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place at the Fejee islands , prior to the main expedition * ' performed by order of the British Government in India , to ascertain the fate of La Perouse and his companions ; " it is illustrative , however , of the ' * manners and customs of the
islanders , " and of the probable fate of any unhappy wretches who should be thrown on their coast , and it is too good a story , by far , to be lost . " In 1812 , and 1813 , " says Captain Dillon , " I sailed as an officer in the Calcutta ship
Hunter , Captain Robson , on a voyage from Bengal to New South Wales , the Beeric Islands , ( commonly called the Fejee Island . % ] and Canton /'— " On joiuing the Hunter , I found Captain Robson had been at these islands twice before , and had obtained considerable influence
over the natives of a part of the Sandalwood coast , by joining them in their wars , aud assisting them to destroy their enemies , who were cut up , baked , and eaten in his presence . The Chief , with whom he was most intimate , was Bonas-ar , of the town of Vilear and its
dependencies in the iuterior . " On the afternoon of the 19 th Feb ., 1813 , the ship Hunter anchored in Vilear Bay ; before the anchor was let go , the Chiefs brother came on board to congratulate the Captain , and shortly after the Chief himself , who hinted at the impossibility of supplying Sandal wood till his enemies were
put down by force of musketry . Captain Robson was not at that time disposed to render assistance , but the good understanding between him and the Chief of Vilear subsisted . «• I went on shore , " says Captain Dillon , " where I was exceedingly well received , and got presents
of a hog , yams , and cocoa-nuts . " Sandal-wood , however , came in but slowly , the natives constantly requeuing the Captain to assist them in their wars , and promisiug to load the ship in two months after their enemy was conquered , as a reward . Captain Robson at last
consented , aud joined them in an expedition ; but May , June , July , aud August , passed over , and the ship was not yet one-third freighted . The chiefs aud men of consequence kept away from the ship , for fear they should be detained as hostages , and Captain Robson enraged at the delay , ' vowed vengeance against his old
and faithful allies , whose stomachs he had so often helped to glut with the flesh of their enemies . " The English , as far aa can be gathered from Captain Dillon ' s account , were decidedly the aggressors , and had afterwards the imprudence not only to land , but to disperse into straggling parties , which were of course at-
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tacked by the natives . On this occasion Captain Dillon aud five other men defended themselves on a steep rock , within sight of the landing-place , the boats at anchor , and the ship , on one side ; and on the other , of the ovens aud the slaughtered bodies of their companions . " The priests began to cut up and dissect these unfortunate men in our presence .
Their flesh was immediately placed in the ovens to be baked , and prepared as a repast for the victors ; mean time we woe closely guarded on all sides but one , which fronted the thick mangrove forest on the banks of the river . " One of the besieged proposed to attempt an escape on that side , which Captain Dillon
forbade , " threatening to shoot the first man dead that left the hill . " He then reminded the natives that eight of their men were prisoners on board the ship , ( one of them the high priest's brother , ) and proposed to send a man on board to the Captain to order them to be released , by way of exchange for the five men who remained on the rock . To this the
natives agreed , and a cessation of arms took place iu the mean time . " During this interval , several native chiefs ascended the hill , and came within a few paces of us , with protestations of friendship , and proffered us security if we would go down among them . " One of the party , who spoke the native dialect
fluently , was prevailed upon by these entreaties , aud went down amongat them , contrary to Captain Dillon ' s advice , to negociate peace . The chiefs , we are informed , were happy to receive him , being literally " ready to eat him up . " " They couversed with him for some time , and then called out to me in the native
dialect , ' Come down , Peter ; we will not hurt you : you see we do not hurt Charley !'" Captain Dillon replied that he would not go down until the prisoners were landed . During this discussion , another of his companions ( " the Chinaman Luis" ) crept down the hill , and '• ' placed himself under the protection of a chief with whom he was intimately acquainted , and to whom he had reudered important service in former wars . " The
islanders finding that they could not prevail upon Captain Dillon and his two remaining companions to put themselves into their haud . s , " set up a screetch that rent the air : at that moment Charles Savage was seized by the legs , and held in that state by six men , with his head placed in a well of fresh water , until he was suffocated ; whilst at the same instant a powerful savage got behind the Chinaman , and with his huge club
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188 Critical Xetices . — Miscellaneous
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1830, page 188, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2582/page/44/
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