336 THE OCEAN. 



drifted awav out of sight. The condition of the 

 persons who had thus escaped had altered very little 

 for the better; they were immersed to the neck in 

 water, dreading every moment the attack of sharks: 

 nor had either, during the whole of the night, the 

 comfort of knowing that his companion was still in 

 existence. Soon after daylight some fishermen ap- 

 peared, by whom they were perceived ; but instead 

 of rescuing them immediately from their perilous 

 situation, the Javanese consulted together for a few 

 minutes, and then approached the sufferers, and 

 demanded who they were. On being told they were 

 Englishmen, whose vessel had been attacked and 

 captured by pirates, they were taken on board, 

 treated kindly, and conveyed to the Dutch Settlement 

 at Indramayo. Had they belonged to one of the 

 Dutch cruisers, their fate would probably have been 

 different ; for the fishermen are on bad terms with 

 the officers of the government prahus, whom they 

 accuse of robbing them of their fish."* 



The pirates who thus infest the Indian Archipe- 

 lago are invariably Mahometans ; none of the Pagan 

 natives ever being known to engage in these mur- 

 derous expeditions. They show no mercy : the 

 Europeans that fall into their hands are murdered, 

 and the native seamen sold into slavery. 



The larger islands of the archipelago do not pre- 

 sent a very interesting appearance from the sea. 

 Though clothed from the tops of the mountains 

 down to the very water's edge with the most lux- 

 uriant vegetation, it is too uniform to be agreeable. 



Earl's " Eastern Seas," p. 38. 



