356 DESCRIPTION OF SAVU CHAP. XV 
might be true I dare not take upon myself to determine ; 
all I shall say is that during our stay we saw no signs 
either of a warlike disposition or such formidable arms. Of 
spears and targets, indeed, there were about a hundred in 
the Dutch house, the largest of which spears served to arm 
the people who came down to intimidate us; but so little 
did these doughty heroes think of fighting, or indeed keep- 
ing up appearances, that instead of a target each was 
furnished with a cock, some tobacco, or something of that 
kind, which he took this opportunity of bringing down to 
sell. Their spears seem all to have been brought to them 
by Europeans, the refuse of old armouries, no two being any- 
thing near the same length, varying in that particular from 
six feet to sixteen. As for their lances, not one of us saw 
one. Their muskets, though clean on the outside, were 
honeycombed with rust on the inside. Few or none of 
their cartridge-boxes had either powder or ball in them. 
To complete all, the swivels and patereroes at the Dutch 
house were all lying out of their carriages; and the one 
great gun which lay before it on a heap of stones was not 
only more honeycombed with rust than any piece of artil- 
lery I have ever seen, but had the touch-hole turned down- 
wards, probably to conceal its size, which might not be in 
all probability much less than the bore of the gun itself. 
The Dutch, however, use these islanders as auxiliaries in 
their wars against the inhabitants of Timor, where they do 
good service; their lives at all events not being nearly so 
valuable as those of the Dutchmen. , 
This island was settled by the Portuguese almost as soon 
as they went into these seas. When the Dutch first came 
here the Portuguese, however, were very soon wormed out by 
the machinations of the artful new-comers, who not only 
attempted to settle themselves in the island, but also sent 
sloops occasionally to trade with the natives, by whom they 
were often cut off; as often, I suppose, as they cheated them 
in too great a degree. This, however, and the probably 
increasing value of the island, at last tempted them to try 
some other way of securing it, and running less risk. This 
