While We Were There, About 500 Poor Wretches Were In This
Condition, Who Were Kept Constantly Employed, In Sawing Timber, Cutting
Stones For Building, Carrying Burdens, Or Other Work.
They are let out
of prison at sunrise, the men being kept in one prison and the women in
another, and are kept hard at work till noon, when they return to prison
for an hour, being allowed for dinner a pint of coarse boiled rice for
each.
They return again to work at one o'clock, and return to prison at
six in the evening, when they have a similar allowance for supper. Soon
afterwards they are locked up in their lodgings, where they lie on the
bare boards, having only a piece of wood for a pillow. Sometimes these
poor wretches make shift to escape, but are used with great severity if
again caught. One of the female slaves having escaped, and being
retaken, cut her own throat to avoid the severe punishment awaiting her,
when she was dragged out by the hair all round the town, and then hung
on a gibbet by the feet. Such as are in debt, and cannot satisfy their
creditors, are turned over by their creditors to the Dutch company, who
send them to work among their slaves, having the same allowance of
boiled rice with the rest, with two-pence a day towards paying their
debts; but they seldom get free till carried out dead.
Though the poor natives are thus harshly treated, the Dutch wink at the
faults of their countrymen, who are seldom punished for any crime,
unless it be for murder, as in any other case they get off for a small
sum of money, even for a great fault. The women slaves belonging to the
free Dutch burgesses have all reasonable indulgence, but are obliged to
find their own clothes and provisions, and pay an acknowledgement of
about a sixpence daily, in default of which they are severely used. If
they bring the daily tribute, they may whore or steal, and have no
questions asked, provided no complaint is made against them. The chief
products of this island are cloves, ginger, pepper, rattans, canes, and
a few nutmegs.
The clove-tree is rather slender, and is from twelve to thirty or even
forty feet high, having small branches, with tapering leaves about five
inches long and two broad, which smell strong of cloves, when rubbed
between the fingers. The cloves grow out at the tips of the branches,
ten, twelve, or fourteen in a cluster, being white at first, then green,
and lastly of a dark copper colour, in which state they are ripe and fit
for gathering. At this period, they spread cloths or sheets on the
ground round the bottom of the tree to a good distance, and shake the
tree, when all the ripe cloves fall down. This is repeated every six or
seven days for four or five times, till all the cloves have ripened and
are shaken off.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 269 of 431
Words from 139959 to 140462
of 224764
