336 THE OCEAN. 
drifted away 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. 
