124
fo many in company) to the next perfon on his right hand, who does the fame; andfo they continue fmoking feveral rounds till they are very much intoxicated. Theyare fenfible that it fhortens life, yet the pleafure is fo great they cannot abftain from it.Befides, their women, who are very wanton and falacious in that hot climate, exhort themto it, with views to their own fatisfadlion and pleafure, it being a great incentive tovenery. I was once prevailed upon to fmoke one of thefe lumps, and indeed I foundit had the fame effect as if I had drank a bottle of the ftrongeft wine, only with thisdifference, that I found a more than ordinary livelinefs, delight, and fuch a merry dif-pofttion, that I think human nature cannot long bear the practice of it. However theydo not take opium to that excefs as the Javans do : for the latter will fometimes takefuch a quantity as makes them diffracted, running in a defperate manner through theftreets, with their creice or dagger drawn, and killing all they meet. This they callruning amtnook. When a perfon is fallen into fuch a fit of madnefs, it is lawful forany man to difpatch him by what means he can, but they are generally fhot, or runthrough with fpears by the foldiers. I was told a remarkable ftory of this kind by aperfon that was eye-witnefs to the fa£t: a certain Javan who ran ammook in Batavia,and had killed feveral men, women, and children (the place being very populous),but was at laft met by a foldier, who ran him through the body with a pike ; notwith-ftanding which the wretch prefled and thruft himfelf forwards on the pike (which washalf through him) towards his adverfary, till he got near enough to flab him with hisdagger, fo they both died on the fpot. They reckon that opium makes them valiant,as well as lafcivious.
1 have given fome hints already in general of the commodities of this country. Thofeof this port are more particularly pepper, of which they can generally fupply youwith two or three thoufand tuns every year; alfo long pepper, dragons-blood, the beltin the world, bezoar of moft forts, and particularly the fine monkey bezoar, gold,jambe canes, rattans, the beft camphire unrefined, and fundry drugs brought thitherby the Chinefe. Here are alfo rough diamonds, from three carats downwards : I fawnone to be fold of greater vreight. I lhall hereafter give the beft in ft ructions I cantowards managing a trade with them ; and alfo the price current of fome goods Ibought there. I muff own they were dear bought; but we being the firft fhips ofour country that went thither fince the deftrucffion of the factory, were obliged infome meafure to comply with many inconveniences : but if fhips were fent thither con-ftantly in the fame manner as we were, there would be greater variety of goods to befold, which with good management might be procured much cheaper.
They have no particular handicrafts among them, except carpenters and goldfmithsbut every pne in general has a genius to carving, and with their fmall ill-formed knivesthey carve the heads of their creices in a very pretty manner. Thefe heads are gene-rally of ivory, but fometimes of wood.
They have a fort of boats which' they call flying praws, from their fwiftnefs in failing.They are made of the trunk of a tree hollowed, and fharpened at both ends, not muchunlike the ftern of our wherries. They have no keel nor rudder, but are fleered in adifferent manner, from ours, over the quarter, with very long but fmall paddles,whereof one, that is thirty feet long is not above twelve or fourteen inches over. Theirfeats are acrofs, raifed above the gunnel or fide of the boat, where they fit with theirlegs in the bottom ; and to prevent their overfetting, they fix two long poles or out-layers, one acrofs the fore-part, and another acrofs the after-part of the boat, eachend being run into a large bamboo. Being thus fixed, and fitted with a large mat fail,they will run fometimes at the rate of twenty-four tniles an hour; and when it blows
9 hard,