The Pieates Visit Us. 441 



ing tliat their small vessels sent trading to the " blakang 

 tana " would be plundered. The Aru natives were of course 

 dreadfully alarmed, as these marauders attack their villages, 

 burn and murder, and carry away women and children for 

 slaves. Not a man will stir from his village for some time, 

 and I must remain still a prisoner in Dobbo. The Governor 

 of Amboyna, out of pure kindness, has told the chiefs that 

 they are to be responsible for my safety, so that they have an 

 excellent excuse for refusing to stir. 



Several praus went out in search of the pirates, sentinels 

 were appointed, and watch-fires lighted on the beach to guard 

 against the possibility of a night attack, though it was hard- 

 ly thought they would be bold enough to attempt to plunder 

 Dobbo. The next day the praus returned and we liad positive 

 information that these scourges of the Eastern seas were real- 

 ly among us. One of Herr Warzbei'gen's small praus also 

 arrived in a sad plight. It had been attacked six days be- 

 fore, just as it was returning from the " blakang tana." The 

 crew escaped in their small boat and hid in the jungle, while 

 the pirates came up and plundered the vessel. They took 

 away every thing but the cargo of mother-of-pearl shell, 

 which was too bulky for them. All the clothes and boxes of 

 the men, and the sails and cordage of the prau, were cleared 

 off. They had four large war-boats, and fired a volley of 

 musketry as they came up, and sent off their small boats to 

 the attack. After they had left, our men observed from their 

 concealment that three had staid behind with a small boat ; 

 and being driven to desperation by the sight of the plunder- 

 ing, one brave fellow swam off armed only with his parang, 

 or chopping-knife, and, coming on them unawares, made a des- 

 perate attack, killing one and wounding the other two, receiv- 

 ing himself numbers of slight wounds, and then swimming 

 off again when almost exhausted. Two other praus were 

 also plundered, and the -crew of one of them murdered to a 

 man. They are said to be Sooloo pirates, but have Bugis 

 among them. On their way here they have devasted one of 

 the small islands east of Ceram, It is now eleven years since 

 they have visited Aru, and by thus making their attacks at 

 long and uncertain intervals the alarm dies away, and they 

 find a population for the most part unarmed and unsuspicious 



