On this day ...
20 September 1770
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The next morning we went ashore again: Dr. Solander went up to the town to speak to Lange, and I remained upon the beach, to see what could be done in the purchase of provisions. I found here an old Indian, who, as he appeared to have some authority, we had among ourselves called the Prime Minister; to engage this man in our interest I presented him with a spying-glass, but I saw nothing at market except one small buffalo. I enquired the price of it, and was told five guineas: this was twice as much as it was worth; however, I offered three, which I could perceive the man who treated with me thought a good price; but he said that he must acquaint the King with what I had offered before he could take it. A messenger was immediately dispatched to his Majesty, who soon returned, and said, that the buffalo would not be sold for any thing less than five guineas. This price I absolutely refused to give; and another messenger was sent away with an account of my refusal: this messenger was longer absent than the other, and while I was waiting for his return I saw, to my great astonishment, Dr. Solander coming from the town, followed by above a hundred men, some armed with musquets and some with lances. When I enquired the meaning of this hostile appearance, the Doctor told me, that Mr. Lange had interpreted to him a in message from the King, purporting that the people would not trade with us, because we had refused to give them more than half the value of what they had to sell; and that we should not be permitted to trade upon any terms longer than this day. Besides the officers who commanded the party, there came with it a man who was born at Timor, of Portuguese parents, and who, as we afterwards discovered, was a kind of colleague to the Dutch factor; by this man what they pretended to be the King’s order was delivered to me, of the same purport with that which Dr. Solander had received from Lange. We were all clearly of opinion that this was a mere artifice of the factors to extort money from us, for which we had been prepared by the account of a letter from Concordia; and while we were hesitating what step to take, the Portuguese, that he might the sooner accomplish his purpose, began to drive away the people who had brought down poultry and syrup, and others that were now coming in with buffaloes and sheep. At this time, I glanced my eye upon the old man whom I had complimented in the morning with the spying-glass, and I thought, by his looks, that he did not heartily approve of what was doing; I therefore took him by the hand, and presented him with an old broad sword. This instantly turned the scale in our favour; he received the sword with a transport of joy, and flourishing it over the busy Portuguese who crouched like a fox to a lion, he made him, and the officer who commanded the party, sit down upon the ground behind him: the people, who, whatever were the crafty pretences of these iniquitous factors for a Dutch company, were eager to supply us with whatever we wanted, and I seemed also to be more desirous of goods than money, instantly improved the advantage that had been procured them, and the market was stocked almost in an instant. To establish a trade for buffaloes, however, which I most wanted, I found it necessary to give ten guineas for two, one of which weighed no more than a hundred and sixty pounds; but I bought seven more much cheaper, and might afterwards have purchased as many as I pleased almost upon my own terms, for they were now driven down to the waterside in herds. In the first two that I bought so dear, Lange had certainly a share, and it was in hopes to obtain part of the price of others, that he had pretended we must pay for them in gold. The natives however sold what they afterwards brought down much to their satisfaction, without paying part of the price to him as a reward for exacting money from us. Most of the buffaloes that we bought, after our friend, the Prime Minister, had procured us a fair marker, were sold for a musquet apiece, and at this price we might have bought as many as would have freighted our ship.
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© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 678, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/678.html