ceived any body ftirring in the fhip. On the 29th, while
thefe things were the fubjedts o f fpeculation, one of my
Tuei'da/ 29. 0gjcers w]10 came from the ihore brought me a letter, which
he faid had been delivered to him by a black man: it was
directed, “ To the Commander of the Englifh Ihip at Bon-
thyn.” That the Reader may underftand this letter, it is ne-
ceffary to acquaint him, that the iiland o f Celebes is divided
into feveral diftri&s, which are diftindt fovereignties o f the
native Princes. The town o f Macaflar is in a diftridt called
alfo Macaflar, or Bony, the King o f which is in alliance with
•the Dutch, who have been many times repulfed in an attempt
to reduce other parts o f the Bland, one o f which is
inhabited by a people called Bugguefes, and another is
called Waggs or Tofora. The town o f Tofora is fortified
with cannon, for the natives had been long furniflied with
fire-arms from Europe, before the Dutch fettled themfelves
at Macaflar in the room of the Portuguefe.
The letter acquainted me, that a defign had been formed
•by the Dutch, in conjunction with the King of Bony, to cut
us off,: that the Dutch however were not to appear in i t :
that the bufinefs was to be done by a fon of the. King of
Bony, who was, befides a gratuity from the Dutch, to receive
the plunder o f the vefiel for his reward, and who, with eight
hundred men, was then at Bonthain for that purpofe: that
the motive was jealoufy of our forming a connection with
the Bugguefes, and other people o f the country, who were
at enmity with the Dutch and their allies, and driving them
out o f the iiland ; or at leaft a fufpicion that, i f we got back
to England 5 fome project o f that kind might be founded
upon the intelligence we ihould give, no Engliih man o f
war, as I have already obferved, having ever been known to
have vifited the iiland before.
176 8.
March.
This
This letter was a new fubjeCt o f furprize and fpeculation:
It was extremely ill written with refpeCt to the ilyle and t----—<
manner, yet it did not therefore the lefs deferve notice. T“efflay 29‘
How far the intelligence which it contained was true or
falfe, I was utterly unable to determine: it was poflible
that the writer might be deceived himfelf ; it was alfo
poflible, that he might have fome view in wilfully deceiving
me : the falfhood might procure fome little reward for the
kindnefs and zeal which it placed to his account, or it might
give him an importance which would at leaft be a gratification
to his vanity. It behoved me however to take the fame
meafures as i f I had known it to be true ; and I muft con-
fefs, that I was not perfectly at eafe when I recollected the
recal o f the Secretary and Le Cerf, with the large floop, and
part of the foldiers, who were faid. to have been fent hither
for no other reafon than to guard us againft the infults of
the country people; the affembling an armed force at-Macaflar,
as it was faid, for an expedition to Bally; and the little
canoe that we had feen rowing round us in the night, not to
mention the Governor’s enquiry by letter, when we intended,
to leave the ifland. However, whether either our- intelligence
or conjectures were true or falfe, we immediately
went to work: we rigged the fhip, bent the fails, unmoored,
got fprings upon our cables, loaded all our guns,, and barri-
cadoed the deck. At night every body flept under arms, and
the next day we warped the veflel farther off from the bot- wtdnef. 30.
tom o f the bay, towards the eaftern fliore, that we might
have more room, fixed four fwivel guns on the forepart o f
the quarter-deck, and took every other meafure that appeared
to be neceflary for our defence.
The Refident, Mr. Swellingrabel, was at this time abfent
twenty miles up the country upon the Company’s bufinefs,,
but had told me, that he fhould certainly return on the xft o f
April,