rt. It seems to be pretty strong; yet, as
I was informed, had been taken by a French pirate about 2 years ago: the
Dutch were used very barbarously, and ever since are very jealous of any
strangers that come this way; which I myself experienced. These depend
more on their own strength than on the natives their friends; having good
guns, powder, and shot enough on all occasions, and soldiers sufficient
to manage the business here, all well disciplined and in good order;
which is a thing the Portuguese their neighbours are altogether destitute
of, they having no European soldiers, few arms, less ammunition, and
their fort consisting of no more than 6 bad guns planted against the sea,
whose touch-holes (as was before observed) are so enlarged by time that a
great part of the strength of the powder flies away there; and, having
soldiers in pay, the natives on all occasions are hired; and their
government now is so loose that they will admit of no more officers from
Portugal or Goa. They have also little or no supply of arms or ammunition
from thence, but buy it as often as they can of the Dutch, Chinese, etc.,
so that upon the whole it seems improbable that they should ever attempt
to drive out the Dutch for fear of loosing themselves, notwithstanding
their bosomed prowess and alliance with the natives: and indeed, as far
as I could hear, they have business enough to keep their own present
territories from the incursions of the Kupangayans; who are friends to
the Dutch, and whom doubtless the Dutch have ways enough to preserve in
their friendship; besides that they have an inveterate malice to their
neighbours, insomuch that they kill all they meet, and bring away their
heads in triumph. The great men of Kupang stick the heads of those they
have killed on poles; and set them on the tops of their houses; and these
they esteem above all their other riches. The inferior sort bring the
heads of those they kill into houses made for that purpose; of which
there was one at the Indian village near the fort Concordia, almost full
of heads, as I was told. I know not what encouragement they have for
their inhumanity.

THE MALAYAN LANGUAGE GENERALLY SPOKEN HERE.

The Dutch have always 2 sloops belonging to their fort; in these they go
about the island and trade with the natives and, as far as I could learn,
they trade indifferently with them all. For though the inland people are
at war with each other, yet those by the seaside seem to