Tim Severin - Sea Robber

Vlucht heard it too. He blanched and looked anxiously along the coast in both directions, and then out to sea. ‘Hongitochten,’ he blurted out, shocked.

Hector was still baffled. The sound grew louder, but he still couldn’t see where it came from. Then suddenly, from behind the wreck of the Westflinge , something emerged that looked like a giant insect, rippling forward on a double row of short legs, its head and tail raised in anger. It was a long, snake-like native vessel, and the moving legs were row upon row of paddles, flashing up and down. Two ranks of paddlers sat on the edge of the main hull, but at least sixty more were perched on boards attached to the outriggers, which projected from each side of the hull. All of them – close on a hundred men – were churning up the sea vigorously with their blades. They chanted together as a drummer on deck thumped out the rhythm. Occasionally a cymbal clashed. Out on the prow, like a living figurehead, stood a man in a long, flowing white gown. He had a hand cupped around his mouth and called out encouragement in a high, wailing voice.

‘Kora kora,’ said Vlucht anxiously. ‘Native war canoe. The Company sends them on punitive sweeps, called hongi-tochten, to impose their control on the islands by brute force.’

‘But I don’t see any white men aboard,’ said Hector. He could make out a cluster of men standing on the main deck, just in front of a small cabin of thatch, all of them gazing intently towards the mouth of the creek. None was dressed in European clothes. They wore long shirts and loose pantaloons and coloured turbans.

‘Each Sultan maintains his own fleet of kora koras. They use them for personal transport and wars against their neighbours,’ said the Dutchman.

The kora kora raced towards them, much closer now. Hector could see crimson, green and yellow ribbons fluttering from short staffs on the prow and stern. A chance gust of wind caught the huge banner flying from the stubby central mast so that it rippled sideways. The flag had an unusual shape, two triangles, one above the other. Its background was a deep distinctive violet, and the symbol on it was a golden python, coiled, tongue flickering and about to lunge.

SIXTEEN

THE KORA KORA headed directly towards them. Clearly the commander of the vessel knew exactly where to find the river mouth, and he’d seen the two castaways on the shore. Hector judged it wiser to stand his ground. Beside him Vlucht shifted nervously. ‘Vicious bastards,’ he warned. ‘Treat them respectfully. They take offence easily and would lop off your head if they thought you lacked respect.’

Within minutes the war canoe was close enough for a shouted command and a final thump of the drum. The paddlers relaxed, and the vessel glided into the little creek and nuzzled gently into the muddy bank.

With the chance to examine the crew more closely, Hector decided they weren’t as fearsome as their reputation. Many of the paddlers were scrawny old men with stick-like arms and there was a sprinkling of youngsters who were little more than boys. They were half-naked, wearing only faded blue loincloths and head shawls, and their skins ranged from coffee-brown to a rich, dark mahogany. With short, fuzzy hair and broad, flattish noses, they were distinct from any of the people Hector had encountered on his travels. None of them looked particularly fierce or frightening as they rested on their paddles and cast curious glances at the two Europeans. In contrast to the huge, shimmering silk banner of violet and gold, the rest of the vessel was grey and shabby. There were several discoloured areas where the hull had been patched, and the thatch on the small hut that served as a cabin was frayed and tatty. Nor was the group of men clustered on the kora kora’s deck very imposing. One or two were smartly turned out in long white gowns, but most of them were dressed in scraps of old uniforms, mismatched jackets and skirt-like sarongs, and they clutched matchlock muskets that were poorly maintained. The only weapons that appeared to be in good order were their long daggers with broad, slightly curved blades and a number of well-honed spears. There was no sign of any deck armament, and Hector doubted that the kora kora was sturdy enough to carry cannon.

Hector and Vlucht hurried forward to greet the landing party. It was led by the tall, thin man in the white gown. He had a narrow, scholarly face and shrewd brown eyes beneath a plain white turban. He appeared to be wary, rather than hostile, as he sprang ashore.

Unexpectedly he greeted them in heavily accented, but clearly understandable Spanish. ‘From which country do you come?’ he asked.

Hector nodded towards the wreck of the Westflinge . ‘The ship is from the Netherlands, so too are her crew, and her captain here.’

The tall man was quick to note the omission. ‘And yourself?’

‘I come from Ireland.’

The tall man looked vaguely disappointed. ‘Yet you speak Spanish?’ he asked.

‘I learned it from my mother. I had not expected to hear the language spoken so far from her homeland.’

‘The Spaniards first came here during the reign of my Sultan’s great-grandfather. They sought trade and we established good relations with them,’ the tall man explained. He watched Hector and Vlucht closely, trying to decide what sort of people they were. ‘I am Ciliati Mansur, and my family has provided court chamberlains over many generations. I was taught to speak the foreign tongue. But in the time of the present Sultan, the Spaniards have not returned.’

‘Forgive me if I seem ignorant or impolite,’ said Hector, ‘but our vessel was leaking badly and we had no choice but to run her ashore. We do not wish to trespass, nor do we know on whose territory we have landed.’

The court chamberlain drew himself up to his full height and said with grave formality, ‘You are on the lands of His Majesty Said Muhammed Jihad Saifuddin Syah ab Ullah, Sultan of Omoro. I have the privilege of presenting you to his son, His Highness Prince Jainalabidin.’

During the exchange a small, slight figure had emerged from the cabin on the kora kora and made his way to the bow. Hector saw that it was a child. One of the half-naked paddlers had left his place and gone to stand on the muddy bank, immediately beneath the upturned prow. He bent forward, hands on knees. The child stepped down on to the shoulders of his attendant, who carried him up the slippery bank and set him on his feet beside the chamberlain. Hector found himself looking down into the solemn yet haughty expression of a boy who could not have been more than seven years old. He was dressed in a dazzling white sarong, over which he wore an elegantly cut miniature jacket of cloth of gold with red facings. A turban of the same material was wound around his head, and his small feet were encased in white silk slippers. The lad’s complexion was noticeably fairer than that of his attendants.

The boy spoke in a light, clear voice. There was no mistaking that he was giving orders to the chamberlain.

‘His Highness,’ Mansur translated, ‘says that you are to come immediately to the palace. There you are to stand before the Sultan and explain your presence to him.’

Hector bowed diplomatically as Vlucht beside him muttered under his breath, ‘Do whatever the puppy asks.’

The chamberlain turned to the kora-kora crew and waved. A score of the Omoro left the war canoe and began to move off towards the camp.

‘If Your Highness will excuse me, I must attend to my companions,’ Hector apologized and hurried off to catch up with them.

The Sultan’s men wasted no time in dismantling the camp. They took down the makeshift tents, rolled up the canvas and retrieved the ropes and cordage. They collected all the items that had been brought ashore from the Westflinge – the boxes, blankets, guns, tools, Vlucht’s navigation instruments and Jacques’ cooking gear. Everything was carried back on to the kora kora and stowed. Nothing was left behind, and soon the campsite was nothing more than a bare patch of ground. Jacques, Jezreel, Stolck and the invalids could only look on until the moment they were ushered firmly but politely on to the kora kora. The skiff, which had been moored to the bank, was untied and attached by a towline to the stern of the war canoe. Maria was nowhere to be seen.