ACCOUNT OF CELEBES , AMBOYNA, &C. 245

both thofe belonging to the Company, and thofe of private perfons, with a leffernumber.

When Mr. Van Pleuren and his company were on board, a falute of twenty-one gunswas fired by the Ouwerkerk, and at the laft gun the flag was hoifted at the mafl-head.We fhortly afterwards weighed anchor, and fleering between the reef of Great Lylyand the rock, we faluted the fort with one-and-twenty guns, and were anfwered withthe fame number: in half an hour afterwards, having got out to fea, the deputies fromthe government returned on fhore, and we faluted them with nine guns.

CHAP. XIV. — Paffage to Amboyna. — Strait of Tanakeke. — View of Bontain. —- TheIfland Saleyer. — The Budgeroons. — Propofal for fortifying them. — View of theIflands Cabyne — Pajfangane — Bouton. — Account of the latter. — Contract of theKing with the Dutch. ■— Extirpations of Spice-trees. — Dangerous Paffage betweenBouton and the Toucan-bejfis. — Dwaal , or Mijlake-bay.—View of the Ifland Bouro.

•— Account of it. — View of the Ifland Amblauw. — Of Amboyna, and fix of the Iflandsbelonging to it. — Strange Neglect with refpecl to Signal-flags. — Short Account of the JBay of Amboyna. — Anchorage in it. — Ceremonies upon the Arrival of the newGovernor.

AT three o’clock, P.M. we were conftrained by contrary winds and currents,,to come to an anchor clofe to the ifland Galiflong, where we lay that night.

The next day, being the 17th of February, we weighed anchor at daybreak, and.fet fail, fleering along the coall of Celebes , for the paffage of Tanakeke, which weReached at ten o’clock, and about eleven we had paffed the narrowefl and moft dan-gerous part of it.

The fpace between this ifland and that of Celebes , is, of itfelf, large enough, butthe paffage is narrowed, by more than one half of the diflance over, by a reef whichftretches out from Tanakeke towards Celebes , and by a funken rock, which lies abouthalf a league fouth-wefl from the point of Sandraboni. The depth in the paffage isfrom twelve to ten fathoms. At funfet we had doubled the fouth-wefl extremity°f Celebes .

-A-t funrife, on the following morning, urn were abreafl of Bontain, which is re-markable by its very high hills, being the termination of the range of mountains ruli-ng through Celebes from north to fouth. At the fame time we came in fight ofV“ e ifland Saleyer, and fleered for the point of Laffoa, which is the fouthermofl land ofCelebes .' In the afternoon we faw the Budgeroons lying eaft of us.

-Ihefe are three fmall iflands, which lie nearly in a line, in the direction of north--Weft and fouth-eafl. They almoft entirely block up the paffage between the fouthernP ar t of Celebes , and the northern part of Saleyer, the whole fpace between whichj? a bout a league and a half. The northernmofl and fouthernmofl of thefe ifletsrefpedlively, fo clofe to the point of Laffoa, and to the north end of Saleyer, thatnere is no paffage for fhips between them and the larger iflands, and not even formail veffels, but attended with danger; they therefore pafs this flrait between theouthernmoft and middlemofl, or between the latter and the northernmofl of theudgeroons. Both thefe paffages feemed to me, by the eye, to be about three-e! ghths of a league in breadth. The fhores of the middlemofl ifland are perfectlyr e . ar r ound, and fo very bold that there is no foundings with a line of one hundred

fathoms.

This