The detail of the coasts of the island, particularly of its south-eastern side, on which there are many indentations and bays, is very little known; the natives are reported generally to be favourably inclined to Europeans, but it would be dangerous for an unarmed vessel to place too much reliance upon the faith of a Timorean, whose thirst for powder might induce him to commit any mischievous act to obtain it. The mountaineers are described to be a warlike race of men, but since the cession of the island to the Dutch by the King of Ternate, to whom it appears to have originally belonged, they are distributed under the sovereignty of different rajahs, to whom they pay implicit obedience; and are, in fact, little better than mere slaves. On all parts of the coast good wholesome water may be procured, excepting at Sesally on the north coast where it is said to be of a noxious quality, occasioned by a tree or plant that grows on its tanks, and taints the stream. Whatever suspicion there may be attached to the truth of this story, there is no doubt of its being far from wholesome; for it is avoided as poisonous by the people who reside near it. I was curious to discover whether it was occasioned by its flowing near one of the far-famed Poison trees (Upas antiar) of Java, but my informant could not satisfy my inquiry.
The island is very mountainous, and some of its summits, as Captain Flinders observes, may probably rival the Peak of Teneriffe. The country slopes off towards the sea, and appears to be fertile and populous. The recesses of the mountains and the rivulets that derive their sources from them are said to be rich in gold and silver, and they are also reported to yield copper and iron; it is, however, with great difficulty that gold is procured, on account of a superstitious feeling on the part of the mountaineers, who think it necessary to sacrifice a human life for every bottle of gold dust that is collected; and this barbarous custom, we were informed, is rigidly enforced by the chiefs, who, of course, take good care that the lot does not fall upon their own heads. Gold is however sometimes found in the bed of the river near Coepang, particularly after occasional freshes from the mountains, and during the rainy season; but it is detected in so small a quantity as hardly to repay the searchers for their trouble.
Some years since, during the early possession of this part of the island by the Dutch, sixty soldiers were sent into the country to search for gold, but they were all killed by the mountaineers and since then no further attempt has been made; indeed it would take a very considerable force to effect it, on account of the warlike character of these people. Their defensive mode of warfare is to distribute themselves in all directions among the trees and rocks, from which, by their numbers and unerring aim, they might easily destroy a much larger force than the Dutch could afford to send against them from any of their possessions in the east. The policy of the Dutch Government appears to be that of keeping the world in ignorance of the importance and of the riches of Timor; their object is, in fact, to retain possession of it at as little expense as possible, merely to prevent any other country from occupying it. Much jealousy exists between them and the Portuguese settlement of Diely, on the northern side about fifty leagues from Coepang; and our friend Mr. Hazaart was, at the time of our visit, in correspondence with the government of Batavia to explain some political interference, on his part, with that settlement.
The establishment at Coepang consists of the Resident, his Secretary, and forty Javanese soldiers; besides which it possesses a militia consisting of 1000 men who bring their own provisions and arms to the field; and by this force the whole of the south-western part of the island, containing a population of perhaps 50,000 people, is kept in subjection. To solve this riddle, for such it must naturally appear to be, it should be explained that the Dutch have been accustomed to act in the character of mediator between the several rajahs; and whilst the Resident settles the disputes, he takes care at the same time to keep up the balance of power amongst these petty kings, who are constantly encroaching upon the territories of each other, by calling to his aid and uniting the forces of the other rajahs; through which policy he protects the oppressed, and maintains his own power. A formidable chief, Louis, had, however, lately become very troublesome, and was not so easily kept in subjection. A short time previous to our arrival, he had been making some inroads upon his neighbour, and Mr. Hazaart was collecting a force to oppose and drive him back. Whilst we were at Coepang several rajahs had arrived from the country to tender their services in marching against the usurper whom the Resident, in his description of him to me, designated by the name of Bonaparte. For this protection on the part of the Dutch, every rajah pays an annual tribute, according to the extent of his territories; the net amount of which, exceeding the sum of 10,000 rix dollars, very nearly if not quite defrays the expenses of the establishment.
Captain Dampier visited this place in 1699 when he commanded the Roebuck; and at first found great difficulty in obtaining refreshments. He has given a very good and correct description of the island; and his account offers much valuable information even as to its present state.* Since that period it has certainly advanced a few paces in civilization; but in other respects as to its natural and artificial productions it is perfectly conformable to that account.
(*Footnote. Dampier volume 3 pages 157 to 179.)
Coepang is also known by its hospitable reception of Lieutenant (the late Admiral) Bligh, after the mutiny of the Bounty's crew; and in 1802 it was visited by Captain Flinders and Commodore Baudin: each of these navigators have spoken warmly of the hospitality they experienced, and I should be doing an injustice to Mr. Hazaart if I omitted a due acknowledgment of his kind attention to our wants, and of the prompt assistance he afforded us in our operations.
The presence of a fleet of Malay proas in the roads has been before mentioned; it had just returned from an unsuccessful voyage on the south coast of Timor in search of trepang. Dramah, the principal rajah of this fleet, gave me the following information respecting the coast of New Holland, which he had frequently visited in the command of a fleet that annually frequents its shores.
The coast is called by them Marega, and has been known to them for many years. A fleet to the number of 200* proas annually leaves Macassar for this fishery; it sails in January during the westerly monsoon, and coasts from island to island, until it reaches the North-East end of Timor, when it steers South-East and South-South-East, which courses carry them to the coast of New Holland; the body of the fleet then steers eastward, leaving here and there a division of fifteen or sixteen proas, under the command of an inferior rajah, who leads the fleet, and is always implicitly obeyed. His proa is the only vessel that is provided with a compass; it also has one or two swivels or small guns, and is perhaps armed with muskets. Their provisions chiefly consist of rice and coconuts; and their water, which during the westerly monsoon is easily replenished on all parts of the coast, is carried in joints of bamboo.
(*Footnote. This number is perhaps very much exaggerated.)