Hamilton’s account of the east Indies.

445

to them with a fmall force, they would raife a party to dethrone him that reigned, andhe might have a fair chance to fucceed him.

However, the reigning King, not expecting that his new cuftoms would meet withfuch oppofition, fent an Orankaya aboard of my lhip, which the linguilt, to know whywe made war on him. We replied that he was the aggreffor, by robbing us of our juftrights and privileges, acquired by our fervices, and in firing at our boats, fo we won-dered that the King could afk a reafon of us. The Orankaya told us, that he hadbrfcught a power to make up all differences on the King’s part, but that we mull con-fent to fome new things, as that we Ihould pay no cuftoms, but a prefent as before, butthat our goods mull go to the cuftom-houfe, and there to be opened, and was going on jbut I interrupted him, and told him he had demanded more than could be granted al-ready, fo he might fave himfelf the trouble of making farther demands. When hefound that nothing new could be obtained, he faid he would carry our anfwer to theKing, which he did; and the fame evening, proclamation was cried through the ftreets,that the Englifh might again repair to their refpeclive houfes, and trade on the oldfoundation.

Next day I went to wait on the Shawbundaar, but carried a guard of twenty Eu-ropeans. He alked me why I carried fo many armed men in my company. I told himthat I underftood there were like to be commotions in the country, and I was refolvedto be neuter, and would not be infulted by either party. He begged that I would landfome bales of goods, to fhew that we were reconciled, which I did, to the no fmall joyof the town’s people, who were quite tired with their new King’s experiments.

But the clamours of the people did not ceafe. For when they had news of their de-ceafed Queen’s nephews railing forces to come to Atcheen, the diforders of the ftateincreafed, but I left them, and purfued my voyage to Malacca and Johore , where I metwith the Scots fecond fupercargo, as is before mentioned.

Atcheen affords nothing of its own product fit for export, but gold duft, which theyhave pretty plentiful, and of the fineft touch of any in thofe parts, it being two per cent,better than Andra-ghiry or Pahaung gold, and is equal in touch to our Guinea . Theydo not dig for it, but catch it in gullies, or little rivulets, as it walhes off the mountains,and one particularly, a very high mountain in form of a pyramid, called Gold Mount,which by report furnifhes them yearly with above i ooo pounds weight.

Elephants are very plentiful at Atcheen, and confequently their teeth, which theSurat merchants buy up for their markets. In 1702, I faw one who had been keptthere above 100 years, but by report, was then 300 years old, he was about eleven feethigh, and had a vaft deal of fagacity.

When any young male elephant grows unruly, which they ufually do in rutting time,and break their fetters and go aftray, this old elephant is immediately fent out, andfollowing the traffic of his feet, will find him out, and bring him back to his liable,either by fair or foul means.

At Atcheen, they have a fmall coin of leaden money called calh, from twelve tofixteen hundred of them goes to one mace, or maffcie. The maffcie is a fmall goldcoin of fourteen-pence current, but in value about twelve-pence Englifh. I have takena gold maffcie, and put it with a maffcie of calh, and thrown them into a puddle ofwater, and the elephant would find out the gold among the lead, by the nice feeling ofhis probofcis.

There is a very comical piece of revenge he took on a tailor in anno 1692. A lhipcalled the Dorothy, commanded by Captain Thwaits, called at Atcheen for refrelh-ments in her way from England to Bengal, and two Englilh gentlemen refiding then at' Atcheen,