A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 12 by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 12

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On Saturday the 12th, we fell in with the dangerous shoals called the
Spera Mondes, and had the mortification to find that the westerly
monsoon was now set in, against which, and the current, it was
impossible for any ship to get as far westward as Batavia. As it was now
necessary to wait till the return of the eastern monsoon, and the
shifting of the current; as we had buried thirteen of our crew, and no
less than thirty more were at the point of death; as all the petty
officers were among the sick, and the lieutenant and myself, who did all
duties, in a feeble condition; it was impossible that we should keep the
sea, and we had no chance of preserving those who were still alive, but
by getting on shore at some place, where rest and refreshment might be
procured; I therefore determined that I would take advantage of our
being so far to the southward, and endeavour to reach Macassar, the
principal settlement of the Dutch upon the island of Celebes.

The next day, we made some islands which lie not far from that place,
and saw, what sometimes we took for shoals, and sometimes for boats with
men on board, but what afterwards appeared to be trees, and other drift,
floating about, with birds sitting upon them; we suddenly found
ourselves twenty miles farther to the southward than we expected, for
the current, which had for some time set us to the northward, had set us
to the southward during the night. We now hauled up east, and E. 1/2 N.
intending to have gone to the northward of a shoal, which has no name in
our East India Pilot, but which the Dutch call the Thumb: By noon,
however, we found ourselves upon it, our water shallowing at once to
four fathom, with rocky ground. We now hauled off to the south-west, and
keeping the boat a-head to sound, ran round the west side of the shoal
in ten and twelve fathom; our water deepening when we hauled off to the
west, and shallowing when we hauled off east. Our latitude, by
observation, when we were upon the shoal, was 5 deg. 20' S. and the
northernmost of the islands, called the Three Brothers, then, bore S. 81
E. at the distance of five or six leagues. This island is, in the
English Pilot, called Don Dinanga, but by the Dutch the North Brother.

Between the Three Brothers, and the main of Celebes, there is another
island, much larger than either of them, called the island of Tonikiky;
but none of them are inhabited, though there are a few huts belonging to
fishermen upon them all. The passage between the shoal and this island
is clear and good, with from ten to thirteen fathom and a sandy bottom;
but the soundings are to be kept on the side of the island in twelve
fathom, and never under ten: It is, however, very difficult and
dangerous for ships to fall in with the land this way without a pilot on
board, for there are many shoals and rocks under water. I ran in by a
chart in the English East India Pilot, which upon the whole I round a
good one, though the names of the islands, points, and bays, differ very
much from those by which they are now known. When we got near to the
Celebes shore, we had land and sea-breezes, which obliged us to edge
along the coast, though our strength was so much reduced, that it was
with the utmost difficulty we could work the stream anchor.

In the evening of Tuesday the 15th, we anchored at about the distance of
four miles from the town of Macassar, which, according to my account,
lies in latitude 5 deg. 10' or 5 deg. 12' S., longitude 117 deg. 28'E. having spent
no less than five and thirty weeks in out passage from the Streight of
Magellan.

I have been the more particular in my description of as much as I saw
of this streight, because all the charts, both English and French, that
I consulted, are extremely deficient and erroneous, and because an exact
knowledge of it may be of great service to our China trade: The ships by
which that trade is carried on, may pass this way with as little danger
as by the common one, which lies along the Prassel shoals; and when they
miss their passage to China, in the south-east monsoon, and lose the
season, they may be sure of a clear channel here, and fair winds at
W.S.W., W. and round to W.N.W., in November, December, and the four
following months: I am also of opinion, that it is a better and shorter
way to go to the N.E. and eastward of the Philippine Islands, than to
thread the Moluccas, or coast New Guinea, where there are shoals,
currents, and innumerable other dangers, as they were forced to do when
the French were cruising for them in the common passage during the last
war.

SECTION X.

_Transactions off Macassar, and the Passage thence to Bonthain._

The same night that we came to an anchor, at about eleven o'clock, a
Dutchman came on board, who had been dispatched by the governor, to
learn who we were. When I made him understand that the ship was an
English man-of-war, he seemed to be greatly alarmed, no man-of-war
belonging to the King of Great Britain having ever been there before,
and I could not by any means persuade him to leave the deck, and go down
into the cabin; we parted, however, to all appearance, good friends.

The next morning, at break of day, I sent the lieutenant to the town,
with a letter to the governor, in which I acquainted him with the reason
of my coming thither, and requested the liberty of the port to procure
refreshments for my ship's company, who were in a dying condition, and
shelter for the vessel against the approaching storms, till the return
of a fit season for sailing to the westward. I ordered that this letter
should, without good reason to the contrary, be delivered into the
governor's own hand; but when my officer got to the wharf of the town,
neither he nor any other person in the boat was suffered to land. Upon
his refusal to deliver the letter to a messenger, the governor was made
acquainted with it, and two officers, called the shebander and the
fiscal, were sent down to him, who, as a reason why he could not deliver
the letter to the governor himself, pretended that he was sick, and
said, that they came by his express order to fetch it; upon this the
letter was at length delivered to them, and they went away. While they
were gone, the officer and men were kept on board their boat, exposed to
the burning heat of the sun, which was almost vertical at noon, and none
of the country boats were suffered to come near enough to sell them any
refreshment. In the mean time, our people observed a great hurry and
bustle on shore, and all the sloops and vessels that were proper for war
were fitted out with the utmost expedition: We should, however, I
believe, have been an overmatch for their whole sea force, if all our
people had been well. In the mean time I intended to have gone and
anchored close to the town; but now the boat was absent, our united
strength was not sufficient to weigh the anchor though a small one.
After waiting five hours in the boat, the lieutenant was told that the
governor had ordered two gentlemen to wait upon me with an answer to my
letter. Soon after he had returned, and made this report, the two
gentlemen came on board, and we afterwards learned that one of them was
an ensign of the garrison, named Le Cerf, and-the other Mr Douglas, a
writer of the Dutch East India company: They delivered me the governor's
letter, but it proved to be written in Dutch, a language which not a
single person on board could understand: The two gentlemen who brought
it, however, both spoke French, and one of them interpreted the contents
to me in that language. The purport of it was, "that I should instantly
depart from the port, without coming any nearer to the town; that I
should not anchor on any part of the coast, or permit any of my people
to land in any place that was under his jurisdiction." Before I made any
reply to this letter, I shewed the gentlemen who brought it the number
of my sick: At the sight of so many unhappy wretches, who were dying of
languor and disease, they seemed to be much affected; and I then urged
again the pressing necessity I was under of procuring refreshment, to
which they had been witnesses, the cruelty and injustice of refusing to
supply me, which was not only contrary to treaty, as we were in a king's
ship, but to the laws of nature, as we were human beings: They seemed to
admit the force of this reasoning, but they had a short and final answer
ready, "that they had absolute and indispensable orders from their
masters, not to suffer any ship, of whatever nation, to stay at this
port, and that these orders they must implicitly obey." To this I
replied, that persons in our situation had nothing worse to fear than
what they suffered, and that therefore, if they did not immediately
allow me the liberty of the port, to purchase refreshments, and procure
shelter, I would, as soon as the wind would permit, in defiance of all
their menaces, and all their force, go and anchor close to the town;
that if at last I should find myself unable to compel them to comply
with requisitions, the reasonableness of which could not be
controverted, I would run the ship a-ground under their walls, and,
after selling our lives as dearly as we could, bring upon, them the
disgrace of having reduced a friend and ally to so dreadful an
extremity. At this they seemed to be alarmed, as our situation alone was
sufficient to convince them that I was in earnest, and urged me with
great emotion to remain where I was, at least till I had heard again
from the governor: To this, after some altercation, I consented, upon
condition that I heard from the governor before the sea-breeze set in
the next day.

We passed all the remainder of this day, and all the night, in a state
of anxiety, not unmixed with indignation, that greatly aggravated our
distress; and very early the next morning, we had the mortification to
see a sloop that mounted eight carriage guns, and one of the vessels of
the country, fitted out for war, with a great number of soldiers on
board, come from the town, and anchor under each of our bows. I
immediately sent my boat to speak with them, but they would make no
reply to any thing that was said. About noon, the sea-breeze set in, and
not having then heard again from the governor, I got under sail, and
proceeded towards the town, according to my declaration, resolving, if
the vessels that had anchored under our bows should oppose us, to
repress force with force as far as we were able: These two vessels,
however, happily both for us and for them, contented themselves with
weighing anchor, and attending our motions.

Very soon after we had got under sail, a handsome vessel, with a band of
music, and several gentlemen on board, made up to us, and told us that
they were sent by the governor, but could not come on board if we did
not drop our anchor again; our anchor therefore was immediately dropped,
and the gentlemen came on board: They proved to be Mr Blydenbourg the
fiscal, Mr Voll the shebander, an officer called the licence-master, or
master of the port, and Mr Douglas the writer, who has been mentioned
already. They expressed some surprise at my having got under sail, and
asked me what I intended to have done; I told them that I intended
neither more nor less than to fulfil the declarations I had made the day
before; that, justified by the common rights of mankind, which were
superior to every other law, I would, rather than have put again to sea,
where our destruction, either by shipwreck, sickness, or famine, was
inevitable, have come up to their walls, and either have compelled them
to furnish the necessaries we wanted, or have run the ship on shore,
since it was better to perish at once in a just contest, than to suffer
the lingering misery of anticipating the perdition that we could not
avoid. I observed also, that no civilized people had ever suffered even
the captives of war to perish for want of the necessaries of life, much
less the subjects of an ally, who asked nothing but permission to
purchase food with their money. They readily allowed the truth of all I
had said, but seemed to think I had been too hasty: I then observed that
I had waited the full time of my stipulation, and they in return made
some excuse for their not having come sooner, telling me, that as a
proof of their having admitted my claim, they had brought me such
provisions as their country would afford. These were immediately taken
on board, and consisted of two sheep, an elk ready hilled, and a few
fowls, with some vegetables and fruit. This most welcome supply was
divided among the people; and that most salutary, and to us exquisite
dainty, broth, made for the sick. Another letter from the governor was
then produced, in which, to my great disappointment, I was again ordered
to leave the port, and to justify the order, it was alleged, that to
suffer a ship of any nation to stay and trade, either at this port, or
any other part of the island, was contrary to the agreement which had
been made by the East India Company with the native kings and governors
of the country, who had already expressed some displeasure on our
account; and for farther particulars I was referred to the gentlemen
that brought the letter, whom the governor styled his commissaries. To
these gentlemen I immediately observed, that no stipulation concerning
trade could affect us, as we were a king's ship; at the same time I
produced my commission, it not being possible to bring under the article
of trade the selling us food and refreshments for our money, without the
utmost violence to language and common sense. After this they made me
several propositions, which I rejected, because my departure from this
place, before the return of the season, was included in them all. I then
recurred to my former declaration, and to enforce it, shewed them the
corpse of a man who had died that morning, and whose life would probably
have been saved, if they had afforded us refreshments when we first came
to an anchor upon their coast. This put them to a stand, but, after a
short pause, they enquired very particularly whether I had been among
the spice islands; I answered them in the negative, and they appeared to
be convinced that I spoke truth. After this, we came to a better
understanding, and they told me, that though they could not, without
disobedience to the most direct and positive orders of the Company,
suffer us to remain here, yet that I was welcome to go to a little bay
not far distant, where I should find effectual shelter from the bad
monsoon, and might erect an hospital for my sick, assuring me at the
same time that provision and refreshments were more plenty there than at
Macassar, from whence, whatever else I wanted should be sent me, and
offering me a good pilot to carry me to my station. To this I gladly
consented, upon condition that what they had offered should be confirmed
to me by the governor and council of Macassar, that I might be
considered as under the protection of the Dutch nation, and that no
violence should be offered to my people: For all this they engaged their
honour on behalf of the governor and council, promising me the assurance
I had required on the next day, and requesting that in the mean time I
would remain where I was. I then enquired why the two vessels which were
at anchor under our bows were allotted to that station; and they told
me, for no other reason than to prevent the people of the country from
offering us any violence. When matters were thus far settled between us,
I expressed my concern that, except a glass of wine, I could present
them with nothing better than bad salt meat, and bread full of weevils;
upon which they very politely desired that I would permit their
servants to bring in the victuals which had been dressing in their own
vessel; I readily consented, and a very genteel dinner was soon served
up, consisting of fish, flesh, vegetables, and fruit. It is with the
greatest pleasure that I take this opportunity of acknowledging my
obligations to these gentlemen for the politeness and humanity of their
behaviour in their private capacity, and particularly to Mr Douglas,
who, being qualified by his knowledge of the French language to
interpret between us, undertook that office, with a courtesy and
politeness which very much increased the value of the favour. After this
we parted, and at their leaving the ship, I saluted them with nine guns.

The next morning the shebander was sent to acquaint me, that the
governor and council had confirmed the engagement which had been made
with me on their behalf. Every thing was now settled much to my
satisfaction, except the procuring money for my bills upon the
government of Great Britain, which the shebander said he would solicit.
At eight o'clock in the evening, he came on board again, to let me know
that there was not any person in the town who had money to remit to
Europe, and that there was not a dollar in the Company's chest. I
answered, that as I was not permitted to go on shore to negociate my
bills myself, I hoped they would give me credit, offering him bills for
any debt I should contract, or to pay it at Batavia. To this the
shebander replied, that the resident at Bonthain, the place to which I
was going, would receive orders to supply me with whatever I should
want, and would be glad to take my bills in return, as he had money to
remit, and was himself to go to Europe the next season. He told me also,
that he had considerable property in England, being a denizen of that
country; "and," said the shebander, "he has also money in my hands, with
which I will purchase such things as you want from Macassar, and see
that they are sent after you." Having specified what these articles were
to be, and agreed with him for the quantity and the price, we parted.

The next day, in the afternoon, I received a letter, signed by the
governor and council of Macassar, containing the reasons why I was sent
to Bonthain, and confirming the verbal agreement which subsisted between
us.

Soon after, the ensign M. le Cerf, the secretary of the council, and a
pilot, came on board to attend us to Bonthain. Le Cerf was to command
the soldiers who were on board the guard boats; and the secretary, as we
afterwards discovered, was to be a check upon the resident whose name
was Swellingrabel. This gentleman's father died second governor at the
Cape of Good Hope, where he married an English lady of the name of
Fothergill. Mr Swellingrabel, the resident here, married the daughter of
Cornelius Sinklaar, who had been governor of Macassar, and died some
time ago in England, having come hither to see some of his mother's
relations.

SECTION XI

_Transactions at Bonthain, while the Vessel was waiting for a Wind to
carry her to Batavia, with some Account of the Place, the Town of
Macassar, and the adjacent Country._

The next morning at day-break we sailed, and the day following in the
afternoon we anchored in Bonthain road with our two guard-boats, which
were immediately moored close in to the shore, to prevent the country
boats from coming near us, and our boats from going near them. As soon
as I arrived at this place, I altered our reckoning. I had lost about
eighteen hours, in coming by the west, and the Europeans that we found
here having come by the east had gained about six, so that the
difference was just a day.

I immediately waited upon the resident, Mr Swellingrabel, who spoke
English but very imperfectly, and having settled with him all matters
relating to money and provisions, a house was allotted me near the
sea-side, and close to a little pallisadoed fort of eight guns, the only
one in this place, which I converted into an hospital, under the
direction of the surgeon; to this place I immediately sent all the
people who were thought incapable of recovering on board, and reserved
the rest as a security against accidents. As soon as our people were on
shore, a guard of thirty-six private men, two serjeants, and two
corporals, all under the command of Ensign Le Cerf, was set over them;
and none of them were suffered to go more than thirty yards from the
hospital, nor were any of the country people allowed to come near enough
to sell them any thing; so that our men got nothing of them, but through
the hands of the Dutch soldiers, who abused their power very shamefully.
When they saw any of the country people carrying what they thought our
invalids would purchase, they first took it away, and then asked the
price: What was demanded signified little, the soldier gave what he
thought proper, which was seldom one-fourth of the value; and if the
countryman ventured to express any discontent, he gave him immediately
an earnest of perfect satisfaction, by flourishing his broad-sword over
his head: This was always sufficient to silence complaint, and send the
sufferer quietly away; after which the soldier sold what he had thus
acquired for profit of sometimes more than a thousand per cent. This
behaviour was so cruel to the natives, and so injurious to us, that I
ventured to complain of it to the resident, and the other two gentlemen,
Le Cerf and the secretary. The resident, with becoming spirit,
reprimanded the soldiers; but it produced so little effect that I could
not help entertaining suspicions that Le Cerf connived at these
practices, and shared the advantages which they produced. I suspected
him also of selling arrack to my people, of which I complained, but
without redress; and I know that his slaves were employed to buy things
at the market which his wife afterwards sold to us for more than twice
as much as they cost. The soldiers were indeed guilty of many other
irregularities: It was the duty of one of them by rotation to procure
the day's provision for the whole guard, a service which he constantly
performed by going into the country with his musket and a bag; nor was
the honest proveditor always content with what the bag would contain;
for one of them, without any ceremony, drove down a young buffalo that
belonged to some of the country people, and his comrades not having wood
at hand to dress it when it was killed, supplied themselves by pulling
down some of the pallisadoes of the fort. When this was reported to me,
I thought it so extraordinary that I went on shore to see the breach,
and found the poor black people repairing it.

On the 26th, a sloop laden with rice was sent out from this place in
order to land her cargo at Macassar; but after having attempted it three
days she was forced to return. The weather was now exceedingly
tempestuous, and all navigation at an end from east to west till the
return of the eastern monsoon. On the same day two large sloops that
were bound to the eastward anchored here, and the next morning also a
large ship from Batavia, with troops on board for the Banda Islands; but
none of the crew of any of these vessels were suffered to speak to any
of our people, our boats being restrained from going on board them, and
theirs from coming on board us. As this was a mortifying restriction, we
requested Mr Swellingrabel to buy us some salt meat from the large ship;
and he was so obliging as to procure us four casks of very good European
meat, two of pork, and two of beef.

On the 28th a fleet of more than an hundred sail of the small country
vessels, called proas, anchored here; their burden is from twelve to
eighteen and twenty tons, and they carry from sixteen to twenty men. I
was told that they carried on a fishery round the island, going out with
one monsoon, and coming back with the other, so as always to keep under
the lee of the land: The fish was sent to the China market, and I
observed that all these vessels carried Dutch colours.

No event worthy of notice happened till the 18th of January, and then I
learnt by a letter from Macassar that the Dolphin had been at Batavia.
On the 28th, the secretary of the council, who had been sent hither with
Le Cerf, as we supposed to be a check upon the resident, was called to
Macassar. By this time our carpenter, having in a great degree recovered
his health, examined the state of our vessel, and to our great regret
she appeared to be very leaky: Our main yard also was found not only to
be sprung, but to be rotten and unserviceable. We got it down and
patched it up as well as we could, without either iron or a forge, so
that we hoped it would serve us till we got to Batavia, for no wood was
to be procured here of which a new one could be made. To our leaks very
little could be done, and we were therefore reduced to an entire
dependence upon our pumps.

On Friday the 19th of February, Le Cerf, the military officer who
commanded the soldiers on shore, was recalled, as it was said, to fit
out an expedition for the island of Bally; on the 7th of March, the
largest of our guard-boats, a sloop about forty-five tons, was ordered
back to Macassar with part of the soldiers; and on the 9th, the
resident, Mr Swellingrabel, received a letter from the governor of that
place, enquiring when I should sail for Batavia. I must confess, that I
was surprised at the recal of the officer, and the guard boat; but I was
much more surprised at the contents of the governor's letter, because he
knew that it was impossible I should sail till May, as the eastern
monsoon would not sooner set in. All matters, however, remained in the
same situation till near the end of the month, when some of my people
took notice, that for a short time past a small canoe had gone round us
several times at different hours of the night, and had disappeared as
soon as those on board perceived any body stirring in the ship. On the
29th, while these things were the subjects of speculation, one of my
officers who came from the shore brought me a letter, which he said had
been delivered to him by a black man: It was directed, "To the Commander
of the English ship at Bonthyn." That the reader may understand this
letter, it is necessary to acquaint him, that the island of Celebes is
divided into several districts, which are distinct sovereignties of the
native princes. The town of Macassar is in a district called also
Macassar, or Bony, the king of which is in alliance with the Dutch, who
have been many times repulsed in an attempt to reduce other parts of the
island, one of which is inhabited by a people called Buggueses, and
another is called Waggs or Tosora. The town of Tosora is fortified with
cannon, for the natives had been long furnished with fire-arms from
Europe, before the Dutch settled themselves at Macassar in the room of
the Portuguese.