V. THE LANDING AND OTHER INCIDENTS AT LOMBOCK It is night! The restless Ocean waves beat against the shores of Lombock as they have done for centuries past and will continue to do for centuries to come; what tales do they not unfold to us and what will they not repeat to those who follow us? Dark black shadows stretch out in long lines above the silvery gray waters; and stars innumerable adorn the giant masts with their gorgeous midnight rays. As an eagle with outspread wings so have the Company's ships comefrom the West and swooped down upon Salamparang, the seat of proud resistance, of cruel oppression, injustice and tyranny! A great and powerful fleet. rides at anchor in the bay of Ampenam. What reflections can this imposing sight have engendered in the soul of that unworthy offspring of princes, that scourge of his country, Anak Agong Madé? On that night of 5th-6th July he must have known that the day of reckoning was at hand and that his reign was about to close! As dawn pierces through the shades of night, the threatening image of the black ships vanishes as a shadow in the grey mist; high up in the heavens appears a rich red glow spreading itself little by little, while the waters reflect the lovely tints and the vessels are soon enveloped in soft and delicate hues. Suddenly the sun rises above Lombock's mountains and the whole scene is lighted up with golden rays; the sea is a field of silver glistening with golden streaks and wavelets of gold dash against the shore. What a buzz of voices and what unusual sounds mingle with the monotonous roar of the surf! There is the rattle of the gear, the whistle of the long-boats and the splashing of oars in the water; and then there are the jolly-boats closely packed with men all making for the shore..... the Netherlands troops are landing at Ampenam! Early in the morning of 5th July the transport fleet entered the roadstead of Ampenam (the Maetsuijcker, G. G.'s Jacob, Graaf v. Bylandt, Prins Alexander, Amboina, Both, Reael, Coen, Japara, Generaal Pel and Medan). Here it joined the naval force appointed for the campaign and assembled here since 30th June under command of Captain Quispal of the Navy; it was composed of the frigates Koningin Emma der Nederlanden" and " Tromp", the ironclad "Prins Hendrik der Nederlanden all of the auxiliary squadron; the "Sumatra" and the "Borneo" of the Indian Military Marine and the two despatch boats, numbers 95 and 101, besides the opium cruisers " Argus" and Cycloop" for courier and escort service. 66 The ultimatum had been despatched to the Lombock princes; the time for acceptance expiring at sunrise on the 6th. Telegraphic messages from H. M. the Queen and H. M. the QueenRegent were read aloud to the troops on board and were greeted with loud cheers, followed by gay music from the regimental bands; all were eagerly looking forward to the morrow and were anxious to begin the real life of soldiers in action. Very early, at 4 a. m., next day an embassy from the princes, consisting of three Balinese chiefs, came on board the "Maetsuijker". "The prescribed time of 24 hours for the acceptance of the ultimatum was too short; in three days, time the prince would come to Mataram to discuss with the Resident. . . . ." Every thing was ready and an immediate landing was decided upon. The men-of-war were ranged in line about 400 mètres from the shore the heavy cannon were directed towards various points of the coast; the quick-firing guns were prepared to overwhelm the enemy with projectiles if occasion arose. About fifteen armed marine boats were in position between the men-of-war and the shore to protect the disembarcation of the troops. They showed a wide front; between every two sloops of the marine there was one sloop belonging to the Steam Navigation Company, each one of these having 4 boats of the transport fleet in tow. The first contingent to land under General van Ham consists of the 9th battalion, 2 companies of the 7th, two sections of mountain artillery, the engineers and two ambulances. The men fell in line on deck, the boats were lowered, and parties of thirty men descended into each boat, provided with arms and stores. At 6,30 a. m. the signal "forward" was given and they pushed forward towards the shore. This of course was the most critical moment, the men were closely crowded together in the boats and defenceless against an enemy who might have sought to prevent their landing; but fortunately not a single shot was fired at them and twenty minutes after quitting the men-of-war the infantry and the engineers landed. The Lombock flag of which mention has been made, was still flying defiantly; but without one moment's hesitation General Van Ham hurried in advance of his soldiers to the foot of the flag-staff and amidst a deafening hurrah, the General's aide-de-camp, captain Wiersma, lowers the colours which are never to be hoisted again! The red, white and blue flag of the Netherlands replaced them for ever. Without encountering any difficulties the disembarcation was continued; assistance was even given in drawing the boats higher up on the beach by the Sassaks, Bugis and Malays assembled there. By 7,30 a. m. two other companies of the 7th and 6th battalions were landed, and the disembarcation of the cavalry was commenced. By the afternoon all the troops and coolies were on shore and steady progress was made in landing supplies and war material. Position was immediately taken up on the North, South and East of Ampenam and at about 3 p. m. scouting parties were sent out in three different directions. One company marched nearly as far as Rembega; a second followed the road from Ampenam to Mataram, coming within 800 mètres of it, whilst a third covered about 1500 mètres along the road to Tandjong Karang. The reports of the roads and surrounding districts were good; the enemy was invisible; the people in the kampongs seemed quiet enough and there were no signs of anything unusual about the place; wherever the troops showed themselves the natives squatted down on the ground and the Chinese contiuned to walk about unconcerned beneath the shade. of their paper "pajongs" (umbrellas). Is it to this external attitude of peace and order that we are to ascribe the choice of Ampenam as a bivouac? is this the reason why no fortifications were built? does herein lie the cause for no clearings being made where the view was obstructed or the line of fire impeded? Surely, the situation cannot have altered so materially since the last few hours, when uncertainty existed as to what difficulties might have to be faced on landing, as to make it conceivable that no attack was to be feared. The inhabitants of Ampenam and the surrounding kampongs might possibly he well-disposed although we have many instances in the history of Indian wars, where an apparently wellintentioned people have been suddenly transformed into our bitterest foe. Was it not possible that the cunning Balinese might permit us to land unmolested and then attack us unexpectedly? Our enemies were not yet conquered and it was natural to foresee that Anak Agong Madé would make some desperate attempt to escape the fate in store for him. The Commander-in-chief proved that he was prepared for such like emergencies by the precautions he took when he marched towards Mataram on 11th July. In our opinion it would have been wiser to have fortiful the strand bivouac, to ensure perfect safety for the troops stationed there and to form a secure basis for the advancing columns. Had this been done the men would have enjoyed more undisturbed rest during the first few nights; the subsequent panic would have been prevented; and there would have been more available help at hand to relieve the attacked divisions. The number of vacant houses and homesteads at Ampenam provided ample accomodation, and the men speedily set to work cleaning them and preparing them; but nothing was done to clear away the high walls, which made it so difficult to lead the troops and see any distance ahead. Meanwhile a rumour was current that Anak Agong Madé intended to attack the bivouac during the night with 500 of his adherents, as he preferred to die fighting rather than surrender. Suddenly at three in the morning the "alarm" was sounded! Fire had broken out in the Chinese camp and the bamboo houses crackled as if hundreds of guns were being let off and the sky was ablaze with the sparks. It is horrible to think what might have been the results of this out-break amidst the densely packed crowd of men, horses, ammunition and stores, with the enemy probably lurking in the distance, to take advantage of the confusion to strike the first blow! An hour of intense anxiety was spent in trying to extinguish the flames and by day-break all was quiet again; two Balinese who were suspected of this act of treachery were arrested. A Balinese embassy had spent the night in the bivouac, having arrived during the afternoon with a message from the prince to the commander-in-chief, informing him that the arrival of the troops on shore was creating much consternation amongst the people and therefore * To those who feel inclined to argue that it is easy to put forth these reasons after the events have occurred or who may conclude that no one foresaw the danger at the time, we wish to point ont that our contention is not that we should have acted more prudently if similarly situated, but that criticism of a mistake may prevent its recurrence in future; regarding the second remark we know positively, that some of the officers were thoroughly aware of the dangerous position of the bivouac before the attack took place, as they mentioned the fact in their private correspondence, although of course unwilling to comment upon it publicly. he begged of them to return on board, where further negotiations could be carried on. The time for negotiating had elapsed and the envoys were forced to depart on the morning of the 7th with the following reply: "In future only the Prince himself would be received by the Commander-in-chief, letters from him would have to be delivered to the outposts; and in the evening or at night time not even the prince himself would be allowed in the bivouac. The remainder of the day was occupied in landing the horses, artillery ammunition and commissariat stores; it required almost superhuman efforts to keep the heavily-laden boats steady and bring them safely to the beach through the heavy surf and hundreds were kept busy in conveying the chests and bales from the strand to the store-houses. In the uncertainty as to future emergencies the Commander-in-chief decided not to advance without having a sufficient supply of stores at Ampenam; they were to take with them provisions enough to last for a few days consecutive operations and as this involved the coolies. following the columns, only a few could be left behind at Ampenam and every thing must be done before they started. This was an excellent arrangement and proves conclusively that the Commander-inchief was prepared for resistance. In the course of the day information was brought in that Madé was planning an attack for that night, so at dusk all the troops were ordered |