Chapter 2

EARLY VOYAGES OF THE ENGLISH. TO THE EAST INDIES, BEFORE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY.

SECTION IV.

Voyage of Mr John Eldred, by Sea, to Tripoli, in Syria, and thence, by Land and River, to Bagdat and Basora, in 1583.[1]

I departed from London in the Tiger on Shrove-Tuesday, 1583, in company with Mr John Newberry, Mr Ralph Fitch, and six or seven other honest merchants, and arrived at Tripoli in Syria on the next ensuing 1st of May. On our arrival, we went a _Maying_ on the Island of St George, where the Christians who die here on ship board are wont to be buried. In this city of Tripoli our English merchants have a consul, and all of the English nation who come here reside along with him, in a house or factory, called _Fondeghi Ingles_, which is a square stone building, resembling a cloister, where every person has his separate chamber, as is likewise the custom of all the other Christian nations at this place.

[Footnote 1: Hakluyt, II. 402. As Eldred accompanied Newberry and Fitch from England to Basora, this article is, in a great degree, connected with our present purpose: It may likewise be mentioned, that Eldred is one of the persons with whom Newberry corresponded.--E.]

Tripolis stands under a part of Mount Lebanon, at the distance of two English miles from the port. On one side of this port, in the form of a half-moon, there are five block-houses, or small forts, in which there are some good pieces of artillery, and they are occupied by about an hundred janisaries. Right before the town there is a hill of shifting sand, which gathers and increases with a west wind, insomuch, that they have an old prophecy among them, that this sand hill will one day swallow up and overwhelm the town, as it every year increases and destroys many gardens, though they employ every possible device to diminish this sand-bank, and to render it firm ground. The city is walled round, though of no great strength, and is about the size of Bristol: Its chief defence is the citadel or castle, which stands on the south side of the town, and within the walls, overlooking the whole town, being armed with some good artillery, and garrisoned by two hundred janisaries. A river passes through the middle of the city, by means of which they water their gardens and plantations of mulberry trees, on which they rear great numbers of silk-worms, which produce great quantities of white silk, being the principal commodity of this place, which is much frequented by many Christian merchants, as Venetians, Florentines, Genoese, Marsilians, Sicilians, and Ragusans, and, of late, by the English, who trade more here than in any other port of the Turkish dominions.

I departed from Tripolis with a caravan, on the 14th May, passing, in three days, over the ridge of Mount Libanus; and at the end of that time came to the city of _Hammah_, which stands in a goodly plain, abounding in corn and cotton-wool. On these mountains grow great quantities of _gall-trees_, which are somewhat like our oaks, but less, and more crooked; and, on the best trees, a man shall not find above a pound of galls on each. This town of Hammah is fallen into decay, and continues to decay more and more, so that at this day scarcely is the half of the wall standing, which has once been strong and handsome; but, because it cost many lives to win it, the Turks will not have it repaired, and have caused to be inscribed in Arabic, over one of the gates, "Cursed be the father and the son of him who shall lay hands to the repairing of this place."

Refreshing ourselves one day here, we went forwards three days more, with our camels, and came to Aleppo, where we arrived on the 21st of May. This has the greatest trade, for an inland town, of any in all those parts, being resorted to by Jews, Tartars, Persians, Armenians, Egyptians, Indians, and many different kinds of Christians, all of whom enjoy liberty of conscience, and bring here many different kinds of merchandise. In the middle of the city there is a goodly castle, raised on high, having a garrison of four or five hundred janisaries. Within four miles round about there are many goodly gardens and vineyards, with many trees, which bear excellent fruit, near the side of the river, which is very small. The walls of the city are about three miles in circuit, but the suburbs are nearly as large as the city, the whole being very populous.

We departed from Aleppo on the 31st of May, with a caravan of camels, along with Mr John Newberry, and his company, and came to _Birrah_, [Bir] in three days, being a small town on the Euphrates, where that river first assumes the name, being here collected into one channel, whereas before it comes down in numerous branches, and is therefore called by the people of the country by a name which signifies a _thousand heads_. We here found abundance of provisions, and furnished ourselves for a long journey down the river; and, according to the custom of those who travel on this river, we provided a small bark for the conveyance of ourselves and our goods. These boats are flat-bottomed, because the river is shallow in many places; and when people travel in the months of July, August, and September, the water being then at the lowest, they have to carry a spare boat or two along with them, to lighten their own boats in case of grounding on the shoals. We were twenty-eight days upon the river in going between Bir and Feluchia, at which last place we disembarked ourselves and our goods.

During our passage down the Euphrates, we tied our boat to a stake every night at sun-set, when we went on land and gathered some sticks to make a fire, on which we set our pot, with rice or bruised wheat; and when we had supped, the merchants went on board to sleep, while the mariners lay down for the night on the shore, as near the boats as they could. At many places on the river side we met with troops of Arabs, of whom we bought milk, butter, eggs, and lambs, giving them in barter, for they care not for money, glasses, combs, coral, amber, to hang about their necks; and for churned milk we gave them bread and pomegranate peels, with which they tan their goat skins which they use for churns. The complexion, hair, and apparel of these Arabs, are entirely like to those vagabond Egyptians who heretofore used to go about in England. All their women, without one exception, wear a great round ring of gold, silver, or iron, according to their abilities, in one of their nostrils, and about their legs they have hoops of gold, silver, or iron. All of them, men, women, and children, are excellent swimmers, and they often brought off in this manner vessels with milk on their heads to our barks. They are very thievish, as I proved to my cost, for they stole a casket belonging to me, containing things of good value, from under my man's head as he lay asleep.

At Bir the Euphrates is about as broad as the Thames at Lambeth, in some places broader, and in others narrower, and it runs very swiftly, almost as fast as the Trent. It has various kinds of fish, all having scales, some like our barbels, as large as salmon. We landed at Feluchia on the 28th of June, and had to remain there seven days for want of camels to carry our goods to Babylon, [Bagdat,] the heat at that season being so violent that the people were averse from hiring their camels to travel. Feluchia is a village of some hundred houses, and is the place appointed for discharging such goods as come down the river, the inhabitants being all Arabs. Not being able to procure camels, we had to unlade our goods, and hired an hundred asses to carry our English merchandize to New Babylon, or Bagdat, across a short desert, which took us eighteen hours of travelling, mostly in the night and morning, to avoid the great heat of the day.

In this short desert, between the Euphrates and Tigris, formerly stood the great and mighty city of ancient Babylon, many of the old ruins of which are easily to be seen by day-light, as I, John Eldred, have often beheld at my good leisure, having made three several journeys between Aleppo and New Babylon. Here also are still to be seen the ruins of the ancient Tower of Babel, which, being upon plain ground, seems very large from afar; but the nearer you come towards it, it seems to grow less and less. I have gone sundry times to see it, and found the remnants still standing above a quarter of a mile in circuit, and almost as high as the stone-work of St Paul's steeple in London, but much bigger.[2] The bricks remaining in this most ancient monument are half a yard thick, and three quarters long, having been dried in the sun only; and between every course of bricks there is a course of matts made of canes, which still remain as sound as if they had only lain one year.

[Footnote 2: It is hardly necessary to observe, that this refers to the old St Paul's before the great fire, and has no reference to the present magnificent structure, built long after the date of this journey.--E.]

The new city of Babylon, or Bagdat, joins to the before-mentioned small desert, in which was the old city, the river Tigris running close under the walls, so that they might easily open a ditch, and make the waters of the river, encompass the city.[3] Bagdat is above two English miles in circumference. The inhabitants, who generally speak three languages, Persian, Arabic, and Turkish, are much of the same complexion with the Spaniards. The women mostly wear, in the gristle of the nose, a ring like a wedding-ring, but rather larger, having a pearl and a turquoise stone set in it; and this however poor they may be. This is a place of great trade, being the thoroughfare from the East Indies to Aleppo. The town is well supplied with provisions, which are brought down the river Tigris from Mosul, in Diarbekir, or Mesopotamia, where stood the ancient city of Nineveh. These provisions, and various other kinds of goods, are brought down the river Tigris on rafts of wood, borne up by a great number of goat-skin bags, blown up with wind like bladders. When the goods are discharged, the rafts are sold for fuel, and letting the wind out of the goat skins, they carry them home again upon asses, to serve for other voyages down the river.

[Footnote 3: It may be proper to remark, as not very distinctly marked here, though expressed afterwards in the text, that Bagdat is on the east side of the Tigris, whereas the plain, or desert of ancient Babylon, is on the west, between that river and the Euphrates.--E.]

The buildings here are mostly of brick, dried in the sun, as little or no stone is to be found, and their houses are all low and flat-roofed. They have no rain for eight months together, and hardly any clouds in the sky by day or night. Their winter is in November, December, January, and February, which is almost as warm as our summer in England. I know this well by experience, having resided, at different times, in this city for at least the space of two years. On coming into the city from Feluchia, we have to pass across the river Tigris on a great bridge of boats, which are held together by two mighty chains of iron.

From this place we departed in flat-bottomed boats, which were larger and more strongly built than those on the Euphrates. We were twenty-eight days also in going down this river to Basora, though we might have gone in eighteen days, or less, if the water had been higher. By the side of the river there stand several towns, the names of which resemble those of the prophets of the Old Testament. The first of these towns is called _Ozeah_, and another _Zecchiah_. One day's journey before we came to Basora, the two rivers unite, and there stands, at the junction, a castle belonging to the Turks, called _Curna_, where all merchants have to pay a small custom. Where the two rivers join, their united waters are eight or nine miles broad; and here also the river begins to ebb and flow, the overflowing of the water rendering all the country round about very fertile in corn, rice, pulse, and dates.

The town of Basora is a mile and a half in circuit; all the houses, with the castle and the walls, being of brick dried in the sun. The Grand Turk has here five hundred janisaries always in garrison, besides other soldiers; but his chief force consists in twenty-five or thirty fine gallies, well furnished with good ordnance. To this port of Basora there come every month divers ships from Ormus, laden with all sorts of Indian goods, as spices, drugs, indigo, and calico cloth. These ships are from forty to sixty tons burden, having their planks sewed together with twine made of the bark of the date-palm; and, instead of oakum, their seams are filled with slips of the same bark, of which also their tackle is made. In these vessels they have no kind of iron-work whatever, except their anchors. In six days sail down the Gulf of Persia, they go to an island called. Bahrein, midway to Ormus, where they fish for pearls during the four months of June, July, August, and September.

I remained six months at Basora, in which time I received several letters from Mr John Newberry, then at Ormus, who, as he passed that way, proceeded with letters, from her majesty to Zelabdim Echebar, king of Cambaia,[4] and to the mighty Emperor of China, was treacherously there arrested, with all his company, by the Portuguese, and afterwards sent prisoner to Goa, where, after a long and cruel imprisonment, he and his companions were released, upon giving surety not to depart from thence without leave, at the instance of one Father Thomas Stevens, an English priest, whom they found there. Shortly afterwards three of them made their escape, of whom Mr Ralph Fitch is since come to England. The fourth, who was Mr John Story, painter, became a religious in the college of St Paul, at Goa, as we were informed by letters from that place.

[Footnote 4: Akbar Shah, padishah or emperor of the Moguls in India.--E.]

Having completed all our business at Basora, I and my companion, William Shales, embarked in company with seventy barks, all laden with merchandize; every bark having fourteen men to drag it up the river, like our west country barges on the river Thames; and we were forty-four days in going up against the stream to Bagdat. We there, after paying our custom, joined with other merchants, to form a caravan, bought camels, and hired men to load and drive them, furnished ourselves with rice, butter, dates, honey made of dates, and onions; besides which, every merchant bought a certain number of live sheep, and hired certain shepherds to drive them along with us. We also bought tents to lie in, and to put our goods under; and in this caravan of ours there were four thousand camels laden with spices and other rich goods. These camels can subsist very well for two or three days without water, feeding on thistles, wormwood, _magdalene_, and other coarse weeds they find by the way. The government of the caravans, the deciding of all quarrels that occur, and the apportionment of all duties to be paid, are committed to the care of some one rich and experienced merchant in the company, whose honour and honesty can best be confided in. We spent forty days in our journey from Bagdat to Aleppo, travelling at the rate of from twenty to twenty-four miles a-day, resting ourselves commonly from two in the afternoon till three next morning, at which time we usually began our journey.

Eight days journey from Bagdat, near to a town called Heit, where we cross the Euphrates in boats, and about three miles from that place, there is a valley in which are many mouths, or holes, continually throwing out, in great abundance, a black kind of substance like tar, which serves all this country for paying their boats and barks. Every one of these springs makes a noise like a smith's forge, continually puffing and blowing; and the noise is so loud, that it may be heard a mile off. This vale swalloweth up all heavy things that are thrown into it. The people of the country call it _Bab-el-gehenam_, or the gate of hell. In passing through these deserts we saw certain wild beasts, such as asses, all white, roebucks, leopards, foxes, and many hares, a considerable number of which last we chaced and killed. _Aborise_, the king of the wandering Arabs in these deserts, receives a duty of 40 shillings value for every loaded camel, which he sends his officers to receive from the caravans; and, in consideration of this, he engages to convoy the caravans in safety, if need be, and to defend them against the prowling thieves.

I and my companion, William Shales, came to Aleppo on the 11th June, 1584, being joyfully welcomed at twenty miles distance by Mr William Barret, our consul, accompanied by his people and janisaries. He fell sick immediately after, and departed this life in eight days illness, having nominated, before he died, Mr Anthony Bate to succeed him as consul for the English nation, who laudably executed the office for three years. In the mean time, I made two other journeys to Bagdat and Basora, returning in the same manner through the desert. Being afterwards desirous to see other parts of the country, I went from Aleppo to Antioch, which is 60 miles, and from thence to Tripoli, where, going on board a small vessel, I arrived at Joppa, and travelled by land to Rama, Lycia, Gaza, Jerusalem, Bethlem, the river Jordan, and the sea of Sodom, and returned to Joppa, from whence I went back to Tripoli; but as many others have published large discourses of these places, I think it unnecessary to write of them here. Within a few days after my return to Tripoli, I embarked in the Hercules of London, on the 22d December, 1587, and arrived safe, by the blessing of God, in the Thames, with divers other English merchants, on the 26th March, 1588; our ship being the richest in merchant goods that ever was known to arrive in this realm.

SECTION V.

_Of the Monsoons, or Periodical Winds, with which Ships depart from Place to Place in India. By William Barret._[5]

It is to be noted, that the city of Goa is the principal place of all the oriental India, and that the winter begins there on the 15th of May, with very great rain, and so continues till the 1st of August; during which time no ship can pass the bar of Goa, as, by these continual rains, all the sands join together hear a mountain called _Oghane_, and run into the shoals of the bar and port of Goa, having no other issue, and remain there, so that the port is shut up till the 1st of August; but it opens again on the 10th of August, as the rains are then ceased, and the sea thus scours away the sand.

[Footnote 5: Hakluyt, II. 413.

It appears, from the journal of John Eldred, in the preceding section, that William Barret was English consul at Aleppo, and died in 1584.

In the immediately preceding article in Hakluyt, vol. II. p. 406, et seq., is a curious account of the money weights and measures of Bagdat, Basora, Ormus, Goa, Cochin, and Malacca, which we wished to have inserted, but found no sufficient data by which to institute a comparison with the money weights and measures of England, without which they would have been entirely useless.

In the present article, the dates are certainly of the old stile, and, to accommodate these to the present new stile, it may be perhaps right to add _nine_ days to each for the sixteenth century, or _twelve_ days to reduce them to corresponding dates of the present nineteenth century.--E.]

To the northward, as Chaul, Diu, Cambay, Damaun, Basseen, and other places, the ships depart from Goa between the 10th and 24th of August; and ships may sail to these places at all times of the year, except in winter, as already described.

Ships depart for Goa from Chaul, Diu, Cambay, and other parts to the northward, betwixt the 8th and 15th of January, and come to Goa about the end of February.

From Diu ships depart for the straits of Mecca, or the Red-Sea, about the 15th of January, and return from thence to Diu in the month of August. They likewise depart from Din for the Red-Sea in the second monsoon, betwixt the 25th of August and 25th of September, and return to Diu between the 1st and 15th of May following.

From Socotora, which hath only few ships, they depart for Ormus about the 10th of August.

About the 15th of September the Moors of the firm land begin to come to Goa from all parts, as from Balagnete, Bezenegar, Sudalcan, and other places; and they depart from Goa betwixt the 10th and 15th of November.

It is to be understood, that, by going to the north, is meant departing from Goa for Chaul, Diu, Cambay, Damaun, Basseen, and other places as far as Sinde; and, by the south, is meant departing from Goa for Cochin, and all that coast, as far as Cape Comorin.

In the _first_ monsoon for Ormus, ships depart from Goa in the month of October, passing with easterly winds along the coast of Persia. In the _second_ monsoon, the ships depart from Goa about the 20th of January, passing by a like course, and with a similar wind; this second monsoon being called by the Portuguese the _entremonson_. There is likewise a _third_ monsoon for going from Goa to Ormus, when ships set out from Goa betwixt the 25th March and 6th April, having easterly winds, when they set their course for the coast of Arabia, which they fell in with at Cape Rasalgate and the Straits of Ormus. This monsoon is the most troublesome of all, for they make two navigations in the latitude of Ceylon, somewhat lower than six degrees.[6]

[Footnote 6: This is by no means obvious; but means, perhaps, that they are obliged to bear away so far south, owing to the wind not allowing a direct passage.--E.]

The _first_ monsoon from Ormus for Chaul and Goa is in the month of September, with the wind at north or north-east. The _second_ is between the 25th and 30th of December, with like winds. In the _third_, ships leave Ormus between the 1st and 15th of April, with the wind at south-east, east, or north-east, when they coast along Arabia from Cape Mosandon to Cape Rasalgate; and after losing sight of Rasalgate, they have westerly winds which carry them to Chaul and Goa. But if they do not leave Ormus on or before the 25th of April, they must winter at Ormus, and wait the first monsoon in September.

The _first_ monsoon from Ormus to Sinde is between the 15th and 20th of April; the second between the 10th and 20th of October. From Ormus ships depart for the Red Sea in all January.

From Goa for Calicut, Cochin, Ceylon, and other places to the southward, the ships depart from the 1st to the 15th of August, and find these seas navigable all the year, except in winter, that is, from the 15th May to the 10th August. In like manner, ships can go from these places to Goa every time of the year except in winter; but the best time is in the months of December, January, and February.

In the first monsoon from Goa for Pegu, the ships depart from Goa between the 15th and 20th of April, and winter at San Thome, whence they sail for Pegu after the 5th of August. In the second, they leave Goa between the 8th and 24th of August, going direct for Pegu; but, if they pass the 24th of August, they cannot make out their voyage that monsoon, and must wait till next April. It may be noticed, that the best trade for Pegu is to take ryals and patechoni to San Thome, and there purchase Tellami, which is fine cotton cloth, of which great quantities are made in Coromandel. Other merchandize is not good in Pegu, except a few dozens of very fair oriental emeralds. Gold, silver, and rubies are in Pegu sufficiently abundant. In coming from Pegu for Western India, ships sail between the 15th and 25th of January, and come to Goa about the 25th of March, or beginning of April. If it pass the 10th of May before reaching Goa, ships cannot reach Goa that monsoon; and if they have not then made the coast of India, they will with much peril fetch San Thome.

In the first monsoon for Malacca, the ships leave Goa between the 15th and 30th of September, and reach Malacca about the end of October. In the second, they leave Goa about the 5th of May, and arrive at Malacca about the 15th of June. In the first monsoon from Malacca for Goa, they leave Malacca about the 10th September, and come to Goa about the end of October. In the second, they leave Malacca about the 10th February, and reach Goa about the end of March. If any ship is detained on this voyage till the 10th May, they cannot enter the harbour of Goa; and, if they have not then got to Cochin, they must return to Malacca, as the winter and the contrary winds then come on.

Ships sail from Goa for China in the month of April; and they must sail in such time from China as to reach Goa before the 10th of May. If not then arrived, they must put back to Cochin; and if not able to get in there, must go to Malacca to winter.

Ships going from Goa for the Moluccas must sail on or before the 10th or 15th May; after which period they cannot pass the bar of Goa: and the ships returning from the Moluccas usually reach Goa about the 15th of April.

The ships from Portugal for India usually depart between the 10th and 15th of March, going direct for the coast of Melinda and Mozambique, which they reach in July, whence they proceed to Goa. If they do not reach the coast of Melinda in July, they cannot fetch Melinda that year, but must return to the island of St Helena. If they are unable to make that island, then they run as lost on the coast of Guinea. If they reach the coast of Melinda in time, and set forwards for Goa, but are unable to make that port by the 15th September, they then go to Cochin; but, if unable to get into Cochin, they must return and winter on the coast of Mozambique. Yet, in the year 1580, the ship San Lorenzo arrived there on the 8th of October, sore tempest-beaten, to the great admiration of every one, as the like had not been seen before.

The ships bound for Portugal leave Cochin between the 15th and 31st January, steering for _Cabo de buona Speranza_, and the isle of St Helena, which island is about midway, being in lat. 16° S. It is a small island, but fruitful of all things, with great store of fruit, and gives great succour to the ships homeward-bound from India to Portugal. It is not long since that island was discovered, by a ship that came from the Indies in a great storm. They found in it such abundance of wild beasts and boars, and all sorts of fruit, that, by these means, this ship, which had been four months at sea, was wonderfully refreshed both with food and water. It received its name because discovered on the day of St Helen. This island is so great a succour to the Portuguese ships, that many of them would surely perish if it were not for the aid they get here. For this reason, the King of Portugal caused a church to be built here to the honour of St Helena, where only two hermits reside, all others being forbidden to inhabit there, that the ships may be the better supplied with victuals, as on coming from India they are usually but slenderly provided, because no corn grows there, nor do they make any wine. The ships which go from Portugal for India do not touch there, because, on leaving Portugal, they are fully provided with bread and water for eight months. No other person can inhabit St Helena except the two hermits, or perchance some sick person who may be left there on shore under the care of the hermits, for his help and recovery.

Ships depart from Goa for Mozambique between the 10th and 15th of January; and from Mozambique for Goa between the 8th and 31st August, arriving at Chaul or Goa any time in October, or till the 15th of November.

From Ormus ships bound for Bengal depart between the 15th and 20th of June, going to winter at _Teve_? whence they resume their voyage for Bengal about the 15th of August.

SECTION VI.

_First Voyage of the English to India in 1591; begun by Captain George Raymond, and completed by Captain James Lancaster_.[7]

INTRODUCTION.

We have at length arrived at the period when the English began to visit the East Indies in their own ships; this voyage of Captain Raymond, or, if you will, Lancaster, being the first of the kind ever performed by them. From this year, therefore, 1591, the oriental navigations of the English are to be dated; they did not push them with any vigour till the beginning of the next century, when they began to pursue the commerce of India with unwearied diligence and success, as will appear from the narratives in the next succeeding chapter.

[Footnote 7: Hakluyt, II. 286. Astley, I. 235.]

"As for Captain Raymond, his ship was separated near Cape Corientes, on the eastern coast of Africa, from the other two,[8] and was never heard of more during the voyage, so that, whether he performed the voyage, or was lost by the way, does not appear from Hakluyt; from whose silence, however, nothing can be certainly concluded either way, for reasons that will appear in the sequel[9]."--_Astley_.

[Footnote 8: This is a singular oversight in the editor of Astley's Collection, as by that time there were only two ships, the Royal Merchant having been sent home from Saldanha bay.--E.]

[Footnote 9: These promised reasons no where appear.--E.]

The full title of this voyage in Hakluyt's Collection is thus: "A Voyage with three tall ships, the Penelope, Admiral; the Merchant-Royal, Vice-Admiral; and the Edward Bonadventure, Rear-Admiral, to the East Indies, by way of the Cape of Buona Speranza, to Quitangone, near Mozambique, to the isles of Comoro and Zanzibar, on the backside of Africa, and beyond Cape Comorin, in India, to the isles of Nicobar, and of Gomes Palo, within two leagues of Sumatra, to the Islands of Pulo Pinaom, and thence to the Mainland of Malacca; begun by Mr George Raymond in the year 1591, and performed by Mr James Lancaster, and written from the mouth of Edmund Barker of Ipswich, his Lieutenant in the said Voyage, by Mr Richard Hakluyt."

This voyage is chiefly remarkable as being the first ever attempted by the English to India, though not with any view of trade, as its only object seems to have been to commit privateering depredations upon the Portuguese trading ships in India, or, as we would now call them, the country ships, which were employed in trading between Goa and the settlements to the eastwards. It is unnecessary here to point out the entire disappointment of the adventurers, or the disastrous conclusion of the expedition, as these are clearly related by Mr Edmund Barker. This article is followed by a supplementary account of the same voyage, by John May, one of the people belonging to the Edward Bonadventure, who relates some of the occurrences rather differently from Edmund Barker, or rather gives some information that Mr Barker seems to have wished to conceal. For these reasons, and because of some farther adventures in a French ship in which May embarked, it has been thought proper to insert that narrative in our collection--E.

* * * * *

Our fleet, consisting of three tall ships, the Penelope, Merchant-Royal, and Edward Bonadventure, sailed from Plymouth the 10th April, 1591, and arrived at the Canary Islands on 25th of that month, whence we again took our departure on the 29th. The 2d May we were in the latitude of Cape Blanco, and passed the tropic of Cancer on the 5th. All this time we had a fair wind at north-east, sailing always before the wind, till the 13th May, when we came within eight degrees of the line, where we met a contrary wind. We lay off and on from that time till the 6th June, when we crossed the equinoctial line. While thus laying off and on, we captured a Portuguese caravel, laden by some merchants of Lisbon for Brasil, in which vessel we got about 60 tons of wine, 1200 jars of oil, 100 jars of olives, some barrels of capers, three vats of pease, and various other necessaries fit for our voyage; the wine, oil, olives, and capers, being more valuable to us than gold.

We had two men died before passing the line, and several sick, who first became unwell in these hot climates, as it is wonderfully unwholsome from 8° N. lat. to the equator at that season of the year; for we had nothing but tornadoes,[10] with such thunder, lightning, and rain, that we could not keep our men dry three hours together; which, with scanty cloathing to shift them, and living entirely on salt provisions, occasioned an infection among them. After passing the line, we had the wind continually at east-south-east, which carried us along the coast of Brasil, at 100 leagues from the land, till we were in lat. 26° S. when we had the wind from the north; at which time we estimated the Cape of Good Hope to bear E. by S. 900 or 1000 leagues distant.

[Footnote 10: Tornado signifies a storm, during which the wind shifts about, or _turns_ to all points of the compass.--E.]

In passing this great gulf from the coast of Brasil to the Cape of Good Hope, we had the wind often variable, as it is on our own coast, but, for the most part, so as that we could hold our course. The 28th of July we had sight of the Cape; and till the 31st we plied off and on, with a contrary wind, always in hopes to double the Cape, meaning to have gone 70 leagues farther, to a place called _Aguada de San Bras_, before seeking to put in at any harbour. But as our men were sick in all our ships, we thought it good to seek some place of refreshment for them; wherefore we bore up with the land to the northward of the Cape, on the west coast of Africa; and going along shore, we espied a goodly bay, having an island to leeward of its mouth, into which we entered, and found it very commodious to ride in at anchor. This bay is called _Aguada de Saldanha_, being in lat. 33° S. 15 leagues northward on this side from the Cape;[11] and in it we anchored on Sunday the 1st August, and immediately sent our sick men on shore.

[Footnote 11: It will appear distinctly in the sequel of these early voyages, that this Aguada de Saldanha, called likewise Saldanha or Saldania bay, was that now named Table bay, on which stands Cape Town, and not that which is now called Saldanha bay, which is ten or twelve leagues farther north, and on the same western coast of Africa.--E.]

Certain very brutish black savages came to them, but would not stay, and immediately retired. For the space of 15 or 20 days, we could procure no fresh provisions, except some cranes and geese which we shot; and we could get no fish but mussels and other shell-fish, which we gathered on the rocks. At the end of this time, our admiral went one day with his pinnace to the island off the mouth of the bay, where he found great numbers of penguins and seals, of which he brought plenty with him to the ships, and twice afterwards some of our people brought their boats loaded with these animals. Alter we had been here some time, we got hold of a negro, whom we compelled to go along with us into the country, making signs to him to procure us some cattle; but not being able at this time to come in sight of any, we let the negro go, giving him some trifling presents.[12] Within eight days after, he and 30 or 40 other negroes brought us down about 40 oxen and as many sheep, at which time we only bought a few of them; but, about eight days afterwards, they brought down as many more, when we bought 24 oxen and as many sheep. The oxen were large and well-fleshed, but not fat; and we bought an ox for two knives, and a stirk, or young beast, for one knife. The sheep are very large, and excellent mutton, having hair instead of wool, and great tails like those of Syria. We gave a knife for a sheep, and even got some for less value. We saw various wild beasts, as antilopes, red and fallow deer, and other large beasts, which we knew not, with a great number of overgrown monkies or baboons. Mr Lancaster killed an antilope as large as a young colt.

[Footnote 12: This negro must, of course, have been a Hotentot.--E.]

Holding a consultation in respect to the prosecution of our, voyage, it was thought best to proceed rather with two ships well manned, than with two weakly manned, having only 198 men in sound health, of whom 100 went in the Penelope with our admiral, and 98 in the Edward, with the worshipful Captain Lancaster. We left behind 50 men in the Royal Merchant, Captain Abraham Kendal, of whom a good many were well recovered, thinking proper, for many reasons, to send home that ship. The disease that consumed our men was the scurvy. Our soldiers, who had not been used to the sea, held out best, while our mariners dropt away, which, in my judgment, proceeded from their evil diet at home.

Six days after sending home the Royal Merchant from Saldanha bay, our admiral, Captain Raymond, in the Penelope, and Captain James Lancaster in the Edward Bonadventure, set forward to double the Cape of Good Hope, which they now did very readily. When we had passed as far as Cape Corientes, on the east coast of Africa, at the entry into the channel of Mozambique, we encountered a dreadful storm, with excessive gusts of wind, during which we lost sight of our admiral, and could never hear of him nor his ship more, though we used our best endeavours to seek him, by plying up and down a long while, and afterwards staid for him several days at the island of Comoro, which we had appointed our rendezvous in case of separation. Four days after this unfortunate separation, we had a tremendous clap of thunder at ten o'clock one morning, which slew four of our men outright, without speaking one word, their necks being wrung asunder. Of 94 other men, not one remained untouched, some being struck blind, some bruised in their arms and legs, others in their breasts, so that they voided blood for two days: some were as it were drawn out in length, as if racked. But, God be praised, they all recovered, except the four men who were struck dead. With the same flash of lightning our mainmast was terribly split from the head to the deck, some of the spikes that went ten inches into the wood being melted by the fervent heat.

From thence[13] we shaped our course north-east, and not long afterwards fell in with the north-west point[14] of the island of St Lawrence, or Madagascar, which, by God's blessing, one of our men espied late in the evening by moonlight.

[Footnote 13: The place of shaping this course is by no means obvious. It could not be from Comoro, which is farther north than the north end of Madagascar, and was therefore probably from near Cape Corientes.--E.]

[Footnote 14: From the sequel, the text is certainly not accurate in this place, as they were not so far as this cape by 100 leagues. It probably was Cape St Andrews.--E.]

Seeing from afar the breaking of the sea, he called to some of his comrades, asking what it meant, when they told him it was the sea breaking upon shoals or rocks, upon which we put about ship in good time, to avoid the danger we were like to have incurred. Continuing our voyage, it was our lot to overshoot Mozambique, and to fall in with _Quitangone_, two leagues farther north, where we took three or four barks belonging to the Moors, laden with millet, hens, and ducks, going as provisions for Mozambique, and having one Portuguese boy on board. These barks are called _pangaias_ in their language.

Within a few days after, we came to an island called Comoro, which we found exceedingly populous, the inhabitants being tawny Moors, of good stature, but very treacherous, and requiring to be sharply looked after. Being desirous of procuring fresh water, of which we stood in great need, we sent sixteen of our men, well armed, on shore, whom the natives allowed very quietly to land and take the water. A good many of them came on board, along with their king, who was dressed in a gown of crimson satin, reaching to the knee, pinked after the Moorish fashion. We entertained him in the best manner we could, and had some conference with him as to the state of the place and merchandise, using the Portuguese boy we had taken as our interpreter. We then dismissed the king and his company courteously, and sent our boat on shore again for water, when also they dispatched their business quietly, and returned. A third time the boat went for the same purpose, and returned unmolested. We now thought ourselves sufficiently provided; but our master, William Mace, of Ratcliff, pretending that it might be long before we should find any good watering-place, would needs go again on shore, much against the will of our captain. He went accordingly with sixteen men in a boat, which were all we had, other sixteen of our men being on shore with our other boat, washing their clothes, directly over against our ship. The perfidious Moors attacked all these men, who were mostly slain in our sight, while we could not yield them the smallest aid, as we had now no boat.

Going from thence with heavy hearts on the 7th November, we shaped our course for the island of Zanzibar, where we arrived shortly after, and there made ourselves a new boat, of such boards as we had in our ship. We continued here till the 15th of February, 1591, during which time we saw several _pangaias_, or boats, of the Moors, which are pinned with wooden pins, and sewed together with cords made of the palmito, and caulked with the husks of the cocoa-nut, beaten into a substance like oakum. At length a Portuguese pangaia came out of the harbour of Zanzibar, where they have a small factory, and sent a Moor to us who had been christened, bringing with him a letter in a canoe, in which they desired to know what we were, and what was our business. We sent them back word that we were Englishmen, who had come from Don Antonio, upon business to his friends in the East Indies. They returned with this answer to their factory, and would never more look near us. Not long after this we manned our boat, and took a pangaia belonging to the Moors, in which was one of their priests, called in their language a _sherife_,[15] whom we used very courteously. The king took this in very good part, having his priests in high estimation, and furnished us with two months' provisions for his ransom, during all which time we detained him on board. From these Moors we were informed of the false and spiteful dealing of the Portuguese towards us, as they had given out we were barbarous people, and canibals, desiring the Moors, as they loved their safety, not to come near us; using these contrivances to cut us off from all knowledge of the state and commerce of the country.

[Footnote 15: _Sheríf, sharíf,_ in Arabic, more properly denotes one of the descendants of Mahomet.--Astl. 1. 287. b.]

While we rode from the end of November till the middle of February in this harbour, which has sufficient water for a ship of 500 tons, we one day attempted to take a Portuguese pangaia; but as our boat was so small that our men had not room to move, and as they were armed with ten good guns, like fowling-pieces, we were not able to take them. For the excellence of its harbour and watering-place; its plenty of fish, of which we took great store with our nets; for sundry sorts of fruits, as cocoa-nuts and others, which were brought to us in abundance by the Moors; and for oxen and poultry, this place is well worth being carefully sought after by such of our ships as shall hereafter pass this way; but our people had good need to beware of the Portuguese. While we lay here their admiral of the coast, from Melinda to Mozambique, came to view us, and would have taken our boat, if he had found an opportunity. He was in a galley frigate, or armed pinnace, with eight or nine oars of a side. We were advertised of the strength of this galley, and their treacherous intentions, by an Arabian Moor, who came frequently to us from the King of Zanzibar, about the delivery of the priest, and afterwards by another Moor, whom we carried from thence along with us: for, wheresoever we came, we took care to get one or two of the natives into our hands, to learn the languages and conditions of the parts at which we touched.

We had at this place another thunder clap, which shivered our foremast very much, which we fished and repaired with timber from the shore, of which there is abundance, the trees being about forty feet high, the wood red and tough, and, as I suppose, a kind of cedar. At this place our surgeon, Mr Arnold, negligently caught a great heat, or stroke of the sun, in his head, while on land with the master in search of oxen, owing to which he fell sick, and shortly died, though he might have been cured by letting blood before the disease had settled. Before leaving this place we procured some thousand weight of pitch, or rather a grey and white gum, like frankincense, as clammy as turpentine, which grows black when melted, and very brittle; but we mixed it with oil, of which we had 300 jars from the prize taken to the north of the equator, not far from Guinea. Six days before leaving Zanzibar, the head merchant of the factory sent a letter to our captain, in friendship, as he pretended, requesting a jar of wine, a jar of oil, and two or three pounds of gunpowder. This letter he sent by a negro servant and a Moor, in a canoe. Our captain sent him all he asked by the Moor, but took the negro along with us, as we understood he had been formerly in the Indies, and knew something of the country. By this negro we were advertised of a small bark of some thirty tons, called _junco_ by the Moors, which was come hither from Goa, laden with pepper for the factory, and for sale in that kingdom.

Having put our ship into as good order as we could, while we lay in the road of Zanzibar, we set sail for India on the 15th of February, 1592, as said before, intending, if we could, to have reached Cape Comorin, the head-land, or promontory, of the main-land of Malabar, and there to have lain off and on for such ships as should pass from Ceylon, San Thome. Bengal, Pegu, Malacca, the Moluccas, China, or Japan, which ships are full of wealth and riches. But in our course we were much deceived by the currents, which set into the gulf of Arabia, all along the coast of Melinda; and the winds so scanted upon us from the east and north-east, that we could not get off, and set us to the northward, within fourscore leagues of Socotoro, far from our destined course. During all this time we never wanted dolphins, bonitos, and flying fishes. Finding ourselves thus far to the northward, and the season being far spent, we determined upon going to the Red Sea, or the island of Socotoro, both for refreshment and to look out for some purchase, (prize). But, while in this mind, the wind fortunately sprung up at north-west, and carried us direct for Cape Comorin.

Before doubling that cape, it was our intention to touch at the islands of _Mamale_[16] in 12° of N. lat. at one of which we were informed we might procure provisions. But it was not our luck to find it, partly by the obstinacy of our master; for the day before we should have fallen in with part of these islands, the wind shifted to the south-west, and we missed finding it. As the wind now became more southerly, we feared not being able to double the cape, which would have greatly hazarded our being cast away upon the coast of Malabar, the winter season and western monsoon being already come in, which monsoon continues on that coast till August. But it pleased God that the wind came about more westerly, so that in May, 1592, we happily doubled Cape Comorin, without being in sight of the coast of India. Having thus doubled the cape, we directed our course for the islands of Nicobar, which lie north and south with the western part of Sumatra, and in lat. 7° N.[17] We ran from Cape Comorin to the meridian of these islands in six days, having a very large wind, though with foul weather, excessive rain, and gusts of wind.

[Footnote 16: Perhaps the Maldives are here meant; but the northern extremity of that group is in lat. 7° N., and the latitude of 10°, which reaches to the southernmost of the Lakedives, is very far out of the way for doubling Cape Comorin.--E.]

[Footnote 17: The Nicobar Islands are in 8° N.; but Great Sambelong is in the latitude mentioned in the text, and may have been considered as belonging to the Nicobar group.--E.]

Through the negligence of our master, by not taking due observation of the south star, we missed these islands, falling to the southward of them, within sight of the islands of _Gomes Polo_,[18] immediately off the great island of Sumatra, it being then the 1st of June; and we lay two or three days becalmed at the north-east side of these islands, hoping to have procured a pilot from the island of Sumatra, which was in sight, within two leagues of us. Winter now coming on, with much tempestuous weather, we directed our course for the islands of _Pulo Pinao_:[19] it is to be noted that Pulo, in the Malayan language, signifies island. We arrived there early in June, and came to anchor in a very good harbour between three islands. At this time our men were very sick, and many of them fallen; and we determined to remain here till the winter were well over. This place is in lat. 5° 15' N. and about five leagues from the main land, between Malacca and Tanaserim, belonging to Pegu.

[Footnote 18: Probably the islands now called Pulo Brasse, and Pulo Way.--E.]

[Footnote 19: Most probably the same with Pulo Pinang, now called Prince of Wales's Island: the Portuguese orthography being used in the text, in which language _ao_, or rather _aom_, as in the next section, has oar sound of _ang_.--E.]

We remained at this place till the end of August, our refreshments being very small, consisting only of oysters, growing on the rocks, great wilks, or conchs, and a few fish, which we took with hooks and lines. We landed our sick upon one of these uninhabited islands, for the sake of their health, yet twenty-six of them died here, among whom was John Hall, our master, and Rainald Golding, a merchant of much honesty and discretion. There are abundance of trees in these islands of white wood, so tall and straight as to be well fitted for masts, being often an hundred feet long. When winter was past, and our ship fitted for going to sea, we had only now remaining thirty-three men and one boy, twenty-two only of whom were sound and fit for labour, and not above a third even of these were mariners. Being under the necessity of seeking some place for refreshments, we went over to the main-land of Malacca, and came next day to anchor in a bay two leagues from the shore. Then our captain, Mr James Lancaster, with his lieutenant, Mr Edmund Barker, the author of this narrative, having manned the boat, went on shore, to see if we could fall in with any inhabitants. On landing, we could see the tracks of some barefooted people, who had been there not long before, for their foe was still burning; yet we could see no people, nor any living creature, except a fowl called oxbird, being a grey sea-bird, in colour like a _snipe_, but different in the beak. Being by no means shy, we killed about eight dozen of them with small shot, and having spent the day fruitlessly, we went on board in the evening.

About two o'clock next day we saw a canoe, in which were about sixteen naked Indians, who came near us, but would not come on board; yet, going afterwards on shore, we had some friendly converse with them, and they promised to bring us victuals. Next morning we espied three ships, all of them about sixty or seventy tons burden, one of which surrendered even to our boat; and understanding that they were of the city of Martaban, a chief sea-port of the great city of Pegu, and that the goods belonged to some Portuguese jesuits, and a biscuit-baker of that nation, we took that ship; but as the other two were laden on account of merchants of Pegu, we let them go. Having this other along with us, we came to anchor together at night; and in the night time all her men, being mostly natives of Pegu, fled away in their boat, except twelve, whom we had taken on board our ship. Next day we weighed anchor, and went to leeward of an island hard by, where we took out her lading of pepper, which they had taken on board at Pera, a place on the main-land, thirty leagues to the south. We likewise stopt another ship of Pegu, laden with pepper; but finding her cargo to belong to native merchants of Pegu, we dismissed her untouched.

Having employed about ten days in removing the goods from the prize into our own ship, and our sick men being greatly refreshed, and strengthened by the relief we had found in the prize, we weighed anchor about the beginning of September, determining to run into the straits of Malacca, to the islands called Pulo Sambilam, about forty-five leagues north from the city of Molucca, past which islands the Portuguese ships must necessarily pass on their voyages from Goa, or San Thome, for the Moluccas, China, or Japan. After cruizing off and on here for about five-days, we one Sunday espied a Portuguese ship of 250 tons, from Negapatnam, a town on the main-land of India, opposite the northern end of Ceylon, laden with rice for Malacca, and took her that night. Captain Lancaster ordered her captain and master on board our ship, and sent me, Edmund Barker, his lieutenant, with seven men, to take charge of the prize. We came to anchor in thirty fathoms, as in all that channel there is good anchorage three or four leagues from shore.

While thus at anchor, and keeping out a light for the Edward, another Portuguese ship of 400 tons, belonging to San Thome, came to anchor hard by us. The Edward had fallen to leeward, for want of a sufficient number of men to handle her sails, and was not able next morning to fetch up to this other ship, until we who were in the prize went in our boat to help her. We then made sail towards the ship of San Thome: but our ship was so foul that she escaped us. We then took out of our prize what we thought might be useful to us, after which we liberated her with all her men, except a pilot and four Moors, whom we detained to assist in navigating the Edward. We continued to cruize here till the 6th of October, at which time we met the galeon of the captain of Malacca, a ship of 700 tons, coming from Goa. After shooting at her many times, we at length shot through her main-yard, on which she came to anchor and surrendered. We then commanded the captain, master, pilot, and purser to come on board our ship; but only the captain came, accompanied by one soldier, saying that the others would not come, unless sent for; but having got to some distance from us in the evening, all the people of the ship, to the number of about 300, men, women, and children, got on shore in two great boats, and we saw no more of them.

When we came on board, we found she was armed with sixteen brass cannon. She had 300 butts of wine, Canary, Nipar wine, which is made of the palm-trees, and raisin-wine, which is very strong. She had likewise an assortment of all kind of haberdashery wares; as hats, red caps, knit of Spanish wool, knit worsted stockings, shoes, velvets, camblets, and silks; abundance of _surkets_, (sweet-meats,) rice, Venice glasses, papers full of false and counterfeit stones, brought from Venice by an Italian, wherewith to deceive the rude Indians, abundance of playing cards, two or three bales of French paper, and sundry other things. What became of the treasure usually brought in this vessel, in ryals of plate, we could not learn. After the mariners had pillaged this rich ship in a disorderly manner, as they refused to unlade the excellent wines into the Edward, Captain Lancaster abandoned the prize, letting her drive at sea, after taking out of her the choicest of her goods.

Being afraid that we might be attacked by a greatly superior force from Malacca, we now departed from the neighbourhood of the Sambilam islands, and went to a bay in the kingdom of Junkseylon, between Malacca and Pegu, in the lat. of 8° N. We here sent on shore the soldier who had been left on board our ship by the captain of the galeon, because he could speak the Malay language, to deal with the people for pitch, of which we were in much need, which he did very faithfully, procuring two or three quintals, with promise of more, and several of the natives came off along with him to our ship. We sent commodities to their king, to barter for ambergris and the horns of the _abath_, the trade in both of which articles is monopolized by the king of this country. This _abath_ is a beast having only one horn in her forehead, thought to be the female _unicorn_, and the horn is highly prized by all the Moors in those parts, as a most sovereign remedy against poison.[20] We got two or three of these horns, and a reasonable quantity of ambergris. At length the king was disposed to detain the Portuguese soldier and our merchandise treacherously; but he told the king that we had gilt armour, shirts of mail, and halberts, which things they prize greatly, and in hope of procuring some of these he was allowed to return on board.[21]

[Footnote 20: This _Abath_, or _Abadia_, is the Rhinoceros Monoceros, or One-horned Rhinoceros. The virtue of the horn, mentioned in the text, is altogether imaginary.--E.]

[Footnote 21: At this place Hakluyt makes the following remark on the margin:--"Some small quantity of these things might be carried out to pleasure those kings."]

Leaving this coast, we returned in sight of Sumatra, and went thence to the islands of Nicobar, which we found inhabited by Moors. After we came to anchor, the people came daily on board in their canoes, bringing fowls, cocoas, plantains, and other fruits; and within two days they brought ryals of plate, which they gave us in exchange for calicut cloth. They find these ryals by diving for them in the sea, having been there lost in two Portuguese ships not long before, that were cast away when bound for China. In their language the cocoa-nut is called _calambo_; the plantain, _pison_; a hen, _jam_; a fish, _iccan_; and a hog, _babee_. Departing from the Nicobar Islands on the 21st November, we made sail for the island of Ceylon, where we arrived about the 3d December, 1592, and anchored on its south side, in six fathoms water, but lost our anchor, as the ground was foul and rocky. We then ran along the south-west side of the island, and anchored at a place called _Punta del Galle_, meaning to remain there in waiting for the Bengal fleet of seven or eight ships, the Pegu fleet of two or three, and the ships from Tanaserim, a great bay to the south of Martaban, in the kingdom of Siam, which ships, according to different informations we had got, were expected to come this way within fourteen days, with commodities for the caraks, which usually depart from Cochin, on the homeward voyage, about the middle of January.

The commodities of the ships which come from Bengal are, fine pavilions for beds, wrought quilts, fine cotton cloth, _pintados_, (painted chintz,) and other fine goods, together with rice; and they usually make this voyage twice a year. The ships from Pegu bring the most precious jewels, as rubies and diamonds; but their principal lading is rice and certain cloths. Those from Tanaserim are chiefly freighted with rice and Nipar wine, which is very strong, and as colourless as rock water, with a somewhat whitish tinge, and very hot in taste, like _aqua vitae_.[22] We came to anchor at Punta Galle, in foul ground, so that we lay all that night a-drift, having only two anchors left, which were in the hold, and had no stocks. Upon this our men took occasion to insist upon going home, our captain at that time being very sick, and more likely to die than recover. In the morning we set our foresail, meaning to bear up to the northward, standing off and on to keep away from the current, which otherwise would have set us to the south, away from, all known land. When the foresail was set, and we were about to hand our other sails, to accomplish our before-mentioned purpose, our men unanimously declared that they would stay no longer in this country, and insisted upon directing our course for England; and as they would listen to no persuasions, the captain was under the necessity of giving way to their demand, leaving all hope of the great possibility we had of making some rich prizes.

[Footnote 22: Most probably what we now call arrack is here meant.--E.]

Accordingly, on the 8th of December, 1592, we made sail for the Cape of Good Hope, passing the Maldive Islands, and leaving the great island of St Lawrence to starboard, or on our right hand; we passed its southern end in lat. 26° S. In our passage from the island of St Lawrence, or Madagascar, to the main-land of Africa, we found immense quantities of bonitos and albicores, which, are large fishes, and of which our captain, who was now recovered from his sickness, took as many with a hook in two or three hours as would have served forty persons a whole day. This _skole_ of fish continued with us for five or six weeks, in all which time we took every day as many as sufficed our whole company, which was no small refreshment to us.

In February, 1593, we fell in with the eastern coast of Africa, at a place called _Baia de Agoa_, something more than 100 leagues to the north-east of the Cape of Good Hope; and having contrary winds, we spent a month before we could double the cape. After doubling that cape in March, we steered for the island of St Helena, where we arrived on the 3d of April, and remained there to our great comfort nineteen days, in which time several individuals amongst us caught thirty sizeable congers in a day, with other rock fish, and some bonitos. I, Edmund Barker, went one day on shore, with four or five _Peguers_ and our surgeon, where I found an Englishman in a house near the chapel, one John Segar, of Bury, in Suffolk, who was left there eighteen months before by Abraham Kendal; who put in there with the Royal Merchant, and who left him there to refresh on the island, being like to perish on shipboard. At our coming he was fresh in colour, and seemed in perfect health of body; but he was crazed in mind, and half out of his wits, as appeared afterwards. Whether it was that he was terrified at our arrival, not knowing at first whether we were friends or foes, or if sudden joy so affected him on finding again his countrymen and old comrades, I know not, but he became quite light headed, and during eight days and nights he could not get any natural rest, so that he died for lack of sleep. At this place two of our men recovered their health in a short time, one of whom was diseased with the scurvy, and the other had been nine months sick of the flux. We found abundance of green figs, fine oranges and lemons, plenty of goats and hogs, and numbers of partridges, pintados, and other wild fowls. Having now supplied the ship with fresh water, and having some store of fish, our discontented mariners insisted upon resuming the voyage home; and our captain, being inclined to go for Fernambuco, in Brasil, agreed to their request. We departed therefore from St Helena about the 12th April, 1593, directing our course for the Brasils; and next day, on calling the sailors to finish a foresail they had then in hand, some of them declared they would not put their hands to any thing, unless the ship's course was directed for England; so that he was obliged to follow their humour, henceforwards directing our course towards our own country, which we continued to do till we came to lat. 8° N. between the equator and which latitude we spent about six weeks, with perpetual calms or contrary winds from the north, sometimes north-east and north-west; owing to which loss of time, and our small store of provisions, we were very doubtful of being able to keep our course. At this time some of our men became very mutinous, threatening to break up other people's chests, to the entire consumption of our provisions and ourselves; for every man had now his share of provisions in his own custody, that they might know what they had to trust to, and husband that the more thriftily.

Anxious to prevent the occurrence of absolute famine, and being informed by one of the ship's company who had been at the island of Trinidada, in a voyage with Mr Chudlei, and that we might be sure of having provisions there, our captain directed the course for that island; but not knowing the currents, we overshot it in the night, getting into the gulf of Paria, in which we were for eight days, unable to get out again, as the current constantly set in, and our ship was often in three fathoms water. At length the current put us over to the western side of the gully under the main-land, so that by keeping close in shore, and having the wind off the land in the night, we got out to the northward. Being now clear, we came in four or five days to the isle of _Mona_, where we anchored and remained about eighteen days, during which time the Indians of Mona gave us some victuals. In the mean time there arrived a French ship of Caen, in Normandy, of which one Monsieur de Barbaterre was captain, from whom we bought two butts of wine, with some bread, and other provisions. We then watered and repaired our ship, stopping a great leak that sprung upon us while beating out of the gulf of Paria; and being thus in readiness for sea, we determined upon going to the island of Newfoundland: but, before we could put this in execution, there arose a great storm from the north, which drove us from our anchor, and forced us to the southwards of San Domingo. We were that night in great danger of shipwreck upon an island called _Savona_, which is environed with flats for four or five miles all round; yet it pleased God to enable us to clear them, when we directed our course westwards, along the southern shore of St Domingo, and having doubled Cape Tiberoon, we passed through the old channel between St Domingo and Cuba, shaping our course for Cape Florida.

In this part of our course we again met with the Caen ship, which could now spare us no more victuals; but having some hides, which he had taken in traffic among the islands, we were glad to procure them, and gave him for them to his contentment. After this we passed Cape Florida, and clearing the Bahama channel, we directed our course for Newfoundland. Running to the lat. of 36° N. and as far east as the isle of Bermuda, we found the winds, on the 17th September, very variable, contrary to expectation and all men's writings, so that we lay there a day or two with a north wind, which continually increased, till it blew a storm, which continued twenty-four hours with such violence that it carried away our sails, though furled, and occasioned the ship to take in much water, so that we had six feet water in our hold. Having freed our ship by baling, the wind shifted to the north-west, and somewhat dulled; but presently after the storm renewed with such violence, and our ship laboured so hard, that we lost our foremast, and our ship became as full of water as before.

When the storm ceased, the wind remained as much contrary as ever, on which we consulted together how we might best save our lives. Our victuals were now utterly spent; and as we had subsisted for the last six or seven days entirely on hides, we thought it best to bear away back again for Dominica and the adjoining islands, as we might there have some relief. Upon this we turned back for these islands; but before we could get there the wind scanted upon us, so that we were in the utmost extremity for want of water and provisions; wherefore we were forced to bear away to the westwards, to the islands called _Las Nueblas_, or the Cloudy Islands, towards the isle of _San Juan de Porto Rico_. At these islands we found land-crabs and fresh water, and sea-tortoises, or turtle, which come mostly on land about full noon. Having refreshed ourselves there for seventeen or eighteen days, and having supplied our ship with fresh water and some provision of turtle, we resolved to return again for Mona, upon which determination five of our men left us, remaining on the isles of Nueblas, in spite of every thing we could say to the contrary. These men came afterwards home in an English ship.

Departing from the Nueblas, we arrived again at Mona about the 20th December, 1593, and came to anchor there towards two or three in the morning. The captain and I, with a few others, went on shore to the dwelling of an old Indian and his three sons, thinking to procure some food, our victuals being all expended, so that we could not possibly proceed without a supply. We spent two or three days on shore, seeking provisions to carry on board for the relief of our people; and on going to the shore, for the purpose of returning with these to the ship, the wind being somewhat northerly and the sea rough, our people could not come near the shore with the boat, which was small and feeble, and unable to row in a rough sea. We remained therefore till the next morning, in hopes there might then be less wind and smoother sea. But about twelve o'clock that night our ship drove away to sea, having only five men and a boy, our carpenter having secretly cut the cable, leaving nineteen of us on shore, to our great distress, having no boat or any thing else.

In this miserable situation we reposed our trust in God, who had many times before succoured us in our greatest extremity, and contenting ourselves with our poor estate, sought for the means of preserving our lives. As one place was unable to sustain us, we divided ourselves into several companies, six of us remaining with our captain. The greatest relief that we could find during twenty-nine days was the stalks of purselin, boiled in water, with now and then a pompion, or gourd, which we found in the garden of the old Indian, who, on this our second arrival, fled with his three sons, and kept himself continually aloft on the mountains. At the end of these twenty-nine days we espied a French ship, which we afterwards learnt was the Louisa, of Dieppe, commanded by a Monsieur Felix. As a signal to this ship we made a fire, at sight of which he took in his top-sails, and bore up for the land, shewing his French colours. Then coming to anchor at the Western end of the island, we came down with all speed towards him; and the old Indian, with his three sons, now joined us, and accompanied us towards the ship. This night Captain Lancaster went on board the ship, where he received good entertainment; and next morning they fetched other eleven of us on board, and used us all very courteously.

This day came another French ship belonging to Dieppe, which remained till night, expecting our other seven men to come down; but though several shots were fired to call them, none of them came. Next morning, therefore, we departed thence for the north side of St Domingo, where we remained till April, 1594, spending two months in traffic, upon permission, with the inhabitants, for hides and other articles, six of us being in one of the ships and six in the other. In this time we were joined by a third French ship of Newhaven, by which we had intelligence of the seven men who were left by us at the island of Mona. Two of them had broken their necks by clambering on the cliffs to catch fowls; other three were slain by the Spaniards, who came over from St Domingo, having received information of our being on Mona, from our people who went away in the Edward; the other two were in this ship of Newhaven, which had relieved them from the bloody hands of the Spaniards.

From this place Captain Lancaster and I shipped ourselves in another ship belonging to Dieppe, of which one Monsieur Jean la Noe was captain, being the first that was ready to come away, leaving the rest of our men in the other ships, where they were all well treated. We sailed for Europe on Sunday the 7th April, 1594; and passing through the _Caycos_, we arrived safe in Dieppe in forty-two days after, on the 19th of May. After staying two days to refresh ourselves, giving thanks to God and to our friendly preservers, we took our passage for Rye, where we landed on Friday the 24th May, 1594, having spent in this voyage three years, six weeks, and two days, which the Portuguese perform in half the time, chiefly because we lost the fit time and season to begin our voyage.

We understood, in the East Indies, from certain Portuguese, that they have lately discovered the coast of China as high as the latitude of 59° N. finding the sea still open to the northwards, by which great hopes are entertained of finding the north-east or north-west passage.

Witness, JAMES LANCASTER.

SECTION VII.

_Supplementary Account of the former Voyage, by John May_.[23]

We departed from Plymouth on the 10th April, 1591, with three tall ships; the Penelope, Captain Raimond admiral; the Merchant Royal, Captain Samuel Foxcroft[24] vice-admiral; and the Edward Bonadventure, Captain James Lancaster rear-admiral; on board of which I sailed, together with a small pinnace. In May following we arrived at Gran Canaria, one of the Fortunate Islands; and towards the end of that month, being within three degrees of the equator on the north side, we took a Portuguese ship, bound for Brasil, which tended much to our refreshment. The 29th July we came to Saldanha Bay. (_Aguada Saldania_,) a good harbour, near the Cape of Good Hope, where we staid about a month, and whence we sent home the Merchant Royal for England, because of great sickness among our people, with a considerable number of our weak men. We here bought an ox for a knife worth three-pence, a sheep for a broken knife, or any other odd trifle, from the natives, who are negroes, clad in cloaks of raw-hides, both men and women.

[Footnote 23: Hakluyt, III. 52.]

[Footnote 24: In the account of this voyage, penned from the relation of Edmund Barker, forming the immediately preceding section, the captain of the Merchant Royal is named Abraham Kendal.--E.]

The 8th of September the Penelope and Edward Bonadventure weighed anchor, and that day we doubled the cape. The 12th following we were assailed by a fierce tempest, or hurricane; and in the evening we saw a great sea break over our admiral, the Penelope, which struck out their light, and we never saw them any more. In October we in the Edward fell in with the westernmost part of the island of St Lawrence about midnight, not knowing where we were. Next day we came to anchor at Quitangone, a place on the main-land of Africa, two or three leagues north of Mozambique, which is supplied from hence with fresh water. We here took a _pangaia_, in which was a Portuguese boy, being a vessel like a barge, with one mat-sail of cocoa-nut leaves. The hull of this barge is pinned with wooden pins, and sewed with cord made of the bark of trees. In this pangaia we found a kind of corn called _millio_, or millet, a considerable number of hens, and some bales of blue calicut cloth. We took the Portuguese boy with us, and dismissed the rest. From this place we went to an island called Comoro, off the coast of Melinda, in about 11° S., where we staid all November, finding the people black and comely, but very treacherous; for the day before we left that island they killed thirty of our men on shore, among whom was William Mace our master, and two of his mates, one of them being in the boat along with him to fetch water, and the other on shore, over against the ship. They first took possession of our boat, and then slaughtered our men. From thence we went to the island of Zanzibar, on the coast of Melinda, where we staid to winter, till the beginning of February, 1592.

The 2d February, 1592, we weighed anchor, and set sail for the East Indies; but, having calms and contrary winds, we were not able to fetch the coast of India, near Calicut, till the month of June, by which long delay many of our men died for want of refreshments. In this month of June we came to anchor at the islands of _Pulo Pinaom_, where we staid till the 1st September, our men being very sick, and dying fast. We set sail that day, directing our course for Malacca, and had not gone far at sea when we took a ship of the kingdom of Pegu, of about eighty tons, having wooden anchors, a crew of about fifty men, and a pinnace of some eighteen tons at her stern, laden with pepper; but the pinnace stole from us in the morning in a gust of wind. We might likewise have taken two other Pegu vessels, laden with pepper and rice. In this month also we took a great Portuguese ship of six or seven hundred tons, chiefly laden with victuals, but having chests of hats, pintados, and calicut cloths.[25] We took likewise another Portuguese ship, of some hundred tons, laden with victuals, rice, white and painted cotton cloth, (or calicoes and chintzes,) and other commodities. These ships were bound for Malacca, mostly laden with victuals, as that place is victualled from Goa, San Thome, and other places in India, provisions being very scarce in its own neighbourhood.

[Footnote 25: Painted and white calicoes or cotton cloths.--E.]

In November, 1592, we steered for the Nicobar Islands, some degrees to the north-west of the famous island of Sumatra, at which islands we found good refreshment, as the inhabitants, who are Mahometans, came on board of us in their canoes, with hens, cocoas, plantains, and other fruits; and within two days brought ryals of plate, which they gave us for cotton cloth, which ryals they procured by diving in the sea, having been lost not long before in two Portuguese ships bound for China, that had been there cast away. Our ship's company was now so much wasted by sickness, that we resolved to turn back to Ceylon, for which purpose we weighed anchor in November, and arrived off Ceylon about the end of that month. In this island grows excellent cinnamon; and the best diamonds in the world are found there. Our captain proposed to have staid at this island to make up our voyage, of which he had great hope, in consequence of certain intelligence we had received; but our company, now reduced to thirty-three men and boys, mutinied, and would not stay, insisting upon going home, and our captain was very sick, and like to die.

We accordingly set sail, homeward bound, on the 8th December, 1592; but some days before our arrival within sight of the Cape of Good Hope, we were forced to divide our bread, to each man his portion, in his own keeping, as certain flies had devoured most of it before we were aware. We had now only thirty-one pounds of bread a man to carry us to England, with a small quantity of rice daily. We doubled the Cape of Good Hope on the 31st March, 1593, and came next month to anchor at the island of St Helena, where we found an Englishman, a tailor, who had been there fourteen months. Having sent ten men on shore in the boat, they found this man in the chapel, into which he had gone to avoid the heat; and hearing some one sing in the chapel, whom our people supposed to have been a Portuguese, they thrust open the door, and went in upon him: but the poor man, on seeing so many men of a sudden, and believing them to be Portuguese, was at first in great fear, not having seen a human being for fourteen months, and afterwards knowing them to be English, and some of them his acquaintance, he became exceeding joyful, insomuch that between sudden and excessive fear and joy, he became distracted in his wits, to our great sorrow. We here found the carcasses of forty goats, which he had dried. The party which left him had made for him two suits of goats'-skins, with the hairy side outmost, like the dresses worn by the savages of Canada. This man lived till we came to the West Indies, and then died.

We remained at St Helena all the month of April, and arrived at the island of Trinidada, in the West Indies, in June, 1593, hoping to procure some refreshments there, but could not, as the Spaniards had taken possession. We got here embayed between the island and the main; and, for want of victuals, our company would have forsaken the ship, on which our captain had to swear every man not to forsake her till the most urgent necessity. It pleased God to deliver us from this bay, called _Boca del Dragone_, from whence we directed our course for the island of _San Juan de Puerto Rico_, but fell in with the small island of Mona, between Porto Rico and Hispaniola, where we remained about fifteen days, procuring some small refreshment. There arrived here a ship of Caen, in Normandy, of which Monsieur Charles de la Barbotiere was captain, who greatly comforted us by a supply of bread and other provisions, of which we were greatly in need, after which we parted.

Having foul weather at Mona, we weighed anchor and set sail, directing our course for Cape Tiberoon, at the west end of Hispaniola; and, in doubling that cape, we had so violent a gust of wind from the shore, that it carried away all our sails from the yards, leaving us only one new fore-course, the canvass of which we had procured from the Frenchman. Having doubled the cape in that distress, the before-mentioned Captain de la Barbotiere gave us chase with his pinnace; and when come near, I went on board to inform him of our distress; and he now said, there was nothing in his ship but what he would spare for our assistance; so we agreed with him for some canvass. He said likewise, if we would accompany him to a harbour called _Gonnavy_,[26] to the northward of Tiberoon, that he would procure us plenty of fresh provisions. I went back to our ship, and reported this to our captain, who made it known to the company, and it was unanimously agreed to go there, which was done accordingly. We remained there fifteen days along with the Frenchman, but could get very small refreshment, as the Spaniards were in great fear of the Frenchman, supposing him a man of war, and that our ship was Portuguese, which he had captured, and could not be persuaded to the contrary by any thing he could say. Thus staying long, and procuring very little refreshment, our people begun to grow mutinous, pretending that the captain and I went on board the Frenchman to make good chear ourselves, taking no care of them; but I protest before God that our sole care was to procure victuals that we might leave him.

[Footnote 26: Hakluyt, on the margin, gives _Guanaba_ as a synonime: it was probably Gonaives' Bay, in the northern part of the west end of Hispaniola.--E.]

In the mean time a great part of our people entered into a conspiracy to seize the Frenchman's pinnace, and with her to board the French ship; but while this was concerting among them, one of themselves went on board the Frenchman, and revealed the plot. Upon this Monsieur de la Barbotiere sent for the captain and me to dine with him. We went accordingly, and remained all the afternoon, being invited likewise to supper. While we were at supper the French captain did not come to us for a long time, and when he at length came into the cabin, he told us we must either leave him, or he must go seek another port. Informing Captain Lancaster of this, he desired me to say, that rather as be any hindrance to him we would depart. While we were thus talking together, the Frenchman weighed and set sail, which we perceived, and asked what he meant. He said he proposed to keep us as his sureties, because our men had plotted to seize his ship, as before mentioned.

When the French ship came athwart ours, it blowing then a stiff breeze, their boat, which was astern, and had in her two Moors and two Peguers, whom we had given to them, broke away. The French captain was now worse than before, and threatened sore to make us pay for his voyage. Seeing us pass, the Edward weighed and set sail, meaning to go for England; and the people shared among them all the captain's victuals and mine, when they saw us kept as prisoners.

Next morning the French ship went in search of her pinnace, which was at _Laguna_, and on firing a gun she came off, having three of our people on board, Edmund Barker our lieutenant, one John West, and Richard Lackland, one of our mutineers. Of this I told the French captain, which Lackland could not deny but that such a scheme was intended. I was then put into the French pinnace to seek their boat, while they went to see if they could overtake our ship.

Next day we all met at Cape St Nicholas, but could hear no tidings of the French boat. As there were Spaniards and negroes on board our ship, Captain de la Barbotiere requested to have them; on which our captain desired him to send his boat for them, and he might have them with all his heart. After much ado this was done, and they were brought on board. He then demanded of these people if his boat were in our ship, and being assured she was not, we became good friends again, to our great joy. The 12th August, 1593, our captain was again sent on board his own ship; but, before his departure, he requested the French captain to take me home with him, that I might certify to the owners all that had passed in our unfortunate voyage, as also the mutinous behaviour of our crew. Accordingly we took our leaves of each other, the Edward setting sail for England, while we in the French ship bore up again for _Gonnavy_, or Gonaives, where we afterwards found the French boat.[27]

[Footnote 27: In this part of the narrative, May is somewhat different from that formerly given from Edmund Barker, in the preceding section, or rather he is more minutely particular. The remainder of the narrative has no farther connection with the unfortunate Edward Bonadventure.--E.]

The last of November, 1593, Monsieur de la Barbotiere departed from a port called Laguna, in Hispaniola. The 17th of December we had the misfortune to be cast away on the north-west part of the island of Bermuda, about midnight. At noon of that day the pilots reckoned themselves twelve leagues to the south of that island, and certifying the captain that the ship was out of all danger, they demanded and received their _wine of height_.[28] After having their wine, it would seem that they became careless of their charge, so that through their drunkenness and negligence a number of good men were cast away. It pleased God that I, a stranger among above fifty Frenchmen and others, was among those who were saved: I trust to his service and glory. At first we comforted ourselves in the hope that we were wrecked hard by the shore of the island, being high cliffs; but we found ourselves seven leagues off. By means of our boat, and a raft which we made, about twenty-six of us were saved, among whom I was the only Englishman. Being among so many strangers, and seeing there was not room for half the people, I durst neither press to get into the boat or upon the raft, lest they should have thrown me overboard or killed me; so I remained in the ship, which, was almost full of water, till the captain called me into the boat, in which he was; so I presently entered, leaving the better half of our company to the mercy of the sea.

[Footnote 28: Probably alluding to some customary perquisite on getting safely through the dangerous navigation of the Bahama Islands.--E.]

We rowed all day, and an hour or two of the night, towing the raft after us, before we got to land: and, being all that day without drink, every man dispersed in search of water, but it was long before any was found. At length one of the pilots, by digging among a tuft of weeds, found water, to our great comfort. As there are many fine bays in this island, I think abundance of fresh water might be got by digging for it. Bermuda is all divided into broken islets; the largest, upon which I was, might be about four or five miles long, by two and a half miles over, all covered with wood, as cedar and other kinds, but cedar is the most abundant.

It pleased God, before our ship broke to pieces, that we saved our carpenter's tools, otherwise we must have remained on the island. With these tools we went immediately to work, cutting down trees, of which we built a small bark of about eighteen tons, almost entirely fastened with trunnels, having very few nails. As for tackle, we made a trip to our ship in the boat, before she split, cutting down her shrouds, and some of her sails and other tackle, by which means we rigged our bark. Instead of pitch, we made some lime, which we mixed with oil of tortoises; and as soon as the carpenters had caulked a seam, I and another, with small sticks, plastered the mortar into the seams, and being fine dry warm weather, in the month of April, it became dry, and as hard as stone, as soon as laid on. Being very hot and dry weather, we were afraid our water might fail us, and made therefore the more haste to get away. Before our departure, we built two great wooden chests, well caulked, which we stowed on each side of our mast, into which we put our provision of water, together with thirteen live sea-tortoises for our food during the voyage, which we proposed for Newfoundland.

There are hogs in the south part of Bermuda; but they were so lean, owing to the barrenness of the island, that we could not eat them. It yielded us, however, abundance of fowl, fish, and tortoises. To the eastwards this island has very good harbours, so that a ship of 200 tons might ride in them, perfectly land-locked, and with enough of water. This island also has as good pearl-fishing as any in the West Indies; but is subject to foul weather, as thunder, lightning, and rain. In April and part of May, however, when we were there, the weather was hot, and quite fair.

On the 11th of May it pleased God that we got clear of this island, to the no small joy of us all, after we had lived in it for five months. The 20th of that month we fell in with the land near Cape Breton, where we ran into a fresh water river, of which there are many on this coast, and took in wood, water, and ballast. Here the people of the country came to us, being cloathed in furs, with the hair side inwards, and brought with them sundry sorts of furs to sell, together with great quantities of wild ducks; and as some of our company had saved a few small beads, we bought a few of their ducks. We staid only about four hours at this place, which seemed a very good country, as we saw very fine champaign ground and woods. We ran from this place to the Banks of Newfoundland, where we met several vessels, none of which would take us in. At length, by the blessing of God, we fell in with a bark belonging to Falmouth, which received us all for a short time; and in her we overtook a French ship, in which I left my dear friend, Captain de la Barbotiere, and all his company, remaining myself in the English bark, in which I arrived at Falmouth in August, 1594.

SECTION VIII.

_The unfortunate Voyage of Captain Benjamin Wood, towards the East Indies, in_ 1596.[29]

INTRODUCTION.

In the year 1596, a squadron of three ships, the Bear, Bear's Welp, and Benjamin, was fitted out, chiefly at the charges of Sir Robert Dudley, and the command given to Mr Benjamin Wood. The merchants employed in this voyage were, Mr Richard Allot and Mr Thomas Bromfield, both of the city of London. As they intended to have proceeded as far as China, they obtained the gracious letters of Queen Elizabeth, of famous memory, to the king or emperor of that country, recommending these two merchants, or factors, to his protection.

[Footnote 29: Purchas his Pilgrims, I. 110, Astl. I. 252.]

This their honourable expedition, and gracious recommendations from her majesty for the furtherance of their mercantile affairs, had no answerable effects, but suffered a double disaster: first, in the miserable perishing of the squadron; and next, in losing the history, or relation, of that tragedy. Some broken plank, however, as after a shipwreck have yet been encountered from the West Indies, which gives us some notice of this East-Indian misadventure. Having the following intelligence by the intercepted letters of the licentiate _Alcasar de Villa Senor_, auditor in the royal audience of St Domingo, judge of the commission in Porto Rico, and captain-general of the province of New Andalusia, written to the King of Spain and his royal council of the Indies; an extract of which, so far as concerns this business, here follows; wherein let not the imputation of robbery and piracy trouble the minds of the reader, being the words of a Spaniard concerning the deeds of Englishmen, done in the time of war between us and them.

So far we have exactly followed the introductory remarks of Purchas. In the sequel, however, we have thought it better to give only an abridgement of the letter from Alcasar de Villa Senor, which Purchas informs us, in a side note, he had found among the papers of Mr Richard Hakluyt. In this we have followed the example of the editor of Astley's Collection, because the extract given by Purchas is very tedious, and often hardly intelligible. This letter, dated from Porto Rico, 2d October, 1601, gives no light whatever into the voyage itself, nor by what accident the ships, which had set out for the East Indies, had come into the West Indies; neither what became of the ships, nor the nature of the sickness which had reduced their men to four, but wholly refers to what passed after these sailors had quitted their ship, and landed on the island of _Utias_, near Porto Rico. All these circumstances were probably communicated in a former letter, alluded to in the commencement of that which was intercepted, as it proceeds upon having received a commission from the royal audience, to punish certain offenders who had usurped a great quantity of property belonging to the King of Spain in the island of Utias; the plunder taken by the English, and with which these four men had landed in that island--E.

* * * * *

It appears by this letter, that three English ships bound for the East Indies, belonging to Portugal, had captured three Portuguese ships, one of them from Goa, from the captain of which they took a large rich precious stone, which the captain had charge of for the King of Spain; the particulars of which had been communicated the year before in a letter from Alcasar to the king, together with a copy of the declaration of one Thomas, of the goods he and his three companions had in the said island of Utias. They had also many bags of ryals of eight and four, intended for the pay of the garrison in a frontier castle of India, and much more goods belonging to the Portuguese.

After this all the men died of some unexplained sickness, except four men, whose names were Richard, Daniel, Thomas, and George. These men, with all the jewels, money, and rich goods they could remove, put into a river or bay of the island of _Utias_,[30] three leagues from Porto Rico; where, after landing their goods, their boat sunk, and they remained on that island with only a small boat made of boards, which they had taken from some fishermen at Cape San Juan, the north-east headland of Porto Rico. With that small boat they crossed over to Porto Rico in search of water, and, on their return to Utias, left George behind them on Porto Rico. He, being found by Don Rodrigo de Fuentes and five others, gave information of all that had happened to them, and of the large stone, jewels, gold, plate, testoons, and other rich goods that were in the said island, and of the places where the other three Englishmen and their goods might be found.

[Footnote 30: From the context, it would appear, that the island of Utias is to the east of Porto Rico, among or towards the group called the Virgin isles. The ships of Wood were probably suffering from scurvy and famine, like the Edward Bonadventure; and, endeavouring, like Lancaster, to seek relief in the West Indies, may have perished among the Virgin isles.--E.]

Consulting together on this information, they agreed to pass over into the island, to take possession for their own benefit of these rich goods, and did so, carrying with them a letter from George the Englishman to his: comrades, advising them to submit to the Spaniards, and to deliver up to them their arms and riches. Coming near to where the three Englishmen dwelt, these Spaniards displayed a white flag in token of peace, and the Englishmen set up another; after which they held a friendly conference together, the Spaniards pledging their good faith and friendship. Upon which the Englishmen yielded themselves to Don Rodrigo and his companions, with their arms and all their goods, which they took possession of, and parted all the money among themselves. They hid and kept secret the great stone and other jewels, with a great quantity of gold, silver, and other rich goods; keeping out only a small quantity of silver in bars, and some silks, as a cover for the rest. And, that it might not be known what quantity of jewels, gold, silver, and other rich goods they had usurped, they agreed to murder the three Englishmen with whom they had eaten, drank, and slept in peace. They accordingly killed Richard and Daniel, and would have slain George, but he escaped from them to a mountain. They then returned to Porto Rico, where they put George to death by poison, and sent to Utias to seek out Thomas and put him to death; but he got over to this island in a wonderful manner by means of a piece of timber; which they hearing of, sought by all the means they could to kill him, but to no purpose.

Meanwhile Don Rodrigo, and two others of his accomplices, came to the city of San Juan, and informed the governor that they had found a small quantity of goods in the island of Utias, having slain three Englishmen in fight to get them; and their other accomplices presented themselves as witnesses, falsely declaring that they had found no more goods. But not agreeing in their story on farther investigation, and Thomas the Englishman being at length procured as evidence against them, they were all sent to prison; whence Don Rodrigo, though bolted and guarded by two soldiers, contrived to get out by filing off his irons in the night. After Don Rodrigo's escape, the rest confessed the whole affair; but either through favour or fear, no one would assist Alcasar to bring this rascally ringleader to justice. He pronounced sentence on all the rest, with a denunciation that they were to be put to death in five days, unless the goods were delivered up.

How this affair ended does not appear, as the letter was written before the expiry of the five days. Neither indeed is this letter of much importance, except to shew the miserable end of that unfortunate voyage, the villainy of Don Rodrigo and his comrades in murdering the poor Englishmen to conceal their plunder, and that Alcasar, in the prosecution, was solely intent upon recovering the treasure for the King of Spain, without any consideration of the murder of the three Englishmen; who, in his letter, are treated as robbers and thieves, though England was then at war with Spain, and they were consequently justifiable in taking the Portuguese ships as lawful prizes.

SECTION IX.

_Voyage of Captain John Davis to the East Indies, in 1598, as Pilot to a Dutch Ship_.[31]

This voyage was written by Davis himself, and appears to have been sent by him in a letter to Robert Earl of Essex, dated Middleburgh, 1st August, 1600. From this letter we learnt that Mr Davis had been employed by his lordship, for discovering these eastern parts of the world, for the service of Queen Elizabeth, and the good of England. He informs his noble patron, that his journal only contains such things as had fallen under his own observation; but, when favoured with an opportunity, he would give him an account of all that he had learnt abroad relating to the places of trade and strength belonging to the crown of Portugal, and respecting the commerce of those eastern nations with each other. The Portuguese possessions, he says, beginning at Sofala, being the first beyond the Cape of Good Hope, are Mozambique, Ornuus, Diu, Gor, Coulan, Onore, Mangalore, Cochin, Columbo, Negapatam, Portogrande or Chittigong in Bengal, Malacca, and Macao in China, with the islands of Molucca and Amboyna. That the Portuguese likewise trade to Monomotapa, Melinda, Aden, Arabia, Cambaya or Guzerat, the coast of Coromandel, Balagate, and Orissa.

[Footnote 31: Purch. Pilg. I. 116. Astley, I. 254.]

Of all these nations, as he says, there are some traders residing at Acheen, in the island of Sumatra; where likewise he met with Arabians, and a nation called _Ramos_,[32] from the Red-Sea, who have traded there many hundred years. There are there also many Chinese engaged in trade, who have been used to trade there for many hundred years, and used Davis kindly, so that he says he was able to give his lordship much information concerning the great empire of China. He concludes by saying, that the Portuguese had long industriously concealed all these things, which were now providentially laid open. He concludes by saying, that he had inclosed the alphabet of the Acheen language, with some words of their language, written from right to left, after the manner of the Hebrews; but this has not been printed in the Collection of Purchas. He says that he had also sent by one Mr Tomkins, probably the bearer of the letter and journal, some of the coin used there in common payments; The gold piece called _mas_, being worth about ninepence half-penny; and those of lead called _caxas_, of which it takes 1600 to make one _mas_.

[Footnote 32: Constantinople is called New Rome, and thence In the east the Turks are called Rumos.--_Purchas_.

By the _Rumos_, or _Rúms_, are to be understood the people of Egypt; which, having been a part of the Roman empire, is, like Anatolia and other provinces of the Turkish empire, called _Rúm_ by the orientals. Hence likewise the Turks are called _Rúms_; and not, as Purchas says, because they are in possession of Constantinople, which was called _New Rome_: For these provinces were called _Rúm_ several ages before the Turks took that city.--ASTLEY, I.254, b.]

"The relation which follows, titled "A brief Relation of Master John Davis, chief Pilot to the Zealanders in their East India Voyage, departing from Middleburgh," is obscure in some places, but must only be considered as an abstract of his large journal, perhaps written in haste. The latitudes are by no means to be commended for exactness, and seem to have been taken on shipboard, only two or three of them with any care. It is rather singular that he gives no observation for Acheen, though the chief object of the voyage, and that he staid there so long."--ASTLEY.

* * * * *

We departed from Flushing on the 15th of March, 1598, being two ships in company, the Lion of 400 tons, having 123 persons on board, and the Lioness of 250 tons, with 100 men. These ships were the sole property of Messrs Mushrom, Clarke, and Monef of Middleburgh, and entirely at their risk. Cornelius Howteman was chief commander of both ships, with the title of general, having a commission from Prince Maurice.

The seventh day after, being the 22d, we anchored in Torbay, having a contrary wind. We sailed thence on the 7th of April, and had sight of Porto Santo on the 20th; fell in with Palma on the 23d, and the 30th reached the Cape Verd islands. We first anchored at St Nicholas, in lat. 16° 16' N. We here watered on the 7th of May, and setting sail on the 9th, fell in with St Jago. The 9th June we got sight of Brazil, in lat. 7° S, not being able to double Cape St Augustine; for, being near the equator, we had very inconstant weather and bad winds; in which desperate case we shaped our course for the island of Fernando Noronho, in lat. 4° S. where on the 15th June we anchored on the north side in eighteen fathoms. In this island we found twelve negroes, eight men and four women. It is a fertile island, having good water, and abounds in goats; having also beeves, hogs, hens, melons, and Guinea corn with plenty of fish and sea-fowl. These negroes had been left here by the Portuguese to cultivate the island, and no ships had been there for three years.

Leaving this island on the 26th August, with the wind at E.N.E. we doubled Cape St Augustine on the 30th. The 10th September we passed the _Abrolhos_, which we were in much fear of; these shoals being far out at sea in lat. 21° S. and are very dangerous. On this occasion our _Baas_, for so a Dutch captain is called, appointed a _Master of Misrule_, named the _Kesar_, the authority of which disorderly officer lay in riot, as after dinner he would neither salute his friends, nor understand the laws of reason, those who ought to have been most respectful being both lawless and witless. We spent three days in this dissolute manner, and then shaped our course for the Cape of Good Hope, sailing towards the coast of Bacchus, to whom this idolatrous sacrifice was made, as appeared afterwards.

The 11th November we came to anchor in Saldanha bay, in lat. 34° S. ten leagues short of the Cape of Good Hope, where there are three fresh water rivers.[33] The people came to us with great plenty of oxen and sheep, which they sold for spike nails and pieces of old iron, giving the best for not more than the value of a penny. Their cattle are large, and have a great lump of flesh on the shoulder, like the back of a camel. Their sheep have prodigiously large tails, entirely composed of fat, weighing twelve or fourteen pounds, but are covered with hair instead of wool. The people are not circumcised; are of an olive black colour, blacker than the Brazilians, with black curled hair like the negroes of Angola. Their words are mostly inarticulate, and in speaking they cluck with the tongue like a brood hen, the cluck and the word being pronounced together in a very strange manner. They go naked, except a short cloak of skins, and sandals tied to their feet, painting their faces with various colours, and are a strong active people, who run with amazing swiftness. They are subject to the King of Monomotapa,[34] who is reported to be a mighty sovereign. Their only weapons are darts.

[Footnote 33: It has been before remarked, that the Saldanha bay of the older navigators was Table bay. What is now called Saldanha bay has no river, or even brook, but has been lately supplied by means of a cut or canal from Kleine-berg river, near twenty-five miles in length.--E.]

[Footnote 34: This is an error, the Hotentots having been independent nomadic herders of cattle and sheep, divided into a considerable number of tribes, and under a kind of patriarchal government.--E.]

As the Dutchmen offered them some rudeness, they absented themselves from us for three days, during which time they made great fires on the mountains. On the 19th of November, there came a great multitude of them to us, with a great number of cattle, and taking a sudden opportunity while bartering, they set upon us and slew thirteen of our people with their hand-darts, which could not have hurt any of us at the distance of four pikes' length. The Dutchmen fled from them like mice before cats, basely throwing away their weapons. Our _Baas_ or captain kept on board to save himself, but sent us corslets, two-handed swords, pikes, muskets, and targets, so that we were well laden with weapons, but had neither courage nor discretion, for we staid at our tents besieged by savages and cows. We were in muster giants, with great armed bodies; but in action babes with wrens' hearts. Mr Tomkins and I undertook to order these fellows, according to that excellent way which we had seen in your lordship's most honourable actions. Some consented to go with us, though unwillingly; but most of them ran to the pottage pot, swearing it was dinner time. We went all on board this night, except our great mastiff dog, which we could not induce to follow us, for I think he was ashamed of our cowardly behaviour. The land here is of an excellent soil, and the climate is quite healthy; the soil being full of good herbs, as mints, calamint, plantain, ribwort, trefoil, scabious, and such like. We set sail from Saldanha bay on the 27th of December, and doubled the Cape of Good Hope on the last day of the year.

The 6th of January, 1599, we doubled Cape Aguillas, the most southern point of Africa, in lat. 35° S. [34° 45'] where the compass has no variation.[35] The 6th of February we fell in with Madagascar, short of St Romano, [or Cape St Mary, at its southern end;] and not being able to double it, we bore room with [bore away to leeward for] the bay of St Augustine on the south-west side of that island, in lat. 23° 50' S. [23° 30'.] The 3d of March we anchored in that bay, where we saw many people on the shore, but they all fled when we landed; for when, our _baas_ was in this bay on the former voyage, he greatly abused the people, and having taken one of them, he had him tied to a post and shot to death, having besides used them otherwise most shamefully. After seven days, we enticed some of them to come to us, from whom we bought some milk and one cow; but they soon left us, and would not have any more connexion with us. They are a strong well-shaped people, of a coal-black colour, having a sweet and pleasing language. Their weapons are spears or half pikes, headed with iron, which they keep very clear; and they go quite naked. The soil appeared very fertile, and we saw a vast number of tamarind trees. We found another high tree producing beans very good to eat, in pods two feet long, and the beans of a proportional size. We saw here many cameleons. We English suffered no small misery, especially in this bay: but God, the ever living commander, was our only succour.

[Footnote 35: This, it must be noticed, was in the year 1599. The variation alters progressively, increasing to a maximum in one deflexion; it then retrogrades till it points true north, which it progressively overpasses in the opposite deflexion to a maximum again. But these changes do not proceed with sufficient regularity to admit of being predicted with any certainty.--E.]

This 8th of March we came on board hungry and meatless, and on the 14th we set sail from this place, which we called Hungry bay, shaping our coarse to the northward along the west side of the island. The 29th, we came to the islands of Comoro, between 12° and 13° S. [12° 32' and 15° 16'.] There are five of these islands, named Mayotta, Anzuame, Magliaglie, San Christophero, and Spiritu Santo.[36] The 30th, we anchored at Mayotta close by a town, where there were many people who seemed rejoiced at our arrival, and came on board, bringing us presents of victuals. The king sent a message to our _baas_, inviting him on shore with promise of much kindness; and when he landed, the king met him with a great retinue, having three drums beaten before him. He and his principal followers were richly dressed, in long silken robes, embroidered in the Turkish fashion: and after using us with great kindness, gave us a letter of recommendation for the Queen of Anzuame, or Hinzuan, as that island has no king.

[Footnote 36: There are six islands in the Comoro group: 1. Comoro, Gasidza, of Angazesio: 2. Malalio, Senbraeas, or Moelia: 3. Mayotta: 4. St Christophus: 5. Hinzuan, Angouan, or Joanna: 6. St Esprit. Which last has four inlets off its western side, and one to the N.E. of its northern end.--E.]

We sailed from Mayotta on the 17th of April, and anchored at Hinzuan on the 19th, before a town named _Demos_, which appears from its ruins to have been a strong place, the houses being built of hewed freestone, and what remains being as large as Plymouth, but the walls are almost ruined. The queen used us in a most friendly manner, yet would not allow any of us to see her. In these islands we had rice, oxen, goats, cocoas, bananas, oranges, lemons, and citrons. The inhabitants are negroes, but smooth-haired, and follow the Mahometan religion. Their weapons are swords, targets, bows and arrows. These islands are very beautiful and fertile; and among them we found merchants of Arabia and India, but I could not learn what commodities they yielded. They greatly coveted weapons and iron, and were fond of procuring paper. The 28th we departed from Hinzuan, passing through the islands of Mascarenhas and the Shoals of Almirante.

The 23d of May, we fell in with the islands called Maldives, which are very low close to the water, and are so covered with cocoa-nut trees, that we saw only trees and no shore. Many of the native boats passed close by us, but none would come to us, wherefore our _baas_ sent a ship's boat to take one of them, which on the 24th brought a boat to us, which was covered with mats like a close barge. In this boat was a gentleman and his wife. He was dressed in very fine white linen, made after the Turkish fashion, having several rings with red stones; and his countenance was so modest, his behaviour so sweet and affable, and his speech so graceful, that we concluded he could not be less than a nobleman. He was very unwilling to let his wife be seen; but our _baas_ went into the boat along with him to see her, and even opened her casket, in which were some jewels and ambergris. He reported that she sat in mournful modesty, not speaking a word. What was taken from them I know not, but on departing, this gentleman shewed a princely spirit. He was a man of middle stature, of a black colour, with smooth or lank hair. There is considerable trade in these islands, by reason of the cocoa-trees; for they make ropes, cables, sails, wine, oil, and a kind of bread from that tree and its fruit. It is said that there are 11,000 of these islands.

The 27th of May we set sail, and that morning there came on board of us an old man who could speak a little Portuguese, who piloted us through the channel, as by chance we had fallen upon the right channel called Maldivia, in lat. 4° 15' N. Here the compass varied 17° westerly. It is a very dangerous thing to miss the right channel, the trade and navigation through which is very great of various nations, to most places of India, as I hope in your lordship's presence to inform you at large. The 3d June we fell in with the coast of India near Cochin, in lat. 8° 40' N.[37] and coasting along the shore, we shaped our course eastwards for Cape Comorin, and thence to the island of Sumatra.

[Footnote 37: Cochin is in lat. 9° 56' 30" N. 8° 40', the lat. in the text falls very near Anjengo; to the south of Coulan.--E.]

The 13th June we saw the coast of Sumatra, in lat. 5° 40' N. at its most northerly extremity; and when stopping at an island near the shore to take in water, on the 16th, we spoke with some of the people. The 21st, we anchored in the bay of Acheen in twelve fathoms, on which the king sent off his officers to measure the length and breadth of our vessels, and to take the number of our ordnance and men, which they did. Our _baas_ sent two of his people on shore along with these officers, with a present to the king, consisting of a looking glass, a drinking glass, and a coral bracelet. Next day our people returned on board, being apparelled by the king after the country fashion, in dresses of white calico, and brought a friendly message of peace, welcome, and plenty of spices. We found, three barks belonging to Arabia and one of Pegu riding in the bay, which had come to lade pepper. There was here also a Portuguese officer, Don Alfonso Vincente, with four barks from Malacca, who had come expressly to endeavour to prevent our trade, as was shewn in the sequel.

On the 23d June, the king sent at midnight for our _baas_ to come to wait upon him, sending a noble as his hostage. He went immediately on shore, and was kindly used by the king, who promised him a free trade, and cloathed him after the fashion of the country, giving him likewise a _criss_ of honour. This _criss_ is a dagger, having a haft or handle of a kind of metal of fine lustre esteemed far beyond gold, and set with rubies. It is death to wear a criss of this kind, except it has been given by the king; and he who possesses it is at absolute freedom to take victuals without money, and to command all the rest as slaves. Our _baas_, or captain, came on board the 26th with a boat-load of pepper, making incredible boasts of his mighty good fortune, and the wonderful trade he had procured, with no small rejoicing in his pride. He said likewise that the king had often asked if he were from England, which he strongly denied, using many unhandsome speeches of our nation; and after coming on board, he said he would have given a thousand pounds to have had no English with him, thus thrusting us poor souls into a corner.

The 27th of June, our merchants went on shore with their goods, having a house appointed for their residence by the king. On the 20th July, our captain being with the king, was well entertained by him, and on this occasion the king was very importunate to know if he were English. "Tell me truly," said he, "for I love the English; and I must farther tell you that Alfonso Vincente has been earnest with me to betray you, but it shall not be, for I am your friend." With that he gave him a purse of gold. The captain gave him thanks for the present and his friendly disposition, declaring that he was not from England but from Flanders, and entirely disposed to serve his majesty. "I have heard of England," said the king, "but never of Flanders; pray what land is that?" He farther enquired who was their king, and what was the state and government of the country? The captain made a large report on this topic, saying that they had no king, but were governed by an aristocracy. He likewise requested that the king would give orders to his subjects not to call him an Englishman, as that gave him much displeasure, which the king promised should be done. The king then asked if there were no English in the ships? To which the captain answered, that there were some, but they had been bred up in Flanders. The king then said, he understood there were some men in the ships that differed from the others in apparel, language, and manners, and desired to know who these were? To this the _baas_ answered, that they were English, and that his chief pilot was one of them. The king then said that he must see these men. "As for your merchandize," added he, "I have war with the king of Johor, and if you will assist me against him with your ships, your recompence shall be a full lading of pepper." To this our captain agreed. The 28th of July, the _Sabandars_,[38] the secretary, the merchants of Mecca, who were Turks and Arabians, together with Don Alfonso Vincente and some others of the Portuguese, came on board with our _baas_, and all returned passing drunk.

[Footnote 38: The _Shah bandar_, signifies in Persian, the King of the Port; being the title of the principal officer of the customs.--Astl. I. 257. a.]

The 20th of August the king began to change his countenance to our captain, demanding why the English pilot had not been to wait upon him; for hitherto Mr Tomkins and I had not been permitted to go on shore; adding, that when the Dutch had got their pepper, he supposed they would ran away without performing the service they had promised. Upon this I was immediately sent for, and came ashore on the 21st. I waited on the king early next morning, and he treated me very kindly. I staid with him four boars, or more, banqueting And drinking. After an hour, he ordered the _sabandar_ to stand up, and me likewise; upon which the sabander took off my hat, and put a roll of white linen about my head. He then put about my middle a long white linen cloth, embroidered with gold, which went twice about me, the ends hanging down half my leg. After this, taking the roll from my head, and laying it before the king, he put a white garment on me, and above that a red one. Then, replacing the roll on my head, I sat down before the king, who drank to me in _aquavitae_, [arrak, or brandy,] and made me eat of many strange meats. All his service was in gold, except some of the dishes, which were fine porcelain. These were all set upon the floor, without table, napkins, or other linen. He asked me many questions about England, about the queen, and her _bashas_, or nobles; and enquired how she could carry on war against so great a monarch as the king of Spain, for he believed that all Europe was under his government. I satisfied him as well as I could on all these points, and he seemed very much pleased.

On the 23d I was sent for by the prince, and rode to his court on an elephant. He used me extremely well, our entertainment consisting in excessive eating and drinking. While I was on shore, I met with a very sensible merchant of China, who spoke Spanish, and of whom I learnt some things which I hope will give your lordship good contentment hereafter. There are many people here from China who follow trade, and who have their separate town. So have the Portuguese, the Guzurates, the Arabs, Bengalese, and Peguers. As our _baas_ disliked that I should so much frequent the company of the Chinese, he ordered me on board, and came off himself next day in a very dull humour, having had some sour looks from the king.

The 1st of September the king gave out that we were to receive ordnance on board for battering Johor, and to take in soldiers for that service. Many gallies were manned and brought out of the river, and rode at anchor about half a mile from our ships. The sea was all full of _paraws_ and boats. There came that day on board our ship the secretary, named _Corcoun_, and the chief sabander, named _Abdala_, accompanied by many soldiers armed with cutlasses, darts, crisses, and targets. They brought with them many kinds of meats, and a great jar of aquavitae, making a great shew of friendship and banqueting. Suspecting some treachery, we filled our tops with stones, made fast and prepared our gratings, all without orders from our _baas_, who was exceedingly angry, and ordered us to discontinue, but we would not.

There is a kind of seed in this country, by eating a little of which a man becomes quite foolish, all things seeming to be metamorphosed; but, above a certain quantity, it is deadly poison. With this all the meat and drink they brought on board was infected. While banqueting, the sabandar sent for me and Mr Tomkins, who kept me company, and said some words to one of their attendants, which I did not understand. In a short time we were foolishly frolicsome, gaping one upon another in a most ridiculous manner, our captain, or _baas_, being at that time a prisoner in their hands, yet knew it not. A signal was made from the other ship, where the like treachery was going on under the direction of the secretary, who went there from our ship for that purpose. They immediately set upon us, murdered our _baas_, and slew several others. Mr Tomkins and I, with the assistance of a Frenchman, defended the poop, which, if they had gained, our ship had been lost, for they already had the cabin, and some of their fellows were below among our guns, having crept in at the port-holes. The master of our ship, whom the Dutch call captain, leapt into the sea, with several others, but came on board again when all was over. In the end, we put them to flight, for our people in the tops annoyed them sore; and, when I saw them run, I leapt from the poop to pursue them, Mr Tomkins following my example. At this time a Turk came out of the cabin, who wounded him grievously, and they lay tumbling over each other on the deck. On seeing this, I ran the Turk through the body with my rapier, and our skipper thrust him down the throat into the body with a half pike.

All the principal people in the other ship were murdered, and the ship obviously in possession of the Acheenese; on which we instantly cut our cables and drove towards her, and, with our shot, made the Indians abandon her, so that we recovered her likewise. The gallies did not venture near us. In our great distress, it was some comfort to see how these base Indians fled, how they were killed, and how they were drowned; the whole sea being covered with dead Indians, floating about in hundreds. Abdala, the sabandar, and one of the king's near kinsmen, were slain, with many others, and the secretary was wounded. The king was by the shore at this time, attended by a vast many, people; and, on learning the death of the sabandar, and the overthrow of this treachery, the furious infidels murdered all of our people who were on shore, except eight, who were put in irons as slaves. In this great calamity we lost sixty-eight persons, of whom we are not certain how many may be in captivity, having only knowledge of these eight. We lost at this time two fine pinnaces of twenty tons each, and our ship's boat.

We left Acheen that same day, and anchored at _Pedier_, where we had sent a small pinnace for rice, but could get no tidings of her. Next day, the 2d September, there came eleven gallies to take our ships, having Portuguese in them, as we thought. We sank one of them, and defeated all the rest, so that they fled amain. That same afternoon, the son of Lafort, a French merchant, dwelling in Seethinglane, London, came on board of us, being one of the eight prisoners. He brought the following message from the king:--"Are you not ashamed to be such drunken beasts, as, in your drunkenness, to murder my people whom I sent on board of you in kindness?" He farther required of us, in satisfaction of his pretended wrong, that we should give up our best ship, on which he would release our men, telling Lafort, if he could succeed in this, that he would make him a great nobleman. To this ridiculous proposal we gave a flat denial; and, being in distress for water, we went over to _Pulo Lotum_, on the coast of Queda, or northern part of Malacca, on its western coast, in lat. 6° 50' N. where we refreshed and watered.

During our stay at Acheen, we received into both our ships 140 tons of pepper, what precious stones and other merchandize besides I know not. But, on the day of treason, our merchants lost all the money and goods they had on shore, which was said to be of great value. On this occasion, many of our young adventurers were utterly ruined; among whom, I most grieve at the loss sustained by _poor John Davis_, having not only lost my friendly factor, but all my European commodities, with those things I had provided to shew my love and duty to my best friends; so that, though India did not receive me rich, she hath sent me back sufficiently poor.

The island of Sumatra is pleasant and fertile, abounding in many excellent fruits; but their only grain is rice, which serves them for bread. They plough the land with buffaloes, which they have in great numbers, but with small skill, and less industry. The rice grows in all respects like our barley. They have plenty of pepper, which is grown in large gardens or plantations, often a mile square. It grows like hops, from a planted root, winding about a stake set to support it, till it grows like a great bushy tree, whence the pepper hangs in small clusters, three inches long, and an inch about, each cluster having forty pepper-corns; and it yields as great increase as mustard-seed. At Acheen they are able to load twenty ships every year, and might supply more, if the people were industrious. The whole country resembles a pleasure-garden, the air being temperate and wholesome, having every morning a fruitful dew, or small rain. The harbour of Acheen is very small, having only six feet water on the bar, at which there is a stone fort, the ramparts of which are covered or flanked with battlements, all very low, and very despicable. In front of this fort is an excellent road, or anchoring ground for ships, the wind being, always off shore, so that a ship may ride safely a mile from the shore, in eighteen fathoms, and close in, in six and four fathoms.

In this country there are elephants, horses, buffaloes, oxen, and goats, with many wild-hogs. The land has plenty of mines of gold and copper, with various gums, balsams, many drugs, and much indigo. Its precious stones are rubies, sapphires, and garnets; but I know not whether they are found there, or are brought from other places. It has likewise most excellent timber for building ships. The city of Acheen,[39] if such it may be called, is very spacious, and is built in a wood, so that the houses are not to be seen till we are close upon them; neither could we go into any place but we found houses and a great concourse of people, so that the town seems to spread over the whole land. Their houses are raised on posts, eight feet or better from the ground, leaving free passage under them, the walls and roofs being only of mats, the poorest and weakest things that can be conceived. I saw three great market-places, which were every day crowded like fairs, with all kinds of commodities exposed for sale.

[Footnote 39: This place, called likewise _Achin_ and _Achien_ by Davis, is commonly called _Achen_; but in the letters from the king to Queen Elizabeth, which will be mentioned in the sequel it is called _Ashi_.--Astl. I. 259. b.]

The king, called Sultan Aladin, is said to be an hundred years old, yet is a lively man, exceedingly gross and fat. In his young days he was a fisherman, of which there are many in this place, as they live mostly on fish. Going to the wars with the former king, he shewed himself so valiant and discreet in ordering the king's gallies, that he acquired the royal favour so much as to be appointed admiral of all the sea-force, in which he conducted himself so valiantly and wisely, that the king gave him one of his nearest kinswomen to wife. The king had an only daughter, whom he married to the king of Johor, by whom she had a son, who was sent to Acheen to be brought up as heir to his grandfather. The king who now is, being commander in chief by sea and land, the old king died suddenly; on which the present king took the child under his guardianship, against which the nobility protested: but, as he had the command of the whole armed force, he maintained his point, putting to death more than a thousand of the nobles, raised the rascal people to be new lords, and made new laws. Finally, the young prince was murdered, and he proclaimed himself king, in right of his wife; on which there arose great wars between him and the king of Johor, which continue to this day. He has held the kingdom by force these twenty years, and seems now secure in his usurped and ill-got power.

The king's court, or residence, is situated upon the river, about half a mile from the city, having three inclosures, and guards, before any one can come to him, and a wide green between each guarded inclosure. His house is built like all the rest, but much higher, so that he can see, from where he sits, all that come to any of his guards, yet no one can see him. The walls and covering of his house are made of mats, which are sometimes hung with cloth of gold, sometimes with velvet, and at other times with damask. He sits on the ground, cross-legged, like a tailor, and so must all do who are admitted into his presence. He always wears four _crisses_, two before and two behind, richly ornamented with diamonds and rubies, and has a sword lying in his lap. He is attended by at least forty women; some with fans to cool him, some with cloths to wipe off sweat, others to serve him with aquavitae or water, and the rest to sing pleasant songs. He doth nothing all day but eat and drink, there being no end of banqueting from morning till night; and, when ready to burst, he eats _areka betula_[40], which is a fruit like a nutmeg, wrapped in a leaf like tobacco, with _sharp-chalk_ [lime] made of the shells of pearl oysters. Chewing these ingredients makes the spittle very red, causes a great, flow of saliva, and occasions a great appetite; it also makes the teeth very black, and the blacker they are is considered as so much the more fashionable. Having recovered his appetite by this means, he returns again to banqueting. By way of change, when his belly is again gorged, he goes into the river to bathe, where he has a place made on purpose, and gets a fresh appetite by being in the water. He, with his women and great men, do nothing but eat, drink, and talk of venery; so that, if the poets have any truth, then is this king _the great Bacchus_, for he practises all the ceremonies of gluttony. He spends his whole time in eating and drinking with his women, or in cock-fighting. Such is the king, and such are his subjects; for the whole land is entirely given to such habits of enjoyment.

[Footnote 40: _Areka_ is the nut, and _betel_ the leaf in which it is wrapped, along with _chunam_, or lime, called _sharp-chalk_ in the text.--E.]

While, in all parts of Christendom, it is the custom to uncover the head in token of reverence, it is here the direct contrary; as, before any man can come into, the presence of this king, he must put off his shoes and stockings, coming before him bare-footed and bare-legged, holding his hands joined over his head, bowing his body, and saying _dowlat_; which duty performed, he sits down, cross-legged, in the king's presence. The state is governed by five principal officers, his secretary, and four others, called _sabandars_, in whom are all the authority of government, and who have inferior officers under them. The will of the king is the law: as there seemed to be no freemen in all the land, the lives and properties of all being at the king's pleasure. In punishing offenders, he makes no man happy by death, but orders their hands and feet to be cut off, and then banishes them to an island called _Pulo Wey_. When any one is condemned to die, he is either trodden to death by elephants, or empaled. Besides those in jails, many prisoners in fetters are seen going about the town. The king has three wives, and many concubines, who are very closely kept, and his women are his chief counsellors.

The king has many gallies, an hundred, as I think, some of them so large as to carry four hundred men. These are all made like wherries, very long, narrow, and open, without deck, forecastle, or poop, or any upper works whatever. Instead of oars, they have paddles, about four feet long, made like shovels, which they hold in their hands, not resting them on the gunwales, or in row-locks, as we do. The gallies have no ordnance; yet with these he holds all his neighbours under subjection. His admiral is a woman, as he trusts no man with that high office. Their weapons are bows and arrows, javelins, swords, and targets, having no defensive armour, and fighting entirely naked. They have a great many pieces of brass ordnance, which they fire lying on the ground, using no carriages. Some of these are the greatest I ever saw, and the metal of which they are made is said to be rich in gold. The great dependence of his land-force is in the elephants.

These people boast of being descended from Abraham, through Ismael, the son of Hagar, and can distinctly reckon the genealogies in our Bible. They follow the Mahometan religion, and use rosaries, or strings of beads, in praying, like the papists. They bring up their children in learning, and have many schools. They have an archbishop, and other spiritual dignitaries. There is a prophet in Acheen, who is greatly honoured, and is alleged to have the spirit of prophecy, like the ancients. This person is distinguished from all the rest by his dress, and is in great favour with the king. The natives are entirely addicted to commerce, in which they are very expert; and they have many mechanics or artisans, as goldsmiths, cannon-founders, shipwrights, tailors, weavers, hatters, potters, cutlers, smiths, and distillers of aquavitae, [arrak,] which is made from rice, as they must drink no wine.

Every family or tribe has its own particular place of burial, which are all in the fields. The bodies are all deposited in graves, with the heads laid towards Mecca, having a stone at the head, and another at the feet, curiously wrought, so as to designate the rank and worth of each person. In the burial-place of the kings, as we were told, every grave has a piece of gold at the head, and another at the feet, each weighing 500 pounds, curiously embossed and carved. I was very desirous to see this royal cemetery, because of its great riches, but could not obtain permission; yet am disposed to believe it to be true, as the reigning king has made two such costly ornaments for his own grave, which are almost finished. They are each of gold, a thousand pounds weight a-piece, and are to be richly ornamented with precious stones.[41]

[Footnote 41: In the Portuguese Asia is a story which confirms this report. George Brito, who went in 1521 to Acheen with six ships, and three hundred men, having been informed, by an ungrateful Portuguese, whom the king had relieved from shipwreck, that there was a great treasure of gold in the tombs of the kings, and having made other inquiries on this subject, picked a quarrel with the king, and landed with two hundred men in order to seize it: But being opposed by the king, at the head of a thousand men, and six elephants, he, and most of his men, were slain; a just reward of injustice, ingratitude, and avarice.--Astl. 1. 260. a.]

The people who trade to this port are from China, Bengal, Pegu, Java, Coromandel, Guzerata, Arabia, and _Rumos_. _Rumos_ is in the Red-Sea, whence Solomon sent his ships to Ophir for gold; which Ophir is now Acheen, as they affirm upon tradition; and the _Rumos_ people have followed the same trade from the time of Solomon to this day.[42] Their payments are made in different denominations, called cash, mas, cowpan, pardaw, and tayel. I only saw two sorts of coin, one of gold, and the other of lead: The gold coin, or _mas_, is of the size of a silver-penny, and is as common at Acheen as pence are in England. The other, of lead, called _cash_, is like the little leaden tokens used in London by the vintners: 1600 _cashes_ make one _mas_; 400 _cashes_ make a _cowpan_, and four cowpans a mas; five _mases_ are equal to four shillings sterling; four _mases_ make a _pardaw_, and four _pardaws_ a _tayel_. Hence one _mas_ is 9-3/5d. sterling; one pardaw, 3s. 2-2/5d.; one _tayel_, 12s. 9-3/5d.; one cowpan, 2-3/5d.; and one cash is a two-hundredth part of a penny. Pepper is sold by the _Bahar_, which is 360 English pounds, for 3l. 4s. Their pound is called _catt_, being twenty-one of our ounces; and their ounce is larger than ours in the proportion of sixteen to ten. They sell precious stones by a weight named _masse_, 10-3/4 of which make an ounce.

[Footnote 42: The Turks are called _Rumos_ in India, because their chief city, Constantinople, was called New Rome. Their tradition of Ophir is more to be marked than this conceit of _Rumos_ in the Red-Sea.--_Purchas_, in a marginal note.

The Egyptians might follow this trade from the days of Solomon, but the _Rums_, or Romans, could not, as they did not possess Egypt till long after Solomon.--Astl. 1. 260. c.

It would be too long, in a note, to enter upon any critical discussion respecting the _Ophir_ of Solomon, which was more probably at _Sofala_, on the eastern coast of Africa.--E.]

Once every year they have the following strange custom, which happened while we were there. The king and all his nobles go in great pomp to the church, or mosque, to see if the _Messias_ be come. On that occasion, I think, were at least forty elephants, all richly covered with silk, velvet, and cloth of gold, several nobles riding on each elephant. One elephant was exceedingly adorned beyond the rest, having a little golden castle on his back, which was led for the expected _Messias_ to ride upon. On another elephant, the king sat alone in a little castle, so that the whole made a very splendid procession; in which some bore targets of pure massy gold, others large golden crescents, with streamers, banners, ensigns, drums, trumpets, and various other instruments of music. Going to the church with great solemnity, and using many ceremonies, they looked into the church, and not finding the _Messias_ there, the king descended from his own elephant, and rode home on that prepared for the _Messias_. After which, the day was concluded with great feastings, and many pleasant sports.

The island of Sumatra is divided into four kingdoms, Acheen, Pedier, Monancabo, and Aru, of which Acheen is the chief, Pedier and Monancabo being tributary to it; but Aru refuses subjection, and adheres to the king of Johor, in Malacca. I only heard of five principal cities in this island, Acheen, Pedier, Pacem, [Pisang,] Daia, [perhaps Daga,] and Monancabo.

I now return to our proceedings after the slaughter of Acheen. On the 10th September we anchored at the islands of _Pulo Lotum_, in lat. 6° 50' N. near the coast of the kingdom of _Queda_, where we watered, and procured refreshments. There were in our ship three sealed letters, superscribed A.B.C. which were to be opened on the death of our _baas_, or captain. On opening that marked A. one Thomas Quymans was appointed our chief; but, as he was slain at Acheen, we opened B. by which Guyan Lafort, who escaped death by bringing the message from the king to us at Pedier, was nominated our chief, and was accordingly received by us in that capacity. The letter marked C. was not opened.

Leaving Pulo Lotum on the 30th September, we sailed for Acheen, for the purpose of endeavouring to recover our men who were there in captivity. We came in sight of Acheen on the 6th October, and got into the bay on the 12th, where twelve of their gallies set upon us. We got up with one of them, and gave her several shots; but, as the weather was very calm, she escaped from us under the land, and the rest did not dare to approach us, for they are proud base cowards. On the 18th, we set sail for Tanaserim,[43] which is a place of great trade, and anchored among the islands in the bay belonging to that place, in lat. 11° 20' N. on the 25th. We were here so much crossed by contrary winds, that we could not get up to the city, which stands twenty leagues within the bay; and, being in great distress for provisions, we made sail for the Nicobar islands, hoping there to find relief. We anchored at these islands on the 12th November, in lat. 8° N. when the people brought us off great abundance of poultry, oranges, lemons, and other fruit, with some ambergris, which we paid for in pieces of linen cloth and table napkins. These islands consist of pleasant and fertile low land, and have good anchorage for ships; but the people are very barbarous, living on fish and natural fruits, not cultivating the ground, and consequently having no rice.

[Footnote 43: Mergui, the sea-port of Tanaserim, is in lat. 12° N.]

We departed on the 16th of November, shaping our course for Ceylon, being in great distress, especially for rice. By the great goodness of God, on the 6th December, we took a ship from Negapatam, on the coast of Coromandel, laden with rice, and bound for Acheen. There were in her about sixty persons, belonging to Acheen, Java, Ceylon, Pegu, Narsinga, and Coromandel. From these people we learnt that there is a city in Ceylon called _Matecalon_,[44] a place of great trade, where we might load our ships with cinnamon, pepper, and cloves. They also told us that there were great store of precious stones and pearls to be had in Ceylon; that the country abounded in all kinds of provisions, and that the king was a bitter enemy to the Portuguese. They likewise told us of a city called _Trinquanamale_, [Trinconomale, usually called Trinquamalee,] at which was a similar trade. They engaged that we might load our ships, and procure a plentiful supply of provisions, at either of these places, for little money; and we accordingly used our utmost possible exertions to get to them, but all to no purpose, as the wind was quite contrary. The Indians then told us, that if we would remain till January, we should meet above an hundred sail of ships, laden with spiceries, linen cloth, [cottons,] and commodities of China; but our commander would not agree to stay there for the purpose of war, as his commission only authorised him to trade, but proposed to remain for traffic, paying for every thing he might be able to procure. To this, however, the company would not consent; and we accordingly began our voyage homewards on the 28th of December, after beating up for sixteen days to endeavour to make Batacolo. We had discharged our prize on the 18th, after taking out most of her rice, for which our commander paid them to their satisfaction; but our men plundered the Indians of their goods and money in a disorderly manner. We took with us twelve of the Indians, belonging to different countries; and after they had been with us some time, they informed us that the merchants in the Negapatam ship had a large quantity of precious stones in the ship, hidden under the planks of her lining. How far this might be true I know not, as, for some unknown reason, Mr Tomkins and I were not allowed to go on board her.

[Footnote 44: Perhaps Batacolo is here meant, on the east side of Ceylon, in lat. 7° 45' N.]

The 5th March, 1600, our victuals were poisoned, but God preserved us; for one of our people tasting it by chance, or from greediness, was infected. It was strongly poisoned before it came to us, being fresh fish; for our surgeon took almost a spoonful of poison out of one fish. But this is not the first time, if the grieved would complain.[45] The 10th March we fell in with the Cape of Good Hope, where we encountered a heavy storm; and on the 26th we doubled that Cape.

[Footnote 45: This story is very unintelligible, as no circumstance is mentioned as to where the fish were got, nor who was suspected of introducing the poison.--E.]

We anchored at St Helena on the 13th March. This island is in lat. 16° S. [15° 45'.] We here found plenty of water, with abundance of figs, and as many fish as we chose to take. At sun-set, on the 15th, a caravel came into the roads, and anchored a large musket-shot to windward of us. She was totally unprepared for fighting, as none of her guns were mounted. We fought her all night, giving her in that time, as I think, upwards of 200 shots, though, in the course of eight hours, she did not return a single shot, nor seemed to regard us. By midnight she got six pieces mounted, which she used to good purpose, shooting us often through, and slew two of our men. So, on the 16th, in the morning, we departed, having many of our men sick, and shaped our course for the island of Ascension, where we hoped to find relief. The 23d April we got sight of that island, which is in lat. 8° S. [7° 50'.] But it has neither wood, water, or any green thing upon it, being a barren green rock, five leagues broad. The 24th, at midnight, we agreed to proceed to the island of _Fernando Loronio_, [Noronho,] where we knew that sufficient relief could be had, as we had stopt ten weeks there when outward-bound, when unable to double Cape St Augustine.

We arrived on the 6th May at Fernando Noronho, [in lat. 3° 28' S. off the coast of Brazil,] where we remained six days to take in water, and to refresh ourselves. The 13th of the same month we departed, shaping our course for the English channel, and arrived at Middleburgh, in Zealand, on the 29th of July, 1600.

SECTION X.

_Voyage of William Adams to Japan, in 1598, and long Residence in that Island_.[46]

INTRODUCTION.

This very curious article consists chiefly of two letters from Japan, written by William Adams, an Englishman, who went there as pilot in a Dutch fleet, and was detained there. His _first_ letter, dated Japan, 22d October, 1611, is addressed,--"To my unknown Friends and Countrymen; desiring this letter, by your good means, or the news or copy thereof may come to the hands of one, or many of my acquaintance, at Limehouse, or elsewhere; or at Gillingham, in Kent, by Rochester." The _second_ letter has no date, the concluding part of it being suppressed or lost, by the malice of the bearers, as Purchas suspected; but is addressed to his wife, and was probably inclosed in the former, or perhaps sent home by Saris, whose voyage will be found in the sequel. Adams appears to have died about 1620, in Japan, as reported by the ship James, which arrived from that island, in England, in 1621. Purchas observes, that though this voyage was not by the Cape of Good Hope, he had yet inserted it among the early English voyages to India, because performed to Japan. The editor of Astley's Collection says that he once intended to have placed it in a different division of his work, as performed by a south-west course; but, because Adams is frequently mentioned in the journals of Saris and Cocks, to whom he was serviceable in Japan, he chose to follow the example of Purchas. One of the views of Adams, in the first of these letters, in the opinion of the editor of Astley's Collection, appears to have been to excite the English to repair to Japan; and they seem to have entertained that object at the same time, as Saris set out upon his voyage to that island six months before the date of the letter from Adams.

[Footnote 46: Purchas his Pilgrims, I. 125. Astley, I. 525.]

In Astley's Collection, the editor has used the freedom, as he has done in a variety of other instances, to make great alterations in the arrangement of the original document, and even often makes important changes in the sense, which is by no means commendable. In this article, as in all others, we have chosen to have recourse to the original source, merely accommodating the language to that of the present day.

Before the letters of Adams, it seemed proper to give the following short notice of the earlier part of the voyage in which Adams went to Japan, as contained in the Pilgrims of Purchas, vol. I. p. 78.--E.

* * * * *

§ 1. _Brief Relation of the Voyage of Sebalt de Wert to the Straits of Magellan_.

In the year 1598, the following ships were fitted out at Amsterdam for a voyage to India: The Hope, of 250 tons, admiral, with 136 persons; the Charity, of 160 tons, vice-admiral, with 110 men; the Faith, of 160 tons, and 109 men; the Fidelity, of 100 tons, and 86 men; and the Good News, of 75 tons, and 56 men; of which fleet Sir Jaques Mabu was general, and Simon de Cordes vice-admiral; the captains of the other three ships being Benninghen, Bockholt, and Sebalt de Wert. Being furnished with all necessary provisions, they set sail on the 27th June, 1598. After much difficulty, and little help at the Cape de Verd islands, where they lost their general, to whom Cordes succeeded, they were forced, by their pressing wants, and the wiles of the Portuguese, being severely infected with the scurvy in all their ships, to leave these islands, with the intention of going to the Isle of Anabon, in the gulf of Guinea, in lat. 1° 40' S. to make better provision of water, and other necessaries, and to refresh their men. Falling in unexpectedly with the land, in about the lat. of 3° S. 120 miles before their reckoning, they determined to go to Cape Lope Gonsalves, driving a peddling trade with the negroes as they went along the coast.

Arriving at the bay of Cape Lope, the sick men were sent a-shore on the 10th November. The 23d, a French sailor came aboard, who promised to procure them the favour of the negro king, to whom Captain Sebalt de Wert was sent. This king was found on a throne hardly a foot high, having a lamb's skin under his feet. He was dressed in a coat of violet cloth, with tinsel lace, without shirt, shoes, or stockings, having a party-coloured cloth on his head, with many glass beads hanging from his neck, attended by his courtiers adorned with cocks feathers. His palace was not comparable to a stable. His provisions were brought to him by women, being a few roasted plantains and some smoke-dried fish, served in wooden vessels, with palm-wine, in such sparing measure, that Massinissa, and other renowned examples of temperance, might have been disciples to this negro monarch. One time the Dutch captain regaled his majesty with some of the ship's provisions; but he forgot all his temperance on being treated with Spanish wine, and had to be carried off mortal drunk. Very little refreshment could be procured here. They killed a boar and two buffaloes in the woods, and snared a few birds, besides buying some provisions from the negroes. The worst of all was, as the scurvy subsided, they were afflicted with dangerous fevers.

Departing from this place on the 8th December, they came to the island of _Anobon_ on the 16th, where they procured some provisions by force. By the scurvy and fever they lost thirty men, among whom was Thomas Spring, a young Englishman of promising parts. In the beginning of the year 1599, they departed from Anabon, steering for the straits of Magellan, being too late for passing the Cape of Good Hope. The 10th March they observed the sea all red, as if mixed with blood, occasioned by being full of red worms, which when taken up leapt like fleas. They entered the straits on the 6th April, supplying themselves at Penguin islands with thirteen or fourteen hundred of these birds. On the 18th of that month they anchored in Green bay within the straits, where they got fresh water and large mussels. They remained at this place till the 23d of August, in a perpetually stormy winter, and lost a hundred of their men. The storm found them continual labour, without any furtherance of their intended voyage; suffering continual rain, wind, snow, hail, hunger, loss of anchors, and spoiling of their ships and tackling, sickness, death, and savages, want of stores and store of wants, so that they endured a fulness of misery. The extreme cold increased their appetites, which decreased their provisions, and made them anxious to look out for more.

On the 7th May, going in their boats to take gudgeons on the south side of the straits, opposite Green bay, they descried seven canoes with savages, who _seemed_ ten or eleven feet high, with red bodies and long hair.[47] The Dutch were much amazed at these men, who likewise terrified them with stones and loud cries. The Dutch got immediately into their boats, and stood on their defence; but when the savages saw four or five of their companions fall down dead, slain by Dutch thunder, they fled to the land; and plucking up large trees, barricaded themselves against the Hollanders, who left them. After this, three of the Dutchmen, in seeking food to preserve their life, found death at the hands of naked savages, who were armed with barbed darts, which, if they entered the flesh, had to be cut out.

[Footnote 47: This is the first notice we have yet met with of the long-famed Patagonians; but their enormous stature in the text is very diffidently asserted. We shall have future opportunities of becoming better acquainted with these South American giants. Perhaps the original may only have said they seemed ten or eleven _spans_ high, and some careless editor chose to substitute _feet_.--E.]

This Green bay, in which they staid so long, was named Cordes bay after the commander. In another, called Horse bay, they erected a new guild or fraternity, binding themselves with much solemnity and many oaths to certain articles, and calling it the _Fraternity of the Freed Lion_. The general added six chosen men to himself in this society, and caused their names to be engraven on a board, which was hung up on high pillars, to be seen by all passing that way; but it was defaced by the savages, who likewise disinterred the dead bodies from their graves and dismembered them, carrying one away.

The 3d September, they left the straits, and continued till the 7th, when De Wert was forced to stay by a storm, and the Faith and Fidelity were left behind in much misery, hunger, tempests, leaks, and other distress. The death of their master, and the loss of their consorts, added much to their misery, and in the end of the month they were forced again into the straits; after which, in two months, they had not one fair day to dry their sails. The 14th October, the Faith lost two anchors. To one place they gave the name of Perilous bay, and called another Unfortunate bay, in remembrance of their distresses, to all of which the devil added mutiny among their people and thieving. They took a savage woman who had two children, one of whom they thought to be only six months old, yet it could walk readily, and had all its teeth. I loath to relate their loathsome feeding, with the blood running from their mouths. They here met General Oliver Noort, whose men were all lusty, and was yet unable to spare them any relief. After a world of straits in these straits, too long to rehearse, they departed thence on the 22d January, 1600, and arrived in the Maese on the 14th July. Without the straits, in lat. 50° 40' S. they saw three islands, sixty miles from land, stored with penguins, which they called the Sebaldines of the Indies, but which are not inserted in maps.[48]

[Footnote 48: The only islands which agree in any respect with the position assigned in the text, are the north-westermost of the Malouines or Falkland islands, which are nearly in that latitude, but much farther from the land.--E.]

§ 2. _First Letter of William Adams_.

Hearing that some English merchants are residing in the island of Java, although by name unknown, and having an opportunity, I presume to write these lines, desiring your worshipful company, being unknown to me, to pardon my boldness. The reason of my writing is chiefly that my conscience binds me to love my country and country men. Your worships will therefore please to understand that I am a Kentish man, born in the town of Gillingham, two miles from Rochester and one mile from Chatham, where the king's ships lie; and that from the age of twelve years I was brought up at Limehouse near London, being apprentice twelve years to one Mr Nicholas Diggines. I have served both as master and pilot in her majesty's ships; and served eleven or twelve years with the worshipful company of Barbary merchants. When the Indian trade of Holland began, I was desirous of making some trial of the small knowledge which God hath given me in that navigation. So, in the year 1598, I was hired as chief pilot of a fleet of five sail, which was fitted out by Peter Vanderhag and Hans Vanderuke, the chiefs of the Dutch India company. A merchant named Jaques Mayhay,[49] was general of this fleet, in whose ship I was pilot.

[Footnote 49: Called Mahu in the preceding narrative.--E.]

It being the 23d or 24th of June before we set sail, we were too late in coming to the line to pass it without contrary winds, for it was then the middle of September, at which time we found much southerly winds, and many of our men fell sick, so that we were obliged to go upon the coast of Guinea to Cape Lopo Gonsalves, where we landed our sick men, many of whom died. Few recovered here, as the climate was very unhealthy, and we could procure little or no refreshment. We determined therefore, for the fulfilment of our voyage, to sail for the coast of Brazil, and to pass through the straits of Magellan. By the way we came to an island called _Ilha da Anobon_, where we landed and took the town, consisting of about eighty houses. We refreshed in this island, where we had plenty of lemons, oranges, and various other fruits; but such was the unhealthiness of the air, that as one grew better another fell sick. We spent upon the coast of Cape Gonsalves and at Anobon about two months, till the 12th or 13th of November, when we sailed from Anobon, having the wind still at S. by E. and S.S.E. till we got four degrees south of the line; at which time the winds became more favourable, coming to S.E. E.S.E. and E. so that we ran from Anobon to the straits in about five months. During this passage, one of our ships carried away her mainmast, by which we were much hindered, having to set up a new mast at sea.

The 29th of March we espied the land in the latitude of 50° S. after having the wind for two or three days contrary; but the wind becoming again fair, we got into the straits of Magellan on the 6th April, 1599, by which time the winter was come on, so that there was much snow. Through cold and hunger combined, our men became very weak. We had the wind at east for five or six days, in which time we might have passed through the straits; but we waited refreshing our men, taking in wood and water, and setting up a pinnace of about fifteen or sixteen tons. At length, we would have passed the straits, but could not, on account of southerly winds, attended by much rain and great cold, with snow and ice; so that we had to winter in the straits, remaining there from the 6th April till the 24th September, by which time almost all our provisions were spent, so that many of our men died of hunger. Having passed through the straits into the South Sea, we found many violent currents, and were driven south into 54 degrees, where we found the weather excessively cold. Getting at last favourable winds, we prosecuted our intended voyage towards the coast of Peru; but in the end lost our whole fleet, being all separated from each other.

Before the fleet separated, we had appointed, in case of separation by foul weather, that we should wait on the coast of Chili, in the latitude of 46° S. for thirty days, in hopes of rejoining. Accordingly, I went to that latitude, where we remained twenty-eight days, and procured refreshments from the natives, who were very good-natured, though the Spaniards had nearly prevented them at first from dealing with us. They brought us sheep and potatoes, for which we gave them bells and knives; but at length they retired into the country, and came no more near us. Having set up a pinnace which we brought with us, and remained in waiting for our consorts during twenty-eight days, we proceeded to the port of _Baldivia_ in lat. 40° 20' S. but entered not by reason of contrary winds, on which we made for the island of _Mocha_, where we arrived next day. Finding none of our ships there, we sailed for the island of _Santa Maria_,[50] and came next day to the Cape, which is within a league and half of that island, where we saw many people; being much tempest-tost endeavouring to go round that cape, and finding good ground, we came to anchor in a fine sandy bay, in fifteen fathoms water.

[Footnote 50: The island of Santa Maria, or St Mary, is on the coast of Chili near Conception, in about the latitude 86° 50' N.]

We went in our boat, to endeavour to enter into a friendly conference with the natives, but they opposed our landing, and shot a great many arrows at our men. Yet, having no victuals in our ship, and hoping to procure refreshments here, we forcibly landed between twenty-seven and thirty men, driving the natives from the shore, but had most of our men wounded by their arrows. Being now on land, we made signs to them of friendship, and at length succeeded in bringing them to an amicable conference, by means of signs and tokens which the people understood. By our signs we communicated our desire to procure provisions, in exchange for iron, silver, and cloth. They gave us some wine, potatoes, and fruits; and desired us by signs to return to our ship, and come back the next day, when they would supply us with victuals. It being now late, our people came on board, most of them more or less hurt, yet glad of having brought the natives to a parley.

Next day, the 9th November, 1599, our captain and all our officers prepared to land, having come to the resolution of only going to the shore, and landing two or three men at the most, as the people were very numerous, and our people were not willing to put too much trust in them. Our captain went in one of our boats, with all the force we were able to muster; and when near the shore, the natives made signs for him to land, which our captain was not willing to do. But as the natives did not come near the boats, our captain and the rest determined to land, notwithstanding what had been agreed upon in the ship. At length twenty-three men landed, armed with muskets, and marched up towards four or five houses; but had hardly got a musketshot shot from the boats, when above a thousand Indians fell upon them from an ambush, with such weapons as they had, and slew them all within our sight. Our boats waited long, to see if any of our men would return; but seeing no hope to recover any of them, they returned to the ship with, the sorrowful news that all who had landed were slain. This was a most lamentable affair, as we had scarcely as many men remaining as could weigh our anchor.

We went next day over to the island of St Mary, where we found our admiral, who had arrived there four days before us, and had departed from the island of _Mocha_ the day after we came from thence, the general, master, and all the officers having been _wounded_ on shore.[51] We were much grieved for our reciprocal misfortunes, so that the one bemoaned the other, yet were glad that we had come together again. My good friend Timothy Shotten of London was pilot of this ship. At this island of St Mary, which is in lat. 37° S, [36° 50'] near the coast of Chili, it was concluded to take every thing into one of the ships, and burn the other; but the new captains could not agree which of the ships to burn, so that this agreement was not executed. Having much cloth in our ships, it was agreed to steer for Japan, which we understood was a good market for cloth; and we were the more inclined to this measure, because the King of Spain's ships upon the coast of Peru having now intelligence of us, would come in search of us, and knew that we were weak by the loss of our men, which was all too true, for one of our ships, as we learnt afterwards, was forced to surrender to the enemy at St Jago.

[Footnote 51: In the second letter, the general and twenty-seven men are said to have been _slain_ at Mocha.--E.]

Having procured refreshments at Santa Maria, more by policy than force, we departed from the road of that island on the 27th November with our two ships, having heard nothing of the rest of our fleet. We took our course direct for Japan, and passed the line together, keeping company till we came into the latitude of 28° N. in which latitude, on the 22d and 23d of February, we had as heavy a storm of wind as I ever saw, accompanied with much rain; during which storm we lost sight of our other and larger ship, being very sorry to be left alone, yet comforted ourselves with the hope of meeting again at Japan. Continuing our course as we best could for wind and weather, till we were in the lat. of 30° N. we sought for the _north_ cape of that island, but found it not; because it is falsely laid down in all charts, maps, and globes, for that cape is 35° 30' N. which is a great difference.[52] At length, in 32° 30' N. we saw land on the 19th April, having been four months and twenty-two days between Santa Maria and Japan, and at this time there were only six men, besides myself, who could stand on their feet.

[Footnote 52: The geographical notices in the text are hardly intelligible. The northern cape of Japan is in 40° 30' N. _Sanddown_ point, towards the _south_ end of the eastern side of the great island of Niphon, is nearly in the latitude indicated in the text. The latitude of 32° 30', where, according to Adams, they had first sight of Japan, is on the eastern side of Kiusiu, the south-western island of Japan, in long. 131° 25' E. while Sanddown point is in long. 141° E. from Greenwich.--E.]

Being now in safety, we let go our anchor about a league from a place called _Bungo_.[53] Many boats came off to us, and we allowed the people to come on board, being quite unable to offer any resistance; yet, though we could only understand each other very imperfectly by signs, the people did us no harm. After two or three days, a jesuit came to us from a place called Nangasacke, to which place the Portuguese caraks from Macao are in use to come yearly. This man, with some Japanese chieftains, interpreted for us, which was bad for us, being our mortal enemies; yet the King of Bungo, where we had arrived, shewed us great friendship, giving us a house on shore for our sick, and every refreshment that was needful. When we came to anchor off Bungo, we had twenty-four men living, sick and well, of whom three died next day, and other three after continuing long sick, all the rest recovering.

[Footnote 53: In modern maps, Bungo is the name of the middle province on the eastern side of Japan, and includes the indicated latitude, the nearest sea-port town being named _Nocea_, thirty-five miles farther north. But as we have hardly any intercourse with Japan, our maps of that country are very imperfect.--E.]

The Emperor of Japan hearing of us, sent presently five gallies, or frigates, to us at Bungo, with orders to bring me to the court where he resided, which was almost eighty English leagues from Bungo.[54] When I came before him, he demanded to know from what country we were, and I answered him in all points. There was nothing almost that he did not enquire about, more especially concerning war and peace between different countries, to all of which I answered to the best of my knowledge, which were too long to write off at this time. After this conference, I was ordered to prison along with one of our mariners, who had accompanied me to serve me, but we were well used there. Some two days afterwards the emperor sent for me again, and demanded the reason of our having come so far. I made answer, that we were a people who sought peace and friendship with all nations, and to have trade with all countries, bringing such merchandise as our country had, and buying such others in foreign countries as were in request in ours, through which reciprocal traffic both countries were enriched. He enquired much respecting the wars between us and the Spaniards and Portuguese, and the causes of the same, all the particulars of which I explained to him, with which he seemed much pleased. After this I was again remanded to prison, but in another place, where my lodging was bettered.[55]

[Footnote 54: This was Osaca, which is eighty leagues from Bungo.--_Purchas_.

Osaka, in a straight line, is about ninety marine leagues, or 276 English miles, from the coast of Bungo.--E.]

[Footnote 55: The second letter, addressed to his wife, breaks off here.--E.]

I continued thirty-nine days in prison, hearing no news of our ship or captain, and knew not whether he were recovered or not, neither respecting the rest of our company. In all that time I expected continually to be crucified, as is the custom of Japan, as hanging is with us; for during my long imprisonment, the Portuguese and jesuits gave many false accounts against us to the emperor, alledging that we were thieves, who went about to rob and plunder all nations, and that if we were suffered to live it would be to the injury of the emperor and his nation; for then no nation would come there without robbing, but if justice were executed upon us, it would terrify the rest of our nation from coming there any more. They thus persuaded the emperor daily to cut us off, making all the friends at court they could to back them. But God was merciful to us, and would not permit them to have their will against us. At length the emperor gave them this answer: "That, as we had done no hurt to him or any of his subjects, it was contrary to reason and justice to put us to death; and if our country and theirs were at war, that was no reason why he should punish us." They were quite cast down by this answer, seeing their cruel intentions towards us disappointed, for which God be praised for ever and ever.

While I remained in prison, the emperor gave orders for our ship to be brought as near to the city where he resided as possible, which was done accordingly. Then, on the one and fortieth day of my imprisonment, I was again brought before the emperor, who asked me many more questions, which were too long to write. In conclusion, he asked me if I wished to go to the ship to see my countrymen, which I said would give me much satisfaction. So he bad me go, and I departed, being freed from imprisonment. I now first learnt that our ship and company were come to the city where the emperor resided; whereupon, with a joyous heart, I took a boat and went on board, where I found our captain and the rest recovered from their sickness. At our meeting they saluted me with tears, having heard that I was long since put to death. Thus, God be praised, all we that were left alive came again together.

All our things were taken out of our ship, all my instruments and other things being taken away, so that I had nothing left but the clothes on my back, and all the rest were in a similar predicament. This had been done unknown to the emperor, and, being informed of it, he gave orders to restore every thing to us; but they were all so dispersed among many hands that this could not be done. Wherefore 50,000 ryals were ordered to be given us, which the emperor himself saw delivered into the hands of one of his officers, who was appointed our governor, with orders to supply us from that fund as we had occasion, to enable us to purchase provisions, and all other necessary charges. At the end of thirty days, during which time our ship lay before a city called _Sakay_, three leagues, or two and a half, from _Osaka_, where the emperor then resided, an order was issued that our ship should be carried to the eastern part of the land of Japan called _Quanto_, whither, according to his commands, we went, the distance being about 120 leagues. Our passage there was long, owing to contrary winds.

Coming to the land of _Quanto_, and near to the city of _Eddo, [Jedo,]_ [56] where the emperor then was, we used many supplications to get our ship set free, and to be allowed to seek our best profit at the place where the Hollanders have their trade,[57] in the prosecution of which suit we expended much of the money given us by the emperor. In this time three or four of our men mutinied against the captain and me, and drew in the rest of our men, by which we had much trouble with them, every one endeavouring to be commander, and all being desirous to share among them the money given us by the emperor. It would be too tedious to relate all the particulars of this disturbance. Suffice it to say, that we divided the money, giving to every one a share according to his place. This happened when we had been two years in Japan. After this, when we had received a positive denial to our petition for having our ship restored, and were told that we must abide in Japan, our people, who had now their shares of the money, dispersed themselves, every one to where he thought best. In the end, the emperor gave to every one to live upon two pounds of rice daily, and so much yearly as was worth eleven or twelve ducats, the captain, myself, and the mariners all equal.

[Footnote 56: Osaka, at the head of a bay of the same name on the south side of Niphon, is in lat. 34° 58' N. long. 135° 5' E. Sakay, or Sakai, on the eastside of the same bay, is about fifteen miles directly south from Osaka. Eddo, or Jedo, at the head of a bay of that name, likewise on the south side of Niphon, is in lat. 35° 38' long. 140° E. from Greenwich--E.]

[Footnote 57: This is probably an anachronism, meaning the place where the Hollanders had been allowed to trade by the time when Adams wrote in 1611.--E.]

In the course of three or four years the emperor called me before him, as he had done several times before, and on this occasion he would have me to build him a small ship. I answered that I was not a carpenter, and had no knowledge in ship-building. "Well then," said he, "do it as well as you can, and if it be not well done, there is no matter." Accordingly I built a ship for him of about eighty tons burthen, constructed in all proportions according to our manner. He came on board to see her, and was much pleased, so that I grew into favour with him, was often admitted to his presence, and received presents from him from time to time, and at length got an yearly revenue to live upon, equal to about seventy ducats, besides two pounds of rice daily, as before. Being in such grace and favour, owing to my having taught him some parts of geometry and mathematics, with other things, I so pleased him, that whatever I said was not to be contradicted. My former enemies, the jesuits and Portuguese, wondered much at this, and often solicited me to befriend them with the emperor, so that through my means both Spaniards and Portuguese have frequently received favours, and I thus recompensed their evil with good. In this manner, though at first it cost me much labour and pains to pass my time and procure a living, God hath at length blessed my endeavours.

At the end of five years I made supplication to the emperor for leave to quit Japan, desiring to see my poor wife and children, according to nature and conscience; but he was displeased with my request, and would not permit me to go away, saying that I must continue in the country. Yet in process of time, being greatly in his favour, I made supplication again, hearing that the Hollanders were in Acheen and Patane, which rejoiced us much, in the hopes that God would enable us to return again to our country by some means or other. I told him, if he would permit me to depart, I would be the means of bringing both the English and Hollanders to trade in his country. He said that he was desirous of both these nations visiting his country in the way of trade, and desired me to write to them for that purpose, but would by no means consent to my going away. Seeing, therefore, that I could not prevail for myself; I petitioned him for leave to our captain to depart, which he readily granted. Having thus procured his liberty, the captain embarked in a Japanese junk, in which he went to Patane, where he waited a year for Dutch ships; but none arriving in that time, he went from Patane to Johor, where he found a fleet of nine sail, of which _Matleet_ was general, and in which fleet he was again made a master.

This fleet sailed for Malacca, where it fought with a Portuguese squadron, in which battle he was slain; so that I think as yet there can be no certain news respecting me, whether I be alive or dead. Wherefore I am very desirous that my wife and two children may learn that I am alive in Japan; my wife being in a manner a widow, and my children fatherless; which alone is my greatest grief of heart, and sorely afflicts me. I am a man not unknown in Ratcliff and Limehouse; particularly to my good master Mr Nicholas Diggines, Mr Thomas Best, Mr Nicholas Isaac and Mr William Isaac, brothers, with many others, as also to Mr William Jones and Mr Becket. Therefore, if this letter, or a copy of it, may come into any of their hands, I am sure that such is their goodness, that they will communicate the news to my family and friends, that I do as yet live in this vale of sinful pilgrimage: Which, thing I do again and again earnestly desire may be done, for the sake of Jesus.

You are to understand, that the first ship I built for the emperor made a voyage or two, whereupon he commanded me to build another, which I did of the size of 120 tons. In this ship I made a voyage from Meaco[58][in lat. 35° 12' N. long. 135° 37' E.] to Jeddo, being about as far as London is from the Lizard or Land's-end of England. In the year 1609, the emperor lent this ship to the governor of Manilla, to go with 86 of his men to Accapulco. In the same year 1609, a great ship of about 1000 tons, called the San Francisco, was cast away on the east coast of Japan, in the latitude of 30° 50' N. Being in great distress in a storm, she cut her mainmast by the board, and bore away for Japan; and in the night time, before they were aware, the ship ran on shore, and was utterly wrecked, 136 men being drowned, and 340 or 350 saved, in which ship the governor of Manilla was going as a passenger for New Spain. This governor was sent off to Accapulco, as before said, in the larger ship of my building, and 1611 he sent back another ship in her stead, with a great present, and an ambassador to the emperor, giving him great thanks for his kindness, and sending the value of the emperor's ship in goods and money: which ship of my building, the Spaniards now have at the Philippine islands.

[Footnote 58: Meaco is entirely an inland city, thirty-five miles from Osaka, and on the same river, which runs into the bay of Osaka two or three miles below the latter city. It is probable, therefore, that this ship may have been built at Meaco, and floated down the river to the bay of Osaka.--E.]

At this time, for the services which I have performed to the emperor, and am daily performing, he hath given me a living, like unto a lordship in England, in which there are eighty or ninety husbandmen, who are as my servants and slaves, the like having never been done to any stranger before in this country. Thus God hath amply provided for me after my great misery To his name be the praise for ever and ever. _Amen_. But whether I shall ever get out of this land or not I know not. Until this present year, 1611, there has been no way or manner of accomplishing this my earnest desire, which there now is through the trade of the Hollanders. In 1609, two ships belonging to Holland came to Japan, in the intention of taking the carak which comes yearly from Macao. Being five or six days too late for that purpose, they came notwithstanding to Firando.[59] From thence they waited on the emperor, and were received in a friendly manner, receiving permission to come yearly to Japan with one or two ships, and so departed with the emperor's pass or licence. In consequence of this permission, a small ship is arrived this year, 1611, with cloth, lead, elephants' teeth, damask, black taffeties, raw silk, pepper, and other commodities; and have given a sufficient excuse why they missed the former year, as had been promised. This ship was well received, and entertained in a friendly manner.

[Footnote 59: Firando is an island about twenty miles in diameter, in the west of Japan, the centre of which is in lat. 33° 10' N. and long. 128° 30' E. from Greenwich.--E.]

You must understand that the Hollanders have here _an Indies_ of money and profit; as by this trade they do not need to bring silver from Holland to the East Indies; for in Japan there is much silver and gold, to serve their turn in other places of the East Indies where it is needed. The merchandise that is most vendible here for ready money, is raw silk, damask, black taffety, black and red cloth of the best kind, lead, and such like goods. Learning, by this lately-arrived Hollander, that a settled trade is now carried on by my countrymen in the East Indies, I presume that some among them, merchants, masters, or mariners, must needs know me. Therefore am I emboldened to write these few lines, which I have made as short as I could, not to be too tedious to the readers.

This country of Japan is a great island, reaching in its northern part to the latitude of forty-eight degrees,[60] and its most southerly part is in thirty-five degrees, both north. Its length from east by north to west by south, for such is its direction, is 220 English leagues. The breadth from south to north is thirteen degrees, twenty leagues to the degree, or 260 leagues, so that it is almost square. The inhabitants of Japan are good-natured, courteous above measure, and valiant in war. Justice is executed with much severity, and is distributed impartially, without respect of persons, upon all transgressors of the law. They are governed in great civility, and I think that no part of the world has better civil policy. The people are very superstitious in their religion, and entertain various opinions or beliefs. There are many jesuits and franciscan friars in the country, and who have many churches in the land.

[Footnote 60: The island of Japan Proper reaches only to lat. 40° 37' N. and the southern coast of Tacuxima, its most southerly detached isle, is in lat. 32° 28'. The most southerly point of the largest island of Niphon being in 33° 3' N. The extreme length of Niphon, in a slight curve from N.E. to S.W. is about 815 English miles; or, continuing the measure to the S.W. extremity of Kiusiu at Cape Nomo, about 1020 miles. The breadth is very irregular, but cannot exceed 100 miles on the average.--E.]

Thus shortly am I constrained to write, hoping that by one means or other I may hear of my wife and children in process of time, and so with patience I wait the good will and pleasure of Almighty God; earnestly desiring all those to whom this letter may come, to use means to acquaint my good friends before named of its contents; that so my wife and children may hear of me, and I may have hope to hear of them before I die. Which God grant, to his glory and my comfort. _Amen_.

Dated in Japan, the 22d of October, 1611, by your unworthy friend and servant, to command in what I can,

WILLIAM ADAMS.

§3. _Letter of William Adams to his Wife_.[61]

Loving wife, you shall hereby understand how all things have passed with me since I left you. We sailed from the Texel with five ships, on the 24th June, 1598, and took our departure from the coast of England the 5th July. The 21st August we came to St Jago, one of the Cape Verd Islands, where we remained twenty-four days. In this time many of our men fell sick, through the unwholesomeness of the air, and our general among the rest. We abode so long among these islands, because one of the captains of our fleet made our general believe that we should find plenty of refreshments there, as goats and other things, which was not the case. I and all the pilots in the fleet were here called to council; but as we all declared ourselves much averse to the place, our opinions were so much disliked by the captains, that they agreed among themselves to call us no more to council.

[Footnote 61: Although this fragment relates to the same circumstances that are detailed in the former letter, these are frequently given more at large, and it has therefore been retained.--E.]

The 15th September we departed from St Jago, and passed the equator; and in the lat. of 3° S. our general died. The season being much too late, we were forced upon the coast of Guinea, falling in with a headland called _Cabo de Spiritu Santo_. The new general commanded us to bear up for Cape Lopo Gonsalves, to seek refreshments for our men, which was done accordingly. We landed all our sick at that place, where they did not find much benefit, as we could get no store of provisions. The 29th December we resumed our voyage, and on our way fell in with an island called Anobon, where we landed our sick men, taking possession of the island by force, the town containing about eighty houses. Having here refreshed our men, we again set sail, our general giving out in orders, that each man was only to have the allowance of one pound of bread in four days, being a quarter of a pound daily, with a like reduced allowance of wine and water. This scarcity of victuals made our men so feeble, that they fell into great weakness and sickness for very hunger, insomuch that they eat the calf-skins with which our ropes were covered.

The 3d April, 1599, we fell in with port St Julian,; and on the 6th we entered the Straits of Magellan, which are at first narrow. The 8th day we passed the second narrows with a fair wind, and came to anchor at Penguin Island, where we landed, and loaded our boat with penguins. These are fowls larger than ducks, and proved a great refreshment to us. The 10th we weighed anchor, having much wind, yet fair for our passage; but our general insisted upon taking in wood and water for all our ships, of which there is great abundance in all parts of the straits, and good anchoring grounds every three or four leagues. In the mean time the wind changed, and became southerly; so we sought for a good harbour on the north side of the straits, four leagues from Elizabeth Bay. April being out, we had a wonderful quantity of snow and ice, with great winds; for the winter there is in April, May, June, July, and August, being in 52° 30' S. Many times during the winter we had the wind fair for passing through the straits, but our general would not; so that we remained in the straits till the 24th August,[62] 1599, on which day we came into the South Sea. Six or seven days after the whole fleet was separated, and the storm-continuing long, we were driven south, into 1st 54° 30' S. The weather clearing up, with a fair wind, we saw the admiral again, to our great joy. Eight or ten days afterwards, having very heavy wind in the night, our foresail was blown away, and we again lost sight of the admiral.

[Footnote 62: In the former letter this is called the 24th September, which seems to be the true date from what follows--E.]

Having a fair wind for that purpose, we directed our course for the coast of Chili, where we arrived on the 29th October, at a place appointed by the general for a rendezvous, in lat. 46° S. where we waited twenty-eight days, and set up a pinnace. In this place we found people, with whom we had friendly intercourse for five or six days, during which they brought us sheep, for which we gave them bells and knives, with which they seemed contented. But shortly afterwards they all went away from the place where our ship lay, and we saw no more of them. The twenty-eight days being expired, we set sail in the intention to go to Baldivia, and came to the mouth of the port; but as the wind was high, our captain changed his mind, and we directed our course for the island of Mocha, in thirty-eight degrees, where we arrived the 1st November. The wind being still high, we durst not come to anchor, and directed our course for Cape St Mary, two leagues south of the island of that name. Having no knowledge of the people, our men landed on the 2d of November, and the natives fought with them, wounding eight or, nine of our people; but in the end the natives made a false composition of friendship with them, which our men believed sincere.

Next day our captain went on shore, with twenty-three of our best men, meaning to get victuals in exchange for goods, as we were reduced to great straits. Two or three of the natives came immediately to the boat, bringing a kind of wine and some roots, and making signs for our people to land, where they would get sheep and oxen. The captain and men went accordingly on shore, being very anxious to get provisions; but above a thousand of the natives broke out upon them from an ambush, and slew them all, among whom was my brother, Thomas Adams. After this severe loss we had hardly as many men remaining as could hoist our anchor; so on the 3d November, in great distress and heaviness of mind, we went to the island of Santa Maria, where we found our admiral ship, by which our hearts were somewhat comforted: but when we went on board, we found them in as great distress as ourselves, the general and twenty-seven of their men having been slain at the island of Mocha, from whence they had departed the day before we passed that island. We here consulted what we should do to procure victuals, not being in condition to go to land and take them by force, as most of our remaining men were sick.

While in this sad dilemma, there came a Spaniard on board by composition to see our ship. He came on board again the next day, and we allowed him quietly to depart. The following day two Spaniards came, on board, without pawn or surety, to see if they could betray us. When they had seen our ship, they were for going again on land; but we would not let them, saying, as they had come on board without leave, we should not permit them to go away till we thought fit, at which they were very much offended. We then told them how much we were in want of victuals, and said if they would let us have such a number of sheep and ewes, that we would set them at liberty. Thus, against their wills, they entered into a composition with us, which, within the time appointed, they accomplished. Having procured so much refreshment, most of our men recovered.

In consequence of the death of the general, one Hudcopee, a young man, who knew nothing, and had served the former, was made general in his stead; and the master of our ship, Jacob Quaternack, of Rotterdam, was made captain of our ship, in the place of him who had been slain. So the new general and vice-admiral called me and the other pilot, an Englishman, named Timothy Shorten, who had been with Mr Thomas Candish in his voyage round the world, and desired our advice how to prosecute the voyage for the best profits of our merchants. It was at last resolved to go for Japan, as, by the report of one Dirrick Gerritson, who had been there with the Portuguese, woollen cloth was in great estimation in that island; and we concluded that the Moluccas, and most other parts of the East Indies, being hot countries, our woollen cloth would not be there in much request: wherefore we all agreed to go for Japan. Leaving, therefore, the coast of Chili, in lat. 36° S. on the 27th November, 1599, we shaped our course direct for Japan, and passed the equinoctial line with a fair wind, which lasted several months. In our way we fell in with certain islands in lat. 16° N. of which the inhabitants are canibals.[63] Coming near these islands, our pinnace, with eight men, ran from us, and were eaten, as we supposed, by the savages, of whom we took one man.

[Footnote 63: These islands seem to be the Ladrones.--_Purchas_.]

In the latitude of 27 or 28 degrees north, we had variable winds and stormy weather; and on the 24th February, 1600, we lost sight of our admiral, and never saw his ship more; yet we still continued our course for Japan. The 24th March we saw an island called _Una Colona_, at which time many of our men were again sick, and several dead. We were in the utmost misery, not above nine or ten of our men being able to creep about on their hands and knees; while our captain and all the rest were expecting every hour to die. The 11th April, 1600, we had sight of Japan, near to _Bungo_, at which time there were not more than five of us able to stand. The 12th we came close to Bungo, and let go our anchor, many barks coming aboard of us, the people whereof we willingly allowed to come into our ship, having indeed no power to resist them. These people did us no personal injury; but they stole every thing they could lay their hands upon, for which some paid very dear afterwards. Next day the king of that land sent a party of soldiers on board, to prevent the merchant goods from being stolen. Two or three days after, our ship was brought into a good harbour, there to remain till the emperor of the whole island was informed of our arrival, and should give his orders as to what was to be done with us. In the meantime we petitioned the King of Bungo for leave to land our captain and the other sick men, which was granted, having a house appointed for them, in which they were all laid, and had all manner of refreshments given them.

After we had been five or six days here, there came a Portuguese jesuit, with other Portuguese, who falsely reported of us that we were pirates, and not at all in the way of trade; which scandalous reports caused the governors and people to think very ill of us, so that we even looked for being set upon crosses, which is the punishment in this land for thievery and some other crimes. Thus daily did the Portuguese incense the rulers and the people against us. At this time two of our men became traitors, giving themselves up to the service of the emperor, and becoming all in all with the Portuguese, who warranted them their lives. One was named Gilbert de Conning, whose mother dwelt in Middleburg, who gave himself out as the merchant over all the goods in the ship; the name of the other was John Abelson van Oudwater. These traitors tried every means to get the goods into their hands; and made known to the Portuguese every thing that had happened during our voyage.

Nine days after our arrival, the emperor, or great king of the land, sent for me to come to him. So, taking one man with me, I went to him, taking leave of our captain and the sick men, and commending myself into HIS hands who had hitherto preserved me from the perils of the sea. I was carried in one of the emperor's gallies to the court of Osaka, where the emperor then resided, being about eighty leagues from where our ship lay. On the 12th May, 1600, I came to the city of Osaka, and was brought immediately into the presence of the emperor, his palace being a wonderfully costly house, gilded with gold in great profusion. On coming before him, he viewed me well, and seemed favourably disposed towards me, making many signs to me, some of which I comprehended, and others not. After some time there came one who could speak Portuguese, who acted as interpreter. Through this person the king demanded to know from what country I was, and what had induced us to come to his land, at so great a distance from our own country. I then told him whence we were, that our country had long sought out the East Indies, desiring to live in peace and friendship with all kings and potentates in the way of trade; having in our country various commodities which these lands had not, and wishing to purchase such commodities in this land as our country did not possess. He then asked me if our country had any wars; to which I answered, that we were at war with the Spaniards and Portuguese, but at peace with all other nations. He farther asked me, what was my religious belief; to which I made answer, that I believed in God, who created the heavens and the earth. After many questions about religion and many other things, he asked me by what way we came to his country. Having with me a chart of the world, I showed him the way in which we had come, through the straits of Magellan; at which he wondered, and seemed as if he did not believe I spoke truth. Asking me what merchandise we had in our ship, I gave him an account of the whole. Thus, from one thing to another, I remained with him till midnight. In the end, when he was ready to depart, I desired that we might be allowed the same freedom of trade which the Spaniards and Portuguese enjoyed. He made me some answer, but what it was I did not understand, and then commanded me to be carried to prison.

Two days afterwards he sent for me again, and made many inquiries about the qualities and conditions of our countries; about wars and peace, of beasts and cattle of all sorts, of the heavens, and many other things; and he seemed well pleased with my answers. Yet was I again remanded to prison; but my lodging was bettered in another place.

* * * * *

"The rest of this letter, by the malice of the bearers, was suppressed, but was probably the same in substance with the former; yet I have added this also, because it contains several things not mentioned in the other. This William Adams _lately_[64] died at Firando, in Japan, as by the last ship, the James, returning home in the year 1621, we have received intelligence."--_Purchas_.

[Footnote 64: This is in reference to the year 1625, when the Pilgrims of Purchas was published.--E.]

SECTION XI.

_Voyage of Sir Edward Michelburne to India, in_ 1604.[65]

INTRODUCTION

This voyage is given by Purchas under the title of "The Second Voyage of John Davis, with Sir Edward Michelburne, into the East Indies, in the Tiger, a ship of 240 tons, with a pinnace, called the Tiger's Whelp." Purchas adds, that, though later in time than the first voyage set forth by the English East India Company, he had chosen to insert it in his work previous to their voyages, because not performed in their employment; and we have here followed his example, because not one of the voyages equipped by the Company. It is called the _second_ voyage of John Davis, because he had been to the East Indies before, as related in the ninth section of this chapter, and went upon this voyage with Sir Edward Michelburne. But it ought to have been called his _third_, and indeed it is actually so named in the table of contents of the Pilgrims; as, besides his _first_ voyage along with the Dutch in 1594, he appears to have sailed in the first voyage instituted by the Company for India, in 1601, under Lancaster. The editor of Astley's Collection supposes this journal to have been written by the captain or master of one of the ships, from some expressions in the narrative; at all events, it was written by some person actually engaged in the voyage. It is very singular that Sir Edward Michelburne, though a member of the first East India Company, and the fourth of the list in the original patent, should have set forth this voyage on private account.

[Footnote 65: Purchas his Pilgrims, I. 192. Astley, I. 306.]

We learn from the annals, of the India Company, that the lord-treasurer of England, in 1600, when the company was first instituted, proposed that Sir Edward Michelburne should be appointed to command the first fleet dispatched to India; but this was firmly declined, as will afterwards appear. Sir Edward now commanded what may be called an interloping trading voyage to India, under a licence granted by James I. in absolute contravention of the exclusive privilege granted to the Company.--E.

* * * * *

The 5th of December, 1604, we sailed from Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, and arrived in the road of Aratana, in the island of Teneriffe, on the 23d of that month. During the whole night of the 14th January, 1605, we were troubled with excessive heat, thunder, lightning, and rain. The 6th we passed the line, shaping our course for the isle of _Noronha_, with the wind at S.S.E., our course being S.S.W. About three degrees south of the line, we met with incredible multitudes of fish; so that, with hooks and harping irons, we took so many dolphins, bonitos, and other fishes, that our men were quite weary with eating them. There were likewise many fowls, called _parharaboves_ and _alcatrarzes_. We took many of the former, as it delights to come to a ship in the night-time, insomuch, that if you hold up your hand, they will light upon it. The alcatrarze is a kind of hawk that lives on fish; for, when the bonitos and dolphins chase the flying fishes in the water till they are forced to take wing for safety, the alcatrarzes fly after them like hawks after partridges. I have seen often so many of these flying fishes at one time in the air, that they appeared at a distance like a large flock of birds. They are small fishes, hardly so large as a herring.

The 22d of January we came to anchor at the island of Fernando Noronba, in lat. 4° S. where our skiff was overset going ashore, by the violence of the surf, and Richard Michelburne, a kinsman of our general, was drowned, all the rest being saved. The 25th, our long-boat, while going to fill some empty casks with water, fell in with the same unfortunate surf, and was overset, when two more of our men were drowned. We were so much put about in getting wood and water on board, by the danger of the surf, that we had to pull our casks on shore by means of ropes, and so back again when filled. Not six days before our arrival, there was a Holland ship here, whose boat, in going for water, was stove on the rocks, and all the men dashed to pieces, having their legs and arms cut from their bodies.

The 26th, the general went on shore to view the island, which was found entirely waste, being only inhabited by six negro slaves. There were formerly in this island many goats, and some wild cattle; but as the Portuguese caraks sometimes water here in their way to the East Indies, and these poor slaves are left here purposely to kill goats and dry their flesh for these ships, we could find very few of them. There are, however, great quantities of turtle-doves, alcatrarzes, and other fowls, of which we killed many with our fire-arms, and found them excellent eating. There is likewise here plenty of maize or Guinea wheat, and abundance of cotton trees, on which grows fine _bombast_; with great numbers of wild gourds and water melons. Having completed our supply of wood and water, we came on board, and continued our voyage.

The 12th February, when in lat. 7° 5' S. we saw at night the most extraordinary sight, in my opinion, that ever was seen. The sea seemed all night, though the moon was down, all over, as it were, burning and shining with flames of fire, so that we could have seen to read any book by its light. The 15th, in the morning, we descried the island, or rock rather, of Ascension, in lat. 8° 30' S. Towards night, on the 1st April, we descried land from the maintop, bearing S.S.E. when, according to our reckoning, we were still 40 leagues off. The 2d, in the morning, we were close to the land, being ten or twelve leagues north of Saldanha bay. The 3d we sailed by a small island, which Captain John Davis took to be one that is some five or six leagues from Saldanha bay, called _Dassen_ island, which our general was desirous to see; wherefore he went on shore in the skiff, with only the master's mate, the purser, and myself, with four rowers. While we were on shore, a storm arose, which drove the ship out of sight of the island, so that we were forced to remain on shore two days and nights. This island has great numbers of seals and conies, or rabbits, on which account we called it Conie island.

The 8th, we came to anchor in the road or bay of Saldanha,[66] and went ashore on the 9th, finding a goodly country, inhabited by the most savage and beastly people that ever were created. In this place we had most excellent refreshments, the like of which is not to be found among any other savage people; for we wanted neither for beef nor mutton, nor wild-fowl, all the time we lay there. This country is very full of cattle and sheep, which they keep in great flocks and herds, as we do in England; and it abounds likewise in wild beasts and birds, as wild deer, in great abundance, antelopes, baboons, foxes, hares, ostriches, cranes, pelicans, herons, geese, ducks, pheasants, partridges, and various other excellent kinds, of which we killed as many as we pleased, with our fire-arms. The country is most pleasantly watered with many wholesome springs and brooks, which have their origin in the tops of exceeding high mountains, and which, pervading the vallies, render them very fertile. It has many trees growing close-to the sea-shore, not much unlike our bay trees, but of a much harder consistence. The natives brought us more cattle and sheep than we could use during all the time we remained there, so that we carried fresh beef and mutton to sea with us. For a piece of an old iron hoop, not worth two-pence, we could purchase a large bullock; and a sheep for a small piece of iron not worth two or three good hob-nails. These natives go quite naked, having only a sheep skin on their shoulders, and a small flap of skin before them, which covers them just as much as if it were not there. While we were there, they lived on the guts and offal of the meat which we threw away, feeding in a most beastly manner, as they neither washed nor cleaned the guts, but covered them merely with hot ashes, and, before they were heated through, pulled them out, shook them a little, and eat guts, excrements, ashes and all. They live on raw flesh, and a kind of roots, which they have in great abundance.

[Footnote 66: This Bay was probably that now called Table bay, which all the early navigators seem to have denominated Saldanha, or Saldania bay.--E.]

We continued here from the 9th April, till the 3d May, by which good recreation on shore and excellent refreshment, we were all in as good health as when we first put to sea. The 7th May we were off the Cape of Good Hope, ten leagues south by estimation, and that night we passed over the shoals of _cabo das Aguilhas_. The 9th there arose a great storm, when we lost sight of our pinnace, being driven from her by the violence of the gale. This storm continued in a most tremendous manner for two days and two nights, with much rain, thunder, and lightning, and we often shipped a great deal of water. By reason of the extreme fury of the tempests, and the danger they find in passing the southern promontory of Africa, the Portuguese call this place the _Lion of the Sea_. At night, during the extremity of the storm, there appeared a flame on our top-mast head, as big as a great candle, which the Portuguese call _corpo sancto_, holding it as a divine token that the worst is past when it appears; as, thanks be to God, we had better weather after. It appeared to us two successive nights, after which we had a fair wind and good weather. Some think this to be a spirit, while others say that it is an exhalation of moist vapours. Some affirm that the ship is fortunate on which it appears, and that she shall not perish.

The 24th, the island of Diego Roiz, in 1st. 19° 40' S. and long. 98° 30' E. bore north of us, eight leagues distant, about five o'clock[67] We bore down, intending to have landed there, but the wind freshened so much in the night that we changed our purpose. We saw many white birds about this island, having two long feathers in their tails. These birds, and various other kinds, accompanied us along with, such contrary winds and gusts that we often split our sails, and being obliged to lie to, or tack to and again, we rather went to leeward than gained way, having the wind strong at E.S.E.

[Footnote 67: The latitude and the name agree with Diego Rodriguez; but the longitude is inexplicable, as Diego Rodriguez is in long. 63° 10' E. from Greenwich, or 80° 56' from Ferro; making an error of excess in the text at the least of 17° 51'.--E.]

The 3d June, while standing for the isle _de Cisne_[68] we came again in sight of Diego Roiz, and bore down for it, intending to wait there for a fair wind; but finding it a dangerous place, we durst not come thereto anchor, for fear of the rocks and shoals that lie about it, so that we changed our purpose, and stood for the East Indies. The 15th of June, we had sight of the isle _dos Banhos_, in lat. 6° 37' S. and long. 109° E.[69] These islands are laid down far too much to the west in most charts. We sent our boats to try if they could here find any good anchoring ground, but they could find none either on the south or west shore. There are five of these islands, which abound in fowls, fish, and cocoa-nuts; and our boats going on shore, brought us off a great store of all these, which proved a great refreshment to us. Seeing we could find no good anchorage, as in some places close to the shore we could find no bottom, while in other places the ground was full of shoals and sharp rocks, we stood our course as near as we could for India, the winds being bad and contrary.

[Footnote 68: By some thought to be Diego Rodriguez, by others the Mauritius, or isle of France.--Astl. 1. 507. a.]

[Footnote 69: A group of islands, one of which is called _Peros Banhos_, is found about the indicated latitude, and between the longitude of 70° and 74° E. having a similar excess with what was mentioned before in regard to Diego Roiz or Rodriguez.--E.]

The 19th of June, we fell in with the island of _Diego Grasiosa_, in lat. 7° 30' S. and in long. 110° 40' S. by our reckoning.[70] This seemed a pleasant island, and a good place for refreshment, if any proper place could be found for anchoring. We sought but little for anchoring there, as the wind was bad, and the tide set towards the shore, so that we durst not stay to search any farther. The island seemed to be some ten or twelve leagues long, abounding in fish and birds, and appeared an entire forest of cocoa-trees. What else it yielded we knew not. The 11th July, we again passed the equator, where we were becalmed, with excessive heat, and much thunder and lightning. The 19th we descried land, which seemed many islands, locked as it were into one, in lat. 2° N. under the high coast of the great island of Sumatra.[71] We here sent off our boat to get some fresh water; but the sea went with so violent a _breach_ [surf] upon the shore, that the people durst not land. The natives of the island, or islands, made great fires along the shore, as if inviting us to land.

[Footnote 70: Diego Garcia, in the indicated latitude nearly, and in long. 72° E. from Greenwich.--E.]

[Footnote 71: There is no such cluster of islands in the indicated latitude and situation; but off the S.W. coast of Sumatra, between the line and lat. 2° N. are several islands of some size, considerably distant from each other and from Sumatra.--E.]

The 28th we anchored near a small island, where we sent our boat ashore for fresh water; but finding none, the people brought off some cocoa-nuts, saying that the island was quite full of cocoa palms, which had very few nuts upon them. We saw three or four persons on this island, but they went away and would not come near us: It was supposed these people were left here to gather cocoa-nuts, to have them ready when others should come to carry them away. The 26th of the same month, July 1605, we came to anchor within a league of a large island called _Bata_,[72] in lat. 20' S. We here set up a shallop or bark, and named her the _Bat_. This island has no inhabitants, but abounds in woods and streams of water, as also with fish, monkies, and a kind of bird, said to be the _bat_ of the country, of which I killed one as large as a hare. In shape it resembled a squirrel; only that from its sides there hung down great flaps of skin; which, when he leapt from tree to tree, he could spread out like a pair of wings, as though to fly with them.[73] They are very nimble, and leap from bough to bough, often holding only by their tails. As our shallop was built in _the kingdom of these beasts_, we called her therefore _the Bat_.

[Footnote 72: _Pulo Botoa_ is about as much north of the line as _Bata_ is said in the text to be south. But the island at which they stopt may have been _Pulo Mintaon_, about 40 minutes in length from S. to N. and the north end of which reaches to the equator.--E.]

[Footnote 73: There are a considerable number of animals of this description, known to naturalists by the general name of flying squirrels, sciuri volantes, or _Petauri_. The species mentioned in the text may have been the sciurus petaurista of Linnaeus, the taguan, flying-cat, flying-hare, or Indian flying-squirrel of various authors. It is much larger than any others of this genus, being eighteen inches long from nose to rump. Two varieties are mentioned in authors; one of a bright chesnut colour; and the other black on the upper parts of the body, and hoary underneath.--E.]

While walking along the shore on the 29th, I noticed a _roader_, or small vessel, riding at anchor under a small island about four leagues off, which made me very glad, hoping it might be our pinnace which we lost sight of in a great storm near the Cape of Good Hope, and made haste on board with the news to our general, who sent me with Captain John Davis next morning to endeavour to find her. On coming to the place, we found three barks riding under the small isle, the people of which made signs for us to come to them, informing us they had hens for sale. Some of them understood Portuguese, so we told them we would go back to our ship for money, not being then provided; but in reality we durst not go on board them, not being strong enough in case of treachery. We went back next morning better furnished, thinking to have made some purchases; but they had weighed anchor and gone away, seeming to have been afraid of us.

The 4th August we weighed anchor and stood for Priaman, and on the 9th the general manned the shallop, and sent us along the coast to see if we could find any _roaders_, [coasters.] Spying a sail we gave chase, and finding they could not get away, the people came to anchor and forsook their bark, going all ashore to an island in a small boat, where we could not follow them. Going on board the bark, in which not a man remained, we found it loaded with cocoanuts, cocoa-oil, and fine mats. Seeing it was such mean stuff, and knowing our general would not have liked us to take her, we came away, not taking any thing worth speaking of. The 10th and 11th we stood close along the shore of Sumatra, where we espied eight _praws_ riding at anchor over against a place called _Ticoo_. Being in great hope of finding our pinnace, the Tiger's Whelp, among them, we stood on; and although she was not there, they put us in good hope, by telling us there was an English ship at Priaman, not above six leagues from this town of Ticoo. Then standing out to sea to rejoin our admiral, we got soon on board, and told the news to our general. We had not sailed a league farther, when our ship grounded on a rock of white coral: But, God be praised, having a strong breeze, we got her soon off again without any hurt. On approaching the road of Priaman, we had the great satisfaction to see our pinnace there, which we had lost sight of so long before in the storm at the Cape of Good Hope. The captain and master of the pinnace came to meet us in their skiff, half a league from the road, and on coming aboard, our general welcomed them, with a peal of cannon. After many discourses, recounting what had happened to each during our separation, we came to anchor in the road of Priaman in good ground and five fathoms water.

The 14th August, the general sent me on shore with a present to the governor and others, to enquire the price of pepper, to buy fresh provisions, and to know if our people might land in safety. But on coming on shore, the governor durst not speak with us in private, on account of wars then subsisting among them, owing to which they were jealous of each other. The cause of these wars was this: The old King of Acheen had two sons, the elder of whom he kept with himself intending him as his successor, and made the younger King of Pedier; upon which the elder made his father a prisoner, pretending that he was too old to govern any longer, and afterwards made war on his younger brother. Seeing that little good could be done here, and having refreshed with fresh provisions, we weighed anchor on the 21st, and stood for Bantam. That same day we took two praws, in which there was nothing but a little rice. In one of these praws two of our men were sore wounded. Thinking that all the people had leapt overboard, they boarded the praw; but two of the natives had hidden themselves behind the sail, and as soon as the two foremost of our men had entered, they came suddenly from their concealment, wounded our men very severely, and then leapt into the water, where they swam like water spaniels. Taking such things as we liked from the praws, we left them without any farther harm.

We took a fishing boat on the 23d, and let her go again, as she had nothing of value; only that one of her men was shot through the thigh, as they resisted us at the first. The 25th we descried a sail, and sent our shallop, long-boat, and skiff to see what she was, as neither our ship nor pinnace was able to fetch her, being becalmed. On coming up with her we desired her to strike, but she would not, so we fought with her from three in the afternoon till ten at night, by which time our pinnace came up, when she struck her sails and yielded. We made her fast to our pinnace, and towed her with us all night. In the morning our general sent for them to know what they were, and sent three of us on board to see what she was loaden with. They told our general they were of Bantam; for which reason, as not knowing what injury he might do to the English merchants who had a factory at Bantam, and learning from us that their loading was salt, rice, and china dishes, he sent them again on board their bark, not suffering the value of a penny to be taken from them. They stood on for Priaman, and we for Bantam. This bark was of the burden of about forty tons.

We met a small ship of Guzerat or Cambaya, on the 2d September, of about eighty tons, which we took and carried into the road of Sillibar, in lat. 4° S. into which road many praws continually come for refreshments, as they may here have wood, water, rice, buffaloes, goats, hens, plantains, and fresh fish, but all very dear. Having dispatched our business, we weighed anchor on the 28th September, and stood for Bantam. The 23d October, we came to anchor in the road of Marrah in the strait of Sunda, where we took in fresh water. In this place there is great plenty of buffaloes, goats, hens, ducks, and many other good things for refreshment; and the people do not esteem money so much in payment, as white and painted calicoes, and such like stuffs. If well used, these people will use you well; but they must be sharply looked after for stealing, as they think all well got that is stolen from a stranger.

We weighed anchor on the 28th of October from before Marrah, and stood for Bantam; which is in lat. 6' 40' S. We came this day within three leagues of Bantam, and anchored for the night. Here we expected to have met the English fleet, but it had sailed for England three weeks before our arrival. Yet those who had been left as factors of our nation came on board us, being glad to see any of their countrymen in so distant a foreign land. They told our general, that the Hollanders belonging to the ships in the road, had made very slanderous reports of us to the King of Bantam, to the following purport: "That we were all thieves and lawless persons, who came there only to deceive and cheat them, or to use violence, as time and opportunity might serve; adding, that we durst not come into the road among them, but kept two or three leagues from thence for fear of them." When our general heard this report, he was so much moved to anger, that he immediately weighed anchor, sending word to the Hollanders that he was coming to ride close by them, and bade the proudest of them all that durst be so bold as to put out a piece of ordnance against him: Adding, if they dared either to brave or disgrace him or his countrymen, he would either sink them or sink by their sides. There were five ships of these Hollanders, one of which was seven or eight hundred tons, but all the rest much smaller. We went and anchored close beside them, but no notice was taken of our general's message; and though the Hollanders were wont to swagger and make a great stir on shore, they were so quiet all the time we lay there, that we hardly ever saw one of them on land.

We took leave of our countrymen, and departed from Bantam on the 2d of November, shaping our course for Patane. While on our way between the Chersonesus of Malacca and _Piedra branca_, we met with three praws, which being afraid of us, anchored so close to the shore that we could not come near them, either in our ship or pinnace. Our general therefore manned the shallop with eighteen of us, and sent us to request that he might have a pilot for money, to carry his ship to Pulo Timaon, which is about five days sail from where we met them. But, as they saw that our ship and pinnace were at anchor a mile from them, and could not come near, they told us flatly that none of them would go with us, and immediately weighed anchor to go away. We therefore began to fight them all three, and took one of them in less than, half an hour, all her men, to the number of seventy-three, getting ashore. Another fought with us all night, but yielded about break of day next morning, our general having joined us in his skiff a little while before she yielded. They were laden with benzoin, storax, pepper, china dishes, and pitch. The third praw got away while we were fighting the other. Our general would not allow any thing to be taken out of them, because they belonged to Java, except two of their men to pilot us to Pulo Timaon. The people of Java are very resolute in a desperate case. Their principal weapons are javelins, darts, daggers, and a kind of poisoned arrows which they blow from trunks or tubes. They have likewise some arquebusses, but are by no means expert in using these; they use also targets, and most of them are Mahometans. They had been at _Palimbangan_, and were on their way back to _Grist_, a port town on the north-east coast of Java, to which place they belonged.

The 12th November we dismissed them, pursuing our course for Patane. The 26th we saw certain islands to the N.W. of us, which neither we nor our pilots knew; but, having a contrary wind for Patane, we thought it necessary to search these islands for wood and water, hoping to have a better wind by the time we had watered. The 27th we came to anchor within a mile of the shore, in sixteen fathoms, on good ground, on the south side of these islands. Sending our boat on shore, we found some of them sunken islands, having nothing above water but the trees or their roots. All these islands were a mere wilderness of woods, but in one of them we found a tolerably good watering place; otherwise it was a very uncomfortable place, having neither fruits, fowls, or any other refreshment for our men. We took these islands to be some of the broken lands which are laid down to the south-east of the island of Bantam. Having taken in wood and water, we weighed anchor and stood for Patane, as well as a bad wind would permit; for we found the winds in these months very contrary, keeping always at N. or N.W. or N.E.

While near Pulo Laor, on the 12th December, we descried three sail, and sent our pinnace and shallop after one of them which was nearest, while we staid with the ship, thinking to intercept the other two; but they stood another course in the night, so that we saw them no more. In the morning we descried our pinnace and shallop about four leagues to leeward, with the other ship which they had taken; and as both wind and current were against them, they were unable to come up to us, so that we had to go down to them. On coming up with them, we found the prize was a junk of _Pan-Hange_,[74] of about 100 tons, laden with rice, pepper, and tin, going for Bantam in Java. Not caring for such mean luggage, our general took as much rice as was necessary for provisioning our ship, and two small brass guns, paying them liberally for all; and took nothing else, except one man to pilot us to Patane, who came willingly along with us, when he saw our general used them well. The other two pilots, we had taken before from the three praws, were very unskilful, wherefore our general rewarded them for the time they had been with us, and sent them back to their own country in this junk.

[Footnote 74: This should rather be, perhaps, _Pau-hang_, being the same place called by other writers Pahaung, Pahang, or Pahan, often called _Pam_ in the Portuguese accounts, and pronounced by them Pang.--Astl. I. 310. c.]

We parted from her on the 13th, steering for Pulo Timaon, adjoining to the country of the King of Pan-Hange, [Pahan,] and were much vexed with contrary winds and adverse currents: For, from the beginning of November to the beginning of April, the sea runs always to the southwards, and from April to November back again towards the north. The wind also in these first five months is most commonly northerly, and in the other seven months southerly. All the ships, therefore, of China, Patane, Johor, Pahan, and other places, going to the northward, come to Bantam, or Palimbangan, when the northern monsoon is set in, and return back again when the southern monsoon begins, as before stated, by observing which rule they have the wind and current along with them; but by following the opposite course, we found such violent contrary winds and currents, that in three weeks we did not get one league forwards. The country of Pahan is very plentiful, being full of gentry according to the fashion of that country, having great store of victuals, which are very cheap, and many ships. It lies between Johor and Patane, stretching along the eastern coast of Malacca, and reaches to Cape _Tingeron_, which is a very high cape, and the first land made by the caraks of Macao, junks of China, or praws of Cambodia, on coming from China for Malacca, Java, Jumbe, Johor Palimbangan, Grisi, or any other parts to the southwards.

Here, as I stood for Patane, about the 27th December, I met with a Japanese junk, which had been pirating along the coasts of China and Cambodia. Their pilot dying, what with ignorance and foul weather, they had lost their own ship on certain shoals of the great island of Borneo; and not daring to land there, as the Japanese are not allowed to come a-shore in any part of India with their weapons, being a desperate people, and so daring that they are feared in all places; wherefore, by means of their boats, they had entered this junk, which belonged to Patane, and slew all the people except one old pilot. This junk was laden with rice; and having furnished her with such weapons and other things as they had saved from their sunken ship, they shaped their course for Japan; but owing to the badness of their junk, contrary winds, and the unseasonable time of the year, they were forced to leeward, which was the cause of my unfortunately meeting them.

Having haled them and made them come to leeward, and sending my boat on board, I found their men and equipment very disproportionate for so small a junk, being only about seventy tons, yet they were ninety men, most of them in too gallant habits for sailors, and had so much equality of behaviour among them that they seemed all comrades. One among them indeed was called captain, but he seemed to be held in very little respect. I made them come to anchor, and on examining their lading, found nothing but rice, and that mostly spoilt with wet, for their vessel was leaky both in her bottom and upper works. Questioning them, I understood they were pirates, who had been making pillage on the coast of China and Cambodia, and had lost their own ship on the shoals of Borneo, as already related. We rode by them at anchor under a small island near the isle of Bintang for two days, giving them good usage, and not taking any thing out of them, thinking to have gathered from them the place and passage of certain ships from the coast of China, so as to have made something of our voyage: But these rogues, being desperate in minds and fortunes, and hopeless of ever being able to return to their own country in that paltry junk, had resolved among themselves either to gain my ship or lose their own lives.

During mutual courtesy and feastings, sometimes five or six and twenty of the principal persons among them came aboard my ship, of whom I would never allow more than six to have weapons; but there never was so many of our men on board their junk at one time. I wished Captain John Davis, in the morning, to possess himself of their weapons, putting the company before the mast, and to leave a guard over their weapons, while they searched among the rice; doubting that by searching, and perhaps finding something that might displease them, they might suddenly set upon my men and put them to the sword, as actually happened in the sequel. But, beguiled by their pretended humility, Captain Davis would not take possession of their weapons, though I sent two messages to him from my ship, expressly to desire him. During the whole day my men were searching among the rice, and the Japanese looking on. After a long search, nothing was found except a little storax and benzoin. At sun-set, seeking opportunity, and talking to their comrades who were in my ship, which was very near, they agreed to set upon us in both ships at once, on a concerted signal. This being given, they suddenly killed and drove overboard all of my men that were in their ship. At the same time, those who were on board my ship sallied out of my cabin, with such weapons as they could find, meeting with some targets there, and other things which they used as weapons. Being then aloft on the deck, and seeing what was likely to follow, I leapt into the waste, where, with the boatswains, carpenter, and some few more, we kept them under the half-deck. At first coming from the cabin, they met Captain Davis coming out of the gun-room, whom they pulled into the cabin, and giving him six or seven mortal wounds, they pushed him before them out of the cabin. He was so sore wounded, that he died immediately on getting to the waste.

They now pressed so fiercely upon us, while we received them on our levelled pikes, that they attempted to gather them with one hand that they might reach us with their swords, so that it was near half an hour before we could force them back into the cabin, after having killed three or four of their leaders. When we had driven them into the cabin, they continued to fight us for at least four hours, before we could finally suppress them, in which time they several times set the cabin on fire, and burnt the bedding and other furniture; and if we had not beaten down the bulkhead and poop, by means of two demi-culverines from under the half-deck, we had never been able to prevent them from burning the ship. Having loaded these pieces of ordnance with bar-shot, case-shot, and musket-bullets, and discharged them close to the bulk-head, they were so annoyed and torn with shot and splinters, that at last only one was left out of two and twenty. Their legs, arms, and bodies were so lacerated as was quite wonderful to behold. Such was the desperate valour of these Japanese, that they never once asked quarter during the whole of this sanguinary contest, though quite hopeless of escape. One only leapt overboard, who afterwards swam back to our ship and asked for quarter. On coming on board, we asked him what was their purpose? To which he answered, that they meant to take our ship and put us all to death. He would say no more, and desired to be cut in pieces.

Next day, being the 28th December, we went to a small island to leeward; and when about five miles from the land, the general ordered the Japanese who had swum back to our ship to be hanged; but the rope broke, and he fell into the sea, but whether he perished or swam to the island I know not. Continuing our course to that island, we came to anchor there on the 30th December, and remained three days to repair our boat and to take in wood and water. At this island we found a ship belonging to Patane, out of which we took the captain, whom we asked whether the China ships were yet come to Patane? He said they were not yet come, but were expected in two or three days. As he knew well the course of the China ships, we detained him to pilot us, as we determined to wait for them. The 12th January, 1606, one of our mates from the top of the mast descried two ships coming towards us, but which, on account of the wind, fell to leeward of the island. As soon as we had sight of them, we weighed anchor and made sail towards them, and came up with the larger that night. After a short engagement, we boarded and took her, and brought her to anchor.

Next morning we unladed some of her cargo, being raw silk and silk goods. They had fifty tons of their country silver, but we took little or none of it, being in good hope of meeting with the other China ships. So we allowed them to depart on the 15th January, and gave them to the value of twice as much as we had taken from them. Leaving this ship, we endeavoured to go back to China Bata, but could not fetch it on account of contrary wind, so that we had to go to leeward to two small islands, called Palo Sumatra by the people of Java, where we anchored on the 22d January. On the 24th there arose a heavy storm, during which we parted our cable, so that we were under the necessity of taking shelter in the nearest creek.

The 5th February, five homeward-bound ships belonging to Holland put into the same road where we lay. Captain Warwick, who was general of these ships, invited our general to dine with him, which he accepted. He told us, that our English merchants at Bantam were in great peril, and looked for nothing else but that the King of Java would assault them, because we had taken the China ship, by which he was deprived of his customs. For which reason Captain Warwick requested our general to desist from his courses, and to go home along with him. But our general answered, that he had not yet made out his voyage, and would not return till it should please God to send him somewhat to make up his charges. Seeing that he could not persuade our general to give up his purpose, Captain Warwick and the Hollanders departed from us on the 3d February.

Our general now considered, if he were to continue his voyage, that it might bring the English merchants who were resident in those parts into danger; and besides, as he had only two anchors and two cables remaining, he thought it best to repair his ships and return home with the poor voyage he had made. Our ships being ready, and having taken in a supply of wood and water, we set sail on the 5th February, on our return to England. The 7th April, after encountering a violent storm, we had sight of the Cape of Good Hope. The 17th of the same month we came to the island of St Helena, where we watered and found refreshments, as swine and goats, which we ourselves killed, as there are many of these animals wild in that island. There are also abundance of partridges, turkies, and guinea fowls, though the island is not inhabited. Leaving St Helena on the 3d May, we crossed the line on the 14th of that month, and came to Milford Haven in Wales on the 27th June. The 9th of July, 1606, we came to anchor in the roads of Portsmouth, where all our company was dismissed, and here ended our voyage, having occupied us for full nineteen months.