Voyages of the Dutch brig of war Dourga

by D. H. Kolff

On the south side of Tepa I met with the remains of a stronghold, but the natives could give me no information concerning the period of its erection. Near the same spot we also found a fine well, enclosed by masonry, which, although now in a state of disrepair, bore evident marks of having been constructed in a superior manner. The water it contained was beautifully clear and pure, so that we took the opportunity of filling up our empty water casks.

The natives live in a state of great poverty, but as their wants are few they are contented. A native vessel from Banda visits them only once or twice a year, to supply them with cotton cloth, which is almost the only article of foreign manufacture they require. They have, therefore, but little communication with strangers, which easily accounts for their being far inferior in point of civilization to the natives of the islands we had previously visited. Their vessels consist of long prahus of from ten to twelve tons burthen, which are employed in visiting the neighbouring islands; and of small canoes, which are used for shorter voyages. Their arms are bows, arrows, iron javelins, and bamboo spears, while they possess also a few muskets, which they preserve with great care, but evidently intend more for show than use, as many are unprovided with locks. The women perform the heaviest portion of the labour, the industry of the men being only displayed in gathering cocoa-nuts, making palm wine, and repairing their weapons, without which they never go abroad. I never went on a shooting excursion into the interior without meeting with parties of armed men, going to, or returning from, their plantations. Nearly every man was accompanied by a dog, who, by his barking, gives his master warning of the approach of a stranger. On one occasion, early in the morning, I encountered in the forest a couple who afforded me some amusement. The man, who was naked, with the exception of a cloth round the loins, carried a large bow, a bundle of arrows with broad points of iron, a klewang or hanger by his side, and was preceded by his dog, while his wife, clad as lightly as her husband, brought up the rear, bearing a musket and a large basket of yams on her shoulders. They tarried awhile with me to partake of some arrack and tobacco which I offered them, and as I always had an interpreter with me, I enquired whither they were going, and why so heavily armed? He informed me that they were bound for their plantations, and that it was necessary to go well armed, as they must show a good front against neighbours, who often fell upon them and robbed them of their wives; while at the same time they were liable to attacks from the wild beasts. The musket was unloaded, and had no lock; but it was perhaps as serviceable as if it had one, for he was afraid to fire off my fowling piece. They make up, however, for this deficiency by their skill in using the bow and arrow, with which I have frequently seen them strike a bird on a tree at a distance of fifty or sixty paces.

I frequently held communications with the chiefs, on which occasions I was always surrounded by the entire population, and had many opportunities of witnessing the docility of these islanders, and how open they are to conviction. They would willingly place themselves under the control of a mild government, and with such an advantage I feel convinced that they would even lay aside their barbarous customs, and adopt a more quiet, orderly and industrious mode of life. If traders now and then suffer wrong at their hands, I believe that, in most cases, their own conduct has been the cause of it; since it has often come under my notice that the Amboynese and Banda traders frequently take advantage of their superior knowledge and experience, to lord it over the islanders, and cheat them of their goods, the simplicity of the latter rendering them an easy prey. If it were known how often strangers leave them without fulfilling their commercial engagements, the artless natives would readily be excused for occasionally taking a wild justice for their wrongs, and viewing all strangers with suspicion.

When among the islands which we visited during the previous part of the voyage, I had heard that an English vessel had been cut off by the natives of Baba, and it was not without the greatest difficulty that I succeeded in gaining some of the particulars concerning it from a few of the natives. It appeared that some months previous to my visit, an English trading brig, manned with ten European seamen, which had been bartering muskets and ammunition for tortoise-shell and cattle among the islands to the eastward of Timor, anchored off Aluta, the capital of the tribe inhabiting the east side of Baba, and the commander, supposing the people to be as trustworthy as those of the other islands, sent half his crew ashore in the boat to obtain water, at a time when a large number of natives were on board the brig carrying on a trade. While the boat was away, the natives, for some unknown reason, attacked the commander and the four remaining seamen, and, although armed only with their knives, succeeded in killing them, which fate also befel the boat's crew on their return on board. The brig was then run on shore, plundered, and burnt. The greater part of her cargo, consisting of arms, tortoise-shell and cattle, together with her sails and rigging, which had been divided among the captors, were still in their possession.[22]

A trading prahu from Banda, which afterwards visited Aluta, was also cut off by the natives, and all her crew murdered with the exception of two individuals, one of whom was subsequently taken away by another trading prahu, while the other still remained on the island, having married the daughter of one of the chiefs; from which there is reason for supposing that he was accessary to the deed.

After the people of Tepa had related to me these particulars, many of them came forward and kissed my hands, requesting me not to consider them as accomplices in the crime, as they never wished to have any communication with the people of the back part of the island. They declared that nothing would please them more than that I should go to Aluta, and assist them in chastising its treacherous inhabitants.

I endeavoured, by the promise of presents, and of entire forgiveness to the people of the east coast, to induce the chiefs of Tepa to visit Aluta, and bring back with them one of the head men of the place; but in this I was unsuccessful. To my great regret, therefore, I was unable to do any thing in the affair; for there was no path by which I could reach Aluta overland, and it would have been unadviseable, at this period of the year, to have proceeded there with the brig, while the length of the distance, and the insufficiency of their force in case of disturbance, prevented our sending the boats. The chiefs frequently promised me that they would send a prahu there, to inform the people of the desire I had to see them make up their differences, and in the faith of this promise, from which nothing resulted, I delayed my departure from the island several days.

On the 8th, having called together the chiefs, I went on shore under an escort of twenty marines, and with the accustomed ceremonies, to read to them the communications sent to them by our Government, which I explained to them in the fullest manner. All appeared to be much moved at the friendly intentions and offers of assistance and protection expressed in the letter, and stated that nothing could better agree with their wishes than that they should be placed under the rule of the Dutch Government, to whom they would become faithful subjects. They assured me that they all felt convinced that this was the only course that could lead to their future prosperity, while they were at the same time aware, that in point of civilization they were inferior to many of their neighbours, which they themselves ascribed to the anarchy which had prevailed among them during a long series of years, and to the disappearance of the Christian religion from among them, through the decease of those who had professed it. They also requested me, in the most earnest manner, to appoint some clever and experienced men from among them, to the chieftainship, and also to send them an Amboynese missionary or teacher, to instruct them in the tenets of Christianity, expressing deep regret at their having relapsed to paganism and wickedness, from the state of Christian harmony in which their forefathers had passed their lives.

In accordance with the general wishes of the people, I appointed a certain Tompatti Paulus as the Upper Orang-kaya of the west coast of Baba, and presented him with a silver-knobbed baton, and a large Dutch flag. After this I drew up provisional acts of appointment for the minor chiefs of villages. These solemnities, at which the entire population of Tepa were present, were held in the middle of the village, the audience sitting on benches and mats, those appropriated to the chief individuals being sheltered by an awning of prahus' sails. After the breaking up of these meetings, they usually offered up sacrifices of cattle to their idols, and passed the entire night carousing.

At this last meeting they declared that they would commence the proposed voyage to the back of the island the same night, and I promised to delay my departure until their return; but either from fear, or from some reason which I could not discover, they again disappointed me. On the following morning, however, four Orang Baays, or large canoes, made their appearance, manned with from thirty to forty men each, and literally crammed full of weapons. After rowing round the brig several times, firing shots occasionally from such of their muskets as were in a serviceable state, they came alongside with a loud shout, when the Upper Orang-kaya, and several other chiefs, came on board, and, as subjects to the Netherlands' Government, offered their vessels for our use, to make a voyage to the back of the island. I expressed my surprise at this extraordinary equipment, and thanking them for the readiness they had shown, informed them that I always wished, in the first instance, to take kind and humane measures for bringing offenders back to their duty, and had no object in resorting to hostilities against their fellow islanders. As I could afford to spend no more time on the island, and the state of the monsoon prevented me from going with the brig to the back of the island, I determined to leave the affair to the decision of the Government. I was the more necessitated to leave the differences between these tribes unsettled, from it being evident that an expedition to and from Aluta could not be performed in less than ten days. I exhorted them, in the mean time, to become reconciled to their neighbours as soon as possible; to inform them of the kindness and good intentions of our Government; and to prevail upon them to go to Banda to ask forgiveness for the offences they had committed, failing which they would assuredly be punished for their neglect.