Leaving One At The Door, With Orders To Let No
Person Out, I Went Into The House With The Other Two Of My Men, Where We
Found Three Men In One Of The Rooms.
There were two more in another
room, who immediately fled on hearing us, by means of a back-door which
we did not know of.
After a few blows, we made the three men prisoners,
and brought them away. One was an inhabitant of the brewer's house, but
we could prove nothing against the others, yet we laid all three in
irons. I immediately sent Mr Towerson to the regent, to give him an
account of the matter, and to desire the villains might be sought out
and punished. He promised this should be done, but was very slack in
performance. The Dutch merchants, hearing we had taken some of the
incendiaries, and fearing the Chinese might rise against us, came very
kindly to us armed, and swore they would live and die in our quarrel.
After laying out such of our goods to dry as had been wetted in
extinguishing the fire, we examined the person who dwelt with the
brewer, who told us the names of six who were fled, but would not
confess that he knew any thing about the mine, or setting our warehouse
on fire. Then threatening him with a hot iron, but not touching him, he
confessed the whole affair, and that he was concerned in it, saying,
that the two out-houses were built expressly for the purpose, though put
to other uses to avoid suspicion. I sent him next morning to execution;
and as he went out at our gate, the Javans reviled him, to which he
answered, that the English were rich and the Chinese poor, therefore why
should not they steal if they could from the English?
Next day the Javan admiral took one of the incendiaries, who was found
hid in a privy. This was he who put the fire to our house. He confessed
to the admiral that he had clipped many ryals, and had counterfeited
some; he even confessed some things concerning our matter, but not
much, and would tell us nothing. Because of his obstinacy, and that he
had set our house on fire, I caused him to be burnt, by means of sharp
irons thrust under the nails of his thumbs, fingers, and toes, and the
nails to be torn, off; and, because he never flinched, we thought his
hands and feet had been benumbed with tying, wherefore we burnt him in
other parts, as the hands, arms, shoulders, and neck, but even this had
no effect. We then burnt him quite through the hands, and tore out the
flesh and sinews with rasps, causing his shins to be knocked with hot
searing irons. I then caused cold iron screws to be screwed into the
bones of his arms, and suddenly snatched out, and to break all the bones
of his fingers and toes with pincers:
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