Indian Antiquary Vol 49

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 85

May, 1920)
EPISODES OF PIRACY IN THE EASTERN SEAS
81
The Hollanders,' replied Jadee, have been the bane of the Malay race; no one knows the amount of villainy, the bloody cruelty of their system towards us. They drive us into our prahus to escape their taxes and laws, and then declare us pirates and put us to death. There are natives in our crew, Touhan, of Sumatra and Java, of Bianca (Banka) and Borneo; ask them why they hate the Dutchmen; why they would kill a Dutchman. It is because the Dutchman is a false man, not like the white man [English]. The Hollander stabs in the dark; he is a liar l'
However, from Borneo we sailed to Biliton (island between Banka and Borneo) and Bianca, and there waited for some large junks that were expected. Our cruise had been so far successful, and we feasted away-fighting cooks, smoking opium and eating white rice. At last our scouts told us that a junk was in sight. She oame, a lofty-sided one of Fokien (Fuhkien). We know these Amoy61 men would fight like tiger-cats for their sugar and silks ; and as the breeze was fresh, we only kept her in sight by keeping olose inshore and fellowing her. Not to frighten the Chinamen, we did not hoist sail but made our slaves pull. Oh!' said Jadee, warming up with the recollection of the event, -ohit was fine to feel what brave fellows we then were !
Towards night we made sail and closed upon the junk, and at daylight it fell a stark calm, and we went at our prize like sharks. All our fighting men put on their war-dresses ; the Illanoons danced their war-danoe, and all our gongs sounded as we opened out to attack her on different sides.
But those Amoy men are pigs ! They burnt joss-paper, sounded tþeir gongs, and received us with such showers of stones, hot-water, long pikes, and one or two well-directed shots that we hauled off to try the effect of our guns, sorry though we were to do it, for it was sure to bring the Dutohmen upon us. Bang! bang! we fired at them, and they at us; three hours did we persevere, and whenever we tried to board, the Chinese beat us back every time, for her side was as smooth and as high as a wall, with galleries overhanging.
We had several men killed and hurt ; & council was called ; a certain charm was performed by one of our holy men, a famous chief, and twenty of our best men devoted themselves to effecting a landing on the junk's deck, when our look-out prahus made the signal that the Dutchmen were coming; and sure enough some Datoh gun-boats came sweeping round a headland. In a moment we were round and pulling like demons for the shores of Biliton, the gun-boats in chase of us, and the Chinese howling with delight. The sea-breeze freshened and brought up a schooner-rigged boat very fast. We had been at work twentyfour hours and were heartily tired; our slaves could work no longer, so we prepared for the Hollanders; they were afraid to close upon us and commenced firing at a distance. This was just what we wanted; we had gans as well as they, and by keeping up the fight until dark, we felt sure of escape. The Dutch men, however, know this too, and kept closing gradually upon us; and when they saw our prahus baling out water and blood, they knew we were suffering and cheered like devils. We were desperate ; surrender to Dutchmen we never would ; we closed together for mutual support, and determined at last, if all hope of escape ceased, to run our prahus ashore, burn them, and lie hid in the jungle until a future
a Prom Amoy in the Fuhkien Channel. -Ed.
49-See ande, vol. XLVIII, p. 167.