Hamilton’s account of the east indies. 435
of the army, ■who, as foon as they were entered, gave quarters to none that were inarms, and marching towards the governor’s houfe, where he thought himfelf fecure bythe treaty, they forthwith difpatched him to fave the fourfcore thoufand dollars.
The mafter-gunner being polled on a large bullion, whole walls are walhed by the.fea at high-water, with about ioo Portuguese along with him, would by no meansyield till he had capitulated with the Dutch for fair quarter for himfelf and his com-pany, which the Dutch would not adhere to, fo that for two days he gallantly main-tained his poll. At laid, by continual fatigue, and lofs of his men, he was obliged toyield te fate, and great fuperiority of numbers, and died like an hero, with his fword inhis hand ; and there is a common report at Malacca Hill , that the night after the anni-verfary day of his death, his genius is feen on that baftion : and I was informed by aDutch governor at Malacca , that on that night no fentinels are fet there, for that feveralhave found the effects of his fury, by being thrown over the wall, and have been eitherkilled or maimed by the fall.
The Portuguese, to lhew their seal to religion, while they were mailers of Malacca ,had no lefs than three churches and a chapel within the fort, and one without, but nowthere is but one church and a chapel within, and none without. That which the Dutch now ufe for their worlhip, Hands confpicuoully on the top of the hill, and may be feenup or down the Streights at a good diffance, and a Hag-Half is placed on the Heeple, onwhich a flag is hoifled on the light of any Ihip.
The fort is both large and ffrong, the fea waffling the walls of one third part of it,and a deep, rapid, but narrow river, the weH-fide of it, and a broad deep ditch the reffof it. The governor’s houfe is both beautiful and convenient, and there are feveralother good houfes in the fort, and in the town without the fort, but the road for flap-ping is at too great a diflance to be defended by the fort, the lhallownefs of the feaobliging them to lie above a league off, which is a very great inconveniency. For in1709, the French coming into the Streights with a fquadron of three or four fail, feeinga large Ihip in the road, newly arrived from Japon, Hood into the road, and had cer-tainly carried her out, if the wind had not failed them about rnulket Ihot from her.
At Malacca , the Streights are not above four leagues broad ; for though the oppofiteIhore on Sumatra is very low, yet it may ealily be feen in a clear day, which is thereafon that the fea is always as fmooth as a mill-pond, except when it is ruffled withfqualls of wind, which feldom come without lightnings, thunder, and rain: and thoughthey come with great violence, yet they are foon over, not often exceeding an hour.
The country produces nothing for a foreign market, but a little tin and elephantsteeth, but feveral excellent fruits and roots for the ufe of the inhabitants, and ffrangerswho call there for refrelhments. The Malacca pine-apple is accounted the beff in theworld, for in other parts, if they are eaten to a fmall excefs, they are apt to giveforfeits, but thofe of Malacca never offend the ffomach. The mangoffane is a deliciousfruit, almoff in the ftiape of an apple, the flrin is thick and red; being dried it is a goodaffringent. The kernels (if I may fo call them) are like cloves of garlic, of a veryagreeable taffe, but very cold. The ramboffan is a fruit about the bignefs of a walnut,with a tough Ikin, befet with capillaments ; within the fkin is a very favoury pulp. Thedurean is another excellent fruit, but offenlive to fome people’s nofes, for it fmells verylike human excrements, but when once taffed, the fmell vaniflies. The Ikin is thickand yellow, and within is a pulp like thick cream in colour and conflffence, but moredelicious in tafle. The pulp or meat is very hot and nourilhing, and inffead of furfeit-ing they fortify the ffomach, and are a great incentive to wantonnefs. They have cocoa-nuts in plenty, and fome grow in marfhes that are overflown with the fea in fpring-tides.
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