Hamilton’s account of the east indies.
44<5
Atcheen, went on board to furnifh themfelves with what European neceffaries they hadcccafion for; and, amongft other things, they bought fome Norwich duffs for clothes,and there being no Englifh tailor to be had, they employed a Surat tailor, who kept a(hop on the Bazaar, or great market-place, and had generally half a dozen, or half afcore workmen to few in his fliop. It was the old elephant’s cuftom to reach in histrunk at doors and windows as he paffed along the fide of a ftreet, begging decayedfruits or roots, which the inhabitants generally gave him.
As he was one morning going to the river to be walked, with his carnack, or rideron his back, he chanced to put his trunk in at the tailor’s window, and the tailorpricked him-with his needle, inftead of giving an alms. The elephant feemed totake no notice of the affront, but went calmly on to the river, and was wafhed-, andbeing done with walhing, troubled the water with one of his fore feet, and then fuckedup-a good quantity of that dirty water into his trunk, and palling unconcernedly alongthe fame fide of the ftreet where the tailor’s fhop was, he put in his trunk at the win-dow, and blew his nofe on the tailor with fuch a force and quantity of water, that thepoor tailor and his life-guard, were blown off the table they wrought on, almoftfrightened out of their fenfes, but the Englilh gentlemen had their clothes fpoiled bythe elephant’s comical, but innocent revenge.
No place in the world punilhes theft with greater feverity than Atcheen, and yetrobberies and murders are more frequent there thanin any other place. For the firll fault,if the theft does not amount to a tayel value, it is but the lofs of an hand, or a foot,and the criminal may choofe which he will part with ; and if caught a fecond time,the fame punilhment and lofs is ufed, but the third time, or if they Heal five tayel invalue, that crime entitles them to fouling, or impaling alive.' When their hand or footis to be cut off, they have a block with a broad hatchet fixed in it, with the edge up-wards, on which the limb is laid, and ftruck on with a wooden mallet, till the amputa-tion is made, and they have an hollow bamboo, or Indian cane, ready to put the ftumpin, and flopped about with rags or mofs, to keep the blood from coining out, and arefet in a confpicuous place, for travellers to gaze on, who generally beflow a little fpittlein a^pot, being what is produced by the maflication of beetel, and that ferves them in-ftead of falve to cure their wounds.
Thofe who fuffer the penalty of the law, who have no families in the town, arebanifhed to Pullo-wey, an ifland about four leagues to the north-eaflward of Atcheen,
■ and there they cultivate the ground, and breed poultry for the ufe of the town ; and Ihave heard that there are about five hundred of thofe banditti inhabitants on it. Thereis another ifland that lies about three leagues to the northward of Pullo-wey, called Pul-lo-rondo. It is uninhabited, and fends forth a reef of rocks towards Pullo-wey, aboveone-third part of the channel. Between them and Pullo-gomus is a duller of highmountainous and rocky iflands, to the north-weflward of Atcheen,-and their end runsto feven leagues diflance from the road. There is no danger lying above a mile offthem ; and between Atcheen Head, an high fleep promontory, and the fouth end of-Gomus iflands, there are two channels to come from the weft ward into the road. The■fmalleft, which is not a quarter of a mile broad, has no danger in it, but the broad eft,which is above two miles broad, is peftered with rocks half way over from Gomusiflands.
The vallies about Atcheen produce excellent fruits, and the beft mangoftanes in the• world grow there. The air is very falutary, and the river waters are excellent f° rbathing. Walking in it before fun-rifing, and after fetting, has cured inveterate fluxes ?and I have, been told, that frequent bathing has cured tjte pox.
Chaf.