A VOYAGE TO BORNEO.

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The Banjareens cad up the fums or accounts, as the Chlnefe do, by fmall thingslike button-moulds, on fundry flicks placed in two rows in a box. Thefe they {hoveup and down very nimbly with their fingers, and are very exact and expeditious. Theyare naturally very docible and inquifitive, for moil of the bell traders had learnt fromus, the little time we were there, to underftand our figures and way of counting; and,when they fold us pepper, would fet down their fundry draughts, (tens in a fum) thenadd their totals together at lad.

If the trade was continued annually, it would.improve greatly ; for on the certaintyof the China junks meeting here with the Englifh Ihips, you might be well fuppliedwith China goods near as cheap as if you were to go to China for them, confideringhow much longer the voyage is, the great expences thereof, the Emperor ’s cudoms,the port-charges, and other extraordinary fums exacled from the furpercargoes by thehoppos, &c. they can fettle the trade, and leave the port: I am lure at lead, thatfome advantage may be made hereof. Moreover, the Maccaffer praws come in hereyearly about the latter end of September, and bring flaves, cloves, nutmegs, mace,gamboge, caffia-lignum, and fundry other merchandizes; with whom fome moneymay be laid out to advantage.—Note, that we paid no cuftom here but for pepper.

The Banjareens have only one crop of pepper every year, though I have been toldthat they had two ; for the latter is only what fprouts out of the flocks after the chiefcrop is gathered, and it never amounts to any great quantity. It is gathered only bythe poorer fort, whom neceflity obliges to do it: however, the gathering thereof dothmuch prejudice the enfuing crop.

Of black pepper they have three forts : the firfl and belt is called Molucca, or Loutpepper; the fecond, or middling fort, is called Caytongee pepper; and the word, Negar-ree pepper, of which lad fort they have the greated quantity : it is a fmall, hollow, lightpepper, and the mod full of dud ; therefore in bargaining at fird with them, you mudagree to buy by weight, and not by meafure, otherwife they will fhuffle you off withthe lighted and word fort, referving the Molucca and heavy fort for the Chinefe, whobuy by weight. If you are not cautious, they will mix fmall black dones with thepepper, which are not eafily difcerned, neither can your garbling-mill throw them out;which would be a double lofs in paying pepper-price and freight for dones. Theirmeafure is the ganton, which contains about a Wincheder gallon.

They have white pepper, which is commonly fold for twice the price of the black.They tell you that it is made white by a certain bird, which they call ballaree, thatlives on black pepper, digeding nothing but the hufk, and dunging out the fubdance,which through this means becomes white, and is gleaned up by the poor people, .ofwhom we always bought it by very fmall parcels at a time. Their bed long pepper,free from dud and worms, is fold at about four dollars per pecull.

Befides pepper, they have plenty of birds’-ned, the bed in the world, which are foldat ninety or one hundred dollars per pecull; the whited and cleared is the bed. It18 f° called from certain birds, much after the nature of a petrell, or fwallow, which(as they tell us) having fwallowed the fcum, fpawn, and froth of the fea, fly into theholes of the rocks, and high cliffs near the fea, where they vomit it, and beat it upwith their wings into a confidency, which ferves them that feafon as neds, (for theymake new ones every year) and after they have abandoned them, the natives do gatherthem, being then a hard fubdance, and fell them at the aforementioned price. Thisbird s-ned is counted a great provocative to venery.

. Their fanguis draconis, or dragons’ blood, is alfo the bed and fined in the world ;lt is the juice of a tree, whofe fruit is as red as a cherry : the bed is known by its

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