ſouth, CAPE ORFORD. ſaw a headland he named Cape Orford. The country continued very mountanous, full of people; the men armed with lances, their head gay with feathers; the women had no ſort of ornaments, and nothing to hide their nakedneſs except a bunch of green leaves behind and before. There were tame hogs in great abundance, which ran about near the hovels of the natives.

WITHIN cape Orford was an inlet, which Dampier ſuppoſing to be a great bay, named by him that of St. George, and a cape on the northern ſide, in Lat. 5° ſouth, Long. 152° 19′ eaſt, corre⯑ſpondent to cape Orford, CAPE ST. GEORGE. he called cape St. George. Theſe two headlands proved the diſtinguiſhing mark of the entrance into a ſtreight, which divided New Britain into a ſecond iſland. This diſcovery was made by that able officer Captain Carteret, Sep⯑tember 9th 1767, on his diſaſtrous return from the South Seas. When he got into St. George's bay, he found ſo ſtrong a current to the north-weſt, that he could not return to purſue Dampier's track. Captain Carteret, ſoon after he doubled cape St. George, met with ſeveral iſlands in the ſouthern ſide of the ſtreights; [225]the neareſt, about three leagues from the cape, he named Wallis's, which lay before an harbor he called Gower's. WALLIS'S ISLE. The iſland was lofty, well wooded, and inhabited; farther on were two coves, with freſh water rivers falling into their bottom. About four leagues from Wallis's iſle, ſtill to the weſt, was a good harbor, on which was beſtowed the reſpectable name of the diſ⯑coverer; acroſs it lay Cocoa-nut iſle. On this coaſt were trees of enormous growth, all the kinds of palms, the betel tree, aloes, bamboos, rattans, a fruit the ſailors call a Jamaica plumb, and probably many of the tropical fruits and plants; he alſo found the nutmeg tree in plenty; poſſibly this place is its moſt remote ſituation to the north.

THE country abounded with land birds, ſeemingly the ſame with thoſe of New Britain; among them was a large black bird, that made a noiſe like the barking of a dog, which I ſuppoſe to have been a Buceros.

MR. Carteret purſued his own diſcovery, and ſailed directly weſtward. NEW IRELAND. He gave the name of New Ireland to the iſland on the northern ſide, and diſtinguiſhed three capes on the ſouthern by the names of Buller, Palliſer, and Stephens. CAPE STEPHENS. Between cape Palliſer and cape Stephens, is an iſland, to which Mr. Carteret gave the name of the Duke of York's, quite level, deliciouſly cloathed with lofty woods in the inland parts, and near the ſhore planted with cocoa groves, intermixed with the houſes of the iſlanders.

TO the eaſt of cape Stephens, is in mid-channel an iſle he called the iſle of Man. Cape Stephens is the ſuppoſed moſt ex⯑treme weſtern point of New Britain; all that ſide, as far as cape [226] Glouceſter, ſtill remains undiſcovered. A little to the ſouth of cape Stephens are three ſingular hills, the Mother and Daugh⯑ters, and behind them a vaſt volume of ſmoke aroſe, out of one of the numerous volcanic hills of the country. The land, like the reſt of New Britain, was very lofty and wooded, with many clear ſpots, the ſigns of plantations, and frequent fires, the marks of inhabitants. The general breadth of theſe ſtreights are about fifteen leagues ^*; no bottom was found with a line of a hundred and forty fathoms. Captain Carteret modeſtly declined giving his own name to this important diſcovery, but called it St. George's channel; ST. GEORGE'S CHANNEL. the ſtreights properly end at cape Ste⯑phens. As ſoon as that promontory is paſſed, there is one ex⯑panſe of ſea, probably quite to New Guinea, but the name of St. George's channel is continued along the ſhores of New Ireland, to its weſtern extremity, where it is broken into a ſmaller iſle, named by our navigator Hanover, and the extreme point, in Lat. 2° 29′ ſouth, Long. 148° 27′ eaſt, queen Charlotte's foreland; the approach to it is through a narrow paſſage, between an iſle called Sandwich, and New Ireland. The land of Hanover iſle is high, finely covered with trees, mixed with plantations, exhi⯑biting a moſt beautiful landſcape.

THE whole length of St. George's channel, LENGTH OF. from cape St. George to queen Charlotte's foreland, is three hundred miles; that of New Ireland, from cape St. George to cape Biron, the weſtern extremity, is two hundred and forty miles; cape Biron is poſſibly the ſame with that we ſee in Dampier's map under the name of cape Solomaſwar. As to the form of New Ireland, [227]it is extremely narrow the whole way; the greateſt part runs north-weſt, but towards the eaſt end, reverts and bends like a hook to the ſouth, terminating in cape St. George.

BEYOND theſe was a group of ſmall iſles Mr. Carteret named the Admiralty, in Lat. 2° 18′ ſouth, Long. 146° 44′ eaſt. By the views of them they appear leſs elevated than Hanover iſle, and we may collect, from the multitudes of canoes that ſallied out to attack our commander, that they muſt be very populous; they were manned with people nearly black, with woolly heads. The natives were very hoſtile, NATIVES. and flung with great force lances headed with flint; they chewed betel, went quite naked, but their bodies were ornamented with ſhells, their faces ſtreaked with white, and their heads as finely powdered with white powder as an Engliſh beau ready for a Bal parè. One of their canoes, apparently the leaſt, was taken, yet it mea⯑ſured full fifty feet in length. In it were ſpecimens of their arts, ſuch as earthen pots, in which they dreſſed their victuals, and a quantity of matting which ſerved for ſails and awnings; there were beſides cocoa nuts, and other fruits unknown to our people.

SOME of the canoes of New Ireland were ninety feet long, CANOES. formed out of a ſingle tree; a proof of the vigorous growth of timber in this country; they were manned by three and thirty men, black and woolly headed, but they had not the thick lip or flat noſe; in ornaments and powdering they reſembled the for⯑mer; ſome had cock's feathers in their heads, a proof that they did not want poultry. They had lances by way of arms, and cord⯑age and fiſhing nets very ſkilfully manufactured; all this coun⯑try [228]is probably well inhabited, and very fertile in trees and fruits; the ſea abounding in turtle and fiſh. The very diſtreſſed ſtate of Captain Carteret and his crew, is the ſad but true apo⯑logy for our wanting, from his able pen, a fuller account of this intereſting iſland.

ON July 5th 1768, M. Bougainville anchored in the ſame bay as Captain Carteret did, and named it Port Praſlin. He obſerved here the pepper plant, and found wild hogs, numbers of birds, and among others the great crowned pigeon; variety of ſnakes, ſcorpions, and the ſingular inſect the walking leaf.

AMONG the ſerpents was the ſea ſnake, of that ſpecies which, at p. 131, is ſuſpected to have been poiſonous; this was verified here. A ſailor was bitten as he was hawling the Seine, he was very ſoon affected with violent pains all over his body; his ſide (the part on which he received the wound) became livid, and ſwelled greatly, the blood taken from him appeared diſſolved: he ſuffered much for five or ſix hours; at length, by the aſſiſtance of the Venice treacle, or Theriaca Andromachi, with flower de luce water, he fell into a violent perſpiration, and was quite cured ^*. The natives of Otaheite aſſert that the bite is mortal.

Dampier coaſted the whole northern ſide. Captain Carteret, in his approach to the eaſtern end, fell in with a group of little iſles, to which he gave the name of the nine iſles. He paſſed between two larger, the more ſouthern he called Lord Anſon's; the more northern, Sir Charles Hardy's, in Lat. 4° 50′ ſouth, was flat, verdant, and appeared well inhabited. He ſoon after ſaw St. John's iſle, ST. JOHN's ISLAND, &c. diſcovered by Schouten, and ſeen by Dampier. [229]It is nine or ten leagues round, riſes into high hummocks full of lofty trees, with plantations and groves near the ſhores, and ſeemingly very populous. We now fall in with Dampier, with cape St. Mary's, in Lat. 5° 2′ ſouth. The country was mounta⯑nous, high, and wooded, with many points of land running into the ſea, forming between them as many fine bays. Here a man of large ſize approached the ſhip, and ſpoke a language different from thoſe Dampier had before ſeen. Proceeding north-weſt⯑ward, the whole extent of New Ireland, or the coaſt oppoſite to St. George's channel (afterwards traced by Captain Carteret) ap⯑pears before us. At ſome diſtance from it is a chain of iſles, of which St. John's may be deemed one. They had been all named by the Dutch. Antony Cave's is lofty. GERARD DENNIS's. Gerard Dennis's is the next, fourteen or fifteen leagues in circumference; high, wooded, and mountanous, thick ſet with plantations, and full of cocoa trees. The ſhape was irregular, full of points, forming ſandy bays; the ground cleared for plantations, and the ſoil of a browniſh red color. The next iſland, named Wiſhart's, WISHART'S. reſembled the preceding. Dampier alſo diſcovered two other iſlands ſome⯑what farther to the weſt: One, ten leagues long, he named Ma⯑thias; like many others, mountanous and woody, mixed with Savannas, and cleared land; and near that a low and plain iſland, cloathed with tall and large trees, as cloſe to each other as they could ſtand. This he called the ſqually, from the violent gales he met with off the coaſt.

IN reſpect to the north ſhore of New Ireland, I find that our navigator attempted to touch at only one place, which he named Slinger's bay. This country ſeems prodigiouſly populous; SLINGER'S BAY. his [230]ſhip was ſurrounded with prows filled with men, who aſſaulted him with ſtones flung out of engines; and the ſhores were lined with the natives from end to end. NATIVES. All the inhabitants of this, and the adjacent iſles, were a warlike race, hoſtile to ſtrangers, and very ſuſpicious. They were tall, even above the ſize of the common race of men, ſtrong, and well made, had curled ſhort hair, often ſhaved in different forms, and ſtained with white, red, and yellow; their heads were round faces broad; they had great bottle noſes, and ſubſtances ſtuck through the griſtle, paſſing from cheek to cheek. Their weapons were lances, ſwords, ſlings, and bows and arrows; their ſpeech clear and diſ⯑tinct. All theſe are the ſame kind of people, from the remoteſt of the Papuan iſles to this iſland; varying a little in the dreſſing of their hair, and other trifling matters.

THEIR prows were very neatly built, PROWS. with out-riggers on one ſide; the head and ſtern elevated, and moſt ingeniouſly carved with figures of fiſh, fowl, and on one was a man's head, done moſt ſurpriſingly well, conſidering the rude in⯑ſtruments of ſtone they had to work with; for they ſeemed ignorant of the uſes of iron; their paddles were very neat; and they made their way with amazing ſwiftneſs through the water.

A VERY legendary tale is told, in L'Hiſtoire de Navigations aux Terres Auſtrales ^*, reſpecting the origin of the Negro race in theſe Aſiatic iſles, which is firſt met with in ſome of the Manillas, continued through the Papuan iſles and New Guinea, and even through New Holland. I have mentioned them before in my [231]account of the Manillas, and if I recollect right, one of theſe iſlands is called the iſle of Negroes, from its being inhabited by a curled headed people.

I NOW return from cape Biron, or Solomaſwar, taking a courſe due ſouth, along the weſtern coaſts of the iſles of New Britain. Near the extreme weſtern part of the fartheſt is an headland, called by Dampier, Cape Glouceſter. At a ſmall diſtance to the weſt is a little iſland, which at the time our navigator paſſed it, was a raging volcano. It flung up columns of flame twenty or thirty yards high, attended with a noiſe like thunder, followed by an overflowing of red-hot lava, which ran down the ſides of the mountain till it reached the ſea. This continued two days and nights, or as long as this tremendous phaeno⯑menon continued in ſight.

I NOW repaſs Dampier's ſtreights eaſtward, and turn to the ſouth. In Mr. Arrowſmith's excellent map of the world, New Guinea is continued by dotted lines, farther to the eaſt; and on the ſouth ſide, near the extremity of that line, the uncertainty is taken away by a tract of land diſcovered by M. de Bougainville in 1768, which he named La Louiſiade, and the extreme eaſtern point Le Cap de la Deliverance, in memory of his narrow eſcape from a violent tempeſt. The great bay which he calls Le Golfe de la Louiſiade is juſt to the ſouth of the cape. Such a confuſion, occaſioned by the fears and diſtreſſes of the great French navigator, is ſo apparent in this part of his voyage, that nothing more can be collected reſpecting this portion of New Guinea.

[232]WE muſt therefore ſteer along another dotted line till we arrive at Prince of Wales's iſlands, PRINCE OF WALES'S ISLES. Lat. 10° 33′ ſouth, Long. 142° eaſt. The largeſt is long and narrow, and lies parallel with the coaſt. This part of the ſea between New Guinea and New Hol⯑land is called Torres's ſtreights, TORRES'S STREIGHTS. for having been paſſed in 1606 by Don Baes de Torres, admiral under Fernandez Quiros; corre⯑ſpondent to them, beyond another ſet of iſlands, named alſo the Prince of Wales's, is the Endeavour ſtreight, paſſed, as I have before mentioned, by our boaſted Cook.

IN proceeding along the coaſts, I find names of places, but nothing more. Captain Cook, on his quitting the coaſt of New Holland, croſſed the intervening water, and touched in Lat. 6° 15′ at a place on this ſide of New Guinea, to which he has neither left a name, nor yet even the mark of landing in his chart. We are told that it lay ſixty-five leagues to the north-eaſt of Waelche cape. The country was low, but covered with ſuch a luxuriancy of wood and herbage as ſcarcely can be conceived; and among them ſuch numbers of aromatic trees, as perfumed the air even at a diſtance from ſhore. The natives were hoſtile, went quite naked, and had much the appearance of the New Hollanders. They ſhouted defiance, and from a ſhort ſtick or hollow cane they ſwung in their hands, FIRE-ARMS. was emitted flaſhes of fire, exactly like the effect of gunpowder; theſe exploſions were innocent, nor could our navigators ever learn the cauſe. After each explo⯑ſion, which was done by a ſingle man, his companions flung their bearded darts. All that we learn farther of this country is, that it produced ſine cocoa-nuts, plantanes, and bread fruit.

[233]CAPE Waelche or Walſh, the moſt weſtern point of this coaſt, CAPE WAELCHE. lies in Lat. 8° 32′ ſouth, Long. 137° eaſt. From hence the land runs ſtrait, inclining to the north-eaſt, when it takes another turn towards the north-weſt. The ſpace between the trendings is occupied by the tract, marked in Mr. Arrowſmith's map as pervious by two ſtreights. The Arrou iſles lie tranſ⯑verſe, at ſome diſtance from this part of New Guinea.

FARTHER to the north-weſt, nearly parallel to the end of Ceram, is Freſhwater bay, in Lat. 1° 33′ ſouth. This was viſited by Dampier in 1699. The country was wooded and mounta⯑nous, like the other parts of New Guinea, and the trees of great ſize; here his people killed one of thoſe magnificent pigeons called the crowned. The bay received its name from the plenty of freſh water; and another, a little farther north, was called Mackerel bay, from the great quantity of that fiſh, MACKEREL BAY. or one reſem⯑bling it, which was taken there.

OPPOSITE to this bay, in Lat. 2° 43′ ſouth, is Pulo Sabuda, PULO SABUDA. a lofty iſland, about three leagues long and two broad, not far from the coaſt of New Guinea; it is in general rocky, but ſo mixed with rich yellow and black ſoil, as to be productive of many of the tropical fruits and trees. The ſago tree and the Jacca are found there. The natives gave Dampier two or three nutmegs, ſeemingly freſh gathered; but he could not tell whe⯑ther they were the produce of the iſle or of New Guinea. The inhabitants do not ſeem to be aboriginal. They are tawny, have long black hair, and differ little from the Mindanayans, and the people of the other eaſtern iſles; the women wear a callico co⯑vering; [234]the men go almoſt naked, and are very ſkilful in ſtriking fiſh; they have great boats in which they often viſit New Guinea, where they procure ſlaves, beautiful parrots, &c. which they carry to Goram, and exchange for callicoes. They keep many of the poor Papuans for their own uſe to do the laborious work. This iſland has the ſame birds as the main land, and bats of an enormous ſize.

I CANNOT quit this part of the coaſt without mentioning a ſingular communication made to Captain Forreſt (p. 149.) by the natives of Eſſ-be in the iſland of Mixoal, that on the coaſt of New Guinca, not far from a gulph about a day's ſail from Wanim or Onin, a place about twenty leagues from the north⯑eaſt of the iſle of Goram, was a ſet of people who wore large turbans. He imagines them to have been the poſterity of a colony of Arabs. ARABS. If this is true, their diſcovery will be juſt as important to the world as that of the race of Owen Gwynedd, long loſt to the Britons, till it has been lately credited that they ſtill exiſt in America, under the title of Padoucas or Welſh In⯑dians.

THAT the weſtern ſide of New Guinea (probably all parts, PLENTY OF NUTMEGS. if properly examined) abound with nutmeg trees, is very certain. A Portugueſe ſhip, which was forced by a ſtorm from its anchor⯑age at Timor, was driven to this coaſt, and there anchored in order to repair the damage ſhe had received. The captain, during the interval, procured a ſufficient loading of nutmegs, with which he ſailed directly to Macao, and ſold them, without ever return⯑ing to his former place of deſtination.

[235]FROM Mackerel bay, the coaſt trends to the north-weſt as far as the ſtreights of Galowa and Salwatty iſland. From thence it turns to the north-eaſt, terminating at the Cape of Good Hope. Thus have I performed the circuit of the great iſland, and con⯑cluded this the laſt great labor of my life.

DOWNING, OCTOBER 27, 1792.