168 



A VISIT TO THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



expedition aiicborod off the site of old Pakii, wMch had 

 been destrojetl on a former occasion by tlie Didds boats* 

 New Pakn was now taken, after a little skirmi^iing, and 

 destroyed by fire. 



Stragglers who had escaped from the piratical balk at 

 Bating Marrow were occasionally fallen in with. Some- 

 times a raft was met with ; or a boat made from the 

 bark of a tree, freshly sewn together with strips from the 

 rattan, and stiffened with pieces of bamboo. Some 

 wounded man liad^ in all probability been conveyed across 

 the water by these hurried means of transit, 



A stout fellow was taken one dark tiight^ floating up 

 with the tide, in a canoe of tins description, by some of 

 the Malays who had been ieffc with the steamer : he made 

 a desperate resistance, and severely wounded one of itis 

 captors, Ue was conveyed to the Nemesis ; antl, as ho 

 refused to give any name, he was called by the seamen 

 Sorebas Jack, On the return of the Hajah, who had 

 been absent some days, Serebas Jack fully espected that 

 sentence of death would be passed upon him i and his 

 spirits rose wonderfully when he found that Ins life was 

 to be spared. He became a great fayourite with the 

 Europeans. Before the steamer left fclie riverj he begged 

 hard to be allowed to go home, said that he was a very 

 poor man, and had left some little children who would 

 starve, as there wa^ no one to look after them, Tkia 

 story rather moved the Eajah ; but the great difficulty 

 was to protect him from the numerous parties of Dy aks 



