1768.

January.

Monday 18.

No event worthy of notice happened till the 18th of January, and then I learnt by a letter from Macaffar that the Dolphin had been at Batavia. On the 28th the fecretary of the Thurfd. 28. council, who had been fent hither with Le Cerf, as we fuppofed to be a check upon the refident, was called to Macaffar. By this time our carpenter, having in a great degree recovered his health, examined the state of our veffel, and to our great regret fhe appeared to be very leaky: our main yard alfo was found not only to be fprung, but to be rotten and unferviceable. We got it down and patched it up as well as we could, without either iron or a forge, fo that we hoped it would ferve 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.

March.

On Friday the 19th of February, Le Cerf, February. the military officer who commanded the foldiers Friday 19. on fhore, was recalled, as it was faid, to fit out an expedition for the Ifland of Bally; on the 7th of March, the largest of our guard-boats, a floop about forty-five tons, was ordered back to Macaffar with part of the foldiers; and on the 9th, the refident, Mr. Swellingrabel, received a Wednef.9. letter from the governor of that place, inquiring when I should fail for Batavia. I must

VOL. II.

M

con.

Monday 7.

1768.

March.

confefs, that I was furprised at the recal of the officer, and the guard-boat; but I was much Wednef. 9. more furprised at the contents of the governor's letter, because he knew that it was impoffible I fhould fail till May, as the eastern monsoon would not fooner fet in. All matters however remained in the fame fituation till near the end of the month, when fome of my people took notice, that for a fhort time past a small canoe had gone round us feveral times at different hours of the night, and had disappeared as foon thofe on board perceived any body stirring in Tuesday 29. the ship. On the 29th, while these things were the fubjects of fpeculation, one of my officers who came from the fhore 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 fhip at Bonthyn." That the reader may understand this letter, it is neceffary to acquaint him, that the island of Celebes is divided into feveral diftricts, which are distinct fovereignties of the native princes. The town of Macaffar is in a diftrict called alfo Macaffar, or Bony, the king of which is in alliance with the Dutch, who have been many times repulfed in an attempt to reduce other parts of the ifland, one of which is inhabited by a people called Bugguefes, and another is called Waggs or Tofora. The town of Tofora is fortified with cannon, for the natives had been long furnished

I

nifhed with fire-arms from Europe, before the Dutch fettled themselves at Macaffar in the room of the Portuguese.

The letter acquainted me, that a defign had been formed by the Dutch, in conjunction with the king of Bony, to cut us off: that the Dutch however were not to appear in it: that the bufinefs was to be done by a fon of the king of Bony, who was, besides a gratuity from the Dutch, to receive the plunder of the veffel for his reward, and who, with eight hundred men, was then at Bonthain for that purpose: that the motive was jealoufy of our forming a connexion with the Bugguefes, and other people of the country, who were at enmity with the Dutch and their allies, and driving them out of the island; or at least a fufpicion that, if we got back to England, fome project of that kind might be founded upon the intelligence we should give, no English man of war, as I have already obferved, having ever been known to have vifited the inland before.

This letter was a new fubject of surprise and fpeculation. It was extremely ill written with respect to the ftyle and manner, yet it did not therefore the lefs deferve notice. How far the intelligence which it contained was true or falfe, I was utterly unable to determine: it was poffible that the writer might be deceived himself; it was alfo poffible, that he might have fome view

1768. March.

Tuesday 29'

1

1768.

March.

in wilfully deceiving me: the falsehood might procure fome little reward for the kindness and Tuesday 29. zeal which it placed to his account, or it might give him an importance which would at least be a gratification to his vanity. It behoved me however to take the fame measures as if I had known it to be true; and I must confefs, that I was not perfectly at eafe when I recollected the recal of the Secretary and Le Cerf, with the large floop, and part of the foldiers, who were faid to have been fent hither for no other reafon than to guard us against the infults of the country people; the affembling an armed force at Macaffar, as it was faid, for an expedition to Bally; and the little canoe that we had feen rowing round us in the night, not to mention the governor's inquiry by letter, when we intended to leave the island. However, whether either our intelligence or conjectures were true or falfe, we immediately went to work: we rigged the fhip, bent the fails, unmoored, got fprings upon our cables, loaded all our guns, and barricadoed the deck. At night every body slept under arms, and the next day we warped the veffel farther off from the bottom of the bay, towards the eastern fhore, that we might have more room, fixed four fwivel guns on the forepart of the quarter-deck, and took every other meafure that appeared to be neceffary for our defence.

Wednef. 30.

The

1768. March.

The refident, Mr. Swellingrabel, was at this time absent twenty miles up the country upon the Company's business, but had told me, that Wednef. 39, he should certainly return on the 1st of April,

a day which I now expected with great impatience, especially as an old drunken ferjeant was the most refpectable perfon at the fort. In the evening of the 3 ft, a packet of letters for him Thurfd. 31. arrived here from Macaffar, which I confidered as a good omen, and a pledge of his return at the time appointed; but I conceived very different sentiments when I learnt that they were fent to him. I did not fufpect that he was privy to any such design as had been intimated to me by the letter; but I could not help doubting, whether he was not kept in the country that he might be out of the way when it should be executed. In this ftate of anxiety and suspense I sent a meffage to the fort, defiring that an exprefs might be dispatched to him, to acquaint him that I wished to see him immediately upon business of great importance, which would admit of no delay. Whether my meffage was forwarded to him or not, I cannot tell, but having waited till the 4th of April, without having seen him or received any answer, I wrote him a letter, requesting to speak with him, in the most preffing terms, and the next day he came on board. A few minutes convinced me that he was wholly a ftranger to any fuch de

April. Monday 4.

Tuesday 5.