Hamilton’s account of the east indies.

45 6

The captain, knowing that the natives were very fkilful in the art of poifoning, re-folved to prevent their taking any opportunity that way, and fo went on board to eatand ileep, and was fo cautious, that he would not fo much as tafte their green fruits,nor ftnell their flowers, after the time that the old hag threatened him, and yet beforehe left the place, he found himfelf much troubled with gripings and fluxes. I w 7 asat Batavia when he came there. He could not reach the road with his fhip before heanchored, but was forced to anchor without, and fent his boat on board of my (hip, todelire help to weigh their anchor. I fent a boat with 20 men and an officer to bringtheir fhip into the road, which next morning they did ; the poor man was brought tothat pafs by the effedls of poifon, that he could not walk without being fupported, norcould he lift his hand to his head.

I waited on him affiore, and he defired to be carried to his ufual quarters, at thefign of the red lion, kept by a woman called Black Moll, a native of the ifland ofFlores, and he giving her an account of his condition, and how ignorant he was of thecaufe of it, Ihe bid him be cheerful, for fhe knew how he had been poifoned, not byany thing taken inwardly, but by a fpell, and bid him recollect himfelf, and try if hecould remember if he had not kept over a bit of paper, or the leaf of a flag, in going'in or out of any houfe, which, after a little paufe, he could very well remember hehad. She allured him that he fhould be perfectly well in a month’s time, and Iheperformed her promife to admiration. I left Batavia before the cure was perfected,but afterwards when I came to Batavia, Ihe gave me an account that fhe had reftoredhim to perfect health, and feveral years after I faw him at Fort St. George.

Solor, Loolana, Panterra, and Mifcomby, all lie to the eaftward of Flores. Theyproduce a little fandal-wood, and Caffia-ligna. The Dutch have a factory on Solor.

The ifland Timor lies within 20 leagues to the fouth of thofe four iflands above-mentioned. It is a large ifland about 90 leagues long, and 18 broad. The nativesacknowledge the King of Portugal their fovereign, and have embraced the Romilhreligion. They permitted the Portugueze colony of Maccao in China , to build a forton it, which they called I.eifaw, and the Dutch a factory called Coupang, but wouldnever fuffer either to interfere with the government of their country. The Portu-gueze of Maccao drove a very advantageous trade to Timor for many years, and,finding the natives inclined to be paffive Catholicks, tried by fair means to get thewhole government of the country into the church’s hands, but could not beguile themthat way, therefore they tried force, and commenced a war, but to their coft theyfound, that the Timoreans would not lofe their liberty for fear of the lofs of blood.They chofe one Gonfales Gomez their general. He was a native of Timor , and hadtravelled to Maccao and Goa. Fie allowed the King of Portugal to be the fovereignand protedfor of their country, and they would be his loyal fubjedls, providing theirlaws and liberties might be fecured to them.

That war with the city of Maccao lafted abont fifteen years. It began about theyear 1688, and was not quite finiffied in the 1703, and Maccao in the end was ruinedby it; for it exhaufted both their flock of men and money to fuch a degree, thatof loop citizens the town had before the war, there was hardly fifty left at the end ofit, and of forty fail of trading fhips, not above five left.

The viceroy of Goa fent an embafly to Gonfales Gomez, in the year 1698, to P er "fuade him to peace, and to accept of a governor general and an archbiffiop from Goa. ibut to no purpofe, for they declared, that they would admit of no foreign governorsjn their country, either in church or ftate.