CHAPTER I.

EXPEDITIONS IN THE MOLUCCA AND JAVA SEAS.

Outward Voyage.—Tristan D'Acunha.—English Settlement.—Expedition in the Molucca Seas.—Voyage to Palembang and Banka.—Fidelity of Javanese Seamen.—Expedition to Macassar.—Particulars concerning the Macassar War.

Asan introduction to the narrative, I will communicate to the reader a short account of my outward voyage to India, and of the various expeditions in which I was engaged previous to undertaking the voyage to the eastern parts of the Indian Archipelago, which forms the subject of this volume.

In January 1817, I was appointed by the Minister of Marine to the corvetteVenus, Commander B.W.A. Van Schuler, then lying in the Niewe Diep, ready for sea on a voyage to Batavia. On the 28th of the same month we sailed, under a salute of the guns, and having sent away the pilot with parting letters to our friends, we stood out to sea, the shores of our beloved country soon fading from view.

Remarkable events seldom occurring during the outward voyage, a few words will suffice to give an account of our proceedings. In the month of April we arrived off Tristan D'Acunha, and having espied a number of huts on the shores of a bay on the north side of the island, we stood towards them, and anchored in twenty-five fathoms, tolerably close to the land. When viewed from a distance the island has the appearance of a single high mountain, the sides rising abruptly out of the sea. The bay in which we anchored lies open to the sea, and therefore can afford no shelter to vessels. Its shores were steep and lined with alternate patches of sand and rock, against which the sea beat with great violence. The snow-white foam of the surf, glittering in the sun-beams, contrasted strikingly with the soft green of the uplands; the charming prospect this affordedbeing embellished by a beautiful waterfall tumbling into the sea from the hills above.

The English establishment, which had been fixed here a short time previous to our visit, consisted of seventy-four men, with their wives, under the command of Major Kloete, the settlement being a dependance of the Cape of Good Hope. It had already made great progress, agriculture being carefully attended to; and among other vegetables we were delighted to find an abundance of excellent potatoes. The industrious and orderly habits of these settlers, coupled with their civility towards strangers, of which we had evidence in the friendly reception we met with, entitled them to every praise. This settlement, however, now no longer exists.

After our departure from Tristan D'Acunha we encountered a severe gale, in which we lost two topmasts, the foremast and bowsprit. Lieutenant Vendoren with seven seamen also fell overboard, and the former only was saved. On the 29th of June we arrived at Batavia, and after a short stay there, departed for the populous town of Sourabaya to refit our damaged vessel.

The first expedition in which we were engaged was directed against Ceram and Sapanua, where some serious disturbances had taken place. Onthe 22nd of February 1818 we obtained a decided victory over the Sultan Muda of Batjoli in the Moluccas, for which I believe, our commander, M. Van Schuler, was made Knight of the third class of the Military Order of William.

During the whole of the year 1818, we were employed in cruizing among the Molucca Islands, for the prevention of piracy and the contraband trade, especially the illegal sale of gunpowder to the natives in a state of insurrection. The pirates sometimes behave with great boldness, deriving confidence from the rapidity with which their light vessels can escape into the numerous creeks; the oars which they use when the wind is contrary giving them great advantages in point of swiftness over our cruizers. A couple of steam-boats, which would be able to follow them into their lurking places, would be very efficacious in ridding us of these plagues.

On the 12th of January 1819, the then Governor of the Moluccas, General De Kock, with his family, embarked on board theVenusfor the purpose of being conveyed to Java. We sailed on the following day, and did not reach Batavia until the 4th of May following. During this tedious passage, a beautiful collection of the birds of the Moluccas,the property of the General, died from want of food. Salt meat and biscuit formed our sole diet during the greater part of the voyage, and it is surprising that with such provisions, we did not have considerable sickness on board.

We now proceeded to Sourabaya, being accompanied by Captain Stout, of the Colonial Marine, with several light vessels. When off the Taggal Mountain we encountered some piratical vessels, and having been several times employed with native seamen, speaking their language with tolerable fluency, I was placed in charge of a Korra-korra, and sent in chase. Captain Stout met with a sad accident on this occasion. A gun that had been fired by the Captain himself, perhaps from its being overloaded, recoiled so much that it burst through the bulwarks on the opposite side of the vessel and fell overboard, striking the Captain violently on the breast during its passage, and causing the almost immediate death of this brave seaman.

In the latter part of the year 1819, theVenuswas placed in readiness to return to the mother country. Our joyful expectations, however, were soon disappointed, for the disturbances which had broken out at Palembang, rendered it necessary that the corvette should proceed there, to be inreadiness to act against the Sultan Mohammed Badr-el-Din; and on the 4th of December we arrived in the roads of Minto, on the island of Banka, to await the time when our services would be required.

All prospects of a speedy return home were thus destroyed, but I consoled myself with the consideration that duty required the sacrifice, and that I could serve my country in these remote regions as well as in the Netherlands. Our foreign possessions, indeed, though far distant, are still provinces of the fatherland.

Actuated by these considerations, I willingly accepted the offer made to our junior officers to enter the Colonial Navy, and receive the command of a gun-boat armed with an 18-pounder, two 8-pounders, some swivels, and manned with thirty men, chiefly Javanese, the same rank being given me with that I held in the Royal Navy. I was now sent to the east coast of Banka, for the purpose of keeping the pirates in check, and of keeping open the communication with the tin mines. At first I was accompanied by the schoonerZeemeeuw, Lieutenant Alewyn, but this vessel was soon ordered on another station, and I remained here eight months, in daily contact with the pirates, without the assistance ofother Europeans; this period forming by no means the most agreeable portion of my stay in India. I had often serious engagements with the famed Radin Allin, who, however, never was courageous enough to board the gun-boat. Had he done so, our only resource would have been to blow up our vessel, to prevent her falling into the hands of the pirates, as the great superiority of their force would have rendered it impossible to withstand them. This Radin Allin displayed great intrepidity on several occasions. Once, while I was conveying some vessels to Kaba, he took advantage of my absence to attack and carry the fort of Batu-Rusa, on the Marawang river. On my return I found him still in the river with a large number of prahus, where I blockaded him until the month of September 1820, when I at length received assistance from Minto, at a period when such relief had become of the greatest necessity, as I had often thought that my last hour had arrived. Of my crew, only a few natives remained, the others having either been killed or sent to the hospital.

During these hazardous expeditions I had frequent opportunities of witnessing the fidelity of the Javanese seamen in the hour of danger. Their behaviour and disposition prepossessed me verymuch in favour of the nation to which they belonged, and during my subsequent voyaging in India, where I considerably increased my acquaintance with them, I never had occasion to alter the favourable opinion I had formed. When a Javanese is treated with consideration, and is not subjected to tyrannical treatment, he is as much to be trusted as an European, and submits far more readily to control.

The force which came to my relief consisted of several vessels under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Keer, destined to act against the chiefs of the rebels, Radin Allin and Radin Kling, and I now obtained permission to return to Minto. In the beginning of 1821, I departed thence for Sourabaya, with the view of having the gun-boat repaired, as it was ordered to take part in the expedition which during that year re-established our authority at Palembang. The particulars of that renowned expedition being still fresh in the memory of my readers, I will give no circumstantial account of our proceedings, but I will relate a few occurrences in which I was personally engaged. After the first attack, when our fleet had retired to its former position, it was my good fortune to rescue Lieutenant Boerhave and hismen, together with the crew of another gun-boat, both of which had fallen into the hands of the enemy; and on the following 24th of June, during the second assault, the gun-boat under my command opened the way through the strong barricade erected across the river to the attack of the great floating battery, on which I was the first to plant the Netherlands flag. As a token of particular approbation on the part of the Government for this deed, three of my small crew received the decoration of the military order of William.

After the termination of this renowned expedition, which ended in the entire conquest of the kingdom of Palembang, I received orders to accompany General De Kock to Batavia. In the month of August I was appointed to the schoonerCalypso, which circumstance I only mention for the purpose of rendering a just tribute to the meritorious character of Lieutenant Sondervan her commander. In this vessel I passed the entire year 1822, making several voyages in her, circumnavigating Java, and visiting the mines of Sambas and Pontiana, in Borneo. M. Tobias, the commissioner for our establishments in Borneo, was on board the schooner the greater portion of the time. The agreeable society of this gentleman, coupled withthe unbroken harmony that prevailed among us, rendered these voyages extremely pleasant, notwithstanding the hardships and fatigues we underwent. We made several journeys into the interior of Borneo, and inspected the mines of the Chinese, which are here very numerous. I will not particularise the voyages I subsequently undertook to Banka, Sumatra, and many other of our possessions, which I performed with pleasure, as they gave me many opportunities of gathering information concerning these countries and their native inhabitants.

Having thus passed a considerable time in India, without experiencing the lassitude of which Europeans in that part of the world so generally complain, I was appointed adjutant to my former chief, Captain Van Schuler, who had now become Commandant and Director of the Colonial Marine. Although I was much pleased by the honourable notice with which my brave chief favoured me, I soon became tired of an idle life at Batavia. I had been so long accustomed to the navigation of these seas, that I could not refrain from soliciting the Governor General, Van Der Capellen, to place me again in active service.

While performing a journey overland from Batavia to Sourabaya in company with Captain VanSchuler, I took the opportunity of visiting Bantjar, in the district of Rembang, where I saw the beautiful frigateJavaan, with several brigs and schooners, then in the course of construction for the Colonial Navy.[2]The command of one of these was promised to me on this occasion. I will pass over the description of this part of Java, as being unconnected with the object of the work. We met with few occurrences worthy of remark, for I do not consider our adventure in crossing the Sumadang Mountains, where our carriage was overturned, of sufficient importance to detain me in my narrative.

On my return to Batavia I was promoted to a Lieutenancy of the first class in the Colonial Marine, and at my urgent request was suffered to throw up my appointment as Adjutant, when I was invested with the command of H.M. BrigDourga,[3]with orders to ship a crew, and fit her out in readiness to accompany the Governor General on his expedition to the Moluccas in 1824. So recently promoted, invested with a new command, and about to become a fellow-voyager with his Excellency, it will readily be conceived that my zeal was of the strongest, and that I exerted myself to the utmost to show myself worthy of the favours that had been conferred upon me.

After remaining a considerable time at Amboyna, a settlement distinguished by the courtesy and hospitality of its European inhabitants, we sailed for Banda in the train of the Governor General, (who was embarked in the frigateEurydice), where we arrived on the 18th of April. The Gunung Api volcano was in a state of violent action at the time, filling the atmosphere with fire and smoke, the volumes of the latter being ejected with such force, that their collision caused constant vivid flashes of lightning, accompanied by a rumbling noise like that of thunder. This outbreak of nature was indescribably fine and majestic, and is memorable for having formed a new crater in the north-west side of the mountain. The town of Banda, remained, however, uninjured.

From Banda we sailed for Sapanua, an islandwell known from the war which took place there in 1817, and I subsequently proceeded to Menado and Macassar, where I took part in the expedition called forth by the war that had broken out in Celebes.

The mode of warfare which obtains among the Macassars, differs considerably from that adopted by the other natives of the Archipelago, than whom they are more wealthy and better armed, while at the same time they take the lead in cleverness and ferocity. When under their own chiefs, they are not remarkable for shewing that courage which is commonly ascribed to them, especially to the Bughis, this being displayed rather upon the sea than on land. They will rarely stand firm against the attacks of regular troops in the field, but fight well from ambuscades or from behind entrenchments. Their arms consist of very good guns, manufactured by themselves, with spears, krisses, klewangs and lelahs.[4]The chiefs and head warriors wear armour, made of plaited iron or copper wire, which they call baju-ranti or chain shirt: it will resist a thrust from the klewang orkriss, but affords no protection against a musket ball.

In the southern parts of Celebes, horses of a very good description are to be met with, which the natives manage with considerable skill. A cushion stuffed with cotton, and laid upon the animal's back, forms their saddle, on which they sit cross-legged, and with this simple contrivance their seat is so firm that they take bold leaps, and scour across the country in a manner truly surprising. When a chief is killed, his relatives and slaves do not care to survive, but a case of this sort rarely takes place, as the former usually remain on spots free from danger. The Bughis will carry their slain off the field of battle at every risk, and will submit to great loss rather than fail in this object. It is difficult, however, to draw them into making an assaulten masse.

We anchored off the town of Macassar on the 5th of July, 1824, the king of the northern part of the state of which this is the capital, having by this time followed the example of the Bughis of Boni in rising against our government. On the 14th of the same month we sailed for Tannette, (a town on the west coast of Celebes,) with troops and munitions of war, our vessel forming part of a flotilla consistingof the brigs Sirene, Nautilus, Jacoba-Elizabeth, and Dourga, with the corvette Courier, two gun-boats, and some prahus with native auxiliaries; the naval force being under the orders of Commander Buys, while the troops were led by Lieutenant Colonel De Steurs. Having assembled before Tannette, we formed into line and cannonaded the enemy's fortification, while at the same time the troops were landed and some gained possession of the forts and villages, together with some strongholds farther up the country. The loss on our side was small, but the enemy suffered greatly in killed and wounded. After sustaining this defeat, the king retired into the interior, and refused to submit. On the 22nd, Colonel De Steurs departed with the troops towards Macassar, with the intention of chastising the treacherous inhabitants of Labakang and Pankalina, those towns lying in the route. The squadron followed their march along the coast, with the view of affording assistance should it be required. The number of reefs and banks render the navigation of the coast hazardous and difficult; but the fishermen of the islands piloted us through them with safety. During the passage our armed boats were constantly employed on the coasts, more for the purpose of checkingthe plundering propensities displayed by our native allies from Goa, than for the annoyance of the enemy. Plunder, indeed, seemed to be the chief object of these auxiliaries, for when they were required to fight, they either remained idle or took to their heels.

On the 24th we reached Macassar, the inhabitants of the intermediate coast having speedily been brought under subjection. The expedition had been fortunate and successful in every respect, and inspired us with so much confidence that we eagerly desired to be again led against the enemy.

An expedition consisting of 200 troops, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Reder, was now set on foot to attack the Raja of Supa, the squadron being again employed in conveying them to their destination. On the 4th of August we anchored in the bay of Supa, and as the enemy obstinately refused to negociate, no other course remained for us than to land the troops, and prepare to carry into effect the orders of our Government. It immediately became apparent that the resources of the enemy had been incorrectly reported to us, and that more difficulty would be experienced in reducing the place than we had been led to believe would have been the case.

Supa, the capital, is extended near the shore on the north-east side of the bay, and is difficult of approach from seaward. The town, which lies low, is bounded on the south side by extensive rice fields, while to the south-west, in which direction the squadron lay, it is separated from the sea by a ridge of hills.

On the morning after our arrival, the troops, with detachments of seamen from the ships, were landed in good order under cover of the guns of the squadron. Our attack upon the well-fortified town of Supa was unsuccessful, the troops being driven back to the hills, of which, however, they maintained possession; the enemy returning into the town, with the exception of a number of horsemen, who remained at the foot of the hills, and some detachments which took up positions to the southward. Towards evening some mortars and brass six-pounders were landed, and placed in battery against the town. The firing was at first attended with little loss on either side, but the war-cries of the Bughis convinced us that they were assembled in great force.

Repeated attempts were now made to set fire to the strongholds of the enemy, but they were unsuccessful, and attended with considerable loss. Thevessels employed in keeping up the communication with Macassar had by this time brought a number of native auxiliaries furnished by the king of Sidenreng, but these took up a position to the southward, and never emerged from their hiding places.

Information which was now received of our garrisons at Pankalina and Labakang, consisting of sixty men each, having been overpowered and massacred to a man, spread dismay and dejection among the troops, while, through the weak indulgence of our commandant, military discipline was often disregarded, and our operations consequently, were deficient in point of combination. A second general assault was not determined on until the men had been wearied by useless skirmishing. All the men that could be spared from the ships were now ordered on shore, and on this as on the previous occasion I served with them; the command of the left wing of the battery being entrusted to me, while the right was under the direction of Commander Buys.

At daylight on the 14th, after our batteries had for some time played with vigour on the town, Lieutenant-colonel Reder advanced to the attack with one hundred and fifty soldiers, one hundred seamen, and forty marines, whom the enemy allowedto approach close under the wall without firing a shot. Their cavalry had in the meantime been posted out of sight on the south side of the town, and when our troops had reached the walls, and commenced a sharp combat with those within, the cavalry fell upon them in flank, penetrated right through them, and even close up to our breast-works. The confusion created by this movement was so great, that notwithstanding the efforts of the officers the flight soon became general, and the disorder communicating itself to the reserve, the enemy were enabled to cause us considerable loss. The superior courage of Europeans soon, however, restored matters to order, for the fire of case-shot from our batteries checked the career of the enemy, and our troops having by this time rallied became the assailants in their turn, and drove the Bughis back to their batteries. Our advantage over the enemy was limited to this, so that our attack was attended with much bloodshed without being successful. We had to lament the loss of two brave officers, Lieutenants Van Pelt and Bannhoff, together with nearly one-third of the men engaged, six of my own crew being killed on this fatal occasion. During the engagement our auxiliariesremained in the positions they had taken up, and did not stir a foot to assist us.

On the evening after this occurrence we were joined by Mr. Tobias, the commissioner, Colonel De Steurs, and the Raja of Sidenreng, the latter bringing with him a number of native auxiliaries. The arrival of Colonel De Steurs gave great joy to our troops, this officer being universally beloved and esteemed, but of what avail was his presence now that the pith of our force had been expended in ill-directed attacks? The enemy occasionally made night attacks on our position, but were always driven back, our auxiliaries showing on these occasions more courage than usual, repeatedly pursuing their adversaries close up to their forts.

On the 22nd, the frigateEurydicejoined the squadron, when a portion of her crew, with two long eighteen-pounders and some Congreve rockets were landed; the latter, however, did not answer our expectations upon trial. Our endeavours to gain an advantage over the enemy were still unattended by success, and our leader, seeing our force daily diminished by useless skirmishes, determined on making another general attack. Every body that could be spared from the ships, natives as well as Europeans, were landed to join inthe assault, the attacking force now amounting to three hundred men, exclusive of the auxiliaries, who could not be brought into motion. Our batteries had made several breaches in the enemy's breast-works, but these had always been repaired during the following night.

The general attack, which took place early in the morning, was conducted with much bravery. The road to the town was studded with sharp stakes, by which many of our people suffered severely. The enemy in the meantime remained within their entrenchments, protecting themselves from our shot by sitting in holes dug in the ground; and on our advancing up to them they fought with desperation, surrounding their wives and children, and determining to die to the last man rather than surrender. Our troops were sometimes engaged hand to hand with the enemy, who opposed our bayonets and swords with theirkrissesandklewangs. At length Colonel De Steurs, finding that many of our men, with a captain and a first lieutenant, had fallen, determined to draw off our small body of heroes, with the intention of renewing the attack with the reserve; but this was found impracticable, as the latter, which consisted only of a small number of seamen from the frigate, had already sustained considerable loss. Theretreat was therefore sounded, and thus, for the fourth time, had our efforts proved unavailing. On this occasion, also, one-third of the attacking force was placedhors de combat. We were, nevertheless, convinced that had a correct report been given to the government of the force of the enemy, and had our proceedings been conducted with order and regularity, the victory must infallibly have been on our side. It is a consolation, however, to know, that although the enemy maintained their position, they experienced, in a forcible manner, the superiority of our courage; for notwithstanding the relaxation of discipline which at first prevailed, no one can deny that our men displayed much personal bravery. The expedition, although unsuccessful, had therefore the effect of inspiring the people of Supa with a dread of the Dutch arms. According to the account of trustworthy natives, their loss had been very great; indeed, their successes never gave them sufficient confidence to emerge from behind their entrenchments. We now endeavoured to reduce them by a close blockade, but in this we were also unsuccessful; and this object was not effected until six months afterwards, when General Geer appeared before the place with a force much greater than that employed on the previous occasion.

On the 6th of October, the squadron left Supa for Macassar, carrying away the troops, with the exception of one hundred men, who were left under the command of Captain Van Doornum. The brig under my command, together with a gun-boat, also remained, and we were soon joined by the corvette Courier. On the 20th, I sailed for Macassar, and two days afterwards, when off Tannette, a number of prahus were seen standing in towards the fort there, in which we had a garrison of fifty men. On perceiving the brig the prahus altered their course and stood out to sea, a proceeding which aroused my suspicion, and as the sea breeze prevented me from following them, I ran in, and brought up off the mouth of the river. A small prahu soon came alongside, bringing the information that the fort was beset on the land side by the enemy, who threatened an attack with so large a force that our small garrison could not possibly resist. The commandant wished to embark his men in the brig and desert the fort; but as I could not receive them without having received orders to that effect from the governor, I sent one of the small vessels that attended the brig to Macassar, to make known to the authorities there the hazardous position we were in. It appeared that the enemy intended to have attacked the fort bothby sea and land, in which case not one of the garrison would have escaped. My accidental arrival had fortunately prevented this double attack, which would not have been the case had I come a day later, or had I missed the prahus, the appearance of which caused me to anchor off the fort. I therefore thanked Providence for leading me to adopt the route which brought me near the besieged place, the garrison of which, but for this opportune visit, must have experienced the same fate with that which had already befallen those of Labakang and Pankalina. On the following day the brig Nautilus arrived to relieve us.

In the mean time the people of Boni had risen, all the tribes to the northward of Macassar being now in arms against us. The town of Macassar was often threatened by the enemy, but they never ventured an attack, being deterred by the force our ally, the king of Goa, had brought into the field, and by the reinforcements that arrived from Java. Preparations were now made for a grand expedition, the troops that had been left at Supa and Tannette being withdrawn from their uncomfortable posts to join the main force at Macassar.

On the 1st of December I sailed for Sourabaya, the brig being in want of repairs; and on the 19thof January, 1825, returned to Bonthian Bay, on the south coast of Celebes. On the 10th of March, General Van Geen arrived there with the frigate Javaan, and a number of vessels large and small. The general was accompanied by the Panambahan,[5]of Samanap, on the island of Madura, who brought with him a number of native auxiliaries, paid and equipped at his own expense; the Raja of Goa also furnishing a large number of men for the expedition, who were armed by our government. The ships of war were attended by a number of transports; so that the fleet presented a very imposing appearance.

On the 16th of March the fleet sailed from Bonthian Bay, and passing through the straits of Salayer, entered the Bay of Boni, without incurring injury from the numerous coral reefs that were scattered along our route. A melancholy accident occurred soon after our departure from Bonthian. A detachment of three officers and ninety-three light infantry men, had been embarked on board a prahu, totally unfitted for a transport. Some vessels having been perceived by the people on deck, they called outthat some pirates had hove in sight, on which those who were below rushed up, and climbing on one side of the vessel, capsized her, only the three officers and thirty-three of the men being saved.

Our operations commenced at Sengey, where the troops were landed, and the enemy not only driven helter-skelter out of their intrenchments, but forced also to evacuate the neighbouring country. The portion of our force which marched overland having joined us, we pushed forward to Batjua, the capital of the kingdom of Boni, taking and destroying the stockades of the enemy as we advanced. Batjua consists of a chain of beautiful villages, defended by stockades erected in the water and well provided with guns. It is considered as the seat of the court of Boni, although the king resides about an hour and a half's journey in the interior. Being the chief commercial depôt of the kingdom, the trade is considerable. We found a large number of prahus here, the greater number of which had been hauled up on the beach to prevent our destroying them.

General Van Geen determined to effect a landing here, and the enemy having been drawn away from the beach by a cleverruse, the troops were put on shore without difficulty. The Boniers fled before the advance of our courageous soldiers, sustaininggreat loss in their retreat. The town was found to have been evacuated by the enemy, although two-hundred pieces of cannon of small calibre were mounted on the walls. The troops brought to the field by the Panambahan of Samanap behaved very well in the attack. Notwithstanding their defeat, the enemy obstinately refused to enter into negotiations with us.

The armed boats of the squadron were constantly employed in landing the troops, and in attacking the batteries of the enemy. On one of these occasions we had the misfortune to lose Lieutenant Alewyn, the commander of the brig Siwa, an officer universally esteemed.

I will pass over in silence many other particulars of minor importance, connected with this expedition. As the westerly monsoon was now drawing to a close, and the number of our sick had become very great, we found it impossible to pursue the enemy into the interior. Macassar had been freed from danger, Supa had been taken, and the island of Celebes placed in a state of more tranquillity; but not a single native chief had been brought under the subjection of our government, so that the expedition had produced no other useful effect than that of affording a new proof of the total inability of thenatives to withstand the courage and military skill of Europeans.

On the departure of the fleet from the Bay of Boni, my brig, together with theNautilusand theDaphne, sailed for Amboyna, touching at Buton on the way, to obtain refreshments. Every ship that had been employed had a large number of their men sick, one fifth only of the crew of my brig being fit for duty. My officers and myself also suffered much; indeed, on our arrival at Amboyna there was not a healthy man on board. This prevalence of sickness is to be attributed to the fatigues we had endured, and it should act as a warning to our government to deter them from undertaking expeditions like these except in cases of urgent necessity, or when they have very important objects in view.

I will now proceed to give an account of the more agreeable duties entrusted to my charge, which I was fortunate enough to carry into execution to the satisfaction of the government, and within a tolerably short period of time.

FOOTNOTES:[2]The yard in which these vessels were built, was subsequently burned by the rebels; Mr. Waller, the shipwright, losing all the property he had collected by his diligence.[3]This name, unfamiliar to European ears, is derived from a fable of the Bramins, whose religion once obtained in Java. Dourga was the consort of the god Siva, in fact the Juno of the Jupiter of the Hindoos. Many images of this deity are to be met with among the ruins of the temples scattered over the island.[4]Thekrissis a short dagger of a serpentine form; theklewang, a sort of hanger or short sword; and thelelah, a cannon of small calibre, usually composed of brass.[5]Panambahan is a Javanese title, the possessor of which takes precedence of a Pangeran or Prince, but ranks below a Raja or Sultan.

[2]The yard in which these vessels were built, was subsequently burned by the rebels; Mr. Waller, the shipwright, losing all the property he had collected by his diligence.

[3]This name, unfamiliar to European ears, is derived from a fable of the Bramins, whose religion once obtained in Java. Dourga was the consort of the god Siva, in fact the Juno of the Jupiter of the Hindoos. Many images of this deity are to be met with among the ruins of the temples scattered over the island.

[4]Thekrissis a short dagger of a serpentine form; theklewang, a sort of hanger or short sword; and thelelah, a cannon of small calibre, usually composed of brass.

[5]Panambahan is a Javanese title, the possessor of which takes precedence of a Pangeran or Prince, but ranks below a Raja or Sultan.

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