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A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas

[Weights and Currency]

page 207

They keep their accounts at Batavia in stivers and dollars; forty-eight stivers make one six-dollar. The current coin that passes here is made up of doits dublekes, schillings, Surat and Bengal rupees; ducatoons, and half ducatoons, old and new; Spanish dollars, German crowns, and ducats. These all pass for their full value.

s. d.
10 doits, 1 dubleke o
3 dublekes, 1 schilling o
4 schillings, 1 Surat rupee 2 6
10 dublekes, 8 doits, 1 Bengal rupee 2 3
2 rupees, 8 dublekes, 1 duckatoon 6 8
4 rupees, 4 dublekes, 8 doits, 1 ducat 11 0

As for the Malays and Chinese, they count with sawangs, satalees, soocoos, rupees, and reals.

  • 8 doits, 1 awang, or sawang.
  • 2 awang, 4 doits, or 2 sawang, 1 arroo, 1 alee, or satalee.
  • 5 awang, or 2 satalee, 4 sawang, 1 arroo, 1 socoo, or sasacoo.
  • 3. socoo, 1 rupee; 4 soocoo, 4 awangs, 1 real.

weights.

  • 100 catee, or 125lb. 1 peecol.
  • 27 peecol—1 coyang.

One of our midshipmen ran away from us here, and it was suspected that he was the person who cut off Orton's ears.

On the 26th of December, we weighed anchor, and failed from the bay of Batavia; and, on the 5th of January, 1771, we arrived and anchored at Prince's page 208Island, on the east side, (the water of which was very deep close to the shore) and staid there till the 16th. Here we were plentifully supplied with turtle, and fine fish of different sorts; cocoa-nuts, plantains, mangoes, limes and lemons: also with deer about the size of a calf; and a sort of smaller deer about as large as a rabbit, which ate much like them: a great quantity of poultry, with which the island abounds; young Indian corn, Tagaree, sugar, and some ducks. Their turtles were very lean, and far inferior to those we caught on the coast of New Holland, which I supposed might be owing to their having been kept long in crawles. We had also very fine water-melons, and bread-fruit, which would have been better had it not been so young.

This side of the island is pretty high, and covered with wood, excepting plantations of rice, upon which we saw several houses. The other side is plain flat ground, and abounds with plantations of pisang, calappa, and other fruits. The people who are upon it have been there between three and four years, and came from the main land of Java; and it is most likely dispossessed the former inhabitants. They are all Mahometans. It was the month of Ramezan when we were there, and in this month they never eat in the day-time. They have a Radja, or king, who, indeed, is but a poor one. They wear a piece of cotton check about their waists, which reaches to their knees, and another piece over their shoulders. Their hair is very mean, and unlike that of the Malays, which is very fine *.

* Here ends S. Parkinson's journal.