1770. ROUND THE WORLD. 327 



These are the people among whom the practice 

 that is called a mock, or running a muck, has pre- 

 vailed for time immemorial. It is well known, that 

 to run a muck in the original sense of the word, is 

 to get intoxicated with opium, and then rush into 

 the street with a drawn weapon, and kill whoever 

 comes in the way, till the party is himself either 

 killed or taken prisoner ; of this several instances 

 happened while we were at Batavia, and one of the 

 officers, whose business it is, among other things, to 

 apprehend such people, told us, that there was 

 scarcely a week in which he, or some of his brethren, 

 were not called upon to take one of them into 

 custody. In one of the instances that came to our 

 knowledge, the party had been severely injured by 

 the perfidy of women, and was mad with jealousy 

 before he made himself drunk with opium ; and we 

 were told, that the Indian who runs a muck is always 

 first driven to desperation by some outrage, and al- 

 ways first revenges himself upon those who have 

 done him wrong : we were also told, that though 

 these unhappy wretches afterwards run into the 

 street with a weapon in their hand, frantic and 

 foaming at the mouth, yet they never kill any but 

 those who attempt to apprehend them, or those 

 whom they suspect of such an intention, and that 

 whoever gives them way is safe. They are generally 

 slaves, who indeed are most subject to insults, and 

 least able to obtain legal redress : freemen, however, 

 are sometimes provoked into this extravagance, and 

 one of the persons who run a muck while we were at 

 Batavia, was free and in easy circumstances. He 

 was jealous of his own brother, whom he first killed, 

 and afterwards two others, who attempted to oppose 

 him : he did not, however, come out of his house, 

 but endeavoured to defend himself in it, though the 

 opium had so far deprived him of his senses, that of 

 three muskets, which he attempted to use against 

 the officers of justice, not one was either. loaded or 



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