Letters On The Nicobar Islands, Their Natural Productions, And The Manners, Customs, And Superstitions Of The Natives Part 2

The natives of these islands are a free people, perfectly independent, but have a captain in every village. There are, indeed, several who claim the rank of captain, as being more sensible and clever than their neighbours, but only one of the number is considered as the _Omjah karru_, or the great master of the house. Yet no one is bound to obey him, for all of them, male and female, consider themselves under no control whatever; and the captain must take care, that he does not offend, by pretending to command. He is sure to be disobeyed, unless they are pleased to listen to friendly representation. All the preference given him, consists in this; that when a ship arrives, he is allowed to go first on board, and to make the bargain, if they have any thing to barter. They are commonly good-natured men, disposed to make and preserve peace among the common people. In every other respect they live and act like the rest, get drunk, commit fornication, and, when there is, as they say, a necessity for it, murder; and are equally lazy and unclean. But they can use their tongues more glibly than their neighbours.

Their houses are generally s.p.a.cious, and built upon pillars, six or more feet from the ground, resembling those of the Malays, but round, not square, like the latter. The inhabitants ascend by a ladder, which they can draw up after them. The house has only one room, but generally contains more than one family. Parents and children, guests, young and old of every description, pig here together, lying naked on the floor, with nothing but a _hetfat_, the leaf of a species of palm, under them, in lieu of a mattra.s.s, and very few have any covering. The furniture of such a house consists in a few pots, made by the women, some highly polished cocoa-nut dishes, to hold water, some hatchets, a sabre or two, a few sailor's knives, and a good many spears. A family generally possesses two or three palongs, or boats.

Their chief food is melory bread, made of the fruit of a kind of palm-tree[5], which is very palatable; yams, several other good roots, and great plenty of fruit from various trees and shrubs; all which grow in great abundance. Of pigs and common fowls they have a vast profusion. These are fed with cocoa-nuts, and their flesh is remarkably good. The sea furnishes them with various kinds of fishes, and an abundance of crabs and other sh.e.l.l-fish, so that they may easily enough serve their G.o.d, which is their belly.

[5] A species of Panda.n.u.s. See Asiatic Researches, Vol. III. p.

292.

The clothing of the men consists of a narrow piece of cloth, about three yards long. This they wrap twice round their waist, then pa.s.sing it between their legs, and through the girth behind, leave the end of it to drag after them[6]. The women wear a piece of cloth, commonly of a blue colour, about a foot wide, fastened round their waist, so as to hang down like an ap.r.o.n, reaching not quite to their knees. They pride themselves upon their fine skin, which indeed they keep very clean, and do not in general use any paint. Both s.e.xes live from their infancy without any restraint, and commit every kind of abomination, often to the utter ruin of their health and const.i.tutions, in very early life.

In general they do not live regularly in the married state, till they are past their prime; though I have known some who had married early, remain faithful to each other, and keep their families in good order.

[6] Hence the fabulous stories of men with tails, related by Kloping, a Swedish navigator.

As savages, they may be justly esteemed a good-natured race, being always ready to do a kind action, to their friends; of which I will relate one instance. We used to buy of them what we wanted, and pay with tobacco, the current medium. Even when they had nothing to sell, they would come and fetch their portion of tobacco, which we never refused them, as long as we had any, till, by the non-arrival of the ship, we were left entirely without it. We therefore told the captain of the village, that, as we had no more tobacco, the people need not bring us any more provisions, for we had nothing to give in exchange.

The captain did as we desired, yet, on the very next day, we were supplied more plentifully than ever, with the things we wanted. They would not even wait for pay, but hung up their fruit and meat about the house, and went away. We called after them and told them how we were situated. Their answer was: "When you had plenty of tobacco, you gave us as much as you could spare; now, though you have got no more of it, we have provisions enough, and you shall have as much as you want, as long as we have any, till you get more tobacco." This promise they most faithfully performed. Such kindness we did not expect from such people; but they always showed great affection for us.

As to religion, they are in a state of deplorable ignorance. Their notions of a Divine Being seem most oddly perplexed, insomuch that it is difficult to make out any thing among them like a fixed opinion of His existence and attributes, nor do they seem to possess any curiosity to know more about Him.

But they are not professed idolaters, like most of the other oriental nations. They have not even a word in their language to express their idea of G.o.d. They use the word _Knallen_ when they speak of Him, but it only signifies, "above, on high:" for instance, they say, _Knallen maade_, "on the hill;" _Knallen uniga_, "on the top of the tree;"

_Knallen gamalee_, "on the surface of the sea;" speaking of something swimming. However, they believe that this "unknown G.o.d" is good, and will not hurt them; but wherein His goodness consists, they neither have, nor seem to wish to have, any understanding, nor ever trouble themselves about Him. Therefore, when we endeavoured, as well as we could, to explain to them the goodness of G.o.d, in pitying the lost condition of man, and providing the means of our redemption; and spoke to them of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and of what He has done and suffered to purchase for us salvation, they heard us indeed with astonishment and silent submission; but that they should be at all interested in it, and become virtuous and happy if they believed and turned to Him, and after this life enter into everlasting bliss by His merits, was more than they could possibly comprehend. When we told them, that we were come hither for no other purpose, but to make them acquainted with their Creator and Redeemer, and to bring them the glad tidings of salvation; and begged them only to take it to heart, and reflect upon what we thus made known to them in the name of G.o.d, they laughed at us. They observed, that they could not believe that the sufferings of one man could atone for the sins of another; and that therefore, if they were wicked, what we told them of a crucified Saviour would not help them: but they insisted, that they were good by nature, and never did any thing wrong, as we well knew. When we replied, that we knew, that they had but lately murdered some people, and afterwards abused the dead bodies, each thrusting his spear into them, mutilating them in the most wanton manner, and at last cutting them to pieces, and asked them, whether this was a proof of their natural goodness, their answer was: "That you do not understand, those were people not fit to live, they were _Gomoy_, cannibals!"

LETTER VI.

The inhabitants of the Nicobar islands believe, that all dangerous diseases proceed from the devil, who is nevertheless under the controul of their sorcerers, or _Paters_[7]. If, therefore, these men cannot cure a disorder by their tricks and inchantments, by which they pretend to catch the devil and drive him off the place, then they are sure, that he has entered into some man or woman, sitting in his or her house, and by witchcraft, sucking all the power of healing out of the patient's body. The sorcerer then proceeds to discover the witch, and finds no difficulty in fixing upon some one he hates. The word of such a wise man is, of course, taken by all for the voice of truth, and the poor person accused is murdered without further inquiry. Murders of this kind occurred but seldom in our neighbourhood, but were said to be more frequent in some of the other islands. We told them, that the devil everywhere proved himself the father of lies, and a murderer from the beginning; and, till they turned to the true G.o.d, they were Satan's slaves, and his works they must do. They seem indeed to be continually engaged with him, whenever they profess to perform any religious rite.

They even ascribe the creation of the world to the _Eewee_, or wicked agent. If they do any thing wrong, or commit any atrocious crime, and are reproved for it, they immediately answer: "It was not me, it was the devil that did it." If you convince them, that they did it themselves, and with their own hands, their usual phrase is, "The _Eewee_ did not make me perfect, or better;" and therefore they cannot help some times doing what is wrong. They speak of a great many sorts of devils, but all malicious, and disposed to hurt them, if they had not such great and powerful paters among them, who had a superior power, and could catch, and bring them into subjection. It is not difficult for the sorcerers thus to impose upon the poor ignorant people, for they really do possess superior cunning, and astonishing dexterity, being the most expert jugglers on earth. Every one who has visited the East Indies, well knows, with what unaccountable exhibitions and slight of hand tricks the jugglers endeavour to amuse the people; but in the Nicobar islands, these arts being applied to what they consider as religious exercises, the deception is so great, that I have myself often stood astonished, being unable to account for what I saw.

[7] An appellation borrowed from the Portuguese Missionaries.

I went once purposely into a house, where a sorcerer was about to perform as doctor, and to cure a woman, who lay very ill. I was determined to watch him as narrowly as possible. Both doctor and patient were stark naked. After a series of most horrible grimaces, the sorcerer produced a very large yam, which he held up, pretending that he had _limpt_ it, (for thus they call this species of legerdemain), out of the body of the woman, and that it had been, by witchcraft, the cause of her disorder. When he entered, I particularly noticed that he had nothing in his hands, or about him, nor did there appear any possibility of a substance of that size being concealed in the empty room. At another time, I saw a sorcerer under similar circ.u.mstances, on a sudden exhibit three large stones, which he pretended to have extracted from the patient's body. To the first of these patients, he afterwards administered a decoction of herbs, and she recovered. The cure was probably owing to his skill in preparing the potion, but was of course ascribed to the incantation, and the seizure of the enchanted yam.

After I had resided five years in the island, my legs began to inflame and swell to a prodigious size[8]. A suppuration took place, and till the discharge commenced, I suffered excruciating pain. During this dreadful illness, several paters called upon me, and in the most friendly manner, expressed their pity, offering me their a.s.sistance, and a.s.suring me, that if I would submit to their mode of cure, I should soon recover. At last I thought, that as their skill in various medicinal arts, and their knowledge of drugs was very great, I would suffer one of them, called Philip, who always attended us as language-master, to try what he could do for me, on condition, that he should omit all superst.i.tious ceremonies. He agreed, and immediately putting on the most solemn and significant expression of face, worthy of so eminent a pract.i.tioner, began to paw me all over, varying his features with every motion of his hand, so that, notwithstanding the pain I felt, I could not refrain from bursting into laughter at his grimaces, which he could not possibly avoid, though bargained to be omitted. At length, the preamble concluded, he began his work, first by stroking my legs, from the knees downwards, with the palm of his hand, muttering all the while, and then by applying his mouth, and sucking the parts affected, accompanying the operation by a most strange kind of purring or grunting. Thus far his practice seemed to do good, and I felt relief, when, rising on a sudden, he produced a potsherd, which he exhibited to the company, as having _limpt_ it out of my leg, saying that he should soon bring forth more pieces. I cried out, "Stop there, you deceiver, do you pretend that my body is full of potsherds; that broken piece in your hand, you drew out of your own mouth. Open it directly, and let us have the rest." He stood confounded, and soon sneaked out of the house, laughed at by all his former admirers, nor did he call upon me again, till about a fortnight after.

[8] A disorder known in India by the name of the Cochin leg.

Asiatic Researches, Vol. III.

As it sometimes happened, that when the skill of the sorcerers proved ineffective, a missionary had administered some simple medicine, which, by G.o.d's blessing, had the desired effect, they looked upon us, as the first of paters, though our medicines consisted in nothing but a little magnesia, spirits of nitre, and a few simples. But what astonished them most, was this, that we could inform them before-hand, by means of a perpetual almanack, that an eclipse of the sun or moon would take place on the very day when it happened. Their notion of the cause of an eclipse is the most preposterous and ridiculous, that ever entered into the head, even of an heathen. They say, that the devil is come to devour the sun or moon, and falls to work to gnaw off the edge; that therefore it is necessary he should be driven away; consequently all the sorcerers or paters a.s.semble, and amidst singular and hideous grimaces, throw up their spears towards the luminary attacked, all the villagers sounding their gonggongs with the greatest violence, to frighten away the voracious invader. After some time, their efforts succeed, and he must betake himself to flight, without effecting his purpose. Though we endeavoured, in every possible way, to explain to them how an eclipse was occasioned, and they seemed in some degree to comprehend it, they only declared us to be the greatest paters that had ever been on the island, but ascribed the deliverance of the sun or moon from the fangs of the devil, solely to the skill and power of their sorcerers, and all we could say to prevail upon them, for once to be quiet, and observe how the luminary would regain its former appearance, by those means which G.o.d the Creator Himself had ordained, was in vain.

The expulsion of the devil from a sick person or family, is a ceremony as singular as it is silly, but as I have frequently been a spectator of this farcical performance, a description of it may not be uninteresting to you. I have before observed, that if their medicines, (many of which are very powerful), or, as they will have it, their incantations, are of no avail, they then ascribe the illness to the immediate agency of the infernal spirit, who must be subdued and caught. The pater, previous to the commencement of his operations, summons all the young men in the village, to a.s.sist him in constructing a small raft, of light wood. Three poles are fixed upon it, to represent masts, and some bamboos laid across like oars. The masts are hung with young white cocoa-leaves. This toy, which they call _Hanmai_, they place between two palongs, each rowed by a crew of stout young men, with a piece of rattan, as a towing-rope, fixed to it. Every rower carries five spears, besides his oar. They now wait with great eagerness for the pater's further orders. He has meanwhile begun his work, which he finds either hard or easy of performance, according as the patients are rich or poor. He is stark naked, and painted all over with various colours, making as terrific an appearance as possible, to frighten the devil, and indeed it is enough to terrify any man, to see him brandishing a short clumsy bludgeon, which he holds up with both hands, and dancing in the most furious manner. He accompanies his gesticulations with the most horrible yells and howlings, and at length is fortunate enough to seize the enemy by a leg, an arm, or even by the hair of his head, which the poor deluded people believe, without seeing what he grasps. Now the whole company rush towards the water, and the pater deposits the supposed devil on board the raft, on which the palongs row off with the greatest possible expedition, dragging the captive out to sea, to a considerable distance, when, having turned him and his vehicle adrift, they row back with the utmost speed to sh.o.r.e.

For two days the enemy may survive this rough usage, and again land in safety, if driven on sh.o.r.e by the tide or wind, but on the third day he must die. Should he land at another village, he then does the mischief there, which he was prevented doing at the former place.

The worst consequence of such an unfortunate conclusion of the business is, that the greatest enmity immediately takes place between the two villages, and nothing can atone for the aggression, but a formal combat. The village invaded sends a challenge to the former, and a day is fixed for the battle. The captains of all the neighbouring villages having met to a consultation, the combatants are chosen, and as there are others who wish to take advantage of so just a mode of settling their disputes, they are summoned to appear. One has stolen something, another run off with his neighbour's wife, and the like. All these people now meet, both the injured and the guilty, and each being provided with a sufficient supply of long sticks, of the Mango tree, they proceed to the place of rendezvous. There the captains examine the sticks, and those that are too thick are thrown away. This being done, two of the combatants step out, and lay about each other's back and head, till one of the party is obliged to give up. A second couple follow, and after them others, till in a proper s.p.a.ce of time, the whole company has got a good drubbing. The most innocent among them are generally the worst handled; however, the business is now decided, and all are convinced, that whoever was first obliged to give up, was the offender. Peace is thus restored, both parties being perfectly satisfied with so wise and just a decision, nor could anything we said, convince them of the folly and wickedness of such superst.i.tious and injurious practices.

LETTER VII.

You wish to know what were the chief external causes of the failure of our exertions; and ask, whether our residence on the island had been with the consent of the natives, or whether they considered us as intruders. The latter circ.u.mstance was guarded against by a regular treaty made in December 1774, between the Brethren, and the captain and inhabitants of the village Malacca, near to which they had made their settlement. They then obtained legal possession of that piece of land, which they occupied. Such presents as the natives required, were delivered, and the terms contained in the treaty fully explained, to them; after which the princ.i.p.al men signed their names, by drawing a pen with ink over the letters, as written with a pencil. The neighbouring village likewise received a proper consideration for a treaty of friendship with them, and now the Brethren were looked upon no longer as _Kaleng_, "foreigners;" but as _Baju Tripjet_, "natives at Tripjet." Objections were however started, when they began to build their dwelling-house; and some wicked people endeavoured to raise suspicions in the minds of their countrymen, as to the intentions of the Missionaries. The latter were, for some time after, in danger of their lives, from the fickle disposition of their new friends; but the Lord preserved them. Their upright intentions were at length acknowledged, and ever after all due respect and confidence shown to them by all the inhabitants of Nancauwery.

The failure of the Mission was owing to other causes, of which I will mention some, according to my view of the subject. First, the extreme difficulty of learning the language. We had indeed an opportunity of speaking with some of the natives, in a kind of b.a.s.t.a.r.d Portuguese, but it would by no means answer the purpose of preaching the gospel to them in general. It was their own native language, of which we wished to acquire a sufficient knowledge, thereby to gain access to the whole nation. To this end, a pater, called Philip, was engaged as language-master. A few of the Missionaries made some proficiency, notwithstanding the peculiar difficulties attending the study; for impediments arise even from the habits of the natives. Their language is in itself very poor in words and expressions, and they are of so indolent a turn, that even talking seems a trouble to them; and as long as they can express, by signs, what they mean, they are unwilling to open their mouths. If a stranger comes into their houses, they sit still and look at him, or perhaps, pointing to some food, motion to him to sit down and eat. There he may sit for hours, without hearing a syllable spoken, unless he can himself begin, when they will answer with friendliness. Again, both men and women have always a huge quid of the betel, or areca-nut in their mouths, which renders their speech so indistinct, that if you ask them the names of the various objects before them, you can hardly distinguish between the sputtering sounds they make. Often were we obliged to tell pater Philip to take his quid out of his mouth, that we might hear what he attempted to articulate.

As to books and vocabularies, we found none, nor could we make any, while our knowledge of the language was so imperfect.

Secondly, the unhealthiness of the climate; by which most of the Missionaries were carried off before they could learn the language, or just when they had got so far, that they were able to speak to the natives. During the comparatively short period of the existence of the Mission, eleven worthy Missionaries found their graves in Nancauwery, and thirteen more, shortly after their return to Tranquebar, in consequence of the malignant fevers and obstructions in the liver, contracted in the island. These dreadful disorders, and the seasoning fevers, which every newcomer must suffer, are all accompanied with such pain in the head, dejection of spirits, and constant sickness, that the senses are in a degree stupified, and learning rendered doubly difficult. The mind being likewise filled with desponding views of the possibility of relief and of future usefulness, the effect is very unfavourable to that persevering diligence, with which such a barbarous language must be studied; and death s.n.a.t.c.hing so soon those away, who had made some small progress, their successors must begin the uphill work again and again, and the prospect of obtaining the aim of the Mission is put off from one period to another.

Thirdly, our mode of life, and too great exertion in clearing and planting, and other laborious work, which necessity obliged us to undertake, was likewise a princ.i.p.al cause of the prevalence of various disorders and complaints of the liver, the region of the stomach swelling, and becoming quite hard below the ribs. All who were thus affected, died either in the island, or soon after their return to Tranquebar. I was not seized in this manner, but, besides other illnesses, got a quartan ague, of which I have not lost the symptoms to this day. When I mentioned it in a letter to Dr. Betschler at Tranquebar, he wrote in answer: "Ah, my friend, if you have got the Nicobar ague, it will keep you company all your life, if you live to be an hundred years old." Thus far his words have proved true, and to this present time, after thirty years have elapsed, I perceive the remaining symptoms regularly returning every fourth night. While I was at Nancauwery, they were very violent, and weakened me so much, that I often thought my life in danger. After my return to Europe, they abated considerably; but on being appointed, to the service of the Missions in the Danish West India islands, the heat of the climate caused them to increase in strength, though by degrees they again became bearable, and the fever almost imperceptible. At present the symptoms are various, sometimes a great degree of thirst, sleepless nights, and uneasy sensations; at other times heavy yet restless sleep, with dreams approaching to delirium; but whatever they are, never failing to recur every fourth night regularly. I will not venture to say, whether, if I had staid in Europe, the use of proper means, under skilful treatment, might not have entirely removed the complaint, but the fact, as it exists at present, has verified Dr. Betschler's prediction.

To return to the former subject, I must add, that not one of us ever learnt the Nicobar language so perfectly as to be able clearly to explain the will of G.o.d concerning our salvation to the natives. But I am of opinion that they are not the most hopeless subjects, and think that the gospel might be preached to them with success, if the abovementioned obstacles were removed.

LETTER VIII.

The birds-nests, which I have described in a former letter, brought a great number, both of Malays and Chinese to our coasts, in quest of them. These people always created much confusion and quarrelling among our otherwise peaceable islanders, by their knavery and frequent a.s.sa.s.sinations; and also gave the Missionaries a great deal of trouble.

In general, fifteen or sixteen, and in one year, nineteen, large prows full of these vagabonds came to Nancauwery. After the officers and soldiers who had accompanied the Missionaries to this island were all dead, and it was known, that the latter would not quit their post, the government at Tranquebur required, that always one of them should be appointed Danish Royal Resident, and hold, as it were, the presidency of the islands. The patent was always signed by the King. Brother Voelcker was the first who filled that station, and was succeeded by Brother Armedinger. He was followed by Brother Blaschke, and after his return to Tranquebar, I was appointed. As I thought it was left to my own option, whether I would accept of it or not, I declined it, in a letter to the Governor of Tranquebar, conceiving it to be inconsistent with the duties of a Missionary. However, I was obliged at length to yield, and became Resident. I was succeeded by Brother J. Heinrich, and Brother Soerensen was the last.

I will add an instance or two to show, how this office proved frequently a source of much vexation to us. The Danes, when they formed their first settlement in Kar Nicobar, an island 75 English miles in circ.u.mference, to which they gave the name of New Denmark, had conveyed a considerable number of cannon thither; but after the death of all the soldiers, the carriages rotted, and I saw seventeen of these guns lying on the ground. By one or more at a time, the Malays kept stealing them away. It happened, however, that a Nacata, or general of the King of Queda, as he styled himself, arrived at Nancauwery with a large prow, and being informed by the natives, that he had no less than five of them on board, I thought it my duty, as Resident, to protest against this theft, and spoke to him about it. He flew into a great rage, and began to use threatening language, pleading the orders of his king. I answered, that his king very well knew, that as he had laid nothing down there, he had no right to take any thing up; and that if he persisted, I should give notice to the King of Denmark. I then left him, but heard, that he afterwards threatened soon to prevent my reporting his conduct; adding, that when I was dead, I should be quiet enough. The natives also a.s.sured me, that it was his intention to kill me, but that they would stay with me for my defence. I replied, that though I thanked them for their kindness, yet they, as well as we, were much too weak to withstand the diabolical influence which actuated these murderous people; every inclination to commit that and other crimes, being of the devil; but that our hope and trust was in G.o.d our Saviour, who was infinitely more powerful than the devil, and could and would protect us against all the designs of wicked men. We took that opportunity of speaking to them again of the love of our Saviour, and of His desire to deliver them from the power of Satan, and grant them everlasting life. They heard us with attention and surprise, and staid with us till late at night, when we desired them to return home, but could hardly prevail upon them to leave us.

As soon as they were gone, having performed our usual evening devotions, we were preparing to retire to bed; when we heard a noise without, and immediately after, a violent knocking at the door. On opening it, I was not a little alarmed to see a great number of Malays surrounding the entrance. I cried silently to the Lord to protect us against their evil designs; but though my fears were great, I a.s.sumed an authoritative air, keeping my station in the door-way, as if determined not to let them enter. The foremost, however, pushed in, and now the Nacata himself came up. He treacherously held out his hand; but on my offering him mine, he grasped it firmly, and dragged me with him into the house. The Malays immediately filled all the chairs, and I stood before them. I had no other hope but in the mercy of G.o.d, to whom I sighed for help in this trying moment. Meanwhile more of them crowded into the room, and sat down on the floor, closely watching me, armed with their creeses or daggers. Though I preserved a firm and undaunted appearance, I cannot describe my feelings, for I expected to be immediately sacrificed to their fury. The Nacata addressed me by saying, that he was come hither to ask, whose property the cannon were to be, his or mine? I answered, "that he came to the wrong person to make that inquiry; for I was only a servant of the King of Denmark, as he, according to his own account, was only the servant of the King of Queda. Neither of us, therefore, could determine who was to have the cannon. Our respective masters, and they only, were able to settle that point. He had told me that he had received orders to fetch them; and I could a.s.sure him, that I had orders to protest against it: we both, therefore, had only done our duty. All now depended upon this point, whether my king, or his king, had any right to give orders in these islands, and to claim the property in question." At this answer, he became quite furious, and began to talk about the ease, with which the Malays might murder us all. Some of them even drew their daggers, and shewed how they were tipped with poison. They looked, indeed, more like a host of devils, than a company of human creatures. On a sudden they all jumped up, and seemed to rush upon me. I commended my soul to the Lord, and called upon Him for deliverance, awaiting the issue in silence, when, to my surprise, they quitted the room, one by one, and left me, standing alone, in astonishment at their conduct. I shall never forget the dreadful scene, and think of it at this moment, with shuddering. As soon as they were all gone, and I found myself in safety, I fell on my knees, and with tears, gave thanks to G.o.d my Saviour, who had heard my prayers, and rescued me out of the hands of these savages. My Brethren, who had very properly retired into the wood, when the Malays first burst into the house, now returned, and we wept for joy to see each other alive.

Having somewhat recovered from our fright, I went to the village, and told our old Nicobar captain, Jan, what had happened, upon which he sent messages to all the neighbouring villages, when in a short time, great numbers arrived, well armed, and watched at the landing-place all night. Had the Malays offered to return to sh.o.r.e, not one of them would have escaped with his life.

In the morning, the Nacata's prow, with two others, were seen at anchor under Tricut, many miles from hence. The people there told us afterwards, that the Nacata had said, that the Danish Resident at Nancauwery was a very great sorcerer, for he had tied their hands, and they could do nothing with him. It was not I who tied their hands, but G.o.d, who heard the cries of a poor, defenceless and trembling child, trusting alone to His mercy and power.

I might add many other instances of the trouble and mischief occasioned by the visits of these robbers, and which it was my business to prevent, if possible; but will close my account, with relating only one more, to show in what manner they treat even their own countrymen; and also, how willing our neighbours were to defend our rights.

Having this year obtained, by foul or fair means, a pretty considerable booty, no less than nineteen prows, full of Malays, came, the ensuing season, into our roads, for birds-nests. I had, however, got the start of them. As soon as the north-east wind commenced, I went to the southern islands, where I staid a month, and not only collected a vast quant.i.ty of nests, but purchased all those which the natives brought for sale. The Malays, therefore, were disappointed, and got but few. We expected that they would have been thereby discouraged, and discontinued their visits. But we were mistaken. While I was at _Manjoul_, a small island, east of the channel of St. George, a prow with about sixty Malays arrived there, commanded by a Nacata, who called himself _Sayet Ismael_, a priest of the King of Queda. He was the most civil and well-behaved Malay I ever conversed with. I advised him therefore to stay where he was, to make a regular agreement with the natives about the price of the birds-nests, pay faithfully, and keep good order among his men, so as to prevent all cause of complaint; and a.s.sured him, that thus he would get a good cargo. He took my advice, and procured a considerable quant.i.ty of nests, while those, who followed him, got none.

Among the latter was a man who styled himself a Prince of Queda, and had two Nacatas, some women, and a numerous crew on board his large prow. He committed everywhere the grossest acts of barbarity, and in Kar Nicobar murdered two persons, of which I was soon informed. Shortly after, he came into our neighbourhood, and anch.o.r.ed under Tricut, where he seized upon Sayet Ismael's prow. The latter, having sent his palong to Nancauwery, with eight sacks of rice, two of nests, and other goods, soon followed, claiming our protection. Thus, though we ourselves were in a defenceless state, the oppressed came and sought help from us. We suffered the priest to occupy one of our negroe-houses, where he remained very quiet. Meanwhile the prince heard, that we had obtained a large quant.i.ty of nests, and thought it would be no difficult matter to plunder us likewise. For this purpose, he arrived with two large prows, filled with some of the most ferocious of the Malay race. They entered, occupied our house without any ceremony, and seemed to be a determined set of banditti. I was alone in the midst of them, and cried to the Lord to take me under his protection. While I was walking to and fro across the room, the prince inquired, whether I had any birds-nests. I replied in the affirmative; upon which he pretended, that he was come to purchase them of me, and wished to see them. As I happened, during this conversation, to step towards the door, one of our Caffre servants, who stood near it, thought I had made a sign to him, to call the natives to my a.s.sistance, though, in fact, I was so much agitated, that I had not even observed him. He ran immediately into the village Malacca, and called the people together. Meanwhile I spoke in a decisive tone with the prince, forgot all his grand t.i.tles, and a.s.sured him, that he should not get a single nest from me, sharply reproving him for having murdered two men at Kar Nicobar, who were under the protection of my sovereign. He flew into a pa.s.sion, saying, that he would soon shew me, that he had it in his power to sieze all my birds-nests; and as to the two men, who had been stabbed at Kar Nicobar, he was not bound to answer for that deed to me.

He had scarcely finished this insulting speech, when a party of natives unexpectedly leaped in at the windows, with drawn sabres in their hands. The Malays, terrified beyond measure, asked, what all this meant. I replied: "They come to prevent your committing more murders."

In a short time, the house was surrounded by the natives, both men and women being armed with sabres, spears, and bludgeons, their number continually increasing. The prince and his men now began to beg, that we would take them under our protection. At first I gave them no answer, but continued reproving them for their base and treacherous practices, among which I particularly noticed their plundering people of their own nation. I asked: "Who therefore can trust to your word?

You deserve punishment at the hands of those you have so often provoked by your injustice, and if I were now only to lift up my hand, not a man of you would escape." Being convinced, that they were in my power, they began to entreat me to interfere in their behalf, and the prince offered to restore all he had taken. "How can you," said I, "restore the lives of those you have murdered? However, you shall for once keep your word, and restore the prow you took from Sayet Ismael, with its whole lading." This he readily agreed to, and having called Sayet Ismael, I made the prince repeat his promise, and asked Sayet, whether he could trust him; which, after some words had pa.s.sed between them in their own language, he a.s.sured me he could, and they shook hands, in token of sincerity. I now informed the prince, that his men might go unmolested to their palongs, but that he himself should stay with me, till Sayet Ismael's prow had been sent hither and delivered up to him.

He was exceedingly terrified at this sentence, and said, that unless he was permitted to accompany his people, the natives would certainly kill him. At length, Sayet Ismael himself warmly interceding for him, I consented, that they should go away together, and went out to pacify the natives. It was with some difficulty that I succeeded in appeasing their indignation against these robbers, whom they now had in their power, but when I told them that I should look upon their compliance as a proof of their regard for me and my brethren, they were satisfied, and made, of their own accord, a pa.s.sage through their ranks, for the Malays. Their appearance was indeed formidable, as they stood on each side, armed with their spears and bludgeons. The Malays however were still afraid to leave the house, till, after much entreaty, I myself agreed to accompany them to their palongs. The prince seized my hand, and would not let me go, till he had got into the boat.

I thought it my duty to avail myself of this opportunity to impress these ferocious invaders of our islands, with some sense of the danger they were in, and to teach them, that they might not always he permitted to commit their depredations with impunity. For a time I believe it had a good effect: but I confess, that I felt not a little intimidated by this unpleasant visit, and much regretted the necessity of holding the office, and doing the duty of a Resident, or agent of government. G.o.d was my refuge, and had He not granted me presence of mind sufficient to avoid all show of the fear I felt, we should probably have fallen a sacrifice to the revengeful and murderous spirit of these barbarians.

Sayet Ismael returned to us that very night, with his recovered prow and cargo, thankful for the justice which he had obtained, and as he offered us his services, we intrusted him with a parcel of letters to our Brethren in Europe, which we found he had regularly forwarded, as they all came safe to hand.

The prince had talked of nothing on the way to Tricut, but of the wonderful power of the Missionaries, and declared, that he would certainly never again set foot on Nancauwery.