Hamilton's account of the east indies. 463

fugar-canes. The ground is cultivated by the Chinefe, for the lazy Malayas cannottake that trouble.

The produfl of the country is pepper and gold, which are moftly exported by theChinefe. About 300 tuns are the common export of pepper, and we have it almoftfor one half of the price that we pay for Malabar pepper. From the month. ofOdlober till March, their river is hint up by the bar, which fills up by the impetuofityof the great feas fent on that Ihore by the north-eaft monfoons ; but in the months ofJuly and Auguft their feas produce the fined filh that ever I faw or tailed. There isone fort exaftly like a falmon, both in lhape and tafte, but the filh is white, as thefalmon is red. Their poultry are large, plump, and fweet, but beef is fcarce, exceptbuffalo beef, and that is plentiful enough.

In anno 1720, the Bougies came to Pullo-capafs, which is but five leagues fromTrangano ; but there are other illands that lie 12 leagues more foutherly, called, inthe maps, by the name of Pullo-capafs, but their right name, which the natives callthem by, is Pullp-tetang.

However, from Pullo-capafs the Bougies fent an embaffy to Trangano, pretendingan accommodation with the King, to fee if he would allow them to enjoy the continentand illands beyond the promontory of Romano, and they would leave him the quiet pof-feflion of the reft ; and, while they were in a large hall conferring, fome unufual hid-den noife happened to be heard from without, which the guilty Bougies taking to befome ddign in execution againft them, one of them runs to the King, and ftabbed himto the heart, which made a very great diforder, and many were killed on both fides jand what Bougies remained, got on board of their gallies, and polled to their fleet atPullo-capafs, with the newsof what had happened at Trangano, and next day the Bougieswent into the river, and plundered the town, except certain houfes which belongedto the Dattabandaar, or firll minifter, whom the King, in his lifetime, ever miftrufted,but, by the ill fituation of his affairs, was obliged to hide his thoughts, and defer hisrefentments till a proper time.

The next place to the northward, in the Johore territories, is Patany. It wasformerly the greateft port for trade in all thofe feas, but the inhabitants being too potentto be afraid of the King’s laws, they became fo infolent, that merchants were obligedto remove their commerce to countries of more fecurity. It was the ftaple port forSurat fhipping, and from Goa , Malabar, and Chormondel, they had a good trade, andfo they had from China, Tunquin, Cambodia, and Siam ; but the merchants finding noreftraint on robbers and murderers, were obliged to give their trade a turn into anotherchannel, which was a great advantage to Batavia, Siam, and Malacca , where they werekindly ufed, and in thofe ports it has confined ever fince.

The Johore dominions reach but four or five leagues farther north, which, like mollborderers, are inclined to rapine, and lying fo near another’s dominions, where theymay be fcrCened from the power of their own laws when they commit depredations,it makes them exercife their villainies with impunity. Between Trangano and Patanylie the illands of Redang. They are uninhabited, but fometiines the fialeeters or Ma-laya freebooters frequent them, and when they meet with trading veffels that they are ableto mailer, they make prize of them, and carry the men into other countries than wherethey belong to, and fell them for Haves ; and when they meet with no purchafe at fea,they go -alhore in the nights, and fteal all they can get. Men, women, and children go>all into the booty ; but the China veffels afford them moft prizes.

The Kings of Johore ever paid homage to the Kings of Siam, by fending them a rofemade of gold in a golden box once in three years. The year 1719 happened to be the

year