Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2), George Grey [robert munsch read aloud txt] 📗
- Author: George Grey
Book online «Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2), George Grey [robert munsch read aloud txt] 📗». Author George Grey
Of Goats, Pigs, Poultry, Maize, Paddy, Yams, Plantains, Fruit,
Sandalwood, Beeswax, And Tortoiseshell In Small Quantities.
At Dili Duties Of 10 Per Cent Are Exacted And Produce Is Rather Dear.
Sandalwood Is To Be Had At From 2 To 4 Dollars The Picul Of 125 Catties;
Wax Is Generally From 30 To 35 Dollars (Spanish) The Picul Of 110
Catties.
The Ports Of Timor Furnish A Little Gold Dust At Times. Good Water And
Firewood Are To Be Had At Most Of Them; That Of Dili Is A Good And Safe
One.
Gold Dust, I Understand, Is Also Procurable At Sandalwood Island And New
Hebrides.
For Vessels The Good Season On The Coast Is From About The 10th Of April
To The 15th Of October.
Cootababa Affords Horses And All The Produce Of The Other Places. No
Duties Are Levied Here, The Place Not Being Subject To The Portuguese. It
Is A Small Port And Should Be Entered With Caution.
The Best Ports Of Timor For Wax Are Dili, Cootababa, Ocussi, Sitranny,
Nilow, And Manatronto. It Is Gathered In June, Cleaned In July, And Sold
Principally In That And The Two Following Months; But A Vessel Should Be
Active, As Enterprising People Go Along The Coast And Buy It Up For The
Kupang Merchants, Who Send It To Batavia Where It Is Said To Sell For 120
Rupees The Picul; The Price At Cootababa, Being Lately About 80 Rupees At
2 1/2 To The Spanish Dollar.
Sandalwood Can Be Had From March To October, The Usual Trading Season;
But From March To May Is The Best Time As Vessels From Kupang And Macao
Are On The Coast Early, Buying It Up In Time To Return To Macao And China
In The Favourable Monsoon. The Best Ports For Sandalwood Are, Cootababa,
Ocussi, And Sitranny, But It Is To Be Had Most Abundantly At Ata-Poopa.
Articles In Request.
Spanish Dollars, Muskets, And Gunpowder Are The Essentials For Procuring
Wax Or Sandalwood, But If You Wish To Have A Greater Assortment, Small
Quantities May Be Added Of Any Articles From The Following List.
Doubloons (Spanish).
Sovereigns (English).
Blue Cloth Of Pondicherry Of Good Quality.
Ditto English (If Cheap) Of Dark Colour For Officers.
White Shirting Or Good Calico For Men And Women.
Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 177Handkerchiefs Of Colours And Sorts.
White Cotton Stockings.
Men And Women's Gown Pieces Of Sorts And Colours.
Silk Stockings, Plain And Ribbed.
Shoes For Men And Women.
Brandy, Rum, Gin, Lead And Flints.
Quart-Glass Decanters, Cruet Stands, Dress Swords, Wine Glasses And
Rummers, Knives And Forks, Razors, Needles, Scissors, Earrings,
Bracelets, Shawls Of Sorts, Mock Jewellery, Sugar, Soap, Biscuits.
Bally And Surabaya Are Good Places For Rice, But More Especially The
Former, As It Is To Be Had Cheap, Especially If Bartered For Opium. The
Rice Can Be Carried To Macao Where A Good Price Can Always Be Obtained
For It.
Puloo, Batao, And Ocussi On The Coast Of Timor Are Good Places For
Obtaining Tortoiseshell At All Times, As Well As The Islands In Front Of
Timor, From October To December. The Price Is About 800 Spanish Dollars
Per Picul In Cash; But In Exchange For Blue Or White Cloth, Powder, Arms,
Flint, Etc., It Would Be Obtained For Much Less.
Roti And Bally Are Both Good Places For Ponies In Exchange For Cash Or
Goods.
The Following Is An Account Of Our Purchase And Barter At The Island Of
Roti In January 1838:
10 Horses For 10 Muskets (Old).
4 Horses For 2 Fowling-Pieces (Old).
9 Horses For 27 1/2 Rupees Each.
3 Mares For 22 Rupees Each.
8 Sheep For An Old Regimental Breastplate.
14 Goats For A Pair Of Pistols (Old).
The Duty On Each Horse Was Six Rupees.
In Mr. Earle's Translation Of The Account Of The Voyage Of The Dutch
Colonial Brig Dourga, Which, It Is Stated, Left Amboyna May 26th 1825 And
Visited The Islands Of Kissa, Lettee, Mon, Damma, Lakor, And Luan,* It Is
Said, In Speaking Of Them:
The Clothing Of Those Who Cannot Obtain European Or Indian Cotton Cloth
Is Pieces Of Prepared Bark Fastened Round Their Waists.
The Productions Of These Islands Are Sandalwood, Beeswax, Pearls,
Tortoiseshell, Trepang, Edible Birds' Nests, Indian Corn, Rice,
Vegetables, With Abundance Of Livestock. As The Use Of Money Is Scarcely
Known These Are Only To Be Obtained By Barter In Exchange For Cotton
Cloths, Brass Wire, Iron Chopping Knives, And Coarse Cutlery. The First
Article, Cotton Cloth, Is Most In Demand And M. Kolff Suggests That A
European Merchant Might Carry On An Advantageous Trade Here. The Value Of
Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 178An Ox Is From 8 Shillings And 4 Pence To 10 Shillings; Of A Sheep From 3
Shillings And 4 Pence To 5 Shillings. Beeswax Can Be Obtained In
Abundance At Roma At The Rate Of 2 Pounds 7 Shillings Per Hundredweight.
The Trade With The Islands Is Carried On Solely By Natives, Those Of
Macassar, Amboyna, And The Arru Islands Being The Chief Purchasers; And
Chinese Brigs From Java Occasionally Visit Kissa.
Geby, An Island In The Gellola Passage, Has A Fine Harbour; A Large
Quantity Of Tortoiseshell Can Be Obtained There For Trade With The
Natives. The Asia's Islands, Lying A Short Distance To The Northward, Are
Not Inhabited But Abound In Turtle.
Trade With The Islands Of The Asiatic Archipelago.
The Following Points Of Information Concerning The Indian Archipelago
Were Furnished By Captain Brodie, Formerly In Command Of A Dutch Vessel
Of 326 Tons:
In Case Of A Necessity For Repairing Or Coppering A Vessel Surabaya Is
The Best Place As It Can Be Done Well And Cheap. Wood For Ship-Building
Is Abundant; And Good Carpenters Can Be Had At The Rate Of 20 Copper
Doits Per Diem, That Is To Say, Three Men For A Rupee A Day.
The Malaccas Are Under Dutch Government, Of Which Ternate Forms A Part.
It Is Said To Be A Good Place To Dispose Of Odds And Ends,* And For
Getting A Little Shell. It Is Also A Good Place For Refreshments.
Banda Is Not So Good A Place To Go To, If Another Is At Hand, As It Is
For A Merchant Vessel A Strictly Prohibited Port. In Fact The Spice
Islands, Or Malaccas, Can Be Entered For Water And Refreshments.
At Timor (Kupang) You Can Get Sandalwood, Wax, And A Little Shell, But
Dear.
At The North-East End Of Celebes There Are Two Other Places, Monado And
Keema, Where The Best Gormootip Or Black Coir Rope Can Be Obtained At
About 7 Rupees Per Picul. These Two Places Are Under The Dutch
Government. Some Little Business Might Be Done There: Stock In Particular
Is Cheap.
At The Island Of Ceram The Inhabitants Are Said To Be Favourable To The
English, But Dutch Vessels Of War Cruise Often About There, And Are Very
Jealous.
Bouton, A Small Island With A Rajah Under Dutch Protection, Situate At
The South-East End Of Celebes, And Off The Bay Of Boni, Is A Place Where
Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Footnote) Pg 179
(*Footnote. The Serwatty Islands To The East Of Timor See The Map Of The
Asiatic Archipelago By Mr. John Arrowsmith.)
Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 180
Prows Assemble And Get Vast Quantities Of Shells And Beche-De-Mer. Nearly
All These Prows Proceed With Their Cargoes To Singapore For A Chinese
Market.
Fine Cattle Are To Be Had At About Four Dollars A Head At The Town Of
Bally, In The Straits Of Allass, Between Lombok And Sumbawa.
New Guinea Produces Good Beeswax, Pearls, Tortoise-Shell, Trepang,
Birds-Of-Paradise, Etc.
Field For Enterprise.
I Shall Conclude This Subject With Some Remarks Of Mr. John Sullivan.
R.N., A Gentleman Who Possesses A Vast Fund Of Information Regarding The
Indian Archipelago, And To Whom I Am Indebted For Many Details Regarding
Its Commerce. He Says:
To Suppose That The Almost Countless Islands In The Ocean Before-Named
(The Pacific) Do Not Give Many Valuable Articles, And Particularly
Tortoiseshell And Pearl, Would Be No Less An Error Than To Doubt The
Existence Of The Islands Altogether.
No, The Case Is Otherwise; And It Is Needless To Say That In The Quarter
Alluded To There Are Already A Few American Merchants, Who Have
Discovered By Their China, Whaling, And Sealing Voyages Many Sources Of
Wealth, And Who Are At This Moment Reaping Rich Rewards For Their Toil,
While 999 Out Of Every Thousand Of The European World Know Nothing At All
About It. Nevertheless There Is Yet A Vast Field Open To The Speculator,
Which Must Ever Promise Ample Recompense For His Confidence And Outlay.
Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Footnote) Pg 181
Comments (0)