224

ACCOUNT OF CELEBES , AMBOYNA, &C.

unworthy of the regentfhip, and his life was fo much endangered, that he was obligedto fly by night to Tello, where he received proteftion. He afterwards became con-nected with Crain Bontalancas, and loft his life in the commotions excited by thatfamous rebel.

In the year 1730, the three remaining brothers of the Queen of Boni came fromBouton, whither they had fled for fear of their After, and took refuge under the pro-tection of the Company, who allowed them to refide in the campon Baro.

The Queen, in the meantime, continued difcontented with the Company, becaufe theprovince of Bontain was withheld from her ; while her madanrang, or general in chief,and her tomarilalangs, or privy counfellors, conducted every thing at Boni accordingto their own wiflies, and adhering to the enemies of the Company who arofe about thistime, Aroe Seenkang and his followers, and the rebel Crain Bontalancas, they pre-pared the way for the ruin of the kingdom of Boni, which was effected in the follow-ing manner:

Aroe Seenkang, a difcontented Wadjorefe Prince, had for fome time, together withhis captain, laut, or admiral, touffa, been committing piracies; he had taken Paffir andCoety, and had even attacked the veflels of the Company.

Thefe freebooters, therefore, in the years 1735 and 1736, carrying their depreda-tions to a great excefs in the neighbourhood of Mandhar and Cajelie, were encounteredby the cruifing veflels of the Company, but to no purpofe; and, in the beginning ofthe year 1736, they landed in fight of Fort Rotterdam, on the adjacent iflands, belong-ing to the Company, where they plundered the inhabitants, and burnt their houfes.Upon this our government equipped fome veflels at Macafler, who attacked the enemy,but the battle was {topped by the evening coming on ; and in the night, the enemyhaving effected their purpofes, cunningly gave us the flip, and got away to Wadjo,without having fuffered any material damage.

The Wadjorefe, notwithftanding the earneft reprefentations of the Company's fer-vants, obftinately refuted to deliver up Aroe Seenkang ; 1 and the Bouginefe in confe-quence declared war againft them. But it was profecuted with very little vigour;for the general and the counfellors of Boni, as we have before feen, were in collufionwith the enemy ; whence this war had an unfortunate iffue.

The Queen of Boni perceiving the treachery, though too late, fent for the Princes,her brothers, who had left Bouton, and were gone over to the Company, and gavethe command of the army to the eldeft ; but matters had already taken fo bad a turn,that there was fcarcely any poflibility of retrieving them, fo that they were compelledto make peace with Wadjo.

A little before, our people, at the requeft of the Soping nobles, had let Aroe Tanete,furnamed the Mad Duke *, go to Soping, to defend that country againft the Wadjorefe;but he, attending little to the war with Wadjo, procured, by his intrigues, the So-pingers to depofe their Queen, and eleCt him for their Datoua, or King, in her ftead ;after which he likewife contrived to have himfelf chofen King by the Bouginefe, ofwhich eleCtion they gave communication to the Company’s fervants at Fort Rotterdam,but it met with their marked difapprobation ; and when the Queen herfelf came for-ward, he was obliged to give way to her by flight.

Upon this, the Wadjorefe made themfelves mafters of Boni, appointed an-other Queen, acknowledged the rebel Crain Bontalancas for King of Goach, and

* Of this Aroe Tanete, it was related, that, like the ancient inhabitants of Celebes , he was a cannibal,and remarkably fond of human flelh, fo that he even ufed to fatten his prifoners, and cutting their heartaut alive, he eat it raw, with pepper and fait, edeeming it the mod delicious morfel of all, S.

declared