We Next Passed By The S. End Of The Island Of Bouton, Or Booton,
Which Is Pretty Large, And In The Lat.
Of 5 deg.
45' S. We steered W. from
thence, between the islands Celebes and Zalayer or Salayr. The
S.W. leg or peninsula of Celebes is very high land. Celebes is composed
of very high land, very well inhabited, being a very large island,
extending through seven degrees of latitude. On the west side of its
southern end the Dutch have a factory named Macasser, where they have a
fortress of about seventy guns, and a garrison of 600 or 700 Dutch
soldiers. The chief product is rice, with which they supply most of
their eastern islands from hence. There are said to be gold-mines in
this island, of which the Dutch are not yet masters, as the inhabitants
are often at war with them, and have hitherto been able to keep them
from those parts of the island. Between the south end of Celebes and the
island of Salayr there are three small low islands, and the best channel
is through between the island next to Salayr, and another small isle to
the northward. This is called the second passage, the first, third,
and fourth of these passages being very dangerous, so that ships
generally avoid them if possible. I would willingly give an account of
every island I have occasion to mention, but as that is not in my power,
I must rest satisfied with what I am able to say consistent with truth.
The island of Zalayer, or Salayr, is of moderate height, inhabited
by Malays, and planted all round with cocoa-trees, the natives being
obliged to send a considerable quantity of nuts and oil to the Dutch at
Macasser as tribute. We steered from hence W. by N. till we had passed a
dangerous shoal called the Porill, after which we stood to the S.W. and
saw in the night a small island just in our way, which we were unable to
weather, and therefore stood off till daylight, when we were to the S.
of that isle, when we tacked and stood again S.W. and soon after saw two
other small isles bearing from N. to N.W. For about two miles of our
course at this time, the sea was so transparent that we could plainly
discern the bottom, which was never less than five or more than six
fathoms, yet appeared only two to the eye. We passed over this shoal
about a league to the S. of these two small islands, this being the
narrowest part of the shoal, for it is five or six leagues in breadth
farther to the south; yet is it every where without danger, as it has
very uniform soundings, seldom over or under five or six fathoms. To the
north of these islands, however, it is very dangerous, being all over
foul rocky ground, and having in some places not more than four or five
feet water; it is proper, therefore, always to keep to the south of
these islands, where the passage is perfectly safe. Yet in the Dutch
charts, these dangers are laid down to the southward, which should have
been to the northwards, and they lay down the safe shoals to the
northward, whereas we now went to the southwards, as they always do.
The captain of our vessel had a chart on board, which shewed these
things exactly as I have now described, but which I compared with
several others, also on board, which I found quite different. I asked
our captain the reason of this, when he told me that all these shoals
and dangerous places were well known to the Hollanders, but they did not
wish they should be known by others, but rather that strangers might
lose their ships among these rocks and shoals, as we certainly had done,
if we had sailed according to these common charts.
We entered the harbour of Batavia on the 21st October, and sent
immediately on landing to join the rest of our men, who were still
detained in custody. We were soon afterwards visited by the first major,
who desired us to transmit to the general, through him, an account of
the losses we had sustained by our being taken prisoners at Amboina, and
we should receive compensation for our effects, loss of time, and
imprisonment. We each accordingly drew up accounts of our losses, which
we sent by the major to the governor, who sent us back word that we
should speedily have our freedom. On the 27th we were sent for to the
fort, where most of our money was returned; but we could have no
satisfaction for our goods, imprisonment, and loss of time, the
governor-general saying that he had given us all that had been sent to
him as ours by the governor of Amboina, and that we were now at liberty
to go where we pleased. As our vessel had been taken from us for the use
of the Dutch Company, we desired he would be pleased to find us some
ship for our return home, which he promised; with which arrangement we
were forced to be satisfied, and took lodgings in the city of Batavia,
till an opportunity might offer for our return to Europe. In the course
of seven weeks residence here, I made all the observations I could upon
this place and its inhabitants. I found the city in as good a condition
as could be wished, and the people seemed to be as prudent and as
industrious as any I had ever seen: But, as the descriptions already
published of this place are so exact as to render my observations
superfluous, I shall content myself with a very short description,
referring the curious reader to the large accounts that have been
published by Dutch, French, and English writers, but especially the
first.
BATAVIA is the chief place belonging to the Hollanders in India, and
receives all the productions of India, Japan, and China.
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