Discoveries in Australia Volume II Part 30

The closeness with which the native traders conceal their commercial transactions, even from each other, rendered it impossible for me to learn the amount of exports and imports. Each Bughis proa imports to the amount of from 10,000 to 30,000 dollars, and at least one half of her cargo consists of British goods. Taking the yearly average of thirty proas, and the amount of her import cargo at the lowest above stated, this will give 150,000 dollars, or 32,500 pounds sterling, as the amount of British goods imported annually into Dobbo. This appears a large amount; but it will be found, upon examination, that it is rather under than above the actual value. In fact, the greater portion of our cotton manufactures sold at Singapore is consumed in the less civilized parts of the Indian Archipelago, where the natives prefer cheap goods and gaudy patterns; while the people of Java, Celebes, etc. prefer their own or Indian manufactures, which, although dearer, are far more durable than ours.

The value of a return cargo of a Bughis proa at Singapore is about 200 per cent on the outlay. Of the timber of the Arrou Islands there are several varieties, highly spoken of by the Bughis (who build and repair their proas there) for their durability, and the ease with which they are worked. Although of immense size, the trees are almost invariably sound; and as they can be felled within a few yards of the beach, it is not impossible that at some future period timber may form a valuable article of export.

The western islands of this group are very thinly inhabited. Wamma, though nearly forty miles in circ.u.mference, contains only between 200 and 300 inhabitants, who are scattered along the coast in little villages, each containing about half a dozen houses. The eastern islands are said to be more thickly inhabited. The natives appear to be a harmless race; and though their country is so rich in produce, the greater portion are in a state of poverty. This is to be attributed to the immoderate use of spirituous liquors, large quant.i.ties of which are brought by the traders from Java and Maca.s.sar. From their language and personal appearance, the natives appear to be a mixture between the Malayan race and the Polynesian negro.

PRODUCTIONS OF THE ISLANDS.

We also learnt that the emu and a small species of the kangaroo are found in the islands. From the varieties of birds, insects, b.u.t.terflies, and parasitical plants, etc. that we saw, these islands promise a rich field to the naturalist and botanist.

We were shown some of the pearls that had been collected, some of which were very large, and highly prized by the Chinese; though from their irregular form and golden hue, they would not suit the European market.

The smaller pearls, about the size of Number 1 shot, were very perfect in figure but tinged with colour.

As soon as the observations were concluded we returned on board, and got underway to proceed to the Ki Islands. On the 25th we pa.s.sed the north end of the Great Ki, and along its western side, which appeared to be as steep as the eastern, and to afford no anchorage whatever. At 2 P.M. we were off the Lesser Ki, and anch.o.r.ed nearly in our old berth, in 14 fathoms. As soon as the brig was secured, Mr. Hill and myself commenced a survey of the harbour, with which we were rather disappointed, as on further examination the water proved to be too deep for convenient anchorage.

NATIVES ON BOARD.

June 27.

The natives came on board in great numbers, bringing abundance of yams, coconuts, bananas, pumpkins, and a few fowls. As our usual hour for divine service approached, Mr. Earl explained to them what we were going to do, and that they must go on sh.o.r.e till we had finished; but the chiefs requested so earnestly to be allowed to remain, that I permitted them to do so, upon the condition that they would be quite silent during the service. This they promised, and seating themselves on the hammock nettings all round the ship, remained the whole time most quiet and attentive spectators of the scene before them, which they seemed to understand and appreciate perfectly.

In the afternoon we landed, and accompanied by one of the chiefs, walked into the interior of the island for some distance. The country was very low, and covered with an impenetrable jungle, through which a path had been cut with considerable care; on each side, we noticed some patches of ground surrounded by stone walls, very neatly constructed. Our guide informed us that they had been farms, but the soil was exhausted. As only the underwood had been cleared away, the crop must have been produced beneath the shade of the large trees, through which the rays of the sun could scarcely penetrate. At Ki Doulan we saw nothing new. The inhabitants had sold nearly all their canoes to the Bughis, who had touched here on their return from Arrou to their own country.

THE BANDA GROUP.

June 29.

As soon as our survey was finished, we sailed for Banda, where I hoped to find some vessel in which our shipwrecked pa.s.sengers* might find their way to a more civilized part of the world.

(*Footnote. Crew of the Montreal, lost in Torres Strait, who reached Port Essington in their boats.)

June 30.

At 8 A.M. we saw Banda, and at 11 entered the harbour; which is formed between the two islands of Great Banda and Banda Neira; and were here advised by the Resident to take the seamen on to Amboyna; where the papers requisite for their embarkation, in a Dutch merchant vessel, could be procured with less difficulty.

The Banda group consists of three large islands and two smaller ones. The nutmegs, which form the only export of the place, are all grown upon Great Banda, the largest of the three islands. It averages 500 feet in height, and is luxuriantly wooded.

BANDA NEIRA.

Banda Neira, the next in point of size, is the residence of the government officers, the troops, and the convicts. It is not so high as Great Banda, and does not produce a single nutmeg. The third island is called the Gounung Api, or Burning Mountain; and is, as its name implies, a volcano, from which more or less smoke, impregnated with sulphur, is constantly issuing; during the westerly monsoon, this smoke is blown over the town, which it renders very unhealthy. One of the small islands is inhabited entirely by lepers, who are sent there to prevent the disease from spreading among the inhabitants.

Banda is used as a penal settlement by the Dutch Government, and, at the period of our visit, there were from 3000 to 4000 convicts, guarded by about 300 soldiers, most of whom were natives of Celebes and Amboyna, being commanded by European officers. The town of Banda is clean, and contains, besides the houses of the Government officers, ample storehouses for the reception of the nutmegs grown upon Great Banda; together with very commodious barracks for the troops, and an airy and well appointed hospital. In addition to the Government officers and troops, a considerable number of Chinese have settled in Banda Neira.

They reside in a part of the town by themselves; and some of them, judging from the appearance of their houses, seem to be prospering in the world.

The harbour is well sheltered in both monsoons, and is easy of access, but it is closed against foreign merchant vessels.* We found two merchant vessels under Dutch colours, at anchor; one was commanded by an Englishman, and the other, the property of a rich Chinaman living in Banda, by an old friend, who piloted us last year into Dobbo Harbour.

(*Footnote. A shoal extends from Great Banda towards the Gounung Api, leaving a deep pa.s.sage of not more than a quarter of a mile wide. Upon this shoal, a considerable portion of which is dry at low-water, extensive bamboo fish-weirs are erected, which seem to be very productive. The natives also use fish-pots formed of bamboo, resembling in principle the common drum-net, which they leave down in shoal water during the night, and generally find a good supply in the morning. On another part of the shoal we observed a number of large stones, which are said to have been projected from the volcano, during a violent eruption some years ago.)

ADVENTURES OF A JAVANESE.

His history was a strange one. He was a half-caste, born in Java, who, after various adventures in different parts of the world, had been pressed into our naval service, and served some time on board a man-of-war, where he learned the English language. On his discharge from her, he was for some time in distress in London, and eventually he found his way back to his native country, where his enterprise, knowledge of seamanship, and facility in acquiring languages, of which he spoke seven or eight, soon got him employment.

The commandant of the troops, Captain De Stuers, nephew to the Governor-General of the Moluccas, who had very civilly pointed out the best anchorage to us, and given us every information in his power, on our first arrival, finding that we were interested in the manners and customs of the natives, very kindly invited us to see a menado dance performed by some of the native soldiers of the garrison. We landed with him in his Oram-bay, a large native boat, pulled by twelve men, who kept time by striking their round-bladed paddles against the gunwale between every stroke.

NATIVE DANCE.

On landing, the prettiest sight possible awaited us. The barrack-square, a green gra.s.s field of considerable extent, was covered with the native soldiers, all dressed in their gayest holiday costume, and decorated with scarves and handkerchiefs of the brightest colours, which streamed loosely from their elbows. Some of the men were armed with narrow bamboo shields, others with wooden swords, and the remainder with the light stems of the sago-palm, which were to be used as javelins. Each of these warriors came dancing up to us in turn, to make his obeisance, as we advanced to the spot where seats had been prepared for us. As soon as we were all seated the dance commenced. At first the spear-men advanced towards each other, holding the spear in the right hand, and the bamboo shields in the left, keeping time to the rude music of a couple of drums with very great accuracy, and dancing quite as much with their arms as their legs, in the most graceful manner possible. When they had approached sufficiently near to each other, one threw his spear with great force and dexterity, still keeping time to the music, and the other parried the weapon with his bamboo shield. I only saw one instance of failure, and then the unfortunate man received the blunt spear full on his breast with such force that it sent him rolling head-over-heels, much to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the spectators, and equally to his own discomfiture.

As one of the Port Essington natives, a very fine active man, had accompanied us on sh.o.r.e, we persuaded him, with some difficulty, to join in the dance, thinking that the quickness of eye, so common to all savages, would enable him to avoid the spear; but in this we were all disappointed, as he was struck nearly every time the spear was thrown.

NATIVE SPORTS.

After the dance was over sundry gymnastics followed, and the evening was wound up by an exhibition of the Ombres Chinoises, in which the soldiers seemed to take very great delight. The moving figures were very cleverly managed; and, to judge from the shouts of laughter which accompanied the storyteller in his tale, it must have been a very amusing one.

July 5.

The Resident having invited us to visit the nutmeg plantations on Great Banda, we accompanied him to the landing-place at Lontar, where we found chairs waiting for us, fitted with long poles, like those of a sedan, and were carried by eight men, who placed the poles on their shoulders, thus raising the chair, with its occupant, above their heads, a position which we found at first anything but pleasant.

In these conveyances we ascended to the summit of the island by a broad flight of stone steps, leading up from the landing-place, at the top of which we saw a ruined fort, and a church, that still retains traces of having been a fine building, though it had been much shaken by an earthquake. After pa.s.sing the church, we entered the nutmeg plantations.

NUTMEG PLANTATIONS.

The scenery was most beautiful. Under the shade of large kanari trees, whose luxuriant foliage most effectually excluded the sun's rays, were thousands of nutmeg trees loaded with blossom and fruit in every stage of development. After pa.s.sing through above a mile of these, we arrived at a house belonging to one of the planters, where we saw the process of curing the nutmeg.

In nine months from the opening of the blossom, the fruit, which resembles in appearance and shape an unripe peach, is gathered from the tree, by means of a long stick with an iron hook at the end. The outer covering, a tough fleshy skin which being opened divides in two halves, is then pulled off, and the mace, which is found partly enveloping the nut, is carefully separated and dried for two or three days in the sun.

The nutmegs are then placed on long bamboo platforms, under sheds built for the purpose, where they are dried by means of wood fires. When sufficiently dry, they are handed over to the Government (who monopolize the whole produce of the island) and are then placed in the Government stores, where they are heated with quick-lime, which has the effect of preserving them from insects: they are then ready for exportation.

The annual produce of the island is said to average from 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of nutmegs; and about one-fourth that quant.i.ty of mace.

Nutmegs are the only produce of Banda. Cloves are grown upon the island, but are considered to be so much inferior in quality to those produced at Amboyna, that they are not exported.

In returning to the ship, the bearers amused themselves by racing with each other, a proceeding far from agreeable to us who were carried, particularly when we came to the flight of steps, which they descended at full speed, shaking the chairs to such a degree that we had some trouble in keeping our seats. On arriving at the bottom we were most hospitably received by one of the nutmeg planters.

On the 6th July we sailed from Banda, pa.s.sing out through the western entrance, between the shoal extending from Great Banda and the Gounung Api; though very narrow, it is quite safe, and by keeping over on the Gounung Api sh.o.r.e, which is very steep, we found plenty of water.

BAY OF AMBOYNA.

July 7.

We entered the bay of Amboyna; but light winds prevented our reaching the anchorage till noon on the 8th. We found a Dutch frigate, the Bellona, a 14-gun brig, and several merchant vessels under Dutch colours lying in the roads.

On landing, I was most kindly received by the Governor-General of the Moluccas, Colonel de Stuers, who gave me a most pressing invitation to take up my abode at his delightful residence a short distance out of the town, which was gladly accepted. During our stay at Amboyna the rain was almost incessant. This prevented our seeing the clove plantations, which were described as being very beautiful, and the cloves of Amboyna are as much prized as the nutmegs of Banda.

VISIT A NATURAL GROTTO.

The only fine day was devoted to an excursion some miles inland to visit a curious natural grotto. We started in chairs, borne on men's shoulders, similar to those at Banda, and which seem to be the usual conveyance of the country. Our party consisted of more than 100 natives, preceded by drums, gongs, and two large Dutch flags. The men who were not employed in carrying the chairs, ran by our side, and amused us by their songs and war-cry, which was the most thrilling yell I ever heard. The grotto itself, prettily situated on the side of a well wooded hill, was of considerable length but not otherwise curious.

July 20.

Having at last succeeded in getting a rate for the chronometers, which the unsettled state of the weather had rendered a matter of some difficulty, we sailed from Amboyna, much delighted with the kindness and attention we had all received. During the night we pa.s.sed a small insulated volcano that was emitting a faint smoke, and in the morning made the north side of Wetter, which ranges from 3000 to 4000 feet in height, is very barren, and apparently thinly inhabited.