Chapter XXXVII: Section III (3)

The other fruits of this island, being well known or described by various authors, need not be here mentioned. The nutmegs here are very large and good, but the natives do not care for propagating them, being afraid lest the Dutch, who monopolize the spice islands, should be induced to pay them a hostile visit. This island also produces abundance of animals, both wild and tame, as horses, cows, buffaloes, goats, wild hogs, deer, monkeys, and others; also guanas, lizards, snakes, scorpions, and centipeds. These last are not thicker than a goose-quill, but five inches long, and they sting fiercer even than scorpions. Of tame fowl, they have only ducks and hens; but have plenty of wild birds, as pigeons, parrots, parrakeets, turtle-doves, bats as large as our kites, and an infinite number and variety of small birds. Their wild hogs feed in the woods in prodigious herds, and have thick knobs growing over their eyes. There are mountains in the interior of this island, which afford considerable quantities of gold. Their chief fish are bonitos, snooks, cavallies, breams, and mullets; and they have abundance of sea-tortoises; and the island has many harbours, creeks, and rivers.

Considering the situation of this island, so near the Line, its climate is by no means excessively hot, especially near the sea, where the sea-breeze cools the air by day and the land-breeze at night. The wind blows from the east between October and May, and then blows from the west till October. The west wind produces the wet season, which is heaviest in July and August, and, gradually lessening in September, ceases in October, when the east wind brings fair weather, which lasts till May. The inhabitants of this island, though all resembling each other in colour and stature, and all Mahometans, differ considerably in language and government. The mountaineers, or _Hillanoons_, who inhabit the interior, and are masters of the gold-mines, are also rich in bees-wax, both of which they exchange with the _Mindanayans_ on the coast for foreign commodities. The _Sologus_ inhabit the N.W. end of the island, and traffic with the inhabitants of Manilla and some other adjacent islands, but not with the Mindanayans. The _Alfoores_ were formerly under the same government with the Mindanayans, but were separated from them by falling to the share of the younger children of the sultan of Mindanao, who has of late laid claim to their allegiance.

The Mindanayans, properly so called, are of low stature, with small limbs, little heads, straight bodies, small eyes short noses, wide mouths, thin red lips, and sound black teeth, having black lank hair, and tawny complexions, but rather brighter than other Indians. They are ingenious and nimble, much addicted to indolence, obliging to strangers, but implacable when once disobliged. They wear turbans on their heads, formed of a cloth tied once round, the ends of which hang down, and are ornamented with lace or fringe. They also wear breeches, over which they have a kind of frocks, but have neither shoes nor stockings. The women tie their long black hair in a knot, which hangs down behind, being smaller featured than the men, with very small feet. Their garments consist of a piece of cloth sewed together at both ends, forming a kind of petticoat, with a frock reaching a little below the waist. They covet the acquaintance of white men, and are very free with them, as far as they have liberty. When any strangers arrive at the city of Mindanao, the men come aboard and invite them to their houses, where they immediately ask if any of them wish to have a _pagally_, or female friend, which they must accept, and return the favour by some small present, which is repeated from time to time, in return for which they eat, drink, and sleep, in their friend's house.

The capital is named Mindanao, like the island, being on the south-west side, two miles from the sea, on the bank of a small river, in lat. 7° N. The houses are built on posts, fourteen to twenty feet high, consisting only of one floor, but divided in many rooms by partitions. The house or palace of the sultan rests on 150 great posts, being much higher than any of the others, and had great broad stairs leading up to it from the ground. In the hall there were twenty pieces of iron cannon upon field carriages, and the general and other great men have also some cannon in their houses. The floors are generally well covered with mats, and they have no chairs, but usually sit cross-legged. Their ordinary food is rice, sago, and some small fish; but the better people use buffaloe beef, and fowl, with a great deal of rice, every one using their fingers, as they have no spoons. The inhabitants of the city of Mindanao speak both the Mindanayan and Malay languages, and their prayers are in Arabic, in which also they retain some Turkish words. Some of the old people of both sexes can speak Spanish, as the Spaniards had formerly several forts in the island, and had assuredly reduced the whole if they had not been afraid of an attack from the Chinese at Manilla, on which account they withdrew their troops from Mindanao, when the father of the present sultan laid hold of the opportunity to gain possession of their forts, and to expel them from the island. At present they are most in fear of the Dutch, for which reason they have often invited the English to make a settlement among them, believing them not so ready to encroach as either of the other nations.

The chief trades in this city are goldsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, and shipwrights, for they build good ships both for war and trade. Their chief commodities for export are gold, bees-wax, and tobacco; the two first being purchased from the mountaineers, and the last grows in all parts of the island in great plenty. They exchange these commodities for calicoes, muslins, and China silks. The Mindanao tobacco is reckoned as good as that of Manilla, and yet ten or twelve pounds of it may be bought for a rial, or the eighth part of a dollar. The natives are generally afflicted with a dry itchy scurf all over their bodies, and by scratching, the skin peels off in small white flakes, like the scales of small fish, leaving broad white spots all over their bodies; but they did not seem to make any great account of this disease, which is not infectious. They are also troubled with small-pox; but their most common diseases are fevers, agues, fluxes, and violent griping pains in their bowels. They have many wives, but I could not learn their marriage ceremonies.

They are governed by a sultan, who has no great revenue, yet is so absolute that he even commands the private purse of every one at his pleasure. The reigning sultan was between fifty and sixty years old, and had twenty-nine concubines besides his wife or sultana. When he goes abroad he is carried in a couch on the shoulders of four men, and is attended by a guard of eight or ten men. His brother, named Rajah Laut, a shrewd person of good conversation, is both chief minister and general, and both speaks and writes Spanish very readily. In war they use swords and lances, and every one, from the highest to the lowest, constantly wears a _criss_ or dagger, much like a bayonet. They never fight any pitched battles, but construct small wooden forts defended by guns, whence the adverse parties endeavour to surprise each other in small parties, and never give or take quarter.

We came first to anchor on the N.E. side of the island, but learning from the natives that the city of Mindanao was on the W. side, we again set sail and anchored on the 4th July on the S.W. side of a very deep bay in fifteen fathoms, the land within the bay on the E. side being very high and woody, but watered by several rivers. On its W. side, bordering on the sea, there were large plains covered with long grass, on which were vast herds of deer, of which we killed as many as we thought fit. We remained here till the 12th, when we again set sail, and arrived on the 18th at the entrance of the river of Mindanao, in lat. 7° N. and long. 124° 35' E. from Greenwich.[192] We here anchored in fifteen fathoms on clean hard sand, two miles from the shore. Soon afterwards Rajah Laut came on board, accompanied by one of the sultan's sons, and asked in Spanish, Who we were? Being told we were English, he asked if we came to settle among them, of which they had formerly some promise, and were now in hopes of its being effected, to serve to protect them against the Dutch, whom they greatly dreaded. Had we properly considered the matter, it might have been much for our advantage, Mindanao being conveniently situated between the Spice islands and the Philippines, and besides the three islands of _Meangis_,[193] only about twenty leagues from hence, abound with spice and cloves. We were also well filled for such a settlement, having among our company all manner of artificers, as carpenters, bricklayers, shoemakers, tailors, and the like, as also abundance of tools, arms, cannon, and sufficient ammunition to begin with; and, notwithstanding the great distance from England, we might easily have had supplies from thence, providing ships set out the latter end of August, proceeding round Cape Horn, and so directly across the Pacific for Mindanao, or else coasting along the western shore of America as far as was necessary, and then stretching across to have the advantage of the trade-wind. By this way the voyage might be accomplished in six or seven months, which would at least require eight or nine by the Cape of Good Hope.

[Footnote 192: In Harris, this longitude is made 23° 12' W. from the Lizard by some strange error, being 235° 25' W. from Greenwich.--E.]

[Footnote 193: It does not appear what islands these were, unless perhaps the Silibabo islands, about half way between Mindanao and the northern end of Gilolo, but considerably farther distant than is stated in the text.--E.]

Rajah Laut invited Captain Swan ashore, and promised to furnish what provisions we wanted, and desired him in the mean time to secure our ship within the river, for fear of the approaching westerly monsoon, which Captain Swan agreed to after some deliberation. The river being narrow, and having not above eleven feet water on the bar in spring-tides, we had much ado to get our ship a quarter of a mile above its mouth, where we moored head and stern in a hole, so that she lay always afloat. The city of Mindanao is a mile in length, but not very broad, stretching along the right bank of the river as you go up, though there are some houses also on the opposite side. The inhabitants frequently came aboard of our ship, and invited our men to their houses, where they were kindly entertained after their manner with tobacco and betel, and such of them as had money, or other articles of value, did not want their _pagalies_, or female friends. Captain Swan was entertained daily by Rajah Laut, and those of our men who had no money had boiled rice, with scraps of fowl and buffalo beef given them. Yet, after all these outward shews of friendship, we soon after began to discover that Rajah Laut had sinister intentions. The sheathing on our ship's bottom being much eaten by worms, we began in November to remove the old sheathing, to see whether the main plank remained sound; on seeing which, Rajah Laut shook his head, saying he had never seen a ship with two bottoms. Besides, he did not perform his promise of providing us with beef, pretending he could not get any; and he borrowed a considerable sum in gold from Captain Swan, which he never repaid.

These circumstances at length induced most of our men to think of leaving Mindanao, especially those who had not much money; and as our ship was new sheathed and tallowed on the 10th December, they began to urge our commander to depart in continuation of our voyage. Accordingly, Captain Swan appointed the 13th January, 1687, for all our company to be on board and ready to sail; but many being unwilling to depart so soon, having dispersed about the country at the instigation of Rajah Laut, and even Captain Swan not being very ready to come aboard, by reason of some insubordination among the men, they deposed him from the command, and chose Captain Teat in his room. After this we weighed in the morning of the 13th January, and sailed out of the river, having Captain Swan and forty-four more of the men on shore, besides sixteen others we had buried there.

We coasted along the south side of the island to the west, and passed next day in sight of _Chambungo_,[194] another town in this island, thirty leagues west from the river of Mindanao, and said to have a good harbour. On the 10th February we coasted along the west side of the Philippine islands, and while passing Panga,[195] a large island inhabited by the Spaniards, we saw many fires, which we supposed were intended to give notice of our approach, it being rare to see a ship on this coast. The 18th we anchored in ten fathoms at the N.W. end of the island of _Mindora_. This is a large island, the middle of which is in lat 12° 45' N. its length from N.W. to S.E. being forty leagues. While here, a canoe with four Indians came from Manilla, who told as that the harbour of Manilla was seldom without twenty or thirty vessels, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spaniards, and if we had a mind to trade clandestinely, they would deliver letters from us to certain merchants there.

[Footnote 194: Probably Sambuang, at the western extremity of Mindanao, in lat. 6° 52' N. long. 122° 20' E. from Greenwich.--E.]

[Footnote 195: Pany, or Panai.--E.]

We sailed again on the 21st, and came on the 23d to the S.E. end of Luçonia, where we took two Spanish barks from _Pagassanam_,[196] a small town on the N.E. part of this island, having goods on board for the Acapulco ship. This great island of Luçonia extends in length through six degrees of latitude, from 12° 30' to 18° 40' both N. and is surrounded by many small isles, especially at its north end, Mindora being the chief of these isles, which communicates its name to the straits which run between it and the main island of Luçonia. The surface of this large island is partly composed of large pasture plains, and partly of mountains, the latter of which afford some gold; and the plains, or savannahs, are stored with buffaloes, bullocks, horses, sheep, goats, and hogs. The inhabitants are Indians, who live in little towns, under the Spanish jurisdiction, and are instructed in the Romish religion by Spanish priests.

[Footnote 196: Perhaps the gulf on Pangasian is here meant, on the E. side of Luzon, in lat. 16° N.]

_Manilla_ is the chief city, or rather the only one, in the island, seated at the foot of a ridge of high hills, fronting the harbour, near the S.W. point of the island, in lat. 14° 38' N: This city is defended by a strong wall, and is composed of well-built spacious houses, covered with pan-tiles, the streets being broad and regular, with a large market-place in the middle, and has many fair churches and convents. The harbour is large; and, besides the two great Acapulco ships, contains abundance of small vessels belonging to the place, besides usually thirty or forty stout Chinese junks; and the Portuguese also have liberty to trade to this place. Many Chinese merchants also reside constantly in this city. A league from the city, nearer the sea, there is a strong fortress to defend the harbour, where the great ships lie at anchor. Most of this account I received from Mr Coppinger, our surgeon, who had formerly been thither, sailing from the Coromandel coast.

The time of the year being now too far spent for our purpose, we resolved to sail for Pulo Condore, a knot of small islands on the coast of Cambodia, and to return in May to lie in wait for the Acapulco ship. We accordingly made sail from the island of Luçonia on the 26th of February; and coming into the lat. of 14° N. we steered our course W. for Pulo Condore,[197] and in our way got sight of the south end of the _Pracel_ shoals, being three small isles, or large spots of sand, just above water, only a mile from us. We came in sight of Pulo Condore on the 13th March, and anchored next day on the north side of that island, in ten fathoms, on clean hard sand, two miles from the shore.

[Footnote 197: This course ought rather to have been called W.S.W. as Pulo Condore is lat. 8° 40' N.]

Pulo Condore is the chief of a group of isles, and the only one of them that is inhabited, in lat. 8° 44' N. long. 106° 5' E. forty leagues S. by E. from the mouth of the river of Cambodia, otherwise called the _Japanese_ river. Two of these isles are tolerably high and large, and the rest very small. The principal isle, off which we anchored, is five leagues long from E. to W. and three leagues broad, but in some places not a mile. The other large isle is three miles long from N. to S. and between these, at the west end of the largest, there is a convenient harbour, the entrance being on the north, where the two isles are a mile asunder. On the largest isle there grows a tall tree, three or four feet diameter, which the inhabitants cut horizontally half through, a foot from the ground, after which they cut out the upper part in a slope, till it meets the transverse cut, whence a liquor distils into a hollow made in the semicircular shelf, or stump, which, after being boiled, becomes good tar, and if boiled still more, becomes perfect pitch, both of these answering well for marine use. Such a tree produces two quarts of this juice daily for a month, after which it dries up, but recovers again.

There are mango trees in this island, the fruit of which the inhabitants pickle with salt, vinegar, and a little garlic, while green. On straight trees of a foot diameter, grapes, both red and white, and of a pleasant taste, much like those of Europe, grow in clusters about the body of the tree, like the cocoas. This isle also abounds in wild nutmeg-trees, which resemble our walnut-trees, and the fruit grows among the boughs, in the same manner as walnuts. This fruit resembles the true nutmeg, but smaller, and has neither smell nor taste. Besides hogs, guanas, and lizards, these islands have various birds, as parrots, parakeets, turtle-doves, and wild poultry. The sea affords limpits, muscles, and tortoises. These isles have many brooks of fresh water running into the sea for ten months of the year; and they are very conveniently situated for trade with Japan, China, Manilla, Tonquin, Cochin-china, and other places.

The inhabitants are originally from Cochin-china, being of a middle stature and well shaped, but of much darker colour than the natives of Mindanao, having lank black hair, small black eyes, and small noses, yet tolerably high, with small mouths, thin lips, and white teeth. They are civil, but very poor, their only employment being to collect tar, and to prepare a little oil from tortoises, both of which they export to Cochin-china. They offer their women to strangers for a small matter; a custom universal in Pegu, Siam, Cochin-China, Cambadia, Tonquin, and India, as also on the coast of Guinea. They are pagans, worshipping chiefly the elephant and the horse, besides images of birds and fishes, but I saw none resembling the human shape.

Having careened our ship, and laid in a supply of fresh water, we sailed from Pulo Condore on the 21st of April, steering W. by S. for the bay of Siam, and on the 23d came to the isle of _Ubi_, off the S.W. cape of Cambadia, forty leagues W. of Condore. This isle is seven or eight leagues in circuit, and is higher land than any of the Condore isles. It has good water on the north side, where there is also good anchorage, but the best anchorage is on the W. side, opposite a small bay. On the 24th we entered the bay of Siam, which is very deep, and went among the islands at the bottom of the bay, in one of which we found a small village inhabited by fishermen, but no fish, so we turned back, and did not return to the isle of _Ubi_ till the 13th, and were detained there by storms till the 21st, when we sailed for Condore, where we anchored on the 24th. Here five or six of our men, going on board a Malay vessel, were stabbed by the crew. Having provided our ship with wood and water, we sailed from Condore on the 4th June, intending to proceed for Manilla; but, by contrary winds, were forced to steer for _Pratas_, a small low island inclosed with rocks, in lat. 21° N. between Canton and Manilla; and the east winds continuing, were obliged to approach the coast of China, where we anchored on the 25th June, at the east end of the island of St John, on the coast of Quan-tong, or Canton, in China, in lat. 22° 30' N.[198] They have here great plenty of rice, with hogs, buffaloes, goats, and some oxen. The inhabitants were Chinese, and were consequently, at this time, under the dominion of the Tartars.

[Footnote 198: This Island of St John is probably that named Sancianor, or Tchang-te-huen, in lat. 21° 33' N. long. 112° 25' E. to the S.W. of the bay of Canton. The latitude in the text would lead deep among the islands of that bay, which does not appear to have been the case.--E.]

In this island we found a small town in marshy ground, the houses of which were small, mean, and ill-furnished, but built on posts, the inhabitants principally subsisting by the cultivation of rice. While we lay here at anchor, a Chinese junk rode beside us, which was flat both at the head and stern, having many little huts, three feet high, on her deck, thatched with palmito leaves. Her cabin was large, having an altar, on which was a lamp continually burning. The hold was divided into several compartments, the bulkheads between which were so tight, that if a leak should spring in any of these divisions, the goods in the others would receive no damage. Every merchant has his own room, or division, in the hold, in which he stows his own goods, sometimes lodging along with them. These junks have only two masts, a main and fore, the latter having a square-sail and yard, and the former a sail that is narrow aloft, like a sloop's main-sail. In fine weather they have also a top-sail, which, in foul weather, they lower to the deck, yard and all. The main-mast of one of their largest junks is equal in size to that of our third-rate men of war, but all of one piece, not built.

Fearing the approach of a storm, and wanting sea-room, we weighed on the 3d June, and stood out to sea; but next day we were assailed by the most violent tempest at N.E. I ever saw, which lasted at intervals for three days, when the weather became quite serene. We then refitted our ship, but our men were so terrified by the last storm, and dreading the approach of full moon, that we resolved to steer for the _Pescadores_, or _Fisher Isles_, in lat. 23° 40' N. off the western side of _Tai-ouan_, or Formosa. This is a numerous group of islands in the Straits of Formosa, having a good harbour between the two eastermost; and on the west side of the most easterly there is a large town with a fort, in which was a garrison of 300 Tartars. The houses in this town were low, yet neatly built; and on the other island, on the west side of the harbour, there was another small town near the sea, inhabited by Chinese. Most of the islands in this group have some Chinese inhabitants. We were very civilly treated by the Tartar governor, who sent us some presents, and among the rest a heifer, the beef of which was excellent; but would not allow us to trade, or even to land on the isle.

We sailed thence on the 29th July, passing the S.W. end of Formosa, a large island reaching from lat. 22° to 25° 18' both N. and in long. 121° E. It was formerly well inhabited by the Chinese, and frequented by the English; but the Tartars have since spoiled the harbour, lest the Chinese should fortify themselves there. On the 6th August we came to anchor on the east side of the northermost of the _Five Islands_, or _Bashees_, in fifteen fathoms. These islands are from the latitude of 20° 26' to 21° 13' both N. and long. 121° 50' E. Contrary to our expectations, we found three or four large towns on the island at which we anchored. The westmost of these islands, which the Dutch among us named _Orange_ isle, is the largest, being seven or eight leagues from N. to S. and two from E. to W. There are two other large islands to the S. of this; the northern of which we named _Grafton_ isle, which is four leagues from N. to S. and a league and a half from E. to W. The other, and most southerly, we named _Monmouth_ isle, being three leagues from N. to S. and one from E. to W. Two other isles, lying E. and W. between Monmouth isle and the S. end of Orange isle, we called _Bashee_ isle, from a certain liquor we drank there, and _Goat_ isle.

_Orange_ isle is the largest, but barren, rocky, and uninhabited, and has no anchorage on its coasts. _Monmouth_ and _Grafton_ isles are both hilly, but well inhabited. _Goat_ isle and _Bashee_ isle are flat, the former having a town. The hills in all these isles are rocky; but the intermediate vallies are fertile in grass, plantains, bananas, pine-apples, pompions, sugar-canes, potatoes, and some cotton, and are well supplied with brooks of fresh water. They are also well stored with goats and hogs, but have hardly any fowls, either wild or tame. The natives are short and thick, with round faces and thick eye-brows, with hazel-coloured eyes, rather small, yet larger than those of the Chinese. Their noses are short and low; their mouths and lips middle-sized, with white teeth; and their hair is thick, black, and lank, which they cut short. Their complexion is of a dark copper colour, and they go all bare-headed, having for the most part no clothes, except a clout about the middle, though some have jackets of plantain leaves, as rough as a bear-skin. The women have a short petticoat of coarse calico, reaching a little below the knees, and both sexes wear ear-rings of a yellow metal dug from their mountains, having the weight and colour of gold, but somewhat paler. Whether it be in reality gold or not, I cannot say, but it looked of a fine colour at first, which afterwards faded, which made us suspect it, and we therefore bought very little. We observed that the natives smeared it with a red earth, and then made it red-hot in a quick fire, which restored its former colour.

The houses of the natives are small, and hardly five feet high, collected into villages on the sides of rocky hills, and built in three or four rows, one above the other. These rocky precipices are framed by nature into different ledges, or deep steps of stairs as it were, on each of which they build a row of houses, ascending from one row to another by means of ladders in the middle of each row, and when these are removed they are inaccessible. They live mostly by fishing, and are very expert in building boats, much like our Deal yawls. They have also larger vessels, rowed by twelve or fourteen oars, two men to each bank. They never kill any goats themselves, but feed on the guts and skins, which last they broil after singing off the hair.[199] They also make a dish of locusts, which come at certain seasons to devour their potatoes; on which occasions they catch these insects in nets, and broil or bake them in earthen pans, when they are tolerable eating. Their ordinary drink is water; but they make also a kind of liquor of the juice of sugar-canes, boiled up with black-berries, allowed afterwards to ferment four or five days in jars. It then settles and becomes clear, when it affords a strong and pleasant liquor, which they call _bashee_, resembling our English beer both in taste and colour. I can give no account of their language, as it has no affinity either to Chinese or Malay. Their weapons are lances headed with iron, and they wear a kind of armour of buffalo-hide without sleeves, reaching below their knees, where it is three feet wide, and as stiff as a board, but close at the shoulders.

[Footnote 199: This is rather inexplicable, as we cannot conceive how they got the guts and skins without killing the goats.--E.]

I could not perceive that they had any worship, neither saw I any idols among them. They seemed to have no government or precedency, except that the children were very respectful to their parents. They seem, however, to be regulated by some ancient customs, instead of laws, as we saw a young lad buried alive, which we supposed was for being guilty of theft. The men have each only one wife, and she and her children were very obedient to the head of the family. The boys are brought up to fishing along with their fathers; and the girls work along with their mothers in the plantations in the vallies, where each family plants a piece of ground proportional to their numbers. They are a civil quiet people, not only among themselves, but in their intercourse with strangers; for all the time we were here, though they came frequently aboard, exchanging their yellow metal, goats, and fruits, for iron, we never saw them differ either among themselves or with our men, though occasions of the latter were not wanting. They have no coins, neither any weights or scales, but give their pieces of yellow metal by guess. During our stay here, we provided ourselves with seventy or eighty fat hogs, and great plenty of potatoes, for our intended voyage to Manilla.

On the 25th September, we were forced out to sea by a violent storm, which lasted till the 29th, when we made the best of our way back to the Bashees, which we reached on the 1st October. This last storm so disheartened our men, that they resolved to give up the design of cruising before Manilla; and, by the persuasions of Captain Read, who now commanded, and Captain Teat, our master, it was determined to sail for Cape Comorin, and thence into the Red Sea. As the eastern monsoon was at hand, our nearest and best way had been to pass through the Straits of Malacca; but Teat persuaded the men to go round by the east side of the Philippines, and thence, keeping south of the Spice islands, to pass into the Indian ocean by the south of Timor.

We sailed from the Bashees on the 3d October, by the east of the Philippines, and on the 15th, being to the south of Luçonia, directed our course west for Mindanao. On the 16th we anchored between two small isles, in lat. 5° 10' N. four leagues from the island of Mindanao. While here, we learnt from a young prince of one of the isles, that Captain Swan and some of his men were still at Mindanao, and in great esteem for their services against the Alfoores: but I was since informed, that he and his surgeon, when going on board a Dutch ship in the road, were overset by the natives and drowned, by order of rajah Laut, as we supposed, who had seized all his gold.

We sailed on the 2d November for Celebes, and anchored at its N.E. end on the 9th. The 30th, while steering between two shoals, in lat. 3° S. ten leagues from Celebes, we saw three waterspouts towards evening. A waterspout is a piece of a cloud hanging down in a sloping direction, sometimes bending like a bow, but never perpendicular. Opposite to its extremity the sea begins to foam, and the water is then seen gently moving round in a circle, increasing to a rapid whirling motion, rising upwards, an hundred paces in circumference at the bottom, but lessening gradually upwards to the size of a spout, through which the sea-water appears to be conveyed into the cloud, as is manifest by its blackness and increase of bulk. After this the cloud, which was before immoveable, drives along for half an hour, accompanied by the spout. When the sucking is over, and breaks off, all the water which was below the spout, or pendulous cloud, falls again into the sea with a terrible clashing noise. These spouts are, however, more frightful than dangerous.

We had sight of the Isle of Bouton on the 1st December, and anchored there on the 5th, where we staid till the 11th, procuring eggs, fowls, potatoes, and other provisions from the natives, who are Mahometans, and speak the Malay language. Continuing our voyage, we saw the N.W. point of Timor on the 28th, and on the 29th stood S. towards New Holland, which we fell in with on the 4th January, 1688, in lat. 16° 50' S. _New Holland_ is a vast tract of land, but whether island or continent is hitherto unknown.[200] We anchored at a point of land, three leagues to the east of which is a deep bay. The land was low and sandy, the points only excepted, which were rocky, as were some islands in the bay. We found here no fresh water, except by digging. There were various trees, and among these the tree producing dragon's-blood. We saw no fruit-trees, nor so much as the track of any animal, except one footstep of a beast, which seemed the size of a large mastiff. There were a few land-birds, but none bigger than a black-bird, and scarcely any sea-fowl; neither did the sea afford any fish, except tortoises and manatees,[201] both of which are in vast plenty.

[Footnote 200: It is now known to be a vast island, stretching from the lat. of 11° 40' to 38° 40', both S. and from long. 109° 40' to 154° 50' both E. being 1870 miles from N. to S. and 2400 miles from E. to W.]

[Footnote 201: The Lamentin, or Trichechus Manatus australis of naturalists.--E.]

The inhabitants are the most miserable wretches in the universe, having no houses or coverings but the heavens, and no garments except a piece of the bark of a tree tied round the waist. They have no sheep, poultry, or fruits, and subsist wretchedly on a few shell-fish, such as cockles, muscles, and periwinkles, living without any government or order, and cohabit promiscuously like brutes. Their bodies are straight, thin, and strong-limbed, having great heads and eye-brows, with round foreheads. Their eye-lids are constantly half closed, to keep out flies, which are here very numerous and troublesome. They have large bottle noses, thick lips, and wide mouth; and both men and women, young and old, wanted the two front teeth of the upper jaw. They have no beards, and their hair is short and curled like the negroes, their complexion being equally black with them. Their weapons are a kind of wooden swords or clubs, and long straight poles sharpened at one end. Of their language I can only say that they speak much in the throat. We landed several times, and brought the natives to some degree of familiarity with us, by giving them some old clothes, but could never prevail on them to assist us in carrying water or any other thing, as they seemed quite averse from labour.

We sailed hence on the 12th March, and on the 7th April got sight of Sumatra, whence we directed our course for the Nicobar islands, which we came in sight of on the 4th May, and anchored next day in a small bay at the N. end of the island of Nicobar Proper, in lat. 7° 30' N. This island produces plenty of cocoa-nuts, and _mallories_, a fruit as large as the bread-fruit of Guam, which the natives boil in covered jars.

Mr Hall, Mr Ambrose, and I, being desirous to leave the unruly crew among whom we had sailed so long, were set ashore at this island, intending to proceed for Acheen. We accordingly left this island on the 5th May, accompanied by four Malays and a Portuguese, in a Nicobar canoe, not much bigger than one of the London wherries used below bridge. On the 18th we had a violent storm, when we expected every moment to be swallowed up by the waves; but on the 19th, to our great joy, we saw _Pulo Way_, near the N.W. end of Sumatra, as was supposed, but it turned out to be the golden mountain of Sumatra, and at length arrived at Acheen in June. In July I went with Captain Weldon to Tonquin, and returned to Acheen in April, 1689. In September of that year I went to Malacca, and came back about Christmas, 1690. Soon after I went to Fort St George or Madras, where I remained five months, and came back to Bencoolen, an English factory on the west coast of Sumatra.

Before relating my return to England, it may be proper to give some account of _Jeoly_, the painted prince, who afterwards died at Oxford. He was purchased along with his mother at Mindanao by Mr Moody; and when Mr Moody and I went together to Bencoolen, he gave me at parting half the property of this painted prince and his mother, leaving them to my care. They were born in the island of _Meangis_, which abounds in gold, cloves, and nutmegs, as he afterwards told me. He was curiously painted, down the breast, behind, between the shoulders, and most of all on the fore part of his thighs, in the nature of flower-work. By what I could understand, this painting was done by pricking the skin, and rubbing in the gum of a tree called _damurer_, used instead of pitch in some parts of India. He told me, that the natives of his country wore gold ear-rings, and golden bracelets about their arms and legs; their food being potatoes, fowls, and fish. He told me also, that being one day in a canoe with his father and mother, they were taken by some fishers belonging to Mindanao, who sold them to the interpreter of Rajah Laut, with whom he and his mother lived as slaves for five years, and were then sold for fifty dollars to Mr Moody. Some time afterwards, Mr Moody gave me the entire property of both, but the mother soon died, and I had much ado to save the son. After my arrival in the Thames, being in want of money, I first sold part of my property in Prince Jeoly, and by degrees all the rest. He was afterwards carried about and shewn for money, and at last died of the small-pox at Oxford.

During my stay at Bencoolen I served as gunner of the fort; but when my time was expired, I embarked with my painted prince in the Defence, Captain Heath, in order to return to England. We sailed on the 25th January, 1691, in company with three other ships, and arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in the beginning of April. After a stay of six weeks, we set sail on the 13th May for St Helena, where we arrived on the 20th June. We left this island on the 2d July, and came to anchor in the Downs on the 16th September, 1691, after an absence of twelve years and a half from my native country.