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.
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