He
Even Said, That He Was Willing To Continue In Durance, Provided We Could
Keep Them Out Of Puloroon.
The conference being ended, Mr Courthop came
back to Nylacka in the galley, and the pledges were restored.
[Footnote 257: Purchas, in a side note at this place, quaintly converts
the name of the Dutch general into Lawrence Ly-all. - E.]
The eastern monsoon being now come, we fitted out a proa to send with
dispatches to Bantam, giving an account of what had passed; and it was
agreed that Mr Hinchley and I were to go, accompanied by four Englishmen
and fourteen natives of Puloroon, of whom five were chiefs, or
orancays, one of them being son to the sabander, who is the principal
man of the island. We set sail from Puloroon on the 17th April, 1617,
and when in sight of Bottone on our way for Macassar, we descried a
large ship and a pinnace, which gave us chase under a press of sail, so
that we had no means of escape, except by standing in for Bottone. After
being chased half a day, we got near the town of Bottone by night,
thinking the ships could not have got so far up the river; but seeing
the ship and pinnace almost within musket-shot of us next morning, we
presently landed most of what we had in the proa, taking refuge in the
woods. Having so done, we went immediately to the king, to whom we gave
a present of such things as we had, to the value of about thirty
dollars, desiring his protection, which he promised in the kindest
manner, and faithfully performed. He sent his servants along with us,
to put all our things into a house, giving us also two houses for our
lodging, desiring us to remain within, that we might not be discovered
by our enemies.
Almost immediately afterwards, the Hollanders went to the king, giving
him a present three times the value of ours, and enquired who we were
that had landed. To which the king answered that he knew not who we
were. On being asked by the king how long they meant to stay, the Dutch
said they proposed remaining six days; of which the king sent us notice,
advising us to keep close for that time, that we might proceed in
greater security after they were gone. But at the end of these six days
the Dutch said they would stay six days longer, pretending they had to
repair one of their masts. Seeing their intention, and because our proa
lay in view of the Dutch, we bought another proa, into which the king
made all our things be carried by his slaves, causing them to navigate
that proa past the Hollanders, and to carry her to the back of the
island, whither he sent us over land under the protection of fifty men.
We went immediately aboard, but remained under the island till near
night, when we stood our course for Macassar, and saw no more of the
Hollanders.
We arrived at Macassar on the 7th May, where we found the Attendance
intending for Banda, but was unable to beat up, owing to the change of
the monsoon. Having shipped in the Attendance 180 suckles of mace,
purchased at Macassar, we sent the proa to Banjarmassen and Succadanea
in Borneo, with advice that a supply of goods could not be sent there as
expected, owing to the non-arrival of the Solomon, which had been long
expected at Bantam. The 3d June we arrived at Bantam. As Captain George
Barkley was dead, to whom Mr Ball succeeded as chief of the factory, I
have delivered all the papers to him, and doubt not that your worships
may receive them by the first conveyance. Those are, two surrenders, the
letters from the Hollanders with our answers, and every thing relative
to our proceedings in Banda.
When I left Puloroon, it was agreed that another proa was to be
dispatched for Bantam in twenty days after our departure, lest we might
have been pursued and taken by the Hollanders. Accordingly a proa[258]
was sent, in which was laden 170 suckles of mace, containing 3366
cattees, each cattee being six English pounds and nearly two ounces,
costing at the rate of one dollar the cattee;[259] which, had it gone
safe, might have sold in England for L5000. In this proa there were
eight Englishmen and thirty Bandanese, under the charge of Walter
Stacie, who had been mate under Mr Hinchley in the Defence. His
knowledge and care, however, did not answer expectation, for he ran the
proa on the rocky shoals near the island of Bottone, where she bilged
and lost all the mace, the men getting ashore. Stacie is much blamed by
the rest, some of whom told him they saw land on the lee-bow, but he was
peevish and headstrong, calling them all fools, and would not listen to
them.
[Footnote 258: In a marginal note, this is called a junk. - E.]
[Footnote 259: From the statement in the text, the suckle appears to
have been about 122 English pounds, and the quantity of mace
accordingly, shipped on this occasion, about 185 cwt. or 9 1/4
tons. - E.]
May it please your worships to understand, that the Hollanders replied,
when told that their vile abuses to us would lie heavy on them when
known in Europe, "That they can make as good friends in the court of
England as your worships; that this which they have done will oblige
your worships and them to join, so that a gold chain will recompence
all, and they have dollars enough in Holland to pay for a ship or two,
providing they can hinder us from trading at Banda."
In regard to the trade of the Banda islands, Puloroon is reported to be
the worst island. It is about eight English miles in circuit, and the
small adjoining island of Nylacka is about a mile round.
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