451 
PULO DITTOING. 
The product of fbe country thereabouts, besides rice and 
other eatables, is tutaneg, a sort of tin; I think coarser than 
ours. The natives are Malayans, who, as I have always 
observed, are bold and treacherous: yet the trading people 
are affable and courteous to merchants. 
These are in all respects, as to their religion*, custom, and 
manner of living, like other Malayans. Whether they are 
governed by a King or Raja, or what other manner of Go¬ 
vernment they live under, I know not. They have canoas 
and boats of their own, and in these they fish and traffic among 
themselves : but the tin trade is that which has formerly 
drawn merchant strangers thither. But, though the country 
might probably yield great quantities of this metal, and the 
natives are not only inclinable, but very desirous to trade with 
strangers, yet are they now restrained by the Dutch, who 
have monopolized that trade to themselves. It was probably 
for the lucre of this trade that the Dutch built the fort on the 
island ; but this not wholly answering their ends, by reason 
of the distance about it and the rivers mouth, which is about 
4 or 5 miles, they have also a guard-ship commonly lying here, 
and a sloop with 20 or 30 armed men, to hinder other nations 
from this trade. For this tutaneg or tin is a valuable com¬ 
modity in the Bay of Bengal, and here purchased reasonably, 
by giving other commodities in exchange: neither is this 
commodity peculiarly found hereabouts, but farther northerly 
also on the coast; and particularly in the kingdom of Queda 
there is much of it. The Dutch also commonly keep a guard- 
ship, and have mode some fruitless essays to bring that prince 
and his subjects to trade only with them; but here overagainst 
P. Dinding, no strangers dare approach to trade; neither 
may any ship come in hither but with consent of the Dutch. 
Therefore as soon as we came to an anchor at the east-end 
of the island, we sent our boat ashore to the Governor, to 
desire leave to wood, water, and cut a new mizen-yard. He 
granted our request, and the boat returned again aboard, and 
brought word also that Mr Coventry touched here to water, 
and went out that morning. The next morning betimes 
Captain Minchin sent me ashore to cut a yard. I applied 
myself to the Governor, and desired one of his soldiers might 
go with ine, and shew me the best timber for that use ; but 
he excused himself, saying, that his soldiers were all busy at 
present, but that. I might go and cut any tree that I liked. 
So I went into the woods, where I saw abundance of very fine 
straight trees, and cut down such a one as I thought fit for my 
turn : and cutting it of a just length, and stripping off the 
bark, I left it ready to be fetched away, and returned to the fort. 
