The Sail Carried By This Was Of
An Oblong Shape, And Was Hung Out Of The Centre, So That When The
Short End Was Hauled Down On Deck The Long End Mounted High In
The Air, Making Up For The Lowness Of The Mast Itself.
The
foresail was of the same shape, but smaller.
Both these were of
matting, and, with two jibs and a fore and aft sail astern of
cotton canvas, completed our rig.
The crew consisted of about thirty men, natives of Macassar and
the adjacent coasts and islands. They were mostly young, and
were short, broad-faced, good-humoured looking fellows. Their
dress consisted generally of a pair of trousers only, when at
work, and a handkerchief twisted round the head, to which in the
evening they would add a thin cotton jacket. Four of the elder
men were "jurumudis," or steersmen, who had to squat (two at a
time) in the little steerage before described, changing every six
hours. Then there was an old man, the "juragan," or captain, but
who was really what we should call the first mate; he occupied
the other half of the little house on deck. There were about ten
respectable men, Chinese or Bugis, whom our owner used to call
"his own people." He treated them very well, shared his meals
with them, and spoke to them always with perfect politeness; yet
they were most of them a kind of slave debtors, bound over by the
police magistrate to work for him at mere nominal wages for a
term of years till their debts were liquidated.
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