His Way of maintaining an inward Respect in the Hearts of the People which they have Sense enough to know, is preferable to that External which consist only in Shew and Appearance, and sometimes conceals Contempt and Hatred at Bottom, is by doing Justice in his Person, according to the best of his Judgment and Capacity; he is himself both King and Judge, and decides all Disputes betwixt Man and Man (which indeed are very few) by a personal Hearing of the Cause of Complaint. He is assisted by seven or eight Persons, who always sit about him for that Purpose, and may be called his Councellors; nor was it ever so much as suspected that any of these, either for Bribe, or Reward, or Promise, endeavoured to influence the King in his Judgment.
It rarely happens that any Persons is condemn’d to die; for as every Thing they feed on, except Rice, Plantanes, Oil, &c. is acquired by hunting and fishing, there are few Occasions for Theft amongst them; however, when any Person has merited that Punishment, the common Way of executing is, by throwing the Criminal, into the Den (which they call Bodyzaw) amongst the wild Beasts, such as Tygers, Leopards, and Crocadiles which are kept hungry before-hand for that Purpose.
There are many other Creatures kept in that Bodizaw or Den which are peculiar to this Country, such as the Augazet, which is the largest of all their Beasts, except the Elephant; it is of a white or rather yellowish Colour, with Streaks of Black running like Veins all over it, and also black Spots, the Face is not unlike that of a Cat, it has long sharp Claws; when it is wild, it is extreamly fierce, but may be rendered as gentle and tractable as a Household Dog.
A Bozee is an amphibious Creature, which always lives by the Sides of Rivers, and feeds principally upon Fish; it has a long Bill, and in all Respects the Shape and Form of a Bird, but wants Wings to fly, and instead of Feathers, is covered all over with a hard Scale resembling the Bark of a Tree, and so tough that an Arrow will not enter it; their Legs are very thick and scaled in the same Manner with their Bodies, having sharp Claws to their Feet; the Natives are more afraid of this Creature than of any other in the whole Country, especially, if they are obliged to travel any where by Night, near the Sides of Rivers, for they say it is so fierce and voracious, that it will seize either Man or Beast.
The Massau is another amphibious Creature, very large, whose Body is scaly like that of the Bozee, but it is of a different Colour, being reddish; the Bill also differs from that of the Bozee, for it is short and shaped like that of a Pidgeon; It is a timorous Creature, that upon hearing the least Noise immediately rushes for the Water; its Food is chiefly Weeds.
A Sachew is a Beast about the Size of a large Lion, of a dark brown Colour, with Shades of black all over the Body, and a Scale down his Back as hard as Horn, the Eyes are extreamly fierce, and in all Respects a terrible Creature to look at, but yet a Child would frighten it.—At the Sight of any human Creature it flies with great Swiftness to the Woods.
One of the King’s Diversions is, to go to this Bodizaw or Den of wild Beasts to see them play; they are perfectly under the Command of their Keepers, and are taught to play Tricks like Dogs; nay, it is almost his only Diversion, unless sleeping half the Day can be called a Diversion. As for riding out upon his Elephants, as we took Notice before, he does it so seldom, it can scarce be reckon’d amongst his Pleasures.
Ease, Plenty, and the Heat of the Climate have render’d the People in general inclined to be slothful, they have no Trade with the Neighbouring Nations, nor do they desire to have any; it is true, they have a little Sort of Traffick amongst themselves, as those that hunt and shoot Goats, Venison, &c. give them often in Exchange for Dungeree Stuffs; they have also Gold and Silver amongst themselves, but very base;—they don’t seem inclined to Cruelty, unless against white Men, whom they are taught to hate, tho’ they scarce ever see any; but there is a Kind of historical Tradition amongst them (for they have no Books) that their Country was once invaded by white Men, who committed many Cruelties upon them, and indeed it is likely that the Portuguese might formerly have landed amongst them, while they were making their India Discoveries, and perhaps might have treated them like Slaves, from whence comes this Tradition, and which is the Case of their inbred Hatred to white Men to this Day.
Thus the Molotto had Leisure to divert himself with observing the Customs and Manners of these strange People, who have no Commerce or Communication with the Rest of the World. One Day as he was walking in the City, he was extreamly surpriz’d and terrified at the Sight of a Bird of a monstruous Size, which stalk’d close by him in the Street: It was what they call a Pyone, but he had never seen one of them before, so that tho’ it is tame and inoffensive, it is no Wonder he should be frighten’d at it.
A Pyone, as to Shape, differs from all Birds amongst us; their Colour is a whitish brown, and in the Pinion of each Wing they have five black, and five scarlet Feathers, very broad, and above a Foot long; their Legs are of a bright red, something small for so large a Body, and above three Foot in Length; their Necks are also extreamly long, so that from the Foot to the Top of their Heads they are generally ten Foot in Heighth; they breed in the Mountains, never sit on more than two Eggs at a Time, which always produce a Male and Female: The People catch them when they are young, and let them loose in the Streets, taking Pleasure in the Sight of them, for they do no Mischief, and feed on any Thing they can pick up.