laS A VISIT TO THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



coaat, belonging to the Laksimana of Serebas, was de- 

 stroyed by Captain Farquhar at Paku* Seriff Mullal/s 

 praJiu, c^iptured by the Dido's boats at Undop, waa of 

 the same formirkble class : many others ^een by our 

 officers on their rarious expeditions were fiiUy as for- 

 midable, or more so. Such is the class of vessel in 

 cominon use with the Malays of Serebas for the purposes 

 of piracy. 



The Byak baiigkongK, drawing but a few inches water, 

 are both lighter and faster than the prahus of the Malays, 

 with a long overhanging stem and stera ; they measure 

 a hundred feet in length, by nine or teu in beam. These 

 bangkonga are usually propelled by from sixty to eighty 

 paddles ; they are as swift as an eight-oared London 

 ■wberr)^ and can be turned at full speed in their own 

 length. Each bangkong, besides its regular complement 

 of Byaks, carries a few Malaya armed with musketry, 

 and they occasionally mount one or two small lelas. They 

 are equally efficient for purauit and for flight ; and their 

 stealthy and noiselcBs approach gives no warning to their 

 victims, who have been too - often surprised, and over- 

 whelmed with a shower of spears in the dead of the night, 



I have here given a description of a Malayan praku 

 and a Dyak hanghon^f of Serebaa, of the Jtrst-dnss. The 

 vessels are essentially dMerent, in all respects ; there are 

 of course, belonging to each description, numerous vessels 

 of smaller size and armament ; the complement, whether 

 in the one or the other, may be very moderately com- 



