Besides their girdle and bracelets, formerly mentioned, the Popoes, or inhabitants of the Thousand Isles, wear a bit of stick, the size of a tobacco-pipe and the length of a finger, thrust through the gristle of the nose, which they think renders them terrible to their enemies, as some Europeans consider mustachios. They are the worst and most savage people in all the South Seas. The continent of New Guinea appeared a high country, extremely full of trees and plants of a vast variety of kinds, so that, in sailing 400 leagues along its coast, they did not observe one barren spot. Our author thinks that it probably contains many precious commodities, as rich metals and valuable spices, especially as most of the countries hitherto discovered under the same parallel are not deficient in such riches. He was afterwards assured, that some of the free burgesses in the Moluccas go annually to New Guinea, where they exchange small pieces of iron for nutmegs. Schouten and other navigators conceived high ideas of this country, and represented it as one of the finest and richest in the world; but they were unable to penetrate any way into the interior, which could not be done with a small force, as it is extremely populous, and the natives are mostly well armed, and of a martial disposition.
Roggewein and his officers were at this time in considerable doubts, whether to prosecute the route formerly followed by Dampier, or to go by Ternate, Tidore, and Bacian, as the less dangerous passage. To gain time, however, they chose the former, as they most otherwise have coasted round the last-mentioned islands, in their way to the Moluccas. In this view, they steered along shore, or rather through an innumerable chain of small islands, extending from the western point of New Guinea to the island of Gilolo, making their passage with much difficulty and danger, and were greatly delighted and astonished on getting sight of the island of Bouro, in lat. 2° S. [3° 30' S. and long. 127° E.] the most eastern country in which the Dutch East-India Company, maintain a factory. This island is mostly pretty high land, and abounds every where with trees and shrubs of various kinds. On their arrival upon its coast, they were spoken with by a small vessel, in which were two white men and several blacks. The white men examined them very strictly to whom they belonged, whence they came, and whither they were bound. To which they answered, that they came from New Guinea, and were going to Batavia, but wisely concealed belonging to the West-India Company, knowing that the East-India Company permitted no vessels, except their own, to navigate these seas, and had given strict orders to capture all strange vessels that might appear there. Yet, in spite of these precautions, the English sometimes find their way among these islands, to the no small displeasure of the Dutch company, although they keep ships cruizing here during both monsoons, to preserve their monopoly of spices.
The island of Bouro is about forty or fifty leagues in circumference, and is indifferently fertile, formerly producing abundance of clove-trees; but a detachment of Dutch soldiers is sent yearly to grub them up, as they do also in the other Molucca islands, because Amboina is thought to produce enough of that commodity to maintain their commerce. Formerly also the Dutch had a strong fort here, which the natives took and demolished after a long siege, putting all the garrison to the sword. At present, [in 1721,] the company only sends a detachment of soldiers to root out the clove-trees, for which the inhabitants receive some present. The two whites who were on board this Dutch bark were the first Christians seen by Roggewein for the space of ten months, or since leaving the coast of Brazil. Continuing their course for the island of Bootan, in hopes of meeting with refreshments, of which they were now in extreme want, they arrived there in lat 4° S.[6] and sailed along its coast for a whole day, in hopes of finding the strait for which they sought, and at length found they were eight leagues to leeward of it, and the monsoon now blew too strong to be able to bear up for the intended port. They had now no hopes of being able to find any port for refreshments till they should arrive at the island of Java; as, wherever they might attempt to land, they well knew that their ships would be confiscated, in consequence of the invariable maxims of the East-India Company. All men therefore, but especially the sick and feeble, cast an anxious look on the fertile island now left behind them, presaging the melancholy effects which must necessarily attend so pernicious a measure.
The situation of the island of Bootan is remarkably advantageous, being in from 4° to 6° of S. latitude, and nearly equal in size to the island of Bouro. It is extremely fertile, especially in rice, and has abundance of cattle and fish. It would also produce plenty both of clove and nutmeg trees, if they were permitted to grow. The king of the island has a very strong fort, on which the Dutch standard is displayed, though there is no Dutch garrison; the company contenting itself with sending deputies yearly to see the spice trees destroyed, in consideration of which the king receives a considerable sum yearly from the company. This nation is the most faithful of all the inhabitants of the Indian islands to the India company, having not only assisted them in expelling the Portuguese, but also against the inhabitants of the Moluccas, whenever they have attempted to revolt; by which means the company has acquired the whole trade of this part of the world. In consideration of this, the inhabitants of Bootan enjoy many privileges that are denied to all other Indians: As, for instance, they are allowed to come into any of the Dutch forts armed, which is never allowed even to the natives of the countries in which the forts are situated. Some time before this voyage, the king of Bootan sent his eldest son ambassador to the governor-general of Batavia, where he was received with every mark of honour and distinction. It would not have been easy to have known this prince for an Indian, had he not worn a triple-rowed turban, richly adorned with gold and precious stones, as the rest of his dress was entirely European, and he wore a sword instead of a cutlass, which no Indian had done before. His train was numerous and splendid, all dressed in the Indian manner: Twelve of them were armed with cuirasses and bucklers, carrying each a naked sword resting on his shoulder. At this time there was a prodigious mortality in Batavia, which carried off 500 of the attendants of this prince, and destroyed no less than 150,000 persons in one year, besides vast numbers of beasts. This mortality was occasioned by a malignant pestilential fever, which attacked indiscriminately all the inhabitants of Batavia, Europeans, natives, Chinese, and blacks. It spread also through Bengal and all the dominions of the Great Mogul, where it made incredible ravages, and extended even to Japan in the most extreme violence, where numbers fell down dead in the streets, who had left their houses in perfect health. This dreadful malady was supposed to have arisen from excessive drought, as no rain had fallen during the space of two years, whence it was conceived that the air was surcharged with mineral vapours.
Leaving the island of Bootan, and passing through the channel of the Moluccas, or between the S.W. leg of Celebes and Salayr islands, during which course the crews of the two vessels suffered inexpressible miseries, by which the greatest part of them were carried off, Roggewein arrived on the coast of Java towards the close of September 1722.
Footnote 1: [(return)]
No account is given of this voyage from Bowman's islands, perhaps the Fee-jees, as already mentioned, to New Britain, neither indeed is it any way expressed on what part of New Britain they had now arrived. They probably steered a course N.W. or N.W. by W. from the Fee-jees, and fell in with the N.E. part of New Britain, now known to be a separate island, and called New Ireland; and by the lower latitude mentioned, in the text, they appear to come first to the eastern part of New Ireland; but it is impossible to say whether they went to the N. or S. of Solomon's island.E.
Footnote 2: [(return)]
It is utterly impossible to ascertain what islands are here meant, as the indications of the voyage are so entirely vague. In the indicated latitude, off the mouth of the Great bay, in New Guinea, there are two considerable islands, named Mysory, or Schouten's island, and Jobie, or Long-island, which may possibly be Arimoa and Moa. Perhaps Jobie of our modern maps includes both, as in some more recent maps it is laid down as two contiguous islands, and it is more exactly in the indicated latitude, while Mysory is rather less than one degree from the line.
Footnote 3: [(return)]
These appear, by the sequel, to have been the islands at the N.W. extremity of Papua or New Guinea, and from thence to CelebesE.
Footnote 4: [(return)]
More probably because of its inhabitants being negroes.E.
Footnote 5: [(return)]
Perhaps ambergris ought to be here understood.E.