Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/467

1770 him from his design; but he repeatedly pushed her on one side before he could get at her mother, and when he had killed the latter, ran out as usual. These people are generally slaves, who indeed are by much the most subject to insults, which they cannot revenge. Freemen, however, sometimes do it: one of them who did it while I was there was free and of some substance. The cause was jealousy of his own brother, whom he killed, with two more that attempted to oppose him before he was taken. He, however, never came out of his house, which he attempted to defend; but so mad was he with the effects of the opium, that out of three muskets which he tried to use against the officers of justice, not one was either loaded or primed.

The marineu has also these amocs committed to his charge. If he takes them alive his reward is great: if he kills them that reward is lost; notwithstanding which three out of four are killed, so resolute and active is their resistance when attacked. They have contrivances like large tongs or pincers to catch them, and hold them till disarmed: those who are taken are generally wounded severely; for the marineu's assistants, who are all armed with hangers, know how to lame the man if once they can get within reach. The punishment of this crime is always breaking upon the wheel; nor is that ever relaxed, but so strictly adhered to, that if an amoc when taken is judged by the physician to be in danger from his wounds, he is executed the very next day, as near as possible to the place where he committed his first murder.

Among their absurd opinions proceeding from their original idolatry, which they still retain to some extent, is certainly the custom of consecrating meat, money, etc., to the devil, whom they call Satan. This is done, either in cases of dangerous sickness, when they by these means try to appease the devil, whom they believe to be the cause of all sickness, and make him spare the diseased man's life, or in consequence of dreams. If any man is restless and dreams much for two or three nights, he immediately concludes that Satan has taken that method of laying his