Wild-men.Of these Natives there be two sorts, Wild and Tame. I will begin with the former. For as in these Woods there are Wild Beasts so Wild Men also. The Land of Bintan is all covered with mighty Woods, filled with abundance of Deer. In this Land are many of these wild men; they call them Vaddahs, dwelling near no other Inhabitants. They speak the Chingulayes Language. They kill Deer, and dry the Flesh over the fire, and the people of the Countrey come and buy it of them. They never Till any ground for Corn their Food being only Flesh. They are very expert with their Bows. They have a little Ax, which they stick in by their sides, to cut hony out of hollow Trees. Some few, which are near Inhabitants, have commerce with other people. They have no Towns nor Houses, only live by the waters Page 62under a Tree, with some boughs cut and laid round about them, to give notice when any wild Beasts come near, which they may hear by their rustling and trampling upon them. Many of these habitations we saw when we fled through the Woods, but God be praised the Vaddahs were gone.
By an Acknowledgment to the King.Some of the tamer sort of these men are in a kind of Subjection to the King. For if they can be found, tho it must be with a great search in the Woods, they will acknowledg his Officers, and will bring to them Elephants-Teeth, and Honey, and Wax, and Deers Flesh: but the others in lieu thereof do give them near as much, in Arrows, Cloth &c. fearing lest they should otherwise appear no more.
How they bespeak Arrows to be made them.It hath been reported to me by many people, that the wilder sort of them, when they want Arrows, will carry their load of Flesh in the night, and hang it up in a Smith’s Shop, also a Leaf cut in the form they will have their Arrows made, and hang by it. Which if the Smith do make according to their Pattern they will requite, and bring him more Flesh: but if he make them not, they will do him a mischief one time or another by shooting in the night. If the Smith make the Arrows, he leaves them in the same place, where the Vaddahs hung the Flesh.
They violently took away Carriers goods.Formerly, in this Kings Reign these wild men used to lye in wait, to catch Carriers people, that went down with Oxen to trade at the Sea-Ports, carrying down Betelnuts, and bringing up Cloth, and would make them to give them such things as they required, or else threatning to shoot them. They fearing their lives, and not being able to resist, were fain to give them what they asked; or else most certainly they would have had both life and goods too. At which this King sent many Commanders with their Soldiers to catch them, which at length they did: But had not some of themselves proved false to them, being incouraged by large promises, they could never have taken them. The chief being brought before the King, promising amendment, were pardoned: but sent into other Woods with a Command not to return thither any more, neitheir to use their former courses. But soon after their departure, they forsook those Woods they were put into, and came to their old haunt again, falling to their former course of Life. This the King hearing of, and how they had abused his Pardon, gave command either to bring them dead or alive. These Vaddahs knowing now there could be no hope of Pardon, would not be taken alive, but were shot by the Treachery of their own men. The heads of two of the chiefest were hanged on Trees by the City. And ever since they have not presumed to disturb the Countrey, nor the King them he only desiring their quiet, and not to be against him.
Hourly Vadahs trade with the people.About Hourly the remotest of the Kings Dominions there are many trade with the of them, that are pretty tame, and come and buy and sell among the people. The King once having occasion of an hasty Expedition against the Dutch, the Governour summoned them all in to go with him, which they did. One made to serve the King.And with their Bows and Arrows did as good service as any of the rest but afterwards when they returned home again they removed farther in the Woods, and would be seen no more, for fear of being afterwards prest again to serve the King.
Their habit and Religion.They never cut their hair but tye it up on their Crowns in a bunch. The cloth they use, is not broad nor large, scarcely enough to cover Page 63their Buttocks. The wilder and tamer sort of them do observe a Religion. They have a God peculiar to themselves. The tamer do build Temples, the wild only bring their sacrifice under Trees, and while it is offering, dance round it, both men and women.
A Skirmish about their bounds.They have their bounds in the Woods among themselves, and one company of them is not to shoot nor gather hony or fruit beyond those bounds. Neer the borders stood a Jack-Tree; one Vaddah being gathering some fruit from this Tree, another Vaddah of the next division saw him, and told him he had nothing to do to gather Jacks from that Tree, for that belonged to them. They fell to words and from words to blows, and one of them shot the other. At which more of them met and fell to skirmishing so briskly with their Bows and Arrows, that twenty or thirty were left dead upon the spot.
Curious in their Arrows.They are so curious of their Arrows that no Smith can please them; The King once to gratifie them for a great Present they brought him, gave all of them of his best made Arrow-blades: which nevertheless would not please their humour. For they went all of them to a Rock by a River and ground them into another form. The Arrows they use are of a different fashion from all other, and the Chingulays will not use them.
Now they preserve their flesh.They have a peculiar way by themselves of preserving Flesh. They cut a hollow Tree and put honey in it, and then fill it up with flesh, and stop it up with clay. Which lyes for a reserve to eat in time of want.
How they take Elephants.It has usually been told me that their way of catching Elephants is, that when the Elephant lyes asleep they strike their ax into the sole of his foot, and so laming him he is in their power to take him. But I take this for a fable, because I know the sole of the Elephants foot is so hard, that no ax can pierce it at a blow; and he is so wakeful that they can have no opportunity to do it.