A THREATENING FLEET. 293 



During this day's hunt I came to a wide field of re- 

 cently-elevated coral, about one hundred feet above 

 the sea. The natives, who were surprised that I 

 should stop to look at such common rocks, asserted 

 that the same kind of hatu put% " white stone," was 

 found among the hills, and I have no doubt that re- 

 cent coral reefs will be found in the mountainous 

 parts of all the adjacent islands as high up as Gov- 

 ernor Arriens has already traced them on Amboina. 

 While these days were passing by, we all won- 

 dered what the authorities were doing to put down 

 the great insuiTection in Ceram. All the boats that 

 came brought us only the vaguest tidings, sometimes 

 of entire success, and sometimes of entire failure. 

 We had good cause to be solicitous, for at two or 

 three posts on that island there were only about a 

 dozen Dutch soldiers, and if any numbers of the head- 

 hunting Alfuras made an attack in concert, all would 

 inevitably be butchered. While we were in this 

 state of suspense, six large praus were seen coming in 

 round one of the capes and entering our bay. As 

 the foremost hove to and waited for the others, that 

 all might reach the anchorage together, they appeared 

 to be coming with some evil design, and immediately 

 there was no little bustle in our settlement of nine 

 Europeans, four of whom were ladies. The com- 

 mandant summoned all his troops into the fort, ser- 

 geants were posted in the four corners by the four 

 cannon, the men once more put through the routine 

 of loading, so that if anybody was killed by the dis- 

 charge of their pieces, which, by the by, were only 

 six-pounders, it might be some one outside of the fint. 



