A CHALLENGE FROM THE PIRATES. 32X 



ilie Dutcli Government, and their request was imme- 

 diately granted. A few years ago these pii'ates sent 

 a challenge to the Dutch fleet at Batavia to come and 

 meet them in the Strait of Macassar, and several 

 officers assui'ed me that five ships were sent. When 

 they arrived there no pirates were to be seen, but to 

 this day all believe the challenge was a hona Jide one, 

 and that the only reason that the pirates were not 

 ready to carry out their part was because more men- 

 of-war appeared than they had anticipated. A short 

 time after I arrived back at Bata^^[a, a fleet of these 

 plunderers was destroyed in that very strait. One 

 chief, who was taken on the opposite coast of Borneo 

 a few years ago, acknowledged that he had previously 

 commanded two exj^editions to the Macassar Strait, 

 and that, though the Dutch war-ships had destroyed 

 his fleet both times, he had been able to escape by 

 swimming to the shore. At Kema I saw one of the 

 five praus that were taken in that vicinity last year. 

 It was an open boat al)out fifty feet long, twelve 

 wide, and four deep. There were places for five 

 oars on each side. At the bow and stern was a 

 kind of deck or platform, and in the middle of each 

 a small vertical post, on which was placed a long 

 swivel, throwing a pound-ball. They do not, how- 

 ever, depend on these small cannon, l)ut always ge+ 

 alongside a vessel as soon as possible, and then board 

 her at the same moment on all sides in overpowering 

 numbers. It is almost impossible to catch them un- 

 less it is done by surprise, and this they carefully 

 guard against by means of spies on the shore. Our 

 captain informed me that several times when he has 



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