from Europe, before the Dutch fettled themselves at Macaffar in the room of the Portuguese. The letter acquainted me, that a design 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 business was to be done by a fon of the King of Bony, who was, befides 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 jealousy of our forming a connection 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 island before. This letter was a new fubject of surprise and fpeculation. It was extremely ill written with respect to the style 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 in wilfully deceiving me: the falfhood might procure fome little reward for the kindness and 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 ease 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 enquiry by letter, when we intended to leave the island. However, whether 1768, March. 1768. March. whether either our intelligence or conjectures were true or false, we immediately went to work; we rigged the ship, bent the fails, unmoored, got fprings upon our cables, loaded all our guns, and barricadoed the deck. At night every body flept under arms, and the Wednef. 30. next day we warped the veffel farther off from the bottom of the bay, towards the eastern shore, that we might have more room, fixed four swivel guns on the fore part of the quarter-deck, and took every other measure that appeared to be neceffary for our defence. The Resident, Mr. Swellingrabel, was at this time absent twenty miles up the country upon the Company's business, but had told me, that he should certainly return on the 1st of April, a day which I now expected with great impatience, especially as an old drunken Serjeant was the most refpectable perfon at the fort. In the evening of the 31ft, a packet of letters for him 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 fentiments when I learnt that they were fent to him. I did not suspect that he was privy to any fuch 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 fhould be executed. In this ftate of anxiety and fufpence I fent a meffage to the fort, defiring that an exprefs might be dispatched to him, to acquaint him that I wished to fee him immediately upon bufineis of great importance, which would admit of no delay. Whether my meffage was forwarded to him or not, I cannot tell; but havApril. ing waited till the 4th of April, without having seen Monday 4. him or received any answer, I wrote him a letter, re quefting to speak with him, in the most pressing terms, and the next day he came on board. A few minutes convinced me that he was wholly a ftranger to any fuch defign as I had been made to apprehend; and he was clearly of opinion that no fuch design had been formed. He faid, indeed, that one Tomilaly, a counfellor or minister of the King of Bony, had lately paid him a vifit, and had not well accounted for his being in this part of the country; and, at my requeft, he very readily undertook to make farther enquiries concerning him and his people. The Refident and his attendants took notice that the fhip was put into a state of defence, and that every thing was ready for immediate action; and he told us, that the people on fhore had acquainted him, before he came on board, with our vigilance and activity, and in particular, with our having exercised the fhip's company at small arms every day. I informed him, that we should, at all events, continue upon our guard, which he seemed to approve, and we parted with mutual proteftations of friendship and good faith. After a few days he fent me word, that having made a very ftri& inquiry, whether any other perfons belonging to the King of Bony had been at Bonthain, he had been credibly informed, that one of the Princes of that kingdom had been there in dıf-guife; but that of the eight hundred men who were faid in my intelligence to be with him, he could find no traces; fo that, except they too, like the troops of the King of Brentford, were an army in difguife, I knew that no fuch people could be in that country. 1768. April. On the 16th, in the morning, the Resident sent me Satur. 16. word, that M. Le Cerf was returned from Macaffar with an other officer, and that they would come on board and dine with me. When dinner was over, I asked Le Cerf, among other converfation, while we were taking our wine, what was become of his expedition to Bally? To which he answered drily, that it was laid afide, without faying any thing more upon the fubject. On the 23d he returned to Macaffar by fea, and the other officer who was also an enfign, remained to take the command of the foldiers that were still left at this place. The season now approached in which navigation to the westward would be again practicable, which gave us all great pleafure; efpecially as putrid difeafes had begun to make their appearance among us, and a putrid fever had carried off one of our people. May. On the 7th of May the Refident gave me a long Satur. 7. letter from the Governor of Macaffar, which was written in Dutch, and of which he gave me the best interpretation he was able. The general purport of it was, that he had heard a letter had been fent to me charging 1768. May. Sund. 22. charging him, in conjunction with the king of Bony, with a defign to cut us off: that the letter was altogether falfe, exculpating himself with the moft folemn proteftations, and requiring the letter to be delivered up, that the writer might be brought to such punishment as he deserved. It is fcarcely necessary to say that I did not deliver up the letter, becaufe the writer would certainly have been punished with equal feverity whether it was true or falfe; but I returned the Governor a polite answer, in which I juftified the meafures I had taken, without imputing any evil design to him or his allies; and indeed there is the greateft reafon to believe, that there was not fufficient ground for the charge contained in the letter, though it is not equally probable that the writter believed it to be falfe. At day-break, on Sunday the 22d of May, we failed from this place, of which, and of the town of Macaffar, and the adjacent country, I fhall fay but little, there being many accounts of the ifland of Celebes and its inhabitants already extant. The town is built upon a kind of point or neck of land, and is watered by a river or two which either run through, or very near it. It feems to be large, and there is water for a ship to come within half cannon fhot of the walls: the country about it is level, and has a most beautiful appearance; abounds with plantations, and groves of cocoa nut trees, with a great number of houses interfperfed, by which it appears to abound with people. At a distance inland, the country rises into hills of a great height, and becomes rude and mountainous. The town lies in latitude 5o 10' or 5° 12' S. and longitude by account 117° 28' E of London. it Bonthain is a large bay, where ships may lie in perfect fecurity during both the monfoons: the foundings are good and regular, and the bottom foft mud; nor is there any danger in coming in,but a ledge of rocks which are above water, and are a good mark for anchoring. The highest land in fight here is called Bonthain hill, and when a fhip is in the offing at the diftance of two ́or three miles from the land, fhe fhould bring this ftill north, or N. W. and then run in with it and anchor. We lay right under it, at the distance of about a mile from the shore. In this bay there are feveral small towns; : towns; that which is called Bonthain lies in the northeast part of the bay, and here is the fmall pallifadoed fort that has been mentioned already, on which there are mounted eight guns that carry a ball of about eight pounds weight: it is juft fufficient to keep the country people in subjection, and is intended for no other purpofe it lies on the fouth fide of a fmall river, and there is water for a fhip to come close to it. The Dutch Refident has the command of the place, and of Bullocomba, another town which lies about twenty miles farther to the eastward, where there is fuch another fort, and a few foldiers, who at the proper feafon are employed in gathering the rice, which the people pay as a tax to the Dutch. Wood and water are to be procured here in great plenty; we cut our wood near the river, under Bonthain hill our water was procured partly from that river, and partly from another; when from the other, our boat went above the fort with the casks that were to be filled, where there is a good rolling way; but as the river is small, and has a bar, the boat, after it is loaded, can come out only at high water. There are feveral other small rivers in the bay, from which water may be got upon occafion. We procured plenty of fresh provifions all the while we lay here at a reasonable rate; the beef is excellent; but it would be difficult to procure enough of it for a fquadron. Rice may be had in any quantity, fo may fowls and fruit: there are alfo abundance of wild hogs in the woods, which may be purchafed at a low price, as the natives, being Mahometans, never eat them. Fith may be caught with the feine, and the natives, at times, fupplied us with turtle, for this, like pork, is a dainty which they never touch. Celebes is the key of the Molucca, or fpice iflands, which, whoever is in poffeffion of it, muft neceffarily. command: most of the fhips that are bound to them, or to Banda, touch here, and always go between this island and that of Solayer. The bullocks here are the breed that have the bunch on the back, besides which the island produces horfes, buffaloes, goats, fheep, and deers. The arrack and fugar that are confumed here are brought from Batavia. The 1768. May. |