Borneo and the Indian Archipelago

Excerpt: ... dollar, and among the lower classes these iron pieces form the sole coin. They are unstamped, so that every person appears to be at liberty to cut his own iron into money; but whether such is really the case I cannot vouch. We remained at Bruni for a week, during which time a great deal of diplomatic duty was got through by the seniors of the party, leaving the juniors to amuse themselves with discovering fresh objects of interest, and illustrating every thing worthy of notice. Our whole party met every evening at the small house which had 114 been appropriated for our use by the sultan. It staggered fearfully upon its wooden legs under our accumulated weight, and we constantly expected that we should be let down into the water. Here we dined and passed the evening in conversation, with our arms all ready at hand, guns and pistols loaded, and the boats anchored close along side of us, in case of any treachery. Every day an interview was had with the sultan, but no definite answer had been obtained to our demands. On the 6th, however, it was resolved by our diplomatists that no more time should be wasted in useless discussion, but that the sultan must be at once brought to terms; indeed, our own safety demanded it, for the popular feeling was so much excited, and the people were so indignant at our attempt to coerce their sultan, that we were in hourly expectation of an attack. At seven in the evening the party repaired to the audience chamber, leaving their arms behind them, for they felt that any effort from five Europeans to defend themselves against so many hundreds, would be unavailing, and that more would be gained by a show of indifference. They landed at the platform, and the barge, in which were Lieutenant Baugh (since dead) and myself, was ordered to lie on her oars abreast of the audience chamber, and to keep her 6-pounder, in which there was a fearful dose of grape and canister, pointed at the sultan himself during the whole of the...