yoke of the Dutch, openly joined them,—besieged
the Dutch fortress close to his capital, took it, and
razed it to the ground. The Chinese and Javanese
forces uniting on this, marched to Samarang, hoping
to expel the Dutch from their principal establishment
to the east, but, unskilled in the science
of war, they made no impression on the petty fortress
of that place j discord began to arise between
the Chinese and Javanese, and the intrigues of the
Dutch finally separated the Susunan from his
league. The Chinese, not discouraged by this defection,
and still encouraged by the adherence of
several Javanese chiefs, elected a Susunan of their
own from the royal family, marched to the capital,
drove the legitimate prince from it, and occupied
it. It was not until after a war of two years duration
that the false Susunan was taken, the Chinese dispersed,
and peace in part restored.
I shall relate a few of the transactions of this
war, to show the spirit in which it was conducted.
The conduct of the Susunan towards the Dutch
was of the most treacherous character. Cinder the
pretext of joining them for the destruction of the
Chinese, he prepared a force to attack their fortress
as already stated. When the expedition he had
thus prepared was ready, as he pretended, to march,
he,sent the commanders, three resolute and desperate
persons chosen for the occasion, into the fortress
to receive the final orders of the Dutch
commander. This was the moment chosen for
perpetrating the act of treachery which had been
meditated. While dn the act of saluting the commander,
the assassins drew their daggers and commenced
the attack. A crowd of Javanese now attempted
to rush in at the gate, but the European
centinels had the presence of mind to close It. The
Dutch in their turn became the assailants, and the
Javanese were in a few minutes put to death with
as little mercy as they deserved. -
The Chinese force now joining the. Javanese,
the Dutch fort was besieged, and the.garrison, 430
in number, had the folly to surrender themselves
prisoners of war, on the faithless assurances of
safety made to them by the Javanese »prince. In
the first paroxysm of caprice, he directed’the .Christians
to be circumcised, and instructed in the Ma-..
homedan religion ; or, as the Javanese writer carelessly
expresses, “ directed them to change their
prophet.’ ’ Soon repenting of this degree of lenity,
lie ordered the European officers'to be executed,
“ by beating them to death with bludgeons!”
These circumstances are related on the authority
of native manuscripts.
When the Javanese agreed to* forsake the Chinese,
and renew their alliance with the Dutch, on the suggestion
of the latter, they agreed suddenly to fall upon
their old friends occupying the same camp, and
massacre the whole of them. The matter was con