274 cook's first voyage SEPT. 



hour in the morning till it was dark; yet we never 

 saw the least trace of an offering to Cloacina, nor 

 could we so much as guess where they were made. 

 In a country so populous this is very difficult to be 

 accounted for, and perhaps there is no other country 

 in the world where the secret is so effectually kept. 



The boats in use here are a kind of proa. 



This island was settled by the Portuguese almost 

 as soon as they first found their way into this part of 

 the ocean ; but they were in a short time supplanted 

 by the Dutch. The Dutch however did not take 

 possession of it, but only sent sloops to trade with the 

 natives, probably for provisions to support the in- 

 habitants of their spice islands, who applying them- 

 selves wholly to the cultivation of that important 

 article of trade, and laying out all their ground in 

 plantations, can breed few animals : possibly their 

 supplies by this occasional traffic were precarious; 

 possibly they were jealous of being supplanted in their 

 turn ; but however that be, their East India Com- 

 pany, about ten years ago, entered into a treaty with 

 the Rajas, by which the Company stipulated to furnish 

 each of them with a certain quantity of silk, fine 

 linen, cutlery ware, arrack, and other articles, every 

 year ; and the Rajas engaged that neither they nor 

 their subjects should trade with any person except 

 the Company, without having first obtained their 

 consent, and that they would admit a resident on 

 behalf of the company, to reside upon the island, and 

 see that their part of the treaty was fulfilled : they 

 also engaged to supply annually a certain Quantity of 

 rice, maize, and calevances. The maize and cale- 

 vances are sent to Timor in sloops, which are kept 

 there for that purpose, each of which is navigated by 

 ten Indians ; and the rice is fetched away annually 

 by a ship which brings the Company's returns, and 

 anchors alternately in each of the three bays. These 

 returns are delivered to the Rajas in the form of a 

 present, and the cask of arrack they and their prin- 



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