The Covenant Part 8

The debate would rage for centuries, not only in Java but in other Dutch settlements. At one stage intermarriage was advocated to the extent of offering Compagnie employees a cash bonus if they married local girls and settled permanently; but, bedeviled by conflicting philosophies, the directors were never able to find a satisfactory solution. While they searched their souls for just answers, an endless number of illegitimate children appeared.

Of course, the most delectable local women would have nothing to do with the invaders; many were Muslim and would rather die than convert or carry the child of a kaffir, an unbeliever, as they termed the Dutch. Thousands of others, less committed or concerned, slept with their masters, and the more liberal Dutchmen welcomed the new brown offspring as an enchanting addition, since the parental combination of handsome Dutch blond of clear white skin and slim Javanese woman with orchid complexion produced clever half-caste boys and irresistible girls.

But such sentiments were rare. Most Dutchmen who ruled the tropics were convinced that the races must be kept apart, lest the superior intelligence of those from Europe be contaminated. That sentiment was used by one of the Lords XVII, who fulminated against half-castes: 'These piebald gentry are the children of the devil, the spews of sinful l.u.s.t, and they have no place in our society. The men are not to be employed as scribes and the women must not be allowed to marry our employees. They are a disgraceful accident of whom we cannot be proud and against whom we must protect ourselves.'

The Lords XVII, many of them sons of clergymen, found much delight in exploring the ramifications of this subject, always pointing out that half-castes were a condemnation of orderly rule. They were not unaware that the bulk of those who went to the East were thrown into a society in which they need scarcely lift a finger, and certainly not to labor as they had done in Holland. Such men corrupt easily. Still, the directors consoled themselves with the belief that it was not the laziness of their employees but the lasciviousness of the women with whom they came in contact that threatened Holland's sons.

For this reason, the Lords were always cooperative if a young man in their employ wished to go home to find himself an honest Dutch wife. The men did go home; they proposed to the young women of Amsterdam; and they were, of course, refused. So the young men came back to Java alone, the supply of half-castes multiplied, and Java acquired a malodorous reputation which increased the difficulty of finding wives for the men. The most condemnatory reports were submitted by investigators dispatched from Holland to check upon conduct: Java is a moral sink, the white women often being worse than the men. They spend whole days in lechery or idleness, eating themselves into insensibility, drinking to excess, consorting with the lowest of the islands, and accomplis.h.i.+ng nothing. I know of three wives who in Holland would be exemplary church members who do nothing from one week to the next but eat, fornicate with strangers, and complain about their slaves, of whom they have an abundance.

Small wonder that the Lords XVII established the iron-clad principle that no position of leaders.h.i.+p could be held by a man born in the islands. Such men would lack the moral fiber automatically obtained during an education in Holland; their judgment would be sullied by their contact with the Javanese, their force corroded by the deleterious effects of the East.

'There is one escape for a boy like Willem,' the governor said, calling for the fan-boys again, since the air was becoming oppressive. 'If he goes home now, before contact with Asian women, and if he enters the university at Leiden, he may cleanse himself of his Javanese birth. If he remains here, he condemns himself to third- or even fourth-level positions.'

Disheartened, Mevrouw van Doorn sank into a chair. She was only fifty-one and wanted to keep her sons with her in the big house with the mult.i.tude of servants, but she appreciated the dangers of which the governor was speaking. Karel's progress might be impeded if he did not get back to Holland, but Willem would be disqualified for any advancement. She must send her sons home.

'The after-fleet will sail in January,' the governor said. 'I can find them two pa.s.sages on the Haerlem.' Haerlem.' When she hesitated, he added, 'G.o.d knows, Hendrickje, there's a dark future for them in Java. At best, marrying some local girl of dubious reputation. At worst, sinking into the gutter.' When she hesitated, he added, 'G.o.d knows, Hendrickje, there's a dark future for them in Java. At best, marrying some local girl of dubious reputation. At worst, sinking into the gutter.'

She sighed, rose and went to the doorway to contemplate the flowers in her garden, and said, 'Arrange for them to go,' and with that she abruptly turned all her attention to her New Year's festival. It would be free and open, like the ones her husband had offered Compagnie people when he was alive, with everyone invited.

She began by borrowing musicians from homes of her friends, and smiled approvingly as the brown-skinned slaves carried their bronze game-lans and bamboo drums into the various rooms where dancing would occur. Then she enrolled cooks from these same houses, until she had more than forty servants in and about the kitchens. The walls she decorated with her own fabrics, hanging them in great festoons until the colors danced. Twenty-four turbaned footmen attended the carriages, and an equal number of women watched after the guests when they entered the halls.

The celebrations lasted three days, and were especially vivacious in that many of the leaders of Batavian society had departed on the Christmas fleet, so that those who remained felt obligated to show extra enthusiasm to replace that which had been lost. People ate and drank till they were near senseless, then slept sprawled on beds and floors until the soft music awakened them so that they could sing and dance and eat themselves into another stupor. At times some amorous woman, having dreamed of this party for weeks, or one whose husband had left on the fleet, would catch a stout burgher as he was about to go to bed, and she would join him in one of the smaller rooms, often retaining the fan-boy to keep the humidity lowered.

Mevrouw van Doorn's two sons watched the New Year's celebrations with detached interest; stern Karel had observed the carryings-on in previous years and judged them to be the inevitable release of spirits by people who were far from home and sentenced to live among natives they did not respect. He had no wife as yet, nor any intention of finding one for the present, and whenever some lady far in drink wanted to drag him into a corner, he smiled wanly and moved away. In previous years young Willem had usually been kept away from the rowdier celebrations, but now that he was both a practiced amba.s.sador and a front-line soldier, to do so any longer would be incongruous, so he wandered among the guests, listened to the music and watched with unusual attention the prettier slave girls.

'It's time he should go,' his mother conceded as she saw him follow one serving girl into the kitchens, and when the party was over, and the borrowed musicians had returned to their accustomed places, she ordered her carriage with its six attendants and rode down the streets of Batavia to the Compagnie headquarters.

'I should like the two pa.s.sages on the Haerlem, Haerlem,' she said crisply, and the doc.u.ments were handed over.

Since the three swift vessels would not depart until the seventeenth of January, overtaking the main fleet somewhere in the vicinity of St. Helena, where fresh stores would be taken aboard, the brothers had two full weeks of farewells. Young Willem spent his in visiting numerous friends, but Karel reported each day to the Compagnie offices, mastering details of that year's intended sales and purchases. He took note of the various fleets that would sail east and north, and of the captains who would command them; at times, as he studied the complex operations, he felt that he was sitting like a spider at the heart of a web, controlling the destinies of half a world. There were now no Portuguese in Malacca; those Straits were Dutch. There were no other Europeans at Nagasaki, either; j.a.pan was now exclusively a Dutch concession. English vessels still stopped at their little entrepot but were no longer allowed in the Spice Islands; and even the occasional French merchantman, its sails ragged from the long voyage out, had to obey regulations set down by the Dutch.

'We rule the seas,' he exclaimed one morning when the full power of Jan Compagnie was revealed.

'No,' an older man cautioned. 'The English are beginning to rule India. And the Portuguese still control Macao and the China trade.'

'Let them have the tea and ginger,' Karel conceded, 'so long as we keep the spices.'

When the brothers approached the three s.h.i.+ps, they could smell the spices from a considerable distance, for the holds were crammed with last-minute sacks and bundles from the eastern islands; the s.h.i.+ps moved in a splendid ambience, reeking of fortunes and the promise of gold. They were taking the heart of Asia to the center of Europe, and each s.h.i.+p represented a greater wealth than many small nations would handle in an entire year. Jan Compagnie controlled Java, and Java controlled the seas.

On the fourth day, after the little s.h.i.+ps had pa.s.sed through Sunda Strait, a vigorous storm arose, with visibility almost nonexistent. Great winds raged for three days, and when the low clouds lifted, the Haerlem Haerlem was alone. The captain fired cannons, listened for replies, and when none came, followed the basic rule of navigation: 'If separated, proceed to the point of rendezvous.' Without further apprehension as to the fate of the was alone. The captain fired cannons, listened for replies, and when none came, followed the basic rule of navigation: 'If separated, proceed to the point of rendezvous.' Without further apprehension as to the fate of the Schiedam Schiedam and and Olifant, Olifant, he headed for St. Helena and the body of the fleet. he headed for St. Helena and the body of the fleet.

It would take more than two months to negotiate this distance, and as the Haerlem Haerlem sailed westward, sunrise at her back, sunset glowing ahead, spars creaking and sails filled by rea.s.suring winds, the brothers speculated as to what might have happened to their sister s.h.i.+ps. 'They're good captains,' Karel said. 'I know them, and they know the oceans. They're out there somewhere, because if we survived, so did they.' sailed westward, sunrise at her back, sunset glowing ahead, spars creaking and sails filled by rea.s.suring winds, the brothers speculated as to what might have happened to their sister s.h.i.+ps. 'They're good captains,' Karel said. 'I know them, and they know the oceans. They're out there somewhere, because if we survived, so did they.'

'Will we see them?' Willem asked, peering always toward the horizon, as if on this vast sea three tiny s.h.i.+ps might accidentally converge.

'Not likely. They may have rushed ahead. They may have lagged. We'll see them at St. Helena.'

'You think they're afloat?'

'I'm sure of it.'

On the long reach, it became apparent that the Van Doorn brothers were heading for Holland with conflicting motivations. For Karel, who had been born there and who vaguely remembered both his mother's home in Haarlem and his father's in Amsterdam, it was merely a return to the seats of power where he must establish himself with the Lords XVII against the day when he would become governor-general of Java. For Willem it was quite another matter. He was afraid of Holland, not because he knew anything adverse about it but because he loved the East so much. Those days with the little brown man, wandering through the various quarters and meeting traders from all nations, had enchanted him, while the languorous trip to Formosa had awakened him to the magnitude of his birth-land. He was not old enough to comprehend the limitations he suffered as a Java-born Dutchman, and he simply refused to believe that a man born in Amsterdam was inherently superior to one born in Batavia.

When he questioned Karel about this, his austere brother frowned. 'The Java Dutch are mainly sc.u.m. Would you even dream of marrying a girl from one of those families?' This perplexed young Willem, for not only had he dreamed of marrying the Van der Kamp girl; he had also dreamed quite actively of marrying the little Balinese who served as his mother's maid.

Next morning, for reasons he could not have explained, he rummaged in his gear, found Jack's ivory bracelet still attached to its silver chain, and defiantly placed it about his neck. When Karel saw this he said sharply, 'Take that silly thing off. You look like a Javanese.'

'That's how I want to look,' and from then on, the bracelet was rarely absent.

In the middle of March unfavorable winds were encountered, and although the crew remained remarkably healthy, the captain grew apprehensive about his water supply and announced that he was planning to stop at the Cape of Good Hope, where fresh water would surely be available and bartering cattle with the little brown people a possibility.

During the reddish sunset Willem remained aloft, savoring his first glimpse of the famous rock, and even after the sun had sunk beneath the cold Atlantic, the curve of earth allowed its rays to illuminate the great flat area, and he noticed that the sailors relaxed, for they considered the Cape the halfway point, not in days, for the run to Amsterdam would be long and tedious, but in spirit, for the alien quality of the spice lands was behind them. The Indian Ocean had been traversed; the homeward pa.s.sage through the Atlantic lay ahead.

At dawn on March 25 Willem did not see Table Mountain, for as so often happened in these cold waters a wind had risen, bringing clouds but no rain; the flat summit was obliterated. But then the wind abated, and toward noon the lookout shouted, 's.h.i.+p ahoy!' and there, nestled at the far end of the bay, rode a little merchant vessel. The chief mate and a few oarsmen were dispatched in the skiff to ascertain who she was, but as they drew away, the weather closed in, a stout wind from the southeast forcing the Haerlem's Haerlem's captain to make sail close-hauled. The other s.h.i.+p became lost to sight as the wind freshened to storm level, pus.h.i.+ng the captain to make sail close-hauled. The other s.h.i.+p became lost to sight as the wind freshened to storm level, pus.h.i.+ng the Haerlem Haerlem toward sh.o.r.e. toward sh.o.r.e.

At this point it was still in no real danger, but now the wind veered crazily, so that sails which had been trimmed to hold the s.h.i.+p offsh.o.r.e became instruments for driving it on. 'Cut the spritsail!' shouted the captain, but it was too late; fresh blasts caught the sails and drove the little s.h.i.+p hard aground. When the captain tried to swing it around, hoping that other gusts would blow it loose, rolling seas came thundering in. Timbers s.h.i.+vered. Masts creaked. Sails that had been cut loose whipped through the air. And when night fell, the Haerlem Haerlem was hopelessly wrecked and would probably break apart before morning. was hopelessly wrecked and would probably break apart before morning.

'Anchor chain has parted!' a watchman's alarm pierced the night, and the Van Doorn brothers expected the s.h.i.+p to go down. The captain ordered four cannon shots to be fired, trusting that this would alert the other s.h.i.+p to the peril, but the message was not understood. 'By the grace of G.o.d, our only Helper,' as the captain wrote in his log, 'the power of the waves abated.

We were not ripped apart. And when dawn broke we saw that while our position was hopeless, we were close enough to sh.o.r.e to save those aboard.' In the misty morning the skiff returned to report that the s.h.i.+p in the roads was the Olifant, Olifant, so a longboat was lowered and made for the beach, but the so a longboat was lowered and made for the beach, but the Haerlem's Haerlem's men watched with dismay as the boat foundered in the pounding surf, drowning one sailor who could not swim. men watched with dismay as the boat foundered in the pounding surf, drowning one sailor who could not swim.

'We must get ash.o.r.e!' Karel shouted to the captain.

'There is no way,' the captain replied, but Karel judged that if he could lash two barrels together, they would float him ash.o.r.e, and it was on this rig that Karel and Willem van Doorn landed at the Cape of Good Hope.

The following days were a nightmare. Led by the Van Doorns, the crew of the Olifant Olifant tried three different times to reach the sinking tried three different times to reach the sinking Haerlem, Haerlem, but always the surf pounded their longboat so that they had to retreat. Fortunately, two English merchantmen sailed into the bay, homeward bound from Java, and with daring seamans.h.i.+p a boat from the but always the surf pounded their longboat so that they had to retreat. Fortunately, two English merchantmen sailed into the bay, homeward bound from Java, and with daring seamans.h.i.+p a boat from the Haerlem Haerlem succeeded in reaching them with a request for help. To the surprise of the Dutch, the English crew agreed to aid in transferring the smaller items of cargo to the succeeded in reaching them with a request for help. To the surprise of the Dutch, the English crew agreed to aid in transferring the smaller items of cargo to the Olifant, Olifant, and for some days they labored at this as if they were in the pay of Amsterdam: '. . . a hundred sockels of mace, eighty-two barrels of raw camphor, eighty bales of choice cinnamon, not wet, and five large boxes of j.a.panese coats decorated in gold and silver.' And when this arduous work was completed the English captains offered to carry forty of the and for some days they labored at this as if they were in the pay of Amsterdam: '. . . a hundred sockels of mace, eighty-two barrels of raw camphor, eighty bales of choice cinnamon, not wet, and five large boxes of j.a.panese coats decorated in gold and silver.' And when this arduous work was completed the English captains offered to carry forty of the Haerlem's Haerlem's crew to St. Helena, where they could join the main Dutch fleet on its way to Amsterdam. crew to St. Helena, where they could join the main Dutch fleet on its way to Amsterdam.

But before these good Samaritans sailed, Willem was given a task which he would often recall. 'Fetch all letters from the post-office stones,' he was told, and when he started to ask what a post-office stone was, an officer shouted, 'Get on with it.'

Ash.o.r.e, he asked some older hands what he must do, and they explained the system and designated two young sailors to protect him as he roamed the beach, even to the foot of Table Mountain, looking for any large stones which might have been engraved by pa.s.sing crews. Some covered nothing, but most had under them small packets of letters, wrapped in various ways for protection, and when he held these frail doc.u.ments in his hands he tried to visualize the cities to which the letters were directed: Delft, Lisbon, Bristol, Nagasaki. The names were like echoes of all he had heard on the voyage so far, the sacred names of sailors' memories. One letter, addressed to a woman in Madrid, had lain beneath its rock for seven years, and as he stared at it he wondered if she would still be living when it now arrived, or if she would remember the man who had posted it.

He brought nineteen letters back to the English s.h.i.+ps, but six were addressed to Java and other islands to the east. Gravely, as part of the ritual of the sea, the English mate accepted responsibility for seeing that the thirteen European letters were forwarded, after which Willem took the others ash.o.r.e for reposting under a conspicuous rock.

When the English s.h.i.+ps departed, the Dutch had time to survey their situation, and it was forbidding. It was impossible in this remote spot to make the gear that would have been required to refloat the Haerlem. Haerlem. It had to be abandoned. But its lower holds still contained such enormous wealth that neither the It had to be abandoned. But its lower holds still contained such enormous wealth that neither the Olifant, Olifant, nor the nor the Schiedam Schiedam if it put into Table Bay, could possibly convey it all back to Holland. A temporary fortress of some kind must be built ash.o.r.e; the remaining cargo must then be taken to it; and a cadre of men must remain behind to protect the treasure while the bulk of the crew sailed home in the if it put into Table Bay, could possibly convey it all back to Holland. A temporary fortress of some kind must be built ash.o.r.e; the remaining cargo must then be taken to it; and a cadre of men must remain behind to protect the treasure while the bulk of the crew sailed home in the Olifant. Olifant.

Almost immediately the work began, and the foundations for the fort had scarcely been outlined when the work party heard cannon fire, and into the roadstead came the Schiedam. Schiedam. Though marred by the disastrous grounding of the Though marred by the disastrous grounding of the Haerlem, Haerlem, it was a joyous reunion of the three crews, and soon so many sailors were working to construct the fort that the captain had to say, 'Clear most of them out. They're getting in each other's way.' it was a joyous reunion of the three crews, and soon so many sailors were working to construct the fort that the captain had to say, 'Clear most of them out. They're getting in each other's way.'

Now came the exhausting task of rafting the bulk of the Haerlem's Haerlem's cargo ash.o.r.e, and with speed lest the battered s.h.i.+p break apart. The Van Doorns worked on deck, supervising the winches that hauled precious bales aloft, and when three sailors were sent to the lower hold to shovel loose peppercorns into bags, Karel directed: 'You're not to leave a single bag down there. It's precious.' cargo ash.o.r.e, and with speed lest the battered s.h.i.+p break apart. The Van Doorns worked on deck, supervising the winches that hauled precious bales aloft, and when three sailors were sent to the lower hold to shovel loose peppercorns into bags, Karel directed: 'You're not to leave a single bag down there. It's precious.'

But soon the men hurried aloft, gasping, and when Karel demanded why they had left their posts, they pointed below and said, 'Impossible.'

But since rich stores lay beneath the deck, Karel leaped down into the hold; the sailors had been right. Salt water, leaking into the pepper, had begun a fermentation so powerful that a deadly gas was being released. Choking and clutching at his throat, Karel tried to get back on deck, but his feet slipped on the oily peppercorns, and he fell, knocking his head against a bulkhead.

He would have been asphyxiated had not young Willem seen him fall. Without hesitating, the boy leaped down, shouting for help as he went. Ropes were lowered and the limp body of Karel was hoisted aloft. Willem, with a handkerchief pressed over his face, climbed out, his eyes smarting and his lungs aflame.

For some time he stood by the railing, trying to vomit, but poor Karel lay stretched on the deck, quite inert. Finally the brothers recovered, and Willem would never forget how Karel reacted. It was as if he had been personally a.s.saulted by the pepper, his honor impugned, for with a burst of vitality, his eyes still watering, he went back to the rim of the hold, still not satisfied that the exudations were too powerful to be sustained by any sailor.

'Tear off the other hatches!' he bellowed, and when this accomplished little, for the hold was large and the cargo tightly packed, he ordered holes to be chopped in the upper deck. This, too, proved useless, so in a towering rage he shouted for a s.h.i.+p's cannon to be moved into position so that it could shoot down into the hold and out the sides of the s.h.i.+p.

'Fire!' he shouted, and a cannonball ripped away five feet of the hull, allowing fresh air into the hold.

'Swing the cannon!' he cried, and from a different angle another shot blasted a tremendous hole in the other side. Three more shots were fired, enabling the gas to escape, and when the hold was cleared, Karel was first down to salvage the precious pepper.

By April 1 the situation was under control. Work was progressing on the mud-walled fort, and a well sixty feet deep dug by the enterprising men was producing fresh water. Transfer of the cargo from the wreck was proceeding so smoothly that the leaders of the three s.h.i.+ps could gather on the Schiedam Schiedam to formulate final plans. to formulate final plans.

The captain gave it as his opinion that the Olifant Olifant and and Schiedam Schiedam should sail for the fatherland, taking with them as many of the should sail for the fatherland, taking with them as many of the Haerlem's Haerlem's crew as possible. He asked what this number would be, but Karel interrupted by saying that the major consideration must be the salvage of the cargo, and that before any sailors were sent home, a determination must be made as to how many would be needed to man the fort until the next homebound fleet arrived. The captain acceded to this sensible recommendation, and the council decided that sixty or seventy men, if well led by a capable officer, could protect the pepper and cinnamon during that time. crew as possible. He asked what this number would be, but Karel interrupted by saying that the major consideration must be the salvage of the cargo, and that before any sailors were sent home, a determination must be made as to how many would be needed to man the fort until the next homebound fleet arrived. The captain acceded to this sensible recommendation, and the council decided that sixty or seventy men, if well led by a capable officer, could protect the pepper and cinnamon during that time.

The council members looked at Karel, hoping that he would volunteer to stay behind and guard the cargo, but he realized that his opportunity waited in Holland, and he did not propose endangering it by a protracted absence at the Cape. So it was agreed that two tough marine officers would remain at the fort with a cadre of sixty while the Van Doorn brothers would hurry to St. Helena, where they would catch a fast trading vessel direct to Amsterdam. But on April 12, when the Olifant Olifant and and Schiedam Schiedam departed, young Willem van Doorn stayed onsh.o.r.e: 'I feel I'm needed at the fort.' It was the kind of self-confident statement old fighting men could respect, so they concurred. 'Hold the fort!' they called as the two little s.h.i.+ps sailed off, leaving history's first group of Dutchmen alone at the Cape. departed, young Willem van Doorn stayed onsh.o.r.e: 'I feel I'm needed at the fort.' It was the kind of self-confident statement old fighting men could respect, so they concurred. 'Hold the fort!' they called as the two little s.h.i.+ps sailed off, leaving history's first group of Dutchmen alone at the Cape.

Only twelve days later, at the end of April when the finest days of autumn came, Willem surprised the fort commanders by announcing, 'I'd like to be the first to climb Table Mountain,' and when permission was granted he enlisted two friends. They marched briskly toward the glowing mountain, some dozen miles to the south, and when they stood at its foot Willem cried, 'We don't stop till we reach up there.'

It was a punis.h.i.+ng climb, and often the young men came to precipices which they had to circ.u.mvent, but at last they reached that broad, gracious plateau which forms the crest of this mountain, and from it they could survey their empire.

To the south lay nothing but the icebound pole. To the west were the empty Atlantic and the New World territories owned by Spain. To the north they saw nothing but wind-swept dunes stretching beyond the power of the eye. But to the east they saw inviting meadows, and the rise of hills, and then the reach of mountains, and then more and more and more, on to a horizon they could only imagine. In silence the three sailors studied the land as it basked in the autumn sun, and often they wheeled about to see the lonely seas across which winds could howl for a thousand miles. But always their eyes returned to those tempting green valleys in the east, those beckoning mountains.

But looking eastward, they ignored the clouds which had formed almost instantaneously over the ocean to the west, and when they turned to descend the mountain, the devil threw his tablecloth and any movement became perilous.

'What can we do?' his companions asked Willem, and he replied with common sense, 's.h.i.+ver till dawn.' They knew that this would result in anxiety at the fort, but they had no alternative, and when the sun finally rose, dispelling the fog, they marveled anew at the paradise which awaited in the east.

From the first days of isolation the sailors had been aware of little brown men who occupied the Cape. They were a pitiful lot, 'barely human,' one scribe wrote, 'dirty, thieving and existing miserably on such sh.e.l.l fish as they could trap.' They were given the name Strandloopers (beach rangers), and to the sailors' dismay, they had nothing of value to trade but wanted everything they saw. It was a poor relations.h.i.+p, marked by many scuffles and some deaths.

But on June 1, when the marooned men concluded that they had seen everything worth seeing in their temporary homerhinos feeding in the swales, hippos in the streams, lions prowling at night, and antelope untold an incident occurred, so bizarre that everyone who later wrote his report of the wreck commented upon it: On this day at about two in the afternoon we were approached from the east by a group of some twenty little brown men much different from the pathetic ones we called Strandloopers. They were taller. Their loincloths were cleaner. They moved without fear, and what joyed us most, they led before them a herd of sheep with the most enormous tails we have ever seen. We called them Huttentuts from their manner of stuttering with strange click sounds and got quickly to work trying to trade with them. They were quite willing to give us their sheep for bits of bra.s.s, which they cherish.

And then the most amazing thing happened. From their ranks stepped a man about thirty years old, quick and intelligent of manner, and G.o.d's word, he was dressed in the full uniform of an English sailor, shoes included. What was most remarkable, he spoke good English without any click sounds. Since none of us knew this language, I went running for Willem van Doorn, who had learned it at Java, and when he left the fort, knowing that a Huttentut had come who spoke English, he asked me, 'Could it be?' and when he saw the little man in the sailor's uniform he broke into a run, shouting, 'Jack! Jack!' and they embraced many times and fingered the ivory bracelet that we had seen on Van Doorn's chain. Then they danced a jig of happiness and stood apart talking in a language we did not know of things we had not seen.

Actually, among the Hottentots with whom the Dutch did business during their year as castaways, there were three who had sailed in English s.h.i.+ps: Jack, who had been to Java; a man named Herry, who had sailed to the Spice Islands; and Coree, who had actually lived in London for a while. But it was with Jack that these Dutchmen conducted their trade.

This meant that Willem was often with the Hottentots when there was bartering, and as before, he and Jack made a striking pair: Jack seemed even smaller when standing among big Dutchmen, and Willem, now full-grown at twenty-two, towered over his little friend, but they moved everywhere along the bay, hunting and fis.h.i.+ng together. Toward mid-July, Jack proposed that Van Doorn accompany him to the village where the sheep-raising Hottentots lived. The fortress commander suspected a trick, but Willem, remembering the responsible manner in which the little fellow had conducted himself at Java, begged for permission. 'You could be killed,' the commander warned.

'I think not,' and with that simple affirmation, young Van Doorn became the first Dutchman to venture eastward toward those beckoning mountains.

It was a journey of about thirty miles through land that gave signs of promising fertility. He pa.s.sed areas where villages had once stood and learned from Jack that here the land had been grazed flat by cattle. 'You have cattle?' the Dutchman asked, indicating with his hands that he meant something bigger than sheep.

'Yes.' Jack laughed, using his forefingers to form horns at his temples, then bellowing like a bull.

'You must bring them to the fort!' Willem cried in excitement.

'No, no!' Jack said firmly. 'We don't trade . . .' He explained that this was winter, when the cows were carrying their young, and that it was forbidden to trade or eat cattle before summer. But when they reached his village, and Willem saw the sleek animals, his mouth watered; he intended reporting this miracle to the fort as soon as he returned.

His stay at the village was a revelation. The Hottentots were infinitely lower in the scale of civilization than the Javanese, or the wealthy merchants of the Spice Islands, and to compare them with the organized Chinese was ridiculous. But they were equally far removed from the primitive Strandloopers who foraged at the beach, for they had orderly systems for raising sheep and cows and they lived in substantial kraals. True, they were mostly naked, but their food was of high quality.

Living among the little people for five days encouraged Willem to think that perhaps a permanent settlement might be practical, with Dutch farmers growing the vegetables required by the pa.s.sing fleets of the Compagnie and subsisting on the sheep and cattle raised by the Hottentots; this possibility he discussed with Jack.

'You grow more cattle, maybe?'

'No. We have plenty.'

'But if we wanted to trade? You give us many cattle?'

'No. We have just enough.'

'But if we needed them? You saw the English s.h.i.+p. Poor food. No meat.'

'Then English grow sheep. English grow cattle.'

He got nowhere with the Hottentots, but when he returned to the fort and told the officers of the wealth lying inland, they grew hungry for beef and organized an expedition to capture some of the cattle. Van Doorn argued that to do this might embitter relations with the brown people, but the other sailors agreed with the officers: if cattle existed out there toward the hills, they should be eaten.

The argument was resolved in early August when Jack led some fifty Hottentots to the fort, bringing not only sheep but also three fine bullocks which they found they could spare. 'See,' Van Doorn said when the deal was completed, 'we've won our point without warfare,' but when the officers commanded Jack to deliver cattle on a regular basis, he demurred.

'Not enough.'

The officers thought he meant that the goods they had offered were not enough and tried to explain that with the wreck of the Haerlem Haerlem they had lost their normal trade goods and had only spices and precious fabrics at the fort. Jack looked at them askance, as if he could not decipher what they were saying, so one of the officers procured a boat, and with six Hottentots and Van Doorn, went out to the disintegrating hulk to let the little men see for themselves, and to pick up any stray bits of material they might want in trade for their cattle. they had lost their normal trade goods and had only spices and precious fabrics at the fort. Jack looked at them askance, as if he could not decipher what they were saying, so one of the officers procured a boat, and with six Hottentots and Van Doorn, went out to the disintegrating hulk to let the little men see for themselves, and to pick up any stray bits of material they might want in trade for their cattle.

It was a futile trip. All that remained aboard the creaking wreck were the heavy guns and anchors and the broken woodwork, and these had no appeal to the Hottentots, who had been taught by Coree after his return from London, 'Wood nothing, bra.s.s everything.' The bra.s.s had long since vanished.

But as the others climbed back into the boat, Willem chanced to find a hidden drawer containing an item of inestimable value. Hearing the officer coming down the gangway to hail him, he slammed the drawer shut and followed the Hottentots ash.o.r.e.

That night when others were asleep he told the watch, 'I want to inspect the Haerlem Haerlem again,' and silently he rowed out to the s.h.i.+p, which had now settled nine feet into the sand. Fastening his line to a stud, he climbed aboard, going quickly to the captain's quarters, where he opened the drawer. And there it was, with thick bra.s.s corner fittings and center clasps. again,' and silently he rowed out to the s.h.i.+p, which had now settled nine feet into the sand. Fastening his line to a stud, he climbed aboard, going quickly to the captain's quarters, where he opened the drawer. And there it was, with thick bra.s.s corner fittings and center clasps.

Carefully opening the bra.s.s locks, he turned back the cover and saw the extraordinary words: 'Biblia: The Holy Scripture translated into Dutch. Henrick Laurentsz, Bookseller, Amsterdam, 1630.' This was a printing of the very Bible his mother had cherished and he knew it would be most improper to allow a book so sacred to sink at sea, so covering it with his s.h.i.+rt, he carried it back to the fort, where he hid it among his few possessions. Occasionally in the days ahead, when no one was watching, he gingerly opened his Bible, reading here and there from the sacred Word. It was his book, and at the New Year he borrowed a pen and wrote on the first line of the page reserved for family records: 'Willem van Doorn, his book, 1 January, 1648.'

The Dutch sailors at Table Bay were not forgotten. During the twelve months they stayed, nearly a hundred Dutch s.h.i.+ps engaged in the Java trade pa.s.sed back and forth between Amsterdam and Batavia, standing far out to sea as they rounded the Cape. Some English s.h.i.+ps actually sailed into the bay, offering help as needed, and in August three Compagnie s.h.i.+ps anch.o.r.ed near the fort, providing mail, information and tools.

The captain of the Tiger, Tiger, leader of the flotilla, caused Willem serious trouble, because on the evening prior to his departure for Java, he announced at the fort that any sailors who wished to return to that island for an additional tour of duty were welcome, and three volunteered. 'We sail at noon tomorrow,' the captain said, and all that night Willem wrestled with the problem. Intuitively, with a force he would always remember in later years, he s.h.i.+ed away from going on to Holland, a land he did not know and to which he felt no attachment. But if he failed to join the leader of the flotilla, caused Willem serious trouble, because on the evening prior to his departure for Java, he announced at the fort that any sailors who wished to return to that island for an additional tour of duty were welcome, and three volunteered. 'We sail at noon tomorrow,' the captain said, and all that night Willem wrestled with the problem. Intuitively, with a force he would always remember in later years, he s.h.i.+ed away from going on to Holland, a land he did not know and to which he felt no attachment. But if he failed to join the Tiger, Tiger, right now, the next fleet would be Europe bound, and he might never see Java again. right now, the next fleet would be Europe bound, and he might never see Java again.

Toward midnight he woke the fort commander and said, 'Sir, my whole heart pulls me toward Java.'

'And mine,' the officer responded, and with swift phrases he explained how any man of character who had once seen the Spice Islands would never want to work elsewhere: 'It's a man's world. It's a world of blazing sunsets. Java, Formosa! My G.o.d, I'll die if I don't get back.'

'My mother argued'

'Son, if I weren't commander of this fort, I'd s.h.i.+p aboard the Tiger Tiger like that!' And he snapped his fingers. like that!' And he snapped his fingers.

'My mother says that no Dutchman has a chance with Jan Compagnie if he's born in Javaunless he gets back home for education and proper church training.'

'Well, now!' the commander said in the dim candlelight. 'Well, now, Mevrouw van Doorn is the smartest woman in the islands, and if she says...' In some irritation he banged his fist on the table, causing the candle to flicker. 'She's right, G.o.dd.a.m.nit, she's right. Jan Compagnie has no respect but for Amsterdam trading gentlemen. I'm from Groningen and might just as well be cattle.' Mention of this word diverted him, and he gave Willem no more guidance, for in the darkness he intended to send a troop of gunners out to fetch those Hottentot cattle.

When dawn illuminated Table Mountain, young Willem van Doorn made his decision: the Tiger Tiger would sail without him; he would obey his mother's orders and sail on to Holland with the March fleetbut as the would sail without him; he would obey his mother's orders and sail on to Holland with the March fleetbut as the Tiger Tiger was about to hoist anchor he set up a great shouting, 'Captain! Captain!' until the commander thought he had changed his mind and now wished pa.s.sage to Java. was about to hoist anchor he set up a great shouting, 'Captain! Captain!' until the commander thought he had changed his mind and now wished pa.s.sage to Java.

Not at all. He was running to the post-office stone under which he had buried the six letters addressed to Java. Puffing, he ran to the Tiger's, Tiger's, longboat, and the doc.u.ments were on their way. longboat, and the doc.u.ments were on their way.

When the s.h.i.+p pulled away he felt little regret, for as it went he had the curious sensation that he was intended for neither Amsterdam nor Batavia: What I'd like is to stay here. To see what's behind those mountains. That night he read long in his Bible, the sweet Dutch phrases burning themselves into his memory: And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them ... go up into the mountain and see the land ... and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad . . .

And as he studied other texts dealing with the reactions of the Israelites to the new land into which they had been ordered to move, he felt himself to be of that exploring group; he had gone up into the mountain to spy out the land; he had journeyed inland to see how the people lived and whether the land was good or barren. It was ordained that he should be part of that majestic land beyond the mountains; and when three days later the swift little flute Noordmunster Noordmunster left to overtake the two slower vessels bound for Java, he saw it go with no regret. But how he might manage to stay at the Cape he did not know, for the Dutch were determined to abandon it as soon as a homeward fleet arrived. left to overtake the two slower vessels bound for Java, he saw it go with no regret. But how he might manage to stay at the Cape he did not know, for the Dutch were determined to abandon it as soon as a homeward fleet arrived.

In the empty days that followed, Van Doorn occupied himself with routine life at the fort. On a field nearby he shot a rhinoceros. In a stream inland he shot a hippo. He went aboard the English s.h.i.+p Sun Sun to deliver mail, which the captain would forward from London, then helped two sick Dutch sailors aboard for the long trip home. Of great interest, he headed a hunting party to nearby Robben Island, where the men shot some two hundred penguins; he himself found the flesh of these birds much too fishy, but the others averred that it tasted better than the bacon of Holland. And twice he led parties that climbed Table Mountain. to deliver mail, which the captain would forward from London, then helped two sick Dutch sailors aboard for the long trip home. Of great interest, he headed a hunting party to nearby Robben Island, where the men shot some two hundred penguins; he himself found the flesh of these birds much too fishy, but the others averred that it tasted better than the bacon of Holland. And twice he led parties that climbed Table Mountain.

Only one unusual event occurred during these quiet days. One afternoon, at about dusk, a small group of Hottentots approached the fort from the east, leading cattle, and when the sailors saw the fresh meat coming their wayanimals much larger than those at homethey cheered, but the trading was not going to be easy, because Jack was in charge, and in broken English, said, 'Not sell. We live in fort. With you.'